A Beginner's Guide To Aero Dancing & AeroWings

Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height! Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring...Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear - oh, let's go fly a kite!

So sang the patriarchal Mr Banks in Walt Disney's 1964 classic horror Mary Poppins. And, oh how we flew our kites and wore the shit out of our pinstripe suits while we did so (I for one can't wait for the upcoming sequel, which reportedly features a dubstep remix). But let's be honest - while kites are fun, they aren't a patch on F-15 Aggressor fighter jets; and happily, the Dreamcast has those in abundance. Yes, the Dreamcast is a console that wasn't left wanting when it came to flight games, both of the simulation and arcade varieties. Indeed, some of the first games I ever played on Sega's final console involved two-winged harbingers of death - namely the Japanese releases of Incoming and Air Force Delta.

Alongside those two, others came: Toy Commander featured some aerial combat missions, while Iron Aces/Imperial No Taka - Fighter of Zero was a pseudo World War II flight sim, complete with a totally fictional theatre loosely based on the events of 1939 - 1945. Later, Propellor Arena promised pure arcade dogfighting thrills before being cancelled - allegedly - due to the horrific events of 9/11, although it's available online if you know where to look. The one series that really grabbed the genre by its horns though, was undoubtedly CRI's Aero Dancing franchise. A series that began primarily as a skill-based jaunt through the clouds as an aerial acrobatics pilot; but which ended with players earning their wings as full blown combat pilots, engaging in aerial dogfights, taking out warships and destroying ground units with well placed missiles and bombs. Quite the turnaround, no?

Join us as we dissect this intriguing and well regarded series of flight sims, and take a look at the dedicated hardware released for the Aero Dancing games; as well as the individual entries in this rich and engaging franchise. Dig our your flight suit, don your helmet and strap in as we get ready to engage in some Aero Dancing at supersonic speeds...

Dreamcast Magazine Issue 20

Issue 20 of Paragon Publishing's unofficial Dreamcast Magazine was released on the 22nd March 2001. By this point, the news of Sega's 'restructure' and shift to becoming a software-only developer and publisher had already broken and as such, the seismic ripples had spread throughout the gaming industry. Dreamcast games were being cancelled at an unprecedented rate, and in an effort to shift units the console's price point was slashed dramatically in all territories.

This was actually quite a bold and positive move by Sega, as reports in issue 20 reveal that the price drop actually helped to increase sales of the ailing Dreamcast. Other positive news reported that the Dreamcast won several awards at the Electronics Boutique annual awards, even bagging a 'console of the year' award for 2000. Sadly though, this was all academic because as we now know, the console didn't really have much longer to live.

Even in light of such moribund developments though, Dreamcast Magazine continued for quite some time and as referenced in the editor's intro March 2001 heralded the closure of the only other unofficial Dreamcast magazine on sale in the UK (which I'm guessing was DC-UK, although don't quote me on that). What this meant was, after March 2001 the only magazines flying the blue swirl on newsstands in the UK (and possibly mainland Europe, too) were Dreamcast Magazine and the Official Dreamcast Magazine; a publication which itself went down the drain not too long later...

A Quick Look At 4x4 Evolution

There are quite a few off-road racing games on the Dreamcast, with rally and baja-style scrambling featured in the likes of Sega Rally 2, Buggy Heat and 4 Wheel Thunder. The one thing all of those games have in common though (apart from the hills and the mud), is that they're primarily arcade racers. Bright, brash and unashamedly unrealistic in terms of vehicle handling and physics, they present an idealised version of racing through the wilderness and power sliding through turns. One entry in the Dreamcast library goes in the complete opposite direction though, instead positioning itself as a more real-world approximation of the sport of ploughing huge vehicles through forests and across sand dunes: 4x4 Evolution.

4x4 Evolution (or 4x4 EVO as it sometimes refers to itself) is a racing game stuffed to the gills with real-world licensed trucks and SUVs from a plethora of manufacturers, all of which can be driven to the very limits through a range of different environments. Interestingly, it also represents one of the only games on the Dreamcast where online multiplayer races could be held between console and PC gamers. Indeed, in it's heyday 4x4 Evolution had a burgeoning online scene, and was one of the few Dreamcast games that was still played extensively online. Sadly, this is no longer the case and using this guide over at Dreamcast-Talk and the dial-up connection detailed in my recent article here, I was able to log on to the servers but there were no other players in any of the lobbies. In 2017, it doesn't appear that many people are still playing 4x4 Evolution online with their Dreamcasts, but that's not to say the game isn't worth playing offline - it totally is. Furthermore, there's a fantastic website dedicated to everything you could possibly want to know about the online side of 4x4 Evolution, so if this is your bag head over to the 4x4 Evolution Revival Project here.

Developed by Terminal Reality and released in October 2000, 4x4 Evolution is a US exclusive with an emphasis on big trucks being driven at speed through big environments. The fact that it was never released in other territories outside the USA is an interesting footnote, as the game was advertised as coming to PAL regions and was featured on 'coming soon' pamphlets inside other games. You can see an example of the PAL box art in this article at Sega Retro, so quite why the game wasn't localised is something of a mystery. In any case, the fact remains that 4x4 Evolution never saw a release outside of the US and due to this many people may never even have heard of it, which is a shame because it's probably one of the best Dreamcast racers you've never played...

