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LOONEY TUNES, characters; names and al related indicia are: trademaris of and © Warner Bros. Iss] WBIELOGO. WB SHIELD: TM & © Warner Bros. | (502) |

H L 29 | ES "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Pl d ys ti 0 n ® e | INFOGRAM

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CONTENTS

Game Directory

August 2002 Issue 157

Departments

1080*: White Storm Aggressive Inline А Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis ATV Offroad Fury 2 Blinx: The Time Sweeper Bomberman Generation Breath of Fire Britney's Dance Beat Capcom vs. SNK: EO Contra Advance : Contra: Shattered Soldier Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Dark Cloud 2 Dave Mirra BMX XXX DDRMax Dance Dance Revolution Dead to Rights Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball | Dropship: United Peace Force Duality Dungeons & Dragons Heroes Endgame Fire Blade Freekstyle F-Zero Getaway, The Golden Sun: The Lost Age Guilty Gear X Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets я Haven: Call of the King | Hitman 2: Silent Assassin james Bond 007: NightFire

irl Legion; Legend of Excalibur Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lost Kingdoms Mario Party 4 Mark of Ки, The Mega Man X Metal Gear Substance MLB Slugfest 20-03 Morrowind MX SuperFl

olid 2:

77 NCAA ЖАГП 200:

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Ninja Gaiden

Panzer Dragoon Orta

Project BG&E

Project Ego

Red Faction II

Resident Evil ø _

EY e Ill: The Third

Lightnin:

RTX: Red Rock

Silent Hill 3 ims, The Sky Gunner Space Race , Stitch: Experiment 626 Stuntman Suikoden III Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven Test Drive Totaled! True Crime: Streets of L.A. Wario World War of the Monsters Way of the Samurai Wild Arms 3

WWE Raw 2

WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth А

WWE Wrestlemania X

Zone of the Enders 2: The 2nd Runner

© Editorial @ Letters © Press Start 26

Dive headfirst into our mammoth news section, brimming with info about the hottest games coming

later this year. Stick around for a

hard-hitting chat with a Medal of Honor: Frontline developer.

Miyamoto's Angels

Nintendo's trifecta of unstoppable franchises Mario, Zelda and 3 Metroid—is almost here. Our feature explores all three, revealing game- ا ا‎ @ X A 2 play details and astonishing insights from Miyamoto himself on page 104.

THE FIRST GAMECUBE AND XBOX RPGS

Say goodbye to the summer doldrums and hello to the busty maiden at the town pub with these pioneering RPGs. Morrowind lurks on page 134 and Lost Kingdoms on 136.

The cornucopia of gaming has exploded, revealing: Shinobi and Lord of the Rings for PS2; Resident Evil ø and F-Zero

for GameCube; plus Dead to Rights and Blinx for Xbox. Also, check out our Best of E3 awards sprinkled throughout.

Review Crew 122

Find out if Stuntman crashes and burns, whether or not Crazy Taxi 3 gets our engines running, and why The Mark of Kri might be the sleeper hit of the summer.

@ Tricks 138

Snag infinite grenades and hidden outfits in Resident Evil, secret levels in Stuntman, and one hot- "n'-heavy special video in Britney's Dance Beat.

@ The Final Word

GRAND THEFT AUTO COPYCATS

Attack of the clones or just a happy coincidence? Scope out The Getaway on page 66 and True Crime on page 68.

142

Snake’s not the only hero pullin’ wicked hand plants. See Lara Croft get aggro in THPS3 on page 138.

ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (SSN #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 U.S. and $40.97 t be made payable in U.S. currency or ic Gaming Monthly magazine, POSTMASTER: S es changes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55721, Boulder, CO 80322-5721. For subscription: http://serice.egmmag com (fo http://subscribe.egmmag com (to order); Phone: U.S. and Canada (Воо) 779-1174 ог (850) 682-76

Mail: Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 557: 322.5721 (please include your n elsewhere (303) 604-0518; E-mail (please type your full the address at which you s Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part ofthis publication may b photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the the prior written notice of Ziff Davis N ‘mailed to you by calling (425)430-1663, Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media. АЙ Rig! site) or to use our logo, contact Zif Davis Media's Rights and Permissions Manager. Fax: 2125035420, olga_gonopolsky@ziffdavis.com. Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGI trademark and copyright owners, All materials listed in this magazine are subject to manu 1 agree with that... Oh no wait!

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expedite processing); Fax: U.S. and Can and the publisher are not responsible f

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part without permission is proh 800-217-7874, Olga Gonopolsy, i

Printed in the USA.

udi Bureau oF Creations

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= PlayStation.2

= U e. ма у Ces you inthe role of ап 9 commander whose team is asked to fight terrorists in more than 16 of the most deadly missions ever. With more than 30 weapons, intense training and unparalleled skills and tactical maneuvers at your disposal, we can only warn those who dare challenge the U.S. Navy SEALs!

work Adapto tation 2 opens yeh _

eadset

keyboard when you have a headset! The headset microphone 5 packaged with SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals. Team strategy can mean the ifference between success and failure and with the headset microphone, all you need to do is hold down the Circle button and start speaking.

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EDITORIAL

It's a Trendy Year

By Dan "Shoe" Hsu DA. eS“

dana 1 ®

ome trends are good. At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3—the world's biggest video-game trade show that exposes what the industry has in

store for gamers), we saw adult themes take charge. Gangsters. Assassins. Ninjas that dis- member their foes like there's no tomorrow. Even hot lesbians trapped in a demon world. It's great to see video gaming growing up for all the fans who have grown up with the business. Let's just keep America a happy place by keeping this stuff out of the hands of youngsters, OK?

Some trends are bad. | can't tell you how many

great licenses are being used for been-there, done-that game premises. Seriously...can’t American developers come up with anything bet- ter than “beat-’em-up” as a genre? | don't want to name names, but | think a certain fantasy-

EUEETEONIC GAMING

ry

"ELECTRONIC

GA МР; мни ЛИ

based mega book/movie license that tells an epic story of a *one that rules them all" magical ring would make a better role-playing game than a hack-and-slasher. But maybe that's just me.

Another trend has been going on for so long, I'm no longer sure | can call it that. I’m talking about Nintendo's “trend” of surprising us year after year with the best showing at E3. This time, they boasted a stellar lineup, with Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda and Metroid Prime stealing the show. So this issue, we cele- brate these three amazing games (with their Game Boy Advance counterparts) with a crazy- huge feature (pg. 104) as well as three limited- edition covers, all shown below.

Look through this issue for the trends that I mentioned above, and see if you notice any oth- ers. There are quite a few, trust me. Shoe

ELECTRONIC

David Hodgson (Prima Games)

Our new Tricks Editor has authored over 20 strategy guides and launched four gaming mags. Despite one being Video Gaming, we're still happy to have him on board.

The notorious C-Bake took a break from his regular duties as Previews Editor on Official

U.S. PlayStation Magazine to pen a review of Space Race for us.

John Davison

OPM's editor in chief, John Davison, feels a bit more comfortable on our contributors page with fellow Brit Dave Hodgson on his flank. It's an English thing...or something.

Jeremy "Norm" Scott

Norm admits to living vicariously through his

him. Where else but in comic land do chicks

| NORMAN wear tight spandex and have super powers?

Eat My Shorts!

Look around this issue for quotes from The Simpsons or a famous movie. Find one, e-mail it (and where you found it and your non-

Just a few of the quotes from issue #156: * "See guys? He just wanted his machete back!" (Jason X, pg. 56) * “Рор quiz, hotshot." (Speed, pg. 84) e “...do the Truffle Shuffle...” (Goonies, pg. 52)

e "When you absolutely, positively got to kill every...in the room, accept no substitutes" (Jackie Brown, pg. 34)

Hsu and Chan characters, but we don't blame

РО. Box mailing address) to us at EGM@ziffdavis.com (subject: Eat My Shorts ЕСМ #157), and you may be one of five lucky winners (chosen at random) who will win a copy of this month's Game of the Month.

Issue #155'5 winners of Resident Evil (GameCube):

* Max Muir— Phoenix, AZ * Tom Linsdstedt— Madison, WI * Kim Hamlett-Potter— Kirkland, WA Al Malchow— Colorado Springs, CO e Andrew Neal— Vacaville, CA

/ We use EarthLink

EarthLink’ for our online

gaming needs.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 12 - egm.gamers.com

ELECTRONIC

GAMING === MONTHLY

Number 15.8 August 2002

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han Di И dudlak@ziffdavis.com Е Editor/A\ Jeanne Kil m ә тае kim@ziffdavis.com ео ke ева lames Mielke * james mielkeGziffdavis.com Che Chou * HE QUU Ed сот Contril Butors Chris Baker, John Davison, pania Hodgson. Pixel Pushers Design, Jeremy Scott

International Editor John Ricciardi Japanese Correspondent Yutaka i European Correspondent Axel Strohm

Reviens | E

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as Sar. 8783 * cj_amit@ziffdavis.com Founder Steve Harris

“| canî wait à to show you К ту special _ features.”

“EXUBERANT AND | VHS

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* Original Skit from the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, 1996

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| DVD includes additional bonus features

ALSO AVAILABLE TO OWN ON DVD.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES avo VILLAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES PRESENT IN association wrt VHT дно NPV ENTERTAINMENT a SCOTT RUDIN ano RED HOUR propuction A BEN STILLER ким BEN STILLER DAVID ARNOLD RANDALL POSTER ann GEORGE DRAKOULIAS

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WORLD ИЕТЕТТІЕЅ! 1 EPIC ROAD, ТВІР.

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Crank out huge airs like 10-time World Vert Champ Mat Hoffman.

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Jump on the bus with Mat Hoffman and ten other top pros for the ultimate BMX blowout through eight U.S. cities. Pull hundreds of tricks and combos using the new Trick Tweaking System or keep it on the ground with the only BMX game that offers

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ACTIVISIONO2.COM

Letters to the Editors

RANDOM PIC OF THE MONTH

Forbidden Pac-Fruit, by Nick DeMarcos

If you’ve got a sweet, high-quality image (photo, cartoon, drawing, etc.) of

anything cool related to gaming, send it to the EGM mail or E-mail addresses on page 22 with subject line “Random Pic.” Your shot could be in this spot!

Congratulations Steve Vogel! You win an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

Attack of the Clones

| read in your last issue that Activision is releasing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 in November. I’m sorry, but there is sucha thing as milking the cow for all it’s worth. Four games in such a short span of time is nuts; it’s starting to turn into another case of the Army Men saga. Also, didn’t Tony retire? | mean, if he’s not skating anymore, bring in some new guy for your title. After all, new baseball games aren’t called Babe Ruth’s Heavy Hit 2003. The last THPS wasn’t even that good; camera angles jolted all over the place, reverting made the game too easy, and | felt the only part of the game worth replaying was that mission in Canada, “Get Chuck Unstuck,” just so | could hear the guy screaming while running around. Companies aren’t getting creative enough these days. | mean, bring out something new like a hacky-sack game without some bigshot’s name posted all over it. Last | checked, gaming was about fun, not advertising. Steve Vogel Ontario, Canada

While there hasn’t been a bad Tony yet, and it’s too early to condemn or praise THPS4, we also wonder if Activision might be stretching the Hawkster too fast, too soon. Keep in mind that a company like Activision trades publicly on the stock market, and when you have a genre-defining cash cow like the THPS series (that's totally big with the kids), slamming out a new game every year to cover the bottom line is a no-brainer. Hey, it could be worse (Tony Hawk Cart Racer 2002, etc.).

Of course, with any series, we would prefer to see updates only when they are truly warranted. Tons of franchises (Tomb Raider, Twisted Metal and Army Men come to mind) have been diluted through the years with quick, inferior sequels. But even Eidos and 300 realized that they couldn’t do that forever—the attempts to cash in ended up hurting them in the long run. But until we see Tony fall on his face, it’s not fair to lump him in with that crowd, so keep an open mind toward THPS4.

Cel Your Soul

Lately | have been wondering what the big deal is with cel-shaded graphics (CSG). I’ve seen the pictures, and I’ve played the games that use CSG, but | don’t find them all that impressive. | know that there is a big debate right now over the new Zelda title. I’m going to play (and possibly buy) it based on gameplay, not graphics. | just don’t see why people think Zelda on the GC looks so good. The visuals don’t pop out at me—no wait, in fact they do pop out, and | don’t like what | see. So why are so many game companies using CSG? Is it easier to develop? Is it getting good consumer response? Brian Montfort bmmontfort@sgc.edu

Cel-shaded graphics aren’t any easier to create than normal ones, so it’s not that everyone is choosing

the toon style as a cop-out. Rather, game developers want to convey a 3D-cartoon feel that mimics the hand-drawn look of cel animation, hence the name “cel-shading.” Most everyone we know totally digs the aesthetic. Maybe a cartoon emotionally scarred you at a young age or something. Look on the bright side: Cel-shading is a fad, and like all fads, it will pass.

Star Wars, Nothin' But Star Wars

With Stars Wars mania back in effect since the release of Attack of the Clones, | was just wondering what your staff's pick is for best all-time Star Wars game on any platform. | was also curious if you've heard any plans for a Star Wars RPG in the works. Just think, cool character parties, special “force”

Which one of you sucka editors has the biggest blad- der? Which one of you can play a game the longest without having to whizz? Have any of you used the pee excuse to get out of a game of Halo?

Will Moyer Portales, NM

we're playing our favorite Halo drinking games. But for the record, Dean has the biggest bladder.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 18 - egm.gamers.com

attacks, Rebels vs. the Empire...it brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. Get on the ball, LucasArts, and give us gamers what we want instead of just another flight sim or racer with the Star Wars logo. Tom A. Noel Columbus, OH

You're in luck, Tom. LucasArts will publish two Star Wars RPGs— Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic for Xbox (winter) and Sony Online's Galaxies for PS2 and Xbox (2004?). Oh, and our favorite SW game? It's gotta be a toss-up between Rogue Leader (GC) and Jar Jar's Journey (PC).

“Мееза responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people!”

| thought Attack of the Clones was the best Star Wars movie since Empire. | was totally riveted the whole freakin’ time—unlike Episode /. What did you folks think? Michael E. Crow Okemos, М!

The consensus among the staff here is that Episode II...sucked. You're just shell-shocked from all the special effects; in time, you'll learn to hate Hayden Christensen for his horrible ways.

Bigger Previews

| think your magazine is totally cool, but I think that it would be awesome for you guys to have a little more info about upcoming games. For example, Medal of Honor: Frontline got two full pages, while Shinobi, which I think will rock, only got half a page. Matt McFerrin Flameboy3634@aol.com

NINTENDO GAMECUBE.

M www.midwaysports.net Visit www.esrb.org REAL TEAMS, REAL PLAYERS, REAL ATTITUDE!

or call 1-800-771-3772 Уу for more info. Coming Fall 2002 | ANCE PLAYERS

NFLS GLITZ 20-03 2002 Midway Amusement Games, LLC. All rights reserved. BLITZ. MIDWAY and the Midway logos are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission, © 2002 NFL. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. АП other (NFL-related marks) ate trademarks of the National Football League. Ofcially Licensed Product ol Players Inc. The Players Inc logo is a registered trademark of the NFL Players. www.nflplayers.com < 2002 Players Inc. Used by permission, Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. ТМ, (R), Game Boy Advance 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

LETTERS

THE INFO BOX

Juicy info scraps from the EGM dinner table.

When is Pokémon GBA coming out in the U.S.? Mrinnocento3 @aol.com

Nintendo’s been really low-key about any future Pokémon games. Check the GBA section of our E3 report this issue for more info.

A friend told me there was a cheat for Grand Theft. Auto III that lets you pee on a wall. Is this true? GageosGaol.com

Although it wouldn't be too surprising considering all the other f'ed up stuff you can do in the game, you cannot pee on a wall in GTA3. And yet, it's still a good game!

Is Rockstar going to release Grand Theft Auto IlI for the GameCube? If 50, when? grandthiefi2 @hotmail.com

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like Sony has won the bid for the GTA series to remain a PS2 exclusive, at least until the year 2004. If you absolutely must play GTA3 but don’t own a PS2, you can always pick up the PC version, which looks great but requires a hefty system to run,

We get a lot of requests for more screenshots, more info and basically more coverage of games. But it’s all at the mercy of previews editor Greg “Mood Swings” Sewart. Every time you razz him about being Canadian or his Chrono Cross review score, he cuts coverage on your favorite titles. So be nice! (And look for two more pages on Shinobi in this issue.)

The Real King of the Beach

I think that the recently announced Dead or Alive volleyball game is a total copycat of AM2’s Beach Spikers. Tecmo copied AM2’s Virtua Fighter when they did DOA, [and] now the same junk is happening.

Scott Whitmore

Clarinda, IA

We were thinking the same thing Scott, but when pressed on this question, lead designer Itagaki informed us that DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball was originally the concept for a minigame т DOA2: Hardcore. It’s just sheer coincidence that the two games are coming out around the same time. We need more games with hot beaches in ’em. Don’t hate, celebrate.

I'm writing this in hopes that someone at Square will see it and get a clue. | understand that Final Fantasy: The

Check out that beautiful sunset, as only the power of the Xbox can deliver it.

Spirits Within wasn't such a hot movie. The thing is, Spirits Within was nothing like a FF game; there was nothing about it that screamed Final Fantasy. Many gamers today are familiar with Square's most recent games on Sony consoles (V// through X). If Square would have made a movie with the standard FF format (like magic, set weapon types for each character, a better, deeper story), chances are people would have liked it and Square Pictures wouldn't have gone under. Kyle Lustey amani127@hotmail.com

Your theory, Kyle, (as scientifically tested by the almighty dollar) is probably right. What Square attempted was admirable, but the name Final Fantasy, which probably sounds pretty dumb to Johnny Non- Gamer, did two things: 1) It kept the non-gamers out of theaters and 2) had game players asking, “What the...?" Yes, most people (including us) would have loved to have seen a Cloud-esque character running

So you’ve just finished reading the magazine from cover to cover, but you want more EGM? May we suggest the EGM message boards, viewed daily by literally thousands of other gamers just like you? Hit egm.gamers.com and strike up a conversation today!

Our forum moderator Paul Gale started a fun thread bringing back EGM's old hypothetical *What If?" questions. These caught our eye:

*What if | used my PS2 hardware to launch missiles at 3Do?"—Rusted Halo

*What if the men in DOA3 were as well-endowed as the women?" DevKitty

“What if ЕСМ formed a game-development company?" —ryanCDN

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 20 - egm.gamers.com

What's got you most excited for the rest of the year in console gaming?

Playing Tony Hawk 4 this year, and then playing Tony Hawk 37 when I'm 57 years old. ForrestGreen@aol.com

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs! This game rocks! Blinkboyoo74@aol.com

I'm getting all hot and bothered for online gaming. I’m just waiting to bomb on [GameNOW Editor in Chief] Dan Leahy in Madden 2003!

arzonist@yahoo.com

Kingdom Hearts all the way! What other

game is going to let you summon the Genie

and Bambi to fight alongside you? arcane@hot-shot.com

A Link to the Past on GBA. Kickin’ Ganon’s butt with three other people has got me jazzed for the year!

HolyDragoon21@aol.com

Mario, Zelda, Metroid—all franchises |

missed on the Super NES coming back in

new-school form. Aww, yeah! lizespinz9Gaol.com

Xbox Live! Who wants to play a game when you have to stop to type?! Let me flow with my mad verbal skillz to go with my awesome gameplay!

indyyanksG yahoo.com

1 can't wait for Hsu and Chan's next masterpiece! trowa barton33G yahoo.com

Two words: online gaming. saberdragonGdbzmail.com

I'm so excited about PS2 going online that |

could pee my pants! In fact, Рт gonna do

that right now, "К? zimrules142Ghotmail.com

Next Month's Question of the Moment:

Which console (PS2, Xbox or GC) are you most excited to play online and why?

Send your brief, coherent responses to: EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject heading:

вай ' y ` р A g в = Y | л | + | ты >E EC ES SECOND ° ac: 50/, (| ane ў 0 = SECC Xu | ag о (but an exce / D ў

LETTERS

You can write ЕСМ at:

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Also note: We just can't write back to everyone who writes in, but make your comments constructive or at least humorous and you might get sumpin' back!

around pulling Bahamuts out of the air.... Alas.

When | read your SOCOM article, you said an M4 assault rifle was basically an M-16 with a grenade launcher, but that would actually be the M230. The М4 is a new variation on the M-16, with a shorter barrel and a collapsible butt Stock that can be pulled in or out for people with different arm lengths. Well, that's all, and | wish you the best from The Army. By the way, | am deployed right now with the 101st Airborne. rastlin_80@hotmail.com

All the letters and E-mails over our technical blunder concerning the M4 and M230 assault rifles have inspired EGM's spunky ol’ Jeanne Kim to take up membership at an outdoor shooting range in the countryside.

“Boy, this M4 feels just like an M230, minus the grenade launcher under- carriage, of course!” says Jeanne in her new DKNY fatigues.

More СТАЗ Controversy

| finally got to try Grand Theft Auto Ill, and | must say | was shocked, especially considering the hype that this game has received. First, no button was assigned to the turn signals on your vehicle—how are you supposed to legally change lanes? Also, seeing as how you have no speedometer, how are you supposed to travel at the legal Speed limit?

Another time | was backing out of a

parking space and lightly dinged the fender of another vehicle. | must've waited three hours, but the car's owner never appeared, and as far as | can tell, there's no way for me to leave a note with my contact and insurance info.... I'm going to contact Rockstar with some suggestions for their next effort,

SHORTS

| was watching the movie Escape From New York. Anyway, the name of the main character is none

Spreading the Love Hi | went to my local

public library and borrowed as many books as | could (12), then made Post-it

notes with mini-ads

as I’ve found this game virtually other than Snake for EGM on CNN and stuck them in unplayable due to these glaring flaws. Pliskin, the same each book. | did about four cycles Andrew Leicher name that Solid before they got suspicious, so | got Snake uses in a total of 48 books with post-its Perhaps you should draw up designs е КЫ saying, “ЕбМ оп CNN: Thursdays at for a completely new genre of law- crazy coincidence 4:45 p.m.” (Pacific time) abiding game in which you can go or what? John Nguyen anywhere and do anything within the Nick Hendrix limits of your guilty conscience. If Yo Hendrix, Got a neat, legal stunt that promotes the super-ego gauge goes into the where Qe hell EGM? Send it along with some proof red, it's game over! You could call it have you been to EGM@ziffdavis.com with subject Squeaky Clean: The Adventures of for the last heading, “I am a good EGM citizen." Johnny Lawful. Sounds fun. eight months? You could win cool stuff!

LETTER ART: ANTHRAX-FREE FOR SEVEN MONTHS

Letter Art of the Month: WINNER

Brian Smith * Jacksonville, AR

Holy crap, Blaster Master art! Brian Smith, your nostalgic tribute warms the cockles of our hearts. You even got the

little bad guy just right. Your prize guy J igi pi E

is headed out the door-an Giannini

InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color.

Not quite Sharkworthy...

Exquisite! For us to poop on...

Get creative with your postal supplies. Deck out a #10 envelope (the long, business type) with your own unique touch. Send letter art to:

EGM Letter Art, P.0. Box 3338

Oak Brook, 60522-3338

(or E-mail EGM@ziffdavis.com) Make sure you send us your address and console of choice for your GameShark prize in the event that you win. One sure way to not win is to trace something and send it in. We see all the ads and

artwork, boys and girls, and can tell when something's been traced.

Once we look at all the entries, we usually use the envelope remains as wadding for our Civil War re-enactment muskets, so don’t expect anything back.

Cale Deitch Columbus, OH

Luke Ellison Toledo, OH

Denis Bright Huntington, NY

For Letter of the Month and Letter Art of the Month contests, no purchase is necessary. That doesn't mean you can пр this page out of the magazine in the store and take it home with you just o get the info, Official contest rules can be obtained by writing: EGM Contests Legal Rules Request, P.O. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338, Rules can also be found online at egm.gamers.com, or you can try оле of our mirror sites at ми seriousyaivetupcom or tl://youneedahohby rq,

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 22 - egm.gamers.com

>

|

фо ооо ооо ооо ная э

4 new cabbies drven by Crazy Jump around the Conquer dozens of all new attitude and desire West Coast and Small Apple mini-games in Crazy X

MILD LYRICS

MILD VIOLENCE

DU [Pory tl www.sega.com DIGITAL

red in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Segarand Grazy Taxi 3: High Roller are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Corporation. Original бате © SEGA. GA, 2002. Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks Of Dolby Laboratories. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or tradematks phMicroseft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All Rights Reserved.

UNS ners ot Месуа return to bring you the most exciting new shooter this side of Hala” Game Now

~ Ane best-locking first-person shooter currently in development for the PSZ " Gamespot.com

true heir ta GoldenEye...so polished it shines.” XBOX Nation

"A brilliant game” Nintendo Power

"TimeSplitters 2 is going to be awesome” IGN.com ‘Looks like one of the best FPS yet. We cani wait PSM

THE MOST ACCLAIMED GAME OF 2002

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= 0, : SEPTEMBER FREE&E - а SN S | TERES E eu RADICAL &!i2€?- =s

The Hottest Gaming News on the Planet

The Grea

E3: The game industry's three-day circus, party and trade show in one

ach year, for three days in May, video E take over Los Angeles. Console

makers, game publishers, designers, retailers, the press and everyone in between descend on the L.A. Convention Center for the biggest gaming event in the world. It's called E3, aka the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and if you didn't already know that, trust us— you'll want to remember that acronym because you'll be seeing it everywhere this issue.

If the word *expo" gets you thinking of boat shows with washed-up former soap-opera stars, don't worry —this expo ain't nothin' like that. E3 is where all the game makers finally come clean and show us everything— secret projects, early demos, new franchises...you name it. And now we pass the savings along to you, with news and early hands-on impres- Sions of all the titles you'll be playing later this year and beyond.

The coverage begins here in Press Start where we sum up everything that happened at the show for all three (four, if you count Game Boy Advance) major platforms, stuffed into the next eight pages. So sit back, relax, and take in the majesty that was this year's E3.

WHO DAT? 1 Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto (Mario, Zelda and just about everything else), Namco's Youchi Haraguchi (Star Fox Shooting), Sega's Toshihiro Nagoshi (F-Zero) and Yoshiki Okamoto from Capcom (Zelda GBA) grab Game Boys to do battle in Zelda's new four-player mode.

2 John Madden re-enacts a scene from The Deer Hunter. 3 Suddenly, a live-action Bloodrayne movie doesn't sound so stupid. 4 We were busy researching our Hottest Booth Babes of E3 award, but we hear Tecmo also had some new games in their booth... 5 ... Ninja Gaiden or Raiden or something like that? Maybe some volleyball game? We aren't sure. 6 Vikings quarterback Dante Culpepper. 7 The Thing and Halloween film director John Carpenter. 8 Mr. T pity the fool who make stupid "pity the fool" jokes. 9 "The Future of Video Games," eh? Who are we to argue? 10 UFC champ Tito Ortiz.

11 Bruce Campbell, keepin’ it real. 12 Where there are crowds of men, cameras and free food, you'll find Carmen Electra.

PRE-ORDER PIPELINE

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PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE

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NCAA Football 2K3 Sega 08/09/02

Commandos 2: Men Eidos 06/28/02 of Courage Interactive

Sega Sports Tennis 2K2 Sega 08/01/02

Dragon's Lair 3D Digital Coming Soon Liesure

Disney Golf Electronic 08/08/02 Arts

Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2 Activision 06/17/02

Street Hoops: King of Activision 08/14/02 the Court

Tekken 4 Namco 09/25/02 Xbox

NCAA Football 2K3 Sega 07/25/02

Commandos 2; Men Eidos 06/28/02 of Courage Interactive

Crazy Taxi 3 Sega 06/18/02 Dead to Rights Namco 08/21/02 NFL Hitz 2003 Midway Coming Soon Мон Hoffamn Pro BMX 2 Activision 08/14/02

Street Hoops: King of Activision 08/14/02 the Court

Pro Race Driver Infogrames 09/26/02

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Eternal Darkness Nintendo 06/25/02 NCAA Football 2K3 Sega 08/02/02 Smuggler's Run Warzones Rockstar 07/25/02

Gravity Games Bike: Midway 06/19/02 Street. Vert. Dirt.

Dragon's Lair 3D Digital Coming Soon liesure

Freekstyle Electronic 08/08/02 Arts

Beach Spikers Sega 08/14/02 NFL Hitz 2003 Midway Spring 2002

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Stuart Little 2 Activision Coming Soon Smash Pack Sega 08/28/02 Matt Hoffman's Pro ВМХ 2 Activision 08/13/02 Street Fighter Alpha 3 Capcom 08/15/02 АТУ 2 Acclaim 08/20/02 Worms World Party Ubi Soft 08/22/02

Madden NFL Electronic 08/29/02 Arts

Turok: Evolution Acclaim 09/25/02

GAMERS.COM

*Are you going to spend $199 for a console to partake in an experiment or an experience?"

—Sony Computer Entertainment America President v and COO Kaz Hirai takes a shot at Microsoft

Sony claims victory, stresses variety anti online games

f there's one thing Sony ain't, it's modest. О | “Тһе console war is over," Sony CEA

President and COO Kaz Hirai proclaimed to the audience at a pre-E3 press conference, before rattling off the numbers and statistics to prove it. What's been the key to their success? "With PS2, we pride ourselves on the diversity of titles that we offer to the consumer,” Hirai said. “There is something for everyone.”

That much was obvious to anyone on the show floor. Despite a lack of big surprises, the sheer number of quality titles on the way for the PS2 across all genres was impressive: action games, sports games, mature games, kids games, mainstream games, hardcore games, online games...you name it.

Speaking of online, that's Sony's other big theme for this fall—get PS2 owners connected. Online demos of SOCOM and Madden Football looked good, but the real promise was only hinted at with next year's Final Fantasy Xl, the mega-popular Everquest, and a teaser video of Resident Evil Online.

PS2: By the Numbers 200 PlayStation's new retail price, in dollars, as of May 14. The year PlayStation 200 4 exclusivity on the Grand Theft Auto series expires.

Number of players who can 16 play together online in a game of SOCOM.

Clockwise from top: The Grand Theft Auto-esque The Getaway, online warfare simulator SOCOM, and 0 Cost per month to play PS2 Square/Disney's RPG Kingdom Hearts are three examples of the wide array of PS2 games оп the way. games online.

LARA CROFT Other PlayStation 2 Stuff ae $ The original game babe

WHEN CELEBRITIES ATTACK returns this November хен If you ran into Tommy Lee on the street, (and only on PS2) т " you'd wanna smack him, right? Here's your rw Eidos’ Tomb Raider: аё? ‘chance, and without the risk of апу diseases К Angel of Darkness. Word

p or lawsuits: Rockstar's Celebrity i. tothe wise: If you don't‏ قت Deathmatch, coming this winter. So far only 5 wanna end up like the‏ Tommy gun and Mr. T have been signed. (UY in the screen here,‏ Cross your fingers for George Lucas, 0.J. > keep your hands off her‏ Simpson and Jared from Subway. potato chips.‏

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 28 - egm.gamers.com

That question was finally answered at E3 with the first info and box art for GTA: Vice City. More of a side-story than a proper sequel, this time the game is set in Miam—er, Vice City, during the '8os. Yes, the mind reels at the possibilities: running over Scott Baio in a tricked-out '84 Camaro, Phil Collins blasting on the sweet custom speaker setup where the back seat should be, feathered mullet flowing in the wind.... How are we supposed to wait until October?

PS2 Online: Everybody Jump On In

“The main focus of our online strategy is to offer a very easy plug-and-play environment and take the 10 million the U.S.) PS2 consumers to the next exciting level of gameplay,” Sony’s Hirai tells us, explaining

Final ‘Fantasy XI: Close the mm lock the door, and kiss your life goodbye.

A list of some of the big PS2 titles at or announced at E3. Here's a key: 7 Previewed this issue (see pg. 10 for page numbers).

* *Game Title = Online game

* Dates in parenthesis note exact day of game's release

* Primal

November

* Ratchet & Clank * Robot Alchemic Drive

* Tomb Raider (15th)

Sony's plan to get gamers on the Net.

Here's how it'll work: On Aug. 27, you walk into your local game store and buy a PS2 Network Adapter for $39.99. The adapter slides into that lil’ expansion slot on the back of your PS2 and includes both a 10/100 Ethernet port for DSL and cable modem connections and a V.90 56k modem for dial-up access. As long as you’ve got an internet service provider (like AOL or even Microsoft's MSN) you're ready to go. If not, don’t worry—the included online starter disc will contain offers from various providers to get you goin’. So, what will you be playing once you’re set up that happy day this August? Good question.

