Featuring: Exclusive Hands-On With The Playstation 3

» 10 Pages of Must-See Screens & Devilish Info

+ A New Hero Revealed

Drug Reference

Intense Violence Language Sexual Themes

WINN ER

BEST ADVENTURE GAAME OF E3

STEP INTO THE SHADOWS OF JAPAN'S UNDERWORLD.

* 3. А-МАЅТЕКРТЕСЕ.: ^ : "AND WHAT A STORY IT IS!” - PLAY MAGAZINE - IGN.COM ... EV ERYTHING FELT SO IMMERSIVE, “WHOS TO SAY WHETHER NORTH AMERICA WE JUST HAD TO KEEP PLAYING.” IS READY FOR A GAME ABOUT JAPANESE sed = PSM MOBSTERS? WE SURE AS HELL ARE!” e ~ GAMESPOT.COM UNLOAD DEADLY COMBOS WITH KEEP HER SAFE AND FIND THE STRIKE WITH POWERFUL FINISHING — AVENGE DISHONOR THROUGH TH OVER 3:00 ITEMS AND WEAPONS TRUTH BEHIND THE MYSTERY BLOWS AS YOU UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS TWISTING. DRAMATIC STORYLINE

MATURE 17+ Blood

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SEPTEMBER 8, 2006

SEE THE STORY UNFORD PASE WOW Wo. X А KU ZA GO AMES COM SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and YAKUZA are either registered trademarks or

trademarks of SEGA Corporation, © SEGA, All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. www.sega.com

PLATFORM SPECIFICATIONS

out of the box, into the box |

Finally, gamers won't need to take a time-out to check live game scores. NBA LIVE 07 blends in-game action seamlessly with a constantly updated stream of real-time, real-world sports information from ESPN — including ESPN Motion video clips. Players can check the sports news ticker at the bottom of the screen while making trades in Dynasty Mode™. ESPN Radio SportsCenter updates and podcasts are delivered live to the console every 20 minutes. Never before have the two halves of the NBA LIVE player's psyche — hardcore gamer and rabid hoops fan — lived in closer harmony.

CREATIVE CLOSE-UP | EH SPORTS BURNABY STUDIO BURNABY, CANADA 9 © [v] ө о e e e ®

TITLE Е facto: lines of new AI code: 215.475 INFORMATION NBA | IVE 07 ZA www.nbaliveBr.com | XSPORTS/ K | DEYELOPMENT START | DATE OF RELEASE @1|йз|й5 | aa | 25 |t

the real | Sometimes you have to tear an old house down to build a new one. For NBA LIVE 07, the development team rewrote the game's artificial intelligence from the ground up. Players react not justto teammates, opponents and coaches but to the ball as it moves through the air and around the court, tracking it with their eyes, heads and upper bodies. Player attitudes change depending on how much time is on the clock and how close the score is. "We spent the last year turning characters into athletes," says EA Canada gameplay producer Matt Lafreniere who squares off in daily hoops games against fellow NBA LIVE team members in the Burnaby campus gym. The difference is easy to see with new motion-capture video resulting in thousands of new moves and dozens of new dunk styles. Defenders now have to fight through screens. Guards plant hard when curling off picks and cutting. Big men pivot and square up to the basket before going up for a slam. Ouch.

number of basketball-related injuries sustained in Burnaby campus gym by NBA LIVE 07 developers

feet — height of soda can wall made from empties consumed by the Dynasty Mode team

number of table tennis-related injuries requiring hospitalization during the development of NBA LIVE 07

number of speech files by Greg Anthony and Ernie Johnson in All-Star Weekend mode

lines of new Al code in NBA LIVE 07

lines spoken by Steve Kerr per day during recording for NBA LIVE 07

number of scripted color comments from Steve Kerr in the game

number of player animations in-game player ratings per player

real NBA plays

MATURE 17+

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ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org

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2006 Sierra Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Designed and developed by Saber Interactive. Timeshift, Sierra and the Sierra logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sierra Entertainment, Inc., in the

U.S. and/or other countries. GameSpy and the “Powered by GameSpy" design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. The NVIDIAlogo and “The Way It's Meant to be Played" logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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ULTIMATE WEAPON

You are Colonel Michael Swift, US Government Test Pilot. Briefly sent back in time, you return to a hellish alternate reality, where the world has been hijacked by a fascist regime. Armed with the ability to control time, you are on a perilous

mission to fix the past, present, and future.

