ZIFF DAVIS = tee ea e at : Ti : - ‘3 | ¥ R - © September 2001 $4.99/$6.50 Canada ~@ = _ 09> oS Ke om he eh ; teh Prix Cover #1 (starring Yuna): the one you probably got. Cover #2: Limited-edition, by Yoshitaka Amano. Chris Baker Chris is a know-it-all writer who’s spearheading “Ever Wondered..?”, Our new answer session to gam- ing’s burning questions. shane Betienhausen A huge game deserves a huge feature. This ex-Gamers.com-er parachuted in to help scribe our massive Final Fantasy X piece. David Kushner Think games aren’t all they should be? David shows you how to put your money where your mouth is by making your own. Ethan Einhorn Now a seasoned EGM contributor, Ethan knocked out several game previews this month. His next order of business—NBA Street. ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY (ISSN #1058-918X) is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Class Postage Paid at New York, NY 10016 and additional mailing offices. Single issue rates: $4.99. The one year (12 issue) subscription rate is $24.97 in the U.S. and $40.97 outside the U.S. Checks must be made payable in U.S. currency only to Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-5722. For subscription service questions, address changes, or to order, please con- tact us at: Web: http://service.egmmag.com (for customer service) or http://subscribe.egmmag.com (to order); Phone: U.S. and Canada (800) 779-1174 or (850) 682-7624, elsewhere (303) 604-7445; Mail: Electronic Gaming Monthly, P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-5722 (please include your mailing label with any correspondence as it contains information that will expedite processing); Fax: U.S. and Canada (850) 683-4094, elsewhere ((303) 604-0518; E-mail (please type your full name and the address at which you subscribe; do not send attachments): egm@neodata.com. The editors and the publisher are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the the prior written notice of Ziff Davis Media Inc. To reuse any material in this publication, obtain a permission request form at www.icopyright.com/ziffdavis/, or have a form faxed or mailed to you by calling (425)430-1663. Copyright © 2001 Ziff Davis Media . All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part with- out permission Is prohibited, For permission to reuse material in this publication (or on this Web site) or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media’s Rights and Permissions Manager. For reprints, contact Reprint Services at 800-217- 7874. Olga Gonopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc. 28 E. 28th St., New York, NY 10026. Tel: 212-503-5438. Fax: 212-503-5420. olga_gonopolsky@ziffdavis.com. Electronic Gaming Monthly and EGM are trademarks of Ziff Davis Media Inc. TM and © for all other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. All materials listed in this magazine are subject to manufacturers’ change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST Registration number is 140496720 RT. Printed in the USA. Audit Bureau of Circulations SLT Number 14.09 GAMING Sentember 2001 | Editor in Chief Dan “Shoe” Hsu ® shoe@ziffdavis.com | Managing Editor Dean Hager * dean_hager@ziffdavis.com Executive Editor Mark MacDonald ¢ mark_macdonald@ziffdavis.com : | Features Editor Crispin Boyer © crispin_boyer@ziffdavis.com News Editor Chris “C}” Johnston © chris_johnston@ziffdavis.com | | Previews Editor | Senior Greg Sewart © reg sewart@zifidavis.com Associate Editor : Kraig Kujawa ® kraig_kujawa@ziffdavis.com Associate Editor | Associate Editor; Art Jonathan Dudlak slonathan_dudiak@zifidavis.com irector eanne Kim ® jeanne_kim@ziffdavis.com Trick? Editor Terry Minnich ¢ tricks@ziffdavis.com | West Coast Editors ames Mielke ¢ james_mielke@ziffdavis.com an Chou @ hear ope Roe Contributors: Chris Baker, Shane Bettenhausen, Sam Kennedy, Ethan Einhorn, David Kushner, Dan Leahy, Shawn Smith, john Ricciardi | japanese Correspondent Yutaka Ohbuchi European Correspondent Axel Strohm Senior Art Director Cyril Wochok ¢ cyril_wochok@ziffdavis.com | Art Director Mike Reisel ¢ mike_reisel@ziffdavis.com Nahas Copy Editor er Jenni hitesides Manufacturing Director Carlos Lugo Senior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Pre Media Manager Dave McCracken Pre Media Technician Mike Vallas : : Advertising Production Coordinator Wen Laws. Assistant Production Manager Teresa Newson Project Leader ‘ : Mark LeFebvre mak lefebvre@ziffdavis.com Customer Support Analyst : ‘ Peter Felonk ® peter_felonk@ziffdavis.com Vice President/Game Group Dale Stran Business Director Cathy Bendoff t Circulation Director joan McInerney | Circulation Director Shirley Viel ar Senior Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER: 800-779-1174 (U.S. and Canada) WEB SITE: hitp://service.egmmag.com PLEASE SEND ALL SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS TO: P.O. Box 55722, Boulder, CO 80322-5722 DO NOT CONTACT THE EDITORS RE: SUB. PROBLEMS | Advertising Inquiries Contact: Game Group : 49, Beale, 12th floor, San Francisco, CA 94105 rol ARARR HS 987 878 Lee Uniacke 7-4910 ® \ge_uniacke@ziffdavis.com 415- Group Aeeociate Publisher Suzanne Reider 15-357-4915 ® suzie@ziffdavis.com Regional Saide Wanteer eee Coast Territory Marc Callison Pe 630-382-9034 ® marc call son@ziffdayis.com District Sal Sales Répresentative Tallie Fishburne : ; 4-0284 ® tallie_fishburne@ziffdavis.com East Coast Territory 17-30 | Account Executive/East Coast Territory Emily Olman | 415-257-5226 ¢ emily_olman@ziffdavis.com | Regional Sale s Manager/Pacific Northwest & Bay Area Peninsula lan Sinclair : 15-357-4925 ® ian_sinclair@ziffdavis.cam Account ERecuewe, i aS Regional Sales Manager | Senior Account Regio é/ Pacific Northwest & Bay Area Peninsula | Mary Gry : : i -8782 © mary_gray@ziffdavis.com outhwest Territory Karen Landon : 180-942-6277 ¢ karen_landon@ziffdavis.com int Executive/Southwest Territory Linda ee ei da_phitapil@ziffdavi 15-547-8781 ® linda_philapil@ziffdavis.com ‘i at Sales Manager7 exae, Washington, San Francisco Territory Marci Yamaguchi 15-357- * marciy@ziffdavis.com | Accduat recieve Washi xecutive/Texas, San Francisco Territory Meighan O’Rourke ashington, + ghan_orourke@ziffdavis.com 15-357-4920 © mei Senior Mane ine Manager & Creative Director Rey Ledda ee 47-8775 e rey_ledda@ziffdavis.com rdinator : 15- Marketing Coo Annie Lipscomb 15-547-8248 ® annie_lipscomb@ziffdavis.com | advernens Coo ae : Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde ssistan 415-357;4930 ° tipler_ubbelohde@ziffdavis.com i Sales f Kristeen Laut 15-547-8778 ® kristeen_laut@ziffdavis.com Sales Aeacant as Cheryl Farrell 3 : 415-547-8783 © cheryl_farrell@ziffdavis.com Founder Steve Harris "YOSOINIY WO4 GSUE04 JOPUN Pesn ee PUB SOL4UNOS JEWjO JO/pUR “S"f) BUR ut UOMBIOd: jUBWILIBLOpUIy Guo. Aempiy Ag asuacy JAPUN PeINquisig) "uoisssuueEd Ag Pesl, OT] 0D) YOSOINYY jo SHeWEPRY 10 SeWepRYH peld}st ‘S@WeS ueWeSniLy AeMpIYy jO SuRUEpRn pas aysiSe. 10 myewapey ese SOB; Aempiyy 648 PUB AYAACIIN ‘HEGNNIHL DLLOUY ‘Peniesey siubiy Hy ‘OTT Bes seyue aie oo; xogX ayy pur “xogX Yyosoimiyy "ou; jueUUTEeIUy Je;NdWOG AuOS jo syeWePEN pesmieifes GuE oBoy Aue ‘seWeS juSWEONUYy MIDWAY 4 33) O & o oO ca ae = — Oo > 7) oO Maem = ® : weapons like snow bombs, mis- siles, and The Atomic Snowball. Make major air give new meaning to Hyper-realistic racing velocity and “breakneck speed.” Throttle the competition with hard- core hand-to-hand combat. Sd, Gi pue UOHENSARY. ‘SUj i £002 @ sepuny| spay @ oO = o = => — = Sneak Preview @ www.arcticthunder.midway.com PlayStation.2 GAME BOY ADVANCE SYSTEM GAME BOY ADVANCE NINTENDO GLACTER SYSTEM sesssses.201798-6 ARCTIC SYSTEM. sssssessse.201796-0 zi INDIGO SYSTEM dibsbstecceslO'l 794-5 ee cin EI lbhesid |... ___ SUPER MARIO ' PII.9Q ADVANCE his GAME BOY ADVANCE —— : _ “4 7 7 5 Oe 8 6 ae OO re SHARKLIGHT GAME BOY ADVANCE INTERACT #201206-0 $10.99 G AME Boy %. OLOR i — PLAYLINE LINK CABLE GAME BOY ADVANCE INTERACT ABIE —— #201216-9 GLOWGUARD GAME BOY ADVANCE oo GAME BOY ADVANCE INTERACT : INTERACT | : : | #201208-6 pSRO ean eae rape Se Sa Seay May peorey EVERYONE Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 PlayStation.2 rs al BCS RANKINGS - HYPER-ACTIVE SCHOOL MASCOTS - WIN THE HEISMAN TROPHY REMARKABLY DETAILED UNIFORMS - TOTAL COLLEGE EXPERIENCE IT'S IN THE GAME™ - EASPORTS.COM CONTENTS Game Directory September 2001 Issue 146 _ pre rR A Rn PPO DDO SPEAR UE ROOTED PETE SOTTO OTP 106 Advance Wars 147 Alone inthe Dark: The New Nightmare Arctic Thunder Castlevania Chronicle City Crisis Crash GBA Dark Summit Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Diddy Kong Pilot Disney’s Atlantis Dragon Warrior III Drakan Il ESPN X-Games Skateboarding Eve of Extinction F1 2001 Floigan Brothers Gallop Racer 2001 Gekisha Boy 2 Genma Onimusha Giants: Citizen Kabuto Gran Turismo 3 A-spec Ico Klonoa: Empire of Dreams Final Fantasy X Square is taking its story—not to mention loads of exclusive screens—Straight from the series’ creators. X marks the spot on page 112. premiere RPG franchise in new directions on the PlayStation 2, and we have the full LOADERS oe . penncoreers ne: ° ° RR RRP DPT PRD IT TRIPOD OEP ITT SRR MITES REELED PRED a ETI PPI ID EPI AL ERRATIC LILES LORE EISE DPD SPEIEEELIEEERIEEE DELILE LIE LEE LEELLE PEELE PLIES ETO ITE SNS Editorial K Letters 16 News 32 Find out why everyone’s been prying open their Game Boy Advances and why they probably shouldn't. Also, get the scoop behind the making of Twisted Metal: Black and what really happened to Half-Life for DC. Gossip 52 == GK OLE Ger Previews 68 Contrary to popular belief, yes, we do have a Previews section. Just not when we have an E3 feature loaded with over 100 games. That was last month, but now we’re talkin’ about Metroid’s arrival on GameCube and GBA, Spy Hunter and Madden 2002 on PS2, and even Spidey’s return to PS1. Vin Diesel ain’t the only one gettin’ fast and furious. Check out our reviews of GT3, NASCAR Heat and oh yes, horsey simulator Gallop Ktonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil Legends of Wrestling Luigi’s Mansion Madden NFL 2002 Mario Kart Super Circuit Metroid IV Metroid Prime NASCAR 2002 NASCAR Heat 2002 Sonic Adventure 2 Is one of the Dreamcast’s last hurrahs a great game worthy to ride into the sunset on? Find out on page 146 if the last Sonic game on Sega hardware runs rings around the competition, or just jumps The Super NES Turns 10 Nintendo's classic 16-bit system debuted a decade ago this month, and we’re celebrating the NBA 2K2 occasion with a five-page ode to this old through hoops. Racer. But don’t forget about games NBA Street friend. The memories begin on page 126. that use human horsepower: NCAA NCAA Football 2002 — Football 2001, NBA Street and N64 NFL 2K2 Tony Hawk 2. NHL 2002 Onimusha 2 150 Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 - renal @ The Final Word 154 Resident Evil Code: Veronica X The Final Fantasy movie made us Robocop reminisce about the series that’s Rugby shaped role-playing games since the original arrived on the 8-bit Nintendo. Has the series changed for the best, or has it become just another game with a nice name? Saiyuki: Journey West Silent Scope 2 Simpsons: Road Rage, The Soldier of Fortune Sonic Adventure 2 Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro Spy Hunter Gran Turismo 3 A-spec The long, difficult wait is over. Our review of GT3 begins on page 142. But wait, there’s & = PlayStation2 — Spyro the Dragon: Season of Ice moral We alee kick aff | | Stretch Panic a new section called S C GameCube Super Smash Bros. Melee P The Inside Track this | Bx Xbox | Tanne ois ae A month. You'll find the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 Garage, Inc. Wanna get into game first edition spread ” ©) Dreamcast Top Gun development? Why not go indie? across both our GT3 = pik PlayStation | Independent developers are the garage review and the back samara pen ; bands of this industry. We follow one of our poster this Nintendo 64 Who Wants to be a Millionaire 3rd Ed. intrepid start-up through the highs and month. Game Boy Advance. World Series Baseball 2K2 lows of do-it-yourself game design. Do WWF Road to WrestleMania they make it? Find out on page 132. Game Boy Color | PlayStation www.scea.com you're at ome, there's | sit-at-home contestant who faces mind bending questions, orders in Chinese food and then, while taking a bathroom break to ponder the advantages of certain lifelines over others, tealizes that you : could. always just push pause. ‘ond look up the | answer on the Inteme, but knows that because a) need to worry about ) making a fool of ‘yourself on ‘notional TV and : besides, just lke on the actual show, -you really don’t snd. a chance of ever becoming q ar ne By ceo wen id . : Se DI C+ ©2001 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PlayStatio EVERYONE ns ttd. WWww.buenavista.com Visit www.esrb.org r call 1-800-771-3772 a 6mlt<(éd WWW.LEGACYOFKAIN. AN ‘ AN ademarks of Eidos Interactive h RR ad jister ag go are re SAN NN oa Ny interactive and the Eidos Inte 0 ° A thd Pe g 3 ey @ > = B Oo & @ A C. Bo Cc so “s i & me en = 2 oe oO ao 3 2 Ww ae = oo ow , > 8 Sees == oS mg => z= a 2 ns ae SE =o a ae Sinn 5 Lee RA SEs THELECH A STORY BEYOND TIME. AN ADVENTURE BEYOND BELIEE. 4. DYNAMICS Fake letters from Contributing Editor David Hodgson jokingly pretending to be a reader who's “a big fan of David’s ‘Where Are They Now?’ series”: 1 e Love letters to Associate Editor/Art Congratulations. You win an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color. system Wars Buying a game console has become like buying a new car! With each year, as hardware costs rise, it seems that the allegiances of gamers to specific console manufacturers settle into more firmly solidified, blind partisanship. Internet forums and magazine letters columns are looking more like the bumper stickers on Ford and Chevy trucks every day. So what? Aside from replacing more objective looks at the relative strengths and weaknesses of a given system with the sloganeering of console manufacturers’ ad campaigns, such single-mindedness would seem to actually hurt us, the consumers. While we were all scrambling to get our hands on a PS2, we not only let a It surprises me to see people write that Sony has ended the console wars before they’ve even begun. And while it appears that Sony’s system finally has some truly exceptional games on the horizon, two other contenders arrive with tempting offerings. What is the non-partisan gamer to do? Shawn Elliott selliottg23@aol.com Yeah, it’s a bit silly how normal, everyday gamers turn into vicious street thugs when talking about their favorite systems. One reader even wrote in, angry about our last issue’s less-than- enthusiastic write-up on the Xbox. He proclaimed that Microsoft’s machine is going to be the best thing ever. We shut him up real quick with system with, in my opinion, one of gaming history’s finest libraries (the Dreamcast) go under, but we also encouraged Sony to continue boasting about its market dominance with nothing more to show for itself than a handful of rushed-to-market, disposable titles. Shortly after Sega announced it would cease manufacturing the Dreamcast, | too jumped ship and traded my DC for a PlayStation 2. Sorry mistake that, so far. Phantasy Star Online, Quake II] Arena, Shenmue, Soul Calibur, Jet Grind Radio, NFL 2K1...all gone so that | could play what? Two semi-enjoyable hours of Zone of the Enders and a three-hour run through the murky, overrated Red Faction? Sigh. a, “How on earth would you know that, not having played the thing yet?” See this month’s Question of the Moment to read some of the more intelligent comments on the upcoming system wars. But that’s human nature. You become protective of the things that are endearing to you (although how the unreleased Xbox became endearing to that reader, God only knows). This fall will probably bring out the worst in everyone, with three consoles from which to choose.... So what is the non-partisan gamer to do? Buckle up and get ready to start spending some of your hard- earned dough! Buy everything! Buy! Buy! Buy! Director Jeanne Kim: 78 Nutso Over Amano | just got the latest issue (August, EGM #145) in the mail and after reading your editorial, | truly hope you guys are going to reward your faithful subscription holders with the Amano cover of the next issue. Please! | will be VERY disappointed if | don’t get one, and |’m unwilling to pay for an extra copy of something | already have. Please, please use your almighty influence to make this happen. Duncan Crawford skulboy@earthlink.net Unfortunately, we don’t really have much of anything “almighty” (at least that’s what our significant others tell us). We don’t have influence over jack, much less control of a randomly distributed issue. Sorry! If you don’t see the Amano cover edition of this issue in your mailbox, then your only alternative is to trek to the nearest shop to look for it. Dear Honorable Crispin, Before | was confirmed on June 10, | was given the daunting task of finding a confirmation name. As | was going through the List-o-Saints, | stumbled across the name...(dun dun da!)...“Crispin.” Instead of the expected, “Hey that’s neat...what does the name mean?”, | said, “Sweet!! Just like Crispin Boyer!!” Needless to say, my parents got kind of perturbed, but nonetheless, my full name is now Josef Anthony Crispin Locastro. Just for trivia’s sake, Crispin is a curly haired saint. He was a religious advocate by day and a shoemaker by night...back in the 16th century. Josef Anthony Crispin Locastro burger_dog17@yahoo.com Features Editor Crispin Boyer responds: I’m flattered you picked my name for your confirmation, but are you Sure you want to go through with this? | mean, do you have any idea how many different ways those cruel kids down the street can make fun of a name like Crispin? Crisper, Taran 52 Se N & sic awoar ade PlayStation.c E-mail us your thoughts, your wishes, your gripes, your innermost weirtiness...or your pictures, crazy LETTERS screenshots or photos of bizarre game-related moments. By the way, “daring” us to print your letter is the quickest way to get it thrown in the trash. Crispy Creme, Crispy Wheats and to play that game again. If it is coming Raisins—I’ve heard them all. out, would Zelda || be coming out as Allow me to suggest a few well? How about Link’s Awakening for tougher, more street-sounding the Game Boy Advance? names such as “T-Bone,” Allen Fangor “Heywood Jablowmee” or afangor@dellepro.com “Dandy Andy.” Indeed, Capcom, developers of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons, was working on a GBC | heard that The Legend of remake of the original 8-bit Zelda. Zelda for the [8-bit] Nintendo was Executive Producer Yoshiki Okamoto ae coming out on the Game Boy told us at E3 that it was completed, Mewes Color with extra stuff. Is this but not released because of St. Crispin Boyer, true? | don’t have a NES any problems brought on by the GBC’s circa 1989 ' ‘ more (| regretfully gave it away oddball screen size. (Players for my N64), and | always wanted couldn’t see entire rooms at once Here are the Review Crew’s new scores for THQ’s GT Advance Championship for the Game Boy Advance. Remember... the scale goes from o to 10, with a 5.0 being middle-of- the-road average. Greg Sewart: 8.0 “Jol oSt0 9x6S kKyl (originally 9.0) j > SUPER CIRCUITS Dean Hager: 8.5 (originally 9.0) Che Chou: 0 (originally 8.5) : Note, these new scores force us to take back the EGM Silver award we gave GT Advance the first time around. ©2001 Target Stores. The Bullseye Design is a registered trademark of Target Brands, Inc. All rights reserved. BM iS —& Cry with your ape Cr ste a3 your ape Share wwe FU wing On ZO NUMsn taSkS.cOoking, biking or wrestling etc. habitas Pign é jungle sata Vik, 9. Change your hygiene habits to matehith ©2001 Target Stores. The Bullseye Design is a registered trademark of Ti Have Tony's skills in the palm of your hand with 3D action on your Game Boy* Advance handheld system. Rip it up on Nintendo® 64 with Tony's Park Editor and Create-A-Skater features. The sequel is here on Nintendo® 64 with more riders, new levels and crazy new tricks! iT PRODUCTS RANGE FROM RATING PENDING TO EVERYONE NINTENDO ~~ QD *Hearious C®rX | Visions 2D GE CONTENT RATED BY © 1999-2001 Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. Published and Distributed by Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Activision is a registered trademark and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Pro Skater are trademarks of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Tony Hawk is a trademark of Tony Hawk. Nintendo and Nintendo 64, are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. © 1996 Nintendo of America Inc. Game Boy Advance is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. eS $0O-80 + FS NOSEGRINO + < ee L Hig | : a RAIL DROP > oe , | PAKIGIOCCILER+ VAR! Xs Preccncirr 3083 xa — ia > SEY) ae S60 -X'2 ae _ New Game Boy” Advance graphics Full 3D environments for you to skate Skate as the legendary Tony Hawk or ‘makes this the ultimate handheld in and pull off insane combos and one of 12 other top pro skaters. skating game. signature moves. Nintendo® 64 September 2001 Skate like one of 13 top pros including Skate head-to-head with your friends Design your own mega park in the legendary Tony Hawk or create in sick new multi-player modes Real-Time 3D, using any combo your own custom skater. including Trick Attack, Graffiti, HORSE of ramps. funboxes, rails and more. and the newest addition Tag Mode. BURNQUIST / CABALLERO / CAMPBELL / HAWK GLIFBERG / KOSTON / LASEK /MULLEN / MUSKA REYNOLDS / ROWLEY / STE, ME NER / J.THOMAS _pomemareeecaremmarnavanssncgeaseanesenesenseasetsonn, (mamateien Pane LEAR) { SPORTS REVOLUTION } —_— activisionO2.com like they could in the NES original, so they would miss staircases, bomb- able walls, etc.) He also said the decision to release it or not is now up to Nintendo, but he doubts it will ever see the light of day. Damn. Maybe they’ll rework it (or Super NES’ Link to the Past) for the GBA though.... o Ievtrmennnammmtnt priennerenntrtntn merino evceerht mnt tramp sinerevar getesattnmesomatnarnte formtmrenrat - : i NGO DISLIKES SMOKE. 7@ : 3 124 ¢ | peerverten tear 4 The Legend of Zelda (NES): A real classic and a thetruth.com friend. An interesting side note: As you may or may not know, the Oracle series was originally slated to be a three-game series, so what happened to the third cart? Okamoto told us the hassles of making three GBC games linkable to each other proved to be too much for Capcom to handle. (“The debugging would take forever,” he told us.) So they took Miyamoto’s suggestion and scrapped the third Oracle game. It was never completed. Pool Boy or WP? I’m a Brazilian guy and would like to thank you because since | started reading your magazine (#19), | loved it so much that | learned english just to read it. Now ten years later | work ina five star Hotel in Rio de Janeiro because | speak the language that your magazine introduced me. [SIC] siso@mailbr.com.br We would say we’re flattered and impressed, but we have no idea what kind of job you hold at this hotel. Not-So-Gay Letter Hi guys...love your work but issue number 145 bothered me a little bit. MORE LETTER FACTS e Letters that got resent to us with an apology because the original wasn’t spell-checked or proofread: 4 e Letters we automatically dismissed because they really needed spell-checking or proofreading: 13 ¢ Average number of entries for “Eat My Shorts” contest: 800+ a month -cooeuseesnetenneeeeenneee enone enenenoe enna tEnnNE epneESRrnEEEREEESEREDESP DEERE SOR P RETR ITO RITS SERS ROIS RD I ROOT PI RORT DE ROP ORI RENTER ERROR ERI STROM I Raa RR RRR On page 58, the Best GameCube Game award went to Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II. | don’t have a problem with that; | think Star Wars is great. But what | do have a problem with is the nice little slur you managed to Sneak into the text. The line is as follows: “...the GC game that impressed us most packed Spaceships and John Williams tunes, not coins and gay Mario music.” Could you explain yourselves? What did you mean by that? Does Mario music frequently engage in homosexual behavior? | demand an apology for your furthering of the “acceptable” prejudice. l’m not gay and | don’t know any gay people. But as a decent human being, |’m not going to sit and read your magazine when you have your little slurs hidden in every issue Or SO. “Jessica” address withheld P.S. The editor who wrote that bit should read Homophobia: Analysis of a “Permissible” Prejudice... www.cyberpsych.org/homophobia/ The Oxford Dictionary has its first (and therefore, most common) definition of the word “gay” as: gay /gay/ ° adj. 1. lighthearted and carefree; mirthful. So we’re not really sure what you’re raising a stink about. “Gay” is a perfectly cromulent word. Molar Activity How does the Game Boy Advance stand up to bite attacks (from humans, dogs and other living creatures)? | remember renting a game with a cheating Al system for my Game Boy Color. | got so mad, | bit the screen. Luckily, | bit above the actual screen, but | still bit the screen’s plastic. Direct, to the point, here they are. This month’s shorts: Did you tell Capcom to release my Mega Man compilation? ’m gonna pee my pants if | have to wait any longer!! sayankowski@ webtv.net Send us a picture so we can show everyone how serious you were! Do you know when the Wonder Swan Color is coming out in the U.S., and do you know when a Dragon Ball Z game is coming out? Bung78@aol.com WSC: It’s not. DBZ: The Legacy of Goku, an action- adventure game with some role- playing elements, is in the works for the Game Boy Advance. Infogrames and WizardWorks will be releasing it this winter. These guys will be releasing more titles based on the DBZ licenSe in the future. Question of the Moment What Are Your Thoughts on the Upcoming System Wars? Let’s just say that PlayStation 2 is America and GameCube is Hiroshima and Xbox is the big atomic bomb that will end the whole war. richieballz@yahoo.com Let’s see. GameCube vs. Xbox vs. PlayStation 2 vs. Dreamcast. DC beats PS2, Xbox beats DC, GC beats Xbox. Ottercool@ignmail.com GameCube: $199.99. Xbox: $299.99. The realization that the PS2 will kick their booties in the console wars: priceless. There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s the PS2. slimshadyfang9@hotmail.com When will Nintendo grow up? Those games are Still kiddy. Look at Pikmin, Smash Bros., Kameo.... Forget it. Nintendo just won’t change.... friendlyguy28@mail.com Le’s put this in Perfect Dark terms: Nintendo has an RCP-120 and everybody else is unarmed. Nintendo wins. Excalibur2043@aol.com | think the Xbox is going to follow its American-based ancestors’ footsteps (like 3D0 and Jaguar) and die a quick death within two years. | predict the PS2 will come out on top with the GameCube giving it some healthy competition. force5555@hotmail.com Dreamcast still rules all! CubsRule58@aol.com l’d rather have an Xbox or a GameCube than a PlayStation 2. But Sony has Square. Hence, they have me. It’s out of my hands. iwishiwasafi@hotmail.com Next Month’s Question of the Moment: What is your favorite Final Fantasy, and are you excited about Final Fantasy X? Send your short but sweet responses to: EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject heading: My Fantasies The Metro = e) 0 {e) ae O ® S S < iv o < Eo Oo o cab) [@)) > = te: = rr = iL OPM MNAN ANAS , ’ PIPL LABOR LP EL PEPE LOD at dear nieade 1S OR NORA OH ta «Moby *Fatboy Slim =x° Propellerheads and more Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. Whatever Haul ass in ruthless, multi-player combat racing. Thwart opponents with traps, trickery and explosive attacks. Race a motley crew of characters through treacherous, obstacle-filled terrains. is An original game design created specifically for the Xbox” video game system. Ne www.maddashracing.com Mad Dash Racing, the Mad Dash Racing logo and related characters are all trademarks of Eidos Interactive. Published by Eidos Interactive. Developed by Crystal Dynamics. Crystal Dynamics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eidos Interactive, Inc. Crystal Dynamics and the Crystal Dynamics logo are registered trademarks of Crystal Dynamics, Inc. Eidos, Eidos Interactive, and the Eidos Interactive logo are all registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive, Inc. ©2001 Eidos Interactive, Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights reserved. ° You can write EGIV at: EGM Letters Please note: We reserve the right to edit any correspondence for space - PO. Box 3338 purposes. If you don’t want your name, city/state or e-mail address LETTERS fiale Seoak. (I printed, tell us so (but please include your phone number, mailing address ’ and system preference for Letter of the Month prize consideration). 60522-3338 Also note: Although we can’t respond to every letter, as far as you know, we do e-mail: EGM@ziffdavis.com read them all. Also, everything you send us is ours to keep! Also, one time, a wire scratched the Screen...right across the middle, leaving a visible gouge. | tried polishing it for a few, frantic minutes. Apparently | polished it so hard that the plastic melted back into its Straight-outta-the-box condition. Everything looked brand new, except for my aforementioned bite, which still remains to this day. Xuncu Morton ucnux@yahoo.com To be honest we aren’t sure how the Game Boy Advance will stand up to bite attacks. We’re having trouble getting people to play with “Jesus”—our name for the white Japanese GBA that started working again three days after we flushed it in a toilet—much less wrap their lips around it. And to those who were wondering: Yes, we really did flush it in a toilet. How to Score a PS$2 A few months after his parents were divorced, little Jay passed by his mom's bedroom where he saw her rubbing her body and moaning, “I need a man, | need a man!” Over the next couple of months, he saw her doing this several times. One day, he came home from school and heard her moaning again. When he PN RRR TOO OID DOE DO TEED IOSD SET DORE DITION TE EE OP PEE EPL E IE DOP NIIP IAA AED REPROD ROE BTR S NORTE RD PENT P EIT T I PTE PO AAR AR SR SHORTS What did that Canadian Sewart do with his money? Did he buy some Canadian bacon on the way home to his eskimo? MrSparklegg2@ aol.com Yup. He bought some Canadian bacon on the way home to his eskimo (the one who’s waiting for him each night in his igloo). In case you missed the last issue, Previews Editor and Canadian Greg Sewart won $6K for winning a NASCAR 2001 contest at this summer’s video- game trade show, E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo). Letter Art of the Month WINNER Alex Chen e San Jose, CA Congratulations! Your prize is on the way~an InterAct GameShark for PlayStation 2, PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 or Game Boy Color. ARRAS ARRAN PORN EERIE BLES TONNE NE DLOD AON CONIC RR NBR ae remntenementaC ene ete atEt Put your creative skills to the test by decking out a #10 envelope peeked into her bedroom, he sawa man on top of her. Little Jay ran into his room, took off his clothes, threw himself on his bed, and started rubbing himself, moaning, “Ohhhh, | need a PS2! | need a PS2!” JayTheFF@excite.com Hmm...was this appropriate to put in our magazine? Probably not. Oh well. Too late. Tactics Revisited Square has or is ready to rerelease Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenogears and some other “old-school” PlayStation games for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. (It’s called the Square Millennium Collection.) Is there any news of Square Electronic Arts doing a similar rerelease for the U.S.? Avid Final Fantasy Tactics fans will surely love to have this game available again. Trying to find a copy of this classic game is impossible, and when you do find it, people are asking $60- 80 for it. While | probably would pay that much ’cause the game is that (the long, business type) with your own unique touch. Send your letter art to: pan Lstien hes Q. EGM Letter Art, P.0. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 eo. (or e-mail EGM@ziffdavis.com) 608 BAY Be sure to include a mailing address, and tell us what system you'd like your prize for, in case you win. All entries become the property of Ziff Davis Media Inc. and will not be returned! Matt Koenitzer Medford, NJ RR CEI TTDI ETT SOTTO II NIN ENE ONIN good, | wouldn’t pay that much for a used copy. And my copy is scratched beyond playability. Phil Williams ill_wi_willy@yahoo.com Square EA is not planning on bringing out the Square Millennium Collection to the U.S. But fear not. Sony should soon be rereleasing Final Fantasy Tactics under their Greatest Hits line. In fact, it may be out by the time you read this. The good news: You'll be able to buy the game for $19.99, brand new! The bad news: It’s gonna have that huge, gay “Greatest Hits” logo on the packaging. And we do mean “gay” in the most mirthful way. Last issue, we accidentally credited Paramount Pictures with Spider-Man (the movie, not the game, which is called Spider-Man the Movie). The folks with access to imaginary movie critics are the ones making the flick: Columbia Pictures. Close, but no controller Bad luck to these guys.... Better luck next time. re OM Letter BRT : Met EY sleet 4 HAUS TTT Sa H _— was . * oo . ms a Pt A pee ee Sn oe a eR EY R= St is tas LAJLAKLAS QOOIMNIMNM AGS CrOry Fie€Clronic aMinNe MONINIY - 26 - WWWeCommnas.com a2 ? ‘4 Dominick Carriero Stuart, FL For Letter of the Month and Letter Art of the Month contests, no purchase is necessary. If you're really bored and want to read the complete contest legal rules, please visit www.egmmag.com or write us at: EGM Contests-Legal Rules Request, P.0. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338. After reading the rules, please get a life. Don’t forget to tell us what system you'd like your prize for, and don't forget to give us your physical mailing address as well...or else, no prize for you! PlayStation.c in: WWwW.scea.com _ Twisted Metal: Black is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. © 2001 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ee ee ee ee ae ee ee ee ee ae naa SEG re i gpg 088 ic Ae AAI i AB gis eee RS RAR RE AV RA OP HE REY | F6:8 RREIBE SEP TRG AB se Brae th ges So Sas = aid HRI an RA AE Re A aI Fe — Be 5 Sa ear gS ee awe wat? A: acer ey I miei vs, Phare ERAS eS = Wt ie eh Pies a oeeae. EBERT OPO RAAT EL MBN PATHE R NLS ARB EE OA RE Rea re SIRS RET AN VE EN ite Sapa aaa ee ela shins: ibe SE 4 < Bebe kenig te nig a 3 ee ee ee ee Ee bala op Mal io? pen Lie i oe ee 3 RE Ry IE only See a 1 BY — a AS RETO FRE Ne Oat WAN eRe A SRG STAR ke ymca ae ao sn NR i Ra ee Se tn cll nendgn ieldmn ibaa | SES aS ts ARE teabiel apMingto Sip pine eee app I ane abihiciiad hua sake Firs ahiawmge le AS la ee ei y pera Se $d RSs Se TRE ay 4 Oe BE go Foie Se Ren i os ai gee aN pie ag AN a A ee at SR evn: a pone Stel aeties Sarees £8 see pS packet balan sate wns i sae PO A ot eee sey js He tebplge aatere perc ‘ ye ils. sa Ae Maia Rabat: | ih igh d ~ >. ‘ Ce 2 a * Jota PS ESE 5 ad + * >a . ilk “ i$ ae ‘eee Ey . 