Dreamcast Reviews O-R

Ever on the cutting edge, David Bowie contributed the fine soundtrack to this futuristic adventure. In Omikron you are a cop in a dystopian city investigating the disappearance of your partner. Everybody you know including your wife is acting suspicious and you don't know who to trust. The remarkable atmosphere of the game owes much to Blade Runner with its overcast weather, glowing advertisements, floating cars, streetwalkers, and steam vents. Ominous police robots resemble ED-209 from Robocop, and it's startling when they snap to attention. The game captivated me as I walked the streets, explored my apartment, collected items, and conversed with characters. I was able to visit a red light district and watch a virtual David Bowie perform one of his songs. Omikron's well-designed menu system lets you manage inventory and transfer items to virtual lockers for safekeeping. It's super convenient to call "sliders" (taxis) and the game even simulates traffic. Omikron is ambitious in scope but technically deficient. The controls feel stiff and it's difficult to walk straight. Frequent disc accesses cause the animation to freeze and stutter. Once I actually became embedded in a door. An action button is used to interact with the environment, but most of the time it just displays "I don't understand" or something to that effect. In the police station it's hard to discern doors from random designs, so you end up pushing against walls hoping a panel will slide open. The one-on-one fights feel like a low-budget Virtual Fighter, and the first-person shooting mode made me feel queasy. After a few hours my progress hit a wall and I reluctantly gave up on the game. The most compelling aspect of Omikron is David Bowie's artistic, otherworldly soundtrack. He wrote some truly beautiful songs for the game which can also be heard on his Hours album. If you're a fan like me, seeing a legend like David Bowie resurrected in digital form is a surreal, bittersweet experience. © Copyright 2016 The Video Game Critic.

Pen Pen TriIceLon kicks off with a lame cartoon depicting goofy animals engaged in wacky arctic hijinx. It might not be so bad if not for that obnoxious circus music! Horrible, just horrible! It's like the game wants you to hate it! Pen Pen's premise isn't so bad. I like the idea of racing through courses composed of snow and ice, and a four-player split-screen mode is always welcome. The animal selection screen features a penguin, a walrus, a shark, and umm... what the [expletive] is that thing? And is there a reason why these animals are so [expletive] ugly? Each race is composed of three distinct events that flow into each other. The belly-surfing action is the most fun, allowing you to slide along open stretches of ice while pressing A to propel yourself. So far so good. Next you need to swim through a narrow channel cluttered with obstacles. Not quite as fun. Finally you'll waddle through a crazy obstacle course, occasionally smacking an opponent along the way by hitting the "attack" button. I really hate it how my animal stops and turns to mug for the camera after he gets smacked. The swimming and waddle events are marred by poor camera angles, unforgiving collision detection, and a general lack of fun. When playing the split-screen, these issues are exacerbated to the point where players can become hopelessly stuck. Pen Pen offers four unique courses sporting themes of sweets, toys, jungle, and horrors. Would a normal "winter wonderland" theme have been too much to ask for? It would have been a hell of a lot better than these ugly, gaudy courses that wind their way through frozen jungles (ugh!) and junky haunted houses (gahh!). In addition to the bad music, the repetitive "cute" sound effects really got on my nerves. And was Tri-Ice-Lon really the best name they could come up with? Really Infogrames?? Pen Pen should have been a light-hearted romp, but its problematic gameplay and cheesy style prove to be a major turn-off. © Copyright 2011 The Video Game Critic.

I'm a big fan of Rival Schools (Playstation, 1998) but feel less enthused about this sequel. The ridiculous storyline involves a group of high school kids trying to untangle a convoluted mystery by kicking the living [expletive] out of each other. The 20 characters offer plenty of variety including jocks, geeks, giddy schoolgirls, geeky professors, and a sexy nurse. The athletes tend to incorporate sporting equipment into their attacks. Natsu will spike a volleyball in your face, Momo will pepper you with tennis balls, and Shoma will slug you with a baseball bat. Project Justice offers clean, high-resolution graphics, but instead of enhancing the visuals they seem to water them down. The character models are sharp but plain, and the stages are aesthetically pleasing but lack interesting detail. The courtyard and rooftop stages are beautiful, but the stadium, mountain, and even amusement park stages come off as dull. It seems 3D backdrops can never match the artistry of their 2D cousins. The fighting action has a lot of depth, but doesn't flow as well as Rival Schools. Your "team" is now composed of three characters instead of two. When both players attack at the same exact moment, a cool lightning bolt strikes between them. I also like how your health gauge "melts away" with each hit. The game has a distinctive Japanese flavor, with outrageous special moves that are as bizarre as they are funny. When your "burning vigor" gauge is completely full, you can bum-rush your opponent with all three characters at once, unleashing a series of devastating blows. It's a little disconcerting however with the wild camera angles, quick cuts, and multiple people running around. A few attacks are super lame, like the one that looks more like a synchronized dance routine! The arcade mode lets you play through the story (snore) or shoot for a spot on the high score screen. Project Justice may lack the freshness of Rival Schools, but it still has that Capcom seal of quality. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.

