Nintendo 64 PlayStation PS2 Dreamcast Handhelds Arcade ELECTRONIC] MONTHLY, AISI Screenshots ОШ SEE AT Nene: Square Cranks It Up To 11 with The King Of RPGs 15 It Really Better Than GoldenEye? Nintendo Shows Us Why Joanna Dark Was WDTHTBYBTHITUREDT, ОМЕН (100 GAMES INSIDE сама April 2000 $4.99/$6.50 Canada -Dead ог Alive 2 Sega GT ` Turok3 > -Fur Fighters — Alone in the Dark Vagrant Story Толу Hawk((DC) _ Daikatana Evil Dead ШИШ! 8 м M ud SWM. imb, fly, ski, and battle ot 60 fps Is and 21 worlds... or take a d waters. It’s that intense— Z c5 Qc) ROM > MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IT'S LIKE WINNING THE CY YOUNG, ROOKIE ОҒ THE YEAR, AND МУР AWARDS ALL IN ONE SEASON. COMING THIS SPRING. TM www.3do.com © 2000 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, High Heat Baseball, and their res] © MLBPA Ofticial Licensee - Major League Baseball Players tion. Major League [majorleaquebaseball.com]. PlayStation and the-PlayStation are registered tradema ШШ of Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. All other trademarks уе logos, are trademarks and/or service marks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. | trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc f Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. aaa and “Gold Glove Award" ^ are registered service elong to their respective owners. ALL QUOTES AND RATINGS REFER TO HIGH HEAT BASEBALL 2000. and Copyright 2000 HoopsTV.com. All rights reserved, If basketball is your religion, this is your church." | HoopsTV.com truth the NBA won't say news ESPN won't report the hest players you've never heard of video from sacred playgrounds stats, scores and smack log on for your daily dose АЛ HoopsTU.com By John Davison • john davisonGzd.com ELECTRONIC umber 13.4 GAMING April 2000 = MONTHLY www .videogames.com EDITORIAL ET EG PE UTE бе funkGzd.com lie 5 1 ean fon vison * john_davison@zd.com тае dean_hager@zd.com Features Е‹ Perfect Game? ПЕР Boyer * crispin_boyer@zd.com | l | і і i " 5 " Previews Editor, edd | intendo has something of a habit of Obviously the focus of our attention this month اال‎ a aa sama | | | | | | | MEE pulling a rabbit out of the bag when you're is оп Ms. Dark and her exploits. It may have been | Revigws ог least expecting it. For months now we've a long time coming, and they may keep changing ninê о been getting reports from developers, their minds about what we're going to see in the cora OES to ts moie EGM жетер retailers—and more importantly from our game...but one thing's for sure: Perfect Dark is Pete Ban folo Andre Pfister readers—that the №64 has seen brighter days. going to be a milestone game. It’s going to sell plus: The Sims, Natalie Portman Developers and publishers are disappointed with lots and lots of copies, it’s going to have people | е RS Ief оао chris johnston@zd.com Tice Ee nich ө tricks@zd.com "Perfect Dark is going to he a milestone game...ant it's | CR и ово likely to be a hot contender for Game of the Year..." ое | sales, retailers are noticing а switch in interest playing it for months (maybe years if GoldenEye isl RIFE, Burwell * andrew_burwell@zd.com from Nintendo to Sega, and you guys are all is anything to go by) and it's likely to be a hot Art е ОҢ ano = jim. cordanoQzd.com getting frustrated with the wild discrepancies in contender for Game of the Year in most people's TOKYO BUREAU | the quality of the games. Sure, first-party stuff books. There are ideas in Perfect Dark that БІНДЕ Eb a Bureau Chief | usually rocks...but everything else sucks. we're going to see plagiarized and perpetuated OP УТД ет so y | Just before deadline this month, we sent in lots of games this year...and on all systems марк йр оо | Crispin off to Nintendo's headquarters to gather from PC to PS2. кыч езе | info for our Perfect Dark cover story. Expecting Speaking of PS2...by this time next month the ры وی‎ сые зыш him to come back with stories of a glorious new machine will be out. We've brought you Production pag ctor | follow-up to GoldenEye, we were shocked when every screen shot and scrap of information we Sene oeoa Manager | he came back brimming with enthusiasm—not can find this month, but in the next issue you can кеу М ел xx | only for Rare's crowning achievement, but also look forward to a humdinger of a PS2 blowout as Hees Melddy ^ Bk | for the other games waiting in Nintendo's we take a look at all the Japanese launch games. N con | arsenal. It seems the fight isn't over yet, and That...and we'll have a young chap by the name Analyst. Parus there will still be reasons this year to be proud to of Tony Hawk on the cover. It seems he’s starring Vice President/Z Game Group wield that unusually shaped joypad. ina sequel. John Davison сз ШІ. аца @ ntril tin W it Senior Newssrand Sales Manager 0 U n ers SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER: | 203-065-8930 (U.S. ONLY) . subscription Service Web Site: | http://service.egmmag.com inquiries Contact: E Contec: 58 Beale, 12th floor, San Francisco, СА 94105 felephone: 415-547-8783 Fax: 415-547 8777 “rot aie Reider lisher Tel: 415:357-4915 e-mail: suzie@zd.com Natipngl а Manager, Northwest опу George | | | Tel: 415-547-877. Small anthony | george@zd.com | | l | | No longer а resident of the Big Apple, our intrepid hero James recently relocated to the West Coast to take up a position at our sister publication, www.videogames.com. Watch for his name there on everything from previews to news and (as ever) on the letters pages too. Write to him at letters@videogames.com. Account ecutive, lorthwest sty га) el : 415-547-8782 e-mail: mary_gray@zd.com Distpet 5465 anager, Southwest агеп Гап | Tel: 760-942-6277 e-mail: karen_landon@zd.com | Ad. Executive, Southwest, Midwest and East Coast inda Philapi el СА email: inda phlapildzd сот © aliso! Tell him we sent you. District lanager, Midwest and East Coast Peter Bartholow | о 4 Га 630-382-9010 | e-mail: marc callisongzd.com ” Mike is our resident ‘real life" A Videogames.com freelancer for Senior Narketing Manager and Creative Director violence expert. A black belt in years, Peter is proving quite prolific | тед 5,547 8775, more martial arts than we knew now as one of our preview regulars. | ,,, e all rey lecca@zd.com actually existed—not to mention He is a 22-year-old senior at îi ler (УА ТЕ | being the AIC light-heavyweight Northwestern University, majoring | e-mail tipler‘eBbelohde@zd.com | kickboxing champion and star of an in Communications Studies and | Sa asta Manager upcoming chop-socky flick— Mike minoring in Japanese. When not | 241241557499 гах: 445-947 8868 | landed his contributor gig after impressing us with his vast gaming playing games or studying, Peter ә Advertisins duction Coordinator doesn’t do much of anything. Ver esa Newson оп Coordinator knowledge and threatening to jam Here we see him consuming a | EIE UI e N our noses into our brains. giant San Francisco meatball. Fougder. saris ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN #1058-918X) is published monthly by 20 Inc., P.O. 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TM and © for ай other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. Ail changes. The Canadian GST Registration number is 140496720 RT. Printed in the USA. ЛЕВЕМ LS ш RATH ' е FRCROS ее Includes music by; =OFFSPRING POSITION LAPI TOR [RP TIME] UPS Race as or against McGrath, " Totally sick Freestyle-MX Button, Dowd and other А вит Competitions exclusively superstar riders featuring Travis Pastrana The only game with 10-time Supercross Champ Jeremy Mc&rath E. осо Ч 9% смРе (SC HE. Jeremy McGrath Supercross” 2000 & © 1999 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. АП Rights Reserved. "No Fear" © is a registered trademark of No Fear, Inc. "Genocide" performed by The Offspring. From the album Smash. Courtesy Epitaph. (P) 1994 Epitaph. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Published by Gamete Music (BMI). Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. © SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and the "N" Logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1996 Nintendo of America Inc. Game Boy and Game Boy Color are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. Licensed by Nintendo. Screen shots shown were taken from the Nintendo 64 version of the video game. Б> Fired of the country club lelling you whal lo wear? PlayStation EVERYONE www.playstation.com кӛне ба 5% Thirteen diflerent golfers whod probably under-lip the valel. Fierce head-lo-head, foursome and lournamenl compelilion on Р seven glorious courses. ©quipment upgrades dor the Irue fanalic. G Swing free, friend Swing free. GOLF FOR THE PEOPLE. CONTENTS April 2000 Issue 129 Game Directory Features 136 162 98 65 166 118 136 122 124 166 101 100 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Ace Combat 3 М! Star Pro-Wrestling Alone in the Dark Armored Core: MoA Army Men: World War Aqua Rush BattleTanx: Global Assault Biohazard: Gun Survivor Bionic Commando Bouncer, The Buchigire Kongou Card Captor Sakura Carrier Chaos Break Chu Ghu Rocket Colony Wars: Red Sun Daikatana Dead or Alive 2 Deception 3: Dark Delusion Die Hard Trilogy 2 Dive Alert Driving Emotion Type-S Evil Dead: Hail to the King EX 3: The Street Fighter Excitebike 64 Faselei Fear Effect Front Mission 3 Fur Fighters Gals Fighters Gekikuukan Pro Baseball: At The End Of The Century 1999 Ghosts 'N Goblins Giga Wing Golf Paradise Grandia И Grind Session High Heat Baseball 2001 Hot Shots Golf 2 Hydro Thunder Industrial-Spy Operation Espionage Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Kessen King of Fighters "99 Evolution Kirby 64 Koudelka Legend of Dragoon, The Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers Major League Baseball 2001 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 MediEvil It Metal Slug: 2nd Mission Misadventures of Tron Bonne Mobil 1 Rally NASCAR Rumble Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed NHL 2K Nightmare Creatures II Perfect Dark Power Stone 2 Primal Image Puzzle Link 2 Rainbow Six Reiselied: Ephemeral Fantasia Resident Evil Code: Veronica Resident Evil ZERO Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Ridge Racer V Rollcage Stage 2 Roommania #203 Sammy Sosa Softball Slam Sega GT Silver Sorcerian Space Debris Woman with The Golden Gun Faithful №64 gamers, your wait for Perfect Dark is nearly over. But what the heck took Rare so long to finish this highly anticipated sequel to GoldenEye 007? Our eight-page cover story explains all. pg 140 Syphon Filter 2 Find out why this sequel is so disappointing. pg 165 113 Speed Punks 112 Star Wars: Episode | Jedi Power 65 Star Wars: Episode | Racer 158 Street Fighter Alpha 3 94 Summoner 114 Superbike 2000 126 Super Robot Wars Alpha 158 Swirl 165 Syphon Filter 2 161 Tarzan 122 Technomage 158 Tee Off Golf 120 Test Drive Le Mans 66,161 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 84 Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion 106-107 Vagrant Story 114 Vanishing Point 124 Vib-Ribbon 161 Virtua Striker 2 10 Wacky Races 132 Wario Land Ш 132 Warlocked 115 Wild ARMS 2 16 World Advance Daisenryaku 167 Worms Armageddon 116 МОМ: Magical Racing Quest 116 WTC: World Touring Саг 166 WWF SmackDown! 126 КІ Jumbo Dead or Alive 2 Check out our Dreamcast preview on pg 62 Square Soft in 2000 Look to our News section for the details about the upcoming onslaught of Final Fantasy games. pg 34 172 Departments 1, @ Hiitorial 8 @ Letters 22 ӚЗ News 34 Square Millennium, an interview with Misty’s voice and more. Ф Gossip 44 Rumor and truth about a Fear Effect prequel, R-Type on PS2 and big company buy-outs ow---BHs Previews 57 DC: Alone in the Dark, Star Wars: Episode І Racer, Sega GT; М64: Daikatana, Resident Evil ZERO, Turok 3, Kirby 64; PS2: Summoner, EX3, The Bouncer; PS: Vagrant Story, Koudelka, Evil Dead: Hail to the King, Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed; GBC: Perfect Dark; NGPC: Dive Alert, Faselei Review Crew 156 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater on N64, Syphon Filter 2, DC's first online game Chu Chu Rocket and more © Get Some © Tricks 110 @ The Final Word 116 The N64 was once the best of the bunch, but like it or not the end is near for Nintendo's 64-Bit baby. 192 COVER CREDITS: Illustrator Allan Ditzig Dreamcast | Ho Ші Nintendo 64 | | = PlayStation2 | Ш> Playstation | ш B Game Boy Color | | Ж — NeosGeo Pocket Color | | | § Arcade | lemarks of Twentieth Century Fox ive Digital Software Association ЗЕ sË ge 85 ae 53 ЗЕ 88 š gs $c £8 во Š SE Su š 88 aa d те ЕЕ ТЕ 8E ВЕ HE 25 gc Ёш HE xš PE 48 š ue 25 5< 85 52 šš Š Е ЕЕ ЕЎ ЕЁ 5% £ š 22 55 5% 8g t2 25 58 z< xd ga 902 ег ес s Ë Ев сэ 29 as PT: 58 es 52 БЕ a 95 ЕЕ %% š 88 2 Ез 25 5- 9% HH ts $ Ев 5 85 ЗЕ өш JOHN McCLANE IS BACK. AND LAS VEGAS WILL NEVER RE THE SAME. FLEX YOUR SKILLS IN ONE OF THREE UNIQUE GAME MODES: FIRST PERSON SHOOTER, EXTREME DRYING, AND ACTION MODE. OR Mix ALL TAREE MODES INTO ONE INTENSE STORY- DRIVEN DIE NARD ADVENTURE. 50 TRY To SAVE SIN CITY — WHILE TRYING TO SAVE YOUR OWN BUTT. For mature audiences only. Playstation ИЙ www.foxinteractive.com THEY COULON'T HANOLE BEING JOHN McCLANE. CAN You? i PlayStations ik VIVA LAS VEGAS, BABY, From Contrail, the Producers of Alundra > Wild Arms" and Legend Of Legaia- o fg m -3 on REC La 1 " action-based pars: слу ЖЕ. E ЧУ S MG 5 ıt 10 mega-bosses on lan Ха” „ climb, and NIST | ыш 3. Animated Vio | iolence narks or trade names You are Flint, a renegade swordsman on à quest to free a kingdom from the grip of a sinister ruler. Through a land Se OF hidden danger you ia” wield your weapon, navigating an intricate / story wrought with bizarre Ф. characters, brain-twisting № | puzzles and wild games. | (` Beware! An even greater m . .. 7 evil is about to be ES revealed... poa КЕЦ, THERE GOES THE WHOLE QUIET, Q | APPROACH afin $ MOST POWERFUL'SECRET WEAPON IS BACK. GABE LOGAN RETURNS FOR ANOTHER HIGH-EXPLOSIVE, . ACTION-PACKED, SHOOT-FIRST-ASK-QUESTIONS-LATER MISSION. WITH MORE WEAPONS[MORE THAN 20 NEW INTENSE | LEVELS AND 20 TWO-PLAYER DEATHMATCH ARENAS| PLUS; YOU CAN PLAY AS GABE OR LIAN XING ON DIFFERENT LEVELS. | WHATS MORE, THIS BIGGER AND ВАШЕЙ 2-DISC SET DELIVERS A PLOT-TWISTING STORYLINE THAT WILL HAVE YOU BELIEVING NOTHING AND TRUSTING NO ONE. SO LOCK AND LOAD, SOLDIER. BECAUSE GABE IS BACK TO KICK ASS AND TAKE NAMES. ON SECOND THOUGHT, SCREW THE NAMES. (800).613-8840 а PlayStation E E Fm Al TC EMA \\ \ “Ішше \ — 524 Малы \ \ ыа \ 557 pm- GEAR Box p T DROP TQ 2244 POSTION. 11:40 pm - WHEELS CHANGED, Tth POSITION. 2:18 ат - SPUN INTO GUARD RAIL. f^ 15th POSITION. ( 4/ "^ d Ж". 774 WETO GO: Test Drive. Test Drive Le Mans and Infogrames are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infogrames North Ami ° т АП Rights Reserved. Developed by Eutechnyx” Limited. Le Mans 24 Hours Is а registered MEE gaire cau de rouest. Pla logos are registered айон of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. А! other trademarks and trade names аге the properties of thi DESTROY ALL YOU WANT. WE'LL MARE MORE. Tread not where you are unwanted. Or pay the ultimate price. If sheer numbers are not your opponents of unfathomable strength surely will be. © Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PlayStation = Ik Tivi | AI : STAR. WARS downfall, alien creatures and mysterious mcam EPISODE | салын But, wise Jedi, the choice is yours. Enter at your own risk. JEDIPOWER BATTLES jedipowerbattles.lucasarts.com www.starwars.com Letters 10 the Editors * So...N64, dying or what? Nearly 90% of you think ‘yes’ * What are people replacing their №645 with? Dreamcast * Hotly debated review score of the month (again): GT2 * New term: "Murder Simulator" Congratulations. You win an InterAct controller. You will be receiving a Barracuda (PS), an Alloy Arcade Stick (DC) or a SharkPad Pro 64? (N64). See page 183 for official rules LETTER OF THE MONTH Nintendo Has The Right Idea It's no secret that Nintendo is known for targeting and catering to a "younger" audience. The accusation really comes down hard from ardent PSX fanatics, but it’s also well known industry-wide. In fact, even Miyamoto responded to the issue of Nintendo's cute factor. That being said, | think more recognition needs to come out for Nintendo's innovation and emphasis on multiplayer gaming. Case in point: Mario Party. Many people, especially those who have never tried matches. But nothing I’ve found compares to the humor, the sheer amount of laughter, and the simple fun that Mario Party generates. And it's four-player which is wonderful. I think Nintendo is right-on with its approach to four-player fun. | never realized how good it can be. I'm disappointed that PS2 won't come standard with four-player support, though | know it will be a great System. | do love my PlayStation as well as my N64. But it doesn't bother me in the least that Nintendo Specializes in "cute" characters and silly themes. Because though they may target younger audiences, they do “.. nothing I've found compares to the humor, the sheer amount of laughter and the simple fun that Mario Party generates." it may be scowling and asking, *Mario Party's the Nintendo Game of the Year?" (EGM's pick) The answer: YES!!! Despite the “cuteness” Mario Party and now Mario Party 2 yield, without a doubt, [it’s] the most entertaining moments I’ve ever had with a video game system. Sure it’s fun to beat a game by yourself. Sure it’s fun to play fighting games and shooter death- We have to concur that the Mario Party games are pretty damn fun...even if the second game isn’t much more than a remix of the first. While Nintendo has failed to capitalize on the more ‘mature’ side it with such innovative, high-quality products that it makes it fun for everyone. | sincerely hope the Mario Party franchise makes the leap to the Dolphin. | can see a lot of future potential and possibilities for the great series. Jeff Rosenberg jrosenb@tir.com of gaming, it has to be said that they really know what they’re doing when it comes to producing simple, fun and effective games—especially around their most prominent franchises. Long live Mario. If all these politicians think that most video games are murder sims, don’t you think it’s about time a developer came out with a title called Murder Simulator? Or Maxis could come straight out and create Theme Sim Murder or something. Just a thought. It would be hella fun to put a politician into a big water vat and throw in jumper cables attached to my '9о Grand Am. The possibilities are endless, my friends. the_kidney@yahoo.com We're not really sure if that’s the kind of thing Maxis would go for. Defending Lara Руе noticed a growing trend іп your magazine recently where you guys seem to love bashing the Tomb Raider franchise. | can see your point when you claim not much has changed in the - 22 - www.vic “ think it is now the politically correct thing to say you're sick of Tomh Raider." various installments since TR2, but so what? For people like me who LOVED the first Tomb Raider, and really just wanted to keep playing after they solved it, this is just fine. | find the graphics are better with each game, the new moves are cool, and the vehicles and settings are also enough to keep me coming back. In fact, the Tomb Raider games are the only PlayStation platform games that have ever kept my attention long enough to have solved all four of them. Even your beloved Metal Gear Solid (admittedly a fairly cool game) lost me, and now collects dust as I’m stuck somewhere in the middle of it. The one criticism of the games that | cannot tolerate is when you claim they have the same ‘sloppy’ control. | think this is more an issue of you guys not playing the games enough. I find the controls easy to master, and consistent from game to game. | think Nightmare Creatures, and more recently, Xena are much better examples of just how bad a game's controls CAN be. What platform game with as many complex moves has better control than TR? I also think that your constant bashing and pleading to Eidos to give Lara a rest has jaded Some of your readers. | think it is now the politically correct thing to say you're sick of Tomb Raider, as illustrated in your poll (page 31, issue #128). So in conclusion, Tomb Raider was a cool concept, and executed beautifully. Until | see another game do it better, give me more! MrFlipBook@aol.com It’s good that you enjoy the Tomb Raider series so much. That is, after all, what playing games is all about. The team on the Review Crew feel that the concept is being drawn out beyond what it can sustain with current technology...but as long as gamers find it fun—well, what better accolade can a game hope to achieve? We still feel that Tomb Raider 2 was the series’ ‘glory’ moment—and TR2 is still the biggest selling of the franchise. Let’s hope that we see an overhaul of the franchise on PS2 while still holding on to the qualities that gamers love about it. INTRODUCTION THE SHA'HAR, As EVIL SUPERBEINGS AND sSTARRNL YOU As VALDEMAR, ULTIMATE POWER, THE MONSTROUS STARSHIP, RED SUN. COSTARRNG 50 Se ECTABLE MISSIONS SET N DEEP SPACE AND ON ALEN PLANETS. WITH OVER 30 DEADLY WEAPONS РАСО FULL OF CRAVITY-SHREDONG FREPOWER. THE DEFINITIVE SCI-FI COMBAT GAME, av. WWW.COL! EVERYONE ПО[эоьву surrounp |" Е "E. Animated Violence <, PlayStation (c) 2000 Psygnosis Ltd. Colony Wars Red Sun, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are "^ or © of Psygnosis Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Digital Software Association. LETTERS GM@zi.com Send us your thoughts, your wishes, your innermost weirdness. ..or your pictures, crazy screenshots or photos of bizarre game-related My question is, why is Capcom releasing the gun version of Resident Evil in the U.S. without the light gun compatibility. What's up with that? | don’t think anyone would want a game made for the light gun but have to play it with a controller (House of the Dead 2 gets very frustrating without a gun). I'm a Diehard RE fan, but if Capcom wants this game to sell big they need to leave it gun compatible. What do you think? Derrick Lowe xdeath482@hotmail.com In the current ‘murder simulator’ obsessed climate, Capcom felt it was best to take the gun out of the game. We feel that they could have probably gotten away with just taking the word ‘Gun’ out of the name...but Capcom management wanted to play it safe. Believe us though, you’re not missing much. We’ve played the Japanese version (with gun support) and it’s not a particularly wonderful game. With the migration of PlayStations to younger siblings as older gamers move to more powerful machines, we'll be doing more PS games skewed toward younger players with brands like Tonka | subject line ‘Desert Island Games." DESERT ISLAND GAMES Five Games You Couldn't Do Without | IM you were stuck on a desert island and could only have five games with | veu, which would they be? E-mail us your lists at EEM@zd.com. Mark the | and CatDog. Is EGM interested in reviewing these kideo games? They won't stack up well against a Dino Crisis and other deep games. Will you guys review them for what they are or against much deeper games that will blow them away? Jayson Hill Manager of Public Relations Hasbro Interactive We'll always review a game with due consideration to the audience that it's designed for. While EGM is aimed at older readers (the majority of our readers are actually in their twenties) we do take a look at the younger stuff from time to time. In fact, we recently reviewed THQ's Rugrats game -—and it fared particularly well. As gaming becomes more accepted and expands it’s reach —we'll make sure that we cover the subject from all angles. Thank Got For Home Systems feel it's very possible that arcades are dying. | agree with Che (Final Word, issue #127) in the fact that arcades should be used as a forecast of things to come and I still use them for that reason. However, | mainly check them out now to see which games will probably be coming out on my home | | | Grand Theft Auto 2 Final Fantasy 11 Half-Life Final Fantasy VIII Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Myth 2 Final Fantasy VII Rogue Squadron Twisted Metal 2 godzillaterde yahoo.com Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Final Fantasy VIII Evil Zone Final Fantasy Anthology Mario Kart 64 carmenpernas@hotmail.com Chrono Trigger Soul Calibur Metal Gear Solid bigdaddyk11@aol.com Madden 2000 Final Fantasy VII Lunar: SSSC Super Mario 64 All-Star Baseball 2000 skullduggeryhhh@aol.com Gran Turismo Castlevania: SOTN Planescape: Torment wompus83@yahoo.com Final Fantasy Tactics Final Fantasy VII Shadowrun (Genesis) GoldenEye NBA Live 2000 monte423@aol.com “When was the last time they had a game with balls?” “The people you see in the pages of the magazine aren't actually the ‘real’ EGM crew members. The Dhotos are simply actors that we employ to ‘play’ us.” Do you think the N64 is drawing its dying breath? After Zelda Gaiden and Perfect Dark, it’s ALL OVER. jedi-slayer@webtv.net Of course! When was the last time [it] had a game with balls? supafly2k@juno.com Hell no, [it has] a few more energy- knocking games in [its] arsenal, just wait for Perfect Dark! mendezj@mhs-pa.org The М64 has been going downhill for a while, and crap like Superman, the 36 versions of Tetris and Mortal Kombat don’t help either. lavon butler&yahoo.com Yes, | do think the N64 is dying and that sucks. | am selling mine toward the purchase of a shiny new Dreamcast. homerfan16@aol.com N64 isn’t drawing its last breath yet, it still has a couple games left up its sleeve, Perfect Dark and Zelda Gaiden included. Chasej4f@aol.com I sure as hell hope it doesn’t before Rare releases Perfect Dark and Banjo- Tooie. In fact, | hope it goes on forever! dwhulford@aol.com | think it’s been on its death bed its whole life. It has always sucked. psmtheman@yahoo.com Um...you mean it’s not dead yet? amazing_spider@webtv.net HELL NO! Just wait until Perfect Dark hits the shelves. Then N64 will be the ass-kickin’ machine that it was when GoldenEye made its debut. Beyond Perfect Dark...who knows? the_rage@alloymail.com Leave №64 alone for a change. For all the supposed “crap” it offers it sells rather well. nicholas_dgf@hotmail.com Next Month’s Question of the Moment: Is Sony going to rule the universe with PlayStation2? Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@zd.com with the subject heading: Rule It’s a kick in the mouth. You сап write EGN at: EGM Letters P.0. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 Please note: We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for space purposes. If you don't want your name, city/state or e-mail address printed, tell us so (but please include your phone number and mailing LETTERS console. I’m 30 now so | grew up through the whole video game timeline and not only does pinball air a form of romanticism but so does the classic arcade scene that | grew up with. Yes I’m sad that arcades may be going by the wayside, but | thank God daily for the butt-kickin’ home systems we have today. Michael Gallagher jng7lig@gateway.net More GT2 Debate It seems that Sony has acknowledged the massive mistakes that you guys somehow missed and is now offering gamers the chance to send in their copies of GT2 with a replacement bug-free copy by calling their customer service hotline. But since your Review Crew already perceived the game as one of total perfection, | expect all of you to keep your copies and refrain from exchanging them for the update. Somehow | highly doubt this will be the case, leaving yet another dubious mark on EGM's questionable reviews іп recent months. Brad G nbgarre@lifeway.com So, you’re saying you didn’t like GT2? Or that you're just aware of some bugs? Have you actually played it all the way through yet? Does the 98.2% problem really detract from the extremely enjoyable experience it offers? We have stated over and over and over again that a score of 10 does not mark something as ‘perfect’. It simply means that it is the very best example of the genre on the system concerned. As we've said before—the bugs in the game don’t damage the fact that GT2 is the best value for money that pretty much any game offers on the PlayStation. Sure, there are some sloppy mistakes, but they hardly ruin anything. Stop being so anally retentive and just enjoy it...that’s what it's there for. If you take everything so seriously Brad, you’re going to miss out on some of life’s enjoyable things. Personally, I'm not exchanging my copy...I’m having too much fun with it. e-mail: EGM@zd.com address for Letter of the Month consideration). The very bottom of the EGM letters barrel. Is Ron Jeremy a nice fellow? zoopsoul@aol.com Shawn says he was very nice, although he apparently has very rough hands. | heard that there is going to be a DVD attachment to the Dreamcast. Is it true? flabberboyGexcite.com Sega has mentioned it on a number of occasions. 1 want to know why everytime | open an EGM mag you are always saying bad stuff about N64. dshackGbellsouth.net We're not saying. ‘bad stuff’—we're just empathizing with N64 owners. Robert Stanley Fiskdale, MA features rapid-fire Congratulations, your prize is on the way-an ASCII Specialized Control Pad for the PlayStation. It motion for those intense moments. 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 art to: EGM Letter Art Р0 Box 3338 бак Brook, IL 60522-3338 (All entries become the property of ZD Inc. and will not be returned!) Like the video game football fan that | am, whenever | am in the bathroom downloading files, | like to read the most honest and truthful reviews that your EGM writers gave 2000's crop of NFL and college games over and over again. l think that issue 123 is my all- time champ for longevity in the john; EVERY mens bathroom stall from Best Buy to Wal-Mart should have a copy in it. Anyway, | noticed the picture for the review of Sega's NFL 2K pictured the Titans playing the Rams [this year's two Super Bowl teams]. Was this random or does EGM have their own psychic department? Will we be seeing Che or Crispin on late-night television ads flipping tarot cards? Well, if anyone places bets in Vegas for next football season, they should check with whoever placed that pic above the NFL 2K review first. Ryan Becerra Wisconsin We don't have any mystical powers, it's actually a time machine. We use it to travel forward in time and make note of sports results. We actually knew the final score of the Super Bowl before it happened— So we all bet thousands of dollars on it and are now millionaires. We've been doing it for years. The people you see in the pages of the magazine aren't actually the ‘real’ EGM crew members. The photos are simply actors who we employ to ‘play’ us. The real Review Crew and Art Team are currently sunning themselves in the Bahamas, only leaving the beach to refresh their drinks, change their shorts and flirt with lovely ladies. 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 controls for all buttons and slow Banyon Ford Chesterfield, SC messages are e-mails these days-so don't miss out! Hoang Tran Stockton, CA Leon Kaczmarek, Westchester, NY * K0.C0Omp exc *configured by Marc Eckó/The Ecko Unltd. Co. |= vou THINK You’ve FIGURED IT ALL OUT, THINK AGAIN. PARALLEL UNIVERSES, VIRTUAL REINCARNATION, ZEN-LIKE ous ODYSSEYS. IT’S ALL NEW. IT'S ALL OMIKRON. EMBARK 2 " ON A SPIRITUAL MISSION TO SAVE SOULS FROM THE DARK SEDUCTION OF А DECADENT š DIMENSION. ALL WITHOUT FALLING TO COUNTLESS TEMPTATIONS YOURSELF. ADVENTURE, EXPLORATION, COMBA AND ROLE-PLAYING. AND THAT CONTINUES EVEN AFTER YOU DIE. OMIKRON, IS NOT JUST A GREAT GAME. IT’S AR EXPERIENCE. IT’S AN QUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE. TRAVEL TO A NEW DIMENSION AT NOMADSOUL.COM " = Omikron Nomad Soul is a trademark of Quantic Dream S.A. © 1999 Quantic Dream S.A. EIDOS, EIDOS INTERACTIVE and ЕЙ INTERACTIVE LOGO are all registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive Inc. © 1999. All rights reserved. "Тһе ratings icon is a tra the Interactive Digital Software Association. Sega is registered in the US Patent and Trademark office. Sega, Dreamcast and logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd. SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD., 1999. Ай Ri TAKE ON THE BEST. Far beyond the cushy confines of asphalt, a select breed of driver is pushing the limits of man, machine and sanity. The rally racer. Equipped with his trusty co- driver and war horse ofa race car, he'll have to suck it up for up to four days of mur- derous driving in the most inhospitable reaches of the earth. Why not join in on the fun? Colin McRae Rally; Slap on Corsica = Even " on this idyllic a clean pair of skivvies and — island, the ridicu- lously narrow, give thanks for the roll Баг. winding roads make it impos- You're about to face the most ^ sible to relax. FOUR HOURS OF SCORCHING HEAT AND BLIND TURNS WEREN'T A hair-raising form of racing since the inven- tion of the wheel. For starters, you've got 11 world-class rally cars to run ragged. The Subaru Impreza WRC, Audi Quattro, Mitsubishi Lancer E4 and Seat Ibiza Kit Car Evo2, just to name a few. Their performance = ш к= Greece - The cradle of Western civilization. Home of some really crappy gravel roads. THINGS TO AVOID: and handling specs come straight from the manufacturers. ‘Tire type, steer- ing sensitivity and suspension are all yours for the customizing. Damn, its good to be a man. So, where do БҸ Ра England – Bloody lousy driving conditions. ға CSS Muddy, sloppy and devoid of traction. : МИЕ #4 = you plan on going with all that horse- power? Rally across eight different countries. From the frozen mountaintops of Monte Carlo to the winding coastal cliffs of Corsica. The PO sev е "pd dark jungles of Indonesia to the bone-jarring back roads of Greece. And Sweden — The mother lode of treacherous, icy roads. And we use the term “roads” very loosely PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ©The Codemasters Software Company Limited (“Codemasters”). АШ rights reserved. "Codemasters" is a registered under license. This game is NOT licensed by or associated with the ТА or any related company. [PIRELLI letters and logo are registered trademarks of Pirelli S p.A.] Colin MeRae, the Flying Scotsman. World Rally Champion. ‘Two-time British Rally Champion. Youngest champion in the history of the sport. Blatantly disregards “Road Closed" signs. Time Trial stages. (Good luck, mate.) Each stage is tougher than the next. Got an equally masochistic buddy? Go head- to-head in the 2-player Super Special Stage Rallies. By now, it’s pretty obvious. You're gonna need all the help you can get. Luckily, [oer Ex a you've got Nicky Grist, Colin McRae's real-life Monaco-Mecca — co- driver, feeding you of high-stakes gambling. directions as you navigate Equally dicey -— а =a. - 5 MT me M >. 2 snow-covered, every high-speed turn. e A^Www.playstation.com У winding moun- Р aped mtm... кыш tain roads, Relax, rookie, there’s also PROBLEM. THAT SOGGY UNDERWEAR FEELING, NOW THAT WAS A PROBLEM. from the dusty plains of the Australian ibility and you've got the near-impossible an in-depth Rally School training section Outback to the slippery mud bogs of the U.K. But this is night-driving taught by the master himself, stages. As if the Colin McRae. no vacation. Each track is horrendous dri- riddled with blind turns and If common sense still hasn't ving conditions taken over, you may have surfaces that'll have you weren't enough, what it takes to be one of double-clutching all the way you'll have to the few, the proud, the to the finish line. Strip away almost all vis- compete against Colin’ best times in the extremely uncomfortable. WE] кл New Zealand ~ Tike on a maze of dusty wood- WS По send most drivers crying back to their pit crews. land trails. Reduce the kiwi to roadkill snow are about to have their way with you trademark owned by Codemasters Limited. “Colin McRae”™ and the Colin McRae signature device and all copyrights, trademarks, designs and images of car manufacturers and/or on car liveries are being used by Codemasters 2717207172757 ПЛМ = == EXIT OPERATION: OBSERVE SURROUNDINGS. IF SCENERY IS MOVING-REMAIN IN VEHICLE. IF STATIONARY, PROCEED WITH CAUTION TO NEAREST EXIT. Press Start By Chris Johnston chris_johnston@zd.com " The Hottest Gaming News on the Planet It's A Square World, Baby ost discussions about next- generation game machines (including Dreamcast, PlayStation2 and Dolphin) inevitably lead to the question, “What system is Square going to release Final Fantasy for?” If we had a nickel for every time we were asked that question. Now we have an answer. Square announced its future plans including the plans for the next Final Fantasy games at Square Millennium, held on Jan. 27 at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan. Square fans lined up early for two shows, each accommodating 5,000 people. As the lights dimmed, attendees were treated to a future scenario as conceived by Square. Three young gamers living everyday lives meet online to play some Final Fantasy ХІ (yes, that’s right, ХІ). While each waits for the others to get online, they read online manga (comics), download and listen to music, and exchange messages with each other—one of which is from a remote terminal located away from home. Once they're all in front of their PS2s, they lock ‘n’ load and prepare to take on a dungeon in FFXI, after first consulting an online strategy guide as to how to best approach it. PlayOnline will make all of this possible. Square has teamed up with Japanese telecommunications company NTT Communications to create PlayOnline which will be the service of choice for Square. It will offer e-mail, chat, Internet surfing, downloadable music (with charts that are updated in real time), news, sports, shopping and gaming all in one. Instead of general e- mail, users set up character names for use in this virtual world. You decide who knows your real name (or even if they do) and you'll be able to access your messages and friends list from remote locations by using a memory card. Each user has a friends list to keep in touch with people he/she knows or plays games with, and will be able to tell if they're online and what they're currently doing— be it reading Manga, Web browsing or checking the 1 ew an И latest sports scores. You'll also be able to keep a shared schedule, where you can post meeting times/dates to do something together online or in real life. Using updated sports scores, Square envisions a time when you'll be able to race against times achieved in real life just hours before in racing games, or get updated stats on demand for use in baseball and soccer titles. Square stressed that it's trying to create a virtual world which has something for everyone—though it sounds very similar to those of us in the U.S. who use the Internet on a daily basis. According to information released after Square Millennium, Square plans for Square fans from across Japan dash to be the first to get into Square Millennium, held Jan. 27 at the Pacifico Yokohama (above). And afterward entering the playtesting area (bottom left) and playing its PS2 racing game, Driving Emotion Type-S (top left). PlayOnline to be both cross-platform and international. Players on PS2 and PC could exchange data and play together. And players in Japan and the U.S. could trade items in, say, Final Fantasy XI. This would be the first time such play has been offered on a console. Afterward, everyone was ushered into a small playtesting area where fans could get hands-on trials of Square's PS2 racing and baseball games as well as its PS1 RPG Vagrant Story. There were also two booths selling Digicube and Square goodies from action figures to posters and figurines of favorite characters from the company's games. Overall, a great event that makes us wonder what else Square has for 2000. SQUARE MILLENNIUM YOKOHAMA 34 | Square Soft isn't the first big act | to turn things up to eleven. Most | notorious is metal band Spinal / | Tap who had their Marshall amps | | modified to go *one more" up | to 11. Check them out at | www.spinaltap.com. The Future of Final Fantasy When Square Millennium began, we expected at least Final Fantasy IX to be announced. FFX was rumored as the first of the games to be on PS2, but XI...that was a shocker. Square has not released official screenshots or logo art for any of these games. The following screenshots of each of the games appeared all over the Net, within hours of the event. An anonymous Japanese gamer filmed much of this footage, which was then posted to sites like the Gaming | Medieval Intelligence Agency and Final Fantasy Online | 0 and were mirrored all over the Net. The only š | 48 Уй thing that didn't appear оп the Net that we 0 saw was the trailer for Final Fantasy The Square's multi-tiered Final Fantasy s schedule | ] 0 Movie. Square President Hironobu Sakaguchi includes IX in Summer 2000, X in spring | was insistent that no one take pictures or film 2001, and XI in Summer 2001. the trailer due to contractual obligations to Columbia Pictures. The official Web site for the Fantasy IX as early as this fall, but it is movie opens in March. currently absent from Square EA's already full Source: Videogames com main рай results for 01/31/00 | Rumor has it the U.S. could see Final release schedule for the rest of the year. ا‎ -- ——— - Hitting Japan this summer is the ninth game in the Final Fantasy series. And it was perhaps the most exciting of the three FF games shown at Square Millennium, if just because X and XI are still in the early stages of development. Music during the trailer included various cuts from previous Final Fantasies, but Nobuo Uematsu will likely return. Originally, FFIX was delayed until summer so as not to compete directly with Dragon Quest VII (or so the rumor goes), but now with DQVII delayed until May, FFIX will hit within a few months of it. Particularly cool about FFIX is the return to the old-style character designs (by Yoshitaka Amano) and the return of the wizard character so remembered and cherished by fans of IV. | What do you think of Square's decision to | make Final Fantasy IX with more medieval elements rather than science-fiction ones? | 15% If you're used to FF VII and VIII, then IX may come as a bit of a shock. From what we've seen so far, IX is reminiscent of earlier Final Fantasy games-like IV, V and VI. The main character (shown at right), sports a tail and was shown in the trailer in scenes jumping from a castle tower, aboard an airship, and in a chase scene through the forest. 