4 ao . " He ty oo —— —— a 4 Me OS) : 4 ae Vee vA 80H oe tn, er " & Ty eee ‘ “ eit we Mites oe Oe a i. ae FT ne Mid Ha op dP Oe ata See Ie SSS mh Ie: a aah ESA.) i RR IR a: TA INE a I ME Se ak ep a = (OD MPa MO AE MR Se PB SE Me he iB a eA ag SR ALD! GREP SIE SE EO Sy + eye nm Mio Ms ae ANA PY W222) BEC es BR ART SA SR I Deady Ye hte a te GRA ees po ve 4 mt yer oe Se, a ae ae ee oe eres ee. eo a & " i ta Ml Ni RE eee se ae es -¥ ot hee % Loe * ee Weight Svat ty Wo ABioed tt ge a Ba og a oes ek eo ek api te nity Rib GREE Mery Sat SISAG et ee Ww tgs bth ct) ae, priate a OF gro tg es a rex * ee =eceks Say See » © * aS eS € Ow Ss es 2 oe ae ro r en" ea 4s a4 me Bee He = may ey Lay, AB De r eee oa ae 5G * é cna 44 FA An ght, i ae ee ee ee ti . ‘ wa eee aaa ae eek, a, 1 UR 6 SR a = ai a Plt ae wh m es fart hones, Amy Pare. 9 Mes Sori Me a aE Ri a ‘Meibwtel ie) isk Pa * ? & « rect Mile BR Tein atic oe Ba hei aoa 4 bs hm rh enh DD stewed sik: pour aisetiotfal 9h ie Hi, : @ . nitty aS iy sie atid ORY ie Ay, 2 hin » baw m1 (iy SN Sam a Pi i Se Solin oe ‘ ‘ at Ae saul ye aba a a i a Mer at SANE) RY bok Hae Ry yw : ine ES AA Be NAA rs Apollo Ba iraghllian sit Rinse ae Mga > dae tle 0 tpl VHT * Ji Yt White gi e™ a. oe ig ir te ee “ ‘ a ee = se~ ae 8 gph tree ‘chia il ipa i ds deve ee z% % 5 “ ss SERA. es ik i ig a I oc al a w a : & Fore ' * eer = ¥ ta Ai 3 ‘anid aie: = a 3 roe rk , . z a a saad 5078 wee cergh« . ish iil San aa RE I a r x Cte ace, Sy ae Se ee ee " 7 i gy Mae gellar . — ¥ * es ~ * 4 SIR A AEN aI My ¥ the # oe Cd AER Sm ‘ ” + oe 4 Se I Aine eas Me A agg — a Pe HS ME ind Te ie a i, ce ae ee 4 ey gtd yy (Mestad SHR ae 4 a4 = ty ¥ dm Sn Me ee i ne ian ee ay WOE svn VRC AIR HS NO teil oe Ny ~ Fe. Awe ‘ r + WH hi a Md Heh De? i> «Saat Oe te ae ee > a LT RS EY BRET AIT ie MRNA iy lng Le Kars tb aphid Seat” a1 ip SDs a Ota ye en | ‘ * 7 Se Ser » * Stes Rie) Apo ye ened Bipasha Yew. ite natin eee er ae me bi sik AIS a ee bach ates i pod ra ei stot “! ahi " ae soo &, eime # % ‘ vin Duties an ae " we te oes eee ete’ a ae or * a4 a i Wl Oe A aa Stee Pi Spe ne ee ee Re Or ieee. ee se a ee ee 5 Pl ee a Ab tot So ed She th Me " f RE TNL ERR, RO! id & - a? Wes = * go ~ ” 4 3 i Ma tite. oth 2, * ae * wae x og ees * ? 2 one ao =" sp Lis " Pe > fe LO, GIR PM (8 61% a ees oe ee 2 ge ¥ 1 Ae 4 Saar: pe Se ae te Ce Oe mL er ¥ MR MP aa ee ke SERBS Sa # mi he = a5 . a ee ee | ‘ a ld 4 4 Aha Ay ate age ee ee ea sei bh Me? a> DH WT, eee Ay SRC a DEE ha WG ¥ sit ta Big. 7) Hp ae RNY ¥ a a eS kA Se wa © - ‘4 & Pe te 5 EE RS PS BARR Ae CAO Pin os eae. ee Ludi eo ee yah nilane te shh tpi ya me % LS She a ee » >» wae - oe ales We, ww a Mel ae ae A a idle aad High sie SE DP ic ew) RY Peele a Sto ita Se ee ge ak ee a ee ae neath ete Seen eee Se te ee ee SR ad I) PER Nip en nan ho Dae chen See ae RE Sie Se Sey Re 6 Aico Hon eine to ¥ bi ES Ee eee oe © eG dutig Oey POEL SS EBS RR (Sipe NI RR AL Nf cle Ee NO bi eA Mn NE 8 8. wey Be i Sa 2 “ a eee uo eh Wd eee, ee ee aes eet eee oe ee eS Ch A eee Ree PR SESE FRE Gr ei wads ghisers iT Dee FELT S EB tl Aree ay ne tt, RURAL hg Mtge URAL gay Hi tem eto Ika aight oa A ad is DN AY agi cai Sin SRG pat SD Bl ply a ome “Untowwn iad Oe eae, ge aE SS Ae de aan iii, seinen ii SPAS cs sth eae digi ie II fp bagi Sara De ie eRe seat ak. cps ss . deal Wits Bet See SG Ly re whi 4 ea SI ATG RED 5 BSS A gM a ics Nd 4 NPG) pi i gS ae Bae ay en, Aernmy ee eee a AES FEIE A Re en RM yee ANN ME) RRR Re ae eon WitiSap = ke Pipe olag te ROAM ec ati Mame Ini St 1 ee TR aR ge a eg EI Noldin HORRY NSO Mt ‘ aap Persetierd O44 . ie gk a Fee racer ta I Ng Tea a a al WN ea ica SE Rie Hike Pf Nh Ht hs gr al deletes = rr a AM He PME SR ARMS BAY ih A NY Not ere S eee oe yaw . ® is a - ~ , ayreginrty Ain > ey oh * 4 Petia ey ce ty “ a - > + * % by Me * iz = = ee ae ee, “ Ps Bie ip PSRs RP ath neal ‘ . _ _ _— a » Lia * re =a a aoc % A i a a t * x She ete pe Qe: tp ” 7 ad ae + = 2a ey . —s % he 5 PI % whet Harte dices, -* Veto F i Heth MEG ee Se i ae a eae, yy ox = . 7 ey a el : * “ ee Ee ae ee ee ee ee lis ie Rey ; et WP aie +o Ae Bat y Fk " My HeAige AHN pi 9 ND ss Ba AT 1H = x Bape, ug r o itl a ‘ So yh Spy ogee © at Pe . oe ~ 5 - + = » ' w SRE = haze Mae Sy Fs + * a — ¢ ae ay ee + % sane = So Lie i | Beg poy vit U0 (mage rCarIRt gly ised yy TS Th Sh se ya eet lesa > a * * + ae * eer — o es ——— ke . ~ le Yin atin DCM EA. Aiphone: 1 whey Aid feia ‘ Sins He Shou. = i Meee sit 3 B x r a La % i: 7 - = S 7 Dinh o m rm it * ad te % ” ~ *. ~* pore ome tie eke _ he a a x saaiat ae ~ Y ul y ete ie 35 “ me Ne Bae He MOY 23 HB il te lee 23 SHE ee ese =S We Sly = F eae # « - a+ . he . ay " ‘ 6 ieee Me Oe. TORR Ment a Ae . *~ ee =. aS ee gett rte echt’ = ty oe re es = = te eho wisi 4 = , mya ® Mi ii > 10hay # © Pe a. 4 “ o iy oo ne car Mess We nate egy iv uy ~ - ai 7 — < he — - ~~ ve, Mh pet er Steet oe Gy * Bin CREE ng Se OME ye tafe r ra (May SRE ae ~~ * pa 2 eae eli the ae aah HREM Ayan PB ELL PbODe |! Shee lee RNY se # ee, " ie Fandh pb ge ea Sila te a SES siissetenehtinil et = Nee 6 4 ie, Laer viy ATOM wee a eta Pape <= ney Me fin * een = = ™ * ~ * of Ral ris Ce Her Sak cae aimee cee ta ia 1 skal Piao ae m WO ~ sc i ue ¥: ifr creaea | 6 Ly WE ale, f B20 + pe BAF 5 = Se $B SS ce aS, ee. ‘ = “6 wx 4 —% re = 2 2 3 t 2 % ° * . pots ae + Sieg! ing ss I Slo lp SR ing BRR gy: yee: EE z % v A Wel gh NARS nage irs ee ne ae oe fi eS . » age tse alk HS See “ r z Re et Rs wee ge : ers 2 ag il fhodgi i ' ‘ «=e Boi " Be " Be Rg Si SET iy ose 7" Se eee 4 Setar am Sy MILES ABOVE ANTARCTICA, A WEATHER SATELLITE SENDS BACK AN IMAGE. Sec on eins eon new ge ie are oo % 7 * « — - —— PR Ma. RIE onde Be je Ne 4 = ~ Fn aes Nah ate neo Maye He eestor ~ Your spacial forces reconnaissance unit i ordered to investigate a distress. signal. You arrive and discover a virus has violently mutated ip oneview _Bely ving: and non-living thing in-its path. The mission objectives are clear: rescue survivors, secure the area and destroy the virus, If wat eae 2 Nera: Ry! ve Miah i ae tft Weighs 4h Sia shit % * 4 ~ ve = eae: Paving, SE agri Ry SS ¥ Cre Ate, # « . a ° ¥ " e + ae is > 308 Pe ‘ ; ripe ners ¢ * " = ten TST aa: SP Qa PE yy * me * * se © ame " 2 ae e¢ = > e ‘ i PECTIN Aig Ee Bela ARIA AES 00 ge LS Nb HP aga Aaa pi ai son sigh «ome ost yo ig omtins af pea) i a wales ‘ e cies o¥ > —— <= s rs = — 2 a a Nay SR ee: ee en Ba ee ee VATE Moe ies Bw yp " SRP hap ee so —— — - ahs ‘ eae - 9 ee " es Ae oF ee Oe ae. a a PP es EO = Se - EL BBD Pape tithe = ELS RY a APE LOH Ty AN FE ERIE uy ea 4 OE EWA gh RIM he aa nie i) LIM Hf BES EE Seay m - E & " Hie ae m q eS RR MARR 6 emp ate S\ a F » ae oor eee ee ee ee ee talaga hl anaes ag pi - — Sateentalg ine Ityp- = aS, hap oa Si — F so = PIS sah 22 = 3 _ & 13S ay é ae Siete 3 A Yet AI 1 FE gc yp ccna, Re ARB. Mia gatos am vege a 3 = Bee Pe a Sse eh a gale a Ma eae ce eae Se i a ee ee i ee eS E:T MO saat. sae Pi aE My EINE ow Saye eS, ~ a pe = ii FSIS Pe, i cag ha RE RH Cie ee. Un ema der ee 5 Nes a ae ee sduttic=si:yaceceolaciald (RRR BOR aie EE ew ie 5S ree BE 4 Sn ae ae ee ee ee ee eo poeapmagucc nce 1S ESR unl Se sen lola tmeee aioe nn: iene iar MES Bc Sead a aa nels — eee ‘ones rer) fren orce unleashed by an evil spirit. The tranquil destruction was complete. But itimate task www.scea.co m ne re ace Dark Cloud isa trademark of Sony Computer tcl ST Entertainment inc. © 2001 Sony Computer hat will help restore GV Entertainment nc: “PlayStation” and “PS” ts,” aS Gece os oe ees Ree: : oe EE ae : Family logos are registered trademarks : rescues lie be ore 3 OL _ nal? Or \ Ne cs: of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. By Chris Johnston chris johnston@ziffdavis.com & Jonathan Dudiak jonathan dudlak@ziffdavis.com gives Namco a chance to reinvent ome things just get better with age—fine wines, blue jeans...those little mechanical banks from the ’4o0s you see on the Antiques Road Show. When it comes to video games, time is not always so kind. While most games go Straight to the compost heap by the time they hit a fourth or fifth edition, a look back through Namco’s flagship fighter legacy proves that Tekken has aged better than Richard Gere. Alongside Virtua Fighter, Tekken defined the 3D- fighter genre that solidified in the late ’9os, and if it ends up looking like the arcade screens you see on these pages, Tekken 4 for the PS2 seems poised to do everything right. With Virtua Flghter 4 nipping at its heels, Tekken’s fifth installment has a British Boxer Steve Fox weighs in as one of Tekken 4’s three new characters. battle. Where do they get these wonderful toys? tough road ahead if it wants to be competitive with Sega’s arcade juggernaut. Both titles have a similar history, competing on rival consoles in the mid-’90s and enjoying updates every couple of years. But while Virtua Fighter 4 is returning to a simpler control scheme and more classic gameplay, Tekken 4 tests the water with several new features. Most notably, the formerly infinite arenas now have walls and natural boundaries that players can interact with. Don’t expect to be busting through fences or anything, but you’ll see some breakable objects here and there, and even more animated onlookers than in Tekken Tag. Using the walls and arena boundaries strategically for reversals and trapping your opponent will be key, especially when combined with the revised sidestep. Namco is removing the straight vertical and backward jumps (a forward jump will still be possible) to allow continuous movement into and out of the screen by holding the joystick up or down. Getting strategic positioning will be a huge part of the game, and players will be able Japanese gamers with mobile phones are getting their own new version of Tekken. For a little under $3 per month, properly equipped cell-phone users can play Tekken Command Battle, a Java version of the game, against an equally wired friend. Players input a skill (block, throw, defend), and based _ on their experience relative to an opponent, they will perform differently in to drop a fighter into two or three different ring locations at the start of each bout to suit their preferences. Also new to Tekken 4 are Soul Calibur-esque parries, which allow you to pull an opponent toward you and quickly switch places (but you won’t have to worry about those annoying SC ring-outs!). For those of you who follow the Tekken story line, the premise of T4 is pretty basic. In trying to track down the Devil Gene possessed by Jin Kazama for his biological experiments, Heihachi is led instead to the presumed-deceased Kazuya. What he doesn’t know is that Kazuya has been resurrected in a biological research lab, and after disposing of the goons Heihachi has sent to find him, Kazuya embarks on a quest to destroy the man himself. Conveniently, in order to lure Kazuya within striking distance, Heihachi Sponsors a tournament, knowing Kazuya will enter for the chance to defeat him. Of course, all the familiar Tekken favorites appear for a piece of the action as well, and thus Tekken 4 is born. Filling out the ranks of the 20 total playables - 33 Cont. on page 36 lf you thought GameCube games would be cheaper because they come on smaller discs, think again. Nintendo recently announced the slate of GC titles it plans to release in Japan this year, and all will run gamers 6800 yen (about $54 apiece). Two titles will accompany the system’s Japanese launch on Sept. 14—Luigi’s Mansion and Wave Race: Blue Storm. Pikmin will follow in October (making it a likely U.S. launch title in November), with Smash Bros. Melee in November and Eternal Darkness and Animal Forest in December. Nintendo of America has yet to announce game pricing for the U.S. market, but they insist it will be competitive. Rare’s N64 first-person shooter Perfect Dark will get a sequel in fall 2002 on GameCube. Fans of the game will get even more Joanna than they’ve bargained for, though. Fireworks Entertainment and Goodman Rosen Productions have optioned TV and movie rights, meaning a TV series based on PD could be on the air as early as fall 2002. Namco, Square and Enix recently announced that they would team up to make games for use on Square’s PlayOnline service, scheduled to launch next March. Square’s Final Fantasy XI will be the first game to use it, but could Tekken be far behind? The Dreamcast Map Pack for Quake III is now available for download at sega.com. With it, PC, Mac or Linux players with a 1.16n or lower version of Quake III Arena can Square off against people playing on Dreamcast. To get to DC players using the computer versions, use GameSpy 3D or PingTool to browse Sega’s DC servers. Historically, games that are developed in Japan are released there first. In a stunning reversal, Konami revealed that their Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty will hit U.S. PS2s in November, but Japanese gamers will have to wait until December. We know what we'll be thankful for come Turkey Day. eceeeenccccecoes 2089898088666 66¢66 eeaeeeeeeeee eee Sooccecc cccee le ® faacece es 5 4 - Sees sieges ae ececccecccces trademark of Sony Computer Enterta ights reserved. © 2001 Sony Computer Entertainmen ive Owners. ir respect * ighted materials of the is game are trademarks and/or copyr in th t Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. gery featured ima Inc. All manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated Ica t Amer inmen * » rismois a Gran Tu Allr UH CSEPEGH GET 1 FREE Valid at all Hollywood Video locations. Coupon expires 10/01/01. Limit one coupon per customer, per visit. May not be combined with any other offer. Cash value 1/100¢. | Cont. from page 33 in the game are three new fighters, which may seem like a drop in the bucket when you look at the entire cast in Tekken’s history. Hopefully, though, the days of slapping some armor on King or a prefix on Jack and calling them new characters are gone, and we'll have a score of solid fighters to choose from this time around. The new recruits are pretty cool, the first of which is British middleweight boxer Steve Fox. While the designers originally planned to have two boxers with different fighting styles, they ended up combining them both into one well- rounded pugilist. Like most boxers, Steve’s moves are all punch-based, so his kick buttons For those of you who were miffed to hear that the arenas in Tekken 4 will be finite, this should ease the blow. From the insane detail on the water and lighting to the lifelike, animated backgrounds, there’s plenty to distract you from the fight. Rooftop platforms, stone lion heads and a bright city night make for one hell of a fight. How cool would it be if that clock moved in real-time? We’re not going to hold our breath. will instead perform dodging and blocking tactics. To balance out his slightly limited attacks, Fox is going to be one fast sucka. Four out of five Tekkenists agree that Eddy Gordo was one of the coolest additions to Tekken 3, so they will be happy to see a new Capoiera fighter introduced in T4. Please welcome Christie Monteiro, student of Eddy Gordo and granddaughter of his master. She was originally planned for Tekken 3, but the designers didn’t feel comfortable with her character model until now. Add another one to the list of hot girls who can kick our rears. Speaking of rears, athlete Craig Marduk brings wet-sock time, baby! We can only hope you'll get to take out some soccer-mom aggression, Street Fighter-style, on the SUV parked back there. We don’t know who designed this building, but typically you want to put the escalator next to the fountain, not in it. It’s | Tekken 4 headliners Craig _ Marduk (the ear-notched _ Goldberg look-alike on the left) _and Christie Monteiro (right). _ One’s got power and one’s got _ finesse. Which would you rather | _take home to mom and dad? Re. ORR RE RII HRI AIBA IIDC HIRAI IIAP AOD DOR ODI HARI PRI HE DANA OHA HOR OORHOE PES IT LEI ELSE NEED RRA OPIN IE DORIA IRIE NOONE CDOS AE PRE R SD OR APT LEA ILE POOR up this one to complete the all-star Tekken cast. An unknown benefactor recently sprung Marduk from prison and issued him a plane ticket to the tournament. Craig’s a Vale Tudo fighter, a style heavy on ground attacks that you may recognize from the UFC games, which should nicely round out the large variety of disciplines represented in Tekken 4. See the page topper above for pictures of these two newbies. With the arcade version hitting this summer, it'll be a while before we see Tekken 4 on U.S. PS2s. So take on that 10-year-old whiz kid at the arcade soon so you don’t fall behind for the PS2 version. iF We’ve seen Tekken bowling; might this be the beginnings of Tekken beach volleyball? Before the Backstreet Boys tore down their music-video set, Namco snagged a picture to use in designing this Tekken 4 arena. = 3 & 4 : 5 | : : : i : i E i a | & g i REET A PT AE TEE Sag RS Super Mario Advance (Nintendo) > Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 (Activision) F-Zero Maximum Velocity (Nintendo) , Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Konami) | » Rayman Advance (Ubi Soft) Source: NPD TRSTS Video Game Service : We’ve seen what the GBA can do in How that little knob on the GBA’s backside can land you a broken unit — | the friendly confines of the EGM For a while there, the Internet rumors seemed screen, that’s just a side effect of what’s really | Offices, but we wanted more, so we too good to be true. A contrast adjustment for going on. The knob controls the voltage supplied ile the rere find out what to the LCD, which in turn affects how the “outside world” thinks of the little sucker. the GBA? Would this mean we’d actually get to play games like Castlevania and Rayman without having to wait for the proper alignment of the sun and planets, thus achieving ideal lighting conditions? So gamers eager to try something, anything to help make the GBA’s sub-par display more visible, the screen responds to the incoming _ signal. A certified technician can = make changes to the display with that knob if your GBA Starts freaking out and/or . flickering a lot. Tuning m®. this bad boy takes a skilled hand, though, so the bottom line is this: You run the risk of frying your ee eet GBA’s screen ifyou | “lI don’t think the lighting is a problem. peeled back their screw with the | The Game Boy Color was too bulky; this serial-number ~ adjustment knob, is easier to grip. It’s cool.” : Stickers to gain so don’t even -Derek Wong, Age 13, Sunnyvale, CA | access to the small adjustment knob buried behind the GBA’s screen. About then, Nintendo issued a statement mess. Sure, the idea of a brighter screen may be appealing, but we tried it out on a test unit (here “The GBA launch could be compared to the launch of a high-profile to clarify what that knob is s a, et feiss — : See in the land where GBAs flow PC title. The mayhem actually for. Basically, what they 7 lise sss ¥ all “a like wine) and it makes things ~~ short-lived. That said boils down to, “it’s a flicker — zero percent better. It’s like thinking might be because adjustment; don’t mess with it.” that cranking up the brightness on your 13” Nintendo didn’t have While turning the little gold adjustment Sanyo TV from 1986 is gonna get you the clarity enough systems.” component will lighten and darken the GBA of an S-Video signal. No such luck, friends. Jeff Gardner Manager, Babbages Bolingbrook, IL A rather curious commuter looks on as Brent Jordheim | finds the ideal spot ™4 for his GBA good times. That’s no special laboratory, kids, it’s simply the overhead light on San Francisco’s BART train. Take notes, Nintendo. “It’s a cool little system. Even though | work for Sony, | think Nintendo stole the show at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo).” -Anonymous employee of the Sony- | owned Metreon store in San Francisco | 38 | Flight The story ofa hero | 73 adventure. And his ears. ° A villainous force has transformed the dream world eee of Lunatea into a nightmare. A young hero, Klonoa, 2 aifever has been given the task of rescuing this once enchanted land. A daunting mission, to be sure. But with ears to ride the wind, and a magic ring to control his foes, this hero’s victory cry will surely be heard. Klonoa™ 2 and ©1997, 2000 Namco Ltd. All Rights Reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings PlayS fa cI O n e iS £ § “ icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. WWW.NAMCO.COM Af NAAPN om he Oy HEL gene i ia RSE is Lose big. That's college football. agiate ei Company. The “Collegiate ligensed tively. Heisman and Heisman Trophy Award are s Opening XY té.. Million SN k One Ww, Ce; Tivn _ Million After weeks of rampant speculation among retailers and consumers, Sierra has finally confirmed every Dreamcast owner’s worst fear. Half- Life, one of the last great games for Sega’s fading system, is officially It’s not often that a movie comes out based on or inspired by a game. That’s why it’s really amazing that this summer we had two of them. As the diligent gaming journalists that we are, we stood in line to see these blockbusters. And here’s what we thought of them. Warning...spoilers ahead: “The only thing faithful about Tomb Raider dead. On June 15, the publisher sent out a press release that read: the movie to its video game franchise is the “Sierra regrets the cancellation of Half-Life for the Dreamcast due to disproportionate size of Jolie’s stuffed bra. It’s changing market conditions.” That was it; no explanations, no damage not a complete disservice to gaming cinema, control, and certainly no apologies. PRIMAS OFFICIAL STRATEGY GUIDE but with so much licensing resource to draw So why the last-minute cancellation? +tee on, West and his writers did very little to Wasn’t the game already done and ready elevate the genre. | was disappointed with to ship? Not surprisingly, when we the action sequences that focused more on contacted Sierra for some answers, their pyrotechnics than style.” —Che Chou response was “no comment.” In fact, their entire PR strategy was to sandbag the truth in hopes that the cancellation fiasco blows over without too much damage to their credibility. But with a DC-specific Strategy guide already in stores, and at least one published review (of an early “You need to go into this movie with the right set of expectations: It’s going to suck. Hard. (Play the last couple TR games if you need help getting into this mindset.) That way, when you see it, you’re pleasantly surprised that it’s average, mindless summer fare. Sure the plot beta) in a certain other “professional” The game’s been makes The Goonies look like a documentary, magazine, many fans got a taste of what canned, but you can but what did you expect? Enjoy the Incredible was to come, only to have it abruptly still get the hint book. Crumbly Monkey Statues and watching Angelina Jolie run, and think about other stuff the rest of the time.” —Mark MacDonald Snatched away. Not satisfied to digest Sierra’s company line, we poked around for some answers. Our sources gave us an eye-opening account of what really happened to Half-Life. We discovered that the truth wasn’t all that far from Sierra’s claim of “changing market conditions.” With the waning state of the Dreamcast, and the summer launch of Game Boy Advance, Half-Life would’ve had little chance of fighting the noise in retail space. So instead of dropping more money into a game that’s already millions in the hole (after all, it had been heavily marketed as early as last fall), Sierra killed the project. But wouldn’t it have been better to release it anyway to try to recoup costs? Not really. By canceling the game, our inside sources told us, Sierra could write off the entire development cycle as a tax break, since they technically made no money from the venture. There’s no conspiracy at work here; it simply had to do with bad timing and the bottom line for a very public company. But the fact remains, Half-Life DC is finished—heck, we’ve even played it. So will Blue Shift, the extra scenario created specifically for the DC version, make its way to the PS2? And what’s to become of the finished DC version that’s languishing to see the light of day? Nobody knows for sure—not even Sierra. —Che Chou ge om sy Se \ e me Sarg > : Here’s a last glimpse at Half-Life DC. Breathe it in, folks. GWA ing Montr 7; 4? The fe Club For Everybody Huh? What kind of club is opened to everybody anyway? Yeah, that's right, girl! 2XS is all about FREE stuff and we ain't fooling around. So lose yourself in 2XS! Duh, a cool club idiot! Get real. Be XS -ive! Yo! Check out the a | First Z Releases. To participate, send two (2) original UPC codes (found only on specially marked Game Boy” 2XS game packages), your completed 2XS return card, and one(1) check or money order for $5 made payable to: 2XS Awards Program and mail to: Department 29610, 2XS Awards Program, PO Box 52900, Phoenix AZ 85072 for US residents. Residents of Canada must mail everything to: Department 29612,2XS Awards Program,PO Box 979,Fonthill, ON LOS 1E0. Limit of two(2) UPC codes per submission, additional UPC codes submitted will not be refunded or credited. Offer valid while supplies last. Promotion open to legal residents of the 50 United States and Canada, except Quebec and where otherwise prohibited. Please allow 10-12 weeks for delivery of award. Complete set of rules available on in-box 2XS game posters and website www.titusgames.com/2XS. Complete set of rules and/or 2XS return card available upon request to: Department 29611, 2XS Awards Program, PO Box 52900, Phoenix AZ 85072. ©2001 - TITUS. All rights reserved. Titus and the Titus logo are registered trademarks of Titus Software Corporation. Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Color Logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Xena: Warrior princess is a trademark and copyright of Studios USA Television Distribution LLC. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing Inc. All rights reserved. LSND LESSEE OOELEES g SSE aT ON ETE nic’s coming to GameCube sooner than we _ thought—well, maybe. Sega’s Virtua Striker 3, an | arcade soccer title developed by Hitmaker thatis _ scheduled to be one of the company’s first | GameCube titles, features Sonic and a few of his EIA NRA HO EU NAD AO I POT POETS E SOARED NNN TANNIN LGN SLT TLIO LTTE ONAN TTA TEN NNN EA AR NEN NINN EEE ue out this fall, Sega’s first collegiate pig-skinner since the Genesis days will hit Dreamcast in the form of NCAA College Football 2K2. Developer Visual Concepts’ (designers of Sega’s other 2K2 sports titles) goal is to give gamers the same kind of thrill usually reserved for Division | backs and ’ballers, minus the blood, sweat and marching bands. NCAA CF 2K2 includes a Dynasty mode that lets you operate your team’s program as its athletic director. Recruiting, redshirting and creating off-season training programs are all at your command. The best part, as with any Sega Sports game, is being able to go online with up to seven other players (four per Dreamcast) to see who can take the cake. Team-specific playbooks and that awesome college atmosphere are all part of Sega’s drive to give you the most bang for your football buck. We caught up with Greg Thomas (Visual Concepts’ head honcho) to find out what makes NCAA College Football 2K2 tick: EGM: So is this just NFL 2K2 in college-boy clothes or is it way more than that? Greg Thomas: We realize what our consumers are demanding and they wouldn’t put up with “NFL 2K2 in college-boy clothes.” We started with the Sega Sports NFL 2K1 engine, but ended up with a completely different game. Also, the entire front-end interface is different. All of the in-game artwork has been redone, the com- mentary was rewritten from scratch and dubbed over with new voice-over talent, and, of course, the Al was modified for an overall college style of play. The college style is vastly different from the NFL, so from the standpoint of the game data, this meant starting from scratch. This included creating complete rosters for each “We realize what our consumers are demanding and they wouldn't put up with ‘NFL 2K2 in college-boy clothes.” Division-IA team, as well as including over 700 new plays and individualized playbooks that accurately represent the play-call tendency for each team. We also went out and licensed as many properties as we could. Users can take their teams to one of over 20 Bowl games, including the National Championship Rose Bowl and even attempt to win the Heisman Trophy. Starting with the Sega Sports NFL 2K1 engine was helpful, but there was still a tremendous amount of work required to turn it into a true college football title. EGM: We hear every Division | stadium will be in the game. Is that true and is it hard to fit over 100 stadiums onto a GD-ROM? Microsoft has reached an agreement with XBOX Technologies, a firm who filed a lawsuit against the software giant over the use of the name Xbox. Under the agreement, XBOX Technologies, a technology holding company, has agreed to change their name and drop their challenge against Microsoft for an undisclosed reward (ahem, money). GT: Fitting all of the art onto the GD-ROM was university fight songs and will incorporate a major concern from the beginning of this those into the game as well. project. In addition to the individual stadiums for each Division-lA school, we had to create EGM: Tell us more about the Dynasty mode. new stadiums, multiple sets of team jerseys, GT: The main goal is to guide your team to team helmets, team logos, individual team as many National Championships as you Sidelines and crowds. That doesn’t include the can. This is accomplished by continually new player models, player indicators, cursors replenishing your team every year by recruiting and other in-game art that were needed. We the appropriate players. Visiting that high were able to create all of this new artwork and school player multiple times doesn’t always fit it onto the GD-ROM by using new methods guarantee an automatic signing. The recruit of data storage. takes all factors such as geography, school prestige and the coach’s track record into EGM: How do you plan to go about giving account before he signs a letter of intent. NCAA 2K2 that college feel? Junior college transfers can also be recruited — GT: One of the enhancements we have made in so that walk-on you just signed onto the team Sega recruited former Purdue pilot Drew order to capture the college atmosphere is to might one day be a starter. Other features of Brees, now a San Diego Charger, to act as make the crowd an integral part of the game. the Dynasty mode include the ability to red- an advisor to the team and handle motion- The college game is all about atmosphere and shirt players and an off-season training camp capture duties (above). Thomas told us that the crowd will be used to illustrate the game’s that lets the user decide where to focus the Brees contributed some plays from his momentum. In addition, we have negotiated team training. a college days as well as some of his the rights to use a large number of the major —James Mielke offensive strategies and philosophies. This ain't your little brother's card game. Features exciting 3D Polygon Battle Sequences! COMIC MISCHIEF © Akiyoshi Hongo ¢ Toei Animation. TM and © 1997- 2001 Bandai. DIGIMON, DIGITAL MONSTERS and all related logos, names, and distinctive likenesses th Program © 2001 Bandai Co., Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment-Inc. Used under license by: Bant PlayStation | »--- Burn rubber in 9 elite vehicles from the world’s premier car manufacturers or design, build, and race a supercar of your own creation. »--= Go for victory in full-throttle, single-player and two-player, head-to-head racing, featuring in-car and multiple-angle chase perspectives. »--~ Race the streets in 23 interactive courses, all with alternate routes and shortcuts, in 7 cities, from London to Los Angeles and Rome. ‘ralplastid mete evens CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN SUPERCAR »--- Build a dream machine in the Steve Sal ith t ; FS i F : ‘ —— nn Sana cine Dr Bin i Benno SRIANG A Aes OI me mM ™ Pontiac” Concept GTO” Bertone™ Pickster™ Vision Industries” CTEK kK/2”™ Fioravanti™ Fioo”™ Saleen $7” Callaway | =i Rinspeed™ E-Go Rocket™ Concept Vehicle M220" ES ART entertainment © 2001 Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Supercar Street Challenge is a trademark of Activision, Inc, and its affiliates. All rights reserved. activision.cor Approved and licensed product of Group Lotus Limited. The Lotus Concept Vehicle M220 and the Lotus Round Device are trademarks owned by Group Lotus PLC. Pontiac and GTO Emblems and Body Design are Trademarks of General Motors Design Center used under license to Activision, Inc. The Saleen S7 and the Saleen logos are trademarks of Saleen Inc. Licensed for play on the PlayStation’2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation only. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners. They keep you up at night and scratchin’ your noggin all day. No, not ear mites—we’re talking about the great mysteries of gaming, which we'll start solving every month in this new section. And in honor of the Super Nintendo’s 10th anniversary (see page 126), let’s kick off our first round of Q’s with this infamously bizarre 16-bit mystery... The Phalanx Factor Q: What was the deal with that old dude on the cover of the SNES shooter Phalanx? A: Phalanx was just another Super NES side- scrolling shooter that we all probably would have forgotten about by now—if not for the inexplicable shot of the bearded geezer strummin’ a banjo on the game’s box cover. Why the old guy? “The problem is that all the game art looked alike at the time—monsters or Spaceships or something,” explains Matt Guss, head of the advertising company behind the Phalanx campaign. “We wanted to create some shock value so someone would have to pick the game up. We called it the ‘Heavy Huh?!’ factor.” Art director Keith Campbell says they did the photo shoot themselves, hiring a model for the role of the 80-something hayseed. “I’d used him before as Santa Claus on an album-cover shoot,” Guss adds. “l remember him coming into the studio, and | thought the poor guy was gonna die right there on the stage. | think he’d had a stroke earlier—not earlier that day, but in the past.... We stuck a banjo in his hands, and | think we stuck a spaceship behind his head that he was supposed to be Staring at in wonder, LICENSED BY Mystery man: | a sampling of | his work. sort of a Star Wars-comes-to-the-Ozarks kind of thing.” You gotta admit Guss’ cover concept was mighty effective. After all, we’re still talking about the game 10 years after its release. Heavy, huh? If you’re too young to remember this game, don’t worry. Kemco’s rereleasing it for the Game Boy Advance. The Kart Konundrum Q: Why are there so many kart-racing games? A: We asked Naughty Dog President Jason Rubin, whose Crash Team Racing is one of our favorite kart titles, to give his insights into why every marketable character—from Buzz Lightyear to Chocobo—seems to be revving up in a go-kart title. He confirms what we knew all along: Based on the phenomenal success of Mario Kart and CTR, companies began to assume that any franchise can automatically rake in cash by going kart. “Naughty Dog even got pitched to do a kart game Starring wrestling characters, not once but twice,” Rubin says, “by two different publishers with two different | The colors just keep on coming! A new Celebi green GBA will be sold in Japan exclusively at the Osaka and Tokyo | | Pokémon Center stores beginning July 21. It’ll cost you _ the same as a regular color GBA, but it’s got the _ Pokémon Center logo and two silhouettes of Celebi on ROCIO LORIE LEE DIRBLEET ILENE ETERS RES ES ~ | waa : a ee 4 ii ih & oS oe “Sauer oe arr ad aoe Ey ) “Unfortunately, if you don't do it first or better, you probably Shouldn't do it.” — Naughty Dog President Jason Rubin wrestling franchises. Unfortunately, if you don’t do it first or better, you probably shouldn’t do it. This is a lesson that never seems to be learned by our industry.” Low-Fi But Hi-Tech Q: How come every time you see someone playing a video game in movies or on TV, it sounds like Atari 2600 Pac-Man, Yar’s Revenge or some other old-school title? A: Chalk it up to the low gaming IQ of most mainstream moviegoers. Nowadays, games have orchestral scores and teams of audio designers who create lush soundscapes as good as anything you'll hear in a flick, so modern games just don’t sound like video games at all to the casual listener. But things were different back in the good ol’ days, when “there were no sound engineers, and we only had a couple of 4- or 8-bit registers to play with,” says Howard Scott Warshaw, who created the Atari games Raiders of the Lost Ark, Yar’s Revenge and E.T. “Instead of background music, we would add event-specific sounds to support the gameplay.” Thus, the lo-fi bleeps and boinks of classic games are instantly recognizable as what they are —video-game sounds—and that’s why filmmakers use them. “I noticed the sounds of Yar’s Revenge in Airplane //,” Warshaw adds, “and | remember thinking ‘Wow, they ripped me off. That is so cool.’”” ee] — Chris Baker Got a gaming mystery? E-mail it to EGM@ziffdavis.com with the subject header “Ever wondered,” and we’Ll solve it for you. i Hy TECMMO) 100% eames you're in the race. Feel the burn in your legs, the pounding of your heart and the wind in your YOU DON’T HAVE TO PRETEND ANY MORE. Gallop Racer 2001 is so realistic that you don't have to get your fingernails dirty to feel like face as you compete against other horses and players. Battle against the forces of nature as you race through snow, rain and mud during the day and at night. Play as a tournament jockey, new gambling feature, Gallop Racer 2001 puts you into the game! GAMBLING For more information, go to www.tecmoinc.com master breeder, or betting spectator in the stands. With an all- Hawthorne Bivd., Torrance, CA 90503 p (310) 944-5005 f (310) 944-3344 “PlayStation” Gallop Racer®2001 Tecmo, LTD. 2000, 2001. Tecmo, Inc. PMB#5553 21213-B.. and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment PI St ti C Bik Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. ay a ion. 9 Icrosoft DEVELOPER PROFILE inevitable Entertainment Year Founded: 2000 Location: Austin, TX Web Site: www.inevitable.com # of people: 35 What are your current projects? Tribes 2 for the PlayStation 2. We are also working on another project that will be unveiled in the future (wink, wink). What are some of the challenges doing an online PS2 game like Tribes 2? The fact that this is a relatively new step for consoles as a whole. What problems are going to pop up? How many users will upgrade to online capability? It’s very much a wait-and-see situation. What are some of your previous games? Well, we’d have to go back to some of the games we worked on at Iguana/Acclaim Entertainment Austin. The Turok titles, the All-Star Baseball series, Quarterback Club...pretty much everything that came out of there for the past six years. About go percent of the staff was associated with [Acclaim Studios Austin] at one time. What’s the best thing about getting out of the Acclaim organization? The worst? The amount of creative freedom afforded would be the best thing. The worst would be not having the chance to work with some of the people who are still there. The story behind our name: One day, Craig Galley, one of the co-founders and technical director, was watching The Matrix. Neo’s on the subway tracks, the train’s coming, and the agent holds him down saying, “That is the sound of inevitability....” We also like to joke that we had to buy the .com away from an online coffin company... What’s the best console to program for? Daalhy thay all Aaa thair ctranothce and | This is not a joke (but it should be). Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon) | will direct and executive produce a movie based on Sega’s Crazy Taxi. Why _ Crazy Taxi? “I loved playing Crazy Taxi, and | realized immediately that ithad | the potential to be a big summer event movie,” Donner said. “Sega’s game franchise has the perfect mix of action, humor and great characters to translate | _to the big screen.” We hope that the movie is able to keep the story intact. Hold onto your butts, Q-followers, it’s your friendly neighborhood rumor-slinger here to spin you a web of fine rumors and truths. So let’s get to it! Rumor: | Saw a screenshot of the title screen for Tekken 4 Vs. Virtua Fighter 4. It’s happened!” It’s really real! can’t belie Truth: Sorry pal. You saw’the right image, but assume too much, young grasshopper. Sega and Namco teamed up to.promote both games, _.which’ll show up in Japanese arcades around the same time. They took out a newspaper ad together, and even showed up to promote both titles at a recent Japanese PlayStation 2 expo. But as much as we’d all like it to be-true, there’s no- Tekken Vs. VirtuaFighter game. Rumor: Infogrames is changing its name to Atari. Truth: Not quite. Apparently Infogrames will be using the Atari label to release several big- | name titles, such as Stuntman or Unreal on, consoles, but will not be changing their name permanently...yet.And let’s face it, Atari is a whole lot easier to pronounce than Infogrames. Rumor: Tomb Raider the movie sucked, so they’re not making another one or any other video-game movies ever again. Truth: False! A sequel to the Angelina “I like horses” jolie flick is injthe works, as are films based on Pitfall! and Crazy Taxi (groan). Got a rumor? Drop me an e-mail at quartermann@ziffdavis.com. -TheQ Got a question, theory, or screen you’d like to add to our rampant coverage and analysis of MGS2? Send it to us at egm@ziffdavis.com, subject “MGS2WATCH” ? | heard (Metal Gear creator) Hideo Kojima said MGS2 would be the last Metal Gear game; is that true? I Nope, that’s Internet BS. In our interview at E3, Kojima told us MGS2 is likely the last Metal Gear with him as director, but he hopes to stay on asa producer and see the series continue with someone else at the helm. ? There can’t possibly be any secrets left in the playable MGS2 demo...can there? i Unbelievably, there are. PSM learned about two tricks from Kojima himself: First is anew way to stun enemies—if you can hit the blue “!” that Gens 2D )Ca1S when any guard other trick is doing 100 pull-ups (while dangling from any ledge, hold R1 and push R2 and L2 simultaneously) to increase your grip strength. Otacon will even call to congratulate you! ? What was that weird flying thing at the end of the playable demo, and what was Snake talking about when he said “CYPHER!”? | That “weird flying thing” /s a Cypher—an unmanned flying machine currently under development here in the real world. It has a range of uses, but it looks like whoever is controlling it in the demo is using it for surveillance. More info is just a quick google.com search away—check out www.sikorsky.com/programs/cypher/. —Mark MacDonald = 4) “yy yy, Dm ae Pg Easy to Play ~ awell-tuned and finely crafted musical instrument! Includes a Songbook and Tutorial with simple finger notation for many songs and fancy tricks, plus Lullabies, Serenades and Minuets! Made from high-fired Ceramic in 3 styles: ¢ Sweet Potato (octave +1) ¢ Extended Range Sweet Potato (octave +4) Includes Extended Range Songbook plus Regular Songbook | ¢ Raku Pendant Ocarina (with necklace) You can also order: ¢ Silk Carrying Case (padded, w/zipper, handle and embroidered dragons) ¢ Songbook I] (25 songs from Beethoven to the Beatles) ¢ Dragon Boy T-Shirt (100% cotton, youth M/L/XL) Hear them and order online at: / wid.songbirdocatina.com oa Pricing Info: Sweet Potato Ocarina Extended Range Sweet Potato...$49.95 Raku Pendant Ocarina............0.0 $24.95 Dragon Boy T-Shirt... $10.95 Silke Carrying Cas@.iccicatie stdpnvid $5.95 SONSHOOK f.......sisasssvctaageree eet $2.95 Shipping Info: Shipping & Handling... $5.00 (Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery) Priority Shipping......c.cisisdesinwten $10.00 5 (When available, allow 2-4 days for delivery.) Jd Songbird Ocarinas * J 410 Anacapa St. JJ Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Toll Free! (866) OCARINA 622-7462 In each installment of Afterthoughts, EGM takes a game that’s already on store shelves and asks the developers for their thoughts, post-release. This month, we chose Sony’s Twisted Metal: Black. We fired off some questions to David Jaffe, director and lead designer of TM: Black from Sony CEA Santa Monica and Scott Campbell, ' president of Incog Inc. Entertainment (the developers). Here’s what they had to say. THE TOOTH IS OUT THERE Did you catch this sweet baby last issue? He was “hidden” between the lines... EGM: Why is the game so difficult? Even Twisted Metal veterans had trouble getting through some of the long levels. David Jaffe: The thing you need to understand is that the weapons in the game are very deep. Right off the bat, most people use them at face value and don’t realize that things like the Reticule Attack, for example, can almost kill an enemy car with one shot if you use it right. Because our focus was always multiplayer, we wanted to make sure the single-player game trained people to use and understand the deeper attacks. If we had made the game “easy” or even “medium” for players who were not using these deeper Skills, we would not have prepared people for the multiplayer aspect of the game. You need to think of it as a fighting game. If you get to level two or three in Street Fighter II or even Mortal Kombat and don’t use any of the moves other than kick, punch and jump, you’re not gonna win. Scott Campbell: The game is really difficult if you just go in and start blasting everything in sight without paying attention to what you are firing and how you are firing it. The weapon system was designed and balanced to award more damage for using the skill- based weapons such as the Gas Can, Satellite, Reticule, Zoomy and many of the Special weapons. We also made sure that the majority of the weapons could still be used as “fire-n-forget,” but the damage will be less. Once a player starts to master these weapons and combines them with combo moves, the gameplay is more focused and less random chaos. EGM: Why take the series in such a dark, twisted and violent direction? SC: We felt that Twisted Metal had become too over-the-top-wacky, which contributed to the Series going stale. The original theme was always supposed to be this dark and hostile universe; however, this was difficult to completely pull off on the PS1 hardware. When you throw in all the cars and weapons flying around these big 3D environments, the dark grunge look translated into busy, distracting noise. In an effort to improve on visuals and make them brighter (So you could easily see your enemies), the game kind of organically ic faaming AAoantiiiyv - 54 » JARARAS QOTiminae com NJCAEPEED ES PVE EEL ¥ WY ¥¥.C Silitia Ss. iit morphed into the Saturday-morning cartoon theme, and it ended up working for Twisted Metal 2. On PS2, we knew we had the horsepower to finally deliver the dark and hostile theme—this was the game and universe in which we wanted to battle. EGM: How intact has the violent content remained from when you were developing the game to the final product? SC: For the most part, the content has remained fairly intact. Some of the movies were toned down; we took out some of the blood on the pedestrians. The violent content issue in games is a tough balancing act because everyone draws the line differently. In the end, Sony was very respectful of preserving the original vision of the game. EGM: Is it weird having a kiddie version of TM on PS one (Small Brawl) when you’ve just finished the darkest edition of the series? SC: It is an interesting contrast when you put them both side by side. When we brainstormed concepts for this game, we approached it from the standpoint of “what universe do we want to play this game in next?” rather than “let’s make a kiddie game.” The miniature theme had come up many times in previous concept discussions and we felt that it could open the door to some new play experiences. Now, after nine months in development, it shows great promise of delivering that experience without departing from the basic Twisted Metal style of car combat. EGM: We noticed that the control scheme for the Freeze maneuver was brought over from TM3/4. Was anything else brought over? SC: If the freeze maneuver is the same as TM3/4, then it happened by coincidence. As we were Scott Campbell (left), president of Incog Inc. Entertainment and David Jaffe, SCEA’s director and lead designer of TM: Black. ALMOST TWISTED -10p wacky, which contributed to the Series going stale.” tuning the combo moves (freeze, shield, mine, etc.), we wanted to make sure the combo button sequences did not interfere with the driving. As we wanted to minimize the false positives, we tried a number of button combos before finally Settling on the ones in the game. Nothing was brought over from TM3/4 for Black; TM2 mainly served as the reference prototype. SC: | just received an e-mail from Jim Buck (lead engineer on TM4) congratulating us on the game. It was a cool gesture. The Sony sound and audio group worked with us on TM: Black. They are a very talented group and were great to work with! SC: It was frustrating to lose the series in the first place. It was like losing a child. SC: | think it was harder because the franchise reputation had gone downhill, and the press kept referring to car combat as a dead genre. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to redeem the franchise. We knew that the game needed to blow even us away (that is, after making three car-combat games), plus be good enough to convince the gamers who were disappointed with the last installments that this one is worth the cash. SC: During the design process, we did evaluate adding checkpoint-style mission elements and even mini-games to the Story mode, but it seemed to distract from the free-form car combat. Instead, we opted to add a more immersive story element and change it up with unique level designs, and offer the player level- select options along the way. SC: We are very sensitive about not burning out the series, so we will be giving the next episode an extended incubation period. SC: The TM: Black Online product definition and price is currently under evaluation. For this evaluation, we put ourselves in the consumer role—everyone at Sony and Incog Inc. Entertainment is extra-sensitive to making sure the consumer gets his or her money’s worth. i 00 All of the old TM games have become Greatest Hits titles for Sony. Here’s how the series fared against the Review Crew: Twisted Metal Andy Baran said: “The graphics are outstanding and each level gets progressively better. The climax on the rooftops is a real blast.” Andy Mark L Mike Sushi-X Twisted Metal 2 Crispin said: “I wasn’t all that crazy about the first Twisted Metal, but this sequel is worlds better, even though it looks like the same old thing at first glance.” Shawn Shoe Crispin Twisted Metal 3 John Davison said: “The level design is uninspired at best, while the new ‘realistic physics’ engine seems utterly redundant. Even the multiplayer mode fails to impress.” Sushi-X Crispin Shoe John D Shawn Twisted Metal 4 Che said: “This series, which goes on its fourth anniversary this year, is becoming seriously stale. Deathmatch has always been the main staple of Twisted Metal, but not even that could salvage an otherwise hackneyed formula in TM4. Please, introduce something new!” Shoe Dean Chris Che Twisted Metal: Black Kraig said: “TM had lost its luster years ago, but now it’s truly back (in black, yeah, yeah). It floors me that the original developers were able to step back into the saddle years later and dig this franchise up from the grave.” Shoe Kraig Che PRESS START The Top 20 Best-Selling Games of May 2001 — This month yet another Nintendo franchise dominates the top of the charts, but we’d still rather see Link and Co. at the top of the list than those damn, 11 spec is Seas! Elite dirty Pokémon. Oh, and did you notice the top-selling PS1 game is Spec Ops? Take 2 We predicted that months ago, even without Miss Chloe’s tarot cards. For the record, we scored that game 4.0, 2.0 and 5.5. Why oh why won't you listen to us? One big surprise this month is the appearance of Acclaim’s awful PS1 ATV racer in the top 20. We can only assume the success of Offroad Fury is turning people ATV crazy...that or people have way too much extra money. 1 The Legend of Zelda: Oracie of Seasons 10 9.0 9.5 sre Chris Mark _ John R The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ayes 10 9.0 9.5 Chris = Mark | John R Mario Party 3 — 8.5 7.0 6.5 Chris _ Jeanne Shoe Red Faction | Kraig = Mark Pokémon Silver 9.0 85 8.5 275 Chris | Crispin _ Mark Pokemon Stadium 2 an Chris | Jeanne | | Eifian Pokémon Gold 9.0/8.5 8.5 Z5y Chris Crispin Mark Crazy Taxi Acclaim Dark Cloud 0 8.0. 90 =r Crispin | Ethan Gary ATV Off-Road Fury BQ 85 90 85 = r= WV Dan Dean Greg 12 Madden NFL 2001 Electronic Arts 13 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway 14 Unimusha: Warlords apcom 15 Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX Activision ll) 1] Super Mario Bros. DX Nintendo 18 Kirby Tilt n Tumble 19 lekken Tag Tournament Namco 20 ALY Quad Power Racing pp Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games Service. Call Kristin Barnett-von Korff at (516) 625-2481 for questions regarding this list. Chart description written by EGM staff. Sarcasm supplied by Canada’s favorite son. : 1 Tactics Ogre Gaiden Who would've Nintendo thoughtagamethat ee puts youinthe role of | Sonic Misco? a bloodthirsty viii eeneieue . mosquito would make. Gran ee 3 A-spec itontothe charts? Sony CEI aa Sony’s Ka muscled its. | way to number five. - | e pete eninendenaceneawnntioe NOSIS RHORIE OO OOODEEDODA SOSA BCE ESERSREE SOOOCOOOL LLL OI veneer POSition, and GT3 is — => holding steady a month after release. Atelier Lilie 3 com AOL KEYWORD: EBGAMES electronics boutique Over 600 stores nationwide PREVIEW GALLERY a a ea ee “oaooopeoreremmmernneeeneasarIRoRIIeN At Capcom’s recent Onimusha 2 press conference (See PS2 previews), creator Keiji Inafune mentioned this Xbox version of the original adventure game would include new elements to appease hardcore “maniac” gamers. Hopefully that means more than a slight Code: Veronica X-esque story revision (although Onimusha’s plot holes could certainly use some plugging up as well). It’s due before March 2002. The last PS2 version of EA’s F1 series left a lot to be desired. But lately the publisher’s been big on redefining their major franchises, and plans to do just that when they debut F1 on the Xbox this winter. Drivers will now react like they would in real life, the rosters will be totally updated, and a highlight reel will be automatically edited and played after each race. Here’s hoping the gameplay receives a similar overhaul. oo a d Worn 3 v Mr. Burns is at it again. He’s just purchased the Springfield Transit Corporation for $1 million and has jacked up fares in an attempt to gouge the citizens of Springfield. As a result, people are forced to drive everywhere, and the streets have filled with angry commuters. In an effort to buy back the Transit Corporation, members of Springfield have opted to drive through the crazy city streets and pick up residents in need of transportation. Obviously borrowing Crazy Taxi’s gameplay, Road Rage requires delivery of these passengers to specific locations within set time limits in order to receive fares. The game even includes Crazy Taxi’s large arrow at the center of the screen that directs you to destinations. But regardless of how close it is to Crazy Taxi, Road Rage does have the very unique Simpsons feel to it, thanks to the use of cel shading (making it look more like the cartoon). Also, the game allows you to choose one of 22 characters (ranging from Simpson family members to other townies such as Flanders, Apu and Barney). EA unleashes its Rage in November. * 94 ~ LARARAY _ Considering their attire, one would think that the female | snowboarders in Dark Summit were at the Academy Awards, _ not on top of ice-cold snow bluffs. | mean, c’mon...even Lara PREVIEW GALLERY Arctic “pw. gm, woe It would set you back a few thousand dollars to put an Arctic Thunder machine in your living room. Lucky for you, Midway is bringing it to Xbox (and PS2) this fall. The home version has 12 courses: Six from the arcade (Blizzard in DC, Lost Himalayan City, Chernobyl Meltdown, Swiss Alps, Haunted Forest and Alaskan Pipeline) and six new ones (Sports Arena, Logging Camp, UFO, China, Atlantis and Theme Park). Up to four players can play split-screen through the regular tracks orina new battle mode in an enclosed Snow arena. Pick one of the six characters, each with his or her own Strengths and tricked-out snow crafts. You collect boost power, missiles and more to blast past your opponents. If that doesn’t work, you can attack them with your fist (works in real life, too). SSX is probably the first thing that comes to your mind when looking at these gorgeous stills. Fair enough: Like that killer PS2 title, Dark Summit centers on snowboarding through exaggerated, candy-colored terrains. What makes this THQ release unique is its intricate narrative, which unfolds by completing a varied set of mission objectives. We expect it to hit store shelves this winter. 1 b en 4 tad it ‘ * er 4 ie agings ff tel aa 95 SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark offices. SEGA, Dreamcast, the Dreamcast logo, SEGA, Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic Adventure are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA Corporation. ©2000, 2001, SEGA / SONICTEAM. All Rights Reserved. SEGA.COM/SONICADV2 Play as Sonic and board, swing and grind to save the world. ceemer eo omnes PREVIEW Sega Sonic Team “GameCube VN “--) WWW.Sega.com weapons, new modes, new monsters. ee Many annoying little problems remain. eee When you tell the average PSO player he or she will have to pay to play in ver. 2. Certain switches and panels in PSO ver. 2’s Challenge Mode use chat icons to tell you how to proceed. A few examples: Sra RISER OE PER PIRT RET DO ORO INN PO PIE HIS BIRR OIRO the right (a secret door will open and let you in). Activate the switch by dropping four weapons on it. — Activate the switch by | Run through the wall to | i | | | | | | | sticking...um...never mind. | pecnrnma none panna Roa RBIRO RNR SIR RSA OO RS PORE DOSS OSE APROPOS DODO RNA IRTP LST EO RAPIDITY E id _ To celebrate his 10th birthday, Sonic and pals chilled out on ~~ | the PSO servers june 16-30. Pretty cool, except for the After gathering your party (1) and waiting for the level to load (they look slightly different than the usual environments), your mission is to clear a set number of areas within a certain time limit. Notice the gravestone left by Challenge level. f you never tried the original PSO, Sega’s life- consuming online RPG, try this: Call in sick to work or school, don’t sleep or shower for three days straight, and really piss off your significant other. There, now you know what it feels like to be a PSO addict. Or you could always just jump on board once PSO Ver. 2 comes out. Notice | didn’t say PSO2—it’s PSO Version 2...not a sequel, but more of a director’s cut. In most ways it’s the same old game: Clear out monster-infested dungeons room by room alone or with up to three friends online, build up your character and MAG (a kind of robot sidekick) by gaining experience points and stat-boosting items, and try hard to remember that thing you once had called a social life. Of course there are some changes too, and since our last preview, we’ve received an avalanche of questions about them. After some quality time with the import version, I’ll do my best to answer the biggies: So what’s new for Version 2? An “Ultimate” difficulty level with some new monsters (for players level 80 and over only), a shortcut to change weapons and use items and spells (just hold R and hit Y), a soccer game, Battle and Challenge modes (see sidebars) plus new MAGs, armor and weapons. Can | use my character from PSO in PSO Ver. 2? Yes, and you can even go up to level 200 now. Level 200 eh? Muhaha! | can’t wait to cheat in Ver. 2 and _ In either of two new arenas (pictured here), two to four _ players can fight at their own | experience level, or even the odds by making everyone equal. The winner can be | whoever gets the most kills or _ collects the most Meseta— | your choice. dead players (2), a complete with epitaph. |! 9) “Gesamyens © iepesncmerenns If you are successful es. y=) NR | Nano Dragon (3) you go up in rank nn Sees and can try the next Bless coos canis | \ mo MDELWO bam: Name : FP | Attribute: A.Beast Heat cheapen the experience for everyone online! Oh you’re one of those bastards, are ya? Well, listen up: You and your level 100, Sonic Knuckle-toting, ultra rare MAG-owning ilk might just be out of luck. Version 2 can detect illegitimate items and characters created using the GameShark, and won’t allow them online. Hopefully that will stop (or at least limit) cheating. Should | wait for the U.S. version? |’d recommend it. The Japanese version does have an English mode, and you can get it to work online (check out www.mamak-int.com for help), but you won’t be able to transfer over your U.S. PSO character, and there are few English- speaking Ver. 2 players out there now. When is the U.S. release? Originally it was scheduled for July 10, but (possibly due to squabbling between Sega of Japan and Sega of America over the price for the pay-to-play plan) it’s now listed as To Be Determined. | would guess late summer or early fall. Did you say pay to play?! That sucks! Yeah, | know. But hopefully the cost will be low (in Japan it’s about $8 for three months), and Sega tells us the price for the game itself is also under discussion. How is the soccer game? Pretty $#%@ing lame. That reminds me, is that annoying language filter still there? Yup. Makes it pretty hard to speak in simple Japanese, too, since you can’t use the verb “shitteru” (to do). th — Mark MacDonald Electronic Gaming Monthly - 98 - www.egmmag.com World Series _ Baseball 2K2 COR RAMADEELORINIENEDIIOIELAIOIESLOSISOAAENEEESCESSELESSONSOSCRORDRONIDARDESDOEBEELIEONOEASENODAIAEAAREAERANSRA Rn eAesaaneeteaneaonsnanaBhannsEsnssabasbnessnaeennanensnesscncssncasanannncnsmnnnenetn Sega am see S . Visual Concepts Pe | Bt iow - = | ae 1-8 sa ee SL Sports - 80% August 2001 DC only wwW.sega.com Online baseball. [Te Lag sucks. David Wells. PREVIEW snenenneeeeenemnmensnnmnnsensnasnensessiesasuaseneneumneenunneseenennenennenenemnensnansndcnasnannsdennenmneneneeesmmmnsesneesneem eee ees TT TTnTTN Te TT TTT TTT TTTINRT TST ETTT TIT TTTTT TT TETTTOTOINTINSTTONTTENTOTTSOTETTTNDTETETETTTTEOTTVTT TED TST TTTTvTT OTTO TTVOTETT Visual Concepts has faithfully re-created all the major-league ballparks. Check out the fine details present in the background of Milwaukee's Miller Park (top left). City backdrops and plenty ONLINE PLAY Just Win WSB 2K2 is sure to offer a thrill for the online mavens, as it will be the first Sega- Net game to track wins, losses and disconnects. Now no more bragging “4,000-0, who wants some?” in the lobbies, as potential opponents can see your record. This is a huge step forward in terms of finding quality opponents, as we’ve all been through the mysterious disconnect. Now, when you’re leading 8-0 in the third inning, that opponent might care a little bit more about his “street cred” and finish the game. Still, don’t expect cowards to completely run and hide, as disconnects are often unintentional. You'll have tons of players saying, “Play me...dude, those disconnects are because | can’t turn off call waiting.” In any case, your best bet for finding good hardcore competition is to surf DC sites for league play. Or just look around for me in the lobbies. Check for Hossman after 10 p.m. CST. PE A eR aL ega console owners have historically been treated to nothing but the finest baseball video games. The World Series lineage began on the Genesis and truly blossomed on the Saturn, establishing high hopes for the first DC incarnation. But those high hopes turned into bitter disappointment with last summer’s release of WSB 2K1. A Sega of Japan arcade conversion, World Series 2K1 was little more than a hitting simulator with tons of bugs to boot. There was a complete lack of options, no manual fielding, limited game modes, etc. Despite this, Sega marketed the game as sim baseball and tagged it with the prestigious 2K brand name. Bad move. Give Sega credit for realizing their blunders and dropping the fate of 2K2 directly into the hands of Visual Concepts. VC now looks to do for baseball what it already has done for football and basket- ball—make it great and take it online, in that order. Not one line of code is being used from last year’s disaster, thankfully, and this is being pitched and designed as a sim-heavy game of baseball. Twenty- five-man rosters will be featured for each team, as well as a 10-man farm roster. This should give players the flexibility to use key role players and manage injuries. For example, if you’re taking Atlanta through a season and aren’t happy with Rico Brogna at first base, send him down and call up fan favorite Wes Helms. We likey. Another key aspect of the rosters — of signage also help flesh out the visual palette. The player models look solid, and the game has plenty of signature styles. Check out Big Mac layin’ wood (top right). and this is good news/bad news—is that they will be extremely up-to-date. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the game’s obviously running late. As a SegaNet title, WSB 2K2 will be playable online, a fact which has this Dreamcast owner (and probably many others) swimming in drool. Lag presents a Serious potential problem (especially in hitting), but so far testing has gone well. For the online challenged, the requisite single-player franchise mode allows you to guide a team through multiple seasons. As for the actual gameplay, WSB 2K2 was first unveiled at the E3 convention in May. From what we Saw, the game was extremely impressive. It features a cursor-based pitching and hitting interface, hot and cold hitting zones, manual fielding control, and tons of signature swings and deliveries. Hitting is a nice blend of twitch skills and strategy, as each batter’s hot and cold zones are represented On screen. The usual array of managing options is also there for the taking, with defensive alignment shifts, double switches, hit and runs, and other tactical fine points. Expect the CPU to take advantage of these maneuvers as well, which is a good thing for any gamer wanting a challenge. While the late release pretty much sucks, we look at it this way—it’s a great excuse to be playing baseball past October. —Dan Leahy THE TRICLOPS HAVE INVADED THE EARTH AND THEY HAVE A SIMPLE PLAN: ERADICATE ALL HOMAN LIFE! oo | we : len 0 MISSIONS AND BRANCHING STORY PATHS THE INVA LION WITH MULTIPLE ENDINGS -- — ne HAS BEGUN! a THE CHOICE OF SIDES 1S YOURS: EITHER ee ARMY OR ALIEN. ONE TEAM WILL DECIDE a THE FATE OF THE EARTH! TEAM Sygate wp ? ;, aes 3 ” ie ee BECOME A TANK COMMANDER AND OBLITERATE THE ALIEN INVADERS, OR JOIN THE ELITE TRICLOPS GUARD AND CRUSH ANY HUMAN SCUM THAT STAND IN YOUR WAY. TAKE CONTROL OF ARMY TANKS OR FUTURISTIC ALIEN TECHNOLOGY - EACH WITH DEVASTATING POWER-UPS PROPELLER ARENA BRINGS HIGH-ADRENALINE DOGFIGHTING TO THE MASSES. POE = Or = hes . ratte A INTENSE ACTION AFTER TEAM OF | wa 00°24"10 IN THE YEAR 2045, THE 40TH AVIATION BATTLE HAS |NVITED THE WORLD'S BEST PILOTS TO FLY RESTORED BATTLE PLANES IN THE MOST MEMORABLE SERIES OF DOGFIGHTS IN HISTORY. PRODUCTS RANGE FROM RATING PENDING ToT EEN CONTENT RATED BY a Z v a Sega is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. Sega, Drearncast, the Dreamcast jogo, Alienfront Online, Sega Bass Fishing, Sonic Adventure, Eighteen Wheeler American Pro Trucker, Outtrigger, Crazy Taxi, and Propeller Arena are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA CORPORATION. © 2000, 2001 . Ali Rights Reserved. PREVIEW GALLERY nencensenonceencenennnenenasncencoeteooensensAnaehbonQoONeODeebOocssOnGdihOsbOnctOcessOnenOnnneneondOORicOOnrooncoienenennOoecnneeneronndionnnninronInnonnionnrnnAcoinrGnnoanronnnoonnsnnnnnnonnnnOnnannnnninnnnsonnnennnonnnnonnnonntnnonnniennannennnnenoncnionennnnncnncennansnnnhinnniodinnniinntOhocadnoninnorsinnnnsOoOdSoOonKSOnienidiabOSOSSSSOOOiOONIAaNiAOOiSOOREOOHHSSOENE Tennis Sex sells, and Sega is delivering plenty of it this fall. Women (namely the Williams sisters) and the lack of online play are the big news in this sequel (sadly, there is no nude code to speak of). Mixed matches allow for some interesting competition, and the revamped World Circuit Mode now lets you create your own pro to play mini-games with and to take to the top of the world rankings. The Dreamcast may be on its last legs, but Sega and Visual Concepts are showing no signs of letting up this fall. This year’s edition of NFL will further flesh out online play with broadband support, player profiles (that keep track of wins, losses and rankings), and more intuitive lobbies. An entirely new playcall system is also being installed in addition to improved computer intelligence and graphics. ever cannery sree on eon iy 9 bee eh ? } Jrivite Zor wf me & ‘= Motion Mi i Ad Counters SS UEle 0, ne, Hitch ond, So ase ist hI, Go. raw So far, the NBA 2K Series is progressing nicely. With 2K2, the action is faster, an effect enhanced by smoother player animations. Drives to the hoop and forward-leaning three-pointers look particularly impressive — you'll see plenty of them too, thanks to a computer-intelligence overhaul that makes fast-breaks more realistic. Like NFL 2K2, NBA 2K2 saves online profiles, so try not to rack up the losses this fall. PREVIEW Activision Vicarious Visions 1 Action 80% Fall 2001 Spider-Man www.activision.com It's Spider-Man with a few new ideas. It's Spider-Man with few new ideas. Spidey's jaggy look on the PS1, just begging for the PS2 treatment. if you were a resident of Spider-Man’s New York City, seeing newshound Peter Parker swinging around ona web might raise some flags in your head. Fortunately, no one seems to mind that or any of the other hidden costumes in the PS1 version of Spider-Man 2. In the first game, getting to these ability-enhancing getups was right tough, and the same goes for the sequel. Rewards include strength and stealth outfits, suits from the original comic, and costumes from the upcoming movie. Completing the prescribed challenges that give you access to all 19 costumes is exclusively a task for the hardcore, or those lamer folk with a healthy supply of cheat codes. Spider-Man always wanted a sidekick. Parker stretches the limits of his new yellow silk pajamas with a flashy finish to his quick-and-dirty three-hit combo. _ Spider-Man 2 villains Electro and Shocker both have _ names that imply the same kinds of things — electricity, _ surging power, that sort of thing—but they’re very _ different fellahs. In fact, they’re archenemies in the Marvel | Don't let the black Spandex fool you; that’s Spidey's sticky wad all right. You'll unlock over a dozen outfits and abilities this time around. don’t want to give away the surprise, but it’s not Doc Ock you'll be out to get in Spider-Man 2. Nope, the current nemesis in Spidey’s life is a take-charge kind of guy with an electric personality, one with the potential to spark a surge of crime across New York City. Well, as if that wasn’t blunt enough, yes, Electro is the bad guy du jour. From the looks of it, he’s going to be just as behind-the-scenes as the good doctor from the original, but he’s a tough one nonetheless. There’s no Venom tour guide leading you to your destiny this time, though. Spider-Man will instead spend his time solving puzzles that involve a good deal of interaction with the game’s environment. Getting from one area to the next often involves 104 more than just quick web-swinging and landing punch combos on dim-witted enemies. Your