Getting Back in to the Sega Master System

On a recent trip to the retro game store, I acquired a Power Base Converter for the Genesis. Along with it, I got boxed copies of Aztec Adventure, Kung-Fu Kid, and Quartet. I had a blast playing these titles again, and it really gave me the urge to get back into collecting for the Master System. Sega's 8-bit console was the first one I seriously began to collect for, and I'd forgotten just how great the games were.

So over the past few weeks, I've been buying games little by little. I recently got Action Fighter and Time Soldiers from a great fellow over on the Digital Press boards. Action Fighter is a Spy Hunter clone, and a pretty good one at that. I love the Sega truck that powers up your weapons! Time Soldiers is a port of the arcade game, and while it's pretty faithful, it's just too hard.

In fact, that's what's starting to come back to me now - just how hard MS games are! I can remember my frustration at many of them, some of which I conquered and some that I didn't, but damn if I didn't try. Maybe now I'll actually be able to find all 5 scrolls in The Ninja and reach the princess or get to the end of Miracle Warriors.

eBay has been good to me for finding games, as has the Sega-16 forum. A recent trade has netted me a set of (boxed!) 3D glasses with Space Harrier 3D, Maze Hunter 3D, and Missile Defense 3D - all complete with boxes and manuals. I also just bought complete copies of Spellcaster and Black Belt, so my little collection is starting to come to life!

I'll try and post some impressions of these games as I get them, but if I don't come back soon, you'll know what I;ve been doing!

Carzy Little Thing Called Life...

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? I normally don't take so long to post, but it's been an uphill battle keeping this blog alive. I originally intended it to be an outlet for my opinions on non-Genesis gaming (Sega-16 suffices for that), but the time needed to write the comprehensive posts I prefer just isn't there.

The best way then, is to post smaller thoughts, capsules of information that will simultaneously serve as my outlet and keep this poor little blog alive. This seems like as good an opportunity to start as any, so here goes...

Jeez, looking at my last post about Game Room makes me genuinely sad. How could Microsoft have failed at what was an awesome idea? Why would it let Game Room wither and die? After how callously it pulled the plug on 1 vs. 100, one would expect it to let Game Room die with a little more dignity, but I guess it was not meant to be. Lesson learned: stay FAR away from MS "events" on Xbox Live, lest ye be burned!

On a more positive note, I went to Neo Japan Games, a great retro shop on the far side of the island, and I came back with some choice items:

Genesis

- Battletoads (loose)
- Cyborg Justice (complete)
- Garfield: Caught in the Act (cart and box)
- Heavy Nova (cart and box)
- Mazin' Saga: Mutant Fighter (cart and box)

32X

- Kolibri (loose)

SNES

- X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (loose)

Saturn

- Croc (complete)
- Dark Legends (complete)
- Virtua Racing (complete)
- World Series Baseball (complete)

... and best of all, this bad boy:

I also picked up a few Genesis doubles, which I promptly gave away and kept the boxes (for refitting the collection). I got an extra Genesis Virtua Racing whose box fits my naked Game Genie cart perfectly. I printed out a custom insert and voila! Instant Game Genie clamshell!

The whole deal came out to about $137, which I paid for with some trade-in. Of everything I bought, I'm especially happy with the Arcade Racer. Now I can play Virtua Racing, Daytona, and Sega Rally in style!

Microsoft Game Room: Wasted Potential?

I admit it; I initially loved Game Room. I loved the concept (still do), the cute little arcade cabs, the medals and achievements, and the high score challenges. I've been into it since launch day, and I currently have around 27 games or so. I play it daily (just beat my Super Breakout score today. 201 points!), and I really, really wish more people were into it.

Why are people leaving? The problem lies not in the design or the concept. No, if you want to blame anyone for the tepid interest Game Room has generated over the few short months since it was launched, blame Microsoft itself. Slowly but surely, the company has done just about everything to ensure that as few people as possible care about what could otherwise be an awesome concept. Blame MS for the slow releases, including games with specialized controllers that are now nearly unplayable, the actual dearth of arcade games in each pack (the first batch of games from next week's Game Pack 8 contains only 4 2600 titles and one Intellivision game), the annoying pauses while playing, the lack of more game companies, the generic Konami cabs, etc. The list goes on and on, and while people are either forgetting they downloaded GR or are deleting it altogether, MS has been mostly silent. Even though the official Facebook page has finally been getting updates, and the website is now current, but the Xbox 360 dash never reports a thing, and Major Nelson probably doesn't even know Game Room exists.

