BLACK & WHITE
FOR THE DREAMCAST

If there is any one game that could be the killer app for Sega's Dreamcast, Lionhead's Black & White, to my  mind at least, has the greatest likelihood of being it.  Designed by Peter Molyneux (formerly of Bullfrog), the critically acclaimed genius behind the PC successes Populous I & II, Magic Carpet, Theme Park, Syndicate, Dungeon Keeper and others, Black & White has the potential to be the ultimate "God Sim"...and it's coming to the Dreamcast. If only fifty percent of what is being discussed on the Lionhead bulletin boards and fan sites and interviews with the development team is implemented then this potential is likely to be realised.

The game that Lionhead (the company is named after a deceased hamster, incidentally - I kid you not) is cooking up is based on a planet called Eden. To quote from Lionhead's homepage:
http://www.lionhead.co.uk

"The Land of Eden is a pretty amazing place.

Not merely a 'green and pleasant land', but a lush countryside blanketed in exotic flora and magnificent features of natural beauty. In comparison, the most perfectly cultivated rose garden blooming in a rainbow of colour would seem like Well, like black and white, really.

Perhaps because their world is an idyllic land of natural beauty and harmony, the inhabitants of Eden are a contented bunch. Villages dotted about the landscape are populated with tribes of people happily going about  their daily chores. Curiously, many of these tribes actually parallel some we are already familiar with: Aztecs, Japanese, African, Tibetan, Egyptian, Greek, Zulu - these are just some of the civilisations to be found in Eden. And each inhabitant treats his fellow Edean with decency, honour and respect. Unlike the world we know, inter-tribal disputes are unknown.

In short, we're not talking Nirvana - we're talking double Nirvana. Seventh Heaven. Utopia to the nth. Pain, misery, poverty these are unknown concepts in Eden. Everything is just perfect. Until a monumental event occurs which changes everything.

YOU arrive Of course, the young sorcerers (of which you are one) couldn't really be blamed for their attitude towards the innocent Edeans. Such behaviour is perhaps only to be expected. Just as a human child would look  down on a bustling colony of ants with fascination, so the young sorcerers regarded the inhabitants of Eden with a kind of simple curiosity.

Say, for instance, our human child spies a group of ants struggling to carry a section of fruit back to their nest. He might pluck up the fruit and deliver it to their door, saving hours of toil for the ant workers. Shortly afterwards, and for no reason in particular, he brings his foot down squarely on a cluster of the same ants, deliberately causing dozens of deaths. To the child's mind, the concepts of kindness and cruelty, good and evil do not even enter his reasoning. He has simply been playing with pets.

In a similar way, the magic-users arrived in Eden and were fascinated by its inhabitants. From grand citadels created in remote corners of the land, they used their powers to taunt, amuse and aid the Edeans. Some sorcerers were kindly towards the villagers, using their magic to protect children and sending rainclouds seeded with healing elixirs to maintain their health. Others amused themselves by wreaking havoc amongst the villagers, sending plagues and marauding creatures to decimate their numbers.

However, there was one thing the sorcerers needed from the Edeans themselves. Their individual powers were fuelled entirely by the lifeforce generated amongst  the villagers. When villagers worshipped them, their powers grew strong. If ignored completely, they became powerless. Worship provided the lifeforce necessary for their spells.

They also discovered that amongst worshippers, not all men were equal. Worship from the citizens of Egyptian tribes gave them access to powerful building spells; Tibetan tribes offered them mental magic; Zulu tribes offered battle spells And there was something else the magic-users discovered in their new homeland.

Each other.

At first, the sorcerers believed they were alone on Eden. They considered themselves masters of all they surveyed. The discovery that this was far from the truth came as something of a rude awakening.

Being a proud and arrogant elite, the resulting squabbles were inevitable. These soon escalated into heated conflicts. As a result, the hapless villagers who had once lived perfect lives in peace and harmony soon found they had become pawns in the epic magical  battles raging between neighboring sorcerers. Whenever trouble flared up, they were summoned by their overlords and required to perform their elaborate rituals of worship. These rituals provided the life force needed to power the awesome spells which would boom and crackle across the dark skies of Eden.

