• Tag Archives Sega

  • Maximum – Issue Number 1 – 1995

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Computer & Video Game Magazines – Maximum – Issue Number 1 – 1995

    Maximum covered what at the time were “next generation” systems, including the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, 3DO, Neo Geo, and PC among other systems. Maximum was published in the U.K. but was very similar to Next Generation which was published in the U.S. In fact they were sister magazines and shared some content. The premiere issue of Maximum from 1995 includes:

    Extended Play

    • Wipeout – The cover story this month includes coverage of Wipeout, a futuristic racer for the PlayStation. I remember really wanting this game and did eventually get the PC version. My PC at the time (a 486 DX2/66) met the minimum requirements but really wasn’t fast enough to run it smoothly. I was a bit disappointed with this game. While it was graphically impressive and did a great job of presenting the illusion of speed, I thought games like F-Zero were more fun.
    • Tekken 2 – 3D fighters were all the rage (I STILL prefer 2D) and Tekken 2 was the latest arcade fighter from Namco. Tekken was a PlayStation franchise too so it would find its way there soon.
    • Kabuki Klash – Neo Geo’s latest arcade fighter at the time. They had tons of 2D fighters and while some were better than others, I don’t know that any of them were bad. This one is anime themed. The great thing about the Neo Geo of course is that an arcade version automatically meant a home version…if you had the money.
    • Air Combat – An early air combat simulator for the PlayStation. This was really as much an arcade game as a simulator resembling games like Space Harrier to some degree. I guess it could be thought of as a simplified simulator.
    • Street Fighter Alpha – “The best Street Fighter Yet” claims Maximum. I don’t know if that’s true or not but if you love fighting games you’ll probably love this one. It included additional characters from the original Street Fighter as well as Final Fight.
    • Virtua Fighter – The first in Sega’s 3D fighting series now available for the Saturn. 32-bit systems could get very close to arcade perfection which was a big deal at the time.
    • Fade To Black – A sequel to Flashback, this adventure game for the PC (DOS) transitions the series to 3D while still managing to keep a similar graphical style.
    • Clockwork Knight 2 – A cult classic pseudo-3D platformer for the Sega Saturn. Maximum felt this was a big improvement over the original.
    • Screamer – Maximum describes this as a cross between Ridge Racer and Daytona USA and it certainly resembles those game. They seem pretty excited about it but I don’t even remember this one so I can’t imagine it was as good as what it was imitating.
    • Bug! – A decent 3D platform game for the Sega Saturn. I don’t know that it lived up to the hype that Sega gave it but it is a pretty good game for Saturn owners.
    • King of Fighter ’95 – Classic Neo Geo fighting game and really a must for 2D fighting game fans.

    Maximum Close-Up

    • Daytona USA – A full guide to this racer for the Sega Saturn.
    • Panzer Dragoon – Another cult classic for the Saturn. This was one of the best 3D shooters around at the time. This article provides a guide, codes, cheats, hidden items and more.

    Maximum Regulars

    • New Games… Places… Events – News coverage of Virtua Fighter 3, Sega Saturn criticism, Virtua Fighter 2, Capcom’s fighting game competition, X-Men on the Sega Saturn, a new Battle Arena Toshinden, King’s Field 2 for the PlayStation, Virtua Cop 2 for the Saturn, Sega Rally Championship, Yoshi’s Island and much more.
    • Reviews – The reviews section this month includes reviews of the following games:
      • Virtua Fighter (Sega Saturn)
      • Panzer Dragoon (Sega Saturn)
      • Daytona USA (Sega Saturn)
      • Bug! (Sega Saturn)
      • Wipeout (PlayStation)
      • Ridge Racer (PlayStation)
      • Battle Arena Toshinden (PlayStation)
      • Rapid Reload (PlayStation)
      • Jumping Flash (PlayStation)
      • Kileak The Blood (PlayStation)
      • King of Fighter ’95 (Neo Geo CD)
      • Kabuki Klash (Neo Geo CD)
      • Savage Reign (Neo Geo CD)
      • Space Hulk (3DO)
      • Daedalus Encounter (3DO)
      • Kingdom: The Far Reaches (3DO)
      • Mechwarrior 2 (PC-CDROM)
      • …and more!
    • Correspondence Required – This would be the letters from readers section but since this is the first issue, there are none yet. Instead we just have a request for letters…

    …and even more!


