1UP's Dreamcast Memorial


9.9.99, never forget...

It's almost upon us, dear friends, that hallowed date that marks the 10th anniversary of our favourite console, and 1UP's decided to join the party with this neat article appropriately entitled "9.9.99, A Dreamcast Memorial". It's nothing new, just a retelling of the system's birth, death and live after death. Still, worth a read by any DC fan.

Voting stage two is up! Three more days!

The main poll of the User Top 100 is closed, and now we have some polls up for the games that came in with a joint amount of points. What we need now is for you vote vote for one in each poll only, to decide which should be above the other. These games are:

With joint 160 votes:
MDK 2 vs Soul Reaver : Legacy Of Kain

With joint 140 votes:
King of Fighters 2002 vs Unreal Tournament

With joint 119 votes:
King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 vs Under Defeat vs Worms : Armageddon / World Party

With joint 106 votes:
Blue Stinger vs Fur Fighters

With joint 88 votes:
Cosmic Smash vs Fire Pro-wrestling D vs Puyo Puyo Fever vs Record Of Lodoss Wars vs Sonic Shuffle vs Yu Suzuki GameWorks (phew)

With joint 87 votes:
Illbleed vs Pen Pen Tricelon

With joint 81 votes:
D2 vs Spiderman

With joint 77 votes:
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure vs Wacky Races

Only a week of voting to go! We need your clips!

The Top 100 Dreamcast poll is close to closing, only one more week to go! The votes have been starting to slow down a bit, and there is still a lot of games with the same amount of votes as each other, so at the end new polls will be set up to get peoples favorites out of those.

Also editing together this top 100 video is going to be quite a mammoth task, so if you have any clips of you talking about your favorite games, please send theme my way as soon as possible so I can add them into the videos. Any interesting clips are welcome at this stage, seeing as I have so far...erm...none at all. I'm also going to need footage of some Dreamcast games I don't own or haven't got very good footage of (like for example from further in a game than just the first level), if any one can provide some that'd be great:

MDK2
NBA 2K Series
NFL 2K Series
Phantasy Star Online

Fur Fighters
Grandia II
Illbleed
Ikaruga
Record Of Lodoss Wars
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis
Resident Evil Code Veronica
Space Channel 5 and Part 2
Sega GT
Seaman
Soul Reaver : Legacy Of Kain
Star Wars Episode One : Racer
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2
Worms : Armageddon / World Party

The Dreamcast is very popular. A quick Video.

Well yet another gaming event has come and gone and yet again I was not able to get any decent video at all.

I really wanted to get some great footage of all the people having fun messing around with the Dreamcast but I did not get chance due to all the people milling around. I did try to interview some people but I only talked to like two people before I had to go back to managing the event.

I figured I would show off what little stuff I did manage to shoot (Some of it is Horrible Quality).




Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wPPa_TJ6KQ
DailyMotion.
http://www.dailymotion.com/user/Blandco/video/xa6wfv_dreamcast-at-the-video-game-tourny_videogames

I would like to note that the girl who talked about the Dreamcast won the whole tournament and pretty much destroyed everyone else. So I suppose my comments about there being very few female Dreamcast fans have been proved false.

I also am going to make a video promoting the top 100 event coming up and I hope to generate some more interest in it. I am glad that Gagaman(n) has gotten the ball rolling on this. I was considering doing some special stuff for 9/9/09 but I have been lazy as of late.

Video about the Top 100 CountDown on 9/9/09



Two videos in two days? That's not like me! This has been put up on Youtube to not only get more people voting, but also to see if we can get some quotes and even fan videos to add to the Top 100 count down videos that I will start uploading on 9/9/09 and most likely continue on into that week. If you've ever seen the Channel 4 Top 100 shows I'm going for a similar format to that.

