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БИЕТ CONTENTS

FEATURE 50 SONY ONLINE

Discover the intricacies of what online play really means. Sony outlines its strategy and what has been learned in the complex world of getting people onto the information superhighway.

FEATURE 60 FEAR EFFECT: INFERNO

Those saucy assassins are back in Fear Effect: Inferno. Multiple endings, sexual tension, disturbing imagery, and a Chinese “earth prison" are all making appearances

in this upcoming title.

Wille zur Macht

Blood and Gore

Violence

WWW.XENOSAGA.COM

Xenosaga"" and © 2002 Namco Ltd., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © 2000 Namco Ltd., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

EDITOR'S FORUM The editors spew asinine crap in their ridicu- lous blurbs, and you're going to lap up every last letter! Do you want to know why? We're geniuses, that's why! Do you think this kind of wit and humor grows on trees? NO! What's that? There's a video file circulating in the office of a monkey smelling it's poopy finger, then falling off a tree branch? Brilliant! We must see it immediately!

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

DEAR GI Warranty concerns, this glorious mag, and the rating system all end up in the toilet. GI staff fused? Pop idols in video games. As if! Problems with any USB keyboards and the PS2?

NEWS There's new action on the Square Enix front, Koei names a Dynasty Warriors suc- cessor, and holy crap! Here come Scully and Mulder! That's right! The X-Files is going digital, and Take 2 confirms that there is indeed another GTA in the works. Go figure!

12 GAMEINFORMER

20 08 120 «О УП

PREVIEWS The newly expanded Previews section is a veritable cornucopia of info on Killer 7 and Tao Feng for the Xbox, Final Fantasy X2, Dark Cloud 2, and Xenosaga for the PS2, and GameCube headliners Zelda and Resident Evil 4. Even the GBA gets in on the action with new Pokémon to fiddle with.

REVIEWS The Getaway holds a preverbal scepter called "Game Of The Month." PS2 goes online again with the Sims and EverQuest Online Adventures. GameCube flexes muscle in Skies of Arcadia. Xbox holds its own through Battle Engine Aquila, and Crimson Sea. The PC gets its SimCity on, and the GBA makes a play with Phantasy Star and Altered Beast.

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 GI editors’ Top 10 Games.

SECRET ACCCESS GI's legendary codebreakers unleash a fierce torrent of codes and tips; peeking under Spider-Man's pajamas and showing you his underwear.

CLASSIC GI

Ed Boon of Mortal Kombat fame submits to the Classic GI interview of power. A truly classic Zelda is fondled with the love of a Classic GI Strategy. Hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to reviews of such "clas- Sics" as Street Fighter: The Movie and T&C Surf Designs. Comix Zone and Pokémon Snap still

hold their own.

ETC

Xbox goes wireless with two

new options. How to install 8 backlight into your pre- cious GBA. A little classic joystick to reflect on. Another book to boost your smarts.

94

GAME INDEX

GAME PAGE # Altered Beast: Guardian of the Realms. . . 110

Amplitude. . . .85 Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings . . ..107 Battle Engine Aquila (Р52)... ..98

102 81 ‚104 103 ‚74

Battle Engine Aquila (Xbox) Big Mother Truckers Black Stone: Magic & Steel . . Crimson Sea . . Dark Cloud 2 Dead Phoenix . Defender (GBA) Defender (Xbox) Disney Sports Soccer.

