EXCLUSIVE! SOUL REAVER 2 EXPOSED
Official#Magazine
Drea PHANTASY
ONLINE The Most Anticipated Online
Game
Ever!
> Hands-on Report
Dreamcast 2? Sega’s Future Plans Revealed!
Make Your Own
CODEBOOK! Biggest Codes Section Ever! PLUS: Sonic
2,
Resident Evil
2,
NBA 2K1 Head Hunter
Alien Front Online, Bang!
Floigan Brothers, Ready 2
Rumble
2,
18 Wheeler
Project Justice and More!
•
150+
GAMES RATED!!
BLOOD DONORS WANTED! imagine,
if
you
wiii,
a berserk
B -movie,
horror
-
producer with a twisted sense of humor puts up a million dollars io anyone who can survive his seven, movie -theme worlds of bloody terror. Michael Reynolds is that And you could use a million bucks.
film
who
.
Are you willing to make a biood and guts effort - your blood and guts - to survive the unspeakable horror that Reynolds has in store for you? A bloody mess of mutant monsters, over 1000 traps and items, abject terror fused with B -movie humor - how can you pass up an opportunity finally
like this?
a horror
-
game
that should require a
surgeon general’s warning. You're constantly at risk of heart attack, stroke, bleeding to death.
A
unique sensory feedback system requires that you monitor your vital signs as you face terror after terror, brutal attack after brutal attack, shocking surprise after shocking surprise.
won't really win a million bucks. But you'll money's worth - of terror - in the seven bloody worlds that await you.
get your
Give biood.
JALECO Dreamcast
www.jaleco.com
FEATURES MANY PAGES WITH MANY WORDS— SWEAT TILL YOU BLEED, SUCKAS.
COMING SOON WAS WE COULD
IF THE FUTURE NOW, STOP HYPING AND START COMPLAINING
DEPARTMENTS
>FORBIDDEN
GAMES ODCM took a
FLOIGAN BROTHERS Wackiness
22
peek behind Japan’s Hello cute—and what we saw
Kitty curtain of
made us
blush. Enjoy this glimpse of the
Japanese games
you’ll
never get to play
>FROM GEEK TO CHIC 30 Gaming's
transition
mainstream
little
fetish to
it
has
all
blue hedgehog
>PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 34 Online and on target?
is
ODCM
exclusive, hands-on paydirt:
hits
and you
get the verdict
you can shake a stick at. ODCM spends some quality time with the Floi polloi
when you thought
18-WHEELER
46
PROJECT JUSTICE 50 No,
it
isn’t
Gee Dub
games in memory.
NEWS, PREVIEWS AND GOSSIP
52 was dead, the
If it
classic returns to your Dreamcast.
Not since
Willis
Reed returned
1970 NBA finals has comeback like this
many months
for
Game
coaster... wipe
it
off!
cleaning, but does
we
8
doesn’t work, don’t give up and start
using our shiny, pretty
7
there been a
demo
disc as a
We know you
it
make
you that you can
tell
it
spit
hate
more fun on
it
if
first?
54
of secrecy surrounding
>D-MAIL
10
its newest Mission /mposs/b/e-style game, You ask, we answer. The only problem Sega lets the cat out of the bag. Or, actuwith getting so much wonderful mail from ally, they only let us peek our heads inside the bag for a few seconds to check out the so many wonderful people is that it reminds us of how many wonderful jobs cat. Here’s what we saw before the dang
there are,
thing scratched us
ALIEN FRONT ONLINE It’s
of our
got
all
another look at what is easily most eagerly-anticipated titles.
sorts of things
we
in this
wonderful world, which
contain long stretches of free time that
56
ODCM takes one
Big tanks
like:
can be ing,
filled
up by writing emails,
stretch-
napping, eating and peeing. But don’t
worry— we’re too busy creating go out and
ODCM
to
find ’em!
to drive, big cities to destroy, big buildings to crumble, big technologies to
employ
(online multiplayer, real-time voice, etc.) =
big hit
in
the making
>TZ-ARCHIVE 80 Every
TYPING OF THE DEAD
game
we’ve ever played. Rated!
58
Mavis Beacon meets House of the Dead
one of the most excitingly inauspicious gameplay premises in the history of in
>ENDZONE
94
ODCM's
videogames. Amazingly, it's already greatbut kids, can you type "c-a-r-p-a-l
series
With schoolgirls...
t-u-n-n-e-l s-y-n-d-r-o-m-e?”
how
recent
12
48
The rambunctious rodent returns for another spin around the block. And if what we’ve played so far is any indication, this is going to be one of 2001's best games.
it
of the
After
Big Trucks Attack! Get the skinny on Sega’s latert Naomi arcade port. Large Marge, Kevin Bacon, trucker slang and other assorted goodies
Bush’s new capital punishment program. It’s the sequel to Rival Schools, one of the most beloved
AM2
HEAD HUNTER
When
fighting
>DC DIRECT
44
spades: Visual Concepts’ laden with more slap than
SONIC ADVENTURE 2
from geek
billion-dollar industry
taken less than ten years: and
began with a
in
latest jewel
>DC-R0M
FIGHTING VIPERS 2 Just
exclusive TalkBack interview opens with our candid tete-a-tete
with the creators of Soul Reaver 2. Just
great
will this
game be?
Find out!
^^Official@Magazine
Mr. Charla’s
t
Dreamcast
neighborhood
*
> > WELL, THE HOLIDAYS ARE behind us
as
(well,
write this they haven’t
I
actually started, but by the time you read
it
READY 2 RUMBLE: ROUND 2
they should be just wrapping up).
Anyway,
number
could go on about the huge
I
of killer hits that shipped for
Dreamcast
this season, but that
what the
gloating. But
would be
hell, let’s gloat:
Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio Test Drive Le ,
Mans, StarLancer, Grandia Arcadia, Tony
Hawk
2,
Skies of
II,
NFL 2K1, NBA 2K1,
Quake 3 Arena, Samba de Amigo. And
games that got 9s or we got the world's
those are just the
10s. Plus, of course,
gaming ISP. What do we have to look forward 2001? First, all the awesome games
online console
first
So. to in
that slipped: Unreal Tournament, Half-Life,
SURF ROCKET RACERS
and Metropolis
Half-Life Multiplayer
Street Racer. Then,
in
January, we’re
going to get the earth-shattering Phantasy Star Online (see our Cover Story on
page
36). (Note:
issue,
If
you never see another
becuase we got too addicted to
it’s
PSO.)
Sega— at its recent Games Summit— announced
Beyond Executive
that,
(in
addition to giving us the dirt on the future of the
that
it
Dreamcast platform; see page 12) had between 30 and 45 titles
planned
2001. Holy crap!
for
SEGA games?
Forty-five
company
Clearly this
is
out
to get every single dollar in our pockets,
>HOWrO
>TESTZ0NE WE THEM
HYPE? HIP? PLAY ALL SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO. REVIEWED:
NBA 2K1
62
Everything you love about your favorite sport and the NBA is present and accounted for (except for Jack Nicholson sitting courtside at all the Laker games)
and every single second of our spare time.
And
When tells
it
month, well, future for
be pretty
One
game company
could potentially be com-
new games
every
pretty clear that the
it’s
Dreamcast
damn
READY
be happier!
for one, couldn’t
I
the world’s greatest
you that
ing out with three
in
2001
is
going to
rosy.
last thing: After a successful test
run, next year,
national.
It’s
ODCM
plans to take
RPG Day
the Friday after Thanksgiving.
No work. The malls are packed. The movie theaters are packed. Your house food. Solution: get
sandwich, pop
in
up
that
early,
RPG
falls
on
Friday,
make In
2001,
Rice-a-Roni
If
this it.
Chris
X
Mmmmm! Yummy
it’s
MAN
72
first time playing Ms. Pac Man, to the magic. If it’s your second
your
second
millionth)
time around,
you’ll
that the magic never fades.. .and neither do the ghosts, unless you eat ’em
SPEC OPS
you
pshaw
78 its
own exclama-
tion point, like a little suitcase full of joy. Or not. It's definitely full of something...
KISS PSYCHO CIRCUS: THE NIGHTMARE CHILD Not. Online.
79 Two more words:
Big. Shoes. This game offers the closest onscreen representation of Dina’s shoes ODCM has ever seen. We’re not kidding. And neither is Dina
that
16-PAGE CODEBOOK!
demonstration of
some
you’ll
buy another Lotto
PC + ROTC = DC QT? ODCM RSVPs. Ever wonder why we often groan automatically whenever we hear (or say) the word "port?” This game gives a pretty good big reasons
our How-To section
weren’t lying. Well, this time when we say that it’s Absolutely Code-tacular, we’re lying even less! We’ve listened to the subsonic screams of your codejonesing, and pretty much ignored it for a long time. Not because we didn’t care; we just didn’t have the space to print more codes. Well, get ready to be really, really happy (and to stop screaming, too...ever wonder why you didn’t have a girlfriend?)—we’re going to give you ALL the codes and ALL the directions you’ll need to cut, fold and staple your own
guaranteed: II:
call
we
Bigger, better, faster zombies! And didn’t think it could get better...oh,
Two words:
CODEBOOK!
You’ve heard us
“Absolutely Code-tactular” before— and
2 77
BANG!
welcome
76
MAKE YOUR OWN 16-PAGE
henceforth replaced as the
RESIDENT EVIL
A game that brings along
know
November 23. Plan on
is
San Francisco Treat.
HOYLE CASINO 68
OMEGA SQUAD 73 Later,
SUPER RUNABOUT: SAN FRANCISCO EDITION
82
MORE CODES THAN YOU CAN SHAKE A GAMESHARK AT!
74
the ingredients of the best damned tuna casserole you’ve ever had (although they could be). They make a good game: almost
Tou don’t have to be 21 to play it. You can play it all night. There’s even some cleavage to be ogled in this gameroom, thanks to Hoyle's NPCs. Of course, such pleasures always come at a price...
(or
it.
2 RUMBLE: 2 66
As the inimitable Evan Shamoon says, “No kicking!” This might be boxing for the masses, but it’s still boxing...and it’s still darned fun
MS. PAC
of
yourself a
you’ve been
meaning to beat and get to Day
is full
ROUND
SURF ROCKET RACERS
Surfing! Rocketing! Racing! No, these aren’t
Total satisfaction
never feel the need to ticket.
And how many games are
included
in
the index of this wunc/erbooklet? Well,
we want you a
it
hint:
to be a surprise. But we’ll give
there aren’t less than 75...
^^w^^^egi^edlraae-pa^cl^^^to
IN
TO ITS BEGINNING
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woven together by
io face
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fate,
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shall rise
their destiny.
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Dreamcast Sega
Arts by Ubi Soft Entertainment. Original
Enterprises, LTD. All rights reserved.
game © 2000 Game
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Game Arts Arts. English Translation
© 2000 Ubi Soft Entertainment. Grandia
is
a trademark of
Game Arts
Co., Ltd.
Character designs by Youshi Kanoe. World designs by Katsumi Aizaki and Masashi Hazama.
moment, circumstance
'The level of detail paid to every single
and environment
overwhelming."
is
Dreamcast Magazine
Official
"...undeniably the prettiest role-playing
game
ever to grace a
console."
www. dailyradar, com
"...this
will
indeed be the
first epic
RPG on Dreamcast.
www.ign.com
"Grandia generation
II is
most impressive next-
easily the
RPG we've
and the
seen,
first
true
RPG
epic
for a next-generation console."
.
www.thegia.com
’ake
anew
'-'''&PG yet
what
look at
is
surely the best-looking
on a next-generation
console..."
Gamer's Republic Online
"...set to
give sub-par developers a lesson in
RPG
how
to
do a DC
right."
GameFan Magazine
"Any RPG fan would be insane to miss out on this fantastic gameplay experience and it could go far in converting those
who
previously rode the
RPG
fence."
GamerWeb.com
"If
you want your copy
expect Santa's it
now
little
of
Grandia
elves to
or you
may
2 this
make you a
not get
it
holiday season, don't
special copy, pre-order
until late January.”
www. GA-Console. com
Critically
acclaimed and over 2 years making, Grandia II December 2000.
™
in the
arrives
Ubi Soft Entertainment and the Ubi Soft logo are registered trademarks of Ubi Soft,
Inc.
Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks
NOW YOU CAN
SCREAM “HELP” LIKE A IN FIVE
LITTLE GIRL
DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.
With the Phantasy Star Online instant translator, you can choose from hundreds of words and phrases to communicate with online gamers around the world. You enter, "Help me! don't want to die!" Your teammate in Japan sees: "SJI+^ft^, Jt„" It's just one of the advanced features on the next generation of the legendary Phantasy Star series. Phantasy Star Online will immerse you in the cpost complete role-playing experience possible— not to mention what it'll do for your vocabulary. i
sega.com/phantasystaronline Sega
is
2000.
All
registered
in
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sega. Dreamcast, the Dreamcast logo, and
Rights Reserved.©
SEGA/SONIC TEAM,
2000. www.sega.com
PHANTASY STAR ONLINE
registered trademarks or trademarks of
SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates. © SEGA CORPORATION.
ROM
Disc Guide
HE SEVEN That's
what we
the six fancy-kickin’
call
maverick vid on this
disc. This is
American developers have
some
SfiNURfil
demos and one
of the best stuff that
to offer: riding the cutting
Japanese and
edge of this
wave of innovation. So just when you thought that your loved ones were
century’s
presents,
ODCM
racing
out of
has ripped you a brand spiggidy spankin’ new one. Hot
the presses, here exclusive
all
comes the
sneak peeks at
off
makes your Dreamcast sing-
stuff that
levels
from Metropolis Street Racer (balls-out
environments:
in hyper-realistic
if
we had
to
name
game
the
we
that
get
most questions about from fellow game journos, this would be it. It could be the that finally makes Dan stop saying “Best. Game. Ever.” about F355 Challenge), Outtrigger (first-person shooter from the Land of the Rising Sun), 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker (big trucks, big wheels, big game), Max Steel (third-person adventuring to the max) and 4x4 Evolution (more SUVs than a Nordstrom parking lot). Plus we’ve got a brand new web browser-Version 2 6 complete with mouse support. It even comes with Sega’s new DreamCall title
.
DCDirect page 16
application (see
phone
long distance
your fellow Dreamcasters
As an added bonus for
in
,
which allows you to make free
for details,
anyone
calls to
the world.
So now you can
talk to
all
of
Lisbon and Bora Bora.
in
for this issue,
you to check out—this disc
is
we’ve also got Jurassic 5’s newest video
so fresh we almost don’t want to give
away.
it
Just be sure to read our directions (at right) for cleaning the disc!
18 WHEELE
Sill
t:
AMERICAN PRO TRUCKER
Take Sega’s new trucking sim like to
/
jjF
crush the cars that get
you won’t soon
and see what
jan
it’s
players
like to
i
The demo takes you
Lizard Tail.
<U Brake ^Accelerate
«
1 f
METROPOLI 5 STREET RACER pub SEGA release JANUARY players 12 '
European and
Distinctly
|
If
awesome,
try
it
early on your trusty
you’ll
4
Venture through the jungle and
demo
our exclusive
of
Max Steel.
hit p
solve. Give
it
think; that’s
a spin and
why
£g
7
©Jump
it’s
let
on the
evil
to the teeth with
<£J
L5>
RELEASE OUT NOW PLAYERS
Strafe
left
Strafe right
1
you thought 4-Wheel Thunder was the cream of the big-wheel crop, 4x4 Evolution a shot. It's got lots of dirt, cool vistas and big vehicles, and should provide you with at least an afternoon’s worth of If
entertainment.
It’s if
also one of the prettier drives
aesthetics are your bag, give
it
O N/A © Brake © Change view
D-Pad: Up: reset position
folks
in
kf
Just
some
you’ll
take on your
a shot. <JJ
Reverse Accelerate
when you thought ODCM had
possibly want,
we drop the new J5
on your unsuspecting heads.
of interesting puzzles to
us know what you think.
demo
of bad guys and getting to
from the first-person POV
JURASSIC 5: QUALITY CONTROL PUBLISHER SEGA RELEASE OCTOBER PLAYERS
armed
sweet weapons, and there are even a couple
Move Character D-Pad: Move Character
Stick:
it
well, give
Stick: Steer
l
some unsuspecting
You're
swarms
the process. Try
(first
4X4 EVOLUTION PUBLISHER GODGAMES
been a longtime
know what we
Brake Forward
in
person) O Zoom © Change weapon © Jump
Look view
© N/A
PUBLISHER MATTE! RELEASE NOVEMBER PLAYERS
not hella fun. Blast your way through four
the optimal experience.
Dreamcast: so <JJ
if
out a bunch of weapons
for
D-Pad: Move
ODCM demo disc.
O Assist Select O N/A O Assist On/Off
ON/A
MAX STEEL
u
MSR has
nothing
try
© Fire weapon
mean. Race either against the clock or against another car through the The game was recently delayed until January,
so Stick: Ste er
D-Pad: Ste er j '
distinctly
you’ve been with us from the beginning,
Stick:
streets of swingin’ London.
y(~ .
coming.
is
crazyfastintense stages of action, killing
a
for
O Change View
i-.#
Outtrigger
it’s
forget.
©Horn
St ;er
|j^j
Sega’s attempt to out-gun the Quake/Unreal/Half-Life FPS landscape,
cruise
your way, barrel over trees and race
G Reverse
Stick: Ste er
D Pad:
in
enemy named
against a diabolical ride
>J |i.
pub sega release
for a spin
the highway with double-digit wheels (18 to be precise). Also, see what
We know what we
latest LP.
Bounce to
sounds suspiciously
disc.
O Punch © Shoot
<JJ
it.
It’s
Quality Control, the
And what does
like
1
given you everything you could
video
it
title
track from their
have to do with Dreamcast?
It
a song from one of our fave soundtracks...
Side Step
Close-up View
©Tail Whip
HAVING TROUBLE? Greatest. Browser. Ever. The latest, greatest version of the Dreamcast browser features, for the first time, MOUSE SUPPORT! No longer must you use the analog stick, or worse, the D-pad to netizen.
scroll
around
some
kind of second-class
Add the keyboard, and you are a
surfer. Plus:
fully-outfitted
Web
use DreamCall and your Dreamcast to phone
friends for free!
8 Official^Dreamcast Magazine
like
February
2001
Having problems getting your disc to run? Didn’t get one with your copy of this fine and upstanding publication? Send your name, mailing address, subscription number (if you to: dischelpraimaginemedia.com and provide a brief
are a subscriber), and the issue’s date description of what's
game news
wrong with the disc as well. IMPORTANT! This contact address is not If you have questions concerning game codes information or refer your inquiries to Sega or the appropriate third party.
for
or information.
Dreamcast news, please
Help: dischelp@imaginemedia.com www.DailyRadar.com
Disc Guide
HOW TO GET THE*
MOST OUT OF LIFE (and your
demo disc)
We pride ourselves on i
want
to
good customer service, which is why take the time to show you how to fix up a reluctant
^clemo disc-or any CD, GD, or fisc it,
DVD-ROM
it,
run
it
Got a microwave Gore-or call
for that matter.
that won’t give up the goods? Before you trash
scatter
over with your car or send
it
to Al
it,
the company to ask for a replacement that you just know
will
take forever to get to you-check out our handy-dandy guide to
making disc problems go away as fast as Evan's hairline. Important disclaimer thingy: You can scratch your discs and ruin them if you do this wrong. Proceed at your own risk. Look at this as a last resort, not normal disc maintenance.
1: Acquire some Windex, or another mild glass cleaner (you can even cut It 50% with water). Now, find a clean, soft, piece of cotton cloth, like an old T-shirt. Don’t use polyester or terrycloth— and for godsakes, do not ever use a paper
Step
towel! Using anything but cotton could scratch the disc and make things worse. Spray a bit of cleaner onto the cotton.
It's
Step
2: This is definitely the trickiest part of the cleaning process. Don’t pat, don’t daub, don’t stroke, and don’t scratch: use your cloth to rub in a straight line, from the center outward. Do not, not, not, rub in a circular motion around the disc—that will really mess things up. About ten to twelve rubs should cover the whole disc.
not just the Disc, you
Okay, folks, it’s about time we gave you a nice, quick refresher course on the display options for your Dreamcast. There are four ways to get video out of your Dreamcast and onto your TV. Here’s a rundown:
RF Adapter: This is for attaching your DC to old-school TVs: you know, those wood-esque paneled sets. You actually have to buy a special adapter to use an RF adapter; this is by far the worst option. Things are blurry. Stay away.
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
Step 3: The insertion. Let the disc dry (about ten minutes). Now that you’ve cleaned your disc, the last thing you want to do is get your grubby, greazy little fingers all over it: so please! Do what Evan does in this picture, and hold it gently by the edges. Slide it into place in your Dreamcast and close the cover. And there it is! You’re good to go.
see...
Composite Cables: The standard AV cables that come with the system, these deliver pretty good results. S-Video Cables: A little pricier, but if your TV has S-Video inputs, you’ll be amazed at just how crisp and clean the graphics look with this cable.
VGA
Box: The ultimate. This $40 box lets you play Dreamcast on a supercrisp VGA monitor display. It looks
great, but
all
DC games
aren't compatible with the
VGA
box, sadly.
February
2001 Official ® Dreamcast Magazine 9
m D -MAIL
Letters
LETTER OF THE MONTH
Team ODCM
EHInterNOT Gaming
WHAT A MONTH! Between Shenmue, Jet Grind Radio, Test Drive Le
here and there),
we frankly
actually writing the
didn’t get
magazine
effort
around to afternoon.
until this
the end result was pretty good in our opinion, and we think you’ll agree. It’s the darkest time of the year, so we decided to ask everyone this month just which games give them the strength to carry on when things look their bleakest... Still,
Editor-in-Chief the going gets tough, the tough get going. And once all of those tough people have left the room, Chris quietly slides in Test Drive Le Mans for a little Prototype
Enduro action. He claims that he can now actually race the Brno pit
stops. Next step: race the entire
GP track
and
reverse,
in
win.
DAN FITZPATRICK Art Director
Dan
prefers the action of
get out his aggressions feeling tense.
A former
Quake 3
when
to
he's
I
I
call,
Tim. There’s no denying that online
is
same time, it all games themselves. Whether
headed, but at the
is
quality of the
or online play,
classic experience. But
game
is
if
a
for
what
if
it is, it
a
game
will
is
solid
stand as a
incorporates "throwaway”
online capabilities just to cash in on the trend, then the potential is clearly wasted.
The
ODCM
staff is
somewhat
the issue. Certain genres,
divided,
like first
in
a sense, on
person shooters,
his desk,
time strategy and sports games are in
real-
I
I
PS: Let us all bow our heads the arrival of Shenmue.
in
a
moment
of silence for
much more developed
the online arena, and have been tried and tested
to-head play.
On PCs,
RPGs
online
like
in
head-
Baldur's Gate and
Everquest are also fine examples of how multiplayer
adventure
games can be done
well.
Online
replace the single-player games, but
I
hobbyist level
designer, he's currently hoarding a
PantherXL joystick under
game
meant for offline and programmed expressly a
I
When
Suzuki
a hard
this industry
depends on the
I
I
track blindfolded, including
is
where
I
CHRIS CHARLA
,Jlii
This
First off, want to congratulate all of you for the great on the magazine. It is safe to say that you guys produce the first magazine that is official but still delivers the goods without being biased. It is also safe to say that it kicks ass that DC is beating the odds and hanging around for the battle against PS2. And a tough battle it will be. The reason am writing is to see your opinion on how console gaming is evolving into a vast Internet dominance. may not be the oldest gamer (I’m 15), but ladies and gentlemen, have experienced everything there is to possibly experience in videogaming for my age, and things cannot get much better than they are now. am quite an old-school gamer, and when hear all this talk about console gaming’s future going completely online it sickens me. even read somewhere that the next-generation Tomb Raider is going to have you buying levels monthly on the Internet. Now, don’t know about you, but I believe the point of console gaming is to sit back, relax with a controller in your hand, and play a game to a point in the night where your eyes gloss over and your fingers don’t get tired from typing on a keyboard. If want online games sit down at my $2000 PC and really experience online gaming. Do not get me wrong, I have an open mind to any future online possibilities, but I think gaming should stay where it is. Tim Sullivan Via email I
Mans and the Phantasy Star
Online preview build (and a few disco naps scored
their
own sub-genre in
will
all
games
the future.
iron out the flaws, but multiplayer
instead
not
become
be going online any
will
It
will
spectrum of RPGs.
within the larger
So don’t worry that time soon or even
RPGs
will
take
games
some time
to
shouldn’t be
underestimated-they provide an amazing experience that
matched without the element of human interaction. It’s true. Facing off against a real human gamer adds that extra element of spontaneity and intelligence that are nowhere to be found when you're fighting a CPU often cannot be
controlled ’bot. We’re really excited to watch the of a
new movement
that has so
much
dawn
potential.
and enjoys helping Evan out when Evan plays online. Evan, sadly, isn’t much better at Quake than he was at NFL 2K1, you see.
H Speed
They could even throw in side missions something, if they want.
Freak
dear friends at ODCM, here’s the deal. stare dumbstruck at your articles on Phantasy Star Online and mutter things unconciously like “must have.” But strangely enough, am also fighting a phone company who refuses to give me better then a duplexed phone line (i.e., can only connect at 26.4 Kbps with an 56K modem! Fun!). So want to get cable, and cry because can’t have cable and won’t be able to dial in to play Phantasy Star Online. But All right,
DINA FAYER Managing Editor No one's ever accused Dina
of
being commonplace, so
no
surprise that she
heads
it's
when
right off
she's upset:
choosing the impossibly cute and simple Penpen Tricelon to get her groove back. “There's just
I
I
I
I
something about that one-button gameplay and the way it drives everyone else nuts!” she says.
am
overjoyed to find a
LAN adapter
allowing
bat...”
I
I
I
actually
me things
tell
instead of barfing out garbage about
cooking better with potato election but
I
oil
or voting
going on
in
some
is
Colorado! Don’t tease me.
to level
every single side quest
up as high as possible.
Via email
is
DAVE CORDON
market
Associate Art Director Dave’s new favorite game
you'll
intense
Samba
session.
to hear that classic
DC modem, $50
to the
US
ESSoliloquel
part will allow you
Dreamcast with a DSL
or
keep hearing all these rumors about Sega and Nintendo What does this mean and is it going to
forming a joint company.
happen? Are there any sequels coming for Jet Grind Radio or Guts
Rage: Sword of the Berserk?
Interestingly,
.
m
will
to play
DSL
Sega’s
ISP,
not be offering DSL.
Are there any
Mega Man
or
or cable connection, you'll have to it.
But since
While we’re unsure what’s actually going on behind closed doors, what’s on record is that the original news story was a
what the actual message was. In sum, the was an announcement stating that a high-level
mis-translation of
SegaNet already promises awesome speed, most people won’t need to bother.
real deal
executive had been hired on at Sega from a position
NASKA
If
in which you apply the “operator,
EVAN SHAMOON
operator” principle to this small story, then you get the end
ESGain Ground-ed
Skater 2. It's that track by Rage Against the Machine combined
A friend
“Sega and Nintendo are working together!” But for the record, Sega representatives have cleared up the question and state that there are no plans for the company to pair up with Nintendo anytime in the near future. Although the company's plans to do hand-held gaming (see DCDirect page 13) do give some tantiiizing hints... it’s long been rumored that Jet Grind will be receiving a sequel which will feature online and multiplayer modes, but again— Sega has said nothing about it. And as for Sword of the Berserk, neither ASCII nor Yukes has plans for a sequel.
we
think.
He
can play for hours, and now that he's mastered the gap-to-manualto-gap skillz, he is practically unstoppable. It's fun to watch him beat Blake from Next Gen: that improves everyone's spirits!
Official
games coming? Kevin Capa
Sega games online using a
sign up with a third-party ISP that offers
Crisis
Associate Editor Evan is all about Tony Hawk’s Pro
with the hip clothes,
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Time
Kevmcapa6 1 4@hotmail.com
Sega Net, you want
If
he had worked with Nintendo.
10
Farrell
games are still
remembered by DC owners. Unfortunately, a sequel or remake of Renovation’s Gain Ground, which debuted on the in 1991, is more rumor than anything else. We haven’t heard anything on this title with regard to companies working on “secret projects.” But if we hear anything about it, our readers will be the first to know. As for a “car RPG,” Ripcord’s upcoming Gorka Morka is being touted as a type of vehicular combat/RPG with upgradeable cars which are fully interactive. We have yet to test the game out for ourselves, but you can bet we’ll be checking it out in an upcoming issue.
other broadband connection.
remember
from past issues, is a man who's motto is “A chicken in my pot, every single night.” He's also been known to strap on the maracas (literally, with electrical tape) for an
will
January. The
to use your is
Chicken Run. “I just love making the chickens get caught," he says Dave, as
in
good
Genesis
I
broadband adapter, which
be releasing the basically an ethernet card
it
it’s
is it?
Mike Dunning
Mike, Sega has announced that
that replaces the built-in
r
the next presidential
Hey, Ryan,
kind of party event
Where
No, we're just kidding:
finally finish
gleefully.
in
get nothing. Nada. Zilch. Even DailyRadar.com
seems to think that the adapter
down
she actually goes back to all the RPGs she's beat and works to
and
use cable
my Dreamcast in your mag’s Tech section [ODCM #9], must have it and search everywhere can for information on godsend. I’m a gamer and a techie. can make the Net I
the
me to
with
this
FRANCESCA REYES Senior Editor For Fran, bad moods actually mean that she steps away from gaming toward the big baseball bat she keeps by her desk. “Hey Fran... everything's cool... just put
or
Ryan
farrel 1 8@snycorva.cortland.edu
I
I
the deep end
like deliveries
I
of
mine was searching on the
Internet
result of
and came across
a rumor that one of the greatest
games of all time, Gain is coming to Dreamcast. couldn’t believe it so went on the Net to do a little searching myself, but to no avail. Is it rumor? Or is Gain Ground really coming out on DC? And someone should develop a game based on the pen-and-paper RPG Car Wars. It would rock. Imagine driving Ground,
I
I
just a
around
in
armored cars packed to the core with weapons!
C.
# Dreamcast Magazine
February
2001
www.DailyRadar.com
For now, there are no plans for any MegaMan games from Capcom on DC. The same goes for a Time Crisis title from Namco on DC. Bummer, huh? But, who knows what
announcements informed
if
around the corner, so anything changes. lay
we’ll
keep you
SegaNet, Earthlink or something else, you should have no problem getting your game on across the network. Look no further than the ODCM demo disc snuggled tightly in with this very issue, Brice! The latest demo includes Voice Over IP software and other various upgrades for your
DC browsing
Is
suggesting that that might be the wrestling title headed for DC on the THQ ticket The mystery wrestling game for DC
there any chance of Sega bringing either Emergency Call
games totally
rule in the
reek of
if
ended up being WWF Royal Rumble instead, and the company has no plans to release any more DC wrestling games beyond this. Sorry for any confusion. We’d sure as heck would like to know when bieem! is coming out for DC, as well, Brice! It’s been postponed and delayed since its original release date of July 2000, and the company has been very hard to pin down in regards to specific date. Therefore, it’s a wait and see situation for now. We just hope that they get it out sometime within the coming months, but we’ll keep you posted.
