Dreamcast Magazine Issue 10

Released on 20th June 2000, Dreamcast Magazine issue 10 was the biggest edition so far and weighed in at 130 pages of Dreamcast-related goodness. Another edition stuffed full of previews and reviews, this issue is also a goldmine of information on unreleased software and hardware; and the cover hints at a free music CD.

There are previews of Independence War 2, Star Wars Super Bombad Racing, Colin McRae 2.0, The Road to El Dorado, Roswell Conspiracies, Castlevania Resurrection and Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 2. There's also a brief look at the Bleem! for Dreamcast controller adapter and a news snippet about a possible port of Metal Gear Solid 2. Other features include a look at the various Sega Parks dotted throughout the UK and a fairly huge Samba De Amigo review.

Guest Article: The Great Serial Connector Hunt

Luke Benstead is a man on a mission - and that mission is to get the world's Dreamcasts back online without the need for a broadband adapter through his DreamPi project. We've covered DreamPi here at the 'Yard a few times and even had Luke on the DreamPod to talk with him about his masterplan. Luke isn't just interested in the online aspects of the Dreamcast though,  as he's now embarked on a side quest to create new system link and coders' cables. It's a grand vision and will hopefully end the drought and inflated prices that these items command. There's just one tiny stumbling block...

The Dreamcast is a highly extensible system shipping with more ports and connectors than most consoles. This extendability shows itself in the sheer number of unusual peripherals that are available or were announced. Everything from Zip drives to console link cables, from maracas to karaoke units were released or under development at some point; and since the demise of the console these extra connector ports have allowed modders to create peripherals such as Dreamcast-compatible hard drives and SD card readers.

Five Dreamcast Games Better Than Street Fighter V

It’s no secret that the launch of Street Fighter V has been more than a little disappointing; an unfinished story mode, no arcade mode, a broken online component and the implementation of a quite frankly scary pay-to-unlock system.

While 'real' journalists have mostly rated the game highly, giving it the benefit of the doubt and assuming that because the core gameplay is solid, it will one day live up to their review scores, many fans have been extremely vocal in expressing their displeasure at the direction in which Capcom has taken the series. After spending a few days with the game myself, I’d mostly agree with them.

Probably not the best place to practice your drumming.

My first impressions were somewhat positive. The core gameplay and mechanics are certainly up there with the best in the series (if perhaps a little too similar to SFIV), but unfortunately it's been released in a drastically unfinished state. The general presentation and structure feels more like a free-to-play MOBA than a new entry to one of gaming’s biggest and longest running franchises. That’s all fine and dandy with me, many MOBAs are of high quality, but where they crossed the line was by charging full retail price. Capcom, you can’t have your cake and eat it. Either market and price the game as a free-to-play entry, or wait until the game is complete and release it in a finished form that warrants the price tag.

Shenmue. A Retraction

Yesterday we reported on the recently released music album Shenmue. A Love Letter. You may have noticed that this article has now been removed, and that's because new facts have come to light regarding the legalities of this work. According to this thread over at Shenmue Dojo, several of the tracks do not belong to credited composer Patrem and were used without the consent of the original artists. Indeed, the album features performances by pianist Reuben Kee who sadly died in 2007.

"Hell no I didn't give him permission [to use my tracks]. If I didn't think trying to profit off Sega's properties was the dumbest idea ever, I'd be selling these myself."

 - LanDC

Furthermore, some of the tracks simply appear to be slightly slowed or sped up versions of tracks ripped straight from the Shenmue game with no permission from Sega. While we have had our own wrists slapped by Sega for selling the Ultimate Guide (I'm just mentioning that here so we don't look like massive hypocrites!), we cannot condone somebody profiting from others' hard work (especially when those performers are no longer around to cry plagiarism). Thanks to Skilljim, LanDC, Sega Scream and the other members of the Shenmue Dojo forum for bringing this to our attention.

DreamPod - Episode 27

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Music in this episode is from Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage and Draconus/Dragons Blood. You can find out more about Tony Jay here. If the the Coleco Chameleon story interests you, you can find the original AtariAge forum thread here and the Pat the NES Punk YouTube discussion here. If you like what you've heard on this episode of DreamPod, please consider giving us an iTunes review!

Le$ - Dreamcast Mixtape

Well this is pretty cool. Seems like US rap artist Le$ has something of a soft spot for Sega's final console, having recently released a mixtape of new material titled 'Dreamcast.' Furthermore, every track on the album is named after a familiar game and most of them are referenced in the lyrics too.

It's not the first time a rapper has drawn inspiration from the Dreamcast - we reported on Eminem's sampling of Soul Calibur on his track Hellbound way back in the early 2000s. Don't take our word for it though, check out the mixtape below (there are explicit lyrics so listen at your own discretion):

Rap isn't for everyone I know, but I quite like it personally and Dreamcast is perfect chill out music to play in the background while playing on your favourite console...which is an extra bonus if your favourite console happens to be the Dreamcast! Track 4 (GTA 2) is my personal track of choice and if you like what you hear, the full mixtape can be downloaded for free here. I'm just surprised there aren't tracks called Spirit of Speed 1937, Urban Chaos or Project Justice: Rival Schools 2. That last one in particular just rolls of the tongue.

Source: Rapwave

Turn Your PS4 Into A Dreamcast

Some time ago we featured the awesome PS4 controller from Extreme Consoles that's painted to match the Dreamcast's colour scheme. It's a brilliant idea and if I had money coming out of my ears I'd probably buy one. Sadly, I live in reality and cannot justify the cost of a month's food shopping on a bit of plastic. However, there's now a cheaper way to lavish some Dreamcast love on your shiny PlayStation 4 - the Dreamcast Isoskin:

Skins for consoles are nothing new, and there are a whole host of these things available for the PS4, but this is the first time I've seen a Dreamcast-themed one. It even comes with decals for the controllers, although I'm not sure how long the skins would last under moderate use. Still, for £14.99 this looks like a worthy and affordable alternative to Extreme Consoles' premium controller mod.

The Dreamcast Isoskin is available from the eBay listing here.