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Sack up, gentlemen. The first downhil 
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first. That means bombing down 
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kick and even hurl water bottles. 
The prize? The latest high-tech bike 
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© 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, the EA SPORTS Io “It's in the Game" are tre larks oF registe rademarks of Electro Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Lights teserved. The “Officially Licensed Collegiale Products” label is 
the exclusive propery of The Collegiate Licensing Company. The “Col oduct” label is the property of the Independent Labeling Group. All names, logos, team icons, and m ciated with the NCAA, universities, bowls and conferences are the 
exclusive properties of the respective institu ional Collegiate Al AA Football logo is registered trademark of the NCAA lc {CAA oottall USA, Inc “PlySlalo’ and the “PS Family ogo are 








fegistered trademarks of Sony Computer Ente 10 Corporation in the U.S. and/or othe 
Gamecube logo ate trademarks of Nintendo. All other ra jemars at the proper 


* PlayStation 2 only. Internet connection is requir 


arks of Micros 
nic Arts™ brand, 





countries and are used under license from Microsoft. TM, ®, and the Nintendo 








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GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2001 Nintendo. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. 
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contents 


issue 169 - august 2003 


LETTERS 


16 


You write in and we reply—it’s just 
that simple 


PRESS START 


The latest news, interviews, 
features, and gaming tidbits 


24 


38 


42 


44 


48 


50 


52 


54 


62 


62 


64 


SYSTEM REPORT CARD 

No platform is safe from the dreaded 
EGM grading pen. 

PRO SKATER GOES UNDERGROUND 
Activision’s next Tony Hawk puts you 
into the game, literally 

GRUDGE MATCH 

Superman vs. Batman, but it’s not 
what you think 

METAL GEAR SOLID 3 REVEALED 
Solid Snake infiltrates the PS2 jungle 
SONY’S NEXT SYSTEMS 

PSP, PSX, but no PS3 

HALO 2 UPDATE 

We dissect the latest demo 

BRAINY GAMERS 

Read these seven books and you'll 
be a gaming smarty-pants 

INSTANT EXPERT 

The ins and outs of game emulation 
AFTERTHOUGHTS 

Wolfenstein’s developers explain why 
the medic isn’t just a backup bitch 
EGM INTERNATIONAL 

Is that a mosquito bite or do you get 
that happy from readin’ our mag? 
CELEBRITY INTERVIEW 

Angelina Jolie chats about the Tomb 
Raider movie sequel 

DESERT ISLAND GAMES 

MGS creator Hideo Kojima tells us his 
favorite games 

DOWNLOAD 

Sam Fisher’s next target takes this 
splinter cell online 

PC GAMING UPDATE 

We can’t get enough of Half-Life 2 
THE RUMOR MILL 

Grand Theft Auto for Xbox? That's 
what Q-mann is hearin’ 

THE HOT 5 

Asnake eater knocks the Master 
Chief outta the top spot 

COMING SOON 

The games that'll keep you outta the 
sun this summer 


METAL GEAR 
SOLID 3 

ala Nt) 
Solid Snake’s 
return to the PS2 
already has us 
droolin’ 











OUR OPINIONATED GUIDE 
TO THE GAMES YOU'LL BE 
PLAYING NEXT 


72 We're never afraid to voice our 
opinions, and that's one of the 
reasons why you love (or hate) us. 
Read initial impressions of over 50 
games we played during our trip 
to the gaming bonanza known as 
the Electronic Entertainment Expo 

(E3), including Gran Turismo 4, 

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, 

Resident Evil: Outbreak, Metal 

Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, Lord 

of the Rings: Return of the King, 

and Spider-Man 2. 


























REVIEW CREW 


The only mag that offers three 
reviews for each game 








109 Brute Force 
111 Ape Escape 2 

111 Big Mutha Truckers 

112 Smash Cars 

112 Soldier of Fortune Il: Double Helix 
113 K-1 World Grand Prix 

113 Silent Line: Armored Core 

114 Enter the Matrix 

116 Freestyle Metal X 

116 Midnight Club 1! 

118 NCAA Football 2004 

118 Rent A Hero No. 1 

119 Midtown Madness 3 


119 Return to Castle Wolfenstein: 
Operation Resurrection 


120 The Hulk (PS2, Xbox, GC) 
121 Downhill Domination 
121 Hitman 2 

122 Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter 
122 Speed Kings 

123 The Incredible Hulk (GBA) 


TRICKS OF THE TRADE 


Game hints, tips, and cheats 



































126 Brute Force 

127 Enter the Matrix 

127 GameShark vs. Action Replay: 
Exclusive codes! 

128 Sonic Adventure DX 

129 NBA Street Vol. 2 


GAME OVER 


Crud, crosswords, and comics 


130 REST OF THE CRAP 
Seanbaby takes a trip to La-La land 


131 CROSSWORD 
134 HSU & CHAN 






Master Chief is a 44 | 
total badass 









|AMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 













COVER STORY: 


SONIC HEROES 


Sega’s speed freak is in such good shape his 
next adventure will take place on three 
systems: PlayStation 2, Xbox, 
and GameCube. We slow down 
the blue hedgehog just enough 
to deliver all-new info and 
screens of Sonic Heroes 


Our longtime readers are longtime readers for a reason: know how your favorite console compares 

because we're brutally honest. Sure, lots of magazines like _ to the others. You want journalists who're 

to brag that they “tell it like it is,” but hey, I’m telling it like —_willing to risk accusations of bias and 

© it is when | tell you that...uh, we tell it like it is. favoritism (not to mention the wrath of 
, Case in point: We just came back from the annual countless rabid fanboys) so they can tell you about the things 

Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), a videogame trade you want—no, need—to know. . 

show where companies show off their latest goods to That’s where we come in. In this issue, we grade how Sony, Microsoft, and 
journalists, analysts, retailers, and kids who lie their way in. Usually, the game Nintendo fared at the show (see pg. 24—sorry guys, some of you didn’t score so 
press is supposed to provide you with middle-of-the-road coverage that hot). We let you know how.their demos played, even if they’re early in 
represents all products equally and fairly. Pfft. That’s not really what you want development (see pg. 72—I can’t wait to field the angry calls from game 
now, is it? You want to know what was good and what was bad. You want to publishers on this one). We...well, tell it like it is. Can you dig it? 


All content copyright © 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. Reproduction, modification, or transmission, in whole or in part, by any means, without written permission from Ziff Davis Media Inc. is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com « 13 





Editor-in-Chief Dan “Shoe” Hsu 
150 twitchy fingers Executive Editor Mark MacDonald 


Managing Editor Jennifer Tsao 

Features Editor Crispin Boyer 

News Editor Chris “CJ” Johnston 

Reviews Editor Shane Bettenhausen 

Previews Editor Joe Fielder 

Eaorat-Large Demian Linn 

ociate Editor/Production Designer Paul Byrnes 
Asoate Edtr Bryan Intihar 

Associate Editor Shawn Elliott 








Tricks Editor David Hodgson 
international Editor John Ricciardi 
Japanese Correspondent Yutaka Ohbuchi 


DESIGN 
At Director Monique Martinez 
Associate Art Director Stefan Belavy 


CONTRIBUTORS 

Chris Baker, Chris “no this is not the same guy” Baker, Ethan 
Einhorn, Charles Ernst, Aaron Lauer, Casey Loe, Greg Orlando, 
Patrick Mauro, James Mielke, Andrew Pfister, Mike Reisel, 
Norm Scott, Seanbaby, Rey Serrano, Nik Schulz, Shawn Smith, 
Mat Vincent, Eugene Wang, Nick Walkiand, Todd Zuniga 


Founder Steve Harris 








DAN “SHO! MARK MACDONALD JENNIFER TSAO CRISPIN BOYER CHRIS “CJ” 
Editor-in-Chief Executive Editor Managing Editor Features Editor | | JOHNSTON Senior Vice President Dale Strang 
© Shoe's brain-cell ® After recent le It was busine f@ The Matrix flic News Editor Editorial Director John Davison 
k eR i Zi Bt ol aineitD Creative Director Simon Cox 

count always takes a hassles, Mark isn’t usual for Jennifer at plot pl 1s Reviewing Rent Busmess Director Cathy Bendoft 
dive when the Elec- taking any chances this year's E3 3h he racket gé Hero No. 1 this mo ney ned 
tronic Entertainment with his pic this yed tons headache “tt inspired young C CJ to Copy Chief Kristen Salvatore 
Expo (E3) trade shi month (IMAGE COUR- : Copy Editors Tom Edwards, Greg Ford, Maritza Refuerzo 
rolls around. Sleep TESY OF KEVIN KRAY- endorsement ch f PRODUCTION Manager Anne Marie Miguel 
deprivation, booze, NAK, AGE 12, ALL and go! 0 St, Sa Production Manager Monica Brent 
noise, conversations RIGHTS RESERVED). t a Francisco, CA s it you?! 4 as sete vied hese eee Neviso0) 3 
with CAL Watton: iB Now Playing: m boot 1 Now Playin oduction Manager Michele Kellogg-Manousos 
™ Now Playing: Soul Phantasy Star Online Wario CIRCULATION 

Now Playing: Sou! jantasy Star Online or to Wario Group Circulation Director Tracy Schultz 
Calibur Il, Rebel Strike (Xbox), SOCOM Madi tar 01 Single Copy Sales {reer Boe Keres 

V ve s: G tion, Senior Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen 

Hs Fave Genres: re Fave ae i peat testics SUEO Ruy internet and Partnership Marketing Dir. Chris Wilkes 
verythi venture, g tl Adventure, enture e SALES AND MARKETING 





Group Publisher Lee Uniacke 
415-357-4910, fax: 415-547-8777 
Group Associate Publisher Stan Taigen 
415-357-4915, tax: 415-547-8777 
Bay Area 

District Sales Representative Ma 
415-547-8782, fax: 415-547-87 
Account Executive Aaron Gallion 














415-357-4925, fax: 415-547-8777 

Southwest 

Regional Sales Manager Julie Knapp 
‘SHANE BETTENHAUSEN JOE FIELDER DEMIAN LINN PAUL BYRNES BRYAN INTIHAR 310-379-4313, fax: 310-379-4312 
Reviews Editor Previews Editor Editor-at-Large Associate Editor | | Associate Editor | Seer cone recive Emly Oman 
™ Shane hopes that After reviewing i Something funny is True story: Once Midwest 

it hia! tt to oo he whil ing The Regional Sales Manager Marc Callison 

the Final Fantasy X! three shooters this ppo ed to go here | le P Pai T 630-810. 4098, fax ‘S30. 810-4099 
beta test does for him month and writing obably referenci ae were si ix: Reloaded twice | Account Executive Candace Droz _ 
what EverQuest hands-on reports for E3 and some games in foe fax: 415-547-8777 
couldn't. Well, the EQ several more, Joe id not. Ar in Regional Sales Manager lan Sinclair 


203-255-5795, fax: 203-255-4560 


PS2 game at least— keeps wandering 














4 Account Executive Mary Letson 
the action figures are around saying, tl el Al 415-357-5226, fax: 415-547-8777 

spectacular. “Charlton Heston is io i . Key enous eal rere F 
‘ nal Sales Manager a 

Now Playing: Final my precedent. al O 0 eee rer el Jers ppl maguchi 
Fantasy XI, Virtua © Now Playing: Ze! Account Execuive Amy Mishra 
Fighter 4 Evo Wind Waker (stil!) = | | Ga or Xbox (sti 45 57-8780, a 416-847-8777 

™ Fave Genres: @ Fave Genres: Action, ti Online Sales Bill Young 

415-547-8453, fax: 415-547-8777 


Action, RPG, Fighting Shooters, Adventure 
Marketing Director Rey Ledda 415-547-8775 
Marketing Coordinator Wayne Shiu 415-547-8248 
Senior Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde 415-357-4930 
Senior Sales Assistant Kristeen Laut 415-547-8778 
Sales Assistant Amanda Nelson 415-547-8783 
z tant Alison Rubino 415-547-8779 











Chairman & CEO 
Robert F. Callahan 
Chief Operating Officer & CFO 




















Bart W. Caltalane 
SHAWN ELLIOTT JON DUDLAK GREG FORD JOHN RICCIARDI GREG SEWART Senior Executive Vice President, Publishing Operations 
i i i i i i | V iting Reviev Tom McGrade 

Associate Editor Contributing Reviewer Sontrutng Reviewer Contributing Revie viewer Contributing F Renewal Executive Vice President & Editorial Director 
‘1 Shawn jerryrigged ® Jon’ s Michael J. Miller 
the ergonomically | | nights worryi dh sport at thi s g Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary 

5 N-G conanid B 2 Gregory Barton 
ingenious N-Gage to Konami pI 5 Vice Pr 6 

N64 job v senior Vice President 

call for air support in er N64 job witht ti | Jasmine Alexander (Technology & Sales Operations) 
Castle Wolfenstein. new Castlevania. The tohotoh erek Irwin (Finance) 
“it’s a bit bigger than | ided stress has their revenge on Ghantes Was. (Chretiation) 
ea g ra & a Sloan Seymour (Enterprise Group) 
what dad used in forced his fast-gray- And he thought it was ' corner, Dale Strang (Game Group) 
WWII, but...” ig hair to grow like fun and gami , Jason Young (Internet) 
& Now Playing: Sou! the mighty oak. w Ple N in Playing: Vice Presidents 

Il te ow Play’ Ken Beach (Corporate Sales) 
Calibur Il, Retui umn to © Now Playing: : Tim Castelli (PC Magazine Group) 
Castle Wolfens' Ikaruga Burno E Charles Lee (Integrated Media) 
1 Fave Genres: Fave Genres: Action, Gen ti Fave Ger Aimee D. Levine (Corporate Communications) 

ae ‘ a E : , Jim Louderback (Editor-in-Chief, Internet) 

Fighting, Shooters ighting, Racing Sport F 4 Eric Lundquist (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) 


Bill Machrone (Editorial Development) 
Ellen Pearlman (Editor-in-Chief, C/O Insighd 
Beth Repeta (Human Resource: 
Tom Steinert-Threlkeld (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline) 
the Stephen Sutton (Internet Audience Development) 

Elda Vale (Research & Market Intelligence) 
Stephen Veith (Publisher, C10 Insight) 








Senior Director, Manufacturing 
Carlos Lugo 

Director, International 

Christin Lawson 


(Contact anyone on this masthead via e-mail using 
firstname_lastname@zifdavis.com) 








1-800-779-1174 (U.S. and Canada only) 
http://service.egmmag.com 


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14 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 








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© 2003 MICROCABIN CORP,/@ 2003 KOEI Co. Ltd, All right d. "PlayStation" and: 





* Family logo are registered jarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 





d 
The ratings icon isa trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 


fanting, raving, and a gal named Angelica Bridges 


Knight Rider 

In response to Pedro “Hasselhoff” Perez’s 
wish for a (good) Knight Rider game 
{Letters, EGM #167], I've decided to share 
a bit of my top-secret project sooner than 
planned. My goal is to legally obtain the 
Knight Rider license, extract all the 
enjoyable bits from the TV show, and 
squeeze them onto an 8K ROM cartridge 
for the Atari 2600 VCS. Knight Rider 2600 
(working title) will be a mix of stunt driving, 
investigation, stealth tactics, fisticuffs, 
resource management, and puzzle solving, 
all balanced with a countdown clock and a 
bit of mood music. 

The license will be difficult to secure, 
and mass production is highly unlikely 
(both are expensive and require lawyers), 
but not impossible. | can personally 
produce at least 10 copies and hand 
them out as gifts. The EGM editors, Kevin 
“Silent Bob” Smith, and Pedro Perez will 
be recognized. | hope to feature the 
finished product at the 2006 Classic 
Gaming Expo 


of the month 








—dJames C. Snyder 
hardwork007@hotmail.com  *¢ 


James, we dedicate this classic KITT 
quote in your honor: “Michael, at our 


” 





present speed of 310 mph, the odds of 
our survival are...my odds calculator 
just malfunctioned! Michael, can’t we 
slow down?” 

And with that, any mention of David 


Hasselhoff or Knight Rider is banned 
from the EGM Letters section for at least 
three months. 


He’s have it 

In Overheard, EGM #168, you quote Sega's 
Yu Suzuki saying that the story for 
Shenmue Iilis already written, but no 
decision has been made to actually develop 
the game. Tell me he’s joking. How can he 
not make the final chapter of one of the 
great epics in videogames? He can’t just 
leave us hanging, can he? If, in the end, he 
finds that a third game isn’t marketable, 
could | at least get my hands on that third 


More Tales of 
Pokédeath 

As promised, here’s part 
two of reader Leo Hussey’s 
morbid exploration of 
Pokémon mortality. 
Wondering why Rattata, 
Cubone, Meowth, and 
Sudowoodo aren’t in 
Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire? 
Now you know. It’s 
because they're, like, 
totally dead. 


16 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


story? | can’t go to my grave without 
finding out what happens to Ryo. 
—Jesse Gruber 


Sure, Yu Suzuki would be more than 
happy to show you the story for 
Shenmue Ill—just shoot him an e-mail 
at yu_suzuki69@hotmail.com. Tell him 
EGM said it was OK. 


You are Sony 

Recently on the local news, the idiot 
newscasters, whose videogame experience 
probably doesn’t extend beyond the 
hallowed halls of ancient NES gaming, 





actually touched on something worth 
discussing. They aired a story about a 
class-action lawsuit against Sony, which 
alleges that the DVD-player component in 


CONTACT EGM 

Because we really want to know why 
you wake up screaming in the middle 
of the night. It can’t be healthy. 
EGM@ziffdavis.com is your best bet, 
but this also works: 


EGM Letters 
101 2nd Street, 8th Floor 
San Francisco, CA 94105 


MISSING AN ISSUE? 

Mailman stole your issue again? Damn 
him and his handlebar moustache! But 
our subscription people will save the day: 


E-mail: subhelp@egmmag.com 
Website: http://service.egmmag.com 
Phone toll-free: (800) 779-1174 


Old-fashioned wi 0. Box 55722; 
Boulder, CO 80322-5722 


REPRINTS? 

When you absolutely, positively have to 
have that one article about that thing we 
did that one month, call (800) 217-7874 
and ask for Bruno. 





= 
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° 
t 
° 
r) 
a 
z 
w 
a 
a 
< 
= 


|-3772 


Visit www.esrb.org or 


call 1-800-771 
for Rating Information. 


ARR) S SOFIE IY Cur OARS DEN RS SIGSIE Sis 


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NL Uuoy ple abo} 


AATING PENDING 





by Full Sail Student 
Brian Germain 


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Real World Education 


Game Design 
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www.fullsail.com 


3300 University Boulevard 
Winter Park, FL 32792 


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


letters 


the PlayStation 2 does not work as 
advertised. This struck a chord with 
me, because a few months ago, after 
| finally played a movie on my PS2 
(| had been playing games on it for 
well over a year), it suddenly broke 
down. But | thought all PS2 games 
were on DVD discs anyway...so what 
the heck’s going on? 

—Dante Johnston 


Many, but not all, PS2 games are on 
DVD discs. Whether or not playing 
DVD movies is more likely to bring 
on the dreaded “Disk Read Error,” 
though, we really don’t know. 
There is indeed a lawsuit pending 
against Sony, however; for more 
info, check www.sheller.com/ 
sonyPS2classaction.html. 


Here comes 

the neighborhood 

| recently went back and played the 
original Grand Theft Auto for PS1 
and saw something interesting: The 
three locales you run riot in are 
Liberty City, Vice City, and...San 


sputtering outrage 


Jim Edmonds fan 

| am writing this letter because of the way PlayStation re 

you guys dissed Jim Edmonds [EGM 

#166, page 50] as being the so-called 

“lamest cover since cover athletes came 

about.” Edmonds is a tremendous player; 

he is probably the best overall 

centerfielder in baseball today. He 

combines his great fielding ability with 

a big bat for the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Without him, they wouldn’t be the 

same. | am sure that there were 

“worse” cover athletes than Jim 

Edmonds. Let me think of a cover 

athlete that is worse...well, | can’t 

think of anyone right now, but anyway.... Please give the man some 

respect—he deserves it for all his hard work on the diamond. 
—Scott Lee 


So you can’t think of a worse cover athlete than Jim Edmonds either? 
What's the problem here again? 


Just relax, dude, 
Are you idiots on crack or something? | was reading your “Old Link versus 
Young Link” Grudge Match in EGM #167 [page 34], and | have to say that 
your information is screwed: First of all, old Link is stronger, faster, and 
more experienced, and he can kick some serious s*** out of any and all 
who oppose him. Young Link is slow, gets pushed around quite easily, and 
takes a hell of a lot of effort to waste a weak enemy. In the Nintendo 64 
Zelda games Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, young Link is a 
child with no skill whatsoever, while old Link has more gadgets and 
gizmos than your favored young Link does. Next time you idiots set up a 
match against older and younger versions of a game character, at least try 
to do a little research. 

—Steven Fischer 


We had originally planned to refute your arguments using logic and 
reason, but then we realized our folly. You probably think Batman could 
beat up Superman (see Grudge Match this issue) because he’s got a 
utility belt and Batarangs. Congratulations! You’re a lunatic. 


Andreas. Could this be the setting of 
the next Grand Theft Auto game? 
—CKnud90634@aol.com 


No. How much mayhem could you 
cause in sleepy San Andreas, CA, 
population 2,115? We have it on 
good authority that the next GTA 
game will be set in Las Vegas, and 
while the name hasn't been 
decided, how could it not be called 
Sin City? 


Grand theft...skateboard? 

| made a skateboard in art class that 

was inspired by Grand Theft Auto. 

Thought you guys might like to see it. 
—Stephen De Medicis 


Wait, Eraserhead was in GTA3? 


War widow 

| just watched the Halo 2 trailer 
Microsoft showed at E3 and | cried not 
once, but twice: once when the trailer 
Started, and again when the Brute 
jumped onto the Warthog and started 
bashing in the heads of the marines 
riding with Master Chief. | have never 
seen something so beautiful in my 
entire life. Words can hardly describe 
how | feel about the release of this 
game. All | can say is how truly glad | 
am that | preordered in August of 


= 
| just wanted to point out that in 
EGM #168, page 123, there was 
an error in the Dragon Ball Z 
review. Chris Johnston referred 
to Piccolo as a Saiyan warrior. He 
is not a Saiyan—Piccolo is a 
Namek. Goku, Trunks, Gohan, and 
Vegeta are the Saiyans. Or 
maybe it wasn’t an error and you 
just wanted to see how many 
DBZ fans you could get to write 
angry, threatening letters. | know 
how you like to stir things up. 
—James Grey 


While we do indeed like to stir 
things up, News Editor and 
resident Dragon Ball expert 
Chris Johnston was shocked by 
his grievous faux pas. He’s now 
rereading the entire Dragon Ball 
canon (seriously, he is), and if 
that doesn’t cleanse his 
conscience, he can always pen 
some fan fiction. Preferably of 
the erotic variety. 





Pee eet 


COMING'SOON=RESERVEVOURICOPY NOW 


hunterthereckoning.com/wayward 


Blood and Gore 





URIVERSAL 
3 ONCSTERLE 


Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward for the PlayStation @2 computer entertainment system © 2003 Vivendi Universal. Games, Inc. All rights reserved, AtlasTech Game Engine trademark 2000 High Voltage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed 
for Vivendi Universal Games, Inc., by High Voltage Software, Inc., under license trom White Wolf Publishing, Inc. White Wolf and Hunter: The Reckoning are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. High Voltage and the High Voltage logo 
are registered trademarks of High Voltage Software, Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark ot the Interactive Digital Software Association. Vivendi Universal Games and the Vivendi Universal Games Logo are trademarks of 
Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. ‘PlayStation’ and the “PS* Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. 


=| letters 







trained killer? 
lone gunman? 
victim of fate? 


back away slowly 


| found your reviews of Metroid Prime and 
Fusion so agreeable that they gave me 
the final push to go buy a 
GameCube. | got hooked on Metroid; 
some free time and a big box of 
K’NEX later, | had created these 
Samus arms, a nice piece of game- 
related mechanics/cosplay (or 
whatever you want to call it), 
complete with missile launcher 
and all five beams. Anyway, | 
just wanted to show you my 
creation and tell you that 
1 | you've got one remarkable 
game-devoted magazine 


goin’ on. 
oS 





—Joshua Thom 


. 
yy That's, 


Do not make eye contact. Do not 
make eye contact! 


2002. | encourage everyone to 

download the trailer and cry as | did. | 

guarantee you will be forever changed. 
—Greg McGinniss 


We're as excited about Halo 2as 
the next guy, but jeez, pull yourself 
together, soldier! You other sissies 
check page 44 for more on the tear- 
jerking Halo 2 trailer. 


More plushy love 
Many thanks for telling me where | 
can find Animal Crossing plush toys 


(Letters, FGM #167]. | ordered Gulliver. 
Once a week, | pretend he washes 
ashore in my bedroom and gives me a 
tribal mask. 

lared Thorbahn 


As long as that’s all he does. 


Smells like...crap 

| have what is probably the greatest 
idea ever conceived in the field of 
publishing: smell-o-zine. Think of the 
possibilities if you could sniff your 
favorite videogame all-stars (did 


someone say Xtreme Beach 
Volleyball?). Each editor would have 
his/her own distinct smell so you 
would know who wrote the piece you 
just read. Now, if you'll excuse me, the 
corner awaits my weeping. 

‘Martin Gerardo 


That is quite possibly the worst idea 
in the history of ideas. 


OH 
Noooo! 
In the Coming 
Soon section 
of EGM #167 
[page 62], 
you men- 
tioned the 
old Atari 
2600 game 
ET. and said 
there had also been a videogame 
about the Kool-Aid Man. | researched 
it, and is this what you're talking 
about? | see it’s from the era when he 
didn’t sport pants. 
—WMatt Boblet 


Mega anti-kudos to Matt Boblet for 
tracking down that damn Kool-Aid 
Man game. It burns! Get it away! 


Oops! 

In the June 2003 issue of EGM, 
we published a photograph of 
Ron Jeremy, unaware that Foul 
Magazine claimed to own the 
Copyright. We are sorry for the 
unauthorized publication. 


learn more at word on the street 





DID ENTER THE MATRIX LIVE UP (OR DOWN) TO THE MATRIX: RELOADED? 





| It's a pretty cool step in terms 
of looking at how the different 
forms of entertainment we dig 
today can be combined in the 
future, way beyond the early 
attempts (back in the mid- 
*90s) to mix live movies with 
games. Although the game 
wasn’t perfect, the Wachowski 
brothers deserve some kudos 
for really linking the stories together in a creative 
way instead of just rehashing the movie. 
—Andy Crosby 





The visual effects of Matrix: Reloaded 
were so off da hook, they were off da 
hinges, and in some parts, Enter the 
Matrix for the consoles held their own 
as well. The game starts off slow in 
some areas but does get better, and 
the overall connectivity to the movie is interesting 
and worthy. Had Reloaded come out in November, 
thus giving Enter the Matrix several more months of 
development time, the project would have most 
likely turned out considerably better. 
—Paul Gale 
Eagle Scout 








Enter the Matrix: No boring speeches, 
no overly philosophical dialogue, no 
useless sweaty Zion dance scene, no 
over-the-top special effects, and no 
spectacular-but-makes-no-logical- 
sense freeway chase. But, overall, I'd say it was a 
huge disappointment compared to the movie. 
—Eugene Wright 











| think Enter the Matrix is on 
par with Keanu Reeves’ 
acting talent. 

—JJ Sape 


Oh, burned! Bet you never 
thought we’d run that pic, eh 
JJ? That'll learn ya. 











@ If you'd like to participate in Word on the Street, check our message boards at www.egmmag.com. 





A woman 

As a female gamer, | do not agree 
with some of what your “Gaming 
Beauty,” Angelica Bridges, had to 
say [EGM #168, page 51]. Not all of 
us female gamers are turned on 
only by Mario Sunshine and Ms. 
Pac-Man—some of us women like 
a good game with blood and guts 
(not to mention competition). While | 
was raised to be a respectable 
young gal, chopping heads off 
Mortal Kombat-style is an excellent 
release, and | don’t consider it un- 
ladylike. In fact, I'd say stripping off 


Playboy model Angelica 
Bridges gets all dressed up for 
a hot and heavy Mario 
Sunshine session. 


St gp 


all your clothes to pose ina 
magazine is far less classy. 

While your gaming beauty is 
certainly very beautiful, | would not 
say that she epitomizes all girl 
gamers. In fact, she’s everything 
most of us—the few true ones 
there are—strive not to be. 

—Dawn Hirsch 


We hear you, Dawn, and you’re not 
the only reader who wrote in 
questioning Angelica 
Bridges as an ideal 





role model for girl gamers—not 
that we ever claimed she was. 
Then again, there was the even 
larger contingent that laminated 
said page and affixed it to the 
bedroom ceiling. That’s why we 
just can’t stop ourselves from 
running another Angelica picture. 
Sorry! 3h 












trusted ally? 


enemy agent? 


cold-blooded killer? 


learn more at 


whoisXIII.com 


3 O 


YOUR NUMQ@DER IS UP 


winestb.org or 
all 1-800-771-3772 
(or Rating Information, 


©2003 Ubi Soft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved 
Ubi Soft and the Ubi Soft logo are trademarks of Ubi Soft 
Entertainment in the U. r other countries. 
‘Van Hamme - Vance/Dargaud Benelux 
(DARGAUD-LOMBARD S.A.) 2000 DARGAUD. 








om = we ARE SWIFT, “SILENT, ‘AND INVISIBLE, 


WE with NEVER SURRENDER. 


WE FIGHT, SO pskage PEACE MAY REIGN. 





SQUAD-BASED BATTLEFIELD COMBAT 


With a new single-player campaign, 12 new multiplayer maps, and downloadable missions, the 
TOTAL BATTLEFIELD EXPERIENCE just got a whole lot steamier. In the wake of Castro's 
death, the Ghosts battle a drug-funded warlord threatening Cuba's first free élections in decades. 
It’s up to you and your team to take the fight to the enemy in the streets, beaches and jungles of 


Cuba. Take on rebels, irregulars and mercenary troops to face the Ghosts’ greatest challenge yet. 



















MATURE Pea) 

Blood and Gore | : a 

Violence Ubi Soft | 
CONTENT ATO RA SE Re 
ESRB www.ubis.com 
Q200geRed Storm Entertainment, All Rights Resenved, Island Thunder, Red Stormy and Red Storm Entertainment are trademarks, of, RediGtorm 
Enteriainment in the U.S. and/or other countrics, Red Starm Entertainment, a n y., Ton ney's Ghost Recon 
ipa trademark of Rubicon, Inc: under license to Ubi aff Entertainment, Ttand the Ub : Entertainment in 
the U.S. and/or other ountries, Microsoft, Xbox, X ive, the Live logo and. the Xbox Logos are registered trademarks or tiedemerisar wicreaah 

Bee ee MMOS nties abt a tHUREA tin dc@aiteake thon Macrae 


Sporaien in the U. 








eae. me os wariee 


“j 2 
=A Tom Clancy's 


a Clancy's 547" 


Ta 
i 
2 





RECON 


THE GAME OF THE YEAR 
Now POR XBOX AND XBOX L/VA7 


ry 





at 1 May 


a ae 


The original squad-based The new jungle 
battlefield experience warfare campaign 


ouey palqeug euNuG KOU 


e ae ISLAND THUNDER 


Ww 


gaming news, interviews, Rise of the Robots fiction, and other stuff 


Pa A 7 oer 
ae Oe) 


~ OF FORC 


Nerds, babes descend upon L.A. for E3 gala 


h, the Electronic Entertainment bers) to stammer in the general direction of | Boy Player with GameCube) coupled with 

Expo, the most cumbersomely genetically engineered booth babes. minor price drops, but. ‘oh, sorry, dang 

named of all videogame trade Everybody wins, but only the booth babes narcolepsy kicking in again. 
shows—which is why we'll call it E3 from make a profit We're not complaining, though, because 
here on out. It’s a chance for game pub- Still, this E3 was a little on the quiet side. _ we finally, finally got our hands on some of 
lishers to crank the hype machine up to Sony’s planned entry into the portable gam- —_ the games we've been really lusting after, 
11, for the big three console makers to ing market was big news (see page 42), but such as Gran Turismo 4, Ninja Gaiden, Mario 
unleash a crushing avalanche of marketing _ don’t expect to get your hands on the Kart: Double Dash, Metal Gear Solid 3, and 
synergies wrapped in a bow of PR spin, device—dubbed PSP—for another year and —_ about 50 others you'll be reading about in 
and for the slack-jawed nerd herd (don’t a half. We saw new hardware bundles this issue. Our system-by-system coverage 
get us wrong—we're card-carrying mem- (Network Adaptor with PlayStation 2, Game begins when you flip the page.... 





>> THE PRESS START NEWS TICKER...STARTS NOW >» LISTEN UP, STINGY GAMERS: ROGUE SQUADRON 2, JAMES BOND 007: AGENT UNDER FIRE, SPIDER-MAN, SONIC ADVENTURE 2: 


24 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





Show and tell: 1 U.S. Army troops promote PC shooter America’s Army by exiting vehi- 


cle before it comes to a complete stop. 2 PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi manhandles 
the II discs you'll cram into Sony’s newly announced handheld. 3 Extreme human Tony 
Hawk. 4 Polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk. 5 Snoop Dog, sans bitches. 6 Mario papa 
Shigeru Miyamoto (left), Sints creator Will Wright (second from right), and Nintendo big- 
wigs play...Pac-Man? (See page 31) 7 Junior's Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger with Atari CEO 
Bruno Bonnell. 8 Gran Turismo 4 mastermind Kazunori Yamauchi exorcises his speed 
demons. 9 Cedric the Entertainer beats Tiger Woods at his own game. 10 Physicist Jack 
Kirby receives Nobel Prize. 11 Microsoft VP J Allard mixes so-called “phat jams” on Xbox. 
73 stars Claire Danes and Terminatrix Kristanna Loken. 13 Anna Nicole Smith (family- 
size chicken bucket not pictured). 14 Guess which one of these guys is not a rock star. 
Arbiters of talent hawk crappy game. 16 Microprocessor co-inventor Stan Mazor. 



















do something 
with . 
Your, 







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A real college degree, focused 
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Available online or on-campus. 


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Learn more. 


“There's a place where you can find the other videogame 
consoles, and that happens to be in the rearview mirror.” 


—Sony CEA President and COO Kaz Hirai on PS2’s enviable position in the hardware market 


7 oav?” 4 
cos ge 


a 
won 














3 ant : 
eta Ve Ml The next year's filled with big sequels for PS2, the heavyweights 

3 being Gran Turismo 4 (left), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (above), 
and SOCOM II (below). It’s a good time to have a PS2 next to your TV. 


Me 





PLAYSTATION 


Sony continues victory lap with big sequels 


and strong online support 


t'd be easy for Sony to be complacent. After 
all, its PlayStation 2 console is No. 1, and 


Microsoft and Nintendo won't be able to 


catch up, at least not in this generation of the console 
wars. But as its showing at E3 proves, Sony's not sit- 
ting on its hands; PS2 has a stellar lineup of first- and 
third-party titles (mostly sequels) coming in the next 
year, and a deluge of online-enabled games the 
company hopes will get the mainstream to jack in. Hell, 





'@ Gamers lined up to take a stab at networked Turismo 


and have their mugs plastered on big televisions overhead. 


Sony's even fixin’ to take on Nintendo in the portable 
market (see page 42 for information on the PSP: 
PlayStation Portable). 

“| think we've done a great job thus far (getting) the 
core gaming audience [online], but now we're going to 
be taking it to the mass market, who will expect a dif- 
ferent kind of experience,” says Kaz Hirai, president and 
COO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. “The 
challenge for us is making people think that the online 
experience is a great one to keep them coming back for 
more. And we need to do that without alienating the 
core that has supported our online initiative for the past 
six months.” 

How's Sony planning to pull that off? With an upcom- 
ing online roster that includes all of EA's sports games 
(see sidebar next page), Tony Hawk's Underground, 
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, Final Fantasy XI, Gran 
Turismo 4, and more. No other system’s Net-enabled 
lineup can match that. Offline gamers won't be left out 
either, with the likes of Jak I, Ratchet & Clank: Going 
Commando, and Final Fantasy X-2 all due before the 
end of the year. 

So if you're a PS2 owner, start saving your pennies 
now and prepare for another year of “so many games, 
so little time.” 








Number of PlayStation 2s 
(in millions) sold worldwide 
as of 3/31/03 


Games released thus far 
on PlayStation 2 in North 
America 


Number of online games 
released for PS2 as of 
May 2003 


Average number of Network 
Adaptor owners that log on 
for the first time each day 





=> EA GAMES WILL START PRODUCING SUPERMAN GAMES IN 2004. THAT INCLUDES TITLES BASED ON BOTH THE COMICS AND THE UPCOMING LIVE-ACTION MAN-OF-STEEL MOVIE... >> 


26 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com 





NOTABLE GAMES 


A list of some of the big PlayStation 2 titles at E3. (Games that are confirmed to 





feature online connectivity are denoted with an asterisk.) 





*Madden NFL 2004 


*NFL GameDay 2004 
Soul Calibur I 





Conflict: Desert Storm I 
Dynasty Tactics 2 

EyeToy 

Jak Il 

*NBA ShootOut 2004 

The Simpsons Hit & Run 
True Crime: Streets of L.A. 





Maximo vs. Army of Zin 
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 
Mega Man X7 

SSX 3 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
*Tony Hawk’s Underground 
Xill 






Castlevania: Lament of Innocence 
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 
R: Racing Evolution 

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando 








'H WAS TEMPORARILY SH 








*SOCOM Il: U.S. Navy SEALs 
Virtual On Marz 





007: Everything or Nothing 
Beyond Good & Evil 

Final Fantasy X-2 

Legacy of Kain: Defiance 

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 
Sphinx and the Shadow of Set 
Spy Hunter 2 

“Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior 





*Final Fantasy XI 

*Gran Turismo 4 

Onimusha Blade Warriors 
*Resident Evil Outbreak 

Rise to Honor 

Sonic Heroes 

Starcraft Ghost 

*Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain 





Altered Beast 
Drakengard 
Onimusha 3 
Vectorman 


OWN DURING ES C 








ITS DEAD OR ALIVE GIRL STAGE SHOWS PACKED THE AISLES WITH ONLOOKER: 





EA Sports online exclusive to PS2 

EA and Sony, sittin’ in a tree...or something. EA's 

sports games (including Madden, NBA Live, and Tiger 

Woods PGA Tour) will feature online play exclusively 

on PS2. That's right, Xbox Live gets the cold shoulder 

and possibly the stink eye. In addition, each title will 

feature EA Sports Talk—a fancy name for voice chat—so players can trash talk 
via a USB headset, and EA plans to hold online tournaments with cash prizes. 


