THE 11TH ANNUAL VIDEO GAME AWARDS

SPLINTER CELL | COMPLETE № A 6 Pages Of

ж. Strategy

JOIN FORCES Two RPG Giants Become One

SQUARE & ENIX ¥

S j

E ® " GAME BOY OVER ADVANCE ФУ х g PLAYER - | GBA Hits The: af , SECRETS Big Screen 4 арысы:

Сар Including Resident Evil а Killer 7 pg26

gs „эё О»

Mild Violence

PlayStat

EVERYONE

LIVE IN YOUR W*RLD.

PLAY IN OURS

Meet the world's most notorious drivers on the streets of LA, Paris, and Tokyo.

Choose from the latest performance enhanced There are no rules - drive anywhere in the vehicles and compete to make a name city. Find the fastest route to win.

for yourself.

“PlayStation” and the “PS” family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios logo are trademarks of Angel Studios. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved.

4

PlayStation.e

WIGHT CLUB IT

LOS ANGELES / PARIS / TOKYO

The Midnight Club is now open to motorbikes. The cops know you are out there - Use tricks to gain an edge or just to Take advantage of the speed and control - but don't get caught. show off. Style is almost as important watch out, a wrong move will send you flying. as winning.

` JANUADY2003 A

i | WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIDNIGHTCLUB2 |

яу,

| NINTENDO f ROR «л> GAMECUBE. | x i segasports.com

Best Fighting Game Best Simulation

Blood Strong Lyrics Violence

MORE THAN 20 TOP FIGHTERS MULTIPLE FIGHTING STYLES

FOR ALL THE PAIN HE’S IN, QUITTING WOULD FEEL MUCH WORSE.

VARIOUS FIGHTING POSITIONS ONE HIT KNOCKOUTS

DREAM STAGE

entertainment

www.thq.com

© 2001, 2002 Dream Stage Entertainment, Inc. Exclusively licensed to THQ Inc. worldwide, except in Japan. THQ and its logo are registered trademarks of THQ Inc. All Rights Reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

4 A. draws near, Dour

their weapons рес again. Ready Jour cutlass and grappling hooks and steel yourself for battle.

~~’ To Be Continued...

RATING PENDING "^ S ‚ МЎ 2 s N i: P Visit vw ww.esrb.org or ы? i * call 1— 800-771-3772

} for Ra Bing Information.

narks of Sega Corporation. ©OverWorks / 8 Ж. |

` LET THE HUNT BEGIN ON NINTENDO GAMECUBE”

Fight zombies, vampires and ghouls on your own as Attack 20 types of creatures in swarms of up to 30 Slay in brutal single- and multi-player action one of 4 unique Hunters, or battle evil cooperatively at once using 20 mielee, ranged and spell weapons— through 23 huge environments, including a prison, with up to 4 players on a single screen. from swords to axes and flamethrowers. gothic church, cemetery and torture chamber.

NINTENDO GAMECUBE

Blood and Gore DIGITAL

Violence

SOFTWARE

MAYHEM

Hunter: The Reckoning © 2002 Interplay Entertainment Corp. All rights reserved. AtlasTech Game Engine trademark 2000 High Voltage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed for Interplay Entertainment Corp. by High Voltage Software, Inc., under license from White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Hunter The Reckoning is a registered trademark of White Wolf Publishing, Inc. Interplay, the Interplay logo, Digital Mayhem and the Digital Mayhem logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other copyrights and trademarks are property of their respective owners. TM, @, and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo.

THE RECKONING

DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

MT

www.interplay.com/hunter

FEATURE GAMES OF 2002

Always up for a good debate, the office is still spinning from battles raged during this war of ultimate importance — selecting the top ten Games of 2002. See what we came up with, and let the letters of dissent roll in.

12 GAMEINFORMER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER STORY 34 FABLE

Nothing could prepare you for this Xbox-exclusive RPG. Start as a child, finish as an adult, and each decision in between has consequences that can haunt you deep into old age. Will you become a villain or a hero? The choices are up to you.

