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СА deadly mist grips the land. Jn its wake lies a decomposing herd of corpses. Jn its path

ave the last remaining outposts of civilization. 7o save them, you must fend off an army

of mad beasts, a giant monster and a mysterious wizard who will stop at nothing short of total annihilation. Zhe secret that you will discover lies in the Genesis trees. Can you

find and save all the trees? (је will you be taking one last breath before the long dirt nap?

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first of eight gigantic worlds.

Pick one of 32 vehicles and put it

in gear. Who knows? You might Codemasters

catch a whole inch of air! against up to eight players and

Kick up some sand as you race over a bikini or two.

And put your wheels on. Welcome

to the

Wit

It's а good month to be in video games

By John Davison * john davisonGzd.com

t's a good month to be involved in video games. I'll admit that | often sit back and think that, but this month has been truly spectacular for two extremely significant reasons. First, and most obviously, we've been lucky enough to spend a great deal of time with not one, but two Star Wars Episode One games. I’m sure you know what a big deal that is...and for many of you it's probably the reason you picked up this issue of EGM. | won't go into it any further here as we have plenty of information later in the magazine —and let's face it, Star Wars is every-frickin-where at the moment. Needless to say it's all very exciting and we've got some stuff in this issue you won't see anywhere else.

Second, literally a couple of days before this issue went to print | was fortunate enough to be in Japan to see the unveiling of the *Next Generation" PlayStation. You can read more about it in this month's Press Start section—but | just wanted to impress upon you the sheer magnitude of this announcement. Sure, it's a pretty big deal to anyone who knows anything about video games — but it has to be said that it is quite possibly the most important announcement in video game history.

The PlayStation is now the most successful game system ever. Sony (in a fit of frantic and deserved willy-waving at the same event) celebrated the fact that they

have now sold more than 50 million systems, and the rate at which they are shifting them doesn't appear to be slowing down. The prospect of a new system has been on the horizon for some considerable time —but we are now faced with both a system and an apparent strategy that would appear to ensure Sony's dominance for at least another five years.

Not only is the new machine so incredibly powerful that it'll make your knees weak, but it is backed up by a plan that has repercussions throughout the home entertainment and technology world. Sony is going to build a chipset that puts most computers and workstations to shame...and is then going to stick it in a box that will probably cost under $300. Intel and all the other manufacturers touting hi-tech wizardry must be so pissed right now...because this is going to change the way people perceive the power of computing in the home forever—and everyone's going to expect it cheap.

If you think back, no one has ever been the dominant force in gaming twice in a row...the PlayStation has established itself as the interactive entertainment system, and along with the efforts of software companies and magazines like EGM and Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine has helped push video gaming as something that isn't exclusively for teenage boys. PlayStation 2 (for want of a better name at the moment) is going to take this...and turn it into something that hopefully everyone can appreciate—in the way that everyone can appreciate a good movie and a good piece of music. If the demos of Tekken, Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy are anything to go by...| don't think they'll have too much trouble.

x Printed in the USA.

ELEETROIIIE” Number 12.5 GAMIINIG May 1999

= ПОКОЉУ wwwvideogames.com

Dale Strang J. E. Funk • joe_funk@zd.com

John Davison • john_davison@zd.com Dean Hager • dean_hager@zd.com Crispin Boyer • crispin_boyer@zd.com Dan Hsu • dan hsu@zd.com

John Ricciardi • john_ricciardi@zd.com Shawn Smith • shawn_smith@zd.com Che Chou • che_chou@zd.com

Sushi-X • sushi_x@zd.com

James Mielke • Gary Mollohan • Doug Erickson Joe Fielder • joe@videogames.com

Chris Johnston • chris johnston@®zd.com Terry Minnich • tricks@zd.com Wataru Maruyama • wat_maruyama@zd.com

Michael Stassus • mstassus@zd.com Cyril Wochok • cyril wochok@zd.com Andrew Burwell • Jim Cordano