Dreamcast? Both these
Safari to
arcade and
awesomness
,
would
it
could play
I
them on my DC. B’lo
Average
DarkkLotusNENJA@aol.com The news titles ever
is
grim so far on these two
making
it
to DC, B’lo.
Sega’s spokespeople claim that it has to do with the technology difference between the arcade
is
NAOMI
Before
I
got
first
my DC,
I
kind about Baldur's Gate
actually
This
game makes San
DC at all? Thanks a
in a pre-release book of some coming to DC, but other than that, it! Do you know if it will be coming
read
I
lot.
Aaron Gretsinger
Diego’s
adgl3@crosswinds.net
Wild Animal Park look tame.
is still
it
up
in
if it might be worth it, so these pages if there’s hope
on the horizon.
Bad news, Aaron! While the PC RPG phenom known as Bioware’s Baldur's Gate was originally planned as one of DC's first online epics, it’s since been cancelled. But,
RPGs on the way, Phantasy Star Online and FarNation, so don’t fret! fortunately, there are other online
EQ Kill I
loading everything seems fine.
When the game
is
about two inches of the picture is chopped off all the way down the left hand side of the screen. assumed it had something to do with the projection TV, but when we hooked it up to the bedroom TV (32 inch) it did the same thing. own for DC does this. Any Is this a system flaw? Every game help in explaining this phenomenon would be appreciated. ready to
play,
I
I
Jeffrey
j.jones2@att.net
We’re unsure if the problem you’re having is stemming from your system or from using the system on a projection TV. We’ve played our DCs on big-screen televisions, but never on screens larger than 40 inches (we’d like to remind you, by the way, that it’s okay to have friends who own smaller TVs than yours). You may want to check with Sega’s tech support line (800-USA-SEGA) for help on the matter as it might be something wrong with your specific Dreamcast system. An even better solution, of course, is to send your faulty 50-inch screen to us-we’ll be happy to send you our perfectly functional and far-more-portable TV in return! That way, everyone wins.
CO Trigger
Four Word Letter
go online with my Dreamcast a for
lot and was wondering if in games (like NBA2kl) do have to sign SegaNet or can use my own ISP? an updated version of the Web Browser 2.0 ever come out? And if so what will be it’s capabilities? In ODCM #04 there was an article about I
I
THQ’s plans to release Wrestlemania 2000 for DC in the fall. haven’t seen it yet and was wondering I
is
still
I
game? And when come out?
plans to release the
bleem! ever going to
Brice
Beck
bb_toocool23@yahoo.com You don’t need SegaNet in order to play any of the Dreamcast online games, but you do need an ISP. Whether it’s
Revealed: The Rock
Rob Schneider SNL)
I
blood instead of souls.
Is
is
like
Four out of f v ® _1 Reavers say that souls taste better *
always, so don’t believe
.
have been playing Dreamcast for quite a while now, and have to say that NFL 2K1 is the greatest sports game ever it’s the best game I’ve ever played in any genre). I
I
RED94602@ao.com
(personally,
seen of Madden 2001 on PS2, NFL 2K1 blows it out of the water. But here’s my question: Is Visual Concepts ever
From what
going to
I’ve
make a college football game? If they are capable of game as great as NFL 2K1, surely they could do it
producing a
again with a college game.
counterpart used a specially
NCAA game. Same goes with NBA 2K1 and a possible college basketball game. Just wondering if you have heard anything about future college sports games. Thanks, and keep up the
made sniper peripheral that has no
real equal in land of
already been asked by at least five or six people about a future
Brent Wi Ilian Louisville,
KY
At this moment in time, we’re sad to report that Sega has no plans in the immediate future for any college sports games via Visual Concepts, but this isn’t to say that another thirdparty publisher doesn’t have some plans in the works that they’re not currently talking about. We just haven’t heard a
HA New Chapter How many chapters of Shenmue are there going to be for DC? Somebody told me there were going to be 20, but that like
I
good work!
console attachements, so you’ll have to depend on your trusty DC controller to do your shooting for you.
sounds
Are they having trouble obtaining permission from the at a software store here in Louisville and have
NCAA? work
thing regarding
too many. What’s the real deal?
know almost nothing about SegaNet except that you can games online and send email. Are you able to surf the
NCAA games on Dreamcast, which seems a
since they’re just as popular as pro sports games, a wait and see situation, Brent, so stay tuned.
shame
it’s
on a computer with another ISP? When is ESPN Baseball Tonight coming out? It was supposed to come out in April, then August, then November. Now when is it going to be released? Eric
Via email
»fl LITTLE TO THE WRITE A
Shenmue
a play-it-by-ear sort of series according to the game’s creator, Yu Suzuki. Supposedly, every “chapter” of the is
game can
be held up as a stand-alone product, but the grand plan is to produce 16 complete chapters. But don’t get the number wrong, Eric. “16 chapters” doesn’t necessarily translate into 16 separate games. In fact, it’s rumored that sequels would incorporate multiple chapters rather than one single chapter (like Shenmue: Chapter 1— Yokosuka). Sorry if
where the series stands. Hope it answers your question. SegaNet is a fully functioning ISP with email, Internet
this is confusing, but this is basically
little goes a long way, and a lot goes even further. So, get and send ODCM all your fits of Dreamcast fancy email or snail mail form and get your questions answered. Wanna know what Yu Suzuki eats for breakfast? Ever wondered why Sonic wears shoes but no pants? Can’t quite figure out why we run so many freakin’ pictures of Yuji Naka in every issue? Then write to us. We may have the answer. And if we don't, then-well, then we don’t. But don’t let that stop you. Send it to: ODCM, c/o Imagine Media,
scribblin’ in
150 North
Hill Drive,
Brisbane,
techno-snobs, but email
is
CA 94005.
Call
absolutely fabulous
us
at:
dcmag@imaginemedia.com
really
(formerly of
in his skivvies.
The DC microphone should be out in stores in a separate package from Seaman right now! Can’t wait to get truckin’? Read our full preview of 18 Wheeler in Coming Soon and then start saving. The game hits stores in just another month or two. That’s just crazy oldskool vampire propaganda you’ve been hearing, Corey. SR2 has Raziel
none of the DC lightguns, licensed or not, work with Silent Scope. In fact, Silent Scope is not a lightgun shooter in the House of the Dead 2 sense. Its arcade
I
there are
American ProTrucker be coming out? heard that in the upcoming Soul Reaver 2, you get to suck
than blood, anyway.
Happy
Will
if
Boom
new DC microphone come
internet too, just like
order to play the online
up
the
the US, sold separately
Seaman? When will 18 Wheeler
sucking souls,
Unfortunately, RED,
I
I
in
the hype.
Does the MadCatz Dream Blaster lightgun work for Silent Scope on Dreamcast, or do you need to use the original controller? Or will some third party peripheral maker create a whole new gun?
play
IS
out
fflThe College Try I
is
will
(and long distance system)
like
Your Television
have had a Dreamcast for about nine months now and love one small thing. We own a 50-inch TV and when
it—except for
the system
When
coreyBl 1 @hotmail.com
haven’t heard a peep about to
or the mysterious Hikaru
be writing
Chat
[2
Corey
evaluating the titles for port to see we’ll definitely
left
from
H Baldur’s Wait
on the DC-friendly NAOMI board, but something different such as the Model 3, dual board. But Sega
and online gaming. No virtual stone is it and you can use SegaNet as your
you have
if
According to Konami, ESPN Baseball Tonight has been postponed until next year, perhaps to coincide with the start up of the baseball season. We'll keep you updated.
this true?
versions of Emergency Call Ambulance and Jambo! Safari and the DC. Apparently, neither of the arcade titles
abilities
primary ISP.
We’ve never confirmed that THQ would be bringing over Wrestlemania 2000 to Dreamcast; we were merely
H Original Sims Ambulance or Jambo!
needs.
browsing unturned
February
2001 Official
# Dreamcast Magazine 11
1
NEWS
C FAST
FORWARD
volution or
volution? reamcast takes two giant leaps into the future Games
There were a few surprises at Sega’s recent Executive
Summit. But our eyebrows raised the highest when Charles
VP of Corporate & Marketing Communications, gestured and
said, “Will
we
ship a box like that Yikes. Is
it
I
all
says
all
in
to our plans going
Bellfield.
il|fe)fused? Don’t be.
step
Dreamcast
at a
two years? No.” — "The over for Dreamcast? Not at
in
Dreamcast platform remains central 'ard,”
Bellfield,
the evolution of
Sega its
is
simply announcing the next
system. “Sega’s future
delivering content,” said Bellfield, which
reasons the company
is
one
is
is all
about
of the
looking to develop for hand-held
platforms (see related story, next page). To enable the
company to
deliver
games on
its
the Dreamcast
a whole array of
soon acquire an
itself will
nsive multiplatform architecture, at
does
this
ti®D|eamcast intfi
mean? Three
architecture
can then be licensed and slotted of
things.
First,
be integrated
will
a one- or two-chip piece of technology, which
consumer devices— like DVD
Second, Hie company wants to take free system” business
model
into
any number
players or even PCs.
its
current
to the next level. Right now,
you can g|t a rebate for the cost of the Dreamcast by subscribing to SegaNet for 18 months. Bellfield,
“You can think of
atellite dish. You’ll
it
like
don’t pay for the hardware.”
THIS
afford to give
MONTH
WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
wants Senior Sega official Charles
it,
In
the future, says
a cable box or
digital
pay to get the content but you
So Sega
will
be able to
Dreamcast technology to anyone who
thanks to saving a fortune by reducing the
system to a couple of
Frito-sized chips.
Bellfield told
Alexander the Great 13 The world in your eyes 14
Dream on Separated at Calling
all
birth
Dreamcasts
Blood typical
Nice package Shen woo hoo JAMMA and jelly
14 14 16 16 17 18 20
ODCM that future iterations of the
Dreamcast system will likely be integrated into a one- or two-chip piece of technology, which can be licensed and slotted into any number of consumer devices— such as DVD players.
Third, part,
and
this
may be the most exciting
“The technology of Dreamcast
designed to scale
easily,”
says
is
Bellfield.
Translation? Since the underlying
Dreamcast technology— NEC graphics
Dreamcast News Network
future
"Sega's
about
is all
delivering
content. Charles Balffleld
Sega teams will develop for multiple platforms... Relax, it's not what you think SEGA’S TOP DESIGN TEAMS ARE GETTING READY go unplugging your Dreamcast and getting ready to put in the closet, consider this. The multiple platforms don’t include any other videogame consoles— Dreamcast is central to Sega’s content development. Instead, IT'S OFFICIAL.
to develop for multiple platforms. But, before you
according to Sega, the company hardware, Hitatchi CPU, and
can
be improved upon
all
iterations,
mean
it
will be.
RAM—
property (lawyer talk for
future
handheld platforms.
in
And does this
that a Dreamcast 2
is in
the offing? “No,” he says. “That implies the old, console
way of
and we're simply moving
thinking,
beyond
that.”
Developers
continue to use the
And us gamers And
will
more out
of Dreamcast.
suddenly be playing on a more powerful gaming system.
will
current Dreamcast owners
we be able to
play
looking to deploy like
its
intellectual
Sonic, etc.) on
In other words, Sega games could appear on handheld gaming systems (no one mentioned Game Boy or Game Boy Advance, but frankly, they didn't have to), mobile phones (the company already has a deal with Motorola to deploy games on some of its new phones), and palm-top devices that are now powerful enough to play emulated
or native version of Sega’s 16bit hits like Sonic
2
or Shinobi.
same unique
so there won’t be the learning
system-they’ll just be able to get
is
great characters
will
development environments, APIs, graphics libraries, etc,
new
curve of a
its
games
written for
Alexander: The Road to Percia
upgraded, don'tcall-it-DC2Tiardware? Forward compatability (playing new
FANS OF STRATEGY ON DREAMCAST SHOULD REJOICE: A PROMISING
games on
strat
old
systems—as opposed
games on new systems)
old
realm of In
isn’t
a
to backwards compatability, or playing
reality yet,
but
it
could be within the
possibility.
right troops with
Dreamcast has never looked
short, the future for
manages
to proliferate
Dreamcast technology
players to set-top boxes to
brighter.
If
Sega
into multiple devices,
from DVD
who knows, we may see the Dreamcast become
the right general for each given
battlefield situation
the
game
and
story,
first
console to break out of the traditional
multiarchitecture
gaming
platform.
And
mode and become
that...well,
its
own
that would be really cool.
is
crucial to victory.
features tons of animation
and
managed
it’s
an incredibly cast
the
to create
of characters.
characters are controlled only by
own
individual
Al— but you
can move the camera around during the realtime battles to
PARTNER UP who
will
keep abreast
of the situation
across the
Sega partner with
entire battlefield.
to bring the
we be calling this game Will
Dreamcast architecture to a wider audience? The
company
who
it
isn’t talking,
isn’t
but
we can
at least tell you
partnering with—Sony, which has
its
own
Alexander be Great?
Almost
And
definitely.
will
it
America?
game
combo gamepiayer/DVD player out now; Panasonic, which has made a deal with Nintendo to include GameCube technology in its DVD players; and Toshiba, which is already in bed with small
division with a
Sony thanks to a deal regarding joint manufacture of
PS2 chips. Which leaves Thompson/RCA, JVC and Samsung as the biggest brands who could conceivably decide to add gaming to their DVD player offerings.
You
can only control Alexander— other their
So, just
NEW
game is heading to DC in Japan. ..and here’s hoping it makes it over! As young Alexander, you’ll be expanding your empire towards Persia— and it features several twists on the standard strategy theme. First, deploying the
conquer
Who
knows? Check back for more soon.
So what does this anime girl have to do with Alexander? The game’s being developed in Japan, so of course, it’s been given a Japan-ese look by the developer.
Second,
UCURECT
Dreamcast News Network
Japanese Envy
Dream
Studio’s text-based interface would be a nightmare to localize for
US
release.
Creating a new world from the ground up is easy with Dream Studio As long as you live in Japan. .
QUESTION: What’s Japanese, cooler than anyand not repeat not scheduled for US release anytime soon? Dream Studio, Sega’s new 3D adventure/RPG maker. The system
—
thing,
—
you design characters, create 3D environments, and develop time- and event-based scenarios so you can take a swipe a making the next Grandia. Once you’re done, you can save your scenarios to VMU or upload them lets
So when’s this awesome RPG-making tool coming to the US? Not any
for others to play.
time soon, unfortunately. Because the sys-
tem
is
so text-based, localizing
it
for
US
release would be a major undertaking. We’re still
hopeful, though, that this
tool will ship in the States
next year. Maybe.
We
game genesis
sometime
in
the
hope.
DREAM ON IIJl TOPIO ^5
GAMES WE WISH WERE ON DC
i
V*'*
BEST SELLING TITLES, NOV. 2000
j
COLUMNS SEGA 1993
1 SEGA SPORTS NBA 2K1
Okay, Sega, this should be
SHENMUE 3 SEGA SPORTS NFL 2K1 4 CRAZY TAXI 5 TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER 2
SEGA SEGA SEGA SEGA
2
a no-brainer! The original
Columns is acknowledged to be so good, it's going to be one of the charter titles on the new Smash Pack— but what we want now is
ACTIVISION
6 JET GRIND RADIO
READY TO RUMBLE: ROUND
a complete update for
7
Dreamcast. An update complete with...dare we say it.JNTERNET MULTIPLAYER. If it ain’t online, it our bag. Booyah. Note to Sega: Make this happen.
8 QUAKE III ARENA 9 SONIC ADVENTURE
ain’t
SEGA MIDWAY SEGA SEGA SEGA
2
10 SEGA SPORTS NFL 2K
'
Resident Evil’s Claire That 70s Show's Donna Chris' private
(now
public)
and unwholesome
obsession with the admittedly gorgeous star of That '70s
Show spurred this month's
for Separated at Birth.
notice
We
choice
couldn't help but
how much Donna looks like Resident
Evil's resident babe, Claire Redfield. Here're a
few points of similarity: (a) They both have red hair. (b) They both wear chokers. (c) They are both dismayingly sexy. (d) They both kill (or drink) zombies. (e) They both really like Chris (or at least, they do in Chris's fantasyland— we think). (f) Their luscious lips — shaped EXACTLY the same way!—just beg to be kissed.
14
Official ©Dreamcast
Magazine February 2001
%
HOT LIST WE DIDN’T START THE
|
We want
it
badly:
We all
FIRE
hope
1. Guilty
1.
2.
Gear X Sonic Adventure
2. Soul Caiibur
3.
Shenmue 2
4. Outtrigger 5.
PSO
You want it badly: 1. Shenmue 2 2.
Dragonball Z
3.
Gaga for Segagaga? ...
pray for:
2
Rage 4
Herzog Zwei 2
You’re dying to play with: 1.
DVD
Weirdest. Idea. Ever. a bizarre case of art imitating life, Sega Hitmaker (best known for Virtua Tennis), is planning to release a management sim for Dreamcast. In this game, titled (we kid you not) Segagaga, you’ll play the head of Sega as the company attempts to take over the gaming business. Sold online only in Japan, don’t expect to see it over here— although if it does make the journey, we expect Peter Moore to do the strategy guide. In
Panzer Dragoon Saga 2
4. Streets of 5.
&
NiGHTS 2
player
2. Zip drive
3.
Dragonball Z
3.
MP3
4.
Dragonball Z
4.
Broadband adapter
5.
Dragonball Z
5.
Evan
“solution”
www.DailyRadar.com
Dreamcast
Record Of Lodoss
Of Lodoss and sounds on the
“Record
War...
looks
dill definitely satisfy
Dreamcast owning Diablo fans”
War.
brilliant
Dreamcast”
WWW.
-www.gamespot.com
com
Experience the world of Record of Lodoss War up dose and personal in an epic 3D action/RPG only for Sega Dreamcast. Take control of a mysterious warrior from the past, resurrected to save the future, on a colossal quest filled with pulse pounding action and high adventure. Join forces widi popular characters from the lodoss universe and combat hundreds of vicious enemies widi dozens of spectacular spells and customizable weapons. 1998
RYO MIZUNO, GROUP
SNE,
trademarks
of
Sega
Enterprises, LTD.
.
All rights
reserved.
All
other trademarks are the properties of their (c)
Crave Entertainment
is
a
© 2000
Publishing/ESP.
Copyright 2000 Crave Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. in the U.S. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of
registered trademark
Animated Blood Animated Violence
Conspiracy Entertainment. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or respective owners. Crave Entertainment and the Crave Entertainment logo are trademarks of Crave Entertainment, Inc.
MASATO NATSUMOTO/''RECORD OF LODOSS WAR''PROJECT/ TV TOKYO ©2000 Kadokawa Shoten
their respective holders.
D DIRECT
Dreamcast News Network
Calling All Dreamca sts DreamCall: Use the Internet to screw the
phone company With Sega's new DreamCall software and a DC microphone, you can make long distance calls to other Dreamcasters for free. The
NOBODY LIKES THE PHONE COMPANIES. don’t, at any rate. Which is why
We
we're hella excited about DreamCall,
a new feature of Browser 2.6 (which
comes, by the way, on the GD-ROM
software is built into the new Browser 2,6—
included with this issue).
which just happens to be included on this month's demo disc.
DreamCall enables you to use your Dreamcast’s Internet connection
combination with the Dreamcast microphone (currently available with in
Seaman, soon to
to
be available separately)
make
calls
free Dreamcast-to-Dreamcast anywhere in the world. Got a little
friend in Pakistan? Call her for free.
DreamCall also
lets
you
to the outside world (that
make
is,
calls
regular
people on regular phones) using your Dreamcast. Unfortunately, these conversations
will
What's Your Type?
5$
cost you a steep
a minute— but then, there’s no long distance fee, so you
still
Why do so many
might be
games
saving money.
How’s the quality? Not too bad, although there's a slight delay and a tiny bit of distortion.
quality
much
We'd
rate the
higher than, say, Houston-
to-space shuttle communications, but
way we
lower than that of regular phone or digital cellular. It’s
more
like
analog
cellular quality.
Of course,
you'll
probably have to
email your partner to set up a time to since your Dreamcast needs to be on, online and running the browser
call,
to receive calls— unless your
game
programmed
DreamCall
activity,
to monitor for
is
which none are— but what the
technology lacks
in
spontaneity,
it
more than makes up for in free-ness. And predictably, the DreamCall technology
games (see
the
16
will
be showing up
in
soon. Alien Front Online
Coming Soon,
first title to
Official
use
pg. 56) will
tell
be
it.
©Dreamcast Magazine February
you the
blood types of the characters? It's a Japanese thing; in Japan, people look at blood types the look at
hard to please,
Minuses: Insecure, too idealistic, big
(The most common type in Japan is A.
sneaky, unstable
mouth, jealous
In the US,
Minuses: Finicky,
when drunk
Type B Pluses: Adventurous, passionate, friendly,
independent
horoscopes here in the US. According to the Japanese system, your blood type determines your personality. Here's a handy index to help you understand how blood types are used in games.
Minuses: Lazy, indiscreet, unpredictable, bossy
Type A
Type 0
Pluses: Honest, trustworthy, hard-
Pluses: Strong, athletic, sexy, forthright, very
working, loyal, law-abiding
2' 101
Type AB Pluses: Sensitive, powerful, friendly,
well organized Minuses: Too proud, a playboy, vain, hard to get to know
ambitious
it's O.)
>
Dreamcast News Network
Know
Nice Package! My god, it's full of Genesis games... Starting in January, Sega’s going to deliver something that console buyers haven’t seen
since the 16-bit days: a pack-in game. Well, twelve of them, actually. Sorta. Here's the deal. Starting in January, there will be a available, the it
looks like
it
new Dreamcast
retail
package
Smash Pack Bundle. Although all of the details aren't fully fleshed out, will cost $169 and it's going to come with one of the most awesome
—
pack-ins ever.
On
the
Smash Pack
FYI), Virtua
disc will be SegaSwirl,
Cop 2 (with
classics! Sega
light
gun
support!),
Browser
2.6 (also
found on
this disc,
—get this— ten emulated Sega Genesis
and
has been offering pay-to-play emulated Genesis games via
network in Japan, but these will be complete games on the
GOLDEN AXE
disc.
its
online
No word on whether
PHANTASY STAR
SHINOBI
2
hands on the technology so we can slide you a couple of free Genesis games with each issue, but we're working on it. The games included will be Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Streets of Rage 2, or not we'll be able to get our greedy
little
Golden Axe, Vector Man, Revenge of Shinobi, Columns, Phantasy Star
and Wrestle War. Holy Although Sega
is
crap! That's a lotta
II,
Shining Force,
good Genesis games.
being coy about plans for releasing the Smash Pack as a stand-
alone disc, we'll eat our spats
if
the disc, or something very similar, doesn't
along soon after the Smash Pack Bundle
is
come
released.
CAPCQMJ
©
Dreamcast
CAPCOM capcom.com O CAPCOM CO., LTD. 1 999, 2000 © CAPCOM U.S.A.. INC. 1999, 2000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are registered trademarks of CAPCOM
'ww.dreamcastmagazine.com
February
2001
Official
# Dreamcast Magazine 17
CO., LTD. DINO CRISIS and CAPCOM EDGE are trademarks of CAPCOM CO, LTD. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast Logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises. LTD.The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.
Dreamcast News Network
Shenmue: Woo-hoo! Ryo and friends make their official US debut with a huge party ODCM crashes
—
MARK SHENMUE S
TO
’
it
OFFICIAL
release, Sega went straight to the top: Shanghai 1930, San Francisco’s swankiest and most exclusive Chinese eatery. Fittingly, this
site
restaurant
where Sega
first
was
also the
revealed the exis-
tence of Shenmue, way back
The
international
turned out
in
in
1998.
videogame
force for the event,
digerati
where
they were wined, dined and entertained by
live
jazz
and a troupe of traditional RAGIN
Japanese taiko drummers (who were actually playing outside and weren’t technically part of the event— but cool nonetheless), and more Sega staffers, local celebs, and game journos resplendent in logo-ed T’s and nappy jeans than you could shake a stick at. The highlight of the evening was
when Shenmue creator/god Yu Suzuki himself picked up the mike and gave a
speech, about 'mue's development and his expectations for the game in the US market.
I
I
I
(In brief:
He hopes we
Sega President Peter Moore spoke crowd too, about the incredible
success of Dreamcast so far and his high hopes for a brilliant future. With
games
like
Shenmue
in
hand,
Sega is making sure it has enough inventory in stock to keep up with the demand! trust us: the only worry that
I
should have
I
it.)
to the
I
|
like
CINDY
The highlight of the evening was when creator/god Yu Suzuki himself took the mike
; .
Dreamcast News Network
>
1
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i
i
Bill V
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mue’s Chai, does he not? 3 Sega boss Peter Moore, clearly happy about Shenmue U Partygoers take time out to sample game 5 Now, that's a serious Sega fan!
the
CAPCOM
CAPCOM capcom.com
Dreamcast
CAPCOM CO. LTD. 1999.2000 CAPCOM U S A.. INC 1999. ’000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are registered trademarks of LTD RESIDENT EVIL and CAPCOM EDGE a*e trademarks ol C APCOV CAPCOM CO., LTD Sega. Dreamcast and the Dreamcast Logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association •
•
fayinft.ftnm
D DIRECT
Dreamcast News Network
ARCADE ACTION
Quarter Pounders ...
and no cheese
at Sega's private
arcade show SEGA SHOWED OFF
ITS
LATEST
goodies at a recent private arcade
show
we
Tokyo, and
in
(or at least our
correspondents) were there. Most
game?
impressive
Probably Air
Trix, 1
,
Sega’s next-generation arcade skater. Using a hardware setup it
adds serious
like
vert skills
-an
and a
***“£*• ***»*££
Top Skater, V<A*
lot
more tricks for an incredible punch. Coming home? Maybe. Maybe. Definitely coming home? The radlooking Samba De Amigo 2000. It sports our favorite 2D/3D monkey along with tons and tons of new songs,
NOSEGRRB check out the graphics, and then bow before the might of Sega’s arcade game designers. Air Trix looks like it is going to totally change the world. The only question: will its deluxe hardware control scheme (an actual skateboard) allow the play to translate to the home, or will this be an arcade experience only? Time will tell. Okay, so
first
which feature a Caribbean flavor this time.
So
songs
far,
this
there’s
Hockey on Dreamcast?
no word on US
time around, but we’re hop-
hope that “Who Let the not be among them. Bottom line? Sega’s still got it, and
ing against
Dogs Out” looks like
it
may come
it
home...
Samba 2000 features much more difficult action, including all sorts of new moves and poses guaranteed to embarrass you to death in the arcade, at home, or even all by yourself, just thinking about them. In short, the world’s best party game is about to go totally off the hook.
20
Official
i)'
Believe
it,
baby. Maybe...
It’s not on Dreamcast yet, but Sports Jam will be headed there soon if there’s any justice in the world.
will
Dreamcast Magazine February 2
Sega’s latest arcade classic features arcade takes on eight different sports (including hockey, soccer, golf, football, basketball, biking, basketball and tennis) on over twelve stages. The game uses a simple two-button control scheme, and is designed to test your accuracy at every sport. A two-player mode is included (of course), and since the game comes on a GD-ROM even in the arcade we’re hoping it will be an easy port to Dreamcast. We’ll have more on this promising arcade romp as soon as we can pry more info out of Sega.
—
—
What Grand(ia) Voice Acting! ODCM
gets the skinny o n
One of the best things about Grandia II is the fantastic voice acting. Mow’d UbiSoft do when the standard of voice-overs rarely has risen much beyond the laughable it,
“Jill,
you are the master of unlocking," school set by in the original Resident Evil? Hiring a profes-
Capcom
sional director helps. ODCM took the old Corporate Jet (well, technically, it was United’s corporate jet) to LA to get the goods from Grandia Il’s voice director, Kris Zimmerman— who’s probably best known for her work on Metal Gear Solid.
Kris
Zimmerman:
I
hired.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
Deep Space
get performances out of the actors
9: The Fallen, Tenchu 2, Alundra, The Sydney Olympics, Revenant, Heretic II and
And
Zork:
ODCM: What's the main once they’re
good vocals
ever done was Metal Gear Solid. When got the script, thought it was one giant pile to hand out to all the actors. But then realized that the 900+ pages before me was just my copy. With Grandia II, the path through it is so interesting. really liked the story. What’s funny is that have a 12-year-old son and he couldn’t care less about the cartoons I’ve done. The minute his friends realized worked on these games, became his hero. What videogame voice-over direction have you previously been involved in? Metal Gear Solid, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, I’ve
the game. With that
I
role of a voice director?
help cast and choose actors for
comes what some people would
producing: coordinating, setting-up, budgets, etc. But
video
prefer to refer
Did No.
I
Inquisitor.
The RPG fanbase
I
my work as voice direction. You’ve worked in a lot of fields: which do you perfer? Cartoons? Games? TV? Why? It’s all very similar, actually. My skill is the same regardless of the project. Games tend to get done quicker as they’re
don’t call myself a voice producer by trade,
Grand
call
to
more concise. This allows us to focus on what we’re doing and to become completely absorbed in the story while we’re working on the project. Cartoons tend to be strung
out over months. For Grandia II, we did eight sessions, which would have taken eight to sixteen weeks in cartoonland. Games are more intense.. .in a good way.
What were some of your impressions of videogames when you first began doing work on them, versus how you view videogames now? Games are so much better now. Story content has gotten much better. is much more story-oriented now. There aren’t as many arbitrary choices. It used to be you had to It
say something fifteen times depending on what the player did in the game. Now you still have as many avenues through the games, but the ways you can get through them are much more interesting, and not as repetitive. [Games are] much more complex now. The largest game
it I
is
one
of the pickiest subsets of
game fandom. Have you found this worrisome? you made about Grandia II?
affect decisions
know
that I’m giving
them the best people
available
and the timeframe for recording was adequate, so we were going to get a good game. And we had that with Grandia II. RPG localizations suffer from time and budget constraints. Have you run into any problems? Sound localization is an expensive thing. The studio is very expensive. The actors are expensive. And the actors only work a set number of hours per payment. Without knowing
for the role. At that point, the story
in, you never know how much how clear they’re going to be once we The difficult thing is trying to figure out how to budget the actor’s time. They had an aggressive schedule, but we met it. They had the editors working immediately on the raw data. It was a massive team effort. What’s your opinion on voice acting in videogames? know that when my son It’s gotten so much better. started playing games, was appalled at how bad it was. It was like they were casting family members to do roles. think companies like Ubi Soft are starting to listen to the fans and beginning to investigate how to do it right. And not only to investigate, but to succeed.
the client [UbiSoft] going they participate or start.
