Vr / с ага 3 EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK AT PANDEMIC'S SABOTEUR © Hands- m un Qe Wall Дек A Game Where Everything Isn't Black & White " SEEM АҒ” RARE Dog Takes Adventure f Ло New Heights On The PlayStation’3” US $5.99 | EUR €5.99 | UK £3.99 | | | il | 20150 85081 DEAL goplay Build the perfect PC for your game at dell.com/gaming. The Dell™ XPS™ 410 with Intel? dual-core processing. It's fast. Really fast. Warp speed. High-octane performance. Intel® Core"2 Duo processors are designed to improve speed and performance, using less power in the process. - Intel® Core"2 Duo Processor E6300 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 1066 FSB) - Genuine Windows Vista" Home Premium’ - 20.1" UltraSharp" Widescreen Flat Panel - 2GB Dual Channel* DDR2 Memory; 250GB* Hard Drive - 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 7900 GS 51499 E-Value" Code: 10047-DXCMNC1 = pm а |»? та e - Кү» Shown with Battlefield 2142”. 540 5KU:40730788 i lr “ СРЕ . Logitech® 615 Gaming Keyboard $90 Logitech G7 Laser Cordless Gaming Mouse SKU: А0523107 590 5КИ: А0523012 TWINDOWS VISTA: Anticipa “PRICING / AVAILABILITY: RADEON X1400 HYPERMEMORY СА! TRADEMARK AND COPY! | 51299 after $158 off „ Еуаше Code: 10047-DNCZGQ1 ‘It’s 357 to gear up for the istest ; games with the - 19" Flat Panel Display The Dell™ Inspiron™ E1705 with stunning graphics delivers ultra-realistic gameplay. Amazing graphics. Brilliant display. The 256MB ATI Mobility" Radeon? 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ПЕТ Ш ШИП ҮШТІ " | ШІНШІ | "! ІІ ІШІ! B, dur A +) > Ж. 4 bis 7) Ист a os eoe rer = | > 4 * ( 2, мет 4 im De. l | C | Coming) Soon to Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system ARMED ТО THE TEETH. WIRED ТО THE EYES. ADVANCED TO THE CORE. “GRAW 2 is even more Stunning thangthe original.” Game Informer Deepest, richest multiplayer experience yet on 360. 5 - Official Xbox: Magazine DOMINATE THE BATTLEFIELD ОЕ 2014 WITH FUTURISTIC FIREPOWER. di. каш, М 4 EXPANDED AND ENHANCED MULTIPLAYER -YOU'LL NEVER FIGHT THE SAME WAY TWICE. 00Т5МАВТ AND OUTMANEUVER YOUR ENEMY WITH FULL-SCREEN CROSS-COM 2.0. ~ M ence Warfighter, the Soldier Icon, Ubisoft; Ubi.com and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. ft group of companies. Mobile version ©2 jameloft. All Rights Reserved Gameloft and the Gameloft logo are registered trademarks of Gameloft, 5. / БА 7 7, - PEL ie КҖ; AVAILABLE NOW Кт A хежЕ b TE @) дка: 7 m p» UBISOFT ps -4 Mild Language and Violence. ESRB CONTENT RATING www.estb.org T --- 717 3699 тв. EFT © 2007 The Codemasters Software Company Limited (“Codemasters”) АІ rights reserved. "Codemasters"@ is a registered trademark owned by Codemasters. “HEATSEEKERTT™ is а trademark of Codemasters. Developed by IR Gurus Interactive Pty Limited and published by Codemas All trademarks and copyrights associated with the manufacturers, aircraft, models, trademarks, brands and visual images depicted in this game are the property of their respective owners, and used with such permissions. LOCKHEED MARTIN, f-35 Lightning И, F-22 Raptor, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-117 Nighthawk, C-130 Hercules, SR-71 Blackbird, associated emblems and logos, and body designs of vehicles are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the USA and/or other jurisdictions, used under license by Codemasters. Produced under license from Boeing Management Company. T-45, F-15, F/A-18, B-52, KC-135 & Boeing are among the trademarks owned by Boeing. Unauthorised copying, adaptation, rental, lending, re-sale, arcade use, charging for use, broadcast, cable transmission, public performanc bution ог extraction of this product or any trademark or copyright work that forms part of this produc is prohibited. “PlayStation”, "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). The Wi logo is a ‘trademark of Nintendo. (C) 2007 Nintendo. The ratings icon is а registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. RULE THE SKIES AT FACE MELTING SPEEDS WITH THE MOST SOPHISTICATED REAL WORLD MODERN FIGHTER JETS. FEEL THE FIGHT AND FLIGHT IN YOUR HANDS! USE THE Wii CONTROLLERS TO EVADE, TARGET AND DESTROY THE ENEMY! “NO previous game has shown that the motion sensitivity in the Nunchul could be this responsiv е.” Nintendo Power (Feb 2007/V212) 4 ` тов www.codemasters.com/heatseeker CO N | Е М | 6 Тһе “Dude Raider” Issue cover story UNCHARTED: DRAKE’S FORTUNE Since making a splash at Sony's last E3 press conference, Naughty Dog's next project has been MIA. Lucky for you, the developer decided to spill the beans on Uncharted with this world-exclusive first look. Uncharted will wow you with how it uses the PlayStation 3's full power to create lush jungles and unbelievably smooth animations. Every last detail we could dig up about this amazing mod- ern treasure-hunting adventure epic is waiting for you inside. departments STAFF Read the team's latest favorites GI SPY Silly pictures of our life and times DEAR 61 Your chance to fire back at us! CONNECT Where news, talk, and technology collide INTERVIEW EA Chicago head Kudo Tsunoda talks about creating and maintain- ing a culture of creativity, as well as what the future holds for the Fight Night developer 8 GAME INFORMER GEAR Geeky gadget stuff for the masses OPINION Matthew Kato, senior associate editor here at GI, takes a stand against the encroachment of casual gaming CALENDAR Get hip to this month's happenings PREVIEWS Unreal Tournament Ш to Xbox 360! New screens and info on Kane & Lynch: Dead Men! REVIEWS Game of the Month: God of War 11 for PlayStation 2 SPIDER-MAN 3 In this exclusive first hands-on with the next movie-licensed Spidey game, we break down how a renewed focus on iconic Spider-Man villains will bring this back to the webslinger's glory days. SABOTEUR We explore how you can literally restore color to France through the power of next-gen visual effects in this world-exclusive first look at acclaimed devel- oper Pandemic's original take on World War Il. GAME INFARCER Sony is actually run by a cyborg and game publish- ers are inciting World War Ill. Only Game Infarcer's crack reporters can bring Ns these breaking stories. CHARTS Retail Sales Data and the Сі editors’ Тор 10 Games SECRET ACCESS Codes, strategies, and passwords CLASSIC GI Reliving gaming's greatest moments ONLINE See what's happening at Game Informer Online GAME OVER The end...or is it? GAME 300: March to Glory : Arena Football: Road to Glory . .. . . Armored Core 4. Brain Buster Puzzle Pak. Burnout Dominator. . Call of Duty: Roads to Victory. Capcom Puzzle World. Р Castlevania: The Dracula X C frons. Chili Con Carnage . Сішір... : Оапсе bate БКО dies Dewy's Adventure Diner Dash...... Driver 76 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, те. Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, Th Final Fantasy Tactics. . . . Final Fantasy VI Advance. Formula One: Champion Edition. . . Fuzion Frenzy 2 God of War ll......... Godzilla: Unleashed Guitar Hero П...... 4 Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure........... izuna: Legend of the ТЕКЕ Ninja . Kane & Lynch: Dead Меп........ Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of BENE Тһе. Lumines Plus Lunar Knights. . Е Meet the Robinsons . MLB 07: The Show .............. Mortal Kombat: AEN ZUR MotorStorm . Pirates of the Caribbean 3: A Word s E Pogo Island . . Pokémon Diamond/Pearl . . Quickspot Ratatouille .... Я Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Samurai Warriors 2: Empires . . Sega Rally Revo. . Shining Force EXA Sid Meiers Pirates! Sonic and the Secret Rings... .. Spectrobes . SSX Blur ... Stranglehold Supreme Commander Touchmaster Trioncube UEFA Champions League 20 Vanguard: Saga of Heroes Warriors, The Wii Play...... World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. uaris | play ity starting at $13905' KP TOYOTA | moving forward "St S [ А! ; People Who Actually Get Paid To Play Video Games DEAR MICROSOFT POINTS: YOU ARE STUPID ANDY McNAMARA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ok, Microsoft, enough is enough. I've endured your crazy Microsoft Point system on Xbox Live long enough. | must now demand that you change this annoying tactic that is basically a giant scam to milk gamers for an extra buck or two. How do | know this? Because | have seen this scam before. It's perhaps one of the biggest rip-offs of all time, perpetrated and perfected by one of the world’s ultimate evils: the carnie. Oh yes, I'm talking about the crazy dude who operates rides and tries to scam you with a rigged bottle game. Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. We have all been in a "beverage" line at a carnival or street party to eventually discover that the stand doesn't actually take any money; it takes tickets. Which, of course, means you aren't leaving this event without some worthless tickets and a lighter wallet, as the tick- ets never match up to the dollar amount. I'll do the carnie math for you if you haven't figured it out already. Beverages are 8 tickets, but you can only buy tickets in packs of 20. Now replace tickets with Microsoft Points, and the picture becomes clear. Microsoft wants gamers to get stuck with points that you have no idea how to spend, simply because they think gamers are there to be taken advantage of. Why else would Xbox Live use this annoying and antiquated system? You sure don't see Microsoft selling Vista with Microsoft Points. They sell that with cold, hard cur- rency from a little place known as the United States of America. It's called the dollar, and...amazingly enough...it's traded all across the globe. Not Microsoft Points. Not Final Fantasy gil. Not World of Warcraft gold. The U.S.-freaking-dollar. Sony offers online purchases on the PlayStation 3 in this "state-of-the-art" way. Hell, even the Xbox Live website sells all its merchandise using this "revolu- tionary system" It's almost like the whole world uses currency except for Microsoft's Xbox Live service and carnies. Don't be a carnie, Microsoft. Lose the Microsoft Points and let me just make purchases with my credit card for the stuff 1 want without you getting your free cash from my extra points. Cheers, PS: Nintendo's method is better, but still just as annoy- ing...of course, if you converted to the dollar І would probably have to send a friend code to use it. Andy >> angyagameinformer.com Handle: The Game Hombre Expertise: RPGs, Action/Platform, Driving First-Person Shooters Interests: Penn & Teller's BS On Showtime, Heroes, The Shins, Arcade Fire Dislikes: Bugged Encounters In World Of Warcraft (1 Could Have Sworn We Just Killed The Shade Of Aran) Current Favorite Games: World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, God Of War II, Guitar Него Il (Xbox 360), Guitar Hero, Crackdown 10 GAME INFORMER Reiner >> reiner@gameinformercom Handle: The Raging Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action, First-Person Shooters, Strategy, Sports, Fighting Interests: The Chicago Cubs Winning The 2007 World Series (It Happened In A Simulated Season In MLB 07: The Show, So It Will Happen In Real Life!), Xbox 360 Achievement Rewards Dislikes: Knowing Most Of My Time In 2008 Will Be Spent In Halo 3 Or GTA 4, Sidecar Gamers (Watching Someone Play A Game Doesn't Mean That You Played It), All St. Louis Cardinals Fans Current Favorite Games: God Of War Il, The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, MLB 07: The Show, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Matt >> matt@gameintormer.com Handle: The Original Gamer Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Action/Platform, Action/ Adventure, Action/Sports Interests: Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour, Deerhoof = Friend Opportunity, The Illusionist, Mex Ross Artwork In Kingdom Come, Qigong Dislikes: Artistic Dry Spells, Bands That Want You To Sign Contracts To Play Bar Shows, Weird Weather, Bookers That Don't Return Calls, Studio 60's Slow Slide Into Crap Current Favorite Games: NBA Street Homecourt, Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360), Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Burnout Dominator, The Warriors (PSP), Gears Of War Kato >> kato@gameinformercom Handle: The Game Katana Expertise: Sports, Racing, Action/Adventure, Action/Platform Interests: Hammond B3 Emulators (Heavy Sound W/O The Heavy Lifting), Van Halen, Damn The Torpedoes, The Cary Tennis Files, Pho King, Tyra Tirades Dislikes: NHL Owners And Brass Running The League Into The Ground, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, The Classless Mexican National Soccer Team Current Favorite Games: Dark Tower (Board Game), MotorStorm, UEFA's Ultimate Mode, Saboteur (It's The Bob Ross Of Video Games), Brain Buster Puzzle Pak Adam >> adam@gameinformer.com Handle: The Alpha Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Strategy, First-Person Shooters, Fighting Interests: Exploring Everything Burning Crusade Has To Offer, Anansi Boys By Neil Gaiman, Abbey Road, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Having A Clean House Dislikes: Spending My Saturday Cleaning The House, Fergie, Having Stress Dreams Waiting For Baseball To Start, Cats Who Jump In Front Of My Monitor And Cause A Wipe To An Easy Boss Current Favorite Games: World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, Supreme Commander, MLB 07: The Show, Brain Age, Diner Dash Joe >> joe@gameintormer.com Handle: The Real American Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Adventure, Action, Strategy, Puzzle Interests: Tom Waits’ Orphans, Finally Starting 24, Psionics, Ghost Rider (Or At Least Nicolas Cage And Sam Elliot), Sylar, Dwight's Continued Susceptibility To Pranks On The Office Dislikes: Plans, Fancy Snob Movies (Like The Departed And Children Of Men), Great Games Without Real Endings, Anything Miller Likes Current Favorite Games: God Of War II, Final Fantasy VI Advance, World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles Miller >> mileregameinformer.com Handle: The Once And Future Gamer Expertise: RPGs, Action/Adventure, Fighting, Platform, First-Person Shooters Interests: Mrs. Featherbottom In Arrested Development, The Santa Monica Pier, The Luna Brothers’ Girls, New Sofas Dislikes: Looming Legal Entanglements, Getting Used To New Sofas, People Who Hate On Something Just Because It's Well-Liked By Others Current Favorite Games: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Final Fantasy ХІ, Rainbow Six Vegas, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes, flOw Ве? >> mattbertz@gameinformer.com Handle: Lord Gamington Ill Expertise: First-Person Shooters, Sports, Action, RPGs, Strategy Interests: The Art Of The Cheesesteak, Рап Labyrinth, The Tossers' Agony, Chicago Cubs Preseason Hype (The Billy Goat Curse Lives Suckas!) Dislikes: Moss To Packers Rumors (Don't Do It, Randy!), Outlandish HBO DVD Prices, Joe's Weak Movie Knowledge (Who Hasn't Seen Goonies? | Mean, Really!), People Who Hate On The Temple Of Doom Current Favorite Games: The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, GRAW 2, FIFA 07, Supreme Commander, Tapper Ben >> ben@gameintormer.com Handle: Your Friendly Neighborhood Gamer Expertise: Action/Adventure, Action/RPGs, Platform, Survival Horror, First-Person Shooters Interests: Getting Some Lunch Today (Maybe A Sandwich, Maybe A Burrito, We'll See), Indiana Jones (Those Were Two Great Films) Dislikes: This Office's Poor Taste In Indiana Jones Films, Credit Card Bills (Why Is Magic Money So Easy To Use?), Waking Up To Cat Puke Current Favorite Games: Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Guitar Hero |, SSX Blur Bryan >> bryan@gameinformercom Handle: The Gamer's Advocate Expertise: Action/Adventure, RPGs, Survival Horror, First- Person Shooters, Rhythm Interests: Girls By The Luna Bros., Idiocracy, Veronica Mars, Th His Dark Materials Trilogy, The Losers, Lily Allen (And | Don't Care Who Knows It) У “Finalizing,” Breaking Down То Buy A Wii LAN Adaptor, Accidentally Attending Goth/Fetish Shows Current Favorite Games: Saboteur, Guitar Hero 11 On Xbox 360, The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Yoshi's Island 05. GAMEINFORMER APRIL 2007 Volume XVII + Number 4 * Issue 168 PUBLISHER Cathy Preston EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ‘Andrew McNamara EDITORS Executive Editor Andrew Reiner Senlor Editor Matt Helgeson Senior Associate Editor Matthew Kato Associate Editors. Adam Blessener • Joe Juba * Matt Miller Ben Reeves * Bryan Vore Content Manager Matt Bertz Mascot Arthur PRODUCTION Art Director Thomas Blustin Production Director Curtis Fung Production Assistant Rachel Nimerfroh CONTRIBUTORS Photographer Brett Kramer GAME INFORMER ONLINE Managing Online Editor Billy Berghammer Online Production Assistant Nick Ahrens ‘Associate Online Editor Jeff Cork ADVERTISING SALES 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) 4866101. fob@gameinformer.com EAST COAST Suzanne Lang East Coast Consumer Sales Director (718) 832-5575 * Fax: (718) 832-5569 suzanne@gameinformer.com MINNEAPOLIS, Ату Amold Advertising Coordinator and Online Sales (612) 4866154 + 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@gameintormer.com Information Systems Manager Paul Hedgpeth paulhedgneth@gameinformer.com Manufactured and printed in the United States of America The Editor welcomes company produc information for ай video games. Such materias should be addressed to: Editor, Game Informer® Magazine, 724 North First St, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be retumed or acknowledged. Entire 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, of their respective companies. PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR The publisher shall not be able for sight changes or typographical errors that do по! lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher's lability 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 ‘Advertsing Agency agrees to delend and indemnity the publisher against any and ай lability, loss, or expense arising trom claims of bel, unfair competion, 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 Advertisers statement. ө Member Audit Bureau of Circulations 26 ае АД e era н aS | Office of National Drug Control Policy/Partnership for a Drug-Free America® aqbovetkheinfiaen се. сома Candid Photos From Тһе Seedy Underbelly Of The Video Game Industry 1 GI Online's steez machine Nick Ahrens carves up some...um...tasty...grinds... and uh...gets hella lex it at X Games while filming some rad snowskating! (Sorry Nick, we don’t know extreme slang! But you've still got mad skills!) 2 Midway's Reilly Brennan, David Zucker, and Billy politic in Sin City 3 More X Games fun! William Borm, the son of СІ'5 director of marketing Rob Borm, meets Olympic snowboarder Shaun White. For those of you that don't know, Shaun White is sort of like Nick Ahrens, except he has stupid hair and sucks at Flash and HTML 4 Epic Games’ CliffyB and Mark Rein celebrate their big night at the AIAS Awards, where Gears of War won everything except "Best Children's Game" 5 Kohnke Communication's Sean Kauppinen and OXM's Rob Smith hang with Patty from the Hard Rock Casino 6 Andy Mac and Billy bookend some video game power players: Scarface producer Pete Wanat, Newsweek's N'Gai Croal, and Spike TV's Geoff Keighley...oh, and Matt 7 Billy learns the art of guitar heroics from the man himself, Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos, at the Green Valley Ranch in Las Vegas 8 Matt hangs with some Sony luminar- ies, from right to left Ted Regulski (not Regulsky!), Ryan Bowling, and God of War II director Cory Barlog E Ж 12 САМЕ INFORMER Available 3.13.07 оп PLAYSTATION’S computer entertainment system WHATISFEAR.COM 17+ Blood and Gore Intense Violence Strong Language ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org “CONSOLE-ONLY GAMERS WHO LOOK JEALOUSLY UPON THE PC’S BOUNTIFUL FIRST-PERSON FRUITS WILL HAVE ONE LESS REASON TO COMPLAIN THIS NOVEMBER.” Жы жҙ FEAR ENCOUNTER ASSAULT RECON PLAYSTATION т MONOLITH SIERRA t { The Readers Strike Back 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: Are you using the download Service on your next-gen system to play more classics or more new titles? # Cloning Clyde Гуе downloaded both pretty equally over Xbox Live, but | have enjoyed the newer games such as Cloning Clyde more. MstrChf There are only a handful of games that | have interest in at the moment (namely Zelda). Once there's a wider library, | believe Il get right on it. SlumberCat [buy new games because they offer new experiences. | have по need to download а game Ihave bought several times already, unless they've added content to it, like Doom, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Gauntlet оп Xbox Live Arcade. HuBBsDoctor Ға rather run to my local thrift store and pick up several classics lor the price of one download, passing out from blowing on the cartridges be damned. SmackeyTheFrog The majority of my downloads have been older tiles, There's nothing like replaying an old favorite while earning some new Achievements! DUAAAAMISLM „> Wi Chrono Trigger I would play classic games, but the only ones I'm willing to buy aren't being delivered. | don’t want Nintendo to push out the same Mario again and again. 1 want them to push out Super Metroid and Chrono Trigger. Ngoodwin93 Well, [only оит a Wil, so old titles are all ме been download- jing. Its nice catching up on stuff 1 missed the first time around. However, | would download new stuff if Nintendo gave те the option. TrueNerd Do you want to make your voice heard? Weigh in with your opinion at www.gameinformer.comyforums 14 GAME INFORMER GRINDING GEARS In your Gears of War cover story in issue 146, you talk about a giant, multi-story beast called the Brumak. Well, | just beat Gears of War, and | fought no Brumak at all Matthew Walukiewicz via aol.com | want to know who was it over at Epic that decided to remove the Brumak from gameplay segments and only reserve them for two quick cutscenes. Ever since | read the article about Gears in your magazine | was psyched to fight the awesome Brumak; it was one of the rea- sons | bought a 360. Why did Epic take it out? Christopher Diaz via yahoo.com In game development, things don't always go according to plan. Our cover story was written about a year and a half before Gears of War released, and in that time Epic probably decided that it didn't have the time/resources to implement the Brumak as originally intended. In a recent interview with Game Informer Online, designer CliffyB admitted "it would have been nice to fight that creature that was in all the trailers. That would have been good.” However, gamers who felt cheated can hope that the towering Brumak will play a larger role in Gears of War's inevitable sequel. Unfortunately, Baird probably will, too. SHOCKING REVELATION Every month it's the same old thing. You talk about how you like this game or that. You say how much you really like a certain system. Or another. Just face it — you're biased towards video games! Erin Hoffman St Paul, MN You got us. We'd like to take this opportuni- ty to come clean: We like games. A lot. And yes, we even like some games more than others. We are currently taking no steps to fix the problem. HUGE ZELDA FAN, EH? Іме noticed that several pictures in your magazine have recently depicted Link holding the Master Sword in his right hand, and his shield in his left. I'm a huge Zelda fan, and | just wanted to inform the Game Informers that this is an error, because Link is actually left-handed! Chris Spencer Lamesa, TX ı If we were petty and small, we could point out that this was not an error on our part. Nintendo deliberately changed Link into a right- hander for the Wii release of Twilight Princess, anticipating that most gamers would hold the Wii remote (thereby controlling the sword swings) with their right hands. Link was changed back into a lefty for the GameCube version, though. Not know- ing this would be an embarrassment for any self-professed Zelda fan, which is why we're taking the moral high road and not making a big deal out of it. Man, we are so good at handling delicate matters! GALACTIC LOVE | have a question about Rogue Galaxy. You guys said that it was a great game. You even gave it a 9 out of 10. But you didn't even put it in your Top 50 games of 2006 list. Some games that only scored in the 8s made it on! Show a little love to the space pirates! Anonymous Via aol.com ı Аге you saying we don't love space pirates? That's a dangerous accusation to level at a bunch of nerds, mysterious reader. Here's the truth: It wouldn't have been accu- rate to include Rogue Galaxy in our Top 50 of 2006 because it released on January 30, 2007. Don't count ol' Jaster Rogue out just yet; we'll give the game another round of props when the Top 50 Games of 2007 rolls around...unless there are 50 games that PLATFORM PERJURY 1 just received issue 167, and in the preview for Mercenaries 2 you list the game's platform as Xbox 360. ! always thought this was exclu- sive to PS3. Has that changed? Larry Foreman Via hotmail.com в Yes, it has. We didn't know that last month, though. We mistakenly listed Mercenaries 2 as a 360 title; at the time it was PS3 only. Since then, publisher EA has officially confirmed what we all suspected: Pandemic's destructive adventure is going multiplatform. Given the widespread success the first game enjoyed on multiple consoles, this is probably a smart move. It also means that more gamers will know what it's like to be a Swede with a mohawk...an illuminating life lesson for anyone. score 9.25 or higher this year. In that unlike- ly case, you wouldn't even care about Rogue Galaxy anymore - your head will have cer- tainly exploded from pure gaming bliss. ALL THINGS IN MODERATION Some psychologists with nothing better to do are claiming that addictions to video games are ruining friendships, marriages, and even getting people fired! That's complete bull. People need to get it straight: Video games are not a problem, and if you hate them, then you obviously don't play them Michael Morales via yahoo.com в Sorry to extinguish your outrage, but these findings really don't sound that unreason- able. If you play games compulsively and neglect your fa 1, social, and profes- sional responsibilities, those areas of your life are going to suffer. Surprise, surprise. Of course, when that happens, you should own up to the responsibility instead of blaming electronics - but no one is even saying the games are at fault here. It is just a simple cause/effect relationship, not an attempt to destroy the foundations of the industry. It's great that you want to defend video games, but that shouldn't include opposing every theory that doesn't say "games are totally awesome for everyone all the time and as much as possible.” -2 POINT CONVERSION | really enjoyed your article on the decline of EA Sports in issue 166. It is about time someone called them out for it. However, | don’t think you emphasized enough what a complete rip-off the next-generation titles have been. The biggest example has got to be NCAA Football. It didn't have as many teams, stadiums, or features as the current-gen versions. Is making us pay more for less a good way to show you care about the customer? EA Sports doesn't get it. The representative's Send your comments to Game Informer. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine е Attn: Dear GI е 724 North First St., 4th Floor Minneapolis, MN 55401 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com PE GAME OF THE YEAR DP eo aa 5 COMPANYHERO $ e on fully destructible battlefields EN m" SOLDIERS FIGHT FOR YOU. si Ба HEROES DIE FOR YOU. YEAR 2006) ы п " gu ЕС WINNER " "9 ж E DOWNLOAD THE DEMO shania nd аша ш ттен ; www.companyof heroesgame.com MATURE 17+ Command your Company of Heroes with Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor Technology! ] Blood and Gore PC г. Games Intense Violence s 2 - Strong Language DVD-ROM + for Windows ESRB CONTENT RATING wwwesthog| ЕСЭ dear gi statement in your article basically means that they only care about sales, not quality. EA's exclusive deals have proven that they don't have to try as hard. Football fans are going to buy Madden because it is their only option, not because they like Madden anymore. Гуе loved Madden and А L NCAA for years, but | feel EA has turned its back WESTOP on me. They say it is irresponsible to only go by review scores. | say it is irresponsible to just go by the numbers. In the end, we'll all see what we already know. EA does care. They care about money, and that's about it Jack Fairchilds Via aim.com à Enter the Game Informer Reader Art Contest. All you need to do is draw, paint, scratch, spit, or carve the best dam art you can think of and send it to us, Please include your name, phone number, and return address. If you're the monthly winner, we'll feature your work in GI and you'll receive a video game prize from the Game Informer vault. Thank you for your thoughts, Jack. For those people who don't understand why sports gamers give EA a hard time, this letter does a great job of summing up several of the major concerns and complaints. Here's one thing to keep in mind, however: Even though the review scores for some EA Sports titles have been in decline, they still don't Send to: dip into the range of being downright bad ue Дыт. $ games (except NBA Live 07). As a corpora- SABRINA SMITH Sen КОР tion, EA certainly cares about profits, but If you have a lit fuse 4th Floor that doesn’t mean that the execs are sitting Mpls, MN 55401 in vast underground lairs, stroking evil cats, and planning ways to torture gamers. With a few exceptions, they're still releasing some pretty good stuff. UNPLUGGED 1 just found out that there was a wireless con- troller for the original Nintendo! Do you guys remember it? How did it work? Good? Bad? I must know more of this fascinating thing — | thought the PSone was the first console that had wireless controllers. coming out of your head, your existence is short and bleak. This one's for you, Bob-omb! Vic Tenorio Via yahoo.com CINDY LIMON This wins the "most feminine art" award. Umm... Not a single male in sight! We remember it, all right. The NES Remote Controller was made by Acclaim, though it did carry the official Nintendo Seal of Assurance. From a practical standpoint, it worked just like a regular control pad, and utilized infrared sensors to function at a range of about 30 feet. However, it lacked many of the conveniences of modern wire- less gaming. Because it used infrared, it had to be constantly aimed at a receiver above your TV. If you happened to put your feet up on the table and obstruct the beam, the signal would cut out. It also required four AAA batteries that never lasted as long as you wanted. If you were surprised that a CARRIE MUNFORD ME d В 5 system as old as the NES used this technol- Game Informer brand controllers: guaranteed to bring your We didn’t even know Mario had a car! We thought he just ogy, prepare yourself: There was a wireless games to life and break your TV rode around on lame stuff like clouds, shoes, and public controller for the Atari, too. Did we just blow transportation your mind? 16 GAME INFORMER ғүн гпирие пм Е ве is E 7 E Ø Playstation 2 2 | ECTS PERS E ағай THE YEAR IS 2017, AND SERVERS OF THE MOST POPULAR Now! GAME IN THE WORLD ARE INFECTED WITH A DANGEROUS ENTITY. YOU MUST HUNT IT DOWN AND DESTROY IT. WELCOME TO THE BEGINNING OF A NEW SERIES. .. AN ACTION-RPG BAMER'S s . DREAM COME TRUE.” WELCOME TO “THE WORLD. н HACK INTO: WWW.DOTHACK.COM//6U CHECK OUT NEXT MONTH'S GAME INFORMER AND WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM/HACKSWEEPS FOR INFO ON A NEW .HACK SWEEPSTAKES! ао --- Fantasy Violence —— Language a b қ WATCH THE NEW ANIME | . АНЫ C .hack/Roote LLL ат. Ne а. ааа кан са: СОММЕСТ Breaking News, Views, And Technology From The Cutting Edge Of Gaming THE RUMORS ARE ALL COMING TRUE 18 GAME INFORMER Microsoft plans to release a new Xbox 360 with a larger 120GB hard drive in late April. The new 360 model will retail for approximately $479 and come with an HDMI output and an HDMI cable. The updated 360 sports a sexy all-black color scheme that includes black accessories, which will also be 5019 separately. Given the amount of downloadable content on Xbox Live Marketplace - including both standard- and high-definition movies and television shows — space is at a premium on some 360 owners' hard drives. Last month, Microsoft announced the addi- tion of support for Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) to the 360° feature set, allowing your console to double as a digital video recorder similar to TiVo for those who sign on for the service. Thankfully, the 120GB HDD will be available on its own for those who strictly need the space for under $200. ХВОХ 360” REBORN LARGER HARD DRIVE ON THE WAY At the time of this writing, Game Informer was unaware of exactly how or if gamers can transfer data from their old hard drives to the new, larger drive. As we explained in the last issue, Xbox Live Marketplace items are available for re-download under the same Gamertag. However, this does not address how the new hard drive will handle pre- existing game saves. While the new 360 shores up the system’s hard drive size problems, it does not include HD-DVD playback. According to a source at Microsoft, high- definition movie playback is being withheld from the 360 because the "format's not proven." Despite the fact that it was first to market, the HD-DVD format is being outsold by competitor Blu-ray. The PlayStation 3 comes with a Blu-ray player as stan- dard, while Microsoft is selling an add-on HD-DVD player for $199.99. GI OPINION It's a shame we я all bought the " Й supposed "pre- ы mium" Xbox 560 already, but the extra space is very welcome for multimedia purposes. HDMI isn't too huge, but at least it'll give Sony one less PS3 stat to brag about. As far as the price tag for 120GB goes, what a rip-off! In two minutes online, | found a 500GB PC hard drive for around the same price. Plus, when you add in the price of an HD-DVD drive to this black box, you're looking at $680. Suddenly the PS3 doesn't seem so overpriced.— BRYAN GAME INFORMER 19 NEL * connect Ша SPOILERS! This month's top ten is filled with spoilers, so don't send us a letter : : crying when you read something : i you didn't want to know. But we i know you're still going to. You played this engaging sci-fi maze game for weeks just trying to figure out how to get past that stupid pterodactyl. When you finally finished the game, you found out that the awesome bounty hunter dude you played as wasn't a dude. This was The Crying Game moment of video gaming, but in this case, it was totally sweet instead of stab-yourself-in- the-eye disturbing. 2 You woke up in the middle of a battle with amnesia (of course), then ended up with a ragtag group of strangers on a mission to hunt down the evil Darth Malak. You knew that Malak was once the apprentice of Darth Revan, a master Sith who disappeared a year ago in battle. Suddenly, you remembered something else. You were Revan! What's more, the Jedi Council knew all along. There's a little voice in your head that says "Kill them all" Can you hear it? 5 Ja Naughty Dog had been building this up over the course of three games. The Precursors were an advanced race responsible for much of the planet's technology. It was just a backdrop to the story about Jak and his friend Daxter, who'd been tragically tumed into an Ottsel. Who knew these two things were related; the Precursors were actually Ottsels themselves. This was a twist that not only tied off the series neatly, it pulled it off with Naughty Dog's signature brand of twisted humor. 8 Final Fantas Final Fantasy X has one of the most moving ending sequences in video game history. The game's 40-plus hours had all led up to the climactic fight with Sin — FF X's big bad guy. Yeah, we all saw that fight coming from a mile away, but maybe that is why leaming that his father Jecht was Sin steamrolled us so well. We expected Tidus to find some resolution with his old man; we didn't suspect that it would mean Tidus would have to kill him. 20 GAME INFORMER 3 Metal Gear Solid 2 From Big Boss being Snake's nemesis in the first Metal Gear to Eva being a Chinese double agent in MSG 3, we could fill this whole page with Metal Gear twists alone. But the moment Metal Gear is still best known for is that point a few hours into MGS 2 when you find out that series standby — the lovable anti- hero Snake — isn't the main protagonist. This decision is still hotly debated by fans, but watching Snake through someone else's eyes only furthered his badass mythos. 6C no Cross Lynx was shadowy, mysterious, and one of the oppressed Demi- humans. He had thwarted your attempts to retrieve the frozen flame, and had your companion Kid poisoned. He even killed Kid's sister. Lynx was everything а bad guy should be. He was the bad guy! Yet, halfway through the game you end up switching places with him. You become Lynx. This twist was not only surprising, it changed how the game played, as you had to recruit new allies after losing all your friends. 9 Soul Reaver 2 The Soul Reaver series has more twists than a soup opera. Thankfully #5 about vampires (and not the wussy Anne Rice variety, either) therefore infinitely more masculine. We'd been surprised more than once by Raziel's crazy hijinks, but when we found out that he wasn't just the Soul Reaver in a metaphori- cal sense - that he was actually destined to become the soul of the blade - our brains popped out of the back of our heads. Seriously. ғ You know that moment when а game turns your world upside down? You are just playing along and enjoying yourself, then everything changes. The floor drops out from under you and it feels like someone drop kicked you in the gut with a pair of steel-toed Doc Martens. Some people may call them plot twists, but they are really tricks that developers play on you, the gamer. This month we look at 10 of the biggest ones we're still feeling the sting from. You spend most of the game channeling Kratos’ rage into destroying his opponents. But, after several hours you begin to wonder why this guy is so pissed off. 5 whatever crawled up his butt really worth all this hassle anyway? Then you find out that the god Ares not only tricked Kratos into killing his own fam- " ily, but that their ashes have also been bonded to his skin. In that moment, you understand. It's enough to make a guy want to... well...kill a god. Not every game twist has to involve a story. We're not even sure we could provide a detailed synopsis of Eternal Darkness' story if we were being held at gunpoint. However, we could readily list off a dozen ways this game pulled pranks on us. Our favorite has to be the time it pre- tended to erase our game save. Don't worry, we got it back pretty good when we put red Koolaid in its showerhead. His name? No one knew his name. The town folk called him The Stranger, and this Eastwood- esque bounty hunter was col- lecting bounties to pay for an operation he adamantly needed. But there was one bounty The Stranger mysteriously wouldn't take. He wouldn't find and kill the endangered and rarely-seen Steef. No one knew why, until we learned that The Stranger had four legs and was the last of his kind: a Steef. Тһе new Bowflex Xtreme® SE home gym is built to provide fast and easy total body results right in your own home. Compact enough to fit any workout space, it performs over 65 gym-quality exercises - as many as an entire health club filled with machines. All this for just $20 а month* - less than half the monthly dues of a typical gym membership! Over 1 million Bowflex® customers know that nothing else compares to Genuine Bowflex® Power Rod® Technology for professional-level performance and proven results. Call (800) 660-8193 today! 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The advertised payment is based on а promotional minimum payment of 1.5% of purchase price. The amount of your total Minimum Monthly Payment will depend on additional purchases and account balances. See Cardholder Agreement and Disclosure Statement for details. 1100% Satisfaction Guarantee includes full refund of purchase price, less shipping and handling. Call for complete details "Individual results may vary. Participants’ results based on using the Bowflex” home gym and the "Fast Fat Loss Now" program included in the owner's manual. ©2007 Nautilus, Inc. Ali rights reserved. Bowflex, the Bowflex logo, Bowflex Xtreme, and Power Rod are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Nautilus, Inc. BFMGO611 PO407GAMEINROTAT DATA FILE More News You Can Use BUENA VISTA NO LONGER Buena Vista Games has been renamed Disney Interactive Studios by Walt Disney Co., although mature-rated releases formerly handled by Buena Vista, such as Turok, will be handled by Disney's new Touchstone label. SQUARE'S ENGINE ROOM Not known for its use of outside technology, Square Enix surprised the industry by announc- ing it will create games using Epic's Unreal Engine 3 - the middleware behind Xbox 360's Gears of War, Square Enix says that it will use the engine in future next-gen and PC games, although the previously announced Final Fantasy XIII will still use the company's own White Engine, NINTENDO'S SCHOOL OF ROCK Guitar Hero-mania is spreading to the Nintendo DS and Wii, According to recent comments from Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffiths, the games will appear before spring 2008 at the latest. No word on how the series’ gameplay will be adapted to either system. ECKO EXPANDS EMPIRE Clothing magnate Marc Ecko is continuing his involvement їп video games with the announce- ment of his new interactive entertainment divi- sion. Ecko says that he wants to help developers bring their products to publishers. The first part of his plan invovles a new title developed by Human Head, creators of the critically acclaimed Prey. CLOVER ALUMNI RESURFACE Former Clover studio bigwig Atsushi Inaba (Okami) and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami have launched a new company called Seeds. The studio is already recruiting talent for upcoming projects. 