Suzuki Alstare Racing Review

Original Release
North America: November 16, 1999
Europe: November 10, 1999

Game Details
1-2 Players
VMU enabled
Standard Controller
VGA Box


[Video courtesy of "Its Still Thinking". Check the game out and leave your own comments of the game.]



Gameplay
Suzuki Alstare Racing is a refined version of a PC game release known as Redline Racer made by the infamous development studio Criterion Games and published by Ubisoft. A motorcycle racer with a slight emphasis on arcade style control physics with an intentionally grounded and realistic presentation making the overall experience a bit sedated yet accessible to players of all skill types. I personally found the game rather encouraging to play as a result of the games approach to gameplay and intuitive controls. While not part of the incredible Dreamcast launch lineup of 9.9.99, the game was still available very early for the platform almost right after the launch. The provided game modes for the game consists of a simple single player campaign mode, a 2 player mode and that's about it really. You'll spend most of your time in "Main Mode" which consists qualifying races which in turn allows access to additional qualifying tournaments to compete in, ultimately unlocking additional levels, bikes and racing attire.

Story
N/A

Graphics
I may be wrong here (If someone can enlighten me on the subject) but the game may have been produced with Criterion's own RenderWare technology. Regardless if there is truth to this statement or not, the visuals in Suzuki Alstare are quite nice especially for their time. Everything looks good, very sharp and well textured. Lighting effects produced on various levels are also well done. While the game runs on a lackluster 30 fps, it does nothing to take away from the games blistering pace. The framerate is always locked and never ever falters down to anything below its default rate regardless on what appears on screen. Also, the games sense of speed is rather impressive with enough acceleration and there is little to no issue regarding draw distance.

Sound
Engine sounds are good and the games soundtrack if of the techno electronic variety so the latter may evoke a love it or hate it feeling depending on your musical taste. There are some catchy beats and tunes but for the most part, a lot of the music is forgettable. A gripe i have with the game in the audio category which stems from the sound chime that is produced when reaching checkpoints on a racetrack.

Conclusion
The Dreamcast is a heaven for many amazing racing titles, and the same publisher to this very game had 2 additional racers released almost in parallel with the release of Suzuki Alstare Racing. With such abundance and variety on the console, it's bit easy to overlook this game from the shuffle. I admit I never even played the game until just last year when I scored a copy for only $3. I must admit that I was rather surprised to discover such a fun game that I had yet own. There may be a lack of modes and content overall, but the heart of the game is rather polished and well crafted. Check this game out for yourselves courtesy of RDC and see if your impression of the game is similar to my own.

6.5/10      

Soul Calibur Review

Original Release
Japan: August 5, 1999
North America: 9.9.99 (I just can't help myself!)
Europe: December 1, 1999

Game Details
1-2 Players
VMU enabled
Standard Controller, Arcade Stick
VGA Box

[Video courtesy of "Its Still Thinking". If you dig the gameplay footage, go grab RDC's impressive Soul Calibur ISO release and bust out a few combos of your own!]

Gameplay
SOUL CALIBUR!!! is a 3D arcade fighting game released in 1998 by Namco. It's the successor to the lesser known Soul Edge arcade which was released in 1996 (later released on home platform as Soul Blade). One of the first 3D fighting titles under the weapon based fighter sub-genre (the other being Toshinden), Soul Calibur's cast is well varied and diverse thanks in part to the games central focus on weapon combat, providing the user many options among playstyles to discover. The games control scheme is a simple yet elegant 4 button layout encompassing a Block (guard) button, Horizontal attack, Vertical attack and Kick. Soul's general techniques are abundant like "Soul Charge" (virtually useless IMO) and the more worthwhile defensive variations in its "Guard Impact" system that provides the defender various types of parries to halt an aggressors assault and attack back accordingly. Perhaps the most groundbreaking feature to Soul Calibur name is the 8-way run. This implemented system of movement provides players with complete access to move about in all 8 directions on the playfield. Furthermore, its execution is impressively implemented, making it an effortless task to gain access to this level of freedom during heated battles. Because of the nature of weapon based combat where positioning, proper spacing and the possible threat of "Ring Outs" are perilous, the 8-way run system gels smoothly with the games blueprint fighting formula which clearly compliment casual players and advanced veterans alike.      

