Astro Boy 2004 (PS2) GUTTED
This one's going to confuse people, if only for the reason that there are a few Astro Boy games on the market now; one by published by Sega and developed by Treasure (known for Gunstar Heroes and Gradius 5 alongside a number of other classics) on the Game Boy Advance, and the others based on the movie that was just released in the US today. All of those were published by D3 for PlayStation Portable, Wii, Nintendo DS, and a port of the Wii game on PS2. Here's where things get really confusing; Sega also released an Astro Boy game for PS2 back in 2004 that was developed by Sonic Team (guess what franchise they're best known for?) The games based on the movie were just released, so I'm not covering those yet, unless they hit bargain bins. From what I understand, they're all side-scrolling action titles that play somewhat like the 2004 GBA game. Today, we're gutting the 2004 PS2 game, so that no one gets confused when their kids see the movie in theaters and want to play it on their PS2 (You know, since you won't buy them a Wii.)
Schthack: Free Phantasy Star Online Server
While it’s not really news, I haven’t really had a chance to play here to write a full blown article on, but this is some info Dreamcast owners should know.
So you have a Dreamcast-GD copy of Phantasy Star Online V.2, but it’s just sitting in its case gathering dust since Sega pulled the plug on the servers to make room for newer Diablo clones with the Phantasy Star name? And you really want to just kick it online with friends, same as back in the day? Not a problem! Schthack may just be what you’re looking for. Schthack is a private PSO server supports not only both versions of Phantasy Star Online for Dreamcast, but also its PC ports of Ver. 2 and Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst, and the GameCube’s PSO Episodes I & II, I & II Plus, and Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution.
1 comment | Tags: Dreamcast, Free, Free server, GameCube, MMORPG, PC, Phantasy Star Online, Schtack, Sega
Dreamcast Fisticuffs Mini-Gutted Set
Getting back to our belated Dreamcast 10th birthday tribute, we’ll start with a quick glance at some of its semi-exclusive brawlers. Note that there are probably a lot of other fighting games that are more worthy to mention as major staples in the DC library, but with a good chunk of its fighting games being ported to other systems (or having at least one decent sequel), the ones we’ve chosen are a few that can, as of now, only be found on the Dreamcast, with the exception of the last freeware title, which just had the old gray box in mind. Time to break out some CD-R's, and engage in some good old fashioned fisticuffs, by jove!
Rush Rush Rally Racing for Dreamcast now available for Pre-Order
Told you the Dreamcast wasn't dead! Today, redspotgames has officially announced, in collaboration with Senile Games, a new Dreamcast racer that appears to play like a very souped-up Super Sprint or RC Pro AM. Anticipated for release next month, Rush Rush Rally Racing boasts no frills, no licensed cars, but a buttload of features for a commercial-homebrew. "R^4" is now available for pre-order on redspotgames' website for US$22.00/15,00 EUR. In the meantime, check out the footage that was posted today.
My Dreamcast memorial.
Short, sweet, and to the point. Firefox ate the original blog post and I have to go to bed soon.
This is what I remember about the dreamcast. I had written a longer blog post concerning fighting games, ports, the Dreamcast itself. Yes, this was sold by Agetec in the US, but it was built by Sega themselves.
But this is what I really remember about the Dreamcast. The arcade stick. Games like Capcom vs SNK 2 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves came out on other consoles, but this peripheral speaks volumes about Sega catering to the arcade gaming community. It's got generic buttons and joystick, but it's leaps and bounds better than the crap they put into the NES Advantage. No company before or since has put out a first party arcade peripheral THIS good in America. In Japan? Take it back a generation with the Saturn Virtua Stick and Virtua Stick Pro. Not Sony, not Microsoft, and definitely not Nintendo. Sega.
A Guttergamer’s Memoir of the Dreamcast
To be honest with you, I didn’t own a Dreamcast until after its retail death. Like many people, I only picked one system during console wars, and unlike that era and the 16-bit generation, the wars tend to be short-lived, or more like skirmishes. I was a PlayStation2 owner, as the double provided more games that were suited to my tastes. Even if Sega’s final console climbed to the top with the largest library of games instead of dying young, I probably would have still stuck by the PS2, if the library offered the same genres and titles I still play today.
That is not to say that I disliked, or disrespect, Sega’s swirl-halo angel back then, and this is especially not the case today. In a lot of ways, it was ahead of its time. Before “Xbox Live” became a household name, the little gray unit had a 56k modem attached to the back, making it the first mainstream console with built-in online connectivity. While the controllers tend to be awkward for the many 2D fighting games released, it made revisions on the one-stick analog model introduced by the N64’s own industry-revolutionizing controller with a somewhat sleeker feel. The Visual Memory Unit, a crossbreed between the N64’s controller-attached memory cards and Sony’s ill-fated PocketStation that never saw release outside of Japan, was a little weird in design but actually provided some very fun games.