Stuart Levy, CEO & Bureau Chief

Matthew Galgani, Producer

Kiyomi Fukuyama, Editorial Manager Yutaka Ohbuchi, Japanese Correspondent

Jennifer Whitesides Jo-El M. Damen • Gary Steinman

Marc Camron

Paul Ojeda

Dave McCracken

Chris Melody

Mark LeFebvre • mark_lefebvre@zd.com Scott Parus

Jonathan Lane Cathy Bendoff. Robert Kabat Joan McInerney Shirley Viel

Don Galen

Ann-Marie Mrozynski

Ziff-Davis Video Game Group _

50 Beale, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: 415-547-8000 Fax: 415-547-8777 Suzanne Farrell

Tel: 415-547-8781 e-mail: suzanne _farrell@zd.com Jon Yoffie

Tel: 415-547-8773 e-mail: jon yoffie&zd.com Karen Landon

Tel: 760-942-6277 Fax: 760-942-6243

e-mail: karen landon@zd.com

Anthony. Ране

Tel: 415-547-8774 Fax: 415-547-8777

e-mail: anthony деогде®20.сот

Susan Carroll

Tel: 415-547-8776 e-mail: susan carroll&zd.com

Mike Darling

Steve Harris

nailing offices rates: $4.99. The one year (2 issue) subscription rate is $24.97 in the

Aust bureou Orco

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Fastball

Junior's on fire, as usual. And now you can join him in the season's newest

Ken Griffey Jr's game, Ken Griffey Jr's SLUGFEST." It's inning after inning of slick-fielding,

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real, you may think you've died and gone to Cooperstown.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHTS ARE USED WITH PERMISSION OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PROPERTIES, INC © MLBPA. OFFICIAL LICENSEE - MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION. 101999 Nintendo, 74, & the “N” Sports Logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc.

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OVER М/АҮ5 TO

SHOW YOUR ENEMIES .HOW MUCH

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Why limit yourself to a dozen, hell even a hundred, different weapon choices when you can have thousands?

V

It's time to remove the shackles of 2D, top down strategy games. Because in Warzone 2100, you һауе complete control over unit designs. As a result, it'll be your wits and ability to create an invincible battle arsenal that will save your hide from extinction.

ce est = 400 technologies allow you to design and build more

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ПИВА eee ~ recycle the experience of field units into bigger, better and even more fierce war machines. And as a Commander gains experience, the greater number of units he can control and the more accurate his laser designation becomes.

oss = lightning fast, fully functional 3D game engine with rotatable ғ and zoomable cameras for fast and furious gaming action. Strategically placed radar

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IT'S NOW TIME TO TAKE YOUR FATE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS. SO GET INTO OUR VAST 3D WORLD: DESIGN, DEPLOY AND DESTROY.

WARZONG

ES z> шарар

Contents

130 – Power Tools

We take a look at a variety of new peripherals in this month's Power Tools section —items like a bat- teryless Rumble Pak for the N64, a Transformer for your Game Boy Color and some shiny new pads from Thrustmaster.

TI2 - Star Wars, Nothing But...

Every generation has a legend? Yep. Every journey has a first step? You bet. Every saga has a beginning? For sure. And you better believe every console gets a game based on Star Wars: Episode |—The Phantom Menace in May.

6 – Editorial

A new special friend of ours named PlayStation 2.

18 - Letters

Want to be an art director for EGM or Expert Gamer?

28 - News

Sony makes it official — PlayStation 2 is on its way and it looks and sounds simply amazing.

44 - Gaming Gos:

The Q talks about Gran Turismo 2, Final Fantasy IX and Sega.

134 - Review Crew Need For Speed: High Stakes, Shadow Madness, Triple Play 2000 (N64 and PS) and many others.

142 - Reader Reviews

See how your opinions differed and/or coincided with ours.

PREVIEWS 50 - Dreamcast Previews

Power Stone, Psychic Force 2012, Shenmue and Dreamcast Football. NOTE: D&D Collection for Saturn on page 102.

64 - Nintendo 64 Previews Goemon's Great Adventure, WWF Attitude, Super Smash Bros., Harrier 2001 and Pokémon Snap, among others.