CAPCOM
I
capcom.com
I
I
loot. »d Go-.
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
February
2001 Official
Dreamcast Magazine 21
1
RESERVED. CAPCOM iiml the CAPCOM logo .H<- reijis CAPCOM CO., ITD. RESIDEN T EVIL 3 NEMESIS and C A
<wd ttadema
COM EDGE or
GAMES of
ODCM UNCOVERS THE SHOCKING TRUTH: YOU
W
games us Western gamers were never Games so Japanese that they violate ail import requirements for cuteness and weirdness. Games based on concepts so foreign to traditional US gamers’ tastes that for even suggesting that a company publish one over here, your average product arning: There are certain
meant
to see.
acquisition guy would probably be given three
be quietly asked to clean out insane. They just enjoy
knew golf
existed. But
some genres
months sick leave
H But Japanese gamers
on top of skyscrapers, go anting best-selling
(or
aren’t
that you probably never even
what do you expect from a country where people
where the number one a
his desk).
in glorified
Dreamcast
swimming
pools,
title—ever—is
play
and
Seaman:
game in which you interact with a moody fish who’s even better than your
therapist at telling you
why you suck, f Over the next four pages, we’ll take
you through the best examples of a whole
new gaming world...which
you’ll
probably never see anywhere else. Will any of these games ever come to the
US? Probably not Should they? A tough call. We don’t like being denied any choices, and
if
Infogrames
willing to release
will
bring out
Pen Pen, surely someone would be
Tokyo Bus Guide. Anyway, without further ado, get ready to
take a look at exactly what you’ve been missing...
AREN’T SUPPOSED TO PLAY THESE DREAMCAST TITLES!
CASE STUDY #1
Simply-animated dating interaction games have been popular in Japan since the days of the SNES console. They mostly revolve around a male hero (i.e., you) trying to win the affections of a certain girl, or,
if
you’re
lucky, a series of girls.
The courting procedure is
usually undertaken by
selecting options from
menus and watching the results play various
through onscreen. For example,
Memories Off,
there's a point
in
where you
spot your ‘love interest’ a few cars
away on the train. You're provided with two options: should you shout at her, or go and sit next to her? Of course, you don’t need us to tell you that the latter would be the more charming manuever. It doesn’t sound very thrilling, does it? But in a reserved and conservative society, this sort of
game
Tokimemi Memorial takes a approach
slightly different
to the dating genre, but
to capture the
same
you meet a friend from your childhood
provides
light-hearted ‘practice’ in charming the
Fujisaki Shiori.
opposite sex for adolescent would-be
and during your three years at the
romancers. Plus, they’re usually very
strive to
funny, working like interactive versions of
more
love.
light-hearted anime.
and
To do in
She
this,
is in
the
same
you must excel
school, you
lot
academic areas
means
that you'll
further than simply flirting a bit at the school dance.
Photo Memories Yet another inscrutable title hides
sections of Japanese
yet another standard date ’em up.
* February
class as you are
White Illumination Date girls in the upper-crust
In
# Dreamcast Magazine
in
sporting prowess...which
have to go a
Official
manages
named
impress her—and ultimately, to win her
and making an awkward pass
24
it still
appealing elements. After
getting into the exclusive Kirameki High School,
2001
cities.. .if
that sort of thing
is
your bag.
a reserved and conservative society, this sort of
provides light-hearted ‘practice’
in
game
charming the
opposite sex for adolescent would-be romancers.
www.DailyRadar.com
TOKYO BUS GUIDE —
As
a bus driver in you guessed it Tokyo, it's your goal in life to be the best
—
damn bus driver ever to grace the streets of Japan. To
achieve this
title,
you’ll
have
be pointlessly rude to customers and occasionally to
hit
the pavement, sending old
women
collapsing into the
aisles... no, that
would San
Francisco Bps Guide. Instead,
you must drive under the
speed
limit, indicate
before
turning, and be polite. result
is
The
amazingly addictive
and very underrated in terms of complexity and interaction. Japanese gamers were so thrilled with the
game that
Sega has actually taken up the cause, and is in the process of converting Tokyo Bus Guide into a full-fledged arcade
title
replete with
driver’s seat.
m
Let’s Make a Soccer Team
CASE STUDY #2
All
budding chairmen can hone the J-League.
skills in
You’ll
their
be
responsible for staffing your office by
n
choosing everything from a secretary to the color of your team’s
jerseys
in
order to build the
perfect group of soccer
Japan is a nation seemingly obsessed with work. Well, that’s not exactly true they just do a lot of it. All the time. Absenteeism is unheard of, overtime is mandatory (office employees sometimes sleep at their desks after working until 4am), and people have even been known to work themselves to death.
and take the cup.
players
—
Densha De Go! 2 Chugging over Japan races
in
true
horse and prep
it
action. You’ll win
manage to
so much fun. The
own Derby
some serious racing money and kudos if you
original in
the
arcade was so successful that the
for
get the formula
in
has never been
trains
Brothers fashion. Train your
Densha
series has spread to
piloting planes.
right.
Maybe that’s why games that simulate employment are so
immensely popular there. And we don't mean loony knock-offs like Crazy Taxi; we mean accurate simulations. The
smash hit arcade and console title Densha De Go! for example, enables players to drive a commuter train around Japan. Even Shenmue provides a
little
work-related fun, enabling you
warehouse. Although they sound ridiculous, these work sims are surprisingly therapeutic, enabling you to indulge in careers you’d never usually dream of. Just don’t expect to be paid for playing. to stack crates in a
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
r’S
MAKE A PRO BASEBALL TEAM Let’s
Make a Pro Baseball Team goes
pretty far into the nether regions of an
often mysterious world. You’re able to hire and
players to executives; you’re also club’s finances, choosing the
acquisition
and development.
dullard stat-based realm, for the players,
in
fire
everyone from secretaries to
charge of overseeing the team, tending to the
equipment—you can even get Everything, basically. But to
Sega decided
involved
keep
that a ‘massive-head’
it
in
stadium
out of the PC-
mode was essential
as were over the top bright and cute graphics.
February
2001
Official# Dreamcast Magazine
25
FORBIDDEN GAMES
Puyo Puyo Da! Dance with the Puyo Puyo crew!
Jv 1
1
V
right. It’s
of a real
game, which roughly translates into "you’re lucky
combos
to bury
if
your light-footed
'J
more
soundtrack than a
Bust-
fan set, you’ll use classic
u
In this
A-Groove for the puzzle
the import store even
carries this."
opponents.
Sonic
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION This
home version
of the
is
not really a game,
it’s
A game
with no visuals soothes your soul;
an especially great game if you happen to be blind. We hear.
Sonic Team’s
it’s
best audio achievements. Yes, you heard
arcade favorite (which East-born experts use
merely to practise on for their proper arcade showdowns) comes with
dancing controller— a floor mat with four arrows on
Gameplay
It’s
Real Sound 2
Team PowerPlay
its
own
CASE STUDY #4
it.
simple; just choose a tune, and then, as arrow symbols appear
mat to make your onscreen The more precise you are with
onscreen, step on the corresponding arrows on the character dance like a bubblegum-pop vixen. your groove, the
more
ImIIML
points you get. As a bonus, you’ll shed a few pounds.
Super Producers In this
Since Konami's DJ-ing sim BeatMania action
music/work hybrid that enables you to
manage a
J-Pop star, you’ll be able to audition
potential singing starlets
from a group— and
then managing her whole career
is
up
Will
cutie or a tradtional
she be a hyper hip-hop
right
and
you’ll
Do
in
is
Japanese arcades, rhythmand the craze shows no sign same reason karaoke is workers the chance to
—
probably popular for the
front of their friends in a semi-controlled environment.
we can attest after having
spent
(It's
some time in dancing arcades in
way to break the ice with the ladies.) Of all the crazy Japanese genres we’ve covered so far, this is probably the most accessible to US gamers, with titles like PaRappa the Rappa and Dance Dance doing reasonably well on PlayStation, and Samba De Amigo drawing a good amount of attention on DC. In this section, you’ll find examples of several more musical oddities which might just tickle your aural fancy. Will they ever come to the US? Well, never underestimate music to bring gaming nations together. Shinjuku, a great
pop superstar? You choose
her music, her look and her video work.
hit
popularity
Japan.. .it gives usually-restrained office
in
show off
to you
in
The genre
so huge also,
from there on out.
games have exploded
of abating.
it
land on the music charts.
POP’N MUSIC Pop’n Music
ODCM
is
as simple as your average pop star, but more fraught with tension than the
office at deadline (and that’s pretty
appropriate button at the
same time that
damn
it’s
controller,
wear a party
which
little
game
thin,
is
a trapezium-shaped block
but
its
fast-paced fun
is
tense). All that
is
in
required
is
that you tap the
full
a top package, especially with the optional of buttons.
The
frenetic button pushing
may
unbeatable. As with Dance Dance Revolution, this
by definition, and a splendid one at that.
strange to ever see a release
is
indicated on the screen.
Fronted by super-furry animals, Pop’n Music
It’s
the West, though, which
just too J-Pop-oriented is
is
a
and downright
unfortunate.
www.DailyRadar.com
would take
It
a
whole book to explain the possible origins
of
manga and the
many definitions you
could put to the term. However the modern use of ‘manga’ as a catch-all name for Japanese comics has been around since the
when legendary artist Osamu Tezuka created Astro Boy— the story of a cute android crime fighter and his mad professor inventor. Since then, manga and its animated equivalent, anime, have grown into 1
960s,
—
national obsessions with books, animated series’ and animated films aimed at everyone from schoolboys to housewives. Shoji Kawamuri’s popular Macross was one of the first major manga titles to become a game, released on Nintendo’s Famicom (known as the NES in the US) in the 1980s. From then on, many generations have seen manga and anime franchises achieve international success. Dreamcast examples include Cundam, Kikaioh \Tech Romancer in the USI, Bangaioh, Record of Lodoss War and Sakura Taisen. Most include lengthy anime cutscenes, which is cool if you enjoy Japanese animation.
The game
is
a mixture of
CG and
animated events influenced by how you
answers various series of questions asked by Belldandy and Co. The big draw for fans will
be the inclusion of all-new
characters not found or the
manga. This
in
either the
is definitely
anime
an otaku-
only sort of event.
Nadesico the Mission An
attractive outer-space strategy
game
based on the popular anime, for people who consider themselves to be sawy armchair generals of
some sort
or another.
Langrisser Millennium spawned from a
Though
technically not
manga
or anime, the Langrisser series
is
beloved amongst the audience for both
mediums mainly due to the
series’ strong
and character designs by renowned manga artist Satoshi
storyline
Urushihara ( Chiralty
Aa!
Megamisama
lovely leading ladies of
;
etc.)...with
the
exception of Millennium.
Quiz
Quiz-tastic arcade-to-DC port featuring the
the cult favorite
anime and manga series Aa! Megamisama {Ah! My Goddess in the US).
All five
installations in
SAKURA TAISEN
the series have
been strategy RPGs with a concentration on massive battles similar to the Shining
The Sakura series is one of the most precious and well-respected brands Sega has in Japan, and Sakura Taisen 18e2are the remakes of Saturn classics.
Force series, but with even more depth
typical
and
skill
required.
quite
manga style, you join
an ambitious
the oddest
You
Manga and anime are
national obsessions:
way
in
you’ll
remit).
a secret organisation fighting against
There are
tactical battles aplenty, but
command
the
Hanagumi Clan
of
female warriors
in
during battle instead of hitting on them. The
everyone from schoolboys to housewives.
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
In
(hmmm, some of
suits,
of your
and the
campaign.
time— i.e., encouraging them
manga theme
is
handled by Fujishima
who has also worked on the excellent Ah! My Goddess manga series. may prove impenetrable to most Westerners, though. Kosuke,
at
mech
which you interact with them determines the success
Points are given for saying the right things at the right
with books, animated series and films aimed
All Evil
these are
ever fight.
February
2001 Official
It
Dreamcast Magazine 27
.
JlEJtt
Dreamcast
2001 Mattel,
Inc. All
Rights Reserved.
Max Steel: The series, TM 8 2000 Adelaide Under license by Sony Pictures Consumer -
Rights Reserved. Products. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks ol Sega Corporation. Game Boy and Game Boy Color' are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. Licensed by Nintendo Productions, Inc.
All
Fight hand-to-hand or oiith 9 different weapons, including trip mires,
sniper
repeater guns and
rifles.
Rctivate stealth
mode
to
sneak bi_| Ljour enemies or go turbo for superhuman strength and speed.
Battle through 28 intense missions in 7 mind-bloming environments. All
screen shots are from the Sega Dreamcast
game
console.
terrorist group DRERD has stolen a deadlg biological weapon and planning to lag waste to the planet. But there’s one major obstacle: super ngent max steel, infused with nano-technologg and armed with an arsenal of weapons, he’s got superhuman strength, biasing speed and the power to go stealth. In other words, he’s the one to call when the other agents don't want to get their tuxedos dirtg.
The is
PRODUCTS RANGE FROM
EVERYONE
roTEEN
£•1
Animated Violence
uiuuu.maxsteel.com
uiuiui.maxsteeltu.com
FROm
ODcm inuestigates how uideogames
courted the underground, hijacked the mainstream and neuer looked back. Dark bedrooms. Sweaty control pads. Unwashed sweatpants. We could go on and on about videogaming’s sordid past, but that already been well-documented
it’s
a story
(and— erm—
Chris would rather not reprise his misspent
These days our
youth).
favorite
pastime suffers
no such hang-ups, having undergone a gargantuan transformation from nerdy, reclusive
hobby
into billion-dollar,
Hollywood-dwarfing
entertainment behemoth.
How when a
did
it
happen? Was
all
it
back
in
1992
million copies of Sonic hit stores
nationwide on ‘Sonic Tuesday’? Or was
it
when
the British too-hip-to-see-over-its-own-pelvis lifestyle/culture
mag The
on
almost hard to believe today,
its
cover?
It's
Face slapped Lara Croft
when PlayStation2 shortages make the national news and Dreamcast is Time Magazine’s Product of the Year, how recently the game industry was treated like the forgotten stepchild of
entertainment media. But what price do
we pay
for
acceptance?
Is
we grew up with selling out? Are games that’ve been designed for the mainstream— rather than geeks— even worth playing? Well, the answers are a bit more complicated than the the culture
questions. Fact:
Videogames are no longer the Palm Pilots
exclusive province of those of us with
on our belts and Mountain Dew on our sweatpants. Fact: Far
from merely borrowing from pop
culture, games are now starting to dictate it. And which company is leading the way? Fact:
seem
Sega. This company’s Japanese developers to
have more
some
style in their
other consoles have
VMU games than in
their entire libraries.
So join us as we attempt to nail the major trends at work that have dragged videogaming from the Jet Grind Radio’s
punk hits the geeks dig chicks and games.
bedroom-dwelling squalor, so well-documented
in
lovely graf
target:
’80s and ’90s media, into the sophisticated
splendour of 21st century Dreamcast
February
2001
Official i
living.
Dreamcast Magazine
31
Once upon a state-of-the-art:
was became
time, this screen
and
it
art-of-the-state of
Who
quickly
videogames, too. didn’t love Sonic?
1
SUPER sonic It
all
started with a
character that
it’s
little
blue hedgehog. Sonic was such a revolutionary
actually quite difficult, ten years after his debut, to understand just
squat, spiky guy had on the whole industry from the moment he spindashed onto the screen. Before Sonic, the only real, recognizable videogame was Mario. And Mario, though we love him dearly, was (and is) about
how much impact this character around
as far from hip as—well— Mario. Mario
is
safe. Mario teaches typing. Mario
Sonic the Hedgehog...the face that launched an empire, as well as a whole new epoch in the history of videogames. Without him, we literally wouldn’t be here.
has spent
his entire career trying to rescue a princess.
Sonic, on the other hand, had a ’tude. At a time
were
typically
when game characters was a pissed-off little ruffian whole ‘attitude’ bit has become in
history
nothing more than tiny spaceships, Sonic
bone to pick. And while, after a decade, this more than a bit trite (read: Poochie et al.), the first time Sonic tapped his foot and down his nose at you when you were playing, or teetered dangerously at the of a platform, the world of games—and everything that they could become—was fundementally changed. Sonic may have been the first game character that the average guy wouldn’t have been embarassed to introduce to his girlfriend. Combined with an innovative ad campaign—you know, the one with the original Sega Scream— portraying games (for the first time) as things that weren’t toys, the antics of Sonic the Hedgehog gave gaming its first taste of mainstream cool. Of course, the millions of copycat characters and ad campaigns-not to mention with a
glared
edge
Sega’s
32
Official
attempts to make Sonic a family-friendly character— kept things from mass, but the seed was sown.
ill-advised
hitting a critical
# Dreamcast Magazine
February
2001
.
www.DailyRadar.com
C1HHE on
OSS OF VOURSELF Cool
is
one
another.
In
companies
thing, but
the
mainstream success is when Japanese coin-op
late ’90s,
realized their profits
of fierce competition
from
were tumbling because
home
consoles, drastic
measures were called for. Enter a wealth of titles that on the success of simple gameplay (Simon, essentially), backed by awesome style and graphics and aimed squarely at casual gamers. Here’s where we see that despite our fears, casual games really can be for everyone— including hardcore gamers. Although anyone can play them, there’s something about funky disco games like Bust a Groove, DJ-mixing games like Beatmania and the king of dance ’em ups, Dance Dance Revolution that capitalized
makes mixing
with the hoi polloi kind of fun. Ever
played Guitar Freaks or
games forever
Samba de Amigo? These
put to rest the notion that gaming
Witness the crowds
solitary experience.
in
is
a
the average
arcade around these games, and ponder the potential of social
gaming as a concept
in its
own
In
Shenmue, we may have found the we want to live in: forever. All
world
that’s missing
is
a couple of Jedi.
right.
“But
it
looks like crap!” Such
was the
typical response
when non-gamers were confronted by the
efforts of
in the late '80s to bring in more casual gamers via realistic, 3D polygons. Hard Drivin’ might have been a bold attempt to create a more realistic racing experience (and in terms of handling it was), but 3D was so primitive back then, next to Out Run it looked—well— like crap. Despite the major attention paid to games like Pac-Man and Defender when they were new, it took loads of imagination and an
coin-op companies
graphics technology
appetite for abstract representations to look at the early arcade It
wasn’t really
until
games as anything more than
just a fad.
Daytona USA and Ridge Racer introduced detailed texture-mapped polygon worlds
arcades that graphical realism became a major way of drawing to the real
in
into
more non-gamers. Better graphics were a bridge
world-a conscious detachment from the trappings of fantasy and kiddie graphics and another reason
not to feel embarrassed playing a game. therefore little coincidence that as soon as videogame graphics (and sound) became sufficiently interesting mainstream audience, console gaming took off big-time with sports titles carrying the gauntlet well into it doesn’t take a genius to work out that the closer to real life graphics become, the bigger the potential audience. However, the irony then will be that no one will want to dwell in worlds that look like our own. Until then, we’ve got Shenmue.). It’s
to a
casual gamesplaying territory (Incidentally,
Evan gets into the
Samba
spirit.
Sega
should be screaming.
Booyah, Shibuya! Sega’s big releases stop traffic in Tokyo... and the crowds go wild.
But licenses can only take you so
far. The really cool stuff—the stuff that affects pop it seems as if virtually all of the coolest games come is the epicenter of the Japanese where trends start, evolve and die. It’s also the fashionable home of a select few Sega developers, where the teams are young and the laid-back working environment is in direct contrast to the stifling corporate blandness of the Sega of old. United Game Artists (formerly R&D department 9), creators of the retro-chic rhythm action of Space Channel 5, is typical of the new face of Tokyo game design, with offices tucked away down an interesting sidestreet not far from the famous Shibuya Square—where giant TV screens adorn the sides of skyscrapers and where SC5 itself was debuted to the
culture— is almost always original. And
from Tokyo: from Shibuya
Tokyo public to
its
late last year.
development
clue to what
Camped
Tokyo, to be precise. Shibuya
in
youth culture universe: this
is
With just a pokey security-pad-operated elevator providing access
facilities,
only the
coming and going of
its
unmistakably hip staff gives a
lies inside.
out here,
in
the midst of
intrinsic to this progressive, digital
all
hardly help but create the coolest titles
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
of the quirky sophistication
and freshness
that’s
design culture, the designers of Jet Grind Radio et in
the world.
al
can
Rave on! Over the last several years, the Chemical Brothers have stepped off of trendy dance floors and into the soundtracks of some of gaming’s most popular titles.
BOPIB
THE BBSS
—
Back in the 80s despite the fact that computer games had the sonic sophistication of a hundred angry wasps trapped inside a tupperware container-computer musicians achieved cult status in the 8bit underground, crafting memorable tunes from a few lines of computer code. However, the party really didn’t get started until Wipeout’s producers convinced big names from the techno scene such as Orbital, Leftfield and the Chemical Brothers to supply tracks for Psygnosis’ 32-bit racer. By the time the sequel came along, the dance community was falling over itself to get its hands on the soundtrack. Once CD-ROM-based consoles found their feet in the mid-’90s, gamers’ expectations for full orchestral soundtracks and licensed music grew rapidly. Road Rash Fighters Megamix and Sonic R were the 32bit precursors to DC titles that have boasted licensed music— like Crazy Taxi, Jet Grind Radio and Ferrari 355. And it isn’t just electronic musicians who’ve gotten in on the act: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater has brought pop, punk and hiphop bands into the act, including the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy and the Dead Kennedys. ,
Music sets the mood soaring
in
for
Pro Skater.
She’s too sexy for almost everything...Ulala took videogames to the very forefront of modern culture, with up-to-the-minute, club-inspired
moves and gear.
BV DESXGn The Designers Republic needs little introduction anyone who has followed the Wipeout series on
for
PlayStation.
Still
one of the most inventive graphic
design houses around, this small staff/big ideas graphic design outfit based
in Sheffield,
England
provided Psygnosis’ futuristic racer with a truly distinctive identity. Stylish, understated graphics
transplanted directly from the leading edge of the
underground electronic music scene brought major
kudos
to the title— making a great
game
nothing short
of spectacular.
Turning what could have been an isolated
occurence Rapper,
into
a successful trend, PaRappa the
SC5 and
puzzle
have used fashionable with a whole
34
Official
Dreamcast Magazine February 2001
new
games
like
Chu Chu Rocket communicate
retro styling to
set of style-conscious gameplayers.
www.DailyRadar.com
Licensing doesn’t stop at music, either. By far the easiest way dedicated gamers til
opposite
is
to
hand over a
fat
wedge
of
cash
in
to
extend the appeal of videogames beyond
return for a license to a proven intellectual property. But
game had a license, was crap. So the end result is that licenses, which should have helped into games—and reveal the inherent coolness of gaming to the world— actually had the exact effect (Example: Casual gamer buys licensed game. Game sucks. Casual gamer assumes that all games
the mid-’90s,
get tons of
if
a
it
new blood
suck and that gamers are hopeless losers.). These days, videogame licensing is a far more serious business. For a start, movie companies are naturally not so interested in seeing their francises developed by losers: they go to the experts. So we have Sega entrusted to produce stunning Star Wars coin-ops such as the Naomi-powered Episode 1 Racer. And we have Italian car manufacturers working closely with designers to produce authentic simulations such as Ferrari 355.
Where licensing has really taken off, though, is in the area of licensed sports personalities and official sporting home console games, like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. It’s a pattern that follows in the footsteps of FIFA, NFLPA, and countless other brands that game companies have turned into lucrative franchises. One thing’s for sure—we’ve come a long way from the days when licensed meant worthless. bodies for
x gbpies is the latest example videogames not just aping pop culture with ‘rad-hot’
Smilebit’s Jet Grind Radio of
endowed
characters still
with attitude (although there's
plenty of that to go around), but actually breaking
new ground
in
terms of style. A
Tokyo street culture,
stylish synthesis of hip
warfare and
inline skating, graffiti
JGR
free-roaming gameplay,
to urban skate culture
is
what Wipeout was to futuristic racing five years ago. Throw in a pirate radio soundtrack of hip-hop and mashed-up beats and you have the coolest game on the planet, period.
ODCM some
Producer Kawagoe Takayuki offered
why the game ended up being so damn team is very young, an average of 26 to 27
insight into
funky: “The
years old, which
is
unique inside Sega.
just three people, then six.
We
added three more
started with
for a total of
Everyone brought new concepts and a brand new
videogames, and we were
vision of
whatever we wanted to do. So
we
told by
did.”
Sega
do
to
Game
designers should take note that this sort of small,
group gives the development team a
tightly-knit
personal investment
endows the game
in
the
game
and, accordingly,
with the sort of close personal
it needs. By contrast, big commitees are fatal de sacs for innovation. As in the media worlds of film and music, there’s room for both small-time, underground games and
attention cul
those that effectively break through to a mass audience. For every Clerks there for every Matrix there
Crimpshrine there
is
is
a Toe Jam and
Earl,
a Jet Grind Radio. For every
an MDK2, and
is
Against the Machine there
is
for every
Rage
a Tony Hawk’s Pro
Skater. As long as the hardcore audience exists, top
developers
will
cater to
them— producing
deep and original games. The truth is that videogames are
beautiful,
still in
their
formative stages. Nothing can replace talent, and
gaming’s future depends almost entirely upon a continual influx of
new minds and
original thinkers into
the development community. Stories need to be interactions
need
much
to in
need
to
your hands, fellow gamers: For
understand what readers of
told,
be streamlined and paradigms
be exploded. The future of videogames
still
needs
to
be done,
if it
is
very
anyone can is
you: the
ODCM. Make your mark.
February
2001 Official
# Dreamcast Magazine
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COVER STORY:
PHANTASY STAR ONLINE FIRST LOOK
FRANCESCA REYES
TEXT:
SEGA’S FLAGSHIP
RPG SERIES CRUISES INTO THE
NEU AGE OF GAMING: ONLINE At the
dawn
of 2001, console
takes the next step
in its
gaming
evolutionary
process, with the debut of Phantasy Star Online: the
over the Net.
RPG
US console RPG
first It
isn't
to
go global
the Massively Multiplayer
some DC owners were hoping
that
for,
but backed by servers that can support up to
a thousand simultaneous users,
definitely
a step
in
PSO
is
the right direction.
After a year of hoarding tiny kernels of info,
ODCM
has
finally
been
invited to partake of
the whole feast: and man,
is
a tasty one.
it
|
Some
might
Star and Sonic
call
up on your
you’re
the pairing of Phantasy
Team an odd
history of the series
easy to see the connection.
*
some
choice, but
of the various
Yuji
members
if
it’s
Naka and
of Sonic
Team
have been with PS since the beginning, with
Naka claiming lead programming both Phantasy Star I and
credits on
(interestingly,
II
hardcore gamers have always held that the the series on the
original title is the best in
basis of
its
groundbreaking
gameplay— not to mention ryline).
Precedents
initially
size,
its
scope and
ingenious sto-
set by Sonic
J
Team j
have been carried through the run of the series,
on both the Sega Master System and |
Genesis.
So
really,
the
Team was the
logical |
choice for captaining Phantasy Star’s next
f
big trip into innovation—online.
An
ODCM
early version of
offices— not yet
PSO has finally in
hit
the
1
reviewable shape, j
but good enough to go the distance. So
grab a bag of holding.. .we’re going
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
February
2001 Official
1
in.
»
[
Dreamcast Magazine! 37
— Has Sonic ever beat his creator at a game of
PSO? Naka's Sonic's so
smart, but
dang
fast....
When you start a new game, it’s up to you to choose which of the nine different variable characters you’ll use for the duration of your journey in PSO.
'1
jgvjg
*2'^
•.
i
g
g \
i
©EnS cT + Select j
ODCM’s crack Japanese correspondent Christophe Kagotani managed to catch up with Sonic Team CEO Yuji Naka, when he could take time out from race car driving (we hear Naka recently traded
in his
li&
? » A
'S'iVVTj
MMonofluid BAntidote
'•
BAntiparalysis BMoon Atomizer BTelepipe
imwuuiiii " ** jut
m
BTrap
'Item Quantity
super swank Lotus
which he races
Elize,
1
Sega Japan cross their fingers nervously and hope he finds a safer hobby soon; maybe they should just remind him of what happened to Mark Hamill when he started racing between Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back). Naka at the track while the bigwigs at
gave Christophe the scoop: check
1
it
^ jgjgr
V
eeMesetajCr
What would you
like to
buy?
out.
W&
*
I
©
II
Vision
.
Sonic-blue Porsche for a
;
What were you trying to achieve game? Did you achieve it?
with this
©
should have been released
It
2000, but wanted I
The information hub
March
in
^
\
Mi
add a few features
to
j a
*;
that
I
V
thought were important. As the
is
where
you'll
gather
the know-how you’ll need in order to move ahead on your adventure. Oh, and the guys there wear some spiffy duds. all
volume increased, the team needed more time. This
a standard RPG, where
isn't
“Once you've taken the job and
you have to avoid boring players with a
game world that’s too
PSO
large.
online communication.
I
wanted
the heart of the project, and think
©; PSO guage
is
the
RPG
first
barriers”. Will
“console barrier”
©
it
is
about
be
this to
took time.
I
we achieved what we set out to do.
translator can
systems.
PSO
break
to
whether the
be ported
to
in its
Building a Better Android
We are
of the most clever features in Phantasy Star Online is the option
players to create their
V Sync [chip]. ..so it may never work on PCs. And if you’re talking about the newest consoles, like Sony's [PS2], it will never run: no chance. Maybe on an Xbox or Game Cube. Maybe.
not able to build one from scratch, you
with the
Considering
how
platform could do
it:
hard
it
the Hunters, experts
one
may
represent a marketing advantage, but
When
I
you
for different platforms,
you must base your work around the
system that evolved.
game
So
is if
the weakest or least
make
you wanted to
run on both
result for either.The project
become
game.
Force.
the art of close
38
Official
^
“color”
and
style
this
(it’s
girlfriend).
characters have more tweak-
game makes
it
all in all,
uniquely possible
the Force characters, masters of spell-
journey
casting and other wispy-wafty activities.
station floating through the Algol Solar
may change
the weakest, but
all
for the
of these
US
we names
version).
