Those Xenomorphs are back in Sega’s upcoming shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines, which just got a new trailer that shows off the terrifying action you can expect when you step into the shoes of Marines being hunted by the horrific creatures.

When the Marines are sent to investigate the long-lost U.S.S Sulaco, they come face to face with the jet-black monsters themselves onboard this claustrophobic ghost ship. FPS horror/action will unfold as you take command of a group of United States Colonial Marines, who are charged with uncovering the truth behind a galaxy-spanning deception that could spell the end of the human race.

Sega is striving for ultra-authenticity, recreating environments from the films like the planet LV-426 and the Hadley’s Hope, along with weapons and of course the Xenomorphs themselves. Aliens: Colonial Marines, in development by Gearbox Software (Brothers In Arms, Borderlands, Duke Nukem Forever) will arrive sometime in 2012 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Gearbox Software — the creators of Borderlands, and the folks behind the Duke Nukem Forever rescue — is working on an original Aliens game, titled Aliens: Colonial Marines, set in the universe of the popular film franchise. You’ll go head-to-head against those unloveable Xenomorphs (the titular alien creatures) in claustrophobic environments for some good old fashioned jump-out-and-scare-you FPS thrills.

Sega (who’s publishing the game) and Gearbox have been very secretive on the game’s plot and how it fits into the overall Aliens universe. Is it before the movies? After? In between? But they’ve finally released a short synopsis describing the game’s setup:

Aliens: Colonial Marines begins with an ostensibly abandoned ship, the U.S.S. Sulaco, recovered in orbit around LV-426. Players lead a group of highly trained United States Colonial Marines as they board the deserted craft to uncover the fate of the crew. They will have to fight to survive unspeakable horrors and their own anxieties as they chase down the truth behind a galaxy-spanning deception that places humanity at the mercy of the most murderous and deadly species in the universe.

The game is said to feature authentic environments from the films, and will even provide weapons from the movies for players to use. It’s set for release in Spring of 2012 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Expect to hear plenty more about the game out of Sega thanks to next week’s E3 Expo in Los Angeles.

One of Sega’s hot new properties, Binary Domain, decided to come out of hiding today, with a terrific gameplay trailer and some gorgeous screens.

As you may (or may not) recall, Binary Domain is the latest game from Toshihiro Nagoshi, creator of a number of classic Sega titles, including Shenmue, Yakuza, and more. The game takes a familiar theme — man vs. machine — and puts a decidedly Japanese spin on it.

The plot has some noticeable similarities to other stories where machines become sentient and start evolving into human-like automatons — Terminator and Battlestar Galactica among them — but sets the action in 2080 Tokyo, where the culture has crafted sleek, white Apple-type robots to serve them. As it always does, war breaks out between the robots and mankind, leading to some fast-paced, spectacular firefights. The trailer above provides our first look at the game in action, and watching it, I was reminded of the kind of big, cinematic set-pieces that the Uncharted franchise is known for. Could Binary Domain be Uncharted-meets-scifi?

We’ll find out when it drops in early 2012.

Sega has taken the wraps off a new multiplayer brawler from Platinum Games that puts a whole new spin on the genre. Anarchy Reigns pits you against multiple opponents — all at the same time — in a huge arena in a gory, online battle royale. Various modes of play will allow for differing challenges such as a tag team round.

The game’s director, Masaki Yamanaka, describes the twist Platinum has devised for the game’s design philosophy as having over the top fist-to-fist action. “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are both amped up far beyond what you would ever experience in a shooter,” he explains. You can get a taste of what he means in the first screens and the announcement trailer below.

Platinum Games is known for its innovative games such as Vanquish, Bayonetta, MadWorld, and the Nintendo DS title Infinite Space.

Anarchy Reigns will be available this Fall for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Interested gamers might want to bookmark anarchyreigns.com.

]]> http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/01/sega-lets-anarchy-reign/feed/ 0 http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/01/xbox-goes-way-back-with-dreamcast-classics/ http://www.forevergeek.com/2011/01/xbox-goes-way-back-with-dreamcast-classics/#comments Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:40:01 +0000 Robin Parrish http://www.forevergeek.com/?p=26976

You gotta respect something that refuses to die. Like Sega’s Dreamcast console. Widely considered ahead of its time (it was the first console to connect to an online network), it debuted not long before the PS2, GameCube, and the original Xbox. But even though it was Sega’s last entry in the console wars, it’s proven to have remarkable staying power among its dedicated fans.

Today Sega announced that it’s compiling four fan-favorite Dreamcast games into a collection of games for Xbox 360 and PC. Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi, Sega Bass Fishing, and Space Channel 5: Part 2 are the titles included in The Dreamcast Collection, which arrives in stores February 22nd in America and the 25th in Europe.

