_ FINALLY...A NEW EVIL ARRIVES... EES P52 ONLINE: YOUR GUIDE TO ALL THE LAUNCH GAMES es yy The €4) Video-Game Mag for PS2*Xbox» GameCube: PS one°GBA... eS ELECTRONIC ry == = at ae Be eS ‘ Bere se a al a a ¥. = 7 ! . = = 2. | | 3 EXCLUSIVE NEW INFO AND SCREENS! PLUS: PLENTY MORE FOR FANS OF THE UNDEA Wy: hice li THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD MOVIE ig Z i ONIMUSHA 2 ~ Ml ETERNAL DARKNESS li BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER koa Mi CASTLEVANIA: HARMONY OF DISSONANCE ~~ a PAGES OF PREVIEWS! START SAVING YOUR MONEY—A TON. * KINGDOM HEARTS ‘ .* ‘amie. | OF GAMES AREHEADED YOUR WAY | | FINAL FANTASY MEETS DISNEY i >» ~~ * hy i" eS ae TOM GLANGY'S SPLINTER CELL vencuatlh i! |” DISPLAY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 3 THE GAME THAT WILL MAKE YOU GO ' g “METAL GEAR WHO?” 4 ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Eoeilam ete September 2002 $4.99/$6.50 C : a = ; 09> AP] PREVIEWED: ™—#® Men in Black II (PS2) ap Tekken 4 (PS2) -| @ Dead to Rights (Xbox) ~ AR ck = Harry Potter (al | | -_| ™ Madden NFL 2003 (PS2) — a, eal # TimeSplitters 2 (all) 0 1"14024"06960 _| = Mat Hoffman 2 (PS2) hua m Myst lil: Exile (PS2, Xbox) Fc) V RCN ISS COM a _ It's time for someone small to do something big. It's up to Stuart to help Margalo return stolen jewelry and defeat the Falcon. You'll love adventuring as Stuart Little through 7 big levels and 12 mini-games, including driving his roadster, flying his biplane and, of course, enjoying some awesome skateboard action. It’s the Big ~ Apple. You're the size of a small apple. This isn’t going to be easy. EVERYONE COLUMBIA(4.~ CONTENT RATED BY PICTURES : ESRB ira areaicoatente , Stuart Little 2: TM & © 2002 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. Game ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe."PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are “. al aad PLINT E SELL “A spectacular-looking, gizmo-crammed ‘ 9 black-op experience Electronic Gaming Monthly A February #1 OPM’s Most Wanted PS2 Games Official PlayStation Magazine — February "I played the PS2 demo, I was blown away. PSE2 — March Releasing Early April 2003 www.splintercell.com Le ig “J Ww jaan i wee . Sieneiiiiiiniemineimnminntcadmeneeegee a oe wilt le See at ae. ee ¥ Hah pale te. ARG (hh, ht 7 Wy) Hi hating ghia Miata ASB e ROUAS TORRE eae pauuennalre’ sesrconnr he he ee a pit LR gee So BRUTAL. SO EVIL. So DEADLY. ee A NEW LEVEL OF INTENSE COMPETITION HAS ARISEN. AS: TWO “POWERFUL LAAN WWW NVV VV ifs seer oyna KORE EABIY ALLA Ne, ibe drag ea, owes the iG ay) : Aroma if Say Coniputer [tort PGE Midessy Semnesent a 3 = Hes ne Sash te fiedernarks Se ne SORCERERS HAVE 2 oye ? serene courires ond ae cea ee Seas CL MIDWAY oobi Se e ae . _ AND pula, e-dateai Gong OVER 20 NEW AND CLASSIC WARRIORS. EXTREMELY REALISTIC EFFECTS AND BRUTAL NEW FATALITIES. IT’S IN YOUR BLOOD. -WWU.MORTALROMBAT.MIDUWAY.COM NN Ny ™ © and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and ! Trademark Office. SEGA and SUPER MONKEY BALL are registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION or its affiliates. © AMUSEMENT VISION/SEGA 2001, 2002. All Rights Reserved. DOLE® and DOLE & Sun Design® are registered trademarks of Dole Food Company, inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. CONTENTS Game Directory SOROS T RPT ON TROND RN IDR NNEN I DNN A AHNNI NII RI NINN NII 106 Alter Echo 112 Animal Crossing 118 Batman: Dark Tomorrow 130 Battlefield 1942 108 Blade Il 154 Buffy the Vampire Slayer 162 Car Battler Joe 132 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 156 Dead to Rights 108 Defender 162 Delta Force: Urban Warfare 152 Enclave 160-161 Eternal Darkness 119 Evolution Worlds 150 F1 2002 104 Grandia Xtreme 104 Gungrave 110-111 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 124-125 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin 80-82 Kingdom Hearts 148 Madden NFL 2003 148 Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2 162 Mega Man Zero 148 Men in Black II: Alien Escape 128 Myst Ill: Exile 119 Mystic Heroes 150 NCAA College Football 2003 128 NFL Fever 2003 108 NFL GameDay 2003 150 Ninja Assault Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny 152 Outlaw Golf 130 Psychonauts 131 Reign of Fire 104 Return to Castle Wolfenstein 106 RAD: Robot Alchemic Drive 116 Robotech: Battlecry 133 Robotech: The Macross Saga 131 Seablade 126 Sega GT 2002 105 Simpsons Skateboarding, The 74-75 Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 162 Smuggler’s Run: Warzones 90 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs 150 Street Hoops 106 Summoner 2 133 Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts 118 Super Mario Sunshine 114 Super Monkey Ball 2 72-73 86-88 Tekken 4 152 Tennis 162 Tetris Worlds 98 The Thing 92 TimeSplitters 2 120-122 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 100 Tribes Aerial Assault 107. Turok: Evolution 129 WWE Crush Hour 129 Yager September 2002 Issue 158 PRODI TOOT POO IORI AAP DUE EP PETES Departments ORRIN IPT INI IONE B IO IPO IT IO IIR ARON GRP AI eee Editorial 11 Letters 18 Press Start 34 Get a sneak peek at the upcoming House of the Dead movie. Also, the developers of Stuntman and Eternal Darkness share their afterthoughts, and Seanbaby Shares his pain. Get to the rotting, blackened heart of the Resident Evil series with our extensive look at the GameCube prequel, RE 9, the first new Evil in two years. What really happened in Raccoon City? Find out on page 136. Previews 11 This fall promises to be a veritable gaming onslaught that could seriously threaten your wallet. Witness the power and glory of Splinter Cell for Xbox; Onimusha 2, Tekken 4 and Kingdom Hearts for the PlayStation 2; and Animal Crossing for GameCube. Review Crew 146 Eternal Darkness steps out of the shadows to be judged, EA’s first online Madden goes for the extra point and Buffy the Vampire Slayer stakes its claim on the Xbox. Tricks 164 Get down and dirty with some eye- opening (and skirt-billowing) tricks for Aggressive Inline. However, the codes for Stuntman, Medal of Honor: Frontline and Test Drive are 100% panty-free. © The Final Word PlayStation 2 Online is Here The long-awaited PS2 Network Adapter is nearly here. Before you start spending your dough, take a look at the first wave of PS2 online- ready games on page 34. aie al Splinter Cell Gaui Tom Clancy’s latest stealthily invades the Xbox on page 120. Looking to catch some rays yet unwilling to turn off your games? Go mobile with portable screens On page 50. 178 ey. B- -BGOEx<28<2<.8 It’s not such a small world after all when Square and Disney join forces. See it on page 80. Color Doerr PeOPOSPANO OIA NTRP DPI HTP DONOR ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN #1058-918X) is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Class Postage Paid at New York, NY 10016 and additional mailing offices. Single issue rates: $4.99. The one year (12 issue) subscription rate is $24.97 in the U.S. and $40.97 outside the U.S. Checks must be made payable in U.S. currency only to Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55721, Boulder, CO 80322-5721. For subscription service questions, address changes, or to order, please contact us at: Web: http://service.egmmag.com (for customer service) or http://subscribe.egmmag.com (to order); Phone: U.S. and Canada (800) 779-1174 OF (850) 682-7624, elsewhere (303) 604-7445; Mail: Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. 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Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. For permission to reuse material in this publication (or on this Web site) or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media’s Rights and Permissions Manager. For reprints, contact Reprint Services at 800-217-7874. Olga Gonopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc. 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10016. Tel: 212-503-5438. Fax: 212-503-5420. olga_gonopolsky@ziffdavis.com. Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM are trademarks of Ziff Davis Media Inc. TM and © for all other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. All materials listed in this magazine are subject to manufacturers’ change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST Registration number is 140496720 RT. Decode the code in Tricks of the Trade for a secret URL. Did you find last issue's Easter Egg? Printed in the USA. Audit Bureau of Ciradations ELECTRONIC. GAMING By Dan “Shoe” Hsu EDITORIAL Editorial 2: his time last year, | was sitting here think- ing about all the “holy crap” games | would be playing soon: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, Metal Gear Solid 2, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Halo, Grand Theft Auto I//, Final Fantasy X.... After playing those great titles and holy-crapping my pants, | was left with an, um...empty feeling inside, so to speak. Now what? What exciting games could | look forward to now? The first half of 2002 was pretty bleak. Fast forward to today. Looking ahead, | see GIA: Vice City, Resident Evil @, Tony Hawk 4, Metroid Prime, MGS 2: Substance, Panzer Dragoon Orta, Contra: Shattered Soldier, Shinobi.... That familiar feeling in my gut is coming back.... Hold on. Is that all we can look forward to nowadays? Sequels? Prequels? Updates? Director’s cuts? Besides Halo, every game | men- tioned above is part of a long-running or mega- popular franchise. As a gaming fan, I’m wonder- ing if this industry has any originality left in it. I’ll be awfully sad if it doesn’t. Then | think about it some more. What the heck am | complaining about? Having to play all these things? Pft...someone should kick my ass. I’m gonna have fun video gaming this fall and winter, just like | did last year. And hey, if the games ontributors Scott has stopped wasting his powers of annoyance on girlfriends. He now empl these talents upon itie: in our new column in Press Start. We pray. suspecting cele Our new Tricks Editor has already snuck in Do we really want this filth in the mag? Skip k of the book to find out! After writing for small-potato outlets The Washington Post and NBC, John fin hit the big-time in EGM with a report on the House of the Dead fi 1 in Press Start. Eat My Shorts! Same-sex kissing and breast-jiggling cheats. business Stays alive and healthy because of making time to bring out some non-franchise titles. Leave it up to the hardware makers (first parties) to lead by example. Sony, for instance, is trying out new characters in Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper (though they’re somewhat forced to Since Crash Bandicoot is no longer their proper- ty). Microsoft is breaking new ground with Blinx, which uses the Xbox hard drive to record game- play so you can mess with it using “time control.’ Then Nintendo is giving us Animal Crossing, which defies categorization. We’re not even sure this fruitcake of a game even has a point! But, like with Pikmin, we’re glad Nintendo’s not putting all of its eggs into the proven-franchise basket. Look for previews of Sly and Animal in this issue, Blinx last month, and Ratchet the month before. Then make sure you put those titles on your to-watch-for lists. If these games turn out to be as fun as we predict they’ll be, then we should all support them with our dollars. That’s the only way game companies will know we want new and original experiences. But then again, that money will probably only ensure that we get Sly Cooper 2, Blinx 2.... 5, We d never attempt to explain the brutal enigma that is Mr. Baby in this tiny » Or > : Space —head to | seanbal om and taste the adventure! Dam who took the PlaySt. Linux kit for a game-making | ION 2 yride in our Press Start section n’s exploits don’t stop at EGM. Christi r for Anime Invasion at He’s been writing AnimeJump.com, as well as sneaking into the Official Xbox Magazine.... Just a few of the quotes from issue #157: e “The dishes are done, man!” (Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, pg. 79) e “| 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.” (Star Wars Episode II: F’ the Fans, pg. 52) Issue #156’s winners of World Series Baseball (XB): Zach Dillow—Aurora, CO Nathan Sharpe—St. Rome, NY Justin Rice —Fairfax, VA Alan Urtz SE < EarthLink 10d ’ Dan “Shoe” Hsu @ shoe@ziffdavis.com iffdavis.com Dean Hager * dean_hager Mark MacDonald ¢ mark_macdor eg sewart Jonathan Dudlak © jonathz n* jeanne James Mielke * james Che Chou ¢ che chou Q@zift GQ my Scott, Seanbaby, s.com Cyril Wochok ¢ cyril_ wochok@ziffd Mike Reisel © mike_reisel@ziffdavis.com jennifer Whitesides Carlos Lugo Narie Miguel iffdavis.com D e Strang John Davison Simon Cox Shirley Viel Don Galen or, San Francisco, CA 94105 800-779-1174 (U.S. and Canada) http://service.egmmag.com P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-5722 7-8782 © mary_gray@ziffdavis.com f 1 ® marc_callison@ziffdavis.com 57-4925 * ian_sinc ziffdavis.com 415-3 Emily Olman 415-357-5226 ® emily_ olman@ziffdavis.com on@ziffdavis.com Tipler Ubbelohde 415-357-4930 ® tipler_ubbelot ziffdavis.com Ce Kristeen | TT 415-547-8778 ® kristeen_laut@ziffdavis.com C) Amit —— 415-547-8783 © c|_amit@ziffdavis.com Steve Harris WOOD CNVWILITH A Si My 2 3 yICWE pajajsibai e si UOd! SHulyel < eWwepel] pasaysibe : fas ‘ E 410/pu O| JO sysewapel] ase OHO] BAIJOeIa}U] CO] GU} PUE e 2 ye : a ¢ X ‘YOsSoJoI\ “Ou JUsWUUIBS}Ug Jeyndwog Au soplg Jo y Ss / a =] ] yYIBWUSPBI] & SI UISSESSY JUSIIS °Z UBWIIH ‘BAIDGI8]U| OC] Z =p 2 UO!CISAPI cf 08: qa sods EE dIUBOIA | AG G31VY INSINO9 JUdJUO’) JENXVS huolys poo|g SaUNLVAN cow FIIMHL JHL YON OH “ecko unltd. * h illah yey \ 4 ° = Studio game pue Seweu weal 57] Seliedaig ANIedSe) Hst jo Syseiapey aq AB OX si] PUB XOGY WOSOIYy Parsse et ’ SHEIOCION Ho Want to know how realistic NFL Fever ’03 is? Take a number. 1 - Customize your plays to throw off the D 2 - Someone should’ve used the bump-n’-run 3 - Updated home and away uniforms 4 - One very frustrated defensive coach 5 - Dramatic camera angles take you all over the field 6 - 60+ teams mean over 1800 possible match-ups 7 - Player physiques from L to XXXXXL 8 - Updated player rosters 9 - Helmets that reflect the playing environment 10 - Unique player faces 11 - NFL newbies, the Houston Texans 12 - Watch your shadow as you drop back 13 - Where you sweat — they sweat 14 - Shirtless guy with a painted face being loud 15 - Use Hot Routes to exploit the defense 16 - Cameraman hoping not to be plowed over 17 - Total control over the weather — no, not in domes 18 - Go from clipboard holder to MVP in Career Mode 19 - Realistic blocking schemes 20 - Tougher Al anticipates your moves Feel it. Beas ital Use exclusive stteet moves Kot virtual ash ov) Cs mize your look. hoe on (2. Amazing Whe country including Ruckes Fark. winnings 42 buy new gear. fom |-on-l ts S-on-S, and more. Z Ce slo ovtiiy i h ‘ Gambling 7 a , Strong Lyrics Aci VISION. - activision.com Me Mp : © 2002 Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved, Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. Developed by Black Ops Entertainment, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Street Hoops is a trademark of rr Activision, Inc, and its affiliates. All rights reserved. Licensed. for play on the PlayStation*2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation only. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All rights reserved. TM, ® and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. er ed »= Streethoopsgame.com ck th Rock the gear. Ro The evil Nobunaga’s demon warriors wreak BEST PS2 ADVENTURE GAME E3 2002 - IGN havoc across feudal Japan. A noble young warrior, Jubei, returns home to find his once- vibrant village laid to waste by Nobunaga's monstrous minions. Fueled by vengeance, Jubei embarks on an epic quest; one which will reveal his ultimate destiny. On this magical journey, you must earn the respect of confidants to help the valiant Jubei battle demons, hideous bosses, and overcome ingenious puzzles. Only then will you defeat the pillaging hordes. MATURE Violence Blood and Gore capcom.com PlayStations2 ©CAPCOM CO.. LTD. 2002 ©CAPCOM U.S.A.. INC. 2002. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are reaisiered trademarks of CAPCOM CO.. LTD. ONIMUSHA is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. Character Yagyu Jubei by OYusaku Matsuda Office Saku. Characters: OCROWD/OCAPCOM CO. LTD. 2002. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association L se 1 Congratulations Steve Morrison! You win an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color. 2 RANDOM PIC OF THE MONTH ~ — justin Bailey, by Bryan Erck “A tribute to the password code that @ , lets you play as Samus in a sexy w bikini in the original Metroid. Send LETTER OF THE MONTH Nintendon’t Deliver | want to ask if any of you feel the pain | do in being the owner of a GameCube. When | bought this little monster, my siblings and | read your reviews and found that it was the machine for us—games, games, and, uh, more games. Right? Wrong! Six months later, we feel like a guy crawling through the desert who has to choke down the septic-tank sludge he stumbles upon just because there’s nothing better. With the GameCube, you always feel like you’re waiting for the goods in the middle of a draught. Mario? August. Starfox? September. And Metroid? Sweet Metroid comes out in November! With a dearth of games, Well, you're not alone in feeling this way about the GC, Steve—we've been hearing similar complaints for awhile now. The ’Cube has been blessed with some top-notch titles— Smash Bros., Rogue Leader, Pikmin, Monkey Ball and Resident Evil all earned high marks here at EGM, and five exclusive, must-own games is pretty good for any system’s first six months. Yet, for serious gamers, a few great games is not enough. They want a steady stream of new releases, so Nintendo’s “quality over quantity” philosphy doesn’t satisfy. The GC will never surpass PS2 in the volume of new releases (we’d love to be proven wrong), but at least are you guys tempted to give GameCube review games some sympathy points because there is a total lack of choice as to what to play? Where are the GameCube’s killer apps? Xbox and PS2 came out with more than three good games in one season...why can’t GameCube? Please Sir, i'd like More Gore | have always been a die-hard Capcom fan, or more specifically, a Resident Evil fan, but | have a major problem with the new remake for GameCube. | believe Capcom has gone soft. | mean, Sure the overall production values are very high, but there is hardly any gore. | want gore. If they’re even gonna bother making the game look so damn good, why not let the zombies and other enemies literally fly apart when you use an awesome weapon on them? Come on, nothing even happens to a zombie when you hit ’em with the unlockable rocket launcher, except knock them back. You might as well be throwing a brick because you'll get the same results. Travis Snowberger Columbia, Maryland the dark days of the Nintendo 64 draught are behind us. As for sympathy points—no. And you answered your own question regarding killer apps. (Super Mario Sunshine, Starfox aand Metroid Prime are all due later this year.) In the meantime, try reading our GC Steve Morrison Kalama, WA The probable answer, as it is so often with game development, is time —or lack thereof. If you read our Afterthoughts interview with Capcom in the July issue, you know that much of Resident Evil came also cut from RE, probably for similar reasons. figured I’d already read it since | previews with a jar of vaseline by your side to, um...rub out the angst. Beach volleyball - with the Dead or Alive girls? Come on. Enough with — the tease of these : girls in Skimpy together at the last minute, so even outfits. They little changes like zombies blowing should just apart could have delayed the game’s bate ey ‘ ‘ ; at they really release. As an interesting side note, want to release- an unlockable laser weapon was an NC-17 DoA. When will Tecmo have the grape- fruits to do it? - beyondESP Do it For Baby Moses Ghomnace I’m writing to let you folks know that | pasa ae u ure it — have never read anything funnier than now Deed Seanbaby’s piece on the 20 worst Alive 4: games of all time in your 150th issue. | XXXtreme Hardcore. Think that sucker passed by it the first time, but ona would sell? second look, | somehow missed this Electronic Ga | your image of any gaming-related moments to the addresses on page 22 with subject line “Random Pic.” cnvocnnrnccrie sucker. | almost died laughing from his hilarious observations. After reading what he wrote on the Bible Adventures’ Baby Moses game, | literally sprayed my soda all over the page. | liked it so much | let a bunch of my friends read it. Keep up the good work and keep us all laughing and dreading the worst games in the world. And please, let’s have a moment of silence for Baby Moses on the bottom of the river with the spiders. Chris Layfield halfnamek@yahoo.com Thanks for the kind words Chris. Seanbaby endured much hardship, not to mention countless crap games, to bring you that special report. Don’t miss his 30 Games in 30 Days feature this issue, starting on page 48. 8) for the separation of church and games. sony’s Online Love Don't Cost a Thing OK, my friends and | are a little confused about playing PS2 games online. In issue 157, you said “o: cost per month to play PS2 games online.” Does that mean that outside of the cost for the adapter, my monthly cost for an Internet provider (which | already have), and the game, playing the PS2 online is free? Atticus Polston Cedarburg, WI That’s right, Atticus — outside of the costs you mention, it’ll be free to play PS2 games online. Under Sony’s plan, each game’s publisher either sets up their own expensive central server or uses the cheaper peer-to-peer method. (Since peer-to- NINTERDO GAMECUBE EVERYONE Comic Mischeif , e WE GALL IT SLUGFEST FOR A REASON Wwww.midwaysports.net Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB MLE™ Suglest@ 20:05 © 2002 Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Ad rights reserved. SLUGFEST, MIDWAY and the Midway loges are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Major League Baseball trademarks and hts are used ¥ license by Midway Home Entertaiament inc. 1M, C®, Came Bay Advance and the Nintendo GameCube loge are trademarks of Nintendo. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family loge are registered trademarks ef Sony Computer Eetertaiament lac. Micresel!, Xbox, 2nd the Xbax tog pn Ue wel ak wwe i cease trem Micresall Screee mage capteres shows taki UNIVERSAL No INTERACTIVE BLOOD and GORE VIOLENCE Station. “a “S@LIUNOD JOJO JO/PUE “S"f) BU) Ul UOeJOdI0D Yyososo1yy JO sysewiapes) J0 SweWapes) passjsiBas Jayyio aie, OBO] KOK el PUB “XOX YOSOIOIy “dul JuawUIEYayU Jajndwog AUOS jo syeWapes, pasdjsiba, ae O60) Apes Sq oth pue ,uonelshetd, ‘paniesey swyBu jy “UoNesod07) 1weuoy pue “u} ‘annoesayuj jestealur) Aq pa;nquysip pue Paysiigne “4717 ‘BuisUeer, soipnis jesia\un) Aq pasusa!] “soipnys jesieniu) Jo @ Ue |W le sye}OeVeYO Pajeje/ pue Buiy] OY, “Ou “eARIesa}Y} jeSiaAUH ZOD G eteD enijoese]U1 “Buus ou}, i pa tes ee , “ ! surviva jis before. Now, your , and your ability to corftr th ke a game 1 3 ouve never 9, Y fear. 0] i m depends on leadership, > ‘infected S to survive. other il each ei , they might k our $s uad ke yours. Be aware. Stay calm. trust of y ar fe amjparit, but do you Krow 1 ] r the sir decide to ta of ‘MM you Cc aia r Youll need or K en Virus | c . ! g a De oe & a | s 8 2 oO & ec Se -f% 5 6 and who t oe Bu Don “ss LETTERS THE INFO Juicyinfo scraps from | theEGM ‘dinner table, — is Counter-Strike: Condition Zero coming out on consoles before — the PC version? Luis Serrano __ Iserrano | @suffolk.lib.sny.us No. We know Counter-Strike is on its way to the | Xbox sometime next year, but it’s not even | clear yet which _ incarnation of — the game it will — be. CS:CZ wilt definitely arrive on the PC first this Christmas. — There was obviouslya playable version of Soul Calibur 2 at the 2002 E3_ game expo. Why | Roinie:...... .. Babelfish4a@ aol.com indeed, SC2(in — arcade form) was shown behind _ closed doors at E3, but being © protective of an unfinished game, Namco kicked us off the machine afteronlyio minutes of ass — kicking. We'll _ definitely have a better hands-on reportinthe coming months. Can you save PS1 games ona PS2_ memory card? .. fshizer -@weta.net ‘Yes,youcan store PS: files to a PS2 card, but you can only do © itviathe PS2 ‘memory menu. — peer connections happen directly between your and somebody else’s PS2’s, you’re vulnerable to lag when some dweeb with a slow connection hosts or joins your game.) With the Xbox Live online package, Microsoft themselves are setting up central servers to host all first and third- party titles, so you’ll have the same consistent and speedy service for every Xbox game you play. The catch? It’ll cost 50 bucks. What sells gaming hardware more than anything? Exclusives. What is the best way to sell your console to the gaming public? Exclusives. This rule has made and broken many a console company. These days, however, the word “exclusive” is becoming a pure marketing gimmick to make us buy more consoles than we necessarily need, just for an “exclusive” game that goes multi-platform in six months. Just look at Metal Gear Solid 2, Dead to Rights...the list of games going multi- platform goes on and on. Dead or Alive 2 was Dreamcast-only for six months, then comes out for the PS2 as DoA2: Hardcore. | guess you can never take a publisher’s word on anything that is labeled “exclusive” anymore. Eddie Rivera ninjascroll@earthlink.net Aw Eddie, turn that frown upside down! While true third-party exclusives are more rare these days, that’s usually a good thing. More and more of these “time exclusive” titles are offering extras once they they finally go multi-platform. Xbox hermits who haven’t played Metal Gear Solid 2 yet have all the VR training missions and other goodies to look forward to in Substance. Or take the rumored Xbox version of VF4, said to include new characters from the Evolution arcade update. Even that DoA2 Hardcore you mention added some extra costumes over the DC version. NY — mm Jake Slate “persuades” a PS2 owner to buy an Xbox to play Dead to Rights a few months earlier. Choose a Control scheme, Choose Life I’ve recently noticed a disturbing trend. Games on older systems like Nintendo 64 and PS1 used to feature fully customizable controls. But lately, games only give you a few control options (such as A, B, or C) and that’s it. Why the shift away from letting the player set up the controls the way they are most comfortable with? This is 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! “Luckily, | didn't buy MSG2. People called me crazy for not buying it, but look who’s laughing now.” —Lost_In_Zebes i¢ ‘ 4 “It’s a scam! Scam | tell you! They’re just trying to get everybody to buy the game twice! They'll be rich and they know it! I’m still buying it.” —FF_Jason Which console (PS2, Xbox or GC) are you most excited to play online and why? | can’t wait for Xbox online! Forget Halo 2, Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball Online is where it’s at. cochino8@earthlink.net I’m not interested in online gaming at all. | wanna see more games with a strong single- player mode. Blazehgehg@aol.com Go online? | can’t afford a console modem. | mow the lawn for an adult-toy store! GBA Internet all the way! cv_symphony@yahoo.com PS2! Man, | can hardly wait for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs to come out. This will change online gaming forever! faipmode7@hotmail.com PS2 for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs! Nothing like screaming into a headset and annoying other players. angrygamero2@yahoo.com Well let’s see...! don’t own an Xbox, so that’s out. GameCube has ONE announced online title, so looks like it’ll be PS2! hate_them_yanks@hotmail.com | have been a Resident Evil fan since | was just a wee gamer. So I’ll have to go with the PS2 for Resident Evil Online. | want to play a zombie and eat other people! Choking666Victim@aol.com Definitely PS2, if only for Final Fantasy XI. Starcraft819@aol.com PS2 of course. Who wants to pay for Xbox Live anyways? Bmcarthur8@aol.com GameCube of course! Come on, heard of Phantasy Star Online? Sheesh. xgcngamerx@email.com Next Month’s Question of the Moment: What's the worst game you've ever purchased? Why was it so had? Send your brief, coherent responses to: EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject heading: Horror Story PlayStation. — SITET PILING “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios logo are —_— J d —— ~ trademarks of Angel Studios. © 2002 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games f+ + 4 © we a and the Rockstar Games logo are registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive wee counterbalance Software, Inc. Rockstar Games is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, — 4 Inc. All Rights Reserved. LETTERS especially noticable on games like Halo. The lack of options can seriously detract from your overall enjoyment when there are no presets you particularly like and you are forced to choose the least awkward controls for your style of play. Robert Toppin kthulug43@hotmail.com Tell us about it! We know presets are included to make things easy for mainstream players, but we can think of more than a few games that would really benefit from user-customizable controls, Halo being one good example (how often do you really use crouch on the left thumbstick?). It seems like a pretty quick and easy thing for developers to include— after all, if they can let us design an entire 3D skate park in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, we’re pretty sure they can handle assigning “jump” to the X button. We say, include the presets for all the general public, but give us gamers the option to map our own buttons as well. | just read your reviews of Stuntman on the PS2 in the August issue, and | got to agree with Greg Sewart on this one. To me, it seems that Crispin and Mielke based their scores on the extreme difficulty factor of Stuntman, but | say we need more games that raise the bar on what we call, in this day and age, “difficult”. Stuntman brought a tear to my eye as | broke my $34.95 controller because it made me so nostalgic about old-school gaming, back when | had to oo ef - F aii us ; saieaeniaies Stuntmam:. challenging reminder of the “good ol’ days,” or frustrating exercise in repetition-you make the call. You can write EG! at: EGM Letters Please note: We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for space PO. Box 3338 purposes. If you don’t want your name, city/state or E-mail address printed, tell us so (but please include your phone number, mailing address Oak Brook, IL and system preference for Letter of the Month prize consideration). 60522-3338 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! E-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com take blood-pressure pills in order to play Shinobi and X-Men on the Genesis. | don’t like spending $50-$60 on a game only to beat it without SHORTS lwasjust I took all my breaking a sweat. wondering if you allowance with Chris Hatcher know if Simp- different dominations hatchman3@comcast.net sons Skate- and wrote: “EGM on boarding is CNN - Thurs. @ 4:45pm PST” ona total of 20 bills, adding up to $125. Money spreads fast, people coast to coast will see this message. Philip DeSouza Sacramento, CA coming to Game- Cube. | hope it does because | think it would be great to skate- board as Marge. That’s the very reason we have three reviewers for most every title. Just as Sewart’s opinion spoke to the patient gamer inside of you, plenty of other folks agreed with our complaints of the game. So the next time Greg tommy_boyi2@h reviews a racing game, you should otmail.com know who to listen to. As for modern Got a neat, legal stunt that promotes games being too easy, by in large Wait, you EGM? Send it along with some proof , : actually want to i : you may be right, but try getting 20 sivad o bork (we need a picture or something) to KOs in Cruel Melee to unlock Sonic with ol’ Marge? EGM@ziffdavis.com with subject and Tails in Super Smash Bros Melee. — Game. heading, “I am a good EGM citizen.” idea. Ever. Now THAT’s hard. You could win cool stuff! LETTER ART: THE ONLY GOOD THING IN THE MAIL Letter Art of the Month WINNER | Not Quite Sharkworthy... Nice use of the whole envelope here... . Ebook driv riateebtlababicrteatale ee bets 3.~ 3358 ad annannnnnvinremmnenanaennsentinnattassssnstsegeacnash We don't know what the hell’s going on in this envelope, but we like it. And it’s absolutely right about the bomb thing. Nice work, Royce McLean. Your prize is leaving our extremely slow | shipping center- it’s an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color. xs Bek Emer TL ASTRALTETA eainnoecensannndannssonanansanansnassaans Se SASS SELON NOREEN BD LLCOE Bunthoeun Hack Oakland, CA 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.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 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 lining for EGM's official pet hamster's (Honeydew, The Funderful Muse) cage, so don’t expect anything back. Luke Ellison | Toledo, OH For Letter of the Month and Letter Art of the Month contests, no purchase is necessary. But come on, how may of these contests have been won by people who don't actually make that purchase? You think we're gonna let you win if you just send us art without reading the mag? Okay, we have to, but we won't like it. Official contest rules can be obtained by writing: EGM Contests-Legal Rules Request, P.0. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338. Rules can also be found online at egm.gamers.com. miecrronic Gaming Monthly ; 24 = 821. 2aMers.com fo SOR Gee week Be) ete? OTIS 5 a ‘A> aod ¥: Corie oe vy Re ert BEES, See ~ ‘ “ P 1 Le g pas < . re tos By et paid. EVERYONE Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information. © 2002 Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, the EA SPORTS logo, John Madden Football, and If it's in the Game, It's in the Game are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. © 2002 NFL Properties LLC. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other (NFL-related marks) are trademarks of the National Football League. Officially licensed product of PLAYERS INC. The PLAYERS INC logo is registered trademark of the NFL players. www.nflplayers.com © 2002 PLAYERS INC. TM, ®, and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. “PlayStation® and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. EA SPORTS™is an Electronic Arts™ brand, B ect eyaics Magy? z # Where the players play. NIADDEN M 2003 SHIPS 8/13 NFL madden2003.com PLAYERSZ | preerayees See eens What you need to know about taking your PS2 online this fall. Ou may not realize it, but right now 30 million people are out there waiting to | kick your ass. That’s the current number of PS2 owners worldwide, and come the launch of the Network Adapter on August 27th, all of them will have their chance to jump online and take their best shot. At first, that’ll be the sole focus of PS2 online—games. But eventually, as Sony President and COO Kaz Hirai reminds everyone, it’ll be capable of much more. “Our overall vision for our online strategy [is] to provide compelling entertainment,” he says, “whether it be games, motion pictures, music, or other content, through an always-on broadband network.” Exciting isn’t it? But there may also be a price—you won’t need to pay anything to take your PS2 online anytime soon, but Hirai says some kind of subscription pay-to-play model may happen in the future, when stuff like downloading music and movies to your PS2 becomes a reality. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you say. “Enough of this crazy talk of the future, with its downloadable movies, flying cars, jive-talking robots and psychics who see murders before they happen—August 27th is just around the corner. What about the here and now?” Glad you asked. Here’s a quick checklist of everything you need to know before launch. clectronic Gaming Mon -egm.gamers.com Here’s what your $39.99 gets you once the adapter goes on sale: | | this fits on the back of your PS2 where it says Expansion Bay (screw it in using a nickel). It’s got a phone jack for Standard dial-up connections, and an ethernet port for those with DSL or cable modems. Includes a help video to walk you through installation step by step, a couple playable game demos (Frequency Online and Madden NFL 2003), and different Internet Service Provider (ISP) packages, so you Can sign up and get going quick even if you don’t already have an ISP. K: Hell yeah! | | & What you’ll need on your end to play oN tne, Online PS2 games: > (well, obviously). PS2 ME! with at least 137KB of free space to store your configuration. (to tighten the screws that attach the adapter to the back of your PS2). ...this fall as well, with a $50 starter pack that includes a year-long subscription to the service and a headset mic. We took the Xbox Live network for an unofficial test drive this month with NFL Fever 2003 and came away impressed. Over the course of two bitterly fought duels between EGM’s San Francisco and Chicago-based offices, gameplay was, for the most part, smooth as a baby’s behind. And despite the odd- fitting headset, voice communication was flawless, with a variety of vocal effects. Sony CEA A quick rundown of all the online-enabled titles you’ll be able to play August 27 the first month after the adapter goes on sale: Broadband and narrowband 2-4 Remix tunes with up to three other friends in this ’net-enabled version of Sony’s music game. If you have the retail version of Frequency (available now), you can play additional songs online not included on this free disc. 989 Sports August 13 Broadband and narrowband 2-8 online (2 PS2 with multi-taps), 1-8 offline 989 Sports promises smoother graphics, smarter A.