PG + ARCADES ° GODES ° STRATEGIES ° CLASSICS Exclusive First Look At _ | us "Syphon Filter + Street Fighte A ash Bandicoot 3: Warped : Blitz a$4.95 UK £2.50 D. www.gameinformer.com JeTroane July 1998 Maha P8 BN. Vol. VIII * Issue 07 * #63 166 CARS, 11 TRACKS, 1 CHECKERED FLAG good driver? Put your skills to the test with Gran Turismo — | lenging and realistic driving game ever designed for on game console. Real racing pales in comparison. CHOOSE FROM: PlayStation @ CUSTOMIZE YOUR CAR As a winning GT driver, www.playstation.com your bank account will grow with every race. But hÅ don't treat your friends to A. TURBO ENGINE lobster and caviar just yet, C. RAGING TIRES THE RACE IS ON. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Gran Turismo is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. All manufacturers, cars, names, brands and associated imagery featured in this game are trademarks and/or copyright material of their respective owners. All rights reserved. ©1998 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Remember to always fasten your seat belt. Or else. EM MIKE PIAZZA CATCHER, LA DODGERS ALL 700+PLAYERS! ALL NEW 1998 ROSTERS! < ALL THE STADIUMS! ALL THE TEAMS! x TOUS TAKES TOU- STEAL; YOU TSL UG. YOU CRUSH: FAST-PACED ACTION: SWITCH FROM TRUE SIMULATION TO ARCADE GAME PLAY WITH TONS OF HIDDEN SECRETS! YOU HIT AND RUN. aus `` genre G 192 BB GB AB 556 80 77 YOU TRY TO BEAT ME EAT: po | EXHIBITION, FULL-SEASØN, ALL-STAR, WORLD « | AND AT THE END OF LT" wes ias HOME RUN DERBY PLAY ahi i SOME GUY IN A MASK | TRIES TO TAKE YOU DOWN f TO PROTECT HIS HOME. ULTRA-REALISTIC CONDITIONS AND PERFORMANCE. GRASS AND TURF. DAY AND NIGHT WELCOME TO ibe AMERICA’S PASTIME, BEB abe t Li E PC ; dl Devil's Microsoft til Designed For Windows 95 SULT) WHAT A GAME: N64 Rumble Pak" MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL” í 7. Be sure to visit MLB's Official Web Site, MLB@BAT: www.majorleaguebaseball.com Eis rE à Mike Piazza's StrikeZone developed by and © 1998 Devil's Thumb™ Entertainment. All rights reserved. Published and distributed by GTInteractive Software Corp. Major League B and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Officially Licensed by Major League Baseball Players Association. Microsoft® and Windoy trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Nintendo, the Official Seal, Nintendo 64 and 3-D “N” Logo and Rumble Pak™ are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. : Country Life’s Never Been 9o Addicting. Harvest Moon GB" and Legend of the River King GB". Two unique role playing games for the Nintendo® Game Boy. epend of the River King GB is the first and only game that combines the action of a fishing game ith a dynamic RPG story for a unique game experi- ence. However, there’s a catch. Instead of fighting the usual bunch of monsters, you'll battle with 4 differant species of fish. But this isn't drowning a few worms for Un; you're on a quest fo save your i sister The only chance to save your sister is to reel in the magical Guardian Fish. To land this whale of a fish, you'll have to travel the land selling your prized catches for money. Only after buying the bes equipment and gaining expe- rience, will you be able to conquer this trophy catch. With hours and hours of exciting game play once you play Legend of the River King, you'll be hoo ked! N64? Version Coming Soon She up with the sun. Feed the chickens, Milk the cows. And, don't forget to go to the market...all before breakfast. The Super NES? classic Harvest Moon is now available for the Nintendo? Game Boy? with all of the charm of the original and many new surprises. Designed to reward hard work and smart decision making, Harvest Moon GB is a unique blend of a role playing and a farming simulation game. Since this game is compatible with the Game Boy Game Link®, you can exchange animals and seeds with your friends to create your own unique ranch. Best of all, Harvest Moon GB offers a greater variety of characters, crops and animals to choose from, ` making each games outcome more fun and less redictable. Oh no! You forgot to plow the fields. Looks like no dinner tonight. Serious Fun™ NATSUME: PUBLISHED BY NATSUME ©1998 Natsume Inc. ©1997 Victor Interactive Software Inc./Pack-In-Soft. All rights reserved. Natsume, _ om ges| Legend of The River. King GB and Harvest Moon GB are Trademarks of Natsume Inc. Nintendo Super Ninte ndo NES, Game Boy, and the official seals are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. CN = | r Pg 8 Pg 9 Pg 59 e "ug OF „oð Departments Q Letter from the Editor | Want To Be A Jedi Like My Father Before Me Dear Game Informer GI readers from across the globe interact with Game Informer. Envelope Art You can’t win if you don’t enter Gl’s Monthly Envelope Art Contest. GI News Sega unveils new system, Nintendo slashes prices, first pics of Final Fantasy VIII, and tons-o-fun with Name That Game!, Trivia, and Gl's Top Ten. Game Informer PC GI reviews Forsaken, Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, and Sanitarium. Arcade Brigade Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter EX 2, Downhill Racer, and Hyperdrive all invade the Arcade Brigade. Mini PTP We know Midway lists them in the game, but it's nice to have a hard copy of all the MK 4 Fatalities. Play To Perfection GI conquers the last 3 levels of Banjo-Kazooie. Secret Access Tips from our readers and the infamous Game Genie/Game Shark Swap Shop. Classic Gl GI looks at classic games on the Super NES, Genesis, and replays some codes from the vault. Cover Story: Mission: Impossible Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to take Ethan Hunt on a super spy adventure that brings you from one end of the globe to another. Of course, Game Informer is here to help accomplish the impossible with our 6-page strategy guide and first review of this upcoming N64 cart. This magazine will self destruct! Feature: A Talk with the Talent Behind Tobu The Diabolical Adventures of Tobu will be the first platform game to come out of the newly created Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA), and with it comes a lot of expectation. But Tobu's creator, Ken Yamada, doesn't seem to care as he lets the cat out of the bag on the PlayStation's upcoming flying adventure. Feature: Ninja Uncovered Core, the creator of Tomb Raider | & Il, has a new game on the block, and it doesn't star everybody’s favorite video game babe. Instead, it stars a super-charged Ninja that will face a horde of evil minions on his journey to hell and back. To find out more, Game Informer sat down with the head of product development for Core Design, Adrian Smith. Nintendo 64 All-Star Baseball '99, Mortal Kombat 4, Quest 64, Bio FREAKS, Wetrix, World Grand Prix, NASCAR 99 PlayStation Jersey Devil, Tomba!, Spyro The Dragon, Abe's Exoddus, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, C: The Contra Adventure, Rogue Trip, Syphon Filter, NFL Xtreme, Vigilante 8, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter EX Edition, Granstream Saga, Streak Pg 20 PlayStation Bio FREAKS, Azure Dreams, Castle of Deception, Crime Killer, Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling, Shadow Madness, Kartia, Fight Night, Cool Boarders 3, VR Baseball '99, Capcom Generations 1: 1942 Series, Capcom Generations 2: Ghouls & Ghosts Series, N20: Nitrous Oxide, Command & Conquer: Retaliation Nintendo 64 Mike Piazza's StrikeZone Game Informer Magazine” (ISSN 1067-6392) is published monthly at a subscription price of $19.98 per year, or 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. For subscriptions, back issues or customer service inquiries (612) 946-7266. 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. Game Informer? does not claim any copyright in the screen shots herein. Copyright in all screen shots contained within this publication are owned by their respective companies. Entire contents copyright 1998. Game Informer Magazine". All rights reserved; reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Game Informer* is a trademark of FUNCO, Inc. Game Informer * July '98 H Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies. me b forme! Jnfor July Issue 1998 Volume VIII + Number 07 * Issue #63 Richard A. Cihak Publisher Andrew McNamara Editor Paul Anderson Senior Associate Editor Andrew Reiner Jon Storm Paul Bergren Robert Stoute Associate Editors Thomas Blustin Art Director Curtis Fung Production Director Web/Graphic Design Ryan MacDonald West Coast Correspondent Terri Mineau Copy Editor Chet Barber Intern Terrie Maley Circulation / Marketing Manager (612) 946-7274 Vicki Valley Customer Service Manager (612) 946-7266 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 Manufactured and printed in the United States of America The Editor welcomes company product information for all video games. Such materials should be addressed to: Editor, Game Informer Magazine, 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. ) 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 Andy, The Game Hombre andy@gameinformer.com "You know, I'm getting real tired of having to see all these fantastic new games early, and not being able to play them for more than an hour. Last month, it was Tomb 3, and just recently it was Spyro the Dragon. And let me tell ya, Spyro is one amazing looking PlayStation game. It may even look better than Crash 3, which also looks awesome. | Then there's FF VIII... Wow! Too... many...games...head spinning... cant think _ straight...video games...eating brain.” 6 Game Informer * July '98 i — € Í i Robert, The Game Cassanova | robert@gameinformer.com “Make sure you read the | information about Sega's new system. Personally, | am stoked. I really want to see that company || | where | can get a life-size Marle || | poster? How ‘bout FF VIII! Man, || the news has us all totally | pumped. Definitely dish out the || get back on its feet, especially after playing the great games like Panzer Dragoon Saga and Burning Rangers. But, one other || game that really gives me the goosebumps, Final Fantasy VIII, has reared its head! Oh yeah!" d The Gamesters Jon, The Greedy Gamer jon@gameinformer.com “Been lazing away the summer || | with serious doses of GT, Hot || Shots, and Chrono Trigger on | my screen porch. Anyone know clams for Brave Fencer and the FF Demo. | also recommend || Tomba! It's what quality gaming is all about. And, as always, all |. | N64 games including NHL, NBA | Live, and NASCAR. Get ready || sports fans." hail the mighty Buffalo Sabres!" USA aU HBD (from left): Andy, Paul, Reiner, Jon, Paul, The Game Professor paul@gameinformer.com "It's hard to believe that in a few short weeks the NFL will hit the gridiron and a new batch of | | games will sprout up around it. Not only are we going to | | see some tough competition | between the true sims, but the arcade-style games (Blitz & | | Xtreme) will also be interesting | to compare. I’m also very hyped to see how EA Sports will do with its new batch of | Reiner, The Raging Gamer reiner@gameinformer.com “Rock and roll!!! | tangled with Brett Favre in Florida, made false peace with Paul, had a reoccurring dream in which Obi- Wan was my uncle, and purchased Batman issue #13 for twenty bucks! Can life get much better? Yes. Yes, it can. The happiness in my future begins and ends with Final Fantasy VIII. I plan on playing this game until my eyes bleed and | die from starvation. Now, | just need to figure out a way to make the other RPG fans in the office not want it as bad as | do.” Abe's Exoddus ............ esse All-Star Baseball '99 Azure Dreams .......... seres Banjo-Kazooie ................. Bio FHEAKS:* ooo reor Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling ..... 54 C: The Contra Adventure .......... 46 Capcom Generations 1: 1942 Series ......... FOI UND 56 Capcom Generations 2: Ghouls & Ghosts Series ......... 56 Castle of Deception ............., 57 Command & Conquer: Retaliation: ois. Sl us tarn 58 Cool Boarders 3 ............2.2.2. 55 Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped........ 45 Crime Killer 127.505 ve eer 57 Devil: DIC ON ossis ia te nns 29 Downhill Racer ............ suus. 53 Ecco: The Tides of Time .......... 68 FINNI uror rade eerte s 55 Final Fantasy VIII ....... issues 24 Forsa kOn e rr rU Eee ea 52 GameDay 99, vices iv e i eh 25 Granstream Saga ..........1..2.... 57 Hyperdiivecs oos sre rel bs i vas 53 Jersey DEVIL ea DUDIS ODORE 40 Jet Force Gemini ................ 29 KBE cione ra 55 Madden 99:77:17 576 8 a EE ae R 25 Might & Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven .......... 52 Mike Piazza's StrikeZone .......... 54 Mission: Impossible .............. 10 Mortal Kombat 4 .............. 33, 59 N20: Nitrous Oxide .............. 58 NASGAR 99. S eese eim 39 NBA Jam 99.7 rore sere n visas 28 NFL Xtrenio Pieter oss ape is 49 Ninja s... rein Uses eta 22 Omikron: The Nomad Soul......... 28 QUIWEIG: S r Wee aaron 52 Quarterback Club ‘99 ............. 25 QUebt.04 V nð 36 Redline Racer ............ Lise. 52 Rogue: Tp? rea ies Tite as 47 Sanitarium o» eese var t n 52 Shadow Madness ................ 54 Syphon Filler ............ suse 48 Space Megaforce ................ 68 Speci Ops ie aa 52 Spyro The Dragon ............... 42 Streak ER e csse ee e eed 51 Street Fighter Alpha 3 ............ 53 Street Fighter EX 2 ,.............. 53 SWAT 2E ENERO vores aoe oed 52 PUN DUE ses ely et aie So « 20 TOMOA NOSTRE a nca ce «cc E 41 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil ............ 28 Volante 8... sies med e viata 50 VR Baseball 99... ens oss 56 Wether sii o eer Re 38 World Grand Prix ........... NDS 39 X-Men Vs. Street Fighter EX Edition ........ cr 50 Bergren, The Game Burrito bergren@gameinformer.com ‘Is it just me, or does that guy on the cover look more like Joe Piscopo than Tom Cruise? Talk about a dry spell. Joe hasn't been in a good flick since Johnny Dangerously. | guess that's what happens when a comedian spends more time pumping iron than working on his delivery. Anyway, the PC scene is really starting to cook with a tons of fierce looking games like Unreal. Currently, I'm still spending time playing StarCraft, but when | want something to blow up right in my face, | turn to Forsaken.” .,OMIKRON d 77 THE NOMAD SOUL It doesn't take much... Just your soul Discover why millio of people worldwid adventuring with Ë Enter the mystical world of Kurosawa. PlayStation wv sinteractive.com TOMB RAIDER ll and LARA CROFT and her likeness are trademarks of Core Design. Copyright © 1996-1998 Core. OMIKRON is a trademark of Quantic EIDOS INTERACTIVE is a trademark of Eidos pic. Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony | The Woes of a Dying System Owner ’m a Saturn owner and | have a few oncerns. . | know the Saturn is going, or has | already gone down the tubes. It’s hard to find any new games! None of the usual places carry Saturn games nymore. Other than overpriced mail order, is there anyplace | can get good new games? q 2. I've heard of a new Sega system for 1999. Is construction of the system | starting in ‘99, or is it coming out in ‘99? | 3. Most of the new games are imports, and | want to get some! | know nothing bout the Saturn converter. Does it ome by itself? About how much does it cost? Does each game need its own | converter? | 4. How come your Saturn reviews and | previews are sinking down to one or two "At A Glances"? Most of these games were highly rated. Don't you hink they deserve a better spot? Are you ever going to do a ‘Saturn farewell’ ssue before you let it go completely? Dan Mrotek Milwaukee, WI Extra-Sensitive Editors owe you an apology. I’m sorry if | hurt anybody's feelings when | called you morons, but | was just really mad when | wrote my first to you. Now for the | questions: I. What is the best football game | available for the Super NES? | haven't | found anything better than Tecmo Super | Bowl 3: Final Edition on the 16-bit scale, land | was wondering if there was ! anything better that | could get. us BRUAS uso : — 2.1 think you goofed with your awards back in February. | think that the N64 game of the year should have been MarioKart 64 (even though | do really | like Starfox 64). If | remember correctly, | | believe that the review staff scored | MarioKart 64 higher than Starfox 64, | but | might be mistaken. | 3. When are you going to review Madden 98 or NBA Live 98 for SNES? 4. Have you ever broken any of your games, controllers, etc. in a fit of anger (this applies to all at Gl), or am | the only one who's broken: 3 games, 2 controllers, and a dual-deck tape player? Inti LAST | 5. Are we going to be seeing any lower- l priced software for N64 in the near Í | future, or should | take the PS-X route | for better deals? Í Matthew Jones Í Internet Í Thanks for the apology, but you did | hurt Storm's feelings. He moped around for two weeks, muttering something Game Informer * July '98 L. Find a local mom and pop game store. Saturn games have already been dropped in most chains. 