Geist Force "Ghost Project" reserve list

I just caught wind that reserves are being made for folks to purchase Geist Force. If you want to buy one of the limited professionally made pressed disc's, you need to make a post over at Assembler Games pledging your oath to pay up when prompted.

Assembler posted this telling us about a new group created specifically for handling production of the limited edition print run of the game.

"Geist force has been transferred from "assemblergames.com" to the newly
formed dreamcast group "GHOST PROJECT".

The original media, data release and distribution of member shares
(complimentary pressed commemorative disc) are handled by "Ghost project".

Therefore the involvement of assemblergames.com ends and is transferred
to "Ghost Project" along with responsibilities and liabilities.

All prior donors are now members of "Ghost Project". The need for this
distinction grows out of the eventual existence of physical media
and transition from idea to working concept.

The project transfers intact and without change albeit to a new entity."

If you want a peice of this verry rare Dreamcast history, you need to copy and paste the paragraph below at the link here

I wish to join "Ghost Project" and reserve a disc (while supplies last).
I understand I am committing to donate for one commemorative
pressed disc, and failing to fulfill the commitment when prompted
will result in forfeiture of reservation. Reservation is also non-transferable.

Good luck to those that want to try and get this very special game!

NG/DC: Gun Lord Trailer #1 (Eurostyle Platformer)

I am on a roll today! Here is our next piece of news for October 24th!

Gunlord, a run, jump and shooting game, similar to Turrican and Metal Slug finally got the trailer released that we have been waiting all year for!



http://gun-lord.com - Gun Lord is a Eurostyle Platformer with emphasis on exploring huge worlds and blasting off enemies. This game features 9 stages of exciting 2D game play with over 45 unique enemy types. Blast yourself through giant landscapes, explore caverns and reveal all secrets!!

http://www.ngdevdirect.com

Release: NEO·GEO™ MVS December 2011, Dreamcast™ 2012, NEO·GEO™ AES 2012

http://www.facebook.com/ngdevteam
http://www.twitter.com/ngdevteam

Geist Force news!

Today I am back with another interesting piece of news for you to sink your teeth into!

Earlier this year, a beta of an unreleased game surfaced named Geist Force. Gameplay is similar to Panzer Dragoon and Rex, but the game is styled much like Starfox 64.

If you are an on rails shooter fan, then this is the Holy Grail of unreleased rail shooters for the Sega Dreamcast.

Assembler, the creator of the Assembler Games forums, updated us today on the progress of the release schedule of the game to the site donors that secured themselves a limited edition pressed disc of the game before it gets released to the general public.

Here is what Assembler had to say about the game.

"I wound up having to send the data over by fedex
to the new place.

I got up early today and geist is the focus.

1. We will have contract for discs manufacture
a. We will have good working relationship, so we can get other items
pressed no question.
2. I will be encoding videos for people today to see, full intro and all.
a. There was some panzer dragoon files on the disc I will release as well
3. Thank you for your patience as we have made this happen!

Congratulations on the long road but we are THERE and I expect copies returned in TWO WEEKS for shipping."

Source: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?p=539290#post539290

So there you have it folks, not much longer till we have an unreleased retail game in our Dreamcast!

Here is a little FMV from the game for you to take a look at.

AES4ALL / NEO4ALL - BETA 4 emulator released!

It has been a while since I posted something, but I thought I would share something with you that was brought to my attention by the user named Dreamcaster.

It looks like our hero emulator coder Chui is at it again, bringing more Neo Geo emulating goodness to Dreamcast's everywhere.

Chui has posted a video previewing some gameplay.



The update features
* Latest FAME/FAZE cores
* Adjust Yamaha timmings.
* SD-Card support

Download both below.
http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/neo4all.html#BinaryDownloads
http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/aes4all.html#Downloads

Street Fighter III Double Impact (Review)

Release dates:

North America: April 27th, 2000

Japan: December 16th, 1999 (as Street Fighter III: W Impact)

Europe: 2000

Game details:

1-2 Players

Standard controller

Arcade stick

VMU compatible

VGA box

Street Fighter III Double Impact collects the two earliest versions of Street Fighter III, New Generation and 2nd Impact: Giant Attack. Typically, new versions of Street Fighter games make the old ones irrelevant, and there's not much reason to go back. This is actually a bit different with the games compiled in Double Impact. Read on to find out why...

Gameplay

The games featured in Double Impact are very obviously earlier versions of the more commonly known Third Strike. New Generation especially feels very bare compared to 2nd Impact and Third Strike; ex attacks are missing, which is bizarre if you learned on Third Strike. 2nd Impact is certainly the more enjoyable of the two games here, with its marginally larger roster and mechanics closer to Third Strike. A few characters have different moves and super arts, and in some cases the balancing is dramatically different (Sean is surprisingly powerful in 2nd Impact compared to his showing in Third Strike). A feature of note that was lost in Third Strike is the ability to use turbo settings. New Generation and 2nd Impact can both have the turbo speed adjusted similar to Super Street Fighter II X.

