Update: AtGames Sega Megadrive compatibility list

My recent review of the AtGames Sega Megadrive docked points for the console’s imperfect cartridge abilities. With a small selection of Genesis games, I was only able to find one game that operated perfectly. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to test a wider selection of cartridges and peripherals, I’m compiling a list of them. So far, it looks pretty bleak for cartridges, but with the 20 games that are built in and working perfectly, the numbers are still pretty solidly in favor of games you can play on the system.

However, it looks as though the numbers are not as good when looking at just cartridges, as a number of popular first-party titles are completely incompatible, even when looking at games that are also built into the system. It’s not clear why integrated games would work while their cartridge counterparts would not.

Read the rest of this entry »

Review: AtGames Sega Megadrive Twin Pad Player

Sega’s Megadrive console, better known in the US by the name Genesis, was the company’s most successful game console. Here was a powerful and flashy system that went head-to-head with Nintendo’s legendary Super NES and managed to hold its own. The hardware and its controllers went through a number of revisions throughout and beyond their generation before finally sort of fading away in a very messy way around the introduction of the 32X and Saturn.

Years later, a Chinese company known as AtGames has partnered with Sega to produce a line of Megadrive systems designed with a “plug-and-play” mentality featuring a large number of built-in Megadrive games to play. This new design also features a cartridge slot that allows the player to load not only the built-in games but anything they happen to have on a cartridge… from any region in the world. That’s right, this system will play Megadrive games and Genesis games. Here’s how that works.

Read the rest of this entry »

Blaze’s 16bit Megadrive Handheld Console

I clearly remember the first time I received a Genesis, it came with Altered Beast and I couldn’t get over how cool it was – how slick the graphics were. The games were pricey even back then and equaled to what you’d pay for a next gen game these days. Those days are long gone as we can stuff a ton of games into one, tiny little handheld, like the Blaze.

BLAZE will be releasing their 16bit Megadrive handheld console preloaded with 20 Sega games very soon. Expect to cuddle up by the roaring fire with classics such as: Sonic and Knuckles, Golden Axe, Shinobi and Ecco the Dolphin, Alex Kidd - Enchanted Castle, Alien Storm Altered Beast, Arrow Flash, Crackdown, Decap Attack, Dr Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Ecco Junior, Flicky, Gain Ground, Jewel Master, Kid Chameleon, Sonic Spinball and Shadow Dancer - phew…all for about $48-$50 US.

Check out some of the features:

Plug & play portable video game system
20 built-in 16-bit SEGA licensed games
Built-in speakers
Build in colour LCD screen
TV out connection
TV format: PAL
Requires:
3 x AAA batteries.
(Batteries not included)

And yeah we have a video of the games to boot:

More on
Sega Retro

Behold… the new Sega home console!

Everything old is new again. Play-Asia is showing off this new home console system, the AtGames MegaDrive Twin Pad Player. For those who grew up playing the Genesis and don’t know, “MegaDrive” is what the system was called everywhere else in the world. What’s significant about this is the device is not only officially sanctioned by Sega, but is capable of playing cartridges designed not only for the MegaDrive, but also the Genesis. Region-free, that means.

What’s more, at just shy of $40, the system can be had for very little money, and the included six-button controller is pretty damn sexy. Note that these images are a preliminary design and subject to change. Colors shown are black, green, and blue.

Going by the ports shown in the images, it appears we can use our existing controllers… assuming they still work. What, no wireless? See, I’m never satisfied. Anyway, I’ll be watching for the launch of this next month. I may just have to pick one up, particularly if it supports at least S-Video, which the original system could not do without a serious mod. Read on to see the controller, and a larger image of the system, as well as a list of the games that come built right into the system. Yeah, you heard me right.

Source: Play-Asia

Read the rest of this entry »