SS NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN TRICKS FOR MGS2, HALO, SMASH BROS! PlayStation 2 - Xbox - GameCube • Dreamcast - PS one - Game Boy Advance

ELECTRONIC

сам”;

—À ——

REMEMBER GHOSTS 'N GOBLINS? AS

LÉARN TO MAKE GAMES FOR A LIVING

WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THIS BAD BOY

= TEKKEN 4 (PS2)

= BLOODY ROAR (GC)

= VIRTUA FIGHTER 4 (PS2)

= WWF RAW IS WAR (XBOX) = X-MEN: NEXT DIMENSION (PS2)

REVIEWED: m NBA 2K2 (PS2) m Sonic Adventure 2 (GC) E- Genma Onimusha (Xbox)

ш Super Mario World (GBA)

02 $4.99/$6.50 Canada 03 PREVIEWED: | | Star Fox Adv. (GC) о 14024106960 lg m Tony Hawk 3 (Xbox) ы п The Terminator (PS2) __FGM.GAMERS.COM ы m Star Wars: Racer Revenge (PS2)

ин im: "ШАТ rm qopa

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Опсе again, it's time to hang with Рагарра and his posse as you learn to rhyme like a rap star. Flow to all new songs, Freestyle with the rap masters. Take your timing and rhythm to a whole new level. But you better have mad skills. Otherwise, Parappa won't get the girl or save the world. And you gotta believe this dog ain't goin' out like that.

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HEAD TO HEAD

With Sonic Adventure 2:Battle connect your Game Boy® Advance to your

Nintendo GameCube™ and take

your Chao on the road.

= „© = = ы = Ф ©. = © о as) ©з Ф © © 2 © © Ф = = ~ = о ~ S D 2 = = с са

"Цпк cable

SEGA.COM/SA2BATTLE

sold separately.

ОТЕ $ Ju S

WATCH YOURSELF - DEATH SQUADS PROWL THE STREETS LOOKING FOR TROUBLE

"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Blood and Gore State of Emergency game (c) 2001 VIS entertainment plc. State of Emergency and the State of Emergency logo are trademarks of VIS entertainment plc. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive

Digital Software Association. Copyright 2001. All Rights Reserved.

Violence

A SHADOWY CORPORATION HAS SEIZED CONTROL OF YOUR COUNTRY. "HAVE TAKEN TO THE STREETS IN PROTEST.

Е OF EMERGENCY HAS BEEN DECLARED

JU TO FIGHT FOR YOUR FREEDOM.

AWARDED AS "THE TOP OVERALL GAME AT E3" “WE'RE THINKING ROCKSTAR'S STATE OF EMERGENCY MAY TAKE THE CLASSIC OLD SCHOOL BRAWLER

“#3 SHOWSTOPPER" AWARD TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF INTENSITY.”

“IT’S ORIGINAL, IT'S WILD, AND FROM WHAT WE'VE SEEN AND PLAYED, IT'S AS FUN AS THEY COME."

“GUILTIEST PLEASURE” AWARD AT E3

DEEP SELECTION OF HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING MOVES AND TONS OF SUPER- DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS ARE AT YOUR DISPOSAL

PlayStation.c QUES

NINTENDO GAMECUBE.

MOM PIN CODEMASTERS.COM

Visit www.esrb.org or ? for Rating Information. Codemasters (f, PlayStation.e

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB GENIUS AT PLAY

El © 2002 The Codemasters Software Company Limited (" Codemasters"), АП rights reserved. “Codemasters” and the Codemasters logo are registered trademarks owned by Codemasters. “Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing” and "GENIUS AT PLAY" are trademarks of Codemasters. Published by Codemasters. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other

and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other copyrights or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |

Fight as (or against) 16 top heavyweights including Holmes, Ша, Witherspoon and multiple world champ Iron Mike Tyson.

Ë ERA ca

Take on all comers with 9 game modes and over 200 unlockables to build your own custom World Champion.

BRUTAL BEYOND BELIEF.

