Welcome back to our SEGA Dreamcast Anniversary celebration at The Splintering! Today we’re reviewing Playing at the Next Level in which author Ken Horowitz details the history of SEGA of America with an emphasis on SEGA’s U.S. development teams and some of their more notable games.* Starting with the ill-fated Master System and continuing all the way until SEGA’s swan
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It’s 9 September, which means it is the anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast’s U.S. release. I’m now going to attempt a fair review of Sonic Adventure, one of the most divisive games in SEGA’s back-catalogue. While it was received very well upon its original release in 1999, its many flaws have been exhaustively laid out since. How to proceed? Should
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Every now and again, we at The Splintering are going to lean on our mascot, Chomp the Termite, to go out into the world of myth and fiction to get the stories that we non-fictional types just can’t get. September 9th marks the anniversary of the SEGA Dreamcast’s release in the U.S., so Chomp thought he’d dust off his old
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“What are you prepared to do!?!” Publisher Hamster has announced that Lead Angle is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Seibu Kaihatsu in 1988 and later ported to the SEGA Master System, this is the first time that an arcade-perfect version of Lead Angle (aka Dead
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Publisher Hamster has announced that Finalizer Super Transformation is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Konami in 1985, this is the first time that Finalizer Super Transformation has been commercially available since Microsoft shut down the Xbox Game Room service several years ago. One or two
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I find it hard to believe that nobody could come up with a more interesting title for this game. Publisher Hamster has announced that The Ninja Kids is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally published in arcades by Taito in 1990, this is the first time that The Ninja Kids
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Today, The Splintering is reviewing the most famous of all of the SEGA Genesis launch titles: Altered Beast! I know pretty much everyone interested in classic gaming knows about the original pack-in for one of the greatest consoles of all time… and most people do not have the nicest things to say about it, either. However, I am one of
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The title is a bit nondescript. Publisher RockGame has announced that The Legacy is coming soon to Steam PC. Developed by Second Reality, The Legacy is a cooperative survival horror game set in the picturesque Carpathian Mountains of Eastern Europe. Players will hunt, manage resources, craft items, and survive long enough to uncover the dark secrets of a cursed land.
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A punch of nostalgia courtesy of Konami. Publisher Hamster has announced that The Final Round is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Konami in 1988, this is the first time that The Final Round (aka Hard Puncher in Japan) is seeing an official home release. In
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Don’t get too excited. It’s not that kind of football. It’s soccer-football. Publisher Hamster has announced that Football Champ is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Taito in 1990, Football Champ was later ported to the Super Famicom and Amiga. M International versions of the
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It is with great pleasure that I present this review of Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III for the PlayStation 4!* You may be asking yourself, “Why would you care so much about reviewing a rerelease of some obscure TurboGrafx-16 (TG16) game that only five people have ever heard of?” You see, I am one of those five people, as I actually
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“Ghost Ninjutsu Scroll”…? Something like that. Publisher Hamster has announced that Ninja Emaki will be released on 4 July for Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Nichibutsu in 1986, this is the first time that Ninja Emaki is seeing an official release on home consoles In Ninja Emaki, players
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Publisher Hamster has announced that Rastan Saga II (aka Nastar Warrior) is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Taito in 1988 and later ported to the SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive and the PC Engine, this is the first official release of an arcade-perfect version of Rastan
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The only way to victory is to suck. Publisher Hamster has announced that Rug Rats is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Nichibutsu in 1982, this is the first time that Rug Rats (aka Wiping) is seeing a release outside of Nihon, while also being
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Take a house to die for and turn it in to a home to live in. Polish game developer Image Power recently announced that Haunted House Renovator will receive a demo during Steam Next Fest from 10-17 June. Partially funded through crowdfunding, Haunted House Renovator is a unique game where players transform haunted houses into beautiful homes for the living.
