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: "Prey is built around a carefully crafted, cinema-worthy storyline.” "An alien- п epic, Prey casts the player as Tommy, a reluctant Native American hero trying to save himself and his girlfrieni а gigantic organie spacecraft: ‚ a sentient Dyson sphere powered by the artificial sun inside its shell--that is strî g the Earth for human food. * "The environments have a fleshy, biomechanical, organic style that hints at a variety Of filmic influences...The flesh-and- bone body of the alien ship is merged with a variety of stolen alien technologies that mess with gravity, direction, and 2 relativity.” "...Possibly the dawn of a spiritual awakening for the shooter genre."
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ESRB CONTENT RATING WWW.esrb.org
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SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and CHROME HOUNDS are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. © SEGA Corporation/FromNetworks, Inc./FromSoftware, Inc., 2006. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
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issue 206 - august 2006
12 Ruffled feathers and opinions galore from our readers
The best news, features, and gaming tidbits on the planet
18 AMERICA’S LEAST WANTED: JACK THOMPSON How things went bad for the controversial do-gooder
24 PREVIEW: LEGO STAR WARS וו Death Star attacks, wookies, ewoks, and much more
30 GAME BANDS The music—and games that inspired it
36 MICROSOFT'S HANDHELD Come on, you know they're making it
38 KID DEVELOPER The best summer camp ever
40 PREVIEW: NEED FOR SPEED CARBON A sequel with a lot of horsepower
42 RUMOR MILL A new Batman game and an Earthbound compilation are among the lies that just may be true
44 PREVIEW: FINAL FANTASY Ill The Final Fantasy that America never got
THE
Don't leave just yet
98 SEANBABY'S REST OF THE CRAP A look at the peripherals of the future
100 CROSSWORD/GRUDGE MATCH 102 EGM RETRO
www" COOLEST NEW GAMES
104 FINAL WORD
EGM's rookies go toe-to-toe EA's gritty, co-op-crazy Army of Two (check out exclusive details and ТО MTM screens on page 74) is just one of 50 upcoming games we rank that
aren't based on the same old licensed crap or from the sequel factory
ГА — ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA
HEAD HONCHOS. President Scott С. McCarthy 6
EDITORIAL
Inter Rosemary Pinkham
CONTRIBUTORS tor Jennifer Tsao Robert Ashley, Karen Chu, Kevin Convertito, Sean Dallaskidd, Alexander
Tipler Ubbelohdo. Senior Production Manager Southwest Adr ant Anne Marie Miguel
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fornia and Arizona
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Dennis, Randy Dodson, Peter Hartlaub, E ат Kennedy itor Michael Donahoe | Patrick Joynt, David Kushner, Garnet Sales East ger of Clent Services Greg Ford Lee, James Lee, Demian Linn, Mark AL AR, CO, CT, DE, FL GA A I.I. Mark MacDonald MacDonald, Patrick Mauro, James ising Sales KS, KY LA, МА ME, Mi, MIL NO, MS, "Мітап" Micike, Jeremy Parish, 8 MT NC. ND, NE NH, NU, MM, | Reinert у Freche Patrick Talent Agency, Jared Rea, reg Vice President ої Circulation Dave Rock Jes Brent Martyn ОН OK OR 0 SD. TH. U, | Automotive Accounts —Detroit al Sewart, Evan Shamoon, Seat Sharkey, Group Greative Director Simon Cox Territory Managers & Acct Execs. WA, VT, WA WM, WV WY, Canada Regionai S 1 Luke Siith, Shawn Smith, Mike Gaming Accounts Regional Sales Manager Xen шеп Ar Director Monique Convert Spüaler, Bruce Stenberg COPY DESK Northwest Andrew Redman Promotions Manager Wendy Donohue Assistant Ап Director Mike Cruz Founder Steve Нат Сору Editors Kaien Jay Exum, Andrew Fitch Regional Sales Director Amy Mishra Account Executive Jessica Reback | Se ator
10 > ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
PREVIEW: LEGO STAR WARS II
The force is strong with this sequel
TAKE THIS JOB: BOOTH BABE
What it takes — to be gaming's
VIDEOGAME 2 40 eye candy
(EN
KID DEVELOPER
We spend some time with this mini designer and review his game
84 NCAA Football 07 90 Crusty Demons: 95 Review Wrap-up 86 Lord of the Rings: Freestyle Moto-X 97 Review Archive
m m E The Lord of the Rings: 88 Chromehounds 91 Point Blank The Fete KC Mlle eam N 88 Over G Fighters 92 Freedom Wings E NCAA Football 07 E Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
in
89 Pirates of the 92 Astonishia Story We Y
Caribbean 2: 93 Blade Dancer: The
The Legend Lineage of Light
of Jack Sparrow 94 Valkyrie Profile: 90 Ruff Trigger: The Lenneth
Vanocore Conspiracy
esee Chairman & CEO Presidents Yeng. Internet) Rick Lehrbaum (Internet) Randy Zane (Corporate 445 се President of Marketing, Robert F. Callahan Scott С. McCarthy (G ) | Scott McDaniel (Sal Group) | Enc Lundquist (Èditor-in-Chiet, Communications) юка and сивті Rey [одда Chief Financial Officer | Sloan Seymour (f nun) | Martha Schwartz (Custom Solutions | Chris Maginn (internet) ה ו re Мак Моуег Jason Young (Consumer Tech Grou sim McCabe (PC Magazine) TT West Coa [к=н Executive Vice President | Small Business Group) Michael Vizard (Е Раш O'Reilly (Event Marketing Group) Sonor тешен Analyst All content copyright © 2006 Ziff ו & Chief Content Officer Enterprise Group Ellen Pearlman (Editor-in-Chief, CIO Insight) Bill Schmelzer Davis Media Inc. Reproduct Marking Graphic Designer Michael J, Miler Senior Vice Presidents Beth Repeta (Human Resources) Desktop Administrator avis Media Inc. Reproduction, Drew Hathaway Executive Vice President, | Kenneth Beach (Corporate Sales) | Vice Presidents Dave Rock (Circulation, Game Group) Nick Kalister ‘modification, or transmission, in Licensing and Legal Ira Becker (Game Group) ‘Aaron Goldberg (Market Experts) Stephen Sutton (Audience Development,
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ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 11
macho role-playing, creepy hids, founding fathers, and videogaming
gamer
“God made videogames because he loves us and wants us to be happy!” Ben Franklin said that. Well, he was actually talking about beer, but he would have said “games” if he were alive now. What kind of games do you think Old Ben would play if he were alive today? Probably Mario Kite or something like that. Yeah, electricity is cool!
—DarkMandalorian
From the portly por- traits we've seen, a magically reanimated Ben should probably develop a good Dance Dance Revolution habit and lose
a bit of that beer storage. But, knowing his taste for the ladies, he'd probably lie around eating Wal-Mart-sized bags of Cheetos while playing Dead or Alive.
Thin-skinned and
I'm a longtime reader who generally respects the content of EGM, but 1 must take issue with a rather distressing trend I've noticed in the pages of your publica- tion: It seems to me that the editor of the
OF THE MONTH
1 recently read All Quiet on the Western Front in my English class. The author, Erich Remarque, describes the horrors of war in a way that would send a chill down any Silent Hill veteran's spine. Scavenging for food and ammunition, fighting soldiers dur- ing the day, and waging war against the “corpse rats" at night—it sounds like the premise for a great survival- horror game. If a game like that came out, it might influence the youth of our country never to start another war without a purpose. It might allow us to look through the eyes of our enemies and see that they are just like us. I'd like to play that game. —Phillip Strader
12 > ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
House of | was just thinking: Now that the next-gen systems are coming out, what's a cool idea (of mine, of course) that’s too big for current systems? Well, | had this idea for a game with, like, 1,000 houses. Your mis- Sion: breaking and entering. It's a stealth game where you sneak into houses and attack. But the people might be home, so you have to kill them before they can call 911. Just think about break- ing into 1,000 completely different houses on a 50-inch plasma! Please ask someone to make this game, even «s though | probably won't be able to play. It I'm still 11. —Ryan Dunlavy Letters section has recently become quite rude and hateful in his responses, antago- nizing letter-writers who do not deserve it. —Ephraim Freed
Man, kids are really starting to creep us out. Games are great and all, but there’s a limit. Go ride your bike or something. It’s summertime.
Fake, A war is brewing, and we have to be prepared. There has always been a war. At
Eat it, you fat virgin! No, wait.... We're sorry, baby—sometimes, we just get so crazy 'cause we love you, and we want to be with you forever, and when you write us stupid letters, baby, we just want to make fun of you till you cry. But please, baby, don't go....
man "The Crying Game" [EGM #205] was a really interesting article. | think that, despite what many designers in the story said, some videogames have achieved the goal of making gamers let their guard down. | mean, who didn't cry when Sephiroth gutted Aerith in Final Fantasy VII? Even Cloud did, and he is basically the pinnacle of macho-ness.
—Christina Squitieri
What about Cloud makes him so macho? Is it his androgynous facial structure, his baby blue eyes, or that carefully gelled and manicured hairdo?
would only be good if it were M-rated, and
Cloud says: “Who used all my leave-in conditioner? I'll be frizzy all day!”
first it was Sega versus Nintendo. As more systems came along, a bigger war began to develop. But | don't see it as being bad. All three systems have their honors. I'm hoping my opinion helped those out there stressed about the gaming war. A battle may be won, but the war will never end.
—Chris Roberts
Oh, no! There are various videogaming products for sale! Run for the hills!
Real,
Holy, flaming crap balls! In response to the letter from Justin who is “chillin’ in Iraq” [EGM #204]: It’s not boring over here for everyone. My guys are constantly out doing foot patrols through hostile zones in a small city near the Syrian border, oftentimes all day and all night. The typical amount of “downtime” we get ranges from four to eight hours per day. Yet, | have to agree with him—were it not for the escape from reality that videogames, literature, and bootleg DVDs provide, there would be a lot of psycho soldiers on the loose with loaded
Rambling and ranting from our message boards, boards.1UP.com (look for EGM's forums)
“How do videogames make you feel?”
They make me feel like | should be doing some- thing more with my life.
Like | can press the “unwreck” button when | hit bicycle riders with my car.
Like | could save the world if only | had spiky hair.
They make me feel poor.
Gaming makes me feel like l'm naughty and | need to be spanked.
Guilty, for murdering so many Spanish villagers. «like I'm back in "Мат. Did you hear something?
They make me feel like tak- ing the day off work.
CONTACT EGM
E-mail us at:
EGM@ziffdavis.com
Or write to: EGM Letters 101 2nd Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105
For subscription help, contact: E-mail: subhelp@egmmag.com Web: http://service.egmmag.com Phone: (800) 779-1174
To order hack issues: E-mail: back_issues@ziffdavis.com
| ITS NOT FINAL
BECAUSE YOU CHOOSE THEIR FATES!
NEW INTERACTIVE FEATURE LETS YOU CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE FILM! SELECT NEW STORYLINES, ENDINGS, AND DEATHS. IT'S ALL IN YOUR HANDS!
¥
www.newline.com www.fd3movie.com E FRE HOME ENTERTAINMENT
BONUS FEATURES NOT RATED ©MMVI New Line Productions, Inc. 9MMVI New Line Home Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
weapons, grenades, rocket launchers, and machine guns. —8Sgt. J.
Whoa. Screw chocolate chip cookies and body armor—send these folks some games...
Barrel 1 have to take issue with what Melody Warbigton wrote [EGM $202] when she complained about enemies seeking cover behind barrels clearly marked as "highly flammable.” If videogame developers were really concerned with realism, then they would realize that lead bullets do not spark. There are steel-core bullets that could ignite gasoline or jet fuel, but it's extremely unlikely that this would happen. Outside of using tracer rounds, the likeli- hood of making a barrel explode by shoot- ing it is low. It's more likely the fuel would run all over the ground and be ignited from the muzzle flash of the enemy standing in it. | just wanted to point out something that has annoyed me for quite some time. —Adam Ratmoko
What’s that? We were holding our fingers in our ears and humming
“In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins
the whole time. We want to believe. Besides, we’ve placed barrels of kerosene at strategic antiterrorist points throughout the office as part of our security strategy. If the terrorists hear you, we’re screwed.
Wanking gamer says: “EGM turned me into a sexual deviant!”
Hater | was not very happy with your response to my previous letter [“Bathroom Break," EGM #204]. If you’re going to make “wanking jokes” in the future, | don’t need to see a full two-page visual of them. | don’t think any of your other readers do, either. | was talking to a friend of mine about this, and he told me that he had been using issue #201 as a visual aid to show people in his parent-education seminars what kind of crap the media was marketing to their kids. In case you forgot, the cover of issue #201 had a bunch of Disney characters on it as part of your Kingdom Hearts II preview. This is some- thing that would appeal to small children. What a surprise their parents would have when they pick up this apparently kid- friendly magazine and find such a vulgar picture inside. —Jennifer Orr
Sweet, sweet Jenny. Don’t complain when the media doesn’t make a good baby-sitter. Raise your own children. Meanwhile, just for reference, here’s that awesome pic again at the bottom of the page.
Concise and
A warning for lazy, self-absorbed, and/or just plain inattentive parents: All the censorship in the world can’t make up for bad parenting. If your child is more influ- enced by games than Mommy and Daddy, you and your offspring have much bigger
14 > ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
problems than Grand Theft Auto. That is all. —Mmethan85
Casualty of Why are gamers ridiculed and laughed at? Just last week | was walking to school when | saw a junior making fun of one of my fellow freshmen about being a “Halo nerd” because of his Halo shirt. He kept saying crap about the kid and pushing him around. | got mad and told the guy to f*** off. Well, then the junior grabbed me and gave me a very painful dead leg. But this would have been OK, if not for my iPod Video. Once | took out my iPod, 1 noticed that the screen was cracked and wouldn't work.
—Michael Haidar
If only you'd been wearing your home- made MJOLNIR power armor. The junior would have run in terror, his cheerlead- er girlfriend would have fallen in love with you, and one student in the crowd would have begun clapping slowly until the rest of the auditorium joined in raucous applause.
just let them have their high scores and throw around all their money. Heck, these gamers are creating business for game developers, even ones that aren't that well known. People will spend $60 on a half- decent game just to get 1,000 points. —Simon Schmidt
one point When | look around online Xbox forums, 1 often see threads dedicated to bashing gamers with high gamerscores. | don’t understand how having a high gamerscore affects other gamers. It doesn’t take away any privileges or ruin anything for people without all those points, so why are people hating on these few? We should
GAME DESIGN-O-RAMA
Got proof that game design is best left to the pros? Send your concept (with art) to EGM@2ziffdavis.com, subject: Design-
Why should we hate the overprivileged brats who purchase horrible games just to up their scores? Your Geometry Wars score is all that matters. іф
Tama
Accordion Hero
Hit all the right notes and get the crowd on their feet, waving their beer steins in unison! You are an accordion hero! Includes all the great accordion melodies you've ever gotten really, really drunk to, from “In München Steht Ein Hofbráuhaus" to "Rock You Like a Hurricane." Accordion Hero comes with one gloss-black accordion controller. Kirschrot (cherry red) controller sold separately for two-player squeeze action. Awesomely rad sticker sheet included. —www.phobe.com
2005 WINNER
AWARD > 4
© 2005 id Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ® 1993-2005 id Software, Inc. Published by JAMDAT Mobile Inc, under license from id Software, Inc. Fountainhead Entertainment and the FE logo are trademarks. of Fountainhead Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. JAMDAT, JAMDAT Mobile and the bubbles logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of JAMDAT Mobile Inc. in the United States and/or other countries/regions. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and are used with permission. EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc.in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other logos and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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Logitech X-530 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers Logitech Deluxe Keyboard & Optical Mouse Free Wireless 802.1 1g 54MBps Network Adapter
e Multi-tasking with extreme performance. Stop juggling applications. With the AMD Athlon™ 64 FX dual-core processor, you can run multiple process-intensive applications and still rely on truly exceptional performance. Play the latest intense 3-D game while instant messaging, creating , editing or enjoying your favorite digital media. Explore the possibilities of extreme multi-tasking.
e Step up to 64-bit gaming. Today's games demand more than good graphics—they demand realistic physics, lighting, artificial intelligence, and sound previously only reserved for the world of simulations. AMD64 technology, featured on AMD Athlon™ 64 FX processors, is the key to
AthlonX2
bringing the next generation of games to life. Don't get left in the dust—64-bit is here to change the world of 3-D games.
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6
FLORIDA LAWYER
JACK THOMPSON
FOR BiS SELF-SERVING, GRANDSTANDING, HOSTILE ANTICS DURING А $-YEAR CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEOGAME VIOLENCE
REWARD: $0,000,090.60
ОМ AWARDS FOR B
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"My a Pi. 38$ Moral crusader Jack Т
Ша. unes, i
hompson was the big eun in the crusade against violent
T videogames and a menace to the industry—until a gang of gamers fired back
very good game needs a bad guy. Donkey Kong has the big 5 ` ape. Resident Evil has the Tyrant. Hi Solid Snake has the severed hand of his evil clone grafted onto a gunslinger, or whatever. In the real-life battle over what you play, there's no enemy gamers love to hate more than Jack Thompson. CX" This gray-haired 54-year-old Miami attorney is the Darth Vader of gaming and America’s most notorious crusader against violent and sexually explicit media. Since suing rap group 2 Live Crew for obscen- ity in 1989, he deftly positioned himself against every new perceived scourge of pop culture. Не got Ice-T’s “Cop Killer” yanked from shelves. He battled Howard Stern. Following the school shootings in Paducah, KY, in 1997, which some tied to the effects of violent media, Thompson has had a new favorite target: videogames. From Columbine to the Beltway Sniper, Doom to Grand Theft Auto, he’s the go-to alarmist tapped by CNN, the Today Show, and 60 Minutes. When college campuses want a debate on the effects of violent vid- eogames, Thompson assumes his role (on several occasions against this author). But Thompson’s rants are not just idle chat- ter. He has spearheaded lawsuits against gamemakers, including GTA publisher Take Two Interactive and Sony, for hundreds of millions of dollars. He informs politicians on Capitol Hill. After a secret sex scene was found in GTA: San Andreas last year,
Senator Hillary Clinton’s camp allegedly consulted with Thompson before hopping оп the bandwagon. For Thompson, it’s more than a public service: It’s a personal crusade. “I’m a Christian,” he tells us, “and 1 believe my ministry of sorts is to fight battles with these people.”
“These people” have a field day fighting back, crafting anti-Jack blogs and selling “| Hate Jack Thompson” T-shirts. Grand Theft Auto fans made a free download- able modification for the PC version called “Defamation of Character: A Jack Thompson Murder Simulator,” in which gamers play as the attorney, nicknamed “Banman,” on a killing spree. Jinx.com pawns toilet paper emblazoned with his name. “The amount of energy put into try- ing to destroy me tells me they know this is about something worthwhile,” Thompson says. But now, following his biggest battle with players yet, his enemies hope Banman’s game may finally be over.
The smackdown started last October when Thompson penned an open letter to the videogame industry called “A Modest Video Game Proposal.” In the spirit of Swiftian satire, he says, he challenged someone to release a game for 2006 in which a 14-year-old player murders the family of a fictional game developer. In return for the game, he promised to donate $10,000 to a charity of Take Two
Interactive's chief executive officer Paul Eibeler’s choice. “How about it, videogame industry?” Thompson challenged. “I've got the check and you've got the tech. It's all a fantasy, right? No harm can come from such a game, right? Go ahead, videogame moguls. Target yourselves as you target others. 1 dare you.”
The “moguls” didn't pick up the gauntlet, but the gamers did. In January, a scrappy team of coders calling itself
i Beaten at his own game: Thompson as “Banman” іп а Grand Theft Auto mod on PC.
Thompsonsoft and “consisting of three alcoholics and a foreign-exchange student” designed and released a free game called I'm OK “based on Jack's masterful design.” Just as Thompson outlined, the game lets players, in a campy and brightly colored virtual world, bludgeon through offices and arcades in a bloody rampage.
But Thompson, after seeing the game, wasn’t buying it. “They made a semifake game,” he says. Because it wasn’t made >
HANDHELD GAME (ZELDA: PHANTOM HOURGLASS), BEST SPORTS GAME (WII SPORTS), AND BEST RACING GAME (EXCITE TRUCK)... >>
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www. 1UPcom > 19
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FAMOUS BLAST WORDS: NOTABLE QUOTES FROM THE HEIGHT OF ГШ 9 ANUGAME FAME =
IP I did, I want to apologize to Saddam Hussein."
"The videogame industry gave him a cranial weno that popped ор in the blink oP an eye in that police station, and that meno offered him the split-second decision to kill the officers,
T X $ ; בי" Shoot them in the head, Plee in a police - SS, car, just as the game ibsel? trained them to do." “I worry about someone
—Thompson on Devin Moore, an 18-year-old who would play Grand Theft Auto convicted of shooting three Alabama police — Por ten hours a day. It's a masturbatory W рй
— officers after playing а GTA game activity, and it would be better
=
iP people put down the controller and went outside."
*...моеһ 60 bhe delight,
кл | one can be sure, of pedophiles pz a around the globe who can rehearse, f in virtual reality, Por their abuse." ў —0n a PC mod for Sims 2 that lets players remove the "I suppose Pederal judges | pixelation from nude adult and “Nobody shoots anybody / by and large don’t have a problem [o child characters in the Pace unless you're a hit man UC ан CRS tine with the mental molestation of children ms ог a videogamer ао ЕТ, with worden ии їп а School by a crazed gamer. When that happens, Congress EN мау ban the games —
altogether."
C) press start
egm internatienal
Steal, kill, it's all in the mind
E PS2
KAMIWAZA
No more ninjas, samurai, or other sword slashers, please. Thankfully, in the latest from Acquire (whose output of action romps set in ye olde Japan rivals
the Tom Clancy series in pure quantity), you’re none of the above. Instead, you're a washed-up old thief named Ebizo, who comes out of retirement to steal baubles from no-good magistrates to pay for his sick daughter’s medicine.
So, it’s Thief with a bunch of bathrobes?
Well, yes, actually, right down to the way you can throw stones around to distract guardsmen’s atten- tion. But a few stealthy features set it apart from other hide-and-seekers—townspeople give you cover if Eizo returns the riches à la Robin Hood, and his wanted posters start to look more accurate every time he flubs his cover in front of a group of witnesses.
| Xbox 360
BULLET WITCH
Are they even making 360 games in Japan any- more? We were wondering this ourselves, especially after Japanese exclusive Ninety-Nine Nights didn’t exactly keep gamers up all night. Though Bullet Witch (from new publisher AQ Interactive) has been far less hyped, it actually looks worthy of a shot—it’s a Devil May Cry-ish action mash-up where you play as a wily witch named Alicia who casts down demons in the year 2013.
AQ? Should | care about them? Perhaps. The com- pany’s the new Japanese publisher for developers like Cavia and Artoon, which have had their share of hits (Drakengard) and misses (Blinx). The twist: former Final Fantasy bigwig Hironobu Sakaguchi’s an AQ share- holder, and he’s working on yet another new 360 game for the publisher, an action RPG titled Cry On.
