Newsletter: Sega World Weekly issue 35 (then Dreamcast Weekly)
From Video Game Morgue File
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/_______> > > DREAMCAST WEEKLY MAGAZINE < < <________\
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////// ~Issue #35 - www.DreamcastWeekly.com~ \\\\\\
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\\\\\\ Sega X - http://www.segadreamcast.net //////
\\\\\\ Sega 2000 - http://www.sega2000.com //////
\\\\\\ Media Site - http://media.seganet.com //////
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o> Please scroll down to Editors Comments for the start <o
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======| ABOUT THE MAGAZINE |==============================
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DC Weekly is proudly sponsored by www.Extreme-Imports.com
Why are they our sponsor? I went to them because they have
THE best service I've ever received from an import store.
Any DC questions can be sent to Steve@sega2000.com and
questions about this magazine by just clicking reply.
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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Well we're into E3 month now! Also this month Ozisoft is
rumored to be releasing the launch details for both
Australia and New Zealand. But for this issue, we have a
Toejam & Earl fan story for you, a review of Spike Out,
news, rumors and plenty more.
Also for importers, a very special deal on racing games.
You can get the details right away from our Importing
section. Saving heaps of $, this is something you really
have to check out!
Ok, until next week, Happy Gaming!
~ Tails (Editor)
O Page 1 - Cover Story O
O Page 2 - Importing O
O Page 3 - The News O
O Page 4 - Red Hot Rumors O
O Page 5 - Arcade Zone O
O Page 6 - Tips & Cheats O
O Page 7 - Sega Trivia O
O Page 8 - Best Of The Web O
O Page 9 - Credits & More O
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======| COVER STORY |=====================================
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>>>> Toejam & Earl Fan Fiction
>>>> By Steve
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Would you like your own story printed in DC Weekly? It can
be based on any game that's ever appeared on a Sega console.
Please send your story(s) you'd like printed to
webmaster@sega2000.com , and the best will be in future
issues for all 11,000 people to read! Have fun, and I
really look forward to reading them! - Tails, editor.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Things were going great on Funkatron. The Funkapotomous,
keeper of all Funk, was getting quite old, and he knew it.
The Funk had to be passed on. So he called a meeting for
all Funkatronians to attend.
"Yo fellow citizens, as ya all know, I'm the keeper of the
Funk. I'm not as young as I used to be, and unfortunately,
I can't hold this position anymore," the Funkatopomous said,
pulling something out that looked like a Kool and the Gang
vinyl. "This is the Funk, the power which is Funkatron.
It must be passed on, to someone with a truly funky soul.
I know just who that is."
About 5 years ago, I was scared into hiding from the humans
that came here. 2 dudes stepped forward, captured all the
humans, and convinced me to come from my space in the Funk
Dimension. Toejam and Earl, I think this should go to you,"
the Funkapotomous exclaimed.
Needless to say, Toejam and Earl were amazed. As they
began to maneuver their way through the crowd to receive
this joyous possession, the unthinkable happened. Out of
nowhere, Shela jumped from the crowd and grabbed the Funk
from the outstretched hand of the Funkapotomous. This was
too much for the Funkapotomous, and he had a heart attack!
He was immediately hospitalized. Toejam and Earl stood
with their jaws hanging wide open. How could someone steal
THE Funk?
"Well, figures something like this would happen," said Earl.
"Don't give up yet, Earl. She's heading off towards the
Funky Furnace. Remember that place?" asked Toejam.
With that, the two started running after Shela, and sure
enough, she went into the Funky Furnace, funk still in hand.
When Toejam and Earl finally arrived, she had already used
the Funk to create a throne with a barrier all around it.
"Shela, you can't do this!" yelled Toejam. "It's wrong!
Funkatron can't survive if it has no Funk!"
"Oh, I can get away with this no problemo," retorted Shela.
"You guys got all the attention after you got rid of the
humans, and you were the ones that brought them here! If
it weren't for you two, Funkatron would have been a cooler
place!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Earl in a stupefied voice.
"I deserve this Funk! I deserve to rule Funkatron! You two
don't deserve anything!" Shela yelled.
"There's only one fair way to settle this," said Toejam. We
must have a Jam Out contest with Peabo to see who is the
funkiest person here. The winner gets the Funk, no questions
asked." Both agreed to these terms, and Earl went out to find
Peabo.
Peabo began setting up his boombox, and a crowd started
gathering. Peabo played a rhythm, and Shela and Toejam
repeated it perfectly. The crowd was growing larger.
