Sega Hot Wheels Cars and GamePro Action Figures

Back in 2003 Sega came together with Hot Wheels and released a set of 5 cars that tied in with Sega games which were popular at the time. I have three of them; the two that are missing from the set are to do with the games, Space Channel 5 and Super Monkey Ball.



3 of the 5 Sega Hot Wheels cars

The House of the Dead green and black Phaeton (which Blogger has flipped upside down?)

 

Jet Set Radio Future in a nice yellow paint job and clear hood

A close up of the Shinobi Lotus Esprit

Around the same time GamePro magazine was involved with Joyride for a line of toys (though the box says they are for display purposes only!) that included characters from some popular games. A number of Sega titles got their own figures, as well as some games from EA. I did have Cel Damage on PS2, but I didn't think it was a great game. There was quite a number of action figures released, for games including Metroid and Zelda, and some of them are rather tough to get your hands on. Here are some pictures of the four sets I have.



Violet and Sinder from Cel Damage

Crazy Taxi with driver Axel and some passengers

Two Monkey Ball figures and the ball to roll them in. Hours of fun!



Super Monkey Ball on the Gamecube is a really fun addictive game

SSX Tricky from EA had figures to collect too

A fold out in the box gives you a review of the game, ooooh Crazy Taxi gets a 4.5

Some Sonic and Virtua Fighter figures to collect (blame Blogger for the pics being sideways!)

 

GamePro seem to give everything a score of 4.5!

The cards included in the package

The cards have Cheat Codes and Hints on the back

Video Game Ads 16-Bit & Beyond: Part Two

We finish up, and skip a generation, with a look at a few Ads from the PS2. The massive success of the original PlayStation placed Sony firmly as top dog in the video game market. The PS2 was released in 2000 and is still being produced today, twelve years later! It may only be the big sports games, but at least it's still going.

Capcom unveil the first in their popular Devil May Cry series. The selling point they focused on was that the game was from the creators of Resident Evil. It is said that Devil May Cry started out as a sequel to Resident Evil, but ended up become a game in its own right. Hideki Kamiya, who directed this game, also directed RE 2 and went on to work on Viewtiful Joe and Bayonetta, among others.

Released by Sony themselves, early on in the life of the PS2, was the survival horror game Extermination. It showed off some of the tricks of the PS2 but wasn't widely liked at the time, and isn't fondly remembered now. If remembered at all!

For the PS2 and Xbox comes Konami game Silent Hill 2. It is not a proper sequel to the first game, but is set in that eerie town of Silent Hill again. I remember getting the soundtrack CD when buying this game. Creepily ambient stuff.

A two-page spread for Ico in the form of a maze. Can you find your way from the start to the finish? An excellent game that recently got a HD upgrading on the PS3. One of the true classics from that era of gaming. The game doesn't take too long to finish, but you don't feel short changed as it plays so well.