2.All signs show that the system will be released in the US. in 1999. 3.You can use a Game Shark for most of your conversion needs. However, the games that require the RAM upgrade do not work with this (unless you swap carts, which is RISKY). You can get your system modified to play both Japanese and American games for a small fee at import stores. However, any modification done to a system voids its warranty. 4. When Sega stated that it was not supporting the Saturn anymore, we decided to drop the Saturn to only "At A Glance.” Unfortunately, the majority of gamers that read Gl don't have a Saturn anymore (or never did). So it made better sense to use the space for other things. There will be no "farewell issue" for the Saturn. In this business there are winners and losers. Hopefully next time the loser won't be Sega. about ‘Master’s Degree’ and ‘Jeopardy. He is now very relieved, and challenges you to a game of Trivial Pursuit. |. There were no good football games for the SNES. Buy a Genesis and Madden 94. 2.When we looked back, Starfox didn’t score as well, but when judging the awards almost a year later, we thought StarFox was better. 3.Watch Classic Gl. Maybe we'll have a sports round-up. 4. Andy has been known to break a couple of controllers in his time. He especially remembers the time he was playing Ninja Gaiden for the NES. | Remember how if you lost to the fina boss you were sent back to the beginning of the level...well...Andy lost Expletives and controllers went flying everywhere! He even broke his NES when he punted it across the room. 5. As for cheaper games, watch the Nintendo Player’s Choice Series for cheap titles. However, new titles should continue to be around the same price. Á TIN MTD = Í get this straight — we don't always like | numbered questions. So, to infinity | and... | 2. Not to our knowledge, unless you | consider the Game Shark. | puke. Other games | buttons to sidestep... Feh! Tobal | and 2 RPG Happy | think you guys are doing a great job with your magazine. | love reading it. | just have a few questions for you, since you always like numbered questions. I. Why aren't there any PC codes in your magazine? 2. Are there any ways to get extra money in SaGa Frontier? 3. Can you publish the places of the characters in SaGa Frontier? 4. Are there any really new top of the line RPGs out for PS-X? 5.|s there a way to earn extra money in Final Fantasy VII? 6. Are there any sports games out for PS-X that are good? 7. If | had the money to buy a new system, what should it be? | already have a PS-X. Dan Carlino Internet Thanks for the compliments, but let's I. The Game Burrito has limited space for GI PC, but if you keep bothering him, he may drop some in. SSSSmokin!! LO ng You guys are trippin’. Tobal 2 is the | best fighting game ever released for any | system, period. The fact that Square | refuses to release it in the States is only testament to the game's greatness. If | Tobal 2 were available to the masses here, no other game would sell. There would be riots and the Justice Department would probably have to | shut Square down. Tekken? HA! Any game where you push down to make your fighter crouch makes me want to use shoulder both have the best grappling system available. The addition of projectile attacks in Tobal 2 initially worried me, Informer veer rio 3. No. 4. Breath Xenogears should be out this winter. Of Fire 3 is out, Lá $ hans and Í 5. Sell any excess Materia you have | mastered. They command a pretty | penny. 6. NHL 98, GameDay ‘98, MLB '99 and | Shoot Out '99 are great. 7. Um, there's only one other system Í out there that's still supported, but we | suggest the Intellivision. game like MK (yuk!!) or S (WAS ok, now it's just stupid) but instead it only made Tobal better. To even think that a a 9.75 in the concept category makes me cringe. You guys are smokin’ crack. Richard Ericksen, Orinda, CA While the staff is split on which is the better game (two for Tekken 3, two for Tobal 2, and two abstaining), Tekken 3 has been released in the U.S., and therefore, gets more press. Tobal 2 was not released here because Square Soft felt it would not sell well enough to warrant the enormous translation necessary to bring the game over. While we agree with your statements about the grappling system, we have to disagree all the way on the projectiles. They suck and so does crack. thinking it would make the | Tekken game could achieve £ The Stars Read Gl Í P Í Í | right games for my system. E ~ ni £ i^ m Ð E" E it's One or the Other = May | offer effusive accolades on a magazine well done? I’ve only been reading Gl for half a year, but | certainly plan to continue. | think the best things about your publication are your colorful layouts, your frank and horough reviews of games, and your | obviously well-developed sense of | humor. What's with these mental sieves | who write in and simply don't get it — | your altered photos are consistently | piss- pants hilarious, and your April "exclusive" joke was a minor riot! — oh, but you must be more SERIOUS, surely 1 gaming is a SERIOUS endeavor. Come on! Í im | Í ; SSS Anyway, thanks for your walkthrough of Tomb Raider II. It was extremely helpful through some tough spots (especially when | waited to read solutions as a last resort). On a more serious note, there are aspects of TR gameplay that left a humble adventurer quite frustrated. At times, some of the jump combinations seemed to be so finicky, and require button combos so precise, it left me with the feeling | ` was competing with a flawed interface. | knew this couldn't be so, but sometimes a particular spot would become so tedious, l'd literally have to ignore the game for days while my blood pressure returned to normal. My I am a loyal reader of your magazine. _ If | can, | try to buy your magazine every month. | am happy that your magazine treats every game system equally. When | | read your magazine you always have a _ little description of games for every | system. You help us readers out a lot hen you give us codes and strategies on pem we could improve our gameplaying | skills. Also | would like to compliment | you on the way you rate the games on a á scale of 0-10, you help me choose the ir Bradley Pitt, Forestville, MD WOW !! Brad Pitt? Hey, how was ibet? Is Paltrow a good kisser? Can you et us tickets to the Oscars next year? LAA LOAN toU LUDERE URL A TUBES USUCEMISESSLALEAEULHLE USES question is this (and keep in mind | know very little about writing code): why does it seem that games either have to be exclusively (ha) graphically awesome - like TR — OR highly playable — like the N64 claims to be — with the exception of maybe Abe's Oddysee and some others? Please respond to this | concerning 32 vs. 64 bit, digital vs. | analog, and any other insights you may have. As a final comment, why not make a tiny space in your mag for articulate READER reviews of games once in a | while, in addition to the "Dear GI" column. The "man on the street" approach might be refreshing. Keep up the good work, fellows, and remember that some of us like your light and funny approach. Now how about a free subscription? Sincerely, JG Flagstaff, AZ Concerning your comments, technology has little to do with th playability of a game. Li ikewise, we could spout endlessly about titles that look as good as they play.The titles that fit into this category usually have some visionary behind the concept, an awesome artist/animator, and a rice r coder putting some gaming TLC i the product. They also usually in an endless supply of time and money. Nintendo falls into this category and the games usually show it. Titles that are sio au by uninspired developers, or rushed by shorter, ^ cheape development schedules, are likely to pay the price.As for the frustration factor in Tomb Raider Il, why do you think you’ allowed to save anywhere? Ed It looks like Ivanny is buckin’ for a job at Capcom. Whooda thunk Ryu was living in Akuma's head all these years. as ens 1910 W. 26 Saree Who is this hot mama? 4 AN 555 | Eder, Prarie, to an interplanetary surf-off. Let me hear you scream... ohhhh! Blasto challenges the Silver Surfer The familiar terminal-room plummet is part of this package. Even without Ethan's help, Candice can hold her own. umm The sniper mode is awesome! this line of work you either die, or come back to die another day. Welcome to the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), the "Overall, Mission: Impossible is a mixed bag. The game starts out slow and fairly AN DY entertaining, and then about halfway _ THE GAME HOMBRE _ through, the levels just get awesome - Concept : : : very unique and extremely entertaining. 8 world's most invaluable ally in the This lasts for a while, but it seems that ~~ Graphis — quest for peace and justice. Your every time you think this game is going in 1 ~ m : ; Eom the right direction, it goes to a level that is 8.25 | ission, if you decide to accept it, is to good, but not as good as the one you just Sound ; 2 E ssume the identity of IMF's most completed. Comparisons to GoldenEye 8.75 o U 4 restigious agent, Ethan Hunt, are inevitable, so here goes. Mission Tm em Á j Pr ; definitely doesn't have as much action or Playability fei and carry out the orders given gore as GoldenEye, but it certainly has -s M By % by Mr. Phelps and associates. excellent mission objectives that are fun Entertainment " | ieri : our incredible talents, to figure out. And of course, Mission 8 i - - coupled with the support of doesn't have 4-player Deathmatch, but if SEHE Å M : m] the F ; ial you are looking for a fun 1-player spy game 8.25 | | the uen special weaponry (and have already played GoldenEye)... and equipment, can turn even Mission: Impossible ain't bad." OVERALL — <= . the most impossible mission | into an immediate success. | However, should you be caught | or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This may not be a typical nine-to-fiver, but the benefits are wonderful and-the Ë T | travel is to die for. | Stealth is the key to success. | “The mission was almost impossible for PAUL the development of this game, but the THE GAME PROFESSOR extra time (and a long look at GoldenEye) Concent paid off. This game does have many 8 P instances of strange graphic hiccups and 9 —— the overall look of the game is fairly weak. Graphics Even though it doesn't quite follow the film 8 as far as story settings, the. added Sound senio t —ÀMÓ€ elements such as the sniper levels and the 6 Two years ago, Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures rein- carnated the television series Mission: Impossible and transformed it into a blockbuster motion picture. The film had a few holes in the plot, and the surprise ending was almost too big of a shocker, but fans of the television series eventually embraced this redo as the next best thing | to the original. Infogrames and Ocean | originally planned to release a game | that was identical to the film, but numerous delays in the product forced the development team to create a slightly different story that everyone and their dog didn’t already know. Every once in a while though, the game does crossover to the movie, presenting a memorable scene or moment. Thus, the famous dangling act where Ethan plummets from the N ceiling to access a top secret computer terminal is part of this gunboat level are interesting and enjoyable a additions. | can't say that this game rivals Playability GoldenEye, but it has plenty to offer the 7.75 action fan. Mission: Impossible is rough Fannar around the edges, but it is a blast Enter Pak OVERALL "Mission: Impossible borrowed a few ideas from GoldenEye, but still didn'tcome REINER close to topping it in look, play, or THE RAGING GAMER entertainment. In fact, if | wasn't a such a Concept hardcore gamer l'd think that Mission 8.25 came out well before GoldenEye. To be fair Granhi though, Mission does more than enough to rapnics satisfy game players and more so - 7.75 GoldenEye fans. The graphics are nothing Sound to holler home about, but the gameplay 7.75 will tickle you in places you didn't know Paon. you had. The key to this game’s success ayability is variety and there's plenty of it. All of the 8.25 tools, weapons, and mission objectives Entertainment offer a good time indeed. Some of the 8.5 levels just plain suck, but along with the bad, Infogrames has thrown in a few levels that you will remember for quite some time.” OVERALL i i i i | i | i 27 Pressing the Right Button will bring up this targeting display. Then, by hitting Up Í C, you can zoom in even closer. / | `Oh. Fkared io mest pou. May I , Ümtreduce you Io mo good iriend, Misi Nintendo 64 Cover Story * Size: 96 Megabit * Style: 1-Player Action * Special Features: 2 Difficulties; 20 Missions Across 5 Scenarios; Multiple Mission Objectives; Numerous Gadgets; Limited Ammo; Zoom Cam With Distance Targeting; Rumble Pak & Widescreen TV (16/9) Compatible * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: Infogrames for Ocean * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Lire: N64 package. Some of the gadgets are also very familiar, like y the Facemaker that Ethan uses to transform into any humanoid he , sees. But for the most ds the game Få Abandon ship! | you first turn this cart on, you will at the gameplay is very basic, but the Take On Accountants IÐ - BONE Rs ke Using the Facemaker to change identity will grant Ethan access to restricted areas. Í obieg ives for level completion are ' not. Like GoldenEye 0Q7, enemy hit zones and one-hit deaths play a factor, but the main stream of entertainment comes through finding out what to do ` next. Sometimes you'll be required to plant plastique, “wiping out all of the power on a small military base. ‘Other times, you will be forced to rescue allies in tress. You'll never really know what to expect until Objective is right on top of you. As for the iphic presentation, similarities to GoldenEye are ind off, but everything from the character nt, to the camera angle changes, says Star ows of the Empire. possible is a spy thriller that puts everything else, but the other rt, GoldenEye, may be too much ible to compete with. Check Views to see if Infogrames has Game informer * July 9% _ Mission: Impossible's secrets and may spoil | 1 your enjoyment of the game. | 4 E AT Y OWN RISK! — — * Get to Subpen With vipera PON Veli 5. Clutter + 5 1 * Change Identity * Find Excuse for Errand HI, lm Fred and Fm looking for my ` eon. * Find Facemaker * Find Score * Find Nausea Powder * Find Drink * Place Smoke Generators * Assume Ambassador Aide's I.D. * Access Restricted Area To Change Identity jump off the pontoon boat and hop over the fence. Walk along the fence to the shack (highlighted with white and red dots on the Field Scanner). Talk to the guard and then shoot him. Drag him into the house and use your Face Maker to morph into the enemy. | From here, search the cabinet to Find Excuse for Errand. | Now that you are masked, locate the transport vehicle and | talk to the driver. Hand him the Excuse and walk over to the | buildings off to the left. Talk to Clutter and Get to Subpen | With Clutter by catching a ride on the back of the transport