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Wednesday, December 30, 1998

Rich Bitches!

From Tommy B:

I was reading your mailbag today and the first email REALLY PISSED ME OFF. The guy starts off asking if the DC is 3 times the power of current PC's, stating that he has a p400Mhz with 128 megs or ram and a 16 meg video card. Then he talks about how a 33.6k or 56k modem isn't fast enuf. Finally, after all that, he says he hopes he doesn't have to shell out all this cash for add-ons like a cable modem. I don't mean to be to mean or anything, but you're a bastard. How much did that PC cost you dumbass? I think it probably cost you 5-8 times more than the DC is going to cost. I have a 33.6 modem and I can play multiplayer games fine over the net... sometimes there is lag, but nothing that (really) hurts the game (which is usually Quake or StarCraft). And, what's this crap about not wanting to buy add-ons for the system? Don't you think SEGA knows that Add-ons typically fail? That's why they ARE including a DECENT modem. Granted, it's not like your badass standard... it's not a cable modem (barely sufficient by your standards)..., but it will do just fine for all us guys who don't know to complain about having a 33.6 modem and just want to have fun playing games over the net... only a rich dumbass would think they HAD to buy a faster modem or a shit load of add-ons for the DC in order to have fun playing the system. No offense buddy, just try not to be such a rich bitch.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Harsh words aside, I see what you're saying and I do think they guy who said what he said needs a reality check. Then again, let's say cost is no object, get me a Pentium 450MHZ, 128 Megs of RAM, a TNT, and a Voodoo 2 - killer system no? Runs Quake 2 at amazing speeds, but does it runs Sonic Adventure at 0 FPS, ZERO! You know why? Cause Sonic Team is never going to develop for the PC, that's why. Saying that, one can also say that PC programmers don't optimize nearly as much as console one's; with new and faster technology coming out they don't really need to. So in order to keep up with the performance of Dreamcast on PC you'll need to be constantly upgrading to make up for sloppy code, not to mention you'll be missing out on a lot of great games. Ack, let's not turn this into a big PC Vs Consoles thing but I'll conclude and say that both PCs and Consoles have their place...

Majesco Info?

From Rich Depping:

I was wondering if any of your intelligence ops have managed to gather any firm details on the Majesco Saturn buyout? I'm really curious on what titles will be rereleased, and what unreleased ports waysided by Sony's exclusivity contracts that would be eligible for release now (or ones just plain dropped over $$$ costs)

Thanks fer your time... after reading that Capcom has set a date for MvsC I just might have to plunk down some cash on a DC =)

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Still no official confirmation on the Majesco deal, but I'm pretty sure it has gone through by now. The titles that will be re-released will most likely be the Sega first-party stuff, with perhaps some third party re-releases a bit after the re-release of the system. Don't expect much in the way of new games as Majesco is a cheap company all the day, that's how they make their money, re-release products at the lowest price possible with the least amount of extras. You'll see how they work when you buy your first re-released Saturn game (you couldn't even print a newspaper on those instruction manuals, yuck!).

Tuesday, December 28, 1998

DC Review

From Taylor:

After recieving my dreamcast last week I have decided to write I review on the console which you may wish to include on your site for your readers,

Regards

RECLAIM !!

Dreamcast Harware Review by Reclaim

When I recieved my Dremcast last week, I Realised that the new gaming age was fast approaching and that in my opinion, Dreamcast could well be the console to lead the way.

I live in the uk and purchased my Dreamcast from axen games(www.axen.com) for £395, this included - the console, 2 controllers, VF3TB, VMS , and a step down power converter.

The Console Unit

It has been well publisised that the Dreamcast is on initial viewing very small, I would like to add however, that whilst being small, It is solid and on initial impresions very well built and down right Sexy. It is quite heavy in weight and in my opinion styled to perfection.

The GD-ROM drive opens in a smooth motion and even before turning the unit on it is hard not to be impressed.

When turning the unit on, you can hear the internal fan start into action and gives off a sound very similar to the fan inside a PC, although not so loud. The GD-ROM when reading a disc is quite loud, but through my experience only as loud as some models of playstation which I have used, and the Dreamcast certainly gives the impression of being more of a quality built product than the psx.

On Screen Dreamcast Display

When starting the Dreamcast for the first time you are greeted by the catchy gingle which depicts a ball bouncing out the letters and then logo of Dreamcast, you are then on the first time of power up asked to input the time and date which is stored on the internal rechargable battery. Once date and time has been entered you are promted with the main options screen, this gives you a chioce to - Play Game, Edit VMS files, Play Music or head to the options screen. First time on I headed straight to the options screen to handily swap all text into English. The VMS menu allows you to firstly format your new VMS, give it a logo and then add, delete or copy files as you wish similar to the psx. The music cd player is pretty standard although it does depict a well designed spinning DC disc when playing.

For me however I could not wait to stick in VF3 and get going, but first I must familiarise myself with the controller.

The Controller

The Dreamcast controller is initialy very confortable and just feels great in your hands. It beats the feel of both the N64 and PSX controllers taking the best aspects from both. It has both an analog and digital pad located on the front, and has 7 other buttons, one start button, four PSX like buttons on the front, and two rear buttons similar to the one on the N64 pad. Some peoples inital reports of the Dreamcast pad were bad, but I feel Sega have got it spot on. Now onto VF3.....

Virtua Fighter 3 TB

What can I say...This game is everything I was hoping and more. From the start you are overcome by the Arcade like visuals which simply blow you away. Also thinking back to other consoles, the first releases are always improved upon tenfold..(Remember Ridge Racer and then Gran turismo !!) so I am sure that the Dreamcast games will keep getting better and better. I am not going to go on about this game though as there are specific more detailed game reviews for you to read on the net that will do it justice.

Verdict Overall it has to be said that the Dreamcast is a quite amazing console, and has overtaken any hopes that I had. If sega can ensure a good stream of Sega Arcade, home and thirdparty software, then it will surely rule the gaming world. I love it and so will you.

BUY ONE NOW !!!!!!!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the review, I'm sure the readers of SegaNet will enjoy it as much as I have.

Another DC/Games Review

From James Lane:

Having bought the Japanese Dreamcast a couple of days after its launch, I waited with bated breath to play the first major release for it, Sonic Adventure. In the meantime, I bought almost every release as soon as it hit Japan. I have Pen Pen TriIcelon, Godzilla Generations, Seventh Cross, Virtua Fighter 3 tb, and Incoming for the system. I used to own July, but couldn't stomach the sheer amount of text and came to the realization that this 'game' was nothing but a graphically unimpressive 'digital comic' that was probably a bad idea to release for a launch title. Hearing about it on the net, I gather July doesn't even have very good storyline, this is coming from those who understand Japanese who have written about and reviewed it. After getting used to having a Dreamcast now for the last three weeks or so, I have come to expect bigger and better looking and playing games with each new release that comes out. The games I own, I have played either all the way through or played the hell out of. Scores (0 crap) - (10 perfect)

VF3tb is an incredible arcade conversion which plays just like its arcade counterpart, with audio/visuals that, for the most part equal if not surpass the coin-op(higher resolution)!! There are only a few flies in the ointment(slight graphic differences such as slightly to moderately lower polygon count on character models, particularly the elbow and knee joints, screwy shadow casting on inclines and raised surfaces; less dynamic, or in some cases, missing cloth movement; and stage alterations like Shun's stage, which is almost totally different in that the water effect and background graphics are not the same as the arcade). However, these differences are, in my opinion, not the fault of the system, but more the product of inexperience with the hardware(FIRST GENERATION GRAPHICS LIBRARIES AND PROGRAMMING TOOLS). The developer who converted the game in supposedly 6 or so months, Genki, is not exactly known for their quality 3D fighting game work -- this is their first experience with the hardware AND the fighting game genre(that I am aware of), not including the ex-AM2 programmers that reside within Genki themselves. Anyway, the flaws are there if you want to find them, but under the circumstances, I consider VF3tb to be the best 3D fighter out there for a console(the best 2D or 3D fighter period, is still Street Fighter II Championship Edition, IMHO). My only real gripe with VF3tb is that there aren't enough extras to earn with single player play, but then again, this is VF3 at home!!! Load times are fairly minimal, about 3 seconds max.

Virtua Fighter 3teambattle Score: 9.5

Pen Pen, with its great looking color-filled visuals, weird characters and unconventional race control(you have to 'pump' the button with a certain timing) and style(its a strange triathalon with contestants like penguins, a shark, and a pink hippo to name a few) and super-smooth 60fps movment, is suprisingly a very fun racer, albeit a very simplistic and quirky one. Extra replay value for multiplayer races(up to four players at a time via split- screen -- 60fps for one or two players, 30fps for three or four players), a hidden character to earn, and tons of articles of clothing to dress your racers up and boost their performance with. Good course design and at times very fast sections(almost Wipeout speed -- come on, these are only penguins, after all!!) for racing. The down side is that there is almost no race technique to master beyond learning where to hit all the turbo spots and combat is limited to shoulder-charging an opponent when in the 'waddling/walking' leg of the race. Still, the control is great and Pen Pen is really alot of simple fun!! Loading is completely bearable, only 2-3 seconds for each new course. Anyway, I recommend this one for multiplayer use if you don't mind sugar-coated, cutesey animal racing.

Pen Pen TriIcelon Score: 7.0

Godzilla Generations, is an extreme disappointment, with very sharp, very bland graphics, with an ultra-annoying camera system, slow paced gameplay -- think of a very, VERY SLOW Rampage in 3D with even more repetitive goals and play -- it basically sucked except for the VMS 'Pokemon'-style stadium battle which REQUIRES at least one Godzilla VMS card or file, and requires as many as three other Godzilla VMS cards or files to play more than one player in this mode!!! I guess Godzilla is just the usual requisite filler title for a new system's launch(hey, look at the Japanese Playstation launch back in October 1994 -- ALL WERE CRAP except for Ridge Racer!!). Unless you're a huge, and I mean HUGE Godzilla fan, I suggest saving your bucks for something more worthwhile. Loading is 3-4 seconds per level.

Godzilla Generations Score: 2.0 - Main Godzilla Game; 7.0 - VMS Stadium Battle Game

Incoming is a great looking and solid playing 3D shooter, but is just nothing more than a port(a straight port, nothing new but the addition of a split- screen versus mode) of the PC version released earlier in 1998. Very above average for that one, overall. My only real problem is the damn loading. The game will take up to 15 or more full seconds to load a single level!!! 15 seconds might not sound like a long time, but unless you love classic Playstation-style loading which takes forever(X-Com for PSX, anyone??) nobody should have to sit though this. On the plus side, once the level is loaded, the game won't have to load again until the next level, and given that a level will probably take you anywhere in the neighborhood of 20 minutes to one full hour to complete, 15 seconds doesn't sound so bad. The game itself is a very competent, but very basic 3D shooter with multiple vehicles and scenarios to play with. Graphics and control are key to any good shooter, and Incoming doesn't disappoint -- just don't expect any real depth, as it is designed for arcade-style play in mind. The versus mode has a bit of an after-thought feel(vehicles are very unbalanced against each other) to it but is sort of fun for two players to kill each other in.

