Top 10 Sega Dreamcast Games

 

OK, so to mark the second day of the opening of this blog, I've decided to write about my personal top 10 Sega dreamcast games. Hope you enjoy...

10. Resident Evil - Code: Veronica

Synopsis:
The opening credits start with Claire Redfield invading Umbrella Corporation in Paris, France. The whole aim of the invasion was to discover information about the whereabouts of her brother, the famous Chris Redfield. After being captured by guards you're taken to a prison on a remote Island, known as Rockfort Island. You wake up and this is where the game starts...

My review:

First of all, a huge shout out to the graphics on this game! they are incredible, and every bit of detail is included. For example when you walk into a dark room with just a small desk lamp, only the light illuminates and spreads as far as it would in real life, meaning if there's a zombie in the room, he's blended in with the darkness until the light touches them...this means that it'll be too late to save yourself!

The sounds and musical score also does this game justice. Faint footsteps can be heard, followed by groaning and it increases as they get nearer and nearer, picture this followed by a tense but lively musical score...it certainly plays with the players emotions.

Gameplay as an overall I would rate at very good. The controls seem to be much more of an improvement than the releases for the Playstation 1, and as mentioned before the combination of graphics, music as well as the cutscenes and discoveries along the way make this one of the best releases not only for the Dreamcast, but for the Resident Evil series.

Overall

8.5 / 10

9. Crazy Taxi

Synopsis:

Whilse there is no actual storyline to this game, the objective is to pick up a customer and drop them to their chosen location (like a real life taxi driver would).

My review:

Why is this game so fun? for those of you that've never played Crazy Taxi, the sound of picking up someone and driving to a place for 2 minutes to drop them off sounds boring doesn't it?...think again!

This game was a port of what was once an Arcade game release, and if you know anything about the original release, it was fantastic! and this is definitely one of the most successful ports to console Sega have done.

Graphics? these were very good at the time, however they now appear fairly dated, so overall I'd rate it as good. They're bright, colourful, cartoonish and vibrant (all the factors that catch your eye in the arcade).

Sounds on the other hand are loud, catchy, and full of beat. The soundtrack in one word is "awesome" and even featured scores from the Offspring and Bad Religion. Combining this and driving as fast as you can narrowly avoiding cars, trees, walls etc. with such an upbeat rock soundtrack pretty much "make" the game.

The controls are nice and simple, and a certain button combination which allows a "Crazy boost" means you'll max your top speed which just adds to the entertainment brilliantly.

Other aspects of this game that deserves a mention is the in-game advertising.

KFC, Pizza Hut, Levi's etc. make it feel more close to home and mixes the real world with the virtual together nicely.

Finally, Crazy Taxi also featured mini-games which made this game even more playable, and featured some pretty difficult challenges

Overall:

7.5 / 10

8. Sega GT

Synopsis:

There is no plot or storyline to this game, just get in the car and win!

My review:

Gran Turismo, meet your strongest competitor! (at the time anyway). This game literally is packed with factors more advanced than Gran Turismo 1 and 2 (Gran Turismo 3 was released the year later).

As well as the many factors this game presents, it also worked closely with the car manufacteurers so the programming of all 120 cars were designed to feel like the real things!

When you pick a car (Subaru Impreza for me...If I could afford one and the costings of the insurance and fuel in real life...I'd have one in a heartbeat), you compete by racing on one of the 22 tracks available for first place. Then your times could be uploaded on the web so that other players can try to beat it! For the year 2000, this was way ahead of it's time!

Graphics - flipping spectacular! these even to this day are outstanding and each curve and shaping to the car shells are perfectly matched to the real thing, combine this with the detail of the track and the surroundings make this a beautiful game to play.

Sounds - the noises from the cars are overall very good, but not quite as true to the real car as the graphics are, they also mask the soundtrack quite heavily (though the soundtrack isn't something to shout about or remember anyway). This is perhaps the biggest letdown of the game.

Controls - I'd rate it as good, I personally don't have much of an issue with the controls but you will sometimes encounter sloppy or stiff turning (though if it's true to the car in reality this is expected), for this reason I wouldn't lower the score of the overall rating of this game (You can't honestly expect a Peugeot 206 to corner easily at 60mph...those of you that own this car DO NOT TRY IT!).

