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Game News

Shadow the Hedgehog Now Available on PSN in Japan

Once thought to be an April Fools joke when it was announced, Shadow the Hedgehog is now available on PSN in Japan. It’s being released as a “PS2 Classic”, meaning it’s just the PS2 version running in an emulator. Do note that this was easily the worst version, so it might be best to get the game for Gamecube or Xbox instead. Or you can just ignore it and forget that it ever existed like I did until just now.

The classic hasn’t been announced for release yet in the US and Europe, but it can be bought using a Japanese PSN account for 1,200 yen.

[Via Siliconera, video by shadowlink4321]

Game News

Japan-Only Sonic Adventure 2 Trailer Builds Hype, Shows Oddities

In less than a week, the seas part and Sonic Adventure 2 arrives on XBLA and PSN to save the series from the current complaint of the time period. Since its reveal at Sonic Boom 2012 in July, very little has been seen of the game, aside from a one-level demo for PAX Prime attendees.

While this trailer hasn’t made its way to Western shores just yet, we can grab our first substantive looks of gameplay, as well as a few oddities. Off the bat, some will notice that some scenes are depicted in 16:9 display and others in regular 4:3, black bars and all. We’re not exactly sure what’s up with the inconsistency, but it may be a sign that work was still in progress or some cutscenes cannot be modified without camera clipping issues cropping up, or in the case of CGI scenes, being re-rendered entirely.

Otherwise, the trailer offers little new in details. Expanded multiplayer and Chao Karate will be added in through separate Battle DLC, and while the game has some improved texture work in places, it also gives it a strange diluted look to it. Overall, this is Sonic Adventure 2 as you truly imagined it.

Game News

OXM Shows Direct-Feed Sonic 4: Episode 2 Gameplay

While we have had lots of cam recorded footage of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 already, we haven’t seen any clean footage longer than 2 seconds so far. However, the Official Xbox Magazine got their hands on some for their interview with the brand manager Ken Balough, who reveals even more new details on the game. Press the image that looks like an embedded video because I can’t figure out how to actually embed it below to visit the page with the actual video:

Here Ken talks a bit more about the game’s story, like how it will have an excuse for why everything in the first episode was taken from the previous games. The upcoming Sonic Super Special #3 will also contain a small comic which explains what happens between the first and second episodes. An exclusive feature for those with both the Windows Phone 7 and Xbox 360 has also been announced. The versions will support cloud saving, so if you play the game on the WP7 and save it to the cloud you’ll be able to continue the game on the Xbox 360.

Game News

Lots of New Sonic 4: Episode 2 Stuff

I don’t know what the deal is between the press and Sonic games at events. For some reason they are terrible at playing them on camera, with Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 being no exception. Most videos released so far of people playing the game either have them not knowing what they’re supposed to do or falling into bottomless pits, so it’s nice to have a full playthrough of the first act of White Park Zone where the player actually knows how to play a videogame:

Last week SEGA held an event where they showcased all of their upcoming digital releases. From this came some new screenshots showing more of the game’s boss battles and a few interviews with Takashi Iizuka with quite a bit of new information on Episode 2 and Sonic’s future. All of this can be seen after the jump.

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Game News

Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 Achievements Revealed and More Screenshots

Just as we thought we wouldn’t see any more Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 info or media for a while, the achievements for the game suddenly pop out of nowhere. Around the same time Sega of Europe has uploaded seven more screenshots on their official website, showing a returning object from the more recent titles in the Sonic franchise:

As you can see, the Red Star Rings from Sonic Colours and Sonic Generations are back. In previous games they unlocked Game Land stages or extras and skills respectively, so the question is what they unlock this time around. Go after the jump to see the rest of the screenshots and the achievements, beware that these do have some pretty big spoilers.

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Game News, Sega Retro

Jet Set Radio Skating Towards XBLA and PSN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfDlHdERxrE

Turns out the new Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 2 trailer (more on that later) may not be the most important Sega-related reveal today. A teaser trailer for the re-release of Jet Set Radio, a favorite of all Dreamcast fans, has just been released on Youtube. While there’s no release date announced, we do know that it will be released on Xbox Live Arcade and Sony Entertainment Network.

It seems like fans don’t need to worry much about Sega having lost the licensing to the music like with the digital release of Crazy Taxi, considering Funky Radio can be heard in the video above. Now let’s just hope it gets a better treatment than the other Dreamcast ports released so far as well.

Game News

Sonic Heroes Now Available on the European Playstation Store for PS3

Sonic Heroes, one of the games that according to some started the wave of bad games in the Sonic franchise, is now available on the Playstation Store in Europe for £7.99/€9.99 for the Playstation 3. This was released along with other PS2 games under the PS2 Classics label on SEN. Note that these games (Including Sonic Heroes) didn’t get the HD treatment certain other “classics” like the God of War or Sly Cooper franchises got. These are exactly the same as the original versions, with the resolution being upscaled to what you have in your PS3 settings.

