"Let's see if it works this time...."

As one of the original contenders to the Play Station throne in the third generation console wars, there is no other system that was more tragically defeated than the Sega Dreamcast. Featuring several different options that allowed the gamer to not only play at home, but also on the Internet through the use of SegaNET servers, it's a wonder that the Dreamcast didn't do better than it actually did! With games that spawned near fanatical followings such as Crazy Taxi, Skies of Arcadia and Phantasy Star Online, the library that the Dreamcast featured hit all ranges of gamers from the youngest groupings to the older, more seasoned gamers that would enjoy challenge. But, as the console wars drug on and the Sony Corporation taking the video-game community by storm, it is no wonder that even with the improvements and possibilities that could have come with the Dreamcast, it was almost pre-destined to fall short of its log term goals.

One of the biggest weapons that the Dreamcast had to offer against the original Play Station was that of a little broadband modem that was built into the system. Offering the gamer the ability to play different games on their newly created SegaNET system, you could literally play other gamers from across the world in different sporting games and eventually in the critically acclaimed Phantasy Star Online {two versions} for a slight cost every month! One of the more inticing offers that SegaNET offered, was the ability to download different items and game play features into the Virtual Memory Unit {VMU} for play with their early release games.

Although the cost at first as slightly more than anyone else wanted to pay that feature alone was something that the Play Station was just not ready to offer yet. However, one of the largest problems that signing up with SegaNET was, was with the offers that they included. Things such as a free keyboard or gift certificates {nearing the end of Dreamcast} seemed to never reach people who signed up a little too late for the service!

Gaming wise, there was a game for just about anyone who was into any genre. With sporting games such as NFL2K and other various titles, sporting game fans had plenty to choose from, and with the Internet capabilities that were available, they no longer had to play alone. One of the biggest draws that the Dreamcast had, was with the different action games that were produced and released through different styles of gaming, spanning extreme sports, driving, racing, action and platform adventure! Although some of the earlier games had a fair share of glitches and bugs throughout the earlier days {who could forget Mortal Kombat Gold and Hydro Thunder?} the idea that there were other games that Sony just didn't have a handle on was enough to throw more support into the ever constant console battle. Several of these games kept gamers happy with completely different themes and accessory options and here is a small list:

Samba de Amigo: A game that featured a musical style type of game play with the ability to use a pair of pack in maracas. Even though the game was a general attempt to quell the Bust-A-Groove craze that was rather high on the Play Station theme listing, the game is something unique all in its own. Featuring one of the strangest characters that I've ever encountered {and a Marvel vs. Capcom character to boot} you had to make your way through the game, following the beat in order to finish the title.

Typing of the Dead: One of the only games that I'm able to find that used the Dreamcast Keyboard as a regular controller. The game is more or less something that allows you to work on your typing skills while keeping up speed and following along with the game! Although it wasn't the most stellar title and rather fell by the wayside to other games, it was one of the only games that allowed you to play through and work on your typing skills all at once while following the theme and plot of House of the Dead 2.

House of the Dead 2: Although there was no pack in controller with this game, you could find different gun accessories in order to play. Even though the light gun genre really didn't take off from here and there were only a few games that allowed you to play in this fashion, it was still an amazing game that allowed you to have a near perfect arcade like experience, right from the comfort of your own home!

Now, with all of the extra added controllers that you had with the Dreamcast, the only one that you would ever work with on a regular basis, was the pack in controller. Featuring two bay slots, one for your VMU, and one for a rumble pack {optional}, you could play through the game with a shock feature that wasn't offered in the Play Station until later on. However, this smaller feature with the rumble pack required you to spend an extra twenty or thirty dollars to have the feature, and by the time that the system was released, the Dual Shock controller was already in full swing with the Play Station!

Additionally, the VMU, that was absolutely required for your games in order to save, was an additional forty dollars, which brought the total of the Dreamcast upon purchase up to right around three hundred. This was enough to make most people who were not die-hard into games, shy away from the system and make way for something that was rather affordable.

Visually, the Dreamcast did feature some of the most impressive looking games that you could find anywhere at the time. The Play Station, well into it's golden years with the PS2 looming on the horizon, was no longer going for the high costs that the Dreamcast games were pushing out, but more or less rounding out their titles so production and otherwise could move onto the other system. Games such as Skies of Arcadia, Quake 3 and Power Stone all allowed for movement, detail and speed while keeping the overall visual acuity of the game in high form.

However, with the hardware that was present, there really wasn't a game that was released for the Dreamcast that truly showed off the full nature and abilities that the Dreamcast was capable of! This is not to say that the Dreamcast didn't have its fair share of bumps and bruises along the way. In the very beginning, games that were released were of low quality and seemed rushed with portions of games seeming to have image break up and even missing frames of animation. All in all though, the Dreamcast seemed to be able to fix this with a little bit of work in the later titles and therefore refined what it was that the machine could do.

Games with the best music and sound never really came through on the Dreamcast to me, other than some of the more limited RPG's such as Shenume and Skies of Arcadia. Other games, such as Crazy Taxi featured some voice acting, but it was so limited, that in order to truly realize what the Dreamcast was capable of, you had to wait up until the final few games were released. With this in mind, you have to give credit to the fact that the Dreamcast was trying hard to keep up with Sony, but in the end, there was just too little too late in most respects and there was no other way to get out of the hole that was apparently dug! With the Internet capability, the sound, music and otherwise was never offset, which was truly a blessing and the only games that I personally played online was Phantasy Start Online. Everything that you could hear and play online was never changed nor interrupted through the online play, which is a plus in my book.

The Dreamcast, for what was worth, was a wonderful little addition to the collection that I have growing in my study. Although the release of the Dreamcast and the eventual failure that came with it also marked a point in video game history in which Sega would no longer release systems, but settle for creating games for whatever system allowed them. To some gamers, this came as a shock, in which one of the oldest video game companies in the ongoing struggle, finally decided to call it quits and simply remain in the industry as an assistant and not a major player! With the newest systems out on the market today, all featuring some of the most impressive games, ideas and otherwise, it was probably for the best that Sega finally bowed out and left the real game to the rest of the wild dogs.

If you're seriously into video gaming, then there is no reason that you shouldn't pick up a Dreamcast. With the price being well below the newer systems, and games available at ten dollars a title, you should be able to go the way that the Jaguar owners did after Atari's fall from the system wars, and pick up everything that you can for a relatively in-expensive price.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/02, Updated 01/13/02