$ PLAYSTATION and N64 now (3/0)

Nintendo“ PlayStation ° Saturn * Super NES • Gen * Arcade

The Best RPG Ever! |

First Coverage of U.S. Version

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f For game hints call 1-900-933-SONY(7669). The charge is $0.95 per minute. Callers under the age of 18 must get parental permission to call. Н Touch-tone phone is required. Available 24 hours а day/ a week. U.S. only. Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark of Sony + Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. U В NOT E* is a registered trademark

Camaraderie. Brotherhood. Sportsmanship. That’s what NBA Shoot Out ’97 is all about. Oh, victory has its spoils, but they're not as rewarding as the shared fellowship one feels after capping off a drive to the hole with a towering Tomahawk Jam. Particularly when you're jammin' on Ewing, Malone or Olajuwon. And now, with revolu- ionary Icon Passing; you can execute pinpoint passes that would make Payton, Kidd or Hardaway jealous. Plus, new

motion capture will make all your moves appear much, much smoother. And faster. So if youre going to demonstrate the pump fake, fade-away jumper or the flying windmill, you'll want to perform them over and over again so students of your game don't miss any fine points. NBA Shoot Out '97. Don't let it mess with your head.

K

lit

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and Icon Passing is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. NBA Shoot Out is а trademark of NBA Properties, Inc. The NBA and individual NBA Team identifications used on or in this product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc., and the respective member Teams and may not be used, in whole or in part without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. ©1997 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. www.sony.com

The two greatest fighting Together, at last, ‘til death 11 vicious Fighting Vipers” 11 combatants from Virtua 10 hidden mystery games of all time. do they part. characters. Fighter™ 2. characters.

Sega is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. Sega Saturn, Virtua Fighter 2, Fighting Vipers, and Fighters MegaMix are trademarks of SEGA. © 1997 Sega, P.O. Box 8097, Redwood City, CA 94063. All rights reserved.

www.sega.com

One of the largest collections New and nasty Virtua fF н Choose from 32 rockin’ 5 battle Modes, including of fighters ever. Fighter™ 3 moves. : arenas. Team.

An unparalleled, world-class festival of fighting.

INSERT COIN

ELECTRONIC GAMING

Есета 55е таз с сы ыны com

*Sony & Nintendo drop prices. «Review Crew gets wordy. *Poster pair packs punc

he video game system price war Т has started. Nintendo, seeing its

N64 system sales declining in Japan, has decided to lower the system price to around $140. One week after this announcement, Sony had a news conference where they stated that the U.S. PlayStation price would be $149.

Could it just be a coincidence that both major players decided to lower the price at the same time or was there something else going on?

It depends on who you talk to.

In our discussions with Sony, they state that this is all part of their long- term marketing plan, and they aren’t reacting to what Nintendo did.

In Japan, we hear the same sto from Nintendo.

Who do you believe?

While the truth will never come out, our sources have found out that Sony has indeed been planning this price reduction for a long time, and Nintendo of Japan somehow found out about it. Rather than wait until Е in June, Nintendo decided to counter quickly with a matching price drop to $149 in North America—obviously, it was just a matter of time.

With the top two players in the indus- try trading body blows like power wrestlers, we wonder: What will it take— for either Sony or Nintendo-—to regain the upper hand? First, Sony can drop the PlayStation price even further to $129 (which they can, and were plan- ning to do all along). When that hap- pens, Nintendo may be able to respond with a $149 price AND include Super Mario 64. However, considering how conservative Nintendo is, they probably will stop at $149 without a cart.

What about Sega? It appears that they are between a rock and a hard place. The circuitry in their system is not as consolidated as the other two are, and any further price drop will really hurt them. Still, they will have to match the others at $149 as their old three- free-game offer just won't be enough to keep them competitive. Е° should be the time when it all comes out but keep reading Q-Mann's column, as he gets the information months before the other mags do.

