=> ae Ni ai >. 4 — Te) oo < A faj D Fi oO Lo o 5 a Virtua Cop™ 2 soviet) OTRIKE TE E të SOVIET STRIKE" Toms RAIDER” BY ELECTRONIC ARTS" BY EIDOS INTERACTIVE Daytona" USA CCE" NFL'97 WORLD SERIES BASEBALL” II SEGA SATURN = E REGISTERED IN THE U.S. PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE. SEGA SATURN, SEGA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIA SONIC SD Biast, BUG TOO!, FIGHTING VIPERS, VIRTL AND LARA CROFT AND HER LIKENESS ARE TRADEMARKS OF Emos Pre. © 1996 Einos. AMOK AND SCORCHER © 1996 SCAVENGER, INC. Dark Savion © CLIMAX 1 DAYTONA PROPERTIES. THE WORLD SERIES IS A TRADEMARK OWNED BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL AND MAY NOT BE REPRODU VITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT. N MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYERS As ATION. NFL TEAM NAMES, LOGOS, HELMET DESIGN ORM DESIGNS ARE R ED TRADEMARKS OF THE TE AU (ll A ONE NEER, Ni A AB Cola ty 3 Tome Raider, Daytona USA IS A TRADEMARK OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY CORPORATION, D UNDER LICENSE FROM JON OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PROPERTIES, ING. MLBPA Loco © MLBPA. OFFICIALLY LA ED BY THE OF THE NFL. SEGA IS AN OFFIC VSEE OF NFL PROPERTIES, ING, SEGA IS LIGENSED By NFL Players © 1996 PLAYERS INC. © 1996 SEGA, P.O. Box 8097, REDWOOD City, CA 94063. ALL RIGHTS VED. CTRONIC ARTS EGA WORLDWIDE Soccer ‘97, NIGHTS AND VIRTUAL ON ARE EVELOPED BY CLIMAX LTD. Pugis By SEGA ENTERF GUE BASEBALL TRADEMARKS AND CC ARE USED WIT IGATED. NFL AND SUPER BOWL ARE RE ) TRADEMARK KONAMI. 4 SS L Wi Tya TË së ET TWO, TWO, TWO GAMES IN ONE! PlayStation | RATING PENDING WWW.KONAMI.CON RP Lethal Ent mid Crypt Killer ate trademarks of Konomi Co., Lid. PlayStotion™and the PlayStation’ logos me trad Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Sega Saturn is o trademark of Sega || { | Enterprises. The ratings icon 15 a trademark of the Interactive Digital Sottwe 50 o registered trademark « i Co., itd (01997 Konami of Ame || 5 Res {RATINGS BOARD etter from the Editor ow much is too much? Tips From Our | and the infamo Feature: A Day With Electronic Arts In the history of video games there is only one company that has sold more games than Electronic Arts — and their name is Nintendo. So . Game Informer went down to EA to find out exactly what games they have in store for us this year. Nintendo 64 names, of trademarks, of USE WHATEVER IT TAKES: MACHINE GRAB A PARTNER IN THO-PLAYER GUNS, MISSILE LAUNCHERS, FLAME- MODE AND DOUBLE-TEAM YOUR. THROWERS, BROKEN BOTTLES. WAY OUT OF HELL. . SEGA SATURN” Die Hard™ © 1988, 1997 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Sega is registered WWW.SEGA.COM in the U.S. Patent Office and Trademark Office. Sega Saturn is a trademark of Sega. ©1997 Sega. WWW.FOXINTERACTIVE.COM INTERACTIVE HO much is too much? It's an interesting question, and it is something that | feel needs addressing. There has been a lot of talk on the Internet about how much ‘ information a magazine or web site should report on a game. The topic, as you may have already guessed, is Final Fantasy VII. In the weeks following its release ~~. in Japan, the Internet was buzzing with së — information about Final Fantasy VII. At “first it was a splattering of helpful hints st and mini-reviews of the game, but in time there were full-fledged walk- throughs and lots of postings giving away major plot twists. Then the all- important question came up: with a game like Final Fantasy, where the story is a major portion of the quest, should people give away pivotal points in the game? That's a tough one. Should we, the press or anyone posting news or hints for consumption, deny a person information? Clearly, | | the answer is “no,” but how do we ad TT | su à present the information so that you an, The Arcade Alchemist can get it if you want it, but also easily pr been lying low for a while because the games “i avoid it if you don’t? at home were just so good. But now, as one of my | would ki to say ER oi Is buddies says, “ its a gaming renaissance.” Ihave ; nearly impossible because it s human returned to the arcade scene with the recent release 4 nature to look when you're not of Street Fighter 3 and Tekken 3. | have been supposed to. So | think the practicing my Arcade Kung-Fu, and it is strong! Ican't pop this little quandary lies believe Mortal 4 is going to be 3D, but will it be better in the mind of the reporter or editor of itand see.” ~ that publication or web site. We, the gja oe ik ns ë di Lë . f I gamers, need to make sure that vve y er A unuwaameln of report on games, but do not spoil Fi The Raging Gamar Andy, The Game Ho télé them, because keeping video games « new and fresh is vital to the life of the va i that | get to play Final Fantasy is industry. dk nm Gy the greatest Is a fine line, because | like ae M all just don't know if | publishing strategy guides and finding ligh end platforms, but | ¢ ase US. versk HÊ r to get to play the e that all-important trick, but | do think Besidës working night and day on this projeci, h on. “OPelully, | won't have to. Until you have to draw the line somewhere. also been working on a sub-project called Virtual Men. there are a couple of good games With a game like Final Fantasy VII that Geek. This program is identical to Virtual Pet for the ST 1 Coming up for the PlayStation including Rally gë won't be available to U.S. gamers until = PC, except instead of taking cate of a dog or cat, ZA. Cross and NBA Shoot Out ‘97 (sorry. but | V2 September 7th, you need to leave the UNIT ou have to take care of Paul, the Game Professor. nave to do a tie promotion for my team and K story untouched until the game is out. SH You'll be required to show him how to play games ms Say that the Timberwolves are the best team M Hey, would you go to a movie if you O and surf the web to keep him happy. If he becomes CT IN the NBA). Other than that, it seems that WA knew the ending? | know | m an annoyance or if you have work to do:on your fA. Te market is à litle sim (especially since WA wouldn't...unless it was Star Wars UNIT computer, khave programmed in a feature that allows. 2 z Resident Evil 2 got delayed). Well, until next MW e J There's been a lot of talk in the streets of late as to what my first.game will be. All | can say at the moment is that it will be out next year for one of the high end platforms, but | can't tell you anything else. S you to place him in a huge Styrofoam box where he'll E EA lu we .can all get April 9 remain silent until beckoned. - ER A Me nd në og Heh! Heh! Think about El Jon, The Greedy Gamer UNITEL “VS A -9 (S 46-2222 “All | can say is we got a boatload of SHI Erik the PE Jedi 9 BI N ‘ally lame games this month, but in | between these losers there are still a few i gems. NBA Shoot Out ‘97 is a fantastic game, especially 5 players vs. the CPU. 94“Didy sed tty slow for , il and May are pretty SK e de Al ame companies are lf Andy would just stop trying to be a hero new g uo for big presentations at June's E3 and actually pass the ball instead of N m ad so they hold back many oftheir trying for three-pointers all the time, ao until then. Luckily, we've 8 maybe vve'd win a few more games. But | h of Nintendo's next big project that hey, that's the way he is. FFVII speaks | 256-bit VR headset, code-name for itself. Anyway, | have to say that the | > a 4 H ka * While I'm not exactly sure qi | 4 z to EA was awesome. Not only i e and j ; KS : the first game WI oes San Francisco rule, but EA is a | come u Junk food, t e box, | know , but EA is a di ne intelligent ang witty hinge Gon iy a As the air becomes filled with i great place to hang. | can't wait to see wish... Oh, th a the wee hours of the oloh? mells of spring, I'm off to Phoenix where I EA and Sony battle it out for the sports "Mas right. Never mind then” ‘eal the battle cry of my compatriots, | am | games title this coming year. It's gonna ah ds.“ © be close.” www.gameinformer.com Tiger Woo S. ao Reviewers (From Left to Right): Paul Ande ner, Andy MëNamata, Ryan MacDonald Game Informer April Issue 1997 Volume VII + Number 4 + Issue #48 Richard A. Cihak Assistant Greens Keeper Andrew McNamara Crop Duster Paul Anderson Towel Boy Andrew Reiner Erik Reppen Jon Storm Nuclear Physicists Thomas Blustin Cold Warrior Timothy J. Laurie Chimney Sweep Curtis Fung Time Traveler Ryan MacDonald Stunt Coordinator Sarah Anderson Gia Garbinsky Resident Feminists Terrie Maley Circulation / Marketing Manager (612) 946-7274 Advertising Sales Kimberley Thompson-Benike National Advertising Sales Director 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3728 (612) 946-8159 Fax (612) 946-8155 Tony Sureau West Coast Advertising Sales 11531 197th Southeast Snohomish, WA 98290 (360) 668-7978 Fax: (360) 668-9350 Manufactured and printed in the United States of America Game Informer’ Magazine (ISSN 1057-6392) is published monthly at a subscription price of $19.98 per year, five trial issues for $9.98 by Sunrise Publications’, 10120 West 76th Street, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. (612) 946-7245 or FAX (612) 946-8155. Periodicals postage paid at Hopkins, MN, and additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIBERS/POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Game Informer’ Magazine, 10120 West 76th Street, Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3728. Foreign or Canadian orders must be prepaid in U.S. dollars and must include $20/year additional postage. The Editor welcomes company product information for all video games. Such materials should be addressed to: Editor, Game Informer’ Magazine, 10120 W. 76th Street, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Editorial phone and FAX numbers are noted above. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned or acknowledged. Entire contents copyright 1997. Game Informer Magazine. All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Game Informer is a trademark of FUNCO, Inc. Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies. For subscription inguiries please write or call: Game Informer Magazine 10120 West 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (612)946-7266 Attn: Customer Service PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher's liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is limited to republication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. INDEMNIFICATION The advertiser and/or Advertising Agency agrees to defend and indemnify the publisher against any and all liability, loss, or expense arising from claims of libel, unfair competition, unfair trade practices, infringement of trademarks, copyrights, trade names, patents, or proprietary rights or violation of rights of privacy, resulting from the publication of the Advertiser's statement. Audit Bureau of Circulations Member Game Informer s April '97 DESTINY is in your Hands. But time 4-1) na al Time 6 SHMËNJIAJI You’ll encounter realistically rendered When dealing with aliens,you can Highly detailed mini-movies explain Move wherever you want, aliens, scientists, marines, warbots, be nasty or you can be nice. your mission, show flashbacks or whenever you want. Get advice, mutants, hybrids, and computers. It's your funeral. what's happening on other levels. ask questions. Or just walk away. Konami” presents Broken Helix™. Brought to you in incredible Real Time 4-D. Where there's no right way - or wrong vay to accomplish your mission. You've got to ask questions first and shoot later. Or you just might end up vvhacking the only guy with the information ‘you need to get out alive. But don't take too long, or you'll end up becomine alien luncheon meat. Broken Helix stars Bruce Campbell as Jake Burton, the marine commando explosives expert assigned to find out why scientists a are threatening to blow up Area 51, (yes, that Area 51) and to stop the mutated aliens from escaping. Either by curing'them, or by destroying them. Or you might choose another scenario, that has you turn into an alien - human hybrid. Or perhaps you feel like being an evil scientist this time around. The choice-and the outcome, is totally up to you. So enter the world of Broken Helix, where the only sure thing is that there are no sure things. = à www.konami.com 4 Broken Hel eh a trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. Konami® is. a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation PlayStation logos : are tra lemarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. @1997 Konami of America, Inc. All rights reserved. hat SquareSoft, probably the biggest designer of RPGs, had moved over to the PlayStation. Will the loss of SquareSoft in addition to the loss of other _ third-party companies end up dooming the N64 to a fate like the CD-I? Also, Nintendo is the first to market a 64-bit ' gaming platform, and like all new things, people are ' reluctant to buy them. Take a look at the TurboGrafx _ system, with its CD based games. This system is now gone, but we still have CD based gaming _ systems like the PlayStation and Saturn. Take a look at the PC. It took a very long time to actually become affordable and practical, let alone popular, but now listening to a rationalizing 15-year old with way too much time on his hands. Timothy Davis Martinsville, NJ The fact that its new will not in and of itself kill a ' The keys to success for a new system are | affordability, the power of the system, the company’s ' track record (do we need do discuss the hordes and legions of Nintendo fanatics with ultraviolet “N” N64 games as well, but there is still only a handful f them. Unfortunately, Nintendo's constant delays of heir system forced a lot of their long time third- arty developers to expand their horizons and start utting out games on other systems. We never thought wed see the day that Mega Man moved to | Sony, or SquareSoft broke from their exclusive icensing tradition with Nintendo, but due to artridge limitations and the fact that they couldn't ust put their whole company on hold for two years, Will the N64 be a success? It already is. Despite ur advice which was to simply “wait,” hundreds of ' thousands of you went bonkers and picked up the ' N64 this Christmas. Now you've all gotten 120 stars and the angry letters about not having enough intendo has by no means blown them out of the | water, and the recently faltering Saturn has been ' making some good signs of a comeback. Sega and i Sony are getting exactly what they need from || Nintendo-time... _www.gameinformer.com Your mag is the balm. I just love the articles and pictures you pack into every issue. Anyways, I recently read that you can make your own game on a special PlayStation system. What I want to know is, can you make a good quality, nice looking game on the new black PlayStation or will you only be | able to make a generic looking piece of crap? Ryan Bobowsky Merrillville, Indiana Balm? Is that a biblical or lip product reference? | As for your query about this mysterious black | PlayStation, that would be the Net Yarouze, or “Let's | Create” when it hits the States. The only real | limitations of the Net Yarouze will be the experience | and imagination of the programmer and what kind | of hardware they have to plug it into. While we I seriously doubt well be seeing any amateur | competitors with Final Fantasy VII, a game whose | production was contrived of over a hundred | employees and several SGI work stations (one of the | most high-tech computers in the business), you i could end up seeing some pretty cool games out | there. It has been proven over and over again in the ë computer and video game industry that the “limits | of hardware” can always be broken by good | software. With a little creative genius and a lot of | patience, I'm sure we'll be seeing some pretty decent | games spawned from the Yarouze. You should be | warned though, at an estimated price of $750, this | system is by no means intended for a typical gamer | with some good ideas. People who put out games on | the Yarouze will be experienced programmers. If | you think youre pretty bright and you still want a | piece of the action, we highly recommend you start | taking those Pascal or C courses your high school | or college is offering. TË you ont change your cover Im going to ' cancel my subscription! I want you to make your | mag longer! I want more Saturn coverage! I want, I | want, I wanti!!!” If you ask me, I think your mag is | the best! Some people complain about the stupidest | things! If they think that they can do better why | don't they apply for a job at GI? Its not your fault that there just arent enough Saturn games out | there. Why don't they write a letter to Sega or to the game companies” I think you should be insulted by | what NBORK1 said in the February issue. 1 think | that your new mag covers are better than any other | mags. Whoever does them did a great job. I think that everybody puts a lot of effort and hard work into GI, because it shows! Thank you for your time. Chris Maston Brewster NY Uh... thanks! But please, if you dont like our magazine, don't apply for a job here. We must say though, while complaints provide us with a convenient means of explaining why we do things the way we do them, it's nice to get a few words of encouragement here and there. It helps us feel better about some of the more ambitious projects were working on. Keep your eyes out for the next issue when we do a 34 page cover devoted to an in- depth investigation of the new RPG game based on the OJ. Simpson trials called “Juice Quest” by i Ashame Interactive I really think your magazine is cool! I am a proud owner of the Nintendo 64 and the Sony PlayStation. I need your opinion. Should I sell the PlayStation or not? I heard that Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 2 are coming out and I cantë decide. 4 Jason Roeder E Chanhassen, MNË Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil 2 are coming f out and they both look like theyre going be smash hits. You might also want to consider the fact that its still going to be a while before the Nintendo _ starts cranking out killer titles at a reliable pace. Of course, these systems pale in comparison to the next wave of power consoles coming out. We suggest you sell both systems and read bad Western novels until the new PlayStation debuts sometime in the next decade. The PlayStation 2.01 will feature gelatinous orb controllers and sensory input trodes. _ Paul Anderson of the GI reviewing staff has said of f || the PS-X 2.01, “Hmm... It's squishy” Of course you f might also want to consider the rumors of Magnavox's plans for putting out a 1024 bit hand- À held system that will make use of nanotechnology, _ which not only creates a truly 3D experience but _ will also eliminate the need for batteries because it _ feeds on small rocks for power. The drawbacks to this are that the nanites tend to cease production at temperatures of less than 54 degrees so you won't be able to take this one on the bus to school during those cold winter days. The working title for this system is currently Jell-X. ' E Something I noticed is that there are more | letters from E-mail than from the regular old “Snail Mail” Just because we don't own a computer doesn't mean that our letters aren't important (or that we're Clint Childs Independence, MO It's amazing how fast people feel threatened by | new things. There has only been one issue so far _ where we printed as many (not more) e-mails as we up more often in the magazine is because with the increased popularity of our web site Game Informer © April ‘97 titles that people are just starting to | t€ he that we recai on now D mer We had originally thought that Reiner was a interesting, relevant, goofy, or u - us ting your magazine for Christmas small monkey named Chico who wore a goofy little question is. If we put in a couple mails every every E and I lowe it! I d ame questions though. Ë outfit and turned the crank of a music box while now and then, it's only because of the content. of „Tve bi ir ut SruareS oë ar Ë doing a dance to earn money for his former master. _ course e-mailers do have a big advantage in that ff breaking relations. Could you give me SquareSoits _ We were all shocked to discover that he was really a they can respond to something in a recent issue fi address so I can contact them personally? | gelatin based life form from an alternate dimension almost immediately. But rest assured, we are not ff 2 | own a Super Nintendo, and I constantly look È when he suddenly and unexpectedly ate our entire “punishing” you angst-ridden snail mail users for ff through your magazine for SNES game hints and È executive staff. He immediately apologized for his mot having a computer In fact, we rather enjoy all ff only find one or two games that nobody in their f grim and unwarranted attack so we gave him a ar doodles and artwork that come with some | right mind would own. Could you please ies more Ë raise. etters. hints and reviews? answer 4 see na ao If m par, e letters of $ 3 Who is Reiner? | ha os e hte re o sa na a id “ue et a 4. Why does green jello taste the same as blue? 5. Not really, because we just omit all of the 7 g o Ra ca 9. Do letters like this get annoying” _ annoying questions. This list, for instance, used to free to be as rude as you want. We think its funny. ff 6. Last, but least: What was Jon Storm's grade point $ hava dv pate betina on it As for your request for an arcade machine diagram ff average, and did he ever take physics? | 1 , : we'd be happy to show you how it works. i doni ikat wa have t t least E 6. Storms corner on the realm of academia is Every issue we we have to answer al east H actually Literary History (reads: “English”. When one list of random questions, so lets see if we cant E pa not working in the office or just hanging help you towards reaching that lofty goal off out he spends his time enlightenment. , _ working on a book. If you're g7 Or. 1. Okay, okay, we don’t usually do this, but a lot af B looking fora job witha vid | you have requested SquareSoft's address this month mag, we suggest your so here it is: writing skills be as Squaresoft Inc. _ sharply honed as your 959 South Coast Drive Suite 400 _ video game skills. Costa Mesa, CA 92626 Good grammer 2. I think you've missed the boat on reviews for the D and speling will 4 SNES, seeing how there aren't really any new give you a gooder ` games coming out for it. The codes that we do are f chans of geting —. based entirely on how cool they are, not how cool Ë % job also,as 4” the game is. Since we've done all the known codes $ Wel. | 4 we could get our hands on (we don't like wasting | long-time subscribers’ time by repeating old stuff) the SNES codes you see now will tend to be from George Hinckle — < Milwaukee, WI ; | ae aig oe ME peu”: | ji. | ' greatest Saturn Ahhhh...spikesi strategy game of || — an all time is f oe p impressive...very i Ss Unknown Artist | impressive. Guy in space...huh? _ Nishank Khanna KATYA $ ËN Woodhaven, NY i Re Bug lets Drywall LA RTE know whathe kë 3 dE thinks. A Andy Fisher Eyota, MN Matt Yunker Hey, at least the enve- ue a | ana | lope art wasn’t delayed! We think there is a PEREX theme to this one, but we’re not quite sure what it is. Jim Perkins Long Nguyen Fria, PA San Jose, CA Coming soon to a theater | That looks like it hur. near you. N Sony’s Hoop Dreams Achieve the Impossible In the past, basketball games have suffered from a number of faults. People often complained about computer dominated passing. VVell, Sony has that play covered. Enter icon passing, the new staple of Sony's sports line-up. Novice players will immediately notice the ease with which passes can be sent both around the arc and down low. By holding down the L2 button, players are each highlighted by an icon that is designated to one of the four buttons on the face of the controller. Press that icon and the pass will be sent directly to them, but that's not all. After the initial pass there are three possible courses of action. The first is the pass back. By holding down the icon, any pass will immediately rocket back to the original player. TI great way to throw off the de 157 QUARTER When Sony first thought of going into the video game business, people laughed. Then, after surprising the world with their 32-bit PlayStation, Sony announced that sports games would become a major effort within the company. People laughed once again. Now, two years later, Sony's GameDay, MLB Pennant Race, and NHL Face Off are turning heads across the world. Last fall, NHL Face Off '97 rev- olutionized the world of passing, and now NBA Shoot Out ‘97 is poised to redefine everything you thought a basketball game should be. e: 1 CD-ROM i or 2- gë Basketball (Up to 8-Player Via Multi-Tap) Icon Passing, Five Offensive Sets, Crash Boards and Double "Team Options, Alley- Oops, Create Player, Exhibition, Playotf and Full Season _ Modes, Foul Adjust, Multiple Dunks With Replay 3y: Sony Computer Entertainment America ': Now for Sony PlayStation tapping the icon for the pass, then quickly tapping the icon once again, the recipient of the pass will quickly turn and shoot. This is a good tactic when passing down low because the center can get up for a shot before the defense can react. The third possible outcome, and perhaps the most important, is that the recipient of the pass will hold the ball. This is achieved by tapping the icon once for the pass, then tapping and holding the icon again. Control will remain with the original passer, not the recipient. Players can then direct this player around the court in order to get open for » the shot. This form of passing | is very effective against i the computer but is most | important when playing a | human competitor. It can be almost impossible for a defenseman to follow the player while this passing mode is engaged. Since NBA Shoot Out ‘97 has full NBA and NBAPA licenses, each team and each arena are represented. Unfortunately, Shaq, Jordan, and Sir Charles are not part of the licensing agreement, but that hasn't stopped Sony from inserting a few hauntingly familiar players. Roster Forward for the Bulls is obviously Jordan. The Roster Center for the Lakers and the Roster Forward for the Rockets are equally recognizable. Player ratings are based off the 1995-96 season, and the rosters will be up-to-date as of the week of final coding (sometime near the end of February). Gamers unhappy with the current line-up can also create a pool of players. Starting with a fixed amount of points, players must distribute these points through a number of categories. Two crucial categories are “stamina” and “overall.” Usually, basketball titles tally the overall player rating by averaging the create player categories. Instead, Sony combines both, and players who neglect the “overall” category will be destined for mediocrity. Created players can be assigned to the free agent pool, then signed to any team. Stats will be kept for all created players, and their given names will appear on court. Game Informer a April ‘97 A very important part of any basketball title is the game's parameters. In Shoot Out, Sony has catered to the desires of gamers everywhere. To start, there are three difficulty levels: Rookie, Veteran and All-Star. The difference between the three is game speed. The All-Star plays very fast, making defense difficult against the fast break. The game mode can also be toggled. In arcade mode players will not tire, therefore eliminating the need for substitutions. Simulation is as close as it gets to the real thing. Fatigue is a tremendous factor in determining these games. Bench depth is the difference between a good team and a great team, but even that's not enough. Players will have to be effective coaches, cycling players in and out, staggering line-ups, and exercis- ing patience with the lesser players. Then, if gamers still feel they need a little more, the Custom mode lets gamers set the options for foul frequency and foul-outs, as well as toggling other options such as back-court violations, lane violations, the three second clock and the shot clock. When choosing game length, six minute quarters seem to be the closest to a regular NBA game in terms of stats and scoring. For begin- ners, CPU assist can be enabled in order to allow Cinderella comebacks and death defying three-pointers. OREISAEIA 4 de In order to make the shot, you must first pick up the ball. early foul sends a | An to the line- “oe tat Here at GI, we like to play five players against the computer. Design your own playoff tree. Game Informer April 97 For a quick game players can enter into the Exhibition mode; however, those looking for a little more competition will certainly want to enter either a new playoff or a new season. The season is represented by the actual NBA 1996- 97 schedule. The season is 82 games long, culminating of course in the playoffs. In the interest of time (not everyone can sit down and play 82 games), any game during the season can be simulated. Gamers who are short on time might wish to simulate the games against poor teams, focusing on the all important big games. In addition, at any time during the season players can take their chances and start the playoffs.The computer will simulate the rest ofthe season, and your team will be seeded accordingly. Do you have what it takes to win the title? www.gameinformer.com task. Teams must balance patience with a go-for-the-throat mentality. Trying to rush the shot will inevitably end in frustration because of Sony's shot mechanics. Not only do players have to release the ball at the proper height in a jump, but they must be open for the shot as well. The only way to get open for a shot is to work the pass and the pick and roll. Getting open is the most important part of offense, and in Shoot Out, it's not easy. Consult the diagrams below in order to learn of Shoot Out's four basic offensive sets. Last but not least is offensive rebounding. After throwing up the shot, players should immediately switch control to the man closest to the basket. Both positioning and timing are important for rebounding, and only through time and practice will players succeed. In addition, the crash boards option can be toggled to increase the percentage of offensive rebounds. But this comes with a price, as players caught down low will inevitably be left behind should possession change hands. Achieving a sound offense in basketball is at best a difficult traditional NBA set, Shoot _ Out includes the TP Box - As the most basic offense of any basketball team, the Bari is a great way to patiently search for an open shot. By not extending too deeply into the offensive zone, it's easy to get back on defense while leaving good possibilities for rebounds. Note how the small forward works the high post in search of an open shot. - This set seeks to capitalize on the screen or pick, increasing the chances of a field goal or a dunk. The center and the shooting guard work a small area while the remaining players weave in and out, seeking to set up the screen. 1 ok > As implied by its name, the Outside Triangle is a more open style of offense. Three players hover along the perimeter and the center digs in low while the shoot- ing guard crosses back and forth across the lane in search of the open shot. t - This set takes its name from the fact that the power forward stays low while the center stays high. The other players circle the perimeter, moving the ball, trying to confuse the defense. “ Though not a Game Informer n April * In basketball, it's not enough to just get your two points. Any successful team maintains a balance between offense and defense. If the game is close, the best strategy is to rush back and set up your defense, challenging only at the half court line. In late game situations, or if team is lagging far behind in points, players can opt for a full court press. This has both guards attempting to trap the ball carrier ahead of the half court line. A full court press is both risky and tiring, thus it should be used sparingly. Often, a better method of catching up is to activate the double team option. This scheme will have both guards focusing on one player in the defensive zone, attempting to break up a pass or make the steal. Stealing itself is risky, and it often takes a player out of the action. For example, attempting a steal against the point guard opens up the possibility for a three- point shot. Attempting a steal against a forward will usually end up in a baseline drive to the net. Instead of incessant stealing, the best strategy in Shoot Out is the same as in real basketball: limit the offense to outside shots and capitalize on their mistakes. Since the Al is highly intelligent, the defense will stay in its set, and you can cycle through players in order to follow the passes and block out drives to the net. mi + Fans looking to compare Shoot Out ‘97 to last year's effort will immediately be pleased by the vast improvement in collision mechanics. It's a lot easier to work around defensive players, and with the icon passing, plays develop quickly. Nowhere does the game's AI shine more than in the pick and roll. Players can be seen clasping their hands below the waist, setting the pick. Working through the offensive sets, sinking the fade away jump shot, setting the pick, NBA Shoot Out ‘97 is basketball realism at its best. Add to this the depth of player characteristics, the stats tracking, and the special moves, and NBA Shoot Out ‘97 may be the most realistic and the most playable “| basketball title in video uonREISAEId Celtics arec current] Period of rebuilding, me The Vas I Eu | Concent: MA | passing is the most important fea- | Graphics: 8.75 ture, but | rarely find myself using it. ee Rather, | think Shoot Out's strength | Sound: j | | which includes a tremendous 8.75 improvement in collision mechanics. The character animations are 9 smooth, but occasionally it gets a little choppy. One huge drawback is the fouls. Shoot Out doesn't have a lot of fouls, which makes it more of an arcade style than a simulation. | Playability: Entertainment: OVERALL: are pretty realistic when playing six minute quarters, but the only way to make fouls a factor in the game is to set the foul limit to two. Lame. In the end, Shoot Out is the best basketball game I've played, but it | could have been even better. 7 Game Informer a April ‘97 “Some may say that the icon A Concept: 8 g lies in its computer intelligence, | Sure, players get tired, and the stats | | Graphics: 8 | Sound: Playability: 9 Entertainment: OVERALL: 8.79 ReneR, THE Racine GAMER —ă— 75 ‘Obviously, the ultimate goal of any | sports game publisher is to create a 75 flawless simulation of the real thing. | Concept: | Graphics: As we've advanced through the | 8.5 years, we've seen major strides | towards this utopian dream, but the | 25 key feature for platform games is beginning to be lost in the shuffle. 9 Fm mainly talking about gameplay. NBA Shoot Out ‘97 is the only b-ball title released this year that has managed to keep this feature alive and in focus. Sony, while adding a whole new gaming interface, managed to keep this game | Playability: | Entertainment: 9 OVERALL: | 8.75 entertaining and easy to control. | Why bother with any other b-ball | title? Shout Out ‘97 has everything a b-ball junkie could dream of. It's not perfect, but its darn close.” > THE Borrom Line &, 75 ANDY, THE GAME HOMBRE g For the most part this game is a big improvement over last year. The 9.5 animation is a lot better, the gameplay is much smoother, and 8 the icon passing is a fantastic addition, but there still are a 8.75 couple of problems with nis game. The most noticeable is the defensive Al. Many times the computer players will just stand there and watch somebody drive to the basket, rather than collapsing on the ball. Problems aside, this game rocks. Scoring is challenging, the graphics are very defined, and the multi-player mode is a blast. Easily the best basketball simulation available.” www.gameinformer.com Clay Fighter was never intended to be a franchise hit for Interplay, but rather a one-time parody of the most popular fighting games. It was released for the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis in 1993, and it embarked into a world of fighting that was so diverse, unique, and entertaining, that it became an instant classic. This is the kind of game that anyone can get into, from beginners to hard-core fighting fanatics. The game featured a remarkable cast of clay modeled characters that were as deadly as they were funny, solid control heralded as the origin of air blocking and air juggles, and it was also as challenging as it was fascinating. Clay Fighter was obviously here to stay. Interplay even went as far as to redesign the game for a Blockbuster contest called Clay Fighter Tournament Edition, which was never available for purchase. Right on the heels of Clay Fighters success, producer Michael Quarles released his next project for the SNES in late ‘93 — Claymates. Once again, the game design featured clay characters and a haunting parody of action/platform games, but it was by no means as popular as Clay Fighter. Instead, it found itself sitting idle in retailers' bargain bins. Shortly after this event, Michael Quarles and game designer Jeremy Airey decided to bring Clay Fighter back for a sequel. Unfortunately, this time around, they ran into a few major speed bumps. The first move that disrupted the creation of another successful Clay Fighter was the relocation of the entire development house to Interplay. Pameinformer. The Clay Comes Off This meant the loss of Visual Concepts and the destruction of a tight-knit relationship with their clay company. Thus, they had to start over from scratch and attempt to design another blockbuster with a nasty deadline approaching. With all this against them, Interplay managed to top everything they'd done in the original Clay Fighter. The animation improved, the backgrounds became more detailed, and the fighting techniques were greatly redesigned, but unfortunately the new characters in the game just didn't have the same appeal as the first. Thus, C2: Judgment Clay didn't sit well with gamers, and from here on in, the SNES Clay Fighter craze came to an end after three releases on the SNES and one on the Sega Genesis. Four releases is a grand feat indeed for any game, but the producers of the game thought they could do better, and that brings us to the present day, and the resurrection of Clay Fighter. With high-end platforms dominating the streets, Interplay decided to bring two exciting new Clay Fighter sequels to the Sony PlayStation and Nintendo 64. The PlayStation will receive Clay Fighter Extreme, and the N64 will unveil Clay Fighter 63 1/3. Both are different in their own NJE, and re Dy both will be exciting. The details on these games were sketchy..that is, until we got the scoop from Jeremy Airey. Interview with ProducerJeremy Airey GI: Who originally came up with the idea for Clay Fighter? Jeremy: That's me. Im the man. The original idea was a conglomeration of ideas between Interplay and Visual Concepts. We all hated fighting games at the time so we decided to spoof them, and | think we've done a great job doing so thus far. GI: First and foremost, what are the primary differences between the N64 and PS-X versions? Jeremy: The PS-X version will obviously have more stuff in it since it’s CD-ROM based, and we can add more to that than a cartridge. The PlayStation version will have more characters and audio, while the N64 will have a better look and clarity to it. Basically, we won't cripple either game, both will be entertaining, and both will have exclusive characters. Gl: How long have you been working on both of these games? Jeremy: We've gone through so many platforms with this game. It's actually kind of funny. We originally tried to make it for the Titan, and then an arcade board, then we moved on to the M2 and Model 2 boards. We finally found the best platforms out there to be the PS-X and N64. So basically, vve've racked up at least eighteen months on the project. The last four months have been the hardest so far. We're pulling in eighteen hour days. It's extremely hard work, but putting in these kinds of hours will only make the game better. GI: What kind of approach did you take toward making these versions different from the others? Jeremy: We did a lot more concept art, and we also planned out the moves better. This is the hardest part of making a game out of clay. If we messed up somewhere, we wouldn't be able to go back and shoot another sequence or animation. We planned ahead this time to make it as flawless as possible. GI: What do you think the big feature or standout visual will be for those who play the game? Jeremy: Definitely, the interactive environments and the break- through backgrounds. We managed to keep the characters as 2D sprites and pull off a miraculous stunt within the 3D arenas. Everything in the game, besides the characters, are 3D, even the projectiles that they fire will zoom into the fore or backgrounds. | think that the breakthroughs are going to be the most visually impressive feature in a fighter. You can side step into a Z-plane and break down a door or smash through a floor to enter a different environment. Why have them fight left to right? That's complete nonsense, and it’s also unrealistic. The roving camera will capture all this action. Its hard to explain, but we can move the camera anywhere we want except on top of the characters’ heads. Plus, the characters themselves are not textures like KI Gold’s with the horrendous blurs. We found how to make them so they won't blur at all. GI: This being your first N64 title, was it hard to get started with the program- ming in order to capture the true feel of the game? Jeremy: I'll say this right off the bat. Cartridge space is a killer. But other than that, it has actually been the easiest platform to program for. It was a little tricky at first, not knowing what to expect. For example, how would the sound work, or the camera options? We just had to sit back and understand exactly what the machine could do before we started. Once we knew, we were on our way. GI: What about options? We need to know what the gamers out there will be in for. Jeremy: We didn’t add much as far as options go. We are planning to incorporate a training mode, but once again, the real excitement comes from the combat. Really though, wouldn't you rather have more fighters, frames of animation, and hidden moves, rather than a silly Ranking or Special Tournament mode? “Finally, the original goal of the game GI: How many total animations per character did you incorporate into these sequels? Jeremy: We probably have in our Can be script right now...approximately 150 per character. accomplishe d ” Gl: What about hidden characters? Jeremy: There are twelve playable characters at the beginning of the game, and there are more hidden. Plus, we want to do the alternate ego thing again, like we did in C2: Judgment Clay, but this time around they won't just be colored differently. They'll have a different appearance of some kind. Plus, to spoof MK, we have guest appearances from other characters like the Lost Vikings, and so on. They'll come in and look confused, say something, then run off the screen. Gi: What kind of hidden goodies are you planning to incorporate? Jeremy: As much stuff as possible. We went off and got ridiculous. Like | mentioned before, the Lost Vikings and many other “Wouldn't you rather have more fighters, frames of animation, and hidden moves, rather than a silly Ranking or Special Tournament mode?” 'gameinformer.com characters make cameos. We wanted to incorporate Elvis into our game again, but vve ran into some legal problems when we had him in our first game. We asked if we could do Elvis sightings, vvhere he flies by in the back- ground screaming something, but they wouldn't give us that pleasure. VVe added Earthyvorm Jimas a playable character complete with new voice- overs and moves. Plus, we have tons of hidden things that will blow your mind! GI: Are the Claytalities going to be present since they were ixnayed at the last minute for C2: Judgment Clay? I Jeremy: Finally, the original } goal of the game can be accomplished. There will be Claytalities and many more They'll mess with MK's Friendships, Fatalities, and Babalities. We originally had a list of like 300 ‘talities to work from. But, we had to cut them down for space reasons. C2 was the transitional period for us. We lost the help from Visual, the game was way too serious, and we also had to work with a different clay company. It was a tough time, but now we have complete control over here at Interplay and were making the game the way it was originally intended to be. GI: What are the key features in the game? Jeremy: Definitely the combat. We are building in ways to detect whether people play a lot of MK or KI. Weird things will happen if the quick MK tapping is detected and so on. The KI parodies are also cool. We've added Lame Combos, Stupid Combos, and CHEEESY COMBOS! We went way overboard, and | think we've got a good mix of goofiness and classic fighting on our hands. GI: Is it disheartening to go through all the work of stop motion clay animation while other ‘talities, at least 10 per character. companies use a computer to pull off something that is fairly close? Jeremy: Actually, | really haven't seen anything like € ~ it. We originally planned to have breakthrough backgrounds years ago, and then MK3 came out with break- through ceilings. That was kind of scary. But our back- grounds go way more in-depth than theirs, as we stated before. But oth- erwise, if they did use comput- ers, | don’t think they could match the defined look of clay modeling. It's way too cool for computer geeks. GI: Who do you think the coolest character is? Jeremy: Right now I'd have to say Bonker. This is what he originally should have been like, not like the sixteen color SNES version. But all in all, there are twelve really good characters in the game that people will really get into. GI: What do Nintendo and Sony want to see out of this title? Jeremy: Well, of course both of them wanted to have something exclusive for it. We've given them different characters for each version, and both should be happy about this. But other than that, Sony’s really happy about the true 3D environments. They whined about it being just another fighter, but once they heard what we were doing with the breakthrough backgrounds, they came around to our side. Go figure. And Nintendo, they love it! They're as excited as we are. Game Informer a April ‘97 ve oe é San Francisco and addi- one company has AX iN games, there are players and there are. The “Players. By “The Players” “we mean those select few companies that are not only the sales leaders, but those companies that are for- ever at the cutting edge of. development, companies that other people always copy. With a corporate head- quarters just outside of tional “development houses across the globe, Electronic Arts is a video game giant. Only sold more video games than EA, and that's Nintendo. Back © when the Genesis was first starting out, it was EA Sports and their revolutionary NHL : Hockey and John Madden - Football titles that single-hand- edly made possible the rise of the Genesis as the great- est sports machine on the planet. “In the following years, EA has continued to grow, and their sports department has launched new franchises such * Game Informer & April ‘2.7 n the world of video. as the Andretti Racing titles, PGA Golf, NBA Live, College Football, and Triple Baseball. But Electronic Arts is not just about sports. The entertainment division of EA has an equally impressive list of signature titles.. 