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Alpha Protocol: The Espionage RPG: The Release Date

by JC Fletcher { Jul 3rd 2009 at 9:15AM }

Sega of America has announced the release date for Obsidian's Alpha Protocol, whatever that is. Oh, it's "The Espionage RPG." How helpful! That game will be out on October 6.

In addition to the date announcement, Sega released the North American box art, which can be found in our gallery. We must warn you, however, before you rush into the gallery, full of hope for a more exciting, distinctive box art image: it's exactly the same as the UK box art seen yesterday, with the "PAL" label changed to "NTSC" and the PEGI rating box changed to an ESRB box. It's still the same Pseudo-Bourne standing up in front of geography class.

Gallery: Alpha Protocol

Get iPhone Columns as a free 4th of July treat from Sega

by Richard Mitchell { Jul 3rd 2009 at 2:00AM }

If you've been gaming as long as we have, you know that Columns is one of Sega's great puzzle games. Like most puzzle games, the object is simply to line up four same-colored gems -- horizontally, vertically or diagonally -- and watch them explode. Whether you're familiar with the game or not, we've got some good news: Sega is giving away the iPhone version of Columns for free in celebration of USA's Independence Day. The app will be free starting midnight, Friday, July 3, all the way through Monday, July 6. Sega didn't specify a timezone, so we suggest you avoid downloading it if the price reads anything other than free.

Granted, Columns Deluxe -- which includes ports of Columns and Puyo Pop -- is only $1.99 normally. It hasn't received terrific reviews either. But hey, it's hard to argue with free.

Gallery: Columns Deluxe (iPhone)

Reminder: Alpha Protocol is The Espionage RPG

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Jul 2nd 2009 at 3:45PM }

So, in case it wasn't made absolutely clear by the box art, here's what Obsidian Entertainment's head-slammin' Alpha Protocol isn't:

The Overwrought Fantasy RPG
The Contemplative Neo-Classical RPG
The Effervescent Dating RPG
The Number One Best Selling RPG
An Espionage RPG
That Other Game About The Secret Agent and Stuff

Joking aside, it's quite likely that we're simply oblivious to the subtitle's significance to the plot -- the one involving a sneaky rocket-propelled grenade that taps your phone and then blows off your ear. See if you can spot it in the developer diary embedded after the break.

Gallery: Alpha Protocol

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Infinite Space launching Spring 2010, animated trailer launching right now

by JC Fletcher { Jul 2nd 2009 at 3:15PM }

When Sega released the first episode of its Production I.G/Gonzo-animated Infinite Space video series in Japan, we were quite pleased to look at it, but our rudimentary understanding of the language prevented us from gleaning anything substantive from the story.

Luckily, Sega has started translating the videos into English, with voice acting and everything, and we can now enjoy both looking at them and knowing what's going on. The voice acting is pretty much what you'd expect from American anime releases, but it's a small price to pay for comprehension. In this trailer, we see that a crash-landed "Watcher" gives protagonist Yuri the opportunity to build his own spaceship.

This trailer comes along with Sega's announcement of a spring 2010 release date in North America. We can only hope it continues releasing translated videos to tide us over.

Gallery: Infinite Space

Sega considering more mature Wii titles, says Overkill was 'profitable'

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 30th 2009 at 4:15PM }

We loved the mother[expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] out of Sega's recent mature pair of Wii titles, House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld -- unfortunately, the same can't be said for the game purchasing population of the world. The two games' sales were far from stellar, but Sega isn't ready to give up on developing family unfriendly titles for Nintendo's home console.

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Sega MD of European development, Gary Dunn, explained that the company's outlook on its two grown-up outings is far from grim -- he even claimed that "House of the Dead: Overkill was a profitable title." He went on to explain, "Whilst MadWorld commercially didn't sell what we were expecting I wouldn't say it's game over for mature Wii titles from Sega." Hopefully the company's persistence will be rewarded, if only to ensure a few dozen sequels to Overkill. (Overkill 2: Superfluous Murder, Overkill 3: The Overkillinest, etc.)