LIVE ANOTHER LIFE. Play any mit. thet Dae C warrior to the's есгег aSSass1

RE ANOTHER WORLD. The enormous gar l and Aree for یر‎ to di SCOVETI. С

Oo 5 + x = n = ч. n » - r < > [9] а è » = m fe] Рт) "0 Q т о D X о (е, х

GAMEPRO, 5.0 score IGN, Editors’ Choice GAMES DOMAIN, Top Game award GAMEZONE, Editors! Choice ADRENALINE VAULT, S alali Excell TEAM XBOX, Editors’ Choice GAMEOVER, Gamer’s Choice awar GAME INDUSTRY NEWS, n INVISIBLE DREAM, 997

XBox EVOLVED, Gold Medal GAMESPOT, Gam GAME RANKINGS, 96% THE ARMCHAIR EMPIRE, 10/10 GDXBox,GD D NEXT LEVEL G

UGO, A- score XBOX MANIACS, Ed е GAMINGWORLDX, 9.0 s GAME VORTEX, 9 of 10 GAME CHRONICLES, Edit GAMING TARGET, 9.0 sc

Blood Violence

18 EDITOR'S FORUM

It was a very good year; Andy philosophizes on the year in review, and what to hope for in 2003.

20 GI SPY

The Game Informer paparazzi stalks the video game industry, bringing you candid photos of all the action.

22 DEAR GI

Fostering angry mail from exemployees one list at a time. Who's that robed guy with the beard hanging over Rio? | want cheap games! Is chivalry dead in the GI office? We are big, stinking liars.

26 NEWS

Resident Evil 4 – ‘nuff said. Outlaws take to the beach for volleyball fun and fighting. Nintendo is definitely going next-next gen. Shinobi heads to Hollywood and Blinx scores a sequel. GBA gets to live on the TV.

58 PREVIEWS

GI shows the newest info on Resident Evil Online, Psychonauts, War of the Monsters, Knights of the Old Republic, and the new Indy (-ana Jones, that is). Ogle screenshots of the greatness that is soon to come for each system.

14 GAMEINFORMER

86 REVIEWS

Metroid fans have a pair of great games to battle through this month, at home and on the go. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Shatters everyone's expectations, with more than half of the staff reviewing it in some form. After a number of delays, did Splinter Cell live up to the hype? BMX XXX finally lays out its cards. Plus, a mustread review of Age of Mythology!

127 CHARTS

What's hot? What's not? What's up? What's down? It's not NASDAQ, it's the Retail Sales Data and the Gl editors’ Top 10 Games.

130 PLAY TO PERFECTION: SPLINTER CELL

If only the novels came with a roadmap this detailed, those conspiracy theories might start to make some freakin' sense. We take an intrepid secret agent through every last mission in a quest for the greater good. Crack through the tough spots, with your good friend, Gl.

136 PLAY TO PERFECTION: MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE

676 secrets, Fatalities unwrapped, and strategy to boot. Thank the big dork in the

Sky for this one. Suck the marrow of Mortal Kombat (sadly, marrow sucking is not a secret Fatality) and perfect your blood-let- ting techniques.

140 SECRET ACCCESS

What would video £ames be without sneaky codes to infuse God-like powers upon the couch-surfing masses? Hopefully, we will never know such a horror.

144 CLASSIC GI

Rygar's NES iteration gets a Classic Strategy treatment for the month. NES classics Pinball, Urban Champion, and Ice Climber are put through the review ringer. See how those crazy plumber brothers scored before they got "Super."

150 ETC Things to put on that table in front of the couch (that's the coffee table). A new con- troller that makes Bond gadgets look as impressive as a block of cheese; and, to | be blunt, a video card that just kicks ass.

GAME INDEX

GAME

Aero Elite Combat Academy . . . Age of Mythology . .

Alter Echo ...

ATV Offroad Fury 2 .

Blood Omen 2

BMX XXX (PS2) . BMX XXX (Xbox) Capcom Vs. SNK E Clock Tower 3 .. Crash Bandicoot 2: N-tranced Dead to Rights (GC) . . . Dead to Rights (PS2) Die Hard: Vendetta Dragon Ball Z: Budok: Dragon's Lair 3D . Drome Racers . . Dynasty Warrioi Everblue 2 EverQuest: Planes of Power . Fatal Frame ...... FIFA2003 . Flat Out . F-Zero (GC) Galeria! Gladius. . Guilty Gear X2 E Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . . Haven: Call of the King Highland Warriors . Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb . James Bond 007: NightFire (GC) . James Bond 007: NightFire (PS2) ds James Bond 007: NightFire (Xbox) James Cameron's Dark Angel Kakuto Chojin ......... Kameo: Elements of Power . Kirby's Nightmare in Dreamland . ў Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The.. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The . Masters of the Universe:

He-Man Power of Grayskull . . MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries Medal of Honor: Allied Assault Spearhead . Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance . 1 Metroid Fusion . . Metroid Prime . Monster Rancher Advance 2 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (GC) Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (PS2) . Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (Xbox). . Murakumo ........... NCAA College Basketball 2K3 . NCAA Final Four 2003 .. NCAA March Madness 2003 Panzer Dragoon Опа... Phantasy Star Online Episode | & II . Phantom Crash . . . . POUR ў

Robotech: The Macross SN Rocky .