If the young sorcerers regarded the human population as our earth-child regarded a colony of ants, the Titans they created were the equivalent of our human child's faithful dog. Created originally from Edean animals, these awesome magical creatures towered over the landscape, instilling terror in the hearts of the mortal inhabitants. Under the influence of the sorcerer's magic, a cow, a sheep, a bird or even a tree would undergo awful changes as they transformed into grotesque beasts which could grow at an alarming rate. And they kept on growing. Until they were of a size which was truly gargantuan..

The sorcerers fed and trained their creatures with tender loving care and attention, teaching them how to behave according to their own inclinations. Some of these Titans would wreak almighty havoc as they stomped across the countryside, feasting on local populace as they went. Others would come to the aid of any Edeans loyal to their own masters, by helping with constructions, seeing off attacking creatures and generally guarding over them.

Inevitably these Titans were drawn into the struggle between sorcerers, as a loyal dog might protect its own master against an attacking enemy. When the Titans were first trained for battle a curious phenomena was noticed. These huge magical creatures did not rely on worship to provide life force for their sorcery. The energy needed for spell casting was produced internally.

The implications were at once realised by the sorcerers of Eden. These Titans would be the most powerful  weapons they could muster in the personal conflicts. These creatures would hold the key to success.

All this was clear.

As clear as Black & White."

Concerning the game itself, and again quoting from the URL above:

"Black & White is a strategy game packed with the sort of unique features that PC gamers have come to expect from a Peter Molyneux title. From a spired citadel located in a remote corner of the game-world, you survey the surrounding 3D landscape. In technical terms, the game-world is constructed using Lionhead's revolutionary new, fully scalable, rotating, environment-mapped, modifiable landscape with an engine giving though-the-eye vision, bump mapping, light sourcing and reflections.

Dotted about the landscape are tribes of human-type creatures. From a perspective high above the clouds you can zoom in to watch these individuals going about their daily business. Just by observing them, you will find they live 'natural' lives with virtually every aspect of village life built in. Not only will the villagers plough, hunt and fish, but they will visit friends, play games, fall in love, get married A full range of natural behaviours are designed into each tribe.

The tribes are an integral part of the game. There will be a large number of different tribe types, based on parallels from past and present history: Japanese, Tibetan, Red Indian, Greek, Zulu, Cossack and so forth.  Each has its own particular purpose in the game. And within the game, the tribesmen will be particularly impressive. An incredibly large number of individuals might appear on-screen at any one time.

The player starts by 'converting' the villagers in an attempt to persuade them to worship you. Once they have become your loyal followers, they can be used to perform a vital function. By summoning them to your Citadel, you can have them perform strange and elaborate worship rituals in your honour. And as they dance around the Citadel praising your name, they are generating lifeforce; the essential ingredient for the magic spells you will soon be able to cast.

Each tribe is capable of producing lifeforce of a specific type. A vast number of spells will be written into the game, each being unique to its particular tribe.

The alignment of spells vary from pure good to pure evil and everything in between. The choice of which spells you want to use is entirely yours to make. However, your choices are monitored carefully throughout the game.  The more magic of any particular alignment you choose to use, the more your environment will gradually alter to reflect this fact. If you tend towards using evil magic (destructive, fear-invoking spells), your homelands will physically alter in accordance with this. Your citadel will become dark, angular and foreboding; the surrounding green fields will become black and charred. Your followers worship you out of fear. But if your preference is good magic (protection, healing etc. spells), your citadel will gradually come to resemble a fairytale palace, with the surrounding lands bright and colourful perhaps even nauseatingly so. And your loving followers will dutifully obey your every command.

Playing Black & White will be like taking a huge personality test. The results will reflect the sort of games player you actually are. And the way you choose to control your land is reflected in the game by a corresponding evolution of your own territory. You are not alone in this game. At the start, whilst you expand your territory, a number of other sorcerers are creating their own power base. Ultimately you will clash. In these battles, your weapons are your magic spells.

When magic battles between sorcerers arise, the game comes to life. Thunderclouds roll across the skies as lightning bolt attacks are directed at opponents' villages. Armies of skeletons are summoned who stride across the countryside scything everything and everyone in their paths. Earthquakes tear the ground apart.

The way magic is handled in Black & White is revolutionary in two ways.

