Dreamcast Reviews

F1 Grand Prix : Shenmue : Metropolis Street Racer : Ferrari 355
Who wants to be a millionaire : Virtua Tennis : Virtua Athlete 2K : Ecco the Dolphin
Samba De Amigo : Fur Fighters : Space Channel Five : Chu Chu Rocket : Crazy Taxi
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 : Crazy Taxi 2 : Phantasy Star Online : Daytona 2001
Samba De Amigo V2000

F1 Grand Prix by Videosystem

I know it’s only a week or so since I ranted about Psygnosis’ Playstation effort, F199, but having had a week on Videosystem’s Dreamcast F1 game, I feel it would be nice to compare the two. Firstly, I got very excited when Videosystem first advertised their N64 F1 game a year or so ago on TV. It looked gorgeous, and the glowing reviews in the games press had me ringing my friends in the US, desperately trying to get a compatible copy that would run at 60hz. When the game finally arrived, there was a kind of strange unfriendly feeling about it.

The option menus were almost as unforgiving as the corners of the game. For some reason, which I can’t really describe, I couldn’t steer the car properly. Steer assist off or on, it didn’t matter, it just felt completely wrong, and I was unable to correctly judge turning into the easiest of corners. Quickly relegated to the unplayable games drawer, I didn’t bother with its sequel earlier this year, and it was with some trepidation that I bought their DC conversion. On loading, I was unmoved by the opening introduction (though I don’t recall any intro’s intresting me for years, come back Killing Game Show, now that was an intro), I don’t care if you can spin round some pre-designed CGI cars, what about the game. Menus are simple and easy to follow, and I hurried into my first race.

Wow, these are without doubt the best graphics on any racing game.. for now at least. The lighting creates a real psuedo-outside feeling in the game, which at times can make you gasp. The car feels good too (phew!), with realistic bumping and tipping when you nudge other cars or hit barriers. I now realise how Videosystem create their driving system, make a car which reacts in a heavy way on the track, then treat the car like its constantly running over random bumps. The result is a spectacularly realistic inside car view, the most comparable with TV in-car transmissions yet. This also effects handling, requiring constant correction of the steering, and smooth manipulation of the car is very difficult. However, once you realise this is what the writers intended, its fine, and as hard as it seems at the start, it does get easier to play. The views are excellent too, and the detail of rival cars also unmatched (though in anti-smoking livery). As nice as the graphics seem at the start of the season, you haven’t seen anything till you get to Monaco. In the Summer I went to Monaco on holiday, and was absolutely stunned by the accuracy of Videosystem’s interpretation of the city. All the buildings are exactly right, they look amazing. I not only managed to find the hotel I stayed in, but also the local pub, run by an over happy American, where we drank most nights. It isn’t that the building is just in the right place either, it included the archway entrance, the hanging baskets, and you could even see the table where we sat on our first night. Truly amazing.

Though I haven’t visited all the other F1 circuits I can only imagine that they too have been replicated with this unparallelled degree of accuracy. Phenomenal. Ok, no game is perfect, and this F1 game also has a few problems. Firstly the sound, while engine sounds are authentic, the informative commentary is almost unhearable through it. It doesn’t seem to matter what you do with the volume sliders, this situation stays the same. Also, the initial control method on boot up involves using the DC controller’s trigger buttons for accelerate and brake (virtually unusable), and has to be changed prior to beginning a season. Finally the car AI is hardly state of the art, with little weaving or avoidance of your persistant challenges. At the outset, this is something as a bonus as you get to grips with the feel of the car, but eventually you hunger for more aggressive competition. If you think i’m going to mention the two player mode, forget it, i’m not going to. As usual, a token gesture so they can include the tag line on the box. I am going to cover two player driving in a future rant I think. In conclusion, you can forgive these problems, thanks to the amazing graphics, and the generally satisfying driving experience F1 provides. Todays chart has Psygnosis’ F199 at number twelve, while this seminal interpretation to the genre didn’t even make it into the top forty on its first week of release. Who said video games played fair.
Jace Rates - 8/10

