--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~ S E G A F A N S W E E K L Y ~ ~ ISSUE #9 - APR 09 2006 ~ copyright 2006 segafans.com------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A Message from benstylus ~ Page 1----------------------------------------------------------------------Back again with a vengeance, SegaFans Weekly is here again, coming to your email box with a vengeance. What have we got on the plate for you this week? More of the latest and, well, perhaps not the greatest of the happenings in the Sega world. We've passed the two month mark for this newsletter, and while this past week was a bit slow for Sega, we still managed to wrangle up something new for you all to enjoy. So sit back, pour yourself a glass of your favorite hot beverage, and let's get to the issue! ~ benstylus---------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to the free SegaFans Weekly newsletter and have itdelivered to you via email before it shows up on the SegaFans website,send an email to sfw.subscribe@segafans.com & follow the instructions!----------------------------------------------------------------------Table of Contents ~ Page 2----------------------------------------------------------------------1 - A Message from benstylus2 - Table of Contents3 - Top Story - They made a sequel...4 - Weekly News Roundup5 - SegaFans Forum Digest6 - Sounds of Sega - Bayoeen!! The Megatracks of Puyo Puyo CD7 - New and Upcoming8 - Game of the Week - Plane Crazy (PC)9 - Links10- Credits / Contact Information----------------------------------------------------------------------Top Story - They made a sequel... ~ Page 3---------------------------------------------------------------------- The House of the Dead is a good video game. The movie, on the other hand, is almost universally reviled thanks to director Uwe Boll's insistence on reminding you that it's based on a video game between just about every cut by inserting actual footage from the games (and no, I am not making that up). Despite the hatred, the movie did well enough in the theaters and on DVD (guilty) to warrant a sequel being made. The sequel never got a theatrical release, but ended up being direct to video. So let's see, we've got the sequel to arguably the worst horror movie of all time AND it's direct to video. If your expectations aren't already in the negatives as far as entertainment value goes, then you're easier to please than I am. At any rate, the DVD was released just a couple weeks ago. If you're at all curious as to whether things could possibly get any worse than the original House of the Dead movie, well, it can and it does - thankfully not on all fronts, however. Despite its many and glaring flaws, the first House of the Dead movie did do one thing right. Lots of zombies getting lots of killed by lots of guns. The actual zombie-killing in the sequel is quite toned down in favor of a survival-horror "conserve ammo" approach. Yes, there are still quite a few zombie deaths, but not nearly enough for a movie supposedly based on the House of the Dead vide games. House of the Dead 2 does manage to assemble a mostly decent cast of characters, though. In the original movie, Kira Clavell provided enough eye candy to sustain my interest (until her character was killed off). House of the Dead 2 stars Emmanuelle Vaugier, who blows away Kira Clavell in the looks department, and also manages to last from start to finish (thanks to some creative writer deciding she could withstand a missile blast). Starring opposite Vaugier is Ed Quinn, who manages to keep some lighthearted fun in the movie while still taking his role seriously. The most bizarre of the casting choices was to put Sid Haig in the role of Curien (yes, THE Curien). He delivers what may just be the worst performance of his career, and he looks nothing like Curien, either. Most of the other main actors aren't terrible, but certainly don't deliver starmaking performances. Of course, this could be largely due to what they had to work with. Plotwise, the movie is a joke. There are far too many plot holes and awkward moments that take you out of the movie because they're so unrealistic. Essentially, the story paints the characters into some corners, then has to resort to these unbelievable tactics to get them out of it or to advance the plot. For example, there is a scene where both main characters have been sealed in a room where the only way to open the door is by a hand scan from a girl outside - and she has just been eaten by zombies. Magically, the door opens, and her hand and severed arm are somehow resting perfectly on the scanner. Adhering to the storyline of the video games isn't the movie's high point either. The first movie managed to maintain continuity pretty well, and at least managed not to contradict any of the events set out by the games. It was sort of a prequel to the first House of the Dead game (though you don't find out until the very end, by which I assume most people would have already left the theater or shut off the dvd player). In the House of the Dead 2 movie, they don't even make the attempt. They reference the video games on a surface level - the main characters are AMS agents, Goldman is mentioned, one of the characters names his gun Sophie, etc. However, every shred of credibility falls apart within the first ten minutes as Curien is attacked and turned into a zombie. Anyone who's played through the first House of the Dead video game knows Curien