In an alternate timeline, the Age of Steel is in full swing and the Motorhead Empire rules the skies with massive battleships and squadrons of fighters. Motorhead makes a mistake when they tread upon the Republic of Silverhead and attempt to take the mining city of Rahl. A clarion call goes out and two mighty vehicles are sent on a mission to topple the Empire - a Striker biplane which flies fast but has lower vitality and the Zep-01 Zeppelin which is slow but starts with higher vitality. Each plane is capable of firing forward, backwards and throwing out mighty lightning bombs which clear the screen of enemy armor. As the game begins, the player shoots out from a large flying fortress and immediately enters the war zone...

   Koutetsu Teikoku from Hot-B was originally released in 1992 for the MegaDrive and Genesis. We were impressed with the solid play mechanics back then and Koutetsu Teikoku (Steel Empire) has enjoyed cult status among shmuppers in the years since. The remake features much improved graphics, a higher color palette and newly stylized lightning bombs which clear the screen of opposing steel. Controls are tight and the game should prove to be a welcome inductee in the libraries of portable shooting fans. 

   Naruto, Sasuke, and the dainty Sakura join together to form a virtual gang and power their way through an enjoyable side scrolling platformer where the three ninja friends conquer foes and assorted bosses. Thanks to mighty morphing skills, Naruto may change into Sasuke into Sakura and back into Naruto at the press of a button. While we found ourselves not using this feature of the game in the early going, it may come in handy later on. 

   After debuting on the PC last month on March 26, the Dreamcast version of Cherry Blossom dawns with the quickness. Fitting into the genre known as Boys Love Game, CB follows the story of a sophomore name Satsuki Ouse whose background is tinged with tragedy. His parents died in an accident when he was young and his whole life now revolves around his school and friends. At the start of the new semester, Satsuki receives a message on his cellphone but does not recognize the name of the sender. After checking the

   D3P dodges the budget market and hits the market with a full-priced game.
Chou Saisoku! takes the art of customizing vehicles to extremes with incredibly tall wings, wacky paint jobs and massive body attachments which serve no purpose other than to show the madness of the driver behind the wheel. Seventeen distinctive car bodies are available at the outset of the game but additional vehicles may be unlocked for a total of 25 road hogs. Drive through 13 courses and play 10 mini-games in vehicles fit for the circus. Chou Saisoku! pokes fun at the car modification subculture and may be enjoyed from this perspective.

   The unflappable Getbackers duo of Ban Midou and Ginji Amano are joined by friends such as Kazuki Fuchoin, beastmaster Shido Fuyuki, Jubei Kakei, the sympathetic and generous Wan Pore, and many others in a 3-D fighting action game. In Story Mode, players select a hero and battle legions of goons and others with punches and special attacks that are compare favorably to the source material. A Versus Mode is also available where two fighters and their partners go toe to toe.

   High school is the setting for romance where 9 affable and attractive  female students whose hair colors range from orange to violet to auburn are the targets of one's affection. The PS2 version of the game includes a new brunette girl not found on the PC original and additional scenarios.

   The DC version of Orange Pocket: Cornet also shipped this week and features a purple-haired girl who is exclusive to that version. For true fans then, it's imperative to grab both the PS2 and DC versions for the full Orange experience.
   Regular and Limited Editions of the PS2 Orange are available today. The LE includes a drama CD and an booklet which contains sketches and artwork of the girls in the game.

   Jun Tsukasa offers up a new batch of well-drawn, well-endowed females in Psikyo's mahjong action game where gal humiliation comes with the territory.

   Hot Gimmick earns an 18+ rating due to the adult content but there's hardly any outright nudity in the game. There's lots of cleavage and bare leg shots however which may cause a fervor amongst the target audience. Eleven girls are featured in the game including the massively endowed Miko from Sengoku Ace, the elfin Marion from Gunbird, a prim and proper business lady with glasses, a dominatrix type in tight leather, a nurse in her pink uniform, and others for a total of 11 maidens
to humiliate by winning against her until she's in drawers or skivvies.

   Xenosaga fans who just can't get enough are listed in the dictionary as Xenosaga Freaks. Some more satisfaction is forthcoming today with a data disk which includes the following:

Xenosaga Episode II Playable Demo
   Explore the planet called 2nd Miltia and discover the reasons behind the Miltian Conflict which led to the storyline in Xenosaga Episode I. Revel in the stunningly rendered world of Miltia and preview the new battle system. All in all, the demo gives a good taste of the gaming experience and battle system to be found in Episode II which ships on June 24, 2004.

Xenopittan
   A variant of the game Kotoba no Puzzle Mojipittan where a column of tiles on the left-side of the screen are placed in a staging area located at the center of the screen. Played like Scrabble, tiles are taken from the tile reservoir and set into sensible arrangements alongside the tiles in the play area. Complete letter sets and phrases within a set amount of time and progress to the next puzzle challenge. In keeping in the Xenosaga vein, keywords and graphics from the Xenosaga game comprise the Pittan puzzles, which are then added to the Encyclopedia upon successful completion.

XenoComi
   An interactive adventure where the characters Chaos, Jr., KOS-MOS, M.O.M.O, Shion, and Ziggy provide assistance and/or exploratory skills in various assignments. As the story goes, a hacker has penetrated the Durandal mainframe and Elsa's systems are knocked out. KOS-MOS subsequently goes on a rampage and the crew swings into action to find the hacker and set things back to normal. A graphics section in this portion of Xenosaga Freaks may be unlocked by completing all of the assignments given to the six characters as well as a series of quizzes. In the character select screen of XenoComi, there's a seventh slot which a "?????" over it, which is apparently another character that factors in the overall storyline.

Xenosaga Encyclopedia
   Essentially an upgraded version of the UMN keyword database, the encyclopedia includes images, cinemas, voice samples and an encompassing keyword system where new words are added to the reams of data based on the player's progress in the demo of Xenosaga Episode 2, Xenopittan, and XenoComi. Data on all of the major characters may also be plumbed for background information on KOS-MOS and others. An intuitive control scheme allows for flipping through pages of information by hitting the trigger buttons.

  SOTD Scrap Heap Scramble XVI

  MOTD Saturn Fan Vol. 12 (1998)

   The back cover of the issue hypnotizes readers with the familiar DC swirl which would ship on November 20, 1998 in Japan. It's hard to believe that nearly six years have passed since we unpacked our first Dreamcast console. Time flies...nay, it zooms. Price: $6.50 shipped with USPS Media Mail.