Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 29 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/ ___> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <____ \
/ / \ \
/ / ~Issue #29 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com~ \ \
\ \ / /
\ \ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.com / /
\ \ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net / /
\ \ Dreamcast.net - www.dreamcast.net / /
\ \______________________________________/ /
\______________________________________________/
======| ABOUT THE MAGAZINE |==============================
Dreamcast Weekly is proudly sponsored by Extreme Imports.
When you buy anything from them, please remember to click
Dreamcast Weekly as your referral. Thanks for your support
and it does help to keep the magazine going and free.
If you have any Dreamcast questions please e-mail Steve at
Steve@sega2000.com rather than clicking reply to this
e-mail. Please try not to send them to the reply address
here. Thanks.
The domain name www.DreamcastWeekly.com 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.net & www.totalvideogames.com
======| EDITORS COMMENTS |================================
February was a very slow month for Dreamcast titles, but now
March has arrived, and brings many hit games with it! The
first is House Of The Dead 2 on the 18th, and by the way,
latest rumors say it includes all of the original's levels
hidden inside it! If that's true, Sega are on the right
track with arcade to home conversions alright!
Also Blue Stinger, Monaco Grand Prix 2, Marvel Vs Capcom,
Super Speed Racing and plenty more! Not just games either
though, the the rumble pack and the light gun are both
due out this month too. All this can be ordered at our new
sponsor of course, www.extreme-imports.com
As for Dreamcast Weekly, look out for our own House Of The
Dead story starting very soon. Finally, I'd like to welcome
the newest support sites, Dreamcast.net and Segadc.co.nz :)
Until next week... Happy Gaming everyone!
~ Tails (Editor)
---~> Page 1 - Cover Story <~---
---~> Page 2 - Importing <~---
---~> Page 3 - The News <~---
---~> Page 4 - Arcade Zone <~---
---~> Page 5 - Tips & Cheats <~---
---~> Page 6 - Best Of The Web <~---
---~> Page 7 - Credits & More <~---
---~> Page 8 - Finally... <~---
======| COVER STORY |=====================================
---~> Power Stone Review
---~> By Sajed
Think Capcom, and you automatically think fighting games.
Their perfectly crafted 2D fighters, especially the vaunted
Street Fighter series, have become legendary in video gaming
lore. However, for the companies first Dreamcast project,
they have reverted from the 2D environment and brought home a
version of Power Stone, their full 3D, Naomi arcade fighter.
In a saturated market filled with 3D fighting games, the
uniqueness of Power Stone in turn leads to its addictiveness.
In fact, the game is so unique that in hindsight its tough
to classify it as a "pure" fighting title. Because of the large,
fully interactive arenas and the endless scrambling for the
Power Stones during battle, a case could be made that PS is
just as much an action game as it is a "true" fighting title.
The final battle, against Valgas Final, is reminiscent of a
beefed up version of Sonic's battle against any of the Chaos
monsters in the action/adventure title Sonic Adventure. The
gigantic, sloth-like Valgas Final stays precariously in one
spot, as the fighter dodges his attacks, maneuvers around his
gigantic body, and administers his own attacks from various
angles -- its almost akin to fighting a final boss character
in an action game, rather than an interactive one-on-one
battle like in any fighting title.
If first impressions defined a video game, Power Stone would
become an instant classic. Upon loading the PS GD-Rom, the
first thing anyone will notice are the amazingly modeled
graphics. The characters, although looking animated, are
crafted with intricate detail. Their movement are fluid and
realistic, and the special attacks are monumental and
thoroughly impressive. The environments are beautifully
textured and detailed, and just about everything in these
"object-filled" arenas are useable during battle. You'll find
yourself hanging on rafters, bouncing off walls, hurling
furniture, blasting you opponents with a giant bazooka, the
list goes on and on. The action is lighting quick and the
frame rate does exceptionally well to stay up near the
60fps range. Power Stone allows you to forget the usual
graphical glitches and frame-rate slowdown complaints and
lets the player focus entirely on the entertaining
gameplay.
