PlaySega

It’s that time of the year just before the big games come out and boredom infects the community whilst everyone waits for the release of triple A titles. I’ve obliterated my games, my spare achievements have been achieved and if I have to play Dead Air on Left 4 Dead once more I think I’ll scream. When modern games are exhausted it’s retro games time to fill the void and Sega have a smashing service which can do just that without me finding my Mega Drive pads and blowing into all my old cartridges.

PlaySega is a new service from Sega that lets you play several original and Mega Drive games through your web browser. The game range varies from the sublime (Sonic, Streets of Rage) to the questionable (Virtua Fighter 2, Sonic 3d Blast) and all have full save/load features along with level editors. That’s right, a few of the games have level editors so you can indulge your inner Yuji Naka. Nothing can quite beat sitting down fashioning your own Sonic level, then discovering how hugely talented the original developers were at level design when yours is riddled with monotony and flaws… it certainly lets you appreciate the games on a higher level. It being on a browser is genius in of itself with it becoming the ultimate time steal, why play solitaire when you can load Streets of Rage? With more games being added every week and a free Saturn pad for subscribers it’s a tempting service but it’s more of a jumping off point for dreams of industry wide retro service.

It’s certainly a unique way of doing things when you compare it to old rivals Nintendo who tie their back catalogue to the Virtual Console but not without its issues. The games slightly stutter in flash on occasion and having it as a subscription service will turn a great deal of people off but it’s a good attempt at something different. Having in-browser play is very much “in” with Battlefield and Quake pioneering in the field so perhaps developers like Capcom and Konami can use their immense back catalogue in similar ways. After all PlaySega is now in front of a large audience, is easily added to and has great new features… what more could a retro gamer want?