Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 51 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/_______> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <________\
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//// ~ Issue #51 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com ~ \\\\
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\\\\ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net ////
\\\\ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.net ////
\\\\ Perfect Zero - www.perfect-zero.com ////
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o> Please SCROLL DOWN to Editors Comments for the start <o
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======| ABOUT DREAMCAST WEEKLY |==========================
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> For past issues please visit www.dreamcastweekly.com
> For the best import games, visit the shop we're proudly
sponsored by... WWW.EXTREME-IMPORTS.COM
> For the latest game news, reviews and previews visit the
Premier Video Games Site http://www.totalvideogames.com
With over 300 archived News Articles and the greatest game
reviews. Up-dated throughout the day with everything!
----------------- www.totalvideogames.com ----------------
> Our domain name for DC Weekly is provided thanks to Total
Video Games, the UK's premier video games magazine up-dated
daily, and The Junction, the best place for Teens to chat.
------------------ www.the-junction.com ------------------
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======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
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This weeks issue includes a preview of Castlevania:
Resurrection, an interview with No Cliché from DC-AUS,
cheats for Cool Borders Burrrn (Jap), NFL 2K, and House
Of The Dead 2. Plus of course all the gaming news, and we
put a terrible rumor started this week to rest.
The Sega Dreamcast is still on a roll, smashing through
even SOA's predictions. Meanwhile Europeans are
awaiting October 15th, and Australia and New Zealand
around November 15th.
Now with the US launch titles out of the way though, gamers
are looking to what's next. This week hordes of new games
were announced, including Star Trek: New Worlds, Half Life,
Phantasy Star Online, Street Fighter III: W Impact, Star
Wars Episode 1: Arcade Racer and more.
Unfortantly the game I was really hoping for, Nights 2,
looks certain not to happen for the time being. All 4 games
from Sonic Team have now been confirmed at the Tokyo Game
Show. Oh well the disappointment lasts only a few seconds
when I think about the possibility's of Phantasy Star Online!
** goes off into a dreamy state thinking of Phantasy Star
Online **
Until next week then, Happy Gaming!
~ Graham "Tails" Parker (Editor)
.oO Page 1 - Cover Story Oo.
.oO Page 2 - The News Oo.
.oO Page 3 - Rumors Oo.
.oO Page 4 - Importing Oo.
.oO Page 5 - Preview Oo.
.oO Page 6 - Cheats Oo.
.oO Page 7 - OUR SUPPORT SITES Oo.
.oO Page 8 - Credits Oo.
HOT QUOTE This Issue: "The system is not far from a
programmers dream, which for me, the most important
part of a console success."
-- No Cliché Interview - Dreamcast Australia
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======| COVER STORY |=====================================
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>>>> No Cliché Interview
>>>> Written By David Warner
This week Dreamcast Australia had an excellent interview
with No Cliché , developers of Toy Commander.
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
To a lot of people it is surprising to hear that many of
the worlds best games are developed in France. In October
1994 Adeline released Little Big Adventure/Relentless to
the world. The game was graphically superior to any other
game at the time and managed to sell a staggering 500,000
copies. Two years later Adeline released Time Commando on
PSX and PC which also managed to sell 500,000 copies, even
though it received average reviews. In June 1997 LBA2 hit
the stores and continued the success for Adeline with
300,000 copies sold to date. After all this success, Sega
decided that Adeline were the perfect company to develop
games on the most advanced games console ever, the Dreamcast
and bought the company. No Cliché was born, and Toy
Commander is their first game on the Dreamcast. I decided
to have a chat with Frederick Raynal, the companies'
Creative Director.
DC-AUS: Firstly could you tell us a little bit about
yourself, your role in the company and how long you have
been with No Cliché.
Hi, I'm Frederick Raynal, the creative director at No Cliché. My
role is to make the games come alive. I founded Adeline Software
in February 1993 and created the games Little Big Adventure/
elentless (PC, PSX), Time Commando (PC, PSX), LBA2/Twinsen's
Odyssey. In July 1997, the company was sold to Sega to build
a new company called No Cliché.
DC-AUS: No Cliché have had a great past with computer games.
Both LBA 1&2 were huge hits for the company what made you decide
to develop on Sega's new console?
We were searching for a new worldwide distributor, then we met
SEGA (they used to come to us each year in search for new
products). They explained to us their new behavior, and
Dreamcast's features. We were amazed. But what made us decide
to work on a console instead of PC's was the fact that todays
PC's are too different. I mean, the CPU power between "small"
and "big" PC's, all the different 3D cards, sound cards etc.
You can't tune the game exactly how you want. When you start
developing on a console you are sure that everybody will have
the same system, so you can tune the performance, graphics,
and sounds exactly.
DC-AUS: When did development of Toy Commander begin?