SHENMUE - SEGA - DREAMCAST

It’s been a long time since a video game has made it into legend. Some will recall the four million ET cartridges buried in the American desert, the 8-bit entities of Psyclapse and Bandersnatch which never actually appeared, or even Ultimate’s Mire Mare, the missing Spectrum game featuring Sabre Man. Well, Yu Suzuki’s Shenmue is a game which has been shrouded in mystery since the birth of the Dreamcast, a game which was to bring reality to video gaming for the very first time. Over budget and costing an estimated twenty million dollars to create, Shenmue has become something of a make or break title for Sega. I remember when the Dreamcast launched, Virtual Fighter 3b came with a free interview disk, which seemed to last an eternity. Of course, being completely in Japanese, tedium quickly set in, but I still held out to the end in the hope of seeing a screenshot. In the end there was none, but the interviews inclusion still added to my anticipation of the game. The Japanese version came out at the beginning of the Summer, UK magazines tried to understand it, but it’s coverage was little more than a bunch of pretty screen shots, and comments like, “Oh Wow, I just felt totally immersed as I watched it”. The beginning of December, and the UK finally gets an English speaking version. The packaging is gorgeous, double box with quality card holder. Anticipation at overload, I anxiously jammed the CD in the Dreamcast and prepared to be amazed. The graphics are excellent, the introduction is typically dramatic, involving your Dad’s death, and a legion of evil karate guys who you’ll have to track down in the game. Once into the game proper, the amazement doesn’t dissipate. While the control system is awkward at first, the ability to interact with all the furniture is initially bewildering, but instantly captivating.

The sheer volume of work involved in drawing all the objects in such detail can’t be underestimated. Once you’ve paraded around the house, played with the phone, had laborious conversations with your Mum etc, you’ll move outside. As the game progresses you’ll visit the town, you’ll get a job, you’ll live a virtual life inside your Dreamcast. Well, that’s if you ignore the story. You must locate the guys who killed your father, this is performed by fulfilling various predictable tasks. In your inventory is a note book, which keeps track of not only what you have done, phone numbers, objects found, etc, it also tells you what to do next. As you progress through the game, each objective described in the book must be fulfilled before you can move on, completely irradicating any real freedom from the game. If you aren’t bothered by the story, you can hang around in locations, play in the arcade, work hard, but it doesn’t take long to get bored. If you are playing the game to complete it, there isn’t even a whiff of challenge, as your notebook tells you who to talk to, what to get hold of and where to find it at every stage. Arcade fighting sequences are relatively easy, and the retro games in the arcade are fine, but we’ve all got other systems to play those on.

I will be brutally honest, I couldn’t be bothered to continue with the game. A friend of mine finished the game in twenty one hours, and agrees that in the end, it’s just a job of following what the book says. There is also no real conclusion to the title, meaning you have to wait for not just one but two more sequels before vengeance is yours. As lavish as an environment is, if the tasks you need to perform have no meaning, or are told to you before you proceed, you end up with something you’ll never go back to. As a technology demo, Shenmue is great, but when you compare the title with other adventures like Majora’s Mask or Silent Hill, it’s hard to understand why Sega didn’t get their brilliant Sonic Team in, to sort out the mechanics. Jace Rates 4/10

Metropolis Street Racer - Dreamcast

Now, there are lots of big games for the Dreamcast on there way in the next two weeks, and MSR has gained more publicity than most. This is largely thanks to the length of time its creators, Bizarre Creations, have taken to finish the game. MSR was originally meant to be a Dreamcast launch game in the UK, but some would argue that the extra gestation period has created a far better title. The first thing which takes some getting used to is the front end, and the way the game is structured. First you have to earn a car, by beating it in a race. The main game involves driving through twenty five chapters, each with ten race events. These are progressively structured, starting with simple lap time tests, leading to one on one racing, and eventually a mini-championship. The first chapter is actually titled training, but it still takes a lot of practice to get through it with enough points. Ah yes, points. The game system works with kudos points. These are gained by reaching the target of your level with time to spare, or in a better position than expected, and also by driving skill, like taking a corner flat out without hitting the curbs. They are deducted for hitting obstacles and other cars. Each batch of points earned opens up the next events in the chapter, with a chapter total opening up the next chapter. By the time you get to chapter two, you realise that the points are so tight, that you have to go back and improve on times in chapter one to increase your total, and open up the new events. This brings a new element to the racing genre, as you constantly have to gamble with your previous time. If you perform worse, the points earned for that stage will be reduced. Ok, what about the racing itself. Well, those in the know will be aware that the game uses real city locations, London, Tokyo and San Fransisco. Any hopes of being able to just drive around and explore are dashed, as each stage takes place in set courses, with other roads blocked off. To be honest, this may not be the case in later chapters, but so far that’s how it is.

