Sonic the Hedgehog hasn’t had a great decade. After an excellent jump to 3D in 1998, Sega’s blue mascot slide straight down the mountain and into a deep, deep chasm. The series got more and more characters and more and more gimmicks, until it eventually forgot that the original games’ success came from the speed and flow of running through twisting, branching levels as Sonic the Hedgehog. Not as some tertiary character nobody cares about. Not as part of a team where each member has unique powers. Not as a hedgehog that becomes a monster, or swings a sword. As Sonic.

Sega has finally gotten back to basics with Sonic the Hedgehog 4. No other characters, no gimmicks, no third dimension, just running, jumping, and beating up a fat man in a futuristic Hoveround. It’s been released on every home console, plus the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Did Sonic reach a new top speed, or did he run headfirst into some spikes? Find out after the break.

Sexy-Jiggly Boobs?
Sold.

Apparently, Z.H.P: Unlosing Ranger VS. Darkdeath Evilman is bringing Sexy-Jiggly Boobs to the PSP. Hopefully it’s better than Dead or Alive: Paradise…

Z.H.P: Unlosing Ranger VS. Darkdeath Evilman is a RPG dungeon crawler coming to PSP October 26th. (via Sexy-Jiggly Boo-”, I mean Kotaku)

Sonic fans are a hard bunch to please. This year we have multiple new Sonic games on the way, but we’ve gone to step 2 and 3 on the Sonic Cycle. The nostalgia-destroying HD-upscaled re-release of Sonic Adventure has even further sullied the blue blur reputation amongst the gaming faithful. But fortunately, even if by some disastrous coincidence all 3 Sonic games (Sonic Colors is a completely different game on Wii and DS) are colossal disappointments, we still have the fans. Below the break are trailers galore for the new, real Sonic games, fan-made games, and even just fan-made concepts.

Hydrophobia is an interesting, divisive game. Some people like it, while others vocally hate it, and a PR disaster in the making isn’t doing it any favors. This is a game that’s been on my radar for quite some time and one I was very much looking forward to playing. So, was the long wait worth it?

Who’s ready for another HD remake? IGN broke the news that cult classic and critical darling Beyond Good & Evil is also on the docket for a 1080p overhaul. Ubisoft has the remake penciled in for a vague 2011 release, where it will be a download on PSN and XBLA. Second chance, guys! Please buy it this time? I’m afraid BG&E2 may hang in the balance.

Also, HD remakes are officially a trend now. Who needs backwards compatibility?

Blade Kitten is an odd little platformer. It looks like a standard fare run-and-slash affair, but it features some interesting design choices that really makes it pop. It’s a downloadable title based on the comic of the same name, and it’s made the jump from the web page to PSN, XBLA, and Steam.

[Note: It's a "Quick Review" not for the length of the review, but for the amount of time played. Quick Reviews are reviews of games that the reviewer has not yet finished, but has played enough to get a solid impression of the game. At the time of this writing, I had played Cladun: This is an RPG for 28 hours.]

Cladun, in spite of its title, is not much of an RPG. It could be described as an Action-RPG, but I consider it more to be MegaMan with RPG stats. It’s also easily the hardest game I’ve played this year, brutally punishing and merciless in its need to grind. Cladun: This Is A RPG is a game I was very excited to play. Now, I’m not too sure about it.

Last week, we looked at The Behemoth’s exclusive Castle Crashers King figurine, and announced the very first Aggrogate Giveaway. Besides the King, we put a bunch of other Castle Crashers swag up as prizes, and offered only a small picture and a few words describing all the stuff. It’s time to announce the winners, and go into more detail about the neat Behemoth merch they’ve won.

The friendly little guy you see above is The Behemoth’s chicken mascot, in the form of a soft, spongy stress ball. He’s great for abusing (don’t worry, winner; this squeeze-ball is completely pristine), but if you really want to have fun you can stand up a shoebox with The Behemoth’s logo on it, drop the ball directly in front of it, and pretend you’re playing a Behemoth game. Then explain the joke to everyone and watch them never talk to you again.

Youtube user GrafWutzenstein has spliced together the gameplay trailers that were sent to IGN, 1UP, and GameSpot. The trailer showcases four of the multiple characters playable in game including MegaMan, RockMan (based on the Japanese boxart), a MegaMan based on the bad box art of the American version of the first game, and Ryu from Street Fighter. The game also includes Arthur from Ghosts and Goblins, though he is not in the trailer. Incidentally, the game looks very much like the stop motion trailer that was released previously. MegaMan Universe is coming out on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Store.