Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 52 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/_______> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <________\
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//// ~ Issue #52 - 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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> DREAMCAST QUESTIONS: Please note because of the huge
amount of mail I get personally, I can't reply to all the
Dreamcast questions sorry. Please send your questions to
Rob@sega2000.net
As he does a great job on our mailbag. Thanks.
> 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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September has been a big month for Sonic Team! Also Yuji
Naka's birthday, Sonic Team announced 4 brand new games.
This issue our cover feature rounds up all the details
on each one.
Also everyone interested in Football has no doubt read the
stunning NFL 2K reviews, but how does NFL Blitz 2000 fare?
Sajed gives his thoughts in this weeks review.
The news this week includes both good and bad. A major
game has been canned, good and bad Sega Rally 2 details
for the U.S, and a powerful new memory card. Don't forget
to check out the weekly rumors either for more Crazy
Taxi news.
We've got a brand new section, Sega X-tra telling you
the best of what's happened last week. Plus a new mailbag
editor at Sega 2000 ( Rob@sega2000.net ) to take your
Dreamcast letters and some questions.
Finally, we've printed these before, but that was back at
the start of the year. For all those who bought the new
Sonic Adventure, here are all the cheats.
Until next week then, Happy Gaming!
~ Graham "Tails" Parker (Editor)
> Dreamcast Questions to Rob@sega2000.net
.oO Page 1 - Cover Story Oo.
.oO Page 2 - The News Oo.
.oO Page 3 - Rumors Oo.
.oO Page 4 - Importing Oo.
!NEW! .oO Page 5 - Sega X-tra Oo. !NEW!
.oO Page 6 - Review Oo.
.oO Page 7 - Cheats Oo.
.oO Page 8 - OUR SUPPORT SITES Oo.
.oO Page 9 - Credits Oo.
HOT QUOTE This Issue: "Abliet early, missing any characters,
they still look like a true 2nd generation Dreamcast title."
-- Phantasy Star Online - Inside the cover feature
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======| COVER STORY |=====================================
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>>>> Sonic Team Roundup
>>>> Written by Tails
Near the end of August, Sonic Team announced it was
developing 4 brand new games. As you can imagine, big Sonic
Team fans (me included) went into over drive, Wow!
Nights 2 was both confirmed (in the American DCM) and
denied (in Next Generation I believe) by Yuji Naka. Burning
Rangers 2 was a popular choice, and of course after the
success when Sonic Team revealed the original Nights, we
were waiting with baited breath to see what Sonic Team
would come up with this time.
With all respect to Sonic Team, I was a little disappointed
with the first 3 games unfortunately.
1) Sonic Adventure International:
The first was Sonic Adventure International. Which is the
American version, released in Japan. With only some bug
fixes, and even with the extra internet options (download
more tracks for the Twinkle Circuit for example - Excellent!),
it isn't much different from the original.
To be released in Japan on 14th October 1999.
2) Samba de Amigo:
One of Sonic Team's new games was to be using the Naomi arcade
hardware, and this is it.
The object is to shake the maraca's in time with the character
on screen, and in the right positions. After your done, you
get a rating, and with a little good timing move onto the next
level. Similar to an old mini game in Toejam & Earl in fact.
The game pits you against the computer, or another player. The
better your shak'n, the better your score. At the end of each
level you receive a rank, and need at least a C to complete
the stage.
Sounds fun, but given the special controllers, I doubt there
will be a Dreamcast version. Still over in Japan, anything can
happen.
To be released in the arcades late this year.
3) Chu Chu Rocket:
Originally the story got around the net this was a 4
player fighting game, over the Dreamcast Network! That
certainly grabbed my attention, but unfortunately it wasn't
true.
Chu Chu Rocket is actually a 4 player puzzle game, that can
be played over the Dreamcast network. While the details of
how to play haven't been revealed yet, the game features
battle mode, puzzle mode, and regular game mode.
Gamers have the choice to buy just the game, or a pack
bundled with an orange controller. This means it really is
designed for Multi-player only I believe.
To be released in Japan on 11th November 1999.
4) Phantasy Star Online:
When rumors broke out about this game, they suggested
"PSO" on Sonic Team's home page stood for "Phantasy Star
Online". Could it be true? Yes!!
While I was really disappointed they aren't working on
Nights 2, this easily makes up for that... and even kicks
Shenmue off the top of my 10 most wanted in fact!
It's not a true sequel to the previous Phantasy Star games,
but more of a spin off. Fans of the series don't despair,
there will be special guest appearances of the old characters
for you to spot.
