I have plans to make improvements to the content posted at the video site (or as the case may be now, sites). From now on I'm not just uploading game play footage. I want it to be more than that. How about video reviews? Features such as Top tens? Think Screw Attack, only not as professionally done. Of course this idea might fall flat on it's face if I can't get around to sticking a microphone to me gob, so don't go getting your hopes up. If anyone wants to help out, feel free to contact me.
DC Junkyard animation/video/intro type thing!
I have plans to make improvements to the content posted at the video site (or as the case may be now, sites). From now on I'm not just uploading game play footage. I want it to be more than that. How about video reviews? Features such as Top tens? Think Screw Attack, only not as professionally done. Of course this idea might fall flat on it's face if I can't get around to sticking a microphone to me gob, so don't go getting your hopes up. If anyone wants to help out, feel free to contact me.
DC games that need to be remade on Wii
The Wii is now sitting pretty next to the Dreamcast. Don't they just compliment each other nicely? These two consoles actually seem to have quite a lot in common, actually.
1) Most obviously, they're both white and sleek, very nicely designed consoles. They both also have a lovely glowing light when you turn them on (Only the Dreamcast one actually stays on, whereas the Wii only lights up when you get messages, which is quite spooky when the room's dark).
2) They are both the first time either Sega or Nintendo have stripped their brand name from the name of a system. The Dreamcast (with the exception of America) was only officially known as the Dreamcast, not the Sega Dreamcast, and the same is going on with the Wii, making it a brand of its own. Maybe Nintendo took a leaf from Sega's book?
3) They can both play downloaded NES, SNES, Mega Drive and Turbo Grafix games. Of course, on the Wii it's legal and you have to buy them, and on the Dreamcast it's not and you don't. The Dreamcast has the advantage of being able to play (some) PSone games, and the Wii has the advantage of playing N64 games (without its infamous fog).
4) They both can browse the internet. The Wii's browser is compatible with Flash and YouTube, which is nice. Setting it up is a bit more complicated than the Dreamcast one was, though, when done wireless.
5) They both rock, and dare to be different. So there.
6) They both have Sega making games for them, although in the Wii's case, Sega haven't got enough going for it, hence why I'm making this topic...
Moving on, I've decided to put together a list of the top 5 games on the Dreamcast that I believe would work really well if remade for the Wii, control wise. I may even consider sending Sega some of these ideas, as I'd love to see them get off their lazy arse's and make some games for the Wii other than Sonic and Monkey Ball. The Wii has the potential to be Nintendo's Dreamcast, and I don't mean that by sales fiures, but I mean that by just how pioneering it can be, but if everyone just keeps porting PS2 games over, we will never know.
5: REZ
While I can't see anyone (let alone Sega at the moment) pulling off a sequel to this well, the Wii remote would suit this game mighty well. Pointing at the screen would be your aim, and the B trigger would be the shooter, which you hold down than let go of. Pretty simple control then, but where the remote would be great for this game is the built in speaker and rumble. The game is all about how it responds to your actions in both of these departments. Even if it was just a direct port of the PS2 version, this would be great, as the game is pretty darn rare now too.
4: CHU CHU ROCKET
A no brainier, this. The Wii remote pointer could be used as the cursor, the d-pad could be used to place the arrow blocks, and the B trigger used to remove arrow block. This would be a much faster and simpler control scheme than the system used on the Dreamcast, which would make the multi-payer mode much more frantic and fun. If not a full fledged retail release, this could be a direct port with these new controls available on the Virtual Console (The Dreamcast cast is a very small file size). From a financial point for Sega, this would be instant cash as it would be dirt cheap to develop and publish online. Also, use the online features, like the Dreamcast one did, to exchange levels and play against others, this time without that annoying delay.
3: SPACE CHANNEL 5
Before reading on, watch this Youtube clip of a dancing mini game in Wario Ware Smooth Moves, followed by this YouTube clip of how it's actually played. Now, image this, but with Ulala on the screen instead, with the quality 'Simon says' style game play. Is this not a Wii game just begging to happen? It'd be the ultimate "look-like-a-tit-and-love-it" game. Rather surprisingly, no one has yet tapped into the potential of dance and rhythm games on the Wii (although Konami do have a DDR planned for it). No longer will you need to buy dance mats or press buttons, when you could just dance for real in front of your telly with nothing more than a Wii remote.
