• Tag Archives Game Gear

  • Sega Visions (June/July 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    sega_visions_1993_june_july_001

    Source: Sega Visions (June/July 1993)

    Sega Visions was more or less Sega’s answer to Nintendo Power. It was the official Sega magazine though I don’t recall seeing it on store shelves. It may have only been widely available as a subscription. Generally, you could get a free trial subscription by sending in a registration for a Sega product. In 1993 the Sega Genesis, Sega CD and Game Gear were being covered. The June/July 1993 issue includes:

    • Say What?…Overheard at Sega – Time Warner forms agreement with Sega to distribute Genesis games via cable; Genesis is number one selling toy for December 1992; new Sonic pinball game in development; Sega announces upcoming release of Aladdin on the Genesis; Valiant and Image “Deathmate” announced; and more.
    • Yo Sega! – Questions and comments from readers about “blast processing”, Sonic 2 giveaway with Genesis, details about Conic, Tails and Robotnik, the Game Genie, Sega Genesis power draw, connecting a Game Gear to a TV, and more.

    Sega Game Features

    • Jurassic Park for Genesis – A preview of the upcoming Jurassic Park game for the Genesis that is based on the, at the time, still upcoming movies.
    • The Making of Jurassic Park – A look at all that went into making the game from learning about dinosaurs to creating animation sequences of animals that no longer exist to creating the backgrounds and more.
    • Sneak Peeks
      • Joe Montana’s NFL Football CD – A football game with a behind the quarterback 3D view for the Sega CD.
      • Mad Dog McRee CD – A light gun game for the Sega CD based on the arcade game from American Laser Games.
    • Sega CD Software
      • Terminator – This CD enhanced action game is based on the original Terminator movie.
      • Dracula – This game is based on the Bram Stoker’s Dracula movie and includes digitized graphics, 3D effects and CD quality sound and music. Mostly the game plays as a side-scrolling beat-’em-up.
      • Ecco the Dolphin – There was also a cartridge version of this game but the CD version adds five new levels and some additions to the other levels as well. It also adds “3-D” stereo sound.
      • Final Fight – Another formerly cartridge only game that has some significant enhancements in the CD version, including a two-player simultaneous mode, new areas and stereo sound.

    Just Review It Genesis

    • Shining Force – This is really a must play game for those who are fans of the Genesis and RPGs.
    • Cool SPOT – While the advertising theme and character (7-Up’s Spot) seems odd, this platform game is one of the relatively few licensed games that are any good.
    • Jungle Strike – The sequel to Desert Strike. The Strike series in general was an excellent series of overhead shooter games.
    • Mig 29 Fighter Pilot – Not a bad simulator but I always though these kinds of games played better on the PC for a variety of reasons. More powerful hardware and better controller options come to mind.
    • F-15 Strike Eagle II – The Genesis really did have some of the best sims of any game console. However, still better on a PC.
    • Puggsy – A humorous side-scrolling platform game from Psygnosis.
    • B.O.B. – A sci-fi themed platform game in which you play the role of an android that has crash-landed and must escape the planet he is on.
    • Rocket Knight Adventures – A platform action/adventure game featuring a space age opossum.
    • R.B.I. ’93 – The Genesis was known for its excellent sports games. This baseball game is one of those.
    • Wrath of the Gods – A PC port, this one seems very much like Populous.
    • Thomas the Tank Engine – An educational game for the kids featuring Thomas and friends.

    Just Review It Game Gear

    • Dracula – The Game Gear version isn’t quite as impressive as the Sega CD version but it is a reasonable approximation.
    • Tengen World Cup Soccer – A decent portable soccer game.
    • Hook – The Game Gear does a reasonable job with this movie based platform game that was also released on the Genesis and Sega CD.
    • Jeopardy – Featuring a digitized Alex Trebec and over 400 categories, this is a pretty good home version of the game. The only downside is having to spell out answers with the D-Pad.
    • W.W.F. Steel Cage Challenge – I don’t think this kind of game works particularly well on a small screen but it isn’t terrible and you have to give it nostalgia points if you are a WWF fan.

    Sega Visions Features

    • Sonic Comic – A mini comic-book featuring Sonic.
    • Game on Tap – More on the new Sega Channel. The initial line-up of games is supposed to feature a constantly rotating line-up of games.
    • Chakan and Green Dog: Behind the Scenes – An interview with the creator of the Chakan comic book and the Chakan game producer. Likewise, there is a brief interview with the Greendog character creator and the Greendog game producer.
    • Sega Visionaries – Hints, tips, codes, passwords, etc. for various games, including Road Rash 2, Toe Jam & Earl, Chuck Rock, Joe Montana ’93, Sonic 2, Greendog, Ecco the Dolphin, and more.
    • Totally Sonic – An overview of some of the many Sonic products available from trading cards and board games to kites and underwear and much more.
    • Fast Takes – Brief game reviews for LaRussa Baseball (Genesis), Hook (Genesis), King of the Monsters (Genesis), Bulls vs Blazers (Genesis), Toys (Genesis), Journey From Darkness: Strider Returns (Genesis), Paperboy (Game Gear), Pacific Theater of Operations (Genesis), Wolfchild (Genesis), Chester Cheetah (Genesis), Championship Bowling (Genesis), Blaster Master 2 (Genesis), Dracula (Genesis), Crash Dummies (Game Gear), and Arch Rivals (Game Gear).
    • Power Shopper – A list of games, systems, and accessories available directly from Sega.
    • Incoming! – A list of games being released over the coming months. A few of the titles listed include Chester Cheetah (Genesis), Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister 6 (Game Gear), Batman Returns (Sega CD), B.O.B. (Genesis), Crash Dummies (Game Gear), Spider-Man (Sega CD), Dracula (Genesis), Bart vs. World (Game GEar), and Terminator (Sega CD) but there are many more.

