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Sonic's bad side shows in Sonic Unleashed vid
Oh Sonic. For years we've followed your adventures as a rubber-armed, lumbering Werehog with childish wonderment. Wait. A. Second. You're not Sonic! He's the zippy little blue guy in the really cool, actually Sonic the Hedgehog looking first half of the new Sonic Unleashed trailer we've got after the break. You're ... you're a monster. You probably ate him.What. That's Sonic? And you play as him like this at night? Why? We see ... no one knows. Great. Well, we'll just have to set our system clocks ahead 12 hours every time we play. It's ... not tied to the system clock? Then we'll just skip those levels. Please tell us you can skip those levels.
Phantasy Star Zero site launches, we totally geek out
Sega just launched the official site for Phantasy Star Zero. Although most of the screens on the site were present in scans earlier this week, it's always nice to see them in gallery form, right? (And see them you must, because seriously: this is some of the best 3D on the DS to date).Throughout these screenshots, we can spot bits of old Phantasy Star Online games (the brightly-colored levels, Rappies, huge bosses, and MAGs), something which delights us. Speaking of which, we really hope Sega-themed MAGs will be included, such as the Saturn, Master System, and ChuChu MAGs that could be found in PSO. Sega included some of its old consoles in English of the Dead, so maybe we'll get to slay dragons with a Dreamcast by our side in Phantasy Star Zero!The site reveals that the game will support online parties of four players, that characters can be created from three races and 14 classes, and there's also a small section on the ace-looking, sketch-compatible chat system, as seen here. In fact, the only part of Phantasy Star Zero we're unsure about is blowing into the DS microphone to send messages, but we're finding it difficult to object that strongly!%Gallery-31775%[Via NeoGAF]
DS Daily: Phantasy Star ZOMG
Despite it only existing in scan form, we're already absolutely ga-ga about Phantasy Star Zero, Sonic Team's new online RPG that will use an ingenious, Pictochat-style chat system. If you're as ridiculously excited as we are, then you've probably played one of the glorious Phantasy Star Online titles on the Dreamcast, GameCube, or PC.So today, because we just can (and because we can't think of a decent question), we're opening the floor to Phantasy Star Online chat in general -- feel free to regale us with your favorite memories of previous PSO games, your hopes for the DS version, or, if you want to be a total spoilsport, how the online games ruined the series for you.
Phantasy Star Zero is PictoChat: The RPG
Sega is aiming to top the excellent sales of their PSP Phantasy Star Portable sales the best way they know how: a Phantasy Star Online game on the DS. Phantasy Star Zero is a multiplayer online action RPG that, unlike Portable, seems to be an all-new entry in the series.While it's awesome enough to have an online RPG on the DS, and even more awesome that it's the wonderful Phantasy Star Online, the communication feature is the most interesting part of the game: Phantasy Star Zero allows players to speak via stylus drawings. That seems much more useful than, and equally enjoyable as, the Symbol Chat system from the original game.[Via NeoGAF]
Latest Sonic Unleashed screens focus on the positives
What the latest screens of Sonic Unleashed lack in variety (they're all taken from the desert level, or one of the game's town stages) they make up for with some fairly rad track design -- track design like this, for instance. There's also a pleasing omission of the Sonic Werehog sections, though that part of the game is, sadly, definitely still real. Make like a blue blur into our gallery for 23 new shots of the Wii version in action. It's looking purdy.%Gallery-19031%
Sonic Riders: Cheapo Gravity
Amazon's use of the Deal of the Day as a venue for offloading Sega Wii games continues, with the sequel to the Sonic the Hedgehog air-snowboarding game. New copies of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity still retail for $30 and more, so it's a bargain at $17.99. Not as much of a bargain as it was at $10.99, but still pretty good. We get enough Sonic Defense Force comments to know that there is an audience for this game! We admit to a bit of curiosity ourselves. As usual, this deal is for today only, so if you've been waiting to grab a copy of this totally extreme cartoon racing game, slam a Mountain Dew and head over to Amazon!