82 - PlayStation Previews

Final Fantasy VIII, Fighter Maker, Bloody Roar 2, Gran Turismo 2 and Dino Crisis.

104 - GB Color Previews

Conker's Pocket Tales, Pokémon Pinball...

106 – Arcade Previews SF III 3rd Strike, DoA 2 and Crazy Taxi.

144 - Review Archive

All the scores we've given games in recent months.

146 - Jump Start

If you need help with Legend of Legaia, then look here. 148 - Tricks of the Trade CW Nitro (N64): all wrestlers, rings and a balloon heads. – Get Some!

Seeing as there's a Star Wars theme going, we went with it.

154 - The Final Word

What Shoe thinks Sega needs to do with the Dreamcast.

Game Directory

A Bug's Life Aero Dancing

Alexi Lalas Intl. Soccer All-Star Baseball 2000

All Star Tennis '99 Armorines

Big Air

Bloody Roar 2: Bringer of the New Age

Bomberman Fantasy Race Chameleon Twist 2 Сопкег5 Pocket Tales Crazy Taxi

Dead or Alive 2 Demolition Racer

Dino Crisis

Dreamcast Football Dungeons & Dragons Collection Echo Night

Eliminator

Evil Zone

Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition Fighter Maker

Fighting Force 64

Final Fantasy VIII Fisherman's Bass Hunter 64 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Giga Wing

Goemon's Great Adventure Gran Turismo 2

Gun Beat

Harrier 2001

Harvest Moon 64

JoJo's Venture

Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest Last Legion UX

Lode Runner 3-D

Maken X

MLB 2000

Monsterseed

NBA In the Zone '99

Need For Speed: High Stakes Omega Boost

Pokémon Pinball

Pokémon Snap

Pop'n Music

Power Stone

Psychic Force 2012

Puyo Puyo 4

Racing Lagoon

136,139 Rampage 2: Universal Tour

58 77 78 140 93 101 94 I 60 104 140 104 88 106

141 68 99 99141 137,141 99 107 58 137 68 89

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Re-Volt

Road Rash 64

Rushdown

Shadowman

Shangai: True Valor

Shao Lin

Shadow Madness Shenmue

Spawn

Sports Car GT

Spy vs. Spy

Star Ocean: The Second Story Street Fighter III Third Strike: Fight for the Future Street Sk8er

Super Smash Bros.

The Next Tetris

T.R.A.G: Mission of Mercy Triple Play 2000

Ultimate 8 Ball

VJ: Visual & Music Slap Web Mystery

WCW Nitro

WWF Attitude

3Xtreme

STAR. WARS

EPISODE I

THE PHANTOM MENACE

t the brawling begin. The Dreamcast has a new challenger with the PlayStation 2. (pg. 28)

ACCLAIM

A у == ғ РС - NINTENDOS* WA GAME. їп cow www.acclaimsports.com wwU.majorleaguebasedall.com

www.bigleaguers.com

The smash sequel to “the best baseball game of the year."

ЗА - GamePro Magazine

Derek Jeter 2-Time World Series" Champion

a

СХ Next Generation Technology Award-winning Hi-Rez" graphics and 3-D sports engine

Nf

и | All-New Player Models Featuring sunglasses, high socks, and alternate team jerseys

4, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and the 3-0 "N" logo аге

Authentic Major League" Strategy Scouting reports by Derek Jeter

All-New Instant Replay Check out those close calls at the bag

Over 1500 All-New Play-by-Play Calls The Yankees" John Sterling and Michael Kay call the action

leserved. Screen shots shown were taken from the Nintendo 64 version

t, Inc., an Acclaim Entertainment studi

More Than 400 All-New Animations Spectacular over the shoulder catches and swipe tags

Advanced Batting Control & Variable Pitch Speeds Adjustable 3-D batting icon for total batting control

ALL-STAR BASEBALL 2000

nsed By Major League Baseball Players Association. Developed by | ссізіт Entertainment, Inc. TM, ® & © 1999 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc.