|. and better control over last year. Online features Mail in the card included with include USB keyboard support, up to eight players (Madden limits the PS2 online adapter and you to only two) and the ability to join a game already in progress. Sony CEA Sony will ship you this online- August 27 (via only version of their car combat mail-in certificate) game, free of charge. Face off in : Broadband and Deathmatch, Last Man Eidos narrowband Standing, Man Hunt (everyone September 2-8 hunts one guy), or Collector Broadband and broadband, 2 narrowband (grab a bunch of items first). narrowband 2-16 broadband, 2-4 narrowband, 1-4 split-screen or 1-16 via i.Link system link offline SOCOM has realism, and Tribes its strategy elements, but where to turn for a shooter with straight, arcadey deathmatchin’? Enter TimeSplitters 2 with its bevy of multiplayer modes, options, weapons and characters to choose from. This high-flying first-person Sierra shooter puts emphasis on team- September based gameplay as well as Broadband and support roles (repair turrets, narrowband build base defenses, etc.) fora 2-16 deeper experience that goes broadband, 2-4 narrowband, beyond simple deathmatching. Don’t miss reviews of all these 1-2 offline games, plus a how-to guide for getting your PS2 online. * See page 100 for more info. n army of the undead will come face to ™ horribly lacerated face with a group of 3 a scantily clad young partiers next “ i spring. That’s when The House of the Dane live-action movie based on Sega’s series of light-gun shoot-’em-ups—shuffles into theaters. “We’re looking at this film as Buffy meets Night of the Living Dead,” says executive producer Mark Altman. “It starts off fun and light but becomes darker and brutally Jonathon Cherry (Final Destination 2) ‘plays the movie's hero, Rudy. geo ele California Bay Area three-bedroom house, huge yard, zombies nearby. $400,000 or best offer. horrific along the way.” Here’s the setup: A group of University of Washington students heads to a rave just off the northern state’s coast on Isla del Morte (aka Island of the Dead for those who don’t habla Espanol). The island also happens to be infested with zombies, who infect all the ravers. The survivors must then find a way off the island, but not without first touring the house of the dead and scoring hundreds of zombie frags along the way. Students? Raves? Sounds more like / Know What You Did Last Summer Part Five than the game we know. But the movie packs more connections to the light-gun shooters than a quick plot summary reveals. “The familiar AMS agents from the first House of the Dead game, Rogan and G, make an appearance in the movie,” says Altman, who co-wrote the script after playing through the digital House library. “And a plot twist occurs in the film that involves Dr. Curien from the first game. We also added other elements from the games, including the moss and water zombies, the weapon-carrying zombies and the kids brandishing shotguns—which is the gun of choice in the House of the Dead II! [Xbox].” Hordes of slack-jawed undead and screamin’ The producers of the $12 million House movie invited Peter Moore, president of Sega of America, and Rikiya Nakagawa, creator of The House of the Dead, to become zombies for the flick (pictured at left). In addition to making their Hollywood debut next spring, Moore and Nakagawa were digitized and will make cameos in The House of the Dead III (Xbox) this October. OS SI OPER T BINT D EAPO RD PPE IN PON ONIN PAID TINO OOTP A teens with shotguns sound like the perfect fixin’s for an R-rated blood buffet; this flick’s creators aren’t afraid of missing out on the kid audience. “We have ample death and dismemberment and a few bare breasts for good measure,” Altman says. Uwe Boll, the German director behind the game-to-film adaptation, adds that “the R rating isn’t a hindrance and will allow us to deliver a good, fast zombie movie. Unlike Resident Evil, where the zombies were slow, we have all kinds of creatures on our island—some can jump high, some vomit acid that burns your skin, and —The House of the Dead producer Mark Altman others are really fast.” Sega plans to use the house built for the movie as a location in the third game, along with a swamp set and cave full of relics. And the film’s boss-style bad guy, Castillo, who’s literally an amalgamation of sewn-up body parts, may be a future addition to the games as well. Meanwhile, Altman already has a trilogy of films mapped out, with the next movie tying into elements of the third game. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves—video- game movies can be hit-or-miss, and it’s too early to tell if this is another Tomb Raider smash or merely a Final Fantasy dud. it —John Gaudiosi and Chris Johnston E EVERYTHING EXPIRES Open your fridge and take a big fat whiff of your milk. Nothing lasts forever. So get your butt movin’. USE COMMON SENSE Anything claiming to be free has KNOW YOUR CODES Open all levels with this cheat? Maybe. If not, try dialin’ it. You might just get yourself a date. to be a sure thing. Unlike your last date, this one is for real. TRIM HERE Rip it, tear it, or pull it out. Whatever you do, DON’T run with scissors. Pe OSORIO TORINO EDDA OA OO OID OOH PU PA PA ORR IE? deooeooeroooneosns sceaseaatiaastasanessananacenneceusaseneaemenomeen RSDP P RADI HRIR ISDE NRIDROETTRORRIEEOS ee rp ROO URE RTE SPP ORAM SOMEBODY'S WATCHING YOU We’re guessing if you’ve played through Eternal Darkness, | you’ve witnessed the scenes with Alex’s grandfather’s ghost hovering over her shoulder as she reads the Tome. Four such visitations occur randomly throughout the game and build toward the climax, revealing a surprising secret. To find out more about the game’s secrets, you can read _ the full text of our interview with director Denis Dyack on - our web site at egm.gamers.com. The Darkness comes! EHO ORDO RRO OOOH TDS SRN po fo, “i ; r : ‘ “ < * 75 % Nl yes i é 4 ia) ' If you haven’t already played through Eternal Darkness once (or at least part way), then skip over these next two pages. They’ve got and may ruin your enjoyment. Still with us? Good. Now, for the rest of you eager to get the scoop on ED’s secrets, we spoke with Denis Dyack, president of developer Silicon Knights and the game’s director. Here’s what he had to say: EGM: How did the original concept of Eternal Darkness come about? Denis Dyack: Well, we wanted to create something different within the horror genre that wouldn’t be called survival horror. A lot of people here and around the world are Resident Evil fans, and we knew RE was done well, but we really didn’t want to recreate that game. A lot of people will initially compare ED to RE, but hopefully they won’t after playing it. EGM: The story in ED is deep but isn’t overwhelming. It doesn’t get caught up in explaining everything. DD: We have a very Shakespearean philosophy. What Shakespeare used to do is write dirty jokes for everyone who’s inebriated in the front rows. Then he’d also write very cerebral metaphors for the aristocracy in the balconies. And what he’d try to do is please as many people as possible, but he also wrote his plays in a way so you didn’t have to [understand] everything to enjoy it. Our job as designers and creators is to make sure that we please as many people as possible. We constructed the game so that if you didn’t care about the story, you could still have fun playing it. But those people who really are interested in story can dig—and there’s a lot to dig. We’re hoping people will be talking about Eternal Darkness well after they play it. EGM: So what's your favorite of all the chapters in the game? DD: There are many, but I’d have to say my personal favorite is Paul Luther’s. | think because one of the things about horror that The Really, Really, Really Bad _ If you were low on sanity at the end of Karim’s chapter, the message at right might’ve made you throw down your controller in disgust (or at least, start the upswing). “We think [that’s] a big fear,” Dyack tells us. “A game gets going and you think ‘hey, this is pretty cool’ and then it says ‘To be continued...’ We think that’s a bad thing to do to players. It’s our job to satisfy gamers, and when people buy a game, they want to get their money’ worth. So doing something like that...the expression | like to use is pull senple’ s sank down just tr a ‘second and then say, ‘oh, don’t worry—we won’t do that to you.’” Take that, Soul Reaver. can really get clichéd is you have this character that appears to be weak, fights back, grows and overcomes these overwhelming odds. | think we really break that stereotype with this chapter. When people get to the end of that chapter, our hope is that their jaws will just drop. Did that Surprise you? EGM: Yeah it did. His and Peter Jacob’s chapter were both very surprising. Those two stories are so connected. There’s a scene in Luther’s chapter where he walks into the balcony area of the cathedral and sees the future (in black and white) of WWI in Peter Jacob’s chapter with the medical supplies and tents—the makeshift hospital. And as Peter Jacob we saw the reverse. DD: A sanity effect. EGM: That was really cool, but does that effect happen toe everybody? DD: |t depends on your sanity level and what you do. That’s an example of a sanity effect that we gave a dramatic impact. Some players may not get that at all, some players may only get one, and some might get both. If you get it as Paul Luther, it’s a bit of foreshadowing. You’re going to be in there and wonder, “What is all this? This makes no sense.” If you’re there as Peter Jacob, it’s like, “Wow, what am | doing back here?” EGM: You get a different ending after you’ve finished all three alignments by playing A RIT AAAI SIRI SIRI RSA SEER ARIES ASAE E EARP EAA DAR DRE APE EOS OEREEA,PE ROVE ROP ITER AERE EPSP ANE ACTASET KRIS NOTES CHAPTER I: THE ART OF WAR Get ready for one beautifully brutal fighting game. SETTING The world of The Mark of Kri” is a primitive and savage place. [owns and cities struggle to survive in a world filled with rampaging marauders. It is a world in which magic is practiced, but secretly. Grounded in realism, the magic that is used is subtle but powerful. Wap LIST OF CHARACTERS Rau The main character. A large and intimidating warrior, unmatched in skill and strength. Separated from his people early in life, he has been raised by a grizzled veteran of countless wars named Baumusu. As Rau grew to manhood, Baumusu taught him the art of combat. When he is not using stealth to take out an enemy, Rau has four weapons. [hey are: * Broadsword/ Dagger as ¢ Taiaha (Spear) a ¢ Bow/Arrow : a _ Kuzo | —— A large black bird. Rau’s trusted friend and spirit guide. Rau has the power to see through the eyes of Kuzo. He is Rau’s eyes and ears, helping Rau scout unknown territory. Baumusu Taught Rau how to fight. He is the protector, or Rakus, of a dark secret. Tati Rau's little sister. SUMMARY A mix of arcade-style fighting, adventure and exploration. The combat system in [he Mark of Kri is quite different from anything ever experienced. The emphasis is on fighting multiple enemies in a manner that is simple and straightforward. Choosing your targets and using the best weapon for the situation will take precedence over choosing the best attack combo for a single target. Elements such as sneaking around to instantly kill an enemy will also provide a mix of challenges. FROM NINTENDO 64 TO GAMECUBE Eternal Darkness began its life a few years ago as a Nintendo 64 game, and it’s changed quite a bit since we first saw it (just look at the cathedral at right—a lot different, eh?) “Virtually everything’s changed except for the storyline. That stayed intact,” Dyack tells us. “One of the things during the process of development that was key in bringing up the quality of the game was working with Nintendo. Even though it was a tremendous delay to take the N6q version and move it to the ’Cube, that extra amount of time allowed us to improve everything on all levels. The gameplay was where the largest strides were made, particularly in the last year of development.” through three times.... DD: Yes, and things get unlocked each time you play through, too. One of the things | was personally surprised with was the amount of variance l’ve seen people play the game with. Even in the last few weeks of testing we saw people using different magic combinations and weapons than | had thought of—and we’ve played the game a /ot. Like some people were trying to kill monsters with just Damage Field—it was fun to watch. sident Evil and ot her horror games you nveé ee put not DD: hanste | erie one 2 of the sities RE does very well is build the sense of tension and force the player to worry about ammo consumption and be nervous —it’s not for technical reasons. We wanted to go in the opposite direction where the player is encouraged to explore the environments. We purposely said with some characters, here’s more ammo than you could ever probably use—just go crazy with it if you want. And in case you do go crazy and run out of ammo, we'll give you some melee weapons as well, SO you never have to worry about it. That was definitely not an accident. EGM: Are there any insanity effe maybe were a little too end up in the final gar DD: We had some ones ‘ae on sound that were just a little bit too repetitive and got annoying after a while. Similar to people getting killed behind the doors when you hear people screaming. Except it went on for a little too long. So these were minor edits where we thought, “Well, we’ve got two or three in already; we don’t need this one.” One of the worst ones: have you seen the one [where the game pretends to delete all your saved games] yet? DD: We ned many ener on how to time these just right so people did not destroy their GameCubes. The amount of time between those used to be a little longer, and we thought it was just too dangerous. People are gonna break stuff. > some ano WY Decal use there’s > iO White Tt DD: That’s a canity effect, se There isn t always a sanity flash. 10es £ternal Darkness use the sameCube’s internal clock? DD: Several ways. One of the ways is the randomness of the sanity effects. So that’s why you’re seeing different ones than everyone else—because you’re playing at different times. Also we’re using it to tell the player how long they’ve played. — Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack me points it DD: rekon’ S an enemy in the room or you’re in a trapped corner where there’s a potential for you to die, we don’t allow you to save. Otherwise we do. It’s actually very black and white. However, sometimes it’s just not obvious unless you go around the room and see that there’s a zombie [around]. reas, alti thara ha an Etarnal NRarknace « eigivi: Witt TMere pe an Crernadi Varkness 2 What’s next for Silicon Knis ghis? DD: At shite point we’re not nara to talk about [our next project]. However, if ED’s popular and players want it, the universe is very broad and there’s room for 100 sequels. ee 39 Sanity-Keeping secrets We asked Denis to share some of the other secrets and strategies in ED you might not’ve realized when you played. Here’s what he told us: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ALIGNMENTS: The alignment you choose as Pious Augustus at the beginning changes a few things in the game, like which Greater Guardian you fight at the end of Peter Jacob’s chapter. But there are other differences too. “By picking Chattur’gha (red), you'll see a certain type of creature which you won’t see in any other alignment. Same with Ulyaoth (blue) and Xel’lotath (green). Ulyaoth emphasizes magic and it’s not quite as easy to cast as many spells, where Chattur’gha emphasizes more physical force (the monsters are much more difficult to kill—they have more hit points), and with Xel’lotath a lot more sanity damage occurs.” TIE THE RIGHT SPELLS TO THE D-PAD: “Shield, Magick Pool (the highest level of enchant- ment that you can use) and...Damage Field comes in handy too. You’ll soar through the game using combinations of those. Once you get the Mantorok (purple) rune, you'll be doing damage everywhere.” FYI, the Mantorok is through a hidden passage in Lindsey’s chapter (summon a Trapper to get it). STAY SAFE FROM BONE THIEVES: At the beginning of Peter Jacob’s chapter, you’re stuck with no effective weapons and being chased by groups of Bone Thieves. “Once you get the sword it becomes significantly easier. And if you cast a shield, Bone Thieves can’t take over your body. They try to jump on you and get repelled back immediately. Then you can just take your time, aim, shoot, and kill them or just walk up and whack away at them.” << Afterth For the past month you’ve been playing Atari’s Stuntman, performing movie stunts after your daily nine-to-five grind. But you haven’t quite honed your craft to its fullest potential. Stuck in a level? Keep getting stopped in your tracks by runaway boxes? Our conversation with director Martin Edmonson at U.K.-based developer Reflections just might give you a push: EGM: Were there any big stunts that you wanted to get in there that didn’t make it in the final game? Martin Edmonson: There’s a car-chase sequence in The French Connection when Gene Hackman is driving this Pontiac GTO, and he smashes through somebody who’s pushing a stroller. That was memorable to me, but not many other people had seen it. EGM: Some say the game’s too repetitive and frustrating —what’s your take on that? ME: It depends. If you end up taking 30-40 attempts to finish a stunt, then | can see how that would be frustrating. But we had to balance that against people who flew through the stunts in three or four attempts, waltzing through the game too quickly. There are lots of examples where you don’t have to go for the icons if you don’t want to and still finish. One is in Louisiana, where there’s a gap in the train to jump through. You can just stop at the ramp, wait for the. train to go by, and you can still finish and complete the stunt. EGM: Wow, we didn’t think of that. ME: There’s also one where you’re chasing a car through a warehouse, and if you want, you can just stick behind him. But you can also { _¥g hg You don’t have to jump through the gap between the trains...wussies. Just wait ‘til they go past. ant i — * | a ) [ a [ | O Nn Home Entertainment Inc. Developed by California Seven Studios, Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks ® of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ; www. midway.com GION THE LEGEND OF MATURE Blood Violence . The third chapter in Capcom’s Dino Crisis series, scheduled for release on Xbox sometime this millennium, takes a Jason X-style turn with jetpack-packin’ humans battling zombie dinosaurs on a space station. As you progress, the station— wait for it— changes shape. Series creator Shinji Mikami says that the game could change even more between now and when it’s released. XBOX GAMES ON YOUR GBA Well, not exactly. But you will soon be able to play Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee on Game Boy Advance thanks to a deal THQ’s struck with Microsoft to port the game to Nintendo’s handheld. Monster Truck Madness 2.0 will follow and several other titles are in the works. The first fruits of this dubious labor are due in 2003. Could a GBA Halo be next? Celebrities are normal people too—just incredibly rich ones. You like games; they like games. Each issue we'll talk to a different celebrity that plays ’em, is involved in their creation or, if they’re lucky, is in one. This month we spoke to Mr. T, who’s reviving his role as Rocky III's Clubber Lang in Ubi Soft’s Rocky for PS2, GC and Xbox, coming this fall (pictured below). Mr. T: They came to me with the idea and | Said, “I’m so excited,” because | never got an official rematch with Rocky Balboa. You know he fought other guys but never me again. | don’t play video games, but | saw this and | said, “l’ma get me one.” T: Ah, naw. | pity all them couch potatoes, Slobs, and all that. They can’t hang with the Clubber man. They can line up—he’ll take ’em all, one at a time. Pow, pow, pow [takes swipes at the air]. I’m so tough, | beat my own self up three times a day. Arrrr...l’m so bad, hrmph. T: Well, you have to know Rocky’s a sure thing. People know it: they say hey, it was a many years ago in theaters—let’s put it in a game. And what | like about it: it’s not a hit violent game. Kids can go tell their parents — the moms and dads—it’s a good game. | never played no video games, but this, man, | can’ wait to play with my son. T: Nah, man, but this here, | like it. | never played no other game. T: Actually, when I’m coolin’ out, | watch Trading Spaces. Then | watch the other t guy...he got a little beard...! forget this name... T: Yep, that’s right. Me being a tough guy, | | his style, ‘cause | don’t like a dirty house. T: You hear the music, you wanna start somethin’. That’s Rocky...everybody wanna ike win. That’s what it means; everyone wants to be a fighter, but only one in ten are. Even women wanna be Rocky. You wanna slap yo ur girlfriend. | mean, not the man, but the ladies wanna Slap their girlfriends. Know what | mean? aod etc — Scott Steinberg \ ERE RRR A EEE IE OTERO RECO E SSSI AAR A IEE Metal Gear Solid fans, already high as a kite after Konami’s announcement of MGS2 Substance, have even more reason to giggle. Konami of Japan recently announced a new interactive DVD entitled The Document of lf you’re a frequent web surfer, then you’ve probably read a few web comics. One that’s grabbed our attention lately is Brian Clevinger’s 8-Bit Theater (www.nuklearpower.com/comic/). The Strip is based on the story of the first Final Fantasy (for the 8-Bit Nintendo Entertainment System), complete with a first random battle, saving the princess Tired of that run-of-the-mill, monolithic black PlayStation 2? Well, Japanese consumers will soon have two new, stylish PS2 colors to choose from: Ocean Blue and Zen Black. Both are translucent and come with matching controllers. Ol’ blue hits Japan on July 18th and the smoky black one on August ist, and they’re about $250 apiece. Sadly, it’s unlikely these colors will make it to the U.S. Metal Gear Solid 2. Although this disc comes on a standard DVD format, it must be played in a PlayStation 2. Once inserted into the console, the disc lets you view and manipulate some 60 characters and environments from the game. Since the models are in 3D, you can zoom in, pan out and rotate things for your inspection. Gamers may also change the hair color and add accessories to the character models (can you Say, “Raiden the cross- dresser”?). Fans familiar with the VR missions of MGS1 and the upcoming MGS2 Substance will be glad to know that Document features its own set of these training levels (but they'll be some of the same that are found in Substance). Konami of America is “currently evaluating the feasibility of this product for U.S. release but no decision has been made.” Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis) MUST NOT STARE AT HER RACK. MUST MAINTAIN EVE CONTACT from the clutches of the evil (and bumbling) Garland, and the ongoing, one-sided “relationship” between the Black and White Mages (shown above). Check it out, won’t you? PRE-ORDER PIPELINE P| Sega Sports Tennis 2K2 Run Like Hell Madden NFL 2003 Onimusha 2 SOCOM: US Navy Seals Turok: Evoiution Robocop Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon xX bo x Buffy the Vampire Slayer Madden NFL 2003 Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Turok: Evolution The Thing Ghost Recon NHL Hitz 20-03 Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring y 4 y | MZ if if. we're your connection! ay Stati PUBLISHER on 2 Sega Interplay Electronic Arts Capcom Sony Acclaim Titus Bandai America Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Activision Acclaim Universal Interactive Ubi Soft Midway Games Universal Interactive GameCube Aggressive Inline Freekstyle Beach Spikers Madden NFL 2003 Turok: Evolution Raymon Arena Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet Game Bo Smuggler’s Run Meda! of Honor: Underground Street Fighter Alphe 3 Duke Nukem Advance Madden NFL 2003 Turok: Evolution Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Robotech: Macross Saga y Acclaim Electronic Arts Sega Electronic Arts Acclaim Ubi Soft Midway Nintendo Aa dvane Destination Software Destination Software Capcom Take 2 Interactive Electronic Arts Acclaim Konami TDK Mediactive RELEASE DATE 8/2/02 8/8/02 8/16/02 8/23/02 8/30/02 9/1/02 9/4/02 OPiS ue 8/9/02 8/15/02 8/28/02 9/1/02 9/3/02 9/15/02 9/20/02 9/26/02 8/2/02 8/8/02 8/15/02 8/16/02 9/1/02 9/6/02 9/26/02 9/30/02 e 8/1/02 8/1/02 B/ layO2 8/15/02 8/29/02 9/1/02 9/13/02 9/18/02 PREORDERPIPELINE.COM Pest i St -. ¥: at : se oe 2 Bie , AnKeiiee tied ey Wate Violence CONTENT RATED BY C— |= > a SENTENDS’ ESRB _ GAMECUBE. ee Nu WAKRTS OI Eeldenkye return to bring you the most exciting new shooter this side of Hala." Game Now * Noa best-looking first-person shooter currently in development for the P52” Gamespot.com "a true heir to 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 cant wart: — —~ | GET YOUR FREE DEMO AT a SE a | WWW.TIMESPLITTERSGAME COM Rin «= -£§ ... RADICAL €IDOS eNOS SERRE RATING PENDING (ummm ; | Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. © 2002 THOQ Inc. Toxic Grind, THQ and their respective logos are trademarks anc logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United ABE. Ei Ts Be. ly Se i, — =<. = 2 eS wuw. The. com?! Tontagetnd www.thq.com 5 CHART THE INSANITY Behold the heavy toll frequent video-game renting takes on the average human. The sharp rise in criminal insanity is from when Seanbaby mailed Mary Kate and Ashley letters, the contents of which will probably force the United States to bomb itself in retaliation for harboring him. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 +t OF GAMES PLAYED IN A MONTH 30 Days in t ll through this sticky summer and right up until Sept. 2, Blockbuster Video is running a rental program called the Games Freedom Pass, which for 20 bucks a month lets you rent as many games as you can stomach as long as you never have more than two checked out at a time. Nifty deal? Sure. Be we saw a chance to further science and see just how many games a human being can stand in one month. So we enlisted humor-writer Seanbaby, whose site www.seanbaby.com pokes fun at everything from video games to self-flushing toilets, to play through at least a game a day and keepa journal of the experience. By the end, he French-kissed sanity goodbye and gave science a serious kick in the ass. These journal excerpts tell the tale.... Day 1 The first thing | realized about a program that lets you rent unlimited games is that every- one else knows about it, too: If a game looked remotely playable and wasn’t broken in half, it was already rented. So for my first game | had to settle for Mary Kate and Ashley’s Magical Mystery Mall for the PlayStation 1. Now, I’m sure Mary Kate and Ashley are nice people—or at least as nice as two girls can be when the entire world has hated them since infancy —but | must say their game is terrible. They end up freezing time while shopping for magic jewelry, and their big idea to fix this crisis is to throw a fashion show. The entire world is getting beaten over the head by time, and they stop to have a fashion show for Electronic Gaming Monthly - 48 - egm.gamers.com people who can’t move. | did my best to avenge humanity for this nightmare scenario, but the best | could do was to dress one Olsen ina skirt that sorta didn’t match her shirt and hat. Days 2-5 Since the Freedom Pass lets you rent two games at a time, | went back to pick up Grand Theft Auto III. This was the game parents protested because it was causing all their children to get hired as mafia hitmen. | admit | went on my share of killing sprees after GTA3 showed me that violence, even against the elderly, is fun and profitable. By the time | brought Mary Kate and Ashley’s Magical Mystery Mall back, it was coated with gore, which helped limit the number of questions the clerk might have had about a grown man playing games about 16-year-old girls. Days 6-7 Things were not going well, and they only got worse. Instead of inctuding instruction manuals with their games, Blockbuster has one of their janitors type one huge run-on sentence on the back of each rental box to tell you how to play. Most times these instructions are either blatantly wrong or waste half their space describing how much fun you’ll have with the game you just rented. And since | had no clue how to tell my little Star Wars wingmen to attack a bunker, the dark side of the Force totally won in Jedi Starfighter. | think Darth Vader should send Blockbuster Video’s instruction-writing department a nice cheese-and-crackers gift basket. Today | brought home Burnout for the Xbox, because 80 percent of the text on the packaging rambled on about how big a hard- on the developers had for car crashes. | ended up learning that “best crashes in any racing game...ever!” actually just means that each time you bump into something, the game pauses to show you the exciting slow-motion replay from six angles. Playing Burnout is like driving a custom supercar injected with nitrous retard. Since seven days of sleep deprivation and game-induced atrophy had made real sports impossible, | decided to try some sports games. | started with golf, but | wanted to keep the same outrageous ’tude that earned me the Blockbuster nickname, “Insane Customer Whose Rentals You Never Question.” | found Outlaw Golf for the Xbox. Its box proclaims that it’s golf with “ex-cons,” “strippers,” and—get your outrageousness surge protector ready — “wannabe rappers!” | guess | stand somewhere out of the cross- cultural intersection between golf enthusiasts and wacky stripping rappers. Maybe the guys behind this game should have gone for a broader audience like Crocodile-Wrestling- Haitian-Mining-Equipment Salesmen. Aree ie } PGA it ain't: One hot, wet golfer paws at the nipples of her hot, wet caddy. me or movie you rent at Blockbuster comes with a minimum of five receipts. And don’t bother telling the clerk you don’t need five receipts: I’ve been assured that once it starts, the store’s insane paper-spitting robot cannot be stopped by any Earth weaponry. To take my mind off that horror, | stopped playing games on day 13 and built a shrine of Blockbuster receipts to all the adorable creatures that let their wooded habitats be ground up and processed into my many, many, many rent-five-and-get-one-free coupons. Assuming | can somehow rent 3,000 movies by Dec. 31, 2002, their sacrifice will not be for nothing. re - ‘/ ol z | 7 AU oe ~ i “te These are the five days | played Hunter: The Reckoning, one highlight of my month-long game-renting marathon. The zombies in Hunter will still come at you after your guns have chewed them down to just a pair of kicking legs. Using careful aim and human tenacity, | found myself raising an army of marching zombie legs, who when trying to kick me in the ass sort of looked like they were my backup dancers. y tuesday monday | MARY KAT t 1| Jr ASHLEY'S | | Aff lA X8 for the GameCube. | don’t know what kind of moon-octopus hand that damn controller was designed for, but the button setup looks like a robot threw up on a boomerang. Ph, staan “Megs | had what it takes to bea backup dancer for half-naked superstar Britney Spears. But Britney’s Dance Beat for the PS2 didn’t really hold my interest, which may be why the only dance | did for three songs was moving my left elbow like a duck while Britney’s slutty computer voice cheered, “Oops! Try again next time!” Or, “Oh, you missed that one—keep going!” | imagine the choreographer was less encouraging. “If you only knew one elbow dance, why are you in here wasting our damn time!?” | wanted to see if To entertain myself, | returned Britney’s Dance Beat to the store, acted like | was reading a cardboard display about romance movies for 30 minutes, then rented Britney’s Dance Beat again. That means day 21 was also the day | was being described by the clerk to the Blockbuster authorities. arned that playing Silent Scope 2 for PS2 at home without the arcade sniper rifle is like trying to build a snowman out of biting headlice. It’s probably possible if you just believe in yourself hard enough, but there are less painful ways to accomplish what you’re doing. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 49 - egm.gamers.com wednesday thursday friday saturday JED] 6 ee Pais iile cn STAK F/OH TE wt i 1 2B 22-23 sw’ we YH Ww ater To be honest, | don’t remember much of what happened during these days. In the notebook | kept next to the TV, the same one | used to give myself a gold star when | raised an army of kicking zombie legs, it said, “Day 24: Remember—bone the team-teen mall squad.” It’s important that you know | wasn’t playing any games involving a “team-teen mall squad” that | might have had the chance to bone. | really don’t know what | was talking about. My only theory, therefore, is that on day 24, | was for a short time the raddest person ever. By the end of day 30, my notes said I’d rented 122 games. If you’re thinking about repeating such a feat, the only advice | can give you is don’t. Figuring out what 24 buttons do in the middle of a firefight without an instruction manual while you’re buried in receipts is suicide. And that’s only the in-game hazards. Try to keep your head on straight when you’re absolutely sure that Mary Kate and Ashley just stopped investigating supernatural- necklace mysteries to stick their troll heads out of the TV and tell you to kill. gi ‘—Seanbaby = seseees Aaaaaaailililieeeeeee! The film Operation Dumbo Drop may lurch to mind wien you u think a taking your PS2 or Xbox on the road, but peripheral companies are giving you the tools for the job, and no, we’re not talking about solid rocket boosters. InterAct offers the best PS2 screen we’ve seen, called the Mobile Monitor ($150), and this September they’re releasing one for Xbox (osten- sibly for lugging to networked-Halo parties). No batteries are available, although InterAct just released the Universal Converter and Car Adapter (S40), which lets you draw power from your car’s cigarette-lighter plug. {RAAAREASRNRAASRAAARA SA SNeRAAnnaaennininndnesaannntevnnnesnmed All thee gear you need to get your consoles outta the damn = t’s an annual dilemma: Summer brings to counteract Earth’s axial tilt, thus ensuring these two consoles. We’ve lugged all that longer days and shorter skirts on the blustery distraction-free weather year-round, gear outside, put them to the test, and ladies, but you’re torn between enjoying or you can Slap a few gizmos onto your PS assembled the very best setups for your the great outdoors and sitting inside with the one and GameCube and take them into the system. So, now that summer’s here, why not Shades drawn playing Eternal Darkness. So wild. Several peripheral companies have experience nature while nurturing your you can either devise some kinda space laser crafted portable screens and batteries for gaming habit? After all, you need some sun. THE BEST ON-THE-GO GAMECUBE SOLUTION... INTEC’S 5-INCH COLOR GAME SCREEN GameCube screens are washed out and grainy. Not this little guy. Intec’s snap- on monitor—available in Indigo and Black—delivers a bright, crisp picture, as well as more fine-tuning options than the competition. Beware of glare from direct sunlight, though. Also know that Nintendo recently revealed a far superior LCD screen from Panasonic, although no release date or price was announced. INTERACT’S MOBILE POWER GC —This well-crafted slab screws securely into your GameCube’s keister and provides about an hour and a half of juice. If you’re the patient type, wait until Intec releases its GC battery this fall. It delivers a bit more playtime. TOTAL PRICE OF PORTABILITY: — Other third-party THE SCREEN: SONY’S PS ONE LCD SCREEN (S130 by itself; sold with system for $150) —Peer into this thing’s five-inch razor-sharp display, and you’ll declare it the fairest take-with- you screen of them all, even if it’s a smidgen smaller than the third-party alternatives. The monitor snugs perfectly onto your PS one without tangles of ugly wires cramping your style. The stereo speakers pack a hi-fi wallop, too. THE BATTERY: INTERACT’S MOBILE POWER ONE (Sso0)—Since Sony isn’t planning to put out a first-party battery, InterAct’s pack is your best bet. It pumps out more than 2.5 hours of power, and its surface is molded with dimples that cradle your PS one’s rubber feet. The downside: The battery lacks screws or clamps to secure it to your PS one, so make sure you get a grip on the system and battery when you lug them around. And the hefty five-hour recharge time means you’re best off letting the battery re- juice overnight if you know you'll be playing on the road the next day. S180 fr You van TAME 17 WITH YOU Wonder how you’tl haul all this stuff to the beach? We recommend the PS one Carrying Case (S15, left) from A.L.S. Industries. GameCube owners will cram their system, battery and screen into InterAct’s Go Mobile Kit (S20, right), which hits this fall. er si | Electromie Gaming Monthly - 58 - egm.gamers.com ation, ; TEEN < NINTENDO 2 GAMECUBE. 7% = A VEACOM COMPANY —Official Xbox Magazine MATURE SEXUAL THEMES MILD VIOLENCE STRONG LANGUAGE ACROSS 1. Like Street Fighters Chun-Li 7. Killed by 49 across in Resident Evil 3 10. RE’s speedy lizard-man enemy 44. Marshall Faulk in Madden NFL 2003 12. Mohawk _ Headphone Jack (SNES) 13. Where NCAA games take place 15. What a scratched disc might do 17. Sega’s cel-shaded Gun_ (PS2) 19. Computer players, for short 20. Founder of RE’s Ashford family 23. PaRappa’s nemesis Joe _ 25. Early Electronic Arts game Ski_ Die 26. RE 2’s “open-minded” creature 28. Jop Shop’s dollar amounts 31. How first-person shooters make some feel 32. Hyrule dollar 34. Virtual _: Oratorio Tangram (DC) 35. Fastest shot in NHL 2K2 37- Volley, in Super Spike V’Ball (NES) 38. NBA Courtside’s 76ers home state 40. Invisible frequencies that some wireless controllers use, for short 42. RE: Zero heroine 45. _ Sam (PC hit coming to Xbox) 48._ Life: Azure Dreams (PS1) 49. RE 3 big bad guy 51. The best thing to do with unneeded items in Morrowind 52. NCAA College Football’s |rishmen 53. PaRappa does it with a chicken 54._ Cooper (PS2) Rockstar’s stealthy marketing for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City debuted in July, when www.kentpaul.com launched. Head over to this site for some zany ’80s nostalgia and bizarre humor. Similar faux sites preceded GTA III's launch —you won't really find any concrete game info here, but it does help to flesh out the world of GTA. RentPaul.cam DOWN 1. Upcoming GBA clown game Crazy _ 2. Hidden scenario in RE 2 3. Home, to Punch-Out!!’s Great Tiger 4. “No text” on the EGM message boards 5._ the Cat (Super Nintendo) 6. Splashdown-featured band _-71 7. Team that Alpha Team followed in RE 8. Noodle dish in River City Ransom (NES) 9. Makes Um Jammer Lammy’s guitar sing 13. Battler Joe (GBA) 14. Raccoon City’s special police force 16. RE jill’s trick with locks 17. RE 2’s featured epidemic 18. Stimpy’s partner in a Genesis game 21. RE: Zero escaped con Billy _ 22. Chris’s female RE counterpart 24. How you'd refer to RE’s jill Valentine 26. Page 60 has a few of these 27. RE Code: Veronica star _ Redfield 28. Atari 7800’s__ Rose Baseball 29. Resident Evil, for short 30. Players’ roles in most sports games 33- Sega CD platformer Prince of _ 36. GameCube’s killer app. Metroid _ 38. Chaos, to Sonic in Sonic Adventure? 