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Slightly unrelated, does anyone know the name of a particular site: you could buy or sell games to/from the site (not other users), they had a few stockhouses around the UK, the site had a red and white colour scheme, and I think the URL was quite short. And possibly had an x in it.
09-17-2007, 12:01 AM
Anyone remember any good Dreamcast games? Post #43
Originally posted by FungusMungus:
Aww man, gonna have to get the light gun as well
Slightly unrelated, does anyone know the name of a particular site: you could buy or sell games to/from the site (not other users), they had a few stockhouses around the UK, the site had a red and white colour scheme, and I think the URL was quite short. And possibly had an x in it.
cex
Computer exchange
09-17-2007, 12:02 AM
Anyone remember any good Dreamcast games? Post #45
Soul Calibur
Even though it was not a Sega-developed title, Soul Calibur is one of the games that forever will be remembered with the Dreamcast. Soul Calibur is absolutely gorgeous, but when you consider the game was a launch title for the Dreamcast, its image quality is all the more impressive. (And wait to you see it with a VGA adapter)
Each of the game’s warriors is armed with a different deadly weapon–sword, ax, stave, nunchaku, you name it–and an assortment of special moves all tailored to that specific weapon. At first, the huge number of possible moves and combinations available for use can be a bit daunting, but it keeps you wanting to learn more. There are also a number of different play modes to keep you involved for quite a while.
The gameplay and depth of this landmark 3D fighter still holds up to this day, as both Soul Calibur 2 and 3 still don’t seem to live up to the original.
Shenmue
Shenmue was one of the most beautiful and revolutionary titles for the Dreamcast. It combined elements from Adventure, RPG, Simulator, and Fighting games into an epic journey that brought a fictional community to life and compelled you to find the killer of Ryo’s father.
It’s no wonder that Yu Suzuki’s pet project would be an amazing game after years of development and a hefty $20 million budget. Shenmue brings games one step closer to reality — there’s a time scale, all non-playing characters actually have their own lives to lead, and enemy encounters are presented realistically. You can interact with nearly every object and learn and master several different martial arts.
The atmosphere in the city of Shenmue is simply amazing — each building, sidewalk, table, chair, crate, and every other environmental nuance has been rendered and calculated with an insane amount of detail and elements such as the color and intensity of the lighting is carefully reproduced for each environment.
I must give a fair warning, however, Shenmue is not for everyone. It’s not especially appealing for people like me who have a relatively short attention span. Shenmue requires patience (the first disc or two spends most of its time setting up the story as opposed to letting Ryo bash some skulls. ) and a good amount of puzzle-solving in order to get into the game. Individual gamers will either love or hate Shenmue — and will love it or hate it for the same reasons.
Jet Grind Radio
If there was one word to describe Sega’s best work in the second half of the 90’s, it was “unique”. Sega employed a number of development houses that did their best to create creative games that broke the barriers of traditional game genres. Jet Grind Radio is a perfect example of a Dreamcast games game that provided a unique and unforgettable graphical, audible, and gameplay experience.
In JGR, you gradually accumulate gang members to mark your territory with graffiti. Of course, the cops don’t like this and will do everything in their power to stop you, even if it means calling in the military to take you out for good. While Jet Grind Radio does start off slow and is a bit awkward at first, soon you’ll be grinding and painting like a pro, all the while dodging gun fire, gas bombs, and tanks.
The combination of slick cell-shading graphics, energetic music, adrenaline-pumping action, and a very unique premise made Jet Grind Radio a title that no serious gamer should go without. While Jet Grind Radio lacked in sales numbers, it lives on as a cult classic (and one of my all-time favorites).
Space Channel 5
While some other rhythm games like PaRappa The Rapper attracted more attention, Space Channel 5 topped the charts with Dreamcast owners. Both the graphics and the music had a phenomenal retro-futurist (reminds me of a hip Jetson’s atmosphere) feel to them and kept Space Channel 5 from becoming just “another” simon-says-type game.
Space Channel 5 has a handful of simple game elements that make it unique and the game does a good job of starting out easy and gradually getting more difficult. While SC5 isn’t especially deep or long, the music will keep you coming back From start to finish, Space Channel 5 rocks the house. Even when the moves become so complicated you get angry and want to hurl your controller across the room, the quality of the music helps bring you back. A little techno here, a little rock there — the music has a great style that’ll have you tapping your feet.
Crazy Taxi
This arcade port was one of the main reasons I initially jumped on the Dreamcast. While it has been cloned a few times since its release, Crazy Taxi was a thrill that could not be found anywhere else. The music from The Offspring got a little tiresome after a while, but actually got you in the Crazy mood.