Incoming Score: 7.8

Seventh Cross, from what I've played so far, is something like the Super Famicom/Super NES Enix title, E.V.O. crossed with a basic turn-based RPG with a faster pace for battles, anyway. The graphics in Seventh Cross are very first-generation Japanese N64(as if the graphics artists and programmers from Epoch, the developer who released the much-maligned Doraemon for the Japanese N64 got hired by NEC to work for them). Not total crap, but definitely not something to brag about owning. To its credit, Seventh Cross has a really unique approach to an RPG -- start off as an amoeba, mutate and evolve into a 'higher life form' while eating anything and killing everything within sight, while trying your best to avoid being eaten by other creatures(damned crabs!!). Over the course of the game you will have to make new 'palettes' of genetic makeup to form and incorporate new, more capable body parts(head, body, arms, and legs) while also making use of new 'Extra Skills', such as healing, and long-range attack spells. Control is a bit suspect at times, but overall satisfactory. Sound and music is just 'there'. The game seems to be average in play, but the promise of the game getting better has me playing still. I like the concepts, but I feel that NEC should have held this back longer to refine and definitely improve its visuals. Graphics may not be king(gameplay, of course rules), but it does help in the infancy of a new system to wow people into supporting a system. Loading is a little troublesome, but not too bad.

Seventh Cross Score: 6.5 (from what I've played so far)

Sonic Adventure is almost everything I had hoped it would be. I was wondering what SA would play like, and I had guessed it would be similar to Mario 64 on speed. I was wrong. It's basically Sonic 1/2/3/&Knuckles/and little of the ill-fated Sonic Extreme(for Saturn) with some RPG elements, lots of story(complete with a $#!T-load of real-time cut scenes), lots of minigames, and tons of kick-ass graphics and extremely, and I mean EXTREMELY FAST gameplay. Whew, that's a lot, but that's probably not even a good description. Sonic plays like all the Sonics did on the Genesis, plus more. The boss encounters are alot like the one that I saw and played for Sonic Extreme for Saturn at E3 1996 in LA. -- Big room/area boss in middle with rings all over.

Sonic Adventure, has basically broken a trend that started way back when Super Mario 64 came out for N64: that traditionally 2D games(specifically 'mascot' or old school platform game franchises) that housed a certain unique, and trademark style of play essentially lost or altered severely that unique style. They in some cases, completely abandoned the older, more familiar(maybe even superior) style of play that earned them their place in the sea of me-toos and crap games -- they were classics. Super Mario 64 is a without a doubt, a great game, but it isn't what Mario used to be. The platform game with enemies scattered about the playfield at seemingly random places with power-ups littered around for the purpose of dispatching enemies more quickly and effectively and the carefully measured distances for high and long jumps, had given way to new, three-dimensional puzzle solving, exploration-based play but with the same familiar looks and sounds of old. This wasn't the old Mario. Castlevania 64 will be the same way, I'm sure. Bomberman has changed, especially in the N64 iterations. Contra has changed(although that may have something to do with the fact that the creators left some time ago, and formed Treasure and consequently, do not work for Konami anymore). Anyway, I don't mind new changes to a series, but its when these series change too much that people look to something else for playing pleasure, when all they wanted was to play something they bought because of the familiar name on the case. This is where Sonic Adventure comes in.

Sonic Adventure IS Sonic 2D brought to 3D! The game is almost exactly the same -- roller-coaster loops, unbelievable speed(almost incomprehensible at times), rescue-the-animals-and-collect-the- rings-to-live gameplay -- it's all here, except that now its totally three-dimensional. SA doesn't trade its trademark gameplay for something totally different. But there's much more: the game is divided amongst 6 different characters, replete with their own unique style of play, and story. The game has new techniques to master, new bosses, gameplay elements, and tons of extra goodies.

The game starts you off as Sonic. As you progress, you will meet each of the other five characters, and once you do, you can then access them and play them going through the main story from their perspective. Even when you play the same stage that you have already played with another character, the objective in of the stage is different depending on who you're currently playing. For example, Sonic simply needs to reach the end of the stage to clear it, whereas Tails must do the same, only he has to beat Sonic(who's on the same stage as you at the same time) to the end of the stage like a race. For Knuckles to pass a stage, he has to find all three emerald pieces in the given area. The objective is different for everyone. This is what makes SA feel like a ton of different games all in one, yet all still one cohesive mesh. The intertwining of the story also makes everything mesh better. If you met Knuckles when you killed the poor pedestrian by running him over with your red shoes as Sonic, when you play Knuckles, you will get to that same point and see the event from your(Knuckles) perspective. Cool idea! Even with all the interplay beteween characters in the story, the game still has your basic Sonic story.

Sonic Adventure comes with tons of replay value. Replaying levels will allow you find secrets of course, but also earn all of your objectives: A, B, C. I suppose earning every objective will garner you some goodies, or secrets yet to be found. Minigames exist in the game in a variety of forms. There is a time-trial hover car racing game, a VMS 'A-life' breeding game & racing game, two pinball games and others. The interconnecting hub to all the levels is the city area, Station Square. From this point its possible to access all the major locations, find new items for characters, and generally find the other secrets in the game.

The graphics in SA are without a doubt, the most incredible collection of three-dimensional images and locations ever contained in a video game that I have ever witnessed. The color, and definition(especially in S-Video on a good television) is remarkable. Locations and characters look as they should in what one would imagine Sonic would look like in full 3D. Jaw-dropping effects such as the tornado in Sonic's second level, 'Windy Valley' will leave all but the most jaded glued to the screen for the next big effect. That's the thing, though, This game looks nice no matter where you are. VIsuals like these are almost unheard of, especially of this quality for a FIRST GENERATION game released in within its FIRST month in the initial territory of release. Sadly, though, there has to be something that brings down such a high, if only slightly. Slowdown and pop-up occur at several places in the game, and although not detrimental to the play of the game, it is noticeable. This is being anal, of course. Like VF3tb, many will no doubt harp on these slight imperfections. But this is a FIRST GENERATION title, and this is the Japanese release of the game. Like Mario 64, and even FFVII for Playstation, I believe the game will be appropriately 'buttoned-up' for its U.S. and European releases in 1999. In any case, the minor frame-rate drop and pop-up do not at all really detract from the overall game. The game's camera could use a bit of tweaking and collision in some place needs also to be fixed. Nothing major.

Sound and music in Sonic Adventure is top-notch. The music is all themed to the appropriate character and/or stage. All of the characters theme songs, except for E-102 have actual english language singing/lyrics. Sort of cornball, but this a mascot game, after all. Sound is great, and familiar effects such as Sonic's spin dash, and the sound of rings being collected is all here.

Control is typical Yuji Naka: tight, responsive, and instinctive. Only a couple of places had me wondering why I died. Shadows could been made a bit easier to see for landing on jumps, especially on the Egg Carrier stage. Otherwise great.

Sonic Adventure Score: 9.6 (from what I've played so far)

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the write up; good stuff. Though if you want to make the reader reviews page you'll have to go on longer on the other games (the Sonic review was of proper length) and send everything in individual e-mails. Thanks!

Sonic Pre-Review

From Tommy Vogt:

All right man I want to know what's up. HOw can you be a Sega-enthusiast page and start off a review dogging on Sega's Jewel in its crown. If anything you should start off talking about how amazing this game is, not about the cameras that get stuck (and which if you stop for one second find Sonic, and if it doesn't you hit a hat button and it does) and he Japanese text. This is the most complete near-launch title for any, ANY system ever! It renders the entire level of something and not just what you are looking at. Pop-up ya right, more like a draw in, and it does it like 50 units from where you're at (not like Banjo, 10 units). 30, 60 frames who care, the game runs @ 30 in the adventure mode and at 60 in action mode. You can not tell me that when running down the face of that building in Speed Highway , that it's running any less. I mean it seems to me that you guys aren't satisfied. I have shown this game to everyone I know and they have been now less than amazed. And, that is being made up mostly of Sony and PC, enthusiast. Oh, and by the way whoever said this game looks PC'sh at times is an idiot! What pc game uses bump maps and runs with a 32 bit color depth? None, the TNT can but, no games support it. This game looks as close to a pc game as does a car to a boat. (sorry about the bad metaphor) My point is that this game is awesome, the cameras, no biggy it only happens to me when I'm trying to get them stuck otherwise they're they best I've ever seen, they fallow Sonic like it was strapped to him, and what the problem was was that they gave the camera's collision detection. This being because they wanted them to go around and not through, something that designers don't do. It's NEW, and that hallow pit in the cave, just don't do a supper dash on it, ya I did it twice, but I think they did it as a joke, what other purpose does it serve? You guys do have a great page (Update your Rally 2 Pics, Sega X has had the news ones for a long time)

Here's how I think the review should go: To put it simply, "This game is amazing!" From the first time you see Sonic being chased by a huge Killer Whale, to when you experience the beauty and ambiance of Mystic Ruins you will be stunned. The detail and atmosphere in this game is unbelievable, you often catch yourself stunned by the visual quality and sound you are experiencing. The game retains every bit of speed and playability from the 16 bit games, along with some new play techniques. Sonic's power dash is one of them, he charges in a ball as streams of light form around him until he stands up and says,"Ready..." Releasing the button next to certain walls sends him sailing up up it. He also has a really cool jump-dash, it is achieved by hitting the jump button twice. This, when used near an enemy or power-up container launches sonic toward it, if there are multiple enemies in an area by repeatedly hitting the button Sonic will go from on to the other. Later in the game the Player MUST utilize the attack. The level design of the game is also excellent, there are a good amount of secret areas, although some times a texture might lead one to think that there is a secret where there is not. Each level in the game gets longer than the next and more difficult,, they also become more amazing. Egg-Man's (Robotnic) ship is one of the most amazing things ever. There is a hint of slow down at a few points (not while running on a track), one such when this giant crane is bringing a hook around that you must grab on to. The frame rates drop but not much at all (4 frames max). The bottom line is that this game is the most beautiful game ever made, and in my opinion puts all others to shame. It truly makes one feel like they are doing more than just playing a game. And as much as I love the big N and Miamoto, I'm sorry but this Kills Mario in every category, and the most amazing thin is that it is not a "mario clone." This game should sell a whole lotta DC's in the US, and in Japan. If you got the cash, or if you don't you have to play this game, because until you do, "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
We are a Sega enthusiast page, but we are not Sega's PR machine - when I play a game, I call it like I see it. If there's problems with a game I point them out; anyhow, I thought to start of my pre-review article (it's a damn review, I made it clear that it wasn't a review) by pointing some of Sonic's flaws to make sure the Sonic Adventure hype machine wouldn't start saying crazy stuff like Sonic is the greatest, most perfect game of all-time. It's not perfect, but it is fun and a good game. Wait until the final review for my complete thoughts on the game...

