Gamma Powered!
They have:
World's Scariest Police Chases: Deadly Pursuit
Played the PSX version to death with my flatmates when I was at University, and it was a pretty decent craic. Especially after several litres of Lidl cider and a couple of tokes on the bong. The unreleased DC version looks like it could've kicked it's ass though - the graphics are way better:
Thunderboats
Thunderboats appears to be an arcade style speedboat racer very much in the vein of Hydro Thunder. Indeed, if you view the promo video, I'm almost certain you can hear the 'engine power down' sound effect used in Midway's blistering racer...
Galleon
Eventually released on the Xbox, Galleon was intended for an earlier Dreamcast launch and in it's original form probably would have garnered the recognition it deserved. As it is, it's just an also-ran Xbox game clogging up bargain bins around the country:
PBA Bowling 2001
Bowling. The real life game, for me, is just a tiresome way of interrupting a good drinking session so why anyone would want to actually play a computerised version is beyond me. Maybe the developers had the same thoughts and duly pulled the plug on PBA Bowling. Grapics look alright though...
Picassio
Picassio is one of the most enigmatic and simultaneously interesting games that was promised but never arrived on the Dreamcast. You were meant to play a sort of lycra-clad cat burglar who broke into museums and stately homes etc to pinch priceless works of art. A bit like Hudson Hawk, only good. Here's a (slightly grainy) video taken from Unseen 64's YouTube page:
Capconmen
On the plus side, Regina's quite fit. Wonder if she's a natural red head.
However, as you’ve no doubt gathered, I’m not Dino Crisis’s biggest fan. On the 32-bit consoles it’s probably par for the course, but not on a console that has stuff like Shunmue, Nomad Soul, Code Veronica, Headhunter or even Carrier knocking about. If you want a decent adventure game, go and seek out one of those badboys. If you want a by the numbers Resident Evil clone with a shit, cliché-ridden story, poo graphics (it’s even got that weird texture-warping thing going on that most PSX games have), and acting straight out of the Barry Burton Academy of Drama and Dance then by all means have a crack at Dino Crisis.
The Lost Golem is a Lost Gem
I first heard of this game while browsing through Segagaga Domain's Dreamcast write ups. Always a great place to get info on Japanese Sega releases, that. Described as a simple but clever puzzle game, I was intrigued as I do love me a good puzzle game.
So I tried to serach for more info, and came back with nothing. That was until I tried seraching for it by it's Japanese title Golem No Maigo, which gave me two excellent articles about the game by a Jeff M at his blog gogamego. The first claimed it to be "The Dreamcast's Best and Rarest Puzzler" with only around 500 copies sold, that gave a good description of the game play and features.
This was later followed by an interview with the games' developer who revealed that he was a student while producing the game, did a large lump of the work himself, and that the studio who put this out CaramelPot (who's logo looks like the Dreamcast logo stretched out) only ever made this one game before closing.
Now I just had to see this for myself. I was expecting when a copy did eventually show up it would cost a bomb like other rare games like Lack of Love, but it popped up on an Ebay shop for no more than £10, so I bought it.
Graphics wise the characters are very blocky crude models, much like those seen in Sengoku Turb, only in this case we're talking about a small team of student programmers and not the company that produced the Dreamcast's graphics chip. It makes up for the lack of any technical prowess with a very charming art style, including a beautiful colour scheme and characters you will find yourself warming up to, despite how simplistic they are. Even the instruction manual is full of cute child-like drawings of the characters. This charm comes across in the story as well, which I found a translation of at Gamefaqs...
masters of magic has come to an agreement that there would be only one of
them, nothing more. There were two peaceful countries, Pipiria and Mabel.
The kingdom of Pipiria was composed almost entirely by plains, with some
forests at the northern tip of the land. The magic sorcerers lived in that
forest during the peace time. Mabel, south of Pipiria, had an enormous lake.
On the lake, there was a wizard composing wizardry for Mabel, up on a tall
tower. One day, Pipiria was attacked by goblins and the people of Pipiria
lived in uncertainty and fear every day ever since."
So what do you do in this game then? Well, you play as the rock golem with it's big square body and beedy little eyes, who has to guide a king who seems to be lost and has no sense of direction. In each stage you have to guide him from one door to another using walls you can push around to change his direction. You see, much like the Lemmings series of games, every time the king comes across a wall he will turn in the next possible direction, either left or right, and he will do this no matter what. Even if he is about to walk straight towards a hole.