webbing, for example, is instrumental as both a tool and a weapon. In addition to its usual duties, it’ll be used to put out fires, or tangle up and reel in animate objects. The added puzzles and interaction with the Spider-Man world give this game a lot more depth and complexity. With that in mind, those of you who breezed through the first game should set aside extra hours for the sequel. All you purists: Fear not, the game still has more than its share of basic brawling. Unfortunately, it’s Shaping up to be just as vanilla as before, with three-hit pummel-fests proving the most effective weapon against the faceless baddies. But at least you have the option of crushing the opposition with mailboxes, crates and barrels of toxic waste if you get bored. And isn’t that what being a superhero is all about? Of course it is. sR —Jonathan Dudlak Controlling the webmaster is still a bit tough when you change perspectives, like in the ceiling-crawling scene at left. The Daily Bugle also reports a slew of new puzzles to get your Spider Sense tingling. S-Man 2 has significantly more tricky tasks than the action-driven original. Diffusing a bomb, stopping a runaway plane, and plotting your way out of various tight spots are just a few of the ways you’ll have to use your noodle as much as your netting this time ’round. As reluctant as we are to recognize it, we know not everyone grew up playing 2D Castlevania games. If you’re _ not too familiar with the Dracula saga, run over to www.classicgaming.com/castlevania for the lowdown on the entire collection of games. Castlevania Living in the United States has its drawbacks. Americans are at the mercy of sales and marketing execs when it comes to getting Japanese-developed games. As a result, the U.S. has missed out On some incredible titles, and despite its popularity, Castlevania is no exception to this frustrating formula. Don’t despair just yet. Konami hasn’t confirmed or denied a Stateside version of their newest PS1 release, but it’s definitely worth importing if you don’t want to risk history repeating itself (anyone who’s tried to find a copy of Dracula X for the PC Engine knows what we mean). Castle- vania Chronicle (“Akumajou Dracula” in Japan) is a beefed-up version of an older game made for the Japanese Sharp X68000 computer system. Talk about PLM yx SCORE-011400 TIME AT + 999999999999000 ENEMY. | | “ 7 3 = igueeau Mauls — 7 obscure, eh? But the combination of Super Nintendo-grade graphics and classic Castlevania gameplay make it one of the Belmonts’ best. If Symphony of the Night was your first Castlevania experience, think of this game as a simpler, Shorter, more linear version of that PS1 classic. Sure, it’s not as pretty as SOTN, but the game is just good, clean fun. If you’ve had the frustrating pleasure of the 8-bit Nintendo Castlevanias, Chronicle borrows heavily from the first and third NES titles, with reworked versions of their levels, bosses and music. It still comes across as a completely unique adventure, in either of its two play modes, ie ‘e BH ABP wo. Pe : . » me ‘ mel Des 4 as ierat be : i * ees! e . r= ) | if 5 mn - “<-: Original or Arranged. Choose Original and you’ll have your choice of three different sound sets for your listening pleasure. Arranged features a more sophisticated interpretation of the music, a more colorful and detailed Simon Belmont, anda visual re-vamping for the Count himself. In Arranged mode, the game is also better balanced— enemies do a lot less damage, which helps prevent the standard pounding-skull-against-wall antics Castlevania provokes. While it might prove too much of a niche title to appear in the U.S., Chronicle is a must for big fans of the series, so bag it while it’s still available. a —_ PREVIEW GALLERY SE MON ey ery tas ae Se - across-the-room enemy that defines CV games is represented in Chronicle. From the hopping hunchbacks to the regenerating red skeletons to the infamous Medusa heads, there's plenty to set you back the minute you think you're getting ahead. Find the healing herb (unique to this game), though, and you're golden! Recognize these bosses? If you've played Castlevania for the NES, chances are a couple of them look familiar. Chronicle is strongly based on the original, from nearly identical levels to remixed versions of the music. Though a few of these bosses are reprised from the NES game, they look and behave rather differently and are by and large more difficult to defeat. Here's a quick look at how these old haunts have changed. Vampire Bat id etme Vedusa eee Grin Reaper For some old i eae in addition to 4 Blue Oyster Cult gamers, he was tossing snakes obviously never the first level your way, this got this far in boss they’d Medusa will Castlevania, because the Reaper is one to fear. He acts similarly, but he’s not nearly actually turn wenocosssseensss you to stone with a blast from her eyes. She’s a little ‘ Sas trickier than ee ever faced. Gone is the silly smirk of the NES’s flying mouse. In Chronicle, eee. 2s hard in he’s all the bodiless ; £4. iciend Chronicle as he business. original. ee was on the NES. - 105 = Fa t Seamasahy HERE SIGE esa haat PREVIEW GALLERY Many moons ago, before some of our favorite readers were even born, a lonely and misunderstood computer named Joshua asked Matthew Broderick: “Would you like to play a game?” That game, my friends, was a war game. This September, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems invite you and three other enemies to a handheld wargame on your GBA. Like other classic strategy titles, Advance Wars is a turn- based affair where you deploy an army of fatties to eliminate the opposition and capture factories. Other factors for success include terrain, reinforcements and funding. Each army also has a unique set of “heroes” to lend plenty of personality to Advance Wars. # So, shall we play a game? ROP HRODEBDDINDOIDONTCONPO NNO ON MPMI INARA RA ANNI Few ’8o0s coin-op machines could match the fun or graphical pizzazz of Data East’s Robocop. It’s a classic, and is still routinely sought out by arcade-emulation enthusiasts everywhere. Titus’ new pocket adventure looks Strikingly similar to that groundbreaking release. You control Murphy, a cyborg programmed to serve and protect the citizens of Detroit. His home town is under siege— armed thugs have taken over the street. Their leader, a criminal mastermind (what else would he be?), owns the police department in its entirety. What’s an iron-clad law enforcer to do? Kick some criminal ass, of course! Find out this winter if you have what it takes to reclaim the city. _ Back in 1993, Virgin Interactive released Robocop vs. The Terminator —a hard-as-nails action platformer—on the Genesis and the SNES. The | game rode into stores on a crest of fan hype (it was based on a popular Dark Horse comic series), and was backed by some damn slick marketing: The Nintendo version even shipped in an ultra-cool black- rubber case. ‘ane ete EPESCCAEPOSSREOEEEDBESEISRSCRORCEE ABNSEOEBTREDITSSINC LOSE EEEE SANSONE SCHRSESSESTEERTUESSRCOSCAOSEHLEBSSERBSIDISDONCSSANAAAS AONE nEeRUnRsinaaStOn anette iithaonannnnssassanenestnisCRES See eee Few would argue with the assertion that there has never been a good WWF Game Boy Color game; the system’s limited button configuration and pokey processing speed made a mess of titles like Attitude and SmackDown!. Enter the Game Boy Advance —a unit that has the power to capture the action of the WWF in all its mat-poundin’ glory. THQ is intent on making the system’s first licensed wrestling game totally smoke: It’ll feature 24 superstars, four-player link-up capability (very cool), five different game modes and six varied match types. It’s coming this fall. Rare’s Diddy Kong Racing was in a Class by itself on the N64; the graphics were beauti- ful, the level designs were brilliant, and the multiplayer modes were addicting. Diddy Kong Pilot takes the awesome airplane sequences from that seminal N64 cart and streamlines them to fit the technical confines of the GBA. Given the talent at hand, it’s safe to assume that the end product will be capable of giving Nintendo’s own Mario Kart a run for its money. Diddy, Donkey, Cranky, Dixie and the Kremlings are all on board and ready to race. Sadly, Banjo and Conker—from the N64 game—didn’t make it here. Expect the game to be out before the end of winter. Introducing the FIRST Kart; racing game on Game Boy= Advance — Konami Krazy, Racers. Race through 16 action packed) fun-filled courses on your way, to the’ checkered flag. wie! WAR A NAN 8 - Beisttiy rt na . ¥q0CR) ae Fe lercces9. a ee: oi' 2vatos * yp wi LAP i-Zi players with the Game Boy? Choose from 8 classic Advanceseame: Links : nami characters PREVIEW GALLERY SOSSHSERORESEDOSENADRS OHI OSODANRIODIIOSAIOO ABADI EDE ASEAN DERECHOS NADER DERE ORDEAL BEER EE EOE LEE OL LLL OES STOEL ALLL LLL ELT Vario Kart If you’re over 12, you probably remember Nintendo’s Mario Kart on the SNES—the game that single-handedly kicked off the mascot kart- racing genre. Now we can finally take all that high-speed shell-tossin’ action on the road. The term “overkill” doesn’t even begin to describe the 4o tracks and four-player link modes (both single and multi- cart) planned for Mario Kart Super Circuit. Speaking of the Link Cable, the real meat of the game for most people will be the awesome battle arenas. Racing around a wide-open area trying to burst the balloons of three opponents is incredibly fun. Despite a Mario Kart purchase being a no-brainer, we'll have a review next month. It’s not Puff the Magic Dragon, nor is it Pete’s Dragon. No, this is Spyro the Dragon, and you won’t uncover any drug or phallic references here. Developed by Digital Eclipse (Rayman GBA), Spyro on the GBA hopes to capture the fast- paced platform gameplay that made it famous on the PS1. Frolick among 12 unique environments and 30 some Stages while you rescue frozen, helpless fairies. To complete the GBA experience, Universal Interactive Studios has thrown P in a handful of mini-games as well as a 3D flying mode. Catch Spyro on the GBA this September. Metroid !\/ You’d have an easier time wrestling a fresh honey-baked ham from Sally Struthers than getting any info out of Nintendo about Samus’ upcoming portable adventure: It’s still early in development, which means no new details or real screens. But here are afew $ more grainy pics from the E3 video display and a quick recap: At least part of the game § takes place on a large space- ship, and at some point Samus merges with one of the Metroid aliens. Don’t worry: Unlike that freaky scene in Alien: Resurrection, the “merging” is very tastefully portrayed (See bottom screen). This fusion may be the cause of the new powers Samus was sportin’, like the ability to stick to and run along walls and ceilings. Crash GBA Crash Bandicoot’s magnetism still confounds a few of us here at EGM, but the fact remains, this critter is undeniably popular. To ensure a top-notch handheld debut, Universal Interactive Studios hooked up with Vicarious Visions (THPS2 GBA) to create a Crash game that’s not only technically cutting-edge, but also faithful to the series. Here, Crash takes on Dr. Cortex once again to stymie his sinister schemes. Like its beefier PS1 cousins, Crash GBA (working title) will feature side-scrolling action, 3D chases, aquatic exploration, as well as vehicular shenanigans to distract you on your next long roadtrip. It’s Crash, it’s in 2D, and if this wets your whistle, then you better start blowing Qa 2002. V¥ ¥¥ ¥¥.N. Qt ft iy } } tt —— ian oon i enema { | = poeple Ese Owe | Beate we Th wi bei Sree GRAN TURISMO 3 A-SPEC © PLAYSTATION2 3 Re #181981-2 A Hi} Hi ay, = 0 Oo D uM = = S = O | Wn w = (0 On D uw = mM HA | } 1 Hi it Hi i i Hi) i Ah 1a “f Hise ani Ne Bhi, MN ane ao ae —— — « J NGuLS, SKATER Lee | ” TONY HAWK'S $39.99 a | TONY HAWK'S | TER 2 PRO SKA pe temas 229.99 — ACTIVISION ACTIVISION 1S BUANOUS! |) uy oy 133-6 # ye ——— th = == “¢ oureeas | q ~ ne Pies! came? RAS THOMAS e lu} bd z ‘PlayStation |i) ry in RR a td for the store nearest you! or Call to place your order now! é, Y NY HAWK'S: RO SKATER 2 a ie ff, NINTENDO 64 4 Y HAWKS ¥e ACTIVISION jet KATER 205240-5 ~ PRO}S 99 finfing, all products are expected fo be outique. ©2001 Electronics Boutique. Prices valid in U.S. only. Typographical errors are not the responsibility of Electronics Boutique. Not all items may appear at our outlet locations. Prices may vary by location. At time op available. Some packaging, pricing, and special offers may differ in Conada. Prices and availability are subject to change. Manufacturers’ delays are not the responsibility of Electronics by James Mielke and Shane Bettenhausen MM yi Wha Nene AMAR Ha LATO HA a oy A neta iT ipl Lt Mey by aaa a a iatnienereelnetoniaiey ‘aisha game. ee uivatent of MeDor af te as 2 Dice ne formula ¢ ee se, FI a ae 2002 for the raysta ini m, yoice acing 4 for tis dh ma ge!’ ded Wut-su-5uy = eae weg PThis PaMEWIETReRAE SETIES) ta on the P52— somet ning we've been jazzed P wowed us with FFVINNI-themed aN HNCed, and dK is, installment—a fouble-digit sniles stone rare y reached FF hie’ mat ne ¢ original traditions rat had, i] P untit pushing both Birenhoy ¢ and Penittoes Ce rontrol for the lastrey shakedown.is What we et + + | = ae eens Ji Was | watt ii antici) Mersin the: world [Oo play Tie = aabbiggA Sti ee Pssst: The FF movie soundtrack packs a hidden FFX trailer. Here’s a scene-by-scene breakdown... IN THE BEGINNING As we’ve come to expect from every FF installment, all the characters in FFX are brand-new— aside from series regulars the Chocobos, Moogles and Cid (see Role-Players sidebar). Bearing a _ Subtle Asian stylistic influence, FFX’s story pivots around Tidus (pronounced “Tee-duss”), a professional Blitzball player from the land of Zanarkand. His father, Jecht, also a famous Blitzballer, _ disappeared more than 10 years “ago when Tidus was only a boy. Now 17, Tidus is content with being one of the sport’s brightest, most isible stars—at least until a eature known as “Sin” appears. "The massive squid-like creature wreaks havoc and rains destruction on a in its path. on cue is Auron, a disheveled character | who knew Tidus’ on ery well. Auron presents Tidus with Jecht’s old sword and the duo begins slicing some Sin-spawned monsters. Unlike the old-school random combat of past games, this SQUARESOFT presents Sin-ematic: Tidus and Auron face big bad Sin for the first time. battle segues neatly from the real- time cinematic conversation between the two characters to the perspective of Tidus, who sees each enemy drone launched by Sin land directly at his feet, amidst rubble and tongues of flame. Upon dispatching Sin’s horde of hideous drones, we see a blinding vortex crack open the sky, white shafts of light slicing through the clouds. As the ground that surrounds them crumbles and is _ drawn up into the glowing portal, _Auron lifts Tidus off his feet by his tunic and utters, “Get ready. It’s all about you. This is your story.” ‘ DESTINY FORETOLD Tidus comes to in a world that’s cloudy and gray. Clearly this is no longer Zanarkand—this is the world of Spira, a mysterious, archaic land shaped by the religion of Yevon, a theology that forbids technology and machinery. Among the characters you will meet are Yuna, Kimahri, Wakka, Rikku and Lulu—a cadre of Summoners, Warriors and Mages who all have a similar goal: to defeat Sin. Only sSummoners can actually stop the creature, though. In fact, Yuna’s father, Braska, quelled Sin’s last attack 10 years prior. Surprisingly, Yuna knows of Tidus’ distant homeland, Zanarkand. Even more intriguing, she knows this because the man who was her father’s guardian was named Jecht. Is Jecht still alive? Why was Tidus brought to this Spira? What is Sin? Without giving too much away, we'll say the group soon witnesses the inevitable reappearance of Sin, whom the locals believe punishes the use of technology. The hapless Tidus Age: 17 A pro Blitzball player for the Zanarkand Abes, Tidus (pronounced “Tee-duss”) has legions of adoring fans, from young children who ask him for Blitzball tips to the giggly teenage girls who pine for his autograph. A cheerful, sun- bleached lad, Tidus is the son of Jecht, a famous Blitzball player who disappeared many years ago. Yuna Age: 17 Yuna is the daughter of Braska (the last summoner to defeat Sin 10 years ago), and she realizes her destiny is intertwined with the creature’s sudden reappearance. A confident yet impulsive girl, Yuna is willing to sacrifice herself for the greater good. Unsurprisingly, Yuna also has a crush on Tidus. Auron Age: 35 A father figure to Tidus since Jecht disappeared, Auron can be found in FFX carrying a wine jug and looking generally untidy. Symbolically, Auron, ha his father's sword durine thelr ret mutual encounter with Sin’s forces. Auron has deeper ties to Tidus’ past (and his eventual future) than he first lets on. Wakka Age: 24 He’s the captain of the Besaid Village Blitzball team, the Besaid Aurochs, as well as the outspoken member of the group. Wakka’s heart is in the right place, but he can be stubborn, to the detriment of the party. One of Yuna’s handful of guardians, Wakka also befriends Tidus in a big-brother kind of way. Lulu Age: 23 While Lulu may seem too serious at the beginning of the game, this black mage (not all of them wear funny hats) is actually the most down-to-earth, mature member of the group. Ever the voice of reason (and sarcastic to boot), Lulu eventually lightens up later in the adventure. She is. alsoa eee of Luna, even A vibrant girl from Al Bhed, Rikku is devoted to saving Spira from Sin. Unlike the residents of Besaid Village, she ignores the anti-tech trappings of Yevon belief and uses any machinery that can help her defeat the creature. She is traveling the world at the behest of her father, Cid. Kimahri Kimahri is a member of the Ronsos, a race beastmen. Short for a Ronso—his kin call him “Little Ronso” — Kimahri leaves his clan to become Yuna’s guardian. He is very protective and initially offers a gruff attitude toward Tidus. aioe. Guado : equally, paras because of his own mixed heritage. Jecht Age: 35 Jecht is a loud but more skeptical version his son, Tidus—to whom he remains a mystery. Tidus eventually learns that Jecht, once a legendary champion in Blitzball, also found his way into the world of Spira. O’AKA the 23rd Age: 30 This greedy, 23rd-generation traveling merchant serves as the party’s “shop.” He always appears to hawk goods but is not wealthy and often asks for donations to rebuild his shop. Braska Age: 35 Braska is Yuna’s father, the summoner responsible for bringing peace to the realm 10 years ago. He often appears with Jecht and Auron in flashback sequences. denizens of Besaid Village are powerless against Sin’s brutal assault, and many lives are lost. After the chaos Settles into quiet disaster and Sin is nowhere to be found, we see yet another function of the summoner—to put the souls of the recently perished to rest. It’s _ important to do this lest the dead become disenchanted spirits, ne : living, and so Yuna Ove h last 5 years Square bes writer Kazushige Nojima admits was an influence. Essentially, the game is told as a flashback, as the opening cinema shows Tidus recounting past events. It’s a unique and intriguing storytelling - device that has been used to great effect in movies but largely ignored in video games until now Ge FFVII| made some use of this — technique). It’s not just the story that’s undergoing a "metamorphosis ough. FINAL FANTASY X: } poeack ey YRC Fantasy to graduate tothe heated 2, and FFX Javea. presentation of the game’s world. ‘style. Fortunately, there’s nothing to fear, as the pranges here, are to longtime fans, but these Everything, all this, sta “| Delieve it Would be fin to create another story. with (FFVIT's! cris and Cloud in a ‘pide’ (sidestory! game. But for now, it's more interesting: for me to create new stories featuring New characters.” Director Yoshinori Kitase tweaks, the fundamentals of battle, character growth and exploration have remained fairly static. The time has come, however, for Final _ system, experience averem and the After FFIX rediscovered the roots of the series with its old-school charm, traditional fans might require a Phoenix Down when they hear of FFX’s unexpected new Fant S| 0 cept may be shocking alterations are merely the beginning of a new identity for this cherished RPG series. After all, Final Fantasy XI and XII are both Set to take the franchise in amazing new—and online— Manipulate your world! Why get wet when you can swing across using this palm tree? Give enemies a tongue-lashing as you pull and stretch them into submission! TEEN CONTENT RATED BY Mild Animated Violence Suggestive Themes ESRB Reach Out and Use the Demon Scarf to deform everything! Your PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system will never be the same. a asf Stretch Somebody! — | ane af HUSK, STRETCH THE LIMITS OF' YOUR PLAYSTATION'’2 It’s a dangerous and bizarre world, but hey, if you don’t like it — stretch it! With the help of a possessed Scarf, you'll have the power to stretch and deform everything in sight as you lead Linda on a twisted journey to rescue her sisters from the Demons of Vanity. Check out “stretchtisity” for yourself and see why IGN.Com called Stretch Panic “The Most Innovative game of E3 2001.” From award-winning developer, TREASURE! (Bangai-O, Sin & Punishment Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Heady) PlayStation.e 3 www.conspiracygames.com “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © 2001 Conspiracy Entertainment. © 2001 Treasure. All other copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Ti eR ENP ae Fis a Or Sa Lulu’ Ss Overd rive attack | uses whatever doll she has equipped. _ directions in the next few years, SO fans need to mee their minds to ulled on Sauate s finest alent no small surprise considering the _ magnitude of the project. Fans _ weaned on the 3D legacies of FFVII nd Vill will be glad to know that character designer Tetsuya Nomura (after spending time on the Bouncer and his current project, Kingdom Hearts) is back on board. Nomura, realizing that the super- deformed, memory-saving characters of the past were no longer necessary on the PS2, designed FFX’s cast in the more realistic style of FFVIII. Joining him are Final Fantasy veterans Yoshinori Kitase (director for the FF series since VII), Kazushige Nojima (scenario writer), art director Yusuke Naora, composer Nobuo Uematsu and, perhaps most significantly, Toshiro Tsuchida, the director of Square’s Front Mission strategy-RPG series, who was brought in to overhaul the Active Time Battle (ATB) system. UNCONVENTIONAL de. aach cheracer | in battle, forcing players to keep an eye on them for their next chance 0 attack. It meant that players ouldn’t just take a nap or grab a snack while fighting an F battle anymore, or they'd ly find monsters feasting on their characters’ indecisive entrails. ATB offered unpredictable encounters: Would a character ine coiewhat musty battle Electronic Gaming : Monthly - 118 - _www.egmmag.com system. So Square called on Toshiro Tsuchida and gave him one standing order: to rework FF combat from the ground up. “It was the general director, [Hironobu] Sakaguchi, who thought of appointing him,” Kitase recalls. “| had Tsuchida design the battle system as he wished, and it was his idea to discontinue the legendary ATB system that had been tradition since halfway through the series.” At first, 514 “6 78 BO MP 64 ae “Th there’s ever an opportunity, I'd like to work On a fantasy strategy game. And being that were able to develop games on a...machine like the PX2, I've come up with many new ideas in my head for Front Mission. If there are any fans hoping for a sequel, I'd love to create one.” —Battle-system director Toshiro Tsuchida Fa ntas game is a self-contained y in a unique world, a few popula faces continue to land supporting roles tine and eh Vile monsters like Behemoths, Bombs and Cactaurs offer repeat performances, but much more memorable are the friends who stick around: namely, Chocobos, Moogles and Cid. These lovable bit players have been a staple of Square’s franchise for over a decade, so here’s a quick overview of their contributions to the Final Fantasy canon. Chocobos This feisty fowl has evolved into the main Final Fantasy mascot over the past decade, transcending its original role as a packhorse to become the star of its own series of popular titles. Chocobos may look like overgrown chickens, ‘ but these feathered friends are powerful allies that have aided the heroes of nearly every Final Fantasy adventure. First Appearance: Final Fantasy I! (Japan) U.S. gamers never got their hands on this 8-bit sequel to the original blockbuster, but Japanese gamers were party to the introduction of the : Players would find Chocobo Forest, eager to carry heroes to their destinations. Chocobos returned in every successive Final Fantasy title (including Final Fantasy Tactics) as birds of different sizes, colors and abilities, lending a wing to the cause. We’ve also seen Chocobos pop up in non-FF games, such as the import-only brawler Tobal 2. Square even created a design doc for a Chocobo- centric fighting game called Battle de Chocobo (the project was scrapped). No matter: Square ultimately placed the Chocobo in the limelight by producing an entire line of games— including Chocobo’s Dungeon 1 and 2 and Chocobo Racing— Starring the beloved beast. lull ala Moogles These cuddly critters are the brainchild of longtime Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano (who, just to remind you again, created our limited-edition cover this month). Unlike the loveable Chocobos, Moogles are quite intelligent and maintain a complex society. No one really knows exactly what a Moogle is, but they do appear to be mammalian, winged and highly huggable. First Appearance: Final Fantasy III (Japan) just as U.S. gamers missed the first appearance of the Chocobo, Western players were also denied the Moogtes’ debut in this 8-bit classic, in which a group of industrious Moogles operates a magic shop. me rere re re re se re er fer ee ee ee et ee ee ee ITN Moogles make brief appearances in FFV, FFVI, FFVII and FFIX, but these foppish creatures truly steal the show in FFVI (FFI in the U.S.). During one special encounter, the player has the opportunity to control a massive team of Moogles in a strategic multi-party battle. One of these brave souls, Mog, _ joins the team for the remainder of the quest. Moogles were also seen in Final Fantasy Adventure (Game Boy) and Secret of s - ) Mana (Super NES)—both of which are odd roles, since the Final Fantasy universe rarely crosses over into other titles. (Final Fantasy Adventure isn’t really an FF game at all, but rather the predecessor to Secret of Mana.) Cid Perhaps the strangest of these supporting roles is that of Cid. Nearly every Final Fantasy game features either a party member or a helpful non-player character named Cid. Each Cid is totally unrelated to his previous namesakes, yet every successive FF title includes a character by this name. Most avid FF gamers have a favorite Cid, and it’s often a toss-up between the sailor- mouthed Cid Highwind from _ FFVII or the tragic inventor | _ from FFVI who strangely ae apiece of candy corn. And although the spellingis ss, Me unconventional forthe ate series, a guy named - “Sid” even pops up in this summer’s oi Final Fantasy: _.. The Spirits Within. Tsuchida was a tad apprehensive about tinkering with the well- tooled battle engine, but soon afterward he irrevocably changed the game, discarding the ATB system altogether. “The reason why | used a system that didn’t reflect Active Time Battle was to show how thinking through and tackling tasks can be an enjoyable experience,” Tsuchida says, “and | wanted to convey this in an uncomplicated manner. | think the Final Fantasy RPGs exhibit highly ategic battles using various abilities and magic. | simply restructured those elements to create the battle system for FFX. So although strategic elements have been incorporated, | believe fans of the series will be able to easily adapt to the system.” In FFX’s battles, all action ceases between turns. During these breaks, a chart in the upper-right corner of the screen displays the precise sequence of character and enemy turns. This allows for perfectly planned strategy in every encounter, and these between-turn breaks also allow the player to use the “Interchange System.” For the first time ever in any Final Fantasy, party members can be easily switched into and out of the melee instantly. For example, if the magician-heavy party entering a battle is ill-equipped to face a group of foes, you can quickly call in a new squad of brute-force brawlers to replace their comrades. In other words, if the current team isn’t up to snuff, get ’em out of there. Think of Interchange as a quick-change basketball substitution, minus the time-outs. Characters not switched into the fray still receive experience for a BW UEBLES wa .¥ ) ‘ane TROARROELS Anat PE EROBRE, battle, but it’s actually beneficial to use as many different characters as possible as each added character yields more total experience for the party. “To make the most of the Interchange system during battle,” Tsuchida tells us, “the characters have been designed to be more unique and have more specific abilities. Characters can be interchanged numerous times during a single battle, so it is no longer necessary to prepare and adjust the characters in advance.” While the strategy of the battle engine has been drastically retooled, the actual actions of the characters remain true to previous games. Commands like Attack, Magic and Item should be instantly familiar. Character classes are also drawn from previous Final Fantasy games, as FFX features modern ™ “ o [mins ns f af, Sty ; od ly £ ? fe (PLB 1.BB MENG jc} WOD AYOACOZ MM ° LUVIH SIH NI ONY ONVH SIH NI SCTOH NVW INO YIMOd FHL JIVWILSIIGNN YIAIN YIAO THOM FHL NMONN NIGUVOGILVS TWNOISSIIONd V MON * IWVN SIH OL AOL GTTIIHM UNI V LN ONIHLON HLIM XNOUS FHL 40 S19FULS HONOL IHL WOUd IY VINO * VdN'S ANNYG LOY IM IVHM CTYOM HL MOHS © NOITII8IY © JUNLTND-GNS JAISHIA-GNS ALD NYOA MIN %001 ~ TIUAV WADY IHL” WYOA MIN © ALID WHOA MAN 9261 CUHSITSVLST M34) WYOA 00Z SNORISATH FHL Sert0I 4 CYC] LZ soumosonnon wow equivalents of Knight, Black Wizard, Thief, Summoner, Dragoon, Blue Wizard, and Magical Swordsman (whom longtime fans will remember from FFV) among the party members. Just don’t expect Lulu to don a Vivi-style pointy hat or Yuna to sport a freakish horn on her forehead. Tetsuya Nomura’s realistic characters are the epitome of funky tropical style, not old-school super- deformed designs. Two new battle functions do appear: Overkill and Overdrive. Overkill damage occurs when the finishing blow to a beastie delivers far more damage than its remaining Hit Points. Such attacks result in greater rewards when you collect the spoils after a fight, so it’s a good idea to smash each foe into oblivion with your strongest attacks, Overdrive, on the other hand, is basically the same Limit Break/Trance State razzmatazz featured in the last few Final Fantasy titles, in which your characters could unleash super attacks when they took enough damage. Each character has a unique set of Overdrive abilities to choose from, and everyone’s skills are unique. Tidus busts out insanely powerful sword attacks, Lulu spews multiple simultaneous spells, Kimahri uses acquired enemy skills, and Auron unleashes some Zell-style physical blitz combos. Each character’s Overdrive attack is even performed differently control-wise. For example, Tidus has an NBA Live- like free-throw meter where you need an accurately timed button press to pull off your attack, while Lulu’s Overdrive demands speedy twirling of the left analog stick. Summoned monsters have undergone a major transformation in FFX: Once called forth, they now join the battle as controllable characters. When Yuna brings one of these beasts into the fray, it can both attack foes and be attacked. Of course, these deities are still able to unleash blazing special attacks as in previous games, but now those F/X firestorms are the Overdrive attacks of the Electronic Gaming Monthly - 122 - www.egmmag.com summoned creatures. Because of the increased complexity of the summoning system, the overall number of possible summoned creatures is lower. To master new summon magic, Yuna must visit various temples located throughout the world. The traditional experience-point system also gets a kick in the pants in FFX, as Tsuchida has fused experience and abilities together to form the “Sphere Table,” a special visual aid used when building up your characters. After each battle, the party finds a number of different Spheres among the Gil and items. Four types of Spheres exist: Power, Magic, Ability and Speed Spheres. These globes can be spent on the Sphere Table to — Character designer Tetsuya Nomura, when asked which character he created for Square was his favorite No more prerendered backdrops: FFX’s 3D world is rendered on the fly, which makes for slick segues between cinematics and battles. Ul In both Tidus’ homeworld of Zanarkand and the land of Spira (where the majority of FFX takes place), Blitzball is the sport of kings. It doubles as both entertainment and a spiritual gathering; hence, the sport’s greatest athletes are also society’s heroes. A combination of rugby and water polo, Blitzball takes place entirely underwater (the athletes can hold their breath for more than 4o minutes). It’s a furiously fast, strategic game, but RPG gamers unaccustomed to breakneck sports action should fear not— although you move in real time, actions such as shooting, passing and blocking are turn-based. Players should try to master this novel sport quickly, as you can jump into a Blitzball competition at every save point. So take a sec to study these rules. _ Each team has five players. _ As you move around the “field,” your teammates will shift positions accordingly. _ You can switch to automatic movement, so you only have to worry about shooting, passing, etc. _ Each player has a preset amount of HP (basically, movement points) to use. Any movement (“dribbling”) costs HP, as does passing (3 HP) and shooting (10 HP). ~ Players not in control of the ball regain HP over time. ~ Each player has a preset amount of PS (pass strength) to use. By keeping an eye on your PS you can gauge whether a pass will be successful. For example, if your PS is lower than the PS needed to reach your teammate, the pass will fail and can be © A defensive player’s CU (cut power) negates the offense’s PS. If a player on defense has a CU score equal to or greater than the passing player’s Pass Strength, the defender will intercept the ball. © Defenders must watch out for the Breakthrough—a move used by players on offense when they’re surrounded by two or more defenders. Using a Breakthrough move will allow the offense to avoid one of the defenders (usually the defensive player with the highest CU). This increases the offense’s chances of a successful pass, but it costs HP, so you can’t abuse this move. intercepted by the opposing team. _ The ST (shoot) meter also has a numeric value (see a pattern forming?). It gets lower as you approach the goal. You need at least 1 ST to shoot the ball. When you attempt to shoot, the goalie’s defensive stats appear. Your ST needs to be higher than the goalie’s CA (catch power). ~ You can shoot the ball even if you don’t have enough HP, but your chances of success decrease proportionately. For example, if a shot costs 10 HP and you only have 5 HP, you only have a 50 percent chance of scoring the goal. ~ Master players like Wakka have special shots that cost extra points to deliver, but the