While it isn't necessarily an aspect of gameplay, there's not quite a section it fits into and I'd like to note it early in the review. The tone of these games is radically different than what you find in Third Strike. The music comes off as more lighthearted and the stages have more of an inhabited feel to them, for lack of a better term. The games are more colorful and because of that they feel more fun. If you're a casual player, you'll probably enjoy these games far more than Third Strike.

Storyline

Not applicable.

Graphics

The graphics here are similar to Third Strike, however they don't seem as smooth in New Generation. Capcom's arcade flyers for 2nd Impact claimed that some aspects of the graphics were re-done; they don't look like it, but it's probably true. None of the stages in Third Strike are present in Double Impact or New Generation, so if you haven't played these before, you'll be in for a new set of stages. Some of them are very cool, and while they have no bearing on the gameplay, it's sad to see that they didn't make it into Third Strike. Another thing that I thought was cool, that won't make much of a difference to most, is the game selection menu. While it's simple, I thought it was a nice touch to have the CD-ROM discs from the arcade board as the selection icons.

Sound

Music-wise, I think that New Generation and 2nd Impact trump the arranged music of Third Strike on Dreamcast. The music is far more listenable and enjoyable, especially Alex's stage in 2nd Impact. Generally, the songs fit better with the stages; the music isn't as lively, but it is more appropriate. As far as voices go, these are also different from Third Strike. This is not a good thing. Alex especially sounds incredibly feminine. A friend who I play Street Fighter with usually uses Alex; we played Double Impact together for the first time and burst out laughing when Alex says "you can't escape" at the start of his super art.

Conclusion

Third Strike, strangely, does not make the games of Double Impact irrelevant. These games are way more fun. That said, Third Strike is still the definitive version of Street Fighter III, but if you just want to play some Street Fighter light-heartedly and III is your favorite series, then you'll probably want to keep Double Impact around. It's not as serious, and I think for single player it makes the game more enjoyable. There's some give and take where one game is better than the other, and it would be interesting to see a fourth iteration of Street Fighter III to see what more of a meeting between 2nd Impact and Third Strike would produce.

9.0/10

Super Street Fighter II X For Matching Service (Review)

The full title of the game is Super Street Fighter II X Grand Master Challenge For Matching Service. Holy shit.

Release dates:

North America: Unreleased

Japan: December 22nd, 2000

Europe: Unreleased

Game details:

1-2 players

Standard controller

Arcade stick

Keyboard

Mouse

VGA box

Online multiplayer (disabled)

Most of us remember Street Fighter II and its many incarnations from relatively unspectacular Genesis/MegaDrive and Super Nintendo ports. Enter Super Street Fighter II X For Matching Service. The game is an arcade perfect port of the arcade counterpart (known as Super Street Fighter II Turbo in the states), and was accurate enough that the PSN/XBLA release Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (holy shit again) was based on the code for the Dreamcast version of the game. Street Fighter games have come a long way since II X landed, and if you're wondering how the old game holds up, you can find out here.

Gameplay

If your Street Fighter origins are III or IV, you're in for quite a shock. This is the origin of modern fighting games, and we've come a long way since then. Don't mistake my words as negative; it just really is a shock to the system to play the game. I put many hours into Street Fighter II on my Genesis, but picked fighting games back up about eight years ago with Street Fighter III on Dreamcast. When a friend purchased Street Fighter II' on Xbox Live several years ago, I felt like I was naked because of the game's simplicity. There aren't any twitch timing parries, complicated FADC cancels or careful gauge management here. This is a pure fighting game. Be faster than your opponent, spam your special moves, and use your gauge when it finally fills all the way. It's really very hard to say much about this game in the gameplay department. It's the originator, and if you don't know how it works then you've missed out on a huge genre of video games. Super Street Fighter II X does add one new feature, which is the super combo. Some of you were likely confused by my mention of a gauge in Street Fighter II; it was introduced with this game, which to my knowledge never made it to the Genesis or SNES. In terms of balance, this is my personal preferred version of Street Fighter II. More or less solely for the reason of E. Honda not being able to move during the Hundred Hand Slap. For the arcade purists, as stated in the intro, this is 100% arcade perfect.

Storyline

The day I can write something here will be a good one…

Graphics

The graphics in SSFIIX are actually very nice; if you've only played the SNES and Genesis versions, you're in for better graphics and some subtle, but nice touches. In particular, there's some nice parallax scrolling I noticed in the floor of Dhalsim's stage. The game looks great on a VGA box, but this is definitely a game of its time. The newest characters in the game are noticeably better looking, which can sometimes be distracting and detracts from the overall look of the game.