The gameplay itself is vaguely reminiscent of games like
Ergheiz or Tobal 2. There are those same large multilevel
arenas, with a similar overall feel, but the interaction of
these environments and the addition of the Power Stones take
this Capcom game above and beyond most arena fighters.
Imagine the thrill of climbing onto a pole, jumping and
bouncing of an adjoining wall, landing squarely on top of
your opponent, and pancaking him/her on the floor as they were
about to reach the third and final Power Stone. The Power
Stones are "knocked out" of your opponent and you're back
to the mad dash to get all three, leading to virtual
invincibility and access to your special attacks. Also,
in typical Capcom fashion, the character attacks are
completely over the top. Forget the realism of games like
VF3, or even Tekken 3, perform a skillful special attack
and your opponent is flung upwards of 50 feet into the air
and slammed mercilessly down to the ground. There are also the
vintage combos: from four or five all the way up to 20 hits
or more in one attack. These over the top attacks only add
to the enjoyment of this game, especially in two player mode.
The characters in any fighting game play a major role in
the overall enjoyment of the title. The diverse cast of
characters, although adhering to some fighting genre stereotypes,
are some of the best ever created by Capcom. Fokker is the
"hero" of the game. Then there is Wang Tang, the nimble
martial artist, Ryomu, a samurai, Rouge, the voluptuous
female lead, Ayame, Gunrock, Jack, and Galuda. Each character
has their own unique strengths and weakness -- some are agile
but weaker, while others are lumbering yet powerful. Who you
pick as your character is nearly as important as your fighting
skills themselves. For example, picking Wang Tang against a
big/slow character like Gunrock will allow you to beat him
to the dispersed Power Stones, however, you will also be more
susceptible to Gunrocks powerful attacks. This blend of
character's attributes only adds to the overall diversity
of the game.
The musical score in Power Stone isn't spectacular, but it
does well to match the environment and mood in each of the
separate levels. It is typical Capcom fighting game music
-- it's upbeat and engaging. FMV sequences for each character
to accompany their individual music would have been nice.
However, this is after all an arcade conversion and in
retrospect keeping that arcade feel is essential to the
overall authenticity of the game.
Power Stone from Capcom effectively melds beautiful visuals
with engaging gameplay into an entertaining title. This is
a very good multiplayer game, as you'll find yourself playing
for hours, in 2 player mode, against friends. If you're an
avid fighting fan and own a Dreamcast, there is no reason
why you shouldn't own a copy of Power Stone. Although in the
grand scheme of things it may become a footnote in the
Dreamcast's overall software library, it will certainly give
you hours of instant gratification now.
Graphics: 90%
Sound: 78%
Playability: 88%
Lastsability: 92%
Overall: 87%
======| IMPORTANT MATTERS |===============================
Please support Dreamcast Weekly and when you buy an import
game, please select us our your referral at Extreme Imports.
Thanks, and enjoy your games!!
***********************************
* http://www.extreme-imports.com/ *
***********************************
Any of these interest you???
* House Of The Dead 2 + Gun
* Blue Stinger
* Marvel Vs Capcom
* Super Speed Racing
* Aero Dancing
* Puyo Puyoon
* Psychic Force 2012
* Monaco Grand Prix 2
* White Illumination
You can order them now at our own official sponsor
www.extreme-imports.com and you'll also be helping this
magazine if you select Dreamcast Weekly as your referral.
======| NEWS |============================================
---~> Soul Calibur On Dreamcast
While it's not confirmed yet some pretty big rumors are
going around the net today. Most people (including me)
believe there will be a big Dreamcast announcement of
some sort of March 10th... and this could be it. What
better way to get back at Sony by showing Namco is
supporting Dreamcast too eh? It's also said that the
game will also appear at the Tokyo Game Show this month.
