Getting Down With Sega

Written by Akash Suri on June 08, 2001

Getting Down With Sega: Sega's Throwin' a Party up in the Hiz Houze

Gaming sure as heck is fun. And a great way to get some УmeФ time, a little break from the hustle and bustle of the real world. Games allow you to explore fictional worlds you can only wish existed, like a universe of floating islands and air pirates in Skies of Arcadia, or a land of Geohounds and Lord Granas in Grandia 2. Don't feel like trekking across foreign lands? Want to relieve some stress? Bust out Crazy Taxi or Jet Grind Radio and spend some time speeding through the streets of a fictional Tokyo or New York. All of the above are great games for when you just want to be alone, gaming lets you be alone and have fun at the same time, truly a great accomplishment. But what about the times when you want your friends to take part in your gaming joy? What about the times you want to use up all the control ports on your Dreamcast and watch your friends revel in the joy of Sega's machine? Well, the above games, as great as they are, won't let you do this because of their single player nature. But the Dreamcast has a trove of great party games, because while games are great when you're alone, the fun factor increases ten-fold when you've got a bunch of friends, a few cases of Pepsi (taking our younger viewers into consideration), and the games that let you have fun all night long.

Toy Commander
Wipe those confused expressions off your faces. No, it's not a typo, I do in fact regard Toy Commander as one of the best party games on Dreamcast. УBut Akash, I've never even played this game.Ф That's what saddens me so much, few of my Sega brethren have experienced the fantastic multi player mode in this game. Yes, you heard me right, MODE! This game isn't fully multi player compatible, but the brilliant vehicular combat mode of this game garners it a spot on the list. You and your friends choose one of a number of vehicles, including planes, ground vehicles, and helicopters. You then choose one of the very well laid out rooms in which to battle, and then proceed to blow the snot out of each other. Sounds like any other combat game doesn't it? It isn't, No Clichщ has done everything right in this one, great arenas (which are actually rooms in a house), nice choice of vehicles, fun weapons, and best of all: ease of use. Any of your friends can INSTANTLY get into this game, the controls, gameplay, and everything else is extremely easy to get in to. I can't recall the number of people who have gone out and bought Dreamcast after one round of this game. Do yourself a favor and go buy it, it's cheap as heck, in fact it ran for $9.99 at one point, and bargain hunters may be able to find it even cheaper. Sega of Europe really scored with this one, and while a sequel is unlikely. A mini racer based on this game did find release in Europe with FULL ONLINE play, and get this, it was priced at under 10 bucks (cause of the fact it was only a racer), and proceeds went to charity. Sega, the gaming company with a heartЕ.awww.

Chu Chu Rocket
The first online game on Dreamcast is also one of its best multi-player games. A simple puzzle game of cat and mice. Simplicity is what makes this game so great, place arrows to direct mice into your rocker and also place arrows to drive them away from the ships of your friends. You have no idea how fun this game is with 3 friends, and if you only have 2, go online to find another person to complete your game. Trust me, if you are having a game party, you'll NEED this game. It's also nice to have if you just like stuffing mice in a rocket a la Ryan. Sonic Team showed there genius once again with this great game.

San Francisco Rush 2049
The depth of this game is astounding. I can say without a shadow of a doubt, that this game is the best multi-player racer on Dreamcast. No, wait, I correct myself, this game is more of a vehicular experience than a racer. Imagine 3 different multi-player modes, each better than the last, and each with the potential to act as a separate game. First is the obvious racing, see who gets from point A to point B first. A very well done mode, which moves lightning fast and has great control. But still, this mode is to be expected from a racing game. The next mode is more radical, but still obvious, vehicular combat. This mode is great, the arenas are all different, and the weapons are quite amazing. You'll probably spend a lot of time in this mode with your buddies. But the final mode is where its at. Stunt mode. Heck yeah, you and three friends get into a single, rather large, arena. This arena is full of speed boosts, jumps, ramps, and other wacky stuff. You then basically drive around trying to get air, do as many twists and turns in the air as possible, and then land it perfectly. For each successful jump you get points, which accumulate and determine your score. It's like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater with cars. You'll spend literally hours playing this mode alone, of course you'll have a quick race or combat session here and there, but stunt will eat up all of your time. Nice job Midway, not only for a great arcade racer port, but also for adding some very original and very great modes to this multi-player haven.

2K Series
Visual Concepts is one development house that understands the importance of multi-player in sports gaming. And they've executed almost all of their sports games brilliantly, NFL was pure genius, NBA set a new bench mark, NHL was pretty great, WSB was a foul play (get it?), and NCAA Road to the Rosebowl promises to be great. All of these games packed in the multiplayer, and they'll all be online in their next incarnation. NFL2k1 is the best of the series undoubtedly, and this has a lot to do with the great multi-player mode. The runner up is NBA2K1, it packed a lotta different modes, including a street ball mode reminiscent of NBA Jam! (those were the days). The other 2 games have a bit of improving to do, but the guys at VC promise a much better multi-player game this time around, and from what we've seen, they plan to deliver. Also under the Sega Sports label is Virtua Tennis (by Hitmaker) which has one of the best multi player modes I've ever played. I can only pray that Hitmaker finds a way to sneak online play into Tennis 2K2. The 2K series is making its way to every console, and it's fan base is destined to grow by leaps and bounds. Hopefully, the multi-player mode will get even better along with this growth. (On a side note: As I sit here watching the NBA Finals, I'm watching Alan Iverson whoop upon the Lakers, what's this got to do with Sega? Well, who's on the cover of the NBA2K series? GO IVERSON! Akash has just been decapitated by his friends, after all, Akash lives in LA.)

Quake III: Arena
Wow, was I amazed when this game was released. Somehow, Quake III was running beautifully on my Sega Dreamcast, with 4-player mode, online play, and the whole shebang. I regard this as the best FPS on Dreamcast to date. The graphics, gameplay, control (mouse and keyboard support!) all rocked. Plus, seeing the brains of your enemy come spilling out just never gets old. You'll be up all night with this one, if your friends can't come over, just play online. OH HECK YEAH! Quake III has a bit of competition coming in the form of Outtrigger, which I found to be even better in the short demo I played. But only time will tellЕ.

In conclusion
See, while you can have a lot of solo fun on your Dreamcast, the little white box is also a PARTY MACHINE! I haven't even covered games like Powerstone 2 or DOA2, trust me, if you want party fun, DC is where it's at baby! And it's only getting better, 2K2 series, Sonic Adventure 2 (2 player mode), Outtrigger, etc. etc. etc. But look, when the party is over on Dreamcast, you can be sure Sega will bring it over to PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox. AhhhЕmulti-player Jet Set Radio.