B N64° GameCube PS ones PS2*Xb | : Dr am |

From the creator of ТІЛШЕ Metal Gear Solid: Wandering ШШ — ДОМЕ OF THE ENDERS PHANTASY SIAR ONLINE

DISPLAY UNTIL FEBRUARY 6

February 2001 $4.99/$6.50 Canada

шошо Fighting Vipers 2 Grandia Il Sonic Shuffle | Ge -Tomb Raider Chronicles s Banjo-Tooie ice Star Wars: Episode I Battle for Naboo -P Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 22: T

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Summoner © 2000 Моштоп, Inc. Рувизнер ехсілзіуну ву THQ inc. Summoner, tut Summoner Loco, VoLition апр tHE VOLITION LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS or МошНоп, inc. THQ апр tHe ТНО_ LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS AND/ оқ REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF THQ Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PLayStation апр THE "PS" Ратну LOGO ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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Шл|оқ.5носқ BECAUSE it’s ғақ FROM it’—IGI.com

==, PlayStation.2

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BENCH CATAPULTIN' RAINMAKERS.

— NIGHTY-NIGHT MOVES. AND ноу/р- f 45% -Ñ _ 2001. THE BASKETBALL DYNASTY.FOR ` HE-DO-THAT AIR SHOWS. THINK: Y. | THIS CENTURY, ‘NEXT CENTURY. | “YOU GOT THAT KINDA GAME? "M. - a AND THE CENTURY AFTER THAT. -

EDITORIAL

X Marks The Spot

By John Davison • john_davison@ziffdavis.com

fter months of hunting around, pestering people and sniffing out information on the Xbox, we were very surprised when the phone rang one November afternoon and a representative from Microsoft asked us if we'd be interested in seeing what the Xbox looks like, how it was designed, and if we'd like to speak to all of the people driving the project. We'd be the first magazine in the world to have the pictures and the info—a bona-fide, full-on exclusive. “F--- yeah!” It's not often that a gen- uinely huge story of this magnitude just lands in your lap...so as you can imagine we were all pretty excited.

"Much like Sony five years taken a long hard look at I done a damn fine joh of cateri

As you've probably noticed if you've been look- ing around online, there have been a lot of sensa- tionalist stories and expertly designed "fakes" knocking around on the Internet. Xbox, we were told, is a slim chrome and green box that looks like a DVD player. Or it's a weird wedgey, curvy- shaped thing that looks a bit like a CD cleaner. Many even claimed that the X-shaped dev-box unveiled by Microsoft months ago was, in fact, the final design of the machine. A couple of trips to "Area Xbox" in Redmond, Wash., revealed oth- erwise. Check out our huge cover feature and you can get a glimpse of the future.

| have to say that up until recently we were all somewhat dubious of Microsoft's sudden interest in gaming. Like many, we had doubts as to whether it would prove to be a truly viable com-

ago,

petitor to the established “champions” of gam- ing, and we wondered whether maybe it would just be a case of 3DO all over again. Having spent a lot of time speaking with the Xbox team though, | think all of us here at EGM are in agree- ment when we Say that Microsoft really does “get it.” Their passion for games is more than appar- ent and their ideas of how to revitalize the gam- ing scene are both refreshing and unique. Much like Sony five years ago, this is a huge company that’s taken a long hard look at what is needed... and has since done a damn fine job of catering to that need. No one believed Sony would even touch Sega or Nintendo back in 1995, and look

company tha

and па:

where they are now. Xbox will no doubt have the same kind of impact. Just looking at the number of developers producing games for it is evidence enough. It isn’t just PC ports and U.S. PC devel- opers as originally feared...there are topnotch teams from around the globe pouring a lot of resources into established, long-term franchises. You'll be surprised by some of the projects we've learned are on their way to the system. Developers seem to really love the machine and I think the next few months are going to see a lot of activity in the development community as teams switch allegiances, or at least supplement their lineups with Xbox games.

Will Xbox topple the PS2? The next year or so should be very exciting indeed.