ΠCheck out the video here: www.gamevideos. com/video/id/2690
WHATS PLAYING
Guild Wars Factions Just over a year after its release, developer ArenaNet's fee- free massively multiplayer online role- playing game Guild Wars
Sits pretty at well over 1 mil-
lion players—and the game's first stand- alone expansion, Guild Wars Factions, does plenty to expand the game’s appeal.
The new Factions campaign unfolds in the medieval Asian-themed land of Cantha, where—stop us if you've heard this one—an ancient enemy returns and heroes must rally to defeat him. Yes, the plot gets predictable .. quickly...butit’san | easily disregarded backdrop to an otherwise excellent — game. The original Guild Wars steered away from the same-old-grind mentality of other с. NA online RPGs, shut- tling you to the game’s 20-level cap rela- tively quickly and emphasizing aptitude over hours played. Factions fully realizes this philosophy: You can easily reach (or come close to) the level cap before ever leaving the tutorial island, which means more time spent pursuing skill acquisition and story missions (think Diablo meets Magic: The Gathering), and waging war against other players in a handful of con- tested zones. If you didn’t play Guild Wars, you lose nothing by jumping aboard here... and if you did play it, Factions provides a vastly improved experience.
The biggest point of contention: Factions’ two new professions, which join the original six. The frail-but-deadly assassin gets a lot of flak for being the “new fad,” particularly since—despite the assassin's viability—most players don’t employ the class very successfully (they're not tanks, people). The ritualist, Factions’ shamanic spellcaster, embraces mediocrity with its muddled jack-of-all-trades approach. A letdown, yes—but hopefully nothing a few game balance patches can’t fix.
—Ryan Scott
Ryan Scott is the reviews editor for our sister publication Computer Gaming World
>> ONLINE GAMING SERVICE GAMETAP HAS UNEARTHED ANOTHER DUSTY RELIC—THEY RECENTLY ADDED THE JAPAN-ONLY SEGA SG-1000.... >>
2 ALL DRESSED UP AND NO ONE TO K: ה
your | d relive faye of arcade boxing. Take your.
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Gai Mobile, Inc. GLU, Mute GR Logo MX SUPER KO, BOING знай IE ocn E A АЙ rights reserved. All product and. rks referenced are the names, trade names, trademarks & logos of their respective owners. ‘and game charges may apply.
> Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Traveller's Tales Release Date: September 12, 2006
Обу!
Mmm...blocky, these
з 9 time ago (actually, about ear ago), the blockheads б 'eloper Traveller's Tales
teamed up with Star Wars to piece together an unlikely game. of Legos and lightsabers. Well, the combination worked—roug! lion Younglings forked over dough for the first Lego Star Wars, But now that the prequel trilogy is com- plete, we'll finally get our hands on the ‘only movies that matter: Episodes IV, V, and И. Let’s take a little star tour through the game via some key scenes. —Michael Donahoe
EPISODE IV
Mos Eisley Before Luke masters the lightsaber, Han Solo’s blaster will be your weapon of choice—and expect gun-toting characters to do more now than just stand and shoot. “in the first game, the Jedi were able to block shots,” says Production Assistant Jeffrey Gullett. “You'll now see a simi- lar mechanic with the blaster characters—hit the attack button while a bullet is coming in and you'll dodge it.” Evading enemies isn't the only new feature, either—Han now has a signature dive-and-shoot mechanic, perfect for picking off stormtroopers while escaping the cantina.
Prison Break
Saving the Princess is a big point in the game, mainly because it’s one of the few times when you'll sport a party larger than three—during the Death Star rescue, you'll be toting along up to six different characters at a time. Playing as the Princess really packs a punch, too. “A lot of the main characters have distinctive melee attacks,” says Gullett. So if you're tired of the typical blaster/saber combination, play as Leia and bitch-slap your way back to the Millennium Falcon.
Attack of the Death Star
The climatic finale of Episode // showcases the new free-roaming vehi- cle levels, so now they won't feel like some cheesy Star Wars—themed Disney ride. “You have total freedom to go everywhere. You're not on / rails anymore," says Gullett. Making the ship sections less of a tacked- Secrets galore: Finishing the main on feature is definitely a good thing. And like whacking Jar Jar, blowin’ game only reveals about 30 percent up the Death Star never gets old. of what Lego Stars Wars II has to offer.
BOLL WANTS A REMATCH: THE DIRECTOR OF BLOODRAYNE, HOUSE OF THE DEA
''HER VIDEOGAME-BASED MOVIE BOMBS HAS
24 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
Hoth Battie
Lassoing the legs of AT-ATs isn’t the only thi
this level (though it's got plenty of that, of course)
comes when you replay this and other vehicle-based levels in the Free Play mode. “In the original, the vehicles [you collect in the game] just sat in the parking fot, but now you can take all those [collected ships back] into the level," says Gullett. Finally, you can bring AT-ATs to their knees any way you please,
Dagobah
Yoda schools Luke on the ways of the Force here, but don’t expect a lot combat іп this section—puzzles are one thing Traveller's Tales is beefing up, so prepare yourself for a bunch of thoughtful mind- scratchers. Also, Jedi characters won't be the only brains during this go-around. "Last time, only the Jedi could build [and reposition blocks], but now all the non-droid characters have this ability," says. Gullett. This means you don’t have to swap to a Jedi every time you need to move a bunch of blocks.
Cloud City Battle
Yes, Luke still gets his hand hacked off, but it may be harder for some to reach that pivotal scene. "There's an adaptive difficulty option we're putting in that will monitor you as you play the game,” says Gullet. "So the better you are at the game, the more difficult the game's going to be." If you manage to survive the fight with Vader, get ready for a funny cut-scene—if a certain Lego-centric problem is resolved, that is. “The Lego characters don’t talk, so how does Darth Vader tell Luke he's his father? We're trying to fig- ure out how we're going to make that happen." >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY = www.1UP.com • 25
(>) press start
EPISODE VI _
Jabba's Palace Since Han is chillin’ in carbonite, Princes Leia springs to
his rescue decked out in hi
disguise ain't all for looks—when Leia (and other bounty hunters) are in full getup, they can toss thermal detonators, And because only certain areas in the game can be destroyed with these devices, this character type plays a large role in unlocking all of the game’s many secrets.
Endor ў : Whether you adore or abhor the ewoks, the cutesy little
's suddenly going to have Force powers. jot possible to make a bitch-slapping е asked,
Photograph by Convertito/SFMISFITS Inc.
Final Battle The Emperor puts up a good fight, but not even Mr. Pruneface сап stand up to the power of а father/son Jedi duo. One thing you'll notice during this battle is the Emperor's use of Force | lig tning; now all the Jedi chi е distinct Force bilities. "Before, there was 0! , but now all the di are going to have differe rs. Obi-Wan has di mind trick, Darth Vadi ог has Force lightning,
"CHOPPING BLOCKS
| Not every Star Wars moment will make the cut. Here are some scenes too hot for tots:
Probe-Bot—Out of the 100-plus playable char- acters here, one is sadly missing: the needle-stick- ing droid used to interrogate Princess Leia in Episode IV. Apparently, probing wasn’t a feature worth pursuing.
p Mg
Tauntaun Meat Blanket—Riding tauntauns is cool for kids, but slicing their flesh to warm others is not. Now that’s cold!
Fatal Attraction—If you sickos out
there are hoping to see a little brother- sister make-out, you're definitely play- ing the wrong game...and reading the | wrong mag. sh
>> IN JAPAN, NINTENDO RECENTLY REVEALED POKEMON BATTLE REVOLUTION,
26 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
| Made for
©) iPod
С
защипоо защо pue ета
press start
enline this month
Top teams on Xbox Live
here dreams do come true. Where the impossible occurs. Where even the K.C. Royals can dominate. Sports video-
games rule because you can harness the adrenaline rush of doing the real thing without ever leaving that indentation
in your sofa. And now that the Xbox 360 gives sports freaks a chance to plaster their dashboard menus with their favorite team themes, there's a new competition: Who will dominate the рох? Check out these Xbox Live download rankings (as of June 1st) to give you an idea of which themes people are sporting.
MADDEN NFL 06
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Super Bowl Champs, No. 1 in
merchandising, it's no surprise
the Steelers are the top pick. Raiders (4) equal pathetic for real, but chucking the ball up
to Randy Moss spells huge vid- eogame success. The Panthers
(18) may be the best team in the МЕС.
FANS WHO DIDN'T PICK UP BLITZ: THE LEAGUE
MLB 2K6 |
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox 3. Chicago Cubs 4. New York Mets 5. Chicago White Sox 6. St. Louis Cardinals 7. Atlanta Braves 8. Los Angeles Dodgers 9. Houston Astros 10. Cincinnati Reds 11. San Francisco Giants 12. Detroit Tigers 13. Cleveland Indians 14. Philadelphia Phillies 15. Toronto Blue Jays 16. Los Angeles Angels 17. Oakland Athletics 18. Seattle Mariners 19. Baltimore Orioles 20. Minnesota Twins 21. Milwaukee Brewers 22. San Diego Padres 23. Texas Rangers 24, Pittsburgh Pirates 25. Kansas City Royals 26. Florida Marlins 27. Arizona Diamondbacks 28. Washington Nationals 29. Colorado Rockies 30. Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Why a cursed franchise like the Cubs (3) remains so popular makes absolutely no sense, although pitcher Mark Prior personifies nasty in this game. Surprising so many of you picked the Giants (11). Joe Young is no substitute for “the chemically enhanced one.”
28 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
NBA 2K6
1. Miami Heat
The Heat possess that perfect inside/out game with video- game cover boys Shaq and Dwyane Wade that translates to both real and videogame wins. The award for Best Videogame Team That Totally Sucks in Real Life goes to the Knicks (9).
—Patrick Mauro
NHL 6
1. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers may be No. 1, but things could change now that the Hurricanes (15) are the champs. These rankings really lead us to believe more folks in Edmonton play NHL 2K6 than those in both Carolinas com- bined. What the hell is a Blue Jacket, anyway? $h
WHAT'S UP АТ,
EGM.1UP.COM
Before you cuddle up to your mail- box, eagerly awaiting the next issue, head over to egm.1UP.com for extended previews, afterthoughts, and features. Also, visit our blog sec- tion to read our editors’ ramblings about everything from old game reviews to the magic of DVR.
EGMLIVE.1UP.COM
If you can't get enough our won- drous words (or if you're too lazy
to read 'em), then head on over to EGMLive.1UP.com to listen to our weekly podcast. While you're at it, go ahead and get yourself a subscrip- tion—don't worry, it’s free!
CHEATS.1UP.COM
Broken controllers, swearing, frustra- tion, divorce—if you are showing any of these symptoms, immedi- ately consult our cheats specialist
at cheats.1UP.com. This month
we have guides for the two best (i.e., only) Xbox 360 role-playing games out there: Oblivion and Final Fantasy ХІ.
Featured Club:
The Nintendo Wii
Game Ideas
Aspiring game designers now have a forum to spout all their wacky ideas for Nintendo’s new console. Check it out at http://wii-ideas- club.1UP.com.
Featured Blog: WicketTheEwok.1UP.com For those of you looking forward to this fall's release of Lego Star Wars li: The Original Trilogy, we have a special club for you. Each week, Wicket's page reveals one of the 50 playable characters from the game, but the real question remains: Will Wicket himself be a character in the game? Why don't you check his blog to find out?
YEAR MAY WANT TO THINK AGAIN—IUS NOW SELLING FOR 20 BONE
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PLAYING, — זו
Nintendo ballads? A Mega Man rock opera? We tune in to six bands inspired by our favorite pastime
eems like any power trio with a Marshall stack and a garage to keep it
in is cranking out game-music cover tunes these days. But videogaming
musicianship goes way beyond the Castlevania theme rewrought in hard tock. More and more bands are kicking out original jams that take inspiration from their favorite games. Tonight only, EGM presents a lineup of six talented acts blurring the line between music and gaming. —Mike Spitalieri
Protomen photographs by Stev
www.totallyradd.com www.14yearoldgirls.net
Sounds like: Keytar-powered rock pumped through a supersonic NES Sounds like: The retro-arcade’s house band
On debut album Shark Attack Day Camp, these from-the-heartland wailers chronicle everything from After getting their asses beat in a Street Fighter 2 beating Mega Man without using Game Genie to the thrill of dominating in Street Fighter. And there's. | | tournament, this poppy Los Angeles-based quintet little we can say to prepare you for the most spirited cover of the Mike Tyson's Punch Out! theme ` | formerly known as Link and the Zeldas were
you'll hear outside of an arena-rock nuthouse. (Imagine someone screaming “Mike Tyson's Punch henceforth stuck with the embarrassingly hilarious
moniker 14 Year Old Girls. Since then the band has gone on to pioneer 8-bit, ADD punk rock. These unabashed Nintendophiles
met as high schoolers in
Out!" over and over in tune with the music). Raw and catchy, Totally Radd!! live up to their name.
finalfantasyeternal.com 2000, mourned the loss >. - of third-party support IK
Sounds like: Urgent spacefaring classical for the N64 with “Whoa „= OY
Arcade Fire violinist Owen Pallett brings his love of Final Fantasy VI—"because it's the Nintendo," and plan on
only one with strong female leads," he says—to a project appropriately named Final recording a song with Қ.
Fantasy. It took flight when, on a whim, Owen plugged his violin into а looping pedal and lyrics made up entirely of
started "farting around." The result is a stirring, hysterical form of string classical that H ones and zeroes for their ME ET perfectly complements any role-playing lifestyle. "Videogames are about creating an = | upcoming album. We Хх We alternate universe and immersing the player within,” says Pallett. "I like that and try to > | don’t get the binary thing (2
write about things that don’t exist but deserve songs.” Final Fantasy is currently on tour И either, but we're sure the и і
in Europe and working on а follow-up to this year's album, He Poos Clouds. , 1 2 S) 2 song will rock. | е
>> IN THE MUSICA!
ОК SOMETHING MORE HIGHBROW? VIDEO GAMES LIVE—A TOURING MULTIMEDIA BLITZ THAT GIVES YOUR FAVORITE
30 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTH ww. 1UBcom ee
Hey, groupies: The battle of the. bands rages on at egm.1UP.com, where you'll find tunes and videos. from these supergroups, plus а few similar acts. Rawk.
www.protomen.com
Sounds like: A full-tilt, crash-and-burn Mega Man rock opera
“You know that feeling you get when you hear the opening theme to Mega Man 2?"'asks Heath Who Hath No Name, lead guitarist. of Nashville's The Protomen. “Like you can take on the world and the forces.
of justice are behind your rage and fury against oppression? We decided that
that could be amplified; deepened, and distorted.” Enter The Protomen, seven men (or robots, they insist) dramatizing the Shakespearean tragedy of Doctor Light, his two sons (Mega Man and Protoman), the despotic Wily, and his legion of evil cyborgs. In their stage act—complete with war- scarred helmets and crowd-surfing dead robots—The Protomen orchestrate a full-on sonic battle between synths, guitars, blaring drums, and soaring vocals. When queried for tour dates, the ‘bots—who never break character—only respond that, “There is hope for the future,” as well as plans for a fully functional Protobus.
JTURI www. futuristicsexrobotz.com
Sounds like: 1337 gangster nerd rap
Seattle-based Futuristic Sex Robotz find that game music, much like games
| themselves, needs
to have plenty of replay value. "When you're playing a game for hours the music has to be something you can listen to over and over again
| lead sections—just two dynamic, distinct melodies woven
| While a gamer speeds flawlessly through Contra or Mega
crank out a live soundtrack. See all three variants of this without shooting yourself in the head,” says rapper/producer Coaxke. "That's what | go for with my beats, something that's | catchy with a lot of substance.” FSR has plenty of style and | substance pushing hilarious and high production value; the backbeat in "WoW" is composed entirely of Ironforge sound drops. It’s hip-hop that ridicules everyone from gold farmers to the Frag Dolls. Definitely not all about the bling, FSR offers
These prog-rockers spend days dissecting game tunes for compositional cues in their own music. "We love Mega Man because there were no straight rhythm and
together,” says drummer Mike Albanese. The band has two live-show side projects, Megaband and Contraband.
Man 2 projected on a screen above the stage, the boys
NOW SHOWING @ GAME VIDEOS
watch now, play later
Sure, they got lots of regular old game trailers over at GameVideos.com, but they’ve also got fan-made movies created by misunderstood auteurs. (Ever think about filming a full-length live-action version of Resident Evil 4? Too late!) Oh, and a documentary about Halo 3. See these clips and more at www.gamevideos.com/egm.
LOL
Street Fighter porno redub Police detective Chun Li—badge pinned to her panties, natu- rally—battles a lascivious Sagat, E. Honda, and her own “massive turkey-thighs” in this redubbed clip from a fan-made Street Fighter blue movie. Ends right before the sexxxay part.
OMG
Resident Evil 4 super fan movie In this 42-minute —
long (!) clip, costumed fans painstakingly re-enact the first half of Capcom's classic, including on-screen button commands, Hunnigan's radio scenes, and the Krauser knife-fight, with just a few liberties (Ada and Ashley are both played by dudes, for example) taken along the way.
WTF!
Zelda “Gotta Dance, Damnit!” ad In this Japanese Super NES Zelda commer- cial, ladyboy Link and her backup dancers completely murderize a Thriller-meets-MC- Hammer mash-up routine. If you only see one transgender Zelda dance clip this summer...well, you know the rest.
L33
Halo 3 behind the scenes Fans shouldn’t miss this in-depth look at the creation of the Halo 3 teaser trailer-— not just for the tender morsels of new info and footage, but 'cause it's probably all we'll hear from the notoriously tight-lipped boys at Bungie for awhile...
B regarding this ist.
Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games S¢
sales charts
` ТОР 10 BEST-SELLING GAMES
crolls IV: Oblivion • XB360 • Take 2
ег * PS2 • EA
of War > PS2 > Sony CEA
В 06: The Show • PS2 • Sony CEA
jor League Baseball 2K6 * XB360 * Take 2
jor League Baseball 2K6 > PS2 > Take 2
[9 | ist Trophy * PS2 * Sony CEA
FOR APRIL
TOP 10 XBOX 360
| hast Recon Advanced Warfighter
2 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 3 Major League Baseball 2K6 4 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat 5 Tomb Raider: Legend 6 Fight Night Round 3 7 Call of Duty 2 8 Final Fantasy ХІ Online 9 Top Spin 2
10 Far Cry Instincts Predator
TOP 10 PS2
1 Kingdom Hearts 1
2 The Godfather
3 God of War
4 MLB 06: The Show
5 Major League Baseball 2K6
6 Tourist Trophy
7 Tomb Raider: Legend
8 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 9 NBA Ballers: Phenom
по EZEL Combat = 83005 H е еюнии: 10 Kingdom Hearts TOP 10 XBOX TOP 10 GAMECUBE | | TOP 10 PORTABLES, ТОР 10 RENTALS ON x - ^
NS 71 Sonic Riders
^ 2 1 Major League Baseball 2K6
1 Brain Age • 05
D
1 X-Men: The Official Game > 2
2 The Godfather 2 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 3 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 3 Harvest Moon: Magical Melody 4 Fable 4 Mario Kart: Double Dash!! 5 Tomb Raider: Legend 5 Naruto: Clash of Ninja 6 Halo 2 ö Super Mario Sunshine 7 NBA Ballers: Phenom 7 Madagascar 8 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 3 Super Smash Bros. Melee 9 Black 9 Super Mario Strikers ‘10 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 10 Lego Star Wars
2 Metroid Prime Hunters • DS
3 Ice Age 2: The Meltdown • GBA
4 Super Mario Advance * GBA
5 Disney’s Chicken Little • GBA
5 Chronicles of Namia « GBA
7 MLB 06: The Show • PSP
8 Animal Crossing: Wild World > DS 9 Daxter > PSP 10 Tetris DS «DS
2 Over the Hedge * PS2
3 X-Men: The Official Game • ХВ
4 Kingdom Hearts Il • PS2
5 Over the Hedge * GC
5 Major League Baseball 2K6 • PS2 7 The Godfather > PS2
8 Fight Night Round 3 > PS2
9 Black • 2
10 X-Men: The Official Game • GC
‘Source: Blockbuster Video
EIDOS IS GAMBLING WITH A RISKY NEW BUSINESS VENTURE—IT
32 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
URNING BOTH TOMB RAIDER AND HITMAN INTO CASINO SLOTS....
ENCHANTED
"эь Experience one of thefirst true next-gen role playing adventures.
" ` Unlock over 100 controllable creatures.
Mild Fantasy Violence
Mild Language
Simulated Gambling megy Suggestive Themes
ESRB = © 2006 FromSoftware, Inc. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by Ubisoft Entertainment under license from FromSoftware, Inc. |
Inc. and is used under license. Ubisoft, Ubi.com and the Ubisoft logo are is of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other
booth babe requires more than enroll- ment in Hotology 101. “Education... 1 i hmmm. Well, it’s not easy being a booth THIS MONTH: | / babe!” Gleave says. “It requires you to cT VE ү һе on top of your game. It's not all about. USA ano si te _GLEAVEÊ MODEL
ACTRESS. BOOTH BABE
>> DIRGE OF CERBERUS: LOST EPISODE—A SPIN-OFF OF THE PS2 GAME—SHOULD BE HITTING AMP’D MOBILE CELL PHONES NOW.... >>
: \ Б DUO XN : EE V Pictured from left to right: LCDR Mark Simon, ETCM Eric Olis, BMC Dan Ames, BM1 Michael O'Connell, —
Jason Fetterman, EM2 Mark DiPietro, LT ү Baker, MM2 Sergio Rodriguez ` ` 1אם", А ki 1 i + [s , $ navy.com/seals SAM 3 ו
do you have what it takes?
2006. Paid Hor by the US, Navy, All nha reservat
E This may be a concept draw-
ing, but we still have first dibs on the 180 name, Microsoft!
PACKING ANOTHER BOX
Analysts think a portable Xbox will be playing soon on a toilet near you
ver since Sony plunged onto the portable scene, people began guessing when Microsoft would
counter with a handheld of its own. All the talk seemed like hopeful hogwash, too, until the analysts at The Diffusion Group released a report in which they predicted that Microsoft would release a portable system by 2008.
Or will it? Microsoft sure won't say—when contacted they gave us the usual “we don’t comment on rumors or speculation” line. So it's easy to jump on the buzz bandwagon, but it’s difficult to decipher how much truth is buried beneath these rumors. “I don't put much value in this report,” says Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software. “It is an independent analysis that is not based on any specific intelligence from Microsoft, but from outside guesses and unknown industry ‘experts’ who are paid by the hour by these analysts for consultation influence.”
Fact or fiction, if Microsoft does indeed have plans for a portable, the question
remains what market it'll go for: the pure- bred gaming group owned by Nintendo or the multimedia crowd secured by Sony.
“The product is more likely to target the PSP market than the Nintendo market,” explains Hiroshi Kamide, analyst with KBC Securities Japan. While we all anticipate that Microsoft will manufacture some sort of hand- held—gaming-based or not—Pitchford has а radical idea of how the company can infil- trate the portable space: “The best thing for Microsoft wouldn't be to compete with Sony and Nintendo, but to provide the software that Sony, Nintendo, and other would-be handheld manufacturers would use to power their portable videogame devices."
