As you are no-doubt aware, award winning and long time SEGA favourite, Richard Jacques has scored the music throughout the single-player campaign in The Club. Now, we’ve managed to grab some of his precious time and secured an interview with him. But instead of us sitting there firing questions at him, we thought we’d let you, his fans, ask the questions.

All you need to do is post your questions here; we’ll pick the best ones and get him to answer them. You’ve got until Sunday, February 10th to get your questions in.

All about Richard:
With a glowing career in the games industry Richard Jacques has worked his way from in-house musician at SEGA Europe (works include: Headhunter, OutRun2, Jet Set Radio Future, Metropolis Street Racer and Sonic R) right through to becoming one of the most sought after musicians the industry has ever seen. The first video game composer to secure a major budget for a live symphony orchestra, the first to have his game music featured in art galleries and live concerts in Europe, Japan and North America, and the first western composer to have his game soundtracks released commercially in Japan as well as Europe and North America are just the tip of Richard’s musical iceberg. With recent work for some of the world’s largest advertising agencies, alongside hugely well known brands, Richard has seen his career take on many new directions whilst still maintaining his incredible work ethic and taking huge pride in every project he undertakes.

Right, over to you guys.

With sinister clowns, magicians and giant fish vanquished it was time to try out the multiplayer.  TRiPPY was keen to take people on and as the former World Record holder for defeating Wizeman had every right to be confident.  Unfortunately Jof beat her, then DiGi beat her, then her brother beat her… then I beat her.

Whoops.

However she’s been practicing like crazy and no doubt will be up for a challenge should you ask her at any time.

After that we recorded the podcast where I answered a load of questions from NiGHTS fans to the best of my ability.  Having already helped provide them with various answers with the interview with Iizuka-san, fan base questions instead were in the “who the heck are you” and “why are you here” bracket as opposed to the “what are the fundamental changes in control methodology” bracket.  Though when you bare in mind my answer to “What is your role at SEGA?” was “ham and cheese” you can guess how things went.

The podcast is up on NiGHTSIntoDreams.Com now if you’re interested (parental advisory - explicit DiGi in places).

Speaking of cheese, TRiPPY had a hankering for some cheesecake but first I had a little matter of giving out some rather splendid gifts courtesy of SEGA.  From my magic bag I pulled seemingly endless goodies including Sonic t-shirts, NiGHTS posters, a Sonic 06 mug, glow in the dark NiGHTS stickers, soundtrack samplers, the Japanese NiGHTS pre-order toy, Ghost Squad, Golden Compass, Sonic Rush Adventure and Sonic Rivals 2.

Poor DiGi was half-buried under a mountain of merchandise by the time I finished, unable to move.

That would have been all, but for the bag within the bag.  Ah yes, in a major merchandising coup I pulled out a Japanese NiGHTS bag, the same bag that had been given out in ridiculously limited quantities at the Tokyo Game Show.

The reaction was PRICELESS, a sort of strangulated yell followed by diving and grasping and clutching with great excitement and lots of thank yous.

I dunno about you guys, but rather think they liked it….

It was at this point that TRiPPY REALLY needed some cheesecake, so as we were now all rather on the hungry side ourselves it seemed only right that we go out for some food.  Catching a bus which took a small eternity to arrive but thankfully had no excitable pets on board we made our way back to Edinburgh city centre.  All of this of course was great for me because it allowed me to return to my hotel room and dump the accurs’d Wii back there with a shake of my fist skywards… or at least southwards.

So where to? Well, a restaurant presumably so having tidied myself up a bit I raced back downstairs to rescue Team NiGHTS - or more specifically the reception staff from this odd collection of youths sitting in the lobby of their swanky hotel.

Having found a bar called the Filling Station, which was filled with various examples of motoring Americana, we sat down and ordered drinks.  Not really being in the mood for anything too strong I ordered an Appletizer which was roughly about the same time I found out about the Heathrow crash.

