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ABOUT THE MOVIE DIRECTORS

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ae May 2003 $4.99/S6.50 Canada

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we've EVEf seen. The textures, the models, the tracks, and the effects are absolutely amazing.

Fun, fast, and gorgeous looking.”

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52 ; : “Don't hesitate to buy this: ~ amazing game. f

Electronic Gaming Monthly ~ Editor’s Choice Gold Award § L

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Use the -

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loft an a the Gameict i love are registered trademarks of Gameloft 3A.

WHEN YOU’RE THIS DEADLY, ONE PLATFORM CAN’T HOLD YOU.

i kkk ok

NOwW REDEFINED FOR ALL NEXT-GENERATION CONSOLES.

KKKK

Redeiined with all-new cinematics and exclusive content. Thermal goggles, prototype guns, and the ability to use your enemies as human shields are just a few of the weapons and tactics in your arsenal. You are Sam Fisher. You are a Splinter Cell.

& Tom Clancy's

Ubi Soft

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CONTENTS

116 100

132 132

138

126 136

134 136 134 120 32 134 78 96

88 130 70 124

1080° Aslan

Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction All-Star Baseball 2004 Amplitude

Armored Core: Silent Line Army Men: Sarge’s War

Big Mutha Truckers

Black 9

Clock Tower 3

Color Quest

Def Jam: Vendetta

Deus Ex 2: The Invisible War Dynasty Warriors 4

Enter the Matrix

Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick F-Zero

Final Fantasy X-2

Furious Karting

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee

Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age Halo 2

Hulk, The

Ikaruga

Inuyasha

Jak 2

Kakuto Chojin

Lost Kingdoms II

MLB SlugFest 20-04

MVP Baseball 2003

NBA Street Vol. 2

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Primal

Red Faction Il

Rent-A-Hero No. 1

Run Like Hell

Sims, The

Soldier of Fortune Il: Double Helix

Sonic Advance 2

Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut

Starsky & Hutch

State of Emergency

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness

UFC Tapout 2 Unlimited Saga

Wakeboarding Unleashed Featuring Shaun Murray

Wario World WWE Crush Hour X2: Wolverine’s Revenge

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

May 2003, Issue 166

Game Directory

Departments —

sqooconeceatocanoneTcOnERONNOI HOON

PE OODROD ROLLA ROALD

12 20 Press Start 32

You’ve been pleading for more Halo 2 information, and now we deliver. Also read our news section to find out why Microsoft’s Xbox fighter, Kakuto Chojin, was pulled from store shelves.

=) Gossip 06

lM page 100

Tumble Down the Rabbit Hole

Previews 68

Not only do we start to unravel the mystery of Yuna’s journey in Final Fantasy X-2 (PS2)—we also dish out the first details on the PS2 sequel to Jak and Daxter. Plus, read about Xbox sci-fi shooter Black 9, X2: Wolverine’s Revenge, Deus Ex 2, and a remake of the Dreamcast game Sonic Adventure for GameCube.

112

Check out how Splinter Cell holds up on PS2, and if Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are good enough to make you wanna “Catch ’em all.” We also evaluate ZOE2, NBA Street Vol. 2, Clock Tower 3, and Dynasty Warriors 4.

Let’s face facts. Games based on popular movie franchises usually fall way short of the standards set by their film counterparts. We were given an exclusive backstage pass to see how Enter the Matrix is trying to change all that. Take your pills and come join us.

@ page 32

Definitely No Angel

Ms. Croft is taking her sweet ol’ time transitioning to life on the Ps2. Our hands-on preview checks out how Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness is shaping up.

Tricks 144

Get the lowdown on all the Dark Cloud 2 supporting characters, and find out how to unlock the secret cars in The Getaway.

J ®@ The Final Word

V Which Def Jam: Vendetta moves were toned down because they were considered too raunchy? Don’t you wanna Find out on page 44.

» Read everything you need to know about this year’s fine crop of baseball games before making your purchase on

page 50.

know...

148

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Printed in the U.S.A.

Audit Bureau of Circulations

ES RRR ER AIRS HG

$50 videogame. A $10 movie ticket. What

happens when you combine the two? You

get a wallet that’s $60 lighter, that’s what. But nowadays, you also get a totally new experi- ence—a sum-is-greater-than-its-parts sorta thing.