Peabo played another beat, and Toejam and Shela played it
perfectly. This process continued for a long time, and
finally, Shela began to wear down. At this point, Peabo
took Toejam and Earl's hands, raised them into the air, and
declared them the winners. A huge roar of applause erupted
from the crowd, and Shela handed the Funk over to Toejam
and Earl. Both were great leaders, and Funkatron was a
great place to live again.
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======| IMPORT-ANT MATTERS |==============================
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>>>> Special May Deal - Redline Racer For Cheap!
o SEGA RALLY 2 - Save $20
o RELINE RACER - Save $20
o MONACO GRAND PRIX 2 - Save $20
OR ANY TWO FOR $149AUD - Save $50AUD ($33US)
The first of our special monthly deals with Extreme Imports
has begun. You can pick up those games for $79AUD each (the
normal price is $99AUD), which comes out at about $50US. Or
any TWO games for $149AUD, which means you save about $50!
heh, now THAT sounded like an advert! No seriously, this is
a good deal for importers, and you can download a movie of
Redline Racer right here...
www.digitalsea.net/extreme-imports/movies/redlineracer.mpg
>>>> Dreamcast Posters
Extreme Imports are selling Dreamcast Posters from 9 different
games at the moment. But you'll have to be quick. Details
on www.extreme-imports.com
>>>> US$25 Puru Puru Packs!
They have plenty of official Puru Puru packs, straight from
Japan, in stock right now at just AUS$39 (almost US$25 !).
This is the cheapest price you'll find anywhere in the world.
***********************************
* http://www.extreme-imports.com/ *
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======| NEWS |============================================
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>>>> New Shenmue RealVideos!
You can check out some great Shenmue videos at these
address's...
http://www.shenmue.com/nj/yokosuka20.ram
http://www.shenmue.com/nj/yokosuka45.ram
They contain plenty of brand new footage, and trust me,
you'll be begging to play Shenmue even more than before
(I wouldn't of thought that was possible either!)
>>>> Sonic Team Split + Nights 2 In Development
Videogamespot learned yesterday that Sonic Team has split
into 3 smaller teams for the moment.
The first, Iizuka team, is in the United States working on
the English version of Sonic Adventure (it was said to have
improved music, graphics, and all the bugs fixed). The second
team, Oshima team, is working on a brand new project, which
for now remains a mystrey. The third and final team, Naka team,
is being headed by Yuji Naka, and is reportedly working on
Nights 2! Perhaps the US team is working on something special
for the upcoming E3 show too.
>>>> Aus & NZ Retailers Read About Dreamcast
Last week, Ozisoft, sent a flyer to the retail stores who
will be selling Dreamcast later this year. Basically it
gave a description of Dreamcast, including information they
should know. Thanks to Videogames.co.nz for that.
>>>> Fighting Force 2 - Canned?
Thanks to Dreamcast.net and FGN Online:
Having confirmed a Dreamcast version of Fighting Force 2 last
week, Core has retracted the information. "The Dreamcast
version of Fighting Force 2 is no longer confirmed," said
a spokesperson for the company. "The decision was taken by
the directors in a recent meeting." Very little is known on
the sequel to Fighting Force, aside from the fact that a
brand new engine has been constructed specifically for the
title, it will be vastly larger than its predecessor and
it's due out in October.
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======[ RED HOT RUMORS ]==================================
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Welcome to a new section of Dreamcast Weekly, each week
we'll keep you upto-date with the latest RUMORS going around.
Written by Tails - webmaster@sega2000.com
>>>> An RPG From Enix!
A video tape of Dreamcast games has surfaced at some stores
around America, and features footage of an RPG. No name is
given unfortantly, but at the end, the copyright belongs
to Enix. Very interesting indeed. If you don't know, Enix is
Squares main rival, and is VERY big in Japan. In particular
their Dragon Quest series. Then if Enix is working with
Dreamcast, would Square let them have the console all to
them selves? I would have to say the chances of Square
becoming a 3rd party, just got a lot better.
>>>> Namco On Sony, Sega and Nintendo
Not exactly Sega news, but interesting never the less. Namco
is working on a version of Ridge Racer for the N64. While
it's not official yet, it's as 'good as'. The announcement
will be at the E3, but the most important thing is that,
Namco is developing on both Dreamcast and N64 now... the
company that was once 'Sony Only', appears to be spreading
out.