But getting the king into the exit is not all. You also have to make sure all the walls on the stage are linked to the red wall when the level is over, so the Golem can knock them all over in one push. This is where things can get complicated as you need to adjust the walls to move the king towards the goal and link them all together once he is heading in the right path.
There are many stage elements that will complicate matters more such as pole that will make walla rotate 90 degrees, and various types of enemies that will break down walls, get in the kings way or even attempt to kill him. half of the fun comes from seeing just how many ways the king can be bumped off. If a level is driving you mad you can push a wall into him, knocking him off the stage and landing on his fat arse.
There are about 100 or so levels in total with cut scenes inbetween every 10 or so of them. Once you have conqured all of those however the game is not over. Considering what a low budget, small staffed game this was, Caramelpot sure did utilize a lot of the Dreamcast's features. There's also a two player battle mode (which I have yet to try out) but the real life expansion for this game is the stage creator, which gives you free realm to produce a level using any of the games elements and save it to your VMU, as many as you like as far as I can tell. What's more, there is a link to caramelpot's website on the disc where you could download new stages and upload your own for others to play. It's a shame the website has long since vanished as i would have loved to try out some of the user created stages.
A note must also be made for their use of the VMU screen while playing. While it has no real purpose in-game, the animations displayed throughout the game are a nice touch, with a close up of the king's face in which ever direction he is facing, as well as death and victory animations amongst other things.
So if you ever manage to come across this rare but cheap game and like a good puzzle game that will get your brain going, I would defiantly recommended this, so long as you can get over the basic visuals.
Nomad Service Resumed
Scraping the Barrell
In a maelstrom of ventricle-ceasing boredom, I borrowed – and subsequently only watched half of – possibly the shittest Adam Sandler film (EVER) off a mate last week. It’s called Punch Drunk Love, and even though the DVD box says it’s “Fucking Awesome, you twatting cunt” (sic), it’s actually a load of bollocks about a socially inept cluster fuck who is afraid of (amongst other things) getting intimate with a woman. Yep – it really is that good. Anyhow, the reason I bring this celluloid bowel movement to your collective attention is this: It’s got a Dreamcast in it!
Spotted a DC in a film? Want to share it with the world? Don’t bother – this is just a shite filler until I can be arsed to write about my new stuff.
Shopping for a Dreamcast in 2008
They find a re-packed Dreamcast for $60. With the Wild Thornberries video game! (They knew that it wasn't a game for the Dreamcast. They were just making fun of it. But they really didn't know what a RFU adaptor was...oh these kids today.)
My favorite quotes.
"Why do you want a Dreamcast?"
"Because the PS3 sucks."
This mirrors alot of my experiences with buying Dreamcast stuff. (It's mostly Russian or French and not Spainish being spoken though) You have to go to these places though. You never know what you can find. And, sadly, they are about the only place to find older games in some areas with no independent video game stores that carry retro stuff.
And people are ALWAYS trying to include the wrong system/games in a bundle. WTF? Is it so hard to tell a Dreamcast game from a PS1 game or computer software? Read the side label people!
I should document my next trip to a local flea-market to find Dreamcast stuff.
People still want the Dreamcast though. That is clear.
I just got the unreleased K-Project for my Dreamcast and I have been playing some Expendable as well. Damn Expendable is a fun little game. Pick it up and play a round if you haven't.
Arcade Goodness
This post has been written by Portugese Gaming Guru and Saturn Junkyard correspondent Nebachadnezzar over that his most excellent website Nebachadnezzar's Place of Awesomeness.
Some interesting Homebrew projects
If nothing else, the past week has shown that there is still alot of interest in the Dreamcast out there.
Speaking of interest in the Dreamcast...check out this quote from http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/
"Dreamcast Scene is going through a major resurgence with the releases of a New Genesis emulator, New Games, a new compilation and much more. If you have a Dreamcast rotting away at home or can pick one up cheap then you could be enjoying one of the best console homebrew scenes" wraggster
Let me give you a quick rundown of some of the releases he is talking about.
Gens4All
Yes, you heard right! A brand new Genesis/Megadrive emulator has just been released for the Dreamcast!
I am still playing Genesis games on my Genesis of course but emulation on the DC is a close second. I really enjoy being able to emulate games on a console vs a TV.