And don’t forget that
2001
its
about coordinating,
able features than others, but
the world go round When you’re all set, you’ll begin
should note that
Dreamcast Magazine February
proportions to all
Some
Formaru, Fonyueru and Fonyume are
in
addition to
these three different classes, you must
1
From that point, you’re then able to customize all sorts of cool things about your character, from its
izing in long-range attacks. Finally,
with a variety of spells (of course,
»
the radar
Human, Newman and
hybrid features).
to create a totally original fighter.
they can perform long-range attacks
the
same
would then
a very cheap-looking
in
PSO's three different
2
Android (some characters incorporate
combat and swordplay. Raycast, Raymar and Raykashiru are the Rangers, using many weapons proficiently but special-
Physically, they’re
Dreamcast and the
PS2, you could never get the
and
Hymar, Hucast and Hanyueru are
Dreamcast. Break-
ing through the hardware wall
game
characters representing three distinct
has been to
barrier, only
don’t see any merit in that.
develop a
can choose between nine available categories: Hunter, Ranger
in
character races: for
own characters
through an Edit mode. While you're
playing constantly
break the language
also figure
One
any other
actual shape would
never run on any other hardware, even
on the PC!
a few nasty surprises
in for
“lan-
you break the
the near future?
in
to predict
It's difficult
is
(literally)
just before Pioneer
about to land. More on that
While on the station,
to
purchase any goods. So
need info
in
to
you’ll
member of
Pioneer 2,
team of interstellar refugees on its way to colonize a new planet. The group is traveling in the wake of an a
earlier
team, called Pioneer
had been sent years ago
first, you’ll
ask for advice and help at the to the
head of
operations at the information desk,
your
a self-contained space
System. You're a
later.
discover
desk below the main deck.
Once you've spoken
Meseta makes
you'll
merchant shops, information hubs and transporters which can take you down to the new planet's surface. And in order to beef up your character’s arsenal, you'll need the right amount of the PS-standard “meseta” (money) in order
1,
which
to terraform
the land— but which went suddenly off
(like
receive
a field
all
the necessary goodies
map) and get access
main transporter According to the you're
one
of a
in
the
man
city
to the
square.
behind the desk,
few select people who
possess both the
skills
and
qualifica-
tions necessary for joining the research
team. What does the research team get to do? Well,
it
explores the planet's
surface far below—focusing on the environs of a gigantic explosion that
(it
www.DailyRadar.com
»
Everything in Phantasy Star Online is rendered in lovely, textured polygons. From the townspeople to the creatures that inhabit the various dungeons, every denizen of this world is equipped with great realtime animations and wicked special effects. No one does colors like Sonic Team: You really feel like you’re in another world.
© As an
online RPG, there
PSO — lots
structure to
© You know,There
an odd
Why?
the story
expansive.
is
of levels rather
than a coherent world.
not that
is
one dungeon [split and you’re
is
into various subsections],
able to explore and enjoy
with other
it
players. There’s a central plot, but this
©
Booma *® °8fetive
RPG and
a standard
isn’t
compared
shouldn’t be
a standard way.
in
Did you consider other methods for
communication and
translation,
besides the branch translation system that
©
HP 36/36
Why
used?
currently
is
finally
did you
opt for this system?
been thinking
I’ve
of creating this
type of communication system for
more than wanted
years now;
five
to design a
people from
all
really
I
system allowing
over the world to com-
municate together. But there were
many elements
did not
I
know how
to
handle— spent much time on paper I
trying to find a way.
We
started with words.
I
are
still
working on the word select system: Japanese and English are quite easy, since there is only a problem of word location in the sentence, but in Spanish or French, there are male or female words with so many rules that it’s been a nightmare. Last month, we had to
redesign the entire system!
Welcome to the ‘new’ era of gaming, in which you get to blow stuff up— mainly large crates.
This “universal” translator
the entire
been a
game
industry,
real challenge.
is
a
first for
which has
The world
select
system has 2000 words so far, but realize that players would like to use more I
landed on the planet, you're and waves of freaky monsters."
words than
and
it’s
this to express their feelings,
been
incredibly difficult to satisfy
everyone. I’m picturing that
people
will
in
Other companies
was what wiped out
munications with Pioneer
1.
all
com-
Lucky you.
Once you've taken the job and landed on the planet, you’re in for a few nasty surprises—and waves of freaky monsters. Your task is to defeat them, while collecting as much meseta
as your handbag can
Field Three right
carry.
Work
distinct
now, each containing different
utes.
The Lava Zone
is
inhabitants are
of
attrib-
effects
Zone
is
dangerous creatures, maze-like
pathways, puzzles and traps. And the River
Mouth Zone
is
commonplace, and generated randomly by the game. This means that monsters, items, doors and the path
a huge open area
riddled with poisonous plants
will differ
and
of action fact, it’s
RPGs
and online teamwork. In more like the early computer
of Wizardry's
ilk
than
it
play.
world a constantly evolving
likely
improve upon
cannot
will
soon begin
© more languages moment, © Are there plans
As the title suggests, PSO is meant be played over the Net. When you
to
begin a game, you can choose to play either offline or online.
If
you choose
and Korean— in Korea, the interest is
offering a
the
way
latter, you’ll
you’ll
be automatically trans-
enter one of ten different
into yet
the mystery behind Pioneer l’s disap-
each of these
pearance. Randomly placed ground
with other players
pods, called “cels,” contain bits of
other's wonderfully customized
its
long-gone team
members, and events
I
stay at five.
will
another ten lobbies, and
in
meet up and marvel at each
lobbies, you’ll
avatars. Think of
it
as a
glorified
chat
© How important character?
©
It
So
if
would be able of characters.
finding magical items or using team-
length of
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
is,
ultimately,
a
game
it
for the first time
in
son. Imagine communicating with
per-
is
the identity of your
How would
room with a purpose (usually). This might not sound so exciting, it’s a whole different experience
PSO.Jt
in
players go about
simple.
but
help to
But don’t depend on the storyline keep you enthralled throughout the
in
this
believe that
more than one character? One VMU, one character. you put two VMUs in the controller, is
when you do
will
guide you through the game’s loose
I
be a company
creating
plot.
hidden areas.
will
system with ten languages!
to
into
There are 50 or so different quests,
into
sections. Each section branches off
through monsters while deciphering
story as told by
time,
ranging from battling huge bosses to
hatches that open
booming! But at
where
in
PSO
I
the Internet
the future, there
up
for translating
no. For example, would be great, but it would take too much time to reimplement it. would also like to include Portuguese
ported to the massive mothership is still
you
Italian
new
we’re quite content to hack our
to
most
first,
perfect.
than the current five?
New Word
the
air,
will
you’re
For the
Brave
place where there’s always something to do.
it. If
make something
is like
Final Fantasy, but the core role-playing
elements remain strong.
every time
And Sonic Team CEO Yuji Naka has stated that once the initial quests have been completed, the team may be adding even more, in order to
you
While this option
whose
immune to the
of heat. The Deepest Cavern full
move obstacles that block new areas. Dungeons are
you need to follow
a fiery cave
buried deep within the planet,
to
entrances to
make this
areas are accessible
types of creatures with unique
work
laugh
were that few words back then?!”. consider the possiblities, and
turns out)
ten years,
PSO and
look back at
while saying something like “Wow. There
you If
will
have access to two characters.
you have ten or 20 VMUs, you to create that
number
» February
2001 Official
Dreamcast Magazine
39
Will
playing
©
Yes!
we
ever catch you online,
PSO? I
still
know
don’t
a special character to play
it
do
if
I
design
will
so, but
STOP MAKING SENSE
is back—and joined by a host of android warriors packed in for good measure. You’ll have to choose your character wisely at the outset, though, to avoid being stuck with a close-range fighter rather than a spell-slinging mage. It’s entirely up to you, and it all depends on your preference and the enemies you’ll be fighting.
Ah, pixie goodness
I’ll
just after the launch in a stan-
dard way.
I've
played Chu Chu Rocket
plenty of times online, as well— it’s a
huge pleasure playing Sonic Team
games
online with other gamers. This
time, with the word select system,
I
really want to chat with international gamers. would love to ask them very precise questions, but it will be diffiI
cult with
the vocabulary of the actual
word select system.
Would you have preferred sively multiplayer
game
a
mas-
rather than
the four-player option you have here? Or does the
smaller
game
number
benefit from a
of players?
© To
put up servers able to support so users from all around the world, would probably take two years for
many it
the technical programming alone! So
we
had to stay on a lower scale.
All in
really would have liked to have had six additional months to finish PSO; when you are close to the end of a development you want to add more and more features. would have to push the game off into the 21st century, though, and my goal was to release the game in Japan in the 20th century. Also, you cannot write to the GDROM. There is no hard disk inside Dreamcast, so it’s very difficult to all,
I
I
store data
in
order to properly enjoy
“massively multiplayer” gaming.
guess PS2 or Xbox
will
I
have these
types of games, using their hard drives. [But with
be incredibly if
they start
PSO]
I
think
difficult for
now on
it
will
them. Even
that type of project
would be impossible for them to it in under two years. We still don’t know if PS2 will be around in
Chat rooms. Love 'em or hate ’em, they bring together the best and the worst of us gamers, relying on a common culture and language to bridge all of the gaps in
between. And this
FOREST
CAVE CAVE CAVE
means— you
guessed it—that there are limits to what Sega will allow gamers to say.
We weren't surprised to
2 1
2 3
discover that
there's an automatic censoring program included here, which keeps those with sensitive eyes and ears buffered away
RUINS RUINS RUINS
from the salty, sailor-tongued set. Type an expletive in, and you can expect it to be represented by all manner of innocuous asterisks and symbols. It's an interesting feature that's sure to enrage and stymie thousands of players. Our advice? Don’t even bother trying.
1
2 3
message in your own translates it into your fellow Select a
it
release
two years’ time. [Meow— Ed.] think it would be great to have a hard disk, but given what’s happening on games like Ultima Online or Ever Quest ... both games are continuously updated through internet-distributed patches. The companies that make I
friends to
bash
and strangers, in
all
some dragon
equally eager
skulls,
and
then forming a complete party to do exactly that.
It’s
a
thrill like
no other.
And the options are nearly endless. You can talk to any of the lobby officers in order to find out
what your
choices are or to register your party for
It’s it’s
a freedom unlike any other—and
people around the globe
even international!
at various times of day.
come up with a overcome international communication problems. The game includes what is referred to as a ‘Word Sonic Team has
neat
trick to
Selection System’:
i.e.,
a lexicon of
2,000 commonly used words and
that the network well with the
will
will be playing Sega reckons
therefore cope
demands
placed upon
it
And of course, if the game is hugely popular, Sega can always expand the network. We wouldn’t be at launch.
surprised
if
there’s a
lot of activity
“Um,
hello there...
you move ever so
Do you think you could
slightly to
the right for a
second Mr. Monster? I’m having trouble seeing your pretty
eyes...”
BLAM!
On
what about
that note,
sequels?
PSO
a possibility that
is
It
will
evolve into a series, but developing
alone has consumed pretty
this title
much
of our
all
However, as
time and energy!
we
get closer to releas-
ing the game, think many of the team members have begun to come I
up with
kinds of different features
all
that they would have loved to include.
So the appeal
of
getting stronger.
make
decide to
instead of an
making a sequel Maybe we will
is
a second episode
Append
disc [add-on or
enhanced version discs are called append discs in Japan]. But it will still depend on how much new stuff we would be able to put inside of a PSO II. If the changes we’d like to implement or the features we’d like to add after the release of the first episode
are not significant enough for a second
language, and
PSO instantly
adventurers' native tongues."
How
PSO and
is is it
of being able to
game
KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S FOUR
work through mode, which
singleplayer
in
Phantasy Star
enables you to buff up your character so you can avoid being shamed or
Where
it all begins. Back in 1987, this chapter follows heroine Alis and her three companions across the Algol Solar System, as they avenge the death of Alis’ brother. Death, glory and a very ugly end boss await them.
first
taunted by other avatars online.
But don’t count on finishing the
game on
your own. The monsters are
tough and the bosses even more so: so you’ll need all the help you can get \
from your fellow humans call
it
a successful day
in
in
order to
PSO.
With the game’s impending release
1
set for January, you won’t have to wait |
long to test
waters for yourself.
its
Will [
it
be worth the
without a
six years
new chapter
series? We’d
like
we’ve spent
in
the
PS
to play through the
final version before
we make that
Phantasy Star II Two years later, the sequel arrives. Government operative Rolf is sent to find out why the Mother Brain that rules a world called Mota has been corrupted, aided by Nei, a constructed being (i.e,, hot android-type chick), and a soldier named Rudo. While battling, Rolf learns important things like why android chicks are so darn hot.
Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star IV of the mega-epic finale. Chaz Ashley embarks on a quest to decide the fate of the cosmos. A Newman, an Esper and an android chip in to help Chaz vanquish his foes and his fear in order to save the universe and pad his wallet with big earnings from the Hunter's Guild. The largest, longest and (some say) the best title in the 1994: year
entire series. call,
We
but what we’ve seen so far hints strongly at
PSO
is
about to become one of
the biggest precedent-setting events
gaming
\
an industry-changing title.
in
l
i
-
^
1
loved
is
level.
oper This
I
is
sooooooo hard
is
to get to this
working just as hard. is in
guess
I
design sense.
one strong point
our
in
I
think.
What are your expectations PSO? One million. would like PSO to be a million-selling title. But who knows? know that the US will be
for
I
I
our main market, and for the
moment, feedback has been great about the project.
an
amount
infinite
deep
of
I
really
really
spent
time plunging
the machine of Dreamcast
into
see how
was meant to perform. ..what it was meant to be both ideally and realistically. And PSO was to
it
it.
the clear answer. killer
app
for
In
a way,
Dreamcast:
it’s
it
the
uses
every aspect of the system, including
So
the most important feature, the
modem. hope that
console
I
understand and
people
truly
really
enjoy this
game, as they should.
it.
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
of
really believe that every devel-
[team’s entire body of work],
history.
Don’t miss
one
is
performance on Dreamcast?
visual
III
1991's installment included three heroes from three different time periods in a civil war setting. Returning to the Algol Star System, the game follows Rhys, Maia and Mieu (hot android chick #3) as they draw ever-closer to...(drumroll) yet another shocking conclusion!
Team
that Sonic
the big difference I
disc.
Sonic look amazing.
the only developers to get this sort of
It
bonus
making an Append
look into
Both
the
we may
episode to be developed,
,ry
2001
Official
Dreamcast Magazine
41
INCLUDES Exclusive
ff New
weapons, characters and
effects designed to take advantage of
Dreamcastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power.
Intelligent characters
and an intense
story create a unique action
game
experience.
mature Animated Violence
Š2000
Sierra On-Line, Inc. Sierra, Sierra Studios,
and Half-Life are trademarks and/or registered trademarks
of Sierra On-Line, Inc. Valve is a trademark of Valve, L.L.C.
Gearbox and the Gearbox logo are trademarks of Gearbox Software. Captivation and the Captivation Digital Laboratories logo are trademarks of Captivation Digital Laboratories, Inc. Sega,
Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or tra#Bfnarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. PC screen shots.
J
Animated Blood
â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE BEST
FIRST-PERSON
SHOOTER OF Ml
- Official
TIME.
Sega Dreamcast Magazine
Just another day at the office. Or so you thought. ..until your experiment blew up in
your face. Now, with aliens coming through the walls and a military death squad scrambling to stay alive. Half-Life combines great advanced technology to create what many consider to be the greatest action game experience of all time.
killing everything in site, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re
storytelling with intense action and
Plus, here for the first time
is
an entirely new Half-Life mission created exclusively
for the Dreamcast - Blue Shift! In this huge new campaign, you take command of a security guard at the Black Mesa research facility and battle your way through the chaos of an alien invasion.
r* Huge new Blue Shift
mission, Half-Life: -
designed just
Play the than 50
for
the Dreamcast!
game Game
that has of the
won more
Year awards
from publications around the world.
VALVE
>d>l[RRf
1
Sega
Dreamcast
Fkrigan
Brothers Brothers gonna work fter
more than
a year
of NSA-like secrecy,
to
Sega
has finally allowed us peek under the blouse of its
highly-anticipated adventure title,
Floigan Brothers.
And
we’re happy to give you the full
what may be the kookiest and down-
report on
zaniest, right
wackiest
game
it
oil
said roof.
the junkyard inhabited by the
badger Moigle
whose mismatched
size
and
he gets
plot focuses
baron,
Floigans
who
is
on an
evil
discovers that
actually the precise
Oh, Brother...
location of a lucrative
see
so he attempts to put the
communicate with and take care of big, bad Moigle as well
Michael v
more competent
shorter and
of
if
Franz in
the shed,
his own). You’ll
to get Moigle and Hoigle work together-through both
have to
direct action
and
manipulation.
If
indirect
Hoigle
is
you can match ’em
oil field:
brothers out of business.
(although Moigle isn't exactly
the sharpest tool
he has a mind—or at least an
two brothers, Moigle and Hoigle,
until
the two), but must learn to
agenda —of in a crazy 3D game concerns
The
angry and throws Hoigle onto
Master/Blaster. Players have direct control over Hoigle (the
Joel
you’ll
play this year.
Taking place junkyard, the
out
and George, Ren and Stimpy and Beyond Thunderdome's
Donny Sean Cheech Philip
David
\
Chong N.
Terence
'
Emelio
v
\
Liam
\
Simon
competent
It’s
and ample incentive to
anti-big business parable, it
gives you
get your lug of a brother to pull his
own
weight.
'Tito
What makes the game so
Charlie
Ethan
Noel
Marie
distinctive— aside from
Hans
Avery-inspired brand of slap-
Simon
a
retelling of a classic
intelligence quotients usher to
unable to reach something on
stick
mind fond memories of Lenny
a roof, for example, you can
evident
humor-is the in
Tex
its
detail
every part of
its
-awMt.DailyRadar.cQm
II
Welcome to COMING
•:rv
Previewed This Month Anticipation
Read
sweet, and these
is
and
on,
find out
DC games could
what you’ll be playing
in
be even sweeter.
months to come!
WHEELER: PAT/46 Breaker 1-9, you got your ears on? SONIC ADVENTURE 2/48 What's blue and has 'tude? PROJECT JUSTICE/50 Watch these rival^schools dukejt out! 18
FIGHTING VIPERS 2/52 The return of a legendary 3D brawler.;' HEAD HUNTER/54 E3's mysterious game reveals its secrets... ALIEN FRONT ONLINE/56 On ne, alien -smiting goodness! TYPING OF THE DEAD/58 Weirdest. Game. Ever. I i
m Is
the keyboard mightier than the zombie? Fran Reyes thinks so. She’s so it that she made a harness for her keyboard just like the one in the 58). 18 Wheeler lets you take to the open roads of America, crazy Crazy Taxi style, (page 46)
into
game (page in
INCOMING! All
Dreamcast,
all
the time: planned releases for
Bangai-0 Shooter
BANG!: Gunship
Elite
Shooter
Alone
Ducati World Racing
Dec
Matt Hoffman’s ProBMX Sports
Feb
Commandos 2
Mar
Iron
in
the
game will be voice-acted,
Dead:
Hail to
the King Action
RPG
II
Aces
Dec
Dec Dec
FPS
Flight
Dec Dec
Sim
K0F: Evolution Fighting
Dec
Max Steel
Dec
Action
which makes the kids (read: us) happy. Which way did he go, George?
3D Action
3D movement, who
well able to
access and
in
while others
will
The
sleeper
Stunt
Dec
System Shock 2 Shooter/RPG
Dec
Sno Cross
Dec
of
merely pro-
upcoming Black and White and, depending on the depth provides, it might just be the sort of interesting twist that’ll
take Floigan’s gameplay over the top into excellence.
it
and and the man-machine
well,
important as
since his evolution
throughtout the
game
will
hinge greatly upon the way www.dreamcastmagazine.cQm
t
Dreamcast PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER VISUAL CONCEPTS GENRE ADVENTURE ORIGIN US PLAYERS RELEASE DATE Q1 2001 1
Pluses
some entirely Sega may well have
interaction to
new
plane,
built itself
most
one
inspired
GP Racing
of the year’s
and enjoyable
Mar
Ooga Booga
Online/ Action
Bomberman
Online Action
Driving
Q2 Q2
Bleed Action
Spring
Crazy Taxi 2 Action
Summer
Samba 2001 Music
Summer
Bass Fishing 2 Sports
Summer
RPG
Summer
Dec
Champ. Racing
'01 '01
[-]
puzzles
Bottom Line Time
will tell
manages
Chronicles Action/Adv,
Xtreme Sports Sports World's Deadl. Pol. Chases
Dec Dec
Driving
Wars Super Bombad Racing
Urban Chaos Action
Q4
Armada
Shooter/RPG
this
game
'01
Legend
of the
Blademasters RPG
'01
Shrapnel Urban Warfare
Q4
NBA Hoopz Sports
'01
2025
Action Feb
Jan
Planet of the Apes Action
'01
Jan
Peacemakers Strategy
'01
Jan
Roswell Conspiracy Action
'01
Dragon Riders Adventure
Jan
Soldier of Fortune Action/Shooter
Phantasy Star Online Online RPG
Jan
Sonic Adv. 2 Platformer
Typing of the Dead Edu-horror
Jan
Galleon Adventure
TBA
Unreal Tournament FPS
Jan
Picassio Action
TBA
Quark RPG
TBA
II
Vamp Apocalypse Action
[_]
whether or not
'01
Heavy Metal FAKK Shooter
Daytona: Network Racing Racing
Dark Angel: a bit too obvious, too obscure
Head Hunter Adventure
Q4
seemed
some seemed
'01
Buffy the Vamp. Slayer Action
Star
Minuses Some while
Dec
The Grinch Action
Tomb Raider
Mar April
WSB2K2 Sports
FarNation Online
Int.
[+]
Graphics are cartoony as hell, and the interaction with Moigle was cool
graphics, interesting
potential to take
Mar
18 Wheeler Ampro Trucker
Black And White Strategy
With wonderfully cartoonish
3D
Mar
Mummy Action
Agartha Adventure
>^Offidal#Magazine
varied mini-games
The player’s relationship
EVAN SHAMOON
a curiously
converse nod to Lionhead's
you’ll
shoot out of the drainpipe.
right.
it
will
Action
Floigan Brothers Action
The
Dec
Surf Rocket Racer Racing
It’s
accidentally stumble into the
is
2 Action/Adv.
loads of talent: Here’s hoping
and responsive he
be towards you.
and/or emotional response:
with Moigle
Evil
they get
Some
and
Resident
more frustrated you become
the game,
for example,
This oddball’s got
friendly
voke some sort of sight-gag
river,
hits.
with the goofy doofus, the less
in
these actions are necessary to
move ahead
treated.
inter-
act with nearly everything their surroundings.
is
Dec
are
created lovely characters with full
which he
Feb
the Dark IV Adventure
Dec
Record of Lodoss War RPG in
in
Soul Reaver 2 Adventure
III
Prince of Persia
design. Visual Concepts has
Feb
Project Justice Fighting
Dec
Heroes of Might & Magic 3 RPG
Floigan Bros. Every line
Feb
Dec
Half-Life
in
Feb
Out Trigger Shooter/Action
Coaster Works Sim
Grandia
the characters
Gorka Morka Racing
Dec
Charge’N Blast Action
Evil
Visual Concepts has promised top-natch (er— notch) voice-acting talent for
2000 and beyond
Dec
’01 '01
to capture that old LucasArts
magic. We're crossing our toes
Alien Front OnlineShooter/Action
^
COMINGSOG
—
a
The game uses a modified version of the Crazy Taxi engine, but we’d almost go out on a limb and say that it looks better than it plays. It’s especially pretty when you see it in person, even in its unfinished
We were very impressed how sharp and clean the lines were (these shots don’t quite convey that, of course, but then, the camera always adds ten pounds).
state.
with
18 Wheeler: ProTtucker Sega haul ass or drop a load? Well so
Will f
is
Crazy Taxi
is
crazy,
if
difficult
first for
everything.
Sega has anything it,
to
the handling—and, of
course, the larger the bounty you’ll receive at
say
line,
if
the end of the
you get there
intact.
far,
it
Once you’ve taken care these particulars, stretch your legs,
looks truckin’
your tricked-out big
rig
awesome.
the baddest trucker we’ve seen
of
time to climb up into
since Large
it’s
Marge— your
remarkably diabolical
and
arch-rival,
seen Steven Spielberg’s 1971 movie Duel? The one where this guy gets Lizard Tail. Ever
head out to the open road, where you’ll face off against
CB
OKAY, WE’RE scared. In
You begin by choosing a and a big rig (you’ll have
The
first
time
trucker-of-all-
of that great
r f fw
driver
four to choose from), and the type/size/flavor of the cargo
New
York to San Francisco (and no, full
downtrodden New Yorkers migrating Westward to find ‘a of
Official^ Preamrast Maga7ine February
it:
Marge went
memory
Six Degrees of Kevin
to being real-life truck-drivers.
you can’t choose a flatbed
MAN (AND WOMAN) ENOUGH to admit
truckers Large
about as close as many of us will get is
you’re going to haul from
sinister, like,
Madonna
(Who's That
20Q1
Geena Davis
Girl?)
Harvey Keitel
(League of their Own) (Thelma
&
Lousie)
faceless
unto death
part, for
the length
of a feature film? Well, Lizard Tail is
on a par with that Face-
less Scary Truck
Dude on any He’s a slimy
evil.
thing he can to
all crazy-like in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, we were very moment, we’re going to play a little bit of the old Bacon with Ms. Alice Nunn, who so gracefully played the role of Large Marge. Here goes: Alice Nunn plays the woman parole member in Who’s that Girl? with Madonna. Madonna joins Geena Davis in A League of Their Own, who joins Harvey Keitel in Thelma and Louise. Keitel acted alongside DeNiro in Mean Streets (among others), and then DeNiro teamed up with Kevin Bacon in Sleepers. And there’s your six degrees.
radios and ‘resting’ at private rest-stops, this
does him
bastard who’s willing to do any-
Scary as Hell
country trucking sims. With the exception of cat-calls,
chased by a truck driver
scale of pure
‘everything’ includes
a whole new genre of cross-
46
The
American Pro Trucker there’s a
about
City’).
heavier your payload, the more
downright ludicrous. But hey,
And
mellower, gentler
then this 18 Wheeler:
Robert De Niro
Kevin Bacon
(Sleepers)
(Bacon)
make
his
way
west before you do, from cutting you off to dumping his cargo out on the road to hurling gasp! — undeniably harsh insults in
your general direction.
Now, throw
in
some truly
overzealous law enforcement officers,
some
fast-forwarded,
amazingly hyperactive weather patterns pile of
the
and— ’nother gasp!—
debris even higher than
mound on
Chris’s desk,
and
you’ve got something that’s a little
better
and badder than vmwJiailyBadaLfiflm
.
Sega has modeled the game’s level system to mimic the American highway system. And let’s face it, the game itself mimics real life: when’s the last time you saw a truck that wasn’t
driving like a directionally dyslexic bat out of hell?
L
n
I
Alii
J|i
7§\j
rpf
|
As you approach an SUV on
this
freeway, think about all of the times you’ve had to crawl
through supermarket parking lots behind some 4-wheel-drive vehicle that slowed to a near halt every time it hit one of those pissant little suburban
speed bumps. Yep,
it
bugs
the hell out of us, too. Butch, kill!
your average cross-country drive.
If
an orangutan
(or other
primate of equal or lesser
value) rode shotgun
in
these
trucks as your wacky and whimsical sidekick, this
game
could
pass for a fantastically successful
feature film.
These
rigs
imagine unless you’d played
And with four
it.
and 20
better be sure to pack a lot
handle
levels
stages along the way, you'd
NoDoz
of
whole
for the trip.
multi-ton beasts that they
are-
Much
like its
yellow-checkered
and precision steering are nowhere to be
colleague, the Dreamcast ver-
tight turns
sion of
18 Wheeler takes the
mode which
Attack
allows players
to post their single-player scores for
the
like
racing mania, adding a few online-only options-like a Score
worldwide ranking—just to
round out the
menu
And as
this
if
all
of fun.
wasn’t
save up cash to buy fuzzy
Truckin' Slang
found, so you'll be learning a
standard arcade single-player
dice and roach-clip feather-type
whole new
mode and
thingies with which to decorate
Destroying the relatively puny
ravenous pack of wild hyenas.
your massive vehicle. Save up
having shutter trouble v. Falling asleep, as in, "He was having shutter trouble when he hit that tree."
cars and SUVs
Not only does the game provide an assortment of mini-games-
enough
motion lotion
Unmarked
car.
reefer
n.
Refrigerated cargo
trailer,
haulin' dispatcher brains v. Pulling an empty trailer; 'deadheading',
greasy side up adj. Flipped
over.
For more trucker-speak on the web, visit http://www.vis.lbl.gov/~slau/
trucks/slang, html
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
your path
is
quite cathartic-and especially
cool
n. Fuel,
plain white wrapper n.
cop
in
is
the game’s slipstream
an added burst of speed whenever
feature, which gives you
you place yourself in the wake of another truck. Much like Crazy Taxi, the
game manages
to thrive
on
like
tears into
it
a
the ‘Parking Challenge',
you’ll
of these things
and
enough
that's strong
taps into the glory that
The game still has a fair amount of development to go
is
multi-
playergaming. 18 Wheeler jacks into SegaNet for
in
real,
some
honest head-to-head
track would
make
difference (hint, Try the in
all
hint).
game on
this issue
our
the Doubtful?
demo
disc
you don’t believe
if
our hype, evan shamoon
*—•^Official^Magazine
<
Dreamcast PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER AM2 GENRE TRUCKIN SIM ORIGIN US PLAYERS ONLINE YES RELEASE DATE FEBRUARY
1
-2
obtain the ultimate prize:
a crazy super-powered horn
where players must race against the clock as they burn rubber through a cramped trucking depot— but it also
quirky and addictive
gameplay ways that you could never
like
time constructively. Muchos minigames and a good sound-
enough, you're even able to
back row n. The area at some truck stops where hookers hang out.
style of driving.
Kill,
to blast
Pluses [+] Absurdly great concept, excellent design. And the graphics are hella pretty.
objects out of the way with the
sheer density of waves. (How cool
before
its
its
sound
is
that?)