payoff is often worth the effort when a blazing ball hits the goal. _ The final defensive tactic is the Capture. At select times you can “capture” an opponent’s special move, similar to stealing items or a spell, and use it against them later. irik 15lun Bou i2en. Ast. fy im ** e ak git . < SE nl ge -! otitis Fa) as & a rf 2 The Breakthrough move was made for situations like this one, where the offensive player is surrounded. Troubled waters: Wakka’s special move irks the defense. Electronic Gaming Monthly - 123 - www.egmmag.com —MELP increase Statistics like HP and MP, learn new spells and master new abilities. The actual Sphere Table is a giant physical representation of every spell, ability and bonus available in the game, and each party member begins in a distinct place on the game-board-like table. Each stop on the Sphere Table is linked to other spots, creating a complex network of interconnected abilities to master. Since everything is connected, certain points must be passed in order to reach others. Therefore, you cannot learn Firega without first mastering Fire and Firera. - P 204 ip 2760 MP) 165 WP 2289 MPI224 CE BUEA The Sphere Table in action. When looking at the Sphere Table, it’s possible to zoom the camera out and view the relative positions of all party members on the complete board for a quick look at how the party is progressing. Although this ability/experience system lets you customize characters to your liking, each party member is intrinsically unique and excels at specific skills. For example, Wakka is a very physical character, so his starting position on the Sphere Table is near attack bonuses, HP increases and special attacks. However, Wakka can eventually learn Black Magic if you’re adamant about moving his position on the table toward the magic side. Such an endeavor would take a lot of effort, and the magic-savvy Wakka wouldn’t be quite as physically strong as an average Wakka, but it can be done if you’re persistent. Perhaps the biggest new quirk in FFX is its lack of a traditional overworld field map. While every previous FF game jumped to a zoomed-out world of lush plains and mountains when you moved between towns and dungeons, — Music composer Nobuo Uematsu, when asked why he picked Japanese indie singer Rikki to perform FFX’s love theme everything in FFX is viewed from the same close-up perspective — the scale of the terrain doesn’t change to reveal more of the world when you leave town. Instead, to reach a new area, the party must traverse a large forest or desert on foot. Fortunately, the world is comprised of many small islands, so the hiking won’t cripple the party—or your fingers on the joypad. And when you move between islands, a parchment map shows the party’s movement via a dotted line. The lack of a traditional overworld may seem unsettling at first, but the actual effect of having a continuous world is quite realistic. After all, isn’t a forest more imposing when the hero’s head isn’t peeking out of it ona giant map? Other enhancements on the technical side of things include the game filling an entire DVD (goodbye four-disc sets). FFX is also compatible with Sony’s upcoming hard drive, which will be used as a fast cache to reduce loading times. Overall, FFX is a game that amazes on multiple levels. The graphics immediately catch your eye, with facial geometry and animation surpassing even the character models in Sega’s Shenmue for the Dreamcast. Polygon counts go through the roof—environments are expansive, elaborately decorated scads of characters and bystanders populate the screen, and textures are rich in detail and color. Higher resolutions, higher framerates and seamless transitions between the game engine and CG cutscenes are all part of the package. The cinemas, it should be noted, now run at a full 30 frames per second, which is television-standard. So now more than ever, an FF game is like watching a movie, in full DVD The new overworld map replaces the 3D field maps of past FFs. quality, on your TV screen. Complementing this is 5.1 Surround sound that, on the right home audio system, will help your ears keep pace with your eyes. Even though the soundtrack features fewer than the typical 100 tunes found in earlier Final Fantasies, FFX will still include around 70 new tracks. Nobuo Uematsu’s compositions have expanded stylistically to include some hard-rock tracks and evena house-music rendition of the “Prelude” theme. “It’s basically like changing clothes,” Uematsu Says when we ask about his constant reinvention of familiar themes. “I try to arrange the composition differently each time As some lucky readers have already noticed, a limited number of EGMs feature a special cover painted exclusively for us by longtime Final Fantasy collaborator Yoshitaka Amano. Working out of his Soho studio in New York City, the prolific artist — who has designed characters for everything from Final Fantasy to the anime classic Vampire Hunter D—started our piece in pencil, then finished it with acrylic paint, colored inks and gold leaf. while preserving the basic melody line.” Head to our Web site, www.egmmag.com, to hear a few audio clips from FFX’s soundtrack. Music isn’t the only aural effect to have an impact on FFX. For the first time in a Final Fantasy, Square employed voice actors to augment the storytelling package. Spoken dialog truly ramps up the Final Fantasy cinematic experience, as conversations between characters convey emotion and narrative in ways that written text never could. Work has already begun on the English localization of FFX’s dialogue, which is no small task considering that the game’s script is 10 times as large as the average Hollywood flick. Overall, the drastic changes to the battle engine, experience ly As for the creative process behind this once-in-a-lifetime piece of art, Amano tells us, “I did many sketches, but most importantly, | tried to portray how Tidus is fighting for Yuna, protecting her.... | also wanted to show how he was hurt and weary. | ripped his clothes a bit. With computer graphics, you can see the clothes that he wears, but it’s difficult to convey a tired feeling. With painting, | can show something different.” system and presentation combine to make FFX’s gameplay a fresh experience for RPG fans. Is it impressive? You bet. Is it the leap Square needs to keep the Final Fantasy brand vital, as well as secure in its role as the franchise against which all RPGs are measured? Most definitely. WAIT, THERE’S MORE... Log on to WWW.egmmag.com for extended coverage of FFX. In addition to offering audio Samplings from the game’s soundtrack, we’re teaming up with TokyoPop for a contest in which you can win a package of the Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX soundtracks —all signed by Uematsu himself. You'll also find more exclusive shots of the game, as well as full transcripts of our interviews with everyone on the FFX team—including character designer Tetsuya Nomura, director Yoshinori Kitase and artist Yoshitaka Amano. You can even watch the FFX trailer that we’ve run across the top of the feature. See you online. h harap ec hel acl mala ra cet angele cel elena el nella asalltineal th acer Tinos ened coring cl tune wal easels oun eorca’ cess henasdt eaeetan marta anelinoe lecadonetteredl enottantticanttandieanlicationtin tdi die that ttt kn ne ee ee eee eee Our cover art at an early stage. if the front of this mag features the finished image, congrats — you Bave a limited-edition issue! The Super Nintendo. Gone but not forgotten, the Super NES Pelebrates its first decade of service this month. So let’s slap on the system’s big purple power button and relive those 16-bit memories... elieve it or don’t, in the days before Nintendo 64, the cartridge The Super NES launched in late August 1991, 10 months after it format wasn’t considered evil, Square and Nintendo were best arrived in Japan as the Super Famicom. Packed with two controllers buddies, and now-blasé effects such as scaling and rotation and the amazing Super Mario World, the $200 Super NES seemed _ were considered state-of-the-art. Once upon that time—10 poised for success. Third-party support was strong, with classics like “| years ago this month, to be exact—Nintendo was prepping its Super Act Raiser, Final Fight, Super Ghouls ‘n’ Ghosts and Final Fantasy II all NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) for U.S. release. Many EGM released within a month or two of launch. And Nintendo’s own editors consider that system to be the best console of all time, so, with = properties—namely F-Zero and PilotWings—certainly didn’t hurt. the Nov. 5 launch of Nintendo’s GameCube looming, we figured it’s high The system packed a punch, too. “It could generate many more time for a fond look back at the Super NES, its games, its contributions — colors than the NES,” says Satoru Iwata, Nintendo Corporate Limited’s. to our hobby, and how its neck-and-neck race with Sega’s Genesis director and general manager of corporate planning, “and for the first — turned into the bloodiest console brawl this industry’s ever seen. time, the hardware did some of the work that had previously been . Electronic Gaming Monthly - 126 - www.egmmag.com Ni Saya NAB AIS Homuieyen: i Tay SAM Nin ARNO Ma i on Bb at AB BEAR nh SRNR a iS Hint Nas Nh iy paacithth s i aie Haas iat Pay . NE i BORN alae Sea ap hina A Ra ae HG SAKINA MAK Bea done by the software.” The console’s mega-hyped “Mode 7” feature, for instance, allowed scaling and rotation of a game’s background image, which in the hands of capable developers made for gee-whiz effects. “Il was astonished by the overwhelming leap of the Super NES’ capabilities over existing consoles,” says Masato Maegawa, president of Treasure, the Konami expatriates behind Super Castlevania IV. Just as impressive was the sound chip, designed by Sony. “Super NES was the first console that had more than one ADPCM [Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation] channel,” says Ancient Corp.’s Yuzo Koshiro, who’s famous for composing the music in Act Raiser, Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage and Shenmue, among other games. “Its sound ALL THESE YEARS By John Ricciardi GHOSE Haun este HARM et aanays rea THE TOP 10 BEST- SELLING SUPER NES GAMES* WORLDWIDE 1. Super Mario World (20.6 million) 2. Super Mario All-Stars (10.5 million) 3. Donkey Kong Country (9.3 million) 4. Super Mario Kart (8.7 million) 5. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest (5.1 million) 6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (4.6 million) 7. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (4.1 million) 8. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble (3.5 million) 9. Killer Instinct (3.2 million) 10. Star Fox (2.9 million) * First-party games only chip could achieve even natural orchestral sound, like the score | made for Act Raiser.” The Super NES did suffer growing pains—namely, slowdown in the first batch of games because of its sluggish CPU —but developers quickly worked out the console’s kinks. While Nintendo was already in cruise control in Japan, where the Super Famicom completely dominated right out of the gate, things were not going to be so easy in the States. Sega was already off to a successful yearlong head start with the Genesis, and their aggressive marketing coupled with some huge exclusives (like the original Madden and NHL games) meant Sega’s momentum would be tough to break. The battle that took place in the months and years to come was Electronic Gaming Monthly - 127 - www.egmmag.com AN Renate Aeneas Aerie brutal, and though the Super NES eventually won out in the end, it was us—the gamers—who turned out to be the real victors. The Super NES and Genesis were dead even for quite a while, each with a diverse library of solid titles and a smattering of exclusives that kept each system worthwhile in spite of its competitor. If you liked sports titles or shooters, you probably leaned toward Genesis. If you were into RPGs or platformers, the Super NES was the way to go. Madden? Sega. Final Fantasy? Nintendo. It was simple. But in the early 90S, one genre was booming in the arcades—fighting games—and at the time, nobody realized just how much of an impact they’d have on the home market until summer 1992. That’s when the most popular fighting game of them all, Capcom’s Street Fighter Il, landed exclusively on the Super NES (it didn’t hit Genesis until fall 1993). Street Fighter II kicked off the fighting-game craze on the consoles just as it did in the arcades, and in 1993, Mortal Kombat hit home (albeit with toned-down gore in the Super NES version), along with Street Fighter Il Turbo, both of which were big sellers. A year later, an uncensored Mortal Kombat II hit the Super NES, which helped propel Nintendo ahead in the battle against Genesis. At the 1994 Summer Consumer Electronics Show, Nintendo unveiled Donkey Kong Country, whose “Advanced Computer Modeling” graphics wowed the crowds. The game went on to sell more than 9 million copies worldwide, cementing Nintendo’s lead and paving the way for two hit sequels. The Super NES continued to dominate in its final years, while Sega went on a consumer-unfriendly peripheral-releasing tirade that gave birth to the Sega CD and 32X before the surprise release of Saturn in May 1995. Meanwhile, Super NES gamers enjoyed some of the system’s best games yet, including Yoshi’s Island, Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Tetris Attack and Kirby’s Dream Land 3. The flow of software finally dwindled to nothing at the end of 1997, well after the system began to show its age. “Because of the software growing bigger and developers having to program Super NES games in Electronic Gaming Monthly ? COMPLETE CONTROL... Nintendo’s controllers have always been innovative—this is the company that invented the D-pad. With the Super NES came two extra face buttons and a key feature: the top-mounted L and R shoulder buttons, which added functionality without crowding the layout. They’ve been copied many times since. “It was the first pad | thought was better than a joystick for some kinds of games,” says Takayuki Hirono, main programmer of the Super NES shooter Space MegaForce. Assembly language,” Iwata says, “it became harder and harder to induce the real charms of the powerful hardware at the end of its life cycle.” Nevertheless, Super NES games hit Japan right up until last year, mostly in the form of rereleases and special editions, thanks to Nintendo’s unique Japanese game-download service called Nintendo Power (not to be confused with the U.S. magazine of the same name). In the end we saw more than 700 Super NES games (1,400 in Japan), and over 23 million pieces of hardware sold in the U.S. alone (with 49 million sold worldwide). While it may not have enjoyed the success of the original NES, it still left its mark in the industry as a system that took 2D gaming to new levels. And let’s not forget the best thing to happen to Super NES fans: Game Boy Advance, widely considered the handheld spiritual successor to the 16-bit wonder. With lots of souped- up Super NES ports on the way, as well as plenty of new games, there’s really no good excuse for you not to own one of these little gems. The Super NES may be gone, but as the saying goes, its soul still burns... EGM ON THE SUPER NINTENDO... Nintendo’s classic 16-bit system may be celebrating its 10th anniversary this month, but EGM has been around even longer, and we were there to introduce the system to the world back in 1989, in our second issue. To wit, here’s what we had to say about the Super NES way back when... “The Super NES has by far the most impressive specs of any piece of consumer video game hardware.” et A ee ct Sting it acne tear Sie: i > OU \ fMaUNCN ISSue, AUGUST Ne go} du t “While | personally hold a lot of hope for the Super NES, it will have to overcome its major slowdown problems. The graphics are nice, but where are all the great “It has, by far, the best library of grade AAA titles on the market. Nothing on the 32- or 64-bit systems compares to the richness and quality of games on the Super NES.” rr - 128 - www.egmmag.com POLE et PT Oe yen tank yen 0 spell effects Destroy Dracula's minions Choose from 5 sub-weapons (R) ark of KONAMI CORPORATION. Circle of the Moon™ is a trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. © 1986, 2001 KONAMI. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is:a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Game Boy Advance is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. THE 10 GREATEST SUPER NES GAMES After a lot of shouting, crying and —almost—a little gunplay, the EGM editors assembled this list of their favorite Super NES classics. Trust us—all these titles are as enjoyable and playable today as when they were first released. 1B lel B, 2B, ly | x03 WY Bx1 kos ¥ —410. Contra Ill: The Alien Wars (Konami, 1992) One of the finest side-scrolling action games ever to grace any console, with intense two-player action, awesome Mode 7 effects, killer music and insane bosses. We’re still waiting for a worthy sequel. " (Square, 1995) This “Dream Project” between the creators of Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior was just re- released for the PlayStation as one half of Final Fantasy Chronicles. Why not go find out for yourself why it’s so great? Tetris Attack (Nintendo, 1996) Hands-down the best two-player puzzle game ever made. TA was recently Poké-fied for both the N64 (Pokémon Puzzle League) and the GBC (Pokémon Puzzle Challenge). Some of us still prefer the Super NES original. 7. Super Castleve (Konami, 1992) Developed by the tea went on to become Ti featured huge charac corridors, loads of pa eight-way whip for ol Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Nintendo, 1995) Another Super NES classic that’s on the way for t Game Boy Advance, Yoshi’s Island combined bea Super FX2-chip-enhanced visuals with truly genre defining gameplay. It’s easily one of the best platformers of all time. Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting (Capcom, 1993) Street Fighter Il was the game that turned the tides in the Super NES vs. Genesis war. Turbo helped boost Nintendo even more so, with a faster engine, more moves and characters, and rock-solid gameplay. @, 4. Super Mario World (Nintendo, 1991) With 96 levels of classic Mario action, SMW was (and is) a Mario fan’s dream come true. tT ™ If you missed it the first time, watch for the esenill “Ss ‘, recently announced GBA remake due — — = — sometime next year. 3. Final Fantasy Ill (Square, 1994) The best RPG on a systen RPGs, FFIll—the last “old a testament to the Super and audio capabilities. Al Anthology for the PS1 (as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to tr (Nintendo, 1992) Link’s finest hour? We think so. The Super NES bi land of Hyrule (and its dark counterpart) to life, v massive quest spanning two huge worlds and so most incredible dungeons ever designed. 8A NT AT A aM ro ee = EMERG = toe kJ ea 42 Z PD Ge RR SR OE AE OE OR ee oR AF Super Metroid (Nintendo, 1994) “The last Metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace.” So begins the most oe side-scrolling action/adventure ever to grace a console. Strong words? Nah. tifa ay graphics, amazing gameplay, amazing bosses, heck, even amazing music—it cn e Tebtheieeeneheage te. §6©6—- Nintendo hit the bull’s eye with Metroid 3, and we’re praying that they can di Meta Stet Viet §=§=6with) both Metroid 4 (GBA) and Metroid Prime (GameCube). 7 * + tie, ee IORABLE MI .: Super Mario All-Stars (Nintendo, 1993) safle you Efe the Hammer oe on us for not including this incredible cart, bear in mind that we decided to exclude remak« compilation titles (Such as Tetris & Dr. Mario, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, etc.). But if we did allow compilations, you better believe All-S with its enhanced remakes of Super Mario Bros. 1 through 3 and Japan’s Mario 2: The Lost Levels—would nab the numero-uno s| THE MANY FACES OF SUPER NES Nintendo’s 16-bitter has evolved quite a bit over the years, especially in Japan. Take a look at some of the more popular pieces of hardware that came to be (or in the case of the SNES CD, not to be): Prototype Super Famicom This early SFC prototype featured smaller controller ports, a headphone jack and volume knob, a mysterious “Famicom” button on the console, and C and D buttons, which were later renamed X and Y. Super Famicom The Japanese Super Famicom boasts a much sexier design than its ugly-ducking U.S. counterpart. Plus, the buttons on the controller are color-coded. Our lucky gamer compadres in Europe got this design as well. Super NES Following in the footsteps of the NES, Nintendo decided to redesign the Super Famicom before releasing it in the States, stripping it of all its visual appeal in the process. But hey, she’s got a great personality... Redesigned Super NES This smaller, value-priced SNES came at the end of the system’s life cycle. In exchange for this “value,” gamers had to give up S-Video and RGB support, which to some (like us), was a bit tough to swallow. Satellaview Satellaview was a Japan-only add-on for the SFC which allowed gamers to download exclusive games and content (like a remake of NES Zelda and a sequel to F- Zero, among others) over a broadcast satellite network. Despite being unique and interesting, the Service never really took off. Super NES CD-ROM After “breaking up” with Sony, Nintendo settled on this design for their 32-bit “ND Drive” CD-ROM add-on for the Super NES, which was put together in conjunction with Philips (the CD-i people). Sadly, the project was eventually scrapped, and Nintendo has remained CD-free even to this day. Sharp SF1 Hoping to capitalize on the success of their Twin Famicom—a combo Famicom (NES) and Famicom Disk Drive —Sharp released the SF1, an S-Video-ready television with a built-in Super Famicom. An impractical device, it quickly fell into obscurity. PERIPHERAL VISION Like any successful system, the Super NES was host to its fair share of first- and third-party peripherals, some good, some bad, some downright ridiculous (Batter Up!, the motion- sensor baseball bat controller, takes the cake). Behold, a hit list of popular gizmos... Super Scope Nintendo’s gigantic, awkward scope gun worked surprisingly well but suffered from two fatal flaws: First, you couldn’t use two at once (meaning no two-player action), and second, there were hardly any games released for it. Super Game Boy One of the coolest peripherals ever, the Super Game Boy adapter allowed you to play your Game Boy games on the Super NES, and with a limited color palette to boot. It’s a crime there was no first-party N64 version. Game Genie Long before there was GameShark there was Galoob’s Game Genie. It worked much like the Shark, except that you could only input five codes on any one game. This thing was outrageously popular back in the day. XBAND Modem This awesome peripheral (available for Genesis first) was way ahead of its time. XBAND allowed gamers to direct-dial each other and play online for a monthly fee. Sadly, despite support for big games like Super Street Fighter Il, Mortal Kombat Il and NBA Jam T.E., the service never took off. Super NES Mouse This thing came bundled with Mario Paint, a Strangely addictive PC Paint ripoff with limited options and hardly any space to save drawings or music (you could create basic music tracks in addition to your pictures). More than 15 games supported the Mouse, but Mario Paint was really the only one worth owning. yin ea — Pattie 5 Electronic Gaming Monthly - 181- www.egmmag.com ei sem sp tag pase ep eaAE cients cing sinesensBs . Feared banded eae pbaaeet pean ssid padctoenur R seer enytyee it Venn dont RHE 7 bgonesigitafitin. WH esfithetentna ste , nite ESA pit “J . - : 4 i nays BPeivivsniriravsneayoanitty poets eg ela eaumets sae fii a cep Tesina Haan HUE De Naat aia ahi ty ueeplyteanyitsigi 9 egos HH IRE ata CRT NPBA EPR Bas 7 t itt antes lif ss AINE esse rib eseceRRES ae bist eden int iuvesw onli TLerpnngvies Hoidlbehy i chi = . score sesamiduiplolybit erateinne pM P? cuidinetap seis tes ped ad igstiti a Heat Pe esH PHN , Rect HE HIM HOHE HASH ASHP re seis — i sagegcet Fa i plaeesydl Hansell poset . aaa Re fer ft piss Heap Pedra fused este rnd iy wi = edt arate th "oman ponestyregignd eeayy > oe emai gral l ve ja ecereatTs EER AE SERA TASTE F PARP LR TRIS geathapsiniloiied! nm 4 fepitias sii ted ial pai ften lf se SHR EPL ARR MEET ea dolprngeiit that Lape Teste tee miata USSU EMH HT pet ants addepbarpstcuces iv tndssggensneapdonyanelstaan feist vert eal deadbeat MONRO UEA YO UHOD FFE Pt nig Sep AEaR SAWP HACE HOLE AD/dO INE RAAR TEAR ANP Prt paces les sey tas latina ent AIOE HIER tego sree adh 4 itneseedte its i pth ened rau tend PALLET PULA PHU PE TA pai taeenr sta Tene Saber: i cpa ineg Hobo nese nts OOH Ha ae 608i itt ityPeh sy tty vonvenntptissegvady! ee EMG... sess eFeeietsty Heep il dds deu cus HUaAES HNRNP With their big dreams and tenacious spirit, independent developers are the garage bands of the game industry. We follow one such group through the highs and lows of do-it-yourself game design, culminating with their all-or- nothing bid to win last March's Independent Games Festival competition. Want to get into game design? You must read this article. ye(sveeretea tery i Rennes t " = AR eh RP TST TET TANTO EAANN NN Sas eset AS ASA aN tN ) his is when the battle begins,” Martin Snyder says as he demos his game at the Game Developers Conference, the annual shindig for game makers in Silicon Valley. A portly guy in a shirt that reads “Caution, | Byte” is eyeing Snyder’s dream project, Strifeshadow, a real-time strategy game that, at the moment, is featuring a little melee action between the skeletal slashers and the gremlin grenadiers. As Snyder works the controls, he’s pretty indistinguishable from the rest of the game developers here this weekend. He’s got the bloodshot eyes, the five-o’clock shadow and the easy-going laugh that punctuates the action on screen. But while he fits in with the crowd, Snyder and his team, called Ethermoon, aren’t totally “in” quite yet. They’re independent game developers, six young, passionate gamers from around the world who’ve been creating their own elaborate title, completely from scratch, with the hopes of making it big—all without the financial support of a deep-pocketed publisher. Ethermoon epitomizes the high-tech dreams and hardcore work ethic that imbue the indie-gamer scene. If this were the music biz, they’d be the garage band recording their own album on their own dime. And in the gaming biz, those who want to rock must do whatever it takes to get there. For Ethermoon, this means coming out here oo sunesenebare: yea oH osha nee ont ante pein 9 AREER FAMOUS P MOA Huessasip tran aineestovene | Ps SO cular fst to San Jose to compete in the third annual Independent Games Festival, a contest held in conjunction with the main GDC each year. This time around, 10 developers are bucking for a top prize of $10,000 cash and, more importantly, the cachet of being the hot upstart talent in an increasingly competitive industry. If Ethermoon score, they might just fulfill their dream of being like their heroes, id Software: the iconoclastic developers of Doom and Quake who rose from the swamps of Louisiana to create some of the best- selling games of all time. “What it all comes down to is we want to make games,” says Snyder, after the portly guy wanders off for some free chow. “To be honest, we’re not even thinking about the future now. We don’t have time. We’re putting every ounce of our energy into just getting our game done.” For indie game developers, the most important thing isn’t just dreams, he says. It’s stamina. These are tough times for anyone to break into the business, let alone self-funded newbies. During the game developers convention, news hit that Electronic Arts had laid off a large chunk of employees, game we wanted to play,” says Snyder. including those behind the seemingly infallible Ultima Online 2 sequel. Not long before, Sega announced that it was closing shop on the Dreamcast. The cover of Develop, a trade magazine for game makers, put the state of affairs most succinctly: “Why the Game Developer Lottery Rarely Pays” read the cover; over the words was a picture of a hand with its middle finger extended. This certainly wasn’t a time when developers were expecting to get the finger. Au contraire, this is still supposed to be the “it” year for gamers—players and developers alike. PlayStation 2, after a rocky start, is building a head of steam. Xbox and Living the dream: You can’t talk about independent developers without mentioning indie king John Carmack, programmer of Doom and Quake—the series that put upstart id Software on the map. He claims his biggest _ competition isn’t the mega GameCube are on the way. Every time you turn around you hear how Americans are spending more cash on video and computer games than they spend on going to the movies. So what’s the problem? In part, it’s just a matter of plain old maturation. “Company consolidation will continue,” says industry analyst Jeremy Schwartz of Forrester Research. “This means it’s getting tougher for small development groups to maintain independence.” The more competitive the market, the more competitive the games. As a result, game makers are pumping more and more cash into production. The cost of a typical game now is aS much as a small Hollywood film. According to publishers and developers, the average budget for console games ranges between $1 million and $5 million. And those costs won’t be falling anytime soon, says Doug Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, the trade organization that represents the major publishers in the industry. “It’s getting much harder to be independent these days,” Lowenstein says. “The cost of producing a product is so high, the time required is so long, you either have to be very wealthy or have a development deal with a publisher. That’s the only source of funding. Getting a deal with a publisher is not impossible, certainly, but it’s not going to be easy.” To make things even more challenging, aspiring console game makers are pretty much locked out of the creative world. To make a game for Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft, gamers need development kits: pricey machines that let them code and create for the designated consoles. These setups can cost tens of thousands of dollars, first off, and, second, they have to be doled out by the parent companies based on elaborate licensing deals. In other words, aspiring developers have to start in the one truly open arena: making their products on personal computers, then pawning them off to console developers down the road. For these reasons, plenty of aspiring game makers simply go the traditional route: submitting game demos, résumés and obsequious cover letters to land a job on an established development team. But others, out of sheer passion and love, go the indie route—cobbling together enough cash and enough teammates to make games from Start to finish on their PCs. It’s like the garage bands who churn out their own record and score a major deal (think Nirvana) or filmmakers who max out their credit cards to make their own flick (think Blair Witch Project). Even then, the odds are tough. “You can’t easily Blair Witch this business,” says Jeff Brown, spokesperson for Electronic Arts. “It’s almost impossible to make a breakaway hit without heavy corporate resources.” Though the gaming market might be tough, as long as there’s a gamer, there’s a hope. That’s what keeps Ethermoon afloat. And that’s exactly what they’re relying on to keep them there. In their tenacity and their focus, they exemplify the spirit of independent gaming. The question is whether passion alone is enough. Dream Team “So this is what you blokes look like,” says Ethermoon music composer Rob Chilcott. “| suppose you’re not really that different from what | expected.” Chilcott has just sauntered into the Independent Games Festival exhibit Go time: Strifeshadow went up against nine other independent titles at March’s GDC. “You can’t easily Blair Witch this business. It’s almost impossible to make a breakaway hit without heavy corporate resources.” —Jeff Brown, Electronic Arts area after a dozen-plus hours on the plane from England. This is not only his first trip to the United States, it’s his first face-to-face meeting with his cohorts at Ethermoon. Each of the six team members works as part of what president and lead developer Martin Snyder, 27, considers a virtual company: a tightly run ship of developers from around the world. For Ethermoon, it was a necessary solution considering that they were all young guys in their 20s who couldn’t afford to uproot and move together to the same town. “We don’t have to be in the same room to make a great game,” Snyder says. And making a great game was the only necessity at the heart of his plan. Like many aspiring game developers, Snyder got the bug early. As a kid growing up outside Philadelphia, Snyder played his fair share of Atari 2600 games and dumped a large sum of tokens into arcade titles. After graduating from Cornell with a computer- science degree, though, he deferred his dream and set off to work as a software engineer for a Silicon Valley startup. “| always had it in the back of my mind to make games,” he says, “but | never thought the industry was accessible.” Eventually the dream roared back. Snyder left the beleaguered startup he had joined and decided to give game making a shot. Problem was, he didn’t know how to crack in. So he blindly sent out resumés only to find himself feeling even further from his goal. Left without any bites, Snyder finally took his cause to the people. He started cruising fan sites, looking for people who could help him build the kinds of games he liked, such as the PC real-time-strategy hit Starcraft. lt was online at a site called Battle Reports that Snyder found Tom Cadwell, a computer- science major (and fellow Starcraft fan) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. PO Sac Os I ent Ne ae TI om re et ae er ree er me eee Rar ror Le FITS POTTY - 134 ~ TASARAS QO aS COmM CLPQTHc ads NiIOnTILEILY VVVV VV. bi biaa sit Cadwell had earned an impressive reputation online for writing a Starcraft strategy guide and, more importantly, winning the Brood War Beta Tournament run by Starcraft’s producers at Blizzard Entertainment. Cadwell and Snyder shared not only a dream to make games but a vision for what kind of game they wanted to make. “We wanted to do a strategy game that was heavy on multiplayer action,” Snyder says. All they needed were people to help—people who, like them, loved games, had some specialized aptitude, and were willing to work insanely long hours for free. With speed and energy, the two newly formed partners put the word out online, hitting Web sites, newsgroups and ICQ chat. The pitch was simple, says Snyder: “We have a vision for a game, and if you join us you can help shape it.” It didn’t take long to get bites. Rob Chilcott, a 22-year-old musician from Bath, England, joined after being plucked from MP3.com, where he had been pawning his songs on the identifier of “fantasy musician.” “That was enough of a clue for us that he might be interested in what we were doing,” says Snyder. Soon enough the rest were in place: Fred Wilson, a 21-year-old student at University of California at San Diego who was posting his own fan fiction on Battle Reports; Joe Poppa, a 27-year-old artist from Pittsburgh; and Joel Stuedler, 26, an artist known for his work on Starcraft mods. After finding a pleasing scramble of words—Ether and Moon—for their company name, the team and their game, Strifeshadow, were ready to rock. In the game, players choose from one of three races: the resilient undead Accursed, the powerful Dark Elves bandits, or the intelligent and mobile Sylvans. Each team competes to build resources and overthrow the opposing forces. Unlike a lot of real-time Strategy games, which save a big blowout battle for the finale, Strifeshadow was made precisely to feature many big skirmishes throughout the game. “This was the kind of game we wanted to play,” Snyder says, “and, from doing our research, we figured out that a lot of others feel the same way too.” With the goal set, the Ethermoon boys split up the work and got down and dirty. Only Snyder, who had saved up cash from his day jobs, quit to work full-time. The rest put in their hours in addition to school and jobs of their own. In total, the team members put in dozens of hours per week; Snyder alone is working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. To keep it all together, the team members rely heavily on ICQ chat, keeping windows open on their desktops throughout the days and nights. “It’s a lot cheaper than talking on the phone,” says Chilcott, “and were almost always online.” Still they faced problems. Halfway through the game’s progress, they encountered compatibility issues: A game build would = TOMB RAIDER CODES! *22.