Dreamcast

• Cartoon dimension art style where everything looks like a 2D comic, but moves and controls are in complete 3D.
• Traffic moves with the passing of time and the sidewalks are littered with pedestrians for a completely realistic urban feel.
• Dozens of animations running at 30+ frames per second.

Jet Grind Radio's gameplay has some of the feel of Crazy Taxi. As you skate, you see little floating arrows that indicate where you should go (and where you should be tagging). Also, like in Crazy Taxi, the pace of the game is absolutely nonstop. There is moving traffic in the street, and nearly everything can be jumped, hopped, or ground. Underscoring all of this action is a DJ at the local hip-hop station, who spins cool tunes while you tear up Little Tokyoto.

The game starts out with a training course that's designed to bring you up to speed. Pay good attention to this section; it teaches you the basics, and you're tested on one of the lessons right away. Learning how to hop over obstacles while keeping a rail grind going is particularly helpful.

After graduating into the real game, you have the option of going it cool or easing up and figuring out how to do the flips, splits, and other midair antics that make this game so much fun. Once your skating skills are set, you'll learn the spray-can side of things. You pick up cans of paint as you maneuver around (keep your eyes open--some cans are placed in those hard-to-reach places, so that you'll have to catch serious air to get them). After securing your fill, use the left trigger and the analog to spray as you pass by areas that have been indicated by the arrows.

The game's tunes are right on schedule. Much of the Japanese soundtrack has been

Amazon.com Product Description:
In the 21st century, the Tokyoto city government bans kids from expressing themselves in any way. Only three things keep their spirits alive: Overdriver magnetic-motor skates, graffiti, and a pirate-radio broadcast that's called Jet Grind Radio. Explore and, uh, decorate three fully interactive worlds in which traffic moves at real time and pedestrians wander the streets. Watch out for police who'll want to nab you for breaking the law, and rival crews that want to deface your artwork. The "Cartoon Dimension" art style gives the game the appearance of a 2-D comic, but the characters move through it in complete 3-D. Animations run at 30 frames per second. Ten characters are available at the outset, each of which has its own style and abilities.

Our favorite level is Windy Valley, which requires you to survive the stormy perils of a tremendous tornado. This tyrant of nature chases you relentlessly before ultimately sucking you into the air and up through its eye. During the chase, the tornado manages to tear up just about everything on the screen. This dizzying visual spectacle moves so fast that you will literally hold on to the game controller for dear life.

Assuming you survive the tornado, there are several more challenging areas to conquer, including a level that requires you to snowboard directly in the path of a fast-approaching avalanche. During the Emerald Coast level, you will race across a precarious dock as a killer whale attacks from below, destroying the wood planks underneath your feet while you attempt to outrun the crazed creature.

We also liked the numerous mini-games scattered throughout this title. When you least expect it, Sonic Adventure tosses in some old-fashioned arcade action, such as pinball or bumper car racing. In between, you can raise virtual pets, known in the game as "Chao." These characters, which are saved using the optional Visual Memory Unit (VMU), can be combined with other Chao characters exchanged between friends or downloaded via the Internet.

Gamers looking to show off the strong processing power of the 128-bit Dreamcast will definitely want to pick up this title. Simply put, Sonic Adventure's graphics surpass those of any other game currently available on any home video game system. Let the Sonic assault begin. --Brett Atwood

Pros:

• Strong replay value
• Stunning graphics
• Bonus virtual pet game
• Six different game characters

Cons:

• May be too fast-moving for some players
• Awkward camera angles can inhibit gameplay in some areas

• 1 or 2 Players
• Over 20 powerful spells and 300 magical artifacts.
• 16 randomly generated labyrinths are different every time.

• dreamcase

• Dreamcast

• 3 DIFFERENT MODES OF 2-PLAYER ACTION
• COLLECT AND USE SMARTER CHAO TO OPEN UNIQUE FEATURES

Straight from the fiery pits of Hades (and the folks at Capcom, of course) comes a devilishly addictive video game with action to spare. Based on the comic book by Todd McFarlane, Spawn has become a successful cartoon, a mediocre movie, an action figure, and, with the advent of Spawn: In the Demon's Hand, a video game.

Spawn's entry in the video game world is not so much a fighting game along the lines of Virtua Fighter, but more akin to a smaller scale Gauntlet Legends, with power-ups and weapons that lie around a 3-D landscape that's filled with ferocious enemies. Spawn: In the Demon's Hand offers three distinct fighting modes--team, battle royal, and boss--and features graphics that are so sharp, it feels almost like you're playing one of McFarlane's comic-book characters come-to-life.

Unfortunately, the game's controls are somewhat difficult to master--movement is controlled by the digital pad, and aiming is performed with the analog joystick. Add the incredibly quick action and multiple characters on the screen, and you've got what can be sometimes a confusing mess.

The faint of heart will be pleased to see that, along with toggles for the skill and volume levels, Spawn: In the Demon's Hand features a three-stage violence option that allows the player to ease the gore. Parents should note, however: even with the violence level turned all the way down, Spawn's idea of conflict resolution still involves a magic chain to the noggin. --Benjamin Reese

Pros:

• Incredibly rendered graphics
• Characters true to McFarlane's comics

• Nonintuitive controls can be hard to handle
• Some might be turned off by demonic themes and violence
• Easy to lose track of extremely fast action

Note to customers: Sega requires users to identify themselves with a credit card number for online play. Complete details are included with the game.

The realm of Phantasy Star Online has increased. Phantasy Star Online, Version 2 includes all the original content from Phantasy Star Online, but expands the world with more levels, more features, and more evil to combat. You can import your existing character or create a new one as you strive to reach level 200 and master the game's new ultimate difficulty setting. Players from around the globe can now compete in Battle Mode as they face each other in deathmatch-style combat. Play Lobby Ball with up to 12 players while you chat and get a game going. Discover new and more powerful monsters, unearth rare items, and experience the passing of time as day turns into night in this persistent online world. Phantasy Star Online, Version 2 continues the evolution of the original revolutionary gaming experience.