22 GAME INFORMER | news | UNLIMITED ENABLED THE EXIT INTERVIEW GI TALKS WITH DOUG LOWENSTEIN After his presentation at the ОЛСЕ. Summit, Game Informer had a chance to talk to ESA founder and outgoing president Doug Lowenstein, who outlined some of the ongoing challenges facing the industry. Why did you decide now was the time to leave the ESA? It's very simple. | was given an extraordinary opportunity to start a new trade association for the private equity industry, which is perhaps the most significant player in global finance today, and the opportunity to build and cre- ate something for that industry at this stage in my life and career. To do another start-up was really irresistible. | was very content at the ESA. I loved what | did at the ESA, and | was not look- : : called their congressmen, if they went down ing to leave the ESA. What's your biggest accomplishment? | think it's hard to single out one thing as much as it is to say that over the time that | was there, the industry has emerged as an credibility, more visibility, and more influence than it did when we started, so | think that's important. There are a lot of specific things in the course of the 12 years that I'm very proud about, but in sort of a 10,000 foot look-down, when we started ESA this was not an industry that was on the map. This was not an industry that had any respect, and it didn't have any visibility, and it certainly didn't have any political : profile. | think today we have all of that. That doesn't mean that the job is done. That doesn't : mean that everybody thinks of us as highly as we think of ourselves. But we're certainly a lot stronger than when we started this thing. One of the highest profile things you've done is combating all the laws trying to impinge on the First Amendment rights of : video games. Is this always going to Бе а battle the ESA has to fight? This is evolutionary, I've said this on many occasions. By the year 2010, there will be 75 million Americans between the ages of 10 and Е 30, which will be more people between 10 and 30 than there are Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers still have the leverage of power and influence in this country, and that's the gen- eration that hasn't grown up with interactivity as part of their lives. As the post-Baby Boom generation assumes those seats of power, their : tolerance and acceptance of video games will make these sustained attacks a thing of the past. In 20 years we will have a president that will have grown up playing Grand Theft Auto. That's inevitable. In your D.I.C.E. presentation you men- tioned some of your pet peeves, and you chastised the industry for not being political enough, expecting the ESA to do the dirty work for them. Does not having Political Action Committees involved in fundraising hurt the industry? #5 absolutely hurting us. Let me be clear: Trade associations [like the ESA] ought to be : doing the dirty work — that's why we're there. : My point was: You can't win a war without : an army. We have a lot of sunshine patriots, as Thomas Payne used to call them back in another era. It's easy to be a champion of the First Amendment when everybody else is on : your side. But the fact is that a lot more can be done. Look, | think it would be great if people and asked for meetings with their local state legislatures. If you're a developer, you call and say, “I'd like to invite you to come down to my studio, meet my team, and expose you to what video games are all about" | think that industry that is taken very seriously. It has more : would be great. That's what other industries do. Look, | understand not everybody has the time or inclination to do that, but all I'm talking about is, raise your voice. Get in the game, so to speak. Be part of the battle here because we need you. For anybody who has their livelihood tied in any way, shape, or form to the growth and success of the game industry not to do something politically to raise their voice, is a complete and utter inexcusable cop-out. You also talked about your hope that games would try to touch on social or oper. | understand that nobody wants to make games that are politically interesting and don't sell anything. But | just gotta believe that given some of the robust subjects out there...take global warming. There are so many parts to that, and | доп“ believe that #5 not possible to make a compelling interactive game experience which forces users — in an entertaining way — to confront the problems and challenges of global warming. Maybe I'm naive. Maybe that's why I'm a political guy and not a creative guy. Maybe #5 not possible. | hope it didn’t come out that | think the industry has failed in this regard. | was really trying to express something aspirational. | hope we can do that. But it goes to this question of being taken seriously, because why does a politician look at the film industry, and take it and say, “Even though | know there are some awful movies, but сап look at it and be supportive of the industry?” Well, it's because they see mov- ies that really move them in ways and force them to think about it and confront problems in ways that games don't get. It's a different medium - | understand that. Storytelling is not yet the central part of games. Character devel- opment — those kinds of things are all a part of the evolution of games. But 1 gotta believe that somehow or other we get there. And when : we do | hope we make games that speak in + the same way, because people will take them : more seriously if they do. : We talked to a lot of publishers and : developers, and everyone seems to be : unsure of what's going on with ЕЗ in : terms of participation and format. Is the : new E3 on track? : Yes. People are booking suites and meet- : ing rooms. That process is going along quite rapidly. Companies are fully supportive. The invitation list is almost finalized. The intent of his new event is not to make everyone in the industry happy and not to find a home for everybody. It is designed for a very different, focused purpose. We want it to succeed, but can absolutely guarantee you that there are hings about it that won't work out that you and : anyone else, without looking very hard, will say : after it's all over, "That really sucked,” or “What : the hell were they thinking?!" because it's a first : year event. But | think we got the right struc- : ture for this event, and | think we got the right : business plan for this event, and | think it will : execute very well. It's totally on track. It's not going to be the scale of what every- E body remembers E3 like, that's another thing : to realize. By four of five months in front of [the : old] ES, that was part of the problem. Entire political issues or more meaningful stories. : Look, I'm not a creative person. I'm not a devel- : companies were re-vectoring their whole busi- ness operations to plan what we were going + to do at ЕЗ. That was a huge part of what this : albatross of ЕЗ was. E3 was determining how : people were running their business. It was + completely the wrong way to operate. : What different challenges will your : successor face? : It's hard to predict the future. Certainly in the : short term | think that everything we've been : working on remains front and center for this : industry. The content issue is not disappearing, : atleast, in the next year or two. | do believe : that we'll make headway on the front. There's a : lot going on in the global trading area that will : affect the video game industry, and that's all in : front of us, the anti-piracy issues. Certainly one of things that we understand as : we move away from an E3-type event, which : was a huge catalyst for media coverage in the : industry, was how do we replicate that and also : spread it over a longer period of time? Those | : think are all the challenges that my successor is : going to have. | hope the person comes in and recognizes all the good that we've done and all : the positive things we've done, and also comes : in with a fresh set of eyes and ears and says, "Lowenstein's done it this way for twelve-and-a- 1 half years, let's try something different" ШЕ (з CI] 219490 س — = **not available for T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless & Virgin Mobile customers f WALLPAPERS вввввссссоссс ) pic9507 "uc. d 25 jic9498 19499 ріс9492 A AME : а Ж = е, 7169500 jic9501 ЕЙ jic9503 1с9504 1с9505 7 73 7 The 2) $5 loot, ж AL * EAL KE съда RY ж Jut - DJ UNK true5496 wan a > я Г ш" m т (1060810 Love You - Akon true5497 амы; ау 2 и Toney Maker a Ме - Beyonce true5498 САТ / | A С Ludacris oung Jeezy true5499 CTS tee (аі сы AL. 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If you have problems downl ‘our Customer Care hotline (see below): iNeed help? CALL 866-856-JAMS | f Check out Jamster's voice il: i j 5 Border line TOLL FREE for all | mail: InfoGjamster.come ler line ora 7 PORTED CARRIERS: ` eo e Cingular Verizon Wireless 1 Games and Mobile Applications! 3 ў int Virgin Mobile i Call 877-G0-4-JAMS Замер {7 ‘ lobile Dobson Cellular from your cell Pan Alltel* y ок. à s now! | 3 кс ister World Appli | Browser Msgs 1/1 a Lf. ў » a К use road Jam ter World Application, 3 АІ content items are part of the Jamster! Monthly XXL Plan, which is subject to Terms of Service available at jamster.com. Each month you will get download credits for 6 ringtones, 10 graphics and 4 games/software (unavailable for T-Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Verizon Wireless customers), all for just $9.99/month. Redeem your credits at jamster.com. The XXL Plan automatically renews if not cancelled. Must be 18-- or have parent's permission to sign up on their behalf. If handset does not support content, next best supported content is delivered. Normal messaging & data charges apply. Carrier data plan required. To cancel your plan text *stopxxl" to 75555. Need help? E-mail to info@jamster.com or call 866-856-JAMS. соппесі THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY When You Want Your News Categorized With A Sarcastic Editorial Spin QUOTE “WHEN WE FIRST THOUGHT ABOUT DOING IT, WE WERE TOLD, ‘THE PSP HAS POTENTIAL. IT WILL DO WELL” = Castlevania director Koji Igarashi's backhanded slam about how he got roped into working on the PSP GOOD Metal Gear's Hideo Kojima recently declared that he'd like to make а 360 game, saying, “I do have а strong interest in creating something for the Xbox 560. In the 0.5, and Europe, it is selling, and ‘I think it will sell a lot this year as well. I'm a fan of Gears of War as well, it’s very interesting.” In other Kojima/Metal Gear news, Sony Pictures has announced that it. has secured the rights to the long-mentioned movie. UGLY GOOD Electronic Arts wins developer Pandemic's “Who Wants to Print Money?" contest. by being named the publisher for the studio's Mercenaries 2 game - which has now been confirmed for the Xbox 360 and PC, as well as the PS3. The first Mercenaries title was a huge success for | publisher LucasArts, which must have been outbid for the sequel. Сеет. No wonder they сай EA the Death Star. It's got more money than even George Lucas! GOOD Speaking to Canadian paper the Edmonton Sun, Dan Aykroyd revealed that he will be reprising his role as Dr. Raymond Stanz for an upcoming Ghostbusters video game. Universal Studios has the rights to the game, and Vivendi Games’ parent company Vivendi SA has а major stake in the studio, so could we see Vivendi’s licensed-games guru Pete Wanat on the project? We hope so, and trust us - you do too. For more on Nplate gt P From the minds that brought you the PS3 launch comes this latest deft marketing move. In an attempt to advertise a new trailer for the Gran Turismo HD download, Sony's PSP video download site ran an add using a picture - not from the demo - but from rival racer Project Gotham Racing 3. During its third-quarter fiscal report, Sony admitted that worldwide shipping numbers for the PSP handheld were down by 72 percent from last year. Only 1.76 million were sent out to stores. 24 GAME INFORM In its first 24 hours on the market in North America and Europe, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade sold almost 2.4 million copies - making it the fastest-selling PC game in both territories. Does the game even have enough mailboxes to accommodate that many dancing naked Blood Elves? Medi [JubJub Games 9.8 @amerscore Achievements Pictures A HOW-TO GUIDE TO PERSONALIZING YOUR XBOX 360 One of the best kept secrets in gaming is the media sharing on Xbox 360. Once you know the tricks of the trade, you'll be able to personalize the 3605 look and sounds to your life- style, To do this, you'll simply need a PC. To connect your Xbox 360 to your PC you must have both devices running on the same network. You will also need Windows XP Service Pack 2, Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, or Windows Vista run- ning on your computer. Open a web browser and visit www.xbox.com/pcsetup. Of the options listed, choose the solution that matches your PC operating system. For the sake of this walkthrough we are using Windows XP Service Pack 2. Download the Zune software on the next page, which will allow your Xbox 360 to com- municate with your PC. Once the Zune software is installed and running, it will ask you to sync a Zune with the software. Hit the skip button. At the Library Settings screen, hit Express instead of Custom. Once this is done, the Stream to Xbox 360 screen will appear. Click the boxes for the media you wish to share with your Xbox 360. On the next screen, create a new account or locate your Xbox Live account. Once the software is up and running, click on the Zune logo in the upper left hand corner. Go to Library/Media Sharing. Make sure that Share By Media is enabled, and also check to see if there is a green check mark next to your Xbox 360. If not, click it to enable it. Now, go to your Xbox 360 and access Music, Pictures, or Videos. Enable access from this end to your computer and all of your shared files will appear. At this point, you'll be able to listen to your music, watch your videos, look at your pictures, and personalize the background image. To add a picture as a background image, enter the Pictures folder and click the X button on the image you want to use as your background. It will appear immediately, and will also appear as an option in the Themes menu under Personal Settings. You WILL LEARN TO WALK WITH HONOR. You WILL GAIN THE WISDOM TO COMMAND WITH DECISIVE RESOLVE. You WILL TAKE YOUR PLACE AMONG THE MOST ELITE WARRIORS ON EARTH. lr YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT. MARINES THE FEW. THE PROUD. MARINES.COM | r800 MARINES evolving. With each successive generation of console and PC technology, new horizons in game design and presentation open up. What was once considered the cutting edge in graphics or gameplay mechanics quickly becomes expected, even passé. For this reason, the people that create the games we love must be in a constant state of change, forever reinventing their craft to achieve new heights of excitement and artistry. At the recent DICE Summit, a three-day event in Las Vegas that draws top game developers from around the world, we sat down with some of the industry’s most respected creators to find out their views on a number of issues that will shape the future of games. : Todd Howard : CIFF Bleszinski : Cory Bariog • Having worked under Sony Santa Monica's Dave 2 Jaffe, Cory Barlog recently stepped into the spotlight : £ as the director of the highly anticipated sequel God — ; * of War Il, which manages to improve on the series’ 2 already amazing gameplay. For proof, see our review ^ + on page 100. With the пеш сесппо!- ogy апапаше to you on PC or consoles, wnat are some оғ tne пеш doors that are opening in game design? What are some оғ tne greatest problems Facing game designers right now? 26 GAME INFORMER : Richard Garriott * The creator of the Ultima franchise, Garriott is one 2 ofthe true pioneers of PC gaming. With Ultima « Online, he created the template for modern MMOs * like World of Warcraft and EverQuest. His current +. project is Tabula Rasa, an MMO for Korean publisher * The leader of Bethesda Softworks, Todd Howard and > 5 his partners have recently made the transition from — * „ successful niche developer to gaming superstars with. * theunprecedented success of The Elder Scrolls IV: > $ Oblivion. Howard has also recently shipped the ехсй- ? « ing Shivering Isle expansion to the game, reviewed — . * Epic Games’ СІН Bleszinski (better known as “CliffyB") > 2 is one of the most outspoken and successful game 1 £ designers in the industry. Having recently shipped the $ * breakout Xbox 360 hit Gears of War (which won Game ” 5 of the Year at the AIAS Awards) Cliffy is now turning his 7 « attention to helping polish the company's upcoming 1 NCSoft. TODD HOWARD: With open-world games becoming more popular, #5 [about] letting the player do more things. The whole buzzword of “emergent gameplay.’ You see it in more areas than in the games where you'd expect to see it — games like our stuff or GTA. I'm seeing it more in all kinds of games, like Burnout — here's a car, go crash it. That's emergent. The technology allows you to do more of that, because you can open up a level and have more things in it. Your standard game where you go through and #5 very scripted — a very polished action game of the last generation — if you just do that now with nicer visuals, the audience isn't responding to it. They look for something more that you can put your hands on as a player and Press and touch and see what it does. RICHARD GARRIOTT: If | had to pick one right now it's the fact that processor speeds are really allowing us to start thinking about things like Al in ways that we haven't be able to do previously. It used to be that 100 percent of the horsepower of a machine was invested in CLIFFYB: | think there are a lot of problems in modem game design that need to be solved. If it were up to me there would be a list of rules that, if not in place, a game is not allowed to ship. Such as somewhat forgiving checkpoints in a single-player game, where | know that a game will automatically save my game and | know that | сап go back without having to play through 20 minutes of previous gameplay. Every game needs to allow you to skip cutscenes. Games that have text dialogue boxes should be shipping with voice at this point. There's just a lot of no-brainer "win-wins" that people can do in games. TODD HOWARD: | still think that people who make their own games still forget that it's supposed to be fun. | still play enough games where I'm really into it and there's something just amazingly frustrating. Never give the player a reason to put your game down. Unreal Tournament Ill. making the graphics work. Now, that's actually starting to free up, so we're starting to say, "How can we make physics in the world act in a more realistic way? How can we make the Al more than just mag- nets that attract to you and whack you on the head"" It's trying to think of radically more sophisticated ways to interact with the world, and | think that's going to enrich these experiences profoundly. CORY BARLOG: | think community in the next few years is going to be a huge thing. It's already big — it's kind of like an animal that grew without everyone pushing — and suddenly everyone's saying, “Wait a minute. ..this is really important!" | hope it doesn't become too cor- porate, in that it's all very antiseptic and stupid. | think user-created content is awesome. I'm a huge proponent of that. But I'd want to make sure it's done so that it can be disabled. So it isn't something that's just haphazard...something like what Will [Wright] is doing with Spore. Everything is user-controlled. I'd love to see how people respond to that. | don't know if it's too much for people. You want to challenge them, but I still find that there is not a good benchmark to go to for how easy or hard something should be. Everyone complains about the end of Halo 2, more than the end of any other game. If they had finished more games, they'd probably complain about those endings. But that game is really well paced — everyone gets to the end. CORY BARLOG: The challenge of knowing what you want out of your game versus what the public is expecting. You guys, journalists and gamers, kind of set a bar. How do we meet that? More impor- tantly, how do we meet that and not lose sight of our goal, what our game is supposed to be, and not tum into this massive, bloated, confusing mess? | think the best games are saying, "This is what our vision is” наю г “Halo 2 is really HOW до you rate the quality of storytelling їп modern games? Are we approaching a Hollywood caliber оғ stories? well paced - everyone gets to TODD HOWARD: | think the improvement there is faster to do detailed world-crafting and tell detailed stories. But | the end" than the graphics, actually. It's one of the areas that there's compare that to a real writer of linear prose, the difference in - Todd Howard less of a technical boundary to. There's no reason not to quality when you're looking at it from a prose standpoint is have a good story.... Better writers are coming into it and night and day. people who've been making games for awhile are getting better at how to present that. It's got a ways to go, but | think — CLIFFYB: | think we're still in our infancy. We are not one it's very close to being on the level of Hollywood. | think, where a director can just sit back with a screenwriter and sometimes, because the characters don't feel real, maybe dictate the entire, manipulated experience. We still have to the story and the emotion doesn't come across, but | think a figure out how we can tell great stories that the player is lot of games are telling stories that are every bit as good as participating in and crafting himself. It's going to be an ongo- books or movies. ing challenge over the next 10 years. | think we still have a God оғ War п ways to go. “God of War Il RICHARD GARRIOTT: | don't believe that's true. There have shows that you been Hollywood movies made off of games. But what the CORY BARLOG: | think there are many games out there that can have an game contributed to what became the Hollywood movie tell good stories. To me, the story is more of the experience — amazing ехреп- ence on a console that's how many years old.” - CliffyB like in Advent Rising; | love the fact that who you saved at the beginning would determine the final boss you fight. ... With God of War Il, we wrote maybe 12 different stories, throwing everything out and starting from scratch. | wanted it to be a trilogy, and | wanted everything to have a relevance to the was valueless. [Look at] Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is really Indiana Jones with a scantily clad female. When you ask what is unique to the intellectual property or story of Tomb Raider, there isn't anything. I'm not trying to be offensive to the property — it's a fantastic game. But it's fantastic because it's a good game, not because it told any particular story that was first and potentially the third game. related to the movie industry... | think I've at least attempted The ШІ 15 histori- cally unique in that nintendo IS betting that better graphics won't matter, that gameplay innova- tion шш be enough to carry ІС. Do you think that's true? RICHARD GARRIOTT: | do agree with their philosophy. I'm a big believer that console games are inherently games that are a single- purpose machine that you turn on and it immediately goes into that game. It's a 30-minute experience that you have casually on the couch that you have sitting far away from the ТМ. it's social at all, you socialize with the people around you in the room, like PaRappa the Rapper — that compelled me to buy a console for myself and all my friends and family. That was the quintessential console experience to me — the shared experience in the living room. CLIFFYB: | think Nintendo knows that their IPs are so ingrained in an entire generation of gamers that Mario, Link, and Pokémon don't need incredibly next-generation graphics to pull off what they want to pull off. Nintendo is going to continue to do just fine with the Wii | have mine at home and | thoroughly enjoy playing WarioWare and Wii Sports. I'm glad that | have a different gaming experience in my living room.... It doesn't always have to be a completely and totally next-gen experience in regards to graphics, because that's what we're doing on the Xbox 360. CORY BARLOG: It depends on the person playing the game. If you were talking to a slice of North American gamers, yes, graphics abso- lutely matter. That's the flashiness that they're going to see at Wal-Mart on the display and say, “Wow!” looking at the latest military shooter. That matters to them. And there are art-house gamers — people who pride themselves on playing obscure titles. To those guys, innovation is totally the key. But there is a big selection of people where both mat- ter. If [Nintendo] has the software to support it, innovation is awesome for them. But if all they're going to show is Wii tennis and bowling, innovation will only go so far. The same thing goes for graphics. If all you have is pretty cars, it's not going to go very far. You need to have something that people want to play. TODD HOWARD: | disagree with that, meaning that it's not like people aren't responding to the 360 or the PS3. People do respond to that stuff. But, if Nintendo was to do that as well, 1 don't know that anyone would be that interested. I think they took the right direction for Nintendo. | still think that Nintendo in general, for a long time, have been the best game makers there are. | think they have a differ- ent mentality, too. They don't come at making a console and making video games from a "we are going to crush the competition" angle. They very rarely reference the competition. They see themselves as Nintendo and they do Nintendo things and that's it. Spore ^| think user-cre- ated content is awesome...some- thing like what Will [Wright] is doing with Spore." - Cory Barlog Soutn Park "South Park is done on high-end graph- ics machines. But it's a stylization that is by no means photorealistic.” - Richard Garriott some people think We're hitting the Wall with graphics and approaching photorealism. IS that true? CLIFFYB: Graphics and presentation matter, but there's the idea of “good enough” for your average consumer. You look at the previous generation of consoles to this generation of consoles and there's a fairly significant leap. But for this generation and beyond? There will be a leap, but will it be as great? Probably not. At a certain point it comes down to working with what you're given as a developer with a certain console and doing an amazing job. If you look at a game like God of War II оп PlayStation 2, that shows that you can have an amazing experience on a console that's how many years old. TODD HOWARD: No way. | don't believe any developer says that. Every developer has artists where you have to go by and say, “You have to take half that crap out, #5 too slow" No way...We always want to put more in.... When | looked at Gran Turismo on PlayStation 1, | said, "That looks totally real" | remember in the '80s — "Come see this game Pole Position, it looks f—— real!" [Laughs] Everybody always says that - “We're approaching photo- realism" — but we're really not. It's getting better, but it's not there yet. RICHARD GARRIOTT: | don't think we're hitting a wall anywhere, personally. Even the simulations we're doing of photorealism now are just simulations of photoreal- ism.... What | find more interesting is the fact that the same incredible power in the 3D hardware allows you to do things that are non-photorealistic graphics, but have some very interesting. [For example], an anime look or even South Park — that show is done on high- end graphics machines. But it's a stylization that is by no means photorealistic. GAME INFORMER 27 PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system PSP® (PlayStation&Portable) system and Xbox 360"" video game and entertainment system. Step into greatness as one of Hit the court with up to three friends Tennis has never looked this realistic Play 12 mini-games alone or with 20 tennis pros or create your from around the world for a smash- with 1080p resolution - the highest friends to perfect your skills and ace own superstar. ing good time online. video standard available. the competition. Enjoy faster reactions, unparalleled realism and more player control as the award-winning Virtua Tennis series steps into the next generation with spectacular 1080p resolution on Xbox 360'" and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. With the new PLAYSTATION®3 system's tilt functionality, you'll deliver the expert shots of today's tennis elite with just a flick of the controller. Join your friends online via Xbox Live® for fast, fun, thoroughly addicting matches as you make your way to the championship! and "PSP" are registered demark of the Entertainment SEGA Corpor PS" F www.sega.com connect feature ще NTING ys WIDEO GAMING’S MONEYMAKERS езен er Enden enger EVERYONE LIKES TO KNOW WHO'S ОМ TOP, 50 WE COMPILED THESE LISTS OF THE TOP-SELLING VIDEO GAME PROPERTIES. THE FOLLOWING CHARTS SHOW THE TOP-SELLING VIDEO GAME FRANCHISES TO DATE AND THE NUMBER OF UNITS SOLD WORLDWIDE. (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED) TOP 20 SELLING VIDEO GAME PROPERTIES* Ж ЫБ epee SID Mario a 93 million) я Қ аста» Дон ар U.S. figures sold during the last ‘oun n 2 Pokémon (155 million) TOP 10 IP'S OUTSIDE OF GAMING IN THE 05“ Щ THOUGHT ABOUT 3 Final Fantasy (70 million X NFL Football (26 million) THEIR BESTSELLING y FRANCHISES, HERE 15 а Madden NFL (56 million) а Star Wars (15.milion) WHAT THEY SAID. ғ р E Tony Hawk (15 million) Grand Theft Auto (55 million) Fer Teu етене 3 Тот Clancy (12 million) RK WARNER j The Sims (54 million) К HBA СТО Ê) E 4 Тпе Legend of Zelda (49 million) & ESPN (9 million) type of history, and we're = Т Я ^ proud to be part of this в Donkey Kong (48 million) ' World Wrestling Entertainment (9 million) dite group. Our фес, 2 Sonic the Hedgehog (44 million) s MEAN ODER GIO) m m charged with creating О Gran Turismo (44 million) M rU amazing ores 19 Spider-Man (7 million) gamers, and the major- i illi ity of them take up this Lineage (43 million) We're not done yet. These figures do not include units gauntlet with enthusiasm, > Dragon Quest (40 million) sold as pack-ins with a console. in many cases exceeding Р . "m a ж even their own goals.” 3 Crash Bandicoot (34 million) TOP 10 REST SELLING GAMES OE ALL HIME Chris Kramer E 3 inr Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES — 18 million) ДР F it 14 Resident Evil (31 million) я Td 2 Тһе Sims (PC — 16 million) and ү, Ағ» illi 15 James Bond (30 million) з Diablo II (PC — 15 million) Ри 36 Tomb Raider (50 million) 4 Super Mario Land "To keep a franchise (Game Boy - 14 million) strong, it is important to stay true to what made it so popular in the first. Tekken (29 million) 5 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Mega Man (26 million) Cm 1 ш қ тшн nner st 3 Е 6 гап Auto: Vice City fazy and rely on our Street Fighter (25 million) M (PS2 — 13 million) iie quio Command & Conquer (25 million) 7 Super Mario 64 (N64 — 11 million) product. Innovation, creativity, high produc- S Gran Turismo 5: A-Spec (PS2 — 11 million) tion silües : all of these ^ © Grand Theft Auto 111 (PS2 — 11 million) elements must be in each ; ; M. зо Gran Turismo (PSone — 11 million) Дек еы = ' - / \ Fantasy title for it to live = " >We compiled these lists using information supplied by the games’ publishers and the NPD. ; = қ m. ll numbers are in units sold, and have been rounded up to the nearest milion. RE E т е Y of the previous releases Д Р 6 as well as those of our / d 4 strong following.” : Daishiro Okada, president and COO of the 1 te و‎ < Р, ти” 2 North America offices, - mic Square Enix, Inc. & MILLIONS or PLAYERS. ONE GAME то RULE THEM ALL. "m ncs ы. On пле | SHADOWS of ANGMAR = و ی‎ та | “Ж | б 1, d 3 | P | м? А i E RATING PENDING — 5 —— Visit www.esrb.org | 2 for updated rating | es ж Ее information. = EEE تخ‎ - turbine ' 5 соппесі LOOSE TALK Hot Gaming Gossip PS3 GAMES READY TO GO Newly launched systems often do not have enough titles to sate game- hungry owners looking to run their new consoles through its paces. The PlayStation 3 definitely suffers from this problem, but that will be resolved if what we've heard is true. Some publishers have PS3 games done and ready to ship, but before they do so, they are first waiting for the platform's installed base to increase. ‘Are some PS3 games ‘already ready? THE Wii WAITING LINE good relations software partners, and despite. the Wii's popularity, this may be a continuing problem. Loose Talk has heard that developers who want to make games for the new system are being put on a three-month waiting list before they can even get develop- | ment kits. With supply to consumers already a problem for the platform, this was one aspect of Nintendo's new system we'd hoped it had recti- fied in advance. NEW RED FACTION? THQ СЕО Brian Farrell may have tipped his hand regarding (һе company's future plans. During а recent investor's conference call, Farrell said that THQ would bank оп. some of its "proven owned intellectual properties." Later on, Farrell listed Red Faction as one of core franchises, implying that it would be one of the franchises the company would lean оп for its future. However, Farrell made no specific mention that a new Red Faction is in development. NINTENDO CHARGING EXTRA? It's great that Nintendo has finally decided to join the online party, but perhaps it still needs to figure out a thing or two. Loose Talk has heard at least one report of a Wii owner getting charged extra money due to the system's always-on configuration. Since the Wii Соппесі24 transfers data automatically, depending on your online plan you may be charged for going over on your MB usage. The feature can be turned off (or maybe your online plan is more forgiving), but making use of the platform shouldn't require these kinds of sacrifices. Got some insider info? Email us at loosetalk@gameinformer.com and we'll be all ears. NAME THAT GAME Test Your Sight Back in the eighties, developer Cinemaware made a name for itself through quality graphics (for the time) and its use of movies as inspiration for titles such as Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon and The Three Stooges. This month's PS2/Xbox/ PC title resurrected the franchise that Cinemaware was most known for in 2003, and added a new hero to its medieval setting. The game itself combined turn-based strategy with rea-time action sequences that included archery, sword fighting, and jousting. This Capcom-published title never did much, but Cinemaware has just announced it is adding a new title to this franchise for PC gamers. (Answer on page 34) 32 GAME INFORMER MICROSOFT RESTRICTING FREE DOWNLOADS? ША ИШ icrosoft's Xbox Live Marketplace is in full swing, and buying downloadable goods | | ۲ Î is a phenomenon that all next-gen console makers have embraced. But is there | ы | something that Microsoft isn't telling us? Could there be significant free content ШШ Ш available in the Marketplace that the company is withholding? Game Informer spoke with multiple contacts within the industry about the process that publishers and developers have to go through to get their content on Xbox Live Marketplace. We also found out that there is free content that companies want to offer, but Microsoft is mandating that consumers pay for it. When a publisher has goods it wants to put up for sale, those prices must first be sub- mitted to Microsoft. As part of an agreement with the company, publishers have signed a document that hands over final say to Microsoft regarding Marketplace pricing. From here, Microsoft takes a look at the market and prices items to maintain a balance among items of similar value. Game Informer talked to Aaron Greenberg, Xbox Live/Xbox 360 group product manager, who denied that Microsoft has final say over Marketplace pricing. “It's ultimately up to the publisher,” he told us. However, according to our sources, it's not up to the publishers, and free content is being withheld from consumers under the speculated motive of Microsoft wanting to make gamers accustomed to paying money for goods above and beyond wallpapers. Said one industry insider we talked to, “They want you in the store and they want you buying stuff that is at full price" We've even been told that the rules of the game may vary depending on how much clout your company has with Microsoft. Greenberg denied knowledge of any motive to restrict free content, but admitted that the company does indeed adjust download prices. "There may be some situation or unusual case where there's content that's significant in nature and it would make other content look out of line, but I'm not aware of any case where we've told them that they couldn't offer it for free.” mmn / \ ў; Ph ше! | Cx y а-а a E Y "y | | Fond off your foes in pulse-quickening ew chariot races Each of your hands controls an awe-inspiring weapon. CSE ERJA NH VAI SWORDS WWW.PRINCE OF кере IN STORBSBNIS) y eo Violence WI ! ы = Head-to-head multiplayer races demand reflexes and ruthlessness. UBISOFT Favorites From | Industry Pros And СІ Readers DEVELOPER READER TODD BATTY FITZROY Producer, Electronic Arts THOMPSON (NBA Street Homecourt) Miami Beach, FL 1 Halo - Xbox 1 Final 2 МВА Street Fantasy X - PS2 Vol. 2 - PS2/Xbox/GC 2 Final Fantasy 3 Galaga - Arcade XII - PS2 4 Mike Tyson's Punch- З Gears of Ош! - NES War - Xbox 360 5 Madden NFL 4 Jade Empire - Xbox 2004 - PS2/Xbox/GC 5 Уапда! Hearts - PSone Send Top Fives and a photo of yourself to: Game Informer Magazine/Top Five 724 N Ist St 4th Fl Minneapolis, MN 55401-9022 email: topfive@gameinformer.com (attach digital picture) Top 10 Game-Related Inventions of 2012 10 Solid Snake's Paternity Test: Find out who your daddy is in three easy steps 9 Toilet Pants: These are gross, even in the future. World of Warcraft players insisted on having them anyway 8 Xbox Live Genetic Culler: Scans and disintegrates all users with the newly-identified genetic marker for stupidity. This eliminates all players with Gamertags following the “хХ<пате>Хх” pattern 7 Сей Processor Mark ПІ: Lowered production costs drop the PS4's retail price to $1,900 6 RealityShift Brain Implants: Makes the new Dynasty Warriors appear cutting-edge and innovative 5 Smack Talk Generator: Never be left without a zinger. This machine automatically selects one of 10,000 pre-made insults and slings them at your opponents. A "your mom" add-on is also available 4 Sunglasses of Graphical Dampening: Disguises outdated graphics as passable. For use with Duke Nukem Forever, pending the game's release 3 Nintendo TS: The third smell-sensitive screen opens up countless possibilities for scent-related gaming 2 Gaming Homonculi: For the busy gamers who just can't find the time for their hobby. These creatures play the games so you don't have to! 1 Wired Controllers: Retro chic dupes idiots yet again Name That Game Answer: Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown 34 GAME INFORMER EA’S WHITE COUNCIL ON HOLD NEW LINE STOPS EA IN ITS TRACKS? CFO Warren Jenson upgraded the game's status, but the news still isn't good. In a strangely worded statement, Jenson said that E arly this year rumor broke that Electronic Arts had cancelled its Lord of the Rings: The White Council RPG project. Recently, EA The White Council is indefinitely postponed. "The Lord of the Rings product is back in development in terms of being on hold" He also said that the company is "looking at the creative positioning and feature set on the Lord of the Rings franchise," and that if released, the game would not be released before March 31, 2008. Interestingly, the timing of the original cancellation rumor comes suspiciously close to news that movie studio New Line Cinema is planning a ргедие! movie preceding the events in The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as The Hobbit. Given that EA has a licensing agreement with the studio, it is possible that the planned content in the White Council overlapped with the plans New Line has for its films. This may have caused the studio to step in and affect the game's development to suit its future plans. Matters may be further muddled by a complex set of circumstances involving studio New Line and the original trilogy's director, Peter Jackson. Jackson and New Line are suing each other over an audit of the income earned on The Fellowship of the Ring. These lawsuits have created bad blood. Jackson doesn't want to make The Hobbit with the studio until the whole thing is settled, and New Line head Robert Shaye has said, "Dackson] will never make any movie with New Line Cinema again while I'm still working for the company" New Line has decided to go ahead with both films with a different director. However, the studio has a limited amount of time to make them, because their deal with Saul Zaentz, who licenses out the LOTR rights in the first place, is going to expire. EA might feel that making the game and releasing it to coincide with New Line's already rushed time frame might be too much. Furthermore, since Jackson will not presumably be directing any New Line LOTR productions any time soon and Saul Zaentz has publicly sided with Jackson, perhaps EA believes it's more advantageous to try and wait out New Line, hoping to team up with Jackson and Zaentz after the studio's rights lapse back to Zaentz. Or maybe EA is hoping Jackson and New Line make up, at which time they'll be poised and ready to deliver. Regardless, all this is unconfirmed speculation, and to make a long story longer: We won't be seeing The White Council anytime soon. MANHUNT’S MOST DANGEROUS GAME ade AGAIN ii HANDLES THE RAZOR WIRE f you thought Rockstar was sick for coming up with a game like | Manhunt, you'll be shocked to discover that the company is not only putting out a sequel, but that the franchise is heading to Nintendo's Wii! Thought you were pretty good with a bat in Wii Sports? Well now you can put that skill to practical use by cracking skulls. Or, if you prefer the stealthy approach, why not start suf- focating people with plastic bags, getting your hands dirty with the series’ snuff film ethos? Manhunt 2 will be available this summer, and the game will also appear on the PlayStation 2 and PSP. In less shocking news, Rockstar has just released its PSP hit Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the PlayStation 2. As wi Liberty City Stories, we expect this to be a fairly straight port wi some graphical differences. Stay tuned for our review. inal Manhunt drew reactions of attraction and repulsion ive ETH SOUNDTRACK: NIRVANA, SUBLIME, THE STOOGES, PIXIES, 311, WOLFMOTHER, THE SPECIALS, TAPES “М TAPES, OFA 1878, THERMALS AND MORE! EVERYONE LIVE L PLAYE TATIOMEÐ This title is intended for both the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable] system 2007 Take-Two Interactive Software and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. 2K Sports, the 2K Sparts logo, and Take-Two Interactive Software are ай trademarks and/or Major League Baseball and Най of Fame trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. and the National Baseball Hall of f at MLB.com 9 MLBPA-Official Licensee, Major League Baseball Players A ation. Visit www MLBPLAYERS.com, the Players Choice on the web. В MLBP 2007 / MLBPA 201 are ragisterad trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment ine, Memor Juo™ may be required [sold separately]. 2 2007 Microsoft Corporation. АН rights reserved. Mic trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. © 2005 Nintendo. Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. B 2004 Nintendo. The ratings icon is а regist marks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc Inc.. resper mily logo and Live and the Xbox inment Software As: соппесі CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 36 GAME INFORMER | connect | interview | = KUDOTSUNODA GENERAL MANAGER, EA CHICAGO >> Thanks to its success with the Fight Night and Def Jam franchises, EA Chicago has become one of the company's most successful studios. We recently spoke with the studio's general manager, Kudo Tsunoda, about EA Chicago’s past, present, and future. << Where there any lessons you learned at 500 that you brought with you in your career? 