Dreamcast Titles Headed For PSN And XBLA

Great news for Dreamcast fans everywhere as SEGA announces that classic Dreamcast games are to return to our consoles in a glorious DLC revolution! Join Drew, as our resident retro gaming enthusiast, as he explores what we can expect in the coming months and what he would like to see!

 Ever since first hearing the opening bars of "Welcome To Station Square" and entering the 3D world of Sonic Adventure it has remained my all time favourite Sonic game. Sure, many will argue convincingly that previous 2D incarnations of the series like Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog CD remain the finest and truest examples the Sonic's outings, but for me Sonic Adventure had it all. For a start it totally changed my mind on SEGA's ill-fated Dreamcast by showing without any doubt that it was an extraordinary machine capable of jaw-dropping graphics for it's time. However, not being the type of gamer who is swayed by graphics alone, it was Sonic Adventure's impressive and varied game-play that really sealed the deal for me. Admittedly, the level design didn't always cater well for Sonic's constant need to break land speed records, resulting in occasional moments of infuriating despair, but on the whole the game was a joy to play. That Sonic Team where able to convert Sonic's bullet like pace from a 2D into a 3D environment should be considered a crowning achievement, even if this success has never really been repeated again for SEGA or Sonic.

 With this in mind it will not surprise for anyone to learn that when I learned that SEGA Europe Ltd. and SEGA of America had announced their planned release of Dreamcast titles on PSN and XBLA, my first question was "When do we get Sonic Adventure?" Fortunately, the answer would appear to be soon as according to SEGA Europe Blog we can expect Sonic Adventure to rush our consoles Autumn 2010. But it gets better, as SEGA have also confirmed that Crazy Taxi is also up for release, although no confirmation for a Crazy Taxi release date as yet.

 What makes this news all the more welcome is the notorious shelf life of the Dreamcast console itself, with working machines becoming harder and harder to find and maintain there are many titles simply begging to be preserved in a digital environment. Games like Shenmue 1 and 2 and Daytona USA are classics that will bring back fond memories for many  gamers, while the charm of Chu Chu Rocket never really went away. Personally, I would love to see Fighting Vipers 2 available for download as it was curiously only ported to consoles in Japan and Europe and released later as part of the SEGA Ages collection for the Playstation 2, which never saw a PAL issue.  


 Whatever the future holds for PSN and XBLA, this is great news for fans of SEGA's gaming past and something to watch out for over the coming months. Rest assured that the staff here at JustSandN will be watching this like hawks watching a small, blue hedgehog.          

BTP 4: A Message From Weyland-Yutani

The Wayland-Yutani Corporation would like to advise readers of our takeover of Beside The Point and all corresponding creative elements. Please also be advised to exercise caution regarding recent xeanomorph activity in this area. We would like to remind readers that in space no one can hear you scream, nobody can save you and no one in their right mind goes out there without reading Beside The Point.


I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love the Alien's franchise. I'm also rather fond of the Predator franchise but I love those banana-headed xeanos. As their name suggests there is something totally alien about Scott's creation and I've been hooked on the Aliens universe for as long as I can remember. So imagine my delight when a demo of the (seriously) long awaited Alien Verse Predator game appeared on the Playstation store. I just had to have a look, however, with the AVP movies being luck luster at best there was bound to be some trepidation over the upcoming game. But lets not forget that if Atari's humble Jaguar console and PC's can produce classic additions to the franchise surely our modern day consoles can deliver a game that matches this lineage? From what I can tell fans of the series have nothing to worry about...

I've always thought you can tell a lot about a game from it's menus (With the exception of Fox Interactive's Independence Day game which sported impressive looking and sounding menus but disappointing and ugly game play). Rebellion's latest outing into the world of AVP opens with what could be a Weyland-Yutani terminal screen that goes along way to capturing the feel of the Aliens universe. I've always being a fan of the satirical portrayal of corporations employed in Aliens and it's always a pleasure to see that Weyland logo. But fortunately the real fun of the game seems to come from it's game play.

Being a demo we only get to see online death-matches so no hint into the single player campaign but I'm willing to stake that this game is worth checking out for it's online modes alone. Despite having to wait for an abhorred amount of time to find games (PS3 owners know what I'm talking about) when the action does get underway it is both atmospheric and frantic. The pace can change from silently stalking alien runways to frenetic kill-fests with bloodcurdling quickness. This is a game where once combat is engaged it ends quickly.

My first impression was that of the three races available to play as (I.E. Marine, Predator or Alien.) it was the Marine who had the immediate advantage. Obviously being the human protagonist the Marine is the most familiar and hence easy to get to grips with but oh are the joys of sticking to the more exotic races. In previous incarnations of the game I found the Alien to be a real devil to plays as. All that wall climbing and quickness made it far less straight forward then the point and shoot ethics of it's human counterpart. But those who (literally) hang in there are rewarded with an ability to "see" through walls making stalking deadly and the bone chilling glee of that first stealth kill. Believe me when I say there is nothing more satisfying the managing to sneak up on a Predator and "grab" it for an instant and unavoidable kill. The other worriers are no less potent however, as a good burst from a pulse rifle will kill just about anything it hits and as long as you remember that the Predator is strong but not invincible you'll have no trouble collecting a few trophies to show mom and pops.

All in all the AVP demo is a lot of fun, much more so then the recent M.A.G beta and given a choice between the two I'd say go for the xeano. That doesn't just go for Aliens fans but also for gamers. I honestly think AVP will be worth the wait.

-Drew-

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M.A.G is in stores now while AVP will debut on the 19th February this year.

Linkage: http://www.sega.co.uk/games/aliens-vs-predator/

Drew has being smuggaling "Face Huggers" since 1985.