Yes, trust me guys there’s nothing that makes your day than to find out there’s been a mysterious airplane crash on the airline your flying back on the very next day.  So while I was sipping my drink thinking as soon as I left tomorrow the wings would fall off or I’d find out that the pilot had mysteriously been replaced by a hippo, the guys placed their orders and talked about the game some more.

Oddly enough the topic at hand was Owl and what a great character he was.  This was odd as I was sure Owl would annoy the hell out of everyone (Visitor. Visitor. Hoot. Visitor. Yes. Ho ho. Visitor.) Including myself but that was until people saw NiGHTS’ reactions to Owl. 

You see if you are a Visitor who gets a little tired of Owl keep an eye on NiGHTS in the cut scenes.  Ignoring the one prior to the water ball level in which Owl nearly drowns… to howls of laughter from Helen and NiGHTS.  NiGHTS is often rolling his eyes and looking incredibly bored at the old bird’s hooting and generally not giving a, well, hoot.

TRiPPY made a very good point too about NiGHTS being somewhat snappy in places, i.e. “Dual-ize” in that NiGHTS is as you may recall still a Nightmaren despite also being a “carefree rascal”.

The food arrived shortly afterwards, I forget what mine was called but it was essentially an inverse pizza apparently full of ALL THE CHEESE IN THE WORLD.  As such I completed about half of it, which I suppose gives me a D rank.

Other topics flowed through the meal including NiGHTS’ voice artist (and the voices in general), speaking with Iizuka-san, creating NiGHTS artwork, how DiGi was NOT going to use the stickers I’d given him for an urban advertising campaign as I didn’t want to end up with some street fine thank you very much and how amazing, apparently, NiGHTS’ ass had been rendered on the signature artwork.

Yesssss……

TRiPPY demolished her slice of cheesecake in near record time all the while making lots of ‘mmmm’ noises which considering the rest of us had no desert didn’t go down too well. The meal was paid for and we left, but where to now?

We decided to march up to Edinburgh Castle - as you do - and risk the wrath of the ghosts and ghouls…

If you’ve been reading my blog about my trip to the NiGHTS community leaders in Edinburgh you’ll have noted I showed you a picture of the delightful TRiPPY in her fantastic NiGHTS costume. 

Now I know there are a lot of cosplayers out there.   You may also remember waaaaay back last year I bemoaned the lack of SEGA cosplaying people at VGL in London on my review blog of that event. Grim Fandango? No thanks. Master Chief? Pff.

So now here’s your opportunity to show your colours - we want to see pictures of you cosplaying as SEGA characters, now it has to be you okay? I’m sure there are hundreds of photos online of Asian babes dressed up as Ulala (we’ll probably do some research later on to find out the exact total).  This has to be you dressed as a SEGA character.

Send them to our blogs email (blogs@sega-europe.com) and as long as they aren’t dodgy we’ll put them on our Flickr page for the world to see and also feature them on the blog. There might even be prizes on offer for truly outstanding examples.

So pass this around and let people know!

For those who used to get Sonic the Comic back in the day you may well recall that there was an artist who kept getting her work featured - Lynne Triplett.  It might surprise you to know that Lynne and TRiPPY are one and the same, and with bright red hair you’re not likely to miss her.  As one half of the “First Couple of Nightopia” (TM AAUK, 2007) and with partner in crime DiGi Valentine (himself resplendent with a signature tuft of bright green hair) aiding and abetting, she has lead the NiGHTS fan base for more years than it’s polite to say.

Having got the word that the guys had arrived I zipped down to the lobby to find them there along with NiGHTS forum mod Jof and TRiPPY’s brother Derek. So you have ArchangelUK, TRiPPY, DiGi, Jof and Derek - it seems someone was letting us down on the wacky names front.

Later it was revealed he was a DeZ. Oh well.

We went to catch a bus back to the Triplett household and talked Journrey of Dreams, Reala, original NiGHTS, SST, SEGA, Sonic Wrecks and many other things.  I was pleased to see DiGi who had literally dragged himself off his sick bed of the last week, having spent all that time suffering from a rather nasty case of adult chicken pox as he was devastated at the thought of missing out on my visit.