300 was some of the best experience I've had in my career, because the business strategy there was based around not giving the development teams the budget, time, or ability to make good games. The teams that | worked with there learned so much about how to get the most value out of every single dollar and day that you're spending on devel- opment, because you had so few of them. Then, when you come to a company like EA where the focus is on quality, you take the production meth- 095 that you leamed and get so much more into the games. I've kept my same guerilla attitude. Talk about the development of Fight Night. Up to that point, most boxing games - even Knockout Kings - were based around a for- mula that dated back to Punch-Out. How did you come up with the concept of the all-ana- log control scheme? quality. Secondly, we want to define a new way of playing on next-gen consoles. Like in Def Jam, really having the music affect how you play and being able to control the music with our DJ con- trols. | think that we have a good expertise in fight- ing games and we will continue that. Also, we need to take that experimental approach to games and extrapolate that out next to a more action-oriented type of game. So, a game that's not necessarily a fighting game, but a 3D action game? Yes, totally. Do you have any new licenses that you're working with or do you plan to create new, original franchises? We're working on a couple of new projects. One is a pretty big license, but we haven't announced it yet. When you're working with a license, people will say, "That company isn't innovative" But, in lots like any creative endeavor, you go and do your research. We get a good knowledge of what has come before. It's a bit hard with Japanese games, because | think there is a Japanese style of develop- ment that is more oriented towards their culture. So, while | think there are things that you can learn from game, I'll never be as good at making a game that's targeted specifically towards Japan as a Japanese developer. You've worked on both PS3 and 360. Are there any significant advantages or disadvan- tages to either one in your opinion? As far as each of the consoles goes, they are very different machines. #5 not that one is better than the other as much as the actual wiring of the machines is different. You can't just take a PS3 game and port it over to the 360 and expect it to be easy. The people that are making high-quality PS3 or 360 games are developing the game spe- cifically on that hardware and for that console. For We want to put a stamp of innovation on every game that comes out of EA Chicago. I'm a huge believer in the “method acting" way of game development. If you're going to make a game, you have to totally immerse yourself in the world of the game. The first month or two that we worked on Fight Night 2004, we'd come in at 9:50 and do hardcore boxing training. Then, break for lunch, and all afternoon we'd play boxing games. Through that process, a couple of things became really clear. One, how important it is to have control of your fists. You're getting that hammered home to you all moming long by boxing instructors. Then, you play all the boxing games and realize “I have absolutely no control over my fists — | just hit a but- ton and the punch animations plays!” The second thing was responsive defensive controls. Defense is such an important part of boxing. All the box- ing games before Fight Night 2004 barely had defense — it was all about who hit the other person the most times. | can tell you that the first time you step into the ring and get hit in the face, it becomes really clear that boxing is about [protecting yourself]. What's your vision for EA Chicago? Do you want to remain focused on fighting or branch out into other genres? We want to put a stamp of innovation on every game that comes out of EA Chicago. No matter where you are in a series — whether it's the first game or the third game — you've got to deliver high of ways, you have to be more creative in those areas to deliver something new. There are more restraints. But, we also need to take that creative approach to how we run our studio, with develop- ing IP from the ground up. One thing that makes innovation difficult is the pressure to deliver sequels on a yearly basis. Do you feel obligated to have a new Fight Night every year, or will you be taking a break? No matter what, with any of the games, it's not about the timelines. Boxing is different; it's not like a Madden where if you don't have the new rosters and players out that's really bad. You need to have a game for football season. There isn't so much a "boxing season" That gives us some liberty. It's more important that we're keeping up the level of the games than the timeline. But, either way, our studio is capable of deliver a high level of innova- tion, whether it's a year or two years. Chicago is focused on fighting. Japanese developers have traditionally driven that genre. What could you learn from Japanese fighting games and what can they learn from your games? | wouldn't be so presumptuous to go around and tell people what they need to learn from us. Just Def Jam Icon, we built two separate games, even though we wanted the same end result on both systems. Do you have any desire or plans to work on the Wii? The Wii would be a fun development experience — to take a gameplay feature like the Wii controller and design a game around that. If you look at the games we've worked on, lots of them are based on the same kind of gestural control philosophy that the Wii is based on. In fact, | like to joke that the idea for the Wii controller was based on Fight Night. Laughs] What's the single biggest challenge in running a development studio? You read that everyone wants to see new things in games. But | think the real challenge is that, when you put out an innovative game, people are so trained in one way to play a game. If you actually deliver innovation, it takes awhile for consumers to wrap their head around what you're trying to do without falling back on “This isn't like every other game, so #5 Баа” We saw that with Fight Night 2004. People were so trained on hammering the buttons in a boxing game that the initial focus tests and feedback from the press wasn't that high. y" OF ` FIGHTING aR ( KEYS | 0 Тһе right keyboard and mouse combo can spell the difference between rocking head shots or whizzing bullets past your enemy. С! breaks down the field of competition and crowns the winners. CREATIVE FATAL1 TY GAMING KEYBOARD IDEAZON MERC GAMING ZBOARD CED PRO This is the slickest looking keyboard of the bunch. We like the backlighting, and the PRO The price is certainly favorable, but that is the only advantage this board has patented scissor keys have a super sweet response time. over the others. CON The compact design is great for travel, but it comes at a high price. There are no CON We're not fans of Zboard's gaming-specific layouts; the keys feel a little cramped, and extra bells and whistles - not even a USB роп. the keyboard has no extra USB or headphone ports. $59.99 « www.creative.com $39.99 « www.ideazon.com — ж) LOGITECH G11 GAMING KEYBOARD SAITEK ECLIPSE II ILLUMINATED KEYBOARD CUETIIIIIIID сит PRO The G11 has a full feature set: 18 programmable macro keys, backlit keys, a USB PRO As the name implies, this board's most notable feature is its backlit laser-etched keys. port, and media hotkeys. The Edipse can switch through three different colors and comes with a built-in dimmer. CON Aside from this board being a little on the large side, the macros can be somewhat CON We wish the lights were a little brighter. The keyboard also lacks USB ports. confusing to program. $69.95 « www.saitekusa.com $69.99 « www.logitech.com Г | Е RAZER TARANTULA PRO Ten programmable macro hotkeys, customizable keymaps, two USB ports, micro- phone/headphone jacks, and 32kb of onboard memory to store up to a hundred profiles add up to this being our favorite board. CON You can buy an attachable light, but Tarantula itself lacks backlit keys. Like the PSP, the keyboard's finish collects fingerprints at an ungodly rate. The price might also be a little too high for some. $99.99 • www.razerzone.com 38 GAME INFORMER IDEAZON REAPER GAMING MOUSE PRO The Reaper has seven remappable buttons and three optical speeds up to 1600 dpi that can be adjusted on the fly. CON The killer here is its non-ergonomic design; the Reaper just doesn't feel right in your hand. $39.99 « www.ideazon.com CREATIVE FATALITY GAMING MOUSE and changing the mouse's weight with swappable cores is easy. CON Sticking to simplicity (which seems to be FATALITY's signature), this mouse doesn't have a lot of extras, and somehow still fails to fit comfortably into your hand. $59.99 • www.creative.com LOGITECH G7 LASER CORDLESS MOUSE GEZIIIIIIIIIDD in a cordless package. Instead of being able to change the weight, you can swap batteries on the fly. CON The lack of weight balancing and including only one thumb button is unfortunate, but the biggest downside may be the steep price. $99.99 - www.logitech.com RAZER DEATHADDER СШНЕКТІТТТІГІІ) PRO Not only is this one of the best-looking mice, it tracks smoothly and the buttons are highly responsive. CON The DeathAdder lacks the swappable side buttons and quick dpi switching of the Habu. $59.99 « www.razerzone.com OTHER STUFF WE KNOW YOU WANT CAPTAIN N: THE GAME MASTER - COMPLETE SERIES ON DVD Back in the late "805 it was a common dream among chil- dren to be able to travel into the video game realm, make friends with poor representations of gaming's favorite char- acters, and fight evil with their dog. Now you can relieve that with all 26 episodes of Captain N on DVD. $29.98 • www.shoutfactorystore.com 8-BIT OPERATORS Whether you call it “chiptune” or "bitpop," making 8-bit music that is actually enjoyable to listen to ranks as an extraordinary feat. This 15-track CD features some of the top circuit-bend- ing artists across North America, South America, and Europe reworking classic Kraftwerk songs on their 8-bit consoles. $12.99 • www.8bitoperators.com PRO The three mouse buttons give you some nice options, PRO The G7 has nearly all the strengths of the G5, except LOGITECH G5 LASER MOUSE PRO The G5 may be the holy grail of mice. Its feature set covers all the bases: three dif- ferent dpi settings of up to 2000, a comfort- able fit, two thumb buttons, smooth tracking, and a nice weight balancing system. CON There isn't a lot for us to hate on here. Trust us, you should own this mouse. $69.99 • www.logitech.com MICROSOFT HABU CIZIIIIIIIITD PRO This mouse is similar to the DeathAdder (Razer helped make it), but better. The Habu tracks suberbly, has on-the-fly dpi adjustment, and features two swappable thumb buttons for maximum comfort. CON The Habu could contend for the title with a weight balancing system. The firmware update was a hassle as well. $69.95 • www.microsoft.com/hardware SAITEK GM 3200 LASER MOUSE Сш PRO This bad boy сап cycle through four dpi settings of up to 3200, meaning it's freaking fast. The 3200 also has removable weights so you can adjust the heft to fit your style of play. CON This mouse has a J.Lo caboose and feels awkward in our hands, but some people might like a little more junk in the trunk. $59.95 • www.saitekusa.com designed for. Three different kits from $199.99 — $399.99 - www.ambx.com PHILLIP'S AMBX PC GAMING PRO GAMER KIT (ШІКТТІПІТІГІО As if your eyes don't get dry enough while you play games, now Phillips has come up with a peripheral that blows air in your face while you play. The amBX also adds some new and nifty lighting effects to your games. We didn't think the audio was the best, but the lights add a fun touch and work pretty well even for games they weren't GAME INFORMER 39 connect opinion SPACE INVADERS - IS CASUAL GAMING DESTR B M ж” AZ ~ "P | Ж” 2% ; ж“ Br MOLE YING VIDEO GAMES? nm Á lased same time: "Wü. BY MATTHEW KATO, SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR, GAME INFORMER ou've probably been hearing about the casual gaming revolution for a while now. You've read about how much money cell phone gaming rakes in, and how middle-aged women in the suburbs love playing games on their PCs when they aren't watching Oprah. We've even seen companies like Nintendo flat-out declare that it's a priority to capture as many of these non- traditional gamers as possible. But is this really what the industry needs? І understand that publishers are excited about this possibility because it means extracting money from segments of the population that they normal- ly don't reach, but 1 don't care about their profits. | care about people like you and me: the hardcore gamer. No offense to your mom, grandma, or seven-year-old brother/sister, but | don't care what they think about video games - or even if they ever get into video games. Call me selfish, but | do not want the industry to cater specifically to these segments of the population at the expense of the hardcore gamer. | certainly think that everyone should play video games, but we — hardcore gamers who stand in line for the systems, spend plenty of money throughout the year on stuff, and who have always been there for the industry — should not be held hostage by the politics of demographics and by financial concerns that don't feel that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. | don't want to make concessions for them that could dumb down the games we play. Luckily, | don't think this will be necessary. With kids getting into games at younger and younger ages, and with over 25 years of controller, interface, and gameplay design evolution behind us, | don't think that today's games necessarily freeze out people from playing them — especially when the high quality of graphics is more likely to attract people than intimidate them. Besides, anyone who's gone online can tell you that young kids are having no trouble mastering games and head shotting everyone in the process. Go online with Madden or Halo 2, and you'll see that it's not kids who are crying that games need to be easier and more accessible and casual. There's a difference between being suitable for younger audiences and insulting them with overly simplistic gameplay. Video games should inspire and challenge kids, not patronize them with forced mediocrity. When | was young playing games, it was that delicate line between challenge and reward that fired my imagination and spurred me on. Defender, Tempest, and Super Mario Bros. were age-appropriate titles that did not care how old | was, and they rewarded me handsomely because of it. | hate to think about destroying that sense of discovery and feeling of accomplishment if we assume that ten-year-olds shouldn't ever have to see a “Game Over" screen. | feel that older generations of would-be gamers see time and effort as a barrier to entry, and that's understandable. Even when | want to play an RPG, for example, | find it hard to find the 40-hour com- mitment | know it's going to take to finish the game amidst my busy life. But there are ways around this with the right save systems and story/gameplay pacing. Also, let's not mistake adults’ love of the casual escapism that is found in a PC puzzle game as a sign-that they are a gaming demographic ready to seriously invest time and money into gaming like we do. Should we sacrifice depth and gameplay features in our games because grandpa likes to play online poker to blow off some steam? Apart from financial reasons, I'm not sure why we would want to turn to older generations for approval like a child looking for their parents’ consent. Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry that makes sizable consumer electronic waves in the big kids’ pool. | fear what might happen if non-gamers get too large a say in matters. Do you think teenagers in the fifties wanted their parents to like Chuck Berry? Or worse yet, imagine the awful music he would online... and you'll see that it's not kids who are crying that games need to be easier and more acces- sible and casual. have created if he sought the older generation's input and approval for what he wrote. Besides, as old fart gamers like myself get older and have kids, we'll still be gaming and creating an instant older demographic for companies to tap. There is room and reason for casual gaming and simplistic titles for little kids. l'm not saying that seven-year olds should be playing Grand Theft Auto. Parents should always monitor what their kids play to make sure #5 appropriate for their age. | certainly don't think Dora the Explorer should become Lara Croft all of a sudden, or that a fun little puzzle game poses any threat to the games | play. Nor am | attacking Nintendo and its systems — even if they want to snare casual gamers. In fact, | see The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as a per- fect example of how you can create a game that appeals to a broad swath of ages, skill levels, and which can even make cash for the stock holders (there it is again). It serves everyone by patronizing no one. Want to incorporate more casual gamers into the fold? | think that a good tutorial mode, intui- tive controls, and a balanced learning curve are important tools in helping casual gamers become accustomed to supposed “hardcore” games without much fuss at all. | also think hardcore gamers like us can lend a helping hand. Next time your dad or sister sits down and watches you play, instead of brushing them off as too stupid to understand what you're doing, invite them in, explain the controls, and let them play. Think of it as if they were playing a sport for the first time. Instead of berating them and snatching away the controller, let them make some mistakes and just enjoy themselves. Because nobody is inspired or has a good time by being patronized - a lesson that our industry would do well to heed. M ШШ The views and opinions expressed on this page are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Game Informer Magazine or its staff. If you work in the industry and would like to share your opinion, contact senior editor Matt Helgeson at matt@gameinformer.com. 40 GAME INFORMER MW | STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF Is STRONG. STANDING UP FOR THOSE AROUND YOU ) ex /4 IS ARMY STRONG. 7 у 7 уй сї Ly » i ; 7 | 5 ; \ ха ТА ғ > X \ \ There's strong. And then there's Army Strong. The strength >; that comes from hot just.changing your life but changing the lives of others. ж Find out more àt U.S.ARMY ] 5| ^ E M "ARMY STRONG., 5% connect sun BASEBALL OPENER The baseball season kicks off tonight at 8:05 (ET) with the new look New York Mets traveling to the home of World Series champs St. Louis Cardinals. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. This game is irrelevant, how- ever, as the Cubs are going to win the World Series. (snicker) tue 03 NEW RELEASES + Bust-a-Move: Bash! - Wii * Cooking Mama: Cook Off - Wii * Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales ~ DS * Guitar Hero II- 360 * MLB 07: The Show - PS3 * Resident Evil 4 ~ PC * The Settlers – DS * SNK Vs, Capcom: Card Fighters - 09 wed 04 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE ч. SLAYER SEASON 8 я, Sunnydale's slayer may never M see the light of day again on television, but her amazing Story is continuing in comic \ ( form. Series creator Joss А | Whedon is penning Season 8 v himself, and Georges Jeantly V is providing the art. Buffy fans, «5 . there's a reason to live, fri Quentin Tarantino and Robert Кодпдиег5 new film Grindhouse makes its theatri- cal debut today. We could tell you what this movie is all about, but really all you need to know is that Kurt Russell is in it and Rose McGowan has a machine gun leg. That's what we call motion picture perfection, c 08 4 Fans of slow-moving and 2 highly depressing dramas should tune into HBO tonight |“ A to catch the first episode of r The Sopranos final season. We predict that nothing will syf | happen, other than Tony talking about those stupid ducks again. "EU. ы” MEA Monster Madness: Battle for Suberbia - 04/17 ТОМ РАЙ Тһе Pokémon craze continues today with the releases of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. Ben is already claiming that his Widdlydoodle is stronger than your Charmander, and that his Dangadingler will kick your Squirtle in the face. Ben is six. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar - 04/24 * Winter Challenge - Р52 NEW RELEASES * Rapala Trophies - 360 е Super Paper Mario - Wii * Twin Peaks: Season 2 - ОМО NEW RELEASES * Code Lyoko - DS. * Dead Head Fred - PSP. * The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - PSP + The Game - HD-DVD * The Jerk - HD-DVD * Legend of the Dragon - PS2, PSP * Monster Madness; Battle for Suburbia - 360, PC * PuzzleScape - PSP 24 NEW RELEASES * Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ~ HD-DVD * The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar - PC * Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - Wii * Super Collapse 3 - DS Grindhouse - 04/06 » Spider-Man 2: Unrated Extended Си - DVD * Test Drive Unlimited - PSP * Toodoku - DS * Touch the Dead - DS = Valhalla Knights - PSP 6 “Қ а ў | Mortal Kombat: Armageddon - 04/24 INDIE MMO GAME DEVELOPER CONFERENCE Held in Minneapolis, MN, this two-day conference will explore how small develop- B ment houses can get a piece of the World of Warcraft pie. We'll be there pitching our Being John Malkovich MMO. I's perfect. You only have to tender one character! RACHEL PVP STATUE No Ninja Gaiden collection of statues is complete without demon hunter Rachel. We're certain that your wife will love you even more if you display this incredibly detailed sculpt proudly in the living room. Look for И today! 27 "NOT YOUR PROBLEM" DAY Are people always trying to hold you accountable for your actions? Not today! Did you "accidentally" erase your friend's Final Fantasy XII save? Not your problem! Did you "accidentally" roll a Paladin in WoW? Wait. . Why would you even do that? Shame on you. MY PREVIOUS SECURITY SOFTWARE KEPT HITTING ME WITH POP-UPS. SO I GAVE IT A SMACKDOWN. 40 MILLION USERS HAVE ALREADY DISCOVERED THAT SECURITY SOFTWARE DOESN’T HAVE TO BUG YOU WITH CONSTANT UPGRADE MESSAGES TO KEEP YOU PROTECTED. THEY'VE MADE THE MOVE TO AVG INTERNET SECURITY—SMARTER, MORE POWERFUL, FRUSTRATION-FREE PROTECTION AGAINST VIRUSES, SPYWARE, SPAM AND OTHERTHREATS. DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE TRIAL TODAY AT WWW.GRISOFT.COM JOIN THE REVOLUTION. INTERNET SECURITY INCOGNITA TERRA 44 GAME INFORMER зе cover story UNLIMITED ENABLED | PLAYSTATION 3 > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER NAUGHTY DOG > RELEASE WINTER 2007 Sit Francis Drake had a wealth of titles to his name by the time he died at sea in the winter of 1596. To his English countrymen, he was a hero - an explorer who circumnavigated the globe, a sea captain who sunk dozens of ships in the Spanish Armada, and a knight by Queen Elizabeth's own hand. To his enemies. he was the worst sort of villain - a marauder that heartlessly destroyed their ports and colonies, а pirate that ceaselessly stole their chests of gold, spices, and jewels. Whatever people called him, his infamous adventuring career came to an end when his body was tipped over the side of his ship off the coast of Panama over 400 years ago. But what if that lead coffin held no body? What if there was instead a mysterious book that hinted at his last great adventure? What if you found that book? GAME INFORMER 45 Naughty Dog has a long E Би. ae aN | history of making games for — | ЕСКЕК missing here ЕЕ жары а \ brought to life the colorful antics of a goateed elf named Jak and his wisecracking sidekick Daxter. After years of caricatured faces and funny looking creatures, it came as more than a little surprise at ЕЗ 2006 when a video of its newest game was revealed. Dubbed “Dude Raider” by a joking press who had no real information on the game, Naughty Dog's latest title hinted at a realistic character who would jump and shoot his way through a gorgeous jungle backdrop. Upon our visit to the studio, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells filled us in on the dramatic shift in style. "On PlayStation 1, we had to go very iconic — it was about oversized heads and it was very cartoony. On PlayStation 2, there was more technology, and we were able to go to not quite human, but not an animal - it's an elf, very stylized, but with more human move- ments, and we were able to start adding in more story and character. Then we looked at the technology the PlayStation 3 afforded us, and we realized now we can go full-on human and still capture all that great gameplay from our past games.” Now, months after that first ЕЗ video, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has far more to get gamers excited than an announced name. After hearing about the game's cinematic story, seeing the technology that backs up that exciting plotline, and playing Р 4 Sony. Its 1996 hit Crash Bandicoot was a ~E ў 1 £s T 3 runaway success for the fledgling PlayStation шъ. “+ t ЗЕ е L game console, giving the system an iconic жш т “ | jas ү t p. 4 : character of its very own to draw in gamers >“ % ж 4 7 Ы Р ы Қ" В. н weaned оп Mario and Sonic. Five years later, it A к. 47! % Ж Lom Y سل‎ i € a While vehicles certainly aren't the main the game for ourselves, we're sure about one gameplay, Naughty Dog knows how much thing. This is one title that should give hold- to ке а кайра д долы ане 2 я 9 10 пор опа jet-ski outs against the pricey PlayStation 3 a reason ing submerged buildings in search of to pause and look again. Another has you speeding down the treach rapids of a white water river pour VER xu сан 46 САМЕ INFORMER зе cover story k д n 5 # Audio in the game serves as a major emotional cue to deepen the experience. Audio director Bruce Swanson puts 4 it simply: “If | could have а metric for how well the game со is doing sound-wise, И would be how far I can get through this game with my eyes closed” Nathan Drake és your classic and reportedly childless explorer Sir Francis Drake, and he’s out to prove it. A silver ring he everyman жє it just з0 happens wears has been passed down through that he makes his living doing the family with a strange clue etched on the inside - the things the everyman only date of 1597, the year after dreams about. For the protagonist of his supposed ancestor Uncharted, Naughty Dog wanted a character that died. Its the first stop ina emulated the great cinematic heroes that had long trail of breadcrumbs come before. “We wanted to draw from the long where things are rarely history of the classic action/adventure genre, what they appear to all the way back to the adventure pulps, to the Бе, ЖЗ Hennig relayed to Saturday morning movie serials, to Indiana Jones, 45 ‘One of the recurring all the way up to the contemporary historical themes throughout the detective stories like The Da Vinci Code or game is the juxtaposition of National Treasure," game director Amy Hennig the expected and the unexpected, tells us. "The hero is not some badass mercenary and the sense of dislocation and intrigue that soldier. What makes him heroic is the fact that пие from discovering things where they he's tenacious and resourceful, not the fact don't belong that he's wearing a hundred pounds of armor, From the beginning of production, an big goal he's tough as nails, and he's got some massive for Naughty Dog has been to avoid the dry and weapon on his back. With everything in the emotionless stories that have typified action game, we have to make sure that human quality games for years. “When we talked about what comes through” games move us, and so few really do, inevitably To tap into this vibe, the team created Nathan ns because youve got somebody that Yos i Drake, a finder of lost and forgotten objects playing through йш Нени Өн. Whether who moves in (һе shady world of treasure it's Half-Life 2: Episode One, or Shadow of the hunting, shoulder-to-shoulder with Colossus with your horse, or even Gears of War arms dealers and smugglers. with your partners - #5 а whole different ехреп- Seli-eduücaled and witha ence than going through it alone" To emulate knack for figuring out the that feeling, the supporting cast plays a big role puzzles left behind by in Uncharted. Elena Fisher steps into the role of history, Nathan has a the spunky female lead as a documentary film- secret that shouldnt maker who has attached herself to Drake's hunt. be hard to guess - he We also meet Victor Sullivan, an older version of thinks Беса descan- Nathan in many ways. He's an adventurer who's dantor te Tamos been into the suspect scene of treasure hunting GAME INFORMER 47 for years, and has the enemies and unpaid debts to show for it. Despite Sullivan's checkered past, Drake looks to him as a mentor of sorts — a friendship that plays a big part in the story that follows. As the game opens, Nathan and his tagalong camera-wielder Elena have dis- covered the apparent object of their search: the sunken lead coffin of Sir Francis Drake. Instead of a body, the diary within hints that the great explorer might not have died, but instead headed into the Amazon on one last quest. Before they're able to learn more, their salvage ship is assaulted by a horde of modern day pirates, and the player gets his or her first taste of action. Fending off the onslaught, it's soon clear that it's a hopeless scenario — until Sullivan's sea plane swoops in and rescues them. The whirlwind of locations and situations that follow keep with that same spirit of uncanny surprises that just never seem to add up. Deep in the Amazon, Nathan and his friends find a wrecked German U-Boat in the middle of the rain forest - its long-dead occupants brutally murdered. The clues they find there launch them towards a forgotten island lost in the vastness of the Pacific. There, a strange Spanish colony lies in ruins, forgotten by history and housing that last m Jumping is context sensitive, secret treasure that Sir Francis Drake was писа Ынта ысын willing to fake his own death to pursue. Out to the Movies “Being a gamer myself, any time | see a cutscene that's kind of half-assed, it bugs me. If I'm going to sit and have the game control taken away from me, | want to enjoy it,” lead cinematic animator Josh Scherr tells us. While a big part of the story and character develop- ment in Uncharted occurs in the midst of the action, nearly an hour's worth of cinematics are being included to flesh out the plot. After a cinematic sequence is fully plotted out in animatics, a live action director гипз a motion capture shoot to establish a starting point for the animation of the cutscene. 48 САМЕ INFORMER All the mo-cap data and audio is then brought into а computer program called Maya, where additional animations can be added by hand. For Uncharted, while the cinematic animators use the videos and motion capture + as a reference, all of the facial animation is completed by hand. To deliver the by-the-seat- of-your-pants gameplay they re out to achieve, the team at Naughty Dog has approached Uncharted with an eye towards all the hallmarks you'd expect out of a movie with this subject and characters. this doesn't mean, however, that they're trying to turn gamers into movie buffs. Instead, they've examined what makes books and movies about exploration and adventure so exciting and tried to set those ideas into an interactive framework. Several hallmarks of style and action have emerged into the game. Over 50 minutes of cinematics allow for ample character growth, humor, charm, and romance, while the game's action is punctuated by close calls, impossible escapes, near misses, and seemingly insur- mountable odds. The developers we spoke with seemed to turn whatever they were working on back to this grounding in story delivery and emotion. It's a focus that they feel is essential to make the hours of gameplay carry weight and excitement for players. Like many of the great heroes of cinema, Nathan Drake is fallible and even sometimes clumsy. In a gunfight, he's likely to blindly fire back over his shoulder as he dives A lighting pass adds depth and color to the image before the final cinematic emerges. е cover story for cover rather than calmly line up a long dis- tance sniper shot. Throw him into a brawl and he has no fancy martial arts training to fall back on, but a wild haymaker might just do the trick. We were offered the incredible chance to be the first outside of Naughty Dog and Sony to put our hands on the controller and find out exactly how it all felt. The near final cinematic we watched and the subsequent level we played take place as Nathan and Elena are making their way to the mysterious uncharted island where the majority of the game occurs. Aboard Sullivan's sea plane, the island appears on the horizon ahead. As Elena films a teaser bit for her documentary, a tremendous crash shakes the plane. Elena rotates her camera out the window to reveal the wing's engine wrapped in flame from an apparent anti-air attack. An exasperated Drake shouts for her to turn off the camera and grab the parachutes. Totally out of her element, Elena takes Drake's questionable advice on proper skydiving technique, hopes for the best, and leaps shrieking from the plane. Without Elena there to impress any more, Nathan real- izes how insane it is that he's still at the controls of a rapidly crashing aircraft. He rushes to the windblown entrance, only to smash headlong into the deck as he trips over the cockpit doorway. Questioning aloud what in the world he's doing here, he takes one last glance at the rapidly approaching jungle below and flings himself out the exit. GAME INFORMER 49 Control of the action was in our hands іп the level that followed. Having survived the drop, Nathan finds himself in a stunning moss-covered forest, with a streaming waterfall nearby. Climbing the rocks, we ascended up out of the basin. A wide gap between the cliffs above required a wild leap to the opposing ledge. Barely grasping the far edge, Nathan banged hard against the far rock wall, knocking his breath away before we pulled up and over onto the far side. A downed tree in the next area served to illustrate one of the game's uses of the Sixaxis controller. As we walked Nathan across the narrow beam, we controlled his balance by twisting the controller from side to side, which unsurprisingly resulted in him tumbling belly first onto the log before we managed to inch him across. Once there, we heard the shouted arrival of enemy pirates, soon to be followed by whizzing bullets. As Nathan instinctively ducked, we ran him for cover behind a nearby boulder. Leaning out amid heavy returning fire, a few wild shots from Nathan's pistol dropped his foes, and we ran forward to a hanging vine to continue our climb. Next, we saw the first signs of the strange, misplaced Spanish ruins of the island as more scruffy pirates arrived to attack us. Diving from rock to tree amid a hail of enemy fire, we occasionally scurried aside at the sound of a 4 grenade dropping by our feet. Standing still for very long is almost never an option, as enemies are constantly flanking for better position. With another wave of pirates defeated, we platformed from one ruined Spanish wall to another to reach an ancient metal grate. A button press sent it spinning off its rusted hinges, and beyond, another troop of pirates poured over an old wall as the music swelled into high gear. Wi Bi In the fictionalized history of the game, a Spanish colony was built and lost on an * » undiscovered island їп the Pacific х Wl The Sixaxis controller's motion sensitivity comes into play in balancing acts like this 50 GAME INFORMER All the high adventure, hidden treasure, and frantic gunfights in the world aren't enough to keep a game afloat on the PlayStation 3 if there isn't some impressive tech goíng on behind the SCENES. Luckily, the folks at Naughty Dog are widely recognized as some of the most savvy programmers and technicians Taking Cover in the industry - a fact that was ham- mered home as we spent hours during our visit with them touring the inner workings of Uncharted. Nowhere is the expertise of Naughty Dog's creative team more on display than in the complex animation system that governs movement and combat. Three major goals found themselves at odds with each other as the animators began their work. “We wanted him to have realis- tic movement and believable weight and physics - to feel like he’s а 190-pound guy moving around. We wanted him to move fluidly without popping from state $ cover story to state or from one animation to the next,” lead character animator Jeremy Yates explains. “But almost contradictory to those first two goals, we wanted him to feel very responsive to the player.” The answer to the dilemma is less a simple trick and instead a commitment to an immense amount of work to make all three goals come together. At the time of writing, Nathan Drake's character has approximately 1,200 unique animations to his name, with more being added daily. The final tally is expected to hover around 3,000. As a point of comparison, Naughty Dog's great PS2 hero Jak had around 200. Nathan Drake currently has over 1,200 unique animations that bring him to life in Uncharted. What does that mean to you? Take а look at how Nathan takes cover after leaning out to take a shot. Every time he returns to a neutral stance, minor variations in his posture, hand position, and expression add variety and realism to his actions. It's rare that you see your favorite film hero adopt | exactly the same pose multiple times in the same movie — why should your game hero aspire to less? GAME INFORMER 51 With such а wealth of movements available, the team is aiming for the illusion that you never see the character repeat himself. That's because among the hundreds of unique animations, many of them can be layered on top of each other. This impressive animation technique farms much of the moment- to-moment combinations out to the PS3 SPUs, allowing for Drake to display any number of poses, emotions, and movements all at once. For instance, picture the main character sprinting across a wide-open clearing to reach cover. His running is combined with a frantic ducking and weaving as bullets begin to fly from a nearby cliff face. He's been running for a long time, so his frame is visibly shaking from hard breathing. Simultaneously, he's desperately reloading his rifle so he can fire back. To top off the picture, his face wears a combined mask of fear and determination, assuring an emotional and cinematic component is always present, even in the most action- packed scenario. Character and environmental artists are hard at work to deepen the immer- sion. To avoid the "uncanny valley" of eerie and disturbing character realism, Naughty Dog has chosen instead to make artistic choices that are just enough out of the realm of photoreal- ism to be emotion-laden, but not overly exact. "We're not looking at other games and thinking, ‘what does this game do?", explains lead character artist Rich Diamant. "We're looking at film — at the highest end of what people are doing right now, and saying: ‘What can we do? Can we mimic this?" All the characters and environments are modeled from scratch, rather than 52 GAME INFORMER acquired through scanning, to allow for total artistic freedom in how those characters appear. An array of complex shaders dictate the way light interacts with objects, including some amazing applications of sub-surface lighting, such as the diffused light of a torch appearing behind the skin of a flesh-colored hand, or sunlight shining both around and through the thin leaf on a tree. Light shining on a bright red sphere reflects off, so that a nearby granite wall is also tinged crimson. Unlike the simple tile-sets you'd see in older games, every element of the background environment is unique, since the layered textures of moss, rock, and any other surface can all be overlaid in different patterns to create individual objects that are unlike any others that What's in a Wrinkle? are visible in the game world. With the power of the PS3 backing them up, the team can create moveable joints on objects like tree branches, so that wind shakes each individually, casting moving shadows onto the ground. And with the aid of high-dynamic range lighting, your character's eye must adjust to drastic shifts in brightness. Have Nathan Drake stare straight at the sun for several seconds, and then stare down into a cave, and your ability as a player to see clearly will emulate his iris’ dilation into a darker environment. All these tricks combine to create a world that appears almost soft to the touch - from the hair and clothes of characters to the refracted appearance of the ground beneath a spinning pool of water. On top of characters’ clothing and faces, Naughty Dog has overlaid a wrinkle map that might best be described as a reactionary texture to the shifts in the normal map that lies beneath it. In essence, as the joints in the face or body move into new positions, the wrinkle map responds to create startling realism in both flesh and cloth. erue 3 РЕ om zu Pj 7 П x е d КУ 5 > т 4 4 x \ b Se cover story The question remains: what kind of а дате % it? Like many developers, Naughty Dog is hesitant to shoehorn their creation into one genre or another. However, like any game, even one as fun and innovative as Uncharted, clear inspirations are apparent. Ties to classic adventure films serve as the root of the story, from the freewheeling antics of Indiana Jones to Die Hard's John McClane, with his penchant for wrong places and wrong times. Gameplay, meanwhile, shares its roots as much with great platformers like Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia as it does with cover-and- shoot action hits like Gears of War. Ultimately, however, Uncharted is looking to establish its own identity as a game that steps beyond the traditional boundaries of running and gunning to tell a story which players will truly care about. Having had a peek at the mystery, humor, and excitement that lies at the game's core, it's easy for us to mark another check in the pro column for why gamers will want a PS3 by this year’s holiday season. Uncharted is more than a title to describe an unmapped mystery island in the Pacific. For Naughty Dog, Uncharted is a step into new territory, and its first steps in that direction exemplify what's remarkable about where gaming is headed next. ИШЕ GAME INFORMER 53 PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | WII | PLAYSTATION 2 | PSP NINTENDO DS | GAME BOY ADVANCE | PC VICARIOUS VISIONS (WII, Р! NINTENDO DS, Е BOY ADVAN > RELEASE MAY 4 x 54 GAME INFORMER It's hard to know what it is that people like so much about Spider-Man. With all the superhero characters and movie franchises that have been attempted over the years, Spider-Man stands high in the public conscious- ness - a hero that everybody seems willing to cheer for. There's certainly something fascinating in the idea of swinging wildly through the city from one building to another. Perhaps people love the stable of villains that seem to get thrown at Spidey, making his exploits all the more exciting to vicariously live through. But if there's one thing that sets the webslinger apart from the dozens of comic characters that have met with less success, it's his humanity - the pain of losing family, the demands of a real romance, and the responsibility of stepping up to do the right thing. This year, moviegoers and taking on supervillains in desperate battles wherever they're found. So why should gamers be ready for another day in Spidey's shoes? The answer lies in the vast number of changes Treyarch has made to step up their game, many of which are responses to the problems that players encountered in their earlier releases. The city has been dramatically expanded, adding a wealth of building interiors and a full sewer and subway system to explore, among other things. A totally rethought combat system abandons the button mashing of the old games and encourages observa- tion and quick reflexes. The storyline has expanded into every area of the game - side missions now have a mea- surable effect on the world and provide new moves and power-ups as rewards. Finally, the game embraces the mythos of the movie by giving players the chance to experience the film's events in several exciting ways, from the raging =T] 3 k game players alike will go along for the ride as Peter Parker's humanity is tested in the defining story that has long stood as a favorite with fans: Spider-Man gives in to his frustration and rage to don the black suit. With a brand new approach to the game formula it helped invent and popularize, Treyarch is delivering a huge new title to accompany this year's sure-to-be blockbuster summer movie hit. This month, we sat down to play its creation and find out what's new, what's returning, and if Spider-Man still has the goods to keep us swinging. While Treyarch has created a brand new game engine for its first foray with Spider-Man onto next-generation hardware, the resulting look and style are remarkably familiar. Spider-Man is still jumping and zipping through the city of New York, still beating up criminals in the name of justice, and attacks powered by Peter's mysterious black suit to newly added interactive cinematics that evoke the insane action and excitement of the movie. All told, it's not a complete departure. It is, however, an upgrade to almost all the problems that have plagued the first entries in the game franchise. The game world of Spider-Man 3 is gorgeous to behold. Drop into Times Square, and the blinking signs and busy traffic are inviting and detailed. Pause the game and the camera pulls back into a fully rendered 3D map of New York. You can zoom in and out to take а closer look at the numerous labeled dots that spot the play area. "At any given time, the player has access to all sorts of different missions," producer Brian Pass says as he shows us around the game. "There's no checklist — nothing gating the player except their 2% feature own progression through the game.” Unlike previous games, 10 unique story- lines are open to players, many of which are available simultaneously. Click on an icon for any one of these missions, and an unmissable shaft of light appears in the game world to guide you to your chosen destination. Where previous games offered a seemingly endless string of basically meaningless purse snatching missions and carjackings, the crime in Spider-Man 3 has been incorporated into longer story-based conflicts with three different gangs that have swept into Manhattan. "Colors on the map will indicate gang control," Pass explains. "At any time І can go and launch into gang missions. Through that story progression I'm exploring different mission objectives, solving various crimes, handling these gangs and dimin- ishing their influence in those areas.” We got to play through a mission halfway through the storyline of the Dragon Tail gang, a group intent on stealing ancient oS ™ ГНЕ WEBGSLINGER RETURNS art pieces for reasons Spider-Man can't fathom. While the mission involved simply protecting a helpless art dealer, it did show off how much plot and voicework are being poured into these independent mission lines. In addition, instead of a point-based experience system, players will unlock new actions and combat moves through these side missions, offering an added edge as you tackle the major conflicts of the movie plot. We also got the chance to experience the opening of the game, which finds Spidey in conflict with a mad bomber as he attacks a downtown building. Here, as we flipped and kicked our way through his minions, we got a good taste for the expanded combat system. A major push from the folks at Treyarch seems to have bolstered the importance of dodges and counters. As an enemy GAME INFORMER 55 into а rage to шіп addition to the full city, a large number of interior levels and environments dramatically expand the game world prepares to throw a punch or take a shot, a quick pop-up icon offers a split second dodge move, while a second button press lets players respond with a quick attack. As Spider-Man you'll also be able to manually trigger Spider-Sense, which overlays the screen with a clear image of where threats lie in the area by outlining them in red, A new blue meter by the health bar delivers a rechargeable Spider Reflexes power, letting players slow down time while Spider-Man remains at full speed, with some obvious ben- efits. All told, 40 different combat moves become available throughout the game, many of which are upgradeable as you play. Among these are the anger-induced actions enabled by wearing the black suit - when adopted, a whole new suite of attacks become available. Once Peter dons these darker accoutrements, he'll move with greater speed, attack with more power, and generally be even more of a nightmare to the street thugs who get in his way. "He's got his own set of moves. It's a darker side of Spider-Man," Pass says. "He's got attitude, and the power set lines up with that new attitude" The black suit also enables a rage mode that amplifies these abilities even further. When we played, both suits felt great, with the exception of a jerky camera that feels like a holdover from earlier install- ments. If it addresses this issue, Treyarch should have some happy players out there exploring all the options that the combat system affords. Treyarch knows that there's a wide variety of players who will be tackling their new game, from casual movie watchers to rabid comic fans. Rather than cater to one or the other, the team has opted to do both by including a wealth of different characters and events to keep everybody happy. Dr. Connors will make the unfortunate transformation into the Lizard in one quest line. The gang storylines seem to inevitably converge on the presence of Kingpin in the game. We even played through an exciting encounter with Scor- pion: In a secluded science lab, we encountered a mechanized version of the popular villain, who has been forced into criminality against his own will by a form of mind control. After trashing the lab, the fight boiled over onto the streets of the city, where В Next-generation tech has the webslinger looking remarkable, олбу ng eu" ripping : the Big Apple 56 CAME INFORMER a challenging chase sequence began. “Fights are no longer contained to walled-in interiors. | can take this battle right out onto the streets if | want to. | can go up on building tops - | can go pretty much wherever | want to,” Pass tells us. As we were running down Scorpion, we tried another new feature: cinteractives. It's a fancy word to describe the button-press minigames popular- ized by the original God of War. In Spider-Man 3, these minigames are designed to provide action sequences akin to the cinematography of the movies while keeping control in the hands of the player. Chasing Scorpion down the street, he turned at one point and began to hurl cars back at us to slow us down, With adept acrobatics and some well-timed button inputs, we twisted and flipped our way past the flying cars to continue the chase. These cinteractives play a big part in the game, and add just the right amount of movie-like excitement without pulling players out of the base fighting system. Of course, the movie has its own share of new villains to challenge the webslinger. We got a kick out of the level we played that had Harry Osborn ambushing Peter, flying in to tackle the out-of- costume hero as the New Goblin. Aboard his sky board, Harry was flinging bombs and blades at lightning speed, necessitating some judicious use of Spider Reflexes and counters to take him down. Our demo of the game wasn't about to call it quits there, though; a fight in the subway with new villain Sandman was also impressive. There, as subway cars hurtled by, Spidey and Sandman engaged in a furious exchange of blows, with the villain throwing up shields of sand and transforming his hands into hammers and maces. While there may be several other characters to surprise fans, one last encounter remained under wraps - the appearance of (and inevitable fight with) Venom. The black-suited symbiote will undoubtedly play a huge part in this summer's movie, so we expect to see a titanic fight in the game as well. In the meantime, we'll have to Se feature content ourselves with some other treats that are headed to lucky PlayStation 3 owners. The PS3 collector's edition will include interviews with the likes of Tobey Maguire, Avi Arad, Thomas Haden Church, and Bruce Campbell. Far more exciting, however, is the inclusion of an exclusive playable character — PS3 players will be able to switch over and play as the New Goblin, flying through the city and engaging in his own special missions. Rather than scrapping what was amazing about its first Spidey games, Treyarch has created а new game that embraces those qualities - a choice that may leave some gamers feeling flat and asking for more sweeping changes to the formula. For the rest of us, Spider-Man 3 seems to address most of the major mis- steps that seemed to hold back their other efforts. With luck, the game we'll be playing this May will have been polished to a sheen that can satisfy more than passing movie enthusiasts and step forward into the realm of great standalone action games. 