CONTENTS

March 2002 Issue 152

Features

Departments

135 Airblade 87 All-Star Baseball 2003 88 Animal Forest 73 Barbarian 142 Blood Wake 90 Bloody Roar: Primal Fury 146 Columns Crown 144 Digimon Rumble Arena 76 Ecco the Dolphin 139 ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 139 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002

94 Evolution Worlds 86 Fatal Frame 86 Freekstyle 141 Genma Onimusha 96 Gun Valkyrie 76 Headhunter 135 High Heat Baseball 2003 87 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin 66 Hot Shots Golf 3 102-103 Jet Set Radio Future 135 Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 108 Knockout Kings 2002 112 Lunar Legend 138 March Madness 2002 136 Maximo 146 Mortal Kombat Advance 138 MotoGP 2 138 МВА 2K2 140 NBA Courtside 108 NBA Inside Drive 2002 94 NBA Street 108 New Legends 144 NFL 2K2 141 NFL Quarterback Club 2002 144 Nightcaster 110 Pro Race Driver 146 Puyo Pop 106 RalliSport Challenge 112 Robotech 141 Simpsons: Road Rage, The 87 Sled Storm 2 87 Smash Court Tennis 139 Smashing Drive 94 Soccer Slam 146 Sonic The Hedgehog Advance 139 Sonic Adventure 2: Battle 90 Star Fox Adventures 64 Star Wars Racer Revenge 82 Stuntman 145 Super Mario World: Super 2 Mario Advance 2 P 74 Tekken 4 74 Terminator, The 106 Test Drive 110 Thing, The 82 TimeSplitters 2 106,112 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 82 Triple Play 2002

141 Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure

76 Virtua Fighter 4

73 V-Rally3 104 WWF Raw Is War

86 X-Men: Next Dimension

Remember a certain side- scrolling horror game by the name of Ghosts "М Goblins? Well, if not, let Maximo refresh your memory. On page 116 we take a gander at the story behind

the game, and how Capcom entrusted their first American studio to rejuvenate the classic franchise. And finally, our review on page 136 will show if their faith was well-founded.

Start practicing your combos and taping your fingers because Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 headline our first look at the next generation of fighting games. Turn to page 74 and let the fist-de-cuffs begin.

All right, so they don't have a football team (or a cheerleading squad), but some DigiPen grads could render them. Get an inside look at the tough university that teaches how to make games on page 124.

To hell with the weather. Tune to our fearless 2002 Forecast on page 34 and find out which console’s skies look brightest.

See if Sega’s NBA 2K2 scores big on the PlayStation 2, and if Capcom’s Genma Onimusha is worth the wait on page 141.

(& Editorial 14 @ Letters 22 (Y Press Start 34

Think you know everything about raising hell in Grand Theft Auto III? You don't. Learn all of the game's dirty secrets in Afterthoughts. Also: Find out if fresher games are better, plus the skinny on a GameCube that plays DVDs.

$ Gossip 90

cre AKO B == Ba Previews 63

Get ready for the spring sports- game invasion! Hot Shots Golf, All- Star Baseball 2003 and Triple Play 2002 lead the way on PS2, while extremer fare such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 makes its debut on the Xbox and Game Boy Advance.

Review Grew 134 Sonic has found a new home on the GameCube, but can the spikey blue wonder still work his magic on a Nintendo box? Also: See if a bizarre GameCube title based on Universal Studios can save you the trouble of seeing the theme park in person.

Tricks 148

This month, your handy cheating headquarters comes stocked with never-before-seen cheats for Halo, Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metal Gear Solid 2. Also, check out the codes for four new Xbox games.

@ The Final Word 154

SYSTEM KEY

Bl == PlayStation 2 GameCube

Xbox

Dreamcast PlayStation Game Boy Advance Game Boy Color

Yeah, well bust out Oh Vince, I did = the mittens, Buttercup.

| just signed for 7 with Toronto.

so want to move to Los Angeles.

Your office is a 20,000 seat arena, your salary has a whole lot of zeros, and “Who stole my stapler?” is “Who's picking up Vince on D?" You wanted real, you got real. Build an all-NBA team during the draft. Check. your team's actual NBA playbook, and call those plays with real-time coaching. And details? You can count ` the players' cornrows. Have your secretary take a memo — this rules.

‘insidedrive2002.com iE nba.com

ims оосо аро орет

WWW XBOX

EDITORIAL

The N Factor

By Dan "Shoe" Hsu • shoe@zifftlavis.com m=

ecause we aren't afraid to take a stand (everything from our monthly reviews to issue #149’s Xbox vs. GameCube verdict), we inevitably get flak from readers who think their opinions are the only ones that are “correct.” That goes with the territory; if we're to tell it like it is, we're gonna have to hear that vocal minority tell us what it should be instead. But when people accuse us of being biased against Nintendo because we cover their prod- ucts so lightly, that's when I have to step in and enlighten everyone. Observe this typical dialog:

EGM: We need screenshots of your new and exciting games, please. Nintendo: We're working on it.