So if Microsoft really is pondering a por- table (and we know they probably are), they have a lot of work to do. After getting our hands hot with both the DS Lite and the PSP, we figured we'd do a little for-fun analyzing of our own. Here's a list of things we'd want from a Microsoft handheld—and what we'll prob- ably end up with. #& -/ісһае/ Donahoe
WHAT WE WANT
(Sleek-n-sexy marriage between | | the DS Lite and the PSP |
New Halo masterpiece made exclusively for the handheld
offers more than just games
| Marketing messages based
WHAT WE'LL GET
Fat-n-frumpy divorce between a PC and the Atari Lynx
New Blinx disaster developed exclusively for the handheld
Backward compat- ible with Xbox 1 Barbie games
The X-Gage
More of their bizarro “lucid dreams” business
>> FUTBOL (THAT'S SOCCER TO US YANKEES) STAR ADRIANO LEITE RIBEIRO IS THE NEW COVER ATHLETE FOR WINNING ELEVEN 2007.... >>
36 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
Taking care of business: Julian Finnegan and his sister, Lauren, whom he once tried to fire.
| Шап Finnegan is a lot smaller than Donald Trump. And he has much better hair. And his dtime is earlier. Other than that, they're h the exact same person. Af 10 years old, the San Francisco resident has ated a videogame called Sharp Shooter, is working п two sequels, and is president of Sharp Shooter es. Finnegan has a sales staff, recently had a угрогаїе restructuring, and even has a motivational tory about his company's humble beginnings: “My iom said, ‘If you want to start your own company, | 2 \ Ûy you business cards,” Finnegan says. “They “оок really good. Want one? You can have a few.” Finnegan learned to design videogames last year at iD Tech Camps, one of a growing number nps offering make-your-own- the United States. If the trend intinues, lemonade stands may be gone forever in favor of little Bill Gates clones setting up card tables and selling stacks of homemade software. Sharp Shooter, a PC actioner that pits you against a reptilian alien, plays like Pong crossed with Space
2 > Invaders. Оп the down side, the game takes less than 10 minutes to эле s: play, it's two dimensional, and the box's
cover art is a photo of Finnegan's computer t “Monitor. On the plus side, it's still more fun than ^ 50 Cent: Bulletproof. (See our exclusive review in the sidebar to the right.) Finnegan charges $10 for the game and pays his staff $2.50 commission for each sale,
CAMP COUNSELING
Forget the great outdoors—game-design camps are becoming an increasingly popular sum-
although he's no workplace tyrant. "I made this deal with them,” Finnegan explains. “If you sell six games, the sixth game you sell | pay $5. But when they sell the seventh game, it goes back to $2.50 again. It makes them want to keep doing it. It’s like motivation.”
He recently let some salesmen go, leaving only his sister Lauren and her friend Raloma. He tried to lay off his sister, although the board of directors overruled the move. “My mom’s not letting me fire her,” Finnegan says. Fortunately, 9-year-old Lauren continues to be a loyal and generous employee. "He's a great boss," she says. "(Paloma) sent him a birthday card and it said "You're a good boss, or something like that. It was really cute."
Finnegan took a basic videogame creation course at the camp, where instructors helped him learn how to use the game-building software Multimedia Fusion Pro. He hopes to attend a new class called Video Game Creation Xtreme. In the meantime, he's experi- menting with more advanced software that'll put his next game in three dimensions. (Suggested title: Sharp Shooter 3D.) EGM got an exclusive early look at the game, and we can tell you it has a lot of zombies with shotguns. You read it here first.
Whether it's the industry-wide slump or the fact that Sharp Shooter takes less than 10 minutes to play, sales have not been especially brisk. Including the copy Finnegan sold to EGM, Sharp Shooter is still 399,985 copies shy of qualifying as a Greatest Hit by Sony's standards. Finnegan also worries about his friends crowding the marketplace. "They all want to make games now,” he says.
—Peter Hartlaub
mer experience for kids Finnegan's age and older. He attended one of the weeklong ses- sions hosted by iD Tech Camps, which organizes summer programs in everything from game creation to modding to 3D character design at 40 universities in 19 states. Sessions run
June through August. Check www.internaldrive.com or call 888-709-TECH for more info. Some of the other larger camps in the U.S. that offer game-creation classes include: Cyber Camps (www.cybercamps.com), Digital Media Academy (www.digitalmediaacademy.
et
org), and the East Coast-based New Media Tour (www.newmediatour.com). Be sure to check for smaller camps at local college campuses. Send your kids to any of these programs and maybe they'll buy your sweet retirement pad someday. zi
nade his own game. He hired his own staff. He's 10. Meet the breed of juvie entrepreneurs straight from game-design camp
HE SHOOTS, WE SCORE
ЕСМ gives Julian's shoestring Sharp Shooter the Review Crew treatment
CRISPIN BOYER: The flying- spaceman-versus-laser-croco- dile genre has never been done like this before. It took a kid with vision to add random game-over screens and frying- bacon sound effects.
THE VERI ICTS
CRISPIN ROBERT
p =
ROBERT ASHLEY: There are games and there are inter- active experiences. Sharp Shooter’s cinematic depiction of gritty urban crocodile hunt- ing haunts my dreams. A “10” doesn’t do it justice.
GREG FORD: Are we even
sure it’s a crocodile? Is the hero Superman? Providing more questions than answers while remaining enjoyable ain't easy. Hideo Kojima—gaming’s current brain-bending devel- oper—should watch out.
Publisher: Sharp Shooter Games Developer: Julian Finnegan Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone
I CampedGut; | Make-your-own- | ‘game summer programs are more Е ‘popular than ever.
‘ORM FASTER AND MAKE FEWER MISTAKES DURING LAPAROSCOPIC PROCEDURES, WHICH USE CAMERAS AND TINY INSTRUMENTS... <<
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY e www.1UP.com • 39
Qo press start
PS3/XB360 | mPs3/xB360 ЖЩЗ SCREENS |
NEED FOR SPEED CARBON
Way cooler than Need for Speed Boron
pparently, in the real world—much like in video- games—inner-city street
racing has become as played out as Vin Diesel's career. (Sorry kids, Те Pacifier's poop jokes are simply not cool.) People continue to drive quickly and furiously, though. Thrill-seeking speed freaks have traded neon-lit city streets for treacher- ous mountain roads, making for a far more dangerous racing experience. EA is following their fearless lead with Need for Speed Carbon, where the real compe- tition will be out on them hills.
But wasn’t the downhill racing bit done to death before the more recent trend of urban street racing? “Other downhill games failed to deliver a true sense of speed and danger on the can-
Carbon will also burn rubber on the Wii, plus all the current-gen consoles and handhelds (even the GBA).
40 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
yon/mountain courses,” says Executive Producer Larry LaPierre. "I think you'll find that Need For Speed Carbon has been able to truly capture the emotional experience of racing on the edge.” Expect to get a little emotional during the all- new Canyon Duels—tense one-on-one races along craggy cliffs that promise
to bring a fresh feel to this slightly stagnant series.
Still, this rockier setting doesn’t mean, Carbon will completely abandon the free- roaming, urban racing backdrop of the last couple editions. But now you need to be more aware of your activities and notoriety than ever before. “The more you race in one particular area of the city, the greater the heat will become in that area,” explains LaPierre “forcing the
players to look for other places to race.” And that’s the reason why you and your crew will take the really important races to the canyons and mountains on the outskirts of town.
Crew? What crew? Well, that’s the other notable addition to Carbon. During your travels through the illegal racing underworld, you'll meet and recruit crew members who'll help you both on and off the track. Join forces with the right gear- heads and they'll block or charge other drivers during a race, while others will hook you up with discounts on new car parts. This inventive crew concept will also carry over to Carbon's online arena, where you'll be able to draft other players to join your squad. sı
— Greg Sewart
©
Where's the hot chica to start the race?
Publisher: EA Games Developer: EA Canada Release Date: Fall 2006
PLAYDND.COM
C) press start
rumor mill
Squeezing the facts out of fiction
weating out the slow summer
months is bit of a bummer for
us gamers. Between the tiny trickle of good games and the ho-hum news updates, it’s almost enough to get us to go—dare | say it?—outside. But while you guys contemplate escaping your gaming sanctuaries to get some much-needed fresh air, the Q never for- gets what's important 'round here—pro- viding you with good ol’ gaming gossip. It's been a tough month, but | managed to dig up some dirt to keep you pacified during the long summer drought. Until next month—keep it cool, kiddos!
—the Q
Another mission to Mars
Now that the PlayStation 3 is mere months away, it’s easy to forget about all the PlayStation 2 games you played eons
ago, especially back when revolutionary
Ej Faction 2 ка
features like “destructible environments" were enough to propel a game from "meh" to "alright." But if you happened to dig the futuristic first-person shooter Red Faction, then you might like this little tidbit: Red Faction 3 will be blowing the bloated case off of the PlayStation 3 sometime next year.
Mother Earth
Ever since Nintendo surprised fanboys
at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)
by including Pit from the cult classic Kid Icarus in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii), other beloved old-school classics are now showing up on the resurrection radar. One series in particular has been seeing recent releases in Japan—but next to nothing over here. Well, that may change, because | was told Nintendo will release an EarthBound compilation for the DS, complete with touch-screen functionality. Not bad,
Nintendo, but how about something really obscure—like, say, New Balloon Fight?
Eye on the Toy
Sony may have a bad rep for stealing innovative ideas, but if you have to give the company credit for coming up with some wacky stuff, like the arm-slinging EyeToy. And now that Sony's having self-conscious gamers loosen up their limbs with the new motion-sensing PS3 controller, I'm hearing
₪ Who ya gonna call, bee-yotch?
for the PlayStation 3 will be available at launch. The new EyeToy titles minigames, either. In fact about Sony's push for online connectivity, | shouldn’t have to tell you what things the company has in mind. OK, maybe 1 should, but I'll save that for another time!
Stepping up to bat
Most superhero games these days are tied to a blockbuster movie to ensure those extra dollars. publishers love. But since the next Batman flick isn’t hitting the silver screen for a good while, my dirt detecting skills have uncovered that EA is working on a next-gen Batman game that isn’t based on a movie. And | wouldn't be sur- prised (not that | ever am) if the game has you donning the cowl of the aging crime fighter from Frank Miller's epic graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Q-TIPS: SQUARE ENIX EDITION
e Japan's getting both the robo-strategy game Front Mission Online and а new version of obscure shooter Silpheed for the Xbox 360, but | hear Square Enix has no plans to bring these games over to our shores.
эке
* Yet another Mana game is in the works, only this one's a little more social—it appears Square Enix is working on a massively multiplayer online Mana game. Think it’s coming out for the PlayStation 3? Wrong— it’s for the Wii.
Speaking of the Nintendo’s new console, if the upcoming Dragon Quest games sell well on the DS and the Wii, 1 hear the 9th adventure will be a Wii exclusive. חאו
42 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
4614 DVL 90020
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THE MAKERS OF TAG BODY SPRAY ADVISE THAT WEARING NEW WILD CARD AND PLAYING STRIP BLACKJACK CAN LEAD TO SEVERE NUDITY. TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T LEAD TO YOUR OWN NUDITY, USE ATTACHED INVINCI-CARD.
BODY SPRAY FOR MEN p E
wit camp |
: А
Ф
Ф ۾
TAS 6
Ф
Ф
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Introducing new Wild Card from "ד CONSIDER 3.5 ounces of Vegas in a сап, WARI
C) press start
A ו А + . ۰ Patience is a virtue a $1) n f "m t's been 16 years since Final balance the game's previously erratic dif- = Fantasy Ill first came out for the ficulty level. The game's job system (see
М Famicom [the Japanese NES]," sidebar) also got much-needed tweaks says FFill executive producer Hiromichi that make all the character classes viable Tanaka. “So this will be a new Final through the endgame. Most importantly, Fantasy to a whole new generation of though, the script has been totally rewrit- [1 gamers." Considering that the original ten to give the characters more distinctive | LM version (scope the sidebar for a glimpse personalities. Ё at its 8-bit glory) remains the only FF title Some things haven’t changed, \ | * 4 ==- to never have made it stateside, this DS though, like the game’s totally old- И чын pones 2 5 revision will fulfill the dreams of many school magic system. Here (as in the ЖЇН ФАЛ!!! American gamers yearning to fill the gaps original NES Final Fantasy Г), your t in their FF collections. characters memorize a set number || f
Actually, this sought-after remake of spells rather than draw upon a fa
almost didn’t happen on Nintendo's so- pool of Magic Points. “We kept hot-right-now portable. “We had started this system because it’s one of work on a PlayStation 2 version of FFIII" the things that makes FFIII feel admits Tanaka. “But we changed gears like FFIII" says Tanaka. “Plus, it and shifted development to the DS.” Doing seems very fresh to gamers who so allowed the team to take advantage never played the old titles.” And of the DS’ unique functionality. “You can although Tanaka also promises actually play the entire game through some manner of support for the using just the stylus and touch screen,” DS Wi-Fi connection, he rules Tanaka explains. “You can use it to navi- out the ability to play through gate through the menus, to choose items the single-player adventure with and spells in battle, or to select which a buddy.
group of enemies to attack in a battle.” But hey, let’s not complain. The dual-screen usage isn't quite as We're pretty lucky to finally get creative—the standard map-screen para- this long-forgotten gem. It's at digm persists here, and the top display once an all-new Final Fantasy
isn't even used during battles. “We limited апа an unearthed relic from ап the game to one screen in battles in order earlier time. “Му main goal was to max out the DS' graphical capabilities to create something that veteran
on the bottom display," explains Tanaka. players would still recognize as Modernizing FFil/ required some major being РЕ, but to also modernize changes. The game's visuals now sport the game and make it viable among a whimsical, storybook-inspired style its contemporaries,” explains Tanaka. similar to that of the Final Fantasy Tactics "| feel that we have succeeded with titles. Plus, nearly all the dungeons and FFill for DS.” bosses received redesigns to better —Shane Bettenhausen “С © Luneth never ENS MR. - E enters any dungeon without his fetching
European carryall. —Hiromichi Tanaka, FFI executive producer
>> MICROSOFT CHAIRMAN & CHIEF SOFTWARE ARCHITECT BILL GATES WILL TRANSITION У ROLE AT MICROSOFT ВУ
44 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release Date: September 2006
THE WAY WE WERE
FFIII first came out for the Famicom (the Japanese NES) in 1990. At the lime, it featured some of the slickest visuals and deepest gameplay ever witnessed on a home console. Now, not so much.
Ю-+А
Despite the new- fangled cutesy visuals, РЕШ” battles feel exact- ly like old-school FF fare,
, right down to the classic E I | ES 7) Rian Z3 sound effects and hum-
849/874 ללשו ae VTS 862/886 mable victory fanfare.
GET A JOB
Anyone who’s ventured through Final Fantasy V knows just how much its job system added to an otherwise standard role-playing game. FFIII offers a similar setup that lets you choose your party members’ professions from a large
pool of classes (including Iron Knight, one that’s new to this DS version).
New skills, spells, and outfits await the adventurous. Of course, this is poten- tially dangerous for players who want to do everything in an RPG...you're going to be here for a while. 8
т Makes you want a new Final Fantasy Tactics, eh?
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 45
C) press start o н à mi
overheard
Potent quotables
ללחו
“Carjacking—the thing you do in Grand Theft Auto—is down 50 percent since the game came out!”
—Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good for You, defending video- games on The Colbert Report
“Yeah, and in f ГА wy
—Stephen Colbert
"Actually, teen pregnancy rates have dropped!"
—Steven Johnson
©2006 Jeremy "Norm" Scott
"And we had that motion technology inside a [PC] Freestyle Pro controller about eight years ago and we found that as a general pur- pose controller it wasn’t that great. It worked in one or two games, Motocross Madness.
пете controler. —Shane Kim, general manager of Microsoft Game
Studios, on why Microsoft won't be ripping off Sony's motion-sensing PS3 controller
[^ EPP Rockstar. 2: You know? Let's ао ьн y |
Ping-Pong thing ор
TED - This i$ going to be 60 boss. This is going 60 be boss
“Speaking about the PlayStation 3, we never said that we would release a game console.
”
Жеп Kutaragi, presi rational
ê of the
—
“Our DS has already achieved accumulated sales of 8.43 million units in just 18 months since its launch, and | now believe that sales „will ‘shortly break 10 million asé able
shift to po conv S IS now under way.
—Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, on the DS’ global success
ence—they’ve got | every tree, every-
thing's mapped out perfect."
— Rookie driver Denny Hamlin explains how he uses EA's NASCAR games to learn unfamiliar tracks
Maybe iP we..: Maybe i? we put ib
4 3 i H d 8 ©
QUOTATION SOURCES (COUNTERCLOCKWISE, STARTING WITH DENNY HARLIN): ASSOCIATED PRESS, ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEXT GENERATION, THE COLBERT REPORT, GAMEDAILY BIZ
46 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
>> MAJESCO IS READYING A NACHO LIBRE WRESTLING GAME FOR THE NINTENDO DS, BUT IT WON'T HIT SHELVES UNTIL THIS OCTOBER. ... <<
TO GET THE GAME TODAY!
message, airtime and game charges apply
TEXT THE GAME'S KEYWORD TO
Standard text
"4
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KEYWORD: BIA3D KEYWORD: P3D
| i
verizonwirless Samen
WWW-gamelrort-Conr
© 2006 Gameloft. All Rights Reserved. Gameloft, the Gameloft logo, Asphalt: Urban GT, Massive Snowboarding and Midnight Pool are trademarks of Gameloft in the US and/or other countries. The trademarks Harbour Town Golf Links and Sea Pines are used under Licensed from Sea Pines Company, Inc. All manufacturers, cars, motorbikes, names, brands and associated imagery featured in Asphalt: Urban GT mobile game are trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. Brothers in Arms Earned in Blood Mobile Game © 2006 Gameloft. ll rights reserved, Published by Gameloft under license from Ubisoft Entertainment. Brothers In Arms Earned in Blood is a trademark of Gearbox Software and is used under license. Gearbox Software and the Gearbox logo are registered trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC.© 2006 Verizon Wireless. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
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coming soon
Better days ahead (but not many this month)
á
&
ADDEN NFL 07
STAR FOX
STAR FOX COMMAND
Nintendo • DS
Fox McCloud returns to form in this touchy sequel, mean-
ing no more of those pesky ground missions like in the GameCube installments. Command also delivers both wireless and online dogfights for up to eight players.
LESE
The quirky platformer ith a story mode * (a ѕ first) and over 60 playable characters. That’s
a lot of damn топке}
| EA Sports • XB360/PS2/XB/GC/PSP/DS/GBA
After months of saying, “Sorry, but not this year,” the makers of Madden finally wised up and added the cur- rent-gen's robust Superstar mode (which now features position-specific camera angles) to the 360 version.
€.
6! 6 -——Ó 50 5
50 CENT: BULLETPROOF G-UNIT EDITION VU Games ° PSP
Fiddy’s console debut sported more holes than the man himself. The rapper attempts to redeem himself with G-Unit Edition, which follows the same story as Bulletproof, except now it looks and plays like a top-down beat/shoot-em-up
à la Hunter: The Reckoning. 3
ENCHANTED ARMS Ubisoft + XB360
Here's a new one for roleplayers: Embark
on a 50-hour-plus fantasy epic traveling to
| exotic locations in an attempt to save the world. Sarcasm aside, you can also unlock more than
75 creatures and battle with them online. 258%
TOA A
BOMBERMAN ACT: ZERO MORE AUGUST Konami *> 0 : i Е . i RELEASES
The bomber joins the dark side in this DANCE FACTORY
next-gen makeover that has him looking Codemasters * 2
like a really angry cyborg (or some bad
Master Chief rip-off). Gameplay remains DEAD RISING Capcom • XB360
largely intact, despite some changes to DEEP LABYRINTH
the camera (it's set much closer now). Atlus • DS
DISGAEA 2: CURSED MEMORIES NIS America ° 2
GUILTY GEAR JUDGEMENT
Majesco • PSP
HARVEST MOON DS Natsume * DS
THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2006 SNK Playmore * PS2
NINETY-NINE NIGHTS Microsoft • XB360
SAINTS ROW THO ° XB360
TIMESHIFT VU Games * XB360
WORLD TOUR GOLF
SouthPeak Interactive • PS2/XB iı
DIRGE OF CERBERUS: FINAL FANTASY VII
Square Enix > 2 Take control of Final Fantasy VIs melodramatic vam- pire, Vincent, in this third-person action spin-off and defend Midgar from a corrupt government organiza- tion. The game's gotten beaten up in the press lately, J but that’s what happens when slick CG cut-scenes are your biggest (and, really, only) attribute.
COMPATIBLE WITH 360,
йй
previews: new Benes pg
THE
Enough of the sequels and icensed crap, We count down оп al titles
heade
exciting
elda who? Final Fantasy what? Believe it or
not, even the videogame industry’s biggest
names had a stint—albeit a brief one—as nobodies. Of course, that was back when they were still original IPS (intellectual properties). So we've ahead and scrutinized gaming's near future for the next group of unknowns. Do they all have ihe blockbuster potential of a Halo? C'mon, that's kooky talk. But each game does have at least one thing which we're calling the “соо! factor") that has us excited to play "ет
Alan Wake who? Gears of what? Quick, get to know these “nobodies,” before they make it big... >
already! the most
your way
previews: top 50 new games
>> ONLINE ? DOGFIGHTS
8
ВШЕ ОКАСОМ
XB360 * Microsoft « Winter 2006 ג
DEADLY SHADOWS
Shu's dragon eyes his lunch.
With the Xbox 360 on life support in Japan (it's performing even worse than the original Xbox there), Microsoft desperately needs a game that will connect with that nation's gamers while still appealing to role-playing fans worldwide. That task falls on the shoulders of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square Enix's legendary Final Fantasy franchise. His new company, Mistwalker, is hard at work on several original role-playing offerings. The first one to reach gamers will be Blue Dragon, a whimsical RPG featuring character designs by revered artist Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball Z).
It appears to be standard-issue fare with perky anime kids battling monsters in a Technicolor fantasy realm, but these tykes harbor a killer secret—each character's shadow transforms into a powerful beast. These magical shadows reflect each hero's personality and offer unique skills and attacks. For example, the game's lead protagonist Shu busts out a valiant blue dragon (hence the title) that handles all the heavy lifting and monster slaying in the game's battles.
E The concept art certainly looks very Splinter Cell to us.
World War II first-person Shooters, open-world games, effeminate role- playing leads—the vid- eogame industry is full of trends. Preplanned trilogies are quickly ' } becoming the next “it” ZB o thing. Microsoft already - has two in the works for the 360, BioWare's RPG Mass Effect and the action-filled Too Human from Silicon Knights, and many others are to follow. Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, admits that money is a big contributing factor to this growing phenomenon. “Trilogies are a natural evolution in the games industry,” he says. "This generation of developers and publishers will have to look at mak- ing smaller games or breaking them up into more manageable installments because the cost of production has gotten so high."
