SEGA announces a slew of mobile titles at GDC 2013

As seen in part 1 and part 2 of my GDC 2013 report over at SEGAbits, SEGA has showcased a number of new titles. Well, not exactly new, as all the titles are pre-existing games. However, each game has been built especially for iOS and Android devices. Could the days of crappy packaged ROMs be over? First up are two SEGA Genesis classics: Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for iOS and Android devices.  Now before you get all bent out of shape over another release of these games, be aware that Christian "Taxman" Whitehead is behind the port, and as such we can expect the same sort of goodness that we got with Sonic CD's rerelease: 60fps, widescreen support, bonuses like time attack mode, and more goodies. SEGA has yet to reveal anything pertaining to Sonic 2, but we'll likely see something soon.

Also on show was a mobile port of The House of the Dead Overkill, dubbed "The Lost Reels". The game is said to be a retooling of the original game for mobile devices, so stages and characters may differ from the console versions. Also, I very much doubt all the F-bombs will remain intact. Oddly enough, tap to shoot will not be a control scheme until you complete the game, so players have to be ready to use either a virtual joystick or the accelerometer for their first playthrough.

Finally, SEGA has also announced that two free-to-play titles, Puzzle Pirates from developer Three Rings and Godsrule: War of Mortals from developer Gogogic, are heading to mobile devices soon. Both games have built up a sizable community on the browser versions of the games, and eventually players will be able to continue their gameplay on-the-go via touch enabled versions of the games.

The handheld SEGA games of February

February is turning out to be a pretty good month for SEGA handheld gaming fans! After a rather dull last few months, the 3DS and iOS have both received SEGA games. On iOS is the surprise release of After Burner Climax. Announced just last Monday and released three days later, After Burner Climax is a faithful port of the XBLA and PSN title that in turn is a modern day arcade classic. Gameplay is just as speedy and intense as the home version, and the price is excellent at a cool $2.99. One thing SEGA hasn't shared on their blog is the developer behind the port, Fishing Cactus. Fishing Cactus had this to say on their blog:

The “secret project”, which our Laurent Grumiaux recently referred to in his tweet laments about crunch time, is now officially revealed. Traveling at mach speed from the danger zone to your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch — After Burner Climax! The elite aerial dogfight game originally developed by Sega AM2 has barrel-rolled its way from the arcades to the AppStore.

We’re very grateful to SEGA for giving us the opportunity to port this frenetic Arcade classic to mobile, and to be completely honest, we’re very proud of what we’ve done with it! After Burner Climax bursts great 3D textures while delivering smooth high-speed animations despite the technical limitations of the platform. The game is playable using either touch or tilt.

Of note to Android owners, a version of the game is coming, though SEGA has yet to give a firm release date.

 

Next up is Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed for the Nintendo 3DS. Releasing three months after the HD versions, and two months after the Vita version, the 3DS version of the game may be late to the party but it is the version of the game that I am most interested to play outside the console versions. Early reviews are mixed, with an inconsistant framerate being the biggest negative. Despite this, the game amazingly retains all the racers and tracks. So unlike the DS version, which greatly scaled back in many areas, those who pick up the 3DS version should experience a game that plays very close to the console versions in terms of content.

Features include the obvious implementation of 3D, as well as Street Pass modes and a overhead map on the second screen that is only found on the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game. Oddly, the character I am most excited to race as is the Mii, which drives a car inspired by the car seen on the OutRun logo. Which in turn is a cutesified super deformed version of the OutRun Ferrari. Just make sure your Mii shirt is red for the full effect.

Stay tuned to the Nomad Junkyard for monthly rundowns of SEGA's portable offerings, as well as the occasional article! It's my resolution for the new year.

Recovering Photos From A Corrupt Compact Flash (CF) Memory Card

I recently returned from a holiday trip in Seoul (Korea) and took a lot of photos using my old Canon 400D DSLR. This camera still uses the compact flash (CF) memory card and I had used two 1Gb cards during my 7 days excursion. The second day after I returned home, I went ahead to plug-in the card reader to my Mac to start downloading my photos for storage.

I plugged in the first CF card and my Mac gave me a warning not to unplug the card without first ejecting it as it would cause errors. I was confused as I have only plugged it in and haven't pull it out. There was no eject option so I unplugged the card reader and plugged it in again, with the same outcome. I did it a few times before it finally started reading the card. I went the folder where the photos would be and I could see all the files, but when I clicked on those picture files, nothing showed up and every file was just 16kb in size! Then my Mac was telling me there is 1Gb free space on the card! Can you imagine my horror?
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Zaxxon Escape for iOS reviewed, Sonic Jump released!

While things have been quiet at the Nomad Junkyard, things have been quite busy over at SEGAbits! I've gotten back into the handheld groove, as I've been enjoying Sonic Rush, Sonic Generations, Crush 3D and Shinobi on my 3DS. I've just reviewed Zaxxon Escape for iOS over at SEGAbits, so please head over there for my review. Also in iOS news, Sonic Jump has released today and I've been really enjoying it. The game is actually a semi-sequel to a 2005 mobile title of the same name, with all new controls, assets and gameplay elements. Expect a review of that in the coming week.

And how is my SEGA Nomad? Very well, thanks for asking. It is sitting in a drawer beneath my Genesis, thinking of a way to smash my iPhone and 3DS as revenge for me neglecting it.

Change your user icon on Mac OSX Mountain Lion (a.k.a 10.8)

I just migrated my MacBook Pro from OSX Lion to OSX Mountain Lion. There are some changes here and there and of course the most notable are the iCloud integration, iChat, Notification feature and the Gamecenter integration.

Well, I presume the upgrade would be pretty straight forward. I did a clean install instead as my MacBook just came back from repairs so I thought what the heck... Just do a clean install since there is nothing inside that I need. After my installation, I wanted to change my user icon to a customised icon and I realise that I cannot do it the same way I did before with OSX Lion.
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The Elongated iPhone... iPhone 5

For the first time since the release of iPhone 3GS, I'm not awed by the announcement of the latest iPhone 5. Yes it is bigger (just longer actually) and yes it is more powerful than the previous incarnations (it has to be right?), but.... Well, I confess I have been an Apple fan since I first owned the iPhone 3GS and since then, I have got my family and myself the iPhone 4, the iPad and also migrated to a MacBook Pro for my computing usage. Everything has been so innovative from Apple ever since the first iPhone and it took iPhone 3GS to convince me to start using Apple's products.


That being said, yesterday's annoucement of the iPhone 5, nothing special (this is my own opinion of course). For the first time I feel that Apple is playing catch-up rather than being the one being chased. For the first time (since 3GS), I have the urge to tryout a Samsung S3 or even the Nokia Lumia 920. And for the first time, I wish Apple still had Steve Jobs with them for I think they are loosing a lot of creativity without the MAN.
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Why buying a discounted iPhone 4s now is stupid

iPhone 5 will likely be announced next month and everybody who follows tech news knows it. And every who does follow will know that many vendors and even Apple themselves have dropped the price of their iPhone 4s. A good,time to buy you say? Not unless you think you cannot afford a brand new iPhone 5 which maybe 50-100 bucks more costly. But, if you can afford it and you still want to get it, it is downright silly.

Here's why...

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