ball Properties, Inc. ® MLBPA Offi

trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc, ©1996 Nintendo of America Inc. Acclaim is a di

Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with the permissi

“мегу impressive indeed." EGM

As Raziel, stalk the shadows of Nosgoth hunting your vampire brethren. Impale them with spears. Incinerate them with torches. Drown them iny No matter how you destro them, you must feed on th souls to sustain your ques 1

the ruin of your creator, Kain. T Seamless gameplay: No loa

| Shift real-time between the and spectral planes

rk gothic story

"Vampire fans get ready — Soul Reaver could be the ultimate thriller..."

—GamePro

PlayStation e ROM

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To Each His Own

I've been a loyal EGM reader for a year or two now, and I’ve noticed a rather disturbing trend: Every month the letters section is littered with hate mail telling the Review Crew how stupid and incompetent they are for giving game X a 10 when it so obviously sucked or game Y a 6 when it blew MGS and Zelda out of the water. Now before the tomatoes begin getting lobbed in my direction, let me explain. | understand that a letters section should be used for readers to voice their opinions on what the editors of a magazine may have said. But people, you have to realize that the guys at EGM are gamers like we are, and their opinions, while hopefully more educated than most, are not always going to agree with our own and are certainly not definitive.

Please don’t take this as me trying to defend EGM. For instance, Resident Evil is one of my all-time favorites, and we all know of EGM's much-publicized “snubbing” of Capcom’s survival horror-fest on its top 100 list. | suppose if | were paid to make a top 100 list, old Resident Evil would be pretty high up there. But alas, | am only a student, not an editor for a magazine. So while | strongly disagree with some of the views the guys have, I think it in bad form to tear them up and criticize their merits for it. | guess ‚ what I’m trying to say is, remember

what we're doing here. We are paying money for a magazine written by a bunch of gamers like us who have scored the ultimate job and get to play games for a living and tell the world what they thought. The Review Crew's rating system is the best I’ve seen (how can you tell if a game is worth your hard-earned dough or not if there are a thousand games an issue with straight fives out of five?), and I generally trust the guys' opinions. However, | simply use a game's score to formulate a smart game purchasing process; if it didn't get a gold award, I'm going to have to rent the thing first. There comes a time when the Crew bashes a game I’ve been looking forward to, so in those cases | rent the thing anyway. But we all have to remember that looking at the scores for a game is like asking your buddy who just bought Xenogears if it's any good. Who knows, the muddy graphics and the horrid voice acting may just turn him off, but when you boot the game up you may be stuck on it for weeks, depriving yourself of sleep while playing through the latest Square masterpiece (not that I did that or anything...cough, cough).

So if you really think the guys at EGM are morons, then don't buy the mag anymore. Just don't riddle the letters column with hate mail.

Ryan Short ris42Gcornell.edu

Gamers’ Choice

Thank you for selecting Panzer Dragoon Saga as Role-Playing Game of the year. We poor Saturn owners (both of us) need a little cheering up! At least Dreamcast is only a few months away.

David Hanson DavidHanson@webtv.net

No need to thank us. Мете sure it would’ve won our reader vote for RPG of

the Year as well, had more of you been given a chance to play this rarity.

By the way, that’s all the feedback on our 1998 Gamers’ Choice Awards we're going to print. Why? Because 99 percent of the other mail read like this:

“Dear EGM,

| (agree/disagree) with your choices for the 1998 Gamers’ Choice Awards. | think (Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Metal Gear Solid) is (great/a piece of crap).”

tters

Compiled by Dan “Shoe” Hsu

You can write EGM at: EGM Letters P.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 : EGM@zd.com

For subscripti

please call (303) 665-8930, or check out www.zdnet.com/zdsubs/egm/service/

Please note: We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for space purposes. If you don’t want your name, city/state or e-mail address printed, tell us so (but please include your phone number and mailing address for Letter of the Month consideration).

So we're sure you'll agree with us, we don’t need to waste space this month printing Zelda vs. MGS mail...we've already beaten that subject to a pulp in previous editions of EGM Letters.

