SEGA Game Reviews
Review Super Street Fighter II (Wii Virtual Console / Mega Drive)
Online, but off-base?
It's taken five and a half years for an online Street Fighter game to reach Wii. In that time, Xbox 360 and PS3 owners have had five different SF online titles — six, if you count Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Heck, even 3DS has Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. Wii owners, for their sins, get an online-enabled...
Review Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure (3DS)
It’s got the rhythm
The early part of 2012 has brought us some blockbuster titles on 3DS that, in their own way, involve plenty of tension and shooting enemies. Perhaps it’s time to sit back and indulge in something a little more off the wall and unexpected, and Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure certainly fits the bill. Despite the...
Review Dragon Crystal (3DS eShop / GG)
Manageable masochism
For a system known for its incredible appetite for AA batteries, the Game Gear makes quite a strange home for the hardcore, permadeath-filled roguelike Dragon Crystal. With absolutely no save option or password system, the game must have caused some incredible bouts of rage when those last spurts of juice ran out. Dragon Crystal...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble (3DS eShop / GG)
Need for speed
While SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog series pulled in monstrous sales on the Mega Drive/Genesis, many gamers aren't aware that Sonic also enjoyed a number of releases on the Master System and Game Gear. Sonic Triple Trouble is the follow-up to Sonic Chaos and while the game still suffered from the hardware limitations of the Game Gear's...
Review Shinobi (3DS eShop / GG)
On-the-go ninja, go ninja, go.
The Shinobi series has been sneaking about the gaming world for over two decades, and the 1987 original arcade entry remains a classic to this day. The 1991 Game Gear instalment — also called Shinobi — has now infiltrated the 3DS eShop, and we're happy to say that it's aged better than we would have expected. You...
Review Strider (Wii Virtual Console / Mega Drive)
From Russia with love
When you consider that he hasn’t starred in his own game since 2000, Strider Hiryu’s popularity in Capcom fan circles is impressive, which is largely down to the high regard in which players hold his 1989 coin-op début. Powered by Capcom’s CPS hardware, Strider was an arcade action platformer that redefined the genre;...
Review Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (3DS)
Must train harder
2007's Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games on Wii marked the two once arch-nemeses' – in the eyes of us children of the nineties, anyway – first side-by-side appearance that didn't involve them attempting to wallop seven shades of snot out of each other. It was a solid sports offering that exemplified the minigame collection...
Fancy that
The original Crush on PSP was a commercial failure, despite very positive reviews and praise for its ingenious concept. Developer Zoë Mode's returned for a second attempt with CRUSH3D, out now in Europe and heading Stateside in February. CRUSH's central concept is simple: its 3D stages can be "crushed" to become two...
Review Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Wii)
Olympic shames
It was four years ago that the old 16-bit rivals teamed up for the first time: Sonic appeared in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the two took their tussle to the track in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games. It wasn't exactly a high watermark for either mascot, but it felt right at home on the Wii at the time: motion gaming was taking...
Review Sonic Generations (3DS)
Spin cycle
A lot can change in 20 years. When the original Sonic the Hedgehog launched on 23rd June 1991 we didn't even have the Super NES in the West, and the thought that Nintendo and SEGA would one day work together was less than laughable. Yet here we are, two decades later, playing a celebration of Sonic's career on Nintendo's latest console. A...
Shinobi returns for another slice of revenge
Given the current trend of rebooting classic video game franchises it seems long overdue that SEGA should reinvent fan-favourite Shinobi, for both veteran ninja warriors and younger ninjitsu newcomers to enjoy. Entrusted with this great responsibility is developer Griptonite Games, no stranger to...
All the fun of the fare?
SEGA has a brilliant track record in arcade driving games. OutRun, Daytona USA, SEGA Rally, Hang On; many older readers probably have fond memories of dropping coins on quick races on games housed within some oversized cabinet complete with steering wheel and pedals... before subsequently emptying their wallet of many more...
Review Captain America: Super Soldier (3DS)
Captain Average
Superhero fans invariably have very little to look forward to or shout about when it comes to video games. Whether it be down to either a lack of respect for the source material on the part of the developer or a rushed development cycle so that the games can meet strict deadlines and release alongside their film counterparts, comic...
Review Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (GameCube)
Super Sonic or Super Chronic?
SEGA's attempt to have Sonic the Hedgehog transcend his 2D roots and venture into the realm of 3D didn't go nearly as smoothly as Nintendo's own Super Mario 64, despite Sonic Adventure being generally well received upon its release on the Dreamcast in 1999. It didn't take long for the cloud to lift from the judgement of...
Review Aliens: Infestation (DS)
"Another glorious day in the Corps!"
Of the four main Alien films, it's James Cameron’s action packed 1986 movie Aliens that provides the most explosive source material for a video game conversion. Konami knew this when it picked up the licence and released a fun arcade game, enabling players to blast pink xenomorphs in 1990. SEGA fans have...
Review Thor: God of Thunder (3DS)
Does 3D Thor give 2D a hammering?