Place the first Smoke Generator in the hallway to the right, then plant another in the vent nearest to the couple in the entryway. Now, walk to the left and place the third Smoke Generator in the vent next to the chairs. From here, head to the piano player. To his right is a vent. Drop a Generator into it. At this point go to the bar and you will Find the Drink and Nausea Powder. To the right of the bar is another vent. Place a Generator in it and return to the hallways. Talk to the people next to the painting, then talk to them again when they sit down. From here head toward the bathroom, and get the Blow Pipe ready. You'll know what to do. Allright, it’s time to mingle. Walk around and talk to everyone * Find Magnetic Bomb | a few times. The couple who were looking at the painting * Give Bomb to Clutter will stand up from their seats when talked to again. Just after . Sabotage the Gunboat this act takes place reach down and grab the Score from * Join Dowey for Getaway the man's seat. To Find the Facemaker return to the lobby and talk to the woman until the man leaves. She is actually an ally who will give you the tool you seek. All of the chit chat is now out of the way. Head to the pianist and hand him the score. The Ambassador's Aide will walk down to listen to the great music. Hand him the poisoned drink and have a toast Follow the Ambassador's Aide to the bathroom and use the Facemaker. You'll now have access to the second level. Follow the red dot on the Field Scanner to Find Magnetic Bomb. Now, Give Bomb to Clutter by locating the green 12 dot on your Scanner. To Sabotage the Gunboat, follow the white dot on the Scanner and place a Magnetic Bomb on the boat. Lastly, locate the green dot again and climb down the ladder to the pontoon boat and Join Dowey for a Grand Getaway. S Game Informer * July 98 Walk past the guard and Place the Last Smoke Generator in the vent to the left. To finish the level, simply head to the | other end of the hall and talk to the guard to Access the Restricted Area. One-Hit Deaths — Taking out an enemy with one shot is very effective, especially on the later levels. To pull these off, all you have to do is target the enemy's head. Easier yet, sneak up behind them and plug them through the back of the head. This technique will also save you tons of ammo. Possible/Impossible — Our Play To Perfection was compiled on the Possible difficulty. Impossible is basically the same, but features more Objectives on each level. Impossible also has a different ending. * Find Protection Suit * Find Exit Key * Access the Embassy HQ The first objective on this level is to Find a Protection Suit. 1 Follow the red dot on the radar and shoot out the lower | rightmost box to get this life-saving item. As you run through this hazardous level, keep your eye out for strange-colored crates. There are five in total that must be destroyed. You'll also run into an enemy holding the Exit Key near one of the Í crates. Now, just locate the exit (which happens to be right next to one of the crates) and Access the Embassy HQ. * Secure Passage for Candice * Activate Master Switch Nintendo 64 Cover Stor * Talk To Barnes * Find Video Freezer ¢ Find Facemaker Cartridge e Find Dartgun * Sabotage Video Link * Get Transfer Order * Escape With Candice ios À Strange Fp wasn't warn Okay, ier LH open her cel. After stepping out of the elevator take an immediate left and enter the room at the end of the hall. Talk to Barnes and head back out into the hall and go to the left again. Enter the door with the security camera over it and grab the Facemaker. Now, head back toward the elevator and enter the head of security's quarters. Talk to the old man, then punch him and drag his body behind the desk. Use your Facemaker to change forms and grab the Dartgun off of the desk. Now, press the two switches on the bookcase to gain access to a secret security room. Kill the watchmen and grab the Exit Passcard. From here, head to the central hallway and enter the room holding Candice's cell. Grab the Video Freeze and leave. Reenter the video room (via these secret switches) and use the Video Freeze to Sabotage the Video Link. To Get the Transfer Order, enter the room with the white door and talk to the man. With it in hand, return to Candice's room and free her. To finish this mission WALK over to the large security doors and | use the Exit Passcard to Escape With Candice. Gane Informer * July 9a 13 14 * Find Super-Computer * Protect Candice * Get NOC List * Escape eee ene O EE EE mene From the start, head to the right and cross over the sewage Í to the activation terminal. Pound some keys then return to B Candice and bring her across the newly formed bridge. Now B go to the left and pound some more keys to make a second Í bridge appear. Take this bridge to another terminal that will & open a door. You'll have to be quick on this one because f the door is set on a 3-minute timer. Through this door you B will Find the Super-Computer and the NOC List. Now, Í Escape through the entrance. E * Secure Access to the Lift « Find Jack * Dress as Fireman * Give Candice Fireman Outfit * Escape the Embassy First, follow Candice to the elevator to Secure the Lift. At Í the bottom of the stairs you will run into Jack disguised as i a fireman. Follow him to the bathroom and assume the role B of a brave Fireman. Head back to the elevator and Give Í Candice a Fireman Outfit. Now, run downstairs and B Escape the Embassy with the other firemen. Game Informer * July '98 E! better mitem my ammo 1 j y ` N 4 Æ ae A * Secure Passage for Candice * Find the Mask of Golytsine e Take Back the NOC List | * Unfreeze Video Cameras * Assume Golytsine's Identity * Find Exit Key * Exit into Smoke with Candice Bring it on!!! The action really starts to heat up here. To Í Secure a Passage for Candice simply blow away all the f ceiling-based turrets and don't activate the switch at the end Í until she is next to you. Enter the next room and grab the Í Mask of Golytsine from the cabinet. Destroy the peculiar Í panel and run out. Make sure you kill all of the enemies, and B Take Back the NOC List from one of the fallen. Now, enter f the room with Candice's body and head to the double doors E to the right of the activation board. : Before you even take a step, Assume Golytsine’s Identity. ; Now, quickly run back to the secret room and Unfreeze the Í Video Cameras. Even quicker now, run into the room with Í the white door and kill the guard. Grab the Exit Key and E enter the door with smoke streaming out of it to Escape Í With Candice. Í * Escape From Interrogation * Pick Up the Equipment * Get Into Hallway * Get Out of the Interrogation Sector * Take Free Access Print * Find Sergeant for SAS Access * Reach Elevator to Infirmary * Find the Antidote * Distract Attention * Find Way to Roof MISSION FAILED: ALORREST. * Sabotage Heliport Lights * Find Bag of Equipment * Find Zone Digitcards * Fix Lights * Install EMS Near Heliport * Enter Security Level * Find Security Level Code * Meet Candice Kill the first guard to obtain the Security Card. Use this Card to Í open the doors that block your path, and search each guard post ; carefully for hidden goodies. Once you reach the other side of E the fence, pull yourself up on to the crate next to the house and B jump up to the next platform. Here you will Find the Bag of E Equipment. Use the Bag to transform into a normal repairman, Í then take the stairs to the rooftop and drop down to the power Ë source located near the fence. Turn the crank and you will B Sabotage the Heliport Lights. Venture back up to the rooftop E and cross the bridge joining the two buildings. Talk to the guard B to get in, then take the stairs to the left to Fix the Lights. Kill the Ë guard down here to get your hands on the second Security Card. E Now, go back upstairs and Install the EMS into the wall-mounted i box next to the heliport. Walk down the stairs to the right, enter Ø the door, kill another guard, and you guessed it, pick up his Card B to complete the Find Zone Digitcards task. Walk around this : lower platform and pull yourself up the series of crates. Put on E the Infrared Glasses, use the Deflector on the lasers, and Enter i the Security Level. Climb up the next set of crates and position Ø the Camera on top. Run around for a while then return to the Ë camera to get the Security Level Code. Use this to open the B guard door and access the roof. Enter the building and you will E Meet Candice. : After Interrogation 101, walk over to the door and the CIA coffee mug and press the action button. Now, walk over to the flashing receiver and listen carefully. You'll receive instructions on how to Escape From Interrogation. Grab the gum, but don't set it on the door; instead, search the padded walls and press the somewhat invisible switch. Place the gum on the window and crawl out once it is safe. In the next room, Pick up Your Equipment and exit Into the Hallway. Here we go. You have 10 minutes to get out of this joint. Run out of the cell and plug | the guard. Use the Fingers Scanner to get the guard's fingerprint. Use his print on | the wall and enter the newly opened door to Get Out of the Interrogation Sector. 7 Now, run behind the crates and grab the spray paint. Use this paint on the security ` cameras. Next, trek around the corner and stun the guards and Take a Free Access Print. Use this print on the large revolving door twice and snatch up the empty gun from behind. At the next revolving door have the Electro Stunner ready and blast the little twerp behind the desk. Now, enter the normal door with the empty gun armed to accomplish Find Sergeant SAS Access. Follow the fat man to the door and then kill him. Exit to the right to Reach the Infirmary Elevator. Walk into the infirmary UNARMED and talk to the nurse to Find the Antidote. Now this may seem silly, but hit the button on the sick man’s bed to Distract Attention. From here sneak away and jump out the window. * Switch On the * Get the NOC List * Escape Nintendo 64 Cover Story Better watch ‘out for tfe “yetiow lasers. deo to tne alarm Computer Press Up on the analog to get into the dive-bomb position. Tap the Down C button so that the camera is to the side of E Ethan (see pic). Maneuver down so that your head almost f touches the yellow lasers. This will make them move out of Í the way. Plummet down and swing over to the door switch, Í and then over to the Computer to Get the NOC List. The Ø game will do the rest for you. All you need to do is pull E yourself back up to the top to Escape. * Join Heliport * Deactivate EMS * Escape With Helicopter Work your way off of the rooftop and plant an explosive on | the piping. Run away from the guards and Join the Í Heliport. Deactivate the EMS and destroy it. Now, simply | Escape With the Helicopter. l Game informer « July '98 Á OBJECTIVES ° LX Max's STATION (MISS 4j -Henchmen STATION (MISSION 14) s Meet Candice FAR * Block the Exits OBJECTIVES D PED OBJECTIVES 2 * Protect Ethan shooting ar mea n T _e Neutralize Max's * Take the Train Henchmen * Find NOC List * Avoid Bomb Explosion Snipe the two guards walking with Ethan and then pop anyone who is suspicious (meaning with a gun). Sooner or later this hunt Will come to an end. If you Protect Ethan, he will Take the Train, which in turn finishes the first part of this scenario. OBJECTIVES * Get the A.F. Scrambler * Get the Mine -e Bring Clutter AFS. and. . Mine * Get the Gas Injector ` — © Get the R.C. Detonator . Get the ILL *Find Wirecutters ` OBJECTIVES * Catch 2222 e Regroup on Com. _ . Building... oa *Find Night-View — Glasses. ——— After leaving your party, walk around the dock over to a stack of crates. Jump up on top to Get the A.F. Scrambler. Follow the red dot on your Scanner to the Mine and Explosives. Now, Bring the A.F.S. and Mine to Clutter and head back i out into the tundra. Use your Scanner to locate the Gas f Shoot out the hitmen and use the rockets on the helicopters. E : Injector and enter the pump house to Find the Wirecutters. E Ultimately, make it to the end of the train and blow away the last B - From here, walk around the house and hand Clutter the Í heli with a rocket to stop the “mysterious” villain. : cutters. Again, follow the red dot to a guard house and grab Í ; the R.C. Detonator. Head back to the pump house and set Í the Explosives. Hit the Detonator to Sabotage the Pump E House, then Regroup on Com. Building. Look on your E Scanner for the whereabouts of the Night-View Glasses f and head for the tunnel. Lastly, ascend the rooftop again and Ø jump onto the next truck you see. i 1 6 . Game Informer * July '98 ; ` Na The second half of this stage has you playing as Ethan again. Take out your gun and shoot the five goons hiding behind and walls of this fancy train. Sniping their heads is the easiest way to Neutralize Max's Henchmens' threat. In the second living quarters car you will Meet Candice again. Now, go into the next car and Block the Exits by placing the item Candice handed you onto the switch in the next car. At the end of the next car, you will find a train employee. Punch him and use the Facemaker to take on a different identity. Walk down to the | bar car and destroy the enemies that take you by surprise. After this ' enter the baggage car and kill a few more baddies. Search the armored case at the end, then check the other cases to find the items you will need to open the bomb case. First, use the Blowtorch to turn both - beams on the case red. Then, use the Liquid Nitrogen to blow them off. Go back to the car you passed with all of the enemies and kill the well ` dressed woman to Find the NOC List. Kill the remaining goons to Neutralize Max's Henchmen. Bring the Detonator back to the bomb and defuse it to Avoid a Nasty Bomb Explosion L Find 4 Explosives and ` va Plastique — E Teu Of Cam Power PI Plant - = . P Briefcase from z Te e “Bunker . Follow the white dot on your Scanner to the cut fence and | you'll receive a message from Clutter saying that he ha found the Explosives. Cross over the river and the next | building and exit through the fence. Talk to Clutter and he | will hand you the Explosives and Plastique. Cross back | over the river and place the Plastique on the circuit breaker. Next, place the Explosives next to the electrical equipment to Sabotage the Power Plant. Shoot the Plastique to Cut | Off the Camera Power and head to the only building with | a video surveillance room. Enter this room and shoot the | man behind the desk to Take on the Accountant's ID. | Grab the Security Card from his desk and head across the | river again. Enter the building you just crossed over and use | the Security Card on the circular metal doors to Get the Briefcase. Next, talk to Clutter to Sabotage the Briefcase, then enter the factory and Bring the Briefcase to Deal. Switch to the Sniper Rifle and take out the troops next to the Gunboat. Wait in the factory for your partner, the Escape on the Gunboat with cunet Nintendo 64 Cover Story Ethan, Dowey nere. Carmu not to jump on the pmatiorms too late or vout hit the wall, Jump over the first beam then hop over onto the walkway : | to the right. Enter the door and grab the Explosives. Place two sets of Explosives on the Anchor Bolts next to the doors, | then hop on another truck and repeat this process at the next three stops to Sabotage the Anchor Bolts. AON ANN AN ENR ARAN HANNAN gE RA ONO AAN NASN E OSPEA NGA AN RV MORI Game Informer * July ua 1 r4 Y u don’ t have time for polishing porcelain. fou bou to be P More than ten different types of enemy aircraft and tons of ground targets. hað V g^ "IR.EE. I. wA P I Pun " ap! | (ub ony interactive) Stu formed, wholly-owned division of Sony Computer „Entert À preparing to. relëase its "very- first ^ | Y action/platform game for the PlayStation ET this coming winter, Obviously, expectations are high, from gamers as much as from parent-company Sony; but after talking with Ken Yamada of Sony Interactive Studios, it seems that anything is possible. Especially since The Diabolical Adventures of Tobu isn't your average action/platformer. Tobu features 360° movement through the entire stratosphere. Sure, the public might presume this makes € ” constantly monitor Tobu's height and airspeed! |gflap. Átta. is idesi ated to a button. Players must. ty Flapping, gliding, hovering, exploring, dive ` dlpbing, attacking — all are a result of your skill with the controller. .. Consftained by limited energy, flying Tobu from platform to platform ud pinpoint accuracy in judging distance along with precision d that Tobu must collect to trade for extra lives, destructive lis, and helpful hints at the local village. But enough with our babbling, let’s get the story straight from it “Sony’s answer to Sega’s Nights,” but nothing could - D Ken Yamada, the talent behind Tobu. be farther from the truth. Sporting steam-driven wings, .. M t l Tobu pushes the boundaries in action/platform control ` 34 that Nights, or the wealth of other PlayStation i platformers, simply can't touch. esu Gl: First off, can you tell us a little about yourself, and what you do at Sony Interactive Studios America? team my role is lead designer for Tobu. Gl: What other Sony projects have you been involved with? Ken Yamada: Pm an associate producer at Sony Interactive Studios America, but within the Ken: This is my first project for Sony. I started out as an assistant account executive with our third-party group, but like most people who really want to make games, | found a way to transfer to product development. Gl: How long have you been working on Tobu? Ken: The concept work was started in October 1996 and continued for several months while we were talking the rest of the team members into joining the project. Full production kicked off in April 1997. Gl: How big is the development team? Ken: Fourteen people.The team is heavily weighted with very experienced people, such as our lead programmer, Troy Gillette, and many of the programmers and artists on the team had worked together before. The result was that we were able to start production with a very solid tech spec, and we've been rolling pretty smoothly ever since. GI: Ken, could you tell us how you came up with the concept of Tobu? Were you inspired by any books, movies, or comics for instance? 