---~> More House Of The Dead 2 Details
This week, more details regarding House Of The Dead 2 have
been released. In the Dreamcast version, players will be
able to play as the two assistant characters in the arcade
original, Amy and Harry. A new multiplayer Survival mode
will be added, letting you and your friends battle it out
against the clock to see who can kill the most zombies in
a limited amount of time. HOTD2 will also support the VM,
VGA Box and the Puru Puru Pack. Best of all though, is the
news that considering there are two slots in the Dreamcast
gun, players will be able to plug in both the VM and rumble
pack, causing to vibrate, just like in the arcade. On top
of that, secret characters are also being rumored, as well
as that hidden mode allowing access to the original House Of
The Dead 1 scenarios. Sega's first shooting game on the
Dreamcast is shaping up to be excellent, and proof that
this game is more than ready for the shops was the
announcement of the release date being pushed up from the
25th of March to the 18th. Thanks to Magic Box for providing
the information.
---~> Sega 2000 To Open Fan Art Section!
This is something I've wanted to open for a long time now,
and now I have a scanner at last. Now I'm sure no great
artist myself, but you don't have to be. Everyone can send
in their drawings, no matter how young or old you are, good
or bad at art or if you have a scanner or not. You can draw
any video game related art, and if you do have a scanner
please e-mail me the file at webmaster@sega2000.com
If not, you can post your drawing to this address...
Sega 2000 Art
6 Quaifes Road
Halswell
Christchurch
New Zealand
You get full credit for your work and if you have a website
we'll put a link to it for you. I look forward to seeing them :)
======| ARCADE ZONE |======================================
---~> Daytona USA 2: Power Edition Review
---~> By Gavin Matheson
---~> Arcade Game - DC version rumored late 1999
The king of all racers developed by Sega department AM2 is
back, with the sequel to the most highly respected title
known in the gaming world. The first Daytona USA set the
quality standard that all developer's tried to match; but
failed to accomplish one that could class AM2's masterpiece.
5 years ago when Daytona USA was released, it was arcade
sensation with superlative gameplay, high-energy music, and
stunning Model 2 graphics. Daytona USA broke all arcades
records, destroyed all oppositions when it was first released.
It was instantly awarded the best racing game ever and there
wasn't anyone out there who could denial that. Now AM2
literally went back to the drawing boards, and gave the
media and fans what we've all been waiting for, Daytona
USA 2: Battle on the Edge. With the power of the Model 3
step 2 board at their fingertips, AM2 directed by Makoto
Osaki developed a game that surpasses the original Daytona USA.
An attempt that other developer's haven't achieved.
When Daytona 2 was released, it perceived from the gaming
industry with delight. Punters literally craved to finally
play the most eagerly awaited racing game ever, resulting
in queues of people waiting to flood the cabinets with money.
The gameplay was actually different, being more realistic in
controls, avoiding the ridiculous gear changing tactics of
the previous. With 3 new realistic tracks, much improved
Artificial Intelligence, more wilder crashes, different
CG damage patterns on the vehicles, and more realistic
driving, Daytona USA 2 became the new King of racing.
Punters including myself played and played again, and in
result many agrees that Daytona USA 2 does conquers over
its predecessor. However, this achievement wasn't by a far.
This is understandable though, as developing a title that
actually surpasses, the previous benchmark version is an
extremely difficult task to accomplish. Especially in
the movie industry, which is even worse.
To rekindle the minds of the punters and of course, with
the Dreamcast in the picture, AM2 decided to include
extras to the king of racing Daytona USA 2. In the end
they came with the revamped spin off, Daytona USA 2:
Power Edition.
The game starts of with a stunning king of speed introduction
on the classic oval track, showing the quality of the cars
and their crews. The graphics on Daytona USA 2: Power Edition
is highly detailed. Running at a solid 60fps in high
resolution, the fast pace action drives any player to the edge.
Even though the graphics is not as flashy compared to Midway's
Hydro Thunder, the solid fast action and the sense of realism
is stunning. In fact, the graphical presentation is superior
compared to Midway's efforts. Proving once again that Model 3
is king graphical hardware of the arcades. The presentation
is similar to the first Daytona USA graphical style, but
this time AM2 driven the presentation further.