Take The Matrix. If you see the next two the- atrical releases without paying any attention to the videogame Enter the Matrix, you’re gonna blow right past a big chunk of the cyberthriller mythos. “Big deal,” you say. “I’m gonna miss out on some movie characters shooting up enemies in a game with a half-baked plot line.” Well, smartypants, read our cover story to see how the directors of the movies intentionally crafted the Matrix story line to weave through the flicks, the upcoming Animatrix DVD, and the videogame.

Later this summer, you’ll get to see The Hulk on the big screen. You’ll also get to play The Hulk videogame. Why will you want to do both? | don’t want to spoil anything here, but those who watch the movie very carefully will get to do things in the game that others won’t.

Now that videogames are a $10 billion-a-year industry, you'll see a lot of arranged marriages between Hollywood films and their interactive counterparts. And why not? It’s fantastic for mar- keting (you don’t have to try very hard to sella Lord of the Rings videogame) and half the cre- ative work is done for you (though that’s not really a good thing...).

‘SOORNROROOIROORRODOOHEOEEHOSICES HOOD OONOONDOONORIODORIOOOHIONIESOAOSIAIHONIDODOSNINORSDIODOROIOIOSRO NOSE NIKAADOONIOIROSRSOOOSEONDESODSSOSHOAOSSERHONERIHOOIROOIRORSHOADHOSOOI SosneneeeanoonnnanconsnoanonnncnsaaKkonNSee

Contributors

Greg Sewart

Before the INS dragged longtime EGM Previews Editor Greg Sewart back to his Canadian homeland, he reviewed one more game while hiding in our crawl space.

Jon Dudiak

The guy behind our Splinter Cell review and

crossword could work anywhere, but he

... chose to run a factory so your children and q children’s children will have paper tubes.

Jon Gibson

In no way related to Neuromancer scribe William Gibson, Jon is a very tall, very young freelancer who wrote a very short story on game commercials in Press Start.

Casey Loe

Who better to review Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for us than the industry vet who wrote its strategy guide? Hey you, Pikachu, _ you are this man’s little yellow bitch.

seanhaby

Would it warm your heart to Know that this humor writer was born with only one lung? It’s not true. But he does review some very special games in Rest of the Crap (pg. 140).

RAs

By Dan “Shoe” Hsu —

My only hope is that developers have out- grown the movie-to-game funk of the ’80s and 90S. Remember the crap that was Home Alone, Dragonheart, and Batman & Robin? (You proba- bly don’t, as playing these would’ve permanently damaged areas of your brain.) Now, movie games aren’t all terrific, but they’re certainly get- ting better, and the more Hollywood pays atten- tion to them, the more resources developers will get to create a great experience.

Speaking of damaged brains, I’d like to say good-bye to one of the hardest working editors in the biz: Greg Sewart. Sadly, he really did have to go back to Canada. We'll miss you, Greg.

We have a fresh crew in place, though. Please say hello to Joe “ex-GameSpot” Fielder, Demian “ex-/ncite” Linn, Bryan “ex-GameWEEK and should be spelling his name ‘Brian’” Intihar, Paul “ex- Daily Radar” Byrnes, and Shawn “ex-nothing par- ticularly exciting but he was a teacher” Elliott. None of these guys is Canadian, but they’re still damned talented.

On another note, if there’s ever a time when you need to trust me, it’s now. MAKE SURE you check out the next issue (EGM #167). Not only will we have one of the coolest exclusives ever, but this will be our totally new, totally redesigned relaunch issue. What should you expect to see? Come back in 30 days to find out.

— Shoe, Editor-in-Chief

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Todd Zuniga, Chris Baker, Sam Kennedy, and John Davison can review a PS2 game from 300 paces. Funny: That’s exactly how far they sit from our side of the office.

GameNOW

Guest reviewers Carrie Shepherd, Ethan Einhorn, Phil Theobald, and Miguel Lopez put together a magazine with more heart, wit, and Yu-Gi-Oh! coverage than anybody.