0ther shots shown here are the logo (top left), a vast cityscape cinema (middle), and a wizard casting his spell (top right). Final Fantasy 1 The first PS2 FF, it will feature detailed online strategy guides. Character designs look to be back to the more lifelike Tetsuya Nomura (FFVII and VIII) style. Planned for a spring 2001 release, the footage shown was of this main character running around a huge castle. It's very early in preproduction at this stage, but Final Fantasy XI will be the first completely online FF. Square hopes to populate the world with inhabitants, not just players, and multiple people can join the same adventuring party. Shown here are preproduction stills of designs. If you watch the Pokémon TV show you may have seen Rachael Lillis’ name scroll by during the end credits. She's most well known as the voice of Misty, but her voice can be found in the English dubs of other anime shows brought to the U.S. EGM sat down with Rachael to ask about voice acting, Pokémon, and to find out more. EGM: How did you get into voice acting? Rachael Lillis: | was always interested in voice-over and followed the work of several voice actors when l was a teenager. In college | studied to be a doctor or a DNA researcher, and І also took a class at a local casting agency in voice-over acting, made a demo tape and shopped it around. | didn't always want to act— I've never really been able to conquer stagefright! When | was six my mom enrolled me in a drama class at the local rec center to get me involved with other kids, make friends, overcome the shyness. But | was terrified of being on stage—I spent the summer hiding from the teacher. Finally for the play presentation at the end of the class, the teacher put me in the rock costume, and | was the rock. :) EGM: What are some of your favorite cartoons/anime series (old or new)? RL: Inspector Gadget, Star Blazers, Vampire Princess Miyu, and I'm just starting to get into Vision of Escaflowne. EGM: What other voice acting/acting have you done aside from Pokémon? RL: In anime l've done voices in Revolutionary Girl Utena, The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, EGM: Are you anything like Misty in real life? RL: Hehehe...ummm, I’m not sure—there's something to relate to in each character you do—you bring a bit of yourself to a role. | guess | relate somewhat to Misty. Like her I’m the youngest of all girl siblings and have encountered some events that can accompany that. And 1 can understand her temper as well—1 tend not to fly off the handle like she does, but when she sits there and stews and growls...yes, that's familiar! EGM: When you're recording the voices for an episode are the other actors there? RL: Each actor dubs alone, usually. If someone has been there before you, the track that he or she recorded is played so there is a vocal reference. If you're the first one there, you "We all knew (Pokémon! was a cool show, hut we weren't sure how it would be receiver." Slayers, Slayers Next, Hikirian, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer, Takagami and Geobreeders. I’ve voice acted in CD-ROMs, narrated a few science videos, and I've done some indie film work and theater. EGM: Do you watch the finished episodes of Pokémon? What's your favorite episode? RL: | try to watch the episodes when they air. | really like The Ghost of Maiden's Peak. It's an adorable episode with Brock and James falling in love with a girl who turns out to be a ghost Pokémon. pretty much record into silence and are the reference for everyone else. The schedule rotates, so sometimes some of Ash or Brock or James will already be there, sometimes not. ЕСМ: Is there any ad-libbing after a scripted line is read? RL: I'm not a big ad-libber. Sometimes we find ourselves mercilessly quoting movies in between takes. We've been on an It’s а Wonderful Life and Sling Blade kick recently. In general we stay close to the script, but there are times when we have to mold the dialog or just try new things. In the Ninja episode, Brock says to Misty about Psyduck, "Talent like that must be a real pain." The literal translation of Misty's response was, "That's true." We tried it and it sounded a little strange, and the director didn't like it. He said, “Try saying something else, show that you know what a pain Psyduck is." They ran the scene again, and | just said, “Woah, yeah.” It sounded more world-weary, and they kept it. EGM: Did you ever think Pokémon would get to be this big? RL: We all knew it was a cool show, but we weren't sure how it would be received. It started to air in September of 1998, but | didn’t know how it was doing in the ratings until late October, when we found out that it was doing extremely well. We were all pretty excited about that. But beyond numbers | didn’t really see any evidence of it being widely watched until | went to my first anime convention as a guest. | saw people dressed as characters from the show, and people of all ages were talking about it. It was amazing to see it received like that. EGM: What do you like to do besides voice act? Any hobbies? RL: I’ve gotten more into anime, | like movies and music, art exhibits and museums (trying to absorb some culture while | live here!), reading, cooking. A friend got me a Sony PlayStation for Christmas, and I’ve now gone from having never played a video game to making Sligs explode and rescuing fellow Mudokons. г Those of you with elephantine memories may recall the cable-ready nature of the original Intellivision. The PlayCable box was designed to download files from the cable network back in 1981. Unfortunately the system was soon out of date due to memory constraints (it didn't have enough memory to download the later, larger 8k games) and the fact that cable providers couldn't spare the bandwidth. Mattel To Re-Enter Video Game Hardware Market: Intellivision Lives! Encouraged by the success of their line of educational and "Youth Oriented"-licensed PC titles, Mattel is rumored to be working with Daewoo, AMD and Dolby Labs to develop a next-generation gaming console system. Retro gaming fans will be particularly excited to learn that the new machine will most likely go by the name Giga Intellivision. The new system will reportedly feature the following: The recently announced AMD 1.6Ghz processor, an as-yet-unnamed graphics processor (thought to be developed by a relatively unknown team called Lipra 1 Technologies), an internal 8 GB hard drive for saves, built-in cable modem, DVD/CD player, Dolby Digital sound system, and in a novel approach to the market, a deluxe model will be shipped with a 100-watt, six-speaker sound system, including subwoofer. Korean giant Daewoo will be primarily involved as a manufacturer. No release date is set, but developer interest is said to be *extremely high" thanks to the staggering power of the AMD processor, and the proposed abilities of Lipra 1 Technologies' graphics technology. Utilizing the somewhat pretentiously named "Sensation Heightening Interactive Technology" the Lipra 1 chip will outperform PS2's Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer technologies by some considerable degree. No firm details are available as we go to press, but our sources claim the system exists, and could be ready for release before the end of the year. In fact, in a bold move we've learned that less powerful test systems are already out with focus groups indicating that the Mattel group has already settled on joypad and system designs. “Our Sensation Heightening Interactive Technology will kick Sony's Emotion Engine's Ass. Feel it Sony..." - Lipra 1 Technologies representative (who wishes to remain nameless until a formal announcement is made) when questioned about the Giga Intellivision. GIGA INTELLIVISION ONLINE POLL So... are you excited about Mattel’s vision for a next-generation console? | 1 owned ап Intellivision and I’m excited about the Giga Intellivision. —— а 4100 2888 2935 DEVELOPER PROFILE www.sinistergames.com Number of employees: 15 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Gameography: Shadow Company; Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home The most challenging thing about making a video game based on The Dukes of Hazzard would be: The schedule —we finished the game in three and a half months (most games take more than a year to complete). The thing we're most excited about with the next generation of video games systems is: New hardware with fewer limitations. We can do more to immerse the player in the game. If there was one thing we could change about this industry, it would be: Make sure that when Eidos throws a party for 3000 that they have room for more than 1500 (industry joke...Eidos always sends too many tickets out for launch parties, and people get stuck outside). During breaks from late-night programming sessions, we: There are NO breaks. (Odd, considering the answer to the next question.) Our favorite game to play in the office (not by us) is: Starcraft, Half-Life, Quake 111: Arena Favorite snack food(s): M&Ms, pizza, coffee, Whoppers and soda. It's a food group, right? Music that inspires us around the office: Different stuff for different people. Includes Korn, Slipknot, Smile, Garbage, Chemical Brothers, Pink Floyd. PRESS START Tidbits White Lionhead and EA have just announced a deal with developers M4 to produce a handheld version of the much- lauded PC “God RPG” game, Black & White. Quite how the team at M4 will be bringing the ambitious title to the Game Boy is unclear at present as the game is a substantial exercise in Al and online functionality. A project for Game Boy Advance perhaps? We'll bring you more news next month. Activision has announced it has signed an agreement with nine-time BMX world champion Mat Hoffman to develop Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX for PlayStation. He will consult and star in the game, scheduled for release this fall. The game will изе an enhanced version of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater engine. It will include two-player split- screen action and hundreds of tricks and signature moves in both street and vert arenas. Hoffman Goes PS Star Trek Online Р52 Sony Online is set to work with hot codeshop Verant (developers of EverQuest for 989 Studios) and Star Trek licensee Activision on a massive online multiplayer game set in the Star Trek universe. Although initially developed as a PC game, a PlayStation2 version is expected to hit sometime in 2001. Verant has high hopes for the game and expects to attract more than half a million subscribers. Last-Minute Update: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Tony Hawk is once again headed to PlayStation (and Game Boy Color and PC, too) this fall. Activision/Neversoft have added plenty of new features to the sequel to make it an even better all-around game, with new tricks and combinations — including new grabs, grinds, inverts, lip and nollie tricks. There's also an extensive skatepark editor which lets Even Smaller Tidbits Dino Crisis is coming to Game Boy Color...a new Spy Hunter will be ready for the PS2 launch in the U.S....989 Studios has been absorbed back into SCEA...Austin Powers games will begin coming out later this year for every imaginable system from Rockstar...Sega’s got a NASCAR arcade game on test in Japan called Rubbin’ Racing...THQ has snagged the rights to make games based on Scooby-Doo...New Pokémon games headed your way this year include a puzzle game called Pokémon Attack... Sega Toys will release a robot dog in Japan called Poo-Chi that'll be out in the U.S. by May from Tiger Electronics...Tecmo's Dead or Alive 2 is coming to PS2. In Japan it'll be released in March; in the U.S., it's launch. you create your very own courses. Offers players the chance to skate in exotic locales, too, like Rio De Janeiro, Marseille and New York City (ooh, exotic). There's also a bunch of mini-games that you can play with а friend and of course a two-player split-screen mode for head-to-head play. Look for a more in-depth look at Tony Hawk 2 next month. AIRVIÉLK (SiC CHE FES =; SPORT FOOTWEAR SKECHERS. сом REE CATALOG 1.800.201.4659 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 | | | Import Pick of the Month: Capcom's Dreamcast version of Marvel Vs. Capcom. | PlayStation 2/24 Guitar Freaks APPEND 2nd Mix, Konami (Misc.) | 2/24 Strider 1&2, Capcom (Action) | Feb. Popolocrois Story ІІ, SCEI (RPG) Mar. Monster Farm Battle Card, Tecmo (Misc.) | Mar. Ray Crisis, Taito (Shooter) Dreamcast | 2/24 Aero Dancing F, CRI (Simulation) | 2/24 Carrier, Jaleco (Action) | 3/2 Virtua Cop 2, Sega (Shooting) 3/16 Puzzle Bobble 4, Cyberfront (Puzzle) 3/23 Twinkle Star Sprites, SNK (Puzzle) 3/30 Hello Kitty's Magical Block, Sega (Action Puzzle) | 3/30 King of Fighters “99 Evolution, SNK (Fighting) 3/30 Advanced World War, Sega (Strategy) Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Capcom (Fighting) PlayStation2 | 3/4 Аб: A-Train 6, Artdink (Simulation) | Drum Mania, Konami (Misc.) 3/4 Eternal Ring, From Software (RPG) 3/4 Fantavision, SCEI (Misc.) | Mar. | 3/4 Jikkyo World Soccer 2000, Konami (Sports) | 3/4 Kessen, Koei (Strategy Simulation) | 3/4 Tekken Tag Tournament, Namco (Fighting) Ridge Racer V, Namco (Racing) | 3/4 Sky Surfer, Idea Factory (Sports) 3/4 Stepping Selection, Jaleco (Misc.) Dead or Alive 2, Tecmo (Fighting) Street Fighter EX3, Capcom (Fighting) | *Schedule subject to change without notice. Consult your local import game | store for the latest release information. PlayStation Games For $9.99? Score one point for Sony if the following story is true. Games industry newspaper Games Business reported in its Feb. 1 edition that “a number of high-ranking executives in the games industry” had indicated that “Sony will lower its licensing fees charged to third- party developers.” What does this mean for you? Well, the story goes on to say that “one publisher says that he intends to offer new product at a $9.99 price point as soon as it becomes feasible.” The new license fee policy | Rockstar Games recently announced it has teamed | with Angel Studios for two PlayStation titles | aimed for a release this fall. Midnight Club: Street | Racing is a city street-based racer, and Getaway is an open racer where you have to smuggle goods across the border and avoid the feds. continue to thrive, even when PS2 launches in September. What can we expect to see in April? Early indications would seem to be that publishers will want to establish their own budget lines of software along the lines of the “Greatest Hits" range. Before Christmas a number of titles in this range dropped to a $20 price point and retailers across the country were pleased that you all dashed out and bought them. Once one publisher makes the jump to $9.99 it would "[this] is а part of Sony's new strategy to continue to attract more 'casual' gamers..." is apparently set to become Sony policy from April 1, 2000. And no, this isn't an April Fools’ joke. The new structure in license fee's for publishers is a part of Sony's new strategy to continue to attract more and more "casual" gamers to the PlayStation format. With U.S. PlayStation unit sales now near the 30 million mark, the system is the closest to being a "mainstream" brand product as any other. By dropping the price to $99 last year, and now providing the tools for publishers to produce cheap games, we should see the system Seem sensible that many others will follow. Expect to see first and second generation titles (Twisted Metal and Warhawk era games) hitting the price point first. If there was ever a time to go back and pick up some of those "classics" that you always meant to buy, it looks like this year will be the time to do it. Conker 64 From Friendly to F*** Off Believe it or don't, Conker's Bad Fur Day— Rare's often-delayed, often-renamed 3D adventure—is not the cute, Banjo-Kazooie- style kid stuff we expected. Turns out the game is lewd, dripping with gore, oozing sexual innuendo and M-rated for your kid's protection. If you think it's a joke, we did too. At the recent Perfect Dark press event, Nintendo's Ken Lobb (who could barely contain his glee) shocked us with a brief video of the game's new 'tude. In the course of the two- minute tape, we saw a demon character who farts flames, chugs liquor and puffs a joint; a door that tells Conker to “f**k off”; a Boss who bangs his titanic metal testicles on the floor; a bikini-clad, jiggle-chested babe who comments to a nearby character that *Conker has a bigger bone than you"; and a platoon of Conker's compatriots chewed to red syrupy chunks by gunfire in a scene heavily inspired by Saving Private Ryan's opening scene. Needless to say, the throng of journalists watching the video exploded into cheers. Conker's Bad Fur Day reportedly packs more voice and cinemas than Perfect Dark. The dialog is loaded with swearing, even if it's bleeped out (trust us— you can still tell what those f**king animals are f**king saying). Gameplay-wise, Conker's Bad Fur Day remains 40 the 3D adventure game we thought it'd be, and the star squirrel's reactive-facial-expression system is still intact (he registers shock, surprise, fear, etc., depending on the situation). Conker's new blue status is a bold move for Rare and Nintendo —especially since Conker's Pocket Tales on the Game Boy already established the game's star squirrel as a super-cute, kid's game-kinda guy. Either Rare's gone bonkers or has achieved a higher level of genius. But we gotta say, we're more than pleased to finally get some grown-up stuff from Nintendo, which will publish Conker's Bad Fur Day this Christmas. “Fun? Yes. Funny? Sure. Obscene? Hell yeah.” “will become a long-playec title in your game library” “If entertainment could be measured, СТАР would bust the scale” Р К.Е Grand Theft Auto is | | | ШШ The incredibly fast-paced and fluid game play now matched by Sega’s 28-bit system makes СТАР a must- have for the Sega Dreamcast owner’s game library. (Dreamcast. Sega MATURE Sega(9 Dreamcast. www.rockstargames.com x esre MA Design ia 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. DMA and the DMA logo are trademarks of DMA Design Ltd. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. © 1999 All rights reserved.. AGONY. MADNESS. DEATH. CHEMICALS HAVE THEIR SIDE EFFECTS. -NextGen {ажы атс зм C:\RION JDS:WF-Gg D-Felon=Telekinesis The ability to deliver powerful psychic blasts! Master a totally unique arsenal of psychic abilities! They are your only defense against the sinister Galerians. -GameFan.com -GameProWorld.com Become totally immersed in a fully realized 3D universe that is yours to explore, yours to master — yours to obliterate! а Psychokinesis The ability to levitate and freeze matter! Over so hours of reality warping game- play, plus over 7o minutes of stunning cinematics that propel the gripping story. The Galerians are an artificially created techno-species whose prime directive is the total annihilation of the human race. Earth’s only hope is Rion, a young man whose greatest weapon is the energy of his mind. By using Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals, Rion is able to wage psychic war on the Galerians. Unfortunately, chemicals have their side GALERIANS™ V T effects... جد بذ In Stores March 2ooo! DREAMCAST DOMINATES | The Dreamcast now represents 20 percent of the U.S. video game market. Not bad going for just five months work. 0% Quartermann - Video Game Gossip & Speculation ust a quick hit of gossip this month I'm afraid. Wait for next month when we'll bring you lots of juicy PS2 goodies from the PlayStation Festival in Japan. In the meantime...feast your eyes on these: Rumor Those Sonic rumors we told you about a few months ago are in the air again, with the obvious sequel to Adventure being the most gossiped about. Truth Sonic Adventure 2 isn't the only hot-ticket in the Sonic camp though. There are some strong indications that we'll see a Mario Party- style game starring Sonic and chums before the end of the year. Rumor It's buyout time in the games industry and everyone seems to be looking into merging with everyone else in the aftermath of the AOL/Time Warner deal. Current rumors doing the rounds include EA merging with AOL/Time Warner, Activision merging with THQ, and Acclaim potentially being bought by Havas Interactive. Truth Don't go ditching all of your stock yet, because none of this is confirmed. The EA deal is especially interesting, but it may just be confusion over the industry giant's recent exclusive content deal with AOL. As for the rest of them? Who knows? Convergence isn't just going to be about technology...it’s going to be about money, and any of the deals listed above make a lot of sense. Rumor Fresh from the glitz and glamour of winning an ЕСМ Gamers’ Choice award, the boys at Agetec recently dropped hints about the future of the R-Type franchise. Truth Watch for a new game on PS2 within the next year. Rumor Speaking of Agetec and PS2, we hear that Rising Zan will be making a return in a sequel for the system. Truth Not exactly the biggest news ever...but it's interesting to see that lots of PlayStation franchises are jumping to PS2. Rumor The sequel to Fear Effect is going to be a Dreamcast game. Truth Already bullish enough to think that it has another franchise game on its hands, Eidos is already looking into a follow-up game to the excellent anime-style adventure (see Review Crew this month). A Dreamcast version is cited as a definite possibility, but expect to see the new game on PS2 first. Also, we hear it's actually a prequel— so expect to see the origins of the characters as they work through past missions. Rumor The Time Crisis rumors persist... Truth Now going by the simple name of Time Crisis 3, the new game will be the first in the series developed specifically for the PlayStation. Expect to see it some time this year. Rumor The next Namco Dreamcast game will not be Soul Calibur 2 as previously touted on the Web. Truth Nope, the real deal is a port of the action puzzler Mr. Driller. Sorry to disappoint you. Rumor The next Resident Evil will see you playing the role of an Umbrella agent. Truth Producer Shinji Mikami stated in an interview in Famitsu that “I think it would be interesting for the next game to develop the Umbrella side.” Watch this space for more news soon. Pocket Monsters Gold/Silver B Nintendo 2: Digimon Adventure Bandai PS2 DVD Compatibility Problems? You may have read stories on the Web about potential problems with the PS2 DVD functionality. This was because of a story in Japanese publication Bart which hinted that because of political tensions between the games division and the DVD division of Sony, much of the DVD functionality was to be removed from Р52. The rumors indicated that PlayStation2 would not support multi-story or multiple angles—key features for movies like The Matrix. Rumors also suggested that a special CD was needed before playing DVDs. Fortunately, this isn't the case. You may still read speculation elsewhere to the contrary, but Sony is adamant that the PS2 will offer full DVD functionality. Valkyrie Profil p | nm rofile | | 4 Gran Turismo 2 ES SCEI 5 Must Program Vol.1 6 = e ЕН Momotarou Densetsu V "People see the Dragon (machine gun) lying on the ground, they pick it up and boom! Nothing's more satisfying." -Nintendo's Ken Lobb shows that the company isn't all about fluffy | | Г | Hudson | Se т | [ | | l l | | | | = Donkey Kong 64 Nintendo Pachi Slot Aruze Kingdom 2 | Namco platform games and “family values.” — SE | Mario Party 2 š = * КЫ “Thirty percent more gore isn't going to be | 1 Поко Demo Issyo SCEI that much more...” -Eidos’ Greg Rizzer tows the company line on violence in Berzerk. | Weekly Fan Famitsu, week ending 1/23/2000 | | у - 44 - ww "...the best skateboarding game ever." — GamePro Skate as Tony Hawk and nine other top pros in fully skateable, real-world locales. Pull off hundreds of on-the-fly trick combinations, including moves like grinds and kick-flips. 540 VARIAL така on various ue split-screen modes or go pro in single-player "career" mode. Nintendo" 64 screen shots shown, goy = б yee TS с. 2 ө патзите i pu. f NEV ERST = | fitivision is o registered trademark ond Tony Hawk's Pro Skoter and Pro Skater are trademarks of Activision, Inc. © 1999, 2000 Activision, Inc Tony Hawk is о trademark of Tony Hawk. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStotion game console. T TEEN NINTENDO“ EVERYONE EVERYONE NUS QUE сопе Boy and Gone Boy Color ore софетегік of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. А licensed by Nintendo, The ratings icon is а trademark of the Interactive > 2 “ Digital Software Associotion. RII rights reserved. Kmort, Super Kmart and е” b other Hmort names ond marks ore pending or registered trademarks of PlayStation outer RATED BY Erpa Kmart Properties. Inc. All other trodemorks and trade names ore properties J@ = Of their respective owners. | Nintendo's prime ape is backon | monkey needs an Expansion Pak just to get on the screen. He's brought some new friends with him on this adventure, too. But how long will he be on top? 2- Pokémon Yellow Dethroned! Chaos ensues! A Pokémon game is not # this month...the horror! Nintendo's probably not too worried, DK64’s on top, right? And there's plenty more Pokémon titles this year that'll probably take #1 soon. 3 - Pokémon Reid E 09 The original versions of Pokémon are still near the top ofthe charts M release; How many games can say that, eh? Looks like “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” is still working just fine . for Nintendo. |I saw ап odd bali [is the trash. | "Т Crispin 8.0 Chris 6.0 Shoe A Sony game in the top five, how can it happen? It's not Poké—but 10 10 when it's a driving game as good John | Crispin as GT2 is, it better be in the top — — five (or no one's been listening to | the Review Crew's scores). Like 10 10 driving games? Go buy, now. komad ЕТА 5 - Pokémon Blue g Nintendo scored a hit in 1998 with L ° Pokémon (still on the charts). In it, 9 Ü you have to capture and battle John R | Crispin Ғ- creatures called “Pokémon” while ° =r defeating Gym Leaders at each 9 0 | town. It's also the number опе- ҮҮ т лышы =4 selling Game Boy game, ever. pul ees Jes Б КАШ ооз, | | Tomorrow Never Dies p | Electronic Arts ТІ | ] Tony Hawks Pro Skater | Activision 1 Га Pokémon Pinball | 8 Nintendo Pokémon бпа | 9 Nintendo : М | s | МВА [ме 2000 А 1 Electronic А Arts + FE Spyro the Dragon SCEA (49 Gran Tui 1 ШЕ urismo 18 Crash Team facing SCEA Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | 1 Сарсот | 1 Frogger | Hasbro Interactive Hr i» |i» |i» |i» E Toy Story 2 16 "2 НЕМ : Riptos Ri 1] Se iptos Rage 16 18 Super Mario Bros. Deluxe Nintendo 15 1 WWF Wrestlemania 2000 8 THO > ee | Crash Bandicoot WARPED 2 SCEA 20 Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games Service. Call Mary Ann Porreca at (516) 625-2345 for questions regarding this list. Top 5 game descriptions written by the EGM staff. Ф = i> {> Ë VIDEOGAMES.COM POLL Which of the following series should Capcom make more games for? Dino Crisis 16% Mega Man 48% Resident Evil 28% ША, Source: Videogames.com main poll results for 2/7/00 hly - 46 - www.videogame Every game is like game 7. MARCH 2000 989). SPORTS کی Playstation Е WWW.989SPO0RTS.COM Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. www.majorleaguebaseball.com Official Licensee — Major League Baseball Players Association. © MLBPA. www.bigleaguers.com 989 Sports and the 989 Sports logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Developed by 989 Sports. © 2000 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Compiled By Chris Johnston chris_johnston@zd.com Coming Soon - April 2000 Game Boy Color 2000-1 Tunes - Infogrames Alice in Wonderland - Nintendo All Star Tennis - Ubi Soft Army Men - 300. Bowling - Vatical Entertainment Carmageddon - Titus F-1 World Grand Prix - Konami Jimmy White's Cue Ball - Vatical Entertainment Konami Rally - Konami Lord Baniff's Deceit - Vatical Entertainment Metal Gear - Konami Millennium Winter Sports - Konami Muppets - Rockstar NBA In The Zone 200 - Konami NBA Live 2000 - THQ NHL Blades of Steel 2000 - Konami Rainbow Six - Southpeak Interactive Rayman - Ubi Soft Street Fighter Alpha - Capcom Test Drive Cycles - Infogrames Tomb Raider - Eidos Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - Activision Toobin - Midway Triple Play 2001 - THQ Vegas Games - 3DO Winnie the Pooh Adventures - Mattel PlayStation Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere - Namco/Hometek Alundra 2 - Activision Armored Core: Master of Arena - Ascii Army Men: World War - 3DO BattleTanx Global Assault - 3DO Carmageddon 2 - Interplay Colony Wars: Red Sun - Psygnosis. Countdown Vampires - Bandai Digimon World - Bandai Disney World Racing - Eidos Dragon Valor - Namco/Hometek Duke Nukem Planet of Babes - GT Software Eagle One - Infogrames Elmo in Grouchland - Mindscape Extreme Hockey Rock Rink - Electronic Arts Family Game Pack 2 - 300 Flintstones Bedrock Bowling - South Peak Formula One Championship - Electronic Arts Front Mission 3 - Square Soft Galerians - Crave Entertainment Gauntlet 3D - Midway High Heat Baseball 2001 - 3DO Hot Shots Golf 2 - SCEA Hydro Thunder - Midway Jackie Chan Stuntmaster - Midway Jeremy McGrath 2000 - Acclaim Men In Black - SouthPeak Interactive MLB 2001 - 989 Studios Motocross Madness - Activision Need For Speed s - Electronic Arts Nickelodeon Cat Dog - Hasbro Nightmare Creatures ІІ - Konami Panzer General Assault - Mindscape Rally Championship - Electronic Arts Rayman 2 - Ubi Soft Roadsters - Titus Rollcage Stage 2 - Psygnosis Rugby 2000 - Electronic Arts Samurai Shodown Warrior Rage - SNK Silent Bomber - Bandai ‘Sim Theme Park - Maxis Softball - 3DO Street Sk8ter 2 - Electronic Arts Striker Pro 2000 - Infogrames Syphon Filter 2 - 989 Studios Test Drive Le Mans - Infogrames Test Drive Cycles - Infogrames Triple Play 2001 - Electronic Arts Action Adventure Sports Action Sports Action Racing Misc. Racing Action Action Sports Action Sports Sports Sports Action Action Fighting Racing Action Sports Action Sports Misc. Adventure Flying Action Shooting Action RPG Racing RPG Action Action Misc. Sports Misc. Sports Racing Strategy Action Action Sports Sports Racing Action Racing Action Sports Racing Racing Misc. Action Strategy Racing Action Racing Racing Sports Fighting Action Simulation Sports Sports Sports Action Racing. Racing Sports Ultimate Bass Challenge - Electronic Arts Sports Vanark - Jaleco Action Vanguard Bandits - Working Designs Strategy/RPG WWF SmackDown! - THQ Sports Nintendo 64 Carmageddon - Titus Action Cyber Tiger Woods Golf - Electronic Arts Sports Hydro Thunder - Midway Racing International Track & Field 2000 - Konami Sports Looney Tunes: Space Race - Infogrames Racing Looney Tunes: Taz Express - Infogrames Action MK Special Forces - Midway Fighting NBA In The Zone 2000 - Konami Sports PGA European Tour - Infogrames Sports Pokémon Stadium - Nintendo Fighting Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater - Activision Sports World League Soccer 2000 - South Peak Sports Worms Armageddon - Infogrames Action Х-Ме Ш Action Dreamcast 4 Wheel Thunder - Midway Racing Berzerk - Eidos Action Chu Chu Rocket - Sega Puzzle Dead or Alive 2 - Tecmo Fighting Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm - Crave Ent. Adventure F-1 World Grand Prix - Sega Racing Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 - Acclaim Racing Maken X - Sega Action Nightmare Creatures Il - Konami Action Plasma Sword - Capcom Fighting Rayman 2 - Ubi Soft Action Renegade Racers - Interplay Racing Resident Evil: Code Veronica - Capcom Action Street Fighter Alpha 3 - Capcom Fighting Striker Pro 2000 - Infogrames Sports Time Stalkers - Sega RPG Toy Story 2 - Activision Action Virtua Striker 2 - Sega Sports Viva Soccer - Interplay Sports Game Boy Color Armada Secret Weapon - Metro 3D Action Battle Tanx - 3DO Action Blaster Master Enemy Below - Sunsoft Action Driver - GT Software Racing Futsal Soccer Madness - Sunsoft Sports Micro Machines V3 - THQ Racing Moomin’s Tale - Sunsoft Adventure Pokémon Trading Card Game - Nintendo Misc. Rainbow Six - Redstorm Action Thrasher Skate & Destroy - Rockstar Sports VR Powerboat - Vatical Entertainment Sports WCW Mayhem - Electronic Arts Sports PlayStation Caesar's Palace 2000 - Interplay Misc. Danger Girl - THQ Action Darkstone - Take 2 Interactive RPG Indiana Jones & Infernal Machine - LucasArts Action Iron Soldier 3 - Vatical Entertainment Shooter Konami Rally - Konami Racing Koudelka - SNK RPG LEGO Rock Raiders - LEGO Media Action Micro Maniacs - Codemasters Racing Misadventures of Tron Bonne - Capcom Adventure Shao Lin - THQ Fighting Speed Punks - SCEA Racing Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battle - LucasArts Action Team Buddies - Psygnosis Misc. Nintendo 64 All-Star Baseball 2001 - Acclaim Sports Battlezone 64 - Crave Entertainment Action Daikatana - Kemco Action NHL Blades of Steel 2000 - Konami Sports Perfect Dark - Nintendo Action Dreamcast Caesar's Palace 2000 - Interplay Misc. 02 - Sega Action & Jennifer Whitesides Deep Fighter - Ubi Soft Fighting ESPN NBA Tonight - Konami Sports ESPN Baseball Tonight - Konami Sports Grand Theft Auto 2 - Rockstar Racing Industrial-Spy: Operation Espionage - UFO Interactive Action МОК 2 - Interplay Action Metropolis Street Racer - Sega Racing ‘Star Wars: Episode | Racer - LucasArts Action Tech Romancer - Capcom Fighting Tomb Raider - Eidos Action Game Boy Color Brunswick Pro Pool - Vatical Entertainment Sports Golf King - Crave Entertainment Sports Pro Pool - Activision Sports Rally Racing - Konami Racing Wario Land III - Nintendo Action Xena - Titus Action PlayStation Arena Football - Midway Sports Gekido - Interplay Action Grind Session - SCEA Sports Jeff Gordon XS Racing - American Softworks Racing Major League Soccer - Konami Sports MediEvil 11 - SCEA Action Paper Boy - Midway Action Reel Fishing II - Natsume Sports Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure - Atlus RPG Saboteur - Eidos Action Tenchu 2: Birth of the Assassins - Activision Action Vanishing Point - Acclaim Racing WTC: World Touring Car - Codemasters Racing Wild ARMS 2 - SCEA RPG Blues Brothers 2000 - Titus Excitebike 64 - Nintendo Dreamcast Monster Breeder - Tommo Misc. Off Road - Interplay Racing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - Crave Entertainment Sports Game Boy Color Alice in Wonderland - Nintendo Adventure Crystalis 2 - Nintendo RPG Dark Angel Anna's Quest - Metro 3D Adventure Donkey Kong Country - Nintendo Action Frisbee Golf - Vatical Entertainment Sports Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! - Infogrames Misc. Perfect Dark - Rare VR Powerboat - Vatical Entertainment Baldur's Gate - Interplay RPG Carmageddon 2 -Interplay Action Earthworm Jim - Interplay Action Legend of Dragoon, The - SCEA RPG Lunar 2 Eternal Blue - Working Designs RPG Mike Tyson Boxing - Codemasters Sports MK Special Forces - Midway Fighting Polaris Snocross 2000 - Kemco Racing Rampage Through Time - Midway Action X-Men: Mutant Academy - Activision Action AirBoardin’ USA - ASCII Sports Kirby’s Dreamland - Nintendo Action Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers - Infogrames Action Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber - Atlus RPG StarCraft 64 - Nintendo Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse - Metro 3D Adventure Fur Fighters - Acclaim Action Microsoft Combat Flight Sim - Konami Sim Seaman - Sega Misc. Space Invaders - Activision Shooter It's more than run and gun. It's blow and до. Evil super battle ship Dante has been dispatched to blow up the planet. You've been dispatched to stop it. After all, that's what io ve been genetically engineered for. Armed Im, gravity, fire and paralyzer ‚ you're the only thing standing etween her and total destruction of an entire race. With 26 explosive ш> 165 action so intense you won't be able to tear | yourself away. Bathroom? Maybe next year. DAPALM BOMBS PARALYZER BOMBS. FIRE BOOBS. THIS GF % ВАМ L| DAI № TM & ©1999 Bandai America Incorporated. Program ©1999 Bandai Co., Ltd. Distributed by B 551 Katella Avenue, Cypress, California 90630. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and Pla trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Used under license by GAME DESIGNERS... HSU AND CHAN'S SECRET WORKSHOP! AWE NEXT GENERATION Г P THE HUT TLE, CAPTAIN! IM GONNA АВЕ! AS WE SPEAK, THE GAMING WORLD 15 ABUZZ WITH THE ADVENT OF THE NEXT- GENERATION SYSTEMS! WONDROUS MACHINES THAT CaN PROCESS MILLIONS OF POLYGONS! CONNECT To THE INTERNET! DO YOUR TAXES | DO чоо REMEMBER "ITS THINKING?" USEFUL 15 THAT, | ALL, EVEN LUNGF WHERE THEY OF SOME THOUGHT, ENDED UP! CLEVER MARKETING, YES, ВОТ HOW REALLY? AFTER 1SH ARE CAPABLE AND LOOK WHAT OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT? WHAT OF THE. HUMAN SOUL?! ALL THE SOFTWARE GIANTS ARE HOPPING ёр -- SONY, төм А% €NTER THE TANAKA RON THE TANAKATRON 15 МОТ A COLD, FACELESS PIECE OF MACHINERY! USING ADVANCED TECHNIQUES, OF SOME SORT, OUR GAME SYSTEM HAS BEEN GIVEN THE EXUBERANT PERSONAL!" OF К FOURYEAR-OLD BOY, AND EXPRESSES ITSELF THROUGH THE AMAZINGLY LIFELIKE ANIMATRONIC HELLO, VIDEO GAMERS! ™ HSU TANAKA, AND TODAY GOD HAS SMILED ON YOU, FoR BEHIND THIS CURTAIN You WILL Recewe A SNEAK PEEK AT AN THE FuTURE OF CONSOLE GAMING! THE CORE UNIT 15 COMPETITINELY PRICED ATA 06 AVAILABLE WiTH A GAME. MEMORY CARD, CONTROLLER, ADAPTER, AUDIOS VIDEO CABLE AND SPORTY RED CASING FOR A CooL, THOUSAND. (T'S A STEAL! QES, CHILDREN ES 5000'S LIGHTHEARTED/ нє... ANTICS! RIGHT AFTER MY BROTHER CHAN FINISHES CLIPPING HIS TOENAILS AS А ТАЧАКА BROTHERS PRODUCT, vf (6, NEEDLESS TO ЗАЧ, STATE-OF -THE-AarT. ЧЕТ, "Wry SHOULD 1 CHOOSE THE TANAKATRON," YOU MAY ASK.. "out OF ALL OF THE NEXT-GEN SYSTEMS COMING Ом MARKET?" Le SOMETHING VIOLENT! NOW IF YOULL FoLLow N TANAKATRON, WE CANT ME, WE'LL TAKE A PLM NOW, WE HAVE TO-- LOOK AT SOME ОҒ THE PERIPHERA-- HOLD HIM, HSU! HOLD Him! ҰЗ: фор BLESS HSU мно cnai! C IIT ЭШИК < PlayStationl!- = >=> ч " —À— А CIEL. Š Yom сан Ls ТШ ы | Sega (9 Dreamcast. ебәс segacom Sega@ Dreamcast ]seouueaJc] А DREAMCAST 99 CONSOLE Sega $199.99 #158975-3 - ` & E г j | © Drean 4 ебәѕ ]se»ouueaic] NISUP a OR У ме Š omast III! iƏllonuo 7 CONTROLLER reamcast $29.99 #164886-4 е i N i М € D 4 5 М Q TIME STAL KE reamcast Rs ES PLACE YOUR ORDER! инте) 3 7 ы TOY STORY 2 Dreamcast Activision g нь Š = < \ N N Т 5 М M CHOCOBO'S DUNGEON 2 PlayStation алые > M я Square /Electronic Arts р. | В КОЛ 2 $22.22 L LNLLA TE - Adivisi x #174387-1 z: 1 А . Vision GAME BOY COLORS HARDWAR Game Boy Color Nintendo Q N 2 N = 2 2 PERFECT DARK Nintendo 64 457.99 #162701-7 рок МОН TRADING CARD САМЕ Соте BoY Color Wintendo 27 - 44747526 de : CALL 1200 .200.0052 To PLACE YOUR ORDER! -9 Í | ж. 9 Д | | Exclusive 4-Player 19, Jon Get $10.00 Off Instantly when you purchase GameShark Pro for PlayStation®, Nintendo® 64 or GameBoy® Color! Offer valid through 4/15/00. Limit one coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with any other offer or special. |; 2 ATIN «19, Ром Get 510.00 ОН Instantly when you purchase Dex Drive for PlayStationƏ or Nintendo 64! 0ffer valid through 4/15/00. Limit one coupon per customer. Cannot be combined with any other offer or special. \ „Р 2 Š ` үз 4 Ë & Y PlayStation! '- z й à а HOT SHoT у? ; ij tati, SC Eon То] PlayStation! sk, ei (се) un 1% Т "m S bani n m л hae 2 = [= йиш! ШИ | | PlayStation 989 Studios PlayStation 4 Prices valid in U.S. only. Typographical errors are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. Not all items may appear at our outlet locations. Prices may - vary in Puerto Rico and New York City locations. At time of printing, all products are expected to be available. Some packaging and special offers may differ in Canada. Prices and availability are subject to change. Manufacturers’ delays are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. - 5 (02000 Electronics Boutique. š EAL 1.200.200.0032 To PLACE YOUR ORDER! и == b В Previews This Month in Previews oor Previews section. This 22763 Dead ог Alive 2 Fur Fighters month, you're simply a speed 65 Alone in the Dark 2 bump on readers' way to 66 SD E Episode 1 Racer e what they really want to see: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater | the Perfect Dark cover story. After all, TO Wacky Races р 5 Industrial-Spy Operation Espionage Nightmare Creatures || _ 72 Resident Evil: Code Veronica Sorcerian Sega GT 14 Grandia II Rare's sure-to-be-a-masterpiece is shaping up to be so swell, we'd trade every game in this issue's Previews section to get to play it. Yup, Perfect р Dark is that good. 2 ; 16 King ofits 99 Evolution If you could bring yourself to check : World Advance Daisenryaku out some of the other non-Perfect Dark Is Dead or Alive 2 for Dreamcast as cool г: ДЕПТЕ sss BORN games we're covering this month, you'll — as eternal office favorite, Soul Calibur? 84 Resident Evil ZERO — symbols may {па plenty of other titles that'll raise Probably not, but it's pretty darn close... Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion or may not be h b ES Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers released in the YOU heart rate а beat or two. Perhaps 89 Excitebike 64 US. They are most exciting is Tecmo's Dead or Alive If role-playing games are more your Kirby 64 designed to 2. We finally got the preview beta in thing, make sure to put down on your th = š š 5 5 Play ation ee run on our offices. Of course, we were hoping “Things to Get” list Grandia 11 for the 94 jummoner Japanese or mmo E i l А i D f Reiselied: Ephemeral Fantasia to get a reviewable by now, but with no reamcast and Vagrant Story for the Primal Image European PAL real versus mode, no stage select, no PlayStation (along with “more time to Golf Paradise : Systems. practice mode, no options, no this and play these RPGs"). These two games i Fe aun Fro Baseball; (ОПЕ Ene ot pasate т no that, we knew we'd have to be are gonna blow your mind. If you can 98 All Star Pro-Wrestling ` content with a nice preview instead, forget the Final Fantasy hype for just a 100 E aner even though for some odd reason, moment, you'll find plenty of other Ridge Racer V Tecmo said we could review this more-than-worthy alternatives. Oh 101 бастае Kongou incomplete version (so if you read any yeah, don't forget about SCEA's Legend The Bouncer reviews of DoA2 in competing mags of Dragoon and Wild ARMS 2 as well! this month, you'll know what kind of (All four of these RPGs are covered in 108 MediEvil II Y standards they're working with...). this issue.) 110 Koudelka — . б 12 Evil Dead: Hail to the Кіп Star Wars: Episode | Jedi Power Battles H3 Army Men: World War Speed Punks 114 Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed Vanishing Point Superbike 2000 115 WIdARMS2 © Rhapsody: А Musical Adventure 16 The РЫ of Dragoon WTC: World Touring Car Sammy Sosa Softball Slam WDW: Magical Racing Quest 120 Mobil 1 Rally Major League Baseball 2001 Test Drive Le Mans Grind Session 122 SEMEL Assault TEST YOUR High Heat Baseball 2001 124 Haan бип Survivor RPG KNOW-HOW 1. Dead or Alive 2 Dreamcast, March 2000 2. Vagrant Story PlayStation, Spring 2000 3. Resident Evil ZERO Nintendo 64, release date TBA 4. Grandia 11 Dreamcast, 04 2000 5. Power Stone 2 Arcade, Spring 2000 126 ШЕШ Sakura Without looking further into Super Robot Wars Alpha this issue, try to name the XI Jumbo RPGs below and the system on Chaos Break Game Boy Color Perfect Darl Warlocked which they belong: 0620 POCI 134 Metal Slu Dive Aler Faselei - uzzle Link 2 010 g: 2nd Mission 136 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker Power Stone 2 ТЕГ VP (5948 ]ea1 Aue aAeu },иѕә! әш! PUES Capcom 2 YON—BUIYION '3 Sd—Z SWAY РИМ `Q 20—11 erpuej9 3 Sg—/uois 1ueJ8eA "9 <4—и008е10 Jo pua8a] `V :51эм5и\у Take a deep breath and read carefully: THE MOST ANTICIPATED FIGHTING GAME Of THE ( DEAD OR ALIVE Æ) D Sega©Dreamcast. CONTENT RATES SY Dead or Alive 27” 2000 Tecmo Inc. Tecmo is a trademark of Tecmo Inc. Ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast iogo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, Ltd MILLENNIUM IS H€R€. You may now exhale. * RECIEVED THE HIGHEST HONOR AT JAPAN'S 1999 AMUSEMENT MACHINE SHOW. * "EXPECT IT TO VISUALLY OUTSHINE AYTHING ELSE AVAILABLE ON THE SYSTEM... IT SHOULD OFFER WHAT NO OTHER 3D FIGHTER HAS BEFORE." Next Gen 9/99 * THE MOST ADVANCED 3D POLYGON TECHNOLOGY EVER. ж “DOA 2 IS CURRENTLY LOOKING AMAZING..." Official Sega Dreamcast 9/99 Purchase Dead or Alive 2 and receive a ү poss Wil be sent поту to randomly selected арай Шү m H " while supplies last. Simply write "Send me the poster" on the product limited edition holographic poster featuring reply card provided inside the game package and mail it to Tecmo. the amazing warriors from the game. | This offer may be terminated without prior notice. ТЕСТО www.tecmoinc.com & ©1999 Universal Interactive Studios, Inc. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation PlayStation It’s not driving Its a motorized beat-down. Leave skid marks on 25 different tracks. Reduce your fellow drivers to roadkill. And if youre man enough to survive the hair- pin turns, you'll score a TURBO boost. Unless, of course, you get 86'ed bya TNT crate. Plug in the Multi Tap adaptor and up to four players can race to the ugly fin- ish. With over 12 playable characters inall. Basically, it’s a full-blown war on wheels. www.playstation.com Once he gets behind the wheel, things get ugly. F1ET1[T1E1[TI1E L Tecmo | Тесто-Теат Ninja tes 1-4 Fighting 3 80% И March 2000 Р52 © www.tecmoinc.com Best-looking game this side of Soul Calibur. — Tag battles are only fought on one stage. | Zack's “manssiere.” In a somewhat bizarre and backward twist, Dead Or | Alive 2 will not be coming out | for the Dreamcast in Japan. For once, a huge game is coming out only in America. Apparently, the decision came down from the top brass at Тесто in Japan, who | have had tensions with Sega | of Japan. On top of that, | unlike the success of the | Dreamcast їп the U.S. and Europe, its numbers are still numbingly miniscule in Japan. The version that Tecmo plans to release in Japan sometime this year is Dead Ог Alive 2 (probably under a different name) for the PS2. Tecmo Japan has also released an updated arcade version of DoA2 nicknamed the Millennium | version. Unfortunately, the | Millennium edition is sorely | missed on the DC DoA2. | Jann-Lee and Lei Fang make an excellent team together. Here, they slam Ayane into an explosive wall (right). Jann-Lee jumps into action with a kick (above). t occurred to us, during our long nights with the Dead Or Alive 2 beta this month, that some of you out there might have missed all the hype surrounding this second-generation Dreamcast fighter. Despite all that Team Ninja has accomplished in this amazing sequel to a decent Model 2 fighter, DoA2 still has the dangerous potential of being overlooked by commercial, if not critical success. And since we've never done an extensive hands-on report of DoA2, we thought a proper preview was in order. What we've been given by Tecmo is, hands down, the most visually arresting and technically impressive game on the Dreamcast yet. If the industry consensus, that the current generation of Dreamcast games are drawing on 50 percent of the System's resources, is true, then DoA2 is an incredible gauge of good things to come for Sega's last stand in the hardware business. As a sequel, DoA2 shares quite a few traits with another sequel by the name of Soul Calibur. For one, both games are absolute labors of love; Team Ninja’s complete dedication to visual realism and technical excellence rivals that of our beloved Calibur boys over at Namco R&D. And like Soul Calibur, DoA2 is a drastic improvement upon its predecessor. стек жара. s t % оез, ] i v жм Graphically, the game is leagues ahead of their initial offering on the Model 2. Team Ninja also tweaked the character balance and revamped the game's reversal system, after heeding complaints from frustrated gamers. The addition of full 3D movement, interactive backgrounds, multi-leveled arenas and tag battles add new layers of strategy to the brawl. Unlike more subtle changes to a game engine, the aforementioned upgrades could only have come by the power of better hardware. DoA2, at its core, is still very much the same game as the original DoA. In the arcade, the game rests on three buttons (punch, kick, free) and a stick. The free button is a multipurpose button used for moving about in 3D, and tapping for reversals. The Dreamcast version will have the option to use a modified, control pad-friendly layout. With the DC control scheme, you'll have the option of using a block button, as well as a dedicated throw button. In the arcade configuration, blocking is done by pulling back, a la Street Fighter Il. It isn't enough to simply say that DoA2 looks better or worse than Soul Calibur. Both games have hit a certain milestone of quality, so subjectivity will likely dictate which of the two you prefer when it comes time to judge. However, we should distinguish how the two games differ in their fields of visual excellence. DoA2 is breathtaking and graceful, powerful and sudden. Still pictures, as Walls and fences are great for rocking your opponents into a corner and then slamming them with a throw or a tag combo. impressive as they may look, can't hope to do justice to the game's 6o fps fluidity. The extensive amount of research and motion capture Team Ninja went through to reproduce the different fighting styles pays off in spades. When a character is struck by a heavy blow, he/she'll stagger in pain, double over and grimace, or hold his/her nose in silent agony. Also sophisticated is the way characters react to hits based on location and type. Kick somebody in his/her legs and he/she’ll collapse on the force of his/her own weight. Land a fist in somebody's gut and depending on his/her body mass and your strength, he/she'll double over or slam up against a wall. Realistic motion capturing also plays an important role in how characters Multi-leveled fighting arenas play an important role in DoA2's story mode. When you knock an opponent off a ledge, your character will always pursue the fallen victim. Here Jann-Lee knocks Hayabusa off a tall imperial palace (above). handle reversals and counters. Not only do they look cool, they're also useful against predictable combos. Other nice touches include being able to use walls and electric fences by slamming your opponent into them. Knocking your enemy off a ledge causes extra damage and your character will automatically jump down after them to ensue the fight. Not willing to be outdone, Team Ninja has also included a “tag battle" mode in DoAz. Like other team-based fighting games, certain combinations of fighters give you exclusive moves. For instance, Bass and Tina, the father/daughter wrestling team, have exclusive and devastating tag throws. Much like in advanced Tekken Tag play, tagging can also be used in a continuous juggle situation. Typical of most fighting games, timing is everything. The tag battles in DoA2 are by far the game's most promising and brilliant prospect; unfortunately, you can only play on one stage during tag battles. The final version of DoA2 will have a Story Mode, Time Attack Mode, Team Battle Mode, Versus Mode, Sparring Mode and the Tag Battle Mode. Last month, we promised you a review of DoA2 this issue. For a full explanation of why we're only running a preview this issue, check the reviews intro in Review Crew. In the meantime, salivate over these screenshots and dust off those arcade sticks... Because for the time being, DoA2 is the best-looking game out on the market. Period. ж Dead-Alive is а super gorefest by director Peter Jackson. This has got to be one of the goriest (and funniest) movies we've ever seen. It's also known as Braindead. Do check it out if you get the chance. Some of you may remember the bouncing boobs in the first DoA. Well, they're less distracting now, but we still have to put up with cleavage and panty shots. Just what IS Jann-Lee doing in the picture below? PREVIEW Acclaim Bizarre Creations 1-2 Action 65% June 2000 PS2, PC www.acclaim.com www.furballs.com Cute little creatures wielding big freaking guns. Outside of the weapons, it's quite Banjo-esque. Charred or bloodied fur from one of the baddies you kill. Presto Change-0! Like in Donkey Kong 64, Fur Fighters lets you change into different characters at various points in the game. The character you can change into is displayed within the bubble. This comes in particularly handy when you find yourself stymied by an obstacle or puzzle. For example, let's say you're in front of a wall you must scale. Chances are a bubble with Juliette the cat is nearby. Or maybe you need to dig underneath a fence—simply find the appropriate bubble, and become Roofus the dog. You get the idea. You'll change back and forth between characters throughout the game, as each of the game's six main characters has his/her own special ability. You're waging a war against the evil Viggo, so it's only natural you meet up with your commanding officers every now and again for advice. Levels will take you indoors and out, blowing holes through bad guys. Isn't it cute how that penguin uses a shotgun? his upcoming 3D action game stars a bunch of cute furry critters who are armed to the hilt with an array of heavy-duty weaponry. The game is best described as Banjo-Kazooie with huge colorful worlds and cutesy characters, with some Duke Nukem-styled action thrown in. It's a little weird, but strangely satisfying. All is not right in the world of the furballs. An evil general by the name of Viggo (who was once defeated by the peaceful critters of the Fur Fighter village) has returned. So being the bad guy that he is, he kidnaps the families of our six furry heroes. This leaves you with the task of rescuing all of your kin—and of course putting a stop to Viggo. So who are our heroes? Let's just call them the In the early 19th century, wealthy fellows wore hats made from expensive waterproof beaver fur (or pelts). To this day, these inner pelts are used in the finest cowboy hats. A good beaver Cowboy hat can easily cost $400 or more. A-Team of the animal kingdom. Here's the roster: Bungalow, a high-jumping kangaroo; Rico, a dumb penguin; Chang, a crafty red panda; Roofus, an old dog; Juliette, a frisky feline; and Tweek, a day-old dragon who doesn't know his a$$ from a hole in the ground. Each fur fighter has a unique attack and can use a slew of different weaponry ranging from a simple pistol to a gargantuan BFG-esque canon. Levels are gigantic and feature multiple objectives and a boss of some kind. They're also themed— some levels are set in a big city with towering skyscrapers and subways, others are more woodsy. Of course, stages are also littered with bad guys—or bad bears in this case. And even these enemies are cute in their own way. But the game isn't just about blowing away bad guys. You must also solve a number of puzzles per level, most of which are humorous. For example, in one case you must play a simon-says type dancing game against your Zebra commander. (with disco music playing the whole time). Sure, it's a simple game, but why is the Zebra dancing to disco? In addition to the game's main single-player mode, there's a fairly straightforward two-player head-to-head mode —though there is talk of four- player support. Visually, Fur Fighters is extremely sharp and uses a variety of special effects that really give the game an amazingly 3D cartoon-like look. Check www.videogames.com for more info. ж The series that started the whole survival horror thing is making a welcome return this fall thanks to Infogrames' revival of the franchise. Developed by DarkWorks, we'll see versions of the new game (technically the fourth part in the series) on the PC and the PlayStation as well. What we've seen so far looks incredibly impressive. The backdrops may be prerendered...but wow, they look good don't they? The hit Nintendo 64 and PC 600 mph pod racing game is scheduled to make an appearance on the Dreamcast this April (to coincide with the VHS release of The Phantom Menace). The DC conversion is practically perfect: it's as fast and smooth as you could possibly want it to be. The graphics are topnotch, and the frame-rate flies along nicely, even in the two-player split-screen mode (unfortunately, to meet the April deadline, the team didn't have enough time to implement a four- player option). The Dreamcast version will also have some non-gameplay Internet features (you'll be able to post and compare high scores), and LucasArts is planning on revolving some promotions and contests around them. TANTI YOUR casn. Which Create-A-Wrestler character do you think would win in a fight? Gamer's Whiskey Marc 271 EGM's Elephant Sak 3019 [ еоватев.сот'в E-40 86 Source: videogames.com online poll $ PREVIEW GALLERY Silver was one of those games that was in development forever. Originally a project for Ocean Software (remember them?) in the U.K., the game eventually came out on the PC through Infogrames last year. Despite the build-up and the hype, it was met with a lukewarm reception on the PC thanks to its "console-like" RPG sensibilities. That'll do nicely for the Dreamcast then, thank you. Set in a traditional knights, big swords and monsters environment, the game should be with us this summer. Thanks to Crave and Treyarch, Tony Hawk has never looked so beautiful...and we are talking about the game here, not the pro skater himself. (Although, we suppose the handful of ladies out there who read the mag may think Tony Hawk is a hunk.) That's pretty much it really—the game itself is just like the PlayStation version as far as gameplay goes. What you're getting is an amazing upgrade to the graphics. Look for it in May. VAWÜPI AN]. 1000, Everything you want to know about skateboarding: News on skateboarding, where to skate, what to buy and where to buy it, how to do tricks, links to 'zines and a whole lot more: www.skateboard.com i а TH № < = mm № МНЯ *|f you're too lazy to go online and see this awe- some game for real, here are some motionless, four color dots on 201һ, recycled paper that do this game no justice what so ever. For example, in frame 3 you can't see that the goalie read you like a trashy novel since you tried your lame-o deke three times already, or that the game has over 1,000 motion captured moves, or that you can make line changes on the fly. And this piece of paper can't give you the mighty sound of your final, heroic one- timer: DINK. So why don't you stop dinking around and see it for real at sega.com/games Sega 9 Dreamcast IT'S THINKING Sû Iwas down 2-1 with under а minute leftinthethird. ° He was in my end, burning up the clock, passing the puck around like a plate of hot buffalo wings. So I drilled — | him into the boards, chopped it loose, and we go screaming up the ice. My winger is flying down the side, and | feed him. He fires it across to Shanahan. 4%. : Shanahan flicks it to me. | hear the slap, and then it's like everything slows down. | see the little knots on the net and Cet <. the scratches on the pipes, | see that biscuit spinning, the š SS GOALIE TWISTING, FALLING, ICE SPRAYING UP OFF HIS SKATES, AND | WONDER IS THIS JUST AS | mean, go to sega.com/games and then you i tell me. All I'm saying is, the next thing | know E Же. I'm getting called for boarding my brother into EM S и жы the brickwork onthe fireplace. You've gotta be kidding me. Like that's a foul? Come on man, my skates never left the ісе... *SCREEN GRABS SUCK. SEE IT FOR REAL AT sega.com/games Ni š RE BORN. Sega (o Dreamcast. @ , enhanced version of the ic is laying siege to your Sega Dreamcast" and PlayStation® game console, with brand new-animated seque kingdoms, secrets, sub-quests, power- ғ: ups and an expanded sto e that only Midway can deliver! b uci A A x PREVIEW GALLERY Races Penelope Pitstop. Dick Dastardly. Adult entertainment stars or long- lost cartoon characters? If you're old enough, then you probably do remember the two and the cartoon on which they starred. Now, the entire gang of daredevils is gearing up for something that's probably long overdue: Wacky Races, the video game (for DC, PS, GBC and PC). The DC version is being developed by Infogrames’ Sheffield House, and will feature several different “Wacky Racers" and their respective vehicles. The Slag Brothers' Boulder Mobile, for example, has the power to go off-roading and crash into small obstacles without losing any speed. Penelope on the other hand, has that special charm that will encourage А! cars to politely get out of her way. You'll also have power- ups and gadgets to pick up on the track that will help to ensure victory. Just think Mario Kart, only with more racing-oriented tracks. This one- to four-player (split-screen) game is due to hit store shelves sometime this summer from Infogrames. UFO Interactive brings NEC's Japanese DC title Espion-agents (developed by Hunex) to the U.S. in April. Eight agents take on corporate power as they carry out missions for top-secret clients. Control multiple characters, solve puzzles, and save the world. Co-developed by Kalisto and Universal, and published by Konami, this sequel looks to be 10 times the game the original was— graphically and otherwise. Once again you're up against Dr. Crowley, except this time he's trying to become immortal. This April release is set in gothic Victorian England and has a decidedly horrific Marilyn Manson-esque cast. It's at least twice the size of the first game, with new enemies. 10 To find spy equipment on the Internet, check out www.mrspy.com. Here, you can order night-vision scopes, bug detectors or even armor plating for your car (S7o,ooo+). Note: We are not endorsing this stuff, we're just telling you about it. Order at your own risk! Buy? Or sell? Either way, it's half off. And so are tons of other used books, movies, music and games. No risks. No bidding. No matter the reason. h If.coi | ] 2000 Half.com, Inc. Half.com and the Half.com logo are service marks of Half.com, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are | the property of their respective owners. Prices based on half off retail. Quantities vary. * Limited time offer; see www.half.com for details. FREE Shipping on books & CDs right now* Strange game name of the month: Sega GT: Homo Pocket for the VMU. The racer/virtual pet hybrid has you taking charge of Mr. Racer in order to make him a better driver. PREVIEW GALLERY One last Code: Veronica update before the review! Below are the first screens of the new "Battle Game" mode that opens up after you beat E A the main game. In this mode, you choose a character and run through a 7 ык bunch of rooms, cleaning house until nobody's left. You can play this р ) Ж mode in first-person, too! Beating the Ва Ше Game opens up additional at nr? д secrets. As for the screens to the right...hmm, what could THAT be? E. ҮШ ІІ богсегіап originally appeared more than a decade ago on an old Japanese platform called the PC-88. Now Victor Interactive has given Sorcerian a 128-Bit 3D facelift. The game will hit shelves this spring. Who isn't salivating at the prospect of Sega's Gran Turismo beater? Boasting some absolutely incredible visuals, the game is set to be released in Japan any day now, and will be out in the U.S. by the summer. There'll be lots of cool licensed cars, some spectacular visuals, and (we're reliably informed) a whole host of VMU mini-games that have been sponsored by the car manufacturers. 12 [РЇ , ЕТП TE BABES) Animated Violence Animated Blood and Gore Strong Sexual Context К (s^ PlayStation AIL other trademarks are the property ol their respective companies. Check Out: Can't get enough of Grandia II? Make sure to hit http:/ /www.mygale.org/feena/rpg/grandia2/ 1-06 an excellent site with the latest information on the progress of Grandia II as it makes its way to the PREVIEW Dreamcast. GALLERY Square wasn't the only developer busy with announce- ments this month. To the gleeful sigh of DC owners worldwide, Game Arts has revealed the first wave of details concerning Grandia 11, a game many thought to be MIA on the DC just a few months ago. Taking after a Final Fantasy tradition, Grandia II will feature an entirely new cast of characters in a world unrelated to the previous game. It's a world divided by an ancient conflict between the Gods, and in typical fashion, there's new evil on the rise and only your party of naive adventurers can set things right. So far, only a handful of characters have been introduced— Rudo the monster hunter, Elena a student priestess, Millenia the magic-user, Miracle the brutish beastman, and Lauren, a 13-year- old femme-boy. A bizarre skeleton crew to be sure, but one we're confident will turn out to be appealing. There's not much to say about the gameplay right now, but we hope Grandia's pseudo Active Time Battles return in an improved capacity. The game is slated for a summer release overseas...expect Sega to bring this thing out sometime in Q4. 14 ТНЕ ҒАТ oF Wo RLD IS "YCILI HANDS. LITERALLY. TERRORISM CAN STRIKE ANYWHERE. ESPECIALLY NOW THAT THE REAL-LIFE INTENSITY ОҒ Там CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX IS AVAILABLE ON THE GAME BOY COLOR VIDEO GAME SYSTEM. TAKE COMMAND OF АМ ELITE MULTI-NATIONAL STRIKE FORCE AND PROTECT THE WORLD AGAINST THE SCOURGE OF TERRORISM. CAREFULLY CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS AND STRATEGY. THEN BOLDLY EXECUTE YOUR MISSION—AND YOUR FOES—IN REAL TIME. WITH RAINBOW SIX AND YOUR GAME BOY COLOR YOU CAN FINALLY CUT TERRORISM DOWN TO SIZE. m * BREAKTHROUGH COMBINATION DF ACTION AND STRATEGY NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON THE GAME Boy COLOR. ° TWO GAME MODES: TOP-DOWN OR FIRST PERSON WHEN THE ACTION HEATS UP. ® EXECUTE ASSAULTS GN TERRORIST INSTALLATIONS WITH UP TO EIGHT OPERATIVES, ® NIGHT VISION GOGGLES TO IMPROVE STEALTH IN NIGHT TIME MISSIONS. 4 т ° SNIPER MODE TO РІБК DFF ENEMIES Ih i AT A SAFE DISTANCE. ™ 4 INTEL » 4 ОНИ CLARK Commander of the RRIMEON counter-terrorism teon finerican. Mo information available on data or i pace of birth. L ” education. or militory ЕЕЕ experience. Recruited by CLIP PHOS finerican Central Intelligence Agency | {тогел Arnavisca, S NINTENDO 5^ z 4 WERPÜN2 +) 45172» Г WKMPSERE | Red Stor PREVIEW GALLERY #208 It seems it's not enough to һауе the funky Seamen on their roster. Sega is determined to corner the market on truly bizarre “games” that redefine what to expect out of a console. Vaguely ensconced in the “god- game" genre, you are an unseen entity in Roommania, who must influence the events that surround the main character, Taihei Neji. You achieve this by hurling invisible balls at items in his room in an attempt to get him to attend to said items. Possibly on track for bizarre gaming event of the year, Roommania #203 (already out in Japan) has "this year's Seaman" stamped all over it. Don't expect SoA to bring over this particular “virtual-pet” (unlike Seaman, which is coming out here). Another King of Fighters '99 for the Dreamcast? Let us explain: KOF Dream Match '99 which came out from SNK last year was actually KOF '98 from the arcade. That alone warrants a new release for KOF fans, since the true KOF '99 added new characters, as well as the ability to choose a "striker" to support your fighting triumvirate. Evolution will also feature a slew of | support for NGPC games such as KOF R-2. Watch for it in March. The original Daisenryaku for the Megadrive was compatible with the system's built-in modem for head- to-head play. You could also use a multi-tap and play four people simultaneously. In the land of the rising sun, no game console is complete without a version of Daisenryaku. You might remember the Saturn version as Iron Storm here in America. Expect absolute anality when it comes to re-creating the units and the essential battles of WWII. Like previous versions, battles are played out in real-time 3D sequences. WAD, developed by Systemsoft, will be published by Sega and arrives in March. 16 Еау гапот Ej = CompUSA Your Gaming Headquarters. Play now, Sleep later. БЕН AER ЕЕ mma А BRE] F! =a THE COMPUTER SUPERSTORE ° Internet games Ве] NOW IT'S ON THE NET UNLEASHING THE ULTIMATE HORROR: YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS. Sega@' Dreamcast CONSTRUCTION 0 04-4 dig UNIT -| EX. modem Point ot onain | Eugene, Oregon Screen Name: CapnCarnage "I stuck a cat in your rocket, you backass Tuscaloosa cracker. He's in there chewing your mice. But you probably eat mice yourself when you run out of possum. you monster truck-loving, buck-toothed hillbilly. And you other two mentally challenged dopes: hang up. | won? Time Remaining: 00.00.00. % Total Мїсе Оп Board: 779 ж Golden Palms Rest Community, Point of Origin | Tempe Arizona Screen Name: Peaches “I'm nude? Time Remaining: 00.00.00 Total Mice On Board: 329 4% E ч 2 Mouse Мана! ez mnj El Tuscaloosa, Alabama Screen Name: WhiteLightning "Shut up. Cap'nCarnage. you don't know bull- diddly doo. | don't love monster trucks | am not dumb. | had to go to the crapper is how the cat get in. | am smart. | went to State. For oo years. So you can just kiss my chu chu: Time Remaining: 00.00.00 Total Mice On Board: 0+1cat scale 1:32), сеа this great nation. Lead stampeding race against time while you sick vicious kitties | 75 massive levels and five different modes. Focus on Omikron: A quick chat with Phillip Campbell, Senior Designer at Eidos Interactive, who has worked closely with the Quantic Dream team over the last two years..... Omikron: The Nomad Soul - What is it? ? Omikron: The Nomad Soul is а futuristic real-time adventure that is being developed by a talented development group in Paris, Quantic Dream. The game's ambitious storyline and gameplay elements transcend the narrow confines of traditional gaming genres, combining a deep game plot with adventure, exploration, action, combat and role-playing elements: in order to fully immerse gamers into the Omikron world. What is your title and role for Omikron? I'm the Senior Designer for Eidos Interactive (USA), and have been walking the streets of Omikron for over two years “maintaining Eidos Interactive's commitment to design". Basically that means a bit of everything! Concept and level design, additional story, voice-talent wran- gling, translations, integrating the 'Bowie' aspects of the game....0f course I'm always in Guard of honor. Special Advertising Section < Soyinka, Queen of the Azkeels. total agreement with my two producersj/Herve Albertazzi in the UK and shadow producer Tom Marx in the US, Almost always... If possible put Omikron's story in a "nutshell". The game of Omikron is essentially a trap. From the moment you walk into your local shop and see the Omikron box on the shelves you're play- ing the game, being lured into the trap - imagine a device similar to the Hellraiser cube, it's a com- pelling and beautiful object that you MUST explore. Omikron is a parallel universe, existing in real-time alongside Earth, and once your soul is projected into its dark streets there is no turn- ing back until you succeed, or fail. You arrive in Omikron in possession of a body you do not know, for reasons you cannot fathom. From this point on you will have to talk, investigate, fight, drive, shoot, ride and explore your way to the conclusion of the game - and gain deliverance from this strange dimension. David Cage, the boss of Quantic Dream, has Spent over 3 years creating his singular, unique vision of Omikron - it's all we can do to keep up with his flights of imagination! How many characters can you possess (upon death)? Is there a limit? Are they all fleshed out in this 'world city'? There are about 40 characters that you can ‘incarnate’. This may be as a result of death or by your own choice. One of the skills you develop is the ability to freely choose who you will be next. Death is by no means ‘The End’. In Omikron, the player never has to 'Quit', simply, the next person that arrives at the scene of your demise becomes you. Once you gain the ability to incarnate other char- acters, the only limit is the strength of your skill. You may happen upon a body you are particu- larly keen on, say outside the Arena, or in the local Pharmacy. Then, it's a matter of your mana strength as to whether you can project your soul into that character or not. Each character you can play has many traits, everything from a name to a unique skill set. Some characters even have apartments, jobs, or family. Some are better at certain skills than others, you may find it easler to fight if you are in possession of a strong, fast character, or you may find it easier. Shoot-out at the supermarket. to sneak through a forbidden installation in the guise of a Guard. One of the pleasures of the game occurs when you take on a new character: as you pick up some of the threads of THEIR life. You may find yourself diverted from your main purpose to, for example, spend more time ‘interacting’ with your new wife, or helping Jorg to become "Master of the Arena". Incarnate as a Special Advertising Section Mecaguard alert! Taar Monk, and you will not only'gaimr'access to the secret fighting techniques of the Taar, but also may feel a spiritual need to "walk the plan- et", misquoting religious tracts and writing bad poetry! Tell us about the engine capabilities please. Phew! Of course it's not just about technical capabilities, glossy special effects and variety of big guns, the measure of Quantic's success lies in whether they've succeeded in making an immensely playable and REAL world to experi- ence. Here's some of what you get! * A full-featured first-person shooter engine, with mouse control, intelligent enemies and interactive, cinematic interludes. * A totally 3D fighting engine, with combos, spe- cial moves, each fighter and opponent with unique styles. * A revolutionary ‘learning’ system - not only can you research and learn the rudiments of good investigation technique (adventuring, if you will) but fighting and shooting skills can be constantly improved. In shooting, players can learn their skills and practice different weapons at the many virtual shooting galleries throughout the city. You may even get some insight into guerrilla tactics from Krill, the resident weaponry expert. For fighting, most characters have access to virtual training centers, where they fight holographic enemies, and later, masters of the fighting art will demonstrate and teach the player new moves, combos etc. And, of course, if you're brave enough, there's always the Arena... The ability to explore many diverse zones of the city surrounded by hundreds of passers-by and vehicles. Every door has something behind it, adding to the richness of the story. Add to this over 40 possible reincarnations and over a hundred speaking characters... Iman 1631 takes no prisoners in the boys’ locker room. Be careful! Reshev knows where you are... * Full body and facial motion capture for the first time ever in a game, coupled with hours of dialogue. In Omikron, conversations are never static! * Realistic day/night cycles, random snow and rain, * Virtual concerts and a fully cinematic 'game- track' of original music. * A cohesive and dynamic story, in the mould of the classic adventure games of the past, Investigating the Red Light District. with a scenario that starts perhaps reminis- cent of the Blade Runner genre, but develops into something altogether more magical... © Oh, ok then....DAZZLING special effects and REALLY BIG GUNS!!! Here's Omikron in figures: * More than 400 different sets in 4shuge cities e More than 140 types offfeharacters in 3D real-time ® More than 300 objects that сап be manipulated * Hundreds of passers-by and vehicles move about in the streets * Two years to write the scenario ° 3.9 kilos of game design * Thousands of sketches in the graphical design * 4 hours of dialogues with more than 1200 responses * 693 moves in motion capture * 35 people working over 3 years, including 11 programmers. *489 Pizzas, 302 hamburgers, 71 chicken pineapples with Cantonese rice, 894 litres of coke * 411 taxi bills Equals - one realistic world, complete gaming freedom, who will you be next? Everyone, hard-core gamers, and novices alike, all start from the same place — alone, confused, scared. It's up to you and your soul to decide what to do next. Take advantage of the training, or just pile straight in? Go shopping, of go shoot something? Talk or fight? Follow the noble cause and save Omikron, or just hang about your apartment listening to cool music - it's all up to you... О and A courtesy of C/Net's Gamecenter.com Omikron: The Nomad Soul is a trademark; Copyright @ 1999 Quantic Dream. EID0S; EIDOS INTERACTIVE logo are all registe galis registered in the US ast and the Dreamcast lo trademarks or trademarks of Sega Ent ENTERPRISES, LTD. : The ratings icon i Software Association. EIDOS.COM WIUMANOMADSOUL.COM ІСТЕЙ kemo Developer: Kemco Payers: ВА соле Action % one: 90% April 2000 [um Pc www.top-gear.com Aside from the usual Quake-like action, there are some RPG elements as well. The story is a bit contrived and cumbersome. The graphics, while decent, could be better. Conspicuous by their absence are the PC version's cool artificial intelligence sidekicks. The characters Superfly and Mikiko are able to join the squad after Hiro rescues them in the PC game. Once included in the group, players can give them simple commands like attack this enemy, get health power-up, stay here and guard, and follow me but don't engage enemies. It's like playing a co-op mode by yourself. Our preview copy of the N64, version only allowed us to choose the sidekicks for multiplayer deathmatch. Perhaps the complex AI routines are too much for the N64 to handle, but one can hope that the sidekicks make it into the final version. riginally intended to be an Atari 2600 launch title (joking), Kemco has been working hard on the N64 port of John Romero's PC game: Daikatana. While the hype-machine has been rolling for years now about the PC edition, the N64 version is nearing completion. The story starts you off in the year 2455 in Kyoto, Japan with Hiro Miyamoto (the main character) attempting to recover the stolen Daikatana—an ancient sword that allows its wielder to travel through time. The sword is in the fortress of the evil Kage Mishima, who has wrongfully been using the powers of Daikatana to secure himself as ruler of the world. It seems that a terrible plague has killed two-thirds of the planet's population and Kage has traveled back in time and stolen the vaccine. Sadly, he only gives out the potent cure to those he feels should live. Hiro must recover Daikatana and put things right. What sets Daikatana apart from other М64 first- Since Romero co- authored Quake, Daikatana was bound to have some Quake- inspired baddies. Check out this ae tough guy. Does Ex4 he look familiar? If your dream vacation is ancient Greece then you'd better bring your Discus of Daedalus to fend off the nasty locals. person shooters? Well, for one this pup has more than a few RPG elements. Hiro has stats that increase when he gets enough experience points or collects certain power-ups. Don't be fooled however, this is still very much an action game. In Daikatana players frag through four distinctly different eras. Each one has its own unique set of bad guys and firepower. The cities include: futuristic Japan, ancient Greece, medieval Norway and San Francisco about 30 years from now. The numbers are impressive with each era contributing to the game's total of 25 weapons, 50-plus enemies and over 30 levels. Sometimes it feels like Quake, Hexen and Duke Nukem (sans humor) all rolled into one. Daikatana takes advantage of the RAM Pak for high-res graphics with little or no slowdown. The character models, while simple, look sharp. The plethora of imaginative weapons range from a medieval crossbow to a mystical staff of entwined snakes, to a powerful shockwave cannon. Whether the player is exploring the catacombs of ancient Greece or the streets of 21st-century San Francisco, the multiple environments provide a great backdrop to the title's seek-and-destroy persona. Multiplayer supports up to four players in deathmatch or Jewel Quest Modes. Unfortunately, only two multiplayer levels were included in our preview copy. Hopefully Kemco can shore-up all the loose ends before Daikatana's release this April. БЯ in five expansive regions of the world provide extreme driving action. Every game is different. The results of each mission will change the game sequence. 1 HC ui Unique strategies are required to accomplish each mission's objective. Drive anywhere, dodge traffic and mow down anything in your path to complete the mission. Some missions require driving fast, setting bombs, crashing gates or tailing and smashing allow you to rage through each assigned mission. Some missions may require changing vehicles to complete your objective. Select from cars, motorcycles, dragsters, trucks, vans, tanks, missile launchers and more! Check changes to suspension, brakes, tires and acceleration on a test course. боШ enemies in the dust! LI www.runabout2;cbm info@runabout2.com & ” м pee тавад е < 4 PlayStation IDEMARK OF HOT-B USA, ING. НОТ-В IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF HOT-B USA, INC. DEVELOPED BY CLIMAX LTD. CO. PLAYSTATION AND THE ر ماللا ما‎ ARE INGS ICON IS A TRADEMARK'OF THE INTERACTIVE DIGITAL SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION. ALL OTHER TRADEMARKSHARE.THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE ОМИ Я @turok.com Love Turok? Go to www.turok.com and you can register for an @turok.com e-mail address. PREVIEW GALLERY Resident Evil ZERO Capcom has finally unveiled the long-rumored N64-specific prequel to Resident Evil, Resident Evil Zero. RE Zero stars Rebecca Chambers and details the events that took place before the original RE game. While there isn’t much info yet, we do know that Rebecca won't be the only playable character, and that the Item Box won't be in the game (ouch!). There's no date yet, but you can expect more info on this one soon... Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Just in case you still have some respect for the fast-deteriorating Turok franchise, Acclaim is set to rush out yet another installment before the end of the year. Big monsters, big guns and fast action are the order of the day again, but let's hope that Acclaim doesn't release the thing before it's ready this time. Turok 2 and Rage Wars both had potential, but were spoiled by problems. PLEASE Acclaim, don't ruin it again. Looney Tunes: Duck Dodgers Paradigm isn't known for 3D platform games, but DD looks like a good first effort. As the story goes, Marvin the Martian has built the ultimate weapon to destroy the earth. The weapon requires energy atoms which are scattered around the universe. Daffy must find them before Marvin's boys do, etc., etc. Five planets, cute mini-games and lots of gizmo power- ups permeate this June Infogrames title. 84 Over 180 hours of intense strategy and combat with two intersecting storyline scenarios i = = Rotate the detailed, fully 30 environtments to determine the best strategic moves and attacks р” _ Position your fighting machines carefully, then do. battle with an arsenal of ranged and melee weapons 20 2 ТЕ d Upgrade your robots weapons, computer. moves. + and more - or simply capture and use а new one A HEAVY-DUTY STRATEGY EXPERIENCE 3 у SQUARESOFT © 1999, 2000 Square Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. SQUARE SOFT and the Animated Violence SQUARESOFT logos are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. FRONT MISSION 3 is a trademark of Square Co., Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation www.squaresoft.com < s: У Ж logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Published by Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. The ratings icon is a trademark ol the Interactive Digital Software Association. <> PlayStation DREAMCAST Berzerk Berserk is a white-knuckle experi- ence that keeps your finger on the attack button. The best Final Fight- type game to appear in ages. 02 Part real-time third-person adven- ture, part first-person shooter, D2 combines all of these elements into one highly anticipated stew. ESPN Baseball Far fans of the ESPN TV productions, this game is designed to represent the coverage as well as the game itself. A sports fans dream! Nightmare Creatures 2 1gth century London is threatened by an onrush of gruesome beasts controlled by the evil Adam Crowley in this highly atmospheric game. Seaman А game, in one sense, and a virtual existence sort of experiment in another. Highly addictive. Тезшет! Evi! Code Veronica Play as either Claire or Chris Redfeild in Capcom's latest survival horror Е title. Sure to be nothing short of a huge hit on the Dreamcast. Grand Theft Auto 2 The insanely popular 2D gangster game gets updated, improved and enhanced for Sega’s box. Not for children...or the feint hearted. ESPN NBA 2 Night High realism comes to the courts with everything there is in the real game, including the media coverage. Tech Romancer If you've ever gotten a kick out of watching giant-monster films, then you'll most likely dig Tech Romancer. MOK 2 Visually stunning locations including Earth, various spacecraft and a paral- lel dimension round out this action- packed adventure title. Metropolis Two miles of various cities recon- structed and weather conditions - like rain, wind, and fog - will factor in to your race. A great street racer. PLAYSTATION Arena Football From the makers of the popular NFL Blitz series, Midway, this game goes one step farther in the “no-holds- barred” football arena. Army Men World War This sequel to the hit Army Men 3D dares you to battle the Tan nemesis in 25+ missions over six different ter- rains. All-new weapons await you... Baldur's Gate In the same vein as AD&D, the region around Baldur's Gate is in turmoil. А shortage of metal is threatening the commoners and they need your help. 5 Dead or Alive 2 In Тесто’ latest Dead or Alive install- ment, you'll find multi-level stages, a Tag Match mode, and new characters such as Helena, an opera singer. Grind Session With a hardcore approach, Sony takes its turn entering the ever-popu- lar skateboarding game park. MediEvil 2 In Sony’s sequel to the PS MediEvil, this time there’s a slew of new enemies and levels, increased puzzle-solving and more character interaction. Nightmare Creatures 2 The sinister Adam Crowley has escaped to the 2oth century, where he encounters new monsters which means more gore and blood! Speed Punks Blast foolish opponents out of your = way with a variety of weapons, including missiles and green ooze. Great four-player racing fun! The Legend of Dragoon This game from Sony is a combina- tion of scrolling fighting action and platform jumping that has a distinctly old-school flavor to it. Marvel fans and hard-core fighting fans alike will agree this latest X-Men game has it all: story mode, high-end cutscenes, fully 3D backgrounds, etc. lunar 2 The success and level of interest in the first Lunar assures that we get the sequel. RPG fans should set some time aside for this. Gauntlet Legends Midway’s popular update of the ancient arcade game brings the whole thing into 3D. Best played with three friends (or enemies.) UODEUPOBÈ BOK MORE GAMES FOR LESS The Hottest Pre-Orders NINTENDO 64 Turn your snowboard into an airboard and hover inches above the ground! Test your skills in a two-player versus mode, with over 80 different moves. Excitebike 64 Reminiscent of the original Excitebike, but in 3D. With top-notch graphics, a Custom Track Mode and two- to four-player, don’t miss it! World Rally Challenge 2000 With nine courses in such locations as Spain, Brazil, Italy and others, offi- cially licensed cars and a four-player mode, this game has it all. Perfect Dark The one everyone is waiting for. Due for an April release...the follow-up to GoldenEye could well be one of the most successful games ever. StarCraft 64 The conversion of the top-selling PC realtime strategy game has been on the way for some time. Make sure you get yours first. GAMEBOY COLOR Army Men World War You'll be able to take all your tiny green men wherever you go with 300% handheld version of their flag- ship series. MIB 2 Based on the hit Men in Black fran- chise, this title is sure to be a hit with humans and aliens alike. WCW Mayhem All the action on the mats and off are in this WCW-licensed game. Great gameplay with lots of options. Monster Rancher Battle Cards Following the trend of monster- raising games making good card battle games, this franchise gets reinvented for Game Boy. Battletanx 300% popular tank battling game comes to the handheld world with a distinctly old-school feel. Cruise around and blow stuff up. $10 off our tert $a or nore $20 Off your order ot 5100 or more* Use VIP EGMA2 code in the shopping cart tarn points toward tree games with every purchase you пк)? icon make at UGOdirect.com. Create an account and track your point total on our site using your e-mail address and by Creating your own password. Then fill "em in on this card so you won't forget ‘em! What could be easier? WORE GAMES FOR LESS e * (Offer expires May 15, 2000 and is limited to one per customer) The Coolest What | Want: FREQUENT R t R | BUYER есеп 16184565 DREAMCAST PRICE — POINTS Time Stalkers 3 Berzerk $42.95 83 From the people who brought из the п 02 $49.95 50 cassie hara RRG; hee J ESPN Baseball $39.95 40 огвеои5 visuals...an е adde "m bonus of lots of VMU games. т 2. Creatures 2 ais š Dead or Alve 2 1 Resident Evil Code Veronica $40.95 45 м; течи нара ^ Dreamcast they look better than Е ESPN NGA 2 Night $39.95 " ever. Another great fighting game. — Tech Romancer $33.95 з — Wait о мок 2 538.95 39 Acclaim's WWF Attitude engine gets Q Metropolis Mes = overhauled and packed with up-and- coming ECW fighters. More extreme, PLAYSTATION more violent...more, more, more. О Arena Football $36.95 31 Fear Effect Q Army Men World War $36.95 31 Eidos launches a new franchise with С Baldur's Gate 536.95 37 а cool Resident Evil-like adventure Q Dead or Alive 2 $31.95 38 featuring groovy anime-style charac- O Grind Session $36.95 31 ter art and Blade Runner-like story. О MediEvil 2 $36.95 E] WWF Smackdown Q Nightmare Creatures 2 $36.95 3 B THQ picks up the WWF license where O Speer Punks $36.95 31 Acclaim left off and brings us one of í the most impressive-looking Û The Legend of Dragoon $39.95 40 wrestling games yet. О X-Men $36.95 37 t 1 43 Die Hard Trilogy 2 a Lunar 2 $42.95 Follows the same format аз the origi- Q Gauntlet Legends $37.95 38 nal...driving, shooting and 30 action. Completely new story though...noth- NINTENDO 64 ing to do with the movies. Weird. О AirBoardin’ USA $46.95 " Pokémon Stadium С ExciteBike 64 $46.95 п Train your Pokémon and load them С мойи Rally Challenge 2000 $46.95 п Be into your на b ns ш O Perfect Dark 556,95 51 ак so you can баще It out In glorious 30. С StarCraft 64 $41.95 48 Carmageddon 64 GAME BOY COLOR Another violent car game...this time m in a translation of the worldwide hit a Army Men World War "s " PC game. Perform cunning stunts, a MIB 2 $2185 28 and run over pedestrians. Q WCW Mayhem $26.95 2 : Mission. Impossible a Monster Rancher Battle Cards $26.95 n One of the coolest products for the 2 Battletanx $26.95 п Game Boy ever. It's not just а game...turn your handheld into а RECENT RELEASES mini PDA and remote control. J Time Stalkers $19.95 m Resident Evil — Dead or Mive 2 $39.95 40 Г о it could be J ECW Hardcore Revolution $43.95 44 one...but the Game Boy version is incredible. The whole story...and Q Fear Effect sus 38 even with speech. Q WWF Smackdown $39.95 40 О Die Hard Trilogy 2 $36.95 37 You Got The Descriptions... Q Pokémon Stadium $51.95 58 NOW GET THE GAMES! О Carmageddon 64 $54.95 55 Fill in this handy CHECKLIST Q Mission: Impossible $28.95 29 and use it as a guide when you: Q Resident Evil $26.95 21 * shop online at UGOdirect.com, TOTAL ° call in your order to 1-800-335-0046, or ° place your order through the mail Check UGOdirect.com for current prices by sending us your checklist. алағауаййтаған C:o" MORE GAMES FOR LESS My Password Check your Frequent Buyer Points account any time through the Member Services section at UGOdirect.com Ordering Information FIRST NAME LAST NAME ADDRESS CITY ‘STATE ТІР CODE TELEPHONE E-MAIL ADDRESS YOUR TOTAL (FROM OTHER SIDE): SHIPPING INFORMATION: US Postal Service: Priority Mail, 2-5 business days, $4.00 Federal Express*: -Express Saver, 2 business days, $4.75 -Economy, 2 business days, $6.75 -Standard Overnight, Next business morning, $9.75 *FedEx delivery within continental US only. Delivery to PO Boxes not available. 