DCJY InsideOut: GagaMan's Collection 2009 Update



You might remember my video from last June/July showing my Dreamcast collection. Well, it's changed quite a bit since then, so here's a new video showing what's new. I mostly ramble about unusual Japanese games I've picked up, some of which I'd like to Rummage review some time.

Still not sure about Wind & Water? Try out the demo!

I know there are some that are still not sure wherever or not they want to buy Yuan Works Indie Dreamcast release Wind & Water: Puzzle Battles. First of all watch my Rummage review, then if that intrigues you head over to DCEvolution who now have a demo download which you can burn and try out on your DC. Then hurry up and grab it if you like it, because there's no way of knowing how long the game will available!

There has been quyite a lot of activity going on over at DCEvolution lately, like DreamMP3 which comes with the Dreamcast EP by I have a Dreamcast on it, a demo of Goat Store's Inhabitants (another neat indie puzzle game), and other homebrew downloads.

Manchester Videogame Expo

Following on from this post, I thought I would share my brief experience at the expo at the Urbis. I went back in May I think (can't remember) and was disappointed with the lack of SEGA memories.

All in all, it was pretty good though. I was lucky to go outside of the summer holidays, so no children were about. Playing the original wipEout brought back a few memories.

There should have been more Sonic material there... he was (is??) a massive gaming icon.


I did think this peice of art was fantastic though.

What really struck me was the lack of Saturn and Dreamcast information. The Saturn was a massively failure against the Playstation and should not be forgotten. The Dreamcast was SEGA going out with a bang - and should not be forgotten either. I was upset that I had more of a retro collection in my apartment than at an exhibition... but such is life.


On the pin-board I noticed this lovely note, so I had to take a photo of it. "What about the Dreamcast" indeed, my good friend.

Dreamcast User Top 100: Vote for your Favorite Games!

As I suggested in the comments some time ago, here's something I've been wanting to set up a big event for the Dreamcast's 10th Anniversary since it's American launch (because 9.9.99 is the date everyone remembers) and here it is. The poll was so big that instead of placing it on the side here where it would look rather ridiculous I've set up a temporary blog for it. You can vote for as many or as few games as you like, and you can also edit your picks too. The poll is open for 30 days.

Take note just reading through the list may take you a while, so wherever you want to pick every game you like or just your absolute favorites is up to you. There's 385 games to vote for spilt across eight polls (because it errored out when I had it as one large poll). That's almost the entire consoles library, Japanese, PAL, American, even indie releases are all included.

The poll will close on 4th September and the results of the top 100 (and the bottom 20, and maybe even the entire 385 if there is enough demand for it, will be revealed on good old 9/9/09. I really hope this becomes the definitive poll of everyone's favorite Dreamcast games anywhere, so the more people who vote the better. Get stuck in!

Cut Away

You know how I like to rape other websites for DC related shite? Well, I've been at it again. This time, it's our old friend Unseen64. Unseen is one of my favourite websites because it documents unreleased games across the whole spectrum of consoles, and it's updated quite regularly. Now, we all know about the unreleased stuff like Castlevania and the cancelled DC ports of Colin McRae Rally 2.0 and Max Payne, but Unseen64 has produced info on a title I've never heard of before:


It's called Cut Away, and whilst the only info they have on this mysterious title is an advertisement, its always interesting to learn of hitherto unknown games for our beloved undead console. From the promotional artwork shown, it appears that Cut Away may have been an FMV adventure in the style of D or Torico, but after a quick snoop around on Google I found this article giving more info about how the game may have played:


"As a third person adventure, the gameplay will unsurprisingly be similar to both Capcom's Resident Evil and Pulse's Undercover. While specifics are still being kept under wraps, it's clear that the story will take place in San Francisco. Plenty of CG movies are promised, as is an intriguing story to keep you on your feet. Speaking of which, bombs have been planted across the city by terrorists. As the hero, it's your job to stop them from causing complete and utter chaos, whatever the cost may be!"


Sounds a little too much like a press release to be truly helpful, but then again it's the only real info I could find on this highly enigmatic piece of vapourware. Curiouser and curiouser...