Like extra cash? No? Then avoid EB stores, where you can subscribe to GMR for $10

and get 10 percent off used games. It’s the home of reviewer James “Milkman” Mielke.

Microsoft says the Xbox is potent enough i to create its own mag. Well, they’re right, ",, but reviewers Evan Shamoon and Greg

Computer Gaming World

The Ancients say that inside every console you'll find a “computer.” So we appease the old gods by letting Computer Gaming World’s Scooter Nguyen review Golden Sun.

OFC WalTinge Vi

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Orlando are there to push the Start button..

ConRROREIOREERORROREREROREEODICORIOKIORIOOI SOOO IIIRIONIAAO IODA ORIIIIRR SRI OIIRRIIIGIE DONOR OOSHRIH KARRI ROSH ERRORS ERODED DORORSOIRERRIENSSISERRSOORONIIOG

ELECTRONIC Number 166

May 2003

GAMING ——} MONTHLY

Editor-in-Chief

Dan “Shoe” Hsu * shoe@ziffdavis.com Executive Editor

Mark MacDonald * mark _macdonald@ziffdavis.com Managing Editor

Jennifer Tsao * jennifer_tsao@ziffdavis,com Features Editor

Crispin Boyer ¢ crispin_boyer@ziffdavis.com News Editor

Chris “Cj” Johnston © chris_johnston@ziffdavis.com Previews Editor

joe Fielder * joe fielder@ziffdavis.com Reviews Editor

Shane Bettenhausen ¢ shane _bettenhausen@ziffdavis.com Editor-at-Large

Demian Linn * demian_linn@ziffdavis.com Associate Editor/Production Designer

Paul Byrnes © paul_byrnes@ziffdavis.com Associate Editor

Bryan Intihar * bryan_intihar@ziffdavis.com Associate Editor

Shawn Elliott * shawn_elliott@ziffdavis.com Tricks Editor

David Hodgson ° tricks@ziffdavis.com

Art Director

Monique Martinez * monique_martinez@ziffdavis.com Associate Art Director

Stefan Belavy * stefan_belavy@ziffdavis.com

Copy Chief

Kristen Salvatore ¢ kristen_salvatore@ziffdavis.com Copy Editors

Greg Ford © greg ford@ziffdavis.com

Tom “T-bone” Edwards * tom_edwards@ziffdavis.com

Contributors Scott Steinberg, Seanbaby, Jonathan Dudlak, Jon Gibson, Scooter Nguyen, James Mielke, Sam Kennedy, Chris Baker, Todd Zuniga, John Davison, Miguel Lopez, Greg Orlando, Ethan Einhorn, Carrie Shepherd, Casey Loe, Charles Ernst, Norm Scott, Cyril Wochok, Greg Sewart

International Editor John Ricciardi Japanese Correspondent

Yutaka Ohbuchi

Manufacturing Director Carlos Lugo Senior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Art Production Manager Michele Kellogg-Manousos Production Manager Monica Brent Assistant Production Manager Teresa Newson : ss winners ae icc a cd Vice President/Game Group ; Dale Strang Editorial Director John Davison Creative Director Simon Cox Business Director Cathy Bendoff Sentor Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen Group Circulation Director Tracy Schultz Single-Copy Sales Director Bob Kerekes Internet and Partnership Marketing Director Chris Wilkes Advertising Inquiries Contact: Game Group 101 2nd Street, 8th floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 Telephone: 415-547-8783

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER: WEBSITE:

PLEASE SEND ALL SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS TO:

DO NOT CONTACT THE EDITORS RE: SUB. PROBLEMS

ALAN IN LI AIR HII RIOR RRO NOSE COgpNRDERIERENRERODEOI

AORN ANON OHNO OHHIT

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Group Publisher

Lee Uniacke

415-357-4910 * lee_uniacke@ziffdavis.com Group Associate Publisher

Stan Taigen

415-357-4915 * stan_taigen@ziffdavis.com

KEY ACCOUNTS WEST Regional Sales Manager Marci Yamaguchi 415-357-4944 * marci_yamaguchi@ziffdavis.com Account Executive Amy Mishra 415-547-8780 * amy_mishra@ziffdavis.com BAY AREA District Sates Representative Mary Gray 415-547-8782 * mary_gray@ziffdavis.com Account Executive Aaron Gallion 415-357-4925 * aaron_gallion@ziffdavis.com MIDWEST Regional Sales Manager Marc Callison 630-810-4095 * marc _callison@ziffdavis.com Account Executive Candace Droz 415.357-4920 * candace _droz@ziffdavis.com T

