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> EA GAMES and MGM INTERACTIVE present — imes В011/0077 in AGENT UNDER FIRES \ ‘An all-new ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE. Immerse yourself in ,

12 PULSE-POUNDING MISSIONS. Intense FIRST-PERSON'ACTION. Breathtaking DRIVI MG LEVELS in exotic sportscars, including the ASTON MARTIN" DBS, BMW” 750iL and BMW Z8. Employ sfate-of-the-art GADGETS. Wield HI-TECH WEAPONRY. Meet STUNNING BOND GIRLS. Journey to EXOTIC LOCATIONS across the globe. Frag your friends in FOUR-PLAYER SPLIT-SCREEN action. The next generation of BOND has arrived on the PLAYSTATION” 2 computer entertainment system, the XBOX video game system, and Nintendo GAMECUBE.”

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loj Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation

from Microsoft. Screens shown were taken from the Nintendo GameCube version of the video game,

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‘CONTENT RATED BY | ESRB

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GONTENTS

Game Directory

Мау 2002 Issue 154

2 BATIL RE Features se rRae

Departments :

© Editorial 12 @ Letters 18

2n

112 18 Wheeler: American Pro

Trucker The GameCube grows up with its 106 Army Men RTS remake of the original Resident 115 Baseball Advance Evil. Find out why Capcom 115 Breath of Fire ІІ decided to revisit their 88 Crash old graveyard 113 Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of stomping grounds,

Cortex 112 Dark Summit 80 Die Hard: Vendetta 92 Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of

and what makes this installment fancier than your

Goku run-of-the-mill = 107 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of „redux: The

the Future 86 Enclave

80 Eternal Darkness

106 Eve of Extinction

106 Fatal Frame

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters

Melee

68 Grandia Xtreme

88 Gun Metal

107 Herdy Gerdy

115 Hooters Road Trip

113 James Bond oo; in...Agent Under Fire

112 Jeremy McGrath Supercross World

81 Kameo: Elements of Power

Kingdom Hearts

107 King's Field: The Ancient City

90 Mace Griffon: Bounty Hunter

107 Mad Maestro

66 Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2

72 Men In Black II: Alien Escape

86 Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing

108 Monsters, Inc.

108 Mr. Mosquito

112 МВА 2K2

112 МВА Street

108 NFL Blitz 20-02

114 NHL 2K2

108 No One Lives Forever

113 Pac-Man World 2

109 Pirates: The Legend of Black

Want to race your 673 Skyline against a redneck in Texas? Soon you will if Sony’s online plans are of any indication. Get the Scoop on page 4o.

Kat ү If you need а few reasons to pull 114 RalliSport Challenge f 82-85 Robotech that Game Boy out of your

pocket, take a look at Advance Notice on page 44. We'll show you what games you should be on the lookout for now and in the future—such as Castlevania: White Night Concerto, above. Also, find out about five quirky things you had no idea your Game Boy could do.

113 Sega Soccer Slam 109 SledStorm

68 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs 64 Spider-Man

74 Spyro the Dragon: Enter the

Dragonfly

78 Star Fox Adventures 109 Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter 72 Stuntman

68 Summoner 2

88 Superman: The Man of Steel 72 Superman: Shadow of

A lot of good Р52 fighting games have come and gone, but there hasn't been a great one—yet. Turn to page 110 to see if

Virtua Fighter 4 fits the bill.

One of our most revered

Apokolips 3 415 Tactics Ogre: The Knight of ee Та) ШО Lodis t 74 Tekken 4 of its legacy. See

why we can't wait

to climb into the cockpit of this Robotech game in our eye-popping EGM exclusive preview on page 82.

86 Test Drive 115 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 81 Top Gun 114 Triple Play Baseball 2002 110-111 Virtua Fighter 4 90 Whacked! 90 World Series Baseball 2K3

© Press Start 28

See new screenshots of Nintendo's dynamic GameCube duo, Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime. Plus, find out about the Xbox launch and Sony's online plans in Japan. Top it all off with our Maximo After- thoughts and a fine glass of Brandy.

