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Aliens: Colonial Marines Extermination edition announced for UK

United Kingdom-based video game retailer GAME is currently stocking an exclusive special version of Gearbox’s upcoming first-person shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines for Windows PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3. Extermination edition, as it is called, will include several pieces of bonus content for those who pre-order the game, including multiplayer characters, weapons, weapon upgrades, and several items used for player customization. Playable characters available with the Extermination edition include Gunnery Sergeant Apone, Corporal Hicks, and Privates Hudson and Drake from the film Aliens, on which the story of Colonial Marines is based. Other bonuses include two weapons, a flamethrower and a sawed-off double barrel shotgun, additional items that can be used to customize the appearance of the player’s Marine, and a ‘Gear Upgrade Boost’, which will give players early access to high-end equipment and upgrades for their weapons. It is currently unknown whether or not this edition of the game will see release elsewhere in the world, or if this content will become available for download at a later date.

Aliens: Colonial Marines will be released worldwide on February 12th, 2013 for Windows PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and later for Wii U, as well as for OnLive cloud computing services.

[Source: Game]

Phantasy Star series celebrates 25th anniversary with release of Phantasy Star Complete Collection, out now on Japanese PSN

On this day in 1987, SEGA released a science-fiction/fantasy role-playing game by the name of Phantasy Star for their Master System console in Japan. It was later localized in English and Spanish, ported to numerous systems, and spawned three direct sequels and several spin-off titles. Hugely successful and highly innovative for its time, Phantasy Star helped to lay the groundwork for the role-playing game genre alongside it’s contemporary, Final Fantasy, with both titles being released within days of each other. Today, it is regarded as one of the most important video games of all time, and has consistently been listed as one of the very best games of its kind.

SEGA is celebrating the series’ 25th anniversary with the release of the Phantasy Star Complete Collection, which is now available on the Japanese PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 for the price of ¥800 (approximately $10 USD). Phantasy Star, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, and Phantasy Star IV are all fully translated and playable in English, so these titles should not be overlooked by English speakers.

Originally released for the PlayStation 2 as part of the SEGA AGES series, the collection includes the following titles:

–Phantasy Star (Master System)
–Phantasy Star II (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star II Text Adventures (Genesis/Mega Drive)
–Phantasy Star Adventure (Game Gear)
–Phantasy Star Gaiden (Game Gear)

Phantasy Star II Text Adventures is a compilation of eight visual novels, each centered around one of the main characters from Phantasy Star II and was first available through the SEGA Meganet modem accessory for the Genesis/Mega Drive console, while the eight stories — made available in two separate compilations — were later ported to the console’s SEGA CD/Mega CD add-on. Phantasy Star Adventure and Phantasy Star Gaiden were both released for the SEGA Game Gear in 1992, just months apart each other. Adventure was the first Phantasy Star title to be released for SEGA’s handled and features a different gameplay style than other titles in the series, being a first-person text-based adventure game that takes place during the events of Phantasy Star II. Gaiden, on the other hand, is a traditional role-playing game in the style of Phantasy Star I, which Gaiden is an indirect sequel to. It’s worth noting, however, that according to series continuity both Adventure and Gaiden are considered non-canon.

No announcements have yet been made on the possibility of an international release, though anyone with a Japanese PlayStation Network account can purchase the collection in any territory.

UPDATE: A trailer for Phantasy Star Complete Collection has been released — be sure to check it out after the break.

[Source: Famitsu]

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed now available for PlayStation Vita

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed has finally been made available for Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld after initial delays in production caused it’s release to be pushed back. Developed by Sumo Digital across all platforms, this version of the game retains all of the features of its console counterparts, save for the number of racers per race, which has been downsized to eight from the console version’s ten. A version for Nintendo’s 3DS is also slated for release on February 8th in Europe and February 12th in the United, while versions for Microsoft Windows and iOS are also planned, but have yet to been given release dates. Also of note is that if any is version of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is purchased through all GameStop retailers (including pre-orders for the 3DS version) will come bundled with an exclusive Hot Wheels toy car modeled after Danica Patrick’s ‘Danicar’ vehicle from the game.

After the break, we’ve included the launch trailer released for the game back in November.

NiGHTS Into Dreams is now available on Steam

The high-definition remastering of Sonic Team’s classic title for the SEGA Saturn, NiGHTS Into Dreams, is now available for Windows PC on Steam. This updated version of the game, which was released for Microsoft’s Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3 earlier this year, features enhanced visuals and full support for widescreen displays, as well as new online features including leaderboards and achievement support on Steam. This version also includes a faithful port of the unaltered SEGA Saturn version, as well as several bonus features including art and cinematics from the game. Also included with this version is a port of Christmas NiGHTS, a special version of the game that came bundled with some SEGA Saturn consoles in December of 1996, which features a two complete levels, as well as a number of extra features and content, including new music, art, and game modes all themed around the revelries of the Christmas season.