Awww.

However as he waivered somewhat standing up I did fear a stiff breeze might blow the poor guy away, so feeling a bit guilty I reached into my AAUK branded bag o’ tricks and produced, with no fanfare, a copy of Journey of Dreams which I thrust beneath his astounded eyes.  DiGi held it like he might accidentally break it for a few moments before issuing an excited squeak - but in a manly way, right DiGi?  TRiPPY and DiGi examined the game which they had been waiting 11 years for - and wouldn’t be out to the general UK populous until tomorrow - and began chattering earnestly, a bit more life back in DiGi which I for one was very pleased to see.

A short adventure with some excitable dogs later, one of whom called Smudge didn’t want to let me off at our stop - an agent of Wizeman perhaps - we arrived at their flat and I stepped through TRiPPY’s bedroom door into… the largest amount of purple I’d ever seen in my entire life.

The room was completely done up in NiGHTS’ colour scheme - there were statuettes and plushies, posters and artwork everywhere.  In the corner stood on a mannequin TRiPPY’s NiGHTS costume which apparently takes about 6 hours to put on, I assumed DiGi was joking about that but TRiPPY’s nervous laughter suggested otherwise.  I was also pleased to see a large variety of Sonic merchandise as well as pretty much every SEGA console known to man.

Here’s a photo of TRiPPY in said regalia:

“Du-al-ize!”

Yes, both terrifying and alluring at the same time. I think…

Everywhere I looked, everywhere, was just a mass of NiGHTS… I didn’t even know there was half as much NiGHTS paraphernalia in existence as I saw in there.  There are some more photos below here from NiGHTSintoDreams.com, but these are a bit out of date - it’s even more purpley and full of NiGHTS merchandise.

Anyway to business! I began setting up the Wii I’d dragged with me from SOE HQ all the way to the south of England and then all the way up to Edinburgh.  Oh dear. The green frontage of that Wii was not a good sign…

I popped the game in and my fears were realised, I’d been given a Dev Wii and it wouldn’t play the retail code - NOOOOOOOOO! Luckily TRiPPY had a Wii, but it did mean that they would not be able to see any of the more advanced levels and see the unlocked items to begin with. So after I got the Tutorial out of the way for them I let them loose on Journey of Dreams, while I muttered some rather choice language as I packed the console back up again.

Soon the room went very quiet as people concentrated, trying to get the highest number of links possible and while the boss levels proved deceptively tricky at first - Jof being our savior and getting us past them - there was nothing but grins around the room. Even from Derek and he’s not a NiGHTS fan at all!

Time was marching on but I’d been very open in my desire to be used as much as possible by the guys, so it was time to start thinking about the dreaded Dream Cast podcast.

What do ArchangelUK, £900 bottles of cognac and the Paralympics team of Gibraltar have in common? As it happens we were all at Gatwick airport last Thursday, though whilst the cognac was gathering dust and the Gibraltans were off to some sort of training camp I myself as the Online Community Team’s resident representative for all things Nightopian was off to Edinburgh to the very heart of the NiGHTS fan base.

The reason for this was very simple - it was a lot cheaper to send me to them then get them down to us.

So, armed with a bag full of NiGHTS merchandise a suitcase containing a Wii (and looking at the weather a sense of foreboding) I marched off to do battle with the airport check-in system… at 3:45am. 

Let me tell you strange things happen at 3:45am, for a start paying £20 for the slim chance of winning a Ferrari they’ve somehow got into the departures lounge  sounds like “a good idea” - you imagine yourself with “Magical Sound Shower” blaring from the speakers as you zip along the straights of Malibu.  Feeling rather worried by this and keeping the £20 firmly in my pocket I instead headed straight for the arcade and blasted off a quick few laps on OutRun2.

Speaking of arcades is it me or is the entirety of the Arcade system now solely resting on machines produced by SEGA and Namco? I swear there are more SEGA machines around than any other publisher - and the rest seem to be Time Crisis.