January release;
hopefully the
team
will
Minuses Much this
[-]
We
we suppose, growing old
like real trucking,
runs the risk
of
Bottom Line
[_] making stupid
can't wait to stop
truck references and just play the
game
use this
February 2001 Offirial (S~ Dreamcast Magazine
47
Previews
Sega has stated that this city, which looks exactly like San Francisco, is not— repeat, not— San Francisco. Sure. Whatever. Anyway, watching Sonic board down these hills is an amazing experience— it really exceeds the punch of anything in Sonic Adventure 1
Some Adventure 2 Like our t’s
mamas
true. According to
Sega, Sonic characters
have been
in
86 games
(and other programs) since
told us, the 87th last E3,
come
Sonic Adventure 2 has in six months.
a long way
Originally
scheduled
for release
has been pushed
this Spring,
it
Sonic
back to
2001
in
tentative
outings so far on Dreamcast,
anyway) to ensure that the team has enough time to make
first burst onto the scene 1991, Damn. Of course, the hedgehog has only had two
and one of those was a party game. With Sonic Adventure 2, Yuji Naka and Sonic Team are
the it
Fall
game
to be.
everything they want
And
if
seeking to redefine the characthe gameplay, and even
redefined Genesis and gaming
always the charm will totally
change
your perception of just what a
Dreamcast game can be. How? The graphics, for one. The textures are far beyond anything seen in any realtime
game
to date,
and the
on any system,
show clear proof Team has been getting
levels
that Sonic
been carefully constructed maximize the total current potential of Dreamcast.
to
Draw
Robotnik), sources
huge vertical drops are common. Clipping has been all but eliminated, and several new libraries of lighting and
five
special effects are
the party-introducing
in
the
intimate with the bare metal of
works. The result should be
the system. Each
an absolute visual dream.
level
has
Although only a few characters have been revealed so far (Sonic, Knuckles, and Dr.
distances are massive, and
new
Genesis,
Game Gear and
arcade platforms, styles of
game
will
play
also join
new the
process. As usual, of course, will
involve
Sonic facing off against Robotnik’s devious machines and
weapons, but in this game, you can expect to see something a little more sinister than good old Dr. Robotnik as well. That’s right: Dark Sonic will indeed make a reappearance in the series. There’s no
—
2001
in
The Sonic Hedgehog Gene it or its spiky appearance) apparently helps regulate anterior-posterior limb patterning in animals and oddly enough, it's also about to become part of a pharmaceutical cocktail served to balding men in order to stimulate hair growth. It's a pretty popular gene, too, featured in several dozen articles accross the Net.
February
us that
tell
characters, pulled
from former Sonic games on
DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A GENE named after Sega's mascot? The 'sonic hedgehog' gene (named, depending on who you ask, after the blue dye used to identify
decade ago. And from early reports, it like the company is well on its way to succeeding. First shown in very early form at the itself a
looks
# Dreamcast Magazine
the development
is
Adventure 2
the bulk of the play
the Dreamcast as dramatically as the first Sonic the Hedgehog
Official
the
date,
process succeeds, Sonic
ter,
48
(that’s
US release
time
“Sonic
2 seeks
to redefine the character, the
Most
Oh. that Knuckles!
gameplay and even the Dreamcast.”
christophe kagotani
of your
back Knuckles and, (wh
favorite Sonic characters are this time, including
of course, the evil Dr. Robotnik
we hear, got his doctorate in Slavic Linguistics and did his dissertation translating an old Russian text).
It's Chao chaos! Just as in the last game, collecting, raising, and keeping Chaos healthy and happy plays a major role In the game. It's a departure from the typical action found in Sonic games, but it's a welcome addition that keeps things interesting. According to a Sonic Team spokesman, there will be VMU games included with Sonic Adventure 2. Hopefully, some kind of Chao wrangling will be part of the VMU lineup.
new
official
probably being a
blue mascot.
shoes that enable him to grind on various surfaces. These shoes and other items permit the hog to have tons more
word on just what he'll do or how he’ll do it, but we're led to expect to see some serious challenges to our favorite
And as
in
of
Chaos
will
play a major role; you’ll have to collect
from
all
interaction with the
the last game, the
management
and regroup them
over the world.
It's
possible to have limited com-
munication with the Chaos, but
more importance is placed on how you manage them. You’ve got to bring them up, take care of them, heal them when
Sole Reaver GROSS TRAINERS made to
grind?
Formerly available only as powerups, grind- able sneaks can now be
found online. Soaps (www.soap shoes.com) feature hard plastic tracks set into rubber soles, which can grind rails and curbs with ease (after you've peeled off the "By peeling off this sticker you waive your rights to sue" sticker). -
they’re sick, etc. Just like in
Sonic Adventure 1, there will be mini-games aplenty for your
VMU— and
a few hidden inside
the main game, as well. www.dreamcastmagazine.com
pair of
3D
weak point in Sonic Adventure its sometimes out-of-control
bubble to show up in a classic Sonic game, as Sonic slowly runs out of air while music
control.
for a
swells
backgrounds of levels than he ever had before—one amazing sequence in the demo, for instance,
does anything ever get your heart pumping like waiting
shows Sonic drop-
in
Although there’s no word yet on online play, smart money
ping from a helicopter with a
says that
some
way
to
the
the street below.. .where
there'll
be at least
kind of Internet compo-
how unknown at
would work
exactly
sequences are also planned, and we assume that the task
At any rate, it’s clear that Sonic Team plans to take its mascot to the next level, with
of keeping Sonic from drown-
factor heavily
new accessories, the coolest
(While we’re on the subject,
ing by locating air bubles in
will
gameplay.
^Official®'Magazine
•
PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER SONIC TEAM GENRE SONIC! ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS 1 ONLINE TBA RELEASE DATE FALL 2001
Pluses
[+]
A new Sonic game, with more
We
than ever before!
to love
can’t wait to
grind the world
nent to the game-although
he proceeds to surf the notSan Francisco hills. Underwater
To keep Sonic fresh in his 87th outing, Sonic Team has equipped him with several
—
Dreamcast
the background?
Us, neither.)
surfboard on his feet,
all
1:
CHRISTOPHE KAGATONE
it
is
Let’s
this time.
[-]
hope the team tweaked the
controls from the
hundreds of new additions to the game. Hopefully, the team also plans to shore up the one
Ffihruary
Minuses
first
Bottom Line Sonic
is
game
[_]
approaching his tenth birthday,
and while there have been some highs and lows in the past decade, no one can
make you
realize just
how
cool
games
can be as well as Sonic can
2001 Official# Dreamcast Maga zine 49
A
IS COMINGSO0P
Previews
186050 HI NAT
\
Many
f
fan favorites from the Rival Schools series return for Project Justice. Schoolgirl Hinata is back for more of her high-kickin’ antics, as is juvenile slugger Shoma,
who
displays some rather nasty bat ’n' ball specials that send opponents flying. Along with these returning characters come a ton of new playable fighters. To know ’em is to love ’em. But will these crazy kids ever
Team
special attacks can be performed any time during a fight,
but you'll have to power up your special attack bar to unleash the
\
most devastating team attacks.
1
4 Schools
Rival
graduate?
3:
Project Justi 3D
fighting: three
r I
y
II
I
any Capcom fans may have been turned
off
by previous Rival Schools
games, with
their precious,
cuter-than-Olsen-twins look
humor.
If
and
you were one of those
people, you missed out on
experiencing
some
of
times the fun?
Combos
are carried out exactly
as they are
in
we
loved these
team combos to satisfy any combo nut. These Tag combos are even simple to
attacks with special and super
moves,
in crazy,
how much
games. Somehow,
moves of the Versus games seemed to blend perfectly with the unique look of the Rival
Schools series. And fortunately, at least as
seems
good as
to
be
its truly
excellent predecessors.
As
in
the previous games,
moves are executed
in
the
typical Street Fighter fashion.
SO
Official S'
high flying air
combos. Matches are between
Capcom’s
the extremely exaggerated
Project Justice
two teams of three characters, and although there’s no Tag feature available, there are
together a series of regular
best—yes, we said ‘best— 3D Japanese fighting games. We’re not afraid to admit
the Versus
games; players can chain
Dreamrast Magazine February 2001
plenty of tag
pull
do
off— usually,
to activate
all
them
you have to is
to tap
two
buttons simultaneously. Of course, getting
work
in
them
takes practice and
skill;
hardly a button-masher.
combo PJ
changing
in all
is
of
its
fighting
games— is the control configuraNow there are only four
tion.
attack buttons:
weak and
fierce
punches, and weak and fierce kicks. After
to actually
a truly effective
One aspect of this setup that Capcom has drastically changed—and seems to be
seeing how well this
setup works
Capcom
Vs.
in
Marvel 2 and
SNK, we are honestly
happy that Capcom favors two
this
middle buttons now
And
to be
keep players coming
to
Capcom (as usual) has included a number of modes like Training, Story, back
for
more,
and
..Versus,
Survival
modes.
order to unlock and obtain
In
all
of
the secret characters and good stuff, you'll in
have to earn points
a purchasing system, as
in
Marvel Vs Capcom 2.
control system; those
And those
Rival Schoolers Unite With its anime-esque premise and quirky characters, it’s no wonder that the Rival Schools series has garnered so much attention from Capcom fighting enthusiasts. Capcom Japan even went so far as to sponsor a fanart contest on its website for Burning Justice Academy otaku, who itched to do their own renditions of Batsu, Shoma and the rest of the gang. For US fans, the site to keep an eye on is definitely the Rival Schools Network, which lists pretty much everything you’d ever want to know about the various students, teachers and miscellaneous bizarre characters that populate the series. Go to http://rsnet.telefragged.com/index.shtml to get properly schooled.
seem
completely superfluous.
of
you
who
disliked
the unique look of the other
games
be delighted to know
will
that although the goofy character
designs are
fighting
is
set
still
in
the same,
a darker, more
serious atmosphere. Hopefully, this, in addition to
graphics,
will
very decent
attract a larger
audience (although
really,
the
www.DailyRadar.CQm
The
Momo Factor
ALL FANS WOULD
agree that Capcom has a singular knack for throwing in an offbeat, whacked out character just to add some 'charm' in each of their games. This is a phenomenon we've conveniently labeled
"The
Momo
Factor."
Resident Evil has
Hunk and Tofu, while
Street Fighter
gameplay itself ought to be enough to capture the hearts true it’s
gamers—come
not
like
two-in-ones from the air way of
on, people,
we’re asking you to
too
i.e.,
chain combos combos are sluggish—
difficult. Also,
and
air
the lag time between
eat, like, a truckload of yams, or something! This really is an
tapping the buttons and seeing
awesome
too long.
series).
the action appear onscreen
is
has Dhalsim and Blanka, and the
Megaman
series has... well, all the characters are a little strange. Project Justice has Momo the racquet-swinging minor with a penchant for busting out with dastardly combos and a name that ought to belong to either a mobster or a gorilla.
—
Capcom remembered all
of the extra stuff
to
add
and tweak
the control interface, but there are
some
still
pretty significant
problems that have yet to be addressed.
First, it’s
quite
clear that the company’s
games tend feeling of
speed and precision
that you’ll see in any of fighters.
3D
to lack the tight
And thus
far,
its
2D
Project
no exception. For example, whenever characters jump, they seem to float— which makes landing Justice
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
is
problems inherent in Capcom’s 3D games seem to be caused by Ironically, the
the fact that they’re
on
2D
precedents.
all
based
Capcom
has simply taken the formulas in 2D and thrown
established
them
into the
3D
ring,
without
allowing for the difference
in
mediums. And besides proving method of 2D-to-3D work
that this
transition just doesn’t
2Dbased mentality has caused
correctly, this narrow,
games to Capcom trully
realm of fighting stagnate.
If
wants to revolutionize this genre again, it’ll have to start with the question, “What does 3D mean to me?” and not treat that third dimension like an afterthought, chet barber
—
^OffidalCiMagazine
,
Dreamcast PUBLISHER CAPCOM DEVELOPER CAPCOM GENRE FIGHTING ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS ONLINE NO RELEASE DATE FEBRUARY
1
-2
Pluses [+] Unique character designs, new control interface, lots of secret stuff, cool
soundtrack, lots of
Minuses
[-]
Not a whole
lot of
combos
innovative features
Bottom Line [_] With decent controls, tons of combos, a variety of characters this Justice league surely will not disappoint fans.
innovation throughout the February 9001 Official (& Preamrast Maga7inp
51
“In
FV2, you can finish by
smashing your opponent with a meteor.”
christophe kagotani
Somewhere between
Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur lies Fighting Vipers. Most of the attacks are hand to hand, but weapons combat and guitars (above) also feature prominently. Each character has a few special moves— and if he (or she) is holding an object, this object is usually what the move involves. Check out the body-monitor next to the power bar: it monitors your armor status. via bikes (top)
Fighting Vipers 2 The return— and certainly not the [though the sands
austerity
of time have erased
like Virtua Fighter.
Fighting Vipers from
most gamers’ memories, true fans rember the arcade brawler (and
its
great Saturn conversion)
as a high water mark With
its
use of items
in fighting.
like
boards as weapons and
it
its
featured innovations not seen until
Stone and Even
offered a
it
is finally
While no
of fun
cism
that a word?) [No, let
it
and
US
bet that the
Official
a pretty sure
will
make the
Pepsi Man-san!
its
was
secret character, Pepsi Man. The
C
Mf
Sil-
ver Surfer-esque
| i
figure
is
modeled
after the popular
mascot of Pepsi
who
delivers
Pepsi to those
a
® Dreamcast Magazine
it’s
unknown
only half
to form, Fighting Vipers
in need.
2001
you
classic may decide either to let smash it off
can stand up against Soul Calibur
depending on the
and DOA
attack), or
throw
ferocity of the
it
any case, watching visual
starts off the ‘armor’.
Each
returns, too.
each character
the
punch
ability to
game wearing
fly
right
them. You can even
suit is stylistically
appropriate for each character,
it
through
finish
a match
by smashing your opponent with
shiny stuff that medieval knights
Arcade, Versus, Survival, Training
used to wear. And
and Random, and there’s also supposed to be an Internet
doesn’t always look
it
like
doesn’t
make you invincible— it simply some protection during the early stages, at the cost of some offers
moves.
In
option-although
we
don’t
PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER SEGA GENRE BEAT-'EM-UP! ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS 2 ONLINE NOPE RELEASE DATE 2001 WE HOPE ,
Pluses
play. So.
[+]
of action, fast pace;
make
armor and
innovative additions
Minuses
[-]
Warning: may be a mile wide, but only an inch deep.
Bottom Line It
expect actual online
Two years
,
'
Dreamcast walls
The game features five modes:
it
CHRISTOPHE KAGOTANI
r— ^Official#Magazine
Tons
a meteor!
the
so
2. We’ll find out soon!
across
some serious
matches—as does explode walls and to to
throw characters
is
off yourself. In
the arena adds
armor system
whether a conversion
question
of your charcater slowly (or quickly,
gameplay, once again—and the
Basically,
arcade version of FV2, the only
the other character
another appearance—to affect
limitations to fighting
February
2
fact,
furious. Interactive walls put in
clever
in the Japanese version of FV
freneti-
it
True
ONE OF THE COOLEST FEATURES
great counterpoint to the
52
it’s
game
slide—Ed.]
made
the
jump from Japan— if
keeps the gameplay fast and
release date has
without being a button
masher, which
tomb— of
again as good as the original.
coming to DC.
been discussed,
huge
amount (is
game
Now, after years of neglect, a sequel
games like Power DOA 2 erupted.
better,
but we'ii
subtlety of a
skate-
wonderfully destroy-able walls,
again
and
[_]
should look great, but will all gamers the fighting style? Time will tell...
like
after the release of the
www.DailyRadar.corr
^aaaaB^
you get your ass kicked,
"If
me on tbe other end of tbe line."
it's -
probably
Fred Durst, SegaNet
Member
The only high-speed online console gaming network.
Jack
in today.
The Gamers Destination www. sega net .
The SegaNet logo "SEGA"
is
is
registered in the
a trademark of
SEGA.com,
US Patent and Trademark
Inc.
and may not be used
Office
and
is
in
a trademark of
whole or
in part
without the express written permission of S
Sega Enterprises,
Ltd.
Š SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD., 2000.
All
£1 COMING “Hi. ladies
Previews
and gentlemen. I'm Head
Hunter, a bounty hunter in futuristic Southern California. go around riding my motorcycle and shooting bad people. Oh. and did mention that you can bounce a quarter off my rock hard abs? No?” I
I
Mr. Fett, take off that tiara— we're passing the ne of the most tantalizing
surprises that
Sega slipped
into its
recent E3 lineup— bristling with
and the PR equivalent of a flashing neon sign saying “Keep Out!”—was a denials, disclaimers,
mysterious
little title
called
Head Hunter. Rather fittingly, it was being developed in the snowy wastes of northern Europe by Swedish company, Amuze. But beyond a handful of screenshots and some rough video footage, little else was revealed about the game. Until
now.
promising gameplay details
that
peek at what the world would be like if the ESRB Rating Board replaced the government. Sound
contradiction, but (or therefore)
interesting?
3D
in
a fully-realized
54
a weird
new bounty hunter
There’ll
be plenty of
evil
factions to take down, through
a long
and
which
will
difficult
process-
somehow enable
our
hero, in the end, to dismantle
the overbearing censorship
laws altogether. Sounds pretty compelling.. .but you have to
It Is.
Head Hunter welcomes to an altered US of the
remember that these tidbits are more than conjecture as
gamers
little
near-future, wherein govern-
Head Hunter
mental censorship has placed a strangle-hold on the culture and
early
law enforcement lands
With a storyline that’s so fuzzy around the edges at this point, it's the gameplay and the concept that remain the game's strong suits. As evidenced by
in
the
hands
of private contractors
called
"Head hunters."
You enter
this
new
world as
a shady, shades-sportin' bounty hunter.
Head Hunter mixes an unlikely story with some very world,
law.. .which is kind of
to a
makes the whole premise just much more realistic.
it
to enforce a no-violence
in
It's
you're job to
make
sure that those wacky kids
Taking place
crown
that you'll be using violence
order to give gamers a sneak
aren’t sneaking any violence into their
The
videogames or movies.
Lorenzo Renegade Lamas the pefect person to be playing head hunter? Barring that, we recommend former PCXL editor Mike Salmon. Mike used to have that Renegade 'do, and while he’s cut his hair to catch up with the times (unlike Lorenzo), he’s still got just the right amount of style and machismo for the role. Plus, since leaving PCXL, Mike has been working as a bounty hunter in San Francisco—although he usually drives a Jeep, not a Is it us, or is
motorcyle. Of course, he's married: that explains everything.
role is
double-edged,
Off icial gf Dmamrast Magazine February 2001
in its
is still
so incredibly
development.
these screens,
you’ll
choice between
how
have a you'd
vous points during the game: by foot or by motorcycle.
in
.
like
to travel to your various rende-
And
aaadBallyBMauam
‘The details
Let’s
hope
Resident
in
this
Head Hunter are supposed
to
immerse you
an
in
‘interactive movie’.” francesca reyes
done drooling over the reflections in that far store window (left), get a load of the sporty bike our hero gets to ride around on. You better get used to it, since this is going to be your main mode of transportation, as well as a nifty way to unlock cool new features and areas in the story mode. Like Mad Max, without the nuclear waste or Mel, Head Hunter also features a tournament “dome.” Right on. After you’re
game
Evil series
is a cross between the and Shenmue.
Bathroom Hunter This poor soul looks like he’s eaten a few too many Chicken Crisper lunches at Chilis; he’s holding his
gut tighter than Evan holds onto reviewable Disney games. In this screen, he finds (at last!) what he has been searching for—the bathroom. Unfortunately, it seems like the stall is occupied. Hope he can hold it—or else, “Clean up on Aisle 4, please!”
At this point in Head Hunter’s development, there’s not a whole lot going on in the game’s environments other than the random punching bag (above) or a closed door (left). While we’re quite sure this isn’t enough to really get you all excited about playing this game, but from what we’ve seen in video form, you can expect loads of enemies and thugs wandering the halls (or gyms) for you to attack or be attacked by.
transportation
reason
you’ll
isn't
the only
is
need access to a
two-wheeled vehicle.
You’ll also
need your road hog in order to face off with dozens of challengers across the globe
the
in
ominously named Aquadome.
plotting to include. Cool extras
like
being able to use your
as a “beeper'' different
makes
in
VMU
order to receive
messages
or hints
great use of an unjustifi-
ably under-used peripheral. You’ll also
be able to use the
Net for more than racing, by Yes, you heard right. This
where Head Hunter's capabilities
come
because,
the Aquadome,
in
be racing up
other
DC
the
to
If
seven
you’ve got
skills to win, you'll
unlock
new features and items that will become available to you in the game’s
story
mode. How’s that
for incentive?
And iceberg
this in
is
downloading numeric codes
All
to
combined
just the tip of the
terms of what Amuze
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
fully realized
up to your earlobes in what Sega deems “an interactive movie.” That can mean a lot of different things, both good and
in
ends up with the "interfeel of, say, Shenmue,
If it
active"
then we’re
all
for
it.
Imagine a
world populated by
various characters that you
must
bad.
access new or secret areas that
of these details
are supposed to immerse you
into play:
you’ll
owners.
is
Internet
are otherwise inaccessible.
and
talk to
As a bounty hunter poster boy, Boba Fett may have a few lessons to teach to the lead character in Head Hunter. Because we don't have all of the details on the game yet, we can't tell you exactly what these lessons might be about: but that isn't what you really want to see here, anyway, is it? You just want another Star Wars-related boxout! And that's all the reason we need to write one. Here's a question: do the pages of ODCM contain more meaningless references to SW, or to Yuji Naka?
tell
you how
it’s
coming along.
FRANCESCA REYES
order to further the action-
driven plot. if it
means
gameplay
On the other hand, “two minutes of
between three con-
in
tinuous cinemas,"
Who knows
well, forget
it.
which way Head
Hunter will ultimately jump— but we’re hoping for the former.
Gratuitous Boba Fett
Boxout #03
pages of ODCM-we'll be sure to
interact with
PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER AM UZE GENRE ACTION/ADVENTURE ORIGIN EUROPE PLAYERS TBA ONLINE YES RELEASE DATE 2001
Pluses Loads
[+]
of realistic
lots of potential.
While no firm date has been given for the game's release, you can expect to launch
it
to be poised
sometime toward the
later half of '01.
If it
lives
up
its
promise, you can bank on a of headlines hailing
it
lot
as the
Minuses
in
action/adven-
Maybe even
in
February
the
[-]
Whether or not be met,
we
that ambition level will
don't know. Early footage
showed the game running slowly and sparsely, but the keyword is "early"
Bottom Line If
Next Big Thing ture gaming.
environments and it stands right now, is amazing
As
the ambition level here
we had
it'll
to put
[_]
money on whether
or not
turn out lovely...we'd bet YES. Sega
usually
2001 Official
comes through with
the goods
# Dreamcast Mag azine 55
m coMiNGsoa
sTTn I'TTI
f:' [raTI In this
VVj and a
part of the space 'hood, everyone can hear you scream...
lien Front Online fea-
tures a hackneyed plot,
done-before gameplay,
bafflingly
unimpressive
and weapons. And it should be number-one on your most-wanted list. Confused? Try looking at the array of vehicles
third
word
Okay.
Now
while
we
in
the
title.
Online.
hold this thought
get through the part
that doesn't actually
sound
that great. In
madness by fighting massive armored battles across Tokyo, Washington DC and other places where humans and
the alien Triclops
have decided to come to Earth,
and
up
mates, which ever side you’re
speak
either limit
home
team members
And
yes,
we just
said alien
twice. You get the idea, though. In
the arcade version, you
control your tank with real
we have no
twin sticks
US, on Dreamcast,
in
the
you’ll just
have to use your D-pad.
Now
or
in
the arcade. AND,
thanks to Sega's new Dream Call technology, you can talkin realtime—to everyone else who’s playing. Call in orders to your teammates. Taunt your enemies. Cry for help. Beg for mercy. Shout
here's the cool part: not
only has the
gameplay reached
in
in
triumph or
defeat.
Although the
playing on. Being able to
or talk trash
with everyone playing)
adds an
new element, making game just that much more immersive and enabling a new
entirely
the
level of strategy in
the
play.
is
a
Luckily, too, the
speech fea-
drop of an impeccably designed
We took some
anyone who's played it in the arcade can tell you that the
a minute ago at the conventionality of
the arcade since Tokyo Wars
close-in levels, blind alleys
fact,
from Namco. hut yon actually
and
your traditional tank combat
Official #' Dreamcast Magazine February
2001
haven’t seen
in
killing fields
heg
There are the predictable
power-ups—tactical nukes, flamethrowers, homing missiles,
for
team-
and grenade launchers humans, and gravity
hellfires,
for the balls,
guided drones, cloaking
for the Triclops.
But— and
ture occurs against the back-
game
(on
with the predictable speed-
armor-weapons tradeoffs.
spores and meteor showers
game.
we
game. You can choose
either side) from three tanks,
mates (you can communication to
to your
fine single-player experience,
limity that
you and your team of crack tank-drivers to atop thp
of
handle that you can use at
mechs.
actions. Not surprisingly,
it
teams
arcade machines versus Dreamcasts. And you have
tank-like alien
a level of transcendental sub-
56
in
your own permanent online
living,
any other of a host of antisocial falls to
play
scream
humanity, devastate the planet,
in
human tanks versus And you can any combination of
four alien tanks.
That's right. You drive a
aliens traditionally clash.
enslave (and probably eat) drive slow in the fast lane
can play online to four
tank, fighting against organic,
tank-style controls, but since
a burst of extra-terrestial
originality,
P „, lews
it
shots
gameplay, but
makes sense.
This
in is
this doesn't
this is crucial—A)
mean
the
game
possesses amazingly designed levels, and the control is
bad.
It
(at least in
the arcade)
astonishingly good,
one
is
making
of the better tank
it
games
www.DailyRadar.com
a
The juxtaposition of realistic war machines and bizarre, organic alien tanks is pretty cool (left). Tokyo gets destroyed again (above). Alien goop in the capital? Believe it (top left). At least the aliens are honest about their plans for the citizens of
earth (top right).
we’ve played. And B) if you’re going to add in 4-player team play, it’s better, we’d argue, to
Tank Combat Past The
first
tank combat
add
game was Atari's
new element to an
look a lot like the Grey ships you probably saw a hundred times on field trips to Area 51 when you were a kid.
brand new story mode. Plus, you can bring your VMU to the arcade, unlock special secrets and then take them home and use them on your Dreamcast
Despite the challenges of 8player online play, animations
version. So.
established play style than to
innovatively titled
expect gamers to learn a whole
Tank (Trivia: was the first post-
coin-op,
this
new type
.
of
game
at the
same
time that they’re having to
are also smooth and superfast.
basically sported the
employ real team-play strategy for what may be the very
same gameplay as the
first
it
Pong arcade
hit). It
2600 pack-in game, :
—
—
is
a
first-
Dreamcast game— which means that it looks great. The levels look great, and there are tons of weapons and lighting party
effects to
Human
keep things
vehicles
interesting.
(M1A1 tank,
Merkava, and M-109) like their real
all
look
world counter-
formed in
for
maximum
fighting— and every-
in the level is destructible: you can indeed blow your way
thing
feeling
is
for cover,
some
Beirut ’86: dodging
moving
PUBLISHER SEGA DEV SEGA GENRE TANK COMBAT ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS 1 -8 ONLINE DUH. RELEASE DATE MAY 2001
Pluses
[+]
Voice chat, 8-player combat
to cover
tight
serious alien ass
arcade +
DC
mayhem,
play, etc.
Minuses
[-] Tank combat = done before
in
urban quarters.
Bottom Line
Planned Dreamcast
spider walker and hoverdrone)
deathmatch maps, and a
alien vehicles
t
Dreamcast
your buddies, and kicking
enhancements include extra weapons and vehicles, new
and the
CHRIS CHARLA Magazine
f-^Offidal
through buildings. The overall
(two-legged walker, four-legged
parts,
Alien Front Online? Cool.
levels are small, but
perfectly
carnage
time.
Graphically, this
Conbat you control a tank and shoot bullets at another tank. Sometimes the bullets would ricochet off the walls and obstacles, and sometimes the tanks (or shots) would be invisible. The next major milestone was Namco's scrolling, scaling, top-down arcade masterpiece Assault the gameplay was pretty much the same, but things were much prettier. After that, Namco again moved things forward with Tokyo Wars networkable full-size arcade 3D tank combat cabinet. PC players got into the online act with the massively multiplayer Tanarus (Trivia: it was the game Verant did just before EverQuest), but it took the Dreamcast to add real voice communication to the mix.
The
February
[_]
is gonna be killer. We've been waiting for the opportunity to yell "Go! Go! Go! He's on your flank!" and have it mean something for years now...
This
2001 Official
® Dreamcast Magazine 57
a
'
H COMING
Previews
“TotD:
Even seasoned typists
will find
hard to flaunt the needed
it
skills.” francesca reyes
Unlike the original, TotD packs plenty of weird little mini-games within its zombieDebra
W
Debra
;a
’
-•
infested gameplay in order to keep gamers
pounding away at the keys. It’s a cool addition to
some already
kickin’
gameplay.
Questions will be displayed in the center
Type
of the screen.
the answers quickly! PRCSS-.rWTtfi
rpFnirra
ncnrrrT L.\-~ M ^
W-
£
tXY i
;Hu/t.
X
WT We can’t think of a
better word to describe a situation in which a decaying zombie pops out of the water, just as we are trying to save mankind. Rats indeed, good zombie...rats, indeed.
Mavis Beacon: Typist
...
or Zombie?
I
EVERYONE LOVES MAVIS and her extremely
helpful typing programs. If it weren't for Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing Ver. 9 on Macintosh, we'd all be handwriting our reviews and thus forcing you, dear reader, to decipher our crap cursive on purple dittoed prints. But imagine our surprise when we discovered that Mavis Beacon is nothing more than a fictional avatar (a la Bartles
i!
V\ I
Dryer
|
Hashed Hashed
&
James) created by the software company, to put a pretty face on those wonderful tutorials! We were actually kind of hoping to expose her as a zombie, but instead she's merely nonexistent... which is just as
good, right?
lyping of the Dead Zombies and L
P
literacy:
yping and zombies... rarely (okay, never)
the twain met
in
have
such a
strange venue as Sega’s upcoming Typing of the
remake
of
its
Dead, a near-
classic arcade-to-DC
House of the
two great tastes that taste great together
of malodorous undead vermin. The catch is that you’ll be doing all
and educational enough it
with the aid of your keyboard,
to
make
anyjunior high school typing
controller. Players will
Everything
be chal-
in
been adjusted
lenged to quickly type various
the
game has
to suit the
new
phrases and words that pop up
periperal as well, including
on the screen
Japan
in
order to promote the use
the monsters— it’s fast, furious
game cinemas featuring the cast of heroes donning DC backpacks
of the
DC keyboard,
Typing of the
Dead was warmly welcomed. But on the our side of the pond, the
game has remained
little
than an oddity of note
(a
more typed
note, of course). But this could
change when the game releases Stateside
in
January.
The premise is exactly the same as the one found in House of the Dead 2: kill various attacking zombies
in
58
Official
all
in-
working equivalent of zombification, at least...well...damn. There really isn’t any justification for middle management.
sorts
® Dreamcast Magazine February ary 2001
know
it’s
If
you’ve ever hacked into
NORAD, you
true that fast typing can save your of millions of innocent
'm Remember War Games?
a sight to cherish.
may sound
tough, challenging and pretty
soned
typists,
on their style
skills
the most sea-
it
humans.
life
their
flaunt the
necessary for
enemies—
“Zimbabwe” or phrases
like
“Everyone pledge allegiance to a corn-dog pagan god." (Okay, so
it’s
last
comparable
to
If
on
master. And no, we’re
one up, but what you’ll
—^Official
game.)
you have a keyboard and
Magazine
.