[Source: Steam]

SEGA Vintage Collection Vol. 4: ToeJam & Earl Review

With the release the fourth volume of SEGA’s new series of game compilations, appropriately titled the SEGA Vintage Collection, two more classic titles for the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive are now available — the funktastic co-operative games ToeJam and Earl and its sequel, ToeJam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron. After the break, we’ve included a basic overview of these titles and our general thoughts on them.

Space Harrier to receive 3D update on Nintendo 3DS, Space Harrier Collection out now on Japanese PSN

Japanese video game news website Gamer has revealed that the arcade classic third-person action/shooter Space Harrier will be receiving an updated port on Nintendo’s 3DS titled 3D Space Harrier, which will be optimized for the handheld’s dual widescreen displays and will feature newly added stereoscopic 3D graphics. Developed by AM2 under the direction of legendary game designer Yu Suzuki, Space Harrier has long been held as one of the greatest and most recognizable arcade games of all of time, revolutionizing the medium as a both a technical benchmark for games at the time and defined a genre with its fun and riveting gameplay, which still attracts scores of fans to this very day. Reports say that this port is intended to be the definitive version of the game, and whilst no further details have yet been revealed, the title is expected to launch on the Nintendo eShop at some point in the near future.

In other Space Harrier news, Space Harrier II: Space Harrier Complete Collection has been released on PlayStation 3 on the Japanese PlayStation Network. This compilation — which was originally released on the PlayStation 2 as part of the SEGA AGES 2500 series — brings the arcade versions of Space Harrier and Space Harrier 3-D [not to be confused with 3D Space Harrier] (both for the Mark III system) and the Genesis/Mega Drive version of Space Harrier II together, also featuring some bonus content and extras, including official art from all of the games. There’s been no word as of yet whether or not Space Harrier II: Space Harrier Complete Collection will be released outside of Japan, but it is currently available for the price of ¥800 (roughly $10 USD).

[Source: Gamer]

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed out now

Sumo Digital’s latest arcade racing title, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, is now available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and Wii U in North America and Europe. The sequel to 2010’s Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Transformed brings a myriad of new changes and additions to the series, with the most notable feature being the dynamic transformations of the game’s vehicles, which allows them seamlessly race on land, sea, and air. Transformed also assembles an all-star cast of characters from across SEGA’s long history, with several newcomers entering the fray, including Joe Musashi from Shinobi and Vyse from Skies of Arcadia. In addition, two guest characters from non-SEGA properties make an appearance on the game’s playable roster, those being auto racer Danica Patrick of NASCAR fame and the character Ralph from the 2012 Walt Disney film Wreck-It Ralph, which features several cameos of SEGA characters including Sonic the Hedgehog and the zombies from The House of the Dead.

Those who pre-ordered the game will receive a special ‘Bonus Edition’ of the title, which includes an extra course modeled after SEGA’s hit arcade driving game OutRun, as well as Metal Sonic from Sonic CD as a playable character. In addition to its release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Transformed will also be released for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita on December 7th in Europe and on December 11th in North America. Versions for Microsoft Windows and iOS are also planned, but currently do not have release dates.

Be sure to check out the game’s launch trailer after the break.

Featured Video: Clockwork Knight intro

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Anarchy Reigns “Day One” edition announced for Europe

It was revealed through the Official SEGA Blog today that Platinum Games’s upcoming online beat ’em up Anarchy Reigns will be getting the special edition treatment in Europe with the “Day One” edition DLC for the game, which will feature two new multiplayer game modes and an extra playable character — the witch Bayonetta, the titular heroine of the 2010 action game Bayonetta, also developed by Platinum Games.

Bayonetta fights in her own trademark style, wielding four guns (two of which are on her feet) and uses a variety of unique attacks from the game. It should be noted, however, that Bayonetta holds no actual advantages over any other playable character in the game, and thus players concerned with balance issues can put their fears to rest. The two new multiplayer game modes in the “Day One” edition are called Mad Survival and Dogfight. Mad Survival is a different take on the game’s own Survival mode, in which a team of three must defend themselves against multiple waves of enemies of varying strength — the difference in Mad Survival being that the enemies faced here are other playable characters from Anarchy Reigns, who will put up a much more difficult fight than the standard roster of enemies. The other new mode, Dogfight, is major departure from the game’s other modes in that it sees players hanging from moving helicopters as they attempt to shoot opponents out of the sky. Both of these modes will take place in the game’s already existing multiplayer maps, with the later mode allowing players to explore the additional verticality of these environments.

“Day One” edition is currently exclusive to Europe, but SEGA soon plans to reveal how these bonuses can be obtained in other territories. It can be pre-ordered from both online and physical retailers for £ 19.99 / € 29.99 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, while the game itself will be released in Europe on January 13th, 2013.

[Source: Official SEGA Blog]