The graphics are excellent, by far the best of any Dreamcast racer. Locations look very realistic, and the cars, while still being over shiny, catch the light of the city streets as they drive by brilliantly. The driving model is also superb, each corner being highly intuitive, giving a tremendous amount of satisfaction if pulled off well. Other cars are intelligent, and will jostle for position. I have seen other cars crash, which is always a relief in a one player racing game. Another ingenious feature of the game is it’s real-time clock. Set the time on your first go, and it will be remembered, then each of the locations has it’s own time of day. For instance, if you are playing in the evening, London locations will be dark, as will Tokyo, but San Fransisco is bright and sunny. Somehow this adds a whole new level of realism to the game, adding even more atmosphere. Ok, now, you’ve heard the good stuff, well, surely there is some bad? I’m afraid so.

The two player game is yet another after thought, with two cars on a split screen just racing against eachother. When will games designers realise, that in general when playing with friends, the owner of the machine will be far better at the title, meaning you need a decent handicap system and other cars to race against. I fear we all still have some wait before all racing games include two player championship modes. The other flaw in the title is rather more serious, yet so simple to correct that you can only assume there was little play testing of the front end. When you start a stage within a chapter and immediately do badly, there is no restart option on the pause menu, meaning you have to exit, go through the front end, including a re-tally of your points, then go through the menus to access the level again. The options are one thing, but this title suffers from incredibly lengthy loading times, and if you try again, that whole level has to be wiped out of memory for the options, then reloaded. The level you are retrying may only take two minutes itself, to quite and restart takes at least thirty seconds. To be true and frank, I don’t think a game has put me off of playing it because of loading times since my Spectrum and C64 days.

The game is good enough to play the first two chapters, as these are easily enough completed, but later stages may take ten attempts, that’s five minutes of waiting for the level to reload, which in the end, has put me off of playing the game already. After Fur Fighters, Bizarre Creations previous game, hope of MSR being great had ebbed. In the end MSR is a brilliant game, marred by the most basic of errors. What a tragedy. Jace Rates: 7/10

Ferrari 355 - Dreamcast

Compared to the complexity of MSR, Ferrari, nothing more than a simple arcade conversion, should be far more easy to get to grips with. So you’d think.... The arcade machine was famous for being highly realistic, and incredibly hard. Those traits have made it into the home version, yet without the luxury of an arcade built steering wheel and gear shift, you can’t help feeling this is just a little unfair. As soon as the introduction starts, you know this is a Sega game. There are plenty of options too, but my guess is you’ll go straight for the championship. As the lights go green, and the cars in front jet off into the distance you suddenly realise that this is going to be tough. One minute later, and you’re being lapped, and you know that this is going to be the hardest racing game you’ve ever played. Turning off the driver aids helps with speed, but makes control impossible. Forget the auto gearbox, there is no way you will even keep up with the back markers without the car set to manual. The first track actually lets you build up some confidence. Set in a large oval, careful cornering can reward you with a place in the top three. However, the next track offers the spills of formula one, and while you may cling on to the pack through a couple of corners, it will take hours of practice to stay with them through a lap. It is also not until you get to this second stage that you can relish the gorgeous graphics. On the grid, when the engines are revving up, the car shakes, just slightly, adding greatly to the realism. However it isn’t until they pull off, and you are left in a cloud of tire smoke that you realise just how good these graphics are. I’ll put my neck out and say that these are the most realistic looking cars in a racing game to date. In the end, this game is about perseverance. When I first played it, I was immediately put off by my own performance, but after a few hours, I slowly gained some rewards, finishing occasionally in the top four. I have no doubt that to perform better will require an even greater allocation of time to the title, and I'm sure in the end a win won’t be entirely out of the question. Overall, I'd have to say, if you like your racing games tough, then this is the one for you, but if you thought the later stages of Gran Turismo 2 were too hard, then stick to Whacky Racers.
Jace Rates: 7/10

Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Dreamcast

Currently holding the top spot more firmly than something that’s really firm, this title not only relies on a TV show for it’s license, but has cast it’s presenter, Chris Tarrant, to provide virtually all the content for the game. You progress through a series of multiple choice questions trying to get to the legendary million pounds. Chris’s voice is used for all the questions, and is as tedious and annoying as it is in the series. Multi-player games involve taking it in turns with other players, and to say this can be laborious is a vast understatement. One humorous part of the game is the phone a friend option, where some crazy actors have been brought in to provide some vocal advice. These range from a Geordie, Scot, and Cockney, and you’d find it hard to believe that any would actually be your friend. While the game sticks firmly to the design and soundtrack of the TV show, loading times are often too long, and you are forced to realise how slow paced the show is. In the end, this is a game for Christmas, one of the few titles you could persuade your Gran to play, but on the other hand, this is the hard-core gamers nightmare. Jace Rates: 4/10

