Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 62 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
__________________________________________________
/ \
/_______> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <________\
//// \\\\
//// ~ Issue #62 - December 14th 1999 ~ \\\\
\\\\ ////
\\\\ ////
\\\\ www.dreamcastweekly.com/forum/ ////
\\\\ ////
\\\\ Dreamcast Weekly Message Board ////
\\\\________________________________________////
\____________________________________________/
o> Please SCROLL DOWN to Editors Comments for the start <o
----------------------------------------------------------
======| ABOUT DREAMCAST WEEKLY |==========================
----------------------------------------------------------
> For back issues please visit www.dreamcastweekly.com
> DREAMCAST QUESTIONS: Please note because of the huge
amount of mail I get personally, I regret that I can't
reply to all the Dreamcast questions. Please send your
DREAMCAST questions to...
Rob@Sega2000.net - http://www.Sega2000.net
> For the latest game news, reviews and previews visit the
Premier Video Games Site 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 ------------------
----------------------------------------------------------
======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
----------------------------------------------------------
2 weeks left of this Millennium! Apologizes for this late
issue, but I literally had to write it all twice (a long
and VERY annoying story), never the less, it's on with
the features...
This issue includes the 2nd part of our History Of Video
Games feature. We look into the 80's, the decade of many
beginnings, like the Master System, Mega Drive, and NES.
Evolution: The World of Sacred Device is reviewed, the
Dreamcasts first RPG. We've also got news on Crazy Taxi,
Jambo Safari, and much more.
Sega X-tra makes it's return this week, and we have
cheats for the new game, Slave Zero.
All week long www.sega2000.net is holding a contest,
with a draw each day. You could win a Prima Guide Book
of your choice, and if you haven't seen these massive
guides before, I can say they are very impressive!! Just
enter your e-mail address on the site, (no mails will be
sent out to you) to enter. Good luck to everyone!!
Until next week then, Happy Gaming, and have a Merry Christmas!
~ 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 - Into The Web Oo.
.oO Page 4 - Review Oo.
.oO Page 5 - Sega X-tra Oo.
.oO Page 6 - Cheats Oo.
.oO Page 7 - OUR SUPPORT SITES Oo.
.oO Page 8 - Credits Oo.
HOT QUOTE This Issue: "An RPG without complicated, and
interactive, story elements is like Pamela Anderson
without silicone. She's still a beautiful woman, but
she's not 'Pamela Anderson.'"
-- Evolution Review
----------------------------------------------------------
======| COVER STORY |=====================================
----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The History Of Video Games - Part 1
>>>> Written by Tails
As the end of the Millennium comes, Dreamcast Weekly takes
a look back at how video games began, and grew to what we
know and play today. This is the 2nd of the 3 week feature,
covering the 1980's this issue, and the 1990's next week.
Finally, look out for a feature on the future of video
games in early January next year, and don't forget to
check out the History Trivia down the bottom of this feature.
Well enough of the intro, let's get it on...
With the success of Space Invaders and Asteroids in the
end of the 70's, the videogame industry was well under way.
Home consoles burst into action, thanks to the release of
Space Invaders at home in 1980.
Pac Man came up next, coming actually from Midway instead
of Namco. 2 versions of the arcade machine were released,
an upright standing cabinet, and a cocktail table model.
Another interesting yet trivial point is that Pac-Man wasn't
the original name. It was to be called Puck Man, only
they realized if people were to do a little vandalism on
the title, it could easily say something else.
Anyhow, Pac Man was another brilliant hit in these few
years. What a year too, with Defender, and Missile Command
(released in Japan by Sega actually)..
The first 3D game was also released in 1980, Battlezone
(recently updated and released by Activision). The game
used vectors to produce amazing (for the time atleast, heh)
3D graphics. It was popular, but nothing to leave a mark
on the names of Pac Man and Space Invaders. This game
was later used by the US government in military training
though, so it's still part of the big picture.
Nintendo of America opens it's doors, thanks to the
son-in-law of Hiroshi Yamauchi, their chief in Japan.
In 1981 some of the biggest video game characters to
date are born, Mario and Donkey Kong. The game sold
over a whopping 65,000 units.
Jumpman (hehe, all point and laugh at that name! It was
changed to Mario the year after, in Donkey Kong Jr.)
had to save his girlfriend, Pauline, from the big evil
gorilla, Donkey Kong (which means Stupid Monkey).
Atari kept churning out the hits too, with Tempest. The
3D vector graphics, which drew massive crowds with the
new graphics, similar to the original Daytona USA did
in arcades.