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Metal Head (Sega 32X)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Sonic Times – April 1995

    Metal Head was an early 32X game released by Sega in 1994. The 32X was a hardware expansion for the Sega Genesis that allowed for, among other things, texture-mapped 3D polygons. Metal Head took advantage of that creating 3D graphical detail that otherwise would not have been possible on the Genesis.

    Story

    In the not too distant future, the ‘World Federation’ along with a Federation police force is established to bring peace to the world. It isn’t very effective so wars and other kinds of strife still flourish around the world. The ‘Metal Head’ is a type of mech developed as a weapon to keep the peace. You play the role of a Metal Head pilot sent as part of a team to put down a revolution led by terrorists with their own mechs. You must work your way from the outskirts of the capital to the center where the heart of the revolution lies.

    Game Play

    This is a single player game designed for use with Sega’s six button controller. The Genesis originally shipped with a four button controller but the popularity of fighting games that used six buttons and the fact that the Super Nintendo was introduced with a controller with more buttons led to the development of a six button controller for the Genesis too. This game takes full advantage. You pilot the Metal Head mech from a first person point of view from inside the head several stories up. The heads up display displays all the info you could want including energy level, time left in your mission, a map, info about weaponry and various other information. Game play is somewhat slow and deliberate and enemies are typically faced one at a time. Various camera views are available.

    Sound/Graphics

    Metal Head takes advantage of the 3D textured objects that the 32X allows. The problem is that while the backgrounds are impressive and still shots look great, some of the animation leaves something to be desired. Explosions are glitchy, pop up is a problem (limited viewing distance), the pace is slow and the control isn’t great. The sound is also mediocre at best with sound effects that come across as low quality samples (which may well be what they are for all I know).

    Reviews

    Reviews of this game were mixed. It was greeted with a lot of excitement as an early 32X game and some of the graphics did look impressive when compared to regular Genesis games. However, these great graphics turn out to be somewhat of an illusion that becomes apparent when animated. The pacing of the game is pretty slow which I guess some people may like (I for one don’t mind a slower paced game) but others do not. The bigger problem is this game’s repetitive nature. Slow pacing is ok when coupled with a sense of suspense about what comes next. But when it is always the same thing, it can get boring fast. With Metal Head, it is too much of the same thing.

    At the end of the day, Mech Head wasn’t really one of the better mech games. However, it makes for an interesting tech demo of what the 32X could do and if you have a 32X anyway, there really aren’t that many games to collect for it so you might as well add this one. As far as I know, the 32X offers the only way to play this Sega game (other than perhaps emulation). It really isn’t a terrible game but seems disappointing especially given that you needed the Genesis, the 32X and a six button controller to play it. That’s a pretty big investment in hardware and if you happened to make that investment based on the promise of this game, you may have been a little upset with the results.


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games Sega Genesis 📎and tagged

  • Vay (Sega CD)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: EGM 2 – Issue Number 2 – August 1994


    Working Designs was famous for their anime based games and JRPG style games. There were several games that they developed for the TurboGrafx-CD and the Sega CD that are highly sought after today and Vay is one of those if the prices on eBay are any indication. This ad for the Sega CD version of Vay is from the August 1994 issue of EGM^2.

    Vay combines future tech with magic. The basic story is that a massive machine leftover from an interstellar war crash lands on a planet called Vay. This planet has little technology but lots of magic. The machine is still programmed for destruction so it continues to rampage across the planet. For some reason the machine (or robots issued from it) kidnap a princess complicating the plot. The plot being of course to stop the machine and rescue the princess.

    Vay is a pretty typical JRPG in terms of game play. While the story is pretty generic, the game world is large and the game play is pretty solid if you like this kind of game. The CD format was the exception rather than the rule during the time in which it was released so the large number of cinematic sequences, CD quality music and voice acting was rather novel for the time enhancing the experience somewhat.

    Sega CD was the only format for which this game was originally released. However, there was an iPhone and iPod Touch version released in 2008 with a new voice cast and other new content. It was also updated again in 2012. Otherwise, you will probably have to track down an original Sega CD or use emulation if you want to give this one a try. If you are a fan of JRPGs then you definitely want to at least give this one a try.


    📂This entry was posted in Retro Games Sega Genesis 📎and tagged