Virtua Tennis - Dreamcast

Two tennis games in one Rant, it had to be done. I had already experienced this particular Sega game at the arcades in the Summer, but it was particularly more impressive on Dreamcast demo stands in big stores before it’s release. For anyone who has not seen anything of the game, it’s graphics are just about as realistic as you can get on the Dreamcast, with brilliant lighting and animation really earning the title it’s Virtua prefix. In fact, if this game had looked any more realistic, the BBC would be fighting for the rights to broadcast it. You get to choose between eight less famous players, like Philapousis or our own Tim Henman, though why more familiar players thought themselves unworthy for the title is a mystery. Play is very easy to get into, with simple lob, smash and back hand buttons. There are plenty of tumbles as your player rushes for shots, all perfectly motion-captured of course. One player mode is tough, with computer opponents getting significantly harder through each stage. Doubles matches are included as well as multi-player options. However, the success of the game as a whole hinges on the depth of it’s graphics. Each point is highlighted with some brilliant close up shots, which are directed with all the authenticity of wimbledon.

That said, Tim Henman does look like a bit of a scary monster, but perhaps he does when he’s excited anyway. While Mario Tennis opts for long rallies and clever shots, Virtua Tennis takes a more realistic viewpoint, each serve punctuated by brief countermoves before points are rewarded. This actually adds to playability, as each games length matches the speed of play. Overall, this is yet more evidence of the Dreamcast’s brilliance as a format, and further proof that the machine can deliver graphics which easily rival forthcoming Playstation 2 efforts by Sony and EA. If you own both N64 and Dreamcast, then the choice is tough, cutesy playability or immaculate realism, the choice is purely personal.
Jace Rates 7/10

VIRTUA ATHLETE 2K - Dreamcast

As much as i’d love to dismiss the track & field style sports game as decrepit and dull, they just aren’t are they. Multi-player nights filled with joystick bashing bouts of exhausting delight may sound like the stuff more frequently talked about in Penthouse, but for the die hard sports fan, it’s as close as we’ll get to competing in the Olympics. Virtua Athlete follows on from Sega’s Saturn title, Decathlete, which while a solid and playable title, but suffered from the devastating decline of the console. This time around, there is certainly an audience to buy the game. The first thing you will be slightly upset about with the game is the lack of events, only seven in total. This however, is soon made up for by the quality of the graphics. Each round is sandwiched between views of the stadium or the athletes getting ready. In normal cases you may think that this would interfere with the playability, but thankfully, it is blended in with the action expertly.

There are the usual events, like the hundred metres and javelin, but some do seem rather pointless. The shot-putt for example is a tedious case of pressing a button at the right time, with little more dexterity required than winning 20p on a fruit machine. The final event too is rather dull, the 1500 metres sees athletes bashing into each other, and the accompanying drum sound makes the whole thing purile. Probably the best part of the game is the use of computer characters to make up the numbers. You are always playing against eight opponents, whether human or computer controlled, which adds a lot of extra challenge aswell as providing stiff competition if your human rivals aren’t up to scratch. Overall, a very playable game, let down by a couple of awkward events. In the end it isn’t the lack of events which upsets the mix, as tournaments are kept brief and ultimately more playable in a party atmosphere. A few extra tweaks, and this could have been a classic. Jace Rates 6/10

Ecco The Dolphin - Dreamcast

Yes, I know it has been out ages, but i’m afraid I've only just got round to telling you about it. I came to this game with a cold feeling, I have played the Megadrive versions of the game, and despite the nice animation, was rather unimpressed. I had also seen the TV and Cinema adverts for the Dreamcast version, which left me suitably unimpressed. It was then with quite some level of shock that I was presented with some of the most gorgeous graphics yet seen on a home console. As soon as you start your first game you will be dazzled by the sheer beauty of your surroundings. The lighting is perfect, creating an incredibly realistic underwater garden. Animation of our Dolphin hero is also amazing, moving with such fluidity that you could imagine they dragged a live dolphin into a motion tracking studio. The sound is also excellent with suitably uplifting themes suiting the action. Ah, the action. Well, it’s fair to say that Ecco is a moderately paced game. Each mission shows itself to you, rather than a whole bunch of objectives being made clear at the start. This is quite inventive, though can leave you struggling for your next task. Dealing with underwater enemies, like sharks and enemy fish can be fun, but there is a lot of repetition, and evasion often becomes the easiest solution. I must admit, I haven’t progressed particularly far with the game, I've had the game for over a month, and it has probably only notched up around three hours of playtime, and this is the games downfall. The relaxed atmosphere and gentle mission structure eventually leads to boredom. Fans of gentle games may find this more enjoyable. I’m going to sound incredibly patronising, but I think the game is the kind of thing your Mum would love, or maybe an antidote to nagging girlfriend. Overall, a stunning game visually, but with about as much excitement as a wet fish.... hang on... Jace Rates 7/10