20 _ Game Informer + July 198 Ken: Once | landed in product development, I was told to make.myself busy, and soon. So | sat down for about three weeks and began putting together Tobu and his world. | am a big fan of Japanese anime, especially Hayao Miyazaki's stuff like Nausicaa, and | also drew inspiration from movies by Jeunet and Caro, and previous flight-based games like Joust. So the world of Tobu and the idea of using flight as che means of transportation came about pretty much simultaneously. Gl: Tobu doesn't look like the typical fun- loving game hero. What makes him, or his quest, diabolical? Ken: Tobu is basically a mischievous kid who is sort of accidentally forced into the role of a hero when his only kin, his uncle, is kidnapped by the evil Nen Hithol. So Tobu starts the game by escaping from the walled city of Nimbus using a pair of prototype wings. At first, no one takes Tobu seriously. But as the player progresses through the game (and coincidentally also becomes more proficient), Tobu has to take on increasingly bizarre, twisted enemies in the form of the minions of Nen Hithol. So out of pure necessity, Tobu’s mischievousness turns diabolical. GI: With so many character-based action games on the market, what will separate Tobu from the rest of the pack? Ken: The gameplay, look, and feel. To our knowledge, no one else has done a hj aA L | straightforward platformer with flying as the only viable means of travel.And, the Asian art style and steam driven world create a very unique, and we hope engrossing, experience. GI: Much of Tobu is obviously going to involve flight. Will he use any other means of transportation? Ken: No, | mean seriously, would you walk if you could fly? GI: We heard he was originally going to be called Jack. Why the change to Tobu? Do you think gamers might get him confused with Tomba? Ken: There were trademark conflicts with Jack. Tobu means “to fly" in Japanese, so we thought it was kind of appropriate. As for gamers getting him confused with Tomba, | hope not. Pm not familiar with Tomba, but the names seem pretty distinct to me. Gi: When Tobu first began its development, what was the process? Did you take a character model, give it moves, and design the world around it? Or did you start with a concept of the world, which then affected the character design? Ken: We knew what would be fun to do in flight, so we built a world around Tobu with many things to interact with: heat vents, air shoots, and a host of characters to attack, steal from, race, etc., and then started putting together combinations of inte- e GI: We’ve seen and played just a Ken: | doubt if Tobu will have a voice. Gl: What has been the most Ken: Since this is our team’s | ) * efore you knew it, we had some levels. little of the game. Will there be animated cut-scenes? Will Tobu have a voice? The player is supposed to “be” Tobu, so we don’t want to interfere with the player's idea of who Tobu is. The game does have a narrator, an old man who decides after a couple pretty severe tests that Tobu might actually have what it takes to survive his adventure. The old man takes on the role of mentor to Tobu, because if Tobu can save his uncle, he may be able to vanquish Nen Hithol and free the rest of the inhabitants of Nimbus. As for cut scenes, no. We don’t want the player to break up the game experience. Game saves, level changes, trading seeds for hints, all this business is taken care of in a floating village called Good Folk Shire so that the player never has to leave the adventure. E. difficult aspect of the development so far? first project together, we had to go through that whole phase of learning to trust one another while still keeping to a pretty aggressive development schedule. Now we're practically mindmelded, that has become our strength, we have a great team. GI: When should we look for Tobu to hit the streets? Ken:Winter 1998 Gl: Thanks Ken. The game looks great, and we hope to see more soon. Gl: First off, Adrian, why don't you tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Core Design? Adrian Smith: Not a great deal to tell, | look after all the internal development that takes place here at Core Design. Gl: How long has Core been working on Ninja? Adrian: By the time the project will be finished it will be two years. It has been longer in development than we would have hoped for. Originally the game was started on the Sega Saturn, so when we started the PS-X version we had to rewrite almost all of the code - hence we lost a lot of time. All this said, the game is now much better for the longer time spent on it. Gl: How big is the team? Recently, Game Informer got a chance to sit down and talk with the head of development for Core Design, Inc., Adrian Smith, about his upcoming action - when all the parts of this action title have fallen together ab v Adrian has to say about Ninja as it nears completion. | will be transported at certain points to the demon's lair where you will have to prove your worthiness by fighting various bosses. Gl: Were there any other ninja games that influenced you on this product (we were always big fans of Ninja Gaiden)? Adrian: Ninja Gaiden was one of the titles that has influenced our game because it's a classic. You could also say that Shinobi has had some influence, but it's not just ninja games. Ghosts & Goblins also played a part in how we wanted it to play. Gl: Who is this ninja and where did he come from? Adrian: Ancient Japan has been split into two distinct regions, each controlled by a powerful warlord. These men caused many years of war and hardship in an effort to gain Adrian: The team is currently six people. Three programmers and three artists, it's one of the smallest teams we currently have here at Core. Gl: Who came up with the concept behind Ninja? Adrian: The original idea for the game came from one of the artists on the project called Joby. However, what we originally started with, and what we have today, is very different. Gl: How many levels and environments are there in Ninja? Adrian: There are 12 levels in total, ranging from a forest to the inside of a volcano. Each level has a variety of different baddies to fight against as well as end of level bosses. Also, during the adventure you control of the entire country, and become emperor of all Japan. Eventually, an uneasy truce was called. The two warlords realized that the war was destined to be an endless and crippling affair. Even so, both leaders remained totally distrustful of the other, which led to one of the warlords, Katasaki, seeking to gain a powerful ally to destroy the whole of Japan in | a final effort to beat his opponent, no matter ` what the cost. His plans clouded his judgment, and foolishly, he turned to Batanaka, the evil demon lord, for help. While the evil continues to spread, a young inexperienced ninja named Kurosawa, who was traveling through the forest searching for adventure, comes across a castle with magical lights and mist swirling around directly above the castle. Kurosawa decides to have a closer look to find out what magic is causing this spectacle. As he finds a good place to see, he discovers the horrors caused by Batanaka and Katasaki. Kurosawa feels that he must stop this wrongdoing, so he charges forward and attacks the evil creatures using his limited magic to try and destroy the area where all the demons are appearing. Batanaka and Katasaki flee to the demon lord’s lair to relative safety. Kurosawa cannot stop the demon’s arriving and causing havoc, so he must start his quest to find the demon lord Batanaka and Katasaki to save his beloved country from mass destruction. GI: What is the goal of Ninja's quest? Adrian: The aim of the game is to defeat one of the warring factions that turned to evil to defeat the other. This emperor is the second to last boss in the game. Then comes the main evil demon. Gl: The rumors state that at one time this £ame was going to be like Tomb Raider, but with a ninja. Why the change of heart, if there was a change of heart, and what engine is the game running off of? Adrian: No, the game was never going to be like Tomb Raider. The game was always intended to be an action arcade game. The team wanted to reproduce some of the classic gameplay found only in the old arcade machines. One big change to how the game looks today is that when it started, the viewpoint was in isometric but as the game development went on, we all felt that it | game, but overall I like the attention to detail that the team has put into the environment ! completed? Game Informer Feature looked more impressive and dynamic by lowering the camera angle down to around 27 degrees as opposed to 45. Gl: What engine are you using for your character models? Adrian: All the engine and tools that are used on Ninja have been developed by the Ninja team to be used exclusively on the game. Gl: We've seen and played some of the game, but we thought it was rather interesting that you guys decided against giving Ninja a voice. Why is that? The story is interesting when you hear it told, but it doesn’t seem to get relayed to the player without any voice-overs. Will there be any text in the final game to keep the player involved? Adrian: There will be quite a few things in the game that keep the player interested in playing it. We did not want to give him a voice because of the style of game. The main theme is action and that is what we want to stick to. The story, however, will be told through an introduction sequence at the start of the game and via cut sequences whilst you are playing the game. GI: What is your favorite part of the game? Adrian: | have many favorite parts to the and the amount of different types of enemies and bosses that you have to face. Gl: When do you expect Ninja to be Adrian: Ninja will be completed at the end of June and put into submission. This will enable a September release. Game Informer e July '98 23 V á (a (I VHAT'S HOT + TECH TALK * © NBA Courtside — N64 © All-Star Baseball ‘99 — N64 @ Wetrix - N64 @ MLB ‘99 - PS-X @ Forsaken - N64 @ Tomba! - PS-X @ Gran Turismo -PSX “` = 6 Tekken 3 - PS-X ` @ Mission: Impossible - N64 @ Banjo-Kazooie - N64 @ Dragon Force - SS © Need For Speed III - PS-X @ NBA Shoot Out ‘98 - PS-X @ 1080 Snowboarding — N64 @ Gran Turismo - PS-X € GoldenEye 007 - N64 _ O Resident Evil 2 - PS-X« © Tomb Raider 2 - PS-X @ WCW vs. NWO: World Tour - N64 @ Final Fantasy VII - PS-X pw ae à D: © Creators accidentally used the Saturn development kit for the first year. @ Too much partying at __ the Russian Embassy. € Someone systematically bumped off all members of the development team. @ Jon Voight sold top secret Infogrames code to Glucklich Geburtstag Software. @ Game testers couldn't get that annoying song out of their heads. @ Final burns kept self-destructing. @ Nintendo denied knowledge of Ocean's game. € Tom Cruise kept rejecting the game, claiming he looked too short. € Had to launch another vigorous advertising campaign. @ Early development of Mission: Impossible 2 taking up extra time. _ Game Informer is looking for your Top Ten favorite games. Please send your Top Tens to: Game Informer Magazine Attn: Top Ten 10120 West 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Everyone that enters every month will be | entered in a drawing to win a Gl Secret Access T-Shirt! So get writing! Ó Game Informer * July '98 ESON Hc ! y J g MUTATION NASHUN Pa W. idum, `" * COMIC WATCH £ bic Sega Unveils New System In Japan,.Sega Enterprises recently unveiled its next system. Dubbed the Dreamcast, the system will be released in Japan on November 20 and in North America in the fall of 1999. While little details were given concerning software, some of the machine's specs were revealed. P a $ á E “` A * TRIVIA * THAT GAME! +» WHAT'S HOT * ‘ TOP TEN TECH TALK + e CPU: Custom Hitachi SH4 RISC processor (200 MHz) e GPU: Custom NEC Power VR2 (Capable of 3 million polygons per sec) e RAM: 16 MB * Sound: Yamaha Super Intelligent Sound Processor e OS: Microsoft Windows CE-based Hybrid * CD Drive: 12X * Modem: Internal 33.3 Kb Dreamcast. Sega announced that the Dreamcast will also have an external memory card called the Visual Memory System (VMS). This card has a built-in LCD screen and has been dubbed by Sega as the “world’s smallest portable game card” (with an LCD screen). The VMS is described as a portable gaming unit that can be used to not only save game data, but to develop secret plays in a football game or set up special moves in a fighting game. Like the Nintendo 64, the Dreamcast comes with four built-in controller ports and Sega plans to release a multitude of controller colors. The controller itself is reminiscent of the Saturn’s analog controller, but houses a port that accepts the VMS card. Sega definitely has high hopes for the Dreamcast and expects to sell close to one million units in the machine’s first three months of release. Stay tuned to Game Informer for more updates on the Dreamcast. Final Fantasy VIII Rears Its Head On May 15, Square introduced to the world the anticipated title, Final Fantasy VIII, in a huge press conference in Japan. The main character's name is Squall Leonhart, and he looks decidedly different from any character in VII. Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy's creator, said Square’s aim is to pursue an in-depth storyline, by using more effective storytelling tools such as more expressions, more detailed characters, and new character styling. The characters are much taller and thinner now, in a classic anime fashion such as in Devil Summoner or Speed Racer. Tetsuya Nomura, the character designer, said the overall theme of the game is love, as opposed to the struggle of nature’s balance in FF VII. Sakaguchi went on to comment that the game is being devel- oped with overseas markets in mind, and the lag time for an American release will be far less than the six months we had to wait for FF VII. Square expects to sell over seven million copies of the game after it is released in Japan at the end of this year. Also noteworthy is the inclusion of a Final Fantasy VIII demo with the release of Square's Brave Fencer Mushashiden. The game and demo will release in Japan on July 16 and in North America this fall. Final Fantasy VIII Squall Leonhart 5 il Lj Es + COMIC WATCH TOP TEN + TRIVIA +» * WHAT'S HOT + TECH TALK » MUTATION NASHUN * COMIC WATCH + TI ATH OTR |^ 12:81 DEN. 20 ET ISTAND 10... 