Too Subtle?

In your last issue (April, #117), on pg. 125, in Dan Hsu’s review of Bust-A-Move '99, on the 15th line, the words are a little messed up, don’t ya think?

Just thought Га point that out. I’m bored. Where did | put my crayons...?

ShaoZero@aol.com

Here’s that excerpt from my BAM ’99 review. Read between the lines: “/ know Acclaim isn’t the type to milk older titles or licenses, but Money talKs...."

Don’t make us spell it out for you any further. Just sit on this one for a while— we're sure it'll come to you... :)

And In Case It Hasn't Come To You Yet...

Hey Shoe, I really liked your *hidden" jab at Acclaim and the over-milked Mortal Kombat series in your Bust-a-Move '99 review last issue.

Jeffery Wilson TerminusFactor@webtv.net

Thanks.

The Search For April Fools’

| went through your issue this month, when | realized that it was the April issue. | then searched endlessly (actually, it was more like 15 minutes) for the location of your annual April Fools’ joke, and | think

е 054 Бир ^usi4 гјело 'еочоР

I've found it. Super Mario Bros. isn't coming out for Game Boy Color! Right? Right?!? Or maybe I'm entirely wrong... David Hammer mrdhammer@softhome.net

Nope. Мете happy to say you’re wrong. (...happy only because we WANT a portable Super Mario Bros.!)

About the April Fools’ thing...that company profile on Attention To Detail must be false. That picture of the team looked fake, as did most of their credentials.

Justin Pearl Virginia Beach, VA

Boy, we sure hope none of the folks from ATD are reading this.

| have read your magazine for years, and the one thing | have enjoyed the most is the annual April Fools’ joke. | just got my April issue, however, and there’s no mention of it whatsoever! Did you guys just not mention it, or is there no April Fools’ joke this year? John Glennon glennons@hotmail.com

Read on...

When | first read your review on the GameShortz, | believed it. Then it hit me that this was your April issue, and that the GameShortz was the April Fools’ joke. It wasn't the best April Fools' joke (that award goes to your April 1997 issue, he he), but it did make me laugh.

domino79@juno.com

Seriously, the April Fools’ joke gets stranger and stranger every year. | thought | had it with the marriage proposal [in EGM Letters], but then | saw the Dreamcast fishing controller, and then the fact that some people would want Ally McBeal made

into a game...l didn't know if any of those could be real.

But then | stumbled upon the GameShortz review. All the hints were there:

What do you

want to see love to see a battle against in the new Darth Sidious or Darth Maul. Ferrincm@aol.com Star Wars: A The original vector graphics Episode І arcade game hidden inside. games? trex8me@netscape.net

A playable Obi-Wan Kenobi or Anakin Skywalker. | would also

the price ($41.99=4/1/99), the praise it receives, and the fact that it is not quite obvious what it does. If you had only bought the www.madpropz.com domain you really could have fooled us all! Kent Phillips kaphilli@truth.mccallie.org

It didn’t occur to us to register the URL until after we went to print. Damn our useless brains!

First it was Sheng Long. | remember arcade owners offering players $100 in tokens if they could reveal him. Then it was the infamous GoldenEye hoax that had many gamers spending countless hours trying to open up the different Bonds. Now in 1999, millions of kids will be begging their parents for the hottest game accessory ever: the sensual GameShortz. || take a Dreamcast for my work in revealing this sick joke.

mcrc@fortwayne.infi.net

You will get nothing and like it!

The April Fools’ joke has got to be the GameShortz. If it isn’t, could you hook me up with a pair?

headbangers69@juno.com

Sorry! There’s only one GameShortz, and we're using it.

Oh Brother

For those of us interested in checking out Choaniki: Great Brother [editor's note: the fruity homosexual PlayStation shooter mentioned іп EGM Letters, issue #115], where can we find a copy of the game?

