8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 29, 1999 Blood, sushi fly inwild C op Dynamite Cop Dreamcast Sega Somewhere in the alchemical world of video game creation, someone mixed the beat-the-crap-out-of-the-other-guy ethos with the moving-along-a-lineal-course- and-killing-your-opponents heart of gun games and threw in a dash of running around a room with your enemies aspect of survival horror. The outcome is "Dynamite Cop," its direct predecessor "Die Hard Arcade" and the play related game "Fighting Force." It's your job to save the president's daughter on her hijacked cruise ship, but actually your job is to beat up terrorist pirates with the weapons at hand in the game, such as deck chairs, sushi, French bread and high powered weapons. It's great being able to smack someone with a tuna until it squelches into a bunch of pieces, then pick up their weapon that you've made them drop and make them sorry they ever chose the terrorist pirate career path. Being an arcade game, the action is somewhat limited. The missions are dis- crete and relatively short. All but the first Lacking in graphics,' King still holds rank with 'Fighters' 0 mission have limited continues however, so there is at least a challenge involved in some of the missions. The Dreamcast version adds a few wrinkles to the game; in addition to pick- ing up illustrations during the game and viewing them in a picture gallery, you have the option of a versus mode and a survival mode. In the first, you fight a friend or some other person sitting next to you; in the second you fight an endless stream of corsair kidnapper wannabes until they take you down for good. "Dynamite Cop" has some interesting functions. You can download a file called a detonator pack from the internet or the demo game disc from the last Official Sega Dreamcast magazine and get an additional character and other goodies. There's a trade off between ease of use and rewarding those willing to interact with the game. It's hard to say whether the trade off is objectively worth it. This disc contains what promises to be an odd development in the Dreamcast story. Old Sega arcade games are starting to get included with new Dreamcast games. "Dynamite Cop" comes with the ancient "Tranquilizer Gun." Simple yet unplayable, the game is not enthralling or even interesting. A mere artifact, it may be of interest to those who enjoyed it when it was state of the art in the early '80s. But this game would've looked out- dated on the Atari 2600. Hopefully, Sega will continue to include their old games on new games; they can only be better than this. "Dynamite Cop" is short and to the point. Beat everything that moves with everything that doesn't. And, on occasion, beat the moving ones with some of the other moving ones you've got by the ankles. Dumb, violent fun for the whole apartment. - Ted Watts King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 Dreamcast SNK Classic arcade fighter game compa- ny SNK has produced a classic game in a classic genre. But above all else you need to realize that "King of Fighters Dream Match 1999" is, and there's no nice way to put it, technologically infe- rior to most other games on the Dreamcast. If you think this fighter is going to have figures that look amaz- ingly realistic or have complex visual effects, you will be disappointed. "KOF99" is more on the order of the greatest 2D fighting game from the last generation of machines. The surviving 2D fighters seem hell bent on combining old rosters from different areas and pitting them against each other in some kind of post modern cock fight. Here, you can fight as a team, and even get help from the characters you'll be fighting with when the current fighter is unconscious. Unless the other fight- ers hate the current character, in which case they're happy to stand around not worrying about the close- ness of his unconsciousness. With 36 characters ready from the get go, "KOF99" has an obvious char- acter advantage over all the 3D fighters on the Dreamcast; complex polygon figures may look good, but they munch the disc space. The game also has straightforward traditional controls. Sure, it may be due to the fact that there are significantly fewer places for you to move in than if that pesky third dimen- sion was present, but an advantage is an advantage. The animation is pretty good, but 0 S looks strange with the rendered back- grounds. Like those "Popeye" cartoons with the nice models of hills and cliffs and palaces that just didn't fit with Segar's sailorman. And it just isn't as crisp as you might want it on the most advanced home console in the world. "KOF99" gets extra points for being the first Dreamcast game that can be linked to the NeoGeo Pocket Color. Requiring "KOF99," "King of Fighters R-2" for the NeoGeo and the NeoGeo Pocket-Sega Dreamcast Communications Connector Cable, you can transfer data between the games. The results are being able to see secret images and gain points in "K0F99" or get special skills in "R-2." The Cable Connector has a lot of promise. In addition to being a great idea for a peripheral, it will hopeful- ly encourage development of games for the NeoGeo Pocket. The stylish little handheld system, already blessed with a forthcoming "Sonic the Hedgehog" game, is worthy of support. The functionality for "King of Fighters" is hopefully just a down payment. - Ted Watts efor an average of $4.50 per Cd & $2.00 per record paid e"fr the best selection of rare and unusual music O IIopn seven days 01 Frustrated and disappointed with the University? Need help making sense of your U of M experience? Check out http://universitysecrets.com L- ~ r Winter cmmencement 0 Sunday, Dec r 19, 1999 Crisler Art Y Doors op remony begins at 2:00 enat 1:15 p.m. p.m. and lasts about two hours ELIGIBIIR Summer Term f9 graduates and can participate in Wint TICKET DISTRIB Tickets will be distr December 13 - Thu Sd Fall Term Commencn 999 to rat. ACADEMW aI|;;Id Michigan oo Union Bk re, ;CAP & GOWN py; Michigan Qidich's Bookstore e 1 1 J all carry cor's ir4° Both Michigan Book & Sp1 ichigan Union Bookstore er's ttire. Doctoral attire is av 1 able from th Michigan TION uted Monday, ;day, December 16 d 4:30 p.m. in the ichigan Union. I Union Boo] ( tore. between Pond Rc a .m. 1 of the INDIVIDUA S WITH I SABILITIES isabilities Graduatehnd candidates are eligible to receive up ix(6) tickets during this time. Additional tickets will be distributed Graduates or g should call (73 information abot Saccei seating Sr a nteenments. on Fridav. December 17 from 8:30 a.m. to and snecial parki r 11