EGM: We need playable versions of your new and exciting games to preview and review. Please. Nintendo: We're working on it.

EGM: We need a debug system. You know, the special machine that lets us play early GC games, including those from third parties, so we can pre- view and review their games and yours? Please!? Nintendo: We're working on it.

(Note: "We're working on it" ting squat.")

So if you see late or little GameCube coverage from us, you now know why. Mario and Co. just ain't giving up the goods. Even GameCube game makers like Electronic Arts are peeved at Nintendo about this whole mess, since the big N hasn't given us, the press, a way to play any pre- view or review GC discs.

Why are they stiffing us? The Japanese parent company is so protective of its assets, they're willing to hide almost everything from the press in exchange for the warm, fuzzy feeling that their unfinished products are not being judged by the public. Needless to say, this is frustrating for us because we can't cover these great GC titles that we're excited to play and you're keen to read about. We've even sent a joint industry letter (along with our friends at a half-dozen competing magazines and Web sites) to Nintendo, complain- ing about the situation. (The reaction to the let- ter? "We're working on it.") But while we're wait- ing for old man Nintendo of Japan to ease up on his stinginess, we'll make the best of things and continue to provide the best GameCube (and other console) coverage possible. Shoe

= "You're not get-

EGM recruited Shane yet again this month

Now if only he'd lay off the boozing and

Peter Felonk

On his second issue with EGM as a con- tributing freelancer, Peter's enthusiasm for our Tricks section has us convinced he's definitely one of us gaming geeks.

David Kushner

A writer for Rolling Stone and the New York Times, David covered DigiPen, the Nintendo-funded institute where playing games is considered homework.

for his previewing and reviewing expertise.

womanizing, and make gaming his focus....

7 Christian Nutt

| Christian's found enough time to hop on the EGM boat again this issue, despite all his work on the Pikmin and Crash Bandicoot (GBA) guides for Pocket Games.

Gary Mollohan

In addition to EGM, Gary regularly con- tributes to GameNow!, Pocket Games

and Better Homes and Gardens. (OK, he doesn't really contribute to Pocket Games.)

John Ricciardi

John has been writing about video games for the better part of the last decade. He now lives in Japan, where he works as "ma EGM’s International Editor.

Eat My Shorts!

Look around this issue for quotes from The Simpsons or a famous movie. Find one, e-mail it (and your mailing address) to us at EGM@ziffdavis.com (subject: Eat My Shorts —EGM #152), and you may be one of five lucky winners (chosen at ran- dom) who will win a copy of this month's Game of the Month.

Some quotes from the i: issue #151: ` vif you" те not cop, vou "re little people." (Blade Runner, pg. 90) * "Meet exotic creatures from lush new worlds...and kill them..." (Full Metal Jacket, pg. 134. OK, so this is a very loose refer- ence, but we'll give you credit for it.)

+ "Come with us if you want to live.” (The Terminator 1 or 2, pg. 114)

legal crap, go to

No purchase necessary.

к

Issue 4150% winners of Halo (Xbox): * Seth Miller—Akron, OH

e Carl Stargel— Orlando, FL

* Cyrus Younessi— Beverly Hills, CA e Kyle Yucus— Streamwood, IL

* Jason Massengale—Dacula, GA

Electronic Gami

f We use EarthLink EarthLink’ for our online gaming needs.

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN 410569085) published monthly by Z 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 year (12 issue) subscription rate is $24.97 in the U.S. and $40.97 out side the U.S. Checks must be m

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Rights and Permissions Manager. For reprints, contact Reprint Services at 800-217-7874. Olga Gonopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc. 28 E. 28th St, New York, NY 10016. Tel: 212:503 5438. Fax: 212-503-5420. olga, gonopol shyGaifídavis com. Electronic Gaming Monthly ve trademarks of Ziff Davis Media Inc. TM and © for all other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright ‘owners. AN 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 RT. Hey, kids, it's a brand new year (2002, in case you were sleeping)! Considering all the fine things you could be doing right now, reading this tiny fine print is probably the least productive of them all. (the Indicia King) suggest that you buy a wiffle-ball bat and smack some hollow balls. A grand idea indeed!

