Hardware Review: SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player

There has been no shortage of ways to re-play games from the SEGA Mega Drive/ Genesis over the years with SEGA releasing and re-releasing their most popular games from the 16-bit generation on any and every platform.  Without particularly trying I think I have about 10-12 copies of the Sonic the Hedgehog.

Now there is at least one more way to replay 39 of those classics, the SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player, (hereafter referred to as "GUP") from the Dichroic Cat Electronic Company (AtGames Digital Media).

As for the name, I think most will agree that SEGA's own Nomad hand-held remains the ultimate portable game player. The Nomad enabled you to take your cartridge out of your home system and place it directly into the portable system for playing on the go, much as Nintendo's Switch facilitates in the 21st century.

The Real Ultimate SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player.

But back to the future for a moment, the GUP does have the advantage of a back-lit screen, long battery life (through use of a USB rechargeable battery) and having 39 games from the original system packed in (without having to lug around a bunch of cartridges.

You can find the SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player on Ebay for about $80 AUD.

The system is approximately the same size as a PlayStation Portable, with a slightly smaller screen and also significantly lighter, (while not so light as to feel cheap). The build is not up to Sony and Nintendo standards, but at the same time is ergonomically comfortable and mechanically well put together.

In the box you get the system itself, a USB charging cable and detailed manual which gives great descriptions of each game.

Pre-loaded onto the GUP are 39 Mega Drive games with standouts like Alex Kidd, Bonanza Bros., Comix Zone and Decap Attack joining the usual suspects like Sonic, Altered Beast and Columns.  A complete list of games will be at the end of this review.  There are an additional 41 "arcade games" which in actuality are free-ware quality clones that are usually shovelled onto off-brand counterfeit consoles you find sold in questionable parts of town.  Such gems as Yawning Triceratops, Mr. Balls and Jack's Pea will keep you occupied for seconds at a time.

The well written and verbose descriptions of these generic games in the manual may have taken longer to craft than the games themselves.

The GUP has an audio out, SD Card slot, A/V out, USB Charging input, on/off button and a volume control dial.

This image gives a sense of the size of the GUP. Dimensions (cm, approx): 15.5 x 6.5 x 2 (L x W x D).

As for the SEGA games themselves, they play and display just as you would hope on a screen that is vivid, bright and highly detailed. While the audio has a lot of treble, through the one small speaker, when using headphones the quality greatly improves.  Some have questioned the fidelity of the audio compared to the original system, but keeping in mind this is a portable system, and extremely small compared to the original this is a quibble that can be overlooked by most.

The menus are straight forward.

If you own some cartridges from the original system and want to make a legal back-up of them, or help doing so, there are many sites on the web that will enable you to do so. You can then transfer these back-ups onto an SD card and place it into the GUP, making the GUP a great way to access your full library of Mega Drive games legally, and on the go. (Supports .bin, .gen and .smd files).  If you wanted to make back-ups of your other console games and try to play them on the GUP, you are out of luck. Remember this only the SEGA Genesis Ultimate Portable Game Player.

Nice clear 3.2 inch LCD screen and no complaints on the buttons or cross-pad.

The buttons have suitable "clack" and the cross-pad is equally sufficient, something that a lot of these retro remakes get wrong.

Unfortunately, the modern conveniences of save states are not a feature of the GUP, which undercuts every positive aspect of the system.  With no easy way to save as you play, a standard on most modern retro remake consoles, it makes the GUP a system not worth owning. Especially for a portable system, where in everyday use you may expect to be interrupted while playing.

The selection of games is almost perfect, the hardware competent and the expansion port via SD to unlock a larger library of SEGA games is commendable, thoughtful and well executed. If you can forgive the lack of easy saves then this is a great way to play Mega Drive Games on the go.

