It started 19 years ago. A little blue rodent ran his way on to the Sega Genesis system and into our hearts with Sonic the Hedgehog. Since, he has gone through some ups, like Sonic 2 and 3, and some downs, like Sonic Unleashed.

But still, everyone has hope for the little guy who went toe to toe with Mario during the early console wars and just missed. Recently, Sega has been referring to a project under the codename Needlemouse which was revealed yesterday as Sonic The Hedgehog 4: Episode 1.

With a recently launched site, Sonic 4 will make its ways to all the major systems as a downloadable game in episodic format from the XBox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare… and according to the ellipsis on the website, possibly another format as well.

Sonic 4’s website features a variety of countdown clocks, some specific to character reveals and various content like concept art, that will reveal more about the upcoming downloadable title in the following days. But, for now, take a peak at the teaser trailer that brings Sonic back to his 2D sidescrolling glory, the way he was meant to be seen.

Stay tuned to The Flickcast for more information on our favorite Sega mascot and his new game as it becomes available.

Continue Reading →

Score: 6.5 – XBox Live Arcade – 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00)

The name Diner Dash is nothing new to casual game players as this downloadable Flash game has been floating around for some time. Unfortunately this game has been stuck in the purchase to play sector of the casual games market, not letting players try before they buy. But now, coming to XBox Live Arcade, Diner Dash has been given a second chance to capture a new market of players.

Gameplay:

The basic premise behind Diner Dash is something any food server must deal with on a regular workday. Keep the customers happy. The longer they wait, the less happy they will be. As Flo, the player must seat customers, take orders, deliver food, bring bills and bus tables as quickly as possible to keep everyone happy.

In the early stages, the game quickly adds new elements such as changing party size so that certain parties can only fit at certain tables (much like real life). By placing customers in special seating arrangements by color, players earn bonuses. They can also earn further bonus points by doing multiple table actions at once, like picking up one tables order while busing another at the same time.

Players are also given the option to bring coffee to tables that have been waiting a long time for food or to be seated for a quick boost in their happiness factor. All of these add extra dimension and actual strategy to what could have been a simple button masher and take it to the next level.

Continue Reading →

Score: 6.0 – XBox Live Arcade – 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00)

Twenty years ago, a little system called the TurboGrafx-16 entered the console wars with Nintendo and Sega. Though it ultimately didn’t survive the long haul, it did produce a few games that have been remembered by its faithful followers. One of these was Military Madness. One of the original turn based strategy games released, it would go on to eventually be rereleased on the PSone years later before going dormant once again. That is, until this week’s XBLA release of Military Madness: Nectaris from Hudson on the XBox 360.

Gameplay:

Military Madness: Nectaris is a futuristic military Turn Based Strategy game on a hexagon based grid. Units consist of various Infantry, Artillery, Tanks, Planes, Mechs and other specialized units each with their unique playstyle and abilities. A new unit, the Commander, has also been introduced to multiplayer component of the series. The Commander is based on customizing its abilities in order to boost attack and defense of other units, attack air unit or various other tactical uses. Units cannot be produced at any time butthe player can “capture” enemy units if they were in wait in factories. Units can be repaired by returning them to factories present on the map.

Continue Reading →

Score: 7.0 – XBox Live Arcade – 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00)

If you’ve been following weekly XBLA announcements on XBox Community Manager Major Nelson’s site you’d know that on a weekly basis he has been plagued by requests for when Bubble Bobble would come to XBox Live Arcade since the game’s announcement. The anticipation was palpable for the re-release of the classic 1986 NES game where two little dinosaurs Bub and Bob jumped through levels catching their enemies in bubbles and popping them all while eating fruit and bubblegum. In addition to updated graphics, Bubble Bobble Neo also came with new play styles, new dinosaurs and four player multiplayer for the first time.

Continue Reading →

As we had done with the Summer of Arcade, The Flickcast has done its best to keep you abreast of the latest downloadable releases for XBox Live Arcade. (Keep an eye out for special download code giveaways for XBLA games in the near future). To help with that, we recently got some time with today’s XBLA release, Defense Grid: The Awakening . By the time of this posting, it should be available for download with a trial and the full game for 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00) on the XBox Marketplace.

For those who are unfamiliar with the title, Defense Grid: The Awakening is originally a PC tower defense game. With the popularity of the up and coming genre from simple Flash-based games, it has recently made its way to handhelds and consoles with titles like Pixel Junk Monsters and Crystal Defenders. Developer Hidden Path set out with the goal to make the definitive tower defense game by looking at what they considered the 84 best tower defense games, such as like Vector TD .

For their efforts, Defense Grid: The Awakening received numerous PC game awards such as PC Gamer Editor’s Choice, one of IGN’s Top 10 “2008 Games You May Have Overlooked”, and Gameindustry.com’s 2008 Game of the Year: Puzzle. We got the chance to sit down with Hidden Path developer Jeff Pobst who talked with us about the process of creating a tower defense game. In their research they found out there were two main types of tower games.

Continue Reading →

As we reported last week, XBox Live got an update this week featuring the Avatar Marketplace, Games on Demand and Ratings. We’ve decided to put together a list of the newest features, and show you some of the things added with this update.

Avatar Marketplace

The most anticipated addition is undoubtedly the Avatar Marketplace. Instead of waiting for small incremental additions to the Avatar clothing options, XBox Live subscribers will be able to purchase clothing, costumes, accessories and props for their Avatar to wear and show off to their friend’s list and appearing in games likes 1 vs. 100 or Bomberman Live.

For day one, Avatar Marketplace came with a large variety of items from eight different games like Gears of War 2, Halo 3 and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, three different clothing brands like Adidas, and two clothing styles, Steampunk and Recessionista. While there is a large variety to choose from, some items feel very expensive and may be overpriced since this Marketplace is still trying to learn its pricing structure.

Continue Reading →

Score: 8.5 – 1200 Microsoft Points ($15.00)

After nine years, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is still one of the most popular fighting games around. This past week with XBox’s Summer of Arcade, it became available for the first time for download to XBox Live members through XBox Live Arcade and is coming in a few weeks to the Playstation 3 through the Playstation Store. Even after almost a decade, it is still one of the best fighting games out there.

The game consists of 3 on 3, tag in and out single round fighting with a 56 character roster from both Marvel and Capcom. This retro title release, if a game under 10 years old can actually be considered retro, most resembles the Dreamcast port of the Arcade release.

Continue Reading →

Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Comics and Video Games together in perfect harmony. We are just one made-for-TV movie starring Hugh Jackman and Jean-Claude Van Dame away from a property that encapsulates everything The Flickcast loves. In early 2000, Capcom released in arcades their fourth and final game in a series of games pitting Marvel’s finest against Capcom’s bravest.

With a total of 56 playable characters, 28 from Marvel’s side (with two versions of Wolverine) and 28 from Capcom’s (including 4 brand new made for this game) and 3 on 3 gameplay, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 quickly became an arcade favorite and is considered by some the best fighting game ever created. Now, 9 years later, it’s re-release has filled both the comic and video game communities with buzz about the game.

Continue Reading →