We started Toy Commander at the beginning of No Cliché in July
1997. At the beginning it was more research on the new hardware,
and game concepts.
DC-AUS: How long have you had the Dreamcast development kits?
First kits arrived around September 1997.
DC-AUS: How many people have worked on the title?
Except a few people, everybody in the company worked on it.
That's about 20 people.
DC-AUS: The graphics in Toy Commander are reminiscent of
Disney's Toy Story. Was that movie an inspiration for the
game at all?
No. We tried to avoid anything that can make player think
about Toy Story. That's why active small soldiers are not
animated. Our first inspiration was Micro Machines. Didier
Chanfray, our Artistic Director, wanted to race with planes
in a house. I came up with missions and bosses.
DC-AUS: Can you explain a little about some of the features
in the game.
There are so many things in the game, it's difficult to
explain just a little. You can drive over 35 different
vehicles from planes to jeeps including tanks, spaceships,
cars, helicopters, etc. There are more than 50 missions quite
different. You have fight, strategic, dexterity and race
missions. 7 rooms including 6 missions + 1 Boss stage.
DC-AUS: What Dreamcast peripherals does the game use?
The game uses the VMU to save high-scores and progression,
the standard analog joystick and Vibration-pack. We don't
use the steering wheel or the fishing controller, but
anyway you can't drive a plane with them.
DC-AUS: Are there any VMU mini games?
Not yet, but check our web-site, something may happen.
DC-AUS: What has developing on Sega's new system been like?
Forget everything about the nightmare of programming the Saturn.
Dreamcast is well thought out, powerful and easy to understand.
The system is not far from a programmers dream, which for me, the
most important part of a console success. Just a few things could
have been done better, like the VMU which is not very powerful.
DC-AUS: How have Sega Europe been treating the 1.5 party
developers such as yourself?
As everything else, we are very happy about our relation with
Sega Europe (and Sega Japan). They've been careful and
helpful. Maybe it sounds like "ok you don't want to say
anything bad", but it isn't. Until now, quite everything
is perfect.
DC-AUS: Do Sega have a say at all about the content in
the game or is it all up to No Cliché?
It's all up to us. They gave us complete freedom. They
even asked us to make "something different". But we
listened to a lot of Japanese and American testers about
their preferences about gameplay, features etc...
DC-AUS: At the moment you also have another game in
development for the Dreamcast called Agartha. Can you
give us any information about that title and possibly a
release date?
Just a little: It will be an Horror Adventure game. We
created something new when we did "Alone in the Dark 1"
and we'll try to make something different once again.
DC-AUS: Will there ever be another sequel for LBA (on
Dreamcast perhaps)?
I hope so, but I don't know when. It would be a Dreamcast game.
DC-AUS: Any final comments?
We had a lot of fun creating it (Toy Commander), I just
hope that everybody will have as much fun playing it.
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======| NEWS |============================================
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>>>> Sega Sells 400,000 Dreamcasts
Well a few months back, Sega Of America announced they
hope to sell 400,000 Dreamcast's within the first month.
The reality is they sold over that many in just 1 week!
This is certainly great news for Sega, and encouraging to
3rd parties thinking about developing on Dreamcast.
>>>> 100mb Zip Drive Revealed
At the Pre TGS meeting today, Sega Of Japan revealed the
100MB ATAPI Zip Drive.
The Zip Drive sits under your Dreamcast, and while not
many other details were revealed, it can obviously be
used to download masses of data. New levels for games,
and new cars for racing games for example. Also off the
internet, movies, game demos, sounds, the possibility's
are endless.
Certainly an exciting add-on to the Dreamcast, and
hopefully more details will be revealed in the TGS.
>>>> New Shenmue Details
Yu Suzuki gave the press new details about Shenmue at
SOJ's Pre TGS meeting.
The first is that the game will indeed ship on 4 discs,
however the 4th has a different use. Dubbed "Shenmue
Passport", the CD will be used to connect to the net,
and download hints, check out information on all the
characters and locations, and upload your highest scores
in the mini games. These games include: Space Harrier,
Afterburner, Hang-On, darts, slot machine, "70 man
battle", QTE #1, QTE #1, and finally a forklift race!
The VMU's role in Shenmue was also detailed, but without
any mention of a mini game. While playing, the VMU will
display the current time in the game, the previous
location you visited, and how much time you spent there.
Finally, most people have heard at least some music from
Shenmue, and it's certainly nothing sort of a masterpiece.
The good news is that the game will contain over a
whopping 130 musical tracks!
- www.sega2000.net has just added also 40 hi-res screens
of Shenmue and the Facial Demos
>>>> Famitsu Magazine Ratings Are In
The Famitsu Magazine ratings from Japan are quite possibly
the most read in the world. Below are the latest verdicts,
but I'd still be interested to know why Landers scored so
low. Thanks to Dreamcast-HQ...