°74 222 Sees ‘ reading your September — , | stopped buying the other , Keep up the good work!” - Ashraf Tengku Ahmad SEASONS | lech situations.” .- GRAN TURISMO 3 Baild the Ultimete Recing Machine! 6S SS, a — See le Se eS ee e's a (a 1000s ofTricks yy Has Al the | and Codes for all Console Systems! DARK CLOUD! - fou if Be om Cloud Nine with Ger Derk Cisad VO . vateqy We Detar Aji Boss Satties and items Ciepily cee Aaaypat Zt Uitra-Detaile Maps Reveali The grandpappy of all electronic games, Spacewar sprung forth in 1962 from a young MIT student named _ Steve Russell. Russell spent The Indie-game Hall of Fame o you wanna be a video- Ve" star? Here’s how you start: Brush up on these classic examples of do- it-yourself game development. Yep, as you might suspect, the vast majority of these titles were made for computers — heck, some were even made for mainframes! But that’s the usual path for newbie game designers: Make a game on PC, then pawn it off to the console publishers. Here’s a rundown of notable indie releases over the years. Spacewar play fine on one person’s computer but crappy on the next. It was a roadblock, one that gave Snyder, the project lead, more than a few sleepless nights. “We ended up having to rewrite everything so that it would work for all of us,” he says. “It was no easy task.” Ten months after starting work on the project, Ethermoon had Strifeshadow ready in beta form just three days before the Independent Games Festival. Already, the game has garnered attention online, from the forums of real-time strategy fans to game Web ’zines like GameSpy and Gamasutra. But the real test, Snyder knows, isn’t going to come from the critics. It’s going to come from the gamers at large, like the ones milling around the conference this weekend. Judgment day is now. Darkness has fallen on the mirrored buildings of Silicon Valley. Outside the club Polly Esther’s, spotlights pan the patch of sky above a flashing pink neon sign. A row of game royalty files in—Will Wright, creator of The Sims (PC); Sid Meier, designer of Civilization (PC); and Hironobu Sakaguchi, the genius behind Final Fantasy. The stars are here tonight to honor the god of indie gaming: John Carmack, programming legend called the PDP-1. Gamers duked it out against each other via circling rocket ships. Adventure In 1977, Will Crowther and Don Woods, two more MIT students, created one of the first role-playing sensations, called Adventure. Molded from _ Dungeons & Dragons, the - game—alsorunona mainframe — was text-based, etting the player explore mazes, find booty and slay _ beasts, pretty much the same © Ree formula that exists today. — LuP HIGH 1 SCORE 1673490 7 > ‘ee 6 w ee ee 6 @ a @2.2-0,6 4 a a 8.20: 0:0 ¢ @ ae 6% —Ethermoon’s Martin Snyder behind Doom and Quake. lronically, Carmack’s induction into the Interactive Achievement Association’s Hall of Fame comes at precisely the same moment as the Independent Gaming Awards down the block. And, really, this synchronicity is the ultimate statement of the do-it-yourself (DIY) gaming dream. At the time Carmack co-founded his company in the early ’90s, electronic 136 Ms. Pac-Man In the early ’80s, MIT students Doug MacRae and Kevin Curran were accomplished arcade hackers, capable of decoding and reassembling popular games of the day. In 1981, the duo reverse engineered Pac- Man and came up with Ms. Pac-Man, a subsequently humongous hit for Midway, who had purchased the game. see Commander Keen Before Quake, before Doom, before even Wolfenstein 3D, id Software uploaded their first independently produced game, Commander Keen, in 1990. It followed the surreal adventures of a boy who - builds aspaceshipinhis backyard and goes offto— what else? —save the galaxy. This one started it all and has | hit just about every platfoi including the Game Boy Color. “Invasion of the Vorticons” mode | - Marooned on Ma gaming was suffering a plight similar to the one faced by popular music. Glossy pop hits like Super Mario World were the hair bands of their field. The only true alternative to the increasingly corporate video-game machine was in the relatively subterranean world of computer-game programming. Games, particularly for the Apple || computer, were where believers of the so-called Hacker Ethic—a lust for getting inside the guts of a machine—could lose themselves in the ether of new code. You didn’t need a fancy- ass system or some kind of corporate backing. All you needed was a way with programming and a love of gaming. Since then, id games from Wolfenstein 3D to Quake II] Arena have become classics. Id and Carmack are now synonymous with the great American computer-game dream. It’s a dream about four guys who love to make games and end up driving Ferraris through the fantasy life. “Id is like the Rolling Stones,” says Michael Poole, vice president of worldwide studios for id’s publisher, Activision. “A group like that comes around very, very rarely.” As Carmack took the stage to accept his award, he said he was happy to see how the industry has grown and, more importantly, how the next generation of gamers has taken the DIY ethic to heart. Appropriately dev experience? Build a mod, like the guys behind Counter-Strike, a staggeringly successful add-on for the brainy action game Half- Life. Counter-Strike is currently being played by more people online than those playing the original game. How’s that for full circle? eo RELOADING Super Noah’s Ark =a Created by a group called Wisdom Tree, this unlicensed Super Nintendo game turned players into Noah, who had to run around throwing fruit and veggies at his unruly livestock. Even more bizarre: The game used the engine for id’s Nazi shoot-em-up, Wolfenstein 3D. Counter-Strike Want some quick-and-easy game- es et et enough, right down the street, Martin Snyder and the Ethermoon crew are waiting to see how they fare. Snyder just made it in on time after searching for his mom, who was wandering around lost outside. She had flown in from the other side of the country—a surprise visit for her son’s big occasion. Big-name developers have dropped by the awards ceremony, as well, perhaps to eyeball their future competition in the game-making biz. Snyder and company are Sharing a table with former members of Looking Glass, the team behind the popular PC game Thief. Behind them, hotshot PC-game developer American McGee (Alice) is taking in the scene. “We all just looked around and said, ‘Wow, we’re really just happy to be here with all these people,’” Snyder says. His sentiment makes it easier to stomach the announcement of the winners—it turns out Ethermoon won’t nab any awards this time around. The big sweep went to Nexon, creators of another real-time strategy game called Shattered Galaxy. Nexon, it turns out, was more indie in the Hollywood sense, able to conjure up a $1 million budget thanks to some help from Korean investors. Is Ethermoon bitter? Maybe just a bit. After the show, Tom Cadwell lamented the Tread Marks A true inspiration, Tread Marks was a tank shooter made by a programmer named Seamus McNally, who also was suffering from a fatal case of Hodgkin’s disease. McNally finished the game and won last year’s Independent Games Festival before dying shortly thereafter. The IGF grand prize is now named in his honor. Serious Sam fact that Nexon had been working on their game for a couple of years while Strifeshadow was fresh out of beta. But Snyder doesn’t fault the judges. “This never was a level playing field,” he says. “Some entries were much further along than others. Besides, | don’t think everyone comes here to win. It’s the recognition that’s the real prize.” Snyder adds that, with some more hard work and determination, Ethermoon’s time may yet come. The next day, with pamphlets on disc-duplication services in hand, he was ready to get back to the grindstone. “When we walk out of here,” Snyder says, “we go right back to work on Monday.” And so it goes in the rough-and-tumble world of DIY development. As soon as the fun ends, the games begin. Editor’s note: In the six months that have passed since the GDC, Ethermoon has continued working on Strifeshadow, which Snyder says the team is in the process of wrapping up right now. (Expect it to be finished by mid-summer.) For more info on the game —as well as instructions on where to buy it from online retailers —head to www.ethermoon.com. And if you feel inspired to become an indie game developer yourself, head to www.igf.com Tread Marks > Px * ~hr*, we bp ff ohn x” to find out how you can enter the Independent Games Festival, held every March in San Jose, Calif., where you'll take on the likes of Ethermoon. ah Ethermoon’s Strifeshadow built a lot of buzz at the Independent Games Festival, but in the end it was a team called Nexon that won the competition. Their winner, a massively multiplayer real-time strategy game called Shattered Galaxy (seen above), can support more than 50 players and upward of 500 units in a simultaneous skirmish within a single battle. The is 23 Ethermoon team noted, » hot aver, that Power Station Mad Catz GBA $19.99 | This is one of the coolest devices to - come out for the GBA. Why? It just | adds a certain amount of legitimacy | to this “kid’s toy.” Your friends, _ thinking this is the newest gadget from Palm, will mistake you for some high-powered CEO when you grab your Advance fom its 5 Gott Power Tools Se Peripheral Reviews The extra | batter | Pacck Y | system and for the extra pack. www.madcatz.com Charges .. back here. Tremor Speakers TDK Any $149.99 | The Tremor system is the perfect choice for anyone who wants big sound in a small space. The stylish, _ shielded unit features two tall satel- | lites and a compact sub with 150 Bumper GBX InterAct GBA $9.99 | Granted, there’s always the possi- | bility of dropping your GBA. And, | sure, it wouldn’t hurt to have a little The speakers plus | wal a ee wg sgigutuiisiiomny | vol is tricky make for a nice Little system. king for even | fits w : we oe your | hard- earned dough elsewhere. | www.interact-acc.com ae SSE eee will only set you back $30. www.tdk.com/speakers/ www.wowthing.com Ha The start and select buttons are too tough to Ger kp, yj Shock ‘N Rock Nyko GBA $24.99 | The Shock’N Rock was a nice add-on | for the Game Boy Color, and it’s still decent for the Game Boy Advance. Problem is, the quality just doesn’t igh as it used be-si | j } Pump Up Your | GBA's sound "pointless, though eee _ pointless, though. | www.nyko.com necney plug, 138 - www.nyko.com This one is straightforward enough. It’s a link cable for the GBA, and it works. Upon closer inspection how- | cables and string | Ailes: hub a the 8 Who.wants yer allows Dee Dore GBA session to look like the back | n : room of a Radio Shack anyway? — Pkavyers with SWeeeer+t, _ GBA Carry Case A.L.S. Ind. GBA $11.99 There are plenty of bags on the market for GBA, but this one stands | out from the rest. It has a simple — design, and it works. The case has — ample room for your system, a_ handful of games, and even.a.cable © or extra batteries. Nicer still, the — case is, padded, and features a | wrist: and shoulder s carrying (that is, if you don’t mind | looking like a complete tool). www.alsindustries.com AdapterPak interAct GBA $9.99 Once again, this product is pretty | straightforward. It provides power to your Game Boy Advance. The fact you get both an AC adapter and a car power ad, sets this. ‘one a the market—al price, too. www.interact-acc.com Just one Cable... Let there be light... If you’re a GBA owner, chances are you’ve wrestled with properly lighting your little screen. Don’t feel bad—you’re not alone. So the question arises: How do you properly light your GBA screen? Read on. Like the Game Boy Color, the Advance has a slew of lights available for it. Problem is, with the variety of lights on the market it’s diffi- cult to figure out which one is worth- while. With the GBC, Nyko’s Worm Light was the winner, hands down. Not so with the Game Boy Advance. This time around, InterAct’s GlowGuard (around $10) is the light to get your hands on. Not only does the thing provide ample lighting in any dark environment, it also nicely clips onto the back of the system (with handy buttons to get the thing off) and flips down to protect the GBA’s screen. Of course, the pass-thru port on the back helps, too. So what about the Worm Light? While it’s not the worst light on the market (that award goes to Nuby’s Cobra Light), it’s difficult to adjust, and it’s not nearly as helpful as the ’Guard. Light Alternatives So, there’s only one GBA light that’s worth getting? Yes. It’s sad but true. Luckily, there are a number of inventive alternatives we’ve come up with since we got our systems. Hopefully, they'll help you as much as they’ve helped us. One quick note: Get yourself a hefty roll of duct tape so you can Strap this stuff to your GBA. The Sun Pros: This is the most powerful light source known to man. What more could you ask for? Besides, it gives your body a healthy dose of good old Vitamin D. Cons: It’s only out during the day (lame), and it burns the dickens out of your hands when you try to tape it to the Game Boy Advance. Also causes skin cancer in high doses. Tap Light Pros: The staff’s personal favorite, the Tap Light not only brightens up the GBA’s screen in dimly lit conditions, it also makes it easier for us to pee at night. No more messy stalls at the EGM offices. Cons: Jakes four AA batteries, and it seems the local Wal- Mart is always out of the damn things. As seen on TV my ass. Maybe next time, Tap Light. Flashlight Pros: It’s the easiest one to duct tape to your GBA, and if you get one of those kick-ass Mag lights, you can act like a cop and shine it in people’s eyes while you chest-poke them. Cons: While it works like a champ, it gets no points for style. Plus, the Krypton bulb makes us think of Superman III star- +, ring Richard Pryor. That movie was a steaming turd. Ball Lightning Pros: An amazing amount of intense light in a very small Space. It also sounds cool when you tell your friends you can summon the power of Ball Lightning to see your GBA screen with. Very Dragonball Z. Cons: In addition to killing innocent cows all over the Midwest, it will kill you. That’s one less EGM reader, and that’s never good. InterAct’s GlowGuard EGM rates games based on how they compare a with other titles on the same system. The highest its time. At the other end of the spectrum sits the score we'll give a game is a 10. When a game _ lowest score a game can receive: a 0.0. This is the receives a 10, you can rest assured it’s one of the —_ kind of game you want to avoid at all costs. It’s best games ever made—a revolutionary title that pure crap. In the middle lies the average grade, truly stands above everything else in its genre for 5.0. We repeat: 5.0 IS AVERAGE. Simple, ain’t it? Platinum Awards go to games that get all 10’s, the best and rarest review a game can get. Gold Awards go to Zn Games that average at games whose average i least an 8.0 (but lower score equals 9.0 or | than 9.0) receive higher. © GUNMY 13/0N9.Su0LI7 © Silver Awards. Crispin Boyer Features Editor Crispy’s mighty excited about Final Fantasy X—especially its story. Still, he misses the gripping plots of old-school games. Ninjas and c. . Mark MacDonald ya | Executive Editor Growing up, all Mark ever dreamed about was working here at EGM. But now that he’s here, all he talks | about is how that Slim Jim “Eat me” punk rockers just don’t kidnap pres- a bunch of 10-year-olds in Laser Tag. | guy “has got it made, man!” Will Old idents’ daughters like they used to. What a stud! MacDonald ever be truly content? Action, Adventure Anything that doesn’t stink avorite G Action, Adventure, RPG Klonoa 2, Sonic Adventure 2 PSO Ver. 2, Metal Marines (SNES) Curre! s: PSO Ver. 2, Gekisha Boy 2 s Chris Johnston News Editor Chris rediscovered the joys of PSO recently and hasn’t gotten much sleep since. It’ll fill up the time until he’s able to dive into Dance 1 Editor in Chief | At the staff WhirlyBall party, Shoe boasted a whooping 4-for-79 from the field. He did make up for that suckiness later in the day by beating West Coast Editor Organizing this month’s massive FFX feature broke the Milkman’s horse- leg. As a result, he has taken to hid- ing in his “Hidden Fortress” lest the EGM staff put him out of his misery the old-fashioned way. Ka-POW! Action, RPG, Fighting : Ico, Twisted Metal: Black West Coast Editor Che spent a week in Seoul, Korea, eating delicious kalbi, drinking thick rice wine, and scouring PC cafes for C-Strike (to no avail), and he loved it. He had this to say upon his Dance Revolution 5th Mix and (ji fee =rveturn: “Ape shall never kill ape.” a PaRappa 2. It’s all about the music! ‘ite Genres: Fighting, Driving, RPG ! Adventure, Puzzle, Music ves: Counter-Strike, GT3, NeoRageX prites: DDR Extra Mix, PSO Ver. 2 Associate Editor | After losing his copy of Radiant ~. Silvergun, Jon’s putting out a call to _ all readers to send in any unused |} copies they might have. And if you wm Associate Editor/Art Director s Absorbing dangerous UV rays at the # beach, BBQ’n Chicago-style polish sausages, and scarfing down every kind of coffee ice cream imaginable stole his, totally send that back. keep Jeanne primed for her daily ass? “I’m a lover, not a fighter.” We Maybe a cake or something, too. Soldier of Fortune blood blasting. think “loser” is more appropriate. Fighting, Adventure worite Genres: RPG, Adventure, Action Racing, RPG, Action Castlevania Chronicle, GT3 ‘urrent Favorites: Mario Advance, DDR EM irrent Faves: GT3, Sonic Adventure 2 Jeanne finally got tired of Sewart “makin’ the moves” on her and beat + him about the head and neck. His excuse for letting a girl kick his FGM These are the sports nuts on the Crew, but that doesn’t can be sure that sports reviews are being done by the mean they’re not into all types of games. It just means you _—_— sports enthusiasts and not by some schmucks. EVERYONE Konami Publisher: eae Developer: Konami Osaka Also Try: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (PS1, DC, N64) Players: 1-2 Supports: None Best Feature: Looks great Worst Feature: Limited camera angles Web Site: www.konami.com ESPN X-Games Skateboarding is surprisingly good, but overly arcade-like physics and confining camera angles keep it out of Tony’s neighborhood. It’s some- thing you may not consider, but a smooth, wide-pan- ning camera is essential to the vert-ramp experience. ESPN’s top-down perspective cheats you out of admiring your incredible hang times...too bad. A few other things bother me as well. The lack of split- screen play (it uses a turn-based system) and the inability to link ground tricks put the game at a dis- advantage. At the same time, you haven't experi- enced “big air” until you’ve tried this pup. No joke, on the vert ramps you literally float for 2-3 seconds a pop. Excessive? Yes. But it lets you trick it up like the Hawkman on steroids. Speaking of tricks, the inter- face is similar to THPS if not easier. In fact, you can button smash and still wrack up big scores. Special moves are trickier but look fantastic (especially the Christ-air and the more involved super move, the Mctwist). Another strong point is the Arcade License mode. It’s great fun exploring the vast urban and suburban environments, collecting icons, knocking down fire hydrants and, in general, causing mayhem. Despite its flaws, this title has spunk. A decent selec- tion of pipes, pro skaters, plus real and fantasy courses assure you'll be hooked for the long haul. Keep an open mind about this one. You may be sur- prised how much you like it. Dean Let’s just pretend, for the sake of this review, that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 wasn’t at E3, and that | wasn’t a kiosk hog in the Activision booth. Because out from under the shadows of THPS, ESPN is sur- prisingly fun..[t.doesn’t push any.previously set boundaries, but if imitation is the best form. of flat- tery, then the folks at Konami worship Neversoft. If you’ve played THPS, then you'll feel lent at home ona system and stage goals. Still, tHe: some feels rushed. The graphics are sharp, but there’s slow- down in certain areas. Even so, ESPN is a step in the right direction for the ailing franchise. Che It seems one publisher after another is scrambling to be the next action sports king. It reminds me of all those sports divisions that popped up—and quickly died—a few years back. While | will give Konami props for including a Canadian skater,.J.can’t forgive the shoddy control. Every time | try to pull off a grab trick in the vert competitions, | only seem to be suc- cessful about half the time. Plus, skaters seem to hang a little too long in the air. It’s very disorienting. Even if you do get used to the control, the draw dis- tance in the Arcade mode is atrocious. Although X- Games does a lot right, the poor camera and nig- gling control issues make it a rental. Greg VISUALS INGENUITY REPLAY RARE IDET I TET TE INTE LOIN SOUND I 1 DESHPANDE OS DOONAN MODINE INNO RINRIAICORIOIOOR DIANE DORRI GRRE aR ReneS RR SOIHHAOOS RSD: OERO- BOR SIGE HOS NRDO ANID OOROORNIODERSOSIRO SSO RDODHORSDBHEDARRIESEDSRNIASERSEISSOSSIOOOSISOOO! COOKS CHONEE AWARD © © CUNY 191089. S¥OLIOy Kionoa 2 Lunatea's Quem 120083, s¥01 te] EVERYONE Publisher: Namco ee Developer: Klonoa Works Featured In: EGM #140 Players: 1 Also Try: Rayman 2 Revolution Best Feature: Improved gameplay Worst Feature: Too easy Web Site: www.namco.com The first Klonoa was, in my opinion, the best plat- former for the original PlayStation. Symphony be damned, the 2D critter set against lush 3D back- drops, featuring multiple paths and a darkly whimsi- cal story line, delivered innovative gameplay from Start to finish. While childlike in its presentation, Klonoa was anything but childish in its execution. Klonoa 2 mines the same rich vein, but breathes full 3D life into the hero. The result is stunningly fluid animation, and dead-accurate control that inspires confidence with each and every jump. The graphics have also taken a PS2-sized leap. Klonoa now vaults his way through an astonishing series of Tim Burton- esque environments so huge, they could not possi- bly have appeared on the original PS. K2 soars to such intense skyscraper-sized heights that it had my hands sweating from the vertigo. Despite the wealth of eye-candy, the true brilliance behind the game is the sharp level design. While it features less back- tracking and twistiness than the original game, K2 presents a formidable series of reflex and timing- based challenges that will keep you coming back to find every secret the disc contains. The downside to Klonoa 2 is that it’s a bit on the easy side, and lacks the dark, melancholy mood that engulfed the first game. Hopefully Klonoa 2 does well at the box office (unlike the first game), because, despite his low pro- file, this kitty is a prince among men. Milkman RO PR ROO AHO OORT UR OE ROE EPROPS Despite everyone telling me how sreat tf was, | never played the original Klonoa—now | see what all the fuss was about. The cutesy, brightly colored graphics and quaint story aren’t the draw, it’s the pure plat- forming gameplay (with a slightly different spin) that puts the focus on the good ol’ run, jump, and grab tate the switch-type puzzles, which | love, but | still Weviiebly @ smupof of nisl is going “ come out getting contorted beyond recognition in develop- hyde is a welcome sign that all is not lost. larger role, snagged enemies give you new special but Klonoa still rocks my dream world. Jonathan gets everyone hooked. The graphics may be all polygonal, but the third dimension is so. limited it the coins {in this case, gems) formula. | under- stand the purpose of most enemies here is to facili- would have liked more challenging and varied foes. Too easy (especially the a but fun. _ Mark and pan this game for being too much like the first. Well, sucks to them. With killer franchises of the past ment these days, seeing Klonoa’s addictive game- play preserved in a gorgeous graphical formalde- Everything that needed updating got it—it’s a longer adventure in which the story plays a much abilities, and you'll find yourself hung up on at least a few of the many puzzles. It’s still a little too linear, VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY ssseaabasiaaaeteaneraestooseecetsied -sonononacesnacesnannannnanenansaasscnnncennencehte © EDITORS CHOICE AWARD e 7 ig Ks eee Ouvme F083! = Publisher: Electronic Arts a s- Developer: NuFX Featured In: EGM #141 Players: 1-2 Also Try: NBA Hoopz Great control No multi-tap support www.nbastreet.ea.com Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: | had to put my skepticism aside when | heard about another zany, over-the-top basketball game hitting the market. We’d already been down this road, right? Jam, Showtime, Hoopz...we’ve seen this movie before. Street is different. It’s different in a way that Reservoir Dogs is from a Steven Segal flick. Street possesses electrifying gameplay with kick-you-in the teeth animations and visuals. Stealing ele- ments from SSX and Tony Hawk is nothing new. Plenty of games have tried to do as much. But suc- cessfully incorporating a tricks and combo-based point system into a basketball game is genius. You will want to pull off every special move, over and over. You’ll want to block every shot, throw down every dunk, and dive for every loose ball. And like SSX, Street comes packed with extras worth unlock- ing. Expand your roster, unlock new courts and play- ers, and upgrade your team. It’s all about establish- ing some street cred. The game also shines with its environments, a mere afterthought for most sports games. Set in killer urban locales, Street pulls off the hip thing without being corny. | can’t say enough about this game. The only niggling negative is that it doesn’t support the multi-tap. | know it’s not a big deal, but people who do own a multi-tap own it for games like this. Now, get in a room full of friends, bust out Street, and plan on calling the pizza guy at 34..—i€5 that eno, _ Dan L. There’s © life left i in ‘the action- -sports g genre, and EA Big is supplying the resuscitators. This has some- thing none of the other games in this genre have: character. And I’m not talking about the lame “hip” dialogue. Once you see the freak-show squad com- prised of an eight-foot center, a man made of magma, and M.J., you’ll understand. What | don’t get is why the gameplay was designed so well, but the features so poorly. Jordan is immediately accessible when he should have been the crown jewel at the end. And worse, it’s a sin that there’s no multi-tap support. | love this game, but some bad decisions iid a pe00 iuuihil from aa hae sibilaa Kraig Uriltke wither games in its genre, NBA Street is much more than a simple three-on-three jam fest. Insane special moves, Harlem Siohstestiey ce sequences and circuits galore place it on a higher plane. It does- n’t hurt that M.J. is available from the start either. | really like the ability to attack an opponent with so many different weapons. If you’re having trouble with one—the alley-oops play for example —simply switch it up with something else (pick-and-rolls, three-point- ers, etc.,). The game is chock-full of opportunities once you know what you’re doing. NBA Street is super-solid on almost every level. | only wish Create- A-Player were deeper. Dean VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Publisher: Sony CEA Developer: Polyphony Digital Featured In: EGM #145 Players: 1-6 Supports: i.Link, GT Force Best Feature: Acar nut’s dream come true Worst Feature: Al hasn’t improved much Web Site: www.scea.com bout friggin’ time, eh? We finally got our hands on the U.S. release of Gran Turismo 3, and now we're passing the savings on to you. If you’re any kind of racing enthusiast, you’ve already bought the game and are likely deep into the Simulation mode. More power to you. For those of you who’re GRAN TURISMO'S #TIOI) te al fg AY —y a { / 6b oli i EVERYONE ASM TOD eGGs BEER CONTENT RATED aY ,EsSR BS still on the fence about whether or not to try GT3, it’s time to make that commitment. And trust us, commitment is what it takes to get the most out of this game. Completing this title means you have to compete in—and win— approximately 370 races (10 of which are one- to two-hour-long endurance affairs). Casual fans may look at that figure and wet themselves. No doubt about it, this game is daunting (but at least you’ll get your money’s worth). Suffering through the relatively slow average speed of the early races is almost unbearable when compared to jumping into IY rao i vi Welcome to The Inside Track. Every month check this section for Gran Turismo 3 tips, oddities and everything in between. Send contributions to EGM@ziffdavis.com, subject: GT3 Inside Track. ly - 2 -v the Arcade mode and firing up some of the fast, S-Class cars. Even so, the sense of accomplishment as you move from something like a lowly Mazda Miata to the Castrol Toyota Supra is unmatched. Visiting your garage and seeing something in the neighborhood of 200 tricked-out speed machines staring back at you ain’t too shabby either. In the interest of not bogging the game down in the early stages, Sony even added 3,000 credits to the starting amount in Simulation mode (meaning you can buy better cars right out of the gate). The changes from GT2 to GT3 aren’t too plentiful, really. It’s too bad that a more navigation of the Simulation mode. Gone is aggressive, intelligent Al for opposing cars the stupid world map from Gran Turismo 2, wasn’t one of them. As is, the CPU vehicles and with it the frustration of remembering still drive in a high-speed parade, all but which part of the world you bought your car ignoring the player (unless you choose in, not to mention the amount of time it took Professional difficulty in Arcade mode, where to get to that area. You also don’t need to your opponents will fight tooth and nail for worry about extra race series hidden within every single position). Seemingly random car manufacturers’ areas. The setup options between the two games This game is a required part of every racing remain similar as well: Win races to earn cred- __ fan’s library. In fact, even if you’re not a car its, use credits to buy cars, upgrade cars to nut, GT3 is worth a try. You might just find a win more races, and so on. Where the differ- new appreciation for the genre. Besides, you ences really lie is in the presentation and easy won't find a better showpiece for your PS2. Piaiony Of a GIs Review Extended soundtrack featuring artists like Raekwon and Snoop Dogg. Doggy style never gets boring! A little loading cursor thingy to keep ADD sufferers interested Sweel intro music replaced by moderately - 2 cool Lenny Kravitz track English text added for the 99.9 percent of us who don't read Japanese st fy q | oa | If you don’t own multiple copies of GT3 (or have extra PS2s and televisions lying around), you can still play a two-player split-screen race. Just make sure your opponent has a little more skill than our young Jonathan Dudlak (crashing below). ~~ 4‘) It’s hard to write a review for this game without sounding like a gushing groupie. | love so much about GT3. The collection of cars, while omitting some of the ones I'd like to see {the BMW Z3 or McLaren F1 being at the top of the list), is diverse and impressive. | find myself playing just to get every one of them into my garage and try them out. Let’s face it: This game has taken over my entire life. | think my race count is up to well over 400 in Simulation mode right now, and | still come back for more. Even though it'd be nice to see a few more cars on the track, or a tougher Al (check out Professional diffi- culty in Arcade mode for the best challenge), | can’t go a day without firing up this game for a few quick races. | even like the rally racing in GT3—something | absolutely despised in the last game. The amount of races required to complete this game borders on ridiculous, but that’s part of the beauty. GT3 wasn’t made to be finished in one sitting, and even if you want to tear through it as fast as possible you'll have to stop and learn the nuances of at least a dozen dif- ferent cars to see any success. | still wish the game had a few more upgrades: Internet play, smarter opponent Al and more cars on the track during the races. Still, | can’t in good conscience lower the score when the game is this spectacular. Sure, Gran Turismo 3 ain’t completely perfect, but neither is an the huge roster of cars, or a sense that the GT mode somehow nurtures your driving skill and invigorates your racing spirit—these are elements any great dri- ving game should have. What | truly love about GT3 is the fact that each car has a feel all its own. Since GT mode now classifies races by car models and types, you end up learning the subtle nuances of every ride. Still, giving GT3 a 10 doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. The game’s weakest point is its Al, as it still forces me off the road in pursuit of its prescript- ed race line. What the 10 means is this: GT3 is, at this point, the best racing game ever made. Che Te ee Watching director Kazunori Yamauchi dart around the Detroit auto show, feverishly searching for new ways to make his game better in the few hours he had left in the States, it’s no wonder this game is so freaking incredible. Whether you’re a gearhead or a speed freak when it comes to racing games, GT3 will exceed most any expectations you could have. |t’s the most realistic racing experience around, and that includes all the frustrations of having a weak car or getting nudged by aggressive competitors —it’s part of GT3’s style. | can’t help but give it the best of endorsements and humbly prepare to surrender my nights to one sweet piece of software. Jonathan VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY wigan 7 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Tiburon Also Try: Madden NFL 2002 Players: 1-8 Supports: Multi-tap Best Feature: Inspired gameplay Worst Feature: Weak D on punt returns Web Site: www.easports.com It’s tough to contain my excitement so I’ll just say it: This game is awesome. How’s that for a review—fan- boy-ish right? Seriously, if you think Madden 2001 is good, you haven’t seen anything yet. NCAA offers better speed, superior Al and superb college aes- thetics. And while they may share some traits (like control and similar graphics), the diverse college playbooks and the unpredictability of amateur ath- letes make NCAA a much different experience than Madden. Technically, it’s solid as a rock. The game speed is comfortable—not too fast, but not slow either. Players are fluid and natural, and the hits are at times bone-jarring. Tiburon did a great job with the special moves as well. Cut-backs, jukes, div- ing...most everything looks convincing. The collision detection is accurate too (that’s important). So it’s perfect, right? Not quite. Punt returns are screwy. Unless you manually place a blocker, most of the time your return man is greeted with a helmet to the gut the second he. catches the ball. That’s about it though, unless you count the generous running game as a flaw (| don’t) — given the choice between a ground game that keeps things interesting and a stonewall defense, |’ll take the former. (It’s not auto- matic either; you still have to find the holes.) No doubt about it, NCAA 2002 is a must-have game. Oh yeah, the witty commentary (Corso, Herbstreit and sania isa areal touch. ‘Dean P m oleased: to Say that EA didi t take the: easy way out with NCAA 2002. Instead of being Madden with college teams, NCAA plays with a vibe all its own. Team-specific playbooks are deep and varied, and offer myriad dream match-ups, Faster than last year’s Madden, the game just feels right. Running the option hasn’t been this fun since Bill Walsh College Football *95. Throw in a tremendous Dynasty mode (with up to 12 of your friends), spot-on stadium detail and a Campus Challenge mode (think Madden Cards), and |’m hooked. My only problem with the game is that Dean “Huskerrific? Hager seems to have Ohio State’s number. Dan L. 7 games give me = ie sense a aeconndtieiment that NCAA does. | took the Texas A&M Aggies to the National Championship and made their starting run- ning back win the Heismann Trophy despite his bad case of fumbleitis. | topped it all off by. bludgeoning Dan’s Buckeyes and scraping by Dean’s Cornhuskers. All in all, a nice week in the office. |’m telling you this not to brag (all right, | am a bit), but rather to show you how this video game is eating up my summer free time. The fast gameplay, ample strategy and gorgeous graphics make it hopelessly addicting, and | think only a great NFL game could wield the power to make me put this game down. Kraig VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY conan cremannannOooe DORR IRTENROO NORIO ROR OIE rl lect ronic MATURE Publisher: Capcom ed Developer: Capcom Featured In: EGM #143 Players: 1 Also Try: Onimusha Best Feature: Another excuse to play a rad game Worst Feature: It’s a pretty straight remake Web Site: www.capcom.com The nice side effect of Resident Evil games is that they’re so easily linked to the exact time and place in your life when you first played them. For me, Code: Veronica was the reason | took a three-day mid-week vacation in my last year of college—it’s that good. The most original, engaging game in the series, it’s still one of the best reasons to own a Dreamcast, but it’s good to See it finally reaching a more mainstream console. Like most DC ports to PS2, the graphics are comparable, but certainly not significantly improved. Having played the game before, | was drooling for the new bonus footage, but having to wait until the game is over to see the bulk of it really baked my Alaska. That’s the only place this game lost major points with me—they could have changed a lot more to make this feel less like a straight port. How about speeding up those load times, or Some new enemies and areas to explore? The fanboy-targeted DVD pack-in (a story supplement for die-hard followers of the series) makes you feel like et re eet more, Sure you play either of its console earnataas, even if it means waiting for the. DC version to drop 20 bones. Get this souped-up remake if you’ve got the hardware and are new to the game—it’s one of the best uses for the PS2 right now. Jonathan OPORTO REET RROD POD RR As euch as I’m apathetic toward repackaging games from one system to the next, REC:V deserves a much bigger audience than it had on the DC. If you missed out on this game last year, don’t let the cryptic title fool you; This.is the real sequel to RE2. Thanks to its masterful storytelling and superb graphics, it’s also the first game of the series to really pull me into the RE mythos. As for those of you who have already played this game to death on the DC, there’s not a whole lot here you haven’t seen before. The bonus scenes with Wesker are nice; comparable to the director’s cut of The Abyss, they help you understand the story much, much better. Che earn Nnnarranannnne If you missed Code: Veronica on the Dreamcast, play this game, now. Sure it drags now and then with excessive backtracking and a weak love sub- plot, but the overall package is still absolutely worth it: Creepy locales, crisp graphics.