=e. Final Fantasy Movie Details Inside Nintendo 64 • PlayStation * Dreamcast * Handhelds * Arcade 2 / Pages · Launch | <| / How It у Change J. IC Forever ` Games Inside: | Final Fantasy МИ. · Metal Gear Solid Integral Turok: Rage Wars Rainbow" Six Soul сапы Tomb Raider: The Last Revelat i Ecco The Dolphin- Tekken Tag Pokemon Snap WCW Mayhem PlayStation www.playstation.com It's ape anarchy and it's up to you to stop their banana-fueled mayhem. You'll hunt down over 200 unruly apes, you'll drive a Tank, steer a Remote Control Car, you'll even launch an aerial attack in a propeller-powered Skyflyer. You'll use plenty of anti-ape devices, like a primate-pun- ishing Stun Club, a simian Slingshot and Monkey Radar. Plus, it's the first and only 3D game that fully utilizes the Dual Shock" analog controller. Prepare yourself, things are about to get hairy. "Or other official PlayStation brand or licensed controllers featuring the "Analog Control" icon. Analog mode only. May not function or performance may Entertainment America Inc. 61999 Sony Compute apes were harmed in the making of this advertisement. As for the truck driver, that's a different story. You better get them before they get you. vary with other controllers. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Ape Escape is a trademark of Sony Computer >> BREAKAWAY SPEED Buckle up for the fastest gameplay ever. Lightning T moves, bullet throws and DB's with afterburners. i я Cine E Tore reo f РО РОЙ os ет d Sory Compu Ermer e Tha rng: can ea Paro ТЕ ree О Sore Aen >> SICK MOVES Besides Cyber Barry, your arsenal includes hot routes, one-handed grabs and breakable wrap tackles. FL Pe трат отт СУ rare EO атаа О моли rd A oper NFL тан ro) a cem ре Ne Foza лад, ran Fe co al TS. Pa EA SPORTS cos Une ae baer ile EN chori vs n re US ander ес А путы senec Ова: стега Prod of PLAYERS NC ©1999 PLAYERS >> MASSIVE COLLISIONS i /g It's an all-out assault with make-the-cut multi-player franchise builder and zebra-free arcade mode. 7 { 4 (др HHH.eüsPOFis.com EDITORIAL The Biggest Launch In History? By John Davison • john davisonGzd.com an you tell that we're pretty excited about the Dreamcast? After months of speculation, and a host of not terribly impressive showings in Japan, it seems that Sega of America has its act more than together for 9/9/99. There are 24 games set for day one (as we go to press) and there's hardly a duff one on the list. Having spent a lot of time with the guys at Sega, and having sent reporters out to game stores around the country we can “America is ready for the Dreamcast. from underneath the DC, but one look at Soul Calibur is usually enough to make people feel better about things. The power of the system really is incredible, and after playing many of the impressive launch games, it does make going back to grainy-looking PlayStation games pretty hard for a while, Our huge feature also covers some ground that we've not been able to talk about before, with a lot of focus on Sega's online strategy. Гай goes and the Dreamest is геайу for America.” report, with hands on hearts, that America is ready for the Dreamcast...and the Dreamcast is ready for America. Judging from the responses to our online surveys, to our Question of the Moment on the Letters page, and to the questions we posed to people in the street, there is an overwhelming feeling that this thing 15 going to be big. Sure, everyone has reservations because of Sega's history (32x, Sega CD...) and а lot of you seem concerned that PlayStation 2 and Dolphin are going to come in and pull the carpet according to plan, the Dreamcast should be significant as more than just a games machine. There's а good chance that it will change the way home users access the Internet. It's cheap, effective and fast. and when you factor in some of the ideas for the huge multiplayer games due next year, Sega may well get more people on- line than Apple did when it launched the iMac. System launches are always exciting...but this one is moreso than most. Sega is returning, and it's make or break time. John Davison and EGM, Affectionately referred to as “The Milkman” or “Milky young James has been writing for EGM for some time now. A native of New York, he's currently the owner of a bar, a car, a ferret, a large collection of import games and every game system known to man. He can drink 24 cans of Squirt in three days. fae Sy nt Printed in the USA. Gary Mollohan Previously assistant editor for the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and now а contributor for his former employer, www.videogames.com vast knowledge takes in all things “hip,” and he loves wrestling. So we let him write about it. Every month. x R Andrew ‘Wildman’ Pfister Young Andrew is our editorial intern at the moment...which basically means he gets to be our video game love slave for a few months before we send him back to school. Like Silent Bob, he doesn't say much, but when he does it's of the very deepest significance. He knows his stuff too. Which is very helpful. ELECTRONIC С Number 12.9 GAMINC September 1999 Group Publisher. Dale Strang Editorial Director Т.Е Рилке joe funki@ed.com Editor in Chief John Davison • john. davison: Managing Editor о end jean Hager $ dean _hager@zd.com Features Edar a Tispin Boyer e crispin_boyer@z<. Tricks Editor Terry Minnich tricks@zd.com West Coast Editor ‘Wataru Maruyama е wat_maruyama@z Creative Director "Michael Stassus « mstassust@zd.com Senior Art Direct Cyril Wochok Art Director Andrew Burwell e andrew. burwelldzd com. Associate Art Jim Cordan: TOKYO BUREAU Mic Entertainment Stuart Ley CEO s Bureau Chief Matthew Galgan, Producer Kiyomi Fukuyama, Editorial Manager Yutaka Ohbuchi, Japanese Correspondent Managing Copy Editor Jennifer nesses Copy tor "Gary Steinman Production Director Carlos Lugo. Production Manager. Dennis Fitzgerald Prepress Manager Dave McCracken Production Assistant ‘Chris Melody Project Leader Mark Lefebvre • mark. lefebireQad com. Analyst сон Parus Vice President/2D Game Group Dale Stran Business Director Cathy Bendoff Yale Counsel ‘Obert Kabat Circulation Director Joan Mclnerney Circulation Director Shirley Viel Senior Newsstand Sales Manager боп Galen ‘SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER: 203.565 8920 (U5, ONY) Subscription Service Web Site: Тир: /subsciive.egmmag,com/service уйі wochok@zd.com Cor a В up Bee oes o ere REO E wid MUT pp ve een National Sales Manager, Northwest м ШЕ ГА, © ед калп. И те E LM о. пан олаи ыу ет кош аы о Marketing. Manager E Founder Steve Harris aye) Ai NOW ON THE АОН GAME CONSOLE OH MY GOD! IT'S COMING RIGHT AT YOU! ‘SOUTH PARK IS HEADING TO THE PLAYSTATION GAME CONSOLE! WERE TALKIN’, BIG EVIL CLONES, KILLER COMETS, ALIENS -AND ONE INCREDIBLY FAT A**! ‘ONLY YOU CAN KEEP SOUTH PARK SAFE! Dozens of sweet environments without any lame, tree-hugging hippies! Нез not Fat- [With this new Cow-Launcher, people will HOWDY HO your way through He's 3-Dimensional! really respect your AUTHORL-TAH! ‘mega multi-player action! WARNING AXI ama кесгин «Ё aim SRR Wwwiseclalm»net www comedycentral com TM & © 1999 Comedy Cental All Rights Reserved. ® & © 1999 Acclaim Entertainment, ис. Al Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks af Sony Computer Entertainment Ie. Nintendo the Oficial Seal, Nintendo B4 and the 3-0 "E" lago are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1996 ietende of America lc Screen shots were taken Irom the PlayStation version of the viden yame. ag re Е заш А x GbwbwY gbmowy x мои ж моил e CONTENTS September 1999 Issue 122 Game Directory j Features Departments @ Editorial 6 @ Letters 20 ® News 34 an's return to the recording , and an interview with the people behind bleem! ® Gossip 50 15 PS2 going to be much more than just a video game machine? Also, DC versions of hit PS games. The Dreamcast Is Here Sega predicts that the Dreamcast Previews 60 launch on Sept. 9 will mark the most profitable 24 hours in history. ^ ight. 5 entertainment history. And they're probably right. But we as well as WOW Mayhem and know many of you are still unsure of Sega's system. Our i 93 saaa Rainbow Six on N64, and FF VIII, aa Mt Mer равни soccer 2000 massive cover feature will help you decide whether to buy CTR and Tomb Raider: The Last one of these dream machines or wait for the next round of Revelation on PlayStation. superconsoles. It starts on page 168. © Powertools 206 mee Review Crew 210 Mario Golf, Command & Conquer and Pokémon Snap оп №64, plus Driver and Sled Storm on PS. Destruction Derby 64 Detonator Gauntlet Driver she Nukem; Zero Hour 2000 ne Ecco the Dolphin. Esplon-Ae-Wts Evil Zone Fatal Fury. wia Ambition D Fighting Force 2 Final Fantasy Vi 150 Genny- 98 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Photo by Rafael Fi Tons of DC previews this month, 117 NH Championship 2000 ИП ин Faceott 2000 150 Oreshika 218 Pac-Man special Color Edition 218 Pokemon Pinball Turok: Rage Wars is а wonderful way to vent Review Archive 220 your aggression. pg 96 © Get Some 230 @ The Final Word 234 15 the high cost of de Final Fantasy МИ destroying innovation in preview pg 104 design? The crew d Wastration by Lisa Bad + Sloe МИР Why are these big-headed Hollywood freaks dressed up like Final Fantasy characters? pg 34 Spawn 118 бруто 2: iplo Rage штап 86 спев номег Alpha 3 ‘Street 88 Те King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999 ts T8 The ew tems z Hi Washer Skate and Destroy n © © Dreamcast ЕЯ El 1 Nintendo 64 % № >. PlayStation 5 By > TES ха = ame Boy Color H = E & Arcade МИ mack Govert Operations кў эша — J [8 n Si Mona Senes tm 10. to 1o ean Pl We love America, pg 206 коп art by E] HieroGraphiX Productions / www.HGX.com 10 1999 FALL COLLECTION ECKOUNLIMITED z : Sega |j k |" * Get your mission briefing at ШО ш sega пгеатсаст” expLore отпозаиг тапа as еште sea rescue organization тетвег ELIOT вацаре or Former Heavy weapons expert 0095 Bower. soLve puzzles, swim, CLIMB, FIGHT, jump, crawt апо east тнгоибн more THAN 230 геашеттс 3-0 LOCATIONS: Loan Up WITH нт-тесн super Bazookas, garLing guns ano acto вгазтег5 against 51 menacing monsters WITH unique moves of arrack. uncover THe secret Of отпозацг т5гапо, ACTIVISION WWW.acTIVIston.com Sega 1 1558 SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTO. Sega, Sega Dreamcast nd lu stinger are trademarks of SEGA. Та game В licensed for use with Ihe Soga Dreamcast system oniy: Published aod distributed by Activision, Int Живея ва ври trademark Activison, есе ratings кл а дела с e Interactive Dig Software Association TAN rights reserved. AI other trademarks and trade names are properties of ther respective owners. MATURE я! ‘Dreamcast. "m ultimate motocross simulation!" - PlayStation Magazine Championship. Motocross "Ricky Carmichael =» PlayStation е GET REAL! • Proprietary “Real Motocross Dynamics” system – The first PlayStation® game console game with realistic motocross physics • 2 time AMA Nationals Champion Ricky Carmichael - Race as or against the future of motocross • High flying stunts and aggressive pack racing action • 6 play modes from Championship to Head-to-Head • Over a dozen realistic tracks including motocross, Supercross and enduro • True weather effects actually influence bike and rider performance • 9 customizable dirt bikes • Adrenaline-pumping soundtrack hipmotocross.com athe THO go are при vadenarks ol Croc races into action in а go-kart, Croc hurries along pathways, Croc picks up and throws hang glider, speedboat, mine cart and scurries below them. objects to discover hidden clues! and a hot air balloon! ZANM Croc’s back inan exciting new adventure as he searches for his long lost parents. But the search soon becomes а showdown as Croc’s archenemy, Baron Dante, is magically resurrected by his evil Dantinis. Join Croc’s journey as he explores over 40 levels within four Gobbo tribe villages, each packed with unique Gobbos, mischievous monsters, and tons of fun! E Paysiaton | Letters to the Editors Are girls better physically at games than guys are? | mean, are they better equipped to beat the Bowsers, Dr. Wilys and Robotnicks of the world than Тат? | used to think | was pretty good at games but then | met my “significant other" who promptly beat me at StarFox and is now kicking my butt at WaveRace. Is she just better equipped physically or do | just suck? | don't think games should start being tailored for girls...girls just need to start playing more games. If they would just try it they'd like it. Maybe it's just a case of games not being ip” for girls to play. | hope not because it would be a sad world if that was the case and | think not because all of my chick friends play games and love them. Maybe they should start more advertising campaigns directed at female gamers or placing ads in more “chicky” magazines. | really hate it when she beats me but | like it too...it keeps me competitive and | like having an opponent | hate and love at the same time. tolkiené4@yahoo.com OK, Рт writing because my boyfriend (e-mail: tolkiené4@yahoo.com) just told me that he wrote and asked you guys if “girls are physically equipped better than guys” (or something like that) to play video games. He griped that | beat him at Starfox and WaveRace (he didn’t mention countless other games). Well, not just beat him— kicked the crap out of him. That's such a load of bull, just because I'm as good at video games, if not better, than him (or, in general, any guy, but this is specifically aimed at him for now) Congratulations. You win an InterAct controller. You will be receiving а Barracuda (PS), an Eclipse Stick (SAT) or a SharkPad Pro 64 (N64). See page 241 for official rules. Will the Dreamcast save Sega? Only time will tell, but from the way things are going already, | think | know. Many might have hoped for a great system from Sega, but what they got was a product with many flaws, and a competitor that had it beat in every department. After a few years, Sega threw in the towel, and began to Unless something is done, the dream а Cast will become a nightmare.” concentrate its efforts on making a next-gen system that would come out before Sony and Nintendo could put anything new on the market. They succeeded, but at what cost? Sega’s new system will come out earlier than all the other systems, but it will still be at a disadvantage. Not only will PlayStation 2 and Dolphin be better than Dreamcast, they will be light-years ahead. Sega gets little help In truth Chris, you're probably being a little melodramatic. As this month's cover feature illustrates, the Dreamcast is the most exciting thing to happen to video gaming for a couple of years. Sure, the Р52 and the Dolphin will be more powerful doesn’t mean it's only because I'm “better equipped” which, by the way, I'm not. He should accept that I'm a good player, and that the ass-kicking he received was given fairly, by practice and hard work alone. | just thought that if you printed his letter, this would be a nice follow-up from a female perspective. And if you do happen to find out that females are better equipped, it would be good for my side of things if you withheld it. Rachel Richison maurge@yahoo.com LETTER OF THE MONTH by coming out early, and that was possibly their only advantage. Sega is also probably hoping that by remaking games like Ecco The Dolphin, and releasing new versions of Sonic The Hedgehog they can get support from long-time Sega gamers. This might help a little, but the problem is that the long-time Sega gamers are the people Sega hurt the most when they released the Saturn. Many might not want to take a chance on Sega again. If the recent polls mean anything, Sega is really in trouble. Interest in the System is down now that Sony and Nintendo have. announced their new systems, and gamers would rather wait a year than spend their money on a system that promises little in the future. Unless something is done, the dream Sega cast will become a nightmare. Chris Vinyard teeboo1Qaol.com machines but the games Sega is bringing us this year all look superb. Can we suggest you stop worrying about the past and just enjoy the games? They are, after all, what is most important. Playing online 15 going to be a blast. We're not entirely sure what you might mean by being “better equipped” but we do know that guys and girls are better at different kinds of games. In a lot of psychological studies conducted over the years it has been proven that girls are better at spatial reasoning tasks than most guys (and this is somewhat proven by most women's amazing abilities with games like Tetris and Bust-A-Move). On the flip side, guys tend to (generally) have somewhat quicker reaction times. This isn't always the ON ВЕ ° V. х ace ) У, case though—and there are a lot of girls out there who can kick anyone's ass at a range of games. Just check out the Quake community on the PC. To be completely honest with you Rachel it looks like you whupped your boyfriend's ass fair and square, and he never did give us his name so we could address him directly. Good for you. There are a lot of like-minded girls out there who you might want to hook up with. Check out our friend Nikki Douglas’ Web site, www.grrlgamer.com for chat, news and editorial aimed fairly and squarely at girls just like you. Тат disgusted with your magazine's bias against Sega. In your latest issue, you praise Nintendo and Sony for systems that not only have you never played, but you've never even seen! Disgusting! ls this what you call journalistic integrity? Informing your readers without bias? Inexcusable! | will NEVER buy, borrow or read another issue of your has-been publication, and I'm not the only one. piccolog@tampabay.rr.com Go away, grow up and come back and have another go when you have something more mature to offer. You're going to miss out this month if you really do feel so strongly. We've got more Dreamcast coverage this month than EGM has ever given to any system at a launch. As for the Sony and Nintendo machines...if you read our articles in recent months closely, you'll know that we have played games on the PlayStation 2—we were some of the only people in the world to get hands-on time with Gran Turismo for the system back in March. As for Nintendo's machine, we simply reported on what can only be described as a very exciting prospect. Perfect Game? Тат so psyched about Perfect Dark. 1 read your preview 10 times. Me and my buddy went up to our local video game store and bought a Game Boy Camera just for the upcoming game. “He should accept that Гта good player, and that the ass-kicking he received was given fairly, by practice and hard work alone.” “lam so psyched about Perfect Dark. 1 read your preview 10 499 The number of letters we received this month, simply commenting about the Dreamcast. Our “Question of the Moment” inspired another 500 more. The possibilities are endless, you could play as any character in the world — your neighbors, the president and just about anything you could think of. But the thing that gets to me is the quality of the picture. Have you seen the results of a face map? Does it look blurry, undetailed or any problems? Ken Carbonaro fuelsunburn@juno.com From what we've seen so far, the system looks to work really well. What makes the difference though is the fact that the game includes a simple paint package that allows you to make your face look however you want. Once the image is imported from the Game Boy Camera, you choose a body to attach it to, and then you can adjust the coloring accordingly. Once you've done this you can alter the hairstyle, add glasses or scars...or even weird face paint if you have a wrestler fetish. The end result should look just as. effective as the image of the lovely Joanna Dark above. Love Is In the Air Last month you guys said you hope that the “survival horror” genre doesn't get milked like most other genres, and I wholeheartedly agree. What | find upsetting is that here in the U.S. there is one genre that hasn't even gotten the chance to be “milked” yet. What do | refer to? Love sims. One of the most addicting genres | have found to date, In case you haven't heard of them, the object of most of these games is to either fall in love or get somebody else 22 Question of the Moment Are you going to buy а Dreamcast оп 9/9/99? If not why not? With Sega’s dominance in the arcade market and video game know-how, what's the worst that can happen? kirving@shrike.depaul.edu No, why should | spend $200 on a system that they're going to leave a year later? | bought the 32x, for about $200, lifetime about a year. Bought a Sega CD for about $200, lifetime about a year. Bought a Saturn $400, lifetime about a couple of years. Notice the trend? sonypsxrocks@yahoo.com Yes. Duh? Whoever is going to wait for the PlayStation 2 is stupid. littlelooch@yahoo.com I'm not going to buy a Dreamcast right when it comes out. | think Рт going to wait for the first price cut to see if Sega has what it takes to win me back after the whole Saturn thing dizzydroneGaol.com It looks like the sweetest game system ever. Robb Isaacs Robb, 64Ghotmail.com Yes, | already pre-ordered the Monster. Say bye-bye blurry graphics and hello detail. andrew53189@ yahoo.com Next Month’s Question of the Moment: Which superhero would you most like to see ina video game? Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@zd.com with the subject heading: Superhero gg tunes . com Rap Rolling Stone Review Contests Check it out. Tunes.com is for real. Theres over a million song clips, 85,000 artist profiles, 1000 music videos, the hottest MP3s and tons of content created with ныз DOWN BEAT Its the ultimate stop on the Web for music. Hit it at www.tunes.com Kid Rock appears courtesy of Lava/Atlantic Records. Photo by Joseph Cutie Е am LETTERS to fall in love with you. Sound boring... HELL NO! One game in particular is Tokimeki Memorial which | recently got for the SNES. The only problem is that | can't find any English versions anywhere so l'm forced to play a great game | can't even understand...but there is the best part. You don't have to understand the game to be addicted to it. т hoping this letter will shed a little exposure on this neglected genre in hopes an English version will someday make it here. You know what | mean? Right? Justin Torres jjatkwGexecpc.com Our boy Chris Johnston is with you on this one, but we're pretty sure most U.S. publishers will let this phenomenon remain uniquely Japanese. Shawn = Kurt? Is it just me or does Shawn look like the late, great Kurt Cobain with his long hair and goatee? sarah_rose21@yahoo.com I've heard this before. True, 1 do enjoy fumbling with a guitar and true, | sing Nirvana songs sometimes, but... a) I've never used heroin b) long hair and goatees are quite common (John D. can attest to this). 50 think that pretty much clears things up. —Shawn You're also not dead. Which is fairly important. Megabits or Megabytes? | just read your Resident Evil 2 preview in issue #121 and all | have to say is, “HUH?” You said that RE2 is 64 megabytes, twice the size as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. —John D "Tm forced to playa great game 1 can't even understand." Chao Sen Chen Brooklyn, NY PlayStation. It controls for all buttons and slow motion for those intense moments. Congratulations, your prize is on the way- an ASCII Specialized Control Pad for the features rapid-fire You can write ЕСМ at EGM Letters P.0. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 e-mail: EGM@zd.com If l'm not mistaken Zelda was 256 megabytes and there has been many others that were 128 and 256 megabytes. So what's the deal? ryan maassenGhotmail.com When we said that RE2 would be а 64MB cart...this means that it would actually be 5:2 megabits. If you recall your computer science classes at School, a byte is equal to eight bits (a bit being simply either a one or a zero)...therefore one megabyte is eight megabits. Scale it up, and there’s the reason for the confusion. Why are carts measured in megabits? We guess it's because it sounds more impressive! You guys really goofed this time. In the Resident Evil feature in last month's art to: Please note: We reserve the rigi correspondence for space purposes. your name, city/state or e-mail address зо (but please include your phone numb address for Letter of the Month conside it any don't want d d mailing issue, you erroneously printed “Sherry Wong.” She was actually the daughter of the scientist who developed the G- Virus. Her last name was “Birkin.” Thomas Stefanski tsefanski@earthlink.net Crispin has been punished severely for his factual slip-up. He has been forced to play Superman for extended periods of time without breaks. All 176 of you who e-mailed us...thank you. You may stop now. • Number of e-mails about Dreamcast: 995 • Number of people complaining about Sega bias: 4 * E-mails about Shawn: 3 • Number of people who ignore basic spelling and grammar rules when writing to us: A lot The ASCII Control Pad Put your creative skills to the test by decking out a #10 envelope (the long business type) with your own unique touch. Send your letter EGM Letter Art PO Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 (All entries become the property ‘of 20 Inc. and will not be returned!) Close, but no controller Bad luck to these guys...better luck next time. Feel free to e-mail us artwork as well. More of our messages are e-mails these days-so don't miss out! Christopher DeGuzman, Aurora, CO 24 Marcus Dillard, Hollywood, FL THIS IS THE HEART. мт D = = Sega Dreamcast. THIS IS THE SOUL, It's the game that will turn you into a proud owner of the Sega Dreamcast! Soul Calibur pits weapon-wielding warriors from around the globe in the definitive fighting game (namco’) experience. One that Next Generation calls “the new benchmark by which all other games will be judged.” Soul Calibur from Namco. Sweet Dreamcasts are made of this. xe NFL dut] QUARTERBACK 2, CLUB. All-new player models feature Artificial Intelligence designed real-life faces, eye black, hy New York Jets Offensive and breathe strips Coordinator Charlie Weis 3rd generation Ultra Hi-ReZ graphics for the ultimate in NFL realism All-new Pin-Point Passing for unprecedented control г Over 1,200 all-new. motion-captured animations including punishing wrap tackles Includes the expansion Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans debut ns A cos) we derail eet ж Nendo Antea In Sop шапка аа “АШ Ко, RI | 2 | ver 50 insane tricks. Slam to Rob Zombie, Econoline Crush, Dom & Roland, Uberzone, and E-Z Rollers. Slow down to admire the landscape and you'll be buries ELECTRONIC AR www.sledstorm.com By Chris Johnston chris_johnston@zd.com No Longer Fantasy quare's Final Fantasy series has captivated millions of gamers for years. In 2001, Square will try to work the same magic that has reeled in gamers with movie audiences. That's when Final Fantasy The Movie is scheduled to hit theaters around the world, The list of actors who will be providing voices for the movie were recently announced, and include such heavyweights as Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October) and Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible). Other cast members include Ming-na Wen (Mulan), James Woods (Contact), Donald Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), The PlayStation 2 demo of this old man, known affectionately as Charlie, is one of the characters reportedly in the FF movie. Will Donald Sutherland give him a voice? Steve Buscemi (Armageddon) and Peri Gilpin (Frasier), A lot of big names for а movie based around a video game world, eh? The $70 million project is currently under way at Square's Hawaii-based studios, although it won't be out for another two years. Don't expect to see characters you know from previous Final Fantasy games, as the movie will star a whole new cast of characters. It is expected that a game following the events of the movie will be released simultaneously, but that's still a rumor at this point. Just seeing Chocobos on the big screen will be enough to make Square fans get weak at the knees. If that's not enough Square for you, Final Fantasy VIII will hit the U.S. on Sept. 7 (just two days before Dreamcast touches down), 34 Illustration By Lisa Blackshear with Anthology following it in October. The release of Final Fantasy Anthology will not only include Final Fantasy V (never released in the U.S.) and VI (Ill in the U.S.), but also а soundtrack CD of selected favorites from both games. Square recently held a poll on its Web site to determine which songs fans wanted to see on the CD. Final Fantasy VII, arguably the PlayStation's most popular RPG to date, was recently added to Sony's lineup of Greatest Hits games. The three-CD quest can now be found wherever PlayStation games are sold for a mere $20-25. If you missed it the first time around, it might be worth playing before Final Fantasy VIII comes out. gy www.squaresoft.com Before Crash Bandicoot landed on the scene, this blocky-looking guy (called Polygon Man) was ће | first mascot for the PlayStation. He was | abandoned as the spokesperson shortly тшш It's Raining Pokémon Tron (1982) - The grandaddy of them all! Excellent story of a computer whiz who gets "inside" a mainframe to steal back the video games he created. Joysticks (1983) - Cult film | "legend" Joe Don Baker (Mitchell!) in a classic story of parents trying to put the smack down on kids playing too many video games. Cloak & Dagger (1984) - ЕЛ. Henry Thomas teams | up with Dabney Coleman for a game of espionage that turns into reality. The Last Starfighter (1985) - Arguably the best of the video game films, where an ace game player saves the universe from doom. The Wizard (1989) - Remember when Fred Savage was cool? OK, maybe not, but this movie gave people a first look at Super Mario 3. Super Mario Bros. (1993) - Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo star in this poor | attempt to bring the duo to | the big screen. Street Fighter: The Movie (1994) - Join Raul Julia (in his last movie) and Jean- Claude Van Damme in | another poorly scripted | version of a popular game. | | There's some good and bad news this month in the world of Pokémon. First, the bad. Pokémon Stadium, originally scheduled for release this October, has been delayed until March 2000. The reason for the delay? According to Nintendo, it’s to spread out the lineup of Pokémon games so fans will have something to look forward to early next year (as if Pokémon Gold and Silver aren't enough). So until then, keep training your Pokémon...as soon as you know it, it'll be March and you'll get to battle them in 30, Now the good news—along with the release of Pokémon Yellow in the U.S. on Oct. 25 Nintendo will release a special limited-edition Game Boy Color. This will only be available in a bundle with Pokémon Yellow for $109.95. The look of this particular GBC is very similar to one released earlier this year to commemorate the two-year anniversary of Pokémon in Japan. That particular one was sold only at the two Pokémon Center stores in Japan (Osaka and Tokyo) If that wasn't enough, the Pokémon album has hit store shelves. It's called Pokémon 2.В.А. Master and has 13 tracks like the show's opening theme, Pokérap, "What kind of Pokémon Are You?" "Double Trouble (Team Rocket)" and more. The songs will be featured as music videos this fall in place of the Pokérap. More good news to report along the Pokémon front. RE Demo for Dino Crisis A demo of the highly anticipated PlayStation game Resident Evil 3 Nemesis will be included on the first 500,000 copies of Capcom's Dino Crisis. Word has it that it will contain approximately the first half hour of the game. www.capcom.com New Mario for Dolphin? Nintendo recently revised its release plans in Japan, turning many of the games planned for 6400 release to cartridges (Kirby 64, Super Mario RPG 2 [known as Super Mario Adventure in the U.S.], Fire Emblem 64 and Mother 3). Absent from that list is the sequel to Mario 64, originally planned for release on the 6400. It’s now expected that the title will skip the N64 altogether, becoming a launch title for Nintendo's Dolphin, which will be released next year. www.nintendo.co.jp. Pokémon GBC (left), the Japanese Pokémon Center GBC (right) and the Pokémon TV series soundtrack. thereafter because of his gibberish-talkin' ways. Pikachu's Summer Vacation, the short movie that played along with Mewtwo Strikes Back in Japanese theaters will accompany it in the U.S. too! www.pokemon.com | Do you think the Dolphin should sport a more | high-tech took than the Nintendo 642 | No 15% | Source: videogames.com main рой results for 77/99 ———— ES Paradox Development Location: Westlake Village, Calif. Web Site: www.px.com Wu-Tang Team (from left to right): Top - Dave “Ollie” Ollman, Ben Cureton, Dana Delalla, Ben Kutcher, Kristian Hedman, Kevin Muthall. Bottom - Paul Interrante, Aaron Calta, Chris George, Christine Hsu, Peter Jefferies, James бити. Number of employees: 22 Gameography: Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (PS), Thrill Kill (PS), Shockwave Assault (Saturn/PC) and Blackthorne 32X (327). Games other team members have worked on previously: Skeleton Warriors, Pit Fighter, Brutal Sports Football, Tecmo Sports Hockey and Adventures of Batman and Robin. Most challenging aspect of making a fighting game is: Cleaning up the spilled blood! No seriously, it would have to be keeping Ben Kutcher (our Lead Designer) from adding more at Alpha milestone! The idea for Wu Tang: Shaolin Style came from: When we started working on our game engine, there were no four- player fighting games available. Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style came about when Activision approached us with the license. It worked out great because the Wu-Tang Clan's martial arts sensibility fit perfectly with the four-player concept. Our favorite game to play in the office (not by us) is: Right now, it would have to be Quake || Demo, Dungeon Keeper 2 and EverQuest. Favorite snack food(s): Fruit By the Foot and yogurt from Brian’s Deli! Music that inspires us around the office: James’ elaborate library of МРЗ”! Ranging from Vanilla Ice to A-Ha remixes, Team motto: If you can't repeat the bug, it doesn't exist. PlayStation Emulator Arrives In Stores а 3 Seemed like it would never happen, but the much- heralded PlayStation emulator bleem! has arrived on shelves in stores such as CompUSA, Fry's, Electronics Boutique, Hastings and Virgin Megastores. For $29.95 you can play PlayStation games on a moderately equipped PC (Pentium 166 MHz MMX or higher, 16MB of RAM, 2x CD ROM drive, sound card and 3 MB of HD space). If you've got a machine decked out with 3D capabilities, you can take advantage of bleem!'s 3D enhancements, which sharpen the look of game graphics so much they're unrecognizable, Programmer Randy Linden began development on bleem! a year and а half ago and teamed up with who is now bleem!'s President and СЕО David Herpolsheimer. Since the first beta was released over the Internet, bleem! has been the subject of speculation, litigation and inspiration. Sony's lawyers took issue with the emulator earlier this year, and since has filed numerous court requests for restraining orders, all of which have been denied so far Herpolsheimer told us that they're positive bleem! will emerge unscathed by Sony's axe. After turning over source code, documentation and other material, Sony has still not been able to prove that bleem! has violated any copyright laws. "We're ге; confident. It’s almost silly at this point—the attorneys feel like, there's just no point in going on. It's like, ‘we won,’ They feel really good about it. We hope that'll translate into a victory in court. But [Sony] could drag this thing out forever. | hope at some point they'll stop.” He says the company never intended Sony to see it as а threat At this point a lot of games are compatible, but there's still work to be done, and Herpolsheimer says that the product will never be “finished,” as there's always something that can be added to it. 36 Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, how it PlayStation (above) and using bleem!'s 3D abilities (below). „million units of PlayStation hardware have been sold worldwide according to Sony. A surge in European sales is credited for the jump. CN Ў looks оп а standard The company hopes to add more features to bleem! over the coming months including Dual Shock support, and Direct 3D enhancements for more of the top games. www.bleem.com < | бы ооп Шел | Г oaaao = 16 levels of all-color Nukem action, new weapons and that'll make you flip, crouch, walk killer enemies. hand-over-hand and shoot upwards! FOR YOUR GAME BOY COLOR... WWW.DUKE-NUKEM.COM “I've got Pac-Man Fever, I'm goin’ out of my mind!" Those lyrics, penned by Jerry Buckner and Gary Garcia, signified what just about every game player in the U.S. was going through in the early '805. Their album, Pac- Man Fever, contained eight songs all inspired by video games from the era where there was no such thing as a game's "ending." It began in 1981 when the two were swept up—much like the rest of the country at the time—in the Pac-Man craze. They put together the song Pac-Man Fever and began shopping it around to various record labels, but none were interested. That is, until after an Atlanta, Ga.- area DJ played it on his morning show, The fever then quickly caught on. After the song became such a hit, they found inspiration in other games as well to fill an album. "We wanted to have some great pop songs. We took the [games] that we thought were a) the most popular and b) that we could do the most with. We tried real hard to make each song different.” CBS released the record in 1982 which included the original hit and seven other songs like "Froggy's Lament,” “Ode to a Centipede” and “Do the Donkey Kong.” Each featured sound effects and/or music from the original arcade hits. Other games featured include Hyperspace, Defender, Mousetrap and Berzerk. About three years ago when retrogaming started to come back, interest in the record was renewed. “We assumed CBS would put it out, but they never did,” Buckner told us. “Then last summer, ҮН-1 contacted us because they were doing a thing on '805 groups and they did а little thing on us on ‘Where Are They Мом?" and that prompted а lot of response from people and we saw there was a really good market. So we made the decision to go in Pac-MANFEVER BUCKNER & GARCIA Got the fever? Then maybe the cure is this CD, filled with '80s-style pop tunes about video game stars of the past. “И somebody was to burst into tears as a result of experiencing a next-generation PlayStation game because of the raw power of the emotion that is inside the product and storytelling, then we will have succeeded in our jobs. and record it. It wasn't an easy decision — it was a lot of work to go back and do it and we really wanted to make it as close to the iginal as possible." Copies of the original had been selling for up to $100 on Internet auction house Ebay, so a release on CD has been just what retro gamers and nostalgia buffs have been waiting for. This summer, the two rereleased the album on CD themselves. It's available now through the duo's Web site for $15.99 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. This is just the beginning of Pac- Man's return. Namco will bring Pac-Man back to the PlayStation in a new game later this year to celebrate the 2oth anniversary of the original and Game Boy Color versions of both Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are due out by fall. His first new game since the SNES days. "The response to it has been real good. A lot of people are ordering it and they seem to be -Phil Harrison, from the latest PlayStation Underground disc Illustration By Lisa Blackshear real happy with it," Garcia said, to which Buckner adds, "We're getting a lot of comments from folks. It's a neat feeling. It's so much fun to be doing it again it was fun the first time and it's fun again." The two still write, produce and work in the recording studio. So is there a chance for a follow-up album featuring songs about today's video game stars? A Lara Croft Fever, perhaps? Buckner told us, “We've certainly kicked this idea around and talked about it, and would love to do it, We just have to see И it would make any kind of sense. What do you think?” www.bucknergarcia.com The world’s first perfect score in Pac- Man was achieved on July 3, 1999 by Florida hot sauce manufacturer Billy Mitchell. Six hours and one quarter later, the game's maximum allowable score— 3,333,360 points was complete. "it's like Neil Armstrong walking on the moon,” Mitchell (who also holds the world record on Donkey Kong) explained. “Мо matter how many people accomplish the feat afterward, it will always be Armstrong who will be remembered for doing it first.” Mitchell's record will appear in the next edition of the Twin Galaxies Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records. www.twingalaxies.com зт - AA ) wr WITH ONE ADDITIONAL ACCESSORY YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR CHAIR AGAIN. Se “Варава Software E INTRODUCING THE ULTIMATE GAMER WEB-SITE. Kick-butt info plus a mega mind blowin’ selection of stuff to buy. Just lift a finger. www.thegamestop.com Powered by Babbage’s and Software Etc. controller should feature a graphical memory card like the Dreamcast has? | | | | [mnn 7.25 oe Гео | | Source: Videogames.com poll, 6/25/99 | The 6400 Returns | Nintendo has revealed its plans forthe | 6400 in Japan, which now include it being | used to connect players to anationwide | network for downloading games, surfing | the Net, uploading scores and more. Called the EnterNet network, it’s scheduled to go live Dec. 1, barring any further delays, One of the first titles available will be the F-Zero X track editor...It's not in the manual, but the | US. version of Final Fantasy VIII will | | have PocketStation support. Sony's memory card-sized handheld won't show | | ир stateside until at least 2000, but at | least then gamers will get to utilize that | particular feature of FFVIIL.. Konami has | made it official— Metal Gear Solid is опе | of the games it plans to bring to the PC through a new partnership with Microsoft next year... Namco is currently at work on a new game in the Time Crisis series exclusively for PlayStation to be released next summer... reasure's second N64 title will hit Japan on Sept. 2. ESP will publish the shooter, called Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh. It will be limited to only 10,000 units... Dragon Quest 1 and 2 are being welded into опе Game Boy Color cartridge for release on Sept. 23 in Japan (hopefully this'll come out stateside, too!)...Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced a cellular-phone game service in Japan for the Game Boy, which will allow users to download games via their cel phone to play on the go...Star Gladiator 2 has been confirmed for a Dreamcast release...The classic 8-Bit game Blaster Master will soon be returning to consoles. A PlayStation and | Game Boy Color update of the game is in the works by Sunsoft for release in | December in both the U.S. and Japan... Acclaim Sponsors Quarterback On May 25, Acclaim Entertainment conjunction with Spalding athletic equipment and PLAYERS INC., hosted the 4th Annual NFL Players Rookie Premier, bringing together the top 32 NFL draft-picks together to play and promote Quarterback Club 2000. As it happens, EGM was the only magazine covering this event as the top game players in the draft fought for the grand prize—a 1999 BMW 23 (0075 car in GoldenEye). Among the semi-finalists who survived the initial elimination rounds were Northwestern University wide-receiver Очнаупе Bates, Ohio State cornerback Antoine Winfield, Michigan State running back Sedrick Irvin, North Carolina defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban, Tulane University QB Shaun King and University of Washington quarterback Brock Huard. We passed "ет a few questions. Here's what they had to say: EGM: What do you expect to see in your polygon selves when you're in the game? D'wayne Bates: | just want all my stats filled up to the top. Sedrick Irvin: Let me be the "go-to" guy. Brock Huard: Just make me "clutch." Ebenezer Ekuban: "6' 4", 280, 4.3 speed." EGM: Now that games like QBC 2000 are more realistic than ever, do you see any improvements that could be made? D'wayne Bates: | don’t think it can get better than this, You can feel the receivers, it’s so realistic, with your man running sideways. Ebenezer Ekuban: They need to do something with the offensive schemes, no QB is gonna run 70 yards off a bootleg. (Моје: Ebenezer lost after Brock Huard ran a bootleg for 70 Attack University of Washington QB Brock Huard shows off his football skills on Acclaim's Quarterback Club "99. Huard walked away the tournament champion. yards, eliminating him from the finals.) EGM: Do you think your knowledge of football helped you in the tournament? Brock Huard: | definitely think | had a little advantage being a quarterback. It's not a coincidence that the two finalists are QBs (Shaun King being the other one). The game was definitely exciting. When all was said and done, Brock Huard toppled all and drove off in a shiny new BMW 23 with his newlywed wife. www.acclaim.net Беда Dreamcast. — www.nfiplayers'¢om Es = Ж Eb слон ROM ИТҮЕ БАБЫ - www.midway.com 3 С LAST YEAR'S STATS: The #1 Selling Football Game for Nintendo 64 and Game Воу° Color Best N64 Sports Game —Nintendo Power Best Sports Game-of the Year —As voted by visits to www. playstation.com Sports Game of the Year ies. Dreamcast. and e Dreamcast demars of he teams cated. Ан other (МР леше marks) logo. апа Color Game Boy are trademarks of Nendo of Ame МО REFS. LES. w RU act Easytolearn arcade-style play with new "On-Fire" Mode gives super power "Icon Passing" for one touch long bombs performance to your hot, star players 13 YARD RETURN THE SUPERBOWL CHAMPION or FOOTBALL GAMES NFL Blitz" 2000 brings you all of the things you love about football and none of the things that slow it down. This ground-breaking sequel features awesome weather effects, new secret heads, and scores of new game play features. With more easytorun plays and all new animations for taunts, end zone dances, and tackles youre Larger, customized playbooks for each New 4 player mode for rerio te Qd ets поени ево team, with powerful playbook editor bruising your friends PC imáges shown, COEM EO eer, ча. E £ à E L2 5 d У, 7 | ані Ll Ша X | ШЧ ўа S 4 УСТА 40, j .. Heis coming. е8 | ја im Walking between worlds... = | | || Traveling the road of souls from Liveside to Deadsido TRE And back again, | | Е - А dead man is coming, skull in one hand, ' |] | МЕ flambeau іп the other... [5] es | а voodoo mask in his chest = 2 ` 1A and lines of power in his back, A possessed man is coming, stalking evil in tenements and deserts, F " = subways and swamps, Spirit world and real world, Shadowman is coming... To stop the Apocalypse, To save your soul. Warning: This game 3 is recommended for _ РХ - mature audiences only. It contains adult content. С дат www.acclaim:net | +. SHADOWMAN TH в © 1999 доза Enron ис А! бири Resor Acclaim, И Qro. = af America Ine. © 1096 Nintendo of America Inc. PlayStaion anc trad Y Sony Computer Entertainment, Ine. ® © 1999 Acclaim Entertainment, пс. Al Fights Reserved. AN ther ademas and pers ias of thair respective owners. Белбол shots shown wore takon trom tha PC version of the game. Pokémon was just the beginning of turning video games intro collectible card games. Precedence Entertainment plans to bring Eidos' swingin’ grave robber to cardtables everywhere in August (just in time for GenCon). The company says the Eidos and Core-approved game and planned expansion sets will capture the feel of the video game. Look for it where you buy collectible card games. www.eternity.com 1 NBA Showtime Namco 2 Т iy Титатен 4 Street Fighter ШЕ Third Strike Capcom 7 Ferrari 355 Challenge | LE 1 TIT 10 Shadow Madness, Jade Cocoon and countless Game Boy Color titles. What do these all have in common? They've all come from freshman video game publisher Crave Entertainment. EGM spoke with Nima Taghavi, CEO and founder of Crave Entertainment about the company's past, present and future. EGM: How did you get started in the video game business? Nima Taghavi: In 1981 | started selling some Atari 2600 games that | had on consignment їп a swap meet/flea market. That's how I got in the game business originally. | sold product for Atari, Intellivision, ColecoVision. In "92 | decided to come back and take the business that | had started with my father that he had carried through in the swap meet and took it out of the garage and built our company. EGM: What are some of the difficulties of being a third-party publisher today? NT: The biggest challenges are the amount of time and how much it costs to market and develop a great game EGM: Would you characterize Crave more as a company that develops and publishes its own games or one that primarily brings Japanese titles to the 0.5.2 NT: Crave is an emerging publisher, Our strategy is two-fold—we have capitalized on our relationship with other publishers to bring existing and well-recognized brands such as Gex, Asteroids and Вашегопе to formats like the №64 and Game Boy Color. We also have Japanese products and relationships where we bring products that are in development in Japan, and we also plan on establishing our own franchises long-term as well. EGM: Is it difficult now to find good Japanese products to license for the U.S.? Is there a lot of competition there? NT: There's definitely other publishers out there looking for products. One of the advantages we have is that we have a lot of fluent Japanese producers here as well as full time Japanese natives on the acquisition sides, helping us with our Japanese relationships. Further, our distribution strength outweighs а lot of the smaller publishers. So the combination of our Japanese wherewithal internally as well as our distribution strength has enabled us to really make some strategic partnerships with 46 “Companies with huge development teams think the hest use of PlayStation 2 is to fill a DVD with artwork.” -Jeremy Longley of U.K. developer Lost Toys prominent developers in Japan. Some of which haven't even been announced. EGM: What do you hope Crave's next big product will be—your Mario or Duke Nukem? NT: | think from ones that have been announced, Jade Cocoon is one we have very high expectations for. In addition to that we'll be making a couple of announcements soon, one title in particular is a Japanese title, that is going to be a very big hit for us as well. EGM: What are your plans for systems like Dreamcast, Dolphin and PlayStation 2? NT: We feel that it's our job to make great games. We will continue our efforts for every viable platform, Particularly console because we're a very console-centric company. EGM: Do you think there’s money to be made in making niche titles? NT: There's absolutely money to be made in the marketplace for hits in the niche business. A good example of that would be a game like Reel Fishing by Natsume which just recently sold over half a million units and has just become a Greatest Hits product for the PlayStation. We believe there are other niche genres in a similar vein that could have that kind of success. Are we only going to be focused on niche products? No. But are there niche products similar to Reel Fishing that we think we could position in the market and be successful? Yes, absolutely. www.cravegames.com STILL CHOOSING 0 YOUR Last-Minute DIFFICULTY == LEVEL? TFFIELLTY ETTINGS П PATHETIC Û Weak Û MEDIOCRE At the very last minute (almost literally) we got these new shots of Castlevania for Dreamcast that we had to share. Originally, this was a launch title but is currently scheduled for release in January 2000. * QUAKE Í * KINGPIN™ 245/245 215/125 3A These are screenshots of Chrono Cross-Square's long-awaited sequel to the 16-Bit RPG Chrono Trigger. Look for more on Chrono Cross and Castlevania in EGM #123. п PRESS START Koei Lands First PlayStation 2 Game The first real game announced for PlayStation 2 isn't Crash Bandicoot 4 or Gran Turismo 3. It's Koei's Kessen (which means “Decisive Battle”), a military strategy game that will feature huge real-time battles. At the announcement, Koei showed off a video, but at this time the game was not yet playable. Kessen is scheduled for release this winter, likely а launch title in Japan for the new system. Sony's PlayStation 2 will be shown for the first time at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show which takes place Sept. 17-19. www.koei.co.jp Koei's first game for PlayStation 2 is just the beginning of what we'll soon be playing. Suuare.. Nintendo. Together Again? Before the PlayStation came along, Square had a long history of being a very