Printed in the USA.

Ast Bureau Cris

g Monthly - 14

egm,gamers.com

ELECTRONIC

GAMING == MONTHLY

Number 15.3

March 2002

egm.gamers.com

К n Кү Hsu * shoe@ziffdavis.com

Manai Editor

болн agere dean_hager@ziffdavis.com

кыйа ШЕГИ Donald e mark macdonaldGziffdavis.com jpn Boer * crispin_boyer@ziffdavis.com

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te gree sewart@ziffdavis. com

Senior sk als Editar A Пивка raig_kujawa@ziffdavis.com rahar Buda UTE dudlakGziffdavis.com Т! Jum Ne a inaziffdavis. com

lest Coast Editors

°. Ike@ziffd:

Исе ооа

ЕТИ

с o Nutt Shane Be tenes Gary Mollohan, Peter Felonk, David Kushner, Dan Leahy, Ton Davies

Internatipnal Edjtor John Ricciardi M s бе

European Correspondent

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Кесе * mike_reisel@ziffdavis.com

Ме ЕГИН ыбө Main Senor E Manager

Pe рка! Men Pre ачай

Assistant Production Manager leresa Newson

ОК ге * mark_lefebvre@ziffdavis.com Vice President/Game Group Edit ДЕРДЕ ‘or

Busnes Ше lott

Circulation Director Hat pce

шоп оте! ctor

Senior Newsstand Sales Manager

SUBSCRIPTION ЧЕКЕ: NUMBER:

ро ES CONTACT THE EDITORS RE: SUB. PROBLEMS

Asana Gra Inquiries Contact:

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"re ШЕ

15-357-4910 • lee uniacke@ziffdavis.com se ASSOC; ty Publisher zanne Reider

5:3 7: 4915 * suzie@ziffdavis.com `

кеңіді ДЕНЕГ lanager/East Coast Territory 630-382-9034 * marc_callison@ziffdavis.com

Dist s de Representative/East Coast Territory

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760-942-6277 * karen_landon@ziffdavis.com Senior Account Fecutve)Southwest Territory

WE ERA 8781 • linda de com Regional Sales Manager/ Texas, Washington, E Francisco Neg)

Mar rci Yamaguchi Ч у iffdavis.com

lashington,

marci, АО О Texas, "hand y gute

ds e i920 • meighan_orourke@ziffdavis.com бергі Yärkeling Manager & Creative Director

= Г ledda@ziffdavis.com Be p Annie Lipscoml 47 8248 ° annie : lipscombGziffdavis.com

PR pu 04 Пао

she 4930 * tipler_ubbelohde@ziffdavis.com B SSIStant risteen ‘Laut

547- 5775 • kristeen_laut@ziffdavis.com

ET S M 415- 5 тер • cheryl_farrell@ziffdavis.com

Founder Steve Harris

Е ES 5 different drivers, each

= трат а пару Шу; UE is

а Arcad Š Wisted trucker mine an tons of

Rough ү

Wheeler" created and produced by SEGA. SEGA and 18 Wheeler: EVERYONE 2-player, Split-se, осуше тшй are eel trademarks of SEGA Corporation, ы Ë ¡AU SGPEEN “Versy; Ж Original Game © SEGA-AM2 Co LTD./SEGA CORPORATION, 2001. featiring 4 СШ ии, Acclaim” & © 2001 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. All VIOLENCE ferent raceways а gif пе "PS" Fomiy bow ore af am registered trademarks of Sony r Entertainment Inc. TM, © and “the Nintendo GameCube logo

lemarks of Nintendo. Screens acclaim.com. — shown were taken from the Pl

CONTENT RATED BY Ө ESRB ion®2 version of the video game.

y и

ra na

%

with the Yakuza mafia as а сор or

spy, pulling off 20 tough, high-speed driving:

missions through the chaotic streets. fully interactive, fully destructible ci

Unleash real-time damage in one

10 vehicles from sport oa monster truck then: -relive the action in stunning |:

realistic гер!ау$.

Enter to win ап Xbox” video game system at | GOWRECKLESS.COM

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ACTIVISION.

activision.com | Game Code © 2002 Bunkasha Publishing Co., Ltd. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered

trademark and WRECKLESS: The Yakuza Missions is a trademark of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

„йт ——— Paw

— OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE (JANUARY 2002)

nba.com

= © = © а > Q a id

FROM THE CREATORS OF THE BLOCKBUSTER SERIES “DRIVER?

and a lifestyle to die for. Ihe Director depends on you; [he movie depe! s on you. ive like you.