© Use Time as A Weapon: Slow, stop, and reverse time to destroy your enemies and their surroundings.

© Experience mind-bending multiplayer as you take your time-control powers online to battle up to 16 players. 4 ^ Environments аге rendered in cinematic quality, and every move is simultaneously tracked and recorded for seamless time control.

e. Epic Destruction: Unleash an arsenal of powerful weapons and vehicles across more than 30 combat missions, spanning outdoor, urban,

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cover story

; DEVIL MAY CRY 4

Capcom's stylishly violent franchise is coming only to PlayStation 3, and we have the exclusive first info on the game. The original Devil May Cry producer is back on the job for this installment, and a new main character will fight the forces of darkness in Dante's stead. Join us for this world-first look at one of the most exciting PS3

games around.

departments

STAFF Read the team’s latest favorites

GI SPY Silly pictures of our life and times

DEAR GI Your chance to fire back at us!

CONNECT Where news, talk, and technology collide

INTERVIEW Irrational Games’ president Ken Levine shares some insights about BioShock, helping to invent the stealth genre, and EA's custodian- ship of the System Shock franchise

8 GAME INFORMER

COMMUNICATION

BREAKDOWN

Working for the Japanese isn't always easy. Speaking to secret, anonymous industry sources with direct experience working with Japanese companies, we explore the trials and tribulations that domestic employees face in their daily lives.

Wii FEATURE

We tracked down every single title that's even remotely close to being announced for Nintendo's next-gen console, and now we're sharing everything we know with you. Check out the comprehensive breakdown for the Wii's early life.

GEAR REVIEWS Geeky gadget stuff for the masses Game of the Month: Okami OPINION for PlayStation 2

CHARTS Retail Sales Data and the GI editors' Top 10 Games

GI Editor-In-Chief Andy McNamara talks about the reworking of E3, what directions it needs to take, and how it affects the industry

SECRET ACCESS CALENDAR Codes, strategies, and passwords Get hip to this month's happenings CLASSIC GI PREVIEWS Reliving gaming's greatest New screens and hot details moments for Assassin's Creed and WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007 await, 5 bre rins ut as well as multiplayer details xs be! te 5 out а about Rainbow Six: Vegas SIDE OEE TIME GAME OVER

The end...or is it?

GAME Age of Empires 11: The Warchiefs . . . .

Army of Two.

Assassin's Creed

BioShock .....

Cash Money Chaos. ... .

Company of Heroes ...

Contact.

Cooking Mama ......

Deep Labyrinth ...........

Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime . . .

Dungeon Siege Il: Broken World . .

Enchanted Arms .

Eureka Seven Vol 1: The New Wave ......

FIFA 07

Final Fantasy XII

Forza Motorsport 2.

Godfather, The.

Just Cause

LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. . . LocoRoco .

Madden NFL 07 (360) .....

Madden NFL 07 (Multi) .

Mario Hoops 3-0П-3.......................... MechAssault: Phantom \М\аг.............

Mega Man ZX.....

Miami Vice.

Mobile Suit Gundam.

Monster House

NASCAR 07

NHL 07 (360)

МАСИ cnn ence Reese va cece uae NHL 2K7 (360) .

МЕКЕМ Soc EET SUR Eit I SU S Overlord...

Painkiller: Hell Wars

Rule of Rose

SOCOM: U.S. Navy S.EA.Ls Combined Assault. . . Star Fox Command

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 .

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas .

Ultimate Ghosts n GoblinS...................... Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria ...................... 98 WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2007

ism ' ә E eS, M MM Sue

TIMBERLAND IS HERE.

THE BOTTOM LINE COLLECTION AT

St S f Al і People Who Actually Get Paid To Play Video Games

THE NOT-SO-GREAT ‚ ONLINE DEBATE

ANDY McNAMARA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

| fear | may be alone on this, but am | the only person left in this world that can just love a single- player game and not complain about online this or online that?

Now don't get me wrong, ! love a good online game as much as the next person. In fact, I'm quite the World of Warcraft fanatic. Who can deny the won- ders of community that a great massively multiplayer game can deliver, or the classic battle of swearing and bullets that is the online first-person shooter experience? You'd be a fool to think that these aren't some of the greatest experiences gaming has to offer.

