For Daytona 2001, has anything improved upon previous
versions, or is it just a name/date change?
Previous I've only played a version in the arcade, plus one of Sega's attempts
to port the franchise over to the PC - and that was not very much fun at all
since it wasn't that well programmed.
It's fun to crash into things like signs and cones, knocking them down the road
and hitting them again next time you come round the track, as well as leaning
into an opponent's car, ramming them against a wall and flipping them over,
but it's just another driving game going round and round and round.
Graphics are fast and fair, being arcade perfect, but the Daytona series hasn't
progressed much from when it first began so is looking a little dated now.
The sound FX consist largely of a roar of your engine, a roar of the same
from the other 19 cars as they zoom past and leave you on the starting line,
plus the hitting of objects, or a wall, as you make your way from A to er...,
well, back round to A again!
It's also very difficult to control the car. A tap on the analogue joystick can often
send you lurching across the road, giving it worse handling than that if even
control by the D-pad was possible - and I like to sometimes use the D-pad for
a driving game - making it all too easy for your car to spin round the wrong
way or head off the track.
Also, you don't feel like you're travelling along at anything like 300kph when
hitting top speed.
There is one major restriction with this release. NO online play, which is
surely the logical step for such an old franchise?!
The US version allows you to play online from wherever you are, while for
the Japanese release, online play is available, but at a cost. They have to
pay 300 yen (or $3) per month for the service and according to
IGN.com,
you can play the Japanese version online from the USA, but you'll need
an isao.net account and a Japanese Dreamcast with a copy of Dream Passport 3!
If Sega had really wanted to have "up to 6 billion players" online, they should
have insisted on every online game to be accessed via whichever ISP (Internet
Service Provider) you choose. I use Freeserve Unlimited and that is who my
Dreamcast dials when I fancy a game of
Phantasy Star Online,
but if you were to use the original Dreamkey settings, you'd be paying through
the nose to BT via the Dreamarena setup.
Frequently, I ended up in 20th position again - and that's where this game
deserves to be.
GRAPHICS SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC PLAYABILITY ORIGINALITY ENJOYMENT
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
For Daytona 2001, has anything improved upon previous
versions, or is it just a name/date change?
Graphics are fast and fair, being arcade perfect, but the Daytona series hasn't
progressed much from when it first began so is looking a little dated now.
There is one major restriction with this release. NO online play, which is
surely the logical step for such an old franchise?!
