10 Very British Games for the Sega Dreamcast

The British are an odd bunch. We're not really a country (look we're not, you have to admit it. It's like someone got a bunch of nations together who don't really like each other all that much, told them the same rich pricks are in charge of them all and everyone was like "oh okay" and went on about their business. Other than the Irish, obviously), but we have contributed far more than our share towards modern culture (partly by being real arseholes to just about everyone else and insisting they consume our culture whilst invading them), have terrible cuisine, terrible weather and a really, really shit flag. Yet the internet (and by "the internet", I mean Americans on the internet) views all of us Brits as a bunch of posh people who live in country estates who apologise to each other every other second; generally a bunch of genial, mostly nice and horribly polite people with bad teeth. Of course, the Europeans don't see us like that, and instead see us for our true selves - a bunch of gammon-faced troublemaking binge-drinking tourists who invented the sport they're now better than us at. And of course by "us" I mean "the English" because somehow the Welsh and Scottish get a free pass from everyone else despite them both sitting right alongside us when we were arseholes to the rest of the world. So yeah, we're not really a very nice country all in all, if you can even call us a country. What has this to do with the Dreamcast? Absolutely nothing - other than the fact that there are several games on this little Japanese 128-bit wonder that try and come close to truly capturing the real essence behind "being British" - and those games are my target for the latest in my ongoing series of lists about Dreamcast things.

So, without further ado, let's take a look at the ten most "cor blimey, fish n' chips, bottla wateh, tea and crumpets, god save the king" games on the Dreamcast.

Disney's 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue

Set mostly in London (aren't all UK-based video games?), this Disney adaptation contains Big Ben, posh English people and dogs. All quintessentially British. The little canine stars travel to various locations either directly modelled after real-life locations (or at least as far as "modelled" can be attributed to a Dreamcast-era movie tie-in) as well as some more generic locations with a British feel. As the game is based on a live action movie and not an actual Disney animated film (which was always a bit of a weird mix), there is some definite artistic license taken, especially as developer Toys for Bob are based in the distinctly un-British state of California, along with Prolific Publishing, who dealt with the Dreamcast port. This all results in a "Disneyfied" Britain that will be familiar to most of us but doesn't quite reflect the hard streets of London or the rubbish-strewn, annoying middle class walker-infested countryside we all love. At times, you half expect Mary Poppins to emerge from a chimney with a hopping Dick Van Dyke singing some ridiculous song behind her. Disney's bastardisation of British culture is something we should all bemoan, especially if you've ever visited the city of Bath and had to contend with the culture-shocked American tourists despondently trudging the streets who thought that everything would be posh, cultured and historic but instead have to contend with crackheads trying to sell shit-stained PS2 games from a carrier bag to people on the street. And that's just Bath - can you imagine their reaction if they visited Swindon?

This is Piccadilly Circus. Sort of. Points for the phone box, but it's slightly less busy than I remember it.

The first appearance of a red double decker in the article. Surely more will come?

The British countryside in all its glory. Sort of.

Britishness Rating: As British as Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Dancing chimney sweeps should, however, make a return.

British Town it Best Represents: London, I suppose. If you're American, anyway. 

10 Great Dreamcast Games That Deserve More Attention

Popularity for the Dreamcast seems to be at fever pitch these days. Not since the launch of the console in its respective territories has demand for the system or reverence for its library been so high, and once again the internet is awash with talk of a 'Dreamcast Mini' in the wake of Retro-bit's announcement that they are working on some new hardware for Sega's back catalogue of consoles. With this in mind, it's also quite evident to gamers such as myself, those of us who were there in the trenches during the late 90s the early 2000s, that a whole new generation of gamers have discovered the Dreamcast in recent years; and intrigued by this also-ran's almost mythical status have seemingly embraced the Dreamcast to continue its legacy into a new era.

The thing is, it's also become apparent through my online interactions with a lot of younger gamers or those who didn't own a Dreamcast back when it was a contemporary system, that the same games get mentioned whenever anyone speaks of the Dreamcast's (admittedly fantastic) library. While we have looked at the dark underbelly of the console's software lineup in the past (go here for a rundown of some of the worst games on the Dreamcast), there are a whole host of other titles that were lost in the avalanche of arcade ports and big-name first party releases. So yeah, while Shenmue, Soul Calibur, Spirit of Speed 1937, Jet Set Radio, Power Stone, Crazy Taxi and the other blockbuster Dreamcast titles bathe in the warm afterglow of a resurgence in Dreamcast popularity, there are many more that rarely - if ever - get a look in.

That's about to change though, as we take the briefest of looks at some of the first and third party Dreamcast games that might not hit the heady heights of the aforementioned titles, but which are great fun and deserve a bit more attention from the discerning Dreamcast owner. This could almost be the basis for a sort of 'alternative' line up should a Dreamcast Mini ever actually become a reality.

Please bear in mind that most of these games are also on other consoles, are mostly quite common, and this is by no means an exhaustive list (it only has ten games on it). Oh, and this is just my opinion. yours may differ, and that's cool. Just hold off calling me a moron on social media until you've read through the list. Then you can call me a moron. Not that anyone actually reads anything before commenting these days...