57w ago - Sega Digital Campaigns Manager Mike Kebby has shared details today on collaborative play in Sonic 4 Episode II for the PS3 entertainment system below.

To quote: As you're no doubt aware, Sonic 4 Episode II will be upon us in due course. I'm just here to give an overview of one of the features we're most proud of in the upcoming game - Collaborative Gameplay between Sonic and Tails.

Sonic can now team up at any point in the game with Tails, by utilising one of three combo moves in order to progress through some of the more challenging parts of a level.

Firstly, we have the Copter Combo (fans of the earlier Sonic titles will remember this from Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles) which allows players to take control of Tails to lift Sonic up and over objects or onto previously unobtainable platforms.

Secondly, the Submarine Combo allows players to overcome Sonic's big weakness, his inability to swim. Tails can now pick up Sonic and swim through the water scuba style, meaning that Sonic now has a way to speed through the underwater parts of a level.

Meaning that whilst you still need to collect those all-important air bubbles to stay alive, you're in much less of a hurry thanks to Tails support.

Finally, the Rolling Combo combines Sonic and Tails into a...

61w ago - Sega of America Community Manager Kellie Parker has shared a virtual tour of Tokyo this weekend through the eyes of Yakuza: Dead Souls on the PS3 entertainment system.

To quote: Many people dream of visiting Tokyo and a few lucky ones actually get to go. If the long flights, heavy suitcases and language barriers just aren't in the cards for you, don't fret.

You can still see some actual real-life Tokyo sights, restaurants, amusements and more in Yakuza: Dead Souls - which is out now on PS3, by the way.

Just like any good tourist guidebook, here's a map of Kamurocho (a city inspired by the famous red light district in Tokyo), with a numbered list of restaurants, advertising and more that are actually real-life things. We've also added the location of the first three zombie bosses*. We're just nice like that.

*The location of these items doesn't match those that can be found in real-life.

Also, we must warn you: there are no zombies in the real Tokyo - at least, as far as we know - but there are many, many more of them in Yakuza: Dead Souls than we've shown on this map. We'll let you find them all (or let them find you first)!

2. If you'd prefer to eat at home or in your hotel room while watching strange Japanese TV shows, you could buy a pack of...

63w ago - Today Sega of America Community Manager Kellie Parker has shared some details on the after effects of zombie devastation in Yakuza: Dead Souls for the PlayStation 3 entertainment system.

To quote: When tragedy and devastation hit a place, even if it's a place you're very familiar with, it can be hard to remember what it used to look like. You may think you know every inch of a certain place, and then suddenly, it's unrecognizable.

To see how much things can change once the zombie invasion hits, here are some comparison screens of Kamurocho as it used to be and as it is now in Yakuza: Dead Souls.

• Before Zombies - a sunny day in Kamurocho.
• After Zombies - yeah, I wouldn't go in there if I were you.
• Before Zombies - what a nice vending machine!
• After Zombies - OH GOD, IT'S ON FIRE! (At least the traffic cone survived.)
• Before Zombies - I'm not sure that's a very safe parking spot...
• After Zombies - Uh, yeah. Sorry about your car, mister.

Yakuza: Dead Souls has all the crazy zombie-killing action you're craving, with a distinct Yakuza twist.

A pre-order campaign is currently running. Trust me - you don't want to miss out on the assets...

73w ago - Following up on his previous confirmation, today Sony PlayStation Vita hacker wololo has made available a video below demonstrating the Half Byte Loader (HBL) running the Picodrive Sega Megadrive emulator with Sonic & Knuckles on PS Vita.

To quote: Update: One important clarification: This video shows HBL running on the latest firmware 1.510. The firmware update that happened today does not patch the exploit, unlike what some sites are saying.

A few days ago Japanese developer Teck4 posted a picture of a “hello world” running on the PS Vita through the PSP emulator. I contacted him immediately with some help from Mamosuke, and I soon got enough information to start working on porting Half Byte Loader to this exploit (note that Teck4 is also working on exploiting this vulnerability further, but I don’t know how far he’s been).

What you see in the video below is the game “Sonic & Knuckles” running in picodrive, a Megadrive emulator for the PSP.

Yes, I’m running an emulator...

77w ago - Community Manager Kellie Parker at Sega of America has unveiled the characters today in the new Yakuza: Dead Souls video trailer below.

To quote: You may have heard that Yakuza: Dead Souls is coming to PlayStation 3 in March 2012. Like Yakuza 4, the game will let you play as four characters, including two never-before-played fan favorites: Goro Majima and Ryuji Goda. It's a Yakuza experience like none other, because this time, you'll be fighting a horde of blood-thirsty zombies.

The undead are multiplying and filling the streets of Tokyo's red light district. The area is quarantined quickly, but degenerates into a district full of terror, panic and devastation. Survivors try to flee the city, but four men rise up to protect those they care most about. If you think zombies are bad, meet the Yakuza.

Playable for the first time in Yakuza: Dead Souls, Goro Majima is nuts about zombie movies. He's so excited to be killing off zombies that when you're playing as Majima, you'll be picking fights with zombies, instead of just merely defending yourself. Now that's badass.





You probably thought Ryuji Goda was dead after Yakuza 2. But you'd be wrong, and not because he's a reanimated zombie back to munch your...