Crazy Taxi gives you control of a cabby racing around two San Francisco-esque cities, picking up customers and dropping them at their required destinations by any means necessary. It’s a race against the clock, resulting in no-holds-barred racing around the two cities, flying off hills and screeching around bends. Although some may argue that the game lacks some depth, they forget that this is a pure arcade game that compels you to beat your best scores.
The Dreamcast version also featured the “Crazy Box”, a set of minigames that features challenges such as stopping by hitting a pole, bowling using the cab as a ball, and popping giant balloons in a field.
Although once completed it’s not great for long sessions, it has that addictive “one more go” quality of nearly all Sega’s arcade titles. Crazy Taxi is definitely worth checking out if you don’t take your racers too seriously, or just want some hardcore arcade-style fun.
Virtua Tennis & Tennis 2K2
I don’t intend to downplay the significance of the 2K series (NFL 2K2, NBA 2K2, etc) in the Dreamcast’s library, but if there is one Dreamcast sports title that last the test of time, Virtua Tennis would prevail.
Having the essential quality of being easy to play and difficulty to master, Virtua Tennis was one of the sleeper hit of short-lived Sega Dreamcast. It is often overlooked as a killer party game — I have had many parties with both guys and girls of all gaming levels having a blast on a 4-player doubles tournament.
While other enjoyable tennis titles have come long since (Top Spin and Mario Power Tennis), Virtua Tennis still holds up as being possibly the best tennis game ever. The “sequel”, Tennis 2K2 is pretty much the same as Virtua Tennis except that the graphics are a bit more polished and it adds to the player lineup with a female roster (including the Williams sisters).
Full Review of Virtua Tennis
Full Review of Tennis 2K2
Skies of Arcadia
Something about Air Pirates gives the RPG genre a breath of fresh air. With an upbeat quest and some innovative and fun ideas, Skies of Arcadia lets you venture off to distant islands to uncover a number of secrets.
Unlike other RPGs which wait until the mid-point to give you an airship, Skies of Arcadia does it right from the bat by bequeathing Vyse and crew with a ship of their own to sail the turn-based combat infested skies. The world is comprised of floating islands, and you use your air ship to travel among them while playing Robin Hood with other pirates.
The story may be similar to traditional motifs such as those in Lunar: The Silver Star, but it still feels new in this age of anti-heroes and mopey, whiny main characters. The ship warfare provides for a great alternative to standard RPG character combat, and the characters are a joy to watch with their many facial expressions and animation.
Power Stone & Power Stone 2
Throughout the late 1990’s Capcom tried over and over again to successfully transition their fighter expertise to the 3D realm. While some of them (Rival Schools, for example) were somewhat entertaining, most of them were on the dreadful side — and nothing that rivaled their quality 2D titles.
When the Dreamcast came along, Capcom finally got things right. With PowerStone, they broke away from the traditional fighting setup and brought an entirely new cast of characters to a fully 3D environment. With Power Stone, players could not only use traditional attacks on their opponents, but also use items in the play field (furniture, poles, etc) to do extra damage.
There is also a nice stratigic element found within the game’s Power Stone gimmick. If a certain player gets 3 Power Stones they are temporarily overtaken by a unique super-human power. So players will not only want to beat the crap out of their opponents, but also try to keep them from getting Power Stones.
Power Stone 2’s designers greatly expanded upon the battle arenas of the original Power Stone and added support for up to 4 players. It’s almost too much chaos to handle.
Full Review of PowerStone
Samba De Amigo
If you enjoy rhythm games, monkeys, and need something different from Dance Dance Revolution, you really need to take a look at Samba De Amigo. Samba is another one of the ultimate party games and deserves another chance. It involves waving/shaking maracas in certain directions to match the upbeat music.
In theory, the game sounds simple, maybe even boring, but Samba de Amigo is nothing but. As long as you don’t fear making a complete fool out of yourself, there are few game experiences as enjoyable as Samba de Amigo.
Many people find it much easier for beginners to play as opposed to DDR, but it still is a challenge in higher levels and it can be a riot to watch your friends shake their maracas like there’s no tomorrow.
Originally hampered by the high price of Sega’s first party maracas, Samba didn’t sell very well. Now, cheaper third-party maraccas can be found online, but I find the game to be highly enjoyable even with traditional controllers.
Some of my all time favs were for Dreamcast :****)
Where is Shenmue 3?
09-17-2007, 12:33 AM
Anyone remember any good Dreamcast games? Post #49
Linear Mode