On the other side of the coin is The Legend of Zelda or Capcom's recent Okami. Are these games worse because they don't have an online compo- nent? Of course not.

However, too many times | read a review or find myself in long a discussion about how this game or that game should have gone online. It's a review of a game based on omission; not looking at what is there, what is good or great about a particular product.

The point I'm trying to make here is that games can be many things. In fact, they can be many great things, and they are without a doubt the center of the entertainment universe as far as I'm concerned, but let's remember to love them for what they are, not what they could be. I'll take a killer offline single- player game any day.

As a final note, it's with a sad heart that Game Informer bids adieu to Lisa Mason, who after hang- ing with us for all these years has decided to jump off the journalism ship and head to the development side of the industry. We will most certainly miss her. I'm already on the prowl for the next great member of the team, so hopefully soon we will have some fresh faces.

Andy >>_andy@gameintormer.com

Handle: The Game Hombre Expertise: RPGs, Action/Platform, Driving, First-Person Shooters Interests: The World Series Of Poker, Firefly, Arrested Development (1 Still Can't Believe This Show Was Cancelled), Entourage Dislikes: Heavy Nintendo Lock Boxes (When We Review Nintendo's DS Games They Are Shackled By A Giant Metal Casing That Makes The DS Weigh About Five Pounds), Losing Lisa To Game Development (Good Luck Lisa, You Better Not Make A Game That Sucks) Current Favorite Games: Brain Age: Train Your Brain In Just Minutes A Day, World Of Warcraft, Tetris DS, Cash Money Chaos, Okami, NASCAR 07

10 GAME INFORMER

Reiner >> reiner@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Raging Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action, First-Person Shooters, Strategy, Sports, Fighting Interests: Transforming Into Destructor 5 (An Xbox Live Persona That Kills Teammates), Reinerflix (Like Netflix, But You Don't Get Your Movies), Spending A Weekend At Wrigley Field (Go Cubs!) Dislikes: Publishers Still Insisting That Most Of Their Games Should Come Out In November, My Failed Attempt At Convincing A Friend To Name His Son Sephiroth (It's Unique!) Current Favorite Games: Dead Rising, Final Fantasy XII, Star Fox Command, Madden NFL 06, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Okami

Matt >> matt@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Original Gamer Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Action/Platform, Action/

Adventure, Action/Sports Interests: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Steely Dan, Firefly, Running, Finally Seeing Bonnie Prince Billy In Concert, The Amazing Amount Of Great Games

) Available Right Now, Wishing Lisa Well In Her New Career, DJ Envy Presents: Lupe Fiasco’s

Chi-Town Guevara Mixtape Dislikes: 250 Amp Fuses That Blow During My Band's CD

Release Party, Current Events, Not Being Able To Read Faster, Saying Goodbye To Lisa

Current Favorite Games: Okami, Saints Row, Loco Roco, Prey, Dead Rising

Kato >> kato@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Game Katana Expertise: Sports, Racing, Action/Adventure, Action/Platform Interests: Calder's Circus, Talladega Nights, T-Jack City, The Greg Kinnear Double-Feature: Little Miss Sunshine And The Matador, Dock Ellis’ No-Hitter On LSD (Don't Try That At Home Or Anywhere Else Kids), Lisa Heading To The Other Side (No, She's Not Dead!) Dislikes: Working In A Brazilian Gold Mine (Or Just Seeing Pictures Of It), The Sound & The Smell Of Sandals, Jub Jubbery, Anyone Who Doesn't Chew Big Red Current Favorite Games: Madden NFL 07 (Current-Gen), NHL 2K7, NASCAR 07

Lisa >> isaGgameformrcom Handle: La Game Nikita Expertise: Survival Horror, Adventure, RPGs, Action/Platform, Racing Interests: Heading Off To Blaze Some New Trails (Hopefully), Getting To Work On Some Games And Not Just Talk About Them After They're Done (It's Scary But Really Cool) Dislikes: Not Getting To Hang Out With This Crew Every Day, Losing One Of My Favorite Pastimes: Talking To People Who Want To Tell Me About Cool New Games From Their Companies Current Favorite Games: Dead Rising, World Of Warcraft (Finally, My Rogue Review), Valkyrie Profile (Both), Okami, Silent Hill 5