The next year, in 1982, more consoles were released.
Including the Colecovision, Odyssey2, Vectrex, and the
5200 from Atari. None of them last too long.
Back in the arcade scene however, Pac Man is still
the most popular game around. Ms. Pac Man had been
out for a year, and introduced new features such as
cut scenes between levels, smarter AI, and fruits
that bounce around the mazes. The game breaks all
previous records, selling 115,000 units in the US.
Namco cashes in on Pac Man fever with 2 different
versions, Pac-Man Plus and Super Pac-Man. The first
was a mod-chip to the original game, making it run
faster, and replaces the fruit with items like a
coke can.
Super Pac Man changes the game, getting rid of the
little pills Pac Man enjoys so much. Instead the
aim is to collect keys, to get at stacks of fruit inside
the maze.
Now since these titles in 1982, there's been a huge
12 further Pac Man games. Ranging from Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man
to Baby Pac-Man, Professor Pac-Man, and even Pac Man VR.
Moving on now comes the first laser disc game in 1983.
Now here unfortunately I reached a bump in the road of
video game history. Sega says they produced the first
laser disc game, "Sega Astron Belt", and others say
it was "Dragon's Lair". I'll go with Dragon's Lair
myself, but it could be either.
The game was 6 years in the making, and cost 1.3 million
to produce! That's nothing compared to how much the
game made in the first 8 months however, topping 32
million dollars. The game finished with revenues of
$500 million! Dragon's Lair was an interactive cartoon,
and while the gameplay would seem very limited today,
and bring back horrible memories of "interactive
movies", it was pure amazing to gamers of the day.
The game was so revolutionary, it's one of only 3
to be displayed in the Smithsonian Institution.
The others being Pong and Pac-Man. Also, for those
interested, Dragons Lair 3D is currently being
developed, and due out in December 2000.
1983 was a big year for Nintendo too, as they release
their Famicom (NES) in Japan. They offer Atari the
rights to sell it in the US, although the deal falls
through as the games industry crashes. Too many
consoles were in stores, and that in fact was the
last time gamers had so many different systems to
choose from.
1985 marked the beginning of a game that is still
getting sequels today, even on the Dreamcast.
Can you guess what?
A programmer in Russia, Alex Pajitnov creates the
popular block game, Tetris.
Also that year the Famicom is released in America,
titled the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). At
first the NES has a limited release, but the year
later is released across the US. Super Mario Brothers
helps push the system to an instant hit status.
In 1986 Nintendo's console was outselling everyone
else 10 to 1. With games being released in Japan
like Legend of Zelda, it didn't seem like they had
any plans to slow down either. Enter the Sega Master
System, and the Atari 7800.
Atari however has had it's day, and along with the
7800, the XE Game System released in 1987 is a
failure. Most of Atari's 3rd parties such as Namco
have left them for Nintendo, and things don't look
good.
Even the Master System isn't holding up against
the big N. Tonka takes over distribution for Sega,
and helps it compete.
1989 marks the release of more consoles, including
the longest living system in history, the Gameboy,
and the first "16-bit" system, the TurboGrafx-16.
Atari try to get back into the limelight with
their new handhold console, the Lynx, but it never
really takes off.
Well we've reached the end of the 80's now, and
are almost upto the days of the Genesis, how the
Playstation began, and of course games like Street
Fighter. To answer last weeks History Trivia...
Q) In 1980 Sega released a F1 racing game, what's
the title's name?
A) Monaco GP
Q) Which year is the Sega Master System released?
A) 1986
History Trivia:
---------------
What was the Playstation originally designed to be?
Which year was Sonic first revealed?
Find out the answers in next weeks issue.
----------------------------------------------------------
======| NEWS |============================================
----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> New Crazy Taxi Details
Waaaaaaaaay back we printed an exciting rumor that the
home version of Crazy Taxi may contain an extra track.
Sega Of America today confirmed that, and more.
The game will ship on on Feb. 1, 2000, a full two months
earlier than originally planned. The Dreamcast version
will feature an extra course, and 9 mini games. Unfortunately
there's no more detail on what the mini games will be just yet.
"Gamers demanded it, and we made it happen two months
earlier than originally expected," said Charles Bellfield,
director of marketing communications, Sega of America.
"The early release of 'Crazy Taxi' further strengthens
our commitment to providing gamers with the best
videogames on the market and the most unique gameplay
experience ever found on a console through Sega Dreamcast."