You know this is a real import because you can't pronounce its name. Psyvariar 2 is a sharp, rapid-fire vertical shooter with a cool twist that sets it apart from the rest of the field. You begin by selecting a female or male character, and while they both look like robots in the game, the chick seems to have more potent firepower. The attractive 3D scenery is very futuristic as you soar between skyscrapers, wind through tunnels, and navigate space stations. The controls are limited to two buttons: shoot and bomb. You shoot in a rapid-fire manner, and your targets tend to be high-tech aircraft, including some that slither around like sharks. One of the better bosses is a robotic spider with three glowing eyes. His movements mimic a real spider so well that it's kind of freaky. Bosses tend to unleash hundreds of projectiles in criss-cross patterns. A natural response would be to yell "you gotta be kidding me!" but try to remain calm and look for a seam. Typically if you can find a "safe spot" early, you can remain there untouched for most of the barrage. Surviving the torrent is particularly satisfying because you earn "buzz points" for near misses with projectiles, which in turn intensifies your firepower. It's a novel idea that really dares you to "thread the needle" and linger near errant missiles. The concept works great, thanks in part to some extremely forgiving collision detection. The explosions are some of the best I've seen, and I love how their bright flames dissipate into black smoke (although the boss deaths are a bit too over-the-top). Ported directly from the arcade, you play Psyvariar 2 on a heavily cropped vertical screen, and some of the text and icons are extremely tiny. This is a one-player only game, and while the continues can be turned on or off, you can't set them to a specific number. The soundtrack really kicks ass, layering a melodic piano and soothing vocals over pulsating techno beats. Psyvariar 2 is yet another exceptional Dreamcast shooter than never made it to the states, and it breaks my heart. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

I'm not a PC gamer and don't do that "online thing", so it's surprising how much I enjoyed Quake III Arena. Arena was designed for Quake experts who don't give a crap about the single player scenarios, but instead want to demonstrate their skills against the best players in the world. My first impression of Quake III Arena was not good. I tried to play the single-player mode with the Dreamcast controller, and got completely obliterated over and over by relentless cpu opponents. Finally, I remembered the wise words of my friend Scott Z, who once proclaimed that first person shooters HAD to be played with a keyboard and mouse (with Halo being the one possible exception). So I hooked up my little-used Dreamcast keyboard and mouse, and sure enough, it made all the difference in the world. The mouse provides incredibly sensitive and precise control, and with a little practice, I started doing better. The one-on-one matches aren't so hot, but the multiplayer mode (even with 3 CPU opponents) is a blast! There's no shortage of firepower, and your opponents get blasted into nice bloody chunks. I love how you get constant updates about who's recently bit the dust and how you're currently doing. The warriors include a wide variety of humans, undead creeps, and alien freaks. There's even a skeleton and walking eyeball thrown in for good measure. The arenas range from medieval to futuristic, and the level of detail is quite impressive. They tend to be just spacious enough, and every wall and doorway is ornately decorated. The game looks terrific, although my friends steadfastly maintain that the PC version looks far better (whatever!). The only stages I didn't care for were the platform-laden outer space ones. The music consists of some grinding, high-octane guitar stuff - not great by any means, but appropriate enough. If you like first-person shooters and you have a Dreamcast keyboard and mouse, you can't go wrong with this. © Copyright 2004 The Video Game Critic.

Re-Volt is a thrilling racer at first, but repeated plays reveal its many flaws. It has a great premise - letting every guy live out their childhood fantasy of racing a remote controlled car through a museum, supermarket, and other places usually off-limits to remote-controlled toys. The touchy steering even reminded me of the remote control car I had as a kid. You get a nice selection of vehicles to choose from, from a stock car to a monster truck. The environments (which also include a neighborhood street and ghost town) look impressive and are loaded with cool little details. For example, the neighborhood has sprinklers and bouncing balls. At its best, Re-Volt is pure arcade fun. Your view is somewhat distant, but it provides a decent vantage point of the road ahead, which can get pretty narrow. Don't bother attempting to change your view, because the other angles are unplayable. The highlight of the game has to be the multi-player mode, which allows up to four players to race or play a well-designed "tag" game. These cars really move! The frame rate is smooth most of the time, although I did notice some choppiness on occasion. Although Revolt has mad potential for fun, there are some serious annoyances that weigh it down. First of all, the single player mode is entirely too hard. One minor fender-bender can turn you the wrong way, and by the time you get straight you're out of the race. Also, on more than one occasion my car actually got "stuck" somewhere, and I was helpless for the remainder of the race. I know this happens to real-life remote controlled cars, but that's one bit of realism I could have done without. Sometimes it can be tough to tell where you're supposed to turn, especially on tracks that double back on themselves. The whimsical Japanese music got on my nerves, although my friend Scott thought it was great. Finally, in the multiplayer mode, you always have to exit to the main menu between races, which is a major hassle. I think Re-Volt could have used some fine-tuning. But if you're looking for some simple multi-player racing action, Re-Volt will do the trick. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.