So yes, this means it’s the worst version of Sonic Heroes. And no, this does not mean that Sonic Adventure 2: Battle will be getting a re-release. Also, the file size is 4.5 GB, so if for some reason you actually want to buy this game make sure you have enough space on your PS3’s hard drive.

[Via Playstation Blog]

Game News

Sonic CD is PSN’s Top Dowloaded Game for December 2011

Sony’s official U.S. PlayStation blog revealed that Sonic CD boomed past the competition and was the top purchased digital game on the PlayStation Store for the last month of 2011. Given the cult classic status it has amongst Sonic fans, seeing it bust out the gate strong is always a pleasant sight, though its feeling of familiarity with small enhancements for this HD age to give it a breath of fresh air certainly left us smiling.

The other story is that it no doubt shows success for Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead’s Retro Engine, utilized to power the game and all its modifications, and more importantly sends a strong message to Sega that demand is out there and there is benefit to using the engine in not only new Sonic games, but various new titles in general given the engine’s versatility. Congratulations, Taxman!

If you’ve not gone and purchased Sonic CD or spread the word to friends who enjoy a quirky platformer, what are you waiting for? We’ll even GIVE you a copy of Sonic CD on Steam if you have a nice tale on how you got someone to play Sonic CD!

Sony’s official U.S. PlayStation blog revealed that Sonic CD boomed past the competition and was the top purchased digital game on the PlayStation Store for the last month of 2011. Given the cult classic status it has amongst Sonic fans, seeing it bust out the gate strong is always a pleasant sight, though its feeling of familiarity with small enhancements for this HD age to give it a breath of fresh air certainly left us smiling.

The other story is that it no doubt shows success for Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead’s Retro Engine, utilized to power the game and all its modifications, and more importantly sends a strong message to Sega that demand is out there and there is benefit to using the engine in not only new Sonic games, but various new titles in general given the engine’s versatility. Congratulations, Taxman!

If you’ve not gone and purchased Sonic CD or spread the word to friends who enjoy a quirky platformer, what are you waiting for? We’ll even GIVE you a copy of Sonic CD on Steam if you have a nice tale on how you got someone to play Sonic CD!

Sony’s official U.S. PlayStation blog revealed that Sonic CD boomed past the competition and was the top purchased digital game on the PlayStation Store for the last month of 2011. Given the cult classic status it has amongst Sonic fans, seeing it bust out the gate strong is always a pleasant sight, though its feeling of familiarity with small enhancements for this HD age to give it a breath of fresh air certainly left us smiling.

The other story is that it no doubt shows success for Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead’s Retro Engine, utilized to power the game and all its modifications, and more importantly sends a strong message to Sega that demand is out there and there is benefit to using the engine in not only new Sonic games, but various new titles in general given the engine’s versatility. Congratulations, Taxman!

If you’ve not gone and purchased Sonic CD or spread the word to friends who enjoy a quirky platformer, what are you waiting for? We’ll even GIVE you a copy of Sonic CD on Steam if you have a nice tale on how you got someone to play Sonic CD!

Sony’s official U.S. PlayStation blog revealed that Sonic CD boomed past the competition and was the top purchased digital game on the PlayStation Store for the last month of 2011. Given the cult classic status it has amongst Sonic fans, seeing it bust out the gate strong is always a pleasant sight, though its feeling of familiarity with small enhancements for this HD age to give it a breath of fresh air certainly left us smiling.

The other story is that it no doubt shows success for Christian “The Taxman” Whitehead’s Retro Engine, utilized to power the game and all its modifications and more importantly sends a strong message to Sega that demand is out there and there is benefit to using the engine in not only new Sonic games, but various new titles in general given the engine’s versatility. Congratulations, Taxman!

If you’ve not gone and purchased Sonic CD or spread the word to friends who enjoy a quirky platformer, what are you waiting for? We’ll even GIVE you a copy of Sonic CD on Steam if you have a nice tale on how you got someone to play Sonic CD!

Game News, Interviews

Sonic CD Developer Diary Uploaded, Let The Hype Commence

It’s the middle of December, and the rerelease of Sonic the Hedgehog CD is supposed to happen at any moment. No, we don’t have a release date still. But Sega of America seems to realize that, yes, we really want this game. And so instead of telling us when it’ll come out, they’ve given us something amazing. Something that, by all rights, should have been in the documentary Sonic: The Birth of an Icon. Though the interior has been redone by our very own Taxman, the visual style of the game is still definitely that of Kazuyuki Hoshino, who was also the lead character designer of the game. And since he’s still at Sega, someone decided to ask him to talk about the game. And talk he did.

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