- Spells directed against you can be anticipated. You always have time to react to spells. And time to cast an appropriate counter-spell in time. - Lionhead have developed a new technology 'Gesture Recognition' technology which allows spells to be cast, practised and perfected by mouse movement. To cast a firewall, for example, you must sweep the mouse in a circle. From this gesture, Lionhead's GR technology can sense the type of spell you wish to cast and (according to how accurately the spell was executed) determine how strong it was.

- Your worshippers are all-important in that they provide the lifeforce (energy) you need to cast spells. In the heat of battle you can order your followers to increase their worship rituals. The more frenzied the dancing and chanting, the more energy they will provide for you. But when you push them too hard, some will be unable to maintain the pace and will die in the process.

There is one type of magic which does not rely on your followers. The magic cast by your familiar. In Black & White, you have various roles. As a ruling overlord you must manage your tribes of followers as you see fit. As powerful sorcerer you must practice and perfect your spell-casting technique. There is also one other major area in the game which will demand your careful attention. You must take on one further role - as responsible parent.

By plucking any living beast you might find in the game-world and dropping it into your citadel, this unfortunate creature goes through a magical transformation. Like a child, it begins to grow. It grows. And grows By the time it reaches adulthood, it will have transformed into a gargantuan creature towering above the tribesmen, able to flatten a whole village with a single footstep. Exactly how it conducts itself as it strides across the countryside will depend on how you have raised it.

As you may choose to use good or evil magic, you may also choose to raise your titanic familiar to be good or evil. This you must do in training sessions whilst the game progresses. As you might with a growing child, you must punish it when it does anything wrong and reward it when it acts correctly.

If the creature is hungry and stuffs its mouth full of tribesmen, you will probably reward it if these tribesmen are followers of a rival sorcerer. If they are your own, people, you will thrash it. Gradually the creature will learn what it may and may not do.

Another important aspect in the education of your growing creature is its magical ability. Your creature will learn to perform only those spells you have taught it. In  battles between sorcerers, this is all-important. When the spells are coming thick and fast, relying on your exhausted worshippers may not be possible. But your creature casts spells created with its own source of lifeforce.

Black & White is a cross-genre game which involves resource management (in this case human resources), spellcasting skills which rely on dexterity and practice, battle strategy and parenting skills. The game is played in real time and will accommodate multiplayer play over networks and internet play. Another original feature is that your creatures are portable, from single player game to Internet game and back. Thus you may train your creature in the comfort of your own home before taking him off to an Internet game.

Black & White is a hugely ambitious project which will set new standards in game design and execution. It is scheduled to appear in 1999. But at this stage we're not saying when!"

If you go to Lionhead's web page, and read the discussion boards, and follow the links, you'll find that the descriptions above represent only a part of the entire picture, indeed, they barely scratch the surface and utterly fail to convey the fairly unbelievable quality of the graphics, and the true depth of the game. For example, you start the game with only a small island, and as the game progresses, you uncover more and more of the planet's surface so that you are constantly building upon your previous actions. The game does, apparently, have an involved plot, and does have an ending of sorts, but it's the kind of ending that will permit play to continue. That I like the sound of. It makes the game feel like a sort of SimWorld ultimately. Having conquered the world, you get to continue to develop or maintain it. Certainly natural disasters are possible. Storms, earthquakes and the like. Predators can be a problem, apparently, taking livestock. I can see that there is much potential once the set game is completed.

The way the game is presented keeps the mind in anticipation with "what ifs" and "hows abouts". There are several ways of playing the game that should enhance replayability. You can play according to your nature, responding automatically to certain situations. For example, regardless of how hard-nosed I appear at times, I can never resist being the nice guy when playing FFVII.

Again, the game can be played with an eye to being as nasty and as brutal as possible, and it is even capable of being completed without using a Titan...at least, that's what I hear. Then the degree of interaction with the tribes raises all kinds of possibilities. It's possible, for example, to create a football, or a musical instrument and given them to your tribes. Apparently this gives rise to intelligent behaviour leading to the creation of a football pitch and rules. Given them a musical instrument apparently encourages the development of  musical talent. I keep wondering to what extent this can be extended to influencing other tribes. Their faith is capable of manipulation, and can sway back an forth -  at least, that's the line coming out of Lionhead. The idea of the tribes holding football matches or music concerts is intruiging.

