__________________________________________________ / \ /_______> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <________\ ////// \\\\\\ ////// ~Issue #36 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com~ \\\\\\ \\\\\\ ////// \\\\\\ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net ////// \\\\\\ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.com ////// \\\\\\ Media Site - http://media.seganet.com ////// \\\\\\______________________________________////// \______________________________________________/ o> Please scroll down to Editors Comments for the start >>> DC Promotional Video Impressions >>>> Written By 'DC Prophet' I finally got to see the DC Promotional Video (at Software Etc. or Babbages) yesterday, and man am I shock! There were six games on it: Virtua Fighter 3:TB, Sonic Adventure, Geist Force, NBA 2000, NFL 2000, and Ready 2 Rumble. I'll just break them down briefly. - SONIC ADVENTURE: Pretty much the exact game as the import version but I did notice the helicopter sequence done a bit smoother, and at a slightly different camera angle. Mostly the same game. Sega said they were working on fixing all the problems but most of them were camera problems which didn't seem to show themselves on the video and collision, which didn't happen often to begin with, also didn't rear it's ugly head... there was still some pop up though. - VIRTUA FIGHTER 3:TB: This one looked a whole lot better! For one the shadows are connected and are smoothed out. The import version, which I own, has the shadows reflect the polygonal joints and made the shadows look ugly. The characters look a bit smoother as well, they seem to have a bit more polygons, but that could be just me. - NBA 2000: "VC Sports, if it's in the game..it's in our game!" should be the new slogan, NBA 2000 is the best looking basketball game I have ever seen! My girlfriend at times said she thought she was looking at CG clips!! She even said that about the NFL game!! Now when an average gamer says that, you know the graphics are out of this world. The uniforms are extremely detailed. The players are great, they sport high socks, knee pads, elbow pads, and even the socks with the NBA logo!!! The arenas are completely rendered individually, like the baseball and football for years now. You will actually see Madison Square Garden in all it's glory. The crowd is awesome. The scorers table and refs animate beautifully. The players moves are great. The dunks look so realistic some one asked if this was NBA Inside Stuff, no kidding!! The crossover moves are great, I seen a couple of post moves already, defenders slide their feet, the basketball is even sponsored, you can actually read Spalding on it!! I can't wait!! - GEIST FORCE: This game is supposed to be in trouble? It looks fantastic! It does have a huge Star Fox influence, but Geist Force takes it a step beyond. The enemies are extremely well animated and the environments are huge, detailed and exciting to look at. This game looks like a sure fire hit! - NFL 2000: Madden who? Visual Concepts are gods (with the right system of course!) NFL 2000 still amazes me. The players are simply fantastic. There are different body types and even animation styles for each position! A quarterback looks like a QB, and runs like one too, while a lineman is huge and also has his set of position specific animation. The video showed the different ways to take someone down and showing off the collision effects. The stadiums look great, I even noticed a couple of ESPN banners...hmmm, I wonder what ESPN is contributing to the game, most likely it will be announcers. The crowd looks great, the sideline people and even camera men!! This game is a visual treat, hope the gameplay matches it. - READY 2 RUMBLE: Punch Out in 3D! The characters are huge and extremely detailed. Facial animations and human like movements make R2R a great game to watch. The crowd seems to be weak compared to NFL and NBA 2000, but the overall visuals are amazing. The boxers have tons of moves and they even taunt after a victory. This game looks like tons of fun. You guys should visit Software Etc. or Babbages soon, it really gives you a glimpse at the future. And by the way the " Sega@Dreamcast " logo is official as it was plastered all over the video. --- Tails: Well, just count the number of times he said "amazing" and "great" in there, and Wow, the official lineup this September sounds better than I ever imagined! Hopefully we'll have some play test reports next week from the E3 as well. ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| NEWS |============================================ ---------------------------------------------------------- >>>> SOA Confirms Ridge Racer Coming To Dreamcast! Sega Of America has officially confirmed that Ridge Racer is indeed coming to Dreamcast next year. However, neither Namco, or Sega Of Japan have had any comments on this. >>>> Street Fighter III Confirmed Another big game confirmed this week was Street Fighter 3. Capcom themselves announced it, only they didn't mention which version would be getting the port to Dreamcast. >>>> Media.Seganet.Com Is Back, and Wow!! Media.seganet.com went down just over a week ago, and is now back online. Along with a name change, to Chupamedia, the site has been totally re-designed. And I have to say, YOU JUST GOTTA SEE IT! One of the coolest designs for a website I've ever seen. >>>> Floigan Brothers: The Forgotten Game Thanks to Videogamespot.com: Sega showed off a video of Floigan Brothers to a select group of editors a few months back at its Gamers' Day event, the NDA expired some time ago, and somehow no one wrote about it. Here's what we learned: Developed by Visual Concepts, the tentatively titled Floigan Brothers is a cartooney looking game where you control two 1950's style Brooklyn street kids, one short and smart and the other big and dumb. You play as the short one, and must work with your big brother to solve puzzles by doing things such as piling boxes into his hands so he can place them near high platforms and you can climb up them. The smaller of the two characters was seen executing a Tasmanian Devil-style spin move at one point. The game we saw was about 30 percent complete but it looked intriguing. It appeared much closer to a 3D cartoon than many console games that have tried in the past. Sega has not announced a release date for the game yet, but it's expected to be displayed at next week's E3 convention. >>>> News Shorts Konami's Castlevania for the Dreamcast, will be shown at the E3 show, although only in video form. No Cliche (developers of games such as Little Big Adventure, and Time Commando), now a SOE 1.5 party, released some details about their two titles this week. Gutherman Project was a working title, while the official name is now Toy Commander. "The aim of this action game is to drive vehicles through several breathtaking missions.", is the only description given so far. Their second game, codenamed 'Agartha', is described as "The horror-adventure game uses a new innovative character control." ---------------------------------------------------------- ======[ RED HOT RUMORS ]================================== ---------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to a new section of Dreamcast Weekly, each week we'll keep you upto-date with the latest RUMORS going around. Written by Tails - webmaster@sega2000.com >>>> Virtua Striker 2 For Australian / Europe Launch Virtua Striker 2 is listed as one of the launch titles for Australia / Europe and New Zealand, that's fact. But this rumor involves who will be handling the port. Gamespot suggests Genki, the company who translated Virtua Fighter 3:TB. >>>> A Namco / Sega Racer ? A year ago, if you had told me SNK and Capcom would have a game together, I probably would of thought it was nothing more than wishful thinking. But now it's confirmed, and fast heading to the arcades thanks to Naomi technology. Now, the latest rumor suggests Namco and Sega working together on a racing game. Could this be true as well? >>>> Scud Racer Rumors Continue Ever since the original tech demo of the Dreamcast, showing the first track from Scud Racer, rumors of a conversion have been flying around. The latest say that Sega has a 50% chance of converting the game over to Dreamcast. I for one, hope it does happen, Scud Race was one seriously fun game! ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| IMPORT-ANT MATTERS |============================== ---------------------------------------------------------- >>>> Redline Racer For An Amazing Price We've managed to source new copies of Redline Racer at an amazing price so we can pass the saving onto you. We'll now be selling this arcade style motorbike racer for $59AUD! That's under $40US! >>>> Special May Deal o SEGA RALLY 2 - Save $20 o MONACO GRAND PRIX 2 - Save $20 OR BOTH FOR $149AUD - Save $50AUD ($33US) The first of our special monthly deals with Extreme Imports has begun. You can pick up those games for $79AUD each (the normal price is $99AUD), which comes out at about $50US. Or BOTH games for $149AUD, which means you save about $50! >>>> Dreamcast Price Drop !!! This week Extreme Imports started selling their Dreamcast's for an even better price. An Asian Dreamcast will only cost you $499AUD now, and the Japanese version, $559AUD. >>>> US$25 Puru Puru Packs! They have plenty of official Puru Puru packs, straight from Japan, in stock right now at just AUS$39 (almost US$25 !). This is the cheapest price you'll find anywhere in the world. *********************************** * http://www.extreme-imports.com/ * *********************************** ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| LETTERS |========================================= ---------------------------------------------------------- >>>> Video Game Vioence >>>> Written by Chase Ayers I've read an article on the legislation and the "Toxic Substances" that are poisoning our youth and I have but one question. Have any of these So called Video Game Killers ever worked in the industry? Have