Hi all,

I've been very busy with school the past week and haven't had time to make many updates at dEX. Things at school should slow down a bit this week, I'll try to get more updates then.

Perhaps the biggest news last week, has been the leaking of the preliminary specs to Sega's next system, Dural. The info is not 100% accurate and will probably change to some extent by the systems release in 1998. Check out the Breaking News area for the full story and my comments on it.

No new games shipped in the US last week. In Japan two new titles hit the stores, first off is Capcoms' Street Fighter Collection. The game includes Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter IIx and Street Fighter Zero 2 Gold. Treasure's latest platformer Silhouette Mirage was also released. Like other games by Treasure the game features great looking graphics with very smooth animation.

WipeOut 2097 (XL) will be arriving in stores in Europe shortly. People who have had a chance to play the game say its very close to the PSX version, the main difference being in the texture resolution which is lower in the Saturn version. Though, at the speeds you race, they aren't a big concern. No worry for the explosions and other special effects either. They're all here, albeit a little grainy (good looking nonetheless.) Its also noteworthy that the loading time is much faster than the PSX version. This port is much better than the conversion of the original WipeOut way back when. It puzzles me why Sega of America has not picked up this game for US release. Hopefully they will change their minds.

New info on Burning Rangers has also been released. Here's the story on each of the five characters (taken from SaturnWorld):

Playable Characters -------------------

Shou Amabane - When he was 10 years old, he almost died in a disaster, but was saved by a Burning Ranger. Now, at 21, he himself has joined the Burning Rangers and has surprised those around with with his strong intuition and bold action. People find him a strange mixture of cheerful naivete and power.

Teiris - At 19, she's the gratuitous cutie of the group. Despite being orphaned and stuck into a government child-care center at an early age, she grew up into a warm-hearted woman and a valuable addition to the Burning Rangers.

Navigators ----------

These are the people that'll point out all the hostages, and give you hints throughout the game. Learn to love them.

Reed Phoenix - The 22 year-old professional. Cool under pressure, he's a pragmatic man who's only sentimental about his work. He prefers to stay out of dangerous rescues.

Big Randman - At 35, Big is the veteran of the group. His desire to protect life comes out of his years in Africa, growing up among the its plants and animals.

Kris Burton - When she was 13, her father died on a Burning Rangers rescue mission. As a result, her brilliant, analytical mind is hampered by her inability to trust or love people, which makes her quite a lonely 24 year old.

That's all I have to say for now. I'll try to get the release dates updated this week and get some new screen shots online. Oh, one last thing I got a hold of a review of the much hyped Hudson game, Virus. Unfortunately, the reviewer did not have good things to say. The animation scenes were wonderfully done, but the gameplay could best be described as a enhanced Myst. The game used 'the slowest 3d engine for the Saturn ever made.' Too bad...

-Greg