Story
For some reason i was under the impression that RDC had already written a review for its respective Soul Calibur release some time ago. After some research, the closest I could find on the blog was a amusing story involving ebay, alchohol, a party and Soul Calibur, and not in that particular order... Oh wait... ehem!
...A Tale of Souls and Swords, Eternally Retold!... yup that about sums it up.

Graphics
WELCOME BACK TO THE STAGE OF HISTORY! Contrary to some info that's out there, Soul Calibur's original inception is the involvement of Namco's own arcade board dubbed "System 12" (not NAOMI!). When porting the game over to the Dreamcast, developer "Project Soul" faced the daunting task of porting over their game to hardware that although was more powerful than their in-house tech, was also ultimately different... not to mention a very tight deadline they had to do this in to have the game ready for the consoles inaugural launch date in the states. While it was pretty clear that absolutely nothing of the original arcade version of Soul Calibur would be left out of the home conversion, the real testament of the developers craft lay perhaps on what was possible to further improve the product as a whole with this new technology found under the Dreamcast's hood. The latter became a rather staggering result when the game was finally unveiled to the public. For the first time in the industry, a console version unquestionably looked superior to its arcade forefather. Higher Polygon count, smoother textures, little to no polygonal tearing on the character models as well as independent physics on hair and clothing. Collision vastly improved among combat, majority of the battlegrounds assets went from stale 2D images to wonderful 3D! I'm someone who truly appreciates the little things in life, as such i am pleasantly delighted with the games lighting and clashing effects! You all owe it to yourselves to someday play this game with VGA ouput. You just gotta!

Sound
BATTLE 1 FIGHT! Soul's audio is of the highest calibur (pun intended!) indeed. Music is wonderfully orchestrated, elevating the games epic scope beyond anything ever heard in a fighting game at the time. Dialogue feels spot on for just about the entire cast adding a nice dimension to their personalities and providing an additional layer of realism. Sound FX like footsteps, floor slams and weapon clashing sound practically perfect to the ears! The audio in Soul IMO impresses just as much as the visuals do to the whole game.  

Conclusion
THE LEGEND WILL NEVER DIE! That quote seems very fitting to Soul Calibur doesn't it. Was the game truly deserving of all the accolades it achieved back then. I would say so (I still fondly remember all the buzz the game generated back in the day). But what about now? Whats my take on it as I write this review some 12 years later. Hmm... The game was clearly and still is one of the killer apps of the Dreamcast. In return, I feel the Soul series owes so much to the Dreamcast platform for propelling it to the greatness it garnered (let's be real here! no one knew or cared for Soul Calibur when it was in the arcades and i'm sure it would have stayed that way if Namco had decided to port the game to the Playstation like they originally intended to). Is the game really perfect even today, Nah! but even by today's standards, its pretty damn close.

9.5/10

It's Still Thinking Channel

I originally started this channel after one day browsing for particular Dreamcast games to reference gameplay footage for certain titles I had yet to own in my collection.  My displeasure soon arose after finding a lot of game footage out there was of either of bad video quality, display of terrible knowledge on how to properly play the game, game footage drowned out by constant commentary that was either inaccurate or simply unwanted or all of the above. I soon took it upon myself to create a video database of every Dreamcast game i can get my hands on!

 I try my darnedest to provide quality game footage to the utmost best of my gaming abilities and skills. All game footage is done using actual DC hardware and GD-rom software (unless it's a game of the homebrew variety), displaying in 640x480 resolution via a VGA connection to a Vizio 27' LED TV in a slightly stretched display ratio, captured in a low tech old-school manner via a simple HD cam (apologize in advance for some glare and lighting issues that occur).

With the exception of Import game releases, all games are divided by genre category for convenience puroposes. All videos (except game intro vids) will be accompanied by useful info for anyone's interest. If you (much like myself) enjoy watching good DC game footage, please feel free to browse my channel. I look forwards to any comments and or suggestions to either a particular video or channel content in general. Let's keep the Dream going!