(with backgrounds instead of static paintings- Onimusha!) and a good-sized adventur played it? Precious few added morsels s (ne / tid- bits dealing with Wesker, the Wesker’s Report DVD and Devil May Cry demo) are enough to insure RE fans will want to rent or borrow it, but the additions don’t make the PS2’s “X” version worth another pur- chase to anyone but the truly obsessed. Wark VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 8 bi 2 d athiy - 144 - a | Gamir ne Mor www.egmmag.com stretch Panic Conspiracy re ee Publisher: Developer: Treasure Featured In: EGM #144 Players: 1 Aka: Freak Out (In England) Best Feature: Worst Feature: Web Site: Innovative techniques and design Boring non-boss levels www.conspiracy-games.com Love it or hate it—and unlike me, most people will fall squarely into one camp or the other—you can’t ignore Stretch Panic. That’s due in part to the charm- ing yet bizarre hallucinations that serve as charac- ters, but mostly it’s ’cause of the unprecedented abil- ity to grab and stretch just about anything (you can actually deform walls, trees, enemies, etc., all in real time). Granted, the EX levels, where you earn points to access the boss fights, are EXcruciating. The vanil- la-plain environments look like they belong on a PS1, especially contrasted against the wild designs the rest of the game enjoys, and are all populated by the same drone enemies so incredibly stupid they make the average Resident Evil zombie look like a card-car- rying Mensa member. Luckily boss fights comprise the bulk of the game, and (eventually) make it worth- while. The Mrs. Potato-head look-alike missing her eyes screaming “I’m blind!”; the hidden monster you track using sound (break out the headphones); or vil twin in the screenshot above, who pukes all place when you hit her weak spot (that’s me in tN ae Hesis her hair back, as any ne gister camera are too gow: it’s too short Sy. it’s also too damn interesting not to check out if you re up for wala different. Mark It’s not often that a game totally shocks me, but this one made me speechless. Here’s a title where you’re rewarded for grabbing obnoxiously huge breasts. At first, | thought | had been blessed to be on this review (a genuine breast-grabbin’ s once { got past the novelty (it to | was considerably less amuse plain whacked. ee odd, both play-wise. And it’s 1 BR Aa: scarf she some oT the trating (though a bit innovative). At best, rent this for a good laugh. Kraig Affectionately: referred to as Stretch Pants by those who wear such garments on the Review Crew, Treasure’s first PS2 effort is a letdown. Don’t get me wrong, | love weird games as much as the next Suy, but SP er.moves beyond what feels like an ie tech demo. The controls for your Vare sloppy, te bosses are a cake- book full of the ou Gheracter se it’s Fworth renting just to check out the weirdness. Che VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 6 8 nt Publisher: => => Take 2 » Developer: P Syscom Players: 3 Also try: Burning Rangers (Saturn), Choplifter (NES) Web Site: take2games.com Best Feature: Easy to pick up and play Worst Feature: Could’ve used more missions City Crisis is one of those games that won’t get much attention and that most people wouldn’t give a sec- ond look to in a store, but those who take the chance and buy (or rent) it will like it. It’s a short-lived but fun helicopter rescue game where most of the time you airlift people from burning buildings and put out fires in a bustling city. In addition to that, two Chase missions have you barreling down the city’s streets shining a spotlight on a runaway bus or a sportscar to aid police in capturing them. After | completed the game’s final stage, where you rescue people caught in an earthquake, | wished there was more; there are areas of the city (like a huge amusement park) that you hardly interact with. Other issues hold it back, too: The low-res graphics look alright but. the framer- ate picks up the occasional chop, Rescuing stranded citizens switches you to a side view, sometimes putting a building directly in your line of sight. Lastly, it’s easily beaten in an afternoon. Sure you can try for better grades, but there could have been more. Stil! worth a try. Chris VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 1 i J Gallop Racer 2001 Publisher: — 5 => Tecmo Developer: "3 a Tecmo " Tamm «Also Try: Gallop pr. Racer (PS:1) On wei Players: et @Qiiktkesrae 14-2 Best Feature: Realistic Horses like to eat: horse-racing sim Oats Worst Feature: This gameis Web Site: not for novices www.tecmoinc.com Thoroughbreds in the comfort of your living room! Hoo ha! Despite the arcade-y look of this game, this is anything but a pick-up and play game. This is a horse-racing simulation. Unlike Tecmo’s Monster Rancher series, the Gallop Racer games target a very specific audience. The problem is that people who would most likely enjoy a game like this are probably at the racetrack itself, saying “hi” to their bookies, and not at home playing video games. For the arm- chair jockey who’s still interested, there are over 1,500 horses to ride or race against in the game. But will even the most die-hard pony-preoccupied PS2 owner be willing to sit through.GR’s.deep. breeding and training system? They’ll have to be if they expect to get the most out of this game. Gallop.Racer 2001 is like a Gran Turismo for horse-racing games: Even without the complex training process, the actual gameplay is no piece of cake; you’ve got to know when to whip ass or hang back, and when to make that final tunge for the finish line. Only the dedicat- ed need apply. Milkman VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 ] 8 8 Len NAIC BLA DNAS | | | Publisher; ==" "== Infogrames Developer: Monster Games EVERYONE Featured In: ey EGM #143 Players: 1-2 Also try: Rumble Racing Web Site: infogrames.com ] O23 conus! nano “esre Best Feature: Very good control and Al Worst Feature: We need 43 Cars per race, damnit! This is what NASCAR 2001 should have been... almost. It still only features 24 cars on the track (10 in two-player mode) as opposed to the 43 you’d find in a real NASCAR event. It’s still missing some tracks and drivers, and the rosters are a tad outdated (not as bad as NASCAR 2001, though). What you do get is a pretty neat arcade racing experience with some excellent control and a wide array of play options. Setting Heat on high difficulty and turning the real- ism up gives you access to loads of setup options like tire pressures and weight placement. In fact, this is about as good as NASCAR fans have ever had it on a console. But the piece de resistance has to be the Beat the Heat mode, which challenges you to a series of tests actually designed by drivers like Rusty Wallace, Ward Burton and Richard Petty. Fans of the sport will really appreciate this. Plus, entering the Race the Pro area pits you against'the hottest laps said drivers actually madesn the game itself. This is, hands down, the best game for oval-track racing fans. Now when do we get online play? Greg VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 1 6 u 9 Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: EA Sports Also Try: FIFA 2001 Players: 1-2 Australian for beer: Foster’s Web Site: www.easports.com —_ TS EVERYONE Best Feature: Easy controls Worst Feature: Rucked-up rules Unless you live near a high concentration of Australian immigrants, you probably haven’t been introduced to the finer points of rugby. Any good Aussie would tell you that rugby involves pitching, kicking and tossing the oval (pronounced “aivel” down under) while simultaneously kicking, punching and forearming your opponents. Despite the violent nature of the sport, rugby actually demands a lot of Strategic maneuvering. Rucks, Scrums and Mauls (gotta love those terms) are key gameplay moments which demand more coaching than twitch skills. Once you’ve mastered the somewhat quirky cam- era zooms and the rules of the sport, EA’s Rugby becomes an enjoyable experience. There are plen- ty of modes to select from and the interface is very user-friendly, There’s even a training mode for those too intimidated to head right to the action, and trust me, most of you will want to take advantage of it. Otherwise plan on getting smacked in the chops by the computer. Kudos te EA Sports for bringing this one stateside. Dan L. VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 7 6 L é Electronic Gaming Monthly - 143 - www.egmmag.com EVERYONE Publisher: Sega Developer: Visual Concepts Featured In: EGM #139 Players: 1 Supports: SegaNet Best Feature: Voice acting Worst Feature: Insanely repetitive Web Site: www.sega.com At first glance, Floigan Bros. looks like a run-of-the- mill 3D platform buddy adventure. And maybe Visual Concepts should’ve used that formula. Instead, Floigan Bros. is a substandard virtual pet game with slightly better graphics than a Tamagotchi. |ts potentially cool 1950s cartoon style is held back by repetitive mini-games and gameplay that makes everything a chore. A few brief flashes of an action game still exist, so don’t think it’s all about playing with and feeding your dim brother Moigle. The prob- lem is that the control and camera for the action bits are just as slow, awkward and frustrating as they are during the exploration parts. Worst of all, just when you think you’re going to get to the meat of the game—it’s over. Apparently there are going to be MORE of these (this is just Episode 1!). It took me less than five hours to get to the end, and three of those hours were spent playing the same four mini-games over and over to get enough points to teach Moigle rudimentary. things that you rarely use more than once (yeah, the fun oozes from this game). You can get online and download more little things to do, but that doesn’t add much to the game. The one good thing | can say about Floigan Bros. is that they used professional cartoon. voices. But even though the game is supposed to be an interactive cartoon, it only has a few cinemas, and the ending is perhaps the lamest I’ve seen in a long time. is, and you'll feel like the smartest schmuck on the planet; unless, of course, you enjoy babysitting a whiny oaf who constantly screws with you. Silly me to expect challenging puzzles anda story from this “adventure” title. Nah, collecting points by win- ning “exciting” mini-games like Catch and Tag do away with all that rubbish. And who really gives a fly- ing Floigan about the “state-of-the-art” Al if all that entails is being at the beck and call of Moigle’s con- stant nagging? The well-composed jazzy score is the only thing FB’s got going for it, but sorry to say, that isn’t saving this sucker from the junkpile. Jeanne Floigan’s got “I’ve been in development for so long, I’ve got to be released NOW, finished or not” written all over it. It’s riddled with problems. We’re talking events that don’t trigger properly, leaving you won- dering what the hell you’re supposed to be doing next. We’re talking gameplay that swings wildly from being overly simplistic (with brain teasers that couldn’t tease a 1-year-old) to being frustratingly directionless and unintuitive. We’re talking drab mini-games that can bore you to sleep in no time. We’re talking can’t-see-s*** camera angles. We’re talking one really bad game here, folks. Great idea. Poor, poor execution. Shoe VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 4 u 3 2 :ae: 30 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Featured In: EGM #143 Players: 1-2 Supports: Jump Pack, SegaNet, VMU Best Feature: More balanced than Sonic Adventure Worst Feature: Absolute crap camera angles Web Site: www.sega.com onic Adventure reinvented Sega’s flag- ship series when it took the blue hedge- hog into a fully 3D world and forced the player to spend more time exploring each level. Three new characters (with totally new play styles) brought some much-needed vari- ety to the game, too. But the transition to the Dreamcast wasn’t entirely smooth. Camera issues and a boring between-level hub world slowed the game down way too much. Enter Sonic Adventure 2. That annoying hub world is now gone, and only three of the origi- nal five play styles have returned: Sonic’s run- ning, Knuckles’ treasure hunting and E-102’s shooter levels (which are now played using either Tails or Eggman). Hey, at least that stu- pid fishing game is finally gone. The two new characters in SA2, Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat, are carbon copies of Sonic and Knuckles, though Shadow EVERYONE Completing Tails and Rouge’s kart levels unlocks the kart mini-game. You'll be able to download different track themes. is incredibly cool. Having to use all six characters keeps the game fresh, but some of the treasure- hunting levels can go on way too long. It’s mostly due to the horrible camera panning, which is bound to confuse or kill you during a few of the more difficult levels and boss fights. Sonic Team has yet to get a handle on a good cam- era placement scheme, relying way too much on dramatic pans and angles. The added value of mini-games is not lost on Sonic Team, so SA2 features a lot more of them. There are four different two-player modes to be found, including an unlockable kart racing game that’s actually pretty cool. Even the Chao VMU raising is more of a game and less like a bad Tamagotchi ripoff. When it all comes down to it, Sonic Adventure 2 is a quality game with a few snags here and there. Hopefully they’ll be ironed out by the time the blue blur shows up on anew system. The final levels (below) take place on a space station orbiting Earth. Shadow and Sonic grind down these metal ribbons before their final confrontation. You know what they say: Try not to look down. The last Sonic game on Sega hardware...it’s enough to bring tears to my eyes. But what a hell of a way to go. Losing the more boring aspects of the last game (like the fishing levels and the “overworld”) was def- initely the right thing to do: SA2 feels like a classic Sonic game again, where you speed through one level to the next. Though any stage that doesn’t fea- ture Sonic or Shadow really breaks the high-speed flow of the game. Still, the developers make up for it somewhat by offering some incredibly cool, diverse bosses to fight (like King Boom Boo! in the big screen up there). Besides, the cast of playable characters is a lot more likable now that E-102 and Big the Cat are gone (they still do cameos, however). And unlike the first Adventure, you have to play as all the different characters to advance in the game. Not to worry; as with most Sonic games, the difficulty curve in SA2 is just about perfect. If you do happen to get stuck in an area or on a particularly tough boss, the cute little robo-Ghaos appear and offer hints to get you through your problem. Outside of a little collision detection glitch here and there, Sonic’s only real problem is the god-awful camera control. You can rotate your camera most of the time, but you can’t actually place it anywhere. Sometimes it’ll pan dra- matically in the middle of a difficult fight or jump, causing an untimely death. lf Sonic Team had fixed thal, bats ee waite geta Laat score. OPERA RON AAAI ARORA OOIH OLED Beings a Asueiine Sonte ~" | was hanpyte to see Sonic Team return to more fast-paced, action-oriented gameplay. On the other hand, it’s amazing that some of the first game’s most nagging issues weren’t fixed. The camera is one of the worst I’ve.ever seen in a 3D action game. You'll get the camera right where you want it, just to have it swing back around when you move. The bad camera is what kills you 90 per- cent of the time, destroying much of the enjoyment. Sonic and Shadow’s levels are excellently crafted, but playing as the rest of the characters (especially Knuckles and Rouge) drags it down. It’s good, but the first Sonic Adventure is still better. | (meme to ndave this g game to deste but ia esulttng homage to Sonic’s 10th anniversary is less the pinna- cle of his existence and more a democratically assigned collection of exercises starring his less- interesting colleagues. Had it been a GD-ROM full of just the Sonic (and his doppelganger Shadow) high-speed loop-de-loop challenges, SA2 would have been amazing. Instead, the game gives a little too much time to Tails’ leaden E-102-styled platform duties and Knuckles’ nonstop fetch quests, castrat- ing Sonic 2’s main strength: Sonic. And despite some of the loveliest graphics ever seen, horrendous cam- era work spoils it. Milkman VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY Soldier of Fortune Publisher: Crave Developer: Runecraft Also Try: Quake Ill Arena Players: 1 Supports: Mouse, Keyboard Best Feature: Plays just like the PC version... Worst Feature: ...until the framerate gets choppy Web Site: www.cravegames.com Although | respect SoF’s unpretentious take on the first-person shooter genre, it is not a very solid game. Its laundry list of shortcomings includes horrendous (read: zero) Al, choppy framerates, lengthy load times and one of the lamest, most contrived story lines ever. It’s just another typical shooter with the same typical problems. To top it off, Runecraft left the entire multiplayer mode on the cutting-room floor. For a next-generation first-person shooter, this is inexcusable. Even the now underpowered N6q4 had four-player splitscreen, folks! In the first couple lev- els, all appears to be well with this gritty fire-and-for- get-style first-person shooter. Its straightforward (and rather linear) levels give you ample opportunity to maim and behead your poorly trained opposition. Yes, the game is shamelessly violent—so violent, in fact, it’s almost tacky. | won’t deny it: Turning some- body’s face into cherry oatmeal with a 12-gauge satisfies some primal, visceral hunger the first 20 or 30 times, but after a couple hours you begin to see the gimmick for the one-trick pony that it is. The gore adds nothing to the gameplay. It isn’t that | don’t like my games bloody and medium rare, but amputating arms and legs with your pistol at long range (consis- tently) really tests your. suspension of disbelief. What am | supposed to be fighting, an army of lep- ers? Rather than ease the pain of losing Half-Life on squads of enemies so dumb even Gomer Pyle could kill’em with his bare hands, Soldier of Fortune would never pass muster with any drill instructor. But I’m tolerant ofa. game’s flaws if it’s still fun, and SoF lobs explosive thrills. Your arsenal here is slick, with lots of full-auto firepower and even better sound effects. The lean-around-corners function adds a lot to the gameplay. But ultimately, SoF is best played as a guilty pleasure: | kinda like watching bad guys jerk ina death dance when | fill them with lead or filet ’em trols have suffered from being squeezed through the PC-to-DC porting juicer (and woo boy, have they), | won’t bore you with obvious criticisms. Instead, this review is for all you aspiring mercenaries or jaded DC owners out there! Sniping slimy terrorists is hella killer, setting nukes ablaze in dramatic present- day danger zones like Iraq makes you feel like a military star, and the groin shot-friendly damage system which (I believe) was developed solely to empower gamers’ egos, keep SoF hot long after the blood runs cold. Hankerin’ for some good ol’-fash- ioned shootin’? Feed the need with Sor. Jeanne VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY 6 S 2 7) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Publisher: Activision Developer: Edge of Reality Featured In: EGM #143 Players: 1-2 Supports: Rumble Pak, Expansion Pak Best Feature: Classic THPS gameplay Worst Feature: Extra-blurry visuals Web Site: www.activision.com You gotta hand it to developer Edge of Reality—they Sure know how to port Tony Hawk games to the Nintendo 64. Their version of the first game captured all the fun and gameplay finesse of Neversoft’s origi- nal, and this sequel is no different. They even man- aged to cram in a bonus: a hidden level from Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX. Stellar port job or not, Tony Hawk 2 is still held back by the limitations of the N64 hardware. The visuals are extra blurry, and the back- grounds suffer from the same short draw distance as the PS1 original (although the framerate is a tad smoother here). Still, control has been improved (you’re no longer stuck using only the C buttons), and THPS2’s overall gameplay is rock-solid. You get the revolutionary new Manual move, which lets you link an unlimited number of grind combos. And you'll find lots of tweaks, like the ability to recover from a bail more quickly by tapping A. The develop- ers Squeezed a Surprising amount of music onto the cart. Just don’t expect any songs with dirty words — or, for that matter, any blood in this sanitized port. Oh, and here’s one more thing to keep in mind: THPS2 is one of the last games we have listed on our N64 release chart (Madden 2002 is the only other). Is THPS2 enough to tide you over until the GameCube’s Nov. 5 launch? Certainly, if you’ve never played it on another platform. Otherwise, there’s no real reason to get this version. Crispin Maybe I’ve been playing too much THPS2 on the DC because the environments in this N64 version look blurry to me. The background draw-in is a bit pokey as well (it doesn’t hurt gameplay though). Regardless, Neversoft and Edge of Reality have churned out another sweet THPS title. It’s amazing that the now two-year-old engine is still kicking butt. Fluid animation, excellent camera work and superior two-player action remain the strong points of the title. The features conspicuously missing from the first are happily present now: A park editor and Create-A-Player. Honestly, | don’t know how they can make this game play better...it’s awesome. Dean What hasn’t already been said about Tony Hawk 2? The developers have done an admirable job of re-cre- ating the experience on the N64, right down to the licensed music. All the options are present, as well as the different skaters and the ability to buy new tricks and gear as you earn money. |’m not a big fan of the N64 controller, so things feel a little mushy in this version. Of course, the fuzzy, muddy textures we’ve come to know and hate on this system take some of the “wow” out of the graphics in THPS2 as well. Only if you don’t own a DC or PS should you buy this. Otherwise go for the better graphics (DC) or the bet- ter controller (PS). VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY REPLAY ; 2 + -& 147 Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Darkworks Featured In: EGM #144 Players: 1 Supports: Dual Shock Best Feature: Tense atmosphere Worst Feature: Too much backtracking Web Site: www.aloneinthedark.com Alone in the Dark was doing “survival horror” —com- plete with polygonal characters on predrawn back- grounds, shotguns, zombies, locked doors and Strangely out-of-place puzzles—back before anyone even had a name for the genre. But the series isn’t “alone” any longer, and this latest game barely man- ages the current status quo in many respects. There’s less emphasis on combat, but even so, the enemies are lame and the measly two, count ’em, two boss battles (per character) are hardly any challenge or fun. This game also suffers from a serious lack of design. As usual, progress is all about finding and using the next item or key, but illogical puzzles, vague directions and objects almost impossible to spot against the backgrounds cause you to waste too much time wandering the same rooms again and again. Add doors that inexplicably lock and unlock themselves and unhelpful maps, and you better have a strategy guide or the patience of Buddha. But here’s why you might still want to check this game out: It’s spooky as hell. Having to use a flashlight to find your way and the moody music create an atmos- phere as intense as it is creepy. Also, the way the two characters’ games overlap and fill gaps in each other’s stories works well (better than Resident Evil 2 even), but only already devoted fans of the genre will find these cool aspects enough to overlook the oth- erwise significant shortfalls. Mark As a fan of the PC series, it’s hard to believe that AitD has been reduced to a bastardized Resident Evil ripoff. It’s more like a gothic Easter Egg hunt than a mystery. Don’t come here to get your blood pump- ing. The zombie-bustin’ action is pedestrian at best, and the dark graphics...well, they’re just dark, not very scary. Solving puzzles between shotgun blasts is about as exciting as looking for loose change in a sofa: You look for shiny objects with a flashlight, and even after you find something, it wasn’t worth the time. It seems like the only thing the designers got right was the game’s subtitle —it was often a night- mare to play. Kraig improved upon them to create Resident Evil, consid- ering Infogrames is now doing the same in reverse. The control, if a tad sluggish, is up to par with what you'd expect in a game like this. The flashlight fea- ture works nicely, throwing shapes all around on lush prerendered backgrounds, creating a suspense-filled atmosphere with enough surprises to make me jump on more than one occasion. The game is a bit unfinished in places, and the character models look a little worse, but the reinvention of Edward Carnby holds up. A good Stephen King-y alternative to the competition, and a fine return to form. Miikman VISUALS SOUND INGENUITY u u “ Disney's Atlantis Publisher: Sony CEA & Disney Int./Eurocom Also Try: Toy Story 2 EVERYONE Best Feature: Good variety Worst Feature: Camera prob- lems None Web Site: www.scea.com | haven’t seen Atlantis yet, but after playing this game, | feel like | have. Unlike most movie-themed shovelware, Atlantis integrates the story and gameplay seamlessly. | found myself immediately drawn into its world, wanting to solve each level so that | could see what happened next. And hey, | could save nine bucks by seeing most of the movie this way, anyway (spoiling the plot doesn’t take long). Atlantis is an easy game that will keep you interested even if you have a short attention span. The traditional 3D platform gameplay is varied with mini-games and side-scrolling shooting levels to keep you en guarde. Sure, there’s a tough jump or hidden object here and there, but if you get stuck, it won’t be for long. And there’s always an ample amount of power-ups to keep you alive. Unfortunately, the biggest challenge comes from get- ting the game’s camera to behave. Often it makes timing jumps or aiming weapons a real pain unless you move it manually. it’s something | can live with that doesn’t sink this otherwise great same-Kraig Best Feature: Fantastic story Also try: line steeped intrue Chinese _ Final Fantasy Tactics legend Web Site: Worst Feature: Too linear www.koeigames.com Perhaps the first faithful video game interpretation of Son Goku, the legendary Chinese monkey-king (Dragonball Z is loosely based on the mythology), Saiyuki is an excellent strategy/RPG in an other- wise vanishing genre. Keep in mind, this sort of story is probably not for everyone, but even skeptics will be drawn to the familiar Final Fantasy Tactics- styled presentation. Sprite-based characters, 3D backgrounds and flashy summon effects bind the aesthetic package, but the similarities end there. Closer in feel to Vandal Hearts than FFT (or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for that matter), Saiyuki is more about character positioning and using your were-forms than it is constant item management. That’s not to say there’s no customizing, as smitheries can upgrade your armor and weapons. But what the game sacrifices in depth, it makes up for in playability that could appeai to a potentially broader audience. Also, the translation is extremely well done; a thoughtful and compassionate retelling of a fascinating legend. Excellent stuff. meena Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 3rd Edition ar Sony CEA Developer: Buena Vista meee = interactive ‘—@ Ff Also Try: Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune Players: Best Feature: More bad- game bashing foreveryone 1-2 Web Site: www.scea.com Worst Feature: Acute desire to assassinate Regis ASAP Ah, the smell of cash in the air! Who says sex sells? It’s all about amateur quiz night at Club Regis, laser lights and all! But don’t get saucy just yet, since orig- inality makes no appearance on stage in this third regurgitation of the Millionaire series (although only the second for the PlayStation). In fact, instead of improving, as one would and should expect from a friggin’ 3rd edition, quiz-ees will immediately notice the database of questions has been on Deal-a- Meal instead of the Beefcake liquid diet. Also Regis’ few spunky chime-ins will severely disappoint his extremist fans, as well as nauseate everyone else with how much they sound like assembly-line verbal by-product. Even Millionaire TV show fans will have to admit the initial “Ha, ha, I’m on the show!” eupho- ria they may have experienced from earlier editions feels as old as Regis’ make-up this time around. Folks, let’s just face it. This disco trivial pursuit needs to finally cash in its chips, roll over like a good piece of you-fill-in-the-blank, and die. And this time, accept no reincarnations. Publisher: Ag En OUOR Developer: Enix Featured In: EGM #139 Players: 4 Also Try: Dragon Warrior I&II Web Site: www.enix.com Best Feature: Excellent ani- mation during battles Worst Feature: Seemingly endless level-building It’s great to see games like this being redone for the GBC. | really hope the trend continues on the GBA. Unfortunately, while these portable adaptations of classic RPGs are a great way to relive the early days of the genre, they’re also a constant reminder of how far we’ve come. Dragon Warrior III boasts some great graphics (considering the system) —very colorful and incredibly well-animated during the battle sequences. The story line is a step up from the “res- cue the princess” crap a lot of these early RPGs used, and the dialogue is definitely above-average. There are even some really cool options thrown in to make life easier, like the Full HP option that.automatically uses spells and herbs to heal your party. Being able to save any time with the Field Log is a nice touch, too. If it weren’t for the fact that you have to walk around aimlessly and build your levels to a ridiculous degree in order to complete the simplest tasks, I’d probably have scored this game a little higher. We’ve come a long way; endless level-building is an obsolete play mechanic. i 3 i é ; £ : Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco Featured In: EGM #144 Players: 1 Supports: None Web Site: www.namco.com Also Try: Rayman, Mario Advance Klonoa (PS1), Klonoa 2 (Ps2) Best Feature: Simple but fun gameplay Worst Feature: Highly repetitive Whatever it is that platform gamers love about little critters of ambiguous species tossing puffed-up ene- mies around, all the while bleating unintelligible gib- berish, it