25 Let's Get Ready for Some Football! Once again the NFL players will soon report to training camp and begin preparations for the new gridiron season. Likewise, game developers such as EA, Sony, and Acclaim are diligently putting polish on the newest batch of football games. Here's a look at the ones to watch, and be sure to check the New Releases on page 30 for approximate street dates. Quarterback Club '99 Nintendo 64 (Acclaim) BU 246, i 1620 m ER A new game engine will allow Acclaim and developer Iguana to create a solid flow of animation with their trademarked “Hi-Rez” graphics. Iguana has also told us that revamping computer Al is a top priority. Quarterback Club '99 introduces a passing system that works with the analog controller. With this, you will not need to remember what button to push to throw to a receiver, just aim and throw. In addition to all 31 NFL teams, the game will have 6 NFL Europe teams, and the Cleveland Browns. Plus, it will have 250 new animations including the Terrell Davis salute, and the Ken Norton punching bag. Play-by-play is provided by Mike Patrick and color commentary by super-geek, Randy Cross. Madden 99 Nintendo 64, PlayStation (EA Sports) Throughout the years, the Madden series is always the one to beat and because of that, EA Sports has been fairly quiet about the game. Yet, we do know that the Nintendo 64 version will have hi-res graphics similar to those introduced by Quarterback Club '98. The Nintendo 64 game will also have a full NFL license, so, for example, the Foxboro Patriots are now the New England Patriots (like they should be). The PlayStation version will also have a complete graphics update with polygonal players that were sorely missed in last year’s game. For simulation fans, both versions of Madden 99 have a Dynasty Mode that allows the player to play consecutive seasons and build rookies into seasoned veterans. GameDay '99 PlayStation (Sony Interactive Studios America) The graphics in last year’s version were revolutionary and Sony promises a revamped, completely new game engine for GameDay ’99. Sony conducted new motion-capture sessions to add to the already realistic animation. Previous GameDays have always had a fairly generic announcer, but GameDay '99 finally goes the TV-presentation route with NBC's Dick Enberg and former QB Phil Simms bringing you all the action. In terms of computer Al, GameDay has always excelled. Sony will up the ante again with the introduction of "Authentic Football Intelligence." Defenses will disguise coverages, receivers will run option routes, and Sony promises the smartest computer opponent ever. Rounding out the new options will be complete Dual Shock compatibility to feel all the rumbling hits. Madden 99 - N64 Madden 99 — N64 Madden 99 - PSX Game Informer e July '98 Ó NHAT S HOT + TECH TALK + MUTATION NASHUN + Dragon Quest Vil Goes to Summer ‘99 Besides the news and rumors concerning Final Fantasy VIII, another RPG is on the minds of thousands of gamers world- wide. It is Enix's Dragon Quest VII for PlayStation. Reports from Japan have apparently narrowed down the date to an ambiguous "summer 1999" release. Natsume Reveals Two Big Ones There is yet another RPG sequel heading our way. Remember the RPG series Lufia that appeared on the SNES? Well, there's a Lufia Ill being created as we speak for the Sony PlayStation. Expect it out in the early part of 1999. Also hitting the market for Natsume is another big series, Reel Fishing. Once again, Reel Fishing II will also be hitting the PS-X. A release date has not been confirmed, but you should be seeing it sometime in 1999. Two South Park Games Arriving South Park fans have a lot to cheer about. Two games have been floating around the rumor mill. One is an adventure game featuring the South Park cast. Hopefully, it will consist of numerous and original ways to kil Kenny. Imagine playing as Kenny, cheating death at every turn, until... The other game is rumored to be a fighting game. The Chef vs. Mr. Hand...what a battle! Sony Profits Shrinking The juggernaut that is Sony Corporation seems to be slowing down some. After a second consecutive year of record-high profits, spokespersons are saying Sony is expecting growth to slow over the next fiscal year. Sony's group net profit climbed 5996 to 221 billion yen ($1.6 billion), while group sales shot up 19% to 6.76 trillion yen ($50.8 billion). Its current pretax profit soared 38.696 to 118.82 billion yen ($893 million). Sony's corporate senior vice president, Masayoshi Morimoto, claimed the records were due to unexpected strong sales of the PlayStation, as well as solid management of its Hollywood film unit. According to Sony, 19.4 million PlayStations were sold in the global market last year. That's more than double the previous year. ENIX COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT Game Informer * July '98 COMIC WATCH P... * WHAT'S HOT « TECH TALK * jpeg, menn dabo Qu * TOP TEN + TRIVIA « NAME THA — Pd Ü Á Ë Við ai Nintendo To Manufacture Games in U.S., Prices To Drop Nintendo of America will soon begin producing cartridges at its North Bend, WA warehouse, rather than exclusively in Japan. While the chips for N64 cartridges will still be created in Japan, burning and cart assembly will take place on U.S. shores. This vastly reduces freight costs for N64 carts, and cuts remanufacture time from 12 weeks down to 4. All this, of course, is an effort to lower costs of publishing for the N64, and Nintendo hopes its products can match the $39 to $49 pricepoint currently owned by Sony PlayStation games. Nintendo Buys Chunk of Left Field, Boxing Game in the Works Nintendo Co., Ltd. announced the purchase of a minority interest in Left Field Productions, maker of Kobe Bryant’s NBA Courtside for N64 and Slam N Jam for 3DO, PlayStation, and Saturn. After completing the development work on NBA Courtside, Left Field has been rumored to be working on a boxing title for the Nintendo 64. Although nothing has been officially announced by Nintendo, Game Informer speculates that if the game turns out as planned, it could be the next installment in Nintendo’s popular Punch-Out series. Stay tuned. Project X from VM Labs: What the Heck Is It? Before visions of platforms and ancient swords fill your head, this new technology is, by nature, aimed at the family first - edutainment, reference, infotainment. If and when great (not just “OK”) games do find their way to this platform, the first ones will probably be direct ports. It’s an experiment that's failed in the past — a substantial gamble — but VM Labs holds some pretty good downcards. The technology, called Project X, is basically a console that can be embedded in popular consumer electronic devices. Companies are free to include Project X in their products, such as satellite receivers, set-top boxes, and DVD players. VM Labs claims companies can include the Project X chipset at no further cost to the consumer, because Project X doubles as the standard MPEG decoder already found in these devices, at about the same price. Project X could then play DVDs, CD-ROMs, video games, and access the Net. Only 30 million U.S. homes currently own a console video game system, but VM Labs expects its technology to reach almost every household in America. The chips clock in at 1.5 billion instructions per second, and perform at speeds between . those of a 100 and 500 MHz Pentium Il. PC code ports very easily to Project X, but console-only companies, if they want to develop, will have to start from scratch. VM Labs claims to be working with every major developer and publisher in the world, but after you discount Nintendo, Sega, and Sony, the list of developers remains questionable. But development kits have been distributed, and a formal partnership announcement will be made at E3. Unlike consoles, there will be no approval process for games, and companies are free to publish any game they wish. VM Labs promises to open its architecture, and freely. license its technology. Although no partnership disclosures have been announced, Motorola, and its secret project codenamed Blackbird, might be the first Project X product available (sometime in 1999). Watch for a full report next month, after Project X is officially unveiled at E3. Insafii Sis. Ts Forbidden" FOR USE WITH THE NAMCO GUNCON ‘Foil details can bedffflained at our web site at http://www.workingdesigns.com, or by sending a SASE to Elemental Gearbolt Contest c/o Working Qu. CF to 77: Designs, 18135 Gi sreek Road, Redding, CA 96001. Complete details are also available inside every game package. JOM 4 — PlayStation and the PlayStatign: Jogos are re Emarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "ELEMENTAL GEARBOLT" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Original Game © Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 1997 nse from Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. English Translation © Working Designs 1998. "Working Designs’ is a m" of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. This game is published by Worle Mer Shooters make better lovers! Web i j w.workingdesigns.com For a dealer near you, call (916) 243-3417. Data File: A iy, —— T S i "S We first brought you news ofl Donkey Ung 64 last year and although Rare is still developing the title, it looks as though we may not see it for the Nintendo 64 until next ... year. However, news out of Europe has now . tagged the game as Donkey Kong World. » Paradigm Entertainment, creator of Pilotwings »» 64, has announced a new game for the N64. So far, not much is known about this title except for the . name: Harrier Strike Force. This is the second game of Paradigm's fourgame contract with . Nintendo for N64 games..As with Aerofighters . Assault, Video System is “Collaborating, with Paradigm for the programming, E" > Acclaim will be bringing Extreme G 2 to i the . N64. Developed by Probe, Extreme G2 E the cycles, as well as increase the depth of the horizon view. No release. date has” been determined... > In a victory for alternative lifestyles every- where, Xena the Warrior Princess is going to star in her first video game. Universal Studios is creating this game based on the popular warrior princess. The game will include the well known cries and shrieks from Xena. Maybe there will be a two-player mode where the second player gets to play as Xena's...ahem...counterpart. » Take Two Interactive Software, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with Gathering Of Developers, Ltd. (G.O.D.) to co-publish and distribute 4x4 Monsters, its first N64 title. This is the first product to be developed and marketed by G.O.D. exclusively for a £ame console. The game is slated as a first quarter release for 1999. » Rare Co., Ltd., Nintendo's developer extraordinaire, is currently expanding its development resources to the Nintendo Color Game Boy. While the company has made no official announcements concerning specific titles, Game Informer speculates that versions of Rare's success- ful GoldenEye and upcoming Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Quest are likely candidates. The Color Game Boy is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. late this year. » For all of the people that think the NES version of Shadowgate was better than Final Fantasy, there's a new game coming for you on the N64. Called Shadowgate: The Trials Of The Four Towers, it is the newest game from Kemco. » The next game to hit the N64 from the mastermind Shigeru Miyamoto is F-Zero X. Set to release on July 14 in Japan, FZero X looks really cool and plays great. If you can't wait for it to hit the States, call your local importer. Otherwise, look for the U.S. release of FZero X on August 30. » Working Designs, the company known for bringing great, yet overlooked, Japanese games to American shores, has picked up another superb game. Titled Thunderforce V, this awesome Shooter received a lot of acclaim from the Japanese press and was a very hot item. Originally for the Sega Saturn, this game is being ported to the Sony PlayStation, where it will be published under Working Designs’ Spaz label. Ó Game Informer * July '98 No, it's not Ninja, but another third-person action game for PS-X is coming from Eidos called Omikron: The Nomad Soul. Developed by European company Quantic Dream, Omikron blends fighting, shooting, adventure, and | an explorable urban environment into one package. The | game is scheduled to release on November 15. Omikron: The Nomad Soul Game Informer joined Acclaim and the NFL at the NFL Quarterback Challenge in Orlando, FL. After exchanging choice words (and good-natured banter) with arch-Packer rival Brett Favre, the quarterback nearly ran GI veteran Andy Reiner over with a golf cart. After dusting himself off, Reiner sat down and got some hands-on action with Acclaim's new games. aly iow RH There's a new weapon called the Firestorm Cannon. This Brett Farve baby is a double-barreled fire cannon that sprays death across the entire plain with amazing lighting effects. The dinoids twitch, they have tons of animation, and if you shoot one between the eyes, it's instant death. BIA lama “OO VUA Jal JJ This is the first N64 Jam, and rather than lighting up the court with arcade 2-on-2 action, Jam will now be a 5-on-5 simulation. The detail in the character models and arenas was present and accounted for. The animation is superb (of course when you use Stephon Marbury of the Minnesota Timberwolves for motion-capture, your results will be the best) and the ball physics look good in the early stage as well. Acclaim has hired some of the NBA's finest to make this game shine. New Jersey Net, Keith Van Horn, will endorse the game, while Kevin Harlan (the former voice of the T- Wolves) and Bill Walton (NBC analyst) will do the commentary. Jam will be “Hi-Rez” like Quarterback Club and will feature some great modes like the necessary Season, and a free throw and three-point shoot out. The new Jam will also have signature moves like Allen Iverson’s carry, er, uh - we mean crossover, scouting reports, and stat tracking in over 200 categories. ON NASHUN. * COMIC WATCH + TOP LES . * NAME THAT GAME! * WHAT'S SII * TEGA TALK * THQ is continuing its newfound philosophy of filling niche markets. The PlayStation puzzle game known as XI | (pronounced ‘sigh’) in Japan is being brought over by THQ, | Qmithcnnian Inctihitinn but with a new name. The game, now called Devil Dice, is | = ; MMR M a puzzle game that tests your matching skills using dice. | Devil Dice Expect Devil Dice to hit the States in September. RRR THQ also announced it will bring International Rally Championship to the PC and PlayStation. Developed by the U.K.'s Europress, the game is already available in | For all that is Madden Football, take a look at Europe on the PC and the PlayStation. Both versions are | Mike Murphy's beautiful website. Remember, scheduled as third-quarter releases in North America. | tell ‘em Game Informer sent you. — TE t wW What í is the name of Eidos’ upcoming _ Devil Dice . EE action title? Hint: It's not Ninja. @ What two characters from Acclaim’s old comic line will soon have their own video games? © Besides Nintendo, what other company briefly sold a version of Tetris for the NES? @ What company filed a $250 million anti-monopoly suit against Nintendo Activision will begin making games for the Nintendo 64 game console. This is an intriguing development, since the Japanese market is abandoning the N64 ship, while U.S. developers are getting comfortable with the system. The first two games from Activision for the N64 will be Nightmare in 1989? Creatures, created by Kalisto Entertainment, and Quake ` : II, created by id Software. Be = X» (9 Don Bluth followed up his Dragon’s Lair ‘Nightmare Creatures hit with what other laser-disc game? [Answers on the bottom of page 30] No, this is not the follow-up to GoldenEye. This is Jet Force Gemini, Rare’s newest game for the Nintendo 64. | While no real information has been released, we do know | that the game will feature big guns, and as Rare says, | “what more do you want?” Of course, from the name and Í : c | the pictures, we can infer that this is a third-person game Jet Forða Gemini ^^ 7 E that will entail lots of adventure elements like Tomb Raider, and that the main character, at one point in time, will use a jetpack. Look for more on this game next month. |j | This pede cn game, Lien í in 1993 by VN n | Real Time Associates for Electronic Arts, sucked. I" | Appearing on the Sega Genesis, this game sent zm i= | players on a quest to save bikini-clad women —————— from aliens and featured 29 levels, time travel, and pig bouncing. What game is it? [Answer on the bottom of page 30] Jet Force Gemini Game Informer * July '98 © Game Informer’s Address MHE garmin ` ME á y | NASHUN + COMIC WATCH + TOP TEN * TRIVIA + NAME THAT GAME! zu £ b iiu à Maus Ea. ail "m To reach Dear Gl or the Editors of Gl send correspondence to: New Releases [All dates subject to change. Call your local retailer for more details.] Release Date Title Publisher System June Snail Mail | Vy 06.26.98 ..... Harvest i MOON «ES. lure nid NatSUumegd sss su sov p S GB hai die ~ Magazine ' n: Dear 06.26.98 ..... Flying DIagon sce aa aa teres Natsume Sue «0 iE NS N64 E kei ie 10120 West 76th Street 06.26.98 sama: GI Rating? í $ paces n re Oceanic. 