- Phil Fogg

7/10

Full list of Mega Drive games that come on the system:

Alex Kidd (Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle)
Alien Storm
Altered Beast
Arrow Flash
Bonanza Bros.
Chakan
Columns
Columns 3
Comix Zone
Crack Down
Decap Attack
ESWAT
Eternal Champions
Fatal Labyrinth
Flicky
Gain Ground
Golden Axe
Golden Axe 2
Golden Axe 3
Jewel Master
Kid Cameleon
Mean Bean Machine
Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3
Phantasy Star 2
Phantasy Star 3
Ristar
Shadow Dancer
Shinobi III
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic and Knuckles
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sword of Vermillion
The Ooze
Vectorman
Vectorman 2

Vanquish (PC) - First Impressions

Amid the E3 announcements that Skyrim is coming to every past, present and future system I’ve decided to write a little update on the PC port of Vanquish. If you don’t know what Vanquish is, well, think Gears of War with the focus on chain-smoking and insane mobility rather than muscle-flexing and cover-shooting.

The great news is that Vanquish runs buttery smooth with a fully unlocked framerate, looks extremely crisp in up to 4k resolutions and boots up insanely quick. So quick, in fact, that you barely have any time to read any hints. And in the most surprising twist of all the keyboard and mouse controls actually feel better in general than the controller controls. It really shouldn’t surprise me that they’re more precise, but both mouse acceleration and input lag are all too common in ports like these.

The bad news is that the game is pretty buggy. Some users report crashes, random FPS drops and, in my case, there’s an annoying ‘write error’ bug that pops up every time it autosaves. It saves, but it doesn’t think it does. The developers are working relentlessly to patch the game, even through a bank holiday to fix the widely reported FPS damage bug. I have no doubts that these kinks will be ironed out sooner rather than later, with my full review to follow.

 - Aaron Mullan

Vanquish Coming to Steam May 25th

In a slightly shocking twist Sega has announced that Vanquish is coming to Steam May 25th for $19.99/£14.99

Like the Bayonetta port, Vanquish supports up to 4k resolution and features a fully unlocked framerate. And a special bonus, Vanquish is 25% off for all owners of Bayonetta. 

Sega concluded the announcement saying that "there's more to come from Sega in this space, so stay tuned for further announcements."

The Platinum fanboy in me hopes this means more Platinum ports, but only time will tell. 

- Aaron Mullan

Victory Run Review

Finally, the embargo has lifted so I've been able to post a review of Hudson Soft's Victory Run.

Now I can go riding.

Enjoy (that orange underlining means click to be transported to the above mentioned review).

English Renaissance Plays on YouTube

The renaissance was a lot better in Italy. And Germany, of course. It got worse as more and more people jumped on the bandwagon.

It's hard to find solid performances of English Renaissance plays. Most of the dialogue is written in verse, which makes it incompatible with the modern theatre acting style that favours realism and self-aware melodrama over gravitas and natural charisma. Not only that, but Western culture has over the past few hundred years become very limited in its tonal expression which is, once again, incompatible with the batshit insane smorgasbord of styles that can be contained in even a single soliloquy of the renaissance. The insanity of anime ain't got shit on The Revenger's Tragedy, for instance.

Luckily for you, and unfortunately for myself, a few months ago I watched a lot of plays on YouTube. Here are most of the ones that were good. Some feature a standout performance that carries the play, others are entirely successful productions wherein everyone plays their role well, or all the principle actors do.

Richard II is one of Shakespeare's less well-known plays. Written before he'd moved away from rhymed verse (Shakespeare was behind the times), it features much awkward writing. But his use of a broad metaphor that is repeated throughout the play, expressing both the feelings of the characters and encapsulating the dramatic events occurring in the background, is all the more powerful for the consistent focus on poetry. It's all about the earth, by the way. ;) Oh, and Richard II is the classic Shakespeare sap of a poet king, wandering miserably through the events of history, and failing to make England the great nation it should be. Shakespeare was a nationalist.

This is the cool version of Richard II, and was probably a big influence on Shakespeare when he wrote Richard II. Edward II is head-over-heels in love with Piers Gaveston, and dotes on him extravagantly. This not only pisses off a bunch of other dudes in tights, their codpieces hiding their raging erections while they watch Piers and Richard II all but fuck in the court in front of them, vying for the throne. Like Richard II, Edward II is oblivious to their conniving, but he's not a sappy poet. He's a horny macaroni, played by the then in the closet Ian MacKellan.