© Gossip 50

ere @ > @ Jeu Previews 60

It’s comic-book heaven this month. Check out Spider-Man for PS2 and Superman for both PS2 and Xbox. Then feast upon monstrous games that include Spyro, Godzilla and the scariest beast of them all:

Mike Tyson Review Crew 104 action-sports review-a-thon that

We put on our sweats for an includes NFL Blitz 20-02 for PS2, Tony Hawk 3 for Game Boy Advance, in addition to Soccer Slam and NBA Street for

GameCube. Also: See how Mr. Mosquito sucks on PS2.

@ Tricks 116

Hey cheaters! Check out our latest installment of Super Smash Bros. Academy to go with our awesome slate of tricks for ultra-violent PS2 games, State of Emergency and NFL Blitz 20-02.

@ The Final Word

119

№ = == PlayStation 2 GameCube Xbox Dreamcast PlayStation Game Boy Advance Game Boy Color

|

HISTORY IS ІМ YOUR HANDS. DON’T SCREW ІТ UP.

IT'S WWII ALL OVER AGAIN.

Blood Violence PlayStatio e

©2002 Pyro Studios. Published by Eidos Interactive. Developed by Pyro Studios. Commandos 2: Men of Courage is a trademark of Pyro Studios. The Pyro logo is a trademark of Pyro Studios. Eidos, Eidos Interactive and the Eidos Interactive logo are registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved. PlayStation and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox Logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

EDITORIAL

The Same Old Story

By Dan "Shoe" Hsu « shoe@ziffdavis.com

was СТЕ whether to write this ог not.

Does the world really need another editorial

on video-game violence? Seems that way.

Some law-making types in Georgia are trying to push through a bill that would outlaw selling violent video games to minors.

You may be surprised to hear me say this, but | don’t think it's that bad an idea. Really. | don't think kids should be playing Grand Theft Auto III or Blood and Guts V, and if America’s parents are too stupid to monitor what their children are doing/reading/seeing/playing, then some stricter rules won’t hurt.

But then, what about those lackadaisical movie theaters that let unchaperoned kids in to see bul- let-riddled R-rated films like Black Hawk Down? How about book stores that allow a blood- soaked Clive Barker novel to get into the hands of an impressionable reader who’s all too young

Contributors Tim Ponting

Previously the group publisher of PC Zone and the Official Dreamcast Magazine in England, Tim is now one of our “men in the U.K.” who hunt down exclusives for us.

When he can lift his head up from his Virtua Fighter 4 obsession, John remembers to do some stuff relating to his job as editorial director of the Ziff Davis Game Group.

Shane Bettenhausen

When he's not playing RPGs or Soul Calibur, Shane lends EGM a hand with pre- views and reviews. His wit also overflows into GameNow and Pocket Games.

Official U.S. PS Magazine's previews editor expects to get lynched by hardcore PS2 fans when they discover he's contributed a Superman (Xbox) preview to EGM.

to handle the gore?

It seems strange that politicians are specifically picking on the video games when media in gener- alis dishing out the violence. But that's not even the point. Gun-shootin', head-loppin', blood- squirtin' games don't make kids do bad things. Loose screws and scrambled noodles do. Seriously...just how messed up do you have to be to do what Nen Columbine jerks did?

Lawmakers are simply looking for the closest, easiest target for their finger-pointing. It'll never happen, but | really wish they could direct their energies elsewhere— perhaps toward those par- ents who couldn't properly raise a child if their lineage depended on it. Or how about figuring out a way to keep those 12-gauges out of the hands of unstable teenagers who have the accountability of a cockroach (with brains to match)? What a novel idea! Shoe

Leonard Herman

The author of Phoenix: The Fall and Rise of Videogames, Leonard’s like a game-history encyclopedia. He spills his knowledge on Game Boy Advance gadgetry this ish.