16-bit Strike titles set the “standard. for action combat; _ Syndicate was immensely popu- lar, as were the Need for Speed and Wing Commander series. Part of this success comes from a sound and sensible business ` model. Publishing quality games _ is one facet of this model, as is multi-platform development. It’s “rare to see an EA title exclusive- ly on one system. Not only is EA one of the last remaining’ com-. Play panies still developing 16-bit titles, but they had also contin- ued to produce software for the 3DO long after its decline. Electronic Arts also has a strong list of associated developers ‘and publishers. Jane's Combat Simulations, Bullfrog, ` Real- Time, Origin, and Tiburon are names almost any gamer would recognize. Most importantly, there is no preju- dice at Electronic Arts. Both the Entertainment and the Sports divi- sions are treat- ed with equal respect and regard. To no one's surprise, these spring months are a slow time for video games. It's not that games aren't being made, rather, companies. are holding out for E3, the largest electronic entertainment trade show in the world. Unlike every- one else, EA has a great Spring line-up of games. Game Informer was invited out to EA's corporate headquarters to get a hands-on look at these games. So, without further ado, here is pe .a report on what's going on under the roof at EA. Electronic : Arts... it’s 4 EA is the #1 Third-Party Publisher on 32-Bit Platforms ‘96 Year-End Total for Sony PlayStation #1 Madden NFL 97 #6 NBA Live 97 #9 Need for Speed #13 Soviet Strike #14 Triple Play 97 #16 Road Rash #18 NBA Live 96 #20 NHL 97 ‘96 Year-End Total kë for Sega Saturn #1 Madden NFL 97 #10 Need for Speed #18 NHL 97 >% EA is the #1 Third-Party Publisher on 16-Bit Platforms “96 Year-End Total for Sega Genesis #1 Madden NFL 97 #4 NBA Live 97 #6 -NBA Live 96 #11 NHL 96 #12 Madden NFL 96 #15 College Football USA 97 (All data compiled by TRST) www.gameinformer.com 1 7 Undoubtedly, one of the most impressive looking titles EA Sports now has in the works is Triple Play 98. As with its other 32-bit sports titles, EA Sports has totally revamped Triple Play’s ‘graphics engine. Now polygon based, the players are much more lifelike and fluid. Also, each player will be repre- sented by a signature batting stance, and:pitchers will only be able to select from a list of pitches they would throw in real life. If your pitcher is a fast-baller, he probably won't be able to toss a knuckler. Also new is pitch velocity. The length of time the pitch button. is held will determine its Velocity. There's. a fatigue meter, and the mound is 3D (meaning hits will bounce up and off if-they hit the rubber). The pitcher also. covers first base this «year, which is nice. One of the coolest things is the intelligent crowd. During the season mode, stadiums will “begin to fill up as your team starts doing better. As the playoffs approach, there won't be an empty seat in the house.-The announcing is also brarid new. Buck Martinez and Jim Hughson both rattle out the clichés from a list of over 10,000 voice-overs! One of the. more enter- taining ones we heard happened when a batter went down looking. Buck Martinez: “That's his impres- sion. of Linda Ronstadt.”. Jim Hughson: “Blue Bayou.” Also bfand new are the stats cat- egories., Hit charts outline the per- centage of balls hit to. different areas of the field, which means that a batter who pulls the ball 60% of the time will most likely ground out if he attempts to poke it the oppo- site way. Also, records are kept for hits against individual pitchers so that lineups can be juggled accord- ing to the opposition's pitching strat- egy. During loading screens, players will be treated to trivia guizzes, and the. create player feature offers 12 choices in over 8 categories just for appearance! Want a beard? You got it. There's even an Al-Star game halfway through the season. Triple Play ‘98 is set to ship at the end of May. Another important title is FIFA Soccer 64. Using the previous FIFA Soccer games as a base, EA has www.gameinformer.com TM tackled the N64 head-on. As a test market; FIFA 64 will be available. first in Japan. It should be available here in the states by the time you read this article. First off, it's impor- tant to note that FIFA incorporates the analog joystick (although players can use the digital D-pad if they pre- fer). The analog input makes it easi- er to deke out defensemen because players ean walk, jog, run or sprint. * There are the ‘Action, Arcade and Simulation modes, which alter the need for substitutions, the severity of tackles, and the speed of game- play. Up to four players can plug into the: Nintendo unit, and each con- troller can be “handicapped,” mean- ing each player can choose any level of difficulty and control options. Another important feature is the PIP camera. PIP stands for picture in picture. By pressing one of the shoulder buttons, a picture appears in the upper corner of the screen. Any of the eight.camera angles. can be displayed within this window, as well as field radar. This option is helpful when playing a close camera angle, as players off-screen will be visible within the PIP window. Unfortunately, FIFA Soccer 64 will not allow for the trading of play- ers, but there are 6 international leagues and close to 160 teams. Also, hard-core simulation nuts will appreciate the option to play a game of up to an hour and a half in length. : FIFA 64 is compatible with the mem- ory pak, which. will save season records and stats.. In league play, international rules apply, meaning a red card will be a two game suspen- sion. “FIFA Soccer 64 will no doubt be the top selling sports game for the N64., Though .ve don't have any pictures of the game, GI sat down with the: producers of EA Sports’ new: 32-bit college football game. Immediately, they stressed the fact that college sports will be a new, independent focus within EA Sports. Therefore, the new college football : game won't just be a Madden clone, but a whole new football experience for fans of college football. The game is being developed for the PlayStation and PC. only (sorry Saturn owners). An important new feature is that each college team Michael Pole, exec Score, pro action from brio dT “informer 5 April ‘97 Triple Play 98 EXHIBITION . Game Informer ATLANTA BRAYES April ‘97 NBA Live 97 - Saturn 8 Kek $ fee Cott at strates the finer ont of NEA Live IT Will have a certain set of plays that coincide with the team's playbook in real life. Although there will be an option to use an “open” playbook, purists will certainly want to stick to the realistic playbook. By far, the coolest feature being incorporated into the game is the Dynasty mode. Here, players must not only play the games through successive .sea- Sons, but.they must also coach the “team through the changing of ros- ters. Candidates must be recruited . after the seniors are lost each year. If you chodse a poor team, it will most likely take three or four sea- sons to mature a senior class capa- ble of taking home the champi- “onship. It is also the only game to feature the Orange, Sugar and Fiesta Bowls. All 112 Division 1A teams will be playable with the actu- al 1997 schedules and rosters. There’s a create player feature, and 49 stadiums. The stadiums are an important focus. within the game, and EA. promises that they will be accurate representations of actual NCAA stadiums (there won't just be “a sign hanging from the wall saying: “Go Bulldogs”). EA Sports College Football 98 should be available in August, just as the college season gets underway. i Madden NFL Football 98 - PlayStation, Saturn In the year of 1996, Madden NFL 97 was the top selling title on the . Sony PlayStation, the Sega Saturn and the Sega Genesis. According to TRST data, EA’s 32-bit Madden NFL 97 sold 548,388 units, compared to 194, 577 for Sony’ s GameDay. The production of Madden 98 is pro- ceeding according to schedule, and by June all of the player stats and designs will be in place. The motion capture is being done with Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware. Fans of Madden Football will recall the pres- ence of “money plays.” This year, EA Sports is revamping the entire defen- sive scheme. Using what they refer to as “Liquid Al,” the new defense borrows heavily from the intelligence used in.basketball games. Last year, defensive players vvere sèt within the play and could react to variations only within a small area of move- ment. This year, defensive players Will maintain a position based upon their proximity to other defensive players. Much as a man-to-man defense shuffles and slides in a bas- ketball game, Madden 98 will allow defensive players a great breadth of movement. Calling the right defense will be extremely important, and to counter this, the offense will be able to access more audibles. The line play will be vastly. improved, and the playbooks have been completely redone, so look to see a new crop of deadly defenses. and. awesome attacks. Madden NFL 98 should. be available this September. NBA Live 97 - Sega Saturn In keeping with their tradition of multi-platform development, . “EA Sports wilt be releasing a version of NBA Live 97 for the Saturn. Ernie Johnson from TNT does the. pre- game announcing, and because of the Saturn’s multi-player capability, 1-10 players will be able to plug into all the action. Almost identical to the PlayStation in terms of options and interface, the only major difference Within the Saturn version is the video. New FMV intros leave their. stamp of excitement, and the popu- lar half-time shows are still available: NBA Live 97 is available now for: the | Sega Saturn. l www.gameinformer.com 1 9 wg Syndicate Wars ' 4. Back in the day, Syndicate was a “ popular hit on the Sega Genesis, 3DO and PC. Set within a grim, futuristic world, players fought : against rival syndicates in a quest to control the CHIP. For a long time, EA has been promising-the world a 32-bit Syndicate title. Though.a long time in coming, Syndicate Wars, developed by Origin and Bullfrog, should hit the shelves some time in late June. Syndicate Wars follows a similar storyline as the original: players, must battle rival syndicates. Just as the dust from the corporate wars has settled,» a,. secret syndicate group'discovers an alien technology promising unparalleled destructive power. As a rival syndicate, it's your . job to shut them down in a quest to . control the. planet. Somewhat like . Command & Conquer, players. can choose one of two sides, thus . there are two-games-in-one. Some improvements over the original 16-bit ‘title include fifteen new weapons, a 3D rotatable gameplay map,.and futuristic modes of trans- portation such as anti-gravity vehi- cles and time travel. Similar to Soviet Strike, “everything (and we “mean everything) can be blown. up. Also, within the regular missions there are numerous sub-missions, so there should be a great amount of play value, Look for Syndicate Wars to hit the shelves this June. Need for S 2 ~ PlayStation In the world of racing there are many styles and circuits. NASCAR, Formula 1, Busch Challenge, Sprint Cars...the list goes on and on. But g there's one challenge in Europe ` that is so unique that people from ” all over the world watch in eager ‘anticipation to see which new cars will be entered from year to year. The Le Mans circuit demands only one thing of its racers, that the cars they enter be actual production models. To qualify, a company has to produce them for sale to the pub- lic. Only fifty or” a hundred cars might be manufactured, ranging in _ “price. upwards of one million dol- lars, but this is. enough to qualify them for Le Mans. EA's popular Need for Speed took Le Mans as its inspiration featuring actual produc- tion cars. from around the world. This year, the Need for Speed 2 fea- tures all new exotic cars, such as the McLaren F1, Lotus GT1, and the » Ford Indigo. Each car is represented by a. slide show showcase as well as an article on the car's history. EA has pumped up the game’s technology, now rendering environments on the fly. This means players will be able to go backwards. as well as for- wards. There are 6 tracks plus one 20 www.gameinformer.com “ PlayStation, Saturn version of Soviet Strike + : + . bonus track, and each track has mul- ‘tiple routes through such exotic areas as Nepal, Greece, Australia and Norway. In contrast to the origi- nal Need for Speed, this year's update includes an arcade mode with powerslides. Players will also be “able to toggle the amount of inci- dental traffic. Along with the Tournament mode, there is also a Knockout mode. Here, the last place finisher will be knocked out of the next race, and the final race will be- between the two players who have “survived. Look for Need for Speed 2 to ship in late March. ‘DarkLight Confilct - PlayStation! Satum An interesting mix between Star Fox and Wing Commander, DarkLight Conflict is being developed by Rage Software in thé U.K. (Origin will be publishing the PC version.) It will be available for the PS-X, Saturn and PC. Apparently, the PC version will resemble Wing Commander in its use of maps and,strategy, while the PlayStation and Saturn versions will be more like an arcade space Le er, a la StarFox. As a twentieth century pilot, you are captured by an alien race. This | alien race then morphs you into the metal of-a ship. You then pilot this ship through the galaxy in an ` attempt to free yourself. The galaxy is lit by two different colored suns, and one of the ways in which to keep your bearings is to inspect which sun is lighting the top of the ship and which is lighting the bottom. There are over fifty missions with various objectives Such as space docking or seek and destroy. From what we saw, the game looks remarkably smooth, with rich color textures and pinpoint firing. DarkLight Conflict will “be available in late June. Soviet Strike - Saturn On 16-bit platforms, each of the Strike titles was a top seller. When EA brought Strike to 32-bit, everÿone watched in anticipa- tion. The results were well worth the wait. and hot on the heels of Soviet Strike's success on the EA released the on Feb. 17. Though missions, maps and assets locations are identical, the Saturn version has a few notable features not found on the PlayStation. The graphics have been fine-tuned, yes, but more importantly, Soviet Strike for the Saturn is compatible with” Sega's Analog 3D controller. This adds a pinpoint touch when fly- ing and aligning targets. Also, the Saturn version contains two new exclusive veapons.: Once again, EA has made Saturn own- ers proud. Syndicate Wars KE Please Note: The above games are not all that,EA has to offer this spring. Covered in other parts of the magazine are these titles from. EA; Overblood .(PS-X), Wing Commander IV (PS-X), Battle Stations (PS-X), FIFA Soccer 97 (Saturn), and Andretti Racing (Saturn). EA's PR team is one business. of the best in the Game Informer a April ‘97 IU jer Though FIFA Soccer is the #1 selling Sports game world- wide, developing this title for the N64 has not been easy for EA Sports. When the agree- ment to develop for the N64 was first reached, Howard Lincoln, Chairman of Nintendo. of America, stated, “This agree- ment with Electronic Arts demonstrates Nintendo’s full blown commitment to make the N64 the unparalleled sports platform.” Since that time, the relationship has taken a turn towards the .sour. Sources within EA have made it known to Game Informer that Nintendo is an extremely hard company to work with. Of particular interest is EA's criticism of Nintendo's business model. To’begin with, Nintendo demands, a high. price for licensing. Licensing costs are the fees that a company pays in order to publish software for a’ platform. Because of this, it immediately costs third-parties more to develop. for Nintendo. Add to that the high cost of cartridges, and the risks most often outweigh the rewards.. An EA spokesperson had this to say of the relationship with Nintendo: “A huge issue is -the cartridge format. Between licensing and manufactur- ing, the production of the cartridge costs between $30.00 and $40.00, ef _ compared to about $3.00 for a CD- EA * ROM. Add to this our own-costs of Ge development. and advertising, and it's clear that it will be difficult to make any money. Since Nintendo does not have to pay any licensing fees them- selves, they have a tremendous advantage, and it seems that Nintendo thinks the com- ape | ‘i | pany and the new platform can survive on Secs eie ur ta ge Wie miere UV Asa | — : first-party software alone. Also, the cartridge CENT KERS UT E format limits us creatively. There's only so much we can do with it.” When GI began to discuss the recent diffi- culties that magazines have been having with Nintendo, specifically the limits and catalogu- ing of screen shots, as well as the availabili- ty of preview software, this same EA spokesperson .continued by saying, “Think about it this way. Nintendo needs you ‘guys, and you're having difficulties working with them. Think about us as a third-party devel- oper/competitor and you can imagine ‘the ‘relationship. At-the present time, there are no further plans to develop any software for the N64.” As for Howard Lincoln’s statement about the N64 becoming. a leading “sports machine,” one thing is clear: without EA Sports in the picture, this will be an almost insurmountable task. As for other third-party development for the N64, if EA’s current tem- perament mirrors that of, other companies in, the industry, Nintendo may have to rethink its approach. to» business. Certainly, they will have to be more open to third-party develop- ment if they want to survive in today’s busi- ness climate. SË Bec 96. Enter the ngggih dyperspace verre! sats —- Game Informer u April ‘27 www.gameinformer.com 21 Editor's Top Ten Saturn Version This Summer Resident Evil 2 Slides Again, Console Games for April 6 6 . To the dismay of the majority of the PlayStation gaming populace (as well as the entire GI staff), Capcom has again moved the U.S. release of Resident Evil 2 for the PS-X to the fourth quarter of ‘97. Capcom recently commented to Game Informer that they are attempting to add a huge list of new elements (including a second disc), to the highly anticipated game. Unfortunately for players, these additions translate into more delays, and it looks as though Resident Evil 2 may not reach the U.S. until December. The good news is that Resident Evil for the Saturn is progressing nicely and is scheduled for release sometime this summer. Reader’s Top Ten by Jimmy Cagle of Norridge, IL What's The Deal With Bruce Willis and Activision? In a highly publicized deal that marked the first joint venture by a Hollywood actor and a video game company, Activision signed action Superstar Bruce Willis to play a “virtual partner” in their new action/shooter game Apocalypse. Set in the not-so-distant-future, the game puts the player in a 3D world where he/she fights side by side with Bruce Willis against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. While the exact dollar amount was not disclosed, CNN reported that Bruce will make about 2 million dollars on the deal. However, sources within Activision state that this figure is incorrect. It seems the deal between Activision and Bruce is based on royalties and his cut of the action will depend on how many units are sold. Luckily for both parties, this stipulation in the contract has given Bruce a very active role in the project. Not only will he do all the voice-overs and motion capture for the project, he also has final say in most of Activision's business strategies pertaining to the marketing and promotion of Apocalypse. At this point, pictures of the game are scarce (because Bruce has to approve them all), but we do have a few early screens for you here. The game engine is up and running and the game's designers are hard at work implementing some very interesting game dynamics. Look for Apocalypse to come out sometime in October for Sony PlayStation. We’ll keep you posted as the story develops. Game Informer u April '97 1 Returns to the Plate Sega of Japan has just put the finishing touches on the next installment of their highly acclaimed baseball game for the Saturn. Known as Greatest Nine ‘97 (World Series in the U.S.), Sega's newest sports title introduces an entirely new batting interface. Greatest Nine's development team looks to | have taken notes from Konami's Bottom of ™ the Ninth with a new batting cursor. Sega has implemented a similar batting technidue where you'll be required to react to placement of the ball by moving a cursor to the spot where | the ball crosses the plate. Along with the new control interface, the graphics have been updated with polygonal-looking players. Sega will release Greatest Nine ‘97 on March 28 in Japan. À new U.S. version of World Series Baseball will obviously follow. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) officially announced the North American release date for Square’s highly-anticipated Final Fantasy VII. Ending months of speculation and confusion regarding when Final Fantasy would appear in the U.S., SCEA inked September 7, 1997 (9.7.97) as the date that all RPG players are waiting for. Coincidentally, Final Fantasy VIl's launch date will coincide with the two year anniversary of the North American launch of the PlayStation system, and will also mark one year since the launch of Crash Bandicoot. SCEA plans to begin a Final Fantasy VII pre-sell program beginning in July along with numerous other advertising and promotion programs. We don't expect SCEA to take reservations through convenience stores as g% Square successfully did with the Japanese version, but PN SCEA will undoubtedly devote much of its marketing resources to promoting a title that has sold more than 2 million copies in Japan. For the latest on Final Fantasy VII, don’t miss our hands-on preview found on page 32. If you're unfamiliar with the history of Final Fantasy, this may be the question you are asking your- self: “whatever happened to Final Fantasy 4, 5, & 6?” In the hysteria surrounding the January release Final Fantasy VII in Japan, we thought we'd fill you in on why American gamers skipped from Final Fantasy Ill to Final Fantasy VII. In the beginning, both Japanese and American gamers were given the chance to play Final Fantasy | on the NES, but after that, only Japanese gamers had the chance to play the next two installments on the NES, FFII and Ill. Luckily, U.S. gamers were given another chance with the release of the SNES. When Nintendo brought out Final Fantasy Il here in the States; howev- er, this title was known as FFIV in Japan. Next, as you may have guessed by now, U.S. gamers were skipped again with the Japanese release of FFV on SNES. So not until FFVI was converted to FFIII here in the States were U.S. gamers able to experience Final Fantasy again. So, in reality, Final Fantasy VII is only the fourth installment here in the States. But luckily for us, and gamers everywhere, Sony decided to do away with the silly numbering and confusion by calling FFVII by its true name. EE VO Game Informer u April ‘9 7 Argonaut Brings a Croc to the PS-X Similar to a scene from the ultimate horror movie Dead Alive, one Game Informer editor, who will remain nameless for safety reasons, basically mowed down hundreds of PR zombies to uncover this exclusive info that will bewilder and dazzle you. Developers Argonaut Software (and whoever just won the bidding war for the publishing rights on this game) have a seriously powerful title their hands. The info that we dug up states the game is tentatively entitled “Croc,” features a cute little crocodile that runs. completely submersive 3D environme Mario 64) climbing ledges, pulling thin, ko mment on who will etails on the game. ng 64 By Christmas? our Sources at Nintendo that fer completing the development of Blast Corps for the Nintendo 64, Rare has begun to devote much of its resources and manpower to a Donkey Kong project for the N64. The project to bring Donkey Kong to the N64 has likely been underway since the inception of an N64 development system, but it looks as though Nintendo is pushing for this title to make it to the N64 by Christmas Ghost In The Shell for PlayStation As we speak, Sony Computer Entertainment Japan is finishing development on a PlayStation game based on the popular comic and animated film Ghost In The Shell. The game looks to be an action/adventure title that relies much more upon the comic series than the film. At last report, TH*Q secured the rights to N no details have been released at this time. Namco & Sony Team Up for Film Project À joint venture between Namco and Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has spawned a new company that will develop and produce computer generated motion pictures. The new company, Dream Pictures Studio, is Said to have already begun development of their first project. Many have speculated that the film 4 is based on the Namco game Tekken. Hottest Gaming Gossip For April! The latest and greatest industry news unveiled by Gl's super reporter, D “A Buck Two Ninety-Eight Boy!” = Hello again, my scrupulous little > info munchers. It is |, the master of © ` disguise, the genius behind the Atom LEFT: e 430 Bomb, the man with only one thumb...A Buck Two Ninety-Eight Boy!!! ...Besides stroking my own ego for hours upon end, | have managed to secure the most sought after video game gossip months before anyone else. This may shock you, and you may not want to read on from here, but it’s all true, and it will happen... someday. Get this...Sony has decided to skip the PlayStation 2 and move on to the PlayStation 5.02. Yes, the Sony representative in my head stated that the PS-X 2 is not going to happen. They have bigger plans for the next generation of gamers, and the PS-X 5.02 will surely give them what they crave. For instance, this CD-ROM based system hauls serious donkey, with a whoppin’ 24x CD-ROM!!! Plus, all the games for the machine are going to be made by Square Soft and we should see Final Fantasy VIII released before the end of September!!! ...My Buck-Spies ran into Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin of Naughty Dog and Crash Bandicoot fame at Sony’s gala party in New York. This dynamic duo stated that | am a loser and they’d never give me or my peons any information, but that didn’t stop me. The Buck Boy called their office, disguising my voice as Shigero Miyamoto and grabbed the most amazing exclusive info in the world. The Buck Boy has found that Naughty Dog is scrapping the whole Crash Bandicoot concept for a trilogy adventure starring the Dukes of Hazzards’ sweetheart, Daisy Dukell The game will take place in the year 2047 and the plot is sketchy, but understandable. Gamers are required to infiltrate an enemy base and kidnap the most famous clam in the world — Clammy the Wonder Clam. Spank the baby and call me crazy!!! I’m A Buck Two Ninety-Eight Boy!!! ..From behind closed doors, the Buck-Meister got a sneak peak of this year’s most amazing game, Super Mario 64 2. | promised | wouldn’t tell anyone, but if Nintendo has something up their sleeves, then I’ve got to break the news...first. Mario 64 2 will feature both Luigi and Mario as playable characters, plus the Buck Boy found that instead of triple jumps there will now be five new double jumps replacing them. Here’s another piece of B-News: you'll also need to save the Princess. Namco reported that Tekken 4 is on the way, Sega stated that Virtua Fighter 4 is coming, and Capcom announced that Street Fighter 4 will be out soon...I've saved the best for last, my gaming friends. The B has learned that all the games with a part three will have a part four. ..Lastly, both Sega and Sony have confirmed that they will be dropping their unit prices to $99. Sony stated that they've managed to completely remove the chip set from the newest version of the PlayStation, allowing for this drastic drop. Sega said that they don’t care anymore and decided to drop the price and take a loss. As for Nintendo...who knows, but maybe it has something to do with the N128 coming out this holiday season? If there’s news in the video game industry you’ll hear about it here first. Watch for next month’s Breakin’ Stuff with your burghermeister, meisterburgher, A Buck Two Ninety-Eight Boy!!! à www.gameinformer.com announced that Crash Bandicoot surpassed The Bandicoot Goes Platinum Sony Computer Entertainment recently one million units in sales. . Since its U.S. release in September of last year, Crash Bandicoot has also seen successful launches in Europe and Japan. It joins an elite crew of PlayStation games including Resident Evil and Tekken 2, which have both far exceeded the platinum mark since their respective releases. With over a million copies sold, there's no doubt that Sony, Universal Interactive, and Naughty Dog have big plans for the next game starring Sony's favorite bandicoot. The next Crash Bandicoot game is likely to surface later this year. Working Designs Waits for Enhanced Lunar Working Designs has currently completed most of its development for the Saturn version of the classic RPG Lunar. À Japanese version of the game was. _ previously released for the Saturn as Lunar: The Silver Star Story, — but Working Designs was unhappy with its FMV sequences. Luckily for Working Designs and Saturn RPG players, an enhanced version of Lunar is on the way. Although the in-game graphics and play remain intact, the new version of Lunar will have enhanced FMV and a few new. surprises as well. . The Saturn version of Lunar is slated for an August release. Star Fox 64 ba . i Set for June 23 ' | Nintendo of America has officially 4 ATO a announced the date that Fox McCloud will = make his debut on the Nintendo 64. = *. = Star Fox 64 is set to hit the shelves 5 on June 23. The release of Star Fox 64 will coincide with the debut of the Force Pak (formerly Jolting Pak) controller . accessory. Compatible with Star Fox, the Force Pak plugs into the memory card slot of the ^ N64’s controller and vibrates in conjunction with the on- screen action. sis No price has been set for the Force Pak, but speculation is growing in the industry regarding its inclusion with Star Fox 64 because it was announced that the Japanese version of Star Fox 64 will include the- Force Pak. At last year's Shoshinkai Show, Nintendo announced a preliminary — price point of approximately $15. Game Informer April ‘97 Sega of America and GT Interactive announced that both Quake and Duke Nukem 3D are being developed for release on the Sega Saturn. The Saturn version of Quake is expected to be the first home console translation of the popular PC title. Apparently, the companies are working to give Saturn owners a unique gaming experience. By beefing up the light sourcing eee A im AN and enhancing the audio, | Wes) gm (Oe AN mm NI Quake should be a one- | EA AN of-a-kind experience on the Saturn. Smithsonian Institution gaming from the U.K Plug into the be VVeb- Bet keeps an eye on the continent. | German laws regarding animated violence | required Iguana and Acclaim to replace all of | the human enemies as well as remove red | blood from the German release of Turok: | Dinosaur Hunter. | Instead of the human enemies that | are present in the U.S. version, robot creatures have been created for German N64 players. The dinosaurs are still present, but the numerous human foes, including the final boss, had to be changed. In the past, Germany has been very strict in its control over violent games. Titles such as Doom and Wolfenstein 3D have been completely banned from German consumers (that’s not to say these games haven’t enjoyed an underground following | amongst German players). | st NES baseball game to feature a Create player option? (2) How n many skating events were featured i in the arcade classic 720°? +) How many Clay Fighter games are available for the SNES? True or False? Crash Bandicoot has sold over one million copies in the United States. What was the first company to publish an officially licensed Disney title on an 8-bit home system? (Answers on the bottom of page 27) | During a recent visit from Acclaim Entertainment’s president Jim DeRose, Game Informer was lucky enough to talk a little Turok with him. Acclaim has big plans for its Turok franchise, including a PlayStation version. | “Turok 1.5” is currently being worked on for the PS-X. This product hasn't been | officially announced by Acclaim, but will likely share little with its Nintendo 64 cousin. | The PS-K game is predicted to appear in Acclaim's fall line-up. Another Turok game is also coming — the Nintendo 64 sequel is in development at Iguana Software in Austin, Texas. The game will have the same producer, Dave Dienstbier, and could be done as soon as this December. DeRose also said that he had seen the game and that it looked amazing. Turok 2 will include many new features that were left out of the first installment because of time and development constraints. Allen Ludden This Konami game debuted in 1994 for the SNES, and though a planet appears in its title, a more apt inclusion might have been “the moon,” as everyone knows it's made of cheese. Vo you know the game? (Answer on the bottom of page 27) www.gameinformer.com | www.gameinformer.com GT Interactive Enters OddWorld OddWorld: Abe's Oddysee is GT Interactive's break from its traditional scheme of publishing first-person 3D action games. An action/platform that originally debuted at last year's E3 as Soul Storm, Abe 's Oddysee is developed by GT subsidiary OddWorld Inhabitants. As the first of what OddWorld is calling their “StoryDwellings,” Abe’s Oddysee mixes lifelike animation with computer generated backgrounds. Developed for the Sony PlayStation, the game chronicles the exploits of an escaped slave named Abe and is said to incorporate a number of “intuitive controller interfaces.” Abe’s Oddysee is scheduled for release this year, but at press time GT Interactive would not comment on further details. Fox Interactive 5 To Launch Alien 4- Fox Interactive announced the development of a title based upon the upcoming Twentieth Century Fox film Alien: Resurrection Which is due to hit the big screens this summer. As reported last month, Fox is curre developing the first-person game Alien V: Predator, but Alien: Resu yu is a completely ' different project. Pë Alien: Resurrection is slated to be developed for Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and PC by Argonaut Software, and a although the gameplay is still a mystery, we do know that it will not be a first-person shooter. The game should fall into Fox Interactive's fourth quarter lige | INTERACTIVE “Castlevania Bloodletting2”, uh... “X?”, uh... “Bloodlines?” Recently at the Game Informer office we received several screen shots of the new Castlevania title being developed for the PlayStation. The last decent game in this popular series made its appearance on the SNES in the form of Castlevania IV. At this point there are about three working titles and no release date. Rest assured though, Konami is serious about getting this game out and on the market for all of you emaciated Castlevania fans out there. The whip is back to sate the most gothic of appetites! Game Informer un April 97 | | | Midway and some of their video game developers have begun to leak information on the next game in their extremely popular Mortal Kombat series, aptly titled Mortal Kombat 4. Kombat ko-kreator Ed Boon recently uploaded a short video trailer on Noob Saibot's Outworld (http://www.mcs.net/~edboon/). While the video footage doesn’t reveal much concerning Mortal Kombat 4, it does show a glimpse of Rayden. If you remember, Rayden was missing from Mortal Kombat 3 and it looks as though he will return in MK4. In regard to characters, visitors to the web site can also put in their vote for what fighters they would like to see in the MK4 roster. Midway is hoping to release Mortal Kombat 4 in the arcades as early as June. Keep your eyes on these pages and WWW.GAME- INFORMER.COM for additional MK4 info. To ah À Dek or the E prance Now don’t laugh at the idea of a fighting game becoming an RPG. We all chuckled at the idea of a Mario RPG, and lo and behold, it was the best RPG released last year. Now, if you are still laughing at this cross-over concept, why don’t you take a look at the screen shots of Samurai Shodown RPG. The game is being developed for the PlayStation by SNK and will be released in Japan later this month. The game’s appearance in the U.S. is in question, but if you recall, Sony Computer Entertainment America published both Samurai Shodown lil and King of Fighters ‘95 for the Sony PlayStation. Let’s hope that they do the same with this unique title. ASCII is pleased to announce the release of its newest PlayStation peripheral controller, the MACH | ; RN prenne 1. True to its name, the Mach 1 provides lightning fast TY a ustomel seni gameplay in addition to a veritable treasure trove of 4 | M ngay [hrug A options. Witness the four controller settings (analog, 2 | digital, pulse, and analog “joystick”), a turbo-fire option, the 360° top-hat and accompanying foot pedals. Add to this the sleek, nevv age design, and the Mach 1 is one peripheral controller you von't want to miss. It is available now at an MSRP of $64.95. For discerning gamers, ASCII also offers its Carry Bag for the Sony PlayStation. Everyone knows that looking good is one of the keys to good gaming. Indeed, what self-respecting gamer would be caught carrying their PlayStation about the town, cords dangling, memory cards dropping in the dirt? Now you too can look like a Pro Player (no offense to Paul). ASCIIl’s Carry Bag not only houses an entire PlayStation unit with two controllers, memory cards, RF switches, and link cable, but it can also hold up to fifteen .. Of your favorite games. For a modest price j | of $22.95, the Carry Bag lets you make a gaming statement regardless of your pitiful gaming skills. 2 Four. The half- ‘pipe, £ 9. Three, Clay Fighter, í Game Informer = April 97 www.gameinformer.com e: 64 Megabit : Tor 2-Player Head-to- Tournament Fighter Side-Step Block Moves, Multiple Grab Moves, Chain Combos and Combo Breakers, Eight Playable Characters, Two End Bosses tec Vic Tokai : Late April/Early May for Nintendo 64 after the Nintendo 64 was released, two fighting games were available: Mortal Kombat Trilogy and Killer Instinct Gold. Both were fun and graphically impressive, but neither one achieved great strides in the world of arena combat. The environments were 2D, and both games were playable long before their N64 debut. Well, Vic Tokai is about to jump into the ring, and it seems they have quite an impressive game in the works. Ever since last year's E3 show, people have been waiting to see what Dark Rift was going to look like. The wait is over, and it appears the results are well worth it. Apparently, Dark Rift received a great deal of enthusiasm when is was presented to Nintendo of America. Tim Bechtel, Product Tester for NOA, told Vic Tokai, “You guys kicked. That was by far the best presentation we've ever had.” Set within a 3D environment, one of Dark Rift's visual strengths appears to be its use of fog mood Wa” ah enhancing. Players sometimes are surrounded by light, or launching huge projectiles. Character movements are based off optical motion-capture animation and there are a total of eight playable characters with two end bosses. Special fighting features include side-step block moves, a number of different grabs, chain combos, and combo breakers. Since Dark Rift is being developed for the N64 and PC, don't expect to see a PlayStation or Saturn version. And to answer the question....yes, it appears that Dark Rift will be the first 3D fighting game for the N64. a e = DET de was a little | - if or the ge #'watrior, for instance, ig but can rmoye fast and’ take m péshpetss, | “Hexen will also-të in order to bring level. Hexen mode so. ber, the more Pride will be ave a If any one company could be considered close to Nintendo, it would have to be RARE (so close in fact, that Nintendo owns quite a bit of their stock). Throughout their rather short history, RARE has developed some of Nintendo's biggest sellers, including the Donkey Kong trilogy and the Killer Instinct games. This time around, instead of making a standard fighter or action/platform title, RARE has entered the Miss Originality contest with their completely unique and explosive N64 title Blast Corps. This game is based on a clear and protect strategy. All the main lev- . els in Blast Corps demand that you clear a path for a nuclear transport vehicle. To accomplish this task you'll use a certain vehicle or group of vehicles for the level. All in all, there are twelve monstrous vehicles to choose from, ranging from buggies and sports cars to bulldozers >: 64 Megabit é Po Destructive Strategy Fi : Twelve Vehicles Plus Several Transport Vehicles, Jolt Pak Compatible Sixty Plus Levels With Different Objectives od Levels On the Moon Cr r: RARE for Nintendo m A vallal ilable: a: March 24 for Nintendo 64 humanoid robots. Each one of these steel monsters has its own abilities that will either help or destroy you on a level. Basically, you'li need to destroy buildings and whatever else stands in the transports’ way. If it hits something, you better get on the phone and call in the chemical -squad, because once that bomb goes 6 | Game Informer » April “< off, there will be nothing left but radioactive freshness. Thé à s basic, but explosively entertaining as well. Some of the later levels in the game will have you running on foot to find other vehicles to destro) certain buildings, or ee a train transport _ B March 97 + , February 97 -° Cover: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. EE Cover: Mario Kart 64 Special Features: Turok Special Features: Shoshinkai Strategy Guide, Soul Blade ' _N64 Space World 96 Report, Guide, and Legacy of Kain 1996 Video Game Awards lay to Perfection … Secret Access: NFL GameDay | Secret Access:Shadows of the OT (PS-X), Star Gladiators mpire Strategy Guide, Jet (PS-X), Tomb Raider (SS), Moto (PS-X), Dragon Force Tobal No. 1 (PS-X),.KI Gold SS), DKC 3 (SNES), Soviet (N64), Final Doom (PS-X), trike (PS-X), NFL GameDay ' Street Fighter Alpha 2 (PS-X 97(PS-X) ~ & SS), NBA Hangtime (SNES, Tip Card 20: Street Fighter Ill N64, Genesis), Destruction . Derby 2 (PS-X) take them from you — but whatever you do, don’t go through life without a complete collection. Order now before these priceless issues disappear. forever! December 96 e Cover: Twisted Metal 2 Special Features: System Mars: Game Informer Puts All Three of the Elite Machines . Through Their Paces, Twisted Strategy Guide: Beyond the _ Metal 2 Strategy Guide i | Pa Beyond Part 2 Secret Access: Beyond the RAIDERS Secret Access: Wave Race 64 „Beyond Part 2 (PS-X), VF Kids ih (N64), Alien Trilogy (PS-X), (SS), Die Hard Trilogy (SS), Jumping Flash 2 (PS-X), Crash Madden NFL 97 (PS-X), Bandicoot (PS-X), Ultimate ` Andretti Racing (PS-X), MK MK3 (SS), Tokyo Highway Trilogy (PS-X), Tetris Attack Battle (PS-X) January 97 e Cover: Star Wars: Shadows _of the Empire Special Features: Shadows of the Empire Strategy Guide, | . Tomb Raider Play To STAR WARS Perfection, MK Trilogy T nou ™ Play to Perfection Secret Access: Nights (SS), Wipeout XL (PS-X), Pilotwings _(N64), NCAA GameBreaker _(PS-X), Twisted Metal 2 (PS-X), Project Overkill (PS-X), November 96 Cover: Tomb Raider: (PSK & SS) Preview: Star Wars: Shadows of Empire (N64) Fighting Vipers (SS) de N - (SNES), Super Mario 64 (N64) e Tip Card 30: NBA Hangtime e Tip Card 32: ° net Card 31: Virtua Fighter SË. X-Men Vs. Street Fighter y : AA ri October 96 `: 515 Se 96 August 96 Cover: Tobal No.1 (PS-X) Preview: Final Fantasy VII PS-X) 3 œ Cover: Crash Bandicoot (PS-X) Strategy Guide for Super Mario. 