Erik Kubik, Associate Writer

Gaming in 1999

1999 was another great gaming year. It was the end of the millennium and the previous year had been an unbelievable year for games. How could 1998 be topped? Well for starters, in 1999 there were quite a few new IPs. The release of the Sega Dreamcast that year blew me away. Compared to what Playstation or N64 offered, the Dreamcast graphics were amazing. Sonic was in real 3D for the first time. My friends would come over and tell me it was like watching a movie. At that time, $200 was a lot of money, but I milked the Dreamcast for the next few years and beyond.

There were so many great games released in 1999: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Super Smash Brothers, Silent Hill, Donkey Kong 64, Dino Crisis, Dead or Alive 2, Resident Evil 3, Quake III, Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike Everquest, Final Fantasy VIII, Mario Party 2, Planescape Torment, Homeworld, and Soul Calibur. Those were just a few from the long list.

Let's start with Silent Hill 1, Resident Evil's strongest competition. I'm a diehard RE fan; over the years, I've tried to get into the Silent Hill series but I've never been able too. Still, the first Silent Hill was a different survival horror game. The game was about outwitting enemies not just blasting them with shotguns, trying to find your daughter, and trying to figure out what the hell was going on. The eerie music and creepy atmosphere scarred my dreams for years to come. The series has spawned several sequels, some good and some terrible.

As an arcade game, Soul Calibur, succeeded when it reached the console. Unlike other arcade games that had crummy frame rates or lack of options, Soul Calibur was comparable to the original. The Dreamcast was the perfect system to handle the game. In fact, many say the Dreamcast version is superior to the original arcade game. Everything was perfect—graphics, fighting machines, frame rate, and the short story. A game of this quality showed gamers that the Dreamcast was possible of great things.

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