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Naomi Games On the Rise

A recent flood of Naomi supporters line up - with the possibility of some killer Dreamcast ports in the works.

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If you're looking for the first screenshots about coming arcade titles built on the Naomi board, we've got them from The House of the Dead 2, Blood Bullet, and Dynamite Baseball 98.

The House of the Dead 2Set in an urban setting on February 26, 2000, House of the Dead 2 occurs 14 month after its predecessor (which was set on December 18, 1998). Special tasks force officers, James and Gary, were assigned to take care of a problem that has something to do with the Curian incident from the first game.

There are six levels total in the game. At the end of each level and as always bosses will be waiting to take you down. According to the path you choose, the boss level or the strategy of bosses will differ. One of the shots shows the first bosses, a headless armored knight and a gargoyle.

House of the Dead 2 will be available in Japanese arcades this November.

Blood BulletBlood Bullet is best described as Sega's version of Resident Evil only with better graphic and nicer camera angles. The game shown at the AM Show was only 20 percent completed but already it looks amazing.

The game's back-story is as follows:

There's a secret national project called U.D.S, which used zombies for military purposes. But just before the project discovered a way to find practical uses for the zombies, the project was killed and all of the members who involved the project were murdered. A year later, numerous zombies swarmed on one city. The destiny of the city and the world is placed on the shoulders of three agents, Stick, Linda and Rikiya.

The game supports two simultaneous players and uses the analog stick and three buttons for control. Currently, there has been no announcement on a release date for the title.

Dynamite Baseball 98The sequel the Japanese popular arcade baseball title, Dynamite Baseball 98's most promising features will be its realistic feel. The game includes all the Japanese professional players and each character has his own facial textures, distinctive swings, and pitching deliveries. There are only three ballparks in the game but those will be modeled closely like their real life counterparts. Dynamite Baseball 98 will be available by the end of this year in Japan.

Other games: As for the games based on Naomi board, several companies have officially announced projects in developement.

Treasure is developing an unnamed game for Naomi that will involve some action elements. According to the company, it still has not been granted a Dreamcast license.

Videosystem will be developing F1 World Grad Prix for Naomi as well as Dreamcast.

Sammy is developing a game based on Naomi but made no indication about what type of game or genre.

Rizing (of Bloody Roar fame) will develop a game for Naomi.

Visco is working on a rally game called Drift Out slated for release next summer and Visco has not ruled out the possibility of Dreamcast port.

Cave is working on a 3D shooter/race game for next year. A Dreamcast port is a possibility but depends on the result of arcade version. They also have a plan for another shooter on special cabinet.

Jaleco is a licensee for both Naomi and Dreamcast but nothing is concrete about a possible game for either system.

Psikyo is also licensee but nothing is concrete about the title.

Tecmo announced a popular bouncing fighter sequel, Dead or Alive 2 on the Naomi. You can expect more realistic bouncing than they ever did in the first game.

On the other hand, companies like Konami, SNK, Taito are still shying away from jumping on the Naomi bandwagon. Although they are willing to (and will be) developing games for the Dreamcast, they already have their own boards for arcade.

At the same time, Capcom announced an action game called Power Stone for this winter. No information about the game has been released at this time.

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