Alice Dreams Tournament Release Date Slips, Online Leaderboards & New Play Mode Revealed

May 22nd saw the release of a new update from the team working on the hotly anticipated Dreamcast Bomberman clone Alice Dreams Tournament. This update brings news both good and not so good; with the latter being that the game will no longer make its intended June shipping date. Reasons cited for this delay include the implementation of VMU functionality, the production of the 'making of' video, and other small bug fixes:

"It is important to be honest and tell you that we will not be ready in June. We still have promises to realize or terminate: the additional VMU interactions, the 'making of' and other small fixes."

 - Alice Dreams Website

While this is disappointing, it is commendable that Alice Dreams are being totally honest and transparent. While no firm release date has been given, I did reach out via Facebook to state that I'd really like to have the game playable at The Dreamcast Junkyard's stand at this years Play Expo Manchester in October, and they assured me it would be ready by then...so that's something at least.

Southampton Game Fest 2016 Show Report

Sunday 22nd May saw the second annual Southampton Game Fest, a celebration of all things gaming held in aid of Southampton Hospital Charity. Held at the maritime city's Grand Harbour Hotel and in the shadow of the world's largest cruise liner (no, really - the thing was docked literally across the road from the hotel's main entrance), Game Fest brought a taste of gaming and geek culture to the historic home of the RMS Titanic.

Harmony of the Seas. This picture doesn't convey the sheer size of the vessel.

The Dreamcast Junkyard was there in collaboration with RetroCollect and brought a decidedly old-skool theme to proceedings, decking out the entrance to the event with a number of retro systems. Megadrives, Neo-Geos, Nintendo 64s, PlayStation 2s, Saturns and - of course - Dreamcasts were all laid out for the general public to experience. The event was a total success and raised hundreds of pounds for the charitable cause it was held to support; and there were plenty of non-retro attractions too. A FIFA 16 tournament, a Bomberman tournament held by Games You Loved (from which I was eliminated in the semi final by a 10 year old!), a cosplay masquerade, traders selling all kinds of gaming paraphernalia and a whole host of indie developers showing off their new projects were just some of the things punters could take advantage of.

Fur Fighters' Hidden Artwork

OK, so this isn't really the type of thing you'd call Nathan Drake in for but I only discovered it by accident. My laptop just happened to be on a desk next to my big carry case of Dreamcast games the other day so I decided to mindlessly pop a few of the GDs into the optical drive to see if there was anything interesting in the way of bonus content on them.

I was aware that some games (such as Shenmue and Shenmue 2) do have folders of images and other bonuses on them, but I didn't know about Fur Fighters. If you're unfamiliar with the name, Fur Fighters is a third person shooter from Bizarre Creations and is a rather excellent little game...and if you put the disc in your computer, you'll find a folder on there that's full of exclusive artwork.

Power Stone Reborn - Lastfight Review

I’m going to be a really cheeky boy here and stretch the definition of Dreamcast game ever so slightly to encompass modern games inspired by classic Dreamcast titles. Yep, I’m taking the piss a bit now, you’re not wrong...but hear me out!

Ask anyone to name some of the Dreamcast’s most defining games and the words 'power' and 'stone' are bound to get a mention. Whereas Street Fighter III, Soul Calibur and Marvel vs Capcom 2 were all fantastic Dreamcast fighting games in their own right, their respective series didn’t really have the same strong exclusive tie with Sega’s white disk churning box of magic as the Power Stone games can boast. Years later, Capcom did make the rather inappropriate choice of porting the games to the PSP (of all systems...idiots), but we’ve not heard anything of the 3D party brawler since.

Unfortunately, it seems to have faded away into the mists of time, and with Capcom in their current financial predicament, I don’t think any of us would be wise to expect a new entry anytime soon. To make matters worse, despite being two of the greatest multiplayer brawlers of all time, few companies have ever tried to replicate or take inspiration from them, not with success at least (I’m looking at you Sonic Battle *shudder*). Until now, that is...