John Davison

Contributing Writers Ethan Einhorn

After completing a mountain of hand- held reviews this month for EGM and Pocket Games, Ethan has finally fig- ured out how to angle his Game Boy Color to see the screen perfectly. On his off-time, he makes gooey horror films with his buddies, Shakes to the wild tunes of Samba de Amigo, and watches his PS2 collect dust.

Shawn Smith As many of you know, Shawn has left the friendly confines of EGM to attend Шпој5 Sh. Л State University. He's taken a real shine to his classes and appears to be well on his way to becoming a full-fledged art director. While still writing for ЕСМ, we've been forced to down- grade his status to “Resident Game Boy Game Tester,” or R.G.B.G.T. for...er, short.

| |

| | |

| Cre

ELECTRONIC Number 14.02 GAMING

February 2001

MONTHLY www.zdnet.com/egm

Edit hief | John D. Шр vi ge Ir davison@ziffdavis.com Managing at

Bee jager dean _ hager@ziffdavis.com Е Ма rk Macb Donald « mark. macdonald@ziffdavis.com ature

“Crispin Boyer • crispin_boyer@ziffdavis.com

Chris "C|" Johnston e chris_johnston@ziffdavis.com Previews Editor Greg Sewart e тев sewart@ziffdavis.com M лат (Шама * kraig_kujawa@ziffdavis.com Cur • sam_kennedy@ziffdavis.com Or ч ап Dudlak • jonathan dudlakGziffdavis.com үшүн 5 tricks@ziffdavis.com west бы Edit

S М Ike : jam: lke@ziffe Уул in SORS: ) ея iom.

Contri pu йы рап EHE 108 КҮ PA steinman, Japanese Correspondent 8%

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fsel@ziftdavis.com ЕН

mm ion Director Prepress Ma Jum ү;

| Asset Prepress Manager

Pr ce idi o rk Lerebvre • mark_lefebvre@ziffdavis.com

Vice. ҮТТЕ Group

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0942 77 7 karen- landon@ziffdavis.com [S У ОНА West Territory

ilGziffdavis.com lashington,

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-87: Ba e linda. phila Regio AMD Worse pes ама о Ten Mos EY chi 51357-49449 marciy@zi fdavis.com Асса Алта lashington, Sanjfrancisco тегті ту Melenan in O'Rourl un 49: 920 © meighan, orourke@ziffdavis.com зе Коте Manager & Creative Director

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Fou!

nder Б Steve Harris

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN #1058-918 is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc, 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Class Postage Paid at New York, NY 10016 and additional mailing offices. Single issue rates: $4.99. The one ear (12 issue) sub. scription rate is $24.97 in the U.S. and $40.97 outside the U.S. Checks must be made payable in U.S. currency only to Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-572. For subscrip- tion service questions, address changes, or to order, please contact us at: Web: http://service.egmmag,com (for customer service) or http; subscribe.egrmmag,com (to order); Phone: U.S. and Canada (Воо) 779-1174 or (850) 682-7624, elsewhere (303) 604-7445 Mail: Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-5722 (please include your mailing label with any correspondence as it contains information that will expedite processing); Fax: U.S, and Canada (850) 683-4094, elsewhere (303) 604-0518; E-mail (please ype your full name and the address at which you subscribe; do not send attachments): egm@neodata.com, The editors and the publisher are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be eproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the the prior written notice of Ziff Davis Media Inc. To reuse any material in this publication, obbin a permission request form at www.icopyright.com/ziffdavis/, or have а form faxed or mailed to you by calling (425)430-1663. © 2000 Ziff Davis Media Inc. АП Rights Reserved. Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM are trademarks of Ziff Davis Media Inc, TM and © for all other products andthe characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. All materials listed in this magazine are subject to manufacturers’ change and the publisher assumes no responsibilty for such changes. The Canadian GST Registration number is 140496720 T.

Printed in the USA.

‘Aude Bureau T Creations

SOMETII IN TO M. TE и.

YOU HAVE ТО СО BACK TO ITS BEGINN! ING.