The ever-changing habits of gamers have also seemed to bring about more trilogies. “Knowing that gamers no longer want to play a game that requires 80 hours of their time,” says Dyack, “but still wanting to giving gamers a com- plete experience, we decided to break the story into three digestible parts.” As long as these ambitious projects don’t become another Advent Rising (Majesco's sci-fi trilogy that fizzled after game one), then we're all for 'em.
» EVOLVING > COMBAT
FUN WITH שא
^» PHYSICS
? ONLINE > HANGOUT
ш Rule of Rose’s pooch will help you ‘solve puzzles.
nh previews: top 50
neuJ games
1 DEAD . RISING
XB360 • Capcom • August 2006
cool factor EVERYTHING ‚ IS A WEAPON
Gamers today have become real know- it-alls at dealing with the undead: always aim for the head, burning them works like a charm, etc. Yep, we've gotten quite good at killing these things, which is why Dead Rising Might just be a welcome change-up for survival-horror junkies. For start- ers, instead of a haunted mansion or a derelict fortress, this game drops you smack-dab in the middle of a zombie- infested mall. “Hopefully, gamers will start playing it, and when they start to see what it is—a more lighthearted sort of zany gorefest—they’ll get a few chuckles out of it and walk away with a smile on their face,” says Producer Keiji Inafune (who’s also the brains behind another game on our Top 50 list, Lost Planet). Yet while the game trades screams
for laughs, Dead Rising’s main draw
is that it allows you to use practi- cally anything in this shopping com- plex—cash register, bench, umbrella, even a freakin’ ficus plant—on these flesh-eaters. And that’s where this one changes the whole zombie-combat paradigm: You spot a shotgun on the floor, but instead you grab the “Blue- Light Special” sign in front of a music
. store and bash a group of ugly 5 = to the ground. You'll find yourself running around, passing up effective weapons like a pistol because you know it’s so much more satisfying taking out a zombie with, say, a shop- ping cart. As so many titles today try to scare the bejeezus out of us, it’s a refreshing change of pace to see a game like Dead Rising that isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself and offer count- . less (and often humorous) ways to slaughter the undead, Now, cross your Р blood-drenched fingers that the game-
= Weapons closet.
play here can match the variety in its
56 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
у. MEANS OF INTERROGATION
NOT SET IN ASIA
Critical Hits, ה Ji Commercial Flops ה
Great review scores don't always translate into big money at retail. We asked the mak- ers of these EGM award-winners to explain why their original games quickly became dust-collectors in stores.
Beyond Good & Evil (PS2/XB/GC) What We Said: “Unlike other ambitious games that try to be too many things to too many players, BG&E pulls its components together beautifully... It's packed with personality and girl power.” —EGM #173 What Went Wrong: “BG&E was a critically acclaimed game that may have been a bit too far ahead of its time to be recognized by the mass market. Although its retail sales did not match the quality of its gameplay experience, BG&E was a huge success for Ubisoft in other ways.”
—Tony Key, Ubisoft's vice president of marketing
Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath (XB) a What We Said: "With more imagination in its weapons alone than other titles manage in their entirety, Stranger's is a reminder of the importance of refinement and innovation in gaming." —EGM #188 What Went Wrong: "We'll never know how well the title might have performed had it been given adequate marketing and advertising support. Without such support, you're dead at retail. Every publisher and retailer knows that having a great game is only half the battle."
—Lorne Lanning, creator, Oddworld Stranger's Wrath
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Psychonauts (PS2/XB) What We Said: "Anyone who doesn't fall for the unique characters, hilarious dialogue, and brilliantly conceived environments of Psychonauts has no soul." —EGM # 191 What Went Wrong: “Doing platformers with stylized art was hot stuff when we started Psychonauts in 2000, but by the time we finished in 2005, the entire genre kind of evaporated on us. Don't ask me why— still love to play them myself. Still, we managed to connect with a lot of pas- sionate gamers who really loved the дате...” > —Tim Schafer, president of developer Double Fine
previews: top 50 new games
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You know the drill: Pick a i ו character and smash, cut, ENEMIES. |. and combo your way through 1 / hordes of soldiers, demons, or some other ungodly creatures. The difference 0 here—thanks to the power Ж - of the 360—is that Ninety- 2 = Nine Nights throws literally hundreds of these abomina- tions at you all at once with relative ease. When body counts reach too many to count, don’t forget the ice packs for those button- mashing sore thumbs.
33
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En Clover Studios isn't known for lines d toot factor Ed НОТ PXL XTREME sticking to the videogame norm =~ MICRO- (see Viewtiful Joe, Okami). / PSP • Atari • Fall 2006 GAMES
PS2 • Sega * September 2006
Brawlers steeped in the criminal underworld aren't exactly new, but Yakuza's stunning dedication to re-creating Japan's notorious gangster syndicate takes the genre to new % heights of realism. This densely woven tale of backstabbing and intrigue (penned by a Japanese novelist famous for his yakuza- related stories) unfolds in immaculately rendered Tokyo back alleys.
So expect more of the same S
(meaning something really dif- | ferent) with the developer's next project, | God Hand, a kooky brawler that doesn't 4 take itself seriously—especially in the combat. The game's main character, equipped with the "right hand of God," gets his jollies from kneeing enemies more than 100 times to the face, knock- ing them straight outta the atmosphere à la Popeye, and kicking them in the family jewels (which then cues a sitcomlike laugh track).
The PSP may still be riding the DS’ crazy-game coattails, but the introduction of weird- and-wacky newcomers like LocoRoco are spinning Sony’s handheld into the loony bin, HOT PXL is joining the crazy fray with its urban take on the genre Nintendo popular- ized (imagine if WarioWare went street, and you'll get the gist). Instead of an endless Stream of unrelated minigames, though, Hot PXL actually sticks to a central theme involving skateboarder-turned-developer Djon. Central theme or not, these tasks will still have you scratching your head with disbelief. But the street feel, coupled with the twitchy gameplay, finally give the PSP what it needs: a little personality.
? COMEDIC
COMBAT i
₪ Compared to WarioWare's collection of challenges, HOT PXL goes for а more realistic aesthetic.
58 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com.
32
DISASTER: DAY OF CRISIS
Wii > Nintendo * TBD
cool factor SURVIVING CATASTROPHIC EVENTS
Zombies, aliens, Nazis—these videogame regulars got nothing on Disaster’s bitchy enemy, Mother Nature. In between shootouts with a rogue special-forces unit, you'll be racing down a mountain with running lava in your rearview mirror (remember, objects are closer than they appear), avoiding skyscrapers as they crumble from an earthquake, and even fighting to stay afloat during a horrendous flood. Anyone got some water wings?
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Konami's undervalued Boktai franchise (previ-
DS • Konami • Sept. 2006 ously on the GBA) morphs into Knights on the DS, losing its gimmicky sunlight sensor along the way. In exchange, it nets an emo-ish new playable character, deeper gameplay, and some shockingly cool 3D space-shooting levels that exclusively use the touch screen for control.
; SHOOTING $ LEVELS
j| соо! Factor 4 CONTROLLABLE CHAOS
EVERY EXTEND EXTRA
PSP • Buena Vista • Fall 2006
This puzzle shooter is all about finding combos in the chaos, as you manipulate your space- ship among geometric shapes to lay bombs that will create chain-reaction explosions. Extra is inspired by Japanese freeware PC game Every Extend but adds slick music and graph- ics—which makes sense, considering it's made by Lumines creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi.
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HAMMER CONTROL
PROJECT H.A.M.M.E.R.
Wii e Nintendo ° TBD
This gritty urban brawler (from Nintendo? Weird!) pits a hammer-wielding hero against a deadly robotic army. It's all fairly standard, apart from the unique con- trol scheme—your hand motions (swinging the Wii Remote side to side, up and down, or in circles) directly correspond to your onscreen blows. It’s impressive to see how the Wii's controller can make something mundane seem fresh....
JUST CAUSE
XB360/PS2/XB • Eidos • Fall 2006
e8
N Think of Just Cause's setting—a 640-square-mile island—as a stuntman's paradise. And the biggest thrills . Will come with your legs dangling above it; parachuting and free-falling play key roles in your incursions. You'll use the 'chute to BASE jump from buildings, bail out from. vehicles, and even shoot enemies while in mid-air.
$ 600% factor A . : 5 PARACHUTING 2 S
THE EYE OF JUDGEMENT
PS3 * Sony CEA * 2007
Kids these days. For a while, collectible card games that required a little reading were fine and dandy. Now, The Eye of Judgement ups the ante with dazzling technol- ogy—the PS3 uses the EyeToy camera to sense what cards are being played and animates each card's powers on screen for vivid battles the likes of which previously existed only in players’ minds. Imagination—it ain't what it used to be. >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 59
rh previews: top 50
new games
¢ A REAL-LIFE ADVENTURE
(UNNAMED NAUGHTY DOG PROJECD
PS3 * Sony CEA * TBD
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The shift to a real-life backdrop doesn’t mean
$ Naughty Dog will abandon A. its platforming roots.
1 % Cuddly mascots and wisecrackin' sidekicks are so last generation—developer Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter) d # Prset gives the spin attacks a rest and embraces reality for its upcoming (and currently untitled) PS3 adventure. The pitch here seems to be Pitfall meets Indiana Jones, or as Lead Designer Evan Wells eloquently puts it, "It's a third-person action-adventure game that captures the mood and emotions from classic pulp adventure, but with a modern-day twist." As the PlayStation generation grows up, so do its platformers.
The game’s hero finds himself marooned on a lush, danger-packed jungle isle, and it’s your job to guide him through a story-driven action-adventure in the vein of Tomb Raider. You'll divide your time among tense platforming, combat (both hand-to-hand and weap- ons-based), and puzzle solving; yet everything stays firmly rooted in reality. “The PlayStation 3 has given us the opportunity to choose а more realistic and believable art style,” Wells explains. “But we can still deliver all of the fast action and fluid control of our previous games.” This makes for a new breed of gaming hybrid—an adult-oriented, real-life adventure with the precise controls and addictive а simplicity of a platformer.
ү] In motion, the game looks eerily real, thanks to its clean, lifelike art style and some truly impressive character animation. "The coolest aspect of the game is our animation system, which allows realistic human characters to move in a believable manner but still offers complete controllability,” says Wells. “Next-generation animation systems will definitely make last-gen games look dated.”
Unfortunately, this steamy jungle romp remains a long ways off. (It doesn’t even have a title, remember?) Don’t be surprised if we don't see this one for well over a year.... >
TIMESHIFT
XB360 * VU Games * Aug. 2006
In this futuristic first-person shooter, you don't mess with time as a whole—you mess with time around you. That means hitting the rewind button doesn't reverse what you just did, like in Prince of Persia. Instead, use it to pull that live rocket back into your enemy's rocket-launcher barrel, and then shoot it with your sniper rifle so it explodes in his face. It's all about finding clev- er ways to manipulate time to your advantage...
HUXLEY
XB360 * Webzen * 7
While Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Call of Duty 2 have whetted gamers’ appetites for next-gen online warfare, they only skim the surface compared to what Huxley hopes to accomplish: massively multiplayer online first-person shooting action. Think Final Fantasy XI Online, but with gruff-looking characters that pack heat for 100-on-100 battles.
HEAVY RAIN
PS3/XB360 * Quantic Dream Fall 2008
In the style of Quantic’s surprise hit Indigo Prophecy (PS2/XB), the story—not some slick fighting mechanic or online multiplayer mode—receives top billing here. But you won’t get some weird Matrixy plot twist like in the developer's last adventure game; Heavy Rain promises to be completely grounded in reality with a very emotional cast. But can the game get us grabbing for a Kleenex, too?
EIGHT DAYS
PS3 • Sony СЕА • TBD
This game’s gorgeous trailer unspools like a pricey Hollywood blockbuster, Here’s the scene: А desolate desert truck stop plays host to intense gunfights and fisticuffs, then gets blown to hell with killer pyrotechnics straight outta a Jerry Bruckheimer flick. If the gameplay can match the visuals, expect box office gold.
є cool factor
ТНЕ СШВ
PS3/XB360 • Sega • 2007
Slow-footed shooter fans will need to train their trigger fingers for The Club's fast-paced gameplay. You won't find any need for cover, either—each level is a race to link the most kills to create a chain of combos. The longer the link, the higher your Score, so it's up to you to make good use of your kill- ing time.
tool factor
20
While Frontlines’ near-future warfighting brings ever-evolv- ing troops to the battlefield (they'll learn new tactics along the way, like calling in nuclear Strikes), the game also taps into a more carnal instinct: the thrill of the thump-thump you get when running over friends with tanks...and jeeps...and Humvees. The big vehicle presence also goes small with remote-controlled cars and helos.
PS3/XB360 • THQ • Fall 2007
62 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
FRONTLINES: FUEL OF WAR
> cool factor
tte
The makers of Grand Theft Auto swap prostitutes and
carjacking for wedgies and cutting class at this prep
versial cousin, you'll always have multiple avenues for reaching the top of the
Choice No.1: Politely ask your fellow schoolmate. Choice No. 2: Give him a swirly until he spills the beans. Yeah, we'd choose the latter, too.
school. Also, as in its contro-
Class. Need the secret pass- word to a house on campus?
BULLY
PS2 * Rockstar * Fall 2006
cool factor
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ALAN WAKE
XB360 • Microsoft • 2007
Here's a game that really wants to get into your head: While recuperating in the Pacific Northwest after the strange disappearance of his fiancée, big-time suspense author Alan Wake notices that things he's been writing about are suddenly appearing before his very eyes. Or are they? “Wake is in bad shape. He's had a lot of tragedy in his life, and he suffers from chronic insomnia," says Sam Lake, lead writer at devel- oper Remedy (Max Payne). "50 the question is, is this really happening, or is Wake going mad? In general, Wake's subjective reality and his stories will start to turn real and with that the small town of Bright Falls will turn more and more nightmarish." When Wake isn't freely exploring this town for answers, his few moments of shut- eye will also provide some insight into his current (and quite perplexing) situation. “Hallucinatory, dreamlike sequences are an important part of the gameplay experi- ence,” says Lake. “Dreams as a link to the subconscious and the supernatural is something that we are using а lot in the game. And there's also the idea of someone waking up to realize that the world and his destiny in it can be very different from what he thought they were." Spooky.
2ITSA ? MINDF***
previews: top 0 תת new games
Besides bugs, you'll get into shoot-outs with the occasional mech. You can even hop іп em yourself for some heavy duty firepower.
SING TODAY'S = HOTTEST SONGS
THE LAUGHS
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little aloe vera.
ONLINE GANG FIGHTS
ג E 2 E 8 =
previews: top 50 הת пеш games
Heavenly Sword... or what some like to = Call Goddess of War.
LIVELY ^ CROWD
= Talk about a bad time to fall on your keys.
Rebooting in Three... [wo...One...
Tomb Raider did it—now can these franchises reinvent themselves? a + Shadowrun Last Seen: In Shadowrun for the Super NES and Genesis. These were actually two different role- playing games, each with its own loyal fan base. Next Up: Those who played the 16-bit games will hardly recognize this Shadowrun, a squad-based first-person shooter that’s very online heavy. It hits the Xbox 360 in January.
Progress Report: This one sports some cool weapons and gadgets (like its glider wings), but the art style here is...well, U-G-L-Y.
POLE LAE ANS à
EERE
Last Seen: In Turok Evolution (PS2/XB/GC),
a laughable first-person shooter that gave us the Civil War general (and racist cyborg) Tobias Bruckner, EGM’s adopted worst-games-of-the-year awards mascot.
Next Up: A more cin- ematic FPS (think Half- Life 2) for the PS3 and Xbox 360, due out during the fall of 2007. Progress Report: Visually, next-gen Turok looks tight. But where's our main man Tobias? We're kidding...sort of.
9 included a full-on (albeit crappy) remake of the original
| Next Up: This Golden Axe (coming to the PS3 and Xbox
Rs ЛЕ АИГ:
ЕЕКІЕ ATMOSPHERE
Golden Axe Last Seen: In Sega Classics Collection (PS2), which
beat-em-up.
360 next year) changes gears and becomes an action-RPG. Progress Report: Details are slim, but an early trailer did A show sweet combat segments of characters riding on the $
backs of some beasts. >
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ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY > www.1UP.com > 67
previews: сор neu) games
| ₪7 חש הפו T T
RESISTANCE: FALL OF МАМ
PS3 * Sony CEA * November 2006
Dreaming up new and interesting tools for mowing down enemies has always been a specialty of developer Insomniac. Remember, these are the guys who, with their four Ratchet & Clank games (PS2), provided countless ways to blast foes into smithereens, not to mention the ability to transform them into chickens. Resistance: Fall of Man, the studio's sci-fi-rich first- person shooter for the PS3, follows the lombax's lead in arming you with several unique means of destruction...minus the whole turning-enemies-into-livestock part. “Our overall philosophy for weapons design and implementation remains essentially the same for both Ratchet & Clank and Resistance,” says Insomniac President Ted Price. “Our goal is to make weapons that are
a blast to use and reuse by blending originality, strategy, and ingenuity. There are a couple differences, though, in how we're approaching weapon design here. First, we're designing weapons that will accentuate some of the game's survival-horror ele- ments—basically, the weapons are pretty brutal. Also, we're using our proprietary physics system to do some things we couldn't do in the Ratchet & Clank series." Take the game's Hedgehog grenade: Thanks to some fancy schmancy physics and collision tricks, the grenade's explosive spikes will pierce the environment's surrounding objects, which then react accordingly and cor- rectly (explode, splinter, etc.).
While next-gen horsepower helps Resistance deliver a more reactive war zone, it also enables Insomniac's weapons manu- facturers to get really creative when designing the multiple functions of these firearms. Price drives that point home as he describes the Bullseye, which definitely ain't your standard-issue assault rifle. "You can mark your target by pressing L1 on your controller," he says, "and then press R1 when you're ready to unleash a volley of bullets—no matter where your target tries to move on the battlefield. This is called ‘tagging.’ In addition, you can create a swarm of bullets that essentially acts like a grenade and direct it around a battlefield. You can detonate the trap by holding down L1, and, when detonated, the swarm has a pretty
_ big blast radius. It’s a lot of fun to hide behind cover and set a swarm trap for a group of advancing baddies—then BLAM! This is appropriately called ‘trapping,’ and it’s a very effective way to dispatch Chimera [the game's alien race]." The Auger is another multifunctional toy in Resistance’s arsenal, which features normal rounds that will go right through any type of cover, while its
| alternative fire shoots out a shield that blocks incoming Chimeran blasts yet allows yours to pass through.
X —— And just imagine all the wrinkles these tricked-out bullet-sprayers will add to the game's 32-player online deathmatches. А “We have lunchtime multiplayer tests twice a week and there's nothing more satisfying than managing to tag one of our game testers and then bring them down with the Bullseye,” says Price. "It's simply awesome in multiplayer.” >
Rewriting History
Resistance's alternate take on the 1950s (according to this game's lore, the invasion of the Chimeran alien race meant World War II never happened) also allows Insomniac to take liberties with their weapons tech. "You'll start the game with what resembles a Korean War-era assault rifle, but it also features a grenade launcher based on the real life M203 as an alternative fire,” says Price. “M203s weren't used in combat until the 1970s, but, through our ver- sion of history, certain tech advancements made these breakthroughs pos- sible. As you progress through the game, you'll get a good sense of how the events and scientific progress leading up to July 11, 1951 changed the world as we know it."
68 * ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.1UP.com
Single white ие alien seeks very. ا white monster for a long-term relation- ship. No fatties.
previews: сор טכ пеш games
DIALOGUE ' SYSTEM
m Mass Effect's characters not only say how they feel, but they really show it in their facial expressions.
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Make it to the top and you'll have it all.
Money, cars, women, and a bunch of people who want to kill you.
MATURE 17+ Н Blood and Gore Intense Violence x? wwvw.saintsrow.com Partial Nudity | Strong Language 1 Strong Sexual Content | 4 [Zr Use of Drugs and Alcohol | volition inc www.thq.com
© 2006 THO Inc. Developed by Volition, Inc. Saints Row, Volition, Inc. THO and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THO Inc. Compatible phone and carrier service required. Text messaging and data service charges may apply. Check your carrier for more details, All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The developers promised these are 100-percent legit in-game screenshots—no BS touchups here! They said by the ~ time the game ships it should look even better than this.
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72 = ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
ш GOW’s graphics are extremely detailed. The incredible thing is that the game runs fairly smoothly, too.
cool factor KICK-ASS
XB360 • Microsoft • Fall 2006
Microsoft and Bungie had just released the Halo 3 trailer, yet everyone was ogling Gears of War's graphics at this past May's ЕЗ videogame trade show. That’s how you know you've got one hell of a looker for a game. "From the start, the visuals in Gears of War have been incredibly important to the story and atmosphere we wanted to immerse the player in,” says Jerry O'Flaherty, art director at developer Epic Games. Charred landscapes, rusty, burned-out cars, rubble-strewn streets, and an overall things-are- really-f'in-f'ed postapocalyptic vibe fill Gears' world, a future Earth scorched by its own inhabitants to deprive the invading Locust Horde aliens of its natural resources. Pretty grim, huh? “The ‘destroyed beauty’ look of the environments came from a desire on our parts to not just make ‘levels’ that the player moved through,” says O'Flaherty, “but to actually give our world and fiction a history and a sense that things have happened here long before you, the player, arrived on the scene, and more things will happen when you are gone." And in case you're distracted by all this "destroyed beauty" eye candy, when prompted, you can hold down the Y button to automatically track any scripted events happening in real time around you so you don’t miss anything exciting—like those Locusts blowtorching through the only door keeping them out of the room and you safe. The game's beauty carries over to the living things, too. Rugged human soldiers slam into walls for cover or duck and run with motion and momentum that you don't see in most videogames; it's as if these moving images on your screen actually weigh 200 pounds each (maybe 300 with all that heavy-duty body armor). The aliens look equally lifelike, with snarling mugs and snakelike skin—Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't know "ugly motherf***er” until he’s peeped one of these creeps. >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY = www.1UP.com • 73
= "CU new games
CO-OP COMBAT
PS3/XB360 * EA Games • 2007
74 > ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
or a guy who could fit in as a cousin at a Terminator family reunion, the metal-masked mercenary sidekick in EA's ambitious Army of Two sure tries hard to be a real boy. He high-fives you when things go right. He flips you the bird when things go wrong. And when he's gotta go... well, he's gotta go. "In many games you see a character drink water, but then that guy never goes to pee," says Designer Vander Caballero. “In our game, you'll see him pee."
No, this isn't some untapped reservoir of the infamous "liquid A.I.” hyped in EA's late-'90s sports games—it's just human nature calling in a unique co-op third-per- son shooter not due to hit the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 until sometime in 2007. Army of Two, which stars guns-for-hire chums Tyson Rios and Elliot Salem, revives a genre lain low since the heyday of Contra and Double Dragon and Bad Dudes: the two-buddy action game. You pick one character at the start of each mission; the computer or a second human player con- trols the other guy. This cooperative game-
play isn't tacked-on or a special mode. "In Army of Two, co-op isthe дате,” says Senior Producer Reid Schneider.
