Thinking about getting a dreamcast and I'd like to hear some of your thoughts.

- Has anybody gotten a used dreamcast from EB? Had any problems? It's 30 bucks cheaper than new and for 8 bucks you get 6 months replacement plan.

- I thinking about putting it on an older TV,so how does it look with the RF adaptor? Any real differences between the Rf adaptor brands?

- I've been poking around the games and I've came up with a list of possibles,any thoughts on them?

Ready to rumble boxing
Hydro Thunder
Jet Grind Radio
Soul Calibur
Sonic adventure 1 and/or 2
Virtua Tennis
The Nba and Nfl games.

Thanks!

-Monkeybutt

"Ready to rumble boxing
Hydro Thunder
Jet Grind Radio
Soul Calibur
Sonic adventure 1 and/or 2
Virtua Tennis
The Nba and Nfl games."

Get them all. Really.
Ok, I've never played Hydro Thunder but the rest all are worth your money.

-Andrew

Yeah, like Bub said, get them all. NFL 2K1 is a bit hard on the all-star levels and a bit easy on anything below it, but it's still a great game.
As for your RF adaptor question... I used one for quite a while. I'm not sure what brand it was--it was in a green and black box--but it worked fine.

Another game you may want to consider picking up is MDK2. Great game.

Other games you might wanna put on your list:

Space Channel 5
Shen Mue
Skies of Arcadia
Phantasy Star Online (if you're into that online stuff)

And there's one driving game that I can never remember the name of that was a blast to play... Midnight Street Racer, maybe. Not entirely sure. I do know there's one with a very similar title that absolutely blows, so check reviews or something on this one.

Oh, and as a final note: Get a VGA box. You can get 'em for like 15 bucks or so, and the image quality is superb on the DC games that support it.

I still haven't gotten around to Space Channel 5, but I hear it's really incredibly short. You might just want to rent it.

I heartily recommend Skies to anyone who likes console-style RPGs.

Shenmue is worth it for the "impressive" factor alone, and to be prepped on the story for Shenmue II. It's really kind of a standard adventure game with a few fighting sequences, but you mostly walk around a lot talking to people and collecting objects - that's not a bad thing, just be prepared for that kind of game. But damn, is it ever IMPRESSIVE.

PSO is great if you like the Diablo games. That's essentially what it is - don't expect a plot or anything, it's about levelling up, collecting better weapons, etc. But it's great to play multiplayer online. I was hopelessly addicted for a good three weeks or so.

If you only get ONE game, get Soul Calibur.

Yeah Space Channel 5 is short, and frustrating, its sorta like that Papa the Rapper PSX game... Dance Dance Revolution is supposed to be better... anyway, whats great about the DC is there are a bunch of different genre games that are all pretty good.

for me i would go with this to start...

fighting - Soul Calibur
platform - Sonic Adventure, Rayman 2
rpg - Skies over Arcadia, Grandia 2, PSO
driving - Metropolis Street Racer
advenutre - Shenmue, Resident Evil Veronica
sports - NFL2k1, NBA2k1
action - Bangai o
skating? - Tony Hawks 2

theres a ton more, but these games are a start plus more than half of them are budget... less than 30 bux.

So sad this system isnt getting support anymore, it really does all it has to do for consoles...seeing games from PSO to Record of Lodoss War prove to me that the Dreamcast is able to do RPG's better than i have thought (my fave genre). And i think the gamecube might be its succesor. PS2 is a descendant of PSX... XboX from pc's and gamecube from dreamcast NOT n64 imo... my thinking is because it took Sonic Team only a month to port Phantasy Star Online to Gamecube. I am looking much more favorably to the Gamecube for this fact alone... ease of portability.

etc

I'll second that vote for Soul Calibur. Still impressive & great looking.

Here is the list of games I have that I consider must-own:
Crazy Taxi
Virtua Tennis
Dead of Alive 2
Jet Grind Radio
Rayman 2 (I won my copy in a contest, and have a Rayman 2 t-shirt around here somewhere.)
Mr. Driller (pronounced "Meesta Drillah!")
Soul Calibur
ChuChu Rocket
NFL 2K

Others worth having:
NBA Showtime
Sonic Adventure
Jedi Power Battles (Anyone know how to beat that damned flying droid? I've never been past it.)
Ready 2 Rumble

I found Space Channel 5 on clearance for $5 at one point. I extremely suck at it, but maybe YMMV.

