PlanetDreamcast | Community | Mailbag | 12/9/00

Community - Mailbag 12/9/00 - We Suck, We Rule, and Caps Lock Strikes Again - by BenT Welcome to the PDC Mailbag. Every week we toss in a bunch of letters from our readers and do our best to dazzle you with wit and wisdom. Roughly, that translates to copying/pasting your emails and writing the first thing that comes to mind. But hey, you take what you can get. If you have something you want to contribute to the Mailbag, send it to this address! From: Carey/Sue Subject: your test sucked! what the hell was that?!?!?! i jes took your test and i got a 4. a 4. a 4. WTF. I know so much about sega that it's not even funny. Friends do come to me for my godly advice. I visit your cool site every damn day! have for like a year now! But i still got a measly 4... And i bet even YOU had to look up those answers. And who the hell cares how many fighters are in Soul Cal. It's still the coolest fighting game on ANY system. I own it. I play it A LOT. even today. And yet i got the question wrong. you know why? because i never really thought about it. i bet 99% of your visitors know about as much as i do, if not less. And yet the 4. Becuase again, who really cares what the DC controller most resembles. Thats a matter of opinion, and has to do a lot with knowing the controller layout of OTHER systems. Yeah laugh at me all you want. I'm still mad. Now ask me the max amount of polys the DC can push, and i'll tell you. Ask me what speed the GD-ROM on the DC is, and i'll tell you. Ask me about....well you get the drill by now. So next test, include those and i'll get your max score. Now that a've rambled on and dug into your Q3A demo playing time, i'll be on my way. Oh and thanx for actually reading this. Nah, they came from my head, although I have to admit I consulted GameFAQs to confirm the Soul Calibur question. What can I say -- I was an obsessive gamer as a kid, and practically memorized my various gaming mags. (And I probably still would, if there were a print mag worth reading. ;) Anyway, it comes in handy sometimes. From: Andrew60007 Subject: Dreamcast Upgrade I've heard stuff about a Dreamcast upgrade. I know the memory can be upgraded and its speed can be accelarated but what about graphics? I heard that NEC finished the new PowerVR2DC for the Dreamcast so am I going to be able to run to Babages or EB's to get upgraded soon? Please send me an answer because I've asked a million people this same question a million times and have never gotten a reply. This is an interesting topic, as Sega has dropped a few vague hints that could be interpreted as evidence that the Dreamcast is indeed going to receive a hardware upgrade. However, any credence the idea has is sort of lost when you consider how bad the 32X fiasco was. Would Sega really risk another such episode, especially when they're in such dire financial straits? It seems unlikely to me. But hey, who knows? This has been a very weird year for video games so far. From: Jim Beck Subject: Site Reviews Thanks for all the reviews and info! (It would be nice if you included the rating in the list of titles so I don't have to check out lame stuff.) Jim From: Mark Subject: Quick Suggestion I just purchased the Dreamcast and found your website. Cool site. I was wondering if you could post a review summary screen, where you show all of the games reviewed, and their review score. This is much easier than selecting through the multiple screens for each game's review. Mark Ok, ok. :) The next version of the games database will likely have this feature. It's currently in early beta, so hold tight. From: Chaz Agot Subject: witty reparte...... Just wanted to make a quick note before I surf for some porn. Baby, I like your style! You see, I was perusing the various websites looking for.......er.....porn, when I came (no pun intended) upon your site. I read your letter section and laughed at the sillyness (and immaturity) of some of the letters. What was even more enjoyable was your clever responses. If a reader insulted your reviews or you opinions, you did not take the easy road and insult them back. Instead, you used clever reparte and non-offensive comebacks......which made them look even more stupid (which probably wouldn't be too hard), and made you look like a genius. Well, what I'm trying to say is "What panache!!" chaz Cool! From: handsomepete Subject: D2 I noticed that every one seems to rate D2 porely. I found this to be my favorite game for the DC ever. I couldnt set down the controller, and finished the game in 2 days (23 hours i think). The only complaint I had was the ending ( i didnt like "the great mother!" stuff too much) and that was about 10 minutes of this wounderfull game. I suggest you re-think how you rated it. PS: I really enjoy your site but D2 deserves more! D2 is really an odd game, as it seems to inspire extreme devotion in a small group of fans. Our GameSpy.com news editor is one such person -- he loves it. His reason? Paraphrased: "It's really, really weird and f*cked up." Other people (myself included) think it's mediocre. I don't play games for their stories or cinema sequences, but for the gameplay. In the case of D2, the gameplay had some issues -- like being boring. I also find Laura reminds me of a creepy, emotionless android. They should have made her a Vulcan, because 1) she'd have cute pointy ears and 2) do I really need another reason? Anyway, I feel our review was a fair appraisal of the title. Thanks for your