All that pop-up and frame rate talk shouldn't be addressed to me, as I didn't even mention that stuff in my article. As for being the most complete game ever, hardly. Can anyone say lack of proper collision-detection? I'm sorry, but the most complete game ever doesn't have you falling through walls to your demise or getting stuck and having to reset. Anyhow, slow down and take my thoughts on the game for what they are: second look impressions on a great game, not a FINAL review.

Anyhow, glad you like the page and are enjoying Sonic.

DC Sales

From Matt DeGennaro:

Anyway I was wondering if you think Sega can still make an install base of one- million systems in Japan my March 31st,1999. By the end of '98 its likely they will have missed there goal of 500,000 by about a half. A great start lies in a huge install base to curve over 3rd party companies like EA,Square( not likely) , and more... I was wondering if you think Sega of America should send a team of developers (low key ones) to try to fix Sonic Adventures and VF3tb minor graphical problems, so they can have the PERFECT U.S launch. Thanks alot, and keep up the good work... all said and done I'm not British... and your site is as solid of a Sega site as they come.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I think they can and will make a million units by the end of March; the systems are selling as fast as they hit the shelves, they have the proper campaign going, and they have lots of games coming out for it soon. Sega was over 200, 000 system before Sonic, and the launch of Sonic meant not only a bunch of new games being released (Seventh Cross, Tetris 4D) but the release of lots of new consoles (probably 150, 000 to 200, 000 units). We shall see, we shall see....

Yep, Sega of American should fix some of the minor problems in both VF3tb and Sonic, especially Sonic's collision problems. A game as screwy as Sonic would not fly as a premiere launch title here in the USA.

Glad you realized the British jokes were nothing more than some bad jokes against UK:R...

Monday, December 27, 1998

Nintendo Going Down!?

From Patrick Rodgers:

Hello ,I just want to say your site kicks ass with all the new DC info keep up the good work!I also wanted to say that Nintendo is going down!When Sega releases the DC it is gonna blow everything away,their unfocused ,fuzzy graphics will burn in hell compared to the Dreamcasts PC\Arcade power.What I predict is Sega releases the DC everyone buys it, then Sony releases their new system and everyone buys it and the 2 companies will become the top names in gaming mwahahaha.

I heard in a copy of EGM or GamePro(can't recall which) but it said the DC will have 3 times the power of todays Pc's and arcades????I own a p2 400 mhz,128 megs ram and a 16 meg 3d card.Now if that's true all I can say is how?it is only running at 200mhz and almost laughable amounts of ram, I just want to know how it gets those gorgeous graphics with so little.

One last thing how much lag does you expect with the DC in multiplayer games?Since it will ship with only a 33.6 or 56k which ever in the US that is pretty damn slow ,I am worried it will be so slow they might abandon all the multiplayer games, and they are the best part of gaming!!! I know it might be able to use a cable modem but then we might as well all own new PC's right?and not all gamers can afford all this hardware, so I hope it does'nt backfire on Sega. P.S How about a null modem?that would be sweet in a game like Biohazard:Code Name Veronica Please answer these questions since I can't find answers to them.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Um, yeah, glad you enjoy the site but I'll leave the Nintendo comments alone.

Three times the power to today's PCs? It's all relative after all, but yes, the Dreamcast is a kick ass gaming box. Why is it so? Well, the short version is that Sega has packed in a lot of quality, high-performance components into a little box designed just for producing fast 3D graphics.

No one has actually played a multi-player Dreamcast game so I have no idea how much lag there will be. Chances are that Sega will be setting up some nice servers and efficient packet transferring protocols. The ability to use a cable modem/Ethernet connection will be thrown in for gamers who can afford the luxury/already own the equipment and want to take advantage of it with their Dreamcast for fast online games (think of all the college kids with T1 connections). Hope that helps a bit...

Super Action Gaming Carts

From Are there any slots or holes or thingies in the Dreamcast that could possibly be used in the future for "Super Action Gaming Carts"? (For the befuddled, Super Action Gaming Carts allow the console to play games, regardless of country-code). Many of us will only import one if if this is a definite possibility.
Merry Christmas.

- Bastard of the British

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Well, as for as territorial lockout defeating devices (TLDD) the Dreamcast is capable of being modified in various ways. While we won't know how or if it's possible until games from other territories (Europe/America) start coming out, here are some ways to defeat any potential lockout:

A VMS save file or unit.
Through the parallel port connection.
Something in place of the modem.
Internal Modification.

We shall see by late '99/early 2000.

Sonic Questions

From Tommy B.:

Man, I love all these people who talk about Yu Suzuki like he's their main man and they've known him all their life. If only they knew him like I do, like a brother. Anyway, I have one multiquestion question, then I'll wish you Merry Christmas and all that bull. I don't wanna know the details. Don't tell me every last thing about Sonic Adventure. Stop the insanity. Please, just tell me these things. Does Sonic Adventure have good graphix, does it have good sound f/x, and is it fun? THAT's IT... no detail, just the facts. Simple yes and no questions. Even if the answers are totally obvious, sometimes I just need to here them!

Tommy B.

Merry Christmas and all that Bull!!!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Just the facts eh? Okay here goes:

Great graphics, classic Sonic sounds with very well done music, and tons of fun - probably the most fun I've had with a game in ages.

Team Andromeda

From Andrew Wells:

Hey.I was just wondering if there has been any more news about team andromeda.I would really love to see a new panzer dragoon for dreamcast (can you imagine?)..

and i just got a dremcast yesterday (with sonic and vf3 tb)-they are both AMAZING and i'll send a review fot them as soon as i get enough time.

Happy holidays!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Hello Andrew,

From what I hear is that the break up isn't as big as previously thought, though the fact remains that several Team Andromeda members have moved on. Nevertheless, the team is somewhat intact and working on Dreamcast.

Have fun with your Dreamcast and enjoy the New Year!

DC Questions

From Rob M:

I've been playing videogames since I had an Atari Gemeni and I must say, nothing has impressed me as much as Sega has ever since I had a master system (which i do still play sometimes). It really bothers me when people bad mouth sega. Yah..they have made some mistakes, but what video game manufacturer hasnt? Anyways, enough with the sega praise and on with some questions...

1.Who wins in graphics: Sonic Adventures or Zelda 64?

2.Is there a date when the Dreamcast will be released in N.A?? Cost??

3.Is there any plans for a Strider game for Dreamcast?

4.Does Sega have a chance in N.A. against the PSX and N64?

5.Do you think people will accept the Dreamcast when it is released because some of Sega's bad choices?

Well..thats it..Keep up the great work on the site and keep that Dreamcast info comin in..

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Okay here goes, excuse the short answers but Sonic calls...

1. Don't know, haven't had the chance to play Zelda 64 enough to have an opinion.

2. Fall of '99 (early September) | Below 200 USD.

3. Capcom is doing Strider 2 for Naomi, with a Dreamcast port planned for a month or so after the Naomi release some time next year.

4. Yes, but they'll have to do everything nearly perfect.

5. Yes, it's all up to how Sega sells the thing; we'll see.

Dreamcast Concerns

From Hamman:

Hey, first of all, great site. The purpose of this letter is to express my concern for Sega and more specifically, the Dreamcast. I have been a big fan of Sega since I started playing video game, and owned Sega's systems from the Master System to the Saturn. With that said, it is obvious that I will be getting the Dreamcast, mainly because of its "next-generation" power and games like VF3, Sonic, and KOF '98. However, a visit today to Magic Box, one of the best gaming news site on the internet, made me rethink if Dreamcast is really the system I should pick. On Magic Box's 12-25-98 news update, it states that the president of Square has publically announced that Square will develope games for PSX2, which he said is coming out in Winter '99, and will not make games for Dreamcast despite its attractive network-feature. To many gamers, this most likely has given them the thought that PSX2 is going to be #1 in the next system war. To me, it really didn't matter because I don't play only Square RPG's, otherwise I would've purchased a Playstation. But as I scroll down Magic Box's news page, I read that SNK has delayed the Dreamcast King Of Fighters from Spring '99 to Summer '99. Now that really made me worry. I was 100% positive till that moment that I would get a Dreamcast next month. Now after all this delays including Blue Stinger and my most-awaited title - KOF'98, it made me reconsider if maybe buying a Dreamcast now is too premature, or maybe if it is a good idea to buy one at all. Afterall, I think even the Sega-bias can honestly say that VF3 and Sonic are the only GREAT games out right now that makes DC worth purchasing. Square developing for PSX2 also made me lose confidence in Dreamcast's future even though I don't care much for Square's games personally. What is your thought on this? Do you think Square is an influential factor in a system's success? All the delays are really hurting the systems too, maybe you can enlighten me or bring back some confident for Sega in me!! Thanks for your time.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
As always, you don't play systems you play games. If the games you want for Dreamcast aren't out and what's currently offered doesn't excite you, well, you might as well wait until the games you want are out. Make a decision on what you want to play at a price you want to pay, you're the consumer, and you have the power.

Of course Square is influential, in Japan at least. It's all going to be up to Sega to build a strong user-base and lots of quality and variety in their game line-up; if they work hard Sega might just be able to offset the Square advantage in Japan.

Thursday, December 24, 1998

VMS Thoughts

From WidowMaker:

I have read stuff about people complaining about game specific VMS units. I for one don't mind paying an extra $20 (how much Sega will most likely charge here in the US) for a VMS if it opens up neat new stuff in a game like the Arena Battle mode in Godzilla. The one thing I do have a complaint though about it is if you want to play 2 player in the Godzilla Arena Battle mode you need 2 Godzilla VMS units! If Sega finds a way of only needing 1 VMS unit to play multi player modes in games like Godzilla I'll be happy,or at least let you copy the the info to a regular VMS (considering most of us will have 2 VMS units anyway I already do 1 regular and 1 Godzilla) but if Sega does release more game specific VMS units I hope they do it like the Godzilla VMS, release it about 4-5 months B4 the actual game is released. For instance could you picture a boxing game, lets call it From The Streets Boxing, where you get your Boxing VMS unit in May and get to train your boxer from May till September. I think that would be so cool. There is another way Sega could do it actually 2 more ways 1 being the internet DL like I read on your web page today 2 is releasing some sort of disc with the VMS data on it with a couple of VMS items on it and charging like $10 or something like that for the disc. If it were the #2 I think most people would not have a problem with it. The internet would be cool too but not everyone can afford internet access every month and there are those who hate the internet.

