There seems to be a slight hitch for some of our readers, in that they don't own a Saturn. However, this is only a minor setback - we know you're gonna get around to getting one soon!
For aproximately £30 ($50) you can pick up a boxed one from
Gamestation (including six games).
With excellent, exclusive titles such as NiGHTs and Sega Rally, there is just no excuse not to... It makes for a perfect gaming experience AND economic sense!
However, if you are a PS2 owner, why not dip your toe in the Sega waters with the wonderful Sega Superstars, the best title to utilise Sony's Eye Toy.
Now admittedly the Eye Toy is a mere shadow of Sega's Dream Eye (recently showcased over at the
Hunyak). Get a taste of some of Sega's finest for a mere pittance on eBay!!!
I'll let the wonderful
Wikipedia tell you all about it...There are a total of 12 different full games to play in the main mode of Sega Superstars:
Sonic the Hedgehog - As Sonic runs down a round tunnel, he follows the position of the players hand. Using this method, the aim of the game is to gather rings and Chaos Emeralds in order to obtain the highest score at the end of the game.
Samba De Amigo - Players choose a song, and then must hit 6 different targets around the screen as the 'beat balls' reach them in time with the music. Posing with hands over 2 of the targets, or holding one position until a trail of beat balls is complete, may also be required from the player.
Chu Chu Rocket - Movement over a certain target on the screen will causes a bridge to raise, which the chu-chus then follow to the goal. The bridge also must be dropped at certain moments to prevent KapuKapus from destroying the score.
Puyo Pop Fever - Differently colored puyos will fall from the top of the screen, and the player's body must be positioned to guide them into the corrosponding pots and allow bombs to topple off the bottom of the screen.
Crazy Taxi - Large movements and loud sounds must be undertaken to stop the Crazy Taxi and complete the level.
Super Monkey Ball - The player must move their arms into different positions in order to guide the monkey ball around obstacles and towards the goal, picking up as may bananas as possible along the way.
NiGHTS Into Dreams - NiGHTS must be controlled and navigated through rings, collecting chips along the way, by raising your arms into a 'flying' position and adjusting them along the way.
House of the Dead - A multitude of different zombies must be attacked and defeated by hitting them. Innocent people who occasionally appear must also be avoided.
Virtua Striker - As footballs drop from the top of the screen, the aim is to head them into differently colored and scored balloons on the opposite side of the screen in order to obtain the highest score.
Virtua Fighter - Standing to one side, players kick and punch the corresponding attack prompts on the screen in order to defeat the opponent. Block and counter prompts also appear, and must be reacted to accordingly.
Space Channel 5 - Different dance move combination must be remembered when shown by the Moralians, and then repeated in time to the music by hitting six different buttons on the screen.
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg - By waving their hands over two different targets, players must move Billy and the egg around, and crush enemies and collect fruits along the way to the goal.
[
edit] Characters
These following characters are playable:
Sonic the Hedgehog (
Super Sonic)
Shadow the Hedgehog (
Super Shadow)
AiAi the MonkeyMeeMee the MonkeyBaby the MonkeyGonGon the MonkeyNiGHTSUlalaAmigoBilly HatcherAkira YukiJacky BryantBD Joe
[
edit] Extra Modes
In the "Puyo Pop Fever" game, if you successfully complete all three levels, you unlock a mode called "Free Mode" that allows players to simply play around with puyos and experiment with moving them around.
In the "NiGHTS into Dreams" game, successfully completing all three levels opens up a new night-time area (Twin Seeds) with harder levels and different scenery.
Completing all three levels on both "Samba De Amigo" and "Chu Chu Rocket" unlocks an extra-hard difficulty setting.
Also available is a variation of the
Tiny Chao Garden from different Sonic games. Here, a chao can be hatched and petted via different movements. It is also possible to interact with some scenery (Shaking trees for fruit) and purchase items for the Chao using rings collected in the main game mode.
[
edit] Trivia & Features
This is
Sonic's first appearance in a game rated higher than E for Everyone by the
ESRB. He would again appear in games rated higher than E in
Shadow the Hedgehog and
Sonic the Hedgehog, both rated E10+ and
Sega Genesis Collection. rated T.
Shadow the Hedgehog appears as an unlockable character in this game for the
PlayStation 2's
EyeToy. Upon collecting the Chaos Emeralds, he can transform into Super Shadow. Unlock Shadow by successfully completing all 3 difficulty levels with Sonic.
Sonic's levels are based on the "special stages" in
Sonic Heroes.
Sonic appears to have the ability to transform into Super Sonic, upon collecting the Chaos Emeralds.
This is the first playable appearance of NiGHTS since
Christmas NiGHTS, released in late 1996
Oh and here's a nice link to
Sega that's got a little bit of video on...
Enjoy!
So that's two examples of the Saturn's advertising team's stupidity in as many days! It makes me want to weep... Why couldn't they be like the Segata Sanshiro producing Japanese advertising team? They got it SO right...
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