In other news, | want to thank every- body who e-mailed me with your com- ments about the magazine. Many of your suggestions are already in the works and you should start seeing them later this year. | am also very pleased

Ed tries for par on one of the new third-party Nintendo 64 golf simulations.

that virtually everybody liked the change we made to the design of the Review Crew pages. One problem | always had—and this goes all the way back to issue number 2—15 the fact that there never was enough space to fully review a game. While the four-person Review Crew format is the only way to go, having four equal spaces just wasn't quite right. Many times everybody

said the same thing, and 80 words never was enough to fully explain the good and bad points of a game. This led to numerous questions, not only from our readers but also the game companies, as to why we gave a game a certain score.

Now, in our current design, one reviewer—usually the one who has the most experience with the game—has the space to really speak his mind. Nothing

is held back, and, as in the past, you get .

the only unbiased, uncensored review of the real game. | say real because, as some of you pointed out, our reviews are not necessarily the first you will see in the magazines. We take great pains to only review “FINAL CODE” games. That is, no Japanese games, no beta discs, no near-finished discs with quali- fying letters from companies—just real reviews of the same games which you will buy in the stores. Plus, as you've also pointed out, our reviews aren't all 10s or to put it in other numbers smiling 5.0s or over-inflated 98s just to keep the advertisers happy.

In addition, our Review Crew is made up of real hardcore players. They take their job very seriously and most impor- tantly, they aren't hiding behind fake, artificial caricature sketches with hokey made-up names. (OK, Sushi-X is an exception, but at least he's a real guy.)

Finally, the positive response to our free pack-in posters has been phenom- enal. It must be a good idea as others have already started to copy us, but wait until you see what we have lined up next! Until then, check out the two-page gatefold Lost World miniposter on pages 99 and 100 in addition to the WCW poster packed in the bag.

Keep the e-mail coming!

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (IS:

write to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 5:

prior written notice of 210, Rights Reserved. Electronic Company. TM and € for all other products and the c

—M ON mH LY; NUMBER 10.5, MAY 1997

Publisher Jonathan Lane Editorial Director Joe Funk Editor In Chief Ed Semrad асаана Ken Williams ditors Crispin Boyer Shawn Smith Dan Hsu Sushi-X Third-Party Liaison John Stockhausen Sports Editors Dean Hager * Kraig Kujawa News Editor Nelson Taruc International Editor Wataru Maruyama West Coast Editor Kelly Rickards Tricks Editor Terry Minnich Editor Scott Parus Arcade Editor Mark Hain Online Editors Chris Johnston * Helen Lee Managing Copy Editor Jennifer Whitesides Senior Copy Editor Jo-El M. Damen Copy Editor Dan Peluso Foreign Correspondents Stuart Levy * David Rider

Creative Director Michael Stassus Art Directors Jason Hinman * Cyril Wochok Associate Art Director Mike Vallas Layout & Design Manager Paul Ojeda

Production Director Marc Camron Prepress Manager Dave McCracken Assoc. Prepress Manager Jack Copley

Network Manager Pamela Schneider Assoc. Client Service Specialist Mark LeFebvre

Circulation Director Joan Mclnerney Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen Circulation Coordinator Ann-Marie Mrozynski

Business Manager Cathy Bendoff

Advertising Ziff-Davis Publishing Company Inquires 1920 Highland Avenue Contact: Lombard, IL 60148

Telephone: (630) 916-7222 FAX: (630) 916-9254

Assoc. Publisher Ad. & Jennie Parker Me (Also East Coast) Account Executive Suzanne Farrell

West Coast: Jon Yoffie District Ad Sales 135 Main Street, 14th Floor Manager/Northwest San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: (415) 357-5322 Fax: (415) 357-5201 E-mail: jon yoffie&zd.com

District Ad Sales Karen Landon Manager/Southwest 11766 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 1550 Los Angeles, CA 90025

Marketing Coordinator Amy Dellos Sales Assistant Jessica Prentice Send Advertising Materials to: Advertising Coordinator Mike Darling

Founder Steve Harris

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5722, Boulder, CO 80328-5722. For subscription service questions, G

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ice/. The G the rights under cop п, or introduced into a ге photocopying, Company. © 19 ming Monthly and EGM

wned by the 2 trademark and copyright owners. All mate ibject to manu: change and the publisher assumes no responsibilty for such changes. The Canadian GST ation number is 140496720 RT

Printed in the USA

Audit Bureau of Circulations

Yesterday, you were а cocky 2-D arcade shooter.