Nintendo- system-centric publisher. It looks like that could soon change as a recent comment made by Square's president, Tomoyuki Takechi, makes it sound like the company might once again be in Nintendo's corner. Square held an event in mid-July to allow the American press to meet with members of design teams behind future U.S. titles like Final Fantasy МИ, Saga Frontier 2 and Vagrant Story. The event was headlined by a speech from Takechi, who started his address with one main note— something we were not expecting at all. Square is interested in Nintendo's Dolphin. “The gaming industry is becoming more and more exciting judging from the recent announcement of the next-generation Dolphin machine from Nintendo at Ез," he said. The quote by itself could carry little more meaning than Square's surprise to hear of Nintendo's next platform, but when, how and to whom this information was presented makes it all the more curious. As previously stated, this was his first main comment—and it definitely was not prompted by any line of questioning. Takechi clearly wanted to deliver the message of the company's excitement over the system; it was quite unexpected, and frankly a bit surreal, A large reason it was such a surprise was that he delivered this message to the American media, who for the most part tend to read into information far more than the Japanese media. Takechi had to have known that this statement would be construed as something more. When we questioned the Final Fantasy VIII team on whether or not they could see the Final Fantasy series ever returning to a Nintendo platform, they responded saying that while the Dolphin is intriguing, they wouldn't make a decision until they had seen its final specs. Even so, it's extremely interesting to hear Square's excitement over the Dolphin system that they would go on record in the system's support makes one wonder just how strong their loyalty for Sony is. www.square.co,jp у — PoP the = Import Pick of the Month: Rockman What is this, 1986 again? Rockmans 1-6 (known as Mega Man in the U.S.) are being released in Japan to celebrate the 15-year anniversary of the character in 2000. The first of the releases hits shelves in Japan on Aug. 5 for 2800 yen ($24) and includes a mode that gives you gameplay tips and new options like the difficulty settings and speed control. Tfl PlayStation 7/29 Guitar Freaks, Konami (Misc) 7/29 Everyone's Golf 2, SCEI (Sports) 8/5 Rockman, Capcom (Action) | 8/26 Dance Dance Revolution 2nd | ReMIX, Konami (Misc.) Aug. Macross VF-X 2, Bandai (Shooter) 9/9 Beat Mania Append 4th MIX, Konami (Misc.) Rockman 2, Capcom (Action) Rockman 3, Capcom (Action) Torneco's Mysterious Dungeon, Chun Soft (RPG) Sept. Gran Turismo 2, SCEI (Racing) 9/9 9/9 9/15 Dreamcast 7/29 Air Force Delta, Konami (Shooting) 7/29 Climax Landers, Climax (RPG) 7/29 Seaman, Vivarium (Misc.) 8/5 бош Calibur, Namco (Fighting) 8/26 Cool Boarders BURRRN, Uep Systems (Sports) Gundam Side Story, Bandai (3D Shooting) 9/14 Pop'n Music 2, Konami (Misc.) 9/23 Espion-age-nts, NEC Home Electronics (Simulation) Sept. Maken-X, Atlus (Action/RPG) 8/26 Saturn 8/5 Street Fighter Zero 3, Capcom (Fighting) "Schedule subject to change without notice. Consult your local import game store for the latest release information. New episodes every Friday. Quartermann - Video Game Gossip & Speculation ack to a full page this month. The latter half of the year is approaching, мече past ЕЗ, there are new systems on the horizon and the gossip is flowing like a particularly flowy thing. Lots of goodies for you this month, mostly centered around the Dreamcast. Still...there’s something of a theme to this issue anyway, so why should the Q and his boys be any different? RUMOR There will be a Dreamcast version of Driver, possibly before the end of the year. And it'll look even better than the PC version. TRUTH The Q-spi¢s did some digging here and were presented By people "in the know" with the following scenario. GT is jh trouble and needs successful products. Driver is proving 16 be staggeringly successful on PlayStation. There's a PC version in the works and it's really easy to port PC games to Dreamcast. Seems almost inevitable wouldn't you say? Тһе Q's probings with numerous minions at GT resulted in lots of people making lots of "hmmm" noises...which usually means we're barking up the right tree. RUMOR Following up from last month's rumor about Soul Reaver, it seems there's some truth in talk of a possible Dreamcast version before the end of the year. TRUTH So much so that early demo versions are allegedly already up and running and looking lovely. Absolutely no one at Crystal Dynamics or Eidos would comment ой this...but as with the Driver thing—when people don’t say no, you know that something's up. RUMOR Michael Jordan will be returning to video games once again, but not in a basketball game as you'd imagine. TRUTH After some good and bad efforts over the years (Chaos in the Windy City being particularly terrible), it seems that Jordan’s agents are once again in negotiations to bring the greatest bball player ever to the small screen, After failed attempts by BMG a couple of years ago, thanks to a $30 million asking price, it seems likely that EA will land the deal._ But what games can we expect to see? The Q's spies have heard that the first and most likely title will be a golf game. Go figure. Apparently Jordan's people are keen to plug his Nike golf line. Rumors also abound that there could be a revival of the EA "versus" range with Jordan vs. Woods as a possible first game in the new range. RUMOR PlayStation 2 isn't just a games machine...Sony is working toward a "set top box" strategy that would put the-new. PlayStation as the central hub of its home digital-media system. TRUTH This is the main cause of all those ridiculous "the Р52 is-going {0 Бе $700" rumors. Due to the immense power of the néw machine, and the staggering level of connectivity, it makes sense to have the box as some kind of media hub. The FireWire and USB connections mean that it can be connected to all of the new home-theater boxes from Sony, as well'as drive other useful gadgets too; All it needs now is some kind of universal interface with which to drive-all'of these machines. Maybe something that an awful lot of people are familiar with-already? Considering that the Q-spies havé also learned that Sony is keen to integrate Emotion Engine-and Graphic Synthesizer technology into its VAIO range of laptop and desktop machines; there are some fairly obvious conclusions to be drawn. We'll let you chew all of this over for à month and return to this опе next month when we have more information. RUMOR Single-player games will be rare withir'a year on the Dreamcast. TRUTH if Sega's Internet strategy pays off and developers warm to the machineiñ the way that everyone hopes—and this seems likely— all being well, the majority of DC games in 2000 їй Бе multiplayer, something that will be better and better when.we-see the cable modem and other high-bandwidth devices turn up. It'll all start with Frontier, and more advanced RPGs will follow soon after. Even the Sega Sports brand will gravitate toward being more of arronline thing. RUMOR Theoretically, the Dreamcast could emulate a PlayStation very easily, and the code to-do so already exists. TRUTH According to the Q's contacts, the Dreamcast is more than capable of running a piece of software similar to bleem! that would allow it to play PlayStation games...and produce all the funky effects that you find on. the PC version like anti-aliasing and perspective correction. Whether it would happen or not is another matter entirely. First there would have to be an emulator stable enough to be compatible with most games. For the record, a Dreamcast emulator for the PC is also a very realistic possibility. RUMOR PlayStation 2 is so complicated arid resource-hungry that it's going to put prospective developers out of business. This will mean the “big boys” will step in and clean up with huge franchise games, and nothing else. TRUTH Rubbish. In fact, early adopters to the system like U.K. developers Mucky Foot are enamored with the system. Mike Diskett was recently quoted as saying “...there’s a lot of nonsense talked about PSz2...developing for PlayStation 2 is going to be a lot like developing for a high-spec PC." And let's face it..no one seems to have too much trouble putting out nice-looking games on the PC, do they? RUMOR In a related note, a number of publishers have announced PS2 launch intentions. Expect more announcements next month in time for the Tokyo Game Show. TRUTH Yep...Acclaim recently shocked everyone by implying that it might have up to five games available at the launch of the system. Also...there's that Кое! game we've shown on the previous page in News. RUMOR Che Chou is Sushi-X. TRUTH No he isn't. Persona 2 | + | Saru Getchu M +. Shutoku Battle Genki СД The King of Fighters: ream Math BS (227 | | Д" ing of Fig å ream Mal © | Grandia (D canens + | Fire Pro Wrestling 6 p | Human Capcom | Giant Gram | Sega | Dance Dance Revolution Konami 1 Metal Gear Sold Integral р Konami | Weekly Famitsu, week ending 6/27/99 | The Тор | 20 Best-Selling Games of May, 1999 1- Super Smash Bros. ] 04:23 Nintendo chimes in with a fighting game starting its most popular characters. Nintendo recently held а poll to see what characters 11 Triple Play 7000 Electronic Arts 1 MLB 2000 989 Studios Japanese gamers would want to ieee nee eee EEE imc see in the sequel. So maybe we'll S 13 Rugrats The Movie = see a Smash Bros. 2 іп the future. | THO et 2- Pokémon (Blue Version) е. cnm = cal | == i | | | | 14 Xtreme The Pokémon craze is in full swing | | 989 Studios 000005720 row, with Nintendo even | | QQ-- sponsoring a nationwide mall tour | | 19 Army Men 3-0 tournament, similar to those held - | 300 in Japan. Bad news on the | = Е Teohnoiosy 1s Pokémon front this month is the 16 legend of Zelda: Links Awakening Lnovesitiet ______ delay of Pokémon Stadium until... | Nintendo 3 - Pokémon (Red Version) TG pM ..next year. But that doesn’t mean | Square Electronic arts there won't be enough Pokémon | LASTRE to play and watch this ай-а | 8.0 18 oldenEye 007 13 movie, Snap, Pinball, Pokémon — | Nintendo = { Yellow, the second season ofthe | ggg TV series, and a special limited. | ОФ | M» 1 Namco Museum Vol. 3 | 1 edition Game Boy will fill the void, Jom"? | SUM. Nemes T 4- SW Episode One: Racer an бло ти Get behind the wheel of one of the | SCEA _ fastest racing machines ever made гине се POPE ee | à source: Video Games Service. Call Mary Ann Porreca at (516) 625-2345 ыы па for questions regarding this ist. Top 5 game descriptions written by the EGM sta supercharge your pod, race in exotic alien locales, and become | 5- R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Desert Island Gaming The latest in Матео? Ridge Racer | You're stranded on a desert island. Which of the following sene bg more realm io the “modem age” systems would you want along with you? Ка includes an enhanced version of the original Ridge Racer at a | 9 | speedy 60 frames per second. If Д you're а fan of the series, this is it. Nintendo Genesis. Master System П Super Nintendo 10% Super Mario Bros. Deluxe 8 Nintendo Mario Party Nintendo Syphon Filter 989 Studios Need For Speed: High Stakes Electronic Arts | Street Fighter Alpha 3 | 0 t g PlayStation 43% n Д Source: Videogames.com poll, 6/11/99 | PRESS TART Compiled By Chris Johnston chris_johnston@zd.com Coming Soon - September 1999 3942 - Capcom looting Asteroids - Act Action Déja Vu - Vati Adventure Duke Nukem - GT Interactive Action International Track & Field - Konami Sports Pocket Bowling - Jaleco Sports Puzzle Master - metro3D Puzzle Shadowman - Acclaim Action Spawn - Konami Action E m Landing = — Carmageddon 2 - Interplay ‘Action Championship Motocross - THQ Racing Chocobo Racing - Square Electronic Arts Racing Clock Tower 2: The Struggle Within - AGETEC ‘Action Dead Unity - THO ‘Action Konami Arcade Classics - Konami Misc. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - Eidos Adventure. NFL Blitz 2000 - Midway Sports Quake И - Activision. Action ReVolt - Acclaim Racing Shadowman - Acclaim Action. Shao Lin -THQ Fighting jouette Mirage - Working Designs ‘Action Sled Storm - Electronic Arts Racing Soul of the Samurai - Konami Action. Тай Concerto - Atlus Action Umjammer Lammy - SCEA, Misc. terolds Hyper 64 - Crave Entertainment Ton Caesar's Palace - Crave Entertainment Simulation Duke Nukem: Zero Hour - GT Interactive Action. бех 3: Deep Cover Gecko - Eidos Action Goemon's Great Adventure - Konami Action. Hybrid Heaven - Konami Action. Monaco Grand Prix - Ubi Soft Racing The New Tetris - Nintendo Puzzle NFL Blitz 2000 - Midway Sports NFL Quarterback Club 2000 - Acclaim Sports Revolt - Acclaim Racing Shadowman - Acclaim Action WWF Attitude - Acclaim Sports Ш! Game Boy Color Beauty & the Beast - Nintendo ‘Action Classic Bubble Bobble - Taito Puzzle Earthworm Jim - Crave Entertainment Action FIFA 2000 - THQ Sports Jeff Gordon XS Racing - ASC Games Racing Madden NFL 2000 - THQ Sports Micro Machines 1 & 2: Twin Turbo - THQ. Racing Mission: Impossible - Infogrames ‘Action Motocross Maniacs 2 - Konami Racing Ms, Pac-Man - Namco Misc. МНЕ 2000 - THO Sports ‘Quest RPG: Brian's Journey - Sunsoft RPG Resident Evil - Capcom Action. Survival Kids - Konami Adventure Tiger Woods 2000 - THO Sports Toy Story 2 -THQ Action Turok: Rage Wars - Acclaim Action Yoda Stories TH i sword 2 - Crave Entertainment Action Dino Crisis - Capcom Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition - Electronic Arts Final Fantasy VIII - Square Electronic Arts G-Police Weapons of Justice - Psygnosis Grandia - SCEA Hot Wheels Turbo Racing - Electronic Arts Intellivision Classics - Activision Jet Moto 3 - 989 Studios Lego Racers - Lego Media Mag 3 - Crave Entertainment Madden NFL 2000 - Electronic Arts Mission: Impossible - Infogrames NASCAR 2000 - Electronic Arts NFL GameDay 2000 - 989 Studios NHL 2000 - Electronic Arts Omikron: The Nomad Soul - Eidos Paperboy - Midway Rat Attack! - Mindscape South Park: Chef's Luv Shack - Acclaim ‘Space Invaders - Activision StarCon - Accolade Strategy Suikoden | - Konami RPG Superman - Titus Action. Thousand Arms - Atlus RPG You Don't Know Jack - Sierra Misc. rs loardin USA cing Army Men Sarge's Heroes - 300. i Gauntlet Legends - Midway Harrier 2001 - Video System Jet Force Gemini - Nintendo Lego Racers - Lego Media Madden МА. 2000 - Electronic Arts Sports NASCAR 2000 - Electronic Arts Racing Road Rash 64 - THQ Racing Roadster 99 - Titus Racing Starcraft - Nintendo. Strate; руса ings. | entertainment Air Force Delta - Konami Blue Stinger - Activision. Carrier - Jaleco Cool Boarders - Sega Expendable - Rage Software House of the Dead 2 - Sega Shooting Hydro Thunder - Midway Racing Monaco Grand Prix: ШЫ Soft Racing Mortal Kombat Gold - Midway н NFL Blitz 2000 - Midway NFL Quarterback Club 2000 - Acclaim Power Stone - Capcom Rainbow Six - Majesco Ready 2 Rumble Boxing - Midway Redline Racer - Ubi Soft Sega Sports NFL 2000 - Sega. Sonic Adventure - Sega Adventure Soul Calibur - Namco Fighting Speed Devils - Ubi Soft Racing SuperSpeed Racing - Sega р Tokyo Xtreme Racer - Crave Entertainment ТИМ Hardcore Heat - ASC Games Racing Trick Style - Acclaim Racing Xleration - Kalisto Entertainment Racing All Star Tennis ' - Ubi Soft Sports Antz - Infogrames Action Azure Dreams - Konami RPG Babe - Crave Entertainment Action Ghosts "№" Goblins - Capcom Action Godzilla: The Series - Crave Entertainment Action Harvest Moon - Crave Entertainment RPG Mario Golf ~ Nintendo Sports Micro Machines V3 - THQ Racing NBA Live 2000 - THQ. Sports NFL Blitz 2000 - Midway Sports Pokémon Yellow - Nintendo Adventure Rainbow Six - Southpeak Interactive Action Star Wars Ep. One: Racer - Nintendo. Racin | fen Sarge’ ction Crusaders of Might & Magic - 300 Action Cyber Tiger Woods Golf - Electronic Arts Sports Dune 2000 - Westwood Studios Strategy FIFA 2000 - Electronic Arts Sports Fighting Force 2 - Eidos Action Final Fantasy Anthology - Square Electronic Arts RPG Formula One '99 - Activision. Racing Gallop Racer - Тесто, Racing Grand Theft Auto 2 - Rockstar Action Jeff Gordon XS Racing - ASC Games Racing Jeremy McGrath 2000 - Acclaim Racing Lego Rock Raiders - Lego Media Action Medal of Honor - Electronic Arts А Messiah - Interplay Action. Metal Gear Solid VR Missions - Konami Action. Monkey Magic - Sunsoft Action. НВА Live 2000 - Electronic Arts Sports NHL FaceOff 2000 - 989 Studios Sports Official Formula One Racing - Eidos Racing Omega Boost - SCEA Shooting Pac-Man World 20th Ani А Pong - Hasbro Interactive Action. Railroad Tycoon 2 Simulation RC Stunt Copter - Midway Action. Scrabble - Hasbro Interactive. Misc. Supercross Series 2000 - Electronic Arts Racing Test Drive Off-Road 3 - Infogrames Racing Test Drive 6 - Infogrames Racing Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal - SCEA Action TNN Motorsports Hardcore 2 - ASC Games Racing Tony Hawkes Pro Skater - Activision. Racing Trickin’ Snow Boarder - Capcom Racing Vigilante 8: Second Offense - Activision Action WCW Mayhem - Electronic Arts Sports WipeOut з - Psygnosis. Racing а Warrior Princess - Electronic Arts tion Blues Brothers 2000 - Titus ‘Action Castlevania Special Edition - Konami ‘Action Cyber Tiger Woods Golf - Electronic Arts Sports Earthworm Jim 30 - Rockstar ‘Action МВА Live 2000 - Electronic Arts Sports Nuclear Strike -THQ Action Paperboy - Midway Action Rat Attack! - Mindscape Action Rayman 2 - Ubi Soft Action Resident Evil 2 - Capcom Action Space Invaders - Activision. Action Vigilante 8: Second Offense - Activision ‘Action WCW Mayhem - Electronic Arts Sports ae в. Capcom - Capcom ighting MS-R - Sega Racing Sega Bass Fishing - Sega Sports Sega Sports NBA 2000 - Sega Sports Slave Zero - Accolade Action. Vigilante 8: Second Offense - Activision Action. Virtua Fighter 3tb - Sega Fighting. Game Boy Color Konami Rally - Konami Marble Madness - Midway Mickey Racing - Nintendo NBA Courtside з on 3 Challenge - Nintendo NBA Showtime - Midway Street Fighter Alpha - Capcom Army Men Air Attack - 3DO Cool Boarders 4 - 989 Studios Danger Girl - THQ Darkstone - Take 2 Action iabolical Adventures of Tobu - SCEA Action Gauntlet Legends - Midway Action Glover Hasbro Interactive Action Jackie Chan's Stuntmaster - Midway Action Juggernaut - Jaleco RPG Racing Sports Konami Rally - Konami Major League Soccer 2000 - Konami Missile Command - Hasbro Interactive Mortal Kombat Special Forces - Midway NBA Basketball 2000 - Fox Interactive NBA ShootOut - 989 Sports NBA Showtime - Midway NCAA Final Four 2000 - 989 Studios Q-Bert - Hasbro interactive Rainbow Six - Red Storm Resident Evil 3 Nemesis - Capcom Road Rash Unchained - Electronic Arts Rugrats Studio Tour - THO South Park Rally - Acclaim ‘Spec Ops - Take 2 Supercross Circuit - 989 Sports Sports ‘Thrasher Skate and Destroy - Rockstar Sports Tiger Woods/PGA Tour 2000 - Electronic Arts Sports Toy Story 2 - Activision ‘Action Vegas Games 2000 - 300. Ni Mild Wild West - Red Storm. Worms Armageddon - Hasbro Interactive ‘Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style - A ig 64 - Nintendo Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside 2 - Nintendo Looney Tunes: Space Race - Infogrames Major League Soccer - Konami NBA Showtime - Midway Rainbow Six - Southpeak Interactive Toy Story 2 - Activision Turok: Rage Wars - Acclaim Action pn force 2 - Eidos tion NBA Showtime - Midway South Park: Chef's Luv Shack - Acclaim Street Fighter Alpha 3 - Capcom • Free Magazine Offer • Collectible 3D Trading Card ® Memory Card Stickers (Ж) Bonus Pack Includes: • Special CD Offer* Includes: Music Soundtrack, PC Screensaver Program, Anime Wallpaper, and Selected Voice Files. “(злой shipping & handling fee required for Special CD offer) ‘think you con survive world by following the rules? ‘The first ever RPG/Dating та а T lion. on the Playstation®! Unique combination of hand- drawn artwork and wonderful 3-D environmentst ni FIE P AMS Playstation www.atlus.com Љуби Corte tamed ив awh ain зе in. Mend eni dn USA SS 4: Uniquely immersive role-playing experience is limited only by your imagination. Collect over 150 creatures including rare and ultra-rare breeds. Then custom combine them into millions of powerful new monsters. Strategically use your monster's dominance of one of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire or Water. | а | Welcome to the world of Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu. As Levant, а Cocoon Master, you will engage powerful monsters in deadly one on one combat. As the magic and talon clash of these titanic battles turn to your favor you can call оп the mystic Cocoon powers and capture a fallen foe as they are on the brink of death. Once captured these mighty creatures can be trained to fight for you and combined with other monsters to form millions of new beasts. Once created these creatures will be your key to surviving the perils of the forest. Pit your creation against a friend in the arena mode. LEARN THE SECRETS OF THE TAMAMAYU. VISIT МММ. СРАУЕБАМЕЗ. СОМ Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu, Crave and their respective logos are trademarks of Crave Entertainment, nc Al RightsReserved. Crave Entertainment is a registered trademark in the US. © 199 Crave Entertainment, Inc Genki is a registered trademark of Genki Co, Inc. АП Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. семе SILET еа "OW STORY oF THE TAMAMAYU * | $ * d o Y 3 къ Рд m. “ae Ру ^c SW >. „Че The most vicious predators in history are back from extinction and ready to fight. Battle to the death against a Mega Raptor or 13 other savage dinosaurs. Crush objects and feast on edible power-ups in over a dozen arenas from The Lost World and Jurassic Park. Because when these flesh-ripping claws and bonecrushing jaws meet, the only instincts that matter are kill and eat. INTERACTIVE" d> Passim |g www.warpathgame.com Bu в: МАЕ Юг” BECAUSE “MUD SLINGING, МА CATCHING, JAW . BREAKING, STOMACH TURNING, ROCK ‚ PULVERIZING, SQUIRREL FLATTENING, — ^ АИТ SMASHING; FOREST CREATURE - JEARORIZING, OUT OF MY МДУРОВ BIE, . с ВТУ ЛЕ IT IN YOUR EAR, S ROAD ANT BIG ENOUGH FOR THE. ROTH OF US, ALLTERRAIN, OFF-ROAD? - © JUMPING, BIG: BAD, ASS B0 . | ait NUMINE Mi n Ws, ~ ACTUAL SCREEN SHOT RSPO i ? & POSITION 4 LAP, he Т TIME TOTAL ТИМЕ де kı n 38. anb 2 0221.318) га тани " LAP TIME HEG 3 Pasit aM ГАР.) TIMED, 5 ина play modes. 6 extreme world-class locales. в renegade drivers. compte mi car customization, Advanced artificial intelligence. Customizable replay сеща Aes sve ol — edt; Corporation. © 1898 American баба Corporation. TNN“ and be МК“ logos are registered servicemarks and / гү sere ot aee esperti bre ere orien aa da oo bus op эт ae UN re r S Dimas је 7 ist cmt иа ee. atone нае В [ante irre Ba irae nce igre nib c 2 d EXIT © ВУК В © Dreamcast а Nintendo 64 В Playstation ШЕ Game Boy Color E 4 Arcade This Month in Previews Сур ТТ hile you're flipping through BA Showtime: NBA on 65 Vigilante 8: Second Offense the next few pages, you may notice the Dreamcast 66 Street Fighter Alpha 3 68 The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999 предана sectionis bit 10 Fighting Force 2 light. What gives? Isn’t the system coming out really, really soon? 12 Ecco the Dolphin South Park: Chef's Luv Shack Р Shouldn't the previews be pouring in by now? Seven Mansions: The Uncanny Grimace Virtua Striker 2 Esplon Age Ns у Е 74 Virtual On: Oratorio Tangri Don't you worry your pretty little Giant Gram: All Japan Pro Wrestling 2 heads. Our HUGE cover story is picking Nintendo 64 up the bulk of the Dreamcast coverage Be Господ snap this month. Also, we expect a lot more 86-87 WCW Mayhem Dreamcast playable preview games by 99589 Rainbow Six the next issue. Theoretically, we should $4 i ls Turbo Racing have a bunch now but we're finding out 36 Turok: id Wars a lot of third-party publishers and troubles with Sega (no GD-ROM So us e Legendary Journeys burners, no GD-ROMs to burn games inbaci peration: onto, no network code to program reram No Doshin online playability, etc.). We hope this 10405 Final Fantasy Ин stuff will be sorted out soon, so we can Crash Team Racing start covering DC games as heavily as D Suikoden I we do PS games. 14 Madden NEL 2000 In other news, Nintendo continues WS Spyro 2- Ripos Raye to baffle us by providing us with V Tony Hawk S Pro Skater surprisingly inadequate support. Due 15 magio to security issues, they have problems with sending out playable N64 ROMs 184 Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style ЕН То оп Клон Е r al early on. Case in point: You never saw 140 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 141 WCW Mayhem М2 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Silhouette Mirage мз steer Shae nd Destroy 1. Final Fantasy VIII ма Detonator Gauntlet 2. Crash Team Racing NBA ShootOut 2000 мз МА Basketball 2000, 3. You Don't Know Jack Fata Fury: Wild Ambition 146 — fest Drive Cycles SuperCross Circuit Knights of Carnage г League Soccer 2000 4. Turok: Rage Wars 5. NBA Showtime a full Command & Conquer preview їп EGM because Nintendo never supplied us with a playable until the game was actually out in stores (that is also why you'll be reading the review in this issue, a month after the game's release). Sure, Nintendo provided us with a few screenshots a while back (which we ran some time ago), but we're not willing do a full preview just off of screens and a press release. Unfortunately, this won't be changing any time soon, as Nintendo policy is written in stone. This month, we have two more late Nintendo-published games for you: Pokémon Snap and Mario Golf (they should be out by the time you read this). Sorry. It's out of our hands. в PlayStation, September 1999 PlayStation, October 1999 PlayStation, September 1999 Nintendo 64, November 1999 Dreamcast, November 1999 Major 147 Championship 2000 NHL Faceoff. 148 Vegas Games 2000 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Konami Rally Monkey Magic кит: Stúdio Tour м9 Ай or 20 Vagrant St 150 фа он? Assault Suits Valkan 2 Oreshika 151 Тотесоз Great Adventure 2 source: videogames.com online poll об а: The Series NBA 3-on-3 Challenge Featuring Kobe Bryant ntz Asteroids Classic Bubble Bobble езі RPG: Brian's 1 екет Tag Tournament 162 — Street Fighter EX 2 Plus ‘World Series Baseball 59: Go to the Dream Park If you could only pick one, The legendary series that set the standard is back! R-Type Delta - returns with more of the frantic finger pounding excitement everyone expects from the R-Type series. Get ready for cool new weapons, more fiendishly clever levels, outrageous enemies, ‘and all new 3D graphics designed exclusively for the PlayStation. This is the game that shooter fans everywhere have been raving about, so get that trigger finger ready and check out R-Type Delta. • All new 30 graphics for the PlayStation * Dual Shock Compatible * A ships plus a hidden shin та * 7 levels of frantic trigger finger frenzy ny is game” • Top scorers can post and compare scores ес ny on the Agetec R-Type Delta Web site 5 5 -Official PlayStation Magazine Gaming agetec > рт овес Ic. 900 Veterans Blvd Suite 600 Redwood City, CA 94063 ФЕМ SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, INC. A rights reserved. A-TYPE Delta and the P-TYPE Delta logo are registered trademarks ‘of IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, INC. Published by Agetec, Inc. Адикс and the Agetec logo are trademarks of Agelec, nc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ine respective owners шозгиоцеувке мама. зипиишеизиз заркішоо fuos jo зиешаред раја ба эле вобо! иода au pue uonsfeid лреилекиеало v Кворон Q ul weurureuaiug amdo fuos 6661 © и ausu uawureyaug jsimdureg fuos jo шешәред шие awwer wn ‘SIU jo no seidno46 г1025 челе }цбіш пол “чоен зелеја лешоџе uo exei џеле UD под „ледаен əy, eddejeg jo злемеш əy} Ла пол о} 1uBnouq за ври 18||! 4эцзо pue dod “чипа *504 од бишше! Aq Aep au} anes 'рива 1116-пе Jay ‘UBD Миу чим 616 ба зец 104 әде s,eus 5! шејаола ешеб огри 4904 Meu eu; „Ашшел awwer шп jo зејѕебәш бшбиз-леупб ay} SAUS мојој зид цѕош ‘sao Ашшел e49uM С uonersAeid We LE —— 5 perenne = aa Rat A Ф- NBA Showtime: Midway Midway 14 Sports 20% November 1999 www.midway.com www.nbashowtime.com Awesome gameplay, create-a-player, near-perfect arcade port. No network play. The Washington Wizards’ uniforms. Yeesh, what were they thinking? Class of 99 | As if it weren’t enough that kids these days can't wait to turn pro, it seems now that they can't wait to get into video games either. Midway is including the 1999 NBA rookies who were drafted last June, including | tho number-one pick ofthe | Chicago Bulls, Elton Brand. Other soon-to-be Showtime stars include Steve Francis (Vancouver), Baron Davis (Charlotte), Andre Miller (Cleveland), Lamar Odom (АО, Jonathan Bender (Toronto), Wally Szczerbiak | (Minnesota) and Brand's former Duke teammate Trajan Langdon (Cleveland). dap anitsi SAN ANTONIO DETROIT onventional wisdom states that if you're down by four points with 20 seconds left in the game, you foul the opposing team in hopes that they'll throw up a brick at the free-throw line and you grab the rebound. But what if fouling meant the opportunity for the other team to make a six-point play, putting the game out of reach? “What kind of f-ed up basketball game is this?” you might say. The game is NBA Showtime: NBA on NEC, and it's anything but conventional. Showtime runs a smooth 60 frames per second and features realistic, detailed player models. All 29 teams from the NBA are here, as are their respective arenas (naturally, there are a few hidden courts thrown in as well). The teams are comprised of 145 NBA superstars (including the recently drafted 1999 rookies, see sidebar), the standard hidden characters that we have all come to expect from Midway, and a bunch of team mascots thrown in just. for kicks. The Create-A-Player mode allows players to create their very own superstar, complete with custom head, nickname and ability attributes. Showtime also has the official NBC license, which means that all of the camera angles you see їп Showtime are the same as those used during an NBC televised game. It also means that the real theme music is present, which is good if you're a stickler for realism (and awesome if you like John Tesh. And really, who doesn't like the Tesh?). There's not a lot to dislike about NBA Showtime. The fast-paced arcade gameplay has stood the test of time: Starting with the original NBA Jam and now with the Hangtime/Showtime incarnations, Midway's popular series continues to entertain the casual basketball fan as well as the hardcore. When it comes to simple and hard- hitting sports titles, Midway can't be beat. A new element of strategy has been added to Showtime: fouls. Now before you purists out there throw your controllers to the ground and shout "Where's the fun in that?", be assured that fouling doesn't detract from the gameplay. Every time you shove an opponent (who must have possession of the ball) to the ground, you get whistled for a foul. After five fouls, your opponent will go to the charity stripe. If he's successful, it's a three-point basket and they get the ball back. You really have to be careful who and when you foul, because a six-point play with зо seconds remaining is difficult to overcome. The real secret to winning, however, is taking advantage of being “On Fire.” After making three consecutive baskets, your player will be “On Fire" and virtually unstoppable. This means an unlimited turbo bar, exemption from committing fouls and goaltending, and draining next-to- impossible shots with ease. But if you thought facing only one “On Fire” player was bad, be sure not to let the opposing team make three consecutive alley-oop baskets. The team will go into Team Fire Mode, and all the regular "On Fire" conditions will exist for both players. The only way to break Team is by making an alley-oop dunk of your own. This is how games are won and lost. If you still have reservations about buying a Dreamcast, hopefully a near arcade-perfect port of Showtime will help put your mind at ease. № Activision Luxoflux ШШШ October 1999 ПЕ wwwactivision.com 1 |) A smooth frame-rate, even in multiplayer. CTI Some noticeable texture draw-in; floaty controls. А nifty feature new to Second Offense is the hover capability. It can be used to glide over water or rough terrain with relative ease. 78 Bouncing like a tennis ball 100 feet into the air. Hiding underwater can be useful, but it's = SELECT PLAYER Due to the recent nation- | wide outbreak of school | violence (especially | Jonesboro, AK and Littleton, CO), Activision has decided | to remove the School Bus | entirely from V8: Second Offense. Although they weren’t pressured by any anti-violence groups or legislators, Activision wants to show that the industry is indeed sensitive to the concerns of parents about violent imagery and possible effects on children. This is an interesting decision considering the School bus was a major part | of the original marketing | campaign for Vigilante 8. | Activision has said there | will be a replacement bus in Second Offense, but the exact type is currently undecided. hardly a failproof defense, especially when the other guy has tracking rockets. here's nothing quite like the thrill of vehicular combat to get your blood flowing. Spawned from the PC hit Interstate 76, the original Vigilante 8 took automotive destruction to a groovy new level on the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64. Set in the southwest United States during the 1970s, it was up to the Vigilantes, a group of freedom fighters to fight off the Coyotes, hired goons of a corporation bent on cornering the world oil market. The Vigilantes handedly defeated the Coyotes, ensuring that citizens can continue to drive fast and waste gas worry-free. Fast forward 4o years, where the leader of the Coyotes, Slick Clyde, has been quite the busy boy, Instead of wallowing in self-pity after the defeat of 75, he has spent the past four decades constructing atime machine, one which he hopes to use to travel back to 1975 and make another attempt at defeating the Vigilantes, So begins V8: Second Offense. The standard modes of play return. One player can choose Quest, Arcade or Survival Modes; two players can choose Quest, go head-to-head, or play cooperatively; and one to four players can deathmatch against each other. Players will have 18 brand-spankin'-new cars to choose from, ranging from the standard four-door cruiser to a seemingly out-of-place Martian Land Rover. Some of the other vehicles include a garbage truck, semi-trailer, futuristic hovercar and some type SELECT ENEMIES Fronter WD of bus (Activision has decided to remove the school bus, see sidebar). Every vehicle is now equipped with alternative forms of propulsion. A hover- conversion allows a player to glide over rough terrain, a propeller system enables a smooth ride over water surfaces and a sled/tread combo permits maximum traction on snowy surfaces. In addition to those new modifications, players can now customize the different attributes of their vehicles. By totaling an opponent, you can receive anywhere from one to five upgrade points that can be applied to either Avoidance, Strength, Speed or Something. This data can be saved to the VMU and used at the house of a friend (or enemy, as the case may be). And what good would a souped-up car be without an arena to drive around in? There are 10 new levels in Second Offense that are located all round the country, not just the Southwest. Some of these levels include a bayou in Louisiana, a nuclear power plant in Wisconsin and a steel mill in Pittsburgh. V8: Second Offense happily takes advantage of the Dreamcast's graphical power. The game runs in a silky-smooth 6o frames per second in both one- and two-player modes, and Activision promises that it will be just as smooth when four players battle it out. There is some noticeable texture draw-in at the moment, floaty control and some minor graphical glitches, but an October release gives Luxoflux enough time to make any necessary fixes. g$ PREVIEW Capcom Capcom 13 Fighting 80% November www.capcom.com The best Street Fighter conversion yet. No fighting over the Internet...yet. Dreamcast controller is less than ideal for the festivities. Street Divas Three players can go at it in Dramatic Battle Mode. As is demonstrated by these screenshots, the boys are back in town. Blanka, Guile, Honda and Vega/Balrog are all included in SFA3. Seen here attempting to "light up" Guile, old friend Blanka is back to his old tricks. hen Street Fighter Zero (Alpha) 3 was first released for the PlayStation, critics were surprised by the quality of the conversion, noting that the PlayStation had to make very few sacrifices in animation and speed. Much lamenting was had when it appeared that Capcom would not be releasing a Saturn version (despite the 4-Meg RAM cart). Eventually, Capcom of Japan relented and announced that not only would a Saturn version be released (in Japan), but a Dreamcast version as well. Although the Saturn version is still a month or so away, the Dreamcast version has finally been released in Japan and is undisputably the definitive version. For starters, all the various modes that were found in the PlayStation version (World Tour, Dramatic Battle Mode, etc.) are accessible from the very start (without needing to unlock the secret ones). Second, in modes like the Dramatic battle, up to three separate players can join in (2 on 1) without any sacrifice in animations or "cheating" involved . по palette-swapped characters). As in Marvel vs. Capcom for DC, there is absolutely no slowdown and the game moves lightning fast. For Street Fighter fans, this is the ultimate SF collection, much in the way The King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 is for SNK fans. Selectable from the outset are 32 different Capcom characters, with the usual suspects Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li and Zangief returning yet again. Bringing up the rear are old- school SF veterans making their first appearances in the Alpha series. Your tears will flow upon seeing Lc oe шшыйша the glorious return of SF favorites like Guile, Blanka, Fei-Long and Dee-Jay. Aside from the large variety of modes offered (versus, Final Battle, training, survival, team battle, etc.) there are also mini-games to download into your VMU memory card for Street Fighter action on the во As has become expected of Capcom to Sega ports, loading times are practically non-existent, game speeds range from normal to hyper-light-speed, and the control is dead on the money. The only problem gamers might find with the conversion has nothing to do with the game and more to do with the Dreamcast controller. As if it hasn't been documented already, the DC controller is less than ideal for Capcom's fighting games, but not as horrible as some may claim. No worries, however, because the Dreamcast fighting stick works just fine. Scheduled for release in November, Street Fighter Alpha 3 will give SF fans a lot to look forward to. Now all we need from Capcom is Street Fighter Ill: Third Strike (hint, hin)! gfe In Final Battle Mode, you must defeat M. Bison in a solo match (he's called Vega in Japan). REACH OUT АМП ГОВОР ES, HA SOMEONE “==, MONSTER “= # © TRUCK © MADNESS 69 o 7 Modes of Gameplay, Including CIRCUIT RAGING, RUMBLE, POLICE CHASE, INDOOR SOCCER, and MORE! e BIGFOOT™”, Grave Digger", nWo® Hollywood Hogan", and 16 more Bad Boys from the world of Monster Trucks. MULTI-PLAYER MAYHEM allows up to 4 people to play against each other, head to head. SNK SNK 12 Fighting 100% Available now (Japan) www.neogeo.co.jp This is one of the best 2D fighting qames ever. It's still a 16-Bit qame. Ж It's a 16-Bit game on a 128-Bit system. One of the best things about The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999, is the link-up feature between the Dreamcast and the NeoGeo Pocket Color. You can “build” a fighter on the NGPC and then upload it to the Dreamcast, which in turn may be downloaded back to the NGPC. As your character's stats improve, you can use the points you gather on the NGPC to unlock gallery illustrations on the Dreamcast version. Currently, KOF:DM1999 is the only SNK game to utilize this feature, although you can probably expect SNK's future, Naomi-based arcade games to incorporate it as well, making the NGPC to Dreamcast as Game Boy is to N64. Can you say, “SNK vs. Capcom?" I bet you can! Newer characters, like Heavy Dl, benefit from more ambitious animation routines that give them a supple, fluid appearance. Eat this, Robert Garcia! Although the backgrounds look like the same old 2D stuff, wait until you see 'em in motion. 3D eye-candy for the KOF series! s it is, the King of Fighters series has always brought SNK's superstars together in one convenient package. Although you won't find any characters from Metal Slug or Samurai Shodown in a KOF game, you will find the cream of the Fatal Fury-Art of Fighting-crop standing alongside the original KOF combatants. Now, with the Japanese release of King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999, you get the best of the past three incarnations of the series, plus some Dreamcast- exclusive features that make this the best installment of the series without a doubt. Although this isn't the “true” KOF "99 (it's more like a КОЕ '98: Special Edition), fans will easily forgive SNK for attaching the "1999" to the title. To begin with, 38 fighters are available from the get-go, with alternate versions of some opening up after you've reached certain criteria. All of your King of Fighters’ favorites are here. Stalwarts to the series like Kyo Kusanagi, Joe Higashi, Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui, lori Yagami, Robert Garcia and Billy Kane return along with newer characters like Heavy D, Lucky Glauber and Kyo-wannabe Shingo Yabuki. While previous поп-Мео•бео installments of the series were of varying quality (Saturn versions usually being pretty good, PlayStation versions, err, usually not so good), the Dreamcast proves more than capable of handling the lush, speedy 20 visuals of SNK’s premier franchise. Instead of the usual 2D bit-mapped backgrounds, SNK has seen fit to enhance these BGs with 3D elements, while still retaining the famous SNK “feel.” Boats, islands, locomotives all move about in the backgrounds, while the characters with their “realistic” shadows romp around in the foreground. The short of it is that the overall look feels a lot more complete than the series ever did before. The action is fast and smooth, with almost no slowdown and the newer characters are extremely well-animated. Loading times are also kept to a minimum due to the large amount of on- board RAM and the 12X GD-ROM drive. Perhaps the coolest new feature, graphical шпе- ups aside, is the link-up capabilities between the Dreamcast and the Мео•бео Pocket Color version of King of Fighters R-2 (see sidebar). With all the usual modes present (team battle, single battle, versus, survival, training, etc.), this might be the fighting game purist's ultimate wish. Strongly rumored to be arriving in the U.S. at the Dreamcast's launch, The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999 could give Marvel vs. Capcom a run for its money. ie 0-60 IN 1 SECOND. Why, $ ý J as зо = Ка У At 60 frames-per-second, TOKYO XTREME RACER S 29° ао в ав is one of the fastest console games in existence. It’s a white-knuckle racing experience that will ва leave you breathless. Е = „о A 090989 К FPS HIGHVOLTAGE Throw down against road rivals in point battle mode, customize your import racer in quest mode, or choose versus mode to go head-to-head at a blistering 60 frames-per-second. < сит HIGHOCTANE үнүн, "This game has unbelievable graphics that, eee in my opinion, easily rival that of the Е Gran Turismo 2 demo” -SEGANET.COM "Graphically, this game is better than any ace console racing game to date...period.” -САМЕРАМ ONLINE us Available 9.9.99 Sega© Dreamcast. К HUE, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, Crave and their respective logos are trademarks of Crave Entertainment, Inc. ll Rights Reserved. Crave Entertainment is a registered trademark in ho U.S. © 1999 Crave Entertainment, Inc. Genki is a registered trademark of Genki Со. Lid, Sega, Dreamcast, and he Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. АП other trademarks are the property о! their respective owners mn X нот The number of unique rooms | within Kowloon castle, опе | of the places you'll visit in | Shenmue. ЗА даи PREVIEW GALLERY This month, we present a small Shenmue portrait gallery from Yu Suzuki's latest masterpiece. The amount of detail in these close-ups is startling. Each strand of hair, every minute facial whisker has been rendered with much natural finesse. Keep in mind that these compositions are made up of polygons within the Shenmue game engine—in real time. The faded picture of the child (far right center) is the protagonist Ryo at a young аве. Shenmue should be out in Japan this winter. Force 2 Fortunately Core Design's sequel to its crappy but inexplicably successful 3D action/fighter is nothing like its predecessor. This time you just play one character who runs around military complexes blowing stuff up while pulling off a pretty mean impression of Solid Snake. Eidos has high hopes for the Dreamcast version set for release in November, and it has to be said that if nothing else, the graphics look pretty sweet. а. \ А 4. \ Mastery of the Бо requires that one | purge all unnecessary activities from daily life. STAR. WARS THE PHANTOM MENACE Prepare to immerse yourself in the epic adventure that is The Phantom Menace. As the central character, you will journey to all the stunning locations of Episode I, where you are destined to play a decisive role in every key event. All-consuming? Yes. But then, there’s no such thing as a part-time Jedi. m = [M le www. lucasarts.com/products/phantommenace www.starwars.com © Lucasfilm Lid © ТМ: All rights reserveds Used under authorization. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, 3D accelerator hardware required for PC version. PREVIEW GALLERY The undecipherable line in the song “Kyle's Mom is a Bitch” is “Then on Sunday just to | be different, she’s a super king kamayamaya | bi-yatch." Here are more screenshots of the new Ecco the Dolphin, developed by Appaloosa Interactive. Sega has not put out an official release date, but we expect the game to come out by the end of the year. Chef's Luv Shack Imagine a large selection of both general knowledge and South Park- based questions presented game-show style and then interspersed with a variety of mini-games and you have a rough idea of what this is like. Developed by Acclaim Studios in Austin, Texas, the game is currently scheduled for a November release and is suitably puerile in its humor. A Simon-esque game called "Spank the Monkey" anyone? Set on a small remote island in the South Seas, you and a partner must explore a group of buildings infested with evil. This is the first "survival horror" title that allows you to play simultaneously with a friend. Koei plans on releasing Seven Mansions: The Uncanny Grimace in the summer of 2000. Originally an arcade title that ran on Sega’s Model 3 Step 2 hardware, Virtua Striker 2 will make its way home to Dreamcasts this fall. Seeing as the Dreamcast is more than capable of producing arcade-perfect ports of Model 3 games, Virtua Striker 2 should be as good, if not better than the original. No word yet on a release date stateside, but given the rising popularity of soccer in this country, you never know! "Espionage agents," get it? Well, NEC Home Entertainment certainly hopes you do. After the critical and commercial non-reaction to Seventh Cross and Sengoku Turb, NEC brings us its latest, and most intriguing, attempt at electrifying the Dreamcast library. Think of a multi-screen Rainbow Six-style simulation game and you're still probably way off. In any case, look for more details when it releases this fall. E E _4 Baste ет and waste ет. New ls marinated with bolder ‘guisier cuts make Quake П“ for the console a visual f Hand-cranked and chock full of juicy, new tidbits. All stuffed into authentic. id Software casing. No bologna. FAMILY PACK All-you-can-digest only 1.291. A prime cut of mouth-watering color marbled in with luscious textures and special eff Perfect for roasting! Boned, on-the-go grilling sprees! Paystation UNIQUE MEATECH Certified Quality ANGST BEEF ACTIVISION. (0 PREVIEW GALLERY Oratorio Tangram Known to fans of the game as Virtual On 2, Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram is another Model 3 Step 2 arcade conversion for the Dreamcast that's shaping up to be an exact port. In VO:OT, two mechs are locked in a duel to the finish in an enclosed arena. There’s no solid release date yet in Japan but Sega has confirmed that VO:OT will ship by the end of the year. А U.S. release has not been announced. In Japan, pop idols are as much a commercial asset as they are a cultural phenomenon. Entire music careers are launched and forgotten within the span of a few months. In Super Producer, you play the role of a record executive on the make. You'll need to audition, rehearse, negotiate and plan out the artistic Giant Gram All Japan Pro Wrestling 2 Giant Gram All Japan Pro Wrestling 2 is the sequel to the original Saturn game All Japan Pro Wrestling, Starring Jeffrey, Wolf and Kage from Virtua Fighter, Giant Gram supports up to four players on-screen at one time, while running in hi-res and anywhere from 30 to бо fps. Giant Gram is Japan's equivalent of something like WWF Attitude, minus the attitude. Giant Gram AJPW 2 is out in Japan now and is developed and published by Sega. It is unknown whether a localized version will make it to the U.S. or not. trajectory of your pop idol. There will also be online connectivity (via Dream Passport) to share your pop star with the rest of the world. Hudson Soft will release Super Producers in September. n " j ROCKSTAR GAMES presents a m Eu STEALING CARS IS THE EASY PART > ; It goes 0-60 almost as fast as it goes 0-360° Slide behind the wheel and fire up one of the 40 most notorious, trick racers ever imagined. Rides like the Tw Mill", JetThreat and Red Baron". Pull airborne endo's and spins for the first time ever over 10 move-it-or-lose-it obst; courses. Tra paved with Loop-the-loops, Criss-crosss, Danger-changers plus some serious road hazards, It's pedal-to-the-di st-metal racing. And the exact opposite of everything they'll try to teach you in Driver's | H www.ea.com/hotwheelsgame (el ELECTRONIC ARTS à (©1909 МАР Team names and E MAT бајта indicated. да other (NFL related marks) are trademarks of the Natonal Footbal League and NFL Properties. Ойу licensed product BL ESS INC logos а registre trademark of he NFL ре om. ©1999 PLAYERS INC PLAYERS Developed by 989 Spots, 989 Sports ал ч а Sony Computer Enterta America e. Licensed tor use wih the Pa Я High speed full impact racing action — major collisions, damage and destruction! Incredible cumulative Real-Time Damage™ effects-hoods fly, tires wobble, smoke. fire, cars show hardcore damage as it happens. 