Dreamcast Delights... Daytona USA 2001 vs. SF Rush 2049



It's difficult to know where to start on this post. I wish I could bring you some earth shattering news from the world of the Dreamcast. Some undiscovered nugget of information about our favourite console. A secret development overheard in the Sega boardroom. I wish I'd found a whacky piece of promotional mechandise or some video of a never seen advertisement, but sadly... I can't.

Instead I'll just bring you up to speed with my most recent Dreamcast purchases. Some good, some great and some on which the verdict is still out....


O.K. here goes... first off Daytona USA 2001. As those three of you who regularly read this blog will know, this item was on my Christmas wish list. The last title in a longstanding franchise by Sega, this game originally started as an arcade favourite that was experienced in a double car shaped cabinet, replete with seats, steering wheels and pedals. The best way to play was to sit next to a friend and compete against them, eyes locked on the screen ahead.



Most racing sims are either Rally based or Formula One style competitions. Daytona transports us into the world of Nascar, a sport largely enjoyed by those Americans who's other favourite pastimes include playing banjos, square dancing, going to the rodeo and marrying cousins. Basically it consists of loads of high powered super-cars doing endless circuits of a fairly uninteresting track at high speed. The biggest excitement in Nascar, is caused by metal crunching fatalities, as one car smashes into another causing a multiple pile up.
In Daytona USA 2001, you can race up to 60 other cars, and tactical bumping and bashing give the game a combatative feeling.



Tomleecee has written a comprehensive review of this game, which you can read by clicking on the review section on the side bar of the page. My experience is that it's a nice little title, but is basically a polished re-hash of it's Saturn predecessor. The graphics are smoother, in fact I'd go as far to stay stunning. There are a few new extra tracks as an incentive for those who are loyal to the franchise, but basically there's not a lot that separates it from the original arcade experience. The cars have a little too much 'drift' for my liking and I slide all over the track unless I slow right down. Bah!





I'd waited for ages for this game, which I ordered from Chips, a nice little independent game store with branches dotted around these fair isles. I payed £10, which although a very decent price tag compared to it's seven year old £40 release cost, is still a lot to pay for a Dreamcast game these days. I like it well enough, but I'd hyped it up so much in my own mind, that it was going to inevitably disappoint, and if I'm honest I prefer it's Saturn predecessor. Oh well!




Now having moaned about having payed £10 for a game, I couldn't moan about paying £2...
Particularly as it was for the most excellent San Francisco Rush 2049. This title is quite a rarity, a futuristic racer set in that most hilly of cities. This is a truly fantastic title, one which shows the true potential of the Dreamcast, fabulous handling, breathtaking speed and is graphically amazing...

A nice array of futuristic cars is on offer which can be tweaked to the players tastes in terms of handling, paint job, mannual or automatic transition and so on. Several different circuits are available, all with almost vertical drops, as your car hurtles through the 'Frisco' of 2049. There are a variety of secret shortcuts to discover which are vital to shaving seconds off the car's lap times and a necessity if you want to beat the punishing A.I. racers you are competing against.



By accessing the secret routes you can also collect gold and silver coins, giving the game a nice arcade flavour. Now, I've mentioned that the cars really fly around the tracks. The speeds at which they travel could rival 'Need For Speed' in terms of velocity. But these cars really fly. Literally! As you come over a particularly steep hill, your car can literally 'spread it's wings' and fly for a certain distance and of course, without friction the cars can move faster, again giving the driver an advantage over his competitors...


As well Single Player racing, and Practise Mode, where you can race against your own 'ghost car', learning track layout and familiarising yourself with the secret routes, there is a multi-player option where you can battle up to four friends. But it doesn't stop there. 'Stunt Mode' inan arena that allows you to perform jumps, spins, somersaults and turns to gain as many points as possible against clock.





'Battle Mode' sees your car equipped with such things as battering rams, guided missiles, plasma cannons, rocket launchers, and so on. Racing against friends is fun. Blowing them up as they are about to pip you to the post is even better! If you ever see this game, buy it. Scour eBay, Gamestation or whatever trade in game shop is in your area. You won't be disappointed.
Plus let's not forget the on-line capacity of this game. Let's not forget that this essential feature of the Wii, XBox 360 and the PS3 was happening back at the dawn of this millenium, courtesy of Sega, courtesy of the Dreamcast.