Christian Nutt

Although RPGs are his forté, Christian enjoys helping EGM out with previews and reviews. You can also find his work in Pocket Games and at animejump.com.

Gary Steinman

Because OPM's managing editor lost to the Canadian Sensation in a heated leg- wrestling match, we punished him by forc- ing him to review King’s Field in this issue.

Jeremy "Norm" Scott

Norm draws cartoons (specifically, he draws Hsu and Chan for EGM). Without car- toons, he is nothing. Nothing, dear lord, nothing. Donations are accepted.

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 #154), 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.

Just a few of the quotes from issue #153:

* Чат God here.” (Lawnmower Man, pg. 143) ..50 that we may blow our enemies to tiny bits, in His mercy...” (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, pg. 135)

* “...avoision (it's a word, look it up)..."

(The Simpsons, pg. 110)

* "How do ya like ya ribs?" (Action Jackson,

pg. 108)

Issue #152'5 winners of Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 (Game Boy Advance):

* Eduardo Martin—Allen Park, MI

* Andy Galuska — Everett, WA

* Steve Streza— Strongsville, OH

* Kenneth King — San Francisco, СА

* Mark Peterson — Louisville, KY E

lectronic Gaming Monthly - 12 -

We use EarthLink EarthLink’ for our online

gaming needs.

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN #1058-9:8% 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: $499. The one year (12 issue) subscription rate is $24.97 in the US. and $40.97 out: side the U.S. Checks must be made payable in US. currency orly to Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55721, Boulder, СО 89322-5721. For subscription service questions, address changes, or to order, please contact us at: Web:

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Май: Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55721, Boulder, CO 80322-5721 (please include your mailing label with any correspondence as it contains information that wil expedite processing); Fax: U.S, and Canada (850) 683-4094, elsewhere (303) 604/0518; E-mail (please type your full name and the address at which you sub scribe; do not send attachments): subhelp@egmmag com. The editors and the publisher are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of his publica- tion may be reproduced, stored in, oc 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, obtain a permission request form at www icopy- rightcom/ziffdavis/, or have a form faxed or mailed to you by calling (12514301663. Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole ori part without permission is prohibited. For per mission to reuse material in this publication (or on this Web site) or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media's Rights and Permissions Manager. For reprints, contact Reprint Services at 800-217-7874. Olga Genopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc. 28 E. 28th St, New York, NY 10016, Те 212-503:5438, Fax: 212-503-5420. оба вопоро хубава сот, Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM are 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 отте. 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 RT. Introduce myself as Loc, she said, "You're a liar," I said, "I got goin’ on baby doll and l'm on fie.” Took her to the hotel, she said, "You're the king..." | said, “Be my queen if you know what | mean and let's do the wild thing." On a sepa- Tate note, Shoe sends a shout out to Princess Kim. Don't f- with her. or else,

Printed in the USA.

Audit Bureu Стао.

egm.gamers.com

Number 15.5 May 2002

egm.gamers.com

ELECTRONIC

GAMING === MONTHLY

in Chi E РЯ Hsu ® shoe@ziffdavis.com

buen Б dean hagerGziffdavis.com

E n

M Donald • mark. macdonaldGzifídavis.com Features ta

Crispin Borer * crispin_boyer@ziffdavis.com News Editor, Previews a [o Johnston • chris johnstonGziffdavis.com jew: Sewan * greg_sewart@ziffdavis.com Review

Jonathan rte he jonathan_dudlak@ziffdavis.com

Duy ТЕДІ late 2 jawa rap ku о сот лы Ы tor /Ar Di Vector eanne mg anne im@ziffdavis.com West oast Editor: Меке, 8 james. тта базала, com Chou * che_chou@ziffdavis.com

Contributor: ОГ Chris Ва e Shane вела, John Davison, Peter Felonk, Leonard Herman, Christian Nutt, Tim Ponting, Jeremy Scott