was taken out by Magician, not by some naked zombie sorority slut. All in all, if you're looking for a good zombie flick, you're better off getting something else. It's an awful zombie movie, and only made watchable thanks to Vaugier and Quinn. Other than those two actors, the first movie is better in nearly all respects. At least this time around there aren't any clips from the games inserted between scenes. - benstylus----------------------------------------------------------------------Weekly News Roundup ~ Page 4---------------------------------------------------------------------- Possibly the biggest news this week (and sure to disappoint those excluded) is that Sega has started a beta test of Phantasy Star Universe (limited to 10,000 participants). The beta runs from April 4 to April 17, and is available only to members of the Segalink site. - http://segalink.jp/trial/psucbt/ Sega of America has just purchased San Francisco-based developer Secret Level. What does this mean for Sega? Copy and paste the link to find out what Simon Jeffry (Sega of America's COO) had to say. - http://www.sega-europe.com/en/NewsStory/1121.htm Sega Europe, not to be outdone, made a purchase of their own - UK- based Sports Interactive, creators of the highly popular Football Manager series. This move isn't a big surprise considering Sega's been publishing the Football Manager games for the past few years. - http://www.sega-europe.com/en/NewsStory/1122.htm Also, if you hadn't heard, Sega released the PC demo of Condemned: Criminal Origins last week. So for those of you who didn't buy the Xbox 360, now's your chance to check out the game. - http://www.3dgamers.com/games/condemned/downloads Papercraft fans rejoice! Sort of. Sega has put up a couple papercraft models for the boards in Sonic Riders. You can get them at the Sonic Riders official site. - http://sonic.sega.jp/riders/ Speaking of Sonic, looks like a new vid of the PC version of Sonic Xtreme has been released (thanks to Quakester2000 for the news). You can check out the video here: - http://xtreme.projectsonic.com/vid/PC_CS_JadeGully.zip Finally, Sega has added some new character profiles to their Shining Wind website. Like Shining Tears, the character designs are by Tony Taka - let's hope the gameplay is better than Tears, though by the screenshots it's not looking likely! - http://shining-wind.jp/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------SegaFans Forum Digest ~ Page 5---------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve brings us a thread about terrible offers that we've received for our games. Have you got any horror stories on what people have tried to give you for your rare or expensive games? Share them here! - http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1841 SegaFans Weekly was a big hit last week - sparking a controversy of censorship in video games! - http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1839 Segata Sanshiro (I still don't believe in your new username) links us to a 1UP interview that contradicts everything we know about Virtua Fighter 3 on the Saturn. Who knows the truth? Only two men - God and Yu Suzuki (though many argue they are one man). - http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1842 And it was mentioned in the news roundup, but here it is again because it's important. Quakester2000 links us to a vid of the PC version of the cancelled Sonic Xtreme game. Discussion ensues. - http://www.segafans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1844 ----------------------------------------------------------------------Sounds of Sega - Bayoeen!! The Megatracks of Puyo Puyo CD ~ Page 6---------------------------------------------------------------------- I've always been big on video game music - especially when it's released on CDs. A while ago, I purchased a bunch of music CDs from Miss Chudah (from www.chudahs-corner.com). Among the CDs was one mysteriously titles Bayoeen!! The Megatracks of Puyo Puyo CD. I had figured it was probably a soundtrack compilation of songs from the Puyo Puyo games, but was pleasantly surprised when I popped the disc in and discovered that it was something else entirely. Instead of simple reproductions of the songs, Bayoeen!! features high quality remixes of many of the Puyo songs done in all sorts of different styles, from tropical to techno, from disco to drum n' bass. When measuring remixes, the yardstick is, of course, Overclocked.org's massive stash of remixes. I'd say that most of the remixes here on Bayoeen!! are better than probably about 80% of what's on Overclocked. One thing that's quite common on Japanese soundtrack CDs (if the 50 or so in my collection are any indication) is that often there will be dialog tracks in between some of the music tracks. Bayoeen!! has four of these "drama tracks" and while they have some pretty funny moments, I don't really buy the CDs to listen to talking - I want the music. So when you take out the 4 drama tracks, you're left with a respectable 10 music tracks. The first music track on the disc is "theme of puyopuyo dumpin' around mix." It kicks the CD off with a high energy disco vibe that just screams for a lighted floor. The next track is "warning of puyopuyo tropic dub mix." It still sounds much like a video game song, possibly like something you'd hear in a beachfront town in an RPG game - about two thirds of the way through the track it goes through the "warning" theme of when your blocks are getting