SEGA!

This “mini” is not to be confused with the other Genesis mini that saw release in 2017. That one was from AtGames, and continued both Genesis classics and… not-so-classic original titles. It was okay, but didn’t have the oomph that something like the NES or SNES Classic had in spades.

Enter Sega though, and developer M2, and there’s way more cause to be excited. M2, if you don’t know, has worked on Sega points before, specifically for the 3DS and the Sega Ages series. Bottom line, they know their way around 16bits of Blast Processing.

Want more reason to be pumped about this potential gem? Check out the games list. To start off, Sega announced the below 20 titles.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog
2. Ecco the Dolphin
3. Castlevania: Bloodlines
4. Space Harrier 2
5. Shining Force
6. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
7. ToeJam & Earl
8. Comix Zone
9. Altered Beast
10. Gunstar Heroes
11. Castle of Illusion
12. World of Illusion
13. Thunder Force III
14. Super Fantasy Zone
15. Shinobi III
16. Streets of Rage 2
17. Earthworm Jim
18. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
19. Contra: Hard Corps
20. Landstalker

For a while, that was it, but now another 10 games have been confirmed. Those being:

1. Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
2. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
3. Thunder Force III
4. Super Fantasy Zone
5. Shinobi III
6. Streets of Rage 2
7. Earthworm Jim
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
9. Contra: Hard Corps
10. Landstalker

It’s pretty darn tough to not get excited for that. Sega is putting together a list of killer titles for this pack, including some of the best third-party games to hit the Genesis. The only bummer is that there aren’t any fighting games to be had.

The reason for that is simple – Sega is basing this entire package on the original Genesis experience. That means a three-button pad. And since they’re USB, it’s not like you can use your old six-button jobs either. So yeah, no fighting games. Have to save something for the follow-up though I guess.

And anyway, even without the Street Fighters and Mortal Kombats of the world, this is looking like the “classic mini” to beat in 2019. It’ll be landing at retail just before the Holiday rush too, on September 19th.

Pre-orders are open now.

The post 10 more Sega Genesis/Mega Drive mini games announced appeared first on BrutalGamer.

I might be insane after watching that. Though, I will add that, along with the insanity, I also want to play the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics Collection. So, mission accomplished?

While it’s not my cup of coffee, that video has a solid pedigree. That’s because it was spun out of “leading video-remix pioneer” Electric Method. If you didn’t notice, it was all 16bit too. The video’s sounds were all derived from the original SEGA games, along with the actual graphics of course.

As for the game itself, it’s just as packed. SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive Classics Collection includes over 50 games (fifty!) including most of the games that made the Genesis such a great console. A quick click over to the official site shows stuff like Comix Zone, Sonic, Columns, Altered Beast, and the Streets of Rage and Golden Axe collections. Awesome stuff, and more than enough to feed that nostalgia hunger of yours.

Aside from the games, there are a number of extras here too. Those include:

• online multiplayer
• achievements
• mirror mode
• rewind
• save states

Sound good? The collection is available right now both digitally and physically for the Xbox One and PS4. It’s still out there for the PC as well. Is there a Switch version coming? It’d be kind of silly if there wasn’t, but there’s been no official word yet.

The post SEGA celebrates the launch of its Classics with Electric Method music video appeared first on BrutalGamer.

It’s odd, then, that it took me a long time to get around to spending a healthy amount of time with Another World. I’d played it towards the end of my Mega Drive filled days, but never finished it. It wasn’t until recently that I sat down and set aside the best part of a day to experience all that this wondrous title can offer. And you know what? I still believe that this – along with the very similar Flashback – is what gaming should be about.

Another World – titled Out Of This World in North America – has no real direct relation to Flashback. Although both games do share a lot in common in terms of aesthetics and gameplay, Flashback is in no way a sequel. A true sequel titled Heart of the Alien did appear on Sega’s ill-fated Mega CD, tasking the user with taking control of the friendly alien that co-starred in the first title, but it proved to be a major flop. Certainly not helped by a blatantly poorer standard of quality throughout.

Another World began with an incredibly atmospheric scene. A botched scientific experiment causes your young physicist protagonist to be transported to an alien universe. It was an opening that even by today’s standards can stand tall as one of the greatest examples of opening sequence found within gaming anywhere. It not only sets the scene perfectly, but immediately drew you deep into the screen, grabbing you by the lapels and not allowing you to even glance away from the television for fear of missing some of the gorgeous action.

Like Prince of Persia, Another World made excellent use of rotoscoping techniques. Although this could cause frustration with pixel perfect leaps consistently required, and perhaps a lack of immediacy to the control of your character, there’s little doubt that it caused Another World to stand out as one of the better looking games of the time. Not only that, but it helped give the game a sense of pace and precision that modern day titles continuously ignore in favour of hand holding.

The opening bout of gameplay – with a weaponless character exploring an alien world and attempting to survive despite its multiple dangers – these days feels the complete antithesis to modern gaming. There’s no tutorial, nor a simple opening section to come to terms with the control system. Death can be triggered almost instantly, with pixel perfect leaps needing to be timed to perfection to avoid the tiny aliens ready to bring a swift end to your exploration of this brand new and colourful world.

You soon make an alien chum, and what proceeds is screen after screen of exciting exploration and action. The initial unwieldy controls become not only important to the games overall sense of style, but eventually start to feel like an extension of yourself. There’s even a sense of Mirror’s Edge in its platforming style with leaps, rolls, and hectic sprints becoming second nature.

Combine that with a lack of energy meters, health bars, power ups, special moves, and no conveniently dropped batches of information to inform and expand, and this proves that games truly can offer a cinematic experience. There’s no need for tape recorders to be continuously stumbled upon to give a sense of what’s happening in the game world. Some excellent design can manage all that with barely a line of text witnessed.

Probably one of the most important facets in Another World’s armoury is its choice to not outstay its welcome. Manage to avoid too many untimely deaths and you’ll also manage to rush through to the satisfying conclusion in little more than 2 and a half hours. It’s cinematic gameplay at its best all along the way, with no ‘filler’ bouts of gameplay to annoy and irritate. It’s pure genius from start to finish.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve got a few hours to spare, can withstand a true test of your gaming prowess, and want to witness what is still one of the greatest looking examples of masterful 2D action adventure gaming, give Another World a shot. Perhaps not everyone will be able to forgive its shortcomings and high standards of difficulty – if your early gaming memories are playing the likes of Uncharted then don’t even bother – but it deserves your attention nevertheles

The post Another World (Mega Drive/Genesis) Retro Review appeared first on BrutalGamer.