Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Capcom

With the success of X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Capcom decided to up the ante a bit and pit the entire Marvel universe against the entire Capcom universe. As a result, we got to see Mega Man uppercut War Machine, Zangief give a spinning piledriver to the Hulk, and Spider-Man make sure that the web on Morrigan's leggings wasn't the only web that she was stuck in. Unfortunately, since Marvel and Capcom are large universes, it’s easy to feel disappointed about characters that didn’t make the roster. Maybe I wanted to see Arthur from Ghosts N Goblins battle against Howard the Duck…neither one made the cut. To add to the disappointment is that most of the unlockable fighters seem to be variations of characters already in the game. So, instead of getting Storm or Nightcrawler from the Marvel side of things, you get variations of Venom, the Hulk, and War Machine. Aside from that minor gripe, Marvel vs. Capcom also wasn’t the most balanced fighting game available, which sometimes results in frustrating action that feels cheap. Anyway, there are several other 2D fighters on the Dreamcast that are a much better choice to play, but Marvel vs. Capcom was still a fun novelty, and really, that's what counts the most.

Review added: 04/16/2019

Metropolis Street Racer

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Bizarre Creations

Metropolis Street Racer, or MSR as the kids would call it, was pretty impressive for its time. Not only was it an enjoyable racing game, but it provided accurate recreations of the cities that you race in - Tokyo, London, and San Francisco. By accurate, I mean, the developers went to these cities and took thousands of photos so that they could recreate what the cities looked like in-game. There wasn't much artistic interpretation here - it was kinda like the video game equivalent of hopping on Google Street View and checking out a town…except faster and more exciting. Beyond the accurate city race tracks, MSR provided some very solid gameplay mixed with a catchy little sound track provided by radio stations in each country. Bizarre Creations would later use this racing formula to create the Project Gotham Racing games on Microsoft's Xbox, but between that series, the F1 games that came before them, and even the racing games that they've released in more recent years, some still consider this Dreamcast classic to be the best racer that Bizarre Creations has ever created. I may have to agree with that thought.

Review added: 12/15/2023

Mortal Kombat Gold

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Eurocom

When it first released, the original Mortal Kombat instantly became a hit. While not as pick-up-and-play as Street Fighter was, the violence brought eyes to the product and the personality of the game and characters kept people coming back. Fast forward 7 years and Mortal Kombat Gold was released with largely the same gameplay, with just minor additions...and it showed that the series needed a change. In fact, Mortal Kombat Gold is basically just a revamped version of Mortal Kombat 4 If you were a Mortal Kombat nut and loved the original controls, you’d be right at home here…for everyone else, the game felt like it was behind the times. The inclusion of weapons to brandish and team mode helps a little, but they don’t add enough to make this worth playing for anyone but the most hardcore Mortal Kombat fans. Depending on the version of Mortal Kombat Gold that you get, as well, it may be pretty buggy. The first release of the game is VERY buggy with glitches, texture issues, and game crashing. This game had a gold-tinted disc. The second printing fixed most (but not all) of the bugs. It had a red-tinted disc and is easily identifiable by its cover with a big, green “Hot! New!” logo on the front box art. If you like the original Mortal Kombat gameplay, and if you’ve got the less-glitchy version, you’ll probably have some fun here…but that still doesn’t make this game passable. It’s fool’s gold.

Review added: 04/21/2019

Mr. Driller

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Namco

Oh, Mr. Driller how I love thee. When I first played Mr. Driller, I was working at Funcoland (one of the many game stores absorbed by the company known today as Gamestop) and we had the game hooked up for people to try out. I was on break, so I gave the game a try and instantly became a fan. The odd mixture of Dig Dug-like digging and Tetris-like block matching was a blast to play, and still is today. Later Mr. Driller games have added some more modes and features, but the core gameplay has almost completely stayed the same...and there's a reason for that. I don't think it can get much better than this. Other games in the series have tried, and while variations on the formula can be fun, this original variation always seems to be the best. And if you’re someone that absolutely must have a peripheral when playing a game, feel free to put the Dreamcast microphone to use here and make anyone living with you think you're crazy as you repeatedly yell "DIG!!" to watch Mr. Driller drill at your command. If anything about the action-based puzzle gameplay, bright graphics, or cutesy characters interests you, then give Mr. Driller a try. I bet you'll be glad that you did.

Review added: 04/21/2019