Titans can be created from a variety of livestock, and develop according to their allowed behavior. Good, evil, fat, muscular thin, whatever. However they can also be  potty trained...literally. A 200 foot tall Titan using a village as a latrine could be devastating. So it is actually possible to train a Titan to defecate on an enemy sorcerer's citadel, or on his tribes. I don't know how  many different Titans there can be, but I do know that you can only have one at a time. They don't die of old age, and so get more experienced, but they can be killed by other Titans. I understand that conflict between Titan's isn't inevitable. I encountered mention of Titans falling in love, which has some eyebrow raising possibilities. In the multiplayer game, it's possible to capture a Titan and psychologically damage it before returning it to it's sorcerer. I seem to recall a similar concept being expressed in the single player game as well. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. Not only can you the sorcerer develop a following amongst the tribes, but your Titan can as well...I have no idea what the implications of that would be.

Then there's landscaping. Anyone who's played Populous: The Beginning will be aware of the possibilities of this. Once when heavily beset by enemies, I essentially moved my village to a natural plateau with only one way up, and expanded it as necessary, a tactic that worked rather well and one I developed in later levels, including taking out another tribe from the sea by collapsing the land. The possibility of creating a high plateau out of reach of Titans, and essentially isolating a tribe from the world is interesting. Much risk to your tribe would be avoided. I understand that reforming the land is going to be possible, I just don't know to what extent. However you see what I mean? The sheer depth of the game encourages such thinking.

As I say, Black & White is coming to the Dreamcast, and herein a cautious note must be sounded. According to Peter Molyneux, the game runs well on a P200 with a 3D accelerator and 64 MB of RAM. With the exception of the RAM requirement, the Dreamcast obviously exceeds these requirements, but the nature of console programming would considerably reduce the amount of RAM needed. In discussion, it has been revealed that Black & White on the Dreamcast is "Planned to be exactly like PC version except a few graphic details will  be shaved off." Now one of these graphic details has to be the resolution. The game was designed around a resolution of 800 x 600 and the Dreamcast uses a resolution of 640 x 480. Screenshots do exist of the game at this lower resolution and frankly look just fine to me. What else might have to be sacrificed I don't know, and haven't been able to find out, but I still get a feeling of trepidation. Perhaps it's my experience of Populous: The Beginning on PSX. A potentially excellent game, the Playstation really chugs along at higher levels, and the graphics while acceptable, do look rather chunky at times, especially during Planetary rotation.

While Peter Molyneux wasn't directly involved with Populous 3, having left Bullfrog to start Lionhead, this isn't the first time a Bullfrog game has been translated to console with mixed results. Populous was, I gather, converted to a console - Sega's Genesis - and is reported to have suffered similarly. Syndicate Wars on the Playstation also suffered from some slowdown at times, but the few reviews I have seen were generally good, though critical of the control's complexity. Both of these were games developed during Molyneux's tenure at Bullfrog. One correspondant had this to say concerning Bullfrog/Molyneux games on consoles "Bullfrog games can suffer unplayable slowdown when ported to consoles. Bullfrog has always been one of the main PC publishers that frequently push designs up to and past current PC power, so I guess it's a fact of life that they can't shoehorn their power-hungry PC games into consoles."

You see why I'm just a little concerned? Now the specs of the Dreamcast are much closer to those of a modern 3D accelerated PC than the situations described above, so maybe I'm just a little paranoid...certainly I don't see why a Dreamcast conversion shouldn't be as good as the PC version, I just hope that the port receives the attention it deserves. According to one correspondent, the Hitachi CPU that the Dreamcast is built around is in some respects superior to a P2-450, and given that the stripped down Windows CE operating system lacks most of the dross associative with the Windows 95/98/DOS combination most of us run under, someone would seriously have to drop the ball to screw up a port.

There is even the possibility that the Dreamcast port could have features lacking from the original. Titan pocketmonsters on the VMS anyone? I rather like the idea of being able to develop a Titan on the VMS and then reintroduce it into the game, and believe me, I am the last person in the world who would ever have anything to do with Pikachu. The lack of a keyboard isn't a problem, either. Most of the interaction in Black & White is through the mouse, there are no icons. Ok, so the analog joystick would replace the mouse. Some regard that as a benefit, others not. Certainly it shouldn't be a great impediment.

