Remembering the Sega Dreamcast

Incoming

Publisher: Interplay
Year: 1999

One of the lesser-known launch titles for the Dreamcast, Incoming was a port of the well-received PC game, letting players fight off an alien invasion in helicopters, tanks, turrets, planes and all manner of alien bombers.

As with most of the games from the era, Incoming’s graphics don’t exactly hold up to modern scrutiny, but they fare far better than most games, and there were even a few surprised gasps as we knocked down buildings and swooped upside down through the moon’s thin atmosphere. It’s sometimes shocking to think about games this old as having destructible locations.

What really stands out about Incoming is the relentless pace players are forced into different game modes with, something which the flimsy storyline doesn’t stand in the way of. You start the game up, select the campaign option, ignore the single paragraph of introductory text and – BAM! Suddenly, you’re controlling a gun turret in Africa and being urged to 'Destroy all Fighters'.


The moment that’s done then BAM, again! Now you’re in a helicopter – follow the waypoint marker, protect the convoy, destroy the bomber! BAM! Now you’re in a tank. BAM! Now you’re in a turret again, an alien fightercraft, a heavy bomber or a stealth plane. The speed of each level is fierce, constantly pushing you into something new and keeping you guessing what might come next – especially in the later levels where the more interesting craft get wheeled out.

Unfortunately though, the Dreamcast version of Incoming is a headache and a half to control, with axis that can’t be inverted and a sensitivity that would make an emo teenager look like Jean Claude Van Damme. Still, the gameplay is still reasonably solid even by today’s standards and Incoming remains an excellent arcade shooter experience. It’s definitely a far better game on Dreamcast than…

Quake 3: Arena

Publisher: Sega
Year: 2000

To be honest, we’re a little confused by Quake 3: Arena on the Dreamcast, because while the research we’ve done suggests it should be an excellent console port of the PC multi-player favourite, we actually can’t stand it. At. All.

Gameplay-wise there’s no real reason for our grumpiness, as the game is just as fully-featured as you’d expect, and has both a championship-based single-player mode, as well as a multi-player mode that makes use of the Dreamcast’s internet connection. Rumour has it that there are still people playing the Dreamcast version of the game online too – but we weren’t able to verify it due to technical issues and a lack of patience for the title.


Technologically the game is fabulous – the framerate is smooth, the textures and models just as good as we remember from the PC version, and the action energetic and fast-paced – though therein lies the problem.

Simply put, it’s a control issue and, try as we might, none of us were able to even get close to good at Quake 3: Arena on the Dreamcast. Some of us couldn't even walk through doors, let alone aim and shoot. None of the control setups made sense to any of us, and half of us were disgusted that you couldn't un-invert the Y-axis. However, it's the ridiculous sensitivity of the controls that threw us most. The bots in the single-player mode were too quick and sprightly, while the sensitivity and stupid control schemes meant we spent most of each match shooting at our own feet while the AI ran round in circles, only occasionally shooting us.

Yes, we know the game is pretty old and that FPS games aren’t particularly suited to consoles even now, so it should be no big shock that last decade’s attempt to do it with a Dreamcast controller failed miserably. Still, we expected more from Carmack and Co. – Quake 3: Arena on the Dreamcast is just a disappointing mess by modern standards.