ШТ RES Editor а {езе Coit indent PP AES ODER

а, ane лет

Senior Art Director me ril Woi choke e cyril wochokGziffdavis.com i Mike ее! • mike_reisel@ziffdavis.com

di ШАШ estes

Manufacturing Director los Lugo Seno ог ARUMPI Manager ne М апе Miguel Pre N ledia Manager P pave Me то еп ге Media Technician Mike

Assistant Production Manager Teresa Newson

Project Leader Mark Lefebvre * mark_lefebvre@ziffdavis.com

Vice President/Game Group 10216 оттап) Editorial Director john Davison Creative Director Simon Cox Business Director thy Bendo Circ m n (Director ley Cic dation recor Senior ‘Nevisstand Sales Manager

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| ЦЕ | APPAREL

“YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK | UPON THE GREAT CRUSADE”

General Dwight D, Eisenbower, D-Day.

PARACHUTE INTO THE WAR ` as Lt. Jimmy Patterson of the Air. ‘Transport Corps in Medal Of Honor: , Frontline for the PlayStation.2

Computer Entertainment System. ` +

After taking part in the largest aerial

troop drop in history, you'll fight the 1. ) Axis Powers as an agent of the OSS. \ Battle on the front lines or go it alone

behind enemy lines using over 20 authentic WWII weapons to bring down the Third Reich. Survive the first deadly mission and you're only |

17 more away from victory.

You don't play. You volunteer. www.moh,ea.com

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STEP INTO THE BOOTS of ‘Lt. Mike Powell of the First Ranger

Battalion in Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault for your РС. Join the 'special infantry’ as an elite soldier trained to execute covert missions in advance of major Allied offensives. Fight with a crack unit or go it alone using over 20 authentic WWII weapons to defeat ‘a vicious, motivated enemy. But remember with six harrowing cam- 'paigns, the only reward for victory is another deadly mission.

You don't play. You volunteer. www.moh.ea.com

“ОООО. н | Р Ants are trademarks or registerad sta of а ү И р воть Моби ТА GAMES" ІСІ и on Electronic Arts™ brand, "PlayStation: and the "PS ly! f Computer Entortsinmant Inc, AII ROM othr trademarks:arn tho property of thoit raspo блк of GameSpy Industries

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VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF DEATH

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AVAILABLE NOW

OE: Eve of Extinction © YUKE'S Со, Ltd, 2002. Published by Eidos Interactive Inc. EOE: Eve of Extinction, Eidos, Eidos Interactive and the Eidos logo are trademarks of the Eidos group of companies. YUKE'S Co, Ltd. is a trademark of YUKE'S Co, Led. All Rights Reserved. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved.

Congratulations Godsun514 @aol.com. You win an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color.

Worst...Reader Poil...Ever

On the bottom of the previews intro page in issue #153, you displayed a poll from gamers.com that asked people to vote on who would win in a fight “at the bike rack after school." To my surprise, people voted for Solid e over the Master Chief from Halo. | would have to disagree and say that the Master Chief could take Solid e in a fight any day.

If anyone who voted in favor of

e had read the recently released

Sna

Sna

Sna

LETTER FACTS

Letters sent to News Editor Chris Johnston ALONE about the Smash Bros. “trick”: 309 (seriously)

* Valentines: one envelope, but he sent enough for the whole staff. Thanks Aldric Saucier from NYC!

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Cheaters Always Win

1 consider myself a cheat freak; | have used cheats and codes for almost all the games | have played since | started gaming on the Super Nintendo. I’m not ashamed of it. Lots of games are too difficult for me to beat without 'em. But sometimes I just get tired of using cheats all the time. Since | had finished some games before without using any codes (some of the Mario games, Metal Gear Solid and a Tomb Raider game or two), | made a New Year's resolution to stop using cheats and have been doing pretty well so far. | was just curious if you think I’m getting more out of games by playing them without cheats, or am | missing things that are in there (but hidden) by not using them? Godsun514@aol.com

To get the absolute most out of a game, we would recommend you first play through it without using any codes, tricks or older siblings (if possible). That way you get a feel for

Halo novel, Halo: The Fall of Reach,

they would know that Spartans wear armor that makes them virtually invincible. It also gives them other

Mm hmm. Ah, yes, The Fall of Reach. Sheer folly of the readers to overlook its wisdom. Tell us more.