Read all about "Gens4All"
Neverball
Neverball, a game similar to Monkeyball.
It reminds me of one of those old wooden box games where you tilt the top to move a ball around a maze. One false step and your ball goes kerplunk.
Like Monkeyball I play this game even though I am horrible at it.
There are some very prettty colors though.
Read all about the new version.
Visit the Neverball Homepage.
Captain Commando And The Avengers by Gabo-Hanzo
Another Beats of Rage Mod.
It looks pretty spiffy and I like most games where you can play as Captain America or The Punisher.
EmuForge Homebrew Compilation CD
Do you like ZX-Spectrum video games? Do you also happen to like the Dreamcast? Well then by Golly you are IN LUCK.
This lovely CD image comes with a bunch of ZX-Spectrum games inlcuding Cannon Bubble, Phantomasa and Sokoban.
Camelot Warriors (the hardest platformer I have EVER played) is also present on this disk.
In addition it comes with an EDGE 3D engine port with FreeDoom.
All in all a very promising look toward the future all on one .cdi. I love the Dreamcast homebrew community for putting together such awesome compliation disks.
nxDOOM vs Escena DOOM
This seems to be a Doom mega disk filled with mods and new levels.
You do need the original Doom2 .wad to play this homebrew though.
I have not had a chance to run this yet since it's split up into different parts.
But, hey, I like playing DoomDC. The loading times on that kinda sucked but the game itself ran fine once you got into the program. Some of the mods seem like good fun.
So there are a number of great releases for the Dreamcast and the homebrew scene seems to going strong.
Sega asks us "Do we still own a Dreamcast"?
EDIT: Word is spending about on forums that this *might* be a hoax by a spammer trying to make money off the google ads from the G-mail account signing up to this gets you. Until Sega confirms that they are indeed not involved with this, I'm skeptical. At the moment the site is "temporarily suspended" due to so many requests, so who knows, but if someone is using the Dreamcast name as a scam...
The Escapist features an interview with Cryptic Allusion
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_139/2993-Interview-Cryptic-Allusion-on-Keeping-the-Dream-cast-Alive
Even though Cryptic Allusion seems to be trying to move in new directions the vast bulk of the interview had to do with the white wonder machine.
Including the following tidbit...
"I don't see the homebrew scene really opening up unless Sega decided to get involved with KallistiOS to help it along, filling in the gaps and, in the process, recreating it as a true dev-kit. I don't see this happening in the near future, but I suppose an old Dreamcast engineer could pop up somewhere. I want to point out that I do not know of anyone out there even considering this. Don't think of it as a rumor." -"Hot Rod" Roddy Toomim (Escapist, 139 March 4th 2008)
TOO LATE! It's out on the interwebs and is now FIRMLY A RUMOR. It's as real as the Dreamcast 2. Accept it Toomim. Just accept it...
In any case they seem to think that there will be a Dreamcast revival in about 10 years. I had my estimates for about 5-6. We will just have to wait and see who is closer.
It was mentioned they felt the Dreamcast was somewhat of a fickle machine, prone to breaking down. I heard this so often I now have like 5 Dreamcasts as backups but none of them have broken to the point of no return. In fact the only problem I have had (control board fuse) was easily fixed. Maybe I am just not as "hardcore" as other gamers???
They were also somewhat understandably skeptical about the future of Sega making hardware. I chose to ignore that paragraph just like I ignore reality since the year 2000.
The Escapist has great articles on gaming to read if you are bored.
All Hail the Undead Console.
All Hail the Dreamcast.
Brand new Dreamcast port...and yes, it's a Shump.
The first release of Tyrian on the Dreamcast has snuck it's way on the off white box.
God, Dreamcast Homebrew devs must LOVE shumps.
Also there was a Golden Axe remake on the Dreamcast as well. Since I was out of the loop for a bit I forgot to mention this one before. It looks pretty sweet.
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=91011
Sega Dreamcast NIB - ShopGoodwill.com
Hmm...$301.00? How much is the Wii again? I guess some people still know who the king of console gaming is.
The Dreamcast isn't new-gen or current-gen. It's AWESOME-GEN.
All Hail the Undead Console.
All Hail the Dreamcast.
Pulled from Kotaku
Originally posted on Gamertell
Reminder...
So sit back, enjoy and revel in the glory that was the major player (all be it not commercially) of the last gen, then weep for the glory of what could have been...