Even if the Dreamcast port turns out to be somewhat lacking, this isn't necessarily the end of the story. The possibility of a Playstation 2 port exists, and at the moment is still up in the air. If the Dreamcast can't do it properly, perhaps the PSX2 can. I for one would be prepared to wait...

Jeremy Pallant





Dreamcast Swap

NOTE: Sega X isn't liable for any damage which might occur during the disassembling nor swapping process. Swap at your own risk! We admonish that the swap detailed herein worked using 2 Japanese discs, and therefore could be used to swap an American game. Sega X doesn't condone piracy in any way, shape or form. The material contained herein has been posted for intellectual purposes only, and not to promote the practice of importing or pirating.

This morning one of our readers and regular IRC channel visitors, Robert Ferns (Robotnick), began describing a Dreamcast swap technique. Although we had no American or pirated games to test the swap with, it did work perfectly with any two Japanese Dreamcast games. The swap itself works essentially the same as the original PlayStation 'music' swap trick. In theory, this technique will allow Japanese Dreamcast owners to play games from America. Here's how it works:

1. You'll need a Japanese or Asian Dreamcast.

2. Take the 4 screws out from underneath the Dreamcast system. You can locate three of them at the corners of the system, the 4th screw is beneath either the modem or the terminator pak, depending upon what system you own. You must take out all 4 of the screws.

3. Remove the top cover the the Dreamcast. As you can see, it's very simple to do, and comes off with ease.

4. Turn the power on. Since the system thinks there's no game in there, it will boot to the operating system menu with four icons.

5. Choose the Music icon.

6. Once in the music menu, pop in any Japanese Dreamcast game.

7. Now, HOLD the sensor in the back right side of the Dreamcast. This sensor typically responds to the opening and closing of the Dreamcast lid. By pushing it back, the Dreamcast system thinks a Dreamcast game has been placed in the system, and will begin to spin the disc in the music mode. Keep holding the button down, otherwise the system will think you've normally raised the lid.

8. While still holding the button down in the back, play any track on the GD-ROM by using the controller. Then press stop on the controller. It's vital that you keep holding the button in the back through this process. The Dreamcast game should stop spinning, but it should remain loaded into the menu.

9. While still holding down the button in the back, you can now change the game. You can put any Dreamcast game in the system itself. Next, while still holding down the button in the back, you simply hit 'back' on the music menu via the controller, and the game you've swapped in will load automatically.

There is no check whatsoever once you've loaded in the original Japanese Dreamcast game in the music menu. Therefore, in theory, an American game could be swapped and would boot up perfectly. What you've essentially done is tricked the system into thinking the original Japanese game you loaded in the music menu, is now playing. While in reality, you've swapped that game for another.

The same trick, in principle, worked on the original PlayStation models in the United States (sub 500,000 serial #). The trick allowed gameplayers to play backups and Japanese games by tricking the system into thinking it was playing a regular American game. While we have no American Dreamcast games to test the trick with, we're fairly certain it will work. In essence, if proven to work with American games (as we believe it will) Japanese Dreamcast owners can play American Dreamcast titles.

One example we tried was using Sonic, and swapping in Sega Rally 2. Sega Rally 2 booted up perfectly using the swap, although appeared to be missing some audio tracks. While it may sound bad, it's actually a good sign. This means that the Dreamcast was playing Sega Rally 2 using the original track listing from Sonic (ergo, the disc WASN'T checked again after being loaded into the music menu). This happened frequently with PlayStation music swap, and essentially bolsters our belief that US games can be swapped in just as easily.

Basically Japanese Dreamcast owners would have to either build a switch which would operate the 'drive sensor' externally, or simply keep the lid of their Dreamcast off and resort to taping down the sensor when needed.

Written By: Dennis Day

Courtesy of SegaDreamcast.net



Donkey Kong 64

More than 15 new screen-shots of Donkey Kong 64 in action. Don't believe us? Have a look.

Probably the most-hyped game of E3 is Rare's long-awaited 64-bit sequel, the next line in Nintendo's beloved Ape-based franchise, Donkey Kong 64. This is truly Rare's latest masterpiece and E3-goers have finally gotten a chance to have a go with the game, which is conveniently set up across a multitude of game-kiosks located at Nintendo's booth. Of course, IGN64 played the game at length earlier this morning and we can confirm that it does indeed take the 3D platformer genre to new heights, and we mean that quite literally.