The online adventure caters for 4 players, and while few
people are a little disappointed it's not a mass online RPG,
this means Sonic Team should be able to include a solid
story line.
While your not playing online with 3 other characters, the
CPU will take over the rest of your team. Personally I
wish you could use the 3 other controllers to control the
rest of your team with friends, but maybe Sonic Team will
surprise me :)
The first 4 screens revealed look simply stunning!! Abliet
early, missing any characters, they still look like a true
2nd generation Dreamcast title. What really gives PSO's
graphics that extra nice touch is Sonic Team's bright and
clear textures.
If anyone can create the ultimate Phantasy Star world in 3D,
it's Sonic Team.
Look out for more details soon, but until then check out
the first screens and Sonic Team movie below...
http://www.sega2000.net/cginews/items/78.html - Screens
http://www.sega2000.net/downloads.htm - Movie
To be released in late 2000.
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======| NEWS |============================================
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>>>> Outcast Cancelled
DC.IGN brings bad news this week. Infogrames PC hit,
Outcast, has been cancelled for the Dreamcast. No reason
was given, but it's believed the voxel-based engine was
going to be too hard to translate onto Dreamcast.
Well when the game was released on PC, I rested happily
in the knowledge I could play this on Dreamcast next
year. disappointed especially without a reason.
>>>> Sega Sells 500,000 Dreamcasts
Onto the good news now. This week Sega Of America announced
another excellent sales mark for the Dreamcast.
Over 514,000 consoles have been sold since the launch just
2 weeks ago. To compare, Playstation reached the half million
mark in four months in 1995 and Nintendo 64 reached the same
number after two months at retail when it launched in 1996.
Also the Apple iMac personal computer took six weeks to sell
278,000 units. And, DVD in its first year only sold 430,000
units.
The Dreamcast has captured more than 60% of all new console
sales, and software is still flying off the shelves too.
NPD research shows that four of the top five games for the
week ending September 11 were Sega Dreamcast titles, including
Sega's "Sonic Adventure," Sega Sports' "NFL 2K," Namco's "Soul
Calibur" and Midway's "Ready 2 Rumble Boxing."
Consumer demand for Sega Dreamcast is continuing at a record
pace," said Chris Gilbert, senior vice president of sales,
Sega of America, Inc. "All of our retailers are reporting
huge sales for the system and we are working very closely
with them to meet the massive demand we are anticipating
for the holiday season."
>>>> 4mb Memory Card
EMS, a china based company, has developed a new hi-capacity
memory card for the Dreamcast. Storing 800 blocks, compared
to 200 from Sega's VMU, it also increases it's storage
capacity by letting you transfer files onto any IBM or
compatible PC. This opens new possibility's such as sending
your saved games, or mini games, over the internet.
Extreme Imports have already got a supplier lined up, and
should have the new cards in stock from October 4th, coming
in at around $69AUD (around US$40). We'll keep you updated.
>>>> US Sega Rally 2 Details
Details on the US version of Sega Rally 2 have been sparse
to say the least. Well at last we have a little solid news
for you...
The release date is set for 9th November 1999, and doesn't
have online support. The network mode from the Jap version
has been taken out since online gaming won't happen in the
US until mid 2000, and multi player races take place with
split screen mode.
What will be very interesting is if Sega releases an online
version mid next year, or an upgrade GD-ROM for people who
already bought a copy.
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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.
>>>> Extra Tracks For Crazy Taxi
The Famitsu magazine has revealed a very interesting
addition to the Dreamcast version of Crazy Taxi.
After players finish the arcade level, there's at least
one extra track to play on. They didn't say exactly how
many extra tracks, but this is great news for anyone
looking forward to Crazy Taxi (me included), and will no
doubt seriously increase the games lastability.
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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 Blitz ||
|| 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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======| REVIEW |==========================================
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>>>> NFL Blitz 2000
>>>> Written By Sajed Ahmed
There are two types of people in this world: football
purists who eat, sleep, and live the game and everyone
else. For what it's worth, I'm very much the former, and as
such, I approached Midway's arcade based football title NFL
Blitz 2000 with plenty of skepticism - after having shunned
the arcade original and the other home versions until now.
Imagine my horror when I saw only seven "skill players" trot
onto the field representing each team. How traumatic it must
have been for me to watch the venerable Jerry Rice hamming
it up and high stepping his way into the end zone - things
that just wouldn't happen in the real NFL. However, after
recovering from my initial shock and becoming acquainted
with the games' outlandish premise, NFL Blitz 2000 wasn't
half bad, especially if you can overlook the silliness of
its purely arcade football action.