12 torturous tracks designed for full metal contact. Insane Last Man Standing Demolition Derby Воші matches. Death From Above = land on an opponent's roof and score a one hit hill — ol Acc Al ng Pt Syndicate Ал demarks and кабо names are the prop » and me PlayStation Ё = p = я я > я = » = Е | > » я Е Е Fear Factory, €mpirion, Junkie XL, and Cirrus Pre-order Demolition Racer from select retailers and receive the limited run Soundtrack CD which includes 14 all original songs and re-mixes. www.demolitionracer.com В different vehicles to race. 16 cars on the track in each гасе, 2 player split-screen racing. | (010%. ayStation | INFOGRAMES Smash through destructible fences, doors, barrels and more. — Ine СИЕ Nintendo HAL Laboratories LEN ССНИ strategy/Misc. ETT 100% СТТН July 1999 www.nintendo.com www.pokemon.com ГҮЛЛЕШ Watching Pokémon cavort around in a natural environment is cute as can be. TTI what? No Mr. Mime? Curses! Not all 151 Pokémon are in, but most of the major ones are. LETT Watching Slowpoke dip his tail in the water and (OUCH!) evolving into Slowbro. | When Snap was first | announced for the 6400, it | looked a little different from the final game. Shown in | early screens were tracks | | not included on the | | cartridge version, and a | | different viewfinder display | | when taking pictures. Ekans |. (Shown below) isn't in the | final game. Maybe when the | DD is released in Japan wel see an enhanced version of | Pokémon Snap. g — | ке 5 р If you throw an apple to one of the Charmander in the Volcano, his friends will come out to join him. You can get a group shot, too! Take pictures of Pikachu in the tunnel stage and he just might jump on an Electrode and pose for the camera. ike its Game Boy counterpart, you have to “catch "ет all," in Snap. Only you don't catch Pokémon in Pokéballs, you catch them on film. You star as Todd (or as yourself, but Todd is the name of the game's character in the Pokémon cartoon series), whose job is to help Professor Oak explore Pokémon Island. You do that by jumping i specially designed all-ter Ito the Zero-One, a /no-terrain vehicle perfect for snapping pictures of monsters in their natural habitat, Getting them in the center of the frame and as large as you can will score you big points at the end of each track when the Prof gives you his mark. There are six regular courses in ай— Beach, Tunnel, Volcano, River, Cave and Valley—and 82 one bonus, Rainbow Road. On Rainbow Road you meet the most elusive of Pokémon... When you first start out, all you've got is your trusty camera, but if you do well, you'll be given items like an Apple-Shaped Pokémon Food, Pester Balls (to scare up some good reactions from the monsters), a Pokémon Flute to give them some music to dance to, and the Dash Engine, which speeds up the Zero-One. After collecting each one of these rewards from Oak, it's a good idea to go back into previous courses and see if they'll help you to open up new things. If an area looks like you might be able to do something or throw something in to get a reaction, you probably can. After you've taken your pictures, you select a few of your best from the role to let Professor Oak judge them. If the monsters are in the center, and fairly big in the frame, you'll get a good score. If they're reacting to something, you'll get more points, and if there's another Pokémon of the same kind in the frame, your score will be doubled. The second goal of the game is to find things in nature that look like Pokémon, and take pictures of them. When you've finished the tracks—and hopefully gotten close to all of the 63 ог so monsters in the game—Challenge Mode opens ир (where your score matters much more). Plus you can save four of your best shots to print onto stickers at Blockbuster Video locations in a promotion that runs through Thanksgiving. к FOR THE PLAYSTATION’ SQUARESOFT www.squaresoft.com Published by Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. b GOLFING ETIQUETTE courtesy of www.pga.com/Instruction/etiquette/index.htmt "Мо one should move, talk or stand close to or directly behind the ball or the hole when a player is addressing the ball or making a stroke." PREVIEW Of course all rules of etiquette are thrown out the window in Mario Golf. :) ВИИ Nintendo ГЕЛЕ Camelot | Рак 4 И Sports EL 100% ШШШ July 1999 EYES www.nintendo.com. (COE From the same developer as Hot Shots Golf. (1 Mario Golf packs a variety of familiar players. 2 сЗа Beyond the four starting characters, you can ТТЛ At times things get > access 10 more by winning the ring game ог. almost too cute. beating computer players or courses. Still others [CCITT Player taunts vill can only be opened by a stroke of marketing drive you insane. Big Variety Speed Golf, Putt-Putt, Ring Game, Skins Game... ake a load of cute Nintendo characters, give "ет golf clubs and toss in the game engine from Hot Shots and you're virtually guaranteed a great title. In a nutshell that's exactly what Camelot and Nintendo did, only with more game modes and variety. It's ironic that two lighthearted golf games, Hots Shots and now Mario Golf, have the most realistic golf physics of any in the genre past or present. It's weird but true, and Mario Golf is poised to take it even higher. Beyond stiffer winds and the havoc they cause, gameplay is similar to Hot Shots. A friendly interface puts the right club in your hands plus aligns the shot. At that point, back-spin, wind compensation and nailing the shot meter are the only immediate variables outside of the power shot option. Essentially the game demands the same precise ball control that real golf requires. For variety, each of the characters (14 total) has a Course overviews and floating cameras give a good amount of preshot perspective. genius-interfacing with the yet-to-be-released Game Boy version of the game. Nintendo really knows how to get the most from a mascot game. flaw of some sort, except for Mario, of course. Wario has great distance off the tee but slices. Baby Mario hits very straight but not very far. Charlie hits far but has a slight hook. Luckily, shortcomings in control can be compensated for in the power meter. And, while some characters like the Princess, Baby Mario and Plum (to name a few) are weaker on the regular rounds, their dead-on straight shots work well on the mini-golf courses. In addition to new characters, you can open up extra courses. Toad Forrest and Koopa Park (both beginner courses) offer standard greens and fairways. Boo Valley, Yoshi Valley and Mario Star feature undulating turf, cloud perched greens and incredibly challenging terrain. A variety of strategies can be applied to all six courses. Sometimes shooting over trees on the dog-leg or applying massive back-spin to a power shot are wise moves. Transversely, going at every situation with straight shots can work as well. It's a tribute to the game's stellar physics and gameplay. Multiplayer is the most rewarding way to play. Whether on the mini-courses, Skins, Rings or Speed play, going head-to-head is great fun. Each player has four annoying taunts (plus four more cheers) for distraction purposes. If they don't drive you crazy it's quite fun to use the entire game. It’s safe to say Mario Golf is destined to become the top golf game for the №64. se PRE-ORDER FINAL FANTASY? VIII and enter to win a fantastic ride! 2000 Toyota® ECHO™ SQUARE SOFT' www.squaresoft.com та: store fh т Ф) TOYOTA Г id other P, WHEREHOUSE Part WHEREHUUSE participating 2. MEDIA PLAY MUSIC retailers PREVIEW СВЕ Electronic Arts СТЕ Kodiak LEN Ine resting CC 75% NI october 1999 wirwea.com ELTI Backstage brawling with more than 50 WCW stars. ТИЯ No cage matches ог other famous gimmick fights. The Spring Stampede set (think Nitro meets Hee-Haw). Pay-Per-View MR In a novel twist on the now-obligatory Pay-Per- View Mode, WCW Mayhem lets gamers input special codes, which will be available on both WCW's and EA's official Web sites, to re-create real-life PPVs. For instance, if you enter the proper “Bash at the Beach” code, the game will automatically create the top | four matches from the most recent Bash, with all of the real participants and match stipulations. А quick trip up the entrance ramp takes you to one of 12 randomly selected battle zones, each with its own associated weapons and hazards. CW fans, are you rrrrready to rrrrrumble? Electronic Arts’ first foray into the seldom dull, occasionally surreal world of sports entertainment, WCW Mayhem, is nearing completion, and it looks like it’s going to be as hard- hitting as а folding chair to the noggin. Although THQ has already released three successful WCW titles for the N64, EA wanted to wipe the slate clean and build the kind of wrestling game it believes the fans want: a fast, grappling- based game with intuitive controls and easy-to- execute moves. Rather than cram every conceivable gimmick match and option into Mayhem in the attempt to one-up some of the second- and third-generation wrestling titles on the market, EA is taking a long: haul approach to its newest franchise. The goal is to establish a highly playable, rock-solid foundation and build on that in the future. That's not to say that Mayhem will resemble the staid, "scientific" wrestling of yesteryear; as previously reported, the action frequently spills out of the ring, up the entrance ramp, and into one of 12 randomly selected combat zones, including a locker тоот, boiler room, ticket office, infirmary and even the parking lot. Here you'll find an assortment of non-sanctioned weapons like crutches, guitars and baseball bats. One thing you won't see, however, is blood. WCW apparently was more than a little surprised to see “juice” in the two previous N6q titles, created by Japanese developers Aki/Asmik, and have barred it from subsequent games. On the plus side, you do get more than 50 of WCW's biggest and baddest grapplers, each capable of performing 30 to 40 bone-crushing moves in addition to his real-life finishing move. Each star was photographed extensively to provide the highest-quality textures, while the game's motion data was provided by WCW Power Plant instructor “Sergeant” Buddy Lee Parker; high-flying luchador Lizmark, Је; newcomer Lash Larieux; and ring veteran “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton (who looks like he's done plenty of "eaton" lately, judging by the size of his gut). A few A-list guys like Goldberg, Коппап and Bam Bam Bigelow also lent their talents to the game, mostly to insure their on-screen counterparts do them justice. (Incidentally, EA says Bam Bam is а huge gamer. He plays with his PlayStation so incessantly his wife has begged EA to stop sending him free games!) ‘Among the game’s 15 unique arenas are the brand- new Monday Nitro set and 12 pay-per-view settings. The classic Nitro set, which the developers fully rendered before learning it was to be replaced, also is hidden somewhere in the game. For the PPV arenas, ЕА was allowed to extrapolate on WCW's real-life sets, making them even more outlandish and colorful than the real things. Perhaps inspired by Acclaim’s WWF Attitude, EA has added an elaborate Create-A-Wrestler Mode. Players can create their own musclebound monsters with textures ranging from realistic to downright scary, assign a move set and a finishing move, and finally name their creations. If you pick one of several canned names like “Mauler” or common names, such as "Mike" or “Steve,” announcer Tony Schiavone will even say your creation’s name while calling the action, which is great unless your name happens to be Che or Crispi Match types include one-on-one, tag team, triangle and Raven's Rules, named after WCW hardcore star Raven. In these matches, weapons are legal, and falls count outside the ring or outside the building, for that matter. The game also has a Quest for the Best Mode, in which the player attempts to rise from lowly jobber to world champion. There are two different divisions in this mode, Cruiserweight and Heavyweight; however, to win the world title as a Cruiserweight you eventually must go up against much larger wrestlers from the Heavyweight division As for gameplay, WCW Mayhem seems to lie somewhere between WCW/nWo Revenge and WWF Attitude in terms of complexity. What truly sets Mayhem apart, however, is its speed; the game is fairly fast, it almost has more in common with traditional fighting games than some of the slower wrestling titles of the past Although it can't be seen in these screens, а momentum meter that governs your wrestler's performance will be included in the final game. Aside from that, no other gauges or meters will clutter the screen, Occasionally, different pop-up messages will appear, urging you to pin an Sorry, blood “п guts fans, but you won't find any of the red stuff in WCW Mayhem. While both WCW vs. nWo and WCW/nWo Revenge contained copious quantities of blood, WCW called it an oversight. opponent or reverse a move. The N64 version of WCW Mayhem will contain almost all of the audio found in its PlayStation counterpart (also scheduled for an October release) with one notable exception: no Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, Given the space restrictions of a 16-Meg cart (compared to а 640-Meg CD), something had to go, and that something was the Brain. Even so, the game contains several thousand lines of commentary from Mr. Schiavone. Additionally, ring announcements are made by the perpetually tan “Mean” Gene Okerland, who also appears in the game а а hidden wrestler. Another glaring omission (at least in Dan Hsu's opinion): no Nitro Girls! One development team member who shall remain nameless did confess, however, that the spandex-clad dancers were photographed for the game—twice! After the first session, the dancers were told that the original negatives were “accidentally” ruined. Oops. Will WCW Mayhem join Madden, Triple Play and NBA Live atop ЕА list of category-leading franchises? While the game won't eclipse the likes of WWF Attitude in the sheer number of options, EA seems to have succeeded in creating a solid foundation on which to build for the future. While EA isn’t exactly a newcomer when it comes to motion capturing, the company says the mo-cap sessions for WCW Mayhem were particularly challenging because the computer had to make sense of two sets of dots, one belonging to the wrestler performing the move, the other to the victim. Motion data for the game's 50+ characters was derived primarily from four WCW wrestlers, although a few stars such as Goldberg dropped by to lend extra personality to their characters. During Weapons Matches, you can hit your opponent with every conceivable object, including a kitchen sink. LU Tom Clancy's СТТ Red Storm ССЗ Action/Strategy 60% ССН November 1999 www.redstorm.com Surprising conversion of a simply stunning PC game that surprised a lot of people. Taking terrorists out quickly and efficiently is of paramount importance (above). Pop them before they kill their hostages. ГЇЛ The PC versions RAIS suffered from bad Al. Possibly the most impressive - ала то по, Not for the environment in the game is found inside т squeamish...there's a lot of blood. the English Houses of Parliament (right). Bit of an odd one this, seeing as the rainbow is the universal symbol for homosexuality. With this knowledge you'd be forgiven for assuming that the story, and subsequently the game, dealt with six enraged homosexuals popping off terrorists with Navy SEAL- like accuracy. Nope, it actually slots in with Clancy's Jack Ryan series of novels (and movies...Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present. Danger.) Ryan is now president, and the chap who Willem Defoe played in C&PD is the head of the. secret international military organization, Rainbow Six. The organization is an anti- terrorist group like the SEALs or the British SAS, but is funded by a number of different countries. No single government is responsible for their actions so they can step into pretty much any situation and take out the bad guys. ER hen the PC version of Rainbow Six was released last year, pretty much everyone went completely ga-ga over it. In a time when Quake || was ruling the roost, here was а game that used a completely new 3D engine, was based on a book (a book ferchrissakes!!!) by Tom Clancy, was from a relatively new publisher and mixed action elements with some pretty beefy strategy. Before it was finished а lot of people thought it was a little over-ambitious, but once it was released it helped establish a new sub-genre of action game. Who knows what you'd сай it, but kind of a tactical/strategy/action thing. Sure, it had some problems...like an Al system that forced some of the NPCs (non-player characters) to act a bit odd, and it had some weird multiplayer quirks—but at its heart it was a good, solid game. The kind of thing you only normally get on the PC, and the kind of thing that console gamers look at and say, “I wish we had something like that.” Well, lookee here...Red Storm has recognized this, and has commissioned a host of console versions. There's to be a Dreamcast version when the system launches, a PlayStation version that's a completely reworked game by Aliens vs. Predator developers Rebellion in the U.K., a Game Boy game (the inspiration for which you have to find surprising?)...and then this, the №64 game which we should see in stores in time for Christmas. Based on Clancy's most recent Jack Ryan novel, the game puts you in the position of the commanding officer of Rainbow Six—a multi- nally funded anti-terrorist organization that has to quickly curb any nastiness with the minimum amount of fuss. As CO, your job means that you have to be in complete control of every aspect of each mission...and that's what sets Rainbow Six apart from all other 3D action games. When you start a new campaign, which will take you through 22 individual missions, you'll be faced with a large amount of information to digest before you move into any actual "doing." Before doing anything you have to look through intelligence reports and briefings to find out exactly what it is you're supposed to be performing. Once armed with the facts, you have to pick a team of operatives from a list of 20 possible soldiers from around the world (each member has unique skills) and then arm them with the equipment suited for the mission in hand. Having done this, you can survey the plans of the location you're heading to, split your group up into teams and then plot points on a map indicating where you want them to go. This whole “planning” phase is extremely important to the success of the run in, kill everyone, rescue hostages and get out as quickly as possible thing, so you need to give everyone something important to do. The mission planner will give you the flexibility to send your guys into action via different routes and then get them to hold their position before proceeding. By assigning orders to certain tasks you can send your boys in, get them into а strategically important location and then make them wait until everyone else is ready to proceed. Once all of your plans are set, you step into the action element of the game where you take on the role of one of the soldiers. As the mission starts you'll see your teammates run off and carry out their orders exactly as you specified. You can choose to follow instructions to the letter—but if circumstances change you can choose to do a “lone soldier routine” and just storm in guns blazing and try to blow stuff up without getting killed. You can't play this thing like Quake or even GoldenEye for that matter though. You start off with 20 guys to choose from and it’s in your best interest to make sure they don't get capped in the first couple of missions. The team members are effectively your “lives” —if you get killed you take on the role of another soldier—but once everyone's dead you no longer have any men with specific skills to send into battle. Each character has his own personality traits, and as you work through the game you actually find that you can rely on certain guys to get the job done. The idea is that if a character gets cut down midway through the game, you have some kind of emotional attachment. In You need to plan quite meticulously (below three shots) before going into the action phase of the game. practice it doesn't quite work like that, but if you have a particularly experienced guy who's fast and accurate, it is really annoying when you don't have him to rely on anymore. It certainly makes things more fun than the usual cannon fodder you find in most action games. Unfortunately, the version we had for this preview didn’t have the Al system properly implemented, so we can't comment on whether the soldiers act as dumb as their PC counterparts. Let's hope not...ask a PC gamer about Rainbow Six and they'll recount frustrated stories of soldiers not being able to walk through doorways. Technically this is certainly an impressive achievement for the №64 though. While you wouldn't necessarily expect some of the gameplay elements to be suited to joypad play, it's surprising what a good job the guys at Saffire have done to take it away from a mouse-based environment. On a purely cosmetic level it has to be said that the graphics engine is very impressive. With a 4-Meg pak slapped into the machine the 3D engine produces some amazing results. Running around inside the British Houses of Parliament and up the clock tower of Big Ben is particularly impressive with some beautifully drawn textures. It all runs very smoothly too and doesn't resort to excessive fogging in the more expansive levels. While the PC version offered a comprehensive on- line multiplayer experience, the №64 version offers something that has to be applauded...a two-player co-operative mode. Sure it has your usual deathmatch play (although only for two players) but the co-op stuff is what could help make this a game people can really dig. Sneaking into an enemy base camp with a buddy can be quite an exciting experience—as long as you don't get pissed off and just start shooting at each other with heavy pieces of artillery. df | | | | Although Rainbow Six is a hot new gaming franchise that should be hard to mess up, Saffire's previous games have been a real motley bunch of products. The 12 products listed below that the company has worked on 50 far have ranged from excellent (Starcraft add-on pack) to some glorious examples of mediocrity (Bio FR.E.A.K.S) to some utter, utter crap (James Bond on | Game Boy). Let's hope 13 isn’t an unlucky number for the team. • Starcraft: Brood War (РС) * Oddworld Adventures (GB) • Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley (Ps) * Bio F.R.E.A.K.S (N64, PS, РО • Rampage World Tour (№64) • James Bond 007 (GB) * Legends 98 (PC) * Spider-Man: The Venom Factor (PC) • Wayne Gretzky and the NHLPA All Stars (SNES) • Hardball 95 (Genesis) * Nester's Funky Bowling (Virtual Boy) * Virtual Comics (PC) . THE #1 ARCADE SMASH POWERS ONTO SEGA DREAMCAST. “IT'S THE MOST INTENSE RACING ACTION YOU'LL EVER'FEELI see тт АНуряо THUNDER 16 ABOUT SPEED AND | EASE OF: PLAY, RADICAL STYLE AND KLING GRAPHICS. " "HYDRO THUNDER IS A THRILL-A- ЗЕСОМО EXPERIENCE FROM BEGIN- NING TO END. THE GAME IS INCREDI- BLY FAST AND FLUID AND THE TRACK DESIGNS ARE TO DIE FOR.. IGN DREAMEAST June 99 tme "А MIX OF DEATH-DEFYING LEAPS; TIGHT RACING ACTION, AND THRILL-A- NS." MINUTE TURNS AND BÜRI GamePro JUNE ‘99 = С PREVIEW (EXE Nintendo LTTE Mass Media Си Да [uw Strategy 65% CTT september 1999 www.nintendo.com ГИ Addictive gameplay, 3 unique races, 2-player splitscreen. [COL splitscreen kills the stealth strategies in StarCraft. ПИТИ А Zerg rush against an undeveloped Protoss base. MULTIPLA Why was StarCraft so successful on the PC? Simple. Multiplayer support. Blizzard's battle.net system combined stable Internet gameplay with a seamless front end for StarCraft chat and trash talk. While on the N64, you can only play the game between two players in splitscreen mode, you can add enemy А! to create a | sense of having more than | just two players struggling for power. This version also limits the number of total | opponents per map to a | maximum of four (as | opposed to eight on the PC). | However, you can have both | players on the same team | battling it out against ће | CPU in co-op mode. Add that | to the all-new multiplayer maps and you have a game that's highly replayable. Like all real-time strategy games, mining raw minerals to produce more units is an ever-important part of StarCraft. Zergs produce units quickly and can easily overrun enemy bases. They can also infest enemy command centers. ne of Nintendo's big surprises at E3 this year was StarCraft, a mega-hit PC game published by Blizzard last year. Nintendo's decision to publish both StarCraft and Command & Conquer (see Review Crew) suggests that they're trying to diversify their games library in order to attract more mature gamers. StarCraft for the №64 includes both the original game, as well as the Brood War add-on missions for maximum replay value. There are a total of six "episodes" (more than 50 missions) which have running story lines. Additionally, there are also single and multiplayer maps exclusive to the N64 version. There's no Battle.net of course, but you can play two-player via splitscreen mode. This 92 | accolades Starcraft has | garnered from the gaming press since its release on the The number of awards and | | | PC last year. implementation is somewhat dubious, as you pretty much lose a large part of the strategy if you know where your opponent is on the map from the onset. StarCraft involves a massive conflict between three unique races: Terrans (humans), Protoss and Zergs. Each species has strengths and weaknesses that work together to keep the game nicely balanced. Terrans have access to a wide array of weapons and vehicles, but are the weakest of the three races so you'll have to rely on pure firepower. The Protoss use their heightened control of psionics to overwhelm their opponents. Because the Protoss are the most resilient of the three species, producing units will naturally take more time. Lastly, there are the hive-like Zergs which expand and breed fastest of the three. Whichever race you choose to play with will inevitably dictate how you play the game. If you're used to seeing the action in 640 x 480 on a computer monitor, get ready to do some adjusting. Both resolution and animation has been scaled back to accommodate the N6q’s restraints. Another major crippler for StarCraft is the lack of mouse support for N64. Everything you took for granted on the PC version—selecting multiple units or jumping between hot points on the battlefield—is handled through the analog stick. Regardless, Mass Media has done a commendable job porting StarCraft to Don't miss the animated series on BKN KID'S NETWORK! Every 2 |. yoU-own contains a monster! Monster Rancher 2 can unleash hundreds of monsters from your common household CDs. That's right-you can actually use this game software to spawn unique monsters from any CD you own- music CDs, PC software CDs, or even other game CDs: EVERY CD YOU OWN. YOU'RE THE MASTER: fully interact with your new pets Hundreds of new monsters with monstrous attitudes Unlock secret expeditions, J levels, and monsters Release your Monster Rancher 1 monsters into the world of Monster Rancher 2 For 1 or 2 PLAYERS Start unleashing your Monster Rancher 2TM 1999 Tecmo Ic. US and foreign patents pending. Tecmo is a registered aden Entertainment, INC, PlayStation and һе PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Со Interactive Dal Sofware Association. PREVIEW Hot Wheels Turbo Racing LN Electronic Arts Stormfront Studios СЭН га! 1999 [IE www.ca.com ET More than 40 classic Hot Wheels cars. XT А дате like Micro Machines made better use of its license. СТИ criss-cross-crash, Like a lot of other racing games, the cars in Hot Wheels Turbo Racing are rated according to their top speed, jumping ability, control and durability. Abit of trial and error is required to find the best car | for each track. | While they don’t perform | exceptionally well on road courses or tracks with a lot | of jumps, 4X4s perform | extremely wellon many | | hidden shortcuts, such as the one seen in the screens above. | 00:19.99 5 LAP IL Performing outlandish flips, barrel rolls and 360s mid- air earns you all-important turbos. uick—what company makes the most cars each year? Yup, it's Mattel, maker of Hot Wheels. Introduced in 1968, Hot Wheels are collected by more than 15 million children and adults, who purchase them at a rate of seven per second, 365 days a year. Hoping to capitalize on the enduring popularity of these tiny metal cars, Electronic Arts is readying the first-ever Hot Wheels PlayStation and N64 game, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing. The game includes more than 40 classic car designs you're almost certain to remember from your childhood, including Twin Mill, Red Baron, Jet Threat and Cat-A-Pult. It also includes many trademark Hot Wheels track elements, including loops, danger chargers and criss-cross intersections guaranteed to provide plenty of thrills and spills. Turbo Racing plays much like San Francisco Rush Visit the garage to learn about a car's attributes as well as the year it was originally cast. or Beetle Adventure, with plenty of hidden shortcuts, pick-ups, breakthrough areas and H-U-G-E jumps. The game's main innovation is a stunt mechanic that allows players to earn extra turbos by performing mid-air spins, barrel rolls and end-over-end flips. Blow the landing, however, and you could end up upside down...or in flames. Environments include Wild West, Glacial Rift and Haunted Highway. Each of the game's 10 tracks 15 loaded with hidden shortcuts, power-ups, and bonus cars. You'll also find plenty of trademark Hot Wheels tracks— you know, those narrow, brightly colored track sections capable of being bent into seemingly impossible configurations (or did you just use yours to whip the snot out of your little brother?). Like to listen to crankin' tunes while you drive? Hot Wheels Turbo Racing features tracks by such artists as Mix Master Mike, Rev. Horton Heat, Meat Beat Manifesto, Primus and more. Most of the songs have a frenetic, surf guitar sound that suits the game perfectly. If you're an avid Hot Wheels collector or you just. like over-the-top racing games, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing is well worth taking for a spin. sf ‘The new kin enters the ting |" и Yo \Weestcenania 20 СЛ (С November /999 МЕ THQ COLOR => 3 million | The number of Turok games | Acclaim has sold worldwide | so far (including PC titles). PREVIEW GALLERY Turok: Rage Wars Three issues ago, Quartermann got the exclusive scoop on Acclaim's next game in the mega-popular Turok franchise, Turok: Rage Wars (formerly Turok: Bloodlust). Here are the first screens of it in action. As Qmann previously reported, Rage Wars (due out this November) will concentrate on the multiplayer side of things. The game will have 17 playable characters, 36 deathmatch maps and loads of new items and weapons. Some of the things you'll find include magnets (which are used to change the trajectory of gunfire) and war hammers with grenades on the ends of them (which explode on contact...almost as deadly as attack dogs that shoot bees out of their mouths when they bark). The game will also have a bunch of modes including Capture the Flag, team play and an improved Frag Tag, where the monkey is no longer helpless (it can get a power-up that will allow it to grow into a monster). Rage Wars will have an awards system as well, where you get medals for wins, head shots, kills, etc. You'll be able to unlock secrets (like new character models (i.e., "skins") by earning enough medals. This all sounds fine and dandy, but if you remember Turok 2, the four- player game left a lot to be desired. “Turok: Rage Wars will be much faster and smoother than the Turok 2 deathmatch game,” David Dienstbier, creative director at Acclaim Studios-Austin (formerly Iguana), tells us. “We will be caching entire levels in RAM, making everything run much better than they did in Turok 2.” Let’s hope so. And if four-player deathmatch isn’t your thing, Rage Wars will have a single-player game (arena-type combat with CPU-controlled bots) and a two-player co-op mode. Destruction Derby 64 49 -соге/ріасе? score/place} 1i The mega-popular (and in our opinion, slightly overrated) Destruction ИРИ о 6 23 5 РИ Derby series is finally coming over to the Nintendo 64. Licensed through Psygnosis, published by THQ and developed by Looking Glass, Destruction Derby 64 will be a completely new game with new features such as a four-player option and Bomb Tag Mode (it's like a game of Hot Potato, only with bombs). Wo TFS scorejplace 55 15 6 4 и SOMEWHERE, GEORGE HAD MADE A MISTAKE. PlayStation № GAME BOY сос PlayStation® screen shots shown. Chessmaster 6000 is still available for PC CD-ROM. Look for Chessmaster 7000 for PC CD-ROM this fall. =A ©1000-1900 The Leaming Company ал its subsklaes. Al rights reserved: Chessmaster is a registered trademark ol Не Leaming Company Propertes Ino. Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and the Official Seal are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. PlayStation. and PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Al other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of MINDSCAPE their respective holders. In the interest of product improvement, information and specifications represented here are subject to change without notice. PREVIEW GALLERY Resident Evil 2 We told you everything you need to know about RE2 for N64 in last month's Resident Evil Everything feature, so here are some more screens to tide you over until the game hits store shelves in October. More than just a pretty racing game, Titus’ Roadsters, due in September, has you betting on the outcome of each race and spending your winnings on auto upgrades and entry fees into higher-stakes circuits. You can even bet against yourself. The game features a four- player mode and packs 10 tracks and зо convertibles with multiple engine configurations. You'll also be able to trade cars with opponents. Gex 3: Deep cover Gecko Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko is making its way over to the №64 from the PlayStation thanks to Crave Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics. This August release features three new levels exclusive to the system, two of which are more or less bonus rounds. More interesting is the lack of Gex's repeating voice—a problem found in Gex: Enter the Gecko. Apparently, a particular phrase will only be spoken once per level. PREVIEW GALLERY - h Winback: Covert Operations Originally due sometime last year, Winback from Koei and Omega Force is now scheduled for release in the winter of 1999. The reason for the delay? According to Koei, Nintendo took interest in the title and asked Koei to work out some of the kinks in the original version, since they felt it had potential, Because of this we'll get new four-player modes, larger levels, more complex gameplay and much more. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys With a spring 2000 release date, Titus’ Hercules is still a ways away, but it already looks like it'll capture the goofball antics of the popular TV show. You play as four different characters—including main man Herc—on a quest to rescue Zeus from Ares, the god of war. Each character has his own weapons and magic. You'll go up against a couple of Titans, too. ША Kyojin No Doshin Literally translated as Giant Doshin from Japanese, Kyojin No Doshin is set to be one of the pack-in games for Nintendo's 6400 that's coming out this December in Japan. The game itself will play like a benign version of Populous. As Doshin, you help the villagers on a southern island by changing the landscape they live on. The game's developer, Param, has not confirmed whether Doshin will make it overseas, THE RULEBOOK SAYS YOU GAN ONLY FIGHT INSIDE THE RING. BUT THEN AGAIN, THE RULEBOOK SAYS A LOT OF THINGS. Hurl WCW wrestling's A-list out of the ring and into backstage areas, locker rooms and parking garages. А— c Trash opponents with garbage cans, folding chairs and anything else that's not „у 24, WCW MAYHEM. IT STARTS IN THE RING. IT JUST DOESN'T HAVE ТО END THERE. ELECTRONIC ARTS bolted down. It's а big arena out there. Give "ет a guided tour. www.wewmayhem.com WEW...The Album Coming 10.19.99 Prima Strategy Guide Available. ‘The complete fighting game you've been waiting for is here, Fighter Maker. Finally you Can have everything you've ever wanted in a fighting game-hard-hitting one or two player 3D action, an incredible arsenal of more than 800 moves, AND professional-quality design tools that let YOU create YOUR perfect fighter. If you've Got every fighting move and combo down cold, start inventing your own! Fighter Maker puts you in total control of every ~ frame of animation, body movement, and camera angle as you design your custom fighter from wireframe to unstoppable fighting machine. When you think you're ready, Save your creation to a memory card and Kick Ass! “ıa landmark title in ole market.” — Next Generation “Finyth you can dream up can be done - ANYTHING!” с / 7 -PS Extreme “nthe most thorough editor we’ve seen аса Ме produci m Intense 1 or 2 player competition. Select from 20 fighters and 20 deadly fighting styles from all over the world. Create the Perfect Fighter ja, = da ы! Е 00 moves plus moves that haven't been invented yet. Use the test mode to fine tune your fighter's moves and A.l. for maximum damage. Save to а memory card and Kick Ass! Foe Maker, Нуни Mab оо, ра Де Designer Senes are sonar Age ис emt Son Cont Etat Пе teg e a Wea fe t= PREVIEW Square EA Square Soft Pavers: 1 ССИ rec 80% September 1999 www.squaresoft.com The Junction System is incredible. LT some of yas might not like the Junction System. ГОТ That we get it over six months later than the Japanese Squall's “alter-ego” is the star-struck Laguna Loire. uci yr Sh al een пуни Boards ort pratt ave you SR T Immediately after you graduate, you are sent on a mission that will be pivotal to the storyline. GFs, or “Guardian Forces" are as spectacular as ever in Final Fantasy VIII. ake a good, long look at the first English screens of Square's highly anticipated RPG, Final Fantasy VIII, The translation process is coming along very nicely, and even at this incomplete state, the game plays flawlessly and the translation is excellent. In case you've been in suspended animation for the last 20 years, ћеге а quick recap: the Final Fantasy series is the most revered specimen of the role-playing genre in the history of video games. While some might point to Western RPGs like the Ultima series, no saga has captured the attention of gamers everywhere like Square Soft's flagship franchise. Without peer, Final Fantasy has paved the way for mainstream acceptance of a once niche genre. While other role-players, such as the Lunar and Phantasy Star series have their own dedicated followings, nothing commands the respect of the gaming world like another Final Fantasy chapter. Taking off from a brand-new starting point, Final Fantasy VIII is completely unrelated to the events that transpired in FFVII. The eighth "Final" Fantasy thrusts you into the role of Squall Leonhart, an academy member and soon-to-be-graduate from the Garden; a world-class school for would-be mercenaries. Upon your graduation from the Garden, you are elevated to the role of SeeD captain and are sent promptly on your first "professional" mission. This mission will prove to be significant as it sets up your pivotal meeting with Rinoa Heartilly, the young, raven-haired princess that will turn Squall's world upside down. 104 - v i As is custom in the Final Fantasy series, а completely new battle system is implemented. Gone is the Materia system that millions of gamers world- wide familiarized themselves with in FFVII, and replacing it is the “Junction” system. The Junction system encompasses almost all aspects of functions that would normally be separate in other RPGs. Item management, magic- spell rosters, defensive upgrades and practically anything else you might think of is handled under this one, unique umbrella. This process is called “junctioning.” In order to junction something, you first need to find a “Guardian Force.” A Guardian Force (or "GF" as it will be referred to) is an elemental/mystical creature that you summon to do battle for you. Anyone experienced with FFVII will remember such examples like Ifrit, Shiva and Leviathan. When using a GF, their hit points replace yours, effectively acting as a mythical shield, up until their own hit points are exhausted. That, however, is only one benefit they offer. Since each character only carries one weapon (which can be Ifrit is up to his ol' fireball tactics again as he prepares to “unleash” on some poor soul. The spell effects are flashy, to say tthe least. Unfortunately, you still can't skip the степ, The prerendered backgrounds in FFVIII raise the bar on detail and design in video games. upgraded at various blacksmiths’), there will obviously be a need for other sorts of attacks. By junctioning a GF to your characters, you open up a wide variety of abilities, ranging from item use, magic attacks, GF summoning, and “draw” abilities. The “drawing” ability allows you to draw magic spells from numerous “draw-points,” much like gathering water from a well. Instead of having a set number of MP (or “magic points”), drawn spells have a limited number of uses. Fortunately you can draw spells from almost every creature you fight, as well as obtaining them from draw-points. In fact, certain spells can only be drawn from certain creatures, practically necessitating experimentation by drawing from any enemy you fight. Junctioning also allows you to defend yourself against certain types of attacks while upgrading your defensive status as a whole. The card game is the only mini-game found in FFVII VIDEOGAMES.COM ONLINE POLL What franchise would you most like to see continued on PS2? 439 Votes 404 Votes - Tomb Raider Crash Bandicoot 486 Vates "Street Fighter 3800 Votes - Resident Evil Say, for example, you junction Shiva, the ice goddess, to your defense rating. You will now be particularly adept at resisting ice attacks against you. As you survive battle after battle, not only do you raise levels via experience points, but your GF does as well. As your GF increases in level, so does the effectiveness of their defense and offense. Your effectiveness in battle will be determined largely by how well you manage your Guardian Forces. There is a large amount of flexibility in the system and there are thousands of combinations you can exercise with it. Naturally it pays to have a GF junctioned to your characters at all points. Another difference between FFVII and FFVIII is the disparity in mini-games. Whereas FFVII had mini-games aplenty, FFVIII has only one. The only mini-game found in FFVIII is the Card Battle. Don't be fooled by this deceptively simple offering as a waste of time since your success in Card Battles will dictate your growth in the game. At once a simple, yet complex card game, winning Card Battles will garner you powerful items and GFs that you couldn't ordinarily obtain otherwise. Fortunately the in-game tutorial is quite thorough, making help a few button presses away (a useful feature since. mastering this game is far from easy). It is, however, a very integral element to your success. In regards to things aesthetic, Final Fantasy VIII abandons the previously favored "super- deformed" look for a more realistic style. The characters are fully proportionate, reminiscent of Square's less than successful action/RPG Soukaigi. Set against prerendered backgrounds even more detailed than the one found in FFVIII, Square has set a new precedent in game design. Taking the FF series into a whole new realm are over-the-top spell effects that climax with the most powerful Guardian Force attacks. Screen-filling lighting effects, volcanic eruptions, spears of light blasting down from the heavens, you name it and it's probably in there. Adorning the visual fanfare are superb FMV scenes that segue seamlessly from the in- game proceedings. Beautiful character models are displayed on screen in cinematic splendor usually reserved for the finest Hollywood productions. However, Square seems determined in bridging the gap between the two respective entertainment fields, and based on the evidence at hand, it seems they are very close to doing it. Centering on the universal theme of love, Final Fantasy VIII also seems poised to usher in a new level of maturity to the usually fanciful settings. With a smaller cast of characters and a simplified gameplay system that streamlines what was once unnecessarily complex, FFVIII could be the RPG genre's crowning moment, Due out in September, it's only a couple short months to the unveiling of another legend. е 105 i [nie scea СОЛИ Naughty Dog ССИ october 1999 (ETM www.playstation.com CTI Gameplay and multi- player stuff inspired by the 16-Bit Mario Kart and GoldenEye 007. KTH Not being able to play more of this preview version of CTR. EEN certain people who “camp ош!" during the Battle Mode. | Teamsters Since the game's called Crash Team Racing, you'd | think there has to be some | sort of team angle to it all. Well, you'd be right. There's basically two teams: the good guys and the bad guys. The crews consist of four racers, each with different attributes. For example, Tiny is fast but controls like crap, | Crash is well-rounded, etc. Besides bosses like newcomer Nitrus Oxide and other secret characters we | don’t yet know about, here's. | the list of racers in the game at press time: * Crash * Coco * Pura * Polar * Cortex * Tiny * Dingodile * М. Gin PROJECT NEXT FOR 00 behind tightly closed doors at the moment. We do know that it's | | Naughty Dog co-founder Andy Gavin's project, but that's it. Crash Team Racing Possibly a free-roaming action adventure like Spyro, possibly something else. In the end “something else” won—and so far, we don’t see any reason to complain. Even in its early stages, it's clear just how fun this character-based racer is going to be...especially from a multiplayer angle, Crash Team Racing's overall feel is inspired by Mario Kart on the Super NES (considered by many to be superior to the №64 version). On the multiplayer side of things, GoldenEye 007 and Bomberman act as inspiration, Hence the game has all kinds of options in the multiplayer mode, making it totally customizable. Choose the kind of items you can pick up, who's against whom, the type of match, etc. For the record, there are 16 standard tracks for the Gran Prix, Time Trial, Vs. and Adventure Mode, seven battle mode tracks for the Battle Mode and two secret tracks. All of CTR's levels are modeled after stages from previous (and future?) Crash Bandicoot games, Since CTR is a Crash game, there’s a fairly easy way to beat the game, and a much harder way. For hardcore gamers who want to beat every last percent of CTR, they can master its mildly complex turbo system to ensure first place, take on the bosses, win gold wrenches to upgrade your kart’s performance, beat N. Tropy in the Time Trial Mode for relics, and finally, find the secret levels and race Я fter Crash: WARPED, Naughty Dog wanted to do something different with Crash Bandicoot. у | Naughty Dog's next project—currently called Project Y—is | CTR's one-player adventure looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, but we can't overlook the real source of this game's staying power...multiplayer, of course, Inspired by classics like Mario Kart and Bomberman on the Super NES and GoldenEye 007 on the N64, it's sure to be jam-packed with M gameplay options we'll all love. @2 through them. Luckily for novice players, they can still beat the game without doing all of this stuff, but they won't quite get that 100 percent. The turbo system in CTR works like thi turbo boosts by power sliding and catching air. The more successful you are doing at both, the longer your turbo lasts. In addition, let's say you're power sliding through a corner, and then catch some air off. of a ramp. Well, the two turbos in succession act as a combo of sorts, hence an even longer turbo. In addition to power-ups by way of the turbo system, your kart can get decked out with a variety of offensive and defensive items. TNT crates, Wumpa fruit, bombs, shields and missiles are available via crates scattered throughout levels. You're also awarded Gold Wrenches when you beat a level or boss. These wrenches can be used toward five engine, exhaust and tire upgrades. There are around 30 wrenches in the entire game. Collect all of the wrenches, save your souped-up kart and then cream your friends. Graphically, CTR is the most impressive Naughty Dog game to date. They claim the game has no pop- up, fog, polygon dropout or any of the other things you'd expect when a game pushes the PlayStation to its apparent limits. And from what we've seen and played thus far, they're right. As a side note, CTR supports the Namco JoGcon and NeGcon in addition to the standard Sony Dual Shock controller. gfe 106 takes to shoot and slice your way through els and become the "Super Ultra Sexy xy moves, you'll face a town full of the meanest, ugliest st outlaws you've ever seen. puzzles, play mini-games, deal with bizarre and deadly bosses, and earn those ever important "sexy points" you'll need to become the В i agetec | и c AM Ages (61997, 1998 From Softwar, Inc. All rights reserved. Agetec, tho Agetec logo, Rising Zan: The Samurai Gunman and the Rising Zan Logo are trademarks of Agetec, Inc. я-> PREVIEW Konami KCE Tokyo 60% ‘September 1999 www.konami.com Improvements aplenty have been made over the first game. The battle engine remains largely unchanged. The graphics are still kinda crummy. It will get crushed by Final Fantasy VIII. There are а huge number of characters available. Especially if you have a memory-save from the first game. Е н 4 hen Suikoden was first released, way mm back when, in the dark ages of 32-Bit gaming, "RPG" was still a taboo word to any other than hard-core gamers. Final Fantasy VII hadn't been released yet, and RPGS weren't the cash-cow commodity that they are now. So it was with a certain amount of balls that Konami decided to release Suikoden (and later, the excellent strategy-RPG, Vandal Hearts), one of the more critically acclaimed RPGs of the next generation. | Despite the uncertainty surrounding the RPG market at the time (and the horrible romance-novel cover | artwork), Suikoden was a certified hit, paving the | way for other RPGs like Wild Arms, FFVII, Persona | and Shining the Holy Ark. Aside from legitimizing the RPG market, Suikoden also proved to be an excellent RPG for many, including the “old-school” veterans, Despite the rather primitive graphics, Suikoden boasted a lively combat-engine, a stellar story line and а large number of characters that you | | With everyone looking for the next big thing in graphics presentation many may be surprised to see Suikoden И sticking with the same old, same old, | especially with the likes of | Wild Arms Il, Final Fantasy VIII, Project Ares and Grandia II on the horizon. Well, although fully 3D RPGs may be gaining ground in terms of realism | and detail, they still can’t replace the mood and visual | language of the simple, 20 sprite. With clear, colorful hand-drawn sprites, the artists can convey a greater amount of detail, style and expression that are often lost in the clumsy transition to polygons. Although 3D is gaining ground, it's nice to see the old-school RPG make a comeback. Fans of the first game will notice an increased level of detail in the game's appearance. | | | | 108 | "Hey, Booger, Tut | It? sa big world with lots of | monsters out there. | Be careful." could fit into your party. Being able to create your own castle was a nice bonus. Now, two years after the release of the original, Konami is back with the sequel to the ground-breaking original. Taking place immediately after the conclusion of the first episode, you and your party find yourselves in the middle of a surprise attack. Following the skirmish, you're transported quickly into a whole new convoluted story line filled with plot twists and substantial character development. Story line elements aside, not too much has been messed with on the graphics front. Characters are still sprite-based, but, thankfully, the artwork has been improved with greater detail and a richer color palette. Spell effects are also nicer, making better use of the PlayStation’s graphic capabilities. The soundtrack, as could be expected considering the quality of the first, is excellent, providing the epic score a series like Suikoden warrants. In the Japanese version of the game, if you have a completed memory-save from the first Suikoden, start а new Suikoden II game on the same memory card and you'll find those original characters as part of your party. It certainly doesn't hurt to have as much help as you can get, and might even encourage those who never played the first game to give it a try. We expect this feature to be in the U.S. version, but we can’t confirm that as of press time. + CUT • им Playstation toa e tors omer ишш ca, а. Дона rete lament ant Cyt Я | a Те о un d а edam а th те Щй Bears fossa, 01098 nen a МЫЛ PREVIEW ТИЕ Psyonosis ECCE Psyanosis-Leeds CCCII october 1999 TTT www.psygnosis.com OTT Incredible hi-res graphics. XT The occasional loss of frame-rate. [COLLIE Do we really need another WipeOut? Thought Psygnosis had exhausted all of the possibilities with WipeOut and WipeOut XL? Think again. Turns out the boys | and girls in Leeds still had a few tricks left up their sleeves, including: * Dual Shock Analog. Controller support (we'll spot you that one, but how about...) * Hi-res graphics that are 60% sharper than XL • Anew Tournament Mode, Challenge Mode and Death Match Modes * 7 new weapons (plus the ability to discard unwanted weapons) * 3 new teams * Smoother audio mixes courtesy of DJ Sasha * The return of cult graphic design agency Designers Republic Many have alleged that video games like WipeOut were the inspiration for Star Wars-Episode One: The Phantom Menace's exciting pod racing scene. ne of the PlayStation's five launch titles, the original WipeOut helped sell thousands of new systems (particularly in Europe, where for months one copy of the game was purchased for every two systems) and sowed the first seeds of doubt about the graphically under- powered Sega Saturn. The game, with its thumping techno soundtrack and futuristic visuals, also introduced a number of brand-new marketing "hooks" to the video game industry; music CDs and game-inspired club-wear were snatched up by eager fans, and promotional game kiosks were set up at popular night clubs. While a pair of sequels (WipeOut XL for PlayStation and WipeOut 64 for N64) helped franchise sales top 1.5 million, neither rekindled the excitement generated by the original. Seeking to capitalize on PlayStation's current installed base of over 50 million systems, Psygnosis hopes to introduce the series to scores of new gamers with the impending release of WipeOut 3. In the attempt to infuse the game with some much-needed originality, WipeOut 3 is being created by a number of developers from Psygnosis Leeds Studio with no prior WipeOut experience. (Only one original team member remains.) The result is a game with fresher track designs, an easier learning curve, and dramatically sharper visuals; the game's hi-res graphics are reportedly 6o percent sharper than WipeOut ХІ, A number of minor tweaks, such as the ability to drop unwanted weapons, have finally been made and are sure to please long-time fans. Cult graphic design company Designers Republic has been brought back into the fold for the third installment to create logos for the new teams as well as the game's interfaces. Also, the decision to include only urban tracks gives the game a grittier, realistic look. All-new ship designs and seven new weapons also join the mix, while old favorites such as the shield and homing missiles have been modified to improve their impact. The analog control, although a bit touchy for newcomers, makes mastering advanced courses a bit easier. As for WipeOut's celebrated soundtrack, a well- known British DJ, Sasha, has been appointed as musical director. In addition to selecting tracks from such artists as Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Propellerheads and Paul Van Dyk, Sasha is developing his own mix for the game. While many long-time PlayStation fans undoubtedly will greet the game with a resounding “been there, done that,” gamers who missed the series’ previous installments should check it out. + The Mega Mall track gives new meaning to the term “downward spiral.” Е ZAKATZ > JA2TROY NOVEMBER 15 1999 12: defy urban gravity PlayStation в FEATURING: The Mail Service Hold Mail Authorization PLEASE NOTE: This service expires 90 days from the stop-mail date. Please stop mail for: Date to Stop Mail Address fel Please stop mail until | return. [Г] Please resume normal I will pick up all undelivered delivery, and deliver all held mail. mail, on the date written here. Date to Resume Delivery Customer Signature Official Use Only а d Lot Number Delivery Route Number If option A is selected please fill out below. Note to Carrier: All undelivered mail ~~ ИЦ has been picked ир COMPLIMENTS OF THE STAR OCEAN GAME DEVELOPERS. YOU'RE GOING TO BE AWHILE. оо bad theres no “indefinite date” box to check оп Т youll be returning. Everything you do in this game will have those post office forms. Since you have no idea when an impact on the way the journey ends. If it ever does. You start on a quest that begins at the edge of the universe. And ends — well, that's entirely. up to you. Everybody you meet, every step апа every decision you make will shape your destiny. And the fate of a planet. In short, the evil gods are poised to destroy every living creature witha great meteorite that heads straight for the planet. Ferocious monsters threaten at every turn, Deadly magic lurks in the shadows. And to raise the stakes even higher, questions of identity hang in the balance. So you must battle against the evil and hideous monsters in real-time, polygonal combat. You can customize complicated combination moves and set up decoys to take the fall. But no matter what, theres still no end in sight. Because who you choose to talk to and share information with will greatly affect you. Characters can think and feel for themselves. Some will join you on your quest, others will betray you. And to add to the challenge, you have the option of playing two different characters, both unique in personality and both having an impact on the course of the game. Even your emotions determine the fate of your journey. You may choose to be romantically linked with another © 1999 tri-Ace Inc /LINKS/ Minato Koio/ENIX. АП Rights Reserved. STAR OCEAN The Second Story is a trademark and ENIX is а registered trademark of Enix Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. character, or you may choose to remain friends. But no matter what, it will affect your path. And more seriously, if а сјозе friend dies in battle, you'll feel incredible rage that will cause you to fight with more furious combat moves. And theres no easy way out. Tools and skills do not E GRE санд just appear along the way. You must create many items from raw materials. And to do that you'll have to master difficult skills like alchemy, cooking, songwriting, or say, metalwork. There are count- less routes to travel through this game, and over 80 endings. The deeper you delve, the more you'll discover that nothing—no detail, no clue, no conversation, по skill-- can be taken for granted. And that anything is possible, Including the fact that you might not ever make it back. DISCOVER WHAT'S OUT THERE. € ENIX. PlayStation WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM وح СТИ Electronic Arts СТИ Electronic Arts Си s CEE sports 90% ПЕТИНЕ september 1999 EEN иннеа.