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all shapes and sizes.

Are you the next champ? Play Mario Tennis" for Game Boy' Color and find out. Hone your skills $0 you can earn the honor to challenge the greatest player of all time ... Mario” Create а

supercharged player on your Game Boy and use the N64" Transfer Pak" to upload it

to get the edge on your friends. The action's fast and furious, so play today.

© 2001 Nintendo/Camelot. TM, ® and Game Boy Color are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. Game, Game Boy and Transfer Pak each sold separately. www.gameboy.com

“PlayStation® ang the "PS"-Family 1090. ate registered’ trade Entertainment Inc; (272080 Sony. Computer Entertainment, supervision. Fültow all appropriate safety precautions: Ей

Anytime is a good time for fireworks.

These days the word addiction gets a bad rap. Sure, there's a long list of bad influences out there. But an addiction to setting off massive fireworks displays? Only good can come from that.

At first glance, FantaVision is a colorful fireworks puzzle game. Not so fast, my friend. That's how they get you. It starts

ESE

by capturing and detonating flare after flare, which triggers chains of fireworks explosions as well as tons of points. Then you advance from one difficult city-scape to the next more difficult one.

And on to even more difficult bonus rounds. But you can handle it, right?

Æ Maybe we shouldn't ix. mention FantaVisions \ two-player mode. Or

the real-time lighting

effects. Or the fact

. that once you feel — like you ve mas- tered massive combinations, another layer t ` of this intense - action puzzle game pulls you in deeper. So be careful. Because before you know it, you'll be looking for any excuse to detonate fireworks.

PlayStation.

www.scea.com

if

А

|

| |

“Buy immediately.” — GAMEPRO, OCTOBER

e

Fun Factor 5.0

“Neversoft has built the ultimate skate game with this

sequel.”

— EGM, NOVEMBER

í. absolutely the

best PlayStation

game Ive ever played.”

— OPM, NOVEMBER

оне Ae,

DOWNLOAD THE TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER” 2 PC DEMO AT WWW.BLUETORCH.COM

PAMED PRODUCTS RANGE FROM GAME BOY РАЗА Mild Animated

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1999, 2000 Activision, Inc. All rights reserved. Published and Distributed by Activision, Inc. Developed by Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Pro Skater 2 are trademarks of Activision, Inc. Tony Hawk is a trademark of Tony Hawk. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStation” game console. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Game Boy and Game Boy Color are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America, Inc. Licensed by Nintendo. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD.

íl believe that Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater 2

is the best game of all time!”

— GAMER'S REPUBLIC, NOVEMBER

«It’s lut so damn fun that you'll always come back for

тоге.”

— Р5М, МОМЕМВЕН

CREATE YOUR OWN

LEGEND

ck. And this time he's brought ie ros (Caballero, Koston, Mullen), new tricks {Bluntslides, BS/FS Noseslides + Tailslides, pce e. МЕР "ER od menn Grabs, Airwalks, Judos, etc.) and new technolc (Bea line Skatepark Editor, Create -A-Skater). Build a skatepark in your house. Then shred it (the park, not the mee Build your pro (mullet or not, you decide). Then com against the real ones. You'll also find si terrain, insane videos and a epe Me where you earn cash money to move | up rankings. THPS2, ROME you to that were once reserved for mere legends

TOIT /HRWH;S Se РПО SKATER

2-PLAYER MODE NEW TRICKS + TERRAIN

2-Player Modes and New Tricks, New Terrain E Real-Time Single-Player Career Mode and New Skaters Skatepark Editor

BURNQUIST / CABALLERO / CAMPBELL / GLIFBERG / HAWK / KOSTON LASEK / MULLEN / MUSKA / REYNOLDS / ROWLEY / STEAMER / THOMAS.