Coriolanus is one of Shakespeare's lesser plays. It's about as bad as Julius Caeser, but doesn't have Mark Antony's great speech to make the rest of a Shakespeare Mary Sue power fantasy bearable. But the great thing about theatre is that even if the play is shit, a great performance can save it. And here there are two! Mark Gatiss is both annoying and endearing as he tries to reason with Mary Sue, played by Tom Hiddleston, who just wants to wrestle with dudes, strip, and tell everyone how cool he is. Shakespeare was a facist.

The changeling has the decency to separate its comedy and its drama. William Rowley probably wrote the Carry On-like farce, while Thomas Middleton probably wrote most of the serious bits. The serious bits are the main reason we're here, as The Changeling is sort of like a feminist Romeo and Juliet. Don't believe anyone that tells you Shakespeare's female characters are distinctive for the era, or that he has feminist undertones. He's positively Victorian compared to many of the other chaps of his era. Shakespeare was a chauvinist. But I digress, here there's just one good performance, but it's enough to carry the whole play: Thomas Middleton's soliloquies are beautiful, and the lady playing Beatrice nails them.

George Bernard Shaw (a noted anti-vaccer and Nazi) described John Webster as the Taussad Laurete due to the sensational brutality of The Duchess of Malfi. And it is brutal. And sensational. So yeah, he's the Taussad Laureate.

This performance of The Tempest shows how an intimate and engaged audience can transform a performance, as the actors and audience energise one another. It also features a body-painted Ariel, who acts his arse off; recieving a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. For comparison, you can also watch it at The Globe with professional actors without such an intimate audience.

Game Under Podcast Episode 96

Game Under Podcast Episode 96

Click on Willem Dafoe to get our comprehensive review of Quantic Dream's David Cage.  We also Trademark Banter about the bush for a while and give our final impressions of Until Dawn.

- Phil Fogg

Dawn of War III Beta - First Impressions

Six years have passed since the last Dawn of War, and since then MOBAs have taken over. Most games in the genre have a colourful and blocky aesthetic, for example the genre’s reigning kings Dota 2 and League of Legends. Within the first few minutes of playing Dawn of War III’s Beta I noticed the change of art style. It’s more vibrant and chunkier than previous games, but it still has that gothic grim-dark flair that encapsulates the Warhammer 40k universe so well.

WAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Within the first ten minutes of playing I noticed the MOBA influences. In the Power Core mode - the only mode available in the beta - you must destroy two shields, two turrets and finally the enemy's’ power core to win the game. Even the map layout felt inspired by the lanes featured in MOBAs, sans the automated creeps, with each lane leading to an important requisition node. That said, the real-time strategy elements in this RTS are still present. You need to capture resource nodes to gain requisition and power in order to build your army and expand your base. There are a nice variety of units of various shapes and sizes, from melee focused brawlers and tanks, to airborne skimmers and mechas. You also have three elite units, taking the role of heroes from previous games, each of which have their own unique abilities that provide offensive and defensive support.

Dawn of War II scaled things down from Dawn of War. There was no base building; the focus was on strategically managing a dozen or so units, positioning them behind cover in key choke points to annihilate the enemy. Each unit gained experience points and got stronger the more they levelled up, so it was important to keep them alive. Here, the scale has been increased, the base building has returned, and the levelling system removed. When the game is well underway there’ll be hundreds of units in many shapes and sizes duking it out on screen. It’s chaos of the best kind.

The game features three factions - Space Marines, Orks and Eldar - a more limited affair compared to the base four of previous games, which might be an effort to make each faction more distinct Though, I never had a problem with faction variety in previous games, even when the faction count was bumped up to 7.  

It definitely feels like a Dawn of War game, which is something I was afraid wouldn’t be the case with a post-THQ Relic. And while it may look different to previous games in the series it still has that ultra-testosterone, grim-dark flair we all know and love. Blending MOBA and RTS is an interesting experiment, one that feels fun enough in the beta, but only time will tell if it pays off.

- Aaron Mullan

Bayonetta Now Available On Steam

In a shocking twist that will further delay my playthrough of the second game, Bayonetta is now available on Steam. 

Supporting up to 4k resolutions, Bayonetta has never looked this good. The game runs at a smooth 60 FPS at max settings for me, and even has Durante’s seal of approval.

If you’re a fan of beat-em-ups like Devil May Cry, which was also directed by Hideki Kamiya, do yourself a favour and check this game out.