88 to an importa counter move W An entirely new combat engine combines favorite moves from previous games with new ways to tap into Spidey's unique powers “в Combat has less button mashing this time thanks M There's a special set of missions set aside for the time you're running around in the black suit int dodge/ п The PlayStation 3 Collector's е Collector: will feature a to play as the New Goblin and through the city # Sandman is one of many villains that players will take on - others are culled from both the movie and the long history of Spider-Man comics = ће я 7 САМЕ INFORMER 57 = = 5 = 58 GAME INFO! ге feature UNLIMITED ENABLED . NEXT-GEN CONSOLES > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (MULTIPLAYER TBA) > PUBLISHER TBA > DEVELOPER PANDEMIC > RELEASE 2008 The last several years have seen a glut of World War Il games flooding the market with 5% everything from cinematic thrill rides to bottom of the barrel budget titles. What is so com- ка pelling about this war? Perhaps it’s the massive scale of the war and the numerous fronts on ^ E which it was fought. Maybe it's the clear-cut *good guys versus bad guys" nature of World War Ў 4 Il that is lacking in more recent conflicts. Still, some gamers are becoming fatigued with the genre - which is why developer Pandemic is going to great lengths to distance itself from the / pack of WWII games with its new title, Saboteur. Known for such franchises as Full Spectrum i Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront, Destroy All Humans, and Mercenaries, Pandemic is utilizing its particular brand of creativity to make a WWII game that's not about raiding the beach at Normandy or taking back Stalingrad. Saboteur is equal parts Sin City grit, Prince of Persia platforming, Indiana Jones cinematic action, Splinter Cell stealth, and Grand Theft Auto open world freedom. Find out how they plan to blend it all together while taking players on a sur- real ride from pulpy black and white to blindingly bright color as they liberate occupied France from Nazi rule on a personal quest for revenge. «а GAME INFORMER 59 NOT ANOTHER RANDOM SOLDIER On the eve of World War II, an Irishman Saboteur director Trey Watkins. "He ends known only as Sean has been frequenting • up caught up in this, and they come down racing circles in Paris, even participating with the heel of the Nazi boot on him and in the French Grand Prix. Nazi presence everyone he knows. So we strip everything is increasing every day, but Sean doesn't away from him, and the story follows him necessarily consider it his problem...until finding himself and forging new alliances one day, when everything chang ing revenge on the specific Маг "Many of the people that h e responsible for what happene to are killed by the Ма emic is vague at this point on plot in the wrong place at th s, but they have revealed that Sean saw something he shoul is primarily after a certain Nazi general . . Sean's character model fea- tures independent lighting from the environment, producing a glowing outline * who authorized the attack. However, he'll have more face time with Dierker, the general's number two and assumed killer of Sean's friends and family. This focus on vengeance within the backdrop of World War Il is one of several factors that Pandemic hopes will make Saboteur stand out among other titles in the genre. "Ultimately we're not really concemed about winning the war because know that turns out," says producer Phil Hong. "We're more interested in telling the * story about winning the personal battles." Sean quickly finds that working alone won't get him far. He will eventually join up with the underground French Resistance, performing several acts of sab- otage to weaken Nazi power in the area in hopes of opening the path to his final targets. This is where some groundbreak- ing use of color comes into play. Slight color highlights punctuate the black and white areas in a manner reminiscent of Sin City T A In transitional areas between color and black and white, tones are gradually muted STEALTH AND SABOTAGE While an area is directly under Nazi con- trol, everything appears in dour shades of black and white. Soldiers choke the streets, citizens walk around hunched over in fear, and a general tone of despair and oppression hangs in the air. It's here that Pandemic hopes to focus on stealth and platforming elements. When Sean is navigating these occupied areas, players won't have to constantly worry about being seen, an alarm going off, and tons of Nazis chasing them down. As long as he is acting “normally,” the Nazis will treat Sean as just another average citi- zen. It's when he starts sprinting, hanging out near Nazis too long, wielding a large gun, or climbing up a building that the sol- diers will confront him. "Just because we're blending in stealth elements doesn't mean we want to have the stealth pacing," says Watkins. "This isn't going to be sneak, wait, watch the whole elaborate long patrol path. We want you to move in, snap a guy's neck, take his gun, hide in the shadows, and move on to your next objective" As a part of the quickened pace philosophy, the team is also doing away with dead body management. Playel will never have to stop what they're doing to drag an enemy into a dark alley or stuff them into a locker. If you do happen to draw Nazi atten- tion, there is more than one way to handle the situation. Players can take on smaller groups of oppo with melee attacks to try to knock them out before more are alerted. “At first they don't perceive you as that much of a risk. They think they can kick your ass," says Watkins. Players will be able to form various brawler combos with the two attack buttons mixed with a grab ver and standard blocking mechanic. can chain a grab-and-punch maneuver with a finishing headbutt (complete with E bone-crunching sound effects), or simply toss your victim into the crowd of sur- rounding soldie ral close combat options will be at players' disposal. If you decide to strip a gun from one of your opponents and start shooting, the gunfire will most assuredly attract every Nazi within two city blocks. Enemies will ontinue to pour into the area until you're dead, so it's probably a good idea to get the hell out of there. Enter the clambering system. Much like the modern Prince of Persia games (and the upcoming Assassin's Creed) Sean can utilize things like windowsills and drain- pipes to smoothly escape to the roofs of Paris. Once you're out of danger it will only take 50 to 4 conds before the Nazi guards completely cool off. The develop- ers want players to be able to come at an obstacle from several different angles if need be without having to put up with a 2 featur Both black and white and color areas will exist side by side bunch of "game over" screens or tedious crouching behind a box. Of course, the ideal would be to avoid conflict altogether. Players can use any combination of streets, shady alleys, and rooftops when planning the route to their next mission objective. Stealth kills are key here. Sean can perform everything from neck snaps to cliff push-overs to the satisfy- ing "tap on the shoulder then punch in the face" maneuver. But these noir-soaked segments are only half of what Saboteur is all about. Remember, this is an open world game, after all. To more easily navigate the expan Sive environment, you're going to want to liberate the area you're operating in and Dierker is one of Sean's primary targets AE INFORMER „61 “4......... rc ||] |] |] i) | |]]|| ||] «езе... A BREAK IN THE CLOUDS If players can complete enough acts of sabotage in a certain area, it will transform from dreary black and white to vibrant color in real time. One example of a color changing moment we saw tasks players with breaking into a Nazi train yard. After systematically taking out a few guards, Sean runs out onto a bridge carrying a pack of TNT. As the train chugs toward him he sets the charge and runs like hell. A bright orange fireball punches through the plain black and white as the bridge begins to crumble underneath Sean's feet. He barely makes it to solid ground as the train and bridge fall to the canyon below in a mass of flaming wreckage. As you take in the beautiful destruction, you'll notice the world around you coming to life. Canyon walls shift to a pinkish granite tone, shrubs become bright green, and the river below takes on a brilliant blue. The rich color saturation provides an entirely different look, but the changes are far more than cosmetic. Additional citizens will populate the streets and are more likely to resist Nazi threats. The brightly colored sections are inspired by the films of Jean-Pierre Juenet, namely Amelie and A Very Long Engagement GAME INFOR W Sean's look allows him to blend in with the average citizen and maneuver through the streets of Paris unhindered “You've inspired the people to struggle," says Watkins. "It's not like you're going to show up and the NPCs are tossing the Nazis out on their asses. We still want the Nazis to be bad, and we're not going to = pull all of the Nazis out. Nazi patrols will be less frequent. They'll be more focused just around their bases rather than everywhere in the streets. When a confrontation does happen in the streets, instead of running away the NPCs will actually join in it. We're not pulling it all out, but we want it to feel arguably different. It should feel like you're TAKE WHAT YOU NEED “We're sticking with the rule of if you can see it, you can use it,” says Watkins. This applies to everything from weapons to uniforms to vehicles. Players can only hold one large weapon, like a machine gun or a rifle, and one small weapon, like a pistol. Most of the time you'll have to a procure specific weapons on site from a storeroom or a Nazi currently holding the weapon. This is further underscored by the fact that you will be attacked if you are even seen holding a larger weapon. So players will have to either stick to the rooftops or place larger guns like the sniper rifle in some- thing like a violin case. This same freedom to pilfer applies to every Nazi outfit in the game, as long as you use stealth kills. After all, bullet holes and bloodstains have traditionally been known to raise suspicion. Once that messy business is taken care of, you can score everything from lowly Nazi grunt duds to those of a high-ranking officer or a train worker's coveralls - even a fancy suit to crash a Nazi gala. making progress. We want the player to feel that reward” Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Saboteur's color system is when players come across the borders between zones. If standing in a fully colorized world while peering into a black and white landscape (or vice versa) isn’t surreal enough, try walking between them. As Sean runs from a light to dark area, the color gradually drains down to zero over a span of approx- imately 20 feet, and black storm clouds swoop in to cut off the bright blue sky. ана? сас Pandemic is still оп the fence as to whether to incorporate multiplayer elements into Saboteur. “Honestly, we're looking at what makes the most sense given the gameplay,” says director Trey Watkins Though we only saw a few vehicles in action, Pandemic promises that players will be able to drive pretty much whatever they want: roadsters, armored cars, tanks, and more. Sure, cars are a great way to get from point A to point B quickly, but they also serve as an opportunity for some high action. We saw Sean ramp over a moving train, jump from a car to a truck, toss the driver out, take the wheel, and then hop out as the truck careened toward the gate to a Nazi base, causing a huge explosion. But there are also plenty of opportunities for more subtle actions. For example, at Nazi checkpoints you'll have the option to show your papers to get through, blow everyone away, or drive around a blockade using a sneaky side route. Showing docu- mentation is obviously the smoothest way to handle the situation, but it will take sev- eral missions in a certain area before you can earn the papers necessary to move freely there. ACTIONS OF SUBTERFUGE Missions will work a lot like those in Grand Theft Auto. There will be several available at any given time, which are split up into free play and story categories, Free play missions allow players to search out new weapons like the bazooka or work on cre- ating more colorized zones in the world. These basically will help make the story missions a little easier to swallow. Howeve the high action, set piece-based story mis- sions won't ever be all that simple. “[One mission] is going to be focused around infiltrating a Nazi castle, which happens also to be a docking station for this enormous Nazi zeppelin. Then go leaping off a tower and grab a hold of [the Zeppelin], climb up inside, beat up a bunch of Nazis," says Watkins. "Then you'll climb your way through the interior gas bags of the zeppelin as the Nazi colonel you're pursuing is shooting at you. This ends up catching the whole thing on fire. You actu- ally fight your way up through the lattice Grapple attacks will remind players of how Indiana Jones takes care of business work of this zeppelin with explosions going off around you, and ultimately end up on top of it and have a confrontation with him. You then make your escape by parachut- ing down off of this burning zeppelin that you've managed to destroy" From everything we've seen of Saboteur, we're confident that Pandemic can pull off such a thrilling sequence. And that was only one example of the many things they're working up before the 2008 release. "There's a lot more to this game,” teases Hong. "And we're really excited for the course of this year to reveal more and more to the public about what we've got cooked up. | think we're just kind of scratching the surface" B II II BASED ON A TRUE STORY The character of Sean is actually inspired by a real racecar driver turned war hero. Get the full story in this month's Unlimited. ге feature Any vehicle in the game can be hijacked WHO'S THE PUBLISHER? Up until Pandemic recently announced that EA will publish Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, speculation ran wild with every- one from Activision to LucasArts as suspected publishers. It appears things will be no differ- ent this time around. "Basically, since joining forces with BioWare, we're self fund- ing for a good portion of the development until we find the right publishing partner, so we're signing on much later," says director Trey Watkins. “Ме go even a couple years into develop- ment before finding that partner. Obviously, we want to find them in time enough in advance of the title so that their organiza- tion has time to really maximize their capabilities. That's why you would find us announcing prior to a publishing arrangement.” Even though Pandemic won't say exactly what next-gen plat- forms Saboteur will appear on, Watkins dropped this hint while discussing the color changing system: "We'll probably, for the ridiculously hardcore play- ers who want to transform as much of the world as possible, we'll give them a little Xbox Live Achievement, but that is not a focus of the gameplay" реша рел) ase 000) ny ayy pue yyy заш SET you UP AND SENT you 0 GETTING пит. БИЕ ПІУЕ INTO E! HIGH-SPEED EXPERIENCE MyHITE-KNUCKEE REPLICATE REAL BU sTEERINB wirH OVER во FULLY STEAL AND SMASH ‘YOUR WAY THROUGH Rig TOMIZABLE CARS. NYC'S CINDERWÜRLD- Blood Drug Неге renc pene Vidlence artial Nudity C | Sexual Themes ALSO с о P бу [Р insat portable) 578 ESRB CONTENT و‎ | | RATING — wwwesrb.org (DVD-ROM) W a -UBI.com ПБЕ: HOL (31 R-SEAT. ACTION. UBISOFT ж Ld >” M ea Square Enix Announces 21 b bu Wright Launches "it". "y . New Final Fantasy ХШв bu Into pace (ДЕ ЕЕ CER . ЧМ МЕТВО! TECMO'S „= — Ж AE TEAM NINJA Р pn "PRIME GIVES SAMUS ` HER DAY AT ` XTREME reso, > 2 APRIL O'NEIL WUZ HAWT 2 720150485057! le MAJOR TURTLE FETISH 2007 : S | Al і 1 Сап Fire Them Whenever | Want! І THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE... That I'm basically the raddest dude in the world. Is there anyone who can even compete with my awesomeness? Duh! No! But this one stupid dingleberry keeps trying. His name is DarthClark, but | call him "total wiener dumphead" Whether I'm playing the rockinest new shooter or owning noobs in an MMO, DarthClark is always on the other team trying to beat me. Well, I've got a message for you, DarthClark: The only reason you beat me in Gears of War is because the 360 d-pad sucks. And my Bluetooth cut out when we were racing each other in MotorStorm. And my mom made me clean my room in the middle of whatever Wii game we might have been playing online. | am the greatest, most unbeatable gamer ever made! If you are too dumb to know that, - DarthClark. DarthClark, then I'll prove it to you once and for all at E3...if you're award him “Worst | even cool enough to get invited — which you soooo aren't. Gamer of the Year” Garnadan, Editor-in-Chief 69 г пада n THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE UGLY Also Known As “Us, You, and Your Mom” Getting mauled by a bear while playing Xbox 360 UGLY Bear owns |22: connect | interview | |22: connect | interview | TOMTHORNE > After it was revealed that 80 percent of PlayStation 3 consoles eventually explode with enough force to incinerate a city block, How do you expect a potentially fatal product to compete against the Wii and Xbox 360? The PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling console on the market. If you want to talk about gaming consoles, let's talk about that. We are fully committed to providing content for the PS2 with robust offerings like God of War Il. Has Microsoft offered the same unwavering support for their original Xbox? Absolutely not. explore a variety of online content. In one streamlined interface, users can access down- loads, pictures, music, and even transfer files to their Sony PSP for viewing on the go. Are you even human? If you want to toss around meaningless words like "human," let me throw a few words out there: "Cyborg" "/ Sony has been mired in legal prob- lems. Even more shocking is the Automaton” “Corporate Machine” | am programmed with a vast vocabulator, but that isn't what consumers care about. They trust the Sony brand implicitly. company’s decision not to issue a recall. We sat down with Sony's Tom Thorne to talk about this con- troversial choice and how it will affect the PS3 in the future. — But the PS3 will physically maim or kill its owners! Why has Sony not issued a recall? The PlayStation Network is a unique and unparalleled service that allows users to 66 САМЕ INFORMER Р А R 0 D Y Is that a "yes," or a “по”? Sony: Play beyond. Chad >> chad@chad.chad Handle: The Chad Gamer Expertise: Madden, Chicks Interests: Football, The Patriots, MTV, Dane Cook Dislikes: Nerds, Dweebs, Dorks, Geeks, Poindexters, Mel Gibson In The Patriot (False Advertising!) Current Favorite Games: Madden 05, Madden 06, Madden 07, Every GTA, Halo, Halo 2 Gene >> questionable source@gameinfarcer.com _ Handle: The Beta Gamer Expertise: Dubious At Best ) к Claiming I've 4 layed Games That Don't Аш ae Exist, Intercepting Alpha Builds Via Satellite (It’s Totally Possible!) Dislikes; Being Called Out For My Obvious Lies, eHarmony's Empty Promises, Not Being In The Credits For Halo 2 (| Invented Dual Wielding) Current Favorite Games: Halo 4 & 6 (5 Sucks), World Of Starcraft, Kingdom Hearts IIl (Spoiler: Donald Dies), Madden 09 (I'd Tell You The Rosters, But | Signed An NDA) Jacques Bronson >> chasethatambulance @gameinfarcer.com пп Handle: The Reactionary Gamer Expertise: Shouting, Making Phone Calls Interests: Passing My LSAT Someday, Drawing Nonexistent Connections Between Life And Video Games, Sending Unsolicited Letters And Emails, The Children Dislikes: Fun Current Favorite Games: Microsoft Word, Tax Break 2004, Minesweeper Augustus “Cole Train” Cole >> thetrain&gameinfarcer.com. Handle: Can't Stop The Train Expertise: Third-Person Shooters, First-Person Shooters, Side-Scrolling 3 Shooters, Top-Down Shooters, Jim Beam Shooters Interests: Bringing It On Against Suckas, Thrashball, Being Mama's Little Boy, Trash Talking Dislikes: Suckas, Doing It Klingon-Style, The Locust Horde (Shoot At Baird, Not Mel), Bikini Briefs That Ride Up Your Beefcakes Current Favorite Games; Gears Of War, Madden Thrashball, Hide The Grenade In The Locust's Mouth, SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature From The Krusty Krab what ever happened to J Allard? MICROSOFT TO USE “LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS” REALITY GETS QUANTIFIED T о Xbox 360 owners, the sound “boop-boop” means a job well done. Those notes accompanying the words “Achievement Unlocked” are a chance for gamers — usually unsuccessful in other areas of life - to feel meaningful. But what if gamers could feel that validation in their bleak, everyday lives? Now they can, thanks to Microsoft's new Life Achievement system. Still in the testing phase, this new technology includes a device that clips to your belt and monitors your actions, rewarding you with LiferPoints for positive accomplishments. “The world is full of things to do!” shouts Microsoft corporate vice president J. Allard. “We saw this as a golden opportunity to encourage people to do specific things, then award meaningless points that cannot be spent or other- wise redeemed.” Preliminary results show that response to the program is very positive. “By purchasing © the Zune, | unlocked the rare ‘Already Obsolete’ Life Achievement, got 100 LiferPoints, 3] and was entered in a drawing to win Fuzion Frenzy 2!" gushes one test subject. "Totally worth it” The technology will hit retail shelves in November, with the first bug-fix patch (necessary for the system to function) following several months later. AIR NOT INCLUDED NEW DOWNLOADS FOR MADDEN 08 ful implementation in series like Tiger Woods and Need for Speed, EA is counting on Madden 08 to push the boundaries of what gamers will tolerate. The new football title will have players spending real money to obtain a variety of in- game items; helmets, mascots, and air for the ball must all be unlocked via credit card purchase. Electronic Arts claims all these items will be totally optional. "We're not forcing anyone to buy anything," asserts a represen- tative for EA Sports. "Players who elect to not purchase air for the ball still have a shot at the Super Bowl. They may just have focus more on their running game" This means that a signifi- cant financial investment will lead to a much better team, just like in real football...unless you're the Redskins, of course. If trends like these continue, video games will evolve into nothing more than interactive catalogues — mere conduits for digital transactions. When faced with this issue, the EA rep's eyes lit up. "I'm gonna be so rich,” he responded. D ownloadable content is on the rise, and after success- Ас! етелі unlocked ШР. [ irue | GAME PUBLISHERS DEMAND WORLD WAR Ill UBISOFT, ACTIVISION SAY ALL EXISTENT BATTLES "TOTALLY TAPPED" as the beach at Normandy been stormed to death? Definitely, according Н the industry's biggest publishers of military games. To reinvigorate waning interest in war shooters, representatives from Ubisoft and Activision stood before the United Nations with a bold proposition: Begin World War ІІ. The influx of new conflicts would provide fresh content for dozens of upcoming games, giving former staples a much-needed rest. “At this point, | just want to tell Stalingrad to defend itself,” asserts Activision CEO Robert Kotick. “And don't even talk to me about Market Garden’ In a plea before the delega- tion, Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot explained the dire situation facing all publish- ers of military titles: “We're resorting to games about the Civil War here, people. The Civil War. There's only so much we can do with muskets. Please, we need this" He then added gravely, "Gamers need this” If passed, the resolu- tion would give certain game publishers exclusive rights to the numerous combat hot zones across the globe, with the option to incite additional conflicts if the games are successful. Players will even have the opportunity to download new maps and battles as the situation worsens. Preliminary documents indicate that Activision is hoping to secure the rights to the Mediterranean theater, with Ubisoft setting its sights on Greenland. "EA can have France," Kotick chuckles. Р СА SR CO OD ¥ DATA FILE Why Won't She Call Me Back? FOODZ PLZ In another victory for Blizzard Entertainment, the Chinese government has approved measures to make World of Warcraft gold the nation’s official currency. According to a recent report, WoW gold farming is the country's number one industry, narrowly surpassing gold farming in Lineage Il. Е- ا‎ UNDENIABLE FACT The Xbox 360 is officially doomed. Industry analyst John Savage released a report predicting the ultimate failure of the console by late 2007. “Sales of the 360 plummeted between the hours of 3am and 5am on January 20 in Topeka, KS and the surrounding areas,” Savage pontificates. "Dreamcast ahoy! These figures irrefutably indicate а nationwide lack of consumer interest in Microsoft's console. Tell your friends!" HOLD IT! Bethesda accounced that over 100,000 gamers have purchased the most recent add-on to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Called the Bathroom Pack, this download installs outhouses throughout Cyrodiil and requires players to use them every few hours - or face humiliating penalties. “My level 24 Spellsword crapped his pants while defending Martin Septim,” lamented опе gamer оп Bethesda's message boards. “Now the townspeople only call me High Lord Heavypants." Stories like these illustrate the potential dange...Oh, we get it! "Heavypants." That's classic! ‘LOOSE TALK Babies Can Choke On Games “WHO IS THIS!?" Sources tell us that a sequel to Condemned, Sega's atmospheric Xbox 360 launch title, is in the works. The game will reportedly be devel- oped by the once-passable Sonic Team. Calls to the Sonic Team offices were not immediately returned. They were, however, prank calls. GAME INFORMER 67 Wii (ТО BE CANCELLED), Wii 2 The Legend of Zelda: Trousers of Redemption > STYLE |-PLAYER UNQUESTIONED ADORATION > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER DOESN'T EVEN MATTER > RELEASE WOULD YOU BELIEVE. ..2008? RETREADING NEW GROUND | he unveiling of a new Zelda game is а momentous industry event, but ment leaked. This detailed form not only reveals the whimsical title of the upcoming entry — it clearly describes every major weapon, item, and dun- geon in the entire game. WARNING: The following paragraph contains major spoilers! Link will start the game with a weak, wooden sword. However, after several hours, he will obtain TOP SECRET DESIGN DOCUMENT!! The Legend of Zelda wot Time use bombs, arrows, and a hookshot to explore a land called Hyrule and its puzzle- laden dungeons. The dungeons will incorporate environmental themes; one con- tains a lot of fire, another is full of ice, and there's even one out in the desert! “As you can see, this game is totally revolutionary,” says a Nintendo rep speak- ing on the condition of anonymity. “This is the exact same cutting-edge innovation that Zelda fans have enjoyed since 1987" At this point, the only other mystery that remains is who will be the final boss: Ganon or Ganondorf, You'll just have to play the game and enjoy the surprise! CRAP WE CAN CALL REPLAY VALUE BIG GAMEPLAY GIMMICKS DARK WORLD FINAL BOSS * Ganon (Ganondof) VOICE ACTING DUNGEONS meus PLAYSTATION 3 Metal Gear Solid 5: Snake Skin > STYLE 1-PLAYER POSTHUMOUS ESPIONAGE ACTION > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER KOJIMA BEACH HOUSE PRODUCTIONS > RELEASE SUMMERTIME! LIFE AFTER DEATH fter the shocking suicide of an elderly Solid Snake at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4, people thought the popular series had come to ап end. They couldn't be more wrong. In Metal Gear, a deceased protagonist is just the beginning. In this new tactical stealth adventure, the goverment needs an elite opera- tive to infiltrate the International Intelligence Summit in Malibu, and Solid Snake is the only man for the job — dead or not. Players will control both Meryl and Raiden as they cart around the legendary soldier's limp body, plan a Luau, and fabricate clumsy excuses for Snake's bizarre behav- ior. The corpse will also skydive at some point, though all other story details are still a mystery. ^| always drew inspiration from films like Escape from New York and the James Bond series," admits famed developer Hideo Kojima. “But | think it is time my games establish a new identity that is less influenced by popular films.’ Nintendo recently lost its chance at a big reveal when a secret internal docu- : ГИ. NOW CALCULATE YOUR TEAM HEALTH something known as the “Master Sword,” which is significantly stronger. He will also : NFL Team Doctor > STYLE 1-PLAYER INVASION OF PRIVACY > PUBLISHER EA SPORTS > DEVELOPER YOUR COACH > RELEASE GAME DAY BETTER THAN A RECTAL THERMOMETER га ГА hen we realized how we could open up new gameplay avenues with the DS, we actually all started to laugh because it was so obvious,” says Cal Edgegrad, creative director of NFL Team Doctor. "I mean, why hasn't anyone ever thought of taking a whiz on a DS before?" NFL's Team Doctor's interface is so ground- breaking that it may be impossible to judge it by today’s gaming standards. Charged with overseeing the health of a football team, players will use the DS touch screen to analyze urine and stool samples (through physical con- tact), and perform other important medical tasks. Is your running back a little sluggish? Sit on your DS to see if he has hemorrhoids! Remember to treat your herpes, you don't want to look like Ron Mexico before the big game. Steroid tests are a snap with Team Doctor — just draw anyone's blood with the stylus (this may require several tries to master) and blot it on the lower screen. Search through your own stool to find that waitress’ earring. “In real life, colostomy surgery is a very unfortunate and pain- ful experience,” laughs Edgegrad excitedly. “But just wait until you see how we handle it in the game!” ence connect gear Wii BALLS — Aoving a remote back and forth рап s fine, but sometimes you just Websi w.hanglazy.com need to wrap your hands around List Price: $40 something meatier. This swingin' peripheral introduces a new angle to your Wii experi- touch-sensitivity. Thanks to sensors implanted in the >, your games will detect whether you're squeezing balls, twisting them, or cupping them gently in your hands. Upcoming titles currently slated to use this func- tionality include Locker Room Rumpus, Is It Ripe?, and Mario Party Balls. If you reserve your pair early, you'll even get a bonus: a custom carrying sack that comes in two col- flesh and blue. So pre-order soon, grab your sack, and ready for action! ORMER aphrodisiac NERD CALENDAR Farrah Fawcett, take a bow. Betty Page, eat your heart d | out. Marilyn Monroe, roll х over. America finally has some new heartthrobs to live up to the legends. The Wii has swept the nation with a frenzy unmatched since Kirstie Alley snuck into Old Country Buffet, giving rise to a radical new life-fit- Manufacturer: Boys of Wii Website: www.workthatforearm.com List Price: Your Pride ness model, These nerds from Yeehaw Junction, FL are laying it bare in this semi-professional calendar, and they have the lovely man humps to make Olive Oyl swoon. After all, they've been close to photographers - who have been close to supermodels – so they're basically supermodels by proxy. These hunks are sexier than women with tattoos, and probably even easier. What We Think Is More Important Than What You Think BOTTOM Chad W This is the girl 1 met at Champps. out for the win! World of Warkraft: LINE Scored > Concept: Look, | don't know what this word means > Graphics: People kinda wear uniforms, except instead of jerseys, they're sissy dresses. Do they play for the Lions? > Sound: How am | supposed to know what's happening without А Michaels telling me? > Playability: | got tons of play with this game > Entertainment: One time, me A and Beez broke the antennas off of every car in the IHOP's parking lot. That was, like, super funny > Replay Value: Hell yeah! Three times! Chad is a stud! Second Opinion 01100 5 Mother Theresa’s Feed BOTTOM LINE > Concept: Under the guise of learning how to cook and share with less fortunate, this game teaches our children to kill > Graphics: Yes! Terribly graph- іс! More realistic than a movie! > Sound: To me, this sounds like the collective screams of America’s desecrated youth > Playability: Perfectly intuitive, like a sniper rifle > Entertainment: Only for those twisted antireligious freaks who have sold their black hearts to Satan > Replay Value: You play this once, and you forfeit your soul forever Second Opinion #83 When | was originally ‘Whatever mama cooked at begged to beta test this ию иы to . . expansion two years аро, . = eat, cause mama raised a The Burning Sensation ıu § The Starving Children — о able to do it since | was in. didn't obey, he might end > STYLE MASSIVE HOOK-UP > PUBLISHER A BUNCHA NERDS the midst of the Half-Life 3 > STYLE 1-PLAYER SAINTLY COMPASSION > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER up having to drink from the > DEVELOPER WHO CARES? > RELEASE DORK O'CLOCK > ESRB ESRB and Gears of War 2 betas. ANGEL STUDIOS > RELEASE DELAYED DUE TO LEGAL DISPUTES > ESRB E toilet again. | never went I'm really busy, since | am hungry and l'm glad, cause ELVES ARE EASY the sole member of every TASTES LIKE HOT COFFEE that's some scary s—, dog. т З È К in: 5 у The children in this game are know. You're wondering what a dude like Los Chadarito was ts a well-documented scientific fact that video games influence INE didnt doing playing this nerd simulator. Let me tell you: booty. the frontal lobe of our children's brains. The frontal lobes are ‘even know who 1 am, l'm the. Sweet booty. There are hot half-naked elf chicks dancing 1 where we house our intuition, judgment, and sexual behavior. Cole Train, baby! They didn't around everywhere, all of them hungry for some Chadloaf. it they had fixed Do we really want Mother Theresa anywhere near the sexual know played number 83 for Now | know why they call it an “expansion pack,” because Ог. the! 5 | found, but no. centers of our kids’ brains? This game claims to be a cooking simula- 198 GoUlgats, For reall {tied Chadly here was definitely fully expanded, human is capable of work: tor, but the players use knives. Do you know the most common use to make them feel better by This one girl, Dasanna, kept asking me if | wanted to meet in ing ey pace Pet of knives in the U.S. is gamers stabbing each other? That is an unver- фе жеее person, and she wasn't а horseface in the game or anything, so oh pees bi oak ifiable fact. It is also a well-known controvertible truth that any child biceps, but ike a pack of wid we decided to hang at Champps sports bar. When | got there, | At night | mentally transfer can walk into a store and buy whatever game they want regardless zombies, these Ийе urchins grabbed a Bud Lite, and sent my tight end down the seam...if my persona onto develop- of ratings. This is my challenge to the industry: Create a game that is | justwanted food. They didnt you know what | mean. Then | heard this dude say “Are you ers’ servers and alter their actually about helping those in need and making a difference — like _ | even know What Chad?" Turns out "Dasanna" was some guy named Bobby, all дао do things that they Phoenix Wright, but with less shouting. And if somebody makes was. This is the scariest sur- makin’ eyes at Chad. never would have thought | this game | will personally donate $5,000 to a charity that feeds the отог game ve ever After the ambulance left, | started talking to some fine chica of, Driving in GTA? Yeah, homeless* On a side note, the Wii Balls peripheral works great with 51 COLE TRAIN instead (who wasn't really а dude - | asked right away). took tatwas те You're wel- this game. Whether you're using the Wii Balls to pick succulent fruit her back to my place and totally painted her endzone, if you Rane OENE or crack open some tasty nuts, this is some of the smoothest ball follow me. Touchdown Chadmeister! Wooo!—CHAD action I've ever experienced.—JACQUES *This does not legally obligate Jacques, іп any way, to actually donate to charity. Small Mammal DAVE JAFFE ACTION FIGURE David Jaffe is one of our favorite game develop ers, and who wouldn't want to hang out with Manufacturer: Gamer Teats Website: List Price: $.50 www.milkitforallitsworth.com him all the time? Now you can pretend to be his friend with Gamer Teats' new line of game devel- oper action figures. This David Jaffe figure is 1⁄4 scale (12" high) and comes with a miniature PSP, plus a corporate flunky who won't leave his side, to make sure he doesn't reveal too many details. Jaffe says adorable things like, “| made God of War. What have you done with your life?” “Kratos is real- ly a sort of self-portrait," and "Hehe! That tickles!” GAME INFORMER 69 т Unleash hot death with the Dark Walker "PLAYSTATION 3 31 XBOX 360 | PC Unreal Toütnament Ш > STYLE 1-PLAYER АСНОМ (MULTIPLAYER ТВА) > PUBLISHER Ша DEVELOPER EPIC GAMES > RELEASE SECOND HALF 2007 SURE BEATS MINING pos. Unreal Tournament 2007 hı dubbed Unreal Tournament III, and it will be on Xbox s previously announced platforms уа! of the big change: poke о s at Ери o find ош, апа ват - 5 е primary reasons the number three is appearing in the title. “If you look at the Unreal Tournament timeline, you can lead producer Jeff which we d UT. Draw a line there Then there ich used Unreal Engine 2. aid that the new technol- h bringing up” Morris also credits a renew single-player mode as a reason behind the this will also give Epic some wiggle room in case the title slips out of 2007. “I won't deny the whole x 360 version, Epic ident Mark Rein is making no effort to conceal the fact that healthy sales of Gears of War figured into bring UT Ill to the system. “We had a little 360 [with Gears of War], and we might Па few copies [of UT III] t Rein wryly Another major factor also figured into the equa- tion: mods on home consoles. "That was kind of the one thing, we wanted to make sure we'd be able to bring r-created content to the [the Xbox 560] before we a firm commitment to it,” says Rein. 70 GAME INFORMER We played on a vehicular capture-the-flag map called Corruption, an open mountainous area with multiple and caves, and Asian-style architecture "corrupted" by technology from an invading race called the Necris. This invasion provid ist on the traditional Unreal Tournament plot (brutal deathmatches fought to entertain bored workers on a mining colony) that will be more fleshed out in the single-player campaign. But for now it was Necris тапар! corporation. A limited variety of weapons were available, including a green blob shooter and the flak cannon, but it was hard not to just go с with the rocket launcher. The new hoverboard mechanic t smoothly into gameplay simply by pressing the "4" key. Speed into the fray after respawning or use the board to zip back to base after you nab the opponent's flag. Players can’ weapons from the board, and if they get hit while riding it they'll tumble off and take a brief moment to get back up. This leaves players wide open for attacks, so they'll have to be very careful when using it. But the vehicles were the standout feature. The Izanagi side used Axon vehicles, including a futuristic bike, an ATV-type of machine, and a big old tank called the Goliath. The Necris side utilized their form of a hover bike, a floating tank that raises and lowers to trade off firepower versus mobility, and the massive Dark Walker. This thing towered over everything on the battlefield atop its writhing tentacle legs and could instantly scorch just about anything with its orange heat ray: A UT Ill demo is expected to hit (at least) PCs about а month before the game's release, but it never hurts to give console gamers something to play around with as well. I I IN @ Alan realizes the value of a good portrait shot J Bikes are one of the fastest ways to get around 25 previews жо = WHY YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY | CARE ABOUT SINGLE PLAYER" THIS TIME AROUND While only multiplayer was-ready for our T. preview, lead producer Jeff Morris prom- | Без that the single player experience will — be more than just a way to kill time whi Y waiting for your buddies to come online. “It used to be this sort of ladder you'd work your way through," Morris says. “Wefooled. .. around with different ideas like swappin teammates and stuff, but it really was a ladder. The single-player story we're doing in UT III is very different. It really has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's four acts right now. It's still being written and it's still in development. It allows us to really take all the people who never went online with UT, which is a staggering number of people - like 50 percent of UT buyers never went online - and give them something that really merits their offline experience, not just slugging through this ladder.” m Ouch. Just, ouch 2554 ше; > 4 r^ INFORMER 71 UNLIMITED ENABLED XBOX 360 | PC Kane & Lynch: Dead Men | > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 8-PLAYER VIA XBOX LIVE OR PC ONLINE) > PUBLISHER EIDOS > DEVELOPER IO INTERACTIVE > RELEASE JUNE à DEAD MEN WALKING espite what you may think, the per behind the Hitman series and Freedom Fighters has been busy. There has been a conspicuous lack of new info on Kane & Lynch since we unveiled it last year, but that doesn't mean IO Interactive isn't working hard to ensure the title lives up to expectations. In fact, when asked what area of the game has seen the most progress in the last few months, designer Jens-Peter Kurup responds: "It's the whole package — cover systems, E blind fires, camera controls, difficulty tweaks, performance optimizations, locomotion, Al, crew commands, co-op specific code - everything has been sharpened” The most compelling aspect of Kane & Lynch is how it is built for co-op. Combining two violent criminals with a lot of firepower is one of the game's central concepts, as is teamwork. This may seem tailored for a two-player approach, but the team is making sure that the experience is the same even if you're going solo. “Kane & Lynch differs from most single-player and co-op games in the way that the game is ‘born’ as co-op,” Kurup tells us. “A lot of the single-player gameplay is already based around flanking and diversions - the bread and butter of the co-op experience. We've focused on keep- ing single player and co-op as similar as possible.” Part of what makes this possible is the inclusion of guns-for-hire, flun- kies who follow the two main characters and follow instructions. It will be necessary to use these soldiers strategically to gain an advantage; they can provide covering fire, carry ammunition, and even revive you. They won't be available in every situation, though, so sometimes it will just be the calculating Kane and mentally unstable Lynch working together to get the job done. Given the game's focus on teamwork, multiplayer matches seem like a natural fit. Details regarding the online features are still under wraps, but we assume there will be interesting options beyond standard deathmatch and capture the flag. Unfortunately, that's all speculation at the point. “We're still keeping this to ourselves for now, but you'll hear about it later in the year," Kurup teases. Since the game's June release date is coming up fast, there isn't much time left for big reveals. That means gamers can look forward to some illuminating announcements about Kane & Lynch in the very near future. M Ш Ш E In the buddy movie tradition, Kane & Lynch features a crazy heist 72 GAMEINFOR GET SERIOUS Kane & Lynch may feature some squad mechanics similar to those in Freedom Fighters, but gamers will find that the overall aesthetic of IO's projects are very different. "The story and characters are really what set these two games apart," explains Kurup. "Freedom Fighters was a parody on an alternate history of which people during the cold war were genuinely afraid. There is no such tongue-in-cheek humor to be found in Kane & Lynch. They're grim characters.” The gameplay may invite comparisons, but this mature thematic approach promises that Kane & Lynch will establish its own unique identity. AMA. . п When playing co-op, it is possible ~ to earn achievements by playin; Lynch “in character.’ Get ready Ér Е: some team kills! 7 $5 previews d E Cue themefrom H The Bodyguard 2А m “Heaven help me, | will Breathe Rite or not at all!” КМ» „ Ст в Ше game will feature a mixture of indoor and outdoor areas m Kane and Lynch are not happy. Apparently it is not all about the Benjamins GAME INFORMER. 73 PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | Wii | PLAYSTATION 2 | РС | NINTENDO DS | PSP Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. ON > PUBLISHER DISN > RELEASE МАУ > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER > DEVELOPER BOARDING EVERY CONSOLE “It’s not just about fighting, it’s about cheating.” — senior producer Nick Bridger ust as the filmmakers are putting the finishing touches on Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Eurocom is grinding away at a game of the ame. However, it will incorporate ele- from Dead Man's Chest, At World's then some. "From the outset, we anted the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End game to complement the films, but not be a slave to them,” says senior producer Nick Bridger. "There's so much rich aterial in Pirates of the Caribbean, so many untold stories and plots, which we wanted to try and bring some of this to the player” The with an original Pirates пу Rossio, to add new content ry and expand the connections n thi nd and third films. an toggle freely between main- stays like Jack, Will, and Elizabeth, and will briefly control characters like Pintel, Ragetti, Barbossa, and Cotton. You'll take on rival pirates, tribal warriors, British marines, East India Trading Company officers, and Davy Jones' crew members like the lobster man and the hammerhead shark guy in locations like Tortuga, Cannibal Island, Port Royal, and the Turkish prison that Jack escapes from at the beginning of Dead Man's Chest. Players will even get the chance to take a crack at the Kraken. Eurocom is trying to bring the theatrical, over-the-top swordplay from the films over to the game. "It's not just about fighting, it's about cheating," says Bridger. Standard fare like swords, fisticuffs, and throws are supplemented by environmental attacks like smashing a bottle of rum on an enemy's head, pulling a knife out of a dead guy and throwing it into an attacker, or dropping cargo on your pursuers. The three leads also have signature finishers that can be upgraded over time. Outside of straight up combat, At World's End also features platforming and environ- mental puzzles, many of which require the use of your sword. “You'll use it to climb walls, slide down zip-lines, move around objects, even slide down sails using your sword to control yourself,” says Bridger. Multiplayer modes will be completely offline. One option will be a one-on-one versus mode featuring characters like Jack, Barbossa, Davy Jones, and Admiral Norrington. Players can also co-op against several opponents in an arena mode. The Wii version will take full advantage M In hairy situations, players can go back to back with allies to fend off enemies of the motion sensing controls. Players will slash and thrust the Wii remote to attack enemies, and also toss axes and grenades. Eurocom is especially excited about Jack's maneuvers. "Jack's special moves on the Wii are really cool moments where the player fully uses the Wii's unique accelerometer and pointing device features to get through a number of tricky, and very Jack-centric situa- tions," says Bridger. Though Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and Orlando Bloom's likenesses appear in the game, their voice work has yet to be con- firmed. However, Mackenzie Crook, Stellan Skarsgárd, and the Dread Pirate Roberts himself, Cary Elwes, are on board. Apparently, The Princess Bride star will be playing an all- new pirate not seen in the movies. IB li Ш п Attack him from the # Davy Jones will be a playable character in the versus mode front and he'll never see you coming Se previews One-on-one battles will end up on precarious locations such as this p Though there won't be any sailing gameplay, ships will still serve as a frequent battle environment же The character models are incredibly detailed 5% previews 06 1 Stone 0000500 а мй. ж-- It's occasionally tough to tell where the 2D collision box is on the 3D models қый ч Who builds а castle without floating ooze these days, anyway? Blowing your hearts on an Item Crush attack is sometimes totally worth it 0006000 Breaking certain walls will reveal new alternate paths Chronicles > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER KONAMI Sis DO YOU ost American gamers have never gotten the chance to play Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, the direct precursor to the beloved Symphony of the Night, as it was only ever released in Japan. Konami is finally rectifying that oversight, porting the game over to PSP and retooling the graphics to take advantage of the handheld's power. After spending some hands-on time with it recently, it's clear that classic Castlevania is just as fun as we remember it. Not to spoil anything, but you'll take the Belmont du jour, Richter, into a castle full of undead mon- sters with the ultimate goal of killing Dracula and sending the evil castle back to the abyss whence it came. As this is no more than a visually enhanced port (with a bare few smidgens of added alternate paths here and there), Richter doesn't have any fancy acrobatic moves or crazy weapons. A jump, backflip, and the classic whip and subweapons are the extent of your options, and the game doesn't pull any punches when it comes to difficulty. Bosses are huge and impressive, and there's quite the variety of settings and enemies new and old. It's Castlevania, no doubt about it. The graphics are sharp, the animation's smooth, and the gameplay is timeless. Look for this to be a highly entertaining addition to the PSP library shortly. I ШШ The Dracula X Chronicles isn't the longest game ever; the original ten stages from Rondo of Blood are it. What you get for your money doesn't stop there, though: Unlockable full versions of the original Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, as well as a secret character for the base game, are there for your gaming pleasure. Heck, most of us would pay $40 just to get Symphony of the Night on our PSPs. The fact that it's a bonus within a larger package is pure gravy. x x x THE BEST-SELLING ххх |= EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF THE HUNT Lifelike audio/visual effects create an incredibly suspenseful experience. WWW.WOLVESOFTHEPACIFIC.COM E> | Я LARGE-SCALE NAVAL ENGAGEMENTS ONLINE CO-OP AND ADVERSARIAL MODES Hunt, hide, and kill in naval battles of epic proportions. Join forces with friends online. SILENT PUNTER WOLVES PACIFIC] деледі and c) EMA 200 UBISOFT -—«—— n Tonight's dessert special: Homicidal man PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | PC Stranglehold MULTIPLA TBA DO ALL YOUR OWN STUNTS he video game sequel to John Woo's Hard Boiled has been long in the making. А release date nears, Midway has unveiled a new playable level showcasing Insp la in action. We tried out the incredibly destruc- Chicago Historical Ми: ей countless priceless artifacts along the way. Unlike in Max Payne and the countless other games that utilize bullet time, players will use “Tequila Time” liberally as a means s rather than it being the special move itself. can initiate this with the right bumper on the hold down the L trigger for a of dining carts, and sw skeletons. Combining se will raise your special meter faster, and it happens to look pretty cool in the process. All four sp г “Tequila Bombs,” are mapped to the d-pad, and a circular meter in the lower left comer of the scr up as players rack up kills. Drain it with a health boost, a spinning multi-kill takedown, а powered-up rapid fire shooting fest, or a cinematic sniper shot. In that last attack, players will aim and fire in slo-mo and the 78 GAME INFORMER camera will actually follow the bullet to the intended target. Enemies react accordingly depending on . as the blood flows. Though Midway isn't talking details just yet, competitive online multiplayer has been confirmed. It'll be interesti to see how (or if) slo-motion and specials will b incorporated. Hired goons weren't the only things we were filling full of lead. Tyrannosaurus skeletons, stuffed dodo birds encased in glass, large dinosaur fossil blocks, precious vases, ancient statues, and Roman- style columns all crumbled in a hail of gunfire. It was quite satisfying to run up the spine of a dino skeleton while dropping enemies dangling from ropes attached to the ceiling The simple, yet flashy gameplay of Stranglehold will make anyone look like an ass kicker. We're just hoping the glossy sheen holds up after playing deep into the game. B IN I Enc L4 p e Like Lara Croft, but angry...and fully clothed The columns are almost as fun to shoot as the guys p Ca 4 k : З S "Тат | | و‎ жы - | й | Р ~ H I3 E + M tus ume {+ 1 - E e қ $ =- ~ И: | f z= F ET „в E кте ma e ы са & >ж Қ P t m y 2” E L ЗА D 7 du 1 i 4 27) o. % zs —— я N ^ pne Carry the scales of justice in one hand, and a two-ton sedan in the other. You're a genetically enhanced agent of justice authorized to do whatever it takes BEL to sweep the criminal scum out of Pacific City. From the streets to the rooftops, use anything you can get your hands on to show the thugs that crime doesn't pay. And for the ultimate payback, combine forces in co-op play for twice the destruction N and double the retribution. All Justice. No Restraints. АО WWW.CRACKDOWNONCRIME.COM INCLUDES INVITATION TO HALO'3 MULTIPLAYER BETA MATURE 17: Blood and Gore Limited time offer—look for specially marked boxes? суну нр 2 Strong Language Microsoft MT, Бри Use of Drugs EX previews ` сай of Duty: . Roads to Victory > STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 6-PLAYER VIA AD OR INFRASTRUCTURE) > PUBLISHER ACTIVISION > DEVELOPER AMAZE ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE MARCH TION 3 | XBOX 360 | PC Sega Rally Revo > STYLE 1-PLAYER RACING (MULTIPLAYER ТВА) > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER SEGA DRIVING STUDIO > RELEASE 2007 COLIN MCWHO? efore the stinky Scot Colin McRae (j/k Colin we luv u — bff!) became the number one name in video game rally racing, the Sega Rally series helped establish the genre in the arcade and on home consoles. Now, with a new, revamped title called Sega Rally Revo, the company hopes to regain the off-road championship on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox 560. Sega has promised the game will look like these gorgeous screenshots, so here's to hoping. The gameplay will seek out a niche somewhere between over-the-top arcade antics and McRae's strict simula- И these screens are any indication, Sega Rally Revo is putting the power of the next- generation consoles to good use 80 GAME INF( tion. You'll be able to race one of many 2WD and 4WD vehicles against computer- controlled opponents (which will feature vastly improved Al) or friends online. Sega hasn't revealed any details about online, other than the fact that Revo will have it. The biggest new feature of the game will be deforming tracks, similar to Sony's MotorStorm, which means terrain that changes and ruts based on wear and weather. As with any racer, we won't really know how good this is until we get our hands on a playable copy, but we're cer- tainly looking forward to this one. BI ii i THE NEW THOUSAND YEAR WAR "Look out, Bilbo! You are about to get hit by a giant Jeep!" he sales numbers don't lie; gamers bask in reliving the gore and glory of World War Il. The latest game to feature Hitler hunt- ing is Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, the critically lauded franchise's first арреаг- ance on a handheld. Comprised of 14 entirely new missions, Roads to Victory follows the standard Call of Duty structure. The campaign takes place in a variety of locations across the European Theater, with gamers control- ling three different soldiers: an American paratrooper from the 8274 Airborne division, a Canadian First Army rifleman, and a British commando. The missions themselves look and feel like classic Call of Duty, with you and your fellow soldiers engaging in intense, epic firefights against the Nazis. Roads to Victory also lets you experience the war as a gunner in a B-24 Liberator, which must make a bombing run in the midst of firing flak cannons and attackir Messerschmitt squadrons. As many ported shooters have discovered, translating the FPS experience to the PSP often ends in futility. Developers still haven't found a way to compen- sate for the PSP's lack of a second analog Stick. Roads to Victory developer Amaze Entertainment hopes to circumvent these problems by offering four different con- trol schemes. We had a chance to test out these different schemes in a short preview of the game's first four missions. Though each option will get you through the battle, we couldn't shake the same feeling we have with every PSP shooter: The controls are too clumsy to translate twitch reactions into kills. Roads to Victory will also offer a basic multiplayer mode. Using either Ad Hoc or Infrastructure, two-to-six players can in standard deathmatch, capture the flag, and king of the hill matches. Look to start stomping Nazis sometime this March. 11 Can the classic Call of Duty gameplay overcome the PSP's lack of a second analog stick? Master counter-terrorism techniques like rappelling, window entry, It used to be America’s playground. Now it's a battleground. PLAT STATIONS РЕНТАЙФ ТО XBOX 360“ VERSION COMING SOON FOR THE PLAYSTATION 3 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM WWW.RAINBOWSIXGAME.COM A UBISOFT $ previews These little guys will crawl up onto you to try and take you down Teleporting tongue monsters? Punch! Evil gremlin monsters? Punch! m Gas mask Nazi monsters? Punch! PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | PSP Hellboy > STYLE | OR2 R ACTION (ONLINE > DEVELOPER THOSE DARN NAZIS e have to admit that we didn't exactly have the utmost faith ext-gen brawler from it was first build of the Xbox 360 version of the о hop on the Hellb: train. Not only is it graphically outstand- ing, it plays well and the action is freaking brutal. When Hellboy decides that it's time to wreck some shop, he doesn't mess around - a quality faithfully reproduced in this video game adaptation. En route to stopping a crazed Nazi from some kind of а domination plot, Hellboy will encounter plenty of fodder on which to test out his face-smashing sk An emphasis on grappling attack variety of weapons picked up or ripped out estructible environments. There's gy involved in trying to take out the leaders of enemy p which i will throw the rest of the group into disarray. : Celebrity involvement in the form of r by actor Ron Perlman and Mignola and the film's director, Guillermo del Toro, are some nice bits of window dressing. Co-op play (as either Abe Sapien Sherman) is a bit more substantive, something that should be a part of / brawler. Sure, it's shaping up to be a fairly by-the-numbers beat-’em-up, but it looks amazing in motion and, well, beating up bad guys is fun. I IN II This screen showcases Hellboy's delicate moral dilemma: punch fascist monsters' heads off or throw them into each other with bone-crushing force? PSP? SAY WHAT? Konami tells us that the portable edition of Hellboy will be very similar to the next-gen versions. While the brawling gameplay remains largely intact, the levels are broken up into smaller, more travel-friendly chunks. The visuals obvi- ously can't reach the high bar that the 360 and PS3 аге set- ting, so the PSP game will feature a more stylized, cartoony look that nonetheless works perfectly well on the handheld. It's no next-gen console, but the PSP can certainly handle itself just fine when it comes to stopping evil Nazi plots. E Rat Fact #1: Rats can carry the Bubonic plague. Quarantine them near your food PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 | WII | PLAYSTATION 2 | GAMECUBE | PSP | DS | GBA | PC Ratatouille > STYLE i-PLAYER ACTION (MULTIPLAYER TBA) > PUBLISHER THQ > DEVELOPER HEAVY | (PS2, PC, Wii), HELIX (GBA, DS), LOCOMOTION (PSP) > RELEASE JUNE IT’S FRENCH he best-selling game of 2006 was, predictably, Madden NFL 07. Can you guess what title took the number two spot? It wasn't Oblivion, Zelda, or Final Fantasy; it was the game based on the movie Cars. Hoping to duplicate this success, THQ will be pub- lishing the video game version of Pixar's newest film, Ratatouille, when it hits the- aters this summer. Players will control a young rat named Remy, who dreams of becoming a great chef in Paris. You explore the highs and lows of the famous city, traversing its streets and running through its sewers W Rat Fact #3: Dustin Hoffman played Ratso їп the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy using an array of familiar platforming tricks. In total, Remy will see five different worlds taken from and inspired by the movie. There are also over 20 missions and mini- games, some of which will allow you to play against your friends in multiplayer. As with The Incredibles and Cars titles, Ratatouille will feature a mixture of events taken from the film in addition to new content exclusive to the game. The movie's voice talent will even be repris- ing their roles. Every Pixar film has been cinematic gold, and while the games may not always be of the same outstandir quality, Ratatouille is aiming for acc gameplay that will give it appeal for gamers of all ages. If nothing else, this will probably be the best game this year based on a ent.che Se previews Wii i PSP | NINTENDO DS Godzilla: Unleashed > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER FIGHTING > PUBLISHER ATARI > DEVELOPER PIPEWORKS SOFTWARE > RELEASE FALL зае KING OF ZILLAS he on-then-off series that started on GameCube with Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters is coming to the Wii. Developer Pipeworks Software hasn't announced the full mon- ster list, but it says the Japanese movie companies’ A-list of monsters will be included, as well as a few surprises. The brawlers in Unleashed are grouped into four factions, and each group has its own motivations and goals within the game's overarching story. Players will be able to directly impact how the story plays out – changing certain story events and team-ups — by making different choices within the gameplay. However, since this is a Wii game, the most important element could be the game's controls. The Wii's nunchuk handles movement and jumping while the remote dishes out all the attacks. With these controls, mon- sters will now be able to perform all their primary actions independent of their movement. For example, Godzilla can now walk in one direc- tion while attacking an enemy with his claws in another, fire a weapon at a different enemy, and swing his tail at a third target, all at the same # "I was told Godzilla was going to be. awkward... Well time. No wonder this guy is so good at destroying Tokyo. Unleashed's levels will reflect the post-apocalyptic storyline about crystals growing inside the Earth's core. Like pre- vious games in the series, buildings are completely destructible. Pipeworks has created a new destruction system from the ground up for the Wii. Buildings now crack and crumble more realistically. Even the sound effects have been punched up to help sell the devastation. After battles are over, players will be able to look back over the level and see the swath of ram- page they produced. Unfortunately, no online multiplayer is planed, but maybe Pipeworks will fix that oversight before the game ships this fall. I Ii I Га Robot Godzillas cannot love. er GAME INFORMER 83 Se previews UNLIMITED ENABLED PLAYSTATION З | XBOX 360 | PS2 | PSP | NINTENDO DS | PC Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING (UP TO TO-PLAYER VIA PLAYSTATION NETWORK OR XBOX LIVE) > PUBLISHER THQ > DEVELOPER JUICE GAMES > RELEASE FALL IN THE SHOP AGAIN f ever there was a custom job, it was the one that THQ did on the Juiced franchise back in 2005. Like a car confiscated by the cops after a coke sting, this series was on the chop- ping block to the highest bidder after the death of Acclaim. THQ figured, “What the hell?” and picked it up. But instead of just hanging an air freshener off the newly glued-on rear view mirror, THQ and Juice Games put some work into this new acquisition, tuming Juiced from an unplayable hunk of junk into а game that was enjoyable at times. Now Juiced is back and is benefiting from full publisher and developer support from the get-go. This is immediately evident in Juiced 25 inclusion of official Hot Import Nights events (see sidebar for more), which will boost the game's culture of pink slip racing, teammates, and customizing. But more importantly, the series needs to expand its scope. The first Juiced had small tracks lacking variety that the game asked you to race over and over. Hopefully, Juiced 2 will be sufficiently expanded with the addition of cities such as London, Tokyo, Rome, and more. We hope Juiced 2 not only makes the racing circuits bigger, but also more varied in their layout and the challenges they pose. It will be interesting to see how these new settings affect the game's gang, neighborhood, and racing style dynamics, which were important parts of the first title. No matter where you end up going on the globe, you can retain your indelible sense of self with Juiced 2's extensive customization features. Not only can you avail yourself of over 250 after- market mods including scissor doors, body kits, and decals, this time your character itself will be tweakable. Players can create their own driver right down to the clothes. Your friends can even become an integral part of the racing experie thanks to the game's Driver DNA feature. It tracks over 100 attributes as it creates a driver profile that your friends can upload online. You can download and use this profile to create a personalized crew member who will ride alongside you during offline races. DNA profiles from the game's online high score tables can also be used for your crew. Your friends can join your racing posse online, but little else is known about this feature of Juic Street racing games come and go like blurred headlights in the night, but if the story of the first Juiced title was any indication, THQ and Juice Games should know that even a little effort can go along way. 11) HOT IMPORT NIGHTS This auto tour holds roughly two events a month in cities across America, letting the locals enter their rides for showcasing while bombarding show-goers with DJs and bikini-ed models. It's unknown at this point how much Juiced 2 utilizes the show’s license, but given that the game features hot podium dancers, we're thinking that you might not want to blow all your money on your car. сотивпеч : La асты ANNE, Atleast thepartson — the car are real 84 GAME INFORMER The point of a customizable character. is that you don't have to look like a tool The series' emphasis on drifting remains OROK Cash $9.878.506 Rookie Фок ®BACK mph “Ай, STUDYING ROCKET SCIENCE id FUN WHEN YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ROCKETS. tS There’s only one place you can get hands-on training with the most advanced technology in the world and that's the U.S. Navy. If you're up to the challenge acc log on the Life Accelerator at navy.com or call 1.800.USA.NAVY. В © 2004. Рай for by the U.S. Navy, All rights reserved. 2 previews gg % NINTENDO DS Pokémon Diamond/Pearl > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME (UP TO 8-PLAYER МА WIRELESS, NINTENDO WI-FI CONNECTION TBA) > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER GAME FREAK > RELEASE APRIL 22 TOUCH MY MONSTER intendo must be rubbing its hands together with excitement as the latest installment in the Pokémon franchise nears its U.S. release. The company recently confirmed that Diamond and Pearl are the fastest-selling games in Pokémon history; it has shipped 5 million units in Japan so far. Perhaps this comes as no surprise to anxious fans who have had to slog through countless offshoots and spinoffs waiting for a “proper” Pokémon game. Over 100 new monsters await the faithful in the all-new region of Sinnoh. The general flow remains unchanged from previous Pokémon games: collect badges from the eight gym leaders and eventually become Pokémon League Champion while dealing with villainous rivals (this time it's Team Galactic). There are plenty of monsters to collect and evolve, and the new version of the Pokédex allows you to scroll through your catalogue by spinning a Pokémon ball on the touch screen. Battles play out on the top screen, while players select com- mands via panels on the lower screen. The new Pokewatch showcases a digital watch, a pedometer, a calculator, and a status readout of your Pokémon. Word is that you can enhance this device to perform up to 20 different func- tions such as item or berry locators. Diamond/Pearl features full day and night cycles in addition to all of the days of the week. This will figure heavily into when and what kinds of monsters you can capture at any given time. For example, some rare monsters can only be captured on, say, Friday afternoon. The Japanese version of Diamond/Pearl features online battles with voice support and Pokémon trading, but Nintendo has yet to give solid confirmation for any specific features that will make it over to the States outside of slap- ping the Nintendo Wi-fi logo on the concept box art. шшш Ihat will Chatot do? Dass ڪڪ‎ вяс СЕЧІ рокетон E 86 САМЕ INFORMER Dewy's Adventure [working title] > STYLE i-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER KONAMI > RELEASE 2007 GLOBAL WARMING AND COOLING m "I'm-a gonna drink you, little water guy!” f you had to pick a developer to take advantage of the Wii's unique input scheme to make a charming character-based puzzle-oriented platformer, Konami wouldn't be the first name that comes to mind. Nonetheless, the team behind Elebits is hard at work crafting this project, tentatively titled Dewy's Adventure. What we've seen of the game has us eager to try our own hands at guiding this little blob of water in his quest to bring life and color back to the world. Controlling Dewy involves tilting the Wii remote (like you're tilting the gameworld) to get Dewy flowing in different direc- tions. Enemies to defeat, platforming tasks to complete, and puzzles to solve are unsurprising additions to the gameplay. The element that has us very intrigued, however, is the ability to change the state of both Dewy and his surroundings via temperature. Since the protagonist is made и a МЕ like to get drunk. Get it? We're hi DIY DEWY W'We can already;hear Joe maniacally cackling of water, heating things up will turn him into a gas that can float over obstacles, while freezing the world will tum him into a block of ice that is much stronger against enemies. Changing form even affects the physics that govern how Dewy reacts to your control inputs. It seems that the envi- ronment will respond to these stimuli as well, with ponds freezing over to allow safe passage and the like. In a more impressive display of power, shaking or waving the remote in different ways can create earth- quakes or shoot lightning bolts. Dewy certainly has no shortage of options in how to approach a situation. If Konami can build clever levels around these interesting core mechanics, Dewy's Adventure could be exactly the kind of title the Wii needs to further broaden its library in innovative ways beyond the Nintendo stable. We can't wait to dive into this color- ful world, but Konami hasn't set a release date more specific than 2007 yet. Let's hope it's sooner rather than later. IM Ii II A platforming playstyle doesn't lend itself very well to online play, but Konami will be including a level cre- ator with Dewy's Adventure, as well as a network infrastructure on WiiConnect24 to share your created levels with friends. We just hope that Nintendo's crippling Friend Code system doesn't categorically prevent good user-made levels from being shared with the world. If we're stuck playing the kind of drivel that our circle of friends will inevitably put out, this is one feature that we won't find much use out of. A rating system and central download location online will make all the difference in the world. Unleash Your Inner Rockstar. мем for Xbox 360 - X-Plorer Controller - Additional зопаз ап downloadable content гесоскапе Se previews Healer/tank/damage party mechanics are alive and well in Middle-earth It's not Jackson's Rivendell, but it's fantastic nonetheless к There аге no dwarven women in the game. Read up on your Tolkien if you don't get the joke The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angma » STYLE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAME » PUBLISHER MIDWAY » DEVELOPER TURBINE » RELEASE APRIL 24 HOBBIT LFG f you can't beat 'em, join 'em. The Lord of the Rings may be the grand- daddy of all Western fantasy, but World of Warcraft in all of its Tolkien- derived (and Warhammer-inspired) glory is the undisputed modem benchmark. Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online borrows heavily from WoW in terms of its game design, but the content remains very faith- ful to Middle-earth Over 1,500 quests pepper the game's playable landscape of Eriador – the Shire and some surrounding areas including Rivendell, more or less — ensuring that you'll have plenty to do on your trip up to the level cap of 50. Performing par- ticularly heroic or notable tasks will reward players with “deeds,” which are cool in and of Though Turbine doesn't have the license to use material from the films, the art is outstanding themselves but also lead to cosmetic titles (things like "the Orcslayer" for killing a few hundred Orcs) and Traits (which can be equipped and serve to specialize your character like WoW's talent system). Dungeons abound, with all of the scripted boss fights and higher risks and rewards that you would expect. Endgame activities seem largely centered around 24-person raids, though some of the deeds will no doubt require lots of time and dedica tion — but will surely confer plenty of brag- ging rights. Aside from leveling up and getting better loot, LOTRO offers "monster play" where players can take control of the monsters па special high- "Dread" will cloud your screen and suck the life and color out of everything when you're near big evil like this guy е (Ettenmoors). This is basically 5 PvP game, with monsters and normal heroes fighting back and forth for control of various points and the right to quest unmolested. Success in this arena will be reflected by rankings on leader- boards and rewards like temporary buffs or cool titles. You'll even get the chance to take control of tougher and more awe- some monst you do well enough in the Ettenmoors. Even now, in the beta phase, LOTRO plays well and has interesting content that can hang with the big до; MMORPG scene. If The Burning Crusade has lost your attention by April 24, or you're simply a Tolkien fan looking for a new way to experience Middle-earth, this may save your day. Wi IN il STRATEGY On n GALACTIC SCALE Metre = гіч { Е E ass. CN aii RO Б TTD --<<-< way fü м т музу. Ума AN] ла] л ЖЫ өне ырды = А I DA T TN 5 S == арени Ве “A REAL-TIME 7770 35 VECES гас ee — c SGTRATEGY EXPERIENCE =. Л ау з Te E LIKE NONE BEFORE” аА. a - PC GAMER a an 5 QM \\ ап ALL - пеш RTS FROM CHRIS TAYLOR —Ecommannpbeng шшш.зоегпетесоттапосеп.согп EVERYONE 10+ p Comic Mischief | | Fantasy Violence Games “ О Mild Language | 7 Қы НЕ aan ON ШИТ] ¥ for Windows "; ESRB usive trademarks of Gas Power Inc. All othe PHOTOPHIL Mini Previews With Big Pictures XBOX 360 | Wii | PLAYSTATION 2 | GAMECUBE | PC | NINTENDO DS | GAME BOY ADVANCE Meet the Robinsons Disney Interactive is hitting dang near every system under the sun with its upcoming Meet the Robinsons, based on the CG animated film of the sam name. While all the versions take a unique spin on the character action genre by way of some neat puzzles and novel gadget-based gameplay, thi Wii version (which we recently played) stands out from the rest by providin; some well-done motion-sensitive mechanics that utilize both the remote and nunchuk. Look for the Avalanche Software-developed game to release for all systems on March 31. ІН ccm NINTENDO DS Diner Dash ау "Яасаязлықер5. МО Рети һас (644, чс сеч = PSP Final Fantasy Tactics This old downloadable PC game is getting a DS release this spring courtesy of Eidos. Using the touch screen, players must juggle multiple parties of restaurant- goers and their demands for menus, food, drinks, and dessert. It may not sound like much, but once you've gotten your hands on Diner Dash it can prove to be very addictive; keeping your guests happy enough to stay - even though you're the only waitress dealing with six or more tables - is a challenging task. Unlockable levels in a sushi bar and buyable items to spice up your diner's demeanor should keep Diner Dash entertaining for plenty of hours. 90 GAME INFORMER After traveling to Ivalice again in Final Fantasy XII, Square Enix is giving gamers a chance to go back to where it all began. A part of the Ivalice Alliance project (which also includes FF ХІІ: Revenant Wings and a brand new Final Fantasy Tactics Advance), this game is an enhanced port of the PSone original. In addition to improved graphics and new cutscenes, the Onion Knight class will be included, and Balthier from FF XII will appear in a prominent role as a playable character. There are also plans to add а wireless multiplayer mode, though Square Enix isn't discussing any specific details. This strategy/RPG classic should be resurfacing on store shelves in the later months of this year. Se photophile CRYSTAL BALLS «| 72702121, NINTENDO DS Touchmaster Driver 76 You know those touch screen games you see out at the bars? Well now you can save your quarters because Midway is bringing their Touchmaster series home for the first time. Mess around with 23 different game types including Mahjong Pairs, Trivia, Solitaire, Pyramid 13, Double Take, and Gem Slide. Check the leaderboards for each game via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection or battle a friend using local wireless multiplayer. Midway will also host tournaments from time to time to find the best Hot Hoops player in the land. Ubisoft picked up the Driver license and developer Reflections in the Atari fire sale, and now the mega-publisher is looking to revitalize the beleaguered franchise with an all-new PSP game entitled Driver 76. Not surprisingly given the moniker, #5 set in the world of 1970s New York City. Developed in cooperation between Sumo Digital (OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, Virtua Tennis: World Tour) and Reflections, it will feature 27 new missions and six separate plotlines. After earning dirty money both in and out of a variety of vehicles, you'll be able to use your cash on an extensive car upgrade system. Not content to provide just a single-player experience, Driver 76 will also feature unique minigames and wireless multiplayer modes. Be ready to pop this hot number in your PSP sometime in March. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon | Nintendo's wholesome console is getting a little blood on it this April when MK: Armageddon hits. The game will include the same features from the current-gen versions plus an Endurance mode, a new character named Khameleon (who only previously appeared in the N64 version of Mortal Kombat Trilogy), and motion controls. So how does this work? The game uses simple actions to activate special moves. For example, swing the remote from left to right to activate Scorpion's spear, or move it up and down to teleport. However, those who appreciate the traditional control scheme can still use a GameCube controller or a Wii classic controller. Whien wore enymes witn the picture? R - A'N court@ @bhear ki w Midway is trying their hand in the brain training genre this summer with Hot Brain. Raise your brain temperature in five categories: logic, memory, math, language, and concentration. Fred Willard (known from movies like Anchorman and A Mighty Wind) will handle the hosting duties rather than some crusty doctor, so hopefully there will be some good comedy sprinkled in. Up to four players can face off via ad-hoc wireless to be the first to cook their mind up to the “red hot” level, or they can all work together in a cooperative mode. GAME INFORMER 91 | 4 $ The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles MotorStorm SSX Blur Guitar Hero II God of War Il Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Kratos returns with a vengeance in this spectacular sequel from Sony's Santa Monica studio. The bloodthirsty Ghost of Sparta embarks on another quest for revenge, storming Mount Olympus and crushing anyone in his way — mortal or otherwise. Breaking new ground in combat and cinematics, the improvements here are epic in nearly every way. If you had any doubts that God of War II could provide the same mythic brutality as the original, read the full review and acknowledge your folly. Who says that handheld gaming can't be exactly like the consoles? Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters isn't a port or a goofy side chapter. This is a full-blown sequel that takes our beloved duo on an incredible journey. As a new enemy rains destruction across the cosmos, Ratchet will go to places that he never thought he would, and will even shrink in size to save his chum, Clank. The PSP has been in desperate need of high profile titles, and they don't come much larger than Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Our crack (or crackhead, we can never decide which) review team rates games in a number of cat- egories to help you sort out the great from the stuff you'll hate. Most games are reviewed by two staff members, and you will find both their opinions on each review. To make things a little easier we have put together some definitions of what the numbers mean, what we look for in a game, and also a cheat sheet so the newbies can understand our advanced video game jargon. It is important to note that the Game of the Month is determined only by the main review score, not an average of the two opinions. 92 GAME INFORMER THE SCORING SYSTEM -— со Outstanding. A truly elite title that is nearly perfect in every way. This score is given out rarely and indicates a game that cannot be missed. Superb. Just shy of gaming nirvana, this score is a high recommendation because the game reviewed is head-and-shoulders above its competition, Very Good. Innovative, but perhaps not the right choice for everyone. This score indicates that there are many good things to be had, but arguably so. Average. The game's features may work, but are nothing that even casual players haven't seen before. A decent game from beginning to end. Limited Appeal. Although there may be fans of games receiving this score, many will be left yearning for a more rewarding game experience. Passable. it may be obvious that the game has lots of potential, but its most engaging features could be undeniably flawed or not integrated into the experience. Bad. While some things may work as planned, the majority of this title either malfunctions to varying degrees or it is so dull that the game falls short as a whole. Painful. If there is anything that's redeeming in a game of this caliber, it's buried beneath agonizing gameplay and uneven execution іп its features or theme. 2 Concept: What new ideas the game brings to the table and how well old ideas are presented. > Graphics: How good a game looks, taking into account any flaws such as bad collision or pop-up. > Sound: Does the game's music and sound effects get you involved or do they make you resolve to always play with the vol- ume down? > Playability: Basically, the controller to human interface. The less you think about the hunk of plastic in your hands, the better the playability. > Entertainment: Flat out, just how fun the game is to play. The most important factor in rating a game. 7 Replay Value High – You'll still be popping this game in five years from now. Moderately High – Good for a long while, but the thrills won't last forever. Moderate - Good for a few months or a few times through. Broken. Basically unplayable. This game is so insufficient in execution that any value would be derived in extremely small quantities, if at all. = N O RIO cC» | SI соо Platypus. It's ugly and impossible to like. Worst animal ever. Moderately Low – After finishing it, there's not much reason to give ita second go. Low - You'll quit playing before you complete the game. Se reviews REVIEWS INDEX 300: March to Glory Arena Football: Road to Glory Armored Core 4 Brain Buster Puzzle Pak Burnout Dominator Capcom Puzzle World Chili Con Carnage Chulip. — d : Dance Dance Revolution Universe T 0007760192 Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Тһе якн i Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles, The Capcom Puzzle World Final Fantasy VI Advance Formula One: Champion Editioi Fuzion Frenzy 2. God of War II... Guitar Hero Il. Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja Lumines Plus. Lunar Knights. MLB 07: The Show MotorStorm.. Pogo Island Quickspot.. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Samurai Warriors 2: Empires. Shining Force ЕХА. Sid Meier's Pirates! Sonic and the Secret Rings... World of Warcraft: = The Burning Crusade Supreme Commande The Warriors. 2.4 million copies іп 24 hours. Think about it. That's how fast The Trioncube . Burning Crusade flew off of store shelves, absolutely obliterating the UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 previous sales record for PC games. After digging deeply into this expan- sion, we have to say that Blizzard richly deserved every one of those Vanguard: Saga of Heroes sales. This is the kind of release that has players not just willing, but Wii Play. eager to send in their $15 every month to keep playing. Find out what's World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade so great about Outland on page 107. For our newer readers, here is a glossary of terms and acronyms that commonly appear in the magazine. Video game veterans should move along (these aren't the droids you are looking for). 