New 3D Racing 4x4 Jam For Sega Dreamcast

[dreamcast-news]

We are welcome.

[Ivan Guber]

Interview JoshProd for Dreamcast Junkyard

French publisher JoshProd has finally revealed to us the details of the latest batch of titles heading to the Sega Dreamcast, and this time gamers can expect three titles that are totally new to to system. 4x4 Jam is an off-road racer featuring fully 3D visuals and sprawling open stages, while Delphine's classic 2D adventure Flashback: The Quest For Identity has been built from the ground up as a brand new, officially licensed Dreamcast port. The other games in the release line-up include Visco's Neo-Geo scrolling beat 'em up Ganryu, a new PAL-boxed version of Sturmwind, and a re-issue of Orion's retro-styled RPG Zia and the Goddesses of Magic

4x4 Jam is actually a port of a game that has been available on both the Sony PSP and Android/iOS for some time, and is particularly interesting as it potentially opens the door for ports of similar games designed for low-powered mobile devices. The video above was recorded from an actual Dreamcast and shows off some of the sprawling landscapes and Smuggler's Run style gameplay.




Flashback: The Quest For Identity is also of great interest, as this particular version has been designed from scratch for the Dreamcast, incorporating brand new menu screens, visual options and controls perfectly mapped to the Dreamcast controller. The game also features the full and uncut intro cinematics only previously seen in the PC version, along with full support for the VMU with a 'save anywhere' function. While Flashback has been available to play on the Dreamcast prior to this release, the versions available have either been homebrew ports designed to work with the SD reader, or via the emulation of other systems. This bespoke version has been officially licensed by Delphine Software and ported specifically for the Dreamcast using the original source code supplied.



DCJY: 4x4 Jam is an interesting choice - were you a fan of the PSP game?

When the PSP system was released I was a big fan, mainly because it proposed - like the Dreamcast - a connection to the internet and it had an impressive screen resolution. It was easily my favorite portable system back then. I discovered 4x4 Jam during this period and downloaded it due to a very good reviews from lots of websites. It's one of my favourite games for the PSP so it was a simple choice to bring it to Dreamcast.

DCJY: What was the process in getting the game ported? Was it an easy process?

A professional programmer (he's been programming on Dreamcast since 2000 on an official devkit) made the port with the original PSP source code, and it's taken a few weeks to port it. We tried to include additional options and improvements over the PSP version.

DCJY: The port in interesting as it potentially opens the door for more ports of other similar titles - is this something we could see in the future?

Yes for sure - we have two other games in our sights. If the Junkyard's fanbase are in contact with programmers or owners of old IPs they could contact me and we could maybe think about the possibility of porting the game (if it's a good game of course!)

DCJY: Flashback is a classic title that many people will be familiar with. How were you able to get this game made for Dreamcast? Were there any difficulties in acquiring the license?

Acquiring the license for Flashback was not easy, it's taken more than a year to trace the owner of the IP. When I finally contacted him it was quite easy to convince him because we had already released our first Dreamcast games (Rush Rush Rally Reloaded, Breakers etc) and we could show him the quality of our manufacturer. When we received the code source, Chui (who did the work on Breakers) ported it with a lots of improvements (screen size, all European languages, mix all original version and take the best of each, we also included a 16-bit original version with Japanese text).

Link to original http://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2 ... p-new.html

[Nz17]

Alice's Mom's Rescue and 4x4 Jam will be sold at The Bit Station starting December 13th. Both these games feature a reversible cover. As per usual for The Bit Station, all new games "go live" at noon EST.

http://thebitstationgames.com/

[Nz17]

OMG, they are $30 and $38 each!

[Ivan Guber]

Gamester81 review game 4x4 Jam for Dreamcast
https://youtu.be/XjENyZlCOpw