Isosceles

Apologies for my recent lack of input here at the Junkyard. I've been having a major malfunction on the broadband front and as such haven't been able to get anywhere near the internet for at least a fortnight. Sure, there are internet cafes dotted about, but I'd rather lick the decomposing innards of a CJD-infested cow cadaver than pay £1.50 for twenty minutes of shit-slow Netscape Navigator. But I digress. Last week I spent a few days in my home town of Manchester and I was both surprised and delighted to discover that a museum in the city centre was holding an interactive exhibition detailing the rise of the videogame.

This exhibition (aka Videogame Nation) was being held in what's known as the Urbis - a glass isosceles triangle of truly grotesque proportions:


Urbis, yesterday. Sans legions of skaters usually found outside.

Anyway, I grabbed a mate and went to check it out. It cost £3 to get in and was overrun by shouting kids, but it was quite a decent little exhibition - indeed I was initially impressed by the first display case I was greeted by because it housed copies of long defunct games mags and consoles of yesteryear. So I wandered around, played on a NES and an Amstrad GX4000, posted a lap record on WipEout and even had a quick bash on Banjo Kazooie...but something was niggling at me. And as I approached the end of the trip down memory lane, it hit me in the face like a massive wet fish swung by an irate cybernetic clown: The was no mention whatsoever of the Dreamcast, or for that matter, the Saturn!


As such, I was forced to draw a Dreamcast logo on a piece of paper and pin it to the comments board on my way out, along with the caption: "Dreamcast - gone but not forgotten!"

The Dreamcast Junkyard: still spreading the good word. I suppose I should've written "All Hail the Undead Console," but you can't have it all, eh?!

Build your own Dreamcast (out of paper)

Engadget had a neat little article about papercraft that included a link to a papercraft Dreamcast from the Cubeecraft website.

(Note that this pic is too small. You have to go to the cubeecraft website link above to get the proper one.)

So now you can make a paper Dreamcast for your office, dorm room or school locker and EVERYONE will know what a Dreamcast fan you are.

Open Sonic Beta for the Dreamcast has been released.

Pulled from DCEmu.
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=228634

"Open Sonic is a free open-source game based on the "Sonic the Hedgehog" universe. It introduces a different style of gameplay called cooperative play, in which it's possible to control 3 characters simultaneously. Unlike most similar games, Open Sonic provides a greater level of interaction between the player and the levels. It's more than just a jump'n'run; the user must come up with some strategy in order to get through the levels." (Open Sonic)

You can read more about Open Sonic HERE.

There is also an open version of The Great Giana Sister game.
http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/openggs-0-93-dc-giana-game-appears-on-dreamcast-228000.html

Note that this is based off the original not the sequel that is currently being worked on, Giana's Return.

Night(mare)s Into Dreams

This how sad/pathetic/gay my subconscious is: last night I dreamt that I went into a charity shop and found a massive stack of mint condition Dreamcast games hidden in a corner. There were copies of Rez and Resident Evil 3 (?) as well as bizarre games in PAL boxes that I'm certain don't actually exist. I bought a shit-load of them and then got into a faded red bubble car, drove to a factory and then got locked in said factory by an old lady who wanted to see my security pass. That I'd conveniently misplaced earlier in the dream. But I digress. What I actually meant to tell you is that I've got a new game! Well, new-ish. I actually got it a few weeks ago - at roughly the same time that Imperial Star Destroyer towed the McLaren joypad across the galaxy and dropped it off in orbit over Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lock up your daughters, it's Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000! Yeehaw!

Motorbikes! With big spiky tires and blokes called 'Chad' or 'Cory' riding them! RADI-FUCKING-CAL! Yes, Supercross 2000 is one of ill-fated Acclaim's final games and it's based on the real-life sport of rich Americans riding pimped-up scooters over mounds of mud, shit and human entrails. Other titles that have tried to emulate this intriguing past-time include Motocross Madness on the PC and Excitebike on the good old '64...but the similarities between those two games and Supercross 2000 begin and end with the subject matter.