I think I'm one of only a handful of people on the forums I frequent who actually use Game Room, and I fully understand the lack of interest. When MS boasted back in March that there would be a thousand games, people got excited. They imagined Capcom, Namco, Data East, and a slew of other arcade stalwarts offering up their best wares for 240 points. What'd we get? Atari 2600 and Intellivision games.

Here we are, more than three months later, and the rumors of other companies joining Game Room are still just that, rumors. I've heard that the release list only encompasses games from the Atari and Activision anthologies and Intellivision Lives!. Indeed, if you look at those lists, all the games currently offered or slated for release in GR are on them. They've seemingly run out of Atari arcade games (where is Food Fight?), and Konami has vanished from the list despite still having titles like Jackal, Circus Charlie, Gradius, and Devastators available. Given this week's list, pickings are slim, and nothing more has been announced.

That's what pisses me off the most. MS has dropped the ball completely with Game Room. There has been zero advertising, and it took them 4 months just to update the showcase arcade! I would love to be able to play Universal, Midway, Taito, and other company libraries here, and the damn thing was made for it! Head over to the Facebook page, and the complaints are all the same: where are the other companies? Why are there so few arcade games being released? The GR staff is again, mostly silent on these issues.

I would really love to pour my MS points into Game Room, but as it is, MS has done a really bad job with it. I'll continue to purchase the occasional arcade release that interests me, and I'll play those games I've already bought, but unless something major comes along, count me as one of those who is rapidly losing interest. Get with it MS; we're waiting.

Buying Used Sucks Sometimes

I try to take advantage of every preowned offer that comes my way, be it through Gamestop or any other store that's willing to shave a few bucks off its price. I mostly get good deals, and I won't buy a game unless it's complete and in good condition. The boxes might not be shiny new, but hey, you have to find ways to save money in this economy.

Sometimes, however, things don't work out. Yesterday, I found a used copy of Lego Indiana Jones 2 for the Xbox 360. It was only $15 after discount, so I picked it up. After three "unreadable disc" errors, I packed it back up for a return trip to the store. It was the only used copy they had, so I'll just pay the extra $5 and buy it new. Two trips to the store for a $20 game that's everywhere at that price. *Sigh*

I'm on YouTube!

I finally got a decent digital camera, and I've been experimenting with posting videos on Youtube. The first one I did was a digital tour of my game room, and the second one was about my Saturn collection. I'm thinking of doing one last video on my Sega CD collection before calling it a night in terms of experimentation.

What I'd really like to do are short video reviews about specific Genesis games. Discussion about the box art and manual would be included, as well as gameplay footage. I just have to figure out how best to work the camera (Peter Jackson, I ain't).

Anyway, it's nice to be able to finally join the YouTube era, and at least this way I have another forum for sharing my love of Genesis games.

Welcome 2010

The new year has arrived, which means I have a lot of things to which I can look forward. I plan to start my doctorate degree soon, but it shouldn't hurt my commitment to Sega-16, which is something I cannot see myself not doing. The site's 5 and 1/2 now, and there's still just so much that I still want to write about.

I at least started the new year off on a good note for Sega-16. I finally got around to creating a Youtube channel, where I plan to post some videos of the different games in my Genesis collection. I just got a new digital camera and decided to test it out today by making a video tour of my game room.

Another thing that I intend to accomplish is beating 40 games this year. I completed 39 last year, and I really would like to beat that number. I played so many awesome games this year, and the amount coming in 2010 is staggering. I just hope my wallet can take it!

Oh, and I do hope to blog more, schedule permitting.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Demon's Souls

I picked this game up practically on a whim. The only knowledge I had of it was what my best friend told me off and on, and while that seems like a completely insane way to decide the fate of $60, I figured I could trust his judgment. When I found out that Demon's Souls comes from the makers of the Kings Field series, I started to warm up a bit more, as I loved those games on the Playstation.

I bought my copy on launch day (the sales girl at Gamestop had no idea what it was. Typical) and headed home for play. Sixty hours later, I can't put the damn thing down. This is precisely why I got my Playstation 3: to offer me deep and engaging experiences that I can't find on other consoles. Ah, the benefit of owning more than one machine! Here was an action/RPG that had incredible graphics, great gameplay, a long quest, lots of awesome boss battles, and tons of dungeons to explore. It sounds great, doesn't it?