Final Fantasy XI hits with hard drive | 

The next massively multiplayer online role-playing 

game (MMORPG) to hit PS2 is Square’s Final Fantasy | 

XI (see page 73 for more details). FFX/ will be the first 

title in the United States that requires PS2’s 40GB hard | 
) 


alee eo <4) drive add-on, so expect it to arrive simultaneously with 


the game in early 2004. At press time, Sony (who's publishing FFX/) had not 
announced a price for the drive or said whether it'll be bundled wi 


Grand Theft Auto still PS2 exclusive 

Details on the next Grand Theft Auto are scant at best, 

but we do know one thing; It'll be released exclusively 

for PS2. So all you Xbox and GameCube owners hoping 

GTA will appear on your favorite system too can stop 

holding your breath (but al/ hope is not lost—see Q- 

Mann on page 64 for the scoop on a possible Xbox GTA headed your way). At 
least through 2004, the series will always debut on the box that Sony built. 








+ Largest game library Strengths are in 
and widest variety of franchise titles, not 
any platform | as much in new, 
Lots of big online titles original games sives and the best 
coming, like all of EA No big surprises at selection of online- 
Sports’ games, SOCOM this year’s show out- enabled titles 
Il, Final Fantasy XI, and side the announce- 

Resident Evil Outbreak ment of the PSP 

Big exclusives: Metal handheld system, J 
Gear Solid 3, next Grand f which is more than 

Theft Auto, and GT4 | a year off 


Incredibly strong lineup 
of games fueled mostly 
by third-party exclu- 





REATING A FIRE HAZARD. 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 27 


(>) press start 


“Who's bundling in their broadband adapter? Who's trying to add voice to their online system? It’s pretty clear 
that Xbox and Xbox Live are setting the tone for where [Sony's] going in the industry. 


It seems like we're the ones looking in the rearview mirror there.” 


—Xbox Game Content VP Ed Fries responds to Sony President Kaz Hirai’s boast about Sony leading the console pack 


envennne 


®@ The razor-sharp Ninja Gaiden (above) and Project Gotham Racing 2 
(below) are two of this fall’s few big-name Xbox exclusives. 


but we d 


Microsoft glitzes up online, but this 
year’s game lineup lacks star power 


he Xbox is designed to enable the digital- 
Tt entertainment lifestyle,” Chief Xbox Officer 

Robbie Bach told the throng of game-biz big- 
wigs and journalists at Microsoft's E3 press conference, 


which at times had all the stilted charm of a live-action 


® Green machine: Halo 2’s Master Chief came, saw, and 
conquered Microsoft's E3 press conference. 


infomercial. Hey, wait a sec. ..“‘digital-entertainment 
lifestyle?” Sounds like schizoid talk (and even a little like 
Sony catchphrasing) for a company that until now held a 
die-hard we-just-care-about-the-damn-games attitude. 
But while hype for Xbox-PC connectivity (see the Xbox 
Music Mixer on the opposite page) and an online network 
that stalks you at work (see how on the opposite page, 
upper right) showed that Microsoft is indeed expanding 
its console’s horizons, the games still took center stage. 
And one game in particular—Halo 2, played live in an 
explosive eight-minute demo—damn near stole the show 
(see why on page 44). 

The bad news, of course, is that this super-duper 
sequel isn’t due out until next year, leaving us to won- 
der which titles will fit with our busy new digital-enter- 
tainment lifestyle. “Halo 2 is the most anticipated game 
ever,” VP of Xbox Game Content Ed Fries tells us. “It 
makes everything else seem less important in a way, 
but we still have a ton of great content this year.” As 
for what that content is—and whether it qualifies 
as “great”—keep reading... 


XBOX: BY THE NUMBERS 





Number of Xboxes (in 
millions) sold worldwide as 
of 3/31/03 








Xbox’s new retail price, in 
dollars, as of May 14 








Number of Xbox Live- 
enabled games that will be 
available a year from now 








70 





The new price, starting this 
fall, of the Xbox Live Starter 
Kit and year subscription 





>> GET YOUR DANCIN’ SHOES READY FOR TWO MORE DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION TITLES THIS FALL: THE LIVE-ENABLED ULTRAMIX FOR XBOX (OCTOBER 2003) AND MAX2 FOR PS2 


28 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 











NOTABLE GAMES 


A list of some of the big Xbox titles announced at E3. (Games that are confirmed 


to support Xbox Live online play are denoted with an asterisk.) 


Madden NFL 2004 
*NFL Fever 2004 
Soul Calibur II 


Conflict: Desert Storm II 
The Simpsons Hit & Run 
True Crime: Streets of L.A. 


*Crimson Skies 

Deus Ex: Invisible War 
Grabbed by the Ghoulies 
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 
*NBA Inside Drive 2004 

SSX 3 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
Tony Hawk’s Underground 
*Xill 


Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 
Ninja Gaiden 

R: Racing Evolution 

*Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 


007: Everything or Nothing 
Beyond Good & Evil 


§ Prince.of Persia 


(SEPTEMBER 2003, 











*DOA Online 

Legacy of Kain: Defiance 

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 
Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition 
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 
*Project Gotham Racing 2 

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy 
Sudeki 

*Steel Battalion: Line of Contact 
“Thief Ill 

*Top Spin 

Voodoo Vince 

*Xbox Music Mixer 


*Amped 2 
“Counter-Strike 
Fable 

Sonic Heroes 
Starcraft Ghost 


B.C. 

*Conker: Live and Uncut 

Doom Ill 

Half-Life 2 

*Halo 2 

Kameo: Elements of Power 
*Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow 
Star Wars: Republic Commando 
*True Fantasy Live Online 


ATLUS COMES TO THE RESCUE OF FANBOYS EVERYWHERE BY ANN! 





Xbox Faces Music 

Wannabe Backstreet Boys and everyone else with 

marginal talent, embarrass yourselves with Xbox 

Music Mixer, a glitzy multimedia package due this fall 

that—like Karaoke Revolution for the PS2—lets you 

belt out included pop songs (it comes with a micro- 

phone) or tunes from your own CDs. You can even download photos and movies 
from your PC to produce your own karaoke slideshows. Preferably X-rated ones. 


Rarely There 

Rare, the formerly Nintendo-chummy developer Microsoft nabbed last year, showed 
Off its first Xbox games at E3. But instead of debuting 
something big (like no-show shooter Perfect Dark Zero), 
we got goblin-slapping sim Grabbed by the Ghoulies (see 
page 84) and the fairy-filled Kameo: Elements of Power 
(page 80). The online potty-talking of Conker: Live and 
Uncut is promising, but it won’t be ready until 200: 


Half-Life Will Travel... 

..-to the Xbox. VU Games tells us it will publish 

Half-Life 2—only the most mind-blowing PC game 

at E3—for Microsoft’s machine. Developer Valve, the 

same guys behind the PC version, will handle the 

port, although they're keeping mum on the game’s 

release date and console-specific features. We figure online play via Xbox Live is 
a possibility. You'll probably hit stuff with a crowbar, too. 





The most robust The Xbox’s online net- 
work can’t be beat, but 


it’s a shame that many 


Few big-name games 
online network, and Lots of ho-hum and 
it's only getting more just plain lame-look- 
feature packed ing titles of the system's biggest 
Strong third-party Zero online content games don’t hit until 
support. Publishers from EA Sports, which next year. 

are bringing a lot is making online 

more games to Xbox games only for PS2 

than to GameCube A disappointing lineup 

Halo 2, Halo 2...0h, from the much-vaunt- 

and Halo 2 ed Rare 


ICING IT WILL RELEASE SEGA’S GBA ROLEPLAYER SHINING SOUL IN SEPTEMBEI 





ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com * 29 






( 


“Mario will never start shooting hookers.” 


—Nintendo Senior Vice President of Marketing George Harrison on the “Nintendo Difference” 


GAMECUBE 


Nintendo fields a broad team of quality 


titles, but a lack of surprises quells the fun 


intendo’s E3 press conferences are usually the 
Ci stuff of legends: Rousing applause, impas- 

sioned cheers, and swooning fanboys are 
standard issue at its annual lineup unveilings. This year, 
however, during a brief (and remarkably unimpressive) 
clip of Star Fox 2, the cheers quickly faded to stunned 
silence, finally broken by a single loud boo. Something 
was definitely wrong. 

Sure, a lot of quality first-party titles were on display, 





@ All it took was a li'l dance from the Laker Girls for us to 
momentarily forget about GameCube’s lackluster showing. 





>» HENRU WANG OF BERKELEY, 


30 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


like Mario Kart: Double Dash, F-Zero GX, Mario Golf: 
Toadstool Tour, and Pikmin 2. Oddly, though, many of 
these heavy hitters are driving or sports games, with 
precious little in the way of traditionally excellent 
Nintendo action/adventure fare. Meanwhile, a few third- 
party gems like Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, 
Resident Evil 4, and Rogue Squadron 3: Rebel Strike 
demonstrated that Nintendo does actually care about 
support from other publishers. But a serious lack of 
exciting, previously unannounced games and a distress- 
ing fixation on questionable Game Boy Advance-to- 
GameCube connectivity (see next page) imparted the 
feeling that Nintendo's stuck in neutral. 

When speaking on GameCube’s overall success, 
Senior VP of Marketing George Harrison focused on the 
global GC versus Xbox race, where Nintendo claims to 
have a “solid No. 2 position, right in the middle of the 
home console business.” Even if that’s true (and there’s 


mounting evidence that it’s not), it's hardly inspiring talk, 


but at least Nintendo's planning for the future. “Change 
is needed,” admitted Harrison. “And we will not be 
behind our competitors with the next round of con- 
soles.” Is all the good stuff in a holding pattern waiting 
for GameCube 2? Maybe that would explain this year’s 
underwhelming display. 


"ALIFORNIA BROKE THE RECORD FOR THE FASTEST COMPLETION TIME IN METROID PRIME ON GAMECUBE: ONE HOUR Al 


@ Clockwise from left: Mario Kart, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, 
and Metal Gear Solid showcased the best the GC had to offer. 












Number of GameCubes (in 
millions) sold worldwide as 
of 3/31/03 


Number of GC games 
expected to feature GBA 
connectivity by year’s end 


New price (in dollars) for a 
GC bundled with one game 
or the Game Boy Player 


Number of online GC titles 
(once Phantasy Star Online: 
Episode Ill comes out) 








NOTABLE GAMES 


A list of some of the big GameCube titles at E3. (Games that are confirmed to 


feature GBA-to-GC connectivity are denoted with an asterisk.) 


F-Zero GX 
“Madden NFL 2004 
Soul Calibur Il 


1080° Avalanche 

Conflict: Desert Storm II 

PN. 03 

The Simpsons Hit and Run 

Star Wars Rogue Squadron Ill: Rebel Strike 
True Crime: Streets of L.A. 

Viewtiful Joe 

WWE Wrestlemania XIX 


Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 
Kirby's Air Ride 

Medal of Honor: Rising Sun 
Pikmin 2 

*Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
SSX 3 

Tony Hawk's Underground 

Xill 


*Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles 
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 
R: Racing Evolution 

Yu-Gi-Oh!: Falsebound Kingdom 


| The Legend of Zelda: Tetra’s Trackers 





007: Everything or Nothing 
Beyond Good & Evil 

Mario Party 5 

“Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes 
“Pokémon Colosseum 

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time 


Winter 2003/ 4 

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg 
Go! Go! Hypergrind 

Mario Kart: Double Dash 
Phantasy Star Online Episode III 
Sonic Heroes 

Starcraft Ghost 


Custom Robo 

Geist 

Giftpia 

*The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords 
*The Legend of Zelda: Tetra’s Trackers 
The Legend of Zelda (Wind Waker sequel) 
Mario Tennis 

Metroid Prime 2 

Nintendo Puzzle Collection 

*Pac-Man 

*Pokémon Box 

Pokémon Channel 

Resident Evil 4 

Resident Evil Code: Veronica 

*Stage Debut 

Star Fox 2 


etime Debut 

Nintendo teased gamers with a tiny 
glimpse of Metroid Prime 2 footage at its 
press conference. The miniscule preview 
showed Samus getting pounded by a 
freaky enemy in a rocky alien landscape. 
No other info was given, but Nintendo’s creative mastermind Shigeru Miya 
promises that “you'll be playing it next year.” 


Of Zombies and Urine 

A brief clip of previously unseen Resident Evil 4 
footage carried a stern warning from creator Shinji 
Mikami: “It will be scarier than ever before...DON’T 
PEE YOUR PANTS!” To his credit, it did look awfully 
scary—and beautiful to boot. Mikami also dis- 
missed rumors that he’d been fired from Capcom 
and reiterated RE4's exclusivity on GameCube. 


+A fairly strong lineup 
of first-party titles for 
the fall—assuming 
you like racing games 


projects with Konami, 
Square, Sega finally 


+ New $150 Game- 
Cube-with-GB Player 
bundle is a great deal 







The Wind Wakes Again 
Nintendo is working on a sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. 
ji Aonuma commented on how Waker’s ending seemed to 
close the book on the realm of Hyrule. “There is a desire in me to 
create a world for Link to explore,” says Aonuma. “There is a lot of 
potential to do something different.” The graphics, however, won't be 
changing. “I do believe that I'll be using the same characters and style 
in order to release the game in a timely manner,” explains Aonuma. 





| ~- Connectivity games 


seem limited in both 
gameplay and appeal 
Third-party support is 
improving but still 
not up to Xbox or 
PS2 levels 


~ Star Fox 2, Kirby Air 


Ride, and the 
Pokémon games all 
disappointed 


SINGER/ACTRESS EVE HAS SIGNED ON TO PLAY THE ROLE OF MAJOR JONES IN UBI SOFT'S UPCOMING FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER XiII/, COMING IN THE FALL FOR ALL CONSOLES. 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com « 31 


An uneven showing, 
coupled with the obses- 
sive focus on connec- 
tivity, made for an 
uncommonly lackluster 






a Sallis returns tO CBA next yearnen 


WRAP-UP 


Plumber power: Super Mario Advance 4 is a remake of the classic Super Mario Bros. 3 (left). Mario 
and bro team up with Bowser (yes, it’s freezing in hell) to save Princess Peach in Mario and Luigi (right). 


GAME BOY ADVANCE 


Nintendo’s games shine, others...don't 


hecking out the selection of Game Boy 

Advance offerings at this year’s show gave us 

a distinct feeling of déja vu. As usual, 
Nintendo arrived at the Los Angeles Convention Center 
with a number of quality titles, including Super Mario 
Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, Fire Emblem, the Paper 
Mario-esque RPG Mario and Luigi, Mario & Donkey Kong 
(that’s a whole lot of Mario), and even treated show 
attendees to video footage of a new portable Metroid, 
subtitled Zero Mission. Squaresoft also made a splash 
with its debut GBA games Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 


Pocket-Sized Sims 

Will The Sims stop at nothing short of total world 
domination? Series creator Will Wright appeared 
at Nintendo’s press conference to announce 
details of the upcoming GBA version of The Sims. 
Players will be able to level up characters on 


GBA, import them 
into the GC game, 
and unlock 
secret levels 

and objects only 
available via the 
GBA-GC link. 


32 ¢ ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


and Sword of Mana (Nintendo is publishing both). 

But, like a year ago, the majority of third-party games 
sucked wind. Only two outside of the Nintendo camp 
really caught our eye: Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand 
from Metal Gear Solid mastermind Hideo Kojima, which 
features a solar sensor in the cartridge, rewarding 
gamers for playing outdoors (sometimes even requiring 
it), and a GBA version of The Sims (see below) from 
famed PC developer Will Wright. We continue to be 
amazed that, given the huge popularity of the GBA, so 
few publishers are releasing quality games for it. 


Additional Scanning Required 
Nintendo is prepared to keep its e-Reader periph- 
eral alive with all-new card sets. The company 
plans on adding to its existing selection of Game 
& Watch cards, 

as well as 

designing a 

deck that deliv- 

ers exclusive 

levels to Super 

Mario Advance 

4: Super Mario 

Bros. 3. 





Bs 








NOTABLE GAMES 


A list of some of the big Game Boy Advance games E3. 


(Games that are confirmed to feature GBA-to-GC connectivity 


are denoted with an asterisk.) 


Pokémon Pinball: 
Ruby & Sapphire 


Frogger’s Journey 
The Forgotten Relic 


Disney's Aladdin 


Fire Emblem 
Mario and Luigi 
Sword of Mana 
“The Sims 


Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand 
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 
“Harvest Moon 

Friends of Mineral Town 
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee 
Super Mario Advance 4 


Mario & Donkey Kong 





Onimusha Tactics ai 
SSX 3 

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 
Tony Hawk’s Underground 


foal WAND DOREY, + of on 


Mario Golf: Advance Tour 
Metroid Zero Mission 


GBA: BY THE NUMBERS 


Number of new Game Boy Advance 
games announced this year at E3 


Percentage of those 120 games 
we have any desire at all to play 


Minutes of the Pokémon or Yu-Gi-Oh! 


TV shows that one GBA Video Pak 
can hold ($20, coming this winter) 


Another stellar GBA lineup from Nintendo 
Squaresoft's GBA games 


Too many third-party projects that make our eyes 
(and brains) hurt 
Many sequels and remakes; few new big franchises 


Nintendo impresses us again, but what's happenin’ 
in third-party land? 


>> THREE NEW YU-GI-OH! GAMES ARE COMING THIS FALL: A GC STRATEGY TITLE (FALSEBOUND KINGDOM), PC CARD GAME (POWER OF CHAOS), AND GBA RPG (THE SACRED CARDS)....>> 


[orcas ceene 


Suggestive Themes 
Violence 


Original Game © SEGA © SEGA-AM2/SEGA, 2001, 2003. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 
All Rights Reserved. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 





PRO SKATER GOES 





UNDERGROUND 


New Tony Hawk, now with 
80 percent less Tony 


Say good-bye to the pro skaters in Tony 
Hawk's Underground (T.H.U.G.), coming 
this fall to PlayStation 2, Xbox, and 
GameCube. Instead of playing as world- 
class boarders like Tony and others of his 
ilk, you'll create your own lowly skate 
punk and work your way up from the 
street to compete, eventually, on a 
professional level. 

Besides the game's switch to larger, 
sprawling environments, the biggest 
change to gameplay is that you can 
now—wait for it—get off your board. This 
presents new options like climbing up the 
side of a house to grind nearby telephone 
wires. And as long as your next move 





occurs within a short time limit, the 
combo points keep rollin’. 

TH.U.G. will include an expanded 
Create-a-Park editor, plus new Create-a- 
Trick, Create-a-Goal, and Create-a-Board 
features. PS2 skaters will once again be 
able to compete with each other online 
(sorry Xbox and GC fans—you don’t get 
jack) and swap custom-designed skate 
parks. You'll also be able to e-mail a photo 
to developer Neversoft, get a code to 
download a converted file through your 
PS2, and then map it over your skater's 
head. We've already got pics ready for a 
couple custom characters: “The Crack” 
and Richard Face. 





GRUDGE MATCH 


Special Bizarro World edition on which is worse: 


BATMAN: DARK 
SUPERMAN 64 TOMORROW 


Usually, we compare two people, places, or things.(also known as nouns) to 
decide which is better. But this month, reminded by Batman’s latest 
(Xbox, GC) of Superman's infamous load (Nintendo 64), we had to settle which 
god-awful superhero game is worse. Grab a Tootsie Pop and suck along. 


HERO’S GETUP 


Blocky Spandex uses all three pri- Black and gray give Batsy a more for- 
mary colors, separating Supes mal look, though that petite utility belt 
from drab, gray backgrounds. arouses suspicion as to where all those 

Disadvantage: Superman Batcuffs are actually stored... 


GAMEPLAY 
Hissy-fit “fighting” style and nonsensi- 
cal controls. The developers were 


apparently banking on gamers being there isn’t. 
totally enamored with the ability to fly. Disadvantage: Batman 


INCENTIVE FOR PURCHASE 


Except when it locks up. Then 


Free limited-edition Batman comic, fea- 
turing the Dark Knight in his most 
affordable comic adventure to date. 
Disadvantage: Batman 


MOMENTS OF SUPERHEROISM 


Fall to your death countless times as 

you make awkward attempts to cross 

seconds to read the directions. rooftops. Fortunately, all crime in 
Disadvantage: Superman Gotham waits patiently for you. 


LEAST-SUPER VILLAIN 


Play the game in French or Spanish 
and learn a second language. 


You have five seconds to fly over, pick 
up, and throw a car—including four 


Lex Luthor, whose diabolical ring 
mazes and sensible business dress 
rip apart your very soul! 
Disadvantage: Superman 


The Ratcatcher. Props for appear- 
ances by Mr. Freeze and Killer 
Croc...but Ratcatcher? 





‘SU peniitan GA 





WSUIT AGAII 


34 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


\T, ALLEGING THE COMPANY FAILED TO P/ 


Y ROYALTIES FOR ITS XBOX RPG 8B: 








THE MOVIE 
IN 
THEATERS 









45 devastating attacks tos, "25 fully destructible and Battle notorious alageie OQutsmart your enemies as 
dispose of your enemies. 4 interactive environments - villains and massive new Dr. Bruce Banner, using 
if you can see it, you can foes. Fight up to 10 stealth and disguise. 
smash it. enemies at once. 








teractive game © 2003 Universal 
ine. THE HULK* Movie © 200: 








$ oF trade 


WWW.TI 


























Po ran inivepyax en | 
ea 
hal ee MARVEL ce) & GAME BOY ADVANCE Be 


Ine. Marvel, ‘THE INCREDIBLE HULK* and ail related comic book characters: TM & © 2003 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved. wwav.marvel.com 
reserved. Vivendi Universal Games ans the Vivendi Universal Games Logo are trademarks of Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. in the U.S. 
Entertainment Inc. TM, ®, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, and Xbox 
nse from Microsoft, All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Association. 

















EveRyT Hing YoU nEver waNTed 16 : 


Don't bother closing your eyes. 
Because what you sce isn’t half as disturbing as what you don't. 


SILENT HILE-3. 





Haunting new tale Hideous new creatures Disturbingly detailed graphics Brutal new weapons 





Blood and Gore ee 


ee PlayStation. ——" iasludesSoundirack CD 


SILENT HILL@ is a registered trademark of Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, inc. © 1999 2003 KONAM! COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT TOKYO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. “PlayStation” and the ‘PS* Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc 
The ratings icon isa trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAM! CORPORATION, © 2003 KONAMI, All rights reserved. 














www.konami.com/usa_ 










z 


J creator ut his 
featiires, and w 


P ity Hideo Kojima—not for the seen many games, like a I 






countless hours and endless that have tried to 

personal sacrifices he and his 

team have endured in creating Metal — 

Gear Solid or its sequels, day after day | 

for over five years straight. No, pity 

him because every summer at the 

Electronic Entertainment Expo, instead 

of enjoying the public reaction as his 

latest labor of love is unveiled, he’s then you can climb 

ting in a small, dark room just off the branches to go to tl 

show floor, granting interviews to a go down a cliff. Ant 

long procession of pasty game journal- 

ists. Every half hour. For three days. 

This year, that labor of love is 

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater tor 

PlayStation 2, and the public reaction 

he wasn’t around to enjoy was the sort 

usually reserved for rock stars— 

crowds gathered, fans cheered, fists 

were pumped, girls lifted their shirts 

(well, had there been any girls, they 

probably would have). Quite a high 

level of excitement for a game that’s 

‘ not even due until sometime late next 

4 year, but then, this is Metal Gear we're who are ft 

= talking about. The intense interest the natural e 

¥ surrounding each new title in the Once you go into 

SSS stealth-espionage series is matched artificial building 
only by the lengths that Kojima and his — ence what you've S 

: team go to keep everything secret until 
the last possible moment. 


























So yes, we pity Kojima, but not so 
<< much that we didn’t arrive at his 

\ makeshift prison this year for our half Ie me | 
hour, perk up our pasty ears, and take ing out. This is what you've seen’ 
full advantage of a rare opportunity to in MGS2. But when a guy in ngl 
talk with him about MGS3.... spots you, even if he asks for el , 

. they’re not going to arrive for a few sec- 

EGM: So why the jungle setting for nds. So that’s why you'll see four guys 
Metal Gear Solid 3? ae, eat working as a team [as was shown in the 


Hives “oe © Lthink what the [Metal trailer], and they’re not going to call for 
Gear fans really want to see is field help. They’re going to work together on 
combat, like a battle in the jungle. You’ve —_ the spot; they’ll be scouting—they’ll be 





i = 
the Mebaaraiter 
Re 
0:00 Open ona ‘1:19 “New set- 2:00 Snake 3:98 Snake 
dense jungle... ting, new era, chows down walks through 3 and hangs from a branch 
birds fly by, sun- new gameplay” on a big fish; a muddy with one arm, using the 
light streams and “Back to the if he doesn’t puddle, leaving other to shoot two nearby 


eat wildlife behind realistic 
(yep, snakes bootprints, 

too) he risks which enemies 
problems like could use to “|. third, knocking him 
shaky aim. track him. DoF | unconscious. 


>> INFOGRAMES HAS CHANGED ITS NAME TO THE MORE FAMOUS AND LESS FRENCH “ATARI”... >> MICROSOFT WILL RELEASE BLUE AND GREEN XBOX CONTROLLERS IN OCTOBER.... >> 


through the origin” appear 
leaves; cut to onscreen before 
Snake skydiving, the logo finally 
then parachuting appears in dra- 
into the trees. matic fashion. 


5 soldiers (reloading one- 
handed in between), then 
drops down on top of a 








% 


3 LECTRONIC . * www.egmmag.com 





following you, tracking your footprints. 


So it'll be a'totally different experience 
because they work in different ways. 









EGM: You went to New York to researct 
have you done 52, 
The biggest thing we did is | on 
a one-night trip with our milita 
dvisor into the mountains. He gave us 
trair ng, like into the night—we wore 
car r, we did stalking, we prac- ~ 
ticed walking techniques. We had- = 
guards in front of our cottages, and we 
did exercises like team A attacks team 
B around midnight and such. We'll be 
doing this more often. There were three 
teams—my team survived, but the other 
ones got killed [laughs]. 





EGM: You practiced “stalking”? 

©) There’s this thing [in MGS3| called 
the Stalking mode, where you walk ver 
slowly in order not to mi g 
With the previous games, you could walk 
slowly, but this stalking is even slower. 









EGM: So does MGS3 take place entirely 
in the jungle? Or are you going to pull 
another MGS2, where everyone thought 
the whole game was set on a tanker, 
and it ended up being only the first 
hour of the game? 

‘' The basic structure of a Metal 
game is there’s a military structure or 
some base you infiltrate. Then you might 
have to destroy something to accomplis! 
your mission and get out of the place. In 
MGS 1 and 2, very strangely and conve- 
niently, you always start right near the 
base. That's really impossible. Normally, ~ 
in a real sneaking mission, you’d usually 
land maybe a few hundred miles away 
from where you want to go, maybe in 
some other country, and you'd go across 


i P74 a 





ra 











7 
85 A fourth and final feet Sv 10 A soldier 
enemy leans up against a 7. -* patrols the rainy 
tree to take a rest, when ag -@ iungle. Snake sud- 
his stomach suddenly denly “appears” out 
explodes in a fountain of of the background 
blood. Snake has shot him (perfectly camou- 
through a hole in the tree flaged), sneaks up 
trunk. You gasp at the from behind, and 


badass-ness of it all. slits his throat. 


>> TIGER HILL GAMES, A DEVELOP! \CKED BY HONG KONG ACTIOI 
SS Ste 





ee 


















mountains. And this sequence is what’s — 
critical in espionage—and what's really 
fun. So what you'll experience in MGS3 is 
this natural  environment—the jungle, the 
‘Mot s, Maybe even caves—which 
leads to some artificial structure, maybe 
the enemy base. Then you get out of that 
place and go into the wilderness again 
and move on to another structure. It's 
not that simple ofa sequence, but that’s 
basically how it goes. 


EGM: Can you talk about how camou- 
flage will be implemented in the game? 
/ There's this thing called the 
camouflage index. In addition to your 
regular sah and hearing in previe 

MGS games, there’s now this index of 


recognition. So even if you're standing 


right in front of the enemy, just a few 
feet away, if this guy’s camouflage index 
is high—meaning he’s wearing the 
proper camouflage gear, if he’s got his 
face painted correctly for that given — 
background—you won't be able to spot 
him. And it’s not only what you wear or 
how you paint your face but also where 
how you stand. Maybe it 
r if you crouch—things like 
And since the enemies will be 
dr in camouflage as well, it'll be 

i ai 
Camo versus camo, There might even be 
rs hidden in the jungle, stuff like 
It's a sort of strategic thing going 
yeen you and the enemy. 









jen you say painting your — 

do you mean you choose between 
erent patterns? 

) © That’s right. Originally, we were 
going to have you actually paint your 
face [like with a painting program inter- 
face], but it was hard to come up with 


ed “to, 
he 


‘&:00 Snake takes 
on another group 
of soldiers head 
on; explosives, 
smoke grenades, 
and countless 
automatic weapon 
rounds shred the 
jungle foliage. 


the ocean or a desert or the jungle or the 












the controls for it, so we decided to go bs 
with templates. There are conventional 
Camo patterns we took from the real 
as and then we also came up with 
our own. As of today, we have over 
100 patterns. And hopefully, if we can, 
we'd like to upload our own patterns so 
people can download them. We'd like to 
get camo patterns from our players 





where they design it and upload it, and 
we include it in the game. 


EGM: So people would be able to sg 
download them onto their PS2? 
Yes. And you could also use this 
camo thing as a sort of fashion. Maybe 
you don’t want to wear a shirt—you can 
take it off. Also—this is something we 
haven't told anyone—there’s this thing 
Called the bloody camouflage. If you 
wear it and lie right next to a dead body, 
they’ll think that you're dead, too. 


EGM: Cool. But does all this camouflage 
mean the old MGS radar will not 
return? After all, you’d be able to see 
enemies on it... 

{1G The game would be more enjoyable 
if there were no radar, but I’m sure there 
would be many players that wouldn’t be 
able to play without a radar—people 
who aren’t the best game players. So 
we’re going to throw in a radar system 
similar to previous Metal Gears’. We 
know it’s not going to blend into the 
time setting, but we'll include it to help 
gamers. You'll be able to turn it on or off. 
And there won’t be a Codec [the high- 
tech transmitter that let you see people’s 
faces as you talked to them); it'll be 
more like a real, actual radio. 





4 


Sd 


EGM: Speaking of the time setting, it 
sounds like MGS3 takes place in the 


50 Snake 
« Swims up to 
a dock, 

| shooting a 

* soldier from 
below 
through the 
wooden 
planks. 


7:50 Guards fire 
at Snake in the 
water, bullets 
leaving tiny bub- 
ble trails in their 
wake; a fish 
swimming by is 
hit and floats up 
to the surface. 


IN DIRECTOR JOHN WOO, ANNOUNCED IT IS PARTNERING WITH SEGA IN A MULTIYEAR DEAL FOR SEVERAL TITLES... >> 
ie a i z = a 


re / 
aa if | | | 7 ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY » wwwegmmag.com » 39 
fi\4 y 









fe will be weapons that 
ress back in the 60s, in the Cold War 
t _ era, At the same time, there will be 
~~ F weapons that the Russians came up 
>T4 with but never used. Military research 
is always about 10 years ahéad of what’s 
actually used on the battlefield, so when - 14 
you play the game, people might say, * 
“Oh, they didn’t have this back then,” but _ 
it existed—it just wasn’t used onthe = % 
battlefield. There were prototypes even’ 
if they weren’t used, [like infrared 
goggles]. And we're also coming up with 
*=" our own stuff from our imaginations. 





i EGM: What do you think of Splinter 
. Cell? tt obviously borrowed a lot from = 
* Metal Gear. rill 

HG | haven't really played it because it’s * 
difficult, but I’ve seen it move, and it’s 

oy really well crafted. I’d like to see a.lot of 4 
sequels come out for it. personally can’t _» 
play it, ‘cause the controls are quite =. ¢ 
tough, so I'd love to see an,easier version ~ SS 

. ? [laughs], but it's cool to watch’ when = 

aA . spimenne’ et is playin : 














rs FGM: you feel flattered or violate 

— * about what ppintegeey took from 

“> + Metal Gear? : 
aes HK: Somewhere | in the middle [laughs]. = 

s FGM: Is there a big Raiden-sized © 

surprise in store for MGS3, where every-~ # 

thing we all think we know will sudden- 3 a 

ly change when we play the game? & 

ts = We'll throw in a lot of surprises, but - “> 

> probably not anything of that magnitude. 7 f. 

~ Because [Raiden \ was] a hidden protago- 

- nist You age: can't go beyond that. 








q 


a 


= » > EGM: Speaking ¢ yf hidden protagonists, — but Big Boss [Snake’s perfect-soldier 
e =. - if the main character we've ) seen in all” = » “father,” whose DNA Snake was cloned 
the MGS3 pics and movies is Solid c i) 

















i Snake, and the game takes placesin ~  — [Smiles] 
_ the ’60s...let’s say he is ‘eae 20 
’ * years old then, wouldn't EGM: Well, when I write about MGS3, 
Snake 65 in the original MGS (which how should | refer to the main 
a takes place in 2005)? character in all the screenshots? 
a2 ~- [Smiles] It’s probably exactly as © Snake. 


you imagine. 
* Z EGM: All right, well, thanks for your— 
5" EGM: Oh? Some people are imagining +> Actually, maybe Code Name: Snake 











that it’s actually not Solid Snake at all, —_ [smiles]. #4 —Mark MacDonald 
< 
- 
y 
the i) =) >, minute by minute Ccont.) 
= 4 6:30 In the trailer’s 9:39 Snake ~ 10:24 The action ends in 11:23 As a final joke (Kojima 
. funniest moment, fights a dra- dramatic fashion with always likes to end his game 
Snake pulls his gun matic battle Snake unloading his rifle trailers with a laugh), Snake 
on a guard starting next toa in the foreground while shoots a beehive out of a tree; 
* his motorcycle. The waterfall; the jungle burns behind it falls and lands near a group 
guard puts his hands explosions toss him. The camera gets so of patrolling guards; stinging- 
) up and says, “What rocks and close you can see his insect-related hilarity ensues 
is this? Another unlucky fish facial expression change before Snake attacks the bees 
grand theft auto!?” into the air. as he lets off the trigger. with his knife. 


>> WORKING DESIGNS’ PLANS TO RELEASE THE PS2 GOEMON GAME HAVE BEEN CANCELED; THE GAME (WHICH WASN'T GREAT TO BEGIN WITH) FAILED TO GET SONY'S APPROVAL... >> 


40 » ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





JOSHKALIS 





Ss 


SWITCH BACKSIDE LIPSLIDE. BLABAC PHOTO. 





() press start 


SONY'S POCKET 
MONSTER -~ | 





Long-awaited PlayStation 
Portable announced 


SYM intendo’s Game Boy has ruled 
the handheld market for well 
over a decade, but that could 


soon change. At its annual pre-E3 press 
conference, Sony announced a challenger 
to the almighty Game Boy: PSP, or 
PlayStation Portable. 

Billed as “the Walkman of the 21st cen- 
tury,” the PSP packs an impressive list of 
features (see sidebar below), including 
‘some that may yield nongaming applica- 
tions. As Ken Kutaragi, designer of the 
original PlayStation and president and CEO 
of Sony CEI, told us, “PSP will have a huge 
potential for delivering other forms of 
entertainment, as well as live entertain- 
ment through the network anywhere, any- 
time.” Everything from listening to music to 
browsing the web to watching movies is a 


inside the psp 





distinct possibility. Sony also hinted that 
PSP could connect to PS2, perhaps in a 
manner similar to Nintendo's GC-GBA link. 

So, is Nintendo shaking in its boots? 
“We really aren't,” says George Harrison, 
Nintendo’s senior VP of marketing. “In 
some ways, we've been expecting Sony 
to jump into the portable area since 1989, 
and for the next couple years (2003- 
2004), we're in very good shape. We've 
always focused on value and keeping 
Game Boy under $100, so we're anxious 
to see what price point they establish and 
the approach they take.” 

As are we. But don’t write PSP into 
your Christmas list just yet, unless you're 
talkin’ next Christmas—it isn’t due until 
‘the end of 2004, and Sony hasn’t 
announced a price. 





Display: 4.5-inch widescreen (16:9 ratio) backlit LCD display (GBA SP’s is 2.9 inches) 
Resolution: 480x272 pixels (GBA’s is 240x160) 
Disc medium: UMD (Universal Media Disc) 2.4-inch optical secured ROM disc with 


cartridge (1.8GB) 


Video codec: MPEG 4, delivering high-quality video with smaller file sizes. Sony 
could potentially put full-length movies on a UMD for PSP playback. 


Graphics: 3D polygons using NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) rendering to 
make smoother rounded surfaces 
Sound: PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) with built-in stereo speakers and stereo 
headphone output 
Input/Output: USB 2.0 and a slot for Sony’s Memory Stick data storage 
Battery: Rechargeable lithium-ion (like GBA SP’s) 













New PSP Design 


EGM Artist's Rendition 
Drawing 6a 





1 One thing Sony didn’t do when it 
announced PSP was show us what it 
looks like—so we made this artist’s 
rendition based on the available info. 


















We expect PSP to 
keep the basic 
DualShock setup 
for familiarity’s 
sake (and to facil- 
itate ports of PS1 
and PS2 games). 





The 2.4-inch disc holds 
1.8GB worth of gaming. 




















Headphone jack (you 
see that, Nintendo?) 