Widowmaker

PS Has anyone noticed that EGM (the shittiest gaming mag) gives any game that they actually have to pay for lower scores like Dreamcast games, Neo Geo games, Saturn games, and others? ALL HAIL GAME FAN THEY ARE BACK!!

BTW SEGANET is the coolest Sega web site I've seen

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I suppose the Godzilla arena thing requires two VMS units because the game uses the data from the VMS monsters to generate the monsters that battle in the arena. Frustrating? Yes? Understandable? Yes again. Sega intends the VMS units to come into full effect when everyone (or at least a lot of people) own a Dreamcast and VMS; in this scenario, little Joe plays Godzilla at home, comes over to Bill's house and challenges him to a duel by transporting his VMS data from his house to Bill's. I still think the Internet idea is probably the best for the new VMS games, seeing as it would promote the Dreamcast's built-in modem.

Please, don't insult game magazines without giving proper support. As for GameFan being back - hooray! Anyone get a chance to pick up the new issue/care to comment on it?

Thanks for the kind words, we try.

VMS Speculation

From JPmeyer:

Dear Seganet,

Any word on some early VMS action stateside? Is Sega going to bring out the darling memory cards, with games like Godzilla, before the main console hits our shores. In fact, is SEGA doing anything to drum up Dreamcast support before Sony and Nintendo have a chance to get ready? Thanks.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I think I should just post it in big bold blinking letters: SEGA OF AMERICA ISN'T STARTING THEIR MARKETING PUSH UNTILL LATE SPRING OF NEXT YEAR! Sorry, don't mean to take it out on you but all the e-mails I get asking the same bullshit over and over again are starting to get to me. Please, please, please do some damn research before e-mailing me, this doesn't just go to Mr. Meyer, it goes for everyone! Okay, now that I've calmed down I'll try to answer your questions.

While not totally out of the question, it is unlikely that Sega would do a Godzilla sort of thing with the VMS units. The PDA/digital monster fad isn't as big in the states as it is in Japan - more than likely a lackluster tamagotchi release from Sega would generate bad early word of mouth more than anything else. Nevertheless, expect some pretty aggressive and unique advertising techniques from Sega in the New Year.

Sonic and Famitsu

From Mike:

Hello, I was just wondering what your thoughts are on the Fixed comments about the famitsu review about sonic adv being better then Zelda (shown on Next Generation wepage). They say that famitsu never said the things your article says they said...hmm you follow that? whats the deal? -Mike3

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
First of all, it wasn't an article, it was a mailbag response. Basically, someone I trust told me that's what was said in the Japanese press - turns out all of that wasn't in the actual Famitsu review but some of it came from a newspaper interview of the reviewer (at least from what I can tell). I'll check back with the person who translated the review/fed me the story and see what they have to say. Sorry for the confusion, but that sort of stuff happens - but I never wrote an article about it, it was just an e-mail.

The quality of Shen Mue

From Charvez93@aol.com:

I just stopped by the Sega-Otaku site (just because I'm desperate for any additional DC info that I can get), and they were running a poll, asking, quote:

"After viewing all of the Shen Mue reports across the Internet, what type of game do you think it'll be?"

And, at the time I voted, 52% of them expected it to be "shit." This I don't understand. First of all, well over half of the reports on the Internet are meaningless, so of course I really don't take them into account. But how can people expect this game to be a piece of shite? How can people have so little faith in the almighty Yu Suzuki?

Thanks for reading.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Perhaps it says less about the educated opinion that most people have about Shen Mue and more about the people who voted in the poll? Just a wild guess, considering most gamers are taking a "it could be good, let's wait to see some more/play it" before judging stance.

We don't care, we want Sonic!

From Donnie Johnson:

Hey,
Well first things first, to that asshole who thinks sega sucks, I would like to give him a good up yours. Sega RULES! But anyway, you were saying that things are going to be slow over the holiday's and well that is true but then you again said that the next couple of days there was only going to be SONIC! Um, hello? Do you think we care, not trying to be mean but I am looking for all the new info on Sonic for the next week or so. I am one of the people who will be waiting for the Dreamcast to come out here in the U.S. And well still playing the: Saturn, Genesis, Sega CD, and 32X. But I didn't go and pay the full price. I waited till I could get, well I should say my mom got it, for 20 BUCKS. Hehe. I was good at making her trust Sega and Sega is the only company she will by from. She hates Nintendo, and Sony she thinks could go and blow an balloon with there ass. Just because you, were he with Nintendo, and it DOMINATED! And it will again dominate all the Playstation fans. Even though I own a Playstation, but I will always be on Sega's side even when they go bank rupt, and we know that, that won't ever happen.

Oh and on a side not, what is going on with Climax Landers and will it be coming to the U.S. I don't really know if you know or not but your the only one's I really trust. After hearing other rumors not being true from other people. And do you think that Shenmue will be coming to the U.S.? Also for the final thought, what do you think of the Dreamcast and its software right now, and how do you think that the U.S. will think after SOA starts there compaigning? Well I will talk to all you guys later. Oh and your site definately has my vote for being the best. Go and kick some more ass! Later!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Um yeah, go Sega! Heh, seriously, play the games and not the systems.

Here's what I can make of Climax Landers coming to the USA:

-Bernie Stolar and pals have talked about how they will bring RPGs over.
-A non-playable demo was available at Sega of America's Gamer's Day.
-Climax games always get translated (Dark Savior, Runabout, Landstalker, Alundra).
-The game looks kick ass!

In other words, Climax Landers will be coming to the US, perhaps at launch! Same goes for Shen Mue, hell, Bernie and other Sega employees have talked about Yu Suzuki's new game for months, Sega of America has released a news release on the game - it's coming baby!

Dreamcast is fine, well-designed and packing lots of power. The software is another matter - it's still early, and developers are still trying to get a handle on proper Dreamcast programming. Expect things to improve rapidly, already seeing a leap in graphics from say the launch titles and Sonic Adventure. By the time the thing launches in the USA, there's the potential for Sega to have 10-12 A-quality titles ready and English.

Glad you enjoy the site; we'll continue to beat everyone with a wet-noodle and take numbers!

Shen Mue Thoughts

From jfkak@concentric.net:

Fernando I would like to let you know that you do an amazing job on your site. Your site is usually the first place I visit when I go on-line to get my Sega news fix.

I have to admit that when I first got the news of Shen Mue's QTE system I was slightly skeptical and became worried that this was going to be Yu's first failure that I can think of. But then I thought about the immersion aspect of the game. Playing a game that makes you forget about everything in the outside world because you have lost yourself in the world provided to you by Shen Mue. If this game manages to pull that off then it will be worth every penny. One of the things that was amazing about Panzer Dragoon Saga was the fact that the game accomplished just that. For a few days know one knew where to find me because I was in the rec room in the basement playing Panzer only coming out to work, eat, sleep, and occasionally bathe. For the latter people in my family were very happy that it didn't take that long to beat.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Wow, thanks, enjoy the site for all it's worth - e-mails like yours make up the bulk of the content, so thanks for the contribution!

Heh, that's funny, I was like that with Panzer Dragoon Saga as well (instead my routine was SegaNet, drink, poop, eat, and play). Must of been hard not going to the bathroom for a few days; those water scenes must of been torture for your bladder!

Anyhow, when watching the Shen Mue Real Video, the 3D walking/exploring scenes reminded me an awful lot of Panzer Dragoon Saga - if Shen Mue is half the experience Panzer was with twice the graphics, I'll be happy.

Seeking Sonic and Dreamcast in Japan

From Damion Pisacane:

Hello. I read your site as frequently as I can, and certainly find it to have the most up to date and comprehensive Sega information on the Internet. So I feel this is the place to send my curious Sega story.

I live in Kumamoto Ken in southern Japan. I am very serious about gaming (I won't claim loyalty to any company, they all have something going for them) so I wanted to get a Dreamcast as soon as I could. I got screwed by the local Big Way (the local big department store) so I missed out on the Preorder campaign. As a result I had to rely on my own investigation skills to locate a Dreamcast of my own.

Needless to say I spent approximately 1 month on the constant search and found nothing. Then, yesterday (the morning of the 23rd) I awoke from a dream in which I went to a store in Kumamoto-city (which I never go to) and bought a Dreamcast, VMS, S-Video Cable and a copy of Sonic Adventure. Anyway, not being a mystical sort, I trudged off to the local Big Way to see if they had the goods... they didn't. However, they did have a demo version of Sonic Adventure. I stood there for a bit and watched these little kids fail miserably at the game... I finally couldn't watch anymore so I left. I decided at that point to trust my premonition and get on the train to Kumamoto City. As I walked through the Sega-Zone arcade at the Station the familiar feelings of anger welled up in me when I saw the Dreamcast Propaganda everywhere... knowing full well that there was no way I could actually go and purchase a Dreamcast despite the fact that the money was sitting in my pocket. Anyway, I left and headed off to the store I rarely enter... as I walked up the stairs to the second floor I saw a pricetag on a Dreamcast box... I hadn't seen that anywhere before. I went up to the counter and asked the employee if they had any Dreamcasts for sale. He replied, "yes we have many" and pointed to heaps of boxes sitting right behind the counter. I then proceeded to purchase a Dreamcast, VMS, S-Video Cable and Sonic Adventure. It was literally a dream come true.

So that is my pre-christmas miracle... set forth for all of you... and the quantities of Dreamcasts they had is a good omen for all of you waiting for a system of your own. That's my story... I think I'll go home now and play Sonic Adventure...

Damion Pisacane
dpisacane@yahoo.com

P.S. - Keep up the good work Fernando... your site is truly the best... I really like the interjections of opinion in your editorials. I feel terrible that you must constantly apologize for them.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
That story was perfect, it had drama, dissapointment, joy, a unique culture - oh, the trials and tribulations of Dreamcast hunting at their best! And to think, of the Big Way hadn't screwed you over in a big way you would of never sent the e-mail...

Thanks for visiting the site and for apreciating the work that goes into SegaNet. It's nice to see someone that understands that I'm just doing this for fun and to inform the fans; editorializing is just part of that fun.

Wednesday, December 23, 1998

Shen Mue and Other Thoughts

From Mr. Bergeron:

"Shen Mu" is absolutely NOT what I thought it would be... at least gameplay wise. Actually, that's not entirely true... I just thought it would be more a combination of the best of Yu Suzuki. I pictured an RPG in which you had total control. Instead of selecting attack or magic, then picking your spell... you would actually fight VF style... or Fighting Vipers style if you have a weapon (right game, right?)... or you would actually cast a magic spell (via a special move). And, if you own a car... you could get in and drive around Datyona style in the middle of the street. I guess it isn't going to be these things, but I'm only slightly disappointed. No doubt the game will be fun, but I thought the game was going to be revolutionary... not environmentally (which it sounds like), but in actual play. I guess it will just have to be the most audio/visual (ly) enthralling game ever instead of the most playable game ever... oh well!

