Hi all!

On the site, I've made an update to the release dates area, and have posted a lengthy Duke Nukem 3D review (thanks Wes!) Concerning the release dates, there are a lot of Saturn titles planned for shipment in November, but relatively few for the months of December and January. Most likely, many of the games under November will slip back another month or two. Speaking of future games in the US, Sega of America has announced the release of Steep Slope Sliders (Dec.), Winter Heat (January), and House of the Dead (April). Panzer Dragoon Saga and Burning Rangers will be coming in March '98.

Also out now in the US: Sega's NHL All-Star Hockey 98, Ten Pin Alley, and Sega Ages Volume 1. Working Designs under the Spaz label, has finally released the Ages collection in the US. The game is unchanged from the Japanese and European versions. It includes Afterburner, Outrun, and Space Harrier. NHL All Star Hockey '98 is a long awaited update to the first (and bad) one in the series. Hopefully with a new developer handling the game it will play much better. I've uploaded some images from the game along with more details in the Snapshots area.

If you are not familiar with Winter Heat, let me make a quick intro. A while ago, Sega (AM3 I think) developed an excellent game called Decathlete. The game is somewhat reminiscent to the very old Games series by Epyx. Decathlete featured several track and field events, and very good graphics (despite the ugly pics on American boxes). Other than in the US market, the game did very well, and appropriately Sega is now releasing a follow up...this time for Winter sports.

Just a little note, Virtua Fighter 3 for the Saturn has appeared on Sega of Japan's and Sega Europe's release schedule. The ship date is listed as TBA, as is the price. No other details were given, probably because a Saturn version has not been announced in any way. Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG is listed for an early January sale date in Japan.

In Europe, Sega has shipped Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and also Sega Rally Touring Car Championship. JP has been getting so so reviews, so its probably best to try that one out first before buying it. As for Sega Rally, the only question is does it top the previous version? The game includes three different tracks and one secret one, as well as four cars to choose from (Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti, AMG Mercedes C-Class, Opel Calibre V6 and the Toyota Supra.) The Europeans are getting this title before the rest of the world and there are some rumors that the Japanese (and possibly American) versions will have additional tracks. This situation is similar to that of Daytona CCE, in which the US and Europeans got rushed versions whilst, Japanese audiences got an enhanced version with better graphics and music. We'll see what happens with the US release at the end of this month.

That's all this week, cya!

-Greg