RTX Red Rock

SeaBlade .

Shenmue Il . .

Shrek: Extra Large .

Shrek: Super Party .

Splinter Cell ....

Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly Star Trek: Starfleet Command Star Wars: Bounty Hunter . . Star Wars: Jedi Outcast . Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic . Sub Rebellion .

Sudeki

Superman: The Man of Steel . Swingerz Golf........... Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven . . Tomb Raider: The Prophecy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Top Spin . .

Total Immersion Racing. Transworld Snowboarding Treasure Planet .

Unlimited Saga

Unreal Championship. . VRaly3 ...

Virtua Tennis

Wacky Stackers .

War of the Monsters

Wario World .

Wreckless: The

X-Men: Next Dimension ......:

PlayStation.

WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/VICECITY

SOUNDTRACK ALBUMS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON EPIC RECORDS WWW.VICECITYRADIO.COM

MATURE Viol " Mises 22, rong Language SEP с = * ья we. = тесе Ж; yy, “Soa рти] Strong Sexual Context MN e ESRB

Rockstar Games, the Rockstar Games logo,Rockstar North and the Rockstar North logo ftware, Inc. "Epic" and Reg. at. & Tm. Off. Marca Registrada./C 2002 Sony

PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © 2002 Rockstar Games, Inc. lowing IDSA guidelines for M rated games in the marketing of this дате.

are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Rockstar Games and Rockstar North are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive So Music Entertainment Inc.All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved. Note: Rockstar will be foll This game contains violent language and behavior and may not be appropriate for persons under the age of 17. It is a comic interpretation of gangster activity and the story, names and incidents portrayed herein are fictitious. No identification or similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is intended or should be inferred. Any resemblance is coincidental. The makers and publishers of this videogame do not in any way endorse.

condone or encourage this kind of behavior.

16

RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NOW!

Without a monthly fix of Game Informer, yov start to get cold sweats, your hands start shaking, and you hallucinate that bugs are crawling under your skin. So why suffer?

Don’t delay! Send in the subscription card inside or, for faster service, order with credit card by calling (612) 486-6100.

GAME INFORMER

EINFORM

JANUARY 2003 Volume XIII * Number 1 • Issue 117

PUBLISHER Cathy Preston

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andrew McNamara

EDITORS

Executive Editor Andrew Reiner Senior Associate Editor Matt Helgeson Associate Editors Kristian Brogger • Justin Leeper • Matthew Kato • Chet Barber Copy Editor/Contributing Writer Lisa Mason Mascot Arthur

PRODUCTION

Art Director Thomas Blustin Production Director Curtis Fung Production Assistant Rachel Nimerfroh

ADVERTISING SALES

Rob Borm Doug Faust (612) 486-6155 * Fax (612) 486-6101 (650) 728-5647 • Fax (650) 728-5648 rob@gameinformer.com doug@gameinformer.com

Advertising Account Executive Amy Arnold * (612) 486-6154 amy@gameinformer.com

CIRCULATION

CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT For change of address or subscription inquiry only: phone: (612) 486-6100 Fax: (612) 486-6101 email: customerservice@gameinformer.com or send correspondence to: 724 North First St., 4th Floor • Minneapolis, MN 55401 • Attn: CIS Dept

Circulation Manager Paul Anderson (612) 486-6104 paul@gameinformer.com

SUNRISE PUBLICATIONS, INC President John Woodson

Manufactured and printed in the United States of America. The Editor welcomes company product information for all video games. Such materials should be addressed to: Editor, Game Informer® Magazine, 724 North First St., 4th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned or acknowledged. Entire contents copyright 2003. Game Informer® Magazine. All rights reserved; reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Game Informer is a trademark of GameStop, Inc. Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies.

PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement, The publisher's liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is limited to republication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement.

