... We were heroes of the Sega world, having owned near enough all the consoles they have ever released and all the Sonic games ever conceived by the Sega game boffins.
Sega has always had a soft spot in my heart, with their Master Systems and Mega Drive consoles selling by the bucket load ... Read review
When you first pop in Sega GT, you'll be a bit sceptical. It doesn't just resemble the ... more
layout ofGran Turismofor the PlayStation; it's almost identical to it, from earning licenses to having your own garage and stocking it with brand-name cars.But the more you play, the more you will fall in love withSega GT's silky graphics that speed along with only the slightest blurring at night. The scenery is so distracting that most players will have to remember to keep their eyes on the road.Usually, racing games can get pretty tiring, butSega GTwill hold most players, mainly because there are so many licenses you can earn from the auto manufacturers in the game, including Mazda, Suzuki and other mostly Japanese auto makers. One of the coolest features here allows you to create a car from scratch and then see how it stacks up on the track--chances are your first design won't do well.The only disappointment is that it discovers nothing new in its race to be better than the popularGran Turismo, and it suffers from the same problems as the original--no matter how hard you push the accelerator button, a Toyota Yaris will only go at a snails pace around the track. --Robb Guido
Postage & Packaging:free Super Saver Delivery Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Indulge yourself in a totally ne concept, created by Sega for it's world of On-line ... more
gaming, and experience a new form of on-line communication. "Planet RING" is an 'Online Theme Park', containing many exciting elements, which you can only experiance through Dreamcast. There are currently 4 mini attractions (games) on this Planet, each is simple but addictive - 'Dream Dorobo', 'Ball Bubble', 'SOAR' and 'Splash', and together with other amenities such as 'RING Messenger' and many entertaining events to be introduced in the future, this is truly a gamers paradise! The online gaming and functions for this game are only avalible in the UK, mainland France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Ireland.
Postage & Packaging:£2.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
WWF Attitudeis just like its subjects: big. Over 40 World Wrestling Federation ... more
wrestlers--with bigger-than-life bodies and personalities to match--take to the ring, including The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, D-Generation X and Triple H. Wrestle as an individual or tag team, create your own pay-per-view event, or choose from a wide variety of options for matches and gameplay.As the wrestlers come out, their theme music is played, and they go through their trademark moves. From there the action gets a little slow. While the crowd sounds very realistic, the actual moves are executed rather slowly. Plus Acclaim has included a function that causes the wrestlers to lock arms if they get too close. This is designed to keep a player from using the same moves over and over again. It doesn't work--an entire match can be won by just hitting the kick button. What it does do is force numerous arm locks that do little damage and can turn monotonous. However, executing a great move like a body slam is cool--when it works.Hard-core professional wrestling fans will appreciate the accurate character models and faithful reproductions of signature moves of their favourite wrestlers. While those who are into fast and furious wrestling action will be better served looking elsewhere, fans who enjoy watching the pros will enjoy this game's cinematic attitude.--Allen Stewart
Postage & Packaging:£1.94 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Freestyle Scooter is the opportunity to take your scooter into the funbox! Control urban ... more
thrashers who cut through massive, radical environments. Perform tight tricks like heel-flifs, candybars, can-cans and supermen. Add to the timebar by pulling off phat air on insane ramps and half pipes. Grind ledges, high-flying wires, barrels and benches. Collect wheels scattered throughout each level to unlock the coolest parks and characters! Over 45 unique tricks and moves. Combo them together for infinite maneuvers! 3 realistic levels full of pipes. jumps and rails. 9 diverse riders. Save the Freestyle crew by grinding jumping and throwing down tricks. Customise your ride with different colours. 6 Bonus Levels.
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
(+) i don't think their is one unless you wanna save on the electricity bill a tiny percentage. (-) There's really not much point to it. but i still love playstation!
Advantages: Cheap, has some excellent games, rare console to own Disadvantages: No software developer support anymore, obsolete console
...We were heroes of the Sega world, having owned near enough all the consoles they have ever released and all the Sonic games ever conceived by the Sega game boffins.