CONTENTS

92,136 007 Racing 131 4x4 EVO 88 Adventures of Cookie & Cream 66 Agartha 70 Alien Front Online 98 Army Men Air Attack 2 98 Army Men Green Rogue 134 Вапјо-Тооіе 136,44 Blade 88 Bloody Roar 3 136 Breath of Fire IV 144 Cannon Fodder 129 Capcom vs. SNK 137 Championship Motocross feat. Ricky Carmichael 435 Championship Surfer 140,144 Chicken Run 81 Custom Robo V2 131144 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 102 DDR: Disney's Rave 9o Devil May Cry 131 Ото Crisis 131 Dinosaur 81 Dinosaur Planet 88,132,144 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers 143 Donkey Kong Country 72 Dreamstudio 104 Dragon Warrior ІІ 142 Driving Emotion Type-S 137 Ducati World Championship 137 Dukes of Hazzard ІІ: Daisy Dukes It Out 140,144 Етрегог5 New Groove, The 142 ESPN International Track & Field 88 ESPN MLS ExtraTime 88 ESPN National Hockey Night 132 Е5РМ МВА 2Night 142 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 94 2001 70 Fighting Vipers 2 102 Fist of the North Star 66 Нојвап Brothers 129 Grandia Il 140 Gundam Battle Assault 140 НВО Boxing 72 Headhunter 64 Illbleed 133 Indiana Jones & the Infernal Machine 141 King of Fighters 99 129 King of Fighters Evolution 130 KISS Psycho Circus 96 Knockout Kings 2001 445 Little Nicky 138 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete 104 Magi Nation 66 Mars Matrix 138 Мева Man X5 135 Mickey's Speedway USA

133 Midway’s Greatest Arcade Hits Volume 1

141 Monster Rancher Hop About 132 Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness 92 NBA Hoopz 96 NBA Live 2001 од NCAA Final Four 2001 102 Oh No! 90 Oni 66 Outtrigger 100 Persona 2: Eternal Punishment 60 Phantasy Star Online 145 Powerpuff Girls: Bad Mojo Jojo 145 Powerpuff Girls: Paint the Townsville Green 141 Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball 430 Project Justice 92 Rayman Revolution 438 Razor Freestyle Scooter 141 Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 132 Resident Evil 2 132 Resident Evil 3 Nemesis 145 Road Champs BXS Stunt Biking 335 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie 70 Sega Tetris 141 Sheep 143 Silpheed: The Lost Planet 74 біп and Punishment 96 Snowboard Heaven 430 Sonic Shuffle 132439 Star Wars Demolition 72 Soul Reaver 2 143 Super Bust-A-Move 139 Supercross 2001 135 Star Wars: Battle for Naboo 86 Star Wars: Starfighter 133 Super Runabout: San Francisco Edition оо Theme Park Roller Coaster 133439 Tomb Raider Chronicles

February 2001 Issue 139

XBOX

PAGE 108

X-Box Exposed Here's your exclusive chance to take a gander at

America’s first serious contender in the global console wars. We reveal

everything about Microsoft's super console —its look, its power and the company’s plan to gain the upper hand in the war for your living room. Our photo-filled 18-page cover story starts on page 108.

Star Wars: Starfighter This looks like one of the PlayStation 2’s most promising games and finally, we got our grubby hands on it. Get the details on this Episode One flight shooter on pg. 86.

145 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 1443 Тор Gear Dare Devil

70 Typing of the Dead, The

94 Unison

72 Unreal Tournament

94 Warriors of Might & Magic 133 Who Wants to Beat Up a Millionaire 145 X-Men Mutant Wars

131 Xtreme Sports 140 You Don't Know Jack, Mock 2 82 Zone of the Enders

14

Soul Reaver 2 Raziel's got a brand-new bag of tricks in his second adventure on the DC. See what goodies Crystal Dynamics has added for all ya'll this time ‘round. pg. 72

Grandia II The last Grandia was a great game that suffered from one of the worst translations in video gaming history. Can Ubi Soft do any better with the Dreamcast sequel? Did Game Arts produce а worthy successor to one of the best 32-bit RPGs ever made? Check out our review to find the answers to these burning questions!