For the most part, it is. Demon's Souls is a great game that is very rewarding for those who decide to stick with it. The problem is that the initial learning curve is larger than any other game I've played this generation, and the way the whole game works takes some getting used to. Those who stumble into this expecting a traditional RPG set up are going to be disappointed, and they're going to be pretty confused for the first few hours.

For example, players obtain souls when they kill enemies, and these are used for everything you can imagine. There is no money in this game, so you're using souls to buy weapons, spells, the works. You also use these souls to level up, and by "level up" I mean " enhance your abilities." There is no general level per se, and the game offers no experience points at all. Want an archer? Better raise that dexterity. Like casting spells? Work on intelligence. This system lets you create a totally unique character, but it can be a major pain in the ass sometimes. For instance, I started with a temple knight, and I chose to work on improving his magic. Late in the game I found an awesome White Bow, but my dexterity was six levels too low. I spent an hour grinding just to be able to use it. Inconvenient? Yes, but damn was it worth it.

The whole game seems designed to test your patience and determination. Should you die in a level, you're sent back to the beginning, and all the enemies are revived. Yep, you have to do the whole thing all over again. Moreover, all the souls you collected are taken from you, and you have to trek all the way back to where you died to reclaim them. Should you be slain along the way, you lose them permanently. Oh, and did I mention that the game has no pause feature? Yeah, all your curing and equipping is done in real time, so if you're not prepared for a particular battle, you're going to get killed really fast. Fortunately, all the items you found and the doors you opened remain, so you don't have to worry about losing that awesome sword you found just before a skeleton skewered you with a single blow.

That's the allure of Demon's Souls. This game kicks your ass, takes your name and address, and then goes to your house and kicks the ass of everyone in your entire family. It's hard, damn hard, but it's not impossible. That being said, I can certainly see some people getting turned off by it. I know I've already seen a fair share of used copies at Gamestop! The sense of accomplishment you get from killing one of the powerful bosses is immense, and that sense of "I need to explore just a bit farther" keeps pushing you onward.

All this goodness doesn't mean that the game is free of flaws, however. In fact, there are a few things that are downright unforgivable. The no pause thing is a pain in the ass, but being able to only equip two weapons on the left and right hands sucks. Why let me carry all these cool things if I can't use them quickly? I'm forced to go with magic and a shield on the left and a sword and bow on the right. But what if I want to use a talisman to cure myself or cast a miracle (there are both miracles and spells)? I'm screwed, that's what. Also, how come I have more rings than Mr.T but can only equip two? What about my other eight fingers?

Another thing that I don't like is the lock-on feature. It's useless for bows (which thankfully have zoom, that makes shooting easier), and it craps out when you don't want it to or sticks around when you want it to turn off. This can be a serious problem if an enemy leaps at you or closes in. The camera can go nuts in these situations, and the lock-on means you can't get away quickly enough to avoid death.

And you will die, young adventurer. You will die, and often. Being in soul form means you have less energy, but it also means that other players can't invade your game. That's right. Since Demon's Souls is online all the time, you can see the phantoms of other players all around you. Should you be revived by defeating a boss or using a special stone, those other players can invade your game as Black Phantoms. I've heard people say that they like this because it keeps you on your toes and makes things more exciting, but personally, I hate it. I've had two instances where I was exploring a stage, and some idiot invaded my game and killed me. That meant I had to go all the way back to the beginning and do it all again. It was neither exciting nor invigorating. Granted, you can unplug your PS3's ethernet cord and play in peace, but then you don't see the messages of other players and their phantoms, which are useful for figuring out how to tackle specific enemies.

As major as they might sound, none of these problems is game-breaking, and Demon's Souls is just too good to pass up because of them. This is an RPG worthy of both your cash and time, and if you like castles, dragons, and dungeons, this simply must be in your game library.

Batman: Arkham Asylum = Game of the Year

Unlike some of his other Justice League friends (Aquaman, LOL), Batman actually has a history of decent games under his utility belt. The classic NES title and SNES Batman Returns immediately come to mind, as does Batman: The Video Game for the Genesis. From there on, it's been largely hit-and-miss, with a few nuggets of quality standing out. Overall, the quality of the games in the relatively large library, larger than that of most super heroes, is perhaps the main reason why I'm more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt each time a new title is released. I've played and enjoyed most of them - I even enjoyed Rise of Shin Tsu - so Arkham Asylum had to be a decent game, right?

