GameTap reveals Sega Saturn plans with Bug!

by Jared Rea { Apr 5th 2007 at 7:24PM }

Currently hidden amongst over 800 games residing on GameTap is a relic of the Sega Saturn's past. One of the early 3-D platformers of the day, Bug! has managed to weasel its way onto the service under the guise of "Insect?" as a search term. The presence of Bug! today is much more important than the mediocrity it originally presented, as it means that Sega Saturn titles are coming to GameTap.

Just to be absolutely sure what this means, we took Bug! for a test run. As one of the many Sega Saturn titles that got ported over to the PC, we wanted to make sure that this was in fact the Sega Saturn version and not some sort of trickery. Our doubts were squashed when, upon booting up the game, we were met with the familiar loading sequence of the original Saturn. Sure, Bug! may somehow be worse than we actually remembered, but it's great to see what appears to be spot-on Saturn emulation.

As GameTap currently sports a rather robust first-party line-up from the Sega graveyard, consisting of the SG-1000, Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, 32X and Dreamcast, we fully expect this relationship to continue. If we're lucky, we'll see more along the lines of Panzer Dragoon Saga and Burning Rangers and less of those embarrassing Daytona USA ports.

In other GameTap news, Bug! is only one of three games currently hidden in the game vault as part of an easter egg promotion. Clues leading to the whereabouts of the remaining two games can be found both within GameTap itself and on their website.

Tags: gametap, segasaturn

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

KC @ Apr 5th 2007 7:32PM

I loved Bug! and BugToo!

Glad to see Saturn games again for more people to enjoy.
I dont have gametap, and I still dont really understand what it is exactly :P

syco @ Apr 5th 2007 7:33PM

If Radiant Silvergun shows up on this, I will subscribe immediately.

GJM @ Apr 5th 2007 7:33PM

Panzer Dragoon Saga = amazing

Daytona USA = underrated (because of pop-in?)

Burning Rangers = Nearly unplayable due to extremely low poly count and horrible textures

Tetranitrocubane @ Apr 5th 2007 7:41PM

How do current gametap subscribers feel about the software? Is it buggy? Lots of bloatware or spyware? Can you turn it off, or is it 'always on'? Any security issues?

Just curious, because it seems to be accruing an impressive library of titles. This Saturn addition only magnifies that. I am quite tempted to sign up.

Frankie @ Apr 5th 2007 7:46PM

There's a free trial w/o a credit card. You should check it out.

I was a subscriber for a few months and had loads of fun until I got burned out with all the retro gaming.

Taltos @ Apr 5th 2007 7:46PM

Holy...

Talk about a blast from my past. Never thought I'd ever see this again. Bug!, while not a great game, was certainly part of my childhood memories. =P

MaskedPixelante @ Apr 5th 2007 8:02PM

@4
What 5 said, give it a shot and see what you think.
The software and service are solid, no spyware/adware and it doesn't run in the background (except when you're playing gametap games).

It just comes down to if the games it has are worth the subscription price to you. I subscribe for Sam & Max and because it's really nice to be able to browse through the large collection and find a game to fit just about any mood I might be in.

Mr Khan @ Apr 5th 2007 8:52PM

@ 3

You did not just insult Burning Rangers

those techno-jazz beats more than made up for clunky gfx, and the gameplay was spot on :P

KLind @ Apr 6th 2007 12:43AM

I loved BUG!!!! I didn't know that anyone else played it. I figured I was the only person in the world to ever play it.

vipor @ Apr 5th 2007 9:23PM

i know that bug is the first easter egg and the 2nd easter egg is wing commander if you type tiger claw...but i cant find the 3rd game

Alex Atkin UK @ Apr 5th 2007 9:38PM

For note, the Saturn emulator SSF emulates the Saturn almost perfectly these days if you have a good enough computer (Core 2 Duo recommended). The only drawback is it doesnt emulate analog controls so NiGHTS is a PITA, everything else is great though.

GJM @ Apr 5th 2007 9:52PM

"You did not just insult Burning Rangers
those techno-jazz beats more than made up for clunky gfx, and the gameplay was spot on :P"

I kind of did. I actaully preordered it and had it the day it came out. I played it on a nice (at the time) 35" Sony. While I enjoyed the game, I thought the graphics at some points were so bad it made it tough to even know where you were going. Overall I did like it though :)

Shadow Hog @ Apr 5th 2007 10:08PM

"For note, the Saturn emulator SSF emulates the Saturn almost perfectly these days if you have a good enough computer (Core 2 Duo recommended). The only drawback is it doesnt emulate analog controls so NiGHTS is a PITA, everything else is great though."

Yeah it does, at least in the latest versions. It's supposed to work great with a 360 controller (since that's what the dev. used to test the feature), but I haven't tried it yet.

LuigiHann @ Apr 5th 2007 11:21PM

I'm a GameTap subscriber, and I like it a lot. It's not perfect, and it's not for everyone, but it provides the service that is advertised. What I really like about it, is that it continually improves upon itself. Not only do they add a handful of games every week, but every once and a while there's an update with new features. It's worth trying for a month.
Make sure your video card is supported, though. The system requirements aren't too demanding overall, but video card support is really cut-and-dry, some cards just don't work.