>>>> Sega Ruled CBS Toy Test
Over the past 3 weeks, CBS set up a one-of-a-kind
arcade/testing center at the Pacific Science Center
in Seattle. Thousands of kids from across the country
played and rated 75 latest video games on the Dreamcast,
Nintendo 64 and PlayStation consoles.
Power Stone was the overall winner of the event. Followed
by Hydro Thunder, this makes a great victory for Sega.
Super Smash Brothers on the N64 took 3rd, with Pokemon
Snap in 4th place. Sonic Adventure rocked in at 5th.
In fact, Dreamcast took all but 3 of the top 10 spots.
Leaving Playstation's highest ranking title, Tony Hawk's
Pro Skater, in 9th place. Interestingly, Tony Hawk's
Pro Skater is also coming to Dreamcast.
>>>> New Jambo Safari Details
Jumbo Safari, a new Naomi title coming up from Sega,
mixes Crazy Taxi and Get Bass! Your mission (should
you choose to accept it), is to drive around the park,
and find an animal on your radar.
The animal will appear with a 4 star rating (easy to
hard), and when you have a shot perfectly lined up at
their backside, fire. You need to drive around with
the rope tied to the surprised animal, and manage to
stop it running. Can you capture them without the rope
snapping?
After a successful capture, you gain points based on
how you handled everything, ala Crazy Taxi. The time
limit to find an animal also uses the same system as
Crazy Taxi.
>>>> Bernie Stolar Gets A Job
Bernie Stolar, former president and COO for Sega Of
America, has found a new home this week with HMG
Worldwide.
He has joined their board of directors, and as Andrew
Wahl, President of HMG Worldwide, said, "It's a
tremendous honor to have someone of Bernie's caliber
join our Board. His experience, contacts, and
influence in the technology industry will contribute
tremendously to HMG's success."
Mr. Wahl added, "We are particularly eager to capitalize
on Bernie's years of technology industry experience as
we continue to develop HMG, along with our Ego Media
subsidiary, into a total-solutions company for our
clients' various marketing venues, from in-store
marketing to Web-branding to e-commerce solutions.
Bernie will prove enormously valuable as we fuse HMG's
powerful retail and e-tail marketing services into one
seamless solution for our progressive clients who are
finding that they require both a `brick and mortar'
brand presence as well as `click and mortar'
Web-branding. We expect Bernie will contribute
significantly as we continue to leverage our traditional
in-store marketing expertise with the Web-branding and
e-commerce expertise of our Ego Media subsidiary."
Bernie, when asked about his new job, replied "I am
pleased to join HMG's Board and look forward to
contributing to the company's success in any way that
I can. HMG was the in-store agency for both the launch
of PlayStation and Dreamcast and I have had first-hand
experience with the value-added benefits that HMG brings
to its clients' projects. As a member of the Board of
Directors, I am eager to contribute to HMG's continued
success."
The job is effective immediately.
----------------------------------------------------------
======| INTO THE WEB |====================================
----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Chu Chu Rocket.... ho hum... Chu Chu Rocket
Chu Chu Rocket recieved excellent press all across the
world when it was released. But how do you play? and what
does the game look like moving?
NextGenVideos have added a movie, review, and screenshots
for the game. The review explains perfectly how to play,
and they have both 8mb and 2.6mb versions of the movie.
If your curious about Sonic Team's latest, head over now
to www.NextGenVideos.com
>>>> Importers To Stay Well Away From
Last week we reported 3 very shifty importing names,
Runpacific, Hong Kong Toys, and Nippon Games. Thanks to
another reader today, we've found the name of Runpacific's
UK branch, "Fusion".
Our reader phoned what was listed as a UK number (which
turned out to be a mobile phone to Hong Kong), and they
would only accept money wired straight into their
account.
If your looking to import, there's many other, and far
better places to buy from.
Dreamcast Weekly recommends checking out www.Lik-Sang.com
for importing, and have received great feedback from
our readers.
----------------------------------------------------------
======| REVIEW |==========================================
----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Evolution: The World of Sacred Device
>>>> Written by Sajed
From the folks at Ubisoft comes the dungeon based role-playing
game Evolution. With its crisp, colorful visuals it is still
one of the better looking Dreamcast games out, just as it was
for its Japanese release. The game follows the exploits of
Mag Launcher, who is the latest in a family of great
adventurers. Following on his lineage, Mag routinely takes on
dangerous relic hunts. Joining him on his quests are his
compadres, like the timorous Linear, and aggressive Chain. In
this way, you must explore several multi-level dungeons, whip
up on the dungeon bosses, secure precious items, and become
the supreme adventurer. There are a few twist in the plot line
along the way, but at its core Evolution has very little to do
with character interaction and development, and more to do with
dungeon exploration and battling all sorts of enemy creatures.