Wrong. Arkham Asylum is not only a great game, it's perhaps the best one released in 2009 so far. Little-known developer Rocksteady Studios has created far and above the best action game of the year; it's made the semanal Batman title and set the bar for super hero games. How it did this is probably a lesson in simplicity itself, a lesson perhaps so simple that it has manage to elude developers for so long. Hidden in plain sight, as they say.

Last year, I wrote a Double Take article on the excellent Spider-Man vs. the Kingpin for the Sega Genesis. To me, the biggest attraction that game had, as well as what made it such a good super hero game in the first place, was the fact that it was developed from the ground up specifically around its star. Most hero games are simply action or beat-'em-up titles with a license slapped on to boost sales. With SvtK, Sega went the route all these games should take from the start: it developed the game around the star, making it unplayable with anyone else.

Arkham Asylum does this in spades. Sure, Batman is seemingly nothing more than a muscular dude in tights who kicks major ass. Gaming is not lacking in this department, but that's not all that makes Batman who he is. Anyone can beat up thugs, but not everyone has the combination of talents and gadgets that make the Dark Knight essential to this narrative. In other words, the game simply wouldn't be the same - or as fun - had the hero been Superman or anyone else.

Rocksteady combed through everything that makes Batman such an icon. His ability to instill fear in criminals, his incredible athletic ability, and most of all, his unmatched detective skills. The Caped Crusader's keen intellect and problem-solving ability is pivotal to the game's progression, and there are dozens of side riddles (guess who from!) that need them as well. What makes it all so incredible is that you the player are the one using those (i.e. your) skills, which brings the level of connection to character to a level never before seen.

This connection goes beyond just the plot and is actually central to the gameplay itself. A tap of the left bumper brings up Detective Mode, which turns everything a light shade of blue and allows otherwise overlooked things to come to light by turning them bronze. Moreover, certain clues, such as DNA trails, are only visible this way. A down side is that you'll spend most of the game seeing everything in blue, but that's because you're scouring every corner of the ancient and decrepit Asylum to find a trophy or riddle you missed. And air ducts. Lots and lots of air ducts.

Add to it all the jaw-dropping visuals, butter-smooth gameplay, upgradeable abilities and gadgets, and some awesome voice work (Mark Hamill as Joker, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn!), and you have what is simply the best comic game ever made. It all comes together so well that you're even able to forgive the weak plot. Suffice it to say that the Joker takes over Arkham in order to release an army of mutant monsters. Bane, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, and a few others are on the loose and need taking down before Batman can tackle the Clown Prince of Crime himself. It's not very deep, but the acting is superb, and Arkham is just so massive that you'll forget the storyline completely.

Arkham's huge size is a major plus, as the several buildings that sprawl across the compound will need to be revisited several times to access new areas and find new data on the inhabitants. The whole game itself is quite long for an action title, and there are even unlockable challenge areas to finish off after you're done with the main quest. They even have online leaderboards!

Simply put, Batman: Arkham Asylum is the game to own this year. I bought the Xbox 360 version, though I've heard conflicting reports that the Playstation 3 version looks better. That one also has exclusive Joker challenge levels that can be downloaded for free from the Playstation Store. I got mine at Gamestop, so I at least have the Scarecrow's challenges to play. Whichver version you choose, you simply cannot go wrong. This is the game you show to anyone who knocks this generation of consoles. It doesn't get any better than this...

... unless we get a sequel!

Houston: We Have Policenauts!

My god, this was so much easier than I had thought. After a good friend of mine hooked me up with a pre-patched file, it was a simple task of extracting the file and burning both ISOs to two CDs. I popped the first disc into my modded PSone (for imports; I don't pirate), and it booted just fine. I can now play Policenauts in English.

The voice overs are still in Japanese, but who cares when you have beautiful English subtitles? I can't comment yet on the overall quality of the translation, as I've been busy with other games and haven't sat down with it completely, but this week that will change. I've been staring at my Japanese copy of the game for years, and now I can finally enjoy it!