39. Swing that “pulls” in baseball games 41. Rockstar’s frenzied brawler, for short 43. Luke’s Dukes of Hazzard (PS1) cousin 44. Ubi Soft answer to MGS2, Splinter _ 46. GunCon 2 supporter _-game 47. PS2 modem or GunCon 2 port 50. “The Mummy 3” PS2 game, for short A eee ee ea ee ee iTiF Ree ne eee | AMT >} } f YY 2 NIOTLTLY - ~ EVM. SamMers.com 18 FEET, 3 INCHES DANNY WAY SETS NEW WORLD RECORDS FOR: BOTH HIGHEST AND LONGEST AIR: ‘Danny Way j isno stranger to world records — in’ 1997 he sét the world record for.the highest air. On April 16 and 17; 2002, at a windy inland California location, Danny set notione, but two. world fe@cords, | for both the longest:and highest air. Danny broke both records whil » filming for a pay-per-view television event called King of Skate.. Danny has once again surpassed the bounds of the ord nary: head tain set himself apart from the: ‘crowd. »\ at “Congratulations Danny. as * ty ~ Seong C r pom mabagttio e Pace, Sa ee een ean 1 wytaitll * silt DANNY'S $fR0 MODEL, THE AEROTECH _ AVAILABLE IN STORES NOW : PlayStation.2 er PRODUCTS RANGE FROM EVERYONE roTEEN E-T CONTENT RATED BY TAMAS PERM | | rainbow STUDIOS HRIiENTFEREC GAME CLBE . 2001, 2002 Activisi IS a f€ on, Inc. and its affiliates. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions developed by Rainbow Studios. GameCube version developed by Gratuitous Games. Game Boy Advance version developed by HotGen Studios. Activision lemark and Activision 02, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX and Pro BMX are trademarks of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Rese ; Reserved. Mat Hotiman is a trademark of Mat Hoffman. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer nt Inc, Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.A, and/or other countries and are licensed undet Microsoft. ™, ©, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Screenshots are from PlayStation 2. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners sn eens Score Best Score — a] __ COMBO X15 somone & a. — oN Crank out huge airs like 10-time World Vert Champ Mat Hoffman. The only BMX game to offer flatland tricks. BMX WILL NEVER BE THE SAME... 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 flatland moves. Unlock behind-the-scenes video onent off the screen ee perenne pen PUSH mode. shots of your best tricks for your own photo scrapbook. One day on this road trip and you'll know why BMX will never be the same. —— state Bae SPORTS REVOLUTION § ACTIVISIONO2.COM Minh fs = cieasaaeeiameaanuinanial ae _ EVERYONE TECEELEA LRM CONTENT RATED BY ES Re .¥ a | for Xbox™, Nintendo Gamecube™ and the PlayStation® 2 Computer Entertainment System! Screenshots from the a ’ Screenshots from the Game Boy “Advance version — . ) 4 PlayStation® 2 version Coming in September! Eee Mania and Ege Mania Egestreme Madness © 2002 HotGen Studios Limited. The Egg Mania logo and the HotGen Studios logo are the registered trademarks of HotGen Studios Limited. Published under license by Kemco. ® TM, ®, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 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 in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. Welcome to The Q’s page of wonderment. Step right up and grab a spoon—this month’s tasty stew of rumors is coming to a boil. Before | begin, lemme just clarify a Lil’ slip of the keys from last month. Yours truly mistakenly stated that Doom // (oh yes) can be done on Xbox. Haha...that was a joke, see? OK, I’ll level with ya. It was late. I’d been drinking nothing but Vanilla Coke the last 72 hours—it was a typo. | meant to say that Doom I/II (that’s three I’s) can technically be done on Xbox. Phew. Now that that’s out of the way, I return you to your regularly scheduled rumorama already in progress: ..5eems like just yesterday we were all huddled in line outside our favorite game Stores, grabbing the first Xboxes ee off the shelves. Now comes : word that Microsoft is working on not one but several new incarnations of the machine. And you may see the first of them on Store shelves as early as 2003—a combination Ultimate TV/Xbox box that’d also play MP3s. If you don’t already know, Ultimate TV is Microsoft’s answer to TiVo (and is currently only offered with DirecTV satellite systems) that lets you pause live TV, record shows digitally to watch later, and more. This rumor du jour was so hot that even the mainstream press got word of the project, code- named “Freon,” also known internally as HomeStation. This tricked-out machine would (naturally) cost more than an off-the-shelf Xbox of today estimates tag it at $500. The other Xbox hardware news going around is that the company is already developing a.successor to the machine to-go head-to-head with Sony’s next console from the git-go»According to recent comments from Microsoft execs, Xbox 2 will be out in time-for the next World Cup in 2006. Let’s hope by the time that launches it’s got more than Halo 3 going for it... ..Ever since Nintendo announced that the hotly anticipated Mother 3 (aka Earthbound 2) was cancelled for the Nintendo 64, yours truly has gotten loads of e-mail begging for news about another installment of this fan favorite. And I’m happy to c a ‘a 7 ” * * oodst +A library is & nic learn stuff Earthbound _ (Super NES) &, she's made of wood, she’s a witch. Arnold always promised that he'd be back. Infogrames has acquired the rights to produce games based on next summer's blockbuster sequel, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Expect a fully 3D action title across all three consoles and a trimmed-down GBA romp around the same time as when the film launches: July 2, 2003. report that a new MotherfEarthbound is indeed coming. Question is, will it be Game Boy Advance, GameCube, or both? Judging by the pace Nintendo’s resurrected other Super NES titles, The Quartermeister’s dough is on an Earthbound remake for GBA. One thing’s for certain, it isn’t a completed version of the long-scrapped N64 game. Don’t know about Earthbound? The Q suggests you visit www.starmen.net ASAP and read up on this classic gem. Go before | sick Unassuming Local Guy on your sorry arse. You heard mel... ...Lots of little newsbits this month my friends. First on the docket (and to keep it on the old-school tip forjust a second) is a Game Boy Advance version of the Square/Nintendo 16-Bit collaboration Super Mario RP6G.... Midway is gearin’ to resurrect their old anti-drug arcade brawler NARC for next- gen consoles... Still hearin’ that something’s up with Rare. Current speculation is that Activision may be the ones handling the publishing honors for some of their titles. It could be made official any time now... | hearby declare the Daredevil movie teaser trailer to be the worst ever (or maybe that honor goes to T3; Terminator 3)... Sequels, sequels everywhere ..sequels, sequels everywhere. It seems as each year passes, we get a boatload of new installments of last year’s hits. And there are quite a few waiting in the wings to swoop down. I’Il just mention a few of the new ones that’ve just popped on my radar recently: Onimusha 3 (full-3D backgrounds this time), a new Metal Gear (this time it could be a 3D remake of a Snake adventure from before the first Metal Gear Solid), Medal of Honor 3 (this time set in the Pacific Theater—sweet), Skies of Arcadia 2 for PlayStation 2 (that’s why the remake of the original got shelved), and Game Arts is finally beginning a third Lunar game.... And that folks, is all | can share with you this month. By the way, from the bottom of The Q’s heart, I thank all y’all for the comments about the new page format. Keep ‘em coming—e-mail me at quartermann@ziffdavis.com with any comments and questions you might have. And remember-—if she weighs the same as a duck, and —TheQ BS teas Foe Be % ee persis Seek the Light Embrace the Dark Enter the Enclave and experience hardcore close quarter combat at its bloodiest ina mesmerizing visual adventure 4 senate Se MATURE Blood Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB » ENTERTAINMEN whwitonspiracygames.cé ©2002 Vivendi Universal Games, All rights reserved, ©2002 Conspiracy Entertainment Corp. ©2002 Starbreeze Studios ABAicensed by Swing! Entertainment Media AG. The ratings icon is a trademark of the 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 fem Microsoft. ~ * PRESS START The Top 20 best-selling Games of May 2002 “See ee SEER NEESER eS aNNE SONORAN ARAL TRE IIIS ID STITT OOOO RTI IT TERETE TINO NON CRCOITOTIN Man, this list is starting to get downright boring. You’ve got your Grand Theft Auto III, which hasn’t moved from the top three since last year. Then you’ve got Spider-Man infesting the entire page on multiple platforms. Plus, Mario and Sonic on the Game Boy are still hanging around. Thank God games like Dragon Ball Z and Medal of Honor are here to shake things up a little. The question is, can they become mainstays like the aforementioned juggernauts? You know...on second thought, who cares? This is the best summer for gaming we’ve had in a while. Forget we even started complaining at all. 1 Spider-Man Activision {p> 6.5 6.5 6.0 Greg nathan’ Mark . : . if Chris John R |Milkman PADVANCE 3 Grand Theft Auto il Rockstar 9090 0 —-— csp | Greg (Milkman Medial of Honor: Frontline Electronic Arts 8.08090 — -— Crispin | Mark Kraig Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Sony GEA 0 00 —;= Che aE onal Jonathan i 90.95 9.0 is . i rT] : . Ls 4 JohnR Jonathan) Mark Spider-Man Activision ‘6. 5 | Mark | : Microsoft 9.0/9.0 9.0 2 Flactronic Gan rie€crronic Ga : ring Mo sini ce ar WIQe rs Widtl Activision 12 Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories Konami 13 ATV Offroad Fury Sony CEA 14 Hunter: The Reckoning Interplay 19 Midnight Club Rockstar 16. Twisted Metal: Black Sony CEA 17 Spider-Man Activision THO 19 Headhunter apa Acclaim 20 Super Smash Bros. Melee ia) F. a a g Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games Service. Call Kristin Barnett-von Korff at (516) 625-2481 for questions regarding this list. Chart description written by EGM staff. In the future, teenagers will pilot transformable robots to save the planet from evil. | | 1 Shaman King; Spirit of Shamans Usually at least one Bandai BL soccer game places on SEE Ul | ? World Soccer Winning Elan b <> -= but this particular week =e _... there are four (yes, Dragon Quest Monsters 162 12 World Fantasista is a Enix soccer game). Coinci- 4 ey a ee dence? Vernal equinox? | eg No—it’s all because of OO ie em eA A the World Cup. But that Project FIFA: World Cup 2002 = <1 »~—- hasn't stopped other & P Electronic Arts Square one ee titles like the latest World Fantasista | = ~~ T=) and Mega Man from oo getting their just due | Castlevania: HoD along with the last big Konami PS1 games. “7002 FIFA World Cup seilinbsased bial Square Honitenionconsoneor-enoncononnainetin senna 10 Mega Man Battle Network 2. Capcom ; 1 | Castlevania, Hamtaro | | : H H | Cy rane outing he THE BUN) Bee am Mvue tee Collect cane WATCH AUG. 17-22 ESPN ESPN2 ABC’ EXPN.com ©2002 ESPN, Inc. espn.com R T PRESS START POSCLOSSORREESAEEONRASEBASEEASENAERN CONES SLLESNSENS LESLIE ESBS LES ELSES ES EESTI ELLOS ELLE ID EEE E SEE NEE BEEN I ANN SONORAN a August Armored Core 3—Agetec Action Commandos 2: Men of Courage— Eidos Strategy Dino Stalker—Capcom Shooter Madden NFL 2003—EA Sports Sports Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2—Activision 02 Sports NCAA College Football 2K3—Sega Sports Sports NCAA GameBreaker 2003—989 Sports Sports Network Adapter— Sony CEA Hardware NFL 2K3—Sega Sports Sports NFL Blitz 20-03 — Midway Sports NFL GameDay 2003—98¢9 Sports Sports NFL Quarterback Club 2003—Acclaim Sports Sports Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny— Capcom Action Pride: FC—THQ Sports RLH: Run Like Hell—Interplay Action Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII—Koei Strategy RS: Riding Spirits— Bam Racing SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs—Sony CEA Action Street Hoops: rene of the Court— Activision Sports _ GameCube | Beach Spikers— “ne - Sports Freekstyle—EA Sports Big Racing Madden NFL 2003—EA Sports Sports NCAA Football 2K3—Sega Sports Sports Super Mario Sunshine— Nintendo Action Aggressive Inline—AKA Acclaim Sports Buffy the Vampire Slayer— Electronic Arts Action 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 02 Sports MLB SlugFest 20-03 — Midway Sports NCAA Football 2K3— Sega Sports Sports NFL 2K3—Sega Sports Sports NFL Blitz 20-03 — Midway Sports NFL Quarterback Club 2003—Acclaim Sports Sports Street Hoops: King the mute Activision Sports Disney’s Magical pea rede Action Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2—Activision o2 Sports R-Type Ill—Phantagram Shooter Sega Smash Pack—THQ Misc. Street Fighter Alpha 3—Capcom Fighting Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters—Konami RPG PlayStation 2 Armada 2: Star Command—Metro3D Action Blade Il—Activision Action Dual Hearts—Atlus RPG 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 PLEA EEE Siaresivenria’ Shadow of usindinne pian’ Action Taz: Wanted — Infogrames Adventure Tekken 4— Namco Fighting The Terminator: Dawn of Fate—Atari Action The Thing—Universal Interactive Action TimeSplitters 2—Eidos Action Turok: Evolution—Acclaim Action Vexx — Acclaim — Action Gcreite...-—dsdsads— Piuetnnee ‘Nintendo Misc. Broadband Adapter— Nintendo Hardware Galleon: Islands of Mystery —Interplay Action Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2—Activision 02 Sports Modem Adapter—Nintendo Hardware Mystic Heroes — Koei 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 Action Turok: Evolution—Acclaim Action —.Sr—“‘i™—OCC—OOCCitiS Brute Force — Microsoft Action 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 Robotech: Battlecry—TDK Mediactive Action Sega GT 2002—Sega Racing Taz: Wanted — Infogrames Adventure The Terminator: Dawn of Fate—Atari Action The Thing — Universal Interactive Action TimeSplitters 2— Eidos Action Turok: Evolution—Acclaim Action Robotech: The Macross Saga— TDK Action Yoshi’s Island—Nintendo Action Street Fighter Alpha 3—Capcom Fighting Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters — Konami RPG October BloodRayne— Majesco Action Dave Mirra BMX XXX—Acclaim Sports Silent Hill 3— Konami Oe Action GameCube Tj. Dave Mirra BMX XXX— Selah —_ Sports Mario Party 4—Nintendo Party Robotech: Battlecry—TDK Mediactive Action Vexx— Acclaim Action BloodRayne— Majesco Action Crimson Skies — Microsoft Flight Shooting Dave Mirra XXX—Acclaim Sports DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball — Tecmo Sports Panzer Dragoon Orta— Sega Action Steel Battalion—Capcom Action ToeJam & Earl Ill: All Funked Up—Sega Adventure Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon—Ubi Soft Action AAAAERNEORLESRIOSEOSEEERSASAAOSE SE SAAOSOLAE SMAI shakatto Tambourine — Shaken that taahoariae! 100% groovy! Import Pick of the Month: In Sega’s Samba De Amigo (Dreamcast), we learned to shake the music out of maraca con- trollers. Now, in that game’s spiritual sequel, MiniMoni Shakatto Tambourine, we will be taught how to romance the music from the tambourine. Featuring the tunes of Japanese girl-band pop-sensation MiniMoni, this PS1 music title is reminis- cent of Samba but with more colorful, car- toony graphics. This time, instead of mara- cas, you use tambourine controllers, shak- ing them in six different directions as the red balls fall into them. It’s also Sega’s first and only PS1 title. If you have an import- enabled PlayStation, check it out. PlayStation Aug. Mini Moni Shakatto Tambourine, Sega (Music) PlayStation 2 7/25 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Capcom (Fighting) 8/15 Virtua Cop Rebirth, Sega (Shooter) 8/22 Gigantic Drive, Enix (Action) 8/29 Switch, Sega (Misc.) Game Boy Advance 8/9 Mickey & Minnie’s Magical Quest, Nintendo (Action) 8/23 Mr. Driller Ace, Namco (Puzzle) 9/6 The Legend of Starfi, Nintendo (Action) GameCube 7/19 Super Mario Sunshine, Nintendo (Action) 8/1 Disney Magical Park, Hudson (Party) 8/9 Mickey Mouse’s Magical Mirror, Nintendo (Adventure) *Schedule subject to change without notice. Consult your local import-game store for the latest release info. The Humpty Dance is your chance, so do the Hump! seein Who needs nine lives when you can control time? << »> Il @ b> Rewind time to throw the world in reverse and uncover secret areas. Slam on pause to take s that free shots at frozen quick enemies or grab crys- tals without any hassle. game Studios- 2 Naga ont MR hy +. or Ranan © 2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Blinx, The Time Sweeper, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other producis and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. 3 NINTENDO GAME CUBE. BPGRTS www.midwaysports.net — wyHaT's HOCKEY WITHOUT HITZ? mI — yaaa Coming Summer 2002 PlayStation.c |, Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 \/ GAME BOY ADVANCE Mi evan for more info. NHL® Hitz™ 20-03 © 2002 Midway Home Entertainment Inc. HITZ is a trademark of Midway Home Entertainment Inc. MIDWAY and the Midway logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © 2002 NHL. All rights reserved. © NHLPA; Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League Players’ Association. National Hockey League Players’ Association, NHLPA and NHLPA Logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used, under license, by Midway Home 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. TM, ®), 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. www.midwaysports.net WHAT’S FOOTBALL WITHOUT THE BLITZ? PlayStation.c Coming Summer 2002 EVERYONE Violence CONTENT RATED 6Y PLAYERS NFL‘®) BLITZ'®) 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 NFLP. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other (NFl-related marks) are trademarks of the National Football League. Officially Licensed Product of Players inc. The Players Inc loge 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. TM, * and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Micresoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. re eR capes i ty ( ae Ae i vt EVERYONE CONTENT RATED BY va il stints Sega is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sega, the Segadego, and Sega S CORPORATION, 2002. All Rights Reserved. www.segasports.com The “Offitially,Licefsed Gat Company. The “Collegiate Licensed Product’ label is the property of the independent Labeling Grau NCAA Football USA, inc. All names, logos, team icons, and mascots associated with the NCAA, universitiag Bove institutions. ESPN is a trademark of ESPN, Inc. ESPN branded elements @ @isney. Made and printed MtheSAy'P of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ™, ® and the Nintendo GameCube log@'a i es the exclusive property oft demarks of Nintendo, Microsoft, or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other coun j PS" Family logo are regis and the Xbox logos are either r¢ i: ucrosoft, Screenshots taken ty COLLEGE FOOTBALL AR NAN Ant hads, 5 ae Ra aid . . . eee ore The smell of rivalry is in the air. Nt NY AAG NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Bi segasports.com INSU AND @ GAME DESIGNERS WwW... CouNeeTiOns” ~vmudbdD ad | MASSWELN MULTIPLAYER ONLINE WORLDS! COMMONLY REFERRED To AS THE P CRACK Rock” OF THE Pe GAMING INDUSTRY ON ACCOUNT OF THOR MADDOYCOWE" NaTORE PROPENS TY TOWARD MAKING YOU BARTER PaADurt SERVICES” WITH “COMPLETE HELLO, VIDEO GAMERS ! 1M RSL TANAKA, THAT'S MR BROTHER CHAN, AND You've “ LE OF CREATING YeT MORE VIDEO” GAMING MAGIC! HSU AND CHAN’S OFFICIAL WEB SITE - www.ape-law.com/evilmonkey BUY HSU AND CHAN JUNK! - www.cafepress.com/hsuandchan PROSECT 1S A FORAY INTO THE WORLD OF ONLINE | GAMING: oon! Tro A STRIP ON THAT, BOT Ts TIME ITS SONY- SPECIFIC, HENCE, FRESH AND NEW! RIGHT, HSL? Qovu Do THAT A LOT, HAVE “ou Nomnced? You SrioVLD SET UP PAINTMENTS oR SOMETHING 3 THIS 1SN'T WS SAY THAT WE'RE NEGLECTING OTHER ONUNE GENRES, YouR SPORTS, POTZLES, FiRsT-PERSON SHOOTERS OR WHAT HAVE QOU, BoT LET'S FACE FACTS: You'RE JUST NOT PP CASH ON 7ZU- MONTH iy aoe TO AN, ONLINE PARCHEES! NETWORK, No MATTER HOW Sutcs YovoR CAMPAIGN. RiGRT Rov ARE, BROTHER OF Mine! SONY'S GoinG Au. OUT WiTe THE PLARSTADON 1 ONUNE NETWORK, GUNS A-BLATIN-:.. | STRANGERS,” AND OCCASIONALLY MAKING YOU FIND YOURSELF THUONCHED OVER BEHIND A FELENEN, SWEATING, SHAKING, AND epi WILD ABOUT 5 4 EVEL DWARVES,“ THESE | GAMES Age. FINALLY COMING To CONSOLES AND WE CovLbdn'T Be Moke ExcireD WF You TOSsEeD In | SENNIFCR CONNELLY Dove Bars! FiRST THINGS FIRST: WE MUST } BRING OUR ONLINE ANATARS WTO EXiSTENnce' Now, THERE ARE NEAR- \MEINITE. VARIETIES OF EACH, Bost THE Basic a TWRES You CAN Ccri0OsS FRom ARE BRAWLER, CRAFTSMAN, SVENTIST, MERCHANT AND... | y WHICH (ISN'T To SaQ THAT O WERE GOING To LET TANAKAPOLIS -f BECOME DPISINTERESTING FoR THE PLAYER, Ori NO -- EVERY DAY, A FLIER 1S STREAMED INTo THE CITY DETAILING VARIOOS GUESTS, CHALLENGES AND COMMUNITY EVENTs THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY CAN PARTICIPATE IN FOR INSTANCE, AS SEEN HERE, “THE EVERYONE-IN- HE - CivTR- GETS- A-WHIFFLE- BAT - FOR - FIFTEEN-~ MINUTES MAXHEM-A- ROO.” WHE MONEG'S W THE ' LONG - TERM: INTERACTION fy TANAKAPOL!S! WHEN YOU START OUT IN TANAKAPOLIS, AS IN MOST OTHER LARGE, METROPOUTAN AREAS, You FIND YOURSELF SHARING A ROACH-INFESTED, SINGLE - BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH AN UNEMPFLO . POTHEAD NAMED “GARY WHO HAS A PET SNAKE. IN REAL LIFE, ACTUAL Fist ROOMMATES WILL VARY. BUT, FRANKLY, NoT BY PTOCH. EVEN THE MONTHLY ACCESS FEE OF f4a5 is INCORPORATED INTO THE GAME, IN THE FoR™M OF A TRIBUTE THAT MUST BE PLACED AT THE FEET OF STONE STATUES, ‘| UNDER PENALTY OF BEING TARRED, FEATHERED anD PLACED IN Stocks UNTIL You Finale? Pond UP THE CASH, You CHEAP SKATE, You! dA HA HA! BUT WE DO Kid THE Good PEOPLE OF THE Sony CORPORATION, WHo COULD EASILY AFFORD To HIRE A HIT ON THE BOTH OF US! WE LOVE You | GUYS. _. DESMTE THE Fact THAT, ON THE ER SIDE OF qames, TS oe IMPLEMENTED WITH Same STRATEGY A> THE RoOPELESSIN = OMED ONLINE EFFORTS OF THE st ‘ DREAMCAST: TINVE, ROTHER, AND ON THAT NOTE, WIDEO GAMERS, WE PROUDLY WweLcome You To TANAKAPOLIS’ / A WORLD SO REALISTIC, SO viVID, SO AVE, You'LL PROBABLY END oP SPENDING MOST OF YouR TIME IN YouRk BASEMENT THERE, Too! Tat \SN'T THE OF FACIAL TAGLINE, BY THE WAY, Gbv CAN WORK YOUR WAY UP IN THE CITY IN| A VARIETY OF WAYS-- LIFE 19 OUR MODEL UN “THIS OPEN-ENDED GAMEPLAY 15 THe ORDER ENDEANOR! OF THE DAY, AND THAT'S NOT SOST GET A 3o® AS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GET A DECENT A BARTENDER, PlaTUNEe SCRAPED TOGETHER wo TMe! WEAPONS SUPPLIER, COP, SOLURMALIST, g OURS A DAR NL AN OFFICE BUILDING STARING ATA COMPUTER, AND THEN GO HOME AND COMPLAIN ABOUT \Ti THE CHOICE WN SHORT-- TANAKA POLIS! A BRAVE NEW WORLD THAT REALIZES OUR VERY HOPES AND DREAMS, THE SENSE THAT HOU | Hi rh A Ne aan Pest enipsad naiias rilesate al SOUS jado0ta0 tan.desiamoineng.wwu Cloak yourself to hide from enemies Engage in fast and furious mech battles of launch a stealth attack. at speeds over 100 mph. alli PENDING © 2002 Genki Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by Phantagram Interactive, Inc. under license Visit www.esrb.org or 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, PHANTAGRAM call 1-800-771-3772 . sai ; é and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other - for Rating Information. countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive PRA RA SS eee Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective holders. PlayStation 2 72-73 Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny 74-75 Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 80-82 Kingdom Hearts 86-88 Tekken 4 90 SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs 92 ~TimeSplitters 2 98 The Thing 100 ~=«*Tribes: Aerial Assault 104 Return to Castle Wolfenstein Gungrave Grandia Xtreme 105 Simpson’s Skateboarding 106 RAD: Robot Alchemic Drive Summoner 2 Alter Echo 107. Turok: Evolution 108 Defender NFL GameDay 2003 110-121 Harry Potter —! Chamber of Secrets 112 Animal Crossing 114 Super Monkey Ball 2 116 Robotech: Battlecry 118 Super Mario Sunshine Batman: Dark Tomorrow 119 Evolution Worlds Mystic Heroes 120-122 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 124-125 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin 126 Sega GT 2002 128 =NFL Fever 2003 Myst III: Exile 129 Yager World Wrestling Crush Hour 130 Psychonauts Battlefield: 1942 131 ~+Reign of Fire Seablade Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Super Ghouls ’n’ Ghosts Duke Nukem Advance Previews marked with international symbols may or may not be released in the U.S. They are designed to run on Japanese or European PAL systems. Import at your own risk. So which would our Gamers.com patrons rather hook up with? 1. XBOX—No adapter to buy, but you’re limited strictly to broadband and have to pay a monthly fee. 2. PLAYSTATION 2—Buy a 56k/broadband adapter separately ($39.99) and play online for free. 3. GAMECUBE — Buy either a 56k or broadband adapter separately ($34.99) and play online for free. Source: Gamers.com poll, 6/02 1. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 3. Kingdom Hearts 4. Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 5. Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny This Month in Previews SCO OSDO ODOR P INIA or those of you in Jr. High: your summer’s almost over. Soon you’ll be hitting the local Wal-Mart for pencils, erasers and notebooks you'll probably never use. Just remember: Don’t let your mom pick out your school clothes, seek out the cool kids early, and do whatever it takes to impress them. Oh, and never combine a peach shirt with purple parachute pants (not one of my prouder moments). I’m here to make you feel worse. See all the sweet games in this month’s Previews section? Well, most of them will be coming out right after the new semester starts. So much for all that studying and hard work you were gonna do this year, eh? Let’s face it, if these big games turn out to be half as good as they should (and trust us, most of them will), this fall will easily outdo the incredible lineup of games we experienced just one year ago. And if you have a PlayStation 2, you'll soon be online and all that. Now you'll have the opportunity to play our editors in SOCOM and try to destroy our best first-person shooters, or maybe show us that you’ve got the funk in Frequency Lack of control is a fine EGM tradition. Is it any wonder, then, that we wet ourselves when we saw Jom Clancy's Splinter Celf? Check it out on page 120. Online. \t’ll be time to put our skills where our mouths are (or become completely inaccessable online). We figure huge upsets will be par for the course after watching our Midwest football guys Dean and Jonathan get their asses handed to them in NFL Fever 2003 by our non- football-playin’ West Coasters, like Shane “Jar Jar” Bettenhausen. So this looks like the year to go all Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Just don’t blame me if you get in trouble. —Greg Sewart, previews editor Xbox, November 2002 PS2, GC, Xbox, Nov. 2002 PS2, Sept. 2002 GBA, September 2002 PS2, August 2002 ~~ = PREVIEW Capcom Capcom 1 Action OTe 100% August 2002 Onimusha Woe tit taa WWW.capcom.com The Good: The excellent controls return from the first game. ..a do the annoying Cameras angles during combat. UT Rta) | A $ What, are you kidding? This game is gorgeous. PROFILE Megamantastic Kenji Inafune, the man behind the Onimusha series, wasn’t always obsessed with zombies and historical fiction. In 1987, he created a little action game called Mega Man (Nintendo Enter- tainment System), which went on to become, and still remains, one of Capcom’s best-selling franchises. If looks could kill, then OYU the ninja would be a mass murderer. Onimusha 2: don't ‘ ! . ow that Resident Evil has up and plopped its decomposing carcass onto the GameCube, PS2 owners jonesing for undead action have their eyes set on Capcom’s other zombie- infested adventure: Onimusha 2. And well they Should. The first Onimusha took the Resident Evil formula and supercharged it with a slick, fast-paced combat system, all set within the mysticism of ancient Japan. It was, to put it bluntly, Resident Evil with samurai swords and rice paddies. Series creator Kenji Inafune sees Onimusha 2 as the second game in a planned trilogy. “The plot from the first two games will wrap up in Onimusha 3,” he explains. “But since we started the trilogy somewhere in the middle, there’s a possibility that the series will continue with prequels, kind of like Star Wars.” Sound convoluted? Not really. The Storyline thus far is really pretty simple. Onimusha 2 continues the saga of brave samurai warriors who plumb the depths of hell to spank the demonic warlord Oda Nobunaga and put a stop to his merciless conquest of feudal Japan. Veterans of the first game, however, won’t find much familiarity in the sequel. For one, don’t expect to see Samanoasuke, the protagonist from the first game. “For Onimusha, we used an actor named Takeshi Kaneshiro because he’s very popular with females in Japan,” Inafune admits. But instead of reusing Kaneshiro this time out, Inafune cast the likeness of deceased actor Yusaku MAGOICHI'S handy with a musket and loves a good book. EKEI’S the alcoholic with a heart of gold. He also likes ‘em young. 3 KOTAROU, the pretty-boy ninja, loves foreign and exotic treasures. Matsuda, a legendary icon in Japanese cinema, for the role of Jubei Yagyu. “Il chose Matsuda because | wanted someone who'd appeal not only to females, but movie fans in general,” Inafune tells us. “Plus, no one’s ever used a dead actor in a game before, so this was a challenge | wanted to take.” In addition to a new hero and a roster of fresh faces (see sidebar), Onimusha 2 sports some jaw- dropping environments. Similar to ones in the recent Resident Evil remake on the GC, these stunning 2D backgrounds look nearly photographic. Every location oozes with animation, both subtle and realistic. From the hypnotizing ripple of water ina pond and the gentle sway of grass bending in the wind to the no-holds-barred chaos of a rainstorm, the game truly looks next generation—even if the backgrounds are only prettied-up 2D wallpapers. What hasn’t changed a whole lot is Onimusha’s focus on gameplay that has you spending the 2 million How many copies the original Onimusha sold worldwide. Guess having Asian heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro as your leading man really does pay off. How they used to make sushi in the motherland... ‘iat sane majority of time kicking booty. “We’ve added new combos and other features,” says Inafune. “One of them is called the ‘Issen’ attack. By charging up your weapon, and with the right timing, you can slasha group of enemies on the screen with one hit.” The biggest addition to Onimusha 2’s combat, however, is the friendship system that lets you partner up with, and occasionally play as, four new characters (see sidebar below). “For hardcore fans, you may choose not to befriend any of them and fight alone,” Inafune explains. “But the game will definitely be a lot harder.” As for some sort of “Genma Onimusha 2” upgrade on the Xbox or GC, Inafune and company are keeping an open mind. “We got feedback that Onimusha was too short and easy. If we get the same response from Onimusha 2, then we’ll consider an upgrade version later on. | just can’t say whether it’ll be for Xbox or GC.” ¥ — Che Chou LOVE AIN’T CHEAP Whoever said “you can’t buy me love” has obviously never played Onimusha 2. The game offers you four sidekicks to “recruit” during hard times on the road. The only catch is, you’ve got to show them some bling bling. Go shopping for your friends, and depending on if they like your gift, they’ll show up at different crossroads — to get you out of a jam. So much for honor, friendship and all that samurai crap, eh? Spend your hard-earned cash here at the focal store in Imasho. Woo Ekei with liquor, and he'll come lumbering to your aid. New to the Onimusha combat system is the Issen combo that allows you to charge up your weapon for an extra can of whoop-ass. Every weapon has several Issen attacks, but they don’t come easy to obtain. In fact, to balance out the game- play, Issen moves can only be discovered through scrolls, which you either find in chests or get by trading one of your four mercenary buddies for items they’re interested in. The combos, which knock down a whole squad of undead goons, can give you a lot of breathing room when you're hopelessly outnumbered. eee PREVIEW - “~~ $ly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus “seOREODECOREORROOREHDECODEHOOREOR IONIAN DONO ON ION EINEM HOOD EME OO NEON DTE BDH OSD PORTS COTO RO DONO OD TPIS OHHH AIDA CPCS P DSO DS OOP O ONION OOOOH 0 a a a ane aaa amm ane aa aaa naan ia enue EOE SRR UNSe CS RDOENRESOURERN SERED SEEDS ONS UEEOONUOUNOSODDO DOE DOUEDOUSEE OUEST OUDENSNST Sony CEA Sucker Punch Players: 1 Action 85% September 2002 None www.slycooper.com www.playstation.com The retro-style character design and cartoony graphics make S/y stand out. Get caught by a searchlight and you'll have to run for your life. eyti mcm: |e A raccoon, a turtle and a hippo all living in a van together? Pee-yew! SUPPORTING CAST A Company of Animals Sly is not alone in his mission. He gets by with a lil’ help from two of his childhood friends: Bentley’s the brains of the operation, giving Sly clues, advice and vault-cracking codes from the safety of a van parked far away from any danger. Driving the getaway van is a bumbling pink hippo named Murray. Maybe he’s not as stealthy as Sly, but he helps out when the gang’s ina pinch. ! ‘aes Ah yes, an enemy just waiting for you to cross the pond so | he can skewer you. | i Touch these and they turn , red, with the ability to do | some serious damage to Sly’s furry behind. ll Sly Cooper wants to do is take back what’s rightfully his. See, when Sly was a cub, a group of five master criminals, called the Fiendish Five, descended on the home of his famous thief family and stole the Thievius Raccoonus, a book that contains all the greatest thieving secrets of the Cooper clan. They each ripped a few pages out and went on crime sprees around the world. Now that he’s a little older, Sly’s set off to the far corners of the globe to get those secrets back and avenge his family in a game more akin to Metal Gear than Mario. “Metal Gear Solid 2 is the best example going of how to combine sneaky gameplay with a solid storyline,” says Nate Fox, one of Sly’s This alarm will trip if you come in contact with those el lasers. Get past them and destroy , this box to disarm -¢ , the beams. _ __ Clues, found in bottles, will _ help you figure out the combination to the vaults where pages of the Thievius Raccoonus are held. designers at Sucker Punch. “We have definitely tried to incorporate, and hopefully improve on, some of the ‘thiefier’ aspects of that title in Sly Cooper.” For example, when Sly radios to his buddy Bentley (see sidebar) back in the truck, we’re treated to a codec- style conversation. Familiar, right? But this is combined with a binocular view so you can clearly see where you're supposed to go or what you’re Supposed to do next. “We also wanted to take the radar [concept] from Metal Gear Solid and project it within the game world so that the player knows exactly where a guard can and cannot see Sly,” Fox Says, referring to the flashlights some enemies hold and searchlights that patrol areas of the levels. “This 3D representation of stealth challenges means WP 74 + SS oamarce rani ’ AA This dog wants to play fetch with Sly’s dead, lifeless carcass. You gonna let that | happen? Didn't think so. if you've got a horseshoe strapped to your back, you can take an enemy hit without dying. Gold horseshoe? Two hits. the player never has to take his eyes off the action.” You don’t have to look far for other “stealthy” examples. In the Readin’ Room level, Sly jumps inside a barrel to hide from searchlights and get past motion-sensitive dart guns (the darts hit the barrel instead of him). And in most other levels of Sly walks softly and carries a big hook. Perfect for grabbing ropes or ladders, breaking open objects, and keeping enemies off your tail (pun intended). puzzles just for the hell of it. The motivation for all his actions is to act as a thief in an attempt to rip someone off.” Well, maybe not all. Some levels (about a third of the game, actually) deviate from the norm even more to present you with minigame challenges that include racing monster trucks, sniping “The motivation for all his actions is to act as a thief in an attempt to rip someone off.” the game, you must disarm the alarms that can alert enemies to your presence. “That’s what makes Sly Cooper a different title,” says Fox. “Its levels, characters and story are all in place to help define him as a thief. Our main character has a professional identity, which is the source of all his adventures. We don’t have arbitrary jumping — Sucker Punch game designer Nate Fox enemies from afar and an Astero/ds-style underwater submarine blast-a-thon. All this in the name of good overcoming evil, cuz Sly wouldn’t rob just anyone off the street (that’d be too easy). As he says, “Rip off a master criminal and you know you’re a master thief.” — Chris Johnston THE DEVIOUS MOVES OF THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS Nab all the bottled-up clues and you'll be able to crack each level’s vault. Inside is a page from the Thievius Raccoonus, giving Sly special abilities like the ones shown here. You don’t need all of them to complete th e game, but they help. ORIGIN OF A SUPER THIEF We thought Sly looked a lil’ familiar. We went back and sure enough, a raccoon named Jojo was the star villain of Sucker Punch’s first game, Rocket: Robot on Wheels (Nintendo 64). “After Rocket, we were looking for a way to feature a character like him in a new adventure,” designer Nate Fox says. “The fact that raccoons are natural thieves got us thinking about gameplay based on sneaking into people’s homes and ripping them off. Jojo’s short, fat body didn’t work with the agile movements of a master thief and so the leaner, spryer Sly Cooper was born.” PCS RRO: VARMINT OR MASTER THIEF? is that animal rummaging through your Dumpster a run-of-the-mill Procyon Lotor (normal raccoon) or is he a master thief (Sly Cooper)? Know the difference! SLY COOPER on Scours enemy lairs for booty and pieces of his family's hook, the Thievius Raccoonus. antigua et Uses large hook to grab onto things and swipe enemies. Likely to be seen riding around in a van. RACCOON Scours back- alley Dumpsters and garbage cans for a feast of tasty trash | Uses front paws to clean itself and free trapped " Likely to be seen getting run over by a van. 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. othic church, cemetery and torture chamber. P pray: 8 y any ) | . -5 , THE RECKONING § DELIVER US FROM EVIL. — www.interplay.com/hunter terplay /hunt MA Y H E M Ww Blood and Gore ¢ Aas & Fa Violence 7 ir CONTENT RATED BY ESRB Hunter The Reckoning for the Xbox video game system © 2002 Interplay Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved. Atlaslech Game Engine trademark 2000 High Voltage Software, Inc. All rights reserved: Developed for Interplay Entertainment Corp. by High Voltage Software, Inc., under license from White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Hunter The Reckoning is a registered trademark of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Interplay, the Interplay logo, Digital Mayhem and the Digital Mayhem logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. ji THE STRATEGY GUIDE — i= WITH PURCHASE OF bse, THE GAME AVAILABLE 9/1 & PRE-PURCHASE - YOUR COPY TODAY!