Today, you totally suck.

We hate to break the rude news, but you're about to be humbled. destruction. Where the fighting 1s fast and furious enough to tum It's the 23rd century. Nano-robots аге on the rampage. And you into a certified junkie. With progressively difficult levels and you've gotta deep-six hundreds of vicious killing machines and an intense play environment, Nanolek Warrior offers awesome eight virtually indestructible nano-bosses. The good news is you replay value. Which means just maybe, by the turn of the century, can run. The bad news is, in this 3-D world, you : you'll be back to your same old cocky self. can forget about hiding m corners. At 30 FPS, | 7 NE. Ч gm 5

its a 32-bit firestorm of nonstop death and 1

ee Y

© 1996 Vn Interactie Entertainment, їс. Al ih reserved. NanoTek Waris a trademark of Telragon and Vr Interactie Entertainment, Inc igh is a registered trademark of Veja Enterprises. Ltd. Sony he Sory Раб and the Pia tton Logos are al trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment їс. Chin up. At est you dant suck at reading тке уре.

To * GAMES IN PARK, PING,

SMELLY ARCADES.

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| people have a problem with the . | violence in video games.

ме, for example, feel it hasn't been realistic enough.

An evil corporation is threatening to kill off humankind, and

it’s up to you as Tenka, а war-hardened resistance fighter,

ы to stop them from putting man at the top of the extinction list. Ў This is the real deal. This-is-the-baddest-most-realistic-kill-or-be-killed-switching- re to- fully-automatic- how’ d-you-like-a-nuclear-rocket-up-your-butt-?-did-]-just-

3 feel-someone’s-brain-splatter-on-my-face-?-corridor-shooting game ever built.

CODENAME: TENKA gives you features you just can't: get. m Dark Forces™

and Final Doom™: À

4 Fully 3D playfield and enemies in a smooth мнт, envitonment. 4 Freedom of movement to look up & down, jump and crouch while moving. 4 Laser sighting on your gun to target more effectively.

With terrific light sourcing, fluid controls, non-stop action and superb graphic quality, Tenka will blow you away.

Mie ra Shooter ١

SA A Nex Genera tion

82: PlayStation [E

www.psygnosis.com

NAL FANTAST VI

EGM HAS THE FIRST INFORMATION ON THE U.S. VERSION OF FINAL FANTASY VII. THE STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 90.

Albert Odyssey

Andretti Racing IN 5 Е Ral © O IN

Battle Stations Sony and Nintendo start a system price war! Blast Corps

Bottom of the 9th '97

Brahma Force PR Е S S START h

Bubble Bobble New portable game system and controllers in stores now. City of Lost Children

Contra: LoW 28 TOP 1O

Crow: CoA ill Ni ў ? Dark Light Conflict Will Nintendo's new Blast Corps take over as #1 game?

Boot bs 32 GAMING GOSSIP

Dynasty Warriors Q-Mann digs up the gaming dirt that no one else knows about. ШШ Fury Special

ighting Force Goal Storm "97 34 PROTOS

Harvest Moon An exclusive look at the movie-to-game hit, Mission: Impossible.

Incredible Hulk 52 REVIEW CREW

Шш ДИРИ $оссег Doom 64 or Blast Corps: Which is game of the monthP let Moto

ele E 64 TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Lost Vikings 11 Access all the tracks in Jet Moto, this month's top trick! Lost World: JP

Manx TT Super Bike 72 SPECIAL FEAT URES Mission: Impossible The first U.S. coverage of the ASI/ACME and Tokyo Toy Shows. Mortal Kombat Trilogy

Moto Racer GP

Mr. Bones 103 NE XT WAVE

NBA Live '97 Swagman lurks in gamers’ dreams, while dinos romp on the PS! NHL Breakaway '98

Overblood 112 TEAM EGM

poak ретолпапсв Find out which sports games will be scoring big-time this summer.