Sega shows off new Sonic Unleashed screens
Click for embiggened image Despite being told otherwise like right to my face at E3, it appears that Sega's newest Sonic game on Wii will be very much like the Xbox 360 title, in that it's essentially two different games in one. The first game, which is very reminiscent of the Sonic you know and love, is competent and could provide hours of fun. The other is a darker and far less forgiving affair, as you control the Sonic Werehog and mash buttons in a generic brawler, all the while engaging in some mediocre platforming segments sprinkled in between the fighting. But hey, let's not focus on the bad, let's focus on the half of the game you want to play. Check out the new screens in our gallery below.%Gallery-19031%
Sonic's Shoes Unleashed
The real attraction to these Sonic Unleashed scans is what seem to be tiny screens of the Wii version in action, including a couple we've seen and many we haven't. But we found two somewhat ancillary news bits related to these scans too distracting to ignore.First, the Japanese title for the game is Sonic World Adventure, which ties the new game more closely in with its Dreamcast predecessors. Second, like Bruce Banner, who gained the ability not only to transform into the Incredible Hulk, but also to involuntarily turn his pants purple, Sonic has acquired shoes that change when he becomes a "Werehog." Whenever the moon is full, his shoes sprout cleats.%Gallery-19031%
More imagery of Sonic Unleashed
Gamekyo (formerly known as Jeux-France) posted up some new scans for the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed, which show us a handful of new screens for the blue hedgehog's upcoming title. Considering that the images are based on scans, they actually look pretty nice. There's only a handful, but they show Sonic doing what he does best -- attacking robots and collecting coins.We're curious to see what the "very different" Wii version of the game will be like when compared to the 360 and PS3 ones, but at least it looks like it's going to be okay. We'll just have to wait until this fall (specifically November, according to Gamekyo) to find out for ourselves. Gallery: Sonic Unleashed
Born for Wii: ChuChu Rocket!
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Born_for_Wii_Chu_Chu_Rocket'; In spite of its untimely demise, the Dreamcast still lives on in gamers' hearts due to a small library of now-classic titles, ranging from the grandiose, such as Shenmue, to the bizarre, like Space Channel 5. Falling closer to the latter on the weirdness scale is ChuChu Rocket!, a unique Dreamcast puzzler that's noteworthy for being one of the last great games to come out of Sega's Sonic Team (I mean, really -- Shadow the Hedgehog?), and for taking the Dreamcast online with four-player multiplayer -- no small feat in 2000. Just like Katamari Damacy, ChuChu Rocket! succeeds on the strengths of simple-but-addictive gameplay and irresistible charm.ChuChu Rocket! makes no attempt to hide what it is -- a pure puzzler, free of all frivolities and unnecessary dead weight like a story. The concept is quite straightforward -- your only goal is to guide a group of mice (or, in some levels, just one mouse) into a rocket. In many cases, this involves avoiding cats who are roaming the puzzle terrain, waiting to make a mouse sandwich out of your little ChuChus. Both the mice and the cats move in the exact same fashion -- they head in a straight line until they hit a wall, which will cause them to turn right. It's a little like watching a group of lemmings, but, thankfully, the mice move just a bit faster.%Gallery-25945%
Sonic Unleashed footage gives us hope
Sonic the Hedgehog is kind of like that old friend who keeps letting you down. You just know he's going to fail again but, because you remember the good old days, you really hope he finally gets it right again. As such, it is with trepidation that we announce that the latest footage from Sonic Unleashed actually looks pretty good, at times even great. It calls up memories of Sonic games past, the old Sonic games, which is a good thing. Purists will no doubt smile at the 2D sections of gameplay and the complete lack of Sonic's cohorts. Find the footage after break. Now, say it with us -- if we say it loud enough, maybe it will come true -- please be good!