_& eBvVOWwWTIGan A«\aim TUROK EVOLUTION * OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE ACE ELMS PRIMA PUBLISHING TUROK EVOLUTION ee aa — #216235-2 * PLAYSTATION 2 “fe SxS | ‘Neil moe i TUROK EVOLUTION TUROK EVOLUTION ’ — ee a : | | #216243-6 * XBOX #215965-5 « NINTENDO GAMECUBE ' q CS | | B ACCLAIM : ACCLAIM 7. | : é Call 1-800-800-5166 for the store nearest you _or call 1-800-800-0032 to place your order now! WWW.EBGAMES.COM COMING ee 'N SEPTEMBER pe PRE-PURCHASE YOUR COPY TODAY! [RATING PENDING | alien | COMFENT RATED BY | ESRB "Paya TEKKEN 4 #216769-0 * PLAYSTATION 2 NAMCO HOMETEK, INC. smouter E mtertainment inc a ee ANY NAMCO PRODUCT WITH THE PRE-ORDER OF = I In-store promotion only. sane 9/30/02. L.. i ous Prices valid in U.S. only. Typographical errors are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. Not all items may appear at our outlet locations. Prices may vary by location. At time of printing, all products are expected to be available. Some packaging, pricing, and special offers may differ in Canada. Prices and availability are subject to change. Manufacturers’ delays are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. ©2002 Electronics Boutique. = = PREVIEW Square EA Squaresoft 1 RPG 90% September 2002 None kingdomhearts.com The most unlikely RPG we've seen in some time. The Disney factor might turn off hardcore gamers. Prejudice is an ugly thing. Don’t hate. Investigate. Wet Shooting Star ag ee of 4 ®& “al On this side of the pond, she’s a virtual unknown, but in Asia, she’s bigger than Britney Spears. Who is she? She’s Hikaru Utada (known to her fans as Hikki), the most successful Japanese recording artist ever. Born in New York City and raised in Japan, this bilingual superstar writes her own music (unlike most J-pop stars) and is currently recording her first U.S. album for none other than Def Jam records. So why do we care? ’Cuz Hikki also happens to be the singer and composer of the Kingdom Hearts theme song, “Hikari” (the Japanese word for “light”). If you’re language-phobic, however, you'll be glad to know that “Hikari” is being rerecorded in English for the U.S. version of Kingdom Hearts. eee Gia De » item Showtime It's hard to go wrong with powerful allies-like the Genie from A/addin-in your backcourt. Sora & Co. adapt, chameleon-like, to the style of whatever world they're in. Here Sora models the fashionable styles of the Nightmare Before Christmas area. hen older gamers (older being teen and above) hear the word “Disney,” the typical instinct is to run in the opposite direction. On the one hand, this reaction is understandable, since the typical Disney game (Monsters, Inc., The Emperor’s New Groove, etc.) is little more than a 3D adaptation of their most recent animated feature. Sure, these harmless platforming excursions might warrant playing by all age groups, but let’s face it—they’re aimed at a younger crowd. And that’s the challenge Kingdom Hearts faces — escaping the image that Disney games are Strictly for the Teletubbies set. To keep things in perspective, remember that this iS a joint venture between Disney and the RPG masters at Square. And Heart’s director (and famed Final Fantasy character designer) Tetsuya Nomura came into the project with a good idea of both what he wanted and the Disney-game stigma he was up against. “| wanted to create something original,” Nomura told us. “This was not going to be Square’s next Final Fantasy, and | didn’t want this game to carry the same image that Disney games usually have: soft, cheery, kiddy, family.... Using the traditional Disney characters and worlds, | knew we RIO BRE SIDED LEI IID OETA ED RECITES could make something that would wow everyone.” After some hands-on time with a near-final English version of the game, I’m happy to report myself officially “wow”ed. Nomura and his team have crafted an action-RPG with enough hardcore gameplay to keep experienced gamers busy for weeks. Contrary to popular assumption, this is not kid stuff. “a fl@’S Still a little kid. But when he gets to the job, he gets it done and done right.” — Producer Nomura on Haley Joel Osment Kingdom Hearts puts you in control of the hero, Sora. With the help of Donald Duck and Goofy, you must traverse a head-spinning selection of Disney- themed worlds (Peter Pan’s old London, the Little Mermaid’s watery habitat, Jack Skellington’s nightmare world, etc.) in order to find and rescue Sora’s friend Kairi. While gamers might be reluctant Cont. on page 82 Se ortroanic (aamin ec hhar + by Fy g Odgmm onmarc cram CiCCligeic UGGS NIQTILALY - 80 SOL ie Clie Se rt NOH she thee (ry Social ee eS, ~ Dg ea UEL UU lt — PREVIEW “WHY?” BECAUSE WE The North American version of Kingdom Hearts boasts a number of improvements that Square’s develop- ment team didn’t have time to put in the Japanese release. While some changes are merely cosmetic, others are fairly significant, adding considerable replay value to the game. Among the enhancements for the U.S. version are three additional bosses, complete re-synching of the English voices with the character models, voice acting in scenes where the Japanese version had text only, and the addition of a tougher Expert mode. The “regular” game is certainly not easy, but Expert mode will definitely hand you your ass. LOVE YOU! EMME Attack ¥} Magic item Sonic But their movement still A work. It’s not scary enoughi Cont. from page 80 to take up arms with Goofy and Donald (there’s that kiddy thing again), these two allies definitely earn their keep. Goofy, with the help of a large shield, is the muscle, barreling into every enemy he can, causing a commotion that gives Sora breathing room to cast spells or enter the melee himself. Donald, on the other hand, lends support with healing spells or harries the enemy with elemental attacks. But the best part about having these two around is that they’re low-maintenance—the computer plays them. During the real-time battles, you only have to worry about controlling Sora. Occasionally you can substitute in another Disney character—like Aladdin, Tarzan, Ariel, Peter Pan and more—for Donald or Goofy. And of course, what would a Square RPG be without some flashy summon spells? In Kingdom Hearts, when things get heated, Sora can call upon an unlikely stable of allies (Dumbo, Bambi and Mushu to name a few) to launch a special attack or soothing healing spell. Although this is a virtual ‘Disney’s Greatest Hits’ mooshed into one convenient location, there is one category of Disney films sadly missing: the recent CG hits. Eagle-eyed readers might notice that the computer-generated cast of Joy Story and A Bug’s Life are nowhere to be found. Contractual difficulties kept Pixar’s popular personalities out of the final cut, but we have it on good authority that if Kingdom Hearts generates a sequel, the Pixarians (not a real word) might yet be included. With this game, Square has awakened the Disney fan inside all of us. Yeah, we like Bambi. Is that so wrong? fh —James “Milkman” Mielke WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS With the dialogue such an integral part of the Kingdom experience, Square and Disney have secured the finest young vocal talent available to breathe life into the three main characters. And what a great job they do! Supplying additional voices are teen sensation Mandy Moore, Lance Bass of N’Sync and actor Billy Zane. Difficulties in scheduling the more famous actors in Disney’s history, however, mean that the voices of The sheer variety of the levels in Kingdom Hearts will remind players just how vast Disney's universe is. For the first time ever, you can see all these characters and worlds intertwined into one, massive, trippy product. It’s not every day we fire a Pooh-bear out of a cannon into a sapling-filled forest, but there's always a first time! Hooray! CUBELESSNESS Given the nature of the source material, we opined that Kingdom Hearts would make a logical conversion to the GameCube. “Personally, | like the GameCube,” Nomura says. “It’s a good machine. But when Kingdom Hearts was first announced, many people reacted as if we made the wrong decision by developing it for the PS2 and not the GameCube. I think _ that actually made menot want to pursue it.” | Robin Williams (the Genie), Eddie Murphy (Mushu) and Matthew Broderick (Simba) are notably absent. HALEY JOEL OSMENT - SORA The leading young actor of his generation, Haley is famous for his roles in the Sixth Sense, Pay It Forward, A.I. and Forrest Gump. Haley’s emotional range makes him the perfect actor to portray the youthful Sora. HAYDEN PANETTIERE - KAIRI This 13-year-old actress is a seasoned cinematic veteran, having provided the voice for characters like Dot in A Bug’s Life and Suri in Dinosaur. She brings the same cheerful clarity to Kingdom Heart’s Kairi. - iat : “ Mie ao bs = ~neomet a = | Having appeared on shows like 7th Heaven and Walker, Texas Ranger, this 16-year-old actor is the perfect match to tackle Riku’s unpredictable personality. Riku is, perhaps, the most complex character in Hearts. years, you've watched the conflict. , \Now you'must make a choice. Who wilt. ‘YOU be: commander of the imperiled Earth» Federation, or leader of the notorious Zeon | ne Choose on" side, then prepare for rhrcéie diye split Screen Gis for HEAD y . or TEAM BATILE! ~e FULL VOICE-OVER performed by.the ~ actual television series actors! e CHOOSE YOUR SIDE! Play through as : either a eatin or a Zeon pilot. ee © NEW OUTER SPACE COMBAT! Take full advantage of 3D environments with fast and furious battles in outer space! Awarded a MOBILE SUIT = GOLD AWARD from Japan's “Famitsu” Magazine one Violence | : . PlayStation.e oe www.bandaigames.com © Soisu py Sus popan © 2001 Bandai Co., Ltd. “Gundam”, “Mobile Suit’, and all related characters, names, distinctive likenesses, drawings and other images contained in this poet are the exclusive property of Sotsu Agency and Sunrise Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS’ Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc. Used under jicense by Bandai America Inc. All rights reserved a Bata a tah oe Se of M ‘ive eract : Right soft 4 Ai icro. -Hometek Ih@s ense from Mi fig Mature Sexual Themes Violence CONTENT RATED BY el eee | ate =i "More action than: os - 5 3 ~ “e h such generosity, a gonna run out of gift wrap Use human Shields. Fight hand to hand. " | deadly fisarar moves. oo i PREWIEW ODOUR REM ROO REAM EO ED ME DONOHOE ODDO COMODO MAHI Namco Namco Players: re Fighting 90% September 2002 iso On: www.namco.com Huge but finite arenas with obstacles and changing terrain. It's still pretty slow and clumsy, kind of like... Tekken. Lee's pinstriped barber-shop-quartet getup. It's not very intimidating... NEW TRICKS Shove Over Now that Tekken’s arenas are finite and peppered with obstacles, your position within them is extremely important from a strategic standpoint. Getting caught with your back against the wall (or post, or car, what- ever) is just asking for a plus-damage pummeling. So what do you do to get out of these tough spots? Relax— Tekken 4 introduces a “shove” maneuver that doesn’t inflict any damage but works like a quick throw that repositions your opponent wherever you want him. You can nudge him aside to mess with his positioning, push him straight back into a phone booth or concrete pylon, or do a complete reversal to place him in the corner you just popped out of. Slick. K, we promise this is the last Tekken 4 preview. Seriously. The game’s going to be out in a month, so we just wanted to sneak in our impressions of this PS2 game before the review hits. Yep, we got a look at a near-final version of the American game. At the core, not much has changed since Tekken 3 (let’s all try to forget about Tekken Tag Tournament for a while, shall we?). But the huge graphical jump, quality-over-quantity roster and smart gameplay revisions make Jekken 4 a strong update to an aging series. The game has two new additions to its original cast: The first is Christie Montero, a student of Eddy Gordo’s Capoeira style who plays a lot like her teacher. Second is Craig Marduk, an ex-Vale Tudo champion with a strong grappling and ground-attack game. These included, we found a total of 19 t the old, familiar fighters—that’s nine unlockables in addition to the 10 who are available right off the bat. And Namco tells us the final version may have a couple more hidden characters. Every fighter has two costumes (or in Kuma’s case, a Panda alter-ego) that contribute a great deal to the vibrant style of the game. Watch Lei’s open shirt or Christie’s long hair animate and you’ll see what we mean—everything looks just as good as it does in the arcade version of Tekken 4. It doesn’t have the fluidity and depth of Virtua Fighter 4—it’s a bit clunkier on the control. But its crisp visuals and interactive arenas are the best on the PS2 thus far. The huge playing fields are fenced in for the first time in the series, though you might not even notice for several rounds—they’re that big. But objects like trees, phone booths and statues make handy strategic blockers in almost every stage. Using these Cont. on “YA SURE ARE FLEXIBLE...” ii ae anita ps trmmtri itt iti am titre THT UTES TEE = SME APM TD Te PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. MediEvil is a registered trademark of Sony Computer D gp. Entertainment America Inc. C-12: Final Resistance is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. : PlayStation ® it was around 3 a.m. when I saw this bright flash. After that | felt these : jong fingers holding me down. | woke up floating in a jar with tubes sticking out of my sides.” — Jesse Bonner, 72 / rn ‘| - NOBODY'S LAUGHING ANYMORE. You don’t live in denial. You die in it. As Resistance fighter Lt. Riley Vaughan, you'll have = to rely on your cyborg eye for surveillance imaging. An energy blade for room-clearing attacks. And a rocket launcher to fire Final Resistance, homing projectiles at a horde of otherworldly killers. From the makers of MediEvil® comes this frantic last stand for mankind. Mild Language Violence PREVIEW POOL RAL EREDAR ERIE EW) ese Mids OR WIEN NS: Terre MAsHion. Sense, MHeniettarks: Cont. from page 86 obstacles and the new grab-and-shove maneuver (see sidebar on previous page), you can set your opponent up to take major damage. Every time you land a punch or kick on an enemy who’s up against one of these barriers or the wall of the arena, he’ll take extra-impact damage when he hits it. It works especially well for catching an opponent in a combo string, juggling an airborne fighter or inflicting extra damage on one who’s down for the count. Tekken 4 is all about the two-player game, obviously, but an updated version of Tekken 3’s Tekken Force minigame gives you something new to do when you're light on competition. It’s a single- player, Bouncer-style beat-’em-up that lets you use any of the tournament fighters you have unlocked to inflict pain on jumpsuited grunts and bosses ina race against time. Pick up time and health bonuses (represented, for some reason, as little chickens and eggs) along the way to keep your energy and clock counter up. Yeah, you’ve also got your obligatory Time Attack, Survival and Practice modes, but those come standard with any 3D fighter nowadays. as —Jonathan Dudlak “YEP, THAT'S YOUR SHIRT ALL RIGHT...” Electronic Gaming Monthly - A phone booth collapse of this magnitude could kill a man in real life, but it just deals a little extra damage in the Tekken world. | Tekken Force i TIME BONUS . Mishima Panatio 04 | “RATS. WELL, GUESS WE HAVE TO FIGHT AGAIN,” 88 - esm.camers.com eg ot HE er oe BES Ss ies oe ES Pip se gyn eee ae cappgiarage ys ni NITH TH a | : | % irinh. \ wwe a hy | Au Se EB ee RT OS NS | SS RS = x = | for | Be thankful for wha | kids. Back in ’95, this is what old | Tekken fans had to put up with. | You can practically count the | polygons on one hand, friends. With the UFC, PRIDE and as- sorted imbeciles jumping off rooftops onto El Camino- ridden backyard-wrestling rings, it’s no surprise these real-life combat disciplines are making it into more con- sole fighting games. Tekken 4 is no exception. Rookie Craig Marduk brings his Vale Tudo form to Tekken’s ragtag band of pugilism misfits, and punching folks when they’re down is his specialty. It seems Namco has finally hardened up and done away with its boxing-gloved dinosaurs, wooden robots and other weirdness, but fuzzy ol’ Kuma’s still around for you nostalgic lamers. Tutios to You | Pry CAS CE HOrp NW A LT EC —_ | 4 , = Na LANSING. THRUSTMASTER ALIENWARE? SoBe, the SoBe Lizards, Mr. Green and Release The Green are trademarks of South Beach Beverage Company, Inc. TE _— PREVIEW SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALS | seein ETT TTT TTT nT TT TTT Tv ETT TTTTT TOTES ETT OTE S TESST Sony CEA Zipper Interactive Sane aSER Tor Ten Socom onand PLAvins COC 1 (1-16 online) cme CIM Action re 20% | Aug. 27, 2002 CR Hone www.scea.com Incredibly realistic gun recoil-and even your own REPRESH Lisi “wFGw Randy ¢. : - Once you're online you can change your weapons, check your ranking worldwide, chat with other players, or join a game. heartbeat-affect your aim. The Bad: The online game is broadband only; if you don't have a cable modem or DSL, you're screwed. Hearing the cries of your teammates through the headset as they get shot. ONLINE GAMES OK, try to keep the numbers straight here: You and up to 15 friends divide into two teams (SEALs versus terrorists), then choose from 12 maps to play the following three modes online: DEMOLITION: Each team tries to grab and then place a bomb in the other’s territory. HOSTAGE RESCUE: The SEAL team must locate and rescue a group of hostages the terrorists are guarding, or kill all the terrorists. SUPPRESSION: Good ol’ straight firefight. Whichever team kills the other first wins. POP QUIZ, THE QUESTION: On a snowy mission in Alaska, you take out a guard on a lofty Hiding in cover (bushes, water, trees, hile etc.) is very effective. Different camo <8). outfits help you blend into each level. hursday, June 27, 1400 hours: Secured 1 (one) version ultra-realistic squad-based Shooter SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, 1 (one) PS2 online adapter, and 1 (one) USB headset communicator from contact at Sony. FedEx guy knows too much.... He must be neutralized. 1415 hours: Already engaged in 16-player online game with group of Sony testers. Getting online was fast and easy. Headset feels flimsy and cheap but works well—I can clearly hear everyone laughing at me. (First game | killed myself with grenade. Second game | accidentally stood up from behind cover and immediately got shot in head.) These controls will take some getting used to.... 1600 hours: Adjusted to controls; now | can switch weapons, crouch, lie down, jump, shoot and toss grenades with ease. Swapped default rifle for Rambo-sized M60 machine gun. | hide in tall grass and wait for passersby. Finally I’m getting some kills. 1800 hours: Now it’s just me against J. Rybicki and HOT SHOT: hilltop, grabbing his sniper rifle and high- powered scope for a look around. You notice two guards a few hundred yards away in a clearing. What should you do? A) Take the shot with the unsilenced sniper rifle, taking care of the guard farthest away first. B) Order your second squad, Bravo Team, to swing around from behind and take care of them while you watch. C) Switch to your silenced sub-machine gun and pepper the guards with controlled bursts. D) Carefully move in and take them out with your silenced pistol. E) Leave them be. Give peace a chance! fi, you ever get that ing like something about to happen?” Eley eee ‘ un ton Riectronic Gam ing Monthly - 90 - 5 o4 J. Davison from Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. New strategy for 2-against-1 odds: Traded M60 for rifle with less ammo but better accuracy and range, and dropped grenades for claymore mines. Planted mines at doorways and found sniping perch to create “Room of Death.” Unfortunately, you can’t talk to the opposing team over the headset mic, so my taunts about the yankee pig-dog oppressors and their fat capitalist masters fall on deaf ears. 2200 hours: Sampled single-player game. Stealth, slow movement and scouting ahead are key—this is not your usual run-and-gun first-person shooter. Computer-controlled teammates often save my bacon but also make stupid mistakes: In the midst of “stealthy” operations, they stand out in the open or, without orders, fire unsilenced machine guns. | adjust by quietly shooting them all in the head at the start of each mission. Hope they get smarter in the final version of the game. More in full report next month. Over and out. th —Mark MacDonald WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DOP THE ANSWER: B) Order your second squad, Bravo Team, to swing around from behind and take care of them while you watch. It’s the only option that doesn't cause noise that might alert other guards (like A) or require you to move and risk being seen (a la D; don’t forget-you leave footprints in the snow). Your sub- machine gun has terrible accuracy at that distance (sorry C), and if you were even considering E, well, maybe this isn’t the game for you. (Go play Britney's Dance Beat, hippie!) Option B also keeps you behind a rifle with a good view of the action; you can cover Bravo team as they move out and open fire if trouble breaks out. * F, .oil.pefinery, : ie eae aes =. > Png . m% POO GE Pied pzap™ c o 3 wn cr ™ © o t b= ee, iin — Perri iiitiis hoeeea titan? ee «.) pactd ractory Mee ~ » soa Hammer your way through urban fantasy Master Fuzzy Hall’s real backyard course and tracks tothe Gravity Games big time in5 game check out pro rider behind-the-scenes DVD ‘Tike Dennis McCoy, Fuzzy Hall and Jamie modes through 10 massive worlds so detailed content with.harsh wipeouts, awesome Bestwick, along with a bevy of fantasy street and realistic you can smell the asphait. moves and in-depth interviews. characters. PlayStation.e xBO0x : : Blood Mild Lyrics Mild Violence ne PREVIEW Eidos Free Radical 1-4 (1-16 online) Genre: First-person shooter % Done: 10% September 2002 ‘AlsoOn: = GameCube, Xbox www.eidos.com timesplittersgame.com The Good: Cool create-a-level program and h-u-g-e list of multiplayer options. The lack of a jump button feels a bit odd. The double-bagger in that screen on the bottom right. DO IT YOURSELF Level Up Aspiring game designers take note: TimeSplitters 2’s expanded map-making utility now lets you create your own multi- and single- player levels and save them to a memory card. Choose from preset room tiles then place weapons, ammo, teleporters, lighting and even non-player characters to build on your own storyline, and watch as your level is constructed in real time. If only more games included this kind of stuff! saint EERE EE EERE TES LOSES ERTS EEEEE TSDC OT OPTSSTSESOOOETSODEOOEENS Certain enemies are weaker and stronger against some weapon types (flame, electric, explosive, etc.). The monkey: Enemy, playable character, defender of the weak, lover, friend. elieve it or not, you can tell a lot about TimeSplitters 2 and developer Free Radical from a monkey. Well, a pack of monkeys, really. “At intervals [in multiplayer] the weakest player is sporadically assisted by a bunch of gun-toting monkey fanatics,” explains director David Doak. “They port in, kick ass, beat their little monkey chests, then skedaddle. Kind of like your own little pocket monkey cavalry.” What does that tell us? A) Multiplayer is more than an afterthought for Free Radical, packed as it is with cool options like this (monkey-assist is just one of a buttload of options and modes), B) they have a freakin’ odd sense of humor, and finally, ©) TimeSplitters 2 sounds like it’s gonna be a whole lotta fun. But maybe the monkey didn’t convince you. Maybe you’ve experienced the excellent deathmatch action in the original TimeSplitters, know that many at Free Radical worked on the blockbuster Nintendo 64 shooter GoldenEye, and are still uncertain. A Skeptic, eh? With all the first-person shooters out it RANK, (Src) , PissmaA HAAN EREISSLASS ONS SLOSSN RANMA NAA RNIRNESLSSL SANSOME SOO AOSANSSLOODSENCESES there, who can blame you? But that’s OK, ’cause 7S2 has a lot more to offer. Like online play, for one. Plenty of opponents, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including and especially on holidays), all aching for a crack at ya. And when straight deathmatch gets old, you can try some of that buttload of modes we mentioned before: Bag Tag, Capture the Bag, Flame Tag, Assault, Virus, Possession, Vampire, Ogre—too many to list them all here. Plus, there’s always the single-player game. You jump around time and space in your search for the missing pieces of an alien time-travelling device — everywhere from the Wild West of the 1850s to Neo Tokyo in the year 2019. Don’t care for the enemies or weapons in any particular level? Just wait—the next one will be completely different. Don’t forget about creating your own multi- or single-player maps (see sidebar). By the time you’re done with everything, TimeSplitters 3, will probably be right around the corner. Re —Mark MacDonald ies inolgis Each of the over 80 characters you can choose from in multiplayer has his own attributes. For example, the monkey is small and fast but very flammable. The stone golem is slow but strong and resistant to fire. As for Toothy Mcvaginamouth above, well, who knows? AND ONL HALF-DONE BILLING. sg +3 KEEP THE, FORCES OF EVIL AT BA¥ WITH% 360-DEGREE COMBAT SYSTEM. EXPERIENCE SPECTACULAR VISUAL EFFECTS IN YOUR DANCE OF DEATH. ¢ 3 o wot w Ww _ o wot w < ) Vv) i >) w = -P) “— wo Dw w Yu = ix} LeY 0] o) F) a=) > % Y = | Bd ao | = . | DELIVER LAST RITES WATH _ ATTACK WITH MARTIAL ARTS, GUNS ~ DESTDROY HORDES OF VILE VAMPIRES GRUESOME, OVER-THE-TOP AND THE SWORD OF THE DAYWALKER. IN FRENZIEDSSHOW DOWNS. FINISHING MOVES. = PlayStation®2 computer entertainment syste THE HUNT BEGINS AGAIN... mes ELAR AVAILABLE ON VHS AND 2-DISC PLATINUM SERIES™ DVD EVERYWHERE! www.blade2.com Blood and Gore Strong Language > PlayStation.e NEWAINE Violence i TE | CONTENT RATED BY sa a = _ | | Aé : i SION ESRB . | | a Marvel, Blade and the distinctive likeness(es) thereof are trademark(s) of Marvel Characters, Inc., and are used with permission. Copyright © 2002-Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. www.marvel.com. Blade 2 motion picture activision.com artwork and other motion picture material © 2002 New Line Productions, Inc rights reserved. Game code © 2002 Activision, Inc. S4ifiliates. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. a Bi on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainm ems with the NTSC U/C designation only. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Cofputer Entertainment Inc. Microsof Xboxs"and the Xbox gos are either registered trademarks or t ks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/omgther countries and are used under license from Microsoft. | ea : The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digit@f Softwate Association. All other trademarks and trade names are'the properties of their respective owners. | ~ be : " S . * uy ag oe i. ite — a 8 si -_ ts we ee, D NTEND GAMECUBE. “OT 5 a i ae a an * Pty eaceeet ead on = avwr® = epee eee” ausa AG G4LVe LNILNOD JIUdIOIA saway) aaysabins S314] PIII NaS L . ey ee ed ¥~"' ee ae ry) —_ v0, PREVIEW I Universal Interactive Computer Artworks MF Action-Adventure 90% WA September 2002 throwers...could we ask for more? tt) a Clumsy interface makes using and identifying your iis EE Ae ae eas | 1 i ed | i S = 5 | The Thing isn’t always some | | obvious, hideous creature. It | | may just be your right-hand man. Check out how a nasty mix of infection and anxiety | gets to old Williams below. Williams: Losin’ it | t the risk of opening the door for some hack to bring out a console version of Howard the Duck, we’re going to add this action-adven- ture ’80s flashback to our brief list of palata- ble movie games. The Thing has “sleeper hit” written all over it, and here’s what you’ll be waking up to: TRUST/FEAR MECHANISM Not everyone you meet in the game is going to be down with taking orders right off the bat. You’ll have to earn their trust and help them overcome their fears before they'll take up your side. Teammates pissed at you? Give ’’em a gun to show "em you care. Maybe they think you’re infected by The Thing? Run a blood test on yourself to prove you're not. Maybe they’re freaked out so bad they’re huddled in little balls on the floor? It’s too late for these guys— only a matter of time before their little heads go “pop” from all the emotional stress. f HC GaMines MIONTHHY - = ORT) 2c i bie | Which Thing is your fav? Here a | 1) John Carpenter’s Thing | 2) The Fantastic Four’s big orange Thing | 3) Swamp Thing (left) | 4) The Volkswagen Thing | 5) The Addams Family’s Thing ALIENS! The developers took some liberties with the enemies they’ve created, but these guys are much fresher than “special effects” circa 1982. KILLER HARDWARE The flamethrower is essential for finishing foes, but the fun’s in Shotgunning their insides to the wall and sniping from catwalks. FULL EXPLOITATION OF AN “M” RATING Between the = ry hardcore swearing, vomiting and Splattering gore, The Thing goes the extra mile to make sure every kid under 18 will want to go out and buy this game. —Jonathan Dudlak reapers? ings « 2002 KF Hoid _ = PREVIEW Sierra Inevitable 1-2 (1-16 online) First-person shooter % Done: 85% September 2002 None www.sierra.com Lots of ways to play. No text or voice chat. Trash talking...only to have no one hear you. NOT JUST QUAKE Role Play Tribes has a little something for everyone: Wanna be Maverick from Top Gun? Take to | the skies in one of four aircraft: Grav Cycle (high speed, no guns), Fighter, Bomber or Transport (grab up to four of your teammates and carry them off to their dooms). salad ~ Rather bea cooked Goose and take ona support role ee that'll win you no glory by the end of the movie...er, game? Hit the field and deploy turrets, sensors or remote inventory stations. Or just grab a repair pack so you can run around and fix things like a sucker. f you were to take some Quake characters for a picnic in the countryside, you may get a scene like you’d see in Tribes, a popular online PC first-person shooter making its way to the PS2 this fall. This game’s outdoor environments may bring out the agoraphobia in players raised on indoor “corridor” shooters —after all, how do you strategize in such open areas? “The first thing you notice about the terrain is the vast spaces and rolling hills,” says Chris Mahnken, Tribes’ producer at Sierra. “But that’s deceptive, because not all the hills are rolling, and none of them are the same— every map has a unique feel. Soon you learn the best way to get from place to place, using the hills and valleys as cover. You find the ledge that lets you mortar the enemy base from just out of sight or the valley that you can fly the bomber out of without exposing yourself to too many enemy missiles.” This isn’t just “Outdoors Quake,” however. You get a jetpack for short spurts of high-altitude warfare, and when you run out of energy, you can “ski” down hillside slopes so you can zip along without taking fall damage or slowing down. “You can figure out the best ski routes to help you fly at the enemy flag at top speed,” says Mahnken. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 100 - egm.gamers.com TRIBE AGAIN Tribes Aerial Assault is a new, original PS2 game based on Tribes and Tribes 2 for the PC. As the game's title suggests, most of the action comes from above. Besides Capture the Flag (pictured here), our other favorite mode is Hunter, a free-for-all where you take out enemies, pick up their dropped flags, then return them to a “Nexus” to score. You're not necessarily in a shoot-everything-that- moves mode (mood?) with Tribes. “The freedom is one of the major benefits,” Mahnken explains. “You can do whatever you want. In the mood to break stuff? You can assault the enemy base and trash their gear. Feeling crafty? Place turrets in all the most devious positions around your base. You can even switch the type of base gun emplacements to thwart changing enemy attack styles.” The game even has inventory stations (located in your base or wherever you decide to deploy them on the field) to let you change your character type to reflect your preferred style of play. “Defensive-minded players can play in heavy armor and defend the flag or other critical equipment,” says Mahnken, “or choose light armor and chase down enemy flag carriers.” a —Dan “Shoe” Hsu PLAYING BY THE NUMBERS Internet-connection speeds will determine how many players can hook up for tribal love. As of this writing, Sierra’s guidelines are as follows: 2-4 6-8 16 How many Cable-modem Only folks players 56K- gamers may using DSL or modem users _ be able to get better will be may be able up to eight able to get the players to join. —_ full experience. Far left: Shoot down any fighter jets that get inside your per- sonal “no-fly” zone. Left: Hey... is that a movie reference we see there? (See front editorial page.) ™" . a eae ‘Coming September! Coming Soon! Violence PlayStationoe ai he Mind shall ran e the - eran aio Ti a! nest | i ee : E€oming Septem CONTENT RATED BY PlayStation.2 eThe character you choose determines how the action and event scenes unfold! ¢A multitude of play modes, including 2 player versus and cooperative! eMore than 40 playable characters with event scenes in full voicel! Xbox™: Coming September! PlayStation 2 : AVAILABLE NOW Produced by “|. PlayStations2 oe CONTENT RATED BY @ Live your own Three Kingdoms experience! Play one of 535 characters from civil servant to the mighty Lu Bu! @ 10 scenarios with multiple endings and story paths! The fate of China is in your hands! @ The biggest leap forward in the series! Amazing graphics, quicker gameplay, and added features! EVERYONE Available Now PlayStatione2 : gone Dynasty Tactics, Dynasty Warriors 3 and Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII are trademarks of KOE! Corporation and KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2002 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. "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 in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. SPEAR OF DESTINY Wolfenstein 3D (PC) usually comes to mind first when thinking of Nazi-killing games. But ever hear of Spear of Destiny? This prequel (story-wise) never got as much notoriety as W3D but has a real-life story behind it. Apparently, when he was young, Adolf Hitler obsessed over an artifact called The Spear of Destiny, which supposedly harbors mystical powers and was pivotal to sparking his interest in the occult. rp] co oR! $e) ‘pes . HEALTH! AMMO 9! PREVIEW 2 76900 5 @ 100 785 GALLERY noemennnnnsnenaone sven bnznsonnaneonecncnzonennnsnooacosencsdco¢cconscnuoneecntssnensceeecintttttettSUSASiStSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSeS SSS SSS ssaessSsssessSSSRSSBAASe SSSERSSSSna=Si=SSinSsSSISSSSSSSDSSOSSRonSSSuaaeesteseensnnasenanequaennentasestesesdoessesaeassdeeatstndSidssnatnst2EtESsSSisStbloossonnsensGsnsSSSAASiasentANtesOtehiadetsesenssstesclseetsesssenseeKSBeBbsteedeAis2n\za:niEsESebestansstsntnseuenesnssssenessansnsssesseussonseesessnsssassesssnsseneee ee) ARRDALODEARERSEERINESISROR SRO ARESRODRAORSRDESRRSAANSNRASA ASE NNN RUSSNCUNS ees Activision ¢ October 2002 ¢ Also On: Xbox — Ha! Feel like you killed enough Nazis in Medal of Honor? Think again, fool. Nazi-killing never gets old, and RtCW is a testament to that. It’s nothing but you and your luger (or MP4o or whatever other real-life WWII weapon you can find) against legions of Hitler’s boys—not to mention the undead and some nasty genetics-experiments-gone-awry. Achtung! sia saint cana betaine Nui ih Gungrave Sega * September 2002 ¢ Also On: None — !f you only try one hyper- violent third-person action-shooter with an animated cyber-Western flair this fall, make sure it’s Gungrave. If the fancy blastin’ doesn’t rope you in, maybe the destructible environments, collectible 3D action figures and CG movie sequences will. Special attacks like the Hellhound Roar and Bullet Dance make Grave an undead assassin to be reckoned with. Enix ¢ September 2002 ¢ Also On: None — Lisa Loeb, Dean Cain, and Mark Hamill—quite the queer trio of personalities —are finally starting a band. Just kidding! They’re bringing their voiceover talents to the new Grandia game designed from the ground up for PS2. X promises plenty of dungeons and a unique battle system which achieves both a sense of real-time slicin’ and dicin’ and intense strategic fighting. And only by using all your different spells and abilities will you master them—none of that levelling-up-until-you-learn-the- most-powerful-spell crap. Familiar ground for Grandia // vets, and refreshingly original for the uninitiated. Oks kn A 1034 vanes f # Fa riectronic Gaming Monthly - 104 - egm.gamers.com PREWIEW GALLERY it , aw . iat ert , = i f = = he tel ‘a ee om A ‘ q ) Re - ie . Ss 2 ba iy ie ~ en 1 fe AG « WVU a e Oar ing EA Games/ Fox Interactive ¢ Fall 2002 ¢ Also On: None — Here’s the gist of this one: Take nine Simpsons characters, along with their real voices and wittiest quips, put them on skateboards and set ’em loose in Springfield. The game wisely uses the Jony Hawk control scheme, complete with the manual move for trick-linking (no revert), but it takes more liberties with the laws of physics than Pro Skater does. TO SURVIVE, YOU MUST CHANGE INTO A WARRIOR. | : 1990-2002 fig: cry GOlERSEE IMG AL fights seserved. RUBUTEL ters are owned by Harmony Gold USA, inc Videogame © 2002 9DK Mediactive inc. Ai} gits reserved. PUBRISHED AND DIST HIDUTED BY TOK MEDIACTIVE. INC ON SUMMONER 2... Sandeep Shekar, lead designer of Summoner 2, explains how he approached this sequel: “After making Alien 3, David Fincher commented on how horrible an experience it was making a sequel to a movie by another director. | would say working on Summoner 2 is kind of similar. Except that | was the lead designer on the first one, so | guess it's nothing at all like David Fincher or Alien 3.” — PREVIEW GALLERY PRR IIE TROON ETT ATO LOIRE TTT PART IITA RN TOTTI PLP TOSS OOOO I SEIDEN a eer RAD: Robot Aichemic Drive Enix * November 2002 ¢ Also On: None — /f there’s one thing that years of science fiction has taught us, it’s that giant robots will one day save the Earth from alien invaders. And that’s what you do in RAD. You control one of three teenagers given the keys to a huge ’bot in order to battle these new alien aggressors. Best of all, you control your mech from the Safety(?) of the ground. Any way you slice it, it’s a destruction bonanza. ARORA RARER MN ONAN OACE CENCE LLL OR NOONE AORN OLEATE NOOO nena ERD Summoner 2 THQ ¢ September 2002 ¢ Also On: None — THQ’s original Summoner might have been a minor hit, but due to nasty problems like slowdown, pop-up and ugly characters, few gamers look back on it fondly. Thankfully, this sequel makes a totally fresh start. With a shape-shifting heroine, revamped camera setup and a new, action-oriented battle system, this adventure might actually summon some critical acclaim. a ec eo SAARI THQ ¢ Spring 2003 ¢ Also On: Xbox — So you're looking at these screens and asking yourself, “What the hell?” We don’t blame ya. This is Alter Echo, an action game that puts you on a living planet whose organic, pulsating surface is alive and hostile. To survive, morph into three different forms—melee, gun or stealth—and pause time itself to queue up a long list of attacks. It’s weird, but definitely in a good way. aie a | My, how you’ve grown, you Velociraptor, you. These | carnivorous puppies sure have come a long way | graphically since ye old days of Turok: Dinosaur | Hunter for Nintendo 64. Now look. All grown up and ready to rip our innards apart! Aww, how cute. ; Y PREVIEW GALLERY T ¥ sa a Bee my urok: ; if i a ii) Acclaim * September 2002 ¢ Also On: GC, Xbox — Dinosaurs never get old. Or so it seems as Acclaim’s set to bring their successful Turok franchise to all three next-gen consoles. Some much-touted features include flight missions where you control a pteranodon to take down enemies from the skies, and the S.D.S (Squad Dynamics System), which lets you hunt down raptors in the jungle with a squad of soldiers. No doubt about it, Evolution’s got all the goods: gorgeous visuals, excellent sound capabilities, multiplay, intelligent monsters, A 5 proassoneniee) and both team- and flight-based combat. The set-up for success is there. Check for our reviews next month. oF A ie 2 Ree eee 3 3 ee 5 Fi y, t é * #0 Jesgenbsweoensey - ’ “ht r nal = eeneaseecencoes D seuseneeseerece wor 2 s SG . * she 100 % pTeenengenaasneay hes ~ = TH i iii Thithapaeees pirduneenye i - ,g Pop) 2% 3 e " H ol ss — ies TO SAVE HUMANKIND, YOU MUST CHANGE INTO A HERO. /N02 Harmony Gold USA, ine. A } ved. RUBULEGH anda yClated } ik ind characters are owned by Harmony Gold U >A. Inc. Video ja 2002 TDK Mediactive. Inc All rights reserved. PUBLISHED AND UI nibu U6 DK ME an PREVIEW GALLERY _= tne SSSA nnn reentrant oh Defender Midway ¢ Fall 2002 ¢ Also On: GC, Xbox — You're still blasting aliens and saving humans, but that’s about all this remake has in common with the classic arcade shooter. The added emphasis on strategy challenges you (and a friend in two-player co-op) to position tanks and ground forces to defend bases, plus you can upgrade your ship with better shields, weapons and other goodies between missions. <—i ap 4 PlayStation.c me Aiactve: © 1985, 2002, Harmony Gold USA, Inc. All rights reserved. ROBOTECH and associated trademarks and characters are owned by Harmony Gold USA, Inc. Videogame © 2002 TDK Mediactive, Inc. All rights reserved. PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY TDK MEDIACTIVE, INC. Licensed by Nintendo. TM © and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Licensed for play on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation only. “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. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. Xbox™ video game system screenshots shown. PREVIEW NDE RCOI NREL SEIS IIE EA Games _ Eurocom/EA UK 1 ali Action-Adventure , 50% Nov. 15, 2002 = PlayStation 2, Xbox WWW.ea.com hpgames.ea.com | Slick graphics, tight control, and the second book is far better suited to becoming a game. B Harry and friends are voiced by sound-alike fill-in actors. Investigating Moaning Myrtle’s home in the toilet. QUIDDITCH Quidditch, the beloved sport of wizards, plays a major role in Secrets. Harry’s second year on the squad as Seeker (the player who must capture the elusive, game- winning Golden Snitch) brings tougher competi- tion—including a face-off against Slytherin’s new seeker, Draco Malfoy. EA has greatly enhanced the Quidditch gameplay over last fall’s PS1 Sorcerer’s Stone game. You'll now have to contend with faster, smarter Bludgers (magical balls that try to knock you off your broom) and attacks from other players. Harry also has some new moves to even the score, like a blazing speed boost and a charge move for ramming opponents. ASSASSINS ESRB ES SSID SEEDS SEARO IONRE CORON LS LOSILOSL ESLER IE ESSIEN BNS ELL Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DROSERROERORICESRESOAESESAORAASANA ANANSI SRO ARE TREE BIEN DTILEO SDAA SLOAN LEONE ON LEESON COLCA N NAAN NNN NOC kept saying to myself...just wait ’til next year, then they'll see.” That’s how EA product manager David Lee consoled himself last fall as the mediocre reviews poured in for his game Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This November, just in time for the next Potter feature film, comes his chance at redemption: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. So where exactly did the last game go wrong, and how is EA planning on making it right in the sequel? Well first of all, a lot more gamers will get the chance to play it. Unlike the PS1-only Sorcerer’s Stone, Secrets’ development began early enough that all three of the next-gen home consoles will be getting a version of the game simultaneously. And where last year’s Potter game had to construct an action-adventure from the mostly action-free first book and movie, the plot of Chamber lends itself more easily to a game. All of the cool scenes are here, such as Harry and Ron LDA NRERN RRLODEIP NIBP SEE ISE BNET ETRE SRLS SREOSLEOOSE BRI SBRIE SSE ISEIERESIED SI LESILIEOBILIDEDS AEOLIAN LOORE LET LA RONOSOIEORLNL EE NLP LE SEALE LATED hijacking the flying car, fighting the creepy Aragog spider-monsters, and exploring the forbidden Chamber of Secrets. The story’s darker, horror- tinged elements also afford the game a sense of spooky dread that helps propel it onward. Something’s turning Harry’s classmates into stone, and it’s your job to solve the mystery. Those of you who’ve read the book know just how well the dramatic climax could work as a game—just wait until you See it here. Harry’s gameplay draws heavy inspiration from the Nintendo 64 Zelda titles: He walks, runs and auto-jumps just like Link and can lock onto enemies to attack with magic. Speaking of which, Harry learns a variety of spiffy spells as he progresses through the game, each with different casting methods. For example, the normal attack spell, Flippendo, can be fired as small blasts by tapping the button or charged up for one massive bolt by holding the button down. Hold it for too long, however, and the charged spell will blow up in Harry’s face in a seriously embarrassing Wile E. Coyote fashion. Harry’s magic gets quite a workout too, since the developers have stuffed the game with a gaggle of challenging boss encounters. Of course, Harry’s not always pelting monsters with oddly named spells. Sometimes, he has to actually do stuff at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Aside from attending classes to learn spells and playing on the Quiddtich team (see sidebar), Harry also joins the Dueling Club. Here, he faces off against other students in dramatic, one-on-one magical battles. Mastering spell deflection and timing is invaluable for actual combat, so you can sneak up to the roof of Young Potter enjoys the fleeting freedom of his summer vacation. Soon, it'll be all wedgies and hazing at Hogwarts. Hogwarts late at night and practice dueling to your heart’s content. Graphically, every location in the game looks just like the ornate, imaginative sets from the film. Meandering through the bizarre shops in Diagon Alley and catacombs beneath Hogwarts truly brings the Harry Potter experience to life. The audio isn’t quite so faithful, as most of the actual voice actors from the film couldn’t squeeze in time for the game. The sound-alikes perform admirably, though. EA claims that Harry Potter has already become its largest worldwide brand, and that popularity stemmed from last year’s slightly disappointing lineup. Now that they’ve got a much more res- pectable game coming to the next-gen consoles, we expect the Potter franchise to take off like a Nimbus 2000 (that’s a flying broom to all non-magic users). Oh, by the way, the PS1, GBA and even GBC will be getting Secrets in November as well. ae — Shane Bettenhausen Harry heads to Daigon Alley to find blacklight posters, incense and a lava lamp for.his” dorm Well, not'réally, but wouldn WHAT HAPPENED TO BOOK | The long-awaited fifth tome, Harry Potter and Hie Order of the Peers, was originally slated to ship in July of 2002. Now, it’s been pushed back to July 2003. Apparently, author J.K. Rowling has no enforced writing deadlines, so she can deliver the manuscript whenever she gets around to it. Bloody hell. All three next-gen versions of Harry are basically the same, but GC owners can unlock some exclusive features by linking Chamber of Secrets up with its GBA counterpart. Actually, even if you don’t have the upcoming Potter GBA game (shown here), you can download sliding tile puzzles to your portable system via the Link Cable. But if you own both the GBA and GC games, you can unlock a special maze in the GBA cart. In it, you’ll find a secret Wizard Card you can use to open Gringotts Bank, a location exclusive to the GC version of Secrets. Blow off some steam by hurling pesky garden gnomes over the Weasleys’ fence. Is it harmless fun or does this behavior foreshadow Harry's violent desires? Is he the next Anakin? “It’s all Dumbledore’s fault!” PREVIEW Nintendo Nintendo 1-4 (Alternating) Hell if we know. Nintendo calls it “Communication.” September 16, 2002 www.nintendo.com Definitely one of the most refreshing, original games to come along in quite some time. Th No action, no bosses- heck, no goals. Trigger-happy gamers may become confused and potentially hostile. Be warned. | Let's just say...you don't ever want to push the reset button during play. Trust us. NES Lives One of the coolest things you can do in Animal Cros- sing is find and collect clas- sic NES (8-Bit Nintendo) games to keep in your hum- ble in-game abode. You can play these games in all their old-school glory right there on your GameCube, or if you like, you can download them to your GBA for playing on the go. The initial batch of titles includes oldies like Punch-Out!! (sans Mike Tyson), Excitebike and Ice Climber (among others), but since new games (Zelda, please?!) can be distributed via memory card, the possi- bilities are limitless. Nintendo even hinted to us that some third parties may get in on the action, sticking their NES classics on memory cards as well. BOO ERLE LRN O SOLDER O ROO ACROPORA OOOO ARRON ORTOP SEEDPEER EERO Nothing! I've Got nothing! Nada! Zero! Zip! Zilch! intendo’s second-half lineup for 2002 reads like a laundry list of gaming’s biggest and most beloved franchises. But amidst these massively anticipated games—which include the likes of Super Mario Sunshine and Metroid Prime —lies a relative unknown that could easily turn out to be one of the surprise hits of the year: Nintendo’s quirky new life sim, Animal Crossing. As the game begins, you find yourself on a train headed for a small forest village that you’ll soon be calling home. Once you arrive and get settled in your new digs, you’re free to do pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want. This is what makes Animal Crossing so unique—the only real objective in the game is to live life as you see fit. With literally dozens of things to do at any given time, you'll never find yourself feeling bored or restless. But don’t expect any puzzles to master or huge bosses to slay, ’cause you won’t find ’em here. The point with Animal Crossing was to keep things simple and fun. “The gaming industry has a trend of creating really big action games that are too difficult for a lot of people,” says AC producer Takashi Tezuka. “We wanted to make a game that was barter {* (2 $4 RA math, a A rararc a Electronic Gaming Monthly - 112 - egm.gamers.com Launching the same day as Animal Crossing is Nintendo’s new e-Reader peripheral and the first series of digitally encoded Animal Crossing e-cards. The printed part of the : cards will feature character info and special passwords that can be used in-game, while | PERE IRE ETON CORE z ss oe ‘ cs ssc ee accessible to all players, even those who weren’t hardcore gamers.” Up to four people can participate in any one village (each person occupies one of the four available houses), so your friends and family can get in on the action as well. This is where the “communication” aspect of the game kicks in. You can even take things a step further by taking your memory card to a friend’s place and having your character “visit” their village (no two villages are alike). There, you can meet new characters, trade items, or even nab some of the local rarities which aren't available back home. And since everything takes place in real time, if you play at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, that’s the time it’ll be in the game as well. Day turns to night, seasons change, holiday events take place and so on. You’ll want to check back often to see what’s going on, else you might miss out on something big. We could go on and on about all the cool and unique aspects of AC, but half the fun is finding them out for yourself. Needless to say, if you’re up for something fresh and different, this is one GC game you won’t want to miss. oF, —John Ricciardi 7, Cc / ‘ ee & © 8 Best Buy EI} (ll 1-800-771-3772 for video a game. ond computer software FEET game rating information. Playstation-< sPorrs " UPCs. Scan eater prod “Yes” to apply package prici place in the hog cou ise nv Turn Onthe Fun’ BestBuy.com™ PREVIEW super Monkey Ball 2 Sega Amusement Vision Players: 1-4 Puzzle/Party game 80% September 2002 Also On: None www.sega.com More of the same Monkey Ball action you've grown to love, plus six new minigames. This baby is super- hard. And The "A=? Reviews Editor Jonathan Dudlak getting his butt kicked at Monkey Race. Lar WOO BO the raging » river the fastest. Power- ups will turn your ball into a motorboat. : Relive the glory of the U.S. getting to the World Cup quarterfinals with Monkey Soccer! See that goal in the distance? That's where you've got to be. Don’t be too hasty, though. Singed monkey hair don’t smell too great. AiAi contemplates a different line of work Big as he’s launched skyward on one of the @), a new, very challenging Story-mode stages. - uper Monkey Ball was the sleeper-hit launch title for the GameCube. Its super-simple gameplay, charming characters and addictive puzzles made it an instant favorite among early adopters of the system. After playing the sequel extensively, we can safely say that those fans are in for a real treat next month. It seems the maniacal scientist Dr. Bad-Boon (just go with it) is intent not on ruling Jungle Island but just getting all its inhabitants to like him. Our four furry heroes (AiAi, MeeMee, Baby and GonGon) set out to thwart his evil and ridiculous plans. | mean... come on. With a name like Bad-Boon you’re pretty much asking to be ostracized. The basic game is similar to the prequel: You roll one of the monkeys through a collection of narrow, twisting courses trying to reach the goal as fast as possible without falling off. The challenge, however, has increased tenfold. Even EGM’s best monkey- MONKEY SHOT: Hy MONKEY BASEBALL: like? shooter has to do with mon- keys or balls, we're not sure. ps iP i oil _ Apes in the Sone Soa outfield try to Poon we catch pop-flies with giant novelty gloves. What's not to ballers (gross!) were getting schooled on only the second set of levels in Super Monkey Ball 2. The game now features a lot more moving parts and pitfalls compared to the original, along with jumps, conveyor belts and nasty twists and turns. But the real fun in the last outing was the collection of minigames. Happily, all of the originals make a return in the sequel, with slight upgrades (nine-ball in Monkey Pool, eight competitors in Monkey Race, etc.). The really exciting part, though, is the inclusion of six new minigames that absolutely rock! Check below for a rundown. So if you’ve already unlocked everyone in Smash Bros. Melee and mastered the art of boom in Bomberman Generation, then Super Monkey Ball 2 is going to be the next party game you and your friends will go ape for. | can’t believe | just said that.... — Greg Sewart THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN: THE NEW MINIGAMES MONKEY DOGFIGHT: Kayak down atte arene What this first- tes / A combat-flight : person Time = sim to make Ace Crisis-style _ Combat 04 blush. We're just wondering where they hide all those missiles. Think of it as the GC's Virtua Tennis, but you're a little monkey in a transparent ball! » Pure genius. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 114 - egm.gamers.com Waniieae caves nericemerd 3,833 punishing: 26,875 2 Ny ; wie &, A & Game replays!’ 7,003 ee } . : ; See es i >. tes — = ‘ Soy # 7 : Pia * 4 my ae 7. “ . s “My ; te ‘ fs > a t: attacking: 49,438 * . ie “ts oh, ‘ ‘ e YY 4 ~ Crea J f g a - - = ures SNS f f/f 2 ~% Rs. * , iz , paeeh? ey s MWins - Games hemi playetimcorrec)uy: O ee & a on the lme: 5,000 K fier traces: £163, 078%t4 ary *j P « : C yes Cnilme chats: 11,7/ me = M ae The Gathering In seconds, Magic: The Gathering® Online lets you 7 N | IONE access over a thousand powerful creatures and 4 4 spells. All different. All deadly. sah oA Te And every year, hundreds more are added to the arsenal. HALL OF CHAMPIONS 8h. Magic” Online: Second to none. bon OLAOLIEST STRATEGIES MOST COMPETITION: BEST REWAROS Get the game free: Mtgonime.com pi syiyourty: of tAficarcie of thio flnaei inn SOT tAfirarcic werty of Wirarcis of tie Loasi, ing. < Rie UPEZBIUS. PREVIEW TDK Mediactive Vicious Cycle 1-2 Action 85% October (GameCube) September (PS2, Xbox) | PlayStation 2, Xbox _ tdk-mediactive.com www.robotech.com Uc) Finally we get a Robotech video game! It took 17 years. | | Your eardrums after Minmei’s “To Be In Love.” ; y | f A; a j | | ! ; } i i | , | { FS hte Robotech fans know him as Max Sterling. Gamers likely know him best as the | nefarious Liquid Snake of _ Metal Gear Solid fame. Next | month, you'll hear Cam Clarke as the voice of Jack Archer, Battlecry’s main character. By our count, Cam’s now been in some- where around 25 different games for consoles, PCs and arcades. Cam is one of seven original series actors who will reprise their roles for Battlecry. Present and accounted for are the voices of Rick Hunter, Lynn Minmei, Roy Fokker and Lisa Hayes, to name a few. So yes, that means all of those charac- ters are in the game. The actors will also lend _ their voices to most of the | periphery and villain roles | inthe game. _ If you’re a true Robotech nut, make sure to get your Collector’s Edition next month. Inside the box you’ll find the game, game soundtrack, | RDF dogtags, original game art, Battlecry tee and a lenticular motion card (you know, those plastic thingys where the image changes if you No, you can’t prevent the SDF-1 from blowing up half of Ontario. But you can save as many pilots’ lives as possible in the “Bursting Point” level. Go where angels fear to tread with the Super Veritech. You versus a million Zentraedi battleships? Bring it on! obotech freaks have been waiting nearly two decades for this game. Finally, we get a chance to climb aboard a Veritech fighter and battle the Zentraedi alongside the likes of Rick Hunter, Roy Fokker and Lisa Hayes. While you’ll be flying completely original missions 95 percent of the time, developer Vicious Cycle knows that giving the player a chance to fly some sorties directly from the classic TV series is very important. “We have four levels prior to [the Zentraedi destroying the Earth] in our game: ‘Boobytrap,’ ‘Countdown,’ ‘Bursting Point’ and ‘Force of Arms,’” says VC prez Eric Peterson. “This set of missions helps establish the storyline we’ve created. After the first chapter, the missions in Battlecry run parallel to | move it). The package will be available for all three systems. | Battlecry seer eee ee ee the original show.” That means you'll be creating your own part of the Robotech legacy for most of the game, doing everything from fighting Zentraedi rebels, to protecting airstrips, to flying escort fora Cat’s Eye recon plane in deep space. But honestly, the real point of almost every mission is getting into some major firefights against wave after wave of Battlepods, Zentraedi foot soldiers and Battle Suits (not to mention battleships and troop carriers). The skirmishes can get intense at times, often filling the screen with missile trails (a trademark of the original show), explosions and shrapnel. Thanks to the easy-to-learn control scheme, though, you'll have complete mastery of your transformable Veritech fighter in no time. Plus, you’ve got some training missions run by Roy Fokker himself if you need any extra piloting tips. All of the action is accompanied by music from the original show, only remixed and rerecorded. “We wanted the music to be interactive,” says Peterson. “For instance, if you’re ambushed by a bunch of Zentraedi, the music will change from neutral to a danger theme in order to raise the intensity of the experience. Plus, we wanted to update the music to be a bit more modern.” The end result is a game that should appeal to everyone. It’s mainstream enough to get action junkies fired up, yet hardcore enough to keep the Robotech fans happy. th —Greg Sewart THE ONLY TELEVISION NETWORK DEVOTED TO VIDEO GAMES. >>>>>>GO TO G4TV.COM or, CALL GAMES ™M YOUR CABLE OR SATELLITE PROVIDER TO DEMAND IT>>>>>>>3>3>>>> | TV4Y GAMERS .COM OVER 700 STORES NATIONWIDE AOL KEYWORD: EBGAMES REQUIRED READING What better way to get yourself jazzed up for the latest Batman game than to go out and nab a copy of The Dark Knight Returns, the single greatest Batman story ever told? And when you’re done with that, be sure to look for its sequel, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, currently making the rounds as a three-part miniseries from DC Comics. Trust us, | kids —comic literature just doesn’t get much better than this. | PREVIEW GALLERY * Sunshine fo MER ie 27) 0 Se a ec Saeco OE eae Nintendo « August 26, 2002 « | ay ae Also On: None — Nintendo fans, we know what you’re going through. Sure, you may try to cover it up with marathon Resident Evil sessions or blot it out with non- stop Smash Bros. Melee battles, but let’s face it—the lack of a new Mario game has left us Cube owners with a lonely hole deep in our hearts. Before you sign up for that 12- step program, though, we’ve got good news: Mario Sunshine is less than a month away. Think of it as Mario 64 after taking a power-up mushroom. It’s got the same basic premise (now you collect Shine sun coins instead of stars) but with larger worlds crammed with more challenges. It’s got the same basic moves (triple jump, butt stomp, etc.) but more of them (like slide, a : ! fence climb and tightrope walk). : , oe a a It’s got similar graphics, but they’re . Ce SS THE MARK OF much sharper and more detailed. > | cere’ §6€=©6=- Mm 2ZORRO...ER, MARIO Plus, Sunshine introduces the all- ) aa yeas ere new water-pump backpack Mario a can use to attack enemies, solve puzzles, or give an extra boost to his jumps. So don’t give in to depression or binge eating just yet—Mario’s almost here. See that red “M” above? It’s one of the graffiti tags someone left all over town, so everyone would blame “M”ario for the mess. So now it’s his job to wash away all the scarlet letters with the water pump and discover who set him up. ESAS RR ARSON Kemco * November 2002 ¢ Also On: PS2, Xbox — Based on an original story by long-time Batman scribe Scott Peterson (with some creative input by former Final Fantasy writer Kenji Tareda), Dark Tomorrow takes the Caped Crusader back to his roots as an ass-kicking vigilante out to rid Gotham City’s streets of crime. You won't find any colorful, cartoony visuals in this third-person action-adventure; BDT puts the “dark” back in Dark Knight with gritty, atmospheric environments and an assortment of familiar villains and locales from the comics. From what we’ve seen, BDT is shaping up nicely. TIN: Gamers cranam oN. gamel Sf di PREVIEW GALLERY Evolution Worlds Ubi Soft * September 2002 ¢ Also On: None — Dreamcast owners might remember the original Evolution titles. They were fairly simple RPGs with randomly generated dungeons and turn-based battles reminiscent of Grandia //’s combat style. In fact, they were almost entirely dungeon crawls, with very little taking place outside the confines of the various labyrinths. Worlds is a melding of the first two games with very limited improvements to speak of outside of a lot of new English voice acting. Still, it’s not a bad deal for the RPG-starved GC crowd. Mystic Koei ¢ Fall 2002 * Also On: None — A cute version of Koei’s other beat-’em-up fighting game, Dynasty Warriors, Heroes will appeal to anime fans who prefer action over adventure. A linear hack-and- slasher, this game doesn’t require a lot of exploration or experience gathering. Collecting runes is all you need to level up and take on the ridiculous amount of enemies slashing all around you. Vazhar by Full Sail Student Brian Germain | Real World Education| School of: Game Design Computer Animation Digital Media Film Audio Show Production 800.226.7625 www.fullsail.com 3300 University Boulevard Winter Park, FL 32792 ¢ Financial aid available to those who qualify. ¢ Job placement assistance. ¢ Accredited by ACCSCT. ©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. PREVIEW Ubi Soft Ubi Soft Montreal 1 Stealth-Action 70% November 2002 PS2, GC (next year) _ www.ubi.com www. splintercell.com The | Features the most realistic use of lighting and shadows in any game ever. ‘And The | neal tnd | Most other games after seeing this one. The weapons and tools in Tom Clancy games seem far- fetched, but they’re all based on existing gear. But most of this stuff isn’t available to just anybody. “Almost all are based on actual prototypes being tested right now by different military organizations,” says producer Mathieu Ferland. “The rest we’ve created solely for gameplay purposes, but even those are combinations based on weapons currently in development. Remember that the events taking place in Splinter Cell are set in the near future, so any proto- types being tested now will become tools-of-the-trade in a few years. As for which gadgets are real and which aren’t...well, that’s classified!” Tom Clancy's 2.9% eae Gale Maeve ~ a | 3% 22.5 — i ‘aie : . s¥e cat. 2 wey Ge You'll never tire of creeping through the shadows when they look this damn good! Producer Ferland explains Fisher's graying locks: “No 25-year-old rookie mie could do this job, and we needed to a i. represent this with a thin trace of ‘4a aa ¢ | gray hair. It brings a lot of credibility — |. E to the character.” Take that, Raiden! he n the past, the words “Tom Clancy” on a game box meant that you’d be coordinating a small team of operatives on an elite strike mission, as in the Rainbow Six series. Planning out complex tactical strikes is cool for some, but tons of gamers just wanna shoot stuff without pouring over blueprints. Ubi Soft has created the ultimate peace pipe for both kinds of players with Splinter Cell, an all-new action/stealth franchise that fans of Metal Gear Solid should instantly dig. In fact, with presented it to Tom,” explains Ubi Soft producer Mathieu Ferland. “He was so impressed that he took the ball and ran with it—embellishing the original concept with Clancy-esque details that only he could provide.” Clancy made specific suggestions about Fisher’s clothing, weapons and movement, and of course, the game’s thrilling narrative. Fisher’s adventure spans four countries, as the twisting plot unfolds through cinemas and in-game cutscenes. At the onset of each level, you get detailed qi ui i — Splinter Cell producer Mathieu Ferland innovative gameplay, spectacular visuals and Clancy’s distinctive touch, this game might even outdo instructions and mission objectives on your handy PDA. The best way to approach tasks like “disable the Konami’s juggernaut. Splinter Cell’s mysterious title is actually an oblique reference to its hero, Sam Fisher. He’s a “splinter cell,” a lone-wolf operative working for the government’s top-secret Third Echelon department. Surprisingly, Fisher’s not actually a Clancy creation— the developers at Ubi created him from scratch. “When we were Satisfied with the concept, we missile launchers” and “locate the missing operative” is by sneaking around, but if you’re feeling lucky, go guns-blazing. “You never have to play it the same way twice,” says Ferland. “You can muscle your way through the game by force, or you can creep along in the shadows and focus on stealth—you can even play through without any kills. It’s up to you to decide, but each approach will have different consequences.” Cont. on page 122 Without This set of handy specs serves as Fisher’s most invaluable gadget. Much of the game is cloaked in darkness, so you'll need Night Vision to see what’s going on (or to find your way to the bathroom at 4 a.m.). You can also switch on Thermal Vision, which gives you a clear view of objects producing heat (like people and bombs). Using these goggles will save your hide-you'll often spot someone lurking in the shadows who would have clocked you in the skull. Without The y \ wy | Shoot this onto a wall for a remote view of the action. petiseSatsagaeesi sects es EEO es Ee Similar to the above — satiate ——e prt i device but it emits a siren and nerve gas. 3 Dour atTDD pevea ratte Use this to peer under doors. (Combinable with Thermo or Night Vision.) me adies room, all CEI - - 121 - es Many of Clancy’s creations have become blockbuster films, so if Splinter Cell made it to the silver screen, who should play Sam Fisher? Ubi Soft’s Mathieu Ferland nominates Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney for the role. Our old pal Snake uses chaff grenades to confuse the surveillance cameras, but Fisher's got something better-this static stick scrambles spying eyes for a few seconds so that he can sneak past. Unlike one- use grenades, you can use this over and over. This nifty device sends Fisher mission objectives and updates from Third Echelon headquarters, plus it displays images transmitted live from his recon camer- as. It’s also handy for storing the ladies’ digits. “Hey baby, wanna see my distraction device?” PREVIEW Sweat the small stuff: Fisher holds his pistol in check while sneaking up on an unsuspecting foe... | : es Cont. from page 120 Since Splinter Cell’s technology is all rooted in reality, Fisher doesn’t have the benefit of an MGS- style radar device. Instead, you must watch an on- screen indicator that reflects how well concealed you are. Stick to the shadows and you'll pass by unseen. Fisher wields some impressive firepower, but Ferland insists that “the main focus of the game is not on weapons, but instead on gadgets.” It’s true— as you progress, Fisher builds up an amazing arsenal of cool gizmos for spying, surprising and subduing. (For a detailed look at these high-tech toys, check the previous page.) Mastering this gear takes time, but the payoff is worth it. Imagine spotting two guys behind a curtain with thermal goggles, silently shooting a gas-emitting distraction camera next to them, and then knockin’ ’em out with a rubber airfoil projectile. That’s the stylish way to clear a room. As stated earlier, Splinter Cell’s graphical excellence stands unparalleled among upcoming Xbox releases, and the guys at Ubi are understandably proud. “It seems that other developers didn’t explore the Xbox as much as we did,” states Ferland. “We’ve built everything from scratch using Xbox specifications like the vertex shader, pixel shader and shadow buffer.” Translation: It looks unbelievably good. So good it was a Standout title at the annual E3 trade show this past May. “It was especially nice to learn that [Metal Gear Solid director] Hideo Kojima, the inventive creator of the stealth-action genre, was impressed,” Ferland recalls with a smile. With its mind-blowing visuals and creative gameplay concepts, Splinter Cell should provide some ample competition for Kojima's own Xbox entry, Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance. i — Shane Bettenhausen 122 - ¢ LEDERER P TEINS Fisher’s modular, high-tech rifle fires bullets, grenades and spy cameras. It doesn’t come with all the add-ons; you must earn ‘em. Five-seven Pistol Lightweight, stealthy and silent, this piece kills covertly. Use it to quietly surprise foes from afar, as the aiming is a little slow. reds Acne ene tan BEr ate ntytebLIpLCangeOHY RAC ges cAA eb sDdayfoATeo Ean d ATI ATOM ASAIO cab yehyed atta Pdrnbteatenhseedteoseebea aeRO EEE EEE SS SE A a EPSP AE RTPA PSE EERE P EECA FEASTS EPEAT? SES REEFS PSEA PETA HAO PSDP SESE RS Eee And to m a €ven more interesting WW YK Cue 29 UMredshift.com CONTENT RATED BY ESRB! ©2002 Microsoft _ States and/or othe Aicrosoft, Quantum Redshift, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks amar f Microsoft Corporation Sompany names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. @ Gu Se ee PREVIEW 2920 000090090080090 022 OO MONAHAN OHO INOOR OOM Ce Eidos lo Interactive Players: Genre: = Action 70% Sept. 3, 2002 Cee PlayStation 2 www.hitman2.com The freedom to assassinate with subtle or bludgeoning antics. Accidentally plugging the innocent hired help. Oops! Stripping and dragging a dangling corpse while dodging sniper fire. TALK, DAMNIT! Who’s responsible for this? How long has it been going on? And why can’t you wear those skimpy maid outfits? We sweated the answers out of Thor Frglich, graphics designer for lo Interactive. US: What learning experiences did you take from the first game and apply to the sequel? THEM: We learned a great deal about the gameplay elements featured in Hitman. We've gone through all of them and discarded the ones that weren't essential and elaborated on the things we thought worked really well-mainly the disguise system, the hiding of bodies, the whole sneaking element and the open gameplay. We've also learned a great deal about the project control side of things. This optimization of the way we work permits us to spend more time actually improving on the game rather than just redoing things. US: There must be some awe- somely cool parts in a few particular levels that you're really proud of. Can you hint at some of them? THEM: There is something infinitely sinister and very cool about fouling up a session of open-heart surgery dressed as a doctor. | bet he didn't see that seaoeiehahannnasnnsannaaeanaateasanaataeraastsasnasscnsassnanannannsanansndannnananassesentsonennaenaenmensxenerecemamnemanrcoomene Hitman 2: Pb LOO DIUM ORO ec ARLES RIOO! My next performance will be Beethoven's “Ninth Symphony” in the key of...aaaaaarrrrggghh! Agent 47 takes a moment to improve the mansion’s paint job before finding the owner and capping his ass. he more astute gamers out there may be wondering where the heck a console version of the original Hitman ended up. We’re afraid it took a hit after the PC release. It had a novel premise (a no-nonsense bald mercenary with a barcode on the back of his neck, killing people) and undeniably entertaining gameplay (involving costume changes, stealth or all-out gunfire). It also had lots of problems, such as the lack of an in-game save, the clunky control that left some gamers wondering if the hero was wearing concrete boots, and doors that required an entire SWAT team to open properly. But as lo Interactive takes another shot at the hitman simulation and swears they'll fix these issues, we’re more than prepared to believe them, jet off around the world to a variety of exotic locations, meet interesting people. And kill them. feb ASSASSIN REPORT #563 % BARRY THE BAPTIST Known for: Lock, Stock and Two » Smoking Barrels Current Status: ae Dead (shot in the gut) Distinguishing Features: Massive skeepskin coat. Giant, bald dome. Grizzled brow. Cockney expletives uttered in the combat zone. Quote: “If you don't want to be counting the fingers you haven't got, | suggest you get those guns. Quick!” Achilles Heel: Blood-pressure level. Lack of automatic weaponry. Notes: While in the service of Porn King Harry the Hatchet, Barry doesn't actually do much killing; he just orders two hapless Liverpudlians about. However, the real-life actor who played Barry was a London gangster linked to the Krays. EGM Danger Risk Ranking: @@@ 3/5 Bullet holes - 124 - egn aming M a a ee ae You are Agent 47, a genetically engineered assassin currently resting in a Sicilian monastery, suffering from pangs of guilt and wondering if offing organized-crime syndicate bosses is really his life’s calling. The answer of course, is yes, aS gamers aren’t going to line up for a Franciscan Monk simulation. Agent 47 has little time to ponder his eternal damnation, as a horrendous act of treason forces him back into the business. First stop? A mansion bursting with black-suited goons, a fat mob boss and a variety of mission plans to ponder. After an exhaustive playtest on both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, we’re pleased to report that both games look amazing. Not Splinter Cell amazing, but pleasantly impressive, with crisp, clean (and large) environments. But it’s the novel game- play concept that’s likely to entice you: At the start £GM ASSASSIN REPORT #159 | LEON THE wie PROFESSIONAL w Known for: F The Professional Current Status: “ ’ Dead (blew himself up) Distinguishing Features: Hook nose. “John Lennon” sunglasses. Long coat. Large weaponry cache. Frenchie accent. Quote: “No women, no kids; that's the rules.” Achilles Heel: Actually has a conscience. Notes: Cold, methodical, but ultimately sensitive after a pre-pubescent Natalie Portman turns up at his door. This hitman with a heart of gold can certainly dish out the punishment, has access to dozens of extremely lethal bits of killing equipment, but a nagging set of ethics steers him away from “hard man” stardom. EGM Danger Risk Ranking: @@ 2/5 Bullet holes of each job, you’re briefed, Mission: Impossible style, about just who needs shooting in the head. In addition, if some secret plans need snaffling, you'll be shown what these look like. Then it’s on to the ordinance closet for a spot of gun polishing. Yes, you get to choose the weapons for the job, and you can carry five. So if you want to cover the walls of your prey’s mansion in a fabulous new color called “hint of brain,” pack the SPAS 12 Shotgun. If, however, long-range sniping is your bag, stuff a Dragunov SVD rifle into your overcoat. After you’ve packed enough heat to star in the movie Heat, It’s off for a bout of bad-guy culling. Depending on how bloodthirsty you're feeling, actual missions vary a great deal. You could spot The Don taking golf swings from his mansion balcony and plug him in the eye with a sniper bullet. Known for: * The Spy Who Loved Me, # Moonraker Current Status: | ie “ Active (floating in space) Distinguishing Features: Unfashionable too-tight dress shirt. Comedy suspenders. Steel choppers. Bowl haircut. Monstrous size. Random Quote: “Well, here’s to us.” Achilles Heel: Slow, limited brain power. Electrocutable teeth. Notes: Jaws is ultimately too slow to be a threat, even for a toupee-wearing elderly Roger Moore. He suffers from breaks in concentration and has appalling fashion sense. He can, however, rip open a car door, lift up a massive boulder, and bite through cable-car wiring. Oh, and he's indestructible. EGM Danger Risk Ranking: @Q OO 4/5 Bullet holes See SI EA AE a ED SE EAE SLE NE ET ES ET AE EAL REST TID ea ac a o> en re 1) The kitchen staff lives in fear of Agent 47's unannounced late-night visits; 2) Is there a more embarassing way to die?; 3) Finding a safe perch and pulling out the sniper rifle is the preferred way to get most missions (and targets) out of the way; 4) You just know this is gonna end up with one guy a whole lot shorter than he was five minutes ago. You could trek through the mansion itself, where silenced machine guns provide a quick dispatch method without the facility’s entire goon population overwhelming you. Or how about tagging an innocent so you can Steal his outfit for a disguise? Just be sure to hide the body; semi-naked corpses tend to make the Mafia a little suspicious. Then explore the mansion Safely until you locate your target and do him in. The point is that the use of stealth and a little creativity is absolutely required to be successful in any of Hitman’s levels. Although the control is initially cumbersome (every button on the joypad is utilized), and negoti- ating the in-game menu system is sometimes prob- lematic (choosing to open a door or look through a keyhole while you’re being shot in the backside kinda sucks), the grand scope of Hitman 2 looks to thrill and excite. Just how grand is the scope? The Bucharest Symphony Orchestra was hired for the soundtrack. Just how diverse are the assassination targets? This time they range from ex-KGB Mafia man Rinat Rumyantsev to Mujahedin madman Abdul Bismillah Malik. Make no mistake; Hitman 2 looks set to provide more gang banging for your buck than ever before. —David S ] Hodgson hly - 125 - egm.gamers.caom TALK (GONT.) one coming. My favorite situations are where you show up after having sneaked through the entire level and put a single bullet in your target. Or in this case, disturb their heart transplant. US: What movies/books/video games served as an inspiration for this game? THEM: Movies like Leon (aka The Professional), Scarface, Ghost Dog, Grosse Point Blank and La Femme Nikita have played their parts in the inspirational process. The works of John Woo and Hong Kong action films in general have had their say, too. Old detective novels and comics have also helped us bring the character 47 to life. TPP PPO ED EPPS PCTS TPIS SPEEDTEST SPOS TOLD T TUTTE SN ess i ss cS SS ss sD SAS sunvsesnpans sn rveer eel US: What are your top three favorite weapons in the game, and what makes them so great? THEM: The fiber wire, the silenced Hardballers and the Dragunov rifle | certainly are among my favorites. The fiber wire is fantastic in that, used correctly, it’s a very powerful yet concealable, silent and “clean” | weapon. The silenced Hardballers | | like because they just seem like the perfect tool for a hitman. The Dragunov is very handy for targets hiding in hard-to-reach places. US: The maid costume-why can't you dress up in it? THEM: Although certain demographics may feel left out, we thought it best not to cater to the more exotic of persuasions. | Also, 47 doesn't have the legs for small skirts at all. Girl, he hasn’t waxed those in, like, a really long time. He’s, like, so not with the program. US: Thank you for your time. This interrogation is now over. - EEE eae een eeeenemnpeneennamenemnenetenmneamaneetaanmacammaaebedestetmacnabasteteesuaneenscneasenecnemnesnesnemmeneennaenaeaneeaas ao PREVIEW aa Annee RA anette ataea eiaaae aca deena eaeeadcaena ade daabaastaadtadnanadeddaedabasenantensenaesennsennennasensennennesenatenienneneneséntenteatnennenammnnnennenntamanennnentansatantanazaraaeesieneieciatitintitteetieertarmirririr ere TT eee Sega Wow 1-2 Racing 80% September 2002 None www.sega.com If you're looking for a Gran Turismo-style game on the Xbox, this is it. Car selection isn't as varied as Gran Turismo 3's. A typical EGM editor's garage after he “decorates.” Rock On! You gotta rock when you’re cruisin’. Since Sega GT al- lows you to create a custom soundtrack, here are some suggestions for your tour through Chronicle mode. ‘7oS~—Lynrd Skynrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” Early "80s—Van Halen’s “Panama” f > Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” Late ’90s—Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” “Look at me! I'm French!” -Cameo’s “Word Up” 4 See that glowing bar? It measures your damage. After each race, car damage is repaired using the money you win. Drive safely! Greg “proves” why he’s EGM's racing guy by sliding out of control on an easy right and losing four positions. ega’s not really known for racing simulators. Sure, their arcade driving titles read like a greatest-hits list—Sega Rally, Daytona USA, Outrun, etc.