Are These Dreamcast Games Good?

[Rogmeister]

I just picked up 4 Dreamcast games at a Toys R Us store. One of them, Sega Bass Fishing, I picked up for a friend but I wonder if anyone would like to comment on the other 3 which I could keep myself...or not if I find out they're not particularly good. I've heard a bit about one or two of these but am not overly familiar with them...

Speed Devils Online Racing--I thought I had the regular edition of Speed Devils but I must've been mistaken as I haven't found it anywhere. Obviously, I'm sure it's no longer online...

Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram--Does this require a special controller? I was thinking it did but the back lists "Standard Controller" so now I'm not sure.

Soldier of Fortune--I don't recall the DC having many FPS games so I'm hoping this is decent.

[Half Japanese]

Dunno about the online version, but the original Speed Devils was a great racer.

Virtual On is one of the harder DC games to come by (meaning you rarely see it for less than $15 or so), and it's also pretty fun. It'll take a lot of getting used to with the regular controller, but I think with a converter the JP Saturn twin sticks (which will cost you a small fortune) can be used on it.

SoF is highly mediocre and has some of the longest load times I've ever experienced in a game. Uncommon, but also pretty average on all fronts.

[Daria]

I do know Speed Devils is like the meter on which my boyfriend judges all other racing titles, so has to be decent. (:

[Ze_ro]

Speed Devils Online Racing--I thought I had the regular edition of Speed Devils but I must've been mistaken as I haven't found it anywhere. Obviously, I'm sure it's no longer online...
Speed Devils is a good game. It often gets overlooked because the Dreamcast has such a wealth of good racing games. Of course, any online aspects of this game are long gone.


Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram--Does this require a special controller? I was thinking it did but the back lists "Standard Controller" so now I'm not sure.
I didn't like VO:OT very much... but then, I've never been much of a fan of Virtual On in the first place. I have heard from other sources that it is good though, so if you like VO, you'll probably like it.

It plays fine with the Dreamcast controller... I think there actually is a set of Dreamcast Twin Sticks out there that you can buy that will work with it though. They weren't sold in North America though, so they're tough to find. I'm fairly certain I've seen them on eBay from time to time.


Soldier of Fortune--I don't recall the DC having many FPS games so I'm hoping this is decent.
I haven't tried this one... but if you're looking for good FPS games, there's always Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, and Half-Life

--Zero

[hydr0x]

Spees Devils Online is inferior to Speed Devils in Single-Player-Mode :(

i dunno if the online functions are still available (they are for some games like 4x4...)

[Rogmeister]

Pulling out my copy of Video Game Bible (which somehow had gotten stuck behind my loveseat), I see that they report the online version of Speed Devils remains basically unchanged but there is one new track.

I do have Quake III and Unreal Tournament on the DC...of course that doesn't mean I won't play Soldier Of Fortune as well.

[Crush Crawfish]

Personally, I love virtual On. It's a really fun Robot fighting game. Too bad it's got the cheapest last boss ever. And no, It doesn't require a special controller.

[RCM]

Virtual On is a great DC title. I would suggest picking up the twin sticks. I think the standard controller works fine for the Saturn version but not for the DC. You will pay a bit of money for them though. If you love the game though then it's worth it. I have the Saturn twinsticks and a convertor. I got a great deal and paid only $40 for the twin sticks new and I think another $20 for the convertor. Like I said , that was a great deal, I would expect to pay a bit more for the twin sticks now. Hope this helps!

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Rogmeister]

Thanks...the guy I'm letting have the fishing game also has some interest in both Virtual On and the Speed Devils game. If he really wants them I'll probably let him have them. If not, I may have to look for the sticks and the converter.

[dreamcaster]

Virtual-On rocks my world. Though I'm still yet to find the Dreamcast version. Stupid lack of PAL release >_<

[Daniel Thomas]

Virtual On is one of those games that has an insanely long learning curve, mostly because you're using a joypad to replicate those twin sticks. I can't say it really did anything for me, but I know that it has a fervently loyal fanbase. VO either clicks with you or it doesn't.

Speed Devils was good, and, yeah, it was lost in a sea of those great DC racing games. Too bad those servers are long since gone, eh?

Soldier of Fortune is probably worth a look, but I'm one of those who can't give up his PC for a console for FPS'. Goldeneye is the one true console classic as far as I'm concerned.

[Rogmeister]

Well, it turns out that the guy I bought the fishing game for also decided he wanted the Speed Devils game so I let him have that. I may keep Virtual On though a person on a Dreamcast mailing list I'm in says he'd probably take it. I haven't told him what it cost me, though, so that may change his mind. At any rate, I will wind up keeping at least one of the four, Soldier of Fortune.

[dj898]

Virtual On without twinstick isn't much fun. Yes you can play with the pad but it's never matching the feel of twinstick.

DC twinstick costs arm and leg. Even in Japan you have to prepare to pay a lot for it. I paid 6000 yen (which is about $57) for my brand new unit. I normally use TotalControl to hook up my Saturn twinstick which goes for 100-500 yen on Yahoo Japan. Works well, and I prefer Saturn twinstick as it has fancy print on its surface just like the arcade one.

for Bass Fishing you can get most enjoyment out of it using official fishing rod. It's not too hard nor expensive to pick one up so don't skimp few cents by getting nasty 3rd party knock-off.

haven't played nor have speed devils online racing so can't comment on it...

cheers

[sisko]

Virtual On is a decent game. Not phenominal, but not crappy either.

As said earlier, the DC Twin Sticks are pretty hard to find. Especially at a reasonable price.

The Saturn Twin Sticks are a bit more common and will work, but finding the Saturn to DC adapter is pretty tough too. It would probably me cheapier, easier, and faster to secure the DC sticks. I would really only go this way if you had VO for the Saturn.

[dj898]

even on eBay Saturn twinstick can be had for $30+ and another $25 for TotalControl you are looking at $55 plus S/H compared to close or exceeding $100 for DC twinstick plus S/H. Which way would you go it's your choice... :)

True it's hard to find TotalControl but not impossible. That's why I bought two TC last year...

cheers