Earthworm Jim Coming To All Major Platforms; Sega Genesis XBLA Poll Gets Cockblocked
Updated 8/19/09 2:20PM EST
It’s like the industry is looking for an excuse to kick this past (and somewhat late) Weekend GGP Report in the face! As I mentioned VERY EARLY yesterday morning, Sega has a poll letting fans vote on what Sega Genesis (that’s MegaDrive to my PAL nation guttergamers and import snobs) title to bring to Xbox Live Arcade, as this "thing" to celebrate the 20th Aniversary of the self-proclaimed “leader of the 16-bit revolution”. The poll includes Golden Axe II, Shining Force, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage, Toejam & Earl, WonderBoy In Monster World, and… up until now… Earthworm Jim. Now the first four of these games are already available on Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection, and latter three are available on Wii Virtual Console (If you're wondering "what about the SNES version?", my buddy DJRanmaS pointed out to me that the Gen/MD version has an additional level that was left out of the SNES version.)
Well, guess what guys? Interplay and Gameloft just announced that they’re working on an Earthworm Jim for Xbox Live, WiiWare, PlayStation Network and mobile phone platforms.
Login or register to post comments | Tags: Earthworm Jim, Genesis, Interplay, MegaDrive, Microsoft 1-month exclusive money tantrum, mobile phone, PlayStation Network, poll, Sega, Wii, WiiWare, XBLA, Xbox 360, Xbox Live
Sega Genesis/MegaDrive 3-in-1 Guttergamer Collection- THE FREE
Well, for all THREE of you that check this site regularly, it should not come as a shock that I’ve been slacking on updates the past few days. I’ll discuss it more in this end of week report… or “blog” if we REALLY have to use that term. I missed two important deadlines (assuming that doesn't get delayed). One was this week’s Broke Gameleaching Scrub Friday (I don’t think we’ll ever come up with a real name for Friday articles on free games). Two is that I missed the 20th anniversary of the Sega Genesis. I was on Nintendo’s side during the console wars growing up (well, until PlayStation 1), but even I have to tip my hat to the good ol’ MegaDrive as many true guttergamers got their start kicking it with Sonic on the black deck.
It’s with that we’re showcasing three abandoned/public domain titles from yesteryear for all you fans. This time I did my research, and as far as these being available on Wii VC… well, Nintendon’t. And needless to say, they’re not on any other compilations right now. But if that happens to change, please support these titles by actually purchasing them.
Remember, you’ll need an emulator such as Kega Fusion to play these.
Login or register to post comments | Tags: abandonware, Acolode, Beyond Zero Tolerance, Dahna, El Viento, freeware, Genesis, IGS, MegaDrive, public doman, Renovation, Sega, Technopop, Telenet Japan, Zero Tolerance
A semi-lazy Weird Ass Wednesday
Mr. Thompson does not feel like talking much. I almost wish some of you would just make up your own witty banter and talk amongst yourselves. Well here we go.
2 comments | Tags: Acclaim, Advertisement, cyberpunk, EGM, Game Boy, Genesis, LJN, Lufia, Nintendo, Sega, unreleased, useless accessories, Video Jukebox, Weird Ass Wednesday
A Guttergamer’s Definition Of Guttergaming (Kinda)
A guttergamer is the kind of video game enthusiast that normally has at least three different consoles hooked to his TV at once; at least two of them are obsolete.
A guttergamer will spend hours digging through the bargain bin of his local video game specialty outlet looking for that one inexpensive game that was painfully overlooked by critics, or just laughably bad. Even giving a bad game the roasting treatment with friends is entertainment.
A guttergamer doesn't really care how s/he plays that old 16-bit era game; be it a cheap anthology disc, a plug and play system, or on the original console. As long as it's fun, the medium matters little.
A guttergamer buys games for fun, not for collector's value. So what if only 1,500 copies of Cheetamen 2 for NES exist? It's still not worth $200 to own one of the worst games ever made!
A guttergamer will normally not care about having an instruction manual or case for the game (unless it's for personal sentimental value); they're crafty enough to not need them.
1 comment | Tags: 2600, 5200, abandonware, Atari, ColecoVision, emulation, freeware, GameCube, Genesis, GGP, guttergaming, introduction, MegaDrive, Microsoft, N64, NES, Nintendo, PlayStation, PlayStation 3, PlayStation2, Sega, Super NES, TurboGrafx, video games, welcome, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360