Dragon's Lair 3D Europa 1400: The Guild . EverQuest: Online Adventures Fighter Maker 2 . . . sl Final Fantasy X- SS Game & Watch: Gallery 4 Getaway, The Hot Wheels: Velocity X Ice Nine

Justice League: Injustice for All КИУА ЕП ЕРИНЕ Legends of Wrestling Il (GC). . Legends of Wrestling Il (PS2) . Legends of Wrestling Il (Xbox) . . Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, The . . . 80 Lord of the Rings:

The Two Towers, The (GBA).......... 110 Lord of the Rings:

The Two Towers, The (Xbox) ......... 105 Lunar Legend

Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter. Metal Dungeon. Е Midtown Madness 3.................. Minority Report: Everybody Runs (GC) . Minority Report: Everybody Runs (PS2). . . . 98 Minority Report: Everybody Runs (Xbox) . . 105 Nightcaster Il: Equinox Ninja Assault ........... Outlaw Volleyball: Spike or Die PN OS EOE NE ‚78 Phantasy Star Collection Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire . . Pride FC ... Pulse Racer . Red Faction Il. . . Return to Castle Wolfenstein:

Operation Resurrection .............. 87 Return to Castle Wolfenstein:

Tides of War. Revenge of Shinobi, The

ROBOCOP а ae aint .88 Samurai Jack: The Amulet of Time 110 SimCity 4 . 106

Sims, The. .94 Skies of Arcadia Legends 100 Splinter Cell............ .89

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter . Star Wars: The Clone Wars Star Wars: The New Droid Army . Summoner: A Goddess Rebort Super Bubble Pop Super Monkey Ball Jr. ...... Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus. . . Tiny Toon Adventures:

Defenders of the Universe Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness. Toxic Grind. . a Viewtiful Joe. War of the Monsters. . World Tour Soccer 2003... Xenosaga Episode 1:

Der Wille Zur МасМ................. 76

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Enter qe Matrix © 2002 Infogrames, Inc. under license from Warner Bros. All ri ights reserved.The Atari trademark and logo are the property fog!

of Infogrames, Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or оше: countri m The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Associati ion. All other trademarks are the property of thei respective owners. Manufactured and marketed by Infogrames, inc. New York, NY. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either resistendi RATING PENDING trademari S. or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are regis istered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Nintendo, Nintendo GameCube and Visit www.esrb.org or the Official "Seal are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. All Rights Reserved,

call 1-800-771-3772

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MATRIX, ENTER THE MATRIX, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros.

for Rating Information. " Aum WBIELOGO TM & € Warner Bros. PlayStation.2

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14

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GAME INFORMER

EINFORM

FEBRUARY 2003 Volume XIII * Number 2 • Issue 118

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 Photographers Frank Rogozienski, Wesley Allison

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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

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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 2002. 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 ог 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

BLOOD and GORE ; | E n VIOLENCE PlayStation.e PN - BL LAC CC CD-ROM [SOFTWARE]

"Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter" interactive game € 2002 Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. All rights reserved. Mace Griffin, Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter, Vivendi Universal Games, the Vivendi Universal Games logo, Black Label Games, and the Black Label Games logo are trademarks of Vivendi Universal Games, Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. TM, ® and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbo:' a d the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

* eh

SO REALISTIC, YOU'LL SWEAR YOU WERE THERE. The Rocky Mountains? Merely a speed bump. The Mojave Desert? A sandbox. The Black Forest? A flower garden. Welcome to an insanely realistic new world of offroad racing. 40 massive environments, more than 20 real-world ATVs, minigames, a hard-core soundtrack, plus intensely competitive online gameplay. So find yourself a comfortable chair, sit back and get ready, because it's gonna get dirty. BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL:

EVERYONE www.playstation.com ATV Offroad Fury is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Developed by Rainbow Studios. Online M i Id і. rics play requires Internet connection and Network Adaptor for PlayStation 2 (sold Y separately). ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “PlayStation” ©® € and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer . E [nsn Entertainment Inc. "Live In Your World. Play In Ours.", “Blaze Your Own Trail” and „И 1 rainbow.

the Online icon are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

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LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN BURS”

PlayStation.e

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

Game Informer recently celebrated our опе- millionth subscriber, and to say I’m excited about this landmark would be an understatement. However, at the same time, this means that we have to push even harder to be the best magazine you can find anywhere on the planet. From forum boards to the mass of mail that the staff and | receive everyday, we have seen many praises, but we have also heard from plenty of you who are looking for more from the magazine. To any and all that read these pages, І give you my word that Game Informer will work harder than ever in the coming year to not only meet our current high standards, but to

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do everything within our power to meet yours.

| hope to spend the next months looking for better ways to serve our legions of fans. This month you will notice that we put in a bigger and better previews section, and this is just the beginning of the things to come as we look for ways to improve the magazine each and every issue.