Memory Stick siot 











Mlustrations by Nik Shultz 


SUPER-DELUXE PLAYSTATION 2 


Because you look like you need another one 


Two weeks after its PSP announcement at 
£3, Sony announced another new piece of 
hardware: the PSX. Think of it as a 


save your favorite shows to its built-in 
120GB hard drive, like you can with TiVo or 
Replay TV. As if that’s not enough, it’s got 


Japan, and sometime in 2004 in the 
United States and Europe. Could this be an 
early hint at what we'll see when Sony 


@ Like the PS2, the PSX can stand vertically 
or horizontally. The difference here is that 
you'll have to keep the top clear so you can 
slide discs into it, toaster-style. 


PlayStation 2.5—a sleek, do-everything 
machine that fully consummates the rela- 
tionship between Sony’s gaming and con- 
sumer electronics businesses. 

As you may have guessed by now, the 
PSX plays PS2 games. But it’s also a DVD. 
player and recorder, a satellite TV tuner, 
and a digital-video recorder so’s you can 


an Ethernet port on the back for quick and 
easy access to the Internet, and both USB 
2.0 and Memory Stick slots for high-speed 
data transfers. 

Unfortunately, as with PSP, Sony hasn’t 
yet announced a price for this super 
machine; all we know is that it’s set for 
release before the end of the year in 


finally unveils the PS3? 


1 PSX looks like ’70s-era hi-fi, don’t it? 


STARTING JUNE 23RD, THE GAME BOY PLAYER JOINS THE LIST OF FREE GAMES (THOUGH IT'S NOT ONE) YOU CAN GET WHEN YOU BUY A GAMECUBE FOR $150. HELL, BUY TWO! 


42 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





advancewars con 

















Roll out the heavy artillery. 









EVERYONE zh ; 5 : 
Mobilize your ground force over all-new terrain, mount a massive aerial assault 


Mild Violence against new enemies and coordinate a campaign designed to shock your enemy. 


You are the commanding officer. Let the relentless bombardment begin. 








(©) press start 


HAIL TO Tk 


Master Chief finally comes 


out of hiding and reminds the 


world why 


hile Microsoft is expanding 

Xbox’s appeal to reach both 

the mainstream American Idol 
crowd (Xbox Music Mixer, see page 29) 
and retarded children (Grabbed by the 
Ghoulies, see page 84), it hasn’t forgotten 
the game everyone has been waiting for: 
Halo 2. The first-person-shooter sequel to 
our 2001 Game of the Year made its first 
public appearance in nine months in 
front of a large crowd at Microsoft’s 
press conference at the 2003 Electronic 
Entertainment Expo. The reaction? Halo 2 
didn’t show up with a bang—it arrived 
with a nuclear explosion. 

The last time we saw Halo hero Master 
Chief, he had left a destroyed alien arti- 
fact (the actual Halo) and returned to 
Earth to help fend off an attack from the 
marauding alien race known as the 
Covenant. This time, we got a chance to 
see what the action is like on Earth’s sur- 
face. Here’s a recap of the short demo 
shown by Microsoft and developer 
Bungie Studios: 


We see Chief and Sarge on a dropship, 
approaching a futuristic metropolis (it is 
the 26th century, you know) that stretch- 
es high into the sky. The city is under 
siege and the landing zone is hot, but 
they make the drop anyway. 


Halo 2 pumps 
up the first game’s sci-fi action-movie 
feel with the equivalent of 26th-century 
crack. “[Bungie] wanted to put you in the 
middle of this giant city where this war 
is taking place,” says Vice President of 
Xbox Game Content Ed Fries, “with tons 
of guys on your side and tons of guys on 
the other side. Giant weapons, vehi- 
cles...it’s super ambitious.” 


Why 
Sarge is so chatty and, well...alive, 
considering he was blowed up along 
with almost everyone else at the end of 
the first game. 


After he lands, Chief enters the fray with 
his fellow soldiers. A few moments later, 
we see some friendly spacecraft suc- 
cessfully bombing a giant alien cannon 
in one of Halo 2’s many pre-scripted in- 


will rule 


game events. For an idea of how it all 
looks and feels, mash together your 
fondest memories of Aliens and Starship 
Troopers and you're halfway there. 


Master Chief's 
assault rifle now boasts a scope for 
quick sniping action. And Chief can 
lean around corners, destroy parts of the 
environment, and shoot parked cars until 
they go kaboom and kill anyone nearby 
(it’s Halo 2’s equivalent of the videogame 
exploding oil barrel). More significantly, 
Master Chief can now hold two weapons 
at once. And that’s not just so game 
magazines can write captions about him 
“going all John Woo-style.” 

“For example, you can hold a plasma 
pistol in one hand and a submachine gun 
in the other,” explains Pete Parsons, stu- 
dio manager for Bungie. “Take out a 
Jackal shield with the pistol and then 
cap him with the SMG=t’s-notjust about 
having an extra machine gun—it'll affect 
the way you play.” But double gunning 
doesn’t come without sacrifice: You lose 
the handpower to throw grenades. “It’s 
hard to throw grenades when your hands 
are full,” says Parsons. 


In these 
wide-open environments, how will we 
see all the pre-scripted scenes—like the 
bombers taking out that cannon—if they 
can take place anywhere around (or 
behind) us? Parsons says Bungie is con- 
scious of this and will make sure players 
can enjoy everything that’s going on. 


Next, Master Chief jumps on the back of 
a Warthog jeep so he can man the can- 
non (yup, that means the computer A.I. 
can do a bit of the driving this time 
around). Moments later, an alien drops 
down on the car, killing the driver and 
forcing Chief to hop out. Then, in a move 
that got the audience whoopin’ and hol- 
lerin’, Master Chief, on foot, faces off 
against another enemy bearing down on 
him in a speeding Ghost hovercraft. At 
the last second, Chief jumps onto the 
craft’s hood, pulls the pilot out, and then 
takes the ship for himself, 


Gameplay 
changes will make Halo 2 quite the new 





experience. Bungie did say that it’s going 
PCRUELCRUCR UMUC Ram ec) 
ships to keep people from overdoing it in 
multiplayer games. This isn’t Grand Theft 
Auto: Deathmatch, after all. 


After 
Chief flies off in the stolen Ghost, the 
demo is pretty much over. There’s still 
plenty about Halo 2 that we don’t 









know—like its story line, its available 

multiplayer options (we do know it will 

be online and that Bungie.will provide 

downloadable content after it’s 

released), or its exact release date. 

“When it’s ready” is the official line, 

which we expect will be sometime in 

early 2004. All we know is that “wh 

it’s ready” can’t come soon enough. s# 
—Dan “Shoe” Hsu 


NOKIA ANNOUNCED A PRICE AND RELEASE DATE FOR ITS FRANKENSTEIN-ESQUE DOES-EVERY THING (EVEN PLAYS GAMES) N-GAGE CELL PHONE: $299 AND OCTOBER 7, RESPECTIVELY... 


44 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


back of that jeep. It’s 
‘@ souped-up rocket 
Jauncher—one so 
powerful, it can take 
out dropships before 
they get a chance to 
dump their loads. 





















See the energy swords on those 
aliens? Bungie is toying with the idea 
of letting Master Chief use them. 


we have “em so We'll ask “em 


We had some extra time during our interview with Bungie Studio Manager 
Pete Parsons. Can you tell? 


EGM: When will we see Master Chief’s face? 
Pete Parsons: Do you really want to see Master Chief's face? 


EGM: | don’t know, but people wanted to see Darth Vader’s face. 

P; One of the cool things about Halo is that you get to be the Master Chief, so | don’t 
know if we need to see his face. 

EGM: Who would win in a fight: Master Chief, Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid), or 
Sam Fisher (Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell)? 

PP; [laughing] Chief's from the 26th century, so was he even born yet to be able to 
fight those guys? | like all those characters, so I'd hate to put them in a brawl. Master 
Chief’s a Spartan, and Spartans are bred for war—and with his full-body armor, Chief 
) would be a match for Snake or Fisher. 





AMONG THE FIRST GAMES FOR N-GAGE ARE TONY HAWK'S PRO 


n ECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com 45 








a> PlayStation.2 


EVERYONE 


‘CONTENT RATED BY 
ESRB 





Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are usédhwith permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit theofficial web site at MLB.com. @MLBPA, Official Licensee - Major League Baseball Players Association, 
Visit the Players Choice on the Web at www.bigleaguers.com, 989 Sports and the 989 Sports logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©2003 Sony Computer Entertainment America inc. 


THE BRAINY 
LIBRARY 


Seven books that'll power up your gaming smarts 


ven the most unintellectual 

gamer will occasionally feel 

the need to turn off the televi- 
sion and feast upon the written word. 
No, poring over strategy guides doesn’t 
count, and neither does scouring the 
Web for DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball 
nudie codes. We asked ourselves, what 
are the most important books in the 
history of gaming? Then we bit the 
bullet and narrowed the list down to 
seven titles that make for the most 
well-rounded reading experience. So 
clear out some of those DragonLance 
paperbacks and make shelf space for 
this ultimate summer-reading list. %& 

—Chris Baker 





Game Over by 
David Sheff 


The Subject: The 
complete history 
of Nintendo, from 
its humble origins 
as a 19th century 
playing-card 
manufacturer through its early ’90s 
domination of the console industry. 


What You Learn: In the early ’70s, 
Nintendo almost went bankrupt when 
its chain of indoor light-gun shooting 
ranges floundered. 





Phoenix: The 
Fall and Rise of 
Videogames by 
Leonard Herman 


The Subject: A 
meticulously 
detailed system- 
by-system record 
of the history of videogames. Now in 
its third fact-packed edition. 





What You Learn: Who was the uptight 
egghead dissing Atari in all those 
Intellivision ads? Snobby pseudo-actor 
George Plimpton, of course. 





Supercade by 
Van Burnham 


The Subject: A 
copiously illus- 
trated pixel history of games. Chunky 
low-res graphics and funky coin-op 
cabinets have never looked so sexy. 





What You Learn: Atari’s early arcade 
offering, Gotcha, featured two joysticks 
hidden under mammary-like pink- 
rubber mounds. 











Opening the Xbox 
by Dean Takahashi 


The Subject: The 
tech strategies, 
hardware wars, and 
corporate wheeling 
and dealing that led to Microsoft's 
entry into the console market. 





What You Learn: Xbox was initially 
codenamed Project Midway, in honor 
of the WWII battle in which America 
(read Microsoft) outwitted the 
Japanese (read Sony and Nintendo). 











\ ee 
Masters of Doom , | "4 
by David Kushner i. «a 
The Subject: The J | 
rise of Doom . 
developer Id i: 


Software and3D 

gaming, and the tempestuous partner- 
ship of founders John Carmack and 
John Romero. 


What You Learn: Carmack was a child 
hacker, sorta like Matthew Broderick in 
War Games. He even did time in juvie 
for trying to steal some Apple Ils. 








a 


icra 
ager 





The Ultimate 

History of Video 
Games by my y 
Steven Kent 





The Subject: A 
reporter who has 
walked the game beat since the 8-bit 
days shares his greatest scoops. 


What You Learn: As punishment for 
the failure of the Virtual Boy, gadget 
guru (and Game Boy creator) Gunpei 
Yokoi was forced to man the demo 
booth at trade shows. 








Lucky Wander Boy vaaitt 10) 
by D. B. Weiss : 


The Subject: A fic- 
tional account of one 
twentysomething’s 
nerdy quest to write an encyclopedic 
history of games and his search for 
the most obscure title ever made. 





sey 


What You Learn: A youth wasted on 
game trivia and Nintendo can result in 
highbrow literature. “Undeniably enter- 
taining!” says The New York Times. 








Major publishers are waking up to the fact that gamers are just as likely to buy tie-in merchandise and novelizations as die-hard Star Wars and Star Trek fans are. 
Here are a few excerpts from current and old-school game-derived novels...plus one fake we made up. See if you can spot the phony (answer below). 


Resident Evil Code: 
Veronica by S.D. Perry 


“They were about 

halfway across when 

they heard it, echoing 

up from somewhere in 

the black running 

waters below—a 

strangely high, piercing trill, inhuman 
but not like an animal either. Whatever 
it was, it sounded extremely pissed— 
and from the splashing noises, it was 
coming closer.” (Page 110) 


>> NAMCO'S DEAD TO RIGHTS WAS JUST OPTIONED BY NICOLAS CAGE AND IS SLATED FOR A HOLIDAY 2004 THEATRICAL RELEASE. AND METAL GEAR SOLID STILL AIN'T A MOVII 


GTA: Sicily 
by Mario Puzo 


“Don Salvatore sipped 

his espresso and stared 

absently at a marble 

bust of Mussolini. He 

mumbled, ‘Perform this 

final service for mia 

famiglia, and | wi 

Garibaldi Cement Mixing Company, 
which has a hidden flamethrower and 
can generate up to 70,000 lire per 
day.” (Page 138) 


48 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Brute Force: Betrayals 
by Dean Wesley Smith 


“His finger pressed 

down on the laser 

cannon, firing into the 

blinding snow as two 

more shots smashed 

into him. His armor 

deflected one, but the other got 
through, burying itself in his gut. They 
were using projectile weapons of 
some sort, with armor piercing 
rounds.” (Page 264) 


Rise of the Robots 
by Jim Murdoch 


“Coton thrilled at the 

strength he felt surging 

through his chassis. His 

vision stabilized as 

light flooded across the 

floor at his feet-—then 

he saw he had company: two sets of 
steel lifting forks protruded on his side 
of the door... They had to belong to 
loader droids.” (Page 283) 


MIDIS ‘VLD GOR] YL 








Photographs by Aaron Lauer 


EVERQUEST ONLINE 
ADVENTURES 


Thousands of players. Hundreds of challenges. One game. 


Build a mighty hero as you complete formidable quests, 
battle countless monsters and unite with players from 
around the globe to explore the mystical land of Norrath. 
Welcome to the world of EverQuest Online Adventures, a 
— ‘ 3D massively multiplayer fantasy roleplaying game made 
- act / exclusively for the PlayStation 2. Prepare to enter an 

y enormous virtual environment—a seamless realm 
; yi fee f if populated by sorcerers, elves, and creatures both friend 
M4 " \ y | and foe. But will you take shelter in parties or dare 

t ; venture out by yourself? 

















You and five thousand of your best friends will explore 
a world inhabited by monsters that will chill your blood 
and weaken your heart. With hundreds of spells to 
discover and steel enough to arm a legion of men, 
EverQuest Online Adventures will turn even the most 
stalwart gamer into a quivering coward. 











EverQuest Online Adventures 
is ready for you. But are 
you ready for it? 






MLB SLUGFEST 
20-04 





3, 2, 1, GPCD_UP), 1, 1, 3, GPCD_DOWN), 
2, 4, 2, GPcD_DOWN), ROCKETPARK STADIUM GLADIATOR TEAM 
16" SOFTBALL 3, 3, 3, GPCD_DOWN), 1, 3, 3, GPcD_DowN), 
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WHIFFLE BAT STADIUM 1, 0, 2, GPcD_DOWN), 
2, 0, 0, GPco RIGHT), 3, 2, 1, GPoD_DOWN), DOLPHIN TEAM 
BIG HEAD MIDWAY PARK STADIUM 1, 1, 2, Gecb_DowN), 
0, 0, 4, GPcD_UP), 2, 4, 2, GPCD. UP), SCORPION TEAM 
LOG BAT RUBBER BALL 1, 2, 2, GPcD_DOWN), 
0, 0, 3, GPCD_UP), 0, 0, 4, GPcD LEFT), SUBZERO TEAM 
NY LS => dey Zz (A) (k) ICE BAT MACE BAT 1, 3, 2, GPCD_DOWN), 
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ple: s ane e 0, 0, 5, GPcD_UP), 3, 0, 0, GPcD_DowN), LITTLE LEAGUE 
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COLISEUM STADIUM MAX SPEED 


Baseball Players Assoc 
he MLBPA logo femnark of 
1895 1998 20 > 


y Compute 
OE logo are 





Z0000 


Fast blast back to gaming’s past 


In olden tymes, tracking down classic arcade games meant 
spending a day sifting through giant, dusty arcade boards 
that cost megabucks. Now, nostalgic gamers with a PC can 
locate classics with a quick online search. Ah, progress. 


oldies, such as Commando (belo 





loudly, so ROMs for their systems are hard to find. But coin- 

op ROMs and titles from fringe platforms like the NeoGeo, 

TurboGrafx-16, and Atari Lynx are readily found at sites like 
www.classicgaming.com. If you’re looking for 


ee something specific, just pop the title into Google 
Keys to the kingdom Tite oe or Yahoo, along with the word “ROM.” You'll 


First, download an emulator—a program that tricks 


your PC into thinking it’s a particular piece of Fy a ae a: ‘oan ‘ 


game hardware (you'll find emulators for every %, 
system, from coin-ops to consoles to old comput- ae 











 ) have to fight through a seedy maze of pop-up 

a porn site ads and dead links, but the ROMs 
are out there. Emulate the classics because 
it’s convenient (why drag out your dusty 


ers). These programs are easy to find at sites like § A ie * Atari 2600 just to play Combat?) or to pre- 
www.zophar.net, and they run on everything from ’ serve gaming history—not ’cause you're look- 
phones to digital cameras. The world’s emulator a ing for a free gaming fix. 

designers will not rest until you can play the SuperGrafx “is 

classic shooter Aldynes on your microwave. Spice it up 


Breaking the law 

While emulators are legal to own, the actual games they run— 
called ROMs—are copyrighted. You can’t lawfully download an 
old 8-bit Nintendo ROM, even if you own the actual cartridge. But 
in the vast ocean of legal gray areas known as the Internet, pira- 
cy laws are widely ignored in favor of the “if no one complains, 
it’s OK” principle. Nintendo, Sega, and Sony have complained 





>> A LAW RECENTLY PASSED IN WASHINGTON STATE FINES RETAILERS WHO SELL GAMES CONTAINING VIOLENCE AGAINST POLICE TO MINORS. DOES THAT INCLUDE WARIO WARE: 


50 ¢ ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Now that the golden oldies are widely available, they can be 
altered by techheads who, say, want to see Link bed Zelda. 
Many ROM and emulator sites have libraries full of fan transla- 
tions, tweaks with modified graphics and text (often porno- 
graphic), and full-on hacks with new levels, enemies, and diffi- 
culty modes. Most emulators even have built-in GameSharks, 
sO you can pump in your own nifty codes. 


—Casey Loe 








OLD SCHOOL 


10 years ago in EGM 


= On the Cover: 

Aero the Acro-Bat 
(Genesis/SNES) 

In Aero, an acrobatic 

bat sets out to save 

the circus from an 

evil saboteur who has ~~ 
messed with the big top’s attrac- 
tions. Even we are baffled as to 
how this mediocre platformer land- 
ed on our cover a decade ago. 


Game of the Month: 
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) 
Before Resident Evil made the 
undead popular, there was Zombies 
Ate My Neighbors, a li'l game from 
LucasArts and Konami that pitted 
two teenagers armed with water pis- 
tols against an army of B-movie 
monsters. Giant babies, anyone? 


Rock ’n’ Roll Trash Talk 

In the early ’90s, it was cool to make 

second-grade-caliber trash talk 

sound like it came from the biker- 

gang vernacullt Enter exhibit A: the 
ad for Rack ‘n’ 

cm AG 
=, PIPE, TNS ae 
ROADIEL proclaims, “Blow 

dirt, ya road turd!” 


Sonic Invades Arcades 
Back in summer ’93, Sega began 
testing its first Sonic the Hedgehog 
arcade game, which, unfortunately, 
was never given a wide release. 
This coin-op oddity, covered for the 
first—and last—time in the August 
’93 EGM, let up to three players 
control Sonic or his pals Ray and 
Mighty using trackball controllers. 


ems 
(Me 











Recause TOP; 
alu 





} 
i 


Get the kind of high-tech training that always shows up on 
employers’ radar. To learn more, log on the Life Accelerator 
at navy.com or call |-800-USA-NAVY. 





© 2003. Paid for by the U.S. Navy. All rights reserved. 


AFTERTHOUGHTS: 


RETURN 


A peek behind enemy lines at the 
making of this Xbox (and PS2) shooter 


aving just launched the most 

ambitious team-based assault 

on Xbox Live to date, Return to 
Castle Wolfenstein’s creators are brim- 
ming with confidence. Six hours after 
the game went on sale and the bullets 
began to fly online, we sat down with 
Nerve Software President Brandon 
James and Id Software Director Marty 
Stratton for an inside look at bringing 
this popular PC shooter to Xbox. 


EGM: Nazis are the perfect videogame 

villains, followed closely by zombies 

and demons. Did you ever have the 

feeling that you might be overextend- 

ing yourselves by including all three 

in one game? 

No. | would like to do it 

again [laughs]. You have 
all the ultimate evils 
wrapped up into 
one package. 

































The great thing about 
Wolfenstein is how naturally you can com- 
bine demons and Nazis all into one story 
line. It’s kinda all based on the half-truths of 
Hitler and the Third Reich and their experi- 
ments with the occult and that kind of thing 
So you get an /ndiana Jones-style story line 
that seems plausible in the context of the 
game and its backstory. 


EGM: Were there any challenges in 
porting Wolfenstein to consoles? 

Oh yeah. Probably the biggest was that 
we'd never developed an online title for a 
console. Plus, with a PC game, you have 102 
keys on a keyboard and more on the mouse. 
Trying to make sure that all of the most 
important controller functions are brought 
over to the 10 buttons on the Xbox controller 
was a challenge. 


EGM: Are there many medics among 
the first draftees online now? Why play 
the backup bitch? 

Medics may not be the best fighters, 
but they are the best support class. People 
who're learning the ropes, don’t have the 
aim of other competitors, or just don’t like 
» plastering people tend to gravitate 
toward the medic. We have one 
guy in the office who we call “the 
cockroach” that plays as a medic 
because he can’t shoot straight. 
And if you've got a good healer 
on your team, you're set. 


EGM: What kind of 
anticheating measures 
have you taken? 
Since this is based on the 
PC stuff, we’ve had a year to 
see how things balance out. 
A number of exploits or 


cheats came about where 
f 


things like the flamethrower could shoot 
through a wall in a certain area—those 
kind of things we were able to work out. 
We don’t expect any cheating. As far as 
the hacking you'd expect on the PC 
side, Xbox Live does a superb job of 
taking care of all that stuff 


EGM: If an exploit is found that ruins 
online play, would you offer a down- 
loadable patch to fix it? 

Yeah. If something major comes up, 
we're prepared to do an autoupdate. But 
[that's not gonna happen] 


EGM: What can Xbox Live users expect 
in the way of downloadable content? 
Three extra levels. The first will be 
available [by the time you read this]. st 
—Shawn Elliott 


pse wolfie, 


A big part of the . 
Xbox Wolfexperience | — 
is being able to play 
online via Xbox Live. 

But PS2 Wolf fans are 
stuck like Macaulay 
Culkin—home alone. 
Why? Id’s Marty 

Stratton explains: 

“We looked at what 

Sony had available 

when we began and 

what online solutions 
they were providing, 

and it wasn’t 
much—nothing, actually. They really ha’ 





Hans’ leatherette ensemble 
seems to say, “C’mon guys, 
let’s take over the world!” 


ven't had a clear direction on how their 


games should work over the Net. So, in the end, we decided not to make it a pri- 
ority.” As for the lack of splitscreen Deathmatch, Stratton tells us “that’s just not 
what Wolfenstein multiplayer is all about. It’s really more about teamplay.” See 
what our Review Crew thought of the PS2 version on page 119. 


a OBE 1 
=> ATARI SHIPPED FOUR MILLION (NOTA TYPO, MILLION) COPIES OF ITS GAME ENTER THE MATRIX FOR PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX, GAMECUBE, AND PC ON MAY 15, 2008.... >> 


52 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


IN SPACE, OR} ON LAND, | WILL HUNT THEM DOWN. 





BY. Vienne i 

l used to command the Galactic Rangers. We uncovered a conspiracy that threatened to destroy the entire frontier. The corporations 

turned the galaxy into a battlefield. They murdered my squad. | was framed and spent ten long years in prison. Now I'm out. As a bounty 
hunter, | travel the galaxy bringing down criminals for cash. But the only thing I’m after... is revenge. 





mete § PlayStation.c a. 


i 

















® 














huntthemdown.com 


"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" interactive game © 2003 Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Mace Griffin, Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter, Vivendi Universal Games, the Vivendi Universal Games logo, Black 
Label Games, and the Black Label Games logo are trademarks of Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony 

Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. TM, ® and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. 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 rating icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 


EGM INTERNATIONAL 


Play as a tiny mosquito or a giant...giant 





You're big man on campus in 
Nintendo's freaky Doshin the Giant 
Here's a rarity—a GameCube title from 
Nintendo published in Europe but never 
brought here. Doshin the Giants a lot like other 
“god games” (Populous, PC's Black & White) 
but without the disembodied deities. Instead, 
you play the part of a rubbery yellow beanpole 
(complete with outie belly button) waiting on 
diminutive and demanding villagers. You lum- 
ber around planting trees and doing general 
landscaping, while trying not to crush the wee 
folk beneath your jaundiced heels. And if play- 
ing happy god ain't your bag, you can always 
transform into a towering devil and dish out 
some divine wrath. Interested? Grab a copy of 
Datel’s Free Loader (it'll let you play Euro 
games) and Doshin from gameplay.com. 























Mr. Mosquito visits the U.S. in this 
Japan-only sequel (ironic, no?) 


Last year, Fresh Games treated us to the oddball 
import Mr. Mosquito (Ka in Japan). As the titular 
bloodsucker, it was up to you to turn an unsus- 
pecting family—in this case, the Yamada clan— 
into a living smorgasbord. Although the graphics 
and gameplay were rough, everyone agreed the 
concept was worthy of further exploration— 
including Sony Japan, as it just released Ka 2: 
Let's Go Hawaii across the Pacific (no U.S. 
release is planned). This time, the plucky 
skeeter stows away for the Yamada’s Hawaiian 
vacation, the tropical setting lending the perfect 
excuse to plague the family’s nubile daughter as 
she works on her tan. (And good news, ladies: 
You can snack on dudes in Speedos, too.) 








OVERHEARD 


“Help! f'n. 
stuck ina. 
wall!” 


—One of the 
most-requested 
technical-support 
issues players 
are having with 
the bug-filled 
GameCube ver- 
sion of Enter the 
Matrix, according 
to Ataris site 


Joe so 
fast, it actually combusts and causes 
you to be surrounded by fire. Of 


course, that’s dumb, but 
it looks cool!” 


—Capcom Producer Atsushi Inaba on his 
project Viewtiful Joe for GameCube 


“Capcom keeps letting me make 
[niche] games that | like. If you like 
them, too, and want me to keep 
making more, then please buy them! 


'm serious. My butt’s on 
the line.” 


aba again (whose previous work 
includes the $200 Stee! Battalion for 
Xbox), half-joking to the press at E3 








>> MICROSOFT LOWERED THE XBOX TO $179.99 TO MATCH SON 


54 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com 





CLEARANCE PRICE ON THE OLLI 





|ODEL PS2. REPS WOULD NOT SAY IF THE SYSTEM WILL STAY AT THAT PRICE. 





P.N.O3 
= a@ 


FPRopuctr 





EXHILARATE YOUR SENSES in this all-new, all-out fast action frenzy created exclusively for 
the Nintendo GameCube”. A Computer Arms Management System has gone haywire on a 








distant planet. The hopes of an entire civilization rest with Vanessa Schneider, a mercenary 
4 robot killer with a personal grudge to settle. With moves that amaze and an attitude to 
match, only she can demolish the mechanical menace. 


‘ YOU'VE NEVER SEEN ACTION LIKE THIS. 


demolish robots, machines, mega weapons and 
transforming enemies with your bare hands 






master stylish moves and powerful attacks 
for enhanced choreographed gameplay 


Cc 
2 —_ ~~ INBRADYGA ES Suggestive Themes 
. 2 \ XC Strategy Guide Violence 
GAMECUBE... capcom AVAILABLE 










© CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2003 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO are registered trademarks 
of CAPCOM CO., LTD. P.N.03 is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD 2003. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software 
Association. LICENSED BY NINTENDO. Nintendo, Nintendo GameCube and the Official Seal are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. 


being nuts, a 
shotgun shells 


s. Groft’s return to the big 
screen is shaping up quite 
nicely compared to her next 
videogame appearance (which, by the 
way, had a June 17 release date at last 
check—but we wouldn't be surprised 
ill hasn’t shown up at your local 
2 as you read this). While we 
the movie and game, we had 
to chat with the actress 
who portrays the sexy artifact finder, 
iner Angelina Jolie, during a 
break from shooting Lara Croft Tomb 
Cradle of Life (hitting the- 


silver wet suit at the time, like the one 
see here. Just thought you might 
to know that. 


I: Besides the obvious, uh, physical 
ties, what does the real 
ina Jolie have in common with 
irtual tomb raider? 

We both love adventures, 
ightly nuts, have relationship issues 
's], and find ourselves alone. She's a 

fer, and | think I'm very happy when | 
for something | believe in, and | will 

it all out for something | care about. Her 

$ are also very similar to my own...not 

ing something | love and being confined. 


‘EGM: The wet suit is a good look for 
you. Did you find it difficult getting into 
omb-raiding shape again? 
I'm a mom now, so nothing is more 
exhausting than that! But my training was 
all fun. 


EGM: What kind of training did you do 

for the sequel? Aside from chasing 

around the little nipper, of course. 
Kendo, plus loads of physical training. 


EGM: The toughest part? 
The stand-up Jet Skis—it’s harder than 
it looks. | kept saying, “Can’t you find 


something that looks hard, but actu- 
ally is really easy?” 


EGM: You're performing a lot of 
your own stunts in this movie. 
Had any close calls? 

Yeah. I'm missing a piece of 
my right elbow from a boat col- 
lision. And a shotgun shell 
went into my eye, but it 
wasn't anything serious. 


EGM: Firearms 

and eyes 

just don’t 

mix. So 

do you 

enjoy 

being 

an Evel 

Knievel? f 
Yeah. 

Probably to 

the point of 

stupidity, but 

yeah, | like it. | 

think it makes 

me feel really 

alive and happy, 

so happy I'm 

excited. And right 

now, I’m excited. 






EGM: Happy and 
excited, good to 
know. But as for 
your character, 
what’s different 
about Lara in the 
sequel? 

Now, she’s more of a 
woman, and she’s sexier to 
me. We've added things and 
changed her a bit, so she’s a 
little less cute and more 
aggressive. 4 

—Nick Walkland 





MERGER WITH SAMMY IS OFF; PROPOSED UNION WITH NAMCO IS ON THE ROCKS. 








Photograph by Alex Bailey 


HANG ON FOR YOUR LIFE. 


Mee 


= WAKEBOARDING 


UNLEASHED|:| 


Water moves. Screenshots don't For the real experience, check out 


EVERYONE a Heo 


Comic Mischief & 
PlayStation.2 
(ERECTOR), 


ACTIVISIONO2.com 











(© 2003 Activision, Inc. and its afiiates. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc, Activision is a registered trademark and Activision 02, Sports Revolution and Wakeboarding Unleashed are trademarks of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Al rights reserved. Shaun Murray is a trademark of Shaun 
‘Murray. Developed by Shaba Games, LLC. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are ether registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Al rights reserved. Licensed for play on the PtayStation"2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation 


only, *PayStation” andthe "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, The ratings icon isa registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association Al other trademarks and trade names are the properties oftheir respective owners. 





STRANDED WITH 3GAMES! = fepete 


GAMES OF APRIL 2003 


The Metal Gear maestro’s must-have picks 


WORLD TIME 
ee) Te 


(Nintendo 888580 9.03 
Entertainment System) 
“The greatest masterpiece by 
Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto! | am 
who | am today thanks to this 
game; it taught me how great, 
fun, and deep an action game 
can be.” 


The Legend of Zelda: The 


Midnight Club I 
PS2, Rockstar 

NBA Street Vol. 2 
PS2, EA Sports Big 
Dynasty Warriors 4 
SACL 

Pokémon Ruby 
GBA, Nintendo 

Final Fantasy Origins 
PS1, Square Enix 
Golden Sun 2 

GBA, Nintendo 
Pokémon Sapphire 
GBA, Nintendo 


TOP 10 GAME RENTALS 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING 5/20/03 guoonBUStE 


(Japanese version of the 
NES, Japan only) 

“An adventure-game classic by 
Mr. Yuji Horii [Dragon Quest]. 
This game taught me the poten- 
tial of the game medium to 
deliver drama and messages.” 








When you think of deserted islands, you probably think of Gilligan, 
talking to volleyballs, or that horrible Swept Away movie. 

Well, forget Madonna and screw Tom Hanks. (On second thought, 
make that the other way around.) The only thing we want to know 
about being stranded in the middle of the ocean is what games you 
would want along for the trip. Every month, EGM asks a famous 
game designer (and every other month, a celebrity) to answer that 
eternal question, starting this issue with Metal Gear Solid series cre- 
ator Hideo Kojima. Here’s what he had to say... —Mare Saltzman 










Source: EB Games 


(Game Boy Advance) 

“This is a game | am develop- 
ing now [due in the U.S. in 
September]. It is most suitable, 
as you get to understand the 
climate and environment of a 
deserted island.” (see page 32) 









Midnight Club II 
PS2, Rockstar 
Enter the Matrix 
Xbox, Atari 

NBA Street Vol. 2 
PS2, EA Sports Big 


X2: Wolverine’s Revenge 
PS2, Activision 


Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 
PS2, Ubi Soft 


Def Jam: Vendetta 
PS2, EA Sports Big 


Enter the Matrix 
GC, Atari 

NBA Street Vol. 2 
Xbox, EA Sports Big 


X2: Wolverine’s Revenge 
Xbox, Activision 





Source: Blockbuster Video, 5/20/03 





>> WARM UP THE CHOCOBOS—SQUARE ANNOUNCED THAT IT EXPECTS TO SHIP FINAL FANTASY XII IN JAPAN SOMETIME BEFORE THE END OF ITS FISCAL YEAR (MARCH 2004).... => 


58 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com 








MIDWAY 4 


Et 


C—O 


Explore, and race with some of the most characters you have ever 
played with, ie chaste iibaes Gieeuee 10 mac decane: 
© 13 alluring characters and dozens more hidden 
© 12 massive and enticing tracks 
© Enthralling race and dog fight modes 
© Unique and mesmerizing mini games 
© Amazing head-to-head multiplayer 
i 
re 


P= 
Si aN < q 











yy ool 
Coming July 2003 


Log onto www.freakyflyers.com 





<ai> 





| 


Freaky Flyers ©2002 Midway Home Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. MIDWAY and the Midway Logo are registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Freaky Flyers is a trademark of Midway Home 
tertainment 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 regis- 
tered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S, and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. 





‘RATING PENDING 





Visit www.esrb.org 


or call 1-800-771-3772 PlayStation. - A omy 


for more info. 





In the future, the most powerful substance ever created can 
control time and-physies..Only a Behosen few-can control it. 


ae US tom it 


Se) 





Stealth Mode 
f31 forms yo you can instantly morph into. 


’ aT 
oy ‘+ 
with your tongue 


vA 
alter-echo : 
Ns an teres World. 
" Lean to Adap\. 





www.thg.com 


Ubi Soft made it officiai—the next 
Splinter Cell, subtitled Pandora 
Tomorrow, will target multiple consoles 
in early 2004. Intel states that the 
upcoming Cell will be sneaking online 
with multiplayer co-op missions (in addi- 
tion to a full-length single-player game, of 
course). Our deep cover spies report the 
game may well show up on Xbox first, 
although that’s not confirmed. 
We can only guess what kind of chaos will 
ensue when the legions of Sam Fisher 
wannabes converge on the information 
superhighway—will no light fixture be safe? 


More news, less paper 

Can't get enough ES info, screens, and 
interviews? We can only cram so much into 
the mag—check www.gamers.com/fea- 
ture/e32003 for a full E3 wrap-up, including 


Feelin’ lucky? In the Splinter sequel, you'll 
get to test out your stealthiness...online. 


extra stuff from our compadres over at 
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, 
GameNOW, GMR, and the crack 
Gamers.com staff. You can even ogle the 
booth babes. 

Also this month at www.egmmag.com, 
Sonic Team prez Yuji Naka discusses 
Sonic Heroes and ruminates on the future 
of the Sonic bloodline. 


PC GAMING 
UPDATE 


Maybe it’s time you 
upgraded the Apple llc 


© Half-Life 2> 


With people waiting in line up to four 
hours for a 20-minute demo, there was 
little doubt that Half-Life 2 ruled E3. As 
incredible as the game looked a few 
months ago, it was exponentially more 
impressive at E3. The A.l. and physics 
in this game are going to set impossi- 
bly high standards, and not just 
because they're incredible program- 
ming feats, but because they actually 
make the relentless life-and-death 
action more immersive and threaten- 
ing. Of the new monsters featured, the 
Strider was hands-down the winner— 
what's not to love about a 40-foot-tall, 
three-legged alien daddy longlegs that 
warps space right before blasting your 
ass? In a heart-touching show of 
mercy, developer Valve Software has 
let slip that an Xbox port will be 
released sometime after the PC game. 

The biggest surprise of the show 
was Vivendi Universal's Blofeld simula- 
tor, Evil Genius. This wickedly humor- 
ous base-building strategy game is 
like Dungeon Keeper shot through with 
No One Lives Forever’s 60s superspy 
style. As a budding madman, you build 
and booby-trap an underground 
fortress on a remote island, construct 
a death ray, and undertake nefarious 
missions, like stealing the Eiffel Tower. 
If a good guy with a license to kill hap- 
pen by, you can set your stable of evil 
henchmen on him, subdue and torture 
him, and then gloat right in his 
face for good measure, 
possibly steeple-ing i> 
your fingers and 
outlining every 
last detail of aN 
your heinous rs 
plan. If only it 
came with a fluffy 
kitty for you to pet 
malevolently.... 

—Robert Coffey, 

Computer © 
Gaming World 


‘A true Evil Genius always has plenty of 
these guys on-hand to do his bidding. 