Jeremy >> jeremy&gameinformer.com

Handle: Gamezilla Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Survival Horror, Action/Platform, Fighting, Strategy/RPGs Interests: Lisa's Excellent Career Adventure, Miller's Fascination With The Jeremy Dance, Andy's Crime-Fighting Career, Adam's Hip Hop-Lovin' Ways Dislikes: People Mentioning Joe In Their Bio (Crap!), ReinerFlix (Where's Final Destination 3, Jerk?), Matt's Sherry-Drinking, Kato's Box Office Predictions Current Favorite Games: Dead Rising, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, Prey, MechAssault: Phantom War, Bankshot Billiards 2, Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow

Adam >> adam@gameintormer.com

Handle: The Alpha Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Strategy, First-Person Shooters, Fighting Interests: Spam Filters That Actually Filter Spam, Seeing Friends Take Advantage Of Exciting New Opportunities, Driving The Alliance Before Me (Learn 2 PvP, Scrubs),

Jurassic 5 - Feedback Dislikes: Losing Longtime Co-Workers, Guys Not Named Brosnan Or Connery Trying To Be Bond, Server Restarts Hosing My Raid, People Who Think That Buying WoW Gold Is Defendable Current Favorite Games: World Of Warcraft, Company Of Heroes, New Super Mario Bros, Painkiller: Hell Wars, Rise Of Nations: Rise Of Legends

Joe >> joe@gameinformer.com

Handle: The Real American Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Adventure, Action, Strategy, Puzzle Interests: Hrist (a.k.a. The Cool Valkyrie), Snakes On A Plane (Samuel L. Jackson Called

ў Me Personally To Recommend It!), Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide Dislikes: The Substandard Customer Service Of Reinerflix (I'm Still Waiting For Smallville), Playing Light Side, Celebrity Character Models In Non-Licensed Games, Transparent Viral Marketing Current Favorite Games: Devil May Cry 4, Valkyrie Profiles Silmeria And Lenneth, Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime, LEGO Star Wars Il: The Original Trilogy

Miller >> mileregameintormer.com Handle: The Once And Future Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action/Adventure, Fighting, Plat- form, First-Person Shooters Interests: Fall TV Lineups (So Many Sci-Fi Series, So Little Time), Excellent Service From Reinerflix (Joe And Jeremy, You Must Be Doing Something Wrong), The Looming Tidal Wave Of November Games Dislikes: The Looming Tidal Wave Of November Games (It's As Much A Curse As A Blessing), Taking Down Wallpaper, When Cool Girls Go To Work Somewhere Else Current Favorite Games: Dead Rising, Company Of Heroes, Okami, Starfox: Command, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

UNLIMITED ENABLED

GAME INFORMER UNLIMITED

When you see this logo on a game preview, review, or feature, you can learn more about it by heading to www.gameinformer.com and clicking on the Unlimited logo.

There are tons of other bonuses there (including movies, interviews, and screenshots) exclusively for Game Informer subscribers, so even if a game you like doesn't have the logo in the magazine, there is a good chance you can still learn more online.

OCTOBER 2006 Volume XVI • Number 10 * Issue 162

PUBLISHER.

Cathy Preston EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Andrew McNamara EDITORS

Executive Editor Andrew Reiner Senior Editor Matt Helgeson Senior Associate Editor Matthew Kato Associate Editors.

Lisa Mason * Jeremy Zoss Adam Віеѕѕепег • Joe Juba • Matt Miller Mascot Arthur

PRODUCTION

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

CONTRIBUTORS

Photographers Jonathan Kannair GAME INFORMER ONLINE

‘Managing Online Editor Billy Berghammer Associate Online Editor Bryan Vore Online Production Assistant Nick Ahrens

ADVERTISING SALES

‘SAN FRANCISCO. Doug Faust Vice President Advertising Sales (650) 7285647 * Fax: (650) 728-5648 doug@gameinformer.com