Keep the feedback coming, and we will continue to make the adjustments to insure that Game Informer stays on top. We have some amazing stuff in the А works, so enjoy the issue and we'll see you here next month. Same Bat-time.

Andy MCN; Same Bat-channel. ae

andy@gameinformer.com

1. Andy – amateur crimefighter Shaggy 2. Reiner — rapper Snoop Dogg 3. Matt — animated detective Bruno the Kid 4. Kristian — Wizard of Oz's Scarecrow 5. Kato — angry Brit-rocker Liam Gallagher 6. Justin — UFC fighter Tito Ortiz 7. Chet — Simpsons sickly

kid Wendell 8. Lisa — Final Fantasy X's Tidus

18 GAMEINFORMER

REINER, THE RAGING GAMER

reiner&gameinformer.com

The landscape of gaming has become increasingly hostile over the past year, and I'm not necessarily talking about the content of games. With publishing houses pumping out handfuls of titles that appear on all three systems, there really is no room for the little guy anymore. If a company doesn't have the marketing dollars to advertise its titles in a big way, there's a good chance that no one will even know they exist. This may sound alarming, but it really does seem as though the video game industry is changing into a larger, HollywoocHike entity. If anything, this transformation would definitely cut down onthe garbage that currently floods the market. If a publisher doesn't have the financial backing to break into the mainstream, an underground gaming scene could emerge to facilitate noteworthy titles that may otherwise go unnoticed. Who knows, we may even see a high-profile independent games festival like film's Sundance.

MATT, THE ORIGINAL GAMER

matt@gameinformer.com

Well, we've lain another year to rest, and I'd have to say it was a pretty great one for games. Even better, we're off to a quick start with some great games like The Sims, SimCity 4, and The Getaway — awesome titles for a time of year that usually offers gamers pretty slim pickings. As the development community has finally seemed to master the intricacies of all three systems on the market, games this annum should be bigger, badder, and better looking than we could have imagined just a few years ago. In closing, I'd like to take a moment to remember the passing of a hip-hop legend, Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay. | know it's a little late, but his lasting influence on rap will never be forgotten. Rest in peace.

KRISTIAN, THE VIDEO VIKING

kristian@gameinformer.com

Have you noticed how serious everyone’s become lately? It seems like | can't do funny things like cut people off in traffic or pee in public fountains without someone getting all ticked off or calling the police. Do you want something to be mad at people? How about Pepsi Blue? That crap is horrible! Don’t those geniuses who do marketing over there remember Pepsi Clear? Wise up, jerky! So you see, when I'm doing something utterly hilarious like using a piece of corporate art as a toilet, it's nothing to get upset about. It's a friendly how- d'ya-do, and a tribute to our ancestors who once crossed vast distances of rugged terrain during the ice ages, and pooped outside while doing it.

JUSTIN, THE DIGITAL DEVIANT

justin@gameinformer.com

Many people don't know what independent wrestling is, having only seen the WWE brand of entertainment. Indy wrestlers beat themselves up for the love of the sport. We tell a story with our matches, and hope the audience vibes with what we're doing. We have 10-15 minute matches and five-minute promos, rather than the other way around. You may have to do some searching, but check around for a local wrestling promotion in your area. | can't guarantee it will kick ass, but | do know there are thousands of talented wrestlers in this country who bust their butts every time out. Plus, you're encouraged to react to the action. Here's hoping you all had a safe and happy holidays.