сот ECT You won't believe how good the graphics look. Running the ball isn't as tough as years past. ‘Some might complain that running is actually too easy using certain star running-backs. CCITT At this point- nothing. MET Пън The Windmill New animation makes a | world of difference. Madden NFL 2000 t won't take long for Madden fans to notice а healthy number of improvements in this year’s game. An infusion of polygons, deep shading and better proportioned players have done wonders for the football stand-by. The graphic improvements are great but the speedy frame-rate is even better—it’s faster in almost all areas of gameplay. The extra juice is most noticeable in the running game which, by the way, is much friendlier than in years past. It’s on par with NCAA Football 99 in that regard. | guess bitching about it for the last three years wasn't a waste of time after all. Combining the speed with an arsenal of new ОВЕН 2K | | animation puts this 10 GOO | со осе Reasons to Buy | charts for realism. Wrap Madden 2000 tackles finally look Ri SS A convincing as do most ба. | field hits (although з: Browns are included | "PAYS reveal some | + Incredible graphics | collision discrepancy). | 5. New animation Check out the sidebar on. 6. Arcade Mode the far left to see a unique | 7. New play editor take-down. Individual size 8. Titans are included | and power rankings have 9. Мем special moves | alot to do with the ЕЕ severity of a collision as Aggressive new animation and a faster frame- rate have stolen the show. Coming in a close second is a friendlier running game. Finding the gaps and busting big holes for mega yardage gains is possible every time. Enhanced juke moves spice things up as well. An Arcade mode offers even more ball-carrying performance. Madden 2000 looks tough to beat this year. well. In other words, Barry Sanders won't be leveling many linemen, He'll certainly fake them out of their shoes though (Sanders is one of a handful of running backs that are almost too good. We'll see if EA tones down their ability before final goes out). In an attempt to jump on the “smack-talking” bandwagon, Madden 2000 contains plenty of extra animation. Players celebrate, give first-down signals and generally act like fools after a great play. In addition, coaches, referees and cheerleaders адог the sidelines giving the title a heightened TV-style presentation. The play-by-play commentary is most impressive, Somehow they've managed to keep Madden and зиттега talking almost constantly. It seems like they react to everything you do on the field. Madden even critiques your play selection (whether you want him to or not). Other notable features include the All-Madden Millennium team (top players from the entire century), hot and cold streaks for individual players and a situation creator. The situation creator allows you to concoct any wacky scenario you can think of, then play it out. Along the same lines, historic games can be entered at any point to test your skill. Overall, Madden 2000 looks hard to beat. Even Dreamcast football games are in for a fight. They may look better but we'll be surprised if they play better—very surprised. gi Fighting Force 2\eees тт ae ar Factor 1 У ЗАКОНА Enter their world | at eidos.com anro Raider: 4 he Last Revelation ) Eds тасм and tho E sign Limited. Fear Factor Computor E T г <> 989 Sports 989 Sports тв Sports 75% September 1999 www.989sports.com In-game help menus and Practice Mode for newcomers, An almost burdensome level of detail. What's next? Drug tests? Tie-in Alert In ап unbridled attempt to take over the sports gaming world as we know it (OK, we're exaggerating just a bit), NFL GameDay 2000 owners can draft senior players from another 989 | pigskin title, NCAA | GameBreaker 2000, | and have them play with | the pros. What's more, an updated Create Player feature lets you customize a player's physical attributes, salary and—no joking— mental. makeup. Further adding to the realism, the game's regular players are scaled to the size and weight of their real- world counterparts. Motion data captured from six all- pros means GameDay 2000's players move just like the real thing, too. Somewhat amusing at first, the telestrator effect becomes tiresome, since you can't cancel out of it. NFL GameDay 2000 pumps up the realism with new gang tackles, low- and high-wrap tackles, drag downs and upended tackles. ои had to figure 989 Studios would pull out all the stops for the last GameDay of the century; however, the number of new features, options and tweaks found in NFL GameDay 2000 borders on the ridiculous. Two- hundred new player animations? Twice as many plays as GameDay "99? Throwback uniforms? А Create Player feature that allows you to customize a player down to his “mental makeup?” Forget the kitchen sink—989 Studios has thrown ап entire kitchen’s worth of extras into this game. Cognizant of the fact that most gamers barely scratch the surface of today’s feature-rich sports games—when was the last time you played an entire season as a general manager?—the developers have tried to make GameDay 2000 more enjoyable for casual gamers, too; the new “Play As Any Skill Player” option lets you become the quarterback, running back, wide receiver or tight end with the touch of a button. You can also break ankle tackles or drag would-be tacklers for the first time ever with second and third efforts. Of course, your opponent has new gang tackles, low- and high- wrap tackles and drag downs at his/her disposal to keep things even. GameDay 2000 even has in-game help menus to assist newbies unfamiliar with the game’s controls. Ап updated TV-style presentation complete with telestrator-animated replays—you know, that yellow electronic pen sportscasters love to use—and dramatic camera angles make this the sharpest- looking GameDay ever. Co-announcers Dick Enberg 16 and Phil Simms add to the fun with frighteningly obscure factoids about your favorite players. Did you know Tampa Bay quarterback Trent Dilfer played for his high school golf team in Fresno, Calif.? Neither did we. For those of you who like to micro-manage your favorite team down to the smallest detail, the game's GM Mode lets you create, draft, sign, trade and release players and free agents. There's even a salary cap. The game's computer А! has been beefed-up, too. Both offensive and defensive players make adjustments on the fly before the snap, forcing you to make similar adjustments. Suffice it to say NFL GameDay 2000 has more than enough additions to keep even the most rabid football fan busy well into the next millennium. 128 E CDW.COM BUY.COM 6338 $19 „сом E Aa SCEA Insomniac Games 1 Action 60% November 1999 www.playstation.com Incredible graphics, complex and fun gameplay and Spyro's old voice is gone. It still only requires опе hit to kill most enemies. Spyro's crispy enemies after he sautés them. You're Fired If you thought the bosses in the original Spyro were. too easy, you'll be pleased to know the bosses we fought in Spyro 2 are quite tricky. Even the first boss (though somewhat predictable) forces you to time your jumps perfectly | again and again. And then just when you thought you figured things out, he changes up his pattern. The second boss, Gulp, is even more difficult. He throws anything and everything available at you. That is, unless you use it on. him first. Rockets, barrels, bombs, etc. are fair game if you're not fast enough. He even snarfs up chickens scattered around the arena to replenish his hit points. And there's at least one more boss we haven't seen! Il too often sequels come through the EGM offices that just aren't really sequels— they're almost-sequels. Isn't that annoying? Well luckily we didn't need much convincing with the preview of Spyro 2 we recently played. We were able to see the additions and improvements to this particular sequel almost immediately, in both the gameplay and graphics departments. The main complaint about the original was the lack of difficulty for experienced players. Well, if you were disappointed with the first Spyro in this regard, you'll be glad to know the difficulty has been increased. Novice gamers will still have a good time, but there's more complicated tasks for the hardcore gamer to complete thus extending the life of the Where did Spyro 2's subtitle and end boss’ name come from? When spelled in Japanese, the word Spyro (pronounced sue- Japanese) looks very similar to the word Ripto. Yes, ie-row in 's that simple. | The first thing we noticed about Spyro 2 are the graphics-they're outstanding. In fact, at one point just as a level was starting, we thought for sure an area ahead was a beautiful, hand-drawn 2D image that you had to walk into in order to бе warped to the level (like in Crash 3 or Mario 64). Instead, it ended up being the actual level, polygons and all. We just had to walk into it. game further for those who want it extended. Spyro 2 has loads of mini-games (like hockey and billiards), puzzles and over 100 NPCs to interact with (Some who present Spyro with a task or ask for a sum of gems in order to pass a certain obstacle). Gameplay is broken up into two main objective types: Talisman tasks, the primary objectives every player will take part in, and Orb tasks, the secondary, more skill-based objectives hardcore gamers will thrive оп. Thus, Spyro 2 plays more like a Banjo- Kazooie type of game than before—there’s more stuff to do, and a bigger number of levels to do them in. In fact, there's some 29 themed levels now. Fortunately Spyro has a slew of new ways to fight his way through these levels. He can now shoot things from his mouth (after gobbling them up), swim, ice skate and gain other special abilities (like supercharge, superspit and our favorite, superfly) by solving puzzles within a level. In between levels, Spyro 2's story is delivered via cinematics using in-game graphics. From what we've seen, they're very funny. Basically, the story goes like this: On the way to a much-needed vacation, Spyro gets whisked away to a world in need of assistance. And since he’s an all-around decent dragon, he obliges. So off he goes to fight Ripto, а Napoleon-esque shorty, with а staple of hulking beasts and other baddies to help him spread evil over the land. And the adventure begins. к SS Anda Dangetous\Dimension —— улог Ваше ог E. of this year’ 5 поповве:! ш: ГИ R А. | » strated in a pure anime style.” —PSM 0eu0009 nic quest..." Пса! U. must-play RPGs. '— ЕСМ X An Epic Adventure А Timeless Romance Anjnstant Classic/ ¢ NS VAN A ^ Includes: 2 Gamé CDSS CD, and 1 Exclusive "Ма AM Ж 50+ Minutes of, Animatió) z 100+ Page Cloth ај bound : Зао ипиай! > PREVIEW TBI Activision [ШОШ Neversoft Ent. СТИ October 1999 СТИ www.activision.com www.tonyhawk.com Great controls, looks nice, very addictive. ТЕШ Lots of polygon clipping which will hopefully be resolved in the final version. СТВ Missing the ramp when coming back down from а vert. EGM: What do you like the game? the ай games where you do a the day of the shoot. It really hard. | alittle later after this history by successfully about Tony: | like how you can continually adjust yourself in ve played other trick and you're committed to it. EGM: Did you perform the motions of all the skaters in THPS or did Bob and Bucky record their own moves? Tony: Well, they're all cool guys. But since a couple moves are “signature moves” | 1 had to learn one of Bob's on was | Little did Mr. Hawk know that interview, he would make pulling off a 900° in the X- Games. Congratulations Tony! hose of you out there old enough to remember (or maybe even owned) those fat old Powell Peralta decks with your huge Rat Bones wheels will easily recognize this game's authenticity. Sega's Top Skater notwithstanding, there's been a total drought of good skateboarding titles from the glory days of Atari's 720°, Unfortunately, it's been too easy as of late for gamers to lump all snowboarding and skate titles into one generic garbage pile (trust us, we know). Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is one skate game that must not be overlooked. It's quite possibly the first skateboarding title to come along that will really push the design of all future boarding games. To ensure that THPS looks as good as it plays (we'll get to that later), Neversoft employed extensive motion-capture techniques for each and every trick. Everything from your by-the-book kickflip or frontside grind, to a 720° Benihana is gracefully recorded for maximum realism. An important part of why THPS feels so responsive is because each move or animated sequence seamlessly transitions into each other without so much as an awkward stutter. Combine these visuals with the game's partiality toward extremes and you have THPS; it walks that fine line between believability and playability. А good rule of thumb in THPS is, if something's there, you can skate on it. Feel free to ollie onto benches, curbsides, over garbage cans, rails and anything else you might see at a school, in а mall or at a skate park. There will be a total of nine courses in the game, each with a different emphasis, whether it be street style, vertical, both combined or downhill tracks. Secret paths and bonuses also prolong the replay value of THPS. As for the skaters, Tony Hawk is joined by eight other professionals, including Bob Burnquist, Х Games gold medalist Bucky Lasek, Rune Glifberg, 122 _ Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Aside from the different single-player modes in THPS, such as career or single session, you can also play in two-player mode via splitscreen. There will be four unique versus games: trick attack, graffiti, hoops and horse. Each mode will force the player to skate as wisely and offensively as possible! and other notable tricksters of the street. Each one is rated in four different categories: ollie, speed, air and balance. Since the ratings correspond with real- life specialties, those known for their street finesse will possess better balance for grinds and ollies, while ramp monsters like Tony Hawk and Bucky Lasek get the most out of your vertical hang time, Each character will also have signature moves which are key to winning competitions. Successfully complete a chain of tricks and you fill up your “special” meter and score big points. Linking moves to form aerial combos is the name of the game. The best part about THPS’ gameplay is that you have complete freedom to string together any number of tricks to customize your style. You'll find yourself devising new ways to squeeze in every move in the book before coming back down. Get too greedy and you'll find yourself wimpering on the pavement. These wipeouts are some of the most cringe-inducing sequences we've ever seen. If Neversoft can clean up the clipping problems with the in-game camera, THPS will be a near- perfect skateboarding experience. We can't wait. Ёк Skateboarding is not a crime. Геоб \T er GET ora пе cw AC | | a | Py 4 | | ти Ap ES High-speed racing action with Chocobo Create ci and ather FINAL FANTASY, stars! skills => PREVIEW Electronic Arts DreamWorks Int. 12 Action 60% Fall 1999 www.ea.com www.mohgame.com Immersive, realistic Al, uses analog stick for mouse look. This game isn't coming out until fall Getting a grenade kicked back in your face. In order to make Medal of Honor as authentic as possible, DreamWorks brought in Capt. Dale Dye (retired USMC) as a consultant on everything from the look and feel of the weapons, to details about enemy intelligence and behavior. Chris Cross of DreamWorks recalls: “Originally we wanted our first mission to be the search and rescue of a general and Capt. Dye says, "That's bullsh@#! What would а general be doing back there?’ so he really helped us with the context for the missions.” The captain’s other credits include advising on films like Saving Private Ryan, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. Here, a selfless soldier sacrifices himself by diving on a live hand grenade. For the Fatherland! Relive your favorite moments from Saving Private Ryan. re you ready to rise above and beyond the call of duty? Medal of Honor from DreamWorks Interactive and Electronic Arts is a 3D first-person shooter that puts you deep behind enemy lines to stymie the Nazi war effort. You take on the role of an agent in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), whose task is to aid Allied Forces through sabotage and espionage. Not only is Medal of Honor one of the few true FPS titles out there for the PlayStation, it's also the only World War И shooter out there that accurately depicts the ravages of war. To ensure that Medal of Honor adheres to its historical background, DreamWorks based each of the game's 30 missions on real sorties of the OSS. From what we've seen, there will be plenty of missions in which you'll need to not only accomplish your objectives, but also to get out alive. “The word we'd like to use to describe this game is ‘authentic’ and not ‘realistic’ since realism often comes at the expense of fun,” explains Chris Cross, lead designer on Medal of Honor. To that end, the game is painstakingly detailed To combat the Nazi menace, you can use up to 15 different WWII era weapons—specialized arsenal like sniper rifles and anti-tank rackets, or more general purpose firearms like shotguns and the formidable BAR (Browning Assault Rifle). There are also missions which require you to go incognito and infiltrate enemy territory, Disguised as a German soldier, you can breeze by Nazi guards or flash a fake 10 to get the 55 officers off your back. Beyond 124 Castle Wolfenstein anyone? Historical details aside, Medal of Honor is also backed by impressive gameplay elements. Controlling your OSS Ubermensch is easy and intuitive. By utilizing both sticks on the DualShock controller, you can easily move, strafe and “mouselook.” The game also keeps track of hit location so that shooting someone in the belly keels him over, or a headshot may tear off his helmet. Equally as dynamic is the enemy Al, which transitions between several states of “being.” If fired at, enemy soldiers will pull back, take cover and return fire. Throw а grenade at their feet and they'll scuttle it back to you with a kick; or one guy will sacrifice himself and cover the grenade to save his compadres. They even turn tail to run for help. That’s when you shoot them in the back. For two-player modes, Medal of Honor supports splitscreen head-to-head, cooperative and a unique version of “Hot Potato” with a live hand grenade. Hopefully, the splitscreen frame-rate can keep up with all the action. Yes, war is hell, but Medal of Honor can be pure heaven. 4 GoldenEye circa 1941. Guarantee yours now with е: 4 #158975-3 * Y : 26 | Where else| Yours Lag9 vut EB can you| 5 : find all the best} video games all in one place? : NINTENDO $39.99 #128911-5 $11.95 STAR. МАЕ 1637255 SO EIE RAT #133446-5 4 W? GOLDENEYE 007 NINTENDO 64 Nintendo #156788-2 $19.99 #138510-3 #162448-5 СЕТ та ial кафи Едо: special И! р ition BLUE Ne =з 2 $29.9 = #163729-7 B 7 5 S» 9 #163912-9 Coming in mm October! EB always has what I ер need in stock at a great price. Why look anywhere else? беда урар DREAMCAST #164887-2 | FISHING CONTROLLER REAMC 8 ; 5 у r] % ' Sega : L] 2 С.А. . Racing also available. #164818-7 sist QUAKE || ; NINTENDO 64 Activision #166159-4 NINTENDO 64 $19.99 Я EUR $39.99 EL «di $19.99 #163561-4 Г $11.99 $19.99 pe #164788-2 #159967-9 | wf | wi Ш 4 TUALLY - cf y STENY EE ye #164769-0 MM rr g : $11.99 | ' It, 7 mU ^ ЛИ 3 ES #166803-7. #153581-4 io. 2 и: - \ > д... EE X (27 ЕН vor "| к тамна $12.99 #167580-0 ie $39.99 Й +154656-3 Babs! aire GAMESHARK GAME GAME BOY InterAct HANDY PACK 2 ENHANCER GAME BOY InterAct #164729-6 И reer ТШ ' И 355.99 gi | [] #166743-5 уут; #150182-4 $39.99 |“ ~ Р #161018-7 M DM Between ebworld.com and, their e-newsletter, I always feel like хх. > I'm on top the latest, greatest games. WWF ATTITUDE CES / 4 54. 99 NINTENDO 64 - зей A. dim #1621747 , #160238-0 $59.99 2 4 #166741-9 МИТОВЕ Get te. ACCLAIM: WWF ATTITUDE — PLAYSTATION Acdaim i aE + а $19.99 #167781-4 1 $39.99 #163407-0 $59.99 #139656-3. * The. рой $39.59 #154196-0 #158708-8 e й М SEE وو‎ В | #160707-6 J DID YOU KNOW? Westwood's Command & Conquer series (including Red Alert, PS games, PC expansion packs, etc.) have sold over 10 million worldwide, grossing over $450 million. PREVIEW ШШШ Westwood Studios (CECI Westwood Studios [naves 1-2 (ink) [безе Strategy ТШ 75% СТТ october 1999 CITES www.westwood.com www.dune2000.com EE The Dune license, 3D terrain, the soundtrack. ‘The Bad: The new 3D units look less detailed than the 2D PC version. ГАЛЛЕ A big nasty sandworm that swallows harvesters. THE THREE HOUSES) Family Feud Three houses fight for control of the Dune planet The honorable Atreides have a well-balanced force. The despotic Harkonnen possess atomic weaponry. The Ordos have immense resources and wealth. It’s important to build your structures оп a solid cement foundation. If you build without a solid foundation, your structures will continually take sand damage. pice. It is the nexus of all civilized societies. Often called Melange, Spice serves many purposes. The elite who consume Spice regularly can live for hundreds of years. Indeed, widespread use of Spice has prolonged the lives of millions. But all of this comes at a price. The rarity of Spice has sparked a bitter conflict on Arrakis (the only known planet with Spice) between three powerful houses of the empire. In Dune 2000, you take control of one of the three houses in their campaign to dominate Arrakis and control the flow of Spice. He who controls the Spice, controls the universe, Dune 2000 is a real-time strategy game that dwells in the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune series. Often considered the grand-daddy of all RTS games, Dune 2000 is an updated version of the 1992 classic Dune 2. Some would argue that Dune 2 is one of the most influential strategy games ever made. The structure of managing resources, building a base and controlling troops, all in real time, has spawned a market in size that's comparable to the likes of first-person shooters. However, Dune 2000 on the PlayStation will be more than just a straight port of the PC title. For starters, Westwood has entirely reworked the graphics engine to bring Dune 2000 into the world of polygons. Each building and unit in the game has been remodeled into 3D. This allows the engine to flex some of the special effects available to PlayStation games like lightsourcing, shading and particle effects. Of course, there are advantages and Electr ^ у - 133 -v disadvantages to using 3D. For instance, compared to its 2D PC counterpart, a lot of the buildings and units look less detailed. We'll have to wait to see how the game looks once it's finalized, but from what we've seen so far, we think it's worth the trade- off. While the terrain is still a 2D background, the game now takes into account 3D factors like elevation, ridges and plateaus. Like all PC titles which rely on using the mouse, controlling the game on a PlayStation is always an issue. Sure, there's mouse support but you probably don't own one. Luckily, Dune 2000 has excellent analog support for mouse emulation. It's easy to navigate around the map and after a little getting used to, the menu system will become second nature. Of all the RTS games for the consoles, we've found that Dune 2000 has one of the better control schemes. Finally, Dune 2000 supports the PlayStation link cable for true head-to-head two- player action. That's good, because in a market that’s quickly filling to capacity with real-time strategy games, Dune 2000 needs to stand distinguished. * The Spice must flow. PREVIEW Activision Paradox Development 14 Fighting 50% November 1999 wwwactivision.com Lots of moves, соо! finishers, exclusive Wu-Tang music, No analog support, slow character movement. ОГ Dirty Bastard's drunken-style. Stop falling down so 1 can hit you! Peaceful Violence The gun is not mightier than the sword, declares the Wu-Tang Clan. Concerned about images of violence that are frequently portrayed in the rap/hip-hop culture, the Clan has decided to actively prohibit any kind of reference to guns or random violence. You won't be seeing any handguns or drive-by shootings in the game, just some good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat with an occasional ninja blade thrown in for fun. You best protect ya’ neck! Each Clan member has his/her own gruesome finishing move. Here, RZA demonstrates his sword-wielding ability by slicing and dicing Wuji. Still disappointed over losing Thrill Kill? ‘Angst no more. The game uses the same engine, enabling a 1-4 player bloodbath. t first glance, one might be tempted to overlook a fighting game featuring members of a popular hip-hop/rap group, simply dismissing the game as а novelty that will only appeal to the most hardcore of fans. A lot of people did indeed scoff when Activision announced a fighting game based on the highly popular Wu- Tang Clan. There have been many attempts to capitalize on a pop-culture icon in the past and most have failed miserably (sorry to all two of you Shaq Fu fans out there). But underneath the hip-hop exterior, you just may find a decent fighting game. Utilizing a modified version of the now-legendary Thrill Kill engine, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style features one to four players battling to the death in a variety of three-dimensional arenas. All of your favorite Clan members are here, including RZA, GZA, ОГ Dirty Bastard, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon the Chef, U-God, Mastah Killah, Ghost Face Killah and the Method Man. Each character has an alter ego, boosting the total number of selectable characters up to 18. There are a total of 10 arenas located around New York City and various areas of China where you can show off your Shaolin style. The non-linear Story Mode launches your Clan member of choice in a quest to conquer the 36 chambers of death, an integral part of the Shaolin style on which the Wu-Tang Clan bases its philosophy. The majority of the moves are done in a standard fighting game fashion—quarter-circles and half- circles followed by button pushes are the order of the day. There is a surprisingly substantial amount SANG DAO JRAEKWON. of moves to learn for each character, including a variety of throws, combos and special moves. At this point in time, the control is pretty tight, but the responsiveness could be tweaked a little. Unfortunately there is no analog control, and it's a bit difficult to change your focus on an opposing player. The game is still very playable, but it would help if you know exactly who you are trying to attack. What good would a game based on hip-hop artists be without some decent background music? Wu- Tang: Shaolin Style features some classic tracks from the Clan, and it also includes three brand-new songs exclusive to the game. This will be the Clan's only new release of 1999 —an extra incentive for the die-hard fans. Even better news is that since the game is expected to get an M rating, all of the musical fare will be completely uncensored. Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style is sure to turn (and decapitate) some heads when Activision releases it later this year. The novelty factor will sell the game to the niche crowd, but fighting fans should give it a try as well. 4 Bring me the head of the ОГ Dirty Bastard! ADY FILMS ANIMATION FOR A NEW GENERATION!” www.advfilms.com infocadvfilms.com Test your courage in the fight of your life! Following the grand tradition of Martial Arts cinema, Tekken: TEKKEN © 1997 1998 НАМСО LIMITED / ASCII ‘CORPORATION / Sony Music Entertainment (дарап) inc. Chapter 2 sus зго.95) Big Showdowns Those Who Hunt Elves strike a deal with an elven mayor to rid her town of an infestation of skeletons. The condition? She must get naked. What they don’t know is that this clever elf has a double-cross in mind that could have really BIG consequences. THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES © Yu Yagami / Media Works + Amuse * Sotsu Agency SUNCOAST MOTION PICTURE COMPANY sai TOWER "goody ши, Serra CCT Berkeley Systems, Jellyvision, Starsphere Interactive [о S Miscellaneous [оо 60% (CCE September 1999 (LIE www.sierra.com www.youdontknowjack.com TTI Getting to play this game from your living room couch, instead of crowding around а computer keyboard. ВИИ Don't you just hate getting repeat questions in game show video games? LETT Don't you just hate getting repeat questions in game show video games? ү Jack Around oma) Saas You Don't Know Jack (and | its trademark bald man box | cover) is everywhere, at least | for PCs and Macs. This critically acclaimed series has several volumes, themed | installments, collections, | spin-offs and even an Internet-only show. Below are the various YDKJs (not including compilations) you | can play if you have a computer. Here's hoping some of them make their way | to the PlayStation. * уркј Vol. 1-3 * уркј Vol. 4: The Ride = YDK) Movi * YDK] Television * УОК) Sports * ҮК) The Net Show + YDKJ Offline (coming soon) | Can you identify this man? Hint: He's not the bald dude gracing the boxes of the You Don't Know Jack series... (read the story below for the answer) You Don't Know Jack What To Get the Woman Who 9) Can Demand Everything Say you're planning to send a lovely birthday bouquet to your good friend, the Greek goddess Mnemosyne. Given her domain, what would be the MOST appropriate flowers to send? (10 52,000 See this lil' screw here? In this trivia game show, you can hit а special button to send it on over to your opponent... ne of our favorite PC/Mac games of all time is finally coming to a home console. The hugely successful and wildly addictive trivia game show You Don't Know Jack will be out for the PlayStation this fall. The good news is, the PlayStation УОК) rocks. The better news is, now you'll be able to experience this fantastic party game from the comfort of your living room (instead of crowding around a lil’ computer keyboard like the PC/Mac versions require you to do). If you're not familiar with this “Irreverent Quiz Show Party Game” (as described by its creators), it’s а опе- to three-person trivia contest, set up in a game show environment. But this isn’t your average Alex Trebek-hosted dealie. This game is truly wild, and it's hosted by a very funny, smart-mouthed and sarcastic 5.0.8, He'll tease you. He'll mock you. He'll occasionally force you to answer a question, even when you didn't buzz in. Most of all, he'll make you laugh your head off. What other legitimate game show host would gauge your performance by saying, "Let's see how you did. Well...the word ‘average’ comes to mind.” The voice work in УОК) is amazing, and everything streams off the CD nicely (the early beta we received had no noticeable load times at all). Even more impressive is how live and spontaneous everything is. If you guess the wrong answer, the host may point out why you were stupid in picking out that Birthstone! ог Cosby Show ‘Character? Ruby B а (2. More Valuable than a Jar of Snot Баре Cashy Show CULTE ^ hm Carreyang а Woman's Angst Now Player One is "screwed." Не or she must answer, ог lose many dollars. Careful..if your opponent answers correctly, YOU get screwed (and penalized) instead. specific response. If you decide to skip the instructions, the host will comment on how impatient you are. If you take too long to enter your name on the high score list, you might hear, “Pick up the pace or else I'm going to do it for you." If you still take too long, you might hear, "Congratulations. You are now known as ‘Kumquat.” And sure enough, "Kumquat" will be on the high score list. This PlayStation version will have 1400 questions (Воо from the PC/Mac versions and боо new ones). It will also have special question types like Jack Attack (words will flash on the screen and you have to buzz in when you see a match, like "elephant" with "Babar"), DisOrDat (you have to choose whether the word you see belongs to one category or the other, like whether "Burundi" is a Star Wars character or someone belonging to the African Nation) or ThreeWay (you have to pick one of three items that matches the clue up top, like deciding who among Moore, Connery or Brosnan starred in The Man With The Golden Gun). If you get one irreverent quiz show party game this year, make sure it's You Don't Know Jack. Trust us. It's a blast. Oh and by the way, the answer to that question up at the top is Joe Rybicki, deputy editor (don't ask us what that means) of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. You can find a demo of YDK] in one of his upcoming issues. sf 30 explosive fand and air combat missions 5 heavily armed vehicles Twice the firepower of the original free-roaming, full ee R3 T MAXIMUM FIREPOWER : ZERO TOLERANCE — WWW.GPOLICE.COM G Police, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are TM or ® of Psypnosis; Lid. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. => PREVIEW Konami KCE Japan 1 Action 100% Available now (Japan) www.konami.co.jp Enhancements to one of the greatest games ever made. The first-person mode is useless. MGS Integral will not be coming to the U.S. in this form. c Building on the “Camera Mode" found in the original Metal Gear Solid, where you could take photos at any time in the game, is MGS Integral's “Photographing Mode.” Unlike the first, whose main purpose was to find all the “ghosts” in the game (actually the MGS development crew), the Photographing Mode allows you limited access to the girls of MGS Integral. Depending on your final score in the game, how you were rated (with an animal name, i.e., "Leopard," "Raven," etc.) will determine how close you are allowed to get near the subjects. The better your score, the closer you can get, resulting in better pictures. If that's not incentive to replay the game, then nothing is! Leora in One of the special incentives you can unlock on the VR disc is a mode which allows you to play a few missions as the Ninja. There аге only a few, but it's still cool as hell. n case you've been living under a rock the last few years, there's been this little game that came out а little while ago called Metal Gear Solid, a game so widely accepted as possibly THE most original product of the 32-Bit era that its reputation is practically unassailable, Creator Hideo Kojima, however, like many Hollywood directors, felt that there were things left unfinished and has returned with the essential “director's cut" called Metal Gear Solid: Integral. Although strictly an import, the game can be played with the Japanese or English voice-acting. In addition, after completing the game once, you can then play again in first person mode. Instead of pressing a button to slip into first-person perspective and merely examine 138 АН the wholesome goodness of MGS is intact, with loads of extras to boot. your surroundings, you can now move freely about the environments in this mode, using items, shooting your weapons, and activating switches. Unfortunately it’s about as useful as holding the controllers with your feet, since your turning speed is so slow, and you can't see your weapons or anything else. Justifying the purchase of another copy of Metal Gear Solid is the addition of the VR-Disc. On this disc are 300 additional VR missions, like the ones found on the original MGS. All sorts of missions await you: Puzzle, Mystery, Weapons Training, even Ninja missions can be played once you've unlocked them all. Aside from skill-testing virtual missions is the "Photographing Mode," which allows you to photograph the females in the game, from a distance, while they pose for you. Your final score in the game will dictate how close you can get to the chickies. While the Al is still a bit retarded (Shoot the guard in the back of the head, then hide, and he'll go back to his patrol route. Very considerate.), and some of the mission structure is a bit contrived (hot and cold PAL disc, anyone?) there is very little to moan about in this enhanced version. The only bad thing you could say about this is that it won't be coming to the States in this form. Only the VR-Disc will make it to U.S. shores, but if you can live without the useless first-person mode, then this should be fine. elf E o continents, А ating around a living с the prophecy has come. An adventure of epic proportions. r.a © 1999, Septerra Core, Valkyrie Studios, and i Торшасе 37 Monolith are trademarks of thelr respectiva. www.lith.com БТА (Ма куки SS owners. All rights reserved. Daughter of a ___ General, forbidden from battle, yet driven by duty. Whatever the consequences, sometimes a girl just has to kick serious butt. Coming this Fall to your РС. А MONOLITH > ә PREVIEW GALLERY The Last Revelation Another year, another Tomb Raider from Core Design. Despite not being as well-received as the first two games, Tomb Raider 3 was surprisingly the most successful game in the series so far, racking up some impressive sales figures. Lara's return was inevitable, but thankfully things look like they're going to be quite different this time. The levels are now far more linear and don't spread across the world in quite the same way as TR3. We've also found that the graphical style of the locations has a lot in common with those found in Eidos stable-mate Soul Reaver. Textures in the environments are all drawn with similar colors and shades to give the game a more detailed and less garish appearance. There are some groovy lighting effects too. Along with this, Lara herself looks much better as we find her drawn using a technique called “skinning” that wraps textures around the polygons and makes them look smoother. Look out for Lara before the end of the year. 140 WCW Mayhem “ш The PlayStation version is almost identical to its Nintendo 64 brother (whose preview you can read in this issue). Naturally, due to the CD format, this version has full-mot video sequences (including a bizarre, futuristic CG intro) and more voices (which are done). Otherwise, is the same, from the number of wrestlers inclu modes of play. Electronic Arts is publishing and Kodiak is developing this опе- to four-player game (due in October). JIMMY HART POWERPUFF PATROL CARTOON CARTOON FRIDAYS 7:30-11:00 PM (ET/PT). ЗАГДАТ О] «Дод YOU WITH US? тм а © 1999 Cartoon Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. CartoonNetwork.com I ә PREVIEW GALLERY Lunar 2: Working Designs brings Game Arts’ fantastic sequel to Lunar to the U.S. this winter. A thousand years after Luna and Alex first set out on their quest, evil is again plotting to throw the world into eternal darkness. As Hiro, you and your friends must find the goddess Althena and restore peace to the land. About an hour of animation and over 90 minutes of dialogue await you in this three-CD RPG. If you're familiar with Treasure's work, then you know that Silhouette Mirage is a 2D side-scroller with loads of special effects, bizarre character designs and super-tight gameplay. It was originally released for the Saturn, then rereleased for the PlayStation with added particle and translucency effects. Working Designs will release Silhouette Mirage in August. Thrasher: Thrasher: Skate and Destroy is Rockstar’s first foray into the world of skateboarding. Rather than taking an arcade approach, they've decided to focus more on the simulation side. There are 12 real-life arenas and a police officer who chases you around with a taser at the end of your run. Sponsored by the definitive skateboarding magazine Thrasher, Skate and Destroy will challenge gamers this December. м? Set for release from Bi softco Empire Interactive before the end of the year is а simple but effective action/strategy game called Sheep. Imagine something that's kind of a cross between Psygnosis’ Lemmings and Team 1775 Worms and you'll have a rough еа of what this thing is about. Control the sheep, guide them to safety and commit acts of unspeakable violence in an oddly cartoon-like environment. It's all a bit disturbing, but it looks like it might be quite fun. Developer Mucky Foot is made up of a bunch of ex-Bullfrog guys, and the head-honcho on the project, Mike Diskett is the man who brought the world Syndic Wars. A hefty pedigree to live up to indeed, but Urban Chaos looks like it might be something special. A 3D action adventure title with a difference, what really sets the me apart is the graphics engine. There is an inordinate amount of detail in the way the thing looks. You'll be surprised. i PlayStation. From Eidos this fall. THE DEXTERS ШП CARTOON CARTOON FRIDAYS 7:30-11:00 PM (ET/PT). ЗАТО міток YOU WITH US? тм & © 1999 Cartoon Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. CartoonNetwork.com "=> PREVIEW GALLERY The latest acquisition of Redding, Calif.-based publishers, Working Designs, Detonator Gauntlet is a strategy RPG very much in the vein of the Shining Force III games. With more than 50 missions, five different endings and practically no load times, Detonator Gauntlet might be just the ticket for gamers longing for another Dragon Force or Final Fantasy Tactics. Fans of strategy RPGs watch for Detonator Gauntlet this fall. 989 Sports has had a year and a half to make ShootOut 2000 a mean, lean basketball machine (ShootOut "99 was never released). Headlining the show are 150 new player moves. Finger-rolls, fade- aways, reverse lay-ups and one-handed bounce passes are just a few of the new maneuvers. We haven't played it yet but we're expecting gameplay to rival NBA Live '99. 989 will release this game in November. Fox Sports Interactive is looking to break into the tough sports genre in a major way with the help of developer Radical. NBA Basketball 2000 promises to take television-style presentation to the next level with actual graphics used in Fox Sports broadcasts. A comprehensive Create-a-Player mode is another key feature. Look for NBA Basketball 2000 this October. ма Mag 3 BRAVOISM Crave's Mag 3 is an oddball, hovercraft racing game vaguely similar to Extreme б. Fortified with 12 tripod-influenced vehicles and some twisting roadways, the game shoots for a roller coaster- Mag 3 has three cool weapons: road-mines, lasers and a quasi-particle beam thingy. Hi-res graphics, two-player contests and plenty of high banked racing are promised. Look for Mag 3 in September. CARTOON CARTOON FRIDAYS 7:30-11:00 PM (ET/PT). Notable for being the first Hyper Мео*беоб4 home conversion thus far, Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition , АДАТ О 5 the ЕЕ crew into the world ПЕНИСА. of 3D for the first time. Following in the footsteps of the Samurai Shodown series, FF:WA mixes fully TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW IT ALL BEGAN, polygonal graphics with old-school COMPLETE THE FORM BELOW AND MAIL IT IN OR VISIT US gameplay (like what Capcom AT WWW.YOUWITHUS.COM TO REGISTER FOR A FREE VIDEO. did with Street Fighter EX, but not тод = 5 - - - - --------- nearly as pretty). SNK and Г е Electronic Arts is bringing t NAME: one to the States this fall. ADDRESS: CITY/STATE: ZIP: ی‎ MAIL TO: CARTOON NETWORK PO BOX 575500 ATLANTA, GA 30357 TM & © 1999 Cartoon Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved, Offer good through September 1999 or while supplies last. CartoonNetwork.com =" > PREVIEW GALLERY Test Drive Cycles It’s about time Accolade put out a motorcycle sim! Published by Infogrames, Test Drive Cycles puts you in the saddle of 30 licensed bikes in three categories— Cruisers, Superbikes and Sportbikes (Sportbikes are a watered-down version of the Superbike, a little less power, а little less braking, etc.). Staying true to the Test Drive formula, Test Drive Cycles offers 24 tracks from around the world, traffic and head- to-head play. Just like Test Drive s, breakable objects will be littered throughout the courses. In addition, upgrades galore and customization play a big role in the game. No word if the game will contain a police chase mode; hopefully it will, Easy-rider wanna- bes can experience Test Drive Cycles this Fall. Knights of Carnage This summer, THQ will be releasing Toka’s Knights of Carnage, a one- or two-player fighting/action title. Кос is a bit similar to the ever-popular Golden Axe games, only it's in а 3D world (and is slightly slower-paced). This game takes the Golden Axe appeal to a higher level, however, by offering different gameplay styles (see picture, lower right) and shops where you can purchase new weapons and items КТУ Ld SuperCross Circuit 989 Sports has joined the Supercross revolution with license in hand. Racers Mike LaRocco, Larry Ward and Jeff Emig (to name a few) adorn the “dirt circuit.” In addition, 20 indoor and outdoor courses are featured including the Silverdome, Metrodome, Qualcomm and several others, A fancy track editor, 11 different bikes (sorry no license here) and a heavy emphasis on realistic physics are promised this November. Gare 2:80: best 3 92-10-1984 0 37:60: Као = А 9 uu Major League Е Soccer 2000 From Konami this November... the latest version of International Superstar Soccer gets a major update. All the player Al has been tweaked, the graphics have been given a major overhaul, but most importantly it now boasts a Major League license. At last...it gets real player names! Unfortunately this isn't quite the greatest license ever, it only provides 12 soccer teams and 10 stadiums...but it's a start. You also get to play in a 32- game MLS season, play in All-Star games and play-offs, and go for the MLS Championship cup. What will also make the game a bit more interesting though is the inclusion of an RPG-like “Success Mode" that allows you to develop individual players as you take them through the championships to become star performers. b 146 NHL гасеон 2000 989 Sports has toned down the hyper-speed that plagued FaceOff 99. Things are much smoother and realistic on that front. The animation (150 moves) are more NHL Championship 2000 Developed by Radical, the first Power Play Hockey is still legendary and widely regarded as the best non-EA hockey title ever. believable as well. Other big Their latest effort, published by = changes: enhanced TV-style Fox Sports Interactive, is NHL Ф presentation, smarter Al, two-man d» Championship Hockey 2000. The commentary featuring Mike Emrick goal is to offer the awesome play A and Darren Pang and new plays of Power Play with all the glitz that + designed with the help of Red Fox Sports can provide. We'll see if — = Wings coach Scottie Bowman. they pull it off this September. = FaceOff 2K is due out in October. № Е i Кала gares. AI SoS senet erri sumeret. FREI ПИ ИГ СР ТЫҢ n СИ 7 Interactive Digital Software AssociaNor. | Edi : "| haven't seen a beatin’ like that since someone stuck a banana in my pants and turned a monkey loose." Clark: "Thanks for the 'pick me up* Eddie." “> PREVIEW GALLERY ere NY Warner 2000 Like gambling? Ahh yeah, we thought so. 3005 VG2000 offers a simple-to-use interface loaded with no-nonsense gambling stand-bys. Grab your $5,000 bankroll and play: Baccarat, Video Poker, Slots, Craps, Blackjack and several more. Multiplayer will be possible only while playing Roulette, Craps, Blackjack and Baccarat (otherwise it's a single- player game). This title is slated for release in November. Of The Three Kingdoms VI Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms series has been running almost as long as a Chinese dynasty. With part VI, your object remains the same: reunite war-torn China into one powerful empire through force of arms or tactful diplomacy. Expect this title in January 2000. Konami The details are still sketchy on Konami Rally but having played the game at ЕЗ, we can Say it’s solid in the physics and frame-speed departments. Power sliding, jumping and crashing big mud-holes seems. very realistic. The cars (no word on licensing) are fully customizable with multiple upgrade parts and performance tweaks. Look for two-player racing and arcade as well. Konami will release this game in November. Apparently, it's a very popular cartoon on TV (we've never heard of it). In any case, Monkey Magic is coming to the PS this October, courtesy of Sunsoft and Mpen. This side-scroller stars Kongo the Stone Monkey, who must run, jump, climb, punch, fly and cast spells through 28 scenes (spread over five levels) taken straight from the TV show. Targeted towards 6- to 11-year-olds, Monkey Magic should prove quite fun. Studio Tour The imagination is a very powerful force. So powerful in fact, the Rugrats kids use it to take over a movie studio in this upcoming PS title from THQ and N-Space. Havoc ensues...or not. Like N-Space’s previous Rugrats title Search for Reptar, Studio Tour is a collection of lighthearted mini-games geared toward children and fans of the show. This winter 1999 release also supports four-person play in some of the mini-games. IF you want as opposite of Sega Bass Fishing as you can get, then Agetec's Bass Landing is for you. Forget about catching а huge fishy every 30 seconds—this game is all about realism. So pull up a comfy chair, grab a brewski and prepare to be patient (under the worst in-game conditions, it can literally take hours to catch something). Bass Landing, bundled with Agetec’s fishing controller, is due out in August. 