    …and more!


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  • Ecco: The Tides of Time

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    After Ecco 1 I was hoping the difficulty would be toned down for the sequel. There’s still intensely punishing levels, autoscrollers, instant death traps, etc. And they didn’t learn their lesson of adding checkpoints as the original game’s CD edition did; they made a new kind of checkpoint glyph but it’s only in two levels. Even so, it is a little easier to get through and stands as a worthy sequel with many new and fun kinds of challenges throughout.

    As before, you play as a dolphin in a 2D sidescroller setting, and you use your dolphin skills of aquatic movement and sonar to interact with your oceanic environment. Again as before, things get weird quickly as you are contacted by your descendant and taken to the future, then the present, then a dark alternate future, and finally you stop the alien menace from the first game from colonising Earth. There’s even an unexpected epilogue chapter that revisits Atlantis from the first game and wraps up the story with some appropriately trippy and expectation-confounding exposition.

    All the while you’re treated to the kind of New-Age aesthetics that made the first game so appealing. At times you feel like you’re swimming through a Yes album cover, and the soundtrack shifts from mellow to hard prog rock stylings. I played the Mega Drive version; the CD port has a new Redbook soundtrack, but I wanted to give Sega’s hardware the chance to wow me with an effective use of its sound chip after hearing other games’ farty, flat tunes; I’m glad to say it didn’t disappoint. (The only other addition for the CD release are some FMVs that retell the first game, so it’s not essential to play that version this time around.)

    This sequel expands on the formula of the first game, introducing many new kinds of challenges and mechanics. Not all of them work; the transformations are interesting breaks but less fun than playing as a dolphin, there are some very long fetch quest levels, the early high-flying water tube levels are tediously difficult to get right, and the 3D scrolling transition segments are unnecessary. But most of the time you’re playing a slightly improved Ecco 1, and then there’s great new stuff like the anti-gravity mechanised tubes of the dark future. Small touches like the ability to flop on land or the powerful all-around sonar attack make life easier too.

    As with the first game, I played the 8-bit conversion as well. The Game Gear port got a wide distribution, but the technically superior Master System port (the larger screen is greatly to be preferred) was made only for the Brazilian market, since the console remained relevant there for many years after fading in the rest of the world. So I played in Portugese, which is not ideal but I played it alongside the 16-bit version so I didn’t feel I missed any plot. It’s an odd duck; many of the more memorable setpieces could not make the conversion to the less powerful engine, so there’s some reused content from the first game to make up for it, and of course block-pushing puzzles return. It retains some small improvements such as the health clams refilling your air as well, and key glyphs changing colour when activating (these were in Ecco 1 SMS too but I didn’t mention them!). But anyway the clams aren’t in the 16-bit sequel… getting off track here… All the same comments I made for Ecco 1 8-bit apply here, but more is lost in the conversion and strangely enough the order of some bits is all mixed around. More so than the first game, this port can be skipped but it’s still a fun curiosity.

    On the surface Ecco 2 doesn’t seem like it was necessary, but it really was a joy to deepen the world of this little dolphin and the overwhelming strangeness of his life, and to revisit the mechanics and see them improved and built on. The story is more complex, which is a good and bad thing as it becomes confusing but also makes the evil aliens more sympathetic. It also jumps into the strangeness more rapidly, whereas I liked the gradually unfolding sci-fi craziness of the first game. But if you bought into the first game even a little bit (play the CD version), then you absolutely should play the sequel as well.

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/161269522817/ecco-the-tides-of-time-smdsms

    Ecco: The Tides of Time was the sequel to Ecco the Dolphin and was released for the Sega Genesis and Sega CD in 1994. The CD and cartridge versions are not hugely different but the CD version adds a new soundtrack and a few other small touches that make it worthwhile if you have the Sega CD. There was also a Game Gear version but it was significantly different with a number of levels removed completely. There was a Brazil only release for the Sega Master System that was somewhat better than the Game Gear version.

    The Ecco series is quite unique and it seems as if people either love it or hate it. It is a somewhat surreal game with the player controlling a dolphin that ultimately ends up saving the world from aliens. It can be a difficult and lengthy game but worth it for those that have the patience. The game was re-released on Wii’s Virtual Console in 2007.





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  • Sega Visions magazine (1990)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    The premiere issue of Sega Visions

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/155070737979/caterpie-sega-visions-magazine-1990






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