Makeshift Philosophizing

Word, people. Christ - it's been a while eh?! And, as I've stated many a time in the anals (or is it annals?) of time, Father Krishna and The Gagaman have done a fucking amazing job of keeping the Dreamcast Junkyard the world's - nay - the Multiverse's premier source for Dreamcast related...erm...stuff. And to them, I doff my cap in a fashion not seen since, ooh, 1876. In London. With mist and shit swirling around gas powered street lamps. But ENOUGH!

In time honoured fashion I ask the question - WHY? Why do I grace these hallowed pages today? Today of all days? Well, the answer is like a fat bloke's stomach upon taking a seat after a particular strenuous trip to the fridge for more food - multi-layered. Firstly, I would like to announce that today - Thursday - is the day before Good Friday. And if you happen to be classed as Proletariat, tomorrow signals a day off work. Huzzah!

I understand there's also some religious guff that goes with Good Friday, but I'll be damned if I know what it is. Chortle. The point I'm trying to make is that with days off comes free time - and free time generally goes hand in hand with drinking more beer...and more time to play on your Dreamcast! See - I told you there was a point!

I don't know this Bob guy, but I like him already...

More importantly, yesterday saw something of a mini milestone for me - my first Dreamcast related purchase in over 6 months!!! Buying DC games used to be something of a formality for me - every time I stepped through the wierd portal on the front of the house (more commonly known as a 'front door'), I sort of knew that I'd be returning with something with a blue swirl on it. Even if I was going for a pint, I'd be on the lookout for Dreamcast shit, and those who remember the 'Dreamcast in pub toilet' episode can testify to that.

Sad? You bet you're ass.

However, In these turbulent times, such frivolity is no longer possible. And that's why yesterday's purchase of Stunt GP for the incredible price of £3.00 is so important. Have we mentioned Stunt GP before? Not sure, but basically it's Re-Volt on steroids. With Stunts. And not set in real-life locations. And without the joypad-smashingly frustrating controls.

OK, the only thing it's got in common with Re-Volt is that it's got RC cars in it:

See - they're doing stunts by driving round the curly T! Amazing!

If only all multi-storey car parks were such fun

Two wheels = more points

Whoever took these shots is shit - they're always in 6th place

Rather than have you racing through houses and super markets like in Re-Volt, Stunt GP's locales are limited to specially built tracks that look as if they're made from bits of scalextric, replete with banked corners, slaloms, tunnels and the obligatory jumps from which you gain 'air' and perform the titular stunts. All well and good. And that's not me being sarcastic either - Stunt GP is a brilliant game, with superb (albeit slightly sparse) graphics and highly manouverable vehicles. Put simply: It's a fun little game made even better by the fact that I only paid three quid for it. The only thing I thought strange though (and the same thing goes for Re-Volt), was that if these are supposed to be radio controlled cars...where are the people controlling them? Think about that one. It's a bit like that "if a tree falls and no-one hears it...does it make a noise?" thing innit. Or maybe just for me. Moving swiftly on...

I looked in my hotmail inbox this morning and saw an email from a familiar name. It was Gary from Dreamcasting. You may remember that we featured Gary's awesome collection of DC paraphernalia quite some time ago (probably about a year ago, actually), and also the fact that he's yer man if you want to play Half Life, Propellor Arena, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (whatever that is), Flintstones etc on your Dreamcast.


Well, now he's set up an online photo album thingy where you can admire his artistic handywork when it comes to creating bespoke game boxes and manuals. And more importantly you can contact him and order the damned things. If anyone gets Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, be sure to let us know what it's all about. Cadillacs and...er...Dinosaurs, I'd imagine, but the only Cadillacs and Dinosaurs this gamer can remember is the one that was portrayed as a screenshot on the back of the Atari Jaguar console box. Very Intriguing indeed.

Email here for more information

Anyway, until December 2010 (probably), this is Tomleecee signing off.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah the legend that is Tomleecee returns, you should blog more, where's your dreamcast pride!

Tom Charnock said...

lol, cheers but 'legend' is a bit strong! Although, I do wear my Dreamcast pride in the form of a blue swirl tatooed on my left cheek.

Pierre LaStank said...

Tom! Nice to see that you've returned. Welcome back.

Anonymous said...

Nice post Tom. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was one 'em CPS2 arcade sidescrolling beat 'em jobbies wan't it? You got to drive cars and stuff at the start of certain levels as I recall.

And I know what you mean about getting some Dreamcast love on this day of our Lord. Am slightly stoned and just come off playing Rez. Is it only me who can't seem to get past the boss rush at the end of stage 5?

Animated AF said...

I got my hands on that canceled Flintstones game just this week. Your not missing much, just a very bland Mario kart clone that even makes South Park Rally look good.

fatherkrishna said...

Yip! I've been in touch with Gary and hopefully Half Life DC will be with me soon!

And no Tom legend is not a bit strong! Without you, no DCJY.

Without that, my world would be a lot poorer place!

Great post!

Animated AF said...

Why buy the unreleased games when you can torrent them for free?

I had Stunt GP for a little. It wasn't bad, but not a touch on Re-Volt.

fatherkrishna said...

If you can do that stuff, it's all good. If like myself, you're a little technologically challenged, then people like Gary offer a great service. You younger types can do anything you want on computers, and that is fab!

However, compare ICT skills with fixing your car. Some people can mess about with engines and get it sorted. Me? I have to let the experts tinker and I'm quite happy to pay for their help.

Same shit on the computer front!I'll willingly pay for an ICT mechanic to provide me with things I couldn't fix for myself...

Animated AF said...

Fair enough, but how much is this guy charing for this stuff? Nice that he puts them in official-like box art.

fatherkrishna said...

Gagaman(n) I just received my Half Life today. You couldn't tell it apart from a regular Dreamcast game. It comes in a PAL DC box with glossy front and back DC covers, plus a manual! It completely looks the genuine article and it cost about £13! I paid approximately that for Skies Of Arcadia the other day, so considering Half Life was never released for the DC, it is amongst my most prized games!

Animated AF said...

£13? Ouch, I don't quite see how it would all come to that much. The CD-R will of cost around a pound, get a crappy game for a couple pounds for it's jewel case..well, I'm guessing the bulk of that price could be on printing but I'd rarely pay that for a proper game, let alone a burnt one.

Benjamin Murbach said...

I cant find this gary guy....his email doesnt work/recieve emails...does anyone know where i can find him??