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The password is “fidelio.” Publisher Hamster has announced that Cue Brick is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Konami in 1989 and later ported to the Sharp X68000, this is the first time that Cue Brick (aka Cueb Runner) is seeing an official release outside
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“Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he answered, saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’” -Mark 5:9 Publisher Hamster has announced that Legion is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Nichibutsu in 1987 under the title Spinner-87 Legion, this is
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Welcome back to Monochrome May, The Splintering’s month-long celebration of black and white entertainment! Today we’re going to pick apart a lesser-known puzzle game for the Nintendo Game Boy, Daedalian Opus. Published by Vic Tokai in 1990, Daedalian Opus is a Tetris-inspired twist on tangram puzzles. What’s a tangram puzzle? Tangrams are designed around rearranging various two dimensional shapes called
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The ‘-un’ at the end was too much for an arcade marquee to handle. Publisher Hamster has announced that the overhead maze game Tutankham is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally developed by Konami and released in arcades by Stern in 1982, Tutankham was later ported to the Atari 2600,
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Conan He-Man Kull Rastan Publisher Hamster has announced that Rastan Saga is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in arcades by Taito in 1987 and later ported to the SEGA Master System, Commodore 64, Apple II and Amstrad CPC, Rastan Saga (aka Rastan) is a Conan-inspired action game with
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Kibe Software House recently announced that the anime-inspired “Metroidvania” game Arcadia: Colony will be released for Nintendo Switch on 16 May. It is already available on Steam. Arcadia: Colony is described as having “a vibrant world made of surprising locations… home to colourful characters and lively environments, yet under attack from alien machines.” Players will get the chance to explore
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Got all that? Game publisher Komodo has released Hatsune Miku – The Planet Of Wonder And Fragments Of Wishes for Steam PC (compatible with Steam Deck). It is already available on Nintendo Switch. Developed by Crypton Future Media, The Planet Of Wonder And Fragments Of Wishes is an action puzzle game that brings Miku and friends to a colorful but
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Onigiri Games has unveiled Dark Samurai, a horde survival game with online co-op coming soon to Steam PC. The game features a Roguelike progression system and a supernatural story set in feudal Japan (yosh!). Here’s the key details on Dark Samurai from Onigiri Games, followed by the game’s announcement trailer: Announcing Dark Samurai, a roguelike horde survival game with permanent
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No, Jesus Christ isn’t in the game. There are demons, though. This week, Kemco released fantasy RPG Glorious Savior for SeXbox, Xbone, Windows, Steam, PS5, PS4 (supporting Cross-Buy) and Nintendo Switch. The game is and has been available on mobile platforms for a loooong time. Here is the official breakdown of Glorious Savior from Kemco: Rain, an aristocratic protagonist, is
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“It was most tranquil.” Neuron Age’s indie development arm Project Pegasus recently released TENSEI on Steam PC, and is planned for release on other unspecified platforms at a future date. Set in a stylish 3D world inspired by East Asian ink artwork, TENSEI offers a unique genre mishmash intended to be approachable by game journalists gamers of all skill levels.
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“I’ll tell you what I’d do, man… two chicks at the same time, man.” On Monday, EA Sports, revealed plans to resurrect the NBA Jam arcade-style basketball game, this time featuring all-stars from not just the NBA, but also the WNBA… as paid DLC, of course. The NBA Jam franchise has been latent since the Xbox 360/PS3/Nintendo Wii release in
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It’s German for “to be nursed by wolves.” Germans are friggin’ weird, man…” Publisher Hamster has announced that Volfied (ヴォルフィード) is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Taito in 1989 and later ported to multiple platforms including the SEGA Genesis, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and
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No Pearl Harbor jokes here. Publisher Hamster has announced that Surprise Attack is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4 as part of the digital Arcade Archives series. Originally released in Japanese arcades by Konami in 1990, this is the first time that Surprise Attack is seeing an official release in the West. In Surprise Attack, an evil terrorist group
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I can think of a few things… Publisher Baltoro Games recently announced that first-person horror game Things Too Ugly will be coming to PC and consoles sometime in the second half of 2024. Developed by Professor Space Games, Things Too Ugly is described as an “interactive psychological horror game” that “combines elements of puzzle-solving, investigative work, and narrative exploration.” The
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Yes, that Game Boy Advance. Publisher Incube8 Games recently announced that the previously unreleased Game Boy Advance title Kien will finally be seeing the light of day sometime in Q2 of this year. Originally developed in the early 2000s by independent game studio AgeOfGames, Kien is a fantasy side-scroller with RPG elements and 2D combat akin to the Monster World
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