Regional Sales Manager lan Sinclair 203-255-5795 ® ian_sinclair@ziffdavis.com Account Executive Mary Letson 415-357-5226 * mary_letson@ziffdavis.co SOUTHWEST . District Sales Manager Julie Knapp 310-379-4313 * julie _knapp@ziffdavis.com Account Executive Emily Olman 415-547-8781 * emily_olman@ziffdavis.com : is | Online Sales : Bill Young * 415-547-8453 Marketing Director Rey Ledda 415-547-8775 © rey_ledda@ziffdavis.com Marketing Coordinator Wayne Shiu 415-547-8248 ¢ wayne_shiu@ziffdavis.com Senior Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde 415-357-4930 * tipler_ubbelohde@ziffdavis.com Senior Sales Assistant Kristeen Laut 415-547-8778 * kristeen_laut@ziffdavis.com Sales Assistant e Amanda Nelson 415-547-8783 * amanda_nelson@ziffdavis.com ; Founder Steve Harris : ee :

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‘New 3D Engine and character control take full advantage of the latest technology.

Stealth and hand-to-hand attacks help Ns remove anyone in your path.

The gritty urban underbelly of Europe offers whole new environments.

A bloody crime scene. A ritual killing. A shocking

pursuit of good becomes the desperate flight fromevil. Ant | if the dark forces

arrayed against her believe she's incapable of the ultima about Player/character Kurtis Trent brings his we _ own distinct gameplay mechanics. to learn a painful lesson: Payback's a bitch. __ Blood . PC Violence — CD aft mn a O

3 |

© 2003 Core Design Limited. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider and Core are registered trademarks of Core Design Ltd. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, the Tomb Raider logo and the Core Design logo are trademarks of Core Design Ltd. Eidos Interactive an

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Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

Computer

Group of Companies. Alll rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony

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|

OUTRAGED LETTER OF THE MONTH

Congratulations, Dameon Willich, if that is your real name. You win a copy of either NBA Street Vol. 2 (PS2) or Splinter Cell (PS2), our game of the month co-hon- orees. Or you could probably have the old copy of the D&D Monster Manual that's been lying around the office.

HANDBAGS AT DAWN

Regarding the “Knights of the Kitchen Table” box in EGM #163 [pg. 90]—nor-

ceivable that someone reading the article could be a prospective client, | can’t let Chris Baker’s statements

freaks in armor that attends Renaissance Faires,” and “guys who teach themselves to fight in their par- ents’ basements,” for example) pass without comment. While I’m glad Mr. Baker is of the opinion that we “at least know what they’re doing,” the blurb was at best condescending, and

at worst, actively damaging to our pro-

fessional reputation. Mr. Baker’s com- ments are uncalled for, and reflect badly on the level of professionalism at your magazine.

I’m glad Mr. Baker got a “good

laugh” out of our website. It is intend-

ed to entertain the casual browser as well as inform prospective clients. If he had investigated further, he might have discovered that The Seattle Knights is a real theater troupe that trains professional, certified actor- combatants and stunt people, many of whom have performed stunt work

in films, television, video, motion cap-

mally I’d shrug it off, but since it’s con-

(calling the Seattle Knights a “band of

ture, and live theater. We spent years learning to safely perform our craft, and we get paid to do it. None of us taught ourselves to do this in our par- ents’ basements. I’d like to see a retraction/apology in your next letters or editorial page. Dameon Willich Director, Seattle Knights ironwolfe@seattleknights.com

Sounds like someone’s historically accurate banded mail is chafing in all the wrong places. Former Previews Editor Greg Sewart added many of those comments to Chris Baker’s text, which is kind of funny when you think about it, seeing as how Sewart’s now Safely out of harm’s way, up in Canada. Have fun storming the castle!

