The Best Pause Sound Ever!

There have been many sound effects or quotes that have made video games memorable like Sega Rally’s “Game Over Yeah!” and “Toasty” from Mortal Kombat.

However, the Home Versions of Street Fighter II maybe inferior to their original arcade counterparts but they have one thing which is better than the Arcade Version….a kick ass Pause Sound which has mixes of grunts from the Street Fighter’s themselves.

I found the sound fascinating and it’s one of the hundreds of reasons why Capcom kicks so much ass in the video game market!

Enjoy the video!

At last! My 1st Platinum Trophy!

My profile card, feel free to add me!

Since the 2.40 update, PS3 gamers such as myself have been persuing for trophies and as last week got an amazing PlayStation Store update, I did plan to play Mega Man 9 but Burnout Paradise is the recent game to be updated with trophies.

I sadly had to wipe my last save but within two days of playing the game straight, I finally achieved my first Platinum Trophy. At the time of writing this, I am currently on 91% on trophies for Burnout Paradise but I have obtained all the standard trophies which ain’t part of the expansions and since I got all of the standard trophies, I was awarded Platinum!

The Platinum Trophy...the 1st of many hopefully!

I fully realize why so many PS3 users wanted this feature from the start. I am not much of a 360 gamer because I am not a fan of the console but when I tried out several games on the 360, I noticed this Achievement craze and the feeling you get from working your ass off to get a certain achievement or trophy is amazing! I am glad Sony implemented this idea but Microsoft get the credit for the innovative addition that they made by introducing achievements. It prolongs the game’s replay value and in several games, it is very difficult to get an achievement or trophy but it motivates you to try to earn it.

Now I am going to head to sleep, it’s been a long day and I’ll start playing Mega Man 9 tomorrow!

FEATURE: Sonic the Hedgehog CD

Today I am going to be covering one of my favorite games of all time. Sonic CD? Why you ask Sonic CD is one of my favorite games of all time? Well, it all started off in 1991 when Sonic Team released the original Sonic the Hedgehog for the Mega Drive. That was happened to be one of the first games I played ever and jeez I never expected this game to get me hooked into Computer Games. Sonic brought something new to the home console and the speed was just kick ass. The music was awesome too and the gameplay is excellent. The sequel Sonic 2 was vastly better than the first game, it added so many new additions which improved on the core gameplay and much more but enough of that, now where going to talk about Sonic CD

Sonic CD was the only Sonic game released for the Mega CD and for the platform, this was the title. Many people didn’t get to try out this game because the Mega CD was very expensive and most of the console’s catalogue in games wasn’t very good and wasn’t enough to justify the purchase of the Mega CD. It had the supposedly Full Motion Video games which were horrible including Nighttrap which caused the console to die and eventually become a thing of the past. However, now that Sonic CD has been released on the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube as part of Sonic Gems Collection, it is a great opportuinity to try out this excellent game.

You can pick this up at a cheap price, it is worth picking this up if you wish to check out Sonic CD

Sonic CD is pretty much the same deal in terms of story as the Mega Drive games. Sonic has got to stop Eggman, the simple conflict between this two is back again only this time it takes place on a place called Little Planet. Eggman wishes to control time with the Time Stones and it is up to Sonic to stop him and obtain the Time Stones. This is also the first game which Amy Rose appears before she was given an annoying voice and persued on marrying Sonic who is still underage! [well if you consider U.K law!]

Sonic CD is great. It’s too good! Even now that we have the graphics of the Xbox 360, PS3 and top end graphics cards this game still looks great 15 years after it’s release! [15 years as of Tuesday 23rd September 2008] It has a brilliant soundtrack too but the Japanese soundtrack is easily much better than the American Soundtrack and I don’t care what you say. The Japanese Soundtrack has more of a classic Sonic game feel so the music sounds similar in theme to the other Mega Drive counterparts! It’s my opinion and I am correct!

Why is there two soundtracks? Well this game was developed by a team in Japan so it has a soundtrack but when this game came to America, SEGA America decided to compose a new soundtrack for Sonic CD and it got some controversy over the whole deal. GameFan Magazine gave the Japanese version 100% in a review but when the game was released in America, they gave Sonic CD a lower rating based alone on the soundtrack despite there being no changes to the gameplay whatsoever.

You simply can’t match the awesome Boss music in the Japanese Sonic CD, it easily ranks as the best Boss Music in any Sonic Game, you can listen below!