In Praise Of Caleb...
It's been a while since Mr. Caleb, (the American Dreamcaster) walked into our lives and made The Dreamcast Junkyard a truly international affair... Apart from the Dreamcast love he's shown quite a lot, over on his excellent Hunyak Blog, he's also put quite a lot of sterling work over at our sister site, the Saturn Junkyard...
Puzzling Wet Patch
Timberlake and chums clearly holding Xbox pads. In 1999. Anachronism?
Anyway, moving on to more pressing matters. I’ve been at it again. Wasting time and money on eBay when I really should have been working. Damn you, eBay
The aim of Wetrix+ is to construct ‘lakes’ on the little square of floating ‘land’ in the centre of the screen. You do this by dropping clusters of little ‘up’ arrows that magically descent from the ether above. By connecting these clusters or rotating them and then dropping them on the ground, the land raises up in that shape. Still with me? Good. After a while, the arrow clusters make way for water droplets that you can strategically drop into your newly formed dry lakes and they fill up with the wet stuff. The idea is to make as many ‘lakes’ as possible and make 'em as deep as possible before too much water drains off the side of the landmass and fills up the test-tube thingy at the side. It’s a very simple idea and works suprisingly well – until the bombs start falling, ripping gaping holes in the floor and allowing the water to drain off all the quicker. It can get very tense as you battle to repair holes and drop fireballs in order to evaporate water from lakes that either have a hole in the side or are overflowing. Simple, but again – crackingly addictive.
Like I said earlier, Wetrix+ is basically a slightly upgraded port of an N64 game (just plain Wetrix – no ‘+’ sign y’see). The main difference you’ll notice between the two titles is that this Dreamcast incarnation has, as you’d expect, slightly better graphics and crisper sound effects. Gone are the fuzzy old mega-aliased visuals of yore, to be replaced with new ones that have been sharpened up no end; likewise the old music has been put though a head cleaner so it all sounds better than ever. If weird aciiiiiiid trip-out muzak is yer thang, that is. There are plenty of different game modes in Wetrix+ too, ranging from your common or garden ‘Classic’ mode to the challenge modes and the ‘Pro’ game. All of which are basically the same, save for their difficulty and range of different pieces which fall from the sky.
Propellor Arena
Having just read Tom's frankly magnificent post (below), I felt inspired to chip in my two penneth worth, and give an update to the (frankly) most barren gaming period since I got my first Dreamcast...
You see I've gone a bit 'current gen' since I first started posting on this most fabulous of blogs... I've got a Wii, a 360 and a DS... The Dreamcast is no longer my exclusive console... and therefore, my attention to our fave system has been somewhat diluted...
Still! I have been thrown a little Dreamcast gem in the week, which came by post across the 'pond', from regular DCJY correspondent Nick944, in the shape of the most excellent Propellor Arena! This is 'vapour ware' peeps, unreleased Dreamcast goodness that never saw the light of day.
But somehow, through the magic of the internet, we can now enjoy these unreleased classics, as if we'd paid £40 sterling for an official release, back in the day...
As soon as I popped the CDR into my Dreamcast ( despite being downloaded and burned in the USA) it played perfectly!!! Happy days! No region specific nonsense then...
And what a treat it was!!! A most wonderul AM2 production, the title screen made it apparent that this was a pure arcade treasure, with goofy playable characters to choose from, (my immediate thoughts referenced Crazy Taxi). The presentation, characters and musical score screamed arcade! Why, oh why, did this title never hit the stores for general release?!
Well, I knew from reading up on this title that the '911 event' had made the marketing of this particular game "ill timed" to say the least... when I first loaded it up, I couldn't fathom why it could be considered offensive... When I played the third level "Sky Scraper City" and my propellor monoplane hit that first building, I knew where the controversy was born...
Now at this point, the conspiracy theorist in me wants to shout from the ... erm... rooftops!
What a crying shame that this 'gem' was lost to the world because the Bush administration needed an excuse to start Gulf War 2! If you want justification for that sentence watch Loose Change, and make up your own mind...
However, what I can say is Propellor Arena is one of the most exciting pieces of 'vapour ware' ever, much better than Half Life, PBA Bowling, or the frankly dire Flinstones:Viva Rock Vegas...
For more information look here...
Propellor Arena
Flinstones: Viva Rock Vegas
PBA Bowling