Dreamcast. A copy finally popped up at Destiny Games (local game shop). I've been wanting to have a go at it for a while now.
So far, it's sorta like tank-control Resident Evil but with Parasite Eve-like baddies instead of zombies. There's lots and lots of snow, and a very effective minimal moody aesthetic. Things get really weird.
The combat is handled like random encounter RPG battles. But instead of doing turn-based atacks, like in an RPG, it takes you to this FPS arcade shooter screen where you move the cursor around and empty machine gun clips (other weapons available) into these crazy alien-insect-mongoloid things as they shoot their green blood into the white snow. While in battle, you use X and Y to dodge left or right, and will be signaled to do so in typical arcade fashion.
After said encounters, you gain Exp pts and level up-RPG style.
When you're not fighting, it's more than just typical survival-horror fare. As you are given both a camera to take snapshots of the beautiful landscape or peculiar things you'll come across with, and a rifle to hunt down any wild prey to cook meats in your portable cooker. Like RE4, the scope of the rifle goes for realism, and is especially shaky the further you zoom in.
I think the one potential flaw of it, is that it is described as a
cinematic game and that's not to be taken lightly. The cut-scenes are in abundance. I haven't played the first D, but the whole concept of that was to be a literal film/game. I usually can't stand most cut scenes, but D2's have been engaging enough, despite the dreadful lip sync, so that they haven't necessarily hindered my experience so far.
So yeah, that's my opinion in a nutshell. It's a moody, surreal, survival horror, arcade-shooter-RPG.