LOS ANGELES Damon Watson Regional Sales Director (925) 287-8837» Fax: (925) 287-1397 damon@gameinformer.com MINNEAPOLIS Rob Borm Director of Marketing and Midwest/East Coast Sales Manager (612) 486.6155 * Fax: (612) 486-6101 rob@gameinformer,com EAST COAST Suzanne Lang East Coast Consumer Sales Director (718) 832.5575 • Fax: (718) 832-5569 suzanne@gameinformer.com MINNEAPOLIS Amy Amold Advertising Coordinator and Online Sales (612) 486.6154 * Fax: (612) 4866101 amy@gameinformer.com Matt Edgar Advertising Assistant (612) 4866152 * Fax: (612) 4866101 mattedgar@gameinformer.com

CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT

For change of address or subscription inquiry ONLY: Toll Free: 1 (866) 844-GAME (4263)

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

Information Systems Manager Paul Hedgpeth paulhedgeth@gameinformer.com

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 Flor, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned or acknowledged. Entre contents copyright 2004. 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, ol their respective companies. PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR The publisher shall not be lable for sight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement, The publisher's iabiity for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is limited to republication ofthe 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 indemnity the publisher against any and ай laity, 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 pubicaton of the Advertisers statement.

ө

Member Audit Bureau of Circulations

I'M Busy PLAYING PSP GREATEST HITS FOR #19.99, 50 CALL SOMEONE ELSE'S NAME-LIKE PRANK OR SOMETHING.

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PRODUCTS RANGE FROM 3 NE M $ EVERYONE ro TEEN Res . PlayStation Portable

lemarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Internet connection and Memory Stick Duot™ may be required. All games featured o еа and/or licensors, Memory Stick Duo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. ©2006 Sony Computer Entertainment America inc.

Candid Photos From The Seedy Underbelly Of The Video Game Industry

1 Wired Magazine's Chris Kohler and LucasArts’ Alexis Mervin pay homage to Yoda 2 Sony Online's Katie Uhlman, Nicholas Beliaeff, and à Todd Carson came by to show off 9008 08/11315:22 the company's upcoming PS3 title, - Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom to = Ж Reiner and GI Online's Bryan Vore 3 GI Online's Billy Berghammer and Nick Ahrens bookend the THQ crew at a Saints Row event in San Francisco 4 Ubisoft's Kjell Vistad doing what he does best: threat- ening bunny rabbits with a toilet plunger 5 Sierra Entertainment's Lisa Douet, Mike Graham, and Chris Wilson spread love and happiness throughout the GI Kingdom 6 At a recent gamer's day, Electronic Arts pays tribute to the Fleetwood Mac classic "Tusk" 7 Spc. Nathan Gants and some fellow men in uniform show С! Spy readers that, even in Iraq, gaming is the hobby of choice

12 GAME INFORMER

ALEX RODRIGUEZ 02006 AMERICA'S MILK PROCESSORS

Blast by ARod. Body by Milk.

Before | hit the field, | throw back some milk. The protein in milk helps build muscle and studies suggest teens who choose it tend to be leaner. Staying active, eating right, and drinking three glasses a day of lowfat or fat free milk helps you

look sreat. Step up to the plate and try it.

GI COMMUNITY

Game Informer has a thriving online community, and this is where they can sound

off about issues facing the gaming industry today

THE QUESTION:

What do you think about the changes in store for E3?

It's bittersweet situation. I've never been to Eš but Гуе always wanted to, so now | won't be cable to. But like others have said, its a financially good idea and from what I've heard it did tend to go off focus.

Gamereaper22

Despite the appeal of the old ЕЗ5 craziness, the new direction. is definitely better for the industry. With the rising cost of development, it doesn’t make sense to spend millions of dollars buying food, liquor, and exhibit space for internet fanboys who daim to be journalists, Or even for "real" journalists.

Durandal

It will give some of the smaller. conventions that go unnoticed sometimes a chance to shine. ЁЗ has been becoming more flashy me E3 has been a convention of false hopes. Hopefully that

will change. th. epin. kpoo

What would be nice is if there's. a show for commoners and one for professionals. Narrowing your audiences isn't really a good thing, But if it helps developers focus on their product development more rather than advertising it, then this could be a good thing.