X-Boxing Day

Normal observers would look at the photo below and see a crime against the environment, or perhaps just a mess of old black plastic boxes.

Avid console collectors would see the photo below and have quite a few memories. In the right foreground is one of the 14.1 million replacement power cables that were offered by Microsoft in 2005. The original cables presented a fire hazard and caused minor injury and property damage in 30 reported cases.

A less concerning, but more prevalent technical issue is the reason why I am now the owner of three original Xboxes.  According to Dean Takahashi's great book, Opening The Xbox the R&D team had to beg and plead Microsoft leadership for every component of their nascent console, which was essentially a scaled down personal computer.  As a result economy seemingly influenced the decision making process for non-critical components.

The launch DVD drive manufactured by Thomson was such one example, presenting tray ejection issues leaving discs scratched in some instances, but mostly just refused to remain shut or refused to open when "told". In even more cases the Thomson drives would not read discs at all -- a problem later shared by the Panasonic DVD drives that would replace them.

Ensconced in polystyrene in the right of the photo is the so-called "Duke" controller. Awkwardly large in size the controller was given the moniker because it could only be comfortable resting in the hands of the 20th century actor John Wayne.

Original Xbox controller on top "Duke" compared to standard Xbox One controller.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates showing the Japanese launch controller, almost identical to the "S" version that superseeded the "Duke" in Western regions.

Referring back to the image above, behind the Xbox on the shelf, a component cable adapter can be seen. This official Microsoft product presented a significant improvement over the composite cable supplied, allowing output in 480p, 720p and 1080i.

With both of my NTSC Xboxes not reading discs, I recently purchased a modified PAL Xbox that enables discs from any region to be played (the original Xbox was region locked). For a reasonable price (as discussed in Episode 95 of the Game Under Podcast) I am now able to once again access my respectable library of Xbox games on a system that, thanks to it's modification, loads games faster and more reliably than the intended operating system.  Which given the depth and volume of the original Xbox platform is richly rewarding. 

- Phil Fogg

For more Xbox Nostalgia Click Here for my memories of the first day of Xbox Live

Nier: Automata Review

Nier: Automata is an unpredictable game. It’s a game that switches between twin-stick shooting, third-person action and 2D side-scrolling at whim. It can be a beat ‘em up like Bayonetta one moment, or a run and gun like Contra the next. It’s a game that unapologetically embraces the weird in gaming, and one that does it well.

In a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by constantly warring androids and robots, humanity has been exiled to the Moon, forced from its home by Alien machines hell-bent on destroying all mankind. Humanity’s only hope lies in a series of combat androids tasked with destroying these Alien machines, which the two lead characters, 2B and 9S, are a part of. 2B, a tough, stoic android, is partnered with 9S, her ever-curious male companion, and is tasked with aiding a local Resistance force settled on Earth. Since this is set so far beyond the events of Nier, the story connections are intangible at best, so new players can jump right in without missing a beat.

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Taro please.

Taro Yoko’s games always had interesting stories, even if they weren’t all necessarily good ones. His games were often hindered by the gameplay - Drakengard making Dynasty Warriors look like Devil May Cry in comparison - so when it was announced that Platinum would be developing Nier: Automata, I was understandably excited.

And, of course, Platianum delivered in spades. Nier: Automata is a quick, stylish and often challenging game. 2B’s moveset isn’t quite as deep as Bayonetta’s, but it never feels lacking. The weapons all feel different, and even though there are only four subcategories - those being small swords, large swords, spears and combat bracers - each weapon can be paired with another to create new combinations. For example, pairing a spear with a large sword allows 2B to use the polearm as a makeshift dance pole and spin around with the sword extended, attacking all enemies within reach. Weapons can also be levelled up, which both increases their attack and unveils a small story unique to each weapon. 2B can also dodge, counter, parry and launch enemies into the air, all of which can be combined to create an intense flurry of stylish attacks that feels fluid. It’s a great feeling game.