Samba De Amigo - Dreamcast

If you had told me ten years ago that i’d be standing in front of the TV holding two maracas and shaking my booty to the Latin sounds of the Macarena, all in the name of Video Game Entertainment, I'd have told you you’re mental. In reality, this has to be the most bizarre game to have spilled out of Japan’s Bemani addiction. The game comes supplied with a special mat, which in turn you must plug in special maraca controllers. The in-game prompt lets you set your height, then you are off. Shake each maraca in either high, middle or low positions when the blue ball sinks down the relevant hole. Keep in time with the music, and you can’t go too wrong.

To break the tempo are pause moments, when a man will appear on screen holding the maracas in a certain position, you have a couple of seconds to match him, then it’s back on with the shaking. Rapid runs of balls make you shake like a mad think, while on harder levels there are so many balls that you will begin to think the game has got impossible. Indeed, onlookers always seem to wonder at how you knew when to shake. This inspires the “smug” factor in the player, often improving performance, and introducing the obligatory bum wiggle. Oh yes, make no mistake, this game with turns you into a manic Latino diva, my chest has six times the amount of hair that it used to. In addition to the normal arcade modes, there is a challenge mode for single players.

Complete each stage, and you open up new songs to be used in other modes. These challenges can range from hitting little monkeys on the head, to getting a song perfect, yep, hitting every single shake at the right time. The songs Sega have chosen for this title couldn’t be better, all the classics are there, the Austin Powers music, the Macarena, that latin one they used for the World Cup, La Bamba, the selection is perfect. Two players can play simultaneously, but that requires a second controller, which at £60 a shot, is expensive. However, if you ever wanted the perfect party game, Samba De Amigo is it. Since I got hold of this game, I must have played it for around fifty hours. Indeed, I played it for a couple of hours every night for the first couple of weeks. Friends will love it too, it’s the kind of game which relies on it’s simplicity to deliver an awesomely addictive package.

On screen graphics are impressive, the Dreamcast replicates the depreciating crowd antics of Parrappa in humiliating fashion. However, this isn’t a game which needs flashy visuals, it’s all about the beat. This is without doubt the best of all Bemani games, eclipsing all of Konami’s efforts in a single punch. Nintendo remain the only major player not to have attempted the genre, we wait with baited breath. With games like this, Space Channel 5, Jet Set Radio, plus loads more in the works, I have to admit it, i’ve become a Sega fan. I hated the Megadrive, it was responsible for killing my beloved Amiga, but now, thanks to that Latin rhythm, Sega have me hooked. Sell your Playstations, ignore PS2, and get yourself a Dreamcast, at £150 it’s a bargain. As for Samba De Amigo, it’s one of the best games of the year. Jace Rates: 9/10

FUR FIGHTERS - Acclaim - Dreamcast

A certain magazine commented that this game was the first worthy attempt at an arcade platformer which could truly be compared with the work of Rare. True enough, there is plenty of evidence to the fact that it’s programmers had played Jet Force Gemini and Donkey Kong 64, but imitation is not always a sign of flattery. You know you are in for a rocky ride as soon as you see the intro section. I always wait to see a games introduction the first time I play, but have to admit that this time I just couldn’t be bothered, an agonising pan around a world full of poorly animated cats, no thanks! The game itself borrows heavily from Rare’s past creations, from the training level, to the grunts and groans from animals as they speak with subtitles, oh, and not forgetting the shooting elements from JFG.

