Ode to a great console (Dreamcast in general)

Member Name: Totalbiscuit

Product:	Dreamcast in general
Date:	02/03/02 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent range of games, Online capabilities, Bargain price

Disadvantages: Lack of third party support, Not quite as poweful as the PS2

When you say 'Sega' to someone they will usually say one of two things.

Sonic or Megadrive (Genesis for those americans).

Not entirely surprising, Sonic is Sega's most well known character and the Megadrive it's best selling system. Unfortunately, Sega's fortunes (partly through their own stupidity) took a turn for the worst and they recently pulled out of the console market all together to become a pure software developer. The Dreamcast was their last console and after the farce of the 32x, MegaCD and Saturn you'd expect another badly thought out flop.
And you'd be wrong, this is a fine machine. Overlooked in favour of the over-hyped, expensive and somewhat ugly Playstation 2, the Dreamcast floundered in the vacuum of relative obscurity and died a reasonably peaceful death. The reasons for it's death lie partly on the shoulders of Sega. It was under-marketed, Sega are notoriously bad at that sort of thing. They also had the cheek to rub the fans noses in it by cancelling a few of it's guaranteed hit titles, including the conversions of Black and White and Half-Life. This however, does not mean that you shouldn't seriously consider purchasing this cute little box of tricks.
The Dreamcast is a powerful machine. Granted, not so powerful as the Playstation 2 but that really doesn't matter. The fact is, it's got 2 advantages over Sony's 'super console'. Firstly, it has a large range of games available, catering for every taste. Many of these games are of extremely high quality, with many triple A titles including the insane drive-em-up Crazy Taxi and the stunningly fantastic beat-em-up Soul Calibre. Secondly, it has internet access. Might not sound like much, but when you pick up games like Chu Chu Rocket and Phantasy Star Online, you'll realize why this is such a bonus. Console gaming is no longer such a lonely occupation. You'll get to play some high quality games across th
e net with whomever you choose. The 33.6k modem might not sound like much, but with the recoding of the games and the exact matching between the player's systems, you'll often find it functioning better than most 56k PC modems. Phantasy Star Online is perhaps the Dreamcast's best online title. It's an RPG which a seemless offline/online transition. Take your nurtured character online for some cooperation monster-slaying shanigans and nifty item trading. Even better, Sega have had the sense to release PSO2 which adds loads of new features, including a deathmatch mode and soccer game.
This console is also great for parties. Trust me on this, take one Dreamcast with several premier titles, add snack treats and large amounts of alcohol (for those over the legal age of course) and you have the recipe for a great night. Chu Chu Rocket is a riot in four player and Quake3, Powerstone, Soul Calibur, Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Toyracer are also great party games.
As I've said, the console is pretty powerful. You can see from the still stunning graphics in many games just how powerful it is. It also has the additional advantage over the PS2 of 60hz compatibility, which will allow those with SCART leads and compatible TV's (that's most new ones) to enjoy full or near to full screen gaming with a speed increase around the 15% mark. This is a real bonus as many developers have taken advantage of this feature which kind of scorns earlier poor quality PAL conversions with ugly black borders and low framerates.
Would I recommend this console, most definately. The catalogue of games is full of quality titles, the modem gives you a whole new world of gaming to explore and the console, though now lacking in 3rd party support can be found at a bargain price, along with extremely cheap new and second hand games. Get one now, you won't regret it.

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