Dreamcast. PUB SEGA DEV SMILEBIT GENRE SURVIVAL EDUCATION ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS 1-2 PERIPH KEYBOARD ONLINE NO RELEASE JAN
Pluses
[+]
The next best thing
to a lightgun shooter, without the lightgun or the shooter
MINUSES Um.
this isn't
[-] an established genre?
Bottom Line
[_]
Sega
is committed to bringing all flavors of DC weirdness Stateside. Call us strange, but we're stoked
Clearly,
find in the
may
rides
the ultimate niche
it
DC keyboards
multiple
we made that
is
not joking. Francesca reyes
lightning-speed entry of words like
DC. Typing
game to
difficult to
down
2, this
one of the best zombie
who’ve boned up
blazingly fast skills
taking
never very satisfi$P$/ith the
virimpified non-lightgun antics of
just be your ticket to enjoying
by writing thesis-
emails (mostly to us,
find
rjfere
House of the Dead
task which generally requires the
danger of being decapitated by Dina’s flying scissor kick.
and those
it
the actual gameplay
damn fun. Even
will
Reason #2. Money. Face it—unless you’re some genius supreme, you’re gonna need to have some typing skills to earn any real middle management cash in this lifetime. And although middle management can be seen as the
Reason #3.
is
silly,
seems) on
Only Typing can Save Your Life Can typing really save your life? Read our three-pronged argument and judge for yourself. Reason #1. Deadlines on ODCM. The faster you type, the less you are in
order to
save a town overrun with
order to fend off
is it
And while
Originally released in
in
of guns. Boy,
slightly
Dead 2.
lightgun shooter,
and strap-on keyboards instead
teacher proud.
instead of with your lightgun or
www.DailyRadar.con
-
Barrel rolls, straight aways,
extreme G’s and more! Fulfill your
dreams with the most versatile coaster construction
roller
game
ever!
Mmnr iUWU
Dreamcast™ © 2000 Xicat
Interactive, Ltd.
All
Works is a trademark of Xicat Interactive, Ltd. Dreamcast logo are either trademarks or registered
Rights Reserved. Coaster
Distributed by Infogrames. Sega, Dreamcast and the trademarks of Sega Corporation. All other logos are property of there respective owners.
INTERACTIVE
ivvu muiioLci uui put auuno at vvai.
A to settle the
unc
massive martial arts event. Millennium Fight 2000, score and eliminate
joined and the public
is
going
mad with
conflict
all
anticipation. Join
Capcom LTD. 2000
license
©CAPCOM
U.S.A., INC.
from SNK Corporation. SNK
is
vs.
SNK.
.
.
organized
SNK Corporation.
world's
5
most famous warriors have
fight for universal domination.
the ultimate collision of strength
2000 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. a trademark of
is
over 25 brawlers from Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter and
SNK's world-renowned King of Fighters series' as they
©CAPCOM CO..
ouiuuuit.
between the two parties. Many of the
©SNK 2000. CAPCOM and
the
CAPCOM
CAPCOM CO LTD CAPCOM .
1
Suggestive Themes
1
>
capcom.com
and power.
logo are registered trademarks ot
Animated Violence
VS.
SNK MILLENNIUM FIGHT 2000 is
Sega, Dreamcast and the Oreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd, The ratings icon
is
Dreamcast,. manufactured and distnbuted by
a registered trademark
CAPCOM
of the Interactive Digital
CO.. LTD. under
Software Association.
fasSB!'
NBA 2K1 Throw one down ast
November, Visual
Concepts released
NBA 2K to muted response.
a
It
fairly
was
of these gripes very like
much
John Starks addressed
Michael Jordan and Horace
Grant
in
the '93 playoffs:
arguably the best basketball
“Sorry 'bout kicking your ass,
game
there. Did
ever developed, yet
it
hurt,
sucka?”
under the Godzilla-sized
shadow the
title
own NFL 2K, was somewhat overof VC's
looked. Complaints were
lodged against
its
unneces-
sary animation sequences
(which slowed the pace of the
game),
some
all-too-ineffective
dribble moves,
and frequent
Gameplay
is in
many ways
similar to that of last year’s
version, with the analog stick
and button combinations reamining essentially
unchanged. What makes a
huge difference, however,
VC has made
play-stopping collisions on
that
dribble drives.. .essentially,
established formula-the
there were
all
kinds of game-
some
tune
lacked the polish and finesse
quite nicely, and, so,
Fortunately, this year’s
sequel has addressed most
to
its old,
developer has managed to
play elements that simply
of a truly A-plus
title.
is
the number of refinements
basic features in
doing
has made the game
significantly
more
Among the
playable.
offensive
Ewing with the fadeaway 15-footer. You can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him.
Welcome to JESTZONE ODCM’s there’s
If it’s
Review College
Electoral
one thing that the review staff at ODCM
unfair. This ain’t
no
stinkin’
monarchy, bub. Instead,
isn’t,
it's
a
finely
crafted system with loads of checks and balances. So, in essence, everything from Evan’s crazy street lingo to Greg Orlando’s obssesBoba Fett gets an equal chance to reach the public. And we hand-count, too. God bless America.
sion with
GREG ORLANDO Reviewed: Resident
Super Runabout
Evil 2,
What can we say about Greg that we every single past issue of original
ODCM?
haven’t already posted
Well,
we
in
could say that he's the
Mamma Jamma”, but that would
“Bad
be a
lie.
Instead,
the fact that he’s a man who loves zombies. Not but the love between a mother and son. Geez.
let’s just settle for
that kind of love,
CHRIS CHARLA Reviewed: Hoyle’s Casino, Ms. PacMan Maze Madness True story: Chris loves oldskool gaming and
all
things thereof,
thus this issue's review of Ms. PacMan Maze Madness. But the real deal is that he actually loves the '80’s quasi-hair band Journey even more. We can’t say that we’re not scared by this knowledge, but hey-at least they have a videogame, right?
GARRETT KENYON Reviewed: Spec Ops Former
PCXL editor,
II:
Omega Squad, KISS Psycho
Circus
Garrett Kenyon, would like to state for the
games simply for the gore or the shootHe actually prefers realtime simulations that feature unicorns and kittens, when he’s not trading stickers with his pals. He especially likes the puffy stickers of Sanrio characters. record that he’s not into ing.
DR.
JAMES PRESTON
Reviewed: Surf Rocket Racer, BANG!: Gunship
Elite
You may remember James from such ODCM reviews as Metropolis Street Racer and The Ring: Terror's Realm, but this issue, we challenged him further by forcing him into his swimsuit for a little jetski action in Crave’s Surf Rocket Racer. He may not say too much about the game, but he loves duckies.
EVAN SHAMOON Reviewed: NBA2K1, Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 Little known fact: ODCM's own Evan Shamoon is one of the most notorious trashtalkers in the business, which made him a perfect choice for reviewing NBA 2K1 and Ready 2 Rumble 2. He’s also a big Patrick Ewing fan, and he cried like a little girl when Ewing was traded to the Sonics.
Our Scoring System The Human Highlight Film returns (top). There are plenty of moments NBA 2K1 where you’ll be watching a replay with your mouth agape, saying something along the lines of, “Ohmygod. This rules.”
in
No, pal, not that kind of scoring system.
around your defender
improvements is the greatly improved post-up game: Backing your opponent down with your back to the basket is now a far more accessible option, and the war in the paint is now significantly more realistic. Players make use of their
convincingly realistic fashion. Players
and now have several
options available to
them from
the post position. The move to a quick turnaround jumpshot is both simple and efficient, and it actually makes the postup game a viable option for players who choose this form
As opposed
to
NBA
2K,
crossovers and spin moves are
now extremely
effective.
Rather
than simply providing a visual representation of the move,
Expect a nasty rejection
Oh—and just wait
Take
it
outside!
ONE OF THE MOST entertaining options created especially for NBA
2Ks
sequel is the new Street mode. Taking a page from real life, this feature enables you to hold court on
various famous (or notorious) public park and inner-city blacktops.
For the record, Evan would
www.dreamcastmaga7ine.com
like to
—in print—that the
Knicks' management has singlehandedly destroyed one of the
until
letter,
we
give
believe a it
they
and Travis Knight, and win the big
very feasible proposition.
just aver-
not something
spiffy
new
it
10 9 8
instant classic
phenomenal excellent
7
good
6 5 4 3 2 1
for fans
gets
scoring system for graphics,
an incredibly clever
We
average
mediocre flawed its
mom
loves
it
coaster
our special award: the Dream Game Award. The title that is so duly honored is guaranteed to be good, no matter who you are or what type of games you like
want—
and hitting the open man for a jumper is a
is
And we've even added a
Dream Game Award*
offense, players can slow
means that
is
If its appeal fans of either its
series but
With Dreamcast's promising software lineup, we won’t be hard-pressed to pick a game every issue that goes above and beyond the call of greatness. For this singular type of game, we’ve concocted
and the on-point passing
downright coolest basketball teams of all-time. Tip: bring back Ewing, Oakley and Starks, ditch Glen Rice
game
5 out of 10.
directly at its
of 10.
and cute smiley-face score system. hope you’ll find it self-explanatory.
more effectively control the tempo of the game. While the emphasis is still on speed, quick hits and transition if
When we
aimed
6 out
scale, we’ve created
This year, players can also
down
sure wouldn’t give
sound, control and gameplay!! Peripherals are another story. Since it doesn’t make much sense to score a VMU or an extension cord on a 1-10
the swat blocks...
the action
we
that will be enjoyed by everyone,
you see
hardest-working, over-achieving and
fella a
they actually serve to get you
is
genre or
delivered promptly via airmail.
state his opinion
of attack.
10.
age,
better cuts
without the ball, and taking jumpers with a man up in your grill is an altogether bad idea:
bodies to effectively establish position,
make much
were,
If it
it away for free—we’d be selling it in the back of Maxim for $29.99. And Evan would have a date this weekend. We score games on a scale of 1 to
in
getting into a
to play.
half-court set
An
essential purchase!
* Small print somewhere in this mag secures your legal agreement to buy all Dream Game Award titles immediately.
championship. Fools.
Making that jumpshot,
—
Fe bruary
2001
Official
Dreamcast Magazine 63
-V
TESTZEWE
In-Depth Reviews
Gerv-in gets his swerve-in: Aside from a
little finger-roll ,
the Iceman can
down poster-inducing facials such as this one. We want know what’s up with gorilla-man down there in the front row. also throw
to
+b *
-’fV As
of this writing, the
f
6-.^|
rK
»
*>
'
,
wV
76ers are
8-0. This is especially impressive
considering the fact that just a few years ago, the 76ers had a total of nine wins over the course of an entire 82-game season. Nothing a little shot of
superstardom (read: Iverson) can’t
fix.
NETWORK PLAY NBA 2K1 'S NETWORK INTERFACE is more polished than that of its NFL counterpart. Players can set several filters, including the opponent's rate filter, keyboard filter and game mode filter (street, exhibition, or both) to find the suitable online matchups. The game also has ten chat macros, which can be assigned to keyboard buttons for quick trash -talking during play. Unfortunately, when it comes to the action itself, VC's b-ball game doesn’t have quite the flow that NFL 2K1 accomplished with its online play. The primary reason for this aside from the ever-present lag issue is the fact that basketball is much more of a twitch sport than football (well, at least when you're using your thumbs and a control pad to play it). Because of the relatively small margin for error in either making a defensive play or hitting a jumpshot things can get a bit touchy. So when there's lag, unless you anticipate where your opponent is going at the precise moment that he attempts to go there, you can consider yourself toasted. Same goes for jumpers: the millisecond delay changes the moment of release from the apex of your jump to a split-second before or after. But in the end, the quality of your online experience depends on your connection (and your opponent's connection as well). When we played, there were times when things went swimmingly while at other times, the jerky action made us want to fling the controller away.
most
—
—
—
—
—
however,
Official
iSsf
Dreamrast Maga7ine February 2001
players release
the shoot button precisely at the apex of their jump, or else risk
taking a
While
it
is
trip to Brick City.
reasonable to accede
that developers should be able to count least
on players having at
some
skill
at hitting a
of different
from
NBA
matchup
options,
Jam-style up-tempo
two-on-two contests to more traditional, NBA-style five-on-five
games. This mode captures the essence of street hoops very well, with passing cars and
Still,
for
one
and Quick Start modes, and adds Street and Network options to the fray
(by a landslide),
it
might
seem
have lagged several steps behind
no
is
different.
While
game on
trates for several reasons.
frus-
Many
of the Al routines are simply too
Gamers
get to
ball on real-life blacktops like The Cage in NYC and Franklin Park in Chicago, and each of
the street courts in
is
depicted
near photo-realistic
compete
in
detail.
a variety
gameplay
—•^Official ^Magazine
t
Dreamcast Graphics 9 Amazing animation, great player models.
the market
NBA 2K1
strict;
a spectacularly enter-
ever
it
remains the best console bas-
mode
is
clearly the
game
1
merely tacked-on, the Street taining addition.
is
an absolute must-play evan shamoon
PUBLISHER SEGA DEVELOPER VISUAL CONCEPTS ORIGIN US PLAYERS -8 RELEASE DATE OUT NOW GENRE SPORTS ONLINE YES
counterparts— and sadly, this
ketball
it’s
as long as they have
Franchise, Exhibition, Tourney,
While
NBA2K1
best console b-ball
made:
been around, basketball games
well.
perfect,
for sports fans,
the quality of their gridiron
as
taical update, yet not quite
ambient noise.
who missed open jumpers. NBA 2K1 retains its Season, Practice
defense more of a hit-and-miss affair than the straight-up sort of kill-by-skill that it should be. Far from being just a statis-
trash-talking providing the
jump shot, we were surprised at the number of reliable shooters
Players
64
more difficult. Like game, NBA 2K1
is
last year’s
demands that
is
hampered by
an inordinate number of steals; and player collision boxes are bigger than they should be. This often leads to a fair
amount
Sound 8 Quality
hoops sounds, good commentary.
Control 8 Has momentary
lapses, but overall very good.
Gameplay 9 It's
not perfect, but this
is
the best b-ball game.
of
awkward bumping and shoving
when you attempt ball into
to bring the
the paint, and makes
Score:9 www.DallyRadar.com
'
' .
.
i
pip
lilfp ''
Wâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;k
.
THE GAMERS' DESTINATION
Sign up now! www.sega.net Play interesting strangers online. SegaNet The SegaNet logo
is
-
the world's only high-speed, gaming ISP and network for console and
PC
gamers.
a trademark of Sega.com, Inc. and may not be used in whole or in part without the express written permission of Sega.com. "SEGA" is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and a trademark of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Š SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD., 2000. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
is
“Right! Left! Right! Illegally-sharpened hairdo stab!”
Afro Thunder goes head-to-head (well, more like head-totoe) with Shaq Diesel. True Story: Midway staged an event in Las Vegas, in which the real Afro and Shaq squared off in the ring to play a match of Round 2 on the big screen.
J Don’t call
a
ubtlety
it
comes
We
forms.
comeback. Midway smacks us upside the head once again
a in
here at
many ODCM
can safely say, however,
Ready2Rumble
that Midway’s is
forms.
Round 2
brings back
all
of the ridiculously over-the-top
antics that
made
the
first
such a gem, and adds to
game it
a
host of improvements— mostly in the form of more/more/more. And while the game certainly
won’t give anyone
who
care for the original thing to write
home
didn’t
title
It's
a
about, the
damn good
shot of mindless entertainment.
True
to form,
diligently
Round 2
continues Midway’s
legacy of pick-up-and-play gaming, eliciting
such
hard-hitting,
all
punched, and each round’s progress was recorded in cuts, bruises and sundry bodily
Midway’s attempt to address problem comes in the form much-improved character Al,
this
opponents’ faces wibbled and
able slugfest, the depth of play
Beating up on the computer
sweet violence, while holding on (albeit loosely) to all of the fundamental rules and
bruised accordingly.
wasn’t far removed from an
far
masses—
principles of the sport.
be but
no
all
hopped up on
it’s still
It
may
goofballs,
boxing. So, please:
kicking.
eration.
snapped
Heads
realistically in
what-
ever direction they were
redecoration. Of course, while of this
made for an
enjoy-
good match of Rock’Em-Sock’Em Robots.
exceptionally
of
more advanced moves and slightly
When
it
was
displayed
first
to the public in the
months
a
deeper fighting model. is
more of a challenge than it was last year, requiring a somewhat deeper mastery of the game’s controls— button mashing
will
simply not put your
opponent down for the count, no matter how many punches per minute your
fists of steel
can throw. Instead, players
will
have to
leading up to Dreamcast’s
come
launch, the original
ton attacks and combinations,
Ready2Rumble blew gamers away with its shiny, polished
and get good and the dodge button.
agile at using
than a
the old rope-a-
visuals
and wonderfully engag-
to grips with multiple-but-
little
ing personality. Characters
dope
came
(that’s right,
to
life
(by beating
another to a pulp: grand?),
Official
was
distinctly next-gen-
the sweet science into the
“smash-mouth” and
66
look that
all
straight-up
effectively translates
hyphenated descriptions as “in-your-
game with a its own— and
Punches landed with an immensely satisfying quotient of ‘thwap’, and the skin on
is
any-
sequel proves to be a worthy successor.
game journalists
nationwide (yours truly included, apparently). This
twitch-gaming for the
Round 2
not one of these
series
face” from
ain’t
one it
and imbued the
# Dreamrast Maga7ine February 2001
bit of
It
takes more
to get through this
now not
one
the computer
will
only attempt to back
you into a corner, but
will
www.DailyRadar.CQm
If
you’re not on your
game and
picking your spots, you’ll be kissing the canvas.” evan shamoon
Michael Jackson certainly has a big enough target to hit in Big Mama Tua. What’s cool (from a certain point of viewlike, the one that doesn't make your toes curl up in horror) is that when it’s played on a VGA monitor, Round 2's level of detail allows you to see the individual stretch-marks on Mama’s body. The game has a shiny, polished look that reminds us a lot of Rocky IV.
aggressively attempt to fight it’s way out of whatever corner you’ve backed it into).
Graphically, the game has seen only marginal upgrades:
textures ter
In
terms
of bulk,
signed several list,
Round 2 has
new boxers
to
its
the most recognizable of
whom
are King of Pop Michael
Jackson and fab movie star
seem
cleaner, charac-
to battle
boxers
out a
bit
and
little
touches
like
bouncing afros have been added to embellish the visuals. And several new camera angles— most notably the Tele-
in
up to eight opposing
spots, you’ll be kissing canvas
Midway should have gone the
a last-man-standing
faster than you can say “Floats
extra mile;
series of bouts.
animation has been smoothed
like
Also worth noting
is
the
game’s new-and-im proved training mode, which includes a fully 3D trainer and sparring practice against a passive Al opponent.
Mini-games include
stair-climbing,
a butterfly, stings
like
a bee.”
The original game’s Rumble punch has returned, and can now be built up three times over— with each build, of course, being more powerful than the last. If you manage to build up your Rumble meter all the way, you can stage massive comebacks in even the most dire of
we would have
enjoyed beating our overseas
amigos
to a pulp.
there’s
Still,
here— and
satisfaction to be had,
for both first-time players
Ready 2 Rumble vets
alike.
EVAN SHAMOON |“-^^Official@Magazine
photo lens— give these graphics new sheen, as well.
jump sway
The poorly-recorded voices and a lack of any in-game music don’t especially help matters, however— and neither do the obtrusively long loadtimes between matches. It’s never wise to slow the pace of a game that is based almost entirely upon its frantic, non-
bag.
championship mode. The only bad thing was that it kept reminding us to get out and get busy with some real-life
thing about Ready2Rumble:
Control 8
LA producer-type guy to supply the ‘attitude’: and the resulting
stop pacing.
exercise instead of sitting at
Round 2
Simple but effective— gets the job done
barrage of ’90s-chic, over-the-
swinging with additional modes,
Shaquille O’Neal. Eleven of the
game’s
original boxers
make a
return—all with new costumes—
and another
five
out the pugilistic
newbies round lot.
Each of
these cats has been equipped with a
new menu
of taunt
and
victory animations,
as well—
the quality of which
is fairly
disappointing. hired
Midway must’ve
some Rogaine-popping
top ethnic stereotyping
is
stale
a nice
This
Round does come out
including
rope, aerobics, weightlifting,
bag, heavy bag and
These are
ing diversions,
circumstances. This feature,
along with the fact that taunting
kinda way, and they’re neces-
can now build up your Rumble
meter as
in
your journey to the
our computers. Which
we
clearly didn’t do. Oh, well.
Tournament (which
Round
As
since most of these utterances
and Team Battle, in which you join one other person
winning
www.dreamcastmagazine.CQm
a Space-
Channe/-5-without-the-style
can accomodate up to eight
weren’t ever funny.
in
sary steps
from the get-go— particularly
players!)
speed
mildly entertain-
in
is
1,
the key to
timing:
if
you’re not
on your game and picking your
well,
more depth
adds a great deal game.
to the
Graphics 9 What was already very
is its
lack of online
pretty's
been improved
Sound 6 Some
Perhaps the most disappointing
t
Dreamcast PUBLISHER MIDWAY DEVELOPER MIDWAY GENRE BOXING ORIGIN US PLAYERS 1-2 ONLINE NO RELEASE DATE OUT NOW
TTITI
I
i
No music
very stupid voice samples.
i
i
i
i
i
I
i
I
i
I
I
game
like this—after Midway has had a full year to figure out how implement online support— this feature should have been a
]
in
i
multiplayer capacity. With a
Gameplay 7 You've played deeper games. But this
is
FUN
to
no-brainer. Frankly,
we
think
February
Score: 7
2001 Official
# Dreamcast Magazine 67
TESTZONE
In-Depth Reviews
“Hoyle: a great place to try out strategies before heading to Reno.” chris charla
KNOW WHEN TO RUN IT'S A SHAME THAT one of the best elements in Hoyle—on paper—turns out, in practice, to
8 86 GSCdG 3
be its biggest problem. Since the 'feel' of gambling has as much to do with the players as the play, the addition of NPCs should have ante. Instead, it slows the program down so much that even Kenny Rogers wouldn't be able to run (or walk quickly) away.
upped the fun
iiilllll ANMLVft psmBSS Coin* I’toywl
Bank: *5,141.00
This
game
offers Vegas-style
gambling, sans loan sharks
and Siegfried and Roy. Which Is great, but we do miss those tigers.
Hoyle Casino Worth
a
gamble?
(Snicker, snicker.) Don’t bother putting on your poker face
here's a lot to like in
gow
Hoyle Casino. Unfortu-
(including stud,
nately, there’s also
a
and it’s no sure thing that you'll be able to slog lot to dislike,
poker, regular poker
Unfortunately, this
draw and
the problems start.
First,
we’d
like to
new game these
We
it’s
we
well
modes
very done. There are enough of the
is
don’t have anything against
options to configure any of the
Dreamcast games made with
table
the Windows CE operating
at
system— but we
to,
is
do.
Why? Hoyle
a perfect example: loading
times are long, and the periodically
seconds
pauses
to load
game
for a
few
what seems
like
games to any
rules used
any casino we’ve ever been
blackjack,
it
seemed,
that’s
»—^Official.S' Magazine
liked the stat-tracking
and we
liked the card-counting
help
blackjack.
in
The game
featured at least one major
was
disc-accessing pause. This just infuriating:
very rhythm that
it
destroyed the
makes gambling
was fun to and it was
play with friends,
also a good place to
out some strategies before ODCM’s monthly trip to Reno
try
face and character graphics
games you can
and animation: rubbish.
Each
style
with blackjack, craps, pai
of animations
casino
feel.
distinctive personality/betting
and a
February
small, unique library
2001
and speech.
you could turn off
all
effect,
of the
characters and animation to
speed things up, but then wasn't
much
find online.
lack of online play
sorely
felt.
If
it
better than playing
was
The
also
we’d been able to
play online, things would have
on the Lucky Tours bus with our petty cash fund. So. Underlying
gambling
,
Dreamcast PUBLISHER SIERRA DEVELOPER SIERRA GENRE GAMBLING SIM ORIGIN US -4 ONLINE NO ESRB E PRICE $40
PLAYERS
any of the myriad of free casino
for a real
be worth your $40. But we it. chris charla
wouldn’t bet on
seems.
NPCs
exhaustive casino simulation,
# Dreamcast Magazine
in
it
so fun. To counter this
character has a cartoonish look, a
Official
almost unplayable. Every
hand
days,
and there’s extensive stattracking and even a small tutorial for each game. The game supports up to four players, but if you're playing alone it’ll add in
one or two frames of animation. But lets go back to the good stuff for a minute. This is an
68
been so much better— but
the case with just about every
whenever they’re turned on, the program is so damn slow
Each say
liked
the idea of the characters— but
different
through the disliked parts to get to the good stuff.
where
is
We
hold ’em), video poker, roulette,
and about a million slot machines.
1
eh Graphics 2
Jerky.
2D animations with
frequent disc access
i
i
~i
i
ii
Sound 6 Pretty
good variety
in
player
comments
CONTROL 5 Why does
it
default to "hit"
when have a 20? I
algorithms and variety of
games:
great. Overlying inter-
slowness and jerkiness of the
game may
its good, but getting there is too hard
If
you're willing to tolerate the
graphics, this
Gameplay 6 Deep down
well
Score: 5 www.DailyRadar.com
the
and
"PlayStation”
owners.
Inc.
Games, respective
Epic
of
their
of trademarks
property
are
the
are logos
Unreal trademarks
the
and
other
All Unreal
IDSA.
S.A.
the
of Entertainment
trademark
Infogrames
registered
a
of
is logo trademarks
ratings
are
The logo LTD.
Infogrames
Enterprises,
the
and Sega
of Infogrames
trademarks
Inc.
or
Infogrames, trademarks
by
m
registered
Published
either
Extremes.
are
logos Digital
with
Dreamcast
the collaboration
and
in Dreamcast
Inc.
Games,
Sega,
Epic Inc.
by Created Entertainment
reserved.
Computer
rights
All Sony
of Inc.
Games,
trademarks
Epic
registered
©2000
are
I Tournament
'
K
,11 1:1
logo
Animated Violence Family
Animated Blood Unreal™
and Gore
“PS"
I
l 1.1
L
PlayStation^
Get up close and personal
in
the first-person
perspective with over 10 weapons of destruction!
Screenshots are from the PlayStation®2 system.
Go online with up to 8 players on your Sega Dreamcast™, play 2- or 4-player split screen, or network 2 PlayStation®2’s systems with i.LINK™
Experience dazzling graphics and a multitude of
maps and weapons it’s
Unreal™ Tournament's single
fast
and furious,
and multiplayer experience comes
to life on
PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and Sega Dreamcast™
Lead your team
of virtual
teammates against the deadliest gladiators
the galaxy. Mind-blowing realistic
in
3D graphics. High-octane gameplay. Totally Unreal
combat
action.
Just be sure not to lose your head.
Unreal.
all in
a
frame rate so
fast
In-Depth Reviews
6470 1T3/252 From eating dots to printing dots... ALTHOUGH SHE'S BEEN a staple mascot for years, the DC iteration of Ms. Pac-Man is actually Namco's first go 'round with the title. The original Ms. Pac-Man was a conversion kit for Pac-Man machines made by a company called GCC Technologies and marketed by Bally-Midway, distributer of Par.-Man in America. GCC, which was started by a couple of MIT undergrads. It's still around, by the way it now manufactures
—
sells laser printers for Macs and PCs. The printers aren't as fun as Ms. Pac-Man. but they're really nice machines (Chris's dad has one; he loves it). Check 'em out at www.gcctech.com.
and
Check out these Egyptian themed ghosts—touches them: you are basically stuck
fall
off
not
down
in
with Dreamcast after you’ve
like this abound. See those cliffs (below)? Don’t worry, you can’t the maze, so platform jumping never really enters the play. If your g-friend is Ulala and Samba, this may do the trick.
shown her
.
*
1
-
1
f
^w.l
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness The Material Pac
a
game Ape Escape the stages
that
it’s
impossible to
imagine the genre without
Eat the dots. Avoid the
ghosts. Eat the power pellets.
Now
eat the ghosts.
Of course,
Namco has
made some changes to
bring
Ms. Pac-Man into the 21st century.
The game
is
3D, and rather than
now
la
Sonic
(actually,
structure— and
game
in
the stage
fact the entire
structure-bears a striking
resemblance to the PlayStation
72
Official
),
with each of
a world sharing a
# Drpamrast Magazine
jump pads, warp zones and more. Completing each
walls,
maze
gets you a star, but to
traditionally
in the very nice, animated intro and
cut-scenes, Ms. into
Pac-Man
is
sent
to
beat the game, you’ll need do more than that—you have
to beat
each
time and get
under a certain
level all
the dots, etc. Of
don’t be surprised
ends up shelved long before you’ve earned every star. After all, it isn’t like
times via a special machine created by Professor Pac. If
you’ve played a
game
Why?
it’s
to recover the
have
gems
mazes you’d expect Ms. Pac-Man. Like we
to
see
in
said, they're in
3D— but they
also scroll and feature several
new
items, including
February
2001
moveable
flair— lighting effects,
sound—someth ing
better
Although the levels them-
before...
CHRIS CHARLA
>^Offcial®'Magazine
,
Dreamcast
a pretty
we would have seen some
liked to
Dreamcast distinguish
aren’t the
It’s
not a bad thing. But
of virtue, which have
selves are maze-based, these
game
—
identical to the Play
tered throughout time
they threaten to destroy Pac-Land.
played this
this
simple looking game, so that’s
before,
been scatand space by the ghosts—and if they (the gems) aren't recovered,
is
counts (and everything else) Station version.
you won’t be surprised to hear that
Graphically, everything
if
you haven’t
sharp and high-res, but polygon
seems
these different worlds and
game
course, once you leave a stage
you can always return to try to complete the challenges later.
fully
As explained
in
levels,
you have stages and worlds a
in
similar graphical flavor.
it.
Tony Hawk and skating games. and brawlers. Pac-Man and mazes. So it’s appropriate that nearly 20 years after she entered the scene, Namco’s Ms. Pac-Man sticks to her roots. This is maze game, boys and Street Fighter
girls.
back!
is
ometimes a game so strongly defines a genre
PUB NAMCO DEV NAMCO GENRE MAZE CHASE 1 ONLINE NADA ESRB E
ORIGIN US PLAYERS PRICE $ 49.99
Graphics 7
GCC (see boxout above) was also responsible for the creation of the Atari 7800 system, and almost half the games Atari released for the 5200.
And
Foodfight They're good.
.
Damn.
As
for
PSX version.