>> SET YOUR VCRS— MEGA MAN NT WARRIOR, AN ANIMATED TV SHOW BASED ON CAPCOM'S MEGA MAN BATTLE NETWORK SERIES, IS AIRING ON THE KIDS WB WEEKEND LINEUP... >> 


62 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


The year is 2340 and more than fifty star systems are populated with colonies. But when an alien invasion threatens to put every living organism on the endangered species list, the Confederation of worlds 
must dispatch its elite special forces unit, code-named Brute Force. That's you. As Brute Force, you command four separate intergalactic mercenaries. The trigger-happy assault trooper, cyborg sniper, 
stealthy assassin and feral alien are all played by you. As you guide these shooters through 20+ missions and 6 exotic worlds, your knowledge of squad based combat will be severely tested. Depending on 
the danger at hand, you'll need to utilize the right Brute Force member for the job. Whether you play alone or in co-op mode, the battles escalate, the plot thickens and the violence gets addictive. It's an 
experience of such epic proportion that it could only exist on Xbox. Good luck. To all four of you. 


Violence 





P 
digtalANViL 


e registered ti 
arks of their re: 





q-mann 


THE RUMOR MILL 


Gossip that gets this party started 





Vercetti prepares for an Xbox assault. 


believe tt... 


Hard as it may be to accept, The Q real- 
izes there are other sources of gaming 
gossip angling for your precious ear. 
Listen at your own risk.... 


What you heard: “Phantasy Star Online 
will be done, dead, nada, zilch after 
Episode II C.A.R.D. Revolution comes out.” 
The Q's sources say: Well, this one’s 
half right—Episode III (at right) will be 
the last chapter...of this PSO story. It'll 
wrap up the current plot line of Red Ring 
Rico and Pioneer 1 and 2, but it’s defi- 
nitely not “over for good.” Talk that Sonic 
Team is working on a new, full-length 
PSO has been going on for some time, 
but the hot tip now is that the game will 
feature a full, separate offline Phantasy 
Star in addition to the online adventure. 
Say, I'd like to play that right now... 









Grand Theft Xbox 

One of the hottest rumors The Q-meister 
picked up this month has to do with the 
best-selling Grand Theft Auto series. While 
it's true that Rockstar has a deal with Sony 
to keep the next GTA PS2 exclusive, some- 
how a loophole’s been found and word has 
it the illustrious series will appear on Xbox 
before the end of 2003—and may even 
include Xbox Live connectivity. Will it be a 
reworked version of Vice City? | just don’t 
know...yet. But you heard it here first! 


Nintendo’s next console 

Wonder why Nintendo’s GameCube lineup 
at the E3 trade show wasn’t quite as 
amazing as in years past (see page 30)? 
One of the reasons might be this li'l doozy 
of a rumor: Allegedly, Nintendo has already 
begun discussing its next console with 
third parties for—get this—a fall 2004 
release. Guess they weren't kidding when 
they said they weren't going to be last 
next time around. Sound crazy? Hey, this 
is the rumors page, ya know. Rumors! 


Big N to respond to PSP 
Nintendo let Sony wrest the console market 
from its grasp the first time, but it isn’t 
going to hand off the portable baton so 
easily. Look for Nintendo to make an 
announcement mid-next year about an 
evolved Game Boy to counter Sony's 
PlayStation Portable (PSP—see page 42). 


Talk of PSP price, games 

And speaking of PSP (hey—it’s the talk of 
the town), there’s much speculation going 
on about its price. It won't launch at Game 
Boy's sub-$100 levels, that’s for sure, but 


_\Over?, Dish yor sayfower? Nothing is over, 


64 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


the $199 ballpark sounds feasible. 
Even more interesting is talk that 
Sony’s licensing structure makes 
producing games for the thing super- 
cheap, so some games may retail for 
as low as $15! 


Sequel to FFVII coming? 
Ever since Final Fantasy Vil first 
appeared on PlayStation, gamers have 
wondered if there’d ever be a direct 
sequel. At least that’s the question 
every second e-mail in my inbox is 
asking (the other: How do you revive 
Aeris? People, please! She died—get 
over it). Now that they're doing FFX-2, 
it's possible, right? Well, prepare to flip, 
Cloud mavens: Current gossip indicates 
that FFVI-2 is in the works for...PSP! 
Talk about your killer apps. ... 


Until we decide if: 





@ Back to the future—Mad Catz has 
something for those of you yearning 
for the days of simpler controllers. 
Their RetroCON controller (shown 
above for PS2) is coming to all sys- 
tems later this summer for $25 a pop. 


@ Capcom and Disney conjure up 
Nightmare game—lt’s been 10 years 
since The Nightmare Before Christmas 
hit theaters. But only now are Capcom 
and Disney teaming up to turn the 
Tim Burton stop-motion animated 
classic into a game, coming for PS2 in 
fall 2004. 


@ 3D0 files for bankruptcy—This 
could spell the end of Army Men for- 
ever. But sadly, also High Heat. 


DIGITAL DUSTBIN 


Those of us who scoured toy-store liq- 
uidation bins in the late ’80s will never 
forget wasting a week's allowance on 
the ActionMax video entertainment 
system. The cream of ActionMax’s 
five-game killer-app crop was The 
Rescue of Pops Ghostly. More or less 
a recording of someone’s ride through 
Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, Pops 
Ghostly \et you pretend to shoot at 
string-puppet poltergeists with a light 
gun. But because ActionMax’s “soft- 
ware” were all non-interactive VHS 
tapes (it merely gave you points based 
on when you pulled the trigger), no 
amount of infrared lead could ever ful- 
fill your dream of reducing Pops to a 
puddle of ectoplasmic goo. 








=> A NEW STUDY SAYS PLAYING GAMES INCREASES VISUAL ATTENTION, BUT NOT YOUR READING, WRITING, OR MATHEMATICS SKILLS. WHAT ABOUT DONKEY KONG JR. MATH?.... >> 


level of horror as you battle flesh devouring zombies and murderous mutants 


to regain control of a sea-jacked cruise ship lost in the Atlantic. 


Intense blend of action, puzzle UPGRADE your weapons as you Supports GUNCON 2 light gun 
solving and DEAD-ON graphics progress through the game and DUALSHOCK 2 controllers 








\ 
7 
‘ 


Zz) © 4 
CAPCOM  paaystation.2 GUxCoxD pes 


capcom.com f toh 
Blood and Gore (7 


Vaan) § 
we 
© CAPCOM CO. LTD., 2003. © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM, the CAPCOM logo and RESIDENT EVIL aré’registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO., 
LTD. RESIDENT EVIL is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. Guncon™ 2 & ©2000 NAMCO LTD., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the 
Interactive Digital Software Association. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo and DUALSHOCK are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 





Violence 





f 


THE HOT FIVE 


You vote, we find something to write about 


Vote for your most-anticipated games between the 1st and 15th of each month at www.egmmag.com. 





© PlayStation 2 


METAL GEAR SOLID 3 
SNAKE EATER 


™ Publisher: Konami 
™ Genre: Action 
™ Release: Late 2004 


Lucky Electronic Entertainment Expo attendees walked away 


from Konami's big-screen MGS3 demo with a collectible folder 
full of goodies: a seven-page kit for assembling folded-paper 
versions of Metal Gear Rex (from MGS7) and a “classified mech” 
for MGS3 (which looks a lot like an old Soviet mobile missile 
launcher); teaser cards for GameCube’s Metal Gear Solid: The 
Twin Snakes and GBA’s Boktai; and a black briefing file on 
MGS3. The file explains, as creator Hideo Kojima said in his 
interview with us on page 38, that the team is listening to what 
fans want in MGS3. That’s great, but what’s with the snake- 
eating stuff, Kojima-san? This is Metal Gear, not Iron Chef. 


We bet you can bid on these “secret files” on eBay. Be prepared to 
offer up your first-born chil’ for them, though. 











GameCube 


F-ZERO GX 


Publisher: Nintendo 
Genre: Racing 
Release: August 25, 2003 





fey Shigeru, Miyamoto plays 
a game? EGM is there. 





Spotted just before the show floor opened at E3: Nintendo's 
famed designer Shigeru Miyamoto quietly but enthusiastically 
playtesting Sega’s superb F-Zero AX, which is nearly identical 
to the arcade title F-Zero GX. (The deluxe AX cabinet uses a 
high-definition display and a moving chassis to envelope 
players.) Two surprises: Not only did he display incredible 
technique by pulling off a first-place finish on the game’s 
challenging Aeropolis stage, but he also entered an interest- 
ing code name for his driver: “Miyahon.” (Long-time 
Nintendo players and obsessive freaks may recognize this as 
the errant translation of Miyamoto’s name that appeared in 
the credits of the original Legend of Zelda release in the 
United States, back before he became world-famous. Cute.) 








© PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


STARCRAFT: GHOST 


™ Publisher: VU Games 
© Genre: Action 
™ Release: Early 2004 


You can’t wait for Ghost, and who can blame 

you? From what we've seen, vaunted developer 
Nihilistic is staying true to Blizzard’s Starcraft uni- 
verse while creating a GoldenEye and Tomb Raider 
hybrid that “feels just right,” exciting even those 
unfamiliar with its PC predecessor. (The upside- 
down sniper mode is especially cool.) It's been 
pushed to 2004 in order to perfect its 25 distinct 
levels (including “iconic Starcraft locales such as 
Aiur and Char”), but we’re not complaining. 











© Publisher: Microsoft 
™ Genre: Action 
™ Release: Early 2004 


Seriously, you can vote for something 
new any time now. We've got Halo 2 
covered like a blanket on page 44. But 
here are two extra peeks, since you 
asked nicely... (And since we have 
space, we want to tell you about this 
great fan fiction story we're writing. 
OK! So Chief walks into Cortana’s room 
and the music’s all boom-chugga- 
boom. And he’s like, “So, hey... 





















™ Covenant forces? Meet Master Chief. 
For those of you about to die, we at EGM 
‘salute you. 





Pe Sl 
>> TWO CLASSIC BRAWLERS WILL STAGE COMEBACKS ON THE GAME BOY ADVANCE THIS WINTER: DOUBLE DRAGON ADVANCE AND RIVER CITY RANSOM EX, BOTH FROM ATLUS.... >> 


66 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com 


ses, a. 


ae" alelele re 





Mild Violence 





‘© 2003 Blizzard Entertainment. All rights reserved. Rock 'N Roll Racing is a trademark and Blizzard Entertainment is a trademark or registered trademark of Blizzard Entertainment in the 
US. and/or other countries. Nintendo, Gane Boy, and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo, © 2001 Nintendo. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 





COMING SOON 


The looming avalanche of games that will soon crush you 


(RPG) In this Xbox RPG, you become a light or dark Jedi based on the decisions you 
make. We suggest dousing Chewie’s love child, Lumpy, with Nair to join the dark side 


Ape Escape 2 (Action) PS2 
Collect quirky gizmos to corral a troop of 
time-traveling simians 


Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits 
(RPG) PS2 

This Arc ups the ante in the combat, story, 
and visual departments 


Chaos Legion (Action) PS2 
Hack-and-slash your way through an anime- 
inspired creature collection 


Dinotopia (Action) Xbox, GC 

The extinct TV series based on the book will 
soon hatch on consoles. Make way: license 
coming through! 


Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (RPG) PS2 
Use a little strategy—and a little role-play- 
ing—to help heir-to-the-throne Prince Laharl 
reclaim his Netherworld crown 


Downhill Domination (Racing) PS2 
Streak past alpine scenery and more ads per 
square foot than Times Square 


GameCube 


MARIO GOLF 


Release Date: July .~ 
in 








DroneZ (Action) Xbox 
In the future, Frisbees will replace firearms 
and the letter S will become obsolete 


Fugitive Hunter (Action) PS2 
Instead of capping crooks, this hit man with 
a conscience captures 'em 


The Great Escape (Action) Xbox 
Old-school movie star Steve McQueen 
stages a WWII POW jailbreak 


Ice Nine (Action) PS2 

It’s the new trend: a first-person shooter 
with stealthy gameplay. Sounds like some- 
thing that Robocop would disapprove of, eh? 


K-1 World Grand Prix (Fighting) PS2 
Like Pride FC minus the man-pretzels 


Madden NFL 2004 (Sports) 

PS2, Xbox, GC 

John’s “Maddenisms” continue to baffle us, 
but we're confident he'll release another 
gridiron classic 


NCAA Football 2004 (Sports) 

PS2, Xbox, GC 

The game tens of thousands of college frat 
boys will play in between keg-stands on 
Saturdays for months to come 


Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII 
(Strategy) PS2 

Nothing says “romance” like feudal warlords 
brandishing sharp objects in a menacing 
manner—strategically, of course 


Shrek: Reekin’ Havoc (Action) GBA 
Like the title says, this GBA game promises 
to stink. Or at least the last one did 


Smash Cars (Racing) PS2 
Race RC cars among real-world hazards— 
why is that brown mountain steaming? 


68 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Tetris Online (Puzzle) Xbox 
Shouldn't this have come with the Xbox Live 
Starter Kit? 


Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Island 
Thunder (Action) Xbox 

This squad-based shooter features both all- 
new maps and some of your favorites from 
the original Ghost Recon 


XGRA (Racing) Xbox, GC 
The latest round of Extreme G racing piles 
insane speed on sinuous, corkscrewing 
tracks. Not pronounced “EX-GRA” 


Alter Echo (Action) PS2, Xbox 
Meet Nevin, a shapeshifting third-person 
action hero with the ability to slow time 


Silent Line: Armored Core (Action) PS2 
Lumbering mechs lumber once again onto 
PlayStation 2, although presumably this time 
they're quieter 


Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos 
Bleeds (Action) PS2, Xbox, GC 

Now that the TV show is over, this is the only 
Buffy action you'll be getting 


Choplifter: Crisis Shield (Action) PS2 
The one-time gunship has gone strictly 
search and rescue 


Freaky Flyers (Racing) PS2, Xbox, GC 
Think Diddy Kong Racing with airplanes, 
body wax, and breast implants 


F-Zero GX (Racing) GC 

It pioneered the genre, but can Nintendo's 
antigrav racer reclaim the trophy? Pretty 
frigging likely 


Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward 
(Action) PS2 
Don’t confuse this PS2-exclusive action- 





adventure with October's Xbox-exclusive 
action-adventure Hunter: The Reckoning 
Redeemer. It’s a lot different 


NFL Fever 2004 (Sports) Xbox 

Anew passing system should help NFL 
Fever 2004 contend with this year's pigskin 
heavy hitters 


Silent Hill 3 (Adventure) PS2 
Order within the next 24 hours and get a 
month of complimentary psychotherapy 


Soul Calibur Il (Fighting) PS2, Xbox, GC 
The sequel to the world’s finest weapons- 
based fighter finally hits America. (Expect an 
in-depth look at the game next issue.) 


Splashdown 2: Rides Gone Wild 
(Racing) PS2 

Would you buy anything with “gone wild” in 
the title? 


Star Trek: Shattered Universe (Action) 
PS2, Xbox 

Classic Trek’s mission to seek out green- 
skinned seductresses continues 


CRISIS 3 


Release Date: July 


(Action) Inspired by B- 


movie favorite Jason 
Voorhees, dinosaurs 
hijack a starship. OK, not 
really, but the story is 
equally preposterous. We 
can’t play any of these 
games without saying, 
“I’m having a dino crisis!” 








Nine essential 
lalla g(a u-m elma ae) al— 
essential body. 


LARA CROET 









Pink Monkey Harley Q. Win Billy 
Most Likely to Be a Pop Star Most Likely to Grab the Bull Most Likely to Annoy the King Most Likely to Get a 
by the Horns Speeding Ticket 


ry 


ae 


Monko Polo Natalie Marshall Larry 


@ot 
e@ot 





Most Likely to Find a Most Likely to Lose Her Wits Most Likely to Punch the Ref Most Likely to Step in 
Legendary Banana Monkey Poo 





& \ 





Mr. White Balboa Norman Specter 


Most Likely to Be an Evil Scientist Most ried he ina Most Likely to Drive a Humvee Most Likely to Take Over the World 
leat Locker 


Comic Mischief 


Mild Violence 








[Seeerere re 
Ubi Soft 

















www.ubi.com 


©2003 Sony 
Ubi Soft and 


uter Entertair ment Inc 










Catching Madness 


gc=% 


Leo Stephenson Jimmy George 
Most Likely to Catch a Fever Most Likely to Walk the Plank Most Likely to Save the World Most Likely to Be Inquisitive 








qa 


Buzz Arthur Parka Punto 
Most Likely to Be Lost in Space Most Likely to Get Pierced Most Likely to Chill Most Likely to Sink the Gondola 
w 


ey 


a 








Cleo Yellow Monkey Libby Spud 
Most Likely to Walk Like an Most Likely to Be a Pro Wrestler Most Likely to Swim to Ellis Island Most Likely to Be a Hypnotist 
Egyptian 


300 monkeys. They're smarter. They're zanier. 
And they’re trying to take over the world. 


e | PlayStation. 





Coe e3 
» guide 





OUR OPINIONATED 
TO THE GAMES 
YOU'LL BE PLAYING NEXT 


At this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, we played early ver- 
sions of the biggest games coming out over the next year, so now 
we can tell you what’s looking good and what needs a hell of a lot 
of work. The kid gloves are off... 


ie) 








KEY 


MULTIPLATFORM 


FANTASTIC Good & 
If this game This game looks 
were a horse, really promising. 
we'd bet money It’s definitely one 
on it. A lot of it. e LOREM aa 


BORING BAD 

The demo we Drastic changes 
played at E3 )) are needed for this 
failed to wale game to be worth 
inspire us. od your money. 


Please note: These “ratings” are based on the early, incomplete demos that were on display 
at E3, Any of our opinions are subject to radical change when the final product comes out. 


Playing as a stylish character makes the 
FFXI experience a good one. (Taking on the 
persona of a butt-ugly character in EverQuest 
simply isn’t good for your self-esteem.) 





| & 
| | 
& | 





@ Publisher: Sony CEA Ml Developer: Squaresoft 1 
THE BASICS: 


For a while, the chances of FFX/ coming to America seemed 
slim. But somehow, the planets have aligned: PS2 gamers 
will experience the massively multiplayer online RPG in early 
2004. Why the delay? Chalk it up to the HDD, the PlayStation 
On eeroOne 2 hard-drive unit that users need in order to play the game. 
‘a hits the Ochu for 193 points of Be! Rolling this prohibitive peripheral out to consumers won't be 
ie easy, and Sony isn’t discussing a price just yet. (A small 
Boss encounters can get really nasty. Luckily, you can hook =‘ Monthly fee will also be required to play.) For our money, 

up with as many as 15 friends to fight really heinous baddies. we'd like to see a $99.99 FFX/ and HDD package deal. 





3 
§ 
= 
= 
2 














Release: Early 2004 


HOW WAS IT? 

My skepticism looms large after EverQuest for the PS2, but 
FFXI seems primed to not suck. Snazzy visuals, cool 
characters, and the ability to play with PC FFX/ owners (and 
Japanese players, too) all pique my interest. I’m not entirely 
hooked on the semiautomatic combat, but it's admittedly bet- 
ter than £Q’s. With intricate character customization, a com- 
plex job system, and more than 100 areas to visit, the addic- 
tion factor—and subsequent chance for embarrassing online 
weddings—increases exponentially. —Shane Bettenhausen 


PLAYSTATION 2 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com * 73 


















































It's Gran Téirism6, it’s online, and you may. commence 
~ Sweating. Sony boasts that G74 will.include more than 
500 cars.and 50 tracks (though we suspect that’s inflated 
by stuff‘like eight-trim levels':worthiof-Fairlady,Zs:and: 
night/day versions of the same course), including a New 
York Gity-course and real-world-tacetracks:like Japan's: 
Tsukuba circuit. Serious tinkeriiig with the physics 
engine, hailed by Polyphony Digital’Diréctor Kazunorl 
Yamatichi as “the first major refinement in Gran Turismo: 
history,” should make driving easier and more realistic— 
in-game. and real-lifefap times around Tsukuba in a 
Honda $2000 differed by just .4 seconds. Yamauchi also 
promised improved driver A.I., which,will exhibit more 
humanlike behavior, such’as learning from its mistakes 
and actually avoiding your car instead of ramming into it. 
Expect an all-new Museum mode, the triumphant 
feturn of used-car dealers, and possibly, according to 
Yamauchi, cosmetic customization options a la Auto 
Modellista, Few details about online modes have been 
reveated, but weiknow the’six-cars-per-race maximum 


will remain i ffect. Unfortunately, voice chat has bee! ’ 
a 110-0. é 


HOW WAS IT? 

if The £3 demo had three playable tracks: Tsukuba, NYC, 

and,Grand Canyonfa rally course). The extensive car list Ja 

included 23 models on the NYC track alone, ranging from 

Classic musele like the Barracuda to the Le Mans-trim 

= Mazda RX-8'Tacer. If this truncated lineup is any indica- 
tion, we'll see more North American cars than ever 
before—but who wants to race a Pontiac GXP or Vibe GT 
(both of which were in the demo)?, 

The most striking’changes aré Visual, as you can see 
from this shot of the Grand Canyon-course. But one thing 
screenshotsican'tconvey is the amount of suspension 

ion travel the cars exhibit—especfally on the rally courses, 
ae Where'they seem, to bounce,constantly on the bumpy 

Boe track. On the road, the cars:handled much as they do in 

‘ A-Spec, although the dirt-course racing felt much. 

4 improyed’and on par with the best rally games. The 
promised’AN; tweaks weren't, alas, apparent in what! 
played, and | could:still bounce off cars with impunity 
When |wentinto.a corner too quickly, but Yamauchi says 
that'll change'ift the finalyrélease. —Demian Linn 




















| @ You'll apparently get to tear ass through the back 
alleys of Japan, though we didn’t see that in the demo. 


A GAMING MONTAD « w' 


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niagen cnaracrers, exira weapons and 
undiscovered worlds are all at your 
fingertips. Cut out the cards, slip them 
into the game’s case for a quick trick. 


When you get the itch, punch in these codes and 
really get into the game. 


OW® 


GET INTO THE GAME.COM 


©2003 





Check out www.getintothegame.com jo 
download a coupon for $5 off any game on this card. While 
you're there, get the scoop on all the hottest games and accessories. 





rget Stores. The Bullseye Design is a registered trademark of Target Brands, Inc. Al 


RETURN TO GASTLE WOLFENSTEIN: 
OPERATION RESURRECTION 


SURVIVAL TIPS 


© Walking 

you to sneak up 

behind an enemy 

without him or 
her realizing death is a 
moment away. 


© To get an idea of how inac- 
curate an MP40 is at long 
range, watch the tracer lines 
from a distant enemy blasting 
away at you. It's 
of blind wasps. 











© The circle-strafe takes prac- 
tice. You waste a lot of ammu- 


up for the situations in which 
you need to do it well. 


© Some of the secrets areas > 
easy to uncover as breakinga 4 
board on the wall. Have at the Be 
board on the supply room's 

wall with your knife or kick i 
When it breaks, a Gold Bar is 
your prize. 








WEAPON TIPS 


Use the Reticule 
Each weapon has 
a targeting retic- 
ule that helps 
you know when fo pull the trig- 
ger. When the reticule turns red, 
you have an enemy target lined 
up. Your next shot has a better- 
than-average chance of hitting the 
mark. When the reticule is yellow, 
your next shot will hit some object 
that you can affect—a missile 
rack, weapons crate, Shrike tech- 
nology and the like. If the reticule 
is blue, your shot probably won't 
hit. 

When the reticule is red, you have 
a target lined up, even if it's 
tough to see. 


Short, Controlled Bursts 

Your ammunition supply, while 
generous, is still limited. With a 
high-powered, fast weapon like 
the RVG50 minigun, you can spit 
through your 600 rounds in about 
a minute if you keep the trigger 
depressed. 








Know When to Switch 

The best time to set down one of 
your weapons and pick up a new 
one is when the one you've been 
using is drained of ammunition. 
Get a new one off the ground 
somewhere or find some ammo. 








s ~ee 
—— Tia. 
es wide 





\Z 
dX 





> 


SONIG ADVENTURE DX: 


DIRECTOR'S 


GUT 


GAMECUBE 





SUPER SONIC MOVES 


© Each enemy 
you encounter 
patrols a small 
area. It turns 
around and 
around, but doesn't notice you 
until you enter its personal space. 
That space varies from one 
enemy to the next. If you're in 
no hurry, watch an enemy for a 
couple of seconds and attack 
when it turns its back. 


© Sonic has sticky feet as long 
as he's on the move. At a run, he 
can cross places where rolling 
won't work. » 


© Prower's biggest asset is his 
y to fly a considerable dis- 
tance. He also finds one of his 
permanent upgrades (the Jet 
Anklet) before starting his first 
Action Stage, augmenting his 
already impressive hangtime. 








file 


LOOK FOR PRIMA STRATEGY GUIDES AT TARGET 





. &y AT \a es 
@ Ratchet “goes astronaut” on one 
of the worlds’ many moons. 


——— 


@ Walk softly and carry a 
large lightsaber. 


THE BASICS: 


THE BASICS: 

Ratchet and his bucket-o’-bolts buddy Clank 
are back for more in Going Commando, which 
picks up where the last adventure left off. 


' Ratchet, now a full-fledged commando, travels 


to the Bogon galaxy to accept a mission for his 
new boss, Abercrombie Fizzwidget, CEO of 


‘ Megacorp. Naturally, chaos ensues. 


HOW WAS IT? 

The first Ratchet was plenty fun, and since 
this is pretty much the same game with 
tweaks and enhancements—like experience- 
based gameplay and a new weapon-upgrad- 
ing system—!’m looking forward to it. One 
thing worries me, though: | hear the amount 
of time you play as Clank hasn’t increased. | 
want more, dagnabbit! © —Chris Johnston 


HOW WAS IT? 


1 Hmm...where have 
we seen this before? 
Oh yeah, in countiess 
other beat-em-ups. 


RISE TO HONOR © 


@ Pub: Sony CEA @ Dev: Sony Foster City ml Rel: January 2004 


THE BASICS: 

You're kung fu superstar Jet Li, and 
you’re not interested in having dim sum 
with the thugs in this beat-em-up. 


fighting, whereby you use the right 
analog stick to hit anyone in any direc- 
tion. Sounds cool—but at heart, this felt 
like just a ho-hum button masher (well, 
technically a control-stick masher) with 
some gunplay. It’s going to need more 
variety to rise to “fun.” —Shoe 


HOW WAS IT? 


Rise’s claim to fame is its 360-degree 


@ Enemies get so close.that you could reach 
out and punch them. At least, you’d think so. 


SYPHON FILTER: ® 
THE OMEGA STRAINS 


@Pub: Sony CEA @ Dev: Sony. CEA 
W Rel: February 2004 


THE BASICS: 

Previous Filter action hero Gabe Logan 
is now in charge of the Agency. You 
play as a new recruit, whom you 
create and customize. Best feature? 
Tackle the game's 13 missions alone 


Sega brings Vectorman back from the 
Genesis scrap heap in this new PS2 
actioner. This time, Vectorman is search- 
ing for his creator, Aura, while saving his 
homeland from a maniacal dictator. 


It’s still early, but ol’ V-man isn’t looking 
so hot. The visuals were dull and lack- 
luster, and the gameplay felt like a gar- 
bled mix of Ratchet & Clank and Red 
Faction. —Chris Johnston 


<a 


or with up to three other players online 
(broadband only). 


HOW WAS IT? 

It’s not a positive sign when the shoot- 
ing in a game based around gunplay 
gets repetitive. And the inability to hit 
nearby enemies while waiting to 
reload makes the game feel dated 
already. Prognosis: It’s good that 
February is so far off. —Joe Fielder 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com ¢ 75 








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How’s three days of 
gaming nirvana sound? 


The latest games. 
Extreme sports. 
Live music and more! 


At the Ultimate Gamers Expo” you can test-drive the latest games and platforms, 
participate in high-octane tournaments, attend game design workshops and enjoy 


live entertainment — you won't want to miss it: 


¢ The latest, coolest games ¢CPL/NVIDIA Unreal Tournament 2003 
¢ Live bands ¢ World Cyber Games U.S. Finals 

¢ Extreme sports demos ¢ Celebrities and athletes 

e Martial arts ¢ Games and equipment for purchase 


Tickets are on sale now at www.ugexpo.com and admission is only $20 for 
adults and $10 for kids (16 and younger). So get out of the sun and into the 


first annual Ultimate Gamers Expo! 


UGEXPO August 15-17 at the L.A. Convention Center. 


( ( see the best 
Tickets NG, . 
now on sale at Ven! play the best 
Wwww.ugexpo.com ) . 
ULTIMATE Ts the best 
GAMERS 





EXPO 





& opinionated e 
» guide: psc 





Pe 

a ~ 
gy Res EVILOUTBREAK 
¥ 5 THE BASICS: Oy 


You like to play with yourself. That's OK—it’s a perfectly normal, natural thing. It's also why 
Capcom dumped Qutbreak’s old name (Resident Evil Online) and added single-player 
Capability to this fully 3D horror adventure. Up to four gamers can still play together over the 
Net, using teamwork and good ol’ fashioned violence to solve puzzles and fight the undead. 
Or, if you like, you can play the same game solo, with the computer controlling your three 
partners. (In fact, it might be more fun that way, depending on who you’re playing with.) 






HOW WAS IT? 
The different characters’ (there are eight) abilities and points of view on the same events 
"a ne 3 (think RE2) are a clever hook, the graphics look sharp, and the whole teamwork vibe is 
nce-yourre infected, you'll » —"s something new that RE desperately needs. Only the inexplicable lack of voice chat or a 


virtual keyboard—you can communicate only through frustrating context-sensitive phrases 
the game chooses for you—kept my excitement in check. —Mark MacDonald 


- 
4141] 


in SOCOM II, which gives you SOCOM Il: U.S. NAVY SEALS ¢ 
many more places to hide. @ Pub: Sony CEA Mi Dev: Zipper mi Rel: November 2003 

THE BASICS: ‘ 
“Our SEALs are uglier this time,” says 
Zipper Interactive Creative Director David 
Sears. “But that’s good—it means 
they’re more realistic.” And realism j : es 

% drives every improvement to this squat ; 

* based-shooter sequel. Computer- y ee | 
controlled troopers, both allies and 3 . ‘ 
enemies, are brainier. “They'll run to Cami es 
seek cover and reload when their ammo —« If you stay stealthy and eavesdrop, you 
runs low,” Sears says. You get new shot- can learn info to help you in later missions. 

“% gun and rocket-launcher weapon classes. 

- Best ofall, Zipper is pulling double duty first game to begin with, but | had too 
to make sure the online game—which good of a time playing the more urban- 
also packs all the maps from the first ized maps online, coordinating air strikes 
game—is cheat resistant. with the new radio towers, and storming 

: the enemies’ fortress in the Breach mode. 
HOW WAS IT? My one gripe: Manning the new gun 
| could argue that most of SOCOM II's emplacements makes you a sitting duck. 
improvements should have been in the —Crispin Boyer 








@ Pub: Sony CEA ll Dev: Naughty Dog ml Rel: September 2003 


THE BASICS: 
In the sequel to spirited PS2 platformer Jak and Daxter, Jak grows up, picks up an arsenal of 
weapons, and takes up residence in a living, breathing futuristic city. Oh, and he talks now, too. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Somehow this game feels like the original Jak and Daxter-—and completely fresh and new at 
the same time. I'm happy to report that it's not dark for dark’s sake or the Grand Theft Auto 
Clone it might seem at first. It's got the last game's inventive puzzles, great timing, excellent 
vehicle physics, and a spot-on camera, but now there’s shooting and even more variety. | can’t 
wait to get my hands on the completed game. —dJoe Fielder 





78 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 















VOU ATS 
oT Bales 





seth BH} tie WW) arsen Aly 





‘THE GREAT ESCAPE Interactive Game (certain audiovisual. nM Inc. THE GREAT ESCAPE Motion Picture © 1963 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 
‘Studios inc. THE GREAT ESCAPE | ieee 4 Limited. Steve McQueen TM Licensed by Chadwick McQueen and The Terry 
‘McQueen Testamentary Trust Repr j amily logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc. 
‘Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox lebareeth Soule ue A a Corporat US. and/or other countries. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive 


Digital Software Association. Go are) Inc. 2003 Take-Two Interactive, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 





SOL TOM VENT Enemy Anes, 
ASO OME Naa War machine, 
POE VOM Ant OF METOES IN Iie) 
HESCANE MN MISIONY: 





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


Angry plant, one; ogre minion, zero 


stike shat, Don’t ask any questions. 


opt first, ask aye laters 


@ That lightsaber’s headin’ straight 
o Where He sun don’t shine. 


@ Rainbow Six is like Ghost Recon, 
but faster, scarier, and prettier. Yum. 





80 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





RUN BY.GAMERS, 
FOR GAMERS, 
WN=iolou meV (> =ton 


\"\') = BIO} 


oe ea OG l= ANC yAV4| S| =a pl @) 
GAMING (O10) 51 = OO) | OM ey ANY atm) 


@B zier pavis MEDA PICK ONE UP ON NEWSSTANDS EVERYWHERE. 


GAME GROUP 





MINA GAIDEN ss 


Publisher: Tecmo ml Developer: Team Ninja Ml Release Date: November 2003 


THE BASICS: 

Ryu Hayabusa is a man on a mission. The Vigor Empire has wiped out his ninja clan and 
stolen its magic sword, the Ryuken. Now, Ryu must fight his way to the Holy Emperor's 
stronghold and take back what is rightfully his by using all of his ninja skills. As Team Ninja’s 
first nonfighting game in years (not counting the Dead or Alive Volleyball offshoot), Ninja 
Gaiden offers fast-paced action (think Devil May Cry meets Shinobi), amazing visuals, and 
an Xbox Live online component that Tecmo promises is unlike anything offered by others in 
the action genre. (How it'll work is still a mystery, but we hear it may have something to do 
with the rating you're given after completing each level.) 


HOW WAS IT? 

Imagine my surprise when during an interview with Team Ninja front man Tomonobu Itagaki, 
he hands me the controller and says, “Play.” Then imagine the pressure of playing a game 
you've never touched before in front of its creator. Luckily, the controls were so intuitive, | 
quickly felt comfortable. Jumping, attacking, the button used to swing the camera around— 
everything was where it should be, and Gaiden felt supersmooth and responsive. By tapping 
the Attack button, you can rack up combos, or you can hold it down for a second and release 
it for a more devastating blow. 

Although the demo featured only a sword and nunchakus, Tecmo promises an extensive 
arsenal of ninja weapons in the final game. Plus, you also have a limited number of spirit 
attacks that can spontaneously combust all nearby foes—useful when a group of enemies 
has you surrounded. Cool? Oh yeah. But there's more. Part of the demo lets you scale a 
room by running counterclockwise around its walls. Admittedly, | did have some trouble 
before being clued in that | had to jump at every wall's edge to get to the next one. But by 
the next room, I’d learned my lesson and was able to cross a broken bridge by jumping and 
running across a nearby wall. 

Without question, Ninja Gaiden is one of the most visually stunning action games yet. 
Amazing environments, great water effects— was in awe of every room in this short demo. 
The only question | have now is, can this frantic pace and attention to detail be kept up 
throughout the final game? —Chris Johnston 


82 ¢ ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


1 Want to see actual gameplay 
(non-cinematic) shots? Sorry, 
Team Ninja wouldn’t give us any. 





LOOKING FOR A NEW HERO! 


‘ae 4 






xB0x 


a) 
Comic Mischief 
Mild Violence 


CREATED BY AND PRODUCED BY PUBLISHED BY 





Rent A Hero No. 1 © SEGA CORPORATION, 1991, 2000, 2003. All Rights Reserved. Created by and produced by SEGA CORPORATION. In cooperation with 
CoolNet Entertainment Co., Ltd. Published by AIA USA, Ltd. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft 
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. 








84 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com 


We 
so,intense it's painful. D€— 
yone on pee LIVE xox 


GT er udle 
| etal re 











Oj Vite Tenis SE NEe! 
Wastcls tina Neer) witin a 
Chose Of Senin FEM” 


* Wills DOAN tszisael zine glesiloel, 
OuiEiy OUinos zine ginels” 





eit | Mystic By Bet leer HEGAME.COM 


© 2008 Sino ais Sn nr on of Sih ats A Gl ese Te raga es 
eros aie 


inthe U.S andor ter 





Publisher: Nintendo ml Developer: Nintendo 
Release Date: December 2003 


THE BASICS: 

It's Mario Kart tag-team style, with one character behind the 
wheel and the second chucking turtle shells, banana peels, 
and whatever else comes along courtesy of those spinning, 
question-marked power-up containers. You can switch 
drivers right on the fly, and since both characters can hold 
an item, there’s a whole new layer of depth to the combat- 
racing metagame we all know and...sniff...love. 


HOW WAS IT? 
Very good, thanks, especially when hooked up to other Cubes 
for LAN play (you can connect up to eight systems via broad- 
band adapters and hubs). After selecting a pair of racers 
(there are 16 total), you pick one of three karts. In the version 
| played, some karts are available only to certain characters, 
and all have somewhat different handling. Aside from the 
usual roster of power-ups from earlier Mario Kart games, 
there are character-specific special items like an enormous 
Chain Chomp, which is perfect for clearing the road ahead. 
As for the racing, it was a little slower than expected— 
even in the 150cc class—although that could be because the 
brief time | had on the stick wasn’t enough to figure out how 
to get a boost using the powerslide. There’s gotta be a way. 
—Demian Linn 


GAMECUBE 


86 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


1 Unless you have a room full of GameCubes and televi- 
sions—and you don’t—you'll be playing four-way splitscreen. 





Bi This little 
piggy went 








Story-line tie-i the Mega Collect battle chipk 
Man Battle N@iffork games. your enemies & si 






Join the Anniversary 

MEGAN, AN [em 

CAPCOM C st 
Www.capcom.com/megaman 

@CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2003 @CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DEVELOPMENT BY ARIKA CO., LTD. ©CAPCOM, Shogakukan, ShoPro, TV Tokyo 2002. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM. 


logo are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. MEGAMAN NETWORK TRANSMISSION is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. TM, @ and the Nintendo GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. 
©2001 Nintendo. ©, TM Warner Bros. 2003 The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 





EVERYONE 


Mild Violence 





® 


NINTENDO 
GAMECUBE. 








‘CONTENT RATED BY 
ESRB 


opinionated e3 


guide:gamecube / ) z Bp iLL YR citron trom the wort 
oi a q 2 over flock to lick the majestic 


Rock Candy monument. 