Dreamcast: It's Still Thinking

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Review

Original Release
???

Game Details
1 Player
VMU enabled
Standard Controller
Jump Pak enabled
VGA Box

Gameplay
Resident Evil 3 is the 3rd and final game in the series to be released on the Dreamcast platform. Originally a Playstation game by Capcom, improvements over the previous installment are very few but those few are worth going over in regards to the gameplay category. Controls (for better or worse) remain the same as they were in RE2. New to this game were the inclusion of a dodge maneuver to avoid attacks as well a 180 degree turn for more diverse retreat scenarios. Gone is RE2s innovative zapping system and even the 2 character selection option seen in prior 2 installments. You basically play with only one character throughout the majority of the campaign. Since the zapping system and 2 player selection was removed, a branching path mechanic is put in place to promote replay value, providing multiple endings uncover through various amount of playthroughs. Additional features include some limited interaction with the games environments and an ammunition creation system. Perhaps the biggest new addition to the game is the inclusion of the new antagonist known as the Nemesis. This MoFo is really the main draw of the entire game. An huge bio-enhanced monster strapped with a rocket launcher. This dudes sole purpose is to hunt you down and kill you! The player encounters this brute on multiple occasions, having to either fight him head on or run for your life as he chases you down for miles. The Nemesis really makes the game a lot more special than the overall product would have been without it.    

Story
The games story is both a prequel and sequel to Resident Evil 2. The story further expands on T-virus outbreak from RE2 and concludes the fate of the infected town of Raccoon City.

Graphics
The visuals of the RE3 port to Dreamcast deserves closer inspection and discussion for all you game graphic nuts out there. The only other console port that rivals the Dreamcast version of RE3 is the GCN port that was released a few years later. The issue here on which looks visually superior lies in each console version having something over the other! For example lets look at the Dreamcast version. The games backdrops are incredibly detailed and of a higher image resolution (Much higher than what was displayed on the DC port of RE2). This is even more apparent with VGA 480p output. The games FMV cinemas on the other hand have not seen any improvement (especially when compared to treatment the DC version of RE2 received in this respect). Finally on the DC port, The polygonal models remain about the same as the original Playstation version. Models flicker a lot and there is very noticeable polygonal clipping on said characters models (RE2 DC port does not suffer from this).
Now lets look at the GCN port of RE3. The backdrops look improved much like the DC Version. The games FMVs have in fact, been improved, running at a much higher framerate (RE2 on GCN has some very horrible quality FMV compression). Finally, the polygon models on the GCN are most definitely improved upon, removing the majority of the flickering on the models and most of the polygonal clipping that other versions suffer from. There lies bit of a problem with RE3 on both consoles and which is the best, because RE3 on GCN looks very improved over its RE2 port. But in Dreamcast land, RE3 does not look visually improved to its own RE2 port and this makes no sense at all. Resident Evil 2 is miles away the superior version on the Dreamcast, but somehow the same can't be said when this game (Resident Evil 3) is concerned because this game received very little improvement in the graphics. The only saving grace on the Dreamcast version that slightly beats out the competiton is that it supports 480p resolution! So for gamers wanting that superior version of Resident Evil 3, one has to weigh the pros and cons on what they value more out of their experience...
  

Sound
High marks in regards to this category. RE3 continually bombards the player with a vast array of audio to frighten the senses. Sounds effects are very crystal clear and keep you on your toes throughout the entire experience. Dialogue is appropriate to the cause of the game as well. The games soundtrack is also worthy of praise. It really does a magnificent job of pressing the games tense progression forward with some memorable and downright "panic inducing" tunes... I simply love how the music sometimes foreshadows an imminent encounter with the dreaded Nemesis or other dangerous encounters that lie ahead! Shit always gets to you and puts you on high alert from the music alone! Do yourself a favor and play this game in the dark with your speakers up.

