Lost and Found

I've been doing some Google Archaeology (TM) today and have discovered some intriguing stuff...
I know I've mentioned the Dreamcast version of Half-Life in the past (see Profile), but according to Wikipedia - the online encyclopaedia, there was another pretty decent first person shoot 'em up destined for the Dreamcast...Halo!

It's true - go here to see for yourself. I loved the original Halo on the Xbox - it was one of the greatest games I've ever experienced. Halo 2 was aaalright, but not as impressive as the prequel in my extremely humble opinion. This is pure speculation, but I suspect that the DC version of Halo was cancelled (if indeed it ever got past the planning stage) due to the failure of the system - but to be brutally honest, the move from the DC to the Xbox was probably the best thing that could have happened to it. As much as I adore the Dreamcast, I just can't see the hardware being able to produce as smooth, seamless and graphically astounding title as the Xbox did.

Anyway, Wikipedia is worth checking out if only to glimpse some of the other titles that never emerged. Further to those, I remember being pretty excited about the Dreamcast's answer to Goldeneye - Take The Bullet (top left). I read about it in a mag...then nothing. Another such game was Picasso (bottom left), a cat burgler simulator with impressive graphics and interesting stealth elements...but alas, that too vanished without a trace. How appropriate...

Finally, what the hell happened to that good looking truck racer 4X4 Evolution?! Answers on a postcard.

Mags, Games & Buffoons

Over the years I have squandered a pretty large sum of cash on gaming periodicals. This is evident by the fact that I now have in my possesion something like 200 mags that chronicle my gaming tastes over the last 15 years. This journey of games-related prose begins in the early days of Amiga Power, Sega Power and Games World, continues through the Golden Age of the Saturn with Mean Machines Sega and Saturn Power, ventures into a land of unimaginable gaming greatness with N64 Magazine and then continues further with Dreamcast Magazine. The quality then takes something of a nosedive as we approach the more current mags, but I live in the hope that some day the Amiga Power team will reform - not unlike the Blues Brothers - and embark on a car chase through games land, crushing Nazis and saving the print mag industry from a slide into oblivion...

However, I digress.

The reason for this post is to showcase some of the Dreamcast Mags that I have been able to recover for the 'Yard. Here's a rundown of the different mags:

Official Dreamcast Mag; Dreamcast Magazine; DC-UK; Dreamcast
Monthly and the ubiquitous Mr Dreamcast. I also have a large number of Dreamcast launch related mags and for this reason have accepted them in (see Total Control and EGM in the above picture). And while they are obviously now defunct, there are some excellent reviews and features, although Official Dreamcast Mag's feature on the future of gaming (in the year 2050, no less) that still features Sega Hardware was perhaps a little optimistic...However, this buffoon (above) obviously still managed to glean some joy from it.

The 'Yard's games quota has also taken another boost - the new arrivals are Unreal Tournament and Rush 2049. Unreal is a wierd one, it's intended for multiplayer action but online gaming was left out for the PAL release. This is now irrelevant though due to many of the DC online servers being shut down and I don't have a Dreamcast Broadband Adaptor anyway (thanks to Diogo for the pointer) - dial up is sooo 1999, darling. Rush 2049 on the other hand is more of the same from the Rush series - big, bold, garish, FUN racing. Superb.

Reviews will follow when I get round to it. Shcnaarf.

Mr Newton I Presume...?

Today was a wierd one. An equal doseage of good and bad luck...and a brilliant advert for the remarkable (and previously scoffed at) claim that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. First, the Good - I picked up Ferrari F355 AND Star Wars Episode 1: Racer for the frankly unbelievable price of 79p. Yes, SEVENTY NINE PENCE STIRLING.

Granted, there was a bit of multiple Chu Chu Rocket/Toy Racer exchange action going on, but 79p? Awesome. If I'd been in Tesco and not Gamestation, I could have probably only got a Muller Fruit Corner and a can of 7up for that. Here's a picture of my reciept, with a strategically placed highlight to show the cash tendered. Apologies for the quality of the picture, but that's what passes for Macro when you pay £40 for a camera. Oh yeah - secondly, and perhaps slightly less important than anything Dreamcast related...I've got a job. Woo and indeed Hoo.


Now for the bad. My trusty mountain bike was stolen...

I wouldn't mind, but it had TWO thick chains securing it to a designated cycle park and it was outside a bank with LOADS of people walking past. This leads me to conclude that even though people exiting and entering the bank clearly saw this scumbag chewing through my chains with a pair of bolt cutters, nobody did anything about it. Why are people today such gutless fucking bitches?! If only Red Dog was around.

And to add insult to injury, Colin FUCKING Murray - that pretentious FUCK off Radio 1 (left), has managed to smarm his way into presenting Channel 5's football coverage. IS THERE NO JUSTICE?!?!?!

It's Official

Seeing as I am now an Official UK: Resistance Sega News Scout, I thought it only proper to emblazon my blog with this little beauty:

I had previously posted it fraudlently but was discovered and quickly removed it before the authorities found out. However, it's back - and the 'Yard will wear its badge with pride. Much Obliged Cmdr.