"á Pre-order your copy today.

PlayStation.2

Stuntman ©2002 Infogrames, Inc. All rights reserved. Created and developed by Reflections Interactive Limited, an Infogrames studio. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. ” Manufactured and marketed by Infogrames Inc., New York, NY.

Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772

for Rating Information.

INTENT RATED BY SRB

LETTER FACTS

Letters to the Editors

* Total charges from postage-due letters: $8.73

° Christmas cards from readers: 23

* Boxing Day cards from readers: o (Take THAT, Sewart!)

* Messages in bottles: 1

* Letters in alphabet: 26

Congratulations Drew McGill. You win an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color. тт

> =

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Phantasy Star Online has had a rather profound effect on my life. | was playing over the network several months ago when | met this girl named Rinoa in the lobby. We played together for a week or so when | realized | started to have feelings for her, so | tried to play with her as much as possible. | worked up the nerve to tell her how | felt (by the way, she's 27 and I’m 15, so it wasn't easy), and to my amazement, she felt the same way as | did!

After that, | was with her all the time online, but | had a little problem. Before | met Rinoa, | had this little “almost” relationship with Dark Crystal (that was her character name, anyway). | didn’t want to hurt her feelings or anything, so | sorta kept it going with her on the side. Things were great until Crystal wanted to meet Rinoa! We all got into a game together, but | had to duck out for a bit, and while | was gone, Crystal told Rinoa we were still together!

Rinoa was furious, and it took me several days to smooth things over.

Illustration by Shawn Smith

Dreams Cast For Less

I'm a 14-year-old gaming fanatic and don't have a lot of income to spend on games. So this Christmas, instead

of an Xbox, PS2 or GameCube, I received my very own Dreamcast.

Now, some might have been disappointed, but | see a huge opportunity in my new console. | got three sports titles and Crazy Taxi with the system for Christmas, and then | found Sonic Adventure and Soul

Calibur brand new for next to nothing at the store. For about the price of a GBA, | got a ton of stuff for a really cool system and had my best gaming Christmas ever.

BikeOtaku@aol.com

Then Rinoa met this other guy online while | was on vacation. | can’t stand him, naturally. Well, my DC broke shortly thereafter and | was off for like a month. It was really depressing. Rinoa doesn’t talk to me anymore, so I’ve kind of given up on her, but my friend is going through the exact same thing right now with his girl. Hopefully he'll have better luck with online love than me. Do you guys ever have problems like these? Drew McGill Sacramento, CA

Actually, West Coast Editor Che Chou ran into some trouble with a younger woman; it wasn't over the Internet, though. He still swears the girl said she was 18....

Too bad things didn't work out for you (unless of course she was really some old fat dude posing as a chick), but you were reaching into a cookie jar full of cyanide-laced hypodermic needles in trying to juggle two cyber- dates at once. We need the Brady

Bunch to make an Internet- related version of that one episode where Peter has ) to be on two dates at once to help us out of pickles like these. Until then, ponder this: She was at her first junior high dance while you were still a fetus. It wouldn't ST have worked out between you two.

Letters for the impatient You guys like AC/DC? waco_kid34 @hotmail.com

Way to buck the hype, man. It’s true, we get a little spoiled with all the shiny new games and consoles on the market. The DC is barely two years old and still has lots of great games that people may have missed

DO we??!! Is there anything else to jam when you're cruisin’ in the EGM IROC?

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 22 - egm.gamers.com

in the fever of new console launches. Better snatch up as many games as you can before they disappear from store shelves, though. Remember what happened with the Saturn.

John of ñil Trades

| have a bunch of questions for you guys. First, is there a service to replace batteries in older games, particularly Nintendo and Super Nintendo games? Also, while | have tremendous respect for you guys and for your top 100 list, | would have to say that R-Type Ill is so much better than R-Type Delta. Not that Delta is a bad game, it's just the level design seemed a lot better in ///. And finally, when I beat Guilty Gear X, | saw the name of John Ricciardi float across my screen. He was credited as their text editor. Is that THE John Ricciardi? docbrown@cinci.rr.com

Awright, the easy stuff first. Yep, that’s THE John Ricciardi, international man of English translation. Apart from working for EGM, he does some localization work out there in Tokyo to help fund his lifestyle in the most expensive city on Earth. Second, while we respect your opinion on R-Type III, please don’t ever say that again. It makes Mark MacDonald cry.