Those who don't have a modded console can play the game just fine via emulator, and while it's not on actual hardware, it's better than never being able to enjoy Policenauts at all. You can find the patch at The Policenauts Translation Project, so grab it and enjoy all the hard work these good folks put into this translation.

Policenauts! In English!

It only took a bit more than a decade, but Konami's spiritual successor to the classic Snatcher is finally available in English via a fan-made patch courtesy of the good folks over at Policenauts.net. Since Konami itself obviously couldn't be bothered to give the game the props it deserves and make it available to English-speaking audiences, some diehard fans thankfully took it upon themselves to translate Hideo Kojima's overlooked two-disc classic.

The only problem I find with the whole scenario is the actual patching process. I've never been very good at such things, and this kind of endeavor intimidates me quite a bit. My quest to finally play Ys IV on my Turbo Duo took me an entire night to complete, and the first time I soft modded my Xbox took almost as long. Hacking, modding, and patching are things best left to others with more skills.

Thankfully, a good friend of mine already patched his and set me up with a pre-patched copy that is currently being downloaded. Hopefully, this should set me on the right path, and I will soon be enjoying this great game in English!

More news when the downloadand install is complete!

A Look at Sega.com from 1997

Web Archive is an incredible site and virtually the only one trying to preserve the websites of yesteryear for posterity. Recently, someone over at the Digital Press forums looked up Sega's site from 1997. It's there almost in its entirety, and it has some really cool images! Check it out here.

Laziness Wins Again, It Would Seem...

Whoah, three months since my last post! I guess no matter how hard one tries to maintain a blog, time is always the winner. I really want to keep this thing going, and I won't go into the lame "real life messed me up" spiel. Suffice it to say that Sega-16 is really keeping me busy, but that's a good thing, right? I've been meaning to write for it more - or at least as much as a job and two children will let me, so my distraction there isn't entirely without merit.

And what writing I have been doing! My latest article will be up in two weeks, and it sheds some interesting relevations on the whole Sonic The Hedgehog 3/Michael Jackson urban legend. It's a lengthy piece, and it features new quotes from former Sega alumni that were given specifically for this article, including a new one from former SOA head Tom Kalinske.

I guess that no matter how much time I try to devote to other hobbies (like blogging), Sega-16 will always be the thing that takes the lion's share of my online time. I'll just try to share it here with the two of you that actually read - or used to read - this thing!

Getting Your Money's Worth

Recently, I purchased The Maw for Xbox Live Arcade. The demo was quite charming, and I was eager to have a new game to play on the platformer-starved Xbox 360. From first glance, one could tell that The Maw had some exceptional production values, and the characters were endearing and attractive. Eagerly, I paid my 800 MS points ($10) and got to playing. Three hours later, I had beaten the game with 100% completion and all but one of the achievements.

Needless to say, I felt cheated.

I know the whole "games are expensive to make!" argument. I hear it every time someone complains of a game being too short, easy, etc. I could probably stomach such talk when it involves some forty-hour epic that enthralls you for hours each time you play. The Maw, sadly, is the exact opposite. Its paltry eight levels can be beaten with 100% completion in under three hours, and once you finish the game, there's no reason at all to go back. None of the stages are particularly clever in design, and there are no secrets, extra items, or anything of the sort to find. You literally see EVERYTHING on your first playthrough. Even the achievements (save one that requires you to play at four separate times in a day) can all be done in one sitting. Hardly worth the purchase price.

Even worse, developer Twisted Pixel has now announced that it will be selling three additional levels via Xbox Live for a hundred points each. This gives the impression that almost a third of the game was left behind to inflate the replay value of what would otherwise be a "play once and toss" affair. Such nickel-and-dime tactics really annoy me, and I won't b buying the levels, achievements included or not.

So what excuse is there now? The game is short, not particularly deep or involving, and a third of it was withheld to be sold separately. Should I just throw up my arms and say "what do you expect for $10?" No, I should be annoyed that the demo, which was so enticing and enjoyable, failed to show a game that was all flash and no substance. The latter, it would seem, comes for an extra price.

If a developer can't afford to release a game, perhaps it's best that nothing should be released at all. I don't want to be sold part of a game now and then have to buy the rest little by little. Why not just sell the whole thing for $15, like Castle Crashers (a much better value and game overall)? I really liked The Maw, and my anger mostly stems from being denied more of it for the price. Platformers are traditionally not as deep as most other genres, and a lack of length can outright kill one after the initial novelty has worn off.