Overall:

7.5 / 10

7. Silver

Synopsis:

You are a man named David who is trained by his Grandfather in combat, when your wife is captured and an imminent threat of evil will be unleashed, you are forced to get going and start fighting to save not only your wife, but the people of Jarrah and the other 7 islands.

My review:

First of all I usually suck at RPG's (and still do - I sometimes as a last resort have to look up a walkthrough). However with this game I picked it up for £7 and thought I'd give it a go...I'm not dissapointed. What I bought was a game with weird but wonderful camera angles, good quality voice acting and a combat system unlike any other. Let's start again with Graphics, wow! the quality of the graphics on this game are absolutely incredible. The background is 2D but the characters are 3D, this may not be the first time in gaming history that this has been done, but it's certainly in this instance done extremely well. The characters are well detailed and colourful, the textures are drawn to (what would've been back then) perfection, and some of the scenery throughout the game is breathtaking.

As for sounds - remember I mentioned that the voice acting is very well done and is crystal clear?Weaponry sounds i.e. the swords, arrows, magic etc. which is used is no different and is matched closely to how it would sound in reality.

Finally the soundtrack...it's suitable and blends in with the game, however it's not memorable. By that I mean if you compare it to some of the scores from other RPG's, it doesn't leave quite as much of an impact.

As for the games controls, the general maneuverability and combat of the character is easy and basic enough to get to grips with. However as you progress you may need to review the manual and/or online for how to equip, shoot arrows and use magic, but once you've got the hang of it, you've got the hang of it.

Overall:

8 / 10

 

 

6. Virtua Tennis

 

 

Synopsis:

No storyline, but the career mode is to travel the world and win the championships (singles and partners).

  

My review:

I'm going to admit how wrong I was when I thought to myself "I don't want to play a tennis game".

However, I picked this up cheap and thought one night I'd give it a go out of curiosity to see why so many people sweared by this game.

After selecting Tim Henman (my favourite tennis player back when I was a kid) I soon found myself running frantically across the court, lobbing other players, diving to hit the ball and hitting the ball with as much force as I can. Aside that, after a 3-4 minute constant ball rally (hitting the ball back and forth with no scoring) when I did manage to get a cheeky shot in and score against my opponent, I felt like a weight was relieved and clenched my fist (like Henman onscreen) in success. I mean this game (still to this day) holds your nerves and either makes you feel like a pro when you score, or will make you sigh in dissapointment when you lose.

Graphics in this game are superb, they capture and model the characters (again I'll use Henman as the example) exactly like they look in reality and sculpt the faces to perfection. The scenery i.e. the court, the centre net, ball boys / collectors and crowd are also fantastically rendered.

Sounds - spot on! they capture the ball bounce and racket strings exactly like it should be and mixing this with the usual upbeat and vibrant Sega soundtracks create a real feel of energy when you're playing.

Finally, the controls (although basic) justify this to be a great game and it's easy to move, hit and dive to hit the ball. It is overall very well presented and to this day remains a huge Dreamcast hit and leaves behind an everlasting legacy, Something I think we'd all agree is that many sports games haven't and can't do.

  

Overall:

8 / 10

 

 

 

 

 





 5. ChuChu Rocket

 

 

Synopsis:

Control the mice around the board and lead them away from the cats!

 

My review:

This is another of those games where I thought "how can people honestly find this sort of game where you control mice fun?". Once again, my hands are in the air and I admit after reluctantly giving this game a go, I found my eyes (in particular) and my hands desperately trying to keep up and lead the mice to safety.

Graphically, the game has great dynamics, fluid gameplay and fun 3D characters which interact together. The animation and attention to detail which the developers put in, make it clear that they'd tried hard.

Sounds in the game aren't special, it's just one piece of background music along with various squeaks from the mice. However with a puzzle game like this, there's not much more you really need, and because of this it excuses itself from lowered overall score ratings.

As for controls, again it's very simple all you do is control the mice in running left, up, right, down.

You may be thinking after reading this is "What's making this game as great as it is?", the honest answer is just the fact that it's different to most puzzle games, was included free with the dreamcast (for Europe only), and was the first Dreamcast game with online support. Put simply, Sega made a very simple game that was addictive (and remains to be), along with the ability to game against other players online.