KATO, THE GAME KATANA

kato@gameinformer.com

| don't want to seem like I'm rubbing this in your face, but I've got this huge pile of new games sitting next to my TV going unplayed, and it's starting to get to me. The guilt is starting to creep in. | should be playing Vice City, but Гуе got stock car gear ratios to figure out. You see, this is the one reason | haven't played Animal Crossing. Sounds like a fabulous game, but | don't want to come home from work and then get chewed out for being gone from my peeps all day. Everyone wants more good titles, well | want fewer — and with longer development cycles! Better yet, | declare that there should only be two kinds of games, football and NASCAR - that'll get rid of my guilt. Don’t like it? Well I'm going to make you turn left till you puke!

CHET, THE JOYSTICK JOCKEY

chet@gameinformer.com

I came across an article this month concerning the seemingly age-old debate about whether video game violence has a negative effect on children. | know you're going to hate me for saying this, but I was finally convinced that it does. Why else do we have a rating system for games, as well as for films? The willingness to label content suitable for certain age groups is a clear admission to the fact that viewing violent acts does indeed have a negative impact upon some children. Of course, assuming you're mentally healthy, you understand the difference between reality and fantasy. However, the fact is, we don't live in a society where everyone is mentally stable! Now, | am not saying that | want the government to censor anything; I believe in free speech. | think an ENFORCED rating system is a fair solution. I just want to point out this slight contradiction that existed in my own thinking, and still exists in many others'.

LISA, LA GAME NIKITA

lisa@gameinformer.com

I've been missing the snow day lately. Were storms really worse when | was little (giving credence to the tales of elders about walking barefoot for three miles through snowdrifts to get to school)? What | want is the good, epic snowstorm of yesteryear. | want six feet of snow overnight, 60mph winds, and absolutely no possibility that I'm going to leave the house that day. Preferably, | would wile away the hours watching movies, gazing at a warm fire, and drinking some sort of mulled beverage while bathed in a gentle fire- induced, bad romance novel sort of a glow. Then again, I'd have to move to get the fireplace, and go to the store to get some mulling stuff...0h crap, now it's work.

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Unlimited adventures.

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НЕ SEAMY UNDERBELLY OF THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY

1 GameStop associate Aaron Arnett poses with Josh and Travis Whitaker, the Modesto, CA broth- ers who purchased the elusive one-millionth sub- scription to Game Informer. 2 Here he is: the ‚ coolest person to ever appear in GI Spy! No, not Matt (he's still a dork), we're talking about Erik Estrada a.k.a. Frank "Ponch" Poncherello from CHiPs! 3 "See, it plays better when you hold the controller like this." Justin schools Microsoft's Carlos de Leon in the ancient art of Game-Fu. 4 Microsoft's J Allard (right) compares forearms with Joseph Reitman, a man you hate. Why do you hate him? Because he's married to American Pie hottie Shannon Elizabeth! D'oh! 5 Kjell Vistad (Eidos), Sandra Abe-Tsujii (Kronos), Chet, Kronos CEO Stan Liu and his son chill at the Kronos Digital head- quarters in Pasadena. 6 Kristian tries to grope Reiner at Chet's birthday party. Happy 13th, Joystick Jockey! 7 MattFrary/ Lynn/Cliff Infogrames' Matt Frary and Lynn Daniel admire Unreal visionary Cliff Bleszinski's new coif. Cliff is &oing through a big John Lydon/Public Image Ltd. phase right now. 8 Rockstar's Corey Wade and Amy Saltzman get high from the fumes at a RaceLegal drag racing event in San Diego. -

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DIESEL A DUD? | have recently been informed that the cretin Vin Diesel is starting his own video game company. Judging on how many people saw his movies, added to the fact that how many members of the opposite sex think he is "hot," it is possible that his company just might be successful. | can't take any more quickly done, cinematic, made-just- to-push-someone's-career, third-person, Max Payne rip- offs — which is basically what he stated that he wants to do. This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard, next to Dan Quale [sic] being elected vice president of the U.S.! What are your views upon this, GI? And, if possible, how can | legally stop something so atrocious?