Included with the adapter are online- enabled demos of Madden NFL 2003, Frequency, Tribes: Aerial Assault and

Fall August * *Madden NFL 2003 * Gungrave * Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny * NBA 2K3 * NFL2K3 * МНЕ2КЗ * *SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (27th) hinobi September

* Kingdom Hearts

* Sly Cooper and Thievius Raccoonus * Tekken 4

* *TimeSplitters 2

October * Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

талас

* *Tribes: Aerial Assault

Winter * Devil May Cry 2

* Red Dead Revolver

MAKIN’ IT YOUR WAY, RIGHT AWAY

You want a fightin’ game starrin' slack-jawed rednecks? Or an RPG where you save Britney Spears

from masked marauders? Make ‘em yourself with Agetec's PS2 installments of Fighter Maker (left, coming in September) and RPG

Maker (early 2003).

2003

* *EverQuest Online Adventures

* *Final Fantasy XI

Release Date TBA * *Auto Modellista

* "Resident Evil Online

* *Star Wars Galaxies

a A d. mmi. Y

For now, the only place you'll play Madden NFL 2003 online is on the PS2, although Microsoft is still in negotiations with EA.

TimeSplitters 2. You also get a mail-in coupon redeemable for a copy of Twisted Metal: Black Online. Not enough? The military action game SOCOM will launch the same day as the Adapter, but it’s broadband only (sorry dial-up users—you’re gonna have to sit that one out).

PS2 TIDBITS

Like GTA III? Then be glad you own a Р52. Sony and Rockstar just signed a deal to make the Grand Theft Auto series exclusive to the PS2 until 2004. Eidos has a similar contract to keep Lara’s next Tomb Raider game on the PS2 as well, but its unclear when that deal will run out. Both exclusives are limited to consoles only (PC versions of both games are on the way).

PlayStation 2’s E3 Report Card

STRENGTHS: + The largest game library and best variety

of any system

+ monthly fee to play online games

+ Big exclusives like Tomb Raider and GTA

[s а И иен Ну - 29 - egm.gamers.com

OVERALL: Variety, strong online support and third-

WEAKNESSES: = Lots of "me-too" titles feeding off of last year's hits party exclusives - Few real surprises or | gave Sonya stand-out titles solid showing

УР of Xbox Game Content Ed Fries

ود onn —‏

| E E m | On the brink of its online push, Xbox's library needs a | | | , few more big guns, but the arsenal is growing quickly

ШИШЕ o Xbox owners living in these uncertain times— when must-get games are rare and А ШЇ the system's sales are flagging in Japan— Microsoft's E3 presence was the equivalent of a group hug, a rousing cry of "We're OK, you're OK, and Xbox is here to stay." That sentiment was backed by a $2 billion commitment to support the platform and its blooming online network for the next five years. And it was backed by games, lots of 'em, some of the most novel titles no one's ever heard of— yet. "We're not just regurgitating the franchises of the past," says VP of Xbox Game Content Ed Fries. “We've got new and interesting games— things like Blinx that you can only do on Xbox.” Е i Time will tell if these potential new franchises IDifread and wine away the soda $ AN; counter GameCube's top-tier characters or the [ури just spit оп this page Solid n ^ TU PS2's mainstream momentum, which has Snake fas finally landetion Хб ў Re prompted Sony to declare console-war victory. Ч catching big alr ts justione of m | “If [Sony's] looking a year ahead,” says Fries, pet Dhl taper “| can see how they might say that. If they're Substance, exclusive to ч A В ; ‘until next year, See page looking 10 years ahead, | think they'd see this i was just one small battle in a much larger war. We're on a trajectory to win the long-term war."

| Xbox's new retail price, in dollars, as of May 15.

Number of Xbox games slated for release this holiday season.

Approx. number of online Xbox games that'll hit this year.

= еа. = 4 EU »

Бат E A kitty with a Shop-Vac is the kinda character design that makes us groan, but hip-cat Blinx (left) does Number of online Xbox games things in his game we've never seen before (see page 92). Panzer Dragoon Orta (right) hooked the hardcore. available by the end of next year.

It's the Xbox game we wanted to see more than anything at E3, but Halo's sequel was a по- show. Microsoft did officially announce that the game, referred to only as "The Next Halo," is in the works by developer Bungie—and that it'll be a full-fledged online-ready sequel when it hits in 2003. "A lot of people thought we should do Halo 1.5 and just jam in [online] features," says Ed Fries, VP of Xbox game content. “Sure, we could've sold a

bunch of copies, but that's not our philosophy, which was always to keep Halo the best in its category, both online and offline." So when will we glimpse the next evolution of combat

evolved? Microsoft says they might have something to show in August.

A list of some of the big Xbox titles at or announced at Ез. Here's a key:

* Game Title = Previewed this issue (see pg. 10 for page numbers).

* *Game Title - Online game

* Madden NFL 2003 *NFL 2K3 * The Thing

* Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball * *NFL Fever 2003

* TimeSplitters 2

* Turok: Evolution

* Robotech: Battlecry * Steel Battalion * Medal of Honor * Panzer Dragoon Orta

* Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge * *Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon * ToeJam & Earl III: All Funked Up

* Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

* Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance

* *Unreal Championship

* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

* *MechAssault

* Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

* Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

* Shenmue II e *Midtown Madness 3

ну

Unreal Championship will feed our need for online combat until Ha/o's sequel hits in 2003.

* Blinx: Time Sweeper

* Brute Force

* House of the Dead 3

* Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring * Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

* *Phantasy Star Online

* Sega GT 2002

* *Whacked

e *х\!

* James Bond ооў: NightFire

e Soul Calibur II

e Star Wars Jedi Knight Il: Jedi Outcast * True Crime: Streets of L.A.

* *The Next Halo * Ninja Gaiden

* Project BG&E * Project Ego

* *Star Wars Galaxies * *Steel Battalion Online

* The best online network (after all, you get what you pay for)

+ A pile of intriguing first-

- First-party lineup lacks star power

- The price and slow adoption

Shown behind closed doors, B.C.—from Project Ego creator Peter Molyneux—has you teaching a tribe how to thrive in a world of hungry dinos. It's one of 2003's most clever Xbox titles. Jumping ahead to medieval times, new publisher Phantagram showed next year's RS Р most brutal war game: Kingdom Under Fire.

Solid Snake leads the charge of solid games. And don't forget the trailblazing online

party and exclusive of broadband service that third-party games could exclude launches this * No adapter necessary to many gamers fall

get online

31- egr

from Xbox online

res LQ T SWRAP-UP

* GameCube

~

Nintendo's self-proclaimed “Game Giants"- Mario, Metroid and Zelda (above, we trust you know which is which)-did indeed loom large at the show. Check out our cover story on page 104 for the full details.

Other GameCube Stuff

NEW PORTABLE SCREEN

Nintendo revealed this spiffy new Panasonic

LCD screen at the show. It plugs into the GC's

Digital AV Out port for a bright, crisp picture A that puts InterAct’s GC screen (not to mention = Sony's PS one monitor) to shame. No price or

release date were announced, so it was really \ =

P. more of a tease. A cruel, cruel tease designed a

Ж to drive us all mad with desire! It worked. ч

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 32 - egm.gamers.com

*This is the year that our leading characters really go to work in a number of new titles."

Creator of Mario, Zelda and all-around game god

at Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto

Nintendo focuses on big-name games instead of online for this fall

ario. Metroid. Zelda. Wario. Star Fox. М F-Zero. А roster of Nintendo's biggest

game series of all time or a list of GameCube titles due out by this winter? As Executive VP of Sales and Marketing Peter MacDougall reminded everyone at E3, it's both. “We will launch more major franchise titles in the next nine months than in any nine-month period in Nintendo's history," said MacDougall. *These are among the most recognized and popular characters in the history of [video games]."

Even better, playable versions of these “Game Giants" new "Сире incarnations at the expo proved they won't be skating by on reputation alone. Talk on the show floor about the best games inevitably turned to Mario's control, Zelda's look and Metroid's promising new direction. Great news for GameCube owners after some lean summer months—too bad there was little to get excited about outside of Nintendo's own games. Besides Capcom's Resident Evil Ø, big third-party GameCube exclusives were tough to find....

GC: By the Numbers 150 GameCube's new retail price, in dollars, as of May 21. 11 / 18 Release date this fall for Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion (GBA). 2 0 0 3 Year GameCube Zelda is delayed until (February).

1 Number of online GC titles (Phantasy Star Online). Pathetic.

STAR IN YOUR OWN GAME To demonstrate the possibilities of their new GameEye digital camera for Game Boy Advance, Nintendo showed the rather odd title Stage Debut (inset). After taking a picture of your face (or other body part), you paste it onto a body of your choice (Mario, Pikmin, etc.), and take it out on stage | for a song-and-dance number. No price or date was given for the GameEye or Stage Debut.

BURNING QUESTION:WHERE'S PERFECT DARK ZERO?

Ever since its brief appearance on Nintendo's Web site during E3 2001, rumors have spread

about this apparent prequel to Rare's beloved Nintendo 64 first-person shooter. Its failure to appear at this year's expo and the fact that the only Rare game on display was the near- completed Star Fox Adventures fueled speculation that Rare will start developing games for Xbox and/or PS2, starting with PD Zero. Asked to comment, Nintendo's Peter MacDougall offered the non-committal, “At this point in time it continues to be business as usual with Rare," and a Rare rep told us, "[our] relationship with Nintendo has not changed in any way," but neither would deny the possibility outright.

“Not everybody is going to be interested [in online gaming], and it may be a really small part of the gaming public," Nintendo Senior VP George Harrison told us, explaining his company’s plan to quietly bring the GameCube online. Nintendo will release its Broadband (for DSL and cable modems) and v.90 Modem (ordinary phone lines) Adapters for the GC this fall at $34.95 each, but the only game currently scheduled to support the peripherals is Phantasy Star Online. Yup, that’s it: one game. Other titles will hopefully follow (like TimeSplitters 2), but it

A list of some of the big GameCube titles at or announced at E3. Here’s a key:

зате Title = Previewed this issue (see pg. 10 for page numbers). * *Game Title = Online game

* Dates in parenthesis note exact day of game's release

August * Beach Spikers

* Madden NFL 2003 * NFL2K3

September * Animal Crossing (16th)

АЕ TURCA * Star Fox Adventures (3oth) * TimeSplitters 2 * Turok: Evolution

NINTENDO GIVES US THE 'BIRD

The wireless

WaveBird

pad was

everywhere

at E3 and worked flawlessly (surprisingly lightweight, too). If you don't mind its lack of a rumble feature, pick one up now for $34.95.

October * BloodRayne

* Robotech: Battlecry

* Vexx

November

* Batman: Dark Tomorrow (5th)

f th

Metroid Р th * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 * X-Men: Wolverine's Revenge Fall

Capcom vs SNK 2: * *Phantasy Star Online

Episode | & II * Minority Report * Rayman 3

sic E

* Star Wars: Bounty Hunter * Star Wars: The Clone Wars * Super Monkey Ball 2 Winter * Defender * Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

FIRST LOOK

AT F-ZERO

A grainy

shot from

the short

video shown

of Sega and

Nintendo's

futuristic racer, F-Zero: Breathe it in (check page 82 for more). The early demo looked somewhat simple but moved very very fast. We can’t wait to play it.

still doesn’t bode well—no wonder only a “small part of the gaming public” will care. So why is Nintendo content to merely dip its toe into the online waters while Sony and Microsoft dive right in? “We agree online games do hold promise,” says Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, “[but] we remain dedicated to working through two issues. First, can everyone enjoy online gaming right now? And second, can [online games] ever be profitable?” All the same, Nintendo did say they have several internal teams already dedicated to future online projects.

Testing the Waters оној

£

) 5 Bond 007: NightFir * Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance * Resident Evil 2, 3 and Code: Veronica True Cr Streets of

2003

* Enter the Matrix

* Soul Calibur II * Star Fox Shooting Game * The Hobbit Th 1 of Zelda (f * Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell * XIII Release Date TBA * Doshin the Giant * Medal of Honor * Phantasy Star Online Card Battle * Stage Debut

STRENGTHS: * The best game lineup for this fall, including the

big names we all love + Co-development partnerships with Sega, Namco and Capcom * $50 cheaper

ае един У - 33 - egm.gamers.com

WEAKNESSES:

- Hardly any exclusives outside Nintendo and Still too few games for the older mainstream

= Poor support for online peripherals

- Where are the RPGs?

au

In case you didn’t notice, Phantasy Star Online can be played ON-LINE. No word on price or

availability for the special keyboard pad shown here (or will it come packed in with the game?).

GAMECUBE TIDBITS

Sega whipped up a demo of a Phantasy Star Online Card Battle Game to illustrate how easy it is to link two GameCubes equipped with the Broadband Adapter (just hook them together with a standard Ethernet cable). Could PSO Card Battle become an online GC title down the road? No other info was available on it.... After serving as president for more than 50 years, Nintendo final boss Hiroshi Yamauchi finally retired in May. Former mini-boss Satoru Iwata will take his place.

y

Á Ж a К : am

Yamauchi: “I'll swallow your soul!”

en?

OVERALL: Incredible games from Nintendo but lacking in third- party exclusives and online

titles

EVERYONE

Comic Mischief Violence

MLB" Slugfest® 20-03 © 2002 Midway Amusement Games, LLC. All rights reserved. idway logos are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Us sebal trademarks and сору: of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit the official web site at MLB.com. МВ! и League Baseball Players Association. Visit the Players Choice jistributed under license by Midway

Inc. TM, ®; Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of fand tho "P: ly logo are registered trademarks of Sony Compute ‘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 Microsalt. Screen image captures shown taken from PlayStation®2 со

Ean tY тт ч whe

АА 1 HOU 4 CIN ARI 6 1 5 МТ

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

THE SUMMERTIME GAME JUST GOT SMOKIN: MLB” SLUGFEST 20-03, AND ALEX RODRIGUEZ IGNITE AMERICA’S NATIONAL PASTIME WITH A TORRID BLEND OF `` AGGRESSIVE, ADRENALINE-STYLE ACTION AND AUTHENTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL" _ CREDENTIALS, LIKE A FASTBALL HIGH AND TIGHT, THIS GAME WILL STIR THINGS UP.

® Fast-Action Batter/Pitcher Interface & d WISI % Real Player Faces: ® Over 15001 Outrageous Animations A 3 Fantasy. Players & Stadiums

WE CALL IT SLUGFEST FOR A REASON

slugfest.midway.com

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Any mention of the new Pokémon game at E3 was relegated to the very back of Nintendo's booth, on a small monitor that mainly played clips from the Pokémon TV show. Hang around long enough and you'd see a quick slideshow of previously D released screenshots (barely enough to whet the appetite of even EGM's resident Pokémaniac Chris Johnston). According to Nintendo, Pokémon Advance will be released in Japan later this year and early 2003 in the U.S. The fourth Pokémovie will be released in U.S. theaters in November.

! | "nmn More good games anti ; the 'Cube connection

trickle of great games from Nintendo

and (for the most part) dumpster-ready

shovelware from everyone else—that's what we've come to expect from the Game Boy Advance. But E3 offered new hope: Sure, there was still a giant sea of garbage for the handheld at the show, but a good number of worthy third-party titles (Castlevania, Super Monkey Ball, Contra) were backed up by pint- sized versions of all the big franchises headed to the GameCube this fall (Mario, Metroid, Zelda, etc.)

The other big GBA story at E3 was the arrival of more games using the GC-GBA connection. Is the link everything Nintendo said it would be? Yes and no. If you happen to have the GBA and a 'Cube, plus the cable (shown below), you can get some cool little extras in games like Phantasy Star Online (Nights and Chu Chu Rocket minigames) and Animal Crossing (a special island to visit to gather new items). Gimmicky? Yes. Cool? Most definitely...

[A КН TET F

Hawa [nm (Clockwise from top left) Samus returns to 2D in Metroid Fusion, the four-player multiplayer mode in The Legend of Zelda, and the GameCube-linkable games Animal Crossing and Donkey Kong Plus.

* Altered Beast * *Donkey Kong Plus

Some of the big GBA titles at or | Contra Advance * Golden Sun: The Lost Age announced at ЕЗ. Here's a key: |. *\etroid Fusion * Game & Watch Gallery 4

* Game Title = Previewed this issue | « phantasy Star Collection (see pg. 10 for page numbers). * Super Monkey Ball

e *Game Title = GBA/GC connectivity | гу, | | * The Legend of Zelda

* *Disney's Magical Quest Starring V Mickey & Minnie * Revenge of Shinobi

* R-Type III

* Street Fighter Alpha 3

Pokémon Advance МАА 9

Date T P Colors of GBA available in the * Crazy Taxi: Catch a Ride he U.S. (counting the Pokémon

* Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance © Custom Robo GX > Center gold limited edition). * Yoshi's Island: Super Mario * Diddy Kong Pilot ? i Dollars you'll spend on new card Advance 3 2 * Kirby i packs to use with your e-Reader * Robotech: The Macross Saga * Game & Watch Gallery 4 * Kururin Paradise (tentative title) (see "Other GBA Stuff").

* Lots of great titles from | Strong lineup Nintendo, both remakes from Nintendo and originals and a few third

] parties

- Majority of third-party games are shovelware

- GC/GBA connectivity still seems gimmicky

Ра 5 I~. PRESS H QW Е START < =

It wasn't easy, but after much consideration, heated debate, and а short but sweaty Greco- TOP 5 Р$2 GAMES Roman-style wrestling tournament, we finally settled on a list of the top 10 games we got

excited about at Ез. Now we'll just sit back and wait for all the angry E-mails to pour іп... 1 SOCOM: U.S. Nauy SEALS Sony CEA

2 The Getaway E SEES Sony CEA T

3 Shinohi

The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo

The playable Zelda at the show won over a few of us who were Skeptical of the cartoony look. But even grumpy cel-shading haters couldn't deny that the animation and gameplay looked excellent.

Sega Super Mario Sunshine i 4 Contra: Shattered Soldier Nintendo Konami

Maybe it is a souped-up version of Mario 64, but now that we finally played Sunshine, we realized we don’t care. It’s been too long since we had this much fun just running and jumping around in a game.

Metroid Prime

Nintendo Even if we'd never heard of Metroid before, Prime's diverse gameplay and sexy style would still be burned into our corneas. Not since

Sigourney Weaver has the girl-on-alien action been this hot.

(GAME BOY ADVANCE

5 War of the Monsters Sony CEA

1 Steel Battalion

Capcom

Two new Metroids out on the same day? Someone pinch us—we’re 3 Panzer Dragoon Orta

obviously dreaming. Now we'll finally discover what happened оп Sega planet SR-388 before the events of the first game on the 8-bit NES. 4 Blinx: The Time Sweeper Microsoft 5 Shenmue Il This robo-sim's beastly custom controller and ultra-realistic visuals Microsoft/Sega

have us in mech-freak heaven. Plus, Battalion teaches mech-drivin" skills that'll come in handy in, say, the year 2427.

Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Konami

Circle of the Moon was great, but this true sequel to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) looks even better. Whip-crackin’ action- platform-RPG thrills? Oh yeah. Vampires better step.

1 The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo

3 Metroid Prime

Nintendo

Guns get you excited? Like sneaking around in the dark? Handy with a survival knife? Splinter Cell might just be your next Metal Gear Solid, and without the whiny bleach-blond wuss.

4 Resident Evil û >

Capcom

5 Animal Crossing Nintendo

TOP 5 GBA GAMES

1 Metroid Fusion

Leathery wings, a horny head and a bad case of dragon breath— what else could we ask for? Panzer definitely felt like the old games, but the superb visuals and slick style overwhelmed us.

4 Nintendo 2 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance The best 3D fighter in the world returns with new warriors, bigger Konami

stages and more moves than ever. And this time everyone gets to share the love —the game's headed to arcades and every console.

10 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Sony CEA The E3 show floor is almost as chaotic as a real battlefield, but that didn’t hinder our hands-on test of Sony’s online shooter. Now we can’t wait to shoot our friends from the comfort of our own homes.

3 The Legend of Zelda

Nintendo

4 Yoshi's Island >, =

Nintendo

5 Contra Advance Konami

Death is my business...

AUTHENTICITY FIRST

The team did everything they could to make sure Frontline was as authentic as possible. “[We] went to actual battle locations for inspiration, audio sampling

and art research,” exec producer Rick Giolito tells us. “For example, at Normandy we snapped tons of digital camera shots of bridges, bunkers and buildings, recorded ambient sounds, and took texture samples.” They also modeled all the character faces in clay “by hand for that extra sense of reality and authenticity.”

flerthoughts: Medal of Honor:

For the past month, you’ve been picking off Nazis like they were tin cans in Electronic Arts’ latest, Medal

of Honor: Frontline (PS2). It’s like havin’ World War II in your living room. Now check out what executive producer Rick Giolito has to say about the making of Frontline and future Medals for Xbox and GameCube.

EGM: Can you describe Capt. Dale Dye’s contributions to the game?

Rick Giolito: Dale guided our creation of an authentic war experience. He’s our main military consultant, and he taught us what squad tactics are really about. His expertise allowed us to understand how a soldier would really react in a battle situation, which helped us to design the A.I. for both enemies and friendlies. Understanding squad-based interaction was really important, as that’s how the war was fought during WWII.

EGM: Did you see Band of Brothers?

Was anything in the game inspired by that miniseries?

RG: We're inspired by a whole range of films and books. Аз WWII fanatics, we're big fans of movies like The Longest Day,

A Bridge Too Far and Saving Private Ryan. But MOH is all about authenticity, so we drew heavily from first-person oral accounts from real soldiers who were there. These actual accounts lend more credence than things inspired by them.

EGM: Things seem to die or not die for a few different reasons. For example, you can’t shoot your own soldiers, but you can grenade them. And a headshot doesn’t always kill someone. Any particular reasons behind this?

RG: Well, with grenades we wanted to include some danger in their use, so we allowed for accidental frags. However, friendly fire is

This is the moment where you

soil your pants and realize

difficult. You don’t want to reward someone for blowing his friends away. We want to include friendly fire in the next installment. If you just start blowing away friendlies, we'll have to end your game, but if you accidentally hit your own guys, you might see them carried away in stretchers. You could then be reprimanded and receive a lower score.

EGM: What’s your advice for taking on the huge onslaught in the last level?

RG: Basically, be careful! It’s a really large, difficult game, so of course, the final challenge we place the player up against 15 substantial. By that point, you should have sufficient experience to handle it. Move stealthily and pick your spots very carefully. You're at the heart of a giant, secret military base...a very well-defended base.

ЕСМ: We'd love to drive around in some

of that heavy machinery, like the tanks. Was that ever in your plans?

RG: We did consider that, but it wasn't part of the focus, so it did not come to be. It's the first PS2 product, and we wanted to focus on getting the core gameplay perfect first. We will absolutely do that in the future.

EGM: Why did you give up on the multi- player modes?

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 42 - egm.gamers.com

there's no way you're gonna take down that plane with a rifle.

RG: We built the engine from the ground up, and we really wanted to include multiplayer, but we had to focus on creating the best single-player first-person-shooter experience on any platform. The next MOH on PS2 will include multiplayer modes: competitive, cooperative and online. Also, the upcoming Xbox version (due in October) will support four-player split-screen deathmatch play. We're also taking a serious look at putting that in a GameCube version as well.

EGM: What battles are left to simulate in the next MOH installment?

RG: Actually, we have a big surprise in store for MOH3. We'll be tackling a lot more in terms of squad-based gameplay in which characters interact. Your teammates will have deep backstories, names, histories, unique abilities and personalities. It'll be very important to keep your teammates alive or else your seasoned pros might be replaced by fresh- faced rookies.

EGM: What's up with the MOH flight game that was rumored to be cancelled?

RG: You may see that flight engine as a part of a future MOH title, but we decided that MOH players aren't looking for a solo flight game. Our titles are really mass-market and flight games are basically niche titles. di

...апа business is good.

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Terminate your targets where live, play or work

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SEPTEMBER 2002

Hitman2.com

lo-Interactive

trademark WiNDOWS*95

Strong Sexual Content Violence

WINDOWS" 68

Next year, as The Hulk and the sequel to The Fast & the Furious hit the theaters, games based on both will be ready for release— Hulk on GC, PS2 and GBA; Furious on PS2, Xbox and GBA.

Evil Dead and Spider-Man star Bruce Campbell on violence #5 "

in video games:

*As long as humans can make the dis- tinction between reality and fantasy, we're gonna be fine. ` If you don’t want your kid exposed to it— don't get it for him. It's that simple.

I think it's funny in this country that we get freaked out about sex, but violence is OK. You can cut a breast off—you just can't kiss it.”

We asked Sega’s Sonic Team Prez Yuji Naka which game out of Nintendo's catalog he would select to design a new installment for (a la recent announcements about Namco’s Star Fox and Amusement Vision’s F-Zero):

“What kind of title would be good for us.... How about...Balloon Fight.”

[Ed. note: Sorry old-school gamers—this does not mean Sonic Team will actually update Nintendo's 8-Bit balloon-poppin’ duel (shown below).]

Console gamers who've been waiting to play the PC god game Black & White ever since it was announced (then cancelled) for Dreamcast years ago will finally get their wish —on PlayStation. The original Black & White is coming to PS1 this fall (that's right...PS2). Then for people not living in the Dark Ages, Peter Molyneux's Black & White Studios is hard at work on a completely new console version of the game called Black & White: Next Generation. No release date's been quoted for Next Generation. Our money's on “never.”

If you love Xbox's Halo, then its main theme song has probably been stuck in your head since last November. Well, you don't have to hum it in the car any longer. Sixteen bucks gets you the soundtrack at Bungie's Web store (located at http://store.bungie.com). And if you're not into the CD, there's always Halo: the T-shirt ($18).

*Massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Monthly - 44

Electronic Gamin

FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE

IN THEATRES JULY 12

Fatal Frame (PS2)

гч B о! e о N © © © a A o

ACROSS

1. Mario's Donkey Kong hurdle

5. From Resident Evil STARS Logo, R. . . 7. They identify online gamers

9. It’s where the green switch house is located in Super Mario World

13. Moto (Atari 2600)

14. Pre-/talian Job-era car maker

15. Short for operative in military games 16. Super Mario Bros. 2 tossable

37. Birdo's Mario 2 weapon

19. PS2 racer. -Dakar Rally

21. Final Fantasy III Relm's best friend? 22. Beast (Genesis)

25. and Satan King (Okage, in Japan) 26. Like Zeus in NES Battle of Olympus 28. Publishes the Medal of Honor games 29. Tokyo Xtreme Racer part maker

31. The failed Indrema's Linux is one

32. Soul Calibur precursor Soul _

35. PS2 launch month, for short

37. Buffy's job in her Xbox game

39. Resident Evil disk

40. Fighting-game newbie

42. NES spin-off Ski | Die

43. Lara Croft can't do it underwater

45. T. Hawk's (Street Fighter If) relatives? 48. Top of a turn in Gran Turismo

49. The PS2 meets their safety standards 50. Can be slid down in Super Mario 3 51. Punch-Out!'s Мас

52. Victimized by Blood Omen's Kain?

DOWN

1. Mario baddie who calls Bowser king

2. Ultimate game goal

3. Militant Donkey Kong?

4. First command in the Contra code

5. Controllers

6. Passed laterally in NFL 2K2

7. GTA3 has three of these

8. World Series Baseball walk equivalent

9. ship (PS2)

10. Mortal Kombat catchphrase

11. Tekken's karate сор

12. Nintendo's 8-bit console abbreviation 5

18. Sonic's Chaos emeralds, for one

20. Like NES Racer

23. Mario Kart homing missile

24. Capcom vs. SNK 2 newbie

26. Squatty Super Mario Bros. enemy

27. Green Goblin's Spider-Man company

зо. Sony's Mark of .

33. worm Jim (Super Nintendo)

34. Battle (PS1)

36. Castlevania: SOTN (PS1) familiar

38. Like an RPG hero?

40. Soul Calibur's “dandy of the south

Seas"

41. Upand Jam (Genesis)

44. Attacks Ecco in Ecco (PS2, DC)

46. Would protect Mr. Bones's vital

organs, if he had any

47. What Kid becomes in Chrono Cross

NOT ANOTHER SCARY MOVIE

The list of video games getting signed on to become movies gets larger every day. The latest additions: Eidos’ first- person shoot-a-thon Deus Ex (nabbed by Columbia Pictures)

and Tecmo's girl-surrounded-by-ghouls scarefest Fatal Frame (picked up by Dreamworks). But don't run to your local theater to reserve tickets just yet—it'll be another year or three before these hit cineplexes nationwide.

GBA Afterburner: The Light at the End of the Tunnel?

On May 10, Triton Labs (www.tritonlabs.com) started shipping their highly anticipated Afterburner light kit for the Game Boy Advance. The $35 flat-panel device lights the GBA screen to improve visibility for times when you have less-than-ideal lighting conditions (which is about 8o percent of the time). The company sent us a sample kit, so we popped it in and took it for a spin. Is it right for you? The official EGM review follows.

We're no electronics experts, but a few of us have been in and out of gaming consoles, putting in switches and cleaning corroded contacts enough to handle the slightly more complicated Afterburner installation. The light comes with a spiffy instruction manual that ain't flawless, but it does a good job of describing the process. If you're skittish about poking around inside your GBA, get someone else to put in the Afterburner light for you (Triton's site has a list of recommended installers). You will be voiding your warranty and dealing with some fragile components, so the risk of a damaged GBA is very serious.

The trickiest part involves removing and handling the LCD screen. As long as you go slowly and are gentle with the parts, you won't damage anything. You'll want to pick up a can of compressed air—once you open up the system, it's tough to keep dust and debris from getting inside. Blow it away to avoid an annoying addition to your GBA.

The only other install issue we had was in carving out a portion of the plastic GBA casing to accommodate the light. Unless you have a Dremel tool or other small grinding device, it's tough to dig into that molded plastic and get a good, clean result.

The kit also comes with a dimmer switch, but we've found that the light works best either on full or not on at all. Plus, the instructions have you using solder to hold the cheapo dial in place, which is just asking for trouble. Go with a micro switch from Radio Shack. It'll let you conserve battery power when in direct light and usually offer a much sturdier mounting solution.

At the end of the day, the light is a huge improvement...for most games. Carts with large graphics like Street Fighter II and Mario Advance were suddenly clear in any light. But when we booted up our beloved Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, we caught the Afterburner’s biggest flaw. Colors are significantly more washed- out with the light on, and smaller moving objects get almost completely lost in the background. But for 75 percent of the games out there, the Afterburner is a sound buy.

Mount your switch anywhere it'll fit cleanly. Cover any exposed

wire with electrical tape to avoid a short.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 46 - egm.gamers.com

marc ecko

footwear

che

TM

+ THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING +

A. qu

NO

OFFICIAL GAMES BASED ON THE LITERARY WORKS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN, FALL 2002

WWW.LORDOFTHERINGS.COM

Visit wwwesrb.org

КА or call 1-800-771-3772 X PlayStation2 GAMEBOY ADVANCE UNIVERSAL for more info. Rom хеох GAME BOY ADVANG

NS

INTERACTIVE

The Fellowship of the Ring" interactive game © 2002 Vivendi Universal Games; Inc. АЙ dignis reserved. The Tolkien Enterprises logo. together with "The Lord of the Rings." "The Fello ip of the Ring and the characters. events, items. and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company dba Tolkien Enterprises under lici lo Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. Microsoft Xbox. and the Xbox logos

are either registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. Inc. Nintendo. Game Boy and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo.

If you can't beat 'em with your own line of games, then join a winning team. You might say that's what happened when ESPN left Konami to join Sega to lend its brand to the publisher's already best-selling line of sports games. Starting with МСАА College Football 2K3 (left), which debuts this fall on Xbox, GC and PS2, Sega Sports games will feature ESPN-style intros, replays, camera angles, and stat and score presentations.

Quartermann - G2

Welcome, friends. | am the Q-Minator (aka Q-Mann), fresh from a

trip to the city of angels to deliver my truckload of rumors to your awaiting eyes. Whoa, ho, ho...it’s an early Christmas for this old-timer. 1 rather like the new full-page digs. Thanks, Q-followers—it was your support that won The Q his new home. So as not to waste any more time, let’s begin our gossip-filled journey:

£ ۹

30ni и по ures ... Sega’s blue, attitude-filled, sneaker-wearin’ mascot has gone on his last Adventure. But dry those eyes and buck up, lil’ camper. He's not gone for good. Sonic Team is reportedly hard at work in Japan on a. brand-new Sonic that will take the 'hog back to his roots. That's.right —no more freakin’ searching for jewels as Knuckles (gawd, |“ hated that). The gameplay will return to the tone of the original series, focusing on fast platforming action with no B.S. And to reflect the change in design, the game will reportedly drop the Adventures moniker it has clung to for the past few years. While a release date remains sketchy at this point, we could see the first fruits of Sonic Team’s labor by the end of summer...

Al ns go ror Rare on ац tem ...Something smells fishy in GameCube land, and it's got Rare written all over it. Their suspicious absence from E3 only served to further fuel the fire around rumors that the developer is leaving for more flexible surroundings. Recent buzz indicates that we may learn the truth about their multi- platform future after Star Fox Adventures hits the U.S. And to whet your appetite further, here's the latest reconnaissance: The first games in their lineup are rumored to include a PS2 version of Perfect Dark Zero (can you say online play?) and an Xbox sequel to Conker's Bad Fur Day. Current speculation indicates that publishing duties will go to a major third party (to be announced) with GameCube-exclusive titles

| handled by Nintendo. Those may still include Катео: Elements of Power and Donkey Kong Racing. Other Rare series may get divided up as well, so if you're a fan, you may have to buy multiple systems. Stay tuned...