148 - www.videogame We thought Final Four "99 was decent but not spectacular. Hoping to make amends, 989 Sports has implemented entirely new, super-detailed player models. Player-specific sizes and movements are on tap as well. The meat's all there—300 Division 1 teams, Create-a-Player, 32 categories of stats, up to eight-player support and so on. Hopefully the game pace will be adjusted from last year. Look for this one in November. 1 Story Designed by the creative team behind Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story eschews the super- deformed, turn-based action for a fully polygonal action/adventure reuse se за RPG. With an innovative damage system that highlights the condition of each body part, Vagrant Story already has set one foot toward a totally new gaming experience. One problem: The producers expect this game to take only about six hours to complete. VS is published by Square and will be out this fallin Japan. HP 55:100 МР 100-100. RISK тм 8 149 = э PREVIEW GALLERY Schools 2 While not exactly a true sequel to Capcom’s Rival Schools, Rival Schools 2 is more of the same tag- team action found in the first, while adding two new characters and an expanded portfolio of mini- games, like a 10-yard dash and a Bust-A-Groove-ish dancing game. The graphics remain exactly the same as before (read: slightly blocky, slightly grainy). No word on whether this will come to the States, but don’t count on it since it's more of an expansion pack than а bona-fide sequel, E 1 Valken 2 The latest in NCS’ Valken series sees the franchise take a turn for the more methodical gameplay of turn-based strategy role-playing. Valken 2 will inherit its predecessor's hardcore militaristic appeal but concentrate on character and story development. Like Square’s Front Mission series, all combat sequences are rendered in real-time 3D. By the time you read this, Assault Suits Valken 2 should be available for import, For all of you out there who grew up watching Mazinger Z or Getter Robo and their ПК, get ready for the ultimate fan service. As a side scrolling 2D shooter, берру-Х is an amalgamation of all things '705 robot anime. Each level is structured like a TV episode, complete with intro theme, ending credits and a preview of the next episode. There are even '7os-style Geppy-X commercials (see screenshot below)! This four-CD shooter from Aroma is out now in Japan. Exu-Beam Go! Sony's latest RPG is a mystic adventure set in the feudal period of Japan. The title, loosely translated, is Exceed My Corpse. A demon has placed a curse of sterility upon your family, and it's up to you to defy fate. In order to reverse the effects of this curse, you'll need to seek help from 108 gods; acquire their techniques so you may confront the demon and remove the curse. Oreshika is available in Japan now. 150 Torneco’s As if to appease all the impatient fans waiting for the much-delayed Dragon Quest VII, Enix will release Torneco's Great Adventure 2 this fall in Japan. Some of you may remember the original 16-Bit Torneco RPG on the Super Famicom, which featured the antics of a popular sidekick from the Dragon Quest series. The bulk of the game will concentrate on dungeon exploration. Torneco will journey into labyrinths underneath forests, volcanos and cemeteries. The game uses pictures of clay models as backdrops for much of the over-world villages. There are no plans as of yet for a stateside release. Harken back to the '805 and you might recall a game called Karate Champ. Now look at these screenshots and think of Ichi Geki as а karate simulator in the same vein. A large part of the game will be the actual training of your fighter in photorealistic locales. The moves you perform and how much damage you do is determined by how hard you train. Bandai will release Ichi бекі this fall in Japan. Boomerang 64 ergonomic controller for N64 with dual Z buttons and built-in rumble motors. Play Long, Play Hard, Get Into It! 125 Commerce Drive, Hauppage, NY 11788 516-435-0200 + info@nubyonline.com ба a registered trademark of Nintendo of => oM е = с га State nd не Py Sian oos regs rator Cui i E 61999 DreamWorks пасове: Gd In combat, life or death is often a Splii-second choice. You're on a covert operation for Military Intelligence with 12 authentic WWI Weapons at your disposal. Your mission: execute high-risk rescues, evade Gestapo search parties, and sabotage enemy U-boais. All to cripple the Nazi regime and ensure freedom. The entire Allied war effort hangs The Sicker the trick, the sweeter the win. NVIDIA р; Е YOU WANNA GET YOUR SWERVE ON, YOU WANNA GET INTO TRICKSTYLE. THAT'S _ WORLD IN AN ALL-OUT, GO-FOR-BROKE Ri "WHERE THE ONLY RULE IS TO WIN. BUT YO GOTTA WIN WITH STYLE. SO PRACTICE AT | THE VELODROME UNTIL YOU'VE GOT THE SKILLS TO POUND CLOCKWISE FROM THE TOP RIGHT. К Г ОРРОМЕМТ5 RIGHT INTO LAST PLACE. САМ DROP SOME ILL 720° SPINS, ВАВЗ AND BARREL BACKFLIPS, AND АМО OUT-STUNT YOUR OPPONENTS О THE WINNER'S CIRCLE. AND SINCE CKSTYLE IS POWERED BY THE REVOLUTIONARY DREAMCAST GAME CONSOLE, IT LOOKS AND PLAYS BETTER THAN ANYTHING YOU'VE EVER SEEN. SO GO GRAB SOME AIR. FEEL THE SPEED. AND TRICK YOUR WAY INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM. BRONX SLAM. ZAK T. LAYS DOWN THE SICK HEELFLIP LUGE INTO A LUGE 360 AND FINISHES WITH A HEADSPIN FLIP. Sega ©Dreamcast. AXIaim www.acclaim.net | Using Godzila's mighty foot, you can save Tokyo from the т | Tamagotchi menace in this | © | | | ^. PREVIEW GALLERY = addictive little Web game. http://wwwjitterbug.com/gvt ( | Godzilla: The Series He's mean, green and a New York destroyin’ machine. It's Godzilla, and he's coming in November to GBC from Crave Entertainment. Bite, tail whip and flame blast past tanks, helicopters, and other monsters in seven areas, including volcanic islands, New York and underwater. NBA 3-0n-3 Challenge Featuring Kobe Bryant This 3-on-3 basketball game has a two-player link mode and more than 20 cinemas display dunks, alley- oops, lay-ups and more. Nintendo will release this title in November. Antz In Infogrames’ Antz, you're Z, a worker ant who's. sick of his job and hoping to catch Princess Bala's eye and defeat the evil General Mandible (Bala's fiancé). As Z traverses 19 levels, he'll run into fearsome soldier ants, termites and other not-so "ant-friendly" insects and man-made obstacles. Look for it in October. Asteroids Asteroids is one of the best arcade shooters ever, and Activision is shrinking it down for release on GBC in August. There are three modes of play including a newly enhanced version with five worlds of 15 levels apiece with new enemies and weapons, the classic vector graphics version and two-player action, Classic Bubble Bobble With a Chase HQ Game Boy Color game already in the works, new publisher metro3D is winding up to deliver a one-two retro punch with yet another old-school arcade port, Classic Bubble Bobble, due in September. You know the drill: Blow bubbles around baddies, then bust "ет. Do well and you'll earn access to a hidden world and even more stages, some with power-ups. Graphics are colorful and crisp, and alpha blending has been applied to the bubbles, letting you see through them. Quest RPG: Brian's Journey Much as the N64 version of Quest tried to ride on Zelda's coattails, it would seem that Imagineer/ Sunsoft’s GB version, set for release in September, is an attempt to ape GB Zelda. Brian still has silly hair. Copyright ©1999 Vatical Entertainment and its licensors. AI rights reserved. Licensed by Nintendo. Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and ће Seal ot Quality are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America In. © 1989, 1999 Nintendo of America Inc. Activision Inc. PO. Box 67713, Los Angeles, CA 90025 Activision а registered trademark ©1998 Activision, ис. Zebco Fishing is a trademark of Activision, пс. ©1998 Activision, Inc. Zebco is a registered trademark of Zebco Corporation, ©1997 Zebco Corporation Deer Hunter" © 1997 Sunstorm Interactive, пс. А Rights Reserved. Deer Hunter is a trademark and WizardWorks is a registered trademark tthe WizardWorks Group, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Tournament Score ACTIVISION. WIZARD shing with а buddy VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT — D OUT OF 9 DO IT THROUGH CROSSHAIRS. „и you're мот sust a SUAVE, SOPHISTICATED JET-SETTER ano LADY’S MAN, youre a MOVING TARGET, wavicating GUNPOWDER-COVERED stores, DODGING SNIPER FIRE ano щетвдтнв TERRORIST STRONGHOLDS н ner маезту5 MOST DEMANDING MISSION ver. WIELDING YOUR stanoaro-issue, SILENCER-SHOD 9MM, seven. KILLER Q-GADGETS anoa LICENSE ТО USE THEM ғов EXACTLY THAT, тв vour TRIAL-BY-ENEMY-FIRE. so PACK THE TUX ano LASER CUFF LINKS, YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU. 4 PREVIEW GALLERY Tekken In all our excitement over the release of Tekken Tag Tournament, we've hooked up with all-new screens of the latest features to make it into the game. Aside from new costumes for Michelle and Ganryu, there are now specialized tag combos. The screenshots to the right (running vertically) are sequences for new moves and tag combos. Here Nina and Anna Williams give Armor King a double dose of lovin’ with their unique tag combo. The sequence in the middle column shows Gunjack and Bryan Fury double-teaming Paul. The sequence to the far right shows three new moves for Paul Phoenix. Look for Tekken Tag Tournament in arcades everywhere this summer. 160 КЕРАКЕ. * Coming to the PlayStation® game console. © 1999 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. Crusaders of Might and Magic, New World Computing, 300, and their respective logos, are trademarks and/or service marks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. Payson = PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. АЙ other е Е trademarks belong to their respective owners. New World Computing is a division of The 300 Company. www.3do.com NEW дна COMPUTING? секса эр 0 4 PREVIEW GALLERY EX 2 Plus Capcom's up to their old tricks again. No game is safe from a side- series and no series is safe from being perpetually subdivided by mini-updates or half-sequels. Although a PlayStation port of Arika's year-old Street Fighter EX 2 is nowhere in sight, you can look forward to an updated version at your local arcade. Street Fighter EX 2 Plus packs in three new characters and new moves for many of the existing characters. Vulcan Rose and Area are the new characters, and Ryu's archnemesis Sagat returns. Capcom adjusted the custom combos in the game to give it better balance. Obviously, fans of the EX series will adore the upgrades, but can Street Fighter EX 2 Plus crack the competitive fighting game market? Go To The Dream Park Arcade fans can check out Sega's latest sports title (not yet confirmed for the Dreamcast), courtesy of the Naomi hardware. You bat with a miniature spring-loaded bat/joystick that snaps forward like the swing of a bat. Uh-oh, another special Dreamcast controller? Feel the Power. Feel the Pounding, Feel the Speed... Feel the GLORY AGHIOS NEE HORSEPOWER Jost Tike in mm horse racing, no мо races are alike: race outcomes are determined by racetrack, conditions, pack and luck. A great party game for, DOES and spectators alike, you can be the jockey, or select watch mode, and be a spectator. As the eae уои decide when to Ре, move inside, move outside r the lead - horses even change лез, get bumped, get bbe fed and lose ground on curves. The winners are put out to stud, and the losers, put out fo pasture. ННН 2 PLAYER MODE: Roce against a friend in neck and neck competitions НЭ 1400, thoroughbred racing machines 27 different racetracks SEASON MODE: Create your own jockey and breed а stable of champions Instant replay Unlock Secret trocks, horses, titles, ond more Visit Tecmo at www.tecmoinc.com aln ном TM 1000 Taema ne. Toho laa нед acil Тесто, ис Раја and ine PlayStation одов are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment ис: DUAL SHOCK в a trademark @ Sony Comput Eee The rage conia к боты ив erac ОИ her hase L: » NT Ем >. - a E è t SID s OF RE ATOR ом THE CR R E S рођ Е COMING THIS SEPTEMBER. RESERVE YOUR Copy TODAY. WWW.CAPCOM.COM © CAPCOM CO. LTO. 1999 © CAPCOM USA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, CAPCOM and the CAPCOM одо are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO. ТО. DINO CRISIS is a trademark of CAPCOM СО. ТО. 1999 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, "Рау and the PlayStation logos ме теўеле trademarks ol Sony Computer Entertainment n. The ratings icon ва trademark the Interactive Digtal Solare Assocation. A ler marks are e property of heir spective owners Vien epe з эрек! тъ ET ‘(AiR АПАСК Eo tN SDO Real Combat. Plastic Men.” Electronic Gaming А As Sega prepares for a record- breaking Dreamcast launch on Sept. 9, gamers across the nation are buzzing about the system. Still not sure if you want one? Our 27-page look at ће Dreamcast's games and Sega's gameplan will help you make the big decision. ‘own? Yes. Out? Nope. Sega Enterprises may be neck-deep in debt in Japan, it may have posted a net loss of $378 million for the past fiscal year, but Sega of America’s top brass—now charged with saving Sonic and company from corporate game over—aren't tossing in the towel yet. Instead, they're poised to make history. "This arguably could be the biggest launch the entertainment industry has ever seen," Peter Moore, Sega's senior vice president of marketing, said of the looming U.S. Dreamcast launch on Sept. 9 . "I'm talking the biggest sales of a product here in its first 24 hours, be it a movie or CD or merchandise. We can't think of anything that came close to our projected numbers." Rocking back behind a table littered with tapes of Dreamcast TV commercials at SoA's San Francisco HQ, Moore ticks off the numbers: "Let's take the conservative estimate of 250,000 Dreamcast units at presale— that's a quarter of a million units at $200. We'll have a ratio of 1.5 or two games for every Dreamcast unit sold, That's a half a million units of software, We think we'll be .5 to one on VMUs and peripheral items such as extra controllers and what have you. This could be a $60 to $80 million 24-hour period. What has ever sold $60 to $80 million in the first 24 hours?” Photography by Rafael Fuchs mthly - 168 - www.videogames.com „But ‘Si | Debut Dollars Sega thinks its Dreamcast launch will generate bigger bucks — between $60 and $80 million — on day one than any other product in entertainment history. But do the numbers crunch true? According to the launch-day figures earned by the following high-profile products and flicks, Sega doesn't seem to be fibbing. Nintendo 64: $20 million Episode |: The Phantom Menace: 528.5 million Tamagotchi: $22.5 million The Lost World: Jurassic Park: 5261 million Sony's AIBO Dog: S10 million по Sega is, in а word, psyched. And so are gamers. When we scoured the nation for opinions on the system, the majority of game- store stalkers were hot on Sega's new box. “It’s а well-rounded machine that’s cool,” 11-year- old Wes Miller told us in a Florida Toys “R” Us. And 1,500 miles north in a New York City game shop, 20-year-old Kahleem Poole said, “The Dreamcast is a good system, with good hardware, and it looks like a lot of developers are gonna make some good games for it.” And now that Sega’s $100 million marketing campaign has kicked into hyperactive, Dreamcast hype is inescapable. You've already seen the hurricane swirl and “It knows it's alive” magazines ads. You've already seen the first wave of cryptic TV commercials wedged between episodes of The Simpsons, Real World, Buffy and other 20-something fare. Sega's straight-outa-Road Warrior demo vans are already rolling through a major city near you. Heck, you've probably even rented a Dreamcast from Hollywood Video —if you could handle the hefty security deposit—and played Sonic Adventure and Power Stone (Ready 2 Dreaming up Dreamcast Before PowerVR powered its visuals, 3Dfx chips were gonna sit in the systems innards. Before it was named the Dreamcast, Sega R&D called it the Dural, Black Belt and Katana. And before it took its familiar shape, the Dreamcast could have looked like one ofthe prototypes to the left. Hype Machines Rolling out on Aug. 15, Sega's mobile- assault vans will hit 45 cities and terrorize the populace with the power ofthe Dreamcast. Rumble should be available by the time you read this, and NFL 2K will be rentable just prior to the system's launch). The hype'll come to a head on Sept. 9. At 12:01 a.m., boxing-ring baritone Michael Buffer will holler his trademark "Let's get ready to rummmmmble!" at FAO Schwarz in New York City, kicking off the system's launch while similar early-morning premieres draw crowds in big cities across the country. Tune in the Sega-sponsored MTV Video Music Awards later that night and you'll eyeball a future-shocked 60-second $1.4 million Dreamcast commercial created by Pacific Data Images, the company behind the visuals in Antz. Sega knows the Dreamcast is its last hope for survival. It has learned from its past mistakes. It's doing things right this time. “If we don't land this sucker right out of the gates,” Moore said, “then it ain't from a lack of trying.” But what's that? You say you're not one of the 14,000 earliest of early adopters who plunked down cash the first week of Toys "R" Us Dreamcast presales? You say you didn't already import a system? You say you're not impressed by the Dreamcast or Sega's titanic marketing campaign? Surely you're not worried about a lack of games. With as many as 24 available at launch— including crucial sports and fighting titles— Dreamcast buyers face a unique launch: day conundrum: too much stuff to choose from (fear not—we pick the top five later in this feature). All the key third-party publishers, including Capcom, Konami and Namco, are on board, so expect to see some of your favorite franchises. Except for a few. Mega-publisher Electronic Arts still hasn't signed on, so Madden fans are out of luck. SoA President and COO Bernie Stolar isn’t worried, saying that history and Sega's first- party sports games are on his side. “[EA wasn't] there at the launch of the PlayStation," he told us. "They weren't on at the launch of the Nintendo 64. Were those two platforms successful in the U.S.? OK, and our sports titles, | think there's jealousy of what our football game looks like compared to Madden. Let me tell you it's a competitive world out there. И put our basketball and football games against anybody's. | feel bad that EA isn't signed on as a publisher, but | don't have a problem with succeeding without them." It's highly unlikely that Sega will receive support from Sony-friendly Square. In fact, Square's Final Fantasy МИ will go head-to-head The. Battle Continues. Mortal Kombat Gold. 20 of your favorite characters return in the greatest Mortal Kombat ever! Mortal Kombat has never been so deadly and its only available on the Sega Dreamcast system, is Sealed. Your Fate Photography by John Ме Summer of Sega Mainly targeting 14- to 24-year-old dudes with its marketing blitz, Sega's going after gamers where they live and play. Dont be surprised to find Dreamcast kiosks at the the summer's loudest concerts, like June's Weenie Roast in L.A. (above). Meanwhile, Sega street teams are swarming into inner cities everywhere, doling out Tshirts, tattoos, stickers and other DC propaganda. Ultimately, of course, itll be the launch titles (listed to the right) that get gamers really excited. against the Dreamcast, since it С on Sept. 9 as well. Again, Stolar а worried. "It's no différent from а Hollywood fou may have two strong. movies that felease the same Weekend, and 50 att A receive their share inal Fantasy: purchased only by t fanatics, and those at the same time two other games. Sega's most v could be Namca, Whose | Calibur will по doubt sell But little is known of Namco's commitment to Sega after Soul Calibur. At least two more titles are reportedly in the works, and Stolar said we'll probably see something onithose games at September's Tokyo Game Show. Armada • Metro 30 Blue Stinger • Activision CART Racing • Sega House of the Dead 2 + Sega f Fighters: Dream Mate! ‘Marvel vs. Capcom • Capcom Monaco Grand Prix + Ubi Soft lortal Kombat Gold • Midway • Midway NFL D e Me Power St: * Capcom Rainbow Six • Majesco Ready 2 Rumble * Midway Slave Zero.» Infogrames Sonic Adventure * Sega Soul Calibur • Namco Soul Fighter « Publisher to be determined Speed Devils • Ubi Soft ТММ Motorsports HardCore Heat + ASC Games Tokyo Xtreme Racer «Crave TrickStyle • Acclaim зе = a Great games aset Rap 5 keenest advantage is that it’s Таш 3 now—atlleast a year before Sony and 5їо!а йа Sega willuse the head start Ы? Nintendgifelease their next systems, to поботу build a led base (he expects milli will sell by year'siend and another 500,000 by March) but to get a library of re thats a step ahead of the E = “| think what becomes the critical year is 2001,” he told us. “At that point in time all three systems will be really there for the first time. We'll be in our third generation of software, and they'll be in their second. And the next two Christmases for us are to show everyone that Sega is a leading company, that Sega is here to stay, and that Sega has the best software in the marketplace." ih 1999. / А & @ NITUDE Get It! PALER ER remm та c Е m, а p. м м © МУ, t 2 À я ЗА First ever create your-own | Wrestle your way to the title " фе ам Mode! У in all-new Career Mode. * ET SPORTS - www.acclaimsports.com | All-new specialty matches like | Lumberjack and King ‘Of The Ring. » Dreamcast Inside and Out High-Bandwidth Controller Ports The Dreamcast controller ports are actually very high-speed, high-bandwidth interfaces that allow a lot of data to be transferred back and forth between the peripherals and the machine. While this all sounds very nice, what it means for gamers is that the machi capable of communicating with more controllers such as force-feedback: steering B Serial Port Expect lomega’s Zip unit to plug in here along with a host of other peripherals. Although not as fast as the controller ports (things like the digital camera will plug in through the controller), this is more than adequate for most peripherals. Surprisingly this doesn't make use of the universally accepted USB (Universal ме are likely to see on eans there won't be his is where you stick nnocuous little hole is ant than you'd think. “Designed for Microsoft Windows CE” Sticker Unbelievably significant. Not the sticker itself—but the implications for the system thanks to its association with big bad Bill Gates and his army of darkness at Microsoft. “We designed two different environments for the developers,” explains Sega's group director of third-party licensing, Neal Robison. “For PC-oriented developers, there's the Windows CE environment." What does this mean for gamers? Well...all those PC developers who make really smart games, but don't like working on consoles are more likely to port games across with added extras for the Dreamcast. The 56k modem is vitally important to the success of the machine and is part of the central hub of Sega’s strategy for the next few years. Pretty much everything will eventually have some kind of on- line element...and things do tend to crop up in unusual places. Little Grey Triangle On a Japanese machine it's clear...on a U.S. machine it's grey. That's the only way to tell where the machine is from. In Europe the DC swirl is blue...but that won't bother you as European machines use that godawful PAL standard that runs at a slower refresh rate. Beware of buying a foreign machine if you just want to play domestic games. The country lock-out code in each box makes it tough to play games from different regions and is a real pain in the ass for people who can't be bothered with the technical jiggery-pokery involved. GD-ROM Drive Push the open button, the lid pops up and you have...a little round thing and lots of grey plastic that make the innards of the Dreamcast look very much like any other CD drive. Unusually though, thanks to the way the DC’s discs are formatted, GDs are able to store a full gigabyte of code which compares very favorably with the 650MB you normally find on a PC CD or PlayStation disc. The expanded format discs mean that more game code can be shipped on one disc...and it also means that the discs are harder for pirates to rip off. PowerVR 2DC The graphics processor is based around the latest generation of PC 3D graphics accelerator developed by NEC and Videologic. Capable of generating 3.5 to 4 million polys a second with all manner of fancy effects, in short it's about 10 times more powerful than what you'd find in a PlayStation. What does this mean for the games though? Well..you can expect more detailed environments in glorious hi-res with lots of fancy lighting and groovy textures. You'll never be able to look at a PlayStation game the same way again... Hitachi SH4 Processor The "guts" of the Dreamcast is a 200MHz processor that is equipped with four floating point multipliers. Buh? It can do math much faster than you can—which means that it can help the Power VR 2DC do its job, while also doing really fancy things like calculating artificial intelligence or keeping track of zillions of objects. 16MB of Мат RAM plus ЗМВ of Video RAM plus 2MB of Sound Memory More RAM = more code = more space for the game programmers to spread out and make their games better. All that extra space should mean fabulous Al, glorious level design and touches like groovy facial animations. Console game designers finally have the space their PC counterparts have been loving for years. Still. f we get a version of Superman, all the RAM in the world ain't going to help that baby. More memory doesn’t automatically mean the games are going to be good. The developers still need to be good game designers. Yamaha Audio Engine Groovy sound chip that features a 32-Bit RISC chip for processing the 64 channels of PCM and ADPCM sound. In English? It can do some fabulous sounds and play really good-sounding music without having to stream off the CD—it can process stuff in real time. Variable Speed Fan All the Dreamcast goodies are highly advanced bits of technology and can get very hot. The fan is there to keep them cool...and provide a slight humming sound to accompany your gaming experience. Unusual at first, but you'll get used to it—and it'll stop your Dreamcast from burning down your house. High-Bandwidth Expansion Slot This is where the modem plugs in...but the port itself is another high-bandwidth slot that allows data to move screamingly fast. Thanks to this we can expect goodies such as cable modems, ISDN connections, DSL modems and even Ethernet boxes to plug in here. This isn't speculation either. Sega told us that all of these boxes WILL happen...as connectivity is key to the success of the system. And this slot is key to, um, the key to the success of the system. Er... Lithium Battery/128k RAM Er. why? Very important thing, this. It powers the 128k of memory that sits aside from all the other memory in the system. It's here that the machine stores all of your personal information. It remembers your ISP details, log-on protocols, phone numbers for Internet connections, whether or not the Internet browser has parental lock activated or not, the name of your first girlfriend, how many times you've tried to check out Internet porn sites, how frequently you spank your monkey and what brand of deodorant you use. Chicago, Ill, re упија Desa mcast when it 1 feel about the Dreamcast's prjce? Кену steep. They should give usa trade- fold, junky Saturns, man. Well, some you trade in PlayStation stulf for credit Ше Dreamcast-Yéah, but they’tl\yip you Î Gef yopf Good, man. апу games you'd get for the system? Not for $50. Pawer Stone for $50? Hell no. ащеет Poole Асе: 20 New York N.Y. AngelGonzalez Асе: 27 Union City, МЈ. D> Willyou buy the Dreamcast? If they get a better controller. | Are you gorina be first iji tne to bily һе 5. version ofthe Wanne pne Dreamcast definitely; but they need to Dreamcést? Definitely improverthat joystick badly. ў Why? Thé rebicth-6f Sonic. Not only Sonic, Bukalso thefact WE VERS about the system?iThe graphics, how ~ Кеа Namco have jumped.onG maka eames. much meméry it has, all the stuff it can do the PlayStation BE favorite companies jaft now: cant do at-fhis time. They need Dreamcast-exclusive is there anything about Dreamcast yofrczmTgst with your games fof itf PlayStation has certain games like Metal — | _sothersystems? The modem and Internet access for arcade E or pach and so many games that make the and fighting games. I don't know ifthe be able to do it PlayStation.the PlayStation. They can come out witha mes, but definitely.ér home access; for all thousand,Naomi translations for the Dreamcast. If they И по don't have рова a ccass donjf have a Dreamcast-exclusive game, then по 0185 gogna care—especially me. 1f you could buy just one game? Probably Street Fighter Ill when it comes out, whatever...Second Impact or ТИЙ Strike, definitely Street Fighter III Steve and Ross Fairbairn (father and son) Ages: 35 and. 10 Gulfport, Fla. Will you Бе getting a Dreamcast? Yeah, we want one. Weij probably'getit: s, l'iminot a \ What games will you buy with the (Зое ЩЕ games so the controller is OK. system? Mortalkombat'and Sonic. 1 like the fact that it comes With a fast modem, What do you like least about the Valways wanted to get into Internet gaming, ‘system? The price. wish it was little butit seemed complicated on the PC. The lower. That's my gripe with Nintendo— УМЫ sounds cool. [оре theyuuse it for RPGs. < the games are so expensive. I would „Туе been burned by Sega with the 32X and buy'algame for $30 and not really think the Sega CD, but this time | think they learned about it. But when the games cost'$60, from their mistakes. | . | /\ kinda balk ае that. 3 =} Noriyuki Oshima Age: 18 John Lee Age:29 "| San Francisco, Calif San Francisco, Cali! Are you going to buy a Di cast? No not? | was burned bi ег Sega machines good games, pout the system? | really ZO. Logan Steel Асе:26 24) Houston, ТЕ ев But, #5 е licensees: apcom, so thi might: as we up. It will ion а run for its Money. think it'll do agai Playstation 2f | See them two majorsystems. | they are gonna siare the qually. 1 don't thinkveither ill dominate, Calvin та Асе: 1.8 Houston, Texas Are you planning to buy a Dr have already preordered mine ай How do you think it'll fare against the сш systems? | think the PlayStation will keel hit games like Final Fantasy Vill and stu think the Dreamcast will be so powerful’ PlayStation. The Nintendo 64, [ mean, they don't have enough hit games out for like people ages 13 and up, and | think Nintendo is gonna die. 3 ow do you think Dreamcast will compare to Sony's and lintendo's next systems? PlayStation 2 is going to be an amazing system. Hardware-wise, it should be potentially better, but the human eye and TVs nowadays can't really Дей the difference between what looks better. | think it ‘will be up to third parties, how good the software is, how d the stories are in the games, gameplay, омега! performance of the game, not the appearance of the game. hen the Dreamcast launched in Japan last year, gamers only had four titles to choose from, and one involved athletic penguins. We won't have that problem on Sept. 9. As of press time, 24 games—four from Sega, the rest from third parties—will launch with the system (although a few of these titles may slip to a later date). Without a doubt, the Dreamcast's launch lineup is the most enormous and spectacular collection of games to ever grace a system from day one. But once you've bought the Dreamcast, а VMU, a spare joypad and а few peripherals, you're not gonna have nearly enough bean left to blow on all the launch games, unless уоште independently wealthy or willing to squander the college fund. So, which games should you get? Let us put together your shopping list. The following five games are more than just great—they’re reason enough to ‘own a Dreamcast, And don't fret if you can’t afford all five on the first day. Any one of 'em packs more than enough fun to keep you in Dreamcast bliss for weeks. Note that our must- buy five are more suited to the average, Joe-gamer crowd. If you're hardcore, you may wanna sub Marvel vs. Са от for Ready 2 Rumble. Speed freaks craving a racer woul do well to pick up Hydro Thunder. You get the idea. Above all, keep in mind that—unlike with the leaner launch ~~ lineups of the past—you don't have to be thrifty here. Spend every penny you got on Sept. 9. Call in sick for work the next iy and play Dreamcast games until your eyes ble: 4 = | "т ИК See Sos + 1. Soul Calibur What's the skinny? Here are two things you should know about Soul Calibur: It’s the sequel to the 1996 sleeper Soul Edge, and it's Namco's triumphant return to a Sega console. While Namco built a sturdy reputation for their faithful arcade-to-home conversions on the PlayStation, expect the Dreamcast version of Soul Calibur to excel beyond even its arcade counterpart. There are 10 base characters in the game, with an additional seven secret fighters you can unlock. The game itself has more moves than you'd care to keep track of and arguably the deepest fighting engine ever conceived, Why it’s a must-buy: If you're even remotely into fighting games, buy this sucker one second after you plop down the green for a Dreamcast. In fact, buy Soul Calibur just so you can wave this beautiful, high-resolution visual feast in front of all Dreamcast non-believers. For a first-generation title, the graphics in Soul Calibur are astounding. Namco continues to outdo itself and one look at Soul Calibur will show you why. For the Dreamcast version, Namco completely rebuilt each character from the ground up to properly take advantage of the Dreamcast's extra horsepower. Other added details include an integrated torso and hip skeletal system so every bit of animation adheres to a strict guideline of realism. Plus, they've given each character an articulating jaw so they'll be able to display a wide range of facial emotions. Other major upgrades include full 3D versions of all 19 arenas (as opposed to the 2.5D arcade stages). All this eye-candy is within the context of Soul Calibur's immensely deep and rewarding gameplay. Not only can characters change weapon stances, they are also given the freedom to move about in true 3D on each arena. Positioning your fighter has never been more important. With Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, what you see is what you get. And in this case, you get a whole lot, 2. Sonic Adventure Sega What's the skinny? The Japanese gaming press gushed so much praise on Sonic Adventure we figure a few copies got sticky. And, yes, the Japanese version is a fine game and an amazing showpiece for the Dreamcast's power. But Sonic's blurring return was anything but flaw-free. Awkward camera angles, collision snafus and other glitches popped up frequently, adding a thin layer of frustration to an otherwise spectacular game But here's the good news: In the year since Sonic Adventure hit Japan, 12 members of Sonic Team flew to the States and spent three months squashing the game's most gripe worthy bugs. "They had one guy who for a month and a half was tweaking cameras, Sega product analyst Dennis Lee told us. "That was his only mission. | think he was getting pretty sick of it by the time he was done." TIME 000383. The tweaking paid off. Lee told us all the camera and collision problems have been purged from the U.S. version, and the game even packs a few new perks. “The Sonic Team didn’t have a whole lot of extra space on the GD, because it was packed full,” he said, “but they went in and tried to add whatever they could. They added in some ambient voice files [such as а РА. system in the train station]. АП the characters have standby wait animations for each section they're in." The Sonic Team also stuck in a screen that shows how many Sonic Emblems you've collected. New VMU games—which you'll be able to download from Sega's site—are in the works, too. You'll also be pleased to know Sonic’s voice isn’t nearly as annoying this time around, and Sega is even negotiating with a major star to provide the voice for another character in the game. Sega's still tight-lipped about the star's identity, but we know it's not James Earl Jones, Casey Kasem or anyone in the cast of Friends. Why it’s a must-buy: We've waited too long for a proper 30 Sonic game, but Sonic Adventure proves that patience can pay off. More than just a great-looking game, this sucker is crammed with wicked level design and a cast of slick critters to control (but then you already knew that if you've rented a Dreamcast from Hollywood Video). Oh, and did we mention it's fast? AUTOMOBILE CLUB DE MONACO + 7 dh PlayStation? game console Sega Dreamcast" Nintendo? 64 Monaco Grand Prix" is the most challenging racing simulation ever created. 22 expert racers compete on 16 famous, international tracks. The advanced driving engine redefines the meaning of expert racing. Every turn, pass, and acceleration must be timed to perfection. This is not a toy. Blow it and your car is shrapnel. Bred for the Pentium" II, tuned for the PlayStation® game console, the Nintendo” 64 and Sega Dreamcast." Go ahead, play in the rain. ^... ultra-detailed racing animal” - EGM MONACO — GRAND PRIX 3. Ready 2 Rumble Midway What's the skinny? In the same way Midway has revamped how we look at basketball and football with NBA Showtime and NFL Blitz, it has given boxing a shot in the arm. Ready 2 Rumble breaks the mold of most boxing sims and runs strictly on adrenaline. The game delivers incredibly fluid controls that alone are reason enough to take notice, but R2R goes much further by delivering eye-popping graphics. The game's pugilists—and there are many look fantastic and animate smoothly, with detailed facial expressions that'll both amuse and impress you. Even with the well- 4.NFL 2K Sega What's the skinny? You've already heard all the facts and figures behind Sega's NFL 2K. You know each player is made of 1,500 polygons. You know the game packs more than 1,600 motion-captured animations. You know all 31 NFL stadiums will be modeled in the game, and actual NFL data determines the level of crowd attendance. But just in case you need extra proof that NFL 2K will be the most detailed and stunning console football game ever, hear this: “We have one guy whose whole job is to make videotapes for us,” said Gregory Thomas, It’s just so essential that Gregory Thomas, president of Visual Concepts animated fighters, a detailed ring and large audience backgrounds, the frame-rate is a silky бо frames per second. It really can't Бе stressed enough how well the game plays, considering there has never been a boxing title that has unanimously won acclaim for its control. Put simply, Ready 2 Rumble is exactly what Dreamcast needs at launch: a game that plays as good as it looks. Why it's a must-buy: Anyone into having fun will like Ready 2 Rumble. The action is quick and the punches look brutal, but the tone of the game is surprisingly light. The characters all have, well...character, with personality to spare. There are both PlayStation and N64 versions of Ready 2 Rumble, but the DC version makes them look like crap, which is sure to please early adopters. Single play is great, but the game becomes the true centerpiece for your DC when you go at it against a friend. The first three months of releases are heavy on fighting games, but R2R stands out like nothing else. It'll make you the envy of the neighborhood. president of NFL 2K developer Visual Concepts and Sega's vice president of product development. “He has six or eight VCRs in his office, and we recorded all the NFL games from the last two years. We have this huge library of 200 to 300 tapes. So we go to the guy and say we need а screen-pass tape, and he goes and makes us a four-minute tape of screen passes in the NFL so we can get them just right.” Thomas explained that the videotapes also help his artists model the look of real NFL jocks with nearly 100 percent accuracy. The team watched closeups of all the league's players to find out just how many glare guards are in the NFL. "We have 18 different glare guards in our game,” Thomas said. “And it's just so essential that we get all this right. That’s why we have this guy who makes the tapes. It's a simple job, but it's a critical, critical job. 1 don't even let him go home anymore.” Why it’s a must-buy: Besides its attention to detail and pristine visuals, NFL 2K is also an incredibly responsive football title packed with wicked Al. “In this game,” Thomas said, "you'll їс ба! 186 see players running out of bounds to stop the clock, which you don't see in other console football games. You'll see the spiked ball. You'll see the no-huddle and time-outs used properly by the Al.” Prepping NFL 2K as a launch title is sheer genius on Sega's part. Frat jocks everywhere will buy it. Any gamer who grows misty-eyed at Sega Sports glory days will buy it on day one. 5. House of the Dead 2 Sega What's the skinny? The sequel to the hit zombie shooter not only looked great but was also one of the first arcade titles to run on the Naomi board, the arcade counterpart to the Dreamcast. This allowed for a flawless home conversion and gave Japanese gamers the first real taste of the power of the Dreamcast. Almost all the levels (or chapters) in HotD2 have branching paths that add crucial replay value, and unlike past Sega arcade ports, there are a number of mini-games exclusive to the home version. The standard Arcade Mode is joined by the Dreamcast Mode, which gives you power-ups that range from useful weapons such as the machine gun to highly bizarre items like the fishing lure from Get Bass. The game supports two-player simultaneous action and can be played with a control pad or a compatible light gun, which several third parties will have available at launch. Why it’s a must-buy: House of the Dead 2 will be the first light-gun compatible game for the Dreamcast, making it a natural choice for shooting fans. The graphics will wow your friends, making HotD2 a good showcase title, and there are enough extras to keep you playing long after you have completed the normal game. The level of difficulty is a bit steep so you might want to stay away if you're easily frustrated. Although the baddies are all undead, they still gush green ooze (or—new to the U.S. version—red blood if you open а cheat); the game ain’t for the squeamish. Otherwise, there's really no reason anyone should stay away from this top-notch shooter. f nothing on our list of five must-buy games got your blood pumpin’, fear not— you'll still have plenty of other stuff to choose from come Sept. 9. As of press time, the following 19 games are still confirmed as launch titles (and Power Stone may even ship early). Bear in mind SoA Prez Bernie Stolar said he'd be surprised to see all these games make the launch (Sega’s official launch list only contains 19 titles). And we took The King of Fighters: Dream Match 1999 off the list because SNK has yet to confirm it as a launch game. Also note that if you imported a Dreamcast, you'll need to buy a U.S. system to play these games due to lockout protection in the hardware. But don't let these minor glitches cloud the big picture: The majority of these games will hit on day one and the majority of them won't be crap, making the Dreamcast's launch the most exciting system debut in gaming history. AeroWings What's the skinny? Nintendo launched the Super NES and the №64 alongside PilotWings games; now, in a bit of launch-day déja vu, the Dreamcast will share shelf space with AeroWings, sort of a PilotWings 64 with war planes. As a pilot in the Blue Impulse airshow squadron, you'll go through 20 training missions that teach everything from barrel rolls to landings you can walk away from. Master the basics and you'll earn access to the F-16, F- 15 and other hidden jets. Another play mode sends you through airborne obstacle courses. While the Japanese version let players fly with pals via the Net, this feature was removed from the American game. Sega still hasn't sorted out all the Dreamcast's networking details. Will | like it? If you're а jet-jock wannabe and the thought of fooling with flaps and tinkering with aerobrakes gets your rocks off, then AeroWings is your thing. But if your idea of airborne fun is less about precision flight and more about blowing stuff up, invest in Konami's Air Force Delta instead. Air Force Delta What's the skinny? It's a flight-combat game in the spirit of Namco's Асе Combat series. You get to choose from a wide selection of planes. Jump into an old Fs Phantom, or something more up to date like an F22 Raptor. Fly around, take out air and ground targets and wonder if you could've made it as a real fighter pilot. Will I like it? From what Konami has shown us 50 far, it does look nice. But air combat games always seem to get dummied down too much for consoles. Hopefully this won't suffer from being turned into a glorified version of Afterburner. From what we played it seems pretty simple, although you do get the option of choosing a more realistic flight model. So far it's looking good, another game you'll probably wait to buy, or maybe rent. 187 Armada What's the skinny? Don't let Armada's just- another-shooter look fool ya’, Kinda like а thinking-man's Asteroids, it's a surprisingly deep game with strong multiplayer options and RPG elements (you'll earn leadership abilities and new technologies after completing missions). Up to four players can battle cooperatively through varied mission-based stages, while А! drones fill in during single player games. You can even store your custom-crafted ships and trade them with others via the VMU. Will I like it? Although we haven't had much trigger time with Armada, we really like the novel gameplay ideas at work here. And its four-player mode is crucial, considering the lack of multiplayer options in most Dreamcast launch games. Can you say “sleeper hit"? Blue Stinger What's the skinny? This Resident Evil-style 30 adventure from Japan gets a slight makeover from U.S. publisher Activision in order to iron out some of its weird little problems. There's a new camera system that makes things easier to look at, the speech has been properly synced with the facial animations and the bosses have been jazzed up, making them more of a challenge. It's got the typical adventure games stuff—you run around, blow stuff up, solve puzzles. Will I like It? It's the only game like this at launch, and deep down it's pretty good. The Japanese version was plagued by stupid problems that now look to be sorted out. Not a must-buy—but maybe a secondary purchase. CART Racing What's the skinny? In Japan, this racing sim took some heat for its lack of challenge, so Sega of America is cranking up the difficulty a bit for the U.S. version. For starters, opposing cars drive faster and can pull ahead of you if you're not drafting well. They also try to block your path, unlike in the Japanese version, whose seemingly courteous opponents would just get out of your way. Off-track terrain will also affect your performance now, making spin-outs more likely, Will like it? Visually, CART Racing looks pretty simple and is devoid of eye-candy. It is easy to pick up and play, and CART gearheads will have few complaints, but there certainly are more exciting racing games available at launch. Hydro Thunder What's the skinny? Midway's release of Hydro Thunder in arcades earlier this year put a shot of adrenaline into the neglected genre of boat- racing games. All the excitement of the arcade (minus the rumbling seat and throttle) is headed to Dreamcast in what will be the best version of the game available at home. You get 11 different courses and 13 high-performance boats (four of which are secret) with which to race. In addition to the standard time attack and tournament races, two players can go head-to-head via a split-screen mode Will I like it? If you like a more “arcade” style 188 of racing game and aren't afraid of getting your feet wet, Hydro Thunder's for you. There's no online play and little new has been added (a bit of a disappointment), but if you love the arcade game, the DC version’s got everything where it counts. Marvel vs. Capcom What's the skinny? Surely a killer app for any hardcore gamer, Marvel vs. Capcom is the most frenetic 2D punch-parade yet. This coin-op translation is so perfect, you'd swear the DC housed а CPS-II board in its innards. There's practically no loading time, so you'll be transported into Marvel vs. Capcom's superspeed tag-team fighting action as fast as you can push the buttons. You get the most awesome collection of fighters yet (Rockman, Captain Commando, Strider, Venom, etc.), and not only can you pick two characters for combat, you can also select a "special partner" for a limited amount of super-attacks. Will I like it? Hell yeah! If you're not tired of these kinds of games by now, you'll never get tired. The ultimate definition of a “twitch game,” Marvel vs. Capcom is the most fun you can have for 50 bucks. If you have even the most remote inclination to play these games, buy this immediately! What's the skinny? This F1 sim has seen duty on the N64, PlayStation, PC and now the Dreamcast. In fact, this puppy is quite similar to the PC edition released about six months ago. That game got mad props, so porting it to the DC is actually not a bad move. The problem? It gets a bad rap for its lack of an adequate Fı license. Beyond Monaco, all the tracks, drivers and cars look similar but not exactly like their real-life counterparts. Get over it— its still a good Fı sim. And it’s the prettiest F1 game on the consoles. Fifteen customizable cars, 16 tracks and a killer Retro Mode round out a healthy game package. Will I like it? This is tricky because most F1 fans are drawn to the rigidly realistic feel of that genre. While Monaco Grand Prix looks fine, plays fine and offers a lot of cool stuff, it's handicapped by the license thing. If you don't mind that, it’s a good casual racer to whet your appetite for the landslide of F1 sims sure to follow. What's the skinny? The prolific Eurocom Entertainment Software has taken on the task of porting the arcade version of MK4 to the DC, as they did for the PS, №64 and PC. But instead of having to scale down the graphics and eliminate features, Eurocom can deliver WINS: OT a [^ pd FAS 207 HAM v Ади ул everything the arcade version had to offer and more, thanks to the power of the Dreamcast. According to Eurocom, MK Gold on the DC is running at a higher resolution than the arcade, and high-colored textures