Posted on: March 7, 2011 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

It seems like the Dreamcast was perhaps the most unlucky game console. The graphical quality, game play, and library far outstripped the other consoles that it competed with, while controller design and game-save abilities were similarly strong. Sega removed themselves from creating consoles soon after that, but they were able to provide a number of strong ports to the Xbox 360 with their Dreamcast Collection. For those players that were either too young or just want to relive their experiences with the console, the Dreamcast Collection contains four games – Crazy Taxi, Sonic Adventure, Bass Fishing, and Space Channel 5 Part 2.

Bass Fishing represents a sports title that contains an inordinate amount of fun – the control scheme and immersion factor should not be this high from pulling fish from a river. Sonic Adventure is perhaps the best title on this collection, and this is due to the fact that it transfers the 2D pinball-like nature of the Sonic titles to a beautiful 3D-generated world. Where Mario 64 represented a nice jump for the plumber wunderkind, Sonic Adventure is cleaner, sharper, and is a more direct translation of what made the series such a big hit. Crazy Taxi is the title which most individuals will be familiar, and Sega has ensured that the humor and harried, frenetic pace of the original Dreamcast title (and the arcade version) has been brought in droves.

Finally, Space Channel 5 Part 2 is a blend of different gaming styles, interesting gameplay and a full experience. The Dreamcast had hundreds of titles issued for it in its short lifespan, and I hope that the sales of the Dreamcast Collection are enough to merit further additions to the line. The console allowed so many franchises and individual titles to shine, and brisk enough sales of the Dreamcast Collection will allow these previously forgotten titles to shine in a way that they never have before. Pick this title up at your local Wal-Mart or Target today.

Rating: 8.6/10

Dreamcast Collection (Xbox 360) / 2011 Sega / http://www.sega.com

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