JediZer0666

Going to the old ЕЗ, with all the parties, extravagant displays and booth babes, has been one of my dreams ever since | started gaming. Obviously, this was a very economically sound. decision, but | think that E3 losing its soul and energy can be considered a near gaming

tragedy.

fughsheep As long as | get the gaming news ‘want, it's fine by me. They could

set it in a Motel 6 for all I care. dragonballjoseph

m The ^ future

Do you want to make your voice heard? Weigh in with your opinion at eww gameinformer.com/forums.

14 GAME INFORMER

WINGS AND ARROWS

| really enjoyed reading your Classic СІ piece about Kid Icarus, but | was wondering why you failed to mention Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami for the GBA. It came out in August 2004 in Japan, and is just another example of how this gem of a title isn't forgotten.

Carrie Clouse via gmail.com

x Before all of you Kid Icarus fans get too excited, Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami was simply the Japanese name for the original Kid Icarus. It isn't a long-lost sequel or anything like that, which is why it escaped men- tion in the article. Carrie is referring

to a Japan-only re-release for the Famicom Mini, much like how Nintendo put out classic NES games like Metroid and Ice Climbers on GBA here in the States. In fact, as far as get- ting sequels to Kid Icarus goes, American gamers are actually the lucky ones; the only true follow-up, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, never even came out in Japan. Sadly, the joke's still kind of on us, since the game doesn't quite recapture the glow of the original.

THAT'S RICH

In GI Spy in issue 160, | came across a tiny blurb about the great generosity of the most beneficent Lisa that claimed she would buy an Xbox 360 for any subscriber that sent her an e-mail. | want an Xbox 360 of my own, so if you find the kindness in your heart to make my wish come true 1 would be eternally grateful to you and sing your praises to the ends of the very earth.

Andrew Dillehay Crofton, MD

| was reading this month's issue of Game Informer and on page 7 it said that Lisa is rich and would probably buy someone an Xbox 360 if they emailed her. | know Xbox 360s are expen- sive, so | was wondering if | could get a copy of Guild Wars instead. Joe Cuif via yahoo.com

Tell me if you are going to give me an Xbox 360. If you can't, then at least give me a PS2. But if you can, please give me a 360. Ryan Rushing via aol.com

We can't really blame you guys for try- ing, but Lisa is not actually a philanthropic

billionaire, nor does she own a fleet of extravagant luxury cars. She drives a Focus, and isn’t buying you a 360. Sorry for the misunderstanding. However, considering its long history of erroneous claims and suspect character judg- ment, GI Spy probably isn't your best source for credible insid- | er info.

I LIKE TO MOVE IT, MOVE IT

| was under the impression that the Wii's motion- sensing technology was much more advanced than the PlayStation 3's. | heard that the PS3 will only sense tilt, but the Wii will | sense a whole range of motion. Everyone always talks about graphical differences in consoles, but | think it's important to talk about these gameplay differences, too. Jonathan Davis Leavenworth, KS

п In the debate over which console will dominate this holiday season, this is a point often brought up against Sony, and wrongly

DEAD AIM

I noticed ап odd thing about your August cover. Kane obviously has no sight in his right eye due to some unfortunate work-related injury, but he is holding the gun right handed and seems to be looking down the barrel of his gun with that jacked-up eye. In case you've never tried it, it's pretty hard to fire a weapon accurately aim- ing cross over like that. Just wondering if this was an oversight or is he that damn good? Jim Scott Augusta, GA

= Nice catch! Or should we say "good eye”? Terrible puns aside, to find out whether this detail was intentional, we went straight to the source at Kane & Lynch developer IO Interactive. “Kane

is an ambidextrous weapons expert,

and as such he switches stance based on the situation and the surroundings,” explains director J.P. Kurup. “In the cover image he's in close-quarters combat

so. At this year's E3, the only game at Sony's booth to showcase the motion-sensing capabilities of the controller was Warhawk, and because that game only sensed tilt, the misconception spread that it was a limit of the controller's function. We recently spoke to Sony representatives who confirmed that the PS3 controller is capable of recognizing all three axes (X, Y, Z), as well as positive and negative distance. In short, this means that the controller theoretically has the same motion-sensing potential as the Wii remote, but we won't be able to compare how well either system uses that potential until we're playing games on the final hardware.

GOING THE DISTANCE

| am beginning to lose my mind. | have had Twilight Princess pre-ordered for as long as I can remember! It is getting really annoying. Do you have any suggestions to help ease the pre- release jibblies?