The plane boarded on time and we were soon in the air, the pilot finishing his welcome by inviting us to “enjoy all the marvellous facilities we have on this aircraft… Not.”  So as we sailed into the sky with the strains of Dreams Dreams 2008 in my ears I was really looking forward to the trip, I was even looking forward to the surprisingly tasty looking in-flight breakfast which was served pretty much immediately.

Yup, everything was going smoothly… and then I made the mistake of opening my tub of orange juice.

Like some sort of cosmic switch the plane all of a sudden lurched sideways as we hit a terrible bout of turbulence which did its best to cover me in the orange liquid. I clamped my palm over the top of my cup in desperation to try and prevent further spillage but still I fear looked rather like the recipient of shrapnel wounds from a Tango grenade when all was said and done.

We landed on time (and for a while on one wheel) at Edinburgh airport which seemed surprisingly small and as I set foot for the first time on Scottish soil I was pleased to see that absolutely no stereotypes about Scotland were to be seen. Yup it was windy, rainy, cold, bagpipe music was playing as I entered the arrivals area and the first man I saw was in a kilt trying to sell me shortbread. Absolutely no stereotypes at all.

After a brief scare when I almost left my case at the airport I exited to find freezing sheet rain and dragging my belongings onto the shuttle bus rode off to my hotel room and my first meeting with TRiPPY and DiGi…

Hi guys,

Welcome to our second Viking: Battle for Asgard Q&A. Keep your questions coming!

Q. About the searching for relic missions, are we talking Zelda style dungeons with puzzles and stuff like that?

A. In some quests you will need to seek out relics such as a dragon gem so that you may communicate with the dragons. There aren’t puzzles as such as Viking: Battle for Asgard is more combat-focused. Each of Midgard’s three Islands are over a kilometer square in size and offer many different environments to explore such as caves, forests and forts.

Q. When in Stealth mode can you go up against walls, peek around corners, hide and all that kind of stuff? What is the depth of the stealth mode?

A. To navigate safely around Midgard, stealth can be a valuable tactic to approaching objectives. You can of course charge in and attack the Legion head on, but sometimes its better to infiltrate the area unseen, liberate and recruit reinforcements and then attack the Legion in greater numbers. Skarin can climb up vines, shimmy along ledges, and swing across chasms to avoid the enemies below. He can even sneak up to execute them with special stealth kills.

Q. I’ve read that we will be able to face off against some mythical beasts from Norse mythology, How will this play out?

A. While we would like to keep these encounters a surprise, let’s just say that some of the enemies will be much larger then our Viking champion. Each will require a lot of skill, cunning and dexterity to overcome them.

Q. Can you talk to NPCs in towns and villages?

A. Characters will give you quests and provide tips. If you can earn their trust through the completion of secondary quests, they can be convinced to add their number to your pool of forces.

Q. Are there any QTE (Quick Time Events) in the game? If so, how many and where?

A. Yes there are Quick Time Events. Some opponents will require attacks to be executed in a certain order to target their unique weaknesses. A giant for example could only be toppled if he is first brought down to size. Other enemies require completely different tactics in order to defeat them, such as Shamans who are protected by a magical force and assassins who use their agility and stealth to gain the upper hand.

Q. As far as the Xbox 360 version goes, can you tell us what the unlockable achievements will be like?

A. It is important to make the achievements both fun and challenging to encourage players to get the most out of the game. Only the most skilled warriors will be able to tame dragons, lead mighty armies to victory, liberate all of Midgard from Hel’s evil clutches to prevent Ragnorok (the end of the world).

Q. When will the official Viking: Battle for Asgard webpage be up?

A. Very soon! We are currently putting the finishing touches on the official Viking: Battle for Asgard website, which will feature exclusive information and screenshots, character bios, videos, downloads and much more. I will keep you all informed when it is ready to launch so stay tuned!

