Hello all!

I apologize for the lateness of the update...I've been fighting mail server problems again. Well, this week is finals week for me so I'm not sure how much in the way of updates I will get posted so it may be more quiet than usual at dEX.

Over on the site, I've posted images from AM2s upcoming game Shen Mue along with links to videoclips of a preview of the game. If you can, get the videos as still images do very little to show off the game. You can find them in the Dreamcast: Snapshots area. Sega of Japan also announced Sonic 3D: Flicky Island for teh Saturn...simply a Japanese version of the mediocre 3/4 view Sonic title that was long ago released in the US. No date has been set.

Well, first off, Working Designs has finally released the long delayed US version of Magic Knight Rayearth. As the game has been out for so long outside of the US, is it truly worth the cost? For RPG fans, definitely since this will be the last Saturn RPG in English. Six other games were released for the Saturn last week. See the Saturn Nowout area for details.

Good news for D&D fans, while previous reports stated that the Saturn version of the Dungeons & Dragons Collection was canceled, the game is still in the works and at this time is about 80% complete! The game is set for a Spring '99 release. The game will allow you to adjust the power of each characters along with customary difficulty settings. Unfortunately, 4-player mode will be absent and the game will only support two players. The collection includes two titles: Tower of Doom, and Shadow over Mystara. The first game does not require the 4Meg ram card while the second does.

The next batch of titles for the Dreamcast is coming at the end of this week. Gamers will see the release of Rage's shooter Incoming, NEC's 3D RPG Seventh Cross, Tetris 4D from Sega, and finally the much awaited Sonic Adventure. The Dreamcast has obviously selling very well in Japan. Recently, launch time figures were released. In the first three days of the release, 140,000 consoles were sold, along with 130,000 copies of VF3 TB. The high demand for Sega's big titles continues as Sega at one time had asked retailers to stop taking pre-orders for Sonic Adventure. The game is confirmed for delivery on the 23rd. Incoming, a shooter that was well praised on the PC platform has received bad reviews from Japanese press, receiving a mere 27/40 from the Weekly Famitsu. Only time will tell on this game, as it shows much promise overall, the question is how well its transition from PC->Console has worked.

The famous simulation developer Koei has announced its first Dreamcast title. Surprisingly the game is not a sim, but instead a Mah-jong title. Titled Happy Mahjong II, the game will feature characters from their various sim series including Romance of 3 Kingdoms, Operation Europe, and Ambition of Nabunaga.

Over in the US, developers are now beginning to reveal their projects for the console. First off, Midway has announced three games for the Dreamcast. First will be an arcade port of the boat racing game Hydro Thunder. It is set for release in the first half of January '99. In early 2000, Midway will be releasing a new Mortal Kombat title for the Dreamcast. They plan to introduce several new characters and options. As a US launch title, Midway's NFL Blitz 200 will be a major improvement over the original. No details were given on the improvements planned. NFL Blitz is currently out on the PC, N64, and PSX platforms where it has outsold competing NFL games including the latest in EA's long running Madden NFL series.

Continuing the global roundup, we head to the UK where the 1.5 party developer Bizarre Creations continues work on its Dreamcast effort called Project Metropolis. Not much information has been given on Project other than that it is a city based driving game. BC says this is intentional because the game's launch is nearly a year away. Currently they are in what they call the middle-stages of development. They are also preparing a demonstration of the game for an internal meeting with Sega.

Well, that's all for this week. I'm still working on moving things around a bit on the site, and am still in much need of writers for reviews and articles. Any help is most appreciated! See you next week!

-Greg