You have a choice of 4 cars that range from Easy, Normal,
Hard, and classic. Classic is the original Hornet car from
the first Daytona USA, complete with the original handling.
Believe me, the handling of each car is completely different.
You must select the car that is suitable independent of your
skill level. If the player experienced with all of the cars,
your choice would depend on the track selected.
Each track contains admirable landmarks, intriguing the
player to race on each course just one more time. Beautiful
landmark areas like the huge Maryrose boat, a monster with
laser eyes, tall buildings, relaxing countryside areas, a
massive sailing ship, and a spooky Castle to name the few.
The crashes are a lot more realistic now, and the computer
Artificial intelligent in this version is far more advance.
Each car actually response's differently independent of how
you collide into them.
Some will actually lose control, colliding into another car
causing a pile up; others would battle against you just as
another player. In fact, the computerise cars battle out
against each other, so prepare to see cars fly high above
your head, as you try to avoid the danger.
The music like Daytona USA: Champion Circuit Edition on the
Sega Saturn, is the American hard rock opposed from the
usual JPOP (Japanese Pop & Rock). The first Daytona USA
features JPOP music that even though sounds corny, when
played with the game its goes with it very well. Creating
a serious rush of adrenaline when playing.
The music on Daytona USA 2: Power Edition is on a satisfactory
level, with only the Expert track music to give the sensational
rush of enjoyment from speed. It's a shame that the music
isn't as on the high octane side like the previous, but the
screams and roars of the car engine's more than makes up for it.
The other extras is the tweaked playability, and the most
notable of all that would probably change Sega's whole
approach of racing altogether is; segment racing. Just like
Need for Speed you have to race one whole segment to become the
true King of racing. The segment racing starts off with the
medium track. From this you race on as normal, then instead of
completing one whole lap, the course leads of into a tunnel
that links to the Expert track. Battling hard throughout the
Expert track you have to literally speed onto the classic
Novice track, then speed all the way to the finish line.
Segment racing brings back the meaning of racing, making it
more inspiring, and innovative than usual. Also, it brings
along more lastsability into the game, and making one player
mode just more enjoyable.
Learning the tracks in Daytona USA 2: Power Edition is
extremely essential. In fact, not only do you have the
track against you, you have to worry about the cars, and the
timer as well. In fact this all in all create a lot of
pressure on the player. Especially when you're playing an
8 to 16 players race. Coming last in such a grand race is
burdensome therefore you must, do all you can so that you
won't ever fall into that category. Very few games create
such a feeling, so that what makes Daytona USA 2 so unique.
The game is amazing, a stunning achievement from AM2, the
true guru gamers and programmers. They translated the
thrills and spills from the real life Daytona into the
arcade, thus essentially eliminating the boredom of reality.
The 8 to 16 players race brings out so much joy, creating
so much life into the game. While it may only have a
limited amount of courses and cars to choose from, this
is one arcade experience that you must not miss. Fans of
the original will love its sequel, and for Dreamcast owners,
you should be able to look forward to an excellent conversion
with many enhanced options, including extra courses and
vehicles. I have no doubts in my mind that this will be one
arcade port that everyone should be looking forward to.
I for one can't wait. Sega got such a killer title on their
hands that would be a real travesty if mishandled. If by
anyhow or way, they fail to deliver a 100% arcade
conversion on the Dreamcast, together with a finished
version of Sega Rally 2, and Scud Race; then Sega is already
dead no matter what. Thus causing Sony to truly win, the
next generation, console war...
Graphics: 93%
Sound: 92%
Playability: 97%
Lastsability: 94%
Overall: 94%
'Without a doubt this is the best racing game to ever
grace the arcades; and the best racing game since slice bread.'
