Author: Sephamus

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Sega Shakes up the Industry…Sort of

Amidst the anticipation of Sony’s June 4th presentation (which has been postponed until further notice, following current events.), Sega was reportedly sitting on news that would be as big as the PS5 reveal. Well, today they finally lifted the veil on their speculated and highly anticipated announcement to bring us…The Game Gear Micro.

Originally hitting the scene back in 1990, the Game Gear was arguably one of my favorite gaming platforms of all time. Once I circumvented the 6 AA battery requirement with some rechargeables, I took the bulky handheld with me damn near everywhere. 

Coming in at just over 1.5″ in width with a 1.15″ display, the minuscule machine is set to release in Japan on Oct. 6th. The GG Micro will be coming in four distinct flavors, each with a different collection of games and will run on 2 AA batteries. It’s clear these are being designed for the sole purpose of being collector’s items, rather than a proper gaming unit. Sega has also announced that it intends to release a four-pack bundling all four variants, along with a miniaturized version of the classic “Big Window” magnifier, for ¥29,980, or roughly $260. Yay, I suppose?

The black model includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Royal Stone, Out Run, and Puyo Puyo II. The blue model gets Sonic & Tails, Baku Baku Animal, Gunstar Heroes, and Sylvan Tale. The yellow edition features Nazo Puyo, Shining Force, Shining Force II, and Shining Force: Final Conflict, while the red edition gets Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, G.G. Shinobi, and Columns.

It’s encouraging that Sega is recognizing the Game Gear, but also very disappointing if this is what they consider to be the best of honoring its legacy. I digress. It will be interesting to see fan reactions, and just what this release might potentially be leading up to.

 

https://youtu.be/ZJD0VZQzK1s

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The Road to the Next Generation: Series X vs PS5

Last year at the Video Game Awards, Microsoft dropped a megaton on viewers mid-show and revealed their newest entry into the console market: The Xbox Series X. Since then, head of Xbox Division, Phil Spencer, Marketing Manager Aaron Greenberg, and the entire Xbox team have been dolling out chunks of information not only about the new hardware, but about their vision for Xbox Game Studios, the robust services the platform offers, new games, studio acquisitions, and how it all ties together in the Xbox Ecosystem. Where does that leave Sony and the Playstation 5, though? Continue reading “The Road to the Next Generation: Series X vs PS5”

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The Last of Us II: It all Ends Here

Today Sony presented a State of Play featuring the almost too big for its britches, The Last of Us II. Creative director and lead for TLOU2, Neil Druckmann gave the world a tour de force of some of the sequel’s story beats, gameplay additions and improvements, as well as some hints of what’s to come once we have the game in our hands. The presentation was capped with a lengthy bit of never before seen gameplay that highlighted much of the game’s newest combat and stealth mechanics. So what is the verdict? Despite the crazy PR surrounding Naughty Dog, Druckmann, and the game itself, does it still seem poised to deliver the goods on June 16th? Continue reading “The Last of Us II: It all Ends Here”

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The Perception of Gaming is Changing

In Episode 2 of the Talking Games with Reggie and Harold podcast, Reggie Fils Amie made the title comment; that the way gaming is now being viewed in the world is changing, and in a positive way. He’s right. When once video games were frowned upon as mere ‘wastes of time’ and ‘poison for the mind’, the industry has become a cultural phenomenon that is ingrained in almost every form of media to date. How did we get here? What happened to change the course of entertainment history as we know it? Continue reading “The Perception of Gaming is Changing”

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Collecting Physical Media Vs Digital

The topic has been a form of contention for quite some now. Even more so as the generation continues to push towards a more digitized landscape with every passing year. The question will always come about “Do you prefer physical or digital?”, and most often you will get a straight answer from most people. Why would someone choose one over the other though? Does it go beyond mere preference? Perhaps. Continue reading “Collecting Physical Media Vs Digital”

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Sam. Serious. Stone.

I love the Serious Sam franchise. It’s easily in my top 5 FPS of all time. Big guns, over the top action, ridiculous satirical spoof comedy, and a humorously endearing protagonist; The series embodied many things I love. When CroTeam announced that Serious Sam 4 was in production back in 2018, myself and many longtime fans were chomping at the bit for any news and details we could find. Alas, the team remained pretty quiet about the project. That is, up until today. Continue reading “Sam. Serious. Stone.”

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Just Beneath the Surface

Microsoft have finally unleashed the successor to their solid Surface Book 2 and it is quite the portable monster. If you were to glance at the Book 3 and mistake for a 2, no one would fault you for it. Aesthetically they appear almost identical. However, the book 3 is packing a lot of big changes internally to set apart not only from its previous iterations, but from its competitors as well. Continue reading “Just Beneath the Surface”

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Prepare to Reminisce

Today, From Software celebrates over 27 million units sold of its overwhelmingly popular Souls franchise. My first exposure to what would eventually become the omnipresent Souls Series was a single, unassuming article in Game Informer magazine dated September 29, 2009 (whew!). The concept was most intriguing; A dark fantasy action-RPG hybrid that challenged players and punished them for their mistakes. However, Death was not the traditional end all to progression. It was a pivotal part of the gameplay loop. I wanted to get my hands on the game as soon as possible. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait very long. Continue reading “Prepare to Reminisce”

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Enter the Crucible

Every time a new ‘Hero’ based competitive game is announced there is a collective eye roll and groan, that emanates from deep within all of us. Too often publishers make big promises of high skill, squad based, engaging experiences with a big competitive scene. Too often they under deliver on their claims. Of course, there have been exceptions to the rule; such as Riot Game‘s most recent title, Valorant. Now, Relentless Studios backed by Amazon Games is stepping into the ring with Crucible. Will it succeed, or is it doomed to fade from existence? Continue reading “Enter the Crucible”

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It’s Not You. It’s Not Them. It’s Everyone, and that’s Fine.

Losing touch with people is one of those things that no one ever really plans to do, but just happens without any sort of warning. You’re carrying on with your day when suddenly you might see a name popup on your feed, scroll past a contact in your address book, or hear a song that reminds you of someone that you used to spend much of your time with. Now, it feels like you haven’t spoken, really spoken, about anything or at all for years. In most cases, it can actually be that long. Why does this happen? How does this happen, and should you really feel responsible for it?
Continue reading “It’s Not You. It’s Not Them. It’s Everyone, and that’s Fine.”