Sno-Cross Championship Racing
Grade: C
Publisher: Crave (2000)
Reviewed: 2011/2/9
Rating: Everyone
Publisher: Sega (1999)
Reviewed: 2010/4/29
Rating: Everyone
Sonic Adventure 2
Grade: B+
Publisher: Sega (2001)
Reviewed: 2010/4/29
Rating: Everyone
Publisher: Sega (2000)
Reviewed: 2001/6/10
Rating: Everyone
Publisher: Namco (1999)
Reviewed: 2006/1/18
Rating: Teen (animated violence, suggestive themes)
Publisher: Acclaim (2000)
Reviewed: 2010/7/24
Rating: Mature (comic mischief, strong language)
Publisher: Sega (2000)
Reviewed: 2000/6/12
Rating: Teen

It's the 25th century, the earth is being invaded by aliens, and only a drop-dead gorgeous reporter named Ulala can save the planet - by shaking her booty. Yes, this game is WAY over the top. Anyone who loved Parappa the Rapper or Bust A Groove (both for Playstation) will feel right at home with this one. Ulala dances through five retro-futuristic stages that include spaceports, asteroid belts, psychedelic tunnels, and plenty of surprises. The colorful, whimsical graphics are almost wild enough to distract you from your dance moves. The music is catchy, but unlike Bust A Groove, the tunes take a backseat to the gameplay. The aliens will perform a set of moves, and you need to mimic them - exactly (including pauses). There are only 6 moves: up, down, left, right, "shoot alien", and "save human". That's not a lot, but the moves need to be executed in real time. Any humans you save will follow you through the remainder of the stage. Ulala has plenty of style, sex appeal, and a new outfit for each level. Space Channel 5 is a very stylish game with addicting gameplay. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
Spawn: In the Demon's Hand
Grade: F
Publisher: Capcom (2000)
Reviewed: 2013/9/23
Rating: Mature (animated violence, animated blood)
Publisher: Ubisoft (1999)
Reviewed: 2001/5/31
Rating: Everyone

Speed Devils is an exceptional Dreamcast racer - certainly more interesting that Sega Rally or Sega GT. You get eleven shiny hot-rod cars and twelve gorgeous tracks, which do a fine job of showcasing different seasons, weather conditions, and times of day. The Hollywood track is a bit dull (except for an occasional blocky monster), but the Aspen Winter track is beautiful, and the Louisiana Tornado track is awesome. Speed Devils has all the standard modes, including arcade, championship, and two-player split screen, and you can fully customize the race and track conditions. Handling is good, but the lack of a power slide makes it tough to navigate sharp turns. There are no power-ups or weapons, but the cars are equipped with turbo boosts. You really can't ask for much more from a racing game. My main complaint is that they forgot to include the controls in the instruction manual, although they did include a diagram telling you where the X button is, where the A button is, etc. Like I couldn't just look on the controller to see that! For you modem junkies, there's an on-line version of this game available as well. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.
Publisher: Activision (2000)
Reviewed: 2001/10/31
Rating: Everyone
Spirit of Speed 1937
Grade: F
Publisher: LJN (1999)
Reviewed: 2015/8/4
Rating: Everyone
Publisher: Sega (2001)
Reviewed: 2001/8/16
Rating: Everyone

Where did this game come from? I seemed to come out of nowhere, but I like the concept behind it. Sports Jam plays like Track and Field, but the twelve events are taken from popular team sports. For example, the baseball event is a homerun derby contest, and the basketball entry is a three-point shoot-out. Tennis challenges you to hit targets on the other side of the court, and golf offers "closest to the pin" and putting contests. Soccer has corner kick and long shot challenges, and for hockey there's a puck shooting and a goalie event. Football has "touchdown dash" and field goal kicking games. Finally, there's a cycling contest, which seems oddly out of place. Variety is the name of this game, and the graphics are slick and polished. An obnoxious announcer hosts the festivities, and like most Olympic-style games, each event is preceded with some quick instructions. The controls are simple - sometimes too simple, and the quality of the events is uneven. I could play the tennis, golf, and field goal events all day, but the touchdown and cycling games are shallow, carpool-tunnel inducing button mashers. Still, the split-screen head-to-head action is undeniably fun. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.
Star Wars Demolition
Grade: F
Publisher: Activision (2000)
Reviewed: 2005/5/18
Rating: Teen (13+)
Star Wars: Episode One Racer
Grade: A-
Publisher: LucasArts (2000)
Reviewed: 2005/5/18
Rating: Everyone