Review: The Conduit

by Justin McElroy { Jun 30th 2009 at 12:45PM }

The problem with reviewing High Voltage's The Conduit is that it's impossible to do in a vacuum. Depending on where you're coming from, you're going to have vastly different reactions to this game, so I'm going to do my best to talk to everyone.

Gallery: The Conduit

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Brand new 2D shmup 'Dux' released ... for Dreamcast

by Griffin McElroy { Jun 29th 2009 at 10:00PM }

It's a sad fact that at the end of every console war, a remainder of die-hard zealots from each camp stay behind, waving high their console's battle standard while refusing to endorse any and all future pieces of hardware. Such a camp surely exists for the Sega Dreamcast, and while time may have forgotten these stubborn warriors, the kind folks at developer HUCAST have not -- they recently released a 2D horizontal shoot-em-up titled Dux exclusively on the extinct piece of Sega hardware.

Dux is currently selling for the bizarre price of $27.90. Fortunately, it won't be the last game to come out on the system -- HUCAST is nearing completion on another Dreamcast-exclusive shmup titled Last Hope: Pink Bullets, which was presumably co-developed by The Shins.

VC in Brief: Fantasy Zone II (Sega Master System)

by David Hinkle { Jun 29th 2009 at 3:25PM }

Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
We say: Shmup and Sega fanboys will gobble this up
This week, we've got classic shmup Fantasy Zone II on the Virtual Console. And, just like the first game, it's a whole bunch of colorful fun. Featuring infectious music, pleasant locales, and plenty of coins to collect, it's a solid choice for someone looking for a shmup that isn't Gradius.

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks.

NintendoWare Weekly: Water Warfare in for a Reel Fishing Challenge

by David Hinkle { Jun 29th 2009 at 11:25AM }

It wouldn't be Monday without new games to download across Nintendo platforms. This week's highlight is definitely Hudson's first-person soaker, Water Warfare. It's a neat concept, but we really think Hudson could've spent some time tightening up the graphics on level three.

Gallery: Water Warfare

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New Resonance of Fate screens feature anthropomorphic canines

by Ben Gilbert { Jun 29th 2009 at 10:45AM }

It's not often we're able to do this so long before a game is released -- before we've ever even seen the game on a screen other than the Joystiq Blogtop 3000s™ we're assigned -- but we can categorically name Resonance of Fate as our game of the year as of this morning. Why, you ask? Three simple words, friends: Dogs wearing jackets.

New screens of the game, coming from Japan (likely from End of Eternity, the Japanese title of RoF), look, in certain cases, a bit less than thrilling. Sure, the game's CG trailer looked like 95405000 yen, but we're talking still shots of RPG gameplay here -- not exactly life-altering stuff. That being said, well, there's a dog. And he's wearing a jacket!

Gallery: Resonance of Fate (6/29/09)

Obsidian confirms the cancellation of Aliens RPG [Update: Sega agrees]

by Jem Alexander { Jun 27th 2009 at 12:30PM }

[Update: And, not with a bang but a whimper, Sega has confirmed the cancellation of Aliens RPG, telling Giant Bomb, "At this point, SEGA has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG. The Aliens franchise offers us so much content to choose from that we feel it important to take a step back and carefully consider the type of game we want to release. We plan to continue working with the Aliens franchise and ask fans to be patient and stay tuned for more information about what SEGA has coming out for the Aliens series of games, starting with the upcoming Alien vs. Predator game. We are very excited about and focused on Alien vs. Predator, which promises gamers a fantastic single player game and an equally compelling multiplayer experience. We are confident that it provides all the excitement and fun that the Aliens and Predator fans are looking for!"]

[Original: Finally, Aliens RPG's will it, won't it dance has come to an official, if disappointing, end. We were hoping the many, many rumors of its cancellation would be for naught, but a moderator at the Obsidian forums has confirmed that the project is dead; "unfortunately, it is true that we are no longer working on the game, and we wanted to finally announce that officially to everyone who has been following its development."