stacked too high, but it recovers and manages to conclude quite well. Next up is "memories of puyopuyo remodel '94," which sounds like something you'd expect to hear from B-Univ. It's very heavy on the electric guitars and maintains a steady beat throughout. It almost reminds me of some of the music found in Virtua Fighter 2 or 3. After that, we move on to "toy of puyopuyo morphing 727 mix," which is quite reminiscent of the "good future" stages in Spencer Nielsen's Sonic CD score. Very light and bouncy, and lots of musical percussion. "Brave of puyopuyo low frequency mix" is next on the playlist, and it has a pretty typical techno progression with a drum n' bass flavor added. Instruments are added one layer at a time, and a computerized voice announces their arrival as though it's directing the pace of the song. It actually blends together quite well, and the song is a lot of fun to listen to. Next is "le onde du puyopuyo version 3.0 mix." This song is a mixture of traditional Japanese elements in the melody and choice of instruments, but also has a bit of a Caribbean flavor to it. It's an odd hybrid, but it works. We're then treated to some high speed electronica in "sticker of puyopuyo dinosaur's 303 mix". It's one of the weaker tracks and doesn't really have anything that stands out except for the catchy underlying synth-drum. On to "final of puyopuyo live at floppy mix," which is another techno track with almost a futuristic city type of theme to it. There's not a lot going on in this song, and its simplicity makes it a little harder to enjoy than most of the other tracks. "Sunset of puyopuyo trance atlantic mix" is a relaxing and fairly slow paced tune that I wouldn't really classify as Trance, but it's closer to that than to other genres. Sort of a Trance tune with a Euro-pop kick to it. If ABBA were to make trance music, it might sound something like this. Finally, we've got "DJ's take control. mega-puyo-tracks" which runs on far too long and tries to merge just about every style of techno together (including bits and pieces from all the previous tracks). It ends up failing. The worst part is that the song just drags on and tries to do too much - it also has a segment in the middle of the song where some "German" people speaking in English are arguing about whether or not the music is any good. It's sad that the CD gets off to such a good start only to end on such a low note. Just make sure to hit stop after "sunset of puyopuyo" and you'll be fine. - benstylus ----------------------------------------------------------------------New and Upcoming ~ Page 7----------------------------------------------------------------------Here's a list of Sega's upcoming releases (within 2 weeks of thisnewsletter) as well as recent games in case you accidentally missedany of them. This list covers games developed by Sega, published bySega, or on Sega systems. These dates are direct from Sega, butsometimes they change em. So this should be considered a "roughestimate" rather than hard facts. Some of the games are starting to get really long names so I've goneto the two line format (at least until they're off the list).RECENTLY RELEASED - USA-----------------------None :(UPCOMING GAMES - USA--------------------Condemned: Criminal Origins PC 04/11/06RECENTLY RELEASED - EUROPE--------------------------OutRun 2006 Coast 2 Coast PC PS2 PSP XB 03/31/06UPCOMING GAMES - EUROPE-----------------------Football Manager 2006 360 04/13/06Football Manager Handheld PSP 04/13/06RECENTLY RELEASED - JAPAN-------------------------Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! Europe Championship PS2 03/29/06Jissen Pachislot Hishhouhou! Ore no Sora PS2 03/30/06Jissen Pachislot Hishhouhou! Aladdin 2 Evolution DS DS 03/30/06Jissen Pachislot Hishhouhou! Aladdin 2 Evolution Portable PSP 03/30/06UPCOMING GAMES - JAPAN----------------------Guilty Gear XX Slash PS2 04/13/06 Zoo Tycoon DS DS 04/20/06----------------------------------------------------------------------Game of the Week - Plane Crazy (PC) ~ Page 8----------------------------------------------------------------------Many years ago, I wished for a decent gamepad for my PC. At about the same time, SegaSoft was heavily promoting the Heat.net online gaming service was in full swing, and several games were being released by Sega for play over the service (in addition to single player, of course). During the period when Heat.net was active, I ended up purchasing two SegaSoft games. The first game was the abysmal Flesh Feast. In my defense, I only purchased the game because it was two dollars and came with a coupon to mail away for a free Heat.net gamepad (designed to be conspicuously like a Saturn gamepad). Well, about a month after I had sent away for the free controller, I had forgotten about it. A few months later, I purchased another SegaSoft game - Plane Crazy. Unlike Flesh Feast, this one I purchased only after I had played the demo and determined it was good. On that very day, when I got home from the EB with my purchase, I found a package from Heat.net waiting in my mailbox. It was the controller tossed into a large paper envelope and a sticker slapped on it with my address. No padding or anything. It took them 5 months to toss a loose controller in an envelope and send it. Sure it was a free giveaway with the purchase of a game, but that game was FLESH FEAST. That alone should have been enough to expedite processing. Oh well, at least it was here. When I pulled the