When SEGA decided to port Thor: God of Thunder to 3DS, there were two clear routes available: could build upon the DS game, a well-received pixel art 2D side-scrolling brawler by WayForward, or directly convert Red Fly Studio’s third person Wii hack-and-slash title. It chose the latter — after all Red Fly has...
Review Captain America: Super Soldier (DS)
Save the fireworks
Stars. Stripes. Rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air. Deer and antelope playing. America. The United States is a country with enough national pride to fuel a superhero, and that's exactly what Captain America is all about. Does his movie tie-in handheld outing Captain America: Super Soldier channel these well enough to...
Review Captain America: Super Soldier (Wii)
Shield your eyes...
There's been a fair amount of hyperbole thrown around for Captain America: Super Soldier in the gaming community, with many people making wild claims that SEGA has done for The First Avenger what Rocksteady did for The Dark Knight. While there are definite hints of Batman: Arkham Asylum in High Voltage's Wii outing for Cap', the...
Review Sonic Advance (Game Boy Advance)
Spin-tendo
One of the few good things about being old is that sometimes you can glean satisfaction from being in the right place at the right time, where you were lucky enough to have first-hand experience of something special. Nostalgia is the bread-and-butter of retro gaming and throughout its history there will always be moments that stick in a...
Review Thor: God of Thunder (DS)
Way to go, Way-Thor-ward
At a SEGA press event in March this year WayForward’s Director for Thor: God of Thunder, Austin Ivansmith, noted that it is the company's “love letter to the DS” and considering its back catalogue of well received DS and DSiWare titles this game caught the attention of gamers normally hesitant of a movie licenced game...
Review Thor: God of Thunder (Wii)
Thundering quest or blundering pest?
The Asgardian warrior Sif has fallen, and Thor, son of Odin, wields his mighty hammer Mjölnir with vengeance. His mischievous brother Loki seizes this opportunity and uses Thor's rage to engineer an attack on their home, resulting in the fall of the Nine Worlds. It's a story well suited to its mythological roots...
It'll take more than a new lick of paint to save this franchise
When High Voltage Software first decided to enter the Wii first-person shooter space, competition wasn’t exactly something they really had to worry about. Sure, there had been a few half-hearted ports of popular franchises, but The Conduit was the first proper FPS developed...
Review Super Monkey Ball 3D (3DS)
Are you ready to roll?
Since the original Super Monkey Ball released alongside Nintendo's Gamecube console back in 2001, the series has experienced a roller coaster ride with as many bumps as its level designs. While we've seen some solid releases over the years, fans have typically continued to clamor for a return to the series' roots. While Super...
All things wise and wonderful
One lament accompanied 2008’s lacklustre Sonic Unleashed more loudly than others – "why can’t Sega ditch the werehog and make the daytime stages into a complete game?" A few years later and in rushes Sonic Colours with all the usual fanfare and expectation around a new 3D Sonic game, except this time –...
All things bright and beautiful
The portable part of a hedgehog double whammy, Sonic Colours is – you guessed it – a high-speed 2D platformer. But wait, there’s more: this time Sonic is joined by a range of unique power-ups that help to refresh the standard formula. If you’ve played either of the hedgehog’s previous two outings on DS, the...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 (WiiWare)
After 15 years, 16-bit is back
The drums are perfect. That's the second thing you notice about Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, right after Sonic runs past the Sega logo to the classic 16-bit "Say-gah!" sample. Anyone who's ever played a Sonic game will start to smile: it's off to a perfect start. That start builds momentum quickly. Splash Hill is a...
Review Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns Arcade Hits Pack (Wii)
Blasts from the past
Once upon a time, on-rails shooters ruled the arcades, and arguably no company did the genre better than Sega. Whether blasting criminals in Virtua Cop, gunning down zombies in House of the Dead or taking down dinosaurs, aliens or whatever else strays in front of your barrel, Sega brought a rich collection of shooters to arcade...
Review Tournament of Legends (Wii)
Decent, but not quite legendary
We've seen quite a resurgence within the fighting game genre over the past few years, in terms of both 2D and 3D varieties. While flashy over-the-top special moves and an almost limitless arsenal of moves have become the staple of these titles, we are beginning to see a bit more innovation within the games, especially...
The DS boldly goes where no handheld has gone before
Infinite Space begins with a familiar enough RPG scenario: youthful protagonist Yuri (are protagonists in JRPGs ever anything but youthful?), trapped on an oppressive planet and dreaming of life as a space traveller, is whisked from his tedious existence by Nia Lochlain, a kind of female Han Solo...
Review Sonic Classic Collection (DS)
Hog roast
In a perfect world, there’s surely only one score we could give the first fully portable collection of the hedgehog’s finest outings: a well-deserved 10/10. SEGA’s handheld equivalent of Super Mario All-Stars, Sonic Classic Collection features the first four Sonic titles along with Knuckles’s appearance in Sonic 2 and Sonic 3,...