i. _2 ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Callahan

Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer Bart W, Catalane

Senior Executive Vice President (Publishing Operations) Tom McGrade

Executive Vice President Stephen D. Moylan

Executive Vice President and Editorial Director Michael |. Miller

Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary Gregory Barton

Senior Vice President (Technology and Sales Operations) Jasmine Alexander

Senior Vice President (Finance) Derek Irwin

Senior Vice President (Circulation) Charies Mast

Senior Vice President (Publishing Director, Baseline) Sloan Seymour

Senior Vice President (Game Group) Dale Strang

Senior Vice President (Internet) jason Young

Vice President (Corporate Sales) Ken Beach

Vice President (Publisher, PC Magazine) Tim Castelli

Vice President (integrated Media) Charles Lee

Vice President (Corporate Communications) Aimee D. Levine

Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Internet) jim Louderback

Mark MacDonald: Ef Hater

I’ve had faith in your magazine for a long time! I’ve read each issue front to back! | even created a Dan Hsu shrine out of extra EGM issues | had lying around! But when | saw the horrible, biased, and revolting score for Zelda by that jerk Mark MacDonald, | vomited! A 9.5? How much money did Microsoft and Sony shove into your wallet, you biased, horrible, and revolting score- giver! Ur teh making me angrie!!1!

You should be fired...for your name alone! | mean c’mon, “MacDonald”? Ha! And another thing, you only gave the review five pages! Five? It deserves at least ten, or fifteen!

| will now burn every single EGM |

own, and I’ll never look at another one again until you apologize for every good score you gave to Xbox and PS2! You all make me sick! Jon—An ex-EGM fan MetroidHunter89@aol.com

We’ve received, oh, let’s say one or two e-mails about Mark’s Zelda score. Mark responds to all the fan- boys, with signature restraint:

Dear a******5, In the interests of space, allow me to point out just three of the countless holes in your “argument”:

1) When we write our reviews, we don’t consider what award a game might ultimately get (or not get) — no one even knows the other

Electronic Gaming Monthly - 20 - www.e

you guys some- thing | noticed

-— Zero. |f| am not

mistaken, Billy’s tatloosays “MAKE LOVE.” _

just thought you

should know. Chad Lewis

Good work,

Chad, that’s some top-quali- ty sleuthing. _ Willitbea = Trivial Pursuit question in 10 years? No.

Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) Eric Lundquist

Vice President (Editorial Development) Bill Machrone

Vice President (Controller) David Mullen

Vice President (Human Resources) Beth Repeta

Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline) Tom Steinert-Threlkeld

Vice President (Internet Audience Development)

Stephen Sutton

Vice President (Publisher, C/O Insight) Stephen Veith

Senior Director, Manufacturing Carlos Lugo

Director, International Christin Lawson

INTERNET ACCESS NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE. Must be U.S. | sident at least 9 years old at time of participation. Minors under 13 must register off-line and have a parent/legal guardian provide written permis to parti ate Find Auction Points Code inside specially marked _ packages of Bagel Bites: Items for auction will be of varying values and subject to varying minimum Point bids. The sale, trading, transfer, assignment, combining, or barter of any Bagel Bites Auction Points Code packa teri or codes is prohibited and they cannot be purchased or redeemed for cash or credit. Subject to Official Rules found at www.bagelbites.com on about 12/01/02. Void where prohibited. Auction ends 4/30/03 9:00 p.m. ET. Sponsor: HJ Heinz Company, 357 Sixth Ave, Pittsburg Stati Y and the “PS” Family logo are registered trade-

©2002 H.J. Heinz | mpany, L P. Bagel Bites is a registered trademark.

marks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All games featured herein are trademarked and copyrighted properties of their respective publishers and/or licensors. Sony is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation r of points, MANY WILL BID, FEW WILL WIN.

ae

s!

or

?

essons i

ed boxes of |

Collect the poi

:

:

Bid to Win

ck out

3) Go to hell.

reviewers’ scores until they settle on their own.

2) We received your bitchy letters mid-February. The game comes out mid-March. You haven’t even played it yet. You have no idea if my score is too low, too high, or right on the money. (And by the way, it’s right on the money.)