New Dreamcast Games From JoshProd Ship

You'll no doubt recall a few months ago we shared the news that French publisher JoshProd was lining up a range of new Dreamcast releases and re-releases. One of these was Breakers (our review is here), and another was the new Rush Rush Rally Reloaded. The good news is that the games have now been manufactured, the PAL cases have been acquired and shipping has commenced for everyone who pre-ordered. We heard some real horror stories about the website of choice (French games site Rush On Game), but is seems many of the niggles have been ironed out. JoshProd shared some amazing images on Facebook and we thought they were worth sharing here too:

Did you order? Have you got your games yet? If so, what are your thoughts on these new releases and re-releases? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion in our Facebook group.

Trading in Dozens of Dreamcast VMUs at GameStop

The wind howled through the crack in the window pane, and a crackle of lightning illuminated the room as a cat hissed and fled from the encroaching storm. There was spilled Diet Dr. Pepper on the large cardboard box filled with retro video games, temporarily framed by the flash from the approaching storm. Actually, none of that happened. I just wanted to begin this tale with an over dramatic intro. Everything else here is factual, though.

I was filled with self disgust as I feverishly cleaned up the very small spill which I was sure would get me labelled as "that guy" by the employee who would have to go through the box later on and tell me what pittance they would bring for trade in. We all know who "that guy" is, the disgusting loser who at the age of 35 is trading in over a decade's worth of gaming detritus so he could justify getting a new console that was clearly manufactured with a younger, more attractive audience in mind. Of course I thought I was that guy, but I didn't want anyone else to recognize that fact. So I checked every single game to make sure there was no telltale brown dot of diet soda that would out me as a loser. That was my mindset as I left my condo.

Earlier I was digging through other cardboard boxes and comparing VMUs to each other. I didn't want to be a dipshit and try to sell broken stuff to GameStop but at the same time I couldn't bear to part with immaculate Visual Memory Units with their caps firmly in place that had probably never been used. The irony of course was that the bulk of the VMUs had been purchased from a GameStop for 50 cents each when they were clearanced out. My local store in Watertown, NY had told me that they had no Dreamcast items left. A month later I was in Syracuse, NY and they had a huge double rack of Dreamcast items on deep clearance. When I had asked where they all came from they told me that had been sent from the Watertown store. Now they would be sold back to GameStop for $2.25 each. A true example of the gaming circle of life. As a VMU hoarder, the volatile video game market had finally swung into my favor...

Huge Official Dreamcast Magazine Prize Surfaces On Ebay

The November 2000 issue of the UK's Official Dreamcast Magazine ran a fairly large competition, where entrants were given the chance to win a glut of Dreamcast-branded paraphernalia lifted - rather impressively - from Sega Europe's offices. Fleeces, bags, frisbees, t-shirts...even a snowboard and football signed by Eric Cantona and his teammates from the Sega Beach Football Championship we featured some time ago. It was an impressive prize back then, and I'm pretty sure I entered it but alas I wasn't a winner. The good news is that the guy who did win the competition is now offering up the prize in an eBay auction.

Everything (bar the snowboard and some Dreamcast-branded sweets) still appears to be in the same condition it was in when he won the competition 17 years ago, and most of the stuff is still sealed in the polythene. You can see from the pictures I took from the auction (reproduced here with permission from the seller, I hasten to add) that most of the stuff is still in pristine shape, and while the starting price of £600 might be a bit outside most people's price range it's still cool to know that these items are still all together after all these years. At the time of writing there's a day to go and the auction has no bids, but you can find full details on this veritable hoard here.

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs Playable Demo Available Now

Work on the Kickstarter-funded 2D side-scroller Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs has been trundling on behind the scenes, and the latest update gives us a glimpse at how the game is shaping up. Based on a fairly obscure animated series of the same name, Saber Rider is planned for several platforms including the Dreamcast and now there's a playable demo available. Head over to the Kickstarter page here and grab the files, or alternatively click here to get the Dreamcast image and burn it to a CD to play in your console.

This demo represents the first mission of the game and let you try the Hero Mode. The mission in this demo has some changes, so that the game's story won't be spoiled. The first mission in general is based upon the two Saber Rider series episodes 'Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away' and 'Little Pardner.' In the final version, this level will have a few more story driven events and a different end boss. The current boss in the demo will later be a mini boss.

- Saber Rider Kickstarter Update 40

In light of this new demo, we reached out to lead developer Chris Straß for further info on the progress the game is making and he told us:

"The development of our game is challenging but we've made very good progress. I am very happy with the results and also with the great feedback so far. A big thank you goes to my small but fine team - without them it would not be possible. There is still a lot of work ahead but I am looking forward to a great game!"

- Chris Straß

So what do you think of the demo, or Saber Rider in general? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion in our Facebook group. You can also follow the game's development in the Saber Rider Facebook group here.