Crazy Taxi

Crazy Taxi has always been my go-to game for whenever I feel down or sick of whatever bloated RPG I’ve been playing. It’s fast, hectic arcade action at its finest. For an arcade game from 1999, it has held up surprisingly well. It came at a time when Sega was looking to inject some new life into their line-up and it did precisely that. Crazy Taxi was one of the most successful and iconic games of the late 90s and it left a lasting impression on many gamers. There have been sequels to Crazy Taxi but none of them managed to capture the devil-may-care attitude or the nuanced action that the first game had. As a result, Crazy Taxi is still a one-of-a-kind gem despite numerous rip-offs having made their way into the market after it took off in '99.

Aliens: Colonial Marines

Aliens: Colonial Marines is aggressively terrible. It does so little right that it would almost set a new low for licensed games if that bar wasn’t already as low as it could go. The only time the game is even remotely interesting is when it is directly referencing Cameron’s “Aliens”. Aside from those moments, it’s a cut-and-paste shooter that fails to deliver on any of the promises that Gearbox had made. Colonial Marines is a disaster on all accounts. Gearbox, Timegate, Sega and whatever other parties were involved with the game should be ashamed that they unleashed such a half-baked wreck upon the public.

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg is the most consistently frustrating game I have ever played. The amount of times I thought to myself how much fun it would be to rip the disc out of the system and toss it into the beyond, never to be seen again, is impossibly high. Everything about this game is designed to be as irritating and unforgiving as humanly possibly. And it’s all covered up by bright colors and an overly sweet vibe.

Ristar

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade B+

Despite what most people believe, Ristar is far from unknown. Ristar has graduated from "game no one played" to "cult classic".  This is thanks to Sega's habit of releasing the same couple games inside compilations. After all, Ristar has been in almost every single Sega compilation in the last ten years. This means, anyone who has picked up these compilations has almost definitely played Ristar. The sad thing about Ristar is that is rarely makes it onto any "must play" lists even they it has every right to be on said lists. Is there some reason for that?  

Sonic Adventure

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade: B+

3D has never been kind to Sonic. From a botched attempt on the Genesis and Saturn to recent failures such as the disaster known as "Sonic 06".  For some odd reason, only a select few Sonic games got 3D right such as Sonic Colors and Sonic Adventure 2. Sonic Adventure, however is a special case. It got it right but it still was able to be heavily flawed at the same time which ended up making for an incredibly confusing yet enjoyable experience. 

Streets of Rage Remake

By Pirate_Higemaru

Overall Grade: A

Streets of Rage is without a doubt, one of the most memorable beat em'ups of the 90s. It was beautiful, action-packed and had one of the greatest soundtracks on the Genesis. Unfortunately, it seemed to have fallen to the wayside when Sega made the move to 3D. As a result, we haven't seen any Streets of Rage games since Streets of Rage 3. People haven't forgotten about the series though and fans have been clamoring for a new game since 1994. These prayers for a new game have been answered albeit not legally. Enter "Streets of Rage Remake", a fan-game that has been in the making for the past 7 years. It includes all the playable characters from the past SoR games plus several new ones, it includes every stage from past games plus some brand new ones. On the surface it appears to be the most comprehensive Streets of Rage game ever envisioned but should it really have that title