INDEMNIFICATION The advertiser and/or Advertising Agency agrees to defend and indemnify the publisher against any and all liability, loss, or expense arising from claims of libel, unfair competition, unfair trade practices, infringement of trademarks, copyrights, trade names, patents, or proprietary rights or Violation of rights of privacy, resulting from the publication of the Advertiser's statement.

Member Audit Bureau of Circulations

Statement of Ownership. Management and Circulation (required by 39 U.S. C. 3685). 1A. Title of Publication: Game Informer Magazine; 1B. Publication No.: 10676392; 2. Date of Filing: October 1, 2002; 3. Frequency of Issue: Monthly; ЗА. Number of Issues Printed Annually: 12; ЗВ Annual Subscription Price: $19.98; 4. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 724 North 1st Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 55401-9022, Hennepin County; 5. Complete Mailing Address of the Headquarters of General Business Offices of the Publisher: 724 North 1st Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401-9022, Hennepin County; 6. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor(s) and Managing Editor: Publisher: Cathy D. Preston, 724 North 1st Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401-9022, Hennepin County; Editor In Chief: Andrew C. McNamara, 724 North 1st Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401-9022, Hennepin County; Executive Editor: Andrew Reiner, 724 North 1st Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401-9022, Hennepin County; 7. Owner: Barnes & Noble Inc: 122 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, New York County; Names and Addresses of Stockholders Owning or Holding 1% or More of Total Amount of Stock: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 122 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, New York County; 8. Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1% or More of Total Amount if Bonds, Mortgages or other Securities: None; 9. Does not Apply; 10. Extent and Nature of Circulation: ‘Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: A. Total No. of Copies (Net Press Run): 723,996; B. Paid and/or Requested Circulation: (1) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors and counter sales: 89,817; (2) Mail Subscription (paid and/or requested): 571,163; C. Total Paid and/or requested circulation: 660,980; D. Free Distribution by Mail, Carrier or Other Means-samples, complimentary, and other free copies: 38,173; Total Distribution: 699,153; Copies not Distributed: (1) Office use, left over, unaccounted, spoiled after printing: 24,843; G. Total: 723,996. | certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. ~ Cathy D. Preston, Publisher.

У vy

| Things in the

THE LEGEND ОЇ

Д

Д A LINK TO THE PAST

Travel two parallel worlds to fight evil and restore peace in the land of

EVERYONE Hyrule. Or, try the depths of the Four Swords dungeons in a new challenge Mild Violence where you take on the ultimate Wind Mage with up to four players. ESRE 2002 Nintendo. т», ® and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2002 Nintendo. WWW.Zelda.com

TE. not the same in the dark

Link with up to 4 Players

| 4

IT WAS A VERY GOOD YEAR...

As | look back on the last year, and think about all the great things that happened, | can't help but be a little disappointed at the same time. In my opinion, 2001 was one of the greatest years in video game history, with the launch of two new systems and a wide array of entertaining and innovative titles that pushed gamers and the industry to new heights. On the other hand, 2002, while solid on all fronts, lacked some of the novelty that made the previous year so exciting. A lot of this is due to the fact that a number of games that | really thought were going to blow me away ended up just being better than average.

In my opinion, two of the biggest under- performers of 2002 were the first party publishing divisions of Sony and Microsoft. Both companies relied far too much on third-party publishers to deliver groundbreaking products and didn’t bring enough triple-A content to the market for their respective machines. Sure, you could say | am being

a little tough on these two companies, as they did have some great games, but | expect more from hardware manufacturers. Just look at Nintendo, which had a huge year in my opinion. Not only did it put out a deluge of amazing first-party product; the company also managed to secure many high-quality third-party products, something that has classically been one of Nintendo's shortcomings.

Heading into 2003, | know I’m going to keep an eye on Sony and Microsoft to see if they can step up and continue to push the limits of both offline and online gaming, because | have a feeling Nintendo will continue to deliver. History shows that 2003 should be a strong year for the current gaming platforms, but its success or failure is dependent on whether the big three can deliver the goods. Let's all hope they do, and you can count on

Game Informer to keep you Andy McNamara dated th d | Editor updated as the year Gevelops. ^ angyegameinformer.com

1. Despite continuous vomiting, Chet stays on for another 275 laps to set a new park record. 2. Veteran Andy signals thumbs up, but novice Reiner isn't so sure about his position or those pigeons! 3. Kato and Matt attempt to set a new land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats in their homemade jet car. 4. Lisa props up Kristian, who needs a beer to steady his nerves for one more shot as the “Human Cannonball.” 5. Justin just realizes he's making a 200-foot jump with a 204-foot bungee cord.