The need to swap between characters to complete each level may have been a bonus in DK64, but this game just uses the technique to provide irritatingly extended level length. Graphics are smooth, but animation poor. Unrelated dance based music plays in the background constantly, destroying any chance there is of atmosphere. I’m not saying this isn’t a big game, and there isn’t much in the same genre on the Dreamcast, but for a title so lacking in enjoyment to gather so many accolades is ludicrous. Anyone expecting a game comparable with the best of Rare or Nintendo can forget it. This game tries to be so much, yet provides one of the most dreary experiences of the year. Buy it, and you will feel cheated. And to think I'd been looking forward to it for so long...... Jace Rates 3/10

CHU CHU ROCKET - DREAMCAST

Mmmm, the dreamcast has become a bit short of tripple A titles of late, so what is Sega’s sollution? A puzzle game! The very fact that this is a puzzle game will detract from the enjoyment held within, which is a pity, as Chu Chu Rocket provides an exciting alternative to the constant barrage of Tetris clones on other machines. The game involves guiding mice into a rocket with directional arrows you place on the screen. While the gameplay is confined to a single screen there is plenty of room for hundreds of mice. If you get a bonus then a random selector will change the game for a while, for instance by swapping your rocket position with another player, or by guiding all the mice on screen directly into your rocket. Of course, single player games can become tedious, and the real fun can only be opened up if you manage to get three or four players to join you. Between each batch of mice, cats parade around the screen, if they enter your rocket they will eat a considerable number of your stored mice. This means that the frantic action continually changes between guiding mice away from other rockets into yours, and then quickly changing round, guiding cats away from your rocket and towards your rivals. One of the selling points of this title in Japan has been that it was produced by the Sonic Team. However, looking at the game, you’d have to wonder what else they have been doing with their time. There are no breath-taking graphics to tax the machine, or ingenius new ways of rotating objects in 3D. This game is a concept game, simple to the end, and with enough gameplay to remind Playstation saturated game heads what playability is really about. Overall, a simple and ingenious puzzler, which thankfully reminds us that there are still some original ideas out there. Don’t expect to play for long without your friends though. JACE RATES - 7/10

SPACE CHANNEL 5 - DREAMCAST

There as been a huge campaign in Japan on the back of this game, it’s design and style is supposed to tipify the Dreamcast. From the initial boot up, it’s immediately apparent how much time and effort has been spent creating this alternative sci-fi world. The graphics are consitently themed in a kind of Austin Powers in Space way, mixing British sixties chic, with Space age comic book heros. Music is also brilliantly excecuted, imperative really considering this game is based on dancing, bringing a cheesy blend of easy listening and punchy exotica which wouldn’t sound out of place in the Blow Out club. Space Channel 5 is a game which instantly charms the player with it’s atmosphere, and the simplicity of the gameplay does little to detract from the game’s appeal. You play Ulalla, a space age news reporter, who is reporting on an alien invasion. As you play you follow Ulalla’s exploits as she marches between several game points. She will then enter into a dance routine, which inevitably involves blowing up aliens.

The way it works is that first the aliens will do a dance and shout out their moves as they do them. You then must repeat their moves with perfect timing to continue to the next stage and earn enough points to finish the level. The moves are simple, up, down, left, right and fire, however the increasing intricacy of the rhythms used makes the game very tough at times. There is also the use of a second fire button, one for shooting aliens, and one for releasing humans from a captured trance like state. You have to be careful to use the correct fire button to release or shoot the corresponding alien or human. Any humans you release join you in your quest. They don’t exactly help you out, but they join your troop and will follow your dance moves. This not only looks very cool, but also is a good guage to see how well you are doing. Battles are cadenced brilliantly with some amazing machine driven dance sequences. In between some of the levels you are challenged by a rival gang, intent on taking over your broadcast. These can be amongst the toughest challenges, but beating them will increase your number considerably. End of level bosses also add to the overall challenge, and also offer some great graphics to watch. Progress well, and on level four you get the chance to have Micheal Jackson join your team. Yes, the real Micheal provided his voice for the character, and he dances in that typical crotch-grabbing way.

In conclusion, Space Channel 5 is a complete escape from reality, a game which has that often vital “I need to show all my friends this” factor by the bucketload. It’s also a game which I think is sexless, sure to appeal to you and your wife/partner. Who knows, the introduction of this game into your home could even ease those “oh, so you’ve spent more of our money on video games!” arguments. Overall, it’s as close as you’ll get to playing a Gap advert. An ingenious game, packed with humour and style, and with hidden bonuses and tricky later levels, quite a challenge to. Hey, did I mention how sexy Ulalla is?? JACE RATES 8/10

Crazy Taxi - by Sega

It was with some amount of trepidation that I booted up Sega’s new Dreamcast hope, Crazy Taxi. I had played the game in the arcades last year, but I don’t know if it’s just me, but it just seems impossible to build enthusiasm for any games in an arcade. Anyway, first impressions were not so good, as ever, the game required more memory than was available on my VMS, is it me, or are these highly overated units capable of holding data for only one game? Anyway, I cleared the twenty three blocks required, and continued to the intro.

