Sega ATEi 2008 Impressions

(More pictures are after the break)

Let’s start with the big guns, first up is Sega.

The first thing that struck me was the variety of games on offer especially after the recent news that Sega had signed a distribution deal with Trio-Tech. This added some additional games to the blue hedgehog’s stand. Jett Rider and Mad Wave, both simulators, were present as well as UFO Stomper, which we are all familiar with now after it was shown at IAAPA recently. The best game on the Stomper had to be thier take on the Guitar Hero gameplay system, but instead of a guitar, you were using your feet to hit the notes. Other 3rd party games on offer were Coastal Amusements Sea Wolf which was good fun and surprisingly holds up well on it’s own as a video game.

Back to the real video games now and my favourite on the Sega stand had to be Race TV. I’m not so convinced by the single player game, but as always, when it comes to multiplayer Sega knows what it’s doing. In some ways it’s cheap, but the boost system works well in helping you catch up with your rivals. Also, if timed correctly, the boost allows you to smash in to the back of opponents and take them out. The tracks are also incredibly wacky and theres a good selection of licensed cars which is unique for a game like this.

Primeval Hunt impressed me too because it would be so easy for Sega to churn out another run of the mill shooter and for it to do well. But that’s not what they’ve done. The main innovation in this game is the fact that it is set in a free roaming environment and you control your path using a touch screen placed near the gun holsters. It is possible for you to plan out your entire path at the start of the round, this allows you to take out the dinos in a quicker time. Each dino has a vital hit point too, which is pointed out to you at the beginning of the round. Hitting these point brings down the creatures in one shot which is particularly handy when they are charging straight at you! Also they are three choices of weapon, that I saw, and these were; crossbow, shotgun, and rifle which all have the own strengths and weaknesses.

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(More pictures are after the break)

Other machines of interest on the stand were Sega’s UFO Catchers, which seems to be getting a lot of press recently. They are clearly really trying to push this as it had it’s own section on the stand, see the pictures below. LGJ Special made an appearance too, is it better than HOTD Special? Damn right it its, admittedly it essential the same game as little brother but with the spinning seat, air blasts and surround sound really gives you an experience no other arcade game can! God I sound like salesman, but I just like that game so much and it’s a shame I’ve never seen it in an arcade. VF5 was also present but I think may have been over shadowed by Tekken 6. This might be to do with the fact that VF5 has been out on consoles for over a year now. Finally there was a game called “Shoot This Win This” which alot like Stacker in cabinet style and the fact it’s a prize vending machine. The main difference is that instead of you stacking blocks you now shoot targets to work your way up the prize ladder.

Overall Sega’s stand was good fun to be on, although I wish they had the 8 player Outrun 2SP SDX from last year (they only had 4 player this year). Next impressions will be Global VR’s stand, which I will try and get it up over the weekend, but please bare with me if I don’t manage to.