Drew Settlemire Waxahachie, TX

в You're asking for suggestions now?! You should have started training months ago! There is a strict regimen all gamers must go through to mentally and physically prepare themselves for the full Zelda experience. First of all, you need to don your finest Link costume - you know, the one you only bust out for weddings. Then take to the streets to practice your dungeon-delving skills: avoiding moving obstacles, searching for rupees under garbage, and taking the longest possible

КАЕН їшїн LYNCH “ina

and prefers his right hand. Kane's right eye isn't completely blind - but for using the scope he'll prefer switching to the better left eye" Hey, if we can believe a doofus Tatooine farmboy can deflect blaster bolts with the helmet blast shield down (who uses those, anyway?), we'll buy that a battle- hardened mercenary can aim through whichever eye he damn well pleases, blind or not.

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

г hedavidbeckhamacademy.com.

Goal by Beckham. Body by milk.

Heads up. The protein in milk hel uscle and some studies suggest teens who choose it tend to be leaner. Staying active, eating right, and drinking 3 glasses a day of lowfat or fat free milk helps you look great. So grab a glass and get in the game.

gt mil? 4

www.bodybymilk.com

DAVID BECKHAM ©2006 AMERICA'S MILK PROCESSOR

dear gi

route to a nearby location. We also encour- age you to throw boomerangs at stationary objects like street lamps and mailboxes (they might be hiding switches!). And don't forget, anyone who looks at you funny is a Moblin.

A BRIDGE TOO FAR

Your article "The Ratings Game" [issue 160] clearly explained the problems with the ESRB ratings systems, while not endorsing or damning them. The ESRB is the problem; they claim to have numerous checks and balances that prevent the fiasco we have recently seen from occurring. How does the highest authority on censorship in gam- ing make mistakes, then turn around and blame the developers? | am an avid gamer, and | cannot abide with the scrutiny, public distrust, and malice that the general media has instilled in the public with the help of the ESRB.

Angelique Wurpel via yahoo.com

Thank you for the your article about the game ratings and the ESRB. While | agree that the tele- vision and movie rating system has gotten too lenient, the voyeuristic nature of sexual content in movies and television is different from the interac- tive nature of sexual content in video games, and therefore must be regulated more stringently with respect to youth. If, as Wanat says, "the majority of gamers are over 20" and they want the more graphic content in the video games that they play, then they should have no problem buying or rent- ing games with an AO rating.

Samuel A. Burchard

Mesa, Arizona

Being a parent of a five-year-old who has become obsessed with video games, my husband and

| understand that although the ERSB rating on games can provide an insight into the content

of the game, it is our responsibility to make the decision of what video games are played by our children. As parents we must make the decision for what games our children play. We must be nosey and stay on top of what our children are doing. The rating system provided by the ERSB provides a nice starting point, however, ultimately the responsibility is ours. Alicia Romano Garfield Heights, OH

п To say that issues pertaining to sex and violence in video games are a hot topic today is obviously an understatement,

as evidenced by the countless letters we received in response to our article about the ESRB and its ratings. Since the ESRB is the organization charged with quantifying this controversial content in games, it is receiv- ing a lot of attention from groups on both sides of the issue. On one hand, there is mainstream America who relies on the ESRB to identify potential problems and accu- rately distill an entire gaming experience to a single rating. On the other hand, there is the gaming industry that wants to ensure that developers' creative freedom is being protected. In essence, as the only entity that is commonly held accountable for the video game content in general, the ESRB is like a mediator between two feuding factions. Not everyone is going to be happy with every decision, but a lot more progress is being made than if the two sides were just left to shout at each other.

16 GAME INFORMER

ENVELOPE ART

Enter the Game Informer Envelope Art Contest. All you need to do is draw, paint, scratch, spit, or carve the best darn envelope art you can think of and send it to us. Please include your name, phone number, and return address on the back of the envelope. If you're the monthly winner, we'll feature your work in Gl and you'll receive a video game prize from the Game Informer vault.

Send to:

Game Informer Envelope Art Contest 724 151 St М, 4th Floor Mpls, MN 55401

OCTOBER WINNER!