Climax Landers - 7/7/7/6
Pop'n Music 2 - 8/8/7/8
Tokonretsuden 4 - 8/8/7/8
>>>> 2 Street Fighter Games!
Capcom has always been a strong supporter of Sega, and this
week they announced something that is bound to keep Street
Fighter fans happy.
Making good use of the 1GB capacity of the GD-ROM, "Street
Fighter III: W Impact" will include both the original
Street Fighter III, and Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. No
details of extra modes have been revealed yet, but we'll
keep you updated.
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======[ RED HOT RUMORS ]==================================
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Welcome to the rumors section of Dreamcast Weekly, each
week we'll keep you upto-date with the latest rumors going
around. Written by Tails.
>>>> Online Gaming Delayed
A rumors began this week when Gamespot reported Online
Gaming for the Dreamcast being delayed till late 2000.
However luckly Sega's PR department quickly gave out the
correct information. There are no delays, and there will
be 12 online games out before Q3 2000 in fact.
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======| IMPORT-ANT MATTERS |==============================
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__________________________________________________________
E x t r e m e - I m p o r t s
www.extreme-imports.com
www.extreme-imports.com
______________________________________________________
|| ||
|| We'll keep you upto date with the latest news on the ||
|| importing scene - Tails. ||
|| ||
|| >>>> US DREAMCAST GAMES - THIS THURSDAY ||
|| ||
|| The following games will be available from this ||
|| Thursday. More updates on www.extreme-imports.com ||
|| ||
|| o Soul Calibur ||
|| o Sega Sports: NFL2K ||
|| o Ready to Rumble ||
|| o NFL Bltiz ||
|| o Trick Style ||
|| o Mortal Kombat Gold ||
|| o TNN Hardcore Heat ||
|| o Hydro Thunder ||
|| o Airforce Delta ||
|| ||
|| >>>> AUS$399 FOR A DREAMCAST - AROUND US$199 ||
|| ||
|| Now you can import a Dreamcast for the same price as ||
|| it will retail for... or if you live in Australia or ||
|| New Zealand, cheaper than it will retail for! All ||
|| the details are at www.extreme-imports.com ||
|| ||
|| >>>> IMPORTING A US DREAMCAST ||
|| ||
|| Extreme Imports are stocking the US Dreamcast along ||
|| with the Jap version from now on. The system comes ||
|| with one controller, demo disk and 56k hardware ||
|| modem. We'll be selling the system for $499AUD - ||
|| includes a step down converter (240~220V - 100~110V) ||
|| for European and Australian customers. Games will be ||
|| no more than $99AUD with a high possibility of ||
|| $89AUD or less. ||
|| ||
|| To pre-order, please visit our website. ||
|| ||
||_____ooo000ooo www.extreme-imports.com ooo000ooo____||
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======| PREVIEW |=========================================
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>>>> Castlevania: Resurrection
>>>> Developer: Konami
>>>> Release Date: Winter 1999
>>>> Written By Chris Marose
I've been a fan of Konami since day one. And they've had
some great moments in gaming history. Notably the
Castlevania series, which led to it's inevitable catastrophe
(There's 12 Castlevania's, of course one was going to fail)
on the 64. Or atleast that's what they had us thinking. The
3D translation of Castlevania proved to be quite a
disappointment on the N64. However, Konami has high hopes
that the Dreamcast will not let them down. That's right,
the Castlevania series will return with all the monsters,
goblins, and a certain bloodsucking vampire for a 12th time,
in an attempt to redeem the once glorious series. Konami's
task isn't as difficult as it seems. Close examination of
screens shows that errors with plagued Castlevania 64 have
been taken care of. Thus allowing everything else to proceed
as planned. Be prepared for the launch, because this game
will blow you away.
As CR begins in the year 1666, the sinister Countess plans
on bringing a new era of darkness to the world. She begins
this by summoning Lord Dracula and his legion of atrocious
creatures from the pits of hell. The first thing on their
agenda is to destroy the Belmont Family. That's where the
play comes in, assuming the role of Sonya or Victor Belmont.
As you embark on this treacherous journey, your only friend
is your main weapon, a large whip. You pick up secondary
weapons when you find them (boomerangs, axes, weaker whips,
etc.) but they aren't very reliable. They're main features
are the special attacks they enable Sonya and Victor to do
depending on how many hearts you have.
The introduction of a 3rd dimensino didn't exactly work out
on the N64. So this leaves Konami fans wondering if history
will repeat itself on the DC. There's a simple solution to
this: check out our screenshots. The intricate detail on the
characters facial expressions and realistic lighting effects
are enough to stir up CR fans. And from what we've seen of
the wonderful environments, Konami can be forgiven for past
errors. With Castlevania: Resurrection running at more than
30 frames per second, people everywhere will be attracted
to this game just by its appearance. The environments in
particular are some of the best you'll ever see on the DC.