Cute, simple, but not beyond the
to i
i
Mo’ GCC Facts
it.
i
i
i
i
i
i
i~i
i
Sound 6
the gameplay,
it’s
Nice, but again, nothing
amazing auraelly
fun and incredibly easy to get into
(making
this ideal for playing
with kids or your non-gameplay-
Control 8 Analog, smanalog: this
is
pure
digital,
baby.
ing significant-other), but the
maze gameplay does get a
little
start to
stale after a
Gameplay 7 Easy
to get into, but
it
can get a
little tiring...
few
hours. Luckily, cut-scenes are
good enough that you’ll want to keep going to see them. But
Score: 7 www.DailyRadar.CQm
This night-vision scope lets you attack at night The bummer of this game is that almost every piece is here; it just fails to add up to more than the sum of its parts (especially considering the online part, which isn’t there at all).
The crosshairs give you a good view, but there's no way to zoom and the accuracy is extremely iffy. The end result is one frustrated sniper
looks a
18
M4-
Still, if
into
it
you’re into tactical combat,
more than we
it’s
BISHOP
G
TARGET
NE
__
A PC
U
hit
t’s
and
DC miss— well,
a
no surprise that
say that the depth and required to master a
Ripcord virtually snuck
Spec Ops
Omega
II
Squad out the door with
Spec Ops
II
makes
it
So what's What
there to complain about?
missions and weapons, input
the
from the US Army's
first
game
doesn't have.
First off, a multiplayer
mode is
Ops Spec Ops and a Spec Ops addon pack, all for PC behind it), Omega Squad should be an
conspiciously absent from the
immediate
online support to be found.
I,
II,
hit.
Unfortunately, though,
that the
comes
when
isn’t
the graphics—they hold up
to quality.
competition against visuals
any other DC shooters. And
It
in
it
the gameplay-it's quite sata huge
number
of
missions incorporating different objectives to be completed fact,
is
neither
hide nor hair of even the
may
It
kinda grazed
makes
SegaNet takes over the DC gaming world (and there’s already an online community built around
your crosshairs fully
it's
a pretty it’s
a
REALLY big thing to leave out. Another thing absent from play
is
time,
diagonal strafing-a fea-
in
helping
same
a diagonal motion, thus
them dodge
bullets
us...
navigating the landscape
the PC version), and
forward and strafe at the It
kskktj"
negotiate terrain. This omission
II
store shelves just as
ture that enables players to push
remotest semblance of any
be nitpicky to complain about
it
sion
isfying, with
game. Secondly, there
See this? You should be
and
difficult
when
trying to elude
sharpshootin' enemies. Also,
inaccurate.
fire off
reticle is It's
shame-
frustrating to
what should be an
instant lobotomy shot, only to
watch your
bullet zing harmlessly
over your enemy’s shoulder. And
the sniper scope doesn’t allow players to
zoom
in
and out-
(in
we would go so far as to
www.rirfiamcastmaga7ine.
i—^OfficialS'Magazine
.
Dreamcast. PUBLISHER RIPCORD DEVELOPER RUNECRAFT HOUSE GENRE STRATEGY SHOOTER ORIGIN US PLAYERS PERIPHERALS VMU, JUMP PACK VMU PAGES 17 ONLINE NO ESRB M PRICE $49.99 1
Graphics 6
you’ve only got the option of one real close-up view.
Sound 5
DC version has
taken a back seat to the PC verit
is hitting
big thing to leave out. Okay,
Special
Forces team and a well-established product line (Spec
near miss.
such things, but Spec Ops like
an enter-
taining strategy romp).
little
actually, a
skill
game
fanfare. With tons of real-world
isn't
you get
1
1
in
if
HOSTILE
SnorfmC II II" Hmocfa Qm iqH w|#vvw|I9 ICgCl OL|UdU
seems
probably worth a rent to see
did.
who
lot like you.
Standard military shooter fare
View
to a Kill
interesting feature of Spec Ops II Omega Squad is the Drop Camera option, which enables players to drop a camera into a certain spot and to watch the action from that point of view. While it is somewhat difficult to control your character in this mode, it definitely makes for some interesting gameplay moments. Besides that, the game also allows you to play from either first- or third-person points of view.
One
Even with these flaws, Omega
Squad would’ve been passable only a mere three months ago. But with some awesome tactical military games already available and several stellar new shooters due for release any day now, Omega Squad simply doesn’t
Control 4 Not being able to sidestrafe game's biggest deficiency
is
perhaps this
Gameplay 4 While it's a fun game to play, there's too left out for a higher score
much
r~r~i
shine brightly enough to dazzle.
GARRETT KENYON February
2001 Official ® Dreamrast Magazine 73
— ——
1ESTZONE
In-Depth Reviews
“Everything
in
Super Runabout: SFE’s world
fodder for destruction.” greg orlando
is
We've experienced the carnage that occurs
in this
game— in
we said to ourselves,
real
as
we
life.
And
waited
cop to finish writing up his report that night, this sucks!
for the
Wow—
Videogames are way better than
life.
You Make the
Call BAD NEWS HAS WINGS!
THE POOR HAVE NO LEISURE! THIS CRYPTIC PHRASE,
WHICH
appears onscreen during the courier scenario of Super Runabout: San Francisco Edition, troubles us. It brings to mind words like 'socioeconomic' and 'disenfranchised', which have been gathering dust in the back of our mental closets since college. Does this text imply that po' folks don't "get" leisure, or that they simply can't afford it? Does it insinuate that the elegant pleasures of sitting on a veranda
while manservants prepare mint and watercress sandwiches would simply be wasted on the poor? Is it because the word 'regatta'
juleps
doesn't appear on spelling lists in most public schools? Or maybe we just need to take a nap.
ANOTHER PITHY BON MOT, "BAD news has wings"
(screen not
shown
'cause it looks just like the one above, only with the words "Bad wings"), introduces the game's police scenario. News (of the 'bad' ilk) has thusly been given the characteristics of a bird which could suggest, by logical extension, that it can, in fact, defy gravity and fly south for the winter. Or that it can beg for a cracker as in, "Bad news wants a cracker" or mate for life like a parrot if it happens to meet a tidbit of good news that it likes. ..two opposites sticking together like male and female bits of Velcro...
news has
Super Runabout: San Francisco We
left
rm
V^
those pesky traffic Super Runabout: San Francisco Edition invites players to engage in such destructive and overly
I
|
iss
Crazy Taxi's less insane cousin,
rules goodbye.
Mildly
fun activities as smashing into stuff,
Edition
our hearts (and our hubcaps and our fenders)
blowing things up, perform-
Wacky Taxi. Super Runabout does an
bus and the effect remains
cles
city collecting fix-
ings for a hot dog. Everything
rendered world
fodder for destruction; sions are portrayed
in
colli-
the
vidual car parts,
and—we are not making this up—a piggy. An ever-
rectify
limousine,
imposing time
limit
ensures a
and gain valuable
steam gushing into the sky and hoods and
waiting to be discovered.
fenders buckling
succeeds on many levels, and certainly despite its
74
Super Runabout as
Official
French
in
s Dreamcast Magazine February
all
directions,
like
World War
2001
manic pace
for every mission,
II.
does
1
in
some egregious
manifest every time you
clip-
hit
stopped by such an obstacle
Remarkably, this
game
initially
and then allowed to pass right it), and you’d expect disaster: but none of these potholes is quite deep enough to cause a total wreck. It's more
through
like
l
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
i
]
Sound 6 The wonderful sound of a car crashing
into everything
a
(modeled authentically on all
Graphics 7 Think a muddier vesion of Crazy Taxi's graphics i
Add
ping and collision problems that
and the well-designed streets the real McCoy) contain
L_...
FISHING ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS ONLINE NO PERIPHS STEERING WHEEL ESRB T PRICE $39.99
indi-
to
little
the situation.
pole (moving objects are
kinds of shortcuts, just
the
PUB SEGA DEV CLIMAX ENTERTAINMENT
tank, a street sweeper, a bus, a
ing wildly, radiator
hurtling in
of the vehi-
which enables fine-tuning of
shattered glass spray-
possible, with cars
Some
handle sloppily, and
even a neat garage option,
plus cars to unlock, including a
occupations (cops or couriers)
think of
most exaggerated way
in is
still
There are approximately 25-
San Francisco. The game offers missionbased play wherein Dreamcast drivers can choose two different dollars by
over
it
successful.
collecting
of everyday automotive
wreaking havoc on anything and everything. Basically, you can
brought
plague of prob-
oddly endearing.
runaway cable car, bombs and plowing
derail a
short, a true-to-life portrayal
in
to fix a small
goofy tone, asking players to
this decently
life
big
lems, but they weren't totally
innocent pedestrians.
in
from Japan after toiling mightily
both wonderfully comic and
through the
It is,
failings. Interplay
be used to smash up a great
excellent job of sustaining a
Dukes of Hazzardesque jumps and running down ing dazzling
San Francisco
in
Even a lowly motor scooter can
Control 5 Darn those slippery and spastic cars!
Gameplay 7 Fun reigns over
all
the game's problems i
i
i
in
a lovely mess, greg orlando www.DailyRadar.com
“
IN IN
Resident
2
Evil
builds a
monument
to delicious terror.”GREG orlando
YOUR HEAD, YOUR HEAD,
ZOMBIE ZOMBIE... BACK IN THE 1960s, all you for rock stardom was to claim British citizenship. Rockin' The Zombies, who neither rocked nor rolled with notable aplomb, managed to carve out a brief piece of fame with a series of quirky but 'seminal' songs. They're indirectly responsible, needed rollers
it's said,
for
phenomena
like
The
Doors, The Kinks, and a whole series of UK passports. A few "She's
hits like Not There" and "Time of the Season" weren't
enough to keep the Zombies alive, and after five years, they called
it
a day: just as their final
album (which went platinum) Odyssey and Oracle was about to be released. In an odd twist, CBS recoi’ds attempted to resurrect the dead Zombies, but the boys in the band demurred...
Resident Swimming gorgeously
V
h,
zombies. Their
Station,
m ^ shambling, flesh-eating
^
odder
for
some
’inest titles.
adding what might be
its
is
greatest
non-DC exclusive epic to the undead mix: Resident Evil 2 joins he party on Dreamcast.
A 3D,
third-person survival
horror masterpiece,
RE2
puts
heroine Claire Redfield and
newbie cop Leon Kennedy
and Nintendo 64 iteraplot and pacing,
terms of
pool...
enemies. The Raccoon
nous, not to mention sharper
against tile, every darkened
corner and every moaning
crisper.
shoe
mem-
hands
greedy, tentacled
shooting out of a hole
and grabbing
in
the wall
at the hero, or a
tantalizing glimpse of
something
scampering across a window pane and quickly disappearing into
PUBLISHER CAPCOM DEVELOPER CAPCOM GENRE ZOMBIE AVOIDANCE ORIGIN JAPAN PLAYERS ONLINE NO ESRB E PRICE: $19.99
the murk) to churn the
1
ber of the Recently
Exhumed
Few games have ever come
Club helps to build a
close to capturing Evil 2's
to delicious terror.
oppressive mood, decidedly
seems to take perverse pleasure
creepy storyline and
in
horrific
monument The game
administering brief shocks
adrenaline at random intervals.
These scary elements, designed to
elicit
Graphics 8 They even
difficult
that'll stir
your
separate but interconnected
adventures, which sprawl (and
GD-ROMs. The game itself remains unchanged from its PC, Play
PC version
intellect.
often turn walking line into
in
.
1
i
i
i
i
i
was
us out of the game.
from
down
:
stairs
Gameplay 8 Evil is very,
very good...
In fact,
nothing could stop this zombie hell
i
i
Control 5 Players must push a button to walk
a straight
a Herculean task,
never a distraction big enough to pull
i.
a heady combination—and a
clunky control system, which can tender.com), a fine
zombie can be conjured from the following ingredients: Light rum, Creme de almond. Sweet and sour, Triple sec, Orange juice and 151 proof rum. Were we a less responsible publication, we would recommend that you shake all of the ingredients with some ice, and strain the result into a collins glass over ice cubes. Then, we if we weren't so darn morally upstanding, we might suggest that you float the rum on top and serve this undead concoction with a cherry. But we won't.
the sharper, clearer
Sound 7 Ambient, diagetic sounds help sustain spookiness
puzzles
i
in
rival
brute reaction,
are mixed with moderately
It’s
BUILD A BETTER ZOMBIE... ACCORDING TO WEBSITE The Webtender (www.web
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
the water’s fine (i.e„
into
livening
hings up. Claire and Leon star
bleed) over two
City
and
Dead are on
and
in,
of justice; every dull slap of
a warzone, where the Ungrateful tour
on
seem even more
endlessly omi-
2
Evil
Come
Police Department headquarters where most of the adventure plays out is more tomb than hall
in
but updated graphics add extra
of Dreamcast’s
Now, Capcom
the dead
punch: characters and background
tions
antics provide endless :
in
being...well, heavenly.
GREG ORLANDO
February
Score:
2001 Official
8
# Dreamcast Magazine 75
In-Depth Reviews “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” Well, Kermit, we could tell you but then we’d have to kill you.
Quick like a bunny To reach the few shortcuts in SSR, try the bunny hop. Simply hold down the R trigger for acceleration, then release the trigger, snap down on the analog stick and hit the trigger again for a quick jump. Do it with your eyes shut if someone's around to
wake you up
if
you doze
off.
KTTTI:oi3731 Better hope a sofa cushion can be used as a flotation device... t’s
never a good sign
when a new Dreamcast
game
can’t even
up to the standards of a
live
launch title. Surf Rocket like Hydro Thunder, an arcade-style speed-fest Racer,
across a watery landscape.
is
But unlike Hydro Thunder, it has rather mediocre graphics,
extras. With only a handful of tricks,
explore, this
even fewer cool unlockable
than the in
maps
characters and
few interesting shortcuts and
one
is
to
only serve to remind players of just
how boring the
game
soggier
last frosted flake
rest of the
is.
Visually,
SRR underwhelms
with bland textures and flat
the bowl.
environments. The waves look
Which
isn’t to
say that there
aren’t a few sparks of imagination in
Surf Rocket Racer—there
just aren't
enough
to start a
fire of frenetic fun.
There are
76
Official (gf
Drpamrast Magazine February 2001
is
a simple texture that doesn’t
move to
only
or reshape,
in
succeeding
looking utterly
artificial.
courses. However, only two
And while the bright skies, clear water and hidden caves
tracks have any visual
of the
create
Although there have been stories of daredevils going over the Niagara Falls in a barrel, the real challenge has been crossing the great cascade by tightrope. Since the early 1820s, more than a dozen men have walked across the fails on a single line—and one guy, William Hunt, even did it blindfolded with baskets (baskets? Was he sponsored by Pier 1 Imports?) on his feet. FACT: while plummeting down the 180-foot Falls is a showy way to drown, one can do It just as effectively in as little as six inches of water— many people are victims of their own bathtubs. If, however, the lethal tubwater is cold, one can be revived with few III effects up to an hour after unconsciousness, as long as someone is there to fish you out. Always use the buddy system, kids.
them lightly modified 13 slightly different
from a physics stand-
between and water doesn’t The wake behind rockets
point, the interaction
float.
only seven basic maps, with five of
nice, but
surf rockets
The Niagara
flair.
Falls level
racers over
(you’ll
the Niagara
Falls;
sends
Bahamas stage
are
New Amazon
quite pretty, settings in
Rome and
never guess)
York,
the
are just pretty darn dull.
final
phantom ship level has some nice scary moments. But unfortunately, the good hits
the
Unfortunately, things aren’t spiced up hy the routine gamewww.DailyRadar.CQm
I7UP TrlME
play. You’ll
choose between each with
six different racers, slightly different
eration
speed, accel-
and handling
stats.
driver for the right course. But
you’ll
once you’ve chosen a driver championship round, you can't switch drivers between
and
for a
You can’t create your own
races. In other words, you have
character, nor can you improve
to race the
the stats of the six
char-
initial
And once you become good enough acters by winning races.
to
handle the "expert” drivers,
there
is little
reason to bother
with the
same character, same strengths and
The limited selection
of
characters wouldn't be so bad if
players could use their
own
jud g ment to pick the right
all
four
an irritating way to inject more
It's
an anorexic
title.
besides the championship, but of
mode,
collect balloons, race against
the clock or challenge other
tricks,
for instance, requires
which consist of the
you can’t save your progress
plus
first
if
you win
three races of a champi-
onship and fluh the
final track,
I
some
rolls off
"bunny hop”
loops and barrel
the ramps.
Ideally,
these sorts of tricks would come in handy in the regular
players on the exact
it
its
game
really
shallow water
can drown iim
tricks! Great for
Grandmas!
didn’t
lack of
any real depth, Surf Rocket Racer proves (if nothing else) that a
Control 7 Three
hobbled save system, thing—twice. Given
Sound 4 Engines whine over aimless pop noodling
same
courses. Yawn. Even with the
take us long to win the whole
in
to the ordinary
other scenarios, you’ll
& Techniques
less-than-thrilling
between races. So
PUBLISHER CRAVE DEVELOPER CRI (CSK RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC. GENRE RACING PLAYERS 12 ONUNE NO ESRB E
Graphics 5 In
particularly
Tricks
even worse by the fact that
the
reason
The
mastery of the game’s broad
made
is little
them are
selection of three—yes, threeis
speed, there
waste time on them.
Ranges broadly from the average
none
York.
vital
to
exciting.
This strange glitch
races, but since pulling stunts only adds a few seconds to the clock and often costs you
There are three other modes
limitations, through both
New
to race
artificial
calories into
choppy straightaways in the Bahamas and narrow turns in
with the beginners ever again.
But who needs replay value?
need
over again.
preston
February
Gameplay 3 Good news: i
i
i
it'll
i
be over i
i
in
a matter of hours i
i
Score:
2001 Official
i~i
i
4
# Dreamract Magazine 77
:
The Nightmare Child
a
n this day and age, it's
hard to imagine
what would motivate
a company to publish a player
mode. The deathmatch
shooter
is
in
a
first
apparent of them.
first
person shooter with no multiexperience
Now available with
lacks a whole variety of other
features—fun being the most
person
more than just
The game plops you
right in
the middle of a dark fantasy world with an objective that
is
too long and complicated to
describe
in
this
review. Putting the
crux
in
a judge-
sins of omission included!
Dreamcast game (barring the in S henmue). Whenever this happens— probably due to memory limitations— 70-thug brawl
you'll
note that the majority of
and complex, gets kind of
headless spider and
in
doglike monster
ilk.
fire-spitting
The bosses—
altered circus freaks like the Fat
Man-
Lady and the Cannonball
in
order to
their fighting skills leave
some-
thing to be desired. There's
imagination either terns or
in
in
how you
little
their pat-
battle
them.
Every confrontation turns into a mindless, boring frag-a-thon
Sounds
de grace. KISS Psycho Circus:
the devil
the details.
The Nightmare Child lacks a multiplayer mode. But its
Psycho Circus does boast the ability to throw more ene-
The game’s plotline places you
absence
mies at a player in one shot than we've ever seen in a
KISS band members. As each memher, you'll complete a given
is
consistent with the
game, as
© Dreamcast Magazine
Official
it
also
February
action-and
is in
2001
fine:
but
with no satisfaction guaranteed.
Exercises will
the rotating roles of
all
four
of
is
only
GARRETT KENYON
in
"^Official
.
Magazine
,
Dreamcast
trigger-
in
solving
PUBLISHER TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE DEVELOPER THIRD LAW/TREMOR ENTERTAINMENT GENRE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER ORIGIN US VMU PAGES 3 PLAYERS ONLINE N0000! ESRB M PRICE $49.99 1
frustration, the
Graphics 6
have you retracing
all
over the
map
seeking hidden objects and
Sound 8
passageways. Which seems out of place in a
game
that (by the
publisher’s admission) entirely
is
Control 5
devoted to action.
KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child ably horrible.
in
lost
goofy puzzles, as well.
puzzles
hideously disfigured
rest of the
so much knee-jerk
pulling
your steps
must roam through
speak
tasteless cake.
It
which, while imaginative
not too hard on the eyes, but
a series of frightening
to
the stale icing on an already
has something to do with the
story,
poorly rendered creatures of the
are sufficiently macabre and
levels while shooting
78
immortal something-or-other. all
gameplay
trouble, which
then transform you into an
your enemies onscreen are
circus freaks.
the coup
will
nutshell, we'll say
beat the game, you
it's
armor for your
ment-free sort of
that
another feature,
task and receive a piece of
It
isn't
inexcus-
just doesn't
meet today’s standards for FPS games, either in graphics or gameplay. And the fact that it has n o online nr
m ultiplayer
Gameplay 5 Straightforward shooter without a no online or multiplayer
Score:
lot of
depth;
5
www.DailyRadar.com
mash
“Bang!: crank the volume,
the buttons and
yell,
“Suck
it
up, baby!”
preston
jim
There’s no denying that Bang! is a beautiful game! But while graphics are pretty and control is solid, the shooting-and-collecting-powerups ad nauseum can get a bit repetitve (or nauseating). But give it a rent and see for yourself.
Even this game’s
level of
manic
can’t approach the most insane space shooter of all time, Blazing Lasers for the TurboGrafx. At one point, you were firing seven lasers simultaneously in a zig-zag frenzy filling the entire screen. Now that is a big bang!
combat
Best played with Pop-Rocks and and a sixer of Coke I I
m 'W ang! Gunship Elite is m J the sort of game that puts a happy, stupid
grin
on our faces.
the kind
It’s
character development. Basically,
Bang! puts you into the space pilot
some
indeed pretty fun, but
swamp
the later levels
of
you with
and some
will
—
^Official ifMagazine
actually take
cover behind a handy nearby
role of a hotshot
so many enemies you’re simply
asteroid. For the
who has
overwhelmed—and since you
simply fighting battle drones.
to
shoot just about
most
,
Dreamcast
part, you’re PUBLISHER RED STORM DEVELOPER RAYLAND INTERACTIVE GENRE ACTION ORIGIN UK PLAYERS ONLINE NO VMUCT4 1
of
game that
us crank the
lets
volume, mash on buttons and yell,
“Suck
screen.
it
It is,
in
with
all
is
its
The game unfolds over 19 different missions, but there
a sort of a plot
game that
own exclamation
not the
we
game
in
brings point
you’re going to
look to for things
the void of space
it's
possible by Dreamcast.
Bang!, but any
fill
of the
spectacular graphics and effects
along
the motivation
to
the tradition
RType— but
been executed
is
all
needed
of Gradius or
There
about
with the debris of our enemies.
console shooter
made
anything that moves. That’s
up, baby!" at the
at heart, a classic
like
suhtle
www.dreamcastmagazine.com
is
very
little
variation
among
can only save between
levels,
The nine different weapons
you might occasionally get frustrated by the repetition.
However,
we were
look
and sound
great, but
the visuals there
not
nation
The Dreamcast's analog
you just shoot
stick
stuff,
Graphics 9
Sound 7 Weapons sound groovy and have much
perfectly suited for this kind
power-ups and use your shield
Control 7
game, and the
now and then: but did we mention how pretty the game is? Bang! is certainly beautiful and fun to look at— but it won't give you much more than a cool callus
Ship
them. Sometimes you have
aiming means
to protect a convoy from
about anything sighted
in
marauding pilots, other times you have to spearhead an attack on an enormous capital ship. For the most part it is
crosshairs.
The enemy
Al,
ever,
ships
is
you'll
kill
rather limited.
will
make
ppt pffnrtp tn
just
your
how-
Most
only the weak-
pwadp ynur Qhntq
on your
bass.
gather
is
of
simplified
Yummy!
Spectacular weapons and explosions.
beyond imagi-
the gameplay. Basically,
frustrated by the controls.
in
is little
trigger finger. JIM PRESTQN._
February
2001
is
easy to
fly
but blasting baddies too easy.
Gameplay 5 It's
fun at
1-vi.i
first,
i
but soon i
i
grows
all too familiar.
i
Score: Official
i
i
in
6
# Dreamcast Magazine 79
TESTZONEARCHIVE ;ame/purlisher
DESCRIPTION
R ATING
Have some holiday cash burning a hole
3AMF/PURI ISHFR
ISSUE
your pocket? Check this out.
in
DESCRIPTION
RATIN G
ISSUE
1
WWF ATTITUDE Acclaim
ACTION AEROWINGS 2
A competent shooter/flight sim that could’ve used a
Crave
more decoration
little
AIRFORCE DELTA Konami
ARMY MEN: SARGE'S HEROES
Midway
CANNON SPIKE Capcom
A good
installation in the long running series that will please fans
Fast-paced shooter that’s fun, but ultimately disposable
arcade way
in that
UbiSoft
DRACONUS: CULT OF THE WYRM
Crave
DYNAMITE COP Sega
EXPENDABLE
GUNDAM
Issue 4:
Mar/Apr 00
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
SIDE STORY: 0079 Bandai
INCOMING JEDI
JET
own ambitious design
its
It’s all
A
about the anime mechs
3D
First
3D
in this
first
and on the ground...yawn
goodness
Goth-styled
Multiplayer online fragfest goes console crazy
RED DOG
humor to spare
Hyperaction sequel send up of an old favorite with
ARENA Sega
of the Force
packaging. Cool!
and great handling
NIGHTMARE CREATURES 2 Konami
RAINBOW SIX Majesco
more
little
in fresh, hip
person slash 'em up with loads of story and innovative elements
Innovative systems along with cool visuals
QUAKE
III:
person shooter-fun!
action fest that could’ve used a
Taggin', skatin’, police evadin'
Sega
too well
but sophisticated strategy shooter with rough edges
difficult flawed,
An innovative
Lucas Arts
METROPOUS STREET RACER MDK2 Interplay
just repetitive
it's
little
cars...a treat for delinquents
Repetitive alien blast-fest in the air
Interplay
POWER BATTLES
GRIND RADIO Seja
MAKEN X Sega
a
fits its title
action game, with repetition galore
'em up with adventure elements to boot
mayhem and
3D
and a deranged hero
gorefest with violent ghouls
and emerges a winner
Oft-delayed strategy shooter finally emerges sans multiplayer
make
Big explosions, big alien tanks and big firepower
Crave
this a cool treat
SLAVE ZERO Infogrames
Great concept, horrible execution; a multiplayer shooter gone wrong
SOUL FIGHTER Mindscape
3D weapons-based hack
SPAWN:
THE DEMON’S HAND Capcom
IN
bottom of the DC barrel
'n slash...the
Bad mechanics, cameras and no way to
exit
menus...sob!
STAR1AHOER Crave
Beautiful, fluid
space shooting action with online play to boot
SWORD OF THE BERZERK Eidos TOY COMMANDER Sega VIGILANTE 8: 2ND OFFENSE Activision
Anime hack
'n
slash with pretty intentions but repetitive gameplay
Imaginative
3D romp
WILD METAL RockStar Games
Tank shooter with bland graphics, but
WORMS ARMAGEDDON
Multiplayer franchise goes ballistic with
Hasbro
ZOMBIE REVENGE Sega
through childhood. Toys, guns and dinosaurs!
Arcade
style
intense terrain
worm-on-worm action
beat ’em up with zombies and no
real
6 5 6 10
7
9 9 6 9 6
depth
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99 Nov/Dec 99
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
Issue 8:
Nov 00 Mar/Apr 00
Issue 9:
December OC
Issue 9:
December OC
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
Issue 10; Holiday
00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
Issue 10: Holiday
Issue 7:
00
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
Issue 10: Holiday
00
00
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
3
Issue 9:
December OC
9 7
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
8
Issue 3: Issue 4:
00
00
Jan/Feb 00
Mar/ Apr 00
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
6
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
6
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
ADVENTURE BLUE STINGER Activision
Survival
BUZZ UGHTYEAR 2K Activision
Another Toy Story licensed game, but
CARRIER
honor adventure tripped up by voice acting and cameras
Moody abandoned
Jaleco
honor with some damaging flaws
airship suivival
romp through mutated Canadian
D2 Sega
Wonderfully atmospheric, short,
ECCOTHE DOLPHIN: DOTFSega
Beautiful, immersive, incredibly tough
l-SPY:
OPERATION ESPIONAGE UFO
Interactive
complex strategy
Difficult,
LEGACY OF KAIN: SOUL REAVER Eidos
Raziel ventures to
OMIKRON
Ambitious
Eidos
RAYMAN 2
3D
time based on the cartoon
this
and a
title that’s
little
too tough for
DC with yummy graphics and
tight
its
gamers
own good
An amazing and
3D
classic
sequel to the classic suivival honor series
fitting
THE RING: TERROR'S REALM Infogrames
Slow, plodding horror adventure with an interesting plot but no pace
SHADOWMAN Acclaim
Solid, dark, gothic underworld
SONIC ADVENTURE Sega
Sonic goes
SUPER MAGNETIC NEO
Crave
TOMB RAIDER: THE LAST REVELATION
3D
romp as comic
and more substance; an instant
with style
Cute platformer with attitude, but a Eidos
classic
bland at times
little
Outdated engine does nothing new on Dreamcast; what a shame Crappy cameras make this a
TOY STORY 2 Activision
Shadowman
anti-hero,
not
title
for children, let alone adults
fit
00
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
Issue 8:
Nov 00
Issue 8:
Nov 00
6
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
5 9
Every
DEAD OR AUVE 2 Tecmo
Complex, strategic
JOJO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURE
KING
0’
Capcom/Tommo
DREAM MATCH 1999 SNK CAPCOM Capcom CAPCOM 2 Capcom
FIGHTERS
MARVEL VS. MARVEL VS.
MK GOLD
2D
Strange anime
Arcade
dream come
fighter's
2D
2D
3D
touches
fighter with nice
2D fighter aimed
around
some odd places
in
treatment and comes out kicking
fighter gets the console
Fastpaced
but with overly simplified controls
true,
fighting with the best looking characters
at fans of the genre
Three-member tag teams done to 2D
Go Capcom!
perfection!
Midway
PLASMA SWORD Capcom
A vapid 3D me-too fighter with no
POWER STONE Capcom POWER STONE 2 Capcom
Innovative Brilliant
3D
3D
fighting for
anyone
punch but a good lineage
real
willing to
take a
risk
more depth than the
four-player fighting with
original
PSYCHIC FORCE 2012 Taito
Gravity-free
SOUlCAUBURNamra
Glorious
STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3 Capcom
Good basic Street Fighter stuff, with or without the online support.
3D anime
weapons
fighter with questionable controls
fighter
done Namco’s usual way:
stunningly
STREET FIGHTER
III:
DBL IMPACT Capcom
Great looking, great playing, but missing the classic characters!
STREET FIGHTER
III:
3RD STRIKE Capcom
Pure
2D
Street Fightin’ bliss with classic
TECH ROMANCER Capcom
Big
UFC
Strategic, realistic fighting
Crave
VIRTUA FIGHTER 3TB Sega VIRTUAL ON: ORATORIO
TANGRAM Activision
mechs beat one another up
and new characters aplenty
anime
in
fighter with lots of quirks
based on the underground phenom, UFC
home
Yu Suzuki’s arcade fighter comes
with
the gameplay intact
all
Robo-tastic action with no twin stick support-will you miss
it?