Sega has “enhanced” the graphics of all four games for this new release, and is adding support for Xbox Live and Windows Live achievements and leaderboards. While the included games represent a nice variety of play styles, the selection arguably leaves plenty to be desired. Where’s Shenmue and its sequel? Where’s the original Marvel vs. Capcom? Skies of Arcadia? Jet Grind Radio? Virtua Tennis or Soul Caliber or that weird fish-with-a-man’s-face pet sim Seaman? Rez???

In any event, if your Dreamcast is long dead, this little collection — which will likely retail for far less than the standard $60 price point — may be your only way of reliving the glory days. Until the next collection is released, anyway.

Sega today announced the next big game from Toshihiro Nagoshi, the celebrated game-producer behind Shenmue, Yakuza, Super Monkey Ball, and many more classic Sega titles. His new game is Binary Domain, a squad-based shooter set in Tokyo in 2080.

Binary Domain pits you and your human peace-keeping squad against a robot invasion force, fighting through the derelict lower levels of futuristic Tokyo. Nagoshi says that despite its focus on mechanical enemies, life is the game’s theme, with a very human drama at its core. It asks the provocative question, “Are the robots becoming more human, or are humans becoming more like machines?”

The game is using a “highly advanced AI” system that Sega claims gives Binary Domain fast-paced, intense battlefields, forcing players to plan movements with caution and strategy. Here are the first screens from the game, and a teaser trailer. No word yet on when the game is expected to arrive, but it’s planned for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

FAIL: Nick Cave’s The Crow
An unnamed actor in the cast of the forthcoming Crow movie, set to star Mark Wahlberg, rejected musician and quirky, dark film maker Nick Cave’s script. So it’s back to the drawing board for the movie, and both Cave and Crow fans are left scratching their heads. A Cave Crow could’ve had tremendous potential with Cave directing and screenwriting. Such a pity.

WIN: Red
This snazzy action film staring Bruce Willis and a host of other notables like Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren, has done a respectable business at the box office. But most interestingly, it’s far surpassed the quality of the graphic novel on which its based. Red the comic is somewhat disappointing – short, one-sided, and pretty predictable. Red the film brings in a richer cast of characters and keeps the pace going strong the whole movie through. A rare occurrence when a movie’s actually better than its original source material.

FAIL: Zynga. Period.
FarmVille creators Zynga have been slapped with a class-action lawsuit alleging that Zynga illegally shared Facebook user data with advertisers and, of course, data brokers. Zynga’s reaction? “We believe that the complaint is without merit, and we intend to defend against it vigorously.” Yawn. [Via USA Today]

FAIL: UK Privacy Rights
If you’re in, or will be visiting, the United Kingdom, prepare to turn the paranoia dial up to 11. New plans to introduce legislation that will allow police to log every phone call, text message, e-mail, and web site visit made by the UK public. The content of the communications won’t be stored, but the data about the calls, texts, e-mails, and visits will be – for at least a year.

WIN: Retro Sega
Sega announced plans to bring back Dreamcast games on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. Up first: Space Channel 5 and Sega Bass Fishing. While this definitely earns Sega points for serving up a dose of nostalgia, I say wake me when they’ve done the same with Genesis games.

Sega is working on a Captain America video game to coincide with next year’s big-screen movie, but Sega says it’s not an exact “game of the movie,” though it is set within the world of the movie. Which means these great-looking screenshots and conceptual artwork are indicative of the look and feel that the movie will have. Of particular interest to the faithful should be the renderings of Arnim Zola and the war machine of Hydra.

Captain America: Super Soldier is described as a third-person platformer that uses “a highly athletic combat system” where Cap’s iconic shield will be the key to his attack, defense, puzzle-solving, and wall-scaling maneuvers. Comic book writer Cristos Gage has penned the game’s original story, which finds Cap infiltrating a Wolfenstein-like castle that’s being used as a secret Hydra base during World War II. The Red Skull is expected to put in an appearance, as is Iron Cross and lots of other well-known enemies.

Sega will release Captain America: Super Soldier next year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and Nintendo DS. There’s no word yet on whether or not cast members from the film like Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving will voice their video game counterparts.

The Sonic the Hedgehog series is a lot like that hot chick you knew in high school. She had an amazing body, was super hot, and knew how to make boys like her. Then she got old, had a few kids, maybe tried to get some plastic surgery but that didn’t work out. Now it’s 10 years later and she’s got more chins than Chris Farley and a voice that sounds like she’s smoked 4 packs of Marlboro reds for the past decade. There’s just not a lot left there to love.

But if you look back and remember what made that girl hot to begin with, then maybe you’ve got something there. Ultimately, that was always the problem with Sonic. After Sonic 3, they tried to go 3-D like every other character out there, but it just didn’t work. Then they tried upping the speed and that just made the game unplayable. In fact, Sega has tried almost everything with this character, to the point that I had given up. They just needed to get back to what made the game fun to begin with. It was a simple side scroller, nothing more. Bring that back and we’ll have some fun.