Black Syth Via hotmail.com

Hey, buddy, we'll have you know that Vin Diesel is a close, personal friend to the entire Game Informer staff, so if you're looking for us to join you in your flagrant playa-hating of America's premier action star, you better look elsewhere. In fact, Vin is what you might call Game Informer's "big brother." Just last week, he stopped by and took us all to the zoo. Afterward, he bought us all ice cream cones at Dairy Queen. It was so fun, and you're probably just jealous that you don't get to hang out with buff, dreamy movie stars like we do!

While we share your concerns about the lack of cre- ativity in many recent action titles, we think that it would be better if you addressed your complaints regard- ing Vin's video ventures with the man himself. In hopes of fostering a dialogue between the two of you, we've forwarded your name, address, phone number, and email to Vin. He told us that he looks forward to talking to you in person very soon. As for your comments regarding Dan Q-U-A-Y-L-E - if you're going to insult the man, you better be able to spell better than he can!

I'm a 23-year-old assistant manager at a Babbage's in Virginia, and I've noticed a very disturbing trend during the GTA Ill/Vice City craze of the past several months. Children have been approaching my associates and me at our registers and attempting to purchase these two games. When | say children, | don't mean 14- or 15-year- olds, who are at that borderline age where they are begin- ning to come into their own and are adopting certain mature, adult traits. No, | mean children aged seven, eight, and nine years old, trying to buy this most controver- sial of products.

Now, I'm as liberal as they come, and I'm all for devel- opers being allowed to stretch their creative ideas to the limit, without some right-wing senator or television person- ality trying to turn our country into the Partridge Family. But, | would never let my children be exposed to a game

Such as GTA Ill, and especial- ly not Vice City, which | have come to realize is GTA Ill on crank. What's worse is that, when | tell these eight-year- olds they can't buy the game, they bring their parents into the store, and the parent buys the game for them! | try to deter any parent who is purchasing this game for a young child, but nothing works. It's always one of the ! same three situations. Number one, the parent has- | n't done any research on the game — probably the same parent that would let their children carpool with Susan Smith. Number two, the parent knows the game isn't appropriate, yet exclaims, "Well, Bobby will just play it at a friend's house." In my opinion, this is lame, and shows the parent has no control, discipline, or influence over their seed. The learning process starts at home, and that is a pathetic excuse. The third scenario, possibly the worst of the bunch, the parent knows the game is inappropriate, and actually encourages his or her child to play it. I've seen it, my fiancé who works at a Circuit City has seen it, and it is disgusting.

There are certain things | think young children should learn when they are at that tender age, but the corruption of the cities glorified in the GTA series is not one of them. One thing children possess that adults do not is inno- cence, and that inevitable loss should not be accelerated by incompetent parenting. You know what this is going to lead to: A parent obliviously purchases this game for their child, against all my pleading, takes it home, and then gets upset at the manner of game young Bobby is playing. Then, they get up in arms, and start a letter-writing campaign

ILL GETCHA YA to that same senator or tele- WAVEBOID, BUT ITLL vision personality, and it's COST YA KID!