Rally Cross 118 INTERFACE

Ray Storm, Readers voice concerns on race, religion and blood...

Scorcher SCUD Soviet Strike

Space Jam

Spawn М Suicide Run ae Super Puzzle Fighter Il 4

Зк ата :

ail of the Sun D С\Т» © The Divide: EW POSTER RS Thunder Truck Rally F E Аса Turok: DH Tucked VR Baseball '97 into this exciting issue of Wing Commander IV EGM are posters:

Xevious 3D on page 99 | i Wi ЮМ U M BE R Pm is packed in. Adorn | THE OT W ORLD

your room, locker, work space or anywhere else you choose to hang ‘em!

The Lost World: Jurassic Park for the Sony PlayStation "^&O1996 DreamWorks Interactive, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

„апа spending their hard-earned cash on this year in our cover- age of the ASI/ACME Show. As well, look for continuing info

on the AOU Show. Tekken 3 and DarkStalkers 3 are just the tip of the iceberg that will soon strike local arcades. Look for more coverage starting on page 72.

“DarkStalkers 3 shows off some of the flashiest gameplay yet!”

1 EGM editors don’t stop for anything when on the prowl

for gaming information. Yet again, they crossed the big blue—

this time for the Tokyo Toy Show. They brought back some updates ` on games soon to be released as well as a few surprises from Sega and Sony. Check out page 86 for the scoop.

“At the show, companies show off their summer game releases.” |

The company responsible for such hits as Twisted Metal 1 and 2 and Warhawk are not stopping to smell the roses. Once again, SingleTrac will be scoring big with an underwater Twisted Metal- type game called Critical Depth, which boasts lots of “depth” and action. The coverage begins on page 96!

“Critical Depth will feature a good number of environments...”

SWAGMAN (SS)

DYNASTY WARRIORS (PS) OVERBLOOD (PS)

BATTLE STATIONS (PS) FIGHTING FORCE (PS)

LOST WORLD (PS) XEVIOUS 3D (PS)

THE DIVIDE CES)

FATAL FURY SPECIAL (NEO)

NOW AVAILABLE FOR NINTENDO 64

SUPPORTS 4 PLAYERS !

(NINTENDO 64 VERSION ONLY)

i E У E ff | |. welcome, nintendo 64 us to, the decaying world of hexen. E EN mu f б as A mage, А cleric, or warrior, you an three friends bave the ability to ge

head-to-head ín a split screen deathmatch. you bave a wicked

arsenal of MECIEVAL weaponry. you have superhuman

powers. you bave NO idea what you'll be getting yourself into. bexen.

beyond EVIL. beyond hope. beyond any 3-d game ever created.

‘OFFICIAL

SEGA

SEAUOF QUABTY

Distributed by GT Interactive Software 16 EAST 40TH ST., NEW YORK, NY 10016

www.gtinteractive.com www.idsoftware.com

00 of America Inc. ©1996 Nintendo of America Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

THE BEST VIDEO GAME NEWS

Sega’s Status

As of press time, Sega has not indicated a Saturn price cut in the works. Officials have maintained (rightfully so) that its free software bundle offer, which expires at the end of May, makes the Saturn the best deal on the market.

“We are not moving on our hardware price,” said Sega’s Dan Stevens. “We are more concerned this year [with] our consumer and less focused on competitors.”

As to Sony's lowering of PlayStation software prices, Stevens noted that Saturn game retail prices are already at the $40- 50 range-a highly competitive price point in Sega's eyes.

In a side note, Sega has slowed production of systems to between 3 million and 4 million for 1997. The production move aims to reduce current system inventory.