Turns out, they have. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has been announced, and it takes Sonic back to the old school days of the Sega Genesis, right where he needs to be. From the site:

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I, the first Sonic game developed exclusively for download, brings back the adventure that Sonic fans have been waiting 16 years for.  It will offer the classic Sonic moves that fans love including Spin Dash and Rolling Attack and will also feature Homing Attack, all in beautiful CG rendered environments. Packed with special stages, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode I will take players through a variety of different Zones, inspired by the Genesis-era style. Longtime fans will not be disappointed as they face some intense boss battles against everyone’s favorite villain – the always devious and evil – Dr.Eggman.

By targeting the download market, Sega is making sure that they don’t invest in a physical product, just in case this Sega goes the way of the others. As of right now, it’s coming out for the Playstation 3, Wii and XBox 360, but they’re strongly hinting that it will be on other download sites as well. It doesn’t take a genius to guess that the next platform is the iPhone/iPad, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

The game will come out this summer, and we’ll keep you in the loop when we find out more info.

I just recently bought Top Spin 3. I’m a big tennis fan but since I don’t have the actual skills to play tennis in real life, I just fulfill my grand slam dreams through video game tennis. I’m actually pretty good at it and I’m now building up my character so I can start competing in online tournaments.

Top Spin 3 is actually the second tennis game in this generation. I previously bought Virtua Tennis 3 but sold it a few months ago since I’ve already finished the game. The lack of online play meant that the game had no legs for more playing options. But Sega has announced that it will be releasing Virtua Tennis 2009 this year. The new tennis game will be available on all three consoles — the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. A PC version will also be released. This time Sega has built an online play mode and have also bulked up the roster of tennis stars, which will include Federer, Nadal and the Williams sisters. The mini games that have come to characterize Virtua Tennis will be returning with five new challenges.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this. The online mode is what I’m looking forward to the most.

“We welcome AMD’s broad support for DirectX 10.1 compliant hardware and we’re pleased to see our newest technology brought to market so soon. One of the great advantages of PC gaming is the rapid pace at which the experiences evolve and improve. The ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and now the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series hardware delivers on the promise of DirectX 10 gaming with significantly improved visuals and enhanced performance,” said Kevin Unangst, Global Director, Microsoft Games for Windows.

“With Battleforge, EA is pushing the boundaries of the real-time strategy genre introducing social and community technologies to deliver a whole new online experience. It only makes sense that we leverage the latest technology such as DirectX 10.1 supported by the new ATI Radeon HD 4800 series of graphics cards from AMD to deliver an amazing experience for gamers,” said Dirk Ringe, vice president, EA Phenomic. “We’re working hard to deliver a new fantasy RTS experience never seen before. Using DirectX 10.1 and AMD’s graphics technology will enable Battleforge to look its absolute best.”

“SEGA welcomes the chance to deliver one of next year’s most technologically advanced titles, Stormrise. AMD’s enthusiastic commitment to new standards such as DirectX 10.1 in the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series is helping us develop a game which looks better and runs faster than was possible on previous platforms,” said Chris Southall, CTO Europe, SEGA. “SEGA is delighted to team up with AMD on one of our forthcoming games. AMD’s firm commitment to cutting-edge technology makes them a natural partner for us on Stormrise.”

ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics products and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics products are widely available now at leading e-tailers, retailers and system integrators worldwide.

To showcase the difference that DirectX 10.1 technology makes, AMD recently unveiled a real-time 3D demo called “Ping Pong” to illustrate some of the new graphical techniques made possible by the new features DirectX 10.1 and supported by both the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and ATI Radeon HD 4000 series of graphics processors. The interactive demo shows off advanced lighting techniques only possible through DirectX 10.1. For more information and to view the demo, please visit: http://ati.amd.com/developer/demos/rhd3000.html.

I am very excited about the news that the Nintendo Wii is getting a new House of The Dead title for Sega. The game, House of The Dead: Overkill, is said to carry on the cheesy, b-movie-like theme of the previous games.

According to reports, Sega will serve up a prequel that will tell the story of Agent G and Agent Washington. As for gameplay, the Wii-Mote will act as the “light gun” but melee attacks will also be incorporated in the agents’ list of moves. I can’t wait for the game to arrive next year.

As announced over at IGN, to further celebrate Sonic the Hedgehog’s 15th anniversary, Sega will be releasing a port of the original Sega Genesis Sonic the Hedgehog 1 on the Gameboy Advance. However, to sweeten the deal, this port will contain a save feature and Sonic’s trademark spin-dash attack, which wasn’t created until Sonic the Hedgehog 2, worked into the game. No news on whether they’re going to give the sprites any sort of make-over or if any further alterations will be made. Never-the-less, this is a great game to take on the go and I sincerely hope it means the rest of Sonic’s Genesis adventures will be ported to a handheld.