brianseals
Saturn Gamer
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Post by brianseals on Jun 7, 2015 9:32:05 GMT
Get this: I'm watching Game Sack the other day.
Yeah, I'm watching "Game Sack"...
At the beginning of each episode there is a montage, where the guys pull different consoles out of their bag. Their "game sack", if you will. Anyway, this time they're pulling games out and one of them catches my attention. It's a long case NTSC / UC Saturn game. I can't see what it is, so I pause the video.
"Powerslave? ... Never heard of it."
Checking Wikipedia, I find out that the alternate title (for PAL) is "Exhumed". Okay, I have heard that name. A quick search on YouTube reveals a shooter, and though the Saturn isn't my first choice for FPS, I'm really impressed with the graphics and gameplay. Curious, I look it up on eBay, to get an average price.
Nothing. Both names bring up zero products, not even a copy from Japan. The closest I can get is a poster.
So I search Google, to see if I can find a used store with a copy. Still, nothing. They keep offering me "Doom". :/
This is not a good sign. I'm not in a rush to buy this game right away, but I fear that when I do find it, it'll be insanely expensive. Just how rare is Exhumed? Is it just, that there are no copies in the States? Fill me in, I'm really curious.
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Post by MIK on Jun 7, 2015 10:23:37 GMT
Exhumed being the European (PAL) name of the game is as rare as Panzer Dragoon, copies for sale on ebay.co.uk 365 days of the year. On average you can grab a UK PAL copy for 10 UK Pounds, meaning very cheap.
Exhumed was also released on Playstation One in Europe.
Power Slave is the American (NTSC) name for Exhumed and my knowledge of the American Saturn version is a big fat zero. Sorry about that. One thing worth keeping in mind is that Quake and Duke Nukem 3D were made by the same guys after they did Power Slave/Exhumed and are also very good.
In the mean time you might like this. A video covering the history of Lobotomy Software and is a good watch.
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Post by Madroms on Jun 7, 2015 16:50:09 GMT
US Powerslave price is between 30 and 70 USD nowadays. It was cheaper some years ago. You are right, no copy on eBay right now. 3 were sold in April: 37 USD, 38.50 USD and 76 USD; another one, CD only, in May for 15.50 USD. There are some on Amazon but too expensive. You can always check Satakore Saturn Store to find the ones available on eBay, we made this tool to help people find saturn games easily (it seems that I need to talk more about it  I see a lot of people looking for games desperately when we already worked on search keywords for every saturn games). If you really want it, there are plenty Exhumed PAL versions for sale right now, or you can get the Japanese version: Seireki 1999 (3 on eBay right now for approx the same price as the cost of the US version). And this is really a good game. |
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martiniii
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Post by martiniii on Jun 7, 2015 17:25:49 GMT
US PowerSlave isn't too expensive. I got my complete-in-box copy less than two years ago for under $25. I'd say anything over $40 for the game is a rip-off. Kind of funny that there are none on Ebay at the moment, but that happens to all but the most common titles; it doesn't mean a game is rare. And even genuinely rare games aren't always expensive.
PowerSlave is a top notch Saturn title in my book. It's very much a thinking man's first person shooter, with a lot more focus on exploration, navigation, and puzzle solving than on bloodshed.
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Cannibal
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Post by Cannibal on Jun 7, 2015 21:12:52 GMT
I think it got more coverage in the gaming press in Europe and sold okay. So there's a fair few copies knocking around. I don't think there was as much hype for the game else where, so i think it sold less and that means fewer copies.
I think i read about this in an interview with one of the games programmers.
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brianseals
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Post by brianseals on Jun 8, 2015 0:28:11 GMT
Thanks everyone, for your responses. I really appreciate it. MIK: Really interesting. I had to wait to get home from work, so I could spare the hour, but the video was informative and very good. It's a heck of an ad for the Saturn version, as well. It doesn't say it's "the best version", and that's debatable, but it does explain how that game is its own animal. I would definitely want to play it over the PC version, from how it explains all three games (ports). The video also added Duke Nuke'Em 3D and Quake to my wish list. They look good, and I'm interested in finding out how they were able to push the hardware. I was down on the Saturn for FPS, and the only one I really wanted to get was Alien Trilogy. I see from this though, that the limitations brought on by the weird and um... "unique" hardware that is the Saturn, still allowed for some good FPS games. martiniii: I'll keep that price range in mind. Madroms: Thank you for the link to the store, I've saved it. Ironically enough, I've been to that site numerous times, just looking for information. Now that I'm actively collecting for my favorite console again, I need to find the best prices possible. To that end, I've also saved a link to the UK eBay site. Often I can get better deals over there, than here, even taking into account shipping costs! |
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dragoon33
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Post by dragoon33 on Jun 13, 2015 17:02:12 GMT
I have this game the US version Powerslave I bought it on Amazon several years ago for 11 dollars US. To my shagrin it didn't come with a manual it came with the cover art but no manual. As a collector I was really upset at that as I thought I got a good deal. The game itself is fantastic the framerate is smooth and the graphics are top notch. Lobotomy really did a good job with this one. I saw the Duke Nukem they made as well it was also good. I remember something of the Quake one but I remember it being kinda dark. What do you mean that the US version of PowerSlave is not as good as the UK PAL version Exhumed? Well that's all for now.
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Post by MIK on Jun 15, 2015 0:41:09 GMT
err.. no. The USA & PAL versions are the same game, just different names. You could say the USA version is better though as it may run a little faster being 60hz, and because it has a bonus game called Death Tank. I think... you have to find all the team dolls in Power Slave to unlock Death Tank. Death Tank was not in the PAL version of Exhumed but was later added to Duke Nukem PAL.  |
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Post by hombreimaginario on Jun 24, 2015 10:34:18 GMT
That's weird. I sold a CIB PAL/UK copy of Exhumed last year or so. I didn't think it was rare or overpriced at all.