Hopefully the same isn't true for Aliens: Colonial Marines, or that would leave Sega with only Aliens vs Predator in development. The Japanese publisher further confirmed the project's termination to GameSpot, saying, "At this point, Sega has no plans to move forward with the Aliens RPG."]

[Via Big Download]

Metareview: The Conduit (Wii)

by Ben Gilbert { Jun 24th 2009 at 1:31PM }

While you're patiently waiting for the end of the week so you can cash that paycheck and pick up High Voltage Software's The Conduit for your Nintendo Wii, why not take a gander at what the rest of the interweb had to say about the game? Considering the lack of correlation between Metacritic scores and the sales numbers of Wii games, though -- at least according to Peter Moore -- you probably shouldn't let these numbers get to you too much.

GamePro (70): "The Conduit is the closest you will get to recapturing the magic of Goldeneye ... To be blunt, The Conduit is a by the numbers shooter that offers a couple of thrills but ultimately doesn't make much of an impact ... anyone who loved Goldeneye will want to give a look as well if only to get a nice dose of nostalgia, but the rest of you shouldn't feel a need to abandon your favorite next-gen shooter for this one."
GamesRadar (80): "The Conduit is fun, controls well, and is, at times, quite beautiful ... Both humans and alien drones are animated with competent physics and personality that puts High Voltage Software's Quantum3 engine outside the realm of the "GameCube 1.5" criticisms ... The truth is you probably wouldn't bat an eye at The Conduit had it appeared on PC, PS3 or Xbox 360 ... The solid, yet unremarkable single-player won't win any awards, but The Conduit still features the most finely honed online outings available on Wii."
IGN (86): "The Conduit is not a revolutionary first-person shooter, but it's a damned good one ... the title features the tightest, most comfortable control scheme of any console-based first-person shooter to date ... The Conduit features a robust list of modes and maps to play online and nearly 20 weapons to use as you rip through arenas blasting foes ... it's not revolutionary, but The Conduit is a great first-person shooter designed just for Wii owners."

Gallery: The Conduit

Sonic turns 18 tomorrow, Sega giving you all his presents

by Majed Athab { Jun 22nd 2009 at 11:59PM }

It's Sonic's birthday tomorrow. He's turning 18 and leaving the awkwardness of puberty behind to become an adult hedgehog. To celebrate this special time in every blue speed-demon's life, Sega is going to hold a bash and give away many Sonic-related gifts to all of his fans. On Tuesday, June 23 (that's tomorrow), keep your eyes glued to both @sonicgames on Twitter and Sonic on Facebook for a chance to win any one of the 15 prize packs up for grabs (see after the break for deets).

All prizes are available to win worldwide -- there's no silly regional restrictions it would seem (except for Quebec because you're too good for foreign goods*). The Sega Blognik has the full rules on how (and when) to enter the contests, so make sure you hit that up.

*Not an actual restriction

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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: E3 interviews

by David Hinkle { Jun 22nd 2009 at 2:15PM }

This week, the Nintendo Channel has been flooded with a variety of interviews about big upcoming Wii titles. There are interviews with the folks behind FFCC: The Crystal Bearers, Red Steel 2, Cave Story, and, as you can see above, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. So, hit up the video above, then if you want more E3 interview goodness, be sure to boot up your Wii and check out what's on the Nintendo Channel.

Gallery: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (Wii)

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Infinite Space takes space at top of Japanese charts

by JC Fletcher { Jun 19th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Platinum Games' first release may not have been a sales phenomenon, but the company has found (relative) success with its second, the DS sci-fi roleplaying game Mugen Kouro (Infinite Space). It was a slow week for Japanese software sales, which allowed Infinite Space's 38,394 copies to put it at the top of the Media Create sales chart for last week, its first week in stores.

The three spots below that on the chart also belong to DS games: last week's top seller, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days sits at #2, followed by Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Sloane and Machale's Mysterious Story. The #5 position is held by Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires on PS3.