NiGHTS' price continues to wane
Amazon has dropped the price of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams even further, from a tempting $20.99 to a tantalizing $16.88. At that price, it's almost irresistible! We know this because we are currently almost failing to resist it. Amazon's price for new copies has finally dipped down just below Gamefly's price for used copies, and, as with Gamefly, free shipping is available.The rapidly-falling price for what was supposed to be the triumphant return of a beloved franchise doesn't really bode well for the future. We shouldn't look forward to a localized version of the PS2 NiGHTS into Dreams remake, for one thing. Or anything that doesn't star Sonic and about a billion other anthropomorphic jerks.%Gallery-4673%
NiGHTS: Journey to awesome free stuff
NiGHTS Community, a site for obsessive NiGHTS fans, came into possession of some rare Journey of Dreams memorabilia earlier this year when Sega gave the administrator a private demo of the game (!) Instead of hoarding it forever or selling it on eBay, the site has decided to give it away in a contest. And the prizes are all being given away individually instead of as a giant pile, so you have half a chance.You could win a PAL copy of NiGHTS or much more interesting (but less playable) stuff, such as a glow-in-the-dark sticker sheet, a Japanese promotional poster, or a two-track soundtrack sampler which apparently was never made available outside of Sega of Europe! We hope you can fulfill your dreams of having stuff with pictures of NiGHTS on it.
Start your morning on a high note: Samba de Amigo trailer
Samba de Amigo is one of those things that will always inspire happiness. Even if you're not a huge Sega fan, the bouncy music, bright colors and manic monkeys will probably make you smile. And if you are all about Sega, few things represent everything great about the Dreamcast era like a game about a maraca-shaking monkey. While we may have criticized the new version recently for overdoing the onscreen clutter, we can't deny that this trailer made our morning a lot better. It's just joyful.It even works on paid professionals. You think that's acting? No, that chimpanzee is totally feeling it.%Gallery-20601%
Sonic Unleashed has Cube controller support
Hidden deep within Matt Casamassina's eyes-on preview of Sonic Unleashed on the PS3 and 360 is the news that the Sonic Team Dimps-developed Wii version would not only support a Wiimote/nunchuk combination, but also the GameCube controller, and possibly the Classic controller.Being the outrageous cynics that we are, we initially suspected this meant we'd be getting a downgraded port of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 game, but Casamassina also points out that the stages in the Wii iteration are "very different." So now we don't know what to think -- heck, maybe Dimps just believes the game feels nicer with the Cube controller.%Gallery-19031%
Sonic Unleashed impressions: all Sonic, no Unleashed
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Sonic_Unleashed_impressions_all_Sonic_no_Unleashed'; If you were hoping that Sega was going to use its recent Gamers Day event to show off the "unleashed" half of Sonic Unleashed, you'll be disappointed to learn that the speedy blue hedgehog is still very much "leashed" ... even after breaking out of his cage some months back. Despite being unwilling to sway from its rigid marketing schedule and share what we're assuming is going to be the game's key selling point – the nighttime (and "unleashed" werewolf Sonic we presume) half – Sega does want us to reconsider a traditional Sonic game working in 3D. That would be the daytime half.The presentation began with an explanation that, although the game is being developed by Sonic Team – the very same development team that delivered the universally panned next-gen Sonic the Hedgehog in 2006 – it is in fact a different team that "didn't work on the last one." Apparently the game's lead designer, Yoshihisa Hashimoto, "understands well where the failings were there." If you find it comforting that Sega's owning up for the previous title's shortcomings, you're not alone but we're a long way from being sold on the latest outing.%Gallery-19737%
Sonic Unleashed: Almost everything we knew was a lie