5s «sates, cats N64 06:26:98 4.416 ú QUEST: 64 - 2 er A d rds THO. 4 onis à otl ER N64 06.2698 ..... RU AF o UO MEER IUS N64 E-Mail | 06.26.98 ..... Granstream Saga ....... 00.000. THO. sana teen PSX deargi@gameinformer.com 06.26.98 ..... Silhouette Mirage .........1.1.... Working Designs ........ 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NEL Blitz... uiu Svala ead Midway 3:34 ater Ie i at Dr t PS-X Normy's Beach Babe-O-Rama © Game Informer * July '98 KNY QUËESTIONS? Dust and dirt can damage your game system. The result? Poor picture quality, fuzzy sound and slow or “buggy” game play. Cleaning your system and games regularly will maintain high quality gaming and ensure a longer product life. Player's Edge cleaning kits will keep you and your system in the game. a» NOUIDTOS 9MINVTTA Game maintenance products available from Player's Edge: Cleaning Kits for: NINTENDO? 64 e SUPER NINTENDO? ¢ NINTENDO? « SEGA" GENESIS" * GAME BOY? e GAME GEAR" e MULTIMEDIA & GAME CDs Available at FuncoLand PLAYER'S © 1997 Player's Edge. Player's Edge is a trademark of InterAct Accessories, Inc. InterAct Accessories is a trademark of STD Manufacturing LTD. f= A i Wipeout, Wipeout XL and Psygnosis are trademarks of Psygnosis. @ 1996 Psygnosis Ltd. Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo and Game Boy Fæ] A | are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega Genesis and Game Gear are trademarks of Sega Enterprises Ltd. Review * Size: 96 Megabit e Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports * Special Features: Manual Camera; Loads of Stats; Simulation or Arcade Mode; Multiple Batting Stances; Authentic Stadiums; Create Player; Play-By-Play Commentary; Rumble Pak Compatible * Created by: Iguana for Acclaim * Replay Value: Moderate * Available: June for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: & b J 0 N “Griffey took three years. All-Star took one. Astounding, and Iguana delivers as l THE GREEDY GAMER — promised. At first, | couldn't stop ith the three different baseball games || | "mi Concept bumming on the lame swings. But that coming out this year for N64, the team inr hs i Taking a trot around aho (fa - 9 was soon forgotten in the heat of the duel. i : uf i | can't say this game works perfectly — my ee ue Job et Hut for ees vus season stats crashed, and the computer » \ them. Can its patented Hi-Rez mode I is terrible on the bags - but it gives you i help it grab a big chunk of another sport, Sound spring training, a cool create player, and especially with a rival game from Nintendo? Will the 5 oun trick pitches Tor MAS hens br gameplay problems that plagued Quarterback Club continue 3 Y ane Lite aes, which is noe, One bi in its new baseball? Now that All-Star Baseball ‘99 is - difference | noticed was the analog control complete, these questions (and more) can be answered. Entertainment for batting. Griffey's floats and All-Star's ; : : : 9 sticks. Griffey's control seems to create Using the same hi-resolution rendering tools created for more variation. | hit an awful lot of identical QB Club, Iguana has created characters that look great with e (8.5 | choppers in All-Star. But | really like this a wide array of animations. The control is fairly intuitive, || 1 a ven pane n JUN out Griffey for fans of with each of the C buttons designated to a base. Although | this does take some getting used to, it delivers a quick [zw response for those tight situations. All of the ballparks are | PAUL “After being a little disappointed with some i. 2 : al eum ` Ti THE GAME Proressorn Of Griffey's features, | had high shown with nice clarity, including even the smallest details | prm — Concept - expectations for All-Star. You can't help but to ensure an aesthetically pleasing game. There is play-by- be pleased with the graphics — that is, until play commentary, with one announcer delivering his two- eon the bat swings. The batting animation cents-worth constantly and another announcer who aa defies baseball fundamentals and will : : : j make the game's purists laugh. The occasionally interjects to state the obvious. graphics, although hi-res, are limited when The pitcher/batter interface is similar to World Series ob iab hs pic: p puli is / — 59 .. solid with the pitching/batting interface Baseball 98, poe that when the batter chooses the — Playability ^^ offering some innovative rumble pak correct type of pitch, his batting area gets larger. When he 8.75 features. All-Star blows away Griffey in terms of extra options for the fantasy baseball fans. These fans will also notice chooses wrong, it gets smaller. The batter can also choose "Entertainment - between power or contact hitting, which changes the speed, li feli E 8.5 some oddities with All-Star’s stats engine power, and placement of the swing, as well as the targeting | p 4 and CPU base-running, but on a whole All- area. Also, when a rumble pak is connected to a controller, | aay "GE k Star is an entertaining baseball game.” the pitcher can aim a pitch based on the vibrations of the controller instead of using a cursor. This feature is really nice for heated competition between friends. Up to four players can get in the game at once, and Pic that aren't playing can use the mo controllers o | a w Concept broken and multiple players batting over adus cr fna the camera around during play to give better Batters have different sweet spots, and 9 400. The batting animations are a real viewpoints. Other options include the ability to create a Ë the circle changes accordingly. : Graphics letdown as well. | haven't seen cuts this OVERALL "First the bad. All-Star Baseball (ASB) is REINER troubled with unrealistic stat tracking. _THE RAGING GAMER — Gimulated seasons end with records layer call up minor leaguers, draft all new teams, reali weak since John Goodman took up his m in " ni it ade : sha b "n d di — 8.5 role as The Babe! Now to the good. The i mup pitc ars in the u pen, and more. Sound gameplay is tight and true, the players are Probably the only thing that's missing is an instant-replay 1.15 fluid and lifelike (except for the horrid option to check questionable calls by the ump. As pretty as Playability ey yt ie di i are : : evum E : unbelievable. Heck, even the shadows this game is, you'd think that would definitely be in. 8.25 rock! The best part of the game though (in With all of these options and gameplay choices, All- Entertainment my opinion) is the frontend. It's loaded Star 99 has the potential to be a serious contender for the 8.75 with the best fantasy options around. crown of best baseball game this year. But is it? Read the Y | | (8.5. "ell Besta cd nee ee M reviews, written by the crack team of journalists here at GI Ü | baseball of the year. Just don't expect to and find out for yourself. OVERALL win the batting crown in a season." A runner watches for signs 998 rr. ut va | : « Lomm =ð v (mur à am win] TØLINI “In the overall scope of things, MK 4 isn't as good as MK 3, which wasn't as good as the greatest MK of all-time — MK 2. However, there are a number of things to like about this game. While there aren’t as many Fatalities as | would like to see, the leg-breaking moves are hilarious, and the polygonal graphics really show their stuff when you see characters and blood flying straight at your TV screen. Plus, the gameplay, though completely unbalanced, is a blast 2-player. Certainly there are plenty of people who are tired of this series, but fans, like myself, will not be disappointed. Mortal Kombat 4 delivers the same special move, gore-fest we have all come to love, except this time it’s in OD. "| feel very old when | realize that | have been working here since the first MK game appeared on consoles. While it’s easy to say that this game is very reminiscent of MK II and that it is easily better than any fighter available for N64, I'm still left with some ill feelings about the game. Many of the attacks and strategies are just too similar to the games of old. The weapons are great for a laugh, but are completely worthless. In addition, the characters are fairly unbalanced with many having an array of cheap moves. Even if the fighting technique is wearing thin, | still get plenty of entertainment from the Fatalities and overall brutality that Mortal Kombat has always offered.” “MK 4 is a riot! The Fatalities and endings are the best yet and the new limb breaks and weapons are absolutely hilarious. But this review is not all hype. | have a bone to pick with the development team. First off, spin the MK music and voices around in your brain for awhile and sing along. Scorpion...Sonya Blade...Reptile...Sub- Zero...Reiko. What the heck is up with that?! Reiko? | don’t want to play as Reiko! What a chump! Secondly, Goro is an even bigger weenie! He looks horrible! Thankfully though, the rest of this port is excellent. The character models are large and very detailed, and the combat is smooth (although a little hard to master with the N64 controller). This is a worthy MK sequel, but | still like 2 and 3 much more. Bring back the Animalities darn it!!!” Ripping Fun! ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 8 Graphics 8 Sound 8.5 Playability 8 Entertainment PAUL THE GAME PROFESSOR Concept 8.5 Graphics 9 Sound 9 Playability 9 Entertainment 8.75 REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 7.75 Graphics 8.5 Sound 8.5 Playability 8.25 Entertainment 8.5 Liu Kang enjoys a feast. ortal Kombat fans are possibly the most 24 insatiable game nuts on the planet (with the Yl exception of Magic: The Gathering fans). Mortal Kombat has sold so well it is a household name throughout America, even for non-gamers. This kind of foothold is something that any company would envy. You know that your game is going to be a blockbuster smash, even if it stinks. However, gaming enthusiasts are different. If they get a bad product, they let people know, and a reputation that took years to build with consumers can be destroyed overnight. So Midway is not just enjoying a cakewalk, it is walking a tightrope. Has Midway put the guys at Eurocom through enough testing to ensure as solid a home port of its biggest franchise as possible? Eurocom developed MK3, . so the waters have been throughly tested. For the record, many consider the second Mortal Kombat to be the best ever. The open-ended gameplay, without predetermined combos, added a larger curve of learning and created possibilities in the game that weren't necessarily prescripted, but worked flawlessly. Although Mortal Kombat 4 does have the preset combos and the Run button, this port stands out with its truly fluid control. The moves come out when you want them to, and players can use preset combos, or string hits together via juggles. „7 -~ Along with the obvious addition of a 3D engine that allows sidestepping and knocking opponents into" the foreground/ background, Midway also included weapon The weapons allow you to take considerable amounts of life from'your opponents in one quick swipe. But don't drop the weapons, as the other player can pick them up and bash you with them. New characters? Mortal Kombat 4 has 'em. Shinnok, Jarek, Quan Chi, Reiko, Tanya, and Meat are all in this new installment. Appearing for the first time since MK is the awesome looking Goro, who is just as brutal as ever. And?where there are new characters, there are new Fatalities. The Fatalities are more graphic than ever, thanks to the 3D engine. Watching the Fan Fatality for the first time is awesome. After you have thrown your adversary into the fan, the severed head flies back towards the screen, hitting it, and leaving a big bloodstain. Sound cool? It is. The Big Day for MK4 has long since passed, and MK fans already ~ know what this game is like. But if you haven't picked up a copy of this arcade smash, and are just waiting for the Gl "thumbs up,” check the reviews and get your first taste of all that-is Mortal Kombat 4. M ies LIU KANG WINS Review * Size: 128 Megabit * Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting * Special Features: 18 Characters Plus 3 Hidden; All the Fatalities From the Arcade; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible; 5 Levels of Difficulty; Weapons * Replay Value: Moderately High * Created by: Eurocom for Midway * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: " Remember this one? Kai looks content. Le 8.5 WE Swine «Tae cg 4 comin pg Purple and red stuff everywhere! a m P 1 À B ie " Wa Ww PlayStation: & PlayStation T QU He's a revengeful little devil. And he wants payback from a mad scientist who tried to dissect him alive. But you've got to jump, glide, punch and whip his tail through 12 levels to help him get even. Meet the Jersey Devil” He's running loose in a huge 3-D environment full of mutant vegetables, nasty bosses and all kinds of mind games. (Better watch your back.) www.playstation.com Review * Size: 96 Megabit * Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game * Special Features: Spells Based on Elemental Combinations; Full 3D Movement & Terrain Exploration; Huge Areas To Explore; Unique Combat System * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: Imagineer for THQ * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom = 6.5 4,05 et^. Smacking around some goblins. Nhat: s this? What bus E do you haue in the castle of Salua Hey dude, you've got a dog on your head! 4 kd iness _ time in every person's dressing martians. life when they wonder what makes their parents tick. For some, it's not a nagging question, just something that they wonder about. But for others, it’s a real problem. Couple this with the inability to ask about it (due to the parent’s absence for whatever reason), and you have an obsessed child. Our hero of Quest 64, Brian, is just such a child. His father ventured out quite a few years ago in search of the “Eletale Books” and never returned. After years of training at the Melrode Monastery, known for its skills in developing adept sorcerers, our hero Brian seeks to find out what exactly happened to his father and the Eletale Books that hold the fate of the entire world. Commands in the game are straightforward and make interesting use of the button layout. Pressing the C buttons brings up a spell menu that progressively becomes