A Quick Look At Nightmare Creatures II

Every console library has its fair share of stinkers, and the Dreamcast is no different. For every Shenmue or Soul Calibur, there's an equal and opposite Spirit of Speed 1937 or Urban Chaos. As demonstrated by this continued, ill-advised usage of Newton's third law as a literary device, for every experience that propels you toward the very zenith of gameplay, graphics and sound design coming together in a crescendo of mind-bending brilliance; there's a nadir waiting to bring you back down to Earth with a city-crushing bump. Ladies and gentlemen allow me to present Nightmare Creatures II, a game so fist-clenchingly bad that it's almost comical.

As Dreamcast fans we spend an inordinate amount of time remembering the good aspects of the console and lamenting at its untimely demise. Just like when you sit and reminisce about how much fun you had during your school days, it's all too easy to filter out the bad stuff. So you selectively forget all the times you got bad marks in an exam, had to walk home in the rain, got detention for something you didn't do, or had a fight with your best mate; but recall all the laughs, sunny field trips and just how comparatively easy life was back then as a care-free school kid. The same is true with Dreamcast fandom - we all remember the Shenmues, Power Stones, Soul Caliburs et al...and we quickly forget that the Dreamcast played host to a hell of a lot of shit too.

You know you're in for a treat when the pre-rendered loading screens
are full of pixellation.

One of the main culprits here were the sloppy PlayStation ports that made no attempt to harness the extra power of Sega's newer hardware, and were simply put out in an attempt to boost sales figures. Don't get me wrong - there are a ton of exemplary PlayStation to Dreamcast ports that really enhance the base game: Soul Reaver is one such game that immediately springs to mind. But there were far more that were just simple, bare bones ports that really offered no real advantages over the original versions. Ducati World, any of the Disney movie tie ins, Star Wars Jedi Power Battles, Evil Dead...the list goes on; and sitting right at the top of that fetid, putrid pile is Nightmare Creatures II.

New FPS Gets Update, Confirmed As Dreamcast Exclusive

A few weeks ago we showed you some screens of a new, as-yet-unnamed Dreamcast game that is widely believed to be a Payday-style first person shooter. Details are scarce at the moment, but now lead developer PH3NOM has shared new footage of the engine in motion...and it looks stunning. The video titled 'Dreamcast Engine May 2016' shows how the developers have adapted the game to run in a new engine and how they are overcoming some of the limitations imposed by the Quake III renderer. The game is clearly still at a very early stage, but if this comes together we could be looking at one spectacular first person shooter. Even more intriguing is that PH3NOM has told The Dreamcast Junkyard that this will be a Dreamcast exclusive title! Here's the video:

As with all of the Dreamcast's upcoming homebrew and indie projects, we'll be following this one closely so keep an eye out for more information as we get it. Thanks to PH3NOM for allowing me to share this video here.

We're On Patreon!

Yes, yes. I know it's only one step up from standing outside the local supermarket dressed in little else than a heavily soiled pair of trousers and a 1997 Manchester United shirt covered in dubious stains, and asking shoppers if they can "spare some change," but we're now on Patreon.

To be honest, I've seen some fucking terrible personal blogs asking for money from readers, and those only update once a month! We've got a podcast, a YouTube channel, update at least three times a week...and we've got a cease and desist from Sega! Who else can claim to bring you such entertainment for nowt? Anyway, this Patreon is only really designed to help us pay for the DreamPod hosting so it's not set at an astronomical sum; and I promise I won't blow it all on a Maserati and cocaine before riding a race horse off the top floor of a skyscraper in a drug-fuelled haze, believing I (and Pegasus - that's the horse) can fly.

In all seriousness though, if you want to donate or pledge or whatever it's called then please feel free. If not, that's totally cool - there's no obligation whatsoever. Once we get a few pledgers though, I'll put a little link on the right so I can name-check and personally thank everyone who does. We've been doing this for over a decade now, and while nothing will change as we head into year 11 and beyond, it'd be really cool if we could somehow get a little help moving the Junkyard forward.

Here's the link: The Dreamcast Junkyard Patreon