Interviewed during the game's development, Mike Henry of Twisted Pixels commented on what distinguishes The Maw from other games. "The big thing we wanted to push with it was personality. So, I would say that even over and above the actual mechanics of the game and all that, we wanted to make sure it was a memorable experience for the players because they got attached to the characters, and they wanted to know more about the characters, and would be sad when the game was over because they don’t get to continue the adventure with the characters anymore."

He was right, in a sense. I did get attached to the characters and was sad when the game ended. Unfortunately, that was because the game was over by the time I really got to like them.

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Japan Sucks

This past holiday season was spent playing - and beating - Infinite Undiscovery, a cookie-cutter JRPG that was fun, if you still like that sort of game. Since I've been playing them so long, I can still enjoy the clichéd and boring characters, random battles, tedious grinding, and stale plot. The Xbox 360 has received some choice selections over the past year or so, but lately I've found myself wondering just how much longer I can stand the genre.

Dragon Quest VIII was a great game, filled with awesome visuals and a huge and interesting world. With that in mind, I dove head-first into Blue Dragon, and I still haven't been able to wash the taste from my mouth. The game itself wasn't that bad, but the achievement distribution was simply horrible. Now, I'm something of an achievement whore (check my gamercard on the right!), and I find them to be neat little ways to entice me to get as much out of a game as possible. That is, when they're done right. Some games, like the recently-beaten Assassin's Creed, had them well distributed, in ways that didn't force players too hard to find them but that weren't obtuse either. Blue Dragon threw all that completely out the window and offered achievements that were downright stupid. For example, you beat the game with your characters at around level 62, but the game has achievements for leveling up each character to level 99. Why? Why on Earth would I spend hours grinding over 30 more levels for a 15 point achievement, especially when it has no bearing on the game itself?

Eternal Sonata, another JRPG and one with perhaps the most obnoxious character designs I've ever seen (I hate you Beat, HATE YOU!), is just as guilty. There are music sheets to be collected, and some don't appear until your second playthrough. WTF? I have to play the whole game from scratch a second time just to get some dumb papers? Why?

Most recently, Infinite Undiscovery hit the stupid ball out of the park. An awesomee game with some bland character designs, it too has a multiple playthrough achievement, but even Eternal Sonata has to stand back and say "DAMN!" at just how stupid it is. Check this out: you have to play through the whole game THREE times to get a special boss in a dungeon that's half a dozen levels long with no save. And the achievement for beating her?

Worth a single point. Yep, 1 measly point.

There are other moronic grinding achievements as well, but this one just takes the cake. I beat the game and did maybe one or two more before quitting, and I'll never go back to finish up the achievements in any of these games. With Lost Odyssey sitting on my shelf, waiting for some playtime, I'm loathe to check its achievement list for fear of being assaulted with yet more stupidity.

It's now well known that Japan is about a decade behind the West in game design. Must it lag in achievement distribution too?

Kickin' ASSassin's Creed

I bought this one a while ago pretty cheap, and it's been sitting on my shelf, mired in my Pile of Shame (more like Heap 'O Humiliation) for months. After finally beating Infinite Undiscovery, I decided to tackle it, and I must admit, this game is awesome. The combat is a little hit-or-miss (ha!), but the ambiance is spot-on, and the cities are simply gorgeous and alive. Seriously, I think Grand Theft Auto IV is the only other game I've seen that has been able to bring a major metropolis to life so truly realized. Everything is just stunning, and each of the three cities have a life of their own. There's also no end to the fun of tossing guards off of rooftops!

I'm almost done (just some flag achievements left to mop up), and I can say that I eagerly await the sequel. Ubi Soft has a habit of releasing some great-but-glitchy games, and Assassin's Creed is par for the course, but rest assured that I will definitely wet my blade with the blood of the guilty once more when the sequel finally comes out.

In other news, I recently started freelancing for The Next Level, an enthusiast site much like GotNext was, but much older and larger in size. Chris "bahn" Scantleberry enticed me to write again by dangling under my nose the sweet carrot that is Saints Row 2, as well as the latest Spyro game for the kiddies. Check out the review to see why you should definitely pick up Volition Inc.'s latest and greatest game.