—but their one real attempt at a GT-style game (Sega GT on the Dreamcast) wasn’t really anything special. Especially in a genre where Gran Turismo 3 sets the standard. But now that Sega’s a third-party publisher, why not give it another go, right? And for the record, Sega GT 2002 is playing very well. Wow got the handling just right. The cars feel as heavy or light as they should be, and there’s no way you'll see things like a Honda Civic out-powering a Dodge Viper GTS/R down the straights. As for track variety? They range from tight, European-style town courses to wide-open country roads and more modern urban circuits. You even get to drag race too...oh joy. And there’s a really neat Chronicle mode. In it, you get to race through six different eras, starting out against the boxy cars of the ’70s and winding up against the latest supercars like the Ford GT4o. What really sets Sega GT apart, however, is how many super-cool options it has, many of which the collector or gearhead in each of us will be very happy about. Besides purely cosmetic things like decorating your garage (see bottom sidebar), gamers will have to worry about wear and tear on their Suspension, engine and even tires (yes, you’ll actually have to buy a new set once in a while). On top of that, you get to tinker with your car while in your garage, or even Set up a private sale of an older car (the advantage being you get to sell at a higher price than what that scheister down at the car dealership would offer you). oe — Greg Sewart Sega GT makes it OK to play interior decorator. Buying trinkets to fill up your garage is one cool feature. But the real piece-de-resistance is the ability to take snapshots of your victories and hang ’em on the wall. Guaranteed to impress the chicks. PROPRIA ASLAN ARAN RAMA RHEUM PLHP NASD = aR PEER TESST TEETORSNNNES Now choose your lease sole: one phote to dsoay in the garage favorite isd send it in for framing. Our inner Martha Stewart sug- gests mohogany. Finally, hang the picture and invite some buddies over to enjoy a brew and revel in your greatness. ee ' @® First, win a race ae ovum and take a snapshot during the replay. You only get six chances, so make ‘em count. eae oh. “i . i ah Sn ’ *% * : only for the N FAVA EA EA ef FATA TATA BE 000550 002100 Jeuser Y rae orgy Jeuser #18 ) os Ly, i, me 605 Lite ws) ws) vA ts wife FATATATS oe rem CARA AEA BEA EA EARS | Pepe ne ne FATAEA TAT <3 ore aed » . ee a | . Seal of Quality AA Sg tea Boulder Dash EX © 2002 KEMCO. Developed by VISION WORKS. Published under a license from First Star Software, Inc.. Boulder Dash, First Star Software, Inc. and its logo are registered trademarks of First Star Software, Inc.. The name-and likeness of ROCKFORD ™ is a trademark of First Star Software, Inc. Boulder Dash was created by Peter Liepa with Chris Gray. Audio visual! material owned and copyrighted © 1984, 2002 First Star Software, Inc.. All Rights Reserved. TM, ® and Game Boy Advance is a trademark of Nintendo. i . a : 4 © 2001 Nintendo. ee Sy PREVIEW GALLERY SAODLODIRSRODSIOOSLN ARENDS OIEANESNSENDSEAMENEEMEEESSANSSASS DREADS AGSEEESSLASASER EASES SNASSDSDOSSISESDISSD NESSES SOSA ASD LORERESBSSIESSNSSSSSSSSECSLOSNODSNSSOSABAAESIEDSIESSLESSELSEDSLAOSSCCOSACOSALONAAOINOANOAMIAARENIDESANAASANASABDOAEAS NFL Fever Microsoft ¢ August 2002 ¢ Also On: None — The only thing worse than losing to your online oppon- ent is getting an earful of trash talkin’ to go with it. That’s exactly what went down when the Chica- go-based EGM editors linked up for a battle against their San Francisco counterparts. The headset pro- vides a dose of comic relief for Sure, especially when the masking feature transforms your cords to the mellow baritone of Barry White —it’s hilarious. As for the on-field performance, with the exception of some lag typical for any online game, Fever ran smoothly. The players move with realistic momentum and control well. Heavy with depth, the game will require you to spend hours unlock- ing classic teams, winning trophies and, of course, scouring the country for online matchups. snnnnttttattittnttettntttNtttNiNtuNATtNNNNNNININNNiRuLLee, ae Exile Ubi Soft * September 2002 e Also On: PS2 — Ah, Myst. The series graphics whores live for and hardcore gamers love to hate. But be honest—you’ve played at least one of the previous two and maybe even liked it. For the uninitiated, Myst is an adventure game where progression is based solely on solving extremely abstract puzzles and warping to different worlds through books. These worlds are normally very surreal and generally made up of still photos, not 3D graphics you can walk around in. Myst III: Exile is more of the Same, except now you can pan the camera 360° and also have some limited vertical movement. It’s no huge innovation, but it does make the game feel a little more interactive and immersive. Nonetheless, we say the puzzles are Still too freakin’ hard. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 128 - e: o~ PREVIEW GALLERY ieapiieainmmaeaen re] Yager THQ ¢ Early 2003 * Also On: None — |magine Ace Combat 04 (or Air Force Delta Storm, if you will), only set in the future and with more of an emphasis on story and ground-level combat. Throw in mission objectives that change dynamically depending on your play style and some really pretty visuals, and the result is a title that should have fans of aerial- combat games clenching their flight sticks in anticipation. THQ ¢ March 2003 ¢ Also On: PS2, GC — Despite having a title that screams traditional wrestling action, Crush Hour isn’t about Sweaty men embracing one another. On the contrary, it’s about sweaty men engaging in old-school car combat similar to that in Twisted Metal: Black. Crush Hours being developed by the same team that made THQ’s motocross titles, so if it’s anything like them, it’ll feature plenty of speed and wild, airborne action. The squad includes several real wrestlers behind the wheels of 20 tricked out, weapon-laden combat vehicles. Several of the events even mimic WWE events like Last Man Standing and Ladder matches. Can you smell it? MATURE Blood and Gore Violence _ Long before Psychonauts, there was Policenauts, a highly stylized _ cyberpunk graphic adventure for the PC from Metal Gear creator and fan- _ boy deity Hideo Kojima. It was later ported to the Sega Saturn, PlayStation _ and even 3D0 in Japan, but sadly, it never saw release in America. Fun fact: _ Metal Gear Solid’s Meryl Silverburgh (left) got her start in Policenauts. rhdrreiocrn Cendant rasnetavd anton epcaaes veteran obscene tasea tasstencmevestall PREVIEW GALLERY sonananennsannbannanmnnnnpanmeanasennebenenenannsnmsenssennennsennonnmannnangannananneamsaanmneonenenssasartasenacancienaeseraearaccracccesectettrtt ere TTT TTTEeT th = See NON ONOONOMOD EOI Microsoft ¢ Summer 2003 ¢ Also On: None — It’s not due out for another year, but Microsoft’s already begun singing the praises of Psychonauts, and truth be told, we don’t blame ’em. This trippy, surreal action/ platformer comes from the mind of Tim Schafer, the genius behind the PC hits Grim Fandango and Full Throttle (among others). With this, Tork and Blinx, Microsoft looks like they want to take Nintendo head-on. Battlefield 1942 Electronic Arts ¢ Early 2003 ¢ Also On: None — Imagine if Medal of Honor were online, only with a ton of human players controlling every- one (Allies or the Nazis/Japanese) from infantry to tank drivers to pilots and more. That’s Battlefield 1942. Now you can see what it’s like to fight in battles like lwo Jima, Omaha Beach, Market Garden, etc. against real players instead of a bunch of A.|. drones. sr PREVIEW GALLERY heign of Fire Bam ° Fall 2002 « Also On: PS2, GC — Reign of Fire (the movie) tells a story about fierce, fire-breathing dragons awakening from a long slumber to take over the Earth. Reign of Fire (the game) allows you to take control of either the good guys or the bad, uh, dragons, to do battle with the opposing side in what is essentially a mission-based, vehicular- combat game with lots of fiery carnage. Simon & Schuster Interactive « September 2002 ¢ Also On: None What’s a Seablade? Think of the submersible “helicopter” from A./. — well, if it were turned into a jet, anyway. Time-tested (which might translate into “been-there, done-that”) arcade-shooting action is the gameplay style as you fly through submerged cities blasting opponents. Four-player deathmatch versus your pals is also on the menu. MATURE Blood and Gore Violence PREVIEW Konami Konami CET t Adventure 99% September 2002 Castlevania: CotM www.konami.com | It looks like a PS1 game, offers a huge quest, and plays like a dream. In short: It's all good. The music sounds our return trip to scenic Transylvania was rudely postponed when Konami delayed the release of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance from June to September. Sure, it meant a summer without whip-cracking action, but spooky, gothic action is more thematically suited to autumn anyhow. The Japanese version did swoop onto store shelves in early summer, and we’ve played it so much that our hands withered into hideous, cramped claws after holding a GBA all night long. It was worth it. Thankfully, all of the ambitious elements that producer Koji Igarashi promised us back in issue #155 made it into the game. The visuals suffer from none of the murky darkness that plagued Circle of the Moon—bright, easily viewable colors make the action easy to follow. Igarashi had also warned that the music quality would not be up to snuff with the excellent tunes in CotM, and he's right. While the Hee es © ese y Pee ae - . ie Cas Lae Collecting weapon power- ups and armor is crucial, but Juste can also engage in extracurricular antiquing. | Deep within the castle you'll _ find a large, empty room | that Juste claims as his own. | As you discover collectibles | in the castle, return here to hang them with pride. “There’s nothing to get from collecting all of the items,” explains producer Koji | Igarashi, “except for some | self-satisfaction.” (SER RI ACERS NS SS SS will remind you more of an old Game Boy Color game than fully orchestrated chamber melodies. Even so, the sound suffices, and Konami even managed to squeeze a few choice voice events into the game. Juste cracks a mean whip, and he also tosses traditional sub-weapons like axes, daggers, crosses and holy water. But as the descendant of | Castlevania III’s star-crossed | heroes, Trevor Belmont and sorcer- ess Sypha Belnades, Juste injects some magical flava into these classic attacks. Combine weapons Combine Flame and Axe to unleash fiery dragons. eva eiiear hr Pact teerers roster ass Aa tiie eS ESSE ESS St tert ast sr tis ir deadening a hh RT Believe it or not, this sword-weilding mutha is one of the smaller bosses you'll find in Harmony of Dissonance. Luckily (unlike in the predecessor, Circle of the Moon), this time you can actually see them all. compositions themselves are cool, the sound quality i i Me | a le i Ae.) = sale i 8 Pat tees Me Gameplay-wise, the enormous castle easily dwarfs the quaint one from CotM. All of the distinct “levels” are intricately connected, so the overall map is much more complex and tightly arranged than even the one in Symphony of the Night (PS1). The spell fusion system (see below) provides some much-needed customization and offers nearly as much depth as CotM’s DSS card system. As expected, the game boasts oodles of unlockable secrets. Trust us, your adventure will be much, much longer than you originally anticipated. — Shane Bettenhausen | anewessen Call the Cockatrice with Summon and Dagger. Flame and Dagger blend into a hellish firestorm. PREWIEW GALLERY Piano Collections SES SSCX10064 or “Senn ie sop i oF LISeR AG 9 Capcom * September 2002 — Maximo players complained about the game’s difficulty when it came out on the PS2. Those people should pick up Super Ghouls ’n Ghosts to learn what a really hard game Is all about. At least they’d understand Maximo’s roots. Arthur’s side-scrolling GBA quest to save his princess is a near-perfect con- version of the classic Super Nintendo game (except for less-impressive music). Plus this GBA incarnation includes an Arrange mode, featuring levels from earlier games in the series and a much needed save aie visit u us . one a = eeececeree we = eeeceeceoe TDK Mediactive ¢ September 2002 Ve | eeece e0cee 31 €0C0CO8CC8 Rick Hunter and company are almost i [| e00e00000086 8 @@e0000e88 a | * | @eeececcee month, fans will not only get to pilo if; @Seoeooooe nth, rans TSE OMY SECU BAS ‘| eeeecesees Veritech fighters in this shooter, but eeeceeoece ecoecescese Battle Pods, Battle Armor and a collection of Destroids through Robo- tech episodes like “Bye Bye Mars,” “Blitzkrieg” and “Force of Arms.” But wait—there’s more. Every part of Robotech supports multiplayer. So not only do you get to fight against your buddy in Versus mode, but you can fight alongside him or her through the main story mode. You each need a copy of the game and a Link Cable (two GBAs wouldn’t hurt, either). PINAL AL FANTASY BEST COLLECTION IPA PMD PY OAK DAE Yay www.gamemusic.com 1-800-979-9889 please call our toll-free number at 1-800-979-9889. Outside rs are Monday - Friday, 9 - 5 Pacific Time. We Card/AMEX. All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners 98 Rockwell Ave. El Monte, CA 91731. E-Mail: gmo@gamemusic.com Sorry, our warehouse is not opened to public. 133 nU paeras \fes } r Deaetd is kes RN acinar _Individually Bn Ne ita: sf Di mi em } Numbered: Liss NTENDO CUBE. ~ Call 1-800-800-5166 for the store nearest you ~ or Call 1-800-800-0032 to place your order now! % oy WWW.EBGAMES.COM SUPERPAD Qorect Far Ths ores Boye! atl WANNA BEAT _ THE GAME? yeaa es ie ) — ay Mes r nf . | a 4 jt nN 2) TO Ceyont aE g —— —"V - 4 ary colada Exclusive Medabots Aedaparts and Medals available in each version nis Medabots AX! NATSUUE Serious Fur™ www.natsumeicom www.medabots.com own ran! Medabot! Over 3 million Ee Ee Violence ee \3 e inc. ©2002 Natsume Inc.“"Medabots" is a trademark of Kodansha and is used Lid. & Natsume-Go--Ltd: © 1997 Imagineer, Natsume. © 1999 NAS/Kodansha, ame Boy Advance logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2002 Nintendo. f the Interactive Digital Software Association. _ Natsume" i is a registered traget ne ‘is ~under-ticense-. Based onthe | iter game’ software "Medarot" prot Ww Tokyo. “All Rights Res srved.Game Boy Advan The ratings icon is a trad XBOX GAMING SYSTEM #210081-6 * XBOX MICROSOFT XBOX GAMING SYSTEM FACTORY REFURBISHED #218195-6 * XBOX MICROSOFT me gat MANTD Ss esas QUANTUM REDSHIFT #223008-4 * XBOX MICROSOFT KUNG FU CHAOS oe , | = #224068-7 * XBOX #222871-6 * XBOX jam } Lnggge e MICROSOFT MICROSOFT a Microsoft * *Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/ or other countries. ~ Call 1-800-800-5166 for the store nearest you or call 1-800-800-0032 to place your order now! Welcome to 3 \ i ‘= nag Pe i™ SS ST <3 & @ o 1 enue f ¥ » EVERYONE inteondd Prices valid in U.S. only. Typographical errors are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. Not all items may appear at our outlet locations. Prices may vary by location. At time of printing, all products are expected to be available. Some packaging, pricing, and special offers may differ in Canada. Prices and availability are subject to change. Manufacturers’ delays are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. ©2002 Electronics Boutique. Our P Philosophy EGM rates games based on how they compare with other titles on the same system. The highest score we'll give a 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 Our Awards Platinum Awards go to games that get all 10’s, the best and rarest review a game can get. Associate Editor ~ Shane's misguided quest for a com- . plete collection of wacko games by {. developer Warp led him to buying | ShortWarp for 3DO. Sadly, the com- \y B pllmentary condom included with ie a = ‘the copy was mysteriously absent. Favorite Genres: Fighting, Action, RPG Current Faves: Splinter Cell, Buffy, ShortWarp Crispin Boyer Features Editor Figuring he could be just like one of those damn “hackers” he sees on ij; the TV, Crispin tried to jack into ‘\ ; Sony’s online network to change ” the D he got in Chemistry to a B. Instead, he broke the Internet. Favatite Genres: Action, Adventure Current Faves: SOCOM, Morrowind West Coast Editor The future is here. Che’s been living out his Battlestar Galactica fan- tasies with his new best friend: the Aibo ERS-220A. Now all he has to do is get one of those buckle jack- ets and feather his hair like Apollo. Favorite Genres: Fighting, racing, RPG Current Faves: RE Zero, Neverwinter Nights (PC) Jonathan Dudlak Reviews Editor Cj’s mod put Jon’s GameCube out of commission, so Jon set his Wavebird ima to better use—he made a controller- Tint run robot to help him beat the sum- mer heat. Damn thing complains, but it does a mean load of laundry. Favorite senies. Fighting, Action, Racing Gurrent Faves: Castlevania: HoD, Arkanoid Gold Awards go to games whose average score equals 9.0 or higher. Tee ETE ET EE ETER ESSERE ESSER TESERS its time. At the other end of the spectrum sits the lowest score a game can receive: a 0.0. 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? Games that average at least an 8.0 (but lower than 9.0) receive Silver Awards. ~ Dean Hager _ Managing Editor It may only be early summer, but »” the football games are already flowing like wine. Trying to give each one the attention it deserves is tearing Dean up. Why can’t they spread these things out a little? Favorite Genres: Sports, Racing Current Favs: Madden 2003, NCAA Football 2003 46 + | Dan “Shoe” Hsu ~~ Editor in Chief “...Whites in hot water, extra bleach...air-dry cotton shirts so that they don’t shrink...scrub boxer shorts thoroughly...fabric softener after detergent.. .fold dress pants along pleats.... Favorite Genres: The “video-game” genre Current Faves: Splinter Cell, Kingdom Hearts Chris Johnston News Editor Using some spare parts from his electronics shed and off-the-shelf satellite-dish parts, CJ has modified his WaveBird to control all - GameCubes within a 500-mile i radius. Bwa ha ha ha! Favorite Genres: Adventure, Music, Puzzle Current Faves: Eternal Darkness, Bomberman Jeanne Kim Associate Editor To Jeanne, any game that involves battery and intense competition is worth watching. So while her U.S. team didn’t make it to the World Cup semifinals, Jeanne did cheer on her ethnic country, South Korea. Favorite Genres: RPGs, Shooters, Action, Puzzle Current Favs: Splinter Cell, Neverwinter Nts. (PC) g CHOICE a eciaememeaitleliatiniaiaaialll acme ERE IIe TETNRITININTNT FIT af od Matiden NFL 2003 pg. 147 It’s not even football season yet and EA’s brown-ball behemoth is already busting through its contemporaries for a Game of the Month slot. It’s just so damn well designed, the only game that gave it a true run for its money was, well, NCAA College Football 2003. EA’s really shooting itself in the foot here... *j, Dan Leahy t. Editor-in-Chief, GameNOW Leahy’s been at the helm of one of the most mismanaged NCAA dynasty seasons in history. Missed games, broken controllers, fighting amongst friends and general chaos have reigned. NCAA rOOlIz! Favorite Genres: Sports, Action Current Faves: NCAA 2003, Madden NFL 2003 Mark MacDonald Executive Editor Mark doesn’t care who you are back in the world—you give away his position in SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs one more time and he’Il bleed you...real quiet...leave you here. You got that? Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG Current Faves: The Mark of Kri, Morrowind James “Milkman” Mielke West Coast Editor /Webmaster This photograph of a wild Milky cold _ lampin’ “O.G. style” in its natural s habitat was captured when the Crew laid a clever trap filled with anime and vinyl LP’s. Milkys are very noisy, though, and cost a fortune to feed. Favorite Genres: Action, Fighting, RPG Current Faves: Gungrave, In the Hunt, Kangol Greg Sewart Previews Editor Sewart’s gone all geek since we got a copy of Robotech in the office. Now he can finally stop watching the old TV episodes and actually Start living them, man! Another childhood dream come true. Favorite Genres: Racing, RPG, Action Current Faves: Robotech, Sega GT 2002, GTA3 x } ? AdS S113) OL 3)VAd Al i SMM 31018 908 MAY ONNOSYIISYW VL Vala AW EVERYONE Publisher: EA Sports ee Developer: EA Tiburon Featured In: EGM #157 Players: 1-2 (1-8 Multi-tap, 1-2 online) Also On: GameCube, Xbox, PS1 Best Feature: Online play Worst Feature: Defensive backs behave strangely Web Site: www.easports.com History is destined to repeat itself. It’s a cliché, but it’s true and applicable here. Madden, when pushed by the excellence and innovation of other football titles, responds with its best effort. It happened in the early PlayStation days (vs. GameDay) and it’s happened again, no doubt in response to NFL 2K3 and, to a lesser extent, NFL Fever. Madden 2003 is signifigantly improved over last year’s game, most notably in the features list. The new online mode is a blast, letting you go at it with fellow gridiron geeks via broadband or dial-up. User records and other important stats (run/pass ratio, points for, etc.) are tracked and offer a nice profile of potential oppo- nents. It also records the number of times somebody disconnects (read: quits), so you can avoid the 2cOldFoRu’s of the world. When you’re not online taking out 2ColD and his friends, you can enjoy the feature-rich goodness of Madden offline. Madden's Same oY amazes, but it's EA’s ald ( a ey iew Stats, Fs ome or ay et task, the aes t VE nH is about as ened 6 as it gets. ‘Look for me online and we'll knock heads (screen name Hoss). Dan L. Madden debuts on a new system, then each subse- quent year’s new game adds a few minor tweaks to its rock-solid foundation. Barring the major coup of Internet play, that’s the story of 2003. For our online test we played.using dial-up while our opponent had i report it per- ae or other amp mode and Seem all i 101, a bata: at Shows you the proper way to execute a play, ; you to practice it until it’s pure money. Yesiree, Madden still rules the roost. Dean It’s hard to think about Fontbal aiken ihe Cubbies are mid-season, but between Madden and NCAA 2003 this month, I’ve had to adapt. Madden is certainly more forgiving than its college-themed twin when it comes to,team.balance and passing..Maybe it’s just i oa vs. pro ball but | could actually DOBLE ab routes. Madden’s the solid, consistent one. qr VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY | = | | | | | | | i | | Ea a Mat Hoffmans’ Pro BMX 2 score ____ best score” G Publisher: Activision 02 Developer: Rainbow Studios Featured In: EGM #154 Players: 1-2 (1-8 alternating) Also on: GameCube, Xbox Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Tried-and-true gameplay Repetitive level objectives www.activisiono2.com You’d think a game that plays kinda like Tony Hawk 3 and is coming out well after it would at least play and look better, but Mat Hoffman 2 just doesn’t bring much new to a genre that’s getting stale. You’re forced to achieve too many similar objectives— same-ol’ stuff like collecting crap, performing certain tricks, bashing obstacles—over and over throughout the eight environments. And some objectives aren’t very clear (have fun trying to Smith Grind a two-story rail in L.A. and figuring out what to do to the parking meters in Chicago). Adding to the ho-humness, your biker’s stats don’t ramp up (although you can find nimbler bikes) so you never get much sense of accomplishment aside from unlocking new stages. Level design, on the other hand, is great, with lots of lines and new areas that open. But the best thing here is the quick-to-pick-up gameplay. Mat Hoffman 2 is an easier game to get into than Tony Hawk; you don’t need to fiddle with extra tricks like reverts to keep combos going, and flatland stunts are especial- a anc — This sequel borrows from Dave (my favorite: Halfpipe Hell; which 1 gameplay). The entire package is fun, sure. It just puts you through too may of the same old motions. Crispin ad SSRIS SSSR SERS SREB STN It’s like déja vu all over again. There’s no denying that Mat 2 feels a whole lot like Tony Hawk 3, but is that such a bad thing? BMX 2 features some really cool levels, a neat “road trip” setup and a great flatland- trick system that’s better than Tony 3’s setup—you up your special meter in Mat to f. But like | said, when you get into how the Jame foes yourto complete specific goals before you can unlock new levels (I know | did). Other than that, Mat 2 is a killer Same. Greg Standards in the action- ergs 3 genre s have ollie to new heights after Aggressive Inline. Now Mat Hoffman 2’s stale two-minute-deadline gameplay no longer cuts it—what used to provide an adrenaline rush now..simply.annoys and. infuriates. Why am | hurrying around trying to fit in a few objectives under a too-short time limit? Bah. Despite this, the game still delivers, Mat Hoffman 2 is designed to please combo- -happy players: easy-to-perform wall rides and wall push-offs help keep your'trick strings going, ommission ofvansextra “revert”-type button press (like in Tony Hawk 3) lets you link moves with the utmost of ease. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 3 1 lortrn mir ie arming AAnr ; iy ivy 148 Bom onmarc cam (CCL Gaile WIORELY - * CANRealierSs.con eee ene ee ene ene ii tee ee Men In Black Il: Alien Escape Ars x 1 (MA) oDhoO2 13000 Infogrames Publisher: TS Developer: Melbourne House Featured in: EGM #154 Players: 1 Also On: None Best Feature: Awesome, arcade gameplay Worst Feature: Manic camera angles Web Site: www.mib2game.com This is a shock. Although I’ve often prayed for a good 3D Contra game, | never thought those prayers would be answered by the Men In Black. Yup. Swap out Contra’s bandanna-ed freedom fighters with men dressed in suits, switch the perspective to a 3rd-per- son view, and you'll find that the sum total of this particular equation equals M/Bz2. Sure, the game ver- sions of Agents Jay and Kay aren’t exact clones of the movie’s Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones, but it’s a crime you won’t notice once the air starts filling with hot plas- ma. As with Contra, you have access to a wide variety of guns, each with its own unique properties (lock-on shots, spread-shots, area-effect grenades, etc.), but these are upgradeable to an impressive degree. Not happy with the peppy lock-on laser you start the game with? Pick up a few upgrade tokens and you’ll be firing bigger, phatter trails of plasma in no time! Furthering the joy is the most sensible control scheme l’ve ever tried in a 3rd-person shooter. Sometimes the Strafe-heavy natu ih makes maneuvering in tight co nightmare, but the thrill of pum photon more than makes up fo ing and particle effects does aliens have this excellent,habit fart of red/gteen mist when shot. Al itive (and short), as action games go, excellent old-school, hardcore fun. 4 James obviously got way more into M/B2 than | did. The game’s not award-worthy, but it has a definite charm. MIBz2 is the 3D shooter fans of 2D gunners like Contra and Gunstar Heroes may actually enjoy. The.leyels are too drawn- titive, and | don’t really care for the th it’s a no-bull shooter steeped juices. | love séeing a powere | the screen with green goo and surveying the dead when the plasma settles. And the’simmple. ylish graphics work well withoutshind ated action. M/B2’s not for everyone, b great for a fun, peiaionteii rental. jonathan Liab Na EI DDESBCOSSOASEEAAAOE DEDEDE DADS Ugh. ‘This game is nexediily frustrating: Prepare to play the first level of M/B2 at least ten times before finishing it, and it’s not a short, fun level—it’s a 30- minute snooze-a-thon packed with repetitive mon- sters and bland, crate- fille that I'm not sure how it passed visual touches like flashy gun impress, but overall, the graphics are mi age. Add=to the mix some e sl actors, slippery controk yand lo you’ve got a rental at best. Contra for the real new 2D Contra later this year. Shane VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY L d 6 g ae Vin, . My Sup Pe Re, . "0, EVERYONE Mild Lyrics PlayStation.c a GAMECUBE. www.thq.com © 2002 THO Inc. Ricky Carmichael used under exclusive license by THQ Inc. THQ, the THQ logo and the MX Superfly logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. All other trademarks and logos are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. TM, ® and the Nintendo Gamecube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. CONTENT RATED BY EVERYONE | Publisher: EA Sports —To Developer: EA Tiburon Featured In: EGM #157 Players: 1-2 (1-8 Multi-tap) Also On: GameCube, Xbox Best Feature: The option plays Worst Feature: A touch of flakey A.I. Web Site: www.easports.com If every game sucked me into its world like this one, I'd drop out of society, move into the Unabomber’s cabin, and never turn off my PS2. Seriously, NCAA 2003 is too good. Overall, 2003 plays more like Madden NFL 2002 (that’s a fine thing). For example, stick magicians who made their livings dodging tack- les by stopping and starting like jackrabbits won’t have as much success this year. The players feel heavier and don’t unrealistically turn on a dime all of the time. The excess super-human agility has been replaced with pure, ram-it-up-the-gut power—the running game is juiced with ample tackle-breaking and hard-to-drag-down tailbacks. The air attack isn’t as automatic as it used to be, either. Quarterbacks need to show patience and wait for the open man. Couple those things with the deeper playbooks, and you get a game that’s more realistic and even more eee than last year’s. You can find faults in the ° tail You’ re up by 14 polis in the Laat few passes or negative yardage, or worse 2 yet, drains the clock-with® no attempt to..score. It doesn’t happen every time, but enough to make you Scratch your head. Happily, it’s only a small knock on an otherwise great game. Dean Thanks to coworkers who had the sense to follow their heads and not their hearts when picking teams, a soft spot for my Wildcats became a 0-4 sore spot in no time. I’m a pretty casual sports gamer, and if | had the ee of a Dean Hager, NU may. have been of funky plays til all arbiter ends. jonathan NCAA 2003 would varaly lee 7 my y PS2 tray if it fad online. Even without that feature, this one’s a beast. The gameplay is tuned to a near-pefect edge, even besting big brother Madden in a couple of key | CA never had itso good, -and NCAA 200 3 is a big reason why. Dan L. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Electronic Gan Publisher: Namco — oo Developer: Namco Players: 1-2 Also On: None Supports: GunCon 2 Ninjas with Guns! Boss! Small enemies are a bitch to kill Www.namco.com Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Cripes, Namco needs to throw a subtitle on this thing...something along the lines of, “Ninja Assault: Light Gun Collection 1.” |t borrows (well, steals) ene- mies and style cues from The House of the Dead, the chain combo system from Elemental Gearbolt, boss battles from Vampire Night, mini-games from Point Blank...even music from the TurboGrafx 16’s Ninja Spirit. That’s why | feel dirty saying it’s a pretty darn- good game. You’re not going to find any original ideas here, and the stew of borrowed elements keeps Ninja Assault from having an overriding style of its own—it actually feels a whole lot like Vampire Night without the stone-faced, House of the Dead-style voice acting. But capping shuriken-toss- ing enemies hidden in dense forests and other anime-inspired venues is just plain fun once you get used to the idea of a gun-toting ninja. Unless you’re a crack shot with a light gun or don’t have a problem with dialing the difficulty down, you’re going to run into some bumps here, especially as the enemies get smaller, quicker and start attacking from multiple sides at once. It’s the same deal playing with the con- trol pad—the auto-aim is extremely helpful, but try- ing to tend multiple bogies is frustrating. mini- game Ey oters that are worth the effort. That is, if ninja-themed shooting-gallery games get you as excited as they get me. Jonathan | havea er spot in my heart far {feht: gun eeoters, dating back to when Duck Hunt was all the rage. While Ninja Assault’s gameplay and dopey premise (ninjas with guns?) do little to distance itself from contemporaiies.. like The House, of the Dead, | still : ule Weeks that means | enjoyed myself, 't ? Maybé the multiple playable characters had somet ing to do with that, or perhaps it was the thro Gif techno soundtrack. Thel/@xtra weapons | unlocked beating the bonusygames didn’t hurt either. Yeah, Ninja Assault is a silly, simple game at heart. But I’m OK with that. Milkman Nano" S wallsortg of gun-game iterates must " running dry, as this game about trigger-happy ninjas clearly proves. (Seriously, since when did ninjas pack heat?) Beneath that bizarre premise, however, lurks OOOO NOLEN an Rl CNEL ONE Nee like Sega’s The House of the Dead games. This is an arcade = but you won't blast a bit moder games. have higher standard gun game, buy Vampire Night instead. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY W U 2 ] - 190 - win ig Me on thi SARRANEDRAAN ARRAN SEARED ERIN AISNE ITED RIESE IB ADA BEIT SAR ERIE EERE ORO ERLE SE RNIOON CEEOL TR ORDER O RECO TREO OO CDEC ICCREIO STOLE RITCEIERTITSS re RR SAA RN EIEN SERIES ARRAS © EDITORS CHOICE AWARD Ra AN RIE PRN TERE ITE e OUUM 291009. SuOsI0R F1 2002 Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA UK | Players: 1-2 Also On: GameCube 2002 Fi Champ: Michael Schumacher Web Site: www.easports.com mare Best Feature: Awesome control and sense of speed Worst Feature: Game stut- ters a lot I’m learning to enjoy F1 racing a lot, even if Michael “Team Orders” Schumacher’s taking all the fun out of it this year. It’s more about driving the course than competing with the other cars on it. If you go into F1 2002 understanding that, then you’ll have loads of fun. Control of these nimble little cars is perfect, requiring a basic knowledge of weight transfer and acceleration control, but never so hardcore-realistic that you'll feel helpless (unless you turn on the sim- ulation controls, then may God have mercy on your soul). The result is a game that casual racers can handle, while real F1 geeks can turn all the realism up to full and-enjoy one of the most competent Fa sims this side of the PC. And the game is chock full of lit- tle touches that race fans will appreciate. Lparticu- larly like how everything goes silent when you’re drafting a competitor, but when you pull out of that draft you feel the wall of air hit as you’car slows down and your controller rumbles. | also love the Gran Turismo-style challenges that teach you how to han- dle these light but powerful machines. Greg SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY i 1 4 9 VISUALS aaa Publisher: wm Activision Developer: Black Ops fm Also On: ie, GameCube, Xbox | Players: 1-2 (1-8 Multi-tap) Extras: Neat quaffs and tatts Web Site: www.activision.com J Best Feature: Nice looking slam dunks Worst Feature: Gameplay is nothing special | have to admit, what little | knew about street-ball culture was derived from the movie White Men Can’t Jump. Street Hoops, however, had me up to speed in no time flat. It faithfully reproduces the ultra-flashy players (these are real guys, by the way) with names like “The Future” and “1/2 Man 1/2 Amazing,” the clothes and accessories they adorn, and even the cryptic language they speak. But while they did a great job on the authenticity front, the gameplay is total déja vu. Think NBA Live or March Madness dressed up with multiple layers of street attitude. Players have more special moves (mostly dribble routines)..andathe games are wide open (anything goes; pushing, etc.), but overall it’s not the kind ‘ groundbreaking gameplay | was hoping for. found longing for more precise controb over my players, the kind of control that lets you block shots and stea ls with the saffié’@é¢uracy you can in titles like NBA StreetyonyNBA Showtime. Still, if you're a fan of Live-style ball, you'll probably like Street Hoops’ flashy approach. Dean INGENUITY REPLAY VISUALS SOUND ] ] a 6 BIG ACTION ON THE SMALL SCREEN! DUKES BACK WITH AN ALL NEW STORY UNLY ON tee: SHOWS YOu “RE : ty’ SY ONEYV _ BLAST THROUGH 19 LEVELS OVER EXOTIC LOCATIONS RANGING FROM AUSTRALIA TO EGYPT PRODUCED BY Violence Dc CONTENT RATED BY Real 9 ESRB http:/Awww.3drealms.com Duke Nukem and the Duke Nukem logo are trademarks of 3D Realms Entertainment. 3D Realms Entertainment and the 3D Realms logo are trademarks of Apogee Software, Ltd. Developed by Torus Games Pty. Ltd. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and the Take-Two logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software. Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Licensed by Nintendo. Nintendo, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance and the official seal are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. | = = = 3 = = | is 2 = = = Publisher: Sega ao I gee Developer: Hitmaker AKA: Sega Sports Tennis 2K2 (DC) Players: 1-4 (with Multi-Tap) Also Try: Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Best Feature: Fantastic World Tour mode Worst Feature: No Grand Slam action Web Site: www.sega.com After a brief but overlooked stint on the Dreamcast, Sega’s soft baller arrives on the PS2 under the abbre- viated moniker, Sega Sports Tennis. And while it isn’t the first tennis game on Sony’s system, it is the best. Although Namco’s Smash Court plays simi- larly and boasts big names like Agassi, Sampras and, erm, Kournikova, it is Sega’s superior gameplay and mighty World Tour mode that win out in the end. With an easy-on-the-eyes appearance and a pick-up-and play mentality, SST is a game that virtually anyone can enjoy. This is because the forgiving controls and intuitive shot arrangement of lobs, slices and top- spins guarantee that even the greenest net novice will embrace SST’s gentle learning curve. Add a few friends for a multiplayer mix, and net strategy becomes second nature in no time. Enhancing the good vibes is a stellar sound mix that emulates the real-life twang of a tightly wound racket, the ripe report of h Wilson hitting clay, and the sharp ge calling “Out! _ de that is uite as sharp as the oC ion’ S, e Grand Slam tournaments that would make this game truly complete. Milkman SST marks the first truly great game of its kind for PS2 owners—|I only wish it had a more in-depth sin- gle-player experience. The mini-games and arcade- like Tour mode that’s here offer plenty of replay, but with bi tars like the pipes sisters, I'd love Sega’s SSTa afc, inating stent as gorgeous as past Dreamcast edi- tions, SST makes up for it with even speedier play and seamless animation. It amazes me how well the players break from one direction to the next without lookin thecl t bit robotic; it’s lik VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY a L 6 8 ma ri fewer § ectronic Gar Publisher Conspiracy Steel Starbreeze Featured In: EGM #154 Sait 1 Also None Best on e: Atmospheric graphics Worst Feature: Cheap sudden deaths Web Site: www.conspiracygames.com Developer Starbreeze has created a big, beautiful monster here. Enclave is huge, with 27 stages split between good and evil campaigns, and the game’s level design and rich visuals convey a perfect sense of gothic malevolence. You’ll hack and slash through massive castles, an aquatic fortress, spired keeps, dank mines and a hellish underworld, with multiple paths through most levels. But you better gird your loins before you embark on this quest, because Enclave is as cruel as it is pretty. Nearly every level kills you instantly with cheap shots. You’ll battle to the end of a sea-town stage, for instance, only to be nuked by a sudden cannon bombardment. Or you’ll trudge deep into a keep to rescue a wizard and find a nonsensical puzzle you must solve in one go or it’s game over. It makes for a tedious cycle of die, retry, die, retry, and it doesn’t help that the combat system feels clunky. You gradually unlock a good variety of characters who can buy more powerful gear, but | inevitably stuck with whoever had the best long- range attacks (such as bows or magic). | just got fed up with the close-quarter slash-and-block combat. It almost seems the developers spent too much time crafting Enclave’s wicked-looking environments, then skimped on the actual game, which needs bet- ter puzzles and more compelling character develop- ment. In the end, they’ve created a game that’s more fun to look at than + Crispin For € every comglfinent L can give Enclave, there’s a complaint to go along with it. The graphics are gor- geous, crisp and detailed...but marred with choppy animations and occasional glitches. Huge, sprawling levels, both indoors and out, are impressive...until you keep dying and have to play them over again and again (this game gets hard, and most levels have no save points). You’ll marvel at all the characters and weapons to choose from, but combat gets repeti- tive with all of them (for ranged attacks you walk endlessly backward and fire; hand-to-hand boils down to the old “move in, attack, move out, repeat”). Sometimes fun but often annoying. Mark As far as exports from Sweden go, Enclave ranks somewhere between their lunchroom meatballs and the misunderstood comic genius of the Swedish Chef. This type of slasher doesn’t appear very often, and generally for a good reason—shooting is, well, more fun. On its own merits, Enclave succeeds at delivering subtly gorgeous graphics, an atmospheric soundtrack and a lengthy quest rife with unique characters to recruit. It’s just that the somewhat haphazard combat renders the game frustrating. |f you could attack with greater precision and speed, it'd be more fun. But first-person shooter fans look- ing for a change of pace will enjoy it. Shane VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY ning Monthly - 132 - egm .gamers.com Simon & Schuster Publisher: ee Developer: Hypnotix p Players: 1-4 Pi ~*~ Also On: None Supports: 34DD bra size, latex and whips Best Feature: Composure/Beat (-down) Meter Worst Feature: Annoyingly hard for casual golfers Web Site: www.simonsays.com Nice try, but regardless of what some developers think of gamers (you know, that we’re all horny, smart-ass ingrates), it takes more than a few slutty chicks, light cussing and violence to make a game good enough for us boys and girls. When are they going to learn that it takes a least a Playboy Mansion full of bunnies, a Reservoir Dogs amount of swear- ing, and GJA3 violence to get us going? But serious- ly, while OG will satisfy those who enjoy all man- ner of offensive fluff and provide enough sim stuff for golf fans, it’s a mediocre package overall. For instance, although OG gets props for its original Composure feature which, depending on how well or poorly you hit shots, directly affects your player’s emotional and physical control, it’s very unforgiving. Add imprecise visual cues and an analog-stick swing scheme that’s difficult to control, and casual players who just want to enjoy the front nine will be too tee’d off to play beyond the third hole. It’s also disap- pointing to see weird slowdown on character anima- tions and a golf audience that looks unfinished when the rest of the game looks pretty good. To be fair, although we casualites may not want to take time to practice our golf swings and get competitive at OG, seasoned players like sports guy Dan Leahy will appreciate its golf-sim toughness. But for less expe- rienced video athletes: You’re going to have to really work at it to enjoy this one. Jeanne Along with R- rated antes that’ fl tickle any gamer’s inner Beavis and/or Butthead, Outlaw Golf dishes a golf game you'll keep playing after you get sick of the repetitive zingers (provided by the Daily Show’s Steve Carell). The swing meter, which.has you wig- gling an analog stick rather than jabbing buttons, is novel and intuitive, and | prefer Outlaw’s putting sys- tem to any other golf game’s. If only you got more courses (three ain’t enough) and camera options. Still, nifty multiplayer modes like speed golf kept me coming back: | had way more fun competing against buds than playing with myself. Er, | mean playing solo. This game’s chicks aren’t that hot. Crispin Outlaw Golf is basically Hot Shots gone mature, which is what | was expecting, style-wise. What took me by surprise was the rather deep, involving golf game that lies beneath the crass exterior. Outlaw’s analog swing meter isn’t revolutionary (Tiger Woods used it this past spring) but it is simple and respon- sive. Push the stick left and you get a nasty hook. Keep it straight, hit it straight. Don’t let Ms. Kim sway you; it’s not that hard. The putting scheme is damn near genius, using a three-look read of the green instead of the overplayed topographical-vector-lines- i’m-confused approach. Hats off to Hypnotix for one of the summer’s true sleeper hits. Dan L. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY NINTENDO GAMECUBE. ARCADE FIGHTING 4 2! NINTENDO GAMECUBE™ -ROM TV/0°0F YOUR FAVORITE ‘WORLDS: ws } 2 den . beanieinisenanion r. ~ a vs . y my OF " = othe. ® 4 “54 * - 2 . ¢. 3 ” a 4 , yp . a 4. Z — ae « Se x, F ~s 2 2) ee ~< > ¢ oe ae 4 a q é % send Bence’ oe Tod 3 Fe pela u eR x 7 ab fg Se ale 3 ‘ ae > 4 ; ae) (Ne ‘ VS ot x oy * y . mae ve ii Sie ; . xt " OVER 44 ep - 6 GAME MODES EXTREME OFFENSE DELIVERS INSTANT DEVASTATION! yomeongnen Two monster corporations are at war! Choose from 44 of your all-time favorite fighters. It's Capcom vs. SNK2 E.O. with custom fighting Grooves and the most radical features of any fighter on the NINTENDO GAMECUBE™ system - including exclusive Extreme Offense control! Deliver furious combos and devastating super moves at the touch of a single button! This plus, control the level of your fighter’s strength with the new “Free Ratio System.” Let the battle begin in this system defining arcade fighter. ©CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2001, 2002 ©CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2001, 2002. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. OPLAYMORE Corporation. CAPCOM VS. SNK 2 EO is manufactured and distributed by CAPCOM CO., LTD. under the license from PLAYMORE Corporation. SNK is a trademark of PLAYMORE Corporation. Nintendo a and Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. The ratings icon is a registered trade- Violence mark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. CONTENT RATED BY Capcom.com Suggestive Themes Publisher: EA Games “e | Developer: The Collective >. ¢ Featured In: EGM #153 ; | Players: 1 Also On: None Best Feature: It, like, totally captures Buffy’s spirit Worst Feature: Constantly repeating voice samples Web Site: buffy.ea.com hances for this Buffy game looked slim after the death of the Dreamcast; titles bound for extinct platforms usually fade into development hell. Thankfully, this sultry Slayer doesn’t go down without a fight. And against all odds, the Buffster has made her way to Xbox (with a substantial graphical overhaul). Based on the long-running TV series, this action-adventure title thrusts you into the role of Buffy Summers, a perky, popu- lar chick chosen to combat the undead forces that threaten the earth. The game roughly encapsulates some of the plot elements from the early episodes, so you'll control Buffy as she masters the art of Slaying. Her mentor, Giles, instructs her on the finer points of kicking, punching and staking the hearts of the vampiric beasts attacking Sunnydale. As your skills improve, you’ll learn Buffy tests the comfort and support of her halter top by punching this creepy demon square in the jaw. Sadly, guys, everything stays firmly in place. to wield different flesh-rending weapons and dazzling magical attacks. You’ll also interact with many of the characters from the show, including Angel, Spike, Willow and Cordelia. The series’ unique sense of humor survives the transition intact — Buffy and her foes engage in witty exchanges during fights, and you'll have a chance to chat with most of your friends after each level. | Check out the lifelike digital versions of | | the cast above: These are in-game mugs of | Angel, Spike and Buffy —they look eerily | real. Poor Kristy Swanson, the first Buffy | from the 1992 film, has to wait for a Dude, Where’ s s My Car? game to be so lucky. 4 Uacaneceneensce saan catesbts sees ADEs ESE ENE AA 8 SE TSE SS ESSE ARGS A ET I I a ee | | | A stake to the heart spells instant doom for any vampire, but successfully landing that blow can be tricky. For best results, thrust it in after pum- meling the undead freak with a few quick punch- es. Also, be careful not to accidentally hit your stakes against walls, as they will shatter. Wow...I’m really impressed at how well this game captures the unique, irreverent appeal of the show. It’s all here—clever humor, interpersonal drama and_ satisfying, ass-stomping action. Channeling the spirit of Joss Whedon’s creation demands a lot of Buffy herself. Sarah Michelle could- n’t make it, but this sound-alike hits the role perfect- ly, tossing off scads of legitimately funny quips. It also helps that the real actors voice many of the other characters. Infusing this “Buffiness” into a game is admirable, and the action title they stuck it in is a deserving vehicle. It’s very combat heavy, but the quality of the fighting really surprised me. You begin the game with some fairly cool combos and unlock new moves as you progress. And seriously, the melee fighting is way better than that of modern brawlers like Dead to Rights or State of Emergency. The graphics also took me by surprise —sharp colors, speedy movement and lifelike facial animation put Buffy among the upper echelon of Xbox lookers. The game isn’t devoid of drawbacks, though, as the com- bat can get repetitive due to a smallnumber. of ene- mies per stage. This problem clears up later in the game, but early on you'll be fighting-a lot of identical vampires. Also, Buffy’s frequent comments recycle too much, and the humor wears thin after the 2oth time. Buffy fans—pick it up. Everyone else—give it a try. You'll likely get hooked. Shane Not knowing what to expect from a game based ona show starring a bunch of Y-Gen, vampire teenagers, | was pleasantly surprised. There, | said it! Now don’t get all high on your horse. It’s not like Buffy doesn’t have issues. Although fighting’s mindlessly fun, kick- ing butt’s too button-mash easy at first. When you can kill a vamp with one stab to the chest and best beefier boys simply by running away, Buffy feels more like one of its far-fetched TV episodes than a game. |t certainly captures the show’s appeal, and it’s a solid buy for fans» But between the annoying one-liners and huge difficulty spike late in the game, it’s just not for casual gamers. Jeanne te lint nnSecinicen Adeeb bE NE ADA CLR LEAS AEN ALAA AAR DEAD iteresc one eatting to be said for Buffy, it’s that the presentation is excellent. The graphics, music, witty one-liners and delicious puns...fans of the show will really appreciate the detail that’s gone into this game. But they. might not be able to ignore the com- bination of extremely annoying controls and a slow camera that makes battles way more cumber- some than they should be. Multiple bloodsuckers after you? Sorry, you can’t block more than one at a time. Can’t see that vamp behind you? That’s ’cuz the lame-duck camera system guarantees that nearby enemies will be out of view 50% of the time. Nice atmosphere, but needs tighter gameplay. Q@hhris VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Sse#a2e2 8" T CHOOSE: @ button. Destroy rush rocks, tear ildings take the % ; ‘ # é = © Rage Games Limited 2002. Published and distributed utter license a saa mes Limited. © Walesoo $a ss, ae Ava shits he ned. Microsoft Xbox. and the Xbox logos are either registered’radema ac denne of Microsoft Corporation | maid Fane; “ and are used under.Jicense from’Microsoft. The ratings opis aif J OF Wal Digital: eoiiviare Aasvoimen 4 ; ay » 2 : .:/. 5 tan a Namco 7 a’ Namco EGM #157 1 PlayStation 2 (later) Frantic, fun gunplay Too many annoying mini-games www.deadtorights.com amco’s latest Xbox title might surprise you—it’s not a racing, fighting or light- gun game. It’s not an arcade port and it wasn’t even developed in Japan. Dead to Rights is a gritty, Max Payne-style blast-‘em- up steeped in the style of film noir. You play as Jack Slate, a streetwise cop serving in the K-9 unit of Grant City. His career comes toa crashing end, however, when his father is gunned down, and Jack finds himself framed for the murder of a prominent businessman. Clearing your name demands massive fire- power, fisticuffs and a little help from your canine pal, Shadow. The central gameplay mode involves Jack blasting baddies with a wide variety of pistols, shotguns and machine guns. When the action heats up, Jack can exe- cute a stylish, Matrix bullet-time dive to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. Sure, it’s not terribly original, but it gives Jack an edge over Concept: Dance Dance Rev. meets T&A as Jack's girl dis- tracts bad guys with her hot Concept: Time button presses to unlock the cylinders. It’s kind of tricky, and failing bod. Fun to watch, not to play. means replaying a whole level. Every so often, Jack holsters the guns and gets footloose down at his favorite club, The Manhole. his myriad foes. Shadow is the other secret weapon at Jack’s disposal. This powerful pooch can maul thugs and bring their guns back for Jack’s personal use. The developers also spiced up the proceed- ings by adding a wide variety of other game- play styles. You’ll punch, kick and throw your way through Bouncer-style brawler bits, snipe enemies from a helicopter, arm wrestle, hold your breath underwater and simulate sexual acts with a pole, just to name a few. Concept: Protect your friend >i) Eve by sniping enemies from a i helicopter, Silent Scope-style. aa De It’s enjoyable but too long. > Ly ! F a ae ** * Concept: Move the pin through : the “bomb” without touching the sides. It’s fun but a total rip-off of Irritating Stick. vnic foarmina AAnmntialh ERR LIGASE YELP si Ae: ‘} Man's best friend can also be his fiercest foe. _. Jack’s hound, Shadow, — & will automatically kill = any normal enemy in © bloody, biting frenzy. Stuffing all kinds of different gameplay concepts into DTR might have seemed like a great idea, but really, the shooting/action game at the core is the only one that Namco needed. You get a taste of the gunplay in the brief introductory level. But following the short opening you're thrust into a silly stripping mini-game with abysmal, simplistic control. Surely, after that dorky interlude, you’ll get back to the good stuff, right? Nope. Instead, you play a lame, dumbed-down brawler that boils down to just mashing on “punch” over and over. Once that’s over, you do get back to the awesome shooting mayhem—it’s life-giving water after wandering across the desert of misguid- ed mini-games. The entire game suffers from this curse, as every traditional shooting stage is ham- pered by disappointing, unnecessary mini-games. Admittedly, some of these diversions are somewhat enjoyable, but strung together, they just muddle the stronger, more cohesive main attraction. The endless lock-picking and bomb-defusing made me groan, yet | still felt compelled to keep playing—the plot’s not bad, and the»white-knuckle shooting*never disap- pointed. Visually, DTR doesn't push the Xbox too hard, but the functional graphies-get.the job done. The real draw here is the core gameplay...well, at least most of it. Fans of Max Payne and Syphon Filter Should definitely check it out, but prepare for an uneven experience. Shane DTR does one thing pretty well and that’s put you in the middle of some Hong Kong action movie Shootout, replete with Chow Yun-Fat’s two-fisted, Slow-motion dives. But when the game strays from its hook, everything goes straight to hell. Crappy graphics and terrible story aside, what really pissed me off about..D/R was its canned game design. Examples include boss battles with henchmen you can’t kill. Why? Because the developers couldn’t think of a more clever way to make the boss fight harder. Or when you’re forced to engage in shallow hand-to-hand combat for no good reason other than to “mix it up....” DTR is a total letdown. Che DTR certainly reflects Namco’s ambition to create a thinking man’s shooter that would outdo Max Payne. But it’s an ultimately unbalanced hodge- podge of well-intentioned game ideas. D7R does give the gamer lots of things to do: fight,.shoot, use a Kg unit, do a strip-tease...the ingredients are there for a good time. But where DR falls flat is in the execution. Why learn the subtleties of the fight- ing controls when the most effective attack is “punch, punch, punch”? The most exciting parts of the game are the shooting bits, but you spend way too much time fussing around with lesser diver- sions. This one just feels rushed. Milkman VISUALS INGENUITY REPLAY SOUND FF eb are Te oI ¢ enna aeieeineeeeneatenieeeeinte uo SOS aaeINS Nes SAN Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. i } PlayStation2 cp @) ROM Pe oe 4 i HOW COMBAT EVOLVED 1 SPIDERMAN CR x ROBO i bith atheeli) Xbox Nation: America’s only independent Xbox magazine. XBOX NATION INDEPENDENT XBOX MAGAZINE @ EDITORS' CHOICE AWARD @ EDITORS CHOICE AWARD OUUMY 3910H9,suoLiGa Nintendo Publisher: Developer: Silicon Knights Featured In: EGM #156 Players: 1 Also On: None Best Feature: Insanity effects! Worst Feature: Sluggish control Web Site: www.eternaldarkness.com he old saying “don't judge a book by its cover” applies perfectly to Eternal Darkness. |t doesn’t have the graphical flash of the recent Cube Resident Evil remake or the cinematic shock value of Silent Hill 2. Instead, ED is a horror game of a different cloth, centered on a carefully constructed, thirteen-chapter story spanning hundreds of years and following 12 characters bound together by fate. It begins like a good mystery. You, as Alexandra Roivas, have been called to your grandfather’s Rhode Island mansion to help investigate his unusual demise. You have as many clues to go on as the local police—in other words, nothing. But as you wander the terna ar ness: "| . 3 es - $ = 3, nN mansion, you stumble upon a secret room that holds a mysterious book— The Tome of Eternal Darkness—and (as if there’s anything else to do in Rhode Island) you start reading. From there, you relive the tales of 11 other individuals that build eventually to your own. As you meet new people and see events from different perspectives, the story unravels, coming back together in an epic climax. And while the game focuses heavily on its story, : % Mee : Casting the right spells is easy. Just be sure to follow the alignment hierarchy (think rock-paper-scissors): XEL'LOTATH Sel . ) ULYAOTH Make Your Weapons More Powerful: Enemies have magickal weaknesses too. You can make = ory quick workofa § Ulyaoth-aligned | Horror by enchanting a weapon with the Xel’lotath alignment. This Item is now enchanted! Creating Recover Spells: Pick the alignment then a noun and verb rune. For example, combining a Chattur’gha alignment with absorb (Narokath) and self (Santak) runes recov- ers health. In that case, using an Ulyaoth alignment recovers magic, Xel’lotath recovers sanity and Mantorok recovers all three. IS IT REAL, OR HAVE YOU GONE...INSANE? Not only do insanity effects toy with the characters inside the screen when your sanity gauge is low, but a few of the game’s dozens of effects mess with you, the gamer. From left to right: Turning the volume down, shrinking to miniature size and dancin’ on the ceiling. fe ow ENTER SECRET PASBADE Prrere let us put your mind at ease: ED doesn’t get lost in meandering, boring exposition and talking heads. The plot that’s here is stream- lined and important, even if you don’t fully understand it as it’s happening. The game doesn’t rely on cheap thrills like monsters bursting out of windows (although there are a few moments like that) to make it scary, either. Instead, its creepiness sneaks up on you as you unravel details of the story, take in eerie, ambient sounds and become the victim of countless insanity effects (See side- bar). May we suggest you turn out the lights and turn up your audio system for the maxi- mum effect? With 12 characters you might think you have to start from scratch with each one—but that’s not the case. Each individual has his or her own unique set of weapons, and you start each one without the use of “magick” (your player’s gotta find the Jome first). But you never feel like you’re starting completely from zero—the spells you discover with each play- er carry over to the next character in the gameplay sequence ED’s deep magick/weapons system is ambi- tious, especially for the horror genre. You have lots of options when determining the best way to defeat enemies. Maybe you’ll Slice off their heads so they can’t see you any- more. Or cast a barrier or shield so they can’t get close to you and their magickal attacks won't affect you. Or (most importantly of all) enchant your sword or gun to counter a foe’s strengths (see sidebar). And despite what screenshots might make it look like, ED is not a Resident Evil wannabe. It shares the puzzle-solving that series made famous, but it thankfully sheds the need for ammo conservation (you’re encouraged to kill everything) and checkpoint-based gameplay (you can save almost anywhere). Silicon Knights’ first production under Nintendo’s umbrella is a pleasant surprise—a mix of gripping story and addictive gameplay that will be difficult to match. Look familiar? You’ll venture back to some areas more than once, but years later. And while it might look the same, there’s been some redecorating. - 161 - egm.gamers.corn ee Saute af an ees Se se Now that you've read our (relatively) spoiler-free review and checked out the game, turn to page 38 to read our Afterthoughts interview with ED director Denis Dyack for insights on the making of the game and some of the little details you may have missed the first time through. My experience with Eternal Darkness prior to playing the final release came in the form of a limited demo shown off at last year’s Nintendo Cube Club events. Back then it was slow, clunky and the story (that I’d later discover is the most important of its ingredi- ents) was nonexistent. | expected Resident Evil and because it wasn’t that, | dismissed it. That was a mis- take. ED’s not RE, but it endedup being a fantastic horror game regardless. It’s like a good book; it Starts off slowly, but once it has its claws in you it doesn’t let go. Each episode is different enough to hold your interest and advance the story before whisking you back to the present time. The only com- plaint | have about its pacing is that the game starts out too easy and doesn’t get really difficult until the last quarter. And even though the story hooked me by the time | finished the third chapter, my opinion of the graphics hasn’t changed from the time | first played the demo—they’re unimpressive and the characters are still too cartoonyfor my taste. But because ED is so deep and engrossing, the gameplay is SO varied, and the magick system has so much technique, tooks don’t matter so much. That’s the weird and cool thing about ED — it’s one of few games that doesn’t need to rely.so much on its visual prowess to keep you interested. Nintendo’s first stab at the horror genre is a strong one, and it sets a new benchmark for storytelling in video games. Oipris ’ll see you in hell, Eternal Darkness. You thought you had me with that insanity effect that made it look like | was sinking into the floor. | forgot you liked to pull that junk when you froze my game—!| was about to restart whenit.came back up and | realized I’d been had. But when you made it look like my inventory was totally cleared, | knew this was war. Just for that, I’m gonna buy you and beat you three ways from Tuesday. That’s right. | can look past your repetitive combat, formulaic structure and sometimes mislead- ing game design. Its your-stylish presentation, puz- zles and ability to mess with a guy’s head that’s gonna make me own you. Literally Jonathan ’ll say this about ED: It’s no Resident Evil...and that’s a good thing. The last thing the world needs is anoth- er Survival-horror clone, so | was happy to see plenty of original ideas here. The unique spell system stands out, especially as it’s worked into puzzles later in the game, along with a deep storyline that owes more to the disturbing writings of H.P. Lovecraft than the quick thrills of the Living Dead movies. Too bad combat is So awkward, filled with cheap hits and enemies youre usually better off running past (which also activates the game’s: best feature—the creepy insanity. effects). But despite that and a few dull patience-testing hours, ED is wortha play. Mark VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY EDITORS CHOICE AWARD smuggier’s Run: Warzones Publisher; ~ Rockstar iA Developer: ? _. Angel Studios 7 Players: 1-4 Also On: + None New Ride: © EDITORS CHOICE AWARD @ cums 73089 $0110} e YRBSAS Best Feature: Four-player Bomb Tag mode The Hover Bike Worst Feature: Missions Web Site: could use more pizzazz rockstargames.com I’m a simple guy, so a game that offers little more than a trumped-up version of capture the flag can still appeal to me. Sure, it’s one-dimensional, but for anyone who loves the thrill of the chase, Warzones is like a bottomless glass. Mission after mission you’re pursuing opponents or running your all-terrain vehicle through a vast and seemingly end- less landscape of open desert, hills and even snow. Angel Studios did a swell job of keeping the terrain clear for all-out, full-throttle cruising without a lot of obstacles to dodge. As for the changes over prior Smugglers titles, a new region trips you up with icy terrain andebrings several new missions. with it. The new Hover Bike and creative countermeasures are cool, too, but are small potatoe mpared to the fresh four-player mode. Grab yok Is and go nuts playing Bomb Tag (my personal favorite) or any of the sweet multiplayer games. It’s fast and a whole lot more fun than playing alone. To sum it up, for chil- dren of the ’Cube who've never smuggled, Warzones is a great deal. All others should rent first. Dean INGENUITY REPLAY VISUALS SOUND L 6 Tetris Worlds Publisher: '| THQ Developer: Radical / Players: 1-4 Also On: PlayStation 2, Xbox You Just Can’t Improve: Plain ol’ Tetris Web Site: tetrisworlds.com 2 Best Feature: ae options to aid newbies, cheaters and the slow-witted Worst Feature: Lame modes The owners of the Jetris license have got to stop whoring it out. Yes, Worlds includes the original Tetris. Whoopee. You can get that anywhere. What you’re paying for are the new modes, and unfortu- nately, most of them mesh with the classic Tetris for- mula like a square puzzle piece in a round hole. Square Tetris, for example, has you trying to create 4x4 squares. Hot-Line Tetris wants you to clear lines at certain points (see screenshot). Fun? No. Stupid? Yup. Others, like Fusion Tetris (which lets you set up cascading blocks to create combos), are more fun. But then the overall package is dragged down because you..have poorly designed. multiplayer games that can actually give an advantage to players that don’t clear lines as quickly as” Possible. Huh? The only notable improvements are the options made for less- -experienced players: “Hold” to save a piece foraylater swap-in, “Easy Spin” to rotate a block indefini ‘ely without-setting it...these will make Tetris veterans puke, but they make the game much more accessible than it already is. Shoe INGENUITY REPLAY 2 7 ee VISUALS SOUND OMEN OLN NINA NN NINN ISANN RIANA aARnsAemNbmmantmesmnne Neen Electre Publisher: Novalogic Developer: Rebellion Featured In: EGM #156 Players: 1 Also On: Best Feature: Decent graphics and gritty realism None Worst Feature: Unbelievably | Web Site: choppy animation www.novalogic.com At this point, if you’re even entertaining the thought of buying a new PS1 game, state-of-the-art graphics probably aren’t very high on your list of priorities. But pick up Delta Force and you'll be pleasantly sur- prised. As a gritty, militaristic first-person shooter, Delta Force features detailed environments (by PS1 standards) and plenty of cool effects to drive home the point that you’re an elite soldier loaded with nifty gadgets. Engage in stealthy takedowns in the black of night with your infared goggles; ricochet a teargas grenade around the corner to even out the odds; or gun down al opposition, Snatch the weapons from at 20 barks wlatiae: you Teak to nee | VISUALS SOUND i ] INGENUITY REPLAY Car Battier Joe , +! Publisher: | “jy Developer: B Ancient _| Featured tn: | | EGM #154 | Players: 1 (1-4 linked) | Perfect For: Vin Diesel wannabes | Web Site: | www.natsume.com Best Feature: In-depth car customization Worst Feature: Simplistic, repetitive combat | never would’ve guessed I’d actually find myself enjoying a car-combat RPG, but lo and behold, it seems that Natsume—purveyor of the strange and innovative—has made me a believer. Most of Car Battler Joe consists of pseudo-3D driving sequences (the car-combat portion of the game) as you travel from area to area performing odd jobs for the locals, fighting against enemy battlers and collecting scrap for your garage. These sections are playable enough, but don’t come in expecting the handheld version of Twisted Metal, because if you do, you’re going to be disappointed. What saves CB/ from mediocrity is the fact that you can customize the bejeezus out of your vehicle, adding an extra layer of depth to an otherwise not-so-deep game. My one gripe is that figuring out what’s best for your ride can sometimes be a bit of a pain, resulting in a lot of unnecessary trial and error, Despite its faults, Car Battler Joe is a charming, original game and an oddly compelling one at that. If you're in the mood for something dif- John R. INGENUITY REPLAY ferent, definitely give CB/ a try. VISUALS ronic Gaming Mont SOUND L - 162. -egm.gamers.com Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Featured In: EGM #154 Players: 1 Better Than: The PS1 Mega Man X Games Best Feature: Worst Feature: Challenging, old-school gameplay Insane difficulty that will make you want to chuck your GBA right out the window Web Site: www.capcom.com After years of rehashing the same tired concept over and over, Capcom's finally gone and done something different with the side-scrolling Mega Man games. The result is Mega Man Zero, easily the best Mega Man game to come along in ages, and arguably the most challenging of them all. Zero forsakes many of the series’ past conventions (the most obvious being the main character), allowing for a game that feels much more like a sequel than another incremental update. By infusing RPG elements into the mix— weapons that level up with repeated use, elemental power-ups, collectible “Cyber Elf” creatures which offer various types of support—Capcom’s added some much-needed depth and playability to the Standard side-scrolling formula. The visuals have been given an overhaul as well, with a darker, more anime-esque feel and superbly animated characters and backgrounds that rival those of the PS1 Mega Man games, If there’s one thing about Zero that casu- al gamers may not appreciate, it's the difficulty level. This game is REALLY tough, and as a result, often very frustrating. You've only got a few lives to. deal with the only way-to keep going is to collect contin- ues for extra chances. But the well-designed levels and unforgiving bosses will keep you on your toes, regardless. For hardcore gamers and those who don’t mind a little old-school challenge, consider this a must- sain It’s one of the GBA’s best. John R. This § series is 5 really tired—the last few x games on the PS1 have been really boring. But | have to say that Zero really surprised me in that it’s a lot more fun and a lot less irritating than the previous games. It’s got some.challenging stages and.bosses, but | never found any of them to be impossible or cheap. It’s just a lot of old-school twitch gaming. My only complaint i is that this doesn’t really feel like a Mega Man game. You don’t get to choose your bosses in a random order, nor do you really get any of their weapons (just some elemental powers once in a while). But I can’t fault an otherwise good game for simply mage” the wrong title. Greg l’d much rather see 5 the original Mega Man NES titles ported to the GBA than new ones like these from the X series, but this is the least offensive X game since the PS1’s X4. The gameplay is mostly the same dull fare that.!’d expect from this series, but the elemen- tal effects you can attach to your weapons and “Cyber Elf” system (a set of one-time. power-up helpers that you collect and raise. throughout the game) make the combat more bearable, really down with the new level 'structure— given a choice of mini-missions, not all of which you have to complete. So you can flub one or two and not have to play ’em again and again. Jonathan VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY }2-3 o) VITRILITy aa els ln’: iia; ant First-person shooting action ioe? VITRLLrte a) HS RR) Ce) Ca Battle enemy giants from land.i sea & air Pa fe er Fe Fe % new dangers lurk. A new enemy waits. My. Pre he to battle sadistic a a through i npen ra , ___Aided only by a bizarre military timepiec tif \ Make sense of the senseless—before ewww. capcom. com 02. AF Blood MATURE LOGO are trademarks of CAPCOM CO.., LTD. DINO STALKER isa trademark of oe : The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. “PlayStation” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. GUNCON'’2 & © 2000 NAMCO LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Violence Tricks of the Trade By David S J Hodgson There’s a general theme running through the Tricks section this month— tricks for perverts or games completely ruined with a single “reveal all” code. Cool, eh? We even put in some correct Tonk Hawk 3 codes. Really. Spot anything strange? Need a trick? Then write to tricks@ziffdavis.com. An army of codes, s ' Sure, we’ve got a huge list Mi to the left of all the game’s finest codes, but what if you . don’t have time for typing? Then enter DAWOIKS at the Enigma Machine, and you’ll unlock the whole kit and kaboodle! All that’s left now is to check out a crazy Hun with a deathwish, your ugly mug, and some extra-terrestrial Nazi experiments! Tally-ho! Easter Egg #1: In “Operation Repunzel,” when you reach the middle of the bridge, climb up with Invincibility on, and watch a hapless Nazi plummet to his death rather than face you! Enter during a paused game: Invincibility Sau, Li, Cir, R1, 111, L2, Sel, Re Unlimited Ammo Cir, L2, Squ, L1, Sel, R2, Tri, Sel Enter at the Enigma Machine, then activate at Bonus screen. MOHton Torpedo (below) TPDOMOHTON Silver Bullet ioe shot Kit WHATYOUGET Bullet Shield (they don’t hurt) BULLETZAP Perfectionist (one hit, you die) Shouting rude words at URTHEMAN your television as you Invisible Enemy attempt to beat the devilishly WHERERU hard Live Twice for Tomorrow? Achilles Head (headshot only) Need that yellow Ferrari-looking GLASSJAW car to tear through the driving Rubber Grenades games? Want to complete ae Hats (bizarre!) Stuntman in one massively satis- HABRDASHR fying minute? A great plan and Snipe-o-Rama (zoom guns) one that we’re ready to help you LONGSHOT with by revealing four gameplay Finish Level with Gold Star codes to access all the toys, cars MONKEY Finish Last Level with G. Star TIMEWARP GREATEST HITS REVISITED We’ve crammed in many more Aggressive Inline cheats in this issue, but the best bits of the game—codes that instantly allow access to levels that would have taken days to (-3) Electronic Gaming Monthly - 164 - The Strategy for Guide Buying You’ve bought a | work killer game. You’re through stuck embarrass- the pain! ingly near the 31% start. When do you reach for a guide? Source: Gamers.com poll, 6/02 Already bought it as a game companion. 