[last updated: 06-MAR-2010]
I can't help but hold some strange respect for the Dreamcast. It had the best looking visuals for the time it came out, the interactive Game Boy-like memory card was really unique (if sadly underused), and - pardon my bias - I still think Sonic Adventure is just one of the coolest games you could use to launch a console. Seriously, the Dreamcast looked like a console that could've ranked way up there when I first got my hands on it.
Amusing personal story time! The first time I got my hands on the Dreamcast? It worked for half an hour and then unceremoniously died on me. After we had waited a loooong time for it to arrive via the mail. Cue another two months (at least, it felt like two months) of waiting for a working console to arrive, leaving us with nothing to do but gaze over the instruction manuals in an anxious fever. It eventually arrived in working order and all was well.
Of course, my experience with it even after the first incident has been a little awkward. For starters, we barely had any games for it; the quality of said games ranged from great to subpar; the memory cards, unique as they were, gobbled batteries like Scooby Doo with the munchies; and it's by far the most temperamental console I've ever dealt with. There's the aforementioned first impression with the console, but even after that it just decides on certain days it's not going to work, refuses to load discs at times, and save data just likes to disappear on rare occasions of its own accord. On official memory cards, I remind you.
So... yeah. It left one hell of a disjointed impression! I admire its ambition and the potential it had for going places, but at the same time I'm well aware of its faults, and I don't think the console was ever supported terribly well in the UK (though that's probably just my ignorance speaking). It's got some decent first-party titles, though, but most of them got ported to other consoles anyway.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: Winter 1999
NOTES: First game!
Never played, but looks fun.
[no review]
Completion: Steve finished it.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: 2004?
NOTES: Gift from a friend.
Never played.
[no review]
Completion: n/a
RATING: n/a
WHEN: 2001
Delightful, though all the modes besides Puzzle are too frantic for me.
[no review]
Completion: No idea.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: 2004?
NOTES: Gift from a friend.
Brutally difficult, but sincerely fun.
As with most of my Treasure game reviews, anything I'd write would just be repeating what the entire internet has said. It's a pretty rockin' game. Will I ever attempt to review it properly like a sensible person? Stay tuned!
Completion: Stage 4 is as far as we've got
Further reading: This game also has an entry in the Xbox 360 section.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: Winter 2000
Quirky as all hell.
[no review]
Completion: 100%, as far as I'm aware.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: Winter 1999?
NOTES: First game!
My favourite of the 3D instalments.
[no review]
Completion: All stories finished. Only need around ten to twenty emblems.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: June 2001
Pretty darn good.
[no review]
Completion: All stories finished. Need about ten to fifteen emblems.
Further reading: This game also has an entry in the GameCube section.
RATING: 
2/4
WHEN: Summer 2000
Decent mini-games, totally forgettable board game.
Joining in on the party genre is Sonic, with a unique take on the board game playing. Instead of dice, everyone is given cards; some are simply numbers, some are special cards that let your character use their special ability, and then there are Robotnik cards, which funk up your shiz. You can also take other peoples' cards, but you can't see theirs. And then there are coins and board spaces and items, but let's ignore them.
Instead of stars, you need to collect generic gems that are guarded by monsters. To defeat them, you need to use a card that is the equivalent or higher than their health. This means you need to save up a good card for meeting one of these guardians, and also make sure nobody pinches it; and if so, you could pinch one back, maybe.
The problem with this is that it's simply too complicated for it's own good. Mario Party is just hitting a dice and following the defined path, whereas this gives you the freedom of where to go and how far to move, which can result in having no idea where to go, or having to explain it slowly to anyone else that plays.
On the bright side, the mini-games are heaps of fun, and require little to no thought, so the game is a lot better once you unlock the toy chest and simply play mini-games all the time.
Completion: Story mode completed. Missing only one mini-game.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: 2000
Stupidly amusing, but not very long lasting.
[no review]
Completion: Totally finished.
RATING: n/a
WHEN: June 2001?
Intriguing, but looks rather cumbersome.
[no review]
Completion: No.