Lastly, I just wanted to comment on the guy who wrote about not trusting the SEGA name anymore even though he enjoyed the Saturn console and the games. You already called him a phool and all that, so I just want to point out another fact to him. SEGA supported the Saturn as long as it could. The goal of any bussiness is to make money, and the only way you can do that is by making a PROFIT. SEGA's Saturn was no longer a PROFITABLE ENTERPRISE for them. Some people do have good reason to dislike SEGA (32X freakin cost me 200 bucks + games), but somebody who enjoyed a SEGA product doesn't have a good reason.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Nothing much more to add here, but, um, you bought a 32X at full price? Ouch!

Then again, I paid full retail for a Sega CD way back when.

Various Gaming Issues

From Loren Smith:

You suck, Fernando. Your site blows and you yourself are a gaming lightweight. Silly Fanboy.

Ha!

I salute you and the whole crew, as usual. Well-handled on Tuesday (12-22-98) was that fellow (Matt DeGennaro) who apparently was offended by your jabs of fun at the British. I must say, originally I was a little confused (put off, actually) by those comments, but fortunately for me I ignored them and it was rapidly apparent that you were just a big friendly goof. Also, since you were poking fun at them during the World Cup, I was somewhat gladdened to see someone other than the USA made to feel shame over their soccer ineptitude. Well, 2002 will see.

Important issues:

1) I have held the DC controller in my hands, and it is indeed a glorious feel. Undoubtedly many games will handle very well with it. However, what news is there regarding a Capcom-compatible PAD (not joystick) to adapt to the most important and glorious of all games, Street Fighter? Preferably with eight or more buttons?

2) Perhaps I shouldn't mention this and I will certainly not say specific store names, but I have seen in Washington and New York City copies available of Marvel Super Heroes versus Street Fighter. What's more, they are available at the standard $70 or so, not jacked up the ass to reflect their verboten status. What's the deal? I thought the game was blockaded or something. If there is actually anyone who wants it who ain't got it, I'd be glad to email more information. Oh, the game is awesome and the Saturn conversion is perfection, for those of you who don't know.

3) Is there any news on when the Capcom fighters will be arriving on DC?

4) Shen Mue (Goddam I can't wait for that title to change in the US version - and what does it mean, anyway?) looks really good. I was and am a little wary of the QTE or whatever system, but I have confidence in everyone involved. What genre exactly is this referred to as? Life-action-RPG or what? Whatever, it will be the Bomb, and may He bless the doubters with sight.

5) I must say, you and Doug Erickson have been a marvel of restraint regarding Working Designs, probably much more than they deserve. What's the word on post-Grandia 2 projects for Game Arts? Runal 3 anyone? I'm sure Bernie likes it.

6) Shining Force: best series ever. Obviously Shining Force IV hasn't (yet) been announced for DC, but are any of the upcoming titles of that genre? Final Fantasy Tactics sucks and I need another game of that sort.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Glad somebody out there understood that I was just joking, damn, I was even joking about Argentina with the whole "Maradona God" bit. Sigh, some people have no comprehension skills at all; I can understand that the little jokes weren't the best in the world, but at least they were blatant in that they were meant to be perceived as jokes.

1. Capcom specific pad? None announced so far. Then again the arcade joystick controller has all six buttons on the face, isn't that enough? Besides, the only Capcom fighter confirmed for the Dreamcast is Power Stone, a game that only uses three action buttons.

2. Capcom sent the cease and desist letter to all import shops they were aware off, it's pretty likely that local shops were missed.

3. Power Stone is February 25th; no other Capcom fighters have been confirmed yet. There's a rumor about the latest VS game heading to the Dreamcast, presumably for summer...

4. Shen Mue, well, I'm not exactly sure but I think it has something to do with "dragons." As for genre, Yu Suzuki has avoided pigeonholing the game into any one category and has instead dubbed it a FREE game (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment).

5. Right now Game Arts is working on two projects, Grandia 2 and Sangokushi. After that, who knows? I'm hoping they go for Gun Griffon 3.

6. Camelot is hard at work on a Dreamcast project; details are non-existent but I'm counting on a "Shining" title of some sort.

Tuesday, December 22, 1998

Displeased

From Roberta Ennis:

Att. Seganet,

The Dreamcast, wow! I've read the specs. and seen the great games that are scheduled for it. Unfortunatly, it's kinda hard to get excited. I Purchased the Sega Saturn when it first hit the market, and did not hesitate in paying the 450.00 price tag, Why,"Because I trusted the name" I , and my friends felt the console was great,and we supported it every chance we got. It was such a shock when we learned that the Saturn would no longer be supported here. More, or less the Saturn turned out to be Turkey. Perhap's!there are more consumer's out there that feel the same. (for Sega's sake I hope there is'nt!) I will not purchase a Dreamcast, neither will any of my friends. And I will not recemmend your system to any of my customer's. I harbor no ill feeling's towards Sega, But as a consumer I feel betrayed. I currently own a N64, playstation as my primary home consoles, and my PC is fine for some games. But the name Sega is not.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
First of all, the Dreamcast isn't "our" console; SegaNet has no affiliation with Sega Enterprises or any of its subsidiaries. Second of all, you have a damn narrow-minded selection process when it comes to selecting game consoles. Case in point, you thought the console was "great", you seem to have enjoyed the games for it and probably had a lot of fun hours with the machine. Then when Sega of America stops producing games for it, you suddenly think it's a turkey? I don't know, I think you need to elaborate on why you feel the Saturn was such a turkey - I mean, it had great games, you had fun... what more do you want? You feel betrayed? What the!?

You then say you harbor no ill feelings toward Sega, but that the Sega name is not fine for gaming. I'm sorry, you're not making any sense. My advice to you, and to everyone else is this: buy a console because of the games that are out for it, not the games that are coming out, not the games that EGM says are good, the games you enjoy playing! It's not that hard, really...

In closing, how about providing some sort of decent argument as to why you think the Saturn is a turkey, why you feel the need to tell people to stay way from Sega (though you harbor no ill feelings), and why you will not buy a Dreamcast even though you have "seen the great games that are scheduled for it"?

Shen Mue : Please be patient

From Sheridan Hortness:

Today I've been going through the Seganet forum and reading all the posts about Shen Mue. It seems that most people are either worried that the game will be boring or have already decided that it sucks before they've even played it. I understand that the QTE/QTB system brings up bad memories of Dragon's Layer, but I think people should just be patient and reserve judgement until we get some hands on reports. Do you remember when Resident Evil was first introduced on the PSX? Everyone agreed that the graphics were awesome but they just couldn't understand how the game would play because it was unlike anything they'd seen before. Shen Mue is much the same, it's a new concept in gaming and the hard core gamers are having trouble grasping it. Let's stop trying to categorize the game and just wait to play it. Personally, I think this is going to be rather cool.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Yep, my take on Shen Mue is that the atmosphere and story will make the game - not to mention watching some kick ass fighting! Just take it in stride and digest the information as it comes; besides, when has Yu Suzuki ever let anyone down in the game play department?

Shen Mue QTE Thoughts

From Elio Querze:

QTE is foolish and utter rubbish and will not make the game good no matter how great the graphics, sound, and story! IMHO I hope that is only party of the way the gameplay, not all of it. Put up a poll on it! See what others think.

-Elio Querze
Software Engineer
n-Space inc.
ps I didnt work on duke but Ill pass the info along....

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I don't know, I think Shen Mue is all about story and atmosphere with action being a distraction. The main game play will come in communicating with other characters, exploring the world, and so on. Anyhow, to answer your little question, as far as action in Shen Mue goes, it's all QTE, game play is varied (exploring, interaction, etc.). I suppose we'll find out soon enough if Yu Suzuki's vision is utter rubbish or if it really works; who knows, perhaps he's developing something that you just don't "get" until you play it - worst case scenario: Yu stops doing "console style" games and goes back to developing fighters and racers.

You Wanker!

From Matt DeGennaro:

First your a wannabe Sega Otaku site which gives URSELF awards and u hate british... but ur a dirty spic... ur skin has a line of dust and dirt over it.. For god sakes ur an immagrant mexican lol

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Um, okay, slow down there buddy. First things first, the style of SegaNet is not even close to that of Sega Otaku, in fact the sites are so ridiculously different that it would be silly for me to go through all of the differences. About the only similarities between Sega Otaku and SegaNet is that we are both on IGN, and that we both cover Dreamcast.

We don't give ourselves awards, you don't see any self-bought "SegaNet is the best" trophies on my desk. I assume you're referring to Doug's editorial in which he said that he thought SegaNet was the best Sega fansite this year. Purely his opinion, nothing more, nothing less. Kind of funny you do mention "awards", because two very respected video game publications dubbed SegaNet the best of the best in recent issues. In the second to last issue of Sega Saturn Magazine, SegaNet was named their favorite website. In the new issue of Computer & Video Games (the number one selling games magazine in the UK), SegaNet was awarded the title of the best unofficial Sega site.

Ahem, you humor-impaired freak, I don't hate the British. Go re-read the yesterday's mailbag:

"1. I hate the British because they deserve it, they really do; anyone who drinks warm beer deserves to be ridiculed. Seriously, the British jokes are nothing more than a friendly rivalry between SegaNet and a couple British publications on the net (actually just one, but a couple sounds better)...."

It all started when UK: R made fun of Maradona's penis size, ever since it's been a back and forth volleys of ever-worsening jokes about our respective nations.

The spic comment is so totally off base I won't even bother to respond to it; happy holidays!

Netlink Response

From Danieruzu:

This e-mail is a response to a question one of your other readers mailed in. Planetweb has just came out with a demo beta version of a new Netlink browser they are testing. At this point it is only downloadable. Fernando, being the genious SegaNet workhorse that he is, published this last week. The browser itself is a definite improvement over version 3.0(which was almost the same as the "golden" browser), in every area except for the e-mail layout, which is very slow. The words pop up on the screen about 1/2 second after they're typed, which means if you type fast and make a bunch of keystroke errores you are screwed. Ither than that, the browser is great. I can't tell you how good it is to be able to see SegaNet with a black background, instead of that damn artificial green that always pops up.

The text loads faster, the new browser handles frame-based pages better, and there are a host of other improvements that have meen mentioned here before.

What I will tell everybody, including the guy who downloaded the browser but didn't bother asking PlanetWeb themselves about its eventual availability(where do these people come from?!), PlanetWeb is asking all who download the browser to register it. Apon registry, the question is asked that if the browser would be released, would you purchase it for $24.95(That was roughly the price). I personally would buy it, but I told them they'd have to fix the e-mail program first. E-mail ans SegaNet is all I use my Netlink for anyway, without good e-mail, what's the point? In any rate, I say the browser is definitely improved enough to warrant a $25 purchase. Any fellow Netlinkers out there know what a pain in the ass it is to have the text on pages dissapear every 20 seconds for re-loading......

