Y’know what sucks? People who tell you to buy a console. With that out of the way go to Amazon and buy a Dreamcast ASAP!!! Out of all the current-gen consoles, (like the 360, the PS3, the Wii, the Atari Jaguar, etc.) the Dreamcast is BY FAR my favorite. What’s even more epic is that it only took me eight days to realize it. If your birthday is around the corner or you’re just itching for some cheap gaming awesomeness, the SEGA Dreamcast is for you. [/blog] Nah, just kidding. The Dreamcast is worth writing books about it, so let’s start with… The Design A Dreamcast in all its glory. Where is yours? This console takes takes the best from all consoles before it and fuses it into one: The slick grey design of the PS1, The front and controller input like a reverted N64, Freakin’ Blast Processing! Seriously the thing looks hot. That blue (or red in North America) Dreamcast Logo on top of it and the grey SEGA Logo in front fill my heart with pride. What I really can’t figure out is the ‘Compatible with Windows CE’ written on front of it. How’s that supposed to work? Do you put the DC on top of the CE and magic happens? WTF? Additionally you can plug in a modem, your DC ain’t looking complete without it! The Controller Just looking at it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Huge. That’s what I first thought when I saw it. Then I thought it looked kind of empty. But not for long… Whatever, the next thing you’ll notice are the ABXY-buttons. Pretty Basic stuff here, nothing wrong with it. They are colored which makes them easier to remember (If you have an IQ less than 12, that is). One pretty neat feature are the L- and R-Triggers on the back. What does it remind you of, dare I say, Xbox? Also, we have a D-Pad which at times feels a little too small and stiff for my thumb and an Analog-Stick, which pretty much does what an Analog-Stick does. It’s best compared to the Gamecube’s obviously. Pop Quiz: What’s important for current gaming and is EA Sports’ arch enemy? You’re right: Innovation. The Visual Memory Unit, a device which you plug in the back of your controller, feels pretty revolutionary to me. Not only does it save all your data, (Never seen that before, eh?) but it also shows you important things during gameplay like… the game logo, in case you forgot which Sonic Adventure you’re playing right now. Thank you SEGA, good to know you care. It also allows you to play Minigames on it without the controller attached, but what’s the point? Just Plug it in and play the damn games! People hate it when the controller cable is situated below the controller, but yikes, that’s exactly the case here to make room for the VMU! The SEGA Ninja Team however had the great idea to just add the possibility of tacking the cable on top of the controller. Take that Sega Pirate Team! The Hardware Lemme ask you something: In how far has Blu-Ray enhanced your gaming experience? Does the fact that you can see every single sweatdrop make the games any better? No. A bold statement for sure but the Dreamcast isn’t “bad” because it’s a bit older. For starters, SEGA used a special disc-format called GD-Rom. It basically consist of two things: an audio track and the main game. Have you ever tried putting Sonic Adventure in a CD-Player? Try it. Another thing was the copy protection the GD-Rom offered. You CANNOT copy a GD-Rom. Though those pesky hackers managed to create a cable which allows using magic to get the games on your Computer, it was still a good concept and it could hold up to 1.2 GB. That’s, like, OVER NINETHOUSAND! Sure, I could talk about polygons and framerates, Ram and Processor speed (Blast!). Or I just show you a screenshot of Soul Calibur. Real life graphics. Sweet. The Software The title of this blog is First impressions, right? Well, let me impress you first by saying that Street Fighter 3 is on the Dreamcast... What, thou want more? Thy wish shall be granted! Sonic Adventure 1+2 To be fair, Sonic’s last excellent game was on the Dreamcast. The GameOverthinker said that speed in 3D isn’t impressive anymore. How wrong! My main problem with those games are the weak frame rates at one or two levels. Who was this plumber again? Gimme more (good) Sonic! Soul Calibur Fighters are especially great multiplayer games. Soul Calibur says “Screw that” and throws in a pretty lengthy single player mission mode too. The fighting itself is responsive and fast. If you’re into Street Fighter (and I know you are), you may want to check it out. JET SET RADIO! Oh my god. This game is so awesome. My favorite on the Dreamcast in fact. A game so crazy, you know it must be gold. Basically you’re skating around with Inline skates fighting and spraying for your turf. Throw in an over-the-top J-Pop Soundtrack and there you go. Over the top are also the enemies: The second level features Special Forces as enemies. Seriously? It was also the first popular game to utilize Cel-Shading (Suck that Wind Waker!) and featured solid controls, at least once you’ve mastered them. Other games include Marvel vs. Capcom 2; Power Stone and Shenmue, which I have yet to play. Please excuse my lacking experience! Why Dreamcast? What? You still don’t want to buy one? Recession, huh? Out of money too, am I right? There you go: Your main reason for getting a Dreamcast instead of a PS3, 360 , Jaguar or Wii: A used Dreamcast costs 40 bucks. That’s less than a game, pal. And while mine was a birthday present, I can still see more potential within the Dreamcast than within the other three consoles. All those fighters, RPGs, platformers, etc., it’s gonna entertain me for hours and hours to come. My Wii, in turn, is collecting dust. My first impression of the Dreamcast would be >9000/5 Stars and can be summed up with: “To be good takes AGES. To be this good takes SEGA” Thanks for reading and may the screw attack with you!