Doom III can be done on Xbox

..When Тһе Q laid his eyes on ій” latest baby at ЕЗ, | could hardly keep from tearing up. But it wasn't because I couldn't wait to play it on PC. It was with the fear that | wouldn't be able to play it on a console (às some have claimed, it *couldn't" be done). After some questioning, id programmers

said that indeed, the Xbox is powerful enough to run Doom ІІ. It wouldn't be without some sacrifices to the jaw-dropping PC visuals, but when a game already looking hella amazing, |

can settle-for just "amazing." Can't you? | knew ya could....

...And now it's time'to go through the rumors not quite big enough for their ówn lil" headlines, butnot small enough to go in the Bits... First, a tale of two Virtua Fighters. One, an upgrade to the recent VF4. The other, an online-enabled УР$. And word has it that creator Yu Suzuki, tied up by Ѕһептие and Virtua Fighter Quest duties, may not be as hands-on with the fifth installment as he has been in the past... Psst, there's a new Star Wars game just around the corner that no one's heard anything on yet. (Well, except forme and the programmers.) The third installment of a popular corisole series. Oh no, I’ve said too much. Can I take it back now?... And who didn’t expect this—M$ (that’s Microsoft to you laymen) is working on intégrating Xbox into its home:network strategies so that it would become the device in the chain that hangs with your entertainment gear. MP3 audio and MPEGA videos could sit оп the hard drive of your main computer (your “server” as it were) and be played by/passing them across the network and caching to the Xbox hard drive. The network will work such that you can browse your media using the Xbox controller. Neat, huh?

ot Q: Grand Theft Auto 4 ...It's something | get asked about a lot (thanks for the E-mails, guys— you know who you are). It’s Grand Theft Auto 4, and prepare yourselves for a whopper of a rumor, folks. Here goes: The just-announced Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is just the beginning of what will become known as the GTA Universe. After Vice City, the next Grand Theft Auto game will be dubbed “Crime Online.” And if you haven’t guessed by now, it’s going to be the first console-networked title in the series. There will be a new stand-alone СТА as well, but that’s still a ways off...

And that signals the end of our visit for the month. It’s been good, huh? Nice to be back to the old size again. Tell me how you like the new look by dropping me an E-mail at quartermann@ziffdavis.com. And remember-- don't do anything | wouldn't do. Until next time!

—TheQ

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 50

egm.gamers.com

I 1

fê, БЕЛЫ and the pursult - of eli who threaten It.

5 t і !

Far aver 200 years, the U.S. Navy has been protecting America’s most valuable asset: freedom. If you're ready to answer your country's call, check out the Life Accelerator at navu.cam ог са! I-BOO-L/SR-NRV Y.

© 2002. Paid for by the U.S. Navy. All rights reserved.

The Тор 20 Best-Selling Games of April 2002

This page is crawling with eight-legged freaks. Spider-Man is a big hit on all

three next-gen consoles. What could possibly be so inviting about an 11 Triple Play 2002 awkward, misfit superhero who gets the girl of his dreams in the end? By the EA Sports way, did you see the movie? Craps all over Star Wars: Attack of the Corny Dialogue. You've been dying a little bit every day, eh? If we were anyone but 12 Twisted Metal: Black Anakin “I don't like sand” Skywalker, we'd laugh at any woman who said that. Sony CEA But anyway...Resident Evil on the GameCube didn’t do too shabby in April, either. Color us surprised. 13 Max Payne 5 п al Rockstar 1 Spider-Man ПЕ, - - Activ 14 James Bond in Agent Under Fire

Electronic Arts

15 Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Sega

16 Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories

а © а TT MStar Baseball 200

Gran Turismo 3 A-spec

Sony CEA

Î2 Grand Theft Auto Ill

Rockstar

Acclaim Sports

18 Super Smash Bros. Melee

Nintendo

Resident Evil 2 2 19 Spider-Man

Capcom Activision

John R 35, 9.0 с ® 20 o

Spider-Man Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games Service. Call Kristin Barnett-von Korff at

Activision Jj (516) 625-2481 for questions regarding this list. Chart description written by EGM staff. a “| don’t like the sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere. Not

like here. Here everything's soft...and smooth."

JAPAN TOP 10

ге i Wow...look at that chart. 9.0 | 9.0 Woi Soccer Wining even == American gamers would i ii be lucky to recognize Chris К Gundam: Girens Ambition —= [-—5 more "d НО dme Spider-Man ee here. You've got a bunch ctivisi Kingdom Hearts of sprightly young teens 8 оа ae re playin’ tennis (Mr. Oji's

j ,th Heat hul Basta 70 2 an Academy), the ee wants to become a

Virtua Fighter 4 Rockman Zero pirate (One Piece), and Sega Capcom £ one man’s attempt to FIFA World Cup 2002 escape an earthquake: 10 ‚3.5 „1, r4 Electronic Arts Square. к 3 struck island Zettai

Zetsumei Toshi). Where's

Mr. Ojis Tennis Academy the Madden Football, ATV Offroad F ury Konami damnit? Nowhere! Sony CEA

Zettai Zetsumei Toshi

Irem

One Piece Grand Battle! 2

CS бә че є ње м =

Bandai

1 Fire Emblem: The Seals Sword

Nintendo

80/80 7.0

Chris | Greg |Milkman ==) Source: Weekly Famitsu, week ending 5/12/02

Electronic Gaming Monthly - §2 - egm.gamers.com

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Conflict Zone— Ubi Soft Action Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius THQ Action The Mark of Kri—Sony CEA Action NCAA Football 2003 EA Sports Sports Sega Sports Tennis Sega Sports Sky Gunner—Atlus Shooter NCAA Football 2003 EA Sports Sports Smuggler's Run: Warzones Rockstar Racing Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon—Universal Action Buffy the Vampire Slayer— Electronic Arts Action Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller—Sega Racing David Beckham Soccer— Majesco Sports Dead to Rights— Namco Action NCAA Football 2003 EA Sports Sports Medabots AX: Metabee Version Natsume RPG Medabots AX: Rokusho Version Natsume RPG Road Rash: Jail Break— Electronic Arts Racing Urban Yeti Telegames Action

PlayStation 2

Armored Core 3—Agetec Action Commandos 2: Men of Courage—Eidos Strategy Madden NFL 2003—EA Sports Sports Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2—Activision 02 Sports NCAA Football 2K3—Sega Sports Sports NCAA GameBreaker 2003 989 Sports Sports Network Adapter—Sony CEA Hardware NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway Sports NFL GameDay 2003 —989 Sports Sports

NFL Quarterback Club 2003 —Acclaim Sports Sports

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny —Capcom Action Pride: FC— THQ Sports Reign of Fire— Bam Action RLH: Run Like Hell— Interplay Action

Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII—Koei Strategy

Sega Sports NFL 2K3 Sega Sports Sports Simpsons Skateboarding—Electronic Arts Sports SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs— Sony CEA Action Street Hoops: King of the Court—Activision Sports The Terminator: Dawn of Fate— Atari Action The Thing Universal Action GameCube Beach Spikers—Sega Sports Freekstyle—EA Big Racing Madden NFL 2003—EA Sports Sports NCAA Football 2K3— Sega Sports Sports Super Mario Sunshine— Nintendo Action Xbox Aggressive Inline AKA Acclaim Sports Commandos 2: Men of Courage— Eidos Strategy Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter— Crave Action Madden NFL 2003 —EA Sports Sports Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2—Activision o2 Sports MLB SlugFest 20-03 Midway Sports NCAA Football 2K3 —Sega Sports Sports NFL 2K3— Sega Sports Sports

NFL Quarterback Club 2003 Acclaim Sports Sports

NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway Sports Street Hoops: King of the Court—Activision Sports The Thing Universal Action

Disney's Magical Quest— Nintendo Action Mat Hoffman's Pro ВМХ 2— Activision o2 Sports R-Type III Phantagram Shooter Sega Smash Pack—THQ Misc. Street Fighter Alpha 3— Capcom Fighting Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters Konami RPG CILE 2 Armada 2: Star Command Metro3D Action Dynasty Tactics Koei Strategy Grandia Xtreme— Enix RPG Gungrave—Sega Action Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Eidos Action Kingdom Hearts Square Electronic Arts RPG Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2—Elec. Arts Driving Ninja Assault Namco Shooting Robotech: Battlecry TDK Mediactive Action

Sly Cooper & the Thievius Raccoonus—Sony Action Summoner 2—THQ RPG Superman: Shadow of Apokolips— Infogrames Action

Taz: Wanted Infogrames Adventure Tekken 4— Namco Fighting TimeSplitters 2—Eidos Action Turok: Evolution —Acclaim Action Vexx—Acclaim Adventure

Animal Crossing Nintendo Misc. Broadband Adapter—Nintendo Hardware Galleon: Islands of Mystery —Interplay Action Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2— Activision o2 Sports Modem Adapter— Nintendo Hardware Mystic Heroes Кое! Action NFL 2K3— Sega Sports Sports Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights THQ Action Star Fox Adventures— Nintendo Adventure Star Wars: The Clone Wars— LucasArts Action Super Monkey Ball 2—Sega Puzzle Toxic Grind—THQ Sports TimeSplitters 2—Eidos Acion Turok: Evolution —Acclaim Action

Brute Force— Microsoft Action DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball Tecmo Sports Dynasty Warriors 3—Koei Action Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Eidos Action House of the Dead 3—Sega Shooting Kung Fu Chaos Microsoft Action Loons—Infogrames Action NFL Fever 2003 Microsoft Sports Quantum Redshift Microsoft Racing Sega GT 2002—Sega Racing Taz: Wanted Infogrames Adventure The Terminator: Dawn of Fate— Atari Action TimeSplitters 2— Eidos Action Toejam & Earl Ш: All Funked Up—Sega Adventure Turok: Evolution—Acclaim Action Ad Robotech: The Macross Saga TDK Action Yoshi's Island Nintendo Action

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 54 - egm.gamers.com

IMPORT CALENDAR

Saru Getchu 2

Saru Getchu 2

Import Pick of the Month: If there's one thing we've learned over the years in the video-game biz, it's that monkeys and games make a perfect combination (like chocolate and peanut butter). And if you're fiending for hot monkey action this sum- mer, may we suggest you import Saru Getchu 2. This sequel to Sony's PlayStation hit Ape Escape's got primates galore, and this time you've got a little one strapped to your back to help catch the others (pic- tured above) aww, ain't he cute? Stun 'em, then swoop 'em up in your net. It doesn't get much better than that, folks.

PlayStation 2

6/27

6/27

Gun Survivor 3: Dino Crisis, Capcom (Shooter)

The Castle of Shikigami, Taito (Shooter)

7/4 Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, Konami (Survival Horror)

7/11 Suikoden III, Konami (RPG)

7/18 Saru Getchu 2 (Ape Escape 2), Sony СЕ! (Action)

7/25 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Capcom (Fighting)

July Gungrave, Sega (Action)

Game Boy Advance

6/6 Custom Robo GBA, Nintendo (Action)

GameCube

7/18 Disney All-Star Sports: Soccer, Konami (Sports)

7/19 Beach Spikers, Sega (Sports)

7/19 Super Mario Sunshine, Nintendo (Action)

8/2 Space Invaders Ex, Taito

(Shooter)

*Schedule subject to change without notice. Consult your local import-game store for the latest release info. Beans, beans, the musical fruit...the more you eat...

ONCE UPON A TIME.. MIDWAY

STEEL FAR OUTWEIGHED THE VALUE OF GOLD. www.midway.com

PlayStation. L + “THE LEGEND OF

кк EXCALIBUR. ^^... ^ us й Pu EIS x Ww я » v is

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EPIC ACTION LETS YOU SLASH YOUR WAY CAST MIGHTY SPELLS AS MERLIN, INTENSE STRATEGY I$ THE KEY TO VICTORY TO VICTORY AS KING ARTHUR, WHO WIELDS THWARTING EVIL WITH MAGIC AS THE AS YOUR TROOPS LAY SIEGE TO ENEMY EXCALIBUR IN A RUTHLESS CRUSADE LEGEND UNFOLDS WITH LEGION’S FORTRESSES AND HELP RESTORE GLORY TO THROUGH HEROIC BATTLES. ROLE-PLAYING EXPERIENCE. THE KINGDOM OF CAMELOT.

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© 2002 Genki Co., Ltd. АП rights reserved. Published and distributed by Phantagram Interactive, Inc. under license from Genki Co., Ltd. "Phantom Crash" is the trademark or the registered trademark of Genki Co., Ltd. Phantagram and the Phantagram Logo are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Phantagram Interactive, 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. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. АН other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective holders.

Engage in fast and furious mech battles at speeds aver 100 mph.

PHANTAGRAM

NTERACTAVE

Genki

Previews

PlayStation 2 j

This Month in Previews

62-63 Shinobi 64 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 66 The Getaway 68 True Crime: Streets of L.A. 70 WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth Dark Cloud 2 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 A Zone of the Enders 2: The 2nd Runner Contra: Shattered Soldier 72 The Sims Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Mega Man X7 73 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon James Bond 007: NightFire 74 Silent Hill 3 Suikoden III Wild Arms 3 Breath of Fire 75 Тепсһи з: Wrath of Heaven Red Faction II 76 | DDRMax Dance Dance Revolution ATV Offroad Fury 2 War of the Monsters RTX: Red Rock 7 Dave Mirra BMX XXX

NCAA Football 2003

78-79 Resident Evil Ø

80

82

84

Mario Party 4

Project BG&E

Wario World

Haven: Call of the King F-Zero

Capcom vs. SNK: EO Dungeons & Dragons Heroes 1080*: White Storm Aquaman: Battle for Atlantis

86-87 Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance 88-89Dead to Rights

90 92 94

96

98

Panzer Dragoon Orta Blinx: The Time Sweeper Ninja Gaiden Dead or Alive:

Xtreme Beach Volleyball The Lord of the Rings:

The Fellowship of the Ring Duality WWE Raw 2 Project Ego Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

Game Boy Advance

100

Kirby

Contra Advance

Golden Sun: The Lost Age R-Type Ш: The Third Lightning

e’re battered, we're chafed, we're hung-over, but we're still working our butts off to sift through the scores of screenshots and games we witnessed

YOU'LL SEE at the E3 show in May. While we’ve

THIS ICON been covering game publishers’ E3

THROUGHOUT lineups for the past couple months,

THE SECTION. this issue represents the titles that

THEY POINT OUT made their debut at the show.

i a 8 While we roamed the floor this year, Тһе old-school Sega fans on our staff

(namely Sewart and the Milkman) are wet with anticipation over the new Panzer Dragoon qame. See it on page 90.

it became apparent that the industry at large hasn't ignored the insane popularity of games like Grand Theft Auto lIl and Spider-Man. In fact, it seemed like every other publisher was showing either а СТА clone (check Sony's Getaway on page 66 and Activision's True Crime on page 68) ora

amount of FPSes on the floor was surprising (see below for some examples). One shooter that had the editors of EGM crying foul on the PC

erred superhero title (Encore with Daredevil gamers of the world was Doom Ill. | lews marked А 3

with international and Kemco with Batman, to name a mean...ye gods, this game looks

or couple) set to hit store shelves before beautiful. It’s like Resident Evil meets‏ س released in the the end of the year. Doom, with stunning results. Heck, |‏ зз rta Another trend in the console world might even invest in a high-end PC now‏ оп Japanese ог is first-person shooters. Whether or not (My old P2 266 just ain't cuttin’ it‏ e M it Halo's success has anything to do with anymore). lh | |‏

at your own risk. that is anyone's guess. But the sheer Greg Sewart, previews editor

1. Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Xbox, November 2002

2. Resident Evil 0 GameCube, Fall 2002 3. Dead to Rights Xbox, July 2002 4. Panzer Dragoon Orta Xbox, October 2002

5. The Getaway PlayStation 2, November 2002

4. MECH GAMES WT

(Robot A.D., Steel

Battalion, Mech-

Assault...)

Mech fans can

either blow their

green on the proprietary Steel Battalion controller or send three underprivileged children to an Ivy League school.

2. REBIRTH OF OLD FRANCHISES

(Rygar, Shinobi, Contra...) Designers of today realize that all we really

want to do is

play yesterday's

games, just on

our 40-inch

plasma displays.

1. CEL-SHADING

Bucking the trend of visual realism ushered in by next-gen consoles, designers collectively agree to make every new title look like an episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

vr

5. FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS From XIII to Bond to Die Hard, FPSes are turning into console staples now that the hardware has caught up to PC standards. Now where's our $%*!#@& Doom Ш on console?

3. SHIGERU MIYAMOTO Japan's most successful game designer gets Stopped by and forced to pose with America's least successful geeks.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 59 - egm.gamers.com

Mount Magma

N cd и

5 Gravity Games Vert

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PlayStation. | Dru L an 1 Ad Mild Lyrics " f$ NINTENDO XeO2 Sie Mild Violence ©) GAMECUBE. ==

Sneak preview at www.gravitygamesbike.midway.com

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: ` N <r Acid Factor LS Train Depot.. fe Acid Factory Ey 1 : B > s > i L] D : K

Hammer your way through urban fantasy tracks to the Gravity Master Fuzzy Hall's real backyard course and check out 21 riders to choose from, including 7 top pros like Games big time in 5 game modes through 10 massive worlds pro rider behind-the-scenes DVD content with harsh Dennis McCoy, Fuzzy Hall and Jamie Bestwick, so detailed and realistic you can smell the asphalt. wipeouts, awesome moves and in-depth interviews. along with a bevy of fantasy street characters.

Süperman

pod gx

TENE es Overworks EXE Action

50%

Fall 2002 LIII Hone www.sega.com

It still feels like ye

Shinobi of olde.

Where's Yamamoto,

the faithful assassin dog?

Diced clumps of ninja.

COMBO SYSTEM

Shinobi ups the ante on the typical hack-’n’-slash affair with a sweet combo system that not only looks cool, but also plays an important gameplay role. If you can take out at least four guys before the first chump even hits the floor, you’re rewarded with a cutscene of your enemies literally separating into pieces at their wounds. Rack up six or more kills, and you get to watch your prey crumple into a ball of red mist from multiple camera angles. More importantly, when you string up combos, every consecutive hit becomes more powerful than the last. Later bosses actually require you to combo a bunch of smaller foes before hitting the mutha with the last devastating attack. Do you have the skills to be a real Shinobi?

BEST IN HOW

GW ofjhimse у пое dean

efore there was Tenchu or even Ninja Gaiden, there was Shinobi, a 2D action platformer bleeding with style and substance. For many of us back in the day, the Shinobi series represented pure gaming ninjitsu. Now, after nearly a decade's hiatus, Sega's Overworks team, the very same heads behind the original Shinobi titles, has finally retrofitted the classic franchise with an updated look for a new millennium.

Just don’t expect to see the icy stare of good ol’ Joe Musashi from the previous Shinobis. While the new game is a continuation of the Shinobi saga, the hero this time out is a ninja who goes by the name Hotsuma, a member of Musashi's Oboro clan.

3 ES Е

Ж ЖООШ

Takashi Uriu, producer and designer for the latest Shinobi, felt that Joe Musashi was perhaps too outdated for a new generation of gamers: “| wanted to introduce a dark hero, someone with a bit of tragedy. | think ninjas are perfect for a role like this. After all, there's no such thing as a happy ninja."

Boy, he isn't kidding. Bleakness exudes from every nuance of the game. Shinobi's backdrop is modern- day Tokyo recently ravaged by some supernatural apocalypse. The storyline pits Hotsuma against his own brother as they compete for the chance to wield a powerful demonic sword that's double-edged in the fullest sense of the term. You've got to constantly feed the weapon with carnage, because if you don't take life, then the sword takes yours.

An interesting plot device to be sure, but the vampiric blade also serves to establish the pacing of the game. "We looked at other 3D games like Sonic Adventure and didn't like the fact that you could just

With that red scarf, Hotsuma might look like Strider...but we ask you, can Strider do this stuff to his enemies? Uh no, we didn't think so.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 62 - egm.gamers.com

EAST MEETS WEST

Revenge of Shinobi (Genesis) fea- tured both Batman and Spider-Man as end-level bosses. When the lawsuit came a-knockin’, Sega altered their likenesses in later runs of the game.

"Shinobi-Man, Shinobi-Man, does whatever a Shinobi сап." ıı .

run away from enemies," says Uriu. “Рог me, an action game is all about fighting, not running. We're forcing the player to kill." Secret areas may have fewer enemies to fight, so players will need to keep

To compensate for this lack of impact, nearly all of Shinobi's combat happens up close and personal. The intuitive auto-targeting system always points you toward your closest threat. After you get a

“...For me, an action game is all about fighting, not running. We're forcing the player to kill."

a close eye on their health gauges when they venture off the beaten path.

When it came down to the gameplay, we were admittedly skeptical at first. “It was definitely tricky to capture the feel of the 2D games in a 3D world,” Uriu tells us. “The hardest part was the combat system. It was much easier to hit your enemies with shurikens in 2D, but that mechanic wasn’t very satisfying in 3D.”

Electronic Gaming Monthly

—Overworks producer Takashi Uriu

handle on the basics, you'll invariably strive to master Shinobi's addictive combo system that requires you to cleave all your foes in a small window of time. For details on melee techniques, check out the “Ninja Combat” sidebar.

Of course, Hotsuma wouldn't be a real Shinobi without a bag of tricks up his sleeve as well. Besides the standard double jump, wall scaling and grappling techniques, he can also perform dashes that leave behind a trail of silhouettes, confusing his enemies and giving him a slight initiative during battle. Then there are the shurikens. While these nasty projectiles won't take anyone down permanently, they'll stun your opponents, making them easy sword-and-combo fodder.

From our hands-on time with Shinobi, it's clear that Overworks has struck a perfect balance between old-school gameplay and next-generation embellishment. Uriu seems pleased with our impression of the game. “This new Shinobi is pure- blooded. | know how a Shinobi game is supposed to feel,” he says. “I’m confident this will be the perfect version for a new generation.” E] —Che Chou

63 - egm.gamers.com

Hotsuma has the coolest scarf we've ever seen in a video game. Its outline is so sublime, it's almost visually poetic. But did you know there's also utility in its design? *We want- ed itto look kind of like a silhouette, so you can easily pick out Hotsuma from the rest of the characters on the screen," explains Shinobi's producer, Takashi Uriu. *Plus the scarf shows you a trail of his movements, so you always know where he's been and where he's going." Oh, and have we mentioned that he looks a lot like Capcom's Strider?

t M کج‎

PREVIEW

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

LETT Electronic Arts Stormfront Studios Pavers:

СНИ Action

85%

November 2002 СИ None Www.eagames.com Finally, battles Lord

of the Rings fans don't have to leave to their imaginations.

Only slated as a PS2

title now (but Xbox may be next).

No playing as Gandalf or Frodo.

...AND ACTION!

The Who's Who of Two Towers

Between the photo shoots and Botox parties, the stars of the LotR movies actually found time to lend their voiceover skills to this game. We're skeptical of how EA pulled that off, so here's a breakdown of why the celebs would bother.

à VIGGO MORTENSEN Plays: Aragorn 7 Why he bothered: Morty's really a 9 Д closet geek.

ORLANDO BLOOM Plays: Legolas Why he bothered: |. Gamer chicks dig Ї wood elves.

JOHN RHYS-DAVIES Plays: Gimli

Why he bothered: Two words:

Tequila shots.

IAN MCKELLAN Plays: Gandalf Why he bothered: He's a total cosplay nut.

EET ws ELIJAH WOOD 2 Plays: Frodo Nes Why he bothered:

Vindication for

olkien's Two Towers is arguably the most Hollywood-friendly novel of the trilogy and will no doubt translate into another blockbuster hit for New Line Cinema. But with the arrival of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for PS2 this fall, it's the gamers who get to take a piece of the film home with them. With complete backstage access to all three of New Line's films, Stormfront Studios can literally transport players into moments they've seen on the

Left: Geez, just when you and your buddies Boromir, Gandalf and Legolas were getting the party started, those nasty goblins crashed it! Above: Ooh, that's going to leave a mark...or rather, a few marks...um, and burns.

and 60 percent from Towers, so you'll have your hands full playing as Aragorn, Gimli or Legolas. To get a taste of what's in store, imagine yourself as Aragorn, desperately running to Legolas' side during the assault at Helm's Deep and valiantly sword- fighting throngs of smelly orcs pouring over on all sides. Or feel the ground rumble under your feet as the heavy steps of a cave troll precede a wave of goblins crashing into Balin's Tomb. If it's in the films, you can bet it's in the game.

* ..Hirector Peter Jackson's...a ‘big gamer’ himself..."

big screen, i.e., the Ringwraiths encounter at Weathertop, the fall of Saruman, etc., so they may experience them first-hand. In fact, uber-geek director Peter Jackson has stuck close to the game's development since its inception and regularly tests it as it progresses. Word in the gossip columns says he's a "big gamer," so hopefully, he'll offer some sound advice.

Forty percent of the game is taken from Fellowship

Electronic G

Each character executes straight-from-the-movie melee and ranged attacks, alongside an unlockable arsenal of special moves requiring specific button combos. An experience-point system for upgrading abilities is also crucial in combat, as witnessed when a dual-axe-wielding goblin outsmarted and outlived EGM's Reviews Editor Jon Dudlak not once but twice. Be assured that if you fail to execute a final blow, that jerk will stab you from behind (the orc, that is).

No multiplay for ТГ, although it's screaming for some co-op action. But with another title to coincide with the Return of the King next year and a "trilogy" title to follow, who knows what's to come.

—Jeanne Kim

From the movie to your living

J room, this cave troll's got “I'm big. I'm dumb. And | like bashing things with my big mace!" written all over him.

Риге speed. | ft Риге combat. Pure асйоп. E

Global warming threatens life on earths Frozen regions of Siberia have melted, submerging entire:countries; As part of an elite group of pilots assembled by the

Experience G-Force Choose from 4 views: cockpit, Engage multiple enemies in a using the controller. cockpit without meter, small and large. variety of death-defying missions.

EVERYONE

PlayStation.e

¢ © 2001,200

Mild Language

Violence

Ix ШУ х=

PREVIEW BEST IN СТИ Sony сея SHOW Sony Team Soho avers.

C Action

m November 2002 www.scea.com A gangland simulator

that could actually overthrow Grand Theft Auto Ill.

It's been a long two-

year wait.

And The Ugly: Swearing!

All the f***ing

CASTING CALL

Art imitates

Rather than creating character models and then casting actors to voice The Getaway, Team Soho decided to cast known British actors first, then base the in-game character models on them. The result is a a very authentic look. Going a step further, the developers actually shot video of the actors doing all the different cinema scenes in the script. They went as far as creating sets, hiring a wardrobe department and even creating some intricate

makeup for some of the characters.

DON KEMBLY Defining Attributes:

* Striking cheekbones

® Pouty lips

® Come hither look in his eyes

MARK HAMMOND Defining Attributes: * Striking cheekbones * Pouty lips

| ° Incredibly

GAME CHARACTER detailed ears!

Hammond takes realistic damage, so be sure to shield that noggin from flying lead projectiles. One good head shot and it's game over, man!

Hammond eyes a stack of hot PS2s after teaching this ne'er-do-well the error of his misguided ways.

ack when the PS2 was released, | remember

seeing shots of The Getaway and being

amazed by what | thought would just be

another beautiful racing game. Imagine my surprise when Sony finally revealed the game as a Grand Theft Auto-style action title. And a really cool- looking one, at that.

In fact, The Getaway looks like it might out-GTA GTA. Team Soho's going for some major realism. Unlike the fictional city in Grand Theft Auto Ill, Getaway's London is accurately portrayed with photorealistic buildings and actual licensed cars like BMW and Toyota roaming the streets (all with graphics that are far and away better than Rockstar's smash hit). Wreck your car and it won't

handle as well. Roll it, and your character will be injured. And when you find yourself on foot, the action is much more intricate —very similar to something like Metal Gear Solid or Headhunter in that stealth plays a huge part while you're exploring the insides of various compounds and buildings. But with the realism of the world comes the chance that a good headshot will put an end to your game, not just require a few medipacks to fix.

As for the open-ended gameplay we've all come to ove, it's too early to say if Getaway will be totally free-roaming or really limited by the storyline. The olks at Team Soho are sticking strictly to their script, which makes the game feel a tad linear (at east from what we've played so far).

The Getaway moves along two parallel storylines. Mark Hammond, an ex-gangster trying to go straight, gets pulled back into the seedy underworld of London's mob when crime boss Charlie Jonson ills his wife and kidnaps his son. Hammond's orced to be Jonson's errand boy in order to keep his son alive. As the plot unfolds, you meet Frank Carter. Carter's a vigilante cop who's fallen from grace and simply lives to put Jonson's crime family out of commission. In the second part of Getaway, you get to play the story as seen through his eyes.

While The Getaway looks like a GTA clone, the different angle Team Soho's taking promises to deliver a much different, potentially more satisfying, experience. ж Greg Sewart

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 66 - egm.gamers.com

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SUIAVIMES 19709, B

OU. TRUST CAN SAVE YOU. www.thethinggames.com

FO e

PREVIEW

True Crime:

Streets of L.A.

ETE Activision

Luxoflux ЗВ |

СОИ Action

50%

Winter 2002 LUTTE GameCube, Xbox www.activision.com Another GTA3-style

game to play.

This can't be good for

L.A.'s image.

The state of Nick's

favorite bar after he's cleared it of thugs.

COPYCAT CONCERN

It’s obvious that True Crime will be accused of being a GTA3 wannabe. So we asked producer Bryan Bustamante what sets his game apart from the current king of

the genre.

“There are many different key features that separate True Crime from the other games. The first and one of the most important features is the way the mission designs are set up. In other games, if you don’t complete a mission, you have to play that same one over and over until you beat it in order to continue through the game. However, TCs unique branching system will allow the player to continue no matter what.

“We also have a more detailed shooting setup than in games past. You can duck behind walls and boxes for shelter, target multiple enemies at one time, punch and kick an enemy pretty much what you see in all the cool action movies."

So is he worried about comparisons to СТАЗ? “It never hurts to be compared to the most popular game of the year," says Bustamante.

After a long day of drive-by shootings and kicking serious ass, Nick Kang relaxes with a refreshing Mike's Hard Lemonade.

hen a business deal between the

Russian mafia and the Triad goes sour,

you just know the s***'s gonna hit the

fan. That’s where officer Nick Kang comes in. Nick’s gonna clean up the streets of L.A. using all his driving, shootin’ and martial-arts fighting skills. Familiar? It should be. “The story is based on some of our favorite action movies including Hard Boiled, Rush Hour, L.A. Confidential and the Lethal Weapon series,” says Activision producer Bryan Bustamante. “We wanted to create a real cinematic feel to the game.”

But this isn’t just a huge area that’s mildly reminiscent of Los Angeles. An entire section of the city of angels will be re-created faithfully within the world of True Crime, right down to street signs, billboards and major landmarks.

Of course, True Crime will be a free-roaming game, but with much more emphasis on gunplay and hand- to-hand combat than driving. Imagine chasing down

a perp, only to have him negotiate a turn incorrectly and flip the car. He crawls from the wreckage and takes off on foot through a crowd. Now you've got to ditch your ride and give chase. He ducks into a seedy bar, thinking he’s lost you. The fool. You burst through the door, guns blazing. Or, if you're feeling more humane, you can take him hand-to-hand. In that case, the bar turns into your own little fighting arena (check the picture above). “In True Crime you have a series of block, parry and combo moves,” says Bustamante. “As the game progresses, you can visit a number of Dojos located around the city and learn new combo and finishing moves to send your opponents flying.” We're sure it'll be no Soul Calibur 2, but the fighting system sounds pretty robust for a game of this type.

We all knew Grand Theft Auto III would spawn a lot of similar games, but it's nice to see titles like True Crime taking a stab at something unique within the genre. E. —Greg Sewart

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 68 - egm.gamers.com

CJD MIDWAY

THE ONLY THING LEFT STANDING [5 FREEDOM.

Feel the Roar of War

" UNS COGNO p E i E DS 5, >. у 9 ч = 3 ^r Г sg з=, „КА nd ae в. У а.

through 18 Missions in 4 campaigns at the helm of the carrier chopper or the Vendetta attack copter and unleash a barrage of hi-tech deadly weapons. Go turbo, or remain undetected from enemies in stealth mode. To win the war, you've got to end the war. Attach and destroy!