It's a rare thing from EA: a try at a new franchise. And if the strictly cooperative play and partners with working bladders seem like new ground for a publisher that's taken fire for its lack of innova- tion, wait till you find out how you stanch your buddy’s terminal bleeding (hint: a feminine-hygiene product is involved). Yes, the spirit of experimentation is in the air at EA’s Montreal offices, established as a boutique studio charged with building new intellectual properties. Here, a team run by ex-Ubisoft Splinter Cell developers is building Army of Two with a staff of fresh- from-school artists and engineers. “Our average age is 25,” says Schneider. “We didn’t want people here who are jaded or are like, ‘In my day, we did things such- and-such way. We want people who are passionate about new ideas. Imagine what games like Gran Turismo did for racing and Grand Theft Auto did for open-world games. We want to rethink how people play co-op shooters.”
т The same guy who designed Splinter Gell’s Sam Fisher created Tyson and Elliot.
Everyone thought Caballero was crazy when he first pitched his conceit for reviv- ing shot-to-hell heroes. “I was walking in the neighborhood [with another designer] thinking about it when, suddenly, it hit me: When people are dying, what do they do? They run from the light,” says the imagina- tive Caballero (if you ever meet the guy, ask him about his game on suicide). A minigame was born: When characters get too shot up, they fall down, and it’s up to the injured player to rapid-tap buttons to haul ass from a heavenly glow, while the other player moves the analog stick rhyth- mically to apply CPR. Both characters, whether one is controlled by a real player or not, need to cooperate to survive.
No one on the team was sold on this near-death gameplay experience at first. But Caballero has the advantage of work- ing with an experimentation-friendly development tool called the white box, which lets him whip up working game scenarios—complete with primitive graphics and control schemes—in about a day and show them to the rest of the team
А дате this gung-ho could only come from...French Canada? Tag along as we visit Army of Two's makers at a Montreal mall (really!). See developer interviews, game sequences, and more.
Need a lift? The game will pack lots of fun-for-two-players vehicles.
for approval. ^We get ideas by failing a lot,” Caballero says, adding that only about 20 percent of his white-box concepts make it to the game. “You should see the blooper reel of what was cut.”
We can only imagine, considering that one minigame that survived white-box scrutiny has you stuffing a tampon into your shot-up buddy’s gushing wound. Plenty of other imaginative concepts survived, too. The characters can chuck ammo to each other when they’re low, stand back to back to protect their vulner- able keisters while covering enemies in а 360-degree arc, help each other rappel down buildings, work together to knock over heavy tables and shove them along as portable cover, and carry each other if one is shot (the injured man can still shoot while hanging off the other guy’s shoulder). Even standard co-op stuff like sniping as a team or using one player to boost another to a second floor has been livened up. While lifting your partner over a wall, for example, you can use the analog stick to boost him high enough to shoot enemies, thus clearing the way, or >
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 75
previews: top 50 new games
| Тһе scary masks are based on real military tech. You won't be able to customize the armor, but you will see Tyson and Elliot's faces between ops.
lower him a bit to give him cover from their returning fire. These actions aren’t optional. Everything in Army of Two, from the ind their shoals of phys- based obstacles to its small army of enemies (up to 50 on screen at once) has been designed to force you to work with your partner—or else. “You should not be able to complete this game just doing your own thing,” says Schneider. “If you can, then we haven't done our job."
Getting your partner to do what you want is simple enough—just ask him. All the game's actions are contextual, displaying оп a pop-up menu when conditions are right. If you see the option, just say it into
76 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY www.1UP.com
the microphone and your A.I. partner will respond accordingly, kicking the game into the appropriate mode. “The idea is that it'll be hard to tell the difference between playing with a human player or with A.l.,” says Schneider, adding that the game’s extensive dialogue system borrows from the color-commentary subprograms in EA's sports games. In other words, these guys are chatty—and it's up to you to hold up your end of the conversation. We watched the player carry on conversations with his partner, sparking dialogue straight out of a buddy-cop flick. "What do you think this is, an action movie?" the other character barked when ordered to go into defensive back-to-back mode.
Let's hope the Montreal team resists the urge to insert any “I’m getting too old
for this s***” quips. Just as worrying is whether the single-player game will get repetitive, with your А.І. partner spitting out the same lines like a talking G.l. Joe doll with his string pulled. The team, for- tunately, is aware of this potential snafu. “When you play a game and hear the same line twice,” says Caballero, “you lose the sense of reality. But [with] behaviors and action, you can see the same action 300 times and not get bored of it. So we're trying to use more animation instead of voiceovers to avoid repetition.”
It's something that becomes more clear when you realize your A.I. compadre has а memory—he tracks the successes and failures of your actions. He'll out-and-out refuse orders to commands that didn't lead to success in the past. "Maybe you'll
tell the A.I. to take point in clearing a room,” says Designer Yan Pépin, “but the last time he went in first, he got gunned down while you ran away. This time, he'll be like, ‘No, no, по—/'1! go in behind you.” The more you piss off your partner, the less likely he'll follow your orders in the future. And the team is filling the game with lots of opportunities to get on your partner's bad side. Peppering him with friendly fire is the obvious way to do it (and earn a little retaliation in the process). You can bring the roof down on the guy if he happens to stand beneath a crumbling ceiling. And if you really want to push his buttons, you can go beyond these pranks and engage in atrocities that would needle even the most bloodthirsty soldier's conscience. In Army of Two, your partner >
Call Army of Two's two heroes “mercenaries” at your peril. Tyson and Elliot are actually "contractors" in a private military corporation (PMC), a company hired as security or to supplement government military forces. And if you've watched the news lately (or seen the trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3), you'll know that PMCs are so hot right now. "They're not standard military like everyone else,” says Designer Chris Ferriera. “They don’t have to salute the general. Sometimes they show up on the battlefield with a baseball cap, sports jersey, camo pants, and their guns all taped together.”
The Army of Two team consulted their own PMC contractor, a baby-faced former Navy SEAL who never sits with his back to a door and is full of stories from the world of private warcraft. He talks about custom-armored Humvees with their ignitions ripped out and replaced with big red “START” buttons. (“In a firefight,” he told the team, “you never want to hunt for your keys.”) Many of his stories have made it into the game. The tampon idea—that’s his.
But as much as the Army of Two team is excited about incorporating such stranger-than-fiction scenarios, they’re even more into the idea of the cut- throat corporate philosophy behind the PMC—that these increasingly ubiq- uitous companies work for the highest bidder. “You may have one mission where you’re supposed to save a hostage,” says Ferriera. “But in the next [mission], your client changes—and now it's your job to assassinate that guy.” If it all sounds like the kind of combat that could spark political debate, the team—which is setting part of the game in Afghanistan—says “bring it on." “When people talk about Halliburton, which was Dick Cheney's former company, this is not a company that just provides toilet supplies and food for troops,” says Senior Producer Reid Schneider. “This is a company where one of their biggest businesses is private military services. | mean, we’re not in the business of edutainment; [Army of Two] is strictly an entertainment product. But if we make people get online and do some research, then the team thinks that’s pretty cool.”
And if you ever meet a real PMC trooper, don't call him a mercenary. “They refer to themselves as contractors,” says Schneider. Trust us—you don’t want
| to make these guys angry.
E РМС soldiers do the dirty jobs the regular military won't—or can't—do.
gni
pith, Previews: top 50
new games
р ^ gi M Pleasure cruise: To ү | - = = survive these heaving
seas (the best.water. effects we've ever seen), all you have to do is sink that carrier. Simple.
MA little help: After your buddy gives
you a boost, it’s your job to haul him up.
>» has a heart. "If I'm playing the human E Save yourselves: It’s player and | shoot this dog,” Caballero game over if either guy explains, showing us another white-box deci Ld ron Bat scenario featuring a bulldog, "[my partner] Sain light; эйи! will go over to the dog, bend over it, show compassion, and he won't want to cooper- ate anymore. You're a dog-killer. He'll call you an a**hole. He'll punch you in the face and punish you for your actions." Earning your buddy's trust again, for- tunately, doesn't take much effort. Saving his bacon helps. He'll even offer Punk'd- style payback to settle old scores. At one point in the demo, we saw our PO'ed partner fall in battle. Once we leaned over his prone body to revive him, he kicked us and started cracking up, the faker. And once you're both on good terms again, it's back to lots of manly high-fiving, chest- bumping, and rump-patting. Your partner will even act as a guide in the largely nonlinear levels: "If a player doesn't know what to do, the A.l. will take the lead,” says Designer Chris Ferrier: the player is running and gunning and making things happen, the A.I. will be more submissive and let the player take the lead."
A second player can join Army of Two at any time—even right in the middle of a »
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The forklift lost its innocence forever when the duo found the pallet with the heavy machine gun.
Falling for each other: The hyperreal physics mean two-man rappelling (one guy lowers, the other busts through windows) takes coordination.
>» mission—and from anywhere, whether it's
across the Internet or across the couch. Entering players immediately assume the role of your partner, with the game jump- ing into splitscreen if you're both on the same system. But even if both players are connected via the Net, with their own TVs and chatting via headsets, Army of Two will keep a splitscreen perspective to help them keep track of each other. Take the sniper mode, which players can enter together if they both have the right rifles. It splits the screen into three boxes: two for each shooter's sniper scopes, and a third showing the whole scene. "What's Cool about that is you'll be on your couch
ш Heat of battle: Are these guys more than friends? No, the game’s makers say. Please stop asking.
and РІ be on my couch in different homes,” says Ferriera, “and | can actually see what you're aiming at. And if | have а headset, | can be like, ‘No, no, no, dude— don’t shoot that guy. | got him.
Again, this game is all about team- work, with missions that demand precise coordination to pull off successfully (for instance, you might have to snipe two guards simultaneously, or else one of them will alert more goons). But as we watch Tyson and Elliot buckled together groin-to- buttocks in a tandem parachute, slapping each other’s butts in moments of glory, and rubbing suntan lotion on each other’s backs (OK, we made that last one up), we
can’t help but pick up a certain vibe from these manly men.
If we ask, will the game’s makers tell? “These are tough military guys—and for us, there’s nothing homoerotic about it,” says Schneider, who adds that Tyson and Elliot have families and love interests in the game. “You need two people to coop- erate. If you think of movies like Lethal Weapon or Tango & Cash, there are no overtones at all. For us, we need to make
people think about how to play games dif- ferently. It's the core for what Army of Two
is all about." OK, but now we really want to see that blooper reel.
Army of Two's two bad dudes aren't in it for the glory or the honor or the thrill of combat. They're here for the. bling. "It's like an episode of Saddam Hussein's Pimpin’? Senior Producer Reid Schneider says of the game's weapon-customization mode, a soldier of fortune's wet dream.
Once players earn cash from suc- cessful missions (rewards they can boost by completing submissions), they can go on a spree at various arms suppliers across the globe. Here they “Frankenstein” together weapons you’d never see issued in the regular military. Want to snipe while keeping the ability to do up-close damage and breach doors? Add a shotgun to your sniper rifle. Why not bolt on a grenade launcher and a bulletproof shield while you're at it? And when you're really ready to show off to other online players, it's time to chrome that monster out. "The nice thing is you can exchange weapons with the other player in the game so you can show off your custom guns,” says Designer Chris Ferriera. "But don't worry—you always get your weapons back at the end of the mission."
Want to hear what our editors are excited about before your next issue arrives?
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tHIS MONTH IN REVIEWS...
s you check out the Reviews
section this month, you may
notice something a little funny...and по, Рт not talking about what is arguably the greatest single page in Reviews history, the once- in-a-lifetime combo of Ruff Trigger and Crusty Demons on page 90. Pm referring to the Game of the Month. As you can see, Xbox 360 real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth Il nabbed GOTM honors. But flipping through the rest of the section, all you math geeks out there might realize that PSP RPG Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth has the same average score as BFMEZ. Here's the thing, Poindexter: While BFMEZ earned its honors with all “good” scores of 7 or above, Lenneth had a “fair” 6.5 among its verdicts, and we don’t like | the idea of a game that isn’t strongly
B
DIRECTORY
NCAA Football 07 86 The Lord of the Rings:
The Battle for Middle-earth | 88 Chromehounds Over G Fighters
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow.
90 Ruff Trigger: The Vanocore
Conspiracy
LORD OF THE RINGS:
THE BATTLE FOR MIDOLE-EARTH II
Crusty Demons: Freestyle Moto-X
91 Point Blank DS 92 Freedom Wings
92 Astonishia Story 93 Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light 94 Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth
95 Reviews Wrap-up 97 Reviews Archive
82 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY = www.1UP.com
THE RATING SYSTEM & AWARDS
% | 2
GAME OF SHAME OF THE MONTH THE MONTH
Platinum Gold Silver The highest-scor- | The lowest-rated Straight 10s. For | For games with | For games witha | ing game with game with unani- games that are an average score | mean score of 8.0 | unanimously mously “bad”
life-changing. of 9.0 or higher | or higher, “good” scores. scores.
ESRB Ratings The ESRB's game ratings range from "Everyone" to “Adults Only.” Visit www.esrb.org for the full lowdown.
THE REVIEW CREW
The best in the business
DAN “SHOE” HSU Editor-in-Chief Now that Shoe's done beating DS strategy games Age of Empires and Advance Wars, he’s feeling a big void in his life. Oh, wait... Field Commander (PSP), here he comes!
Now Playing: Gun, Field Commander, LOTR: The Battle for Middle-earth Il Blog: egmshoe.1UP.com
SHANE BETTENHAUSEN Exec. Editor This summer totally sucks for new games, so Shane's spending the warm months beating Greg Ford at classic fighting games and yelling at misguided fools on EGM podcasts.
Now Playing: Street Fighter Alpha 2, Soul Calibur IIl, Guitar Hero Il Blog: egmshane.1UP.com |
JENNIFER TSAO > Managing Editor This time of year is more about previews than reviews, so Jen took advantage of the lull to get in some good practice time on Guitar Hero—the preview. demo of GH2 should
show up any day now.... Now playing: New Super Mario Bros., Guitar Hero | | Blog: egmjennifer.1UPcom ₪
CRISPIN BOYER > Senior Editor
Cris is digging into his collection to survive the summer drought. Because as fun as new releases Crusty Demons and Freedom Wings might sound...wait, who are we kidding?
Now Playing: Shadow of the Colossus, Mega Man Anniversary Collection Blog: egmerispin.1UPcom
BRYAN INTIHAR • Previews Editor
Bryan is an Ohio State fan. Shoe bleeds Michigan maize and blue. When Bryan matched the two schools in NCAA Foothall 07, the Buckeyes came out victorious, 43-3. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Now Playing: NCAA Football 07, Okami Blog: egmbryan.1UP.com |^
GREG FORD • Reviews Editor
Wait. Is summer the season for weddings or the season for kicking Shane's ass at Street Fighter ЇЇ? One look at Ford's face should answer that question.
Now Playing: Mew Super Mario Bros., Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Perfect Dark Zero Blog: egmford.1UP.com
MICHAEL DONAHOE * News/Features Ed. Reviewing Point Blank DS this month reminded Michael how much he misses living in Texas. California is cool, but not when it comes to guns. Is there по justice?
Now Playing: Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Point Blank 2 Blog: egmiked.1UP.com
JAY FRECHETTE > Editorial intern All the summer copycat budget games Jay had to play this month inspired him to research cloning. His mission: to make a cheaper, mediocre version of himself,
Now Playing: Geometry Wars, LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth ЇЇ
Blog: egmjay.1UP.com
MARK MACDONALD « Editor-at-Large With the drought this month of exciting electronic games, Mark was reduced to “unplugged” diversions—ike that old standby, Master Chief vs.
Van Helsing's Dracula.
Now Playing: New Super
Mario Bros., Geometry Wars (yes, still)
Blog: egmmark.1UP.com
DEMIAN LINN > Staff Reviewer Reviews Editor Greg Ford played a dastardly trick, assigning Demian two flying games—both with painful RPG trappings! Must...level up...G-Resist Stat...aaargh! Now Playing: New Super Mario Bros., World of WarCraft (still)
Blog: egmdemian.1UP.com
ROBERT ASHLEY > Staff Reviewer Robert, also from Texas, had a coming-of- age moment with Michael this month in an intense, “dang varmint"-filled Point Blank match. Robert won and ‘was last seen riding a cable car into the sunset. Now Playing: Mew Super Mario Bros., Point Blank 2 Blog: robertashley.TUPcom
PATRICK MAURO > Staff Reviewer This syndicated satellite-radio guy brought. the Xbox 360 into the bedroom at the minor expense of marital harmony, but damn, NCAA Football 07 looks sweet on the system.
Now Playing: NCAA Football 07, MVP. Baseball 2005, Gun Blog: Never
GREG SEWART > Staff Reviewer With the high price of the upcoming PlayStation 3 ($6001), Sewart had to inform his wife-to-be that they wouldn't be able to buy a house after all. Seriously, he has his priorities, people!
Now Playing: Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Uno Blog: stewy.TUP.com
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com * 83
= 1UP.COM are our partners in crime when the just-regular Review Crew won't do. Make sure to check out their extended reviews at www.1UP.com
review сгеш: W xbox 360
No BCS bowl this year
BRYAN: Some say that football season starts with the e of a new Madden, but that’s changed in recent
the tremendous performance of EA's NCAA Football franchise has gotten people now thinking
pigskin a month earlier. So does this next-gen debut maintain the llar winning tradition? “Not so fast, my friend.
NCAA 07 still plays really solid (you can actually block kicks now) and is the best looking NCAA game yet—from the players to the picture-perfect stadiums, NCAA Football is starting to outshine Johnny Ballgame's creation. And for those who require depth, you'll definitely dig the robust 60-year dynasty mode (complete with in-season recruit- ing) and the minigames (Option Dash—now with multipli- ers for moves like fake pitches—being my fave).
Yet what boggles my sporto mind is that the 360 version—which, remember, costs $10 extra—doesn't include all of the new gameplay features of the uglier NCAAS (see sidebar). Can't institute the current-gen's off-field stuff in your first year on a new machine? OK,
The Returning Letterman
Just because next-gen NCAA is
in the spotlight doesn’t mean EA neglected its current-gen diehards. Actually, the PS2 and Xbox ver- sions offer way more both on and off the field. On special teams, the camera now shifts to the back of your selected defensive player, giv- ing you a much better perspective for blocking field goals and punts.
And on kickoff returns, the camera can pay off.
Good: Sweet-looking players and stadiums
Bad: Lacks some of the current-gen’s on-field features Announcer Lee Corso: Sounding a bit crazier every year
84 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
fine. But when you start cutting corners between the goalposts, that’s when | have a problem. Especially when your biggest gameplay change-up in 07, а momentum meter that’s supposed to give you more opportunities for making big plays, might as well not even exist—it's not like you can ever tell if it’s working or not.
PATRICK М: The crisp October afternoon in Morgantown, WY, turns from dusk to night with beautiful next-gen accuracy over the course of four quarters as my killer quarterback/running back combo options its way to over 600 total yards—another easy Mountaineer win for me. Every game of NCAA 07 looks great on the 360, but every game also feels skewed toward offense.
That's OK, because it delivers an extremely fun grid- iron experience, especially head-to-head. However, it's hard not to look at all those features on the current-gen version—monster playbooks, Campus Legend mode, trick plays, special-teams tweaks—and wonder why a foot-
zooms in (a bit too much), making the run to daylight more intense.
Campus Legend replaces Race for the Heisman as the main single-player mode, where you'll also be tasked with selecting a major and taking real exams. If you perform well on these tests, your created player will actually receive a slight stat boost. See, studying
mmm
dancing as a major.
g Ss OT 25 == we W
=
BRYAN
PATRICK M.
ball game coming one generation after Madden on 360 doesn't have what you'll find on the PS2 or Xbox. Still, 07 is my favorite 360 sports game so far.
1UP.COM—GARNETT: | appreciate college football's sto- tied past of miraculous, game-changing plays, but when they happen every game, as they did during my playtest- ing, they don't feel so legendary—they feel staged and annoying. If the ebb and flow of momentum actually mattered, it would've made more sense, but it doesn't. Like Bryan, | saw no perceivable relationship between a team's mo’ (regardless of what the new meter read) and being able to pull off a big play.
Other loose ends, like iffy collision detection that turns runs into a mash-up of boi down ball carriers without wrap-up animations, left me considering benching this in favor of the current-gen version. It pla good game of ball, though, thanks to the solid controls and return to a more traditional default camera angle.
Sorry, but NCAA Football W 07 doesn’t offer ballroom
Tiburon 2 (2 online) ESRB: Everyone
GARNETT
www.easports.com
Road Game
NCAA Football takes to its first season on the PSP, and it's a winning one. Aside from the expected visual downgrade (though it still looks quite pretty for a handheld game), 07 plays much like the console games and includes a surprisingly deep dynasty mode. This one even has all the new on-field tricks of the PS2 and Xbox editions. Take that, next gen!
Е т ₪ E 8
5 El в
S2/XB
NFL HEAD COACH
One season in—and already on the hot seat 3 а ב
It’s no secret that EA forked over a ton of dough for the exclusive National Football League license. And now the publisher hopes to maxi- mize that huge investment with yet another gridiron sim, NFL Head Coach. EGM Previews Editor Bryan Intihar and 1UP.com News Editor Luke Smith discuss how, even after year one, this Coach should һе fired.
BRYAN: Now | know why Pittsburgh Steelers headman Bill Cowher (the game’s cover... uh, coach) always has such a pissed-off look on his face— being a pro football coach seems like absolute hell.
LUKE: You don't think it's because he actually tried
to play NFL Head Coach? Admittedly, | was the one in the office who wanted to like this game. I’m a stat whore, 501 thought it'd be fun to customize my team from the ground up, deal with the coaching staff, re-sign players, recruit players, and so on. Well, guess what? | was wrong.
BRYAN: Dead wrong. Even after just a few tries at negotiating contracts through the game's mind-numbing dialogue trees
(1 haven't seen a user interface this clunky and awkward in
a long time), | was more than ready to hang up my whistle and clipboard.
LUKE; It gets to the point where you're interviewing coaches (like my offensive-line coach, who had a rating equivalent to a backup kicker from Alcorn State entering the draft), and you just start hitting, “Yes, I'll pay you that. Whatever you want. Fine. Is this over?” Oh,
MEE, Ао В
2 puz MOTH
IS HEAD солені
and how can | forget all of the loading screens...?
BRYAN: Seriously, how сап а conversation sim have so many. freakin’ loading sequences? And another thing: The offsea- son lasts way too long; I’m not sure many players will have the patience (or time) to make it to training camp, let alone the start of the season.
LUKE: That might just be the game’s biggest problem.
BRYAN: How do you think NFL Head Coach performs on game day?
LUKE: Coaching on the field (remember, you're not actually controlling the guys on the field like you do in Madden)
is frustrating, because instead of "coaching," it turns into a battle of playing politics so
you don't hurt your coordina- tors’ feelings. Somehow, | don’t think that former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson was concerned with how his offensive guru, Norv Turner, felt after the game.
BRYAN: | did, though, like how the playbooks were organized. It was nice to see what the best plays were for certain situations like short yardage and third-and-long.
LUKE: So we both agree that NFL Head Coach isn’t too appealing as a stand-alone product. But would you like to see this as a mode in Madden?