If you haven’t already, be sure to add Viking: Battle of Asgard as a friend on MySpace and join our Facebook group!

Thanks,

Mark O’Connell

It’s that time of year again, when New Year thoughts turn to getting a little bit fitter, and with lots of football fans in the office we decided that our get-fit campaign should come in the form of a five-a-side football team.

So, we found a league, we entered, and yesterday we played our first match; and guess what? We won!!!

Unfortunately a couple of our team (myself included) were unable to make the game due to meetings, so we had a little help from a couple of chaps from the Sports Interactive Test Room. And, despite falling a goal behind early on, goals from our web developer Kai and a couple from the SI boys put us 3-1 up in an ill-tempered affair.

Muze, our opponents, grabbed a goal back late on to set-up a nervy finale, but SEGA Online FC managed to hang on for their first ever victory, thanks in no small part to Jim, our goalkeeper, who I’m told pulled off a string of great saves that even Peter Schmeichel would have been proud of.

We’re off to a winning start, so visit the blog next week to find out how we get on against Bunny Army; and also check out our official team photo for the season ahead!

You may well have seen already, but last week we launched the first video of SEGA Superstars Tennis. A nice little trailer showing off all of the characters in the game…. more or less

It’s a superb FMV, you can catch it on our YouTube channel or check it out below - you’ll need to open the post to see the video.

Hi guys,

Welcome to our first Viking: Battle for Asgard Q&A, featuring some of your most asked questions to date!

Q. In the screenshots Skarin has got a few daggers strapped around his waist, are those merely decoration, or useable weapons?

A. Skarin has a variety of weaponry at his disposal, including throwing weapons. Some of these weapons can also be upgraded with magical runes to increase their potency.

Q. Skarin seems to have a two-handed sword strapped to his back (the grip on the sword is rather massive) will he be using it as a two-hander? If not why not shorten the handle so it looks a bit more like real Viking style swords?

A. Skarin can learn a wide range of combat moves during the course of the game (players will have to train at combat arenas to earn new moves). Some of these moves require two weapons, others are one-weapon hits and cuts. As for shortening the sword from two-handed two one-handed, we’re sure Skarin would like to leave his options open when facing off against some of the bigger creatures of Midgard!

Q. Will Skarin have a selection of weapons to use? If so would it be too much to hope that there’ll be a combo that goes along these lines: “Nothing screams Scandinavian more than a burly blonde man maiming an opponent with a rather large axe.”? I think Skarin would look very slick wielding a Dane axe!

A. Skarin always carries the same basic weapons but as we’ve mentioned these can be upgraded over time with different runes and magic. In addition as Skarin learns new moves new uses for his weapons become available such as fixing an enemy in place for decapitation or dismemberment. The more spectacularly Skarin fights, the more impressed his Patron goddess Freya becomes, rewarding him with magical energy. We’re not actually naming any ‘combos’ as the individual moves are up to the player to chain together, so you could certainly make up a sequence of attacks and name it “The Burly Blonde Bash” if you like!

Q. With Skarin’s army, will we get different unit types? So far from the screenshots it looks like all units have a sword & shield. I know it’s still very early days but i’m wondering if we’ll get axe & shield units? Or Dane axe wielding units?

A. Yes, Skarin’s army is comprised of different unit types. There are archer, rank and file Viking and more powerful and heavily armoured warriors. As you rightly say it is early days and we’re still working on the variety within these different unit types.

Q. What’s with that blue orb on the bearded axe Skarin uses in his off-hand?

A. The blue amulet is Brisingamen, a powerful talisman the Goddess Freya gives to Skarin as a way of communication. In the game it will provide you with useful information about your surroundings and current mission objectives. Think of it as an olde worlde PDA?

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for our next Viking: Battle of Asgard Q&A!

Mark O’Connell

Hi guys,

Gamereactor.dk have posted a Viking: Battle For Asgard interview online at http://www.gamereactor.dk/grtv/player/popup.php?partner=&cat=Interview&id=1590

Enjoy!

Mark O’Connell