What's more, a new chapter of one of Sega's main unique and under used franchise is exactly what the market needs right now. The Dreamcast was Sega at their creative peak, and they really need to start using some of the franchises created during that time more. You have a lot more properties under your belt than Sonic and Monkey ball you know, use them!
2: JET SET RADIO
While this may not seem obvious right now to many, I've thought about an entire control system for this, using both the Remote ad Nun-chuck. The Nun-chuck analogue would be used to move your character, and flicking it upwards would make you jump. Once you land on a rail, the remote could be titled left and right to keep your character in balance. The A button on the remote would be a new punch button, that will help you slow down the police.
But the real fun would come from how you spray graffiti. When making small graffiti while grinding, you simply use the B trigger if they are at your right, and the Z button on the Nun-chuck if to your left. When you approach a wall where you want to make a big graffiti, both the remote and Nun-Chuck become left and right spray cans. That's right, two cans at the same time. Instead of the Dreamcast games' analogue rotating, patterns and shapes will be displayed on the screen which you have to create using either the left or right cans, or both at the same time. I've even made a mock up above.
The Wii is capable of better graphics than an X-Box, so a leap in graphics from JSRF would be no problem. We don't want realism though, Jet Set Radio (like a lot of the games in this chart) is all about style. Forget the futuristic anime style of JSRF, go back to the more cartoon-y style of the Dreamcast original, then take that cartoony-ness up to a new level. How about making everything bouncier, like an old Betty Boop cartoon? This is probably just a cartoon fanatic talking here, but I would really like to see more games really attempt to be cartoon-y, like Florigan Bros and Wind Waker, and Jet Set Radio could be a good place to start. While the other systems are trying to push for the most life like graphics, the Wii could be all about artistic style.
Speaking of which, this may be just me, but I wanna see a game use the fish eye lens effect that was being used in the canceled Sonc X-Theme. maybe Jet Set radio on the Wii could take advantage of it? Distorted perspectives would be very funky.
1: SAMBA DE AMIGO
This should of been obvious from the start. As soon as the controls were revealed for the Wii, this was one of the first games I thought would work for the system. hell, this game is perfect for the Wii. It simply must be done. Not only would the controls be exactly the same, but they may actually be more accurate with the Wii remote if done right. Due to it's high price of the maracas and rarity of the games, not many people got to experience Samba De Amigo, but on the Wii the game could be easily released as a standard £35-40 game that any one could play with the Wii remote. Even if they just directly port the game it could be a hundred times more popular than it ever got the chance to be on the Dreamcast.
While there's nothing quite as daft as shaking two bright red plastic maracas about, a Wii mote and a Nunchuck, or even two Wii motes so you don't get that pesky wire, would be the next best thing. Wih these, the game could be played exactly how it was on the Dreamcast. The built in speaker on the Wii mote could recreate the rattle of the maracas. Take the control system from Ver.2000, all the songs from the Dreamcast games, add bunch of new songs, and possibly even include down-loadable extra songs, as well as a bunch of mini games, and you already have the perfect follow up.
Simply put, Sega could have the new Guitar Hero on their hands with this. The Wii has given them the perfect opportunity to see the full potential of this forgotten franchise. If Sega really want to be seen as a great game developer again, they need to stop publishing out sourced crap and retro collections and make real games again (I won't even go into the recent Sonic 360 disaster). This one would hardly even take a lot of work to develop, and could be an instant profit for the flawing company. Three words, Sega: MAKE. IT. HAPPEN.
The Dreamcast Kid
"Last night I got a visit from one of my favorite customers, the Dreamcast kid. Let me see if I can adequately put to words what this youngster is about:To start he's about 9-10 years old. To understand his personality, you need to feed a child that age a large amount of crack, then give him a six pack of Red Bull, a giant size Hershey bar, a 2-liter of Coke, and a bottle of maple syrup to wash it all down with. Yes, he's that hyper. There are two people browsing the store, and he opens the door and bolts in, cutting through the couple like a linebacker and saying "scuse me" after getting 5 steps past them. He's now at the back wall, literally bouncing up and down looking through the retrogaming racks. He then runs up to the counter and starts yelling at me "do you have any Sega Dreamcasts in?" No, I tell him. "Do you have any Sega Dreamcast VMUs?" No, I tell him, to which he then comes around the counter and points at a pile of memory cards I have waiting to be put out. "There's one! There's one!" Actually it's a N-64 rumble pack, but he swears it's a VMU. "Do you have any Sega Dreamcast power packs? I need one." No, I tell him, only a handful of Dreamcast games back on the wall.Then he does a few more laps around the store...and by now his dad comes in. His dad actualy buys something, but I can't remember what it was, becasue for the whole rest of the time the kid just rapid-fires questions at me, one right after another. "Is that a Plasma TV?""When's Halo 3 coming out?""Do you have any Wii's?""What's your favorite Sega Dreamcast game?" (he always says SEGA Dreamcast)."Can you order any Sega Dreamcast power cords?"I felt like I was on a quiz show - he wouldn't even give me time to answer any of the questions......I fear for my life the day when I actually HAVE some Dreamcast items and the kid really gets excited!"