Being able to see the separate stones that create each wall
in a castle isn't difficult at all. And the eerie backgrounds
are just as impressive. Konami hasn't gone wrong in any
aspect of the game, atleast not yet.
Castlevania: Resurrection is getting closer to completion,
slated for a winter 1999 release. So far the only enigma
we have in our minds is if the music will be as
impressive as everything else in the game. Of course you
can expect terrifying sound effects plus past music
modified and brought back to life. However, we aren't
exactly sure if the sound track will be as impressive as
the rest of the game. Nonetheless, Castlevania
Resurrection is already looking like the best game on
the Dreamcast. This isn't confirmed, until we get to play
the game, but you just can't help but be excited.
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======| CHEATS |==========================================
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>>>> Cool Boarders Burrrn - JAP Version
O Alternate Outfits:
Every time you beat the game with a different character,
an extra outfit unlocks giving you three outfits to choose
from. Submitted by Chojin
O Bonuses:
To unlock the Credits board, beat all five stages. Beat
them again with the credits stage and you unlock the
snowman.
O Extra Boards:
To unlock hidden snowboards, beat the top scores for
each course.
>>>> House Of The Dead 2 - US Version
O Red Blood:
After you beat the game on Hard or Very Hard difficulty
setting, the Blood Color option will appear in the
options menu. - Contributed by Johnnyk403@aol.com
>>>> NFL Blitz 2000 - US Version
O Play On Turbo Mode:
In the Cheats menu option, type in TURBO (all in
capital letters) to increase the speed of the gameplay.
- Contributed by Mr. Jason "STIX" Buckley.
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======| BEST OF THE WEB |=================================
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There are sooooo many Sega sites across the web, wouldn't
it be great if one place listed the most interesting bits??
Presenting the "Best Of The Web" section...
>>>> Sega X - www.segadreamcast.net
Plenty of news added every day, and the best coverage of
the US Launch details you'll find anywhere.
>>>> Sega 2000 - www.sega2000.net
With HUGE daily updates, Sega 2000 has really grown lately.
This week is the final chance to enter our Reader Reviews
contest too, with the winner getting a free US Dreamcast
Game of their choice - Thanks to Extreme Imports.
>>>> The Next Level - www.the-nextlevel.com
The Next Level is a multi-platform gaming magazine focused on
all current and upcoming next-generation systems. We provide
up-to-date news, in-depth reviews, reader reviews, intriguing
editorials, and more.
>>>> Sega Next - www.seganext.com
"Live the Dream" World class Sega coverage. One of the
newer websites dedicated to Sega and their Dreamcast on
the internet, SegaNext has quickly emerged as a worthy
competitor. With a crisp clean layout and a healthy
supply of content, this is a must stop for anyone even
vaguely interested in Sega.
>>>> Perfect Zero - http://www.perfect-zero.com
A brand new design, and what a design!! You have to see this!
They have the biggest collection of video game mp3's, video's
(including some Saturn video's you've probably never seen
before) and more. Also don't forget to vote for your favorite
staff member.
>>>> The Sonic Zone - www.suneet.com/soniczone/
Updated daily with a HUGE amount of Sonic content that is
sure to blow you away! From Fan Fiction to Chatting to
Cheats and even Fan Created Games this is your one stop
Sonic site. You can now send online postcards too!!
>>>> Gaming Central Starpath - www.startpath.com/gamingcentral
Our newest support site and provides hundreds of links for
anything a gamer might be interested in.
>>>> SegaDC - www.segadc.co.nz
Updated daily with lots of news, a forum and more, this is
a must see site for any Sega fan.
>>>> DC Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
Dreamcast Australia has all the latest coverage of the
Dreamcast delay in Australia (yes, it's official) with a
full press release from Ozisoft surrounding the
circumstance. DCA has also put up the latest OziSoft's
interview which covers almost everything related to the
Dreamcast launch in Australia, as well as general
topics. Don't forget the monthly poll, daily news and much
much more.
The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at
www.dreamcastweekly.com :) We've got the history of the
magazine, daily news and plenty more. Specially if your a
webmaster, there is lots of great information about how
you can be involved as well! Then in the future... who knows,
hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day :)
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======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
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O Writer: Graham Parker "Tails" - Webmaster@sega2000.net
O Co-editor: Steve - Steve@sega2000.net
O DC Questions: Please send to - Steve@sega2000.net
But please NO tips questions
>>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
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Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - Webmaster@sega2000.net
Written and edited by Graham Parker. No parts may be
copied without prior permission. I would have to send
out my group of highly trained thugs otherwise, who will
have a tea party with you until you crack and your mind
turns into jello... MMmmmmm.... Sweet Sweet Jello....
hehe.
