• Tag Archives Sega

  • GamePro (April 1999)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – April 1999

    GamePro wasn’t my personal favorite gaming magazine but there is no doubt it was one of the most popular. It seemed to be targeted towards a younger or at least less mature audience. Like most others, it didn’t survive the transition into the new millenia very well. The April 1999 issue includes:

    Features

    • Soul Reaver: Kain’s Legacy – A feature on Soul Reaver: Legacy of Kain, and adventure game for the PlayStation that became one of the most popular games on that platform.
    • LamePro! – LamePro was a periodic parody that GamePro did of itself. This issue contains reviews of games like Rouge Squadron and Saddam’s Command and Cower plus parody ads, news and more.

    ProStrategy Section

    • NetPro ProStrategy: The Beginner’s Guide to EverQuest, Part III – For a long time Everquest was, by far, the most popular MMORPG.
    • Role-Player’s Realm ProStrategy: Brave Fencer Musashi, Part 3 – A strategy guide that takes you through the last half of Brave Fencer Musashi for the PlayStation.
    • ProStrategy Guide: Drac’s Back in Castlevania – A strategy guide for Castelvania on the Nintendo 64.
    • The Fighter’s Edge: Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter – A guide to all the moves in one of Capcom’s classic fighters on the PlayStation, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter.
    • S.W.A.T. Pro – Codes and tips for a variety of games including Oddworld: Abe’s Exxodus (PlayStation), Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (Nintendo 64), South Park (Nintendo 64), Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside (Nintendo 64), Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (Nintendo 64), BattleTanx (Nintendo 64), Glover (Nintendo 64), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (PlayStation), WCW/NWO Thunder (PlayStation), and many others.

    Sneak Previews & ProReviews

    • Sneak Previews – An early look at games in development including Street Fighter Alpha 3, Quake II, Gauntlet Legends, Beetle Adventure Racing, Driver, Smash Brothers, Soul of the Samurai, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Ace Combat 3 Electrosphere, and Shen Mue.
    • PlayStation ProReviews – Reviews of Silent Hill, Rollcage, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, K-1 Revenge, Street Sk8er, Rush Down, WCW/NWO Thunder, Sports Car GT, and Blast Radius.
    • Nintendo 64 ProReviews – Reviews of Vigilante V8, Mario Party, and California Speed.
    • Dreamcast ProReviews – A review of the Japanese version of Sonic Adventure.
    • PC GamePro – A review of Baldur’s Gate (one of my personal favorites), plus reviews of Tribes and Myth II and a look at the contents of gamepro.com.
    • Sports Pages – A preview of All-Star Baseball 2000 for the Nintendo 64, a review of Triple Play 2000 for the PlayStation, a preview of MLB 2000 for the PlayStation, a review of Baseball 2000 for the PlayStation and a review of Triple Play 2000 for the PlayStation.
    • Role-Player’s Realm – Preview of Legend of Legaia for the PlayStation and a strategy guide for Brave Fencer Musashi.

    Departments

    • Head2Head – Letter from the editor about playing games and having fun plus letters from readers bout Xeongears, Thrill Kill, Parasite Eve’s mature rating, and more.
    • Art Attack – Fan art from readers including subject such as Oddworld, Zelda and more.
    • Buyers Beware – “Chipping” your PlayStation, Nintendo 64 Expansion Pak and heat, and using 3rd party controllers on the PlayStation.
    • ProNews – EA developing Medal of Honor; Tiger Woods ’99 recalled; Midway announces initial line-up of games for the Dreamcast which includes NFL Blitz 2000, Hydro Thunder, a couple of Mortal Kombat games, Paperboy, Smash TV. Satan’s Hollow, Toobin’ and more; Steve Jobs commits to making the Mac a great gaming platform and the new G3 will run Quake 3 and a PlayStation emulator;

    …and more!


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  • Edge (August 1996)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Edge – Issue Number 35 – August 1996

    Edge was more or less the U.K.’s version of Next Generation and in fact they shared content. It covered what were considered “next generation” systems at the time. In 1996 that included the PlayStation, Sega Saturn, the PC, arcade games and the brand new Nintendo 64. The August 1996 issue includes:

    Features

    • CodeMasters – A visit to CodeMasters’ studio, their history, recent and upcoming games, and more.
    • JoyPads – The past, present and future of video game controllers. From the Atari 2600 joystick, to the Power Glove, to the latest analog controllers and more.
    • Nintendo 64 – Sold out in Japan while the rest of the world awaits its release. A look at the system, controller, and first games, including Super Mario 64.

