NG:DEV.TEAM has been the premiere indie games company for both the Neo-Geo and the Dreamcast since their first release in 2006. That's not quite as dramatic as it sounds, since they have no competition on the Neo-Geo and very little (recently) on the Dreamcast. NG:DEV.TEAM's trilogy of action games are certainly flawed and highly controversial in certain communities, but there's no denying that they have a level of polish that outstrips other Dreamcast indie titles such as Cool Herders, Rush Rush Rally Racing, and even DUX. This year will hopefully see the release of Duranik's stunning Sturmwind for Sega's "Console That Could", and maybe then NG:DEV.TEAM will get some competition.
Until then, we have the recent Dreamcast release of GunLord to celebrate, and how better to celebrate than with a series of reviews? The Newcomer Bundle is a great way to pick up all of NG:DEV.TEAM's games for Dreamcast, and the pricing isn't bad, either. With the package you get the best versions of all of the company's games: Last Hope: Pink Bullets, Fast Striker 1.5, and the aforementioned GunLord. My copy arrived yesterday, and though I'd played burned CD-Rs of Last Hope and Fast Striker before, it was great to support the company and bag some legit copies to satisfy my inner collector. I'll also be getting Redux: Dark Matters and Sturmwind later this year or early 2013 when they release, so look out for more Dreamcast indie reviews on this blog in the future.
My Newcomer Bundle arrived quite quickly from Germany via DHL Airmail, and in general I was pleased with the construction of the actual products. GunLord suffered from a notably cheaper DVD case than the other two games, but these are all universal-sized inserts. The first thing I did was switch out the box for a higher-quality commercial-grade case from an old DVD movie. Fast Striker and Last Hope were fine as-is. The CD art and manuals are glossy, offset printed, and full of great art. The GunLord manual especially has some amazing boss art and a two-page spread with cherry blossoms and dragons (you can see a bit of it below). I think I still prefer the Limited Edition art for the cover, but I didn't want to shell out for it. C'est la vie.
I also recently got a Hori Sega Saturn stick modded with a Sanwa lever and buttons as well as an additional Playstation 1/2 plug, so playing these arcade-style games was a real treat. Just use the Total Control 3 for Saturn -> Dreamcast controller compatibility or Total Control Plus for PS1/2 -> Dreamcast. At any rate, I'll be posting a few reviews for these games in the coming days, so just keep an eye on this space.
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