64 (N64) and Crash -e Cover: Super Mario 64 (N64) _¢ Pilot Wings 64 (N64) Preview: Turok: Dinosaur » Strategy Guide: Beyond the . Bandicoot (PS-X) Hunter (N64) Beyond Part 1 fr 1 Secrèt to Black Secret Access: Ultimate MK3 Secret Access: Spawn (SNES), 5 ie (PS- (PS-X), (SS), Shining Wisdom (SS), PO'ed (PS-X), Virtua Fighter Ultimate MK3 (SS), Toshinden Kids (SS), DKC2: Diddy's Remix (SS), Panzer Dragoon II. -Zwei (SS), Moves for Ultimate Toshinden Remix (SS). _MK3 (Arcade) Tip Card 29; Star Gladiator mm à ‘Tip Card 28: Fighting Vipers Magic Carpet(PS-X), Game Genie For Secret of Evermore (SNES) and Breath of _ Fire 2 (SNES) Tip Card 27: War Gods May 96 | ° Cover: Panzer Dragoon 2 Zwei e Special Features: Special Report From America Coin Machine Expo including War Gods and Virtua Fighter 3, Night Warriors moves guide Secret Access: Moves For X-Men (Saturn) and Zero”. Divide (PS-X), more codes for Earthworm Jim 2 (SNES/SG), Vectorman (SG), Game Genie codes for Toy. Story (SG) June 96 Cover: Tekken 2 Special Features: E3 Sneak .Preview, Resident Evil Cover: Legend of Oasis Special Features; Special E3 Report and a Super Mario _ RPG Strategy Guide Strategy Guide, The First Secret Access: Descent ppearance of Classic Gl Han 5 (PS-X), Clockwork Knight 2 TE NË . and GI P Oe ah (SS), Indy 500 (Arcade), épis Se me Park T a Chrono Trigger (Game Genie), AE (PS8 SS), Nightwarriors _ King’s Field (Game Shark) (SS), Alien Trilogy (PS-X), Tip Card 26: Street lumping Flash (PS-X), College Fighter Alpha 2 Slam (SNES) Tip Card 25: Open Ice e Tip Card 24: Killer Instinct 2 Other Issues Available: April 96 March 96 February 96 January 96 s December 95 e Cover: Super Mario RPG ° Cover: Resident Evil e Cover: Descent e Cover: Ultra 64 ¢ Cover: Toy Story e Special Features: Super ° Special Feature: Special + Ultra 64 Game Preview + Special Feature: Special. + Special Feature: Toy Mario RPG and Alien Moves Guide To e Strategy Guide for DKC2 -Nintendo 64 report Story Strategy Guide O Trilogy gamë overviews Toshinden 2 o Game informer's e Secret Access: Moves … + Secret Access: Secret F der Now e Secret Access: Cheats' ` ° Secret Access: ; 1995 Video Game * For Tekken Boss Codes for MK 3 (SNES, for Loaded (PS-X), Sega Vectorman (SG), Virtua Awards Characters Genesis, & PSK), Moves 1 6 12 9 46- 7 266 Rally (Saturn), Hidden Fighter 2 (SS), Toy Story -* Secret Access; Madden (PS-X), WarHawk Guide for Namco's Characters for SF Alpha (SNES & SG), NBA Live 96 (SG), Twisted Metal Passcodes (PSX), and Tekken (PS-X) (Part 1), (Saturn), Cheats for “96 (SG & SNES), Doom (PS-X), NFL. GameDay Earthworm Jim Special Panzer Dragoon (SS), i : DKC2 (SNES), (PSX) (PS-X),. Wipeout (PS-X) Edition (Sega CD) NBA Jam TE (PS-X) a nti e Tip ay ds “ Tip Card 22: Samurai e Tip Card 21: e Tip. Card 20: King of e Tip Card 19: aves ER lesue posts 96.88 (which eindes shipping Super Heroes Shodown 3 Ultimate MK3 Fighters '95 WWF WrestleMania. . and handling). You can order them by phone with a credit | ada në i ; card at (612)946-7266 or you can send a check or November 95 ‘October 95. September 95 August 95 “July 95 : der* to: e Cover: Donkey Kong e Cover: Mortal Kombat 3 + Cover: Killer Instinct e Cover: Lunar: Eternal . “e Cover: Adven. of Batman MONEY, OF Ora Country 2: Diddy's Kong. . (home versions) (SNES) Blue (Sega CD) . and Robin (Genesis) as: A Quest (SNES) * Strategy Guide for * Strategy Guide for ° Kë Guide for. … .e Strategy Guide for Game Informer Magazine e Strategy Guide for pë MK3 — all standard Killer Instinct Judge Dredd’ : || Adven. of Batman. Attn: Back Issues . Most of the secret levels . moves, fatalities, o Strategy Guide for + Secret Access: Compete . and Robin: Basic > and DK Coins friendships, babalities, WeaponLord (SNES & listof moves, skill Strategies for all four 10120 West 76th Street e News about the and animalities Genesis) (Part 1) moves, and power … -levels (Genesis) Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Amusement and Music . e Strategy Guide for e Secret Access: Complete , combos for all characters + Feature: Electronic ‘Operator's Association WeaponLord (SNES & list of Hills for Eternal. in Eternal Champions Entertainment Expo 95 “Make checks payable to Game Informer Magazine . e Tip Card 18: Tekken 2 Genesis) (Part 2) Champions. CD. ' Sega CD. e Tip.Card 14: Tekken < ; ; ¢ Tip Card 17: Street e Tip.Card 16: Street e Tip Card 15: Tekken (Part 1) Fighter Alpha Fighter: The Movie (Part 2) a Game Informer w April ‘OF www. gameinformer.com m Size: 3 CD-ROMS m Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game m Special Features: 9 Playable Characters, Full-Motion Video Sequences, Computer Generated Backgrounds, Long Involved Storyline, Mini Arcade Games, 5 Different Modes of Transportation, Over 100 Enemies, and Memory Card Required m Created by: Square m Available: Now in Japan, September 7th For U.S. Sony PlayStation 32 www.gameinformer.com very linear. But trust us on this one, it is just the beginning. After you escape from Midgard, which is no easy task, the game takes on the standard, less-linear, Final Fantasy set-up, with a world map covered with different cities and sites. Exploration is done in one or two different modes. Inside a city the graphics are displayed with pre-rendered backgrounds and polygonal characters. While this may sound like a..strange combination, Square pulls it off quite well. The pre-rendered backdrops feg re moving pries to die Fe tothe are aand all dh limit break, standard spell, or summons. Of course, the summons : spells are the end all, be all, of any Fin ntasy game, and Final Fantasy VIl is no exception. informer April ‘97 IN takes 4 touch of melodrama from uil of od unexplainable. - To help vou explore the sun of | transportation. From an a -whee rious arcade and action sequences that are interspersed throughout the quest, i snowboarding adventure, there are numerous sequences that require some serious action skills. Ultimately, Final Fantasy VII is the greatest RPG ever made. With outstanding graphics, a great story, exciting battles, and more surprises than a cornered woodchuck, this game is the pinnacle of video entertainment. While it may be tempting to buy the import version of this game, we advise you to wait to see what surprises the American version has in store. M NE SAPI rome inte 91d u DIA Seo D pe vi ER ah ane Ee x ie cc JË aid : ko am e së vetore. com NOOSE gjest: ‘ au Es my. ass 3 A F0 0 Eggs" SHAFT sassy. ENE NOOS EE se] SASSY ES) ER FEE EDE PUADYE f Mo P SN si E i SAN SHAFT = DATA ET si H || | NOOSE gett | as = SHAFT -518 618 a EN : Ga NOOS E rr Pin is n ta UN NOOSE SHAFT SASSY KOJA: PRET HAE À AGE T VEPAFISN . In typical RPG. _ fashion, ‘battles are turn-based. . ~ However, the action is rather frenzied, | ) FF3, when you can play the — game in timed mode. In this mode, the. _ player can’t go through the menus “until it's his/her turn. And then, how fast you input your command wil determine how quickly your character reacts. In the beginning of the game “ the characters only have a couple of “menu choices including item usage and attacking, but as you work your “way through the game you find a special item know as Materia. These jewellike items are placed on your armor and weapons, granting the characters special powers. Some Materia give you magic spells and summons, others give you the ability to attack multiple enemies or uncover your enemy's hit points. Speaking of enemies, FF7 has hundreds of them. Each new area features new baddies, as well as huge bosses (and we do mean huge). Some of the enemy characters even have multiple attack zones. But perhaps the best part of all the attacks is the number of animations. All the characters, friend or foe, have multiple attacks and lots of spells. Another unique feature to Final # Fantasy Vlls battle system is each -character’s limit break. This meter, which increases every time a _ character is hit, is in a sense, the | players rage meter And once a character loses his or her temper, it’s time to let loose a deadly limit break attack. Every character's attack is different and there are four different levels of limit breaks with 2 attacks each. Limit breaks are fantastic for evening the odds. www.gameintormer.com AERITH This magic-user may lack some o Let us introduce you to the virtual actors in Final Fantasy. The game starts with Cloud and Barett inside Midgard, but as the game advances you’ll meet many interesting characters along the way. Here is quick look at each of them. com 39 | inl, any Descent title is a solid game. The levels are somewhat complicated, and bosses and enemies put up a ight. The real question is, did eat the first one? if you did, d the kind of time and to beat this game or may not want to do you didn't, Descent lum might be a good place rt, because it isn't quite as complicated as the first game, but it is still challenging. While | do -recommend this game to hard-core first-person fanatics, | want to make sure that everybody understands that this game is not for everyone. If ‘too many buttons’ or ‘what does this card do?’ are part of your gaming vocabulary, you definitely want to steer clear.” Game Proressor : “The PlayStation Descent will Concari s always be overshadowed by the Graphics: 9.25 excellent PC versions, and although this is basically the second PC Sound: 8 nou pos did dk over- auls to make this version shine on Playability: 8.76 ' PS-X. The mhes Par to oe a itte more compact than the PC'S, ar ii but they are still loaded with tons of secret rooms and switches. Screen shots do not really do this game justice. The textures and lighting give you really impressive 3D environments. Not only is this a killer one-player game, but the combat mode is easily the best link game available. Anyone who enjoys first-person shooters should pick this game up.” AGING GAMER 3 “In the same vein as Carnage Caent a Heart, Descent Maximum has been Graphics: 8.75 released to impress an extremely small majority of PlayStation Sound: 8.75 geisers, primarily des na 3 lemand complexity over the ease o Playability: 9.25 Pa But in the si Descentis . oth easy to man and entertaining. ok 8.70 The disorientation that occurs within each and every level is something to behold, and the new levels and the addition of the Guide Bot, which can be programmed to respond to your needs, make this sequel even more enjoyable than the original. Descent Maximum is not for the weak of heart, but mainly for those who want a merciless simulator that brings the action of space combat to life.” Shadow of the Disomented j Interplay originally believed that the PlayStation version of Descent would be just as popular as the PC offering. They even loaded their warehouse full with thousands of copies to ensure that no one would have a hard time finding one. Well, at the time, the PlayStation was growing enormously, but the consumers that bought the unit picked it up to play MK3, or some kind of fighting or sports title, not a complicated first-person war simulator. So Interplay is to this day stuck with an abundant amount of Descent, but that didn’t stop them from giving those who live off games like this another shot. Thus, Descent Maximum is upon us with a handful of new features and the oh-so-familiar disorienting gameplay. While this ‘Maximum’ offering is basically the same as Descent 2 for the PC, a few things have been added and taken out as well. The new options are mainly level upgrades, but for a Descent junkie this is all that's needed. Descent Maximum is in a way easier to understand than the original offering. Parallax Software added a new Guide Bot feature, which on certain levels will help you find keys, power-ups, and whatever you command it to find. The mission objectives are basically the same. Once again, you'll need to either destroy a reactor or boss (which there are more of), and then find the exit before the whole mine blows. Solid control is the key to success in this game, and luckily, Interplay has kept the user configure option in the game. Finding a suitable controller configuration will help ease the burden of being completely out of control on a new level. Most of the time you'll find yourself in a state of disorientation, you don't know what is up and what is down. Descent Maximum is a surprise to all of us since Descent sold so poorly, but we love the game, and we hope that this time around you'll come and see how much fun it can be. Plus, it's one of the few games left to still use the prehistoric (or thought to be so) Sony Link cable. z 1 CD-ROM AU -Player First-Person Action (2-Player With Link) i 3: New Guide Robot Helper, More treacherous Enemies and Weapons, Headlight Power- Up, New FMV Cinematics, Controller Configure, Link-Up ja Cooperative or Combat Play Parallax Software for Interplay : Now for Sony PlayStation THE BOTTOM LINE == It’s the YF-22. No, it's the _ YF-23. Wait a minute... Player Shooter ures: 10 Different Enemy Ships and Featured in the © ID wasn't exactly the premier plot or storyline of the year. Despite this, the movie was immensely enjoyable. While the special effects were downright mindboggling, they vveren't enough to justify the sublime experience of listening to the President's speech just before the final battle. Maybe it was because instead of speaking for the unlikely prospect of world unity through peace, he was talking about the idea of NON UOREISAEIA N N N Somewhere on this Him level is a shameless _ Fox Interactive sign. < maybe I can take i Euro Disney with me. pin di As at if pj Pe tee SARA | } i t rd ‘RE nuni Ri world unity through kicking butt, something all = on me fe members of the human species have enjoyed aaj Ed, VEER Ee L considerably throughout history. Suddenly we eet ete BË ale GIE could all kick the butt of something that wasn't À ëtyçjëst ER ti human vvithout getting the animal rights activists after us. Herein lies the basic premise of Independence Day, the game. Kill the aliens. Other than basic “shooter” skills, the only strategy that makes a difference in the game is which aliens you kill first. In some levels you will want to destroy all the cannons on the saucer and then take out the ground artillery before moving on to the mission objectives. While all of the levels but one take place under Gap REK : tE It's Moscow. You can! …, tell because of those = big golden things. cks the | RE into Më — a saucer, each one has its own specific objectives y g LE that need to be met before you can go in for the the level. Se 4 i J final kill by launching rockets at the central doomsday weapon. Whether it’s destroying force | field generators or taking out enemy “ground 4 sweepers’ intent on finishing off the populace, the 7 | last part of the mission is always the same. Take out the alien city-destroyer and head home to those kids you love. | Fortunately, as the levels get nastier you will | acquire new planes. Each level has a hidden icon representing a new type of plane that you will be | _ able to use. If a plane gets destroyed, you will lose | | access to it for the rest of the game. Lose all the | | planes and the game is over. We recommend holding back the YF-22 and YF-23 for the most challenging levels. On the final level, which takes place in the interior of the alien mothership, you will have access to the alien fighter craft, or the F- 117 stealth fighter. | BOCEY HAS LOCK ME Lum | That's a big ship. In fact, you never see TROY 4 JON, THE GREEDY GAMER ANDY, THE GAME HOMBRE REINER, THE RAGING GAMER “As far as movies go, ID4 was alright. As Concent: 35 “As it stands, l'm clearly the only one in “The movie ID4 was a rather uninspire Concept: 5 far as games go. ID4 dee some me the office who Ni impressed by the Concept: in your face ue dk horribly writte eed First off, the last thing the world neede ing: movie, so maybe there was a chance ice: action scenes masked by high budget | dupe À 4 was another plane game that is — me that | would take a liking to the game as Graphics ds special effects. As goes the movie, so! Sound: 7 unrealistic with extremely shallow Sound: 7 well. Sorry, but this translation does 7 goes the video game. There's nothing | gameplay. Shoot the turret...shoot down nothing for me, primarily because the terribly exciting about repeating similar Playahility: 5 ten planes...yawn! Overall, | guess the Playability: 5.75 gameplay heckles you with monotony. It E Playability: 7.5 missions over and over. Sweep the graphics are pretty good, but | think ; appears that all the attention to detail bottom of the spaceship, focus on Entertainment: 5 you'd have to be a pretty big ID4 fanto Entertainment: 4.25 went straight to the level designs and Entertainment: 5.5 ground targets, knock out the main power source. The only thing worse than the mission repetition is the length. This is a short game, and though the two-player adds a little in terms of play value, | can't see playing this game for more than a few days. Not to mention that, unlike the movie, there are no great special effects to hide behind.” really want to play through this game. not into the plane physics or gameplay. Im not, so I won't!” Engrossing it is not, and all | can say is that this title could very well amuse youngsters for hours upon end, since the game itself is amazingly easy and straight forward. This is à disappointment indeed, but really, could a game based off this movie be any better?" eres April 97 > Y S w Size: 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1-Player Fishin’ m Special Features: Trollin' Motor, Underwater View Toggle, Three Bass Species, Nuisance Fish, Concept: 7 ‘Whenever | think about Hot-B's bass fishin’ games | always get a i Graphics: 7.5 warm spot right in my gut. Since Variable Weather, Private Lake Available for Es their inception, every game they vë Stocking, Three Cast Styles With Cast Meter, | ~ ce Sound: 7 a ” been e Hs to Tips From Bass Pro Hank Parker i RE a, . play. Unfortunately, | think they i dha by: Hot-B N + I Playability: 6.5 missed the boat on this one. While i the graphics are much improved m Avallable: Now for the Sony PlayStation Entertainment: 6.5 over their previous versions, Tm N E ~ e- oad l really disappointed with the play > THE Borrom LINE VA 25. © < The private lake can serve “EET. ERALL: in this one. Yes, it is fun, but the en aiuda le Bah hohavior ` , excitement that the other games PlayStation Re Each ho. like ants to a picnic Daske, aan "n of anxious fishermen descend upon fhe lakes, rivers and reservoirs of this nation. The months of cleaning tackle boxes and watching videos are finally over. It’s opening day, time to test your skills against America’s most popular sporifish - the bass! But you're not alone. | is time around, Hank Parker, that inveterate angler, is by your side with hints, tips, and advice. With a list of hits including Bassin's Black Bass and > uper Black Bass, Hot-B is the undisputed ruler of home fishin’ games. Their newest game, Big Bass World | ) Championship for the Sony PlayStation draws heavily from these previous games. The object is “to win both amateur tournaments, then enter into the two day, two lake pro tournament. During this two day event, players will not be able to save ~ until the end of the second day, making for a long nd difficult two days of fishin’. In these last two akes, players Will need to average about twenty | terme 8. 5 offer is gone. Without the tension meter, reelin’ in a fish consists of pushin’ and holdin’ a button until the fish finally gives up. Your line hardly ever snaps, and pullin’ in the mack daddy doesnt give the feelin’ of accomplishment that it did before. If you must play 32-bit fishin’ this is the only way to go, but my advice is that you stick with Bassin: s Black Bass on SNES.” g ‘lve been a fan of Hot-B's fishin games since their first game 7.75 appeared on the NES, so | couldn't wait to get the line wet with this 6 newest installment. There are plenty of great features such as the castin’ options, private lake for your best hawgs, and an underwater view. The basics of learnin' the lakes and findin” the hot spots haven't really changed, but the actual fishin’ is not up to par with the 16-bit games. At times, the graphics bog down the LL inne — i pay ari the mowa 4 E now ene e F relied upon too much. | also foun One of the new options is a casting meter. Fans of 0, that the boat seems too large for the golf games will immediately recognize the three tap lakes. | always had the sense | cast, determining distance, height and accuracy. A large was castin' across the entire lake. | tackle box is available, and every lure can be switched would recommend you test these pounds a fish, or in other words, a livewell, AN ACTE | OVERALL: pus of one hundred pounds. f ei | | waters before purchase." “im more han pr an avid fisherman. | live for fishin’, and boy, love fishin’ video games. But | ih — m or e a few problems, a few big shitës, and vjeathër patterns. a “8.5 problems with Hot-B’s latest Rarely will more than one lunker be found in a pë _ title. First, its not much of an, given area. Once you catch that big one, take nanë provement over the 16-bits, and f lerë Onr loring +S Entertainment. 