We'll have to mark this as rumor, since the source is Kombo's writeup of a Play Magazine article, and thus a little too far abstracted for comfort. According to Kombo, a recent interview with Sonic Team's Yoshihisa Hashimoto about Sonic Unleashed revealed a bunch of stuff about Sega's latest attempt to refresh the franchise. What he had to say put basically everything we thought we knew about the game into question.For example, the Wii game is being outsourced. Given the identity of the developer (Sonic Rush's Dimps), that's mostly a good thing, but it's still surprising to learn that we've been misled into thinking Sonic Team was simultaneously developing all three versions. That means that the "Hedgehog Engine," which we thought was being used for all three games, is not being used for the Wii. Furthermore, Dimps is doing not only the coding, but also level design for the Wii game, which means it's a different game.Worst of all is the news that Sega has already started downplaying the 2.5D aspect of the game. We believed that the whole game played as a sidescroller, but Hashimoto said it'll be about half 2D and half 3D. Great!None of this means that Sonic Unleashed on the Wii or any other platform will necessarily be bad, it just means that it won't be what we thought it was.%Gallery-19031%
NiGHTS Gameflying out the door for $23
For an indeterminate period, Gamefly has marked the price of used copies of NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams down to $22.99. If you were ever curious about trying out Sega's flying adventure, now seems like as good a time as any!Unlike the sticker-marred, printed-instructions-bundled nightmare of buying rentals from Blockbuster or a local video store (as someone who spent hours at a previous job cleaning rental sticker residue off of NES cartridges: thanks, local video stores) buying from Gamefly is surprisingly okay. You get the original case and instructions in perfect condition, since Gamefly files them away immediately upon receiving their copies, and the discs are guaranteed.
Maximum Attack hits Phantasy Star Universe on April 25th!
If you were left wondering what happened to Maximum Attack in the Phantasy Star Online series, wonder no more.Maximum Attack G has been announced for Phantasy Star Universe, and it's going to be a doozy! This year, starting April 25th, the GUARDIANS will be traveling to a mysterious virtual world called Rykros in order to defeat over 100 million enemies and unlock the secrets held within this ancient artifact.For those of you unfamiliar with Maximum Attack, the basic premise is to go to the GUARDIAN guild and simply request your party be placed into the Maximum Attack mission bracket. Upon entering, you'll be facing weak monsters that will give you double the experience... it's just you'll be facing a basic recreation of Dead Rising in PSU.Each monster you kill will be counted, and the event is over when the player community kills 100 million monsters. Prizes go to the players who kill the most, and server wide unlocks are available as different milestones are reached.This year's catch, however, is quite shocking. The virtual world of Rykros is a recreation of Ragol from Phantasy Star Online, so you'll be braving a updated version of the Forest, Caves, and Mine stages all over again. According to rumor, you might be bumping into some of the heroes of Ragol...The only downside is that you need to have the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion pack, otherwise you're going to be watching from the sidelines. This is a great way to get some quick experience, so be sure to jump in and participate!Keep watching Massively for more coverage on this event! We'll be in the trenches with you 360 owners, climbing over the mountain of Boomas!
Sonic Unleashed: "no relation" to latest Sonic titles
Well, thank God. In a recent interview with Official Nintendo Magazine (what, you don't subscribe?), Sonic Team's Yoshihisa Hashimoto noted that Sonic's latest outing, Sonic Unleashed, "has no relation" to his previous next-gen effort Sonic the Hedgehog (or the Wii's Sonic and the Secret Rings for that matter). For those of you who missed out on Sonic the Hedgehog, you should know that Sonic Unleashed having no relation to it is a very, very good thing. Giving us more reason to hope (and thus greater hopes to be dashed), Hashimoto says that Sonic Unleashed began as Sonic Adventure 3, adding that "this game will have more in common with the older Sonic Adventure series." While many would argue that Sonic Team should look back even further for inspiration (oh sweet, sweet Sonic 3), it's still a damned sight better than the 360 Sonic the Hedgehog.So, potentially good news then. Dare we have the audacity to hope that Sonic Unleashed might actually be good?