This was one of the "launch" titles I purchased along with my Dreamcast way back on 9-9-99 (ahhh memories). Ready 2 Rumble is an impressive title that I would often use to show off the capabilities of my snazzy new console. The boxers are goofy caricatures but their smooth skin and fluid movement was astonishing for its time. Heck, these fighters still look pretty sharp! Ready 2 Rumble employs amazing "bounce physics" whenever a large belly (or boobs) are on display. Sadly, the droopy, angular boobs in this game aren't very appealing. The venues feature impressive digitized crowds, and the size of the audience varies dramatically. In terms of gameplay, Ready 2 Rumble's wacky brand of boxing is instantly gratifying, thanks to simple controls and non-stop action. When playing a friend, it's hard not to laugh out loud as you relentlessly pound the crap out of each other. The 18 colorful characters have comical names like Afro Thunder, B. Knokimov, and Big Willy Johnson. In my experience, the smaller, quicker boxers seem to have the advantage over the slow, lumbering hulks. The best matches unfold as cat-and-mouse affairs, with each player attempting to time a devastating combination. Truth be told, button mashing is also effective at times. I like how the fighters become puffy and bruised as the matches progress. Ready 2 Rumble is a swell party game, but don't overlook its one-player championship mode. It's very satisfying to work your way up the ranks, and the "training" mini-games are short and sweet. Each contest is introduced by Michael Buffer and his trademark line, "Are you ready to rumblllllle?!!!" Thank goodness you can hit a button to skip that! The game's cheesy rap theme song is equally annoying. Even so, Ready 2 Rumble's wacky theme and accessible gameplay is hard to dislike. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

Since the dawn of recorded history, man's basic instincts have changed little: Seek shelter, gather food, and blow up robots. That said, there's a lot to like about this mission-based, futuristic shooter. Red Dog puts you in a moon-buggy style vehicle with large, rubber all-terrain tires. As you bounce over planet surfaces and zoom through subterranean tunnels, you'll blast cannons, tanks, robot soldiers, and mechanical spiders while forging your way towards the obligatory end-of-stage boss. Red Dog gives a poor first impression, as I struggled just to enter my initials required to start a new game. But once the action was underway, it didn't take me long to appreciate this cool shooter. Your vehicle is sharply detailed and the frame rate is very smooth. There's a lot of bouncing over the uneven terrain, and I have to admit, it made me sick to my stomach at times (avoid the first-person perspective at all costs). Blowing things up is clearly the most satisfying aspect of Red Dog. A touchy aiming cursor is compensated by the ability to fire rapidly and unleash lock-on missiles. The weapon power-up system is confusing at first but ultimately very satisfying. Once your cannon is fully charged, you can literally spray shots across the screen. Add in a secondary weapon (which floats alongside your vehicle) and you'll be loving life. You view the action from behind your vehicle, but can switch to a first-person view when your sight becomes obstructed (which does happen from time to time). In addition to the awesome firepower, you're equipped with a turbo-boost and a great-looking shield that can deflect incoming fire. Red Dog's levels feature branching paths, which are really cool until you get lost in them. The background music is a high quality electronic soundtrack that fits the science fiction theme perfectly. Red Dog is a good time until it tries to be more than a shooter. For example, in the Arctic stage you must navigate ice floes to cross a river. It plays like a first-person Frogger, and it's terribly aggravating. Red Dog is a very challenging game with no difficulty options, and just surviving the first stage can require several attempts. A multi-player split-screen mode is included, best described by my friend Scott as "just like Twisted Metal, only without the fun". Red Dog is not a grade "A" Dreamcast title by any stretch, but if you're in the mood to inflict some damage, it serves its purpose. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