STOMA 


FINALFANTASY: | 
CRYSTAL CHRONICLES ~ 


@ Publisher: Nintendo Mi Developer: The Game Designers Studio lm Release Date: November 2003 


THE BASICS: 

The famous RPG series finally returns to the Nintendo party 
after years of absence, but Crystal Chronicles might not be 
the same glittering homecoming queen everybody expected. 
“| think people will find the game to be quite different from 
all of the Final Fantasy games we've seen up until now,” 
explains Producer Akitoshi Kawazu. It's hard to predict how 
fans of the PS1 and PS2 RPGs will react—Crystal Chronicles 
barely resembles the 10 previous proper FF titles. Forgoing 
the heavy plot, sullen heroes, and turn-based combat typical 
of the series, Chronicles is a multiplayer action-RPG that’s 
meant to appeal to a much wider audience. 

That's not to say Chronicles lacks a gripping story line, 
but it definitely takes a backseat to the action. At the game's 
outset, you (and up to three comrades) assume the roles of 
Crystal Caravan members Ciaron, Lu’ge, Cyadd, and Hias— 
four young heroes sworn to rescue the world from diabolical 
smog by finding powerful magic crystals. 

The adventure unfolds in a series of missions across 
fields, cities, and dungeons, with you and your companions 
swinging swords and casting spells against hordes of 
enemies all the while. Luckily, the combat is smooth and 
fun—you've got three-hit weapon combos (a la Phantasy 
Star Online), charge-up attacks, and real-time versions of 
familiar FF magic spells. Puzzles appear to be on the light hook. Sadly, you won't find any 
side (i.e., match the key to the similarly shaped lock), and : overblown, erate tap: check-your- 
climactic boss encounters await you at the end of each 7 : ae watch summon spells here, though. 
mission. Overall, it's simple, easy-to-pick-up stuff. ¥, 


rie SS 











ba @ Just as you'd expect from an FF title, 
| the spell effects are off the proverbial 





HOW WAS IT? 
All right, | get it—this isn’t like the other Final Fantasy 
games, but then again, | happen to like them. Even so, | real- 
ly enjoyed the early build of Chronicles. It's a truly unique 
blend—imagine Gauntlet meets Phantasy Star Online with a 
chaser of Final Fantasy mythos and you're almost there. | 
especially dug the slick visuals, haunting music, and reward- 
ing combat. The jury's still out on the much-vaunted GBA 
connectivity, though. Your pals don’t have to use a 
GBA to play, but it does offer them a map and enhanced 
inventory management. Neat, but quite gimmicky, really. 
—Shane Bettenhausen 





88 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


{ling Ti . 
Seine 





athe Iineredaibile 


Do you remember the very first time you went fishing? The fresh air...the soothing 
sounds of nature around you...the tranquility of the water. Reel Fishing III is a 
true-to-life fishing experience with a magnificent 3-dimensional fishing engine,. . 
beautiful environments, life-like fish and realistic nature sounds! 

Natsume ond Reel Fishing are registered trademarks of Natsume Inc. Serious Fun is a trodemark of Natsume Inc. ©2003 Notsume Inc. ©2003 Morvelous Interactive Inc, All Rights Reserved. 

Dolby, Pro Logic ond the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Licensed for ploy on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation only. "PlayStation" and the 
"PS" Fomily logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Manufactured and printed ia the U.S.A. 


THIS SOFTWARE IS COMPATIBLE WITH PLAYSTATION 2 CONSOLES WITH THE NTSC U/C DESIGNATION. Us. AND FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING. 
* Based on tote franchise sales through 2002 TRST. 
EVERYONE 


PlayStation. _ < 





RY OL) | ee 
Teen, 


[4 : Seri 7 
wine) aasues PlayStation.2 wna com 





















penecatad (=) 
guide:gamecute | 


R 





Alecorno o1' 45°00 


@ Pub: Nintendo Ml Dev: N-Space Ml Rel: TBA 


THE BASICS: 

It’s a first-person shooter, but spoooooky. As a “Spectral Operative,” you're a decidedly 
unfriendly ghost, possessing the bodies of your foes and then using their weapons and 
equipment to your own ends. Or take on your friends in splitscreen deathmatch. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Looks like Geist needs some graphic and gameplay refinements, but judging from the 

early demo, there's plenty of promise. Though running into a room and possessing one 

enemy after another kind of takes the shooting part out of first-person shooter, at least 

it’s different—and you can still bust in with guns blazing if you're so inclined. 
—Demian Linn 


90 » ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com 







Pub: Nintendo ml Dev: Namco Ml Rel: TBA 
THE BASICS: 


After a brief stint with some on-foot Adventures, Fox and crew are back to 
take on a new threat, this time with more vehicular combat reminiscent of 
the pre-GameCube Star Fox games. Two players can play cooperatively, 
and four-player battles return. 


HOW WAS IT? 

The only part of Star Fox 2 that Nintendo had to show was Versus play, 
and the only thing | have to say is “Bleh.” You know those forgettable 
Nintendo 64 titles, the ones with generic deathmatch modes that no one 
cared to play? That's what this short demo of SF2 was like (the so-so 


4 graphics reinforced that, too): run around or hop in a tank or Arwing ship, 


then blast the other guy until he dies. If the main game (which we haven't 
seen yet) can duplicate the original's intense space-combat action, 
however, I'll be a happy fox. —Shoe 


@ You can race against the 
CPU or up to three others in 
this long-awaited sequel. 


1080°:AVALANC 


@ Pub: Nintendo @ Dev: Nintendo m Rel: September 2003 
THE BASICS: 


It's snowboarding, livened up with rockslides, cave-ins, collapsing 
bridges, and slopes teeming with wildlife and pesky skiers. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Avalanche felt solid and shouldn't disappoint fans of the Nintendo 64 
original. It’s fast—tucking on the straightaways, | felt like a rocket 
on a deck—and the controls were challenging but not frustrating. | 
had to work the joypad for those quadruple-digit spins, and when | 
landed awkwardly, | had to rotate the analog stick to regain balance. 

is extra level of control over my rider made me feel much more 

involved than in your typical snowboarding game. —Shoe 





THE TWIN SNA 


@ Pub: Konami m Dev: Silicon Knights m Rel: Fall 2003 


THE BASICS: 

The original Metal Gear Solid stealth-espionage adventure 
(previously released for PS1) comes to the Cube with a 
graphical face-lift and a few gameplay features added from 
its PS2 sequel. “It's no simple remake,” says series creator 
Hideo Kojima. “[It’s] a combination of the best parts of [Metal 
Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2.” 


HOW WAS IT? 

On the one hand, it's MGS—how could it not be good? It’s 
guaranteed rock-solid gameplay and a great story, plus a few 
gameplay tweaks and some kind of GBA link-up feature (still 
under wraps). On the other hand, it’s MGS—most of us are 
now familiar with the surprising plot twists that were one of 


=MEven with a ton of 
ars on the track, 
F-Zero GX \ooks great. 


F-ZERO GX 


m “Why do! get 
the feeling Pve 
been here before?” 


@ Additions include a first-person-shooting mode, the ability 
to hang off ledges, and revamped cinema cut-scenes. 


the game’s biggest selling points, and, in terms of graphics 
and animation, it didn’t look quite as good as MGS2 yet. 
— Mark MacDonald 


@ Publisher: Nintendo m Developer: Amusement Vision m Release: August 25, 2003 


THE BASICS: 

The hovercraft battle-racing franchise we all know and love 
is updated for the Cube, with enough turbo boosts, gigantic 
jumps, and crazy corkscrewing tracks to make you sick (but, 
duh, in a good way). 


HOW WAS IT? 


GX controlled just like | remember previous F-Zeros—the 


Steering felt too sensitive at first, almost twitchy. But as soon 
as | adjusted and learned to use the shoulder buttons to lean 
properly, | appreciated the subtleties of the controls. The two 
ramming attacks (spin and slide, just like in the N64 version) 
were fun, the sense of speed was intense, and the cour: 


looked absolutely gorgeous—hopefully the empty black voids 


that surrounded the tracks in splitscreen multiplayer were 
just placeholder graphics. — Mark MacDonald 







“an immense landscape covering 
hundreds of miles of LA streets...” 
-/GN.com 


Fe 





bust it up, Twisted ‘ 
Metal-style. 


KIRBY'S AIR RIDE 


m Pub: Nintendo m Dev: HAL Laboratory m Rel: October 13, 2003 


THE BASICS: 

Control Nintendo’s infamous pink puffball in a series of fast-paced races 
and multiplayer challenges for up to four players. All you need is one 
thumb on the control stick and another on the brake—slowing down 
charges up speed bursts and lets you powerslide through turns. Kirby 
takes care of the rest, sucking up enemy powers and attacking foes 
when you steer close to them. 






< 
00'30'26 


DM « 00'30"20 


cteolao"ac 





roteclooloc HOW WAS IT? 
ee will ae a Its simple one-button gameplay will please younger Kirby fans, but it 
pink puffball can fly. runs the risk of leaving anyone over 10 unsatisfied. —Chris Johnston 








We don’t know what 
the hell that thing is on 
the right, but we kinda 
want to club it witha bat. 


BILLY HATCHER & , 
THEGIANTEGG 


mw Pub; Sega m Dev: Sonic Team m Rel: Winter 2003 


THE BASICS: 
Using the power of eggs, both as weapons and—after hatching them— 
fighting animals, Billy must save his world from eternal darkness, 


HOW WAS IT? 

Hatcher feels so similar to a Sonic game that you might have to check 
under Billy’s rooster suit to make sure he ain’t the ‘hog in disguise. But 
instead of speed, the hook is in how you constantly use eggs to attack or 
solve various puzzles. Nothing in the demo was wildly innovative, but even 
at this early stage, it’s an incredibly solid platformer. |. —Chris Johnston 











PIKMIN 2 


m Pub: Nintendo m Dev: Nintendo m Rel: October 2003 


THE BASICS: 
Two thimble-tall alien astronauts are better than one, or so goes the 
theory behind this sequel. Aside from two-player play, it tosses in 


new photosynthesis-fueled critters—a burly purple fella and a : aeicae 

creepy, poisonous white one. one’s Pikmin & = 
os es 

HOW WAS IT? 


Pikmin 2 centers on quests for doodads, which isn’t much different 
from the goal of the first game. So far, it just feels like more of the 
same. (But man, that white thing scares me.) —Crispin Boyer 


92 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 







iat aad Te 
mw PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


LORD OF THE RINGS: R 





@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


xill 


@ Pub: Ubi Soft m Dev: Ubi Soft m Rel: October 2003 


THE BASICS: 


/ You wake up with no memory. You have “Xill” tattooed 


4. onyou. You might have assassinated the president. 


Armed men are trying to kill you. Welcome to the 
; worst hangover of all time. 


HOW WAS IT? 
This first-person shooter has style. Comics-inspired 
effects highlight important objects, showcase head- 
| shots, and reveal hidden enemies. And its groovy funk 
soundtrack had me tappin’ my toes while | was 
cappin’ foes. Get down! 
—Paul Byrnes 


@ Level 16 dragon attacks white mage: 
roll 20-sided die. 


ublisher: EA Games m Developer: EA mi Release Date: November 2003 


THE BASICS: 

Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, and four secret characters join Middle- 
earth MVPs Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in this sequel to last 
year’s hit hack-and-slash adventure. Depending on the 
character you pick (hairy half-pints included), you'll play 
through one of three distinct paths (with additional detours for 
determined explorers) that overlap to match events in the 
forthcoming film. But if anything makes this the movie game 
to keep an eye out for, it's the new two-player cooperative 
play. Of all the new features, that one’s the most intriguing. 


HOW WAS IT? 
Involved, eye-pleasing, majestic—Return of the King’s epic 
scale is simply overwhelming. Sulfur-spewing dragons soar 
overhead, waves of orcs advance beyond the citadel walls, 
siege engines roll up against ramparts, the camera spins 
dramatically to capture incoming catapult fire...maybe it’s all 
just smoke and mirrors disguising a straightforward slasher, 
but | set down the controller totally convinced of my role as 
alone, yet indispensable player in a world-changing war. 
—Shawn Elliott 


THIS IS NOT A 
FIGHTING GAME. 








“The fighting in True Crime looks 
just as good, if not better, than many 
of the fighting games out there.” 


ICy 





@ ped aah a 


» guide: MULCI PPI PII. 










@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


STARCRAFT: GHOST 


@ Publisher: Blizzard Mi Developer: Nihilistic Ml Release Date: Early 2004 


THE BASICS: 

It’s a stealth actioner with acrobatics! Svelte protagonist Nova’s ghost (or psionic) abilities 
get you through the game’s 25 levels firing an absolute minimum of shots. All that, plus it’s 
set in the story-rich Starcraft universe (although you don’t have to play the PC/N64 strategy 
game classic to properly enjoy it). 


HOW WAS IT? 

The levels—and Nova’s catlike navigation through them—tlook beautiful, and so far the 
game plays smoothly. | could jump onto a conveniently placed ceiling pipe, hang upside 
down, zoom in with a sniper rifle, and execute enemies without ever touching the ground. On 
other levels, you can maneuver siege tanks, call in nuclear strikes, and use fancy bullet-time 
attacks. What's not to like? —dennifer Tsao 


: = 
The face of Pierce Brosnan) and) 
‘the hantis;by Andre the Giant, 





94 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


007: EVERYTHING OR NOTHING 


@ Pub: EAGames Ml Dev: EA @ Rel: Fall 2003 


THE BASICS: 

It's hard to get too excited 

about a new Bond game after 

years of mostly subpar gaming 

schlock (OK, 007: NightFire was 

fairly hot). Enter 007: 

Everything or Nothing, a third- 

person shooter complete with all the gadgets and vehicles 
you've come to require—plus, Pierce Brosnan’s likeness as 
Bond, Shannon Elizabeth as new Bond girl Serena St. Germaine, 
007 iibervillain Jaws, two-player co-op missions, and multiplay- 
er Deathmatch modes. 


HOW WAS IT? 

| had a surprisingly great time with Everything or Nothing's first 
level. The third-person shooting was tight, the camera worked 
well, and little touches like how you can grab weapons from 
nearby foes and start punching them spoiled me on other 
games. Definitely one to watch. —dJoe Fielder 








THIS IS NOTA 
SHOOTING GAME. 







@ PlayStation 2, Xbox 


LORD OF THE RINGS: 3) 
TREASON OF ISENGARD 


@ Pub: VU Games mi Dev: Surreal 
@ Rel: Winter 2003 


THE BASICS: 
With three different types of gameplay—hack-and- 
slash, stealth, and one still-top-secret mode (I’m hop- 
ing for rhythm-action!)—at least this “other” LOTR title 
has variety. 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


TEENAGE MUTANT re) . 
NINJA TURTLES 


@ Pub: Konami mi Dev: Konami Studios 
@ Rel: October 2003 


THE BASICS: 
In this arcade-style beat-em-up, you and a friend slice 
and dice through the Foot clan on your way to defeat- 
ing the Turtles’ archnemesis, Shredder. Or challenge 
your bud in a Versus brawl with characters you've 
unlocked in the Story mode. 



















































HOW WAS IT? 
Despite a decent combo system, the mundane fighting 
portion still has to evolve to compete with EA’s 
impressive Return of The King (see page 93). Playing a 
stealth game as Gollum sounds intriguing—his per- 
sonality changes depending on whether you play him 
as good or bad—but I'll believe it when | see it. 
—dennifer Tsao 










HOW WAS IT? 
TMNT replicates the TV series nicely with cartoon-style 
visuals and voiceovers. Two-player co-op is definitely 

more enjoyable than playing solo, and the simple con- 
trols give you the opportunity to perform some impres- 
sive juggle and multihit combos. —Bryan Intihar 


STREETS OF LA” 





“Ontrack to rival the  \ 5 
best games in each = 
particular genre..." 

-PSM 


: 










@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


MEDAL OF HONOR: re) 
RISING SUN 


@ Pub: EA Games mi Dev: EA @ Rel: Fall 2003 













Gaweciae 


PlayStation.e 





2 
@ PlayStation 2, Xbox re] 


BACKYARD WRESTLING 


Pub: Eidos Mi Dev: Paradox ml Rel: September 2003 
THE BASICS: 


The ancient art of men launching each other off three- 
story buildings onto folding tables, tacks, and broken 

glass gets its due in this lowbrow videogame incarna- 
tion of the trailer-park sensation. 


HOW WAS IT? 
The unwashed mass of cornball heroes and slutty gals 
here made me feel dirty, but | gotta admit | had a great 
time finding new ways to dish out pain in the sprawl- 

ing environments. —Crispin Boyer 










THE BASICS: 
EA's Honor series of hard-hitting, historically accurate 
(well, more or less) first-person shooters sails across 
the clear blue Pacific. 


HOW WAS IT? 
From scrambling through the USS California’s burning 
holds to grabbing a turret and tearing into Japanese 
Zeros, Rising Sun’s Pearl Harbor opening level packed 
even more of a punch than the last Honor’s Normandy 
invasion—definitely a good sign. 










Visit www.esrb.org or Lief licx 


call 1-800-771-3772 
ACTIVISION. 
Coming September 2003 






for Rating Information, 





























© 2003 Activision, inc. and its affiliates. Published and cstibuted by Activision Publishing, Inc, 
Activision isa registered trademark and True rime and Streets of LA are trademarks of Activision, 
Inc. andits affiates. Al rights reserved. Developed by Luxoflux, Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos 
ate either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other 
Counties. Al rights reserved. TM, © and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. 
© 2001 Nintendo. Alrights reserved. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with 
the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are 
registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered 
‘trademark ofthe interactive Digital Software Assocation. All other trademarks and trade names are 
the properties of their respective owners 


—Shawn Elliott 





opinionated 
guide: multi 


if 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube" 


SPIDER-MAN 2 


@ Pub: Activision ml Dev: Treyarch mi Rel: Sumy 


THE BASICS: 

‘Swing through New York City, foil bank robberies, return balloons to crying children, and bat- 
tle such comic-book bad guys as Doctor Octopus, Mysterio, and the Lizard. New features 
include improved graphics, a huge explorable world, and a Spidey-sense capability reminis- 
cent of Max Payne's bullet time. 





HOW WAS IT? 

This one’s very early, but Treyarch has really captured the feeling of being Spider-Man, as 
you swing from building to building, legs and camera flailing. It feels more like taking part in 
last year’s film, than playing one of the earlier Spider-Man games. Nice. —Joe Fielder 





@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES 


@ Pub: Atari ml Dev: Black Ops Ml Rel: Fall 2003 


THE BASICS: 
A first-person shooter based on the movie (with some one-on-one fighting for variety), 73’s 
big draw is the inclusion of Schwarzenegger's voice and likeness. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Without major improvements, this game will go the way of Arnie’s career. The targeting 
system wasn’t yet in place, so the shooting sections were a pain, and | found the game's 
fighting controls floaty. Hopefully, a cyborg from the future will appear to help Black Ops 
save this one. —Greg Ford 






PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube ) 
Se \ | 


™@ Pub: Namco M@ Dev: Point of View Mm Rel: Fall 2003 
THE BASICS: 


You're a demon who'd rather do good than the devil’s bidding. Rampage through Gothic 
ruins, stab and shoot hideous escapees from hell, and absorb their souls to fuel your pro- 
fane powers. In a word (or three): Devil May Spawn. 


1 Well, it certainly 


HOW WAS IT? 

So far, Spawn looks noticeably worse than the three-year-old Capcom game it shamelessly 
copies. And I'd say the first boss (a spider-legged car with a face on its grill) is proof 
enough that aligning creator Todd McFarlane’s name with a project is more incriminating 
than it is compelling. —Shawn Elliott 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


TRUE CRIME: 
STREETS OF L.A. 


@ Pub: Activision 
@ Dev: Luxoflux 
@ Rel: September 2003 


THE BASICS: 

True Crime is clearly out to carjack 
Rockstar’s big-money bandwagons Max 
Payne and Grand Theft Auto. 





HOW WAS IT? 
The true crime here might be copyright 
infringement. Hardboiled cop Nick Kang’s 
freeform shooting spree could just as easi- 
ly be set in any of the GTA series’s crime 
capitols. But considering America’s new 
addiction to bloodletting, that’s not such a 
bad thing. And Kang’s kung fu and ballistic 
ballet could give his game a needed lead 
on Rockstar’s crooks. 

—Shawn Elliott 





96 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


hangin with the 










NINTENDO 
GAME CUBE: 


Cartoon Violence 


© 2003 Nintendo. Developed by 
trademarks of Nintendo. Dolby, Pro Logic, 
© 2003 Nintendo. Game and Ni 





opinionated e3 
guide: multi 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME @ 


@ Pub: Ubi Soft mi Dev: Ubi Soft Montreal ml Rel: Fall 2003 


THE BASICS: 


Tinker with time in Prince’s latest puzzle-solving, platform-scaling escapade. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Prince’s time-warping premise doesn't just pervade every inch of gameplay; it 
entirely renovates the longstanding series. For starters, you’ve got the power to stop 
the clock and school your foes in slow-mo. OK, so we've all seen how retarding time 
can supercharge combat—but turning back the clock to retry bungled leaps or 
botched battles? That’s enough to make even Neo envious. Inspired, gorgeous, and 
smooth—!’m sold. —Shawn Elliott 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


BEYOND @ 
GOOD AND EVIL 


1 Pub: Ubi Soft Ml Dev: Ubi Soft 
@ Rel: Fall 2003 

8 
1 Hover-hockey—yet another glorious 
way to waste time in Hillys 


THE BASICS: 

A kidnapping conspiracy is afoot on teen 
photographer Jade’s homeworld, Hillys. 
Armed with a zoom lens and her trusty Dai- 
jo staff, it falls on you and pig pal Pey’j to 
foil the plot in this action-adventure game. 


j HOW WAS IT? 
Beyond’s world and character designs 
aren't particularly eye-pleasing (blame the 
the same Frenchman who brought us 
Rayman), but the game offers oh-so-many 
fun ways to play. When Jade’s not beating 
down baddies, sneaking past alien security, 
or racing her hovercraft, she captures evi- 
dence of the conspiracy with her camera. 
—Shawn Elliott 


98 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox 


LEGACY OF KAIN: 


@ Pub: Eidos Ml Dev: Crystal Dynamics Mi Rel: Winter 2003 


THE BASICS: 

Dueling vampiric antiheroes Kain and Raziel return for one last 
chance to wrap up the ponderous dangling plotlines of this action- 
adventure series. Expect nifty 3D puzzles, improved combat and visu- 
als, and top-notch voice acting. 


HOW WAS IT? 
Oh. My. Goth. The duo’s new telekinetic powers made it easy to 
spend half an hour experimenting with different combinations for 
beating the hell out of enemies before devouring their blood or souls. 
And that's exactly what the series needed. If the puzzles (not seen) 
meet or exceed ones past, this should be the best Kain yet. 

—dJoe Fielder 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 


CONFLICT: 
BACK TO BAGHDAD 


@ Pub: Gotham 
@ Dev: Pivotal 
@ Rel: September 2003 


THE BASICS: 

In a game torn from yesterday's headlines, 
your squad of four troopers airdrops into 
mostly urban war zones to tackle three 
times as many Iraqis as in the original. 


HOW WAS IT? 
“Enemies and teammates no longer just 
stand in the open—they take cover before 
they fire now,” Producer Marc Nesbitt says 
of Desert Storm II's improved computer 
smarts. Funny, but | didn’t notice any boost 
in brainpower in the version | tried. 
—Crispin Boyer 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, re 
THE SUFFERING 


@ Pub: Midway @ Dev: Surreal Mf Rel: Fall 2003 


THE BASICS: 


Awaiting execution for a murder you may not have committed, you escape your cell 
when vengeful specters of the prison’s previous victims attack. 


HOW WAS IT? 

Smeared blood and ominous background noises—think Silent Hill—keep things 
creepy even when no one’s being gruesomely killed (which happens plenty). Despite 
some problems with third-person control and camera management, I’m looking for- 
ward to suffering through this gory story. —Paul Byrnes 









and you could win a brand new 
Sony Digital Video Recorder (TiVO). 
(A PRIZE PACKAGE WORTH $450!) 


Log on to http://survey.sotech.com/egmgamers 
Enter your unique I.D. code: EGIMNEWS 
And, complete a brief survey. It’s that easy!* 


Be one of the first 500 people to complete the survey. 
Survey closes August 10, 2003. 


* Only one entry per household. 


ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA 


GAME GROUP 








a a We) eX 
SS 


ae 
NS «t 





SONIC’'S 





Sega’s star varmint ts zipping to every 
system, yanking along all his pals—plus 
his slickest enemy—and (hedge)hogging 
the spotlight more than ever. It’s a good 


time to be blue 





By Crispin Boyer and Chris Johnston 


e've made parts of this game so fast that 

your eyes start to roll,” says Takashi lizuka, 

director of Sonic Team USA, who's showing 

us the not-exactly-shocking side of Sega’s 
newest Sonic the Hedgehog title. We've come to Sega’s 
San Francisco-based U.S. offices fully expecting to see 
Sonic setting land speed records and blazing through 
corkscrewy scenery. Sonic goes fast. That's his job. He 
has done it ever since 1990, when Sega ordered three 
designers to come up with the company’s first million- 
selling game, and they unleashed the superspeedy Sonic 
the Hedgehog on Genesis a year later. 

Now, after more than a dozen major titles, several 
supporting roles, and worldwide sales of 35 million 
units, Sonic’s big deal isn’t how fast he can dash (for 
the record, it’s 760 mph), but where he’s breaking the 
speed limits and who's tagging along for the ride. 
Sonic’s next game—called Sonic Heroes—is blitzing 
PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube simultaneously at 
the beginning of next year, making it Sonic’s first multi- 
platform bonanza. (And you thought it was weird when 
this one-time mascot for Sega’s game systems debuted 
on just Nintendo's GameCube.) 

Although it’s from the same guys behind the Sonic 
Adventure games for Dreamcast and GameCube, Sonic 









F as Baia = 
Family car: Your team finds a rocket-powered bobsled 
in each level, and its handling depends on who’s driving. 


Knuckles below, for instance, is nimble behind the wheel. 





Heroes packs entirely changed-up gameplay: a new 
team-based system that has you flip-flopping between 
nearly every fuzzball character in the pantheon of 
hedgehogdom—12 heroes and villains (yep, you can 
play as bad guys) in all. 

It’s a big roster for a game that the financially shaky 
Sega is banking on in a major way, and the company is 
ramping up accordingly. “The rollout of Sonic Heroes is 
going to be Sonic’s biggest launch ever,” says Rich 
Briggs, senior product manager at Sega of America. 
“Everything we have going on—the Happy Meal promo- 
tion, the TV series, the GBA games [see page 104 for 
details]—all this stuff is really making this the year of 
Sonic. And the launch of Sonic Heroes is really going to 
be the biggest event in Sega’s recent history.” 



































E 





ee 











We tried t0 vary the gameplay for people 
Lacerta "battlesywho like speed, who like exploration. 


—Sonic Heroes Director 





“We didn’t want to make just another Sonic Adventure 
game, like a Sonic Adventure 3 with a new story,” says 
lizuka, who heads Heroes’ mostly U.S.-based develop- 
ment team and gets feedback from Sonic Team leader 
(and series co-creator) Yuji Naka in Japan. “We wanted 
to bring new gameplay, a new feeling, a new evolution 
for the series.” After all, lizuka points out, other charac- 
ter-driven games like Sony's Ratchet & Clank have their 
gimmicks. Sonic’s already fast and he has already made 
the transition to 3D—it’s time he did something new. 
But setting up exactly what's new with Sonic Heroes 
takes some math: The game gives you four set teams 
of three characters each, including a trio of villains. You 
pick one of these teams at the game's outset, then 
guide its threesome through 14 mission-based levels 
ranging from the usual Green Hill zones to water worlds 
to stages made entirely of twisting rails. Although you 
control just one hero at a time, the remaining two tag 
along close behind. You can switch to one of them— 

















Go where no hedgehog has gone before using Sonic 
and Shadow's new wall-clinging Triangle Jump. 





with a quick jab of the button that character’s assigned 
to—as long as you're not in midair, and as long as that 
character hasn't been grabbed by an enemy. 

Each team has three basic formations, depending on 
which character you're controlling. Take, for example, 
Team Sonic, made up of the hedgehog leader, sidekick 
Tails, and beefy ally Knuckles. While you cruise along as 
Sonic, your team’s locked in the Speed Formation, and 
thus can access the fastest path through the levels. 
Switch to Knuckles and you change to the Power 
Formation, which is a bit more sluggish but packs more 
punch when it comes to fighting baddies. More impor- 
tantly, Knuckles can smash blocks and open up new 
routes. Flip to propeller-assed Tails, and the team hops 
to Flight Formation, the least offensive of the three 
forms but the only one that can zip to hard-to-reach 
areas. Tails picks up the other two characters and can 
soar high off the ground for a limited time, plus he’s the 
only critter in the trio who can attack airborne enemies 
(by chucking Sonic and Knuckles at them). 



























MONDAY EVENING - JULY 05, 2003 
LT 
The Sonic 


7:00 7:3) 
sikh 
Incredible Pinball Party™ 


0 : 5 

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Hulk™ 








Bratz™ 
(09:50) 


Sonic Advance™ 2 













































Sega Arcade Gallery™ VOW YY High Heat™ Wario Ware’” Inc.: 
4 (06:30) Major League Baseball® 2004 **xx** Mega Microgame$> 
LR iy Uf Super Puzzle Fighter™ Il i yy éVetsion// All-Star Baseball™ 2004 
essa et , ) Wy 
Wings™ Ed, Edd n Eddy™ The Legend of Zelda®: Daredevil™ 
e99) Jawbreakers! Oracle of Ages® 
(07:15) 













































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Sega Rally™ Championship Pel te Uy MLB Slugfest? 20-04 igimon? snk 
LLL ae a) 
Fi 2002 Lufia®: X2 Wolverine’s™ Boulder 
The Ruins of Lore Revenge Dash® EX™ HeZ 
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Samurai Jack™ Donkey Kong Country™ Y < Golden Sun™: The Lost Age 
The Amulet of Time Ye (09:50) 

Crazy Taxi™ Yu-Gi-Oh! Worldwide Edition: Street Fighter® 

Catch a Ride™ i Stairway to the Destined Duel Alpha 3 
(06:30) 











The Legend of Zelda®: Advance Disney/Pixar 
Oracle of Seasons™ Wars™ : Finding Nemo 
tok ke (SEE REVIEW) 

















© Tony Hawk’s James Bond 007™: 
Pro Skater™ 4 Nightfire™ 
ipliatates (SEE REVIEW) 





<4 PROGRAM STARTED BEFORE 7PM SPORTS Wiihiés, SPECIMS: 


FINALLY SOMETHING GOODONTV jg 


NOW YOUR FAVORITE GAME BOY® GAMES ARE ON TV. JUST CONNECT YOUR GAME BOY 
PLAYER TO YOUR NINTENDO GAMECUBE” AND YOU'RE GAMING ON THE BIG SCREEN. 





PRODUCTS RANGE FROM 
EVERY‘ 


RYONE ro TEEN 





ai O' 
PIgNEEENESIERY GAME TRADEMARKS ARE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. ™, ®, THE GAME BOY PLAYER Y 
Ee gs =F 1060 AND THE NINTENDO GAMECUBE LOGO ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO. © 2003 NINTENDO, PLAYER 





@ AMY ROSE TES 
FIRST APPEARANCE: iS , 
Sonic CD (Sega CD, 1994) 


ATTACKS: 







Homing Attack—Like Sonic, Shadow, and Dy am ~. 


Espio on their respective teams, Amy can 
help her team home in on an enemy for a 
critical hit, 
Rocket Accel—Cream and Big 
push each other into Amy to 
propel her forward, giving her 
a lethal burst of speed. 


SPECIAL MOVE: 
Hammer Swing—Amy wields = Bees 


a hammer that she can use to bash enemies, create a whirl- 
wind that propels baddies into the air, or allow her team to 
climb poles. By busting out the Hammer Swing in the air, she 


can hover for a few seconds. 


@ BIG THE CAT 
FIRST APPEARANCE: 
Sonic Adventure 
(Dreamcast, 1999) 


SPECIAL MOVE: ° m7 f- 
Umbrella/Fishing Pole— a F F 
Good ol’ boy Big has an id a 
umbrella that can be used 

for gliding down from high places or _ 

as a fishing pole to attack enemies. 


ry 


m= CREAM 
FIRST APPEARANCE: 
Sonic Advance 2 


ATTACK: 

Thunder Shoot—Like the other Fly 
Formation characters, Cream can Spe 
toss her partners toward flying ene- * 
mies to knock them to the ground. 


‘SPECIAL MOVE: 


Cheese—Cream’s Chao buddy Cheese hovers around her at 
all times and is able to help her out by collecting nearby items 


and attacking weaker enemies. 


104 ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Team Rose is billed as the easiest of the groups to play as, 
giving you increased flight times so it’s harder to fall to 
your death. Think of this as Sonic for your younger sister. 


° ° 
(Game Boy Advance, i) m* 


ak (we 


Character study 

The trick, then, is to pick the right character—and, 
therefore, the right formation—for the job. See a swarm 
of airborne foes up ahead? Knock ‘em to the ground as 
Tails in the Flight Formation, then switch to Knuckles’ 
Power Formation and knock ‘em dead while they're 
dazed. “It’s a lot deeper combat than you see in the 
Sonic Adventure series,” Briggs says. 

Adding to the variety: Although each of the four 
teams has the same three basic formations—Speed, 
Power, and Flight—it'll also have special abilities unique 
to its members. Knuckles in Team Sonic, for instance, 
can wrangle the other two characters into a triangle- 
shaped skydiver formation and glide down to earth. 
Sonic can spin-dash the group into a whirling tornado 
that whisks them up special poles. The android Omega 
in Team Shadow has a super attack that decimates 
squads of enemies at once. Espio in Team Chaotix can 


become transparent to sneak past enemies for missions 
that require stealth. “The characters all have the abili- 
ties that you sort of knew from the previous games, just 
sort of powered up,” lizuka says. 

These abilities aren’t just fluff—team members will 
actually need to use them to get through the levels, 
since the stages actually change depending on which 
team you've chosen (just as levels changed slightly 
based on the character you picked in Sonic Adventure 
2). “So you have 14 levels,” says Briggs, “but you'll 
really have four variations of each one of those that are 
created for the specific team, and each team is going to 
have its own story, different cut-scenes, different plot 
lines, different endings, and different missions.” One 
Team Sonic mission, for instance, will have you trying to 
find a particular route through a level. Team Chaotix 
missions will focus more on finding particular items or 
using stealth to evade baddies. But although the level 


sonic’s world 
THREE OTHER WAYS THIS HEDGEHOG’S GETTING IN YOUR FACE. .. 


Sonic X (Fall 2003) 
Coming this fall to Fox's Saturday-morning cartoon lineup, Sonic X is a new anime series 
starring the cast of Sonic Adventure (and thus, many familiar faces from Heroes as well). 
The concept: After accidentally activating one of Eggman’s machines during a battle, 
Sonic and all his pals (plus Eggman) are transported to an Earth-like planet. When they 
come to, the evil doc resumes his quest for the Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic and his bud- 
dies, now befriended by a young boy named Chris, set out to stop him. 
































McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys (July 2003) 
It’s probably been a good 10 or more years since you bought a McDonald’s Happy 
Meal, but if you’re a Sonic fan, it might be worth your while to order one right 
now. (Don’t worry...you can always get it to go and say it’s for your kid bro.) 
Beginning in late June and continuing into July, the fast-food joint is offering six 
| handheld games (the first time electronic games have been doled out as a premi- 
. a3 um in the Meals) starring Sega’s Sonic and Monkey Ball games, including one in 
Pe wy eed (8 which you can “experience track-car racing, Sonic-style.” Supersize that, please. 

































SONIC gp 





Sonic Battle (GBA, Early 2004) 

In keeping with the “let’s make something different” tone 
of Heroes, Battle turns the series on its head again, trans- 
forming the speedy action into a strictly versus affair. Up to 
four friends can pick their favorite of eight of the series’ 
mainstay characters, customize their special attacks and 
game rules, then duke it out in two-on-two team combat 
using the GBA link cable. Or if you’d rather go it alone, you 
can work through the game’s Story mode solo with a trusty 
computer-controlled partner. 











www.koei.com 







Bitter fomles, allied schemes, and War Council directives intertwine i ina rich tapestry of of intrigue! 


@54 Scenarios plus one fictional story @ Over 600 Commanders plus 100 Officers you create. 
@1 to 8 players, with over 40 different endings ®@Forge relationships through new events such as “Marriage” and “Sworn Brother” 
@15 new Tactical skills including “Flaming Arrows,” “Surprise Attacks,” and “Sorcery” 
@Begin the game at any year 


PlayStationse July 2003 
4, STRENGTH. COURAGE. DESIRE. Dynasty Ze 


A x"... the best-looking game in the series yet." -ign.com = 
"CaS es - AVAILABLE NOW ARRIORS 





PRODUCTS RANGE FROM 
i PENDING to TEEN 
sn ‘The KOE! logo is a trademark of KOEI Co., Ltd. in Japan and/or other Countries, Romance of The Three Kingdoms and Dynasty Warriors are trademarks of KOEI Corporation and KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2003 KOEI Co., Ltd. 
All rights reserved. "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. 
As Paypy 












New word balloons above enemies can clue you in on how 
best to attack (for example, if they’re sleeping, you should 
sneak in for a close-range hit) and act as health gauges. 


objectives vary among the teams, they all share the 
same overall goal: to stop Eggman and his new villain, a 
back-from-the-scrap heap reincarnation of fan-favorite 
Metal Sonic (see sidebar below). lizuka tells us that 
when you finally do go through the game with all four 
teams and get all four endings, “you get something else 
after that.” He’s just not telling what that something is. 


up capability for the GameCube version and online fea- 
tures for Xbox and PS2 are a natural. But Sega seems 
reluctant to even consider those possibilities at this 
point and instead is hell-bent on making each version 
identical, right down to the graphics. “If we can bring 
online to all three platforms simultaneously,” lizuka 
offers as an example, “that’s something we will look 





...this title has turned out to be the one where 
more people can enjoy Sonic's charm. 


