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'Sonic' and other Genesis classics come to Amazon Fire TV
You won't have to shell out for a mini console to revel in Sega-style nostalgia. The gaming pioneer has released a Sega Classics collection for Fire TV devices that brings 25 of the developer's better-known Genesis games to Amazon's media players. They're frequently games from the same franchise, but that's not necessarily a bad thing -- Sonic the Hedgehog is well-represented here, as are the Golden Axe and Streets of Rage franchises. You'll also find individual hits like Altered Beast, Columns, Gunstar Heroes and The Revenge of Shinobi.
‘Streets of Rage’ comes to mobiles with local multiplayer
Sega Mega Drive classic Streets of Rage is now available on mobile, thanks to the Sega Forever retro games service, so you can get your dose of denim-clad muscle brawling wherever you are. It also supports local, two-player co-operative raging over Wi-Fi, and works cross-platform between iOS and Android, so you can also bring a touch of nostalgia to your holiday celebrations by battling your siblings and then getting into trouble with your mom when one of you punches the other IRL.
Sega Forever makes Genesis classics free on mobile
We have no shortage of shiny, life-like HD games these days, but if you'd like to revisit older titles from a bygone era, Sega has got your back. The video game company has just officially launched the first wave of the Sega Forever collection with five titles meant to begin "a retro revolution that will transport players back through two decades of console gaming." Starting today, the 1991 version of Sonic the Hedgehog, fan-favorite RPG Phantasy Star II, classic arcade-style beat 'em up Comix Zone, platformer Kid Chameleon and Greek mythology-themed beat 'em up Altered Beast will be available on Google Play and iTunes as free ad-supported games. If you have an iPhone or an iPad, your games will even come accompanied by iMessage sticker packs.
Another week of big iOS releases: Real Racing 2, World of Goo, lots more
As expected, the App Store has released another round of new apps, and since we're right in the middle of the busy holiday season, there are a ton of great and long-awaited games to play either out today or coming this evening. Telltale has released the first episode of its Tales of Monkey Island series on the iPad, continuing the storyline from the classic game. Gameloft's Uncharted-like Shadow Guardian will be available this evening, as will NOVA 2, the sequel to last year's popular FPS. We saw a preview of both a little while back. Sega is bringing the old Altered Beast game to the App Store, and it's probably just as bad as you remember. Eidos has surprised us with a release of the Xbox Live and PSN title Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, arriving on the App Store for both iPhone and iPad tomorrow. Should be a good one -- reviews were excellent on the previous platforms. Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD is a really impressive fully 3D action RPG to play through, available for $6.99 on the App Store soon. Real Racing 2 is coming out this evening. I got to play an early build, and I can tell you that it's fantastic -- one of the best racing games on the App Store. Riven: The Sequel to Myst arrived on the store last night. Classic adventure title The 7th Guest is now out on iPhone for US $2.99 and iPad for $5.99. World of Goo is also due out on the iPad tonight, and this version is supposed to be one of the best. EA's Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is arriving on iOS in a streamlined version, but it's going to be on sale for just 99 cents, so that's nice. Duke Nukem 3D isn't a new game, but it (and the iPad special edition) has gone free recently. A few apps are updating for the holidays: both educational astronomy app Star Walk and destructive worm simulator Super Mega Worm have special Santa-related updates out now. Man oh man, that's a whole lot of great games to play. Most of these apps aren't quite out on the App Store just yet (though some of them are available in New Zealand, where it is already tomorrow), but they should all be live on the US store by 11:00 PM Eastern time.
Sega bringing Chu Chu Rocket, others to iPhone soon
Sega America hosted an iPhone gaming event earlier this week, and the lineup of titles they've got coming to the App Store this fall is a gamer's dream: Chu Chu Rocket (my favorite Dreamcast game!) is coming to iOS, along with classic side scrollers Gunstar Heroes and Altered Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog Episode 1 (the brand new 2D version of Sonic), and a free-to-play strategy/RPG MMO called Kingdom Conquest. TouchArcade was there at the event, and they say that Chu Chu Rocket is all you hope it will be, the new Sonic looks excellent, and Kingdom Conquest sounds like an intriguing mix of genres. Card battling, empire building, and RPG questing all built into one Sega-published free-to-play title? Chu Chu and Sonic already have their pedigrees, but it doesn't sound like you can go wrong with that last one. What a lineup from Sega for this year -- I'm actually more excited about their iPhone releases than I am about anything they're bringing out on consoles or any other platform. Unfortunately, there's no mention of Game Center in any of these previews, but all of the games seem to have multiplayer of some sort, from 1-4 players over both Bluetooth and wifi. So it's probably a pretty good presumption that they'll be Game Center-enabled in some way. So lots to look forward to in the next few months. Should be fun.