Sega has always had a soft spot in my heart, with their Master Systems and Mega Drive consoles selling by the bucket load in the 80's you'd think they would have it easy. Tch tch, a darn shame Nintendo were around to steal their thunder.
Now this comes along, ... ...the Playstation's already dated graphics. Sega released the first ever 128bit console into the market a few months before the Sony Playstation 2 hoping to get a head start on the competition. Although a 128bit console like the other next generation machines such as the XBOX, production was halted early (6-8 months after it was released believe it or not) and software support died completely due to Sony's Playstation 2 hogging the limelight rendering ... more
"My gosh is that is that a Dreamcast in your bag or are you just pleased to see me?"
My mate has always been exaggerative when it came to me bringing old consoles over to his for us to play some vintage classic games. We were heroes of the Sega world, having owned near enough all the consoles they have ever released and all the Sonic games ever conceived by the Sega game boffins.
Sega has always had a soft spot in my heart, with their Master Systems and Mega Drive consoles selling by the bucket load in the 80's you'd think they would have it easy. Tch tch, a darn shame Nintendo were around to steal their thunder.
Now this comes along, Sega's most ambitious project ever in the form of a 128bit console that delivered for the first time 'clear, sharp, realistic 3D graphics on your television'. And yes it did, compared to the Playstation this was a welcome change to the Playstation's already dated graphics. Sega released the first ever 128bit console into the market a few months before the Sony Playstation 2 hoping to get a head start on the competition. Although a 128bit console like the other next generation machines such as the XBOX, production was halted early (6-8 months after it was released believe it or not) and software support died completely due to Sony's Playstation 2 hogging the limelight rendering this console obsolete. Because of this, I class it as a vintage console out of the territory of the other 128bit hitters.
The Dreamcast was Sega's last attempt at the console industry and are now solely software based, writing games for other systems after losing alot of money on their gamble with their ill-fated machine. But before it died, the Dreamcast had a few fantastic games made for it and it's graphical prowess is still rather good even by today's standards.
At first view this console is a little white box thing with a flip-lid to place games into it's disc drive and 4 ports on the front for the control pads. To be honest I don't know what to make of it, be it pleasing to the eye or as ugly as a toasted frog, my mind isn't made up. All I know is that I don't find it detesting, but it doesn't really catch my attention, pretty much an average looker. The symbol used for the Dreamcast is a swirly blue thing and frankly that's a nasty symbol for any machine.
The console is rather heavy, only beaten by the XBOX in that aspect. However it is only slightly bigger than a Gamecube. This gives me the impression there must be some seriously packed up hardware inside this bread bin.
So far only average looking, won't turn any heads but does it pack a punch underneath that white gown?
Processor: 200Mhz This console uses the 128-Bit Hitachi SuperH4 processor. This processor type is usually used for personal digital assistants such as the Compaq IPAQ series. Hitachi updated it and made it faster for the Dreamcast to run it's games. At 200MHz you don't have to guess that it is no match for the other next generation 128bit consoles.
RAM: 16MB Having only 16MB of RAM does seem like a bottleneck, however the Dreamcast seemed to manage fine with it and had some top notch games utilise it with little or no slow down. Based on standard DRAM technology (used for PCs at the time) it is cheap but cheerful!
Graphics: NEC/Videologic PowerVR2 8MB Sega asked Videologic if they could use their graphics chip for the Dreamcast to power the 3D games that would run on it. At the time there were two competing graphics companies Videologic and 3DFX. Their fastest graphics chips were the PowerVR2 (for Videologic) and VooDoo2 (for 3DFX). They were evenly matched, but Sega plumped for Videologic because manufacturing with them was cheaper.
Audio: Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound 2MB The sound chip was provided by Yamaha and it provided 64 channels of audio, 3D audio support and CD quality sound. The sound reproduction by the Dreamcast is of very high quality thanks to this chip, and it can even support Dolby Surround.
CD speed: 12x Although it can read CDs perfectly well, the Dreamcast used an entirely new type of disc media in an attempt to stamp out software piracy that plagued Sony's Playstation 1. They worked with Yamaha to create the GD-ROM (GD stands for gigabyte disc) which stores 1,200MB of data rather than the 650MB of ordinary CDs. However the protection provided by this media was overcome within the first week of the console's release in Hong Kong and pirated games were being released on bog standard CDs for the public to buy.