Pg. 129

@ Editorial 6 @ Letters 22 ©) News 34

@ Tricks @ The Final Word

Do Sega’s future plans include developing games for other systems? EGM investigates. We also take VM Labs’ Nuon system for a spin and review the first games.

© Gossip 44

OM@-=LES Previews 58

There's no such thing as a lull in the games industry anymore, and this month we hit you with huge post-holiday previews. Take a look at Z.O.E, PS2 007 Racing, Phantasy Star Online, Soul Reaver 2, Oni, Alien Front Online and more.

Review Crew 128

We continue to try to dig ourselves out of the holiday game avalanche. This month we tackle Banjo-Tooie, Tomb Raider Chronicles, 007 Racing, Grandia ІІ and a whole slew of Star Wars titles.

146 153

Now that the EGM crew has finally seen the Xbox, find out what they think about Microsoft's wondrous new game machine.

Dreamcast

ШІ” Nintendo 64 = == PlayStation 2

Æ PlayStation

Game Boy Color 3 Атсаде

Freaky WHAT VOU CAN GET OUT OF A DOTTLE OF 5pRiTE THESE GAYS.

Under every cap is a chance to win a free Sprite or RocketCash'-the online money you can use to buy whatever you want

from over 100 vendors at Sprite.com. Hope you're thirsty. Obey Your Thirst? 2 Roc Фрте.сат "2

©2000 The Coca-Cola Company. “Sprite” and “Obey Your Thirst” are registered trademarks of The Coca-Cola Company. No purchase necessary. See specially marked packages available until 3/15/2001 or while supplies last. Internet access is needed to participate in Sprite RocketCash portion of program. See details online. Each code valued at 20¢ to $1.00. Open to residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. Void where prohibited. For complete rules, including how to get a free game piece by mail, call 1-800-616-2653.

2001 Nintendo. Game by Intelligent Systems. ™ and the “М” logo are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. € 2001 Nintendo of America Inc. www.nintendo.com Game and System sold separately.

Mario's back with a paper-thin look in his own RPG adventure. This time he's got new sidekicks and over 200 badges and items for new

PARERI МАКО

Free demo.

abilities and attacks. Which means he may be paper, but he ain't no lightweight.

LOR

Also available on

:2001 Mattel, Inc. А! Rights Reserved. Max Steel: The series, TM 8 «2000 Adelaide Productions, inc. АП Rights Reserved. Under license by Sony Pictures Consumer Products. Sega, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks. or trademarks of Sega Corporation. Game Boy” and Game Boy Color® are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1989, 1998 Nintendo о! America Inc. Licensed by Nintendo,

Fight hand-to-hand or with

9 different weapons, including trip wires, repeater guns and sniper rifles.

Activate stealth mode to sneak by your enemies or go turbo for superhuman strength and speed.

Battle through 28 intense missions in 7 mind-blowing environments.

OA screen shots are from the Sega Dreamcast game console.

The terrorist group DREAD has stolen a deadly biological weapon and is planning to lay waste to the planet. But there's one major obstacle: super Agent max Steel. Infused with nano-technology and armed with an arsenal of weapons, he's got superhuman strength, blazing speed and the power to go stealth. In other words, he's the one to call when the other agents don't want to get their tuxedos dirty.

EVERYONE So TEEN a Со ина. == Е: TREYARCH

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letters 10 the Editors

You win an InterAct controller. You

a Barracuda (PS), an Alloy Arcade Stick (DC) or a SharkPad Pro 64° (N64).

See page 157 for official rules.