BREAKING NEWS

In the United States, Sony fired the first salvo in the hardware price war when it low- ered the cost of the PlayStation to $150: After plenty of false stags, Nintendo did

month later.

he video game equivalent of T "all hell breaking loose" took place in late February, as

Nintendo and Sony began slashing system prices left and right—or to be more accurate, east and west. For those keeping score, here's a timeline of what's happened so fa

п Feb. 21: Nintendo announces a Nintendo 64 price drop in Japan to occur March 14—a 33 percent plunge from $203 U.S. to $137 U.S. Due to successful U.S. sales, Nintendo announces no equivalent drop for U.S. systems. п Feb. 27: Rumors surface of a worldwide PlayStation price drop for both hardware and software. W Feb. 27: PS system prices drop in Australia and European countries—to roughly $200 U.S. m March 3: Sony Computer Entertainment America announces a 25 percent PS system price drop to $149.99. In addition, SCE announces lower prices for

the same about а : eè

Projected Sales

Barring any news shocks, here’s a best- case scenario of how many millions of systems will sell worldwide in '97.

sd йй S

Sources: Various analysts

first-party software ($39.99-49.99) and a new “Greatest Hits Series” for games more than a year old that have sold more than 150,000 copies. The first titles in that group include Battle Arena Toshinden, NFL GameDay, Twisted Metal, NHL FaceOff and Warhawk.

m March 3: According to the Associated Press, a Nintendo rep

Rumors, barbs: abound as Sony and Nintendo Ягор systems to 5149.99

said the company would take a wait-and-see attitude to an N64 price response. However, analysts state an N64 price drop is a question of when, not if.

m March 6: A Japanese paper prints a story later picked up by

Reuters and plenty of Internet sites.

It states that Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi himself made it clear that the N64 will indeed drop to $150 U.S. by the end of March.

m March 7: In America, Nintendo officials refuse to verify Yamauchi's statement—even going to the extent of calling the report a "mistranslated" story.

m March 17 (St. Patrick's Day): Perhaps it was the luck of the Irish—or the fear of SCE's move-that prompts Nintendo to drop to $149.99 in North America.

m Today: The only question left is how Sega will react—or if SCE will counter once again. All eyes turn to Е? as this war unfolds... MI

Wars Trilogy

NEW SYSTEM!

What’s Up?

Two Cartridge Ports: Carry two games at the same time. Tiger also has a modem connection cart ($19.95). With it and any PC modem, users can hook up to the Internet to receive and send e-mail—certainly an inexpensive option for non-PC owners. Stylus: game.com has touch-screen technology. Use the black stylus to type in e-mail messages with an on-screen keyboard, or to play games. Save: With four AA batteries, it saves top scores and phone directory information.

Tiger game.com Boasts Internet Access, Cart-Based Video Games

game market was going the way

of the dodo, you're mistaken: It's taken a turn toward the Tiger. The company known for handheld LCD games and toys is taking its first stab at LCD cartridge-based gam- ing—Sega’s and Nintendo's turf— with the game.com.

“This exciting new system offers more than Game Boy,” contends Sandy Schneider, vice president of Tiger Interactive.

Launching in June, the base game.com system costs $69.99, which includes a Lights Out cart, Tiger's top-selling puzzle game. The game.com also functions as an electronic organizer, with an address/phone/e-mail directory, calculator, calendar and high scores list. Plus, game.com has a solitaire game built in

The game.com offers features

| f you thought the portable video

never before seen in any portable video game system. First off, it has a touch screen with stylus; the penlike tool is used to input text or play certain games.

More intriguing is Tiger’s push to link game.com to the Internet, via a special cartridge that hooks up to any PC modem. Tiger has teamed up with an online provider, Delphi, to give game.com users cheap access to sending and receiving text-based e-mail. These messages can't be saved on the game.com, but Tiger is mulling a RAM cart for that purpose

Because game.com has two cart ports, Tiger is examining ways to add online elements to future cart titles, either with "secret levels or codes that can be downloaded from the Internet," Schneider said

Look for a hands-on test in a future issue of EGM. В *

vi

The LCD game screen may not be backlit, but it offers four shades of gray at a 160- by-200-pixel size; Tiger claims the resolution is better than Nintendo's Game Boy. It looks decent for Duke Nukem (left) and Solitaire, game.com's built-in game.