Robotnik – Sonic CD Japanese

The Robotnik Theme in Sonic CD uses a sample from Xavier’s 1981 Hit single “Work That Sucker to Death” which literally has the line “Work That Sucker to Death COME ON NOW!” in various loops with some added extra nastyness about Robotnik thrown in and you’ve got a kick ass Boss Theme….well done Naofumi Hataya & Masafumi Ogata, that single handingly owned the investment Sega America made in the studio which composed the U.S Soundtrack and the U.S Sonic CD Soundtrack alone…well done =)

UPDATE: The Metallic Madness Future also wins too! It not only sounds like a kick ass re arrange of the original Metallic Madness but you have in this electric voice of Robotnik saying, “Sonic, Dead or Alive….is M-M-M-M-MINE!”

Metallic Madness Future

The other thing with Sonic CD in contrast to other Sonic games at the time that it is very psychedelic. It wasn’t no tripping on acid visuals but the colour in this game is in your face, very bright and vibrant. This made the levels look fantastic and the artists for this game clearly took advantage of the expanded colour palette which the Mega CD had taken on board in regards to the Mega Drive’s colour limitations but this is why the game looks so good 15 years after the game’s original release.

The one unique feature of this particular Sonic outing was Time Travel. This is what made the game excellent. You had the ability to go past Time Posts and speed as fast as you can into the Past or Future. When you made your journey in time, you would either find the Zone peaceful before Eggman took control of the area or succumb to Eggman’s terror with which ever time zone you chose a remix of the original Zone music would be played whilst in the Time Zone. This game play mechanic provided tons of levels, possibly the most levels in any Sonic game and the levels were huge! They are much bigger in this game and they also have exploration in mind for the levels taking longer in order to complete a zone.

My favorite level from the game is Collision Chaos as it has some pretty good music and Stardust Speedway! This great game play mechanic hasn’t appeared in any other Sonic game which is a shame as it makes this game so amazing.

The Special Stage is new and required you to destroy UFO’s in order to get the Time Stones which are pretty much the Chaos Emeralds of Little Planet. Like all Sonic games, it is criticial to obtain all of them in order to get the Good Ending which in Sonic CD’s case is just an animated extra showing flowers!

This game also saw the introduction of Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic is a robot designed to be superior to Sonic and from a design point of view, it works. It’s a great design and the red eyes make Metal Sonic look scary. Sonic would first see Metal Sonic in Collision Chaos when Metal Sonic kidnaps Amy and they would finally met in Stardust Speedway in a race which Sonic won and defeated Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic including Amy would develop deeper as characters and evolve in later Sonic games but this is the game they made their debut in.

Sonic CD was also released on PC but is only playable on Windows 95, 98 and Me. If you wish to play it on XP or Vista, there is a patch available but it is simply easier just to buy Sonic Gems Collection or use a Mega CD emulator in order to play Sonic CD.

I first played this game back in 2003 when my twin brother bought the very rare Multi-Mega and happened to get Sonic CD too. This was a time when Sonic went 3D and the games simply wern’t delivering the same magic as it’s 2D counterparts. I would easily recommend this game to anyone now that it is easily obtainable and playable for an affordable price.

Metal Gear Online Premiere Broken

I read recently that Kojima isn’t happy with the numbers for Metal Gear Online. He also mentioned not being happy with the registration process which requires the user to remember two IDs and passwords which can be quite confusing for the casual gamer. When I played the beta, I set it to remember the password and to tell you the truth I found it to be a very enjoyable game which took the Metal Gear Online for PS3. I wasn’t happy with the Konami ID system also because you had a complete separate friends list and it is region locked which sucks. Finally, it handled the expansion for Metal Gear Online horrifically and pissed off many gamers.

I think Metal Gear Online is a fantastic multiplayer game if given the chance but here are some things which Konami can put into action to revive Metal Gear Online.

1. Ditch the Konami ID

One of the game’s problems is the registration process. The PS3 has the PlayStation Network and pretty much all the features you would want for an online service so what do Konami do? They completely alienate themselves from the PSN which has vastly improved over the past months to offer a broken, mediocre and confusing service which has driven people absolutely insane. They should put the Konami ID to better use such as a prize draw for MGO expansion vouchers , characters or something which doesn’t interfere with the experience.

2. PSN Support

Come on! PSN surely is good enough right?

As mentioned before, this game has a alienated online system and the vast majority of games on the PS3 has PSN support. Why? Because it works! Warhawk has proven to be one of the platform’s greatest multiplayer games because of its PSN support, the developers listen to the consumer and they vastly improve on the game! Metal Gear Online simply needs to ditch the Konami system completely and merge with the PlayStation Network….that’s all it’s gonna take.