Xbox 360 = On Fire

Not literally, mind you, although with the sorry state of Microsoft's hardware these days, one actually catching fire wouldn't be much of a stretch. No, I'm referring to its incredible lineup of software that has dragged me away from my blog for most of the past two months. Look at that - a single entry in the entire month of October! I guess it's not surprising, as games like Rock Band 2, Mega Man 9, Castle Crashers, and Fable II all have my undivided attention whenever I get the chance to boot the system up. Many of the games I'm playing are multi-platform, of course, but my 360 gets the love due to its seamless online capabilities and achievements.

November seems to be continuing the trend too, with Gears of War 2 and Fallout 3. The former is an awesome sequel that ups the amount of players for online co-op from two to five and adds an awesome horde (read: survival) mode. The latter? Well, lets just imagine Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in a post-apocalyptic Washington DC. I've poured over fifty hours into this one already, and alternating between it and Gears 2 (whose campaign I completed with a friend in an all-nighter), I'm set for the rest of the month.

Oh, did I mention that I've received a review copy of Legend of Wukong from Super Fighter Team, which gives Sega-16 the world's first review of it? Heh, another game to add to my play list, and an RPG at that!

So if you don't see me as much, it's because I'm doing what most game writers should be doing: playing games.

Happy 20th Birthday, Sega Genesis!

This Wednesday, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of that greatest of consoles, the Sega Genesis. It's been a long road full of great games and big pot holes, but the Genesis fan base is still alive and kicking.

More so than those other 16-bit consoles, the Genesis is still at the forefront of gaming news as well, thanks to the efforts of some talented and dedicated fans. Two decades after its initial release in Japan, Sega's most successful hardware is still quite alive and well. For example, this December Genesis owners get not one, but two new games in the forms of Legend of Wukong from Super Fighter Team (the fine folks who brought us Beggar Prince) and Pier Solar & the Great Architects from Watermelon Development. It's incredible that we're anticipating two new titles for a console that was officially discontinued by Sega a decade ago. Who said all good things had to come to an end?

Yes, the Genesis is still going strong, and Sega-16 is going to be right there to celebrate its big day. That's why we've prepared something special for our readers this week! In addition to our regular dual review updates on Monday and Thursday, we have three features and a video archive update for them as well! This is what we have on tap:

• Double Take: Altered Beast: The one that started it all, Altered Beast was a title that played a pivotal role in the early success of the Genesis. Though many gamers today are quick to dismiss its easy and repetitive gameplay, the first 16-bit cartridge did much more than offer Genesis owners a free game with their new consoles; it proved that the next generation in gaming had truly arrived.
• Stories from the Book of Genesis: Good Night Victoria: There's nothing more loyal than a model 1 Genesis, and losing one is always a sad thing. Follow one gamer's experience with his from its birth to its final resting place in this heartwarming tale of a console that gave until the bitter end. It's a a tear-jerker!
• Reader Roundtable: Launch Edition: What a better way to wrap up the week than by letting our own readers and forum members chime in with their own launch experiences? Everyone remembers where they were the day they got their Genesis - it's a day you never forget, like when JFK was killed or 9/11. Yes, the day that big, black box came home is one you never forget, and our readers will tell us what that special day was like!

If that's not enough, we'll have almost a half dozen new video spots for your perusal in the Video Archive, adding to our already impressive collection of well over a hundred videos. This is a week to remember friends, so check back daily. Heck, why not just leave your PC on all week?

Rock Band 2 Get!

I loved the original Rock Band. I even bought the drums! What I didn't like was that the World Tour mode was only available in multi-player. I can't have people over constantly to play, and my daughter still doesn't know how to play the game (she bangs the hell out of those drum sticks though), so I'm left with a lot of time to play on my own. In order to complete the tour, I had to plug in a second a controller and sing and play guitar simultaneously. This was pretty easy - when you knew the song. Nothing was more frustrating than doing three songs out of a set of four, only to have that fourth song be some eight minute nightmare from the '70s that I'd never heard before. Eventually, I passed the tour, but there's no way I can finish all the venues, because I simply cannot sing and play guitar together on hard.

Thankfully, Harmonix made the tour online in the sequel. Now, I can play bass the whole way through, or even jump around on drums and guitar whenever I get the urge. For points, I can always hit up someone on my friends list to play with me. My band, The Also-Rans, is currently third on my list, with over 600,000 fans. Soon, immortality will be mine!