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Whoah, you called me a genius SegaNet workhorse without a hint of sarcasm! Thanks, you're making me blush, heh.

Like you said, if you really want PlanetWeb to release a CD, go to their website (www.planetweb.com) and ask them to make one. Better yet, get off your lazy ass and start a petition for it. The last thing you want to do is bother me with pointless questions about it, God knows I have enough of those already...

Anyhow, thanks for setting everyone straight on the Netlink browser situation; happy holidays from everyone here at SegaNet!

VMS Worries

From Mook1978@aol.com:

I have one Question.

1. I see the VMS as a potential piss off for future dreamcast owners. Godzilla Generations has an option in its menu that can only be accessed IF you own the Godzilla VMS. I see alternate VMS's as a potential money grab, whereas secrets are encoded in the game and can only be accessed if you blow more money on the game specific VMS. I think that's dirty business. Your thoughts on this?

Great Bastard Child of the British

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
It's funny you should ask that because I was wondering the same thing last week. My hope is that future VMS programs will be on the game disc, and you'll just be able to download the program from the disc to a blank VMS units (you know, the generic memory card one's). If that's the case, looks like the problem is solved, but if Sega makes us buy a new VMS for each little mini-game...

Well, I'll be ticked off, and I'm sure everyone else will be too. Kind of frustrating to not be able to get the full enjoyment out of a certain title because you didn't feel like dishing out another 30 bucks for a game-specific memory card.

Monday, December 21, 1998

X-Mas NiGHTS and Active Desktop

From G-Face:

Well I'm a daily reader and my Internet connections fluctuates constantly so I was wondering if you have any plans on adding the active desk top option for us IE4 users. By the way where would it be a good place to find X-Mas Nights?

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Active desktop? I don't see why it couldn't be done, save for the fact that we still need to wrap up the site redesign; Art4Stuff has to finish the reader reviews and other junk. Maybe if I find some "bored out of my mind time" this month - perhaps next weekend...

X-Mas NiGHTS? That's a tough one right now; try the auction sites, Usenet, and web forums - if that doesn't work, try Sega, retailers, Blockbuster, Imagine (they gave out the game in one of their issues) and so on. Strike that, check with that last group first then go to Usenet, etc.

Sega related(yes, Sega is actually is my blood)

From Mark Frederick:

Hello Fernando,
I wanna mention how awesome your site is, and to ask a somewhat simple question. Ok, here it goes: The dreamcast will have arcade sticks, right? Will the arcade sticks only be used for VF3tb? I mean...there's a certain virtuoid fihting game out there called Virtual On:2 that i REALLY wanna play. Would you happen to know if that game might support it? It just wouldn't be the same if I had to use the regular controller. Thanks for any help you can give. :)

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Okay, you say you want to mention how awesome SegaNet is, but you never do! You just say you want to - what sort of rubbish is this!? Bah, I shouldn't even answer your e-mail...

The Dreamcast already has an arcade stick; early reviews are that it kicks ass. Not sure how the compatibility will work out though, so far it only works with VF3tb but I'm guessing other suitable arcade games will be able to use it as well. I'm kind of concerned that it doesn't work with Godzilla though...

4 Q's and a Rant

From Jason:

Hi Fernando,

I have 4 questions and one mini-rant for you.

1. Why do you hate the British so much?

2. Do you think there is a chance of Metal Slug 2 coming out for DC, even in Japan, or will Sega pooh-pooh this game because it's 16 bittish? It seems to me like SNK would want to recoup some $ on this game since it hasn't been released on Saturn and it won't be coming to PSX.

3. When, if ever, is Planetweb going to release a new version of the Netlink browser on CD. Yes, I know I can download the latest beta version from their site. I want a CD copy.

4. I just saw the box for Sonic R for the PC, Wow. How come Sega never bothered to put out such an attractive package or printing on the manual cover for console versions as they do on the PC version. The box is silver foil looking with colored metallic inks. It looks really great and is very eye catching. They could have printed just the manual cover like this for the Saturn version and it would have really stood out on store shelves a lot more. They need to do this with DC games.

I just wanted to write to tell you to tell these whiners who write to you about " if " the Dreamcast is a big success and " if " Sega can pull it off, to stop all the unnecessary worrying. First of all, it's the Japanese launch and they don't live in Japan. Concern yourself with the US launch, which is still a year away. Also it's apparent that these people don't know that game developers around the world WANT the DC to be a big success and are willing to help make it happen. Third parties know it is in their best interest to have as much competition as possible. They do not want PSX 2 to come out and destroy Sega or Nintendo. They don't want Sony to be the only game in town. Only now are they able to get from under the crushing thumb of Nintendo. Nintendo had the whole market to themselves in the mid to late 80's and used their position to become merciless dictators of the videogame industry. No third parties liked having to deal with them or they're insane royalty fees, cash only policy, huge orders, Big Brother tactics, censorship etc. but they were the only game in town and Nintendo knew it. Nintendo's attitude was "take it or leave it" as they screwed over every person they ever dealt with. Developers are glad to see Nintendo humbled like they have been, but they don't want them to go out of business. Could Square or Eidos get big $$$ PSX exclusive deals for their games if the PSX was the only system out there? The third parties know they couldn't and the system wars keep the hardware companies fighting over their games and up their royalties. If anything, third parties would like to see the DC take it to PSX 2 really hard to humble Sony so they don't get too big a head ( as if it could get any bigger at this point). The game developers don't want to help create another Nintendo-like monster by helping one company become too dominant and having way too much influence.

B-bye,

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
1. I hate the British because they deserve it, they really do; anyone who drinks warm beer deserves to be ridiculed. Seriously, the British jokes are nothing more than a friendly rivalry between SegaNet and a couple British publications on the net (actually just one, but a couple sounds better). Anyhow, since I was born in Argentina, it's in my blood to hate all things British, which includes Canadians, the bastard children of the British. Nuts to all of you! Okay, I got to go worship Maradona now...

2. Nope, if you want Metal Slug 2 at home, you need a Neo Geo.

3. I don't know, why don't you call PlanetWeb and ask and report back? My guess is never but I'm not PlanetWeb am I?

4. Actually, I'm hoping they go with compact jewel cases for Dreamcast games; big cardboard cases in which PC game are packed in are pointless. Case in point - the early Sega CD boxes, nasty stuff my friends (then again, the late Sega CD boxes was the same shit they pack Saturn games in).

Preach on brother man, preach on!

Dreamcast Ranting Time!

From F J Kane:

First let me say that you have put together a great site, as a tried and still true Sega fan, Seganet is my first stop when surfing for video game news. Well Done! Anyway, why does it feel when I read reviews in video game magazines, Sega's name is "poo poo". Sometimes it seems that Nintendo can re- release the NES on the market and to some magazines it would beat the Dreamcast hands down! "oohhhh the brilliance of Super Mario out does Sonic Adventures, by leaps and bounds, because he is Mario!" I feel because of the slips and mistakes of Sega, the video game industry as a whole will never, ever give Sega a fair shake again. No matter how good the Dreamcast is the coming announcement of the PSX2 will overshadow Sega like Dr. Eggman's battleship.

Sega, no matter how good the DC is going to be, is fighting an uphill battle. Sega has to really pull out all the stops on the DC and let the hopefully great games ride and ride strong. They have to attack Sony's and Nintendo's foothold with fair prices, above average games, awesome advertisments, and a slew of promotions. Reward the gamers who come out on the 1st day of the US launch to purchase a DC with a free game, or a money saving coupon.....or a extra controller or something??!! Sega has to do things different. They won the loyal Sega fans back with the DC, but we alone will not support the DC's life. The ball is in SOA's court, I hope they do not drop the ball. Thabk you for your time.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Glad you enjoy our humble little rest stop on the information super-highway (and yes, that's first time I've ever used the term "information super-highway", and yes, it is as fruity to write as it is to read), we certainly do our best to provide quality content.

As for your rant, it's as dead on as Batistuta shot into the back of England's net; enthusiasts know it, the educated press knows it, and Sega knows it: Sega is the underdog, and they're really going to have to go all out to make the Dreamcast a success in the west. It's going to be fun watching Sega's efforts next year...

Concerns about Grandia

From Michael Bell:

I'm concerned about the Grandia series. I've heard rumours floating around the giant soup-bowl that is the Internet of a PlayStation conversion of Grandia 1 in English. Being a loyal Sega supporter I would not like to buy a PlayStation to play this game which we were promised over 2 years ago. Instead I'm thinking about getting an emulator for my PC.

But here's the really confusing bit. I've already got a Dreamcast and I've heard about Grandia 2 on that, and how it may be converted to English. What about us people who want Grandia 1? I don't want to shell out for the extra stuff to play the first part of the installment in English (I've already played some of it in Japanese, and it was fantastic - just before my convertor cartridge stopped working). So why don't Sega bring out Grandia 1 on Dreamcast as well? Grandia has a cult following over here in Europe, and I'm sure Sega realise it's potential. If the game belongs to Gamearts who don't want it converted, buy the game off them and get someone like Team Andromeda to convert it, given the work they did on Panzer Dragoon Saga. PS. I've got Pen Pen on my Dreamcast, and even though many people don't like it, I think it's really fun and would give it an 8/9.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I wouldn't worry about Playstation Grandia until it's actually announced (I don't think it will be), and hey if it is announced, just buy the game and go play it on your friend's system or something. If Grandia means that much to you, you'll find a proper way to play a potential English/Playstation release. Oh, and as far-fetched as Grandia on Playstation is, Grandia (one) on Dreamcast is even more so. Sega wants Dreamcast releases to showcase the system, not be fodder for what would amount to Saturn emulation. Sorry...

Ah, you enjoy Pen Pen? How about a reader review, or at the very least an e-mail with some more in depth impressions?

Dreamcast Impressions

From Matt:

I received my Dreamcast on Wednesday (15th Dec) from Wild Imports, which are based in the UK. I paid £460 for the machine, VF3, stepdown and the arcade joystick, which is quite reasonable, considering most importers want £399 for just the machine on its own. Anyway, I opened the box and was quite shocked as to how small the Dreamcast is. I quickly opened VF3 and put the disk into the machine. The machine booted up followed by the SEGA logo, nothing could have prepared me for the shock as the VF3 intro sequence came onto my 32inch Widescreen TV. THIS GAME IS GORGEOUS. I had previously read articles in magazines and on the net about how VF3 had been compromised apon conversion to the Dreamcast, well you can forget about all those articles because Dreamcast VF3 is simply stunning. Fine, there may be a few compromises on one or two stages that the arcade fanatic may be able to spot, but as far as I'm concerned Dreamcast VF3 is definitely the best beat em up simulation out there. There are absolutely no glitches or slowdown, just beautiful high res, 60 FPS action. I must have played VF3 for well over 15hrs over the last few days alone. Congratulations SEGA for producing a breathtaking machine. Roll on Sonic Adventure and SEGA Rally 2

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
I'm glad you're enjoying the system, thanks for writing in with your impressions, looking forward to some reader reviews from you; teehee.