7 tin’ the fish is actually lamer. or new waters. Only by exploring'ine enti Also, on the new platform, couldn't will the biggest bass be found. After each tourna- Hot-B have included nettin’ the fish, ment, livewells can be emptied into a ,, i tackle upgrades, larger lakes, line i i „mishaps, trollin riftin, coolout- … private hawg lake. The big bass can be tagged, i oe. apet WA Phos a didn't pr | and the date and time altered: invorder to studyo “sui 1 the results are disappointin’ va VA Jese ne because [ve been waitin’ for this game forever. Another complaint is, the, load, time, changin’.,lures 1 | Championship D appears to be in real-time. Not CSS adventure you won't want to m ROB sheet, a gawani game i i iam N EP ae ; ; nonetheless, . ZE www.gameinformer.com Game A A "April O7 Developed by: MW Parallax LICE Software Interplay Website: www.interplay.com PlayStation i ih All New Addictio 36 All-New levels exclusively for the PlayStation game console, never-before-seen in any Descent. a a for PlayStation Console Gamers. a“ aa F YT High-impact, non-stop subterranean action dèsigned specifically YT New throbbing "stroboscopic" light source shading effects brings the intensity right in-your-face. ST More than a dozen weapons of devastation, from double-damage cannons to Level 6 Lasers. ited, updated, and super-charged in his » latest, and the final release of Descent for the PlayStation game console. Experience the thrills of upgraded weapons, faster reaction time and never- before-seen levels and you'll know why this one is called MAXIMUM. Your latest addiction includes brand new levels, a crafty robot helper and enough ammo to broil every robot invader that's gunning for you. The action comes faster and hotter (no PC installation delays) in this all-new version designed especially for PlayStation game console fanatics who just want to plug-in and play! We mean 360” fluid movement — any direction, any time, at full speed. Use Sony's Analog Joystick for more enhanced control. F Grab a Link Cable and go from One-player to Two-player Anarchy Levels. = Y Metal pounding digital soundtrack takes your sensory input past all safety zones. | cent is coming to the PlayStation game console. So go down for the last time in p, laser-blazing underworld you got hooked on known as Descent. After this, the only t ak # m ake e rina AE PlayStation | À A | ' me > at Full Throttle! © 1997 Parallax Software. All rights reserved. Descent, Maximum and Interplay are trademarks of Interplay Productions. All rights reserved. P on and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. = agit gë ' 5 a n the world of the Internet, speed is not measured by miles per hour but by bauds per second. And if video game web pages were cars, gameinformer com would be a Ferrari. We're talking fast ~ not loaded down by heavy graphics that leave you stalled in traffic. Game Informer’s web site is quick, responsive, easy to handle. It’s loaded with the latest video game happenings including up to the minute gaming news. Brought to you by the same team of gaming experts as Game Informer magazine, gameinformer.com delivers the best and most respected gaming info in the industry, MAGAZINE GI News = Dear GI # Secret Access m Reviews m Previews m Play to Perfection I : 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1 or 2-Player Naval Combat u r : 15 Special Weapons re Anti- Aircraft Guns, F14s, and Cruise Missiles, Special Defenses, Arcade and Campaign Modes, Numerous Missions, Eight Different Ships (Nine if You Include the Whale) y: Electronic Arts | e: Now for Sony PlayStation Each ship = different strengths. As a whale you must seek revenge. Here, you must destroy the enemy’s Super Sub prototype. In the Arcade mode, choose any ship-to-ship matchup. Each enemy commander has _ a different style. Use the main map to plan your strategy. Abandon ship! E GREEDY GAMER launched from the home harbor. n Aag de mans in Ship-to-ship combat. For enemy's s He Therefore, carefu planned groupings a and attacks are e essential to victory. In the Arcade mode, players choose a ship and enter immediately into combat. The goal is to acquire points and increase your leac jership class. This lso a good place to practice before entering the Campaign mode. In the o j are are ten missions to choose from. | Within these missions, there are up to five enemy commanders who differ in style and tactics. In i the two-player ‘War Game mode, the idea is similar, except each player can create and edit his/her own fleet of ships. Depending upon the objective, players may wish to have more „destroyers, more patrol boats, etc. Although players have numerous ships in their fleet, combat always involves one ship versus another. This takes place on the battle screen. Each ship has two weapons of attack and one defensive maneuver. Plus, most ships also have a special attack and special defense. Understanding these specials is crucial to victory. Players who enjoy a mix of action and strategy, or who enjoy naval combat, should keep an eye out for EA's " Battlestations. — Pau, THE GAME PROFESSOR > THE BOTTOM LINE Game Informer s April '97 vvvvvv.gameinformer.com view tation Pre ie De ea ate BUTHELS g Dacia t Saxo an avo. HY EN SE ES STARTERS Më € E 5 5 m Size: 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1 or 2-Player Baseball m Special Features: Full MLB and MLBPA License, Authentic Stadiums, Pitcher Fatigue, All Star Voting, Player Trading, Complete Season and Play-Offs, Multiple Camera Views, Four Uniforms for Each Team w Created by: VR Sports/Interplay m Available: April for Sony PlayStation he inaugural year of VR Sports was considerably poor in unit sales and gaming attention, but this didn’t keep Interplay down. This year they are ready and raring to go. The first VR title to be introduced is stated by Interplay themselves to be the flagship out of this year’s line-up. The game is VR Baseball ‘97. Originially planned for release last year, Interplay went back to the drawing board and completely redesigned the entire game to try and capture all the fans’ attention to America’s favorite pastime. Beating out EA and Sega is a hard thing to do when it comes to baseball, but Interplay is giving it their best, and from what we've seen, we have to admit that the changes are drastic and will surely turn the heads of all baseball enthusiasts. VR Baseball ‘97 features the complete MLB and MLBPA licenses, plus all the stadiums and a few that are hidden, like the old Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. New features range from four team uniforms spread through- out home, away, practice, and alternate jerseys, to a season mode consisting of a complete schedule for ‘97, All-Star voting, massive statis- tic tracking, and a trade player option. In gameplay, certain things have been simplified, as shown with the lead-off and run button being changed to the shift buttons. Pitchers will have realistic fatigue; they'll run out of juice late in the game; and only the best will survive. Other enhancements include slower and more realistic gameplay, thousands of ball variables, and authentic stadium announcers who warn fans about running into the field and provide concession stand recommendations. VR Baseball ‘97 doesn’t have the expansion teams in it yet, but Interplay plans to update the rosters all the way through the last week of code, which means that they should be in there. Will VR be the king of baseball this year and secure the pennant? Only time will tell. A Race to Save the Children m Size: 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1-Player Isometric Adventure m Special Features: Twenty Motion Captured Characters, Eight Camera Angles, ltem Inventory, Thirty Locations With One Hundred Painted Backgrounds, Over Two Dozen Cinematic Sequences m Created by: Psygnosis m Available: Now for Sony PlayStation JON, THE GREEDY GAMER former » April ' à Psygnosis purchased the rights to publish a video EE Vaseffer at them. If you domt watch: out. The concept of captured or enslaved children is nothing new to the world of the big screen. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Temple of Doom both dealt with this frightening fantasy. The City of Lost Children borrows from this familiar theme, but this time the evil villain, Krank, is stealing children in order to possess their dreams. Jean-Pierre Junet and Marc Caro are the creators of the obscure but popular French movie. Set somewhere between Oliver Twist and a fairy tale from The Brothers Grimm, The City of Lost Children is one story you’ll never forget. Following up on the success of the movie, game translation.” Never before has” there been a game AS true to its movie “ predecessor. The gamë is laden with tiny | details from the movie. During certain \seenes, the camera angle is identical to that in the movie. The items, artifacts, | and char acters are ee a néar perfect translation, E À MAS) Miette, our soal | is to work | through the levels in order to.obtain the map and compass that will allow you to travel to the island and. defeat, the evil Krank. You ` will be helped by One, a circus strongman. “Though not a playable character, One »_ appears in numerous ‘cinematic sequences, “and, even assists you by. king an evil ‘watchman. The City of Lost Children relies on numerous rendered cinematics to fill in — missing parts of the story. __ : + Gameplay is an interesting mix of “point, and click and action/adventure. Items can be carried, used, and dropped. Theresa ' conversation button, a crouch button, and à riin button. Objects can, be difficult to locate, and only through a keen sense of purpose nd strategy will the player know which objects to use and where to usë” you don't think through the plot, then The City of Lost Children is one game you could definitely get lost within.” | www.gameinto ony Interactive Studios has gained notoriety by developing simulations that revolve around traditional sports like basketball, football, and hockey. Although Sony has gained a solid following in racing with their non-traditional Extreme Games series, Rally Cross is their first attempt at motor sports. A racing style made popular by legendary off- roader Ivan Stewart, Rally Cross mixes the bumps, jumps, and closed circuits of moto- cross with the changing terrain, surfaces, and vehicles of rally racing. Graphically, Rally Cross is filled with rich artwork and ingenious course designs. Besides the racing surroundings, Sony has incorporated an impressive physics model to the 18-plus vehicles that can be acquired throughout the game. Each of the four-wheel drive vehicles bounce, jostle, and launch into the air in reaction to the ever-changing terrain. Take a turn too wide and the car will pop onto two wheels or go into an uncontrollable roll. Mix in some mud, sand, snow, water, and ice, and it will take precision control to drive your machine to first place. Maneuvering the car involves some standard controls that are found in most racing titles. Gas, brake, and shifting options (including reverse) are the basics, but Rally Cross also has controls for rocking the car. Using the L and R shoulder buttons (or other configurations) shifts the center of gravity on the vehicle and is crucial in making speedy turns and keeping the car off its roof. However, if you happen to make a mistake and your car ends up on its topside, using the rocking buttons will flip _ the car back on its wheels. o The bread and butter of the game is the season mode. Successfully completing the series of races that make up a season will open up new courses and vehicles. The preliminary rookie season gives access to the first eight of the 18 vehicles and three of the courses. Winning the rookie season will then give you another track and six additional cars that can be used in the veteran season. Winning the veteran season will open the remaining two tracks and six pro vehicles. The season game can be played in normal mode with races consisting of a pack of four cars, head-on mode with a car racing in either direction, suicide mode with all three opponents racing in the opposite direction as the player, or mixed mode which is a grab bag of the other modes. There are a number of off-road racing games for the PlayStation, but none come close to Rally Cross. If you're in the mood for some mud-slingin’, four-wheelin’ action for one, two or four-players, then look no further. Rally Cross’ action, speed, and jumps would make the Iron Man proud. Game informer ` April ‘97 | ands ost mines alpine | Concogt: “After finally wrestling this game need to take out a car or two along Wow! The track configurations, the cars, the suicide mode, the split- screen, there’s tons of gaming here. Being the first ‘in house’ racing game from Sony, | must tip my hat. Good job.” D THE Bottom LINE | Game Informer 1 April ‘97 ia aj fap foes The Rally Cross Graphics: amer, | sat down and gave it a . p ) good long play. First of all, this game Sound: 8.5 is so much fun. Once you start to appreciate the depth of play-control Playability: 8.75 and car physics, the races become easier. But don't get me wrong; this Entertainment: 9 is a tough game, and to win you'll the way. And talk about options... Concept: 8.75 Graphics: 9,5 Sound: 8.5 Playability: 8.78 Entertainment: 9 “You always know you've got a 4 classic pane on your ngë when oot a you dont care whatsoever - | about finishing first or beating it. he nie completely, but rather how many “ Sound: 8.5 massive wrecks you can get into. Rally Cross has everything going for — Playability: 9.25 it. The track designs are dynamic, the graphics and vehicle physics are Entertainment: 9.25 as close to real as they can get, and . the challenge requires a master’s © touch. It's the perfect blend of Ridge Racer and Destruction Derby. You'll need to learn the techniques for power sliding, and you'll also be required to cheat and knock other — cars out of the race early. All racing © titles should have the kick-your- opponent-in-the-face feeling that Rally Cross delivers.” www.gameinformer.com “This game is a mix of Destruction Derby 2 and Ridge Racer. One of the best features of Rally Cross is the jumps. A little slip-up in the direction of the car means some crazy airborne action. The varying course configurations and changing surfaces make the races very challenging. The rocking buttons also add quite a lot to the dynamics of the races. I'd have to say the two- player is well done, but don't go out of your way to try the four-player game unless you already have the set-up. Otherwise, the outstanding animation and superb control ranks Rally Cross with the likes of Ridge Racer and WipeOut. A must have for racing game fanatics.” m Size: 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1 or 2-Player 3D Cyber Sport/Action m Special Features: 2-Player Split-Screen or Link Play, Eight Playable Characters, Customizable and Upgradable Vehicles, Four Arenas, Multiple Camera Views, Statistic Tracking and Player Ranking, Tournament and Freeplay m Created by: LucasArts Entertainment m Available: Second Quarter for Sony PlayStation Back With a Vengeance n 1985 Ball Blazer made its formal appearance on the Commodore 64 and garnered awards and accolades for its multi- player options and its revolutionary cyber sports gameplay. Now, thanks to LucasArts and the backing of 32-bit PlayStation power, Ball Blazer has returned with a vengeance from its twelve year absence. Ball Blazer Champions is a state-of-the-art cyber sports game that will more than likely manifest a huge following, because once again LucasArts has included the best multi-player options available. It appears that LucasArts is one of the few companies around the world that really understands what multi-player gameplay is all about. Players can compete in either the 2-player split-screen or through the use of the \ PlayStation Link, making for one heck of a bout. The > gameplay itself is revolutionary and only comparable to Studio 3D0's Battle Sport. The object is similar to hockey and soccer as the playing field is equipped with two goals at each end of the field. The cyber portion of this game comes from the players themselves. Each team consists of only one player who mans the helm of a huge hovercraft that is equipped with radar, weapons, and fuel. The basics of the game are easy, grab the Plasmorb and shoot for the goal. The difficulty of the game is that it relies solely on the competition. There are eight teams total and the vehicles for each are completely different with varying stats. Some will be good for defense and others for offense. Gameplay can either be played through Freeplay or the Tournament, which requires you to beat all eight teams by winning 2 out of 3 rounds. The champion will receive the much coveted Master Blazer title. Plus, throughout the Tournament, you'll be able to customize your vehicle, add upgrades, and view stats and player rankings. Four arenas, eight hungry competitors, and unique gameplay head LucasArts’ march for cyber sports game of the year. It found a home on the Commodore and maybe it will find the same smashing fame on the PS-X. Let’s wait and see. es 4 E w ap N MAA VAR veeg ES EE See Game Informer s April ‘97 50 www.gameinformer.com Se ER LASER LENS CLEANER përmi pns Bs by lige lag simplifies the procedure, For pas in ali CD players I = ACADAPTER FOR — High-quality honto || i cD SA NES eae a WA CLEANING SOLUTION AND GAME GEAR / “sre GEAR". and | GAMEGEAR GAME BEAR’ rocherger REGHARGER “es À GO V 134 FUN Cleaning kit. For use with SEGA® GEAR® game and … cartridges. mF oe EE or NSE NOK WG TG NIN V 137 FUN Cleaning kit for use with SEGA® GENESIS®. Cleans game unit and cartridges. Other Recoton game care, maintenance and replacement products that meet or exceed original specifications and UL / CSA safety approvals. V135 FUN Cleaning kit for use with NINTENDO® system and cartridge. V136 FUN Cleaning system for use with GAME BOY® & cartridges. V139 FUN Game cleaner for use SUPER NINTENDO® V350 Game switch for use wuth NINTENDO® V354 AC Power adapter replacement for use with SEGA@GENESIS@ ® V477 AC Power adapter replacement for use with GAME BOY® V479 AC Power adapter replacement for use with NINTENDO @ | V483 AC Power adapter replacement for use with SUPER NINTENDO@_ 2950 Lake Emma Road, Lake Mary,FL 32746 © Copyright 1996.Recoton Corp. New York, NY 10022. All rights reserved. All specifications subject to change without notice. m Size: 1 CD-ROM m Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure m Special Features: Play as Two Characters at Once, 3 Characters, Heavy Puzzle Oriented Gameplay, Memory Card Save, 3 Camera Views 1. m Created by: Riverhill Soft for Electronic Ars —€ (EA is Doing the Translation) _ || Avaliable: May for Sony PlayStation Pipo tries to be cuter than Catwalk of the future! A horrible secret is revealed in this room. It's a jat I m smart. | know these things. more than pa to be a ventilation somewhere... Electronic Arts made a pretty smart move | porting this title over to the States. i All that needs to be said in order for UA to go 6 — y A bonkers over it is that the oe | is a lot like The sab themselves are pë rel He Eina in death. Possible deaths include ne o k 4 sucked ing shocked to death, and ek crushed 7 heavy objects. The Key Another big difference es h Re take on things. The game begins when cryogenic chamber that has malfunctione ain character, awakens from a his way out. As the game progresses he WWW. gamento com nt of Sierra’ s a AE quest games on the PC and occasional console release Most of the gme Evil and Overblood is the overall feel of the story. While both plots are somewhat grim, Overblood has more of a Sci-Fi _ is pa jd like Re sident He has total amnesia, is deep within 4 a research center that’s been severely d aged by an earthquake, and must find _ arns that he has a “rang disease that —C Ugh!! What a disgusting outfit. This looks like a job for the fashion police! shade of green. As sense of den grows when he is attacked by a crazy monster freak thi that has the same colo in, vujt all over its er whose full story is revealed as the game goes on. Many of . Ived by switching between characters. At one gates at a compute Overblood is defini be pretty interesting. you have absolutely no idea what they vil dojn së ing Commarëtr is in an elite class of its own and has received unprecedented _praise and respect through all four of its blockbuster releases. It is no fluke that the series has won a loyal following, mainly because two cult heroes, Mark Hamill (Corvette Summer and Star Wars) and Malcom McDowell (Star Trek: Generations and Clockwork Orange) have béen the big stars in the last two installments. For sci-fi and space dreamers, there is nothing in the industry that delivers a fictional space soap opera like Wing Commander. The newest installment, Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom, is the biggest and best * * offering yet. Origin installed a ten million dollar budget for this mammoth project, and after selling well on the "PC, it now makes its way to the console and you. Chris Roberts, the creator of this series, obviously has a vision similar to Babylon 5 and Star Wars. The goal througlall of these games has been to incorporate the biggest space battle ever into your television. Until recently, technology has held Origin back from accomplishing this, but now through the magic of * special effects, FMV, and solid space simulator controls, you will encounter the most deadly assassins in the galaxy who harness the deadliest weapon known to man. It’s up to you to stop them. è You assume the role of Mark Hamill’s character throughout the entire game. At times during the FMV footage you'll be required to make certain decisions for Mark. For example, you can either be friendly to the new rookie on base, or tell him off. The decision you choose will alter the rest of the” game, diid the path, you lead. All the battles in Wing Commander IV require that you man some kind of vehicle. New to the series, you'll now be able to cruise planets and participate in spy missions where you'll need to take pictures of certain factories and such. The controls for the game are configurable to your liking, but in a sense are the same as part Ill. The graphics have jumped a light year ahead and have been drastically improved. This applies to the animation and frame rate of the vehicles as well. You'll no longer see them right side up, and then a second later completely upside down. Instead, you'll see them spin. This is a huge game chock full of action and drama, and we’re sure fans of Star Wars and Star Trek will love this game. Hey, it has actors from both universes in here. Collectors, go get it! Game Informer April ‘97 . m Size: 4 CD-ROMs sm Style: 1-Player Space Simulator m Special Features: Starring Mark Hamil and Malcom McDowell, Multiple Mission Objectives Including Ground Assaults, Several Camera Views, Exciting FMV Clips With Multiple Gameplay Choices andiPaths m Created by: Origin ” m Available: Now for Sony PlayStation > THE Bottom LINE J, 75 TE ig ER AE “It goes without saying that the Wing Concent: 13, Commander series is very well Graphics: 8 produced and features some of the most amazing video sequences Sound: 7 ever in a video game, as well as a a gripping storyline. The problem | Playability: 7.3 have with WC.4 is that the missions are rather boring. So boring in fact, E that the storyline cant keep my interest up enough to make me wants OVERALL: to finish’ this one. If you're a Ang Commander nut, this game will appease you, but otherwise there are better games.” , 7 g ‘An epic struggle of Hollywood and Canco! interactive entertainment, Wing Graphics: 8.75 Commander IV has a star studded cast that greatly overshadows the * Sound: 9 a ie ‘Granted, the abundance o has great acting Playability: and a number of plot twists, but the Entertainment: 6 actual missions take a long time to l get going. | don't enjoy waiting through a load of FMV for the game OVERALL: to give me a challenge. It's annoying as well as boring. This game has a great look that will appeal to all who. have played the previous versions, «but | prefer the last installment with its less forceful use of FMV.” të 8 ‘While this game comes off a little Gone dy old fashioned and out of date, “I Graphics: 8.75 have to admit that I am thoroughly impressed with what Origin has Sound: 8.5 done. | don't quite koon where the one ten million went in development, Playability: 8.75 ni I'm Ve i Pan is fairly q appy. Wing Commander IV is SAN lana 9 every bit as good as the third version, and battles such as the OVERALL: ground missions are drastically better. There is still a ton of 8 5 disorientationswhen in combat, and te E . it is still hard to keep an enemy in sight, but in the end, it isn't