Blood and Gore

Violence ‘CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

" Witness the explosive action of Fire Blade firsthand at: _ PlayStationee fireblade.midway.com

Fireblade © 2002 Midway Home Entertainment Inc, All rights reserved. MIDWAY and the Midway Logo are registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Fireblade is a trademark of Midway Home Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

"WHEN THE HELL DO WE GET THIS ON A CONSOLE?" AWARD: DOOM III

Even the Nintendo fanboys at E3 waited in line to catch a glimpse of Doom III. Revolutionary graphics, heart-attack-inducing creatures and atmospheres, and blood and guts that'll make your tummy take a turn for the worse, D/I's going to springboard games to new heights. So, if your PC's seen better days, better upgrade quick, because you won't be seeing a console version anytime Soon. Yes, you may now commence much wailing and pulling out of hair.

ЕА р.

PREVIEW GALLERY

WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth

THQ * Winter 2002 * Also On: None They've dropped the “F,” but the WWE isn't down for the count yet. Add Stacy Keibler, DDP, Ric Flair and the nWo to the roster of playable stars in this year's version. You'll have access to new match types like Elimination Tag, Captain Fall Tornado Six-Man Tag

- 5928 Dark Cloud 2

ЁК) Sony CEA * Winter 2002 * Also

JJ Оп: None The original Dark Cloud's claim to fame was the “Georama” system, which let you build towns based on what trea- sures you found in each dungeon. DC2 brings it back but allows even greater detail when rebuilding the villages you save.

Dark Cloud 2 also introduces an invention system, which means it's now up to you to create and use the best weapons and equipment in the game, rather than just buy- ing that more powerful sword or

and Slobber Knocker Anywhere. better armor.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 7 eme

Electronic Arts July 2002 Also On: GC, Xbox Whether it's the tenacious cat-and-mouse pursuits or the familiar power-sliding gameplay, it's clear EA has recaptured the same edge-of-your-seat chase action that made the original Hot Pursuit so much fun. Clever new features include a look-ahead camera that reveals what's happening up the road and another that rotates 360° around your ride.

Complete

Record

Current Ж

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 10 - egm.gamers.com

ne of the Ent The 2nd Runner

Konami * Spring 2003 * Also On: None We loved the first ZOE for its awesome visuals, inspired mech designs and excellent gameplay. But the game wasn't perfect —not by a stretch. When you weren't dishing out high-tech destruction in dense urban environ- ments, there were a lot of, well...pointless errands to run. ZOE2 gets rid of the boring in-between bits from the last game and pumps up the adrenaline with much more combat. “True, there was a lot of flying around in ZOE," concedes Noriaki Okamura, ZOE2's director and planner. "We've cut that out of ZOE2. This time, the drama unfolds through a consecutive series of battles." Set two years after the events of the previous game, ZOE2 will wrap up the saga of Jehuty and Anubis. All these names got you confused? Not to worry. With graphics this extravagant, who's got time to worry about some Gundam meets Evangelion storyline anyhow?

Konami ® Fall 2002 * Also On: None Eight years. Eight frickin’ years. That's how long we've had to wait for a "real" Contra, a series whose reputation has been tarnished by a couple of absolutely crap games on the PS1. What better way to save Contra than to bring back the team that made the original games such a success? A Herculean task, perhaps, but the developers are up to the job. All the signature Contra elements are here: two-player simultaneous run-and-gun action, a wide array of weapons, tons of bullet fodder and huge bosses. New to the series are special weapons you can charge up for more powerful effects, as well as a hit-percentage meter to track your path to total mastery of the game.

"| felt that the older Contra games were basically a collection of fun, but ultimately shallow, minigames," says Nobuya Nakazato, Shattered Soldiers director. “Even though the gameplay here is essentially 2D, the 3D graphics help make the game experience more seamless."

о -d Hit Rate.

PREVIEW GALLERY

b % PANIS SN MYSTERIOUS:

PlayStation.e

MATURE ; Violence sAPCOM Blood and Gore ESRB

“AN OLD SCHOOL IS A HAPPY SCHOOL” AWARD: SHINOBI

SHOW cB y Y es Who says you can’t get a nostalgic vibe from playing a fancy schmancy 3D game? ч Й | With Shinobi on the PS2, Sega was kickin’ it old school at Ез. Everything from the 1 c. E^ controls to the stylish character designs were spot-on—why, we wouldn't have it any other way. Also on the show floor was Contra: Shattered Soldier, a shining, PREVIEW redeeming 2D light in the beloved, but as of late, beleaguered shooter series.

GALLERY

The Sims OTT TS

Electronic Arts ® Fall 2002 * Also On: None Finally, the title that set the PC-gaming world on fire is making its way to the PlayStation 2. And what's more, it's making the leap with a couple new features not found in the other version. Things like exclusive furniture, a more detailed Create-a-Sim mode and a free-roaming camera are just a few.

And even though you won't be able to play online, The Sims PS2 will come complete with a multi- player mode. That's right—as if you didn't get enough of your deadbeat roommates in real life, now you can cohabitate with them in a virtual world as well. Or grab your wife, girlfriend, life-partner, whatever, and see if you can salvage your failed relationship on screen. And if that doesn't work, just take that memory card to someone else's PS2 and see if your Sims are compatible.

Harry Potter and the Chamher of Secrets

Electronic Arts November 2002 Also Оп: GC, Xbox Return to Hogwarts for a second term of magical mayhem as wizarding wunderkind Harry Potter. This Zelda-inspired adventure closely follows the thrilling plot of the superior second book/movie, so it should easily best last year's ho-hum PS1 romp. If you're hip to Harry's scene, you'll scream with glee for the improved Quidditch play, magic duels and gnome-bashing minigames. Of course, the labyrinthine castle corridors, bizarre magical sweets and unforgettable characters from the first game all reappear as well, so get ready for another Harry Potter-packed holiday season.

Mega Man X7

Capcom * TBD * Also On: None Shoot enemy robots, wall jump, dash, and mix it up with the Blue Bomber in this decidedly non-2D adventure. That's right, Mega

Man X has finally gone 3D!

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 12 - egm.gamers.com

PREVIEW GALLERY

Ubi Soft Spring 2003 Also On: GC Either Ubi knows some- thing we don't, or they're hoping that a Tiger game can stand on its own, three years post-movie. You get to play as any of the three main characters through the film's storyline. Swordplay is basic, but build up your Chi and you'll be rewarded with some treetop fighting.

MAGNIFICENT. f | / Р

{ #

4

nes Bond 007: NightFire

Electronic Arts ® Winter 2002 Also Оп: GC, Xbox From a zero-gravity space station to deep beneath the South Pacific, NightFire runs the gamut in its 10 levels. Similar to Agent Under Fire, clever spy gadgets, stealth sniping and car chases are the cornerstones of this Bond experience. The story and most characters are original, but Zoe Nightshade and a few others from Agent are back once again. In addition, Eurocom (the game's developer) has taken pains to make the animation— particularly the stealthy movements— more lifelike and believable.

Аисиѕт 28, 2002

PlayStation.

MATURE i Violence - im M [SEDI

“ы ==

PREVIEW GALLERY

Silent Hill 3

Konami * October 2002 *

Also On: None We know what you're thinkin': What the hell's going on in these pictures? Hey, it's Silent Hill.... The brief video we saw featured a little-girl protagonist who winds up in a messed-up alternate world during atrip to the mall—it’s your standard Silent Hill storyline.

The little scamp was wielding a submachine gun and taking on larger, more original enemies than the acid-spitting weirdos from SH2 in a cool new subway scenario. Sah-weet.

Konami * November 2002 * К Also On: None The 108 stars аге û back. That's a lot of characters! Suikoden IlI features a new twist called “the buddy system." It allows combatants to spread out strategically in battle, unlike the older games which restricted party members to two rows of short- and long-range specialists. Suikoden fans will be glad to know that despite the switch to 3D graphics (a first in the series), no drastic gameplay changes are planned. Another intriguing element is the new "Trinity Site System." This feature nearly triples the richness of the plot as it keeps you playing as one character up until a certain point. At this junction, you switch to another character, and the plot plays out through that person's eyes, and so on. But will the Trinity System tell the story through the eyes of a duck? Only time will tell.

Breath of Fire

Capcom ® Winter 2002 * Also On: None The Breath of Fire series moves into the new millennium with a visual makeover that can e ь. 3 only be described as stunning. зо, arem ies Essentially the fifth chapter in the = Д TS

series, BOF (working title) introduces a new “survival” element. No, the RPG series hasn’t gone all Resident Evil. The survival element allows gamers to choose whether they want to engage or avoid enemies. And once you've finished the game once, you can play through it again using your fully powered-up characters.

Wild Arms 3

Sony CEA * Fall 2002 * Also On: None Sony's finally decided to bring the third installment of this classic Western-themed RPG state- à side. Don't expect much innovation vH here— just solid RPG gameplay. ЫШ | niim

Virginia HP 403540

Electronic Gaming Monthly - M - egm.gamers.com

peer

——

PREVIEW GALLERY

Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven

Activision ® Winter 2002 * Also On: None With Shinobi,

Ninja Gaiden and now Tenchu 3 all just around the corner, it's

been nothing but ninja on the brains for us lately. Tenchu 3 takes place just after the events of the first game. (Tenchu 2 was actually a prequel to Tenchu 1.) Judging by the time we spent with the game, Tenchu 3 appears to be a true and proper evolution in this popular ninja-simulation series. What is easily most impressive is how the environments aren't just massive, they're also loaded with detail. The levels feel organic, with events unfolding differently depending on how you approached your goals. On the back end, Tenchu 3 also brings more depth to character development. By performing certain tasks, Rikimaru can now acquire new skills and “level-up” as players tiptoe their way through the game. True, Tenchu 3 may not look like much of a leap over the previous games. Just keep in mind that most of the improvements take place where it really pays off: the gameplay.

Red Faction Il

THQ * November 2002 * Also On: None The original Red Faction easily claimed the early PS2 first-person-shooter crown with its sharp graphics and deformable terrain. This year, the competition has gotten fiercer, and luckily, so has this innovative FPS. You want improvements? How about the new double-pistol

action, controllable vehicles, squad-based gameplay and improved Geo-Rama destructible-terrain system?

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MOST F’D UP IDEA: DAVE MIRRA BMX XXX

SHOW А لے | اسم‎ 3 Rare's foul-mouthed, scatological squirrel raised the bar for smut in Conker's BFD for the N64. Acclaim will be the next publisher to tackle the emerging genre of gross-out gaming with its next Dave Mirra title. We're not sure if gamers really

want a sports game packed with nudity, swearing and piles of poop, but if it takes off, Tony Hawk might have to show a little skin in his next outing to compete.

PREVIEW GALLERY

Konami November 2002 Also On: None It’s about time Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) landed on a system that wasn't on its last legs. DDRMax is the latest version of this rhythm-'n'-dance series, with more than 65 songs, full-motion-video backgrounds, and a new kind of move called Freeze Steps (shown in both of these screenshots), where you hold your foot on one direction on the dance-pad peripheral for multiple beats.

#

War of the Monsters

Sony CEA * Summer 2002 * = Also On: None Featuring 100- bought by THQ recently, Rainbow foot-high robots and monsters Studios (developer of the original reminiscent of those in cheesy sci-fi ATV Offroad Fury) is still behind the movies of the '50s and '6os, War of wheel of this sequel for Sony. the Monsters challenges you to ATV2 will offer more of the beat the crap out of the other offroad racing from the first game, creatures by body slamming, karate E including stadium-cross, check- ` kicking, or simply hurling them point races and a collection of across a crowded cityscape. Fight minigames. Only this time, you can one-on-one or up to four players in take the action online against up a chaotic battle royale. The game is to three other drivers over either being developed by the team broadband or 56k connections. behind Twisted Metal: Black.

ATV Offroad Fury 2

Sony CEA November 2002 Also On: None Despite being

RTX: Red Rock

LucasArts Spring 2003 ° Also On: GC— Never mind that his uniform makes him look like his shift just ended at Burger King, RTX’s Wheeler is actually a hi-tech soldier trying to boot an alien race off Earth's colony on Mars. His synthetic right arm is loaded with tools and weapons for the game's third-person stealth action and combat. Cooler still, Wheeler can control robots and send 'em out to take care of his dirty work.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 16 - egm.gamers.com

PREVIEW GALLERY

An Football 2003

EA Sports July 2002 * Also On: GC, Xbox Ram it up the middle until the defense begs for mercy, then fake 'em out of their cleats with a new Speed Option around the right flank for a long gain. Thanks to a greater variety of plays (like the Speed Option in the shotgun formation) and more tackle-breaking ability by the ball carriers, the running game in 2003 is anything but boring. For the coach in you, the Dynasty mode takes into account on-field performances, game attendance, and also lets you schedule neutral-site games. And hey, get an eye-full of those fighting mascots (right).

Dave Mirra BMK XXX

AKA Acclaim * October 2002 * Also On: GC, Xbox This inaugural title in Acclaim's new AKA (Athletes Kick Ass) series offers a new take on trick-based extreme sports: the inclusion of nasty, Mature- rated adult themes! That's right, now your favorite BMX superstars can curse like sailors, bleed profusely, and crash into gratuitous piles of dog poop. Expect some radical panty shots and realistic breast physics for the female riders.

by Full Sail Student Brian Germain

Real World Education

Game Design Computer Animation Digital Media

Film

Audio

Show Production

www. fullsail.com

3300 University Boulevard Winter Park, FL 32792

©2001 Full Sail, Inc. All rights reserved. The terms "Full Sail" “Full Sail Real World Education,” and the Full Sail logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Full Sail, Inc.

WHO АВЕ THESE PEOPLE?

< REBECCA CHAMBERS ө Bravo Team's pipsqueak is more of a badass than she was

^.

BILLY COEN e Described as a "mysterious drifter,” Coen is a framed convict and former Navy officer.

in RE1. After surviving her team’s chopper МЕ crash (you glimpse its wreckage іп RE's intro), J, she boards a train and runs into this guy...

SU |

Ер

Сарсот

Сарсот

1

EXC survival Horror 60%

Fall 2002

LX HN None www.capcom.com Revamped “Zapping”

Capcom claims REQ packs the best graphics ever. Eye these shots, then debate the Unc at your local teen center. | " m

system lets you flip between the two main characters on the fly.

Putz around too long

with one character and the other one'll wind up zombie food.

Rebecca's plushy tush

is still...er...plus-sized. Oh wait-we actually kinda like that.

BACK ТО BASICS

AE-Fried Frights

ШИШИ AL

Not long after you survive the horrors of Resident Evil ø this fall, you'll get a triple threat of terror in the form of three more GameCube RE games: RE2, RE3: Nemesis and RE Code: Veronica, all due this winter. Don't expect any of the souped-up visuals seen in the first two 'Cube RE titles, nor any gameplay tweaks or goodies. These are straight-up ports. *Not one polygon will be added,” jokes Producer Minami. But before you cry “rehash,” keep in mind that all three games will sell at budget prices —likely $20 a pop. The big idea, says Capcom, is so 'Cube RE neophytes can bone up on the series before the arrival of REZ, which will be *beyond gamers' imaginations," according to its producer.

esident Evil games have dragged us kicking and screaming through houses of horror, a besieged police station, freaked-out labs and a reeking city crawling with the recently deceased. And now that the series is stepping into the wayback machine with Resident Evil Ø, a GameCube-exclusive Evil prequel, we're getting our newest survival-horror fix aboard a...whazzat? A choo-choo? "The train is only one of the stages in the game," Tatsuya Minami, producer for Resident Evil Ø, says of the boxcar environments that we've

always associated with this title.

Turns out that the two main characters —spunky S.T.A.R.S. Bravo teammate Rebecca Chambers and series new guy Billy Coen wander through several other nightmarish areas as they play out the 1998 events leading up to the original Resident Evil. But what's much niftier is what this duo can do in these environments. For the first time ever in an RE title, you can switch between the principal players at the flick of a button or have them fight side by side if they're in the same room. Minami calls it the

Monster's ball: Resident Evil Ø may be a series prequel, but it still packs the usual crew of undead nogoodniks (rotting dogs and zombies, above) and mutant hooligans (the green-skinned Hunter, above left). They're all trickier to take on in the train level's tight spaces. Fleet- footed Crimson Head zombies, who debuted in the 'Cube RE remake, are absent for now, but we're told they might still make it to the party. Bosses, such as ol' scorpion king to the left, will be as over-the-top as ever.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 18 - egm.gamers.com

Stay Together!

Get Rebecca and Billy in the same room and you can

control 'em simultaneously (the C stick moves the other

M

| character), or press Z to

\

make the inactive character follow. Your partner will fight alongside you as long as he/she has ammo. Unfortunately, no two-player co-op mode is planned.

Tap X to jump to the other character’s location. Time still passes for the inactive partner, so never leave = him/her alone in a zombie- Р. filled room, or you'll hear a scream and return to a bad scene (see below). It’s game over if either character dies.

mew

21

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“Partner Zapping” system, and it makes for puzzle possibilities you just didn’t see in past REs. For instance, we used Billy to hit a switch that opened a door near Rebecca, letting her enter a new area when we zapped back to her location. In another section, we had Billy use a dumbwaiter to send health herbs up to Rebecca on a higher floor.

And that brings us to the other big gameplay twist: Item crates—which in past games were the only places you could dump gear—are now extinct. “You might question what happens when your inventory is full,” Minami says. “In that case, you can drop off an item anywhere.” Items remain on the floor until you pick them up again. Other REO features are mostly tweaks resurrected from past Evil games. The head-stomp move, which brings eternal rest to zombies gnawing at your feet, makes

Evil fans whose brains haven’t been rotted by diet soda will remember that Capcom unveiled RE@ way back in April 2000—for the Nintendo 64. But with that system sinking, the game skulked back into development only to re- emerge on GameCube with the same settings and character-switching twist. Can you tell

| which version is which in these screens?*

| | | |

а welcome return. But Minami said it's too early to say if the defensive weapons from the GameCube RE1 will make it into this game. Curious status- screen partner-A.l. settings such as “Back-up” and "Act Alone" have yet to be explained, as well.

But one thing's clear from these shots: REQ packs the same madeover backgrounds that defined the first 'Cube game. In fact, the environments here are even spiffier, with more animated bits and creepier lighting and shadow effects. This is one train you'll want to catch at nigh Crispin Boyer

The dishes are, done, man!

BEST BOOTH: NINTENDO

From the moment we laid eyes on Nintendo’s booth, we knew it was the one. Images of Mario, Link and Samus beckoned us forth into its friendly confines. Inside, if you could manage to wade

3 through the crowds, you couldn't step five feet without bumping

PREVIEW into another of Nintendo's “Game Giants." Everywhere you turned,

GALLERY there was something worth a look: Mario, Zelda, a half dozen new GBA titles, demos of the GBA/GC connection and more. Solid.

Mario Party 4

Nintendo Oct. 28, 2002 Also On: None Video gaming's premier party-game franchise is back, with sharper graphics and 50 all-new events that are sure to give your GameCube controller its biggest workout since Super Smash Bros. Melee.

The early demo of MP4 we tested showed the gameplay hasn't changed much from its Nintendo 64 predecessors. Of course, you'll get new boards and minigames, but you basically play MP4 like you've played the others: Roll a die, move your character around the board, then beat your opponents by being the better butt stomper, button masher or coin collector. Some of the new games drew lots of shrieks and laughter from participants at E3, like one where players are sitting inside a giant storybook while pages turn to crush them (you have to find the cut-out holes to make it past the collapsing pages).

ерыла BAN PEA

Giant Mario, courtesy of magic

g mushrooms, gets to access areas image. Here, Mario resorts to gam- of the board that others can't. bling to get ahead of the competition.

Project BGaE

Ubi Soft Spring 2003 Also On: PS2, Xbox BG&E's unique, blatantly European styling made it one of the sexiest games on the E3 show floor. Rayman creator Michel Ancel is the main designer behind this action-adventure, but the game feels very different from any of the three titles starring Ubi’s disjointed mascot.

Much of the game involves exploring the overworld in a flying ship/hovercraft, but we also watched a cool “battle” with the fishy worm shown in the main screen at right. It had the heroine taking shots of, not at, the odd creature. According to the story, the young girl is recruited to gather information on a slew of strange life-forms—by photographing them. The complex storyline unfolds around her burgeoning special abilities and their connec- tion with a government conspiracy.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 80 - egm.gamers.com

Pua

PREVIEW GALLERY

Nintendo ° November 11, 2002 Also On: None When Wario turns his back for a minute to get some shut-eye, a mysterious black jewel turns his riches into monsters. So he sets out to get his dough back the only way he knows how—by kicking monster Нету, arcade beat-'em-up style. And because sometimes feet and fists just aren't enough, he can pick up background objects or other enemies and use them as weapons.

ow

ON

b. X

Haven: Call of the King

Midway * November 2002 * Also On: PS2, Xbox Developer

Traveller's Tales has been secretly polishing Haven for years, and the results reflect the effort. This young hero does more than just hop ’n’ bop—Haven steers massive ships, mans tank turrets, races cars, and even explores space. In fact, you can hop in a plane and zoom from a grassy field into orbit around the planet...seamlessly.

F-Zero

Nintendo March 2003 * Also on: Arcade Captain Falcon and the F-Zero racers are back, heading to both the arcade (via Nintendo, Sega and Namco's jointly developed Tri-Force arcade board) and the GameCube. The twist is that Nintendo is collaborating with Sega's internal dev team (and Super Monkey Ball maestros), Amuse- ment Vision, on the new F-Zero game. According to AV President Toshihiro Nagoshi, redesigns are in the works for both characters and ships, bringing the futuristic-racer series up to speed, visually, with games like Wipeout. ` When asked if guests of a simian nature might make an appearance, Nagoshi said with a smile, “No comment."

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 82 - egm.gamers.com

©

PREVIEW GALLERY

BEST GRAPHICS: METROID PRIME

Re-creating the dense, xenophobic atmosphere of Metroid is no small task, which is why Retro Studios completely blew us away with Metroid Prime. The E3 demo took place on an abandoned space station teeming with all sorts of detail such as pipes, cables, damaged hallways and oh, the occasional alien life-form.

Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO

Capcom ® Fall 2002 * Also On: None Fighter fans may not even need a decent joystick to play CVS2 on the GameCube. In an effort to make this complicated brawler more appealing to less-experienced audiences, Capcom has mapped special and super moves to a flick of the C-stick. Better than wrestling with the tiny D-pad, no? Expect the same 40+ fighter roster and slick 2D gameplay, just in a nicer visual package.

s Dungeons & Dragons Heroes

Infogrames ® Fall 2002 * Also On: PS2, Xbox Don't expect any sort of hardcore, turn-based RPG action here. Heroes is strictly an action affair with D&D elements like weapon upgrades and "authentic" monsters. Basically, it's like Baldur's Gate (PS2). The big thing Heroes has going for it, though, is a four-player option. As we all know, slaying Orcs is always better with a few buddies.

1080": White Storm

Nintendo March 2003 Also On: None White Storm is now being developed internally at Nintendo and not by a third-party developer as originally planned. The big N is crafting this sequel with a realistic appearance paired with intuitive controls and a hefty trick library. Play modes include Match Race, Trick Attack and half- pipe competitions (to name a few). Players are challenged by sudden pathway-exposing rock-slides and avalanches as well.

Aquaman: Ваше For Atlantis

TDK Mediactive Fall 2002 Also On: Xbox— Between his cybernetic hook hand and ability to talk to fish, Aquaman probably couldn't get much work outside of guarding Atlantis. But it's an exciting job, so this

| underwater action-brawler follows the life of the mulleted mariner. First-

and third-person perspectives accommodate fighting, sub driving and directing your gilled allies to defend the city from the evil Ocean Master.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 84 - egm.gamers.com

Метогу

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Software

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Grand Theft Auto III ьѕрс Ghost Recon хвох

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PREVIEW

| Konami Konami CEJ

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November 2002

PlayStation 2 (2003)

www.konami.com

This is basically

MGS2: The Director's Cut.

The story for Sons of Liberty remains unchanged.

{An TH Solid Snake bustin’ a 360° frontside off a quarter pipe on Big Shell.

| | In an apparent effortto not | take himself too seriously,

| series creator Hideo Kojima

| has included a stand-alone

| skateboarding minigame in

| MGSz: Substance.

| We're sure you've got a lot

| ofquestions...hell, so do we.

| All we know is that the

| minigame is using the same

| engine as Konami's

| upcoming Evolution skate-

| boarding title, in which

| Snakealso makesa cameo. | | What's next, a Grand Theft

| Auto Ill-style crime orgy

| starring Solid Snake?

x

o matter which side of the fence you're on when it comes to Metal Gear Solid 2 as a story, there is no doubting the integrity of it as a topnotch stealthy action game. For its follow-up Xbox debut, MGS2: Substance, series

olid 2:

creator Hideo Kojima puts plot on the backburner to focus on pure gameplay. Kojima prefers to see Substance as the perfect version of MGS2. "It's a director's cut,” he says, “that can only be done in a game medium. It fills in what was missing from Sons of Liberty." So does this mean that we'll finally get an ending movie that's more than just some tourist video of Manhattan during rush hour? Well, probably not. But what you do get is the ability to play as Snake throughout the main story, as well as more than 300 combined VR and alternate missions to chew on. Below, EGM looks under the kevlar of MGS2: Substance to expose all the pieces and show you just why the total package is so...substantial.

Sons of Liberty:

Kojima considers the original Sons of Liberty adventure a "skeleton on which the rest of Substance is built." In addition to playing the

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 86 - egm.gamers.com

УшьУђЈпсе

Hideo “god of all things Metal Gear" Kojima was partially inspired to dub the latest version of MGS2 “Substance” by '7os British punk band Joy Division’s best-tunes compilation entitled Substance 1977-1980. Good taste breeds good taste, we tell ya.

original PS2 version of Sons of Liberty, you'll also have the option to use Snake, Raiden, Plisskin or Ninja throughout the game, wielding any weapon you like. "Although the story of Sons of Liberty will not change, we have rerecorded some dialogue specifically for Substance," reveals Kojima. Now, before you get too excited about new perspectives on the convoluted storyline through the eyes of these new characters, our sources tell us that the substitutions here are purely cosmetic.

VR Missions:

You've seen these self-contained virtual-reality environments before when they were released as an addendum to the first MGS on the PS1; now, of course, they look much better. According to Kojima, he couldn't introduce VR missions before Substance because "the whole scenario of Raiden on the Big Shell was a VR mission." While some of the 200 VR stages train you in combat and stealth, others will be much more wacky and over-the-top. One such mission, involving two massive Godzilla-sized Genom soldiers (complete with scales) tromping around a VR city, while a tiny Solid Snake looks on helplessly, suggests that Kojima and company will, once again, redefine the very definition of a Metal

Kojima deconstructs MGS2 by liberating the gameplay from the story. "Since MGS2 was story-oriented, there were items like the C4 bomb that you didn't have to use," he tells us. “Sons of Liberty is incomplete іп the sense that there were things you couldn't do because of story limitations. That's why we came up with Substance. This is what MGS2 should be."

Gear game. Another welcome feature during VR training is the ability to now move and shoot at the same time in first-person view. Kojima lets on that during lunch breaks, his staff plays a mean game of Counter-Strike, a popular first-person shooter on the PC. "But 1 get motion sickness,” he says regrettably, "so | can't join them." Aww, shucks.

Alternate Missions:

In addition to the VR missions, which all take place in that funky, pink, cel-shaded computer world, Substance also has 100 alternate missions set in the “real world" of MGS2. Characters, goals and items are taken out of context, remixed and reassembled for maximum gameplay potential. During one scene, Snake even has a Mexican standoff with Meryl Silverberg, the femme fatale from MGS1. Nice.

Snake Tales:

Five unique short stories, an obvious lip service to all those who have complained about Snake's extended absence in MGS2, rounds off the package of Substance. Starring Solid Snake, these medium- length missions all take place in environments from the last game. We have to admit, Snake Tales has us pretty damn intrigued. E d —Che Chou

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 87 - egm.gamers.com

Tuxedos and mullets don't usually go hand-in-hand, but

in Snake's case, we'll make

an exception. Like the tux in MGS (PS1), Snake can slip on these slick duds in any of the modes included on Substance. If you're feeling especially nostalgic, the game even lets you break out the old skin suit from MGS. Also making a return from the first MGS as an enemy is the Arctic version of the Genom Soldier, complete with FA-MAS assault rifle. Kojima is still undecided whether he should include a birthday-suit Raiden outfit for all tha ladies in da house!

While series creator Hideo Kojima was tightlipped about Metal Gear Solid 3, he did say that his team was currently researching possibilities for an online Metal Gear title. *We're looking at the technology that's required for a good online experience," says Kojima. *My staff has been playing games online during lunch hour. We're noting qualities about online games that make them more fun than just playing the CPU. The problem is, they're enjoying it too much and are forgetting to do their research home- work!" So what game has team MGS so addicted? Why, Counter-Strike, of course.

PREVIEW

Namco Namco 1

| Action

| ШЕ 90% СТИ uly 2002

ВИЙ Ps2 (Winter 2002) Jl www.deadtorights.com

The Good: DTR features a myriad of ways to punish the wicked, with or without your dog.

[EA Poor Jack Slate gets framed for a crime he didn’t commit

L A clown's head used to paint the sidewalk a crimson hue.

| If there's one feature Dead to Rights uses that gamers might find familiar, it will be the adrenaline-meter (the yellow line under Jack's health bar) move. This action is exactly like Max Payne's Bullet-Time.

In case you're uninitiated in the ways of Payne, the Bullet-Time/adrenaline

| meter functions like this:

| Activating the adrenaline

| makes things go into slow motion, enabling Jack Slate

| totarget enemies at normal speeds while the bad guys stumble along like lead-

| eating pincushions.

While this may seem like

| more than a coincidence, Dead to Rights has actually been in development longer than Max Payne and had the | feature in from day one. |

Ithough comparisons to other crime-related,

action-intensive games like Rockstar's Grand

Theft Auto 111 and Max Payne are inevitable,

Namco's Dead to Rights has a lot more up its sleeve than is readily apparent. Yes, it is a hyper- violent video game where much blood is spilled. But the multitude of ways in which you spill this blood is what sets DTR apart.

A plot-driven noir (defined as a crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak, sleazy settings), Dead to Rights tells the tale of Jack Slate, a police officer working the streets of Grant City. His father, a private investigator, is brutally murdered, and Jack— conveniently—is the officer called to the scene. Riding the precarious wave

nic Gaming Monthly - 88 - egm

A human shield is fun for the whole family. Get one today and those pesky bullets are a thing of the past.

shifting between civic duty and the instinctive personal quest for vengeance, Jack decides to circumvent the red tape and take matters into his own hands. Sadly, Jack plays the puppet to a mysterious figure's devious plot and is framed for murder. Subsequently, he is tried and found guilty, with a sentence of death by electric chair. Not a good way to start a video game, is it? Fear not for our hero! In no time flat, Jack escapes from Grant City's Iron Point Penitentiary and sets off to find his father's killers. And that's where the fun begins.

Unlike Grand Theft Auto's car-heavy focus or Max Payne's one-note gameplay, Dead to Rights puts the emphasis on heavy arms and hand-to-hand combat. The arsenal comes in the form of whatever firearms Jack can liberate from the thugs in the game. Pistols (single- or John Woo double-fisted), rifles, machine guns, shotguns and more can be yours at virtually no cost. The resulting chaos is a (cliché

Whether Jack is jacking some fool or putting his woman to work, DTR never lacks variety. It's the spice of life, some say.

gamers.com

Editors Shoe and Greg Sewart got to see the video of MGS2: Substance a day before the rest of the staff, and boy, did they have fun telling everyone about "Solid Skate" (see pg. 86), knowing no one would believe them. They reveled in their "victory" the next day, when the rest of EGM learned that “Metal Gear Solid Skateboarding" was indeed real.

approaching...) bullet ballet that plays out in environments as diverse as graveyards, office buildings and Chinatown locales. The hand-to-hand combat appears in certain areas and plays like Tekken Force mode from Namco's own Tekken 3 (punch, kick, throw many, many guys).

Owing more to gangster films than any other video game before it, Dead to Rights takes its influences from a broad selection of classic-crime cinema. “Hong Kong action films have the sort of fast-paced upbeat action that we've been aiming for,” says Mike Lescault, ОТА” senior producer. "Movies like Hard Boiled, Payback, A Better Tomorrow and The Replacement Killers are good examples of films that capture the brilliant gunplay and flawless hand-to-hand combat that we present in Dead to Rights."

You have something in your teeth right...here!

Bold words for sure, but ones that are backed by substantial gameplay. Yes, Jack can fire any weapon he picks up, but he also has other ways of disarming the goons he meets, like breaking necks, snapping spines, kicking a guy into the air, then filling him with lead. It sounds intimidating, but these disarm

—Senior producer Mike Lescault

moves can be done with the simple press of a button. How long you hold it down for and from what direction you attack your target dictates which animation you'll experience.

So for Xbox owners upset that the Grand Theft Auto series will remain PlayStation 2-exclusive, Namco hopes that Dead to Rights (Xbox-exclusive for three months) makes that an easier pill to swallow. After all, it's not every game that lets you deal out deadly dirt naps with such impunity. я

—James “Milkman” Mielke

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 89 - egm.gamers.com

If enemy gunfire has got you down, Shadow’s around! Send the husky to attack the nearest enemy and let him pooch the bad guy’s weapon for you. Thankfully (PETA alert!), Shadow himself never comes to any harm, making him a very valuable ally.