ARISTIDES RODRIGUEZ Serves him right. You never use a urinal if someone's using the one next to it

ADAM HERRING

Finally, Yoshi makes himself useful. Now mush, or no Goomba stew for you

CHARLES ATKINS "Mmmm! This could be your brother, kupo!”

IA — CHIN FONG PATRICK WAUGH Nice try, Raiden. Dressing up like Did you know those dots in "Camera one... Camera two..." Gray Fox doesn't automatically Pac-Man are actually arse- make you cool

nic pellets? Every second you play, you kill him a little bit more

CORRECTIONS In our last issue (September 2006, GI #161), we misprinted the multiplayer information on Call of Duty 3. The Wii version of the game should have listed the online specification as "TBA" rather than 16-player. We apologize for the oversight. Activision has not at this time confirmed the online multiplayer numbers for Call of Duty 3 on the Wii.

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C 0 N N F C T Breaking News, Views, And Technology From The Cutting Edge Of Gaming

| news | WHAT DO PAST CONSOLE LAUNCHES TELL US ABOUT THE FUTURE? It's hard not to blanch when faced with PlayStation 3's dual $500 and $600 price tags. But imagine the look on your face if you were shelling out $672 for an Atari 2600 system! That's what that classic console would cost if you adjust-

ed for inflation and bought it today at its original

1977 $200 price point. They say that those who

do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but when we look back at the different releases of platforms in video game's history, we find that in

some ways the more things change, the more they

stay the same.

; The Sega Genesis

; confused consumers ; with multiple formats : ; and other late-to-the-party - ; add-ons like the 32X |

: Which would you : rather have for $600

18 GAME INFORMER

he PlayStation 3's high pric

points are certainly not the norm

for the industry. Most consoles — even after adjusting for infla- tion — have come in at under or around $400, and many of

gaming history's most

beloved platforms even

today would retail for under that. But if you think that price alone puts the system in dire straits, one has to look no further than con- soles such as the N64 or Dreamcast (with adjusted prices of $258 and $244 respectively in 2006 dollars) to see that more modestly priced platforms don't always succeed either. Of course, aside from the Atari 2600, when you take a look at other high-priced systems through the years, you do find a graveyard. Neo Geo, 3DO, and Intellivision are some of the examples.

In fact, when you look at the vari- ous console launches throughout history, you find many commonalties with today's systems apart from the issue of price. Selling two different versions? It's been done. Systems like the NES debuted with differ-

p

ent versions at separate price points, and consoles like the popular Sega

Genesis threw a multitude of console a

dd-ons at consumers above and

beyond the core system. The ever-changing landscape of the Genesis,

for example, led to issues of backwards introduce the CD format (Sega CD) wit based Genesis players. Nintendo even

Console (Year)

Magnavox Odyssey (1972)

Atari VCS (1977) Mattel Intellivision (1979) 985) 985)

986)

*NES (w/RO.B,) ( *NES ( Sega Master System (

Sega Genesis (1989) |

Neo Geo ( SNES ( 500 (

990) 991) 993)

Sega Saturn (1995) | _

PlayStation ( N64 (

995)

996) й

compatability as Sega wanted to hout freezing out its legion of cart-

promised a NES adapter for the

: Think today's : consoles are the only ones with

: two price points

SNES that it never produced.

In fact, unfulfilled features have been a hallmark of almost every sys- tem put out on the market. Early platforms like the NES often featured expansion ports that went underuti- lized or sometimes not used at all. Console makers were always trying to hedge their bets in case a new add-on, software format, or gadget would capture the public's atten- tion, and would be demanded of systems already out on the market. Considering all the bells, whistles, and Blu-ray players that today's sys- tems come with, and the fact that they are more forward-looking than platforms of the past, and it seems that consumers these days are sim- ply getting more for their money.

If there's one thing we can come away with when looking at the his- tory of console launches, it is that it's the software that perhaps has the most say regarding a platform's success. The Atari 5200 and 7800 sank in part because the public was Sick of the company trying to force them to buy barely re-vamped 2600 titles on these new systems. Nintendo learned the hard way that car- tridges were not the way to go when third-party publishers flocked to the PlayStation and its CD-based medium. With the Xbox 360, Wii, and the PlayStation 3 all delivering a wide range of software, history tells us that predicting success for these consoles isn't hard.

Console's Original Cost — Console's Cost After Inflation

$500