When Episode One Racer was released for the Nintendo 64, it was a real treat for Star Wars fans. This new Dreamcast version looks
slightly better, but the gameplay is
exactly the same, giving me the worse case of Deju vu
ever. Racer lets you relive the exciting pod-race sequence from the Phantom Menace, and the smooth, detailed graphics put you right into the driver's seat. There are 21 spectacular courses spread over eight unique worlds, and a wide variety of drivers and vehicles to choose from. The illusion of speed is effective, and the game does a fine job of capturing the spirit of the film. But is it worth the upgrade if you already own the N64 version? No. In fact, unless you compared both versions side-to-side, you'd never be able to tell the difference. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.
Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles
Grade: A
Publisher: LucasArts (2000)
Reviewed: 2005/5/18
Rating: Teen

This outstanding title lets two players assume the role of Jedi Knights, hacking their way through creatures and environments inspired by the Phantom Menace. Although a "twitch" game at heart, there are some interesting defensive techniques and "Force powers" to spice up the action. This is the kind of game Star Wars junkies have been longing for since Super Return of the Jedi (SNES, 1993). Jedi Battles for the Dreamcast also represents a
dramatic improvement over the Playstation edition, which was quite good in its own right. Having played the Playstation version immediately before trying this one, I can say it doesn't even look like the same game! The graphics here are sharper and brighter, and objects are significantly larger. And not only is this version easier on the eyes, but it's more fun as well. LucasArts may have realized how frustrating the Playstation version could be, and made this one far more forgiving. The control scheme is superb, using the analog stick to run and the digital control to walk (with precision). You'll even discover playing modes you won't find on the Playstation version, like a training mode and a two-player versus. Jedi Power Battles for the Dreamcast is outstanding - one of my favorite Star Wars titles. I'd even recommend this if you already have the Playstation version. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.
Street Fighter III Double Impact
Grade: B+
Publisher: Capcom (2000)
Reviewed: 2000/9/6
Rating: Teen

It's amazing how little the Street Fighter series has changed over the years. Sure the graphics and animation get slightly refined with each iteration, and extra little meters and moves are constantly added and taken away. But the basic gameplay has remained pretty much the same as it was ten years ago. Street Fighter III wasn't a runaway hit at the arcades, and I think a big reason for this was the drastic change in the character lineup. Except for Ken and Ryu, all the characters are new, and most are unappealing or derivative. Oro is an ugly, 140 year old, one-armed hermit. Necro is a big-nosed rubber man with moves similar to Dhalsim. Elena and Urien are scantily clad female body builder-types. Hugo is an Andre the Giant look-alike who plays like Zangief. Dudley is an English boxer who plays like Balrog. You get the idea. Despite the new faces, there's little innovation to be found. On the bright side, the backgrounds are pure Capcom: brilliantly colorful, detailed, exotic, and always entertaining. And they even change between rounds. You'll also be glad to know that there's minimal loading time in this game. Technically, there are two versions of SFIII on this disk, but the second one is actually just an extended version of the first. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
Street Fighter III Third Strike
Grade: A-
Publisher: Capcom (2000)
Reviewed: 2001/3/20
Rating: Teen

Capcom is infamous for constantly releasing incremental versions of its Street Fighter series, and many fans were mad when the third incarnation of Street Fighter III was not included on the Street Fighter III Double Impact package. No question about it, Capcom is milking this thing for all it's worth, but in its defense, Third Strike is quite a bit different from the first two Street Fighter III games. The intro features beautiful hand drawings of the fighters and some decent rap music as well. The game itself features an impressive roster of 19 fighters, including Darkman look-alike "Q", the shape-changing "Twelve", a burnout named "Remy", and the return of both Chun Li (!) and Akuma. And remember in the original Street Fighter II when you had to destroy a car? Well this is 2001, so you have to smash up an SUV instead! The controls are responsive as you would expect and the animation is impressive. This is one beautiful game. The backgrounds don't change between rounds, but they look more scenic and photographic than ever before. Loading time is practically non-existent. A brand new feature is that you are graded after each match. This is an awesome 2D fighter. If you enjoyed SFIII Double Impact, don't hesitate to pick up Third Strike. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.
Publisher: Infogrames (2000)
Reviewed: 2013/9/23
Rating: Everyone