Donkey Kong 64 is the product of testing, tweaking and refining. It is a title that takes Rare's previously released genres and smashes them all together into one gargantuan game. DK64 plays very similarly to Banjo-Kazooie in most respects - it is, at its core, a 3D platformer after all. However, the game also features a significant number of mini-levels with completely different goals, environments and engines. For example, one stage sees players racing through colored tunnels in a style similar to that in Diddy Kong Racing while some scenes in particular require gamers to take on a first-person view to shoot down enemies. Still other portions of the game have players flying through barrels. It's all very Rare-like and recognizable.

Features

Requires the 4MB Expansion Pak to run; Uses the device for enhanced visuals. Tons of gameplay puzzles. A variety of weapons and power-up items.  Multiple  gameplay modes: ride mine carts, race boats, fire characters out of barrels, etc., etc. Multiplayer deathmatch mode. Donkey Kong 64 opens up to Kong and friends busting out a rap tune. This odd little show, featuring digitized voices and lively rap beats, goes on for a little more than four minutes. It's a bit disturbing, really. But once the title begins, players immediately catch a feel for the sheer depth and scope of DK64. The game is absolutely huge and it's just as smooth. This is made possible with the required use of the 4MB Expansion Pak. Donkey Kong and friends absolutely won't run without it. Luckily, when the game ships November 22, the extra RAM will come packaged with it. The Pak is used to expand the depth of visibility in the game and not for higher resolutions. The 4MBs also work to smoothen out framerates, even in wide-open, detailed levels that stretch forever. Rare has also utilized the Expansion Pak for loads and loads of lighting effects. Nearly every stage is filled with colored lighting that changes shades and even affects the shadows of characters.

Monkeying Around

Players control five different characters throughout the game: Donkey, Tiny, Diddy, Lanky and Chunky Kong. Of course, each personality features his or her own unique attributes, be it strengths or weaknesses. Donkey Kong, for example, is extraordinarily strong, while Tiny's flowing pigtails double as helicopter blades. The kicker is that, during the course of the game, players will need to take control of all the above characters in order to advance. According to Nintendo, it all works something like this: Controlling Donkey Kong, players make it to, say, level three, and find that no matter what they do, they simply can't jump to a ledge high above. The idea is to backtrack and find one of the other characters, take control of them and then navigate back through the levels to the same ledge and, theoretically, lower it, or unlock other gateways. But Rare has evidently figured a way around making this process completely tedious and repetitive with unique level missions for each character. Some tasks can only be accomplished with Diddy Kong, while others require Tiny's size to do the trick - so on and do so forth. Because of this, particular areas of each level remain locked until the correct character is selected and going through the same level multiple times still delivers a fresh, original experience - which no doubt works wonders to extend the game's life.

Characters are manipulated using a very Banjo-Kazooie-like setup. A and B buttons act as jump and attack, while Z works in conjunction with both for stomps, slides, backflips and bashes. The camera  buttons are identical to that used for Rare's beard-bird duo. The animation routines in Donkey Kong are certainly some of Rare' s best. Some of the apes walk on their hands (in exactly the same way and speed that Kazooie moves), while others flip through the air or pound on the ground. Everything flows seamlessly with top fluidity and smoothness. It really looks spectacular.

Donkey Kong 64 features a four-player deathmatch mode in which players can go head-to-head against one-another playing as one of the five selectable apes. IGN64 has not yet had a chance to fully explore this mode, but we do know that the title will not feature cooperative play as seen in Jet Force Gemini.

Outlook:

Donkey Kong 64 is going to be big. There is really no point in posting an outlook for this game, as we all know it's going to absolutely sell like crazy. Nintendo knows it and it will be supporting the game with its  biggest marketing budget ever. The great news, though, is that DK64 actually makes good on the hype surrounding it. With huge, highly detailed worlds, wonderful animation, tons of levels and mini-games and a polished feel that seems to borrow ideas and genres from all of Rare's previous efforts, Donkey Kong 64 has it all. And, looking at the title's many options and overall look, it doesn't seem all that crazy anymore to believe that Banjo-Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing were mere tests leading up to this product.