Much like the previous games in the series, and other games
in the genre like NFL Xtreme, Midway threw out all the rules
and regulations of real life football in Blitz 2000. Gone
are the pass interference calls or late hits, and are
replaced by bone crunching tackles and hilarious taunts. In
fact, in typical Blitz fashion, the first downs are thirty
yards away. Blasphemy, I tell you. But through it all, if
you enjoyed the arcade original, or aren't really interested
in testing your mettle in a real football sim like NFL 2k,
then NFL Blitz 2000 could have you hooked. The game features
three different modes: Tournament, Arcade, and Season. The
tournament mode lets the player take control of up to eight
teams in single elimination play. The Arcade mode, as the
name suggests, takes the extreme action to the max, and
recreates a carbon copy of the gameplay in the arcade
original on your Dreamcast. The season mode, which seems
like a contradiction in a action/sports title like Blitz
2000, lets you take your team, complete with the
abbreviated rosters, on a quest for the Super Bowl.
The Dreamcast's analog joystick fits the action and controls
of this game to a tee. The lightning fast double and triple
passes are pulled off using the game's default control
settings, but NFL Blitz 2000 also implements a more
traditional icon style passing system. Although, why would
you even think of using sim-like icon style passing, when
the point of Blitz 2000 is to get as far away from games
like Madden and NFL 2k as possible? In fact, you'll quickly
realize that the default passing system works better in the
game anyway and, for arcade pros of the title, will also
feel the most comfortable.
Presumably, keeping with the extreme football theme, the
team playbooks are more than a bit shabby. Yes, Blitz 2000
does allow you to customize existing plays and create new
ones, but as you begin to get into the game the playbooks
can get repetitive. This doesn't deter as far as bogging
down the gameplay, however it does take away from the depth.
But for every weakness like a paltry playbook, there are the
over the top features like the Turbo Meter, which shows
exactly how much energy the player has left to pull of some
of the more insane moves.
The best thing about Blitz 2000 on the Dreamcast however is
that it is the first home conversion, which completely
mimics the arcade original visually. The intricate graphics,
right down to the player specific detail, runs at a super
smooth frame rate - keeping up easily with the fast paced
gameplay. Even though Blitz 2000 is not as well animated or
rendered as the other Dreamcast football title NFL 2k, it
brings the crisp visuals of the arcade version home to the
DC. If you've found yourself chucking countless quarters
into the NFL Blitz arcade machine, get Blitz 2000 on the
Dreamcast and save yourself a ton of dough.
For die-hard football fans like myself you can't go wrong
with Sega Sports NFL 2k, but if you're looking for some
fast paced, multiplayer football fun then Midway has just
what you need in Blitz 2000. The four player romps are
genuinely entertaining and the over the top action keeps you
engaged and amused for hours. This is a quick fix,
multiplayer sports game if there ever was one. You won't
find much depth to NFL Blitz 2000, but you will find loads
of short-term fun.
Graphics = 83%
Sound = 76%
Gameplay = 77%
Lastability = 71%
Overall = 79%
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======| CHEATS |==========================================
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CORRECTION: The Turbo Mode cheat we printed last week for
NFL Blitz 2000, was actually from NFL 2K, and found by
"Nookie Boy" instead of Mr. Jason "STIX" Buckley. Sorry
about that, but most sites corrected it over the week
at least.
>>>> Sonic Adventure
O Ultimate Sonic Adventure FAQ:
The Ultimate Sonic Adventure FAQ can be downloaded below...
http://www.sega2000.net/cheats/sa_faq.txt
Written by Chris Kohler is certainly a must see!
O Secret Mini Game:
Plug the controller with a VMS into port D. This will
cause your VMS to download a secret puzzle game.
O Super Sonic:
If Sonic Adventure is finished with all 6 characters, you
can play as Super Sonic.
O Sonic Wallpaper:
If you put the Sonic Adventure CD into your PC, you can
find several wallpaper images in the "EXTRA" directory.
Note to importers: The pictures aren't the same as the Jap
version.
O Snowboarding:
Immediately before entering the snowboarding portion of
the game on Ice Cap, press X to get a blue snowboard or B
to get a yellow snowboard. Contributed by kidpsyclone@yahoo.com
O Clean Pause Screen:
Press X + Y to get a clean pause screen. Contributed by
kidpsyclone@yahoo.com
O Twinkle Park Camera Views:
To change the camera view in the Twinkle Park race press Up.
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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
Sega 2000 has grown a lot lately, and one section that
really has... is reader reviews. Sega 2000 is THE place to
send your reader reviews. Don't forget to send in your Top
10 Most Wanted games either.
>>>> 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 - Rob@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.