are being used on. characters and environments. It all runs at 6o frames per second. Character-wise, some old favorites return: Cyrax, Millena, Kitana, Kung Lao and Baraka, among new characters. And finally, while the Eurocom team works on actually creating the game, the Midway МКА arcade development team is hard at work scripting and rendering full-motion cinematics for the new characters’ endings. Will | like it? Well, most people either loathe Mortal Kombat or love it. But this version looks so impressive even MK haters may give it a go. NFL Blitz 2000 What's the skinny? The original Blitz blasted onto the scene and quickly set the standard for extreme football in both graphics and tight gameplay. Blitz 99 added new features, voices and animation and the ability to play with four players. Blitz 2000 is a revamped version of Blitz 99 tailored specifically for the Dreamcast. Expect the exact (perhaps slightly better) graphics from the arcade version of Blitz 99. Will like it? Even if you don’t like or even understand the rules of football, you'll probably like Blitz 2000. Every play and tackle is extremely exaggerated, driven by fast, arcade-style gameplay. A fantastic multiplier TUM EQ 6172/32794 E : WUANG TANG) У game for you and three of your buddies, but not as worthwhile by yourself, Blitz is the twitch-fest alternative to the headier NFL 2K. Power Stone What's the skinny? Capcom revolutionized the fighting genre with the Street Fighter series, and it has set out to shake up the establishment once again with Power Stone. For starters, the game has no method of blocking attacks. Instead, the emphasis here is on running away from or dodging as well as aggressive counterattacks. The three-button control scheme is both simple and elegant with only Punch, Kick and Jump buttons. There are по complex joystick patterns to memorize for special moves either. All extra attacks are accomplished by holding down two or more buttons, You can also interact with your environment by picking up boxes, climbing ceilings or bouncing off walls. Will I like it? It may take hardcore fans time to adjust, but Power Stone is a flashy, frenetic fighter that’s great for novices and challenging for experts. Just don’t expect the nearly limitless replay value of the Street Fighter games. Rainbow Six What's the skinny? Although it's a little up in the air as to whether Rainbow Six will make the. launch, the game's certain to be in that three- month “launch window" period. A snazzed-up conversion of the phenomenally successful PC game, Rainbow Six combines 3D military action with strategy and planning. You control the eponymous elite squad from Tom Clancy's novel as they beat up terrorists and save the world. Rescue hostages from besieged embassies or sneak into enemy compounds and blow 'em up. It's all the stuff that we used to see on the news when they were allowed to show us this kind of thing. Will I like it? The mix of strategy and action seems awkward at first, but on the PC it was an incredibly rewarding experience. Marking waypoints on a map for the teams and looking at intelligence materials makes the whole thing super-immersive. If you just want blasting though, look into one of the more action- oriented shooters first. Slave Zero What's the skinny? Guide a nimble 6o-foot robot through a congested urban sprawl 500 years in the future in this highly stylized PC port. Slave Zero will also be the Dreamcast's first online multiplayer game, although you can't access that feature until Sega tweaks its Dreamcast Network for multiplayer gaming. Infogrames is planning to include a four-player Splitscreen Mode to tide gamers over in the meantime. Also note that of all the launch games listed here, Slave Zero has the greatest chance of slipping to a later release date. Will I like it? What we have here is a pretty straightforward action game—but it sure looks nice. Anime fans will surely dig its future-cool cityscapes and "bots. 190 Soul Fighter What's the skinny? Think of Fighting Force on the PlayStation except MUCH nicer-looking— and hopefully more fun. It's essentially а classic side-scroller like Golden Axe, beefed-up with 3D graphics and a first-person mode. You won't find any sprites in here—only detailed polys and textures, fancy environmental effects, motion-captured animation and an impressive frame-rate. You get about бо levels, some with multiple pathways. As you might expect from a medieval game of this type, you'll choose from three standard medieval characters: a warrior, a sexy female and a scrawny wizard. Will I like it? The game sounds a bit hokey, but it looks really nice. And if the information we've been getting from European publisher Piggyback Entertainment is accurate, Soul Fighter should be an impressive experience. Still, it'd be nice to have a game with a little more meat to it than just a straightforward hack-'n-slash. Speed Devils What's the skinny? Hot rods and wacky muscle cars race around gorgeous-looking tracks at silky-smooth frame-rates. There are tons of secret areas and bonus bits to look for, and in many ways it has a lot in common with ЕА excellent №64 racer, Beetle Adventure Racing. Will I like It? Most likely. It's far from being all flash and no substance. What we've played of it so far shows that it’s a challenging game, and all the secret stuff means that you won't get too bored of it. Tokyo Xtreme Racing What's the skinny? Race through Tokyo in a variety of different cars that range from the crappy to the luxury of a big Lexus before finally getting your hands on a screaming-fast NSX, RX-7 or 3002X. Chase through the streets avoiding traffic while trying to keep in front of your rival. It's as simple as that. Graphics are а mixed bag, and this game definitely looks like one of those rushed Japanese jobs. Will | like И? It’s OK. No one here at EGM was really that enamored with it, although the Milkman seemed to be getting into it when he sat down for a few hours. Racing aficionados will probably want to get their racing fix elsewhere. Sega Rally 2 is only a couple of months away, after all, TNN Motorsports HardCore Heat What's the skinny? It's billed as the sequel to ASC Games’ mediocre 1996 PlayStation title HardCore 4x4, a game down with four-wheel drive physics but short on excitement. Fact is, @ шл TIME] ty A AEE мы fT Иоан бањи HardCore Heat already made its debut in Japan as Buggy Heat, but apparently the cars jumped around and slid too wildly for ASC's standards. А few tweaks to the physics engine and presto—it’s ready for American action. The game features eight rugged machines fully adorned with pretty decals and bright paint jobs. Take "ет on six international tracks spread over snow, mountains, deserts and hard-packed dirt. Running at a smooth 60 frames per second, the game will provide plenty of racing thrills. Head-to-head and VMU capabilities are a sure thing. Will I like it? It’s a no-brainer if you're into the wild and unpredictable 4x4 physics of a rally truck or a dune buggy. Fans of 989's Rally Cross will also want to take a look, TrickStyle What's the skinny? Think extreme snowboarding mixed with а large portion of normal skateboarding and a sprinkling of Extreme-G and you have a good idea of what this is like. It's set in the future, has "rad" dudes and chicks scooting around on hoverboards and it packs spectacular effects Like many of the recent boarding games, tricks play а major part in the proceedings, and in the case of TrickStyle you learn new ways of showing off as you progress through numerous challenges, It's not all about racing— sometimes you have to pull off a certain performance in а set time, while later you'll 191 have to get air (о achieve objectives. Will | like it? It's an interesting spin on the. whole boarding genre, and the gameplay offers enough variety without dipping into the spectacularly dull territory that so many other games of this type have managed to on the PlayStation and the №64. Dreamcast Online е have good news and bad news about the Dreamcast's online capabilities. The good news: Sega's Dreamcast Network will be up and running on launch day. You'll be. able to slip the packed-in Dreamcast Passport GD-ROM into your Dreamcast, plug a phone line into the modem, and leap online with no fuss, right after you complete a simple menu sequence and sign up for the service. You'll have immediate access to Sega's custom network, which offers content designed specifically for the system's browser. Here you'll find gaming and lifestyle news, hints, cheats, chat, etc., not to mention access to e-mail. Sonic Adventure and a few other games will link up, as well, allowing you to download VMU games and other freebies. Far from limited to Sega's network, you'll also have access to the World Wide Web. Your joypad will act as а mouse for the point-and-click browser, and you can call up an on-screen keyboard to punch in Web addresses and write e-mails (or you could just buy the optional keyboard). Sega hasn't announced a monthly price for its online service, but we're told it will be low and users can choose from several pricing options, or even opt to use their existing Internet service provider. Now, the bad news: Don't plan on playing any online multiplayer games on Sept. 9. Developers didn't know until April that the modem would be packed with the system, so they didn't have time to tune their launch games for network play. And in any case, Sega's Dreamcast Network won't have all the components in place for multiplayer gaming on launch day. “When you're negotiating with major Fortune 500 companies as we are," Stolar said, "when it comes to building the network and who are the right partners and so on, it takes a lot of time, and it's taken us longer than we thought it would.’ When quizzed on who these Fortune 500 partners might be, Sega offered hints but not names. We have confirmed that Sega is deep 4126265 0: 407847. HEADLINES Зе Orman О HEADLINES ‘Segoe Dreamcast LL Sega's Dreamcast Network will dish out content you won't find anywhere else on the Web. in negotiations with telecommunications giant AT&T to provide the network infrastructure for Dreamcast—a fact Sega does not deny, "The network we're using is being provided by the largest network infrastructure in the States, Charles Bellfield, Sega's director of marketing communications, told us. "They have access to great optical networks. The infrastructure is beyond question. There will be no problems on dial-up access. There will be no problems on security. There will be no problems on latency port Baldur's Gate and Star Trek: New Worlds. should launch soon after that. The first really ambitious Dreamcast network game, however, is next year's sci-fi RPG Frontier from Turbine, which promises to mingle hundreds of players in a 500-square-mile future world. Release dates for all these titles will remain sketchy while Sega puts the pieces of its network together. “We would expect that by the summer of next year," Bellfield said, "you'll start to see network features really being core issues. The network is being designed specifically with online gaming in mind, You're talking broad bandwidth. You're talking video streaming.” Sounds great, but when are we gonna play games on this thing? The first big multiplayer push will come when Sega Rally 2 hits by the end of the year. At the same time, launch title Slave Zero will be able to hook online, and PC ic Gaming Monthly - 183 Jeogames.co to all the titles going forward." Sega is keeping mostly mum on what these features might be. We've been told that Sega Sports will evolve to be more online than off. We've been told to expect a lot more than the same ‘ol online features found in PC games. "I expect to see a lot of innovation in multiplayer gaming from the console developers," Neil Robison, Sega's director of developer support, said, "so we don't only have first-person- shooter or real-time-strategy games, so that we start to see other expansion into gaming." But if all goes according to Sega's plan, it's not just the games that will change— it's the gamers. "In the next 12 months, Dreamcast will evolve much more to a network environment rather than a stand-alone system," Bellfield said. "It's not about you and a machine anymore. It's about you competing against your friends, your enemies. It's about you competing against people in the U.K. or in Japan, all at the same time. And that's what the Dreamcast experience will be as we go forward. Dreamcasting Couch ext month the Review Crew will be N able to bring you full reviews of pretty much all the launch games. This month, due to time constraints, and the unusual dynamics of magazine publishing (we're writing this in early July; you're probably reading it in mid-August) we've simply been able to spend a little time with each game—some of which aren’t complete yet—to give you an idea of what to buy. Locked in the EGM games room with nothing but beer, healthy fare from the local California Pizza Kitchen, and cigarettes for Che, our editors and art directors endeavored to record their feelings as they blasted through the games we feel you'll likely take an interest in. Sonic Adventure Ahh, Sonic’s back. After a bit of a weird start in Japan, Sega of America has tweaked, massaged and put the blue spiky dude through some intensive therapy. Chris Johnston (Review Crew): Good god! I'm gonna be sick this game's so fast. Crispin Boyer (Review Crew): | know what you mean. I'm just gonna stare at the floor for a while. Let me know when it's my turn to play. Andrew Burwell (Art Director): The graphics are great! Who cares if you're throwing up playing this game. It looks incredible. John Davison (Head Honcho): Anyone who had problems with the Japanese version and just dismissed it should take another look— knowing what's going on kinda helps too. | guess that's a problem with people obsessing on import games. Shawn Smith (Review Crew): That's exactly why I've never bothered importing stuff. | don't want to just play a game to play it—I want to experience it. John: (Affects silly voice) Yeah, man... Jim Cordano (Art Director): I'm looking forward to this, and Ecco, to make me fall in love with Sega all over again. Che Chou (Review Crew): So far, І haven't seen any of the camera problems that people bitched about with the import. But | was a freak. | thought the Japanese version was just fine. Hey go and mix it up with some of the Chao things... Soul Calibur Moving on, we take in what is arguably the finest fighting game ever created. It’s taken a while for us to warm to the strategies of playing it but there's no denying the graphics are amazing... Crispin: Which do you guys like better? Soul Calibur or Tekken 3? Chris: Graphically, there's no comparison. This is better. But we're talking about Dreamcast versus System 11, and there's an obvious step up in quality there. Dan “Shoe” Hsu (Review Crew): This looks 500000 much better than the arcade version... and that one looked just fine to begin with! The more | play this, the more I'm liking it better than Tekken 3. Che: | like this better because I'm better than all y’alls. Who's next? John: But Che...all you do is kick people until you win with а ring-out. That's not skill, that's cheap. I'm next..try to beat me properly. Like a 195 man. Стоп. Me and Mitsurugi are gonna take ya. Che: Whine as you may, | still win. What do you guys think about the extra modes? We need a ball mode! Chris: With all the work Namco's done in cleaning up the graphics on this one, who has time to put in a ball mode? Crispin: They can put in whatever they want, as long as they don't mess with Sophita's face- sitting moves. | still feel like there's a lot more to figure out about this game. It’s so deep. John: You always play as a chick in fighting games, Cris. Vou trying to tell us something? Shoe: He's trying to tell us he's a woman п a man's body. like my fighting games like | like my porn: women only. Ready 2 Rumble The Soul Calibur session took a lot longer to work through...but after some pizzas with far-out toppings and a couple of Tequizas everyone's of the opinion that we've still got some fight left in us...so the other DC fighting killer-app is pulled out. Crispin: Man, the animation is unbelievable. Even Michael Buffer's twitchy face is cool, in a creepy kinda way. Chris: Looks so real yet exaggerated...the whole game's creepy. It's like you're boxing Weird Al from the "Fat" video. John: It's got the same quality as the Tekken games in that you can really tell how hard these guys are thumping each other. | didn’t think boxing games could be this good—all of the ones on N64 and PlayStation have sucked big-time. Shawn: You know, as good as it looks and how fun it seems, I'm just not getting into it so far. It seems like it's going to get old fast. Jim: | only wish their heads would unhinge and separate from their shoulders like Rock’em Sock'em Robots. Shoe: | agree. It's a lot of fun to begin with, but 1 dunno if l'Il be playing this a year from now. Che: Shoe, you won't be playing a lot of games a year from now. | like this just because it reminds me of old-school Ring King on the NES. It's also the first boxing game with a character from Taiwan. I'm down with that. Shoe: Is that a threat? Crispin: Ring King? Wasn't that the game we showed in Letters a couple months ago that had the dude getting his knob polished by the ring boy? Shawn: Ring boy? He's more man than you'll ever be Che: Can you think of a boxing game that's even remotely as fun as this? Yeah yeah, Punch-Out, but how long ago was that? Shawn: Super Punch-Out was good, too. This does have that sort of feel. It's always fun controlling big fat asses though. Or beating up big fat asses. Cyril: Totally reminds me of a 30 Punch-Out. One of those games where you forget about the controller and feel like you're directly connected to the machine, because the control is so intuitive and responsive. House of the Dead 2 An hour or so with Ready 2 Rumble and we're ready for something with some more gratuitous violence —so we move to the most. contentious release game, and something that's a perfect conversion of a damn fine arcade machine. Crispin: Now that I'm so used to playing this game with a gun, | don’t even wanna think about using a joypad. | think the first peripheral I'm gonna buy is a gun, and it's only for this game. Shawn: Yeah, having to play with the pad would suck. So far all of the third-party guns are looking pretty cool. Now we just have to see how accurate they are. Chris: It’s a shame that Sega isn't putting out т 196 its own gun, since in my experience, most third-party light guns are garbage. But as long as | can blast me some zombie scum, | won't be complaining. Che: What do you guys think about that red blood though? I'm glad Sega put it in but it doesn't make any sense. No gun, red blood. Hmm. Crispin, you're supposed to save the civilians, not cap "ет. Chris: Do zombies have red blood or green blood? That's the real question. | think saying it’s OK to have red blood but not OK to have a light gun is rather hypocritical. Condemn violence in one sense, yet it’s OK to have red blood spurting out all over... John: You've got to earn it though. But if you're dedicated you can open it up in а day or 50. Crispin— you just hit another one. Crispin: | wouldn't be shooting these people if they'd stay out of the way. Heh, the voice acting is pretty funny. I'm glad they kept the coin-op voices. Gives the game a B-movie feel. Hydro Thunder The EGM team has been in the unusually lucky position of having a pair of Hydro Thunder cabinets in its lunch room for the best part of four months now. To say that we've become authorities on it would be an understatement. Some would say we're bores...but hey, at least it proves we know what we're talking about. Chris: What this game needs is a good throttle controller. But it looks almost exactly like the arcade game for the most part. Crispin: Yeah, it's identical. Cyril Wochok (Art Director): Not quite identical, most of the environment mapping is missing in the Dreamcast version so the shiny metal stuff and water don't look as good. Not a huge point, but | was really impressed by that effect in the arcade version. Shoe: Too bad there aren't more play modes. John: Yeah, it's just a straight port with no frills. Even the secret stuff is the same. Crispin: Ahh, you're just gripin’ 'cause you're bored of the arcade machine in the office. Dean Hager (Review Crew): You're all just a bunch of jaded gamers. Besides Wave Race, there are no other good watery racing games. Hydro Thunder is the best one in a long time. Jim: Chumdinger rules. Ummm...dynamic tessellation... Crispin: The arcade game always shocked me when | sat down. | don’t think we put it together right, There's a wire loose or something. At least the Dreamcast version doesn't shock me. If nothing else, | сап practice on these tracks, then see if | can break any records Andrew set on the arcade game. Andrew: Even after playing the arcade version to death, | think РИ still have fun trying to MORE FIRE POWER. FEWER QUARTERS. Blinkmax™ Temporal Displacer Random hyper-field generator Duro-Burn™ Engines Veritable speed multi-thrust plasma burners Templar™ Burst Artillery rapid engagement SpinStar™ Pro ~ > particle blast Multi-torque cannon turning system Asteroids is back with all the pulse pounding action that made the arcade game an instant classic. Experience 3-D worlds, multiple power-ups. multi player modes. dozens of new asteroids and enemies in this all-new version of the most addictive gaming experience the world has ever knoun- © Моге ЕНап 50 levels in b zones © Incredible graphics and multiple play modes thrust © Exciting multi-player modes including co-op and death-match о Dozens of impact shields. power-ups and wild card weapons hyperspace | ACTIVISION. Asteroids is a trademark of Atari Interactive, Inc. Published and distributed by Crave Entertainment. Inc. under license from Activision, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. ©1999 Activision, Inc. Crave Entertainment is a registered trademark in the US. ©1999 Crave Entertainment, Inc. АП other trademarks are the property of their respective owners, Licensed by Nintendo. Nintendo, The Official Seal, Nintendo 64 and the З.О "N" logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1996 Nintendo of America Inc. break all the records on this version. Cyril: Let me know when you've got those records broken so | can come over and add my пате to the top of all the lists. That is, after | practice a lot and get better than you. Marvel vs. Capcom The competitive spirit is back in everyone's blood..and as we've said before, the Dreamcast is going to be the ultimate fighting game machine so we dig out another launch fighter. Something that everyone has very strong opinions on. Shoe: This is a kick-ass port. It's so damn fast. Che: I'm really impressed with that Cross Fever stuff. Four-player in da hizouse! John: Huh? Shawn: The way | see it, it’s always good to have at least one classic 2D fighter in your library of games. It being a launch title makes it a sure-buy. Besides, you can't go wrong with Marvel vs. Сарсот it's over the top. Chris: It’s damn faster than anything the PlayStation could do, that's for sure. Che: It's pretty much arcade-perfect. Hey Shawn, the good thing is that if this game is too over the top for fighting classicists out there, they can always get Street Fighter Alpha 3, which by the way, is far better than the PlayStation version. John: This was the first arcade game | ever played with you guys back when | started оп ЕбМ. Ahhh...the nostalgia. Shoe: You know, Che made a good point опсе...Магуе! vs. Capcom is going to be а Dreamcast killer-app for many people. But | think it'll be easy for most other gamers to overlook this one because of all the hype Calibur's getting. Blue Stinger It's getting late and people's attention is starting to wander if the stuff on screen isn’t too exciting. Blue Stinger is much more of a. solitary experience compared to the rest of the launch games—many of which are very social experiences. The hardcore adventure fans dig in for a while as everyone nips out to rummage around in the kitchen looking for midnight munchies. Che: Hmm. | think | could get into this game if | really sat down with it. I watched Crispin play the import for a while...some of it was really Japanese. And | доп": mean the text, either. How about that one port town with the wacky show tune for a soundtrack? Chris: | think that's just it...this game is a lil" too wacky. Shawn: Wasn't it a grocery store or something? And they had wacky Christmas music playing. | Man, that shit was surreal. John: They seem to have sorted out that stupid camera problem. In the Japanese version, if you put one foot out of place the camera pulled back to about 10 miles away, leaving you as а tiny speck in the middle of the screen. Are those lardy boys back from looking for munchies? It's time for something else. Power Stone Like we said...Dreamcast: fighting games machine. We stick Capcom's other big game in, and a crowd gathers yet again. Shoe: | think this could get boring after a while, It does look nice though. Che: At least it’s not a Resident Evil fighting game Crispin: Why don’t you quit jumping around and come fight me. What are you doing? Get off the roof. Come back down here, you wuss. Shawn: Man, that guy has а girder. He's gonna knock you over with it. That's the coolest. Crispin: OK, now you're just being cheesy. Chris: For a first try at a 3D fighter, | think Capcom’s done pretty well for themselves, but the sequel will be better. Unless it’s something like Power Stone Alpha or something. John: | really like it. Once you've played Soul Calibur it pales into insignificance somewhat, but if this is a new direction for fighting games, then I'm all for it. | love the interactive scenery. I'm glad they're changing Fokker's name for the English character though. Naming a Brit after one of the planes that used to drop bombs on London in WWII is probably a bit inappropriate. Che: | would like this game if it didn't play so much like Ehrgeiz. It’s got some really cool things going for it, like the Jackie Chan-esque background interaction, and the graphics are really detailed. Too bad it's so spazzy. аи ngh-tech weapons Itsy ab to hefirstiblast wapediou Йй 4 207 c +> Intense 3rd Person) Action/Shooter <> Precision lasers sighting aiming Керра | mechanism) 64 5 / adventure" : : м “ | г 3p «Nintendo Power "Ө immense Enwinonments <> ваневезупу- 5 : аштпеа Boss : Ghracters and 4 -f а "Била enemies Да. 8. 4 Ваў Deathmatch, along MIR LEDS Тад, i <> Карате Pak Cobe Hunt) And Quick і support Dreamcast Peripherals (а system without 4 But that’s why there are - fo the Dreamcast right at iy bring Ig out many | init (VMU) and keyboard. oo -——X 07 ' to recent gun violence, EE (which, — № Segiign't bringing this gun їз Japanese parent comp: ny). statesWBut chances are а The Ascii folks are giving us the Arcade Stick and Rally ird-party@eripheral company Wheel each perfect for Soul Calibur and Hydro Thund NLpring om just likedtito the respectively. There are also а number of peripherals (pads, о aper 0 а arcade sticks, УМО, etc.) coming at launch from companies _ be number of other light like InterAct, Mad Catz, Nyko and Pelican Accessories. Look guns available at launch from toward the Power Tools section in next month's EGM for тест, Mad Catz and Pelican. more on the dream system's stuff. The Sega VMU is like a Tamagotchi for your DC, and a whole lot more. Save games onto it, call plays in NFL 2000 "mes with it, and even download mini-games to it in titles like Sonic Adventure and others. Feedback of any kind | from a controller is ч % pretty cool when it's done right. And Sega's rumbling Jump Pack allows for all kinds of ji citement for ‘support it. EVERYONE In Alright тате, ne Ori Seal, Nintendo 64 and the 8:0 lege ae trademark of Мо of Лива Inc: © 1998 Nintendo of Алка Ine. Take-Two Нал and tha In-Fisherman оро ae registred trademark of атап, Nitendo, Interacts Solar, т. and ths Take-Two ogo are tadenar о Тайе мо гаће Sofware, Inc, © 1999 Aight sed. ‘Sega's Dreamcast Keyboard essentially turns It’s not a launch peripheral but Sega’s fishing stick will It around the same time Bass Fishing in October, yon't be packed in me. It jerks and mbles ish attack, ind works just like a real... well, reel. e. = ~ N = е < | | 2 IBWscii's other launch peripheral, the Rally 9 e.a | мре. : |; ч ' "а". В T я B Wheel, wilt make intense/ ripherals 4 У | runs of Hydro Thunder, Й coming from Ascii, the Speed Devils and other d Arcade Stick is the only racers all the more fun. way to play the fighting Watch for racing wheels games coming to the $ from other third-party companies as well. Dreamcast. It’s high- quality, heavy-duty and has a slot for the VMU and other add-ons. k inyone lookingjor a 3DPlatormersneed] look no further than Tail Concertos: EGM] "mA A Hssume Ше role of the heroic policeman Wattle: and it's up to you to protect the floating Islands of Prairie: With the aid of your mini police blimp you ll travel through the land in search of the mischievous Black Cats Gang. In order fo stop. our way through 8 exciting lands with dangerous obstacles, | EVERYONE А PlayStation Боа : P ESRB E www'iatlus:com и 96 1989 BANDAJ. Licensed to an published by Aus US A. loc Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment Amaia 1o use with the PlayStation game сина PlayStation PAG) íi i Software Association. et ‘and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment ис. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Di | and you're still not enthused about the Dreamcast, you're either a) dead or b) so anti-Sega you'd sic the Orkin man on Sonic. Or maybe you're just cautious. After all, Sony and Nintendo have technologically superior systems on the way. Why buy a system now that may not hold its own a year later. But before giving Sega the cold shoulder, consider that the Dreamcast you buy now may not be the same Dreamcast you'll play in the future. “When | first came aboard at Sega and we were looking at the architectural design for the unit, | noticed there were things in there that looked like they'd be added to or expanded оп later," Neil Robison, Sega's director of developer support, told us. “You can tell it was designed not just to be this static machine for а three- or four-year life cycle but it could be enhanced in a variety of ways.” Sega has long maintained that the Dreamcast is an evolutionary system. All you gotta do is inspect the console to see it's ] f you've made it to the end of this feature Dreamcast Expandahility But before talk of all these add-ons kicks off cold, sweaty flashbacks of 32X and Sega CD, let's turn to an often overlooked expansion port: the joypad jack. “These ports are of sufficiently high bandwidth that you can have a variety of peripherals used here, like true force-feedback controllers,” Robison said. Sega has laid down the gauntlet for third-party developers to devise novel Dreamcast peripherals. One frequently mentioned possibility is a digital video camera, which among many uses would let gamers map their faces onto game characters. And since Sega's modem was designed to facilitate a video signal, you'll be able to eyeball the reactions of your camera-equipped online opponents. Controller-port possibilities don't stop there. Ever wonder why the Dreamcast joypad has two VMU slots? “It’s more than being able to take and save game information in there," Robison said. “We have a lot of other VMU designs like a sound-input peripheral—a microphone. We can do things like speech "You can imagine the possibilities a microphone opens for internet play." —Мей Robison, Sega's director of developer support bristling with expansion possibilities. "If you look physically at the unit in the back, Robison said, "there's an expansion port, and we have some interesting ideas for that specific port. Also, if you pop the modem ой, you'll notice that this is a hardware connector that goes right into the board itself. And this is a way of expanding the unit beyond just. modems. There's a variety of ideas we have for being able to run devices into this very, very high-speed, high-bandwith type of expansion.” Sega has already confirmed that Dreamcast owners will one day be able to upgrade the GD-ROM drive to DVD. Sega maintains users will soon be able to swap the s6K modem for cable modems, ISDN lines, ethernet connectivity or whatever type of lightning- quick connection tickles their fancies. The console's digital video encoder can be reprogrammed on the fly to support HDTV and other future television formats. lomega is working on a Dreamcast Zip drive, which will open endless possibilities for game customization and online upgrading. Robison even told us at this year’s Game Developers Conference that upgrading the system's chipset is not out of the question. ily - 204 recognition with a microphone, and you can imagine the possibilities a microphone opens for Internet play, as well.” We've also heard of ingenious, much beefier VMU concepts in the works that'll open up even more online capabilities. If Sega's plans pan out, online innovations gamers have been promised for years will finally become reality. You'll be able to trash- talk opponents or discuss strategy with friends in multiplayer games by chatting into your VMU microphone. You'll be able to look straight into the eyes of that guy in Spain you just blew by in Sega Rally 2, thanks to your digital video camera. Or you can be cautious, hide your piggy bank under the bed for another year and avoid the Dreamcast. But where's the fun in that? Our advice is to take another look at the Dreamcast launch list, pick a few games that sound good (make sure one is Soul Calibur), then get in line on Sept. 9. As Bernie Stolar told us, the Dreamcast system is alive and expandable, Sega has learned from its mistakes, and the console will hold its own when the other guys make noise with theirs next year. Go ahead. Buy the thing. E 2 i ure aD quat cl SN Seen hts from PlayStation® came ким Playstation jc Screen shots From Hintendo® 64 System www.ratattack.com • www.mindscape.com ھک‎ Developed by 1999 Pure Entertainment. All rights reserved. Mindscape is a registered trademark and Rat Attack! and the Mindscape logo are trademarks of Learning Company Properties Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and the “N” logo are MINDSCAPE” trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. АЦ other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of ENTERTAINMENT theirrespective holders pad feels right. So it's worth getting for the pad atone, outside. of the Tilt Force 2 (PS) Tilt Pak (N64) [ Company | бунет | Price | Pelican 2 If you're looking for a new way to play, consider this technology that allows you to control what's happening on screen by simply moving the controller around. The PS version (the better of the two by the way) is a stand-alone Dual Shock pad, whereas the N64, version consists of a Pak and a dongle. Both work quite well for what they do—when you're playing certain types of games (like flying, driving and other such games). But when it comes to some genres, this tech- nology just can't compete with the good old-fashioned. pads. Luckily you can turnoff the tilt technology if it’s not working well with a particular game, Also be aware: It takes a long time to get uséd to this sort of control. www.pelicanacc.com mick Dundee loves this design. He uses it to Knock out gang members. Everything on the tilt stuff it does. Tf a game's too jumpy with the titt on, simply adjust the pak's Sensitivity here. Data Deck [company [System | Май Catz PS $39.99 It was just a matter of time before a company improved upon what Interact created. And Mad Catz has done just that. Like the DexDrive, the Data Deck allows you to save PS save files onto your PC. It also has two mem card slots made for stan- dard transfers. It has cool fea tures and a stylish look—we like it. But we) should mention: It gets no points for originality and only a couple for innovation. Www.data-deck.com. www.madcatz.com Boomerang 64 [company | System | Price | А | Nuby № $29.99 All too often when strangely designed third-party controllers come along, they just don't make the cut. The Boomerang 64 con- troller on the other hand works ччйе не, ) features) built in rumble,and the placement of the buttons on top make a lot of sense—although the ones under- neath are a bit off. Overall it's an ода but decent alternative. www.nubyontine.com 206 Camo/American Flag Rocker Pads [company | system [pce | PS _ $24.99 se exist? Well, if we sional wrestling and welll get cheesy stuff like this, too. They're Dual Analog controllers that rumble, but they have incredibly goofy „ graphics on them. So if youre into this sort of thing, they're decent controllers. Otherwise, laugh heartily or run far away. wwnw.nakiusa.com nice feet to this одод Stick: nates З ц there's quattty in ңе. construction: [company [system | Price | СН Products PS 559.99. For what it is, the Gamestick is incredible. But then there aren't too many flying games out there, eh? Yes, you can use it міо ег genres (driving for instance) but it works Best with flight games. It has ай kinds of cool. programmable functions, and also features a digital pad, but it's just too pricey for us. www.chproducts.com Camouflage? Yeah, maybe if you're an NRA member. Not that there's any- thing wrong with that... Xplorer FX (PS) $39.99 GameShark Pro (PS) $49.99 # of games/cheats on-board? 362/2219 236/3696 по apparent reason? Acts as a virtual memory card? Yes | No Allows you to view graphics and video on the disc? Yes | Yes In-game trainer for creating new cheats? Yep | You bet But is it easy to use? Yes, very much so | For the most part Does it ruin the fun of a game? Definitely | Ditto Е Does it make some games lock up for ve А Why is that? It's a memory thing. When the GS loads, it uses ‘some memory. Some games don't like this. Same thing here, except for S10 more a device is available that supposedly helps with the lock-ups. How's the design of the unit? Streamlined, neat-looking Big, gray and boxy-looking. Because we don't want your kids decapitating im their games Mt you don t want your kids decapitating in their games!” EARLY CHILDHOOD RATING: Deemed Suitable For Children 3 Or Older. Products Carrying This Label Have Absolutely No Material That Would Be Considered Inappropriate By Parents. EVERYONE : EVERYONE RATING: The E Replaced The Previous K-A Rating Last Year. Suitable For Kids Ages 6 And Up, E-Rated Games May Contain Minimal Violence Or Crude Language. TEEN RATING: Contains Suggestive Themes, Mild Or Strong Language And Animated Violence. Some Parents May Want To Supervise Children Playing T-Rated Games. MATURE RATING: These Games Contain More Adult Themes, Such As Blood And Gore, Stronger Language And Sexual Themes. Deemed Not Suitable For Those Under 17. CONTENT RATED BY ESRB ADULTS ONLY RATING: The Extreme Of The Ratings, Suitable For Adults Only. Packs Sexual Themes And Extreme Violence. Console Manufacturers Have Yet To Allow An AO-Rated Game. CONTENT RATED BY ESRB ESRB Rating System: www.esrb.com Р RO МС COMPUTER Qe DNI. CXVIII Ме EXPER су, AME ЗА a WORLD PLAYSTATION 2000 end-zone X squirming He Tu 3 тя Ри Tat тшн e Ты тн та жайты самата Bt? 288 $4209 МВА Shovime НВА 188 $4499 Сизот ов Alen атма Formas 98 1089 $4098 NDA outa ко — 799 $4489 hoe ве Q3 $3899 Froger 2 пө $1290. NCAA Game Вейи 2000888 $4259 ойл Pak Ray 1058 SUS т т Е E — ши Army Men Sage’ Heroes OSO 4286 МА Gane Day 200 0889 50099 Spyro the Dagon 2 0800 $4299 || PERFECT DARK Ts a first person shooter witha twisting pot ine set in Bass Landing wnt (999 $3699 Gauntlet Legends 1189 $1299 the near future. 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Includes all NFL Ehrgeiz WWE Attitude 07:99: Nintendo (Sports) ‘teams and stadiums, Pie Foot Rash cand 099 S9 Warton 2100 0699 Release: 9/99 FPA Soccer 2000 Monaco Grand ix 0789 $4659 Знакри ue Valor _ 0699 $4299 Xeta Warrior Pins 0618 N64 E = ч ‘Mort Kombat Spec Forces 11/99 $48.99 DANESE | peng ae Macnee a наз | PSXJAPANESE || GAMEBOY COLOR | "THOUSAND ARMS Set in a NBA In Zone 2000 Ace Combat 3 0699 $7699 — Duke Nukem 30 [7-3 mythical world of swords & Final Fantasy Antholog ive 2000 Beatmania 1298 $58.99 Actis you play Meis г = Chocobo Mystery Dung 2 02/99 $59.99 — Ghostn Goblins 1099 iriumph, young noble black- | = ENDO 64 Diagn Que? 0989 MESS Ken Onley Je 882 св smith, Encounter пары итү Menge е NGA Gane Shut Pro 0589 $4259. Oraprtl ral Boul 199 $4289 alles, cunning enemies & Bate Tanx 2 N64 Rumble Pak 0897 51989. 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Play | Ви ons.” туш $4699 MS Sn Prec Pro USB 0098 58299 опе of 6 characters; Sonic, ero MM3 Amgdn Bid 0999 $27.99 Saitek Cyborg 30 stk — 11/98 $5299 Star Wars Racer Guide 05/99 $12.99 Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big Saitek X-36 Cont Sys 05/98 $107.99 Suikoden 2 0899 $1299 the Cat or E102r, each with Indy Jones Intrnl Mchne 10/98 $4899 Swords & Sorcery 09/09 $4899 Хі бит Рит Gm Pk 04/99 $8999 WWF Attitude Ty Unaut 06/99 $10.99 their own abilities, goals & Тез. MU & Discover accepted. Checks held 4 weeks, Money Orders under S200 same as cash |& оћег not guaranteed & are subject to change at any time. Hardware may require added S&H. Within 10 days defectives repaired or replaced al [биг discretion. After 10 days the manufacturer's warrantee applies. АП sales final. S&H calculated on a per order, per shipment, and per item basis. The рег order charge is charged once per order placed, the рег item charge a ин ШЫ съда is charged once for each item ordered and the "per shipment charge is ПРЕД дар Sees Boes Nm charged once foreach shipment we make to you. For each US order $10.00 | og, ® im gy ue ue will be allocated to а 12 issue subscription to Computer Games Strategy Plus. |: Shemen 9 ES sho Бю Би Call for detais. Кет 8 ва Ue Ёш BR TOD $6, Price, release, avalabily, shipping mes] best levels. Several sub ‘games & levels allow you to raise Chaos Babies, play! pinball, snowboard or play Wwhack-a-mole with Amy. Sega (Adventure) Release: 9/9 Dreamcast e E E Strange as it may sound, Cris spent as much time this month playing AeroWings and Air Force Delta as he did Soul Calibur. When asked why, he told us he always wanted to fly fighter. jets in either the Navy or Air Force, but they wouldn't let him join because of his club foot, dead eye and hideous claw hands. Current Favorites Mario Golf, Pokémon Snap Favorite Genres. Action, Adventure mus У Now that Shoe's no longer taking care of the Letters. section, he can spend more. time doing what he really loves. Umm...we can't really print what that is... moving оп, Shoe's been sneaking away from his desk to play a lot of Sou! Calibur and NBA Showtime lately. Current Favorites. NBA Showtime, Driver, Soul Calibur, Final Fantasy VIII Favorite Genres Strategy/Puzzle It’s Dreamcast month here at EGM and Che's knee- deep init. He also needs a haircut, as he's lost his clean-cut gleam (see picture above). The dirty hippie spent a good part of the month tucked away in a dark corner with Soul Calibur (no doubt practicing his ring-out techniques). Current Favorites Soul Calibur, Assault Suits Valken, берру-Х, SNES Favorite Genres Fighting, Racing Chris Johnston When Chris heard that Sega's next system was going to be called Dreamcast, he let out a hearty "What the-!?” At the е it seemed like a silly name, but when Sept. 9 rolls around, a Dreamcast. (already preordered) will find its place among his PlayStation and Nó4. Current Favorites Rising Zan, Pokémon. Pinball, Pokémon Snap Favorite Genres ‘Adventure, Puzzle John Davison The rounds of Soul Calibur on the office arcade machine are getting more and more heated, and Johnny E. can't wait to get his hands on the DC version next month. Che and his cheap-ass ring-outs shall feel the wrath of Mitsurugi in glorious Dreamcast-o- vision, Current Favorites. Soul Calibur, Sled Storm, Favorite Genres Racing, Action This could he YOU! We need to replace young John Ricciardi with someone who can take on the responsibility of Reviews Editor. You need to be a good writer, editor and organizer, and really know your games. What to do? Send us a résumé and some sample work. Where to send it? Dept. E-Sak@EGM P.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 210 Sports and racing games are Dean's main concern when it comes to the Dreamcast. Unfortunately the only titles he likes so far are Ready 2 Rumble, Blitz 2000 and NBA Showtime. Hmm, all Midway games, surely EA could be develop- ing something for the machine? Current Favor Driver, Sled Storm, NFL Blitz 2000 (PS) Favorite Genres Sports, Racing Shawn Smith The more games Shawn sees and the more informa- tion he hears on the Dreamcast, the more he likes it. Especially all of the. online stuff. Of course, the most important part is all the games coming to the system—although they won't make his job апу easier next month. Current Favorites Pokémon Snap, Driver, Sled Storm, Command & Conquer Favorite Genres Action, Adventure This Month... Review Crew this issue as we take т the delights of Evil Zone, the bizarrely French Tonic Trouble (can French games artists not draw arms and legs?) and the uniquely Japanese Rising Zan. Frustrated reviewers could be heard complaining about mutant vegetables, cowboy ninjas and jibberish-speaking sumo- wrestlers for the best part of the month. Even the spectacular Sled Storm had its moments. Who'd have thought EA would produce a game that rewards you for running over bunny rabbits? Still..next month we've got our work cut out. Expect to see ALL of the Dreamcast launch games under the Review Crew micro- scope. It's going to be a biggie. Ва | t's weird games month for the Our Philosophy n.n EGM rates games based on how they compare with other titles on the same system. The highest score we'll give a game is a 10, When a game receives a 10, you can rest assured it’s one of the best games ever made—a revolutionary title that truly stands above everything else in its genre for its time. At the other end оѓ the spectrum sits the lowest score a game can receive: a 0.0, This is the kind of game you want to avoid at all costs. It's pure crap, as our scale (above) explains. Іп the middle lies the average grade, 5.0. We repeat: 5.015 AN AVERAGE GRADE. Simple, ain't it? Our Awards Platinum Awards go to games that get four 10's, the best and rarest review а game can get. Gold Awards go to games whose average score equals 9.0 or higher. Games that average at least an 8.0 receive Silver Awards. NFL Blitz 2000 CES Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway Featured In: EGM #120 Player 14 Supports: Rumble Pak, Expansion Pak Best Feature: Gameplay Worst Feature: Slowdown in multiplayer Web Sit wwwmidway.com. If you're into “hardcore” football games, Blitz 2000 is your only choice (sorry NFL Xtreme 2). It's taken a year but Midway has produced a nearly arcade per. fect version of Blitz "99. If you haven't overdosed on the arcade version (like we have) you'll want to check ош the improvements over the original console Blitz First and foremost, four-player is operational but a bit stow. That's the biggie, most of the other changes are small but they bring the game up to Blitz "99 standards. On fire mode, five new stadiums, snow and rain effects, 10 new secret heads and so on. In general, all the stuff you'll find in Blitz "90 at the arcade plus a bit more. The gameplay is essentially the same if not a bit smarter due to а beefed-up А! The fields, stadiums and players have more texture as well, New animation amounts to endzone dances (they look really weird) and taunts. On-field moves are about the same except for helmet poppin’ Rosters are updated along with the addition of the Browns and Titans. Beyond that stuff, a mess of new plays and а more comprehensive play editor are in place. In the end, if you already own Blitz, and you're not a huge fan, pass on this one. Outside of the four. player mode, the other improvements are nice but not tremendously important. If you are a fan, or you don't own Blitz, go buy Blitz 2000. Dean Graphically, Blitz on the N64 isn't as blocky as the PlayStation version, but it suffers from one major flaw—slowdown. Bad thing about that is when there's slowdown it gives your opponent more time to determine who you've just passed to. Other than that, both home versions have the same enhance ments, Perhaps the slowdown problems could've been helped by RAM Pak support, but even with the slow- down, this is а good version of Blitz Chris If you don't mind that this is only a minor upgrade. over Blitz "99 (which only came out in arcades), but can appreciate that it is a major jump over the first NFL Blitz for N64, then by good golly, this cart is for you. The animation runs very smooth, except when it's broken up by the occasional heavy slowdown in thick traffic. The four-player mode, the ability to catch on fire and the new plays make this one of the best party games for the system. — chop You just can't go wrong with Blitz. Everything in the game just makes а lot of sense—from the play selection screens to the gameplay itself to the vari ous play modes. The А! opponents in the one-player mode put up a good fight, two-player battles are a blast and the newly added four-player mode is sim ply outstanding. It's just а fun game. In fact, the only gripe | have is the slowdown the game experiences when a lot is going on on the field. Shawn VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 1 8 Command & Conquer Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Looking Glass Studios Featured Іп: ЕСМ #319 Players: 1 Supports: Expansion Pak, Rumble Pak Best Feature: New graphics Worst Feature: Old gameplay for RTS veterans Web Site: www.nintendo.com As the first real-time strategy (RTS) game for the Nintendo 64, this is a bit ofa mixed blessing. On one hand, it's Command & Conquer, a true classic. On the other hand, it's Command & Conquer, a very old game. The cart, on its own, is very solid. The controls are very nice and intuitive on the №64 controller (1 didn't find myself wishing for an №64 mouse that often). The graphics, updated for today's times, are nice as well, with new particle effects and 3D good ness. The voices and music are pretty much intact, making for a nice playing experience (too bad the cart can't dish out the FMV). But if you've played any of the C&C games in any form before, you won't want to waste your time on this cart. The developers have done nothing to improve the game play. It'd be nice if we got some exclusive units...something that would spice things up a bit. Or how about more exclusive missions? (All of the mis sions are old, from the ancient PC game, except for a measly four) Or how about making it so you can send multiple vehicles to a repair facility, and they'll all repair, one after the other? And why the heck does this cartridge only have two save spots, with no con troller pak support? And where ate the speed set tings? Skirmish mode? This is a nice game, but it could've been much better. Shoe 1 had reservations about this thing. Would it control well? Would it pack the music, voices and personali ty of the PC original? Would the detailed vehicles and buildings still look decent in 3D? Yes, yes and yes. The interface is surprisingly good—even more intuitive than the PlayStation version's. Terrain and buildings look sharp and vehicles animate smoothly. If you've never played the original, buy this and you'll see what all the fuss is about. сунври I really do enjoy RTS games even though they take so much damned time to play. They draw you in like no other game can, and C&C on the №64 is no different. The missions are intense and extremely challenging оп both the GDI and NOD pathways. On visuals, the graphics in the medium and hi-res modes are credible. In fact, the little soldier graphics weren't a strain on my eyes like usual! Overall, even without а two-player mode, C&C isa mustbuy— Shawn It's weird to think this game is over four years old and the N64 is only just getting a version. There are a lot of Improvements over the PC original though. The new 3D graphics thing is a nice touch (although slow in hi-res) but the improved Al is what sells it for me. Shame | hate playing this kinda thing with a joy pad, although it makes the best of a bad deal with team assignments on the C buttons. I'd have liked an option to speed up the action a bit. John VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 21 Duke Nukem: Zero Hour Publisher: GT Interactive Developer: Eurocom Featured In: EGM #114 Players: r4 Supports: Rumble Pak, Expansion Pak Best Feature: Huge levels Worst Feature: No checkpoints within levels Web Sit www.gtgames.com Everything you'd want in a typical kick-tail Duke Nukem experience is here. The levels are huge and you get lots of them. Ammo is plentiful. Duke's back to his filthy-mouthed self again and dirty jokes abound (watch for posters advertising “Louinski's All Natural Clam Juice” and “Goldenguy: Agent 069"). But big guns and lewd guffaws aside, this shooter is. anything but golden, My main gripe: The levels lack save points, forcing you to save only after you com plete a stage. Few things are more frustrating than dying near the end of a level and having to replay that stage from scratch. You've heard me complain about this problem before with а few N64 first-per son shooters, but the absence of checkpoints in Duke is especially painful, since the game's levels seemingly sprawl for miles. They are well-designed (the future-shocked Manhattan stage has an Escape from New York meets Terminator feel). Control setups are plentiful, and | had the best luck with the Turok configuration, But jumping is a plain о pain in the ass, no matter which setup you choose. Despite some odd texture choices and slowdown, the graph: ics are decent and pretty sharp in Expansion Pak enhanced hi-res mode. Of course, you get the stan dard four-player modes, including team play, and several well-built deathmatch агепаз. _ (вјера It’s official. Duke Nukem is no longer cool. Take а franchise and milk it enough, and it just gets boring. Ask Lara Croft. Duke still says the same stuff, he stil does the same stuff, and just because it's a third-per son game doesn't mean there's any real innovation hen it comes to design. The “edgy” imagery is a refreshing change, especially in an N64 game, but the gameplay itself is infuriating. Why no frickin’ checkpoints in the levels, huh? Huh? John Ive never been a fan of first-person shooters, and that's basically what DN:ZH is, only in the third-person view. Those damn aliens that are always shootin’ up his ride are back for more, and they haven't changed much. Levels are huge and detailed, but each one’s almost too long to be much fun—spending hours without feeling like you're advancing in the overall game can be very frustrating. Great multiplayer action, but as for the rest, it's been there, done that. Chris Although ZH's one-player game can be a lot of fun, there is one main problem that is so annoying it makes me not want to bother playing it: No save points/checkpoints within the levels. Perhaps if the levels were slightly smaller this wouldn't be a prob lem. Sadly, playing through ZH's levels becomes а tedious game of memorization. And the choppy frame-rate doesn't help either. In the game's defense, the multiplayer modes are а frickin’ blast. Shaw VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 6 5 5 Mario Golf ree i 53g [Dow] 113) Пим оша ЕЕ 1А D Publisher: — Nintendo P Developer: Camelot Featured In: EGM #122 Players: 14 Supports: Rumble Pak, Controller Pak Best Feature: Great golf physics Worst Feature: Aiming system is confusing WebSite: www.nintendo.com No surprise here, Mario Golf is as good ав | thought it would be. How could it go wrong, it uses the same game engine as Hot Shots Golf. It really is very nice. if you've played Hot Shots you'll understand what I'm talking about. Spot-on physics, a silky-smooth frame-rate and loads of Mario family characters form the backbone of this gem. As you'd expect, they all have their strengths and weaknesses off the tee. In the end, Mario and Wario offer the best power and straight driving ability. Plum, Peach, Baby Mario and а few others just can't compare for power. Opening up courses (six) and characters (14) keeps the drive alive. Even moreso, you'll need Mario Golf for the Game Boy Color to open up the last two characters. Game modes include some pretty challenging stuff. The Rings Game requires precise aiming and just the right touch. Beyond that, a cool mini-golf mode chal- lenges your knowledge of geometry—bank shots galore, Not much to complain about except for the confusing aiming system. By way of a grid, it factors in lie with and without the wind factor. Sometimes it’s tough to tell which is which, no big deal though. Mario Golf should be required for all N64 owners. It's the kind of game everyone can learn and get interested in. Multiplayer is great fun, taunts and all What more can | say except buy this вате. Dean Monster Truck Madness 64 №2 Rockstar Edge of Reality Featured Іп: EGM #119 Players: 14 Supports: Rumble Pak Best Feature: Nice graphics Worst Feature: Bouncy trucks are tough to control WebSite: — wwwiakezgames.com promise | won't use the expressions “redneck” or "dumb" when describing this game, although—as Jim Cordano has pointed out, that might limit me a bit. As an Englishman, comprehending the American male's fascination with big trucks with ludicrously enormous wheels is something of a challenge. What's the big idea? And then the whole wrestling connection. Why does my truck have Hulk Hogan's arms stuck to the wings? Huh? Oh well. As racing games go, I've played better. When Microsoft released the PC version of this, people went nuts for it, but personally | just don't dig the whole bouncy big-tire and extreme terrain thing. What saves the game from being a complete mess though is the less than serious attitude toward power-ups and col lectibles. Seeing a big heavy truck streak across the landscape at ludicrous nitrous oxide-induced speed is quite a laugh..as is the weird "hover mode" that momentarily lets you fly around. As a multiplayer game it all comes into its own even more, but | still can't help feeling that the very nature of the trucks themselves is the biggest let down, They're not fun to drive. Graphically it's quite lovely, even if it does have that uniquely N64 "soft focus" look. It's very solid and smooth, and the tracks are nicely designed— if a little uninspired. 