Conclusion
Resident Evil 3 is perhaps one of the least memorable of the old school series. Perhaps because it had big shoes to fill after having to top the overwhelmingly successful of Resident Evil 2. While it doesn't bring anything relatively ground braking to the table, the game is absolutely worth recommending to both Resident Evil fans and survival horror junkies. Like I mentioned in the "Graphics" category, the best version of this game is hard to declare. But its worth noting that the Dreamcast version does have additional exclusive perks... every unlockable available from the start and 2 additional costumes for a grand total of 8.

7/10

Resident Evil 2 Review

Original Release
Japan: December 22, 1999
North America: December 6, 2000
Europe: April 28, 2000

Game Details
1 Player
VMU enabled
Standard Controller
Jump Pak enabled
VGA Box

Gameplay
If you were a console gamer back in circa 1998, then you should be familiar with the surrounding hype and massive success of a little known game called Resident Evil 2. One of the most successful entries in the beloved franchise by Capcom, It propelled the companies status back on top during a period where they were on the brink of financial collapse after running ragged key titles like Street Fighter and Mega Man with countless rehashes and sequels that lacked originality. While the first Resident Evil wasn't by any means perfect, it was enough of a gameplay experience to garner healthy sales and single handily put the survival horror genre on the map. Resident Evil 2 has the makings of everything a sequel aspires to be in the industry, as it practically improves upon all aspects of its predecessor with flawless execution. With such overwhelming success, it came to no surprise that over the years after its release on the Playstation, the game began to grace multiple platforms, including Dreamcast. Anyone who played Code Veronica on the Dreamcast (or any other old school survival horror titles of the time), should be familiar with the gameplay concepts of RE2. A purposefully restrictive (and tedious) control scheme, major focuses on exploration, conservative combat, some puzzle solving here and there, all wrapped up with a few boss battles to liven things up. Perhaps the most innovative feature set by RE2 is its impressive "Zapping System". The game provides the player with 2 characters to choose (each available on a their own separate disc). While each character follows a similar conflict and storyline, they tread a different path that interweaves with the other and changes depending on who you decide to complete the game with first. Such a concept provides plenty of replay value as players are given the opportunity to experience 4 possible scenarios in the games intricate story.

Story
You guys gotta know this by now... and if you don't, i'd rather not spoil it (The games has really solid intros that help you get into the game).

Graphics
The Dreamcast port of Resident Evil 2 is more or less the exact version that was released on the PC (thus it was ported over to DC using its alternate WinCE environment). While this may sound like a bad thing, it fortunately ends up being quite opposite. The PC version had major benefits and perks that far exceeds any console release (GCN, N64, and the multiple version on the PSX) in regards to content and graphics. On the Dreamcast this equates to much smoother characters models, significant removal of polygonal clipping on said models, A rock solid framerate locked at 60 FPS and last but not least all of the games FMV cinemas run at a high quality resolution of 640x480 just as the entire real-time game graphics when played on a VGA signal. Not even the version released years later on the more powerful GCN hardware can touch the Dreamcast version in the graphics department. The only major setback worth noting are the games pre-rendered backgrounds that unfortunately received no graphical enhancements.

Sound
For its time RE2 had very respectable voice acting (a trillion times better than RE1!) and one incredible soundtrack that further fueled the dreaded atmosphere of the game. The games sound effects are also quite impressive and really helps in the games total experience. Alot of these aspects still hold up even today and feel as though they have been  improved upon on the Dreamcast hardware.

Conclusion
At the time, Resident Evil 2 was not only one of my all time favorite games, it was also my favorite in franchise. For the longest I thought Capcom would never top it. Fast forward to RE Code Veronica, and these 2 games have to this day, equally remain my all time favorites in the entire long running series. While it may look and feel like a dated game to many Dreamcast owners, It doesn't (or shouldn't) take away from the greatness that still is Resident Evil 2. If you simply love this game or it has a special place in your gaming past, you owe it to yourself to own what is arguably the best version! The DC version (after personally comparing all versions available on various systems) is without question the most complete, most up to date version you can ever find on physical gaming media. Perfect use of the VMU, substantial unlockable content, modes, art galleries, and improved graphics, round out this must have title!