You see, dear and appreciated reader, where Motocross Madness and Excitebike are the shining beacons at the very pinnacle of the motocross genre, Supercross 2000 surely represents the decimated basecamp that has been over-run by a shape-shifting alien that not even a beardy Kurt Russell can stop. A game of truly bargain-basecamp proportions (snigger!).


Now, lets not get too ahead of ourselves comrades: in time honoured fashion, I'll gladly slice open the bowel of this particular cadaver and spread the contents across your grandma's finest tablecloth in an attempt to sift through the shite and half-digested kebab and give you low-down on the features of the game:

  • Music by The Offspring (surely the most DC-featured band of all time?)
  • Clothing by No Fear
  • 16 Tracks (8 indoor, 8 outdoor)
  • 8 Riders
  • 125 and 250cc modes
  • Erm...
So, there's a fair bit to JMSC2000 then. Lots of options, a decent number of tracks, a track editor, rider creator, suitable soundtrack...surely it's a recipe for greatness? Yes. A great steaming turd, that is. Why? Well, just like in Roadsters it seems like the developers had a whole host of great ideas and had this brilliant game planned and then they forgot to code it properly. It looks like a PS1 game. The animation of the riders isn't actually in the game code (I'd imagine). The frame rate is worse than one of those Disney cartoons from 1903 (or whenever). Basically, it stinks like a dead sheep that's been used (for several summer months) as a sexual plaything by Sloth from Goonies. In fact, going back to the Atari Jaguar, Supercross 2000 kind of reminds me of this:



Now compare it to this:



There are some definite similarities if you ask me, and even though the Supercross 2000 video is of the N64 version, the DC one is identical in every way.

Not a great game, then - but still a damn sight better than that reverse bowel movement more commonly known as Ducati World. If you want two-wheeled action on your DC, your best bet is Suzuki Alstare/Redline Racer...and even the bike sections from Head Hunter are better. Still, imagine if Sega had released a port of Manx TT or a Hang On reboot. Now that's a dream worth having...

You have probably already heard this. Dux + Wind and Water bundle sale

Yeah. Late news again.

But still there might be one or two of you out there who has not heard about this.

Redspot games is doing a bundle on the new shooter Dux and the new puzzle game Wind and Water. €37.95 or $51.55.

http://www.redspotgames.com/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=9

Pretty nice. Not a huge savings or anything but some people might be interested just for the convenience factor. They claim it's the cheapest bundle price on the Internet and I personally cannot prove them wrong.

So yeah if you were on the fence about buying these games then this might be the time to grab some copies.

Pulled from Sega Nerds.

(Also the Wind and Water has a neat little tribute to the Dreamcast on their site!)

Biggest DC Collection on Ebay ever: SOLD.

Remember a few months back when I mentioned this insane Ebay Buy It Now consisting of over 500 mostly sealed Japanese Dreamcast games? Turns out I kept it on watch for a laugh to see if anyone would dare to buy it for it's 7,500 Euro asking price (no best offer option either). Well, I just noticed it 'ended' which it's said a few times from not selling over the 30 days each time it's been listed, but this time it says "sold".

Holy shite, who is this Dreamcast collecting nutter who just splashed out on this gigantic assortment of GD-Roms? Are they going to be played? Left to continue gathering dust in their sealed state? Used as bricks for a Dreamcast house utopia? Whoever just bought this: please get in contact with us and let us know please, so we can bow down to your superior/rich/insane self!

GameDeals Episode 4 - The Game-Files



I got to admit, this is one of my least-favourite ScrewAttack shows, but this one episode is just awesome. Maybe because it parodies one of the greatest tv shows of all time, or maybe just because it's all about the Dreamcast! You decide...

Anyway, enjoy.