Modem: 33.6kbps The Dreamcast comes with a built-in 33.6kbps modem to connect to the internet through the standard telephone line for multiplayer games. However, our American cousins were gifted with the faster 56kbps modems so it makes one think what's so special about them that they get a better modem than us? Although no match for broadband, Sega's internet connection was surprisingly fast compared to the standard dial-up services we used on our PCs.
Operating System: Windows CE Yup, it uses the same operating system as the palmtop computers at the time. The CE stands for compact edition.
A pretty modest specification, but then again it is one of the first 128bit consoles ever released and is old in comparison to the others. But that does not mean this console will go down without a fight. To test the console I will run 2 games on it which I personally find to be some of the best games on it before it was put to death by Sega.
Setting up the console is easy for veterans of console gaming such as I. For those new to the console scene it is still a very easy task as the manual shows the instructions step by step very clearly.
Game 1: Resident Evil Code Veronica One of the main reasons I purchased a Dreamcast, the newest Resident Evil game was going to be released on the Dreamcast so I had to buy myself the console for gratifying Zombie slaying galore! The graphics are very nice, smoother in places than the Playstation 2 in actual fact with no jagged effects when objects are tilted at an angle. Although alot of the environment graphical effects look dated by today's standards such as the fake fire effects, the main 3D models of the characters and the zombies are very nicely animated. They do, unfortunately, have a lower polygon count than the games we are used to with the current 128bit systems (you can see the edges of some blocks that make up the characters). The characters look fantastic from individual hairs fluttering in the wind as you run to the zombies dragging themselves over the floor with bits of themselves rubbing off.
Sound and music to the game is very clear and distinguishable from the object it is trying to reproduce. The realistic sounds of the machinery grinding away to the footsteps of enemies skipping along is no problem for the Yamaha sound chip. It practically laughs at the tasks given to it. However I could only get stereo effect on my sound system so I cannot comment if the surround sound experience is any good.
Game 2: Sonic Adventure 2 The other reason I purchase the Dreamcast was because of the Sonic franchise. This game is very very fast, even with the graphics looking so colourful and so many things onscreen at the same time, Sonic just zooms right though them all with no slowdown whatsoever, taking the graphics chip into overdrive. Sonic looks great in 3D mode, the sand and water effects are simply breath taking. But the you only begin to have a graphics feast when you are in the jungle levels of the game, the levels are massive and very fast but there are so many 3D things being rendered and looking so lushious you wonder how the Dreamcast is managing to keeping up with it's 16MB of RAM and 200MHz processor. The only problem I think is that the landscape isn't drawn until it's within a certain range of Sonic. This definately is a sign of it's limitations as an old console.
The audio effects are more or less the same as Resident Evil, very clear and very realistic with no hiss or static in sight (sight is metaphorically speaking of course!) Again I cannot comment on the surround sound capabilities, either the games do not support it or the Dreamcast doesn't like my sound setup.
Well I do think the games speak for the console, it is a very capable machine although obsolete and seen as an old man in the gaming industry. Besides the fact that the hardware is lacking, there are a few other little problems. The control pad is rather big and is a rather ugly beast. It's light yes and the buttons are easy to reach, but it is poorly designed in terms of aesthetics and the cable is coming out of the control pad at the wrong end (instead of at the top it's trailing out at the bottom). The memory card used for it is very annoying as well. Called the VMU (visual memory unit) it's like a mini gaming device looking like a very small Gameboy, but the batteries don't last long enough for you to do anything with it. To add insult to injury the batteries aren't rechargable, the memory card requires CR2032 watch batteries. And with the batteries dead, it always goes BEEEEP when you plug it into the control pad to access it's contents. Lastly you can only access the internet with the special DreamKey disc that loads up an internet browser for you to go online. Although rather fast and easy to use, typing with the software keyboard is a nightmare and downloading files onto the puny 256KB memory card isn't very realistic. Not only is it low on storage space but how are you going to get that data from the memory card onto your PC?