* The first Internet site to break this story (and others in Press Start) was Videogamespot. So the next time you see the word "exclusive" in a Net news story, be sure to check out http://www.videogamespot.com first-that "exclusive" just might have been yesterday's news for them

Speaking of portables, Nintendo has given the Game Boy Pocket some new shades of color and a lower price, $54.95. The new hues include black, green, red, yellow, see-through (above) and the original silver. Sadly, a gold-metal Game Boy Pocket out in Japan isn't included in this new rainbow of Game Boy Pockets.

Here's a singles ad Electronic Arts has officially responded to: Third-party game pub- lisher Accolade, 13, seeks big publisher, 15 or older, to exclusively distribute some cur- rent and all future game titles. Possible partners must have money to invest in Accolade. Long-term commitment a must— no one-night stands! (OK, EGM added that last part.)

News of the Weird: China, normally a hotbed of pirated video game sellers, has responded to fight the influx of foreign games by encouraging patriotic-themed war video games that pro- mote the country's image, a China news agency reported. If you think patriotic games don't sell,

EGM would like to remind readers of Interactive's game... Independence Day.

AES L ИЕ ЭЖЕШ fF = ш.н.

What do you get when you cross a mega ermarket with an e? Whatever it probably about а GameWorks (artist's rendition pic- tured above), a new high-tech entertain-

town Seattle that will be а testing ground for Seg;

arcade games. Of

course, EGM sent out a staff member to cover the event. When (or if...he loves arcade games) he returns, he'll report what's up at Seattle's newest hot spot. Look for that story in a future issue.

Aloha Square! The crafters behind Final y VII plan to the ne related to that series near the sunny be es of Honolulu. Square has $7-million-plus opment center in i. The site will up to 120 com- raphics engi. neers (half from Japan, the resi the United S be run by Square's U.S. branch. Also, overs our indi- cate that the Honolulu operation will also work on—fasten your seat belts now—a fully rendered Final Fantasy feature film...feel free to wipe the drool off your chin.

handle distribution of its own PS software titles—a task formerly performed by Sony.

LASER-HOT

NEW!

NEW TOOLS THAT RULE?

Here's a first (or second) look at some new video game peripherals:

This funky dark gray PS flight stick features the same pad programmability used in ACT Labs’ Psychopad con- trollers. It works

in analog, Wheel or Digital Mode as well.

The joystick grip has the main PS fire buttons and a top-hat D-Pad. On the base is a two-way rocker switch, which can work as the accelerator/brake in some driving games.

Folks looking for a heavy-duty, metal- based PS pad to abuse would do well to grab Namco's Joystick—out since last year in Japan but only available recently in the United States. Namco reps said this pad is perfect for PS shooters and fighting games—especially if you wish to duplicate the arcade playing experience.

An attachable Red

Plain-Jane PS Gun Turns Killer With Addition of Laser Target

he editors at EGM will be the first to T tell you: There are too many light guns, and too few games to support them So before you take a glance at Naki's Lunar Gun for the PS and groan, "Oh no, not another gun!" take note: Naki has come up with one of the most wicked (as in cool) light gun innova- tions—a special laser sight to help aim the gun. EGM tried out the Lunar Gun-plus-Red Sight combo with Project: Horned Owl and Crypt Killer; the staff was duly impressed with how the laser popped up brightly on the TV screen (not

REV

GIVE ME A

fter testing Platinum A Sound's Nintendo 64

version of the Per4Mer steering wheel-the first available driving tool for the N64 in the United States—with the meager lineup of driving games out, EGM editors were left with a bland taste in their mouths.

The controller worked adequately for Cruis'n USA. However, when EGM tried it with Super Mario Kart 64, problems sprouted up. First, the pedals didn't work—partly because the right pedal got stuck inside the plastic casing. Sliding—a key tac- tic in the game—required use of

rately for $16.99 and for use only with Naki's Lunar Gun (above), sets it apart from the pack.

| Sight (left), sold sepa-

PERIPHERAL REVIEW

Lunar Gun (es)

$29.99 (msrp) Out in stores

Pluses: * works with optional Red Sight * decent auto-reload/ fire capability * clean gun design Minuses: - no dual- | plug for use with Sega Saturn

b

to mention co-workers and passers-by).