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UGO, the UGO logo, UGOdirect.com, and More Games For Less are registered trademarks or service marks of UGO Networks, Inc. Other product names or logos used herein may be registered or trademarks of their respective publisher or manufacturer. : 3 b { 8 Y | E MORE GAMES FOR LESS | Excitebike, Nintendo's classic | 1984 NES game, is still top- notch in our book. Check out the preview of the long-awaited | sequel below. PREVIEW GALLERY Excitehike 64 These new screens may make the Excitebike 64 look like a regular ol’ motocross title, but this one- to four-player game has more in common with the NES classic than we first thought. For starters, the original 2D Excitebike is contained here (and note you can now save your custom tracks—a feature missing from the original), along with a 3D, behind-the-bike version that captures the feel of the NES game perfectly. Excitebike 64 also packs an expansive desert level (much like the open stages in Motocross Madness for the PC), an oddly fun multiplayer soccer game and a hillclimbing event. Of course, you also get the standard motocross action seen in these screens, as well as a complex track editor. Developed by Nintendo- funded Left Field Productions, Excitebike 64 will be published by Nintendo in May. Supercross 2000 JMS 2000 features 16 official "m indoor and outdoor tracks plus 125 VES, n p and 250 cc bikes. Other notables 5 include: а custom track editor, four-player split screen, Create-a- Championship and a Stunt Ride Mode. Free-roaming through the practice areas (beaches, deserts and forests) is an interesting new feature as well. Acclaim will release JMS 2ooo this spring. Kirby 64 Nintendo released more screenshots of Kirby 64, set for stateside release in June. There were huge lines to play this for only a few minutes at last year’s Space World in Japan—largely because of Kirby's popularity. The game has both standard side-scrolling levels and some with multiple layers of depth. And as always, he can suck up his enemies and use their special abilities or combine them with others. ы m “Better Than Arcade | Perfect!” 5 = САМЕ FAN Street Fighter Alpha 3 rocks your world with new features and astonishing arcade perfection. Choose from over 30 characters, each with 3 different fighting styles. Street Fighter Alpha 3 is -— with new enhancements and modes of play — like the around-the-world, skill building World Tour Mode and amazing Dramatic Battle brawl. If it's a fight you're looking for, this is your game! Sega PlayStation ® Dreamcast. C—SUSEI-N © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 20 2000. ALL RIGHTS RESER\ _ Seda ü : * You're in the Kill Zone. * Night Fight. ACSC COMBAT B eleSetrosphere * Lock and Load. FROM THE MAKERS OF AIR COMBAT EVERYONE س‎ > | | PlayStation | ЯШ PlayStation! > If you've always wanted to learn how to ---1 | — golf ог polish your existing skills, why not learn from PGA and LPGA pros? Check out Paradise Golf School on the Web for PREVIEW detailed info: www.golf-florida.com GALLERY ci i a ENA With Summoner, Volition and THQ want “to produce the most exciting and immersive role-playing experience for the PS2." And if looks alone could determine the validity of this statement...well, let's just say things are looking pretty sweet. This fall 2000 release features an epic story line filled with tons of characters, plenty of amazing in- game cinematics and special effects, party-based multiplayer and more. erm Could Golf Paradise be the Hot Shots Golf equivalent on the PS2? From what we've seen of it so far, chances are pretty good. Take to the green on a variety of pseudo-exotic locales. GP features six distinct playable characters who are able to earn money on the course, and upgrade their clubs and skills. Developed by T&E Soft, Golf Paradise is slated as a Р52 launch game on March 4, 2000. Originally scheduled for Dreamcast, Konami's Reiselied has jumped ship to PS2. Set fora spring release, this RPG reportedly has seamless transitions between gameplay and prerendered cutscenes and when characters move from one area to another. You control the main character, named Maus, as he vanquishes тае: чун evil with a mighty blade. кақ Ма АНН ЇЇ Primal Image Atlus has been running ads in the last few Weekly Famitsus for their PS2 launch title Primal Image. It's an interactive simulation that allows you to control a hot Japanese babe. Do it in March. = 94 If you're going to try playinc underpants. See, some of these Digimon are so viscious and t ктт from television. That's okay with them, the! а ДЕШ ium dti о (f, рса > +4: = | a= PREVIEW GALLERY Gekikuukan Pro Baseball: At The End Of The Century 1999 kilo mem Square enters the sports — game arena on PlayStation2 with its Gekikuukan Pro Baseball, scheduled for a March release in Japan. The game looks incredibly realistic— you can tell that the PS2 makes a huge difference just in the way the characters move and the way players' uniforms wrinkle. As soon as the pitch is delivered, the catcher becomes transparent (but still outlined) so you get a good view of the ball. Action is fast-paced and there's plenty of little animations after plays and home runs which add to the visual style of the game— looks a lot like you're watching a real game being broadcast on TV. Of course, the downside for those of us in the U.S. is that all the teams in the game are from Japan— but this is the first glimpse we've gotten of a baseball game on PS2. Now it'll be even more interesting to see what companies like Electronic Arts have in store for us. TC s CP е ШЫ 'The ultra-popular game of softball is brought to the PlayStation® cl cD game console and PC for the first Playstation |g ROM time, delivering an entirely new ы game experience! www.softballslam.com EVERYONE — Which of the following Square PS2 games are you most excited about? соған | а = = Pro Baseball - 11% Driving Emotion Type-S - 12% PREVIEW GALLERY All Star Pro-Wrestling Wrestling games have become as much a part of the video game Scene in the U.S. as they are in Japan. Square's All Star Pro- Wrestling is just the first game to bodyslam its way onto PS2 this spring. Featuring stars of Japanese Professional Wrestling, it's got all their signature moves and animations— not to mention plenty of pain-filled grimaces to go around. The models here are way more detailed than we've seen in any wrestling game before, but the crowd action seems a little lacking. Compared to U.S. wrestling audiences, this thing is TAME! Where are the banners, where are the blunt objects being thrown into the ring?! Despite the quieter tone, it still looks like Japanese wrestling fans will have plenty of in-the-ring action on PS2. EX 3: The Street Fighter Wow. The closer we get to the release of EX 3, the better it looks. Check out the level of detail (especially that picture of Chun-Li) in this latest batch of screens from Capcom. EX 3: The Street Fighter has new characters from the SF universe, tag team battles and three-on-one matches. All of this coming from a PS2 game that resides on just a CD-ROM! EX 3 comes out this March. pint? ей Trademark одо” f Natsume jne- Harvest Моя Software Asse Sa обета of Netsuffie in * Tons of vegetables and livestock featured * One of the town's five eligible women mav prove to be the love of vour life * New items and gifts, and tools that increase in power as you mas- ter them www.natsume.com ENTM маттык 'ictor Interactive Software Inc. xp are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. sS ji >= PREVIEW GALLERY Driving Emotion Tyne-S As of this writing, PlayStation2’s not even out yet and it has enough racing games to last it at least a year. But Square's getting into it with its own racer, Driving Emotion Type-S, scheduled for a release later this spring. Graphically, it looks great. It’s very detailed, with a smooth and realistic in-the-car view which has just a touch of motion blur to the steering wheel/driver's hands. A variety of tracks include day/night through various terrain. What we saw and played at Square Millennium was fairly early, and Square needs to tighten up the control quite a bit still. It felt like driving on ice, but this will probably be cleaned up and tightened before its release. How сап а driving game have emotion, anyway? Let’s hope Square changes the name if and when this game gets a U.S. release. Ridge Racer V As we near the launch of the Р52, Namco's RRV has fast become our most anticipated launch game for the system. We're itching to do some exaggerated drifting around the bend. Plus, the power of the PS2 really helps flesh out RRV's exotic car designs. Below are some new gameplay shots...note the level of detail in the underpass architecture, or the smooth curvature of the tunnel walls. Sweet! Buchigire Kongou When you think of weird Japanese games, one company's name comes up more than any other—Artdink. From Mr. Domino to Tail of the Sun, this company has consistently baffled us with its original titles (very original, but of spotty quality). Headed to Japan this spring, Buchigire Kongou pits you against opponents in the construction yard using heavy equipment to fight— bulldozers, cranes; you name it, it's here. 100 [ Ші === PREVIEW GALLERY Koei's feudal magnum opus strategy sim looked great on paper, but then we saw it in motion a couple months ago and had deep reservations about it. Much of the animation looked stilted and while there were many combatants, none of them moved very convincingly. However, we still look forward to playing Kessen (who wouldn't want to play a Kurosawa movie?). Also keep in mind that some of the Kessen screenshots you've seen were pulled from the game's excellent FMV sequences. The Bouncer Is it a game, is it a movie, or a little bit of both? Since Square/Dream Factory's The Bouncer wasn't playable at Square Millennium we still aren't sure. But what we do know is that it looks cool. Shown here are some cleaner screenshots than we had seen previously. Below is one of the Matrix-like sequences where the camera angle freezes the action and pans. We'll see more of this as it nears its spring Japanese release. 101 "The Critics have Spoken on the Action / Adventure Game of the Year!" А-А technical achievement...Soul Reaver - 2 delivers ап еріс piece of vampiric literature...93%" — IGN.com "Soul Reaver is a deep game possessed with a myriad of impressive little touches...9/10" - VideoGames.com 777 "ЗО exploration and adventure at its finest...Game of the Month.” — Expert Gamer Мадагте "Soul Reaver's environment's are jaw ow 3 - Gaming-Age.com "9896" 1 As Raziel, stalk Nosgoth feeding on the souls of your enemies ] Engage your creator, Кат, in an epic struggle for dominance T Dark gothic story Í+ No load times PlayStation EX ЕВ Sega(9 Dreamcast. =e i o > eidos.com — ER NINTENDOS^ Visit www.esrb.org. or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. y © 2000 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, Army Men, Air Combat, Real Combat. Plasti Nintendo, Nintendo 64 and the "N" logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nintendo of Ai registered trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. @ 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. License AIR COMBAT: А SOLDIER'S CALL TO DUTY. ARMY MENTIS AIR COMBAT; REAL COMBAT. PLASTIC МЕН.” = — PREVIEW Square EA Square 1 Action/Adventure/RPG 60% Spring 2000 None www.squaresoft.com Just about everything. Just about nothing. Sydney's withered little pecs. Don't let the name fool you—as an elite agent, Ashley has a couple deadly tricks up his sleeve. Taking a page from Square's own Parasite Eve, Ashley can dismantle weapons and build stronger ones from the pieces. Weapons can only be created in a scant few *Factories" throughout the game, but building weapons effective against the game's six enemy classes is an important component to success. Some weapons | have slots of gems that will allow Ashley to change weapon attributes on the fly, but nothing beats rolling your own and then getting to name it. EN нРО/100% *8-*i-7 овгат. The battle system is truly unique, seamlessly bringing effective turn- based RPG battle to a more action- oriented world. Agent Riot squares off against a massive crab summoned from the bowels of hell. Where's a hammer when you need one? et's just get it out of the way— Vagrant Story is a phenomenal, ground-breaking game. Square has truly beaten all odds and successfully melded the action, adventure and RPG genres to produce a seamless and epic game unlike any other. A brutal battle wages between the Knights of the Crimson Blade and the Mullenkamp Cult in the city of Lea Monde. Players assume the role of Ashley Riot, an agent for the Valendia Knights of Peace's elite “Riskbreaker” unit. After a chance encounter with the heartless leader of the Mullenkamp Cult, Sydney Losstarot, Ashley finds himself in a life-or- death game of cat and mouse amidst a deeper, more sinister plot larger than the two of them. While there's no need to be stealthy in Vagrant Story, one can't help feel that Vagrant Story is really "Medieval Gear Solid." Players lurk around dungeons and towns, fighting monsters with a variety of weapons and recovering information and keys to aid their pursuit of Sydney. You navigate 106 - wy, eo around the world as you would in Metal Gear Solid, guiding the character with the analog pad and rotating the viewpoint. Ashley can switch in and out of Battle Mode, freeing his hands for tasks such as lifting boxes or grabbing edges. While navigating the labyrinthine corridors under Lea Monde is all done in real time, battling is a decidedly different affair. Tapping the attack button pauses the game and causes a large wireframe sphere to erupt from Ashley's body. Any targetable item within the sphere can be attacked. While smaller enemies may only have one attackable segment, you can attack any individual limb of larger monsters and humanoids. Beyond standard attacks, Ashley can deal damage with two other attack variants. Chain Abilities allow Ashley to perform consecutive hits when attacking enemies, with every additional attack benefitting Ashley in ways other than sheer damage. For example, you can restore magic points or life with a carefully timed chain attack. Ashley can ready up to three of these at a time and chain them until the | AN y Ë Action, adventure and battle are the name of the дате- Ashley will have to hack through legions of monstro- sities to catch up with Sydney. The team responsible for Vagrant Story, oddly enough, is none other than those responsible for Square's tactical masterpiece, Final Fantasy Tactics. The influences of artist Akihiko Yoshida and composer Hitoshi Sakimoto target keels over, with the proper timing. Break Arts, learned after gaining considerable experience, allow Ashley to sacrifice some of his own life meter to inflict massive damage upon an enemy. You can defer the cost of an enemy attack with Defense Abilities. When attacked, hitting the appropriate button with the correct timing can reflect the attack, absorb the magic or defend against a particular element. Finally, as Ashley progresses to and through the dark city of Lea Monde, many enemies will drop pages from the legendary spellbook Grimon. Each page contains a single spell that will be memorized once read. Magic falls into four categories, such as attack, healing and status magic. Yeah, that's a lot of options, but one of are especially noticeable and welcome. Like Metal Gear Solid, Vagrant Story intertwines its gameplay with a number of real- time cinematics to immerse you into the story. Vagrant Story's most impressive feats is the relatively clutterless and intuitive interface they've managed to compress them into. Vagrant Story is one of the most beautifully cinematic games to date, easily toppling Metal Gear Solid. With character designs by the venerable artist behind Final Fantasy Tactics' noseless wonders, Akihiko Yoshida, Vagrant Story looks and feels like a living 3D comic brought to life. Each model is fluidly animated and textured with a sketch-like quality giving the game a visual feel all its own. Topped off with impressive lighting and spell effects, Vagrant Story is a feast for the eyes. Adding to the game's cinematic charm is yet another impressive score by Hitoshi Sakimoto, one of Final Fantasy Tactics' dual composers. From an audio standpoint, the only thing conceivably missing is voice —while the jagged comic dialog boxes have a certain charm, one can't help but think this game could be more impressive with voice. However, avoiding Metal Gear Solid's glut of dialog is a plus. Vagrant Story is nothing short of revolutionary, While a fairly short game, the depth and density of the story and experiences contained within give Vagrant Story an intensity missing from most longer games, as well as a higher replay value. Just released in Japan, Vagrant Story is fortunately slated for a quick turnaround and should be arriving in stores this May. ж And In This Corner, We Have... Ashley was valedictorian of his academy class, but he didn't go straight into the dangerous and elite group, the Riskbreakers. It wasn't until after his family was brutally murdered did he join. With nothing to lose, Ashley became the most skilled of the Riskbreakers. He's a silent, brooding man— little else is known about this formidable warrior. Losstarot The leader of the Mullenkamp Cult, Sydney Losstarot is an undead machination of flesh and metal. Sydney possesses great demon-like powers allowing him to summon beasts from the ether and manipulate people's minds. What is the source of his power? Has he found the legendary Gran Grimon? PREVIEW SCEA SCEE 1 Action 65% May 2000 None www.playstation.com А 3D action game not hampered by slowdown? It can't be... The camera can be pretty tricky to manage at times. Sir Dan isn't going to win any beauty pageants, but the ladies are still impressed by his interchangeable "parts." рсе Sir Dan possesses an often-overlooked advantage of being undead: the ability to dismember himself at any time without consequence. Part of your puzzle-solving strategy will have to make use of Dan's dislocated head to scout out possible solutions (his hands are pretty busy, too). Sir Dan now has the ability to climb ladders (and looks amusingly like a frog doing it). Most weapons have two attacks. While not entirely original, a spinning sword attack is definitely always useful. t's not often we see a game from the developers at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. The most notable offering from the boys across the pond was MediEvil, released back in the fall of 1998. In the follow-up to that sleeper success, the honorable Sir Daniel Fortesque returns to do battle in a twisted portrayal of Victorian London. The spell book of Zarok has been obtained by Lord Palethorne, and like a good villain should, he promptly raises the dead and causes widespread havoc. And as with most tales of a potential apocalypse, there's only one man who can stop him: Sir Dan. The story is told through interspersed real-time cinemas, and Dan has a number of new allies to help him on his quest. 108 MediEvil ІІ retains the basic gameplay foundation of its predecessor, but with an expanded emphasis on puzzle solving and exploration. Sir Dan acquires a new arsenal of weapons and abilities, such as a speed dash and the ability to climb. Our interchangeable hero can use different parts of his body in order to accomplish the task at hand (in Dan's case, a severed hand). At one point in the game, Dan has his head stolen and must use the “ПапСат” (a first-person perspective from Dan's head) to find out where it is. Another advantage that self-decapitation gives you is the ability to place your noggin' on top of a severed hand, enabling you to go on reconnaissance missions and letting you squeeze in otherwise unattainable locations (comparable to the remote-control car in Ape Escape). By defeating a certain amount of enemies on a level, you can collect the Chalice of Souls, which can then be traded for new weapons like the Gatling gun, Cane-stick and Magic Sword. Aside from their regular attacks, most weapons have a charge-up attack that does more damage. The graphics engine has been improved from the original, the animation system being the most notable upgrade. The only glaring problem at this point may be the camera system —it's not always at the best possible angle. In any case, fans of the original MediEvil won't have much to worry about come May. ж V сот Whenk ел O е, Ion act со 12 Негов әз, > PREVIEW SNK Sacnoth 1 Adventure/RPG 80% April 2000 None www.snkusa.com The atmosphere. The battle system. The sheer twisted- ness of some of the monsters. Grow Your Own Hero Considering that it's a relatively short role-playing game, Koudelka has a surprising amount of depth. Every time your characters level up, you get four points to freely distribute among their stats. Think Koudelka's too weak as a fighter? Up her strength accordingly. In addition to the core statistics, each character is proficient with a variety of different weapons and spells. The more often you use a particular type of weapon or spell, the more powerful that character becomes when using it. For example, a person with a Level 2 proficiency with fists can strike twice in the same turn for double the amount of damage. NK's primarily been known for its arcade and handheld games, but Koudelka marks the beginning of a new era for this struggling- yet-talented publisher. Koudelka has some gameplay issues, but the game is certainly an impressive production. Developed by Sacnoth, a team formed of renegade Square employees, Koudelka is a gothic adventure/RPG in the vein of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy. Set in the late 1800s in the Nematon Monastery of Aberystwyth, Wales, the story centers around a gypsy medium named Koudelka. Heeding a spiritual call from the beyond, she arrives at the dilapidated monastery and is swept up into a sea of mystery, intrigue and bloodshed. The gameplay is more RPG than anything, but it uses the atmospheric and inventory conventions of the survival horror genre to make it a unique one at that. As players navigate the Nematon monastery, In addition to being inappro- priately dressed for demon hunting, Koudelka also has quite the smart mouth for а 19th-century woman. 110 Dark enough for you? Koudelka combines gameplay elements from both the Final Fantasy and Resident Evil series and mixes it with heaping spoonfuls of atmosphere and poorly lit scenery. The Nematon Monastery doesn't take kindly to strangers, it seems. they face random encounters with a variety of hell's minions. The battle system combines standard RPG combat with the character positioning more commonly found in tactical strategy games, usually resulting in slower-paced battles. Each character can use every weapon and spell, but it pays to specialize (Each type of weapon or spell has its own experience level, rewarding players for consistent usage). One cue taken from the survival horror genre is the notion of durability —any hand-to-hand weapon takes damage from attacks and will eventually break, forcing players to conserve attacks. As one might expect from a team of former Square employees, Koudelka is quite graphically polished. While the character designs are nice, Koudelka's real star is the monastery itself. Oozing darkness and atmosphere, Koudelka is a game best played with the lights out. The battles are presented in real-time 3D, sporting detailed and well-textured models. The game also has a number of impressive CG movies as well. Koudelka's sound is typical for the genre— moody background music and hammy voice acting. Oddly enough, everyone has an American accent, despite it being late 19th-century England. Koudelka gets off to a slow start, but has plenty of surprises in store for the persistent player. Despite its flaws, Koudelka should make an interesting addition to the libraries of both RPG and survival horror fans when SNK USA releases it this April. ж 2 S j = Ei © Е 2 5 Е s s = 3 = Е ecko.com Which one of these is NOT an Ash-ism? a. Hail to the king, baby. b. I'm here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm > all out of bubblegum. c. Groovy. PREVIEW d. Come get some. GALLERY e. Who's laughing now? quamsuy ж Fans of the psychotic Evil Dead trilogy will be pleased to hear that Heavy Iron Studios is working on an Evil Dead game that takes place a few years after the madness in Army of Darkness. Ash (to be voiced by none other than Bruce Campbell) must return to the infamous cabin in the woods to battle the evil forces that are crossing over into our world, no thanks to the Necronomicon, a.k.a. the Book of the Dead. The game boasts full-motion, layered 2D backgrounds, 24-Bit textures, upgradable weapons, non-linear gameplay, puzzle solving and all the humor and gory action that made the Sam Raimi flicks such cult favorites. We'll have more on THQ's highly anticipated fall release in an upcoming issue. Jedi Power Battles The best part about the otherwise mediocre Phantom Menace game was the lightsaber battles, right? LucasArts has cleverly decided to capitalize on this and is working on a more action-oriented game set for release in the spring. 112 In little more than a year 3DO will have introduced seven games under the Army Men brand across PC, PS and М64. 300 just won't give up with the Army Men franchise will they? Whether we're interested or not they're going to keep beating us over the head with it until we submit. World War is technically the “sequel” to the distinctly mediocre Army Men 3D. Think 3D action with lots of shooting, but this time with a lot of emphasis placed on co-op play (cool!) and additional strategic elements. Watch for the game in March. О1а flames die out, but Ican always make new ones. Who said the PlayStation is lacking in the cartoon racer genre? — This one from SCEA and FunCom features bratty kid racers in souped-up go-karts and —as you might expect—lots of turbos, offensive and defensive power-ups, and themed tracks. Speed Punk's overall feel, speedy frame-rate and incredible graphics are on par (and seem to be just as enjoyable) as those in CTR. The game also features a variety of two- to four- player modes. Look for this one around the middle of April. зро WWW.armymen.com © 2000 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, Army Men, Real Combat. Plastic Мел., and their respective logos, are trademarks and/or service marks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. “Syaza Rhapsody is the U.S. name for Puppet Princess of Marl's Kingdom, originally released in Japan by | Nippon Ichi Software at the end of 1998. It was re- released in September last year with an *omake" disc featuring illustrations, music and more. > PREVIEW GALLERY | orsche Unieashed s We were surprised EA went with the complete Porsche package for Unleashed, but the more we played, the more we liked. Every Porsche from the 1948 356 Roadster to the 2000 996 Turbo are included (over 50 total) in this game. Race options include a highly detailed Evolution Mode where purchasing and modifying vehicles is affected by the economy, inflation plus supply and demand. The Unleashed Mode is similar to the Driver format as well as other mission-based racers. Four-player multi-tap and over до tracks and segments round out the highlights. EA Will release Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed this March. Acclaim and Clockwork Games will have Vanishing Point ready for release this May. What is it? Well... you're in luck because it's another "real" racing game filled with licensed cars. What's different about it? Well...it features lots of “stunts” aside from the racing, plus the graphics engine is apparently so advanced that there is virtually no polygon pop- up at any time. Acclaim has high hopes for the game. аа ud H CE ML Re = Superbike Zn Noe vs EA's Superbike 2000 is the sequel to last year's mediocre Superbike World Championship. Thankfully it looks like a complete rebuild. The bikes are much larger and the racers appear more life-like. Real riders, motorcycles and teams from the 1999 SWC are used. Cut your teeth on 13 circuits including Laguna Seca, Monza and several others. This two- player capable game is slated for a spring 2000 release. 114 Sept. 30, 1955, James Dean crashed head-on into another car while racing his new Porsche Spyder. Legend has it the car was haunted. Always preferred my weapon to my woman anyway. In the early days of the PS when апап ау there weren't a lot of RPGs (before Final Fantasy VII came out), the first Wild ARMS emerged onto the scene. Contrail, developers of the first game and Legend of Legaia, are at it again in this sequel, scheduled for a May release from SCEA. Similar to the first game (yet improved), you select from three characters to begin the adventure at three different points. Wild ARMS 2 improves upon the first same and features enough action and battles to keep RPG fans busy for weeks. мл /4839 НРҘ201/5207 H FP agua FP joarea FP lom Sing your way to victory in this latest RPG from Japan, coming from Atlus in May. In it, you star as Cornet, a girl searching for her true love in Marl's Kingdom. Using music she defeats enemies and brings them to her side (you can collect over 20 monsters and puppets). It features a strategy- style battle interface and magic like the “Pancake Attack." > — 3DO PlayStation www.armymen.com od. 300, Army Ме! Combat. Plastic and their respect 00 Company in the U.S. and other countries. PlayStation and the Play Inc. All other trades ng to their respective owne I — PREVIEW GALLERY ж Dragoon Released back in December in Japan, SCEI’s four-disc RPG The Legend of Dragoon heads to the U.S. via SCEA in June. Forty minutes of well- crafted CG movies advance the story in what Sony estimates to be an 80-hour game. The game features an "Additional" system, which allows you to attack multiple times in one sequence and can be used in both human and Dragoon forms (each character can use Dragoon magic). World Touring Car Codemasters continues to impress with each new release and the May unveiling of World Touring Car will be no exception. Taking the TOCA engine to the furthest extreme, the new game features cars from around the world in racing guise and will be one of the first major licensed racing games that will let you smash up cool cars like the Audi TT and groovy-looking Alfa Romeos. There are even some Detroit monsters featured too. Did you know there is actually a professional women's softball league. The Tampa Bay Firestix (’99 champs), the Virginia Roadsters and the Akron Racers are just a few of the many teams in the WPSL. Softball Slam Well this is a first...a softball game, endorsed by Sammy Sosa no less. We're not sure if we should be interested or horrified. Whatever the case, Softball Slam features coed, female and male teams (eight total). The emphasis is on quick play and goofy fun rather than stats, cumbersome options and realistic detail. This is a slugfest with an incredibly simple learning curve. 3DO will release this unique title in February. That's Walt Disney World in case you couldn't figure it out. This CTR- like multiplayer racer features beloved Disney characters like Chip and Dale, Jiminy Cricket and others. As you'd expect, tracks are inspired by theme rides at Disney World like Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and more. The PlayStation version features a two-player split- screen mode. Look for it in March from Eidos and Crystal Dynamics. TIME 0533.7 21059,6 116 or knee- MEDIEN street bil i тою=кдн Y P ER BHKE opens the throttle on gritty, two- wheeled fun. Strap on your brain bucket and test drive these _ features: 1 or 2 player Four incredible modes of play: Single Race, Time Attack, Trick _ Attack, and Championship. 2% Use Track Editor to create your own mind-blowing tracks. Race on the street and in the dirt using 16 authentic race bikes from and Unlock hidden bikes and bonus courses by winning race seasons in Championship Mode. Exclusively Distributed By www.electrosourceinc.com a NINTENDO % % W: 1 » эз $ j 0 1 ace d 4 Pa Е » Ed і- IT CAN RECOGNIZE YOUR ИИ YOU? /_ This month we've decided to give you а brief look at the |: amazing art generated to ке this mossive дате. The агї 3 team at Kronos Digital Entertainment began with highly detailed 2D sketches, followed by a алый ЗО model іп low resolution, апа finolized in high resolution with the vorious bock- ground animations. Over 600 bock- grounds were created for the seven locations resulting in a game unli anything seen on the PlayStation. Enjoy... š - * ne GTA THE ачен TAKES PLAGE OVER FUM MOTION, CREATING A WORLD FILLED WITH MOVEMENT A == — = BILLBOARDS TO INTENSE НИ — ING FROM FLASHING Speciol Advertising Section = | D O S 1 N T Ë R A c T 1 У Е” eidos.com Thoss ALIVE ARD ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS YET те оғ Stew in a vines saye. how ` * 1 МЎ i iS SE asl. The Hak Sik River ж-е ORIGINAL ANIME STYLE сндвас TER DESIR BIN. ы ' ‚ № ч E" MATURE Eidos, Eidos Interactive, the Eidos Interactive logo and Fear Effect 27 қ are registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive. Inc. ©2000 ааа E Eidos Interactive, Inc. The ratings icon is a кабета оће № Int i Ма! Software Association. All rights reserved. ESRB teractive Digital Software igi Shaba Games decided to have that Eric guy who used to host The Grind on MTV as 2 a celebrity sponsor for Grind PREVIEW 4 Session? That'd be weird. GALLERY Mohil 1 Rally Championship К seems EA has taken a shine to rally sims lately, first V-Rally now Mobil 1. This one is based entirely on the British Rally Championship. There are 36 stages, each created to mirror the terrain and roadways ofthe actual race. More than 20 licensed cars including the Honda Civic, VW Golf and Nissan Almera grace the roads. We can tell you right now that Mobil 1 Rally has very sensitive control. We'll see how the final turns out this spring. Test Drive Le Mans Infogrames' TD Le Mans has been in development for a long time. And with the exception of the “turn-on-a-pivot” handling it's not bad at all. The frame-rate is fast and smooth with little graphic pop-up. Featured are: GT 1, GT2 and prototype vehicles (so+ total) and the actual Le Mans track. Seven additional courses plus authentic Le Mans atmosphere (including night-to-day progressions) round out this March release title. ЕТІН If you've played Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, then you know basically what to expect from Grind Session—the two are very similar in looks and control. But of course to be fair to Shaba Games and SCEA, Grind Session is a completely different game when it comes to modes and what not. For example, one mode allows up to eight players to take turns in a competition for high trick points. Look for it in May. Major League Basehall 2001 We can't say this game offers anything substantially different than most MLB-licensed PlayStation titles other than the trademark FOX Sports style and wit. Tim McCarver and Joe Buck handle the pregame, play-by-play and post-game analysis as only they can. Play Modes include: Exhibition, Season, Playoff, World Series and Home Run Derby. Look for this FOX Sports Interactive title sometime this spring. mE + Playstation | L " Remember, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Especially in this deadly mercenary mission where your own emotional responses determine what happens next. So go ahead, make your move. Just be sure to keep your fear in check. bu. % №, ж * 3 Li Li b, Á ` іні | } H h =. В SEA АБИ Breakthrough SUSPENSE/ACTION ADVENTURE Мопом FX TECHNOLOGY. Pre-rendered, NON-INTERRUPTED GAMEPLAY for more game. Beyond your realm of fear. Beyond fully animated backgrounds intense action and debilitating power. any 3rd person game created. creating a frighteningly real world. Comes in handy for the THREE RUTHLESS MERCENARIES whose destinies you control. EIDOS eidos.com EIDOS, EIDOS INTERACTIVE, and the EIDOS INTERACTIVE LOGO are all registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive.Fear Factor is a trademark of Eidos Interactive. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trade- marks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. > PREVIEW GALLERY t BattleTanx: The post-apocalyptic tank blow-up-everything-you-see N64 game is making its way to the PlayStation this spring, courtesy of 3DO. It's pretty much the same experience (again, blow up everything you see), only without the four-player support— Global Assault will have a variety of two-player cooperative and not-so-cooperative modes. It's fun and addicting, in a mindless, arcade-action sort of way. German developer Sunflowers is bringing out this expansive RPG adventure sometime early in 2000 in the U.K. The game spans eight different worlds, each with its own graphical style and level make-up. Overall, there will be some so levels to explore, and a load of stuff to interact with. As you'd expect—like any good RPG— your main character gains experience and various magics and items as he battles enemies and converses with townsfolk. Expect a good deal of special effects. Baseball 2001 In a nutshell, last year's High Heat for the PlayStation sucked. Yet for the PC it was great. To gain favor from the PlayStation crowd, this year's High Heat 2001 has been substantially reworked to emphasize gameplay and ultra- smart Al rather than "bells and whistles" and fancy graphics. No batting cursors, no pitch cross- hairs...just good ol' fashioned intuitive baseball. Look for this 3DO title in March. Space Rage Software (Incoming, Expendable) is currently working on a space-based action shoot-'em up (like Colony Wars). Space Debris has players taking on the role of a United Earth Defense officer attempting to ward off a possible alien invasion. You'll have six ships and five modes from which to choose. Right now, Space Debris is set for a Q1 release in the U.K. with no U.S. announcements made yet. 122 е Tens of games for tons ef fun! ‘For mere'information call: (877) 341-3288 or visit www.snkusa.com > PREVIEW GALLERY It must be said that Capcom's latest survival horror adventure on the PS was the most disappointing game we couldn't tear ourselves away from. The action takes place in a first-person POV, while all the controls (moving and shooting) are handled by a Namco GunCon. Pretty brilliant, right? Well, sort of. Using the gun to move around in the thick of the action can be downright unintuitive. We found it much easier to use an analog controller when it came to some of the bigger bosses. Other disappointments included severely limited background interaction, and poor zombie animation. However, for fans of RE, Gun Survivor definitely has enough tie- ins to keep you glued. Aside from a familiar assortment of weapons, you'll recognize your favorite monsters (Cleaners, Lickers, Tyrants, etc.) making a cameo. Capcom has already announced that Gun Survivor won't make it overseas as a "shooting game." You won't be able to use your GunCon with the U.S. version, So better send Capcom an angry e-mail right now! Vib-Ribbon is the latest game from SCEI and developer NaNaOn-Sha, the same team that brought us PaRappa and UmJammer Lammy. It's a music game, but a little bit different than either of those titles. At first glance, this game looks like crap. Graphically speaking, Vib-Ribbon isn't that impressive. It's entirely in vector graphics. You play as this rabbit- type character who has to jump, twirl, step and loop his way through a world created entirely by the beats and speed of music. You press a button that corresponds to the type of obstacle he has to get past (there are four of them). But the cool part is that obstacles can be mixed, so in those cases you have to press two buttons simultaneously. That's not even the best part. The game itself comes with a few songs, but you can insert your own music CDs to come up with brand-new levels for each song on them. This adds almost infinite playability to the game, since any new CD you have means new levels to play. It's a shame this game will likely never come out in the U.S. Vib-Ribbon (previewed below) is one of those games you gotta experience to get— like PaRappa was. Visit http://www.scei.co.jp/sd2/vibribbon/ to get an idea of what it is. You may have to blindly click around if you don't know Japanese, but it'll be worth the visit. 