longer. As you acquire more gems, you receive more spells, each relying on one of four elements (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water). Usually the spells are useful for hitting multiple enemies at once, but maximum damage usually comes in the form of the staff. Knowing when to get in close, or when to use a spell, is the key to success in Quest 64. There are a number of huge areas that make up Brian’s world. During your journeys you will come across numerous countries and towns, lots of different terrain (which is ineffectual, but pretty), and hordes of beasts ready to take a swipe at Brian’s jugular. The areas are large and often confusing, requiring lots of game time to become familiar with them. Even with the compass and the poor map, it is extremely frustrating because combat occurs without any warning. Although interesting, if you get turned around during the fight, it is easy to start heading in the wrong direction without realizing it (even though the game does face you in the right direction after a fight). But that is only the tip of the iceberg, and with THQ’s jump into the unforgiving world of RPG-publishing, you can bet that the GI staff is gonna give it to ‘em straight. pus 521404 f 05 THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 6.5 Graphics 7.5 Sound 7 Playability 7.5 Entertainment 4 OVERALL JON THE GREEDY GAMER Concept 6 Graphics 7 Sound 6 Playability 5 Entertainment REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 6 Graphics 7.5 Sound 6 Playability 7.75 Entertainment “I'm glad that THQ went out and finally brought an RPG to the N64, but | wish they would have done a little bit more work on this title before releasing it. First of all, the camera is ridiculous. Most of the time you can’t see where you are going and there are times during battle sequences where you can’t even see your character. Then there’s the matter of the game basically not punishing you for dying — you don’t lose items or experience. But, it’s not like you'd care since a lot of the items and spells in the game aren't that cool. While I'm sure that there are RPG fans that will love this epic (it does have a cool fighting interface), | just can’t see myself investing the time in this one. It’s just not that exciting to play.” “An RPG should quickly light your fires with spell branching, sweet items, and some new characters. Not to mention a good story. But Quest 64 did none of this. The storyline is 100% linear — you go to the forest, then to the castle, then to the next town. You never have more than one choice and the characters in the towns and castles seem to have absolutely nothing going on, which makes the conversation completely boring. With no humor or clever writing, the story is worthless. The original concept of the four spell elements was a good place to start, but the finished product is so limiting, that | quickly lost interest in learning my next spell. Until Zelda, just play your SNES.” “The plot is dry and emotionless and the graphics are dull and unimaginative. Thus, the fabled RPG combination of splendid storytelling and eye-popping graphics is not found in Quest 64. But somehow or another this game sticks into your head. It reminds me of Lagoon for the SNES. That game didn't do anything for me whatsoever, but before | knew it, | was fifteen hours deep. Likewise for Quest. | can’t stand the main character, | have no interest in following the story, the music blows, and the combat scenarios are only amusing for a short while, yet | still play it. I'm sure you'll play Quest to the end, but will have the same aftertaste as me - a craving for something much more filling." Trade in your old PlayStation or N64 fighting game and receive a trade-in bonus when you present this coupon at FuncoLand® (see store for details) | NINTENDO PlayStation. (MATURE X e Trade in any working PlayStation ce or Nintendo 64 fighting game and re d ea receive an additional $5.00 in store = credit as a trade-in bonus. Regular trade-in values vary by title and FuncoLand reserves the right to refuse the purchase of any product. Limit one $5 PCM credit per customer. Offer is for individuals, not businesses. No dealers or re-sellers. Offer valid effective June 15, 1998 and expires June 30, 1998. Coupon must be presented at time of trade-in. No photo copies or facsimiles of coupon accepted. Coupon is worth 1/100 of one cent. See store for details. © 1998 Funco, Inc. All rights reserved. j Trade in your old working PlayStation or N64 fighting game and receive an additional $5.00 bonus above the values offered at FuncoLand? when you present this coupon. li Expires June 30, 1998 TA. T. j I FuncoLand L. eae RETAIL COUPON E 8 08 E D EHE For nearest store locations visit us @ www.funcoland © 1998 Funco, Inc. All rights reserved. “N” and Nintendo 64 are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. All rights reserved. PlayStation is a registered trademi ! Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. All rights reserved. Mortal Kombat? 4 € 1998 Midway Games Inc. All rights reserved. MIDWAY, MORTAL KOI the DRAGON DESIGN and all character names are trademarks of Midway Games Inc. Distributed by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. Instructions to cashier: Coupon must be scanned and accepted as a product with a $5.00 value. Buy PlayStation or N64 fighting games at bid prices and coupon at bid price $5.00. Give PCM to customer 5555511747113 MK4 TRADE-IN COUP First 5000 purchases receive a neat MK4 comic book! 4 ji 4 Nintendo 64 Review Í j You could use your fists, but hey, you've got a gun. in. , Jump Jets add arm, Sabotage Wins. ` s... ü $ h another dimension. ......... * Size: 64 Megabit * Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting * Special Features: 8 Characters Plus More Hidden; Limb & Blood Loss; Fatalities; 5 Modes; Weapons; Jump Jets; 11 Multi- Tiered Arenas With Hazards * Replay Value: Low * Created by: Saffire for Midway Home Entertainment * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: 4. 5 (ti — 1 3 825 Å Zat , . | \ Graphics: 7 8" á| 7 å í Sound: 7 6 ^ | 5.754 Playability: 2 b ug. Entertainment: *1. 3.5 2 Overall: 4 6.254 3.5 "ut mmm Talk about ugly! There are two female | characters in Bio FREAKS. that are, not surprisingly, beautiful. and. physically fit. However, “the test of these mutant creations are like something we haven't | seen since venturing into a Packer bar late | last January. The difference is that the characters in Bio FREAKS are sober and ;. .| don't break down in tears when their team d loses the Super Bowl. Within the fighting genre, Bio FREAKS ` has a couple unique elements. Jump jets +" Met-you-fly in a variety of multi-tiered 3D Even without her right 4 “Simply put, Bio FREAKS looks great, eae textures and detail, and they move*about and plays horribly. | like the charac- ters in this game a lot, but the over- all execution is just unacceptable. For fight fanatics, it may be worth a rental, but everyone else should just ' ks dd clear." ai 38 ^It can ios enid that this game has:a great 3D engine and fairly tough Al, but the fact that Midway balked on an arcade release makes me wonder about the overall quality. It is short gn characters and the control is not up to pat "Case m as C tes do not make a game. Bio FREAKS delivers” the goods in character models and arenas, but the gameplay goes beyond — A big Sl ment indeed.': Game Informer * July '98 environments and projectile weapons are used in combat. With devices like machine ` | guns, saw blades, and missiles, hand-to- hand combat often plays second fiddle. Overall, the game looks pretty solid. The large characters are laced with plenty of smoothly, sometimes taking the time to flaunt their perceived superiority in a dance that would make Deion Sanders proud. Plus, the backdrops are pretty sweet and “=the arenas arë filled with added hazards - like meat. grinders, lava and acid pits, and whirlifi® blades = that must be avoided during battle. You may now be wondering, "does this game deserve my money?" With cybernetic characters and multi-tiered environments, Bio FREAKS 5 relatively unique. However, consult Gl's resident fighting "Experts for the' fináricial wisdom you seek. Nintendo 64 Review "Wetrix is a very addicting puzzle game, but it certainly isn't for everybody (due mostly to its high degree of difficulty and frustration). However, if you take the time to master Wetrix's nuances, you'll be rewarded with a unique and enter- nine — “Wetrix is immensely addictive and incredibly inventive. Of course the graphics are lame, and it's often hard to find leaks due to view changes and lack of detail in the trickles, but it's still an A rate game that must be ene ko all Tetris heads." “Wetrix is awesome. It makes Tetrisphere look like 64 megs of crap. l've been playing constantly, and | still want to play more. There is a slight problem with the camera angle, and sometimes it’s tough to pinpoint leaks, but it doesn't really matter because Wetrix is totally addictive.” * Size: 64 Megabit * Style: 1 or 2-Player Puzzle * Special Features: Good Variety of Modes That Help Mix Up the Action; Different Views; 2-Player Split-Screen; Addictive Gameplay * Replay Value: High * Created by: Zed Two for Ocean * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 8.2 Bottom Line: 9 8.5 9.25 7 6.75 9 : 5 7.75 8.5 ability: 8.5 8.75 8.25 ainment: 9 9 9 7.75 8.25 8.75 e game. No Tetris. rip off here. The trix is simple — build a series of contain the water that falls The more water you can hold, the higher your score. But, if you can't keep he he walls - high enough, the water will escape. If too much water escapes, the game is over. . Uppers are the tools used to build walls. They come in four different shapes and fall | randomly from the sky. The challenge comes in arranging the Uppers into effec- | tive walls. If you misplace even one, a large gap can occur through which volumes of ` | water will flow. Lowers are the opposites of Uppers and dissolve your walls. Lowers are not necessarily bad, since they can dissolve haphazard structures allowing you to rebuild a fresh, organized wall. Other things can fall from the sky - some good, some bad. The best present from the Sky is the fireball, which evaporates all water beneath it, buying crucial time to rebuild and repair leaks. The worst thing that falls from the sky is the bomb, which creates a gaping hole in the landscape. If you drop a bomb in the middle of your structure, all the water will escape. Other objects include ice (which freezes lakes) and mines (which explode like bombs when water is evaporated). If you manage to build your walls high enough, allowing a certain volume of water to be held, a rainbow will appear. When the rainbow is lit, if you evaporate a lake, your bonus will soar into the thousands, depend- ing on how many lakes you've formed. A good variety of modes, practice lessons, and a two-player battle round out this impressive cart. _ vo Nintendo 64 Preview * Size: Unknown * Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing * Special Features: F1 License (but no Jacques Villeneuve); 1997 Grand Prix Season; 17 Tracks; 27 Drivers & Cars; 11 Teams; Horizontal & Vertical Split- Screen; 5 Play Modes; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible * Created by: Paradigm Entertainment for Video System * Available: July for Nintendo 64 80% Complete Even though there are tons of N64 racing games, World Grand Prix is different than most. None of the drivers have elongated whiskers, nor do bananas litter the track. No sir, this game has been built with the sim addict in mind. Tires, suspension, gearing, etc. can all be fine-tuned. For shorter races fuel, which keeps your car's mass down, and effectively boosts performance. | Followers of the Grand Prix season will be pleased to know that WGP has the F1 license. However, as with F1 Racing : Ë Simulation, Jacques Villeneuve is absent. But y his rival, Michael Schumacher, is there along with teammate Eddie Irvine and their turbo- charged Ferraris. Twenty-five other racers and their respective teams are included as well, along with 17 tracks from the Grand Prix circuit, including Monte Carlo. At only 80%, we expected to find some flaws in this version. And wouldn't you know it, we did. During a straight-away the graphics are smooth, but during a turn the display gets choppy. Also, the heads-up display that runs down the right side of the screen gets on our ' nerves. It provides some helpful information, but in the version we had it wasn’t possible to turn it off and get a wider view of the track. It should be noted, though, that the Display menu was not working yet, so we hope this problem will be fixed. m WGP has more sim elements than most racers on the N64, so if you like that kind of thing, or if you just dig F1, then you might want to check this title out. It will be shipping this month. you can even start the race with less . | ike trouble. Nintendo 64 Preview * Size: Unknown * Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing * Special Features: 31 Cars & Drivers; 18 Tracks; Commentary by Benny Parsons & Bob Jenkins; Sounds Change With Gameplay View (Crowd Noise Included); Pit Communication; Night Driving at Charlotte, Bristol, & Richmond * Created by: EA Sports * Available: Fall for Nintendo 64 (& PlayStation) 70% Complete Night races are a huge part of NASCAR 99. The appeal of NASCAR reaches far and wide, and enjoys a cult-following like no other sport. Every year millions of people come to watch the ultimate duel between man and .man, man and machine. NASCAR 98 was the selling racing game for PlayStation last nd affirmed the dominance of the license. Whooda thought EA would E colorful cash cow over to N64? Pretty Ø much everyone, that's who. | | Many improvements are being made for Í this cartridge version, as well as the ‘99 | update for PlayStation. First and foremost, | classic drivers like Benny Parsons are included. Ever wonder how Gordon would square up against Petty? Now you can find out. Or how about a head-to-head between Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace? For any | fan of NASCAR, these classic drivers are an | immense addition to an already authentic experience. But Parsons isn’t just a historical driver, he’s actually in the commentary booth, alongside Bob Jenkins, calling the race as it happens. Add to this the realistic engine sounds, crowd roars, and all-new pit/driver communication, and now you’re talking NASCAR. All the same elements found in NASCAR 98 will return: pitting, drafting, adjustments, damage, season mode, yellow flags, and yes, a pack of 24 cars. But the driver list has changed with the new season. In all likelihood, the ‘99 batch of NASCAR games will be almost identical to NASCAR 98 for PlayStation. For N64 owners, this is their first taste of NASCAR racing. But in a jam- packed crowd, on a platform where a new racing game begets nothing but groans, will the NASCAR license be enough to make fans happy? Probably. Á This looks “Back of fl” “N ` you back offl. Game Informer « July '98 €D PlayStation Review * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action/Platform * Special Features: Gliding; Tail & Fist Attack; Grab Objects & Throw Them; Two Different Endings; Analog & Dual Shock Compatible * Replay Value: Moderately Low * Created by: Mega Toon Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment America * Available: June 16 for Sony PlayStation Bottom Line: 4 Last month, we opened up Jersey Devil, dissected his parts, and supplied our initial impressions. This month, we're all the way down to the bare bones, the ' ANDY “Jersey Devil just isn't that "en We _ tue came nomare played a lot of platformers in my time, “Concept and Jersey Devil falls into the category ( of 3 The mandatory Oe unimaginative. The levels are blah! The . slide level. | —— — — — character is blah! The control is blah! Y Graphics And the enemies...well, they're just guts are on the table, and we're ready to dish out the WE. ` ^ B. à 78 j d UB se ii say m nice qo diagnosis on Satan's child - the Jersey Devil. Actually, N Weis EP a Sound it though — the cartoon and the realtime cut-scenes are very nice. Hey, if all you Jersey’s name bears no reference to the Prince of Darkness, | bh 7 : ! P. "dos | vas ORS do is play platformers, then you just may nor is he kin to the NHL hockey team that choked out of the Tal W ME CPlayability like this game, but me..l'! look for | | 1 greener platform pastures from the playoffs in the first round. Instead, a jersey devil is an Bj ; : Entertainment “ animal, part of God's kingdom, and he must square off Á 4 ) mer á against Knarf, a dastardly scientist bent on creating an | Ga Hu evil empire. OVERALL Tombas and k of the world.” jf a Take that Jà' wm "| dumb bear ` [ Jersey's gameplay seems to be pulled straight from | the basic action/platform guidebook. Right out of page one, Jersey can jump, punch, swipe with his tail, and J ON : s JUN pretty well, looks okay, but doesn't e BM he can glide tif 3 uen unique m uu x E a THE GREEDY GAMER Dring much. more to the table. There eeling of 3D exploration. Lau uge cliffs and = = aM S Concept isn't a single concept in Jersey that's. slowly descending ture. rsey gets to inspect jaggy” 4 : TU new, or even imaginative. This might : afara antall Pu not be bad, there's plenty of good dropzones before actually hitting the ground. Next, in Graphics platformers that play like “retro” games ` “This is one of those games that plays offers various objectives. On each level there are two aA abg green frog. E Bl ` Sound out and out fails. 