—Sonic Team Head Yuji Naka 





Now that he’s dashing to every system, Sonic has his 
big chance to impress a massive new audience. Sega 
knows this—hence the tweaked team-based gameplay. 
“We tried to vary the gameplay for people who like bat- 
tles, who like speed, who like exploration,” says lizuka. 
“We've made it so every type of player will find some- 
thing they like.” Segaheads who grew up with Sonic on 
Genesis may stick with Team Sonic and play mostly as 
the hedgehog, just to relive his supersonic glory days, 
while gamers who want more combat will go with Team 
Dark. Younger players can stick with Team Rose, whose 
star character has a hover ability that gives a handy 
second chance if you miss a jump. “I believe this title 
has turned out to be the one where more people can 
enjoy Sonic’s charm,” says Yuji Naka. 

lizuka won't reveal what platform-specific goodies 
will grace each version of Heroes. Extras like GBA link- 


recycled 


at.” Multiplayer modes, on the other hand, are definitely 
in the works for all three versions. 


Fans of the Sonic Adventure games can see that Sonic 
Heroes is not a sequel—it's a new game that empha- 
sizes combat and classic speed-freak gameplay over 
story and single-character action. But that doesn’t mean 
the Adventure series has come to an end. “This isn’t the 
death of Sonic Adventure,” lizuka tells us. “We're just 
trying this new thing.” Whether Heroes becomes the tip 
of a new series depends on you. “If a lot of people like 
this idea, they'll get a continuation of the Heroes branch 
of games. If we find that the story line is really impor- 
tant and people want the single-character gameplay, we 
may do another episode of the Adventure series.” Either 
way, now that Sonic is hitting the multiplatform big 
time, there’s no slowing this hedgehog down. #4 


It's the way of the world in the Sonic series: Boss baddie Eggman 


Died 
SEGA REACTIVATES CLASSIC ROBO-BADDIE METAL SONIC i a“ 


always has some robot or beast in tow ready to do his evil bidding, 

which of course includes trying to crush Sonic into a puddle of 4 3 ry 

blue goo in the process. 
Back in the days of Sega’s Genesis and Sega CD, that henchman 


was Metal Sonic, a nuts-n-bolts version of our blue hero. He has 
been dormant for years, sitting out for the last two Adventure titles 
on Dreamcast, and playing a very minor role in the Battle mode of 
Adventure 2 Battle on GameCube. But for Heroes, he’s making a 


: 4 < 





triumphant return...sort of. lizuka explains that in this game, Sonic will face “a brand-new villain, very simi- 
lar to Metal Sonic. We have the original designer here on campus who is updating that character. You defi- 
nitely won't be disappointed if you're a Metal Sonic fan.” And just when we were thinking ol’ ironsides would 
never climb outta the junkyard. 


HE Voor logos 484 


a 
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= 
5 

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Bt 

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3 
eS 


J And-a mailbox. And three fire hydrants. And a’mimez And pedestrian mall. And anything else that gets in your d 
way. Because with Midtown Madness 3° you set the course’ If grass seems faster, by all means drive on grass; If the sidewalk’s to your tiking, you definitely have the:right 


i - y 4 — 
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Violence 5 “ ees Se 
— 7 ; Wow xbox.com/midtownmatness3 
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ESRB ; . z : 


b<=lap.4 ee TV -€ ONLINE ENABLED 





Your monthly guide to gaming’s winners and losers 


THE SYSTEM 


Each reviewer assigns an overall grade to each game, on a 
scale from 0 to 10. When a game receives a 10, you can rest 
assured that it’s one of the best games ever made, a classic 
that will endure throughout the ages. Conversely, when a 
game gets a 0.0, it’s complete and utter crap and should be 
treated like a deadly biohazard. We utilize the entire scale, 
so a game that gets a 5.0 is average, not bad. 

The scores are color-coded, so the brighter the 
reds, the better the game. 


| | | 2 
ea SHAME OF 
| a | THE MONTH 


This honor This dishon- 
is bestowed or goes to 





gotogames | gotogames | gotogames | upon the the worst 
that get all with an | that average _ highest- game each 
10s, the ulti- | average | atleastan | reviewed month that 
mate review score of 9.0 8.0 (but are game each gets unani- 
agamecan or higher. lower than month. A mously bad 
get. Quality stuff. | 9.0). worthy buy. | scores. 


ESRB KEY (Also check out www.esrb.com) 


Et-Early E-Everyone: —T-Teen: M-Mature: A0-Adults 
Childhood: Wholesome —Like PG-13 = Whereas Only: 

Games bear- fun for the movies, Teen these games rare find, 
ing this mark whole family, games fea- offer allthe + We haven't 
are suited for devoid of ture mild vio- gore, sex, seen an AO 
infants, tod- hookers, lence and drugs, and game since 
dlers, and head-shots, “comic mis- _ fun of R- Neurodancer 
Seanbaby. or heroin use. chief.” rated fare. on the 300, 


* 


PAGE 118 


NCAA FOOTBALL 2004 


Nobody does pigskin like EA Sports, and this season's stellar NCAA 
Football 2004 improves upon last year’s model by adding real-time 
voice chat to online play. Let the trash-talking commence. 


108 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 




















Deja views: Get used to this lava world because you'll revisit 
it a lot, along with a swampy jungle planet, a post-apocalyptic 
trailer park, beachhead ruins, and a mazelike asteroid. 








Xbox / In 






BRUTE FORCE 


Shoot first, think later, and don’t hit the alligator guy! 


The name is the one thing developer 
Digital Anvil got right with this summer’s biggest 
Xbox game. It’s a giant, dumb, brutish squad- 
based third-person shooter that slugs you in the 
gut with a drunken country-boy roundhouse of 
screen-rocking explosions, platoons of enemies, 
gorgeous environments, and a man-lizard who 
runs like a dog—all without a second thought for 
pesky details like a coherent plot, cool enemies, 
or interesting level design. In other words, if your 
summer ambition is to chill in the A/C with some 
buds, gulp suds, and shoot and shoot and shoot 
till your index finger burns, thy game is Brute 
Force. \f you want something that matches the 
Einstein A.|. and cinematic pacing of Xbox launch 
classic Halo...better just go play that game on 
Legendary difficulty again. 

That's not to say Brute Force, which underwent 
extra incubation so developer Digital Anvil could 
make it be all it could be, doesn’t bristle with 
great ideas—many of them borrowed from Halo. 


You get the same excellent control and two- 
weapon limit, for instance. But you also earn 
money from every confirmed kill and completed 
mission goal, which you spend to respawn your 
trooper clones when they die (don’t fret-—they 
seem fine with it). 

The big twist—aside from the third-person 
perspective—is your squad of computer-guided 
teammates, whom you can order around or 
assume control of at any time. In theory, each 
member of Brute Force (meet them on page 110) 
has unique skills you’ll call upon to complete mis- 
sions. In practice, it works—I’d use my scout to 
snoop ahead, my sniper to clear a path, etc. But 
the squad rarely ran like a well-oiled machine. 
More often than not, ’d command team members 
to stay put while | picked just one to move ahead 
and take care of business. And that business got 
dull and confusing, thanks to repetitive mission 
environments, spotty enemy A.I., and too many 
similar-looking bad guys. The whole thing ends 


You won't read this in the manual: Once you 
find it, never put down the Jax-iC blaster can- 
} non (above). It’s the best damn gun in the game. 








with a whimper, too—a nonsensical final-boss 
puzzle precedes a wussed-out finale. You'll still 
have a good time up until that point, especially 
when you airdrop into battle with friends (see the 
multiplayer sidebar at the bottom of page 110). 
It’s just not the total blast | was hoping for. 


Like any Brute, Microsoft's new squad 
shooter gets the basic job done, but not without 
heavy casualties—starting with character design. 
Sure, the graphics engine is impressive (you can 
even see people’s hair move), but it’s hard to care 
about friends and enemies that all look so clichéd 
(Tex), dull (mutants), silly (lizardmen), or just plain 
ugly (too many to list). Levels are also a mixed 
bag; for every beautiful beach or realistic grassy 
field, you have endless bland moon surfaces and 
blocky caves to wander over and over. Which 
brings me to Brute Force’s biggest problem: repe- 
tition. Sure, it offers almost 20 levels, but when 
you keep returning to the same six or so worlds 











Publisher: Microsoft 

Developer: Digital Anvil 

Players: 1-4 splitscreen, 1-8 system link 
ESRB: Mature 
www.gamers.com/1103061 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com ¢ 109 


Who the Hell are You? 
Match your personality with Brute Force’s brutish enforcers to find out which woman, man, or beast-man you should charge into battle... 


A grizzled gun-nut mercenary 
named after George W.’s home state. So 
where’s the drawwwwl? 
Wielding the 
biggest blasters in the 
universe. He'll heft one 
in each hand if you 
enable his 
special 
Berserker 
ability. 


Being partnered 
with chicks. He’s a 
23rd-century man with 
1950s social values. 

You don’t 
give a rat’s ass about 
getting all tactical. 

Tex’s hearty health 

bar and twin-gun 
Berserker mode let 
you go gung-ho 
with impunity. 


(with different layouts each time, but made up of 
the same basic building blocks), fighting the same 
enemies and facing the same situations, what’s 
the point? Sadly, Force’s ho-hum story and merely 


Oh, and he doesn’t always run like a 

dog; sometimes he walks upright. 

Awww, he thinks he’s people. 
Calling on his spirit power 

to see in the dark 

and unleash a 

tricky charge 

attack. 


Getting 
fried by 
friendly 

fire 
because 

he looks 
like half the 
enemies in 
the game. 


You wanna 
play rough and 
wield big guns 
like Tex. 





An overwrought dinosaurian. 


desire, it creates interesting strategic possibilities 
(set up a sniper in the hills while you go in 
cloaked for some stealth kills, for example) that 
only get better in Co-op mode. Or, take it as a 


A stealthy assassin with abs of 
steel and a soccer-mom hairdo. 
Becoming invisible and dic- 
ing enemies with her laserblade, the 
only melee attack in the game. (We 
wish every character had an 
up-close attack.) 
Running out of 
invisible juice in the 
middle of an enemy 
camp and eating 
blue-laser death. 
This gal has the 
slimmest health bar 


\ by far. 
& You 


like the idea of 
scouting ahead— 
but also don’t mind 
sitting out of the 
action for minutes 
on end while your 
stealth power 
recharges. 





Asure-shot she-bot sniper, also 
with steel abs and a soccer-mom ‘do. 
Engaging her advanced 
targeting to auto-lock enemies. 
Going into battle 
with nearly the same 
hairdo, makeup, and 
outfit as Hawk, that 
bad-dye-job bitch. 
You pre- 
fer helping the 
squad from 
distant 
grassy 
knolls...or 
if you're 
just a 
crap shot. 
Auto tar- 
geting 
makes 
the 
killin’ 
easy. 





you might turn invisible to scout out an area as 
Hawk, switch to Flint to sniper a few guards, use 
Brutus’ heat vision to spot hiding enemies, then 
finally wade into a melee as Tex, guns blazing. 


adequate enemy A.|. won't help you forget you’ve 
seen and done it all before with each “new” 


simple, straight blast-a-thon/decent deathmatch 
game, and Brute Force will suffice. 


You’re rarely able to properly coordinate the 
squad’s movements on the fly, but it’s entertain- 
ing to hop around into the different characters 
and use their unique skills in battle. 

The game clearly has a few knocks against it: 
” sub-standard character designs; a story that'll 
seem basic to you if you have, you know, ever 
read a book or watched a movie (see: Tex’s text- 
book response of “You're partnering me with a 
woman?!?” when a lady joins the Force); and re- 
use of environments. But, at the end of the day, 
Brute Force offers up a fun single-player experi- 
ence that’s bolstered by its many multiplayer 
options. It’s like an action movie that, if you don’t 
set your expectations high, you'll end up enjoying. 





C13 





stage. But bear these flaws and you can squeeze 
some fun from this Brute. Solid controls and a 
clever interface make managing your Force, as a 
whole or one by one, surprisingly intuitive. Truly 
utilizing your squadmates slows the game way 
down, but for players with the patience and 


Once you get over the mind-numbing, 
“Christmas-is-cancelled-this-year” disappoint- 
ment that Brute Force isn’t a Halo-killer, you can 
enjoy it properly. The game starts off slow but 
becomes fairly enjoyable. The squad members’ 
unique skills come into play nicely. For example, 


Sizing up the 
Multiplayer 
modes 


Deathmatch 

It’s simple: You pick a 

character, then try to 
characters against kill three other play- 
another squad on one ers on one Xbox or 

é _| Xbox or up to seven if == ==) up to seven in a net- 

you link systems into a network. work of linked systems. 

Upside: Nifty arenas with sniper perches and Upside: You can play as all the silly enemies 

fortresses let you create your own multiplayer in the game—as long as you find their DNA 

scenarios (and that’s good, because the only canisters in the campaign first. Many even 

mode you get is Deathmatch). Players can have secondary attacks. 

also team up on the same squad instead of Downside: Not enough modes (c’mon—at 

getting stuck with A.l. compadres. least give us Capture the Flag). Some charac- 

Downside: Not nearly enough tweaking ters can pick up grenades but can’t toss 

options or modes. You're stuck choosing from them. Select eight Seer followers or priests, 

pre-built teams, some vastly underpowered. * crank up the volume, then repeat Deathmatch 

Few squads to choose from at first, until you sessions until neighbors call Animal Control to 

unlock them in the single-player game. your house. 


Campaign Mode 
Why play with your- 
self when you can 
invite pals to guide 
other squad members 
i= in up to four-player 
splitscreen play on one Xbox? Or screw 
splitscreen by connecting two Xboxes via a link 
cable or up to four through a network. 
Upside: Gunning through the Campaign mode 
with live allies is the best way to play this 
game, and friends can jump into splitscreen at 
any time by pressing Start on a connected con- 
troller. Being able to play on your own television 
is the one co-op feature we pined for in Halo. 
Downside: You still face the same deja-vu level 
design and silly enemies, but at least you're in 
this s**™* together. 


Squad Deathmatch 
Command a squad of 
computer-controlled 


Brute Force lets 
you slay with 
your friends in 
just about every 
possible multi- 
player configura- 
tion—short of 
actually playing 
online through 
Xbox Live. Here’s 
a rundown of 
every multiplay- 
er game, begin- 
ning with the 
niftiest. 





10 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


@ PlayStation 2 


BIG MUTHA 
TRUCKERS 


It takes a certain man to truck all nigh 





{© (Right) Steer the RC Car to scare apes and flip switches. 


(@ PlayStation 2 / Also On: None 


APE ESCAPE 2 


New monkeys, same fun gameplay 


iE. ena a Bie 


Often, a good old-fashioned net is all that’s needed to snag an aberrant ape. 






Good: Lighthearted fun, easy to play 
Bad: Gets repetitive quickly 


We Apologize For: The bad puns. We have no trucking shame 


SHOE: It starts off well enough: Drive a 
big rig from town to town and try to make 
a profit by delivering goods while outrun- 
ning biker gangs and ol’ smokey. The 
trucks are easy to control, and since 
they’re not too expensive to repair, you 
can have fun and let loose a little by 
smashing through obstructive traffic. 
A few off-the-wall nondelivery missions 
(which you can play in another mode) 
keep things interesting. Tired of shipping 
beer? Run over a few radio-station bill- 
boards as a service to an angry listener. 
But over the course of the story mode’s 
60 in-game days—whether you’re on day 
five or 55—you’re still performing the 
same basic routine: pick up shipment, 
drive somewhere, sell shipment, repeat 
(the aforementioned interesting missions 
only pop up occasionally). Now, while 
| like trucking as much as the next guy, 
| only have so much stamina for it. | rec- 
ommend Big Mutha Truckers for the occa- 
sional distraction or one-nighter, but don’t 
expect it to keep you entertained for the 
long haul. 


SHOE 


Good: Monkeys—in helmets! 


Bad: Hasn't evolved much from the first one 


Nice Bonus: Widescreen support 





+ Why it took so long for someone 
to bring this over from Japan is beyond 
me, but it's about time. Despite being over 
a year old, Ape Escape 2 still stands as 
one of the most original and fun 
PlayStation 2 platformers to date. The 
unique dual-analog controls take a bit of 
getting used to, but after a few minutes, 
you'll be swatting monkey ass with the 
best of 'em. 

Those of you who've played the first 
Ape Escape (PS1) should know exactly 
what to expect here—the gameplay hasn’t 
changed a bit. This familiarity may seem 
disappointing to some—only three of the 
12 gadgets here are actually new, making 
it feel more like an extended remix of the 
first game than a true sequel—but the 
colorful graphics, quirky humor, and great 
gameplay definitely help ease the pain. 
The new Gotcha Box and minigames make 
for nice diversions (Monkey Soccer is 
actually quite fun with four players), and 
the voiceover localization is surprisingly 
good. One gripe: the new sidekick, 
Pipotchi, is almost totally useless, 





GREG S: | agree with Shoe—BMT is 
moderately engaging. | got caught up in 
its intricate big-rig shipping economics. 
Do you upgrade your truck or buy more 
stock? Do you have enough gas to get to 
the city with the best prices? Should you 
take out a loan or avoid the extra debt? 
Choices like these add surprising depth to 
a driving game, and they kept me hooked. 
Too bad most people will overlook this 
title because of the lowbrow redneck 
angle. Ah, sweet irony. 


XBN—GREG 0: Pay these fools no heed— 
keep right on truckin’ past this mediocre 
driving game-cum-economic simulation. 
BMT takes the appealing notion of violent- 
ly plowing a huge semi through traffic like 
a hot knife through butter and saddles it 
with economic drudgery requiring players 
to tote junk from point A to point B, buying 
low and selling high until they’re bored to 
tears. Cash races and chases pitting the 
truckers against cops and bikers serve up 
mild amusement, but it’s not nearly 
enough to salvage the game. 

Publisher: Empire 

Developer: Eutechnyx 


Players: 1 
ESRB: Teen 


www.gamers.com/196832 





(E: Like its PS1 predecessor, AE2 is 
certainly cute and clever, but | wish there 
was more here than, well, just catching 
escaped apes. The dual-analog-stick con- 
trol scheme is great, but the gimmicky pri- 
mate retrieval gadgets don’t alter the 
gameplay enough to keep me enthralled. 
Plus, the game's far too easy—even kids 
could likely finish this in an afternoon. 
Factor in some dull visuals, annoying 
music, and worthless unlockables (like 
stupid stories about apes...seriously), and 
you have a fine rental, but nothing more. 


Lucky for Ape Escape 2 there’s some- 
thing incredibly fun about chasing mon- 
keys around with a net. It helps to hide the 
fact that this isn’t very difficult or long— 
even a spazzy camera can’t spoil the 
simian hijinks. | love the satisfying mix of 
action and puzzles as you find, disarm, and 
nab rogue apes, and the colorful, cartoony 
graphics and wacky story are top notch. 
(Plus I'm a sucker for games that use the 
voice actors from Pokémon.) Overall, a fun 
way to spend a weekend. 


Publisher: Ubi Soft 
Developer: SCEI 

Players: 1-2 (2-4 w/ Multitap) 
ESRB: Everyone 


www.gamers.com/1335979 





ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com « 111 


review Crew 


@ PlayStation 2 





What's the frequency? 


Good: Interesting, varied objectives 
Bad: Bad layout and control 
Spend Your $50 On: A real RC car instead 


GREG S: The best way to sum up Smash 
Cars is “frightfully average.” It delivers 
ho-hum RC car racing that, true to the 
title, involves inadvertently smashing into 
things...and that’s about it. 

Since you're steering tiny cars around 
life-sized environments, the tracks are 
visually unique and inspired. Too bad 
the developers ruined everything with 
downright confusing directions (| can’t tell 
you how many times | went completely 
off course without even noticing it) and 
annoying obstacles (like kids on go-karts 
who ram you offtrack with almost no 
warning). Plus, RC cars can naturally trav- 
el over any type of terrain, but my minia- 
ture racer would often freak out when 
taken off-road—usually leading to a 
stalling 180-degree turn or a harrowing 
wall smash while the field screamed by. 

On the bright side, the level objectives 
vary greatly. It’s refreshing to take a 
break from straight racing to pull some 
crazy stunts or to help a slower car finish 


by ramming other drivers, so the game 
never gets that boring. The problem is 
it just never gets that good, either. 


Imagine the sound effects: “Brrrrrrrrzzzz, bbbbrrrrrrrrrzzrrrr...screeech!”” 


SMASH CARS 











DEMIAN: I’m gonna have to completely 
disagree with Greg S. on this one and 
give him the stink eye. Smash Cars won’t 
go down in history as a classic, but | 
thought it was really fun. Yeah, the cars 
are squirrelly, but they’re RC cars—what 
do you expect? And cry me a river...you 
have to learn the tracks in order to be 
successful—just like every other half- 
decent racing game in existence. | found 
them to be pretty well designed and 
interesting. Greg can have Speed Kings 
(see page 122); I'll take Smash Cars any 
day. Now, if only it were a bit longer.... 


BRYAN: “Frightfully average,” Greg? 
C'mon.... Smash Cars provides the per- 
fect brand of rough-and-tumble racing 
you’d expect from manning the transmit- 
ter of these gas-powered beasts. Any kid 
would love to maneuver an RC car 
through fantastical, creative tracks like 
these. I'll concede that the graphics look 
dated, the tunes are painful, and the mul- 
tiplayer is really unbalanced unless 
everyone knows the courses. Still, it's 
worth the trip to your local Blockbuster. 


Publisher: Metro3D 
eat Studios 
2 (2-4 w/ Multitap) 


www.gamers.com/15964 


112 ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Xbox / Also On: None 


DOUBLE HELIX 


SOLDIER OF FORTUNE | 





Tons of action and gallons of blood 


You’re John Mullins—unwanted suicide assister extraordinaire. 


Good: Random-mission generator and online play 
Bad: The enemies are dumb and dumberer 
Best Weapon For Splattering Foes: Shotgun 


Like Halo, Soldier of Fortune Il is 
made up of a series of intense shoot- 
outs—but unlike Halo, your foes aren’t 
smart enough to make the combat infi- 
nitely compelling. Geographically, Fortune 
I provides huge bang for the buck with 
nine massive levels and a unique random- 
mission generator (although it rarely gen- 
erates fun levels). The single-player game 
is certainly enjoyable in short sessions, 
but it can turn into a dull parade of ene- 
mies too stupid to put up any real chal- 
lenge in a fight, yet frustratingly too wary 
to sneak up on with a silenced pistol. 

Fortune II’s single-player game is a bit 
too straightforward and unpolished, with 
choppy animations, blocky graphics, and 
weird dead-body physics. Its online 
modes, though, add just enough to make 
it worth picking up. Playing Deathmatch, 
Team Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag 
with real people offers unscripted (if 
somewhat no-frills) manhunting thrills. If 
you don’t have Xbox Live, though, consider 
renting rather than investing. 


Fortune I delivers buckets of 
gore, but you'll actually wanna play this 
sequel for reasons other than turning the 
opposition into amputees. I’m talkin’ tough 
enemy A.J. and enough gameplay change- 
ups (like tricky stealth missions or being a 
helicopter’s gunner) to make it feel less 
like your run-of-the-mill shooter. But 
would | choose to fight the good fight 
against bioterrorism over annihilating 
Wolfenstein’s undead Nazi legion? Nope. 
Fortune II doesn’t have the same visual 





















polish or addictive team-based online play 
of Activision's other wartime offering. 


This game tries to be part Doom, 
part Medal of Honor, and part Tom Clancy, 
but it doesn’t try very hard. The extremely 
bland graphics and inconsistent A.l. (some 
enemies have Superman hearing; others 
don’t notice me shooting people five feet 
away) dog an otherwise average experi- 
ence. And | certainly don’t agree with Joe 
with regard to online: No way I’d play this 
plain-Jane, dumbed-down shooter online 
when | can fire up Unreal Championship or 
Wolfenstein instead. 












N ae 
eS 
Welcome to the war on terror. Glad you 
could make it. 


Publisher: Activision 
Developer: Gratuitous Games 
Players: 1 (2-12 Xbox Live) 
ESRB: Mature 


www.gamers.com/1249427 


Bi 


1 Do you long to cosmetically alter this robot's head? If so, this is the game for you. 


@ PlayStation 2 


SILENT LINE: 
ARMORED CORE 


For those who can’t get enough Armored Core 







| Live out your wildest K-1 fantasies! Unless of course, you don’t have any K-1 fantasies. 


| PlayStation 2 / Also On: None 


K-1 WORLD 
GRAND PRIX 


‘It won't knock you out. It'll just leave you bruised 


es — 





Good: Lots of unique robot creation options 


Bad: Clunky controls limit game’s appeal 


Secretly: The fourth Armored Core game for PS2 


JOHN R: Although I've dabbled with previ- 
ous Armored Core games, Silent Line is the 
first one I’ve actually spent a good amount 
of serious time with. Now that I've been to 
hell and back with my trusty ’bot, | can see 
why hardcore mech fans get their rocks off 
on this giant-robot combat series. 

Just like its three PS2 predecessors, 
Silent Line offers an unprecedented 
amount of customization, allowing you to 
tinker with every aspect of your mechani- 
cal pal’s design, from the hundreds of dif- 
ferent parts you can acquire straight down 
to shell colors and custom emblems. 
Unfortunately, also like its predecessors, 
Silent Line features an unwieldy control 
system that makes maneuvering your 
mech a serious test of patience—a virtue 
most gamers probably won't have. It’s a 
shame, because the game’s numerous 
missions are varied and interesting, and 
the gameplay, while not much different 
from that of past ACs, is really quite 
polished. Ultimately, Silent Line has made 
me a partial believer; if they'd simplified 
the controls some, I’d be completely sold. 


JON D: The others might have been 
enticed by these armored clunkers, but 
not me. Trudging around with stripped- 
down battle gear before graduating to 
stylish mechs is a chore, and an abysmal 
control scheme mires the cool-looking 
robo-on-robo combat. The game forces 
you to use button presses to look up and 
down, even though the right analog stick 
is the intuitive choice. That may seem 
minor, but it frustrated me to no end. Try 
first before you ever consider buying. 


GMR—WMILKMAN: Disregard the hater— 
the Armored Core series continues to 
evolve nicely. | love the increasingly vast 
Collection of possible mech combinations 
and fine-tuned gameplay of each succes- 
sive iteration. Also, assembling your own 
Cores and tailoring their colors and 
emblems to suit your taste is practically a 
game unto itself. Silent Line still offers the 
same rewarding (albeit sterile and linear) 
arena combat that series fans expect. 
Hopefully, From will infuse a little more 
personality into the next installment. 

Publisher: Agetec 

Developer: From Software 


Players: 1-2 (2-4 w/ iLink) 
ESRB: Teen 


www.gamers.com/1341867 





Good: Clever Revive meter beats mashing buttons to get up 


Bad: Lethargic fights lack intensity 


How To Tell This Apart From UFC Games: No spooning 


SHAWN: With nothing more than two chis- 
eled combatants and a buxom card girl 
onscreen, fighting sims ought to look sharp. 
So what's with K-7's lethargic brawlers and 
barely animated ladies who couldn't titillate 
a death row inmate? An authentic slugfest 
should also emphasize the punishing force 
behind simple punches—because, let's 
face it, without stylish fighting-game-style 
special moves, plain punches and kicks are 
all K-7 has to offer. Its spongy blows feel 
incapable of cracking eye sockets or end- 
ing careers, nor are there enough moves to 
consistently entertain. 

What you're left with are ugly, repetitive 
squabbles lacking the thrill of a brutal beat- 
down. Sure, kickboxing connoisseurs could 
point to unlockable perks such as the 
Revival bouts in which you reenact classic 
matches to earn movie clips, but unless 
you're a fan, you really won't care. And 
even the faithful will cry foul when they 


“find the game lacks recognizable American 


K-1 greats like the beastly Bob Sapp. In the 
end, K-7’s pared-down approach is forgiv- 
able, but its bland execution is not. 


MB'60'8.0 


CRISPIN: I'm sure the cross-smidgen of 
gamers who also happen to be fans of 
obscure mixed martial arts (like Milkman, 
apparently) will appreciate K-7’s roster of 
international kick-brawlers and the agoniz- 
ingly lengthy ceremonial pomp that pre- 
cedes each fight (even if you flick off the 
intro movies). But if you're not in that fight 
club, you're left with a decent basic fighter 
that doesn’t demand much time to master 
yet doesn’t give you much reason to give a 
crap, either. Give it a rent, at least, to see 
some brutally fun K.0.s. 

GVIR—WILKVIAM: Unlike a reality-deprived 
buffoon like Shawn, | can accept the fact 
that human beings like Ray Sefo, Jerome 
Le Banner, and Mike Bernardo (of the real- 
life K-1 League) don’t do flying guillotine 
crotch attacks like his favorite Sou! Calibur 
fantasy-friend, Voldo. Know that K-7 is an 
arcadey sports sim with real-life characters 
who don’t have 18,000 crazy moves. Once 
you come to grips with that, you'll find 
yourself enjoying a well-rounded brawler. A 
true sleeper hit. 


Publisher: Konami 
Developer: Konami Osaka 
Players: 1-2 

ESRB: Teen 


www.gamers.com/178896 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com « 113 


If you're at all familiar with DOS, you can use the hacking menu 
to open up the game’s Versus mode—which is a simplistic, boring 
one-on-one brawler that you’ll have to bribe your friends to play. 


PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube 





ENTER THE MATRIX 


Not quite “The One” we hoped for 


If you're a die-hard fan of the flicks, Enter 
the Matrix provides exactly what creators Andy and 
Larry Wachowski had promised. Playing through 
this action title gives you a richer understanding of 
how and why certain events happen in The Matrix 
Reloaded. Loyalists will also enjoy the fact that the 
paths of each playable character, Niobe and Ghost 
(who have supporting roles in the film), reveal 
different nuggets of Matrix info, providing further 
incentive to complete E7M with both heroes. It also 
helps that enough of their missions vary so you 
don’t feel like you're playing the same exact game 
twice. And let me not forget E7M’s biggest draw, 
the exclusive movie cut-scenes (totaling more than 
an hour), which will be reason enough for some to 
fork over 50 bucks. 

Yet too many shortcomings will stop those who 
haven’t been unplugged (| mean nonfans) from 
entering this Matrix. The driving and hovercraft 


The Ins and Outs of Hacking 


portions fail miserably at capturing the same 
roller-coaster-type thrills of their movie counter- 
parts—piloting the Logos hovercraft is like a bad 
bumper-boat ride. Plus, it's a shame that a number 
of the cut-scenes using the in-game engine lack 
the cool special effects made famous in the films. 
(You'll know what | mean when you see agents 
dodging bullets.) More often than not, you'll miss 
out on catching a good look at your Neo-like acro- 
batics because of the jumpy camera, and while 
the motion-captured combat animations are 
superb, others (like running or climbing a ladder) 
appear downright odd. 

Take the fanboy outta me, and | can’t say I’d 
follow the white rabbit all the way to the game 
store to buy Enter the Matrix. It’s a fine rental for 
Matrix addicts (it takes about 12 hours to finish 
the game with both characters), but it isn’t quite 
good enough to warrant a purchase. 


If you've seen the films, you should know that computer 
hackers are the ones who've escaped the machines’ 
control. ETM has its own hacking system, which, surpris- 
ingly, is entertaining for a couple of hours. Using DOS- 
like commands, you'll be able to unlock such bonuses as 
a two-player versus mode, a training mission, and even a 
sword that can be used to slice and dice during combat. 


114 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





You can also re-watch all of the movie cut-scenes this 
way. Think of hacking as a progressive minigame that 
continually rewards you for correct keystrokes. 





Enter the Matrix is a polished turd. Pick it 
up and you'll likely be mesmerized by its sparkly 
veneer—the exclusive movie clips, glossy charac- 
ter models, stylish bullet-time special effects, and 
destructible environments definitely impress—but 
play it for an hour and its sticky fecal filling oozes 
all over your hands. 

Major problems plague every facet of the game. 
The normal run-and-gun stages are wildly incon- 
sistent—some are far too long, others last literally 
five seconds, and all suffer from poorly designed 
layouts and objectives. Driving missions sport 
busted physics and horrid visuals. The real-time 
cinemas are unbelievably ugly. Both the hand-to- 
hand and gunplay combat are tiresome and repeti- 
tive—every slow-mo kung-fu fight is indistin- 
guishable from the hundreds before it. The mis- 
guided final stages boil down to an anticlimactic, 
clunky minigame. Even the much-vaunted story 





Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, ETM 
tosses you into a horrible retread of the legendarily 
crappy Sewer Shark shooter (originally for Sega CD). 


BRYAN Publisher: Atari 
Developer: Shiny 
Players: 1 (2 in unlockable Versus mode) 
ESRB: Teen 
www.gamers.com/1297484 





_ ‘Ghost blasts the fuzz 
while Niobe drives the get- 
away car...but you won’t 
have fun doing either! 


never really heats up, spending too much time 
exploring the boring periphery of Reloaded’s plot. 
Oh, and expect the game to routinely crash. The 
PS2 ETMis ostensibly the most stable; however, 
terrible game-ending bugs infect the retail copies 
of all three versions. Frankly, I’m pretty sure that 
this game isn’t really done, yet it was irresponsibly 
released anyway to an unsuspecting public in an 
attempt to cash in on the movie's release. 

Bryan seems content simply having a game 
based on The Matrix, regardless of its quality...but 
I'm not. Red pill, blue pill...at this point, I'd swallow 
the whole damn bottle of pills to forget my miser- 
able Enter the Matrix experience. Sure, that would 
mean that | wouldn’t remember the new movie 
scenes (like the oh-so-steamy Niobe/Persephone 
liplock), but that would be a minor sacrifice in 
order to erase the pervasive pain of ETM’s ram- 
shackle graphics and gameplay. 


© Niobe realizes that she might bea tad 
overdressed for a party in the sewer. 





In more than 20 years of playing games, 
| have never seen a console game as obviously 
unfinished and rushed to market as Enter the 
Matrix. Bugs and glitches pile up like so many 
Agent Smiths: Characters get stuck in walls or 
float in the air; music and sound effects pop in at 
the wrong times or are missing altogether; and on 
many Xboxes (including mine), the game locks up 
every single time after a certain boss fight. This 
game is a complete mess, and that’s the only 
thing complete about it. 

But let’s say all the bugs magically disap- 
peared—how would Enter the Matrix rate? 
Average at best. Fans may appreciate a couple of 
the film excerpts (and by a couple, | mean two), 
which cleverly weave in and out of Reloaded, but 
the story adds precious little to the overall Matrix 
mythos, and the in-game cut-scenes look laugh- 
ably bad. Which goes for the rest of the game’s 


The Persephone character (played by 
the beautiful Monica Bellucci) is one of 


the more compelling additions to the 
Matrix cast. In both the second film 
and game, she aids Ss 
the humans on their 

journey to stop the 

machines. But 

Persephone 

always requests 

a kiss in return 

for her help. And 

if you play E7M, 

you'll see that 

even Niobe is 

forced to suck H 

face with this 

seductress 

(above). 






















graphics as well—most levels are embar- 
rassingly dull, devoid of any life or detail. 
Combat occasionally offers cool 
Matrix-style action moments, like 
when you pull off a wall kick in 
slo-mo, spiral into the fray guns 
blazing, or fight extended bat- 
tles mano-a-mano with 

tougher enemies. But all 

too quickly, the blue pill 
of piss-poor A.I. and 
a frustrating lock- 
on system (if you 
can even call it 

a system) bring 











you back to 

reality. Do not 

Enter the Hey Ms. Pinkett-Smith, it 
Matrix. looked better on the crocodile! 





ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com ¢ 115 


Yi) review Crew 





Superman 
One*H ander: 


Mulisha Air 


@ PlayStation 2 





Good: Massive varied environments 
Bad: Buggy gameplay 


SHAWN: Metal X has the audacity to arrive 
at the crowded extreme-sports party in a 
tattered Twisted Sister shirt, blastin’ a butt- 
rock compilation and slangin’ behind-the- 
times terminology. Of course, if it could 
truly compete with contenders such as 
Mat Hoffman and Tony Hawk, I'd happily 
ignore its putrid soundtrack and retarded 
“Rad-ometer.” Regrettably, this average 
motocross action can’t overcome its 
trailer-park trappings. 

Challenges run the standard Tony 
Hawk-inspired gamut, but goals repeat 
level after level with minimal variation. 
Sporadically glitchy gameplay guarantees 
that victory is more about dumb luck than 
finesse. For example, in one level, you’re 
supposed to chase down some delinquent 
kids...who magically sprint at near-light 
speed and teleport through walls. On the 
upside, you get enormous, seamlessly 
connected arenas ranging from snowy 
peaks to seaside parks, as well as hill- 
climbing events unique to motocross. Like 
most wannabes, Metal X is fun in limited 


ee 


1 Judas Priest’s Rob Halford sums it up: 
“?’m your Turbo Lover. Better run for cover.” 


Publisher: Midway Sports Asylum 
G. FORD Developer: Deibus Studios UK 
Players: 1 (1-9 can take turns) 
ESRB: Teen 
t 
www.gamers.com/86640 


16 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





Pulling a wicked trick like this will fill your gnarly Rad-ometer. 


Naughty Naughty: Bikini bimbo exclaims, “| love water sports!” 


FREESTYLE METAL X 


Grind the heavy-metal parking lot 


doses—provided you have a soft spot for 
the inadvertently hilarious. 


JENNIFER: I’m not a fan of motocross 
culture, so naturally, this game’s 
chauvinistic innuendos, bikini-clad bimbos, 
and hellish cheese-metal soundtrack don’t 
appeal to me (and, unlike Shawn and G. 
Ford, | don’t even find them amusing). But 
last month's Wakeboarding Unleashed 
featuring Shaun Murray showed me that 
great gameplay can make an excellent 
game out of a hick sport. Freestyle Metal 
X, however, doesn’t have great gameplay, 
so the terrible accoutrements just become 
that much more irritating. The repetitive 
challenges are uncreative, and the game's 
choppy graphics and collision-detection 
issues make the whole experience head- 
splitting. Decent level design can’t com- 
pensate for these problems. 