18 GAMEINFORMER

REINER, THE RAGING GAMER reiner@gameinformer.com

Since I'm an evil bastard who doesn't take the time to reply to reader emails, | figured I'd answer all of your questions within this tidy little editorial space. Here goes....“Reiner, why do you suck?" Hmmm... How did this letter get in here? It must be some kind of a mistake or something. Let's move on, shall we? “Reiner, | think you're a [expletive deleted] moron, and you should die a horrible [expletive deleted] death! You [expletive deleted]!!!” Um... This must be a joke. My friends are so funny! Ha ha ha! Next letter!!! “Dear, this is your mother. | found your blankey under your bed and | was wondering if you still want it?” Of course | want Mr. Blankey, mom!!! | mean...blankeys are for sissies! This letter must be for Kristian! Well...um...look at the time! My fans are the best! [sniff]

MATT, THE ORIGINAL GAMER } matt@gameinformer.com l

We've been hearing about the inevitable console online revolution for the last few years. With the launch of PS2 online and Xbox Live, the hype has gotten overblown to the point where we're actually starting to get a lot of reader letters worrying whether single-player games are going to become an endangered species. | certainly don't think so. In fact, | suspect that console online won't become a real mainstream phenomenon until the next round of new systems. For example: What's the biggest game in recent memory? GTA: Vice City, a classic single-player game. Yes, it's fun to bond online, but don't discount the fact that a lot of people (myself included) play games because they don't want to deal with the rest of the aholes out there їп the world.

KRISTIAN, THE VIDEO VIKING

kristian@gameinformer.com

I'm not going to lie to you people; it's been a rough, rough football season. When the Vikings lose, | can't even bear to look at my Madden 2003, let alone watch the news or come into the office and face the barrage of insults hurled by the unfaithful. That's really how I've rediscovered NASCAR Thunder. You see, my home-based game playing goes in fits and starts. I'll be hopelessly addicted to one game for weeks on end, then as the attraction begins to ebb, I'll throw in something | haven't played for a while, and enjoy it anew. On that note, | highly recommend everyone try out Yoohoo if you don't already partake on a regular basis. It's a damn fine soft drink.

JUSTIN, THE DIGITAL DEVIANT

justin&gameinformercom ` {

Time for my own year-end awards. Game | Played The Most At Home: Aggressive Inline. It's huge, and getting 100 percent takes a longass time. Game I'll Get The Most Flack For Liking: Animal Crossing. Wussy or not, | can't resist it. Most Overrated Series: Resident Evil. | just don't dig the crappy control and cheap "scares." Game That Elicited The Most Swearing: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - GameCube. Kato and Kristian were bad f enough to make sailors cry. Worst Time 1 Had Playing A Game: Mario Party 4. It's awful, and Chet's infernal taunting didn't help. Deceased Pet Scorpion Of The Year: Pucho. Rest in peace, little stingy.

KATO, THE GAME KATANA

kato@gameinformer.com

1 was having a conversation with Matt the other day (no, we editors don't communicate with each other through video game bleeps and sound effects), and | realized that mags like Maxim are ruining periodicals. Even older pubs like Rolling Stone are falling under the spell of skin and quickie, sound bite journalism. Yes, I'm aware of how ironic this sounds coming from a writer whose maturity level never passed the fifth grade. I'm just wondering out loud when the media in general is going to stop thinking that stuffing а bikini-clad girl in my face is going to make me buy their razor or whatever. Not that there's anything wrong with seeing said woman, but nakedness becomes devoid of sexiness when it's used as out of context as it is these days. They say men think about sex every five seconds. | guess I'm saying | want my four seconds back.

CHET, THE JOYSTICK JOCKEY

chet@gameinformer.com j i

When | was gaming at other places prior to GI, we had to make predictions for the events in 2002. | claimed that Midway would have a surprising year of quality software, and | am happy that that prediction is becoming a reality. Mortal Kombat, Haven, Defender, Dr. Muto, and NHL Hitz have all proven to be at least solid. In fact, the only real dud that comes to mind is that Gravity — Game thing, but let's just forget about that. More than anything else, | would really love to see Midway make a comeback and revive our industry with some much needed American ingenuity. Congratulations to all of you at Midway, and keep up the good work! Oh yeah, this is an unrelated fact | discovered this month. Do you know the number one cause for the hole in the ozone is not cars, but cow gas?! A good reason to stop eating crummy fast food, no?