1 figured console golf games couldn't get much bet- ter than Hot Shots Golf. And then this thing came along—from the same developer—and raised the bar, if only a little bit. Mario Golf is a mega-fun golf game for folks who maybe ain't too hot on the snooty sport, Like Hot Shots, it packs easy-to-use interfaces and addictive gameplay, and it’s best played with pals. You get several nifty play modes, Of course, ай the Mario characters don’t hurt, ether _Grispin Mario Golf is basically Hot Shots Golf wrapped in video gaming's most popular character designs. That being said, the game is extremely accessible, and fun. The learning curve exists, but it mostly has to do with calculating distances. Curiously enough, а lot of ‘emphasis is put on taunting other players with sound samples. After а while, it gets really unbearable Another nitpickis the presence of non-Mario characters really dilutes the Nintendo license. Too ba. бре Аһ. во. sport made tolerable for me only through a video game medium. It's made more toler- able (and actually a bit fur) if it gets a lighthearted theme, as is the case here. Mario Golfis a solid title that should appease young and old players alike. It's easy to get into, yet it has enough realism to draw in fans of the real thing. This game is better suited for multiple players, but 48 hole-only courses mean you'll be in for some very long matches. Shige VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 8 6 1 8 Just when | thought ' seen the last of the mediocre N64 racers, BOOM- this thing appears. The control is sloppy as hell. It feels like you're hydroplaning out of control over a vast, open field. It's apparent the developers tried to capture the exaggerated physics. of a monster truck but forgot to make it fun. Оп the plus side, there's a load of recognizable trucks, Big Foot, Grave Digger, etc. and the mini-games aren't bad. Give it a rent iF you're a redneck. Dean I think the way the trucks control is terrible—they're so bouncy and ridiculous. You сап slide around cor- ners but it doesn't feel right. Maybe that’s how Monster Trucks are. Tm glad I've never had to drive one. The power-ups are pretty cool, but there are only a couple that are really worth using—the missiles and the hover thing. Considering this was a big PC НИ I'm very disappointed. | don't think it even looks that great to be honest _ Shoe Quite possibly America’s greatest sport—aside from wrestling, Until now, my childhood dream of getting behind the wheel of one of these monsters was smashed when I realized they weren't street legal. After you get over the flighty control, you can begin enjoying racing around all kinds of terrain. Could've used more attention to the commentary, intemal saves so you wouldn't have to write down passwords, and Expansion Pak support to clear up some of the fog. — Gris. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 22 Pokémon Snap Publisher: Nintendo тр Developer: HAL Laboratory Featured In: EGM #122 Players: 1 Supports: М/А Best Feature: Watching Pokémon reactions Worst Feature: Web Site: A little short, not all 150 are in www.nintendo.com How fun could taking pictures of Pokémon be, right? If that’s all there was, then it wouldn't be much fun at all. But veiled under the simple concept of snapping pix is a game with exploration, puzzles and strategy. You can go back to any of Snap's seven courses even after you've completed them to find new ways to get better reac tions out of each monster. One of the most satisfying things about Snap is going through the levels, chucking Pester Balls at everything in sight, and getting a new monster you haven't seen before to pop out (usually accompanied by "whoal"). Pokémon Snap's animation is so good that you'll want to reach into the screen and give Pikachu a big ol’ hug. t turns the two- dimen- sional world of the Game Boy game into a living, breath ing, real place. The game's only major flaw is that its a little short. There's one secret course and a challenge mode (where score matters more), but the game can be beaten within a day. Another thing | was a little disap pointed with is that not all 150 Pokémon are represent ed in the game. All of the immediately recognizable characters are in, but there's bound to be a fan some- where who has a favorite that's not there. If you're a fan of the Game Boy games or the cartoon series, Snap's a must-have. But even if you know nothing about Pokémon, il provide hours of virtual safari fun. You'll never get exactly the same picture twice. Gis Let me tell you how it feels to not care about the Pokémon franchise: lonely, alienated and left-out, Thankfully, there's Pokémon Snap to pull us non-believ. ers into the fold, This is one of the most original and innovative games I've ever played. Snap is as addic tive as it is subtle; with all the different tracks, goals and hidden creatures, the game is almost long enough. Almost. Still, it's the next best thing to going on a tran quil Pokémon safari with your trusty 35mm. (ве 1 have to be honest—last week | didn't much care for Pokémon. The creatures were kind of neat, but most of the time the whole thing just seemed too silly for me. Well, now that I've played Pokémon Snap, might just have to get into the Pokémon phenom- ‘enon, See, | thought Snap was going to be a waste of my time. | was very wrong. | wanted to keep playing again and again, finding secrets and snapping shots of Pokémon. Snap is worth looking ito. Shawn Yep, this game's snap-the-critters premise is ridicu. lous, but you know what? It's fun. Like a light-gun game but without bullets, Pokémon Snap is packed with targets. Better still, you'll earn items later in the game that'll affect Pokémon in earlier stages, so you сап go back and find new photo opportunities. Still, even with all its secrets, the game's a bit too short. It's а given that Pokémon fans will eat it up. And if you're а Poké-newbie, give it a shot. Grispin VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 9 8 9 1 Publisher: Nintendo Developer: — Blue Planet/H20 Featured In: EGM #119 Players: 14 Supports: Controller Pak, Rumble Pak Best Feature: Swapping out pieces Worst Feature: Nothing else is original Web Site: — www.nintendo.com Every once in a while, someone attempts to circum- vent the hard wo! lved in thinking up something original an 5 to add а new idea to an old and proven formula instead. This happened with The Next Tetris. al Tetris Challenge, and now it's The New Tetris turn, This game has one of the cooler angles I've seen—the ability to swap out a falling piece with another one saved on the side. Since you can only do this once per block (so you can't keep swapping th between two pieces—once you switch, yo k with it), it keeps you on your twinkle toes. tris has other nice things going forit, like a b y after an "instant" drop so you сап make a last split-second adjustment (just like Iuick" drops le: you do) and art galleries to unlock (it's no big d it gives you something to work toward... first for Tetris). A few things bother me, however, and make me wonder why a Tetris game this far along the evolutionary timeline isn't perfect yet. First, you са ff the preview shadow (like Magical Tetris Challenge’s temporary landing sys are all old, traditional Tetris Ultra, Sprint? Been there, done that. Man, 1 wish someone would just combine all the various gimmicks and features of all these Tetris titles into one kick-ass game. пое more versions of Tetris | can eing this newest N64 incarna- fave, after Tetris DX. What's welcome, Your ability to hold ds more to the game than you might think, and it cen turn your fortunes around in multiplayer. You get all the perks of recent versions, including quick drop and the Tetris Landing System. 1 wish there were more play modes. _ бурн new" fool you, TNT is old-school Tetris through and through. Added into the mix are an excellent soundtrack, multiplayer mode and an educational way of building up historic monuments. But keeping this from being the definitive Tetris is that you can't customize it to your style (assigning a but- ton to the quick drop instead of up, turning silhouettes on/off, etc). It's a great game without that, but would've been a classic with it. 1 don't know hı take, but for the time tion reigns as my se: new here is subtle one piece in reserve Don't let the we allows you to create monuments from around the world, and then "learn" about them through a Turok esque animation sequence, there isn't much about The New Tetris that's innovative. But that’s just fine. It incorporates a number of features from other Tetris games without losing its classic Tetris identity, and presents the whole thing in a snappy-looking package. This keeps things interesting. Shawn INGENUITY REPLAY VISUALS SOUND Publisher: Ubi Soft A Developer: Ubi Soft я Featured In: ЕСМ #103 Ў 4 Controller Pak BestFeature: Solidlevel design and gameplay Worst Feature: Justa lil’ too drab WebSite: ` www.bisoft.com Tonic Trouble is one of those games you wish wasn't on the N64. The visuals are nice, but aren't nearly as sharp as they could be, mainly due to the limitations of the system. Levels have a lot of puzzle-solving elements in addition to standard 30 platform game fare, with some- thing new facing you in every room. Level design-wise, this is a tightly developed platformer. There are things you'll see while playing early on that you'll come back to later after you've acquired more abilities (like flying, getting the pogo stick ability, eto). But there's a lot about this game that’s kinda dull. | wish there were more difficult bosses that you'd have to face throughout to spice up the levels, Instead you usually just have to ‘outsmart them and plant a few direct dart hits before they're gone. The music's nothing memorable, and doesn't divert much from the standard theme there's nothing special for completing levels or opening some. thing extra except an occasional "Yeah!" from Ed. Each of the overworld areas could've used a bit more differ- entiation so you know where you are without having to read signs. Control-wise it’s tight—when you learn new abilities that require a different control scheme it teach- ез you howto use them first before setting you free into a level. When all's said and done, Tonic Trouble is a solid platform game that could've used a little jazzing up aes: thetically to support its gameplay. First, Tonic is so close to Rayman they're practically the same game, They share the same engine as well as that limbless look. The environments come off on the lean side. There's lots of sparsely filled rooms and halls that don't exactly evoke excitement when you travel through them. More variety and stuff to mess with would've been nice. Overall, considering the goofy theme, the boring atmospheres and the recycled engine, | say pass on Tonic. Dean Ed is just one of those dumb characters that you really don't care about one way or the other. The worlds he explores are big, beautifully designed and filled with good ideas (if weird) but he’s really annoy ing. I have some issues with the camera system too, which moves around so much it can make things con- fusing. | really dig some of the objects. Pogo-sticks and flying bowties rule. Do we really need another 30 platformer on N64 though? John Here's a game that's too odd for its own good. Ed, the game's annoying Rayman-cloned star, is always wiggling around, and his animations can get distract ing. But Tonic Trouble does look nice. Kids will like it. Some levels are really wild and well-conceived-— but many go a little overboard with platforms and chasms. As in Banjo, you'll learn new moves that let you reach previously inaccessible areas, and that’s what kept me playing "ti the епа. Crispin VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 213 Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Gearhead Featured In: EGM #118 Players: 1 Supports: Rumble Pak Best Feature: It's quite relaxing Worst Feature: Can you handle the pace? Web Site: — wwwtakezgames.com Fishing games can actually be pretty good. The DC game we'll review next month is unnervingly addic tive. Trouble is, if they're not really, really good...they’re really, really dull. In-Fisherman put just about everyone who played it to sleep. Maybe it's the lack of a proper controller on the N64—or maybe it's just a little too relaxed. Sure, cruising around in your boat is fun.. but the lack of any real feeling of competition kind of lets it down. The graphics aren't great either. John D and the Milkman looked at it for a while and started to snooze. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY — REPLAY Chessmaster Il Mindscape Developer: — Starsphere Interactive. Featured n: EGM #119 — Players: — тз Supports: _ Nothing Best Feature: Extremely customizable Worst Feature: No analog support Web Sit www.mindscape.com The challenge in reviewing a chess game is that you're never going to discuss the meat of the game—the Al, unless you're a grandmaster. The Al is probably some where between those electronic chess boards of the "Воз and Big Blue. Every possible option a chess game needs has been included: custom rules, switching sides, colors, 3D views, music. If you're serious about chess, Chessmaster Il has an incredible Mentor Mode that teaches and gives you advice as you play. Alas, analog support should have been included. If you're looking for chess on your PlayStation, this is it. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 1 3 8 اچ Midway Midway Featured In: EGM #120 Players: 14 => Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Speedy frame-rate Worst Feature: The Cowboys Web Site: www.midway.com I'm more impressed with this version than the N64 Blitz 2000. It looks really nice and moves even faster than its N64 counterpart. If 1 were looking for ће best representation of Blitz '99 (arcade) I'd take this one hands-down. The big new feature (drum roll please) —four-player mode! This is a key change and it works well. The other big improvement involves the play book. Rather than just stock plays, you can make your own custom set of 27 offensive and nine defensive plays. Select your favorites from each team's playbook. On top of that, а total of 18 player-created plays, both offensive and defensive, can be used. The editor is a great part of the game. For football fanatics like myself, building and tweak- ing plays is half the fun. A bunch of other cool new things include: on-side kicks, Blitz Passing, On Fire Mode and variable field conditions (eight total). The Titans and Browns are present as well. Gameplay is top-notch, Smarter Al takes note of the plays you pick most often and shuts you down with the best counter-punch, They've smartened-up the whole package. Spinning your way down field won't work like it did in the original either. Overall I'm psyched about this game. If Midway ever made a serious foot- ball sim using this engine, Madden and GameDay would have a run for their money. Dean I'm still amazed at what Midway can do with the PlayStation hardware. NFL Blitz 2000 does not look arcade-perfect, but it runs amazingly smooth and quick, with large-sized character models to boot! Some of the new enhancements, like the defensive. play editor and audible play calling add some depth to an already great Blitz 99 (which never made it to the consoles). Make sure you get a multi-tap...this is a great four-player game. Shoe When you play Blitz 2000 and NFL Xtreme 2 side by side, you see just how terribly bad NFL Xtreme 2 is. So in other words, buy Blitz 2000 and stay away from the other one at all costs. Blitz has an incredibly speedy frame-rate, great-looking graphics and solid play—it’s just a tight, fun package all the way around. Besides, it has а fourplayer mode that rocks. If you're into Blitz in the arcade, you should buy this one with no delay. l rocks. ` Shaw It's Blitz, ‘nuff said. | gotta say, I'm not a sports game fan, but | like Blitz and Showtime, a lot, This is a strong conversion of the arcade, with no noticeable load time or slowdown. Football purists will appreciate what Midway has added to this version, while being just as easy to pick up and play as before. You'd think the PlayStation would buckle under the pressure of han- dling а four-play mode with the amount of players on the field, but it doesn't. Good job, Midway! (үне REPLAY VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY 1 Mies ћ GT Interactive Reflections EGM #19 A > з Dual Shock Best Feature: Great '70s cop show car chases Worst Feature: Real bad slowdown WebSite: — www.gtgames.com So was it worth the wait? Well. yes. But Driver is a. game that's not without its little problems. As an example of a "different" kind of racing game, it's tough to fault. The whole '7os cop show vibe is pulled off with tremendous style and the squealing tires, roaring engines and ludicrous smashing through-boxes, Starsky and Hutch-kinda chases make this a joy to behold. It's packed with options too. Not only do you get the “story” mode that has you infiltrating the mob as a getaway driver (which develops into an excellent JFK-style, mob-trying-to- kil-the-president thing)..but you also get some cool pick up and play modes, The finest of these is the Pursuit Mode. Here you simply have to chase after a single car through the streets of the city and try to ram him off the road before he escapes. It's simple, but so effective that you'll spend as much time with this “bonus extra" as anything else, But what of those problems? The gorgeous graphics seem to put a tremendous strain on the PlayStation, the net result of which is some terrible slowdown. Race around with a couple of cops on your tail and it feels like you're only doing about 3omph, which ain't that great, It also has some really bad memory card prob lems which can completely lock up your PlayStation when you try to save a game. John I've been looking forward to the exciting car chases of Driver for so long now. The fact that it has prob: lems though has proven to spoil the experience. Don't get me wrong, it's a great game but the stupid glitches spoil what could've been perfect. The slow- down is somewhat forgivable—this is a fine-looking game that really pushes the PlayStation after all. What | can't forgive are the memory card problems, which crashed my machine several times. Shog I've wanted to play this game since it was announced some time back. And overall, 18 say it has been worth the wait. But you should be aware: The game isn't without problems. The frame-rate suffers in зоте areas which takes away from the high-speed feel of chases, and the difficulty should've been more gradual, Still, the story line is funny and inter. esting, the control is tight and the action and conse. quent crashes and flips are awe-inspiring. eam Driver pulls off the "705 cop show theme quite well The other thing it does really well is re-create the dri ving characteristics of a bloated old muscle-car. The body sway, spinouts, etc., it's all right on the money. With the physics in place, the rest is academic. Just playing the driving games (specifically pursuit) isa blast. Story Mode is decent but once you're done, you're done, not much replay there. Small glitches aside, Driver is definitely worth the money. Dean Publisher: Titus Developer: — Yuke's Featured In: EGM #118 Е Players: — тзг > Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Anime-style fights, great art Worst Feature: Poor translation of a great game WebSite: www.titus.com Eretzvaju was a really good Japanese game. It's like watching Dragon Ball Z or Ya Yu Hakusho, but being able to control the battles. During especially flashy attacks, the camera angles change as if you were really watching it as а TV series (each character with its own show and story line). This isn't Eretzvaju, it's Evil Zone, and the translation is horrific. Its as if they put the dialogue through a lapanese translation program and left the literal translations in. It makes me cringe when | see a publisher not spend enough energy to do a Japanese game justice. Some great examples of this are the episode titles, "The Power of the Supreme. Ruler to Destroy an Evil" and "Assaulting Thrust: The Love of a Mercenary Girl.” Maybe it's for cult value, but the rest of the game's text pretty well sucks too. If itd been polished, it would've gotten a higher score. Apart from that, this is a fun fighting game whose charm lies in the very "Japanese TV"«style setup. In fact, the game's opening animation was done by AIC, one of Japan's premier animation studios, responsible for such shows as El-Hazard and Bottle Athletes. It's not the deepest fighting game ever (controller motions are the same for each character), but that's not the point. | wish the translation was better and they'd left in Eretzvajus kick-ass opening song, but if you're an animé fan, you won't be disappointed Chris If you're a fan of silly-ass, Japanese fighting flicks you'll love this. It has all the same elements—dumb Story line, laughable translation and outrageous fighting moves. They should've gone the extra inch and made this a full parody of the whole genre. The. fighting engine is OK if not a litte awkward. The spe- cial moves are, umm..creative but far too prevalent. Some more traditional moves would ђе. this one out for its cheese appeal alone. | have a feeling fighting game classicists will scoff at Evil Zone for its simplistic combo system, or how it uses по more than two buttons throughout the game. But fans of Psychic Force and anime-based fighters should feel right at home with EZ. The graphics are stylistic, and the dynamic camera angles add a lot of flare to the otherwise canned animations for the special moves. Some of the voice-overs are pretty limp, but thankfully, Titus left the game uncensored. This is one of those games that | just can't get into. 1 wanted to give it so much of a chance, coz I really dig the whole anime vibe..but | hate the gameplay mechanics. As a piece of production work, it's quite unique, especially in Story Mode where it weaves things into a series of character-specific episodes. I despise the control system though, and l'm not a big fan of the graphics either. The Japanese transla: tion leaves a little to be desired too! John VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 24 REPLAY Jade Cocoon Publisher: Crave Developer: Genki Featured In: EGM #319 Players: 1 Supports: Dual Shock, PocketStation Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Character designs, story Lacks personality www.crave.com Jade Coco For starter: Katsuya К n was an RPG | wanted to fall in love with. the character designs were done by o of Studio Ghibli (Laputa, Kiki's Delivery Service, Mononoke Hime). Plus, the story really appeals to me; it manages to be both allegorical and ambigu ous. The theme itself is universal; an imbalance of power between man and nature has brought suffering to the pe Parel. As you proceed through each of the “chapters” in the game, the story unfolds via beau: tiful hieroglyphic panoramas and quality voice-overs Unfortunately, somewhere between concept and execution, the game fell terribly short. As an RPG, there's а dire lack of character growth. Rather than rewarding you with stats and numbers, your boy in Jade Cocoon can only level-up his monster "capture" ability The only way to upgrade your stats is to find potions ог items. Since you're a one-man party, you'll need to rely on summoning your monsters to do most of the fighting for you. This wouldn't be so humdrum if your creatures weren't so cull to play. The monster breeding aspect of the game however, is complex and the possibilities seem endless, Finding the right monster combinations will be an acquired discipline, Unfortunately, there are dungeons late in the game that get recycled with а new color palette. It feels like they ran out of money two- thirds through the game. Totally disappointing. бре Jade Cocoon certainly takes its time getting going, but things eventually pick up. The Poké-cloned monster-mixing gameplay is ultra deep, rewarding and maybe а bit boring at times (battles do get tedious). As you've no doubt heard, the game packs sweet, stylized visuals. | wish there Was a second CD 50 the developers could have crammed in more FMV. You can even keep playing after you beat the game, although by that time I'd had enough. Сиври Jade Cocoon is an average RPG helped along by some great character designs and animation by one of Studio Ghibli's finest, Catching, combining and developing monsters is fun for a while, but the gameplay doesn’t evolve much beyond that through the rest of the game. The story's strong, but even though its got Ghibli on its side, there's not much animation in the game. There's а lot of reading text during FMV that could've been turned into some nice cutscenes. Chris Jade Cocoon could've been much better if it had more personality—or at least something else to make the experience more memorable. Your charac- ter never really talks, and the monsters in your party—even after gaining experience lack inspira- tion. The way I look at it, games like this take far too much time and energy to play for them not to score. an 8.0 or above. It's worth a rental, but | can’t see spending hard-earned cash on this опе. Shawn REPLAY VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY 1 6 5 4 нави CORE 3620 Publisher: — Konami Developer: — Konami Featured In: EGM #121 Players: © тз Supports: М/А Best Feature: Time Pilot Worst Feature: Circus Charlie Web www.konami.com Konami's Arcade Classics may not pack the FMV his tory lessons, interactive museums, screens of art work and other perks of past compilations, but it makes up for it by doling out lots of games—10 in all. And you get a couple of doozies here. Time Pilot and Gyruss are two of the best shooters of the early "805. Both are white-knuckle, totally twitch experiences; both have slick graphics for their time (Gyruss has killer music to boot); and both are just plain fun. Other standouts on the disc include Super Cobra, an intense side-scrolling shooter, and Yie Ar Kung-Fu, widely regarded as а key inspiration for Street Fighter. Like any compilation, KAC has its share of obscure stinkers. | could have lived without Scramble, really just a primitive version of Super Cobra which was done right 15 years ago on the Colecovision. The simple 1985 beat'em-up Shao- Lin's Road runs out of tricks quick. Don't even play Circus Charlie. It's dull, hard and hardly my idea of a classic. The rest of the games here are pretty addict. ing, even if you never played them before. | warmed up to the ultra-simple racer Road Fighter. Pooyan, which stars an arrow-shooting pig, is novel enough to hook you, and Вост Rope is surprisingly tricky for how simple it looks. | wish you could use the analog stick; the D-pad makes for sore thumbs. Grispin A lot of the games on this disc are indeed classics. Scramble and Super Cobra (both dating back to 19811) provided the framework for hundreds of side-scrolling shooters to соте. Ме Ar Kung-Fu was basically a bare bones 2D fighter template. And playing Gyruss now, 1 still get chills down my back because the gameplay is so together. lm not a fan of every game in this collection, but | acknowledge their importance. This just might be the best history lesson you'll ever have. Ор This compilation disk is mainly for people who remember these classic games, Newbies will be frightened by the simplicity they find within. It's def initely an early 'Bos nostalgia thing. The games themselves, while on the easy side, still provide a good amount of play time, not to mention prompting fond memories. 1 still love Scramble and Super Cobra. As far as rerelease compilation disks go, this isthe most worthwhile one Ive played Yet. Bean It's about time Konami came out with one of these, and I'm sure glad it's not one of them small-handful of-crappy-old-games compilations either. Рог me, Time Pilot alone is almost worth the purchase, but why on earth didn't the programmers make the game work with the analog controller? (Using the digital pad to spin round and round is hell on the thumb.) A few of the other games are still fun today..that is, if you like mindless twitch stuff Shoe VISUALS REPLAY SOUND INGENUITY 4 4 5 5 25 Publisher: 989 Sports Developer: 969 Sports Featured Іп: ЕСМ #119 Players: 1-8 ‘Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Graphics Worst Feature: Awkward animation. WebSite: — www.g89sports.com They've cleaned up the graphics and pumped up the game speed but Xtreme 2 still can't beat NFL Blitz My major complaint —when | throw a pass | like ту receivers to catch in stride. That's not how it happens in Xtreme 2, instead, receivers scamper to their spots and wait for the ball. At that point the after-catch hit is all that's left. That kills the whole thing for me. It's not a flaw but it makes gameplay repetitive and pre- dictable, plus it ruins any fluidity the game could have. There's something wacky with the frame-rate as well. It's very fast but it's fast in a weird, frantic way. Players bolt across the field so quickly it's tough to follow the action. Blink your eyes and you'll miss something. I guess overall, the title fails to generate much excitement for me. Many of the calamities that make football exciting like fumbles, interceptions and hard-hits are too forced and mechanical in Xtreme 2. 1 know that's the bread and butter of the game but something is definitely lost in the delivery. А better balance of true football and the extreme stuff would be cool. Heck, 989 could add some crazy stuff to GameDay and probably have a more entertaining and worthwhile game. That said, if you happen to be a fan, you'll like this edition more than the original. Two-player is, as usual, the best way to play the game. More power to you! Dean NFL Xtreme 2 is a slight improvement over the origi nal, but this couldn't have been too hard to accom. plish. It's obvious from the start this game has some problems. Terrible player animation makes it diffizult to judge plays, while awkward taunts, throws and pile-drivers in between plays are laugh- able at best— because they're just so poorly done, пот because they're actually amusing. It’s basically Blitz but without any of the style. Shawn Although its a step up from the inexplicably success- ful first game, NFL Xtreme 2 is still entertaining for all the wrong reasons. The animations especially stuff like the ninja flips—are as hilarious to watch as they are ridiculous. The players look Шке midgets on steroids: Between-play trash-talk sequences are downright surreal. Everything here is so bizarre it's comedic genius. Unfortunately, as a Blitz knockoff, it's стар, Rent it for cheap laughs. Crispi Sure, this may be a big improvement over the first Xtreme, but let's face Й. таге not that amazing а feat. Xtreme 2 does a decent job of not imitating Blitz too much by offering more sim-like features like play. er trades and drafts and such. But you can pile on all the goodies and fluff you want...ifthe game isn’t fun or playable, it won't be, well fun or playable. Xtreme 2 is also so technologically inferior to Blitz, it's not really worth your time or money. — Shgg VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 4 4 4 4 Rising Zan Publisher: Agetec Developer: UEP Systems Featured In: ЕСМ #119 Players: 1 ‘Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Weird, weird, weird, weird, weird Worst Feature: Obstructive camera system WebSite: wwwaagetec.com Um, it's about a Samurai gunman? ОК. | guess the team at UEP couldn't decide whether to do a cowboy game or a ninja game, so just did both. The first time 1 played this it was midnight after a long day—to say that its weirdness did my head in a bit is something of an understatement. Looking purely at the mechan: ics of the gameplay, which is simple linear levels with extremely basic combat moves, this isn't actually that great. Mechanically it’s a bunch of clichés that we'd normally hammer for being so unin- spired. You mash one button to use your sword and you mash another to fire your gun. Wiggle the pad and mash buttons some more and you get special moves. What rescues Rising Zan though is that it's all carried off in such а frickin’ weird and bizarrely Japanese way that you'd probably forgive it just about anything. The script is so bad it's fantastic “Super Ultra Sexy Hero...2AN!" Wow. Anything that can get away with a line like that is OK with me. It’s a shame the graphics are a bit on the ropey side and the camera system sucks so much. Fighting bosses can get really tough because you run around com. pletely unable to see them! It's got lots of nice extras though. The “interesting” bonus character is а nice touch which I'm sure will get the hormone-driven crowd excited too. John This has got to be the most f#&$led-up idea for a video game ever, but surprisingly—its fun to play. It's got а very arcade feel yet has an 8-Bit gameplay style that's fresh, The story's well-written and has plenty of laughs. 1 dig the B-movie mixture of the old west with samu- rai action. It's а great combo. The game's control is a lit tle lacking and inconsistent, making that the game's biggest flaw. It's not for everyone, but it's got a cult feel. that some people will really like. Chris You've got to wonder what the designers of Rising Zan were on when they came up with the concept (maybe they watched a little too much Six-String Samurai?). Within this oddball premise is a game that may not look great but is quick and easy to get into. Cutscenes could've been better if they'd opted to use more than FMV of the game engine, but it cre ates a very low-grade movie feel that makes you think the MST3K guys are going to рор UP. Sg You'l either love this game for its bizarre sense of humor, or hate it because it's so mediocre, Personally | gota huge kick out of Zan, Yes, | also had problems with the game's unwieldy camera, graphical glitches, low poly count models and dubious controls. However, Rising Zan carries with it a rare sense of enthusiasm. The game pulls off its B-movie spaghetti western paro dy with plenty of smarts. Those of you down with che REPLAY obscure pop culturalisms will have a field day. VISUALS SOUND ^ INGENUITY 5 6 1 1 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts Canada Featured In: EGM #119 Playe: 14 Support Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Dual Shock, Multi-Tap Fast, smooth and lots of options Running over bunny rabbits www.ea.com have to say that 1 am genuinely shocked at how good this game is. While the premise may sound a little unusual; and maybe -even--gratuitously, um, "unique" you have to appreciate that this is one of the most original racing games that’s come along in a long time. You'd never believe that 25 mph could feel so fast, Believe те. зе! one of these snowmo: biles up to зотрћ or more and starts to feel blind ingly fast. What makes things even more exciting though is the fact that the track design is so compre hensive. Every course in the two modes (straight rac- ing and the-motocross-like "SnoCross") is built to make sure you get as much out of the gameplay as possible. The SnoCross tracks are built to help you pull off some ridiculous stunts, while the tracks in the “meat and potatoes” of the game, the “open mountain” racing, offer so many hidden routes, secret areas and shortcuts you'll find that you go around the course a different way each time, This is a really tactical game, and when playing alone you'll find the opponent AI is unnervingly crafty. Choose multiplayer and you'll be able to enjoy the relatively unique experience of actually getting to plug your multi-tap in for a change. Cool. Graphically it's beau: tiful—smooth and sweet, As for the soundtrack, Rob Zombie, Econoline Crush..it's great. John Sled Storm is going to do for snowmobiling games what WipeOut did for futuristic racing games—make them hip. OK, maybe not, but Sled Storm is a damn good racer. It has tight controls, great gameplay and the graphics are easy on my eyes. The four-player mode is fun, but all оо often it was difficult to see what obsta: Че was coming up. The frame-rate kept up though, that in itself was an accomplishment. 'm bracing myself for all those snowmobiling clones, Витт, спе Sled Storm is really good. The physics and handling are right-on, not that | ride snowmobiles, but it feels accurate. Beyond imaginative design, the courses are full of shortcuts, diverse snowpack and killer jumps. It's easy to keep an eye on the upcoming path as well. Four-player works well, not much slow- down at all. A good selection of upgradable sleds seals the deal. For a new genre racing game, SS һа Seta high benchmark for those to соте. реа It's easy to make a racing game based on something other than cars (like snowboarding, go-karts, etc). It's not so easy, however, to do it well. But EA's Canadian team did it with Sled Storm—a not-so- common racing title in a fun and easy-to-play package. Sled Storm is challenging, has excellent graphics and maintains a speedy frame-rate at all times (even in the four-player mode for the most part). Overall it's а racer to look то. Shawn VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 216 Soul of ше Samurai Publisher: Konami Developer: KCE Sapporo Featured In: EGM #116 Players: 4 Supports: Dual Shock, Analog Best Feature: Interesting story Worst Feature: Controls WebSite: www.konami.com Soul of the Samurai comes from that familiar school of fixed camera angles and prerendered backgrounds (a la Resident Evi), but it also has light elements of a fight ing game like Bushido Blade. It's almost as if the designers were torn on which direction the game should take. Those expecting the degree of freedom found in Bushido Blade will be sorely disappointed. The fundamental problem is that the game engine is far too limited for its intended scope. Imagine а hack"n' slash fighter with the slow, stilted controls of a survival horror adventure and you're close. And to make matters worse, there's a lot of combat. Zombie samurais and half-dead ninjas swamp you like clockwork at every turn. Unlike most survival horror games, this game doesn't give you the option to flee. Its frustrating, it adds nothing to the gameplay, and it's bad design. However, the game does have its redeeming qualities. As you progress, combat becomes more challenging and less tedious, There's a lot of timing involved (one- hit kills for example), and plenty of techniques to mas ter. Also, the story is decent from beginning to end. The narratives of the two protagonists overlap nicely and their interaction is memorable. Unfortunately, the game is rather short. If you blow by a lot of the secret items or areas, you can probably finish this game in a day. Here's to hoping Capcom's Onimusha turns out better. (ө The idea and story behind SotS is solid but the exe. cution of the game falls short of what it could be. Non-linear and sometimes tedious gameplay take ир most of your time, and an unbalanced and Бог ing fighting system just annoy you. Sure, things pick ир a bit further into the game, but chances are you'll beat it within a couple of nights, so who cares? Even with two separate players/quests to start with (simi- lar to RE2), 5015 gets old rather quickly. Spawn Add one part Resident Evil, one part Bushido Blade, and stir. It Works, but not well. Primarily based on fight ing, you can't leave a screen until you've vanquished all the enemies, even if you're backtracking to find health They reappear, too, so you can’t run past enemies you've already faced. Control is sluggish, so it doesn’t respond when you need it the most for blocking attacks from multiple enemies. Not horrible, but the fighting engine could've been much better. Chris This is kinda cool in a samurai/anime/sort of sci-fi way. The story line develops into something that's quite interesting, even through the script itself Ба little forced, As gameplay mechanics go it's very lin- ear and simplistic.. you wander the streets, hit peo: ple very hard with a sword, talk to people and collect objects. Ho-hum, You won't be on the edge of your seat or anything, and the combat is way too simple to ever get particularly exciting. John VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 6 4 3 SCEA Eurocom EGM #121 A 1 Dual Shock Best Feature: Incredible graphics Worst Feature: Childish gameplay WebSite: ` www.playstation.com Underneath Tarzan's pseudo-3D level design and beautifully rendered graphics lies a straightfor- ward—and sometimes fun—action game. Problems to watch f down when too much stuff is going оп, repetitive jungle-type levels and touchy control when jum inging on vines. | do like being able to play аз different characters depending on the level, but what you do in those levels as those other characters doesn't differ greatly from playing as Tarzan. But по doubt kids will enjoy playing as the characters from the movie—especially that Rosie now she's funny, Note the sar is a kid's game—a kid's game for ty good at games. Sure, you might be caught off guard by the difficulty found in middle to later levels since the first few are easy. And yeah, you can finish the game without getting 100% (which makes you replay levels for maximum percentages), but most items are easy to obtain, and most levels aren't especially challenging. In fact, in one particu: lar stage | must've been hit 25 times or so and still didn’t die. Overall, kids will enjoy the simple game- play, ЕМ! enes straight from the movie and the game's Disney-like graphics. Hardcore gamers might think the game is decent, but certainly not involving enough t purchase ога rental. Shawn Tarzan was a great movie, and not bad as a video game. It's got great animation and richly detailed graphics, but firing weapons is stow and clumsy. By the time you arsenal of fruit to throw at jungle beasts, ү hit you a few times. It's a bit repetitive, but faithfully follows the plot of the movie. As ап added bonus you can go back through the levels to find things you missed the first time ‘round, and open up clips from the movie to watch anytime you want. Я: This may be tiful-looking game that captures the spirit and look of the movie perfectly, but what a shame the gameplay is so derivative and dull. It may be aimed at kids, but that's no excuse for a complete lack of innovation. Running around and jumping for icons gets old fast. Sure, you get to play different characters, and the game throws in a different-styled level from time to time, but it's formulaic, Not being able to jump оп baddies is weird 100. — Joan Tarzan was a nice diversion from all the stuff | usually take very seriously (murder simulators, fighting games, etc.) во it was enjoyable on that level. But without that context, Im not sure Tarzan would be my thing. The visuals are pure sugar-coating; they're good like a Crash Bandicoot. The gameplay, on the other hand, was definitely geared toward younger gamers. While | had no major "|-want-to-break-this-controllerin-half" impulses, it did feel a bit dummied down. Che VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: SCEA Developer: ^ Appaloosa Featured Іп: EGM #115 4 Players: > ‘Supports: Best Feature: Worst Feature: Provides nothing interesting. WebSite: — wwwplaystation.com You're probably wondering why we're reviewing Tiny Tank again. After all, we reviewed it back in issue 115, Well, it never actually made it to store shelves. But it's really going to be released this time, except now Sony's publishing it instead of MGM Interactive. In addition, there have been a number of so-called improvements made to the version we reviewed six months back. So here we go again, to see if the changes made to the original make this new version of TT any better. First, the slowdown is supposed to be fixed. Well, it's better than it used to be, but it's still there. Even in the first level you see signifi- cant slowdown. And it doesn’t get any better as the game progresses. Next, the auto-aiming is supposed to be tweaked, but | couldn't see any difference Lastly, the one thing that made the game original— Tiny's quips as well as the radio station chattering in the background—has been toned down. The rest of the changes are rather minor. It comes down to this: The old version of Tiny Tank was pretty sloppy over. all, and didn’t leave a lasting impression. The changes in this new version. aren't substantial enough to allow for a higher score. And actually, the bar has been raised since our last review, so my score is lower. Tiny Tank should've been rebuilt from the ground up- not just tweaked. Shawn | wasn't looking forward to this game since it was pretty bad the first time around, | figured it'd take a miracle to make this new version stand out from the crowd, and after playing it, | knew а miracle didn’t happen. True, some of the old problems have been addressed, but they haven't actually been eliminat- ед. And these days, there are just far too many worthwhile action games out there to sink your hard- earned money into Tiny Tank. Shoe Tiny Tank has been made kid-friendly. The clever radio show dialogue has been cut substantially. Apparently Sony thought the chatter contradicted the cartoony nature of the game. Now you've got a cute, slightly aged-looking, level-based, 3D shooter. You won't have much trouble getting through the lev. els or beating the bosses. It's been watered-down enough for the average 9-year-old to handle. Even зо, you may want to rent Tiny Tank first: jean I'm surprised by just how much this has changed in the time that its been back in development Graphically it doesn't suffer from slowdown as much, but 1 do feel that some of the character and attitude has been sucked out. Maybe | just have fond memo: ries of it from before though. Аз а 3D blaster goes, it's not bad. | love the fact it uses both analog sticks and has а degree of strategy, but on the whole, the level design isn’t massively inspired. John VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY a Сопкег5 Pocket Tales SRR: ии Nintendo Developer: _ Rare Featured In: EGM #18 а МА Inventive quest Damn cute animals. www.nintendo.com Perhaps this is to appease the three gamers still waiting for Conker's Quest to arrive for the N64. For the rest of us, it's an action-adventure game that starts off slow, but adds plenty of ingenious game- play as the game progresses. With tons of items, obstacles, mini-games and levels to find and explore, this is one of the better games you could buy for a younger gamer. Although the graphics aren't the greatest, they do the job in a children’s storybook kind of way. Cute in that typical Rare way, this is a good game for taking on a long trp. SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY VISUALS Featured lı Player ‘Support: Best Feature: Worst Feature: Abit tedious WebSite: — wwrw.sunsoft.com What you have here is your basic multi-engine side- scroller, the kind of game that's been done to death on a variety of systems. Looney Tunes isn't the worst game around, but with a bonafide classic like Super Mario Bros. Deluxe available, why both- er? Another minor gripe: The game contains absolutely no character voices. We realize this is Game Boy, but a "What's up, Doc?” ога "Th-Th-That's all, folks” might have gone a long way. Also, the trite levels (haunted pyramid, tropical island, etc) do litte to exploit the Looney Tunes license. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 5 3 3 4 Publisher: — Konami Developer: — Konami Featured іп: EGM #121 Players: — 2 Supports: Link Cable Best Feature: Track editor Worst Feature: Later tracks a bit too tough Web Site: www.konami.com Ifyou never played the original Motocross Maniacs— shame on you. You missed a fun, Excitebike-like Game Boy game that was pretty darn addictive, Don't repeat that mistake by passing Up this sequel, which packs even twistier tracks, a two-player link mode and—better still—an intuitive track editor. You can assemble three custom courses (we like to fill ours with turbos and lots of corkscrew jumps), then pass ‘ет on to friends. Later tracks get obscenely hard, but never quite to the point where you wanna chuck your Game Boy into the river. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 1 6 8 Publisher: — Namco Developer Namco Featured In: N/A Players: 12 Supports: Link Cable Best Feature: Two games in one Worst Feature: Sloppy programming WebSite: — wwwnamcocom To think, this game caused quarter shortages in the "Зов and inspired an entire album's worth of bad pop music. Actually, Pac-Man Special Color Edition is probably the most faithful portable Pac-Man adapta: tion ever, if you ignore a few troubling bugs, that i Crispin actually reported going directly through a blinking ghost on more than one occasion! On the plus side, you also get a portable version of Namco's so-so Pac-inspired Tetris knock-off for the SNES, Рас Attack; however, the game's playfield occupies about 1/4 of the screen, making it а real eye strain. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Saka 3 6 Nintendo HAL Laboratories EGM #18 Players: 1 ‘Suppor Rumble cartridge Best Feature: Lots of replay value, catching Poké'st Worst Feature: Nothing WebSite: — www.pokemon.com Gotta tilt "ет all! If you remember the classic portable pinball game Revenge of the Gator, you won't be in for eign territory here. The rumble from the Rumble car- tridge is а nice addition and fits well with the game without being distracting (though the vibrating sound could be to some). As а pinball game, it's filled with plenty of extra stages and bonus levels that'll keep you busy for hours. There's also a built-in Pokédex so you can take а look at the monsters you've caught. Graphically, the boards are simple, but the strategy involved is as deep as portable pinball gets. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 8 1 8 9 Nintendo Developer: — Irem Software Featured Іп: EGM #29 Players: 1 ‘Support: None Best Feature: Three games in one Worst Feature: High level of difficulty Web Site: www.nintendo.com. As far as side-scrolling shooters go, you can't get much more classic than R-Type. This version is truly deluxe—the combination of R-Type, R-Type 2 and R- Туре "DX" (а hybrid version of both) means more bang for your gaming buck. The colorization is done well, but the controls seem а bit on the slow side, as does the overall speed of the game. Those who are easily frustrated may want to stay away, as the difficulty level is rather high. But anyone looking for a deep and entertaining shooter on the Game Boy, can't go wrong with R-Type DX. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 6 1 8 218 Konami CEA, Inc. Publisher: Developer: Konami Featured In: EGM #118 Players: 1 Supports: М/А Best Feature: The ability to turn it off : Being able to turn it on www.konami.com Just because a game is 8-bit in nature doesn't mean it has to be 8-bit in design. Whoever thought that walking from left to right (or driving from left to right, for that matter), with nothing more than a jump and punch button to manipulate, must have graduated from the Acclaim school-of-thought of the early "905. At best, it's а simple side-scroller that would be hard- pressed to entice even the youngest of gamers. Spawn is a pitiful use of the license that anyone but the most dedicated fans would do best to avoid. Even die-hard fans might want to skip this one. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY _ REPLAY Publisher: Activision Developer: Activision Featured Іп: EGM #120 Players: — à Supports: — GB Printer Best Feature: Great animation Worst Feature: Too much banana huntin’ Web Site: www.activision.com One of the most amazing things about this game is how it emulates the opening sequence of the actual movie itself. That's right. FMV on the Game Boy Color. Flashy intros aside, Tarzan reminds one of Aladdin for the Genesis, with its fluid animation and lush graph ics. While the first few levels are painful exercises in “finding the banana,” the game picks up later as you can play as Tarzan, Jane and Terk. The controls are simple and responsive enough, making this a pain- less experience for fans of the movie. A well-done, portable alternative to the PS game. Samurai Shodown 2 First ^w Get Pocket NOW AVAILABLE j WWW.SNKUSA.COM - For more information on where to purchase a NeoGeo Pocket Color, NeoGeo Pocket Color software or accessories contact: SNK Corporation of America, 17 Great Oaks Blvd., San Jose, CA 95119 (408) 292-4550 JCKET POWI С, H Call 1-800-771-3772 for Gaming Rating Information. ^ Platinum © бош E Silver = » EGM's Last 100 Reviews Review Archive From И #ИВ ТА Game Publisher Best Feature Worst Feature Scores Issue # Nintendo A Bug's Ше Activision Interesting Levels It's A Sloppy Game 40 40 55 40 120 I All-Star Baseball 2000 Acclaim Amazing Depth, Great Graphics So-So Commentary 90 90 90 85 18 All-Star Tennis " Ubi Soft Short Skirts On Them Ladies Tough To Aim The Ball 50 55 55 55 WI Air Boardin USA Agetec Hoverboards! High Learning Curve 15 20 15 35 ш 9 Beetle Adventure Racing Electronic Arts Awesome Course Designs Not Enough Tracks 90 85 95 95 W Bottom Of The 9th Konami Scenario Mode No MLB License 60 80 70 60 m California Speed Midway Silly Arcade Feel An Overall Sloppy Game 45 40 40 45 т JE Castlevania Konami Kick-Ass Game Design, Music. Frustrating Platform Gameplay, Camera 90 90 80 90 16 Chameleon Twist 2 Sunsoft Nice Graphics. Mindless Gameplay 30 40 45 35 m Charlie Blast's Teritory Кетсо Multiplayer Territory Mode Touchy Control 50 65 55 40 m я пля Electronic Arts Realistic Gameplay Frame-Rate...Again 85 95 85 90 15 Fighting Force 64 Crave Entertainment It Doesn't Have One The Fact That It Exists 10 40 40 40 m Goemon's Great Adventure Konami Two-Player Co-Op Mode Cheap Instant Deaths 15 85 70 80 m Hybrid Heaven Konami Interesting Fight System ‘Awkward Camera Problems 70 15 15 80 00 Кел Griffey Jr's Slugfest Nintendo Arcade-Like Gameplay Weak Sounds 80 10 65 55 120 А. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Nintendo Absolutely Incredible Dungeons Where's The Classic Zelda Music?! 0 0 10 0 15 Magical Tetris Challenge Capcom New Garbage Blocks Getting Hit By Those New Garbage Blocks 75 75 10 80 15 JB Wario Party Nintendo Its The Ultimate Party Game Not So Great For Solo Play 85 85 85 90 Ш Ш Micro Machines 64 Turbo Midway Awesome Eight-Player Game Having To Sit So Close To Your Friends 85 90 10 85 Lu Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft Solid Controls Weak Frame-Rate во во 65 60 120 NBA In The Zone 99 Konami Much-Improved Al Sub-Par Graphics, Animation 70 65 65 60 т NHL Blades Of Steel 99 Konami Good Commentary Bad Control 45 35 65 60 m Ш шге! Activision Multiplayer Modes. Can't Save During Levels 85 80 90 80 120 Rampage 2: Universal Tour Midway Saving The Original Characters Gets Mindless After A While 60 10 45 50 18 Shadowgate 64: Trials of Towers — Kemco Interesting Story Line. Sleep-Inducing Gameplay 40 40 65 65 Ш Snowboard Kids 2 Atlus Cool Courses Annoying Characters 70 80 15 75 16 © Star Wars: Episode 1-Васег Nintendo Blazing Speed Maybe Too Fast? 90 90 85 95 18 Wl Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Nintendo/Lucashrts. Detailed Graphics. Extreme Difficulty Of Final Stages 80 80 85 85 15 Superman. Titus The Box Art Just About Everything Else 05 40 20 15 —W0 JB Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Simple, Fun Gameplay Lots Of Cheap Attacks 85 85 85 90 19 Triple Play 2000 Electronic Arts Lots Of Options, Features Touchy Controls, Awkward Cameras 50 50 55 SO n IM Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil Acclaim Hi-Res Graphics (w/RAM Pak) Too Few Save Points 85 85 85 80 15 JB vigilantes Activision Co-Op Quest Mode Music 15 Pretty Non-Descript 85 90 во 85 m World Driver Championship. Midway Gorgeous Graphics Wanky Guitar Soundtrack. 80 65 70 75 10 WCW Nitro THO Lots Of Moves Mediocre Game Engine 60 35 50 30 18 Эйгете 989 Studios Two-Player Mode Lack Of Analog Control 40 30 10 10 № the Heartless Eidos Original Concept Not Particularly Difficult 75 80 10 60 16 Alexi Lalas Intl. Soccer Take 2 Interactive Alexi Lalas Looks Funny It's А Terrible Soccer Game 25 40 25 40 w Ape Escape SCEA Innovative Use Of Dual Shock Analog The Camera Can Get Ann во 90 90 90 т Army Men 3D 300 World War И Atmosphere Crappy Controls, Analog Is Too Sensitive 50 60 60 65 19 Baseball 2000 Interplay Realistic Gameplay, Al Sluggish Controls, Sloppy Graphics 55 50 50 45 19 Big Air Accolade Big Air Mode Choppy Two-Player Mode 45 40 35 60 m Blast Radius Psygnosis Slick Visuals Flawed Save System 45 40 55 40 W Bloody Roar И Sony Computer Entertainment fects-Laden Presentation Too Easy 60 10 70 60 m Bomberman Fantasy Race Atlus Racing Requires Some Strategy — — PoorTwo-Player Mode 70 55 50 75 te Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time Infogrames Cartoony Visuals Nasty Camera 55 50 40 35 Юа Bust-A-Move 99 каат There Isn't Any Huge Step Backward From BAM 4 10 70 30 60 m Castrol-Honda Superbike Racing Electronic Arts Simulation Elements Choppy Frame-Rate 65 50 30 40 120 Centipede Hasbro Interactive Playing The Original Centipede Graphics And Control 25 60 35 35 00 Chocobo Racing Square EA Final Fantasy Atmosphere Lacks Originality 70 50 45 75 ша с 220 Publisher Best Feature Worst Feature Scores Issue # Activision Epic Gameplay Unbearably Long Al “Thinking” Times 90 тв Contender Sony Computer Entertainment Easy To Get Into Repetitious Gameplay 55 16 Croc 2 Fox Interactive Level Design And Graphics Poor Control, Stupid Dialogue 45 120 Ш Destrega Koei Intense 30 Fights Cheesy Voice Acting 80 15 Echo Night. Agetec Very Cerebral, Good Puzzles Too Short, Not Cinematic Enough 55 та Ehrgeiz Square EA Quest Mode Blocking System 15 19 Eliminator Psygnosis Wah-Wah Guitar Soundtrack Frustrating Aiming Controls 45 тв м по Electronic Arts Best Soccer Al Around ‘Some Animations Repeat Too Often 95 15 JB Fighter Maker Agetec Duh-Making Your Own Fighters Fighting Engine Lacks Polish 80 119 Fisherman's Bait Konami Two-Player Mode Voice Commentary 15 тв Freestyle Воггё 99 Capcom Number Of Courses. ‘Another Average Snowboarding Game 40 тв бек 3: Enter the Gecko idos Tons Of Secrets And Objectives Camera Still A Pain 15 тв Guardian's Crusade Activision Packs А Few Cool Innovations Too Many Useless Toy Helpers 50 т High Heat Baseball 2000 300 тип. The Clouds Look Nice Batting And Pitching Is A Chore 20 20 Invasion From Beyond GT Interactive Very Nice Graphics, Frame-Rate Difficulty Isn't Balanced 85 "m Kl Revenge Jaleco Convincing Realism Jerky Camera 80 Ш Legend Of Legaia Sony Computer Entertainment Long Quest, Cool Battle System Ващев Tend To Drag On A Bit 80 LU ® LUNAR: Silver Star Story Complete Working Designs. Great Story, Nice Anime Scenes. Nall Sounds Like A Little Girl. 90 120 March Madness 99 Electronic Arts Realistic Animation Sluggish Frame-Rate 65 16 Marvel Super Heroes vs. SF Capcom Much Better Port Than XMvSF Still Missing "True" Tag-Team Play то тв MLB 2000 989 Studios Competitive Two-Player Games Almost Exactly The Same As Last Year 8.0 19 Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft Great-Handling Vehicles Lack Of An F License 80 20 Monkey Hero Take 2 Well It's A Lot Like Zelda Horrible Graphics And Animation 40 тв Monster Seed Sunsoft Large Variety Of Monsters Atrocious Dialogue 25 19 МВА In The Zone ‘99 Konami Great Animation Sloppy Al то тв NCAA Final Four 99 989 Studios Great Player Moves Too Many Easy Shots 10 тв JE Need for Speed: High Stakes Electronic Arts Hot Pursuit Mode. Confusing Level Progression 85 тв The Next Tetris Hasbro Interactive А New Twist On An Old Formula Нага To Get Away From Old Formula 65 w E Point Blank 2 Namco Tons Of Variety оше Similar To The First Point Blank 85 19 Populous: The Beginning Electronic Arts Controlling Primitive People Clunkiness And Load Time 45 19 Pro 18: World Tour Golf Psygnosis Decent Graphics Crappy Interface 20 Ш М R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco Graphics, Overall Design. Not Incredibly Challenging 80 19 HD Rype Delta Agetec Classic R-Type Gameplay May Be Too Hard For Some 9.0 та Rypes Ascii Classic R Type Gameplay No Super Rype, Rype Ill Or RTypeleo — 70 16 Rampage 2: Universal Tour. Midway Hard To Say, Really Pretty Much Everything 10 тв Rollcage Psygnosis Speedy Frame-Rate Frustrating Vehicle Physics 65 Ш Shanghai: True Valor Sunsoft Two-Player Battle Mode All The Tile Layouts Are Fairly Similar 10 19 Silent Hill Konami Spooky Story Dodgy English Translation. 85 Ш Sports Car GT Electronic arts Decent Gameplay ‘Somewhat Cartoony Graphics 65 тв JE Star Ocean: The Second Story Sony Computer Entertainment Character-Skills System Some Battles Frustrating 85 120 IM street Fighter Alpha 3 Capcom World Tour Mode Slight Animation Loss From Arcade 95 19 Street SkBer Electronic arts Simple But Fun Gameplay ‘Trick System Is Too Simple 15 тв Syphon Filter 989 Studios Lots Of Cool, Original Stuff ‘Small Glitches That Add Up 80 né TRA: Mission Of Mercy Sunsoft Separating Team Members Controls 35 тв Activision Simple, Old-School Gameplay Flaky Camera Sometimes 60 Ш М Triple Play 2000 Electronic Arts Improved Frame-Rate. Cheesy “Trail” That Follows Ball 85 тв Warzone 2100 Eidos Customizable Units Difficult To Control 15 120 Wheel Of Fortune Hasbro Interactive Playing With Friends No Pat Sajak 80 16 © Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX Nintendo Classic Zelda Gameplay New Dungeon Is Kinda Lame 95 90 95 90 16 The Smurfs’ Nightmare Infogrames Nice Graphics Mindless Gameplay 45 55 30 45 w Ш Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Nintendo Loads Of Extras! Vertical Scrolling Can Disorient You 95 85 85 85 w i 21 v.videogamı ıı E E Reader Reviews Super Smash Bros What we said: “SSB is a great party game whose Nintendo-heavy themes work wel one of the most unique, entertaining fighting games I've ever played...the multiplayer and team modes are what make this game so much fun..." How we rated it: 8.5 85 What you said: Super Smash Bros. kicks every form of ass that exists definitely the party enthusiast's game of choice. Hal Laboratories was right on when they made this game it's the best fighting game I've ever played, mostly because of the four-player chaos that can occur. 1 love the innovation of having to throw your opponents off a cliff, and the spectacular comebacks you can make. | also love hitting people with and throwing the baseball bat at people. Sometimes it gets a little hard to see your character, but unless you like being deprived of great things, | couldn't see any reason not to recommend this game. Dan6814@a0l.com Fighter Maker — » What we $ "There's nothing like it on any U.S. console...it'll take you a long time to get the hang of FM, but it's well worth be prepared to spend hours with this one..." How we rated it: 8.0 90 8.5 What you said: This is simply the worst PlayStation game | have ever played. People anticipated this for weeks. Making your own fighter and even making his movements would have provided months of entertainment. But when | turned the game on | soon realized lunar: 5552 + What we said: Here’s your chance to vent your views on recently released games. If you have something you think needs to be said about either one of our reviews or a game you've recently bought, e-mail us your thoughts at review_cre 'd.com or write to us at the following address: EGM Reader Reviews, Р.0. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 you can't even make the fighters! All you can do is select a premade fighter and design his or her actions. | don't give a s*** about the way Skullomania dances around. | wanted to make my friends, teachers and other such people from real life. Imagine it as Warzone's editor, but all you can do is assign Stone Cold his moves. Only buy Fighter Maker if you want to flush 40 bucks down the crapper. Joe Doheney WackylraqyGaol.com What we said: "Even the most hardcore SMB players will have plenty of new challenges to face... nearly perfect companion to every GBC owner out there...the two player link game is a blast...another must-buy for Game Boy Color How we rated 95 85 What you said: Thank God Nintendo didn’t change any of the music or sound effects like they did for Tetris DX. It’s a great game that shouldn't disappoint fans of the original. | can't wait for Super Mario 283! DarkniteggGaol.com “This is easily the most well-written RPG I've ever played...Lunar is as engaging as it gets. is all about strategy...the big draw here is the story...Lunar's plot, writing and voice acting are about the best you'll find...” How we rated 9.0 9.5 What you said: Hats off to Working Designs for finally doing this game justice. Lunar: SSS Complete is a remake with a vengeance, improving every aspect of the original Sega CD version and turning an excellent RPG into a phenomenal one. The characters from the original have been given depth and dimension, the story from the original has vastly improved, and the animation sequences from the original have become something else entirely. 222 Working Designs’ trademark campy yet quirky dialogue is present, as is some unparalleled voice acting, save for a few bothersome exceptions (namely Nash, whose pissy set of pipes would almost be tolerable were he not as arrogant as a mountain). Lunar: SSS Complete is a marvelous game and is highly recommended to anybody who enjoys fun. Forrest Kieffer amish_rodeoclown@hotmail.com “Hats off to Working Designs for finally doing this game justice.” КШ With its exclusive Dual Shock® compatible rod and reel controller, Bass Landing sets the standard for true-to-life fishing action. Now you can cast, set the hook, e and reel them in just like real life. So pack your. tackle box, pick up some cold ones, and grab your rod, ‘cause fishing season is now open. • бате is bundled with custom designed fishing rod/reel controller © Solo oftournament modes е 5 challenging lakes, 14 species of fish ® Cast side arm, overhead, or skip • Tutorial mode tells how the pros hook the big ones [ Dual shock compatible : е Stock your tackle box from. 50 different rods, reels, rigs, and lures > Ageto inc learns BN ЗШЕ Набивой Су CA 94063 ©1990, 1999 ASCII СО. Bass Landing and the Bass Landing Lago aerademers о ASCII CO. 1e маму Agetec ne Арес logo are trademark of Agere ne n Tricks of t If your trick is selected as the Trick of the Month, you will win a free GameShark provided by the kind people at InterAct, Er and а Pro Shock controller from Fire International. If you are given credit for submitting a hot trick in this section, you wil win a free game. See page 241 for rules. NOTE: IF you send your trick by e-mail you must include your real name, address, city, state and zip code. THE GAMESHARK CODES OF THE MONTH NINTENDO 64 PLAYSTATION A Bug's Life Infinite Health. Зпетазеобод Infinite Lives Bo1e12380009 Centipede Infinite Lives Adventure Mode 80059980004 Infinite Lives Arcade Mode 80095dccooo3 Chameleon Twist 2 All Levels. 80164508003f Complete Instant Level Up To 99 800282ce2400 Star Wars-Episode 1-Васег Have All Characters. 81113е740074 81113e76ffff Have All Tracks 81113e68ffff 81u3e6affff T.RA.G. AP Ammo 800981280367 HP Ammo 800981220367 Infinite Health ВозайеоооГа Send your best tricks, codes, Web sites and anything else that can help make games more fun and interesting to: Tricks of the Trade PO. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 or send e-mail to: tricks@zi.com NINTENDO 64 A Bug's Life Level Select At the ant hill off the main screen hold C-Up + C-Down + С Left + C-Right + Z and press R. An arrow will appear to confirm cor- rect code entry. Fighting Force 64 Level Select and Invincibility IAS On the Main Menu Screen, hold L button+ Z button+ C-Up+Down- C. This will take you to the 228 By Trickman Terry • tricksGzd.com Character Select Screen in a few seconds, From there you may press Left-C ог Right-C to choose your beginning level. You will also begin the level with invincibility. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest More Visual Codes Big Feet Go to the Create A Player option and type “CODE” for the first name and “BIGFOOT” for the last name. You will hear a confirmation sound. Flat Team Go to the Create A Player option and type “CODE” for the first name and “STEAMROLLED” for the last name. You will hear a confirmation sound. Invisible Players Go to the Create A Player option and type "CODE" for the first пате and “INVISIBLEMAN” for the last name. You will hear а confirmation sound. Big Heads Go to the Create A Player option and type “CODE” for the first пате and "BIGGHEDZ" for the last name. You will hear a confir- mation sound. Thin Players Go to the Create A Player option and type "CODE" for the first name and “TOOTHPICK” for the last name. You will hear a сопйг- mation sound. Little Players Go to the Create A Player option and type "CODE" for the first name and “LIDDLELEAGUE” for the last name. will heara confirmation Quake Il Timed Mission ure you have no k in the control pad. le Screen where you d Options, highlight Start and enter it. On the Mode Screen, choose a Single game. On the Start Game Screen, choose Load. When it asks you for a controller pak, choose the “Do Not U: tion. This. will bring you to the Password Screen. Now enter “FBBC VBBB FBBC VBF7" as your password You will automatically be brought to a timed game and it will be called Mission о. Rush 2 Tag Mode Choose the Practice Mode with two players. Then after both players have selected their cars, press Up-C a couple of times during the countdown. When the game begins, the word “It” will appear on the second player's half of the screen. The player who is not “It” becomes “It” when his/her car is hit by the other player or destroyed. A timer will keep track of how long the current player has been “It.” Level Select First begin a one-player game. Play until you get the option to save the game on the controller pak. Save the game, then reset. Select the Load Game option from the Main Menu, then choose the game that was saved. A prompt to insert a rumble pak will appear. Hold L + 225 . COM The ultimate online every month B for approximately one second, then press A. A Level Selection Screen will appear that allows any mission to be played under the current difficulty setting. Note: The difficulty setting may be changed by entering the Option Screen from the Main Menu. PLAYSTATION Ape Escape Save Your Life After you fall off a cliff, press the Start button and then press Square to exit. Now you will go to the Time Station and begin at the level you left off with the same amount of lives you had before you fell off the cliff. Make sure you press the Start button before you fall too far! Big Air Courses, Special Races and Boards All Courses DEXDRIVE SITES OF THE MONTH PlayStation: http://www.psxmax.com/cheats/dex, http:/ /geocities.com/Areas: /Shuttl TOP 10 TRICKS The top 10 games of the last month given the full-on Trickman treatment: 1. Pokémon (Blue) (GB) Fight Safari Zone Pokémon This will allow you to fight and catch the Safari Zone Pokémon outside ofthe Safari Zone. To begin, you must have a Pokémon with the Surf Ability. Now go to the Safari Zone and enter the area where the Pokémon you are trying to catch is found. Stay in the sec- tion until the time runs out Go to the Seafoam Islands by surfing south of Fuchsia City. Be sure you don't encounter any enemies on the way, or the trick won't work (this does not include the Pokémon in the water on the way there). On the edge of the islands, there is a strip of the screen that is half land, and half water. Now, surf on this section and just keep. going up and down on it. When you run into an enemy, it will be the Pokémon from the Safari Zone section you just left. This time though, you will be able to fight them and use the other Balls on them as well. cont. on pg. 227 dex.html '4921/psxsaves.html http://consolers.stomped.com/Console/codes/Dexdrive/dexfiless.html Nintendo 64 http:/ /www.geocities.com/TimesSquare, ‘orridor/8554/N64Saves.html http: //www.members.home.net/linkoo7/003,htm http: //www.nintendozone.com/dexdrive3.html 625/start.html TRICKS At the Main Menu Screen, quick- ly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Circle, Square, Circle, Square, then select any Freeride Mode. Race against Shawn Palmer At the Main Menu, quickly press Square(8). Then, finish the first track in World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race, Race against Mike Beallo At the Main Menu, quickly press 5аџаге(6), Circle(2). Then, finish the first track in World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race. Race against Nicola Thost At the Main Menu, quickly press FOR WHAT GAME? WHAT DOES IT D0? Square (7), Circle. Then, finish the first track in World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race. Race against lan Spiro At the Main Menu, quickly press Square(6), Circle, Square. Then, finish the first track in World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race. Race against Ross Powers At the Main Menu, quickly press Square(s), Circle, Square(2). Then, finish the first track in World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race. Race against Fabien Rohrer At the Main Menu, quickly press Square(s), Circle, Square, Circle. Then, finish the first track in NOW Race: незант вч” Жент эээ Les ‘wow по YOU oo пе. World Tour Mode in first place to race against him in the next race. Big Air board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square(3), Circle. Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose Inr перу КИЙ EI siete Жн aoa XE the Pitbull TDs board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square(2), Circle, Square. Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull Steve's board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square(2), Circle(2). Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull, Jimmy’s board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square, Circle(3). Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull. John's board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Circle, Square(3). Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull. Daniel's board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Circle, Square(2), Circle. Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull. Fire board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square, Circle, Square(2). Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull. Angel board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square, Circle, Square, Circle. Then at the Board Selection Screen, choose the Pitbull. Accolade board At the Main Menu, quickly press Right, Left, Right, Left, Square, VIGILANTE рин! From the Title Screen, access the Options Menu. Inthe ооо 8 (N64) Options, go to the Passcode option and enter Circle(2), Square. Then at the LIVING. FOREVER for no damage (invincibility). One of Board Selection Screen, choose those “див. why didn't I think of that?" codes, the Pitbull. WIPEOUT — TAKEAWILD | While standing on your head and whistling the ћете | © 64 (N64) GUESS. tune from Dallas, hold Z«L«R while playing and then Start Game With press these buttons: Up-C, Down-C, Left-C, Right-C, Up- 9 Heartpots (ром Left RighEC: On Title Screen, hold down R1 and then press Left, Left, Down, Circle, Square Square. You'll fo SEER After you have started the mission, press Start to bring 0000 hears confirmation sound. up the Pause Screen. This code must be done within (Ps) about two seconds to work. To make Sarge invincible, press Square, Circle, L1, La+L2 (simultaneously). GEX 3: UM, LIKE, IT DEE Makesyou | To make GEX invincible, press Start to pause the game | оо Gn fer and hold L2. With L2 held, press Down, Up, Left, Left, Triangle, Right, Down. Now you won't lose any paws GECKO (PS) AND STUFF | кумы, TAIFU: | WHAT PART OF | In order to play this uninspiring game for even longer | 0000 WRATH OF | INVINCIBLE without getting killed, try the following: R2, Triangle, R2, THETIGER DIDN'T YOU | Left, Right, R2. Enemies will now have no effect. Hurrah Max Out Your Crystals (Ps) UNDERSTAND?!) and indeed, ћиггаћ. On Title Screen, hold down 11 226 and then press quare, Square, Circle, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right. Once you activate the our game and hold are to add 100 crystals. You can add as many as you like ximum of 9999! Driver Many Cheats Menu /Title er the tricks as te the cheats, move right until you highlight the police car and then access the Cheats Menu Show Credits At the Main Menu rap La, L2, Ra, R2, La, Ra, В R2, L1, L2, R1. The Credits option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. Invincibility Press L2, L2, R2, R2, L2, R2, L2, L1, R2, Ra, L2, La, La. The Invincibility option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. No Police Chases At the Main Menu rapidly press La, L2, Ra, Ва, Ва, Ва, L2, L2, Ra, Ra, La, La, R2. The Immunity option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen Steer with Rear Wheels At the Main Menu rapidly press Ra, Ва, Ra, R2, L2, R1, R2, L2, La, R2, R1, L2, L1. The Rear Wheel option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. Small Cars At the Main Menu rapidly press Ra, R2, R1, R2, La, L2, Ra, R2, L1, Ri, L2, 12, L2. The Minis option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. Long Suspension At the Main Menu rapidly press R2, L2, R1, R2, L2, Li, R2, R2, L2, La, L1, R2, Ва. The Stilts option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. Flip Screen Upside Down At the Main Menu rapidly press R2, R2, Ra, L2, La, R2, L2, La, R2, R2, L2, R2, Li. The Antipodean option will now be unlocked in the Cheats Screen. King 0f Fighters Full Pause Screen Pause the game highlight ti mal version of one of the follo the "Pause" fighters, then h Start'and press am and press X « Y This will get rid of for cool free: frames! button: Bonus Characters At the 1-900-PRE VIEW Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy Bonus Options When "Push Start" appears at the Title Screen, press Up, Up, e » т $a a 4 Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Down, Up. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound. Then, press Start to access new options including hidden modes and viewing the ending FMV sequences. lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Lords Of Lunar Mini-Game Game Setup 1 Selection Screen, пог: Robert Garcia ing Yuri Sakazaki Mai Shiranui chi Yashiro hi Sherm 713 8439 The number to call for the latest cheats & gaming info TOP 10 TRICKS lL «oNTINUED — | 2. Pokémon (Red) (6B) Find Codes Find more tricks for this game and send them in! 3. NFS: High Stakes (Ps) Hidden Vehicles Police Helicopter: Enter the “Game Option” Screen and select the “User Name” option. Then enter WHIRLY as your player пате. The helicopter is available in Test Drive Mode only. Phantom Car: Enter the “Game Option” Screen and select the “User Мате” option, Then enter FLASH as your player name for the Phantom car. Titan Car: Enter the “Game Option” Screen and select the “User Name" option. Then enter HOTROD as your player name for the Titan car. 4, Triple Play 2000 Ps) Cool Codes ‘Automatic Home Run: When at bat, hold LieLz«R1«R2 and press Triangle, Square, Triangle, Circle, X, Square, Left, Right. You'll hear a thumping sound to confirm. Automatic Strikeout: When pitching, hold LisLasRi+R2 and press Up, Down, Triangle, Square, Triangle, Circle, X, Square. EA Dream Теа: Start an Exhibition game. At the Team Select Screen press Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right. You should hear a voice to confirm entry. 5. Syphon Filter (ps) Level Select Pause the game, go into the Options Menu. Highlight the Select Mission option, then TRICKS Insert the “Making Of Lunar" disc. Then when the video sequence of the making of the CODES, CHEATS AND STRATEGIES Codes and strategies for N64 games: http://members. Cheats for PlayStation title http://www. gamecheat.net Cheat archive for PlayStation: hit://psscheats cheating o Video game cheats for new ond older syster i geocities.com/Timess quare/Arcade/895 tricks@zd.com We want your tricks! Plus, next month, we want to feature as many DREAMCAST games as possible. Send us anything you have. game begins, press Up, Down, Left, Right, Triangle, Start. You will then be taken to a new Title Screen called, Lords Of Lunar! You and one other player can battle against six computer play- ers for a total of eight players. You can choose your character for the castle you defend, set up your options and more! Multiple codes Level Select Use the bombs more than 10,000 times. 9 Credits Gain over three hours of gameplay. Free Play Mode Gain over six hours of gameplay. Power Armor Beat the game in "Human" or higher difficulty setting, or by playing the game over 100 times. Filter Cinema Code When you begin the first level, go into the bar. When you get to the guy shooting at you from behind some crates, shoot him, then go into that room and out the window. On the right is the fence and the elevator, on the left is an alley. Go down the alley and you should be in a street with flaming squadcars at the end. On the left side are three doors. Use the sniping mode to look up, and it should say THE- ATER above the right door. Go up to the door and pause the game. Keep MAP highlighted, then press and hold in this order Right+L2+Ri+X. Gabe should say "Got it" after you enter the code. When you press Start again, you should be in the theater. Enter either curtain and all the movies should appear. Press X to skip any of the movies and press Start to go back to the theater. GAME BOY COLOR Bust-A-Move 4 Extra Puzzles On the Title Screen (while “Press Start” is flashing), press A, Left, Right, Left, A. An orange character will appear in the lower right-hand corner. This opens up different puzzles for Puzzle Mode! 228 TOP 10 TRICKS (CONTINU press and hold Left + L1 + R1 + Select + Square + X. АЦ Weapons and Unlimited Ammunition Pause gameplay and highlight the “Weapons” option. Hold Right + L2 + R2 «Circle + Square +X (in order). Note: Only the weapons normally available. during the current level will become selectable. 6. Mario Party (64) Special Title Screen Collect all 100 stars and defeat Bowser once and for all on the hidden adventure board, Eternal Star, After all of this has been done, you will have earned the special Congratulatory Title Screen! 1. Super Smash Bros. (N64) Borrow a Life Do this trick if you are defeated їп а multiplayer match. If your teammate still has one or more lives in stock, you can use one of his lives to get back in the action by pressing A+B+Z+Start. 2000 (PS) Heavy Hitter Go to Create Player Mode and make the player's name Scott Murray. This player will hit a 606-foot home run every time. 9. Army Men All Weapons After you have started the mis- sion, press the Start button to bring up the Pause Screen. This code must be put in within about two seconds to work: Square, Circle, Ra, Ls, RisR2 (simultaneously). of Legaia (PS) Hidden Magic Spell After defeating the final Songi, pick up the Dark Stone at the base of the Genesis Tree in the West Voz Forest. Go to Jeremi and talk to Zalan. Get the Dark Talisman to be able to use the hidden Dark Ra-Seru Jedo spell. YOU ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BIG HOUSE AND A BIG HOUSE IN MALIBU. m YOU ARE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 500 G'S AND 2 10-15 IN MAXIMUM SECURITY. YOU ARE THE FASTEST DRIVER IN THE ENTIRE CRIMINAL COMMUNITY. FROMTHE CREATORS OF DESTRUCTION DERBY 1&2" SAN FRANCISCO БЕ NEW YORK Film your own classic 70's car chase No tracks. Just 4 sprawling urban Getaway through real pedestrians, Surveillance. Tai using incredible Director-Mode downtowns from NY to San Fran. traffic signals, traffic...and cops! Heists. And serious 70's mui RIVER хоп Аве THE? еее Бъни ries. йе саг. DRIVER.GTGAMES.cOM gr L Software — — M 5 сито For any and all informa- kinds of free music from tion about MP3 music, ^ unsigned and signed news, technology, hard- artists (all of which is ware, software and completely legal). It's more, check out truly the source for www.mp3.com.|naddi- — information on the up: tion, thesiteoffersall ^ — andecoming MP3 format Get Creative With This MP3 Player Creative's is the next generation of portable MP3 players. The advanced model not only comes with 64 MB of RAM on board and a PC docking station (pictured above with unit inserted), it features an ЕМ tuner and a built-in mic for voice recording. You can also upgrade the RAM if need be. Perfect for the traveling journalist or MP3 junkie. Price: Around $250 (64 MB version), $170 (32 MB version) www.nomadworld.com light, Loud and Detachable If you've ever gotten sick of cheapy head phones that break after a couple of weeks, consider spending alittle more on these high-quality phones from Sennheiser. They're ultra-light, have incredi ble sound and feature a detachable cord. And get this—they adapt to the shape of. your head as you wear them. Cool Price: Around $100 www.sennheiser.com The iMac of Discmen Seems like semi-transparent blues and whites are in right now, but we can’t say we mind. After all, we get rad-looking items like the Psyc 5 from Sony because of it. The unit features a 20-second тето. ry buffer to eliminate skips, and 14 hours of battery life from just two AAs. It also comes with a carrying strap. Price: Around $140 www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/sss/portable/ Something about this from Pioneer looks downright edible. Maybe it’s all of the bright colors it comes in. Above is the Rainbow Rave and to the right is the French Bleu. All units in the line come with two speakers, a top-loading CD unit and AM/FM tuner plus a remote. There's also a stylish MD add-on you can buy for $330. Price: Around $220 www.pioneerelectronics.com The new from Sharp is tiny anc спо full of high-tech f has 4o-second sh ry. digital input, а editing features on board, automatic sychro«s recording and а whole lo: more. You can't go wrong. Price: Around $400 www.sharp-usa.com | Music on the Web A collection of music news and info www.sonicnet.com АНИСЕ selection of music you can buy www.cdnow.com Another music news and info site www.launch.com Not as snazzy as CD Now but still good www.buymusic.com Music news, chat and auctions. www.music.com А well-assembled music buying site www.quickmusic.com Listen to new music here for free www.listen.com Commercial-free Internet radio www.dmxmusic.com Any and all news about music/artists www.musicnewswire.com And there's always good, old MTV www.mtv.com Phat Lows, Sweet Highs If you've been looking for a way to add some high: quality volume to your games and music, look at the high-powered from Yamaha. The magnetically shielded speaker/ subwoofer set is available in black and white. Price: Around $130 www.yamaha.com sale Now NINTENDO DOES NOT ENDORSE, SPONSOR NOR OTHERWISE AUTHORIZE THIS MAGAZINE © POCKET games &ёз BONUS STRATEGY, POKEMON RED & BLUE, F ELECTRONIC cA MING ف 4 GAME BOY GAMES,‏ Games Inside Final Fantasy Ms. Pac-Man Legend of Zelda DX Deer Hunter. Моге! D» Howlo Over аЙ т Уоиг. Маф. Gall NOW ата 7717 11900)773-8439 =900-PRE-VIEW, у Answer a Series of Video Came Questions & Wim? MEMORY CARD FOR PS ONLY ONE WINNER PER HOUSEHOLD CO OT PER MONTH! EMO RY \ ROTARY CALLS 2 1/ са Си ШЕ NEWS & ПАЛО! • Listen to Quartermann Gossip Before It’s in EGM! • Call and Test Your Knowledge of Video Game Trivia! • Get the Latest Expert Gamer Codes & Tricks • Hear Review Crew Members’ Game Ratings! поцузовноз вомалон дапн Jo sueuapen pareistáai әле saweU проца YOUNGER THAN ELEC; =: PONE RECENT WINNERS!!! зае (бата Lecray, Brownstown, M. James Вау Ата Cente, WI oe Gary, Lule, KY, Fick Morley, Bror, NY, Mik Kill Parotsvile, TN, Mack Riggs, Kissimmee, FL Vine Proctor, Mary MO, Gane Yeager, Watetet NY, Jimmy Leal, Fox Ciy, FL, John Alen, Haverstraw, IN Chris Graham, Naples, FL Alex Sid, Schaumburg, IL Fancson Coraso, Yakima, WA, Анден God, Yakima WA, Andy Mooney, Davenport, A, Ben Вела an Orchard MA Guzzera Rivera, Chicopee, MA, Jeremy Seres, Cleveland, CH, Tm Voiam, ас ИМ Ke ruta Nei, база Ассо Or Fl Ма сата. Stuf Kt Ze Майко io CA. Janes ese Arco AK Duty eve Bat NO) Sam ба s VL Ва Bourassa. Тала, FL Топ баа, Elgin, IL Wika Str Andre Lambert Киба, NM, Shawn Bemard, Ounberand, RI Mathew Crumedy, San Francisco, CA, David Besta Cumberand RI, Chr Hunt, Rochester, IN, Натал Wade County Cub Нав L, Enc Sawyer Mountain Grove, MO, Cob Сале; Marte, VA, Alan Hot, Mata, ОН, Ryan Cox, Maui Orab, OH, Craig Bradshaw, White Pans, NY, Mike Gz, Mami, FL Wendel Мали, Dion, SC, Sue Bey, Ретуйе, MO, Tyer Hue, Clemmons, NC, Jack Graham, Mun SC, Donovan Fl, Bryan TX, Mat Haber, (лод Untershy РА PRIZES PROVIDED BY NUBY TRVIA CONTEST RULES: 1. Enty. per month. Zi Dav assumes no e Prizes have an approximate reta va 3. Big Con сотосу answer sx consecutive Viva questions and lave your name, address and phone поті household clea Mone wi be determined b gs муна decisions мо inal Оле wne Гр, ‘Boomerang 64. Realty Vest. P John Davison • john davisonGi.com Crispin Boyer • crispin_boyer@zt.com ZJ) ZIFF-DAVIS Chris Johnston • chris johnston@zd.com a SOFTBANK FINAL WORD ID INC. CHAIRMAN AND СЕО Eric Hippeau Vice President and... Chef Financial Officer Chief Internet Strategist President, 0 Maret Inteligence . Jimny O'Brien John: I'm getting really frustrated with these days. Everything's become a generic President, 2D ns .. ‚убой how lame softcos are about taking risks rehash of something else. Look at Rising Ed EE with content. There аге some cool games _ Zan..they couldn't even make their mind | Nal nes coming out in the next six months, but up which cliché to go with on that—so Cert да тете there are an awful lot of things that have they mixed them up. Cowboys and ninjas. |. уны. ape just made me think “yuck...wimps!” Tiny Tank is a perfect example —the soundtrack (the best bit of the game when we saw it six months ago) was deemed "too adult" so it has since been Hmmm. Chris: In the days of 8-8it, development costs were cheaper so companies were willing to take risks. Nowadays, game development costs can be millions of President, 20 Education „Wiliam Rosenthal Larry W. Wangberg President, 20 Television cutive Vice President,- International John Davison x. Aymar de Lencquesaing toned down, thus making the game dollars, so instead of taking a risk on Ser Vice President, . ELI another generic, crappy action/shooter. something no one's ever done, companies This, and things like Thrill Kill getting are fit with pumping out a cookie-cutter _ | ime Canoe snd iere] ere " think w ite ЕВ а Senior Vice President, . г Charlie Rush se the suits : sh*t...” | === Vie President, Corporate Real . ayo Berk canned...the fact that more “interesting” вате that costs less but will make money | me Facilities ideas get ignored (dating sims, etc.) are even if it sells like crap. Take the Game E ‘Steve Gladyszenski proof of rampant conservatism among Boy Color market...that’s filled to the brim console publishers in America. Few with garbage, just because companies ie teen анна Metis companies will take a risk, and we end up know even crap games will sell ifthey're | Ye res нам E with boring generic platform nonsense attached to big licenses. There's going to а like Tarzan. have to be a serious shakedown in the а ери АНА Сл: Chris Johnston Crispin: That's why | hope games like Game Boy Color market, because the only | Corporate Sales dem Driver and Rising Zan and Ape Escape company making quality games is Vice Preset Varig ~- ache eto and some of the stuff on Dreamcast like Nintendo. | think the reason | like Rising Басо сае Armada are really successful. They have a Zan is that it has a very retro 8-Bit feel to Executive Director lta Darke lot of fresh ideas. They make this job so й, and it's so absolutely bizarre that it's 20 Brand & Market Services much friggin’ fun. Ugh. I'm so sick of stuff fun to play. Most companies wouldn't ema tes те мека like Duke Nukem and Tarzan and Air glance twice at it simply because it's not | ee pesten, ..... Boardin' USA. They're just same-ol’, same- Metal Gear, Tomb Raider ог Quake. Games | corporate Research ol’ stuff that may be well put together, but like that never get the most innovation Vice President, they're really boring and forgettable. | because everyone's trying to do them. Майо Communications” mean take Ape Escape—T'll look back on Crispin: | hate to think we're doomed to that game years from now and remember _ mostly derivative games forever because 20 PUBLISHING how cool it was. I'm not gonna remember {е suits аге too chickensh*t to take any | restet... Chris Dobbrow es Jack Doce йб ‘Thomas McGrade Michael J. Miler ит Spanteller Nancy Newman Executive Vice President .......-. Executive Vice President ........ Executive Vice President . Executive Vice President Executive Vice President . Executive Vice President Senior Vice President Tiny Tank. I'm really curious about Shenmue though. | mean, it looks like it’s gonna take every type of game ever and cram it into one super 16-installment or whatever masterpiece. | guess that’s really bold of Suzuki to take such an epic chances. | do think a lot of the innovative stuff coming up will be on the multiplayer side of things. Sega's gonna really be pushing online play starting next year, and | know they have some novel ideas brewing other than the boring ol’ approach. But is it gonna work? deathmatch or real-time strategy stuff we | (епа = John: It's good when the bold ideas get see on the РС, | remember a long time ago | Vice President big budgets (like Shenmue). Look at Metal Shigeru Miyamoto was talking about a Vie resident trc мали Gear Solid...the idea of doing something four-player N64 game that had each Vice President. зи Nactrone Vice President а Manning like а movie had long been poo-pooed by people after all that FMV rubbish on Sega CD and 300. The momentum behind the player controlling a different limb on the same robot, and they'd go around like Voltron and fight other monsters and Vice President . Shares Mast Paul Sonerson Dale Strang Vice President . game was staggering though—and it sold. stuff. That sounded really cool. | love co- Mark Van Name We need more original stuff...back in the op stuff like that. mid aea Operations E 8-Bit days, people would make games John: But what are the chances of us ds masa туры. about anything. On the Commodore 64 seeing it? This is what bothers me about | Analysis Group there were games set at school, or even Рг as well. Are games going down the Director of Public Relations <. бун ое with уои playing а barman. Remember same road as blockbuster movies? Is Lara Tiff-Davis, Tapper? You wouldn't see stuff like that Стой the Will Smith of gaming? А SOFTBANK Company 234 Issue #107-$6.00 Issue #106-$6.00 Issue #105-$6.00 Issue #104-$6.00 Issue #108-$6.00 Issue #109-$6.00 Yoshi's Story Rebus Snowboard Kids Point Blank Resident Evil Klonoa War Games Diablo Mystical Nin Cruis'n World. Bio FREAK. 5. Road Rash 30 Banjo-Kazooi Quake 64 House of the Dead. Gran Turismo RPG Revolution gilante В о" Snowboarding Wars: Vendetta n vs. SF ВА Courtside ander Turoka Rogue S Elemental. Conker 64 Game Boy са ars Vengeance. September 98 Metal Gear Pocket Fight Jet Force Wipeout 64 Madden NFL 99 155 Pro 98 Parasite Eve Meditvil Wild 9 Issue #110-$6.00 October '98 Rogue Squadron Final Fantasy VII 3: WARPED ох yro the Dragon Rival Schools Issue #111-$6.00 Sonic Adventure G-Police 2 Ridge Racer Type 4 Issue #112-$6.00 Bushido Bla J Gear Solid Issue #113-$6.00 Issue #114-$6.00 ‘Soul Reaver Silent Hil Мане Retype D WCW Nitro ion Issue #115-$6.00 How to Order В Mario Party. = Final Fantasy VI Ф Driver 2 SF Alpha 3 S Perfect Dark = E] 8 ELECTRONIC: GAMING- l> MONTHEY Marvel vs. Capcom Quake li Issue #116-$6.00 Beetle Advat. Racing Star Wars Episode | yStation 2 1 Power Stone WWF Attitude Dino Crisis Super Smash Bros. SFIN ard Strike Pokémon Pinball Issue #118-$6.00 s Gran Turismo 2 © ва 8 eds е Crash Team Racing = Soul Calibur = 8 Dino Crisis WWF Attitude. WWF Attitude. Tekken Tag Tournament Issue #120-$6.00 WWF Attitude RE 3 Nemesis Jet Force Gemini Perfec Issue #121-$6.00 NCAA Football 2000 Tiff-Davis Inc., Back Issues, РО. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 Check or Money order only (in U.S. Funds) made out to: 7D Inc. $2 for each magazine ($3 Canada and Mexico, $5 foreign) Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Thanks :) NEXT MONTH October 1999 On sale Sept. 7 All Things Spider-Man We'll have a full preview of the games for the PlayStation and N64 plus info on the new TV series, the comic book and we'll even be interviewing people from Marvel Comics. Judging by this shot, Spider-Man is looking very good. Magazine, Final Fantasy and Football It’s finally football time again, and OPM will have the only truly in-depth look at Madden NFL 2000 and NFL GameDay 2000. Also, in addition to tons of reviews and previews, we'll have a feature story оп Final Fantasy VIII! Ша MONTHLY е Reviews: Final Fantasy Vill, WWF Attitude, NCAA College Foothall 2000 е Reviews: Al! the Dreamcast launch games e Previews: Madden НА. 2000 for the N64 News: "Scoop" Johnston brings you the latest on the DC е Tons of Tricks for the DC launch lineup + Official GameShark codes e News on Square's next batch of games Sent. 1999 On sale Aug. 17 Demo Disc Playables: • Штјаттег Lammy • Chocobo Racing • Pong Sled Storm Monaco Grand Prix Non Рауашез: • NFL GameDay 2000 • NCAA GameBreaker • Vigilante 8: Second Offense • Toy Story 2 • Thrasher: Skate and Destroy 236 Sent. 1999 On sale Aug. 24 XG breaks down what looks to be the hottest wrestling game of the year in WWF Attitude. With our moves and strategies, you'll be laying down the smack in no time! Next month's issue will also feature our long- awaited Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver strategy. Our maps will make sure you make it through this challenging 3D adventure. Finally, take a road trip and leave the fuzz behind with our Driver guide. Dominate the mat with X6's Attitude guide! • Attitude moves for all wrestlers Detailed Kain walk-through • Maps and strategies for Driver “All editorial content is subject to change. $5.00 OFF Trade In Program © А : See below for details Boer С Dreamcast.. _ E-Mail: into@bresoftware.com Call (559) 432-264 Dreamcast. BRESoftware.Com 1000s of New & Used Dreamcast, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 Games, Hint Books & Accessories available Cheats & Codes - FREE Weekly Newsletter - Updated Daily - Online Specials - Secure Ordering - New Releases & More АП Used Games. Эзил KAGERO CASTLE т E H шеше онал LO E Т К ш у д DREAMCAST TRADE IN Boxes, Original Н КЕН N тод BEAR ПОРА ‘Senda Video Games anor Systems valued в $100 or more (ea We Buy prees); Include e money EOpUT C E E и е сесия acid НЫ Ep Um Erica ion Det e V БУРУ А ЕЕ р peas cart hal b meata ed pes БЕУ Рака alow 7-10 wong ay vom erase ле # Те Deca rc дг ym 8... ТО BUY GAMES erie d 2 тоо ROGUE TRP. We Sell Used [We Buy Somi pian 1. On a full sized ресе of paper, write your name, complete address, phone number and a kst of all the Ero m S sete doe mara LT Е. И Е сс UE trem rre term Puro kc] E E i r] Send your order 1o the address blow. - 1o EE 3 ons O SELL GAMES, can 2 3 Poor goes a paperwork and any coupon ina box, Serd he box lo ha adress below by UPS regere mal esum o rude пе Dept one CSGO our AAS Package racine {Sth eg осн or ео Ре di bed ow кї e dur Gut cog rer. Ж ©. w normaly нови yor dk wa 7-12 anes days aor wo rcm ou page Send your Games/Systems/Orders to: BRE Software Dept. EM9 352 W. Bedlord Ave, Sule 104 Fresno, СА 93711 pu E PlayStation "m ЕЕ, 3 CASH for 14 1 Е Special и a E tw Sartre fc Baran Ton ва m ode. бин зант Een) р MU EN Ё S | Bume vena Toshinden 2- boron Ваа салон Валу Dao Sabana осн E M Sessa" р] = HET майык coms а Cut iia Cog, Бас узра Tomes 5 уол. sa | Swe Cres. Gua ean Cine ан Cte Dg лот. CROC. 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