I have very fond memories of Ulala and her dancing heroic antics in the original Space Channel 5. I had never, however, played Space Channel 5 Part 2, which was originally exclusive to the Dreamcast in Japan, until it was re-released on the PlayStation 2. The sequel was generally regarded as superior to its predecessor in terms of graphics, gameplay, game length, and more, but its limited release stunted its popularity and potential. Now, it makes its way to XBLA, and having taken the time to explore it, I can finally agree that it is, in fact, superior to its predecessor.

But is it superior…TO ITSELF? Read the full story

I’ve never been a big fan of fishing games. Part of that, I’m sure, is that I’ve never been a big fan of fishing in general. I find it to be extremely boring. Back in my Dreamcast days, SEGA Bass Fishing was a game I never gave any attention to, and it was definitely not one of the first that would come to mind if asked which classic Dreamcast games should be re-released on XBLA with HD updates. Read the full story

Nintendo pulled a slightly expected fast one on the crowds of people at 2011 E3. In the chaotic mess of E3, through the thousands of people swarming around, and the hundreds of games being presented, there was new hardware being presented, only one year later after Nintendo announced their new handheld, the 3DS. The Wii U, the next generation unit from Nintendo, was announced this year to the public and it has some new tricks to go along. Nintendo has said that the hardware inside the units being shown is not final, but it is on par if not better then the current generation of hardware. The Wii U looks like a first generation Xbox 360 had a baby with a Wii. It’s a slightly curvy yet generic looking unit. It has an optical drive slot and all the usual buttons on the first of the box, but the different thing that they presented was what you play the Wii U with. Read the full story

I’ve been looking forward to Virtua Tennis 4 since it was announced. I may or may not have mentioned it before on the site (I totally have), but Virtua Tennis for the SEGA Dreamcast is one of my absolute favorite video games. I was a Virtua Tennis MASTER. Adding achievements, a multi-stage World Tour mode, a strong (but fundamentally flawed) character creation system, and vastly improved graphics and animation like Virtua Tennis 4 has done should make it a solid contender to become one of my absolute favorite video games, right? Yes and no. Read the full story

Yesterday we got to see some of the exclusive content coming to the PlayStation 3 version of SEGA’s Virtua Tennis 4. As a note, I better be getting Agassi (I’ll also settle for McEnroe or Sampras) as an exclusive on my 360. Moving on, though, today we get to see gameplay footage of Virtua Tennis 4 as it will appear on the PlayStation 3. Read the full story

Virtua Tennis 4 hits the 360, PS3, Wii, and PC on May 10, 2011 (May 14, 2011 for EU). When that day comes, PS3 owners will get a great little handful of exclusive content not available to 360/Wii/PC players. I can only hope that the 360 gets similar treatment and receives its own set of exclusives, since I don’t have a PS3, but I’ll just have to wait and see what happens. I am desperately eager for this game to come out; with a little over a month still to go, time seems to be passing more and more slowly. Read the full story

Ever since we have had gadgets, people have been finding alternate ways to use them, often unintended by the manufacturer.  Rooted Androids, jailbroken iPhones, custom Firmwares for the PSP; I have even seen homemade NES games and flash carts for playing them on the original Nintendo.  Most of these modifications are innocent, such as a rooted Android, thus giving a user full access to their device.  At first that seems reasonable enough - allowing you to make your device do what you want, why not?  But often people make mischief, and ruin a good thing with bad intentions.

Console modding may very well become a criminal offense in the near future. This last Tuesday, a trial began in Southern California that could begin the creation of a much larger definition as to what a person is legally allowed to do with the products they buy. Read the full story

The Persian side of my family has always been deeply into Tennis and Soccer (football, if you’re not American).  When I would visit as a kid, the summer would be full of watching one particular player: Andre Agassi.  In the late 80s/early 90s, even if you didn’t care about tennis, you knew who Andre Agassi was just by seeing his long blonde hair(piece).  He was the man.  And now, with the release of Top Spin 4 from 2K Sports (part of 2K Games), The Man, with his totally radical hair(piece), returns. Read the full story

September 9, 1999 is a day that will live in gamers’ memories for a long time.  It marked the release of SEGA’s Dreamcast console.  The Dreamcast’s graphics, online gameplay, and hardware were ahead of its time creating a community of enthusiasts that still regard the Dreamcast as one of their favorite consoles (myself included).

Fans of the Dreamcast’s memorable and incredibly entertaining game library have reason to celebrate.  To celebrate the 11th anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast, SEGA will begin releasing select titles on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live.  These titles will have updated high-resolution graphics, surround sound, online leaderboards, and achievements/trophies.  Currently, the only two announced titles for release this fall are Sonic Adventure, and fan favorite Crazy Taxi.

I, for one, can’t wait to get behind the wheel again and start picking up high-resolution fares!

-[insert CAN YOU GET ME TO THE AIRPORT? here]

Wow, we’ve really fallen behind on our posting.  Sorry about that, but it couldn’t be helped.  I needed a bit of a break from having to think of something every single day.  Hopefully I’m ready to get back into the swing of things!

A few weeks ago, during one of our MehCast episodes, we discussed my broken Dreamcast console and how I truly missed it.  One of our amazing viewers, and a good friend, took it upon himself to ship us a working Dreamcast with an extra controller!  I managed to procure some of my favorite games, and after a few difficulties, managed to get them running:

Virtua Tennis: I was a tennis MASTER, back in the day.  I would sit and play for hours upon hours, loving every second of it.  My cousin Lee loved this game, too, so when I get home, I’m going to give him a call and let him know that it’s back!

Crazy Taxi & Crazy Taxi 2:  The Crazy Taxi games were fantastic.  The first one was such a well done game, that you really had no chance to hate it.

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing & Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2:  Ready 2 Rumble was such a fun boxing game that introduced us to wild characters with even wilder fighting styles.  Almost drawing on the spirit of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, this game was always a blast.

Power Stone & Power Stone 2:  Easily one of the most amazing games ever made on any system, ever.

Street Fighter Alpha 3:  I love the Alpha series, and SFA3 in particular.  In my opinion, one of the best Street Fighter games.

There’s so much more I have yet to play, but this is a start!

Thanks Austin!

-Because I said so