The Truth About

the game as the developer intended it—you appreciate the difficulty and have a greater sense of accomplish- ment when you overcome tough spots. It’s also rewarding to find secret areas, tricks, unlockable items or characters, etc. on your own, so give that a shot. Once you’ve done all you can do alone, then it’s totally fine to try out some of the codes the game’s makers give out. It’s one of the best ways to add some replay value to that $50 piece of software.

Lately, though, developers have been telling us that they're trying to limit the number of cheats and tricks built into modern games. They're worried that gamers will use them as a crutch instead of playing (and appreciating) the game as it was initially designed. Looks like their concerns are valid, eh Godsun? Well, we haven't seen a GameCube or Xbox GameShark yet. Could cheats be оп the way out altogether? We'd tell you, but that'd be...cheating.

Scraps from the ЕСМ inbox. | | have a problem.

are offering me - an Xbox (I have a PS2 and 'Cube), but the only games | want are Halo, DOA3 and Jet Set Radio Future. Do | get an Xbox for three games, even if my parents will be mad at me for making them spend so much? beckyhal@ coam.net

My mom and dad -

cool traits like improved vision, increased bone strength and faster reflexes. There's no way Solid Snake could stand up against the Master Chief with that kind of advantage. Just thought | should clear that up. Outtrigger@webtv.net

Apparently the moogles from Final Fantasy are actually junkies. Granted, this is the definition of a “muggle” (not a moogle) | got from High Times, a magazine my friend reads about weed: “19305 and '40s slang for pot.” But | figured it was pretty close.

Sorry, this is Earth. You apparently meant to send your letter to the parallel dimension in which this is an actual problem.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 18 - egm.gamers.com

Besides, the moogles in the game can do magic, and fire comes from their hands. Is that how they light up? That’s what my dad told me; he’s a pastor. He also says that | can’t play Final Fantasy anymore. ruffryderhockey @hotmail.com

чуше uweus Aq uonensniy

Ah...your friend, right.... Just like that “friend” of Executive Editor Mark MacDonald’s with the painful urination problem... The diligent journalists over at the Times were right about the word “muggle,” (which means that Harry Potter author gal’s got some explaining to do). But as for “Moogles,” their fancy footwork is the source of their power, at least in FF3. Then again, who knows what went on with all those inactive party members lounging around on the airship.

Gamer Purchases Piece of Mario

For my 21st birthday, | received some Nintendo stock instead of the usual socks and underwear. After reading your editorial from issue #152 about Nintendo's refusal to supply debug kits to the press, | am quite concerned and frustrated. Considering | own a small fraction of the company now, I feel it's my duty to personally contact the higher-ups at Nintendo about it, and | won't take “мете working on it" for an answer! Maybe that'll help. Probably not.

everclear107 hotmail.com

pre-order tomorrow’s games today

games сот

[OVER 600 STORES NATIONWIDE

AOL KEYWORD: EBGAMES

LETTERS

Why does Dracula from Castlevania: Circle of the Moon look like Rob Zombie? This makes me almost not want to play the game. PHASiNthng: @aol.com

Dragula

We never really thought about it before, but you’re right. Eh, ya seen one dark prince, ya seen "ет all.

In other maga- zines | read, there is always a man giving notes named Ed. | notice you do not do this. Why do other magazines have a guy named Ed, but you don’t? joesexy6@ hotmail.com

Ed used to work for us a long time ago. But instead of pulling full-time duty on EGM, he’s been doing freelance work for all the other magazines of the world. See? We told you working on EGM is a big job.

Well, if you can afford to do #1 or #2, you can probably afford to buy an Xbox without having to trade in your PS2 with a little more saving. Selling or trading away a game system should be a last resort. Lots of exclusive properties are still coming to each console, and you won't forgive yourself if some killer game lands on the platform you just sold away. Or you can go the pro wrestler way and forget the whole gaming thing. It's up to you.