Along with her vigilant companion, 9S,  2B is equipped with a Pod companion that provides her with a ranged attack. The Pod’s default attack is one that deals surprisingly good damage, but it also has a cooldown special ability called a program that deals devastating damage. Pods can also be customized with different programs to utilize different special abilities. For example, one creates a decoy that attracts enemies, and another spins the Pod around the player at high speed, annihilating any enemy that gets too close. If you have more than one Pod, all of which have their own unique default attack, you can charge up these special abilities to make them even more powerful. Unfortunately, being a Platinum Game, it often fails to point out certain small but useful abilities. There are a couple of Pod moves I accidentally pulled off before I knew they existed. Embarrassingly enough, I didn’t even know how to launch enemies into the air until about 10 hours in. It’s jump and attack, not back and attack, by the way.

When the game shifts perspective, which it often does, Nier can become a 2D side-scrolling shooter akin to Contra, one of Taro Yoko’s main inspirations, with the Pod becoming 2B’s primary weapon. This is also the case for when the camera shifts to a bird's-eye view and turns the game into a twin-stick shooter. These camera shifts sound like they could be jarring, but often change slowly enough to allow the player to get used to this shift in perspective. These changes keep the gameplay fresh and exciting; you don’t know when the camera’s going to shift while exploring a new area. Ironically enough, the only time the camera becomes a problem is when the game’s in 3D. There’s usually a lot going on visually, and sometimes the camera gets trapped on a wall, or even behind a multitude of enemies. Because of this it can be easy to lose yourself in large scale battles.

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Nowhere is safe from Anonymous.

The RPG in this action RPG is based on the Plug-in Chips system. 2B, being an android, can be equipped with different chips for stat boosts and abilities. One chip can add a shockwave to your melee attacks, effectively making them ranged attacks that reach far-flung enemies. Another chip can heal you every time you destroy an enemy. Chips take up 2B’s memory, so you will have to sacrifice two weaker chips for a more powerful one. The HUD is controlled by these chips, so it’s possible to remove the whole HUD to save on memory. You can also combine chips, improving their stats and how much memory they use. You are given three separate loadouts, allowing you to experiment in combining chips.

The Alien machines come in many shapes and sizes. They range from blocky, cumbersome tin-man-looking fodder to giant, writhing snake-like fiends. Going toe to toe with these enemies always feels great. It’s epic diving headfirst into more than a dozen robots, dodging each of their devastating attacks, launching them into the air and vanquishing them one by one. Visually, the alien machines you fight make for an interesting juxtaposition with the elegant and stylish 2B and 9S.  

Sadly, Nier’s boss battles aren’t the standout I hoped they’d be, given Platinum’s credentials. They are usually visually engaging, but don’t quite provide enough interesting gameplay distinctions that separate them from battles against common enemies. However, there’s one extreme exception: a boss that went through so many twists and turns my brain was scrambling in trying to keep up as the camera constantly changed perspective.

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Asking the real questions. 

The aptly-titled City Ruins is the first area you visit, and also the dullest visually. From this zone, the game opens up to a surprisingly varied world which boasts some beautiful and interesting environments - from a vast, barren Desert Zone, to the bombastic Amusement Park. The world may be aesthetically diverse, but it’s one that isn’t filled with much to do outside of the main story and side quests. The side quests function like short stories focusing on the inhabitants’ perspective of the post-apocalyptic world they inhabit; filling in the lore of the world. A few are also integral to understanding the main plot. They may not all be exciting to play, a lot are merely fetch quests, but even these ones feel rewarding for the lore they provide.

I said before that Taro Yoko’s games always have an interesting story, and story is where Nier: Automata’s leaps beyond its peers. Taro has always been interested in the darker side of humanity, and here he explores this motif through androids created by humanity, rather than humanity itself. The main themes of Nier: Automata are of fate and self-determination; specifically fate within recurring loops. It explores this both through the 14th android/Alien machine war and the progressive characterization of 2B & 9S. Without going into spoiler territory -  as this is a story that should be experienced for yourself - the way Taro Yoko seamlessly integrates these themes between the story and gameplay is something I don’t think I’ve seen done before: Nier: Automata is about androids and machines, so every part of the game reflects this from the chip system to the design of the menus and the intentional visual/audio glitches. It’s fantastic and beautiful storytelling, that’s really only possible in a videogame.

Nier: Automata is Taro Yoko’s crowning achievement. Apart from some minor gameplay inconveniences, it’s a strikingly captivating game that is equally charming, bizarre and depressing. One that is completely unpredictable and ultimately beautiful.

- Aaron Mullan