LISA, LA GAME NIKITA

lisa@gameinformer.com

With the advent of DOA: Volleyball and BMX XXX, most of my mail has veered towards, “What do you think about nekkid people in video games?” Presumably, people are curious what someone with two X chromosomes thinks about the "objectification" of women in the pixel-based land of gaming. I think it's necessary. Really, the industry needs to experiment. Before we can have game styles as varied as movies, developers need to get the Porky's Revenge of gaming out of their system. | don't really believe that topless biking will encase the cracking glass ceiling in cement, and | fail to understand why these growing pains are different than films in the ‘60s. That, and they're really kinda funny games.

p

LIII

This is hockey like Roenick plays it. Hard-nosed and furious. It speeds toward you so fast you don't have й Td So get tough or you'll be eatin;

EVERYONE "hm: а А | À LIES WREAKIBAVOC ON | Viol E ч | iolence G y, кг THESE PLATFORMS GAMECUBE. | xeox ue

CONTENT RATED BY

ри = NHLPA ‚=

— Sega is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sega, the Sega logo, and Segalorts are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega ffi ation. © SEGA CORPORATION, 2001. All Rights Reserved. www.Sega.com. © 2002 NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL lagaggnid marks amid team logos and marks depicted herein аг@ the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterpriges, LP. © 2002 All rights reserved: © NHLPA. NHL 2K3 is an Offaly Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hogkey League Players’ Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under. license by Sega of Americaylnc. "PlayStation" and the ‘PS Family logo are registerad valemaks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.™, © and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks jarkS Of Migrosoft Corporation in the U.S. and/acin@liiar countries and "ча" license from Microsoft. ESBN Is айгайетагк of ESPN, Inc. ESPN branded elements © Disney. Screenshots taken from PlayStation 2.

“ч

| CANDID PHOTOS FROM THE SEAMY UNDERBELLY OF THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY

1 Microsoft's Xbox Live launch party drew -| the cream of the Hollywood crop, including | our hero, Brian Posehn a.k.a. "That Wierd | Guy From Mr. Show and Just Shoot Me." He is so much cooler than you! 2 Activision's Christopher Archer: Happy. Activision's Mike Larson: Sad. 3 THQ's Reilly Brennan and Outrage Games' Chris Pfeiffer watch while e Andy tries to hypnotize Game Informer read-

|, Û ж. ers. You're getting very, very sleeeeepppy... Y |

4 When Chet's not dressing up as a Playboy * E bunny, he's going to dinner with freelancer / Thomas Layton, and LucasArts' Heather Twist Philips, Giselle Talkoff, and Alexis Mervin! We liked him better when he was a woman. 5 Enix's George Torii and Justin IE: Lucas, waiting patiently at Platform 9 3/4 for the Hogwart's Express. 6 Welcome to the | strange world of Double Fine's Tim Schafer. 7 GameSpy's Ben Turner, The Digital 4 Deviant, and John Gibson stop by the "King's

1 Head in a Gravy Boat" restaurant for some i 1 6 Curry in Tokyo.

20

> MIDWAY

IT BEGINS AS A DREAM. | THEN IT GETS REAL. Bises lE ies ашды. сеа

SEAMLESSLY BLENDED TOGETHER IN A MASSIVE UNIVERSE

YOU MUST FIGHT TO SAVE YOUR PEOPLE FROM AN ANCIENT EVILa DRAW UPON EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER LEARNED TO FIND THE HERO WITHIN AND ANSWER THE CALL OF THE KING TO FREE YOUR PEOPLE FROM THE TYRANNY

OF ENSLAVEMENT:

HAVEN? CALL OF THE KING'S FREEFORMER GAMEPLAY MOVES SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN RACING, SHOOTING, FLYING, GLIDING, EORTING AND DOG-FIGHTING GAMEPLAY IN A SEEMINGLY BOUNDLESS UNIVERSE!