I love this game, plain and simple. All my downloadable content from the first is useable here, and for a paltry $5, you can rip all the songs from the original disc to your hard drive and use them. How awesome is that? I'm not buying the new drum kit, but I think I might invest in a new guitar. My Guitar Hero II one has a loose whammy bar, and it sucks to have the thing drop down and hit you in your hand while you're playing.

So if you see me online and want to jam, just send me an invite and we can rock the house!

Thoughts on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

One of my primary reasons for getting a Playstation 3 was to play Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It seemed like a great blending of Tomb Raider and Kill.Switch, with lots of action and adverturing. As it turns out, it does indeed live up to its potential.

I'm a little late to the game with this one, I know. I only got my PS3 about a month ago, so I still have a lot of catching up to do. Uncharted doesn't seem to be a long game (I've heard that it's quite short, actually), so this is my game for the weekend. The recent patch for trophy support is nice, and I can now pursue my trophy whoring with confidence!

The first thing that hit me was just how great Uncharted looks. This game is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm playing on an SDTV. I can only imagine how good it looks in HD, and I'll soon find out once my check from GamesTM ever gets here so I can buy one. The environments are beautiful, and the water effects are spectacular (Drake's soaked look when wet is great). Naughty Dog provided PS3 owners with a great showcase of the console's power with this one. I especially loved the Spanish fort area. Puerto Rico is chock-full of those, and it was great to see such wonderful architecture used in a video game!

I have only a few issues with the gameplay, which while great, could be a bit tighter. The cover system is a bit cumbersome sometimes, and moving from a high to a crouching position in a single movement isn't as smooth as it should be. Shooting from the hip is more trouble than it's worth too, especially when headshots are as easy as they are fun. Fisticuffs are awkward at times, but I hardly ever found myself in the need to punch someone when ammunition was so plentiful.

I haven't finished the game yet, but I can honestly say that it made my Playstation 3 purchase worth it. This is exactly the type of game I like, and it's got a great story and awesome visuals to go with the solid gameplay. If you've got Sony's latest console and still don't have Uncharted, I strongly urge you to pick it up.

Wii Out

It's gone. Sold. Out of my life. I no longer own a Wii.

And you know what? I don't miss it. I know there are a handful of games I enjoyed, and that there are a few others out there that I might like, but I just don't have the interest in Nintendo's latest license to print money. This year's E3 was enough to show me that the company no longer has my tastes in mind, and it's since moved on to another audience entirely. That's fine, as I know every company is in this business to make money. Nintendo's got a good thing going, and it's going to milk the hell out of it.

By the same token, I too have a right to search other options, and that's exactly what I did. The same day I sold my entire Wii package (with the exception of Super Mario Galaxy), I waltzed over to Wal-Mart and bought a Playstation 3. I was lucky enough to snag one of the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundles, so I got a backwards-compatible console with the Dual Shock 3 controller, and it all came with a great game to boot. A few days later, Mario was gone in trade-in, and I now own Motorstorm and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. A pretty good start, if I do say so myself.

It all comes down to personal taste. The Playstation 3 doesn't have a ton of games I want right now, but it has more potential for me than the Wii does. I now have a Blu-Ray player and a console that has some excellent titles in the pipeline, and the Playstation Store has a ton of goodies that I'll be trying out. Super Stardust HD is awesome (not as good as Geometry Wars Evolved 2, but awesome nonetheless), and the current library has a few titles that should keep me busy for a while, so the console is going to get its share of play time.

The Wii, on the other hand, seems to be made with my five year-old daughter in mind, and virtually nothing announced interests me at all. Mad, Mad World looks great, but that's just a single game for the next twelve months, and none of the music, gardening, teeth-cleaning games Nintendo's announced move me in the slightest. The weak future schedule only reaffirms my belief that the Wii is not made for me, so I've opted for a console that is.

Many people love the Wii, and that's fine. The library has to appeal to someone, suppose, but it certainly does nothing for me. Reggie's pompous announcement that Animal Crossing is all the "core" gaming I'll ever need proves that Nintendo and I have parted ways. Moreover, the House of Mario recently stated that none of its "core" titles will be ready for 2009, which means that my dollars will be spent elsewhere.

I may still get a DS sometime in the future, but I think I've just sold my last Nintendo console. The weirdest thing is that I'm not bothered by that fact at all.

I guess Nintendo's not the only one that's moved on.