BRYAN: No way! Madden’s dynasty and Superstar modes are already deep enough. Let’s keep the dialogue trees in role- playing fantasyland and away from the gridiron. rah
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY = www.1UP.com • 85
review crew: xbox 360
E Xbox 360 d. c |
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
Thame OF THE Mı MONTH
THE BATTLE FOR MIDDLE-EARTH וו
One joypad to control them all
In the war to find/get rid of that shiny preciousss thing, you can pick up a sword/bow/ax in your typical Lord
of the Rings videogames—or you can pick up entire armies.
Battle for Middle-earth Il lets you create throngs of elven archers, dwarven axmen, rock-throwing cave trolls, human cavalry, Uruk warriors, and more to clash on ancient battle- fields. It's a tad more epic than the whole scooping-water- out-of-the-ocean-with-a-spoon thing when you're sticking your blade in one goblin at a time...
But, as in any real-time strategy game, before you get your troops, you first have to collect resources and con- struct production buildings. It's not a complicated process, although BFME2 seems to assume its players have seen some RTS action in the past. Within the first few missions, you're already managing multiple menus, heroes, units, buildings, and powers, and you can’t slow down the game to think or breathe. The tutorials, as helpful as they are, don’t really prepare newbies properly for army-commander duties in Middle-earth. Veterans, however, won't have any problems with the campaign.
When everything starts kicking in—the controller short- Cuts, unit abilities and weaknesses, what buildings produce what, etc.—you can start appreciating all that's gone into this game. The battles don’t take place on generic tiled
Good: Console-friendly controls, epic LOTR atmosphere В; סו multiplayer versus CPU, no speed settings quishing hobbits
86 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
landscapes. Rather, each campaign mission plays out in wonderfully designed stages created specifically to capture your imagination: Cities shine with waterfalls and statues, docks burn from naval bombardment, and the fortress of Dol Guldur intimidates with its skyscraping towers and obsidian walls. The different factions (Isengard, elves, gob- lins, etc.) offer variety in units, buildings, and heroes, but not 50 much that it overcomplicates gameplay. And the corpses should be piling up plenty on Xbox Live: Multiplayer offers lots of maps, a couple of first-person shooter-influenced modes (see sidebar), and generally smooth play (it only Crashed on us once during our playtesting), though the four- player cap and inability to team up against CPU opponents kinda stinks of dwarf breath.
JAY: Though Patrick may fee! otherwise, | gotta say | think EA did a commendable job adapting the complicated con- trols of this keyboard-first game to the tight quarters of the 360 controller. In mere minutes | was managing resources and calling out orders with ease. So it wasn’t the controls that made this game hard to play—it was the resolution. Icons, percentage numbers, and other onscreen displays are tiny, which leads to big frustration when you're trying to set up your base. This also has an effect on your ability
THE VERDICTS (QUTOF 10)
to distinguish who's who among your units—expect a lot of zooming in to make sure you've selected the archers, not the swordsmen, and zooming out to issue the attack or new position command. But | do love that, instead of pushing you through the narrative of the books and movies (again), the campaign parallels those events by focusing on the obscure War to the North, explaining why the elves and dwarves were missing in action—a treat for any Tolkien nerd.
1URCOM—F ІСК J: For years it's been said that console controllers can’t handle PC-friendly RTS games all that well. With BFME2, EA makes a noble effort to buck this trend with the 360 controller, but the game has way too much to do and not enough buttons to work with (sorry, Jay). BFME2's Xbox-level graphics also hurt, and the entertaining, Risk- esque War of the Ring mode from the PC version is gone, so single-player just isn’t as fulfilling (though | can't say | miss that mode's dull multiplayer variant). But while the solo cam- paigns offer familiar RTS missions, the game presents them with a very solid eye for the Tolkien feel—what can | say, it's fun to crush Rivendell. Also, multiplayer features a nice slew of achievement-friendly Live modes, which play into the best reason to get this version: to have an achievement list that reads like Gandalf's résumé.
Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EALA Players: 1 (2-4 online) ESRB: Teen
JAY PATRICK J.
www.bfme2.ea.com
Thranduil: The king of the Mirkwood elves, Thranduil is one the major heroes that you take control of in the campaign for the side of good. He's also the father of Middle-earth's biggest heart- breaker, Legolas.
Tom Bombadil: The mythology's enigmatic, superpowerful, carefree, highly popular character can be. summoned to cause massive dam- age to buildings—or anything else in his path—all while dancing and singing a merry song.
Gloin: This dwarf—a stocky powerhouse of a fighter—plays a major role in the defense against the first wave of goblin attacks. He also happens to be the papa of the Fellowship’s lone dwarven repre-
Mountain, Dale is a key location in the prequel to the Lord of the Rings series, The Hobbit. It looks awe- some—and is one of the best levels in the campaign.
Battle for Online Supremacy
Besides participating in your status-quo team battles or free-for-alls, you can try out these modes on Xbox Live, some of which were inspired by first- person shooters:
King of the Hill: Find, hold on to, and defend the des- ignated building at the center of the map the longest.
Capture and Hold: Like King of the Hill, except with mul- tiple buildings. Sorta like Halo 2's “Land Grab.”
Resource Race: Be the first to reach the target amount of gold. Do you go conservative and save, or do you buy armies to take out your foes while they’re sitting there being conservative and saving money?
Hero vs. Hero: Instead of building structures and armies, just take four heroes around the map to fight your oppo-
sentative, Gimli. ₪
Mirkwood: Fans will remember reading in The Hobbit about Bilbo and the dwarves traversing this spider- infested forest on their way to defeat the dragon Smaug. It sets the stage for the final battle in the game.
nents’ four heroes. It sounds lame, but check it: You can fight random map creatures to level up or to collect gold that you can use to revive fallen heroes. Whoever has the highest level heroes at the end of the time limit wins. ht
Wl Folks who preordered BFMEZ get three exclusive skir- mish/multiplayer maps, which will eventually be available for everyone else to purchase on Xbox Live Marketplace.
ONE OF THE TOP FIVE
GAME-DEGREE [Ё PROGRAMS
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
Artwork
3300 University Boulevard Winter Park, FL 32792
Financial aid available to those who qualify Career development assistance Accredited College, ACCSCT
freuieuJ Crew:
xbox 360
E Xbox 360
Bi These hulking hounds are tortoise approved.
СО. TE NN, *
CHROMEHOUNDS
Feels a little rusty
ROBERT: Attention, citizens of the pres- ent: In the event of a dystopian future, please don't invent walking robot tanks. I've driven them, fired their weapons,
and tested their Big Gulp cupholders,
and | can say, with authority, that cur- rent methods of killing your fellow man are way more fun. Jets, machine guns, grenades—hell, even trench warfare with rusty bayonets is more entertaining. How can 1 speak so authoritatively about “mechs,” as the otaku among us call them? Chromehounds—a mech-building/ shooter/strategy affair—treats the subject with a ridiculous amount of realism.
For example, the mechs in this game— whether you pick one with legs, wheels, or treads—move at reality-appropriate speeds, which is a nice way of saying “slow as hell.” Worse, if your locomotive parts get banged up in battle, you slow to a crawl. And like in real war, you'll have a tough time telling the difference between allies and enemies in both online and offline modes. When you finally run into other machines in the game's vast, sterile. battlefields, that is. Chromehounds is a. well-made, technically solid shooter, but its dedication to realism kills the fun.
MARK: | realize the glacial pace of Chromehounds’ 20-story-tall mechs is sup-
| <= 5
+
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF 10)
Good: Flattening entire neighborhoods with pyrotechnic might Bad: Trekking over miles of empty countryside at a snail's pace Too Real: Having trouble distinguishing between friends and foes
posed to reinforce their gigantic size, but this is ridiculous—even the “quick” models move like senior citizens at a packed Shoney’s buffet. And speaking of old, the graphics ain't exactly next gen; gorgeous explosions aside, the landscapes are dull, and even the populated areas look like model-railroad towns. Some tossed-togeth- er single-player missions feel like little more than training for online play, where the strategy and communication required to coordinate a team of various classes (sniper, scout, etc.) of custom-built mechs offers the only real value in Chromehounds, but even that's tempered by problems, including—yep—the lumbering pace.
1UP.COM—PATRICK J: I've gotta won- der if l'm playing the same game as these other guys... cause | really found myself slipping into addiction mode
with Chromehounds. | like how even though the game rewards customization gearheads, you don’t need a dedicated spreadsheet to make a good mech, like in some walking-tank sims (I’m looking your way, Armored Core). Also, the Hounds look fantastic, and the interface is a work of fine-tuned, though sparse, beauty.
Like Mark says, offline play essen- tially serves as a training mode, so | can forgive its goofy tale of intrigue—the game's real beauty is in its brutal, team- focused, rewarding 6-on-6 Live play. (It's. kinda like a tense Battlefield 2 match... just slower.) Success online earns you weapons, money, and login announce- ments proclaiming your victories—a much-needed stroke for my ego. Blowing up robots is fun, people.
Publisher: Sega. Developer: From Software Players: 1 (2-12 online) ESRB: Teen
www.sega.com
88 © ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY = www.1UP.com
₪ Xbox 360
Jet-fragged
Good: Realistic dogfighting for once Bad: Goes from easy to hard at Mach 5
c ’s a type of console game so rare, I'd almost classify it as an unidentified flying object: the realistic jet-combat sim. In Over G Fighters, your supersonic aircraft doesn’t carry hundreds of missiles, and squeezing your gun trigger depletes ammo in five seconds flat. You'll need to cycle to the right weapons mode in the accurately rendered cockpits (with working gauges, even). And once a missile smells your after- burners, chances are you're going down. Now, you won't actually learn enough during the game's 20 missions to earn your wings in real life (you don't have to fiddle with flap settings or navigation vectors as in more true-to-life PC sims). But the real- ism here is refreshing—many console jet games may look snazzier (I'd swear this thing is an Xbox 1 title), but they deliver the same light-flight thrills over and over. Unfortunately, the Over G experience turns turbulent about halfway into the game, with a sortie that throws so many fighters at you that it's more like a suicide mission. Only players with a Top Gun level of dedication will persevere. Everyone else will start look- ing for the eject button.
DEMIAN: Pacing, people! Over G totally doesn't have it. One stage will be over after you drop just a couple bogeys. Another—a dreaded escort mission—may take 15 to
THE VERDICTS
CRISPIN DEMIAN
OVER G FIGHTERS
Not Much Help: The game's crappy manual
SHARKEY
E The game's online multi-
player modes mostly have
players shooting each other down from 20 miles apart.
Y. 20 minutes before you fail and wonder, ^Who decided not to implement reasonable save points?" Because | would like that person's contact information. Crispin says Over Gis pretty simmy for a console flyer, and I'll take his flight-stick- and-rudder-rig-owning word for it. | can't complain about the flight dynamics (the "arcade" setting is unplayable, though; ratchet up straight to “real”), but the way enemies suddenly spawn one mile out and how I sometimes had to swap from missiles to guns to missiles again to force a target lock? Didn't like those parts so much.
TURCOM—SHARKEY: It's hard to tell who this game is for. Serious airplane nuts—and | mean the guys with fetishistic posters of F-14s in flight on the wall above their bed— won't find it hardcore enough. Over G just doesn't have the insane attention to details, physics, and controls found in serious flight sims. For everyone else, it’s just realistic enough to be no damn fun. Dogfights, like the real ones, are usually over in seconds, long before the enemy even reaches visual range. Also, you'll spend more time in many missions taxiing (which is skippable) and taking off than fighting bad guys. It's just a final nail in the coffin that, graphically, you won't find much here that couldn't have been pulled off on a current-gen console.
Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Taito Players: 1 (2-8 online) ESRB: Teen
www.ubisoft.com
PlayStation 2
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE LEGEND OF JACK SPARROW
Raising the not-so-Jolly Roger
6. FORD: Playing Pirates, | can't help but think of my days spent with licensed games as a kid. Back then, I'd cut obviously flawed games slack because they'd be all I had to play for weeks on end. And so it goes with this generic third-person hack-n- slasher: Pirates has a bounty of problems. Gameplay bugs—like frozen enemies or having your hero come back to life stuck in a ship's mast—and janky animations haunt the proceedings. A horrendous targeting system frustrates, and your idiotic A.l. teammate (who a second player can con- trol, though only from the game's outset, not midgame) bumbles along, offering a pittance of help.
Yet between the whole pirate vibe, the decent flashback-centered story featuring Johnny Depp's excellent voice acting (this
pid enemies, and halfhearted boss battles, to name the major ones. But it compensates for these with a decent amount of personal- ity and enjoyable—almost relaxing—mis- sions. For some people, "relaxing" will translate into “too easy." I, however, thought it was nice not to have to get too stressed out about the state of my characters’ health or weapons and just enjoy the pirate’s life of looting hidden treasure, hurling flaming bottles of ale, and kicking enemies when they're down. This is no serious game, but it's not a bad one either.
TUF.COM—KAREN: In most games, | usu-
ally give myself that slight mental pat on the back after solving a jumping puzzle or figur- ing out the Achilles’ heel of an asinine boss. Not only did Pirates leave my back pat-free,
= Johnny Depp: д ל t : always drawing is no mailed-in job—and it definitely earns but the game patronized me with its bland the wrong crowd. some guffaws), and the simple yet sufficient ^ puzzles and low-aiming objectives. | was
Controls, this game manages to hoist its way to decent status. It may be stupid fun—and it certainly gets monotonous—but at least it is fun. Apologetic kids should be thrilled.
JENNIFER: I love Johnny Depp, and the fact that he actually did the delectably wry voice acting for Jack Sparrow in this game may have helped me to like it more than | might have otherwise. It’s certainly got its share of faults—repetitive combat, occasionally stu-
Publisher: Bethesda B. Developer: 7 Studios 5 Players: 1-2 / S == ESRB: Teen $ d B. d FA А é ^ % ₪ C. FORD JENNIFER KAREN www bethsoft.com E Videogame sword fighting always sounds better in theory than it is in practice—no exception here.
also so confused by levels oversaturated with Xerox-copied henchmen, cannons, chickens, and the ongoing mindless mess that | didn't even notice that | was in a boss fight most times. That disengagement is disappointing considering Pirates’ chortle- worthy story line, easy to learn controls, and jaunty, piratey score. Nevertheless, swash- buckling is supposed to be about cunning and speed, not bumbling А.І. and poorly aped God of War gameplay. Yo no!
aM 3
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by Rick O'Connor
PlayStation 2
RUFF TRIGGER:
THE VANOCORE CONSPIRACY
Is this the sincerest form of flattery?
THE VERDICTS (OUT OF
JAY SHARKEY
Hey, Ratchet & Clank guys, can you say “lawsuit”?
Publisher: Natsume Developer: Playstos Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone 10+
www.rufftrigger.com
LITE CRUSTY DEMONS: FREESTYLE MOTO-X
Splatter your free time against the pavement
THE VERDICTS (OUTOFT
ROBERT
90 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
Peer into the dark heart of human stupidity.
Publisher: Evolved Developer: Climax Players: 1-2 ESRB: Mature
www.evolvedgames.com
At first 1 entertained the idea of reviewing Ruff Trigger without ever mention- ing Sony's popular Ratchet & Clank franchise. It would have gone something like this: "A cuddly yet cocksure hero jumping and shoot- ing his way through futuristic worlds? How original!" But my penchant for humorous irony subsided after 1 actually played through this unfathomably derivative platformer.
Now, if you're going to make a bargain- basement Ratchet & Clank rip-off, you should at least pilfer all the good parts. Ruff suc- cessfully apes the basic R&C framework but omits all of the crucial details that make it such a great game. While Clank sports sharp writing and lovable heroes, Trigger offers ugly characters, unfunny writing, and hideous cut- scenes (which look eerily like those crappy Academy of Art commercials MTV runs at 3 a.m.). Plain-Jane visuals and haphazard controls (iffy collision detection causes plenty of cheap deaths) make it look and feel worse than even the first Ratchet, and the inability to purchase ammo or upgrade your weapons is simply inexcusable.
Sure, it’s only $20, and kids will prob- ably dig the suite of simple unlockable minigames, but all four of the Ratchet titles blow away this wannabe.
This game is the poster child for budget titles. As Shane ably points out, Ruff Trigger blatantly copies characters, ideas, and motifs from other games. The levels are solid, but
ROBERT: Crusty Demons is the most ridicu- lous game I’ve ever played. Even aside from the title (which is also the name of
a series of dirt-biking videos), Demons is bats*** crazy. Your first clue comes in the form of an incredibly amateur (and hilari- ous) story sequence in which we discover that the game's characters (real-life moto- cross riders) have sold their souls to the devil so that they can do big, super-Xtreme (gnarly, dude) stunts without getting killed. So, logically, you compete in a series of silly tasks chosen by Satan himself in order to get your soul back.
Your immortality doesn’t mean you can’t get hurt, which is great, because as soon as you get tired of the crappy Tony Hawk- with-motorcycles main course, you can move on to dessert: slamming your rider into various objects at high speeds. That’s right. You can fling your rider off the bike with the touch of a button and then (à la Burnout) guide them into a neck-snapping accident in slow motion for (black) comedic effect. It ain't how | want to spend a Friday night, but it sure beats Demons’ repetitive tasks, frustrating races, and stupid-simple trick system.
JAY: Despite having what could be the worst name for a game ever, Crusty Demons turned out pretty well. This game is essentially Tony Hawk with dirt bikes,
besides the racing portions, nothing stands out. You can get lots of
guns, sure, but you'll rarely use any but the first two. The transformation feature—which should have been cool—is so unbalanced that you never really need to go back to your original, nonpowered-up-beast form. Amidst the rest of the monotony, you'll collect lots
of glowing icons by smashing an endless number of crates, unlock a few minigames that you'll never play, and watch lame cut- Scenes— complete with spelling errors in the subtitles. Ruff Trigger isn't a bad game—it's just obnoxiously average.
Have you ever won- dered if maybe an alternate universe exists where everything is the same, except that Ratchet & Clank is actually a mostly medio- cre game with unlikable characters (including. a hypersexualized Siamese cat with abso- lutely pendulous mammaries) and annoying racing segments (I have no idea what Jay's thinking) with a vehicle prone to popping like a soap bubble? | woke up in that universe today, apparently, and 1 want to go home. Jay is right on in saying that Ruff Trigger isn't offensively bad, and sure, it's a $20 budget game, but do some legwork and you'll find plenty of things for $20. For instance: most of the Ratchet & Clank games, of which there are already too damn many.
which isn’t a bad thing.
Colorful characters fill skate-park
versions of major cities, and they need you to collect lost blow-up dolls, mow down pimps, and complete tons of other objec- tives filled with too much potty humor. The bikes control well, with lots of tricks, wheelies, and bail moves to master. What | didn't like: the times when you need to turn into a cliché on wheels—think ice-cream truck or pimp car—to complete races and timed fetch-quest missions that feel out of place in the platformy, trick-friendly levels.
TUR.COM— RAY: Just glancing at Demons was enough to give me nightmarish flashbacks of BMX ХХХ, but it’s not quite the disaster that “classic” was. Its rowdy- humor quotient isn’t any lower, but the bail technique is practically enough to set it apart from other extreme-sports games. And, with its huge levels, you have great opportunities to waste a weekend mind- lessly thrashing around. Then again, you also get all of the crude, superfrustrating missions that go with it. (Crash into the bedrooms of negligent hookers? Do | have to?) The outside races aren’t much bet- ter, either; the overly sensitive dirt bikes simply don’t have the physics for the rigors of competitive driving, leading to spill after spill. Perhaps doing the devil's work doesn't pay.
ир
NETWORK
ФА 77 ₪ Look at the balls on that tree.
Good: Frantic, fast, simple Bad: Not the deepest game you'll pick up Gives New Meaning to the Word: Multitap
THE VERDICTS
JENNIFER MICHAEL JEREMY
review crew: ds/psp
ETE FREEDOM WINGS
Not love at first flight
DAMAGE
LA
{Furgoa3 Lett ХР 4353 GOLO +400
: Natsume : Taito (2-4 via local Wi-Fi) ESRB: Everyone 10+
БЕЙ DEMIAN
www.natsume.com
ASTONISHIA STORY
Astonishingly antiquated
₪ In 1994 these graphics would've been rad—now
they're just a’ight.
Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Sonnori Players: 1
ESRB: Everyone 10+
(2) Ss gs Г] > Б ше x= =
GREG S. MICHAEL JEREMY
www.ubi.com
92 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
Good: A unique mix of air combat and roleplaying
Bad: Lots of long flights between islands
To Make Life Easier: Upgrade your guns first
CRISPIN: Genres collide at 30,000 feet
in this slow-to-take-off hybrid of propel- ler-powered dogfighting and airborne roleplaying. You're a young ace trying to make your way in a massive archipelago swarming with sky pirates. Downing bogeys or bombing ground and sea targets earns you experience and cash that can be poured back into your plane to improve its handling and weaponry (or save up for new aircraft). And for a while, Freedom Wings lives up to its name. You can fly wherever you want, liberating scattered airfields, earning access to new plane parts and bonus missions.
But the manual flight controls are overly sensitive and take serious getting used to, forcing you to rely on autopilot. It’s a slick enough substitute; just set throttle, altitude, and heading on the DS touch screen and off you go. Your plane even autodogfights en- emies that appear for random battles. But pretty soon, all that frequent flying between bases becomes as exciting as a real cross- country flight. The game could use more direction, too—1 spent the early parts wan- dering into areas that were too advanced, often learning that lesson the hard way.
DEMIAN: On behalf of game developers everywhere, | have to ask, what does it take to get a good score from Crispin Boyer? The man loves both airplanes and pirates, and
Good: Pretty 2D graphics
Bad: Stale gameplay 1994 Called: It wants its game back
GREG S: Let's go back in time. Back to 1994— when we were all awaiting the release of the Sega Saturn, when EGM old- ster Shoe was still able to eat solid food, and when Astonishia Story first made an appear- ance on the PC in Korea.
Had | reviewed this role-playing game back then, I'd go on and on about how stale the battle system is. About how Shining Force had done the whole thing so much better two years earlier on the Genesis. About how the party system in Final Fantasy IV on the Super Nintendo, while a bit irritating in itself, was 10. times better than the one found in Astonishia Story. And the translation! Have mercy. The awkward phrases and atrocious grammar rival such cringe-worthy gaming classics as "| feel asleep!” and “Congraturations!” The somewhat clever jokes and any semblance of plot development get completely lost in the garbled dialogue. Half the time you don't even know what you're supposed to do next thanks to the confusing text.
The sad thing is, all these problems plague this port; even worse, 12 years’ worth of RPG evolution aren't reflected here at all. It's pain- fully obvious that Astonishia does nothing to ebb the flow of downright disappointing roleplayers on the portable PlayStation.
MICHAEL; After | tackled the tediously awful Blade Dancer, this game felt like a gift from. the role-playing gods. But shortly after the
yet he doesn't love Freedom Wings.
Well, Рт not nuts for this RPG-meets- flight-sim, either. Overcomplicated controls in the cockpit mode mean you'll spend lots of time on autopilot, only nudging the yaw now and then to correct the computer's often-cockeyed aim during random dogfight Otherwise, Freedom Wings is a typical RPG treadmill of leveling up, buying new parts for your planes (which, annoyingly, aren't trans: ferable), and watching chats with big-eyed anime characters. It's the kind of game you can play while watching TV and picking your nose, and though 1 mean that in the best way, it's still not actively a compliment.