I

PREVIEW

Smilebit.

Panzer Dragoon

The soundtracks of the previous Panzer games were integral (in tandem with the graphics) in shaping the series’ moody, evocative style. For Orta, Smilebit brought back the original composers to again score the soothing techno-symphonies that accompany the rider and her dragon in flight.

Sega Smilebit

1

Shooter

75%

October 2002

www.panzer-dragoon.com

The dragon returns, better than ever and bearing a babe on his back.

It's no Saga RPG, though. Моге of a Zwei-shooter kind of thing.

Cleaning up the stall where the dragon does its business.

The first two Sega Saturn Panzer Dragoon games were simple shooters that offered a limited selection of three different attacks: regular shots, lock-on lasers and berserk barrages. EGM has discovered that Orta adds a new, close-range attack to the offensive mix. We asked Orta's project leader, Akihiko Mukaiyama (above left), if this new move is a dragon bite of some sort. “It’s not as primitive as that," Mukaiyama notes. “It’s actually a bit more sophisti- cated. The dragon has a close-range attack, but we're not ready to reveal exactly what it is."

Intrigued by our revelation, Smilebit director Takayuki Kawagoe (above right) asked us, “So...how did you discover this secret anyway?" We heard it on the wind, buddy. We heard it on the wind.

BEST IN Ü

Meet Orta, the heroine of the new Panzer game. She is, in fact, the first female dragon-rider in the series.

Nothing says “I love you" like a lock-on laser to the face, which is exactly what these naughty minions are getting.

anzer Dragoon is back. The series, for those

who never owned a Sega Saturn, is famous

for its simple premise (it's a 3D shooter) and

stunning execution (stylized graphics, techno- organic enemies, lavish soundtrack, etc.). Now the legend, which was originally to have ended with the Saturn RPG Panzer Dragoon Saga, continues with an all-new hero(ine): a young girl known as Orta who's ready to ride the dragon into battle against an oppressive empire.

But don't get your hopes up—Orta does not follow its predecessor's role-playing path. Instead, PDO returns to the series' roots and models itself after the straightforward on-rails-shooting action of Panzer Dragoon Zwei (the second game). For the

diehard few who were hoping for a new Saga, project leader Akihiko Mukaiyama had this to say: "We are picking up where Saga's story left off. It's the dawn of a new era, but characters from Saga will return." Happily, the classic Panzer control scheme (with slight modifications) returns as well.

To help illustrate the Orta gameplay experience, enjoy this scene: You look behind you to see a huge, house-sized skeletal boss who is galloping along on all fours. As he rushes up on your six, you squeeze off a couple shots from Orta's gun, but they ricochet off his bone-plate skull. You veer to the left and hit the brakes (in this case, “reins”), allowing your nemesis to rush past. You spin the camera around to now face forward. Targeting the soft, fleshy backside of his now-exposed noggin, your dragon ride unleashes a fusillade of lock-on lasers, putting a well-deserved hurtin’ on your foe.

Still, as fun as the game is, the thing that will draw most gamers to Orta is its jaw-dropping visuals. Whether you're flying past swirling cyclones, dogfighting with squadrons of bio-organic warships, or going head-to-head with enormous battle- cruisers, Orta is always a looker. Smilebit hopes that the unlockable sub-quests (which let you see the story from the perspective of the bad guys) and the branching-path system borrowed from Zwei (letting you choose your own routes through the game each time you play) will inspire repeated fights with the evil empire. Ll —James “Milkman” Mielke

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 90 - egm.gamers.com

HE WAS UNDEFEATED.

HOW WILL YOU CARRY ON HIS LEGACY?

BRUCE LEE

QUEST OF THE DRAGON

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Ж хеох З Е | BRUCE LEE

QUEST OFTHE DI y

For the first time ever, you can fight as the one and only Bruce Lee. In Quest of the Dragon, motion capture technology authentically recreates more than one hundred of Bruce's Jeet Kune Do moves. Designed exclusively for Xbox, it's an action-packed fighting game where you'll battle hordes of thugs in an epic struggle for survival. Get ready for a fight of legendary proportion.

Suggestive Themes UNIVERSAL

Violence ХР UNIVERSALINTERACTIVECOM INTERACTIVE RONIN

Who's behind this time-bending feline? Say hello to Artoon, a Japanese team formed by Yoji Ishii and Naoto | Ohshima, ex-Sega Sonic Team members. Prior to Blinx, | they released Pinobee for the Game Boy Advance. |

PREVIEW

- BEST IN | SHOW

Microsoft | Artoon

1

Action

66%

Fall 2002

None

ШШ www.xbox.com Check out the gleaming vacuum and

the giant smile. Is Blinx just a happy-go-lucky dude, or has he been free-basing the catnip again?

1000 | Innovative time- manipulation power-ups allow you to pull off some amazing moves. The Bat: Blinx isn't exactly fleet of foot. Sonic he ain't.

You can unleash time effects on the fly, so if you want to freeze those blobby monsters and blast away, use Pause.

And Th When Blinx coughs up a temporal hairball.

ver since a certain brave plumber risked it all to rescue a kidnapped princess in the Mushroom Kingdom, hopeful blue-collar workers keep a watchful eye open for a shot at heroism. Blinx the cat gets his chance to shine when

Blinx’s gameplay borrows elements from Mario 64, Luigi's Mansion and Crash Bandicoot to create а solid romp of vacuuming fun. You'll guide the crafty chrono-cat through 40+ stages of action, including snowy villages, dank caves and trippy MC Escher-

this frisky feline janitor (oops...we mean Time Sweeper. Sorry.) embarks on a journey to free his own damsel in distress. Armed with only his T51000 Time Sweeper (read: vacuum), he must find the girl, squash the Time Monsters that imprisoned her, and repair the nasty temporal glitches they created.

At first glance, Blinx might appear to be standard hop-’n’-bop fare, but this cat’s Time Sweeper (with some help from the Xbox hard drive) dishes out some innovative temporal effects (see below). These creative tricks really invite experimentation. "You could watch someone else play Blinx and do something completely different from what you did," says Ed Fries, VP of Xbox game content. "You may go, ‘Why didn't | think of that?”

inspired areas. Throughout, you'll be using the TS1000 to gather time crystals, blast enemies and slurp up garbage. Picking up extra refuse isn't merely good for the planet—you'll net extra cash for upgrading your vacuum. Hey, if a flame-spraying Hoover works for Luigi, why not for this cat, too? So, is Blinx the new mascot for the Xbox? His likable Cheshire-like grin and snazzy attire surely make him more presentable than the oozing Oddworld boys, but Microsoft isn't really interested in having a character spokesman. “Рт not a big fan of the whole mascot idea, personally," Fries says. "| just want to make games, and having great characters is just part of making games." E —Shane Bettenhausen

When Blinx sucks the correct mix of time crystals into his vacuum, he can unleash a spectacular time-altering effect. The recipes for each temporal blitz change each time you play, but proper blends make Fast Forward, Rewind, Slow Motion, Pause and Record. The first four effects can save Blinx's tail in a pinch, but Record is special —you can create a doppelganger of your actions that fights with you. For example, Blinx can have his recorded double launch him from a catapult over a wall.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 92 - egm.gamers.com

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КОЛЫ BSI BL access over a thousand powerful creatures and spells. All different. All deadly.

And every year, hundreds more are added to the arsenal.

Magic® Online: Second to none.

OEAOLIEGY STRATEGIES MOST COMPETITION BEST REWAROS

3

2 E tarp \ Get the game free: Mtgonline.com “М,

че 2 ۴ "ES HOTTEST BOOTH BABES: TECMO

4 A If there’s one thing to relieve the sore eyes of an editor at E3, it’s the plethora Р ^ ¥2 "^ | of booth babes that most companies hire to attract attention. Now, we here at p ` | ү EGM don't usually go for that sort of applesauce, but when pressed to pick а | clear victor among the hordes of enhanced hostesses, we give the nod to Тесто, PREVIEW P i AU RC who, for the second year straight, destroyed all comers with their fine selection

GALLERY PIS of Dead or Alive-themed ladyfighters. Want more? Check www.e3girls.com.

Tecmo Spring 2003 Also Оп: None Last appearing (in non- Dead or Alive form) on the Super Nintendo via Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Ё Ryu Hayabusa is, after seven years, back on the block in his own solo adventure. Developed by Dead or Alive’s Team Ninja, Gaiden is a 3D action-adventure that places a high Ё priority on combat and plays alot | like Devil May Cry, only with Ryu’s hot ninja action replacing Devil’s daring Dante. The game (which takes place shortly before the events of DOA3) may draw visual comparisons to Tecmo’s fighting series, but Team Ninja President Tomonobu Itagaki assures us that the game runs on an entirely new game engine.

Whether Ryu is dueling with enemy ninjas in sword-to-sword combat, throwing razor-sharp shu- rikens, or taking down huge boss monsters, the ninja style is in full effect. “| want to show the action. the coolness of a ninja's attacks," Itagaki says. “Gaiden will have traditional Japanese environments, but you will also see futuristic robots and settings.” Itagaki also notes, reassuringly, that classic old-school Ninja Gaiden elements will appear throughout the game. Sob! 2003 seems so far away!

Dead or Alive: Ktreme Beach Volleyball

Тесто ® October 2002 ® Also On: None In an inspired move, Tecmo's Team Ninja cuts to the chase and shows Xbox owners what they want to see: massively bosomed battle babes bare-handing balls on the beach.

Most of the girls packed light, thinking they were arriving on this island (Zack Island) to participate in the fourth DOA tournament— not to play volleyball. But thanks to the 100-plus bathing suits you can buy, a new outfit is only a one-stop shop away! You can purchase other nifty items, like sunblock or suntan oil. The girls get naturally darker the longer they spend in the sun, but a little oil never hurts.

To add variety, courts are spread out over beaches, mountains and other exotic island locales, where you can play night matches provided you purchase the tiki torches required for lighting. Other innovative features are included, but most significant is the addition of new characters, some of whom will appear in future Dead or Alive games. Е iii

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 94 - egm.gamers.com

е Wired, a gutsy WWII fighter pilot 4943. Your plane is shot | down 3 вт i PIS of bullets, an E of light carries you to a ше hyperspac е World Where

etrable jung e erein апа Utüristic cityScapes.

Aided only by a bizarre emily timepiece «a beat iful girl; ай реу of raw $5 you must È Е sense of the senseles$—before Eo runs outa

| к. Ч "7

CAPCOM ENTERTAINMENT, INC. s 8 DINE СА. 9,

© CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2002 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2002. ALL RIGHTS ВЕ SAP LOGO are trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. DINO STALKER is a trademark of CAPCOM С

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MATURE

Blood

The ratings. registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Violence Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. CONTENT RATED BY СОМСОМ"? & © 2000 NAMCO LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ESRB

COOLEST PERIPHERAL: STEEL BATTALION CONTROLLER

The winner is the 40-buttoned, two-sticked, three-pedaled behemoth of a Steel Battalion controller. When our editors got to use this huge Xbox peripheral for the first time, the most common words heard were “holy %#&@!” followed by a vow to buy this contraption no matter what the cost.

IF

PREVIEW GALLERY

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ©

Universal Interactive ® Fall 2002 * Also On: PS2 Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf will all be playable in this action-adventure take on the latest geeky craze. Each of Tolkien's characters uses "Spirit Points," which work a little like magic, to perform attacks and special actions. Players can also use a separate bank of runes for healing and to aid in combat. To keep the game rooted in the original story, party members join up with you at locations and in ways consistent with the book. Fans can expect lots of familiar references, but the vast, richly detailed environments also provide for lots of exploration and non-scripted gameplay.

Duality

Phantagram * Winter 2002 * Also On: None An impressive surprise at E3, Duality’s got some major booty-kick potential. Play as three different personas: hacker, mercenary and "virtual being" (think Neo in Matrix), and experience three different adventures in a world inspired by the classic cyberpunk novel Neuromancer. Third-person action, sharp visuals and role-playing elements round out this cool-looking title.

WWE Raw 2

THQ * March 2003 * Also On: None Since WWF Raw got flack for its slow-as-molasses wrestlers and overall lack of features, Anchor (the developer) is busy creating all kinds of new options and match types for Raw 2. They include Fatal 4 Way, King of the Ring, Hell in a Cell and several more. Another feature allows up to four players to experience a full season of body-slamming, sack-punchin' fun.

BAR E

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 96 - egm.gamers.com

if f www.conspiracygames.co

воо оо 2 دا‎ Violence XBOX хвох

2002 Vivendi Universal Games. All rights reserved. 2002 Conspiracy Entertainment Corp. ©2002 Starbreeze Studios AB/licensed by Swing! Entertainment Media AG. The ratings icon is a trademark of ifie'Interactive Digital Software Association. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft.

«Әг-еҥе<=з ENTERTAINMENT www conspiacygames com

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Cute action games starring cuddly critters are a dime-a-dozen, but Blinx offers a time-warping gameplay twist that's only possible

using the power of the Xbox. When Blinx uses his time crystals to do effects like Rewind and Record, the game taps the built-in hard drive to display exactly what you had previously done, TiVo-style.

Microsoft 2003 Also On: None The goal of this ludicrously epic action-RPG is to find out who kidnapped your folks and killed your pooch (no, really). Along the way, your character will wither with age, sprout muscles if he wields big weapons, fuss with daily chores like shaving, and even influence the next generation of adventurers. "You could go into a town and see kids idolizing you by getting your same hairstyle," says Peter Molyneux, managing director of Lionhead Studios (satellite studio Big Blue Box is making Project Ego). “It makes you feel like a hero. That's the point of this game." Subquests have you doing everything from hunting werewolves, to escaping a dungeon (you only get one chance a year—screw up and you'll get old quick), to finding a gal and settling down. Be warned, though: This game won't let you linger. ^We have to think of ways to encourage you to continue the quest and be a hero," Molyneux says, "so that may mean we have to kill your family off." No release has been set other than "when it's ready" sometime next year.

Tao Feng: : 22 Б Fiery Phoenix

Microsoft Spring 2003 * Also On: None John Tobias, one of Mortal Kombat’s original co-creators, is at the helm of a new 3D fighter. His project, Tao Feng, boasts huge, go-anywhere environments, like Dead or Alive 3 but with more stuff to do. (“If you can see it, you can go there and interact with it," Tobias tells us.) You can also damage individual

Eidos Fall 2002 * Also On: PS2 Some people like to blast everything in sight. Others do it with more style. Hitman 2 is a shooter that emphasizes stealth and technique over mindless action (hey, you're a "silent assassin," not a space marine). For example, you'll have to figure out how to infiltrate a drug lord's heavily guarded estate, then take out Mr. Scarface without alerting every bodyguard within earshot.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 98 - egm.gamers.com

IF YOU BOUGHT ALL THESE GAMES, IT WOULD COST ABOUT

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STAR WARS ЛИПА

WHY NOT TRY THEM ALL FIRST IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE FOR LESS THAN

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PREVIEW GALLERY

Nintendo Winter 2002 Nintendo's lil’ pink puffball hero follows up his animated debut on Fox this fall and his role in Smash Bros. Melee with a new game on GBA. Simply called Kirby for now, this adventure in Dreamland will tread familiar territory. Kirby sucks in the powers of the enemies he en- counters and throws it right back at 'em.

Contra

Konami * November 2002 Although it's based on the classic Super Nintendo game Contra Ill, Advance will include a few never- before-seen levels for e c рт hardcore fans to sink their | 2" " : - тыт teeth into. And what's t : more, two-player simultaneous-shooting action will return through the use of the Link Cable.

Olden Sun: The Lost Age

Nintendo * Winter 2002 The Lost Age will start right where the original Golden Sun left off, with Isaac and friends striving to release the power of alchemy in order to save the world. Customize the fighting style of your party and solve various Psynergy-based puzzles throughout the game by collecting even more Djinn and learning their powers.

в-туре Ill: The Third

Phantagram ® August 2002 Much salivating ensued after EGM discovered the Super Nintendo version of R-Type is coming to the GBA. A direct port, this classic side-scrolling shooter has under- gone a graphic overhaul and now supports six different languages (you know, for all those Deutsch friends you have), but thankfully it is still the R-type you played and loved back in the day.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 100 - egm.gamers.com

п Stage Entertainment,

RATING PENDING

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

Visit www.esrb.org

or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info.

DREAM STAG

entertainment

fo www.thq.com

Fight zombies, vampires and ghouls on your own as Attack 20 types of creatures in swarms of up to 30 Slay in brutal single- and multi-player action

one of 4 unique Hunters, or battle evil cooperatively at once using 20 melee, ranged and spell weapons— through 23 huge environments, including a prison,

with up to 4 players on a single screen. from swords to axes and flamethrowers. gothic church, cemetery and torture chamber, = 2

| www.interplay.com/hunter X

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BY GAMERS. FOR GAMERS.™

THE RECKONING.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

Link, Mario and Samus

and EGM has all the exclusive screens and

ming Monthly - 104 - egm.gamers.com

Ву Mark MacDonald, Jonathan Dudlak and Shane Bettenhausen

Nintendo’s

info you need to prepare for this power trio

t the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the streets are A paved with games —thousands of them, from more

than доо companies (see разе.26 for a wrap-up). But ask random showgoers to name the niftiest thing they’ve seen, and we wager they’d rave about Mario hovering ona blast of water in Super Mario Sunshine, or Link cruising in his sailboat in The Legend of Zelda, or cyberbabe Samus Aran’s face reflecting off her visor in Metroid Prime.

But don’t envy the industry geeks who got to ogle Nintendo’s best at the big show: You'll be able to experience these amazing moments yourself soon enough. All three games are bound for GameCube (and Game Boy Advance) between this August and next February. That’s more big-name titles from Nintendo than in any half-year period of the com- pany’s history. To get you ready for this all-star onslaught, we've got new screens and top-secret info gleaned from our exclusive one-on-one interview with Nintendo master game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who’s overseeing the develop- ment of all three titles (that’s one of the reasons they share the same basic controls). So flip the page for a look at Miyamoto's angels you won't find anywhere else....

Electronic Gaming И ее ате сот

Nintendo's Triforce

Publisher Nintendo Developer Nintendo Release Date: Aug. 26

ll right, let's cut right to the chase: Just what in Hades has Nintendo's biggest star been

doing the past six years since his last steady platforming gig, Mario 64? Playing Mario Tennis and Golf all day, then Mario Partying with friends all night, that's what. "Aay, why for you a-blaming me, eh?" Mario asked in an exclusive interview with ЕСМ. "| say to Nintendo, | say, ‘Please for- to-be giving me the new game!’ They say the ‘No! No until we getting the new idea!’ So | wait for new idea, and | take the mushroom...and the more mushroom." But Mario's mushroom habit and no-work-and- all-play lifestyle took its toll: He was too out of it to star in the Nintendo 64 RPG Paper Mario (an old 2D stunt double from Donkey Kong filled in), and he put on so much weight, Yoshi refused to give him rides. Eventually Mario hit rock bottom. “Once, | hitting Luigi so hard in the Smash Bros. | almost really a-kill him." Mario told us. "Luigi, my own brother! Mama Mia! It-a not so happy time in my life." Luckily for Mario, Nintendo finally got that new idea.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw—Mario rides again. Feed 4125259977 Yoshi any fruits you find to give him other powers.

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“Ме actually started off with the idea of creating a game where you were writing and washing off graffiti," says Mario cre- ator Shigeru Miyamoto. “[You could] spray ink up and then use water to spray and wash the ink away." Eventually that con- cept would become the major new game- play feature in Sunshine—a water-pump- ing backpack the plumber can use to get around, attack enemies, solve puzzles, and more (see sidebar below). As for the game's name and tropical setting, Miyamoto had more practical concerns in mind. “I had promised we were going to release [Sunshine] in the summer," he Says, "so I figured, well, if we make it a hot, summery theme, then the staff will feel obligated to hurry up and get the game done in time [laughs]."

Mario 64 Part Deux?

But even with Sunshine's new water pump and beach-front properties, many have joked that the plumber's GameCube adven- ture looks so much like Mario 64, it should be called Mario 65. Miyamoto himself

Not to be outdone by Luigi's vacuum cleaner, Mario's strapped on his own cool gadget for Sunshine: a giant water pump. After refilling it from lakes or bot- tles dropped by defeated enemies, Mario can perform all the tricks you see here and even more with the special nozzles you'll find later (like a rocket spout that shoots you straight up into the air). Just push the R button and you can...

Switch to this nozzle for a little extra boost after your jumps

(it'll also hurt enemies or clear away any sludge beneath you).

Water hurts enemies, but some require special tactics, like this boss. Spray into his mouth until he falls, then butt stomp 'em.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 106 - egm.gamers.com

Yo

He's Got the Moves

All the great one's abilities from Mario 64 are back, along with a few new ones. See for yourself...

` Jump! rem і à Well duh! Of course Mario can jump—it’s been his signature move ever since Donkey Kong. So it’s no surprise he’s back with more hops than a brewery: a triple jump (three times in a row to reach high places), a spinning jump (rotate the analog stick 360° before jumping), side flips and an easier wall jump for ricocheting off obstacles (above).

Doin’ the Butt

The butt stomp is great for knocking enemies off-balance, opening crates full of goodies, and solving puzzles (like driving in the nail above).

Slip "N" Slide Slide, slide, slippety-slide, Mario do what he do just to survive. Tap B during any jump to glide along on his belly. Try going downhill to pick up speed.

E

MS

АК P Ride E д. In addition to hopping on Yoshi, Mario can ride this jet-powered squid across the water, gather- ing coins and avoiding moving walls and other obstacles.

Trapeze artist

New tightropes stretch hither and yon—walk across 'em, then jump up and down to bounce up higher, or grab on and spin around to slingshot yourself to new areas.

Climb

Up trees, down poles, along fences, across ropes, upside down, right-side up, inside-out— the guy is like a

; freakin’ monkey.

Ba

doesn’t deny that Sunshine is an evolution, not a revolution, from his genre-defining №4 platformer. “[Sunshine’s] system is essentially based off of Mario 64,” he says. “It’s an expanded version of that.”

The overall premise, for one, is the same. While in Mario 64 the goal was to amass stars, in Sunshine you perform various tasks—collect coins, win races, kill bosses, etc.—to uncover and grab golden sun- shaped icons called Shines. But, as

Miyamoto explains, within that framework Sunshine has been designed to give the player much more freedom to explore. “In Mario 64, when you choose an area, there isn’t a lot going on in the level. There is just the main focus of the level and that’s it,” he says. “Whereas in Mario Sunshine, we've got some very large areas with a lot of stuff going on in them all at once. You can even stand on one end [of a level] and look to the far side and see things going on

there. | think that’s going to be the big dis- tinction for Sunshine.” All we needed was a few minutes with the playable version at E3 to see what Miyamoto was talking about. Right from the start of the first level, we had the choice of following tightropes up to a series of tower rooftops, searching out and erasing graffiti, exploring a giant lake, or tracking down the source of some giant boulders tracking mud in their wake. Another subtle but key alteration for

Wash away the slippery goop that may hide enemies, or erase the graffiti around town everyone thinks Mario painted.

Make it Grow

Trees and other plants (like the bud in the beach above) sprout up quick with just a little H0. Use them to reach new areas.

LII] ER

Solve Puzzles

Certain parts of levels, like this windmill above, can be affected by your spray. Experiment to uncover secrets.

-Other Stuff

Like filling up pinkie here and watching him shoot off like a punctured balloon. Another section had Mario on a giant leaf, shooting water to “push” his makeshift boat along the surface of a lake.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 107 - egm.gamers.com

We know at least Yoshi, Toad and the Princess (above) are back, but what about good ol’ Luigi? “No comment,” says Miyamoto with a smile.

Sunshine is the game’s camera. Most Mario fans agree it wasn’t always easy keeping an eye on the main man in Mario 64, especially indoors and around tight corners. While it’s too early to tell if Sunshine solves these problems, we do know Miyamoto has made progress. For starters, a silhouette now appears whenev- er Mario gets stuck behind an object, giv- ing you an idea of where he is until the camera catches up. And using the GC pad’s C-stick to zoom the camera in (by pushing up), out (push down), or around (left or right) is easier and faster than before.

ж

Looks like the Ghost Houses аге back, as well as the more straightforward obstacle levels (inset). Sunshine keeps Mario in tropical locales, includ- ing mountains and a volcano. So leave those Polartec fleece overalls at home—the traditional ice world is not in this game's travel brochure.

"ow

Ready to Shine

Ultimately it doesn't matter what's new or what's different from Mario 64. What mat- ters is if Super Mario Sunshine can give GameCube owners a good time this fall. Our play time at E3 left us hopeful, but at least for one man, Sunshine is already a success. "Work on the game save-a mi life", Mario told us on the phone from Kyoto, Japan, where he is currently busy on his next title, a GC Mario Kart. “| lose the weight, and no touch-a the mushroom in a year. Finally | can look myself in the mirror again for-to-say, 'Ay, it's a-me, Mario!"

Island: . er Mario Advance 3

t's not a need to see the ending that | will drive you through this polished 2D platformer come September. It's not the desire to beat all the giant bosses, explore the multitude of huge levels, collect every hidden coin or star or countless secrets. All those things do make this one of the best games ever, but what really pushes

Every level has 20 special red coins—collect them all (and other items) to open secret stages.

you in Yoshi's Island is the overwhelming need to SHUT THAT STUPID KID UP! See, you play as Yoshi with a pint-sized baby Mario on his back. Every time you take damage, the lil' plumber tumbles off and starts this horrible, horrible wailing noise until you rescue him. It'll drive you nutty, especially after spending hours hooked to the mega-addictive gameplay. Like Mario Advance 2, YI looks like a dead-on adapta- tion of the Super Nintendo original. And as with all the Mario Advance games, a four- player link-up mode is also included.

= pa s =

You can toss or ricochet the eggs you collect to attack bosses, grab coins, and open secrets.

5 Dino Digits Number Yoshi's Island ranked on EGM's top 10 Super NES games of all-time list

4 Number it fell on EGM's overall top 100 games of all-time list

1 Number of special chips in the original У/ cart to power all the graphical effects

E Mighty Morphin’ Power Yoshi

In addition to being able to butt stomp, float in the air, toss eggs, and eat or spit enemies, at certain points, Yoshi can transform into any of five vehicles. Yes, they look pretty damn goofy, but they’re useful:

E Asa helicopter, Yoshi can fly up to those out-of-reach coins. W Yoshi must ride the tracks as a train, but it's the only way he can grab items in the background.

и Submarine Yoshi can swim (obviously) and fire torpedoes.

When he’s a car, Yoshi can rise [= - - up on stilts to avoid obstacles.

Ш Mole-Yoshi can bore through dirt, up walls and across the ceiling.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 108 - egm.gamers.com

Ls * $ t 5

Nothing comes between a man and his gamê? Not rooms. Not walls. Not even nature.

Introducing the Nintendo GameCube” WAV E B | R D” wireless controller.

he good news: Metroid has taken to 3D like a Norfair Squeept to lava. (Geek-speak translation:

“3D works here.") The bad news: You're really gonna want to play it about three pages from now, and the November release date is suddenly feeling like a lifetime away. "People expressed quite a bit of concern when they learned that Metroid was going first-person," says Shigeru Miyamoto, who's overseeing the game's development at Texas-based Retro Studios, “but the conclusion we came to was that in exploring this very realistic-looking world in outer space, the best perspective is real- ly going to be a first-person one." We were skeptical at first. But after several hours spent repeatedly tearing into a 10-minute demo on the E3 show floor, ice beaming space pirates and whacking the Parasite Queen boss with charged blasts and mis- siles, we had Metroid Prime's hooks caught deep in our gullets.

Metroid Test Drive

According to Miyamoto, the Prime level we played is the initial stage of the game, but it accounts for less than 10 percent of the fin- ished product. Metroid maniacs will find the opening story familiar: Samus lands on a demolished space station to investigate a

Hey Retro, can you bring this thing back to life? We'd actually kinda like to kill it again... |

distress call and ends up having to flee once the self-destruct sequence is triggered. This demo showcased several of Prime’s ene- mies—a few straggling space pirates, some defensive gun turrets and a mess of slimy spacebugs. And although we lament the lack of a free-look while Samus is in motion (a near-essential part of most first-person games), the camera and controls are other- wise very thoughtfully orchestrated.

Worried about Metroid losing its classic feel in three dimensions? Samus can do anything she could do in 2D and then some. She comes standard with the Metroid basics—running, jumping, and shooting, ball-morph and bomb-dispensing abilities. Bomb-jumping, for instance, returns as a handy gameplay tool for when Samus needs to blast herself into out-of- the-way nooks. She also wields her trusty grappling hook and four main weapon types (the E3 demo, however, only gave us a look at the charge and ice beams). Plus, the game just looks great. “We thought that taking the effort and spend- ing the time and money to do this graphi- cally would really be a good upgrade for the Metroid franchise and bring it to the forefront again,” says Miyamoto.

But Metroid isn’t just about slick looks and alien-snuffing action. “The prime focus

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 110 - egm.gamers.com

has been and will continue to be on the exploration aspect as we go into the fine- tuning," Miyamoto promises. Retro has given Samus' spacesuit a set of at least four unique viewing visors (shown at right) to emphasize the exploration aspect. If you've played Super Metroid, you'll remember the X-ray scope that let you see weak points in walls and secret passages. In addition to an updated version of this X- ray add-on and a combat visor that pro- jects all the gal's stats on a heads-up dis- play, Samus picks up a thermal scope and a scanning visor. The thermal wasn't in the game yet at E3, but we used the scanning visor in almost every room of the demo. “One of the biggest elements in this game is to scan objects to obtain information, Miyamoto says. "You can obtain informa- tion about your enemies as well, by scan- ning as you play the game."

Looking up every creature's name and vital stats is as simple as running a quick scan on the life-form itself. Data pods sta-

Visor Select

Under The Hood

Warning Icon

Radar Missiles

Samus has four visor aides—Combat ^ Since зрасезийз aren't much for Shows hostiles in Тһе old standby for alter-

(shown), Scanning (unlocks doors, past gun turrets), X-ray (duh) and

and heats up Samus' Hot Pocket).

Electronic Gaming

peripheral vision, this little baby

attacks to a space barrel on fire. cute little can.

Visor Variation

5

Bad Mutha You're going to need to feed this insect beastie a seven- course feast of gun goo before he bugs off. Missiles are handy for puttin' bigger holes in unwanted pests.

4

Gun Select

Flick the C-stick in one of four directions

the Metroid world nate fire, missiles are handy to bring up Samus’ main weapons. We transmits info, and helps Samus slip lets Samus know when danger's and, тоге impor- for taking out gun turrets

nearby. It points out anything that tantly, how close and some enemies with a Thermal (reveals enemies in the dark can hurt Samus, from enemy

they are to your single pop. This counter

Monthly - 11 - egm.gamers.com

messed with a Charge Beam and a cool classic—the Ice Beam—both of which come standard with overdriven power-

shows what you've got left. shots that'll, ah, “empty your chamber.”

Yeah...but is it Metroid?

Prime looks cool, but are we going to know it's Metroid with- out a speech from Miyamoto? Check out the familiar sights:

NES Metroid, 1986 Metroid Prime, 2002

aa ит. Sidehopper

Bombs are still great for finding secrets or just getting to those hard-to- reach holes.

Some of the weapons come directly from Super Metroid. Behold the 3D Spazer.

We think you'll agree that this

А A rM Hell yeah.

"| was most con- cerned about the morph ball, but we've actually

managed to get a very smooth, flowing trans-

formation."

—Shigeru Miyamoto

tioned throughout each level also give information on enemies. We even found one that had an analysis of Ridley, one of the main bosses from the original Metroid.

How's She Handle? With so much to keep track of in the Metroid world, getting a quick bead on all the important stuff is essential. Fortunately, team Miya-Retro has built in a targeting system that’ll lock Samus on to nearby items of interest at the touch of the L button. You can use it to focus on ene- mies, switches and scan points, launch your grappling hook, or center your view and strafe side-to-side. It's the hottest but- ton on the controller for Prime.

Thanks to its intuitive controls and first- person adventure gameplay, Metroid is shaping up much better than hardcore fans

This flood of spiders looks ominous but doesn’t pose much threat as you flee the space station.

Yeah, OK, it looks a little like Halo on the Xbox. But Metroid's gameplay is definitely not typical first-person shooter fare. "The prime focus is

exploration," says Miyamoto.

expected. But for those gamers who still aren't sold on 3D, Nintendo will release the 2D-side-scrolling Metroid Fusion on the Game Boy Advance alongside Prime this November. For more on this Super Metroid- inspired adventure and a possible link-up with Metroid Prime, flip the page.

You can use the scan visor to get a look at the name and composition of any life-form.

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Nintendo

or gamers who wanted to see the

Super NES classic Super Metroid

ported to the GBA, Nintendo's done one better. Metroid Fusion is to Super Metroid what Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is to Circle of the Moon; it's improvement on an already smokin' idea.