3. Release Standalone MGO on the PlayStation Store

If you haven’t got Metal Gear Solid 4, your clearly an idiot [just kidding!] but for those who haven’t got MGS4 should be able to buy this separately either via retail like Konami have in Japan or release a standalone product on the PlayStation Store. If Konami release it on PSN as well as future expansions and ditch the horrible Konami ID system, they could bring back interest into MGO and get it back on it’s way.

Metal Gear Online could be here

4. Add some classic locations in MGO from the Metal Gear series

It would be badass to play an MGO game in Shadow Moses right? Of course! Diehard fans and the general fanbase would approve of this move and would certainly increase the popularity of MGO.

5.Listen to the consumer

I have many people complain about Metal Gear Online because of the mentioned above. Kojima isn’t happy with it which is a good thing but action must be taken in order for such a game to be back up on it’s feet. Incognito Games released Warhawk over a year ago and have consistently listened to it’s consumers and acted on those issues by releasing free patches or expansions to keep the consumer happy. It would be good for MGO if Konami in general would act on criticism as would silence the critics but make consumers happy if they attended to the problems which occur in MGO.

6. Trophy Support

I love trophies! I've become a trophy whore!

This reason is to purely satisfy the trophy whores and fanboys alike. It would be great to implement trophies in a future update as part of a revival for MGO but it would also be great if implemented in Metal Gear Solid 4 too. The possibilities for trophies in MGS4 are endless and can provide that extra challenge for consumers.

7. Remove the region lock

This one really pissed me off. I happened to purchase the U.S Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition because it was much cheaper than the European Limited Edition. I then discovered that there is a region lock for MGO which really sucks balls. They should remove the region lock or have selectable region servers so you can go on the EU servers if you wish or others like the US, JPN or ASIA servers. This would be best suited for those who import just like myself!

If this action is taken, I am very certain Metal Gear Online can become the online Hideo Kojima visioned it to be.

Who has a LittleBigPlanet beta key? I do!! =D

LittleBigPlanet, the one game on PS3 that has had me hyped for it’s release so when I got word that Eurogamer were giving away beta keys, I couldn’t take any chances and went for it….the result…..well look below for yourselves!

After a painstaking hour registering on Eurogamer and flooding new tabs in Firefox in pursuit of this opportunity to get into the beta, I managed to get a key and my hard work paid off! I am finally going to try out LittleBigPlanet before the game is released!

This is how it’s looks on the XMB! Now to play!!

I’ll give more details on the beta tomorrow when I shall give it a try! The good thing is despite Eurogamer getting so much traffic, I managed to register and get the beta key all within one hour thanks to opening so many tabs in Firefox! One valid reason why Firefox is superior to Internet Explorer!

My beta Sackboy

STAY TUNED!!!!!

The Dilemma of 0845 Numbers and stupidity!

So I am finally at University! Moved out of home and I am miles away which is a great thing, Its going well. I thought things would be okay but I sadly run into problems already. The Internet is pretty mediocre at the minute, its 2MB, no download limits, has Bittorrent and P2P. So you wonder what the problem is, well the problem is it only allows ONE MAC ADDRESS in Student Rooms!

If your doing a Computer Games Technology Degree at University (like myself), your bound to be a gamer and you will have several other devices *insert PS3 here* that require Internet access! Well the clever clogs at Asshole4 (Ask4 if you don’t wish to redub them as cunts) require £30 to allow another MAC Address onto the Network. £30 for a year for just one MAC Address! They also don’t allow routers to make your life even worse so I am trapped with the Desktop being the only thing being able to access the magical world wide web. If you ain’t the brainless idiot, then you would realise that you can BUY a router (wireless or wired) for around the same price!! Well if you fancy breaking the rules which I frankly don’t give two shits because I have six devices that connect to the Internet.

• PLAYSTATION3
• PlayStation 2
• Nintendo DS Lite
• PlayStation Portable
• Desktop PC
• Laptop

I then pursued to getting my router and I found a router for £35.98! Wireless and supposedly very good according to my tech friend. So there I was, enjoying the fact I could finally get my PS3 online in no time! Quick Delivery! No fuss! However, I sadly discovered UPS (Unified Pricks of courier Service) were the lovely company who I paid £4.99 to deliver my goods! Panicked I did, I was worried that they would come to my student residence and fail to give me the goods. That came to be a reality yesterday, I was at my Uni induction being welcomed into the Student Life.