Ah, you enjoy Pen Pen? How about a reader review, or at the very least an e-mail with some more in depth impressions?

DC Online From USA

From Dominick Meissner:

Hello! I read your page everyday, it has become a great sorce of info for me and my company.

I was curious if you are aware if I can register/connect my Dreamcast from US (hook up to www.Dricas)? I am dying to download Sonic stuff.

Thanks again,

Dominick Meissner
Lobotomy Software
Crave Entertainment

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Hello Dom,
I'm glad you enjoy the site, I know many of our reader's got a kick out of your company's Saturn work. If you must know, I wasn't one of them... sadly I'm not that big of a first person shooter fan - I guess it's because I never had a PC that could run Doom until Quake was out, and I didn't have a PC that could run Quake until Unreal was out... damn technology, almost as annoying as ex-journalist British game designers!

As for your Dreamcast Internet troubles, well, everyone has the same question as you do right now. The problem lies in a connecting to Sega of Japan's server to register the unit, after that hurdle is passed you should be able to use your American ISP no problem. So, how to get around the hurdle (since calling the server hasn't worked)? Well, from what I hear, the internet-registration data is just a VMS save file, so if someone could get that file transferred to a VMS unit in America, then people in the states would be able to use the Dream Passport software once and for all. In other words, wait and see, I'm sure some sort of solution will come about eventually.

Hey, I can't wait for Caesar's Palace 64, if only to have more ammunition when making fun of Dan...

Happy Kwanza!

From J.M. Vargas:

Whatever... I'm atheist, so the best I can say is 'Happy Holidays', which is as agnostic and trouble-free a salute as I can think of in this troubled times. Just sent you two Saturn Reviews ("WipeOut", "Street Fighter Alpha 2"), so please consider them next time you upgrade your little site. What about that Impeachment procedure and Livingstone debacle over the weekend? Man, I wish I would trade places with you so I could be there this weekend (I'm a political nut)... being at the center of the universe like you, that must be so cool!Will you upgrade your site over the next holidays, Christmas and New Year's, or are you gonna start doing your homework for a change? (JOKE!) Just wondering, because it will determine if I send you more stuff before the end of the year. Thanks a bunch, and what's the deal with "The Secret World of Alex Mack" airing on Nickelodeon at 6:30PM from Monday-Friday, opposite reruns of "The Simpsons"? I have three letters for you my man: V-C-R (check into it :-P)!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the reviews J.M., always a pleasure to read... I'll post them this week.

Oh man, oh man, Washington has just about had it with this Clinton stuff, everyone is downright jaded and the impeachment procedure isn't getting nearly as much attention as one would think.

Homework? Why would I want to do something stupid like that, especially when I could be watching "The Secret World of Alex Mack" airing on Nickelodeon at 6:30PM from Monday-Friday? Oh, and what's this VCR thing you keep talking about, is that the new drug that God Maradona is taking now?

Fernando, whose half-assed attemps at humor will probably come back to haunt him...

Happy Kwanza!

From J.M. Vargas:

Whatever... I'm atheist, so the best I can say is 'Happy Holidays', which is as agnostic and trouble-free a salute as I can think of in this troubled times. Just sent you two Saturn Reviews ("WipeOut", "Street Fighter Alpha 2"), so please consider them next time you upgrade your little site. What about that Impeachment procedure and Livingstone debacle over the weekend? Man, I wish I would trade places with you so I could be there this weekend (I'm a political nut)... being at the center of the universe like you, that must be so cool!Will you upgrade your site over the next holidays, Christmas and New Year's, or are you gonna start doing your homework for a change? (JOKE!) Just wondering, because it will determine if I send you more stuff before the end of the year. Thanks a bunch, and what's the deal with "The Secret World of Alex Mack" airing on Nickelodeon at 6:30PM from Monday-Friday, opposite reruns of "The Simpsons"? I have three letters for you my man: V-C-R (check into it :-P)!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the reviews J.M., always a pleasure to read... I'll post them this week.

Oh man, oh man, Washington has just about had it with this Clinton stuff, everyone is downright jaded and the impeachment procedure isn't getting nearly as much attention as one would think.

Homework? Why would I want to do something stupid like that, especially when I could be watching "The Secret World of Alex Mack" airing on Nickelodeon at 6:30PM from Monday-Friday? Oh, and what's this VCR thing you keep talking about, is that the new drug that God Maradona is taking now?

Fernando, whose half-assed attemps at humor will probably come back to haunt him...

Friday, December 18, 1998

Sonic Adventure

From YKoch1@aol.com:

Dear Fernando,
I just read on your website that Sonic Adventure got a 10 10 9 9 in Famitsu magizine. How good of a rating is that for that magazine?

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Well, Famitsu is notoriously hard on games - the first-ever perfect score was Zelda. Other top scores include Virtua Fighter 2 for Saturn at 39 out of 40 and Virtua Fighter 3tb for Dreamcast at 36 out of 40.

Also of note, people have finally gotten around to translating the reviews into English - here's Famitsu's reasoning for just a 38:

The reviewers don't want to give a game that's released so early in a system's life-span such a perfect score; they are sure Sonic Team and the rest of the Dreamcast developers can do much better in future games. The reviewers also commented that if they had reviewed Sonic Adventure before Zelda, Zelda would of been ranked much lower.

In other words, the only reason websites are quoting the Famitsu review is because Famitsu is so well respected; hope that answers your question!

Power Stone Description

From anders0n@geocities.com:

Gameplay...
The game play can be summed up in one word: innovation. Based on fundamentals developed by Dreamfactory's Ergheiz and what seems to be a hint of Koei's Destrega, the game play is solid 3d fighting action (and I do mean action). The game is extremely hectic, as its a race to get all three gems, which when acquired transform you into super armor mode. In this mode you are extremely powerful and near invincible. There are only three gems, and at the start of the round each player has one and one will momentarily appear in the level somewhere.

So the basic game can be boiled down to: If I have a gem defend it and get the other gems. If the opponent has a gem get it, while still trying to keep mine, and the easiest of them all get the gem that's in the field before my opponent does. Oh and a couple more: If he has all the gems run like hell and if I have the gems kill him quickly.

Basics...
You can punch, kick or jump. Pressing both punch and kick allows you to grab. Simple enough, but here's the fun part, you can interact with pretty much all the objects in a room. For instance, if you punch a chair, you will send it toward your opponents direction, while kicking it will send it in the direction you're facing. Of course you can also grab, and throw it at your opponent, I dont know the different damage ramifications though. Grab is also useful for picking items found in chests, such as flame throwers, bombs, molotov cocktails, hand guns etc...

Grabs
Grab is probably the key mechanic in the whole game. You can jump up and grab onto poles that are placed in most of the levels, or you can jump up and grab the rafters, and swing around. You can also grab against the wall, to do an off the wall attack, such as pushing off the wall and shooting headfirst at your opponent. But wait there's more, try grabbing on to a pole from the ground, and you will get a pole attack: either swinging around the pole, then releasing going feet first into your opponent, or, my favorite, grabbing-uprooting the pole and using it as a weapon. Grab can also be used to catch incoming projectile, furniture, that opponent has either punched, kicked or thrown to you. After catching you can throw it back. I think that's it for grabs, oh of course you can grab your opponent and do foul things to him or her. This was pretty hard for me, so I don't know the depths of the traditional grab system.

Advanced...
Grabbing all three gems will enable you to go to Super Armor mode temporarily. Here you take less damage and deal out a whole lotta damage. Your punch and kick attacks are extremely powerfull, and range from projectile attacks, to huge area attacks (like uppercuts and such). by pressing jump and attack (kick or punch) you do an Ultra attack, that if it connects really hurts. Doing this causes you to lose your super mode, two of the three gems pop out of you and the last one reappears after a time. Since the transformation times out, if the opponent can get a grab in, which are usually relatively long, then you might revert to normal mode.

To grab all three gems usually mean racing to one thats free in the level, or beating it out of each other at which point the gem pops out and lands on the level somewhere. The gameplay that derives from this is extremely hectic to say the least, but also quite simple.

Close Combat...
Close up on the enemy, punches and kicks can be chained effortlessly, usually ending with that enemy losing a gem. This felt a little unbalanced at times, but watching the computer, I did see it get out of combo barrages, and the word ESCAPE popped on the screen, though I dont know how to do it.

Defense...
Many people have erroneously reported there are no defense mechanics in Powerstone, this however is not true. In close combat, when attacked, moving the joystick laterally will allow you to reposition yourself behind the attacking character, allowing you to counter. When done correctly a blue shadow is left where you were, as you circle around the enemy almost instantly. Moving it back will allow you to retreat too. These evasive moves are some of my favorite features, though I could not master it in anyway, it was still fun trying.

Technology...
There is no way this game can be done on a PSX, every object in the world, from the chinese lamps hanging on the ceiling, to the wine vases, on the shelves, to the chairs, steps, poles and rafters, chests and the weapons found in them are all polygonal. THe polygon count for those items alone would crush the PSX GPU. The levels look extremely gorgeous, and the animation is 60fps bliss. The special effects seem like they are taking full advantage of the DC hardware (Volume modifier, Specular highlights etc...). Example There is a level where sunrays come through the rafters, these sunrays brighten your character accurately when you enter them. Textures are clean, and definetly looks on par with model 3 if you remember that most model 3 games such as VF3 dont have any other objects in them other than two players and a background, and all the objects in PowerStone are polygonal.

Summation:
I will buy Powerstone when it comes to the home in february, it will hold me over until Virtual On 2.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the detailed write-up; very well written, I enjoyed it tremendously. Though I'm suddenly a Power Stone fiend...

Dream Passport

From Andrew R. Larson:

hello,
on 12-15 at about 7:30 P.M. i called soj. there i talked to a man by the name of Matsumura. on the phone i asked him the question i was wondering,"how do i get my dreamcast online?" he told me that he did not think it was possible but he would e-mail me back after talking to his engineers. here's the letter:

Mr. Larson,
Unfortunately, the Japanese Dreamcast is not compatible for the US market so you will not be able to use the on-line function in the US. We are currently making plans for the on-line function and will distribute US version Dreamcast products in the US through Sega of America next fall. As mentioned in the owners manual, the unit is designed for use only in Japan, and we cannot recommend or take any responsibility of the use of the Japanese products in the US. We would appreciate your patience of waiting the DC debut planned for next fall in the US.

Kind regards,
Matsumura

now, one thing to remember is that even if there was a way to get online soj wouldn't tell me. so, i will try hooking up to my "isp" and if anything happens i will let you know.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
From what I hear, the "registering" information is just a VMS save file; so if someone could get the file copied onto a VMS in the USA, and then that filed was copied to other VMS units... We might just be able to access the internet using the Dream Passport from the states. Keep trying...