In Fusion, due on Nov. 18, the same day as Prime, you'll experience a handful of new abilities (see sidebar below) and one major gameplay difference: The aliens are inhabited by parasitic life-forms that you must capture once they're spit from their gunned-down hosts. These purple blobs give you health and missiles if you nab 'em in time. If you don't, they'll reinhabit the fallen host or fly off to find a new life-form. Nintendo loves to leave us hanging, and

the end of the Metroid Fusion demo at E3 churned out a real noodle-scratcher. You

“1007 100

power bomb. arnica mea

pull up into a room and come face-to-face with a figure dressed in Samus' exact out- fit from Super Metroid. The mystery guest promptly whips out an ice beam, follows up with a missile, and leaves you for dead. But when your armor flies off, it sure looks like Samus under the space suit. We smell a Metal Gear Solid 2 storyline coming on. Aside from that weirdness, Fusion packs

8 When in Zebes...

You've got all sorts of acrobatic ways to keep yourself busy while visiting the hostile alien world. You also may recognize a few of these slick moves from Super Metroid...

Bombing а wall to uncover new раз- sages is classic Metroid stuff.

Climb a wall for a stable perch. Good for those high-altitude aliens.

That’s handy: Grab a ledge on those high platforms and pull yourself up.

"E

Metroid Fusion

Super Metroid Advance or a whole new morph ball of wax? Yes.

Vaporize baddies.

all the stylish enemies, slick weapons and eerie environments Super Metroid was built on...and maybe something more. “We're trying to come up with an idea for a link that could be implemented fairly easi- ly without delaying anything," Miyamoto says of a possible Fusion and Prime link- up, “so that if you do have both games, you will get a little something out of it."

P

МР

„ог go hand-over-hand for a little extra range. Nuts to gravity.

1007100

Step3: 2 Harvest & time!

Oh, it’s...you. Wow. This is awkward.

N^

We've seen this wall jump before—a tricky way to get out of pits.

| а nemi |

Speed Dash—not new, but one of the most useful skills in Super Metroid.

Your most important skill may be to leave a beautiful corpse when you die.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 114 - egm.gamers.com

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NEW FALL LINE AVAILABLE AT SELECTED STORES ONLY

Nintendo's Triforce

& G "d like to introduce you to a Į little a friend you've all been 50 kind to talk so much about," Shigeru Miyamoto said when he unveiled Legend of Zelda hero Link to U.S. gamers at this year's E3 show. Of course, we'd seen Link already, when he showed his new, cartoony face last August in Japan. And Miyamoto's right: The new look had us all talking last year. Some applaud-

s&We've come a long way from Ocarina of Time.... With the GC Zelda we can give play- ersa cartoon they can control. ”’

—Shigeru Miyamoto

ed the return to the series’ kiddie visual style, but many—including a few EGM edi- tors—got bent out of shape by the toon- shaded munchkin Nintendo had unveiled. But now, nearly a year later, we've all had time to come to terms with the change, and after thoroughly playing every second of available gameplay in the E3 demo, we can adamantly state that you have nothing to worry about here. This is classic Zelda.

Oh, But Back to That

New Look...

It really is impossible to play the new Zelda without first letting its new toon-shaded visual style wallop you over the head. Link, all of his enemies and his entire world have

He's cute, he’s cartoony...he's Link. Yeah, we were skeptical at first too, but now we believe.

all been created using simple, expressive shapes and bright colors, but everything moves with absurdly smooth animation. The final result is a game that looks like a 3D cartoon. “We intentionally tried to turn it into a cartoon,” Miyamoto says, “so that maybe if a kid was playing the game at home and his parents were watching him they might think, ‘Oh, he’s watching car- toons.’ But then they might look again, do a double take and realize, no he’s control- ling a cartoon."

Linked to the Past But while Miyamoto is throwing Zelda fans a graphical curveball, he has wisely left the classic gameplay intact, choosing only to add compelling new aspects to the estab- lished system. If you've played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask on the Nintendo 64, you'll know exactly what to do here. This pint-sized Link runs, auto-jumps, climbs and fights just like his N64 forerunner. You still lock-on to enemies and assign sub- weapons and items such as the hookshot or boomerang to various buttons (see the big screen to the right for a closer look). Cont. on page 118

Link’s cinematic showdown with this lava-loving centipede was easily the highlight of the demo we played. It’s a classic Zelda boss battle.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 116 - egm.gamers.com

5 Touching Mr. Tingle

If you have a GC-to-GBA link cable, you can call upon Tingle (the mapmaker in Majora’s Mask) to display a dun- geon map on your GBA (no cartridge necessary). Tingle can also place bombs and check out items. A friend can even act as your Tingle co-pilot on GBA while you control Link.

Link’s spinning charge attack is back, and it now sends into a dizzying, destructive fren:

Link can now get all sneaky, Solid Snake-style. "

Against a wall, press В to silently slink and " The Legend of Zelda on GC resets the history shimmy. Note Link's devious expression. of Link. As the game begins, you'll meet Link's family and neighbors in his sleepy, seaside town.

5" Some Things Never Change

Zelda's cartoony visuals are shocking, but series fans will feel right at home with the controls. Just as in the N64 Zelda titles, you can map weapons and items to the desired auxiliary buttons. The L button acts as your targeting lock-on and the Z button only comes into play when Link needs in-game hints (the controller will rumble and a flashing "Z" icon appears on screen).

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 117 - egm.gamers.com

Zelda GBA Party With A Whole Lotta Links

Ni intendo has another Zelda on the

way (this one for GBA), and it mixes lots of old with a little new. The Legend of Zelda GBA, due in December, is a port of an old game, but it features a four-player com- petitive mode (using the GBA Link Cable)

with spiffed-up visuals and new dungeons.

The Legend of Zelda GBA packs a perfect version of the Super NES classic A Link to the Past...

ax к ...but the graphics in the new four-player dungeons feature larger, better-animated Links.

т,

Although the four Links are com- peting against each other, sometimes they need to team up.

ш, Spe Another example

of teamwork: Some puzzles require all four players to stand on switches.

Cont. from page 116 Link does have some nifty new moves as well, including a Solid Snake-style wall shimmy, rope-swinging skills and the abili- ty to pick up enemies' weapons.

Link's new stealth moves came into play in one of the demo's levels, in which he explores the “Island of the Mystical Beast,” a heavily guarded fortress. Hiding in the shadows, edging along walls and crawling through ducts help avoid capture here. Giant searchlights sweep through the area, and Link can even hide inside a barrel to elude the nasty patrolling Moblins. It’s this kind of intense gameplay that elimi- nated any concern over Zelda’s challenge being scaled back to match the new kiddie look. “Even with the cel-shading,” Miyamoto tells us, “the world is so immer- sive that people are going to be able to experience it a lot more fully than they did in past Zeldas.”

Another playable area featured a colos- sal centipede living in a pool of molten lava. While it was tempting to just stand and stare in slack-jawed amazement at this beast and its writhing animations, we found that fighting the monstrosity was actually the highlight of Zelda demo.

Link’s meager sword was no match for the critter’s armored skin; we needed a little ingenuity to prevail. With Link’s hookshot

See the nasty weapons those Moblins are wield- ing? After you trounce those foes, you can pick up either the giant sword or the wooden staff.

ink can still

He may be cute and cuddly, bi bust out a devastating jumping-slash attack.

and a careful aim, we swung over the

fiery pit and loosened a large boulder looming overhead. Three of these swings brought the rocks tumbling down onto the monster, weakening it enough for our sword to hurt it. And there ya go: a perfect Zelda boss battle—challenging, innovative and breathtaking.

The Greatest Story Never Told

So, now that you’ve seen the amazing new graphics and experienced the solid game- play, what else about Zelda could surprise you? The plot. The game's official tagline, “The Legend is Reborn,” is right on. As the

Here’s a toughie: Should you

toss your friend over to hit the Switch...or into the abyss?

i=}

=e

Qiu»

r-player | mode boils down

to a race for Rupees (money),

so the greediest Link will triumph.

pale a es =O

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 118 - egm.gamers.com

GameCub Uber s GameBoy’ Advance

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Nintendo's Triforce “The Lege

Link’s trusty steed, Epona, seems to be MIA this time, but the hero has a snazzy new form of transportation—a cool boat carved to resemble a dragon. In one playable scene, Link must race the boat between two points within a given time limit, steering to pi up Rupees along the way. "Wind is going to play a very important role in this game," Miyamoto says, “and there will be scenes where Link is sailing his boat out on the water and you will have to pay attention to the direction of the wind." You will even notice the breeze when walking around, as Link's hat and clothes rustle realistically.

The cartoony visuals even extend to death ani- mations: Enemies die in a puffy purple flourish.

Arms

Link can now pick up felled enemies’ weapons, including huge swords and staffs. Miyamoto promises that this “is going to be integral to the gameplay.” For instance...

W Link can use wooden staffs to bop enemies over the head or to light torches.

W Large swords stolen from foes can break through thin wooden walls and heavy barrels, but they are slow and unwieldy for fighting.

game opens, Link celebrates his 12th birth- day with his grandmother and sister in their quaint fishing town. Grandma gives him his trademark green duds, while Arril, his sis, presents him with a nifty telescope. He looks skyward and spies a huge, evil- looking bird being attacked by a nearby pirate ship. The frazzled bird drops a mysterious girl into the forest and Link investigates. Just as he reaches her, however, the bird swoops down and snatches Arril with its talons. With a sword in hand and a damsel in distress, Link’s adventure has begun. We like the intro and new characters, but questions fill our heads. Where is Princess Zelda? What about series boss Ganon? Is this world

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 120 - egm.gamers.com

even Hyrule? Sadly, Miyamoto isn’t talking about the storyline. All we got out of him was a sly, elfin smile. Ф

“This art style has so many merits. | truly feel that the cel- shading adds a great deal more to the game than it takes away.”

—Shigeru Miyamoto

EVERYONE

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EGM rates games based on how they compare with other titles on the same system. The highest score we'll give а game is a 10. When a game receives a 10, you can rest assured it’s one of the best games ever made—a revolutionary title that truly stands above everything else in its genre for

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Platinum Awards go to games that get all 10's, the best and rarest

review a game can get. „a Shane Bettenhausen P & > Associate Editor |

A бһапе knew all too well what his p first official spot in the Review Crew

meant —he had to fight. Milkman promptly re-created the horrific beating that he'd delivered unto our newbie in Soul Calibur II at ЕЗ.

Favorite Genres: Fighting, Action, RPG

Current Faves: Castlevania HoD, Soul Calibur II

Crispin Boyer

Features Editor

Acres of games, towering fuzzy

mascots, strutting booth babes,

„A streakers at the Sony party—it was

(^ . atypical ЕЗ game show until a talk-

-- ing snake dared Crispin to touch the bellydancer it was strangling.

Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure

Current Faves: Morrowind, Mr. Show on DVD

3 Che Chou

West Coast Editor

Che spent most of E3 stalking the U.S. Army. They couldn’t understand why some hippie would want to

M know whether their Colt M-4 assault rifles handled "just like the ones in Counter-Strike."

Favorite Genres: Fighting, Racing, RPG

Gurrent Faves: The Mark of Kri, Fed. vs. Zeon

Reviews Editor

After playing Metroid Prime at E3, Jon went back in time to try to meet the late creator of Metroid. Let's just say there was a slight malfunc- tion, so someone else will have to edit reviews this month...

Favorite Genres: Fighting, Action, Racing Current Faves: Metroid, RBI Baseball (NES)

Gold Awards go to games whose average score equals 9.0 or higher.

Favorite Genres: Sports, Racing

Current Faves:

Favorite Genres: Shoe loves ’em all Current Faves: Zelda, Bomberman Generation

Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, Puzzle Current Faves: Wrestlemania X8, Advance Wars

Favorite Genres: RPG, Shooters, Adventure Current Faves: Lost Kingdoms, SoFortune 2 (PC)

Electronic Gaming Monthly

10 0509 5 GEER o

its time. At the other end of the spectrum sits the lowest score a game can receive: a o.o. This is the kind of game you want to avoid at all costs. It's pure crap. In the middle lies the average grade, 5.0. We repeat: 5.0 IS AVERAGE. Simple, ain't it?

i КР The Mark ої Kri Ever heard of this вате? We barely knew it existed until Sony dropped it in our laps this month. Turns out it's one of the most entertain-

Games that average at least an 8.0 (but lower than 9.0) receive

Silver Awards. ing action games on the platform. MGS2 stealth meets Dynasty Warriors 3 combat...it's a wel- come break from all the Ratchet Cooper and the Felonious Jaxsters on the PS2 scene lately...

Dean Hager Dan Leahy

Editor In Chief, GameNOW Dan's still reeling from getting dissed by Alyssa Milano at an E3 party. It seems that his recent TV appearance just doesn’t place him on the same level as a 1-800-Collect commercial starlet.

Favorite Genres: Sports, Action

Current Faves: NCAA 2003, High Heat MLB 2003

Mark MacDonald Executive Editor

After seeing Nintendo’s...uh...after Nintendo’s E3 lineup...Zelda...Mario Sun-something....rocked socks....tat- too...uh...sorry, it's just hard to con- centrate with Dan Leahy’s breasts right up there. That guy is h-o-t HOT! Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG

Current Faves: The Mark of Kri, Morrowind

Managing Editor

While everyone else was whooping it up at E3, Dean was left behind to guard EGM headquarters. Thankfully he had a copy of NCAA 2003, because beyond a few phone calls, it was cricket city.

NCAA Football 2003

ud Dan "Shoe" Hsu Editor in Chief E3 just about killed poor Shoe with seven solid, consecutive days of partying...er, working. Don't forget to look for this sap (and other EGMers) Thursdays at 7:45 p.m. EST on CNN Headline News!

Chris Johnston ; James "Milkman" Mielke News Editor Е = æ West Coast Editor/Webmaster After playing all that Britney's When Milky wasn't kicking out the Dance Beat, Chris dreamt (or was it jams on the wheels of steel at ZD's a nightmare?) that he was a thunderous E3 party, he was wreak- dancin'-game superstar. We think ing havoc on the show floor. What putting his face in Nintendo's Stage else do you expect from a man who Debut is about as far as he'll get. wears cowboy hats to work? Huh? Favorite тт Fighting, RPG, Action

Current Faves: Panzer Dragoon Orta, Shinobi

Greg Sewart Previews Editor After failing to win any money at this year’s E3, Sewart’s in a bad way. Now he’s gotta convince Dean to become his sugar daddy in order to bribe all those government offi- cials he needs “in his pocket.” Favorite Gen Racing, RPG, Action Current Faves: Crazy Taxi 3, Stuntman, GT3

Jeanne Kim

Associate Editor

One of the many highlights Jeanne experienced at Ез was getting her picture taken with pornstar extraor- dinaire and Unreal fan Asia Carrera. See boys, lots of chicks dig games (and porn, for that matter)!

- 122 - egm.gamers.com

Publisher: AKA Acclaim кег Developer: Z-Axis

Featured In: EGM #151

Players: 1-2

Also On: GameCube, Xbox

Best Feature: Go-anywhere, do-anything design Worst Feature: No Create-a-Skater Web Site: www.acclaimmaxsports.com

You've completed Tony Hawk 3 a half-dozen times. Snowboarding games are too sluggish for you. BMX just isn’t your style. So what to do until Tony Hawk 4 hits the streets later this year? Aggressive Inline. This game hangs with the best of them, and ina few areas, outskates even Tony 3, the king of tricks- based action-sports titles. Aggressive gives you massive environments to skate around in and more ramps and rails than you’d know what to do with. You can literally spend hours just exploring one level. Then the game one-ups itself by furnishing each stage with an unlockable hidden area that offers you that much more real estate to play with, which gives this disc unprecedented replay value. Besides the excellently crafted levels, Aggressive also hands you great game design. No time limits here—just keep doing tricks to prevent your juice meter from empty- ing out, and you can play on (you can skate a timed game if you want). This sets up a more leisurely experience without a drop in the excitement level. Then you have а well-balanced mix of fun and cre- ative missions geared toward players of all skill lev- els. My personal fave: Create a makeshift skate park and Score 50,000 points on it, alLin.under three min- utes. About my only complaint is, despite being such a blatant Hawk ripoff, this game doesn't have enough flashy, over-the-top tricks that'd make it even more fun to play and watch. Shoe

Britney's Dance Beat

э

Publisher: THQ rares Developer: Metro

Players: 1-2

Supports: Dance-mat controller

Needs: Anude code

Best Feature: Mmmm...rendered Britney Worst Feature: Five songs? That's it?! Web Site: www.thq.com

After hours of fooling around with Britney, | couldn't help but feel empty inside. (I'm sure the real Britney would've been a different story.) It's hard to believe that Dance Beat is by the same folks behind Bust-A- Groove, one of the PSi's better music-based titles. If they had just taken Groove's gameplay and given it a Britney injection, it would've been decent. Instead, we get a shallow music game that's low on fun and filled with meaningless wank material (and | mean that in the nicest way), like concert and backstage footage that's hardly worth unlocking, even if you're a hardcore fan of the gal. Since you're limited to just five ofthe pop diva's biggest hits, the game's a quick- ie—no remixes, no other dance tunes to fill the gaps...nothing. Sure, her songs are toe-tappin' ditties, but five isn't enough these days. The more Dance Beat | played, the less | liked its interface and automatic-attack system. In similar versus-style music games, you get to choose when to launch an attáck and can block an opponent's. Here you can't do either, so matches become a flurry of back- and-forth assaults ‘til someone screws ир. That's hardly what Га call, fun. The effects of each attack (moving-the button cues around;-changing them, adding more, etc.) are so aggravating that it feels like you're riot even given a fair shot. I'm sure the real Britney's a hoot and a holler, but her game's got

no personality. Chris

Dropship: United Peace Force

Publisher: Bam

Developer: Sony CEE Studio Camden Featured In: EGM #145

Players: 1

Also Try: Ace Combat 04

Best Feature: Diverse gameplay Worst Feature: Frustrating missions Web Site: www.dropship-pilot.com

Compared to other flight-combat games such as Lethal Skies or Ace Combat o4, Dropship goes way beyond the call of duty when it comes to gameplay variety. Over the course of its 20 missions, you'll blow up a dam, scan trucks for weapons, drop tanks into warzones, steal an experimental gunship, and man а turret while the computer-controlled co-pilot does the flying or driving. Oh, did | say driving? That's the kicker: Many missions here let you whiz around in tanks, troop carriers and other vehicles. One level has you burning rubber through an enemy base to bust out POWs. In another, you cruise around the bad guys' depot on a stealthy spy mission. By all rights, this game should be a couch-potato pilot's dream come true. So why did my spirits sink every time I sat through new level briefings and watched mission objectives pile up? Because | knew I'd have to retry those missions over and over. Dropship's dif- ficulty cranks up to the extreme about a third of the way into the game, partly becausi missiles is nearly impossible (don't forge repairs) and partly because of your wimpy Weaponry. This game’s damage sirens and enemy lock-on buzzers still haunt my nightmares. You'll spend most of your time repeating missions until you’ve memorized exactly what to do every step of the way, and where’s the fun in that? Mid-level checkpoints would have made it all more bearable. Grispin

Are you an extreme inline blader who takes all sorts of crap from skateboarders because they think you're some sort of wuss? Well, fret no more my downtrod- den grind pups. After they play Aggressive, those jerks with.decks will be beggin’ to be your pal. Not only does Aggressive look super sharp, its seven massive levels put even Jet Set Radio Future’s (Xbox) urban environments to shame. The best part about the game is that, while it borrows heavily from Tony Hawk's gameplay, Aggressive hasia feel all its own, sporting inline-specific tricks like vaulting and slid- ing. Maybe next time inline skating’s on ESPN-2, I'll actually give a damn! Che

28 minutes and 26 seconds. That's the playtime your $40 gets you with Britney’s Dance Beat. And that's after playing each of the five songs twice! (OK, so | didn’t include load times.) It’s not even a very fun half-hour to boot. Had Metro included a way to block attacks or.püt any sort of strategy into the play mechanics at all, Dance Beat might be worth buying for some cool multiplayer fun. But seriously, once you've finished the single-player game, you've done all there is to do. | can't judge Britney's music in good conscience (hell,.| listened to Celine Dion songs in French during high school), but as for her game, Dance Beat isn't even worth a rental. Greg

Dropship is a game that only the passive-aggressive will enjoy; if shuttling supplies around is your idea of a good time, then hop aboard. In the game, you eventually do “go aggro” with jets and tanks, but not before enduring a series of difficult. dr i sions#lt’s frustrating because many of these sions require accuracy and precision (spy an enemy base and keep your head below the radar whil le scan- ning multiple targets), yet your dropship controls like a 747 when it should handle like a chopper. The mis- sion progression helpssthings gel, but the le controls and graphical sterility weigh down an otherwise decent action game. Milkman

The Tony Hawk clone wars have been raging for years, but somehow, Z-Axis has forged a copy that actually one-ups THPS3 in a few important ways. First, the complex system of experience points rewards you.based on what maneuvers, you use the most, giving you complete control'over your skater's growth. Also, the inclusion of a bail button lets you land safely-from big falls—fewer wipeouts equal morefun. Lastly, the levels are freakin’ huge, super- speedy and packed with tough; unique challenges. Sadly, a sub-par soundtrack.and the lack of a charac- ter-creation mode drag this otherwise stellar effort down to a solid runner-up position. Shane

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

8 6 3 8

Like, did you hear? They say Beat's the “coolest video game...since video games were invented” on the offi- cial site! Like, no way! *Slap* Nothing is further from the truth. Besides 5-year-old girly-girls who like, love Britney, the.banal set of revolving combinations and а suckit-for-all-it's-got song list will send you surfing on a contagious yawn-wave. Dance-pad. play? Sit- down senior-aerobics on PBS will get your feet mov- ing faster! And to top off this pile, attacks are com- pletely out of your hands, so 2рротоп getting an inkling of competitive--gameplay. Simply put, Britney's a contrived marketing ploy and will leave a bad taste in your mouth. Blech. Jeanne

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

6 6 2 2

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 123 - egm.gamers.com

When | think Dropship, | think of that olive-green war machine we saw in Aliens with the missiles on its wings and a belly full of colonial Marines. Well, Dropship does a great job of re-creating that gritty sci-fi realism. When you're hovering over the hot zone, you actually feel as though there's a real bat- tle happening below you. Look closely enough and you may even catch some infantry-on-ta i between the ground forces. But no amount phere can mask Dropship's repetitive, ри missions and lack of combat dynamics. It also |

doesn’t help that the game's simplistic graphics just aren’t up to snuff by today’s standards. Che

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

1 1 J

VISUAI

Publisher: r= Empire

Developer: Cunning

Ei Developments Featured In:

EGM #155 Players: 1 Best Feature: Targeting Supports: enemy body parts GunCon 2 Worst Feature: Poor excuses | Web Site:

for bosses

I'm not tough to please when it comes to gun games, but Endgame even falls behind most PS1 shooters on my list of plastic-blaster faves. It's basically a tamer, single-player Time Crisis 2 with fewer unique ene- mies and lamer bosses— much lamer. The only way to tell one apart from the rabble of normal bad guys, in fact, is to watch for a dude in a Nehru jacket wield- ing a new weapon. | can deal with Endgame's dis- jointed story—it's the generic look and monotony that irk me. You've got one life to bust through the whole adventure, which would be OK if you weren't fighting guys with the same peek-out-and-pop tac- tics all the-way up to the end. Fortunately, these dudes are easy to cap with a control pad; you don't need a GunCon to be competent in Endgame. But where's (пейт in that? And these crappy extras? A minigame that rehashes the main gameplay with а ? ^ "Mirror mode" that flips the ly? Yeesh: The dual-gun mode is the only cool one, assuming you have (or can find) a pair

of GunCons or GunCon 2s. Jonathan SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

9 4 3 5

VISUALS

Fire Blade

Publisher: = r= Midway

Developer:

Kuju Entertainment Players: 1

For style points: Snipe off enemy legs Try instead:

City Crisis

Web Site: fireblade.midway.com

Best Feature: Stealthy sniping missions

Worst Feature: Bland and repetitive gameplay

Your tricked-out whirlybird in this arcadey attack- chopper sim turns invisible at the flick of a switch, packs sniper guns that can nick the backpack off a soldier from a mile away, and has jet boosters that zoom you out of the danger zone. Sounds like a thrilling ride, right? So how come I had the most fun just blasting the livestock that roams the terrain? Fire Blade is too light on frills and thrills. Its 18 missions have you doing interesting enough stuff— protecting troops, killing convoys, picking up downed pilots— but the graphics look so blah and the action is so repetitive that I rarely felt the “roar of war” Midway hypes in the game's ads. You don't get snazzy weapons until late іп the game, And the only reason you'd wanna rent Fire Blade is for its stealth missions, which have you creeping along and sniping any bad guys in your ground force's way (in one nifty level, you're only allowed to shoot soldiers who are armed). The clunky control;doesn't help; 1 never got the hang of aiming my rockets, no matter how much | practiced on the herds of sheep. Crispin

VISUALS REPLAY

SOUND INGENUITY

4 з 4 4

Electronic

|

Freekstyle

Publisher:

EA Sports Big

Developer: Electronic Arts Featured In: EGM #152

Players: 1-2

Also On: GameCube

Best Feature: Freekout mode

Worst Feature: Cheap А.І. tactics Web Site: www.easportsbig.com

Freekstyle is overflowing with contorted tracks, clever shortcuts and jumps so mammoth they'd make even the great Evel Knievel crap his pants. Seriously, you couldn’t get more airtime unless you jumped out of a commercial jet. Fans of realistic sims will no doubt mock such folly and point out how Freekstyle is just SSX Tricky on dirt bikes. Well, they’re actually right about that. But the joke’s on them, because there hasn’t been a more thrilling motocross game since Nintendo’s Excitebike 64. For starters, the super-human riders animate well and have enough variety in their tricks to keep things fresh. To their credit, EA made it easy to perform tricks but hard to actually link them AND land safely. Getting the timing down is the key to success and the main reason | couldn’t put the controller down for hours at a pop. Second to that is the speedy (and smooth) graphics. It’s definitely an improvement from SledStorm in that department and especially hair-raising whenthe hyper-fastyFreek mode. kicks in—hold onto your hats, kids. Overall I'm very happy with the game. My only complaint is about the some- times;cheap tactics.of the computer riders. Basically, no matter how well you're doing, they're never far off your tail and frequently pass Бу just before the finish line (insert sound of controller being smashed here). It seems unfair, but not enough to ruin an otherwise

good time. Dean

Legion: m Legend of

Publisher: Midway

Developer: 7 Studios

Featured In: EGM #133

Players: 1

Try Instead: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site:

Cool magic items Dull, repetitive combat www.midway.com

| wasn't going to fault Legion for its blurry graphics or annoying, repetitive speech (you'd have to work the turkey-leg counter at the Renaissance Festival for 20 years to hear “To the Death!" more times than in two hours of Legion) just turned down the sound and ignored co-workers asking why | was playing a PS1 game. What | was after was the gameplay, a Baldur's Gate-like action-RPG with light real-time strategy mixed in. What | did eventually come to fault Legion for is its balance and fine-tuning —namely, there isn't any. You're supposed to guide up to four main char- acters and supporting troops by issuing commands in real time during battle. Now it's bad enough to be navigating menus while enemies are hacking you up into tiny bits, but when those menus make even sim- ple orders for your buddies difficult or impossible, it's downright aggravating. And without the strategy element to back it up, combat (by which I mean tap- ping the same button over and over) gets repeti- tive quickly, especially with stages and bosses that alternate between "cake-walk" and "Charles Manson-insane” difficulty levels. To top it off, despite someynice cutscenes, big chunks of the story don't make sense or seem to be missing. The medieval set- ting, different offensive and defensive level objec- tives, collecting and buying special magic items— you'll find a few inspired moments here, but it's the problems that are legion. Mark

Rather than attempt to reinvent the wheel, EA made Freekstyle more of an homage to their runaway hit, SSX. Sub dirt bikes for snowboard decks and voilá, you've got the idea. Does that mean you should write this one off? Мо way. If you like high-intensity racing action; Freekstyle definitely delivers. Skull-searing speed and plenty of eye-popping tricks add up to a pretty huge fun factor. | did find the game's cam- era to be a bit annoying, as it seems to follow the bike too deep into corners instead of showing more track, Also, the computer-riders present a formida- ble, at times unfair, challenge. Other than that, Freekstyle's "freaky" good. Dan L.

Imagine this scenario: Behind glass, you watch a focus group play Legion. Level one: The group bel- lows at the silly English-accent voiceovers. Level two: Half the room smashes their controllers in frustration and clears.out due to having to complete one of the most. difficult missions in the game (with no mid- level saves). An hour passes during which much cursing ensues. Another quarter storms out grum- bling about how oafish allies and camera problems got them Killed. Finally, the last handful nods off from the constant running toyandsfro from battle to power up, since the combat interface is impossible to use on-the-fly. Success or failure? Oh, c'mon. Jeanne

1 sure love motorcycles, but most moto-X games tend to be a bit on the wimpy side. If I'm going to hit the trail on a high-torque terror with knobby tires, | want to taste the fear of hurtling through the air, a crash but a whisk.away. Freekstyle brings that fear. Part SSX on dirt bikes, part F-Zero meets mud, Freekstyle has good control, tough CPU. opponents and loads of tracks. The sweet-looking characters also burst with idiosyncratic detail and personality. The only downside is that the thumb-busting control scheme (gas and boost;are.too close to each other) is ergonomic hell, and the trick buttons aren't as responsive as they should be. Milkman

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

1 1 3 8

VISUALS

Gaming Мо 124 - egm.gamers.com

It may take some liberties with the Arthurian legend, and it may be fairly derivative in terms of some of the gameplay ideas, but Legion is actually pretty fun. It suffers from bad voice-acting and over-sensitive col- lision detection in the environments, and.it has some annoying progress. management features (like only saving between “quests”), but there's something undoubtedly charming about the whole thing. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance fans will get a kick out of it. Those seeking something a bit more in- depth will find the partyymanagement, which lets you direct hordes of troops at once, quite entertaining- even if it can be a bit hit-or-miss. John D.

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

4 4 9 3

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In various parts of the world, there are those with jobs unlike any others. They are owners of special aircraft and guns and are commonly referred to as "Gunners." The setting is the town of Rive, where an exposition is set to take place in two months time. What adventures await these Gunners?

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The Mark of Kri

Sony CEA ue

Publisher: = Developer: SCEA San Diego Studios

Featured In: EGM #156

Players: 1

Best Weapon: The battle axe

Best Feature: Excellent combat system Worst Feature: Weapon switching is too slow Web Site: www.scea.com

Whoa, talk about slipping in under the radar. | went into The Mark of Kri expecting nothing and came out completely blown away by the overall quality of this strange but engrossing action/adventure game. First of all, don’t judge this game by its goofy graphics. Kri fuses Disney’s naive sense of adventure with the darker and more mature edge of classic laserdisc games like Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace for a hyper- violent experience. Mark my words: This game is not for kids. It makes Conan the Barbarian look like The Jungle Book by comparison. But if you're in the mood to spill some blood, Kriis the game for you. Much of the combat involves rotating the right ana- log stick to lock onto individual or group targets, as you're constantly taking on a bunch of enemies at once. Think of it like some sort of sweeping melee sonar. Once you've picked your victims, they're assigned to different buttons on the Dual Shock, giv- ing you the ability to attack multiple enemies simul- taneously. The ingenuity of this system is in how it alters your combat effectiveness based on the num- ber of bad guys you pursue; the more you target, the less complex your combos. Combine this deep fight- ing system with four distinct weapon styles, innova- tive stealth action, a ton.of over-the-top death ani- mations, sublime use of feedback vibration and beautiful hand-drawn cutscenes, and you've got the Sleeper hit of the year. спе

LB Slugfest 20-03

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PITCHER: M

Sx o. cg E EP ep

Publisher: Midway حح‎ E Developer: Midway

Also On: GC, Xbox

Also Try: High Heat MLB 2003

Players: 1-4

Best Feature: Crisp graphics Worst Feature: Too much sluggin" Web Site: www.slugfest.midway.com

Slugfest stays true to Midway's mantra of mayhem. This time, they've taken ye olde national pastime under the knife and injected it with more of every- thing— more speed, scorching pitches and majestic home runs. Midway's also brought something new to the ballpark by adding a dash of violence. We're not talking about just hitting a batter here and there or a rough slide at second base. Nope, in Slugfest you can actually just pop a guy right in the chops. Don't like the way that dude is standing on second base? Beat him down. You might be able to knock him off the bag and tag him out. Of course, he can fight back and induce you to drop the ball, which might allow him to advance a base. This little dynamic is certain- ly cool, but the game is strong enough to stand on its merits as a pure arcade baseball game. Slugfest is gorgeous, fast-paced and balanced enough to offer fleeting fun whenever it's booted up. Midway's old friend, the turbo button, is here and used to full effect, whether you're making insane leaping catches or unleashing howitzer-like throws from the outfield, Pitching and hitting controls are straightforward and easy to get into, which is crucial to enjoying something as lighthearted as Slugfest. | wouldn't; recommend. this to anyone who thinks there's even the slightest hint of a realistic sim here. But to everyone else, Slugfest passes as being an enjoyable game of “basebrawl.” Dan L.