======[ TIPS & CHEATS ]===================================
---~> Sonic Adventure
---~> Written by Chris Kohler
SECRET VMS GAME:
After you start up the Sonic Adventure game, place a
controller into the D port on your Dreamcast and have a VMS
in the controller. A hidden Chao Puzzle game will appear on
the VMS screen. It is a tile based puzzle game where you have
to use the Dreamcast's controller to move the pieces of a
moving picture around to win. After every five puzzles you
solve, a little animation will play on the VMS screen.
TWINKLE TIPS:
When playing the Twinkle Circuit mini-game, wait till the
exact moment when the start signal says "GO!" and press the
jump button. This will give you a speed boost and cut a few
seconds off your time.
Also, you can control the camera placement by pressing up
on the D-Pad. You can choose between a cockpit view, a
trailing view and an overhead view. This camera control
also works when playing the begining of the Twinkle Park
action stage with Sonic.
ONE AND A HALF PLAY:
When a player is playing Sonic's action stages and Tails
is on the screen, a second player can control Tails with
a second controller. Any rings Tails collects will be added
to Sonic's totals. Be careful to not make Tails break open
any shields, invincibilities or One Up item boxes as those
will not be added to Sonic and will be wasted.
This feature may seem trivial to most people, but you'd be
surprised how much fun it can be trying to outrun player
one (who's playing Sonic) when you're controlling Tails. ;)
MORE...
Chris Kohler has written a HUGE Sonic Adventure FAQ, the biggest
and most detailed you'll find ever in fact. Those were just a
few bits which I found very interesting, but there's plenty more
like secret Chao's (Alien, Sonic, Nights and even a Dragon!).
This isn't a promotional thing, but when you load it you'll see
why we couldn't put the whole thing in here (it's just under 200k!)
Here's a direct link however...
http://www.sega2000.com/cheats/sa_faq.txt
======| 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 2000 - www.Sega2000.com
We've got more exclusive mp3's from Daytona USA 2, a
feature on the VMS games in Climax Landers (this is a must
see!) and lots more content coming this week.
---~> Sega X - www.SegaDreamcast.net
Sega X is currently down at the time of writing because of
UGO moving servers, however you can still get your daily
Sega coverage at this address... http://208.156.33.7/
---~> Dreamcast.net - www.Dreamcast.net
One of the newest Sega Dreamcast sites around, but this is
WELL worth the visit. It's quickly become another Sega X and
Sega 2000 and updates daily, even in the weekends sometimes!
---~> SegaDC - www.segadc.co.nz
---~> Dreamcast Australia - www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6831/
The Sega Ozisoft interview is ready to go. With some
excellent questions from the readers this interview
must not be missed and will be on the site in the first
week of March. A new poll has been added to the site,
asking you which company you think is the most important
for the Dreamcast's success. Of course there is also
news, reviews, cheats, previews and the Q&A section
with well over 70 questions answered.
---~> The Sonic Zone - http://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!!
---~> Outpost Sega - http://outpostsega.hypermart.net
Daily updates, plenty of awesome downloads and a weekly
poll make this a Sega site defiantly worth visiting.
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 :)
======[ CREDITS ]=========================================
Editor: Graham Parker "Tails" - webmaster@sega2000.com
Assistant Editor: Mike - melbess@adelphia.net
DC Questions: Please send to - Steve@sega2000.com
---~> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
----------------------------------------------------------
Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - WEBMASTER@SEGA2000.COM
Written and edited by Graham Parker. The Dreamcast Weekly
website is hosted thanks to www.totalvideogames.com
and the magazine is owned by... me :) No parts may be
copied without prior permission. I would have to send
out my group of highly trained thugs who will have
a tea party with you until you crack and your mind
turns into jello... MMmmmmm.... Sweet Sweet Jello....
hehe, anyway... If you have any friends that might be
interested in this magazine, it would be excellent
if you could let them know about it. Thanks!
Oh and finally...
-----------------
While I'm not a huge fan of fighting games (eek, I've got
a friend who would kill me if he heard me say that, heh)
I got Power Stone the other day and have to say it's great!
It's great fun and the VMS games are seriously cool. The
sequel is going to have a 4 player mode too by the way,
should be very interesting.