1UP.COM—RAY: Freedom Wings’ concept is pretty ingenious— actually didn't mind the passive dogfighting, and I’m an Ace Combat fan. Like the other guys said, doing everything yourself is a hassle as you try
to aim and fire correctly while managing your speed, especially on a small, pixelated screen. But even though autopilot stream: lines the process, you quickly realize that nothing actually happens: Your planes hardly move fast enough, and you're generally stuck with the stop-and-go feeling of wait- ing for the next enemy wave to magically appear. By extension, this makes the game’s sorta-RPG approach (level building, earning gold) unbearable.
warm feelings wore off, 1 realized Astonishia Story was not е the godly game | thought. Instead, it's merely an average role-playing affair that is neither outright offensive nor particularly pleasing. As Greg says, this PC port certainly shows its age—the game plays and feels like a washed-up world-saver. But | guess that's what we get when companies resurrect tusty old relics instead of focusing on new stories. Thankfully, the toned-down Final Fantasy Tactics battle system holds up to today's standards, but apart from that, don't expect much more than a crusty RPG.
1UP.COM—JEREMY: | went into Astonishia Story determined to enjoy it. How could 1 not? Here's an old-school RPG with an inter- esting history and charming hand-drawn graphics—the perfect thing for the PSP, whose role-playing library to date has been hopelessly mundane. Yet | found Astonishia disappointing despite my best intentions; it's one of the least-polished games I've ever played. It's a shoddy PC port plagued by con- stant load times, a badly balanced adventure with poorly conceived character building, and a wretched translation in desperate need of an edit. With a fast-paced, "tactics lite” battle system and a hero who mercifully isn'ta spiky-haired bag of sulk, Astonishia should have been great. | guess “good,” like God, is in the details.
E Online play suf- fers from a case of the killer Bs: bland- ness and boredom.
BLADE DANCER: LINEAGE OF LIGHT
So you think you can play a crappy RPG?
Good: Group attacks and crafting stuff is cool
Bad: Slow battles, breakable weapons, boring
Number of Bitchin’ Dance-offs: 0
MICHAEL: Some game titles just sound cool—God of War, Grand Theft Auto, and Resident Evil all allude
to something special—while other names, like Blade Dancer, make you question your manhood. Fortunately, Blade Dancer is devoid of dudes dancing, but sadly, it's also chock-full of boring roleplaying.
Don't be deceived by this flashy Japanese RPG; the game may play like a Final Fantasy with its turn- based battles and 3D environments, but originalitywise, it's right up there with the abominable Quest 64 (Nintendo 64). Everything about this game is utterly generic, from the typi- cal slay-the-evil-demon plot to the cookie-cutter characters. Why your party members even have names is beyond me—it's almost as if the developers took RPG clichés (cocky heroes, hot healers, etc.) and molded characters to these archetypes.
The crafting system, the one inno-
MICHAEL SHANE
vative feature the game musters up, is
a complete chore. Making new gear is definitely cool, but since you're limited in the amount of materials you can hold, it’s difficult to make stuff if you can’t carry the crap. The only positive about this game also comes with a negative. Good? It’s short. Bad? The ending sets up a sequel.
‘SHANE: With its forgettable charac- ters, interminable load times, and mind-numbingly dull battles, Blade Dancer assaults players with such profound mediocrity that only the most tenacious questers will make
it beyond the first few hours. Classy visuals mask just how uninspired this game truly feels. Dippy fetch quests, straightforward dungeons, and break- able weapons (that seem to shatter mere moments after you blow all your loot on them) make the single-player game feel like a lame massively mul- tiplayer online RPG, yet this sucker's.
limited co-op play (only a handful of dungeons, with no experience points) seems like an unfinished afterthought. Overall, Blade feels rather dull, but it's Still fairly average for a PSP RPG.
1UP.COM—GREG S: Think about every cardinal sin that could be com- mitted in an RPG, and Blade Dancer’s got it covered. | can’t add much to what's been said—Blade Dancer is pretty much maintaining the status quo when it comes to roleplayers on the PSP. It looks and feels like a low- budget PS1 game circa 1995, com- plete with lengthy load times, boring combat, a lame story, and ап archaic save-point system that is an absolute no-no on a portable console.
Oh, and the breakable-weapons play mechanic gets old instantly. Talk about the worst possible way to add artificial length to your games— repeatedly buying weapons that break far too easily.
Developer: Players:
GREG S.
Publisher: NIS America
Hit Maker
(2-4 via local Wi-Fi) ESRB: Everyone 10+
www.nisamerica.com
| GEEKED AT BIRTH. |
You can talk the talk. Can you walk the walk? Here's a chance to prove it. Please geek responsibly.
GAME DESIGN COMPUTER FORENSICS DIGITAL ANIMATION NETWORK SECURITY ARTIFICIAL LIFE SOFTWARE ENGINEERING DIGITAL VIDEO TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT WEB DESIGN GAME PROGRAMMING
www.uat.edu > 800.658.5744
revieW crew: psp
LENNETH
New system, same profile
Square Enix's decision to revive this cult
Classic on the PSP means that rabid role-playing fans won't have to shell out big bucks for the hard- to-find PS1 original. Take that, eBay sellers! But then again, with the promise of cheap downloadable PS1 games on the PSP later this year, charging $40 for a bare-bones port of an antiquated game...seems kinda weak. Companies won't be able to get away with this kind of port for long, but we'll let them slide for now.
Although it's considerably older than most of its PSP RPG brethren, Lenneth remains an enjoyable quest brimming with deep gameplay and secrets aplenty. Don't expect standard-issue roleplaying, though— Valkyrie blends side-scrolling platforming, Clever puzzles, and wildly fun battles (deftly mixing real-time and turn-based elements) to create an engrossing, action-packed adventure. Plus, a steep difficulty curve (even on normal) and some tricky resource management make it less of a cakewalk than most genre offerings.
It's a shame developer Tose didn't take more care
with this port, though. With its overwrought, cin- ema-laden first hour, finicky controls, and notorious dearth of save points, this game wasn't designed for handhelds. Factor in some sloppy graphical issues (stretched backgrounds, blurry text, PSP-exclusive slowdown) and obnoxious load times (three seconds every time you go to your menu), and this version of Profile can't quite replace that pricey eBay find.
Don't let this game fool you: Underneath its fan- tasy facade, Lenneth is a numbers game. If you want to survive the battle at the end of the world, you must carefully maintain your characters’ traits, hero levels, skills, and abilities. It's deep, but awfully complex spent the better half of my first few hours having almost no idea what do to. Other than a battle tuto- rial, the game offers little help in managing recruits, which determines your success in the game. Once 1 learned (mostly the hard way), though, my frustration turned into pure addiction. If you can get past the learning curve, you'll find a rich, deep RPG—by PSP.
Standards. Yeah, it's a few years old and a tad rough around the edges...but anyone who missed it on the PS1 should consider this a must-play.
With Lenneth, Square replaces the standard RPG formula of spiky-haired heroes saving the world with one of spiky-haired heroes of Norse legend saving the world. This con- Ceit works, though, because salvaging the souls of worthy heroes (.е., recruiting them) to stem the tide of Ragnarok (aka the end of the world) makes for а compelling setting. And while the PSP allows modern gamers to rediscover this “lost” classic (since Enix did a crap job of making enough copies and advertis- ing it originally), irritating load times, treasure chests that require an inordinate amount of fussing to open, and some ill-conceived platform elements hamper the buzz. But Lenneth’s beautiful art and animation, Stellar soundtrack, and unique combat system bring this title to the forefront in a field of imitators while Setting the stage for the upcoming Silmeria. sh
Port Authority?
Who’s truly to blame for this slightly janky version of Valkyrie Profile? The answer may surprise you. A little-known Japanese developer named Tose oversaw this PS1-to-PSP transplant. In fact, Tose was also secretly behind other slowdown-plagued Square Enix fare such as Final Fantasy IV Advance (GBA) and Final Fantasy Origins (PS1). Just how prolific are these behind-the-scenes gamemakers? They've already programmed 19 PSP games to date, and over the years, this clandestine development house has worked on an astonish- ing 1,100 (!) games for myriad developers.
.*
What's New? VP vets will notice a smat- tering of new Сб cut-scenes peppered throughout the game. These cinemas look quite snazzy, as they were cre- ated alongside the clips for the upcoming PS2 VP game, Silmeria.
Publisher: Square Enix
| Developer: Tri-Ace/Tose Players: 1 е е © ESRB: Teen
www.square-enix.com
Good: Exciting battles, unique and engrossing world Bad: Not as smooth as PS1 original Hardcore: Must beat on hardest setting to get real ending
94 > ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
REVIEWS
|АР-0Р
The games that were too late...or too little
GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES
PS2 • Rockstar > ESRB: M
When we first encountered Liberty City Stories on the PSP late last year, it felt famil- iar, with good reason: The game takes place in GTA3's Liberty City but features a differ- ent story and characters. And here we go again with this PSP-to-PS2 port. Wait—PSP to PS2? Rockstar sees no reason for fans of the criminally successful series to be shut out of this side story just because they don't have a PSP. Oddly enough, the PS2 version loses something in the translation: multiplayer. Where the PSP LCS features а suite of six-player Wi-Fi matches, PS2 play- ers miss out on their first chance for more-
review crew: wrap-up
than-a-minigame multiplayer GTA action. And since nothing else changes (though the switch to the DualShock 2 pad is welcome), it sounds like a rip-off...until you consider the budget price.
Bottom line: If you have the PSP game, you'll find nothing new here. But for the mil- lions of GTA fans that don't, you get a /ot of game for your $20.
Xbox 360 • THQ > ESRB: E — MotoGP 06 | hits the 360 with very few upgrades over | last year's Xbox version, and none involve evolving the core gameplay. Basically, you get a handful of new tracks and riders, as well as redone audio and visuals upgrad- ed to the 360's delicious HD standards.
om line: Even the graphical upgrade isn't that impressive, though, considering how good MotoGP already looked.
PS2 * Capcom » ESRB: T — This collection shovels the oft- overlooked Street Fighter Alpha games onto a disc with the uni- versally overrated Pocket Fighter (mysteriously renamed Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix here) to create another value-priced dose of 2D fighting nostalgia. Hardcore fans will dig the unlockables...
Bottom line: While these games aren't quite as pretty or deep as Street Fighter Ill: 3rd Strike, they're still worth your money.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 95
review Crew: wrap-up
WRAP-UP с
The King of Fighters 2006 | PS2 • SNK Playmore USA • ESRB: T | Known as Maximum Impact 2 in Japan, this 3D fighter sequel features | largely the same cast and herky-jerky | mechanics as the previous entry. The U.S. version loses online play, yet Terry Bogard’s Engrish remains intact. The unlocking of wacky and largely unpleasant costumes ensues.
Bottom line: If you've ever said to yourself, “1 wish King of Fighters could be more mediocre," then run, don't
| walk, to your local retailer.
Magnetica
DS * Nintendo > ESRB: E — This generic puzzler, in which you shoot mar- bles to match like-colored marbles and make them disappear before the string of marbles reaches the center, might not feel so totally generic if it hadn't already been done by countless knockoffs before it, like Xbox Live Arcade's Zuma. At least the formula works relatively well on
the DS—plus, Magnetica offers variety with several modes and multiplayer.
| Unfortunately, you'll only want to play in 4 short bursts.
Bottom line: Zuma doesn't exist on the DS, so Magnetica does.
PSP GETS RACY ומשו YT t
aiti
Juiced: Eliminator
Race Driver 2006 / Juiced: Eliminator Codemasters • ESRB: T / THQ • ESRB: T — This month, a couple of PSP racers will take you on a famil- iar ride...considering they're basically ports of old 2 titles. Of the two, Race Driver does just about every- thing better, with silky-smooth controls, sharp graph- ics, and a huge number of events. Juiced, on the other hand, gets stuck in a rut early when it comes to event variety, and the supersensitive analog-nub control contrasts with the incredibly sluggish D-pad.
Bottom line: Race Driver 2006 is the better choice to sate your need for portable speed this month.
Jaws Unleas PS2 * Majesco * ESRB: М — We usually spaz out at the thought of movie-licensed games—but, oh, how we anticipated the idea of taking control of this killer fish and rending everything that swims into chummy bits. But things go belly-up quickly here, thanks to an awful camera, awkward storytelling, and stupid missions.
Bot
lom line: To quote the famous review of Spinal Tap album Shark Sandwich: s*** sandwich,
Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation GBA • Atlus • ESRB: Т — Turn/grid-based strategy still lives on the GBA, though this one’s more Fire Emblem than Advance Wars: Lots of dialogue, stats, and upgrades keep you busy in between bouts of big-robot and tank fights.
Bottom line: Taisen is so busy keeping you busy that the actual strategy-battle portions seem like quick fillers in between pages of setup menus and dialogue. A bit boring, but deep.
Micro Mach : PS2 * Codemasters • ESRB: E — With over 50 tracks and tons of cars to unlock, this racer packs in a lot of extras, The circuits are broken up into different modes—racing, battle, checkpoint, and time attack. None of these end up being fun, though, because of the janky camera—which zooms in and out at the most inconvenient times—and fluctuating difficulty.
Bottom line: The game's definitely for kids, but it shouldn’t have a problem frustrating gamers of any age.
Metal Gear Solid Digital
Graphic Novel
PSP > Konami > ESRB: M — Pfft, nobody reads comic books anymore—Konami’s MGS digital comic brings Ashley Wood’s expres- sive art style to life with stunning animation.
Bottom line: The story and artwork impress, but the lack of voice acting stings. Fans will still dig it, even if the “gameplay” (think: hunting for clues by zooming in on pics) feels tacked on. Ж
96 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
reviews archive
₪ Hey, where's
б А trip down memory lane уо SCORES GAME SYSTEM VERDICT (out of 10) AWARD THE ROAD LESS 24: The Game PS2 а Faithful to the hit show but lacking the same freshness and wicked gunplay 755570 Асе Combat Zero: The Belkan War PS2 Wi Great graphics can't make up for boring missions and a forgettable story 55 45 0 TRAVELED BY AND 1 Streetball PS2/XB W Ali the moves and personalities of the sport but with none of the excitement — 5.0 45 50 In the gaming industry, it's tempting Age of Empires: The Age of Kings 05 а This беер, historically savvy turn-based strategy game is fun—and good for your brain 9.0 7.5 85 — Silver to go for the easy buck—shelling out Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny = PS2 W A niche RPG that, despite new features, stil ends up feeling dated 55 60 70 sequels and licensed titles. We want- Battlefield 2: Modern Combat XB360 Wi Over-the-top shooter with lots to do—and lots to ride—that's best played online 7.5 80 70 ed to give the titles that go against Big Brain Academy DS Ii Brain-buster with tons of minigames and multiplayer 85 90 75 Silver the grain some love this month. Take Black PS2/XB W Ka-BOOM! A first-person shooter full of sound and fury, signifying nothing 65 6.0 80 Flock at simo of our favorite ООШ Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII XB360 т ^ pick-up-and-fly WWII fight-combat title full of planes, but its missions get tedious 7.0 65 5 errs (all scores Ой of 10): Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! DS W A smart “game” filed with tons of brainteasers that graphs how smart you are (or aren't) 85 75 90 Silver Capcom Classics Collection Remixed РЅР Wi Bright graphics and classy, classic games fil this portable powerhouse 85 85 90 Silver 2 T 4 Daxter PSP. W This bright, beautiful action-platformer feels cramped by the PSP's limitations 7.0 7.5 5 ‘Metal Arms is easily a Dead or Alive 4 XB360 E Boobs and button mashing are the core components of this pretty fighter 70 65 65 contender for sleeper hit of Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover | PSP. W A console port with hardly any new content and cheap A.l.—it looks good, though 50 7.0 50 the year.” Dreamfall: The Longest Journey XB W This adventure title offers an immersive narrative but no game to go with it 40 65 40 Drill Dozer GBA W Sweet. Classic 2D platforming returns in a great little portable form 85 80 85 Silver The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion XB360 т Flawed, but ultimately a fun RPG with a great story and a huge world to explore 90 90 95 Gold Field Commander PSP ла Sure, it's a rip-off of Advance Wars, but it's so good that you won't care 70 75 90 Fight Night Round 3 XB360 W Perfectly pretty pugilists pummel and punch with precision and panache 90 80 80 Silver Final Fantasy XI Online. XB360 E This online-only sequel has all the things you love—and hate—about the genre 7.0 65 7.0 Final Fight: Streetwise РЅ2/ХВ 18 Decent brawler with пісе minigames stumbles on repetition and a bad save system 6.5 7.0 7.0 Full Auto XB360 W Like Burnout with guns and a do-over button—so nice, we woulda lied more of it 8.0 85 80 Silver Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers — PS2/XB W A squad-based shooter with broken rules of engagement 50 50 50 Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter XB360. т Amazing, war-is-hella-fun shooter with great multiplayer. Next gen is finally here! 10 9.0 95 Gold The Godfather PS2/XB 1а Grand Theft Auto: Gangster. Atmospheric, faithful to the films, but a bit cheesy 80 85 75 Silver Metal Arms (PS2/XB/GC) Hitman: Blood Money PS2/XB םר The bald assassin returns with some great level design but a hurtin’ save system 80 80 5 Kingdom Hearts 1 PS2 Wi Everything an RPG sequel should be, starring all your Squenix and Disney favorites 10 9.0 95 Gold The Legend of Heroes 1 PSP. HA role-playing adventure that plays solid but stil feels like more of the same 55 60 0 Lemmings PSP W The addictive puzzler returns with new levels and updated graphics 55 80 60 0 а , Lost Magic Ds W This innovative strategy-RPG unfortunately lacks the magic touch 50 40 60 шор over otros pits Major League Baseball 2K6 PS2/XB/GC W Reworked the swinging and hitting but forgot to help fielding and baserunning 7.0 65 5 Marc Ecko's Getting Up PS2/XB W This partly broken, gritty graf-art action game isn’t half as cool as it thinks itis 45 40 65 Me & My Katamari PSP E The PSP's controls hobble the Prince's ball-olling, garbage-grabbing magic 705570 Metal Gear Ac!d 2 PSP W A short, streamlined, card-based tactical roleplayer that stars Mr. Snake 80 90 85 Silver Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence PS2 W A great story and worthwhile additional content raise the bar for rereleases 10 10 95 Gold Metroid Prime Hunters 05 I Samus looks great on the DS, but she сап be awkward to control in first-person 7.5 8.0 5 MLB 06: The Show PS2 E innovation isn't defined as finally adding a decade-old feature to your baseball game 6.5 6.0 4.0 Monster Hunter Freedom PSP WA beautiful action game that is best played with friends...oo bad it ain't online — 7.0 6.0 8.0 NBA Ballers: Phenom PS2/XB W Shows good off-court ambition, but the gameplay shoots too many air balls 60 65 75 New Super Mario Bros. 05 W А refreshing mix of classic gameplay with tons of multiplayer 10 95 80 Gold Odama ec E This mash-up of pinball and strategy (with voice commands) is more strange than fun 7.5 55 5 Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams PS2 W We agree this samurai game is beautiful but aren't sure about its RPG aspects 45 75 5 The Outfit XB360 W Linear single player, but this WWII shooter's dash of strategy is fun in multiplayer 7.0 6.0 7.0 Psychonauts (PS2/XB) OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast PS2/XB WA solid arcade racer that’s easy to pick up but lacks the variety of a Burnout 70 5.0 7.0 Resident Evil: Deadly Silence DS т Outdated graphics and gameplay stunt this portable, multiplayer Resident Evil 657075 Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis — XB360 Ping-Pong done right—but the lack of extras will leave you wanting more 75 70 85 Rogue Trooper PS2/XB. Wi This action-shooter shows it's easy being blue, thanks to engaging combat and co-op 6.5 7.5 8.0 Rumble Roses XX XB360 W Wrestling with sluts has never been more next gen or more pandering to perverts 7.0 65 35 "Unlike other ambitious titles that Sonic Riders PS2/XB/GC E Sonic's hoverkart racer isn't fun or fast enough to catch up to Mario's standard 5.0 5.5 5.0 try to be too many things to too Splinter Cell Essentials. PSP W The controls might be difficult for some—Sam Fisher just doesn't feel right on PSP 2.0 7.0 6.0 many players, BG&E pulls its com- Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max PSP W The same Street Fighter you loved—without enough new features to make it shine 6.0 85 5 ponents together beautifully.” Suikoden V PS2 W Slow to start and a bit dated, yet a compelling RPG with collect-em-all fun 65 65 65 Super Monkey Ball: Touch & Roll 05 WA maze game that blends infuriating ball-rolling and adorable аре themes 6.5 55 65 Super Princess Peach Ds WA shiny new Mario-style adventure that needs to take the difficulty up a notch = 75 7.0 8.0 Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror PSP W Lots of guns and interesting gameplay aren't as much fun with awkward controls 7.0 7.0 6.0 Tales of Phantasia GBA т This dusty, classic RPG ported from the Super NES hasn't aged very gracefully 60 7.5 5 Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal DS W An ambitious RPG that's stunted with a totally broken interface and battle system 40 5.0 4.0 Tetris DS Ds Classic puzzler brought to the DS, but with only one new mode for the touch screen 7.5 7.0 9.0 Tomb Raider: Legend PS2/XB W The titular raider is back, swinging and clinging in this solid tomb-robbing game 85 85 8.0 Silver Top Spin 2 XB360 E Deep career mode, graphics update, and new shots make this a grand slam 8.0 75 85 Silver Tourist Trophy PS2 W Gran Turismo on two wheels, this racer offers realism with a steep learning curve 6.5 7.0 8.0 Urban Chaos: Riot Response PS2/XB п With dated graphics and boring levels, this shooter never passes mediocrity 50 55 35 Good & Evil (PS2/XB/GC) Untold Legends: The Warrior's Code PSP NA hackneyed, hack-n-sash dungeon crawler with a semifun multiplayer mode — 65 50 50 у Warpath хв и Bargain-priced action-shooter's online action is smooth but limited and clichéd 40 55 50 Winback 2: Project Poseidon PS2 E A boring, low-budget stealth-action title that’s more frustrating than fun 40 35 40
X-Men: The Official Game PS2/XB/XB360 — W Not even the X-Men can save this crappy mess of a game 40 3.5 40
| » -.
for more info on any of these fine items, consult your skymall catalog
RIPHERALS FROM THE
Technology so advanced, mankind’s entire future is obsolete
зә, А couple months ago, the world’s L М. biggest videogame convention ^ E showcased all the games we'll be playing for the next year. At least 1 | that's what І heard. | was given 1 ү a stack of insane press releases 4 and told to go to E3's dark aban- ы”, doned corners and see HOW we'll be playing games for the next year. While everyone else got assigned a Gears of War preview or a “We Get Our Hands on the PS3!” feature, | got an appointment to travel forward in time to see the brain-mounted controller and the game that squirts smells. Sweet. Well, after returning to the present, | decided to showcase these eight products of tomorrow. And for people who love ratings but hate to read numbers, each product's futuretasticness will be given a Future Award for excellence (see right) in spe- cific areas of innovation. —Seanbahy
Bi Chairs with speakers, * ergonomic design... ATTITUDE! |» J
a ה
Pixel art by Seanbaby. Photography by whoever was standing closest to Seanbaby. Mochalicious hotness by Natalie White.
