Review: Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing (Xbox 360)
Note: Portions of this review is snatched from our initial hands-on with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.
When it comes to racing games, I like mine of the arcade variety. I don’t want to tinker with gears, I don’t want to worry about acquiring licenses; I simply want roaring engines, insane jumps, crazy power slides, wacky characters, and, if possible, inane weapons that you can use to take out cocky foes that think they have their positions on lock.
Nintendo’s Mario Kart pioneered this genre on the SNES , which led to the eventual cavalcade of cute racers that rode the gamut from “inspired” to “damn, they didn’t even try to hide the rip off.” But occasionally a “kart racer” comes along with copious amounts of unadulterated fun and a compelling universe of its own, that it stands on its on four wheels and shines bright. Such is Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing.
Hands-On with Sonic & SEGA All-Stars: SEGA digs deep into its roster and strikes racing gold
When it comes to racing games, I like mine of the arcade variety. I don’t want to tinker with gears, I don’t want to worry about acquiring licenses; I simply want roaring engines, insane jumps, crazy power slides, wacky characters, and, if possible, inane weapons that you can use to take out cocky foes that think they have their positions on lock.
Nintendo’s Mario Kart pioneered this genre on the SNES , which led to the eventual cavalcade of cute racers that rode the gamut from “inspired” to “damn, they didn’t even try to hide the rip off.” But occasionally a “kart racer” comes along with copious amounts of unadulterated fun and a compelling universe of its own, that it stands on its on four wheels and shines bright. Such is Sonic & SEGA All-Stars.
Record of Agarest War: The Really Naughty Edition prevents gaming dudes from getting lucky
Companies using boobs to sell goods is one of the oldest and most dependable forms of advertising. Depending on your stance on the issue, you’ll either drool over the assets on display, laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, or wave an angry fist. But when you move the situation to the gamingverse, and replace real world women with anime-style characters, it becomes f’n awesome.
Capcom announces Color of Conflict Contest and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom 2D shmup
Today, Capcom spilled the beans on a couple of big things for fans of their games. First up, is allowing artists to decide the colors displayed on the Final Fight: Double Impact “box” via a contest run through their website. Also, when gamers pick up Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars this month, they’ll get a couple of cool new surprises. More deets after the jump.
Celebrate The Solstice With Awesome Holiday Trinkets
If you find that tinsel, partridges, and glittering stars aren’t exactly your idea of rollicking good Festivus pole decorations, Wonderland offers gaming related trinkets that will bring warmth in your geek soul. Mario mushrooms, Zelda rupees, and even Xbox 360s are available for purchase. We’re particularly digging the pixelated Yoshi thingies, but don’t know if grandmama would approve of a miniature green dino one-upping Baby Jesus.
TimeWasters: Jetpack Attack (aka The 2D Dark Void)
TimeWasters is a column highlighting many of the excellent Web-based/lightweight downloadable titles that you can dive into and finish in the space of a lunch break. This week, Chris Gampat explores Jetpack Attack.
While you’re waiting for Dark Void to come out, Capcom would like you to try Jetpack Attack, a simple and relatively fun version of the game. You’re still playing as Will, Dark Void’s protagonist, but you’re basically using your jetpack to go around shooting baddies of all random sorts while collecting power-ups, destroying things, destroying more things, and facing a giant mech boss that looks like something out of Star Wars.
Spawn Labs Aims To Slingbox Your Videogames With The Spawn HD Pro Box
The Slingbox is a device used to watch your television content anywhere there is an Internet connection. Pretty spiffy. Another company, Spawn Labs, intends to do the same thing for video games with the addition of a social element.
Imagine a friend in California wants to play Xbox 360 with you, but you’re away in New York. If you have your computer with you you can install the Spawn Player application, connect to your 360 and play a game with your pal that way.
The Spawn HD Pro Box, available for $199 at their site, allows you to do this. These boxes transmit HD-quality (720p) image quality through the Net to your computer. Games can be played with the input device of the user’s choosing.
OnLive and OTOY are similar services that combine video games and the Net, only they use servers to store their content. Spawn Labs takes an existing console and transmits it online. A potential snag is making sure you have the game you want in the system before you go anywhere.
Potentially, Spawn Labs could use this tech for video and even mobile devices and handhelds.
Hands-On With Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, A Beat ‘Em Up In Disguise
Beat ‘em ups is a genre that fueled my early gaming years. Looking back at hundreds (thousands?!) of dollars I had dropped into arcades around New York City, the vast majority of those Benjies fired up Captain America and The Avengers, Double Dragon, Final Fight, The Simpsons, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In all honesty, what separated one brawler from another was the licensing; virtually every game had one attack button and one jump button, which pressed simultaneously, caused your character to perform an energy-draining special move. Really, there wasn’t much depth or differentiation.
As arcades and 2D gaming gave up the ghost in the late ’90s, so did the brawler. But it’s back in a big, big way in the form of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. After the jump, my (delayed) hands-on impressions from Activision’s New York City showcase.
DJ Jazzy Jeff Joins The DJ Hero Line-Up
DJ Jazzy Jeff may be best known for being tossed on his ass by Uncle Phil every week, but the part-time TV star is actually an accomplished, Grammy Award winning producer, and famous turntablist. As such, it’s only fitting that he’s joining the legendary Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, DJ AM, and other wax-masters in Activision’s DJ Hero.
DJ Hero is much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, except that you look far less dorkier playing alone. By scratching, blending, sampling, and cross fading, you get to drop fat beats as colored rhythm icons make their way across the screen. So what does the DJ Jazzy Jeff bring to the table (get it?) besides his image? Two exclusive mixes that he handcrafted himself: Tears for Fears “Shout” vs. Eric B. & Rakim “Eric B. Is President” and LL Cool J “Rock the Bells” vs. The Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra “Bittersweet Symphony.” Pretty righteous.
So how much will it cost to use Jazz in DJ Hero? Pre-orders for the October release is currently set at $120 from the major outlets. Ouch. I know that the cost of creating the game/turntable has to be recouped, and royalties paid for the music licenses, but $120 seems a tad steep. You can cop a Stanton for that kind of chedda.
King of Fighters XII Gets A New Video and a Performance-Enhancing Patch
King of Fighters XII’s July 28th release date is just mere days away, but Ignition Entertainment is still cranking out the vids. This time out, a full match.
Also, we’ve received an e-mail stating that a patch will be available on launch day for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game that will help stabilize the online experience. Apparently, some players have been experiencing “minor performance issues.” Hmmm.
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