TOKYO - Earlier this week, Sega introduced the press to Pulse Interactive's first Dreamcast title, Under Cover: AD 2025 Kei. The game is set in Tokyo in the year 2025. The protagonist of the game is Kei Samejima, a female detective from the Metropolitan Police Department.

　　This game is a 3D action game. The basic actions are walk/run, crouch, and shoot/strike. You can use items such a baton, because hey, she's a police officer, right?

　　Levels in the game are divided into three main areas: City Hotel, Bay Area, and Water Town. City Hotel is a modernized skyscraper, and it's there for gamers to get used to the basics of the game.

　　Bay Area is a place forgotten by modern society and designed with a '70s feel. It's a shady place with lots of dangerous areas. The last stage, Water Town, is an amusement area. There are casinos, restaurants, and other shops located in ships anchored in the area. This is also the heart of organized crime. You'll be surrounded by enemies, and you'll face an inevitable enemy at the end of the level.

　　The scenario of this game was written by well-known hard-boiled novelist Arimasa Osawa. The surname Samejima is shared by the protagonist of Osawa's famous novel, Shinjuku Zame. He hinted that the two are related in some ways. Osawa will also publish another novel to coincide with the release of this game. It's called "AD 2023 Ryoko." It's apparent that the two, the game and the novel, are related in some way too. Although this is the first game Osawa has been involved in, he's known as a hard-core gamer. Osawa owns an N64, PlayStation, Saturn, and of course, a Dreamcast.

　　Under Cover's main characters were designed by manga artist Ken-Ichi Kutsugi. He's known not only for 2D, but 3D artwork. Music and sound for the game were done by NY-based club music artist and DJ Gomi. This is also the first time Gomi has been involved in making a video game. There is a total of seven cinematic sequences in this game. The sequences are directed by Mark Giambruno. He's known for his work in many other games such as Deidras, and Pandemonium 2.

　　The game's director is Takashi Yoneda. He's best known for the Wonder Project series for SFC/N64. But with all due respect to these people, a producer of this game and president of Pulse Interactive, Masayasu Ishikawa, said repeatedly that the gameplay is the most important element. You've seen big names in the credits of the games/movies that end up failing miserably, haven't you? Yoneda said that in this case, it won't happen. He also said that he wants many people to enjoy the game, not just the hard-core gamers. He's trying to make the game easy to control, with lots of excitement, even for the casual gamer.

　　The game has been in development for three years. Pulse Interactive (based in the US) decided only last year to go with the Dreamcast. According to Ishikawa, this last-minute decision was facilitated by using Pulse Entertainment's new technology, Digi-System. While not revealing any details, this 3D authoring system enablesPulse to create a game that can efficiently utilize the Dreamcast's capabilities and light/shadow effects.

　　Under Cover for the Dreamcast is slated for release this summer in Japan. Mr. Ishikawa revealed that the company is already negotiating publishing rights for an overseas release. While he didn't name the companies, an overseas release of this game is definite. He said an overseas release will likely be decided by or around this year's E3.