You can write

EGM Letters

101 2nd Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 E-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com

Please note: We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for clarity or space purposes. If you don’t want your name, city/state, e-mail address, or boxer/brief preference printed, better

mention that somewhere.

And note this, too: We also reserve the right not to edit your letters (hate mail) if leaving them in their original form will make you look silly, due to egregious grammar and spelling mistakes.

maaaaaieaatieaaaia tea daaeeaadadaaaaeaiadaadaeadaiaaaaasabbasdaanaaanecmnaneannaetenessnneneionaienssennsennenntessontesztazziecaenesenetseseneseneanecietetcarcccrrcereemeese neater TE

My boyfriend is a voice in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and | want everyone to look for him and run him over, beat him with a nightstick, or whatever method you prefer. He’s one of the blond guys that hang around the hotel. He has no shirt on and his swimming trunks are red. So, how

i think The Bouncer (PS2) was the best game ever! You should give it a higher score. Rouse

No.

Some thought it was too obvious, a mere shadow of last year’s Sonic-and-Tails-in-Super-Smash-Bros. jolly jape. Some threatened to burn all future issues and cancel their subscriptions. Some lied and claimed they actually did unlock the topless mode in Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball, even though we made the whole thing up. Yep,

it’s that time of year again.

Liked it

I'll admit it: I’m a big fan of your April Fool’s pranks, but this year’s joke was very disap- pointing. | mean, who in the world would actually believe that The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker only got a 9.5 from one of the reviewers? Next year, maybe you should try a fake nude code or something.

Steve Wittkamp

Very nice job on the recent issue and the joke in the back. First, you had the world believing that Sonic and Tails were in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and now you get the preteen world hot and bothered with a nude code for Xtreme Beach Boobies...er, | mean Volleyball. Within minutes of reading it | visited an online message board—all over the page, | saw top- ics of rage and frustration: “OMFG | CANT GET TEH NUDE CODE TO WORK!s!4!!1” | did laugh. Bo Hunter

Cry Babies If that DOA: XBV topless code is this year’s April Fool’s joke, | am going to hunt you all down, tie you to a chair, and force you to watch me cry. For now, though, I’m off to have some private time with the ladies.

Mitchiner Underhill

| went out to buy DOA: XBV solely because of topless mode. You bastards lied. | followed the directions but received no due recom-

pense (e.g., topless women). Now | am stuck with a lackluster game with great jiggle effects. | demand that you repay the expense of the aforementioned game and compensate me for the five hours of my life spent trying to unlock the aforementioned mode.

Jason Schweitzer

How dare you! How could you? That was a low blow! OK, it was - the best April Fool’s joke ever, but if you do anything like that again IL...well, just look at the pic- = ture. Catch my drift, punks? Joshua Carcamo

General Pervs You know how in DOA: XBV there is the Topless mode? Well, can you please send me some screenshots of the game like that just without the stars covering all the “good stuff”?

Name withheld

| tried the topless cheat for DOA: XBV several times, following the directions in EGM #165 very closely, but no dice. Finally, | gave up and decided to play some Super Smash Bros. Melee, and to my surprise, Sonic and Tails jumped out topless! It was very traumatizing. Michael Barker

MHC GaaifiiS WIOTILALY - 22 - WWWLCSMmMad ARES Eee

OMANI AION ONIN ONE IONNIINIIS

about beating him up? | would really appreciate it. Thanks. vdeogamegrl@aol.com

| was just reading a recent issue of EGM, and it strikes me odd that people say “the gaming industry has matured” just because a bunch of games where you hurt things and they squirt blood have come out.

How is that mature exactly? GTA games are as far from maturity as they come. Things are so parodied that they become unreal and even car- toonish! Zelda: The Wind Waker is “not grown up enough” for many gamers, and yet it’s very mature. The game is so serious that the develop- ers want you to feel the things Link feels. So please, I’d prefer if the words “gaming has matured” do not cross my eyes again.

DeathBuu@aol.com

Spotted Disc

| dropped by my local Electronics Boutique today to pick up a couple of new games. | specifically asked for new copies of both (no one seems to under- stand that DVDs are much more sensi- tive to dirt and scratches than CDs). However, when | got home | noticed that one of them was in some kind of ghetto shrink-wrap, and was missing the security seal stickers along the sides. The disc was in obviously used shape, with little splotches and dings on the media side of the DVD.

| headed back to EB and called them on it, and they exchanged the disc fora new one. | thought the whole thing was a bit odd, so | did some checking online when | got home. Apparently, most major retail chains do this—selling what they consider “good condition” used games as if they were new.