As far as refitting batteries to your old games, it’s something that you can actually do yourself without much hassle. We're putting together a small feature on that very subject as we speak, so if your games can hold out a little longer, look for it in one of the next few issues.

| find it unfair that you gave Final Fantasy X all that space in the magazine and on the cover last issue (#151), but Super Smash Bros. Melee was the game of the month in the Reviews section. It should have gotten more space on the cover than Final Fantasy X. Why didn’t it? grahamgoff@hotmail.com

Well, we’re just biased, we guess. It’s as simple as that. No, actually, we often plan our covers way in advance of when we get the featured game in

magical adventure filled with

wizardry, fun, and danger.

ЭМ um F

ЭА W TVA VOLE owi. STONE,

GAME BOY ADVANCE PlayStation s EVERYONE www.eagames.com /www.HarryPotter.com

EVERYONE © 2001 Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts, EA GAMES and the EA GAMES logo are trademarks or registered trademarks COMIC MISCHIEF of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. EA GAMES” is an Electronic Arts™ brand. Е ТМ, @, бате Boy Color and бате Boy Advance аге trademarks of Nintendo. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos аге MILD VIOLENCE registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The rating icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital

Software Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 5 Visit wwwcesrb.org ог Call

HARRY POTTER, characters, names, and related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. @ 2001 (501)

1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information

CONTENT RATED B ESRB

q

March 2002, Kain returns to video gaming's high-throne of bloodthirsty bad=asses.

When battle-ax and sword edges dull, Kain turns to Dark Gifts such as rupture and possession.

Whether in pursuit of power or just for the thrill ol the kill, Kain's lust for blood is inspiring.

————

A —— —

This game is

б саат Kain Awakens This March

ON

www.LegacyofKain.com

LETTERS

MORE SHORTS

What happened

to Seanbaby?

Did he get fired? Brent9989 @aol.com

No, Brent, Seanbaby lives in a far-off land that is inacces- Sible to mere mortals like ourselves. Once in a while, he casts us a piece of writing and we put it in the mag, but he's not a regular staff member. You'll probably be hearing from him again in the very

near future, though.

What's with all

the v's where

there should

be u's in your

Circus Maximus

preview? SublimeSkandrn

44@aol.com

Gather round, boy, and we shall tell уе а tale. In olden tymes, Romans didn’t have the technology to make curved letters, so they had to use a v every time they needed a u. That's also why all their numbers are letters. Can you imagine having to write out all those blocky 975? Hope this helps. Feel free to ask us anything else you want to know about Romanian history.

for review, so we never know how it's going to fare in Reviews until the magazine's almost out the door. Take a look at this month's mag: Maximo is on the cover, but Super Mario Advance 2 is our Game of the Month. Sometimes the cover game is coincidentally the Game of the Month, but it doesn't always work out that way. Just chalk it up to entropy.

Journey Defended

| saw your comments on the Journey game and band last month. Journey rocks, man. | mean, | never liked the band, but | have been playing the game every day for at least a year now. You guys should try it before you knock it.

sonofsam@charter.net

Actually, you’ve got something in common with our Features Editor Crispin Boyer! He, too, has been playing Journey on an emulator for more than a year now. Check out this sweet screen we grabbed from one of his many long sessions with bassist Ross Valory. We seriously doubted that anyone could play that game for more than about 20 minutes, but Crispin’s clinically insane, so...what’s your excuse?

Bassist Ross Valory stomps on space crap while the remaining members of Journey look on from their flaming starship.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 26

Gamer Sick of Games

| was wondering about a video game- related sickness | seem to have developed. | was wondering if anyone else has ever experienced it, or at least heard of it. It is a nauseated feeling that develops in my stomach fter a long period of playing first- person shooters (FPSes) that involve tight corridors and enclosed spaces. | suppose it could be termed “Video Game Claustrophobia.” I’m not claustrophobic in real life at all, but it only takes about two hours of playing the right game to get me so sick that | can’t play anymore. | even played Medal of Honor (PS1—the mission where you are in the corridors of the German ship) to the point where | threw up. Any ideas on what's wrong? KrypticVoid@aol.com

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This isn't the first time we've heard about this problem. In fact, it seems like for every couple dozen folks who are totally fine with FPSes, there's one who inevitably gets sick playing them. We haven't really heard of confined spaces making people nauseous. But gamers have complained that the bobbing motion some characters display when they walk (like in Half-Life) induces a seasick feeling. The choppiness associated with a low framerate (less than 30 frames per second) can also cause you to feel ill.