Being a Student I have realised I am fucking poor and I am also challenging every money thrived student in the city. I decided to call UPS, realising that the following 0845 number would tear me a new asshole or should I say my budget as I would come to terms with discussing customer enquiries with retards. Yes, I don’t know where they came from but somehow and someplace! Customer Helplines will employ idiots!

I gave specific instructions to UPS to deliver to my residence AFTER 3PM as I was at a Job Fair now being a poor student who would succumb to eating crappy food for the majority of the week whilst I would patiently wait for the glorious Sunday Roast my fellow flatmates and I would enjoy a lovely dinner that would patch the sweet, beautiful cooking of my mother which I sadly miss. Any who, I gave details to them and said they could do that. I then find out coming back from the Job Fair that UPS went to my halls to deliver it again……FOUR HOURS EARLY THAN I STATED!?

What is the fucking deal with that!? I clearly stated that I would be available 3PM, that’s 1500 HOURS!! NOT 1100!! WHO THE FUCK AM I TALKING TO! AN IDIOT THAT’S WHO!! I then find out the dumb idiots who are in charge of the accommodation (security that is) they told the UPS Driver that I don’t live there!! I’VE BEEN THERE FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEY TELL THE DRIVER I DON’T EXIST!! The world just seems to have idiots running these organizations and they still pursue on fucking things up! I wouldn’t put down an address for a £40 item (remember kids, £40 is valuable when your a student at Uni.) which is fake!! Only a truly acclaimed idiot of the arts of stupidity would do such a thing!

I had a similar problem with the SLC (Student Loans Company or Silly Little Cunts) who also have an 0845 number. I ask for a specific instruction, I needed my Payment Schedule Letter, you know the letter that has a messiah tune playing in your head when you see because that’s the only way you get your loan money delivered to me. I contacted them last month, guess what, they fucked up. They gave me the wrong document…..twats. I then call them again! Payment Schedule Letter is all I need, I told them they messed up and this time they got it right, I now should have £1300+ in my Bank Account tomorrow…hoo-fucking-ray. Someone at least learns their lessons….jackasses.

The point is, you should never think everything is going to be alright because the world has a whole library of idiots who can’t do simple tasks properly which causes events or pipedreams to crash! Due to this stupidity, the damage and inconvenience it causes people can be catastrophic. Simple things like losing money, wasting time, life threatening and so on but the bottom line is, you’ll guarantee you’ll piss someone off!

So remember, when you do something! Planning is the fucking key, if not, your in trouble buddy!!

Facebook

So Facebook has a new look? I think its okay and whatever people think of it, it’s going to stay so I say tough shit to the rest of you! It is staying there so stop being an ass, quit the moaning and don’t join a group in protest. Thats my problem with Facebook, people spend too much time on it and it doesn’t get you anywhere whatsoever. The platoon of friends on my Facebook account who have joined groups demostrating their hate for the new Facebook is horrific!

Lovely look, wish I bought a Mac *sad face*

Everything was completely okay with Facebook until they gave the green light for applications. There was a point in time where I got bombarded with requests to become a vampire, slayer, zombie, wolf, jackass, etc.Seriously if I want my online gaming fix, I have a PC and PS3 which have excellent games so I don’t some sad ass crap fest which has no creativity whatsoever consuming my time. Seriously! DO YOU LIKE HAVING CRAP ALL OVER YOUR PAGE? BEING COVERED WITH SHITTY APPLICATIONS?! REALLY, THEN FUCK OFF TO MYSPACE OR HI5! I am here to keep in contact with friends, that is all!

The worst bit is, Facebook don’t check the developer’s source code! You ask why that’s bad? I’ll tell you because most dumb asses won’t be aware that sneaky shits will steal all your details including all of your friends details too. If your the definitive wally who’s literally put every single detail on their profile, wave goodbye your identity because fraudsters love idiots like you! The clever people at MySpace thankfully check the developer code manually so people can’t steal your information!

There is something I will give Facebook though and that is I only get Friend Requests from people who I’ve met or know unlike MySpace. Now I ain’t hating Facebook as I use it often for its sole main purpose and that is to keep in contact with old and new friends I’ve known all my life, it does the job so that makes me happy!

This was a random rant…..

John Terry fails as Captain Falcon

I had this idea in my head for some time so hear I present to you….John Terry attempting to be Captain Falcon and failing miserably!