 

Overall:

7.5 / 10

 

 

 

 

 

4. Ecco The Dolphin - Defender Of The Future

 

 

Synopsis:

Many years ago, an alien race known as "The Foe" had attacked Earth. However, they soon found themselves defeated by the resistance of Humans and Dolphins. Now, "The Foe" are back and with a new destructive intention - destroy the guardian (the sacred crystal which shields the Earth). Though they managed to penetrate the guardians shields and destroy half of the crystal, part of the guardian makes contact with Ecco and explains that it's all in his hands (or rather flippers) to save Earth.

 

My review:

I was a little sceptical about the storyline, aliens attack Earth but yet it's dolphins that are the main resistance? sounded to me a bit...alright definitely ridiculous!

However, I thought that it'd be worth a go and decided to purchase it for a little over £6.

After playing for 10 minutes I was truly captivated. The graphics and level of detail put into the scenery was truly breath-taking. Each animal has realistic looks and bright vibrant colours (so bright you actually use a certain group of fish to light your way through darkened caves!).

Aside from the animals, the developers really put a lot of thought into the rocks, sand, darkened caverns, plantation and the ocean. A good couple of examples that truly demonstrate this would be the barnacles and moss found on the rocks, or going through the darkened cavern to meet the giant octopus...the graphics are so detailed and it's clear that a lot of time was put in to perfect them.

Sounds? Well there's not just a single word that describes how flipping (no pun intended) fantastic both the soundtrack and the noises from the animals are!

The soundtrack is truly incredible. It's peaceful, calm, mellow and is overall a great game to play when you want to truly relax.

As for the sounds from the animals, Ecco can emit a sonar and when another dolphin hears this it will come toward Ecco and they'll begin talking by clicking and squeaking. (Thankfully there's subtitles to translate what they're saying!)

but this just adds to the realism and again has been so rounded to perfection.

Gameplay on the other hand (and I hate to say this) can get a little bit dull as it's limited as to what you can do. Sure it's a huge ocean and you can free roam, do tricks above water and interact with dolphins, turtles, whales etc. but you are at the end of the day a dolphin.

Controls are simple enough to master, and overall there is plenty of fun to be had playing Ecco.

Overall, the graphics, sounds and ease of controls make this game very enjoyable.

 

Overall:

8 / 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. House Of The Dead 2

 

 

Synopsis:

Just 14 months after the 1998 curien case (featured in the first of the HOTD installments), strange occurrences are now occurring in Venice. Coincidentally, this is also the last known whereabouts of the former DBR Coproration CEO Caleb Goldman (the main protaganist in the first of the series' installments). You take the role of AMS agent James Taylor, and try to find out who is behind the attacks and to put a stop to it all.

 

My review:

It has a solid storyline complete with a recurring enemy (who doesn't love that?).

As ports to console go, some get it right, some get it wrong...Sega however always seem to get it spot on! (except for the HOTD 1 port to Sega Saturn...let's move on from that shall we).

Again we'll start with graphics, and to be perfectly honest they're not fantastic. The background details is blurred and pixelated and overall the best way to describe the graphics in one word would be "grainy". However, the detail of the characters and the objects that they interact with (for example the boat), is perhaps the most polished off.

Sounds through the game vary but they're not memorable for being good (quite the opposite in fact). The soundtrack starts spooky, then gets very energetic as you begin to defeat a boss, however on a positive note, it does seem to integrate quite nicely with the game.

Voice acting...absolutely hilarious (in a bad way) "don't come, don't come" and "Don't care who it is no-one is gonna get away with this". It is absolutely terrible! but in the same sense it's funny, it makes you laugh and it's weirdly entertaining. If you don't believe how bad the voice acting is do a Google for "House of the dead 2 bad" you'll see (as of writing this) that "voice acting" is second in the list.

Gameplay and controls now...easy enough to master, just aim, shoot and reload. All the movements are done for you on set paths.

You're now thinking "the graphics are grainy, the sounds are bad...why is this in the top 10 - let alone number 3!"...well, the game is just addictive! it's a great port to console, provides plenty of laughs and is a great shoot em up! it's just one you know you should hate but it's just so brilliant!