You guys haven't even shown us a screenshot. Why not? After all, you printed screenshots from Atlus' Thousand Arms, the RPG with heterosexual dating. Ugh! Why aren't the gay games getting equal coverage? There are thousands of gay gamers other than myself out there, who would be interested in buying any gay game we could get our hands on, good or bad. I’m sure there aren't as many, but you finally told us (although indirectly) that there is at least one, so how about full coverage of it?

Monroe White steelnylonsQyahoo.com

An adventure game like Zelda with full freedom of travelling on and between planets.

god. 9999Фуаһоо.сот

Substance and visual dazzle.

Most Star Wars games only

have dazzle. arasera@panam1.panam.edu

| want to see Ewoks! Cute, cuddly, shootable Ewoks! DMKMGS@aol.com [Konami did with] MGS.

It needs multiplayer!!! blaze192@yahoo.com

letters

Got a game-specific question for our resident ninja? Write him at: Sushi-X P.O, Во 38 Oak Brook, IL 605 e-mail: sushi_x

I was wondering if you knew whether the Final Fantasy ІУ-МІ compilation your magazine casually mentioned in issue #116 had any chance of coming stateside. I'd gladly pay at least $100 for this collection.

StrikerX@aol.com

Square EA will be bringing Final Fantasy Anthology (containing FFV and VI, the latter being what we called FFIII in the U.S.) here for the PlayStation later this year. | don’t know why they won't be including FFIV іп the package, but | intend to find out!

What’s going on with Earthbound 64? DeMoNThUgY@aol.com

It’s been confirmed for the cartridge format, but the proposed 64DD version looks unlikely.

Whatever happened to the N64 Kirby game that was supposed to be out at the same time the system was released? I'm assuming it was tossed out...

LuvinPlats@aol.com

Yov're right. Kirby’s Air Ride is gone baby, but there is a new Kirby game in the works from Nintendo.

Hey Sushi! Your letters column should be longer. Heck, it’s only one page long! Shovisa@skyinet.net

Eeeek! Don’t give anyone any ideas. I have my hands full as it is. This month and last, they gave me a break since they needed my page for more previews. You won’t see me complaining! :)

I'm hoping LucasArts does something innovative, like

JuraiKing@aol.com

Princess Leia in a bikini. JarJar2002@aol.com

Га like to see a 10-minute

FMV of Natalie Portman as

Queen Amidala. marc17@hotmail.com

Next Month’s Question of the Moment: What does Sega need to do to compete with PlayStation 2? Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@zd.com with the subject heading: COMPETE

ЖАМА

STAY ШЇ STEP AHEAD

5 UNIQUE GAME WORLDS AND 136 CHALLENGING LEVELS! 4

LODE RUNNER 15 BALK! "Y

Only this time, it's been transformed: into а deep, challenging 3-D puzzle adventure for all ages! Enter the mad Emperor Monk's realm and maneuver between 5 worlds with your specially modified LR-29 combat transport. Recover the stolen gold, explode a few bombs and collect some gems along the шау. Eliminate the Emperor Monk, and return to Earth alive. Check it out at

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qu ODE an 2 UNNEDM ;

Inc. and Banpresto © 1999 Infogrames seal, Nintendo 64 and

ШТ!

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FOR ORDERS CALL 1-877-INFOGRAMES

We'd love to show you some screenshots, but unfortunately, our office copy of Choaniki got lost (stolen?) during our move from Lombard to Oak Brook. We'll try to get another copy from Japan, but it's an older game which may be hard to find. If we do, we'll be sure to show you exactly what a gay shooter looks like, as per your requests!

[Regarding Choaniki: Great Brother] | think America is missing out on a great game. So what if the gameplay sucks, and the men are humping each other in Speedos...the idea of giant penis weapons rocks! This country is lacking video games with giant penis weapons used to smite the enemies. Bring us coverage of this overseas jewel. | just want to see one screenshot of this game in action. You have to expand our culture with this protein-enriched game.

Mark Tyree marktyree@hotmail.com

Ewww.