I recently found this on a website called " A Day In The Life Of Video Games" which you can view here...
It makes no sense whatsoever, but I like it and want to know more about this young man...
I actually think it might be Cartman from South Park, who has a thing about the Dreamcast ... This is a synopsis of "The Dreamcast South Park" taken from Wikipedia...
"The tooth fairy has visited Cartman, leaving him $2. He rushes to the bus stop to share his news with the others. He then unveils his latest plan. If they all combined their lost teeth, the tooth fairy will provide them with enough cash to purchase a Sega Dreamcast. However, Stan and Kyle have lost all their baby teeth, but not Kenny. Cartman tries to get teeth out of his mouth, but it turns out Butters has a loose tooth, and is waiting for the tooth fairy. Cartman decides to steal Butters' tooth, disguised as the tooth fairy, and places it under his own pillow to get money. His mother gets suspicious of the number of teeth he has lost, and calls the local dentist, Dr. Roberts. She decides to come clean with Cartman, and admits that there is no tooth fairy. When Cartman tells Stan and Kyle, Kyle begins to question his own existence. Stan decides that they can still get money for a Sega Dreamcast: they place a tooth under a rich kid's pillow, and steal the money.
They soon find out that there are others who are in the business, and they are taken to the leader, named Loogie (played by Richard Belzer), who has been the leader of the business after his two brothers. His business is keeping track of which houses his gang hits, and having them put teeth under children's pillows, and leave a note for the parents to let them know that their children have lost teeth. Once they have finished the circuit of houses, they go back and collect the money. He gives the four boys a choice, either they work for him and get a 2% cut of the money, or have their penises cut off. They choose to work for him.
The American Dental Association is suspicious about the missing teeth and money, and the leader (Dr. Roberts) concludes that the culprit is a giant half-chicken/half-squirrel that steals either teeth or money from children as they sleep in order to build some kind of giant nest for its genetically superior and potentially dangerous offspring, and has at least a mild understanding of algebra. Tom Foley, another member believes that the missing teeth and money are due to a black-market tooth racket that he has seen before in Montreal, but nobody believes him, and even believe that Montreal is a fictional place.
The boys get rather wealthy from the tooth racket, but Cartman decides to form their own group and make more profits. When Loogie learns about this, he decides to murder Kenny by drowning him. A fake news report goes on about a child named Billy who needs $600 for a bone marrow transplant, and has recently lost a tooth, but his parents plan to leave him the money. This turns out to be a trap set by Dr. Foley, to prove the ADA wrong. Although the report was a trap, Billy did have the said illness, and did require the money. Cartman and Loogie fall into the trap, but eventually get caught. Kyle, meanwhile, disappears while questioning his own existence, but soon reappears and alters reality, scaring the police, the ADA and Loogie's gang away. Loogie decides that the fall of his empire is a good thing, and ends the tooth racket. Meanwhile, Billy is saved as he discovers the "Tooth Fairy"'s money under his bed, and happily takes it to his parents."
I'd post some video but the South Park people and Youtube are being a bit shit at the moment... They've taken all the South Park episodes off the 'net...
Father Krishna's Big One...
So there you go! It's there in all it's glory! I've tucked it all away now, and I won't be getting it all out again for a while... Sorry the photos are shit, but I took them all on my phone. Anyway, if you're confused by any blurred image then I will be happy to clarify what that shit is... Also sorry about the squashed up nature of the post, that was Blogger not me!!! See ya!
Dreamcast Supporter Wronged By Next Gen Bullies!!!
Dreamcast Delights... Daytona USA 2001 vs. SF Rush 2049
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?