Maybe.
00
Issue 4: Mar/Apr Issue 6: Jul/Aug
4WHEEL THUNDER Midway
Tough as
4X4 EVOLUTION GOD Games
Enjoyable
DEMOLITION RACER: NO EXIT DREAM ROADSTERS Titus EPISODE
1:
Best bass fishing ever! Arcade port
The old
JEREMY MCGRATH SUP’CROSS 2000 Acclaim Crap on
NBA SHOWTIME Midway NBA2K Sega
is
WWF engine with some very
wondrous
FI
WORLD GRAND
make
Arcade slam fest
A few bugs
for
stand
in
up
to four players; fun for four or
the way of this hoop dream
Hyper arcade football action, but no upgrade
NFL BLITZ 2001 Midway
More over-the-top goodness, but
this
time
in
even one!
come
true
graphics or gameplay
brilliant in multiplayer
NFLQBC 2000 Acclaim
Bad gameplay mars a good franchise with no remorse at
NFLQBC 2001 Acclaim
An acknowledgebly better beast than
NFL2K Sega
The best football videogaming sim ever Okay, this really
is
last year,
but
still
mode
all
second
string
to grace the small screen
the best football videogaming sim to...yadda, yadda...
NHL2K Sega
One
READY 2 RUMBLE BOXING Midway
Great presentation of arcade boxing, but not deep enough to satisfy
game
RIPPIN’ RIDERS Sega
Snowboarding
fest that
SEGA MARINE FISHING Sega
More arcadey
sequel, with loads of
great hockey
that suffers from only minor flaws
may be shallow,
STRIKER PRO 2000 Infogrames
An adequate soccer sim with
SYDNEY 2000 Edos
Track
TEE OFF GOLF Acclaim
Super deformed
rONV HAWK'S PRO SKATER Crave
‘n’ field
some
but
it's
damn
fast!
new features and mini-games severe gameplay problems
button masher, Olympics events that could’ve used tweaking golfers 'tee-off to
Hands down one
charm, but not to gameplay
of the best skaters ever!
If
you don’t own
TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 2 Crave
Hands down the ULTIMATE skater ever! Go out and buy
VIRTUA ATHLETE 2KAgetec
A deeply flawed track
'n' field title
VIRTUA STRIKER 2 Sega
DC
gflPAIENNIS
The best tennis game ever! Any questions?
port of popular arcade soccer
# Dreamcast Magazine
February
it,
this, well...
NOW!
that looks great but plays terribly title
that doesn’t
2001
make
it
out intact
this could-be racer prematurely
Issue 9:
an excellent racer
this
HYDRO THUNDER Midway
Port of a great arcade water racer that overcomes plain wrapping
to physics
and
detail
4L
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
A1 5
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
Wacky penguin racer too goofy and short for anyone over 10.
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
It’s
FI racing for the FI purist;
as well as
!
SEGA GT Sega SEGA RALLY 2 Sega
RC
racer with
Great handling
enough
charm and gameplay
some
rally racer;
looks
it
others need not apply
all
'Net racer with plenty of options, but no
Mini
difficulty
3 and framerate problems
8
whole family
SF RUSH 2049 Midway
Perfect arcade translation with loads of extras for Rush fans worldwide
SOUTH PARK RALLY Acclaim
Cartman and gang are back
SPEED DEVILS
The bane
of our existence, reviews-wise. You'll never let us forget
Vehicular
combat done
UbiSoft
STAR WARS: DEMOLITION Lucas Arts
SUZUKI ALSTARE EXTREME RACING UbiSoft
LEMANS
rEST DRIVE
Infogrames
more mediocre
for
and some
with plenty of options
TEST DRIVE V-RALLY 2 Infogrames
Brilliant
TNN HARDCORE HEAT ASC Games
Crappy controls and questionable physics
TOKYO XTREME RACER Crave
Great looking street racer with veiy limited courses-one.
TRICKSTYLE Acclaim
Smooth, ambitious hoverboard racing
WACKY RACES
FROGGER
wacky
Cel shading gets
Infogrames
make
falls
a
practice
little flat in
A
more akin
ARMADA Metro3d
Hybrid shooter/RPG with plenty o' high points and a big fanbase.
ELEMENTAL GIMMICK GEAR Vatical
Nice looking, but tough
2D RPG
with minimal storyline
SEVENTH CROSS: EVOLUTION UFO
Mar/ Apr 00
SILVER Infogrames
Action
9
Issue 1:
Sep/Oct 99
TIME STALKERS Sega
Flawed time-traveling RPG with good intentions but no follow-through
7 5
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
2
Issue 8:
BUST-A-MOVE 4 Acclaim
Same game, same
CHU CHU ROCKET Sega MR. DRILLER Namco
Sonic Team goes cat
7
Issue 10: Holiday
II
Nov 00
00
WETRIX+
It’s
hijinks
wet,
SHOOTER
00
GIGAWINGTommo
Old-school
GUNBIRD 2 Capcom
Old-school top
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 7:
HOUSE OF THE DEAD
Nov/Dec 99
SILENT SCOPE Konami
May/Jun 00
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 4:
Mar/Apr 00
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
7
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
9
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
7
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
9
Issue 8:
00
Nov 00
empire
after hero’s wife gets jacked by evil
Nov/Dec 99
00
00
Issue 3: Jan/Feb Issue 10: Holiday
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
Mar/Apr 00
Issue 4:
Mar/Apr 00
7
Issue 3: Jan/ Feb
8
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
10 3 6 5
00
00
Issue 4:
00 00
Issue 10: Holiday Issue 10: Holiday
00
00
Issue 4: Mar/Apr
00
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
Nov/Dec 99
00
Nov/Dec 99
00
Nov 00
AEROWINGS
00
8
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
6
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
8
Issue 9:
December 00
00
2
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
5
Issue 9:
December 00
9
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
2 Sega
2D
down
scroller that's too hard
and too
Right sim gets loopy with cool
Crave
play, but
tough controls and concept
South Park license abused for gameshow aesthetic-boo
Great looking vehicle for virtual superstar, Ulala...but just too short
SEAMAN Sega
Weird, omeiy fishman-raising sim...expect
Construct a railroad,
manage
it,
a
in
game
that’s addictive,
some
ARCADE FIGHTER STICK AGETEC ASTROPAD Performance
for any fighting
Cheap DC
Nyko
Ultimate
game
Fun with
fan.
Controller that gives you
lots of other
May/Jun 00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
00 00
Issue 8:
Nov 00
Mmmmm...
rubber. A quality
DC
Zenith
Interact
INNOVATION 4 MEGABYTE
MEMORY CARD
INTERACTIVE BATTLE CHAIR Hunsuker
Issue 5:
May/Jun 00
00
Nyko Interact
RALLY
STARFIRE UGHTBLASTER
for.
available.
Solid, precise lightgun with auto-fire
Shock
is
good.
controller that surpasses the original
and
-reload; the best lightgun.
controllers,
and other
on your DC.
stuff,
Delicous and sturdy lime gree arcade stick, one of the best
ENTERTAINMENT MACHINE
QUANTUM FIGHTER PAD WHEEL AGETEC
games, too.
about what you paid
and pedal combos
of the better steering wheel
Six-button controller has lots of problems, but the D-pad
Lets you use Sony Dual
THE ENFORCER Topmax
GAMESHARK CDX
A must
One
Interact
DREAM MASTER CONTROLLER DREAM PAD Mad Catz DREAM BLASTER Performance
This TV
is
marketed as a gamer’s
It's
got
It's
like four
lots of
codes, and
lets
memory cards
in
but actually,
set,
is
May/Jun 00
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
00
Issue 5: May/Jun
00
Issue 5: May/Jun Issue 8:
00
Nov 00
Issue 1: Sep/Oct
99
December 00
7
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
3
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
7
Issue 8:
Nov 00
9
Issue 10: Holiday
7
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
6
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
Good memoiy card
800 It’s
sit
with twice the
on your sofa while
blocks of
memoiy
can't
Pricey but very cool.
memory! And has
for a
see the above note on the this
home
be bad. And you can hook
not too reliable. Tends to lose your data. This
$10
tight screws!
on the
playing, rather than
Mad
Catz cable.
is
00
Neo Geos
Excellent lightgun but not quite as
its
all it
is
Nov 00
)
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
00
<
)
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
00
(
I
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
00
(
)
Issue 5: May/Jun
(
I
Issue 4:
00
Mar/ Apr 00
00
00 00 00
)
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
(
1
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
(
)
Issue 4:
(
(
Issue 5: May/Jun
1
deal.
cumbersome shape
that’s
Mar/ Apr 00
Issue 8:
Issue 4: Mar/Apr
blows.
Catz.
This rumble pack accessory works,
and
Mar/ Apr 00
B-"I
)
to your PC.
this thing.
Like the Pelican card, but works a lot better. This
Issue 4: Issue 4:
(
it
THUNDER PAK
MEMORY CARD
(a-)
Issue 5: May/Jun
This thing
Nyko
Mar/ Apr 00
1
You could do worse. Crappy pedals and weirdly-placed buttons.
INNOVATION 4 MEGABYTE
May/Jun 00
Issue 4:
)
together for multiplayer action.
good as the Mad
Mar/Apr 00
May/Jun 00
Issue 5:
(
SUPER SONIC CONTROLLER Beamscope
complete crap. Don't buy
Issue 4: Issue 5:
(a
(
THRUST MASTER RACING WHEEL
is
Mar/Apr 00
(a-)
(a )
ES
console.
bad.
Same
Issue 4:
00
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
card can’t be beat. But no screen-no minigames.
Programmable and cool-looking, but
(a
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
floor.
Lacks weight, balance and sturdiness, but has force feedback. Interact
11
just a TV.
the one to get for sure.
More butt-rumbling power than you can handle.
Actually
it’s
you play import games too. one! This
Allows you to connect two
Nov 00
Issue 5:
strange results!
Cool looking chrome arcade stick with eight programmable buttons.
Interact
POWERUNK
Issue 6: Jul/Aug Issue 8:
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 5:
7 5
PERIPHERALS
At only
9
but not online
Wacky, addictive fun with touches of musical genius and maracas!
Urn...
5
Issue 7:
8
Issue 9:
SPACE CHANNEL 5 Sega
PERFORMANCE MEMORY CARD
5
bad combo
short; a
6
6 3 8
Lightgun shooter sans lightgun hurts this arcade classic only slightly
PERFORMANCE EXTENSION CABLE
6
isn't
it
Arcade conversion that could've used a special peripheral
00
May/Jun 00
Nov/Dec 99
online endeavor
first
shooter for diehard fans of the arcade genre
00
Issue 5:
Issue 10/Holiday
Sega's
in
could be fun for two players— but
The best wheel-and-pedal combo ever made
Issue 2:
Issue 10: Holiday
mouse crazy
it
JUMBO MEMORY PAKX2 Nyko MAD CATZ EXTENSION CABLE MAD CATZ WHEEL NEXUS 4MB MEMORY CARD Level Six PELICAN 4X MEMORY CARD
December OC
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
'n
CHEFS LUV SHACK Acclaim RAILROAD TYCOON II GOD Games SAMBA DE AMIGO Sega
DREAMSTATION
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
maniacal, bubble-busting fun. Perfect for two players
SIM/OTHER
ALLOY ARCADE STICK
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
NOW!
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 2:
7
91S it
complex gameplay
with simplistic graphics but
ensue
wacky, and
it's
Mar/ Apr 00
Sep/Oct 00
9
RPG
Issue 4:
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
Issue 9:
more
lot
Stop reading and buy
finally arrived!
Cute mascot puzzler that should be outlawed for addictive qualities
Xatrix
Issue 2:
2 6
Wacky breeding sim
May/Jun 00
Issue 5:
10
Interactive
DC has
for
Issue 5:
5
7 7
The best RPG
Issue 2:
00
3
10 8 6
Cute sequel with more of eveiything, but not a whole
Amazing sequel to a Saturn classic comes to US. A must-buy.
00
Nov 00
Nov/Dec 99
6
6 5
dungeon crawler with great great characters
Overly simplified
FAR OFF PROMISE UbiSoft
from repetitive nature
suffers
00
00
Mar/ Apr 00
Issue 8: Issue 2:
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
n
to the arcade original
A great arcade port that only
Issue 4:
Issue 10: Holiday
8
in this licensed cart racer with attitude
surprisingly great sequel
GAUNTLET LEGENDS Midway
00
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
6 6 6
chances.
its
00
Nov 00
Issue 10: Holiday
!
9 8
the real thing
this rally racer
dampen
Retro-shooter upgrade to arcade classic not exactly up to par
SWAMPY’S REVENGE Majesco
2:
Issue 2:
Ci
handling and crisp framerate
Issue 8;
6
done amazingly well
lookin’ simulation racing
Nov 00
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
it
of the fun
AT
good
00
00
Issue 7: Sep/Oct
Deeply flawed arcade motorcycler that ends up being kinda fun
00 00
Issue 10: Holiday Issue 4: Mar/Apr Issue 8:
9
cart racing
Bad design and an outdated engine do not a good racer make Slick handlin',
Issue 10: Holiday
c
gameplay
solid
8 9
for the
Sep/Oct 00
Issue 8:
00
Spot on licensed kart racer from Looney land, with everything for fans
Issue 7:
1 7
Nov/Dec 99
Slick looking racer that doesn't handle
Infogrames
POD: SPEEDZONE UbiSoft RE-VOLT Acclaim
Issue 4:
Issue 2:
Nov/Dec 99
Issue 2:
PEN PEN TRICELON Infogrames
2 7
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
Issue 4: Mar/Apr Issue 2:
MAGFORCE RACING Crave MONACO GRAND PRIX UbiSoft
UbiSoft
Issue 2:
00
December 00
8 1
€1 £I
2:
8 8
December 00 May/Jun 00
Issue 5: May/Jun
1
and simulation make
SKIES OF ARCADIA Sega
8 8 4 9 8
Issue 9: Issue 5:
1
1
tough sim that's reserved for tough sim nuts
beautiful, but incredibly
Precision handling
EVOLUTION
6 7
8
A
arcade derby racer that encourages vehicular carnage
Racer that uses the force for good and doesn't end up sucking
CART Racing done with some good attention
00
00
A
GRANDIA
a dud
two-wheels: inconsistent framerate, bad graphics, poor controls.
NFL BLITZ 2000 Midway
NFL2K1 Sega
this
dam good
Bad physics and bland visuals crash
PR1X Sega
damage modeling
racer with online elements but no
FLAG TO FLAG Sega
00
00
A
SUV
May/Jun 00
10
M
Hydro Thunder sensibilities
nails off road type racer with
May/Jun 00
6
for fans.
poor graphics
Infogrames
RACER Lucas Arts
FERRARI F355 CHALLENGE Acclaim
CONCEPT 4 WHEEL
BASS FISHING Sega
ECW Acclaim
Official
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
an arcade experience, a shame
this
“xtreme’’ events that plays great but is missing the fun
Issue 5:
S PORTS
80
1 ei
make
poor player controls
fielding,
Issue 5:
6 9
and characters
Nov 00
Issue 10: Holiday
No
10
FIGHTING CAPCOM VS. SNK Capcom
Nov 00
Issue 8:
5
CENTIPEDE Hasbro Issue 10: Holiday
8 8
gameplay
adventure hampered by dullness and gameplay problems
Great looking platformer with plenty of fun and quirk...a
UbiSoft
RESIDENT EVIL CODE: VERONICA Capcom
wilderness
unforgiving, for hardcore
5 7 7
Issue 8:
S
TEST DRIVE 6 Infogrames Issue 10: Holiday
00
Issue 3: Jan/Feb
4l
A pentathlon of
Sega
Infogrames
LOONEY TOONS SPACE RACE
Issue 4:
7 6 2
7 5 7
Car combat meant for one, but marketed for multiplayer
some
8 5 7
a
game-run, don’t walk!
An arcade-y tribute to the Royal Rumble with limited characters
XTREME SPORTS
FACING
Issue 2:
vemrny mediocre 3D
Death, destruction,
& DANGEROUS Talonsoft
Nov 00
5
Port of a
Stuffed animal shoot
HIDDEN
Issue 8:
3 5
Simple, straightforward shooter
FUR FIGHTERS Acclaim Rockstar
7 6
over
Arcade beat 'em up fun for one round, and then
Infogrames
Nov/Dec 99
December OC
9 7
'n slash that trips
Horrible port of a horrible PlayStation wrestling
WWF ROYAL RUMBLE THQ
WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2K1
Nov 00
Issue 2: Issue 9:
Immersive shooter that may be boring to some, but excellent to others
FIGHTING FORCE 2 Eidos
GRAND THER AUTO 2
Issue 8:
7
3D hack
CRAZY TAXI Sega DEEP FIGHTER
6 5
has to do. the one to get.
00
Mar/ Apr 00
00
1
)
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
1
)
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
(
1
Issue 4:
Mar/ Apr 00
00
1
)
Issue 6: Jul/Aug
1
)
Issue 5: May/Jun
00
(
|
Issue 5: May/Jun
00
Issue 7:
Sep/Oct 00
www.DailyRadar.com
its 9:00
am.
December 7 Do you know where
,
1941.
your Sega Dreamcast is?
CARRIER
Keep
in
mind that even
should not throw
Fly over 20 authentic
WW II airplanes.
away
if
you do run
inlo the
your plane in a
enemy, you
futile attack.
Challenge your dogfighting unique missions.
skills
in 17
If you know what's good for you, soldier, you're hooked into that Sega Dreamcast defending the good o! American Wavy from the enemy's surprise attack. And if you can stop 'em there, you'll have to escort those B-29's in their definitive attack on the largest naval fleet in the Pacific. I ain't talkin' bout no walk in the park here, soldier; II style. Just this is an all out adrenaline rush of aerial comhat. an Ace and his machine. Two creatures forged from burning metal, moving as one. So strap into that Sega Dreamcast, soldier, and get Iron Aces. the one of the become one of boys; ready to
WW
Realistic instrumentation control of your craft 24/7.
puts you
in
Welcome
to the ultimate
code experience... We
pored over past issues.
library of
We
scoured the Internet.
We
dusted off the back
games. And when we were done, we had compiled the largest
listing
codes in ODCM history. Now, we could have just slapped these on the pagebut we decided to do something a little more interesting. We decided to make
of
a mini codebook. Or rather,
Codebook™. Of course,
if
Flip to
we decided
to let
YOU make an official ODCM how to put it together.
Mini
the end for instructions on
want to cut up your magazine, it might be a little hard to way that’ll actually let you make the book. So we’ve compiled game, here’s the mini codebook page where you’ll find the info.
you’re not into crafts or you don’t
find the codes, since they’re arranged in a this
handy
index:
if
you’re looking for a
2
Armada
2
Blue Stinger Centipede Chu-Chu Rocket Crazy Taxi Dead or Alive 2 Draconus
2
NFL NFL
2
NFL2K
9
2
NHL 2K
9
2 2
we
found ourselves going back again and again to one site, formerly
www.gamesages.com and now http://codes.ign.com. In
retrospect,
it’s
no sur-
prise, since the site is run
ODCM’s own code guru, Noah Massey. Anyway, if by
you’re looking for the latest
codes online— always testyer browser
ed— point
to http://codes.ign.com
13
9
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ODCM’s Super Cheater Booklet
HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR OFFICIAL ODCM MINI CODEBOOK"! You have the power.. .now
find a stapler
Putting together your codebook is simple. First, just cut each page out along the clotted line. Keep the pages in the same order that they were in the magazine.
Now
fold
sheet
them
in
the center (you
individually). Fold
may want to
fold
each
the pages so that the inside of the
has an even number on the left, and a higher odd number on the right. Flip through the book to make sure
fold
the pages are
all in
(fig. 1),
of scissors
and get
to
work
straight through the side. This will reduce the
margins inside the book, but
and easiest solution. The second strategy
is
it’s
probably the quickest
to fold over
one
half of the
book
so that the stapler can reach the center (fig. 2). Unfortunately, this method ends up leaving half of your pages creased. Finally,
you can go out and drop $40 on an extended
reach stapler that can reach the center without folding any
the right order.
Now, you need to staple the center of the codebook.
And sadly, your average Swingline just isn’t going to reach the center where you want to put the staples. So what do you do? In a pinch, you can just staple the left edge
This is the easiest way to assemble your codebook. Just put a couple of staples through the side, as close to the spine as you can. This makes the book a little harder to use, but it’ll still work and look okay.
and a pair
you can head to a copy center like Kinko’s, and ask to use their big extended reach stapler (fig.3). They probably won't even charge you for the staples, once they pages.
OR
see how cool your codebook
By folding over half of the pages, you can staple the book in the center of the spine like a magazine (this is called “saddlestiching, FYI), which looks and works great. Except that those pages tend to stay folded. Grr...
is.
The ultimate solution is to find an extended reach stapler like this one, which can reach all the way to the middle of the spine for a neat look without bending any pages. You find these staplers at most full service copy shops.
February
2001 Official
# Dreamcast Magazine 91
FORGET ALL THE HEALTH RISKS. Beautiful People Do
It,
It
If
The
Must Be Okay!
:im )
JSSLE
l
It’s
over
j
Talk Back f The
ODCM
Official to
interview
TalkBack, the
first in
an
occasional series of interviews with the
movers and shakers that make the Dreamcast world so great. This time, with two members of the crack Soul Reaver team: Lead Programmer Marc David and Senior
we spoke
Designer Riley Cooper.
special effects
w
system, which is
V
\
really
pleased when
you see effects
all it
the great
that,
/V
can
/
achieve. Finally,
ODCM:
Soul Reaver looked great. Can
we expect in
SR2,
in
to
see many improvements
graphics system quite a
improvement
is in
the
bit,
and
amount
I
think
of
the Dreamcast [polys] per
(it
best). This allows
realistic
and engaging
environments. We've also redone the
to
many
\
Look
huge jump all
in
for
it
isn’t
Soul Reaver 2
quality from Soul
fronts.
game-
in
to
see
in
gameplay?
puzzles be easier? Harder?
about
all
those blocks?
Will
What
game,
past.
Without giving anything away,
we
story this
time around?
what we feel is one of the cooler videogame story endings ever, you can expect a much more full RC:
In
addition to
story throughout.
It
includes both back
communicated
story elements that are
through murals, allowing the player to
having too
well
criticized for
them at their leisure, as as more important elements of the
learn about
So we've worked many new puzzle-
story that directly guide Raziel's
actions. Besides that, you should
related objects for Raziel to interact with
notice that every aspect of the
throughout the game. This enables us to
game’s design
increase the complexity of the puzzles
SRI was
in
is
driven by the story.
story driven, but
it
had many
the game, to keep up with the players'
aspects that were somewhat formulaic.
growing puzzle-solving
This time around, just about everything
ability.
ODCM: What improvements can we expect
and Kain’s
what SRI, we
clear
block puzzles.
hard to introduce
add a higher
Reaver 1 on
where
were sometimes
f
cloth simulation,
_94JDificiaL ._Diearncasl,Magaziae.febmary,J2Q01 .
m
situations
they need to do next. Also,
;
SRI on
rendered 10,000
frame at
us to have more
in
i
i ||
such as realtime IK and
to be a
a huge improvement over
in
K
SR2 is
overall.
Other great improvements
many
level of realism.
polygons at 60 frames a second. This
so the
are being very careful not to put players
polygons that we're able to push on the engine. We're rendering 50,000
be more fun
Al
play affect the puzzles. For example,
effects,
we've done an excellent job. The main
ODCM:
£
more algorithmic
Marc David: We've redone the
we've also improved the
fighting will v
story-which
uncovering for the fans more
history,
what can we expect from the
in
fy
to note
I'd like
SR2
In this
Raziel travels throughout Nosgoth's
improve every
that we've been
able to do
terms of graphics?
will
experience, but especially
combat—we can have more enemies onscreen at any given time. On top of
k
the heart of the
involves time travel.
of Raziel
aspect of the gameplay
\
I
think you'll be
into
60 frames per second on
PS2. This
\
yk
incredibly
feature packed.
of
in
both the Dreamcast and the
)
|
lot
gameplay. For starters, the game will always be running at
Welcome
RC: That and much more. That chapter is addressed right away, and it opens
Riley Cooper: You
can expect a
improvements
z
that we're creating has
ODCM:
Soul Reaver ended
hanger.
Does SR2 complete
this
chapter
in
the saga?
in
a
cliff-
at least
been
and
inspired
means that much more cohesive
by the story itself— which
we've created a
original experience.
!
Parting Shots
Imagine Media, Inc. 150 North Brisbane CA 94005
Hill
Drive
EDITORIAL DCMag@imaginemedia.com
ADVERTISING
In in
which the ODCM team visits not one, not two, not three, but four secret lunch spots the course of creating one giant issue of everyone’s favorite Dreamcast magazine
WEEK ONE place for weeks.
Larry King
used to be
“It
NextGen’s secret spot, but now
it’s
ours,
of them know how to get beamed. And the place, across from a bread factory in an
Room and
autographed
major Northern
http://service.imaginemedia.com/support/dc/index.html
mopping up the last of Evan and said, “you know, bet we could build our own
alley at New Montgomery in San Fran. The server (named “Q”) was certainly cute and nice, and the bacon on the BLTs was crisp. Will the DCP happen? Time will tell. But Fran loved PSO.
his gravy, Chris turned to
for.
After
I
portable Dreamcast...” Fran choked on
her calamari side dish.
at the Devonshire (#2) in
soda, and the best
darn calamari steak you ever ate. (The steak sandwiches are nothing to sneeze
was at this place that Evan bemoaned the lack of a portable
at, either). It first
Dreamcast
to play in
the
WEEK THREE
Hogan’s
but
is literally
it
nestled inside a wholesale produce
hub near SF International which is almost as good. Opens
distribution Airport,
at
4am,
lunch at
closes at
2pm.
11am and
It’s
cool to go to
see a bunch of guys
drinking— it’s the end of their working day
Gingerbread
to the
plain sight under the
House, hidden
in
BART tracks
Oakland. The gingerbread-
in
covered pink house
weird
isn’t secret,
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
The next week took us
stuff— but the
WEEK TWO
717.481.8500
ODCM REGULARS Chris Charla editor-in-chief
Dan
Fitzpatrick art director
Dina Fayer managing editor Francesca Reyes senior editor
Dave Cordon associate art director Evan Shamoon associate editor Christophe Kagotani japan correspondent
is
folk art and, well, just
car.
REPRINTS
Minna
free relish tray (with salami!) on the itable, free refills of
CO 80322
email custserv@dreamcastmagazine.com
PSO, leaving
DCP
to die
fax 415.468.4686 jmitchell@imaginemedia.com
SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES
Boulder
to play
the rest of the staff to chat about the
because none
industrial section of a
bowed out
Hulk Hogan poster, Hogan’s features great specials and a hot turkey sandwich
there,” he
California city delivered the goods: a
Fran
email:
Customer Service P.O. Box 52850
WEEK FOUR
already, you see. In addition to the
Chris had been bragging about the
415.468.4684 xlOO
live
Cajun cooking in
New
in
items have to be
us feel
Dan: A giant
like
we were
Orleans. Evan and Chris
concentrated on napkin sketches of the
planned DC-portable, drawing nasty looks
from the staff (so they were cloth napkins, so what?).
Chet Barber, Garrett Kenyon, Greg Orlando, Jim Preston
COVER ART Sonic Team GUEST STARS/DESIGN Eric Smith, Gerry Serrano PHOTOGRAPHY Cindy Ragin
lead-filled dentist apron. sleep under really heavy covers. Dina: Flannel sheets. Flannel everything. Fran: Hanging upside down from a rafter. Chris: Cotton sheets and lots of wool
Ayrien Houchin regional advertising manager
blankets.
Jim Mitchell regional advertising manager
I
It’s
a layers
thing.
advance) and great
made
Ultimate bedding preferences? like to
with Cajun
other weird
piano player, amazingly
menu (most of the
ordered a day
back
awash
some
SUPPORTING CAST/EDITORIAL
Evan: Just an old parka and an alley. Dave: A grass mat on a hardwood floor with a thin gauze sheet.
ADVERTISING Doug Faust
publisher
Tim Kennedy
jpE*.
h
WA
regional advertising
Megan
Fischer ad coordinator
Tiffany
Song
manager
sales coordinator
PRODUCTION Richard Lesovoy production director
Glenn Sadin production coordinator
CIRCULATION Amy
Nibbi subscription director
Jonathan Venier newsstand marketing manager Janet Amlstoso direct marketing specialist
Next Issue As good as
it
Peggy Mores
Issue #12 with GD-ROM On sale January 28th!
gets!
fulfillment
manager
INTERNATIONAL LICENSING REPRESENTATIVE Robert J. Abramson and Associates, Inc. 720 Post Road, Scarsdale New York 10583
SOUL REAVER 2 month we’ll have more on the darkest Vampire adventure ever to steal your gothic soul. Time travel? Giant swords? A story with an ending? Believe it.
That’s right, next
REVIEW OVERLOAD,
imagine
PT.3
Chris Anderson
Tom
when you though there simply couldn’t be any more reviews for Dreamcast, we’ve got yet another massive, overflowing review section! Just
CEO
Valentino vice president/CFO
Holly Kllngel vice president/circulation
Steve Lelbman vice president/human resources Charles Schug general counsel England president/computing Cheryl
division
Michaela Abrams president/business division
Including, we hope, many of the games that got delayed just before the Holidays.
IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT DIVISION Jonathan Slmpson-Bint president Matt Flrme vice president/editorial director
Simon Whltcombe publishing
...And more!!
a >
a (dswPSBI
£ mjjgrm
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director
ulure
•Strategy games Revealed! New secret codes Cool!
public
8
strategy has helped
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one of
company quoted onTt^LondoriStock &chifng^(sy'nSol:
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it
titles
info
and forever be damned
Explored!
We promise! to a
(but not quality) of issue subject to
life full
of bad licensed
change due to vagaries
games. Content in
space-time.
February
2001 Official
Dreamcast Magazine
95
DRIVER A -Greets colleagues with a firm self-confident handshake.
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in
high school.
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Todd McFarlane's blockbuster comic book characters come to life on Sega Dreamcast. Compete in the four-player simultaneous Battle Royal mode. Includes the original Arcade Mode and tournament style Dreamcast Mode. Alt your favorite characters from the Spawn series are faithfully recreated in the ultimate death match challenge.
© CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2000 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2000.
All
©
TODD McFARLANE
Rights Reserved. A Todd McFarlane Entertainment, Inc.
Production. SPAWN, its logo, symbol, characters, and all related characters are registered trademarks of Todd McFarlane Productions. Inc. 2000. All Rights Reserved. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO.. LTD. CAPCOM EDGE is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. All Rights Reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other marks are the property of their respective holders.
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