I have Code Veronica, but don't like the controls & haven't played it much.

One of the last games on my buy list is Ultimate Fighting Championship. Anyone tried it?

"PSO is great if you like the Diablo games. "

Another DC game much more akin to Diablo than PSO was Record of Lodoss War... its almost a blatant ripoff of Diablo! It doesn't have an anime-console rpg feel to it, except in cutscenes (it almost feels like an American game..) Its pretty good, got it at Best Buy as some budget title, which is surprising since this game just came out in like March or April. Its actually got more customizability then Diablo in some instances (the items with runes n stuff). Its worth the 20 bux i bought it for.

I've recently been playing Sonic Adventure, never finsihed it...til this weekend (actually just a half hour ago!) damn that Eggman... the last Sonic level took me close to an hour n a half... i was getting sick of heearing his, "Get a load of this!" Now I really want to get SA2...

etc

Also, I was considering getting SPiderman... Though I think Knuckles Enchilada? is eseentially Spiderman! Anybody play it yet? I rented the PSX version... looked pretty cool for a platform superhero action game... hmm now i have Sonic Adventure 2 and Spiderman on my list...

...And also awaiting Diablo 2 expansion and Operation Flashpoint from overseas... damn the world... no time.

but one thing i really like about consoles is the ability to pick up where you left off pretty quickly... with pc gams its kinda hard to do that. so im off and on with the DC and PSX... I still like a few PSX games alot... like Gran Turismo 2 (almost got the last license!) and pretty much all the Crash Bandicoot games ...

"I have Code Veronica, but don't like the controls & haven't played it much. "

yeah i really dont get why they have the worst controls for such a high profile game... it makes no sense to me... though i learned to get used to it... was kind of a chore though.

etc

I forgot about Spiderman; that is another on my buy list. Reviews were good to average, but I must have it because it's Spiderman on the DC.

That reminds me. Was there ever a version of Bushido Blade for the DC? I played Bushido Blade 2 for the first time recently, and it is the weapon fighting game I always wanted. If only the graphics were sweet, sweet DC graphics instead of incredibly pixelated PS1 graphics. I'm tempted to buy a PS2 just to have that, and seeing Twisted Metal Black has nudged me more in that direction. If Bushido Blade 3 is coming, I think I'm doomed.

BTW, I do most of my DC game shopping at www.half.com these days, and highly recommend it.

Thanks for all the help!

Soul Calibur is tops on my list,since I enjoyed Soul blade on the PS1 so much.

-Monkeybutt

Soul Calibur is my favorite too.

Also really enjoyed Gundam Side Story 0079 - a mecha simulation which is sort of Battletech lite but with more of an animae feel.

Seaman is a good freakish sim to amaze the friends as you raise a creature that talks back.

Other good racing titles include F355 Passione Rosa which is a hardcore Ferrari sim and Tokyo Racer Xtreme 2 a wonderful street racing game with a campaign mode and customizable rides.

Starlancer is a good PC port which is nice to have just for fun - though there are much better space sims available on the PC.

Sega Bass fishing, with a rod controller, is a blast too and a great surprise for folks who aren't familiar with this kind of game.

Lastly, another PC port I like is Grand Theft Auto 2. Not brilliant or deep but extremely fun if you like blowin' things up and racing around Hollywood-style. Very arcadish and definitely not a simulation.

Hey Monkeybutt! (Just had to say that...)

From your list, only Ready 2 Rumble is a marginal game. It's simply too shallow.

Here's the Dreamcast list to own according to Dave...

