A Tribute to My Dreamcast

Yes, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Sega’s revolutionary white box. While I got into Dreamcast fever rather late (in 2004, when games for the console were long out of production), I still had a blast with it. Picking it up for a mere $9.99 at my local EBGames (a game store that was actually – gasp!- good) along with a few cheapie games, a blue VMU, and an extra controller, I brought the Dreamcast home a played it well into the night.

Perhaps the most fun of all was going from second hand game store to store and finding the most desirable games for the platform. Since I got into the console late and didn’t purchase games online during this time period, it was fun going from city to city and not knowing what you’d end up with. Coming home with a mint copy of Power Stone or Street Fighter Alpha 3 meant that I had a good run.

Although collecting games for the platform was enjoyable, I can’t forget about the gameplay aspect of the games. Street Fighter Alpha 3 was one I played with friends until the wee hours of the morning, Sonic Adventure 2 provided some of the best platforming action of its time period, and Virtua Tennis was an undeniably addictive tennis simulation.

Fast forward a few years later, however, and my Dreamcast has been ignored for quite some time. Sitting in a box in my dark closet and getting no love whatsoever, possibly jealous of all of the attention my new-fangled Wii’s and 360’s are getting.

I decided that it’s finally time to give this console a new home.

I listed all of the games and the console online for sale, and now I’m just waiting for a buyer. It’s not all bad news, though. Not only will I get some extra dough and save space, but I’ll be able to repurchase many of the best games for the console on other platforms. I’ll always miss Sega’s gorgeous final console, but the games and memories of it will live on.

Role-Playing Game Starring Sonic the Hedgehog in the Works

Chalk this up as something new, folks. No, this is not an early April fool's joke - Bioware, talented developer of many well known RPG's such as the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, Baulder's Gate, and Jade Empire is creating a role playing game starring Sega's beloved mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog.

This bizarre, unexpected title will appear exclusively on the Nintendo DS. It is set in the Sonic world, and how the combat system will handle at this point is unknown. However, it will be set in the Sonic universe and feature many familiar characters.

Will this translate to a quality role-playing experience, though? Hmmm... while the vast majority of gamers, like me, are highly skeptical of this oddball idea, Bioware has an excellent track record, so you'd have to be a little dim to think that this is going to just be a half-hearted cash-in. At least it's something... unique, right?

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Sega Serves Up Some Fan Service with Two New Announced Titles

Since my last post was about the upcoming House of the Dead-inspired DS action game ‘Touch the Dead’, I figured that this would be a rather appropriate time to write about another similar title. Titled ‘The Typing of the Dead’, the game saw release on both the ill-fated Dreamcast and on PC (the PC version seems a bit more obscure, however, as I’ve yet to actually see a physical copy of it…). Set in the House of the Dead II universe, instead of gunning down hordes of zombies with a light gun you typed out fraises via a keyboard to kill the undead. Although this highly unique title failed to create much of a buzz when it was originally released seven years ago (time really flies, eh?), it is now considered something of a cult-classic, enough so for Sega to justify another entry in the series.

Yup, that’s right – a sequel to the Sega cult-classic is in the works and planned for a PC-exclusive release. Although this quirky title hasn’t been confirmed for release outside of Japan yet, I’m sure it’ll make its way around the world shortly after it hits the Land of the Rising Sun. And even though the popular House of the Dead Series has seen four entries thus far, the Typing of the Dead 2’s environments, characters and story will be based on the third game originally released in 2002 (maybe signifying a possible third entry to be based on the House of the Dead 4? That seems like a long shot right now though…).

Also confirmed by Sega is a wacky new golf title. Titled Sega Splash! Golf, think Hot Shots Golf but with a zany Sega twist. Let’s just hope the game play can match Sony’s sublime arcade-style golf series…

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