ЫЫ Fall 2002 Coming 2003

Mild Violence > Li d PlayStation.? ff.

i GAMEBOY. m EE m. NIS HAVEI El]

HAVENsAMIOWAYs«COM

Please put this in your magazine. All my friends think that the letters are staged; let's have my favorite magazine prove them wrong. Brad Belanger Via email

No problem, "Brad." We'll be sure to tell your "friends" that this let- ter was "real."

| loved your feature article in issue 115, "The 25 Greatest Moments in Video Games." However, | saw that nowhere on that list was the "All your base are belong to us" cutscene from Zero Wing on Sega Genesis! That moment brought a tear of joy to every gamer's eye, but it was not included at all! | know you can't go and re-edit that article, even if you wanted to, but | thought it should at least get some notice in an upcoming issue. Thanks! James Lirot Via yahoo.com

Either GI's editorial staff is comprised solely of video- game neophytes, or everyone there is under 25 years old; otherwise, there is no way your "25 (Lamest) Moments In Video Games" would have excluded Warren Robinett's original Easter egg in Atari's Adventure. Gaining the mysterious microdot and discov- ering the secret message was not only THE defining moment for the world's first electronic generation, it was a defining moment in gaming itself. Programmers revolted against the Atari juggernaut, paving the way for a long history of developer credits, splinter compa- nies and hidden codes. Where would Secret Access be without the Adventure microdot? In fact, where would GI be? Probably being used to wrap fish along the Mississippi River. Critical GI fan and ex-Gl editor, Jon Storm Via stinkyfishbait.com

Hey, it's always a treat to get scathing emails from former co-workers, so let's all give the erstwhile Greedy Gamer a big wet kiss! It's not an easy job to boil 30-odd years of gaming history down to 25 moments, and - as we said in the introduction – our list was by no means comprehensive. We were trying to bring some fond memories to light, and, at the same time, foster a dialogue amongst our readers, even if most of said dialogue was regarding whether or not the GI staff were, in fact, "dumb asses." However, a good many readers did mention "All your base..." and the Adventure Easter egg as the most glaring omissions. So, hopefully, this will give those two memorable moments their just due. Everybody happy? Probably not, but what's a list if it doesn't make people mad? Nothing - that's what!!!

^

Too much ofa good thing is bad, right? At some tragic point in gaming history, won't it become financially

Send your comments to Game Informer. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine • Attn: Dear Gl +

22 GAME INFORMER

impossible to make games any- more graphically detailed? People expect that future games will have the graphics of a movie like Shrek. Wouldn't this be expensive to develop? Shrek's animation cost millions of dollars. Gamers could- n't afford to pick up the cost, and most will agree when | say that 50 bucks is quite enough for a game. How are video game companies going to compete in the future!? Man, now I'm depressed! Anonymous Via email

The hope has always been that improving technology will make it cheaper and easier to create more and more impressive graphics, but you do raise some good (and slightly troubling) points. In recent years, the number of people needed to make a game has skyrocketed, and development team sizes for blockbuster games can now be anywhere from 50 to 80 people. Throw in hardware investments, disc man- ufacturing, advertising, marketing, and administrative costs, and it's no wonder why games cost $50. This high price of doing business is going to be one of the key problems our industry faces in coming years, and it has already caused some significant changes. For example, notice the rate at which giant corporations like Sony, Electronic Arts, Activision, and Microsoft have swallowed up smaller publishers and develop- ment houses. The reality is that a lot of small compa- nies simply can't make it on their own in the high-risk world of next-generation console development.

MEN

Do you guys hate each other or something? You're always talking about kicking each other in the balls and in your dislikes | always see at least one editor putting down another. | just imagine the GI office with you guys sitting around in a circle, slouched in your chairs with your pants unzipped, belching, drinking soda, eating stale pizza, and growling at each other. | don't know how Lisa can put up with it.

Sean Umphlet Via yahoo.com

Hate is a strong word...intense dislike is probably more accurate. In your other accusations, you're a little off the mark. Now, perhaps you and your buddies like to "[sit] around in a circle, Slouched in your chairs with your pants unzipped," but we just don't get down like that — not that there's anything wrong with it. Do whatev- er makes you happy! However, you were dead- on regarding the stench in the GI offices. Chet,

our resident vegan, subsists on a diet of broccoli and black beans, so you can imagine the funk that spews forth from his nether regions. Actually, you probably can't imagine it, so consider yourself lucky!

| just had a few things | was hoping you guys could shed some light on. It seems that Rockstar Games has become very popular with Grand Theft Auto Ill, but the game that showed me it was a good company was the old PS-X game, Thrasher: Skate and Destroy. After the game's release, any info on it practically disappeared, meaning that it must not have done well. | know it doesn't match up with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, but I would really like to see another Thrasher ported over to the PS2. It was more of a skateboarding simulation game, and | think most skaters would appreciate a title like that.