1080! - A resolution specification used for HDTV. : board - A term we use for games like Jeopardy! : isometric — Three-quarters top down view, like particle effects - Things like smoke or sparks ; 1080 stands for resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. : and Mario Party $ StarCraft or Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance created in real-time 5 down multi-plat The 7 means that the video is being interlaced : cel shading — A technique used to create 3D : ISP — Intemet Service Provider. The company that : platform — A term we use for games like Super So whenever you see this 480p - Progressive scanning this option (‘p= 2 rendered objects that resemble hand-drawn +: provides you with access to the Intemet Mario and Crash Bandicoot logo, there is important multi-system infor progressive), creates a picture signal with double : — animation cels : jaggies - Graphical lines that are jagged when pop-up — When objects onscreen suddenly mation regarding that product the scan lines of a conventional interlaced : ЕЗ – Electronic Entertainment Expo. The world's 2 they should be straight ‘appear, typically due to poor draw distance : picture, 480i (i = interlaced), to create а ; largest convention for video games 1 LAN - Local Area Network Connecting computers € PS2 - Sony PlayStation 2 noticeably sharper image. The 480p image : fighting - A term we use for games like Mortal : or consoles together within a small space to puzzle — A term we use for games like Tetris and offers higher picture resolution and eliminates : Котра and Dead or Alve i allow communication between them. Provides Puyo Pop virtually all motion artifacts іп a 640x480 pixel : first. а ИА пас by ae 1 fast simultaneous gameplay ewe AE reste we cre) Content suitable Content suitable resolution setting 2 manufacturers intemal development teams — : MMO - Massively Multiplayer Online. Usually Чер and Mario Kart for persons ages for persons 17 T20p - А resolution specification used for HDTV. — * exclusively for its own system 2 applied to role-playing titles, we use this term for : ppg _ Role-Playing Game. A game that involves 4 3 and older. saa} ages and older. 720) stands eS 28720 piel: тыу! Қа tion Video: Lay reles 50 games with persistent, mult-user online worlds Geiss improvement through сен and fomat s EO БП РОМЕ: animated CG cutscene ще Беда and World of hat k желіге Poms A term we use for games like Content suitable ; FPS - Frames Per Second. How many animation motion - Phantom frames ап object па! Fantasy and Xenosaga for persons ages Content suitable | action er we use for games Ще Devl May "fame happen in one second. Also used to to give the impression of realistic speed shooter - A term we use for games like Ikaruga only for adults Gyan он ; denote Firs-Person Shooters ike Halo, Doom, 2 потта! mapping - А graphical technique in and Gradius ad hoc — A type of wireless connection that 2 and Gall of Duty which a heres skin containing 3D information, : sports — A term we use for games Ще стен you gi овес Players our : framerate — The frames of animation used to revealed by light reflecting off the surface, ѕ : "Madden NFL Content suitable Product is immediate vicinity ! 2). ейте MEG ek wrapped around a смес model : Ren E Wale for persons ages awaiting final ainas - б еа games Ike Myst > frontend A game's menus and options NPC — Non-Player Character. Those people : жг and Front Mission. 8 10 and older. rating nd Escape Fom Money Sar 1 GBA- creatures wander idi in 5 A Айса Irteligence: Usualy used to refer $ GBA Come Boy Advance enc E уай i Ju Ten шаш Арш A OE қ to how well the computer reacts to a human — : ses Peper TAE ЕШ; е арЫ Content suitable 2 HDTV - High Definition Television S H opponent our sisters — You stay the hell away from for persons ages bloom - An effect that simulates the soft, blured € infrastructure — A type of wireless connection. сърна 15 and older. glow of bright light reflecting off of surfaces : that uses the Intemet to connect with other players over long distances САМЕ INFORMER 93 # The new selection of weapons will make Oblivion nuts drool care x еп e Dark Seduce XBOX 360 | PC The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG > PUBLISHER BETHESDA > DEVELOPER BETHESDA > RELEASE MARCH 27 > ESRB М THE SHADES OF MADNESS s a comic book reader, | have come to terms with the fact that | will likely never see the conclusion to any of the stories that | am reading. If Batman stays popular, his life (which has already spanned eight decades) will far outlast mine. A similar realization may soon flutter into the minds of gamers as well. Using the Shivering Isles as an indicator, the future of video games could be very similar to comic books, Expanded content empowers games with immortality. As long as the video game industry is built upon transitional hard- ware cycles, it is highly unlikely that we'll ever see a single game with the staying power that could keep it alive for decades, But we are starting to see games like Elder Scrolls that could survive an entire console generation without owning a true sequel With a steady flow of downloadable content, Bethesda has done a tremendous job of keeping Cyrodiil alive and well. Shivering Isles, the first full- blown expansion, shows us that expanded content edge The PC version (which can be downloaded directly or purchased in stores) offers quicker load times, whereas the Xbox 360 version (which can only be downloaded through the Xbox Live Marketplace) offers up 250 more easy-to-reach Achievement points, Pick your poison. E The colorful landscapes are teeming with life 94 GAME INFORMER can serve a purpose greater than simply making a game longer — it can make a game better. In the time following the release of Oblivion, Bethesda has honed its craft, tightened the code, and recog. nized exactly what was needed to take this game to the next level. With that said, it should come as по surprise to hear that Shivering Isles is a bona fide masterpiece and the best that the Elder Scrolls series has to offer. The element that received the most drastic improvement is the main quest. As much as | enjoyed aiding Martin Septim in Oblivion, the story that unfolded around him didn't really bring out a “Oh my God, | have to see what happens next!” response. The story in Shivering Isles does. The majority of the plot revolves around a new character named Sheogorath, a remorseless wise-cracker who sounds a bit like a Scottish pirate or a drunken Sean Connery. Almost every line of dialogue or quest that this amazingly well-written character sends you on is a treat. The missions have been intentionally streamlined to offer more action and less convers- ing. As the plot unfolds, you find yourself bouncing from one dungeon to the next, most offering a dif- ferent set of fun tasks — such as escaping a collaps- ing cave or choosing whether you kill or torture a party that appears to be stripped from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. т Playing fetch with a sharp knife can lead to Bi As you work your way through this adventure, you'll develop a close relationship with gate keeper т Shivering Isles is crammed to capacity with new monster types т "Who wants to get punched? Since Shivering Isles is a completely separate island (you'll find the portal that leads to it in a lake near Bravil), all of the scenery, inhabitants, and items are new. This kingdom is split into two realms: Mania, a colorful, almost Alice in Wonderland-like place, and Dementia, a place so dark it feels like death is constantly closing in. These two distinctly different areas overcome the biggest complaint that | had with Oblivion — it all looked the same. In Shivering Isles, everything seems fresh and new, which leads to a constant sense of wonder and awe. Part of the allure of The Elder Scrolls games is unearthing new weapons and armor. There are plenty of new blades (some forged of never-before- seen metals) to wield, and equally as many exotic fabrics to try on, but don't be surprised if you find yourself falling in love with one particular blade and using it for the entire game. Much like the world, this sword has two forms, Duskfang and Dawnfang, which alter upon sunrise and sunset. The sword's magic recharges as it shifts between forms, and it becomes more powerful as it extinguishes souls. Without tackling any of the side quests, | com- pleted the critical path in less than 18 hours. With side content, the game offers over 30 satisfying hours that are balanced beautifully between higher- level characters and newly created ones. #5 uncertain where this series goes from here, but like a great comic book, Shivering Isles leaves you craving more.— REINER > Concept: An expansion pack that places players in an entirely different world with the series’ most entertaining quests > Graphics: The detailing is similar to Oblivion, but the world is more colorful and dynamic, and the architecture shows a higher level of variety > Sound: The soundtrack and most of the voiceovers are exactly the same, If you've played a lot of Oblivion already, this sucks > Playability: The inventive missions are joined by a slew of new weapons and spells that open up amusing combat options > Entertainment: It’s not as long as Oblivion, but this expan: sion offers the best we've seen from this series > Replay Value: Moderately High Second 0j 9.5 During my time touring the Shivering Isles, | became a torturous dungeon master, violent drug fiend, ruthless inquisitor, and a creator of mutilated beasts. In short, | had a better time visiting the worlds of Mania and ‘Dementia than | ever did in Cyrodiil; that's saying something considering that | logged more than 100 hours into Oblivion. Even speaking with the demented leader of this realm was a blast — the Daedric Prince of Madness Sheogorath's hilarious mutterings spoken іп a broken Scottish accent had everyone at the office in stitches. Though | felt they could have pushed the townsfolk to more extreme degrees of madness, it's tough to take anything away from an expansion pack that offers so many amazing moments. —BERTZ у; FALL OUT BOY AND HONDA HIT THE ROAD єч Y mS] The 2007 Honda Civic Tour brings together two hot hybrids - the pop-punk/emo-rock sounds of E E Fall Out Boy and the stylish/fuel-efficient technology of the Honda Civic Hybrid. Infinity on High, ч г. the eclectic new album from Fall Out Boy, perfectly complements the refined styling of the Civic Мне Hybrid. See the band's fresh take on the green scene - their tricked out Civic Hybrid - and get all the tour dates and details at www.hondacivictour.com Бе, WHONDA © 2007 American Honda Motor Co., Inc PLAYSTATION 3 Formula One: Champion Edition > STYLE 1-РОМЕК RACING (UP TO 11-PLAYER VIA PLAYSTATION NETWORK OR UP TO 8-PLAYER VIA LAN) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER STUDIO LIVERPOOL > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB Е Е МЕ? F YOU, TOO! know what you're thinking: "| can't play an F1 game" Yes you can — you just have to resist the compul- Sion to smash into other cars at full speed and break off your front left wheel. Luckily, this game is going to help you with that with its well-rounded racing experience that caters to all skill levels. You have to want to be a good driver to become one, and a large part of that is going through the car Evolution process and practice sessions (see below). | like this feature, but it doesn't go far enough. In order to help you understand the car better, and for you to give more meaningful feed- back to changing it, players 96 GAME INFORMER EVERYBODY'S WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND Here's how to make the most of a grand prix weekend. Evolution: This not only lets you get an idea how the car's going to ее! as the race goes оп, it also lets you test out and tweak different downforce, camber, suspension, balance, and toe in/out settings. Saturday Practice: Good for any last minute car tweaks and making sure you know the course inside and out. Qualifying: The beauty here is you get 15 minutes per session to run as many laps as you can (even if you smash up your car), with your best being the one that counts. Make sure you participate in both qualifying sessions, otherwise you'll end up in the later-half of the field no matter how good your first session was. should be told the exact trad- eoffs of changing the camber or whatever. This game hits the essentials without trying to do much else. Online is fun — especially Since you can make the Al cars ghosts and you can respawn if you get wrecked. However, the game's based on the 2006 season, the Sixaxis controls are useless, and there's a general lack of gloss in the five-year career mode that belies exactly how sexy and glamorous the world of F1 actually is. These drivers get treated like absolute superstars, and ungodly amounts of money get poured into these racing pro- grams, but that's not conveyed enough here. | don't want a caviar-eating minigame, but | think the series should reflect that F1 is about more than just fast cars. —KATO BOTTOM LINE > Concept: Sony returns to Fl and offers a more comprehen- sive package > Graphics: Very solid but not mind blowing. The sense of speed is good and the rain effects are mesmerizing > Sound: The commentator updates during practices and Faces are pretty cool > Playability: There's nothing to be scared of. Yes, you too can race an F1 car > Entertainment: The racing's right, but a larger focus on the world of F1 would garner more fans > Replay Value: Moderately High Second Opinion 7.75 It's rare that a racing simula- tor can pull me away from the insane flips and unre- alistic motion blurs of the Burnouts and Midnight Clubs of the world. Formula One does exactly that, thanks to its all too authentic sense of speed and remarkable visu- als, A convoluted and some- times boring career mode is worsened by some repeti- tive voicework and inflexible progression, but the races themselves are amazing in whatever mode you play. Car physics feel spot on, and а number of driving aids open. up the game to a slightly wider crowd than the normal sim enthusiasts. With its fre- quent race-ending crashes, this still isn't for the faint of heart, but for tense realism. it's hard to beat — MILLER. PLAYSTATION 3 | XBOX 360 Armored Core 4 > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER ACTION (UP ТО 8-PLAYER VIA PLAYSTATION NETWORK, XBOX LIVE, SYSTEM LINK, OR WIRELESS LAN) > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER FROMSOFTWARE > RELEASE MARCH 20 > ESRB Т CORE MECH VALUES ile the latest entry in the Armored Core series under the cat- egory of “announced for PS3, but quietly coming to Xbox 360 as well" In fact, this is the first AC title to release on anything outside of a PlayStation console. Perhaps this qualifies as the most dras- tic shake up to FromSoftware's hardcore mech franchise this time around, outside of the next-gen graphical upgrade. Mechs look pretty much as good as you'd expect them to, but it's the ambiance that really impresses. You'll infiltrate an enemy base in the pitch black night lit only by the occa- sional overhead flare, gunfire, and after burners; dash through a blinding sandstorm; and make your way across polar ice as it cracks and floats away under your massive robotic body. Of course, there are still plenty of standard future cities and open deserts. Missions are pretty straight- forward (destroy these guys, protect these guys, etc.), and don't usually last more than a few minutes. Combat is fast-paced and easy to pick up, unlike everything else in the game. The story is so con voluted you'll eventually just stop caring why you're taking out rebel factions and neo- terrorists, Mech customization is just as complicated as ever. What will make the hardcore AC fan drool will completely turn off the average action gamer (do we really need to worry about four separate booster categories?). Armored Core's persistent fault as a series is its inability to cater to both audiences Multiplayer is what's really going to get the fans riled. After fine-tuning your ideal mech in single player, you can bring it online and face off against anywhere from one to seven opponents. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of match variety outside of deathmatch and team deathmatch, and there's no respawning so matches don't last much longer than five minutes tops. But the framerate remains solid and it's a good forum for the AC set to talk shop and trade schematics.— BRYAN > Concept: Take the insanely deep customization formula and unintelligible story from past games in the series and add some graphical polish > Graphics: Cool lighting and environmental effects, but some textures are a little bland > Sound: Missiles, machine guns, explosions, and radio squawk. Nothing special > Playability: Ground combat is fast and smooth. Flying battles could use some work > Entertainment: Caters to hardcore AC fans only..once again » Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 6 | guess | approached this. game with a litle too much naiveté. While watching the tutorial | thought that this Armored Core might finish with a decent score. Ten min- utes later Bryan and | were pr teal aet n of "damn yous” while the rest of the office laughed at us. It's not that | didn't enjoy this game because it is really a large collection of compli cated, unintuitive menus, or because it has sparse next- ganas аук Шет This game just too technical to be fun.—BEN PLAYSTATION 3 MotorStorm Racing in the hood cam gives a great sense of speed > STYLE 1-PLAYER RACING (UP ТО 12-PLAYER VIA PLAYSTATION NETWORK) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER EVOLUTION STUDIOS > RELEASE MARCH 6 > ESRB T WEATHERING THE STORM nce you cross the finish line, it doesn't matter how you got there. Whether you took a few liberties with a defenseless motor- cycle or the guy ahead of you over-boosted and destroyed himself just feet away from the end, history will know you only as the victor. Each MotorStorm race is filled with vehicular carnage and a level of unpredictability that always has you push- ing hard to the end Developer Evolution Studios has taken its rally expertise and added an extra layer. The game does an excel- lent job of not only enticing players to come in first, but also making them fight more than a few battles along the мау. It's like running the gauntl in high school, only instead of getting hit by socks filled with quarters, you're trying to keep from getting smooshed by a hard-charging semi while hit- ting all the right jumps and keeping CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON yourself on course. Also, don't forget to watch your boost consumption. Use it too much and you'll blow yourself sky high. If this was all there was to MotorStorm, it wouldn't be as good as it is. Evolution has deftly tailored the Al so it rubber bands to surround you with action. At the same time, however, it's not cheap. You always know The game's use of boost is balanced perfectly P. m A large part of surviving MotorStorm's races is making sure you hit the right lines for the vehicle you have chosen. Some races you get to pick which vehicle you want to use, and others you don't. Regardless, if you're a buggy, you don't want to be thrashing it out in the mud with the big boys when you should be up top. Here's a quick rundown of the game's vehicles. These two are made for the above-ground canyon passes, so it's imperative you stay out of the mud. As agile as this pair is, beware of their quick turning radius, which can cause you to lose control. These cars are versatile. The Rally Car's speed must be tempered at times (like on the cliffs of Rain God Mesa, for instance), and you should anticipate your turns early. The buggy feels nice in mud or in the air, but there are instances you lose time on straight-aways and in sticking landings because of its bouncy suspension. The Big Rig is self-explanatory, and although you can hit jumps and ledges with both the Racing Truck and Mud Plugger, there are some trade-offs. The former might take some extra time getting up to speed, while the latter is a little top heavy and can tip over. the appropriate path for your our superior racing skills will you right. Perhaps more impor- tantly, MotorStorm's other racers are just as desperate for a win. Instead of being mindle S А competition mak world feel alive. Without using obvi- ous scripted events, you'l happen right in front of you as hunks of burning metal scream past you at high speeds. It's not just you against everyone else, it's a full-on battle royale where anything can happen. | loved it when I'd be racing along, and then all of a sudden a car would literally drop out of the sky in a crunched heap as it fell off some overhead pass that | didn't even know was there, and I'd think to myself, “What the hell happened?" Online races are just as surprising and fun - it's just a shame that you can't fill them with Al stand-ins if you don't have a full field of 12 people. As much as MotorStorm does right, it's obviously just a first step. The game doesn't get as gonzo and death-defying as it could, which is especially noticeable since you hit the same tracks through: the game. It's also shorn of much embellishment. Small things like a create-a-character, minigame mode, or a fleshed-out career mode could go a long way. As it stands, however, the mayhem that MotorStorm creates is enough to have you gunning for the finish line and doing whatever it takes to get there —KATO 5° reviews BOTTOM LINE > Concept: Starting line. Finish line. In between alot of damaged metal an changes > Graphics: With the stream- ing carnage and mud effects onscreen, this is definitely а next-gen title ? Sound: There are few good reasons for Courtney Love being alive, but in her greed she allowed this game to license Nirvana's "Breed," which is awesome > Playability: Each vehicle has its foibles, and they are all bal- anced pretty well > Entertainment: Kind of like Nintendo's Excite Truck, #5 lots of fun but not super deep > Replay Value: Moderate wild highs and lows in terms of public opinion, from being hailed as one of the best-looking games ever to being dubbed a gigan- tic disappointment. As is often the case, the truth is in the middle, It's not mind- blowing, but damn if this isn't one of the aol ? oe experiences I've in months. Not everything works perfectly, but there are a number of aspects to this title = from the phys- ics to the wide-open course - designs ~ that feel truly next- gen. Although it's really a dever bit of smoke and mir- rors, MotorStorm's Wisting alternate routes do a great job of convincing you that. you're streaking through the bit too frequent for my taste, but the steering mechan- ics and physics are dead-on and actually different for - each vehicle type. As you'll soon find out, this over- the-top racing translates. quite well to online, making / MotorStorm one of the most exciting titles of the PS3's. young life—MATT — GAME INFORMER 97 ш If you're like many players we've talked to, of Kvatch might be the last you see of the main/story for a long time as you get distracted by other pursvits le guys the biggest pain in this game? PLAYSTATION 3 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion > STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION/RPG > PUBLISHER BETHESDA > DEVELOPER BETHESDA > RELEASE MARCH 27 > ESRB М т Knights of the Nine was downloadable on the 360 and PC, but is included in the retail release on PS3 SAME AS IT EVER WAS (5 been right around a year since the fledgling Xbox 360 and PC were graced with the arrival of Oblivion. In the time since then, thousands of gamers have had the chance to spend time wandering the endless avenues of adventure that Cyrodiil provides. It would be a scary number to add up the hours on each save game for all those players combined. With such a tremendous success under its belt, it should come as little surprise that Bethesda has transported the exact same gaming experience over for PS3 owners to join in the fun. There are few differences to separate the platforms, and certainly not enough to make this worth a second purchase on a new system. Another way to say that, however, is that Oblivion on PS3 is one of the biggest and most impressive role-playing games in history, and you owe it to yourself to play it if you haven't already experienced it elsewhere. In case you've been vacationing in the Amazon for the last 12 months, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion casts you as a prison escapee inextricably tied to a quest to bring the dead emperor's lost A MINOR VARIATION 98 GAME INFORMER heir to power and defeat the hordes of extraplanar invaders who are out to stop you. Along the way, it's totally expected that you'll spend hours delving into side plots, wandering the wilderness, and heav- ing treasure up and out of long-forgotten dungeons and tombs. Beyond the main story, several other story-based missions are available, from the das- tardly assassinations available by joining the Dark Brotherhood to learning the secrets of magic as you push to the top of the Mages Guild. Tack on a robust (if sometimes flawed) character upgrade system and a number of different races and classes to try, and there's plenty of replay to bring you back even dozens of hours later. One of the only notable flaws beyond the easily exploitable leveling system might be the way combat fails to evolve later in the game, maintaining the same general hack and slash flow it did in the first hour. Maybe while Іт at it | can look for problems in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. There's really not very much in the PS3 version that should validate a second purchase. Basically, „8 Xbox 560 you're looking at some moderately improved shad ers that improve the appearance of some textures in the game world. For an example, check out the comparative screens we've included on this page. The game loads are also a tiny bit faster. Finally, and of greatest significance, is the inclusion of the Knights of the Nine set of missions. However, given that both the 560 and PC versions of Oblivion have this content available online for a small fee, it's hard to call it much of a bonus for the PS3. In fact, the current lack of the 360/PC downloadable content is one reason you might not want to get into the PS3 version in the first place, even though Bethesda has promised that content for the PS3 at a later date. To sum up: The fourth installment of the Elder Scrolls is indeed a mighty success — those who refuse to play it simply because it is popular have been and continue to be missing out. Further, both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are fantastic platforms оп which to experience the game, but experiencing the game on both is, at the least, an almost certain waste of money.——MILLER "we 9.5 > Concept: Sony gels its own trip to Oblivion in a picture: perfect port of the bar-setting next-gen role-playing Ше > Graphics: Amazing = if anything, the visuals might be a little better than on 360 > Sound: From the impec cably orchestrated score to the wealth of great voiceover, the audio doesn't disappoint > Playability: Strong respon- sive controls, but the menu system is awkward to navigate > Entertainment; One of the best role-playing games available on any console, this port only hangs behind its 360 version in its current lack of downloadable content > Replay Value: High Second Opinion 9 There are some gamers who want to tum this title into a battleground for next- gen hardware, presuming whoever has the superior Oblivion wins the console war. I'm sorry, but after spending many hours with both versions and some side- by-side comparisons, the conflict just isn't there. When the core content of a game 15 this wonderful, a few minor tweaks don't revolutionize the experience; the PS3 ver- sion loads marginally faster, chugs a little less in combat, and the outdoor draw dis- tance is slightly improved. On the other hand, with all of the extras available for the game on 360 and PC, the PS3 release feels like itis coming out of the gate a few paces behind. All cross-plat- form considerations aside, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is still one the best games out there. The vast world, countless quests, and end- less potential for exploration make it an adventure you need to play in any form. you can.—JOE HIGH DEFINITION BONO Ф Blu-ray DIsc PUSH HIGH DEFINITION TO THE LIMIT THE BEST PICTURE. THE BEST SOUND. THE BEST BOND. ті GRIDIRON GANG UNRATED] EXCLUSIVELY ON BLU-RAY CASINO ROYALE © 2006 DANJAQ, LLC, UNITED ARTISTS CORPORATION, COLUMBIA PICTURE: в INDUSTRIES, INC. 007 GUN LOGO AND RELATED JAMES BOND TRADEMARKS © 1962-2007 DANJAQ, LLC AND UNITED ARTISTS CORPORATION. CASINO ROYALE, 007 AND RELATED JAMES BOND TRADEMARKS ARE TRADEMARKS OF DANJAQ, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED... PICTURE s О 2007 Lavaur AND DESIGN SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | i ® You just don't mess А а dude оп a flying, flaming horse m Several foes from the first game make reappearances » 4 PLAYSTATION 2 God of War Il > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SANTA MONICA > RELEASE MARCH 15 > ESRB M GAME INFORMER OLYMPUS GETS OWNED here can you go from the top? Just like Kratos perched on his throne high atop Mount Olympus, the original God of War ascended to epic heights amid universal praise. In the face of these high expectations, it might seem that the only direction a sequel could go is down. Thankfully, Kratos does not resign himself to the petty predictions of mortals, and God of War II delivers with a vengeance; it's a ferocious, blood- soaked adventure that is bigger, grander, and more over-the-top than ever before. Made mortal once again by the trickery of Zeus, Kratos embarks on his rage-infused mission to change his fate and exact revenge on the king of the gods. Even with the loss of his powers, players will discover that Kratos has a vicious array of new tricks. On a fundamental level, the combat is similar to the first game, but it feels more calculated; moves have more specialized purposes, which gives the player more control over any given situation. Your dominance in battle is augmented by two new major sub-weapons: a spear and a hammer. These aren't throwaway additions like the sword from the last game — each has its own deadly and delightful uses. You can launch an enemy off the ground (though aerial combat has been deem- phasized considerably) and switch to the can rest assured that the cool stuff is cooler, and the weaknesses have been addressed. The timed button-press cinematics are more clever and entertaining, the puzzles are deviously original, and there are no spinning Hades blades to be found. Even better is the inclusion of more titanic boss battles, where Kratos is usually up against another mortal straight out of Greek mythology. Some of these conflicts rely on puzzle elements, while others are just a matter of figuring out attack patterns, but they all add gruesome-yet-cathartic moments just when you need them. Seriously, Theseus totally has it coming. The only area where God of War Il doesn't surpass its predecessor is in the story. Revenge is still the primary motivation, but the tale has fewer shocking reveals and less sense of Kratos' grim pur- pose. Plus, with a third game looming as a forgone W The grapple mechanic makes this heart-pounding sequence possible conclusion, the team was free to leave things less tidy at the end. Without spoiling anything, | can say that the ending helps the arc of the series as a whole, but it definitely diminishes the ultimate payoff of this entry. While the story issues and a slight “I've done this before” factor stop it just short of perfection, God of War II is a title you simply cannot miss. It never stopped being one of the best games I've ever played. Consider this fair warning, though: From the moment you pick up this game, your life will transform into a constant struggle. Should you fulfill your everyday responsibilities or play God of War IP? Responsibility will lose the battle often — but even then, you win.—JOE THE END BEGINS BOTTOM LINE > Concept: Eviscerate the notion of "sophomore slump" and deliver one of best gaming experiences on any console > Graphics: A visual master- work. Whether in-game or CG, the images generated by the Р52 are simply unbelievable > Sound: In addition to the epic score, you will also hear yourself saying "This is so awesome" every few minutes > Playability: Combat is barbaric and satisfying, with new additions like boss fights and flying segments breaking up the action perfectly > Entertainment: The pervasive brutality and sheer inventiveness behind every facet of the game creates a continuous adrenaline high from beginning to end > Replay Value: High Second Opinion 9. As giants drop like flies, and the inhabitants of Olympus are subject to unthinkable pain and suffering, gamers are treated to one ofthe | most ferociously entertaining adventures to date. In God ‘of War Il, we learn that гуси ерии some issues before, just wait until you see how he reacts when he is stripped of his of unforgettable moments. | continually found myself thinking that | had to play through the game again to see Kratos’ barbaric actions that will put a grin on your. face. The puzzles are more ingenious, the combos are more devastating, and the bosses fall even harder. ” God of War ll will surely put a nefarious smile on your face, but the experience is humbled іп а number of ways. The story lacks the big reveals of the first, and far too many enemy types are recycled. With this said, however, God of War в. impossible to put down, and easily one of the best games to date —REINER hammer to bludgeon him in mid-air. The sub-weapons do suffer from being added to the mix a bit late, but if you ever get sick of whirling your flaming blades (if that’s even possible), you'll have some solid alternatives. There isn't enough room in a one-page review to list all of the other improvements and adjustments, but fans of the first game # The Icarus Kratos to glide, a a new dimension to the platforming ae 100 GAME INFORMER Much like the last game, once you beat God of War II, the fun is far from over. In addi- tion to a second bonus disc full of featurettes, there are plenty of reasons to play the game through again. You can start anew with all of your weapons, orbs, and power- ups (including the end-game weapon in fully upgradeable form) in the bonus play mode, or you can tackle the unlockable Titan Mode (the hardest difficultly). There's also another series of specific challenges that test your skill and endurance. Success in any of these endeavors grants you rewards like new costumes and other secrets. PLAYSTATION 2 MLB 07: The Show > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS (2-PLAYER VIA PS2 ONLINE) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA SAN DIEGO > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB E ith the PlayStation 3 taking center stage, | was a bit worried that Sony would phone in the highly dreaded “this console is dead, so let's just update the rosters” sequel. MLB 07: The Show may show a lack of creativity in the naming convention, but through a number of innovative enhancements, it tumed out to be the most impressive follow-up that Sony has put together so far. All eyes may be looking to the next- gen- eration, but for baseball, you are going to have to tum your gaze toward the PlayStation 2. For hardcore baseball nuts, The Show is the game to get. Being able to create a player and try out for a spot on the team has always been the main allure of this series. Not only does it create a personal tie to the experience, it makes you appreciate each at bat more than you would in any other game. In this year's edition, we are seeing exactly how deep this experience can get. In addition to batting, you are now tasked with playing defense and running the bases. Playing the field could be yawn-inducing affair, but thankfully, you never have to wait around for a ball to be hit to you. Like the batting sequences last year, the game automatically fast-forwards to when a ball is hit to you. Knowing when a ball is heading your way may seem cheesy, but this system allows you to get a proper jump SWINGING FOR THE FENCES AGAIN on the ball without having the disorientation of the camera switch you see in other baseball games. The fielding itself is incredibly fluid and extremely fun, but the game still makes ques- tionable decisions regarding which animation will be used. This can lead to some grounders getting through the diamond, or a sure out turn- ing into a runner on base. The batting and pitching battle has also been streamlined to further bring out the realism of the sport. If a pitcher is on fire with a pitch, he will gain more confidence in that specific pitch. Like 2K's game, catchers are no longer static. They call for specific pitches and locations, and through this, accurately work the arm of indi- vidual pitchers. If Johan Santana has you down 0-2, there's a good chance he'll make you look stupid with a “12-6” curveball. On the batting front, you can really tell when you get good wood on the ball or if you are going to dribble it foul. You also have to read the umpire. In any given game you can have one of three different umpire types: one with a tight strike zone, one with a wide zone, and another who calls the game fairly. The online leagues are also pretty slick and allow for a high level of customization and control. | love the look of 2K's game on PS3 and Xbox 360, but this game rules the base paths with its remarkable gameplay REINER "m 8.79 > Concept: The array of improvements lead to the high- est level of realism and the most rewarding experience this year > Graphics: Smooth anima- tions, but details are lacking > Sound: The three-man booth (Rex Hudler, Dave Campbell, and Matt Vasgersian) accurately calls the game, and properly recognizes most situations > Playability: Not just a game of batting and pitching. Players. must now learn the art of base running and fielding ? Entertainment: This is easily the deepest and most satisfying baseball game this year > Replay Value: High to take. Some missteps on infield defense and a paucity PLAYSTATION 2 Lumines Plus > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER PUZZLE > PUBLISHER DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS. > DEVELOPER Q ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB E Lumines Plus offers the exact same brand of addictive rhythmic block-dropping as its BOTTOM LINE 7.5 diminished. It is practically an exact a port of the original with a few notable exceptions: There are a few Lumines 11 skins thrown in, the graphics are far less vibrant, and now there is at least five seconds of total silence between Lumines games on the market, this one is the least impressive. Be that as it may, if you don't have a PSP or Xbox 360, #5 your only option if you want to see what all the Lumines fuss is about. —JOE PLAYSTATION 2 Arena Football: Road to Glory > STYLE | TO 8-PLAYER SPORTS (2-PLAYER МА PS2 ONLINE) > PUBLISHER EA SPORTS > DEVELOPER EA TIBURON > RELEASE FEBRUARY 20 > ESRB Е10+ PLAYSTATION 2 TIVE/PUNCHLINE brethren, but almost every aspect feels skins as the sounds load. Of all of four This is a quirky Japanese kissing game. | say kiss 3 it goodbye, because #5 not worth your time. Some games are just made broken. | don't mean broken in the bug-riddled sense, but Chulip is probably one of the most poorly designed games | have ever played. Figuring out how to accomplish your goals is hard enough, but often you don't even know what you are supposed to be doing in gen- eral. | don't want to know how many times | died accidentally by searching through the garbage for money and finding poopie instead, or getting run over by a scooter from out of nowhere. What | do know is that each time | died it felt cheaper than a sophomore prom date —ВЕМ BOTTOM LINE Don't mistake Arena Football's run-and- gun play style for an exciting video game. Between the receivers’ lack of ball awareness and the game's horrendous slowdown — which interferes with just about every play — this title is anything but high octane. This year's inclusion of the Af2 minor league and a kicking minigame do little to add any value. Although the mid-air collisions and the ability to control a WR are undoubtedly cool, there isn’t even a solid gameplay foundation to make this anything more than a box with the AFL logo on it. AFL? Send me to the CFL instead —KATO BOTTOM LINE 6.5 PLAYSTATION 2 Shining Force EXA > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER SEGA > RELEASE MARCH 20> ESRB 10+ PLAYSTATION 2 Burnout Dominator > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER RACING > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER CRITERION GAMES > RELEASE MARCH 6 > ESRB Е10+ Given the Shining Force series’ recent : track record, | was fully £ 8 prepared to hate on : some generic anime-infused hack n slash garbage for this review. Imagine my surprise when | started having some genuine fun with it. The basic combat is entertaining though the enemies are dumb as posts, and the scenarios you find yourself in showcase some creativity now and then. The two main characters even play totally differently! Even so, these good elements aren't anything more than what we should expect out of a modem action/RPG. Nothing stands out here to make this a must-play title in any sense of the word. There's nothing wrong with enjoying some average-quality anime-infused hack n' slash, though.— ADAM BOTTOM LINE 7.5 BOTTOM LINE while Criterion works on the promised reinvention of the series that's planned on next-gen consoles with Burnout 5. That said, the core racing gameplay is solid enough that it's still probably the best PS2 racer that will come out this year. | like the structure of the main career mode, which lets you compete in a number of different event types to unlock new vehicle classes. If you've played this series on the 360, it's a little hard going back, especially since this lacks online and the addictive Crash mode. Still, this has more than its share of thrills; it's a fender mangling joy that few games can match. —MATT Burnout Dominator feels like a bit like a filler title to keep the franchise making money GAME INFORMER 101 The art style is completely different | from previous games SSX Blur > STYLE 1 ТО 4-PLAYER ACTION/SPORTS > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER EA MONTREAL > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB Е AN ODDLY FAMILIAR RIDE 'm happy to see that SSX is feeling a little refreshed after its tour. SSX 3 is still my favorite, and | always wanted to see a return to that entry's style — and SSX Blur is that and more. Blur's peaks are the same ones you logged so many hours on in SSX 3, yet this is not a complete retread. The biggest change to Blur is the new control scheme. You'll use the nunchuk to steer down the mountain, and these carving controls аге actu- ally intuitive and smooth. The rest of the control scheme takes a little more getting used to. There is no prewinding in this game; you flick the Wii remote in the direction you want to spin and hold the Z button while flicking the nunchuk in different directions to perform the grabs. It sounds confus- ing, but after a couple minutes it doesn't feel that bad. The one real problem | have with this game is that the ubertrick system doesn't work nearly as well as it should. The new controls do add some- thing new to the series, but almost the entire time I pined for something more traditional. Blur is a bit more streamlined than previous entries, meaning there isn't much do to aside from shredding the mountain and entering tour- naments. For some reason, the characters aren't If you want to succeed in Blur you will have to learn how to pull off the game's somewhat finicky ubertricks. These moves require you to draw certain shapes with the Wii remote while in the air. We experienced some frustration just learning how the new system worked, so here are a couple tips that should help you ease into play. Remember to draw the shapes in the air with the remote, not on screen. Exaggerate your movements a little bit, but don't go too fast and keep your movements fluid and sweeping. Practice a few times in the practice mode to refine your movements and you should be tearing up the slopes in no time. Good luck. 102 САМЕ INFORMER as customizable as they have been in previous entries. | don’t mind that the game lacks this, as | would rather have a solid trick system, but the fact that #5 missing feels like a small step backwards for the series. It would have been nice to see more new trails. Also, why don't any of the characters say anything? It's a little eerie not hearing Moby's nar- cissistic diatribes as he is speeding by the slower contestants. Still, | can't complain too much since | had more fun with Blur overall than | did with On Tour. Pulling off a Triple Front Flip Nosebleed in the middle of a race down sheer ice is always fun, and there is just something about the sound a snowboard makes on fresh powder that always gets me pumped. But for all the fun | had with this game, it really just whet- ted my appetite for something a little meatier. ——BEN М С “for your mum" for Moby, but it just wasn't the same ne 8.5 > Concept: Move SSX 3 to the Wii and find some way to pull off the tricks with the new remote > Graphics: Not as blurry as advertised, Actually, the graph- ics might be the best part of the game > Sound: Not very impressive. No licensed songs, no character voices, and the dynamic music system doesn't add much to the ехрепепсе > Playability: The Wii controls won't appeal to everyone, but those it clicks with will have a good time > Entertainment: The new controls work, but always concentrating on what you are doing prevents you from being fully immersed > Replay Value: Moderately High Ee reviews Wii Play > STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER NINTENDO > RELEASE FEBRUARY 7 > ESRB Е THE RETURN OF DUCK HUNT ad Wii Play and Wii Sports been included together as one game, it might have produced a halfway decent package. Instead, one was served up as a pack in to be hailed by non-gamers as the best thing to happen to gaming since Ms. Pac Man, and the other now needs to be ransomed to its potential purchasers by including an extra Wii remote in the deal. While the nine games that are included in Wii Play аге certainly amusing, it would take several dózen more of them to constitute a pur- chase of comparable value with almost any other game released in the last several years. With that said, the ten minutes you'll spend playing each game for the first time is a blast. The Shooting Range may emerge as a clear favorite for many since its basically a beefed up version of Duck Hunt, sadly minus any giggling dogs. The inexplicable cow racing game also offers some laughs, especially when you bump your fellow racers into the ditch. Tanks also entertains in a way almost identical to a certain old Atari 2600 game, which maybe tells you something about the level of sophistication they were shooting for here. While you can play any of the games solo, Wii Play is clearly designed as a pastime for friends; every one of the nine is best played with two remotes. It's also a little odd that the entire game seems oriented towards teaching players how to use the Wii remote. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that Nintendo had this title origi- nally earmarked as the pack-in option until the more U.S.- friendly Wii Sports title nudged it out. | suppose if you're out to buy yourself an additional Wii remote, you may as well cough up the extra few dollars for Wii Play. Just don't get your hopes up too high.——MILLER BOTT! LIN > Concept: Learn to use the Wii Remote in nine simple minigames > Graphics: Light years beyond the bar set by the Nintendo Entertainment System > Sound: Pretty much on par with the bar set by the Nintendo Entertainment System > Playability: Very easy to pick up and play, it could be a blast to play at a very short party > Entertainment: While | have few complaints about any of the induded games, none of the thrills last very long > Replay Value: Moderately Low Second Opinion 6.5 Тһе comparisons here to. Wii Sports are unavoidable. Like Wii Sports, Wii Play iS simple, sometimes fun, and not fully fleshed out. Like Wii Sports, Wi Play is alot more fun to play with other people. And like Wii Sports, you vill quickly tire of Wii Play's minigames after only one „Or two playthroughs (except maybe the Duck Hunt game). Unlike Wii Sports, however, this game doesn't come free with а console. It does come with an extra Wii remote, effectively making each of the nine minigames worth about a dollar apiece. Whether that sounds like the deal or not is up to you.—BEN Sonic and the Secret Rings > STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER SEGA > RELEASE FEBRUARY 20 > ESRB Е NEW SYSTEM, SAME SONIC his game got some pretty good buzz out of E3, and | can't for the life of me figure out why. | love my work, but it never feels more like a job than when | have to review a Sonic game. Although the recent PSP title Sonic Rivals showed some signs of life, Sonic and the Secret Rings takes this franchise right back into the intensive care unit. There are any number of things | don't like about this game, but let's start with the most important. The control scheme is poor. While it "works" on a basic level, steer- ing Sonic through levels like an Excite Truck vehicle while flicking the remote to attack enemies is, more often than not, a mess. You'll often find yourself having to awkwardly back up to attempt a jump again, something that really detracts from the (admittedly nice) sense of speed. The thing that really got my goat were the power-ups — yes, POWER-UPS - that make the contro! more fluid! Seriously? 1 have to earn good control? I'd criticize the ludicrous plot and static cutscenes, but | doubt many of you even expect the storytelling in a Sonic title to be any good at this point. While some of the levels look nice enough, you often repeat the same course, or slight alterations thereof, numerous times before advancing to the next world. While #5 nice that they included minigames, in actu- ality not many of them are much fun, and there are often totally arbitrary “events” like whirlpools that kept Bryan from winning our Pirate Cove contest even though he was consistently doing better than me. | wish | could say that this was a disappointment for the once-great franchise, but that would be a lie. By now, this is pretty much what you can expect from Sonic the Hedgehog, and that's a shame.—MATT "ае" 9.5 > Concept: Create exciting new motion-sensitive ways for Sonic to suck > Graphics: It's fine, but по major step over the last- generation Sonic titles > Sound: Know what to expect: "805 pop metal wankery. Although the theme song is almost great in how ridiculous itis > Playability: It's an “interest- ing" Wii take on the familiar Sonic controls > Entertainment: Repetitive gameplay, poorly designed lev- els, and spotty control make for a rancid fillet of hedgehog > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion “Seven rings in hand/ Arrowed hearts catch fire now.” So goes the chorus to Sonics latest metal theme song. Sonic is shot with a flaming arrow by an evil genie and must collect seven Tings to survive. You see? The song talks about what's going оп! Anyway, the game works best when you combine eventual “power-ups” that improve left-to-right move- ment and enemy targeting with long solid stretches of land, Once Sonic Team intro- duces frustrating platforming elements, horrible camera angles, sections where you must slowly inch along a narrow edge, and walls that won't break until you back up and kill a few enemies, everything falls apart. Sonic is about reckless speed, so why is he constantly getting slowed down?—BRYAN GAME INFORMER 103 Se reviews XBOX 360 Guitar Hero Il > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER MUSIC > PUBLISHER RED OCTANE/ACTIVISION > DEVELOPER HARMONIX > RELEASE APRIL 3 > ESRB T NEW CONSOLE, SAME AWESOME y now, you've either played Guitar Hero, heard about it from a friend, or read us raving about it for the last year. | don't have a lot to add to the conversation about this game, but | did want to relate a brief anecdote that | think illustrates why this game has been so successful. This past New Year's Eve, Andy had a party. A large group was down in the basement, where he has his games setup, and inevitably a game of Guitar Hero got started. While the people from СІ in attendance were already converts, what really inter- ested me was the way that this game draws new people under its spell. I'd say that at least half of the Guitar and bass duets | gre where it's at, daddio~ pe Is he auditioning for Social Distortion? 104 САМЕ INFORMER people there were not avid game players, some not gamers at all. Still, after an hour, there were constant lines of partygoers who — after having just played a few songs — were working their way through the first batch of tunes and not-so- patiently yearning for another tum. Suddenly, the line for Guitar Hero was longer than the line for booze, which is saying something. It's pretty rare for a game to have this effect, and | think it's a testament to Harmonix development expertise that Guitar Hero is addictive and invit- ing for everyone from the most novice player to the most hardcore. Guitar Hero II, as you likely already know, improved on the original by adding a great guitar/bass duet mode, more real-world gear endorse- ments, encores, and "Freebird" 1 heard some complaints from people that felt the soundtrack could have used more "hits," but I honestly liked having a few more dark horses in the race. Those whiners should be happy that quite a few of the 10 new songs are well-known songs by the likes Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Rick Derringer, Rancid, and Toadies. Also, | couldn't fail to mention just how crucial the LIKES: MAKE-UP, HAILSTORMS, LEATHER DISLIKES: SMALL TALK, THE BEACH CONTINUE т=== оргоощн The character models have been smoothed out and improved inclusion of "The Trooper" is - Maiden's scorching leads have no peer in the world of metal. | have few complaints about this package. It's not dramatically better than the PlayStation 2 version, but it's great that a whole new audience is going to have the opportunity to play Guitar Hero Il. I'm glad they included some new songs, and am excited at the prospect of downloading future tracks on Xbox Live, but a little disappointed that it wasn't possible to include online multiplayer, a feature that would have taken the GH experience to the next level. Also, | have a problem with the placement of the Xbox 360 Guide, start, and select buttons, which | frequently found myself hitting by mistake — paus- ing the game — with the palm of my picking hand. To be fair, | was the only one in the office who had serious complaints about this, so maybe it's just my own overly zealous strumming style that's the culprit. These slight quibbles aside, Guitar Hero II is a fan- tastic game. If you haven't already, go out and buy it. It's just that simple.——MATT ‘tne 9.25 > Concept: An enhanced 360 port of the PS2 classic with а new Gibson Explorer-style ax and hot new tracks > Graphics: Some nice enhancements, but | never have time to pay attention to the graphics. ? Sound: Ten new tracks, includ- ing "Hush" by Deep Purple and "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden > Playability: Smooth as silk gameplay, although | don't like the placement of the start and select buttons ent: It's simply ost purely fun es of the last few years; Xbox owners need to cl 5 > Replay Value: High Second Opinion 9 The first time | heard that Guitar Hero was coming to Xbox 360, | had the follow- ing reaction: “Yes! They'll have downloadable songs, online rock-offs, and a tasty wireless guitar controller.” Unfortunately, GH Il only has one of these features and, as of press time, there's still no word from RedOctane on the nature and frequency of the downloads. However, all ofthe Guitar Hero action players are accustomed to. is perfectly captured here. in high-def (not that that's а huge deal for this type | of game). The eight new. licensed tracks help to beef up the career mode and. most of them are top-not particularly enjoyed "Possum Kingdom,” "Dead," and | “Hush.” For me, | don't think Tm ready to leave behind the $1601 spent on the Р52 . versions and then blow $90 оп another setup for a few. new songs. But if you own - a 360 and have held out „ buying any form of Gi Hero so far, this is defini must-buy.—BRYAN ХВОХ 360 UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER SPORTS (UP TO 8-PLAYER VIA XBOX LIVE) > PUBLISHER EA SPORTS > DEVELOPER EA CANADA > RELEASE MARCH 20 > ESRB E GETTING KAKA FOR RONALDINHO aybe you don't know what UEFA is, but don't worry - #5 not what's really inter- esting about this game. While | usually roll my eyes at EA when it tries to stuff an offseason FIFA title down my throat, this time the publisher does indeed come bearing gifts. The new Ultimate Team mode is addictive as it combines regu- lar gameplay and managerial acumen with a trading card com- ponent that entices with a con- Stant sense of accomplishment and attraction. You buy packs of cards that contain player, coach, staff, and action cards with points you earn throughout every mode in the game. Since you are con- stantly using cards for training, contracts, and even while you're playing on the pitch itself, this mode is about always buying new packs of cards and availing yourself of the best players and card bonuses. Although | don't get into its structure of fixtures (I want a more concrete league format), it's very addictive and balanced well. You can always get points to buy cards, even if you lose, but you also have to continually buy card packs because your players' contracts will constantly expire. Being able to trade cards online is a great idea, and you can set how many credits you want to trade your cards for. What this UEFA achieves in this new mode it loses in the actual gameplay. The reduction in the speed of the game and its continuing problem with close BOTTOM LINE 5 > Concept: Spice up the typical EA FIFA stopgap title with a new mode that's worth checking out > Graphics: The face models. have gone back to being waxen and ugly > Sound: Not much change here from the standard soc- cer fare ? Playability: This category Continues to be EA's weak point ? Entertainment: The Ultimate Team Mode is better than the actual soccer, which is too bad ? Replay Value: Moderately High г doesn't ТАСТЫ quarters player-on-player interaction make the pace of play too deliberate. Soccer is a fluid game filled with bursts of inspiration and beauty. | don't feel that when | play UEFA. Hopefully the next FIFA can shore up its gameplay problems and retain this exciting new mode.——KATO 60 QUICKIES XBOX 360 Dance Dance Revolution Universe > STYLE 1 TO 4 PLAYER MUSIC (UP TO 4-PLAYER VIAXBOX LIVE) > PUBLISHER KONAMI > DEVELOPER KONAMI > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB El0+ 15 unusual and unfortu- nate that the inaugural а DDR on the 360 fails to implement the coolest thing that's happened in dance games recently — inputting and grooving to your own tracks. In the absence of that fea- ture, a few more well-known artists make an appearance, such as Kylie Minogue's sultry ballad "Slow" and Cascada's sick- eningly sweet pop hit "Everytime We Touch" However, by and large the tunes meld together into a synthy soup fla- vored with way too many dashes of Euro dance seasoning. With the exception of some inane new modes, gameplay is the same as ever — an addictive blend of exercise and looking like an idiot, with not the barest hint of a change to the formula that has sold so well for them these last eight years —-MILLER BOTTOM LINE XBOX 360 Samurai Warriors 2: Empires > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER KOEI > DEVELOPER OMEGA FORCE > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > T воттом име | ike to try to look at the bright side of things. 4 н 75 Take, for example, Samurai Warriors, Sure it plays like every other Dynasty/Samurai Warriors game ever made, but that's just Koei playing off its strengths, right? So maybe the battle system and А! still suck, and the graphics look like an origi- nal Xbox game. Is that really a big deal? Building up an army and conquering a nation is still fun. Who cares if hundreds of other games do it better? And sure the game suffers from some slowdown and odd glitches, but maybe if Koei takes a little more time and polishes up... What? You're telling me this game is out already? Oh, my.— BEN XBOX 360 Fuzion Frenzy 2 > STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 4-PLAYER VIA XBOX LIVE) > PUBLISHER MICROSOFT > DEVELOPER HUDSON SOFT > RELEASE JANUARY 30 > ESRB E10+ NOT THE WORST GAME EVER, BUT CLOSE he Fuzion Frenzy franchise has been rightfully dead for five years. It accompanied the launch of the Xbox on November 15, 2001, and died the day after. Why Microsoft decided to resurrect it ІІ never fully understand, but it does serve a purpose. It clearly pinpoints the biggest difference between the origi- nal Xbox and Xbox 360; in this generation, Microsoft has eliminated most of the garbage from its first-party lineup. Fuzion Frenzy 2 is a reminder of how far this company has come as a publisher. If you played the original game, your brain may not allow you to fully believe my next statement. This sequel is light-years worse than its predecessor, which is surpris- ing since this is basically the same game from a design standpoint. Once again, the goal of the game is to battle against three combatants in minigames that are dis- persed on different planets. Eam enough points in these games, and you'll win a planet. The first person to secure the designated number of planets wins the game. Of the 40-plus minigames, | only found myself amused by a few, | wasn't amused because these games are entertaining, but rather because they are so laughably bad. All of the games range from incredibly boring to nearly broken. The worst part of Fuzion Frenzy 2 is the announcer. This meathead talks up a storm, but he only has a few lines of dialogue at his disposal. In one match, | heard him say “Was that a lot of damage Player 27” seven times, and “I've never seen a battle this crazy" four times. Mind you, this match only lasted for 49 seconds. He's like Chris Tucker from The Fifth Element, but twice as annoying. Even if you are strong enough to stomach the miser- able gameplay, excelling at the minigames doesn't nec- essarily mean victory. Rather than having skill stand on its own, the game balance is thrown out of whack thanks to multiplier cards that players can earn. If you were to place second in a match, you would earn six points. If you had a six-time multiplier, this point total jumps to 36. Victory usually falls into the hands of the person who has multiplier cards. The only good that this game serves is that it keeps Fuzion Frenzy's legacy of being syn- onymous with "bad game" alive for another generation. Even if Microsoft offers it as a five dollar download on Xbox Live Arcade, pass on it — unless, of course, you collect Worst Games of the Year.— REINER 8i Due to horrendous controls, this game is nearly unplayable BOTTO! LINE > Concept: Over 40 crappy minigames in space! > Graphics: Not even dose (0 the best that the original Xbox had to offer > Sound: Join me in creat- ing a petition to demand that Microsoft publicly execute this announcer in a video on Xbox Live. > Playability: Playable in the sense that you can move your character. Not playable in the sense that your character doesn't respond how you like > Entertainment: Entertaining solely for how bad it is > Replay Value: Moderately Low GAME INFORMER 105 reviews Supreme Commander > STYLE 1-PLAYER STRATEGY (UP TO 8-PLAYER VIA INTERNET OR LAN) > PUBLISHER THQ > DEVELOPER GAS POWERED GAMES > RELEASE FEBRUARY 20 > ESRB E 10+ Screenshots don't come close to doing the visuals justice ON TOP OF THE WORLD о you intuitively know to set production buildings to hotkeys so that you can reset their rally points in a split second, queue construction orders for builder units on the fly, and scout enemy bases during the first two minutes of the match and constantly thereafter while fighting a multiple- front war and ensuring the balance and growth of your economy? If not, prepare for some pretty serious beat downs while you learn Supreme Commander's ropes. This is a real- time strategy game that makes no bones about targeting genre enthusi- asts. It's also one of the best releases that the RTS genre has ever seen. Winning an RTS match is ultimately a question of tuming the map's faw resources into fiery death more efficiently than your opponent. Supreme Commander, with its focus оп economy and its massive armies made up of faceless robots, strips the genre down to this core conflict. The groundbreaking user interface makes this both possible and massively entertaining. Instant full-battlefield vision via the slick zoom feature and powerful task-automation controls allow players to focus on macro-level strategy, rather than being bogged down in the minutiae of low-level command. Once you've mastered 106 САМЕ INFORMER this UI, it's keyboard-smashingly frus- trating to go back to more primitive RTSs. On top of all that, the massive maps, varied troop types, and high unit caps provide lots of room to develop and counter esoteric strate- gies. Perhaps more so than any other RTS, Supreme Commander caters to a slower, even "turtling" playstyle. Every faction has access to expensive, slow-building, game-breaking units in the endgame. They all have their counters - anything can be blown up with the proper application of nuclear, chemical, or laser weapons — but good luck surviving against an artillery piece that can toast your base from five kilometers away. Static defense is incredibly powerful; any assault against a competent player will require a massive invasion force to accomplish anything. Matches tend to last an hour or more — Starcraft- style furiously quick matches are not what you'll find here. As much as | love Supreme Commander, it won't be for every- one. The gameplay style is markedly different than traditional RTS, and #5 a difference that not everyone will appreciate. Economic expansion is perhaps too powerful; the speed at which resource generation acceler- ates in the hands of a knowledgeable player means that a single missed beat of tempo сап bury you under ап uncounterable swarm of units. However, the overall high level of polish and deep macro-level schem- ing are enough to cement its place in the upper ech- elons of strategy gaming, regardless of personal taste —ADAM BOTTO! LINE > Concept: Make an RTS so huge, so fantastic, that the utter lack of personality and flavor doesn't matter > Graphics: Great when you're zoomed in, functional when you're zoomed out > Sound: "Transport is ІШІ. Transport is full. Transport is full.” Enough already! > Playability: The ability to automate nearly every task is necessary given the scale of the game > Entertainment: It's a differ- ent sort of RTS, but one that works brilliantly once you get a handle on it > Replay Value: High Second Opinion 9 This game isn't for weak- base camp has never been more fluid, My only wish is that the factions had more defining characteristics on the battlefield. Rarely did | feel one of my forces had a distinct difference com- pared to my enemy unless | unleashed one of the earth- shattering experimental units. Noobs take note — the strong good introductory RTS. But if you аге a hardened war vet ога new recruit capable of stomaching a long learning curve (which will invariably indude a few ass whoop- ings), this game is tough to pass over. —BERTZ — ^ Vanguard: Saga of Heroes > STYLE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER SIGIL GAMES ONLINE > RELEASE JANUARY 30 > ESRB Т FACELESS ‘ve got nothing against Vanguard. It's an entirely competent MMORPG, and if you can find a decent group of people to play with, it can be an absolute blast. At the same time, though, you're still jumping through a series of hoops dictated by a game design that hails all the way back from text-based MUDs. And Vanguard doesn't pull it off with the kind of aplomb that World of Warcraft does. There are some cool ideas and systems here. The diplomacy minigame, for instance, provides an entertaining distraction that adds a dimension to exploring new areas. Crafting is a much deeper and more complex web of interactions than you'll see in most MMOs. Much of the content does a good job of allowing players to see and interact with one another — which creates the illusion of a cohesive world much better than sequestering players in instances a la WoW — while discourag- ing griefing. Each class features cool mechanics for both solo and group play, and the combat is fast and entertaining. Unfortunately, Vanguard also has its share of flaws. The sheer scale of the game world has resulted in huge tracts of land being devoid of any meaningful content. This spread-out design can make it unlikely you'll run into other players and start making the social connections that make MMOs special. And the game doesn't do much to help new players over the relatively steep learning curve, which can be a barrier even to MMO vets. If a slower-paced, more complex title in the vein of EverQuest is what you're looking for, Vanguard will serve you well. A lack of polish in several areas and strong competition keep this game from being particularly special, though. —-ADAM BOTTO! LINE > Concept: Many of the original brains behind EverQuest get back together to make the next: gen MMO they always wanted to > Graphics: Grand vistas and outstanding battle animations make this a pleasure to behold if you have the PC to do it justice > Sound: Like any MMO, you'll be best served running iTunes in the background after a few. dozen hours ? Playability: The weird lag issues and bugs that plague most MMO launches are thankfully under control here > Entertainment: This is yet another take on the EverQuest model. It’s a decent one, but you're still grinding mobs and gaining ХР. > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 7.75 Vanguard 5 cis peal iy game, mostly to its 0 and in some cases to its det- riment. MMO players looking for something new could | do far worse than the huge variety of races, classes, and T M are owl languard's immensely flexible design. In particu- lar, | found the diplomacy ‘missions (carried out by a simple but fun card game) to be a great alternative to the normal monster grind. The familiar combat engi has ugh | e said that th aren't plenty of things to try out and explore —MILLE РС | МАС World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade > STYLE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT > RELEASE JANUARY 16 > ESRB T GAME INFORMER WHEN IT ITCHES IT BURNS Flight paths are still in the game, but at level 70 you can purchase a flying mount of your own 9 > Concept: New levels, new gear, new areas to explore > Graphics: You either love Blizzard's style or you hate it. If you hate it, you should have an eye exam ? Sound: Burning Crusade delivers such an epic soundtrack that | would actually recommend the Collector's Edition just to get the music ? Playability: The dungeons and design in Burning Crusade are simply second to none > Entertainment: lf you enjoy a good MMORPG, WoW is simply the best one on the market ? Replay Value: High am what you would consider a hardcore This is obvious the moment you walk into has been very stingy with its itemization, many World of Warcraft player. Before that, it was Outland (the world where most of the new con- of the “upgrades” you get in the game are more EverQuest, with plenty of other games in tent is). The new zones аге huge in comparison to like "side-grades" While unsatisfying to a degree, The Burning Crusade is a between - пот Dark Age of Camelot to the original game and graphically lush. But it's the it does keep the challenge and interest in the ES SION and Anarchy Online. One thing has been constant with content inside them, the quests and the instances, game and doesn't allow players to blast through Ш Ту пе vn mem every MMORPG | have ever played: Each expansion that make the whole game tick. the content in a matter of weeks — which, in this Mor gradually destroys the thing that made the original Blizzard has worked very hard to create encoun- reviewer's opinion, is a good thing. па ед Te NES game so fascinating. ters and quests that not only offer content to the However, like any ММОЕРС, Blizzard can always miles above what we saw in There are many pitfalls that await an MMO casual player, but to the hardcore player as well. offer updates to smooth out the rough edges of Azeroth, both in polish and in expansion. Sometimes it's the extra experience The dungeons, which range from a five-man crawl the game, as is far too often the case, ruin the overall fun. Balance is vastly levels that ruin all the previous content; other to a 25-man raid, offer challenges for all types experience by catering to the clamoring masses improved in all areas of the times it's a new race or class that throws off any of players. This is especially true for the five-man begging for easier content. game, and the laundry list semblance of game balance. Burning Crusade content that offers a normal and heroic mode Му hope is that Blizzard doesn't cave in, at least Siue E was unable to find a solution to the new levels for those that want a bigger challenge from the not for a long while, as The Burning Crusade 15 pern OT ре Mne and items that basically render the original content game's easier-to-complete content. easily the best expansion to an MMO | have ever 1 gladly sublimated my life worthless (going back to the two old continents Before this review, | managed to get through had the pleasure to play. From the thrill of soar- into a game as deeply as | now feels like attending a funeral). However, it the game's five- and ten-man content and had ing through skies on this game's flying mounts to have with this expansion. does manage to reinvent itself in many ways to started on the raid content. It’s very challenging at the rush of defeating Nightbane in the bowels of However, Burning Crusade make the expansion feel fresh and, on the whole, almost every level, with the best encounter design Karazhan, The Burning Crusade is a gaming itch does not tum WoW into | more engaging than the original. | have ever seen in a game of its ilk. Since Blizzard that is a joy to scratch.—ANDY something it's not, You still won't find the awesome ia ний Realm-vs-Realm battles of Dark Age of Camelot here. Players still have little to no control over the state of the world, and your faction can't gain or lose territory like in EVE Online. Crafting professions are still strictly. relegated to a back-seat role, This is not the next evolu- tion of massively multiplayer online gaming, but it is an enormous addition to the smoothest, most engag- : cone we NN lesign АР RR УЫ» 69 philosophy has produced. 2 «WThefidrde received the Blood while the Alliance got Draenai There's a reason that it’s so elf цер the paladin class... race and the Shaman class 4 popular—ADAM GAME INFORMER 107 Р5Р Capcom Puzzle World > STYLE 1-PLAYER PUZZLE/ACTION (2-PLAYER VIA AD НОО > PUBLISHER CAPCOM > DEVELOPER CAPCOM > RELEASE FEBRUARY 6 > ESRB Е PSP owners can get their hands on a new collection that packages one bona fide dassic (Super Puzzle Fighter Il Turbo) alongside some lesser known arcade games. Super Puzzle Fighter helped create the tem- plate for the modem puzzle game (see: Lumines), and remains as addictive as ever. Even some rarely seen Japanese versions of the title are induded here, which will be a boon to collectors. The other stuff — three Buster Bros. titles and an Arkanoid done deverly named Block Block — is just fine, but hardly crucial to anyone but the most ardent Capcom fan. Still, Puzzle Fighter alone might make this worth the $30 for a lot of folks.—MATT PSP Sid Meier's Pirates! > STYLE i-PLAYER ADVENTURE (UP TO 4-PLAYER VIA AD НОС) > PUBLISHER 2K GAMES > DEVELOPER FIRAXIS > RELEASE JANUARY 25 > ESRB Е Avast! After a few years adrift on the Xbox and РС, Sid Meier's Pirates! has brought its booty to a new port — the PSP. To the great fortune of pirate fans everywhere, the classic game has developed nary a bit of scurvy during its voyages. Pirates offers the same great mix of addictive minigames to which we sea dogs have grown accustomed. By fencing famous Pirates, raiding rival trade ships, and wooing governor's daughters, you can turn your swashbuckling buccaneer into one of the most infamous pirates on the open seas. —BERTZ BOTTOM LINE 108 GAME INFORMER # Мо concessions were made in bringing | ratchet to the PSP Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 4-PLAYER VIA WI-FI) > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER HIGH IMPACT GAMES > RELEASE FEBRUARY 13 > ESRB E10+ AN AMAZING HANDHELD ADVENTURE hen a major console franchise moves to handheld, there's usually a stigma attached to it. Is this game going to be a hand-me-down port, a side story, or a completely different entity altogether? With Insomniac Games focused on bringing Ratchet & Clank to PlayStation 3, first time developer High Impact Games was called in to bring the gun-toting rodent and his robotic companion to the handheld realm. This development scenario screams for a side story similar to Daxter, Metal Gear Acid, or Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. But surprisingly enough, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is a direct sequel that doesn't skip a beat in delivering the high-octane thrills you've come to expect from this series on console. Size Matters feels so similar, in fact, that I'm begin- ning to think High Impact is a secret alias for Insomniac, much like Steven King's pseudonym Richard Bachman. The trademark humor, outrageous weapon designs, and unforgettable cast of characters appear to be stripped straight from Insomniac's portfolio. Which is not to say, however, that High Impact is simply connecting the dots that Insomniac has laid out. The best parts of Size Matters stem solely from High Impact's creative minds. This is most prominent in the story, which delves deeply into Captain Qwark's per- sonal life. High Impact also leaves its mark on the level designs, which are some of the best the series has to offer. In one stage, Ratchet shrinks to microscopic pro- portions to infiltrate Clank's body. In another level, which is just as outlandish as the highly acclaimed Milkman stage in Psychonauts, Ratchet traverses an ever-changing dream world that dazzles the eye with mind-bending imagery and hypnotic effects. т Clank's space combat stages will bring a tear to the eyes of the Star Fox faithful Technomite Dreadnaugh: ре е аа Ч Ме тау һауе said this hundreds of times already, but navigating 3D space without a second analog stick is no easy task. High Impact did a commendable job making Ratchet's fast-paced play feel at home on the PSP, but as you would expect, the movement isn't as graceful as it is on the console. Many different control schematics are offered, but | found that the best system is to use the d- pad to perform basic strafing functions and the shoulder buttons for turning. It's a bit awkward, but the game does a good job of keeping the action in front of you, and the auto-lock targeting is highly effective. Holding true to its lineage, Size Matters dabbles in Space combat, racing, and an assortment of minigames. Clank, who continues to be used more and more with each passing game, is a part of two gorgeously crafted space combat levels. He also competes in a fun destruc- tion derby, plus several other modes that we've seen in previous games. This variant gameplay is not as kind to our long-eared friend. Ratchet's hoverboard racing controls are so frustrating that the developer seems to have compensated by dumbing down the Al to the point that no skill is required other than to keep your board from crashing. As always, players can level up their weapons (the bee gun is especially amus- ing in later levels), purchase weapon mods, unlock new armors, and unearth Skill Points and Bolts. Multiplayer is once again present, but #5 by no means as frantic or fun as the console offerings. Your choices are limited to just four players and a selection of fairly boring maps. Size Matters isn't the best that this series has to offer, but it's definitely a welcome addition to the family, and a must-have for fans.—REINER m Players can once again mod their weapons and armors BOTTO LINE > Concept: Ratchet has lost none of his alien-splattering spunk in his first handheld adventure > Graphics: Some stages seem designed to show how many particle effects the PSP can display at once. In other words, it's beautiful > Sound: An upbeat soundtrack with familiar voices and sound effects > Playability: Not quite as intuitive as the console games, but the action is just as dynamic > Entertainment: An amazing game from start to finish, Like all Ratchets, replay is offered in questing to unlock the hidden Bolts and Skill Points > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 8.75 Ratchet & Clank is one of my favorite series of all time, so | had high expecta- tions for this new handheld adventure. "го happy to report that Size Matters meets nearly all of them. The core of what makes R&C great - awesome _ weapons, gameplay variety, and humor - is represented in every minute of this title. Me ack ofa бивни үү ни a rollicking ride, and sure . tobe: БАС) ММТЕМОО 05 Gurumin: | Spectrobes € A Monstrous Adventure 23 > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG > PUBLISHER MASTIFF/NIHON FALCOM CORP > DEVELOPER NIHON FALCOM CORP > RELEASE FEBRUARY 12 > ESRB Е10+ НР 100/00 © > | DIDN'T HATE MY WEEKEND 1 ; СОТТА DIG UP THE FOSSILIZED REMAINS OF ‘EM ALL LINE 1 arin is a young girl think the problem with this sent by her parents to game is that #5 too simplistic. 2 : live with her absent- As a result Gurumin is very 1 ven if Spectrobes is ground. You'll have to smell BOTTO! 6 5 minded grandfather. relaxing to play, but never gets тае : aimed squarely at them out, dig them up with LINE But the town that her grandfa- exciting or engrossing. morning animated TV ВАН i pleasing a younger drills and other tools, and > Collect creat her li 1 crowd, it's been then take them back to your Concept: CUES ther lives in is a mining town What we have here is an and characters fed wi h Е Е and level them up in this innova- with no other children, and the ^ action/RPG done by the num- stuffed with enough {тез spaceship to magically awaken tive wist on the familiar idea > Graphics: Cartoony, butina $ ideas that it might have hada ет from fossilization. It's a first fat hairy guy she runs into bers. There are dungeons filled smooth, very dean way i chance to púl in some older neat trick. You bring them to > Graphics: Some more detail turns out to be a pedophile with monsters and puzzles, қ { Я : : in the characters, monsters, and who starts hitting on her. Its no nothing headscratchingly hard, deer Дал Че ios " E DE duddies (you know, over — life with your own voice, feed environments definitely would surprise that to escape from but you will have to do some ingis decent : 132) had those new ideas them minerals to make them have held my attention longer her world of sin and loneliness, ^ exploration. Parin is equipped > Playability: The camera i been better integrated. Sadly, grow, and evolve them into > Sound: | turned the game off Parin crawls through а hole with only one weapon, but wode Aid ihe скс don't eal such is not the case, and this finely crafted killing machines, only a few minutes ago, and it's in the wall and makes friends you can upgrade it with new З creature collection system has all in the name of saving the hard even now to remember the with a city of friendly invisible moves and imbue it with dif- > Entertainment: A very i all the sophistication you might solar system from certain mae component monsters. This premise might ferent elemental energies. straightforward experience. More — $ ask of any seven-year-old, doom. The combination of > Playability: Very friendly and make a pretty sweet indepen- ^ You can also gain new outfits еа merry-go-round than a 1 which | suppose is probably frantic stylus rubbing and ruo dei ae is dent film, but we don't review апа purchase accessories that ‘Ollercoaster, which is both good : the point. ; microphone use is surprisingly а?у complex tutorials independent films in this mag- сап be upgraded by collect- ак i Spectrobes has a neat twist Вип for a while. zperia amos azine, do we? (Sigh) No...no, ing junk from fallen enemies, > Replay Value: Moderately і оп the l've got a monster! Repetition kills the buzz. The а күге: е it Та we don't. And Gurumin tums Some of the characters are шы у: You've gota monster! Let's slowly paced story tums the ть nra out to be a childlike fantasy very memorable have ‘em fight!” idea. In this fossil digging into a chore, and d adventure with plenty of odd and the game has case, those dangerous little the real-time battle system ? Replay Value: Moderate moments like the one above. a few scenes that guys are actually fossils that starts to feel the same not The problem with this game аге so bizarre theyre you have to dig out of the long after that. Multiplayer, Р е is...uh...well the problem is... laughable, but the meanwhile, has some All of the monsters that were actually, | have some trouble plot as a whole is pretty 3 meat to it. Big wireless deemed too lame to make it pointing out anything fun- lame. Gurumin is perfect for 1 tournaments are sup- ко тыгу damentally wrong with this a lazy weekend or a long Second Opinion 7 ШЕ ported for ambitious paneon fidion game. Nothing is outright road trip, but not something ш 3 : recess get-togethers, twist on the monstet-cok broken here. In fact, | found you'll be pulling out your PSP E and online leaderboards leding craze, seemingly fails the graphics to be pleasing to play every free moment of and downloadable іп every key area. As ambi- content gives the game tious as the game is, its some legs. There are light years away from being even real-life collectible entertaining. The real time cards to trade around combat system is painful to to get some of the the point that it should inflict cooler breeds. With all bodily harm on the user. The. the hallmarks of a title that might just grab that ае metes elusive kid audience, “just lame. There's something there are nonetheless a [sien to number of more engag- û worlds to find new. and the music enjoyable. | the day.— BEN ИР 77 лоо ing titles that I'd wish оп | but the gameplay just the younger gamers | „вой strong enough to back of them are as ridiculously know.——MILLER “up this venture. —REINER cute as this monkey suit Б е 4 EM : GAME INFORMER 109 NINTENDO DS Lunar Knights > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG > PUBLISHER KONAM| > DEVELOPER КОЛМА PRODUCTIONS > RELEASE FEBRUARY 6 > ESRB E10+ HIDING FROM THE SUN ampires have cloaked the Earth in perpetual night. Humans are kept as cattle in their undead overlords’ domains. If only there was some dude with a mysterious past and an enormous sword to rectify the situation. Of course, he would need а spunky kid to help him out and provide an enthusiastic counterpoint to his dark brooding. Lunar Knights may have a setup that makes Scooby Doo lock like a creative tour de force, but the gameplay it throws at you is no joke. We've had some mediocre efforts from Square Enix's Mana series in recent years, but this successor to Boktai is a great way to remember what makes this style of gameplay fun. Lunar Knights employs the same isometric hack n' - slash formula we've seen for years, but offers a level of polish that keeps it from getting old. The cool systems that are layered on top of it are what make it engrossing. Collecting items to power up your various weapons, managing recovery and boost items, and growing your two heroes’ skills through experience points are all deftly executed and very enjoyable. As entertaining as the core of Lunar Knights’ gameplay is, the game's ancillary elements are less skillfully done. The story, as mentioned, is mediocre at best. Slogging through clumsy dialogue between dungeons is a chore, and the space flight minigame is a simplistic distraction that goes on for far too long. It's good that all these things will only take up a fraction of your time here; the vast majority of the game is in the dungeons. Sure, leveling up and collecting new items requires nothing more than going through the motions for seasoned gamers. But any title that can throw in as many new systems and nail the core gameplay as well as Lunar Knights does has a spot waiting for it in my library.— ADAM 110 GAME INFORMER BOTTO! LINE > Concept: Show everyone how isometric dungeon crawling 5 done > Graphics: As usual for the DS, the visuals are nothing special > Sound: Competent English voice actors exist. Why none of them ever do anime-themed titles (including this one) | have no idea > Playability: Accidentally triggering the dash move gets imitating after the 50th time > Entertainment: You won't find many better action/RPGs on handhelds > Replay Value: Moderate NINTENDO 05 Trioncube > STYLE 1-PLAYER PUZZLE (UP TO 2-PLAYER VIA WIRELESS) > PUBLISHER NAMCO BANDAI > DEVELOPER НАМСО > RELEASE FEBRUARY 20 >. Е 121 Li 11111112141 воттом име “vour idea of stellar ап and storytelling 6 is exemplified in the Teletubbies, then boy do | have a game for you. Puzzle gaming has had a number of complex entries recently, and this isn’t one of them. It is, however, a fun diversion for about an hour. The block-dropping gameplay mirrors the presentation — simple and colorful. By creating 3x3 blocks, you build a combo that is usually easy enough to expand and beat a level in one try. If things ever got more com- plicated, I'd give it some credit — but they don't, and | won't —MILLER NINTENDO DS Quickspot > STYLE 1-PLAYER PUZZLE (8-PLAYER VIA WIRELESS OR NINTENDO WHT) > PUBLISHER NAMCO BANDAI GROUP > DEVELOPER NAMCO > RELEASE MARCH 13 > ESRB Е ”, воттом инЕ 15 game is kind of like those “find the differ- if = 5 ences between the two pictures games” | used to play in Highlights — the magazine my mother would buy for me when | was a kid because we couldn't afford а Nintendo. It's not the kind of game I would buy a Nintendo to play. That said — there is something very relaxing about finding what is wrong in the pic- tures (maybe it's the annoying nursery rhyme music) and circling it. You can also play the Rapid play mode where you work under the dock with the Brain Age twist, but honestly, there isn't much else to this game.