Polymer Vision gets new lease on life thanks to Wistron
Poor Readius, we barely knew ye and your folding e-ink screen before parent company Polymer Vision went bankrupt and, well, that was the end of that. Or was it? Wistron apparently made a bid for the remains of the company over the summer and, as of September, Polymer was acting as a division of the Acer spin-off. The Wistron board has finally approved the €12 million ($18 million) investment and so where once there were two companies now there is one. The jury is still out on whether the Polymer Vision brand will survive, but its technology -- and legend -- will still burn.
In Defense of the Virtual Console's pricing
We've surveyed your irritation with the Virtual Console's rates and even had you calculate the exact amount of Wii points you've been swindled out of so far, but VGamp's Chris Sinclair argues that the game downloads aren't expensive at all. Chris listed eleven reasons to support his claim, even admitting that he would be willing to pay more for the retro titles. While he might come across as an inflexible apologist, some of his points make sense.According to Chris, you're getting a deal whenever you make a purchase on the Shopping Channel. For example, let's say that you put out the cash for Soldier Blade, a title that sometimes sells for $50+ on eBay. You're scoring a discount on a relatively rare game that's guaranteed to work decades from now, and you don't even have to pay for the TurboGrafx-16 console or the controllers to play it with. As an added bonus, many of these emulated games look better than they ever did before.Alright, so we're still not entirely convinced that Altered Beast is worth the 800 Wii points Sega is asking for, but we can see where Chris is going with this. What do you think? Does the pricing seem justified after considering his points, or do you still feel like you're being fleeced?
Altered Beast, Vectorman 2 Sega Genesis Collection videos
Of all the classic games in Sega Genesis Collection, Altered Beast is probably the one I have the most fond memories of. I remember, as a wee lad, going over my cousin's house to see him play it on his new Sega Genesis. Back then, the graphics were so unbelievably awesome, and when I saw the main character transform into a werewolf, I just about died with excitement. It's truly a classic. And the Vectorman series is a classic in its own right. In Vectorman 2, which was released in 1996, you are charged with battlng mutant insects and ultimately saving the world by defeating the Black Widow Queen.
ESRB rates seven Genesis games for Wii
A recent search of the ESRB website turned up some scintillating results. Though not confirmed for launch or any specific timeframe, the names of seven Sega greats are listed on ESRB as coming to the Wii virtual console...and holy hell, can they pick 'em. Check it out: Altered Beast Columns Ecco the Dolphin Golden Axe Ristar Sonic the Hedgehog Toe Jam & Earl You might recognize these games as being utter classics, some of the very best the Genesis had to offer. Most have at least a cult following, and they're sure to add a huge boost to the VC's popularity. Oh, how we long to echo-locate once more... [via Joystiq]
Sega does what Nintendon't on your PSP
If you're into classic games like me, you're probably eagerly awaiting the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console feature so that you can play not only some Nintendo games, but some Genesis games as well. For those of you Sony fanboys that'll avoid the Wii like its a smelly grandmother, there's finally an alternative: Sega Genesis Collection, a compliation of nearly thirty Genesis games is heading to the PSP. The disc will not only come loaded with the games, but exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. PSP owners can rejoice in knowing that an exclusive wireless multiplayer mode is being created just for them. Maybe it'll even support Game Sharing? (I hope so!) Here's the list of games: Alex Kidd Altered Beast Bonanza Bros. Columns Comix Zone Decap Attack Ecco the Dolphin Ecco: The Tides of Time Ecco Jr. Eternal Champions Flicky Gain Ground Golden Axe Golden Axe II Golden Axe III Phantasy Star II Phantasy Star III Phantasy Star IV Ristar Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi Shinobi III Sonic the Hedgehog Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Super Thunderblade Sword of Vermillion Vectorman Vectorman 2 Virtua Fighter 2 Whoa... out of breath just reading that list. Visit 1up to see details about all of these classics.