Congratulations.

will be receiving

Self-Proclaimet “Fat Ass” Embraces Xbox

Does it really matter if the Xbox is a legit console or a low-end set-top PC? EGM itself has expressed the fear (concern?) that the unit may be nothing more than a port machine. Yet, the Review Crew is quick to fault console games ported from the PC for only “getting most of the big stuff,” “disappointing fans of the PC version,” even saying that to get the fullest experience one should purchase a USB mouse and/or keyboard.

| have always considered myself a console gamer, but | do enjoy PC games. | appreciate their depth and visual superiority. It is the interface | cannot get

И

“dumbing-down” for an audience that somehow became labeled with short attention spans and no desire to read an instruction manual. | am now fed up. | say give these PC developers a standard piece of hardware (not this piecemeal тіх-“п” match hardware most PCs are made of) and let them go to town...don’t discourage new content, but do not refuse to let them bring over the hot stuff, either! Give me the opportunity to lay my fat ass on my couch in front of my 36" WEGA and play Civilization or Planescape or SWAT (or whatever) in its true unadulterated form, and let me do it on the Xbox. It’s what we all want, right? All the “big stuff,” no disappointment for the PC fans, right? | do not fear the Xbox...| welcome Microsoft to the jungle with open arms. Just one thing to

“ts what we all want, right? All the “big stuff,” по disappointment for the PC fans, right? | do not fear the

Khox. | welcome Microsoft to the jungle with open arms.”

used to: an “ergonomic” office chair, my face 2 feet from a 17" display, trying to remember the layout of a keyboard some developer felt the need to use every button on. (What IS that all about, anyway?) Until recently, the transfer of these PC games to a console meant much fat-trimming for hardware reasons, and the unavoidable

While the DC and PS2 have narrowed the gap, there will always be a difference between console and PC games. Control is a big issue in bringing PC titles to the living room: Should developers dumb them down so they fit on a control pad or require the purchase of a keyboard and mouse? Also, since console gamers sit on a couch away from their TV, instead of up close to a computer monitor, games that rely on fine detail (like many real- time strategy titles) don't work as well.

So how do we handle PC conversion titles? EGM is now the only major multiplatform magazine out there that still focuses exclusively on the

the developers: Can you map all the button presses onto a controller for me? | can't work a keyboard under pressure, and | like to have a free hand to eat Doritos with while | play. Name withheld by request Farmington Hills, MI

consoles, and we review games from a console gamer's perspective. When we score games, we rate them against other games for that system and console games in general, and not against their PC counterparts.

But the Review Crew doesn't live in a vacuum (except maybe for Greg): Most of us play PC games now and then, just like many of you. And if a game loses something we think could have or should have been included from the PC

version, we'll let you know. As for Xbox,

it sounds like Microsoft is gonna take your advice — encouraging new content but not refusing the hot stuff either. Check the feature for more details.

22

Inmate correspondence: 13 * New rebuttals to В.). Hill: 19 * # of game ideas offered: 76

* Ratio of Dragon Ball Z art to other letter art: 16:1

* 3t of DBZ art submissions that will ever make it into EGM: o

Man Demands “A Virtual Reality"

Did you know that everyone is all excited about the new systems (i.e., Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, etc.)?

But what happened to the Virtual Reality? Is it true that a company is going to release a Virtual Reality in 2001? | hope that a company creates a Virtual Reality so that we could be in our own game. Rob Halstead robbisrulesQyahoo.com

Sure Rob, we all want to know what happened to the "Virtual Reality." We are as clueless as you when it comes to the status of such a reality, as well as who may bring it to us. Oh, and thanks for the hot news scoop that everyone is all excited about the new systems, we couldn't get a read on that one. Please continue to send us these breaking news stories as they stream in.

| am having a problem with my wife for which | hope you could offer your vast knowledge. We own an Atari 7800 and it still provides us with a lot of entertainment. However, when it comes to taking care of it my wife seems to go a little overboard. She takes to putting a towel over it to protect it from the dust, which I guess I can see to a point, but the thing that really gets me is that she insists on taking the controller out of the 7800 every time she's done playing it. | say that taking the controller out of the Socket every time would eventually break or damage the pins inside the 7800 or damage the holes on the end of the controller itself. She says this is nonsense and that the reason she does this is to make the living room lool

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© 2000, 2001 SQUARE/ESCAPE. SQUARE SOFT and the SQUARESOFT logo are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. DRIVING EMOTION TYPE-S is a trademark of Square Co., Ltd. Honda, Смс, Honda 52000, Integra and NSX names and emblems are trademarks of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Depiction of names, marks, and shapes of exterior and interior of the cars in this game are licensed to SQUARE Co., LTD. by Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Official American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Licensed Product, All cars, manufacturers, names, brands, and associated imagery featured in this game аге trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. АП rights reserved.

for Rating information.