controller out of the envelope, I heard a rattling inside. Sweet, day one and the thing's already busted. Thanks, Sega. The controller still mostly worked, despite the rattling (the shoulder triggers had some trouble), and I figured any replacement would be sent the same way so I decided to live with it. So after installing the joystick's drivers and giving it a test run on Doom, I was ready to install Plane Crazy. The install went off without a hitch, and I was surprised at how great the game looked on my meager video card. At the time, we didn't have a 3D Accelerator card, so all the rendering was done through software, and it looked pretty good. A couple months later, a friend donated his Voodoo2 card to us and it made a huge difference. That was the point when I decided 3D cards were worthwhile. At any rate, the game is, essentially, an airborne Mario Kart - a cross between racing to the finish line and using powerups to stop your opponents or get there yourself. The powerups are pretty simple, but they work well in the game. The offensive powerups can do things like freeze your opponent's controls, cause their plane to control like jello, or tack on extra weight to their plane to make them crash. For the defensive powerups, there are three strengths of boost (miniature, super, and triple boost) and camoflauge (other planes can't lock on to fire an offensive powerup at you). In addition to the powerup, each plane has three "blast" shots that can be used during a race to bust open a secret path or knock down a pillar as you fly by (to try to trap the plane behind you). All the blastable points appear with a big red targeting reticle, so they're pretty easy to spot. Knowing which blasts lead to shortcuts will definitely improve your times as you race through the various stages. The downside to the game is that there are only about 6 courses. On the other hand, each one of them is quite well planned - almost like a ride at a theme park. I guess you could liken the course design to a game like Hydro Thunder, though Plane Crazy's tracks do not have quite as much attention to detail. Plane Crazy ranks as quite possibly the only great game to come out of SegaSoft - so give it a try if you're looking for something nice to say about them. Also, since it's very much an arcade style game, you're much better off playing it with a gamepad than trying to use a keyboard. Just trust me on this one. No video this week as I haven't come up with a decent solution for capturing videos of PC games, but fear not, you won't be leaving empty-handed. I've uploaded the demo of the game. And it's smaller than most of the videos I've done :P Keep in mind it was designed to run under Windows 95, so you may have to tweak some settings to get it to run properly in XP. - http://www.segafans.com/gotw/pc_plane_crazy.exe -benstylus----------------------------------------------------------------------Links ~ Page 9----------------------------------------------------------------------SegaFans: Covering the past present and future of everything Sega - http://www.segafans.comSega of America - http://www.sega.comSega Europe - http://www.sega-europe.comSega of Japan - http://www.sega.jpCuddly Gamers: A forum where gamers are nice to each other - http://cuddlygamers.comGame Trading Zone: Buy, sell, or trade your games online for free - http://www.gametz.comGame Tribute: Provides ad free hosting to quality game fan sites - http://www.gametribute.comGenki Video Games: People at SegaFans like 'em! Bet you will too! - http://www.genkivideogames.comWhip Ass Gaming: A very hip gaming site run by BelPowerslave - http://www.whipassgaming.com----------------------------------------------------------------------Credits / Legal / Contact / Subscription Information ~ Page 10----------------------------------------------------------------------This issue was created in its entirety by benstylus.All original content copyright 2006 segafans.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------You may redistribute this newsletter under the following conditions:1 - You will not add, remove, or change any part of this newsletter. 2 - You will not charge for this newsletter. If you run asubscription-based website, this newsletter must be in a non-subscription area of the site.3 - You will provide proper credit and a link to www.segafans.com----------------------------------------------------------------------All games featured are copyright their respective owners.----------------------------------------------------------------------Would you like to subscribe to the free SegaFans Weekly newsletter?Just send an email to:sfw.subscribe@segafans.comNOTE: To avoid spam, you will receive an auto-reply from that address.Read the instructions in the auto-reply to confirm your subscription.----------------------------------------------------------------------Tired of receiving the newsletter in your email every week? If youwant to cancel your subscription, send an email to:sfw.cancel@segafans.com----------------------------------------------------------------------Got any comments, suggestions, complaints, or even submissions (hinthint)? Just e-mail:sfw@segafans.comMake sure to put SEGAFANS WEEKLY in the subject header to get pastthe spam filter!Do not send file attachments without my approval - unsolicited e-mailwith files attached will simply be deleted.---------------------------------------------------------------------- ~GOODBYE, CURIEN. FAREWELL, SOPHIE~