2 critically acclaimed strategy titles packaged together like chocolate and peanut butter. Read the full story

Sega has decided to bring two of their arcade shooter classics to the Wii in an all new combo pack! East Coast and West Coast unite bringing all kinds of two-player, fast paced, fire fighting action in Gunblade NY and LA Machineguns.

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Alternate realities are awesome. Especially alternate WWII type realities with super cool tanks and magical glowing powers.

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Vanquish is a game about futuristic battle suits, robots, depleting resources, and an fight on board a giant space station. The game promises to merge shooting and action to deliver a new sense of gaming. If you want to check it out for yourself take a look at the demo!

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Today, Sega released more screenshots and a gameplay trailer for Vanquish, the hotly anticipated sci-fi third person shooter. Directed by Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil and executive producer for Viewtiful Joe and Devil May Cry, Vanquish is shaping up to be one of 2010′s ‘must-have’ games. Read the full story

For years I’ve been a Sonic fan. It all started when I just had to get a Sega Genesis to play the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Then when Sonic 2 game out, I had to get that as well. Unfortunately, for some franchises there are bumps in the road, and sometimes that leads to our childhood memories becoming tarnished. Read the full story

Last Tuesday, for my birthday, I whipped out my NES and played a beloved game from my childhood, Crystalis. At first I was pretty scared to pop it in, because what if I didn’t feel the same way about it anymore? What if the gameplay or story was too simplistic for my current gaming tastes? What if I don’t enjoy it, and those memories are ruined?

As a little girl, I slept in the same bed as my Grandmother, and would sneak out of it every midnight to go into the extra bedroom that housed my NES. Then, until I had to start getting ready for elementary school, I’d play Crystalis on very low volume so I wouldn’t wake anybody up. I did that for weeks until I eventually beat it. When I played Crystalis last week, it was as if those 20+ years inbetween never happened. I remembered where everything was, I remembered the names of characters and cities, and I even remembered what to do. The only thing that I found different was how short the game felt, but I’m a lot older now, my gaming skills have gotten better over time, and since I knew where everything was, I was able to move through the game faster than when I was a child. Some games are timeless like Contra, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Toe Jam & Earl, Super Mario series, and many more, but what about the titles that fail to stand the test of time?

Sure, gaming graphics have changed, but we all know that no matter how visually gorgeous something is, everything else about it can be complete shit. The same goes for the opposite too. Take Final Fantasy VII for example: its graphics at the time were below what the PlayStation console was able to handle, but to this day it’s constantly lauded as the best in the entire franchise. While I strongly disagree with that opinion, it’s a solid case of how, regardless of graphics, gamers can still find a game completely enjoyable well into the future. Gameplay and controls have changed too, but so have the controllers. Is this really a plus? With the original NES controller, you had a d-pad, start/select buttons, and the A/B buttons to perform actions. Nowadays, gamers have to factor in a d-pad, two analog joysticks, left and right triggers, left and right bumper buttons, start/select buttons, four action buttons, and sometimes there is even a home button. Compare the controls for Super Mario on NES, or even SNES, to what is required for Super Mario Galaxy, and it’s insane. Sometimes keeping it simple really pays off.

The music has changed drastically. In our youthful days, MIDI tracks were all the rage, but now we are given some really amazing soundtracks, and also the option of listening to our own music when gaming (Sidenote: Back in the day, I would sometimes pop in a cassette or listen to the radio when playing a game, so it’s nice to see how that has evolved. A prominent memory I have is playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 at a neighbors house and hearing Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine for the very first time). Gamers who owned a Sega Genesis should remember the funky soundtrack from Toe Jam & Earl, and NES owners can probably sing every single Super Mario track ever made. Right now I have the theme song to Legend of Zelda in my head, and that will forever be a classic tune.

What hasn’t changed much are the stories. We are still playing adventure games, still playing shooters, and still escaping into elaborate worlds where we are constantly saving the day. Granted, some stories are better than others, but it’s pretty much the same. As children we assumed the roles of Mario, and were tasked with rescuing the Princess from the evil Bowser. For some reason, and 20+ years later, Princess Peach keeps neglecting to hire herself a bodyguard, and Bowser still hasn’t learned his lesson. We have seen some big twists like how Samus Aran was really a female, Aeris getting killed by Sephiroth, and finding out that in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic you were actually Revan. Obviously there are so many more moments that could be listed, but those are the main ones that popped into my head right now.

With Crystalis, I really lucked out because it’s a game that I will always love, and will always find enjoyable. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all games. So readers, I ask you this: are your fond gaming memories only because of your childhood nostalgia, or were we just given some really amazing games back then?

Check out some classic NES and Genesis games for old times sake. How many do you remember?:

- Me

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]

If you follow SEGA on Twitter, then you are likely aware of their weekly Free Stuff Friday giveaways.  I’ve been a fan of SEGA since I was a kid.  I have fond memories of my Genesis and my Dreamcast, and, to be fair, not so fond memories of the Saturn and SegaCD.  My Genesis will always have a special place in my heart, however, so no matter what they do to hurt me, I always return to SEGA in the end.  Today was a good SEGA day, and I won a Free Stuff Friday giveaway.

Ooh, I found a quarter!

Luckily I was watching my TweetDeck when I saw a certain tweet appear.  I immediately DM’d “Nick Fury” to @SEGA and, in less than a minute, received notification that I had won!  What did I win, I hear you ask in your minds with a certain level of apathy?  I won an Iron Man 2 prize pack.  What does that mean, I hear you ask in your minds with a certain level of fear in regard to my uncanny ability to hear your thoughts?  It means I won:

• A copy of Iron Man 2 for the Xbox 360
• A poster of the game’s front cover
• A code to download the Brady strategy guide for Iron Man 2
• A code for the Suitcase Suit to use in-game
• A 1GB USB drive with Iron Man 2 game assets (reusable as a regular USB drive as well)
• A special edition commemorative film cell from the movie
• AND some Iron Man 2 game art signed by SAMUEL L. JACKSON.

Iron Man 2 Game Cover Poster

Iron Man 2 Brady Games Strategy Guide

Suitcase Suit Code

Iron Man 2 USB Drive

Iron Man 2 Game and Game Art signed by Samuel L. Mother-Fucking Jackson

Yeah.  That’s awesome.  I’m stoked.

Thanks, SEGA!

-[insert FANBOY SQUEEEEE! here]