You might want to try playing Halo (are you surprised we recommended that?) or another FPS that has a lot of open environments and a high framerate to pinpoint your problem. Smoother or slower-paced games like this might not trouble you, so you may not have to miss out on the genre completely. Or maybe you should get out of the house after two hours and do something worthwhile! Hehe...just kidding, we're probably worse than you are.

In your February issue you gave some tips on Halo's weapons in the Inner Circle section. You said that the rocket launcher kicks ass close in and sucks

Question of the Moment

What one thing do you most want to see change about video games in 20022

A successful online network for PS2 and

Xbox. | want to be able to download

expansions for MGS2 and Halo! beanboy86Ghotmail.com

New game engines. I'd love to see some new genres develop this year. TheGodfather10870cs.com

Fewer Metroid Prime delays! | mean, what the @#$%$#@A&$#!@@#$ Hades! nakedlettuce@hotmail.com

| want to see Square discontinue its

exclusivity to Sony and test the waters on the

other next-gen consoles. ninjascroll@earthlink.net

Better sports games: Full color customization for home and away uniforms, and the ability to create expansion teams and logos. Also, we need better text recognition for announcing created players. bullsfan@iland.net

Nintendo’s kid-oriented image. | want to see more first-person shooters and RPGs on my GameCube.

swstrider@hotmail.com

It seems like all the good games on PS2 are

really short. | want some quality games that

take a long time to beat in 2002. Gethod80@aol.com

We all love a well-crafted sequel, but for the love of God, stop franchising! | really don’t want to play a Tony Hawk 4 or another Syphon Filter game.

ramojo@fast.net

| want to see peoples’ lips moving with their words, damnit! MeltyMallowX@aol.com

Next Month’s Question of the Moment:

What are you looking forward to most when the next-gen systems go online? Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject heading:

DANNYWAY

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LETTERS

You can write EGM at:

EGM Letters

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 El г. E printed, tell us so (but please include your phone number, mailing address a rook, and system preference for Letter of the Month prize consideration). 60522-3338

Also note: Although we can’t respond to every letter, as far as you know, we do read them all. Also, everything you send us is ours to keep!

E-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com

at long range! | beg to differ. How can the rocket launcher be awesome at close range? Most likely you would blow the hell out of yourself and the enemy. From far away they could move out of the way, but at least you won’t die. I’m not sure what short or long range is to you, but to me, close range is 10 feet, maybe. | don’t want anyone to blow himself up ‘cause you said the rocket launcher is good in close quarters.

DAVIDDJ311@aol.com

Au contraire, good Halite. Play anyone who’s worth his salt in Halo, and you won’t see him getting hit by a rocket from across the field. It’s too easy to see coming, and no good Halo player stands still long enough for you to land a shot from long range. If you wield the launcher well, you can crush people in close quarters (yep, that means 10, 20 feet) without even damaging your shield. OK, if you’re practically standing on the guy, the shotgun's a safer bet, we'll give you that. But for general purposes, the rocket launcher is the weapon of choice for close-range fights.

A well-placed rocket at 10-15 feet will resurface the floor with your enemy and leave you unscathed.

I'm worried about Final Fantasy XI. Though | am always excited when a new FF comes out, | worry that the online component will make a thousand different people play the same Final Fantasy with other adventurers. As cool as that is, I’m afraid that because there are so many players, the game will lose the epic story quality that makes it so cool.

2. Handheld Space Invaders game

3. Tiger Sports Feel baseball game

4. Some other stuff that would prevent me from getting a GameCube if my parents found out.

| fell in love with FFX because the story

was so gripping and l really got to

know the characters. Lonestar2k2@cs.com

| see so many nerds over there working at EGM, yet not even ONE has a ponytail? Come on, dudes, get with it. That's а requirement. IExtraSoldierl

Based on what we've seen of the game from Japanese beta testers, it's going to blow your pancreas straight out the front door. True, it's not the same as the typical FF formula. But if anything, we think the story will be more epic, when you factor in all the