The Red Sight slides off and on the Lunar Gun, so it can be removed at any time during play. It can also be manually calibrated.

The Lunar Gun itself offers semiauto and auto fire, as well as auto reload. LEDs on the side of the gun show what features are in use.

The gun comes with an 8-foot cord.

Don't feel left out Saturn owners; a Lunar Gun is in the works as well. Overall, the Lunar Gun/Red Sight is a smart idea for those who need a little extra help with light gun games. MI

IEW

The N64 Per4Mer steering wheel turns 50 degrees either way, and comes with foot pedals.

Per4Mer (N64) $69.99 (msrp) * Out in stores Pluses:

+ pedals included

Minuses:

- pedals stick, creak - poor button layout - a pain to reconfigure

two buttons on the side, which proved a pain to use. Configuring buttons is no easy feat, either.

If you're a die-hard fan of Cruis'n USA and must have a steering wheel now, get it. Otherwise, pass this one by. IN

ТТА 4 AI! Jj D Bgm HEU and a

OIF ر‎ "Pay S Sa ‹ Oh”

iving a Porsche?? Want to? The Alps Gamepad for thEXPIBySTmHon mime conso

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finely-tuned and tested controller designed by professional game players оте

needs of today's gamers.

c>

PlayStation

the fine fellows who served up touching romance with /n Love and War, are dishing out something differ with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (above). A

scription of this movie sequel in Ne

"s own words: "A

group of courageous heroes must survive the most spectacular series of challenges ever encountered as they take on an unscrupulous warlord in his terrifying bid to control the planet Earth" Whatever—just as long as the fight scenes kick __ (fill in the blank). This movie is due Aug. 1.

Let's play Jeopardy. The Category: Real Estate. The answt

question: Which video game company has opened a new studio in the Seattle area, and just broken ground on a new world headquarters in Redwood City, Calif.?

Overseas reports state that the white PlayStation systems have begun selling in Southeast Asia. These consoles can play video CDs, which are all the in places such as Hong Kong and Thailand. In Hong Kong, the PS will sell for about $330 U.S.

| 22 ||

THE BIG STORY

The Question: What exactly can the 64DD do? Could answers possibly lie...

EGM Reveals

A Little-Known Super NES Box That May Hint At Nintendo’s

6400 Strategy

ere's the deal: In Japan, ы reports state Nintendo's

long-awaited Zelda 64 game will come out first as a cartridge.

This means Zelda 64 won't be a "bulky drive" game, right? Not exactly. Nintendo maintains that Zelda 64 will also come out on the still mysterious 64 MB magneto- optical disk format as well.

Two versions of the same game? Why bother? Of course, Nintendo refuses to spill the beans yet.

However, EGM has acquired intriguing documents describing an amazing piece of Super NES vaporware (see right), the design of which "is not limited to [the] Super NES...but may be used with alternative game hardware," according to Nintendo.

Based on this information, one possible theory—one of many cir- cling about in N64 discussions, mind you—has arisen about why Nintendo would offer two versions

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tion By Nelson Taruc. Sour

What the Heck Is This Box About Anyway?

Develop your own Super NES games? It sounds like a pipe dream, but Nintendo actually designed a system to do it! What makes it so amazing is that it was targeted toward users from “elementary school students to sophisticated game designers,” according to documents. Here’s what this PC-like box offers:

...in this never-before-seen game making machine designed by Nintendo?

(£ Four Controller Ports: They're ordinary Super NES ports; however, the WS first two could be used by the Super NES mouse and a PC-type keyboard. The controllers could plug into the third and fourth ports.

=) Floppy Drive: Original game design data would be placed on disk and loaded into the system’s memory. Then, the user could alter the design while playing the game, test it and save it onto RAM cartridges (see 4). The exam- ple Nintendo showed in documents was “Mario Factory,” a Super Mario Bros.-ish game in which players could pause at any time to modify the music, level design or player animation.