Between Kri's storybook style, intense voice acting and epic storyline, | would have sworn it was based on an animated film. But after my burly hero rammed an enemy head-first into a stone wall, | knew this was no Bambi. Kri's gameplay blends solid. slasher action with Keen stealth elements—! especially dug the intuitive combat model that had me ably fending off three attackers at once. The game affords you several options for tricking foes into becoming easi- er kills, but you can always just dive in for an all-out melee. With all the newattack features it kept intro- ducing, Kri felt a little like one big training mission, but | was blown away by its depth. Jonathan

Leave it to Midway to take baseball and pervert it into a freak show like this. I have to admit, smack- ing around a batter who just hit my best corkscrew pitch is quite satisfying, though. And many of the gameplay staples such as the diving.catches and laser beam throws are solid on every front: the ani- mation, the control, etc. | only wonder how long Slugfest will stay fresh for arcade fans once the slap- stick wears thin. After all, It's not like Blitz where the crazy tackling and rapid-fire pace keep the adrena- line flowing non-stop. But for those already accus- tomed to baseball's slower pace, Slugfest's wacky approach offers a fun change of pace. Dean

What the... where did this game come from? It’s like someone took the best parts of a Disney film—the memorable characters and smooth animation —and replaced all the song-and-dance numbers with neck- snapping, torso-gutting, throat-slitting carnage. Combat is an adrenaline rush of offense, defense and combos that lets you kick multiple butts at once, and, most importantly, with style. And the way your bird can scout ahead, grab items and fool guards? Genius. Not to mention all the stealth, sniping and puzzle elements worked.into the various levels. It's right up there with Metal Gear Solid 2 as the best action the PS2 has to offer. Play it. Mark

VISUALS REPLAY

SOUND INGENUITY

8 8 8 1

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 126

When | first heard that Midway was planning to weld the Blitz formula to America’s favorite pastime, | was filled with a mixture of joy and dread. Joy because an up-tempo baseball game sounds like fun, and dread because | feared the execution would just be stupid. It looks like | was right on both counts. Slugfest brings the fun with sharp graphics, awesome play- by-play commentary, and pick-up-and-go controls. The stupid part is the gratuitous baserunner/fielder melee designed to cause havoc on the field. Plus, the game clearly favors the batter (hint: use turbo), making the typical game of Slugfest a war of attri- tion. Yanks: 28 Red Sox: 23? Please. Milkman

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

8 1 1 1

egm.gamers.com

Ricky Carmichael x бышка 409; Я Publisher: = res : i THQ Developer:

Î Pacific Coast Power

img & Light # of Riders: 28 Pros plus Create- a-Rider options

Best Feature: Large num- Players:

ber of tracks and events 1-2

Worst Feature: Floaty, unre- | Web Site:

alistic physics www.mxsuperfly.com

SuperFly has the looniest physics I've ever experi- enced in a motocross sim—the way you can toss your cycle around while airborne is almost comical. | can’t understand why a title that otherwise sports such realistic bikes and tracks would allow such weirdness. OK, that puzzles me, but in light of the positives, it’s still a good time. The course designs are pretty ingenious overall. What seems like a ran- dom spattering of jumps and bumps is really a group of strategically spaced obstacles that, depending on how you preload your shocks, can be navigated with either speed and grace or clumsy recklessness. Trying to get it perfect is part of what makes the game so addictive. | wish | had room to mention all of the game's cool nuances; suffice to say, compared to last year’s edition, Superfly is a more well-round- ed title. Improvements like the new minigames, bike upgrades’ and decent, if a little difficult to master, track editor are more than just throw-away fea- tures—they make an impact. And maybe next year I'll get my wish for more believable physics. Dean

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

8 1 6 1

VISUALS

M Publisher: = r= 300 Developer: 3DO Hero resembles: Fabio's evil twin Й Players:1

Also try for some big axe-whoopin': Rune: Viking Warlord Web Site: www.3do.com

Best Feature: Looks decent Worst Feature: Monsters out of it like Ozzy on triple his dose of Vicodin

Woo dog what is that smell? Methinks they've done it again! And this time...oh no, not in my new +2 Gauntlets of demon-smite! Ooh, bad developers, bad! Listen, if | wanted to role play as a medieval musclehead crossed with an extra-lame DC super- hero from the late '70s, then I'd dress up some male escort, drop him off at a comic-book convention and enjoy the show. Seriously, who is this game made for? Monsters hit so hard with the dummy stick they politely wait for you to take a swig of healing potion before attacking, formulaic dungeon puzzles and enemy encounters, and quests taken straight out of the RPG bargain bin make you really ponder why the developers bothered. C'mon, we're talking about a hack-and-slasher with stationary pifiatas for targets here! And.if-being able to morph into creatures is supposed to float this sucker, then Michael Jackson's "Black or White" would have saved his career. It's yet another looks-great-on:paper title that never even made it to mediocrity before some shmuck said, “ОК, cut! That's a wrap!" Boo! For shame. Jeanne

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

0 4 3 1

= Setinthe uorld'simost. O O Huge'selection of off-road dangerous шаггопеѕ; dodge vehiclēs with reflection mapping minefields and’enemy cross- and meticulous detail get you fire to deliver the goods. Where you need to be.

NINTENDO ИК GAMECUBE. www.rockstargames.com/smugglersrun

Е. Daring.missions includir aerial. drops and borde chases take you thr n

immersive st

Nintendo GameCube® and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios logo are trademarks of

Angel Studios. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. © 2002 All rights reserved.

Atari

Publisher:

Developer: Reflections = Featured In: EGM #156

Players: 1

Also On: None

Best Feature: The Stunt Arena

Worst Feature: Long, frequent load times

Web Site: www.stuntman-game.com

tuntman represents a totally new twist

on the driving genre. But when you con-

sider it's from the same people behind the original Destruction Derby and the Driver series (both on PS1), it's not surprising that the game is so unique.

Start out as a beginner stuntman who works on low-budget films and makes extra cash by performing death-defying feats at the local short track, then work your way up to performing on the equivalent of a Bond film. Along the way you'll learn to do things like barrel rolls, nitro-assisted jumps and thread- ing the needle through high-speed, oncoming traffic. The adrenaline rush is unparalleled.

Fulfill your childhood dreams of being Bo and/or Luke Duke by smashing through lots of stuff and making lofty, home-grown jumps in A Whoopin’ and а Hollerin'.

This high-speed chase from Conspiracy chal- lenges you to land your snowmobile right on top of your airborne pursuers.

But the price may be your sanity. Stuntman is way hard, there’s no doubt. We guarantee you'll be short on patience—and maybe intact controllers—during your Stuntman experience as you try the same levels over and over. At least the game'll last you a while....

SUNDAY!

When you think of stuntmen, chances are your mind wanders back to that daredevil you saw jump through a flaming hoop or over 36 buses at your local racetrack. We know we do, which is why the Stunt Arena is our favorite part of Stuntman.

As you work through the game, you unlock some very cool cars and toys you can use to set up your very own death-defying stunts to wow the blue- collar workers who've dragged their children out to see some vehicular mayhem. Plus, it's fun to watch Crispin devise new ways to attempt the for- bidden jump-into-the-crowd trick.

eg

| don't think any other title we've reviewed in the past couple years has caused more swearing (or property damage, in the case of Crispin "Cone of Violence" Boyer). There's no denying that this game is friggin’ hard in certain spots— perhaps too hard, but that's debatable. If you're the type of player who doesn't relish spending over an hour or more on a specific mission, then don't even bother with Stuntman. But know that none of the challenges are impossible—they just require some major precision driving, which I love. After being frustrated on a par- ticular stunt for so long, the feeling of accomplish- ment you finally get out of finishing the damn thing drives you to work your ass off at whatever the direc- tor has in store for you next. And the sheer variety of the six films in the game means you're in completely new vehicles and settings every few missions. From hopping rooftop to rooftop in a snowmobile, to crushing cars in a monster truck, to racing through the hill& of Monaco in the latest sports car, | never got bored with Stuntman. It's like a bunch of different driving games in one package. The cars all handle slightly differently but still retain that same feel you got in the first two Driver games-on;the PS1. So | guess the bottom line is that Stuntman is definitely an acquired taste (just watching people play it around this office proves that), but if you get into it, you really get into it. Greg

Part thrill ride, part medieval torture, Stuntman had me screaming, “Give me a [freakin'] break!” more times than my co-workers could count. Sure, the graphics, control and physics here are super-duper. It's just thatthe actual gameplay can get as repetitive as scrawling “I'm astuntman!” à thousand times on а chalkboard. Too many stunt sequences.are too long, and even the tiniest mistakes (say, hitting a curb the wrong way) foul you up, forcing you to redo the levels over and over and over: The funny thing: I kept coming back for more:pain, and when I finally beat a stage, | felt like the happiest gamer in the world. Well, at least until the next level. Grispin If | were a real stuntman, I'd hope my director would give me a briefing of what | was expected to do before he actually ran me through the gauntlet. Stuntman does not do that. It forces you to wing every damn stunt over and over (the director barks orders at'you on-the-fly) until you learn the course. It’s just frustrating, and the game's overly flippy physics and periodically nasty slowdown make every car drive like a bus. Even worse, if your timing is off and you screw up-a stunt, you might as well start over and enjoy the fat load:times. That's called “arti- ficial replay value" folks, and even the little CG movies can't fix that. Milkman

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

1 6 8 0

VISUALS

SUNDAY! SUNDAY!

Right: Earn the

loop in the Stunt

Arena and you'll

impress the fans.

Throw in a fiery hoop with some

explosions to follow up.

Left: Use car launchers to send | up to four vehicles toward each other | at top speed, resulting in the mass carnage you | see here.

METASB-EE Мег. СА

MORE MEDABOTS: M

Расе off against the world's toughest Meddli ters and their Medabots та high-tech contest that leads all the way to the World Robattle Tournament!

fi

Features characters і our р апа Мейаро seen оп | d t!

AUS Medabots,... г Aedaparts and M /~the-Medabots Е i ailable in each vi

¬ ysanimated-series! a Medabots AX! =

EVERYONE

Mild Violence Serious Q71 , aid

„САМЕ ME үс Et

С me inc. "Serious Fun"lisa.wademark of Natsume Inc. © 2002 Natsume Inc/“Medabots" is a trademark of Kodansha and is used computer game’ soitware *Medarot" produced by Imagineer Co., Ltd. & Natsume-Co--Ltd;” © 1997 Imagineer, Natsume. © 1999 NAS/Kodansha, "n All Rights Reserved.Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2002 Nintendo.

The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

Publisher: Atlus са ГЕ Developer: Pixel Arts

Featured In: EGM #150

Players: 1

Quirky: Character designs

Best Feature: Excellent sense of flight

S-l-o-w-d-o-w-n www.atlus.com

Worst Feature: Web Site:

SG combines the whimsy of a Hayao Miyazaki (the guy who brought us Princess Mononoke) anime with epic aerial warfare on a level rarely seen in video gaming. Think final battle in Return of the Jedi and you'll have an idea of the sort of unfriendly skies that await you. With all that in-your-face action, it's a good thing SG sports an easy-to-pick-up combat sys- tem. What sets the game apart from other dogfight- ers (like Jedi Starfighter) is that the gameplay camera always points to the bogey you're currently locked onto (PC flight-sim geeks call this a “padlock view"). That way you always know who you're shooting at, where he's going and how to get on his six. (If the funky camera throws you for a loop, you can also lock your visual down to a behind-the-plane per- spective.) SG isn't very long, but it packs a lot of replay value—aside from obtaining three other char- acters, you can also unlock new modes, such as Survival and Time Attack. The game also sports a fea- ture |- wish. more. companies would include: the option to pick either English or Japanese voiceovers (the latter..comes with subtitles," of. course). Graphically, SG looks brilliant by design, but it's almost too ambitious on a technical.level. When the action heats up, SG bogs down big time. Fortunately, at the price of slightly worse graphics, you can unlock a code to iron out the slowdown. It's really the only glitch in this otherwise superb shooter. Ghe

If you swapped the Star Wars theme out of Rogue Leader for a pastel-heavy cartoon ambience, you'd have the basics of Sky Gunner. It's the closest thing to a 2D shooter turned зр, and that rocks. The game has you gunning down formations of tiny.solo fight- ers and huge flying fortresses alike—setting up chain combos on these guys with your lock-on arma- ments is half the fun. Since you're competing for points with your two wingmates in the main game, you actually want to go back and play each stage several times to earn ship. upgrades and top the rankings. SG's got an inexcusable slowdown problem but is otherwise good, clean fun. Jonathan

If you've ever wondered what it would feel li like to be Snoopy and chase the Red Baron out of the sky, Sky Gunner will put that curiosity to rest. Boasting some of the most inspired aesthetics since Panzer Dragoon, SG conjures a sense of flight and freedom so convincing, you'll want to nose-dive out of the sun and into an enemy's blind.spot just because you can. Although it is, at its heart, a shoot- er, Sky Gunner's gameplay is layered with technique and strategy, which should satisfy gamers looking for something meatier. The.game slows to a near-halt at busier times, but terrific voice acting and endearing characters keep Sky Gunner on top. Milkman SOUND REPLAY

VISUALS INGENUITY

1 8 8 8

Stitch Experiment 626

Publisher: Sony CEA

Developer:

High Voltage Soft. Players:

1

PI E

EVERYONE

John Woo Moment: Power up and blast aliens with six guns at once

Web Site: WWW.scea.com

Best Feature: Grappling over pits of lava Worst Feature: Headache- inducing camera

If it weren't for the pounding headache resonating in my cranium right now, there'd be a lot to like about Stitch. But damn it, when the camera positioning switches around as fast and as erratically as it does in this game, you can't ignore it. You need precision jumping skills here, and it's inexcusable for the cam- era to freak out like it does in this game. Forgetting about that major gripe for a moment, 626 is an inter- esting way to do a licensed title. It's a prequel to the movie, following the lil’ blue alien’s life before he landed on Earth in stage after stage of blasting the crap out of everything in sight. What's not to like about.that? Level design is solid too, especially the bits where you use the grappling beam to swing over lava or radioactive goo. Visuals range from.cool to looking like they were lifted off of the PS1. And for a game based on the hilarious Lilo & Stitch movie, theré ain't'much of the laugh-laügh: Luckily, loads of clips from the film make:up-for it. In the end, howev- er, the awful camera throws a bucket of painfully cold water on an otherwise good time. Chris

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

L) 5 2 3

VISUALS

Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Melbourne House Started on:

The Dreamcast, back in the day...(sniff) Players:

1-2 (1-4 Multi-tap) Lame: Tweety

Web Site: us.infogrames.com

ara

Best Feature: Great cel- shaded animations Worst Feature: Dull tracks. What’s up, doc?

Space Race is one of only a few kart-style racers to make its way to PS2. | can safely say that this former Dreamcast game, starring all your favorite Looney Tunes pals, shines above the competition as the best title of its genre for the system—in other words, it’s better than the Star Wars: Super Bombad Racings and Lego Racer 25. But don’t get your hopes up, doc. When it comes to truly great gameplay on par with the Mario Karts and Crash Team Racings of the world, this one takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque. The game controls well and succeeds in capturing the feel of the classic cartoons, especially with “gags” for thwarting others (you can't call them."weapons" and still get that E rating) like the classic falling anvil. And some fantastic cel-shaded graphics and a multi- tude of character animations give the game visual appeal. But | just couldn't help but get bored as | racedithrough the *Looniverse" —the game's simple, straightforward tracks get tedious after the first couple of races. | had such high hopes for this one, too. Sufferin' succotash! Chris B.

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

8 4 3 5

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 130 - egm.gamers.com

The Way of the Samurai

Publisher: =г= Bam

Developer:

Acquire

Featured In:

EGM #155

Players:

1-2

Also Try:

Bushido Blade (PS1) Web Site: www.bamafun.com

Best Feature: Open-ended story and multiple endings Worst Feature: Super-steep learning curve

With its deep fighting system and non-linear 3D adventuring, The Way of the Samurai is a bold move toward something great. While the game doesn’t totally deliver on its immense potential, there’s a lot to admire here nonetheless. Samurai’s unique but ultimately clunky combat system avoids repetitious button-mashing with parry-and-dodge techniques that keep you on your toes. On offense, you have the option of pushing or pulling your opponent to throw him off balance and leave you an opening for the kill. But it works both ways. The opposition can also anticipate your attack and use your own momentum against you. If it. sounds complex, well, i It takes a while just ti getthe basics dêl before you can exploit the game |

human sashimi, Still, Samurai's open ture and,branching storyline gives the if | did this instead of that?” quality coming back for more.

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

Publisher: X Atari 4 Developer:

Pitbull Syndicate Featured In:

EGM #142

Players:

1-2

Supports:

Custom Soundtrack Web Site: www.atari.com

Best Feature: A lot of cool cars to collect

Worst Feature: Annoying chatter during races

Test Drive attempts to pass itself off as a Gran Turismo-style racer, earning you new cars and award- ing cash for every top-three finish, but that money is pointless since you never buy anything. Instead, Test Drive feels more like a mix between Project Gotham Racing and Burnout. You have a bunch of licensed cars like in PGR, but 9o percent of the time you're battling it out for position while weaving through traffic in one of four different cities (San Francisco, Tokyo, London and Monte Carlo), much like Burnout. The combination might not be the deepest racing experience you'll ever have, but it's very satisfy- ing. Fundamentally, this is just ап arcade game. Yeah, Pitbull tried to make it a bit more sophisticated by adding a storyline (that you'll be skipping through more often than not), and the Xbox version features some annoying opponent chatter that breaks up the music during each race, but you'll still get your money's worth out of Test Drive. It's a perfect game to tide you over until Sega GT 2002 ships out later

this year. Greg

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

1 6 4 1

WE'LL REWARD YOU FOR

ir i : E

SIE s f = SPARRING = CONQUERING.

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‘© QUINT 121092 5801016

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Hitmaker X Featured In: EGM #156 ч Players: 1

Cabbies and cities from the first two games, plus more

Game slows down in Glitter Oasis www.sega.com

Best Feature:

Worst Feature:

Web Site: ost Dreamcast owners agree that one M of the best times they had with Sega's late console was when they were tearin' up the streets of San Francisco in the original Crazy Taxi. They'll likely also tell you that Crazy Taxi 2 came up a little short.

Enter High Roller. A Crazy Taxi “director’s cut" of sorts, High Roller gives you the West Coast (San Francisco) and Small Apple (New York) areas from the first two games, plus an all-new Glitter Oasis (Las Vegas) level to learn inside and out.

Outside of that and some new minigames, though, this game is basically the same one you may or may not have played before. The entire experience remains easy to pick up, dif- ficult to master and satisfying for anyone who bothers to put some effort into doing so. Besides, Crazy Taxi 3 just oozes so much cool with its awesome cars and sweet tunes, you gotta check it out at least once.

Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller мые. 7

CRAZY X

The minigames in Crazy Taxi are nothing new. Hitmaker’s always used them to introduce players to techniques like the crazy drift, hop and stop. But the chal- lenges found in CT3’s Crazy X mode are some of the most unique we’ve seen.

Crazy Football: You need to get a foot- ball player from one endzone to the other by avoiding the oncoming cars. Stay in bounds!

Crazy Tornado: This must be Kansas, *cuz there's a twister up ahead raining cars from the sky. Try to avoid them and make it to the goal before time runs out.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 132 - egm.gamers.com

Left: Roads? Where you're going, you don't need roads. Shortcuts are essential when time is money. Below: See the blue arrow at the top of the screen? It points to your destination "as the crow flies," rather than trying to show the best route like the green arrow normally does.

Е А t A

Crazy Taxi fans couldn't ask for much more than this. After a slightly disappointing Dreamcast sequel, CT3 brings all the best aspects of the first two games together and packages them with a third city that's simply loads of fun to play. Streaking down the Las Vegas strip (or a reasonable facsimile) with eyes peeled for your next customer before you deliv- er your current one is what this game's all about. It sounds almost too simplistic to be fun, but once you've figured out all the crazy techniques (which the Crazy X mode forces you to do), you'll find yourself unable to put this game down until you earn the most cash possible in all three cities. And if you feel like you're a Crazy Taxi master by that point, you get to beat the Crazy X challenges to prove it. Lemme tell you, these are harder than any group of minigames in the previous two titles, hands down. But if you complete them, the extras you'll get (no, we're not telling) are totally worth it. | might sound like I'm gushing about this game. And while | do think.a few things could be done better, süch as some easier Crazy X challenges at the start and some better- placed customers in certain parts of each city, | real- ly can't complain too much. | guess if Crazy Taxi 3 lacks anything, it's a multiplayer game. This is the type of sit-down-and-play experience you wish you could do with a couple of buddies. At least Crazy Taxi 4 has something to shoot for. Greg

I look at Crazy Taxi 3 in much the same way | look at

something like Barry White’s Greatest Hits CD. Both are packed with value, teeming with the hits of yes- teryear and have new features tucked in for bonus fun. А good.game doesn't go bad, and.in.the case of CT3, the tracks from the previous two games play even better thanks to the crazy moves that weren't available before. The huge new Vegas level rocks, and when you factor in the San Fran and NYC tracks, CT3 is what СТа should have been in the first place. | expected a little more out:of.CT on Xbox visually, but for anyone who's missed the Crazy Taxi thrill ride before, this is the one to own. Milkman

As soon as | heard that same ol' Offspring song blaring through my TV speakers, | knew | was in for a deja уй experience. The arcade gameplay, the goofy charac- ters— nearly everything here is classic Crazy Taxi. For Xbox owners.who've never played СТ, having almost allthelevels and a bunch of challenging minigames on one disc is a sweetheart of a deal. A person could burn a lot of hours trying to beat the entire enchi- lada, Old fans should be satisfied with the additions, as well. The new Glitter Oasis city is just as deep as the others, and exploring the West Coast with the ability to jump (a feature not in the first edition) adds a whole new dimension to the game. Dean

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

1 3 8

VISUALS

EVERYONE

CONTENT RATED BY

и

Q Live your own Three Kingdoms experignee! Play on&of535'eharaeters from civil servant to the mighty Lu Bu! @10 scenarios with multiple endings and story paths! The fate of China is т your hands! PlayStation es @The biggest leap forward іп the series! Amazing graphics, quicker gameplay, and added features!

The makers of Dynasty W. new look at Tactical

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

®

Bethesda

Publisher: t Developer: Bethesda Д6, Also Try: Pen-and-paper D&D ^ Players: í

Features: Unpronounceable names

Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site:

Scarily huge world Worst...battles...ever www.morrowind.com

it’s a doozy. Forget what you know about

console role-playing games—Morrowind changes everything. This PC interloper invades the realm of console gaming with a style of play that bears little resemblance to that of Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. You won't find any spiky-haired youths, turn-based battles or linear, one-truck storylines here. In this game, it’s just you, alone in a massive fantasy world with com- plete freedom to do as you choose. You deter- mine every aspect of your hero’s appearance, attributes and abilities. If you’re unhappy with the available character-class options, well then design your own custom class. When you want to take a break from the main storyline, embark on one of over 400 optional quests. These miscellaneous tasks will score you lots of cool items and status aides.

T he first Xbox RPG has finally arrived, and

SHANE’S HERO:

| Var Jar Bin'ks RACE: Argonian | CLASS: Custom (Magic Gungan Warrior)

Ч SKILLS: Water Breathing, In- visibility and pratfalls.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 134

JON'S HERO: Cheddar RACE: Dark Elf CLASS: Adventurer SKILLS: Illu- Sion, Enchant, Conjuration;

| the essential traits of a com- plete pansy.

The epic sense of scale Morrowind offers has never been seen in a console RPG before. The offi- cial hint book weighs in at a hefty 370 pages!

But sometimes you might need a respite from questing altogether. Try some sightsee- ing. The world of Vvardenfell provides excel- lent hiking grounds with 10 square miles of terrain to explore. Or maybe you're not cut out to be a heroic do-gooder. If that's the case, start systematically slaughtering towns- folk and stealing all their loot. It's all up to you, and the adventure could literally go on for months.

MARK'S HERO: Colonel Sanders CLASS: Custom (Extra Crispity Anti-Paladin)

| SKILLS: Long Blade, Block, Sneak, butcher- ing innocent vil-

RACE: Redguard |

amers.com

Ah, which laughably named location should | explore next? Maybe I could see the scenic shrine of Addadshashanammu or the treacherous cave of Shashpilamat. Or perhaps I'll visit my good friend Hentus Yansurnummu in the Arvs-Drelen region. (No, we're not making this stuff up.)

Ea | Y үзм

I'm not sure if you guys are ready for this one. I've played nearly every console RPG from the past 20 years, a few PC quests and even a multi-year live- action D&D campaign (did | just admit that?), and | was Still overwhelmed by the enormous scope of Morrowind. This game thrusts you into a complex, liv- ing world that's also a bit daunting. Following the ten- uous main quest can be tricky, as optional side- quests constantly lure you away from the path. It's all 50 open-ended and freeform that you can easily get lost in the world and forget about the "game" proper. It's enough to make your head swim, which is itself pretty impressive (and scary). At least all of this mon- umental adventuring looks fabulous. Traditional swamps, forests and plains look great, and the more creative areas will astound you. Exploring a Venetian- style canal town or a city filled with insectoid build- ings is simply awe-inspiring. If only the gameplay could match the quality of the visuals. To put it sim- ply, Morrowind's battle system sucks. It's slow, clunky, vague and boring. Luckily, combat isn't too terribly frequent, so the game's not completely ruined. Even so, | do think Morrowind deserves а caveat—it's so dauntingly huge that the average gamer might not have the fortitude to stick with it through the first day, much less its entirety. However, fora certain type of player...say, a bored dude with no summer job, it's a fabulous time-waster. Shane

Holy hell, am | exhausted. Morrowind's easily the biggest, most hardcore behemoth of an RPG I’ve ever played. It’s so open-ended that you actually feel lost right from your babe-in-the-woods beginning. Once | learned that grilling every villager for info was the key to getting jobs, joining guilds and political factions, eventually establishing an identity and reputation for myself, things came a lot more easily. But between the awkward PC-RPG combat, having to cover a veri- table Nebraska of ground to complete even small jobs, and trying to absorb all the prattling of the townsfolk, I can’t imagine anyone but the hardest of hardcore appreciating Morrowind. Jonathan

This is as close as a console RPG has come to pen- and-paper games like D&D: deep, non-linear and H- U-G-E, with more characters, towns and dungeons than you can imagine (all that’s missing is the dice and Mountain. Dew). It's way too much to go into here, and honestly at times it's overwhelming—the intricacies for the (very cool) abilities to make your own spells and magic items alone could fill a book. Combat isn't so hot, and you spend way, way too much time reading the same text talking to people. But if you have the time and are willing to commit to a seriously in-depth RPG (Final Fantasy it ain't), the freedom Morrowind allows will astound you. Mark

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£y ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA GAME GROUP

Publisher: Majesco Developer: Rage

в Featured In: | ЕСМ #154

| Players: 14 Supports:

X

Best Feature: Awesome

event variety Custom Soundtrack Worst Feature: Stupidly long | Web Site: load times majescogames.com

| once thought that demolition-derby simulators were solely for people who attend truck pulls and raise prize hogs for the county fair, but this title has made me a fan. Variety is the key to Totaled!’s suc- cess— you're not just crashing wildly іп an automo- tive free-for-all; the Career mode offers more than 20 vastly different types of levels. Creative modes such as Hunter, Checkpoint Race, Skittles n' Crates and Stuntman keep the gameplay fresh. The sheer length of the Career mode will draw you in, and you can use the cars and levels that you unlock there in the Arcade and Multiplayer modes. Visually, Rage has concocted a.shiny, speedy package that.looks on раг with other Xbox racers. Some stages suffer from slowdown, but it's nothing major; the long loading times and junky tunes hinder the experience much more. Sometimes you'll suffer through 20 seconds of loading for six seconds of playing. If you lose and need to retry, it's time-to load again! Oh, and the music—get ready for pop-punk about Chupacabras. Or better yet, rip your own soundtrack. Shane

VISUALS REPLAY

SOUND INGENUITY

Guilty Gear X:

Advance Edition

49 Publisher: REZ Sammy 5 Developer: Arc System Works Featured In: EGM #154 Players: 1-2 Supports: Link Cable Web Site: www.sammyusa.com

Best Feature: Easy pick- up-and-play mechanics Worst Feature: Looks kinda rough, even for GBA

Since a great deal of Guilty Gear's appeal on the PS2 is in its flowery presentation, the GBA isn't the best platform to appreciate a game like this. But if you've worn a hole in your A button playing Street Fighter II and are looking for a logical transition, GGX is your best bet right now. Most of the moves are based on the same types of button combinations as SF's, so fighting gamers will have a solid start, and it plays well enough for competitive players to enjoy. But newbies will also have fun just messing around with the quirky characters and enjoying the show. The mechanics sit somewhere between Night Warriors (PS1) and Samurai Shodown (Neo*Geo) —outlandish weapon-based and ranged attacks that can yield glamorous combo strings if practiced. Like any fight- ing game, though, it's only as good as its replay value, and GGX's is a little better than average— it's just not the kind of game most folks will still want to play a month from now. Extras like Tag Team and three-on-three modes didn't do anything for me, but they're included if that’s your bag. Jonathan

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

6 4 6 1

Electronic Gamir

Majesco

Publisher:

Developer: Hudson

Featured In: EGM #148

Players: 14 ^ Also On: None

Best Feature: Four-player Coin Battle! Worst Feature: One-player game can get repetitive Web Site: www.majescogames.com

How this game went from “Oh god, not another Bomberman" to “This is one of the best B-mans I've ever played!" in three easy steps: First, | played the one-player action-adventure game. Though straight- forward and filled with "puzzles" that couldn't stump aJerry Springer guest, this mode was still entertain- ing enough to keep me busy for hours. The Pokémon-style monster catching/battling/breeding part seems forced (marketing: “Hey...the kids love that Pokémon stuff. Put it in our game, stat!"), but admittedly, it did add an interesting element to the adventure. After a while, however, the game got a bit monotonous because you're tackling the same obstacles over and over. So next, | tried four-player Battle mode. Yeah, | complain about "yet another Bomberman," but somehow, multiplayer never gets old. Generation offers interesting stages, plen- ty of options to customize each match, and your choice of 2D or 3D perspectives. OK, this package is getting better, especially if you have the mindset that the 1P mode is just an added freebie to the superior party-game.side, Finally, | discovered Coin Battle. Now this is worth the purchase of the disc almost all by itself. It’s a frantic race to collect the most coinage on the stage, but the fun comes when you blast someone and scatter half his coins about the level. Out of all the Bombermans throughout gaming histo- ry, this single mode is one of the very best. Shoe

Publisher: Activision Developer: From Software Players: 1

Also Try: Jade Cocoon 2 (PS2)

Best Feature: Innovative card combat system Worst Feature: Cannot flee or surrender if you run out of cards during battle

Web Site: www.activision.com

Christmas has come early for GameCube owners. Not only is Lost no Final Fantasy copycat, it succeeds where other RPGs fail by presenting novel ideas and executing them well. Graphically, the game's charming design tends toward the fantastic rather than the realistic. It’s no technical masterpiece, but its unique look works well overall. Although lev- els are just varied D&D-style dungeons (with mon- sters weirdly stolen right out of the Monstrous Compendium), Lost stays fresh thanks to puzzles, mini- and side-quests, and a smooth difficulty curve. Most impressive, though, is the unique battle-card system. Think adult and violent Cardcaptor Sakura anime action with a heavy strategic twist. How heavy? Forget to pick an effectively balanced deck of cards before a level, or fail to drop a card during bat- tle to get to the next card coming up that you need, and you're pretty well screwed. A lack of in-level saves makes things even tougher. "Transforming" or upgrading your cards also plays a huge strategic role, since having more high-level cards in your deck will significantly up your readiness to take on any- thing-that comes your way. Downsides include not being able to surrender in boss. fights after you run out of cards, forcing you.to. wait to die or quit, and A.l. that has trouble navigating big environmental objects. But Lost is a great surprise winner for GC— be sure to thank Santa for this one. Jeanne

Describing BG as cute would be a gross understate- ment. But don't write it off just because it looks like something for your lil' bro. What lies under the sur- face is a game with lots of replay value and origi- nality. Some.cool twists on what you might expect from the platform-style single-player mode include a wide variety of puzzles and Pokémon-like “Charabom,”whose specialized bombs are essential to getting through levels. And with two bosses per world and по mid-stage saves; you'll need all the help you can get. Multiplay? Better than ever, with its 2D/3D views, new- and old-school game types, and addictive Bomberman genius. Partyon. Jeanne

When! first heard that you battled using cards іп Lost Kingdoms, images of horribly boring collectible-card games rushed through my head. Thankfully, this is a lot more entertaining than any Magic: The Gathering. The unique battle system is what makes Kingdoms stand out it's incredibly easy to pick up. Yet at the same time, evolving your cards and build- ing a winning deck gives it a bigger punch in the strategy department. | wish more of the story was told visually instead of through'text, and a quick way to centerthe camera behind you would've been nice. Still, "Cube owners looking for a solid, enjoyable RPG should look no further. Chris

As much as I’ve loved Bomberman in the past, | only really loved it because of one thing—the multiplayer modes. And Generation has those in spades, with loads of awesome game types to play with your buds. My fave: Coin Battle (probably cuz | came back to beat the hell out of Shoe and Jeanne at it). But this time it isn't just the tried-and-true multiplayer that's good. Hudson has tried to turn the B-man into a lot of things in the past—action, RPG, racing... But Generation feels right as a really fun'action/puzzle game (one of my favorite genres) that mixes in a bit of Pokémon/monster breeding for good measure. Come for the multiplayer, stay for the rest. Ghris

SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

VISUALS

Aonthly - 138 - eg

The last thing | expected out of From Software was a card-battle game that doesn't actually play like one. Yes, despite the game's affection for decks, Lost Kingdoms is an action-RPG that uses virtual cards to summon the.hordes of ass-kicking 3D. monsters who do your bidding. Although the,storyline is pretty lame, the game moves along at a good clip, taking you from level to level with lots of secrets to discov- er and tons of battles to keep you busy. The controls, which simply map four cards to each of the four main buttons, makes controlling: Katia (who looks too much like Red Riding Hood for my tastes) a breeze. A nifty, if linear, action-RPG. Milkman

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

4 m. ӘӘ Publisher: THQ

Developer: Yuke's

Featured In: EGM #155

Players: 14

Better Than: SmackDown! Just Bring It (PS2)

Best Feature: Complex grappling system

Worst Feature: Scant character-creation options

Web Site: www.thq.com

years now, you're probably aware of the differences between THQ's Nintendo 64 WWF titles and its SmackDown! series for PlayStation. Traditionally, the N64 titles fea- tured more strategic, grapple-heavy bouts. The Sony-bound games offered flashier, fight- ing-game-style combat. It's really a case of bruised apples and reamed oranges, as each style of play is fun in its own way. Surprisingly, THQ has decided to keep this dichotomy alive in the next generation. Wrestlemania X8 carries on the tradition of grapple-based gameplay, making full use of a wide array of holds, throws, reversals and submission moves. The game's roster swells with 42 larger- than-life WWE superstars, including past WCW, nWo and ECW members. Of course, you can also tailor your own champ using the

| f you've been into ’rasslin games for a few

Nothing beats making three of your friends into WWE superstars and then proceeding to lay the smack down on their candy asses!