Shawn Dawes

Via msn.com

Thanks, Shawn, for reminding us of a nice little piece of extreme sports history. We also liked Thrasher, scoring it an 8 back in our January 2000 issue. It's a really underrated game, and even more noteworthy for the fact that its developer, Z-Axis, went on to become one of the masters of the genre. Since then, Z-Axis began a collaboration with Acclaim that spawned such successful titles as Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 1 & 2, Aggressive Inline, and the con- troversial BMX XXX. Sadly, a Thrasher update will likely never happen, as Z-Axis was recently scooped up by Activision, the home of Tony Hawk. | was reading the new issue and saw the article about the Reservoir Dogs game for the GameCube. | was just wondering if this was a bogus article or if there is going to be such a game because there is no informa- tion regarding it on Nintendo's website or on the Internet. Chris Coker Via hotmail.com

In your August 2002 issue, you guys had an article about an Xbox game called Decepticon Revenge. | am really interested in this game and | was wondering if you have news on its release date? Monkey RVD Via email

We get about a dozen of these kinds of letters a month, so we thought we'd enlighten our read- ers (and the lawyers for the people that own the Transformers license). Repeat this with us ten times: The R&D section of GI News is made up. Basically, it's our attempt to suggest a few con- cepts that we think would make blockbuster games. These ideas may be silly (Sim Phish, Rascal

SENSORS INDICATE THAT CHET'S WORKSTATION IS OFF THE SCALE!

724 North First St., 4th Floor * Minneapolis, MN 55401 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com

iaa oe feret СЫНА ee | P

659 Сол Емес СМЕС Y - Га w Ching Mount E т zi

LIVE IN YOUR W RLD. PLAY IN OURS

Во. wird GREAT. д S p" : pre: E. тү геләү HIMBA

калу Arip Bide Tjkouçy LOST СТ 07 Жарт

трие CEAFT теман HANALAN LAVA Te Rive ARENE GLAOIEEE

се Zo. 20м

Add 8 more feats to your list

www.playstation.com

EVERYONE

Comic Mischief Suggestive Themes

demark of So nputer Entertain ed and de y Killer Game. ony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “P! ion" and the "PS" Family logo are s of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Live 1 а trademark y ntertainment America Inc.

Extreme Racing) or serious (Reservoir Dogs, Transformers), but they are NOT actual titles in devel- opment. So, don't drive your local video game store employee insane trying to reserve a copy of a game that doesn't exist, okay?

You rule! All other magazines suck! Sandi Steeber Via email

Gee, that's nice of you to say, but we've always real- ly liked Reader's Digest.

| was playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 today with my friends. | was in the Rio level, when my system did something weird and | could move around wherever 1 wanted to. | was up on the hill when | noticed some- thing strange. Why is a Jesus-like sculpture looking down on the town? Paul Porcello St. James, NY

The fact that you were able to freely move about the environment in Tony 3 was probably nothing more than a random software bug, but the Jesus sculpture you refer to is no mistake. Real-world Rio is looked over by the Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue, which, standing at over 108 feet tall, is the largest statue of Jesus in the world. Be sure to drop this little jewel of knowledge next time you're trying to impress a foxy geography teacher!

Does Microsoft or any of its third party publishers have any kind of greatest hits lineup planned for the Xbox? Since the holidays are coming, I'm sure they could make a killing on some of their older games like Halo, Dead or Alive 3, Silent Hill 2, and Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee. Have you guys at GI heard anything to that effect? Just wondering for all the ghetto gamers out there!

Josh "The Ghetto Gamer" Fuentes

Whittier, CA

Sony's Greatest Hits series is one of the best deals in all of gaming, but if you're an Xbox fan waiting to buy Halo for a bargain price, you're going to have to wait, or pick it up used. We contacted Microsoft, and a representative commented that, although internal discussions about a discount line of games have begun, an Xbox Greatest Hits series would not begin until sometime in the second half of the year, at the earliest. Rest assured, as soon as we find out, Game Informer readers will be the first to know.