G. FORD: You should know the story by 
now. If the others’ comments weren't 
convincing enough, please take it from 
me: Among extreme-sports hopefuls, this 
one’s merely average. Besides the slow- 
down and choppiness, you'll find random 
and sometimes disturbing challenges— 
one has you scaring a girl’s window- 
washing ex-boyfriend off his perch, with 
the cinema showing his fall. Is that 
extreme? Eventually, you'll mine some fun 
from this game while riding and tricking 
around the levels, but only because you 
want to justify your purchase. Rent it, 
laugh at its absurdities, then play some 
Hawk 4 to wipe it from your brain. 








m Xbox / Also On: PlayStation 2 





a 






Good: Wide variety of online racing modes 
Bad: Computer-controlled drivers are absurdly precise 


Evel Knievel: Eat your heart out 


What do the underground racers 
of the Midnight Club respect? Obviously, 
neither public nor private property. Nor 
gravity. Nor pedestrian safety. Traffic 
laws? Please. No, they respect winning. 
To win in Midnight Club II, you'll have to 
use every shortcut you can find in beauti- 
fully re-created virtual versions of Los 
Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. Gain an advan- 
tage with two-wheeled driving in cars 
and wheelies on motorcycles. (Insane 
Moves are commonplace thanks to tight, 
responsive control.) Hit a nitro and jump 
over the Louvre. Win however you can— 
or face the derision of the Midnight Club. 

Finishing first in the single-player 
game is murderously hard. Discovering 
the route that gives you a fighting chance 
against the too-perfect A.|. drivers some- 
times requires a dozen retries. You can 
drive that route flawlessly, and the entire 
pack of computer racers will still finish 
mere car lengths behind you. 

Thankfully, the playing field is more 
level online. Standard versus fare like 
checkpoint races and capture the flag are 
fun for a while, but when you customize 
your own routes through the cities, end- 
less replay value blossoms. Midnight Club 
Jlis simply the best online racer yet. 


Paul's right about the obscene 
difficulty—’d like this game a bit more if 
it weren't so friggin’ hard! Luckily, the 
gameplay is so solid and polished that it's 
easy to keep playing the same races over 
and over again. The Xbox Live gameplay 
adds infinite replay value. Breakneck 


Do they drive on the right or the left in France? Who cares? 





(CN) 


MIDNIGHT CLUB Il 


On Xbox Live, everyone can hear you scream 











speed, creative online modes, and the 
ability to talk trash with Live’s headset 
will make you an addict in no time flat. 


| loved Midnight Club Il on PS2, 
and it’s even better on Xbox—though 
only slightly. The nicer graphics aren't a 
big deal to me, but voice chat in Xbox Live 
races is a major plus. Otherwise, it offers 
the same high-velocity, up-on-two- 
wheels, jumping-clear-across-Tokyo-bay 
action | liked so much the first time. My 
only beef is that some of the later races 
get really, really difficult, but hey, at least 
it'll take you a while to beat. 








California Highway Patrol officers Ponch 
and John update their look. 


Publisher: Rockstar 
Developer: Rockstar San Diego 
Players: 1-4 (2-8 on Live) 
ESRB: Teen 

® bad ® www.gamers.com/1273947 





If you bought all 
these games, it 
would cost about 


Why not try ‘hem all first in the 
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 
for less than $10? 


B RTLASTIFinst SCREENS AND veo! 
METAL GEAR 
SOL 


[AND YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A MYTH! 


CASTLEVANIA 


‘THE ONE YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR? 


R: RACING 
EvoLuTiON 


2: WOLVERINE 
en ee Vol. 2 


SPLINTER CELL 


C HE JU 
fod 7:1 & U. 3 


DISC 70 PRESENTED BY OFFICIAL U.S. PLAYSTATION 


_ MAGAZINE AND PLAYSTATION UNDERGROUND 








PlayStation.2 


PlayStation. 


* MLB 2004 
NBA STREET VOL. 2 

* DYNASTY WARRIORS 4 
FREAKY FLYERS 


GUNGRAVE 
WWE SMACKDOWN! 
SHUT YOUR MOUTH 
SLY COOPER AND 
THE THIEVIUS RACCOONUS 
STAR WARS CLONE WARS 
TIGER WOODS PGA 
TOUR 2003 
TERMINATOR: 
DAWN OF FATE 
» MINORITY REPORT 


* INSIDE THE GAME 
DOWNHILL DOMINATION 
LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER— 
ANGEL OF DARKNESS 
WAKEBOARDING UNLEASHED 
* FEATURING SHAUN MURRAY 


* DEV 101: GAME DESIGN AND 
DEVELOPMENT SCHOOLS 


SYPHON FILTER: 

THE OMEGA STRAIN 
FINDING NEMO 

GLADIUS 

HUNTER: THE RECKONING— 
WAYWARD 


Y 2003 ISSUE OF 


PL 'AYSTATION MAGAZINE ON SALE NOW! 


aoxa PlayStation 





¥ 


© Someone call the fashion police, ‘cause these old-time uniforms are hideous. 


@ PlayStation 2 


NCAR sign 
FOOTBALL 2004 


Madden's little brother is ready for the big leagues 


@NuNe 
(PS2 ONLY) 


@ (Left) The Ohio State Buckeyes make EGM editor Shoe’s alma mater (Michigan) look foolish. 


{@ Xbox / Also On: None 


RENT A HERO NO. 1 


Shenmue on laughing gas 





seer etisalat 
[eee : 


© (Center) Looking for more hot nurses in your games? Don’t look here. 


118 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





Good: Online play (plus voice-chat for broadband users) 


Bad: Lack of online tourneys 


Greatest Moment: Watching fans rip down the goalposts 


BRYAN: The “‘f it ain’t broke, just refine it” 
approach proves again to be the right 
coaching choice for EA Sports’ persistently 
excellent NCAA Football. But is this year’s 
game Heisman-worthy? Hell yeah. 

Improvements abound. Increased crowd 
involvement breeds a truer-to-life stadium 
atmosphere. Fans roar louder as you head 
toward paydirt, and watching them tear 
down the goalposts after a big win had me 
sprinting through the office to show Todd 
this awesome spectacle. Plus, I'm digging 
the new camera angles, especially when it 
pans to the side of the field on quarterback 
rollouts or zooms in on the handoff during 
a play-action pass. 

Even checking out stats in Dynasty 
mode now sizzles, thanks to the fresh 
weekly Sports Iilustrated magazine mock- 
ups. And traveling back in time to re-create 
20 college classic moments (like Doug 
Flutie’s 1984 Hail Mary pass against Miami) 
is a blast. Add online play with voice chat 
(for the PS2 version only) to these subtle 
improvements, and it equals one helluva 
college football experience. 


BRYAN a(e)s)>) JOHN R. 
9.0} 9.5] 9.0 


Good: Insane sense of humor 


Bad: Antiquated controls 
Avoid: The diarrhea-inducing curry at the SECA cafe 





SHANE: While Rent A Hero is certainly not 
for everybody, some gamers (read: 
Japanophiles, Sega fanboys, and the crimi- 
nally insane) will sync to its weird groove. 
It's a goofball RPG packed with bizarre 
Japanese culture and funny Sega in-jokes. 

Fundamentally, its weirdly engaging 
gameplay isn’t far removed from that of 
Sega’s own Shenmue series—here, you 
also play as an easygoing lad who must 
contend with the rigors of everyday life. 

But the twist is that you don’t have a higher 
purpose. Rather, you’re a superhero-for-hire 
who’s rented out by townsfolk to do hilari- 
ously menial tasks, like picking up gro- 
ceries, finding missing puppies, or hand- 
delivering love letters. If you stick with it, 
though, the missions eventually become a 
lot cooler (like battling a giant robot and 
rescuing survivors trapped in a cave). 

Since | dig Japan, respect Sega, and lack 
sanity, | had a good time with Rent A Hero. 
In fact, I'd recommend it to everyone—f it 
didn’t look, sound, and feel so old. It's a 
direct port of a 3-year-old Japanese Sega 
Dreamcast game, and, well...it shows. Try it 





OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAG—TODD: 
Madden's great. It’s the premier football 
game. It’s aces. Big deal. You put me on 
Survivor: Belly of a Whale with one pigskin 
sim—'ll take this one. NCAA Football 2004 
may not be the best, but it’s the most fun. 
In the pro games, every team is, relatively, 
equally skilled. So if Detroit beats Tampa in 
Madden, it's improbable, not impossible. 
But beat Nebraska with Kansas in NCAA 
and you’ve rearranged the universe’s stars! 
The upsets in NCAA make it worth getting 
good at, and online play seals the deal. 


JOHN R: I've been a big fan of EA's NCAA 
games for a long time, and this year’s ver- 
sion is the best yet. The gameplay isn’t 
quite as confining as Madden’s, allowing 
for more open-ended games. Sure, 
blowouts are common, but there’s nothing 
wrong with that—especially now that you 
can gloat about your online victories with 
real-time voice chat. Even solo play is fun, 
with an awesome Dynasty mode and a 
cavalcade of classic teams to choose from. 
Now if only | could beat Todd... 

Publisher: EA Sports 

Developer: EA Tiburon 


Players: 1-2 (1-8 w/ Multitap) 
ESRB: Everyone 


www.gamers.com/1358091 








if you’re brave; you just might like it. 


GJ: Rent A Hero is extremely quirky, funny, 
and loaded with enough references to the 
house of hedgehog to get die-hard Sega 
fans moist. But anyone else will find it very 
difficult to see past its dated graphics, bad 
camera, hackneyed gameplay, and digital- 
only control. It’s a real shame that no one 
threw Hero’s tights in the wash in time for 
his Xbox debut (which is CooiNet's fault, 
since they did the port). The Sega fan in me 
likes it—but more for its collector value 
than for being a good game. 


GREG 0: Pil agree with my com- 
rades that it’s cute, but Rent A Hero is, 
nonetheless, a Dreamcast throwback as out 
of place on Xbox as Pope John Paul Il at a 
Metallica concert and as out-of-date as last 
week’s TV Guide. Would it have hurt the 
developers to port the game over with ana- 
log control, improved graphics, and the 
ability to replace the cheesy pseudo-porn 
soundtrack with real tunes? Apparently, 
yes. We don’t need another hero. 


XBN 


Publisher: AIA 
Developer: Sega/CoolNet 
Players: 1 

ESRB: Teen 


www.gamers.com/161629 


(© Look out, patio furniture—there’s a new king of the sidewalk. 


@ Xbox 


MIDTOW 
MADNESS 3 


A delightful romp, if not a truly insane one 


Good: Lots of cars, big cities 
Bad: Not as good as Midnight Club II 
Needs: To drop the stupid foreign accents 


GREG S: Midtown Madness 3 has the 
misfortune of hitting Xbox alongside the 
excellent Midnight Club II (which, ironi- 
cally, was developed by the team behind 
the original PC Madness games). In the 
realm of blazing, city-based auto action, 
Club (page 116) easily overtakes MM3 
in terms of visuals, variety, and pure, 
visceral speed. 

That’s not to say that this is a bad 
game. It’s just second best. The colossal 
cities (Washington, D.C. and Paris)-are 
quite fun to explore, and there's no short- 
age of snazzy cars and trucks to drive. 
It's certainly simple to pick up and play, 
though maybe a bit too easy—if you're 
seeking tense races requiring finesse, you 
should look elsewhere. 

MM3 isn’t just racing—you'll motor 
through tons of different missions (includ- 
ing driving a taxi, or delivering money in 
an armored car). This helps keep the 
game fresh for a while, but it’s no substi- 
tute for the flat-out driving competition of 
Rockstar’s title. Don’t buy this unless 
you've already played the hell out of 
Midnight Club I. 


ANDREW 


| Playe 

| ESRB: Everyone 
| 

| e 


CRISPIN: C’mon, Greg—MM3 may not 
keep pace with Midnight Club Il in terms 
of pure racing thrills, but then, this isn’t a 
pure racing game. It satisfies your need to 
do stuff—fun tasks like picking up pas- 
sengers, tailing mob bosses, and running 
jalopies off the road—as well as your 
need for speed. (Just wait till you take the 
Viper-like car for a supersonic test drive in 
D.C. rush-hour traffic.) Sure, mission goals 
get repetitive (as do the online modes), 
and | wish the physics model allowed for 
end-over-end crashes, but MM3 still 
delivers a high-rewving good time. 


GMR—ANDREW: | was pleasantly caught 
off guard by MM3. At first glance it seems 
like a piecemeal mix of city-based-driving- 
game clichés, but it all comes together 
nicely. Well, most of it. Some of the check- 
point races are too tough, and | could do 
without the generic story and stereotypical 
characters. But the arcadey controls han- 
dle well, there're plenty of vehicles, the 
cities are massive, and it looks good to 
boot. All | can ask for is the option to 
create custom checkpoint courses. 


m Even normally sedate garbage trucks take 
‘to the air in this insane driving climate. 


Publisher: Microsoft 
Developer: Digital Illusions 
4 (2-8 Online) 


www.gamers.com/1131740 





t= PlayStation 2 / Also On: Xbox 


RETURN TO 


CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN: 
OPERATION RESURRECTION 


You’re on your own, soldier 





f “?m Hans and he’s Franz, and we’re here to pump you full of lead.” 


Good: Fast-paced firefights 
Bad: Dodgy A.l. 


Where My People At? With no multiplayer, you're gunnin’ solo 


SHAW: Return to Castle Wolfenstein’s 
devilish alliance of Nazis and the undead 
works surprisingly well. Barring some 
dopey mechanical zombie dogs, it’s a per- 
fect premise for a first-person shooter, and 
remarkably sharp visuals and sound seal 
the diabolical deal. Even as a blow-em-all- 
to-hell-and-let-Satan-sort-em-out affair, 
Resurrection bristles with eerie pulp 
ambiance, thanks to its torch-lit catacombs 
and dilapidated castles. 

But if anything can bring your romanti- 
cized undead WWII fantasy crashing back 
to reality, it’s inconsistent A.I. And, sadly, 
although some of your enemies employ 
squad tactics, other not-so-super soldiers 
wander aimlessly into the open. 

Still, it's what you don’t get in this 
version of the game that hurts most. 
Whether the blame belongs to Activision or 
Sony is irrelevant—the fact remains that 
Resurrection is devoid of multiplayer 
modes in any shape or form. Considering 
that Xbox owners get splitscreen co-op, 
system-link play, and one of the deepest, 
most ambitious online games among 
today’s consoles, that’s an inexcusably raw 
deal, indeed. 


(IARI: As on PC and Xbox, PS2 
Wolfenstein offers decent first-person 
shooting: some fun weapons, some lame 
enemies, a cool new ability to build up 
your Stats, but mostly just what you’d 
expect from an ol’ fashioned Nazi blaster, 
all under a coat of smooth, crisp graphics. 
Where the PS2 version takes a hit (and | 
mean a big hit, as in having its arms com- 





pletely blown off) is in its total lack of mul- 
tiplayer modes—the addictive online game 
is gone, without so much as a splitscreen 
deathmatch in its place. Lame. 


PAUL: Do you enjoy shooting Nazis, 
destroying zombies, and throwing 
switches? If so, then Resurrection is for 
you. Even if, like me, you’re sick to death 
of switch-finding as the arbiter of 
progress through games, annihilating 
Aryans and massacring their macabre 
minions ought to amuse you throughout 
this pseudohistorical adventure. 
Entertaining as it is, however, 
Resurrection’s unadorned action offers 
precious little replay value. And | hate to 
beat an undead horse, but the others are 
right—the multiplayer modes that made 
the Xbox version so compelling have 
gone AWOL, and that's a capital offense. 


© If you're firing the MG-42, you’ll run out of 
Nazis before you run out of bullets. 


Publisher: Activision 
Developer: Raster Productions 
Players: 1 
ESRB: Mature 

® ® ® 


www.gamers.com/1282734 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com « 119 


PlayStation 2 


THE HULK | 


Slightly less than incredible 


The Hulk does a marvelous job capturing 
this dark hero’s destructive essence. Every com- 
pletely interactive smash-em-up level is packed 
with cars, pipes, and concrete slabs you can use 
to carve swaths of carnage through General 
Ryker’s cronies. And considering the game 
might’ve sold well even if punching were the 
extent of its pissed-off protagonist’s talents, being 
able to toss oil tankers through research center 
walls is a welcome break. 

Furthermore, you're rarely forced to fight every 
lackey who irritates you, and by ignoring them, 
you'll reach your objectives faster (not that some 
of you won’t want to pulverize the saps). Such 
features aren’t exactly awe-inspiring, but they 
keep the Green Goliath's rampage fast-paced and 
satisfyingly furious. 

Sadly, when the Hulk transforms back into 
mild-mannered Bruce Banner, the game takes a 
turn for the insipid. If you’ve crept across com- 
pounds as Solid Snake or Sam Fisher, Dr. Banner's 


game of hide-and-seek will bore you. And avoiding 


detection is a crapshoot—l’ve been spotted from 
20 yards by guards with their backs turned, but 
strolled right under others’ noses. The boss bat- 
tles, too, seem to borrow a page from the messy 
showdowns that spoiled X2: Wolverine’s Revenge 
(EGM #168). They’re so infuriatingly cheap, you'll 
want to Hulk-smash your controller. Try renting if, 
unlike me, you can control your temper. 


Like Bruce Banner and his alter ego, The Hulk 
is a game with a split personality. It’s a visually 
cool ride (especially when you're destroying stuff) 
with an excellent cinematic feel and decent 
brawling control. But after the first few bits as the 
infamous jolly green giant, it’s just wave after 
wave of the same guards, inexplicably large dogs, 
and not a whole lot of variety. Like Shawn, | found 
that you’re better off running past the never-end- 
ing enemy hordes than gambling your remaining 
lives by staying to fight. The Banner bits break it 


Who let the gamma dogs out? 
Creating villains to fight a behemoth like the Hulk has 







up with some light stealth and move the story 
along, but the package never quite comes togeth- 
er into a cohesive whole. Give it a rental after you 
see the flick, but it’s a keeper only for serious 
Hulk-heads. 


It's 
tough to create compelling gameplay around a 
giant freak whose gig is just smashing the hell out 
of things, but The Hulk succeeds and is the best 
pure punch/kick beat-em-up since Final Fight. | 
love all the game's pickups—nothing beats 
repeatedly whapping away at soldiers with a fork- 
lift or taking out gamma dogs by hurling frozen 
cow carcasses their way. Plus, everything moves 
just as it should, thanks to an incredible physics 
engine. Special moves are quite limited, though, 
and it’s a bit ironic that the break-from-the-norm 
Bruce Banner stealth missions serve only to drag 
the action down. | wouldn’t call this Hu/k quite 
incredible, but it is a smashing good time. 


TONES NADE 
tee cal 


me [EFTISN N 


to be hard, but irradiated dogs? Apparently, they're 
taken from the film, but we couldn't stop laughing at 
these pitiful pooches. If, however, you’re part of the 

* weird subculture that finds rabid pit bulls adorable 
and you’d very much like a gamma dog to call your 
own, be warned that the ASPCA forbids irradiating 
your own mongrels in hopes that they'll develop 
hydrocephalus. Instead, sate your thirst for the 
obscene with the bitchin’ dog goods pictured here. 


aN) 
wl 


© (Left) Find a T-shirt with this killer logo at K-Mart. 
(Right) Scour your local toy shop for Hood Hounds. 





PUBLISHER: VU Games 
DEVELOPER: Radical 
PLAYERS: 1 

ESRB: Teen 





www.gamers.com/103552 





120 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com 


* 


Your globetrotting killing spree covers more exotic destinations than a travel brochure. 


@ GameCube 


HITMAN 2: 
SILENT ASSASSIN 


Dressed to kill 


Good: Wickedly cunning assassinations 
Bad: Bunk mission briefings 


Previous Employment: Television's Kojak, Mr. Clean 


SHAWN: | can see how Hitman’s smartly 
dressed assassin-for-hire grabbed our 
review crew alumni when he put a hit on 
the PS2 last fall. This hairless antihero’s 
contract kills are ingenious. Need to 
knock off a Yakuza kingpin but can’t find 
him? Poison his son’s sushi and trace the 
corpse back to papa-san. If arsenic isn't 
your bag, you can just put a bullet in his 
back. The way you complete each mis- 
sion is limited only by your sick creativity. 

Unfortunately, getting close enough to 
deliver your sordid calling card can be 
more frustrating than fun. Your mission 
briefings are so obscure that vexing trial 
and error is unavoidable. Half the time, | 
had no idea what | was supposed to do. 
Flaky A.I. makes maintaining secrecy a 
total chore, and seemingly innocuous 
actions often brought the whole town of 
Hindustan down on my bald head. But 
each time | circumvented the immeasur- 
able odds and made the crucial killing 
blow, Hitman 2 was briefly a blast. 


G. FORD: While Hitman may not receive 
Metal Gear or Splinter Cell’s hype, it cer- 


tainly approaches their level of stealth- 
action greatness. Once you adapt to the 
slightly weird controls and learn to deal 
with the unpredictable enemy A.I., you'll 
find a good-looking game that does an 
excellent job of putting you in a hitman’s 
shoes. Shawn is right about the difficulty, 
but | enjoyed the challenge—the open- 
ended, try-anything nature sucked me in. 
It's good to see the Cube get a tough and 
satisfying experience like this. 


GAMENOW—ETHAN: Hitman 2’s biggest 
lure: the ability to incapacitate nearly any 
male character and steal his clothing. 
This fabulous feature allows you to 
impersonate flower deliverymen, waiters, 
soldiers, etc., in order to reach your end 
goal undetected. It’s a play mechanic 
that forces you to think inventively, and it 
helps to keep you from concentrating on 
the game’s hiccups (like occasionally 
choppy visuals and awkward controls). 
Throw in a solid narrative and surprising- 
ly good voice acting and you have an 
engaging adventure title that rewards 
patient players. 


Publisher: Eidos 
Developer: I0 Interactive 
Players: 1 

ESRB: Mature 


www.gamers.com/186429 





@ PlayStation 2 / Also On: None 


DOWNHILL 
DOMINATION 


As fun as it is fast 





It’s kind of like the Tour de France, but infinitely cooler and with giant hills. 


Good: Spectacular speed 
Bad: Some really lame characters 


Don’t Try This at Home: Fitting sheep with handlebars ( 


Lord knows why developer Incog 
Chose to follow up its well-received War of 
the Monsters with a mountain-bike racing 
game, but the company’s fingerprints of 
quality are all over the place. Each of DD's 
27 mammoth tracks boasts intense atten- 
tion to detail and gripping gameplay. As 
you race through dense woods in a torren- 
tial downpour, skirting sheer cliffs and 
dodging tree stumps, lightning shoots from 
the heavens and sets the forest aflame— 
the game bristles with such crazy 
moments. And where other racers settle 
for a few hidden shortcuts, DD’s mountain- 
sides offer intertwining trails and plunging 
drops for derring-do (thanks to some spot- 
less controls, even sliding past obstacles is 
pure pleasure), 

In fact, only a few minor missteps 
detract points from this otherwise perfect 
tun. The cast of contenders is a case study 
of clichés (let’s keep clowns named T-bag 
who scream “Dude!” in Kool-Aid commer- 
cials where they belong). | could also do 
without being bludgeoned by my rivals as 
I'm riding. But when the game is so damn 
fun, who cares? 


: What an awesome surprise— 
DD wasn't even on my radar, but it deftly 
mixes Road Rash’s two-wheeled combat 
with SSX’s long and crazy downhill drops 
to create one hell of a rush. But even with 
its ridiculous speed and so much going on 
(pedestrians and wildlife fill the courses), 
you feel in complete control at all times. 
And among the Arcade and various Career 
modes, you'll find plenty to conquer. A few 





hiccups exist (you sometimes repeatedly 
respawn at a crash point), but otherwise, 
DD drips with quality. 


Those two might be wowed by 
this supposed “SSX on mountain bikes,” 
but I was let down— loved SSX for its 
awesome synergy of racing and tricks. DD 
is all about speed, and its merely average 
tricks system doesn’t provide much more 
fun than keeping your boost up during 
racing. Once | got over that, | enjoyed the 
massive, intricate worlds, and a couple 
creative modes—Moshbowl and Super 
Jump—also add depth. But if you’re not a 
speed freak, this isn't for you. 





Publisher: Sony CEA 
Developer: Incog 

Players: 1-2 (2-4 w/ Multitap) 
ESRB: Teen 


www.gamers.com/1349824 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com ¢ 121 


Vi) review Creu 


To pretend you're playing, look at this screen and imagine you're Henry Rollins. 


@ Xbox 


MACE GRIFFIN: 
BOUNTY HUNTER 


uffers from space's greatest challenge: monotony 


OT 


@ (Left) The best part of Mace Griffin is how often you get to snipe guys like this. 


GameCube / Also On: PlayStation 2, Xbox 


SPEED KINGS 


Neither speedy nor royal. Discuss 











2 ia 
~ > SBR 
7 


(Left) Wayward barrels are an oddly common sight on the highways of Speed Kings. 


122 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


Good: Lots and lots of sniping action 


Bad: The space-shooting parts, no multiplayer 
Angry Celebrity Actor: Henry Rollins as Mace 


JOE: Mace Griffin isn’t a horrible first-per- 
son shooter, but its numerous rough edges 
wear you down over time. It’s tough to 
overlook its frequent pauses for loading, 
brain-dead enemies, unrealistic animations, 
and repetitive graphics. Once you’ve been 
in a new environment for five minutes, 
you've basically seen about every grate, 
wall, door, and enemy you're going to see 
for the next hour. The space-shooting sec- 
tions could have broken up the first-per- 
son-shooting action well, but the time limits 
the game imposes (and lack of a save-any- 
where function) mostly just make them 
annoying. Multiplayer splitscreen or online 
modes could’ve helped round out the game, 
but Mace has neither. 

Considering the game’s small selection 
of dumb enemies, the firefights are surpris- 
ingly enjoyable—but the gameplay stil! 
gets tedious. Most levels follow the same 
structure: “Fly in, fight enemies in space, 
shoot enemies on the ground, and. ..Hey! 
Wait! Someone's escaped! Go get in your 
ship and shoot them down!” Repeat and 
serve. It’s worth renting, but buyers beware. 


ple] BRYAN 
3-9 309 


PAUL: You don’t play this game; it plays 
you. You can do only what you’re supposed 
to do. Not sure where to go? Just find the 
only door that opens. Mission objectives 
admirably rise above mere switch-finding, 
but the linear gameplay is as rigid and joy- 
less as painting by numbers. Mace doesn’t 
have any choices to make, either. If he’s a 
bounty hunter, why can’t he decline any 
assignments? And why doesn’t he ever get 
paid? He could use some more interesting 
weapons. Or some beer. 


BRYAN: Strip away the pretty sci-fi eye 
candy and celebrity voicework and you'll 
see Mace Griffin for what it truly is— 
repetitive. Almost every mission adheres 
to that boring formula Joe mentioned, so 
surprises are scarce. Blasting baddies in 
metallic corridors isn’t awful, but the 
spacefaring bits drag—imagine trying to 
shoot out the tires on a Ferrari from your 
sputtering Ford Pinto...in space. Overall, 
the elements just don’t add up to much 
first-person-shooter fun, leaving you with 
little reason to pay this game’s $50 bounty. 
Publisher: VU Games 

Developer: Warthog 


Players: 1 
ESRB: Mature 


www.gamers.com/1112411 





Good: Sliding your bike under a semi at 100 mph 


Bad: Choppy animation and interminable load times 
Insane: Rear brake on R trigger, front brake on B button 


The marketing types, and even 
Greg S., might pitch Speed Kings as a cross 
between Burnout (the big crashes and 
trick-based turbo system part) and Road 
Rash (the guys on motorcycles beating on 
each other part). Don’t believe them—it 
doesn't live up to either game. 

You race through a series of meets, 
unlocking new bikes and tracks, but thrills 
are relatively scarce. Performing trick 
moves and brazenly flaunting traffic laws 
earns turbo boosts, but you'll hardly need 
the extra oomph in order to beat the weak 
computer-controlled opposition, despite the 
frustratingly frequent crashes. 

Once you learn all the tricks (also pretty 
easy—they’re in the manual) and play 
through the meets, that’s about it. Oh, 
there’s more stuff to unlock via the tedious 
Time and Trick Attack modes, but none of 
it's much fun. Multiplayer is also a letdown: 
No more than two can play at once, and 
there’s only one mode (Tag) that isn’t 
already in the single-player game. It's a 
renter. On a very slow night. When every- 
one you know is out of town. 


DEMIAN GREG S. BRYAN 





Such haters! | maintain that this 
is a nearly perfect mix of Road Rash and 
Burnout. Riding full throttle into oncoming 
traffic while beating on other bikers will get 
your pulse racing and your palms sweating. 
The whole trick system is pretty useless, 
though. It’s cool to pull off a trick at high 
speeds, but it almost always leads to a 
wreck. Luckily, it’s never required during a 
race, so no big deal. The only other things 
really holding Speed Kings back are the 
boring graphics and mind-numbing music. 


This racer hits two major speed 
bumps: unavoidable crashes and dumb-as- 
dirt A.I. Case in point: | wiped out 12 times 
on the Sunny Detroit track, yet | still came 
out victorious because the CPU riders never 
strayed from the pack. And eatin’ the pave- 
ment left little time to take advantage of 
Speed Kings’ strengths, like sliding under 
obstacles or brawling with fellow riders. 
Factor in so-so graphics and poor tunes 
and you won't find much incentive to 
unlock new bikes and courses. A next-gen 
Road Rash? Whatchootalkinbout, Greg? 


Publisher: Acclaim 
Developer: Climax 
Players: 1-2 
ESRB: Everyone 


www.gamers.com/96224 





‘© There’s a fair amount of Hulk smashing, but there’s also plenty of Hulk wandering. 


Game Boy Advance 


THE INCREDIBLE HULK 


More of a mundane Hulk, really 


od 





“ 
* 


aie. 


| ee _ 2 





& 
— 


(Left) The Hulk learns (the hard way) that smashing explosive barrels isn’t a good idea. 


REVIEWS WRAP-UP 


The ones that got away 


Each month in the Review Crew, we 
strive to cover every major release. In 
order to have room for all the heavy 
hitters, some smaller niche titles and 
belated ports fall by the wayside. 
Luckily, in this column, we symbolical- 
ly stick a bent coat hanger through 
the cracks these games would other- 
wise have slipped through. 


Naval Ops: Warship Gunner 

Fans of Koei’s Historical Simulation 
Series will be shocked by the high-action 
content in this WWil-flavored aquatic 
war-waging sim for PlayStation 2. It’s 
more about blasting boats with massive 
cannons than maintaining a stable 
socioeconomic climate in ancient China, 
and frankly, we're OK with that. Check it 
out if strategically annihilating U-boats is 
to your liking. 


2 ESS 
Reel Fishing I! 

Fishing games bubble under the surface 
of the mainstream, stealthily selling 
oodles of copies to gamers desperate to 
land the legendary killer bass. Natsume’s 
first Reel Fishing title for PS2 will defi- 
nitely please fans—impressive lake 
locales, soothing sounds, and more than 
30 realistically modeled 3D fish make it 

a fine fishin’ endeavor. Oh, and it features 
a lovable canine fishing companion that 
will fill your heart with glee, guaranteed. 


Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick 

Last issue’s Shame of the Month returned 
for a second round of horror on Xbox, and 
we zealously hate this one just as we did 
its PS2 cousin. Ugly graphics, poor com- 
bat, and asinine puzzles abound. It’s seri- 
ously not worth its $20 asking price— 
rent Evil Dead 2 instead. 





If | had a nickel for every crappy 
licensed game that squirmed its way onto 
store shelves, | sure as hell wouldn’t be 
stuck reviewing ’em for a living. 

The Incredible Hulk falls squarely into 
this category, thanks to its mindless, 
repetitive gameplay and uninspired level 
designs. Technically speaking, Hulk isn’t 
so offensive; respectable character anima- 
tion mixes with a neat angled perspective 
to offer a decent visual package. In fact, 
seeing the game in motion made me won- 
der why EA hasn’t attempted a handheld 
version of Diablo (PS1). Hulk’s problem 
lies in its gameplay: It's just plain boring. 
Walking around massive, confusing levels 
and punching out enemies over and over 
(and over and over) with the same three or 
four moves is not fun—it’s tedious. 

The awkward controls don’t help mat- 
ters; lining yourself up with objects you 
want to destroy is often unnecessarily dif- 
ficult. That said, the option to pick up or 
destroy pretty much anything in your path 
is pretty cool, but it’s not enough to save 
this otherwise unincredible game. 





Want to know what's really 
annoying about Hu/k? Each time you turn 
it on, you're forced to wade through a half 
dozen licensing screens...which isn’t bad 
in fun games, but here, it seems like a tor- 
ture-chamber waiting room. The moronic 
A.l. and repetitive missions will bore you, 
and the irritatingly humongous levels just 
prolong the torture. And how come you 
have to relearn your special Rage moves 
in every level? | doubt that the Hulk so fre- 
quently forgets his natural inclination to 
smash. Just another unimpressive movie 
cash-in. Hulk bad. 


This portable Hulk does a pretty 
incredible job of smashing all manner of 
junk, but his methods leave something to 
be desired. Punch, punch, jump over 
obstacle, punch, Super Smash, punch—I 
agree with John and G. Ford, it gets a bit 
old. | did, however, enjoy the three-quar- 
ters perspective, which imparts a bit of 
Diablo-style strategy and makes The 
Incredible Hulk feel like not-just-another 
side-scrolling licensed Game Boy quickie. 

Publisher: Universal Interactive 
Developer: Pocket Studios 


Players: 1 (2-4 w/ Link cable) 
ESRB: Everyone 


www.gamers.com/196291 





Other Notable News 

We did get one reviewable title in at the 
11th hour that we decided to push to next 
month—LucasArts’ RTX Red Rock for 
PlayStation 2. We simply didn’t have 
enough time to give it a thorough play- 
through, and every game deserves a 

fair shake. 


This month, the nefarious Lara Croft once 
again managed to elude our clutches. 
Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness for 
PS2 remains cloaked in mystery. Why 
doesn’t she want to be reviewed? Is she 
harboring some dark, terrible secret that 
could jeopardize her chances for suc- 
cess? If we're to believe publisher Eidos 
Interactive, you'll be able to purchase the 
game by the time you read this (it’s slat- 
ed to ship on June 20). From our experi- 
ence, though, publishers usually want to 


© (Left to right) Naval combat isn’t dull in 
Warship Gunner; admire the fine fishies 
in Reel Fishing Ill; and A Fistful of 
Boomstick should be utterly avoided at 
all costs. 


build excitement for 
triple-A titles by 
getting timely 
reviews to the 
masses. 

Unless, of 

course, 

there's some 

sort of serious 
problem with the 
game...(cough, 
Enter the Matrix, 
cough). Ah well, 

the jury’s still out. 
Maybe she’s just 
plain shy. Check back 
next month for the 
final verdict on 
Lara’s latest. 

we hope. # 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ 








REVIEW ARCHIVE 


Another look at notable releases from days gone by 


-hack Part 2: Mutation PS2 (Also On: None) 6.0, 6.5, 8.0 
@ An average RPG with a neat concept—you play in a virtual online world gone berserk 
Apex XB (Also On: None) 8.0 Silver 
® You don’t just haul ass in this racer-—you build your own autos and run a car factory 
ATV Quad Power Racing 2 XB (Also On: PS2,GC) 7.5 
@ Rusty-around-the-edges racing, turbo-boosted with wild-ride obstacle courses 
Auto Modellista PS2 (Also On: None) 5.0, 5.5, 7.0 
@ Crappy handling ruins a gorgeous-looking online racer 
Batman: Dark Tomorrow GC (Also On: XB) 2.0, 1.5,1.0 Shame 
1 Gaming’s answer to the box office hemorrhoid Batman and Robin 
Blinx: The Time Sweeper XB (Also On: None) 7.5, 5.5, 8.0 
@ This Hoover-toting cat's puzzle-platform game doesn't completely suck 
Burnout 2: Point of Impact PS2 (Also On: XB,GC) 8.5, 8.0,8.5 Silver 
@ This version fixes a lot of the issues we had with the original 
Capcom vs. SNK 2: EO XB (Also On: PS2,GC) 7.5, 7.5, 9.0 Silver 
1 Xbox Live is the real draw in this fighting fan's dream come true 
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow GBA (Also On: None) 9.5, 9.0,9.5 Gold 
With its excellent soul-stealing system, Aria outclasses its forerunners 
Chaos Legion PS2 (Also On: None) 8.5, 6.5, 8.5 
@ More than mindless melees—allies that grow with experience add RPG-ish depth 
Conflict: Desert Storm GC (Also On: PS2, XB) 5.5, 5.5, 6.5 
1 Co-op combat minimizes casualties in this timely title 
Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX GBA (Also On: None) 6.5 
i The Super NES classic shooter loses some of its punch on the tiny system 

¢ q f Dark Cloud 2 8.0, 8.0, 9.5 Silver 
PS2 (Also On: None) 
An addictive action-RPG that lets you rebuild 
the world as you save it 
Def Jam: Vendetta 
PSz2 (Also On: GC) 
Hip-hop stars and wrestling actually works. 
Word to ya mutha, yo 
PS2 (Also On: None) 





bs 


7.0, 8.5, 7.5 


Devil May Cry 2 
1 Dante and hottie-in-need Lucia blast through a cruddy plot in this too-easy sequel 


7.0, 7.0, 8.0 


DOA: Xtreme Beach Volleyball XB (Also On: None) 7.5, 8.0, 6.0 

@ Scientists are working to invent a nude code for these bouncing she-ninjas 
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai PS2 (Also On: None) 8.0, 7.5, 7.0 

® Budokai stands above any of the previous attempts to turn the series into a fighter 


greatest hit or miss? 


J 3.5, 4.0, 5.0 (PS2) 

Evolution was supposed to be Turok’s big comeback, but it ended 
up being the nail in his coffin. What made it so bad, exactly? Putrid 
visuals, boring levels, ineffectual weapons, lame flying missions, 
and a cyborg Civil War general riding on an equally biomechanical 
Tyrannosaurus rex all conspired to make this bargain-bin fodder. 