By the way, thank you Rare and Nintendo for embracing the 4MBs and proving that the extra RAM can be utilized for more than pretty high-resolution modes and choppy framerates.

Courtesy of ING64.IGN.COM

SONGBIRD PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES
UPCOMING ATARI RELEASES

June 1999

For immediate release:

ROCHESTER, MN -- Songbird Productions is pleased to announce renewed support for Atari gaming consoles in the form of new releases for the Jaguar and Lynx.

Topping off the list is Ponx for the Atari Lynx. Ponx brings the ball- and-paddle classic that started it all to the Lynx. But this isn't your ordinary game. Ponx features a number of options, such as multiple balls, a Lynx controlled opponent with selectable AI, and more. Plus, in a throwback to classic handheld gaming, play against a friend on the same Lynx unit (no comlynx cable or second Ponx cartridge necessary!).

The target release date for Ponx is June 18, 1999, and the retail price is $39.95. If you are interested in ordering Ponx, please visit the Songbird Productions web page at http://songbird.atari.org. Dealer inquiries
welcome.

Songbird Productions continues to make significant progress on Protector, a fast-paced 2D bi-directional shooter for the Jaguar. Anticipated release date is later in 1999.

In addition, Songbird Productions has licensed a number of unreleased games from former Jaguar developers. The games licensed are: Soccer Kid from Krisalis Software Ltd., Hyper Force from Visual Impact, and Skyhammer from Rebellion.

"Jaguar and Lynx fans have remained highly supportive of Atari game consoles," said Carl Forhan, owner of Songbird Productions. "I can't tell you how excited I am to have licensed these games from their  respective companies and know that I will get them into gamers' hands in the coming months. This is a great opportunity for Songbird Productions to help sustain the Jaguar and Lynx into the next millennium."

At press time, no release dates had been set for any of the Jaguar products. All inquiries on these products should be directed to Songbird Productions only.

To keep up to date with the latest news at Songbird Productions, be sure to visit the company web site at http://songbird.atari.org , or send an email to songbird@atari.org .

Copyright 1999 Songbird Productions. All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in its entirety.

BUSHNELL BOYCOTTS ATARI SHOW!

Due to questionable actions on the part of one of the organizers of "Classic Gaming Expo 99," Nolan Bushnell will no longer be participating in, nor endorsing this year's event (scheduled to take place August 14th and 15th at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas.


Dolphin Launch Date Still Uncertain

More reports have surfaced which suggest Nintendo won't meet its planned 2000 Dolphin release date.

At last May's E3, Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln announced the worldwide release date for the company's next-generation console, codenamed Dolphin, as late 2000 -- and more specifically, a rumored launch in October of 2000. This announcement was met with much skepticism as it defied previous reports that suggested Nintendo wasn't planning to ship the console until 2001.

The latest news from a Nintendo source who wishes to remain anonymous backs up these stories in full, saying that not only will Dolphin not make its October 2000 release date, but that a delay to the holiday season of 2001 is much more likely.

Evidently the Dolphin hardware simply isn't ready, commented one developer who has been in talks with Nintendo on the subject. And with finalized development kits not scheduled to be made available until January of next year, not only will the hardware probably not be ready, the software to back it up won't either.

Why then would Nintendo set a release date that it knows it can't meet?

"If Sony can say it with a straight face, so can we," was the answer given to more than a few development houses asking the same question. The obvious answer, of course, is to deter potential Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 sales. With initial Dolphin specs and an announced release date made available, jumpy Nintendo loyalists and newcomers to games alike may think twice before buying one of Sony's or Sega's machines. And that's exactly what Nintendo wants.

IGN64 hopes to have more on the story soon.

Courtesy IGN64

Smash Brothers Fans Vote

TOKYO - For Japanese gamers looking for the latest Smash Brothers information, the Nintendo of Japan site offers a section called Suma Bura Ken. And the section can boast its dominance of Smash Brothers information because it is maintained by the Smash Brothers creator, Masahiro Sakurai of HAL Lab. (Mr. Sakurai is also the creator of the Kirby series.) Recently, the site conducted two polls for web visitors: One was a favorite-character poll, and the other asked gamers which characters they would want to see in a Smash Brothers sequel.