— BEN GAME BOY ADVANCE Final Fantasy VI Advance > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER NINTENDO > DEVELOPER SQUARE ENIX > RELEASE FEBRUARY 7 > ESRB Е10+ KEFKA WINS inal Fantasy VI is one of the best RPGs ever made, and this version doesn't sacrifice any of its inherent awesomeness. From the huge cast of characters and their special moves to the memorable scenes like the opera house event, it is all intact and as good as you remember. Unlike some of the previous Final Fantasy GBA titles, this one isn't marred by any significant technical problems. The only slowdown | noticed was surpris- ingly in towns; battles seem to run even better than they did on SNES, like when Sabin uses his Fire Dance (now called "Rising Phoenix”) Blitz. In short, every- thing works as good or better than before, making this the best version of Final Fantasy VI to date. Even though Final Fantasy VI has already reappeared once on the PSone, this isn't just a port of a port. The refined transla- tion clears up some potentially confusing story bits, and there are new espers and dungeons waiting for you in the endgame. Even though this content is a nice bonus, it doesn't have a signifi- cant impact on the main progres- Sion. Luckily, the core game is still amazing by itself, and no one should need some fancy-pants excuse to go back and play this timeless classic. ——ЈОЕ Ah, Memories If you're playing FF VI Advance for nostalgia's sake, you're probably curi- ous as to whether certain tricks have changed for this port. We checked out our favorites, and here's what we found. BOTT! LINE > Concept: The last Final Fantasy holdout finally gets the portable treatment > Graphics: Sprites and Mode 7 at their best. It runs smoothly, too, with little to none of the choppiness of previous ports > Sound: The best soundtrack in the Final Fantasy series lives on. A few changes here and there, but they're all for the better > Playability: Great on the GBA. It also works on the DS, but there are some button issues (like the placement of select, and the d-pad and shoulder sen- sitivity) that make it harder > Entertainment: If you can't enjoy this game, you just don't like RPGs > Replay Value: Moderate Second Opinion 8.5 Far more than an antiquated classic, this installment of the vaunted franchise is worth another play because it remains a fantastic RPG from beginning to end, Optional story paths make this more freeform than most titles . in the genre. From Gau's Rages to Sabin's Blitz attacks, the unique options for each character make battle an active and interest- ing mechanic, rather than. + Use the level-up exploit on the river? Sort of. Holding the A button won't work, but you can mash it repeatedly. * Cast Vanish then X-Zone for instant kills? No. This was fixed. Vanish/ Doom won't work, either. + Suplex the Phantom Train? Aw, yeah + Does Gau still suck? Of course he does. * Get General Leo? No. You never could. Deal with it. # Hopefully, the movie focuses less on (тап ass E Elephant strategy guide: block, stab, repeat 300: March To Glory > STYLE i-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER WARNER BROTHERS INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT > DEVELOPER COLLISION STUDIOS > RELEASE FEBRUARY 27 > ESRB M NOT ENOUGH TO SATE OUR SWORDS really want to see the movie 300 (being a fan of Frank Miller's original graphic novel), so | was hoping that this game would provide a sneak peek at the film and maybe some good times in the process. 300: March to Glory only delivers halfway on both counts. Players will control the Spartan king Leonidas as his small band of elite troops takes on the entire Persian army. This can be mislead- ing, however, since you'll only be fighting six or seven enemies at a time with even fewer Spartans at your side. Chop off the foes’ limbs with swords, spears, and shields. Upgrade weapons and armor, and unlock new combos and special moves. Defend against multitudes of arrows raining from the sky. It's all pretty standard hack n' slash — nothing really awesome or particularly crappy. As a quick diversion from the main game, Leonidas will line up shoulder-to-shoulder with his troops in a phalanx formation, pressing forward while stabbing any soldiers who get in the way. What starts as a harmless minigame where you get to eventually slay some elephants later becomes a pesky pain in the ass with several cheap deaths. The few puzzles that appear in the game are brainless lever-pulling exercises, and the limited stealth sections only serve to make you curse the usually passable camera. Cutscenes are a mix of comic book images and the in-game engine. The latter mostly consists of the camera zooming in on ugly character models as they all do a repeating knee bending animation in unison. Players can unlock movie trail- ers and stills by playing through the game and collecting golden lambdas, but most of this stuff you can already see online. | guess this might be a fun game to rent and beat on a Saturday. After all, developer Collision does add a little something at the end of the game to make it not as much of a downer.——BRYAN "m. 6.25 > Concept: If you're only going to put out a licensed game on one console, it better be PSP. . .wait a second > Graphics: Plain and repeti- tive. The blood sprays are a nice effect, though > Sound: A cinematic score mixed with a bunch of yelling dudes > Playability: Mashing the X button will get you through all but а few situations > Entertainment: The movie trailers and Frank Miller interviews are pretty cool > Replay Value: Moderately Low Second Opinion 7 NINTENDO 05 Pogo Island > STYLE 1 ТО 4-PLAYER PUZZLE (2-PLAYER VIA WIRELESS) > PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS > DEVELOPER ЕА CANADA > RELEASE MARCH 26 > ESRB Е EA has basically swiped the top five titles from their Pogo.com casual BOTTOM LINE 6.5 a tropical theme on all of them, and added a board game-style progres- sion system. The good news for fans of the site is that you can transfer points earned on the DS game to the website and enter to win real cash and prizes. Up to four players can pass around a single DS to compete in any of the games, but local wireless play is only supported on one of them. The offerings are generally pretty decent (Word Whomp, Tri-Peaks Solitaire, and Poppit! are among the best), but there should be a lot more, consider- ing that the website has hundreds to choose from.—BRYAN PSP Chili Con Carnage > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (UP TO 4-PLAYER VIA AD НОС) > PUBLISHER EIDOS > DEVELOPER DEADLINE GAMES > RELEASE FEBRUARY 13 > ESRB M. games website, slapped Ан, Mexico. Who doesn't love the 17 land of Spring Break, Montezuma's revenge, and old-fashioned shootouts on drug plantations? Chili Con Carnage serves up a steaming hot burrito of the latter. When a drug kingpin takes down his father, Ramiro Cruz sets out for BOTTOM LINE : revenge by turning up the vigilante 1 action to caliente. Much like its spiritual : predecessor Total Overdose, Chili Con : Сатаве is all about smoking gringos : with acrobatic headshots, well-tossed : Molotov cocktails, and the occasional : environmental explosion. The third- 1 person camera sometimes causes frus- : tration, but otherwise this by-the-book : action shooter serves up a spicy help- 1 ing of mindless bloodshed.— BERTZ PSP The Warriors > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION (2-PLAYER МА AD HOC) > PUBLISHER ROCKSTAR GAMES > DEVELOPER ROCKSTAR LEEDS > RELEASE FEBRUARY 12 > ESRB М Rockstar's The Warriors showed that it's pos- sible to make a brawler with more depth and BOTTOM LINE 8.5 : cinematic flair than the usual beat : ‘em up. Using the ‘70s cult classic as : atemplate, the game was inventive * and fun — though sadly hamstrung by : a bizarre multiplayer co-op mode that : kept switching the camera between full : and split-screen. Thankfully, that prob- : lem has been solved on PSP, as both : players now have their own screen : when playing an ad-hoc story mode. : Other than that, #5 exactly the same, 1 with identical features, minigames, : gameplay, and graphics. If you missed : out on this, or are looking for a reason : to pull your PSP out of mothballs, The : Warriors is a great purchase —MATT NINTENDO DS Brain Buster Puzzle Pak > STYLE 1-PLAYER PUZZLE > PUBLISHER АСЕТЕС > DEVELOPER JALECO/NIKOLI > RELEASE APRIL > ESRB E What this game lacks in charm, it makes up for 8 in numbers. Containing over 200 Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles alone (not to men- tion the infinitely generated training sessions), this title is packed with five different types of Japanese puzzles games. Each has valuable tools to help you such as being able to put down markers on squares and erase stuff, and there are even tokens you can accumulate which you can cash in for hints. This game won't calculate your Brain Age, but we're probably all too stupid to make it through this gauntlet of genius — КАТО BOTTOM LINE : and total garbage —JOE NINTENDO DS Izuna: Legend of the Unemployed Ninja > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG. > PUBLISHER ATLUS > DEVELOPER SUCCESS > RELEASE FEBRUARY 20 > ESRB Е10+ E Izuna tries to hide its appalling design with the trappings of a happy-go- lucky dungeon crawler. It has some funny characters and dialogue, but those are just tiny pockets of air in the baleful cloud that pervades this pile of shame. Following the Mystery Dungeon formula, the combat is unbe- lievably tedious and frustrating. In fact, | would rather just watch |2ипа die than participate in the infantile mechanics, except that you lose all carried items and money when that happens. Punishing players and withholding any reward adds replay, right? At first | thought this game was a joke, but | was wrong. It's a joke BOTTOM LINE 3.5 GAME INFORMER 111 Тһе Best Selling Games TOP 10 JAPAN TOP 20 Rank Title ings Based Upon NPD Data For January 2007 Based On Units Sold ; ЕЙ Virtua Fighter 5 [ ші sports 1 LOST PLANET: EXTREME CONDITION (360) Rank | Tile L. Mo. |System| Score |Release} Price Wii Play Lost Planet: Extreme recs е res DS Training for Adults: Work Your Brain2 05 Condition ЕН New Super Mario Bros. 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It wouldn't be worse than the story it alre 4 WARIOWARE: SMOOTH MOVES (Wii) Call Of Duty 3 в | зво | 85 |ti-10| 358 Favorite Pics Rayman Raving Rabbids | N/a | wi | 85 |11-10| 848 TOP Rank Title Price M п NFL 07 МА | PS3 | 8.25 |11-10| $59 World Of Warcraft: adde 0 The Burning Crusade NA $37 JÊ Î World of Warcraft 2 $5 WWE Smackdown 6 | pS2 | 8.75 |11-10| $49 World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade N/A $69 Vs Raw 2007 2 Collector's Ed : ^ ЕЕ The Sims 2 3 $41 rolled upand sed for beating him Nintendogs: Dalmatian & "pm p ЇЇ The Sims 2: Pets ШЕ] 5 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS (GC) Friends ШЕ 3333 ХР Games Jc МА $10 Ей Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes МА 550 Grand Theft Auto: wa | psp | 85 |11-10| $30 | Ш Battlefield 2142 Vice City Stories (ГІ the sims 2: Nightlife Е | Age Of Empires ЇЇ! Yoshi’s Island DS 9 | DS | 8.25 |11-10) $31 official filled for Chapter 11 funny bankruptc pokes beat аа ot Zelda ined in mcr eh Halo 2 МА |XBOX| 10 {11-08} $30 panne EEN NE j 3 Final Fantasy ХІІ МА | ps2} 9 [11-10] $49 112 GAME INFORMER Source: The NPD Gr PLAYSTATION 3 Dot Hack//G.U. Vol. 1//Rebirth 575 Пес06 Battlefield 2142 Blazing Angels: E Feb-07 Eragon 625 Feb07 Battlestations: Midway Call of Duty 3 875 Jan-07 Family Guy 55 Jan-07 Company of Heroes Def Jam: kon 775 Maro7 Fast and the Furious, The 6 Nov06 аҝ̆ Messiah of Might & Magic Fight Night Round 3 —— ИП | НРА 07 Oct-06 Dungeon Sie Full Auto 2: Battlelines 25 Jan-o7 FinalFantasyXIl 9257 NoK06! 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Ace Attorney Justice For All 8 Jan-07 Godfather, The 775 . 0906 Mysteries of the Karakuri 725 Песов pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Just Cause 725 0906 де е 2: Silmeria 8 0006 Blue Rescue Team 3 Nov-06 LEGO Star Wars It inning Eleven: Pokémon Ranger 5 Оес06 The Original Trilogy 8 Oct-06 Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 8 Ма 07 сборе: Hive 75 Моғ06 Lost Planet: Extreme Condition 825 Feb-o7 WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 875 Оес06 ° Star Fax Command 8 Oct-06 Madden NFL 07 775 Oct-06 Touch Detective 675 Nov06 Major League Baseball 2K7 85 Mar-07 Yoshi's Island DS 825 Пес0в Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 925 Dec-06 e Bully, is S Б: 07 NBA 2K7 825 Novoe Baten Kaitos Origins lov-06 NBA Live 07 525 Decode ҺРА07 775.1, 0006 МВА Street Homecourt 875 Mar07 Eid s Spyro: ы к N NCAA 07 March Madness 775 Feb-07 ele Дацо OS Need for Speed: Carbon 85 Оес06 125 Orginal Tilogy 8 Oct-06 NHL 07 725 Oct-06 Madden NFL 07 8.25 Oct-06 NHL 2K7 825 0906 Sine 2: pets, The 6 Dec-06 Phantasy Star Universe 6 Jan-07 әні”. Sonic the Hedgehog 675 807 Carcom сива Splinter Cell: Double Agent 9106606 Collection Volume 2 т Dec-06 Star Trek Legacy 273 Jan07 Destroy АП Humans 2 85 Моу06 Superman Returns 6 Jan07 гарот 625 Feb-07 Test Drive Unlimited 825 Nov06 Family Guy 5.5 Jan-07 50 Cent Bulletproof Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 8 NovO6 FIFA 07 775 Oct-06 С Unit Edition 625 Моу06 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 95 |8807 just Cause 725 Od-06 Асе Combat X: Tony Hawk's Project 8 9 Dec06 Justice League Heroes 725 Пес06 Skies of Deception 825 Dec-06 Viva Piñata 8 Jan07 Legend of Spyro Bounty Hounds 625 Nov06 Winning Eleven А New Beginning, The 7 Nov-06 Death Jr. 2: Root of Evil 825 Моу-06 Pro Evolution Soccer 2007 Б; Mar-07 ЕСО Star Wars Il: The Original Trilogy 8 Oct-06 Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony 8 Jan-07 WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 875 — DecO6 ` Madden NFL O7 825 09056 Dynasty Warriors Vol.2 5 Оесов Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 9253080082061 ҒА Replay 675 Пес06 КОТИ луш o 22. ...... 825 Моьов Ant Bully, Тһе 65 Feb-O7 NASCAR 07 775 0906 Gangs of London 6 Nov-06 Call of Duty 3 725 hnO? МВА 2k7 8 NovOG Qitaroo Mah Lives! 9 Dec06 Chicken Little: Ace in Action 725 . A07 NBA Live 07 75 NovO6 Godfather: Mob Wars, The 45 Моу-06 Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 в Feb-07 ^ Need for Speed: Carbon 85 DecO6 Grand Theft Auto: City Storie 85 Dec-0€ Elebits Jan-07 NHL 07 775 Оа-06 Gun Showdown 75 Dec-06 Excite Truck Jan-O7 — NHL2K7 675 0906 бСипреу бес-06 ш кайышы: е Ма-07 Painkiller: Ней Wars 775 Ой06 Killzone: Liberation Nov-06 egend of Zelda: Reservoir Dogs 5.75 Jan07 Тһе Legend of Heroes III ramen ss DIT Scarface: The World is Yours 85 Nov.06 Song of the Ocean 6 Мам? Come get your geek on. Madaan NEE OY ы Jan-07 Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run 3 NovO6 LocoRoco 15 — Od06 arvel: Ultimate Alliance ап-07 Thrillville 175 Decos Luminesil 9 Deco6 E н ДА 5 Metal Slug Anthology Jam07 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 8 Моу06 Medal of Honor Heroes 675 0€ UAT is a community of geeks—passionate Porman. Fera доо jor Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. 9 07 seekers of knowledge and truth in an Red Steel an Miami Vice 675 Осов p SpongeBob SquarePants: [ozn RR E] оге Kingdom Jandi Summoner Е ar07 ever-expanding universe of technology. Creature from the Krusty Krab Febo7 Age of Empires Ill: The Warchiefs 7 Decos Monster Kingdom Jewel Su 2 М0 Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz Jan-o7 AntBully The Powa See Caledon 778 HOS Super Swing Golf Feb-07 SOCOM: US, Naw SEAL Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam 5 Jan-07 Fire Team Bravo 2 75 an-07 Trauma Center: Second Opinion 85 Jan-07 Sonic Rivals 675 0: LEARN: WarioWare; Smooth Moves 775 Мағ07 Spectral So 55 №0 Wi Sports Шы” жи? баз сы. de Дүзей DIGITAL ANIMATION GAME PROGRAMMING Ultimate Ghosts ‘n Goblins 725 Oct-06 DIGITAL ART AND DESIGN NETWORK ENGINEERING PLAYSTATION 2 a Knights 4 Mar-07 Ant Bully, The 65 Feb-07 mmer: Battle for Atluma 15 Feb-07 DIGITAL VIDEO NETWORK SECURITY Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia 675 Febo7 7 №06 Р Arthur And The Invisibles 67 Mar-07 GAME DESIGN SOFTWARE ENGINEERING ATV Offroad Fury 4 7 Jan-07 5 Bully d 85 рео GAME BOW ADVANCE ARTIFICIAL LIFE PROGRAMMING WEB ARCHITECTURE ес06 ; Final Fantasy V Advance 8 lan-07 Capcom Classics Collection Volume 2 7 Deco6 ttle for Middle-earth Summon Knight: Swordcraft Stoy 2 725 Jan-07 COMPUTER FORENSICS ROBOTICS Destroy All Humans 2 85 Моу06 PC - Ғер-0 Yggdra Union 725 07 www.uat.edu > 877.UAT.GEEK Supreme Commander (9 Strategies to help you finish the ШЕЕ campaign straight from the experts at Gas Powered Games By William Harms, Editorial Manager You've battled your way across the galaxy, crushed countless Cybran and Aeon armies, and now the final battle is at hand: the defense of Black Sun. Complete this operation and the Infinite War will come to an end and the UEF will emerge triumphant, This strategy assumes that you're playing on the medium difficulty. OPENING MOVES You begin with a pre-established base, and the final parts for Black Sun are being ferried in from the east. One of the transports is shot down, so your first objective is to recover the component the transport was carrying. Queue up 20 Tech 3 Engineers and send them to the middle part of your base. Begin to construct two Quantum Gates (and queue up Support Commanders) and build two Strategic Missile Defenses, one in the middle and one on the northwestern edge of your base. Begin to construct a never-ending stream of T3 Assault Bots. Have them move to the northern part of your base and establish a defensive line. Reinforce them with T3 SAM [Surface to Air Missiles] launchers, shields, and Point Defenses. While you're doing this, build SAM sites along the eastern edge of your island and construct T3 Gunships and a large navy. Once the SAMs are complete, queue up a long line of T3 Fabricators and Fusion Generators. You're going to need the resources. Finally, upgrade your ACU so that it has all of the available resource and construction enhancements. Begin to build an Atlantis and a Strategic Missile Launcher. Assist the latter with 10 T3 Engineers and start pumping out nukes. RETRIEVING THE COMPONENT When you have a good-sized navy and several T3 Gunships, begin your assault on the Aeons defending the component. Take out the initial 114 GAME INFORMER line of defense and rebuild as necessary. Once you've punched a hole in the Aeon defenses, flood the area with your Gunships and Interceptors and send in a Transport. The Aeon ships will target your other air units, so if you time it right, your Transport will be able to get in and out unharmed. DESTROY THE AEON ISLAND Once you have the component, UEF techs will work to complete Black Sun. However, it is revealed that an Aeon Commander is on an island to the southeast of your position. You must eliminate the threat. There are two ways to do this: brute force or nukes, | prefer the latter, so | immediately let the nukes fly. There are two Strategic Missile Defenses on the island (one to the south and one to the north), so the key is to strike outside of their range. First, nuke the naval facilities to the south, then send in T3 Gunships and target the Missile Defense. Once it is down, nuke that area two times. Load up three or four T2 Transports with T3 Bots and land them on the southern edge of the Aeon island. March them north, Continue to nuke the island and send in Bots. In no time at all, the Aeon will fall. Once the Aeon Commander is defeated, the Cybrans will send in three Monkeylords (and other units) from the north. By this point, you should have a solid defensive line. Use every weapon you've got to deal with the threat. If the Monkeylords get through, it'll get ugly. Use nukes to hit the enemy as they approach your position. At the same time, the enemy will begin to fire nukes at you. If you have Missile Defenses, you'll be fine. If not, you're in serious trouble. (If you find yourself hitting the unit cap, destroy all non-essential units and structures-select them and press CTRL + K-to free up space.) In the end, Arnold will appear on the scene and you'll have to deal with two Aeon experimental weapons. Take them down and then destroy Arnold. Black Sun is now ready to fire-select it and press the Fire button! You have just ended the Infinite War. Mod World MYST ONLINE: URU LIVE http://www.mystonline.com Cyan Worlds’ high-concept online portion of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst never really materialized; financial problems and lower than expected sales of the game prevented the developer from realizing its vision. Internet gaming provider GameTap saw something it liked, though, and Cyan Worlds is getting a second chance to make good on its promises. The online portion of Uru lives as of February 15th. Though GameTap is offering a free trial for Uru Live, it does require a subscription to the service ($6.95 per month, and you get access to the rest of GameTap as well). For adventure game fans, though, it’s a small price to pay. Uru Live is more or less a massively multiplayer adventure game, with puzzles that require the effort of many people working in concert to solve. Knowing how far Myst fans will go in their dorking-out over the worlds, their histories, and the puzzles that link them all together, the community won't take long to get up and running. Yeah, it's not technically a mod or free, but Uru Live is a big enough deal that it's more than worthy of going in this space. Head over to the URL above to learn everything you need to know about the game, and even sign up and download the trial or full version. If adventure is your genre, you should be aware that nobody does it better than Cyan Worlds, traditional delivery method or not. Attention All Cheaters! Cheat codes, by their very nature, are in many cases buggier than Virginia in August. So, unless you don't mind re-doing those 70 hours you put into the latest game, do yourself а favor and back up your save before using апу codes. On a lighter note, you can send your codes to secretaccess@gameinformer.com for a chance to be featured here and win a prize! PLAYSTATION 2 Eagn | ү h|— | 9| .|.— Pause the game and enter the following to enable the effect. You'll hear a sound if you entered the code correctly Fury Mode ~ Hold L1, L2, RI, and R2, then enter [ ] (х2), X (х2) Сі Droid" (location unknown — last seen shaving pop stars' heads) Reservoir Dogs | | —— Go to the Extras menu and select Cheats. Enter any one of the following codes from that page to unlock it - you'll then be able to enable or disable the code whenever you like. Adrenaline Rush - X, L1, C) X, L1, X, Start Art Gallery - С) X, L2, R2, O, X, Start Battering Ват ~ L2 (2), X (2), O, R2, Start Bulletproof - L1, R1, (0), R1, О, Start Magic Bullet - R1, L2, O) ><, RI, X, Start Movie Gallery ~ L1 (х2), С) X, LI, RI, Start Time Out - R1 (x2), R2, С) X, L2, Start Unlimited Ammo - R2, |2, R2, Start Unlock АЙ Levels - L2, R2, L2, R2, L1, КІ, Start 12, X, Adrenaline Rush - А, L, Y, A, L, A, Start Art Gallery - Y, A, Black, White, Y, A, Start Battering Ram - Black (x2), A (x2), Y, White, Start Bulletproof - L, R, Y (x2), R, Y, Start Magic Bullet - R, Black, Y, A, R, A, Start Movie Gallery - L(x2), Y, A, L, R, Start Time Out - R (x2), White, Y, A, Black, Start Unlimited Ammo - White, Black, Y, Black, A, White, Start Unlock All Levels - Black, White, Black, White, L, R, Start Go to Extras, then Code Entry, in order to input these cheats. АЙ Treasure Maps - 37437 Character Concept Gallery - Double Damage - 54745 Neverending Stealth - 53467 One Hit Dishonor - 54641 Unlimited Chi - 24463 Code of the Month 2 NBA Street Homecourt 97831 Unlimited Copper - 23637 Unlimited Health - 94677 So you're not as street as you thought you were? Don't worry, dawg. We got your back. While there are not a lot of cheat codes for Homecourt, the ones there are certainly should help you along You'll need to go to the main menu and press 11 and В1 (LB and RB on the 360) before you can enter the codes. You'll also need to re-enter the codes every time you turn the game back on. Enter these codes using the d-pad by selecting the Cheat option before you begin а level Unlock All Levels - Right, Up, Left, Right, Up Unlock All Weapons - Right, Down, Right, Left Unlock Unlimited Shield - Right, Down, Right, Down, Right Unlock All Courts - Up, Right, Down, Left Unlock All Teams - Left, Right, Left, Right Xbox Live Arcade Spotlight Eets: Chowdown We've had a kick playing with the PC version of Eets, and now that little smiling guy is headed to the 360. The Live Arcade version of Ее includes 120 never-before-seen levels of insane puzzle piece collecting. Not unlike Lemmings, Eets stars a happy-go-lucky critter blissfully unaware of his strange cartoony surroundings. By feeding him different power- ups like radioactive ginseng, you'll change his emotional state from happy to scared to angry. If he's frightened, he'll tiptoe ир to a ledge and turn around - piss him off and he'll wildly leap from that same precipice. Using a stange assortment of tools you'll guide Eets around the board to collect the required item. It's a puzzle game with its own insane twist. Just consider the newly added Marsh Madness mode, where players must do all in their power to hold off an invasion of evil marshmallows. е © > т o + о е ЕЗ 5 = S 3 > = = > = E z е 5 3 > > > а Ф ge е E 2 E E = 3 = > 2 = 2 5 © = a 2 Ф Ф v = o > = т е 2 е з ЕЗ 2 E > 3 е > è ЕЗ 2 > E] E а ГА = е = > E] е е c в а s 2 m = е © > + а DREAMERS WANTED SCHOOL OF 800.226.7625 ailable to those who qualify * Career development assistance • 3300 University Boulevard • Winter Park, FL 32792 Accredited School, АССВСТ ONE OF THE TOP FIVE GAME-DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE WORLD МЕЗІ Real World Education 2006 Full Sait l Where The Past Comes Alive UNLIMITED ENABLED THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GAME | LOOKING BACK AT OUR FAVORITE BOND ADVENTURE James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies, was hitting theaters in December. That August, a James Bond vídeo game had been released based on the movie — not the new one - the one that had come out more than a year and a half prior. At E3 that year, GoldenEye 007 seemed to slip under the radar. The hype for this game was dread- fully low. To make matters worse, GoldenEye was a first-person shooter on the N64, and everyone knew that FPS was a PC genre; they didn't work on consoles. No one expected this game to be any good. The world had no idea what was їп store for it. | t was 1997, апа а new 116 САМЕ INFORMER Winding Journey Nintendo had purchased the James Bond license and was origi- nally interested in making a 2D sidescroller for the SNES. They approached Rare about doing a movie tie-in, but enthusiasm for the project quickly started to run low and the game languished on the back bumers. Finally, in early 1995, work began on a James Bond game. It was originally envisioned as an on-rails shooter similar to Virtua Cop. However, throughout the whole first year of development, Rare didn't have any of Nintendo's development kits, so it had no idea how the game would ulti- mately control Aside from James Bond series, the GoldenEye team started to draw inspiration from John Woo films like Hard Boiled and games like Super Mario Bros. Super Mario 64 was the big game of 1996 and it featured levels that could be replayed in order to complete different objectives. The GoldenEye team liked this and tried to incorporate something similar into its game, ultimately coming up with different difficulty settings with varying lists of primary objectives. Work on the game quickly slipped past its first deadline, but the game showed so much promise that Rare wasn't prepared to cancel it. Fast forward to August of 1997, GoldenEye released to some moderate critical success. It started to sell...and kept selling. Lasting Impact Despite being released in 1997, GoldenEye was almost the top- selling game of 1998. It reminded us why there were four control- ler ports on the front of our N64s giving us a reason to play with friends, GoldenEye opened the door for the console FPS. It was the game being played in dorm rooms all across America. Rare understood the limits of putting the genre on consoles and used them to its advantage. GoldenEye left a lasting impact on how FPS would be played on consoles. People fondly remember GoldenEye's remarkable Al. Guards had patrol routes, and when they saw Bond they would run to activate the alarm. This sounds basic now, but at the time it was revolution- ary. It also created some nice gameplay mechanics. In one scenario a player might enter a room where two guards would start shoot- ing while another ran for the alarm. The player was immediately faced with the dilemma of who to shoot first. GoldenEye was also very flat. Players didn't have to aim vertically very often, but this was an era before dual analog controls, and Rare made it work. The level designers started with little guid- ance; there were no early level designs that dictated where enemies or items would be placed. The designers’ main goal was to create interesting environ- ments for the players to roam around. This design plan might have been sloppy, but the results were levels that felt more realistic and engaging. More impressive than any of this, however, is that GoldenEye is still fun to play with friends even 10 years after its initial release. Every classic is worth popping in from time to time. our industry could make a good movie-game. This paved the way for games like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, Lord of the Rings, and Spider-Man. Breaking Stereotypes Unless you really liked 1992's Aladdin, there really wasn't * a video game that had taken a movie license and done justice by it. Then GoldenEye came along and proved that Maybe they should have called him double-O eight million, because that is how many units GoldenEye has sold since it's launch. Ahead of Mario Kart, Super Mario 64, and Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye is the best-selling N64 game in the U.S. It even outsold every title to ever come out on GameCube (but we're not really sure if that's impressive). Play It Again, James Want a fresh take on this classic? You can download a Half-Life 2 mod called GoldenEye: Source (see screen on left). This mod recreates the spirit of what made playing GoldenEye 007 so enjoyable. Check it out at www.goldeneyesource.com. A BOND FOR ALL SEASONS Not many people real- ize that Bond has had nearly as many games as he has movies. Here is a quick recap of all his games to date. James Bond 007 (1983) Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Commodore 64, Colecovision Publisher: Parker Brothers Developer: Parker Brothers James Bond 007: A View to a Kill (1985) Apple Il, PC Publisher: Mindscape Developer: Angelsoft, Inc. A View to a Kill (1985) Commodore 64, PC Publisher: Domark Developer: Domark James Bond 007: Goldfinger (1986) Apple Il, PC Publisher: Mindscape Inc. Developer: Angelsoft, Inc. The Living Daylights (1986) Commodore 64, PC Publisher: Domark Developer: Sculptured Software live and Let Die (1988) Commodore 64, PC Publisher: Mindscape Developer: Elite Systems 007: License to Kill (1989) Commodore 64, PC Publisher: Domark Developer: Quixel | The Spy Who Loved Me (1990) Commodore 64, PC Publisher: Domark Developer: Domark James Bond: The Stealth Affair (1990) PC Publisher: Interplay Developer: Delphine Software James Bond Jr. (1992) Commodore 64, NES, SNES, PC Publisher: THQ Developer: Gray Matter James Bond: The Duel (1993) Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive Publisher: Domark Developer: Domark GoldenEye 007 (1997) Nintendo 64 Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Rare James Bond 007 (1997) Game Boy Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Saffire Inc. Tomorrow Never Dies (1999) PSone Publisher: E есігопіс Arts Developer: Black Ops і The World Is Not Enough (2000) PSone, N64, GBC Publisher: El lectronic Arts Developer: Eurocom 007 Racing (2000) PSone Publisher: lectronic Arts Developer: Eutechnyx Agent Under Fire (2001) PS2, Xbox, GameCube Publisher: El lectronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts Nightfire (2002) Р52, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PC, Mac Publisher: El lectronic Arts Developer: Eurocom Everything or Nothing (2004) PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) PS2, Xbox, GameCube, DS Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts From Russia with Love (2005) PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PSP Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Electronic Arts SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS | > FORMAT Р52 | > PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER | ENTERTAINMENT In my opinion, every single aspect of Shadow of the Colossus is perfect. From the opening scene of Wanderer (the main character) riding through the beautiful, isolated landscape | was certain that this game would be incredible. The storyline is beautiful, yet one of the simplest plots | have ever encountered. In order to save the girl you love, deceased for unknown reasons, you must find and defeat 16 colossi scattered across the game's world. While sounding mediocre оп paper, on the screen it translated into one of the most moving epics | have ever seen. | was abso- lutely stunned at the game's conclusion. Armed with naught but a sword, bow, and your trusty horse, Wanderer is expected to defeat the sixteen behemoths, each one different and requiring the execution of different, complex strategies to defeat. These range from magnificent stone birds swooping across gloomy, bottomless lakes to enormous underwater leviathans that drag you to the watery depths. Defeating a colossus brings an enormous sense of accomplishment, along with a surprisingly deep sense of sorrow and contemplation. In terms of atmosphere and ambience, the game succeeds on every scale. The game's world, meticu- lously mapped is stunningly massive, There are lush forests, magnificent waterfalls, arid deserts, pristine lakes, and countless more locations that create an amazing sense of depth. The music, simply put, is the best soundtrack | have ever heard. The variety of orchestral arrangements and exotic instruments fits perfectly with the sense of sorrow and long- ing that one experiences while playing the game. Simply put, there has never been a game, movie, пог experience that has inspired such emotions within me as Shadow of the Colossus. THIS ТН IN GAMING HISTORY Fervently working to make their project present- able for MIT's annual Science Open House іп May, Steve Russell, Peter Samson, Dan Edwards, and J. Graetz complete their work on Spacewar in April, 1962. Spacewar, generally considered [ їй. | the first video game ever made, was originally written on a PDP-1 com- puter, and the vector- graphics screen it used cost $50,000 alone. The video game was born. САМЕ INFORMER 117 2 classic gi SUPER NINTENDO SONIC BLAST MAN > STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION > PUBLISHER ТАПО > DEVELOPER TAITO > RELEASE 1992 hatever fond memories you may have of side-scrolling brawlers, Sonic Blast Man defiles them. Forget controlling some cool dude on a noble quest to save his girlfriend; Sonic Blast Man looks like he wandered away from Dragon Con and started getting shanked ® by thugs. While it is satisfying to see the dingus get stabbed and sucker-punched, the game's feeble attempt to capture a kind of comic-book feel was clearly a higher pri- ority than actual gameplay. Your moveset, though full of quirk, is unpredictable and clunky, and the variety of bad guys to pummel is poor even by brawler standards. As a throwback to the original arcade version of the game, between levels you play a minigame where you punch a goon in the face. If you do well, you are rewarded with points, which are used for absolutely nothing. It's hard to know which part of Sonic Blast Man to hate the most, but maybe that’s to be expected from a “super hero” who is obviously wearing some kind of homemade radio costume. DREAMCAST SKIES OF ARCADIA > STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME > PUBLISHER SEGA > DEVELOPER SEGA/OVERWORKS > RELEASE 2000 kies is a pretty standard RPG. It covers all the bases: you travel around in an airship, talk to townspeople, and do your fair share of random battle level grind- ing. Even the story can hardly be called original. So why is this game so good? Even though Skies plays like almost every other RPG throughout time, it does it all so well that you Е remember why RPGs were ever fun to begin with. All the weapons іп the game аге imbued with different elemental powers that can be swapped in or out of the battles. Not only will you will need these various elements to beat certain enemies, you will learn different abilities and magic by leveling up the assorted elements. Unlike most RPGs, the airships in Skies also participate in some battles, and you will have to upgrade and repair your ship throughout the game in order to stay in top form. The sky ship battles are fun enough that someone could (no, should) make a game just about them. Like all classics, time has done little to age this great game. 118 GAME INFORMER PLAYSTATION UM JAMMER LAMMY > STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER MUSIC > PUBLISHER SCEA > DEVELOPER NANAON-SHA > RELEASE 1999 fter the cult hit that was Parappa the Rapper, there was an even smaller cult that embraced its spin-off. Um Jammer Lammy puts players in the shoes of Lammy, the lead guitarist of an all-girl band just before their first live gig. Under the advice of a wise-talking onion sensei, Lammy learns that she can conquer any situation by pretend- ing she's playing her beloved guitar, from flying a plane to manhandling a fireman's water hose - think absurd more than funny. The gameplay is of the timed button press variety, with the added bonus of freestyling for the highest points, even if the technique for succeeding at such an effort is never really addressed а = E 8 Е А 2% Е by Ше game. А second unlockable playthrough as Рагарра is а cool treat, but it's hard to believe anyone once defended this game for its amazing music – to call these tunes ап acquired taste is granting them a huge favor. *Score given to the game when it first appeared in Game Informer. Skies of Arcadia (GI #93, 01/01) Um Jammer Lammy (GI #77, 09/99) ——— 0 М LI N Е Extra Content You Can Find At THE RE T www.gameinformer.com ONLY ONE UNLIMITED LAUNCH: MAR. 19 WWW.GANMEINFOHMEHR.COM UNCHARTED: DRAKE'S FORTUNE UP TO THE MOMENT NEWS IN-DEPTH FEATURES PREVIEWS ОЕ THE HOTTEST GAMES With Indiana Jones collecting Social Security and reading AARP, it's time for a new campy hunter of lost treasures to emerge. Check out more of Sony's new adventure with our extra helping of information and assets. бАМЕ CORMIER ONLINE LEGENDARY INTERVIEWS Kane & Lynch : The Sweet Taste of Revenge Remember Kane & Lynch – those two badass convicts оп the run Saboteur follows the story of a racecar driver from the feds, in pursuit of some stashed cash, and MIA since our : turned World War Il subversive. Learn more cover story last year? We do too, and we couldn't wait to revisit this : about the real-life inspiration for this compel- promising title. Read our exclusive Q&A with game designer Jens- ling character. ALWAYS FREE HI-RES MOVIES Peter Kurup to refresh your memory. Е на dese ысын — во в SCREENSHOTS Rolling the DICE — —— ESA president : GameDevelopers® Doug Lowenstein : сл i 07 has stepped down : as the industry : i HUGE CONTESTS he's left a nice col- € ALSO ONLINE THIS MONTH: lection of priceless ч quotes in his wake. : Read about all Ше happenings Read the rest of : from the 2007 Game Developers си exclusive Q&A : Conference in San Francisco. online. Doug Lowenstein, President, ESA : MEET OTHER GAME INFORMER 1994 - 2007 READERS IN THE FORUMS T A М {= OV Е H "It Won't Be A Stylish Marriage. I Can't Afford A Carriage" 10 Million DS and DS Lite units have been sold in North America since its 2004 release Video g exponentially more awesome. With each over-the-top cinematic, protagonists keep | raising the bar for what is considered “extreme.” Answer the questions below to see where this trend will lead, and what unbelievable feats our heroes will be performing -17 degrees Fahrenheit is pretty cold. Minnesota uses natural in the future selection to weed out pansies ETE есі зі.) 1 RPGs released at a console launch tend to be forgotten quickly. Prove that you never forget by identifying which one of the following games was not a PS2 launch title? A. Eternal Ring B. Orphen: Scion of Sorcery С. Summoner 4 Anime series often see pame : 8 False ог Super False: 0% of Square Enix games using Unreal 3 should be Dirge of daptations, but they don't : Thundercats would make ап Cerberus II always make it to our shores. : awesome video game. : Which of these popular series : А. False has not had a game released in Е В. Super False 19 of Nintendo's first-party titles sold over one million copies S worldwide in 2006 һе U.S.? Е 224 А. Samurai Champloo B. Neon Genesis Evangelion C. One Piece : 9 The title of this licensed NES game suggests it is based on a 100% of the GI office's "sick" days in January and February were 2 М due to an inflammation of the crusade. Wow, it burns! movie sequel, but a film with = b - D. Dark Cloud D. Naruto : the same name doesn't exist. 1 REN БЕГ 5% : What game is this screen from? 5 Do you know your history? : А. The Stuff Il n the original game entitled i B. Goonies II 5 Mario Bros., which of the fol- : С. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV owing levels did NOT have a : D. Ghoulies Ill warp zone? Е CIL А. 1-2 В. 4-2 С. 5-1 D. There were по warp zones : 6 Are you living in the HD era? : Prove it by identifying which of : these designations doesn't cor- i respond to one of the signals in · 10 the 1990s were a golden Я 2-3; : analog component video. age of quality video game Wario Implements Nano-Games АС boxes. This art, complete with B. Pb boxing kangaroo, adorns the С. Pr over of what 1994 Genesis D.Y itle? 5 A. Streets of Rage 3 : 7 In Mega Man 2, what robot : В. Final Fight 3 i from the first game reappears : С. Double Dragon Ill |: as a tank boss in Dr. Wily's ; D. Defenders of Dynatron City 2 : castle? : A. Guts > Мап 4-5; 6-7: 3 Metal Gear Solid: Portable B Hêz Sam Fisher Uses More Tech Cloud Wields Bigger Sword Ops is full of secrets to be dis- Mari covered. Which of these char- C. Fire Man acters is not made playable by D. Juwarina | entering a password? Man | А. EVA B. Null С. Сепе D. Campbell бате Informer Magazine" (ISSN 1067-6392) is published monthly at а subscription price of $19.98 per year, or ty 38 by Sunrise Publications, 724 North First Street, 4th Floor, Minneapolis, 5 3 MN 55401. (612) 486-6100 or FAX (612) 486-6101. For subscriptions, back issues, or customer service inqui 263. Periodicals postage paid at Minneapolis, MN, and additional mailing 8-9: 1 0: offices. SUBSCRIBERS/POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Game Informer Magazine ®, 724 North First Floor, Minneapolis, MN 55401. Foreign or Canadian orders must be prepaid in U.S. dollars Link Plays Four Ocarinas Kratos Flys a Dinosaur and must include $20/year additional postage per year. Game Informer® does not claim any copyright in the screenshots herein. Copyright in all screenshots contained within this publication are owned by their respective companies. Entire contents copyright 2007. Game Informer Magazine *. АЙ rights reserved; reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Game Informer * is a trademark of GameStop. Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies. 120 САМЕ INFORMER Video Game Trivia Answers: 1. D 2. D 3. D 4. 8 5. D 6. A 7. A 8. B 9. B ОА SORS 1006 AMERICA'S MILK PRO: VINCE CARTER. eating right and drinking 3 glasses a day of lowfat or fat free milk el you look great and stay in shape. So grab a glass and зо crazy. got milk? www.bodybymilk.com Бет за, 4 “ ) TA SET YOURSELF FREE” SAGA OF HEROES” - — t — = - — БАС ТЕЕМ iP Blood & Gore Partial Nudity Use of Alcohol Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING _www.estb.org Game experience may change during online play. SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT NE ОТНЕ ci e j ae ree" is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment LLC. The NVIDIA | 'ademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trad Made with) love’ Бу Our goal is to preserve elassie video game magazines зо that they аге not lost/permanently: People Interested in helping өшігіп any capacity; please visit us at retromags.com: No profit is made гот these scans nor do we offer anything available from the publishers themselves: Ifyou come across anyone selling releases from this Site please do not support them апа do let Us know: Thank you!