Overall:
8 / 10

 

 

 

 

 2. Headhunter

 

 

Synopsis:

Set in the near future in a large US city, the story takes place where criminals are now punished by a prison sentence and forced to have their internal organs removed if they lose in a fight (set in an underground arena). You play Jack Wade (a Headhunter) who enforces the law alongside the Anti Crime Network (the ACN)

My review:
I'm going to start with a bad experience myself and others have had...there's a huge...and I mean HUGE great game break right at the end. Set in the Biotech labs, you go down an elevator, through a cryochamber and activate a crane. However, should you die the crane will no longer activate the next time meaning you can't finish the game. If you buy this game (I wouldn't have a dreamcast without it!) My advice would be to create 2 save games (one before you go actually get to the Biotech labs and one that you can save regularly as you progress). This way if you get to the game break you can at least start from the entrance (long winded I know but worth it). Now onto the good...no let me change that... great parts about this game.
Graphically, this game has brilliant artwork. The characters, objects and scenery are very well done and it is very enjoyable to play. Not sure if anyone else experiences this when playing a game, but in Headhunter, the weather is sunny and this means that most of the scenery is bright and inside buildings are light...it makes you feel as if you're there and although to some it may sound silly, it makes the mood of the game brighter and happier. I think if the game was set in rainy weather it would be quite a depressing play!
Sounds and the soundtrack are also very well integrated within the game. The soundtrack sometimes gets very tense and through one mission where you have to defuse bombs scattered across the city, it begins a very patriotic and "proud" musical score (courtesy of Richard Jaques and recorded in Abbey Road studios, London, England). The sounds of the voice acting, motorbike, footsteps and weaponry are also good. They stick true to how it would sound in real life and again it's clear that the developers devoted their time to get this right.
Gameplay and controls are up next, and boy have I got a lot to talk about this.
Where to start? You are an agent with a sports motorbike (courtesy of Angela Stern - an allie) which you ride and gain skill points, you stealthily invade the premises owned by the wolfback, you solve puzzles to progress, you visit the headhunter training facilities to upgrade your tactics and weaponry available, and unravel many secrets about larger corporations etc.
Aside this, there's multiple villians and "bosses" to confront, secret HQ's, bad guys turn into good guys etc. and mixed in with all that are some "I never saw that coming moments!"...The list is just endless!

Overall:
9 / 10


 

 

1. Shenmue

 

 

Synopsis:

You are Ryo Hazuki, your father has been murdered and you seek to find the killer.

You're in Yokosuka (a coastal fishing town in Japan). On your quest you must talk to people to get more details and clues as to the location of the person responsible for killing your father.

 

My review:

Mentioned in the "Silver" review, I'm not usually a fan of RPG's. However this is without doubt the biggest exception!

As usual we'll begin with the graphics of the game...they are unbelievable! the level of realism put into this game to make Yokosuka look like it does in reality is just outstanding. Frequently when walking around the town I stop and look around to see how well detailed the scenery, buildings, characters and objects are. By today's standards it may look a bit dated, but for those of you that are able to appreciate that the year was 1999 at the time of it's release...it has certainly aged well.

Sounds in this game are in everything, even from fruit hitting the floor there is a sound...I mean who on earth though "we must put the sound of a lemon hitting the floor in"? Although it sounds bizarre, it makes the game outstandingly more realistic. As for the soundtrack, it's been released seperately so you can buy the audio CD on most major retail shopping sites...need I say more? OK well the soundtrack is phenomenal (and that's not a word I use lightly), in fact if memory serves me well, there was a concert dedicated to playing the soundtrack back in the early 2000's.

Control and gameplay? well, the controls firstly are simple to get your head around and navigate (and you'll be doing plenty of that). Gameplay? again it's not very easy, but it's not extremely difficult. It's...just right. It's enough difficulty to keep you continuing on through the storyline, but not overwhelmingly hard that you think "stuff this". Throughout the game you'll be talking to characters, fighting, and taking part in fun minigames such as motorbike or forklift racing, bar fights, running through the streets and alley's etc.

This is definitely a game you should get when buying a dreamcast, there's hours of mystery, seeking and fun to be had within Shenmue (and the sequels almost equally as good)...let's hope a Shenmue 3 will be on it's way soon...

 

Overall:

9.5 / 10