>>>> September 23rd Is THE Big Day
It seems Europe, Australia, and New Zealand might have to
wait until September 23rd before the Dreamcast hits the
streets. As always in the past, a delay like this between
NTSC and PAL versions is almost certain. However I want
to stress this is, just a rumor at this stage.
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======| ARCADE ZONE |=====================================
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>>>> Spike Out Review
>>>> Written by Gavin Matheson
AM2, once again, went to the no holds barred fighting genre,
but this time rather with their usual one on one expertise,
they went into the scrolling beat 'em up genre to improve
on the classic Street of Rage 2. Street of Rage 2, prepare
to be dethroned by Spikeout, AM2 latest AAA class title on
the Model 3 Step 2 arcade board.
Spikeout has been in the arcade for the past 2 month, and
already it has wowed the audience with its brute force slug
fest fighting. Having played a full scale 4 player teamwork
war from beginning to the very completion of the game, I
can proudly say that the game is more ground breaking than
what you may have imagined.
One of Spikeout's key features is making use of the fibre
optic cable to connect the arcade cabinets together, to
enable a full 4 player real time battle game. This title
can, of course, still be played in one player, but you
must be warned, this isn't any ordinary beat 'em up.
This game screams co-operative play, and this is one of
the things that makes it so special. Because of this
dedication of having one player per cabinet, this give
you the ability to free lance throughout the 3 stages.
With this you can still turn around and go back to the
area you've already battled in as well, as well as
venturing forward. The whole entire town is for you to
explore, so you can actually wander off somewhere, and
find some extra health hidden behind an area that you
wouldn't normally see.
The camera views in Spikeout is controlled intelligently
by the computer, and it actually chooses the best angle
for you. Much in the same way in Sonic Adventure, only
this time there are no bugs like the camera getting stuck
behind the wall. Depending on the number of players that
actually participate in the game, would actually change
the game scenarios and areas. Meaning that the game can
have many different possibilities.
However, with myself joined together with 3 seasoned
gamers who are also my friends, we tackled the 3 stages
head on. 3 stages does however sound relatively small,
but each stage is very large, and it could take you
bout 30 to 50 minutes to complete each one. When my
friends and I completed the game, it took us about 1
hours and 45 minutes. The whole town looks very
realistic, with AM2 having hired some architects in
helping with the building of the designs.
The settings of the game is on one huge city block,
from such areas like Down Town and the Department
Stores. You can move anywhere, and I really do mean
anywhere. From escalators, to lifts, balconies, broken
walls, piles up warehouse boxes, etc. What makes it
even more exciting is that the player has the ability
of battling opponents while they're on these moving
areas such as the escalators.
This is far more elevated compared to Virtua Fighter
3 undulation system, as the ground or terrain, like
Virtua Fighter 3, fully allows you to plan and execute
your advantage, and accordingly attack your opponents.
Within the 3 stages there are 12 sections, so you must
be very observant on each stage and section, for it
would be an equivalent of around 80 times the size
of Virtua Fighter 3 stages. This equivalent was stated
by AM2 themselves.
On the character selection screen, you have a choice of
4 characters. These characters are Linda, Tenshin, Spike
who is the team leader, and White. Each character have
their own advantages and disadvantages, in term of their
characteristic of fighting style. You must know them
thoroughly in order for you to conquer the game. Each
character within the game have 2 main special moves
that they can pulled off by pressing 3 buttons. These
involve with or without holding the enemy. Together with
this, other options are available when holding the enemy
from behind, so he/she can be beaten to a pulp by your
partners, or being completely vicious by grabbing the
nearest available object.
For true mastery of each character it is best to play
as if you're playing Virtua Fighter 3 itself. You have
to think about your attacks, keep your opponents at bay,
then go for the kill. Also you must learn its floating
combo system, and learn to charge up your power bar,
and releasing it at different time within or at the end
of your combination attacks. As a result your character
would unleash a powerful blow that would send the
opponent flying to the other side of the screen.
The trouble is with this method, you have to think about
it quickly, because there are enemies everywhere. Each
character within the game has just enough detail to
take on AM2 own mightiest game Virtua Fighter 3, meaning
once again there is no slack graphics wise. In fact they
are so immensely detailed that they could have
incorporated the game into a one on one beat 'em up instead.
Previous fighting games have usually incorporated one
or two enemy characters at a time. Not so in Spikeout.
You can have up to 15 or more players on the screen at
once. The whole game is in fact one big brawl where
teamwork is the true key to success. The action in
Spikeout is extremely fast pace, with well placed
pauses to give you time to recover and realize your
position on the map so you won't get lost. On every
section the area is blocked off so you would be
prevented in proceeding further into the game until you
clear the area. When everything is cleared, a message
flashes on the screen and the guy shouts out 'Smash
the gate!'. When this happens you have 30 seconds to
comply to find the section that you have to smash.