As the fearless adventurer, you are given assignments to collect
precious relics by 'Society,' and must traverse the multilevel
dungeons to secure these artifacts. Much of the game's action
takes place in these automatically generated dungeons, where
your party must collect items, and avoid enemies (you can see
you enemies walking around, rather than being thrown into random
battles) en route to battling the final bosses occupying the
last level. At the completion of each level however, Evolution
gives you the chance to save your progress. And before battling
each boss character the game even lets you teleport back to
town, so you can juice up and return back to where you left
- all recharged to take on the main boss. Because in the latter
levels, the bosses, and even the regular enemies, become
excruciatingly difficult, this is a welcome, and extremely
useful, feature of Evolution.
One thing we've come accustomed to in most epic RPGs is
exploring several towns, conversing with the townspeople,
and gathering clues to solving whatever universal mystery
that happens to dominate that particular game. In Evolution
however, the mystery solves itself as you complete each
dungeon, and beat the game's main bosses. The story is
played out through cut scenes and linear conversation, and
your player has relatively little input in the direction the
story takes. So, in that sense, Evolution doesn't give the
player the level of story line control that you get even in
somewhat 'scripted' RPGs like Final Fantasy.
As a quick break in your reading, let's get back to the towns
and the personal residences in particular. It has always been
comical to me how RPG characters walk into a random town
they've never been to, and just stroll in and out of people's
houses at will. You can walk into anybody's house, without
their consent, go through their stuff, and even strike up
a conversation - and they provide you with secret, oftentimes
personal information, without the hint of apprehension. Of
course, Evolution is much of the same. But one time in
particular I was marching around this 'old lady's' home,
without much resistance as usual, but when I tried to get
Mag to turn on her stove, and he says, "We shouldn't turn
on her stove, without her permission." Then why the hell are
we promenading around her house without her permission? These
are the things that only happen in the world of video games.
But enough about quirky RPG characteristics, let's talk more
on Evolution in particular. Because an overwhelmingly large
portion of Evolution's gameplay is focused on dungeon based
battles, Sting, the game's developers, spent a lot of time
refining the turn-based fighting system. As you encounter
the enemy, the camera zooms into the battle scene. Here
Evolution's unique, yet cool and effective, fighting system
come into play. Each character is endowed with a regular
attack, item usage, and a special attack. The special attack
is based on reaching a certain "break" point, which allows
you to unleash the attack. But these special attacks obviously
aren't limitless, so you have to be careful when to use them,
and who to use them on.
The uniqueness in the fighting system comes from an innovative
'item' on the battle screen that actually shows the order of
attack for both your party, and your enemies. Using this
gauge, the battle system becomes very strategic, as you have
to recognize who will attack next, and make decisions on your
moves based on attack order. For example, if your strongest
opposing enemy isn't due to attack for a couple of turns, you
can bear the weaker attacks and cure your party. This type of
in-fight jostling, along with traditional issues of how and
when to use special attacks and items, adds a lot of depth to
the game's battle system.
Complementing the game's innovative battle system are the
detailed, impressive 3D graphics used during these fighting
scenes. Enemy characters, though the game's many dungeons,
are unique and cleverly designed. You will fight everything
from buck-toothed rodents to killer plants. The boss
attacks in particular are visually magnificent, and
monumental. Reminiscent, yet again, of the Final Fantasy
series, the bosses conjure up earth shaking, dungeon rattling
concoctions to rid themselves of Mag Launcher and his party.
Some of the special moves, pulled off my Mag, Linear, and
company are nearly as impressive. Using mysterious Cyframe,
Mag can pull of several combination moves on enemy
characters. Through it all Evolution churns out colorful,
detailed, and fluid visuals that provide plenty of eye-candy.
In essence, this visual grandeur keeps the monotonous dungeon
exploration relatively interesting.
As much as I liked Evolution's crisp graphics and intuitive
battle system, I felt unfulfilled by the gameplay. An RPG
without complicated, and interactive, story elements is
like Pamela Anderson without silicone. She's still a
beautiful woman, but she's not 'Pamela Anderson.' A
strong, winding story line serves as the backbone to
any RPG, controlling the gameplay and moving it along.