Only The Lonely

| picked up the March issue of EGM, and turned to the story about Mario Party. What | found shocked me. Every guy except John Ricciardi had a woman clinging at his side. This was disturbing. Why couldn’t you guys just kick down a few extra bucks and hire a high-quality “stand-in” for him too? It’s the least you could do. | mean, look at the picture on page 116...he’s holding his controller high, in a victory stance. But look deeper, further into his eyes...what do you see? | think there's genuine pain there... Does this have something to do with the Bikini Ricciardi pic? Should we be worried about him? Should we urge him to import more than just video games? Jeremy Flessing hazama@gport.com

First of all, those women аге а lot more expensive than any hired “stand-ins” could possibly be...those are our wives and girlfriends. Second, Ricciardi seems perfectly happy without a local steady.

“All the more money for memory cards,” he always says. (We say “local” because he seems to know a lot of hot girls from

the greater Niagra Falls area.)

Congratulations to Alisha Gerard and Ilan Meighan of Brooklyn, МУ. Last month, Alisha proposed to Ilan through EGM Letters. After the issue came out, she called to tell us what happened. Apparently, Ilan screamed out loud after seeing his name (and the proposal) in EGM while reading it

at work (a very appropriate place to be

reading EGM, by the way), then called

Alisha right away to give a resounding

“yes.” We're happy for the both of

them. Let’s just hope these two rabid EGM fans don’t name any of their kids after Sushi-X...

Hey...ya wanna work at EGM?

The Ziff-Davis Video Game Group is looking for a pair of visual journalists to join us here in lovely Oak Brook, Illinois. If you like video games and can create cool Quark pages like there's no tomorrow, get your stuff together and send it to us. Here are the positions:

Responsibilities include: planning and creating each month's cover and setting the overall visual tone of the magazine. This person will work with a pool of page designers and editors to create strategy pages which include easy-to-read maps and info our readers use to beat their favorite video games.

Associate Art Director: Electronic Gaming Monthly Responsibilities include: page design and layout, feature page design, making photo and illustration assignments and washing Cy Wochok's vintage automobile every Saturday.

Both positions require solid Quark, Photoshop, color scanning and picture toning skills; Adobe Illustrator a plus.

This is your chance to work in a really, really fun atmosphere with very strange but friendly people. Please send a résumé, cover letter and five non-returnable work samples ASAP to the address below:

Meg Krida Senior Human Resources Manager Job Code: AD-MK 10 President's Landing Medford, MA 02155

Where creativity, your favorite video game and a stamp can make you immortal!*

Letter Art

Close, but no controller

Gabriel Echaveste Ventura, CA

Congratulations, your prize is on the мау—ап ASCII Specialized Control Pad for the PlayStation. It features rapid-fire controls for all buttons and slow motion for those intense moments.

Chao Sen Chen Brooklyn, NY

Adam Ross Hyde Park, MA

The ASCII Control Pad

Put your creative skills to the lest by decking out a #10 envelope (the long business type) with your own unique touch. Send your letter art to:

EGM letter Art

РО, Box 3338 Пак Brook, IL 60522-3338

(All entries become the property of ZD Inc. and will not be returned!)

“Or at least

your name in the magazine

ЕЈ OUCH JI 0 r 7 5 ОЁ А BO! OND His КЕШ HAND

IDLE HANC

The comedy that gives horror films the backhand.

AT THEATRES SOON

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“everything the previous game

was and more...an incredible gaming experience. | ^ -EGM

ЕСІГІ hetter-a F odder- than the original.” - Official Playstation Magazine

“Exoddus easily earns a place among the PlayStation best this year."

- GamePro

ША че and pluses that» will delight all the old fans and the countless new ones.”

- GameFan

* “combines stunning graphics and engrossing gameplay.”

(x x * * out of four) - USA TODAY

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d Ru 85.

Flesh-eating Fleeches! Undead

; . Mudombies! Bone-grinding Greeters!

Tons of cool new ques ups! Invisibility! Healing powers! And.more!

Abe gets all етонопа! Моге panic! More talking! More pleading!

Бае the Mudokons and save your game anywhere!