Because of the timer, you'll get a heart-pounding
sensation as you try to exit in time, making yourself
more desperate to find it.
Everything in the game is interactive, so you can
pick up chairs, dustbins, pipes, mail boxes, anything.
As long its weighs enough for you to convert it to a
weapon. In fact you can actually pick up two items at the
same time, in dependent of what it is. bin the past, in
scrolling beat 'em up games, picking up objects didn't
seem like a essential task, as fighting in unarmed combat
was enough to complete the game. However in Spikeout,
this is not the case. You must use any weapon to your
advantage as situations can become so tough that unarmed
combat would easily lead to certain doom.
On the negative side of things, when a player joins a
link game, the sound cuts out for a few seconds which
does becomes annoying at times. There should have been
more variation gameplay wise considering the player
have the ability to freelance anywhere in the area.
The story really unfolds when you reach the final boss,
and believe me this boss has no mercy for anyone, he's
very tough. Not even his own men can escape his wrath,
but AM2 should have included the story more throughout
the game. Maybe in the Dreamcast version this would
incorporated.
The fighting style that Spikeout introduces to the
public is fun. This is a serious beat em up that can
last for a long time, and it is perfect for the home
entertainment, rather than the arcade. When Sega does
convert this for the Dreamcast, together with Die Hard
Arcade 2, then the Dreamcast would become an unstoppable
force in the beat em up genre. The sheer size, the time,
and amount of players and action this title produces,
its enough to make anyone think twice about Sega's
performance in the arcades, and the Dreamcast itself.
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======[ TIPS & CHEATS ]===================================
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O If you've discovered a secret on a Dreamcast or O
O Arcade game, and would like to share it with the O
O world, please e-mail me on Webmaster@sega2000.com O
>>>> Puyo Puyo 4 - Import - Thanks to James Kuroki
Beating the story mode on any difficulty but with
unlimited continues unlocks Doppleganger Arle and
Carbunkle. (Pressing either L or R half-way, followed by
Y at the character selection screen does the same.) You will
also get the I-Jigen Stage.
When playing VS Mode, select your handi and go to the "Very
Easy" option. Holding down the UP button for 3 seconds
unlocks an easier difficulty. Going to "Very Hard" and
holding down the DOWN button for 3 seconds unlocks a harder
difficulty.
Go to the Toko-ton Puyo and select the smallest sized Puyo
(on the bottom). Then, highlight the middle handi and hold
both X and Y and then press A. This gives you a 100+ chain
combo.
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======| SEGA TRIVIA |=====================================
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>>>> Weekly Sega Trivia
>>>> By Alex
O If you have any questions you think could be printed, O
O feel free to e-mail Alex on Alex@sega2000.com. Thanks. O
1: In what game can you fight as a peasant, a rabbit, and
a two headed dragon?
2: Your adventure starts when you discover a cool sword.
What adventure?
3: Legend of Mystaria changed it's name from the Japanese
one, which was called what?
4: What is the name of the new female member of the Virtua
Cops in VC2?
5: Who is the executive producer at Sonic Team?
>>>> Answers
1: Guardian Heroes
2: Guardian Heroes again
3: Riglord Saga
4: Janet Marshall
5: Yuji Naka
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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 your'll find anywhere.
>>>> Sega 2000 - www.Sega2000.com
Sega 2000's new news system means our staff can put news
online any time of the day, and from anywhere in the world.
>>>> Media Site - http://media.seganet.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. Also don't forget to vote for your favorite
staff member.
>>>> Dreamcast.net - www.Dreamcast.net
Updates daily, to keep you up with the latest on all things
Sega.
>>>> 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 gone undercover to find out the
latest in release dates, prices and titles for the
Australian Dreamcast launch. Add in some of the best
previews, reviews, news and other info and this is one
hell of a site. Have a look.
>>>> 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!!
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.com
O Co-editor: Steve - steve@sega2000.com
O DC Questions: Please send to - Steve@sega2000.com
>>>> www.DreamcastWeekly.com - Official Website!
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Copyright, 1998-9 Graham Parker - WEBMASTER@SEGA2000.COM
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.
Oh and finally...
-----------------
Just 40 days to go until Star Wars comes out here. I
wonder how early I can get tickets for opening night...
hmmm...