124 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 








Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 PS1 (Also On: None) 2.0, 1.5, 2.0 

@ Someone crapped in a jewel case and passed it off as a DBZ game 

Dynasty Warriors 4 PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 7.0, 8.5 

@ Obese warlords in obscure settings snacking on dim sum and severing heads 
EverQuest Online Adventures PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 5.0, 6.0 

@ Ugly visuals hampered our online quest for fun 

Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick PS2 (Also On: XB) 2.0, 3.0, 3.0 Shame 
@ Evil Dead fans will definitely feel as if they're getting the fist with this game 

The Getaway PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 6.0, 8.0 

@ Looks like a GTA clone but plays like a Guy Ritchie flick, complete with naughty words 
Godzilla: DAMM GC (Also On: XB) 7.0, 7.0, 7.5 

It’s all fun and games till one monster gets a Seattle Space Needle in the eye 

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City P§2 (Also On: None) 10,10,10 Platinum 
BAs if you don’t already know why this game received our highest award 

Guilty Gear X2 PS2 (Also On: None) 8.0, 8.5, 8.5 Silver 

@ An addictive, hyperactive 2D fighter acid-washed in ’80s hair metal 

High Heat Baseball 2004 PS2 (Also On: XB, GC) 9.0 Gold 

@ The most realistic baseball sim on the market—period 
Ikaruga GC (Also On: None) 
@ One incredibly innovative, wickedly addictive shooter 
Indiana Jones & the Emperor’s Tomb XB (Also On: PS2) 
@ Looks like Ms. Croft has some competition raiding tombs 
Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker GC (Also On: None) 9.5,10,10 Gold 
@ You can’t go wrong with Zelda's gorgeous cartoon visuals and classic gameplay 
Legends of Wrestling I! GC (Also On: PS2, XB) 7.0, 6.0, 5.0 

1 More like local-access television than Wrestlemania’s glamorous theatrics 

Lord of the Rings: Fellowship XB (Also On: PS2) 3.5, 4.5, 3.0 

i True to the novels, but to the detriment of pacing and gameplay 

Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color © PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 8.0, 7.5 

@ Homemade monsters add color to mundane battles 

Mega Man & Bass GBA (Also On: None) 8.5 Silver 
i Introduces a second playable character to the side-scrolling classic 

Midnight Club II PS2 (Also On: XB) 9.0, 8.0,9.5 Silver 
@ An unrelenting sense of speed and total disregard for realistic physics 

MLB Slugfest 20-04 PS2 (Also On: XB, GC) 8.0, 7.0,6.5 

I Tons of multiplayer fun, but don’t expect the depth of a baseball sim 

MotoGP 2 XB (Also On: None) _8.5, 8.0, 8.0 Silver 
B An intense, unforgiving, but ultimately satisfying crotch-rocket sim 

NBA 2K3 PS2 (Also On: XB) 9.0, 9.5, 8.5 Gold 
@ Another impressive showing strengthens NBA 2k’s rep as the Madden of b-ball 
NBA Live 2003 PS2 (Also On: XB, GC) 8.0, 7.5, 9.0 Silver 
An innovative control setup breathes new life into Live 

NBA Street Vol. 2 PS2 (Also On: XB, GC) 9.5, 8.5, 8.5 Silver 
WA mix of both new- and old-school flava makes this baller a rockin’ sequel 

Panzer Dragoon Orta XB (Also On: None) 9.0, 8.5, 9.0 Silver 
@ Most beautiful on-rails shooter imaginable, with a vast trove of amazing secrets 
Phantasy Star Online: Episode | & II XB (Also On: GC) 9.0, 9.0, 9.0 Gold 
@ Still addictive, now with voices in your head 

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire GBA (Also On: None) 7.5, 6.5, 7.5 

@ Pikachu and pals are back, but precious little has improved since Gold/Silver 
Pride FC PS2 (Also On: None) 6.5, 6.0, 5.5 

@ Anything-goes combat that looks like two dudes spooning and is about as fun 

Red Faction Il PS2 (Also On: XB) 8.0, 7.5, 7.0 

WA rocket ride with airtight controls and quicksilver pacing 

Return to Castle Wolfenstein XB (Also On: PS2) 8.5, 9.5, 8.5 Silver 
1 Online play is not only an utter blast—it’s what you bought Xbox Live for 

Shinobi PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 7.5, 7.0 

@ Slick bosses and perfect control thrill, but the difficulty cuts like a 3-foot Ginsu 
The Sims PS2 (Also On: XB, GC) 9.5, 8.5, 8.0 Silver 
@ Virtual soap-opera teems with innovation and freedom 

Skies of Arcadia Legends GC (Also On: None) 9.0, 9.5, 9.0 Gold 
@ This phenomenal skyfaring quest is the GC’s role-playing savior 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars XB (Also On: PS2, GC) 7.0, 7.0, 6.5 

@ Online support puts this prettier version parsecs beyond its PS2 and Cube cousins 





8.5, 8.0, 8.0 Silver 


5.5, 8.5, 8.5 









greatest Dt muss? i 10 PLAYSTATION @ 
eo = | GAMES 


While it’s tempting to focus solely on the hip 
new games headed your way, it’s important 
to remember where you've been. Stick x 
these legendary PS1 games in your 
PS2 and take a fantastical, 
torical, and metaphori- 
cal trip through the 4 @y 
annals of Ce » 
gaming 

great- { 





Original Scores: 9.0, 9.0, 10 

Now all you cheapskates can find out how rapid-fire cursing, indis- 
criminant murder, and plentiful prostitutes have forever changed nae f 
the face of modern gaming. Without the success of GTA3, we "lls, 
wouldn't be getting upcoming stuff like Grand Theft Jak and 
Daxter, Grand Theft Bart Simpson, or even Grand Theft Spider-Man. 














Metal Gear Solid 10, 10, 10, 10 
Super Monkey Ball Jr. GBA (Also On: None) 8.0 ESte ut A. Platinum 
Hi How'd they miniaturize so much monkey mayhem? Besides reinventing the stealth genre, MGS offered Stellar bosses, 
Super Puzzle Fighter Il Turbo GBA (Also On: PS1) 9.0, 9.0, 7.5 including Psycho “| can read your memory card” Mantis 
WA pixel-perfect port of the genre’s crown jewel...and it's portable, to boot 
Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus XB (Also On: None) 4.0, 6.0, 3.5 Final Fantasy VII 9.5, 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 
1H Ineffective blocking and generic characters do not a quality fighter make PS1 Gold 
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 7.0, 7.0 The first PlayStation installment in the longstanding series brought 
IH Ninjas rock, but somehow, a lackluster story and horribly stupid A.|. snuck in RPGs out of the shadow of geekdom and into the mainstream 
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon XB (Also On: PS2,GC) —_8.0, 7.5, 8.0 
1 Team-based online squad combat and Xbox Live’s first nearly killer app Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 9. 9.5, 9.0 
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell GC (Also On: PS2, XB) —_ 8.5, 9.5, 9.0 PS1 Go! 
1@ The GBA radar is a nice addition, but Sam Fisher isn’t as pretty on the purple purse This epic 2D adventure is still regarded by many as the best 
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 GBA (Also On: All) 75 Castlevania ever—you might have to hunt on eBay for this one 
@ Plays surprisingly like its console big-brother and is nearly as fun 
Tube Slider GC (Also On: None) 3.5, 4.5, 4.0 Gran Turismo 9.5, 9.0, 9.5, 9.0 
1 Drive your space-age clunker down a shimmering tube of boredom PS1 Gold 
UFC: Tapout 2 XB (Also On: None) 6.5, 6.0, 5.0 GT realized the potential of a videogame console to create one hell of 
@ Mixed martial-arts action will excite serious fans but bore everyone else a driving simulation (and a pretty good-looking one to boot) 
Ultimate Muscle GC (Also On: None) 8.5, 7.5, 7.5 
a Muscle proves the WWE's meatheads aren't essential for videogame grappling Final Fantasy Tactics 8.5, 9.0, 8.5, 9.0 ai] 
Unlimited Saga PS2 (Also On: None) 2.0, 4.0, 4.0 PS1 Silver Ey este | 
@ Weird RPG that breaks so many rules that it just ends up feeling busted Everybody will have a different experience playing this strategy game 
Vexx GC (Also On: PS2, XB) 9.0, 7.5, 6.0 with countless job classes 
Sure, the main character looks dorky, but the platforming thrills are solid 
Wakeboarding Unleashed PS2 (Also On: XB) 9.0, 8.0, 7.5 
@ Set aside your extreme-sports snobbery and Wakeboarding may actually appeal to you ied Hawk's Fre Skater 2 meena 1 & 
Wario Ware: Mega Microgames GBA (Also On: None) 8.5, 9.0, 9.0 THPS 2’s ramped-up soundtrack, control, tricks, and course design set e 
I The most fun you can have in three-second bursts the standard for all that followed 
Wario World GC (Also On: None) 7.5, 7.0, 6.0 
WA perilous journey only the most seasoned jumping-puzzle zealots will enjoy 
War of the Monsters PS2 (Also On: None) 9.5, 6.5, 7.0 Resitieat Evil 2 9.0, 9.5, 9.5, 9.5 Baye 
ial aes eo ee eee Ul ndetrepreser cnoSsen gene iun ae second serving of survival-horror ese sci-fi, but with two . 
World Series Baseball 2K3 XB (Afeo: On S2) 8.0; 8.0, 8.0 discs and intertwining stories, it was twice as nice : 
1 WSB stands out with countless customization options and first-rate player models 
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 Int. PS2 (Also On: None) 9.0 
1 Can this natural-feeling soccer sim take 2003 Sports Game of the Year? R-Type Delta 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 7.5 
WWE Crush Hour GC (Also On: PS2) 2.0, 4.0, 3.5 Psi Silver 


Quite a challenging shooter for even the most hardcore gamers—if 
you can finish this, you can finish anything 


@ Probing the dankest depths of the car combat genre 
X2: Wolverine’s Revenge 5.5, 5.5, 4.0 
PS2.(Also On: XB, GC) 





A slight cut above most steaming coils of Tekken 2 9.0, 8.0, 9.0, 8.0 
comic-book-based crap PS1 Silver 
Xenosaga: Episode 1 8.0, 8.0, 6.5 A metric ton of hidden characters, responsive control, and sharp 
PS2 (Also On: None) graphics (for the time) made this the first great PS1 fighter 
@ You don't so much play this RPG as watch its 
plot unfold in hours of cut-scenes Silent Hill 8.5, 9.0, 8.5, 8.5 
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duelists of the Roses PS2 (Also On: None) 6.0, 4.5, 4.5 PS1 Silver 
Fans will love this confusing card-battler. Everyone else, however, will abhor it Konami saw what Capcom was doing with the survival-horror genre 
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner PS2 (Also On: None) 7.5, 9.0, 8.5 and took it to a whole new gruesome level 





'@ Eye-popping pandemonium with a hairy-balled hero—no whiners this time 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com © 125 


for people who would rather win than play fair 


a slinicald 





% I’ve had a humor 
bypass. | hate April 


Fools’ Day. 





% Sonic and Tails in 
Super Smash Bros. 





[PRIMA 























BRUTE FORCE 


Team combat can be taxing. Which is 
why we’re proud to present these tips 
for squeezing the last drop of 
adrenaline from your quartet of 
killing machines. 


Know Your Weapons 

Learn the capabilities of the weapons in 
your arsenal. Is this gun better for close 
range? Good at distance? How long is the 
time between shots? How long until you 
need to reload? You're not going to figure 
out the answers from an overly complex 
chart. Nope, you have to learn them 
through experience. So spend some time 
practicing with various weapons. Then 
practice some more. After that, maybe 
have a snack, then practice a bit more. 


Use the Reticule 

It’s simple enough. When the reticule turns 
red, you have an enemy target lined up. 
Your next shot has a better-than-average 
chance of hitting the mark. When the 
reticule is yellow, your next shot will hit 
some object that you can affect—a 
missile rack, weapons crate, Shrike 
technology, and the like. If the reticule is 
blue, your shot probably won't hit. 


Short, Controlled Bursts 

Ammo management begins with 
conservation. With a high-powered, fast 
weapon like the RVG5O minigun, you can 
burn through your 600 rounds in about a 
minute if you keep the trigger depressed. 


IDE 


= 


lI Me Brutus. Me say red reticule good. Red reticule, shoot, see red blood. Ha ha! 


But, of course, most foes fold long before 
they've swallowed 600 slugs. Deliver just 
the right dose of damage with quick 
trigger pulls. This is the way to go with 
most weapons, especially those with a 
high rate of fire. 

Firing in bursts makes aiming easier, 
too. So don’t hold down the trigger and 
waste ammunition when a few precise 
volleys will eliminate an enemy. It’s just 
common sense: the less ammo you use 
for one kill, the more you have for the next. 


Know When to Switch 
Ammunition may seem scarce on some 
missions. Sometimes the weapons you're 
using and the weapons your enemies wield 
don’t pack the same heat. So if you’ve 
exhausted your weapon and enemies aren’t 





Nice shooting, Tex! Three enemies down, and you've got plenty of ammo left. 


126 » ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY ¢ www.egmmag.com 





dropping the right kind of ammo for your 
gun, don’t be shy. Borrow a boomstick from 
a fallen foe. Enemies of the same type tend 
to use the same weapon, so you have a 
ready supply of additional bullets coming 
from the bad guys you have to kill anyway. 
Keep taking them out and picking up their 
ammo, and you should be set for the rest of 
the mission. 

Although they lack power, laser 
weapons regenerate over time and don’t 
require ammunition, which can help you 
squeak through those long missions. 

Consider diversifying your weapon 
loadouts. If several of your characters are 
carrying weapons that use the same type 
of ammunition, you'll go through it even 
faster. Keep a variety of weapons in your 
squad so you don’t burn through 
ammunition faster than you can replace it. 


Reload, Reload, Reload 

Is there anything worse than walking into 
a pitched battle, pulling the trigger, firing 
off a shot or two, and then hearing the 
click of an empty chamber? Yes. Stepping 
on a sentry bomb is worse. Still, running 
out of ammo in the middle of a firefight 
sucks. After a skirmish, always take the 
opportunity to reload. Make sure your 
weapon is fully loaded so that if you 
stumble into a room full of enemies 
around the next corner, you'll be at top 
offensive power. 

There is another benefit to keeping your 
weapons full. Your team can carry a 
limited amount of each ammunition type, 
but the ammo in your weapons doesn’t 
count toward that total. If you come upon 
an ammunition cache with your weapon 
stocked-up, you can have a full inventory 
plus a full magazine ready to go. 





Gefin [ 





A99B82 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube Hacking Engine Tools 

ENTER THE Would you like to while away the hours 
pretending to hack into the Matrix? Be 

M ATRIX our guest. These DOS-esque commands 
ought to get you started. 


You may not want Shiny Entertainment Command Function 
to develop your next driving game, but DIR List files and folders 
the cheat system it created for this CLS Clear the screen 
game sure is innovative. HELP Get help for a command 
TRACEKILL Blocks traces 
READ Read *.txt files 
VIEW View *.img files 
PLAY Play *.fmv files 


Weapon Drops 

What's the use of bullet time without 
bullets? Use these codes to stay heavily 
armed in proper Matrix style. Punch in the 
codes, then look for a little extra 
firepower in the specified places. 


Location Code 
Drainage Canal DROP JXTRR10 
North Concourse DROP PNSRZ10 
Airport Tunnel DROP RKHMS10 
2nd Floor West (Chateau) DROP JDZMT10 
Courtyard (Chateau) © DROP ZKHBD10 
Skyscraper DROP RHFTQ10 
Warehouse (Chinatown) DROP ZSZQH10 
Transformer Field DROP JDHQL10 





2nd Floor PO Boxes DROP B1AXXF2 


ttles 








| Niobe 
HEALTH 100% 


i Time for some chop-socky! Unlock Multiplayer mode and beat up your friends. 


Cheats 


Access the hacking engine from the Main 
menu. Enter CHEAT.EXE to access the 
Cheat menu. Then put in these codes 


Cheat 

Maximum firepower 
Unlimited ammunition 
Unlimited focus 

Fast focus restore 


Code 
O034AFFF 
1DDF2556 
69ESD9E4 
FFFOO20A 





Unlimited health 
Bonus test level 
Deaf enemies 

Blind enemies 
Turbo mode 
Multiplayer fighting 
Low gravity 
Superspeed logos 
Taxi driving 
Sparks’ construct 


9 (Grip) 





7F4DF451 
13D2C77F 
4516DF45 
FFFFFFF1 
FFOOOO1A 
DSC5SD1E 
BBO13FFF 
7867F443 
312MF451 
13D2C77F 


ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com * 127 


tricRs 
of the trade 





@ GameCube 


SONIC 
ADVENTURE DX 


Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut is 
chock-full of amusing diversions. In 
addition to all of Sonic’s Game Gear 
appearances, there is an extensive 

Chao-raising and -racing minigame. 





All 12 of Sonic’s Game Gear games (such 
as the Japan-only Sonic Drift) are 
hidden in DX. Complete 10 missions or 
collect one Sonic Emblem to unlock a 
new Game Gear minigame. After you 
unlock the first one, Sonic the Hedgehog, 
a Minigame Collection option will appear 
‘on the Main menu. 





Ch-Ch-Ch-Chao Pets 

Raise and race Chao for fun and profit! 
First, go to a Chao garden and find a 
likely candidate. Nurture his racing 
abilities by feeding him fruit and giving 


him animal role models to learn from. 

You see, Chao take on the abilities of 
nearby animals. Strong animals improve a 
Chao’s strength, fast animals upgrade its 
running speed, and so on. With the right 
roster of animal playmates, your Chao 
can quickly become a racing contender! 
Please, allow us to drop some science on 
your Chao-raising shenanigans. With this 
information, you can improve your pet 
racer as you see fit: 


Swimming. Improve this ability with 
penguins, seals, and beavers. 


Flying. Boost a Chao’s flying skill by 
giving it birds to play with. 


Running. For a speedy Chao, look to the 
wallaby, rabbit, or deer. 


Strength. Elephants, lions, and gorillas 
can help you out here. 


Random. Animals from the blue group 
(mole, koala, and skunk) can have a 
dramatic impact on any of a Chao’s stats. 
Use with caution. 


Special Eggs 

Three special Chao eggs are available in 
addition to the standard blue Chao eggs 
found in Station Square, Mystic Ruins, 
and Egg Carrier gardens. The first special 
Chao egg is silver. Get it by pushing the 
large stone pedestal near the Mystic 
Ruins waterfall. A shop in Station Square 
holds another special egg. Grab the rock 
in the nearby courtyard and make an 
Indiana Jones-style switch. The third 
special egg is in the cell next to Amy’s 
when she's locked up on the Egg Carrier. 


Take a Walk, Chao 

Developing your Chao is a long process 
that involves more than giving it animals. 
Taking your pet on Adventure Walks on 


1 Mournful miniature elephants now haunt our dreams. Thanks, Sonic. 





128 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


your Game Boy Advance is the fastest 
way to help it along, since stat-boosting 
fruit is rich and plentiful on GBA. 

The coconuts you get from the 
GameCube Chao gardens are alll right, but 
they have only about half the effect on 
your pet's stats as the fruit found on 
Game Boy Advance. Additionally, your 
Chao might run into various Sonic game 
characters during his Adventure Walk. If 
he does, he’ll receive a significant boost 
to one characteristic (unless he meets the 
nonorganic Gamma, who is stingy and 
will give him nothing). 


Character Improvement 
Sonic Running +10 
Tails Flying +10 
Knuckles Strength +10 
Amy Rose Full HP Recovery 
Gamma No Change! 
Big Swimming +10 


The Adventure Walk path you choose for 
your Chao is critical. Don’t bite off more 
than a Chao can chew. A walk could be 
dangerous for your racer in training if he 
hasn’t had enough time, fruit, and animals 
to develop his abilities. If you’re not sure 
whether your pet can handle the 
excitement, measure his relative skill 

by entering him in a race. 


Races 

It's showtime! There are five Sonic 
Emblems to be won here, one in each 
race. Begin with a course that plays to 
your Chao’s highest skill. Eventually, you 
must compete in races where all your 
pet’s abilities will count. Only a well- 
rounded Chao can win those races. 


Pearl Course. Strength is the most 
important characteristic in the Pearl 
Course because your Chao needs to get 
past some heavy pearls strewn near the 
finish line. If your Chao isn’t buff enough, 
he takes a nap before the finish. 





Ruby Course. This course tests only 
swimming. The entire race takes place 
in a pool, appropriately enough. 


Amethyst Course. This course heavily 
emphasizes running. However, a wily 
Chao with good flying ability might opt 
for a crucial shortcut. 


Sapphire Course. This long course tests 
every aspect of your Chao’s abilities. Only 
the well-rounded need apply. 


Emerald Course. This is the ultimate test 
of a Chao’s abilities. The Emerald course 
combines the Amethyst and Sapphire 
courses into one long trek. Make sure 
your Chao athlete is well-rested and fed 
before trying it. 


A Goose for the Chao. As the Chao are 
racing, you'll have a chance to cheer your 
Chao toward victory when he’s the 
current crowd favorite (represented 

by a small red arrow over his head). 
Encourage the little guy to pour on the 
speed with a few quick button taps. 





Gowoon Choi, AAC Student 


@ PlayStation 2, Xbox 


NBA STREET 
VOL. 2 


This month’s cheat sheet reveals 
Street 2’s best codes. To use them, 
select Pick Up Game, choose either 
home or away, accept an ID, and enter 
one of the codes below when the 
“enter codes now” prompt appears. 
Figures. Codes for the PlayStation 2 
and Xbox versions are given. Our code 
scientists have not yet discovered the 
GameCube codes. 


Unlimited turbo 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Squ, Tri, Tri. 
Xbox: Hold L and press X, X, Y, Y. 


Big heads 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Cir, Squ, Squ, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, X, X, B. 


Small players 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Tri, Tri, Cir, Squ. 
Xbox: Hold L and press Y, Y, B, X. 


ABA ball 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Cir, Squ, Cir, Squ. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, X, B, X. 


WNBA ball 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Cir, Tri, Tri, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, Y, Y, B. 


Ball trails 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Tri, Tri, Tri, Squ. 
Xbox: Hold L and press Y, Y, Y, X. 


No display bars 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Cir, Cir, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press X, B, B, B. 


All jerseys 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Tri, Cir, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, Y, X, X. 


All courts 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Tri, Tri, Squ. 
Xbox: Hold L and press X, Y, Y, X. 


Unlock the St. Lunatics team and all 
street legends 

PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Tri, Cir, Tri. 
Xbox: Hold L and press X, Y, B, Y. 


All NBA legends 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Tri, Tri, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, Y, Y, X. 


Classic Michael Jordan 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Squ, Tri, Squ, Squ. 
Xbox: Hold L and press X, Y, X, X. 








léng range® 
0 


@ The Big Head code gives you larger targets for Off da Heezays. 


Explosive rims 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Cir, Cir, Cir, Tri. 
Xbox: Hold L and press B, B, B, Y. 


Easy two pointers 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Tri, Cir, Squ, Tri. 
Xbox: Hold L and press Y, B, X, Y. 


No counters 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Tri, Tri, Cir, Cir. 
Xbox: Hold L and press Y, Y, B, B. 


Difficult two pointers 
PS2: Hold L1 and press Tri, Squ, Cir, Tri. 
Xbox: Hold L and press Y, X, B, Y. @% 


2D & 3D Animation | 3D Modeling 
Character Design | Computer Graphics 
Digital Imaging | Filmmaking | Game Design 
Visual Effects | Web Design | And m 


AA | BFA | MFA Degrees 
Portfolio Development | Online Programs 


Apply Now for Fall, Spring & Summer Semesters 
High School Scholarships & Teacher Grants Available 


Academy OfArtCollege 


SAN FRANCISCO 


1.800.544.ARTS | www.academyart.edu 
79 New Montgomery St., San Francisco, CA 94105 
Nationally Accredited by ACICS, NASAD & FIDER 
Founded in 1929 





game over 





THE REST OF E3'S CRAP 


Seanbaby attends E3 so that, uh, you don’t have to 


sound off 





Shigeru 


2S) 


The Electronic Entertainment Expo is 
a chance for videogame companies 
to showcase all of the titles coming 
out in the next year. For most 
gamers, it’s like being teased with 
pictures of your Christmas presents 
eight months in advance by evil 
parents. For me, it’s like actually 
getting my presents early...except 
the boxes are filled with socks, 
underwear, and a SARS-infected 
wombat. Stealing a peek at my 
upcoming review games means 
playing Bob the Builder Fashion 
Designer six months early. Gee, 
thanks. To get a preview of what the 
future of terror is going to taste like, 
EGM sent me off to Los Angeles to 
learn more about the games I'll hate 
later this year. —Seanbaby 


DAY! 

Before | start, I'd like to say that L.A. 
remains a Mad Max wasteland filled with 
sexy people who would gladly sandpaper 
a basket of kittens if they thought it’d get 
them a break at stardom. I’m happy to 
report, however, that this cesspool has an 
upside—in Hollywood, you'll find four bars 





on every block, breasts bigger than your 
head, and grocery stores that deliver beer 
right to your hotel room. | spent the night 
before E3 getting into this Hollywood 
mindset, so the next afternoon | was in no 
condition to wade past all the envelope- 
pushing supergames surrounded by 
spokesmodels in space bikinis to find the 
booths about upcoming Muppet Babies 
products. Luckily, within 15 minutes, 

| found the Crave Entertainment booth. 
Their upcoming releases feature a game 
about giant, fat chickens in swimsuits 
called Party Animals, another based on 

a show called Butt-Ugly Martians, one 
farming title, and a puzzle game based on 
rap star Eminem. This meant two things 
to me. One, Crave Entertainment should 
stop letting the boss’s crackhead intern 
approve game concepts; and two, I’d seen 
more than enough of the future of bad 
games to call it a day. 


Day 1 Insider Scoop: | snuck into the 
Nokia N-Gage party, but after finding out 
that their bar didn’t serve liquor, | 
accidentally played some of the damn 
N-Gage games on my way out. The 
N-Gage is a new rocket-age space phone 
that plays powerful but terrible 3D games 
while still managing to remain the size of 
three Game Boys glued to five cell 
phones. When one of their perky PR 
representatives asked me what | thought, 
| pretended to be a confused Austrian 
journalist to avoid breaking her 
company’s heart. 


DAY 2 

My thorough investigation into the bars at 
eight separate parties the night before 
caused me to sleep through a good 
portion of day 2. | got there just in time to 
play Woody Woodpecker Crazy Castle 5, 
and hungover or not, if there were an 


= 


180 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 


itoru Iwata gI 





ich’s Panty Raid” concept. 





; ea! 
a 23 Sua BE 
1 Most people scoped Halo 2 at E3...1 got to 
play Woody f'n Woodpecker. Pity me. 


adjective that meant “forcibly yanked 
through a diseased fish’s colon,” I’d still 
qualify that word with several strong 
adverbs before | used it to describe this 
awful excuse for a game. 

At the American Idol booth, show 
attendees could go up on stage and play 
the upcoming game while the booth’s 
announcer mocked and emasculated 
them. It's a rhythmic button-tapping 
game, except that as you do progressively 
worse, your contestant sings more 
horribly. To put it in TV producer terms: 
It's Star Search meets Dance Dance 
Revolution meets Killing a Noisy, 
Frightened Animal. Let’s cross our fingers 
that humankind’s warlike ways will finally 
end civilization before this game has a 
chance to be released. 


Day 2 Insider Scoop: Although the Eidos 
party had nearly naked go-go dancers 
and the Nintendo party had the inventor 





a): 


@ Proof that 20 million Americans have 
absolutely no taste whatsoever. 





of Donkey Kong, the Sony party was this 
year’s best. They spared no expense to 
make sure there was a bar and a buffet 
table every 17 inches in any direction, 
and they hired George Clinton to illustrate 
how 200 straight years of drug abuse 
affects a performer’s supergroovalistic 
prosifunkstication. However, the company 
that partied the hardest was Ubi Soft. 

| got back from Sony to find that after a 
hard day of showing dorks their 





@ Cyclone Circus, another of the exciting 
“games” that | had to play at the show. 


videogames, those French bastards still 
kept their party going for six hours. | was 
barely there for a beer before a huge 
French man jumped out of the pool with 
all his clothes on, hugged our group, and 
screamed, “Mes amis! Mes amis!” His 
excitement was infectious, but since | 
don’t have the confidence in my French to 
know for sure that his invitation didn’t 
mean, “Sir, make love to me in the pool,” 
| didn’t join him when he leapt back in. 


DAY3 

| was feeling especially religious on the 
third day of E3. Not only because | was 
praying that | couldn’t find the Cat in the 
Hat booth, but also because there was so 
much liquor in me that, like Jesus, my 
blood was legally considered wine. 
Meandering aimlessly through the show 
floor, | came across a game called 


Q game over 


WS@ ano Qodagy 


GAME DENGNERS WW. 


Now FEATURING 75% 
Mote Knwocnnes” 
AND TALS! 


HSU AND CHAN'S OFFICIAL WEBSITE — WWW.APE-LAW.COM/EVILMONKEY. 


VIDEO GAMERS! VISIT THIS WEBSITE TO PURCHASE FINE HSU & CBIAN 
COMICS AND MERCHANDISE, IF THAT IS YOUR HEART'S DESIRE. 


HELLO, VIDEO GAMERS! 
VM HSU TANAKA, THAT'S MY BROTHER 
CHAN, AND we WERE JUST DISCUSS- 
ING THE RISE IN COOPERATIVE 
MULTIPLAYER GAMES OF LATE! 


THIS TREND No DOUBT COMES AS 
A BREATH OF FRESH AIR TO 
PARENTS’ GROUPS AXD COMMUNITY 
LEADERS, GROUPS LONG INCENSED 
BY THE QUESTONABLE 
MESSAGE PUT OUT BY 

COMPETITIVE OR VERSUS 
MULTIPLAYER MODES! 


TRUE ENOUGH! WHEN 
Hou cooPERATE, 1 
SENDS A MESSAGE 

EVERYONE CAN AGREE On, 

TWAT WHEN You WORK 
TOGETHER AND GANG 

UP On PERSONS WHO 

ARE DIFFERENT FROM, 
Gov, ‘T's FAR EASIER 
fo UTTERLY DESTROY 
THEM, THEIR IDEAS, 
AND THER CULTURE | 


AS LONG AS IT Sets! WE CAN 
LEARN A LOT FROM THE DYNAMIC FURRY 
CRITTERS OF THE "Some THE HEDGEHOG" 
SERIES! OR SIMULACROMS THEREOF, AT ANY 
RATE, WHICH IS WHY CHAN AND | ARE, TrS. 
Dal, ACCOMPANNING OUR ASSISTANT, 
ARNIE, ON A TRIP To VISIT HIS Famity / 


WE FGURE THERES Gotta BE ENOUGH 

DUNAMO BETWEEN “EM To SQUEEZE OUT 

‘AT LEAST ONE BEST-SELLING GAME, 
WHAT SAR, ARNIET 


Gost, \'m EXe\TED! 
THESE DAYS, 1 BARELY 
GEX To SEE My FAMILN 
AT ALL! 
NOw, PLEASE, You Two, 
BE ON Good BEHAVIOR! 
WANT THEM 7 BE 
Proud oF MY 308, 
ARNIE, 
You MAKE 
Copies ANDY 
FETCH DRINKS, f} 


WERE 
GROUND SAARRELS, 
THat’s STILL PRETTY 
Good, 
mmm! 
REAL ANIMAL” 
PART TASTE! 


BUCKLES! TRUDY! aires! 
YOU GUYS ARE GETTING BIG! 
SOON You'tt BE TAKING 


BOSSES, DAD WELL, | GDESS. 
MOM! DAD! 
OUT WHOLE CES! 


1 SHOULD BE 
rANAKA 
You Two omens THANKFUL THAT 
L20K. 


: 1 WORK Ma Son HE 
eae FoR THEM! HOMOSEXUAL, 
‘D LIKE To WAS A SOB 

INTRODUCE AT ALL! 


THREE CHEERS! 


DID You 
BRING US 
PRESENTS? 


OF COURSE IID, 
You GREEDY 
LITTLE SHARKS! 

WIHERE'S Mom 
AND DAD? 


DAD, TOLD 
You, "M NOTGay! 


LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT 
GOR Punk HIPPIE 
FRIENDS, HERE! 


TELL ME, WHAT'D, 

YOU THink ABOUT 

THIS WAR OVERSEAS, 
TWHen? 


NY Qov Question THE 
MOTWATIONS 
OF WE UNITED 
STATES oF 


(Ar SORRY, LORD, FOR THE 
MANY WARS IN WHICH HE HAS 
DIS@RACED You, ME, AND AL 
Good FoLK OveR TE COURSE 
OF THESE LONG Yeaps, 


MW SHOES ARE 


LoRp, BLESS THIS 
DUST RED, Hat's 
ALLY 


BOUNTIFUL OFFERING 
PLACED BEFORE US, 
AND BLESS THOSE Ar 
AWS TABLE, EVEN 
NY DEGENERATE SON. 


APTER ALL, AMAN'S 
ENTITLED To See 
WHO'S SPONSORING 

WIS SON'S DEGENERATE \ PRAY THAT Gou WiLL 

upestae! GRANT Him MERCY ON 
ACCOUNT OF His OBVIOUSLY 
DEFICIENT BRAM, 


AM. WELL WILE ( 
TIGHT QUESTION THE 
MOTIVATIONS INVOLVED, 

\TWINK WE CAN, 

SAFELY SAR-- 


J => OM, | THink 


You 
PROMISED... DINNER'S READY! 





INDEED, HIS MOTHER AND 
\ MUST AccEPT SOME 
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THis 
CREATURE, THOUGH IF 
GOOP INTENTIONS HOLD 
ANY SWAN, WE WERE 
ACTUALLY HOPING FoR 
A DocToR OR PRo Bat 
PLAER 


OH! + Guess You'd 
RATER SUST SLAP HIM 

IN THE FACE WITH 

YOURSELF, EH? 

\ GUESS Now THAT 
MOuVE BEEN OUT IN THE 
GUTTERS, YoU KNOW MORE 

THAN YouR FATHER! 


YOU WANNA 86 8055 OF 
THIS HOUSE? OKAY, 
THEN FIGHT FoR IT! 


Pur UP Your 
DUKES, Bow! 


BE ONE WEIRD 
GAME. 


DAD, Witt you 
PLEASE STOP 
AROLOG\ZING 
TOGO FoR MY 
EXISTENCE?! 





134 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.egmmag.com 





DEFINING A CULTURE, 
CREATING A NATION 


y 


GAZINE~ 


THE ADVANCED XBOX MA 








When we heard Soul Calibur I! was-coming stateside, we not only swore to a duel, but 
also decided to devote three special covers to the showdown. Next month, our cover 
story includes interviews with the SC2 development team, plus the exclusive U.S. 





reviews of the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube versions. 


We also survey the biggest battle arena of them all—the Internet. See which 
upcoming games will make going online a necessity in our special feature. Plus, ever 
hear of the NGage, the Phantom, the DiSCover? No? You will in our 
brave new batch of start-up consoles and handhelds hoping to stake a claim in the 


territory of giants. 





-depth report on the 






I Silent Hill 3 (PS2) 








1 Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (PS2) 
aP the Caribbean (Xbox) 





INDEX 


Academy of Art College . 
wwwacademyartedu 





AIA USA, Ltd. . 
www.aiagotgames.com 





Capcom USA, Inc, 
www.capcom.com 
Inc 











Ecko Unlimited 
www.ecko.com 








Electronic Arts . 
www.ea.com 





Koei Corporation .........s2eeeeeeee0 15, 105 
www.koeigames.com 
Konami erica... . . 2 








Microsoft 
www.microsoft.com 








yw.midway.com 
Milk Processors 
www.gotmilk.com 





yww.natsume.cor 
Nestle Food Company 
butterfinger.com 

Corpora 











on 
Nintendo of America .. 
www.nintendo.com 











www.sega 
Simon & Schuster 
www.ssinteractive.com 








m com 
Take 2 Interactive Software .........6.50000 79 
www.take2games.com 





THO, In 
www.thg.com 





University of Advancing Computer Tech ....... 25 
www.uact.com 

S crutting Ci b, 
‘VUG - Black Label Games . . 
www.blacklabelgames.com 


53 





VUG - PPG... 
www.interplay.com 











+ 


ANSWERS TO 
CROSSWORD 


on page 131 








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132 » ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY © www.egmmag.com 


ademark and 








Seanbaby does not condone drinking to excess. 





Unless, of course, you've just played Cyclone Circus. 


Cyclone 
Circus, in 
which players 
control the 
unholy 
offspring of a 
dune buggy 
and a sailboat 
being driven 
by a woman 





When Steven Seagal 
Calls, don’t answer! 


online mobile phone game starring 
laconic aikido superstar Steven Seagal. 
You and a friend each choose between 
two martial arts moves for Steven 
Seagal to perform—either punch to the 
dong or kick to the dong. Then your two 
Steven Seagals meet via the magic of 
cell phones and karate each other’s 
crotches as ordered. So if you like 
rock-paper-scissors and hate crotches, 





it 


” 
—Seanbaby, on what's good about L.A. 





in a thong. The programmers 
apparently haven’t finished the part of 
the game that distinguishes between 
mountain and nonmountain, and within 
30 seconds I’d driven straight through 
a wall and helplessly burrowed my 
misshapen vehicle into the ground. 
| would have reported the problem, but 
that would have been like complaining 
about finding an old sock in your load 
of manure. 

The game I’m most looking forward 
to never playing again is Fudomyo, an 


EGM’s Jen and Shane 
share a joyous moment 
reminiscing about how 
much fun it is to edit 
Seanbaby’s articles. 


dial Steven Seagal’s Fudomyo for 
outrageous mobile fun! 


Day 3 Insider Scoop: My desire for 
scoops had utterly vanished by the 
third day. I'd seen too much insanity, 
played far too many awful games, and 
consumed an illegal amount of pure- 
grain alcohol. E3 had soundly defeated 
me. All | could do was return home, 
burrow under the covers, and wait for 
a full year’s worth of crappy games to 
arrive at my door. # 





“T fell asleep on the train with my lowrider bike, and dreamt that I was in Vegas at a roulette table with Mobb Deep. 
When I woke up, my bike was gone.” wh ke 
: mica 

Mobb De A ( if 








gn t\— 





Change the ‘spaceship Expj6re a dynamically Experience fast actionj> Basé@d on the popular 





layout to achieve changing *3-D"galactic ‘Ship & reflex intenst? Patel * Dino Crisis: franchise 


objectives 4 artless, BP” 


> 





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