A hi-res rendition of the game’s logo greeted me, and with another press of a button I was into the menu screen. Opting for the first option, arcade mode, I was dropped into the game itself. I’m going to be very honest with you, nothing I have ever seen on the DC has made my pulse rise at all, let alone drop my jaw, but when I saw the polished hi-res visuals pouring out of my TV, well, to say the least, I was very impressed. The game involves driving around a city picking up passengers and dropping them to various destinations.

There are four drivers to choose from, the funky black guy, the gang land hard guy, the chubby bloke, and of course the obligatory female. Each has their own car, and attitude. Attitude is displayed by the many phrases, and abuse they bestow on their passengers, adding to the huge content of humour within the game. Driving isn’t overly complicated at first, but then the stunt menu allows you to compete in a variety of events, like jumps and spins, which not only add to the content of the game as a whole, but teach you new driving tricks. The final game mode is Original mode, which basically is exactly the same as arcade mode, but in a completely new city. Ok, now lets get onto the exciting part of this game, the city itself. This place is packed with cars and obstacles, all of which must be avoided in order to get your passenger to their destination as soon as possible. Cars, lorries, busses, padestrians, all going about their business, and all getting in your way. The cities are positively buzzing with people, and you can’t help but want to just ignore the customers, and take a good look round. You are free to drive anywhere you like, the guiding arrow serving to direct you to the correct drop off point, though often encouraging you to take short cuts through the park, or multi-storey car park.

It’s not just the gloss and detail contained within each living city, but the whole atmosphere it invokes onto the player. While technically stunning, it makes Driver look positively pathetic, the game is so much more. If they had continued building on their successes of the late eighties, you would swear this was an Atari game. The fine mixture of comedy, skill, and technical ability takes me back to the heady days of playing APB or Paperboy for the first time. Each game is quite brief, little more than four or five minutes, adding dramatically to addictivity. Another vital part of Crazy Taxi’s playability package is the scoring system, the total of your earnings dictates your ranking, and all can be saved in the permanent score tables. I’ve always held that many classic titles only retain their playability thanks to their score table, and this game uses scoring to great effect.

If any of my retro-only followers are reading this, damning my adoration of a Dreamcast title, then let me assure you that this has all the vital ingredients that have made the classics of the past, and is destined to become a classic in its own right. Well done Sega, at last a title worthy of your hardware. Jace Rates - 9/10

POP N MUSIC 2

After the amazing Um Jamma Lammy, i’ve been holding myself back from playing another bemani title, yet the infectious tunes held within the Dreamcast’s prequel to this game, urged me to explore what sonic delights were to come. As a sequel, there is very little to distinguish the two titles. One new option is added to the title screen, Party mode allows two players to challenge eachother, great fun if you have invested in a seperate Bemani controller.

The game also offers three times more music than the previous title. Some are similar to the themed tunes in the previous game, but at the moment, i’d have to say that their quality is not of the same standard. Konami are currently releasing a whole deluge of Bemani related titles in Japan, and you have to wonder if their music department is becoming overstretched finding suitable melodies for adoption in the game. Overall, an enjoyable title, but you can’t help wishing the original titles were included too, so you could at least use them in the Party mode. Jace Rates: 5/10

SONIC 2 - Sega - Dreamcast

I didn’t like the first sonic game on Dreamcast, it just seemed poorly put together, and a strange mix of adventure and action. Thankfully, Sonic 2 ditches the adventure stuff, in favour of pure arcade action. Basically there are three kinds of stages, one is running around the huge 3D environments collecting rings, the second a weird, but incredibly fun hide and seek game, the third are big boss fighting stages. It’s the graphics which first impress, super smooth scrolling, and incredible speed create spell-binding atmosphere.