Thursday, December 17, 1998

A Few Things

From Nick Spolec:

Hey Fernado,

Since I stumbled onto your terrific site, I have gone no where else for the past week. I have been spending most my time looking through everything in your site. And there's a lot of it! I now have some many things to talk about in this letter from looking over your site, but since I want the readers of your mail section not to get board and skip through it because of it's lenght, I will be quick, and not to add, considerate of yourself, seeing as how you get tons of mail...wait, what the hell? I am already making this to long! Let's get back to it.

As I said, it's a great site, the greatest Sega site around, and it has really helped me learn a lot about what's going on. I have a Saturn, with a 4 in 1 cart to play import and 1-4 meg ram games. The first game I got when I bought the 4 in 1 (just a month or two ago at that!) was X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, and let me tell you, I was so amazed with it. I had always thought the Saturn was majorly underrated, and this only added to it. Even my family, who up until then were not impressed with the Saturn, (besides my Dad, who thought it had potential and was good) were impressed. It has great graphics and is a blast! I am sad and pissed at SoA for letting the Saturn croke, but it has pushed me to doing the best thing I ever could, and that is get a 4 in 1 to import. Now, when I thought the doors were shut on me for getting any new games for the Saturn, besides some old ones, it flew opened, and now I can get some of the best games ever! As you can see, I have a lot to talk about, because I am so passionate about video games, I could go on all day, but, I won't. I know time is presious to you, so, let me make this shorter.

I was looking through your editorials today and readone about Sony from you. I couldn't agree more! I have been saying now, for the past few months, that Sony will crash the market again soon, if the system keeps up this way. There are tons of game developers for Sony, and they push out so many games each month, and most of those suck, for a few reasons. They make the games within 2 months, only making a few things good, like some "eye candy" graphics, but screw on the gameplay, storyline (most of all!) and control. They make the games to make money only, because they know kids who don't know any better will pick it up, look at the back of the box and say, "I want this!" Remember Death Trap Dungeon, and Nightmare Creatures? Those looked pretty good, but they sucked! Sony will crash the market with how many crap games are put out for it. Well, this is long already, and let me end this quickly.

Will the Japanese Dream Cast be able to play American games? Or will the Asian one be able to? I really want to import the DC and get it after the first rush, and play Sonic Adventure and VFtb3, but can I play American games on it? Also, I think it is a great idea for Saturn and Game Gear to be re-released, and do you think some new games might possibly be made for them? And do you think with a re-release there could be a little extra hope for it? And one little thing, heh heh, sorry, but, they also have to re-release a lot of the older games, I mean, a lot of them! Make people have a good choice id they look at picking it up again

Well, I will save what else I want to say in another letter soon, and I kinda forgot out of excitment what I wanted to talk about..ugg.. Well, thank you greatly and great site, again, I am already a huge fan of it.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
First things first: thanks for the kind words, but please kill the double spacing.

Oh man, you read my ancient editorial about the Playstation!? Damn, didn't think anyone would be browsing through those old things now. Glad you enjoyed the old articles though, I guess that's what they're there for!

The last two questions are one's I get here all the freaking time (and yes, if anyone else asks this question ever again they're going to get killed), so I'll give you the short answers.

-No one knows what kind of territorial lockout Sega has planned for the Dreamcast; the only thing we do know is that the American Dreamcast won't play Japanese titles out of the box and vice-versa. It's going to be up to some clever gamer to defeats Sega's still-unknown territorial lockout.

-Do not, and I emphasize do not, expect much from Majesco. These guys thrive on cheapness, the less money they put into a product the more they make back. In other words, we'll just see re-releases of already developed Saturn titles and nothing new in terms of localization, etc.

Epcot Update

From Elio Querze:

I was at Epcot the other day. So I checked out innoventions to see if they had Dreamcast yet? They didnt! : ( But there was a little room in the front of the Sega area with a Huge Dreamcast symbol. The room was closed off but there were holes you could peak into and the room was empty but it had a big fake wood vms with a monitior where the screen was, probably to show a video on. No kiosks or anything like that : ( The room is quite small, only about 10 people at a time at max I would say. I asked someone that worked there when it would be open and he said the original date was in January, but he thought Feb would be a safer bet.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Thanks for the update, from what I know they'll be showing video of some of the most impressive games in that little theater - here's what I wrote about this exhibit last October (after speaking with the folks at EPCOT):

The Dreamcast show will be 7 or 8 minutes in length and only hold between 10 and 16 people. Sega and the EPCOT staff preparing the exhibit say that the showing will sell people on what Dreamcast is all about. The technical prowess of the console will be explained, accompanied by showings from the E3 demo and clips from actual games. Attendees waiting to get inside the main theater will be treated to video of several Dreamcast games (Sonic, Pen Pen, Godzilla, and maybe VF3TB or Rally 2 are planned).

Again, thanks for writing in and good work in Duke TTK... now, how about a Dreamcast version?

Sega of America Advert Plans

From Keith Klages:

Being a North American gamer myself, I think I can safely say that most gamers here are just casual gamers and pretty ignorant on the subject of video games. American gamers are tantalized by glitzy graphics and can't help but be drawn in by the mass popularity of something. Example, the FFVII commercials show nice CG video from the game, but not the game, I know people that went out and bought a Playstation and that game because they thought the CG video was the actual game. Most people don't understand the concept of substance or quality. I understand how these minds work and if Sega intends to sell them their nice shiny little package they need to blow the budget on advertising so all you can think about is the Dreamcast. Most people I know haven't even heard about it yet, so you have to market to the masses to really put up any kinds of sales numbers. Sega has to understand how important getting the word out is, most people I know haven't even heard of the Dreamcast yet. Sega might be doing better in other markets, but they're only holding on by a thread here, they need to really come out swinging to regain some of the public's faith. Plain and simple, advertising will make or break them on this system. Let's hope they can put on a good show!

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Most people haven't heard of Dreamcast yet because Sega doesn't WANT them to know about it yet; why do you think SoA is pressuring magazines to not put the Dreamcast on the cover?

Sega has a 100 million dollars to blow on the USA marketing blitz, and you can bet it's going to be a carefully orchestrated effort. What Sega doesn't want is people getting hyped for the system now and getting burned out on the hype mid-way through '99. According to Sega's plan, the USA marketing of the Dreamcast doesn't begin until early spring (when the NDA on gamer's day expires BTW) - that's when we'll see the first images and movies of the Dreamcast sports titles and such. From there on out, Sega will working their advertising magic through E3, in the summer, and finally at launch; should be something to watch!

Power Converters

From Jim Donaldson:

There have been a fair amount of problems with the Dreamcast running on 120v. It seems like the heat that's coming off the power convertor isn't directly shocking the system, but instead melting a part of the GD-ROM drive which can screw your system if you play it for a long time.

If you just do a search on the web, you should be able to pick up numerous hits about the subject. I got 5 or 6 sites last time I looked. They offer the power convertor for anywhere between $20-100 depending on the cost. The cheap things from Radio Shack are no good at all. You want to make sure you don't buy one of the cheap little travel things because they actually send out little bursts of high voltage then no voltage at all to kind of regulate it, and it's just all screwy for running anything other than a hairdryer.

There are all sorts of FAQs and stuff on the subject that I was looking up back when I thought that I would import a Dreamcast. I decided just to sit still and give SoA a chance.

Fernando Mosquera Replies:
Good advice; so import buyers beware: protect your investment!

DC Review

From Mike:

After a few days of playing my DC I am blown away at the quality of this system and the three games I got with it. The first game my friends and I played was VF3, like I needed to tell you that, and I almost could not believe how crisp and clear the graphics were. I never played VF3 in the arcade so I can not comment on how perfect the translation is so I'll tell you what I thought of the game.

The control was right on the spot there was NO delay from when I pressed the punch button to when my character punched on the screen. I knew very few moves for any of the characters, OK shoot me I never really liked the VF series until now (no more supermen!/floating jumps) I broke out a faq and was playing the game like it was second nature. The controller is not as bad as some people have said it is. You have to work with what you have people live with it. I guess the arcade stick will give better controll overall but that can wait.

The graphics are awesome as hell and like I said before they are clean and sharp as can be. From characters flowing hair to clothing flaping in the wind totally awesome as all hell. For the people that claim that there are lots of clothing animation missing I have on question Did you really put $1+ in a VF3 machine just to watch every characters clothing animation? really though a game that moves that fast you really do not pay that much attention. If I have to make a complaint about the graphics it would be some of the shadows tend to break up on the uneven stages where there is steps and stuff like that but it is not much of a gripe.I did not notice any slowdown at all like some crappy magazine stated. There was no polygon break up even with all the throw moves I've seen.

On the sound side it is kind of a mixed bag. The sound effects are a little on the trebley side and take some getting used to but I got used to the sndfx in the King of Fighters series so it should be no problem. All the voices are crystal clear and the music is so fucking awesome on a Dolby Pro-logic system, a must for every next gen system. So what would I give VF3 on a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 8.5

Lets move on to Godzilla the game that everyone seems to hate or give it horrible scores. I for one LOVE this game. I have one question to all the people that said Godzilla is slow as hell WHEN DID GODZILLA EVER RUN THROUGH THE STREETS OF JAPAN AND WRECK HAVOK? never you say thought so oh but wait there is the USA Godzilla that actully ran, well use USA Godzilla if you have to run to destroy Japan. If you do not know how to use USA Godzilla GET A GODZILLA VMS!!! Once you open up every creature on the VMS 3 more Godzilla's are at your use without beating the game. The VMS battle arena is pretty cool too. I only wish I had more Godzilla VMS units to play multiplayer battle mode. My only complaints about Godzilla is the looping music that can get on your nerves after a while and needing more than one VMS to play battle mode with 2 or more people. My score for Godzilla would be 7.5

Now on to probably my favorite game out of the three I bought is PenPen. This game is sooooo much fun I can not beleive some crappy assed magazine/website gave this game a 6.1 WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR DEAL? THIS GAME WAS NEVER EVER MEANT TO BE THE MARIO KART FOR DC!!! This game is so fun and addicting it should be outlawed. So many parts in this game had me laughing my ass off from the Q-Bertish character to the JabberJaw wannabe. There is next to no pop up in the FAR FAR FAR FAR background you don't even notice it unless you're a nit picking bastard of a shitty magazi..., oh never mind you know what magazine I hate by now. The control is right on and the analog control works soo good. The music is kinda fruitty but hey look at the graphics what do you want AlternicA playing in the background? it just wouldn't work out. The graphics are so beautiful it kinda reminds me of the first time I played the original MotorToon for the import PSX, another game that got a bad rap for not having known characters in it. My final score on PenPen would be a 9.3

I am still debating if I should be bold enough to buy July or not