From: bel@whipassgaming.com   
      
   > Last year we had a thread in the group with the subject 'Sega sorta   
   > Christmas' and I thought it'd be nice to revisit that theme. And to   
   > improve the signal-to-noise ratio around here with all the MI-5 stuff   
   > being posted everywhere...   
      
   That guy wears me out...I think I've finally found someone whose arms   
   I'd like to break even more than Radeon's...   
      
   > Every year for the holidays I travel out west and visit Gamers, which is   
   > apparently the mother of all used game stores. Locally owned with about a   
   > dozen branches all through Nebraska and Iowa, they always seem to have the   
   > stuff I go in looking for. This year I was looking to fill some gaps in   
   > the 32x, Sega CD and Saturn collections.   
      
   Rock on, there's not nearly as much 32X or Sega CD love around here as   
   I'd like to see.   
      
   > Picked up a complete copy of Silpheed. This was the very first Sega CD   
   > game I ever bought, but I never did have a manual and a case for it until   
   > now. Also, it doesn't hurt that the copy I got doesn't have the game   
   > ending scratch that makes my CDX reboot halfway through level three. I   
   > should mention that the game is pretty well-coded, in that when it detects   
   > a hardware fault of this type it sends you back to the title screen with   
   > an extra continue. Good thinking, Game Arts.   
      
   I've got this as well, but haven't had any issues with playing it.   
   Still, it's pretty hip that they programmed that in. Great game, great   
   development team.   
      
   > I also picked up copies of the original Mortal Kombat and Pitfall: The   
   > Mayan Adventure just to satisfy the collector's urge.   
      
   MK CD(aka MK "Complete") makes me sick to my stomach. As if the travesty   
   that was MK1 on the Genesis wasn't enough, the jerknuts at Probe decide   
   to only add in the animation that should have been there in the first   
   place, then left it at that. Oh yeah, I guess they put in a redbook   
   soundtrack, no doubt only because it was so easy as they probably just   
   ripped the game's official CD soundtrack. When Acclaim fell, I laughed   
   hardest for the breakup of the shithouse known as "Probe".   
      
   As for Pitfall:TMA, relish it. It's by far the best version of the game   
   out there(as are a lot of the SCD versions of multi-platform titles)   
   with added levels and that amazing soundtrack. I've actually beaten it,   
   year ago. In my opinion, there is barely anything out there so hip as   
   walking around in that lush, lush scenery only to find that big, blocky,   
   pure white scorpion scurrying back in to the cave, beckoning you to   
   follow him in there for a quick game of the original Pitfall from the 2600.   
      
   > I also grabbed a   
   > copy of Dragon's Lair, which I sold many years ago for reasons passing   
   > understanding. I didn't pay more than three bucks for any of these games,   
   > which is surprising given that the Sega CD stuff is starting to grow in   
   > popularity again.   
      
   SCD stuff, in the wild, always seems to go pretty cheaply...it's when it   
   hits ebay does it go through the roof. I used to have Dragon's Lair on   
   DVD, only because A) it had an "autoplay" mode where it'd just sort of   
   go through the game for you, thus making it a short cartoon and B)   
   Daphne is fucking hot. I sold it off a long while back though. After   
   getting Dragon's Lair 3D on the Xbox, I wish I had it again.   
      
   For those out there with an Xbox and an HDTV, try out DL3D: It's fun, it   
   runs in 1080i and it looks gorgeous.   
      
   > On the Saturn front, I plugged a few holes in my collection without even   
   > trying. Crusader: No Remorse fell into my lap; this is a horrible little   
   > isometric third-person shooter that Origin slapped together out of the   
   > Ultima VII engind. It's remarkable only for being more playable than the   
   > Playstation version.   
      
   I've shed myself of buying bad Saturn titles just to have them. To me,   
   it's ok to do this on the Genesis every now and then, but I just can't   
   bear to beef up any other library with games I'll almost never play.   
   It's gotten to a point where if I end up with a stinker I either return   
   it, or just trade it in somewhere(or ebay it).   
      
   > I also grabbed a copy of Thunderstrike 2, a charming   
   > little helicopter sim that's been screaming my name all year.   
      
   I just got the first one on SCD a while back. Am loving its use of the   
   SCD's advanced hardware scaling, but man it is a tough one!   
      
   > I also   
   > grabbed a half-dozen Crystal Dynamics shooters, mostly stuff ported from   
   > the 3DO. One of these has a young Claudia Christian screaming orders at   
   > you in the FMV segments. Cool stuff.   
      
   I know the one you're talking about. I had a buddy who had one of those   
   on the PSX, every time that chick would show up he'd casually look over   
   at me and go "Every time I see this chick screaming at me on the screen,   
   all I can think about is the wonderful head she must give". ;)   
      
   > And because I'm a glutton for punishment, I grabbed some one-dollar 32x   
   > games as well.   
      
   Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing, as the 32X is looked down on   
   even moreso than the SCD, a lot of good titles can be had for that.   
   Let's see what you came up with...   
      
   > NFL Quarterback Club '95 was hardly worth the effort,   
      
   Oh, fucking-a, you got that right. Kills me too, because it was done by   
   Iguana, who usually does outstanding work. The graphics were alright,   
   but the gameplay is just horrid. I don't know if I blame them so much   
   for it as Acclaim for making them do it.   
      
   > but   
   > apparently NBA Jam TE has some collector's value with the box and manual.   
      
   That's a good one, uses scaling and everything to give you a very close   
   arcade port. Sadly, I don't really much care for the player scaling, and   
   I *cannot* stand the fucking "bobble"-headed look of the players. The   
   Genesis version was always my favorite: It seemed to run faster without   
   the scaling and the player's heads weren't huge and bobble-like.   
      
   > Hooking up the 32x (and forgetting that it doesn't do stereo sound)   
      
   D'oh, gotta hook it up for stereo!   
      
   > prompted me to pull out the rest of the library and spend a nice evening   
   > with Star Wars Arcade and Virtua Fighter, which are a lot more fun than I   
   > remember them being.   
      
   Both a solid games, though SWA is insanely hard on later levels.   
      
   I really enjoy my 32X and the games I have for it. With the total   
   library count being so low, the ratio of quality games is really quite   
   high. There are a few stinkers in there, sure, but for the most part it   
   was an excellent add on, and I *really* wish it'd of made it just one   
   more year...imagine what we could have seen....   
      
   > So. In the American spirit of applying improper adjective modification,   
   > how Sega was your holiday?   
      
   Pretty slow in terms of Sega stuff, sadly. I've managed a few games here   
   and there, but not a whole lot to talk about.   
      
   > -KKC, who needs to find a lawyer and figure out this abandonware thing.   
      
   It's simple: If the company can't be bothered to sell it, they shouldn't   
   complain when people are "stealing" it.   
      
   I mean, really, if they aren't even concerned enough with the title to   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)