O.K. what about a £1 Dreamcast bargain? This little baby is the MP3DC. It allowed the potential of the Dreamcast to be explored further, and back in the day if you had your Dreamcast up to your stereo, this neat CD would allow you to store up to a hundred tracks in a personal playlist, meaning that the Dreamcast could DJ at your party...


How fucking great is that?

11 comments:

Animated AF said...

How come you manage to post a topic when I've been trying to post one for four days, only for Blogger to conk out every time? ;_;

gnome said...

He's the Father, Gagaman, and just like a Lizard King he can do anything... Beware!

Oh, and FK, it's very fucking great! Both the mp3 thingy and the post, that is. More very fucking great stuff can be found here:

http://www.dcevolution.net/

Though you'll be definitely needing quite a few empty CDs and something to burn them. Try this (the shareware edition wil do fine):

http://www.padus.com/

fatherkrishna said...

Yes Gnome!!!

I like it! Jim Morrison - the Lzard King - was my absolute hero back in my hippy days. Thankyou for the comment, thank you for the links! I'll be checking them out shortly...

I received my Segata Sanshiro Saturn game the day after I bid for it, (all wonderfully factory sealed) so expect a review as soon as my phone will let me email the photos of the game's on TV screenshots to my computer.

Gagaman(n)! I just got lucky tonight... Blogger usually despises me and sabotages all my posting intentions... It would not be an under estimation to say i have almost cried with frustration at Blogger on occasion... Think of my post as John The Baptist to your post's Messiah... It had to come first to pave the way for greater glory! I could see your post in the DCJY 'edit section' but resisted the temptation to read it 'cos I want to see it in all it's pastel hued illustrated beauty...

Great news! Last Hope has been shipped from Play Asia, the end of Resident Evil is in sight and I scored three FREE City tickets today... (They can't bloody give 'em away...(LOL!) :)

Things are on the up!!!

Anonymous said...

Ach, yer jammy swine, San Francisco Rush 2049 for two measly quid? I've been trying to track down a copy of that for ages. Why's the Gamestation near me so poor compared to those that seem to provide you Junkyarders with so many prime cuts? Grrr...

fatherkrishna said...

Well anonymous, I'll give it to you that on this occasion I was a jammy swine... Particularly as I bought it off Mr. Kahn from Rusholme Consoles (who is to say the least "careful" with his prices e.g. he once sold me a boxed up 'as new' see through VMU for a tenner, then when I went back the next week for another one and he charged me £15 "because it is the last one")... Anyway on this occasion he was VERY generous and sold me that and a TV adaptor for my Sega Game Gear for the paltry sum of £17 the lot...)

gnome said...

Thank you too oh Father, but please lock the Segata game away. You know it's destroying you, dont you?

Tom Charnock said...

San Fran 2049 - a simply amazing game. Why they had to ruin the series with the pathetic LA Rush is beyond me. Also, FK - your views on Daytona are justified; Daytona 2001 deviates more than a little from the original Daytona titles on the Saturn...although you have to give it credit for the graphics...which you have. Erm...not sure where I'm going with this one!

Whilst I'm commenting, I just want to say how pissed off I am about not being able to contribute at the mo and for the last few months. Due to the nature of my new profession, it's really difficult to get time to actually play DC games, buy DC games or scour game shops for hidden gems. DAMMIT!

Great posts though from both FK and the Gagaman! RESPEC' etc.

Anonymous said...

SOunds like Im getting me San Francisco Rush 2049 tonight, if they have it on Hollywood video that is. FatherKrishna do you own MP3DC? I think im going to search for it on ebay hopefully I can find it.

fatherkrishna said...

Gnome, having played the (dare I say it ) limited Sanshiro game, it is now locked away as a bit of fan based must have nostalgia, not much replay value at all for £24...GRRR!!!

Tom, as always great to see our founding father's name gracing these pages at any time. I can only imagine that when you do get time to post the Yard will be regailed with treasures and restored to its former glory...

Mikey! (Hallowed ambassador from Planet Dreamcast Forum BTW) Great to see you here. I do indeed own the MP3 peripheral, and did indeed score it for £1! You get one as part of the package when you buy a Treamcast. However, if I'm honest it will be years before I get round to experimenting with it...

fatherkrishna said...

Oh and good luck on the hunt for SF Rush 2049. It really is a gem...

gnome said...

Father, the Segata Game was a brilliant read!

Oh, and, cheers Tomleece!