That's real neighborly of ya, ever- clear. It's nice to see you haven't forgotten about all us little people now that you're a big Nintendo exec. We're still working on a way to get all the GC coverage we should be getting, so hang in there. But if you do get through to anyone up there at Nintendo, see if you can find out how Zelda's really coming along. We could do with an update around here.

Buy Buy

I'm getting a ton of money back from taxes this year. Can you guys help me spend it? | have some ideas about what | should do with the money, but I'm too torn to pick just one. Can you help me? Here's what l've got so far: 1. Get a ton of PS2 games.

2. Trade in my PS2 for an Xbox and a ton of games.

3. Get a GBA with a ton of games.

4. Take it all to the casino.

5. Go to wrestling school to become the next Rock.

Joe Simpson Niles, MI

Post Office

If you haven't visited the EGM message boards online yet, your negativity is slowly killing the environment. Seriously. So head over and con!

at egm.gamers.com (look for the link that says, “Talk to the EGM editors online now!"). Your post could be in the next EGM!

All right you guys, you almost had me this year! | just opened up my newest

` ‘Solid Snake's: “Tag Lines for EGM” A cool thread idea that spawned tons of fun responses, Solid Snake's post brought us suggestions like, *EGM:

ros c Sponsored by the Umbrella Corp., EGM: Birthplace of

p the HALO drinking game, and EGM: The only people to

show up at the Dreamcast's funeral." And those were just from Solid himself. Some of our other favorites: ЕСМ: We got us a readin’, writin’ Canadian! —Dante555 EGM: We like Nintendo even when they're “working оп it.” —swOHman EGM: The cause of, and solution to, most of society's problems. —Kris P

Best Response to Postmaster’: s Thread: какезюне Rageaholic captured

our demographic

(old dudes and

middle-age women)

perfectly with this

custom signature.

Question of the Moment How do you feel about

remakes of old games for today’s consoles?

І never got to experience the joy of classic gaming, so I'm looking forward to the remakes.

brockdnGyahoo.com

| don't really like remakes of old games for

newer consoles. Newer systems need unique

characters to love and base games on. great_ice_penguin@hotmail.com

Remakes are a good thing, especially for those of us who were too young to enjoy the games the first time around. When | was in first grade, | had neither the reading ability nor the attention span to complete a Final Fantasy. The newer collection discs let me see what I’ve been missing. lunarangel@fushigiyugi.com

| love seeing old games being remade for

newer systems. | would be thrilled to have

remakes of games like Contra and R-Type. Babineaux14@aol.com

Forget the old—bring in the new! DarkMage369@cs.com

As long as game companies realize that all remakes don’t have to be done in 3D! mistertwistr@aol.com

Maximo is totally addictive. Now where’s the new Bonk’s Adventure?! MAL@bala.com

Let me put it to you guys this way: Mortal Kombat Advance. xbox669@hotmail.com

Remakes are cool if the people making them are actually fans of the original games. Most of the time they seem to be totally out of touch with what the original was like, or they try to create some new “3D experience.” Look how they ruined Contra! TeKDELOREAN@aol.com

Next Month’s Question of the Moment:

What do you think is the best КЕМ April Fools’ joke of all time?

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

Fools!

Gauntlet Dark Legacy © 1998 - 2000 Midway Games West Inc. All rights reserved. MIDWAY and the Midway logos are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. GAUNTLET DARK LEGACY is a trademark of Midway Games West Inc. Used by permission. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. TM, ® and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. "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 countries and are used under license from Microsoft.

Get your friends together for the original, all-4-one, one-4-all, hack-and-slash, free-4-all. Gauntlet Dark Legacy brings all the excitement, fun and camaraderie of this classic to Nintendo GameCube™, PlayStation®2 computer

entertainment system – and now Xbox™ video game system!

GAUNTLET «rote

DARK LEGACY’

nice rack, dude!

THE GAME WHERE YOU AND 3 BUDDIES ALL GET TO BE HEROES. ONLY THING IS, ONE OF YOU HAS TO BE THE CHICK.

COMING SOON

+

AVAILABLE NOW AVAILABLE NOW

РА? Blood

-

NINTENDO PlayStation. Violence GAMECUBE. Ej

LETTERS

You can write EGM at:

EGM Letters

Р.О. Box 3338

Oak Brook, IL

60522-3338

E-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com

copy of EGM to find the cheat | had been waiting for since the day Super Smash Bros. Melee came out: How to play as Sonic and Tails. | won’t lie—you had me going until | realized that it was the April issue. | liked the way you put the date “4/1/2002” on the screen- shot. | couldn’t think of a better joke! Keep up the good work! Matt Harlan MHarlan1oo@hotmail.com

Well, Matt...you got us. And since you were the first to write in calling us on our bluff, you win: absolutely nothing. But you do have the satisfaction of knowing that you were the first of the faithless.

The rest of the Letters section is devoted to our favorite notes on the subject. Many were painful for us to read, knowing that the dream would never be realized for, well, all of these people. But to those who tried in vain to unlock the elusive duo, we say this: Your dedication will not go unrecognized. See the blue box below for a special contest you’re bound to succeed in!

So you spent weeks trying to unlock Sonic and Tails in Super Smash Bros. Melee with no results. We feel bad about it—we really (snicker) do. How about a copy of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (GC) to make it up to you? Here’s what you’d need to do:

Hook your GameCube’s A/V cables up to your VCR’s input, then run the VCR output to the TV. Pop in a tape and hit record, then turn on your GC and bust out the best Cruel Melee match you can. Label the tape with the number of kills and mail it

EGM Smash Bros. Contest

800 Jorie Blvd., Suite #110

Oak Brook, IL 60523 We'll pick 10 of the best KO records ABOVE 20 (please don't submit tapes with fewer than 20 KOs) and send their owners a free copy of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle! Enter as often as you like; entries must be postmarked by May 1, 2002. Tapes must start at system boot-up and run uninterrupted until the end of the Cruel Melee match.

| racked up 20 KOs in Cruel Melee, but Sonic and Tails never challenged me! I

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, mailing address and system preference for Letter of the Month prize consideration).

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!

We wager that after a long weekend, dlewis found himself a new hero.

tried it several times, but no Sonic and This fella Tails! Is there a typo in the magazine, thought he had If this Smash Bros. trick is an April or do you think | did something wrong? it all figured out Fools’ Day joke, how come we're Can you please help me with this? ane coally iet a reading it in February? Zordg@aol.com tricking him. lots of confused/new readers FFXI indeed! Yes, you're right —there was a typo. The short answer: tradition. The long It should have read, “200 kills." | caught the April answer: Since EGM is a monthly mag

Fool. | saw the article on p. 43. about a possible sequel to Final Fantasy X. | was So excited about this "fact" and started thinking about a possible storyline. But when | calmed down and looked at the cover, | saw the “April” and got so mad! Shame on you for preying on the souls of FF fans across

In issue #153’s Smash Bros. Academy, you said that by getting 20 Cruel Melee KOs | could unlock Sonic and Tails. | tried it 748 times (yes, | counted) and still no luck. Which character is best to use to successfully unlock the two? OllieDaMagicBum3@cs.com

Um...Fox. No, wait...Ice Climbers. Yeah, them.

I'm a Smash Bros. maniac and am currently attempting to unlock Sonic and Tails. | have 18 KOs on Cruel Melee and will play nonstop this weekend 'til І get 20. You аге my heroes for finding this—just wanted to let you know. dlewis@parktudor.pvt.k12.in.us

America!

gtrftbl@ hotmail.com

and April 1 is just one day, the only way we can be sure folks will be looking out for a joke is if we put it in the April issue. The magazine just happens to come out a tad early. OK, really damn early.