FEATURE: Dreamcast is 9 Years Old Today (in America)

On this day nine years ago SEGA released the Dreamcast and although it had a short life on the video game market, this console had some amazing games for it’s time and is one of my favorite consoles of all time up with the Super Nintendo. When I got this console on Christmas 1999, it was the best Christmas ever! It was the last time I would be in the shoes of a kid on Christmas Morning when he got what he asked Santa for Christmas. I’m not saying I’m a scrooge at Christmas now but it is a fond memory of my childhood and probably one of the best days of my life. From that day on, my gaming experience would change forever and expand onto different genres and gaming experiences all thanks to this console.

The SEGA Dreamcast when first released had a pretty good line up and mainly better than the consoles released recently. Sonic Adventure was Sonic’s first 3D outing (Sonic 3D doesn’t count) on a SEGA Platform and it is up there with the great Sonic Games of the Mega Drive. It had all the Sonic characters revamped with awesome designs for the newest generation of gaming at the time and I gotta say when I was 11, I really badly wanted a SEGA Dreamcast. SEGA also had similar hardware in the form of NAOMI which was for the arcade market so the games that were usually made on the NAOMI would find their eventual release on Dreamcast.

That was probably the best thing about Dreamcast! Games such as Virtua Fighter 3tb, Capcom VS SNK, Soul Calibur, Sega Rally 2, Guilty Gear, Marvel VS Capcom 2, Power Stone,  Street Fighter III are all fucking amazing arcade titles and found their way onto the Dreamcast. Arcade Games are one of my favorite game genres as well as platform titles such as Sonic where all on this platform. Some say the console was released too early but there was a number of things which caused the Dreamcast to eventually exit from the market as well as SEGA dropping from the hardware market and becoming software developers for other platforms.

You’d think Sonic on Nintendo?! When you were probably really young in the 90’s and remember the sweet 16 bit war between Mega Drive and Super SNES, you would never think Sonic and Mario would ever be in the same game a decade later…well it’s happened with Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games and Super Smash Bros. Brawl! In this entry to my blog, I am going to highlight the best things about Dreamcast and also reasons why the Dreamcast made an early exit.

Good Points

1. Dreamcast had online gaming!

Sega was one of the first consoles worldwide to make a leap into online gaming. Everyone is well aware of Xbox Live and PLAYSTATION Network but SEGA’s Dreamcast had online gaming and one of the first to include an internet browser. Phantasy Star Online was one of the Dreamcast’s best games and enabling you to co-operate online in a party was good times indeed. However, not many games outside Japan supported this and there were pricing issues in several countries as Broadband wasn’t around yet so Dial Up cost money but eventually a Broadband Adaptor did come out for Dreamcast….in Japan which is very difficult to find if your a Dreamcast fan but SEGA do have something to be proud of…they were one of the first.

2. Many Arcade Ports to Dreamcast

Awesome game until you fight the final boss

Yes it is true, Dreamcast is literally THE Home Arcade Machine! The Dreamcast had a fairly decent official Arcade Controller and was just the start of the amazing flow of games to come. The Dreamcast being the most powerful console at the time and NAOMI packing similar specs, Dreamcast had many arcade releases such as Street Fighter III, Power Stone, SEGA Rally 2, Guilty Gear, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, Samba De Amigo, Ferrari F355 Challenge and much more where that came from! The best thing about half these releases? They’re multiplayer! So everyone can relive the old times and kick some ass on Street Fighter……awesome! Even better was when they got released on Dreamcast, developers threw on tons of extras to feed the games replay value. That is undoubtably a sweet offering!

3. The Visual Memory Unit

SEGA provided it's Tamagotchi fix for it's fans

One of the unique features of the Dreamcast was it’s memory card. The VMU was pretty badass for it’s time and allowed gamers to experience unique mini games downloaded onto the VMU from retail games. The most notable game was Chao Garden from the Sonic Adventure games which gave the VMU a Tamagotchi style game which plays a major part in earning all emblems in the Adventure games. The only problem with this device is that it follows suit of the SEGA Game Gear with it’s battery life….it doesn’t last very long but you don’t have to change the battery if you don’t mind the VMU beeping everytime it’s inserted into the controller!

4. The awesome accessories

The SEGA Dreamcast had some pretty amazing kick ass accessories which were fucking awesome before the Wii came along with motion sensing. They released the Fishing Rod, odd as it seemed it was new and pretty awesome at the time. You could also use it on Soul Calibur and be a button bashing cheap ass and use the Rod! SEGA also ported Samba De Amigo to the Dreamcast with Maracas. You could say it was the Rock Band of the last generation as it was sadly were expensive but if the Dreamcast had a Hard Drive and a fully structured online service, they could have improved on that by releasing new content for the game.