Action
------
Rayman 2
Sonic Adventure 1/2
Soul Reaver
Crazy Taxi 1/2
Jet Grind Radio
Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram

Driving
-------
Test Drive: Le Mans (Best racing gaem evar!)
Ferrari F355 Challenge
Metropolis Street Racer
bleem! for Dreamcast and a copy of Gran Turismo 2 for Playstation
Daytona USA (Arcade racing at its best with online play!)
Sega GT (great at a budget price)
Looney Tunes Space Race (from the developers of Le Mans)
Re-Volt
San Francisco Rush 2049

Fighting
--------
Soul Calibur (The only game every Dreamcast owner MUST have)
Virtua Fighter 3 (If you enjoy the arcade game, this is a perfect conversion)
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (2D)
Capcom Vs. SNK (2D)
Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (2D)
Power Stone 2 (wacky new take on 3D fighting, go anywhere!)
Dead or Alive 2
Ultimate Fighting Championship (nothing like you think...great simulation-style fighting engine)

RPG
---
Skies of Arcadia (first pick for single player)
Grandia II (a close second)
Phantasy Star Online (multiplayer only)
Shenmue (more adventure as Jason notes...but technically brilliant)

Sports
------
NFL2K1
NBA2K1
Virtua Tennis
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Miscellaneous
-------------
Chu Chu Rocket (great four player puzzle game)
Bust-A-Move 4 (As good as the rest of the series of puzzlers)
Samba de Amigo (Find Maracas and you're in)
Mars Matrix (Excellent 2D overhead shooter)
Bangai-O (scrolling 2D shooter from shooter gods Treasure)
Toy Commander (overlooked launch game, drive and fly toys through the house)
Space Channel 5 (short, but brilliant. It's often so cheap now, it's really a must own.)
Cannon Spike (another short 3D shooter that has some great gameplay)

There's probably a few more that I missed. I haven't played Spider-Man yet but all reviews are good. That's probably a can't miss game. There's more stuff coming that should be good too... Outtrigger, Propeller Arena, Shenmue 2, the 2K2 games including Baseball and Hockey by Visual Concepts and more.

I still think this is the best way to go right now. Dreamcast's library is so strong it may not even be surpassed by the Gamecube, PS2 and Xbox this Fall. Though Sega's games on other consoles are certainly ones to watch for later on...

--Dave

Forgot Hydro Thunder... it's fantastic. If you've played the arcade game, it's a perfect conversion. It holds up well in both single and multiplayer.

--Dave

I thought Seaman was awful.
"There is no spoon"... just a pretend shallow and not very convincing irritating fishy.

-Andrew

Seaman was... weird. Initially I thought it was pretty cool, but that initial thrill soon wore off. I spent two weeks training my little guy, feeding him every day, etc. Then all of a sudden he goes "I'm too good for death," and rolls over and dies. I haven't touched the game since.

The key is what you add to the sparse "game" with your own imagination. Seaman lives, and is interesting, only if you believe in him and add to his personality.

I was too aware that I was being suckered by a fake fish with a limited vocabulary too early.

Black & White isn't all that different but the creature is much more fun to "train" and the ham-handed strategy game IS at least a game. I did like the Monty Python-esque quality of Seaman however... and the Nimoy narration.

I remember reading accounts from people who loved and "missed" their Seaman when they kicked. I wonder what other fake pets those people mourn.

RIP
Pet Rock
Skippy
1978-1981
"It's a Hard Life"

-Andrew

Man,my printer is working overtime printing out these lists.Thanks again!

I'll most likely skip the music games,since they don't intrest me at all.Ditto for Seaman,just too weird for me.But most everything else looks pretty good.Plus I noticed some places are selling at lot of games for 10 bucks.Can't beat that.

I totally forgot about dead or alive 2.Mmmmmmmmm,bouncing boobies. :)

-Monkeybutt

The next Bleem disc is supposed to be Metal Gear Solid, so that goes on my list as well.

I doubt they will get to Bushido Blade 2, but a guy can hope, can't he?

bah, why MGS. What was so great about the game?!?! OK I just rented it and played about 1/2 way thru... but it didn't really strike me as something great. They should do a port for some platform or rpg games... I would love more platform and rpg games for the DC.

etc

I wanna see Dragon Force and Shining Force 3 (both Saturn games) on the DC. God, I'd inseminate every girl on the block for that. (there aren't very many attractive women around my apartment)

"If Bushido Blade 3 is coming, I think I'm doomed."

The team responsible for the Bushido Blade titles release a PS2 launch title called Kengo: Master of Bushido that is essentially Bushido Blade 3. It received almost universally bad reviews, and I rented it didn't enjoy it much. They changed almost everything that made BB and BB2 interesting.