EBgames Dreamcast sale & questions from a newbie.

[Atari7800]

EBgames is having a sale on used Dreamcast (and N64) systems... pick one up for $14.99. You have 14 days to return it, and the replacement insurance is a whopping $6 for 6 months of coverage.

Afters years of avoiding the Dreamcast due to money constraints, I finally bit the bullet.

I've searched a bunch of faqs, but I can't seem to find the answers to a few questions I have.

HELP!

1. I know the fan is supposed to be noisy, but I hear the GD-rom drive clicking and accessing the disks a lot, especially Soul Calibur. Is this normal? Are all DC's so noisy?

2. I have two disks that won't work. Crazy Taxi tells me that the disk may be scratched or dirty. Midway Arcade 2 just keeps going back to the DC option screen. I've tried to clean both disks with one of those repair kits (the spray and cloth type, not a Game Doctor), and I've tried the toothpaste method (a little) on the Crazy Taxi, which seems to have a small but fairly deep scratch. Anything I can do?

3. Are GD-rom disk problems common on the DC? Do a lot of used disks not work? I have PSX disks that look like total s**t but still work fine.

4. Where on earth do I find that stupid lost baby whale on the FIRST LEVEL of Ecco? This game sure is purty, but if the gameplay is anything like the first level I won't be playing too much more of Ecco. Aimless wandering is not my cup of tea.

THANKS!

[Chingaling]

The DC is pretty damn noisy,that's normal.About the games not working,could be the games since Ecco works on it.And as to your Ecco question,I also have that game.I literally played for a couple of mins,was blown away by the graphics and then the gameplay and not knowing what the hell to do killed it for me.The DC has a bunch of way better games.Ditch Ecco and get something like Jet Grind Radio,Crazy Taxi,Samba De Amigo,Mr.Driller,Sonic Adventure,Shenmue (if you're into rpgs) and Border Down (really good import shooter).

[josekortez]

I'd willing to take that Midway's Arcade Greatest Hits off your hands. I've had luck with even the most heavily scratched games in my DC. If you're interested, I have a few new and sealed Dreamcast items in my trade forum post...

[Flack]

My Dreamcast is pretty noisy as well. I bought a game from a flea market that looked like someone took a nail file to, and it played okay. Maybe you just got an unlucky scratch on those you got?

[Dangerboy]

1. The DC is a *very* loud system, and the clicking you hear on Soul Calibur is actually normal. Having worked retail six years, and known pretty much everyone who owned on, no matter what model DC, SC will always make the loud clicking noise. Even the import version did it on my old work's demo system.

2. Ecco is a great game, and yeah, you don't have a clue most of the time. The baby whale is underneath a huge pile of rocks somewhere along the walls of the stage. If you crank the volume, you'll actually be able to hear it (also helps to keep sending out the sonar).

If it helps, you may want to hang on to DC version for historical value (read: Allapaloosa made a great game after 2 shitty Contras...) and nab the PS2 version instead. The graphics suffer a smidgen, but the PS2 has a VASTLY superior map function.

3. Sounds like the disc may need resurfacing. If you do use a Game Doctor, make sure you try and track down the DC Resurfacing wheel for it. The regular wheel doesn't work. :/

Jason