Who ever saw this coming?? Mystic Meg?

There were more controllers where that came from but the one accessory that stands out is the VGA cable. Not many Dreamcast owners are aware of the benefits of VGA output. When used, the games looks stunning, sharper, more colourful, vivid but overall just brilliant. It wasn’t like the crappy third party VGA cables for PS2, Xbox or Gamecube at all! A fair amount of the Dreamcast’s software supported VGA output so it was designed to run in VGA and if you haven’t seen Dreamcast in VGA, get the cable and see the results for yourself.

5. Fanbase

The Dreamcast still has a respectable fanbase. Even after its demise in the video game market, developers were still releasing software for the Dreamcast in Japan for a few years before SEGA killed the GD-ROM. The Dreamcast also has a homebrew community which see emulators for older consoles and completly new projects for those who fancy showing their talents on Dreamcast.

Bad Times

Now that I’ve covered some of the positives of the Dreamcast, here is why it didn’t do so well in the market.

1. No support from EA

Most hardcore gamers criticize EA for some of the games they release. However, many people buy EA’s games such as FIFA, Madden, The Sims and many more games from Electronic Arts. The SEGA Dreamcast didn’t have backing from EA due to lackluster sales of EA’s Saturn titles which was a big blow for SEGA but their NBA 2K from Visual Concepts (Now 2K Sports) did fairly well against NBA Live but EA not supporting the Dreamcast was one of the console’s main weaknesses.

2. PSone Ports

Many ports such as Pro Skater didn't convince gamers to jump to the Dreamcast Ship

The SEGA Dreamcast does have fancy graphics and some real gems of exclusives for the platform but many of the games which were released on Dreamcast outside Japan were PlayStation games but with a fancy facelift….thats it. The PSone was a big seller and has masses of games at cheaper prices so why would you spend more money on a new console and for the same game with prettier graphics….doesn’t make any sense does it? If they had exclusive content then that may have pushed the console forward but sadly developers released a lot of rehashed updated crap which didn’t help.

3. Piracy

SEGA’s Dreamcast used a new format called GD-ROM. It stored more data than a CD ROM at the time but DVD was just around the corner so I didn’t think it was wise of SEGA to use GD-ROM. Whilst the Dreamcast was the only thing on the planet other than devkits that could read GD-ROMS, it was eventually cracked and the worst bit was that hackers managed to compress data by removing unneccessary data and boot pirate copys on CD-Rs WITHOUT a Modchip which was a big blow for Dreamcast as the console was so amazing.

4. SEGA

In the 90’s, SEGA released the Mega Drive (European Territory), Mega CD, 32X, Multi Mega, Saturn and Dreamcast all within a decade! Thats six consoles (well 2 addons and 4 consoles if you wanna be picky). SEGA had damaged their image by consistantly releasing new hardware which was expensive for the consumer and no offense….the addons were crap…apart from a few gems…but there was way too many consoles released from SEGA and that was some serious damage done. Consumers simply wern’t prepared to give money for platforms which wouldn’t last long and SEGA were facing serious competition from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 which didn’t help the 32X or the Saturn.

Despite this being a fucking great game, it really didn

The Saturn however did well in Japan with a kickass marketing campaign which involved Segata Sanshiro beating up civilians including kids if they didn’t play Sega Saturn! I wasn’t aware of the Japanese market until I started importing but watching Segata Sanshiro had me in stitches. The marketing for the Dreamcast outside Japan wasn’t very impressive which really didn’t help the console move units which is a real shame!

5. Competition from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony

You could say SEGA released the Dreamcast too early but Sony released the PlayStation 2 in 2000 which played a part in SEGA’s exit. It sold out in Japan very quickly the PS2 did but it also was a DVD player which was at the time one of the main selling points of the PS2. The PS2 was in the same situation as the PS3 was when released….it had shit games which were awful until eventually the big exclusives came along and sold the PS2 to masses of homes worldwide. Not only that, Nintendo announced the Gamecube and Microsoft entered the video game industry with XBOX which lead SEGA to eventually stop making Dreamcast & consoles but switch to developing hardware for the consoles which put them where they are today.

