Future Gamer jetted off to Lyon, France, last weekend to check out No Cliché's Dreamcast launch title, Toy Commander. Unless the Evian was spiked, we saw the first true next generation game...
Andy Ashwin

Really? I thought the Dreamcast was going to bomb.
Think again. This is the first game we've seen that looks worthy of Sega's 128bit monster. The premise is simple - cast your mind back to a childhood of plastic planes and Matchbox cars. Remember when you used to run around the house holding a model spitfire, chasing the cat and making a pathetic engine noise with your mouth?

I do remember such childish frolicking, although my engine sounds were always authentic.
In Toy Commander you get to control over 35 different vehicles, from jeeps and tanks to fighter jets, helicopters and even spaceships. Developers No Cliché were keen to point out that this isn't a simulation, with each vehicle type being easy to pick up and control. The action takes place inside a beautifully rendered house, split into eight huge areas, including the kitchen, garage, attic and parents' bedroom.

Excellent! So what do you actually have to do?
There are 50 single-player missions in all. You start with a selection of tutorials and then progress on to the game proper. Missions are split into different types, including dexterity, race, strategy and boss. One of the dexterity missions we saw involved a helicopter, some sugar cubes and a bowl of chocolate milk!

You are surely jerking my chain...
Not in the slightest. You have to find the sugar cubes using the helicopter, pick them up and then drop them into the bowl of chocolate milk. And it rocks! The race missions are of the Micro Machines variety, although you can take many routes to victory providing you pass through each of the checkpoints. In some races you can use special yellow ramps to drive on to the walls and ceilings, which is nice, if a little disorientating at first.