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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The Nomad Junkyard enters the 3DS world...

I know! As a SEGA fan I should be ashamed, buying a Nintendo product. In fact, the 3DS XL is the first piece of Nintendo hardware that I bought new. My NES? Garage sale find in 2003. My GBA SP? Gamestop sale item bought a few years ago. My Wii? Same deal. So it was quite a strage experience plopping down money for a brand new Nintendo gaming device. But I don't regret it! I've actually been a closeted handheld Nintendo fin since they debuted the Game Boy Advance SP in 2003. The clam shell design? Lovely! The backlit screen? Awesome. I especially liked that the SP was backwards compatible with every Game Boy game ever made. 

I've sat out on the DS, mainly because I was just getting into the GBA library at the time. But when the 3DS was announced my ears perked up. Like the GBA SP, the 3DS looked to be a great option for those who sat out on the previous generation of Nintendo handhelds. Instead of buying a DS, I could just get a 3DS and cover both bases. Coupled with a GBA SP, a gamer could enjoy the entire Nintendo portable library with only two devices. Unforuntaly, I didn't have the money for a 3DS for quite a while, and once I did, the 3DS XL was announced. So I waited, and finally got a hold of one on the release date this past Sunday. Being a SEGA fan, I had to pick up SEGA titles first. So Crush 3D and Sonic Generations are the first games in my 3DS library, followed by Elite Beat Agents and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. 

How do I like the 3DS XL? I love it! I gotta give Nintendo credit, they may not make great home consoles anymore (sorry Wii U fans, I just am not excited for that) but they do a damn fine job with portables. The Street Pass function and the pedometer, complete with coins? Awesome idea that plays up on the portable function of the device. Instead of pretending to be a handheld home console (*cough* PSP*cough*), the 3DS is a handheld that knows its a handheld and is proud to be a handheld. Is it as good as the SEGA Nomad? Not quite, but it's a very cool device and I can't wait to spend more time playing it.