ID Card Slot: Without an ID card, system users would only be able to play games. The card would be needed for editing and saving customized titles.

‘ Cartridge Slot: The cartridge would accept either regular Super NES carts, or special RAM carts that would store newly designed games.

¢ 7) Connections and Expansions: The base system was intended to be “= Nintendo's version of Sony's “Yaroze” hobbyist program. Yet Nintendo also contemplated its use for professional developers via an expansion board, so users

could hook up a photo scanner, har

through the Internet. Could this fores Who knows. Still, the 64DD may still

drive or printer. Other additions include a

microphone and a modem —an interesting option, because Nintendo mulled the possibility of users trading home-designed games with each other and Nintendo

hadow Nintendo's 6400 online strategy? let players trade files with each other...

Developed and put

© 1997 Interplay Productions. All rights reserved. Clay Fighter 63 1/3 and interplay are trademarks of Interplay Productions. All rights reserved. Nintendo, Nintendo 64, 30 № are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. ~All rights reserved, All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

| . : i

Capcom has jazzed up its Web site (http:// www.capcom.com), which features the standard Web fare: game contests, prizes, previews and movie clips. What caught EGM s eye, however, was the prospect of Internet-playable demos of Capcom's top puzzle/action games: namely Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Buster Bros. Collection. As of press time, these minigames weren't running, but keep your eyes peeled.

Speaking of Capcom, it has picked a pair of Matsushita officials to guide the future of Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil et al. Takeshi Harada was named president of Capcom USA, while Bill Gardner was named Capcom Entertainment's new president.

To paraphrase an old cliché, it ain't over until the third-party developers sing. Atari Jaguar game maker Telegames refuses to desert loyal owners of the 64-Bit machine (insert applause), and remains the lone third- party publisher. The company has six new games in the works, according to its online site (http://www.tel- egames.com). Planned for cartridge release are Towers Il, Breakout 2000, Zero 5 and WORMS. Planned for Jaguar CD are Iron Soldier 2 and World Tour Racing (pictured above), according to the Web site.

P5 Game Club Uses Quarterly CDs, Web Site to Link Owners to New Info

he PlayStation Underground T dubs itself as Sony's version of Nintendo's magazine/fan

club. However, while Nintendo is sending out mags, Sony is sending out PS-only CDs filled with demos, interviews, behind-the- scenes info and more secrets than you can shake a controller at.

User interaction plays a key role in the club. Not only are members encouraged to send in artwork and visit a mem- bers-only Web site, but they're also required to comb the CDs for secrets hidden in them.

Membership costs $29.95 per year, which includes four two-set CDs mailed every three months and special access to a Web site. Interested gamers can call (800) 983-7669 to sign up and join The PlayStation Underground

For any new updates, visit http://www.SCEA.sony.com. W

PREVIEW

THE BIG STORY

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of the same game. The question EGM wants to pursue: Will gamers be able to create and save their own levels of N64 games?

[Editor's Note: The rest of this story assumes a relationship not yet confirmed by Nintendo between the cartridge and 64DD versions of Zelda 64. The following theory should not be misrepresented as fact. However, it is intended to raise awareness of other little-known Nintendo projects, as well as fuel discussion as to what kind of new features Zelda 64 and other 64DD games may contain.]

Indeed, the potential described in Nintendo's mystery machine may certainly apply to the 64DD. Here's how: The cartridge version of Zelda 64 may be a full-fledged game designed wholly by Nintendo. But the 64DD version of the game may not be a game at all. Rather, it would include graphics and level design data so players could make their own dungeon designs, for instance—traps, monsters, maybe

The cartridge version of Zelda 64 is just one game; will the 64DD version let gamers design an infinite number of their own mini-adventures? Nintendo has already investigated that possibility with the Super NES—could the 64DD be next?

treasures. Other 64DD games in the works include a SimCity-type game (design your own land- scapes?), a Mario Paint game (design your own artwork?) and Super Mario 64DD (design your own levels?).