My favourite games on the Dreamcast are

• Street Fighter III 3rd Strike – this game is fantastic and set the standard for 2D fighters! This game was released when 3D fighters and 3D games invaded consoles and arcades but CAPCOM demostrated that you can have an amazing game which plays good, looks fantastic and still has many people playing this game almost ten years after its original release.
• Toy Commander – probably not as seen as most people’s favorite game but as one of the first games I got for the Dreamcast, I was just amazed by the creativity of this game. You had Andy who got new toys and neglected his childhood toy Huggy Bear. He would then take control of the whole house and you had to stop him…..with toys! Although the storyline is a part of Andy’s Dream, I throughly enjoyed this game and I feel it deserves a re-release as a download on PLAYSTATION Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade with the re-releases taking advantage of online services.
• Sonic Adventure – Sonic after SEGA went to software development became pretty mediocre but Sonic Adventure which is the best selling game on Dreamcast went on to sell 2.5 million copies worldwide and do you know why? This is the only Sonic Game in 3D you can play as of now which you can enjoy! Fast gameplay, different gameplay elements with the other Sonic characters and a great storyline makes this one of the finest Sonic games to date.
• SoulCalibur – I had played Soul Edge on PlayStation and couldn’t get into 3D fighters until this gem came along. For the home version, it included a Misson Battle mode, looked one of the best games graphically at the time of release and improved on many aspects of the arcade version. It also included in the Museum fan made art which was very good too. It is the only Dreamcast game in Famistu to get the perfect 40/40 score which lead to the game selling 1.3 million copies worldwide.
• Capcom VS SNK – It is another fighting game BUT this was the game that got me into fighting games on a regular basis and I played to death which caused the disc to be so stratched it was beyond repair. This game added two popular developer’s characters and threw them in together for one of the best Dreamcast fighters to date. It has long replay value, had unlockable music, art, characters and some pretty extras which made this a contender for the best fighting game on Dreamcast.
• Jet Set Radio – This game introduced me to Cell Shading which I think despite developers giving realistic looks for the lastest games if executed well, it looks fantastic but that wasn’t just why Jet Set Radio was good. Allowing the player to invade the city and spray graffiti everywhere….priceless! It also sported a fantastic soundtrack spanning different genres. You could also make your own graffiti and then use it later in game! I love this game and the sequel on Xbox is a great game too! If you ever get the chance, check it out!

Sorry for the masses of writing but I had to highlight the Dreamcast’s Highs and Lows as despite what happened to SEGA’s 128 bit console, it is a favorite of mine and I still play mine today. It has masses of good games and has a great fanbase who still play Dreamcast today. Games on eBay for Dreamcast have also shot up as the console is collectable and again as said, has a fantastic library of games available! So Happy 9th Birthday Dreamcast! It will be technically 10 years old in 79 days from today in Japan that is! Thanks for the memories SEGA!

60 Questions which actually isn’t 60 Questions

This was originally from my Facebook Profile after a few friends did this survey so I’m gonna throw it on my blog for you to read!

60 honest questionsif you’re not going to be honest, don’t take this survey….blah blah

1. Who is the last person you held hands with?
A friend of mine (HOTNESS) who I kept warm and it was good

2. If you were drafted into a war, would you survive?
I’d be dead but I’d have a Union Jack Flag on my coffin….suppose that’s the only positive thing I can mention about being dead in a war.

3. Do you sleep with the TV on?
Sleep Mode on HDTV prevents it. I leave the PC on but its doing magical things during the night

4. Have you ever drank milk straight out of the carton?
Nope, thats disgusting but I do with my own orange juice to pretty much advertise that it’s my orange juice ^_^

5. Have you ever won a spelling bee?
Nope

6. What is your longest fight you had with one of your friends?
Someone didn’t get the fucking hint the first time, he eventually fucked off after smacking his head into a water fountain

7. Are you a fast typer?
Yes, I can touchtype too

8. scared of the dark?
Depends where I am going, best not to take the risk

10. Who can you always turn to?
Family, Igor, Jonny, Carlo, Abi, Daniel, Ismat…..don’t trust anyone else thanks. Takes a long time to earn my trust

11. When’s the last time you chose a bath over a shower?
When I felt lazy and had time to kill

12. Do you knock on wood?
Yes

13. Are you drinking anything right now?
Koppaberg,

14. Do you think you’re attractive?
Not really, I get told I am handsome which I completly disagree. I am usually told this when I hate having short hair and looking like everyone else. Until I am happy with how I look, I take comments and void them.

17. What do you want for your next birthday?
Money, the end of Big Brother so I don’t have to see nobodies when evicted going half naked in the Daily Star stating THEIR STORY!, a Shotgun (I never get one), Money and a good time.