Ben Lincoln

EB and other retailers will reshrink- wrap returned games and sell them as new, which isn’t so bad, really. That’s probably what happened. Any retailer selling used games as new, though, is cruisin’ for a bruisin’ from the suit- wearing thugs at the Better Business Bureau. They'll mess ya up, spread- sheet style!

AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN.

“WE GUARANTEE YOU'VE NEVER IMPORTANT MILESTONE | aamcccuTA IKE IT ‘THE EVOLUTION, OF GAMING...”

THE PLAYSTATION®2 GREATEST HIT IS NOW COMING TO THE XBOX™ WITH ALL NEW MULTIPLAYER MODES

TOPPLE THE CORPORATION OR PREPARE FOR CHAOS AS HUNDREDS GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH UP TO 3 FRIENDS CAUSE COMPLETE MAYHEM OF PEOPLE FILL THE SCREEN - ON ALL NEW MULTIPLAYER MODES EACH CITIZEN REACTS DIFFERENTLY TO EVENTS EXCLUSIVE TO THE XBOX™

Blood and Gore Y Violence PlayStation.e VIS

State of Emergency game © 2003 VIS Entertainment Pic. State of Emergency and the State of Emergency logo are trademarks of VIS Entertainment Plc. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, XBox and the XBox logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the US and / or other countries.

“MANUFACTURER'S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE FOR BOTH XBOX™ AND PLAYSTATION® GREATEST HITS

LETTERS

WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?

MISSING AN ISSUE? SUBSCRIPTION DELAYED? DODGY TICKER? Don’t tell us, we’ve got games to play, words to write, and windows to stare out. Tell our subscription people—they wanna know! E-mail: subhelp@egmmag.com

Phone toll-free: (800) 779-1174

Website: http://service.egmmag.com

Snail mail: P.O. Box 55722; Boulder, CO 80322-5722

Getting to Know: Brett isaacoff

You should designate a little section in each issue for readers to send in pic- tures and a little bio of themselves. I’ll Start ya off. Age: 15 Likes: Dir en Grey [a Japanese goth band—Google it] Dislikes: A\\ the hype Kingdom Hearts got. It’s not that great of a game! Interesting Fact: | play bagpipes.

Brett Isaacoff

OK, enjoy it now because we proba- bly aren’t going to do this again. The picture was just too funny. And the Dir en Grey part. And the bagpipes.

| admire how you sought to support Dan Hsu’s editorial in EGM #165 witha real-life example. Despite an inter- view with “celebri- ty gamer” Vin Diesel and his appearance on the front cover,

q f 3

Got some ideas about how the next-generation PlayStation,

_ GameCube, or Xbox might look? We bet you do. Put pen to paper (or crayon, if you must—or Adobe Illustrator, best-case sce- nario) and send your prototype sketches by April 16, 2003 to:

EGM/Next-gen Systems 101 2nd Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105

Or e-mail files to egm@ziff- davis.com, subject: Next-gen Systems. The best ones will be published! That’s it. That’s the prize. Stop reading this already.

later in the issue, you said his movie was “horrible,” gave the game version of xXx a Tobie Award for “crapulence,” and likened Vin Diesel’s acting skills to those of a chair. There is no doubt left that the reviewers at EGM have com- plete journalistic freedom; | am glad my favorite magazine is not a sellout. | just won’t expect many celebrity gamer interviews anytime soon, unless it’s Elijah Wood or Keanu Reeves.

David Binkley

| love the cross-

word puzzles | in

would like to

point out a glar-

The uc for 35- down ys “Take _

- clock is Madden 2003” and the answer is

_ “knee.” What?!

Yeah...could you do us a solid? Don’t tell Vin’s people about that one. And

Take a knee to turn to page 51 for some Elijah Wood stop the clock? action. By the way, Keanu Reeves When a quarter- kinda has that chair thing happen- back takes a