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Strategic war game buffs, take note: All of the Total War titles on Steam are receiving a massive discount this week, to the tune of a whopping 66 percent off. In fact, you can pick up the Total War Mega Pack, which includes Medieval II: Total War, Rome: Total War -- including the Alexander and Kingdoms expansions -- and Empire: Total War for $20.39. Additionally, the Empire: Total War Downloadable Content Pack, containing all the Empire content released thus far, is available for 10 percent off at $16.19.

Incidentally -- but probably not coincidentally -- the latest game in the series, Napoleon: Total War, releases February 23.

Here's a fun little piece of 16-bit history for you -- did you know that when Sega made its big announcement last week, a game called Sonic 4 had actually been floating around for 14 years? Sure, it's not an official Sonic game, mind you -- it was merely a modded version of the classic Sunsoft SNES platformer Speedy Gonzales: Los Gatos Bandidos. 1UP recently shared the game's illicit history -- a group of Peruvian hackers known as Twin Eagle Group got their hands on the game in 1996, removed all instances of the hasty Mexican mouse, and replaced them with Sega's spiny mascot.

Check out a gameplay clip of the unsanctioned Sonic 4 after the jump. Yeah, it doesn't look great -- but to be fair, Sonic doesn't whip out a gun at any point, nor does he engage in light bestiality, so we guess it has its charms.

[Via Kotaku]

Though you could just buy a Chiquita banana and call it authentic Super Monkey Ball: Step & Roll merchandise, Sega Europe has created some new swag that won't rot and won't result in any comedic pratfalls. The publisher has printed up some replica shirts as worn by AiAi, complete with printed backpack, as a promotional item for Step & Roll.

The only known way to get hold of one of these delightful items is through Sega's Free Stuff Friday contest (follow @sega on Twitter and message back key phrases at the right time on Fridays). Just add some cinnamon roll ears and a giant plastic bubble, and you'll be all set for Halloween!

We'll be honest -- we weren't too interested in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing when we first heard about it, but every time the publisher announces a new playable character, our desire to play the game intensifies. (For the record, Sega? You had us at Ryo Hazuki.)

We'll definitely be trying out the new demo -- released on Xbox Live today -- which features Sonic and Banjo as playable racers on a sample track. To accompany the demo, Sega has also released an All-Stars Racing theme for 240 ($3). However, we highly suggest checking to make sure the game's any good before proudly tattooing your Dashboard background with its logo.

Shortcuts: Add the demo / theme to your Xbox 360 download queue [via Xbox.com]

Look, alright, we'll level with you -- we've got a short supply of schweet schwag hanging around Joystiq Prizeland as of late. That should at least partially help to explain last week's absence of a contest. We also kind of felt like you might've been overloaded with games during our holiday giveaways at the end of 2009. What's that? No, you say? Well we suppose that the first few months of 2010 are unusually flush with quality content, so giving away a bit couldn't hurt, right?

We certainly hope a nine foot tall bullet witch will do it for you, because that's what we've got. One lucky winner (chosen at random) takes home Bayonetta on Xbox 360, chosen from the comments below (please leave one and only one) that are left in the next 24 hours. You tell us what you think is the most annoying song you've ever heard used in marketing a game and you may very well win yourself a vidjagame. How about that?!

• Leave a comment telling us what you think is the most annoying song you've ever heard used in marketing a game.
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, due in part to our aversion to snowy owls).
• Limit 1 entry per person per day.
• This entry period ends at 11:31AM ET on Monday, February 8.
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Bayonetta for Xbox 360 ($59.99 ARV).
• For a list of complete rules, click here.

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What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here.

It would have been nice to hear more of an explanation way back in October when Sega's Alpha Protocol was "officially delayed" to the amorphous "Spring 2010," but, unfortunately, that didn't happen. Speaking with MTV Multiplayer this week, though, assistant producer at Sega Matthew Hickman explicitly detailed the reasons for the delay, saying, "We really wanted to polish the game up, make it everything Obsidian planned it to be, and give the consumer a very polished game."

He added that there's been some "tweaks in lighting here and there," and the inventory screen has been revamped a bit, but in general the team has been focused on "bringing the whole quality level up." The post's author also notes that the game is set for a "Summer 2010" release window now, and we've reached out to him (and Sega) for clarification.

Update: The post's author has responded that, yes, the game's current release window is set for "Summer 2010." Guess that's another delay then, eh? We'll update again if Sega responds.

There are plenty of things worth highlighting in this Aliens vs. Predator trailer. The foreboding "blip ... blip ... blip" of the motion tracker and the lone marine with only a pistol to protect himself from the onslaught of scurrying Xenomorphs are just a few, but what irks us most is the digital lady dancing on the pole of the disco. Is that, like, really the future of t3h pr0nz? We were hoping for some kind of Star Trek Holodeck-type action.