18. Do you know the muffin man?
Who the fuck is he? Some Peanut Butter Jelly Time wannabe?!

19. Do you talk in your sleep?
No

20. Have you ever flown a kite?
Yes…..and it sucked

22. When was the last time that you went swimming and where?
In St. Albans, about a few weeks ago with Abi, Brendan and Jonny

23. Do you consider yourself successful?
When nothing goes wrong but that is sadly a pipedream. Not until I have a decent career and income I’ll consider myself successful

24.How many people are on your contact list of your cell phone?
58

25. Have you ever jumped on a trampoline?
Yes, it was fucking amazing

26. Plans for tomorrow?
Job Interview…gotta nail the job interview as I need money!

27. What’s your middle name?
Dominic Pleyel

28. Missing someone right now?
Indeed

29. When’s the last time you told someone you loved them?
NEVER HAVE! Someone told me they loved me but thought again when we split up LOL!

31. How are you feeling today?
Relaxed but fine

33. Have you ever been suspended or expelled from school?
Nearly and I was a stupid kid. I left Westfield in 2003 and it was the best thing I ever did.

34. What are you looking forward to?
Starting University, LittleBigPlanet, getting a part time job in Liverpool! I’ll notify you when I magically get exicted!

35. Have you ever crawled through a window?
Nope

37. Have you ever eaten dog food?
Nope but I saw some blondes do that before *bitch reference*

38. Can you handle the truth?
You have to but its best to be honest, otherwise your a dickhead….I hate lying pricks and they should be kicked in the genitals for doing so

39. What was the best day of your life?

When the Spice Girls finally stopped making music together in 2001 and 2008….that was the only time in my life I felt like a child on Christmas Morning post-puberty and man it was good news..Okay I broke the rule with two days but fuck you! The whole Girl Power thing just alienated all females in the U.K! It was horrific times!

40. What 3 things do you always bring with you to places?
Phone, Wallet and Keys (what a dull question)

41. Any cool scars?
Brendan scratched me across the face leaving a scar there but it makes me kinda resemble some kinda thug

42. Do you like or have a crush on anyone?
I don’t have the time to mess around, I have other priorities right now so I don’t want a girlfriend, it would drag me down however Brunettes or Dark Hair are better than Blondes FACT!

45. How often do you talk on the phone?
Not much hence I am not on a contract phone and I don’t plan to get into debt and get into even more debt by succumbing to getting a credit card.

46. Do you believe in love?
I question that belief. If not, I’ll get a Thai Bride lol
*seriously I won’t get a Thai Bride, my uncle did that and hes a bit of a wally*

47. Is there someone you want that you can’t have?
Yeah, its called being in a pipedream and thinking with your dick = failing to see the freeking reality and failing miserably hahaha! Honestly there was someone but ain’t going to happen. Live changes all the time unexpectedly so you never know whats around the corner.

48. Three things about the preferred sex that you first notice?
Eyes, Hair and Personality (thinking with your dick gets you into trouble)

50. Who did you last hug?
Mum….hey I just moved into University Halls! I miss her!

52. Where is your cell phone?
Bedroom and switched off

54. Favorite Color(s)?
Blue, Midnight Blue

55.Last movie you watched?
Meet the Spartans……..what a fucking horrible movie, how did it become U.S No. 1 Comedy, its NOT FUNNY

56. What song are you currently listening to?
Some music from DragonBall Z BGM Collection, the Japanese Soundtrack is awesome and full of orchestrated awesome.

57. What do you want?
Quite a lot but since you asked so nicely here goes
*Money (I work for it)
*Someone to hug
*A Pump Action Shotgun
*Goto Washington D.C to take back the White House!!!!
*Holiday to Japan
*More Winter weather – beats Summer
*The ability to Ong Bak idiots in the face with my knee
*A job in the Games Industry
*Microsoft to stop releasing shitty products
*To see less crying, I saw a lot of that last year >_>
*Kelly Brook (not going to happen) but had to say
*A fucking Payrise
*Fist of the North Star Arcade Machine from Konami
*To Yuji Naka and shake the guy’s hand for creating Sonic the Hedgehog
*To have the right to apply a baseball bat to teenagers because most of them are fucking idiots who have no respect….cocksuckers
*Stop taking shit from others and grow some balls
*MAG-FUCKING-NETO
*CURLEH MOUSTACHE!!
*MAHVEL BAYBEE (An Online version of Marvel VS. CAPCOM 2)

If I want more, I’ll gladly update you sometime in your future

59. What t.v. show are you watching?
Well I watch the News to see half an hour of fear, depression, deaths, sadness all discussed in various reports and a hint of joy when Manchester United win a football game. Other than that, some comedy shows and when I can some Movies.

60. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone.?
Ismat