|
BORIS
"THE BEAR"
KNOKIMOV
HOMETOWN: Zagrev,
Croatia
WEIGHT:
220 lbs
HEIGHT: 6'3"
REACH: 73"
AGE: 30
JIMMY BLOOD
HOMETOWN: Oamaru,
New
Zealand
WEIGHT:
226 lbs
HEIGHT: 6'2"
REACH: 87"
AGE: 23
ANGEL "RACING"
RIVERA
HOMETOWN: Monterey,
Mexico
WEIGHT:
155 lbs
HEIGHT: 5'9"
REACH: 71"
AGE: 23
|
|
I'll admit it: Technological escape is one of my favorite
pastimes. If it's new, if it's expensive, if it will take
me away to that special place, I want to play with it.
I've been dying to play Dreamcast, Sega's latest contribution
to the video-gaming world, since I first read about it more
than a year ago. Advance reports touted it as the greatest
electronic gaming invention since Pong. After holing up
with a loaner console and a half-dozen games over Dreamcast's
debut weekend, I can tell you: Believe the hype. Boasting
128-bit 3D graphics (read: freaking fast and super-sharp),
Dreamcast is the swiftest, most sophisticated home video-game
console ever produced.
It's no wonder, then, that video-game reviewers (yes, some
people get to do this full-time) have been going gaga over
the game ever since they've gotten their hands on it. And
it's no surprise that geeky guys have been having wet dreams
about it, since billboards hinting, "It's Coming: 9/9/99"
began popping up a few months back. On Sept. 8, more than
400 people crowded the bottom level of the Lloyd Center
at an unorthodox shopping hour. Both Software, Etc. and
Electronics Boutique Inc. opened their doors at midnight,
and even the clerks were surprised by the hordes of mostly
male customers waiting to get inside.
"We thought we'd be there until 2 am," said one Boutique
clerk. "But we didn't finish up until 4 am. It was insane."
The store then reopened two hours later "so people could
pick it up on the way to work and have it when they got
home," the clerk said. Across the country, Dreamcast's reception
was similar, and Sega reported phenomenal, record-breaking
sales--almost $98 million on the first day.
Back in the '80s, Sega (remember Genesis?) was to home
video games what Apple was to home computers: the only show
in town. However, both Sony and Nintendo surpassed their
longtime rival with the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64.
Sega staged a comeback when it unveiled its Saturn system
in 1995, but the console was an embarrassing flop. Sega
killed Saturn in 1998, laying off about 1,000 employees
and losing $400 million during the last fiscal year alone.
Dreamcast is the company's shot at redemption.
Will Sega succeed? $200 for the console plus an additional
$49 per game is a tidy chunk of change, but this isn't just
some über-Atari. Dreamcast contains a muscled, 200
MHz internal processor, a Power VR graphics chip and a 64-channel
audio chip that make for wickedly quick and lifelike 3D
graphics. (Game play is twice as powerful as Nintendo 64
and four times as quick as PlayStation.) Dreamcast also
includes a 56K modem, which not only allows people to challenge
each other in multi-player games over the Internet but turns
the system into a fully functional Web browser. (Mini-keyboards
can be purchased to enhance this feature.)
The only drawback I encountered was with the controllers.
Pudgy and complex--with four buttons, two triggers, an analog
joystick and a directional pad--the hand-held command center
is a bit tiny, better suited for a child's hand than an
adult's (no surprise there). I had finger cramps and blisters
after a couple of hours of gaming.
Of course, without terrific software, Dreamcast would be
little more than a creamy plastic footstool. Thankfully,
Sega scores on this end as well. When Nintendo introduced
the 64, only a minuscule number of games was available.
Dreamcast, on the other hand, launched with 19 titles (a
record for a new system), with dozens more to follow by
Christmas. Currently, the games fall into three categories:
fighting, sports and action/adventure.
The sports games wowed me the most. Ready 2 Rumble, complete
with signature announcer Michael "Let's get ready to rummmmble!"
Buffer, was an instant favorite. A boxing game much like
Nintendo's old Mike Tyson number, it possesses fluid graphics
and a great sense of humor. The opponents have names like
Afro Thunder and Tank Thrasher. One is a 400-pound Hawaiian
who sounds like Peter Lorre, and two very tough lady boxers,
whose stacked physiques tell you they were designed by horny
programmers stuck indoors for way too long, are also featured.
An unrelentingly catchy theme song and hilarious opening
video immediately set the game's campy tone. In fact, some
of the most extraordinary graphics in many of the games
can be found during the opening movies. Sonic Adventure,
which updates Sega's mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, begins
with an awesome narrative montage that rivals Disney animation.
Even more impressive is NFL 2K. Walking into Hollywood
Video, I did a double-take before realizing that the football
action on TV was a video game, not the actual Seahawks.
The player's detailed faces and on-field signature moves
are uncanny. Hands down, it is the best sports game I've
ever come across.
Because the system offers visual entertainment never seen
before, Dreamcast is hardly meant to be played as high-tech
solitaire. Two or more people (depending on how many controllers
you own) can play most of the games. The best experience
I had was when a group of friends came by one Saturday night:
A case of beer, a bottle of red, two boxes of cookies and
one Dreamcast quickly added up to serious revelry. Two of
my three guests were women--definitely not Sega's target
audience--and both approached the system cautiously. However,
after a couple of rounds of virtual boxing, they were hooked,
screaming and hollering like a couple of drunken ringside
veterans. The entire scene both shocked and delighted the
video geek in me.
Whether the turbocharged Dreamcast has enough mojo to reestablish
Sega in the minds of game freaks is yet to be seen. Nintendo
and Sony have dropped the prices of their consoles to $99,
and both companies are currently working on their own 128-bit
machines, which should be out in late 2000. Though Sega's
future is unsecured, the present--for both the company and
hardcore gamers--is positively dreamy.
Thanks to Hollywood Video for loaning WW the
coveted console. Selected stores rent Dreamcast for $19.99
for two nights with a $250 deposit. Various Blockbuster
Video stores rent Dreamcast for $14.99 for five nights with
a $150 deposit. Games at both chains are $4.99 each for
five nights.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Willamette Week | originally
published September 22,
1999
|