This console can be had for around £20 on EBAY, it all depends on how lucky you are when you are bidding on it. With it out of production this is one of the few places you can get your hands on one. The games for it are very cheap now, the most expensive is £10, the cheapest I've seen them for were at £3 per game. A bargain! Overall great value for money.
A great console that didn't receive the recognition it deserved, this is a fine console to own for it's vintage value. In future it may be worth much more when you have collectors hunting for these ever-so-hard-to-get machines. It has a couple of problems, but the pros out weigh the cons and I personally would own one just in case that collector would happen to knock on my door someday!
Bonus: Did you know Sega also worked in secret with the processor and graphics rivals of their Dreamcast consoles? Codenamed 'Black Belt' this other Dreamcast had an IBM PowerPC 603e processor and 3Dfx Voodoo2 graphics. Only later on when they discovered the Dreamcast codenamed 'Dural' with the features in this review was cheaper to manufacture did they stick with it instead.
Sega used the Dreamcast's internal design for their arcade machines at the time. Named 'Naomi' the Dreamcast's board used for arcade machines were exactly the same as the Dreamcast except it had double the system RAM and double the graphics RAM. You could use the memory card for the Dreamcast to upload your high scores onto the arcade machine if you had the same game at home.
Later on it was replaced with 'Naomi 2', with changes of the graphics chip to a PowerVR CLX2 (much faster and more powerful than the PowerVR2) and gifted with 64MB graphics RAM.
There was a Playstation 1 emulator for the Dreamcast called Bleemcast, it allowed owners of the Playstation 1 games to play it on the Dreamcast with better graphics and loading speed. The problem was that you needed to buy individual packs for a specific set of games i.e. one disc would be for RPGs and another would be for Action games. Each pack costed £30 each and frankly in my opinion it wasn't worth it.
Advantages: Cheap Console and Games that can still match PS2/XBOX graphic for graphic. Disadvantages: No new games / lack of support.
Sega Dreamcast – 6 Feet Under but not Dead Yet.
The Sega Dreamcast shaped gaming to what it is today, whether you noticed it or not. I pathed the way for a new type of gaming and though has been pulled out of manufacturing, isn’t dead yet.
* So what is a Sega Dreamcast? *
The Dreamcast is a 128-bit games console.
It was released in Europe in 1999 but a year earlier, in 1998 was released in Japan.
It was the first console to have a built In 56k ... ...longer made for it and Sega takes no interest in support anymore unless you have to ring a 0900 number, yet the Dreamcast still boasts great features and a line up of some of the best games available. When it was released, the primary function of the Dreamcast was to first defeat the N64 and Playstation 1. This it could do with ease, the Dreamcast had the power, the graphics, the sound quality and the extra features along with new games like no one ...
markcrymble 01.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sega Dreamcast
Advantages: Brilliant games. Disadvantages: hard and software no longer avaliable in the shops.
The Sega Dreamcast was released in the UK during September 1999. At that time it was the most powerful console in the world and should have sold by the truckload. Despite a reasonable ad campaign though, Sega just were'nt able to sell many units and had they have continued with the console then being declared bankrupt was a distinct possibility. When Sega announced that they were going to cease production in early 2001, most major UK retailers suddenly ... ...it is a bonus. The Sega Dreamcast was so far ahead of it's time that only in the last 3 years have the subsequent generation caught up in terms of graphical capability (it was released 6 years ago remember), even today i am still impressed with the sheer quality of Shenmue's visuals.
All i can suggest then is that should you ever get the opportunity to own a DC (and not have one already), then try and get it as you will never regret owning one. ...
djfryer2002 08.09.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sega Dreamcast
Advantages: Cheap, Cheap games, 128 Bit graphics Disadvantages: No new games avalible
...can play great games like Sega GT against other racers all around the world. Unfortunately the online gaming servers are gone now as Sega is dead but not buried but you can still use the email and internet so its not all bad.
ACCSESSORIES
This console has a large range of accessories like a keyboard to make it easer to type emails also there are games which require this along with the mouse.
