Category: Features

Following on from their wildly popular first edition of the Debug Indie Sampler, Wave Games Studios has released another free demo disc filled with modern indie games for the Sega Dreamcast. It is fittingly called the Debug Indie Sample #2.

Long time readers know I absolutely love the Dreamcast and it’s my favourite retro console. Which is why I think it’s fantastic when companies like Wave Game Studios bring new games to that old system. For those of you who don’t know, Wave Game Studios is known for publishing a host of modern indie Dreamcast games. The Debug Indie Sampler series is another of their marketing stretegies.

This second version contains three games just like before.

Harlequest!

This first game is a 3D roguelike dungeon crawler currently in development. Recently fully funded through Kickstarter, I was lucky enough to have a quick Q&A session with the developer who is creating the game. You can read it here.

Tunnels

Tunnels is actually a tech demo designed to showcase the SIMULANT engine for Dreamcast. According to the website it has all the power of a modern engine, but built for systems with limited resources. Hopefully, more developers start using it and creating more games for reto systems!

Shadow Gangs

The final game on the disc is Shadow Gangs. This is a challenging Hack ‘N’ Slash side scroller, inspired by those found in old arcades around the globe.

As of writing this article, there is no word on a third edition but you can absolutely bet that I will be getting it if Wave Game Studios ever announces it.

If you want a more visual overview of the Debug Indie Sampler #2, i’ve included the below video I made. I begin by unboxing the disc itself, and then I show some gameplay for each of the included games.

Recently I bought myself some more CEX Dreamcast games. I thought I’d just go through them one at a time and comment on the quality of each. It can be a bit of a gamble to buy games from the online CEX store. I have received items in the past that I just wouldn’t buy in person. And full disclosure, I bought these using credit I recently traded some things for.

What did I buy?

In total, I bought five items. The first two came in their own individual boxes, but the other three came together. For the most part, each one was wrapped securely, something I’ve noticed CEX seems to do well. I’ll start with the individual games and then finish with the multipack.

Box One

First I opened the box containing Sonic Adventures. Everything on the outside of the case looked ok. The cover and case were all intact. The disc was also ok, and it was held securely too. Sadly, there was a big sticker stuck to the booklet. Annoying, but not really something that would make me return an item.

Box Two

Next is Evolution: The World of the Sacred Device. Honestly, not a game I’d ever heard of up until seeing it on the CEX website. Overall, it was in a similar condition to Sonic Adventures. Everything except the booklet was in good condition. This time there wasn’t a big sticker, but rather the residue that is left behind when a sticker is taken off.

Box Three

The biggest box contained Power Stone, Crazy Taxi and the original Shenmue. Out of all three, both Power Stone and Crazy Taxi were the best. In fact, out of everything, they were the most pristine ones. A bit of gunk and sticker residue on the outside cases but everything inside seemed to be fine.

Shenmue was a different story though. The cardboard sleeve that held the two plastic cases together was incredibly battered. It had definitely seen a good amount of use. This wasn’t the worst part though. Once opened up fully, all four of the discs were loose. Most of the little teeth that held them in place had been broken off. Not great. I also noticed that the front panel of one of the cases had been snapped off too. And finally, one of the discs seemed to have a big weird chip taken out of it.

I’m really not sure why such a sub-standard product was in their inventory, to be honest. I’m 100% sure that if I’d gone to my local CEX with a game in that condition they wouldn’t have even accepted it. I suppose it just comes down to the individual store and person.

A pretty decent purchase

Overall, I’m fairly happy with my purchase. I know that people with higher standards would have probably returned the games with sticker damage on the booklets but I don’t mind that much. However, the beat-up edition of Shenmue is going straight back to my local CEX. Even my slightly chill stance on the games I buy from CEX won’t let me accept that broken mess. Hope you enjoyed this verbal unboxing of some CEX Dreamcast games.

If you want to watch the video that inspired this article, I’ve linked it below!