This two-disk game puts you right smack in the middle of a horror film, and the tension will keep you on the edge of your seat. Anyone who's played a Resident Evil game knows exactly what I'm talking about. This episode takes place in a prison in a remote island, where you control the beautiful Claire Redfield, who's searching for her brother Chris. As the game progresses, Claire has several run-ins with a Leonardo Dicaprio look-alike named Steve. Code Veronica delivers classic Resident Evil action with dramatically improved graphics over the Playstation versions - and these graphic improvements really do make a difference. Extremely realistic cinematic videos blend in smoothly with the gameplay, and these unsettling sequences look so real that at times I thought I was watching actual video footage. Nice graphical touches include scurrying cockroaches and moths buzzing around lampposts. After you get over the incredible graphics, you soon settle into an experience that is classic Resident Evil. That's mostly a good thing, but there are a few annoyances. As usual, you can only drop or exchange items in chests, which is a real hassle. The control could be better, although there is a turn-around move and a useful auto-aiming mechanism. Although the aiming system works great with eye-level creatures like zombies, aiming at high or low creatures (dogs or bats) can be frustratingly difficult, and sometimes it's better to just run. The camera angles are fixed, so you can't look around freely. The sound and music are easily the best in the series. Zombie groans will send chills down your spine, and the ominous music really adds to the creepy atmosphere. I liked how your health is displayed on the VMU, so there are no meters cluttering up the screen. The rumble pack is also used to good effect. Horror fans, it doesn't get much better than this. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.

When gamers discuss the topic of shooters and graphics, Rez is a name that often gets tossed around. Despite its age, this game is one of the more striking titles you'll ever see. Its hypnotic visuals, pulsating soundtrack, and relaxing gameplay meld together to create a sublime experience. So why in the [expletive] was Rez never released in the USA? It's already in English for Pete's sake! Oh well, this is one import that's definitely worth firing up the Game Shark for. Rez places you in the role of a wireframe woman flying through a virtual computer world while destroying viruses and firewalls. You view the action from behind her as enemies of various geometric shapes approach in formations, often unleashing slow-moving missiles. Holding in the A button and moving the large cursor box lets you lock onto up to eight targets at a time before releasing a swarm of guided missiles. There are also power ups you can snag, including health and smart bombs. The lock-on concept isn't totally new (it was used in Panzer Dragoon for the Saturn) but Rez has a style that's boldly original. Instead of explosion effects, Rez punctuates its destruction with understated electronic tones that seem synchronized with the musical score. The sense of speed is remarkable as you're whisked from one wireframe environment to the next, thanks partly to some fantastic blurring effects. The psychedelic graphics, mesmerizing audio, and addictive gameplay all work in perfect harmony. On the downside, Rez has only five levels and is very boss-centric. In fact, you'll spend more time with the boss than the ten levels leading up to it! And the bosses tend to be very abstract in nature, with one looking like a huge disco ball. After unlocking four levels (no minor feat), there is score attack mode that lets you master each stage individually. Rez has given me new appreciation for the Dreamcast console. I play this game on a 42-inch plasma with a VGA adapter, and it's a thing of beauty. Note: A very similar game called Child of Eden was recently released for the Xbox 360. © Copyright 2011 The Video Game Critic.

Here's an exciting overhead racer in the tradition of Thrash Rally (Neo Geo, 1991). The steering feels just right as you power-slide around curves and peel wheels at U-turns. With eight cars in each race there's a lot of jockeying going on. The overhead camera is pretty tight but arrow prompts help you anticipate upcoming turns. I recommend using the digital pad to better handle the sharp corners. The physics feels very accurate and I enjoy the scaling effect of jumping over ramps or sand dunes. The circuits let you compete in city, racetrack, and desert environments. The night tracks look especially slick with the car headlight effects. I do wish the course designs were more forgiving. The off-road sections in particular are hard to follow, and was it really necessary to incorporate so many 90 degree turns and U-turns into the novice circuit? Needless to say, memorizing the track layouts is key to success. Fortunately they are short so after a few laps you'll have them down pat. The single player mode challenges you to finish top-three on ten tracks, and you get three continues so if you mess up it's not the end of the world. The graphics are about average. Most tracks have overpasses but there's little sense of depth and the cars look flat. I do like how you can plow into pedestrians and cows, causing them to shriek while being splattered all over the pavement a la Grand Theft Auto 2 (Sega, 2000). The a four-player split-screen mode offers a slew of options including use of special items. High scores are recorded to VMU and you can even upload them to the internet via a code. Rush Rush Rally's soundtrack is an outstanding collection of synthesized tunes that really help you get into a groove. The Desert Nights theme sounds like something from Streets of Rage (Genesis, 1991), and that's high praise indeed! A soundtrack disc is included and I sometimes listen to it in my car while pretending I'm playing this game (that's dangerous!). Rush Rush Rally Racing is an unexpected treat for Dreamcast fans looking for something new. © Copyright 2018 The Video Game Critic.