DANCE PRAISE
Let me tell you where І run into problems at my job. First, | look like a frat boy whose haircut lost a bet and if I'm not holding a beer, I've probably recently spilled one on myself. So even in an industry where the main qualification is playing videogames, | come off as unprofessional. Public relations people either think | was hired to fill a special needs quota or I'm messing with them. Often, they have been specifically warned to hate me by their company's marketing team. So | knew getting info on Dance Praise (Dance Dance Revolution modified for sensitive Christian sensibilities) would be like applying to be a camp counselor without any pants on—they know I’m up to something. Now this guy, he knows his product is Jesus DDR. That's something that maybe like three people on the premises wouldn't make fun of. So when tasked him about his interesting God game, | figured he'd call me a smartass
or cry. Also, | should mention that since | get bored filling out forms, my press badge said | was a "Timecop" representing “Hank’s Timecoppery Warehouse." | swear to Christ and His exciting rhythm action games that it took 30 minutes to talk this guy into giving me a press kit. In the end, all I.learned was that Christian anything sucks more than Regular anything. Which is knowledge I think we all had before this ordeal of mine began.
i. Д
|" ж Believe it or not, Uhave
[эж
eMAGIN VISOR
Like most cute little TV things that aren't really 5 TVs, eMagin didn't exactly get my hopes ир.
The booth was right next to a booth with fart- ing, dancing robots and the visor sort of looks like a View-Master jury-rigged to call E.1.’s home. Forget | said all that, though, because holy crap, the eMagin 7800 3D Visor is amazing. It’s like having two motion-sensing HDTVs attached directly to your eyeballs. Never before in my life have | wanted to give a team of headband scientists a high five as much as | do now. If you have $549, go buy one—www.3dvisor.com.
no actual model training.
98 « ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
YEAR ONE MILLION
ӯ | TRIMERSION VR HELMET
| Over at the Trimersion booth, my girlfriend =. | and | risked head lice by trying out the same
ek cholera-soaked VR helmet hundreds of sweaty nerds had had on their heads that day. And like most of you, we were thinking, “Virtual reality helmet? Did we decide to do 1993 again?” In theory, this amazing combat hat featured a gun attachment for total immersion into any first-person shooter. In reality, the screens inside the helmet were only visible when perfectly aligned, so it felt like play- ing a game in the rearview mirror of someone else’s car. The only use | found for it was that it completely blocked out the outside world, so when Natalie posed for a picture in it, she had no idea | was comically looking down her shirt the whole time. Which, now that | think about it, is probably the best PR campaign Trimersion could ask for.
| P
S.M.A.R.T. BRAIN GAMES
Controlling games with your brain...is it possible? They've been trying to do it since Atari 2600, and telepathic mind beams are the same technology Aquaman uses to suck, so | went in with serious skepticism. | was right to do so. First, the S.M.A.R.T. Brain Games Velcro sun visor was applied to y head. Apparently, in order for your brain to control games, the skull around it has to first be properly humiliated. Next, electrodes were scooped out of a cup of water and slapped to my head, still wet. | was given a PS2 controller and put in front of a racing game. Let the future begin! The rep told me to press the X but- ton to accelerate and, depending on how well | concentrated, my car would go faster. (By the way, X is the only button attached to my mind waves. All other controls were still performed by thumb waves.) When I couldn't get my F-1 racer over 55mph, | asked what | should concentrate on. The rep's answer: "Whatever you want!” “This is stupid, this is stupid,” wasn't working, so the guy gave me the tip that he visualizes a car going very fast. Then, in the same breath, he told me that this technology will change the way parents view videogames. It will make them more intellectually stimulating. Intellectually stimulating? If anything will convince parents games are THAT, it's not driving in a circle while you trick your brain into thinking it's autistic. By this point I'm hungover, dripping electrode juice down my head, and all | can think about is how someone could get so self-righteous when all he did was glue a damn EEG to a PS2. My brain car was practically parked. | felt a little stupid, but it's hard to feel that stupid when the guy next to you's career plan is to convince consumers to pay actual money for the nonsense | just sat through.
5 ва This is the first time telepathic power sound effects have
+, been caught on film.
|MY MY BOX
Blueprint for a hit: take all the fun out of DDR, add nothing, then have Korean people change the
My Box? That means so much nothing it makes me wonder if all these years, Asian people have been purposely choosing names that mean genitals over here. | can show you chopsticks from restaurants named “Hung Far Low,” “Rad Prik,” and “Young Dong Gardens.”
It seems impossible to do that for so long by accident. If | release a game in Siberia, you can be damn sure Vil call a Siberian guy and check that none of the words | randomly selected for the title are Siberian for vagina.
IB Natalie says, “Two cheers for My My Box.” ,
NOVINT FALCON 3D MOUSE
Novint Falcon wasn’t on my original list of probably- terrible peripherals to check out. Here’s the story of 1 ПР] how it happened: | really enjoyed this booth featuring nothing but a man in a chair. He accepted the award for My Favorite E3 Booth. Chair declined to be a part of the cer- emony. As it turned out, he was only taking a break from his booth next door, Novint Falcon, and showed me their 3D mouse. It’s like a normal mouse suspended by three bars that can create resistance. So when you clicked to pick up different objects, the mouse actu- ally got heavier. Different tech demos had surfaces like sandpaper a т "i or molasses, and you 1 could actually feel the ма texture. While Pyramat is busy figuring out ways to jam a speaker in your ear, these guys | you'll never hear from again invented a way to incorporate a whole other human sense into videogames. Novint Falcon makes the vibrat- ing controller look like the PC speaker. For those not nerdy Ы enough to get that, PC speakers are from back when comput- ers had two sound settings: off and fire alarm. @%
₪ More fun than it looks like.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com • 99
game over
ACROSS 2. Female star of the Xbox's ultimately cancelled The Unseen 6. NBA series’ Celtic state, for short
10. NHL penalty
12. Nintendo's new Pikmin
14. Deus Ex developer _ Storm
15. Ms. Croft, Tomb Raider
17. Basic Xbox 360 package
19. Roly-poly PSP up-and-comer
21. Conker: Live and Reloaded boss Buga the _
22, Silent Hill genre survival _
24. Katamari constellation _ Major
25. Lost your champion title to à challenger?
30. Pokémon Sapphire ability
31. D&D TG16 title _ of the Griffon
32. Blocky Star Wars with upcoming sequel.
35. Jumping Metroid baddie
37. Like Bob of the square pants
40. E3's Wii demoed this type of course
42. Anarchy Rulz (PS1) wrestling league
44, Weekend comedy show with episodes on PSP video (abbrv.)
45. 360 up-and-comer BioShock's body-enhancing substance
46. Marker or cursor
47. СТА: Vice City neighborhood Little _
49. Like Metal Gear Solid's Mantis
51. The Dreamcast and 360 hardware make a lot of it
52. 7-Up character-inspired game Cool _
DOWN 1. New name for the Nintendo Revolution 2. They can't buy M-rated games 3. Powered up, to a PS2 or Xbox 4. Mario 64 ice world feature 5. GBA Acrobat 6. The PSP's _ and My Katamari 7. Taiko: Drum Master song 8. The Bouncer’s main bouncer 9. Play the Guitar Hero controller? 11. Unpopular handheld NeoGeo Pocket 13. NFL football features 116. Psychonauts unit of currency 18. '805 Atari landfill flop 20. Paper Mario looks like it was drawn with these 22. Pirates! ship bodies 23. Rolento's Street Fighter Alpha Il headgear 26. They actually made a GBC version of this card game 28. Konami dance genre originator 29. Nintendo Bible game Noah's _ 33. Link's ride in Ocarina of Time 34, Sewer-dwelling enemy of the NES's Trojan 36. Mario Sunshine scenic trees 38. Last PS1 Grand Theft Auto 39. What you do in Razor Freestyle Scooter 41. Lets Mario fly in Super Mario World 42. Third-person Xbox shooter Alter _ 43. Two directions on a world-map compass 44, Super Mario 2's _ guy 46. Musical endorsers of Backyard Wrestling 48. You can use one three times per half in Madden (abbrv.)
100 • ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY * www.tUP.com
Survival of the fittest
GRUDGE MATCH
Follow the lackluster path Predator games have carved in the annals of gaming and this might seem like an unfair fight. But Prey (Xbox 360) had gotten so much prerelease hype we figure it’s bound to disappoint at least some folks..
STARRING ROLE
Commando
Arnold
star-turned-governor
Schwarzenegger
Native American
garage mechanic/alien abductee Tommy
Advantage: Prey
SPECIAL MOVES
Advantage: Predator
Aliens Advantage: Predator
Takin’ your damn skin off
Wall- and ceiling-walking
Aliens
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH
off Skeleton Man
GAMEPLAY
briefly afloat
Made-for-TV knock-
Alien vs. Predator kept the Atari Jaguar
Doom 3 Advantage: Prey
HIGHLIGHTS
Space-shifting portal system lets you plug aliens from afar Advantage: Prey
WEAKER MOMENTS
Latest PS2 offering Concrete Jungle
All that Native , American story line drivel Advantage: Prey
WINNER: PREY
Nope, we were wrong—Prey’s cornered the market
on the crazy-ass-looking-alien-versus-humanity genre.
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Order gy SY i И to 2 à Promote set poet Я e shows s
еотп retro afterthoughts
CASTLEVANIA: SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT
Still music to our ears
e celebrate 20 years of vam- pire slaying by grilling the series’ dark lord and master,
Koji Igarashi, on his first foray into
Dracula’s domain: 1997’s PlayStation
classic Symphony of the Night. —Jeremy Parish
EGM: Symphony of the Night was the first game you direct- ed. How did you end up in charge, despite having no real experience with the series? Koji Igarashi: Ever since | joined Konami, | wanted to work on the Castlevania series. My desire only grew stronger
as two different Castlevania games were being developed right next to
our team, which was
IONTHLY
/
E) Y ב
Memorial [a dating simulator]. After our game was finished, 1 was fortunate enough to join a new Castlevania project, but
the game was cancelled soon thereafter. My boss needed to assign me to a new project, so | tried my hardest to move on to another Castlevania game. | joined the Symphony of the Night team as a program- mer in the early stages of development and was able to take over as director when the original person in charge was promoted to another project. | was indeed very lucky.
EGM: Is it true that SOTN is connected to the doomed Sega 32X game Castlevania: The A Bloodletting? KI: Well, there was another
E SOTN proved
metrosexual pretty
\ boys can survive
| ina world of buffed-up beef-
À
Castlevania title being developed on the 32X, but | don’t believe the title was The Bloodletting. The game was cancelled before the name was confirmed. This
is actually the game | worked on after Tokimeki Memorial. The team for this game was disbanded, but several mem- bers, including myself, went on to work on SOTN.
EGM: Around 1997, develop- ers began chucking 2D graph- ics in the coffin. Was there any internal resistance to such a *dated" game?
KI: There was no internal resistance from the team members. We never considered making the game in 3D. Everyone on the team loved 2D games.
EGM: The game's massive, especially with the optional second castle. Was that something you had intended from the start?
KI: We had always planned on including this aspect of the game. This was a way for us to add more content to the game without creating new backgrounds or art- work—which is good because we ended up behind schedule anyway. Our goal was always to get as much as possible out of the art assets that were made for the game.
EGM: SOTN's free-roaming gameplay was unusual for Castlevania. What inspired you to take the series in that direction?
KI: There are two major reasons [we took] this approach. First, many members of our team loved action-role-playing games, so we wanted to have an action-oriented game with new elements that added more depth. We also realized that a straightfor- ward action game probably wouldn't take long to finish, and | wanted to give this new game more longevity than previous Castlevania titles. However, most action- RPGs did not include as many enemy
variations as we wanted, so we actually went beyond our template in that area. Since SOTN was considered a side entry in the Castlevania series, we were able to do whatever we liked.
EGM: Many fans were sur- prised that the Belmonts took a backseat for SOTN. So, why Alucard?
KI: Our development team was fed up with whips—just kidding. In actuality, we wanted to redesign the series with more exploration elements, so | wanted to give the main character special abilities that would not be possible with a human. | looked through all the past Castlevania characters and Alucard met our require- ments perfectly.
EGM: Ayami Kojima’s [SOTN character designer] art and Michiru Yamane’s [SOTN com- poser] music are still consid- ered some of the best. What role did they play in setting the tone of the game?
KI: | had worked on the PC Engine game Detana TwinBee [cutesy arcade shooter] previously, and | loved the game's music, but | never knew who created it. When we were working on SOTN, 1 found out that
it was Michiru—the same composer who had been assigned to work on my game. I was very lucky from that standpoint.
We selected Ayami as illustrator with the hope of giving a new breadth to the series. Until that point, the Castlevania Series was all about macho characters, but we wanted to give it a more corrupted or vulnerable image while retaining a lot of the same visual cues. She became a key member of the team and really helped to establish the game's atmosphere.
EGM: The game's packed with a ton of secrets; are there any fans have yet to discover?
KI: At this point, | don't think there are any more secrets to be found. If you do find something, let's just say it's a bug. [laughs]
EGM: Well, some fans claim to have stumbled across hid- den audio files for an ending in which Maria apparently becomes possessed.
KI: This is something that was considered in our initial planning sessions. We even recorded the Japanese voiceover for the sequence, but we were not able to com- plete it in time.
EGM: SOTN’s Japan-only Saturn version offered extra content, including new areas and the ability to play as Maria. But many fans feel its technical issues make it infe- rior to the PS1 version. Were you involved in its creation? How do you feel about it?
KI: | was not involved with the Saturn ver- sion of the game—it was actually handled by a different studio, but | did request that they include the Maria mode. There are differences in the video output of both systems, so | am surprised that they were able to pull it off. There were other techni- cal issues that held it back. For example, the PlayStation version relied heavily on transparent effects, but the Saturn was very poor with this detail, so compromises had to be made. | will concede that they did fairly good job given the drawbacks of the Saturn hardware and the deadline they were given. If they had [had] more time and experience, they could have done a better job.
EGM: What about the U.S. version? American fans feel the English localization hurt the game, with its lame box art and questionable voice acting....
KI: | don't speak or write English, so | was not heavily involved with localization and instead relied on Konami's localiza- tion team. Our plan had originally been to use only the Japanese voices, but we were told that English voices were [also] required. So we quickly recorded the
English sessions in Japan. This was my first experience іп localization—I honestly didn’t know what | was doing. І have since been told many times that the translation and English voice acting for SOTN [were] very poor, so now | try to be more involved with the localization and am in regular contact with our very reliable marketing staff in the U.S.
EGM: Nine years later, what is SOTN’s legacy—its place in gaming and the Castlevania series specifically?
KI: SOTN’s legacy isn’t just the game system, but is rather a basic philosophy of how to
keep players enter- # tained for an extended © ] period of time. We really learned a lot working on the
E Not only does Maria look like a girl, but she actu- ally is one. Score!
/
game, and its bloodline has been passed along to our more recent Castlevania games. It's hard for me to position SOTN, but | will say it was a transitional title rather than an end point for the series. | always like to learn from my past work [so as] to keep improving, and SOTN allowed us to pave the way for the future
of Castlevania with a great game that our
fans still look back on fondly to this day.
UP
==
If you want more Castlevania cover- age, including the full interview, check out 1UP's 20th anniversary page at
Symphony of the Elderly
While many consider Symphony of the Night the pinnacle Castlevania game, the series has 20 years of history behind it. That makes it practically undead by videogame standards.
Time After Time
The original Castlevania
hit the Famicom
(Japanese NES) in
1986 as Demon Castle
Dracula...and then
the MSX home com-
puter a few months later as Vampire Killer, And then the arcades in 1988 as Haunted Castle. And then...well, anyway, the game that started it all has been completely remade four times, and that
doesn’t include simple ports (like 2004’s NES Classics reissue for GBA). That just might make it the most remade game ever. Fair enough. What we want to know is what jerk came up with a dopey name like Castlevania to begin with?
Shoulders of Giants
Castlevania is unique
among games in that
it's based on a classic
work of literature—
specifically, Bram
Stoker's novel Dracula.
And yes, the novel is
considered canoni-
cal—in fact, the upcoming Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin stars the grandson of the Quincy Morris, the Texan who struck the novel’s killing blow. Yee-haw! Happily, Marvel's Tomb of Dracula comics are not considered part of the Castlevania canon. So don't expect any Blade or X- Men crossovers.
Do Not Disturh
According to the
Castlevania time
line, Dracula comes
back to life (well,
unlife) every hundred
years, which he did a
total of five times since Trevor Belmont rocked his fangy face in 1491 (ultimately being defeated once and for all in 1999). But random evil people have revived him, only for him to be defeated in short order by a do-gooding vampire hunter. You almost feel sorry for the guy. Heroes are such jerks sometimes. dah
Screens courtesy of vgmuseum.com.
ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com e 103
game ouer
FINAL WORD
This or That
e're trying something new [Л this month...a little some-
thing we’re gonna call This or That. Let's see what EGM's two new- est newbies, Jay and Michael, think about the following topics. OK boys, have at it!
Is this summer OK for new game releases? Or really sh**ty?
Jay Frechette
Editorial Intern
OK: "I still have yet to touch Kingdom Hearts Il, Oblivion, or a dozen other games from even two Christmases ago. And what about recent releases like Table Tennis or New Super Mario Bros.? | mean how many games do you need to play? Don't be such а baby—there are plenty of great choices to get us through the summer. Besides, Michael, you need to get outside more anyway.”
Michael Donahoe
| News/Features Editor
SH**TY: “Jay, my boy, go play Blade Dancer and then tell
me if the summer's still hot. But you know why you haven't finished all your holiday games? Because"all the big-name publishers take their big-game dumps at the same time. Now if these publishers would think with their minds and not with their wallets, they'd realize it's more practical to sprinkle AAA titles throughout the year so we can find time to play them.”
I should be outdoors doing outdoorsy things, anyway, and not inside playing videogames.
OUTSIDE: “Outside! The graphics are awesome. | absolutely hate the stigma that gamers are antisocial hermits who spend all their time in basements playing games with the lights off. Don't be that guygl’ll throw down 30 hours into a game, but there's no substitute for some outdoor hoops or hiking under some good old-fashioned sunshine."
INSIDE: “I’m confused—what do you.do outside? Whatever it is, it sounds boooring. I'm sorry, but if | don't have a piece of electronics in front of my face, I'm définitely not down. Now if you were to hook up some TVs outside, then maybe I'd con- sider leaving my apartment. But only for a couple hours—l don't want to be getting no skin cancer, ya hear!"
Will the Wii be a mainstream hit or | something only the hardcore will dig?
MAINSTREAM: “Two letters: DS. Nintendo's little ‘experiment’ came out of nowhere and it's more popular than Brangelina. The Wii will do the same thing. The price and potential for some great living room shenanigans make it perfect for the mainstream,
and if's much more accessible than the PS3 and Xbox 360. And if the Virtual Console feature (download all the old Nintendo and TurboGrafx games) doesn't get you excited, then you suck.”
MAINSTREAM: “Gee Jay, I’m afraid to disagree for fear that you might sacrifice me on your King Bowser altar. But | think it'll succeed more because Nintendo is really going to hit the group of gamers who never knew they'd enjoy waving their arms around like they actually do care. And yeah, the Virtual Console is a plus, but only hardcore geeks are going to sali- vate over the oldies (mmm, Kid Icarus...).”
The Wii is a perfectly fine name for a videogame console... not crappy at all....
CRAPPY: “Oh sure, it's a great name...if I'm potty training а two-year-old and need to teach him a name for his ‘special place.’ | really feel bad for all the poor kids working at game Stores that have to answer the phone, ‘Hi, thanks)for calling
GameStop where you can reserve the Wii!’ The only thing
worse than the name is all the penis jokes we are going have to listen to for the next four to six years."
FINE: “Jay, you sure do have a dirty mind! Take your mind out of the gutter, boy! You know, it’s hooligans like you who tar- nish the brilliant name Nintendo came up with. No other con- sole name is bringing people together like this one—granted, it’s mostly bringing backlash, but that’s because people don’t see the importance of what Nintendo is trying to accomplish: a console name that celebrates everyone, including their pee!”
Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3: Which one will be more successful in this next generation?
XBOX 360: “I don't think.Sony even cares about leading the
р gaming market anymore. They're more interested in making
you buy a Blu-ray DVD player, and you'll have to sell a kidney to pay for it. By the time the PS3 has games that warrant the $600 price tag, most people will have already bought a 360 and Wii—fof'the same price."
PLAYSTATION 3: "The PS3 will win because consumers will buy anything they think is the coolest thing out there. Hardcore gamers, may have differing opinions on this, but Billy-Bob Gamer will likely buy à PS3, even if he knows nothing about it. Me? | couldn’t care less, because the more systems out there, the more games | get to play. So my advice: Buy them all! You'll play more games, and you'll help me keep my job!" rix
GAMING MONTHLY • www.1UP.com
“Р,
m confused—what do you do outside? Whatever it is, it sounds boooring.”
NEXT MONTH:
A MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION: PREVIEWS x
ON SA LE AUGUST 15
onic Wild Fire (Wii)
í NBA Street 4 (PS3/XB360)
₪ Dirty Harry (PS3/XB360)
W Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (Multi) Wi Forza Motorsport 2 (XB360)
REVIEWS | B окат! (PS2) Wi Madden NFL 07 (Multi) Wi Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (PS2) Wi Dead Rising (XB360) ₪ Harvest Moon DS (DS)
ext month, we're getting an intimate look at Ma ct, an epic sci-fi role-playing game for the Xbox 360 | from the makers of the hugely popular Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. And by “epic,” we mean this game is going to have everything including the kitchen sink. Imagine traveling through space, jumping from planet to planet, meeting exotic characters and aliens that will actually respond emotionally to your actions, and par- ticipating in intense squad-based combat. Mass Effect is looking as ambitious as it is beautiful, and next month we'll have exclusive details and screens just for you. What's up with videogame ads on TV using fake graphics that look nothing like the real game? We call out me у parues and get some explanations. Also, we check out a competition that asks designers to create a s. All this and more, next month in EGM. (All planned editorial content is subject to change.)
ANSWERS TO ה UP-AND-COMERS
16-17 — www.square-enix-usa.com ............. 8-9 on page 100
pany
gillette.com ........ ДҮ gem cen 21 The Gillette Company www.gillette.com. .
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www.thq.com Ubisoft Entertainment www.ubisoft.com .
Office for National Drug Control Policy www.whatsyourantidrug.com ........... www. ca US Navy Recruiting Command
University of
lu...
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www.wizards.com ....... COURS |,
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ALL THAT PRESSURE—
THE PRESSURE TO FIT IN, LOOK PERFECT, GET HIGH, TO BE ACCEPTED — IF YOU LET IT PUSH ON YOU TOO MUCH, HOW WILL YOU CHANGE?
זה
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