Tipper Gore all over again. | know the video game industry is already in the hot seat — it was before GTA, and it will be after GTA. What parents don't realize is that they are bringing it on themselves when they don't get educated about what their children are interested in, and allow them to romp through Liberty City unsupervised. John Bell Via yahoo.com

Those are certainly some insightful, and very disturbing observations. Hopefully, this kind of clueless "parenting" is not the norm in America today, but it's obvious that there are some severely under-informed –

and possibly incompetent – parents out there. The behavior you describe is even more regrettable for the fact that the video game industry

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goes out of its way to provide parents with both age- and content-based descriptors to go along with its rating sys- tem. However, any rating in the world is completely use- less if it is ignored, or worse yet, disregarded. Hopefully, your letter will encourage parents to take a more active role in their child's gaming life. So, moms and dads, the next time you see Game Informer sitting on the living room floor, pick it up and educate yourself on some upcoming titles. If the game on your five-year-old's want list is Death Angel II: Bordello of Destruction, about an ex-hooker-ninja-stripper looking to avenge the death of her father, you might want to think twice about buying it for them. Just a thought, folks. For more on the video game industry's rating system, go to www.esrb.com.

| own a PS2 and the Network Adaptor, and | hate typing with the controller, so 1 am looking to buy a USB keyboard. Are there any that aren't compatible with PS2? Nick Via email

We've used our USB keyboards with our PS2, and experi- enced few problems. Still, while most game publishers only offer "stealth" USB compatibility (meaning that it is not advertised or tested with every possible keyboard on the market), a good number of PS2 games (especially first-person shooters like Red Faction 11) do work. Proceed with caution, as you will possibly encounter bugs with some models.

A STI І First of all, | want to say that Game Informer is the best mag out there and I'm totally loyal to it. It is like my second Bible. But anyway, | have a big problem. | have these great SpongeBob stickers and | don't know what to do with them. | thought about putting them on my PS2, but | was afraid that it would ruin its per- fect beauty and elegance. Please advise me on whether or not to put them on my PS2. Zac Hawthorne Via ameritech.net

Go for it, dude!

Don't ever let anyone tell you your hard work ы and toil isn't worth a crap. | recently began / bringing my back issues of your mag to t work and leaving them in the "reading room." Since then, the overall health of the company has improved. High fiber | diets and healthy bowel movements have A increased dramatically. Thank you for your dedication to your readers’ knowl- edge and health. Adam Goodell Cleveland, OH

What's up guys? | just want to say that I've been getting your maga- zine for a while and it

Send your comments to Game Informer. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine + Attn: Dear GI • 724 North First St., 4th Floor * Minneapolis, MN 55401 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com

24 GAME INFORMER

rules! However, | have a problem. | bought a WaveBird controller for my GameCube, and | was on the toilet taking a dump and playing a game - just like it showed in the ad. | put the controller on the sink while | wiped, but my elbow somehow hit the controller and it fell in the toilet with my poop! My question is: Does that void any warranty that the controller may have? | haven't bothered to check to see if it still works. Any ideas? Eli Via yahoo.com

Well, people have often said that our minds are in the toilet, so we're happy to find out that Game Informer has found a place in the commodes of the American people. We like to think of ourselves as Metamucil in magazine form, as well as a handy substitute for Charmin!

Now, on to the disturbing case of the WaveBird's swim in Brown Lake. Eli, not only does dropping your WaveBird in the porcelain pool break Nintendo's warran- ty policies; it may violate several federal laws. While we sympathize with your plight, the law of the land is, and has always been - You poop on it; you bought it. No refunds, no exchanges. Now, for the love of Pete, go wash your hands!

| was flipping through the December 2002 issue of G/ today when | stumbled across what | hope is just a very eerie coincidence. Starting on page 65, there is an ad for the upcom- ing game Haven: Call of the King. Now, | realize that ads in maga- zines are supposed to draw attention and catch the reader's eye, and | believe that this ad has done this very effectively; however, what caught my eye was most likely not what was intended. It was not the screen shots. It was not the description of the game. It was the protago- nist's striking resemblance to pop star pretty boy Justin Timberlake. | was drawn in by the hopefully unintentional similarity, and began to won- der; has Justin moved on to bigger and better things and offered his likeness to appear in video games? Or, is it simply a coincidence? And if so, could there be any type of lawsuit involved if Midway didn't obtain permission to use his face, or what very oddly seems to be his face? Thanks. Benji Via aol.com