Striker Pro 2000 has substantial depth but can't get the action on the field quite right. This is a more realistic brand of soccer than
Virtua Striker 2 (Dreamcast, 1999), following in the footsteps of EA's FIFA games. The camera is pulled way back, giving you a nice wide angle of the action. Selected players are clearly indicated by colorful circles, but the player you control can change unexpectedly. The action on the field is smooth but passing is tricky. In fact, sometimes it's best to just head straight up the sideline by yourself. During free kicks and corner kicks you'll position a translucent arc to execute your kick with precision. A pair of British commentators provide spirited commentary, and they act like every save is the best one they've ever seen. And there's no shortage of saves because the goalies get their hands on
everything. It's really unnatural how they can lunge ten feet to snare a rocket of a shot, and that's demoralizing. As in Virtua Striker 2 (the
other Dreamcast soccer game), Striker Pro inexplicably forces you to use the D-pad to control your players. The analog stick is used to change formations on-the-fly via the VMU. Hey, shouldn't these functions be reversed? Striker Pro 2000 supports up to four players, and I'll give the game props for at least
trying to make use of the VMU. It's not a standout soccer title but on the Dreamcast this is probably as good as it gets. © Copyright 2013 The Video Game Critic.
Publisher: Red Spot Games (2013)
Reviewed: 2013/5/2
Super Magnetic Neo
Grade: C+
Publisher: Genki (2000)
Reviewed: 2015/8/4
Rating: Everyone
Publisher: Interplay (2000)
Reviewed: 2007/6/26
Rating: Teen (mild animated violence)
Surf Rocket Racers
Grade: D
Publisher: Crave (2000)
Reviewed: 2001/4/13
Rating: Everyone

I've been waiting for Dreamcast jet-ski game like this for a while. I've always been a big fan of water racers like Waverace (N64) and Hydro Thunder (DC). My biggest problem with many of these games is that the tracks are too narrow (like Jet Moto), forcing you to struggle just to stay on the course. Thankfully, Surf Rocket Racers delivers 15 wide-open courses taking you to the Bahamas, New York, Greece, and the Amazon. Unfortunately, the graphics are pretty lackluster, and certainly a big step down from Hydro Thunder. The scenery is static and lacks detail, and the Amazon jungle looks particularly bad. The water effects are hardly convincing, and there's minimal splashing. Gameplay is similar to Hydro Thunder, but without turbo boosts and short cuts, resulting in races that are pretty boring. Even flying off Niagara Falls seems ho-hum. On the positive side, control is good, and you can use a steering wheel controller. But overall, Surf Rocket Racers is weak and forgettable. © Copyright 2001 The Video Game Critic.
Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing
Grade: B
Publisher: Ubisoft (1999)
Reviewed: 2010/1/18
Rating: Everyone
Sword of the Berserk: Guts Rage
Grade: B-
Publisher: Eidos (2000)
Reviewed: 2000/5/25
Rating: Mature 17+

Despite the idiotic name, this game is alright! After witnessing this game's gorgeous graphics and sound, it may be tough to enjoy my Playstation again. Unlike most games which feature short intermissions between long action stages, Sword of the Berserk has short action levels between long (10-15 min) movie quality clips. Fortunately the medieval-Resident Evil style story is so compelling that you won't mind sitting back and just watching half the game. The graphics are fantastic, and the voice acting sounds professional, but is that flying elf really necessary? Does every story have to have some kind of comic relief? Your character is equipped with special weapons like grenades and a crossbow, but you'll take out most of your anger with your six-foot sword! Its sheer size allows you to take out several baddies at once, but on the downside, it tends to get caught up in tight hallways. Gameplay mainly involves hacking everything to bits. It's mindlessly fun, and there are over 30 freaky monsters and bosses. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
Publisher: Eidos (2000)
Reviewed: 2012/8/29
Rating: Everyone
Our high score: 9432
1 to 4 players