I wasn’t too sure about the Sega Dreamcast when it was announced Spring 1998. I had already purchased a Sony Playstation Christmas 1997, months before I saw the new Sega system in a computer magazine.

But as months passed, I began to read more about the new system. The specs of that machine blew me away, and the sample screen shots I saw in the magazine really caught my eye. Then a couple months later, I read the list of games to be released at the Japanese launch that same year (Soul Calibur really caught my eye, as did Crazy Taxi)

One thing that bothered me, was the size of the controller, and the placement of the cord. I didn’t really understand why the cord shot out from the side of the controller points directly at you (I still don’t like it, but I put up with it.)

And then, I broke down in the Spring of 㤇 and pre-ordered the Sega Dreamcast, which at the time I received the Official Dreamcast Magazine Issue #0 (zero). And while reading it, I became more and more anxious for the release date (9.9.99) Shenmue was also talked about in the issue, as well as Dead or Alive 2, and House of the Dead.

Also the Official Dreamcast Light gun was featured (but later scrapped for US release), as well as the “special” Dreamcast Keyboard (later replaced by a standard computer keyboard wired for Dremcast use)

GAMES

Several reasons for owning Sega Dreamcast were simple, yet I could not get my friends to get one (later on a couple of them did)

The first reason was the games that were to be released on the launch date (I believe a dozen to dozen and a half were released at the launch date). A couple of them that come to mind are first, Powerstone; which is a fun 3D fighter from Capcom. The game is a fighter that allows you to run around in an environment that is almost fully interactive. You can swing around poles, jump and hang from light fixtures coming down from the ceiling, and pick up almost anything and use as a weapon (chairs, tables, crates, etc....)

The next reason was a game that was released a couple weeks before the console came out, Blue Stinger. This was a fun action/adventure game from Activision, that took place on an island surround by a force field of some kind after a meteor hit. Creatures popped up on the island, and many of the inhabitants mutated in to hideous creatures (that spilt money after you killed them...) The strange thing about the island, other than the creatures was the fact the EVERYTHING was in vending machines. From food and drink, to close and weapons...yes I said WEAPONS in vending machines. Could you imagine going to Wal-Mart and getting a Flame-Thrower out of a vending machine by the Soda Machines? Critics didn’t like the game because of the voice-overs. They didn’t match up with the lips of the characters. But for a game released before the actual console came out, and for it being the first adventure game, it was very good. The water and lighting effects are still dazzling.

The best reason for getting a Dreamcast was the fighting game, Soul Calibur from Namco, the people behind the hit Playstation series, Tekken. The fighter was a weapons based fighter, that showed the power of the Dreamcast’s visual capabilities. The game is also fast paced, and was packed with features like a Gallery, Story Mode that allows you to hone your skills, and more.

More games were released, like Crazy Taxi based on the Sega Arcade racer, and the debut of the Sega mascot, Sonic in a full 3 Dimensional Adventure, Sonic Adventure.

THE BUILT IN MODEM....A FIRST!?!?

The 56k modem that was built in was a great idea. Also, that ability to remove it and add a broadband modem was a good idea too. You could surf the internet with the ISP you already have, or you could use the Browser Software included and sign up for ATT WORLDNET (which I did, and I am still with because it’s the best!) And if you were one of the first ones to sign up for WORLDNET, you received the Sega Dreamcast Keyboard (which I did get one a couple weeks later)

But the Dreamcast wasn’t the first console to be able to connect to the internet. The Sega Genesis later on in it’s life, had an adapter that allowed you to send messages to other Genesis users, and you could play some games on it over the phone lines, but it really never caught on (Sega always has timing problems except for the Master System and Genesis release dates of course)

Later on several games would use the Modem. Sega GT, Shenmue, Vanishing Point, Quake, Phantasy Star Online, and more.

BIG, BULKY, HARD TO HOLD CONTROLLER....JUST WHAT I WANT!

Many people complained about the size and shape of the controller, but to tell you the truth...I LIKE THE CONTROLLER. I really don’t thing that it was hard to hold. It was shaped so you fingers on the back side rested in the slots next to the L and R Triggers. The D-Pad was put in the proper spot, but I felt that the Analog Stick could have been moved a hair down and to the right. The cord bothered me though. It jetted it from the side that is pointed towards you. But oh, well.

The Controller has to “expansion” ports that allow you to have either 2 Memory Cards, or 1 Memory Card and a Rumble Pack (that allows you to feel vibrations when you character is hit or car crashes, etc)

While the Sony Playstation has a built in Rumble feature in its Dual Shock Controllers, it wasn’t a big deal that the Dreamcast controller didn’t have one built in.

MEMORY CARDS WITH SCREENS BUILT IN....WHAT!?!?!

The Dreamcast used two different kinds of memory cards (more if you count the 3rd Party ones)

The VMU (Visual Memory Unit) was a memory card that has a small screen on it, that allows you to view data saved on it, and also view important information while playing the game (like small maps, life meters, load times, etc) Also many games had mini games you can download to the VMU and play. The VMU also has a small D-Pad and Buttons to play. Games like Zombies Revenge and Tech Romancer had mini games you could play, as well as Sonic Adventure which allows you to download a “Chao”, a creature you can raise and later upload in the game.

The next type of memory card was the 4X Memory Card, which allows you to save 4 times the amount you can on a standard VMU. The downside....it doesn’t have screen, and you can’t play mini games on it. I have a VMU in the front slot, and then the 4X in the back in my controller.