There is a light gun for games like house of the dead ... ...is cool to use with Soul Calibur and other great fighting games.
There are many more but i do not want to bore you by writing about all of them.
GENERAL
This is one of the best consoles to be created but because the competition with the ps2 it was to much so it did not survive but it is an advantage as it is available from as little as £20 pre-owned from game shops like Gamestation and the games cost no more then £10 so this is another advantage ...
JAGGER2K 13.04.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sega Dreamcast
Advantages: Excellent Games Console, Great selection of games, Bargain Prices Disadvantages: No Longer made, No More New Games
...exit out of the arena. Sega ceased production of the Dreamcast in March of 2001. So why I'm I writing an opinion about a defunct games console? Simple, because its still deserves a worthy mention to this day! In the latest battle in the console wars, people seemed to have forgotten that it was Sega who first entered this next stage of the 128bit consoles. What the hell does that mean I hear you all shouting? Well it means that even though its consider ... ...Sonic Adventure 2
No Sega games console is complete without the masco, Sonic. This is a all 3D adventure and is simply addictive!
Virtua Tennis 2
Only released last year, this has got to be the definitive sports game for the Dreamcast, with its realistic graphics of tennis players and sheer playability. Check out Tim Henmen 3D rendition! In fact there isnt another Tennis game to touch it at the moment on any console!
And the list goes on, there ...
rayliu 15.05.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sega Dreamcast
...still buying it. But the sega ran in to trouble like they have with all games machines before the dreamcast. They went bankrupt. So now they have switched to producing games for all consoles. They stopped making dreamcast about two months ago now. So you should get one whilst you still can as the games are still going to be made.
The rest of this opinion is going to tell you everything that you wanted to know about the dreamcast and tell you the ... ...The first light guns that sega brought out were not very good as they were big chunky things. But mad catz designed some new light guns and sega started selling these as the official guns. The gun is white with little flashing orange lights. There is a little thumb joy pad so you can select which from the games menu. There is another button that lets you choose from three different types of fireing modes. They are:
· Auto fire.
· Normal.
· Automatic ...
edd101 01.12.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sega Dreamcast
Graphics capability
Sound capability
Range of Extra Features...
Value For Money
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Advantages: Extremely Addictuve, Great Graphics Disadvantages: Needs the rod to experiance the full potential
Sega Bass fishing is a brilliant game for the dreamcast, although it is expensive, it is extremely addictive, it doesn?t take very long to complete, unless you try for the championship, and it only has three levels, plus a secret level, the best thing about buying this game is the fishing rod, the game seems boring when heard of through speech, but when you play it with the rod, it is great, without the rod, it isn?t anything special. The rod vibrate, and only costs £15-£20 at Whsmiths, overall, only worth it if the rod is purchased. ...
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comparing the Teletubbies to Bob The Builder. Bob The Builder is MUCH better as we all know. Oops, erm, that’s what the kids say anyway...
In essence this really could have been the game that was the Sega version of Gran Turismo but this title fails to come even close at every single part.
Graphics:
I’ll quite happily admit that visually this isn’t too bad. It’s certainly not an oil painting and it doesn’t come even close to matching the graphical prowess of other Dreamcast racing titles such as F355 Challenge and MSR. In fact MSR almost makes this look like a Saturn game. Almost.
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Advantages: Well, Its essential Disadvantages: Its essential
The SegaDreamcast RF Adapter is essential for using your Dreamcast. Its a small black box, about 4cm x 5cm x 1.5cm and plugs into both your Dreamcast console and your TV.
They let you switch between your Dreamcast and normal TV aerial. The switch automatically detects that your Dreamcast is on, and the TV then can display the picture.
They are essential for Dreamcast use, and so you have no choice - whether you like them or not they are needed.
They are black in colour, and with white printing on the front (Dreamcast - Sega - RF Adapter).
The price for something lik this would be about 7 pounds second hand, this being because the Dreamcast was discontinued a few years ago now.
They perform as they should, and I have never had any issues with mine. I can't really rate them out of 10, as they are essential, but I suppose ...