was enough to sponsor Klonoa’s sequel on the PS2 and this inspired GBA title. More of a puzzle game than its console counterparts, Empire trades in the franchise’s familiar “run left to right” gameplay for a slew of large rooms crammed with logistical puzzles. Despite its strictly 2D perspective, the game just looks phenomenal. The independently scrolling backgrounds are still there, but you can’t move or throw things into or out of the screen (a small price to pay for a fun-driven title like this to go portable). | was pleased to see the controls hold up so well on the GBA’s awkward D-pad; pulling off the small stash of Klonoa’s trademark moves was a breeze. While control feels like traditional Klonoa, EoD’s structure breaks down alittle differently. The object is to locate and reach three stars and one exit (in that order), which are strategically placed within each level. Not unlike watching those slides reunion, this gets old after a w it’s going to be like the last dozen] is a task in itself. Nonetheless, it’s a solid choice for any platform or puzzle gamer, ROIS R SERIE RIOT OREO Since most folks never r got to experience e Moonlight Museum, Klonoa’s first handheld adventure, it’s a real treat to get a brand-new Klonoa game for the GBA. Klonoa: EOD is awesome. It features the same beautiful, stylized artwork as the 3D. games, but flat- ter, with layers of lovely parallax making up for any dimensional loss. The control is right on the money, and the music and sound effects are vin- tage Klonoa. Consistent with the series, 1 design is the real star here, offering five uninhibited fun, with a variety of action a based stages that will appeal to a broa | audience. An instant classic in ity opinion. Milkman In m sail faz paditionel 2D platformers, especially when they play and control as well as Klonoa: EoD does. The gameplay is nothing revolutionary, mind you, and this title is nothing next to Mario Advance. But the clever puzzle elements, clean graphics and simple premise all make this one of the better GBA carts on the market. Hardcore gamers may be disappointed, though. Empire of Dreams is a breeze to beat, especially since free lives are always avail- able (tike you male readers wish Jeanne Kim could be). | had more than 30 lives before even leaving the first world! (Not that they were ail needed...! hardly died at all during my 2D romp.) peeeeseee Hints, codes, reviews, screen shots, release dates, demos, updated everyday. Don't hit start until you hit gamespot.com GAMESPOT Where gamers go to know. “Sti © 2001 CNET NETWORKS IN By Trickman Terry tricks @ziffdavis.com TRICK OF THE MONTH Twisted Metal: Black Ca a INVULNERABILITY In the middle of the game, press and hold the Li+L2+R1+R2 buttons. While holding these, quickly press Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Left, Down, Up. Precise timing is needed to get the trick to work. Once you do this, the words, “Invulnerable On” will appear on the top of the screen. You will now be invulnerable to all attacks and explosions. Will Brewster Carrollton, TX CART Fury: Championship Racing CARS, DRIVERS, ETC. From the Select Driver screen, press the following buttons to access new characters and cars. More Cars Press L1 to access alternate cars. The new cars you open while playing the game will also be present on this screen. More Drivers Press R1 to access alternate characters. In case you're not used to reading game manuals (check page 22 of your instructions), here are codes to enter on the Cheats screen. Fog R2, R1, X, Square, Square, Circle. Gy Big Head Triangle, Square, Square, L2, P42. Twisted Metal: Black HIDDEN VEHICLES FJYellowjacket In the Junkyard, shoot down the airplane that circles the level and it will crash into the side of the gully. The wreckage of the plane will open up a secret passage- way that spans the level. Inside the middle of the tunnel is a Strange control panel and a weird-looking concrete structure. J to3 5? eT . Bw ee 3 ewe ww he = 4] So = Shoot the panel until it blows up, then YellowJacket will be lowered down. From here on out, this car will be playable. Axel In the Freeway, grab yourself some Gas Cans and head over to the construction site. Find your- self an incline that allows you to aim your weapons up at the crane that is holding a small building. Shoot the Gas Cans into the control room of the crane to force it to drop the building. Drive to where the building is and blast the walls off of it. You will find your new vehi- cle inside of the little house structure. Warthog In the Suburbs, there is a hill that overlooks the factory district that you can climb from inside the carnival. Leap off of the hill (marked with a Gas Can) onto the building labeled “A & L Transportation.” Shoot out the Small raise in the ceiling to open up a hole into the building. Drop down inside and you will find a control switch to shoot. Blasting it will lower Warthog down ona giant piston. ManSlaughter When you exit the Prison Ship, take an immediate right turn and follow the path around the out- Side of the boat until you come across some crates with a Health Power-Up on top of them. Shoot the crates until they forma ramp, then ride up and shoot the hull of the ship to reveal a secret passage into the Detention Center. Inside is a switch that reveals ManSlaughter as a playable car. [e) oatamcast_ When you are asked to enter your initials, put in the pale gopher symbols for all three ini- tials. Then choose “Start Game.” When the Level menu appears, scroll Left or Right to choose your Starting level. You can choose any level up to 44 with this trick. To get the new options, choose Exit from the Level menu. Go back to the main menu and pick Game Options. Scroll down and choose “Done.” You will now access a new menu called Secret Garden. Now you can choose the size of Riki and Mami’s shots, the size of the debris, choice of background and Invincibility! Crazy Taxi 2 No Destination Mark On the Driver Select screen, press and hold the Y button and then press A. The words,“No Destination Mark” will show up on the lower-right side of the screen. You will have to rely on the arrows to guide you to the correct spot to stop your taxi. No Arrows On the Driver Select screen, press and hold the START button and then press A. The words,“No Arrows” will show up on the lower-right side of the screen. You will have to rely on your passengers’ directions to get to your destinations. Expert Mode On the Driver Select screen, press and hold the Y+START but- ton simultaneously and then press A. The word,“Expert” will Show up on the lower-right side of the screen. This is a combina- tion of No Arrows and No Destination Mark. New Views (Note: You must have another controller plugged into port 3 of your Dreamcast for this trick to work.) Take the controller in port 3 and hold START. While holding this button, press any of the fol- lowing buttons for these results. 5S = Third-Person View X = Toggle between Counter Clockwise and Clockwise Rotation. A = Normal View B = Toggle between Left Side Panel View, Front View and Rear View. (While in this mode, press the following commands to get Enter Your Name S REGIS PHUBIN 2 a ba ~< 4>% even more views. Left = Left Side Panel View, Right = Right Side Panel View, Up = Unobstructed Front View). L-Trigger = Change arrow color to blue. BEY pPraystation Incredible Crisis (] STRANGE EFFECTS (Note: You must have another controller plugged into port 2 for these tricks to work.) In the middle of the game, take con- troller 2 and hold Up or Down to make your head huge, and hold Left or Right to flatten your char- acter. Also, you can press Triangle for a horn, Square for a crowd boo, Circle for a Drum sound, or X for a whistle. Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX GRIND METER AND GRANDMA Grind Meter First, begin a new career. In the middle of the game, press START to pause. Press and hold the L1 button. While holding it, press Left, Circle, Square, Triangle, Square, Circle, X. A meter will appear and show your balance when you grind. Unlock Grandma In the game, press START to pause and then choose the Retry option. Repeat this nine more times and the game will tell you that you ride like a grandma. As soon as you begin riding again, your character will turn into an old lady! Mike Hansen Eagan, MN f=] COMMENTS AND ALTERNATE NAMES On the “Enter Your Name” Screen, put in your name as REGIS or REGIS PHILBIN and Regis will tell you that it is taken and replace it with another name, such as BIG FAKER or PRETENDER. If you enter the name, MILLIONAIRE, Regis will make a comment and give you another name, such as MY BIGGEST FAN. If you choose not to enter aname, Regis will get mad and give you a replacement name, such as WHOEVER. World's Scariest Police Chases MANY COOL CODES On the main menu screen, enter the following button codes for the results shown here. f=) All Missions Down, Up, Left, Right, X, Triangle, Circle, Square. TOP 5 TRICKS The tops games of the last month given the full- on Trickman treatment: Duplicate Pokémon and Items WARNING: THIS TRICK AFFECTS YOUR SAVED GAMES. USE WITH CAUTION! First, you must decide on the Pokémon and item you want to clone. At any time during the game, press START and access the Pokémon option. Choose the Pokémon you want to clone and make it hold an item that you also want to clone (such as a Master Ball). Next, go into a town and find a Pokémon Center. Move in front of the PC and press START. Move down the menu and access the Save option. After saving your game, press the A button to turn on the PC. Access Bill’s PC and deposit the Pokémon you want to clone into one of the boxes. Then choose “Change Box” and move to an empty box. Press A and choose “Switch.” When it asks if you want to save the game, choose “Yes.” Now, this part is very important and requires precise timing. The game will tell you that there is already a save file, and it will ask you if it is OK to overwrite the file. Choose “Yes” and immediately turn off the Game Boy. Be sure to turn it off before any words other than “Saving” appear on the screen, or the trick will not work. Turn the Game Boy back on again. Check your party status and you should see the Pokémon you wanted to clone still in your party. Access Bill’s PC and look at the box in which you deposited the Pokémon. The Pokémon and the item it was holding will be cloned inside the box, and still in your party! You can clone up to five Pokémon and items at one time by doing this trick. 2. Onimusha: — = Warlords Bonus Secrets Onimusha: Warlords 2 Trailer After you beat the game, a new option called “Special Feature” will appear on the game select screen. In the Special Feature menu, you will find a short sneak preview of Onimusha: Warlords 2. Extra Costume Another bonus that you earn for beating the game is TRICKS TOP 5 TRICKS ~ Samanosuke'’s extra costume, _ If you start a new game and choose the “Extra” option, the mighty samurai Samanosuke will be wearing a lovable panda costume. The soul- stealing Orb on his arm is even changed into a happy, ~ smiling flower. a Bonus Game If you’ve managed to find all 20 of the Fluorites in the game, you’ll open the pot-smashing mini-game, Oni Spirits. This 12-level game is very tough but _ fairly addictive. 3. ATV Offroad = > — Fury Increase Al Difficulty From the main menu, choose Pro-Career. Choose an empty slot and then put in ALLOUTAI for the name. After pressing “Done,” you will be taken back to the main menu. Now when you race, your oppo- nents will be more difficult to pass. 4. Zone of the =~ = ‘Enders Health and Ammo In the middle of the game, press START to pause. Then press (1, 14,12, Lz, £1, hi 14 Ra, R2, Ra. Your health and ammunition will be refilled. Note that your level will decrease each time you enter it. Versus On the title screen (where it says, “Press Start Button”), press Circle, X, Right, Left, Right, Left, Down, Down, Up, Up. You’ll hear a sound con- firming that the code was entered correctly. Press START and scroll through the main menu options until you see Versus. Choose it to fight a - one-on-one battle with the computer or a second player. 5. Dr. Mario 64 ie _ §-Hard in Story _ From the main menu screen, choose Story. After choosing a name, go to the Story menu -and move down to Game Ly. Highlight the Hard setting and press the Z button to get the - S-Hard difficulty. Ne All Starting Locations in Patrol Mode Down, Up, L2, L1, X, Triangle, R2, R1. Bonuses and Weapons Left, Right, L1, R1, Circle, Square, R2, L2. This will open up the bonus items in the Options, such as the Flower Power theme, Tank, Pizza Truck, etc. This will also give you all weapons in Free Patrol. g = < ¥ = aE SS al BS oe “i Level Skip Press START to pause during the game, then press Right, R-Shift, B, A, L-Shift, L-Shift, A, R-Shift. You will see the Earthworm Jim head say “Groovy” if the code was entered correctly. Level Select ie Press START to pause during the game, then enter the following commands to skip to the specific levels as shown. What the Heck?: SELECT, R-Shift, B, Down, L-Shift, B. Down the Tubes: Up, L-Shift, Down, A, R-Shift, A. Snot a Problem: R-Shift, Up, SELECT, L-Shift, R-Shift, Left. Level 5: R-Shift, L-Shift, A, B, B, A, L-Shift, R-Shift. For Pete’s Sake: Right, Left, R- Shift, L-Shift, A, R-Shift. Buttville: L-Shift, A, Up, R-Shift, A, R-Shift, A, SELECT. Pitfall: The Mayan Ss R ELECT, DEBUG AND NFINITE CONTINUES On mith title screen, enter L-Shift, SELECT, A, SELECT, R-Shift, A, L- Shift, SELECT. The “Level Select” will appear in the middle of the screen. Hold SELECT and press L-Shift or R-Shift to switch levels and press START or B to begin on the level you chose. While playing, you can exit the current level by pressing START to pause and then pressing SELECT. This will bring you back to the title screen. To move your character anywhere on the cur- rent level screen, press and hold the SELECT button. While hold- ing it, move the D-pad in any direction and your character will go there—being invulnerable all the while. You can pick up all needed items in the level this way, without getting hit. “< Infinite Continues Use up all three of your lives in the first level. When the “Continue” screen appears, press B, B, B. The counter will change to “g” and stop counting down. This wil give you an unlimited amount of continues. Iridion 3D 7 LEVEL AND BOSS SELECT On the title screen, move down until you access the “Password” option. On the password screen, put in the following codes (make sure to include the * symbols at the beginning and end of the passwords). First, enter *S3L3CTON* and when you are taken back to the title screen, enter the Password option again and put in *SHoWT1M3*% for the second password. You will be automatically taken to the “Options” screen. The last two options will be “Start Level” and “Start at Boss.” From here you can Start at the beginning of any level, or you can choose a level number and start at the boss of that level. During the game, press SELECT to end the current level and return to the title screen. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 UNLOCK NEW BOXERS Rumble Man On the main menu screen, highlight Championship and press Left, Left, Right, Left, Right, Right, Left, Right, Left, L- Shift+R-Shift. You will hear a cheering sound when entered correctly. Shaquille O’Neal On the main menu screen, high- light Survival and press Left, Left, Left, Left, Right, Right, Left, Left, Right, L-Shift+R-Shift. You will hear a cheering sound when entered correctly. Michael Jackson On the main menu screen, high- light Arcade and press Left, Left, Right, Right, Left, Right, L-Shift+R-Shift. You will hear a cheering sound if done right. GT Advance: Championship Racing button. You will hear a sound. The Extra 1 option will open up on the main menu screen. It will allow you to play as the kart racers in this mode. Extra 2 Hold Left and press the B button. You will hear a sound. The Extra 2 option will open up on the main menu screen. It will allow you to play as the Formula cars in this mode. Ending Credits Hold Up and press the B button. You will hear a sound. The ending will appear and the credits will roll after the code enter these codes correctly. Cheats Opened On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press B, A, Down, A, START, START, B, A, Right, B, Right, A, Up, Left. Now access the Options and the Cheats option will be available. This will give you access to Perfect Balance, Always Special, Disco Lights and more! Smiley Face Blood On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press START, A, Down, B, A, Left, Left, A, Down. When your skater falls, he/she R-Shift button and press Left, A, START, A, Right, START, Right, Up, START. Unlock Spider-Man On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START. Spider-Man will be available from the Select Skater screen in Free Skate and Single Session modes. Level Select On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press A, START, A, Right, Up, Up, Down, Down, Up, Up, Down. EXTRA MODES On the title screen where “Press Start Button” is flashing, press and hold the L-Shift+R-Shift but- tons. While holding these, press the following commands for the results shown. Extra 1 Hold Right and press the B is entered. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 You will hear a sound and the wheel will spin around when you will leave behind smiley faces instead of blood. No Blood On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press B, Left, Up, Down, Left, START, START. Constant Zoom In and Out On the main menu, hold the GameShark Codes Unlock Levels - TM inf. Time Arcade Level Select and Lotsa Money On the main menu, hold the R-Shift button and press B, A, Left, Down B, Left, Up, B, Up, Left, Left. 1-900-PRE VIEW The number to call for the “ 30083ED80015 F294B9A300000009 Dave Mirra Freestyle Unlock Costumes - TM 331EA94800000009 me Maximum 30083ED90005 Inf. Time Parking : al, NA emix Unlock Bikes - TM C8CAF77E00000009 = 9 30083EDA0005 8C9C7A4800000009 WIN FREE STUFF: Unlock Levels - DM Unlock Levels - KH A6ADE1DA00000009 300832F80015 300841380015 Time 0:00:00 Parking Send your best tricks, codes, ree — -DM meets Costumes - KH D6CA9BFA00000009 and tips to: seve jet 20005 habe mg sepa inf. Time Score Attack i Unlock Bikes - DM Unlock Bikes - KH Tricks of the Trade 4B5ACED700000009 P.O. Box 3338 300832FA0005 3008413A0005 Oak B kik Unlock Levels - RN Unlock Levels - SB max ese jaleuiois 6A8C763205F5E0FF 60522-3338 subsist dala aioe 6 ela Must Be Last Code or send e-mail to: Unlock Costumes - RN Unlock Costumes - SB EECA : 2 300835590005 300843990005 cae tricks@ziffdavis.com Unlock Bikes - RN Unlock Bikes - SB ae aa aa aan | If you are given credit for Unlock Levels - TM Unlock Levels - LR are! | a | ‘ie : ; Unlock Costumes - TM Unlock Costumes - LR win a free game. If your 300837B90005 300845F90005 ~ trick is selected as Trick of Unlock Bikes - TM Unlock Bikes - LR Crazy Taxi the Month, you will also 300837BAo0005 300845FA0005 Must Be On win a GameShark from Unlock Levels - ML ECg07FE0143C2534 InterAct and a controller 30083A180015 infinite Fare Time from Blaze. Unlock Costumes - ML @ | 4,CBA872C1456E00C 30083A190005 ©) DREAMCAST Max Cash Earned Note: Please include your Unlock Bikes - ML 1CBA840817E9C70C real name, mailing address 30083A1A0005 Square = More Time and what system you'd like Unlock Levels - CK 18 Wheeler 0CD237301456E6AS your prizes for. 30083C780015 American Pro 4CBA84F41456E7A5 Unlock Costumes - CK Trucker 999 Customers No Purchase necessary. For complete 30083790008 4CD23E0C1456E404 poop snl Unlock Bikes - CK Must Be On L3=Ultra Speed EGM Contests - Legal Rules Request, 30083C7A0005 2458C4A900000002 0CD237301456E5A5 P.O. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522- 3338. FINAL WORD James: Am | looking forward to FFX? Hell yes, | am. Since | actually got to play the finished version for the feature, | can definitely say that the game has some big changes (most for the better), which address the concerns | had for the series. | felt like VIII and IX, as good as they may have been, simply toed the line, and were evolutionary and not revolutionary. FFX is really kick-ass and | can hardly wait for my import to show up in the mail. | just hope the masses can recognize the improvements Square has made to FFX. It’s really incredible. My favorite FF? I’d have to say, until now, that it was VII. | know a lot of people dog it, but | associate it with a great time in my life, James Mielke West Coast Editor Chris Johnston News Editor/ Philanthropist and | played the import and domestic versions to death. So there. Chris: As the FF series has gone from 2D to 3D it’s lost a bit of that magical quality for me. My favorite Final Fantasy will always be FFIll (well, VI if you’re going by the Japanese timeline), with IX a close second. Those had characters | actually cared about and some great moments of comic relief. I’m not really a fan of Tetsuya Nomura’s character designs, and while | thought IX was a breath of fresh air for the series, X seems to be bringing it back to reality. Characters like Steiner or Vivi (two of the more developed cast of FFIX) just wouldn’t be in FFVIII, FFX or FFXI. _ Since FFVII, I’ve mostly just played through about the first disc and then stopped. | just haven’t been compelled to finish them. But hey, maybe FFX will change that trend, eh? Che: | know many fans have a lot of precious memories connected to the 16- bit FFs, but not me. Being a little older, | remember playing FFs on the SNES in college and just getting completely bored with the primitive dialogue and all the cliché-ridden plot devices. Love, death, betrayal...these were all portrayed with zero Subtlety. Sure, the gameplay was great, but more than any previous RPG l’ve played, FF was loaded with story and it forced you down a very linear path. It wasn’t until FFVIII that Sakaguchi’s favorite themes actually worked for me in [ Che Chou West Coast Editor Greg Sewart Previews Editor Mark MacDonald Executive Editor James Mielke ¢ james_mielke@ziffdavis.com Chris Johnston ¢ chris _johnston@ziffdavis.com Che Chou ¢ che_chou@ziffdavis.com Greg Sewart ¢ greg_sewart@ziffdavis.com Mark MacDonald ¢ mark_macdonald@ziffdavis.com an emotional context. Why? Because the graphics were finally good enough to convey human expression. As far as I’m concerned, bringing back character designer Tetsuya Nomura for FFX was the right thing to do. | can’t wait. Greg: Che is nothing but a graphics whore, but | do agree with him on one point: The 16-bit FFs were so freakin’ melodramatic. | especially remember FFIV in that respect. Every 10 minutes the sad music would begin, someone would die, or remember a loved one, or be unable to confess their feelings for whomever their love interest was in the game. Then all the characters would hang their heads for a moment of retrospective silence, as if we “| just hope the masses can recognize the improvements Square has made...” needed the point driven home. That said, | didn’t really enjoy FFVIII at all, and thought FFIX was the return to the series’ roots the franchise needed. While I’m excited to play FFX, I’m hesitant to get my expectations too high for fear it’s just gonna be another disappointment like the first couple of FF games on the PS1. Mark: The 16-bit Final Fantasies were melodramatic? Did you play VII or VIII? Hell, every game in the series goes overboard with the cheese now and then. While I’ve enjoyed the different stories to varying degrees, and definitely appreciated the graphics (if not the character designs) of the PlayStation games, what it comes down to in picking a favorite for me is gameplay, and that is why FFV is king. No other game in the Series, or any other RPG I’ve played on console or PC actually, has come close to the genius that is the Job System. The ability to pick different classes (or “jobs”) for your characters to advance in actually made you want to fight all those damn random encounters. It also made the game so deep that | began playing FFV again as soon as the credits stopped rolling to explore it all, and a couple times again after that. | can’t say that about any other Final Fantasy. Well, actually, | guess | did play through VII six times, but that’s different—| had to for the strategy guide | was writing. But that is another Story...(cue Conan music). Zz. _2) ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA OHRID DPR HOMO ANH OHHH A IIOP EHO IIH RAR ANIC HNIC ANON COIR ENNIO ZIFF DAVIS PUBLISHING INC. Chairman, Chief Executive Officer : and Presid@ht: osc sonia oe James D. Dunninc Chief Operating Officer. and Senior Executive Vice President ................00. Tom McG President, Business Media ...... FB tn tr tively Kream Mom Ze § Vagrant Story wo Star rege Seven oe Wis Sante a Des wes GE See Ty at eh ZR Evil Dead PR NOD | wee Cane stumemes fon 1 Fee Alone in the Dark z ELECTRONIC Tony Hawk Ridge Racer V . Gran Turismo aon * . = Spider-Man eta X-Men ss S21 Mansi > a = RED ‘ty \ ») Tomb Raider 4 (DC) Star Trek Invasion Wild Arms 2 Tenchu 2 Street Fighter EX3 issue #130-$6.00 Sega Strikes Back Phantasy Star Online Quake Ill: Arena Soul Reaver 2 Hey You, Pikachu! RE Code: Veronica Excitebike 64 Pokémon Card Game PS2 Wipeout The World Is Not Enough issue #131-$6.00 ce rn ae | Final Fantasy IX JE Driver 2 © PS2 Madden PS2 NBA Live PS2 NASCAR EF PS2 NHL Hockey | Star Wars: Battle for — Naboo Mega Man X ECCO the Dolphin issue #132-$6.00 | Soul Reaver 2 F Conker’s Bad Fur Day Tomb Raider GBC Metal Gear Solid 2 Space Channel 5 e Seaman me =6Zelda: Majora’s Mask ; Black & White f Banjo-Tooie mStar Wars: Starfighter issue #133-$6.00 How to Order issue #134-$6.00 Zelda: Majora’s Mask Final Fantasy IX Game Boy Advance Onimusha Ogre Battle 64 Quake III Arena Smuggler’s Run Madden 2001 ony HawK 2 issue #135-$6.00 ‘ELECTRONIC rey 0 EE, fem PlayStation 2 Launch pet eee GameCube Game Boy Advance — SS Grandia II SS : : ita | « —s Tony Hawk 2 SE oT Gaatet FO et 1. A CAS. “ OURS AND EVERYTHING PLAYSTATION 2 Paper Mario Kessen Pokémon Crystal Get A Job in Gaming Dino Crisis 2 issue #136-$6.00 Unreal Tournament Capcom Vs. SNK Daytona USA NBA 2K1 Crash Bash Dragon Warrior VII — Gran Turismo 3 f Paper Mario Fall Tokyo Game Show Games You'll Never Play issue #137-$6.00 January “01 hia k 2§— Twisted Metal: Black ——= MONTHLY, § EGM Slick 50 F Sonic Shuffle E Skies of Arcadia F 18 Wheeler e Red Faction Sky Odyssey me «Lunar 2: Eternal Blue - Tomb Raider Chronicles Gundam Battle Assault issue #138-$6.00 February “01 Xbox Revealed Zone of the Enders Phantasy Star Online Fighting Vipers 2 Star Wars: Starfighter Grandia || Banjo-Tooie Tomb Raider Chronicles Donkey Kong Country Mickey’s Speedway USA issue #139-$6.00 Eire Oriier Back Issues of: Sem Ret Remelate 78 aw PE “thes erat © Pee i March 01 Phantasy Star Online The Bouncer Paper Mario Pokémon Crystal Gran Turismo 3 Ace Combat 4 Final Fantasy X Pokémon Puzzle Challenge Dark Cloud issue #140-$6.00 Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec Half-Life Onimusha Shenmue || Conker’s Bad Fur Day Fighting Vipers 2 Extermination E Time Crisis: Project Titan Issue #141-$6.00 May 01 | Crash Bandicoot PS2 f Zone of the Enders - Metal Gear Solid 2 F 6Virtual Fighter 4 - New Legends F Grand Theft Auto 3 fF Hundred Swords Crazy Taxi 2 Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance issue #142-$6.00 ume “04 | Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2 f Atari 7800 E Final Fantasy X Ico Devil May Cry Sonic Adventure 2 Mario Party 3 GBA Launch in Japan issue #143-$6.00 ELECTRONGS __Juiy 01 ' ' Game Boy Advance — 18 Wheeler e Crazy Taxi 2 f F-Zero: Maximum - Velocity Gran Turismo 3 f Red Faction JE Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 F Cool Boarders 2001 E Sonic Advance issue #144-$6.00 Awoust ‘01 _ Nintendo GameCube fs £3 Wrap-up F Tekken 4 - Metal Gear Solid 2 m Twisted Metal: Black E Crazy Taxi 2 Ico Syphon Filter 3 Wave Race: Blue Storm Wipeout Fusion issue #145-$6.00 ee ere or nan oer om ns ade ot 2 Das Hea ne | s2:or oon manne 3 canada an Mone $5 oro) Ce re na sven suet tw change wieut notice Tanks) GAMING: ———— MONTHLY, On sale Sept. 4 Metal Gear Solid 2 After tracking MGS2 creator Hideo Kojima to the secret underground bunker where his team is putting the finishing touches on this year’s most anticipated PS2 game, we were granted an exclusive interview with the man, the myth, the legend himself. Check back next month for all the details, plus a rare peak into the Konami develop- ment offices, interviews with the U.S. voice cast, a full recap of the twisting story up until now, and more. If you miss this, you better be dead or in jail (and if you’re in jail, subscribe!). ae ELECTRONIC GA TING: LOE I LET LLLP L ELI ILL ELLIE IE I ENT OO TIRE SII ASE EIEIO IN ES PERO NPE PORNO OPO Re Reviewed Next Month: e Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) e Ativance Wars (GBA) e Super Street Fighter il Revival (GBA) e Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro (PS e Le Mans 24 Hours (P$2) e Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX (DC) e Extermination (P$2) Previewed Next Month: e Smuggler’s Run 2 (PS2) e Devil May Cry (PS$2) e NHL Hitz (PS2) e Bomberman Online (DC) e Silent Hill 2 (PS2) PlayStation MAGAZINE sept. 2001 Id ico On sale Aug. 14 Sony’s ICO wowed . all comers at E3. Demo Disc Find out why. Also, Video Previews be sure to check out ‘ OPM’s ongoin e Legion: The Legend es coverage of Gran of Excalibur Turismo 3 anda e Escape from Resident Evil Code: Monkey Island Veronica X review. e Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire e Drakan ll ¢ OKAGE: Shadow King Playables e Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX We'll also present new info on Dragon Warrior VII, Spider- Man: The Movie and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. On sale Aug. 21 e Escape from Monkey Island strategy e Tony Hawk 2 cheats for N64 e More codes and tricks Check back in the September issue of Expert Gamer for the second blowout on Zelda’s newest adventure. Use our maps, walk- through information and charts for Oracle of Ages. In his last appearance for the Dreamcast, Sonic makes his return in Sonic Adventure 2. Don’t miss it! On the PS2 front, a Resident Evil Code: Veronica X guide. ly - 156 - www.egmmag.com Oracie of Ages COMPUTER WORLD A Killin’ Time Killin’ Time is here! The next wave of first-person shooters is coming, and Computer Gaming World has the lowdown on all the heavy hitters. Check out sept. 2001 On sale Aug. 7 Reviews e Emperor: Battle for Dune e Microsoft Train Sim. e Gangsters 2 e Z: Steel Soldiers e Echelon e Disney's Atlantis e Leadfoot e Retineck Racing e Tobruk 41 e Starships Unlimited e Shattered Galaxy e Merchant Prince 2 our exclusive hands-on previews of Aliens Vs. Predator 2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Soldier of Fortune 2, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Red Faction and more! Previews e Republic e Throne of Darkness e Il-2 Stormovik ELECTRONIC GAMING —— MONTHLY PERRIN 5 van tcenedecses 20-21, 46-47 www.activision.com MINE 6 craton dh 4 dic peidh. cheeks 45, 61 www.bandai.com SN ia a vesass bbs cue aaey 80-81, 83 www.capcom.com kL IES OPT ere rerer 149 www.gamespot.com Conspiracy Entertainment............ 117 www.conspiracy-games.com SE MING, sy 0b es dec ntdasiocas 23, 121 www.eckounlimited.com Eidos Interactive ........ 4-5, 14-15, 24-25 www.eidos.com UIC PUT, whose dc hiss eves cus 10-11 www.ea.com Electronics Boutique. .. . 8-9, 50-51, 110-111 www.ebworld.com Electronics Boutique/EBWorld...... 92-93 www.ebgames.com ELEC TROSOURCE v5.5 ccc ews oscecs 158-159 www.pelicanacc.com ne ee ee ee ee 57 www.guillemot.com Hollywood Entertainment.......... 34-35 www.hollywoodvideo.com Infogrames - Los Angeles .......... 70-71 www.infogrames.net a re a a ee oe ee ee 88-89 www. interplay.com a ee ee 85 www.koeigames.com Konami of America .......... 63, 107, 129 www.konami.com SUETERDS SOES RCT GEDOESE SPONSOR RO OTSECIESE ACT HSRLEE THES RADE JEXPER Te j 4 ¢ a sae. <= = tt 4, _ Ait About the Ht TV Siow: * Music CD, the Jet and more 7 ASilVER Vy, Z 4. sheer 41% boy fou can q SUuDpscrit 2) Lt Ban x } a , 55 issues. DOK TOT \ n py SS] A 1 KHL aoe | ee se now at Baddazes, As 8 TT 7S Noble, Wale Mart, nent . : farget, Borders, markets and drugstores Kraft - Beverages ................ 37, 69 www.kraft.com RI Se cleo w's was c sees os 69 www.caprisun.com ER ee 103 www.cornnuts.com Midway Home Entertainment .......... 7 www.midway.com REE ae eran eam 39, 109 www.namco.com ke i a or re 77 www.niketown.com Sega of Americago-41, 58-59, 96-97, 100-101 www.sega.com OA OF AINCIICH cs cae cccasccnsinses 160 www.sega.com be i ee oe oe ee oe re 53 www.songbirdocarina.com oF oe a oo re 2-3, 13, 27-31, 64-67 www.scea.com Take 2 Interactive - Rockstar Games ....79 www.rockstargames.com Ue a re 18, 19 www.target.com oe ee ee ee 49 www.tecmoinc.com Titus Software Corporation............ 43 www.titusgames.com Ubi Soft Entertainment .............. 87 www.ubisoft.com Ubi Soft Entertainment ........... poster www.ubisoft.com Lec at Oe Oe 17 www.wrigley.com 157 Eat My Shorts! Win a Free Copy of Gran Turismo 3 for the PS2. ller sol ia ‘ yi Wn, 0 HH ‘AN f Hey ; ey ae i i blah ig iP, wigs iy hie At it gin yf th fi ie ull esta ; Hi ee vi fi a He as ee? age! asc Ra : | | : ‘ui a | : = a i | | : : mi! sin 4 } 4 : a5 ; a= Ee patna > % Be : : | | 1 Te : | | : : a | i ny wnt af yy fr RRR ATER Aye ial Sas YA Ni A Ebival iy Wig } | i ih i Ha ON Hi 1 f | ena iH HN oe ea Alay if iy Nie a i i a Me Ya hie A : : pala: agi ierumegene sce seb gs i a siti a ye a hay j eR a ita ieubirny AL "ie ve Bana aa | eal gent: a Py Foe Ht * ay il i a Ai aid mF FS o @ 5 6 | 1% 2 13 7 % 19 2 2a 25 26 27 31 SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA and Virtua Fighter are registered trademarks of SEGA Corporation. Presented by SEGA © SEGA-AM2 Co LTD /SEGA CORPORATION, 2001. www.sega.com "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. Te 13 18 19 20 25 26 24/ 20 W 7 14 21 28 S 3 10 17 24 31 2 4 5 6 1 1112 «13 17 18 19 20 “a 29 26 27 September . > MT W 1 23 4 » 9F 10 1 15 16 17 18 22 23 24 25 29 30 21 28 5 12 19 26 -—— ee: - i. 7 &. 3 14 15 16 nm 2 28 29 30 October > MT 1 & 7 & 13 14 15 20 21 22 ci ae Ue W T 4 11 18 25 3 10 17 24 SI ts 7 6 13 20 27 Ss MidIW 2s 6 F 1 12 13 14 15 19 ZO 2 26 27 28 November Ss M F 3 4 5 0 11 Oe 17 18 19 24 25 26 22 29 Ww fe) 13 20 27 16 17 30 31 7 8 14 15 21 22 28 29 oa 23 6 om 23 2 s mM Tt WF 2344 2 9 10 11 12 16 17 16 19 239 24 25 26 December > Mm F W ' @ 3 4 Ss F 1 71 15 16 17 18 2. 23 24 25 29 30 31 = 4 it ts _ COMPATIBLE . 1840 East o7iH Street - Vernon, CA 90058 USA ow 800 331 “0044 - ’ ‘\faliranacrr 4 » ; , a bd . ° »! * « ‘ 2 : } : . 5 4 oe 4 ‘ ; * “* ? “* ah s reir’ *s > . 2 s- ‘ salted Pelican-and the’Pelian logo aré registered trademark : evrnees © ot Bae e et. ae Oe. game ne ‘ m %. %% . %-Box is a Registered-Trademark of Microséft Corporation. Nintendo & SGaméQube™’, > Oe ae ees aes sr BN Pa, . : is a registered trademark of Nintendo of America’ Ine. Thj duct fe reetRsionodt ge Meath fw We wes ee Y 7 _ Shonsored, endorsed or manufactured | by Nintendd or ierosott rporatt OM 6g ag gw Fg Me A 2. ¢'s , fe 2 #e = saets ° eg es” # ‘ é ie. * ‘. a. *, e * * 4 hg ae $. ®, a * . ee . ‘. . » * eae "és a? % Bre Ty . ”. dee &. * le se, © rife, ME * et ‘ gts .. ‘ 4 * 2s : e 8% 4 se Mie ; ° ’ ‘ 7 4s * ; . : : oe * Pr . « ‘ € . * *. * ‘/* 2 2 ’ . 4 = ’ ns «* > ‘ - ‘ ‘ . » . e . 4” ¢ 1 ‘ i" , ; “* ‘ ‘ys . ~ py * . i ai : 2* : 2 " : a 7 : Cracy Through! Hit the mean streets of the Big Apple as one of 4 new “cabbies” in low-rider taxis that can now leap over traffic. TANASE GS THN Mild Violence Mild Lyrics ered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Cotporation or spective owners. gue