half bad. Wing Commander IV isn't all that | expected, but if definitely “ won't disappoint all sci-fi geek gamers out there!” : www.gameinformer.com i 53 Ax m Size: 2 CD-ROMS m Style: 1-Player Adventure m Special Feature: Quick and Simple Gameplay Interface, Rendered FMV Seguences, Minimal Load Time, Puzzles, and a Host of Townsfolk m Created by: Sega of Japan for Atlus m Available: Now for Sega Saturn name is Fred, but everyone e you conversation proceeds beyond your control. Exploring is done in Traveler. You've awakened inside a jail, first-person, a simple walking and turning style. The gameplay is ry. À man gives you a key, and tells you to find the remarkably smooth. With little to no load time, doors open the jail...enter the world of Lunacy. immediately into rooms, and movie sequences meld into the action. reamlike state, accompanied by sleepy music, it is Simple adventure strategies apply. Talk to everyone, get every the town and interact with its residents. Doctors, object you can, then figure out where and when to use them. When clock makers, and farmers can all be found. But there are two other you get stuck in Lunacy, the best strategy is to return to places you've mysterious people who appear. From them you learn that the evil Lord already been. This will inevitably trigger a new series of Gordon is playing with your mind, toying with your spirit. Unless you conversations. can escape to the City of Moons, it will be your destiny to forever Undoubtedly, Lunacy shows off the power of the Saturn. The serve the whimsical fancies of Lord Gordon. movie sequences are impressively smooth, and the lack of loading The best way to describe Lunacy is to say it's an interactive movie. time makes the game a pleasure to play. If you're looking for an Not just a point and click, half of the gameplay is composed of interesting and lengthy adventure without the point and click „rendered FMV sequences. The items are easy to locate, and nonsense, Lunacy just might be your ticket. REINER, THE RAGING GAMER JON, THE GREEDY GAMER PAUL, THE GAME PROFESSOR ‘Obviously, our blood curdling cries over ‘Lunacy is a good attempt at smoothing “Lunacy has just about driven me to LIS the banning of pointless FMV games Concept: 7 out the annoying problems of many of Concept: 5 lunacy. Although the 3D models and. 8.25 have not been heard. But nonetheless, … Graphics: gs "e adventure games out there. Notonly gegee: 8.5 animation are smooth and seamless, . Lunacy is upon us with very little to offer. is there no loading time, but the playing Lunacy is less enjoyable than . g It doesn't even feature the amazing Sound: 9.25 graphics really shine. All the rendered gang g channel surfing. It's like sitting home on | point and click technology that we love. FMV sequences are clear and detailed! a weekday afternoon and watching | Playability: 1.25 Instead, Lunacys gameplay is Playability; 7.75 with really cool voice-overs. Also, the Pjayahility: 3 soap operas. Click... lame story...click.... constructed of walking to a certain story is intriguing, and cruising around another lame story. Look, its a : Entertainment: 4 location and using an item from your Entertainment: 6 to the dream music can be quite Entertainment: 2 mysterious traveler and his name is inventory to trigger the next five minutes pi ee lei Fred? If you're into games like Myst, . : of story. The story is intriguing, but the à i you might like this game. lm not, so! | OVERALL: dialogue is vague and unimaginative. OVERALL: order to unlock items and OVERALL: will maintain a safe distance from — Even those folks out there who dig Myst conversations. This is a huge drawback Lunacy.” 5 and D will have a hard time finding since it takes away from the natural flow 5 x excitement within this lame excuse for a = of the story. Saturn owners who enjoy Myst-styled adventures will certainly enjoy Lunacy, but all others should probably stay away.” www.gameinformer.com 5 7 Game Informer “ April ‘97 game.” A fans who ditched ; 'ë VEN AA“ their old 16-bit systems for the Saturn can fulfill their 32-bit cravings for constant warfare at last. Once again, Saturn fans have had to wait a little bit longer than PlayStation owners for a dual- system game, but if Contra is what you’ve been waiting for, we think you'll find that an extra month is worth it. The new Contra features a choice of four characters. Each character can use the machine gun, flame thrower, or bomb, and each has two special weapons of their own. Characters with more powerful weapons move more slowly. This can be a decisive factor when faced with the constant assault of enemy canon fodder. The one thing that remains the same about this Contra is the gameplay. While focusing on more heavily armored enemies, lesser opponents will be coming from all directions. This makes things both challenging and extremely stressful at the same time. It’s hard to enjoy a new weapon when you realize that instead of leaning over the edge of death, you're merely looking over it. One thing Saturn fans should be happy about is that Contra for Saturn actually looks better than the PlayStation. The environments are a little sharper and the perspective shifts aren t quite as annoying as they were on the PS-X. Even the 3D mode, a pretty sad feature on the PS-X, seems to give the player a sense of depth that was lacking previously. Game Informer a April ‘97 1 CD-ROM : 1 or 2- -Player Shooter ure: 3D Isometric View, 4 Characters, Each With Different Special Weapons, Challenging Difficulty, Wide Variety of Polygon and Sprite Characters 3D Mode Slightly Improved ; j by: Appaloosa for Konami ble: Now for Sega Saturn and unremitting horror, g and deceit stalk gam means of false hop you'll be able to beat the cheat codes, that old Contras and this 8 version is the fact that i were fun to play, and this boring and extremely 1 graphics are impres: weapons availabl awesome, but | anyone else finding t that the others hold. JON, THE GREEDY GAMER “Though the overall scor the PlayStation versio Saturn version up playability. It's a heck oi tell what's going on du and the ability to controller makes fr smoother. The 3D versi worthless, but the | adds a lot of appeal. complaint, that Contra could have been mor “After a lukewarm rec PlayStation version, it | considerably cleaner, wi playing perspective a lot with. The controls do tal to get used to, but as games you have to pr: hours in order to get an don't think this game qi the Contras of old, any $ who enjoys a good two-p should take a look.” 75 www.gameinformer.com by Erik, the PC Jedi Another Gamer's Rave Review of Windows ‘95 There were three more games | was going to try to squeeze in this month. One of them wasn't a DOS game, but insisted on going into DOS to install itself on Windows. When | attempted to play it on Windows, the game flickered like no tomorrow. When I tried it on DOS, the screen kept changing sizes, one size to another (click, click, click). Another game refused to play because as far as it was concerned my version of Windows ‘95 didn’t support DirectX. DirectX has automatically been installed and reinstalled about 30 times so far by “user-friendly” games. | have no idea where it’s being installed, it just happens. Thank you Bill! The PC is so much less intimidating now! 4 + wW MDK (Murder Death Kill) Demo — Shiny Entertainment/Playmates n order to do this game the way they wanted, the programmers resorted to doing the whole thing in assembly language. For people who don't realize how truly psychotic that is, assembly coding is the closest thing to actually programming the game in binary by entering ones and zeros. Okay, it's nowhere near that bad, but it is a big pain in the butt, and the smoothness of motion shows in the MDK demo. MDK is a third-person Doom-style shooter featuring a sniper mode and the ability to glide after jumping. The game could have easily been done as a serious shooter, but there are some great elements of wackiness within. One item you can pick up allows you to perform an airstrike on your opponents. When you use it, there is a brief FMV clip of Captain Dog gritting his teeth in anticipation of his next bombing run. During the practice mode, robot enemies wave targets at you from afar for sniper practice. There are even enemies behind protective shields that wave and wag their butts at you as you attempt in vain to shoot them with a normal weapon. PC Profile: Cyclone Studios and Their Game - Uprising U sually when we get a press release with slogans like, “We will ship no game if it is lame,” | burn it. Fortunately for Cyclone, | like the way they say it, and they've got screen shots and decent credentials to back it up. If the screenshots don't lie (and they often do), Uprising could turn out to be the next Doom and Cyclone its “id.” While the “id comparison” to every small upstart company out there is becoming a tired one, Cyclone may have a chance at this lofty level of success. Cyclone started as a small “garage” operation consisting of two people in 1994. In 1995 they were purchased by 3DO and have risen to a full complement of 35 employees. Not surprisingly, many of the programmers working on Uprising have been involved with 3DO's Captain Quazar (one of the 3DO's best), while a number of the artists worked on Battlesport, a so-so game with a great look. Uprising is a unigue and ambitious project. The game combines first-person action and military strategy. While blasting through the enemy with a futuristic battle tank you will also be calling in for back-up from a choice of 40 different types of vehicles (including air Support), establishing gun emplacements and citadels, and allocating resources for research in order to gain new weaponry for your tank. Basically, it sounds like a seriously pumped up version of Herzog Zwei for the Genesis (an awesome game for its time). The game will also allow network play for 1-4 players. Just think about it. First you shoot the enemy. Then you hide behind a hill and call in an air strike! Flight of the Valkyries anyone? From the screen shots, it appears as though they've got their engine up and running. The game's planned release date is October of ‘97, which may be frustrating to those of you who are excited at the prospects of this game, but this will allow Cyclone all the time they need to put out a game that meets the ambitions of its creators. a www.gameinformer.com Uprising recent releases |: | y really Gane and not much fun. Kias and people who have “only oaen Tetris” could dig it od “and the huge list of individuel Al opponents. Then you start ying and it’s just not that _ g. The graphics need work, ne of canon oer hurts A Fork In in the Tale - “AnyRiver BI don't know why people keep on doing FMV games, | and this one still hasn't . -convinced me that the genre | as any merit. This game -iş hilarious at times, but incredibly — confusing and hae to play. Sick to USA Up All Night. By the time you read this, Westwood Studios should “have released a ( special mission disk for Command & Conquer: Red Alert called Counterstrike. Counterstrike is loaded with 16 new missions, new units and technology, and 100 new multiplayer maps. The disk also features Windows ‘95 backgrounds, icons, and AVA movies in the Red Alert theme. Play Doom Il marine style: Sgt. Snyder of the US Marine Corps has made the USMC’s own Doom II WAD file available to the public. The WAD was written in order to simulate group assaults, in which factors like avoiding friendly fire and covering your teammates are crucial to surviving. The WAD features completely new weapons meant to realistically emulate weapons of the armed forces like the M-16, M-249, and the M-47 fragmentation grenade. You can find more info on the game by downloading information at the following web site address: http://www.usmc. mil/opages/doom.htm. WizardWorks has recently published two CD-ROM strategy guides for Duke Nukem 3D's Plutonium Pak and Phantasmagoria. The guides, titled Unlock the Secrets, feature maps, fully indexed clips from actual gameplay, and printable tip booklets. Each Unlock the Secrets set should retail for about $25. Also available from WizardWorks will be a series of scenery disks of foreign countries for Microsoft's Flight Simulator 5.1 and 6.0. The first scenery disks include England & Whales, Hong Kong, Madrid, and Italy. Each scenery disk has an estimated shelf price of about $20. Game Informer & April ‘97 If you are a proud owner of an.At aguar, `; Nintendo Virtual Boy, ora Panasonic/GoldStar ` 8D0, then you may want to brace yourself and grab a tissue. Lo and behold, your prize * gaming machine has been quite dead for the “last four to five months. True, your machine Will”. | work and play the games that you've | rchased, but when we say it's dead, we mean You: will more than likely never see any new software for the machine ever again. Yes, a well groomed. salesman wearing a fancy tie probably told you that this is the machine ' to have, and nothing will ever surpass its breakthrough technology. At the time he was right. “For about six months, the Jaguar banged out some massive hits. The 3DO survived for. about a year and a half with some of the coolest games on the “planet, and the Virtual Boy and its first five games „turned out to be an “muse, dive don from console gaming. £ The main reason that these- great, systems fell .to-their knees was the release of the high-end systems, primarily the Sega Saturn and Sony available and tons of software” backing, the attention to the first =. = generation of 16-bit power and - N beyond was dispelled from any ii Kind. of spotlight. Slowly but sure: ly. all-three of these systems began to lose their once loyal crowds. All three can still be E foundjin stores across America, but you won't see a hot new release in their game selection rack, or even a game with a price of over fifty dollars. EC the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo are te fate FA any one of these machinés, a been them had that one big hit like DKC for the SNES or: the EA sports titles for the Genesis. Thus, we “either have to part with our machine, or do some or ge ee bin shopping for the rest of machine: that“ you might have missed out. on. Obviously; if you bought your: machine: new, you already have the unique shooter fans April ‘97 Game Informer PlayStation. With these well designed.. systems Cybermorph in your library. But if you don't, be sure to hunt for this awesome title, Other favorites here.” 3 ( at the,Gl office are Tempest 2000; which features ™ “Hell fast’ and furious gameplay’ with an awesome” lb soundtrack, and Iron Soldier, a first-person mech simulator. with „Complex: missions and amazing control:-You-may not be able to find this accessory anywhere, but if you do locate a Jaguar Catbox, which connects two Jags together for link play, pick it up right away and grab. ‘two copies of the best Jag game of all-time - Doom: We alsë found Alien Vs. Predator, Power Drive Rally, and Val d’ Isere Skiing and SnowBoarding to be worthy purchases for the basic Jag unit. If you have a Jag CD we recommend staying away from Highlander and every otier game for it except Battlemorph. This may’ disappoint Virtual Boy. “owners, but we can only ‘recommend five titles. that, would actually be «entertaining. First. and foremost, we recommend Wario Land, an action/platform game which is comparable to any 8 or 16bit Mario gjente and Mario Clash, which is a reincarnation of the original Mario Brothers, but in 3D with*several new options. Lastly, vve think you'il find hours “of. entertainment in Nester's Funky Bowling, Red Alarm, and TeleroBoxer Other than , this, the other four or five releases are not worth thë purchase. For those of you holding oft a ; abo, there aré tons of games that we think you'll enjoy. Electronic Arts, who built up a massive sports empire for the Genesis, also, dé eloped some “Road Rash, an intense cycle game th more carnage than some of the. bloodiest fighters, “ Shockwave 1 & 2, which are two great space simulator games chock full of FMV and insane alien vs. human battles, and Immercenary, a ionary first-person title that places you in ~ of a digital death world. Other instant : 5 are Blade Force, Alone in the Dark, trol 2, and Gex. The 3DO has a huge” at you'll enjoy. But we do warn you to stay away from the multimedia junk like The Animals!, Dennis Miller That’s News to Me, and Shelly Duvall's It’s a Bird’s Life. In closing, we have to say that. there i is hope for .the-Jaguar and 3D0. Telegames announced that. : they are releasing four new games for the Jag that should be out now. In addition.-the M2. (which was to attach to the 3D0): might just breathe some life into 3DO. software:.But «hand on its life support system, „Waiting to pull the plug. ““ameinformer.com ës available for.it, and you should find until then, we'll sit idle with “our "À as Hee can a be accessed by shooting v various objects Sens is . stages. if ER thought: Area 51 was a blast, sd re not “is to believe | Here ey angtime featuring new rosters, dunks and other goodies. Of course, the ever popular create a player option is still available, as well as the exciting gameplay and graphics that we all know and love. I haven't gotten the full lowdown on this one yet and I'll need to play it a bunch more times to find all of the new stuff, but if youre a fan of Hangtime, go see if it's at your arcade. www.gameinformer.com Game Informer u April ‘97 ets ii aie to rumble, tank style. Namco the realism of tank combat to the arcade | m basically a super deluxe, 90 ry sim e to play It con 1 area and taking out other tanks. The objective of the game is to _ destroy 15 enemy tanks that are causi uble before your ns out. Once the four quarters ar e slot, a playeris = | lat e only apparent if colors-white and green (the green tanks lo different areas (Downtown of Bay Area), the only difference between " A pE appearance, is that the Downtown yer when a life is lost. either ofthe … , and the tank AGAINST OTHER TEAMS! _ di FT QË vs. WHITE FORCE cannon blast is let loose. The sound effects and music M are boomin’ as they are blasted through speakers in the seat's headrest. Tokyo War isn't like most conventional arcade games min that b acl “up, your games is over. N fortune, not even a ni th S gives you a chance M r friends to smithereens. Tokyo War is ei and fun for everybody, check it out. cit Game Informer u April ‘97 vvvvv.gameinformer.com cS 1 CD-ROM 1-Player Interactive Adventure Multiple Branchings of Plots and Sub-Plots, Sentence Construction, Six Major Plots, Character Personalities, Frown or Smile, Can Choose to Play as Scofflaw or Hero Psygnosis Now for Sony PlayStation Goal by Bevvare...Sentient is a complicated and ever-changing game. Depending upon which plot (or plots) you choose to get involved in, no two games will ever be the same. The idea is to interact with members of the space station in order to save the station before its too late. You may have to run errands, gain access to other levels, or find important individuals. But in any event, you're free to create and explore your own plot lines. The interface is very inventive, but building sentences can be slow and frustrating. Also, exploring can be hampered by the annoying sentence bubbles. There's a lot of gaming to be done within Sentient, but those looking for action should turn their attentions elsewhere. {18} J. Klinsmana 1 CD-ROM 1-Player Action/Shooter Sonar Detection, Underwater and Surface Combat, Three Difficulty Settings, Different Mission Objectives, Barrel Rolls, Heat Seeking and Laser Attacks N Space for GT Interactive Software Now for Sony PlayStation OA 04:19 pa For the first time since Battlemorph on the Jaguar CD, players vvill be involved in high stakes combat both above and the below the ocean's surface. Your cunning combat skills vvill be put to the test as you battle your way through complicated missions to find your ultimate goal in the ruins of a sunken Japanese archipelago. This GT Interactive PC port is an extraordinary combat shooter that features seamless gameplay and complex controls. Players will be required to use sonar to locate certain enemies, take out surface targets from beneath the sea, and hunt for the command post in the heart of sunken Tokyo. TigerShark delivers the same gameplay experience as WarHawk and ID4. Its intense, amazingly detailed, and a true challenge for even the most experienced of gamers. | www.gameinformer.com 1 CD-ROM 1 to 6-Player Soccer (Via Saturn Multi-Tap) Indoor or Outdoor Rules, Arcade, Action and Simulation Modes, Complex or Simple Controls, Player Transfers, Over 4,200 Players From 12 International Leagues EA Sports Late March for Sega Saturn Engineering 1 EA Sports seems to pride itself on multi-platform development. Like Madden Football and Andretti Racing, FIFA Soccer will be available on multiple platforms. In terms of options, the Saturn version is identical to the PlayStation. Players can choose outdoor or indoor rules and tailor both the difficulty and control options. A nice feature is the ability to change difficulty options for each player, thus handicapping beginners for a more even game. Unlike Sega’s Worldwide Soccer ‘97, FIFA offers an incredible amount of teams and players. Although at this point the gameplay looks a little choppy, there’s no doubt that FIFA Soccer ‘97 will be the most stat-laden, option-loaded soccer game available for the Saturn. PROP SENS Game Informer April ‘97 1 CD-ROM 1 or 2-Player Baseball Create Player Option, Career and Season Play, Massive Stat Tracking, Multiple Camera Views, Draft Mode, End of Season Awards Accolade May for Sony PlayStation 1 CD-ROM 1 or 2-Player Wrestling 7 Match Modes, 6 World Leagues, More Than 50 Playable Characters, Up to 30 Moves Per Character, Ring-outs, Rope Breaks, Belt Matches Kokopeli for TH*Q Now for Sony PlayStation Accolade's insanely popular PC series, HardBall, still hasn't found an enthusiastic crowd for the 32's. So instead of releasing another disappointment, Accolade has gone back and redesigned the entire game. The biggest change, of course, is the surrender of sprite characters to motion-captured polygonal players with a variety of sizes, swings, and batting stances. Also revamped is the season mode, which can be played as one complete season or as many seasons as you want through the Career mode. The Career mode accumulates year-to-year stats, incorporates player fatigue and aging, and even goes as far as asking an old-timer to retire. Hardball 6 will more than likely be out before the ‘97 season. True to its name, WCW really does take on the world. Seven leagues are represented from around the globe, and single players can enter the League Challenge. Taking on successive competitors through the League Challenge will award you with a belt. Then this belt can be bet against other belts from other leagues. Players will recognize some WCW favorites such as Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and the eternal Ric Flair. Each player has a number of moves and submission holds. In addition, strength is measured by the spirit meter. Spirit can be increased by doing damage to an opponent or by appealing to the crowd. With all the playable characters, belts, and celebrations, WCW Vs. The World could be the best wrestling game ever made. Game Informer a April ‘97 Light Gun Game Constant Movement From One Point To Another, Different Weapons». Bombs That Kill Everything, 3 Continues, VVacky Enemies Now for Sega Saturn If you're not a very discriminating gun gamer, Crypt Killer isn't half bad. The graphics are less than impressive and the levels are often exactly the same (only with different enemies), but the game still manages to be mildly entertaining. Unfortunately, repetitive game play is the curse of most gun games and Crypt Killer does nothing to solve this problem. “Kill the enemies in the background. Ahh! kill the enemies in front of you. Ahh! It’s a boss. Get lucky or die.” The good points of this game are the levels that you move through continuously, the weapons, and the wacky monsters. If you find yourself digging most gun games out there, Crypt Killer definitely warrants a rental. Otherwise, steer clear. www.gameinformer.com 1 CD-ROM 1-Player Mech Simulator Lots of Mechs and Weapons, Configurable Weapon Grouping, FMV From the Original PC Version, Full-Fledged Mech Movement (Torso Twists, Tilt Up and Down, Jump Jetsi), Memory and Passvvord Save Activision Now for Sony PlayStation 1 CD-ROM 1-Player Real-Time War Simulator Seek and Destroy Enemy Bases, Obtain More Powerful Weapons and Vehicles as the Game Proceeds, Multiple Mission Objectives, Amazingly Detailed Polygon Graphics, and a Thundering Soundtrack SCI for Interplay June for Sony PlayStation In previous issues we talked about the impressive detail and control of Mech 2. The screenshots we showed were of crisp polygonal mechs made of different parts that could be shot off. We lamented only that there were no jump jets. Activision not only added jump jets to their final version, but they've put in texture maps on all of the mechs and buildings as well. Now you can actually see the insignias of the other clans when you approach enemies. Activision has done a great job of making this game everything it could be instead just getting it done. This game comes highly recommended to anyone who has enjoyed the Mechwarrior universe or similar games like Gun Griffon. TTT Mana hd “en LL DU ae W spas Hot on the heels of Westwood Studios’ Command & Conquer platform release comes Interplay's real-time war simulator SWIV 3D. War junkies won't want to miss this revolutionary gaming experience. SWIV 3D is a sure-fire hit in every category, ranging from complicated infiltration missions to all out Armageddon with death around every corner. The creative team behind this monster, SCI, has taken real-time strategy gaming to the next level by incorporating extremely detailed polygon graphics with the most complex controls around. Real-time war simulators are extremely rare on the consoles, and those who crave another Command & Conquer won't want to miss this amazing gaming experience. | www.gameinformer.com Pichia loi TE Perak a mon r: Bi kk delde TETE Racing games don't come much more complete than this. Andretti Racing fea- tures the option to either play as an Indy or Stock car through a split-screen versus mode, and the complete season stretches over sixteen tracks. All the tracks are entirely different from one another, and you'll need to use your wits to customize your vehicle in order to perform admirably on these tracks. Besides being weighed down with numbers and options, Andretti 1 CD-ROM 1 or 2-Player Racing Indy and Stock Car Racing, 2-Player Split- Screen, Sixteen Tracks, J leka, Racing has amazing graphics that even Compatible With Sega's include tiny decals on the cars. Until now, Arcade Racer Stick the Saturn has only had arcade oriented racers available. This makes Andretti the perfect purchase for those who demand realism in their racing. EA Sports Now for Sega Saturn "an me LEEN FEES Game Informer & April ‘97 1 CD-ROM 1 or 2-Player Light Gun Multiple Weapons, Bosses, Side-View Car Chases, What Else Do You Want? It's A Gun Game Konami May for PlayStation 1 CD-ROM 1-Player Action/Role-Playing Game Dynamic Storyline (You Won't Feel Like You're on a Track), 3D Battles With Polygonal Enemies, Multiple Camera Angles, Huge Rendered Bosses, Run and Throw Buttons, Force Attack Meter, Cool Magic Effects Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. April for Sony PlayStation Game Informer Previously released for the arcade, 3DO, and Sega CD, Lethal Enforcers 1 and 2 will now be made available for the PlayStation. As with all gun games Lethal Enforcers is very basic: “Shoot them before they shoot you.” The most interesting part of the game is the bosses. For instance, the final boss in the first game is an Apache helicopter fully equipped with guns and a full complement of missile racks. All the weapons need to be shot off before the pilot makes himself vulnerable. If you were a big fan of these games in the arcade and on the other systems, there doesn’t seem to be anything missing graphically, or in gameplay. Of course, the game has been out for a while... While not quite as graphically mind blow- ing as Final Fantasy VII, Wild Arms is an excellent RPG. At the beginning of the game you will become acquainted with each of the three characters through indi- vidual mini-quests. Once this part of the game is completed you will have access to a full-fledged party of three. What sepa- rates Wild Arms from other RPGs is its use of Zelda-styled action while in town and dungeon map areas. One character uses bombs to remove obstacles; another can take advantage of his intelligent rodent friend to get into places too small for pry- ing human hands. The drama is tradition- ally soap opera-ish but more involved and interesting than typical RPGs. Combat is also exceptionally done with the use of polygonal enemies and cool effects. April ‘97 ip 92 TOLK 7 1 CD-ROM Programmer lan Copeland, creator of the i SNES classics Micro Machines 1 8 2, is or 2-Player a i E (Up to 4-Player VVith Sony bringing his zany overhead racing may- Multi Tap) hem to the Sony PlayStation this April. While his new game no longer has the Micro Machines license, you can expect to endure the same tiny bite-size racing. Motor Mash features over forty completely different tracks and twelve characters with their own vehicle. All the vehicles in the game handle differently, and naturally, Forty Levels, 12 Characters and Vehicles With Different Attributes, Several Game Modes, Weapon Power-Ups Merit Studios Limited i for Ocean each has its pros and cons. The gameplay consists of racing to the max; you'll be Late Apri required to power slide through turns and launch missiles and other weapons at enemies near and far. Micro Machine groupies rejoice! Motor Mash is here to enlighten you! for Sony PlayStation His Wind Mouse companion, Hanpan. is curious and knowledgeable, but also a Tittle arrogant. EA Y i www.gameinformer.com Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. : Canyon (Easy) - BBFHB Canyon (Normal) - BBFMC Canyon (Hard) - BBFQC Washington (Easy) - DBKHN Washington (Normal) - DBKMO : Washington (Hard) - DBKOO New York (Easy) - GBKHW New York (Normal) - GBKMX New York (Hard) - GBKOX Paris (Easy) - LLSHW Paris (Normal) - LLSMX Paris (Hard) - LLSOX -i Moscow (Easy) - NLOHW ». Moscow (Normal) - NL9MX Moscow (Hard) - NL9QX Tokyo (Easy) - R39JD “ Tokyo (Normal) - R39NF Tokyo (Hard) - R39RF Oahu (Easy) - TS9HW Oahu (Normal) - T59MX Oahu (Hard) - T59QX Las Vegas (Easy) - Z99HY _ Las Vegas (Normal) - Z99MZ _ Las Vegas (Hard) — Z99QZ Mothership (Easy) - 399HG =: Mothership (Normal) - 399MH = Mothership (Hard) - 399QH Chance Tarkin “ Wilmington, NC i Play as Classic Chun Li - Go to ? the Character Select screen conds then hit any button. Versus mode and highlight > - Sagat's stage. Now, hold Start. for five seconds and then press any button. you knock down your opponent hold Start, Select and any other button to view different victory | poses. “Lord Tarkin” I 0 Santa parim a id med com and highlight Chun Li. Now, hold : Start fOr approximatcly six : Show OM Gamera Enabled = A, i Play in Australia — First, go to : ect Victory Pose — Right after : e y J į Ice Racing — Up, R2, RI, Right, + Load/Save option, then punch in the code you desire. Level Select - XLVLCHTMSB Bonus Round — XBNSCHTMMM Coordinates - XDBUGLOCNC All Rockets - XTOOROCKER To enter these codes, enter the : Damion Sinclair : Felton, MD Taunts - Enter the Team Play : option and while your opponent : is in his or her approach, hold : down L1, L2, R1, R2, and hit : any one of the buttons below to : try and get under competition’s skin. Taunts You Suck - @ Choke - A Miss - M Loser - % Mig your Marc Silvestri : Histerberg, NM = “Al of this codes € can ba be. : entered after all the tracks are : unlocked and the game is beaten. : Enter them at the bubble menu on the Title screen. Super Agility - Down, @, Left, LI, as Left, Right, Left, Right Zero Resistance - W, Li, A, Right, L1, Down, R2, A Double Stunt Points = Right, Up, ' ©, L2, A, @ R1, R2 Down, W, A, LI, LI, R1, R1 Up, @, Up, @ Rocket Racer - A, Up, Up, L2, L2, Up, Up, Up a Air Brakes — R1, R2, Right, Te i i Unlimited Turbos - A, ©, Right) | R2, Up, W, Up, A L1, W, Right, Right Computer Al Code - 6, E, R2, 6, A,12, Right, Up . Shaun Ahuja “Plano, TX, | bi in Kë name a se NBA Live producers and programmers in the Create Player option. Make sure that you push Start on the last : letter of each name or the code won't work. It will put them on the Free Agency list, and it won't count as a created player. You can have all these names entered and still create forty other players. Amory Wong Allan Johanson Brian Krause Dom Humphrey Daniel Ng Robert White Dan Scott David Bollo Sebastiaan Reinarz Sheila Allan . Michael Vanaselja Casey O'Brien Daryl Anselmo Giovanni Sasso Kim Gill Mark Soderwall Greg Allen. Cindy Green . David Laviolette Adam MacKay-Smith Traz Damji Steve Rouea Crispin Hands Jeff Mair Sam Nelson... Ed Fletcher Stan Chow Tarrnie Williams Michael Klassen © Marcus Lindblom … Dave Warfield Ivan Allen . Brain Wideen Brent Nielson Aaron Grant Renata Antonic Zoe Quinn Sean O’Brien Novell Thomas . Al Murdoch Ernie Johnson A,. : Curve Ball - A, E, x, MY u A A = Shoot Out- M, Am %, RA : Super Power - A, M, A, A, A : “Secret Intro E Level6-JiBT “Gillian Anderson të PES NY : | : You'll need to enter all of these : codes while the game is paused. Go to the Options menu from the : Pause screen and enter in the code you desire. Now, highlight options on the Pause screen and hit M. This will bring up the Cheats screen that allows you to turn on the code you entered. : Invisible Walls = %, x x, A, E, E, E, A | Sily Team - M, A, x, E, A, * : Dream Team - N, E, x E, E Crazy Ball = x, p. E, x Lë A,A,A,A,A : Super Goalie - Wi, HE, " A,A, A,A, å : Super Offense - Wi, Mi, N NE, x, A i Super Defense - A, A; A, A, A,%,A . — (Enter » the Title : screen.) While the. intro is : playing press El, A to view some extra footage. | Todd Andretti : San Mateo, CA Level 2- FWOP Level 3 - PLRQ Level 4 - SZNF Level 5 - TD5S Level 7 - K2CV Level 8 - N3DW Level 9 — MAFX Level 10 - X5GZ Level 11 - C6HO Level 12 - DYJI. - Level 13 - FSK2 — Level 14 — FGL3 Level 15 — JFM4 Bonus Level - LRTN i Judy Hestler : Hunts, GA : : To access the i pa Marv Albert - - MRV 12931 > Newt Gingrich =NEW 8/12 “i XXS moa TVH 6/6 ons sWo 1/4 = LOB 7/4 Air Nick - ARN 5/18 George Gervin - ICE 4/27 ess these new stars first $ + enter the three letter PIN followed : _ a by the birth date that is listed for : “' XX Weasel — DAN 2/1 Magic Hair - SET 12/8 XX Sequioa - SDR 4/10 dy XX Jas ve 6/10 Mark Chater — XTU 5/2 Bob Davidson - RAD 10/18 XX Fumongous - GUN 1/11 Geoff Higgins - GCH 4/13 Air Dog - SAM 1/21 Ice Princess — MDK 12/24 A East — LMH 6/28 | > - EST 3/14. . — Pirate Bill = SAL 2/2 Mr. Happy - MJT 3/22 Dufus the Clown — GRR 6/19 Three Feet Under - TOD 4/17 Mr. Unhappy - GEM 11/3 Deon Gat 1/26. Who = WHO 1/1 Brained - BCS 1/7 Monkey Boy — PJP 11/2 Howie - BCE 7/10 Jim Jung — JKJ 12/13 ar CBR . od Code - YME 5/17 Dribble Mode - During gameplay : : … tap Pass, Turbo, Extreme at : the same time to send your : player into a dribbling frenzy. gameplay double tap Turbo. Dribble Behind Back - During : : Start in Finals — FI NA LS Start With Two Games Won i ' Play Offs -CHEESY i Start With Three Games Won in : : Play Offs - NO VI CE : gameplay double tap Extreme. Big Feet Mode - Hold the : : directional pad either Left or : Right when exiting the Big : Head Select screen. Head-Er-Oids — To access this į hidden four-player mini-game, : — have all four joypads hold Up on : the directional pad and then hit : : the Extreme button while exiting the Select screen. i Enter the following codes niione : the tip-off. Note: Your players must : be on the court before trying to ; Max Rebounding — = Pass, Pass, Extreme, ae omputer Assistance . Extreme, Turbo, Pass, Pa Dead-Eye-Dick - Turbo, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme : Quick Hands - Pass, Pass, Pass, Turbo, Turbo Turbo, Extreme, Extreme, Pass, Pass, Pass : Max 3Pts — Pass, Pass, Pass, : Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, : Extreme, Pass, Pass, Pass, Pass, : Pass, Pass, Pass : Legal Goaltending - Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Pass, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme, Extreme Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Pass, Extreme, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, © Turbo, Turbo, Turbo , | Super Rainbow Shot — Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Pass, Pass, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo, Turbo : Power Push - Turbo, Turbo, Pass, : Pass, Turbo, Turbo, Pass, Pass, : Turbo, Turbo, Pass, Pass, Turbo, : Turbo : Enter these. codes at the Keep : : Record screen. First, input the first £ two letters, then backspace Ce Jk A aa enter the next two letters, back- CHEAT CODE Extreme, : | : Enter this code at the Code Entry : : screen. Note: This may only work : : in the Beta version of the game. If it : : doesn't work, we are extremely : i : sorry, and we will print the real i — : codes ASAP. sé : Infinite Lives — FRTHSTHTTRLSCK Uptown, MN E Mission 4 - 885BVHMCQB . Mission 5 — I32ZNJOHT3 — Mission 6 - GV8KFIG6KL Mission 7 — 3X8MJ47R3X Mission 8 = LMZRKAIR3D Mission 9 - BR2WYK2COJ Mission 10 - OOGBNLJAGO _ Mission 11 - T2GDTJGSJT Mission 12 - H2DCTKH40S Mission 13 - PPYRQP58LD Mission 14 — RT2W121V7J. a Wookie” Tyler, MA space twice, enter... You'll know the : | PLAY OF FS 45 Second Shoot Out — SH OO TO UT TË 1/2 Size Players - : Right, Down, Up, then hit Yes. “Boston, MA : code worked when you hear an if : Dribble Under Legs = During i Odd sound. pr i Start in the Play Offs — ySta on | Enter this code at the Title screen.” : Stage Select — Press L2, R1, L OR ft, Right, 6, M, R2, L2 Amy the Giggling Gamer The VidMan E e f6000914 c305 | b6002800 0000 | finite Lives — 160694c2 0009 3 066fb4 001f | Cool Boarders — PlayStation : Hgh Scoring = 80016210 0000 801882fe 0000 i 80188226 0009 1602e44a 0000 Play as Akuma - Place your cursor on Morrigan and hold Select. Now, press Down, Down, Down, Left, Left, Left, 6. For player 2, press Down, Down, Down, Right, Right, Right ©. Play as Dan — Place your der on Felicia and hold Select. Now, press Left, Left, Left, Down, Down, Down, @. For player 2, press Right, Right, Right, Down, Down, Down, ©. — Play as Devilotte - Place your. cursor on Morrigan and hold © Select. Now, press Left, Left, Left, Down, Down, Down, wait until the character select timer is at ten seconds and hit @. For player 2, press. Right, Right, Right, Down, Down, Down, wait until. the character select . timer is at ten seconds and hit @. Play as Hsien-Ko's Sister - Place - | your cursor on Morrigan and . hold Select. Now, move your. cursor one square to the right and press the L button. For player 2, place your cursor on Felicia and hold Select. Move your cursor two squares to the left and press the L button. Play as Anita — Place your cursor on Morrigan and hold Select. Now, move your cursor two Enter all of thes "a at Me _ Password screen. Level 2- FWQP . “Level 3 - PLRQ Level 4 — SZNF Level 5 - TD5S Level 6 - JIBT Level 7 — K2C Level 8 - N3DW Level 9 - MAFX squares to the right and press the L button. For player 2, place your cursor on Felicia and Select. Move your curso Play pi CPU Devilotte - - Before stage 7, | jou must and ” plished: vvithou continues Defeat an opponent more, and your max power gem : must be at least be twenty units. pë Against CPU Dan - “By the end of level 6, the player must not have accomplishe any of the feats needed to access Devilotte, “Stage Select - VS Mode only) i Right after selecting a charact hold L2, R2, and Select. Now, choose your handicap, an while still holding down th combo press one of the following buttons. you desire. - Donovan- 6 Hsien-Ko — 46 Sakura - A Felicia - M Akuma-Li Devilotte - R1 Morrigan — Up “ Chun-Li- Down Ryu-Left Ken — Right Dan - No Button . I Martin sance) à ' aukee, wi we See Hidden ages = There is a way to see some of : the secret paraga through a vnevenësi an N TE ET PD 7 main menu. ae entered. evel Skip - During Janena ig | | ; Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey - | hold down R1 then press L2. Once all the bad guys are : eliminated with (R1 and Li) : À View Logos- you'll skip to the next level. At the Select : This will trip out | the Ere and make i gameplay due difficult. Mini Games — Score high enough : “to get a first place ranking, and : “enter your name as HVS. Now, at the next entry screen enter in Tempest Tempest Plus will appear on h iron Blood Playstation Enter all of these hidden boss r ; codes at the Character Select Li + L2 + A+ R2 + Up + 3 2} E Avatar of Order - Left + IE, Right + @ i Lord of Chaos — Half cir peers clockwise from Up, trahd — Full Gods from Up, R1, R2, LALI Set the date to December 12 | gameplay. 2099 to-view some seriously : whacked graphics. e : Play as Reala - Set the daté to April 1, 1997 to. play as this As Nintendo 64 Press the Z Button on any of : “the options in the Records “i “Screen. to view. advertisement logos. _ i Instant Start With Gretzky - several : Hold any one of the four C : buttons while pressing Starton : the Title Screen. : Head Scale - i enter. the Options screen : 2000 and : sim ; Irvine, CA : Body Scale - during gameplay and press Right Button and Bottom C button. “ Enter the Options screen during gameplay and press Right Button and the Left : . C Button (hit twice to make : even larger). : Voice Scale- . ; : Enter the Options screen : during gameplay and press i Right. Button and Top CË Button. : Select Opposing Team - ; At the Team Select screen : press Right C Button, Right C : circle counter | The Rhino” i Toledo, OH i - ki Sek Up, A. ( _ used to recharge them as well.) ne eo LE oo EN USELESS a a SOD eH oR EOD Button, Right € Button on the | _ them you'll be entered in the Game Informer /ASCIIWARE Secret Access . Contest. The Grand Prize is a ASCIIWARE controller of your choice. Super NES: ASCII Pad SN, Super Advantage, Fighter Stick SN, Fighter Pad SN, Rhino Pad SN team that you want computer to control. Détcon 5 — PlayStation “Play Asteroids terminal and enter Local when — the unavailability appears press À. The game willload for a second, : reer n Asteroids! “Virtua Gap Boy ‘97° | Minneapolis, MN the : David Silverman- Rosemont, WA : = Find any VOS : the : ~ Communications link. Select : Communications and : message of No Minion Speci Up, R? Regenerate Life — Down, Up, Sega Game Pla 900-200-7342 (SEG/ $.85 per minute for a assistance and $1.05 pe minute for live help. Canada 900-451-5252 $1.25 per minute automated Nintendo Game Counseling p, Down, Up, : i Sega Saturn .. : Arcade Secret ACCESS Notice: Hey GI readers, how would ' to become our ally? Send in your codes for the games listed belo and help out a fellow reader in a scrape, or if you're stuck on a game, send us a letter requesting codes and we will help you access the secrets right here Ri ht, Left, Up, Up, Down, D Le in Secret Access. ight, Left, Up, Up, Down, Down : yi Karmen Khaledi : Nintendo 64 Webville, COM i TË i PlayStation . Blast Corps Doom 64 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter . -Battle Stations Carnage Heart Descent Maximum Final Fantasy VII Independence Day NBA Shoot Out ‘97 Rally Cross Spider Suikoden Vandal Hearts Wing Commander IV „Andretti Racing Contra: Legacy of War Die Hard Arcade Independence Day Tomb Raider 5. Norse by Norsewest: The Return | of the Lost Vikings Scud: The Disposable Assassin Tekken 3 Send Secret Access Requests To: Access 8 Allies Game Informer Magazine 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 E Mail: ria alibi com Send Game Informer Your Passwords and Codes and Win! S end in your codes and passwords every issue, and if we print PlayStation: ASCIIPad, Specialized ASCIIPad, Specialized ASCIIStick Saturn: ASCII Saturn Stick, their wardrobe. Send To: Secret Access Game Informer Magazine 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 E-Mail: gionline(Ovvinternet.com Genesis: ASCII Specialized Pad, Fighter Stick SG-6, Rhino Pad SG “ All runners-up will receive a Game Informer Secret Access T-Shirt to complement Now in six tasty colors. ae Mn i Vai, 4 ON We KONAMI. The spectre of war looms Luckily, you have an awesome over the peaceful land of Ishtaria. array of weapons, spells, booby Terrorism, corruption and depravity traps and The Great Sword Vandal- run rampant. It's up to you to return the Heart at your command. Plus the land to democracy, using a strategic combination greatest weapon of them all-your brain. of wits, muscle and magic. It's an epic confrontation Enter the world of Vandal-Hearts. Where a sharp that unfolds on multiple, glorious, 3-D isometric battlefields. sword is no match for a sharp mind. ii vis lë cs ie ic & Spells VANDAL-HEARTS RATING PENDING | WWW.RONAMI.COM VANDAL-HEARTS” is a trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. Konami D 5 a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. PlayStation” and the PlayStation” logos are À i trodemarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is o registered trademark of the mwmw | PlayStation |. Interactive Digital Software Association. ©1997 Konami of America, Inc. All Rights Reserved Made with love by Oungoalli sitoijpresenvelclassicivideoigamelmagazinesisolthat they are not lost permanently. People interested in! helping outlinlany capacity; please visit us at retromags.com: No profit is made from) theselscans, nor do we offer anything available fromithe publishers themselves: If you come across anyone selling releases from this site, pleaseldo! not support them and do let us know: Thank you!