andPOP » Sega

Make Your Own Bayonetta costume

Josh Salem — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:56:09 +0000

Halloween is almost upon us and for those game fans who want to dress up in the latest gaming fashion (hopefully just for the ladies), Sega has created www.bayonettahalloween.com.

This website provides potential Baynetters tips, hints, and the needs to create the best halloween costume on a budget.

Gamer’s Mind Blog: You Asked For It.

Brett.Caron — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:03:52 +0000

Poet? Warrior-king? Egomaniac? If any of these words describe you, then we have something in common. This is good news, because I’m going to be writing for our new blog!

I grew up playing video games, like a good chunk of the men in my age group. That’s not to say I huddled in the basement with a controller 24/7, just that I enjoyed the classics growing up. I owned a Sega Genesis (and later a Sega CD) and for the cost of a kiss or two, I had frequent access to my neighbour’s Nintendo. She was Player 1. Not much has changed in my love life since then.

My brothers and I used to rent games from a small, family-owned video store not too far from our house. Which meant that for 2 dollars we could play a game for a week, and if we got bored of it there was another one next week. We only owned 2 games – the ones that came with the system. My parents were good with money.

So I’ve been a gamer through the old Genesis days through the N64, Playstation 2, XBox 360 and finally my Playstation 3 era. So until Sony releases a new console that massages my feet while I play, you can expect mostly PS3-related posts from this kid. I feel that I represent the everyman gamer, the casual gamer. The handsome, debonair, narcissistic gamer, with eyes that you could get lost in… sorry, I was looking at my reflection in the monitor.

Cheers.

SEGA Announces New Sonic Game for Wii

andPOP Staff — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:01:55 +0000

Today, SEGA of Europe Ltd. and Sega of America, Inc. announced the upcoming release of Sonic and the Black Knight, a new Wii-exclusive video game featuring the blue hedgehog character.

Created by the Sonic Team in Japan, this innovative game brings Sonic into a medieval world and is armed with a sword, controlled by the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The game consists of a series of missions that take place in Arthurian-inspired locations, is designed to be a fast-paced game that appeals to gamers of all ages.

Sonic and the Black Knight will be available in Spring 2009.

Sonic the Hedgehog Makes His iPod Debut

andPOP Staff — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 12:14:22 +0000

Gaming giant Sega’s infamous blue mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, made his Apple-platform debut last week on iTunes. The original adventure that helped maintain the Sega Genesis’ popularity, thereby providing a competitive alternative to the Super Nintendo gaming console, is now available for download from iTunes for $4.99.

Remarkably, unlike games previously launched for the iPod – be they the standard, casual games or even arcade classics, such as Pac-Man – this new edition of Sonic the Hedgehog is not emulation. “It’s a new piece of code and it pushes the hardware,” says Sega of America President Simon Jeffery in an interview with IGN.com.

Nonetheless, despite Apple’s enthusiasm to tap into a gaming market full of potential, it might be awhile before gamers get used to their new hand-held controller. The single-thumb approach necessitated by the iPod’s portable size may present a drawback to gaming fans accustomed to the two-handed controller. However, casual gamers and old-schoolers alike will eventually get used to the new game-controller reality.

Perhaps on your next subway ride you’ll glimpse at someone clutching their iPod in two hands, using one thumb to jump while the other moves, all to the vibrant sounds of ‘beep-boop’. You’ll know that Sonic was here.

Sonic RPG Coming To The Nintendo DS

andPOP Staff — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 02:29:24 +0000

SEGA® of America, Inc., SEGA® Europe, Ltd., and Canada-based developer studio BioWare® Corp. today announced a partnership to create a new video game based on the classic SEGA flagship icon Sonic The Hedgehog. The exact name of the game is undetermined, and it will ship in 2008.

We’re thrilled to be working with SEGA on Sonic, one of the industry’s most enduring and compelling icons,” said Greg Zeschuk, president of BioWare. “As huge fans of Sonic ourselves, we’re committed to delivering a truly amazing story-driven experience within the Sonic universe, focusing on capturing the character’s broad appeal and placing him in a completely original adventure,” added Ray Muzyka, chief executive officer of BioWare.

Gaming Column: Portable tennis never felt so good

andPOP Staff — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 20:29:03 +0000

A buddy of mine from work let me borrow me his copy of Virtua tennis World Tour for PSP. I was quite excited; this game has always been pure entertainment. I?m talking about way back in the day, as I often do from time to time, when Virtua Tennis came out for arcades and then Dreamcast. However, this modern PSP version comes with some worthy of mention improvements.

In the main one player mode, which is world tour, you start off creating a male and female character. The game gives enough traits to tinker around with, such as skin colour, hairstyle, weight and height ? to name a few ? so that you should be able to make your character look like you, which is always a nice feature.

Both of your characters start off ranked 300 and the goal is to train and compete in enough tournaments to become the champ, but this doesn?t mean you have to defeat 300 people. In order to enter tournaments, which come in the form of both singles and doubles, you have to wait for a week in which you rank high enough to enter. The game defines a week by one or two training levels, or a tournament. You also have the choice to rest for a week if you?re trying to get to a tourney faster or allow your character to regain stamina.

The training levels are sort of silly but enjoyable for the most part. I particularly enjoyed the levels in which you can serve the ball to knock down seven pins in a kind of bowling set-up and another that pits you against a tennis-ball firing tank.

One thing I can say about this game is that it’s quite the challenge. Even the original wasn?t as hard as this one. I found that the computer A.I. absolutely walloped me the first couple of matches I tried it. This is due largely in part to the fact that returning the ball is no simple task. I mean, sure you can simply tap the button when your character is near the ball but there?s much more to it then that. If anyone?s actually ever played the game in real life what I?m trying to explain here should make sense. Basically, to get a nice return you need to position yourself in front of the ball, hold the return button down and then let go at the right moment after the ball bounces. It?s simple physics: if you hit the ball soon after it bounces you really don?t have time to put any power in the shot and if you hit the ball too late you?re likely to loose control and perhaps knock the ball out.

I suppose this is why I enjoyed this game so much, because in essence, the control style mimics the sport in real life. This doesn?t mean that I have an edge or an advantage because most will surely find that the gameplay is comfortable and simple. And once I started to get the rhythm I started to make slow but definite progress in the one player mode and thus, managed to start moving up in the ranks. I said it before and I?ll say it again: this was no simple task because the computer?s A.I., even on normal and even in the very first levels is a forced to be reckoned with. Although you can make your character stronger and faster with the training levels, the real key to making progress comes through getting the hang of strategically placing serves, capitalizing when stuck in a tight rally and especially mastering the art of volleying.

I tried this game online but surprise, surprise there was nobody there! As I mentioned last week, this has been typical of the online experience with the PSP and I still don?t understand it. I?ve spent some time looking for the answer on forums for nerdiest of nerds and I still don?t understand it. Can it really be possible that no one in North America has gotten into the online aspect for PSP games? Anywho, I hope this gets better once the system picks up, which will likely be after December because the idea of being able to play a human player whenever you like would sure make this game better.

For now, I?ll just have to settle for the good ol? invincible A.I.