Available at your local retail store paian ect at www.gtstore.com or call 1-800-610-GTIS

5

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Aware Lifeforms In Virtual Entertainment

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L 4 t6 PlayStation 6 (RO M|

X ponia О ин енесіз ке NI а све HMM ei н ла Distributed by GT Interactive Sof п logos are regist

PlayStation and the PlayStatio d trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc. Oddworld Inhabitants Logo is а trad

а A Ы I E WOR 10 GT Interactive p Software sae А.

ae B Designed by the Italians.

NO wonder it's attracted to anything with curves.

EVERYONE

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RARIOGE RACER TYPE 47% ©. 1998 Namco Lid. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Süny Computer Entertaioiment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

"The first great racer of 1999 could be a Gran Turismo Killer" - Official PlayStation Magazine, February 1999

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о) 15 л E С] с. ie

It is speed incarnate. Its sexy sheet metal restrains à 3000 cc power plant that hits O-190 mph in the snap of a linguini. It is the Bisonte - just one of the automotive marvels that scorch the streets in R4. With over ЗОО new cars, 45 fantas- tic models, 8 thrilling courses, a 2-player split-screen mode and only one way to drive. Fast. R4’s asphalt gulping graphics and spectacular racing environments deliver racing speeds that were once deemed impossible. But not anymore. Мом you've got R4.

Ciao, baby.

RIDGE RACER TYPE 4

Think fast. Drive faster.

namco

WWW. niamco. corn

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"R4 has to be the best-looking PlayStation racer ever (yes, edging out even Gran Turismo). - Official PlayStation Magazine, December 1998

* Sensational graphics and lighting effects give every race a cinematic feel

* Race at all times of day and night, even during dramatic sunsets

* Relive your greatest moments through the dynamic-camera replay mode.

* Watch your race with all-new motion- blur effects

* Battle head-to-head in split-screen vs. mode

* Speed-tuned physics keep the arcade-style action fast-paced

* Championship performances unlock secret hidden supercars

* Don't be afraid to bump the other car, it's all part of a winning strategy

* Join one of four international race teams - each with individual strengths and weaknesses

* Design original logos to customize your car

* Race on | gorgeous 2з cityscape, = countryside and racetrack = courses `

• Money can’t buy victory. You’ve got to earn new cars with your race performance

• Experience all the ups and downs of a full racing season in the Grand Prix mode

* Includes a Ridge Racer Turbo Моде bonus disc with 8 БО FPS tracks

=

| =

PlayStation

By Chris Johnston chris johnstonQzd.com

The hottest gaming news on the planet

PlayStation Part Deux

arch 2, 1999 will go down in history as one of the most significant days in the

history of video gaming as the day Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced the technical specifica- tions of the "next generation" PlayStation. Presented before a crowd of nearly 2,000 journalists and third-party licensees from around the world, SCEI showed what the new hardware can do

while at the same time providing an

insight into Sony's strategy for

PlayStation over the next few years.

Commonly referred to as PlayStation 2, Sony has refused to assign it a name just yet. “Тһе name of the next system is not decided." explained SCEI boss Mr. Tokunaka. *We have a good idea, but nothing yet. Naming products at Sony has been a big issue for

50 years, and there were some peo-

ple even at the top level who had some strong reservations about the name PlayStation." It's clear that PlayStation 2 will be upon us very soon—SCEI says the machine will launch in Japan this coming winter before March 2000, and in the U.S. and Europe in the fall of 2000. As you look on the following pages, you'll notice there are no pictures ofthe actual hardware—that's because Sony has not yet decided what the external look of the next machine will be.

At the core of the new PlayStation is a set of two extreme- ly advanced chips—the “Emotion Engine," which is the world's first 128-Bit CPU, and the Graphics Synthesizer, a highly advanced graphics rendering chip (for the technical details of these two processors, check out the Specs sidebar on the next page).

The Emotion Engine is very much the heart of the new machine and integrates all manner of technical wizardry that allows the machine to

not only process its socks off, but also decode MPEG2 images (the standard used