Favorite characters in Smash Brothers:

1 - Kirby from the Kirby series
2 - Ness from the Mother/Earthbound series
3 - Link from the Legend of Zelda series
4 - Falcon from the F-Zero series
5 - Pikachu from the Pokemon series
6 - Samus from the Metroid series
7 - Luigi from the Mario series
8 - Mario from the Mario series
9 - Fox from the Star Fox series
10 - Yoshi from Yoshi's Story

Characters you'd want to see in a sequel:

1 - Coopa (Bowser) from the Mario series
2 - Princess Peach from the Mario series
3 - Wario from the Wario series
4 - Dedede Daiou (a boss) from the Kirby series
5 - Gannon from the Legend of Zelda series
6 - James Bond from GoldenEye
7 - Mewtwo from Pokemon
8 - Banjo-Kazooie from Banjo-Kazooie
9 - Kinopio (Toadshtool) from the Mario series
10 - Mew from Pokemon

Despite these polls, there are currently no plans to make a Smash Brothers sequel, according to Mr. Sakurai, who said that Mr. Sakurai, Coopa, Dedede, and Mewtwo were all planned for inclusion in Smash Brothers but didn't make the cut for various reasons.

Smash Brothers (called Super Smash Brothers here in the US), an action-fighting game from Nintendo, is one of the best-selling Japanese games of the year - second only to Final Fantasy VIII. Nintendo has already shipped more than one million copies since the game's January release, and remains firm on the Japanese top-ten charts.

By Yutaka Ohbuchi, videogames.com

Courtesy Videogames.com


Interplay's PlayStation 2 Plans

Interplay positions itself for more than a handful of PlayStation 2 titles.

With a strong corral of internal and external development teams at its fingertips, Interplay, the company that's recently been acquired by Titus, is beginning a massive campaign for PlayStation 2.

With several in-house teams already creating excellent PC titles (14 Degrees East, Tantrum, and Black Isle), and others outside the company working by its side, such as Confounding Factor (Galleon) and Shiny Entertainment (Sacrifice, Messiah), the company is poising itself for some seriously killer games.

Interplay's Brian Fargo told MCV recently that, "(the company) is in the best position it has ever been in before with respect to the launch of a new system…We have the Tomb Raider team and the Shiny team working on the next round of consoles. In the case of PlayStation 2, we have a half-dozen teams, three internal and three external teams, working on projects right now," added the company president.

It's believed that both Shiny's Sacrifice and Messiah, two of its more high-tech adventure games, and Confounding Factor's Galleon, are excellent candidates for Sony's 128-bit system. With regard to Interplay's internal games, it's believed that a new version of Balder's Gate and Fall Out are likely contenders as well.

We'll have more on Interplay's PS2 titles as soon as possible.

Couretsy IGNPSX

Trick Style

Already hailed as the Dreamcast's Wipeout, Trickstyle from Criterion Studios is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated titles on Sega's machine this year. Being published by Acclaim, the emphasis is to race high above futuristic cityscapes on state of the art hover-boards. You can choose from up to 9 different characters in the game, including Angel, Brad, King, Mia and Shin - all of which vary in age, sex and surfing style.  With at least four different hover-tec boards to choose from, you can compete in various different championships, starting off with the Pro-Tour, where you'll visit stadiums such as the Velodrome and Tokyo Skydrome.

Graphically, Trickstyle is just amazing. From the articulately stunning backgrounds to the astonishingly detailed racers, this game visually oozes of class. Coupled with a plethora of different background actions, including planes, trains and people, followed by fast action packed gameplay, you've most certainly got yourself one hell of a game to show off to friends.

Along with 16 gameplay modes including Championship, Versus, Time Attack, Bomb Tag, Fox & Hounds and Stunt Challenge, you definitely won't be running out of things to do quickly. As aforementioned, at least two players will be able to compete against one another via a split screen, but for Internet players, up to 16 people can participate at once! Better yet though is that the Visual Memory will also come in to action, as players will be rewarded with mini games after each area has been completed.

While there's still quite a lot to find out about Trickstyle, what has been revealed thus far is enough to sell this game alone. Currently due out for a September release, there's no doubt about it that Criterion Studios' debut Dreamcast title will certainly be one to watch.

Previewed by: Matthew Langan

Courtesy of SegaDreamcast.net

 


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