3% Easter Eggs #2 and #3 both appear in “On Track.” Before you enter the station, check the wanted poster to the left. That’s you, soldier! And as you emerge next to Sturmgeist’s train, look up and right. A UFO zips by high above with Nazi insignia. and levels in the game. Stop gnawing your joypad in sweaty frustration and start a new career with the following names to activate the codes, which are all case-sensitive: All Arena Toys: “MeFf” — every Ramp, Smashable and Special is yours (See screen). All Cars: “spiDER”— all the cars are unlocked. All Filmography: “fellA”— allows you to watch the Open~are an input away. At the Cheat screen, punch in Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A to unlock full stats, the level select and all the park editor objects. m.gamers.com /Zkdw STRATEGY GUIDE | I grab a guide ~<— when | get stuck. 20% 1 Medal of Honor — Big codes and bizarre occurrences 2 Stuntman — Everything unlocked immediately! game movies. Unlock Everything: “Bindl” — note the last letter is a capital “i.” 3 Aggressive Inline - — Everything also unlocked! Two matters: First, that’s a nod to the infamous “Konami Kode” of yesteryear, and second, don’t be foolish and type in “Up, Up”; this refers to the arrow icons, Skippy. Need all the bonus char- acters? Type in Down, Right, Right, Down, Left, Down, Left, Down, Right, Right, Right. This includes the vicious hair- stylings of the Bride of Frankenstein (picture 1) and the golden globes of the Greek Goddess (picture 2). Check Codex for more mad codes! Top 3 Tricks (cont.) Can’t get past the third boss? Losing the will to | live after playing Stuntman? Need some sarcastic “= 4 game advice? Then send your problems to the Su ss so Game Doctor at tricks@ziffdavis.com. A console game fj and Prima’s Official Guide are up for grabs, so write in! Test Drive All cars, all tracks right! a= => All the Tracks, Most Cars Enter the Main Menu screen (it’s the one that actually says “Main Menu”) and press Right, Right, Left, Squ, Up, L2, L2, Ra. You'll see a sign saying, “Unlocked Everything.” You know what? That’s a damn lie! Jedi Starfighter Going full force = Why let all your PS2-own- «ing chums have all the fun? The two “most impressive” codes in the PS2 game were DIRECTOR, which allowed you to view the action from a fly-by angle and PNYRCADE, that basi- cally opened up all the cool stuff in the entire game. Well, now Xbox Jedi Masters can achieve the same: At the passcode screen, type DARON for Director mode and LONGO to give it all A up. We believe this message is vital to the rebels. My dearest Monkey Man, are you some kind of | colossal drooling pervert? Get all excited watching two polygon ladies rubbing up against each other? Well, my primate friend, we’re still impressed at the effort it took to find this Same-sex video-game smooch. So much so that we’re rewarding your lamentable efforts with a copy of Stuntman and the Official Prima Guide! Yes, gamers with too much time on your sweaty hands, it’s that easy! The Atyoes- Hidden” Cars Your car collection shouldn’t end there; there are three other cars to find. This is achieved by entering the San Francisco Drag Race and selecting the manual-only Dodge Concept Viper. Smoke the drag-race record (which is Simple—this monster does 0-60 in three seconds!), and enter your hi-score name as SOUNDMAX. This unlocks the Jaguar XK-R SoundMAX SPX (pictured below), the Jaguar XK-R Analog Devices, OK my friend, here’s a screen from the Greatest Hits Resident Evil Code: Veronica showing Claire with a rocket launcher. To get this, | completed the game with an “S” rating in under a three hours without saving, just using aa I Herbs! Hardest trick ever? Yes! GameShark Codes 4 Ready to make your breasts pivot in circles? Need a pumped-up UFC fighter? Two games, great codes, and no shame. Gra n fi | Th eft AGGRESSIVE INLINE are UFC THROWDOWN ae Auto Il Taking liberties There are more loony ™® codes for Grand Theft Auto /// than you’ve torched Yakuza hitmen. Type each in the game, without pause on. Invisible Cars (La, La, Squ, R2, Tri, La, Tri) allows you to watch and drive transparent cars. Slow Game- play (Tri, Up, Right, Down, Squ, Ra, R2) halves the pace of your game, as well as the voices and (M) Must Be On 0E3C7DF21853E59E EE8D87BEBCCABs512 Thanks for the Mammaries DE97A83EFB299B83 OK, let’s stop this right now. This code, although perverted and downright foolish, allows Chrissy’s “assets” to jiggle faster than a Dead or Alive vol- leyballer, with an added “bonus”: her skirt flaps in the breeze, enabling “panty views.” (M) Must Be On 0E3C7DF21853E59E EE9E3DEEBCC9CFA2 Infinite Challenge Points FEB45502BCA99BE7 Super Career Fighter DEB4556ABCA99A82 DEB45576BCA99A82 DEB45572BCA99A82 DEB4557EBCA99A82 DEB4557ABCA99A82 DEB45506BCA99A82 Beware! The game is now easy! and the Aston Martin DB7 SoundMAX SPX. These can be raced in every mode except Story. Dropship A veritable code frenzy! Enter the “Classified Files” option in the Main Menu. Hit X first and then type in the following codes: invincibility TEAMBUDDIES infinite Ammo sound effects (but not the radio), Neha Pee while Speed Up Gameplay (Tri, KINGSLEY Up, Right, Down, Squ, L1, L2) First Bonus Level quickens the game by 50 per- KREUZLER cent. Keep inputting the “speed” Second Bonus Level codes until your head explodes, SHEARER or try aramp jump to return toa Third Bonus Level UBERDOOPER normal pace. TRICKS Four games. Four Bosses. No problem. (includes the EGM “Bossometer’!) r 3 txanena Massive Constitution Long-Range Coward Hand-to-hand Mad Berserker att RD) ca. To = Magically Empowered : Flying/Teleporting Ability Ludicrously Imposing Eye-Poppingly Speedy Surprisingly Feeble Throbbing “Weak Spot” joypad Hammering You’re Unfairly Weakened Doesn’t Really Die Minion of Big Boss Complete Anticlimax Bling-Bling After Battle Turbo Shock 2 Controller Cyber Shock 2 Controller Programmable Allows Up To 12 Difficult ame Screen Multiple Moves To Be Programmed Into One Button! Full Color Game Screen Allows You To Play Games, Home Videos & DVD's Anywhere! Features Turbo Function For AutoFire Capability DVD Remote, Multitap & Horizontal Stand Wireless Control, 4 Player Multitap, Organize PS'2 Games and DVD's with Style! AV Selector and Stereo Speakers ‘Add A Blast 0 Your Gaming and Favorite CD's! MEMORY CARD MEMORY CARD MEMORY CARD i o Selector mponents! IGR, DVD, Tuner, and More! iced by Intec and are _ Back that ass up (below) Back your ass up froma corpse. If it’s dead, your character reverses normally. If it’s “possum,” your charac- ter starts a “cautious” back up. Now unload! The Pistol-Packin’ Plan Face away from your “downed” foe and aim with the R button. You'll swing around and aim at the near- est “not quite dead” being. Tony Hawk 3 | don’t want to talk about it Choose the Cheats selection from the...hold on. Just hold on one freakin’ second. We’ve tried to print correct THPS3 Xbox codes since April. APRIL! And every time, we've gimped it. But not any more. Oh no. Guilty parties have had nails hammered into their nether regions, and Bomberman Generation cheats are put off until next month. Stiffcomp: All normal levels (but not the old game levels). TeamFreak: All char- acters (including X-Ray the skeleton). Rollit: all movies. JuicegMe maxes out stats. And Neverboard gives all boards to a skater. Finally, WeEatDirt lets you type in names of people to play as them. Name your player “Riley Hawk” or “Spenser Hawk” and you’ll play as Tony’s kids. “Joel Jewett” is the Neversoft President with a rockin’ mullet (See below). There are around 60 to find. #1: Miami Hurricanes whip up a storm! 2001: W:11, L:o, PF:475, PA:103 All Players: 83 Quarterbacks: 81 Running Backs: 84 Receivers: 80 Offensive Line: 85 Defensive Line: 86 Linebackers: 85 Defensive Backs: 79 Special Teams: 89 #2: Florida State The Seminoles: a seminal team! 2001: W:7, L:4, PF:373, PA:287 All Players: 82 Quarterbacks: 79 Running Backs: 83 Receivers: 83 Offensive Line: 85 Defensive Line: 84 Linebackers: 81 Defensive Backs: 79 Special Teams: 78 #3: Florida The Gators: You guys Croc! 2001: W:9, L:2, PF:482, PA:155 All Players: 80 Quarterbacks: 78 Running Backs: 82 Receivers: 81 Offensive Line: 80 Defensive Line: 83 Linebackers: 80 Defensive Backs: 80 Special Teams: 76 #4: Tennessee Volunteers: No unpaid help here! 2001: W:10, L:2, PF:355, PA:234 All Players: 80 Quarterbacks: 78 Running Backs: 82 Receivers: 75 Offensive Line: 81 Defensive Line: 83 Linebackers: 83 Defensive Backs: 79 Special Teams: 83 #9: Nebraska These Huskers are snow joke! 2001: W:11, L:1, PF:449, PA:189 All Players: 80 Quarterbacks: 71 Running Backs: 82 Receivers: 76 Offensive Line: 83 Defensive Line: 84 Linebackers: 80 Defensive Backs: 79 Special Teams: 80 Electronic Gar Electronic Gam e Non thly Top Five college teams with stats and plays TRICKS Off. Sets: Ace-Slot, Ace-Spread, Ace Y-Trips, | Form-Normal, | Form Slot, | Form Twins, Shotgun- Spread (Flood: 4), Shotgun-Special, Shotgun Y- Trips, Strong-Twins (Counter Trap: 2). Off. Sets: Ace-Normal, Ace-Slot, | Form-Normal (Counter Lead: 3), | Form Twins, | Form Slot (WR Cross: 4), Shotgun-Normal, Shotgun- Spread, Shotgun-2B Slot, Shotgun-5 Wide. Offensive Sets: Ace-Normal, Ace-Slot, Ace-Spread, | Form-Normal, No Back, Shotgun-Spread, Shotgun-Trips (Deep Attack: 5), Shotgun Y- Trips, Strong-5 Wide (Assault: 6). Offensive Sets: Ace-Spread, Ace Y-Trips, | Form-Normal (Power Option: 7), Shotgun-Spread, Shotgun-Trips, Shotgun-2B Slot, Strong-Twins, Weak-Normal, Weak-Slot (Stretch: 8). Offensive Sets: Ace-Normal, Ace Y-Trips, | Form-Normal, | Form Slot, | Form Tight, Maryland | (HB Power SLam: 9), Power |, Shotgun-2B Slot (QB Draw Sweep: 10), Weak-Twins. t etetnan mr ter cag ys) of ar ae Ea a | MyYnAarnti = 168 =C¥(L2S2aiiers.com Qxpenu & { REPLAY = q £ : = Q 2 Beach Vaotleyial Let there be dark! _ . Need to inflict varying amounts of medieval pain in the Dark Campaign but haven’t finished the Light Campaign yet? Fear not, warrior maiden; just start a new game, enter your save game name, and when the Episode Selection screen appears (below), press X, Y, Y, X, X, Y, X, ¥. Booyakka! Morrowind Getting your fill, fast! Hopelessly outmatched in Hlormaren? Feel grim at the Ghost Gate? Sip the elixir of cheat-code goodness! While in the game, press B, use L or R to bring up the Stats menu (below), then select the entry to tweak. Full Health Restore! Select Heath, and press Black, White, Black, Black, Black. Hold A until full. Full Magicka Restore! Select Magicka, and press Black, White, White, Black, White. Hold A until full. Full Fatigue Restore! Select Fatigue, and press Black, Black, White, White, Black. Hold A until full. Ye Olde Words of Warning: Prithee be careful, oddling, for only one code can be active at a time. If ye make a mistake, starteth over. If ye changeth menus using L and R, ye cheate must be re- entered. Verily! Shocking revealing artwork exposed! There’s more chance of Will Smith being cool again than us seeing a bunch of codes for this game. But hold on... .. there are loads of hidden bits of artwork to nod ya head to: Step a: Finish the first four stages, unlock two CST (Combat Skills Training) levels (picture 4). Step 2: Play the CST levels for 35 pieces of art, available in the “Making of...” section. Complete CST “Bolt” with either Agent to unlock 4-6 artwork (2). Complete CST “Spread” with Agent Jay for 7-12 artwork. Complete CST “Plasma” with Agent Kay for 13-18 artwork. Complete CST “Charge” with either Agent for 19-24 artwork. Complete CST “Area Effect” with Agent Jay for 25-30 artwork. Complete CST “Homing” with Agent Kay for 31-35 artwork. : oe 2 MAR:N3 GF MMe | CLABRIFIE C22 Freekstyle Let the freeks off the leash. Masses of codes! ~ | teeming with code-based life. Here are the important ones. ma] As you’d expect from an EA Big boy, Freekstyle is simply There are loads of single codes for releasing each character’s bikes or costumes, but to hell with that—let’s get everything out in the open at once! Go to Options and enter codes at the (wait for it) “Enter Codes” screen. Every Bike: WHEELS Every Character: POPULATE Every Track: TRAKMEET (a) 1 7 Every Costume: YARDSALE (2) Continuous Stream of Crazy Fire from the Bike: FIRESALE Wacky slow-motion effect leading to swift bathroom visit thanks to vomit-inducing blurring and rain- bow colors: WICHKPRS (3) RT en Freekout Time On: ALLFREEK (4) Every Rider wears a helmet, whether they usually ride with headgear or not: HELMET Burning tire rubber: CARVEROK mam Legion: Legend of Excalibur Arthur the Knight Each video game has an avatar to lead haplessly into combat, to test out new equipment on, and to take on an epic journey from a fresh-faced hopeful to a grizzled veteran. Here’s how best to utilize the full-time hero of Legion: LOE (and part-time King of the Britons), Arthur. Basic Gameplay Arthur has three attacks: sword, a heavy attack and Dragon Summoning. Press X each time his sword flashes to create combo attacks. Use heavy attacks in close to push back crowding enemies. Dragon Summoning is by far the favored way of destroying large swarms of foes. Battle Strategy Make him the leader and have him charge the enemy. Combo attack one or two enemies or use Dragon Summoning (below) after wading into loads of foes. Use heavy attacks (below) prior to DS or when hitting fireproof troops. Use items that improve attack and defense. Knock foes back. If dying, back out of com- bat and seek a healer. HOW WILL YOU CARRY ON HIS LEGACY? LEE QUEST OF THE DRAGON we 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. TEENS Suggestive Themes UNIVERSAL . ——— . Ww UNIVERSALINTERACTIVE.COM RONLN CONTENT RATED BY ESRB INTERACTIVE Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon © 2002 Universal interactive, inc. Bruce Lee and the Bruce Lee likeness are trademarks and copyrights of Concord Moon, LLP. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, inc All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. Morrowind = Ruthless bling-blinging It’s a dirty, medieval war out there, and it’s your job to acquire as much cash as you can, as fast as possible. 650 Gold in 60 Seconds Once off the ship, get your registration, then head over to the bookshelf to the left of the fireplace (below). On it is a Limeware Platter worth 650 Gold. Grab it with A, then immediately press B and drop it. After a tongue- lashing from the guard, pick it up without penalty, and Sell it to buy your initial armor and weapons. PT aaa Ordinator orifice-ripping Once you get more experi- enced, head to the dark alleyways and canals of Vivec and slap down a lone Ordinator for his Ebony Mace (12000 G) and Helmet (3000 G). But only try it on if you’re strong enough. Holler! Holler! Distracting Human Players If you’re playing a round with two or more friends, as your chum takes a swing (below), press A to taunt and generally annoy them. increasing Attributes Bunker down for a spot of Tour action. After complet- ing this, attributes increase. New Challenge and Clubs Finish Skins or Match Play modes for clubs and trials. Crazy Taxi 3 Crazy X challenges driving you insane? Here are some tricks to heat ‘em! | Is riding in your jalopy getting sloppy? Well, we’re here to rectify that and prep you for the lunatic passenger-grabbing mayhem. Before you hit the streets, finish the minigames with a little help. 1-D: Crazy Tornado Get your fare there within 1:00. A gigantic twister is causing mad- dening mayhem, and the cars it tosses are the obstacles blocking you from your destination. Simply gun the motor and careen for- wards, weaving between the cars. Avoid moving too far left or right though, as there’s a cliff there; a collision could spell disaster. 1-G: Crazy UFOs Destroy all UFOs within 1:00. Use the Crazy Dash, followed by the Crazy Hop, to destroy all nine of the saucer-bobbing freaks. 1-}: Crazy Ramps Get your fare there within 1:00. Pe ae aot Great timing and steering are needed. Hit each ramp squarely, and Crazy Hop from the tip. The hardest stunt test in the game? Torn apart for your pleasure! The final challenge in Stuntman (aside from paying for the medication to stop the conniptions from rs Step a: Speed up, head left over the ramp, through the loop, tak- ing Token 1. Step 2: Swing 90 degrees right, handbrake through Token 2 and down to the ground, aiming at the billboard ramps. Step 3: Head through all three ramps, collecting Tokens 3, 4 and 5. Step 4: Aim for the inverted ramp, speed up it, and catch Token 6 in mid-air. Now crash. Step 5: Once the car stops cartwheeling, turn right, up and around the small 360 loop. Take Token 7. Now turn right. Step 6: Spin the car around to the right, around the wrecked bill- boards, to the triple loop, and speed around all three loops, taking Token 8. Step 7: Head out of the loops, spin 180 to the ramp next to the building, and speed up it. Catch 172 1-K: Crazy Logs Get your fare there within 0:35. Crazy Hop all of the logs as you watch them roll your way, and remember the different patterns. 2-C: Crazy Floor Get your fare there within 0:50. CV; Ss Just remember that blue patches move you right, and white move left, so adjust your steering. too-hard gameplay)? The third (and insane) Stunt Test course, of course. Here’s how to complete it. Token 9 in mid-air, shifting right before you leap. Land on the roof and race for Token 10 at the building end. Phew! "You want a non-stop action, bone crushing adrenaline rush? Look no further than FUNimation's latest DBZ movie! James McDonough - Wizard Magazine alt oe a » © RETURT ~ OF se OF | Ganler rer ee iy 2 , —S— ae 2 5 ie - : ry be aNp sie. AVAILABLE ON VHS & 2YP 3-1 www:-edragonbaliz.com BIGISHUBISHA, TOE! ANIMATION. ©1989 TOE! ANIMATION CO. igPD. Licensed by E@himatio >... sad Al) Riches Raserwsdl, TRICKS Defeating Cell Lay all the cards on the table! Cell uses any effects that are “If you declared Tokui-Waza,” even though he doesn’t declare it. He also receives multiple copies of cards that are restricted to one per deck! He’s so powerful that the only way to prevail is via a Survival Victory. Try an Orange, Black, Saiyan or Namekian-style deck. Also, try a primarily color- less deck, but declare a Tokui- Waza for any PUR bonus and the Mastery Card. Use any character; just plan the attack. Use Drill and Non-Combat Cards to boost strength. Give yourself power to absorb damage. Build solid defenses that block a series of attacks—not just one—and stop his Drill and Non-Combat cards. Note: |n the following card notes; “P” means “Personality,” “[-]” is “None,” “V” means “Villain,” “N” equals “Normal,” “PC” means Physical Combat,” “A” equals “Attack,” and “R” means “Red.” Power: Enengy attack doing 12 life cards of damage. Cell: Master #316 Saga: Cell, ID: 136, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 5, Power: 4, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P i ii t mccosg = 127 7 — euaall pee 4 ial Hatha val — = Ceci ice Kees right, into the corner! STEP 1: Approaching a left ner? Let off the gas and turn Dragon Ball Z: CCG ~.. Strategies on defeating Cell and mega-rare cards! Power: Enengy attack doing 9 He cards of damage. Cell: Destroyer #317 Saga: Cell, ID: 137, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 4, Power: 4, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P Power: Physical attack doing +4 power stages of Cell: Stage One #318 Saga: Cell, ID: 188, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 1, Power: 3, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P Power: Vuhen entering Combat, search your Life fii Cell: Stage Two #319 Saga: Cell, ID: 189, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 2, Power: 3, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P B cor- STEP 2: Just before you hit the wall, hit the gas again and con- tinue to turn into the corner. Electronic Gaming Monthly - Power: Physical attack doing 7 tifa cards of damage. Cell: Perfect #320 Saga: Cell, ID: 190, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 3, Power: 3, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P Power: Physical attack doing b. +5 power stages of =< Cell: P Warrior #321 Saga: Cell, ID: 200, Rarity: 7- Mega-rare, Type: P, Symbol: [-], Level: 3, Power: 3, Alignment: V, PT: N, Color: [-], BG Color: P Red Overbeorng Attack ae ~ PRE, Red Over-Atk #322 Saga: GBA, ID: 1, Rarity: 2- Promo, Type: PC, Symbol: A, Level: o, Power: o, Alignment: [-], PT: [-], Color: R, BG Color: R Ritige Racer Series—the insane Reverse Powerslide Glitch! Every month, we scour through our classic gaming collection for the oddest, eldritch and down- right most giggle-worthy cheats we can find. This month, we show you bizarre physics-defying cornering that works in Ridge Racer, RR Revolution and RRV. But not Rage Racer. STEP 3: By some sort of voodoo magic, your car spins around the corner without hitting it! Dragon Ball Z: Goku Frying Frieza! | As usual, fly or run ahead, charge your Kamehameha Wave (using Solar Flare to maximize your charge time), and strike with the Wave! Frieza’s speed makes it diffi- cult to fully charge your Wave, but keep at it, even when he transforms into his three forms. When you beat form 3, it all goes crazy! Planet Namek breaks apart, Goku goes Super Saiyan, and Frieza transforms again! Exchange Ki-based attacks until Frieza fizzles; remember to stay away from corners! TRICKY... Jstee's Y/Y a es The game? Stuntman. The level? Stunt Test 1. The plan? Beat our completion time of 39:60, after bagging the 10 tokens. Trounced our hardcore score? Prove it, driving fiend, with a photo! San Diego June 21, 26-30 ‘Long E Beach June THE S Dragons, Warriors and Elves invade cities across the Country. Chicago July 24-28 OHIO Cleveland July 31 - Ave 4 ‘paemoueteuen ic. MINNESOTA 7) % ety Minneapolis August 7-9 Sa PENNSYLVANIA | eee tlh Experience the magic of the extraordinary game. Meet and greet other players in your town as well as SOE’s own EQ experts who can | provide insight to the game. Get a free copy of the game and register to win other great prizes. ofe The 2002 EQ Invasion will cover more than 10,000 miles of the U.S. this summer. ofe The tour kicks-off in San Diego, CA on June 21st and ends on/around September 14th in Boston, MA. ofe he centerpiece of the 2002 EQ Invasion Tour is a modified v-nose cargo trailer. The EQ trailer is equipped with 13 Sony VAIO computers with Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 13 Altec Lansing sound systems, and 1 world of Norrath. Boston Sextonnnnr 5-7 Cambridge September 8-10 Medford September 12-14 of Events are subject to change. ca GAME GROUP We've given you_everything you Wanted in.print magazines. FINAL WORD What's Next for Scary Games? OO ORION IOI OID DR HIRED EORL POLOPOROMR OO IO LIOR ON ORO R Shoe: With all this talk about Resident Evil, The House of the Dead, Onimusha 2 and Eternal Darkness, | can’t help but feel the end is almost upon us. Assuming the end doesn’t come anytime soon, where do you see this “dead” genre heading? Personally, l’d love to see a modern-day update to that classic arcade game, Splatterhouse. That action SPLATTERHOUSE title wasn’t about storyline, exploration or puzzle solving—it was about pure and simple blood ‘n’ guts. It was disgusting and | want more of it. In 3D. Please. Milk: Damn straight on the Splatterhouse tip. | love that game. TurboGrafx-16 reprazent! If someone wants to make a game (with zombies) that breaks the mold, maybe they ought to put us in the shoes of the zombies themselves, where you try to take down a bunch of do-gooders or terrorize a town. So what if you get smoked playing as a zombie? You just take control of the next best zombie and wash, rinse, repeat. The controls would have to “not suck” though. I’m talking balls-out run-the-civilians-down- and-eat-their-heads kind of action. Of course that could just be the booze talking. Capcom, are you listening? Crispin: Well, next year’s Resident Evil Online for the PS2 is supposed to do just that—put the player in the role of a zombie. Like, you start out as a do- gooder who’s battling undead, but you turn into a zombie yourself if you get bit. | don’t know if the game will actually let you eat any heads or other body parts. It’s a nice thought, though. | always did want to eat Claire Redfield. RESIDENT EVIL Jon: Hey, back to Splatterhouse...| wrote some fan fiction for that game in seventh grade and turned it in for a writing contest. No joke. Didn’t win though, ONIMUSHA2 #® so that game must not have been that great. | should have written about Silent Hill (if it were around then), the scariest game of all time. Ghost babies with knives, undead nurses stabbing at you from the dark...don't tell me you guys were more scared by the goddam pink blobby zombies in Splatterhouse. That dude with the chainsaw hands was pretty sweet, though. I’ll give you that. Shane: |’m also in support of a Splatterhouse revival—just don't let Namco cram it full of stripping mini-games (also see Dead to Rights). As far as the Ssurvival-horror genre goes, my personal favorite is Silent Hill. The first two games have made serious Strides in creating amazing atmosphere and interesting stories, yet neither one has been the absolute success that I’d hoped for. However, the early buzz on Silent Hill 3 is promising, so I’ll be watching that one. SILENT HILL 3 Che: Splatterhouse was a great game, purely for the fact that you played a psychopath with a hockey mask. All you kids out there, screw this Jason X crap—watch the old cheesy Friday the 13th movies. But back to what Shoe’s original question, | really can’t wait for Resident Evil 4, where Chris Redfield had better be flying a big fat Harrier jet into the heart of Umbrella. It’s about time. Oh, and it’s also time the series went full 3D, a la Devil May Cry...I'm getting tired of these “human tank” controls. FINE -~ OOM eamerc com Ret eae ERR ELE Dati ks Z _» ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA INC. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer .......... Robert F. Calla Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer . Bart W. Catal Senior Executive Vice President ............0.e005 Tom McGr (Publishing Operations) Executive Vice President ........ css sceneeccuse Peter Lo Executive Vice President ............0.00055, Stephen D. Mo\ Executive Vice President and Editorial Director ....Michael J. Mi (Editor-in-Chief, PC Magazine) Senior Vice President .............1........ Jasmine Alexan (Technology and Sales Operations) Senior Vice President (Circulation) ...............4. Charles M Senior Vice President (Game Group) ................. Dale Str Senior Vice President (Internet) ..............000. Jason Yo! Vice President (Corporate Sales) ................000, Ken Be Vice President oo... cicicces i G. Barry Gol (Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Internet Life) Vice President (Integrated Media) .................. Charles Vice President (Corporate Communications) ....... Aimee D. Lev Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) ............ Eric Lundg Vice President (Technology) ..........cesseeeeess Bill Machre Vice President (Controller) ..........cc cc ceuee sees David Mul Vice President (Human Resources) ..............05. Beth Rep Vice President (General Counsel) ............ Carolyn Schurr Le Vice President... . 2... eee eeeas Sloan Seym (Publishing Director, Baseline) Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline) ....Tom Steinert-Threlk Vice President (Internet Audience Development) ... Stephen Sut Vice President... ee. Stephen Ve (Publisher, C10 Insight) Executive Vice President and General Manager ..... Mark Van Na eTesting Labs Senior Director, Manufacturing............0ceceuees Carlos Lt Director, international ..... 000. .ecsssceseseeae Christin Law: IF YOU BOUGHT ALL THESE GAMES, IT WOULD COST ABOUT ©) WHY NOT TRY THEM ALL FIRST IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE FOR LESS THAN ©)” 4: ~ga EXCLUSIVE! PS2 DEMO DVD INSIDE! ~ Psa DVDY 3 6 ‘ “a — aim | £ : . Seen OCTOBER BEGINS! * RED FACTION 2, DARK CLOUD 2 © ‘708 2, THE SIMS. THE GETAWAY AGMMAT EXACTLY IS IT | ALL ABOUT? PlayStation PLUS VIDEO CLIPS OF: MAT HOFFMAN 2, DRAGON'S LAIR, KINGDOM HEARTS, TEST DRIVE AUGUST ISSUE ON SALE NOW: STUNTMAN, THE MARK OF KRI AND WAY OF THE SAMURAI! REVIEWED, THE GETAWAY, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, SILENT HILL 3, STREET HOOPS, MADDEN NFL 2003, TENCHU Ill: WRATH OF HEAVEN, RETURN TO CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN PREVIEWED, SLY COOPER EXPOSED, NEWS ABOUT FINAL FANTASY X, E3 AND GTA: VICE CITY NEXT MONTH October 2002 (issue #159) On sale Sept. 3 PLAY ONLINE Your complete guide to online gaming Are you itching to get online with your PS2, but all that techno mumbo-jumbo is giving you cold feet? Next issue, EGM gives you a compre- hensive guide to all things online: everything from reviews of the PS2 online launch games to an easy Step-by-step tutorial on getting you set up for action. Plus, we take a closer look at Xbox’s online plans. Trust us when we say that Reviewed Next Month: e Super Mario Sunshine (GC) e Onimusha 2: samurai’s Destiny (PS2) e Kingdom Hearts (PS2) e Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (P$2) e SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs (PS2) e TimeSplitiers 2 (PS2, GC, Xbox) e Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA) Microsoft isn’t going to take this one lying down. Take a moment now and look at our whop- ping list of review games next month—holy &%#$! It’s gonna be a month to remember and an issue you won’t want to miss. Finally, if you liked the Seanbaby article this month, you’re going to love our behind-the-scenes look at how good intentions turn into bad games! Previewed Next Month: e Steel Battalion (Xbox) e Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (AID Crest neat Se e Red Faction 2 (PS2) ‘All editorial content is subject to change. COMPUTER PlayStation MAGAZINE WORLD SOCOM: U.S. cont 2007 any seus | SOUL 2002 Mame = Sent. 2002 UE. OPM has the ulti- Demo Disc mate survival guide ec f GameNOW is serving LO 2003 Playables for the PS2’s first Sactenen up some hardcore ‘Gs Unreal Tournament online game. It’s strategy next month, , 2003 is here, and the a . e " ’ e TimeSplitters 2 everything you need rr NFL with gameplay tips and CGW staff offers s e X-Men: to know to mix it up ” secrets for Dragon Ball ; with the toughest e Super Ghouls ’n a g hands-on view after Next Dimension = badasses in the Ghosts Z, Yu-Gi-Oh! and Neverwinter Nights hours of office multiplay. Plus, get an © Hot Shots Golf 3 “0'ld! Also featured: e Castlevania: HOD Eternal Darkness. Reviews _ X-Men: Next Generation, . oo That’s right, guides for © WarCraft Ill up-close look into ¢ The Mark Of Kf | Turok: Evolution and three of the summer’s arbra Tournament’s huge e Frequency Kingdom Hearts. hottest games all in * Grant Theft mod community. Also, e Medal of one book. Also, check Auto Itt the three biggest Honor: out their Mario Sun- e Soldier Of games of the year Frontline a (265 shine review. Is it Fortune Il reviewed: i ww “- AO Pee ; better than Mario 64? i Videos F ==> = Mario Sunshine ce etter than Mario 64 e Neverwinter Neverwinter Nights, e Need For , waa Nights GTA3 and WarCraft III. Speed: Hot Previews e Disney's Stitch: Medieval Experiment 626 e Warlords IV e Turok: Evolution e Sly Cooper : : e Rise Of Nations Sa ae : Eternal Darkness —_—— e City Of Heroes Unreal Tournament 2K3 po GET A PS2 or XBOX for as low as Or GET CASH or TRADE for GAMES & DVDS! www.HO-RC.com HO/RC Entertainment 1822 Monroe Avenue tel: 585-244-8321 Rochester, NY 14618 LOUK FOR THESE SPECIAL ISSUES ON NEWS UIANDS Advertiser Index _KEMCO US. A. Inc er bs 57, 127 www.ebgames.com 134a-b, 144-145 dt nest acien cain | Acclaim Entertainment ... 129,131 Koei .............. 101, 102-103 | www.acclaim.com www.koeigames.com Activision cipeee 14-15, 54-55; 94-95 Kraft ee ee 99 | www.activision.com www.cornnuts.com fo 83 Majesco Sales Inc. .......... 155 | www.bandai.com www.majescosales.com BOSE DY osécdssinns econ tive 113 Microsoft Corporation. 12-13, 63, 123 | www.bestbuy.com www.xbox.com | Blockbuster Inc. ............. 37 Midway Home Entertainment . 6-7, | www.blockbuster.com www.midway.com 19, 91, 41, 64-65 Capcom Ps a eal Dh a 16-17, 153, 163 Namco Ceeeveseeeeecenseese 84-85 | www.capcom.com pica niaas ri EOE saciy ns sand congrats 81 Natsume ..............+.5. 443 | www.fruitopia.com www.natsume.com _ CompUSA 's GameFixx ....... 43 Nike inc .............-e eee 4-5 | http://gamefix.compusa.com www.nike-presto.com | Crave Entertainment ........ 157 SoBe Mr. Green ............. 89 | www.cravegames.com sich hak ute EINES os oxccnemawseacumes 53 Phantagram Interactive ... 69,70 | www.dcshoes.com www.phantamcrash.com | ESPN Summer X Games ...... 61 Sega of America . .8-9, 66-67, 169, | www.expn.com www.sega.com 182-183, 184 ee 93 Simon & Schuster Interactive ..54 www.eastpak.com www.ssinteractive.com | Ecko Unlimited .......... 11, 147 Sony Computer Entertainment of | www.ecko.com AMOHCE 0.00 nce 2-3, 38a-d, 87 | Eidos Interactive ......... 10a-C, ineeneinin pee since rams Take 2 Interactive ........ 23, 151 | aaa = ; www.rockstargames.com | Salter n oni a seamen 26-33 Take 2 Interactive ........... 141 I abe www.rockstargames.com : Electronics Boutique 76-77, 134 135, TDK Mediactive ..... 105, 107, 109 | Electronics Boutique/EBWorld .11 pe ebgames os / 7 TAG S56 rcee: 46-47, 96-97, 149 oe é td } www.thg.com accep arvasergenia Education .119 US Army Command Headquarters . cil ii " “ incense tes www.goarmy.com 25 hs a ‘++ 473 Vivendi Universal Games Inc.-PPG : www.vugames.com 78-79, 171 i Game Music Online ......... 133 Vivendi Universal Games Inc.- ee Universal Interactive . .. .20-21, 59 | Green Acres Associates Inc. ..181 www.universalinteractive.com | www.ho-rc.com Wizards of the Coast ........ 115 | Intec Inc. 6... ee eee ee ee ees 167. www.wizards.com | www.inteclink.com SLED : GAMIDEG PlayStation DOTY Answers to crossword puzzle on p. 52 RELL Le Tp rh 1A Sega is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sega, the Sega logo, and Sega GT are either reqistered trademarks or trac ’ I or its affiliates. © 2002 WOW ENTERTAINMENT INC / SE CORPORATION. www.sega.com U.S. Patent Nos. 5,269,687 and 5,354,202 Ail manufacturers, cars, names, brands, and associated imagery featured in this game are trademarks and/or copyrighted materials « FORD GT and FORD GT90 are registered trademarks owned and licensed by Ford Motor Company. Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks icon is a trademark of the Association. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in-the U.S. and/or other osoft. All Rights Reserved in ii ieeediedia Pit . e Realistic generated from original manufacturers' specifications ¢ Over 100 licensed sports cars from yesterday, today, and tomorrow : e GT 2002 Mode - Win races, events, and licenses ¢ Quick Battle - see who has built the best car e Customize your car, garage, and soundtrack EVERYONE sit WWW \| 1-800 segasports.com Take speed. It moves as fast as an amped-up Brian Urlacher. sevoreeeesesceg:sgemtne ty ae a Sar GUNN aT SP-C FeSO rent ese camcam: It’s football to the power of 2K3. Now go rattle some cages. ® | BATTLE IT OUT ON Cj =m | THESE PLATFORMS PlayStation.c RINTENDO |