Create-A-Superstar mode. Developer Yuke's has also meticulously re-created the recent Wrestlemania X8 event sets along with seven other official arenas. In addition to old-fash- ioned normal matches, you can tackle zany ones like Cage, Ladder, Table and the ever- popular Hell in a Cell matches. You'll also find all of the entrance tunes, TitanTron video reels and wrestler entrances that you'd expect from the leader in “sports entertainment."

EGM FUN WITH “CREATE-A-SUPERSTAR”

NAME: Shane Bettenhausen AKA: Shank

BEST MOVE: Running Away GOOD LIKENESS? Yes, but perhaps a bit uh, exaggerated.

NAME: Chris Johnston AKA: “C.J.”

BEST MOVE: Pelvic Thrust GOOD LIKENESS? Nope, it lacks C.J.’s hair and glasses.

NAME: Greg Sewart

AKA: Great White North BEST MOVE: Canadian Kick GOOD LIKENESS? Eerily

realistic. “Sloth love Chunk!” тб. x

NAME: Jeanne Kim м AKA: Miss Behavin' BEST MOVE: Korean Curse GOOD LIKENESS? Yep, Jeanne wears that outfit all the time.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 187 - egm.gamers.com

WHAT THE F?

What's with the WWE? Well, after years of lawsuits, the World Wildlife Fund has won the rights to

the initials. Damn pandas.

It's great to play a wrestling game that actually simu- lates the strategic, grab-oriented sport of wrestling. Sure, X8 still has all the pyrotechnic hullabaloo and Slick presentation of a WWE broadcast, but under- neath all that jazz, you'll find a complex system of holds and reversals that would please Greco-Roman grapplers. In fact, X8 has the best gameplay of any recent wrestling title. The GameCube controller per- forms wonderfully—holds and throws are a breeze to pull off and changing targets with the C-stick is sim- ple. As with most wrestling games, the matches tend to drag on much longer than Га prefer, but at least the slowly building action usually climaxes with some stunning exchanges. Plus, you can spice up the fights with the copious match types. Slamming people against the side of a cage with a trash bin can be а nice change of pace after a few traditional bouts. But visually, X8 doesn't do much for me. The characters, rings and crowds look merely OK, and the janky colli- Sion detection means you'll see a lot of arms and legs clipping through each other. The soundtrack is also fairly vanilla for a WWE title: a mix of nondescript, kind of out-of-place music with the occasional Limp Bizkit or Motorhead tune. However, the limited Create-a-Superstar mode might be the biggest snafu in the game, due to a lack of appearance options. My quest to re-create EGM staffers was curtailed by a dearth of Asian male faces. Shane

If | have one complaint, it's that X8’s Create-a- Superstar mode is fairly bland. You can't go nuts with the options and make anyone really cool. Other than that, this is a very competent, fun wrestling game on par with SmackDown! in almost every. way. You've got a big collection of gimmick matches (Hell in a Cell, Cage, TLC, etc.) and a bunch of different show settings to choose from. Control-wise, I’m really impressed by X8. | had no problem pulling off any move | wanted, and using the GC's C-stick makes focusing on different opponents a breeze. Plus, | get to play as Hogan! Aw, hell yeah. It's about time | got to lay the big boot on The Rock. Greg

Wrestlemania X8 is almost a wrestling fan's dream

come true. But there's one thing that's keeping it from achieving greatness: the incredibly dull Create-A-Superstar mode. One of my favorite parts of previous.rasslin' titles was the ability to put my friends and myself in the ring. X8 just doesn't have enough variety to do that accurately. At least THQ and Yuke's didn't skimp on anything else. This is a smooth, fast, easy-to-play brawler with loads of awe- some match types (my personal fave: TLC matches) and impressively deep story and belt modes. | miss Xbox Raw’s broadcast-style replays and presenta- tion, but this is the better overall game. Chris

VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY

Ву David S J Hodgson

Welcome to the all-new Tricks section, brought to you in conjunction with the good folks over at Prima Games and overseen by our new tricks editor. Despite the Britney's Dance Beat secret, we're still happy with the hiring. Spot anything unusual? Need trick info? Then write to tricks@ziffdavis.com

Тор 5 Tricks of the Month

Britney's Da Hint Me Baby One (growl)

We know you've rented it and wept at how bad it really is. But have you immersed your- self with Ms. Spears totally? Not if you haven’t achieved 9,999 points in Audition mode. With that, you'll get the *playable" Baby One More Time video as a “reward.”

FIFA World Сир 2002

Goooo0000000000aaall!!!

All-Americas Team

Achieved after you win the World Cup with any Americas team.

All-European Team

Get it after you win the World Cup with any European team. All-Asian Team

Get it after you win the World Cup with any Asian team. All-African Team

Get it after you win the World Cup with any African team. All-World Team

The final, soccer-tastic squad becomes accessible once you unlock the four “All-Star” teams mentioned above.

Gran Turismo 3

Platinum Series Revisited

Professional Mode In Arcade mode, highlight “Hard” and hold L1 and R1.

VEHEL..

d нисатзкглае 3

Tricks of the Trade i

1 Resident Evil

Want infinite grenades of normal, flame and acid? The alchemy involved is tricky, only works in Once Again, and ruins the balance of the game. But that's why you're here, right? Step 1: Take Acid, Flame rounds and the Launcher to an Item Box. Step 2: Place the Launcher in the top-left item-list space. Put two grenades (of any type) in the last two inventory spaces. The third set is loaded in the Launcher. Step 3: Leave the Item Box, equip the Launcher so it's your “weapon,” then open the Item Box and scroll to an empty

2 Tony Hawk's |= с

tore apart our previous Trickster after he misinformed them about Tony Hawk 3 codes on the Xbox. Well, we're here to rectify the sit- uation by showing you how to play as everyone's played-out, has-been crypt adventurer. Obviously, this is a lady skater who looks like Lara and not the real deal (this THPS3 "Lara"

You Cheatin’ Bastage!

How long after you’ve bought a new game do you resort to using codes, cheats or a GameShark?

Source: Gomers.com poll, 5/02

Only after

- Infinite Grenades

space. Put grenades in that space. Flick the cursor over the grenades, press A, and the cur- sor moves over your Launcher. Press A again and the Item Box grenades are loaded into your weapon and multiplied to 456! Swap them and repeat for more!

doesn’t have breasts made of three polygons, for a start). lronically, she is much more maneuverable on a skateboard. Eidos should perhaps take note. The Plan: Go to “Create a Skater,” “Female,” “69 in” for height, slap on “145 lbs.,” select a “light skin 5” face, “Light Brown Pony Tail” hair, “tank top” 145, S до, В 90), give her a *brown backpack," "shorts"

,lve got " the codes before the game is released!

Codes? 1

don't need no stinkin’ codes! I'm h4rDcOR3!

(C 35, S 100, В 100), and “work boot" (C 35, S 50, B 20). Save and start shreddin’ wit’ da lady!

3 Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter - Jedi Mind Tricks

Check Poisoned Skies for a Surf Droid near the small island near the central tower. It appears just after the two Hex Deployers, surfs a wave, then vanishes.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 138

Mount Merakan has two secrets. As Jinkins lets you know, there are only three buildings left, so check the two big mountain pipes. Inside the top pipe is a cluster of Easter Eggs!

egm.gamers.com /look

Also on Mount Merakan, at the foot of the pipes, are two ore containers separated from the rest. This is where the Trade Federation keeps its more sculp- turally aware Battle Droids.

Top 5 Tricks (cont.

Grant Theft Auto Ш Sam’s Hot Car Lot

Increase the size of your Й stolen-car collection by stealing motors and slotting them into your bulging garage. The next time you play, you'll have a whole load! Check our seven-car roadster collection (above). This works in the two larger garages. Steal a car, take it back, then run and jack anoth- er, place that in the garage, grab one more, park it outside, reverse one of your interior cars halfway out of the garage, and scoot the new car in.

Spider-Man Bonesaw, Thugs and Harmony

EGM already |=] EE EQ busted out the goods on Spider-Man, show- ing you multiple outfits, the "easy Green Goblin" code and all that cool stuff, but we forgot to show you how to fight the game's only really *hidden" boss, Bonesaw the wrestler. In the Basic Combat Training mode, beat 59 goons in succession, and your 6oth and final adversary is the shambling thug known as Bonesaw. Want to reach him the easy way? Then input this code (organicwebbing) for limitless 500, stick on the wrestling cage roof, and web ball every foe who appears! Tedious, but easy.

Stuck on a game? Partial thumb paralysis from г too much Tony Hawk? Need some sarcastic game | advice? Then send your problems to the Game پس‎ Doctor at tricks@ziffdavis.com. An array of enticing

prizes are awarded for the most bizarre queries. |

That’s more of a statement than a question, but I’m new here, so ll let it slide. For some GameCube hardware fun, you can buy three more con- trollers, plug all four in, press the Z trigger on all of them (prehensile fin- gers and toes help), and with your fifth hand, boot up the system. You'll hear

GAMECUBE..

drums and a Mystical Ninja-style “Yeeeooow!!”

A Direct and to the point. Nice. Try nitro-

ing at top speed into extremely solid objects, such as bridge supports. With cars to hit after the crash, the results

are even more spectacular!

А You mean aside from returning it? Well, try entering L1, L2, X, Tri, L1, L2, X, Tri during the game or at the main

menu. You can then skip to any level you like and slap palette-

swapped ninjas ad nauseum.

GameShark Codes

Ready to ruin the life of your VF4-playing friend? We've got the “all items" code to make him weep!

VIRTUA FIGHTER 4 = |

(M) Must Be On 0Е3С70Е21853Е59Е EESEFEF6BCD7A57A Infinite Health (Player 1) CE775A9EBCA99B4C

Infi Health (Player 2) CE7753C6BCA99B4C Infinite Round Time

CEAD99EABCA9A28B All Trials Beaten (Training) DE404336BBA89A82 DE404332BBA89A82 DE40433EBBA89A82

Electronic Ga

Grand Master Rank (Kumite) CE777012BCA99B9D 9999 Wins (Kumite) CE77701EBCA9C292 Zero Losses (Kumite) CE777018BCA99B83 Collect 5-Ruby Bracelet DE45F41EBCA99B84 Collect 7-Ball Necklace DE45F4C2BCA99B84 Have АЦ Items BE45F45ABCE29B84 FEFEFEF9BCA99B83 Play as Dural (Player 1) FE481D0EBCA99B83

ing Monthly - 139 - egm.gamers.com online

Costume Changes `

Different Outfits

Complete the game on any difficulty setting to receive a Closet Key in the first Item Box you open. Head for the door with the castle on it, inside the velvet corridor near where you got the Mansion First Floor Map.

Jill's Costumes

Outfit 1: Sara Connor. Available after one game. Outfit 2: RE3 clothing. Available after two games. Chris’s Costumes

Outfit 1: Deep Cover. Available after one game. Outfit 2: Code V clothing. Available after two games. Rebecca's Costume

Outfit 1: Runaround Sioux. Available when Chris is wearing a new costume. Message from RE Creator Finish in under five hours in Invisible Enemy mode and unlock a message from Mr. Mikami. After that, a slideshow of unfashionable costumes is shown. Once you see this, you cannot access it again, so keep a save prior to completing.

The Italian Joh Blow the Bloody Doors Off!

Cheat Mode

Tri, Cir, Tri, Cir, Tri, Squ, Tri, Squ (input at main menu) All Italian Job Missions Cir(2), Tri, Squ(2)

All Free Ride Missions Squ, Tri, Squ, Cir(3), Tri, Cir

TRICKS

Transworld Surf Cheat's Up, Dude!

Input during the game (Code Unlock first). Warning: These are hard to get working. Temporary Code Unlock Back (button), Up (2), Down (2), Left (2), Right (2), Up, Left, Down, Right, Up (2), L. Green Surf

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Left.

Easy Floating

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right (2), Left.

Full Special Bar

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Down, Up.

Disco Light Show

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Down, Right.

Different Colors

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Right.

Disable Heads-Up Display Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Right.

Paddle Faster

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Down (2).

Invisible Board

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Up.

Shark Surfing

Back, Up, Down, Left, Right (2), Down.

Back (4) disables codes.

RalliSport Challenge

New Courses

Unlock Downhill Tracks Name driver “Geronimo.” Unlock Endurance Races Name driver *TheLongHaul.

Behold the Black Guardian, Mantorok Rune, Safe Swordplay and More!

X Need help defeating the big boss? Want to wield your big sword correctly? Here's a quick burst of Y strategy to help you stay sane....

The Black Guardian

Facing off against the final foe At the end of his chapter, Peter fights a Black Guardian. The only effective offense is the Magickal Attack spell, which you should’ve collected from the hallway wall outside the Guardian’s lair.

The first attack is a long-dis- tance strike. Cast a three-point Magickal Attack after it strikes, so the spell finishes casting when the Black Guardian is flashing. After three hits, watch for Zombies. Cast the spell when the third Zombie is summoned, as the Black Guardian is vulnerable. After two more strikes, the BG attacks close in. Dodge and cast your spell as it slumps. Repeat twice for victory!

desde d ы y IE м ELLA LEA мао Wm

You Lookin’ at Me?

Sanity-induced mayhem!

When Alex’s (and Paul’s) sanity is low, they imagine that the marble bust in the 2F Mansion Hallway turns and follows them. It isn’t harmful, so “bust” out your own Hamlet soliloquy, with the bust playing Yorick. Self amusement is the name of the game!

The Mantorok Rune How to find the hidden element With Lindsey, collect the Tier and Aretak Runes and cast Summon Trapper. Send it through the rub- ble in the southern second-floor hall and into a hidden room. Move it onto the purple circular panel to open an alcove that has the Rune.

Lunatic Hidden Stunt Courses and the Ultimate Car!

are

ern =

Safe Swashbuckling Heavy weapons in tight corners Equipped Karim with the Ram Dao? Scraping every wall in nar- row corridors? Target the head, even when it is decapitated, for a vertical, non-scraping swing.

Secret Ending Cinema Third time’s a charm....

Beat the game once, begin again with your save and repeat. The

About to take the wheel of a jalopy for a spot of insanely difficult precision driving? Then pull up to our bumper, baby, and check out these hidden levels and the best darn motor in the game!

Crazy Lee Carter’s Auto Thrill Show! Secret Level 1: Complete Toothless in Wapping Once the Brit flick is done, try heading through fire hoops, five barricades and out of a cannon!

Howling Hardy's Car Dominos! Secret Level 2: Complete A Whoopin and a Hollerin Hang with the Basco boys and finish their three scenes to unlock a rampage through vertical cars.

Lucky O’Sullivan’s Hell Drivers! Secret Level 3: Complete Blood Oath

Race import motors and Tuk Tuks through Bangkok, then try some synchronized car ballet.

Monster-Truck Mayhem!

Secret Level 4: Complete Conspiracy

Take a massive Monster Truck out for a car wreck or two once the political thriller is solved.

Secret Level 5: Complete The Scarab of Lost Souls Smash priceless WWII vehicles with vigor to unlock an insane world-record-36-bus-jumping attempt!

The Italian Work of Art

Ultimate Stuntman Car!

Finish the “harder than Mike Tyson” final film, Live Twice for Tomorrow, and unlock the sporty “Ferrari testicle-roaster"— perfect for all driving games!

ыы

Eus

Men in Tights: Every Hidden Wrestler and Arena Revealed!

Chris Benoit

Be Heavyweight Champion

The crazy crotch-butting Canadian Crippler may have been out for months with a neck injury, but that hasn’t stopped him from appearing in this game. Let the Abdominal Stretching begin! Cool move: Crippler Crossface A + B while facing foe.

ieee С. Ric “Nature Boy” Flair

Be European Champion Whooo! Win the Euro belt to see the owner of Raw in all his sag- ging and orange-skinned glory. Cool move: Figure 4 Leg Lock A+B (opponent on ground).

Hidden Arena 1

Feel the need to relive the early days of SmackDown, back when the logo was cool? Then com- pete in a five-hour match. Leave the game on, return after the fifth hour, and pin your foe.

FROM THE VAULT 81

boat stage.

pum a =. 227" 4

Virtua Fighter 3th —Takarashi Fl

Every month, we scour through our classic gaming collection for the weirdest, strangest and downright most amusing cheats we can find. This month, we boot up the Dreamcast and uncov- er the real reason why Takarashi was banished from Virtua Fighter 4. Steady there, big fella!

Vincent K McMahon

Be Intercontinental Champion Unlock Vince after going inter- continental on your adversaries, then strut your stuff as the boss before stunning him, Stone Cold-style, for taking on a wildlife charity...and losing. Cool move: Stone Cold Stunner А + B while facing enemy.

Raven

Be Lightweight Champion

Win Lightweight to unlock one of the few Mensa members to recently have his teeth kicked in. Cool move: Raven Effect

А + B while facing enemy.

Royal Rumble 2001

Hidden Arena 2

Thirty sweaty men in the arena at once? Almost. Win a 30-man Royal Rumble event, and the arena is yours. Then create-a- wrestling Drew Carey and beat the living crapola out of him.

D. as x Rd STEP 1: Choose a Versus match with two Takas. Choose Shun's

boat begins to tip....

STEP 2: Move both players on the barge behind player 1. The

Rhyno

Be Hardcore Champion Another awesome wrestler, another crushed neck. Lament Rhyno’s real-life injury by unlocking the rendered version after becoming the Hardcore champion. 24-7, baby!

Cool move: Gore! Gore!

А + B while running at enemy.

Stacy Keibler Be Tag-Team Champion

Win with a friend to unlock Vince's "secretary" —the poster girl for women's liberation.

Cool move: Pump-Handle Slam A + B (behind opponent).

Wrestiemania X7

Hidden Arena 3

Remember back when the Big Show wasn’t waiting tables in X8 and dropped Raven from a gorilla press instead? Relive the fun by playing a match in every default arena to open this up.

ч: The Sumo Raft Glitch

ъё. m STEP 3: The boat slowly sinks and flips while Taka’s extremi-

ties wobble. Nasty!

D

Electronic Gaming Monthly - M1- egm.gamers.com now

Tony Hawk 3

These Ones Actually Work!

Choose the Cheats selection from the Options menu and enter the following case- sensitive passwords. If entered correctly, you will hear the sound of money. being collected.

Cheat Menu When Paused MARKEDCARDS

Super Stats

MAXMEOUT

Unlock АЦ Characters FREAKSHOW

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy

More Lunatic Characters! Input as a character name:

EGG911

Chicken Supreme RAT333

Rodent Warrior

ICE600

One Big Dwarf

PNK666

Head-inflated Punk Jester

TRICKY... RESULT «

PLAY moe 52.38)

Check the completion time for Resident Evil. Pretty impressive, yes? Here’s the challenge: Can you beat this time using Chris “Shallo Pockets” Redfield? Send us a photo to prove it!

FINAL WORD

Shoe: E3 was big. Almost too big. The Zeldas, Getaways and Blinxes overshadowed other games that are worth mentioning. Sly Cooper on the PS2, for example: It's Metal Gear Solid sneaky action meets platform/mascot gameplay. Or Alter Echo for

PS2 and Xbox. This is a technique and combo-heavy

beat-'em-up that may fill that ugly void that Eve of

SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS

Extinction created. And the new Fear Effect, which was only on video at the show. | can’t wait to see how that sick and depraved game turns out.

Jon: Whatever, Shoe. You’re just hoping for more lesbian innuendo from the new Fear Effect. | think Silent Hill 3 also has the potential for a lesbian encounter. But it can’t be THAT different from the first two games, so | won't call it a sleeper hit...just one of my must-haves for down the road. | think

Daredevil might be the under-the-radar action game

that comes back to surprise us. The combat and stealth aspects look like they will be better than

Spider-Man’s, plus it’s got a neat shadow-realm deal

going on that reminded me a little of Soul Reaver.

In fact, I’m gonna go sew my red tights for the movie

and game premieres now. Greg: | think almost everyone missed TDK's little booth, tucked away in the corner as it was. It’s a

pity, considering their Robotech game (coming to all

three platforms) is looking better than ever. Playing the single level they had at the show prompted me to break out the DVD collection and start watching again. | can understand Jon not being that interested, though. The men-in-tights ratio in Robotech is way too low for him.

ROBOTECH: BATTLECRY

Chris: Being partial to giant robots, the sleeper of the show for me was Enix’s Robot Alchemic Drive (R.A.D. for short—coolest name ever) for the PS2.

ROBOT ALCHEMIC DRIVE

The stereotypical anime-robot show concept, with a crack team of teenage heroes piloting huge-ass mechanical robos, was too cool to pass up. And keeping with the giant robot/monster theme, | really enjoyed Sony’s Incog Inc.-developed War of the Monsters. Something about throwing a huge insect through a building and then grabbing an oil tanker and tossing it onto his nearly dead carcass... It doesn’t get much better than that.

Shane: You guys were too busy looking at all those whiz-bang games with giant robots and killer ninjas to notice one of the finest titles at the show— GameCube’s Super Monkey Ball 2. Graphically, it’s an amazing technical leap over the first one, and the new minigames are simply brilliant. Who wants to bet we play it more than SOCOM? I'll take ya on!

SUPER MONKEY BALL 2

Che: With all the noise over online RPGs this year, | thought it was incredibly timely and clever of Bandai to release .hack (Dot Hack), an offline-online PS2 RPG with a post-modern twist. The game turns the genre on its head by not only having you play as a character who's also playing a character (a game within a game), but also with its faked "virtual" environment and lobby reminiscent of games like Phantasy Star Online. Plus, it comes with a 40- minute anime DVD that covers the side of the game you never get to see—the real world within the game. Confused yet? Trust me, it's cool.

2. 22) ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ......... 1 Robert F. Callahan

Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer ..Bart W. Catalane

Senior Executive Vice President .................. Tom McGrade (Publishing Operations)

Executive Vice President ......................... Peter Longo Executive Vice President .................... Stephen D. Moylan

Executive Vice President and Editorial Director ....Michael J. Miller (Editor-in-Chief, PC Magazine)

Senior Vice President . . ‚.. Jasmine Alexander (Technology and Sales Operations)

Senior Vice President (Circulation) ................. Charles Mast Senior Vice President (Game бгошр)................. Dale Strang

Senior Vice President (Internet) ... . Jason Young

Vice President (Corporate Sales) .................... Ken Beach

ice; President а Qe mem eine | б. Barry Golson (Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Internet Life)

Vice President (Integrated Media) ................. . Charles Lee Vice President (Corporate Communications) ....... Aimee D. Levine Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) ............ Eric Lundquist

Vice President (Technology) .... «Bill Machrone

Vice President (Controller) ....................... David Mullen Vice President (Human Resources) ................ 4 Beth Repeta Vice President (General Counsel) ............ Carolyn Schurr Levin Nice President's. О eerie einen Sloan Seymour

(Publishing Director, Baseline). Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline) . . . Лот Steinert-Threlkeld Vice President (Internet Audience Development) .. . Stephen Sutton

Vice President... ое sees onim e Stephen Veith (Publisher, CIO Insight)

Executive Vice President and General Manager .... . Mark Van Name eTesting Labs

Senior Director, Manufacturing ..................... Carlos Lugo

Director, International .. Christin Lawson

e gii | yous wanted i print. magazines. panding

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NEXT MONTH

September 2002 (issue #158)

ELECTRONIC] CAMIN G

MONT HEY

Now that E3 2002 has come and gone, the stage is set for one heck of a showdown later this year. To counter Nintendo's fierce lineup of games, both Sony and Xbox will put their money where their broadband adapters are

and roll out their online strategies. Next month,

we roll up our sleeves to give you even more dirt on all the above, so that you can figure out your place in all this madness. Plus, we take a look at the best peripherals that turn your home console into a portable box of gaming delights. Oh, and you know that behind-the- scenes look at how “bad games get made” we promised you last month but is conspicuously missing from this issue? We promise to include it next month. Seriously.

PlayStation

MAGAZINE

Aug. 2002 SLY COOPER

Onsale Aug. 13 & THIEVIUS Demo Disc RACCOONUS Playables Next month, OPM covers Sly Cooper * Street Hoops and the Thievius e UFC: Throwdown Raccoonus, a game Н that тау be great * Taz: Wanted enough to get you to * Freekstyle look past its horrendous name! * Sled Storm Plus, don't miss their e Stuntman comprehensive Р " E3 roundup featuring ° ws Dance the biggest PS2 titles k like The Getaway, Videos Dark Cloud 2, Primal Red Faction 2, Deus Mat А Ex 2, Tenchu 3, ХИ Hoffman 2 and Silent Hill 3. * Dragon's Lair * Kingdom Hearts * Test Drive

*.

Eternal Darkness

«Түү

Атта! Crossing &

А! editorial content is subject to change.

Aug. 2002

On sale Aug. 20 ЕЗ Coverage

e The Mark ої КИ Morrowind

SUE. 2 % NY > * #

Se, х

FALL PREVIEW

Next month GameNOW will tease and torment you with all the games you're going to want this fall. Yep, it's a super-duper, extra- special fall preview, featuring coverage on all the sure-fire hits. On the review side, they'll put PlayStation 2's Stuntman through the paces. They're sure to have some strategy surprises and tons of codes to boot, so don't miss out.

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 144 - egm.gamers.com

Reviewed Next Month:

® Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem (GC)

e Street Hoops (PS2, Xbox) e NCAA Foothall 2003 (PS2, Xbox, GC)

e Mat Hoffman's Pro ВМХ 2 (PS2, Xbox)

e NFL 2K3 (PS2, Xbox, GC)

Previewed Next Month: ® Animal Crossing (GC)

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (PS2)

Robotech: Battlecry (PS2, Xbox, GC)

COMPUTER

WORLD

NEVERWINTER NIGHTS

Bioware revived D&D on the PC with their acclaimed Baldur's Gate games. But they were just warming up. Get ready for Neverwinter Nights—

Aug. 2002

On sale Aug. 6

Morrowind

а an RPG with Reviews multiplayer action e Morrowind that will let Dungeon с Masters around the * Might and globe share their Magic IX adventures online! a CGW has the * Spider-Man exclusive hands-on SW Galactic report, interviews and Battlegrounds: three covers to boot! Clone Campaigns Previews Р Earth and Beyond * Age Of ; Mythology 1 C * Impossible A, LT Creatures Spider-Man = Р) 3

LOOK FOR THESE SPECIAL ISSUES ON NEWSSTANDS

EVERYWHERE!

NATION INDEPENDENT XBOX MAGAZINE

ELECTRONIC ARING =S ODY

Advertiser Index

Activision... i.a cei E ET, 16-17 www.activision.com

Аб ровен USE 125 www.atlus.com

Bam! Entertainment ........ esee 53 www.bam4fun.com

Best. EET iD OI NE REPE x QS SUE 113 www. bestbuy.com

Blockbuster Inc. ...... csse ОНО 21 www.blockbuster.com

Buena Vista Films .

www.reignoffire.co

[jc M —————Q 81 www.eastpak.com

Ecko Unlimited КК ТЛ ГҮ 47, 115 www.ecko.com

Eidos Interactive .............................. 24-25, 41, 43 www.eidos.com

Electronic Arts. К нн Т РК. 14-15, 146-147 www.ea.com

Electronics Вош\їдие......................... SU VOR кажа, 11 www.ebgames.com

Electronics Boutique/EBWorld . . . . . MAPS ен 85 www.ebgames.com

Full Sail Real World Education ............................ 77 www.fullsail.com

Game Music Online ........ sees 75 www.gamemusic.com

Infogrames - Los Angeles ............................... 4-5 www.infogrames.ne ШС 119 www.inteclink.com

Koel 2c» РЕМЕТ Ves ues eeu SE seven es 83,133

www.Koeigames.com

Majesco Sales ШС... „нее ники n n 121 www.majescosales.com

Midway Home Entertainment. . .. . . . . . . . 19, 34-35, 55, 60-61, 69 www.midway.com

Natsume „еее оо окон во ее е е езже жов» .. 129 www.natsume.com

Nike Inc оао e ihren 6-7 www.nike-presto.com

Nintendo of America Inc ................................ 109 www.nintendo.com

Paramount Pictures .............................. я .13 www.paramount.com

Phantagram Interactive ...... “КККК оова 57558 www.phantagram.com

Sammy Entertainment ............ Sisto uS Yo qe .... 65 www.sammyentertainment.com

Sega оѓАтегіса....................... E "TT WWW.sega.com

Sony Computer Entertainment of America ........ а: . 8-9 WWW.Scea.com

Take 2 Interactive - Rockstar Games ......... sinc ais RO OUR 127 www.rockstargames.com

THQ „еее sies sisaaossssestresirces s2:9 30375101 www.thq.com

U.S. Navy Recruiting Command. .... аи 50a,-50b, 51 www.navy.com

Vivendi Universal Games Inc. - PPG.................... 102-103 www.interplay.com

Vivendi Universal Games Inc. - Universal Interactive 48-49, 67, 91, 97 www.universalinteractive.com

Wizards of the Соа$ї................. www.wizards.com

Answers to ng. 46's Crossword Puzzle

“з айл ЕЕ cist 7 - УВ

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Control Buffy as you kick vampire ash all over Sunnydale High. The Bronze and anywhere else

bloodsuckers raise their ugly heads. Seek out Giles, Xander and Willow for clues and cautions. But casting hordes of fang-freaks back from whence they came is a Slayer’s job.

Use wooden stakes, fireballs or your surroundings

to start faking the “un” out of the undead. Only on Xbox: и fy

Blood and Gore ©2002 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Fox Inter E Vampire Slayer and their associated logos are registered trat Mild Language marks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights г Suggestive Themes ratings ic trademark of the Interactive Digitial Software Associ Microsoft, ind the Xbox logos are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation inthe U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft.

AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR WORST FEARS WERE BEHIND YOU. -

! Challenges, Enemies, 5 роп, Secrets, М ysteries & Areas

4. The Most Telrifying; Realistic Video

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TURN OUT THE LIGHTS. Lock THE Door...LIVE THE N

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Blood and Gore ZNINTENDO (€ GAMEUDLUBE..

Violence

£ 4 © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 1996, 2002 © CAPCOM U.S.A. 1996, 2002 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO are registered trademarks of CAPCOM'CO., LTD. RESIDENT EVIL is a/registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. LICENSED'BY NINTENDO. Nintendo, Nintendo GameCube and ће Official Seal are y Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo.