There are symbiotic relationships, between pairings, where the individual parties can no longer be viewed as separate; the two cannot be viewed or imagined as one existing without the other.  It is, to paraphrase Taoists, the “yin” to the “yang.”  One particular pair, which has been irreparably intertwined from the day in which the mother gave birth to the son, occurred on the day June 23, 1991.  This was the day of the release of the Sega Genesis videogame Sonic the Hedgehog.  This game gave birth to Sega’s icon, who would go on to rival Nintendo’s Mario:  “The 16-bit Sega Genesis…quickly became the most popular home videogame system in the States with…Sega’s prickly new mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog”

Gamers thrive on a good two-man fight. Xbox or PS2? PSP or DS? Every generation throws a hero down the unpop charts. And one fight with a clear winner, right out the gate, was the 8-bit battle between the chunky little NES and the big-padded underdog, the Sega Master System. Could there be an alternate reality where the Master System came out on top? Where playground battles were fought not over whether Mario's Tanooki Suit was better than Link's Master Sword, but over the best way to save all the hostages in Rescue Mission? As a matter of fact there was. I know because I'm from that reality. And I'm here to tell you that the Sega Master System never got its due. In fact, let's say it: the Sega Master System is the most underrated machine in the history of gaming.

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While enjoying an evening of rabbit holes and Wonderlands, thanks to Dolby 3D, I happen to stumble upon a Sega event in San Fran. Small world. So I stroll on in, run into some old Sega friends, and the next thing you know, I'm previewing Yakuza 3 and Resonance of Fate![nextpage]

Resonance of Fate

Sega was holding an open event in Japan Town, and they invited the developer at tri-Ace, Takayuki Suguro, Mitsuhiro Shimano, to sign copies of their game, Resonance of Fate. Best of all, I got some more hands-on time with the game. For those of you who are hungry for a Japanese RPG without the cliched trappings that seem to plague so many JRPGs, you surely must have downloaded the demo by going on the Japanese PSN servers. Our own community member did a preview of it, and it definitely caught

Capcom's recent fighting entry Tatsunoko vs. Capcom was definitely a risky move by the gaming mammoth, due to the unfamiliarity that Westerners like us had with its character roster. However, the move paid off big time. This is one of the best fighting games we played in a long time. The plethora of characters is one thing, but the mixing of two very different universes continues to be a fun way to spice up old school fighting.

The game has us abuzz at The Kartel, and we started to come up with our own ideas of what we'd like to see for an inevitable sequel. Some of these selections may just be wishful thinking, and others are downright silly, but hey, if it all comes to pass, we guarantee BLOCKBUSTER! Here's our top 10 Capcom Vs. sequels we'd like to see:[nextpage]

10.) Sega Vs. Capcom

Last night, I recently discovered that a "Sonic Boycott" over the recently revealed Sonic the Hedgehog 4 has begun.  I thought it was a joke at first, but sadly it's not.

Here's the group's statement according to Destructoid.com,

                  "Fans of the sonic series are like most sega fans, we want their old games brought back to the glory days when sega was pretty much the power in video games. Seeing the gameplay of sonic 4 has made many of us realize what we already knew, Sonic 4 will simply not be anywhere near as good as the original sonic games. Either way, We will decide to finally show sega what the fans truly want. A real sonic 4, as long as sonic 4 stays the way it is, we will

If you've been following the AvP coverage as of late, you'll know that Rebellion and SEGA's venture into AvP territory has received a broad range of scores. Regardless of reviews, SEGA fans have reason to rejoice as a sequel to AvP is already being discussed.

Despite some surprisingly bipolar reviews in by American video game critics, AvP has actually received praise in Rebellion's own UK, encouraging their hard work and partnership with SEGA. Aliens vs. Predator shot to the top of UK charts on it's release week, spurring a confident opportunity to follow up with another venture in the AvP universe. We here actually loved AvP so far 

After the big release of Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing, SEGA fans are already looking forward to the next big thing: DLC. With so many classic SEGA titles and IPs to choose from, it's only natural that some of our favorites got left out of SSASR's final character cut. Based on our last interview with the development team, they had over 50 characters at first, but had to whittle it down to around 22 for launch. However, thanks to the modern, geek-tastic miracle of downloadable content, hopes are high for new characters in the near future. Here's a look at 10 Sega characters we'd love to see driving a kart/motorcycle/hovercraft/ATV and shooting rockets at Sonic and AiAi. [nextpage]

Ranging from obvious (and likely) picks to obscure choices, this list is a result of scouring SEGA fan

Sandbox games like Grand Theft Auto or Fallout have been with the gaming market for years now. It can be noted how highly successful they are in their own unique form. Without the limitation of linearity, the choice of doing what you want and when you want, gives the utmost privilege in a game.  Although Grand Theft Auto and Fallout are completely different titles with contrasting goals, it’s clear to point out that gamers love their freedom.

Yakuza 3 debuts in the States just weeks away and it’s come a long, arduous way to be acknowledged as a very anticipated game for this year. Japan was graced with the PlayStation 3 exclusive for an entire year and it showed its dominance, beating out blockbuster Resident Evil 5 in sales.

The intrigue of Yakuza comes from an intricately

In addition to getting our hands on the complete starting line up of characters that will be available for Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing, we now also have the complete list of tracks available up front as well.[nextpage]

Take a look at this album for the 6 included cups and 24 tracks for SSASR.

Cups and Tracks:

• Chao Cup
  • Carnival Town- Sunshine Tour
  • Casino Park- Roulette Road
  • Blizzard Castle- Icicle Valley
  • Seaside Hill-  Whale Lagoon
• Graffiti Cup
  • Jumble Jungle- Treetops
  • Final Fortress- Turbine Loop
  • Curien Mansion- Outer Forest
  • TokyoTo- Shibuya Downtown
• Egg Cup
  • Casino Park- Pinball Highway
  • Carnival Town- Jump Parade
  • Final Fortress- Dark Arsenal
  • Blizzard Cast- Rampart Road
• Horror Cup