they ever Play tested any product for hours on end? Have they made sure that the code is clean and that every Sound byte, pixel, or even drop of animated blood comes out on cue?...No! Then you can also say that all the Testers and Programers and Artists and Producers that put in 24 hours a day 7 days a week, making sure that the game plays correctly haven't had any reports of trauma. So none of these people that sit all day and make sure the correct body parts come off when aiming at them have not committed any crimes seems to me funny when making the senates case. "They are more prone to killing." Or "They are using Military games that train men to kill." I'm sorry but the Military didn't give video games to us, we gave the military a safer, oh I'm sorry SAFER, way to train. Battle Zone became a tank sim back when Doom was an appending fear. I for one have played games all my life and have also worked in the industry for nearly 10 years. I enjoy all games as if the were great novels with a story I must figure out and unfold not simply turn a page. Like most books we have our Horror, Fiction, Sci-fi, our Kings, Spielburgs, and Rodenberys. Lets not burn the books or curse the writers or the Programers and artists, but be better parents, better people, who like the simple enjoyment of the Electronic Entertainment World. Before video games there was Cops n Robbers and before that Cowboys and Indians, we've been pretending to kill one another forever, which was taught to us by none other than our elders that it was only a game. Well everyone, It's still only a game! Thanks for Listening - CHASE AYERS ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| FEATURE |========================================= ---------------------------------------------------------- >>>> Redline Racer Review - Import >>>> Written by Matt Being he first developers to produce a motorbike racing game on the Dreamcast, Criterion Studio's Redline Racer should have drawn a considerable amount of attention. Apart from a few screen shots being released, little to no publicity was given to RR's launch in Japan. Therefore, an obvious cry of worry was going to arouse from a game which I was looking forward to playing. I've always been a fan of motorbike games, with classics such as Super Hang On and Manx TT eliminating any sort of social life I could have possibly had. Wondering what a 128-bit version of these games would play like, I eagerly awaited RR's release. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the disappointment I was letting myself in for... Redline Racer's objectives are fairly straightforward. Enter a tournament, pick your bike, and do your best to win every race. There are a number of different championships to test your skills on, as you race over beaches, country lanes, snow and other terrains in order to become the best racer in the World, or more realistically, unlock a variety of other courses and bikes. Offering 10 and 12 respectively, there's hardly a lack of road to race around on. Each one is filled with tight corners, hills and ramps, making it anything but a peaceful drive. Graphically, RR is a sort of hit and miss. While bright and colorful at times, the graphics are nothing outstanding, especially when compared to rivals such as Sega Rally 2 or Metropolis. Thankfully, everything runs super smooth, with neither pop up or fogging being easily spotted. This does go some way to redeeming itself in this area. Moving on to the sound, this is where Redline Racer really falls. First off, the engine noises themselves. Guess what? There are none! Well, that's not exactly true, but everything is so subdued that you'd barely notice it regardless. The audio itself is a mix of techno and rock. Obviously trying to convey a futuristic appeal, it's let down dramatically by the fact that it doesn't even suit the style of the game. In fact, you'd be best to just switch the volume off your television altogether. One positive point about RR has to be the two player mode. Not only is almost all of the detail kept, but the frame rate remains intact, letting you enjoy some very fast and fun races. With the power underneath the Dreamcast's bonnet, this is something which should now be a standard affair, but hold on, where's the four player option? Once again, this feature is left out in the cold... Overall, Redline Racer isn't that bad. The control of your bike is nice and tight, and once accustomed to the analogue pad, you'll enjoy playing alone or with a friend, albeit for a certain amount of time. With no apparent competition around the corner, Criterion Studio's PC port will remain the only type of game in this genre. However, this shouldn't be the reason to make do with second best. Unless you can get over its faults, I'd advise you to stay away - it's not worth it. Final Scores: ------------- o Graphics - 79% o Sound - 48% o Gameplay - 83% o Lastability - 76% o OVERALL - 78% ---------------------------------------------------------- ======[ TIPS & CHEATS ]=================================== ---------------------------------------------------------- O If you've discovered a secret on a Dreamcast or O O Arcade game, and would like to share it with the O O world, please e-mail me on Webmaster@sega2000.com O >>>> Redline Racer - Import Secret Images - Like a few other Dreamcast games, if you put the CD into your PC or Mac, you get some extra secret images. Redline Racer has some high quality JPEG and .BMP files of the bike image on the cover. >>>> House Of The Dead 2 - Import - Thanks to Freddy Lopez Napalm Gun - To get the napalm gun, get a perfect head shot on the first three zombies in Stage One. If you're successful their heads will fly off and a new gun will appear on the ground. Shoot it and the napalm is yours. >>>> Aero Dancing - Import - Thanks to CameronCD Fly a Dolphin - To fly the Dolphin you must first complete Missions 1-7 of the Sky Mission Attack. That unlocks the 8th level mission attack. Once the 8th mission is beaten, your reward is a dolphin that can be used in free-flight and sky mission attack. ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| SEGA TRIVIA |===================================== ---------------------------------------------------------- >>>> Weekly Sega Trivia >>>> By Alex O If you have any questions you think could be printed, O O feel free to e-mail Alex on Alex@sega2000.com. Thanks. O 1: Who is the Tomb Raider? 2: What is the name of the machine in Blam! Machinehead? 3: How do Yobs travel to your theme park? 4: Who did the voice of Sonic in the Sonic cartoon? 5: Who is Bean? >>>> Answers 1: Lara Croft 2: The Vorpal Blade 3: On scooters 4: Jaleel White, better known as Urkel. 5: The big-headed, green duck who throws bombs from Sonic Fighters and Fighters Megamix. ---------------------------------------------------------- ======| BEST OF THE WEB |================================= ---------------------------------------------------------- There are sooooo many Sega sites across the web, wouldn't it be great if one place listed the most interesting bits?? Presenting the "Best Of The Web" section... >>>> Sega X - www.SegaDreamcast.net Plenty of news added every day, and the best coverage of the US Launch details you'll find anywhere. >>>> Sega 2000 - www.Sega2000.com Sega 2000's new news system means our staff can put news online any time of the day, and from anywhere in the world. >>>> Media Site - http://media.seganet.com A brand new design, and what a design!! You have to see this! They have the biggest collection of video game mp3's, video's (including some Saturn video's you've probably never seen before) and more. Also don't forget to vote for your favorite staff member. >>>> Dreamcast.net - www.Dreamcast.net Updates daily, to keep you up with the latest on all things Sega. >>>> Gaming Central Starpath - www.startpath.com/gamingcentral Our newest support site and provides hundreds of links for anything a gamer might be interested in. >>>> SegaDC - www.segadc.co.nz Updated daily with lots of news, a forum and more, this is a must see site for any Sega fan. >>>> www.videogames.au.com The newest supporter of Dreamcast Weekly, and a site with a great design. Be sure not to miss this site! >>>> DC Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/ Dreamcast Australia has gone undercover to find out the latest in release dates, prices and titles for the Australian Dreamcast launch. Add in some of the best previews, reviews, news and other info and this is one hell of a site. Have a look. >>>> The Sonic Zone - www.suneet.com/soniczone/ Updated daily with a HUGE amount of Sonic content that is sure to blow you away! From Fan Fiction to Chatting to Cheats and even Fan Created Games this is your one stop Sonic site. You can now send online postcards too!! The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at www.dreamcastweekly.com :) We've got the history of the magazine, daily news and plenty more. Specially if your a webmaster, there is lots of great information about how you can be involved as well! Then in the future... who knows, hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day :) ---------------------------------------------------------- ======[ CREDITS ]========================================= ---------------------------------------------------------- O Writer: Graham Parker "Tails" - webmaster@sega2000.com O Co-editor: Steve - steve@sega2000.com O DC Questions: Please send to - Steve@sega2000.com >>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website! ---------------------------------------------------------- Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - WEBMASTER@SEGA2000.COM Written and edited by Graham Parker. No parts may be copied without prior permission. I would have to send out my group of highly trained thugs otherwise, who will have a tea party with you until you crack and your mind turns into jello... MMmmmmm.... Sweet Sweet Jello.... hehe. Oh and finally... ----------------- Be sure to check out the new 'South Park Movie' trailer at www.southparkmovie.com ! Kick A$$ !!!