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20 |
Phantasy Star Online |  |
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| Ambitious attempt by Sega at creating an online console RPG. The gameplay revolves around forming a party of characters to take on the various dungeons as a team, whilst gaining experience and discovering and buying new items. The battle system is active and real-time, you simply run around the levels hacking, shooting, and casting spells, each attack has multiple strength levels and timing is important for combos. There's a lot of optimisation options here with a character editor tool as well as a decent number of different classes and races to choose from each with different strengths. Unfortunately these days whilst possible to play the game online its a bit of a pain as all of the official servers have long since closed down, leaving you only unofficial options, the game can be played offline but without the social aspects it loses something. | |||||
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19 |
Dead or Alive 2 |
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| Fast-paced 3D fighting game from Tecmo with a system based around countering as its main gameplay mechanic. The game is fast, fluid, and well animated (ahem), it has the usual emphasis on combos and moves but does it all well and looks fantastic. | |||||
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18 |
Quake III |  |
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| Here is a very nice port of the fast and furious PC classic. The game looks excellent, runs well, and has all the required features such as Mouse and Keyboard support (a must if you want to play the game properly), 4-player split screen support, and even online deathmatch (which happily, like Starlancer is actually still functioning!). The game is a violent and intense first person shooter that is focused mainly on deathmatch, the arena's are well designed and the imaginative weapons are an absolute joy to use. | |||||
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17 |
Virtua Tennis 2 |  |
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| Fun and accessible arcade Tennis game from Sega with an emphasis on being pick-up-and-play. The Virtua Tennis series are pretty much the most beloved series of Tennis games out there, perfectly straddling the line between realism and fun, whilst providing a lot of options longevity. | |||||
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16 |
Grandia II |  |
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| Sequel to the classic Saturn and Playstation RPG. Grandia II puts the game in full 3D and gives you a new cast of Geohounds (mercs) and Priestesses to meet. The RPG has a unique and clever combat system that's turn-based, but has the characters moving about in real-time by themselves, which leads to a focus on timing in addition to the usual RPG tactics. In comparison to the DC's other famous RPG, Skies of Arcadia, Grandia feels a little linear and straightforward, with Skies being the better game to explore, but I'd say Grandia is the one with the better battle system. The game was later ported to PS2 but avoid this version, unfortunately it was a buggy rush-job. | |||||
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15 |
Power Stone 2 |  |
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| Awesome, underrated 4-player fighting game from Capcom. In Powerstone 2, players run around 3D environments fighting, and picking up and using weapons or vehicles whilst searching for the titular Power Stones. When three Power Stones are collected you are transformed into a more powerful form for a short period and given devastating moves. The game makes for an excellent party game, with its changing, evolving Smash Bros-esque stages keeping the gameplay tense and exciting while the Power Stones keep things interesting. | |||||
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14 |
Samba De Amigo |
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| Samba De Amigo is a bright and fun rhythm action game with good music and visuals that oozes with charm. The game comes with some special Maraca controllers which you have to wave and shake about at specified points to the rhythm of the music. | |||||
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13 |
Marvel Vs Capcom 2 |
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| Frenetic 2D fighting game that pits the most popular characters of the two companies against each other. Marvel Vs Capcom follows the basic mold of most Capcom fighters such as Street Fighter, but is generally much more loose and over-the-top. The game pits two teams of three against each other, with the player being allowed to switch characters mid-fight, as well as call for help. MvC fights are anarchic, with huge screen-filling tag-team attacks, big combos, and aerial raves. The amount of content here is good, with lots to do and many characters to unlock. Many ports exist, but the Dreamcast version is the best of its time because (like Capcom Vs SNK 2) the game is from the same arcade machine that has similar hardware. | |||||
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12 |
Crazy Taxi |
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| Another weird and well-executed concept from Sega. Crazy Taxi has you playing a Taxi Driver trying to ferry passengers around a big city, as soon as you pick them up you're racing against the clock to get them to their destination as fast as possible and refill the timer. The game gives you a variety of different techniques to master, such as boosts and skids, and is very addictive, like many Sega games it just has that pick-up-and-play feel down to a tee. Out of the versions I'd say this is the best, with the GameCube coming very close, later ports lose licensed elements. | |||||
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11 |
Shenmue |
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| Hugely ambitious game for its era, Shenmue reportedly had one of the largest development budgets of all time at release, and by no small margin! The game is about Ryo Hazuki's search for his father's killer, and is essentially like a sand-box game, giving you full reign to explore your home town at your leisure. Gameplay mainly revolves around information gathering, 3D fighting, completing mini-games, and taking part in quick-time events. The game is very cinematic, and attempts to really immerse the player in its world, allowing you to work, buy trivial items, or even hang out at the local arcades playing full version's of Sega classics like Space Harrier and Hang-On. Out of the two Shenmue games on Dreamcast I decided to rate this one lower, but they are very different games with different strengths, the first Shenmue being more homely & personal in comparison to its louder and more bombastic sequel. | |||||
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