Evolution's story is ill contrived and hardly interactive,
which, despite beautiful graphics and solid play, holds
the game back from being a truly enjoyable experience.
If you're into extensive dungeon exploration and a
truly challenging RPG experience, then Evolution may
satisfy your tastes. But personally, without a strong
story line complementing the in-game action, Evolution
became mundane and tedious very quickly.
>>>> Graphics - 85%
>>>> Sound - 74%
>>>> Gameplay - 76%
>>>> Lastability - 71%
>>>> OVERALL - 77%
----------------------------------------------------------
======| SEGA X-TRA |======================================
----------------------------------------------------------
After weeks of absence, the Sega X-tra finally returns!
This week we've got something for everybody. If you're
looking for that great Christmas present, we got your
guide to this holiday shopping season. For those
interested in a little something about the Japanese
Dreamcast scene, we got that too. Again, don't forget
about our ever-popular Forum, as well as our brand new
Java Chat Room by going to
http://www.segadreamcast.net/interact/index.html
Ofcourse the big story at Sega X this week is the launch of
our Holiday Buyer's Guide. It covers everything from the
hottest games to what parents should do to upgrade their
kids into the 128 bit gaming world.
http://www.segadreamcast.net/features/99guide.html
If you wonder why Famitsu gave Virtual On: Oratorio
Tangram such good reviews, look no further than this
link, which has brand new screenshots and videos
straight from the Japanese disc.
http://www.segadreamcast.net/dcnews/120899_vootmedia.html
Our European correspondent takes a close look at UEFA Striker.
Does this long-awaited game live up to its hype? Fine out
in our complete review:
http://www.segadreamcast.net/reviews/european/uefastriker_01.html
One of the hottest PC racing titles of the year is now
coming to the Dreamcast. Read what you can expect from
this port in our in-depth preview.
http://www.segadreamcast.net/previews/confirmed/revolt_01.html
It's time to welcome another game into Virtua City, as
another "Virtua" arcade game is about to be released!
Virtua NBA is coming to an arcade near you, and we've
got the pictures to prove it.
http://www.segadreamcast.net/dcnews/120999_virtuanba.html
Get the full scoop on the limited edition Dreamcast systems
designed in conjunction with the release of Bio Hazard Code:
Veronica by following this link, which includes high-res
pictures and all the info you need.
http://www.segadreamcast.net/dcnews/120899_veronicadreamcast.html
----------------------------------------------------------
======| CHEATS |==========================================
----------------------------------------------------------
>>>> Slave Zero
O AI Firing Mode:
During the game on the second controller press and hold the
R and L buttons and hit the A to turn on and off the AI
firing mode. - Submitted by Clay Ford
O God mode:
To enable god mode. While playing one player, insert
second controller and press right & left trigger and
B-button all at the same time - Submitted by chase & josh
O God mode and Infinite Ammo:
While playing single player with the player one controller
use the second controller and press the buttons L trigger,
R trigger and B, thus will enable god mode and infinite
ammo. Do it again and it will disable it. - Submitted by Jason
----------------------------------------------------------
======| BEST OF THE WEB |=================================
----------------------------------------------------------
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, including a new IRC Java
chat room where you can chat about all the latest Sega
topics.
>>>> Sega 2000 - www.sega2000.net
Christmas Is Here! Be sure to check out our special Christmas
site design, and while your there, feel free to enter our
contest, with a winner drawn each day.
>>>> 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.
>>>> Perfect Zero - http://www.perfect-zero.com
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.
>>>> 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.
>>>> 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.
>>>> Gaming Central Starpath - www.startpath.com/gamingcentral
Our newest support site and provides hundreds of links for
anything a gamer might be interested in.
>>>> DC Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
Now the Dreamcast is out in Australia, this should be your
first stop for news down under. Don't forget to check out
their interview with Sonic Team while your there too!
The official website for the Dreamcast Weekly is now open at
www.dreamcastweekly.com :) We've got the history of the
magazine, back issues, and more. Then in the future... who
knows, hopefully we'll be a print magazine one day :)
----------------------------------------------------------
======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
----------------------------------------------------------
O Editor: Graham Parker "Tails" - Webmaster@sega2000.net
O DC QUESTIONS: Please send to - Rob@sega2000.net
But please NO tips questions
>>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - Webmaster@Sega2000.net
Written and edited by Graham Parker. No parts may be
copied without prior permission. Otherwise I would be
forced to send out my group of goons... Ok so I don't have
any goons, but copying is just mean... very mean. There,
that should scare them off :)