DRIVING EMOTION TYPE-S.

Simulate the sensation of driving as closely as possible. That was our goal. Technology has finally caught up with our ambition and racing will never be the same. Everything, from the exterior and interior form and distinct behavior of the cars to the racing circuits, has been painstakingly recreated using data provided by manufacturers and drivers.

DRIVING EMOTION TYPE-S Setting the new standard for racing games.

PlayStation.e

LETTERS

“less cluttered,” and that taking the controller out protects it from the dust (she’s a little nutty like that). What do you guys think (besides obvious jokes referring to my wife)? Todd Niver tniver@rochester.rr.com

Well first of all, take some WD-40 and lube up the...oh wait, no obvious jokes about your wife? All right then. A few editors own 7800s and have never had controller problems, at least not from pins bending. So we assume it will be fine as long as you are careful. But just to be all certain and scientific about it, we put a badger in our game closet under the watchful eye of our resident scientist Sewart, and rigged it so every time the badger plugged and unplugged the 7800 controller he received food or (ahem) attention from a lady badger. Last time we checked, the badger had eaten the 7800, and Sewart's eyes were the size of dinner plates. Hope that helps.

Home Drooler Wants Online "Soul"

On Sept. 7, 2000, when SegaNet opened the doors for online gaming and raised the bar for all console

YOUR ТОР FIVE SPORTS GAMES

EGM@ziffdavis.com

Send us your thoughts, your wishes, your innermost weirdness. ..your pictures, crazy screenshots or photos of bizarre game-related moments.

makers out there, | was at home “Where is drooling, playing NFL 2K1. It was an Soul Calibur experience unlike any other in video Online edition? game history: To play somebody

hundreds of miles away, on my TV, was 1, and many

a great feeling. | just keep asking other people, myself one question: Has Sega would pay overlooked one of the biggest titles the $50 again ever to hit a Sega system? The fans are and buy the screaming for it, and Sega, or Namco,

doesn’t seem to be responding. | am, same game of course, talking about Soul Calibur. with online Where is Soul Calibur Online edition? capabilities.

1, and many other people out there, It is the best would pay the $50 again and buy the fighting game same game with online capabilities. It to hit

is the best fighting game ever to hit a в s

home system, and it would kick ass to be able to play people all over the world. Please give me good news, and if you don't have any, lie to me! Travis Trav43@home.com

C’mon Travis, we could never lie to you. We'd fork over the cash again, too, in a second, although the game would probably need a broadband connection to move at an acceptable speed.

Any kind of Soul Calibur follow-up would be Namco's call, and it doesn't look like anything is on the horizon, at least not online and for the Dreamcast. We keep hearing rumors of an

1. NHL 94 1. Blades of Steel 2. Tecmo Super Bowl 2. Tecmo Super Bowl 3. NBA Jam 3. Baseball Simulator 4. NFL Blitz 1.000 5. Madden NFL 2000 4. Super Dodgeball Brian Ziak 5. NBA Live 95 Beeman65@aol.com Daniel Bendorf daniel@bendorf.com 1. Virtua Tennis 2. МВА 2Кі 1. NFL 2K1 3. NFL 2K1 2. МВА 2Кі д. NHL 94 3. NHL 2K 5. SSX 4. Tecmo Super Bowl Brian Vines 5. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater bvdreamstation64 UrUgly715@aol.com @hotmail.com 1. NFL2K 1. Madden NFL 2001 2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 2. NHL 98 3. Madden NFL 2001 3. Tecmo Super Bowl 4. МВА 2Кі д. NFL 2K1 5. Extra Innings 5. PGA Tour Golf Jordan Bellamy COOP85@aol.com AstroCreep85@webtv.net