8.5/10    

Vampire Chronicle: For Matching Service Review

Original Release

Japan: ???

Game Details

1-2 Players

VMU enabled

Standard Controller, Arcade Stick

VGA Box

Gameplay

As many fighting fans on the DC platform are well aware, many of Capcom’s Dreamcast import selection that bears the “Matching Service” moniker simply indicated a game with the distinct feature to play online against other Dreamcast players via a dedicated online server. Just about all of these Matching Service releases were released exclusively through Sega’s infamous “Dreamcast/Sega Direct” online store, making their initial run a rather limited endeavor (This particular game rumored to have had a production of only a meager 5000 units worldwide). Vampire Chronicle (released only in the US for the PSP as Darkstalkers Chronicle: Chaos Tower), was the first in a many attempt by Capcom to release games of this proposition (reproduced later over the years with the likes of Hyper Street Fighter 2, and Hyper Street Fighter Alpha) The concept of these 3 particular fighting games is simple, collect all of their subsequent updates into one cohesive game that gives players the ability to select various versions of a character. For example Hyper SF2 collects all of the SF2 series (World Warrior, Champ Edition, Turbo, Super, Super Turbo), So if your favorite version of Ryu (which hypothetically would be Turbo version) and you wanted to go up against a friend who’s favorite version of Guile (from World Warrior version), this game allows you have that match, thus creating countless match combinations that were never before possible. This is what Vampire Chronicle encompasses. It collects all 5 releases (we only got 3 of those 5 releases here in the US mind you) in the Vampire/Darkstalkers series (Vampire, Vampire Hunter, Vampire Savior, Hunter 2 and Savior 2). The format is a bit more elaborate in Chronicle than the example used for Hyper SF2. The game first gives you the option to select from the 3 main match formats used throughout the series (Vampire/Hunter/Savior). These selections will determine Life Gauge type as well as ES Gauge system type. After making that decision, you are then allowed to pick your character and finally the selection of game version of that particular character (Vampire, Hunter, Savior, Savior 2) which will determine your characters special move list, magic series combos as well as additional system mechanics. This all may sound a bit daunting at first but it becomes clear especially for anyone who has followed the series.

Story

Who cares really...

Graphics

The entire Vampire/Darkstalkers series was conceived from the CPS2 arcade hardware. For its time the game was a true showcase for the arcade hardware that gave it life. The games visuals were so unique and well received that Capcom adopted a similar style to use in the Street Fighter Alpha series and even the Marvel Vs. series. The game sports vivid and lush colors, beautiful sprite design and some impressively fluid animations that still hold up quite nicely even by today standards (Lei Lei’s advancing, retreating, and idle animations are what made me love with the character when first saw her in Night Warriors on the Sega Saturn). Capcom really took their first major step forward in the sprite art department with this series and created a fighter with such flair that it could visually compete with their rival SNK, who at the time was tearing it up with their awesome sprite animation and character designs in their stable fighting game franchises. It appears that the RDC release of this game IS fully compatible with the sublime VGA accessory (much like the actual GD Rom release) for total enjoyment of this wonderful release.

Sound

Audio wise the game has some very memorable and quite catchy tunes. Sound effects and dialogue are also very crisp and as a bonus, match type selection not only determines health and ES gauge type, but also will determine the games soundtrack which is a wonderful perk (I personally always loved the soundtrack for Vampire Hunter over the rest!).

Conclusion

While Vampire Chronicle is (at moment of this review) the final entry in the franchise, it unfortunately has not caught on with the fighting game community. If it ever did at some point, many have eventually gone back to Vampire Savior. I think it’s mainly due to the fact that while the concept of meshing multiple fighting updates of a particular installment into one actual game might sound good on paper, the end result is a recipe that makes for one very unbalanced game for competitive play. It is true for games of this nature, Hyper SF2 had a VERY short competitive time in the sun before everyone eventually went back to ST and Hyper Alpha was just played for shits and giggles, not to be taken seriously. For what Vampire Chronicle lacks in overall polish, it makes up for in sheer fun among die hard Darkstalkers fans.   

7/10