124 fs You Haye fo Finish а ИП That Can Pretty Same characters you've come to expect & respect from Armada, for the Dreamcast! * 6 futuristic racecars. ° 6alien worlds to race upon, each vith its own dangers апа geo- effects. * 3 modes of racing, including а secret “Survival” mode, where the only secret is how to stay alive. ° 18 bosses, © Special power-ups fo upgrade vehicle => www.metro3d.com performance. Put adventure into overdrive, as you captain a futuristic vehicle, and race д Outrageous obstacles, through six alien worlds to face-off in a battle of wills, thrills, chills and including alien Spills. Take on opposing high-tech vehicles, obstacles and obstructions - all ав you approach a final showdown against multiple-bosses іп a good ‘ol game of bumper cars, minus the bumpers. | | RATING PENDING GAME BOY 5 $ Hh ا‎ COLOR Metro3D, Inc. Armada F/X Racers ©2000 6 "50001111115 "з к ^ 4 P PREVIEW GALLERY Arika, the same company that brought us games like Street Fighter EX and Tetris The Grand Master, has taken on Card Captor Sakura (available now in Japan). Based on a manga and anime series by Japanese artist trio CLAMP, it’s an action-puzzle game where you throw out matching- colored cards to capture rows of cards as they advance. You can set up combos and patterns for more We all need a little education on the history of giant robots...check out http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Flats/2731/ and soak up the goodness. You'll have to excuse the crappy Geocities ad windows though. ..that’s Devil Dice 2 to you and me. This sequel improves upon the original in so many ways, it boggles the mind. It has new, funky dice (like black magnetic ones that drag other pieces along with them) and special moves that open up new dimensions in gameplay. For example, you can now pick up dice and set them down or throw them across the stage. You can also roll dice on top of others, to form two levels of mayhem. The import CD is out (by е мот : = 8 Ж. 2... points and cast special attacks. SCEI), but a U.S. release is TBD. Bandai's highly anticipated SRW Alpha on the PS is shaping up to be Survival horror rears its ugly the finest chapter in the SRW series yet. SRW Alpha features much of head once again. This time, the what you'd expect from a SRW game: turn-based strategic gameplay, plot is highly reminiscent of Dino an amalgamation of mecha, both old and new, doing battle in super- Crisis, with a dash of Carrier. You're special agent Mitsuki, dropped onto ground zero of biohazard hell. Unlike other survival horror titles, CERE === МАНЫ ША the gameplay in Chaos Break is a bit faster-paced, hence more arcade-like. There are still puzzles to be solved (and plenty of cheese whiz dialogue), but all the backgrounds are rendered in real time. Chaos Break, by Taito, is out now and available for import. deformed and dramatic 2D cinemas. New additions include the Gunbuster! SRW Alpha will be out at the end of February. не 11000711060 LEN 220/220. R 126 «С» қ Q on ш Su Мм >> SNK Corporation of America, (877) 344548286 Of Visit wwwsnkusa com. (©1999 SNK AllRighis Reserved. SNK, SNK PlayStation logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SNK Gomporationoramenca. © Sacnoth/SNK 1999. Koudelka and y Koudelka logos are trademarks of SNK Corporation. 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, ЦЕ; ТИЛЕГИ LUCKY, MAYBE THE SOUND BARRIER WILL, (BREAKS YOUR FALL: if Ее Dreamcast © . m ——ÍHÁ— MÀ M TE y е © Lucasfilm Lig. & TM. АЙ rights reserved. Used under authorization. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks of trademarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. agetec agetec.com trademarks о Agttec. int. Ámiored Gare ва oro the tative Dt Sotvar Акоп: MIU { You're a mercenary pilot of an AC unit, so prepare to infiltrate | bases, rescue hostages, and ile enemies in all-new detailed missions. Build and customize your master robot with 2 , aster, E Arena is, robot A \ S, Orco PREVIEW GALLERY Perfect Dark = Z Set for release this 1 > - : КААДАДА winter, Rare's GB 1% version of Perfect Dark chronicles Joanna Dark's past as she finishes her training. Set in the South American jungle, the game has Joanna chasing after cyborgs and trying to destroy a robot factory. Watch for cool features galore...FMV, speech, infrared and printer support, rumble cart and two-player deathmatching. By beating this game, you can even open up new modes іп the N64 cart (and vice versa), using the Transfer Pak. Warlocked Dust off your link cables. Developer BITS is readying Warlocked, the GBC’s first real-time strategy game, which Nintendo will publish by the end of 2000. This thing borrows heavily from Warcraft II. You pick either the human or monster race and play a dozen single-player missions with each, or you can link up and battle a pal. You’re assigned random wizard types, such as one who turns enemies to gold. Trade these wizards with others or engage in instant statistical battles through the IR port. Wario Land Ill Wario will be back on the GBC in May, and he's up to no good (as usual). Nintendo's antihero ventures off to a music box world and must transform himself— fat, thin, on fire, etc.—to get through the game's 25 levels. There are plenty of things to get in his way, too. But evil will win out in this game because good is dumb. Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! Here is Infogrames’ answer to Pokémon: In an effort to thwart Marvin Martian's plot to blow up Earth, Bugs Bunny must travel through 20 stages "collecting" Looney Tune characters (who will help out in the quest). The adventure portion is Zelda-ish in nature, while the collecting part opens up new gameplay ideas (Elmer Fudd has a gun, Witch Hazel has a flying broom, etc.). You can even trade characters with other players, to complete your collection of 47 toonies. Alert! is due out in June. {ТТЛ | 132 leogam s of play, pure action Axcade М. n -based Pilot Mode or strategic nder Mode. "Фо Ө == “А backstory that sounds like the X-Files meets Tom Clancy” "The tension and excitement... is „ enhanced with superior Al that will have “the > enemy breathing down уой neck...” - батек / “Think of it like Doom meets ~ Command and Conquer" - N64.IGN. вает is a trademark of Аа 5 of their respective owners. PREVIEW GALLERY 2nd Mission Those of you who enjoyed the pocket treatment of SNK's classic Metal Slug series last year are in for a treat. 2nd Mission features three game modes (Story, Rescue List and Time Attack), 38 stages, two characters to choose from, and multiple paths to finish the game. It's another strong title for the NGPC. Unfortunately, Metal Slug: 2nd Mission won't be out until Q2 2000. Since Square hasn't yet shown any inclination to develop for the Меоебео Pocket Color, gamers might feel as if they never have that particular brand of gaming goodness on their shiny new handhelds. Well, developer Sacnoth is coming to your rescue, with the arrival of not only Dive Alert (see above), but Faselei as well. Fans of Square's Front Mission series will find themselves right at home here, with fully customizable mechs to complement the strategy-RPG gameplay. Players command Toy Soldiers in a tale of political upheaval and royal obligation. As your prince's right-hand man, it is up to you to restore peace to the land of Faselei. SNK will release Faselei in the U.S. this spring. Link 2 This simple puzzle game has you firing linkable connectors to clear targets scattered throughout the game screen. It plays just like the first game (released this past winter), only with more and different modes of play. SNK will be bringing this one out during the second quarter of this year. Меп Dive Alert is a strategic submarine simulation RPG from SNK. The earth is toast. All the polar ice caps have melted. It's up to you to pilot your sub to Terra, the last city on earth. You navigate strictly by sonar, buying new equipment with money you've won from battles and gaining experience. Battle Mode allows you to play head-to-head to obtain certain supplies, money and even your opponent's sub and navigator. DA is due out this spring. É am Саса : D, D О ESRB | 4 4 Which of the following upcoming агсаде fighting game sequels аге you most looking forward to? Marvel vs. Capcom 2 1388 Guilty Gear 2 196 PREVIEW Soul Calibur 2 3209 GALLERY Power Stone 2 505 Source: videogames.com online poll American Pro Trucker Sega’s latest in its “occupation” series has you driving an 18 wheeler, delivering goods, beating the clock, and causing general chaos everywhere you go. Chalk it up as a Japanese obsession with all things “Americana,” but something about this game just kicks ass. Maybe we’ve been watching too much Smokey & The Bandit. APT is out new in Japan. Capcom 2 Here are some more screens for one of our most anticipated 2D fighters this year. MvC2 will feature the sort of heady 2D overload you'd expect from а CPS3 lovefest; except this time, Capcom has also given arcade goers the option of hooking up their DC VMUs to record scores, fighting history and customization information. MvC2 will see a close to simultaneous release with its DC counterpart this | M March in Japan. 2 ; Rush The fact that three out of four arcade games featured this month are No, Namco's latest game isn't powered by Sega's Naomi system has all of us excited about the future Soul Calibur 2. Instead, it's a of the Dreamcast. Capcom's Power Stone 2 will feature bigger, more traditional puzzle game. Match the sophisticated battle arenas, a deeper control system, four-player gelatinous shapes and obliterate simultaneous play and plenty of tap-tap-tap combos to keep Jimmy happy all your pieces. AR is out now in out there. Expect a DC release shortly after the arcade hits this spring. Japan...and will probably hit PS. 136 SH алау үа ард wasa жн мі жі apaypi IM T NEN TS E 4 Sega LK Mac Dreamcast ' Mu | www.GameFever.com of thei These Logo: 1000 VEFENSE Га THE КЕР Ш HE ЕРЕ LAME SUU ЕТЕР F LUZ THO UR THREE ИМЕЯ, IT SIFKIS THER THINKING EFU FEE. THEN ШП LAN БЕ SELLESSFIL " -TERRE sFLASEI i Ра TUNA ШПЕРІБЕ ARARE РПРЕК А "It's fun! John Madden Football is some- "They started Madden Bowl years ago, and as time thing we all do when we go home after goes on, more and more guys who play the game practice. There are quys on my team who want to get involved in ít. | think just getting all the can't go a week without it and they have guys here from different teams and the fellowship to bring it on the road when we travel.” that comes from that is what makes it so popular.” T mons yeo VBRUCE К: ЕРРКМЕ ERTEN “You take it оп the road with you, you take it home with you. If you aren't actually playing football on the field, you gotta take it home and play it all night before you go to bed." 715 KITE EF ИКЕ THE КЕМЕ FEE INE HERNI MAKING 11 1E THE SUPER БЕБІ. NEVIS SNM ІТ LEPMITE ЕГЕ ПРЕ, ӘРИ THE SEELESS ШР THE МЕЛЕ GOWL LUMITE IFS HUGE.” - JUPE МЕЛЕ Perfect park is finally, finally done. ест finds out uhat took so dang long and uhether joanna park can fill sim Bond's big shoes. very developer dreams of working Е опа game until it's finished,” Mark Edmonds, Perfect Dark's producer at England-based developer Rare, told us. “We get to do that, and it works out really well for us.” Sure, but does it work out as well for Nintendo 64 owners stuck waiting for Perfect Dark, Rare's mucho-anticipated sequel to the best-selling GoldenEye 007? Nintendo pushed back PD's release so many times we feared arthritis would seriously hinder our play experience when the game was finally, finally released. And when Nintendo announced last year that Perfect Dark's shipping date was slipping again, from Christmas '99 to April 2000, we were nearly buried beneath readers' outraged letters demanding to know why. Well, we have good news, and more good news, and even more good news, and only a tiny bit of bad news. Perfect Dark's release date is solidly locked at April 10. The extra features Rare crammed into the game— which we'll get to in a moment—are worth the wait. Perfect Dark, in every imaginable way, improves on GoldenEye. You will not be disappointed. But let's get the bad news outta the way first. Remember the “Perfect Head" face-mapping mode Nintendo touted at 1999's E3? This revolutionary feature let you snap a pic of your noggin with your Game Boy Camera and then paste the mug shot—via the Transfer Pak—onto your multiplayer character in Perfect Dark. Unfortunately, Rare recently removed face mapping from the game. Nintendo claims the feature never worked flawlessly; even added Expansion Pak support wasn't enough to keep Perfect Dark from crashing every time testers loaded a custom head. “It's something [Rare] tried very hard to fix," said Ken Lobb, producer of Perfect Dark at Nintendo. *They didn't know how long it would take to fix. They couldn't give us a time. So we said, ‘We understand. Save it for Dolphin.” Funny thing is, EGM editors played a few deathmatch rounds at E3 using the Perfect Head feature. The game seemed to work fine then, which makes us wonder now if maybe other, more recent social considerations are at work here. It's not hard to imagine players mapping teachers' or parents' faces onto deathmatch characters. (Heck, we ourselves planned a sidebar crammed with mugshots of desirable deathmatch foes such as Jar Jar Binks, Monica Lewinski, and Joseph Lieberman.) Perhaps Nintendo envisioned this scenario as well, considered the possible public outcry and got cold feet about the whole face mapping thing. Still, when you consider the features м Rare has added, the loss of Perfect Ы ` Head is really no big whup. Lobb said the game was specifically delayed past Christmas so Rare could tweak the one- player story mode with two new features—a two-player cooperative option and a unique Counter-Operative mode. You heard us right: You'll be able to play through Perfect Dark's gripping story in split screen with a second ` Written by Crispin Boyer Illustrations by Allan Ditzig Electronic Gaming Monthly - 140 - www.videogames.com Electronic Gaming Monthly - 141 - www.videogames.com | [ bi; ІТ | \ ў | س WVA GoldenEye's enemies act like special-ed dropouts compared to Perfect Dark's super-smart army. Enemies'll run up and steal your weapons. They dive out of the way right when you line “ет up for а headshot. They act suitably stunned when you turn out the lights and don night vision to hunt you in the dark. And wait 'til you go against simulants set at the Perfect or Dark skill levels. Talk about an А! nightmare. m Joanna dark Age: 23 Role: This British babe is so skilled at gunplay and secret-agent stuff that the Carrington Institute issued her the call sign "Perfect Dark." Nevertheless, she's still a rookie spook. player, who'll take the role of Joanna Dark's yet-to-be named twin sister. The two of you can cover each other, pursue different objectives simultaneously, strategize and experience the complete quest and all its cinemas together. To keep the cooperative mode balanced, Rare added more enemies and gave both players a shared health bar. If one player dies and hits the Start Button to rejoin the mission, he or she will steal life from the second player. All of Perfect Dark's 21 story-mode missions can be played either by yourself or cooperatively. “So if you get to level nine and you're stuck," Lobb said, “you can call your friend over and play through it together, and then go back to playing single player if you like." No friends? No problem. Perfect Dark also lets you play the single-player missions cooperatively with a buddy computer- controlled 'bot—or "simulant," as Rare calls them. He won't complete objectives or follow your orders, but the buddy simulant will cover your back and help you through trickier areas. You'll get the option to cooperate with up to four simulants in the single-player game as you beat the higher difficulty levels. Perfect Dark's other innovation worth waiting for is its revolutionary Counter- operative mode. Like the cooperative game, it lets you play the one-player missions split- screen with a friend —except this time he's not on your side. One person plays Joanna Dark and tries to complete her objectives as usual. The second player jumps into the body of one ofthe level's bad guys, with little health or ammunition. The trick is for the counter- operative (whom level enemies ignore) to stalk Joanna and pick her off with a head shot, push furniture in front of doors to trap her in a room—anything to prevent her from completing the mission. If the counter- operative dies, he or she is immediately zapped, The Matrix-style, into the body of another enemy on the level. Counter- operatives can also swallow a suicide pill and 12 See that split-screen mode to the left? That's why you had to wait an extra four months for Perfect Dark. But seeing as how the Cooperative and Counter-operative modes will add months to PD's replay value, we figure they were worth the wait. jump to a different baddie if Joanna gets too far away. "Players tend to play counter-op after they learned the levels," Lobb told us, "so they have a good idea where Joanna is. They can do things like turn and face the wall to hide, wait till Joanna fights a group of enemies then run up behind her and score a head shot." Whether you play the main story mode alone or with a pal, we figure you'll find the missions more gripping than anything offered in past console or PC first-person shooters. Set in dreary 2023, Perfect Dark has you guiding Joanna Dark, a gifted rookie agent for the Carrington Institute, as she uncovers a conspiracy between the ominous dataDyne Corporation and a race of scaly aliens called the Skeedar. We won't give too many plot details away, but over the course of the 17 missions (plus four bonus levels) you'll help the president eject from a doomed Air Force 1; encounter a suave, mysterious enemy named Mr. Blonde; reprogram a hover taxi to crash and create a diversion; dress as a hostage negotiator to infiltrate an enemy-held island villa; and fight alongside a 3-foot-tall grey alien named Elvis. Levels are set everywhere from cramped Area 51 to snowy plains that stretch for miles. Some levels also offer multiple exit points; where you leave determines where you'll start in the next level. You'll soon learn that some entry areas are better than others. The entire story is helped along with more than 45 minutes of cinemas packed with voice and motion-captured animation (Perfect Dark is a 32-megabyte cart, the same size as Ocarina of Time). And here's a slick little twist— you can actually interrupt cinemas at any point and start the game right where they left off. It's just an extra bit of pizazz you'll appreciate when, say, a group of guards are looking the other way in a cinema or a character you need to save is about to be offed. Just tap a button and presto —the game jumps from cutscene to real time. Like GoldenEye, Perfect Dark offers three difficulty levels: Agent, Secret Agent and Perfect Agent. This time, however, each skill level packs more than just extra objectives and tougher enemies. Play the Secret Agent and Perfect Agent difficulties (after beating regular Agent, Lobb suggests), and you'll find new areas in each mission you couldn't access before. Sometimes you'll even start a levelin a completely different location and role. Take the villa mission, for instance. At the Agent and Secret Agent difficulties, Joanna starts the stage in a high mountain perch and must snipe several bad guys before they blow away a hostage negotiator. But at the Perfect Agent difficulty, Joanna is actually assigned to go undercover as the negotiator. Each of the three difficulties is nearly a whole different game. Lobb told us Perfect Dark is a three- to four- times bigger game than GoldenEye. He estimated that skilled gamers can beat the Agent difficulty in about eight to 10 hours. Perfecting Perfect Agent, on the other hand, could take well over a month and is “something you can brag about,” Lobb said. Of course, no matter how good Perfect Dark's story mode may be, it's not the reason people will be playing this game a year from now. “A lot of people bought GoldenEye for the multiplayer,” Edmonds said, “so we really wanted to concentrate on making better weapons and better-designed multiplayer levels. And we wanted the simulants.” These Al guys are just as important to Perfect Dark as Joanna, Mr. Blonde, Elvis or any of the game's other stars. They come in 12 varieties (see next page), and you and three friends can play with as many as eight simulants in multiplayer mode. That makes for 12 characters wreaking havoc in one deathmatch arena at the same time (although you run into some frame-rate problems, which we'll get to in a bit). Perfect Dark's multiplayer options are limitless. You can combine human and simulant players in any team combination. You get 19 deathmatch levels, including the Complex, Temple and Facility arenas from GoldenEye. “I guarantee after you play for a while you'll realize those three are the worst," Lobb said. "The other 16 are all better." Rare also scrapped GoldenEye's multiplayer modes and came up with six new scenarios in addition to standard free-for-all and team deathmatching. The first mode, called Hold the Briefcase, plays like GoldenEye's Flag Tag. Players who find and carry the briefcase for 30 seconds win one point. Another mode, Hacker Central, has two objectives: Players must find a data link, then carry it to a computer and stand for 20 seconds to activate the terminal. You get Pop A Cap, a game in which players take turns as the highlighted target whom everyone else must blow away. The King of the Hill mode has everyone scrambling to control a specific area on the map. Touch that Box is a similar game, except players hunt down and tag crates to turn them their team's color. Finally, Perfect Dark offers a proper Capture-the-Flag mode, as well. Of course, Perfect Dark allows so much customization “әйт әбра uo panuiuo? agent jonathan e Age: 28 Role: Also a Carrington Institute agent, Jonathan's skills are second only to Joanna's. His weapon of choice— the Magnum Revolver— comes in handy during his deep-cover missions. Artificial vi We call them ’bots; Rare calls them simulants. But one thing’s for sure: Perfect Dark’s computer-controlled combatants are the most cunning Al guys we’ve ever faced—or allied with—on the consoles. As we've said, the game lets you and three friends play with as many as eight simulants at once, in any team configuration you like (Ken Lobb prefers to play with four players, each teaming with a simulant ally, thus making four teams of two). But here's the wild part: PD's motley crew of sims comes in a multitude of “personalities,” 12 in all (see illustrations), from which you can choose in multiplayer's Advanced Setup menu. And as if that weren't enough variety, you can assign each simulant a difficulty setting that determines his level of deathmatching skill. You get six levels — Meat, Easy, Normal, Hard, sims, play with Normals,” Lobb said. “It’s like playing against a human. You'll never say, Hard-, Perfect- and Dark-level sims cheat, he told us. They'll rotate faster than you, move quicker and aim better. In fact, Lobb said that, in some scenarios, it's impossible for four human players to beat just one Dark sim. With 12 sim types to choose from and six Мате: Pacifistsim Personality: He thinks guns are evil, So he runs around the level and tries to collect all of them, never firing a single shot. Players get stuck waiting for weapons to respawn, unless they take matters into their own hands. “When you kill PacifistSim—boom!— all the weapons come flying out of him," Lobb said. "It's like Christmas." Name: V/Ormalsím Personality: No special fetishes here. Just like any human player, all NormalSim cares about is shooting enemies and living to see payday. Name: vendettasim Personality: This guy picks one enemy target at random, then hunts him 'til he's dead. Name: Cowardsim Perfect park's іг simulants make for one Rowdy crowd Perfect and Dark. “My advice is if you play with ‘Damn! That guy cheated!” On the other hand, difficulties for each, Perfect Dark delivers more than 70 "Бог variations in all. But just because they got strong personalities doesn’t mean they’re above taking orders. By holding A and tapping one of the C buttons, you can issue simple commands —such as “follow me" or “kill PacifistSim"—to particular simulants on your team. Or you can hold the R Button to apply the same order to all your А! squadmates. We've heard this feature may not make it into the final version. Regardless, you're going to be working closely with these guys in PD; you'd might as well get to know them now. Name: Revengesim Personality: The game's most dangerous simulant, RevengeSim hunts down the last person who gave him grief. “If you kill RevengeSim and you have a 20-minute game," Lobb said, “he’s gonna be killing you for the next 19 minutes. Until someone else kills him. Then he's like, *Oh, you want some of me now?” Electronic Ga Personality: Sometimes it's better to run and fight another day. But for Cowardsim, that sometime is, well, all the time. ing Monthly - 14 - www.videogames.com Name; Cheetasim Personality: Him CheetaSim. Him real fast. Name: TLIrtlesírm Personality: He's not fast, but he's not stupid. TurtleSim likes to hide in corners and fire up his shields. Name: Fistsim Personality: Guns? Who needs 'em. Not FistSim, who prefers hand-to- hand chopsocky. Name: Predatorsim Personality: Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover know all about these guys, who like to stay cloaked and shielded. Мате KaMikazesim Personality: The simulant with a death wish, he'll run at you with guns blazing no matter what weapon you're blasting in his direction. Name: ROCketsim Personality: Rocket launchers are this guy's weapon du'jour. Name: Shieldsim Personality: As if this sim's love of shields doesn't make him hard enough to kill, he's got extra health, too. у 145 f 2 | Mummies. The Undead. Ancient Curses. 1 What's a nice girl to do? of Tomb Raider: The La Out to save the world from ° a deadly curse, you can bet it won't be with her good looks. B3 ai EB Sega - Dreamcast. Coming soon to the Sega(9 Dreamcast. €) a с 8 У = š Y Ш С 1 Q Age: 62 Role: He's a kindly old scientist who founded the Carrington Institute to distribute gee-whiz technologies to the world at large. He also directs the СІ agents from а computer link in his office. that these modes are only the beginning of what you and three pals can do in the game (see sidebar below). Nintendo and Rare know many gamers bought GoldenEye just for the multiplayer mode; they've built Perfect Dark so deathmatch-happy gamers can ignore the one-player story if they want. "You can just ued from page 143. play multiplayer,” Lobb said. "It'll allow you to open all the levels. You can get all the weapons. You can open all the stuff that's involved in multiplayer. You don't have to touch the one-player game." You earn access to more weapons, levels and game types by completing Perfect Dark's 30 Challenges, special missions that work like the trials in Turok: Rage Wars. So, when you first switch on Perfect Dark, you'll find only a few deathmatch levels, five simulant types, basic weaponry and the standard free-for-all deathmatch. But, “every time you play a new challenge, it's something you haven't seen before," Lobb said. "You beat that challenge, you open its [arena] for multiplayer. You beat a certain type of simulant, you get that simulant. You find certain types of weapons in that challenge, you get those weapons in multiplayer." Better still, you can play these no-it-vourself peathmatching Think vou can Build a Better came than nare? Give it a shot. Inventive gamers —the kind who contrived a million-and-one multiplayer scenarios for GoldenEye— will fall to their knees and give thanks to the deathmatch gods for Perfect Dark. This thing gives you complete control over every conceivable multiplayer option. Selecting the Advanced Setup header in the Combat Simulator menu opens an unprecedented number of settings and submenus. Once you choose the arena and game type (Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, etc.), you can visit other menus to enable one- hit kills, disable the radar, turn off auto-aim, and pick fast- or slow-motion movement. Advanced Setup also lets you choose which simulants will join your game, their personality types and level of difficulty. Then you can assign all the human and АІ players in any team configuration you can think of. Finally, you have complete freedom to place whatever weapons and gadgets you like into the arena (or you can simply choose GoldenEye-style presets like Power Weapons, Grenade Launchers, etc.). The custom-weapon panel consists of six slots. Whatever weapon or gizmo you assign to slot number one will spawn in more locations within the level than anything else. Items assigned to slot number Six, on the other hand, will be the hardest to find, spawning only in one location. If all these menus and options set your head spinnin', don't worry. Everything's laid out in a logical order. And here's the best part: you can name and save your custom scenario to a Memory Pak. So, say you spend an hour designing what is surely the most ingenious deathmatch mode of all time, you can slap it on your Pak, stick it in your pocket and haul it to a pal's house, where you hopefully won't get schooled in the scenario you just devised. Or you could use your DexDrive to post it on the Net (we can't wait to see the Web site subculture that sprouts up around this game). Every Nintendo tester we talked to proudly boasted of their favorite handmade scenario. And that's what makes the Advances Setup menus so incredible—they force you to experiment, to invent games maybe no one else has thought of. Perfect Dark comes with a few preset scenarios to start you off, and here are five of our own to help get your creative juices pumpin’... That's my shotgun! The setup: In the Custom-Weapons Panel, place the shotgun in slot six, so it only appears in one spawn location. Place shields (PD’s version of the bullet-proof vest) in slot three, so they spawn more often. Set the win limit to one-kill wins. The game: In this chaotic scenario, everyone's frantic to find the shotgun, since they only need to kill one person to win. At Electronic Gaming Monthly - 148 - www.videogames.com challenges with as many as three people. Perfect Dark packs the largest arsenal ever seen in a console shooter. You'll eventually find more than 44 weapons and gadgets, and each one has a secondary function you access by holding the B button. Notable boomsticks include the Laptop Gun, which transforms into a sentry turret you can mount on walls. The Dragon machine gun is especially fun, since it becomes a proximity mine in its secondary mode. (“People see the Dragon lying on the ground," Lobb said. "They pick it up and boom! Nothing's more satisfying." And then you have the future-cool gadgets like remote camera probes that let you spy on enemies in other rooms, as well as night-vision goggles you can use to stalk enemies after you switch off the lights. As you'd expect, most weapons produce spectacular effects. In fact, all of Perfect Dark's visuals are a step above GoldenEye's. Still, the version we played suffered sluggish frame-rates in the co-op and multiplayer modes. Nintendo assured us that Rare is smoothing out the sluggish gameplay, and the final version will be more than playable. "Basically, if you pick a level and go with four the same time, anyone on the wrong side of the shotgun is scrambling for armor and trying to steal the weapon away with his/her Disarm Attack (the punch's secondary function). Incidentally, Nintendo product evaluator Armond Williams Jr. gave us this idea, and it may wind up as a preset scenario in the game. save the President The setup: Select one CowardSim, give him the body of the president who appears in the one-player game and put him on your team of four human players. Then choose three or four KamikazeSims and make them the opposing team. The game: In this variation of a classic players and two simulants, the frame-rate's fine," Lobb said. “Four players with four simulants is probably OK in 14 of the 19 levels. Some of the levels actually work OK with four players and eight computer guys." You don't need the Expansion Pak to play Perfect Dark, but you'll want it. Without the Pak, you can't have more than two players in any of the multiplayer modes. The Pak also lets you play in hi-res, although "hi-res is really good for two-player multiplayer," Lobb said. "Above that | would advise you turn hi-res off or the frame-rate suffers." Tiny problems like this aside, Perfect Dark really is a game that's been lovingly crafted until the developers were finished — unlike so many other titles that seem rushed and fall Short of their potential. We haven't even covered all of PD's features, stuff like the firing range that lets you practice every weapon in the game or the myriad hard-to- find secrets (score five head shots in a row on one level, for example, and you'll earn a special weapon). Fear not, however. The game's nearly here. Get in line April 10 and you'll finally experience first-person perfection for yourself. + GoldenEye custom scenario, the Coward simulant on your team serves as the president, whom all the human players must protect from the marauding KamikazeSims. Play for time instead of kill limits; try to keep the prez alive for the entire game. It won't be easy, since the easily spooked CowardSim runs from every threat. All human players will need to keep pace with the president and act as human shields while shooting back at the Kamikazes. Disable radar to make things extra exciting. rarsighted The setup: Stick the FarSight XR-20 in slot number one, so it spawns nearly everywhere, then choose a large level filled with small rooms. Build a team of three simulants to battle your group of human players. Throw whatever other guns you like into the vacant weapon slots. The game: As soon as the game starts, all the human players need to grab FarSights and meet up in one of the level's rooms (you should all agree on a meeting room before you kick off the scenario). Then, standing back-to- back, everyone needs to pick off the simulant enemies from afar, with the FarSight, before the sims find your team's room and slaughter the lot of you with their close-range weapons. cassandra de vries Age: 39 Role: Dan Carrington’s archnemesis, Cassandra serves as head of the shadowy dataDyne Corporation, where she connives unscrupulous plans to topple her competition. In other words, she’s one power- hungry bitch. see no evil The setup: Slap cloaking devices into slot number one and IR goggles into slot six. Put whatever other weapons you like in the remaining slots. You can play this free-for-all mode against any combination of human and sim opponents. The game: Combatants will find cloaking devices everywhere, so they'll probably spend most of the game invisible. Whoever finds the rare IR goggles —which let you see cloaked enemies — will have a definite edge. suicide squad The setup: Pit you and three friends against one or more NormalSims set at the Perfect or Dark difficulties. The game: This is a game of survival. Simulants set at Perfect level or higher can score a headshot on you faster than you can slide your finger up to the R Button. "You'll need to strategize as a team to beat one or two of these guys," Ken Lobb said, “and it makes for a whole different game." His advice: Band together in an easily defendable room and set up Laptop sentry guns — lots of them—to mount a defense. And don’t forget to pull the laptops off the wall to reload “ет when they run dry. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 149 - www.videogames.com <> PlayStation Arts. EA SPORTS and the EA SPORTS id afe trademarks ür registered frademarks'ef Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. EA SPQRTS isn Electronic Arts™ brand. NASCAR is a registered trade Саге and Ford Credit are used under бесов trom Ford Motor Company. Dale Jarrett and Robert Yates Racing trademarks are used under License. "Bobby Labonte}. and "Tony Stewart" name and likghess used under license from В Games, trademarks, and biher intelectual property are used under license trom their respective owners. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with e Play Station, Gaitfecconséfe. PlayStation and < бае nii Bf the Witeractive Digital Software Association. > w EXTREME NASCAR? RACING — Over 45 NASCAR cars, stars, trucks, and legends. Unlock sweet car upgrades and bonus vehicles as you win. UM THE HIGHWAY — ead ‘ет off at the ii Dass with Shortcuts, get big air off jumps, and earn extra tracks unti until you rule 20 open road courses. = MAKE "EM PAY — ith power ups Blast your opponents wit h E them flying with a twister or roar away with nitro jets. 0 ИВ! : T TO n» % $ $ ¢ of National Association for Stock Car Auto е Sports, © 1999 Redline Sports. All other ayStation logos are registered trademarks WWW. www.easports.com Gel Some a ee 2 MP3 CD Plager Wrist Audio Player # | Product Name | Company ° Web site d) MP3 CD Player | Pine Tech + wwwpineusacom ме” 2) Musiecip | Sony wwmsonycom/musieclip |8 | D| Rush | Phiips + wwmphiipsusa.com | S200 | Q Wrist Audio Player | Casio + wwwcasiocom | $300 | Diamond Riosoo | Diamonds wwwsioporicom [S300 | © woman | creative e wawnomadworid-com | $400 | (Q) Personal jukebox | Hanco wwwpiboxcom | Sao | @ Memory Stick Walkman | Sony * www.sel.sony.com Метогу” ° Expandable to: n/a (plays 2oo MP3s per CD) n 64MB * n/a 32MB * n/a 32MB * n/a 64MB * 96MB 64MB * Any flash card size 8.46GB * n/a (stores 120 CDs) 64MB * 120MB Note: 64MB holds about one hour of CD-quality audio. Most players come with MP3 software eee (е N Diamond Rio 5оо Walkman :ө Z Nomad И % Media Туре Interface Comments CD-R discs UE Built-in A. SmartMedia Bie Built-in Rechte оп SmartMedia ire SmartMedia | дама Built-in ROE: lon : 5 hours Memory Stick | Rechrg. lith. ion Memory Stick n/a USB Parallel USB USB USB USB USB Personal Jukebox When it comes to portable digital music, the cost of media is a major concern. As it stands, most MP3 players use rather costly flash memory. Imagine this scenario: You want to make some “mix tapes" of, say, 100 of your favorite MP3 files. To do this, you'd need around six 64MB smartmedia cards. The cost: Well over $500. This is unacceptable, as the player itself already costs around $300. But fret not. There's another, more cost-effective way: The Voquette system coupled with a Sharp MD player/recorder. Instead of flash memo- ry, this setup uses standard Minidiscs. So you can buy six blank minidiscs—a total of $20 or so—to record your party mixes on, via the Voquette-compatible Sharp Minidisc play- er/recorder. The downside to the Voquette option is you don't have the luxury of simply copying files from your computer to your player (like you can with an MP3 player). Instead, you must create a track list of digital audio with the included soft- ware, and then hit the record button on-screen. The software then communicates with the Sharp MD, and 70 minutes later your little mini disc is full of your favorite songs (separated into tracks and everything). You can even have it record in the middle of the night, so you technically don't have to sit there and wait for it to finish. The Sharp Internet Minidisc Bundle is pictured above (around $200). The Voquette cable and robust software is $70 by itself. Check out: www.sharp-usa.com and www.voquette.com for more info. MD-MT35 Internet Bundle. If you already own a CD burner this is a good option. Sure, it has moving parts and could skip, but the media is cheap— blank CDs are less than $1/ea. James Bond-like pen stylings —although a laser beam would've been a nice option. Seriously, it's a nice little VAIO MP3 player. Sony design rocks! Certainly a nice-looking player, but it may be best to wait for the 64MB version (May release), as 32MB just isn't enough size. Also, why no USB interface? Well, it's a regular watch on top of everything else. There's just something cool about having a portable MP3 player watch. Although, it's quite big. The Rio is the all-around best player. It lacks certain features (built-in mic, an FM tuner, etc.) but it plays digital audio like a champ. Nice jog dial, too. The built-in FM tuner and mic for voice recording are excellent features. It's a bit more expensive than others, but it has the features to justify the price. This is the top-of-the-line player if you can afford it. It beats out all of the others in storage hands down. Impressive technology indeed —for a price. Like the Rio and Nomad II, the Memory Stick Walkman is an all-around good play- er. Plus, it uses Sony's up-and-coming Memory Stick format a little pricey though. №. PlayStation Lay the SmackDown! "LTHEYDON'T[FORGIVE. | о f AND THEY DON'T FORGET, — EFR £ Q from the boiler room to the —— : Call upon your allies for help andthen climb over them as you kick, grapple, and People's Elbow your way to the top. Special Guest Referee Backstage Politics Crispin Boyer Crispin's not really sure why Shawn had such a beef with the George Foreman Grill (see Shawn's bio for the full story). He reckons some people just fear what they don't understand. In other news, the George Foreman Grill is the greatest mail- order product since that Heavy Metal Memories CD. Current Favorites Front Mission 3, Chu Chu Rocket, Hot Shots Golf 2 Favorite Genres Action, Adventure This month, Shoe's busy promoting Chu Chu Rocket and Fear Effect around town. It's almost enough just trying to keep him from spoiling plot to ЕЕ. He'd also like to use this space to give a big Superfriends "Whassuuup!" shout out to his gal e-friends Mary, Rachel and Elizabeth. Current Favorites Soul Calibur, Fear Effect, XI Jumbo, Chu Chu Rocket Favorite Genres Puzzle, Strategy, Action Che is bristling with excite- ment as he prepares for his vacation in Taiwan. Just think...the food, the night marts, the scooters, the pornographic VCD's....it's just too bad he can't take Vib-Ribbon on the plane with him over the Pacific. Oh, song 3 on Fantasma by Cornelius is the hardest Vib- Ribbon level EVER. Try it! Current Favorites FM3, Vib-Rib, DoA2, RECV Favorite Genres Fighting, Racing, RPG At the end of deadline Chris could be seen running up and down the halls yelling (in Southern Gentleman-ly tone) "Where's my pack- аве!?” Of course, all he got in return were yelps of "WHAAAZZZAAAAAP!" As soon as deadline's over it's back to marathon sessions of Vib-Ribbon. Aww yeah. Current Favorites Vib-Ribbon, Gals Fighters, Chu Chu Rocket Favorite Genres Adventure, Puzzle The office has gone crazy for The Sims on the PC. Between this and the won- derful Fear Effect, Johnny England has been some- what distracted...so much so he's had to employ a maid to clean his apart- ment. Laziness reigns supreme in our Editor in Chief's world. Current Favorites Fear Effect, The Sims (PC), Chu Chu Rocket, Crazy Taxi Favorite Genres Racing, Action (still) coming soon! Who Will It Be? Our search for the last RC member is nearly over. But who will it be? The "real" Elephant Sak? The return of Sushi-X? Find out soon. Really. We promise. We're not kidding this time. You'll see. 156 Viewing a quick-time movie of Square's new baseball game for the PS2 has given Dean the shakes. He says he's never seen such a beautiful sight. Needless to Say, he's all but forgotten the N64 and only dreams of the incredible sports games to come for the PS2. Current Favorites Hot Shots Golf 2, Gran Turismo 2, NASCAR Rumble Favorite Genres Sports, Racing Having been defeated by Crispin Boyer's multi- national pro-grill campaign, Shawn has taken his anti- whatever movement else- where. Specifically, Florida —where he plans to start an anti-old coalition against old people. Shawn feels confident the locals will stand behind him. Current Favorites Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Fear Effect, Ghosts 'N Goblins Favorite Genres Action, Adventure Team EGM fter months of reviewing a ridiculous amount of sports titles, things have slowed down for Team EGM. Beyond Tee Off Golf, Virtua Striker 2 and the long-awaited NHL 2K, there's been little for the guys to do. Thankfully NHL 2K has saved the month from being a total loss. Those other two games...well, read the reviews. On a more positive note, check out page 96 to see what has the guys going nuts. A first peek at Square's baseball sim for the PlayStation 2. Ll Dan Leahy Current Favorites NHL 2K, Madden 2000, NBA 2K, Dead or Alive 2 Can it be? No more waxing nostalgic over hockey games of the Genesis era? Leahy hasn't decided yet, but he does think NHL 2K is very good. In other news, he is brag- ging to office pals that he's beaten his Soul Calibur addiction. It's back to Sports Guy. Oh, and maybe a little Dead or Alive 2. Code: Veronica, NHL 2K, Vagrant Story, Bionic Commando Ricciardi's been in somewhat of a slump ever since his girlfriend went back to Japan to finish school. In fact, if he didn't get the Japanese Code: Veronica in the mail the very same day she left, he might have taken off after her! We're willing to bet he ends up in Japan before year's end... Todd Zuniga Current Favorites NHL 2K, NBA 2K, March Madness 2000, Fear Effect, WWF SmackDown! Because of NHL 2K Todd used his entire savings account to buy a catheter and an IV so he won't have to leave his chair. He’s so enamored of the final version of the game he’s been talking about trying out for an NHL team. Very strange. This Month. ad timing. That's what the Crew was up against this month. You might have noticed that our promised review of Dead Or Alive 2 is conspicuously missing. Tecmo pushed their final release back a cou- ple weeks and missed our submis- Sion deadline. Sure, we could have gone ahead and reviewed our beta GD-ROM, but there were just too many omitted modes (versus, prac- tice and options) for us to honestly review the game. And we know for a fact that other magazines are review- ing the beta in order to beat the game out to the shelves. We figure, in the long run, you will all understand, and appreciate our belated —but legitimate — review next month. In the meantime: CHU CHU ROCKET! + Our Philosophy =» Bet EGM rates games based on how they compare with other titles on the same system. The highest score we'll give а 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 of the spec- trum sits the lowest score a game can receive: a o.o. This is the kind of game you want to avoid at all costs. It's pure crap, as our scale (above) explains. In the middle lies the aver- age grade, 5.0. We repeat: 5.0 IS AN AVERAGE GRADE. Simple, ain't it? Platinum Awards go to games that get four 10's, the best and rarest review a game can get. Gold Awards go to games whose average score equals 9.o or higher. Games that average at least an 8.0 receive Silver Awards. Publisher: Jaleco Developer: Jaleco Featured In: EGM #120 Players: 1 Supports: Jump Pack BestFeature: Nice clean graphics Worst Feature: Slowdown and sluggish controls Web Site: www.jaleco.com Jaleco's done it. Carrier has beat out Code Veronica to the market, but having played both games exten- sively, 1 can only say it's not quite as polished as Veronica. Even so, Carrier is a solid 3D adventure in much the same noir vein. Story and character play a central role in Carrier; Jaleco does a great job with the story in the first third of the game, but some- where after that, Carrier seems to collapse under the weight of its own contrivances. What it basically comes down to is, how much can one game borrow from another? Anyone who's ever played Resident Evil will quickly spot the casual placement of jour- nals, keycards, precious life potions, a healthy pre- occupation with firearms, munitions, and other sur- vival horror necessities. There's even a pseudo-zap- ping system when you play as Jessifer, the female counterpart to the protagonist. It's all there, but it's missing that special something — call it “soul” if you will—that makes you really cherish the experience. Still, Carrier sports some of the most detailed graph- ics and environments on the Dreamcast yet. Kudos to Jaleco for some genuine ambience. There's occasion- al slowdown, even when absolutely nothing is hap- pening on screen. With only two survival horror games on the DC so far, Carrier is a great entry- level. adventure for fans of the genre. Che What kind of name is Jessifer, SED This is defi- nitely more B-movie than Resident Evil will ever be. Some eye-candy graphically, but it's all very plas- tic. It doesn't have that dingy, chaotic look that a sur- vival horror game needs to provoke fear. The game has a tendency to shift camera angles way too often in rooms, leading to a few problems if you're backing away from enemies. A decent prelude to Code Veronica р otherwise it’s average Chris it’s like Resident Evil, only without any of the good bits, and it's set on a ship. Playing this makes me feel that we were a bit harsh on Blue Stinger, because that's eminently more playable than this. As David St. Hubbins once said, "there's a fine line between clever and stupid" and Carrier is on the wrong side of that line. The character design is bad (the zombies are laughable), the acting is pathetic and the story is weak. Wait for Code Veronica. John Carlen certainly E E on paper: DC graph- ics, survival horror on an aircraft carrier, etc. But when you put in some game time, you may find your- self quite bored at times. This game isn't bad at all, but it's not terribly exciting either. It borrows a little too much from certain other survival horrors, making me feel like I've played this game before. Get Carrier to tide you over until Code: Veronica arrives. Just don't get your hopes up too high. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 1 9 4 151 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Featured In: EGM #127 Players: 1-4 Supports: Jump Pack, Internet Play Best Feature: This is one kick-ass party game Worst Feature: Internet play not perfect Web Site: www.sega.com | know you're going to pass this one up in the store. | know you're thinking, “Chu Chu What?” 1 know you're looking at the screenshot and dismissing it as kid's stuff. But please, do me a favor and play the game. Rent it. Borrow it. Buy it with the intention of return- ing it. | don't care. Just get it, along with three more controllers (with friends attached to them) and expe- rience one of the coolest multiplayer party games you'll ever see on this system. Sonic Team has creat- ed something great— Chu Chu Rocket is brilliant in its simplicity. Within a minute, any gamer (casual or hardcore) can jump right into the action and have fun. You'll have plenty of laughs as you work to cap- ture mice, intercept opponents' trails and guide cats into enemy rockets. The game even supports team play, 2P co-op puzzle modes and Internet competi- tion. Although playing over the Net is an exciting proposition, the brief lag you get makes it impossible to make instant moves (which are vital). The lack of options (no stage select, no changing of game set- tings) with network play is also disappointing. BUT...it's still more than playable, and since every- one has the same lag handicap, it's really not a horri- bly big deal. Even as a one-player game, Chu Chu cooks, with plenty of puzzle stages (well over 100) to Clear. Get it. ‚лом, damnit! Shoe Like most HEN puzzle games, Chu Chu Rocket is simple to look at, easy to learn and more addicting than chocolate-chip crack. Play this game with three friends and it becomes pure, ingenious chaos. Chu Chu also—despite minor lag—makes a great show- piece title for online play on the Dreamcast Network. And if the multiplayer modes aren't enough, you get a ton of puzzle modes, co-op games and options. ІШЕ ІШПЕ ll never get old: e pin Chu Chu Rocket is as SUE as it is addictive. In fact, the game is sort of genius in its purity and minimalism. Like all great puzzle games, your mind is constantly playing catch-up to what's happening on the screen. This is especially true in four-player versus mode where everybody's out to screw each other. | was skeptical about Internet play, until | tried it with Shoe and Crispin online...OK, there's a little lag, but it’s E playable; Sugoi! Che Sonic Tae just doesn’t quit delivering quality games. This is one of those games you can get into right away. It’s kind of like Lemmings, but from a top- down perspective. While the one-player game is fun in its own right (and will no doubt take players hours to master), what really makes this game shine are the multiplayer modes. This is also one of the very first online games for the Dreamcast, and is a blast to play online even though there’s a lil’ lag. Chris VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 1 10 9 Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom/Takumi Featured In: EGM #127 Players: 1-2 Supports: Jump Pack, Arcade Stick Best Feature: It's а 2D shooter! Worst Feature: You'll go mad from sprite overdose Web Site: www.capcom.com Thank you Capcom. The traditional 2D shooter is per- haps my favorite subgenre of games, and it’s really nice to see some trickle out here and there. Giga Wing certainly won't be remembered as one of the all-time greats —it certainly won't share the pedestal with classics like Radiant Silvergun (Saturn-Japan), Twin Cobra or the old R-Types. Still, it’s a fun game. And since you won't be seeing many more of this style of shooter (vertical scrolling, completely 2D) anymore, you might as well get this one, while you can. If you've seen any of our previews, then you know that Giga Wing is one massive sprite-orgy. You won't believe the stuff that'll fill up the screen until you see it. Explosions, projectiles, power-ups, medals, enemies...they’ll wall-to-wall carpet the playing area, with little or no slowdown at all! It’s very impressive to see, especially if you understand how much memory all these 2D sprites are taking up. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, with the only noteworthy feature being your ship’s reflective power (which is handy and gimmicky at the same time), Unfortunately, due to the fact that this is an arcade game with unlimited continues (and you get most of your power-ups back after you die), your fun with this disc may be short-lived. You can beat the game several times in an hour! Shoe | was weaned on vertical arcade shooters like Twin Cobra, Truxton (and fell hard for Radiant Silvergun on the Saturn), so | have a soft spot for Giga Wing. But unlike those shooters of yore, Giga Wing is guilty of being a tad too inconsiderate to the player. In other words, this game is a "quarter-muncher." | do like the reflective shield that fires back, and the topnotch 2D graphics, but Giga Wing was designed to crush you. Save your egos now. Che Having been raised on top-down shooters like Raiden, l was very eager to play Giga Wing. There's so much going on on-screen that this makes Raiden look like a cakewalk. Unfortunately since you have unlimited continues, it'll be easy for anyone to walk through this game. They should've at least made it so that you had to finish on limited continues the first time through. Great game, but needs the limits to keep people hooked at home. Chris This is the most chaotic and intense 2D shooter I've ever played. The screen is literally filled with enemy fire at all times. Consider yourself a God if you can complete the higher levels without using continue about 100 times. Giga Wing will overwhelm you with its menagerie of bullets and explosions but lacks substance to hook you for the long haul. Like a sugar rush, it never lasts. Rent it for a night to experience its decent two-player mode. Dean VISUALS Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Featured In: EGM #120 Players: 13 Supports: Arcade Stick Best Feature: Fast load times, animations intact Worst Feature: No Internet mode Web Site: ‘www.capcom.com SFA3 on the DC has been long overdue. It looks like we'll never get to experience the Dream Passport modes that were in the Japanese SFA3, because Capcom has decided to remove Internet support for the U.S. release. However, Capcom’s late release has suddenly renewed our love for SFA3. Know this: The DC version has perfect animation, super quick load times, and all the modes from the PS ver- sion (world tour, dramatic battle and dramatic ver- sus). Che and Shoe actually stopped playing Chu Chu Rocket and started going at it like it was 1999. REPLAY 24:2204 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega PC Featured In: EGM #127 Players: 1-4 Supports: Internet Play (e-mail) Best Feature: It’s so simple and it's free! Worst Feature: The “just one more game” syndrome Web Site: www.sega.com Once in a while, a puzzle game will hit our offices so hard, it'll affect productivity for days. When we got our hands on Swirl, we couldn't stop playing it. Shoe was hit the worst (which makes sense, since he loves puzzle games). The art guys (Andrew, Jim) took a liking to the game as well, though they were prob- ably drawn to all the bright and pretty colors. This game is tremendously simple and addicting...com- bine that with its "free" factor (see issue #127 for details), and you have yourself an instant success. We did have troubles with the e-mail feature though. INGENUITY REPLAY PET стан 158 Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Bottom Up Featured In: EGM #126 Players: 1-4 Supports: VMU, Jump Pack Best Feature: Graphics are just OK Worst Feature: Useless camera angles Web Site: www.acclaim.com Despite the anime character designs, the familiar look and other loose similarities-Hot Shots Golf this ain't. | wouldn't even place it in the same catego- ry...and believe me, I've played enough HS and HS 2 lately to know. At best Tee Off is a slightly amusing if not downright forgettable golf zame. Heading the list of lackluster features is a trio of illogical cam- era angles which do absolutely nothing for function- ality. Most annoying are the pre-shot overview and after-shot ball cams. Oddly they're aimed in the wrong direction, which is toward the golfer rather than down the fairway. They don't rotate either so essentially you're stuck with two or three angles rather than an infinite amount should they float freely. For a game that strives to copy the best you'd think they could steal the view options as well? Another thing they should've pilfered from Hot Shots is the sound. The anemic Japanese hair-metal, cou- pled with the occasional quip from the golfers, had me clambering to turn down the volume—it’s that bad. In the end, Tee Off just plain fails to generate any excitement. The courses are overly flat and void of interesting dynamics, the ball hits and runs in a predictable way and there's a general lack of control on all fronts. Sorry Dreamcasters, you'll have to wait a little longer for a great golf game. Dean Those looking to recreate the fun of Mario Golf or Hot Shots Golf will be disappointed by Tee Off. The game moves at a snail's pace, and the camera views are maddening. For example, you hit a shot and the camera immediately pans right up on the ball as it sails through the air. This eliminates your chance to see how much the wind curves it, if you really sliced or hooked it, etc. Even for a golf freak like me, this game doesn't cut it. DanL Ever play one of those ho-hum games that's just SO average in every aspect, it nearly puts you to sleep? Welcome to Tee Off. As a golf game, Tee Off does nothing to advance the genre. The graphics are crappy (sure, they're hi-res, but it's just hi-res blah), the gameplay is bland, the physics are weird, and the presentation is clumsy. For now, it may be the "best golf game on the DC,” but it pales in comparison to games like Mario Golf or Hot Shots 2. John R Strange how Tee Off Golf isn't as fun as Hot Shots on the PlayStation, when Tee Off is so darned similar to it. Sure, Tee Off's still fun and all, but it lacks the style Hot Shots has (thus making it the lesser of the two when it's all said and done). In addition, there are a lot of weird camera angles, and courses just aren't interesting enough. But if you're in dire need of a golf game, Tee Off Golf will suffice until something bet- ter comes along. Consider renting it first. Shawn VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY {ттүү / / i / | <> / / | PlayStation / £ / | | | 1989 KOEI Corpoj&tion and КОЕУСо., Ltd. All rights reserved/ PlayStation and the PlaySfation logos afe registered ss оң / ш, food пем short scenarios &7 full- -length fampalgns \ y -8 payer excitement | | | New Chrdnological Records system comparing pla Ver] Y | | | | | | | | | | | \ \ \ | \ V \ \ \ \ Болу compiler Entertainnjent Inc. The \atings icon isla trademark ol the Interactive Digital Softwa Association.” N | \ | \ \ \ | \ \ \ | \ \ \ Publisher: Sega Developer: Black Box Featured In: ЕСМ #127 Players: 1-4 Supports: Jump Pack Best Feature: Realistic skating Worst Feature: Goalies may be too good Web Site: www.Sega.com ll right, so you can see the writing on the side of the puck if you look closely. Fine, there are nine different types of gloves, four types of sticks, eight types of skates, four types of helmets, all complemented by a bun- dle of jerseys for each team, some going as far back as 1923. Sure, there are 100 goalie animations, 16,000 unique sound files and 800 different player faces. But amidst all the numbers and statistics to clog your cranium, the best part is that Black Box has done the unthinkable: They've created a stunning hock- ey game. And we're not just talking about the way it looks. NHL 2K will satiate the appetites of hockey fans who have been making up excuses as to why console hockey games have sucked for the last few years. There are some definite flaws which can be attributed to NHL 2K being a first-generation game. But the major frustration for us is that the mistakes | No hockey game comes close to the sharp graphics of NHL 2K. Player models boast over 1,500 polygons per model. seem like no-brainers after all this time. First of all, there's no fake shot, which is pretty dis- appointing. Also, the goalies don't bother to leave the net on a delayed penalty. Come on, guys. The stat tracking is a little weird. There's а {оп of stats that can be viewed by each team individually, but there's no league leader page. Odd. And the laugher is that cover boy Brendan Shanahan is wrong-handed! But besides all these tiny complaints, we've got one heck of a game on our hands. The ice is like a mirror, the players skate like real NHLers, checking is as forceful and aggressive as the real thing (you can even lay out players on your own team), and the great players real- ly carry their teams. Great skaters can make great moves, and using an overpursuing defenseman's momentum against him is as satisfying as finding a 2o dollar bill on the street. There are improvements to be made (we've yet to mention the lack of a franchise mode), but overall this game is the best hock- ey simulation yet, and it's soooo fun. 160 There's nothing like vintage uniforms to get the nostalgia running through your veins. Even defunct teams (like the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets) have available uniforms for gameplay. For a long, depressing time hockey fans have been waiting impatiently for a game to capture the feel of the NHL, the way hockey vid-games of the mid-'oos did. Well that day has finally come. NHL 2K is simply the best hockey game I've ever played. The game- play is awesomely smooth and the skating is as real- istic as it gets. Checking is fantastic, and the anima- tions that go along with it are graphic and brutal. Skaters can be completely dumped, crunched into a pile, or they can shake off the hit, go to a knee, and pick up where they left off with the puck still on their Stick. Checking also offers a great amount of risk/reward, which seems to be lacking in most hock- ey games. If you miss a big hit you risk giving up a breakaway, but if you lay the skater out you're rewarded with a glimpse of your transition game. There are some flaws, though. Where's the fake shot? And the line changing menus are bulky and dis- tracting, though you're able to change offensive and defensive lines separately, which I'm a huge fan of. Also, the goalies seem nearly invincible, which allows a lax defense. It'd be nice if there were more goals off breakaways to counteract sloppy defensive play. Overall, the game is brilliant. It's a visual exem- plar of hockey in the new millennium and the stars of each team shine bright. This is a must-buy. тойа NHL 2K is а game l love to hate. Like the other 2K titles to date, NHL 2K falls into the “just short" cate- gory. Maybe I'm expecting too much, but little things, like not tracking League Leaders, goalies made of stone, and the lack of a fake shot, add up to a fair level of frustration for me. Still, there is enough depth, and definitely enough challenge, to keep me coming back. Kudos to Black Box for adding to the solid DC sports lineup. DanL | had my doubts about NHL 2 оу was | wrong. It's fantastic. The graphics are brilliant. The players are detailed to the hilt, especially in the faces. The ice is like a sheet of glass reflecting everything that rolls across it. But really, the best part is the gameplay. I'm not a big hockey fan but NHL 2K really got me pumped up. The animation isn't jerky in the least, it's smooth as silk, even while using special moves. It has a few glitches but overall | like it a lot. Dean What a turnaround! A month ago, we got a preview build of this game that made us shudder, but boy have things changed. NHL 2K is hardly perfect, but for a first-gen effort it's extremely solid. The graphics aren't quite up to par with NHL 2000 for the PC, but they're still real nice, and everything moves at a brisk speed. The gameplay is tight, though sometimes it seems as if the CPU "cheats" a bit. Another must-buy DC sports game? Yep. John R VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY FOI CED- SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR LOYAL SUBSCRIBERS ONLY! EGM 129 OAK BROOK, IL 60522-3338 . WANT TO WIN? We're Giving You Stuff for Free Take a look at what we're passing on to you this month: * A signed copy of ЕСМ #129 * A Dreamcast Light Gun from InterAct * A Turok diarama set * A black polar fleece vest from Acclaim * The anime Blue Submarine no. 6 from Bandai ° A PlayStation wallet/ Comments? FORCED FEEDBACK + Р.О. Box 3338 As you may or may not know, we get a lot of cool items from game companies. And yes, we do appreciate them, but all too often after looking at them for a while they end up sitting in somebody's cubicle or getting stored in a cabinet. So we thought, “Let's pass some of these things on to our readers, instead of just having them lay around.” After all, better you enjoy this stuff than us. Like last month, read the instructions below, send in a postcard and you might just be picked as the winner! This doesn't cost you anything—it's as sim- ple as sending in a postcard with your name, address and phone number on it to Stud Profile Real Name: Mahir Alias: The Turkish Stud organizer from Sony the address below. We'll then pick one win- ner in a few weeks, and send out the goods. Occupation: European Stud, Trainer * A Mega-Memory Card Hobbies: Playing all of my musical instruments, from InterAct * A WWF Smackdown hat * A Pen Pen Tricelon shirt * A tank-top * And more than you need EGM's Box o” Stuff Sweepstakes #129 c/o Electronic Gaming Monthly P.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 Congrats to EGM #127 Winner: Johnson Fu of New York, NY All of this and more can be yours by simply sending in a little card with your name, address and telephone number on it. See above and below for further details. LEGAL STUEE ical Sweepstakes Ме: LL No Purchase Necessary; Tene send a standard size родай зї your name, address. and phone number to “EGM Box Û Silt PO Bax 308 Dak Brook, Minois 6522338, No pur- thay or payment ol any mane is neressany t enter Dne enr per household per month Entries must be handwritten and must be recived by the Tih day of each month to рай for that пөні sweepstakes, Mechanically reproduced entries wil be vaid. Al entries become ікі property ol Drs and vil not be acknowledged or returned. аб assumes о герь forlost тайин lale lege incomplete. варе да, oe misdirected entries. Zif Davis reserve the right to cancel this sweepstakes at any ime wih appropriate notice. 1 ries Gnd Prize. Each month the Grand Pie winner wil receive a package conning mistellaneous items rom the EGM offices witha tal approximate etail vale of a least SI Win determined by a random drawing from all vaid entries by E whose decisions are final Drawing to be held on or about the last dog dish san. AN prize winners wil be roti by тай Pre are Sweepstakes or receipt ol non rarerble No substitutions ol ріте are alowed, exeptat the 5. Wine орі о! Dios should бе име! prizes become unavalable. 3. Odds ol Winning: The number of winners anf the odds ol winning wil be determined by number of valid entries received. Lii Sweepstakes open to residents ol Unte States and Canada [i in бии] wi are subscribers to EGM for a least | Чер prior t the comencement of the curent man vers Non-compliance with the ime parameters oad bersin or remo! ПСО ang pref ntticalan as undeliverable wl es in борае hanging out with my friends at Booblar's Cafe, swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, walking, ping-pong, invitating and video games of course. Favorite Video Games of all time: Giant Leon, Metal Gear Solid, Pokémon and the upcoming Mortal Kombat sequel starring myself. Why I'm here: Many months ago my Web site on the Internet received much praise and hittings. Having a love for video games, and such a large following, 1 finally felt | was ready to contact my favorite American video game magazine ЕСМ for a fun time (I finally had the courage!). І e-mailed them everyday until someone responded (thank you, Che Chou) and the rest is, as they say, historical. Favorite Countries: Turkey (of course), Germany, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Iran and Oak Brook. Favorite sex: All Things to Think About: How many children are starving all through the world? How many children are being sold, or made to work and fight? How many people in the world die of cold and hunger? How many people are imprisoned or violated because of the way they think or dress? How many animals are being killed by the people, or how many are in the danger of extinc- tion? How the environment is ruined? Did you, the human beings, create the world and nature? Or did you find it prepared for you? What time is if? Web Site: members.xoom.com/ XOOM/primall/mahir/index.html WEB SITES SPECIAL EDITION members.tripod.com/~HatPerson/weirdweb.html Thank you to all who continue to send us sites. We love checking them out more than we love cheese. As usual, here's all kinds of sites: Weird, gaming-related, zany, funny, cool, stupid and so on and so forth. Send Web site submissions to shawn smith&zd.com ° mailbits.com ° www.primenet.com/~jayr/mcw.html ° members.aol.com/VINDI/MUSCLE.html * www.bruce-campbell.com * admuseum.com/pepsiman/Pindex.htm ° www.max.org ° www.actionace.com ° www.animedorks.com e www.justsaywow.com/tigerp.htm ° www.newgrounds.com ° www.cowdance.com e community-1.webtv.net/fussman/THEGOOD REVERENDSO/ e www.ex.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/~a97j150/ ° www.devildance.com ° www.rinkworks.com/dialect/ ° www.penny-arcade.com * members.tripod.com/thenavel/navscotty.html * hibikstudio.hypermart.net * members.spree.com/entertainment/chibispark/ ° www.dbcentral.cjb.net * www.synthplanet.com * members.xoom.com/giggas/jacquo/ * inputthis.tripod.com/inputthis.htm ° www.angelfire.com/pokemon/bigglesworth/dex.html * We cannot be held responsible for any of the material presented on the sites listed above. Parents or guardians may want to verify the content of the site(s) before allowing their children to venture forth. Remember to surf safely. EGM's Random Quote of the Month ‘I think he's going to need a colostomy bag.” - Michael Stassus, Creative 1o a guy who was shot in area in the graphic PC s БР р reference particularly sensitive me Soldier of Fortune DID YOU KNOW... eBay is a great place to buy hard-to- find games and systems. Just be care- ful who you buy from. It's also a good place to sell stuff. EGM threw a Little party in San Francisco honoring the winners of our annual Editors' Choice awards. A Lot of people were there, and Lots of drinking and eating took place. Fun was had by all...especially Shoe! Some fighters often ask you to kindly dance to the beat of their soul. Companies should make sure games are 100% finished before releasing them to the public. Although a toll-free hotline sure makes things nice. ;) eSak is a great wrestler, and does not own, operate nor work for eBay. GameShortz are fun and educational. HOT & NOT шынын ш m— = mmm û) ЕСМ The ЕСМ Hol & Not list—a place where you can get an inside look at what the staff of EGM likes and dislikes. The list contains general and specific items, concepts, games, people and more. Note: Particular entries may or may not coincide with the opinions of particular staffers * Resident Evil: Code Veronica * Space Channel 5 * Hybrid electric/gas cars * Cash money * Former President Herbert Hoover (w/ blue snake action) * Nightmare Creatures 2 * eBay * The collectible figures from the company 21st Century Toys ° The phrase “You don't like it?” * Go-Go drinks, especially the Buzzkill flavor * 40 Winks * The History Channel * Harry Potter mania * Game Blast 2000 * The Bukkake Boys * The documentary Pimps Up, Hos down * Really cold weather * Ultima Ascension * Bukkake! * Month-old milk ° G.I. Joe * Accloim's decline * Courtney Love * Re-Militarization of Japan * Politics * The possibility of Shenmue not „coming to the States * Lt. Col. Teddy Roosevelt * The cost of flash memory for devices such as MP3 players and digital cameras * Fear Effect being too short * Batteries * Companies who fail to make games that fully utilize а system's capabilities Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega Featured Іп: ЕСМ #127 Players: 1-2 Supports: None Best Feature: Gorgeous visuals Worst Feature: Atrocious controls Web Site: www.sega.com Hmm, what's the best way to say this? Erm, | know, *this game sucks." Quite what planet the develop- ment team were on when working on it is beyond me, but it certainly wasn't planet "playable soccer game." The graphics may be lovely, but it suffers dramatically from its arcade heritage. Most appar- ent is the ludicrous control system it employs. Whereas most soccer games let you move each play- er around freely, VS2 employs a weird ‘tap the con- trols and watch what happens' system that makes you feel like you're not in charge of what your team is actually doing. It's horribly frustrating...and if you're used to the delights of PlayStation soccer like FIFA 2000, you'll soon feel a rage building up inside as you watch your stupid, stupid, stupid player f' things up every time. Player Al hardly compensates for bad controls either. For the most part the players act par- ticularly dumb, and there seems to be no due con- sideration for the rankings of the international teams that are represented. Time and time again | watched my boys on the England team make stupid mis- takes...like making a throw in that bounces off a play- er forcing a corner kick. Duh-uh? Hello? The com- mentary sucks too. Since when did an announcer sig nify the end of a game with the words "game, set"? What is this, tennis? John Some sports are sparsely represented on video game consoles — soccer is NOT one of them. Virtua Striker 2 is a pretty true port of the wildly popular (in Japan, anyway) arcade game, but | don't see the appeal. It has average visuals, frustrating controls and some really annoying sounds. If I'm going to play "arcade"-style sports games, | want them to be over-the-top (a la Blitz, Showtime, etc). This just seems watered down and dull. DanL Apparently VS2 is a huge hit in Japanese arcades. What do they see in it? It looks great and moves fast but the gameplay is too limited to give it any lasting appeal. There's no analog support, four-player capa- bility, or the ability to switch players manually. Oh yeah, there's only one camera angle. These flaws alone are enough to turn me away. | realize it's meant to be an arcade game but still, a little more con- trol and depth would go a long way here. Dean Virtua Striker 2 has as much depth as a puddle. If you're desperately wanting a soccer game for the DC, then wait, because this isn't it. There's only one camera view, which isn't so bad since you don't have to bother anticipating your opponent's next move since, frustratingly, the players switch automatically. Why no analog control? And if you're going to go with major sports, you need some kind of player licens- ing, which VS2 painfully lacks. Todd VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Hydro Thunder Publisher: Midway Developer: Eurocom Featured Іп: N/A Players: 1-2 Supports: Rumble Pak, Controller Pak, Exp. Pak Best Feature: Near arcade-perfect gameplay Worst Feature: Some slowdown, weak two-player Web Site: www.midway.com How'd they get Hydro Thunder to look this good on the N64? Somehow they did. While the graphics aren't as pretty as the arcade or DC versions, game- play is spot-on (the little touches the DC version lacked are in this). Two-player still has some slow- down and a lot more of the effects are gone (waves, your ship's wake, voice, etc., for the sake of keeping the game running at an even pace). It's too bad that there's nothing above and beyond the arcade game and two extra tracks. No ship customization (like new paint jobs, etc.) or tournament options. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 6 6 9 Publisher: Activision Developer: Eurocom/Disney Int. Featured In: ЕСМ #126 Players: 1 Supports: Memory Pak, Rumble Pak Best Feature: Rich-looking visuals Worst Feature: Kiddie gameplay Web Site: www.activision.com If you've played the PS of Tarzan, you'll miss nothing by passing up this version on store shelves. If you haven't played Tarzan though, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the game's detailed and colorfully rich graphics. The main problem is its lack of difficulty — most gamers will blow through this thing in a night with little or no challenge. So, like a lot of things car- toon, this game is more geared toward kids than adults. And as a kid's game, Tarzan is excellent. There are plenty of items to collect, a variety of levels to play through and a lot of extras from the film. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 161 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Publisher: Activision Developer: Edge of Reality Featured In: ЕСМ #126 Players: 1-2 Supports: Memory Pak, Rumble Pak Linkable combo tricks Troublesome N64 Pad www.activision.com Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Not having reviewed the PlayStation version of Tony Hawk— but hearing a lot of good things about it—| wondered what all of the fuss was about. Now that I've played the N64 version, | know. THPS is the most enjoyable skateboarding game I've ever played. From start to finish the game is put together incredibly well—the graphics, control, play modes, difficulty balance, etc. The Career Mode had me com- ing back for more again and again. | really like how you HAVE to learn how to do a lot of the tricks, and how to combo them, in order to advance to the later levels (don't worry, you'll want to learn them). It makes for a very natural progression through the game. Furthermore, the levels are jam-packed with ramps, rails and more to do tricks with. Half of the fun is finding interesting combinations— say, from a ramp to а rail, through a pane of glass to another rail. The more stuff you link, the more points you get. And from what I've gathered from various skate tapes I’ve seen (I'm afraid 1 just don't have the balls to skate in real life), the trick animations are spot-on. ! also like the choice of music, and the quality of it (although, it gets a bit repetitious at times). Basically, it comes down to this: If you want a skateboarding game on your N64, you shouldn't look anywhere else. Buy Tony Hawk— you won't be disappointed. Shawn THPS on the №64 is an ultra-faithful port of one of my favorite games last year. There's little else to say except repeat what we raved about back in issue #124. Edge Of Reality did a great job fitting the tunes onto a cart. |t doesn't sound as good, but it sure beats generic М64 synth. They've also improved the graphics quite a bit. There's less clipping on some of the more chaotic levels, and the game looks much sharper in general. Highly recommended. спе At first | was skeptical as to whether ог по! the №64 could do this game justice. Having played the PS ver- sion, | can say that this does it. Tony Hawk was a fun game on the PlayStation, and it's fun on the №64. The music tends to get old real quick, but it's amaz- ingly good quality for the М64. Опе can appreciate the fact that this game is not only very true to how skateboarding looks, but it's got the arcade qualities of what makes a game good. Chris Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater continues to amaze me, even оп the №4 it’s great. It’s a touch smoother than the PS version and maybe slightly better-looking as well. The game’s strongest selling point however, con- tinues to be its intuitive trick system and flawless camera work. Immediately upon launch from any ramp the camera shifts to display everything you need to see—it’s very good that way. The gameplay, music, atmosphere...it's all topnotch. Dean VISUALS REPLAY SOUND INGENUITY 8 ] 1 9 EVERYONE Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco Featured In: ЕСМ #126 4 > Players: 1 Supports: Dual Shock, Flight Stick Best Feature: Slick visuals Worst Feature: Weak story Web Site: www.namco.com No doubt about it: The third Ace Combat game is eas- ily the most visually thrilling flight title on the PlayStation. From the detailed cities to the wavy glint cast by the sun and moon on the sea streaking below, the wild blue yonder’s wonders have never looked more realistic. It’s just a shame the rest of the game feels like a step backward for the series. Namco’s cut-rate translation is the main culprit here. The Japanese version is a two-disc game rich with ancillary characters, slick FMV and a gripping plot. That's all been gutted from the U.S. release. Instead, we're only treated to occasional pages of text that flash on the screen and condense the complex plot into a barely coherent Cliffs Notes version. Instead of the first-class experience of the Japanese original, we're stuck with a fun but no-frills flight. You do get a lot of missions— 35 in all. They just don’t deliv- er the white-knuckle ride of Ace Combat 2. Play this game on the hardest setting, because normal mode is too easy. Bogies rarely shoot back, and splashing them is never a problem. You'll encounter some novel scenarios. One mission, set. in orbit, has you darting about in a laser-equipped shuttle. You'll careen through the core of an underground city. You even get to land or refuel in midair once in a while. Nevertheless; еі is. a disappointment. Since Рт а newcomer to the Асе emm series I'll keep this review simple. Things ! like: The sharp, highly detailed graphics. Easy-te-control aircraft with intuitive controls and decent arcade/sim bal- ance. Graphic explosions that look and feel satisfy- ing. And finally, the fact that you can belly-scrape the ground without crashing. Bad things: The story line is contrived and somewhat confusing. | wish you could destroy more structures on the ЖЫШ, This would be m more worthwhile if it was a bit more challenging. It looks fantastic, boasts a lot of good stuffto keep you excited, but if you're a halfway com- petent game player you'll whiz through it in no time. Certainly more imaginative than previous Ace Combats, it tries very hard to blend the “cool” bits from PC sims with arcade-game sensibilities. Things like the padlock view make a big difference to the feel ше Eme Something to rent. John Visually, AG. gets incredibly hi me Taka, It's easi- ly the best-looking game in the series. But as we all know, fancy graphics only go so far. Enemies aren't near aggressive enough, making the game's 3o+ mis- sions much easier than I'd like. Plus there just isn't much to the story...in fact, there isn't really a coher- ent story at all. Missions (though interesting and mostly fun) just kind of come along. You finish one, and then move onto the next, etc. Shawn VISUALS INGENUITY REPLAY SOUND | | | evgyone | | Publisher: Psygnosis Developer: Psygnosis Featured In: EGM #127 => Players: 1 Supports: Dual Shock, Flight Stick Best Feature: Mission variety Worst Feature: Stoopid enemies Web Site: www.psygnosis.com Colony Wars: Red Sun is not the so-frustrating-you'll- bust-your-joypad experience that was Colony Wars: Vengeance. Designed by a new team at Psygnosis’ Leeds studio, Red Sun lets you save your game after every mission instead of after every three or so as in the previous games. And the missions themselves unwind in a more gamer-friendly structure. Instead of the branching mission tree of the past two games, Red Sun doles out a handful of sorties at a time. You, playing as a mercenary pilot, may opt to fly only the missions that tickle your fancy and avoid the rest. Every once іп а while you come across missions you must play to advance the story, but none of them is exceedingly tough or frustrating. (In fact, most enemies are fairly stupid and easy to blast.) The only downside to the new free-form mission structure is that Red Sun has lost a bit of the epic feel of the past. But the story that’s buried beneath all the unrelated missions here is still clever and gripping. Mission variety is once again the strong point of this series. The game thankfully stays away from many annoying escort missions and has you doing everything from capturing protected space blobs for profit to entering Thunderbowl, a lethal flight-combat game show of the future. You get more fighters and weapons to choose from this time, too. Crispin By far a better game than the fatally frustrating Colony Wars: Vengeance, Red Sun delivers. well- designed missions, an excellent story and more than enough ways to customize your ship. You eventually access a vast arsenal of specialized guns, missiles and performance-boosting gadgets. A few Bosses may be tough to topple,.but most missions are more fun than frustrating. At least you can finally save after every mission. It’s about time! Che Anew Tome team for CW: Red Sun КЁ done | wonders for the game's demeanor. After all, while Vengeance looked great (as does Red Sun) and played like a champ, several of the missions were next to impossible. Red Sun's difficulty level is very reasonable. In addition, the music and sound effects are awesome. They recorded a live orchestra for the soundtrack. Loads of ship upgrades, interesting missions sand a good SON, lock this one Up. Dean While not boasting as coherent a Te as the previ ous games, Red Sun is certainly extremely playable. The ground-based missions are a big improvement over Vengeance's and the space battles are much ‘tighter’ and action-packed. There’s no rac- ing around trying to find a fight. The trademark gor- geous graphics are still here, but now they're supple- | mented by some wonderful orchestral music that | really sets a movie-like tone. John | VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 162 - V games Publisher: Tecmo Developer: Tecmo Featured In: N/A ж "> Players: $ Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Making traps, finding new combos isjointed English text www.tecmoinc.com Deceptively simple, in this third installment you set up traps to thwart the bad guys' attempts to kill you. This is one of those rare occasions in an action game where no two people are going to have the same play- ing style. It's non-linear to a point—restricted, yet free, if that makes sense. As you finish missions you get new trap pieces which you can use to make your own combinations. Don't like the layout of a particu- lar room? Walk to the next one. But the major thing holding this game back are the awkward English sentences. A little bit of polishing and BAM—grip- ping story. Music is moody and fits the tone of the whole game. Graphics are quite good, especially in spots where the lights go out and come back on (one of the enemies casts a spell for darkness...most annoying thing in the world). The lack of analog con- trol annoyed me a bit at first, but it actually makes more sense to use the digital pad in a game like this—and there's a button you can just press to auto- matically face your enemies. After you're done with the regular game, there's a trap license mode—very similar to license tests in driving games—and plenty of challenge levels to tackle (and you've gotta be real good to get through them). With every new Deception game it gets more fleshed-out. Let's hope the next one's got multiplayer online play. Chris This is a very тонду гате MUSS is only really spoiled by some appalling translation work. They should've changed some of the names too...c'mon— Queen Margarita? Moments that are supposed to be tense end up just being funny and it spoiled it for me. It is a very thorough game though, and you'll find yourself being well and truly sucked in. Pulling off trap combos can be very satisfying...and you'll invest hours in аген it. John What Deception 3 lacks in етеп it makes up for in addictive gameplay and superb graphics. The actual in-game environments are rich in detail, it's just too bad the trap effects themselves aren't always that impressive. In terms of replay value though, DD definitely packs enough substance. Between the 24 some story levels, and a knuckle-bit- ing expert mode, DD will keep you in front of your PS Forays: Be warned, bad Janglish ahead. Che Deception + 3isa bit “ofan enigma for me. The story is quite fun, once again providing a great alternative to the typical knight-in-shining-armor RPG story line. On the other hand, the goofy dialogue takes away greatly from that. The replay value here is pretty good...this chapter is amazingly addicting, even though it’s lost its edge a bit from the previous two installments. If you liked the first two, you won't be disappointed here...for the most part. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: Fox Interactive Developer: n-Space Featured In: EGM #127 - > Players: š Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Shooting style of play Worst Feature: Third-person action mode Web Site: www.foxinteractive.com The original DHT combined three genres —а third-per- son action game, a shooting game and a driving game—in one nifty package. And while this sequel does essentially the same thing, it doesn’t do it quite as well. Let’s break it down by genre. First, there’s the third-person action-type gameplay: It’s littered with tiny graphical glitches like clipping and polygon drop- out here and there. And the Al is either really smart, or really dumb. Sometimes enemies just stand there while you shoot them. Overall, it’s tedious, and would score a 5.0 on its own. Next, there’s the dri- ving portion of the game: The control is the main problem here. All too often you get stuck on objects jutting out from the sides of a particular area. Using reverse and then drive (as you would in most driving games to get out of a jam) proves to be a ridiculously tedious process—it’s better just to restart the level. Thankfully, you don’t experience this as much in the city driving levels (which are actually pretty fun). | give this part of the game a 6.0. Lastly, there’s the shooting part of DHT2: It's easily the best part of the game, and is GunCon-compatible. There are a huge number of power-ups, and plenty of things to blow up. | give it a 7.5. When you group the three genres together and throw in the story line and what not, it gets an additional half point. Shawn | never played the first Die Hard Trilogy game, so | have nothing to compare this with. But as it is, this is a collection of what would be three barely above- average games made to be one. | think the clipping Shawn mentioned is intentional, like McClain's sup- posed to see through walls. The gun game and dri- ving games are also both really average on their own. The movie setting of the game is fine, but it could've used more attention to each part. Chris It can't touch Syphon Filter but DHT 2 is not the worst I've played. If anything it tries to do а bit too much. I could've lived without the clunky, almost laugh- able driving portion. It's not needed and it’s not fun. The light gun stuff is OK but again, why? Sadly, much ofthe game is given to you. You can see through walls and enemies line up to get shot. Still, | like DHT 2 to a point, but | can't recommend it unless you're really into these genres. Give it a rent instead. Dean The original DHT was quite...original for the time (combining three totally unrelated genres into a decent package). Now that the "thrill" of three- games-in-one is old news, the arrival of DHT2 is no big deal. It's a bigger "no big deal" when you actual- ly play it. Some parts are frustrating, because of poor level design. Some parts are plain no fun, because of repetitive gameplay. DHT2 is a nice distraction, but nothing to yell “Yippee-ki-yay” over. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: Eidos Developer: Kronos Digital Ent. Featured In: ЕСМ #123 > Players: í Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Good lord...the story and atmosphere! Worst Feature: Controls, boss battles Web Site: www.eidos.com It's a little Indiana Jones. It's a little Blade Runner. It's a little Sixth Sense, survival horror and John Woo. Fear Effect is a lot of things, and for the most part, everything’s done right. This game is an amazing cin- ematic experience and is more impressive in the sto- rytelling and drama department than Metal Gear Solid. The plot is full of the types of surprises and twists you'd only think would happen in a grown-up movie. Add to that the terrific graphics (with gor- geous and immersive FMV backgrounds on every screen), ambient sound, anime-like cinemas, smooth transitions from movies to gameplay and solid voice acting, and you have here one of the coolest and slickest games you'll ever find on the PS. A few prob- lems nag me though. The controls can be somewhat clunky. This is especially noticeable during boss fights, when the sluggish movement becomes a big- ger enemy to you than the opponent itself. Speaking of bosses, some of them have this lame weak point hot spot that only opens up during certain situations that don't necessarily make sense. Other complaints include a few puzzles that have a kindergarten level of difficulty and a short, overall game length (which was only disappointing because | wanted the experi- ence to last much longer). From intro to the differ- ent endings...this game blew те away. Shoe Intriguing is one way to describe Fear Effect. Sounds like hype but the characters, plot, the Blade Runner- like ambience, it all melds together to create quite a surrealistic thriller. No doubt it'll keep you glued to the set for the duration. The fortunate part is, no one element weakens the game. If it had bad control oran impossible puzzle it would ruin the vibe. If any- thing it's a little obvious at times but nothing major. | highly recommend this one. Dean You really wouldn't know that this was an American game. In terms of production values and storyline it has a lot in common with the very best that anime has to offer. Despite some niggly control issues (which you get used to), over-simplified puzzles and the fact that it's a bit short for four discs' worth of game, it has to be said that Fear Effect is topnotch. The plot is simply superb and it's filled with twists and surprises. A true “adult” game. John Three things keep FE from receiving a higher score: The quirky aiming system, the obvious puzzles and the length of the game. Thankfully, you can learn to deal with the first two minor problems. And as far as the length of the game goes...well, the experience is simply amazing so the game's length doesn't mat- ter much. FE is interesting, with a lot of twists and other spooky bits, and as entertaining as any good movie. Plus, | love the stylized visuals. Shawn REPLAY VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY 163 Publisher: Square EA Developer: Square Featured In: EGM #128 > Players: і Supports: Dual Shock Mature story, deep gameplay Graphics are a bit outdated www.squaresoft.com Web Site: | remember the long nights | spent with the import of FM3 last winter. Every minute | spent wrestling with the Japanese text, deriving half-meanings and gener- alities from the kanji, | longed—no, | prayed—for Square to bring this over to the U.S. Now I'm happy to report that FM3 has more than survived the trans- lation...in fact, it’s my favorite game from Square since FFVIII last summer. Behind FM3’s straightfor- ward (but never simplistic) turn-based tactics engine is a dynamic world of politics and characters. In- between battles (there are 131 scenarios in all), you're given free reign to customize your mech in any combination of ways you see fit. What really adds to the strategy on the battlefield is the whole notion of salvaging enemy mechs to overhaul your own. You begin to think twice about obliterating that rare enemy model. Plus, the ability to mix and match body parts and weapons ultimately gives you unlim ited flexibility to prep for the field. The battles them- selves are strangely addictive; those who found FF Tactics to be long-winded will like FM3's 15- to 20- minute battles. You see, it's a perfect tension between story and battles—both are compelling enough to make you play the next stage before you hit the sack. | could go on about this game all day. Look, you like mechs and tactics? Get FM3! Che Just when | was getting burned out on turn-based strategy, Front Mission 3 comes along and makes me a true believer again. It’s the sci-fi setting that got me hooked. Mech battle animation is fantastic, the in-game cinemas are well-done and the FMV is down- right incredible (if only there was more). Combat itself isn’t quite as deep as what you'll find in FF Tactics-style games, but the load of mech-construc- tion options make up for it. Crispin It's about time someone brought out a non-fantasy, non-magical tactics game on the PlayStation The mech theme alone makes Front Mission 3 worth playing. The deep level of play (with nearly unlimited customization options), immersive story line and backdrop make the game worth coveting. This is an amazing game that deserves your attention. Make sure to set aside some good time...this sucker is loooonnngg. Shoe This is the first time Square’s brought a Front Mission to the U.S., and they couldn't have selected a better game for its debut. There's so much background detail to the story that you'll believe that things will actually be like this 100 years from now (and if it is, | hope I'm reincarnated as a Japanese mech pilot). I'm not usual- ly into heavy strategy in an RPG, but the battles are just long enough so there's never a dull moment. A must for any fan of strategy RPGs. Chris VISUALS SOUND REPLAY INGENUITY Publisher: SCEA Developer: Clap Hanz Featured In: ЕСМ #128 Players: 1-4 Supports: Multi-tap Best Feature: Great golf physics Worst Feature: Not enough taunts :) Web Site: www.sony.com Hopefully my enthusiasm won't come across too grossly in this review, but | must say | really, really like this game. Clap Hanz (the new developer) has taken a great golf engine and made it better. Sounds like a cliché but it's true. The way the ball reacts to wind, spin, the slants of the fairways and greens...it's all spot-on. No other (except Mario Golf) gives you as many variables to play with. Gameplay involves much more than simply nailing the power and release points. It’s factoring the wind direction and velocity, trees, water hazards, etc., etc. With such a solid base, the rest is gravy. The anime players have been replaced with corny American characters—a fat lady, a muscle dude, and so on. In addition, Gex, Sweet Tooth and Sir Dan from MediEvil, are hidden within (they have the strongest attributes). Another useful feature lets you select custom clubs to best suit your playing style. They include: Big Ай, Turbo Spin and Pinhole. Ball choices are more limited but offer heavy spin and distance. Turbo Spin works great because it lets you stick your shots just where you want them. If you do it really well, it leaves a trail of flame as it backtracks. My only complaint involves the mapping on the greens. It's a little vague as to which way the turf slants. Other than that, I love this damn game. Go buy it today. Dean It may not seem that different from the original at first, but Hot Shots 2 is in fact much improved and worth grabbing—even if you're still addicted to the first game. In addition to being fine-tuned, the game- play itself is more realistic (especially putting). And while that makes for a harder game, it also means HS2 is a deeper experience. The secret characters are a nice touch and fun to whip out in multiplayer. This is the only golf game you'll need. Crispin There's a pretty good argument for Hot Shots not actually needing a sequel. After all, there wasn't exactly much wrong with the original. Still, here we are, and if anything | think it has to be said that the charm of it all has been spoiled somewhat. Opening new stuff up is cool, and the Sony franchise charac- ters make a nice diversion— but | don't understand why it now has to play more realistically. It's harder now, and consequently not quite as fun. John Sporty gamers and non-sporty gamers (like myself) can pick up Hot Shots 2 and have a rip-roaring good time. You could say it brings these two warring fac- tions together in harmonious golfing bliss. As you'd expect, the play mechanics are perfect—| never had to question why a ball landed or rolled a certain way. | also like the cheesy stereotypical golfers (especially that comb-over dude) much better than the fat-headed anime versions. Buy it. Shawn VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 8 1 8 10 Кар укы А! Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Featured In: М/А Players: 1 Supports: Dual Shock, Analog Best Feature: Cartoony graphics, lotsa fun Worst Feature: A little on the short side Web Site: www.capcom.com IF you're looking for cold, serious platform action with no humor whatsoever, don’t play this game. But if you're looking for a fun, challenging romp starring Mega Man Legends’ main villain, then you'll want to play Tron Bonne. The game is divided up into missions, each with three levels of difficulty. They range from a botched bank robbery (or several of them) to stealing cows and pigs from a farm. There’s even a few puzzle levels that’ll have you scratching your head for hours. One of the more interesting features is that you have 40 Servbots, all of which reside somewhere on your trusty ship, the Gesellschaft. You can assign them duties, like devel- oping new weapons, changing the look of your ship, changing the BGM on your ship. You can also send them out on scouting missions for items while you’re finishing missions. They each have stats, and as you complete missions, more rooms of your ship are completed for these guys to hang around in (includ- ing a Torture Room). Graphics are cartoony Capcom- style, and the voices are particularly well-done. Favorite Servbot line—“Look! It's a Treasure Chest. Can we use the Key Card to open it?” As fun as it is, it's still a little short and | never liked the Mega Man Legends style control (two enemies on screen, it can’t decide what to lock onto. Chris Tron Bonne is cute in a way but its target audience is а mystery to me. | guess fans of Mega Man would get the most out of it. The silly part is, it’s kiddy in many ways but deep enough to be confusing for young gamers. All that crap about debt and bank robbing, plus managing the Servbots. That stuff could get screwy real fast. | categorize this as an oddball title that only a select few will appreciate. Probably the same guys who like Irritating Stick. Dean Lighthearted. Interesting. These are just a couple of the words that come to mind as | play Tron Bonne. 50, if you're in the mood for this sort of thing with a Mega Man Legends style, you'll like Tron Bonne. There are plenty of challenging puzzles to complete, and other things to do in the game (whether you're completing one of the main missions, or sending out your Servbots). Myself, I've been in the mood for games with a little more edge lately. Shawn Bear in mind you're gonna need to stomach a lot of ultra-cutesy stuff while playing Misadventures of Tron Bonne. From the squeaky voice-overs to the doe-eyed Servbots, this game scores a mile high on the ain't-that-adorable scale. Yet MoTB is one deceptively deep game. You'll cruise around in lots of vehicles and play even more addicting mini-games. Tinkering with your Servbots is nearly a game іп itself. Ridiculous? Yes. Fun? Of course. Crispin VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 6 6 6 lap 2/4 EVERYONE Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts Featured In: EGM #124 Players: 1-2 Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Lots of substance Worst Feature: Согпу commentary Web Site: www.ea.com For a goofy racing game aimed at kids, NASCAR Rumble packs a lot of depth and universal appeal. You get a heap of familiar NASCAR drivers and cars (trucks too) plus wacky hidden vehicles. If that weren't enough, Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, Benny Parsons and several other legends are includ- ed. So you have all the brand recognition and licens- es you could dream about plus dump trucks, buses and tractors. This game has it all. Before you get too excited however, remember it's still primarily a kid's game. Forget about realistic physics and life-like racing, these cars bounce around the tracks like pinballs. High-velocity roll-overs, spin-outs and hardcore demolition-style racing are par for the course. Adding to the combat action are a host of weather-related weapons including: Storm Cloud, Freeze, Lighting, Twister and a bunch more. In the end, Rumble has a nice balance of NASCAR appeal and combat racing excitement. It doesn't take much Skill to drive so most of the fun comes from grabbing power-ups and cutting down the competition. Short- cuts and other tricky stuff add to the carnival atmos- phere as well. And, while kids should like this game, racing fans in general will appreciate the great frame- rate, car selection and two-player action. It's a nice departure from the serious NASCAR sim. Dean If Daytona USA on the Saturn had been like NASCAR Rumble here, | think | would have been quite con- tent. Rumble is fun, over-the-top arcade racing that kept me coming back for more. Why? Well, the game's physics aren't much to speak of, but its sin- gle-player mode is loaded with bonus cars, tracks and power-ups. | found the steering to be a tad touchy when it came to some of the harder tracks. If you're looking for mindless fun, here it is. спе This is а game designed for all of you who don't like the idea of taking your thumb off the gas button. 1 was very pleasantly surprised by this, and while it's not the greatest racer to grace the PlayStation, it's certainly a bit different from the licensed car, GT- rip-offs that we're seeing all the time. The car dynam- ics are arcadey but cool, there are plenty of short- cuts, loads of weapons and there's a ton of stuff to open up. Well worth looking at. John | think Rumble is a lot of fun, so | guess that means I'm a child...according to Dean anyway. Yeah, it may be on the superficial side, and it may not have the realistic physics and control sim-driving junkies crave, but it's fun. | like Rumble's to-the-point style (you're racing and having a good time in a matter of seconds). The incredible graphics help, too. But | could've done without the annoying quips, and the wailing guitar solos—that stuff is lame. Shawn VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 8 6 1 1 164 Publisher: 989 Studios Developer: Eidetic Featured In: ЕСМ #128 > Players: 1-2 Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: You can now save at checkpoints Worst Feature: Frustrating levels, poor multiplayer Web Site: www.989studios.com yphon Filter 2 will sell. You know it, we know it. But it's our job to tell you that it's a subpar sequel to one of the best games last year; and in typical 989 fashion, SF2 is sloppy, rushed and rehashed. The game engine itself offers no substantial improve- ment, other than a feeble "jump" function that you can't even control, and the ability to save at checkpoints. However, the price we pay for such minor improvements far out- weigh the rewards. It seems that by allowing you to save (and restart) at each checkpoint, Eidetic has open license to create some of the most linear and frustrating levels ever. What happened to the classic arctic base level from the original SF, where triggering an alarm sent you up shit creek but kept the game rolling just the same? As it is, SF2 has lost all sense of spontaneity. Expect to run each gauntlet over and over again with machine-like preci- Lian is now a playable character on some of the levels. The way Logan "breathes" her name, it always sounds like "Leon." Sion until you've figured out the lay of the land. And why did Eidetic destroy the balance between run-and-gun versus stealth game- play? Overall, there are a lot more stealth mis- sions, each filtered through SF2's harsh mis- Sion parameters (read: get caught, start over and over and over and over.). However, there's à cool string of levels in Russia that really bring back the old SF feeling, but it's over all too soon and before you know it, Logan's sneaking around with his Taser again. A huge disappointment comes in the form of SF2's multiplayer mode. Granted, it's nice being able to unlock characters and levels to use in DM, but what's the point when the actual DM game is so barebones and shallow? Two-play- er versus always comes down to grabbing the grenade launcher, locking the target and ka- boom, instant frag. If you're lucky, you'll pull off a non-camper head shot—thanks to how painfully slow it is to aim your gun. We know it was silly of us to expect a real sequel from 989, but hey...we can always dream. 165 Now that enemies can take head shots at you, get ready to do a lot of evasive rolling, and of course, better get used to the picture below. The first SF combined the best elements of games like Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider, with just the right balance of difficulty between its action and puzzle- oriented levels. The fact that it had a decent plot and gripping interludes only added to my surprise. Unfortunately, it appears the only thing that carried over to SF2 was the story, which picks up tightly where the first one left off. Even as it resides on two CDs, almost all the levels on disc 1 are a complete let- down. It isn't until the beginning of disc 2 that the game even resembles the SF | fell in love with last year. Instead of tense and dynamic environments that gave you room to exude your style of play, SF2 requires you to do things exactly as they've planned it.as a result, you often feel like you're playing around their limited events triggers. Imagine a Metal Gear Solid where the game ends every time you're spotted by a guard —that's how frustrating SF2 is! Each level is a laborious exercise of trial-and-error, where you constantly learn things the hard way. And to up the difficulty, enemies can now perform head shots with uncanny accuracy, be it in pitch-black fog, or from rooftops against a running target. That's not gameplay, that's frustration. You don't understand how it breaks my heart. SF2 looks like SF, but it's only а hollow shell of its former self. Che It's not that Syphon Filter 2 is a bad action game. It's just a bad sequel to the excellent original. Cheap death lurks everywhere. Enemies score headshots on you before you even know they were there. Baddies toss grenades all around your position. Stealth missions screech to a halt every time you're caught. The numerous checkpoints help, since you don't have to cover too much old ground when you mess up, but expect major frustration. Crispin The story of Syphon Filter 2 could be extremely cool. It would actually be quite fantastic if it didn't have the game associated with it. АЦ the tedious running around and shooting stuff does very little to fur- ther the pace of the story. Sequels should, as a rule, improve on their predecessors, but SF2 (while more "epic" than the original) is a far more linear and tedious affair. It's harsh too...you'll try some sections 500000 many times before you get it right. John Having never played the first game, | didn't know what to expect. I'd heard plenty about how good the first game was. What | found was an incredibly frus- trating action game. Whatever happened to the concept of fair play? And although some people are turned off by the extremely low-detailed character renders in the cinema, I think it works to achieve a real comic-book look. After hearing how good the first game was, this is a bit of a letdown. Chris REPLAY VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY Publisher: THQ Developer: Yuke's Featured In: EGM #127 > Players: 1-4 Supports: Dual Shock, Multi-tap Best Feature: This is the best wrestling engine yet Worst Feature: Matches take too long Web Site: www.thq.com Wrestling titles went stale last year, with new games being nothing more than miniscule updates of previ- ous editions. Thankfully, THQ is bringing us SmackDown!, a game that really pushes the genre to the next level. This disc should really please wrestling fans, because it does the best job of any game so far of bringing home that wrestling soap- opera feel. With the backstage activities, personal vendettas, special referee matches (if you play as the ref, you can decide how slowly or quickly you want to count someone out!) and more, this has that certain RPG feel/interaction missing in all other titles so far (though it could be done better). Even better, the game engine far surpasses anything else on the market. Not only does SmackDown! put all others to shame graphically, it's fast, it controls well and it has incredible collision detection. You know how in other games, you can't hit an opponent because a.) you don't have him targeted or b.) he's in the middle of an animation (like getting up) that isn't programmed to be recognized by attacks? Well, with SmackDown!, you can hit pretty much everyone, if they're within range. (I once knocked down three guys with one roundhouse punch.) You can also attack folks in just about any situation or animation. This is a great engine with a lot of frills backing it. Shoe SmackDown! has more depth and personality than any wrestling game I've played. For starters, the story line incorporates enough WWF shtick to sat- isfy any fan. Realistic venues complete with TV-style camera work and animated crowds charge the circus atmosphere to an impressive level. The move inter- face is the best feature however. No combos, just direction and one button-it works well. SmackDown! is a must-buy for wrestling fans. Dean Acclaim and EA, look out. SmackDown! is the new wrestlefest to beat—and it's not just 'cause this thing looks so much better than the competition. The ultra-fast gameplay and quick-change camera angles really get your blood pumpin', while collision detec- tion is nearly dead-on. You get all the modes you could want (you can even play as the ref). SmackDown! also manages to capture some of the soap-opera-style story elements of the real WWF. Crispin SmackDown! is the play mode- and option-filled, graphically impressive wrestling game fans of the sport have been waiting for. Sure, sequels and new versions of wrestling games from various companies have been fun, but there was never really much to set them apart from their predecessors. Not the case in SmackDown!. In addition, the thing controls like a dream, and | like how you can hit anybody at any time. If | only watched wrestling on TV. Shawn VISUALS REPLAY SOUND INGENUITY Publisher: Agetec Developer: From Software Featured In: EGM #128 > Players: 1-2 Supports: Link Cable Best Feature: Good multiplayer support Worst Feature: Dated graphics, rehashed engine Web Site: www.agetec.com Armored Core's going on almost four years now and it still holds up very well. Sure, the graphics are dated, but the gameplay has drawn such a funda- mentally diehard crowd that From Software has felt no need to change it. It's been a long time since we busted out the link cable, but Armored Core almost demands it. Split-screen head-to-head is fun, but ultimately a limiting experience. There's an extra disc (to use for link mode) that contains a bunch of extra mech parts and DM arenas too. The question is...do we need another add-on pack for Armored Core? VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: Psygnosis Developer: Attention to Detail Featured In: EGM #120 A> Players: 1-2 Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Allthe extra stuff you can open Worst Feature: А tad on the easy side Web Site: www.psygnosis.com Thankfully, many of the problems in the first RC have been fixed or at least improved upon, making this sequel a much more enjoyable experience. Most noticeably, you don't get all flipped around for no apparent reason as much, and when you do it's pret- ty easy to straighten yourself out. The speed is quite amazing as well (especially when you combine tur- bos). There are a good variety of courses (although Some could've been longer), and plenty of devastat- ing weapons. All this and a ton of fun stuff to open makes RCS2 a futuristic racer to consider. VISUALS INGENUITY REPLAY SOUND 166 Publisher: Nintendo/Capcom Developer: Nintendo Software Development Г] Featured In: EGM #127 *.. Players: 1 "s Supports: Game Boy Color Best Feature: Old-school gameplay to the max Worst Feature: That it didn’t happen sooner Web Site: www.nintendo.com What's really great about Bionic Commando isn't just the fact that it marks the return of one of the NES's greatest games. It's that Nintendo Software Development has taken an already classic game and made it better. They've improved the graphics, the interface, created a female character (so you have two commandos to choose from), and made other adjustments to the game to make it that much better. | never played the previous arcade and Game Boy versions, but this is simply a great portable game. But be warned...this is a hardcore game. Not as difficult as | remember the NES game being, but not easy. The additions of modes like first-person tar- get practice and top-down, lkari Warriors-style shooting action mixes things up a bit but keeps it all as a cohesive whole. Why Capcom has not brought Bionic Commando back before this—and really, | credit Nintendo Software Development with this one—is beyond me. Control is very tight, and you never feel like you're taking cheap hits. Unlike many third-party Game Boy titles, the control is not dictat- ed by animation that has to finish before you can move—after a while it becomes second-nature. It’s also a rare breed, as there aren't that many GB action titles to begin with. A more than worthy addition to any portable fan's library. Chris Once upon a time, | was a huge fan of the arcade Bionic Commando. Even though the NES version gave the game much-needed depth for a home console experience, | never gave it a chance. Now, playing it on the GBC, I’ve come to realize what I’ve missed all these years. Although I'm not sure | like some of the things they've changed...like what happened to the Nazi regime of the 8-Bit version? Now you're up against Ming from Flash Gordon. спе Like Ghosts 'N Goblins, Bionic Commando is а classic brought over to the Game Boy. But unlike GnG, BC has a good deal of new stuff added to it (a “sniper mode,” an extra character and more). This stuff makes the game even better than the original. Furthermore, the thing plays as well as it would on a regular home system (unlike most GB games that control like crap). If you've been hankering for a solid GB action game, look into this one. Shawn If | could name one thing | like about the GBC (а sys- tem | wish would retire to make room for the next generation of handhelds), it's that it's home to plen- ty of old-school, hardcore games. This machine is giving a lot of classics new life. Bionic Commando is especially enjoyable since it's not a straight port. The new gameplay elements and levels make this well worth checking out (that is, if you're a fan of the original, or you still dig 2D side-scrollers). Shoe INGENUITY REPLAY coe SOUND Publisher: Red Storm Developer: Crawfish Г] Featured In: ЕСМ #123 Players: 1 Supports: None Best Feature: Worst Featu Web Site: Captures story of PC game : Too slow-paced www.redstorm.com It's amazing what they can cram into the Game Boy these days. Whether something is a good idea or not, you have to admire the talent that goes into cram- ming the major elements of a game like Rainbow Six and making it 2D, 8-Bit and portable. Somehow Crawfish has managed to capture all of the basic story elements from the first PC game and convey them adequately. Pretty amazing. In fact, it actually manages to cram in more of the strategy elements in than Rebellion's lackluster PlayStation version. Impressive indeed. The only problem is, the resulting game is nowhere near as fun or as tense as its grown-up 3D brothers and sisters. Part of the fun with the other versions is sneaking around the envi- ronments and ducking down so you're not seen. The transfer to top-down 2D kinda removes this element, and you end up just walking around maps that are too damn big, and not filled with enough bad guys to shoot at. By removing the uncertainty and the stealth aspects and neglecting to replace them with all-out action, it seems that Red Storm has missed out on something that could've been very absorbing. Unfortunately, it all ends up being rather boring instead. This is an impressive game "on paper," but you'll very quickly tire of it. Graphically it can get hard on the eyes at times too. John Rainbow Six for the Game Boy tries to cram in every feature of its PC big brother. You get all the weapons, the gear, the team members, the planning mode and the story. Trouble is, not much survived the minia- turization. Planning is a chore— especially figuring out how to place Go Codes. The game itself fails to capture the tension of the original. Hostages and teammates often get stuck on walls when following you. This thing's for patient gamers only. Crispin This game, on this platform makes zero sense, no matter how you look at it. By taking away the “first- person" POV, you're castrating the realism, atmos- phere and tension of the original. Then you give the game a bunch of sophisticated options (like organiz- ing squads and equipping agents), and you've auto- matically alienated the handheld shooting fans. What other demographic are you supposed to be reaching out to? Not this reviewer. спе If this was all the РС game was, | can't imagine hav- ing ever been interested in it. Who's idea was it to port this to the Game Boy, anyway? There are just some platforms you shouldn't try to port games to. It's just too limited. Rainbow Six needs the kind of immersion afforded by 3D, or needs to be complete- ly adapted to take advantage of the limits of 2D. Some have been able to achieve it, but this just isn't enough game to hold my interest. Chris VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: Capcom Developer: Digital Eclipse Featured In: ЕСМ #119 Players: 1 Supports: None Best Feature: Old-school feel Worst Feature: It’s tedious in parts Web Site: www.capcom We don’t really need to tell you this game is hella fun to play—you should know. After all, GnG is a classic. And since this GB version is a near-perfect conver- sion, it retains those same classic qualities. Sure, the gameplay is a tad simple, and the graphics and sound are dated, but overall it’s a lot fun (even on that little screen). What’s more, if you haven’t taken on an old-school platformer in awhile, it'll prove to be quite a task. But the trial is worth it. It will bring back those warm fuzzy memories of the good old days. Besides, it's better than most GB platformers. VISUALS INGENUITY REPLAY a SOUND Publisher: Infogrames | Developer: Infogrames-Paris Г] Featured In: ЕСМ #124 ee Players: 1-2 7s Supports: None Best Feature: Hmmm...it’s portable? Worst Feature: Web Site: It’s seriously disappointing www.infogrames.com We love Worms. From the first game to Armageddon, we've been fans for quite a while. The thought of playing this strategy game on the go did excite us, but 10 seconds into the thing, that excitement disap- peared faster than you can yell "incoming!" The game lets you do so little (compared to the real deal), it's really not worth checking out. The lackluster graphics and controls don't help out any either. Even if you don't compare this game to big brother (on DC, PS, N64, PO), it's still not fun. WA for GBC is less on Strategy and more on mindless bazooka shooting. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 161 Publisher: SNK Developer: Yumekobo Featured Іп: EGM #128 Players: 1-2 Supports: Link Cable Best Feature: Allof SNK's women in one game Worst Feature: АІ wakes up when they're low on life Web Site: www.snkusa.com About time someone made an all-girl fighting game, don't ya think? SNK has so many women characters that it just makes sense. But there are still a few cameos (some surprising) of the guys from SNK's other fighters. Battles often begin very slowly, but as you get your opponent's health meter lower, they really heat up. It's as if the Al is based solely on how much energy your opponent's got, and that point gets higher and higher as you work your way up. Perhaps the most innovative feature of Gals Fighters is the item system. You'll win items in battles, each of which you can use to your advantage. For example, some fill your special attack meter to full right off the bat, others take some energy away from your oppo- nent at the start of the match, etc. Lose the match when equipped with an item, and it'll be stolen. In two-player battles, the winner can steal an item from the loser. So there's a lot more at stake than just your pride if you lose. The visuals in Gals Fighters are excellent. Animation is often a mix of serious attacks and humor. From Yuki screaming, “NO!” to Athena donning bunny ears and a wand, you can tell the developers had fun with this game. Only thing real- ly lacking is a lack of an in-game moves list to look at in training mode. Otherwise, this is yet another superb handheld fighting game from SNK. Ghris NGPC handheld fighters continue to show incredible evolution. As good as Match Of The Millennium was last time around, Gals Fighters feels faster, more responsive, and actually looks better. The improve- ments are marginal, but they really do add a lot of drama to the fight. Two player mode is also handled nicely, with the option of losing or gaining “items” as you win or lose. NGPC has actually given handheld The last handheld fighting game | played was Street Fighter 2 on the ol' Game Boy a long time ago. Those of you who remember it will no doubt also recall that it was absolute crap. Imagine my surprise after pop- ping in Gals Fighters. Wow. Not only is this the best handheld fighter I've ever played, it's also one of the best-looking handheld games I've seen. Like all fighting games, playing the computer does get old, so go get a buddy with a link cable ready. Orispin With an act like Match of the Millennium to follow, Gals Fighters is a tough sell. The only real thing it has going for it is the femme-fatale theme. But will you want to play it after experiencing the huge cast and features galore (tag battles, mini-games, etc.) of SNK vs. Capcom? Probably not. On its own, it's a decent gamec it's probably the second best fighter on the system. I just wish SNK would've kept pushing the envelope with the portable fighter genre. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 9 8 5 1 ж COMPUTER would like to CONGRATULATE :ne WINNERS of GAME BLAST 2000 HONORING the BEST * PC ana Console Games of 1999 XC Sul Calibur ا‎ Gamers’ Choice qi e of the Year - All Systems Publisher SEGA Beveleper Namco D * Unreal Tournament Er. ОО Premier Award e of the Year Publisher GT Interactive Developer Epic MegaGames Tricks of Send your best tricks, codes, Web sites and anything else that can help make games more fun and interesting to: Tricks of the Trade P.0. Box 3338, бак Brook, IL 60522-3338 or send e-mail to: tricks@zd.com By Trickman Terry • tricks@zd.com pes DREAMCAST Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Many Codes Press Start to pause in the mid- dle of the game and enter any of these codes for the results as shown. You will hear a sound after each code is entered: Refill Health Hold L-Trigger and press Down, B, Up, Left, Up, Left. Next Level Health Hold L-Trigger and press Right, A, Left, Y, Up, Down. Maximum Health Hold L-Trigger and press Right, B, Down, Up, Down, Up. Refill Magic Hold L-Trigger and press Right, Right, Left, Y, Right, Down. Maximum Magic Hold L-Trigger and press Y, Right, Down, Right, Up, Y, Left. Pass Through Barriers Hold L-Trigger and press Down, B, B, Left, Right, Y, Up. Wall Climbing Hold L-Trigger and press Y, Down, X, Right, Up, Down. Hurt Raziel Hold L-Trigger and press Left,B, Up, Up, Down. Force Hold L-Trigger and press Left, Right, B, Left, Right, Left. Constrict Hold L-Trigger and press Down, Up, Right, Right, B, Up, Up, Down. Force Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Down, Left, Y, Down, Up. Stone Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Down, B, Up, Left, Down, Right, Right. Sound Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Right, Right, Down, B, Up, Up, Down. Water Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Down, B, Up, Down, Right. Sunlight Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Left, B, Left, Right, Right, Up, Up, Left. -110 Fire Glyph Hold L-Trigger and press Up, Up, Right, Up, Y, X, Right. Shift at Any Time Hold L-Trigger and press Up, Up, Down, Right, Right, Left, B, Right, Left, Down. Jim Krieger Carbondale, IL Re-Volt Many Codes From the Main Menu, choose Start Race. Then select a Single Race. Now enter your name as one of the codes as shown below for various results. MAGGOT- All of your cars are now tiny racers. CARTOON- This gives you access to all the cars. TRACTION- This gives you all of the tracks. OYOY- All weapons are available. While playing, press L-Trigger+R- Trigger to cycle through them. YUEFO- You now have access to the Probe U.F.O. The number of ££M staffers who admit to watching the late trickmeister Doug Henning's TV specials as a youth CHANCER- This will allow you to change cars in the middle of the race. Just press up or down at the Pause Menu to change your car. FLYBOY- This gives you Hifi mode. GOATY- This allows you to go into the progress table and edit your wins, losses, etc. Many Codes From the Main Menu, choose the Options Screen. From there, press the A button on Game Status, choose your player with A, and then press the L Shift+R Shift buttons simultaneously. From here, you can enter these passcodes for the results shown. You will hear a voice say, *Funky" when they are entered correctly. Each time you com- plete a code, you will have to press L Shift+R Shift to enter a new one. No Enemies Enter HOME ALONE for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. No Delay Firing Enter RAPID. FIRE for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. Monster Wheels Enter GO MONSTER for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Suspended Cars Enter JACK. IT UP for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. Heavier Cars Enter GO RAMMING for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Increased Enemy Attack Enter UNDER FIRE for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Deadlier Missiles Enter BLAST FIRE for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. CPU Picks Features Enter QUICK PLAY for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. Quick Vehicles Enter MORE SPEED for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Slow Vehicles Enter GO SLOW MO for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Floating Cars 222 Enter МО GRAVITY for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. No Wheel Attachment Icons Enter DRIVE ONLY for your pass- code. Press the A button to com- plete it. Sequence of Movies Enter LONG MOVIE for your passcode. Press the A button to complete it. Toy Story 2 Level Select On the Мат Menu/Title Screen, use the analog stick (not the pad) and press it in the following directions: Up, Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down. You will hear an animal noise if the trick was done correctly. When you begin m your game, press Right on the analog stick to move to different stages. Now choose your level! Kena Warrior Princess: Talisman of Fate Cool Codes For each trick, first go to the Main Menu Screen and quickly press Right, Right, Left, Left, Right, Left, Right. You will hear a sound. Then enter the codes as shown. You will hear a sound when the code is complete. Xena Vs Gabrielle (Hope) in Quest Mode C-Left, C-Left, C-Left, C-Left. Despair is a Playable Character C-Left, C-Right, C-Left, C-Right. Higher (Titan) Difficulty Level C-Up, C-Down, C-Up, C-Down. А new difficulty setting called Titan will replace god difficulty. PLAYS ON Crash Team Racing Unlock New Racers At Main Menu Screen (with Adventure, Time Trial, etc.), press and hold L1+R1 and enter one of these codes (works in any mode except Adventure): TOP 10 TRICKS The top 10 games of the last month given the full-on Trickman treatment: 1. Donkey Kong 64 (N64) Arcade Donkey Kong First complete DK's Barrel Blast inside Frantic Factory and then a lever will appear. Grab the lever in front of the Donkey Kong Arcade game to play. You must win the game by beating all of the stages (four in all). Then beat the game once more to obtain the Nintendo Coin. Now, take pictures of six fairies with your camera. After return- ing to the Main Menu, go to the Mystery Menu and you will see an option to play the Arcade Donkey Kong game at any time! 2. Pokémon (Yellow) (GB) Easy Level Gain To easily gain experience, sim- ply switch the Pokémon you want to train with the top Pokémon on your list. When in battle, this Pokémon will appear. You can then switch Pokémon. Once you win the battle, the beginning Pokémon and the fighting Pokémon both gain experi- ence points. This is especially useful if the Pokémon you want to build up has no initial attack in its first form. remm (Red) Fight Safari Zone Pokémon Choose a Pokémon with the Surf Ability. Go to the area in the Safari Zone where your desired Pokémon is. Stay there until time runs out. Go to the Seafoam Islands by surfing south of Fuchsia City. Don’t encounter any enemies on the way, or the trick won’t work (not including the Pokémon in the water on the way). On the edge of the islands, there is a strip of the screen that is half land, and cont. on p. 473 TRICKS Crash Team Racing cont. Ripper Roo Right, Circle, Circle, Down, Up, ФРИ 055021079 М. Тгорһу Down, Left, Right, Up, Down, Right, Right. Jordan Raup Honeoye Falls, FL WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? Medal of Honor Many More Codes From the Options Screen, choose “Password” then enter any of these codes into the Enigma Machine: (These codes work in Multiplayer Mode.) Unlock Wolfgang Put in HOODUP as your code. Unlock Bismarck Put in WOOFWOOF as your code. Unlock Otto Put in HERRZOMBIE as your code. Unlock Noah Put in BEACHBALL as your code. Unlock Von Braun Put in ROCKETMAN as your code. (These codes are unlocked in the Gallery Screen.) Unlock the Making of Level 1 (history) Put in INVASION as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 2 (history) Put in BIGGRETA as your code. TOP 5 DRIVING CODES—GET OUTTA MY CAR! Unlock the Making of Level 3 (history) Put in DASBOOT as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 4 (history) Put in STUKA as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 5 (history) Put in KOMET as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 6 and 7 (history) Put in TWOSIXTWO as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 8 (history) Put in VICTORYDAY as your code. Pictures of the Development Team Put in DWIMOHTEAM as your code. PREVET - Veteran Level Tracks and Cars PREPRO - Pro Level Tracks and Cars 112 FOR WHAT GAME? | WHAT DOES IT 002 HOW DO YOU DO IT? RATING On the Main Menu Screen, press and hold L1+R1 simulta- Crash Team Uniocka neously. With these held, press Down, Right, Triangle, оо | Racing New Racer Down, Left, Triangle, Up. You will hear a ringing sound. (PS) Now choose either Time Trial, Arcade, VS. or Battle. On the Player Selection Screen, you will see a new character at the bottom called "Penta Penguin." Driver On the Main Menu, highlight the police car and then ооооо PS) Invincibility access the Cheats Menu. From here, you can activate the invincibility code. Press L2, L2, R2, R2, L2, R2, L2, L1, R2, R1, L2, L1, 11. Hot Wheels: Enter either of the following codes on the Main Menu S65 Turbo Racing Turbos and Screen. You will hear a sound to confirm correct entry. (PS) Towjam Car Unlimited Turbos: R2, L1, Square, Triangle, R1, L2, L1, R2. TowJam Car: Square, Triangle, L1, R1, L2, R2, Square, Triangle. С Need for ў Speed: Enter the Game Option Screen and select the “User ° High Stakes Сор Code Name" option. Enter the name NFS PD. This will allow (PS) any unlocked cop car to race on any track. Rally Begin a new season and enter the following as your 0000 Cross 2 name to unlock these cheats: (PS) Cheat Codes МООВМООВ - All Cars Secret Photo Gallery of Staff Put in DWIGALLERY as your code. L. Henson Picture Put in COOLCHICK as your code. A. Jones Picture Put in AJRULES as your code. (For the next two codes, load a saved game, enter the password, then high- light Mission Log and go to any pre- vious stages.) Audie Murphy Mode (Invincibility) Enter MOSTMEDALS, turn this option on at Secret Codes Screen. Wire Frames Enter TRACERON as your code. Turn this option on in the Secret Codes Screen. Tony Chan Malden, MA Pong Open Zones, Levels, Etc. |EXTIRA POWERUPS 1 BACK As soon as you see the “Zone 1” screen, press the Start button to pause. Now press L1, R1, L1, R1. Press Start again. Now choose any Zone in the game. This also opens up each stage and the 540 Initiation fee tor the International Brotherhood of Magicians. боой at tricks? Got a shiny jumpsuit? Maybe you should http://www. svat TOP 10 TRICKS (CONTINUED) Tomorrow Tony Hawk's Never Dies Pro Skater Awesome Tricks Blowout Trick г While playing, press Start to This trick will blow open the half water. Surf on this sec- Е 8 tion, keep going up and down pause. Enter the following codes game, plus give you a new char- EE willa for the results as shown. acter. From the Menu, access the Pokémon from the Safari Immunity From Bullets Career Mode. Begin a new game, Zone section you just left. Select, Select, Circle, Circle, press Start to pause. Press and This time you will be able to "E z k Triangle, Select. hold the R1 button and enter fight them and use the other second "level type." Go back to Pass Through Walls BS Balls on them. the Zone Selection Screen and press Start. This time press L2, R2, L2, R2. Press Start again. You now have access to the third 4. Gran Turismo 2 (PS) Find Codes "level type" and under the pause menu, a new option called, "Secrets" will be available. You can choose power-ups, pong size, etc. Check out all the clas- sic Pong games in Zone 8! tricks@zd.com Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Send in codes for this game. If we print yours, you'll score a free game! 9. (GB) Find Codes Send in codes for this game. If we print yours, you'll score Blue) Triangle. a free game! Every Weapon and 50 Health Next month, we want to feature Select, Select, Circle, Circle, L1, 6. Tomorrow Never as many cool games as possible. La, R1, R1. Dies (PS) Health Restoration During the game, press Start to pause. Then press Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Up, Up, Awesome Xplorer Codes Select, 1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (PS) Awesome Codes Enter the following cheats while paused. If entered cor- rectly, the screen will shake. Big Head Mode Hold L1 and press Left, Up, X, Down, Up, X. Special Available Anytime Hold Li and press Square, Up, Left, Up, Circle, Triangle. Get 10X Multiplier Hold 11 and press Triangle, X, Triangle. Slow Mo Hold L1 and press Left, Square, Left, Square, Left, Square, Left. Get All Practice Mode Levels Hold Lı and press Square, Up, Left, Up, Circle, Triangle. Quit the level you are playing and go to the menu. You will have all Practice Mode levels. Mission Complete Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Select, Circle. cont. on p. 174 13 © TRIGKS T 10 TRICKS 8. Pokémon Pinhall (GB) Animate Unevolved Pokémon To animate the Pokémon you've caught, go to the Pokédex and pick a regular, unevolved Pokémon. Press and hold the Start button to see the character move! 9. Pokémon Snap (N64) Get Level 7 The special rainbow level sends you to space to take a picture of the infamous Mew! First get all Pokémon signs in all levels. Prof. Oak opens up a new level where Mew's in a bubble. Stay in the middle, hit him with a pester ball three times as he passes. He's far away, so throw the ball ahead of him so he runs into it. After Mew is out of his bubble, he chases it. Hit him again to stun him. Move in for a great picture worth tons of points! 10. NBA Live 2000 (PS) Unlock Legends Players Go to Create Player. (From Game Setup, press Circle, Scroll to player icon, press RIGHT on D- pad, press X). Enter first part of code/phrase in FIRST NAME entry field. Press X. Enter the sec- ond part of code/phrase in LAST NAME entry field. Press X. Player is unlocked. Go to UNLOCK LEG- ENDS Screen. (Press Start for Game Setup, press Circle. Scroll to STAR icon, press X). To acti- vate Legend, highlight name and hit X. He’s in FREE AGENTS POOL, sign him to any empty team slot. Four Dream Team Legends... Karl Malone - ’90s First Name - Mailman Last Name - Delivers Charles Barkley - '80s First Name - Mound of Last Name - Rebound John Stockton - '9os First Name - Jazz Last Name - Man Reggie Miller - '9os First Name - Outside Last Name - Threat KILLER DEXDRIVE SITES PlayStation: www.bright.net/ - promo/dexdrive/psx saves.htm www.dexcite.net www.psxmax.com/cheats /dex/index.html www.geocities.com/Areas1/Shuttle/4921/psxsaves.html Nintendo 64: s Circle, Right, Up, Down, Circle, Right, Up, Square, Triangle. The screen shakes if entered correct- ly. Go to the Main Menu Screen. Choose to continue the career mode, and Officer Dick will be available, plus all tapes, levels, medals, stats and FMV movies. Sam Accardi N. Wildwood, NJ Godzilla: The Series Cool Passwords On the Main Menu Screen, choose Password and enter any of the following codes: Level 2: NCFRGJJBBK Level 3: DMTFLSBFQM Level 4: PKDJMPLNPS Level 5: KDQLHRNDCN Level 6: DQSPCFPFJR Ultimate Password Put in DMJMBJRFFR to begin with full power on the last level. Prince of Persia Level Passwords Go to the Continue option and then enter the sequence of num- bers as shown to jump to the following levels: Level 8 - 70914195 Level 9 - 68813685 Level 10 - 01414654 Press Start after entering one of the codes to open the door. The Smurfs’ Nightmare Smurfy Passwords А тарал. uw The Rabbit Race — Brainy Smurf, Handy Smurf, Shy Smurf Mysterious Planet 1 — Astronaut Smurf, Shy Smurf, Brainy Smurf The Workbench Gone Mad 1 – Shy Smurf, Baker Smurf, Handy Smurf V-Rally Edition 99 Access Medium and Hard Tracks To get the medium tracks in Arcade Mode, enter this code: FAST. To get the hard tracks in Arcade Mode, enter this code: FOOD. 114 www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Corridor/8554/N64Saves.html Cool GameShark Codes NINTENDO 64 Namco Museum 64 Enable Code (must Be On) f1091f941000 Pac-Man Infinite Credits 800а88170063 Рас-Мап Infinite Lives Pi 800bbe230004 Pac-Man Infinite Lives P2 800bbe270004 Ms. Pac-Man Infinite Credits 800bbe4b0063 Ms. Pac-Man Infinite Lives Рі 800bbe230004 Ms. Pac-Man Infinite Lives P2 800bbe270004 Galaga Infinite Credits 800d76a40063 Galaga Infinite Lives (both players) 800d75100002 Galaxian Infinite Credits 800cd3do0063 Galaxian Infinite Lives 800cd3adooo3 Pole Position Infinite Time 8010a2430063 Dig-Dug Infinite Credits 800fe67e0063 Dig-Dug Infinite Lives P1 800fe7090002 ig-Dug Infinite Lives P2 800fe76booo4 PLAYSTATION Konami Arcade Classics Super Cobra-Infinite Fuel P1 800f3bececoo Super Cobra-Infinite Lives Pa 800f3bfoo003 Road Fighter-P1 Starts with 99 Cars Passed 800eeb9a0063 Gyruss-Infinite Lives Рі Вооѓ5ое82403 800151082403 Time Pilot-Infinite Lives Рі 800f67e80103 800f67f80103 Circus Charlie-Infinite Lives P1 8ooedce8ooo3 Shao Lin's Road-Infinite Lives Рі 800ee5600003 Roc ’n Rope-Infinite Lives Pa 800foba80002 Technology is a playground. Reviews | Shopping | Business | Help | News | Investing | GameSpot | Tech Life | Downloads | Develope We've come a long way since Pong created the digital playground, haven't we? On ZDNet, you'll find the biggest playground on the Web: GameSpot. It's got everything your gaming heart desires: PlayStation. N64. PC or Dreamcast. Maybe that's why the Academy of Interactive Arts named it "Entertainment Site of the Year." Or maybe it was the pictures of the real-life Lara Croft. Whatever game-thing you're into, ZDNet's GameSpot has something for you. VISIT ZDNET S GAMESPOT TO DOWNLOAD A FREE DEMO AND OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE FOR LARA'S et LATEST ADVENTURE, TOMB RAIDER: THE LAST REVELATION, ©2000 ZD Inc. ZONet, the ZDNet logo, and Where Technology of their respective owners. Eidos ріс is one of Europe's largest s publishes a diverse mix of titles for the Sony PlaySt dia shares are traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol EIDSY, trademarks of ZD Inc. Other products and brand names are trademarks. developers o entertainment software, The Company develops and www.zdnet.com markets in the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. The Company's FINAL WORD The Decline oí N64 John Davison Crispin Boyer Dean: Am | sad to see the N64 fade away? Not really. As someone who primarily plays sports games, the N64 never gave me much to go nuts over. Aside from Acclaim's All-Star Baseball series, all the "A" grade sports titles can be found on the PlayStation anyway. Other reasons I'm not sad: | never liked the analog controller, expensive cartridges or the trademark foggy graphics. John: First-party games are nearly all fantastic...but we need more than games with Mario and his chums or various fluffy animals in them. | understand Nintendo's whole “ethos” —but we need (as someone said in Letters this month) more games with “balls.” Perfect Dark looks wonderful...but it should have come much sooner in the system’s life. Right now it’s more like a “thank you” from Nintendo for sticking with them for so long rather than а kick-ass game to make everyone excited. After PD we get Banjo-Tooie...yet another 3D platform game. How many of these do we need? Take one part Donkey Kong 64, mix in some Banjo Kazooie—and ooh, look...another fluffy platformer. Shawn: The Nintendo 64's situation at this point is similar to the Saturn's toward the end of its life: There are a few key games on the way from Nintendo, but not very many overall. Furthermore, even though the games on the system are still enjoyable, the technology under the hood limits what the thing can do. Now that I’ve played games on the Dreamcast, | want more from my game-playing experience. Now don't get me wrong, there's a part of me that's perfectly happy playing a side- scroller on the Super NES. But at the same time, | can't deny things are changing technologically—and | think it's changing for the better. And the №64 just isn't part of these upcoming changes. It's best the N64 finds its permanent resting place shortly after Perfect Dark and Banjo-Tooie hit. Cyril: | feel the same way about the N64 as | did with all of my other dying or dead systems, | got my money's worth. | was blown away when І bought it and I'll still buy the AAA titles, although few and far between. | guess | would be more upset if it was my only system. My only major IG M-rated Conker’s Bad Fur Day looks 10 deliver Vice President, Corporate Sales . . all the ‘halls’ you could want in а game—iiterally.” Dean Hager + dean hagerGzicom ZD ZIFE-DAVIS John Davison • john_davison@zd.com AEM SRE Shawn Smith * shawn_smith@zd.com company Cyril Wochok • cyril_wochok@zd.com | Che Chou * che chouGzdcom | 2D INC. | Crispin Boyer » crispin_boyer@zd.com | CHAIRMAN AND Eric Hippeau | | Chief Financial Officer .....................] Timothy C. O'Brien. | | President, 20 Events .. | President, SmartPlanet —D_ | President, ZD Publishing President, ZDNet . President, ZD Education Senior Vice President, ... General Counsel and Secret Senior Vice President, .........................! Dary! R. Otte „Dan Rosensweig < Terry Nulty | J. Malcolm Morris | complaint was Nintendo’s decision to stick with cartridges and their claims that the cartridge would be better than a CD. They addressed the cartridge Development and Planning В А : i enV oer MAT і | shortcomings with promises of the Senior Vice President, ee writeable media add-on, the 64DD. Vice President, Controller Che: Despite going through a very Vice President, Тах... conspicuous entropy, the №64 still Nice Frese rests Vice President, Human Resources manages to get people fired up about Vice President, Information Technology . their games. Just look at the numbers that | Vice President, Corporate Programs . Donkey Kong 64 managed to rack up... Vice President, Business Development „Lee Feldman | and with Perfect Dark, Zelda, Mario Party Vice President, Corporate Research . .. . „йа Vale | 2, Mario RPG, Kirby and Pokémon Integrated Client Sales | Executive Vice President . „Мапсу Newman | Stadium on the way for Y2K, we're looking ecutive W E: Senior Vice President .... „Аагоп Goldberg | + Rita Burke | .. Scott Murphy | l ZD PUBLISHING | at another very solid, if not confounding | year for Nintendo, their fans, and their President & CEO critics. Also, keep in mind that of all this | еее President/Publishing . is against a backdrop of DC and PS2 | Executive Vice President/Publishing .............. Tom Мсбгайе hi d А n 20 Publishing, General Manager graphics and storage medium. m Executive Vice President/Publishing ...........J Michael J. Miller constantly fascinated with how Nintendo к agazine { Ж | operates in a bubble of denial. The кек ТІРІ Jim Spanfeller | system has its handful of classics, but | Senior Vice President/Publishing ...... Peter Longo | won't miss its crippling cartridge media, Punisher E OE Е 5 Senior Vice President/Publishing . Alan Perlman | flagging third-party support, and the total КАКА M ЖЫН | dearth of 2D games (ОК, well Bangaio Vice President Publishing ++ ohn Dodge | was а slowdown-plagued miracle). Vice President/Publishing .................... 6. Barry Golson | Crispin: The N64 тау be in the twilight of | Editor in Chief, Yahoo! Internet Li its life cycle, but I'm actually more excited | ® P'esen/Publshino Production : 3 Vice President/Publishing about the system than ever. This year's Publisher, Computer Shopper lineup of first-party stuff'll help the | Hee resident bison ЕС Eric Lundquist Roger Herrmann | Лот Jones | | system go out with a bang. We get a Zelda | vice president/Publshing ...................... Bill Machrone | sequel. The M-rated Conker's Bad Fur Day | ізгі Chief, 20 Publishing Technology | Š ve ЛО looks to deliver all the "balls" you could | ү ышын йерн UU im Manning | want in a game-— literally. And Perfect Vice President/Publishing ...................... Charles Mast | y Circulation | Dark packs so many play options that | We Presenting ...................... Robin Raskin | predict people will still be playing this Editor in Chief, Family | game regularly two years from now. О n s Sloan Seymour System sales will no doubt spike again Vice President/Publshing ........... «seed Paul Somerson | when Pokémon Stadium hits in March. IRR en PVC | Something like half of all Pokémon | Vice President/Publishing, Game Group . | 5 ааа | Vice President/Publishing _ | players don't have an М64, so you сап | Publisher, Yahoo! Internet Life | imagine Nintendo will sell a lot of those | | 5 А ZD Labs | color М645 this Далы Yes, I'm glad ! own Vice President and General Manager | other consoles besides the N64, since Chief Technology Officer | amazing games are rare, but | woudn't Director . | give up my system for anything right now. | Director . John: Perfect Dark is certainly a shot in the arm for the system, but | think we | need to see cheaper cartridges to go Titt-Davis, | along with the cheaper, funky-looking systems. | think lots of those Pokémon owners you're talking about will be much more inclined to hop aboard Nintendo’s 64-Bit ride if the games were cheaper. ШЫ Win the new беда ~ Dreamcast system! |) The Ultimate ove 320,000% n paves E Gaming Puzzle Me, Inc. "We Make You Think..." Rig}! отты You have the POWER. In this contest you don't rely оп the luck-of-the draw. You determine if you win or not. You win by outscoring others in a game of skill. Can you solve the puzzle below? It looks simple, but it's only the start. Each of five more puzzles will get harder. But this time its all up to you. Stay in to the end with the highest score and the gear is yours. With whatever options you want. Do you have what it takes? Then play to win! Computer Contest. Win a blazing fast computer with 500 Mhz MMX Pentium Il, 128 meg. RAM, 14 Gig. HD, DVD, Windows 98, modem and more! Video Game Contest. Play on the hi-tech cutting edge with this line-up: Sony Playstation w/ ASCII control pads; Sega Dreamcast!; Game Boy Pocket; and Nintendo 64! Get all four or trade the ones you don't want for CASH! Bonus options include: 33" monitor, $1,000 in games you choose, cash, accessories and more! Yes! Media Rig Contest. The Ultimate Gaming Environment, 60 inch monitor, 130 watt receiver w/ Dolby Digital Surround, DVD and all components shown. Win DSS Satellite Receiver as a BONUS OPTION! This rig will blow you away!! We're talkin’ GAMING HEAVEN! Directions. Fill in the Mystery Word Grid with words oing across that spell out the Mystery Word down the side. Hint: use the Mystery Word Clue. In the future. For each contest there will be four more puzzles at $2.00 each and one much tougher final at $1.00 which will be sent to you ШІ mail. You will have 3 weeks to solve each puzzle. We don't know how many will р lay but n. 55% will have the highest score possible score to Phase |, 43% to Phase Il, 36% to Phase II, and 32% to Phase IV. Highest score in the final determines the winner. If players are still tied they will split the value of the grand prize they are playing for. ENTER ME TODAY, HERE'S MY ENTRY FEE: C ($3.00) Video Game Contest [0 ($3.00) Media Rig Contest L] ($3.00) Computer Contest C ($5.00) SPECIAL! Enter them all (SAVE $4.00) Age TVW ОМУ ало Rddress = VOID WHERE PROHIBITED * ENTRY DEADLINE: POSTMARKED BY J Only one entry per person. You must be under 30 years old to win. Er Judges decisions are final. № determined no later PINCH BREAK STOMP CRUSH W PRESS. Z PUNCH «K BLAST. $ SPRAY R PRESS. SCORE .....H SLANT MYSTERY WORD CLI WORLD RULERS HAVE IT AND IN THIS CONTEST YOU HAVE IT State Zi SEND CASH, CHECK, MONEY ORDER ТО: ОЛ PUZZLE ME, P.0. BOX 9315 PORTLAND, OR 97207-9315 * ENTRY FEE MUST BE INCLUDED е and its suppliers are ineligible. the U.S. and Canada. Winners zle Me Rules, 1511 SW Park tive companies who, along with ity it responsible for lost or delayed mail. pen to resi а! Rules by lemarks of their r this magazine, have no affiliation with this contest © 1999 Puzzle Ме, Verifiable retail value of the prize packages as follows: Media Rig Contest package $7,012.00 core components shown, bonus options $3,449.00, cash options $1,250.00. Computer Contest package $2,500.00 for computer, bonus options $2,337.00, cash options $1,250.00. Video Game Contest $1,000.00 for systems shown, $3,549.00 bonus options, $1,250.00 cash options. № Get geared-up for the bloodiest vamp wars ever as you enter Castlevania’s 12th incarnation. Step into this tangied-trap-filled castle, ready to whip and slash these suck- ers to Hell and back. Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Dead or Alive 2 Deep Fighter Draconus: Cut of the Wyrm ECW. Hardcore Revoluton Espionage Agent ESPN Basebal Tonight ESPN NBA 2 Night ighting Force Gas Hidden & Dangerous Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver MOK2 — NIQ Ü 1 Y Resurrection $39.99 | NFL Bitz 2000 $42.99 $41.99 | NFL Quarterback Club 20 $44.99 $42.99 | Nghtmare Creatures 2 $39.99 $46.99 | Off Road $42.99 $49.99 | Plasma Sword $33.99 $38.99 | Rayman 2 $45.99 $43.99 | Resident ЕМІ Code Veronica 542.99 $40.39 | Roadster Trophy $39.99 $43.99 | Seaman 546.99 $42.99 | Street Fighter Alpha 3 $38.99 $39.99 | Sinker Pro 2000 $43.99 539.99 | Tech Romancer 533.99 537.99 | Tomb Rader. 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Mortal Kombat Gold NBA Live 2000 Soul Calibur Evangelion S2 Final Fantasy 4 Celtic Moon $19.99 Works 6CD $72.99 Original $19.99 ‘Act AC Cable $3.99 Nyko Multi-Tap Adapter $18.99) | terAct MultiPlayer Adpater $18.99 Nyko Super Cobra Light Gun $28.99| | InterAct RFU Adapter $7.99 Pelican 72x Memory Car$33.99| Nyko AV Adapter $6.99 Pelican Light Gun 512.99 Nyko Classic Trackball 529.99 Pelican S-Video Cable | Nyko Extender Cable $7.99 Pelican X-Wing Controller 57.99 || ЧЫ | Муко 1 Мед Memory Card || for PlayStation 18.99 Nyko Multi-Tap Adapter for PlayStation N64 version pictured InterAct AC Cable $12.99 Nyko Hyper Alpha 64 InterAct Extension Cable $7.99 Onginal Controller InterAct Tremor Pack $6.99 Original Controller Рак $19.99 Nyko AC Power Adapter $18.99 Pelican AV Cable 57.99 Nyko Extender Cable $4.99 Pelican Memory Card 256K $7.99) Nyko Game Switch $5.99 Pelican Super 64 Analog $21.99 InterAct DexDrive for Nintendo 64 & PlayStation $36.99 S InterAct GameShark Pro for Nintendo 64 InterAct Game Shark S$24.99 Nyko Shock ‘п Rock 619.99 InterAct Mega Memory Card $24.99 Nyko Worm Light $8.99 Nyko Pocket Vision $6.99 Pelican AC Adapter $5.99 Nyko Power Grip Call Pelican Link Cable $6.99 Nyko Power Pak Nyko PowerLink $14.99 Pelican Rechargeable Battery $5.99 Pelican Survival Kit $7.99 524.99 Visit Our Site InterAct Game Shark Pro for Game Boy Color Nyko Shock 'n Rock for Game Boy Color Final Fantasy 8 Guardian Series 2 1. Gilgamesh $24.99 2. Diabolus $24.99 3. Bahamut $24.99 | 4. Shiva $11.99 ecave.com www.ga PLAYSTATION DREAMCAST Tur Reuse Price Тиш Release Price Тт Raust Price Тис Raus Price Ace Combat 3 03/00 $39.95 — Final Fantasy VIII 09/99 $49.99 Age of Empires 02/00 $4999 Alien Resurrection 04/00 $44.99 Fisher Price Pirate Ship 03/00 $42.99 Panzer General Assault 02/00 $42.99 Armada 1299 $48.99 Frogger 2 01/00 $4299 Paper Boy 02/00 $42.99 Blades of Vengeance | 02/00 54699 Army Men:Sarge’s Heroes 02/00 $39.35. Prince of Persia. 02/00 $4499 Carrier 0200 $49.99 Baldur's Gate 04/00 $4639 — Galerians 03/00 54499 Renegade Racers 01/00 $39.99 Castlevania Resurrectn 02/00 54999 Ballistic 03/00 53939 Gauntlet Legends 02/00 $42.99 Resident Evil 3:Nemesis 11/99 $46.99 Bass Landing w/Contrir 10/99 55699 — Gekido 03/00 54899 Revelations Persona2 02/00 $5299 Deep Fighter 01/00 $46.99 Battletanx 2 03/00 $39.95 Gran Turismo 2 12/99 $39.99 Road Rash Jailbreak | 01/00 53999 Black Bass/Blue Marlin 12/99 $39.95 — Grand Theft Auto 2 10/99 $39.99 Romance З Kingdoms 6 02/00 $49.99 Dreamcast Visual Memory09/99 $29.99 Blades of Steel 2000 02/00 $3999 Grandia 10/99 $39.99 Rugby 2000 03/00 $39.99 — Fighting Force 2 12/99 54999 Broken Sword 2 12/99 $3699 Iron Soldier 3 02/00 $41.99 House of the Dead 2 — 0999 54999 CTR:Crash Team Racing 10/99 $39.95 Jackie Chan Stuntmstr 02/00 $42.99 Shadow Tower 11/99 $42.99 Legacy Kain Soul Reaver 01/00 $48.99 Caesars Palace 2000 03/00 $39.95 Jeff Gordon XS Racing 02/00 $42.99 Silhoutte Mirage 01/00 $39.99 Legend of Blade Masters 03/00 $44.99 Chocobo Magic Dungn 2 01/00 $39.99 JoJo's Venture 01/00 $42.99 Sim Theme Park 2/00 $39.99 Мах Payne 02/00 $48.99 Civilization Call Power 02/00 $4299 Jurassic ParkWarpath 11/99 $33.95 Special Forces 03/00 $44.99 — Missile Command 01/00 $46.99 Clock Tower 2 11/99 $3699 КІ Grand Prix 02/00 $42.99 Spyro the Dragon2 11/99 $39.99 Colony Wars 3 Red Sun 03/00 $39.95 Knockout Kings 2000 11/99 $39.99 Street Skater 2 03/00 $39.99 Rainbow Six 01/00 $49.99 Cool Boarders 4 10/99 $39.95 LEGO Racers 12/99 54499 Suikoden 2 09/99 $3999 ей Line Racer 01/00 54859 Countdown Vampires 03/00 $39.95 Last Defense Armada 02/00 $46.99 Тесто Deception 3 — 02/00 54299 Resident Evil Code Veron 03/00 $49.99 Crusaders Might Magic 02/00 $3995 Legacy Kain Soul Reavr 08/99 $39.99 Test Drive Cycles 01/00 54299 бада Rally Champion 12/99 $49.99 Detonator Gauntlet 03/00 54699 Tiger Woods 2000 12/99 $39.99 беда Sports МВА2К 11/99 $49.99 Madden Football 2000 08/99 $39.99 Tomb Raider Lst Revitn 12/99 $34.95 беда Sports NFL 2K 0999 54999 Dino Crisis 09/99 54999 March Madness 2000 12/99 $34.99 Tomba! 2 01/00 53999 Shadow Man 12/09 $49.99 Disney World Racing 03/00 53999 Marvel Vs. Capcom 02/00 $36.99 Tomorrow Never Dies 12/99 53999 Sonic Adventure 0999 $48.99 Dragon Warrior 01/00 $4699 Messiah 03/00 $39.99 Топу Hawks Pro Skater 10/99 $35.95 Soul Calibur 09/99 $48.99 Driver 07/99 $3995 Motocross Madness 03/00 54699 Тор Gun 03/00 54299 SoulFighter 1299 $49.99 Duke Nukem Planet Babes03/00 $4499 NASCAR Rumble 02/00 $3999 Speed Devils 11/99 546,99 Eagle One Harrier АК 02/00 $4299 МВА In Zone 2000 01/00 $39.99 Twisted Metal 4 11/99 $3495 Streetfighter Alpha 3 0200 $49.99 NBA Live 2000 11/99 $39.99 Vandal Hearts 2 12/99 $39.99 Striker Pro 2000 02/00 54999 F1 2000 03/00 $4299 NHL Hockey 2000 09/99 53999 Vigilante 8 2 Offense 12/99 $34.95 — Tee Off Golf 01/00 54999 FIFA Soccer 2001 07/00 54299 Need Speed 5 03/00 54299 WWF Smackdown 03/00 53999 Time Stalkers 02/00 $49.99 Fatal Fury Wid Ambtn 12/99 53999 PGA European Tour Golf 02/00 $42.99 Wild Water Champion 02/00 544.99 Fear Effect 01/00 $3999 PSX Dual Shock Asstd Cir 11/98 $28.99 Xena Warrior Princess 10/99 $36.99 Virtua Fighter 3 1099 $49.99 Final Fantasy Anthology 10/99 $3999 — PSX Memory Card 09/95 51499 “Zero Divide 2 04/00 54899 Zombie Revenge 01/00 $49.99 NINTENDO 64 USEDGAMES || GAMEBOY COLOR 40 Winks 02/00 $5499 Major League Soccer 99 03/00 $52.99 PSX Bionic Commando 01/00 $28.99 Armorines 12/99 $54.99 Mario Golf 64 08/99 $54.99 Agile Warrior 09/99 $19.99 Blades of Stee! 2000 0200 52899 Asteroids Hyper 64 12/99 $4999 Contra:Legacy of War 09/99 $16.99 Boarder Zone $29.99 Banjo Tooie 06/00 $59.99 N64 Controller Asstd бз 10/96 526.99 Lemmings 30 09/99 52299 Crystalis 52899 Bass Masters 2000 12/99 55499 М64 Expansion Pak 12/98 $28.99 Nanotek Warrior 09/99 $14.99 Dragon Warrior Monster 01/00 $29.99 Battle Tanx 2 1099 55499 Power Move Pro Wrestin 09/99 $14.99 бате 8 Watch Gallery 3 12/99 $28.99 Battlezone 03/00 $58.99 NAMCO Museum 64 11/99 $32.99 Spot Goes to Hollywood 09/99 $19.99 Blades of Steel 2000 — 02/00 $56.99 NASCAR 2000 09/99 55499 Theme Park 09/99 $29.99 — Ghost'n Goblins 01/00 $28.99 Blues Brothers 2000 02/00 $62.99 МВА Courtside 2:3003 11/99 $49.99 Tunnel Bi 09/99 $19.99 Legend Zelda Fruit Tree 06/00 $32.99 Castlevania Spec. Ed. 12/99 $5499 NFL QB Club 2000 09/99 55999 Xevious 30 08/99 $2499 NASCAR Challenge 01/00 528.99 Ogre Battle 3 07/00 $66.99 N64 Pokemon Gold or Silver ea.09/00 536.99 ExciteBike 05/00 $56.99 Perfect Dark 04/00 55999 Body Harvest 09/99 $1999 Рокетоп Red or Blue ea. 05/99 528.99 Fighting Force 64 06/99 55999 Pokemon Stadium 03/00 55999 Extreme G 2 10/99 52999 GEX 3:Deep Cover 10/99 $59.99 Quake 2 07/99 $49.99 Flying Dragon 10/99 $24.99 Top Gear Pocket 2 03/00 $28.99 Gauntlet Legends 09/99 $54.99 Rainbow Six 11/99 $59.99 Goemon’s Great Adv. 10/99 53499 Towers Lord Banift 03/00 $32.99 Goemon's Great Adv. 09/99 55299 — Resident Evil 64 11/99 $64.99 Killer Instinct 09/99 $3499 Wario Land 3 06/00 $28.99 Golden Eye 007 0997 $3999 Ridge Racer 02/00 55299 Mortal Kombat 4 1099 $2999 | AT. ] Harrier 2000. 03/00 $6699 South Park Rally 01/00 $59.99 Nagano Winter Olympics 09/99 $29.99 BOARD GAMES Harvest Moon 12/99 $56.99 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 09/99 $29.99 БашеПев! Gothic 12/99 $54.99 Hercules Legendary Jrny 01/00 $66.99 Super Mario Adventure 04/00 $59.99 Dreamcast Battletech 4th Ed. 12/94 $21.90 Jet Force Gemini 10/99 $4290 Tetris 64 08/99 54999 Blue Stinger 01/00 $3999 Blackbeard 10/84 $31.99 Ken Griffey Jr BB 2 — 05/99 $4999 Тор GearHyper Bike 04/00 55999 CART Racing Flag to Flag 11/99 $39.99 Cthulhu Cults Across Amer.09/98 $38.99 kirby 64 06/00 $52.99 Virtual Chess 64 06/98 $49.99 House of Dead 2 01/00 $39.99 Dinosaurs Lost World 01/95 $29.99 Knockout Kings 2000 11/99 $54.99 WWF Wrestlemania 2000 11/99 $58.99 Marvel Vs. Capcom 01/00 $39.99 LEGO Racers 10/99 $56.99 Wild Water Champion 02/00 $59.99 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 01/00 $39.99 Leviathan 04/98 $16.99 Legend of Zelda 11/98 $39.99 — WinBack 10/99 $5499 Slave Zero 01/00 $39.99 Lionheart 10/97 534.99 Madden Football 2000 09/99 55499 Х.Меп30 03/00 54999 SonicAdventure 01/00 $39.99 Мопороу Marvel Comics 10/99 $34.99 Pokemon Jr. Adv. Game 01/00 $12.99 | COMPUTER GAMES & HARDWARE ote Pe ES Abomination 10/99 $27.95 Railroad Tycoon 2 610. 09/99 $37.95 Samurai Swords 04/97 54899 Age of Empires 2 09/99 54495 Half Life Oppsing Fre 12/99 $27.95 Rainbow Six Gold 06/99 $2495 Settlers of Catan 11/96 532.99 Asheron's Call 12/99 54499 — HalflifeGame of Year Ed 07/99 $32.95 Revenant 10/99 $29.95 Baldur Gate w/EP 1 12/99 $38.95 Homeworld 09/99 $3295 — Rogue Spear 10/99 $3595 HINT BOOKS | Battlezone 2 11/99 $3995 Indy Jones Infrnl Mchne 11/99 $44.95 — Septerra Core 11/99 53795 Bugs Bunny Lost Time 09/99 $3295 Interstate 82 11/99 53495 50-27 Flanker 2 11/99 $39.95 — Alien Resurrection 0400 $1299 C&C 2: Tiberian Sun 08/99 $3999 Jane's USAF 10/99 $38.95 Thief Gold: Dark Projet 11/99 $24.99 Castlevania Resurrectn 01/00 $17.99 Cutthroats 09/99 $26.95 Madden NFL 2000 09/99 $34.95 Tomb Raider 4 11/98 $28.95 ClockTower 2 Off Srv 6810/99 511.99 Daikatana 12/99 $3295 Master of Orion 2 1196 $999 Delta Force 2 11/99 $37.95 Messiah 02/00 $39.95 WarCraft 2 Battle.net Ed 10/99 $1895 Donkey Kong 64 12/99 51299 Descent 3 06/99 $26.95 М Flight Sim 2000 1099 $38.95 3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 | 08/99$24999 Final Fantasy VIII 0999 51299 Descent 3 Mercenary 11/99 $27.99 MS Flight Sim 2000 РЕ 10/99 $59.95 3Г/к Voodoo4 4500 03/00$179.99 Gran Turismo 2 02/00 51299 Myth: Total Codex 11/99 $19.99 Diamond Monster МХ300 01/99 $85.95 — Mario Party 2 01/00 51299 Diplomacy 11/99 $39.95 Nations Fighter Command 10/99 $33.95 Everglide Lrg АНК Pad 11/99 515.99 Perfect Dark 04/00 $1099 Disciples of Steel. 0996 $599 Odium 11/99 $39.95 Everglide Mouse Suri 11/99 $12.95 Pokemon Stadium 03/00 $10.99 EverQuest. 03/99 53495 Omikron: Nomad Sou! 11/99 $28.95 Fortissimo Sound Card 10/99 $49.99 Resident Evil 3 01/00 $1299 Forgttn Rims Siver Ed 08/99 $28.95 Pharoah 11/99 $37.95 Махег Gamer 3D Prophet 10/99$289.99 — Sonic Adventure 1099 $10.99 Gabriel Knight 3 11/99 $3295 Planescape Torment 11/99 $39.95 Maxi Gamer Cougar TNT2 10/99 $119.99 Starcraft 0400 $1299 GrandTheftAuto2 — 10/99 52895 Quake 3 Arena 12/99 53999 SaitekX-36 Cont Sys 05/985107.99 Half Life 11/98 $20.99 Раде of Mages 2 10/99 $22.99 байекХ-36Т System | 12/98 $69.99 Tomorrow Never Dies 12/99 51299 Visa, MC & Discover accepted. Checks held 4 weeks. Money Orders under & offer not guaranteed & are subject to change at any time. Hardware may require added S&H. Within 10 days defectives repaired or replaced at our discretion. After 10 days the manufacturer's warrantee applies. All 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 "per Нет" charge г is charged once for each item ordered and the per shipment charge is | Р Ui бозы fees шш charged once for each shipment we make to you. For еас order $10.00 ы 11005 23045 20а i. 420 will be allocated to а 12 issue subscription to Computer Games Strategy Plus. ри 5120 $100 5200 узш 50 Call for details. Per item $075 50 540 5200 900 5200 same as cash. COD 58. Price, release, avallability, shipping times 12000 CHIPS & BITS. INC. “STARCRAFT 64° 24th century A.D. Terrans are at war. But the inva- sion by 2 suprahuman species forces them to join in a 7 fight for survival. | 60 missions include multiplay- er, original & all new. Play as the Terrans, the Zerg ог the Protoss. Erect & defend Structures, build & deploy weapons & vehi- cles, train troops repair buildings & launch attacks. Nintendo (Strategy) Release: 4/00 N64 7 ‘LUNAR 2: ETERNAL BLUE’ Join Hiro & Ruby a thou- sand years after the first adventure, as they work to unlock the secrets of the Blue Spire. Meet new char- acters, fight monsters, tra- verse mountains, & crawl through dungeons as you wind your way toward the terrifying climax! Working Designs (Roleplaying) Release: 3/00 PSX “ECW HARDCORE REVO- LUTION’ features 3 new arenas, over 20 game modes & over 400 moves Modes include specialty jmatches, barbed wire Matches, career mode & pay-per-vi Acclaim (Sports) Release: 2/00 PSX N64 Dreamcast NHL HOCKEY 2000' Hard hitting gameplay & realism. | Fully licensed NHL teams & players play in real NHL { rinks. Use team specific play styles & strategies as you Bes coach on-the-fly. Instant replay, authentic camera angles & special effects that include fireworks, lasers spotlights, & ice sprays add -| to the realism. Sega (Sports) Release: 2/00 Dreancast “4 "PERFECT DARK' is a first person shooter with a twisting plot line set in the near future. Control spe- cial operative Joanna Dark as she completes missions & wastes tons of bad guys. Motion captured villians, dynamic lighting & ехріо- effects, surround with increasingly smarter А! in each stage. Single or multiplayer N64 action. "ALUNDRA 2’ You pla Flint in this 3D game with real-time action. Flint explores caves, ship- wrecks, volcanoes, & more. Solve hundreds of puzzles & unlock over 10 mini-games. Battle over a dozen monster bosses as you find magic spells & icons. Activision (Roleplaying) Release: 4/00 PSX PlayStation AMERICA’S #1 GAME NEWS & TRICKS! | Correctly Answer a Series of Video Game Questions & Win! ` Pop Quiz: Where will you find the most fun? women whiskey whips d. whizgig.com SNIPER FOR PS Call NO and WIN! GAME BOY ACTION PACK Answer: d. whizgig.com ONLY ONE WINNER PER HOUSEHOLD PER MONTH! = ROTARY CALLS ACCEPTED prizes PROVIDED BY NUBY | ИИИЙ. COM www.nubyonline.com Angie Dremean, Decatur, IL; Stephanie Smith, Hagerstown, MD; Justin Nichols, Barbourville, e Listen to Quartermann KY: Henry, Ммацкее, Wl; Tracy Nicholson, San Jose, CA; Doreen Stanelonis, Colchester, * Playstatione : АГ ШЛАК т • Ni doo 64 Gossip Before It's in EGM! 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Tony Hawk 2 The first game was an unprecedented success and sold a lot more copies than anyone anticipated. It made skating games ‘cool’ after all this time, and finally pushed snowboarding off the 'gen-X' radar. Next month we get the exclusive chance to look behind the scenes at the sequel due out later this year, and check out the Dreamcast version of the original game. Look for interviews with the teams and with Tony himself. e PlayStation 2: The next generation of PlayStation gaming is about to begin—we bring you all the news and info about the new system launch and all of the new games Reviews: Perfect Dark. Is it the finest N64 game ever? ° Tons of Tricks for all systems e More Driver 2 information e Dreamcast Frenzy! Hot news on the next batch of games from Sega Tony Hawk looks even better on the Dreamcast. April 2000 April 2000 Six GÁMER complete guide to Hot Shots Golf 2. Plus, they'll feature Fear On sale March 14 On sale March 21 WWF SmackDown! Syphon Filter 2 ОРМ» got a review of 989's hot new Demo Disc Who's da тап? Gabe's da man, % Syphon Filter 2 Blowout— action game, Syphon Filter 2, along and XG's got him covered. That's all maps, secrets and more с with reviews of other big titles like Playables right, kiddies, Syphon Filter 2 is E WWF SmackDown! and Fear Effect. • Hot Shots Golf 2 here and XG won't miss one * Hot Shots Golf 2 tins and 5 Plus, all the latest PS news апа pre- 2 Gekido sneaky step. Tear into the game secrets revealed 9 views, tons of tricks, brand-new Play- with a complete walk-through, Несі B Station2 screens, and that fabulous * Spider-Man full maps and secrets galore. You * Full Fear E walk-through 3 Demo Disc. And don’t miss our first * Colony Wars: Red Sun don’t want to miss it. If springs Qver 2,000 HOT codes! E look at the new Star Trek game! * Rollcage Stage 2 got you in the mood to hit the Е e Eagle Опе: Harrier Attack links, be sure to check out their E 8 s Š Non Playables Effect, Galerians, WWF E * Galerians SmackDown!, NASCAR Rumble, z e WWF SmackDown! Dragon Warrior Monsters, and more! And oh yeah, did some- body mention previews? Hmm... 182 š Official Advertiser Index elena — r Sweepstakes Rules www.funcoland.com Trick of the Month 1-888-684-8969 1. No Purchase Necessary: We've Got Games! www.eckountimited.com Eidos Interactive28-29, 80-81, 102-103, 118-119, 121, 146-147 32-33, 138-139, 150-151 e VIDEO & Pc GAMES * New 4 PRE-PLAYED e DECKS & ACCESSORIES * AWESOME PRICES * Over 7,000 TITLES! * ORDER ONLINE! * CALL TOLL FREE! Letter of the Month E GEAR сє НЛ Funco Inc. * 10120 W. 76th St. * Mpls, M 5344 €> POLARIS | "'sgmipno ^ J бру ^ > ИМ CABLE SUPPORT FOR TWO PLAYERS - RUMBLE CARTRIDGE چ‎ | | ADVANCED SNOWMOBILE PHYSICS SYSTEM) а D [> CUSTOMIZABLE SLEDS wawas sd |> THREE LEAGUES, TEN INTENSE TRACKS IDEMARK OF POLARIS INDUSTRIES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ARE ©1999 VICARIOUS VISIONS, | TI LICENSED BY NINTENDO. NINTENI ‘AME BOY, GAME BOY COLOR AND THE SEAL OF QUALITY ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. © 1989, 1999 NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT © 1999 PUBLISHED UNDER LICENSE BY VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT. VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT VATICAL AND THE VATICAL V ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF [25073 m ENTERTAINMENT LLC. S IS A TRADE! SOFTW тра = www.vatical.com COPYRIGHT © 1999 VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT AND ITS LICENSORS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. VATICAL AND THE VATICAL V ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS 0F VATICAL ENTERTAINMENT LLC. ©1999 HUDSON SOFT ©1999 BIRTHDAY LICENSED BY NINTENDO. NINTENDO, GAME BOY, GAME BOY COLOR AND THE SEAL OF QUALITY ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. © 1989, 1999 NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC Я amor ENTERTAINMENT www.vatical.com x STAND T pos (iin ANOTHER CLASSIC FROM THE PEOPLE WHO GAVE YOU TWO OF THE BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTERS EVER! * THE ARCADE FANTASY FIGHTER FROM THE INCREDIBLE COMIC BOOK SERIES * CLASSIC JAPANESE, COMIC BOOK STYLE ANIMATION COMBINED WITH CAPCOM'S SIGNATURE GAMEPLAY * EXPERIENCE SUPER STORY MODE LOADED WITH MINI-GAMES AND OTHER DANGEROUS QUESTS * UNLEASH YOUR CHARACTER'S INNER PERSONA IN THE FAMOUS STAND ATTACK REI F PlayStation}: Animated Violence Sega Dreamcast. < Suggestive Themes CAPCOM CO. LTD. 2000 PlayS! they are not lost permanently. People interested in helping out in апу c please visit us af WWw.retromass.c No profit is made from these scans, nor do we Offer ar available from the publishers themselves. 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