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. Virtua Tennis 3. NFL 2K1 4. Wave Race 64 5. Jet Moto Brian Whipple SlothBorn@aol.com

1. Tecmo Bowl 2. NFL 2K 3. NBA 2K 4. Madden NFL 2001 5. МВА Jam J2daZGcs.com

1. 1080 Snowboarding

2. All-Star Baseball 2001 3. NBA Live 2000

4. NBA Showtime (Arcade) 5. NFL 2Ка

Dave К football; 2002Ghotmail.com

1. NFL 2K1 2. Madden NFL 2001 3. NBA 2К1 4. Virtua Tennis 5. All-Star Baseball 2001 Jason Diley j.dileyGworldnet.att.net

1. Madden NFL 2001 2. All-Star Baseball 2001 3. Double Dribble 4. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run 5. NFL 2K1

Joel Compean bronxbombers1_2@yahoo.com

Question of the Moment

Did you have a positive or negative launch day experience?

Positive, but the other end of the line got to watch movies to pass the time! GamesterggoGaol.com

Positive —I stayed at home and played Virtua Tennis and read my new December issue of EGM. Plus | recently purchased Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (DC version) and still have $260 in the bank! That's about a year's worth of online gaming for my Dreamcast. Very positive PS2 launch for me. Benjamin Bishop tennisbumbishop@yahoo.com

| had a very, very pleasant PS2 launch day at home playing Majora’s Mask on my N64 and dreaming of Gamecube! Evan M Rosebrock eman_1010@lycos.com

It was the greatest day of my life! | went to Toys ‘R’ Us and | asked for one and they gave me the last one. When | got home | almost cried at the most amazing graphics ever. Ps2 forever!! michael galvez mikeodbiGhotmail.com

| had a negative PS2 launch day. All the

PS2s were sold out so | bought a shiny

new Dreamcast. Take that Sony!! AzuliimiradaGaol.com

Hmm... little sore from sitting on the ground outside of Target. But a four- player game of Street Fighter EX 3 cured all of that.

Mr-Wega@webtv.net

І got mine in the mail on the 25th. On launch day | was playing SSX and Timesplitters.

Red Neck billy_bob_jo_jack_tom_bob@hotmail.com

Next month’s question of the moment:

What's your first impression of the Xbox?

Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject heading:

boxy

ы,

2

у е”

МЛМТЕВ Х САМЕ5 4

You can write EGM at:

EGM Letters

P.0. Box 3338

Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 e-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com

arcade/PS2 sequel, but nothing substantiated. As far as the online aspect goes, Namco has commented they would like to explore the new medium, with Ridge Racer and maybe Tekken, so perhaps Soul Calibur will get the treatment as well somewhere down the line. Please? Namco, are you listening?

Thin Walls Prevent Spinning Piledrivers

Hello, | am a gamer with a somewhat complex problem: I live in an apart- ment with thin walls. Although | enjoy playing Dragon Force and various other old-school games, some of my neighbors do not. | try to be fair about it and turn down the sound during late- night or early-morning hours. To complicate matters, there are many dogs in our surrounding neighborhood. These dogs, having excellent hearing, often react by barking while Рт playing. Even though I have the sound 50 low that | cannot hear my games, the dogs still bark. Other tenants and surrounding neighbors complain about my playing. | admit | do play often. I’m sure you understand. Anyway, their words are not kind and many consist of four letters. They discuss my lifestyle and need for an occupation. | do have a job, but | do not seem to work enough to please my neighbors. Maybe I could buy some headphones so that only I could listen to the sweet sounds of Legendra or a spinning piledriver.

| cannot afford to move right now so that is not an option. | do not expect you to solve my problem. I just want your input on what you think is fair for myself and my neighbors. | am curious to hear what my fellow gamers have to say. | will incorporate these suggestions and make a decision.

The Apartment Gamer Fresno, CA

A “complex” problem? “Com- plex”? Hehahah, oh Apartment Gamer, you scamp! We know of no California statute that covers loud gaming, but a trusty frying pan at your side is always a safe bet with unruly neighbors plotting against

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