Sony messed up by not releasing the Sony Pocketstation in the United States. Very similar to the Sega VMU, it could play mini games, and had a built in screen. It also had an infrared link on it, which allowed you to send info to another Pocketstation. I wish they had released it in North America, but this gave Sega a 1-Up on the rest of the competition.

MULTIPLAYIN’....YES YOU CAN!

The Dreamcast was a step above the rest. The Sony Playstation could only hook up 2 controllers to the console (unless you bought a 4 Player Multi-Tap) The Dreamcast had 4 Controller Ports built in (for games like Powerstone 2, Virtua Tennis,and Spawn) Plus, the fact each person could have their own VMU in their own controller. So you could view personal data that nobody else could see (like play books in your favorite football games)

Nintendo should have thought about that when they brought out the GameCube, but with the death of the Dreamcast, they may have been afraid to do so (Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles may have been easier to play if they had followed Sega’s Controller/Memory Card/Multi-Player innovations)

VISUALS ONLY RIVALED BY REAL LIFE ITS SELF...

If I could sum the graphics up in one word it would be....BEAUTIFUL! The effects that could be done on the machine. Fog was done better than other game, weather effects were brought to life (take a look at the game D2 for some cool snow effects), water was rendered like it was really on the screen, and more. Character faces were very life-like. Before, games only had realistic faces in their cut-scenes and cinemas, but with the Dreamcast, you got realistic effects in the game it’s self.

AUDIO....LIKE SITTING IN THE GAME

First, the Dreamcast could play music CD’s as well (just like the Playstation)

The game featured stunning audio. Most of the games that were released featured wonderful soundtracks, and many of the games featured in game voice-overs, not like many of there games on the other console (I won’t mention that other one....Playstation....oops)

With a home theater system hooked up, you could hear and feel the game. If it’s raining in the game, you can here it behind you, and footsteps are heard left to right (or right to left)

OVERALL......YES, IT’S THE END OF MY REVIEW.....

Probably one of the best systems ever. I think, it’s better than the Playstation 2 even, and almost as good as the Microsoft X-Box and the Nintendo GameCube. The only thing that the PS2 has over the DC, is the fact that it can play DVD’s, but that’s why I have a separate DVD Player.

The Dreamcast also has a shorter load time when it comes to playing games. With a 200mhz processor, and the Playstation having only a 32mhz processor, games didn’t take a century to load.

Easier to use, and see main menu. Soft colors, and large text make it easy to navigate the menu (here you can set the time/date/etc, load games and music, view memory card data, etc)

Also the Dreamcast CD’s (or GD’s) hold more information than the Playstation CD’s (almost double) So games feature better sound, better graphics, and more gameplay.

The games are getting harder to find, you can pick up some of them for pretty cheap at Toys R Us. I just got King of Fighters: Evolution for $9.99 at Toys R Us, and they seem to be getting more in as the months go along from their warehouse. So I plan on picking up some more.

As of last year (2003) there is no more online gaming for the Dreamcast, which is disappointing, but it had to end at some point. SNKPLAYMORE is still producing Dreamcast games in Japan, and hopefully they will release some of them to the North American market. They are still supporting the NeoGeo (in Japan and United States), so maybe they just might for the Dreamcast here (“hint, hint....”)

The main downfalls....yes a couple. Timing was one thing. The system started strong, but marketing of the machine slowed down after the release. People complained about the bulky controller was another thing on peoples list. The advertising of a hard drive hurt. When it didn’t happen, everyone was left wondering how online gaming would take off. Lack of online games (even though they were the only ones who had online console games) was another downfall. But all of these problems were minor. I think that Sega just wanted to get back to being a 3rd party developer, and focus on games, and arcade machines (which they were one of the first in that field too!) The company claimed that they were loosing money on having a console. But I think it was just an excuse. The financial figures weren’t that bad (no more worse than most of the other companies) Sega just let it happen for probably the reason I just mentioned.

Games you have to try....

Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Soul Calibur
Sega GT
Vanishing Point
Skies of Arcadia
Phantasy Star Online
Sonic Adventure
Crazy Taxi
Blue Stinger
Marvel vs Capcom 2
King of the Fighters: Dreamatch99
King of the Fighters: Evolution
Shenmue
Black Matrix (Japanese import game)
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CONSOLE SPECIFICATIONS


CPU

Hitachi SH-4
200MHz
128-bit 3D calculations
64 bit Data Bus

GRAPHICS PROCESSOR

NEC PowerVRSG
3 Million Polygons/second peak rendering rate
Perspective-Correct Texture Mapping
Colored Light Sourcing
Full Scene Anti-Aliasing
Hardware-Based Fog
Bump Mapping
24-bit color
Hardware-Based Texture Compression
Shadow and Light Volumes

MEMORY

16 MB main RAM
8 MB video RAM
2 MB sound RAM

RESOLUTION

640x448
16.7 Million Colors

SOUND

Yamaha Audio Core
32-bit RISC CPU
DSP for Real-Time Effects
64 Sound Channels
Full 3D Sound Support
Hardware-Based Audio Compression

MISC SPECS

56kb Modem (Upgradeable to Broadband)
ATT Worldnet Browser Software
Customized Microsoft Windows CE and Sega Operating System

MEDIA TYPE

GD-ROM (GigaByte Disk-ROM) Drive
Maximum speed 12X
1.2 GigaByte Capacity CD

DIMENSIONS

7 7/16" (Width) X 7 11/16“(Height) X 3"(Depth), 4.4 lbs (Weight)

RELEASE DATE

September 9, 1999
$199.99 Price Tag at Release

*Specs Courtesy of www.vgmuseum.com and www.sega.com
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This review COPYRIGHT 2004 (Chris_Billings)

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Recommended: Yes