opinion, though. Here, have 2 MEATS !! From: James Pinnell Subject: DC Browser -- Supports Java? Hey Planet DC Guys! I was just wondering, I'm buying a Dreamcast and a DVD Player INSTEAD of a PS2 in a few weeks after selling my computer, as I'll be travelling to the UK (I live in Australia) and I'll be taking the console with me. I'll be using the browser and built -in email program. The Question is, does the DreamWeb software support Java and Active X? Since the operating System is Windows CE, I'm guessing it does. The reason is that I could use Java ICQ and Yahoo! Messenger if so. Can't wait till I upgrade from 32-bits of aging hardware, to 128-bits of kickass gaming. - James. Erm, we have no experience with DreamWeb, and I couldn't find any info on the web, so we can't really say. Any connected Aussies out there want to chime in? From: deadnail Subject: Boring Taxi & Quake 3 I only recently found your site, but made a point of checking out your reviews. Dead on about some, although with a game like South Park Rally I just don't see how the score could get above -3. What the hell were you guys smoking when you reviewed Crazy Taxi? Sure, the game deserves a high rating... for about ten minutes, 'cuz after that you've seen 99% of it and it just gets incredibly boring and repetitive. I would never give it a 7. I would just like to let out a laugh, HA!, to every jackass that actually paid $50 for that piece of filth. When are you going to get around to reviewing Quake 3? I just bought it and it's pretty good, I'll guess an 8 or a 9. The fact that Xaero's corpse lies down like a propped boomering just doesn't sit well with me. Also, did you guys ever actually review the DC controller? It's gotta be the worst damn controller in fifteen years I've ever had the misfortune of being subjected to. Why the hell hasn't a 3rd party came along and designed one that FEELS like a PS controller? You know, button's properly spaced, comfortable to hold, analog stick that doesn't eat ass, something like that? Also, why is it missing at least 3 at most 5 buttons? That alone practically made Rogue Spear completely unplayable. Ever play a classic arcade game? The goal is to survive, to get the highest score, to improve your skills, and generally be the best you can be. Those are the same goals that are behind Crazy Taxi, and it excels as an addictive, arcade-style action game. It is becoming more and more apparent that this classic type of gameplay is not appealing to a certain segment of today's gamers, so I guess that's where you would stand. For those who don't need million dollar CGI cutscenes and 900 unlockable secrets to enjoy a game, Crazy Taxi is a work of genius. I have to agree somewhat on the DC controller, as it definitely has issues. I wouldn't want it to be like the Sony Dual Shock, though -- it's a very good controller, but I like the Genesis six-button even more. Its D-pad and button layout are wonderful. Just throw shoulder buttons and an analog stick or two on that and you'd have my dream controller. Believe it or not, the TurboGrafx-16's pads are pretty good too, although they usually only have 2 main buttons. From: Usmarinela Subject: Half-Life Hey i would like to know about when half-life will be released for dreamcast. I have played half-life and opposing force on the computer and think they are the best games ever made. I would really like to know when it will be released. I think it is a great idea to get half-life for dreamcast. Thanx for listening. Half-Life's release date is jumping around like a bitch on crack. (Sorry mom!) There were some rumors that it'd make it out before year's end, but I think they were just that: rumors. There's a chance we'll see it in the coming weeks, but not much. I'd say Q1 2001, almost certainly. From: Lotus1285 Subject: Dreamcast and PS2 Hi! I would like to know that since the ps2 is out now if the game developers and third-party companies will still make games for the dreamcast. Will they abandon the dreamcast? It's inevitable that some companies will abandon the DC for greener pastures, but you can rest assured that 2001 will see plenty of great games released for it. Even if only Sega were releasing games, we'd be kept quite busy. From: Roland Denison Subject: Dreamcast browser disc Sorry to ask, but, where can I get a new copy of the dreamcast browser disc? mine's a little jacked (broken in half). You can find a link to get a free replacement on our hosted site, DC VMU Icons. It's the graphic in the right-hand column. Don't you love free stuff? From: pocketmonsters Subject: (none) I LIVE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD AND I AM SICK AND TIRED OFF BEING THE LAST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD TO GET NEW CONSOLES AND GAMES JAPAN IS ABOVE US YET WE ARE LAST. WHEN DO WE GET A BETTER CHOOSE OF GAMES AND FOR ALL THOSE PEOPLE OUT THERE MOST OUR BIG CHAIN DEPARTMENT STORES HAVE ALL CEASED SELLING DREAMCAST ALL WANTING THE PS2 WHICH IF EVERYTHING I READ IS SH#T SIGNED P##SED OFF I assume you mean Australia, but I can see how that would be hard to spell when you can't figure out caps lock. (Yeah, that was mean.) From what I've heard, the game market is pretty stagnant there when compared to the States, or even England. Not much to do but spend megabucks on imports, or pack up and move. Mate. That's it for this Mailbag. Have a burning question? First extinguish the damn thing (get it?!), and then send it to this handy address. Until next time!