Sound

This will be broken into two sections in order to provide information on Team RDC's remixed release featuring sound from Overclocked ReMix's Blood on the Asphalt remix.

(Original version)

This is my preferred version of the soundtrack. Again, if you haven't heard these songs, you're missing out on a major piece of video game history. Guile's theme is legendary (and inspired an equally legendary YouTube meme) and my personal favorite, Ken's theme is just awesome.

(Remixed version)

This remix mostly falls flat. The only song that I prefer superior to the original is Ken's theme. The guitar is perfect, and the solo is excellent. The rest of the remixes are mostly slow and sparse, and it can feel odd while playing the game. I'll admit that when playing the game with friends, we usually do choose the remixed version and just play Ken's stage repeatedly.

Conclusion

Super Street Fighter II X is the best version of a legendary game. There's really not much to say for this review; you should know this stuff. It's part of gamer DNA at this point. If you don't know it, something has gone wrong. Since the time SSFIIX came out, it's my opinion that it has been eclipsed by other Street Fighter entries. Regardless, this is still a great game.

8.5/10

Sturmwind and Gunlord coming this year!

Ever since 1998, at least one Dreamcast game has been released each year and 2011 is not an exception.

The first game which looks very interesting is “Sturmwind”. It's a 2D (with some 3D effects) side-scrolling shooter with amazing graphics. It looks like it could be an Xbox 360 game. I'm really looking forward to this game and it's supposed to be released November 11 this year. It supports PAL50, PAL60, NTSC and is VGA compatible. It also features 16 levels, more than 20 bosses and three difficulty levels. It's being published by RedspotGames.

Trailer below:


Another game is “Gunlord” which is going to be release for both Dreamcast and Neo Geo. It's a 2D platformer, which I think the Dreamcast needs a lot more of, and looks like Castlevania and Contra mixed into one game. There's no gameplay video as of yet. The developer, NG:DEV.TEAM, has released a few screenshots and it looks very promising. It's expected to be released this year.

Check out the website below for screenshots and additional information:
http://www.gun-lord.com/

Super Puzzle Fighter II X For Matching Service (Review)

Release dates:

North America: Unreleased

Japan: July 5, 2001

Europe: Unreleased

Game details:

1-2 Players

Standard controller

VMU compatible

VGA box

Jump Pack Compatible

Super Puzzle Fighter II X is a funny piece of Capcom history. It's a game loved by many and for good reason. It's also a game that isn't well known to those who aren't fans of the company (Capcom) or of the franchise (Street Fighter). In playing the game, I can't see any reason it isn't better known.

Gameplay

Super Puzzle Fighter II X isn't any sort of a revolution in puzzle games, but everything here is done right. Since this is a Dreamcast game and there are many Sega fans here, when the first gems appear on screen the typical player will probably think "Columns!" Not quite. I know this was a friend's reaction and my own when we first played the game together. Instead of stacking blocks of three matching gems together to eliminate them, the real goal is to create rectangular blocks of the same color. Eventually a circular gem will appear; match this with a gem of the same color, and all adjacent gems of the same color will be eliminated. Fans of puzzle games are thinking chain reaction, and that's exactly right. If you can connect large amounts of gems and hit them with the crash gem, your super deformed Street Fighter (or Darkstalkers) character will use a super move against your opponent.

The characters fighting doesn't seem to have any real bearing on the game itself; the game plays out the same as any other multiplayer puzzle game. Do well, and you'll impede your opponent's progress. Somehow, the characters fighting does seem to make the multiplayer more intense and more of a confrontation. The game is a blast in multiplayer mode, and I would recommend it to every one.

Storyline

I'm starting to wonder why I said storylines should be a part of every review…

Graphics

The graphics themselves aren't terribly impressive, but the character designs are appropriately cute. If you're not a fan of the super deformed anime style, then you're not going to be impressed with the graphics, but I think they are perfect for the game. It's interesting to see an official super deformed take on Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters; anime fan art can get a little dicey sometimes…

Sound

There are some cool remixes of known Street Fighter tracks here (I'd imagine the same goes for Darkstalkers but I've never been a huge fan of the series), and the fighting sound effects are more or less lifted right out of Street Fighter. This is one of the strongest aspects of the game right along with the gameplay.

Conclusion

Super Puzzle Fighter II X is a great game. It has been released for many other consoles besides Dreamcast, but is somehow largely forgotten. The price can get a bit steep for the Dreamcast version, but if you've got a Saturn, PS1, Xbox 360 or PS3 you're in business. This is a recommended game regardless of system.

8.5/10