After surviving harrowing losses of ¥22.8 billion (nearly $254.8 million) during its fiscal year 2009, Sega Sammy Holdings (parent company to Sega, which you've probably sussed out) has managed to revive its faltering bottom line. According to the company's latest financial report, Sega Sammy brought in a net income of ¥16.9 billion ($189.5 million) during the first nine months of its fiscal 2010 (April–December 2009).

This income came in spite of the fact that Sega's total game sales had dropped 13 percent from the same 9-month period the previous fiscal year -- however, thanks to the company's massive restructuring last February, operating income skyrocketed to ¥28.8 billion (about $323 million), which more than softened the blow. The company's highest-selling title was, alarmingly, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, with 5.6 million units sold (and probably counting). Bayonetta, which was only available in Japan (released October 29) during the period covered by the report, came in a distant second with 1.1 million units sold.

It looks like the company's managed to recover from an extremely painful fiscal 2009 -- at a cost.

We were filled with a mix of two emotions upon seeing that House of the Dead: Overkill is now $12.99 on Amazon. The first emotion was, of course, joy, because now more people can experience the total, unabashed radicool that drenches this funny, smartly designed on-rails shooter.

The other emotion? Disgust that it had to come to this. This should be a collector's item that's impossible to find, not fodder for the bargain bin! All we're saying is this: We bought our copies here at Joystiq HQ. Did you buy yours, America?

... Well? Did you?

It's long been known that "Project Needlemouse," announced by Sega last September, was the codename for a new 2D, console Sonic the Hedgehog title. It was subsequently revealed (much to our delight) that Sonic would be its only playable character, and we now know that the game will be, in fact, a direct sequel to 1994's Sonic & Knuckles on Sega Genesis. Not only that -- it'll be (wait for it) episodic.

We also know that the officially titled Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 looks like a proper Sonic game -- i.e., there's hope for it yet.

GameSpot, which has a first look at the blue bolt's new downloadable XBLA, PSN and WiiWare adventure, reports that "episode 1" will be available on all three platforms "this summer." Additionally, Sega confirmed to the site that the game will support online leaderboards and motion control on Wii and PS3 (Sixaxis for the latter; sorry, "Arc").

You can watch the first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 after the break. What do you think?

As you might expect, several larger-than-life figures ("some of the biggest playable characters on Wii," in fact) from world mythology are embroiled in the titular tournament, including a minotaur, gladiator, Valkyrie and Gorgon. Up to two players can enter the arena and have at each other with different weapons, magic and supported Classic Controllers. You can also summon "a man-eating lion," which scientists have repeatedly shown to be the only useful variant of the lion.

Gallery: Tournament of Legends (Wii)

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As hinted at by an Xbox Live Spotlight ad which briefly appeared yesterday, a demo for Aliens vs. Predator will be released on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam tomorrow. A Sega Europe blog post which announced the demo's imminence revealed that the trial gives players access to all three of the game's species, who can battle it out Deathmatch-style on one of AvP's multiplayer maps. You can bet we'll hop on this one as soon as it's available -- who knows, maybe the fanged proboscis which will soon bore into your skull will belong to one of us!

Apparently, Sega's plan is to represent every Sega franchise ever in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing -- except, of course, for Segata Sanshiro. The publisher announced two more playable characters today (well, four, actually, in pairs): Virtua Fighter's Akira and Jacky, and Bonanza Bros.' Mobo and Robo. The Virtua guys appear to be riding in a red Ferrari, which would add the OutRun franchise to the list as well. All these reveals are in line with the character portraits found hidden on the website.

NiGHTS will appear in the game as well, though not in a capacity that will cause superfans "DiGi" and "Trippy" to lose their bets and burn their NiGHTS memorabilia collections. The androgynous dream-monster will appear as the flagman in the racing game.

According to tipster Mike, an ad for an Aliens vs Predator demo recently popped up in the Spotlight section of the Xbox 360 dashboard. The ad reportedly announced that the demo will be released February 4, this Thursday. Unfortunately, the ad has since been pulled, though AvPGalaxy reports finding the ad as well.

The site also notes that the demo will arrive on the same day for PSN and Steam as well, adding that an official announcement from Sega is forthcoming. Given that the game will be hitting retail shelves in just two weeks, the timing for the demo would certainly make sense.

We'll be sure to update this post if and when Sega makes things official. Update: it's official!

[Via Destructoid]

Alex Kidd comes to the rescue on the Virtual Console this week. It's more of his usual hijinks in the latest Alex Kidd entry from Sega, as players must call upon the powers of Shinobi -- including platforming, dodging incoming throwing stars and chopping dudes up something fierce. Check it all out in the latest episode of VC in Brief above!

• Alex Kidd in Shinobi World (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

Oh, and big ups to reader Cody Borst for creating that sweet new intro. Heck of a job, Cody!