    Regulars

    • News – Coverage of the Nintendo 64 release in Japan; the latest rumor on M2 hardware; Sega dominates the Tokyo Toy Show with the Saturn; a look at the BeBox, the “Amiga of the nineties”; and more.
    • Netview – Apple focuses on the Internet promising that by the end of 1996, all Macs will ship with at least 12MB RAM standard and the Apple Internet Connection Kit containing the latest versions of Netscape and more.
    • Gaming Essay – The way games ought to be as related by Chris Crawford. Here, Doom II is used as an example, both good and bad.
    • ProFile – A look at Naughty Dog software, and Andrew Graham, lead programmer at CodeMasters.
    • An Audience With – An interview with Anil Malhotra, business development manager at Millennium Interactive.
    • Prescreen – A preview of The City of Lost Children by Psygnosis for the PlayStation based on the movie of the same name. Plus previews of The Darkening by EA for the PC, Pandemonium by Crystal Dynamics for the PlayStation, NiGHTS by Sega for the Saturn, Crash Bandicoot by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation, Quake by id for the PC, Fighting Vipers by Sega for the Saturn, Battle Arena Nitoushiden by Takara for the PlayStation, Virtua Cop 2 by Sega for the Saturn, and more.
    • Testscreen – Reviews of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, PilotWings 64 for the Nintendo 64, Motor Toon GP2 for the PlayStation, Choro Q for the PlayStation, and Actua Golf for the PlayStation.
    • Multimedia – Reviews of the books The Road Ahead by Bill Gates and Takedown by Tsutormu Shimomura with John Markoff, the anime Sukeban Deka (part 1) by A.D. Vision, Book of Shadows CD-ROM for the Macintosh, the Apple Message Pad 130, the JVC GR-DV1 video camera, Game Boy Pocket, and more.
    • CGIview – A look at digitally created art by the leading graphic artists behind some of the best looking video games. Plus a look at SoftImage, a rendering package.
    • Arcadeview – A look at some of the most recent arcade games including Last Bronx by Sega, Xevious 3D/G by Namco, Gunblade by Sega, Decathlete by Sega, and Dunk Mania by Namco.
    • Retroview – A look at some recent collections of older games, including Irem Arcade Classics, Sega Ages, Bubble Bobble Collection, Namco Museum Vol. 4 and Super Pang Collection.
    • Letters – Letters from readers about game reviews, Destiny and turn-based gaming vs. real-time, Acorn RISC machines, Grand Prix 2, the Nintendo 64 and more.
    • Over the Edge – The after parties of E3.

    …and more!


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  • Sonic Spinball (Sega Genesis, 1993)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/701929232243294208/duwango-sonic-spinball

    Soinc Spinball was a spin-off (no pun intended?) of the regular Sonic series on the Genesis. It was released late in 1993 between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 and featured Sonic as the ball in a pinball themed game. This game was mainly developed as a stop gap to have a Sonic game available for the holidays since Sonic 3 was not going to be completed in time.

    The control scheme is somewhat unique in that in addition to more conventional pinball physics, you can also control Sonic’s direction while in motion. Due to the speed and limited visibility, this could be difficult. However, considering the game only had a two-month development cycle it was pretty impressive and a decent game overall. Graphics, sound and music were all pretty much up to the standard of other Sonic games and while the control scheme wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t terrible either. There are four different levels which you can more or less think of as four different pinball tables, in addition to bonus levels and mini games.

    The goal of Sonic Spinball is pretty much the same as any Sonic game in that you have to defeat Doctor Robotnik and his minions. One interesting item is that this game is the only one set in the Sonic animated universe, not that that really impacts the game much other than the story continuity is a little different. You must collect all of the Chaos Emeralds scattered throughout the various levels and defeat the four bosses to win the game.

    Despite a few problems, the game got mixed but mostly positive reviews. If you like Sonic and you like pinball then it is definitely a game to try. However, the control scheme can definitely put pinball purists off and if you are just a fan of the Sonic platform games and not of pinball then there isn’t much to like here, despite the Sonic theme. In any case I think it is worth trying.

    If you do want to give it a try then there are a variety of ways to play it. In addition to the Genesis release, there was also a Game Gear and Sega Master System release the following year. In addition, the Genesis version was released as part of the Sonic Mega Collection on the GameCube, PS2, Xbox and PC, as part of Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection for the Xbox 360 and PS3, on Wii’s Virtual Console, and via Steam and Nintendo Switch Online. The Game Gear version was an unlockable game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut for the GameCube and PC and was released as part of the Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PS2. In addition to the original on the Genesis, any of the re-release versions are fine but the Genesis based ones will be better than ones based on the Game Gear version.


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