Anyway. I absolutely LOVED this game back in the day. It was the first spanish-dubbed game I had ever seen on consoles (I know, I know...) and when pharaoh Ramses began to talk to me in spanish I was amazed. And hooked for months, as the game was so addictive to me back then!
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mick_aka
Kickin' it lively!
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Post by mick_aka on Jun 28, 2015 12:39:48 GMT
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Post by xDerekRx on Aug 13, 2015 7:19:47 GMT
Had to reply to this as Ive noticed the spike in Powerslave US value too. The last 6-7 sold copies have ended 55-70 usd (complete). Although it still has some listings in $50 range. Used to be, not even a year ago, a $25 CIB game. I think its started to finally get a bit more respect in the every growing Saturn collecting market. AS it should.
I think its kind of cool to see a retro FPS take on that type of pricing. And its a well deserved game to hit such heights. Its one of the finest classic FPS of all time and amazingly it was built on a Saturn. That said I hope you picked up a copy because its a must own for the Saturn library. I still claim had it existed on PC in its slavedriver engine form it would have the same name recognition as Duke 3D, Shadow Warrior and Blood. Instead being a Saturn original game, and a lesser known PS1 port, it got brushed aside.
Usually FPS games have lower values for consoles and such as they are generally mass produced and not as rare. Sega Saturn is a bit different though in general but Id say most of the FPS are rising. Duke Nukem 3D and Quake are starting to see 35+ range for complete copies and sometimes as much as 40. Alien Trilogy Ive seen go in the 25-30 range more lately as well.
Shows more that complete Saturn games across the board are going up still.
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jarragum
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Post by jarragum on Jan 29, 2016 19:39:18 GMT
Posted 2016. I'm from Australia and here the game is called Exhumed. I have the PC version, which was the first released by Lobotomy Inc. (now defunct). It's totally different to the Saturn and PlayStation games. The only thing they have in common is most of the enemies and the storyline. Saturn version came next & Lobotomy was acclaimed for its revolutionary game engine, which made the Saturn do things it wasn't originally designed to do. PlayStation version (which I also have) followed but although it had the same story, enemies & basic gameplay, there were quite a few differences too. Saturn balls you could run into included one that made your weapons temporarily faster and one that made you invisible, which was also in PC game. There was also an All-Seeing Eye you could run into (also in PC game). The layout of some of the levels in Saturn was very different in places to the PlayStation version. Some of the places to find Transmitter Pieces were different, as were place Team Dolls were located. There were 23 Team Dolls (1 for each level) but only PlayStation had 1 in each level. Saturn had 2 in some levels and none in others and were also found in different places to PlayStation. To answer your question, I found that a lot of people here hadn't even heard of the games. My first encounter with PlayStation Exhumed was when my teenage daughter was visiting me and borrowed a copy from a guest of my next door neighbour. This would have been around 1998. After that, I found 2 PlayStation copies (1 for my daughter & 1 for me in second hand stores, purely by luck. I didn't have the internet then). I have since seen copies of both Powerslave and Exhumed for Saturn on the internet (e-bay etc.) I would call this game rare but I think you can still get second-hand copies if you keep looking. I'm going to buy a second-hand Sega Saturn and a second hand copy of the game as soon as I can. I've put it off long enough. It's an amazing game and has taken over from Tomb Raider as my favourite game. Hope this is of some help but I understand you've already looked around for the game. I can only tell you I have seen it on the internet but I suppose as the years go by there's less and less of them. Wish I'd bought one years ago when I first saw them but time flies. I didn't realise it had been that long since I got them from second hand dealers or seen them on the web. P.S. There were no Team Dolls to find in PC game.
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jarragum
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Post by jarragum on Jan 29, 2016 19:48:04 GMT
P.S. Lobotomy were a team of devoted techs that used to work for Nintendo? The just gave and gave, adding more and more to the game. The main reason they folded was because the owners of the game did not put much energy or resources into promoting the distribution of the game and in the end, the team weren't getting paid. Such a shame for an exceptional, enthusiastic, revolutionary bunch of game creators.
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jarragum
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Post by jarragum on Jan 29, 2016 19:50:36 GMT
Buy owners, I don't mean Lobotomy. Often they were asked to improve or work on other game that they were commissioned to do. I guess Lobotomy owned the rights to Exhumed but I meant the distributors didn't do their job, not Lobotomy.
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Post by Anthaemia. on Jan 30, 2016 1:39:34 GMT
I don't have the exact figures at hand, but I recall being told - by a former member of staff at Sega Europe, no less - that Exhumed had three print run, the last batch in quite a small amount that saw the case changed to the later style plastic design. I actually sold one of these much rarer copies to someone on this very board last year, and I believe this particular version was pressed to coincide with the release of either Duke Nukem 3D or Quake based on the hype for Lobotomy that SSM had generated in its glowing coverage of the team's work. Indeed, they very nearly managed to secure an exclusive cover disc that included playable demos of all three Lobotomy games, plus a special third revision of Death Tank especially prepared with new weapons. According to the guys at EMAP, this company-specific sampler was complete and only failed to see the light of day because of delays getting the necessary license from GT Interactive Software. By the time any legal negotiations had been sorted out, they couldn't justify producing such extras for a publication that was covering a system already dead in the UK, with most of its articles already looking forward to the Dreamcast's launch.
P.S. Lobotomy ultimately went under because their staff weren't being paid despite them being deep into the development of a sequel to Exhumed/Powerslave along with a project called Aquaria, intended for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. (I'll stop with the water puns now!)
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I see a lot of people looking for games desperately when we already worked on search keywords for every saturn games).
