Long awaited, the first of the 128-bit consoles arrived this fall in the U.S., in the form of the Sega Dreamcast. This console offers beautiful, arcade-quality graphics, a reasonable selection of games, and a number of PC-like features. It is, however, plagued by buggy software, oddly designed controllers, and scarce accessories.
UNIT CAPABILITIES (4/5)
-------------------------------------------
The basic Dreamcast unit is solid and compact, and takes a page from the Nintendo 64 playbook by allowing 4 controllers. The CD-ROM drive is fast, if a little noisy. A 56k modem is included, but the web browser software is very buggy, and requires an upgrade. The lack of USB is a serious omission, and continues the long trend of consoles using proprietary connectors and peripherals for just about everything.
The graphical capability of the unit is nothing short of amazing - it's about as good as the best PCs with accelerator cards, and since console game developers spend Hollywood-like budgets on these games, there're some great-looking games available for this console.
Loading times for this first set of games are short, beating the Playstation by about a 50% margin.
Only one controller comes bundled with the unit, and although very flexible, it is awkwardly designed. It has an analog joystick and two analog buttons, but the joystick feels flimsy (in stark contrast to the Playstation's dual-shock controller). The giant holes in the middle of the controller for expansion equipment (Virtual Memory Unit and Jump / Rumble pack) make it look cheap and unfinished. Finally, the lack of six buttons lined up for games like Street Fighter is almost unforgivable in this day and age.
GAMES (3/5)
-------------------------------------------
The best games available are:
1. Soul Caliber - spectacular graphics, plenty of depth, but ridiculously steep learning curve.
2. NFL 2k - it'll fool your friends into thinking they're watching a real game. Plenty of depth and replayability, but not as easy to pick up or as fun as NFL Blitz.
Avoid:
- NFL Blitz - a simple port from the Playstation with few improvements.
- Ready to Rumble Boxing - a buggy game that has lots of potential but crashes all the time.
Sega's poor planning is almost inexcusable here. It's understandably hard to predict sales, so it's no surprise that Sega didn't have enough units ready. What's completely crazy is the shortage of accessories. Sega clearly expected that less than 20% of gamers would buy a second controller, despite the fact that the Dreamcast allows up to four. Good luck finding VMUs and other accessories.
THE FUTURE
-------------------------------------------
Of course, the million dollar question is, will Dreamcast survive against the next Nintendo and Playstation 2? The answer is...possible, but unlikely. The technology gap between the Dreamcast and the upcoming units is far too large. However, a year is plenty of time to build up a loyal fan base. Nintendo will continue to lag as long as they are hostile to their third party licensees. Basically, expect this system to be obsolete when Playstation 2 comes out, but state-of-the-art until then.
If you can afford to upgrade consoles every year to two years, go get the Dreamcast - you won't be disappointed. If you tend to buy one and cling to it for a couple of years, wait for Playstation 2.
"THE online RETRO GAME SHOP"Our store, Collection Games, is committed to providing excellent customer satisfaction and strives to provide the highest ...More at eBay
"THE online RETRO GAME SHOP"Our store, Collection Games, is committed to providing excellent customer satisfaction and strives to provide the highest ...More at eBay
"THE online RETRO GAME SHOP"Our store, Collection Games, is committed to providing excellent customer satisfaction and strives to provide the highest ...More at eBay
"THE online RETRO GAME SHOP"Our store, Collection Games, is committed to providing excellent customer satisfaction and strives to provide the highest ...More at eBay
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.