The gameplay is perfectly balanced too, collect all the rings and items, and you’ll find it tough. If you are more into quick thrills, you can get through each level without too much fuss. There is plenty of replay value too, the scenery moves past you so quickly that you’ll miss a lot unless you play each level several times. It is hard to describe quite how impressive this game is. If you set Sonic 2 on demo next to a PS2, you’d sell plenty more Dreamcasts that is for sure. Then there are the two player modes. The speed which the machine can shift two detailed split screens is phenomenal. Sega are to be commended for producing such a stunning game, and proving to the doubters that the Dreamcast really does have the grunt to truly compete with PS2. If only it wasn’t too late. Jace Rates 8/10

CRAZY TAXI 2 - Sega - Dreamcast

Crazy Taxi helped put the fun back into gaming, so it’s no surprise, we were dished a second helping. Unfortuanately Sega have taken a no risks attitude to the sequel, simply dumping you in a new town. The only addition is a jump button, though in reality this adds little to the gameplay. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it, which is fair enough. By the same token, if you have the first taxi game, you don’t need this one. Jace Rates 5/10

PHANTASY STAR ONLINE - Sega - Dreamcast

Ok, I should have reviewed this ages ago, and you probably already know all about it. Anyway, just in case you don’t.... PSO is an arcade shoot-em-up most notable because you can play in an online world and team up with gamers in Japan or the US. The best way to play is to progress through the levels off line, and build up your player’s experience, however it is far more fun to just sign on and get mobile in a team of other players. One revolutionary factor is the automatic translation which allows you to converse with other players, whatever their language. There are some drawbacks, if you are playing with Japanese team mates, they talk to each other in Japanese, and only if they talk to you directly will you know what they are saying. This limits team conversation with overseas players, but you’ll still be able to play in their team adequately.

Of course, talking to you team is greatly aided with a Dreamcast keyboard. The levels are built up of varying numbers of monsters, each clearing providing new enemy opposition. The more you fight, the more experience you gain, and the easier attacking gets. One of the most interesting gameplay facets is the way you are unable to restart, every item you collect or lose, every credit you accumulate or spend, may have some effect on the future. On your travels you will no doubt meet up with more experienced gamers, who’ll show off their flashy weapons, and super high experience in a smug nature. Thankfully, if you play the game enough, you’ll become as good as them. The only downside is that the game divides everyone up into such small teams, 1-4. It would be great to meet rival teams within the main game and battle against them. Still, that’s something for the future. Jace Rates 8/10

DAYTONA 2001 - Sega - Dreamcast

This is the one you’ve all been waiting for. For nearly ten years, Daytona has been the arcade machine worth playing. Technology may have moved on ten-fold, but go to any big arcade, and you’ll find four players battling it out in Daytona’s tight raceways. The reason? pure playability. It’s been a long wait for a decent home console version. First we had the Saturn version, which while reminiscent of the original, was slow and awkward to control. Enter the Champion Circuit Edition, also on Saturn. This was better, but with new tracks seemed removed from the arcade original.

Enter the shiny new Dreamcast version, complete with the tracks of the arcade, and graphical improvements which actually add to the original. Control is very sensitive, edge the joypad delicately to steer, and you’ll reap the benefits. Everything is here, from the tumbling somersaulting crashes, and rear end slide to the original soundtrack and large number of opposition. A great addition is the two player mode, which actually includes another eight computer controlled cars to increase the action. The action replays also add to the experience. It’s been a long wait, but finally it’s over. Daytona 2001 brings all the excitement of the arcade. If only you could link four Dreamcasts together and get some hydraulic seat controllers, now that would be perfect... Jace Rates 8/10

SAMBA DE AMIGO v2000 - Dreamcast

Even though Japan doesn’t regard Christmas as a religious holiday, they do still celebrate, and the run up to Christmas holds almost as much importance as it does in the US and Europe. And what better way to get into the holiday spirit than with Samba De Amigo 2000, a revamped version of Sega’s Bemani classic. Those of you unfamiliar with the original, the game relies on elaborate maraca controllers, with which you must shake to the rhythm of some suitably latin tunes.

The new game includes new game modes, new battle games, and of course, lots new tunes. Those of you who thought La Vida Loca was sorely missed on the original will be pleased by its inclusion. There’s also the Gipsy Kings Bambolea, Hot Hot Hot, The Games People Play, and even the theme to Rocky. (obviously people were confused by the last version’s Theme from Inoue). To get the best out of the game, you are going to need two maraca controllers, as two player challenges can be incredibly funny. Beware though, smashing eachother’s maracas is common, though it sounds more painful than it actually is. The biggest development in the game has to be the new sway mode, which has you moving the maracas between the on-screen positions, instead of shaking them. This even includes crossing the maracas in the air, or turning them full circle around your body.

As far as Bemani games go, Samba De Amigo is pretty much as good as they get, with tons of extra tunes to be opened up, a highly challenging one player game, and a decent score system which automatically saves to the VMU. The Sonic Team may have to change their name soon, the Samba team sounds far better. Jace Rates 8/10