1 got really bored with. missions, 60 Nitro Boxes to smash, pumpkins to collect, | iua p. S Dues? Gron. And m ack conte ostages to free, and various 1-ups and health pick-ups MI ep zc r Playability ^^ even lamer since you can't judge your ver. Each of the missions ends with a lab. You must P os | ____§5 distance from enemies, and half your collect 30 Nitro Boxes to destroy each lab. Then, after you L ee. m pde ma. "n Snus finish the first mission, you must return again to find the come across are cake. I've watched this second lab, which is destroyed in the same fashion. Os | | title tad T infancy, ot NS peir But, before you destroy each lab, you must free both | RCS — ` Glide Sou pets zi pede dns hostages. If you rescue all the hostages in the game — fools! Glide! ` Canal you will receive the best ending. If you leave even one SMS "m “© hostage to die a miserable death, you will receive the ; REINER ‘n d RTT ET _ lame ending. Why? Because you deserve it! ^ Concept Batman nae or e Tr Finally, Jersey again follows the action/platform K WT 5,15 and let me be the first to tell you that | guidebook perfectly, and presents an overworld, with cavit i ee he A | ` Graphics — Jersey Devil is garbage. Manipulating ru < pe ME this masked marvel to do your bidding is access to eac Me every "open" level, so you can -z Jersey tests allof | AE. almost impossible. The cas is E sare your platform Sr | Sound | a problem and the control € „Jet : $ 8 sticky. There are ue of secrets in gaming, but it's still fun. The 3D engine is very fast and IB. wg com P Pai i “FMVs are amusing, but with the manual camera control really helps out. The enemies are Í me uso 8 EB EM — .. dynamic gameplay al comical, and the challenge is moderate to hard. It’s one of [297-5 — Ø ` a Emer o lipe y. But ify the better 3D platformers for PlayStation, and fans of the | 4 d. Í _ pick between the rodent valable now, | genre might find a lot to like in this little devil from Jersey | ; A | e ne a (he lives off exit 27). * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action/RPG * Special Features: Array of Platforming Moves; Acquire Skills Through Items & Experience Points; Classic RPG Elements; Wise Dwarf Elder; At Least 128 Different Events; Equip Weapons & Apparel * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: Whoopee Camp for Sony Computer Entertainment America What would you do if someone stole your * Available: July 15 for PlayStation grandfather's precious bracelet? What if the thieves IRA. were a indvot evil pigs, whose demon spawn Bottom Line: 3 25 threatened the entire planet? Well, if it were us, we'd " probably call Duke Nukem, but since he's currently on-set in Hollywood, Tomba's in. the PlayStation. And hey, Tomba is cooler than Duke. Tomba actually talks to people! In his game, Tomba converses with all sorts of crazy creatures, but he's most fond of the dwarves.And once Tomba reaches the Dwarf village, his true adventure begins to take shape. Prior to the Dwarf village, the game resembles a classic action/platform — most time is spent tossing enemies, picking up fruit, and unlocking chests. But at the Dwarf Village, you begin to understand that this game is really an RPG. The Dwarf Elder asks you to rescue his villagers. After that you help a boy locate a lost dog, then you visit an insane Mushroom Forest, then it's off to the Phoenix Summit in search of healing herbs. Players can access a world map only for reference, but warp items, called Charity Wings, let you hop to any zone on the map. However, like any good RPG, players will want to manually travel between zones, collecting valuable experience along the way. But don't get the wrong idea, this is not a game composed of levels. The world map is just that, a map of the world, and during gameplay shortcuts and changing paths develop between zones. We were very surprised when, clear across the other side of the map, a man offered us a ride in a boat, and we arrived back at the mansion, where the game had started. And we have yet to find a key to unlock the many chests we discovered during the first few minutes of gameplay. Tombas a pretty popular guy, but he's also overworked, and it seems like everyone's always asking him to do something. But » ðP Tomba's happy to oblige. After all, he's gotta find that ja Tomba approaches a bracelet, but he can't let sick children lie in bed without a Gazer momy cure, he can’t let lost puppies roam the dangerous forests, ; and he can’t let poor monkeys go hungry. So each of Tomba’s tasks is listed in his events journal. After you discover an event, it's entered into the journal in red. It remains red until the puzzle is solved and the task completed.This is actually very similar in concept to Mario 64 (Mario had 120 Stars, Tomba has about 128 "Events"), but the comparisons stop there. Tomba creates for himself, and his game, ^a separate classification, and it's a perfect title for those "This game is way whacked! It's like Ghosts & Goblins with more quest „ANDY elements, lots of puzzles, and a truckload ~~ Concept of pink pigs. At first | was fairly tentative of 9 Tomba (moving through the environments ——=———— is weird and knowing what to do next can Graphics be a real bear), but as | got more involved 6.5 with completing the various events, | was hooked. | especially like all the items that you find and the crazy characters you meet. — 9 Ss While Tomba may not be for everyone, itis — Playability a fun and challenging platformer RPG 8.5 (that's right, | said RPG) that fans will say TFgrasamnmanr- is a truly innovative game that finally brings a a old school graphics and gameplay to the : PlayStation." | 8.25 | OVERALL I voi ve made the ETE DAT ü Village happy! Hooray! "Tomba is one of the best times I’ve had J ON this year. It's what good gaming is all about. You cruise around and conquer all the platform challenges (which aren't very Concept difficult), you talk to villagers and strange 9 creatures, and you acquire experience Graphics points, weapons, and items. Every minute 8 something new, something totally bizarre, —— ——— ————— is happening. Simply put, the design of the Sound game is ingenious, and sorely missed on 8 the PlayStation. When you pop this game ` pravahility — in, it seems like a 2D platformer, but soon Playability enough it becomes an RPG. Its definitely — — = 000 challenging. The puzzles are clever, and it Entertainment takes a sharp eye to explore properly. 9.25 Really, there’s nothing wrong with this game at all. It will hook you, and keep you EIÐ playing till the end. Platform and RPG fans will love it.” OVERALL THE GREEDY GAMER Some Flowers are happy, some sad. “Even with the most generic platforming techniques known to man, Tomba still REINER comes across as immensely entertaining. Graphically, Tomba doesn’t shine either, Concept but here’s the key to its success. This odd 7.25 platformer throws a mother load of : rf . Graphics missions and secrets around like 7.25 Resident Evil does horror and gore. This in — “€ — — turn keeps you playing, and the basic Sound platforming and dull graphics no longer are 7.25 a factor. From start to finish you are -Playability _ constantly on your toes, and thinking things 8.25 like, Where is the Hungry Monkey? How do —___—""“~"_ | solve the ‘I Can't Swim’ dilemma? or Entertainment long, lazy days of What the heck do Leaf Butterflies do? 9.5 summer gaming. Ð There's a lot of game in this title and plenty L: 1 ; ^ 3 € $ Å VR. ie weis of whackiness on the side. A definite cult OVERALL We've collected 40 leaf butterflies so far. THE RAGING GAMER You want to get past me?! HG ha! Can yeu Swim? classic and a drastically different thrill ride for platform fans.” You must learn to swim before you can get that chest. st Under evl Ree ey ax i | he orange bandicoot will have Some tough a competition this fall when Spyro The Dragon Move Over Gex, Take a Seat breathes a little fire on the PlayStation ^ action/platform scene. Developed by Insomniac Crash, Spyro Breathes Fire Games, who you may remember from the PS-X title Disruptor, Spyro is ironically being produced by _ Universal Interactive - the same folks who indirectly on the PS-X „brought you Crash Bandicoot. While we gave you a glimpse of the stout little dragon in last month's issue, Game Informer recently had the chance to play Spyro at Sony's Foster City headquarters, and we walked away amazed. Obviously, the title of the game tips you off to what type of creature you're dealing with — Spyro is a dragon, duh! He's just a kid dragon though - the last of his kind and on a journey to rescue his lineage. Like most dragons that we come across (and that is quite a few), you had better bet that Spyro has fire on his breath. The flaming balls that - Spyro horks from his nostrils are used as both a weapon for killing the baddies, and as a tool to uncover hidden collectibles. Likewise, Spyro also has a nice little set of Spyr looks back to ` dragon wings that allow him to glide on most levels, or gain see if you're still ; full flight on some choice bonus stages. The dragon powers = controlling him. : don't stop there as Spyro can also do a charge dash that ; exposes enemies to his pointy horns. As you would expect from today's gaming universe of polygons and texture maps, Spyro's world is completely This big enemy has a fireproof belly. Does he bite? Get out of my . way old man! — It's all about collecting treasure. J 3D. Like Gex, and the groundbreaking Mario 64, the player has total freedom to explore every nook and cranny of each level. To the extent of graphics, Spyro makes Gex look like dragon dung. Every structure, enemy, and platform is amazingly detailed. The screenshots that you see on this page do not do the game justice — Spyro must be seen in * Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 Player Action/Platform * Special Features: Free-Roaming 3D motion to really appreciate the 3D playground that f Ro Environments; Music by Former Police Insomniac has built for Spyro to romp in. Spyro will be ee Drummer Stewart Copeland: Dual Shock exposed to all sorts of rotund and offending baddies that seni & Analog Compatible; Over 30 Levels; are as hilarious as they are deadly. In one instance, Spyro germen — Mooning Enemies: Disney-Like Animation is confronted by misfit soldiers who wheel around 1/77 T7744 4 7 * Created by: Insomniac Games Universal cannons and lob inaccurate volleys. As soon as Spyro IUE for Sony SEHE mre i America advances on the soldiers, they are quickly spooked by + * Available: September for PlayStation the site of the dragon’s fiery nose and retreat to tents. 0 Attack the tents and the soldiers will moon you in : 75% Complete defiance. With a flair for the medieval, Spyro’s quest is spread across six worlds each containing five sub-worlds. Huge bosses, tons of collectibles, puzzles, and plenty of madcap humor are just the tip of Spyro’s appeal. Spyro's major details are still in development, but personality is always a key to any emerging action/ i ü "um The bonus levels allow ' platform star, and Spyro will be Mr. Congeniality, thanks to Spyro to By free. See the moon? It's the voice of Carlos Alazarqui. Not a household name by any |. | sas y, dan " oo ©) QOC really made of P. means, Alazarqui's voice has been heard by millions as the 4 | Wi : 1 B ` voice of the Taco Bell dog, and as a character in Rocco's ; Modern Life. It must also be mentioned that percussion genius Stewart Copeland (formerly of The Police) has been enlisted to do the soundtrack for the game. Some in the GI office have vowed that anything recorded by Stewart Copeland is gold, and in a roundabout way, gold may be indicative of the quality of Spyro. You'll definitely see more of Spyro in future issues of Game Informer. ET Here chicky, chicky. Those soldiers are 85 ES dumb as they are stup Take that, baddie! Spyro...the magic dragon, | lives by the tents. vie Run Away! The glowing firefly is Spyro's health meter. Comes from the land of the ice and snow... PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action * Special Features: Game Emotion & Enhanced Gamespeak; Gorgeous Rendered Backgrounds; A Wide Array of Character n Skills Including Face Slapping & Item Who E Usage; Sinister New Enemies & Tons of fi SoulStorm Brew for Everyone * Created by: Oddworld Inhabitants for GT Interactive * Available: 4th Quarter for PlayStation 60% Complete In our interview with Lorne Lanning [GI, 4/98], he touched ground on the future of Oddworld Inhabitants and the Oddworld Quintology. From what was said, expect Exoddus to be the last side-scrolling brain twister for Abe. Lanning expressed his thoughts on the PlayStation and future consoles, and stated that Oddworld's next game, Munch's Oddysee, would take full advantage of real-time 3D. Oddworld would have incorporated 3D gameplay within these first two games, but the PlayStation couldn't handle everything the producers wanted to accomplish. Oddworld's main goal was to create a game that looks and plays perfectly. Lanning stated that he didn't want to sacrifice one for the other, and that's what would have happened if Abe went polygonal. Instead, Oddworld magically combined breathtaking painted backdrops, real-time lighting, and oh so smooth animation to present one of the most realistic looking fantasy games around. This year the same techniques are being applied, but are amplified and expanded. Oddworld has already captured the look and play of Oddysee, but a taller set of hurdles must be conquered in this sequel. There will have to be trickier puzzles, more perils, and a completely different story that is just as engrossing. We always said that Abe's had the perfect balance of gameplay and storytelling, and we hope the sequeLis just as enthralling. Actually, we demand it. Judging from the info we have right now, the story will basically be the same. Abe's off Í to rescue his race again! But new elements have been added that lead us to believe that things will get fairly crazy latér on. For example, will the Mudokon ghosts play a bigger role than Oddworld originally foretold? And what about General Dripik, Vice-President Aslik, and Director Phleg? What could these three small brains be up to? An even bigger mystery is the Mudombies. Does Abe simply need to avoid them? Or do they play'a im We seek plenty of answers, but to be blatantly hohes we don't want to know t answers through actual gameplay. We love the first Abe's adventure, and we can’ the new shots and artwork we have and expect to se another preview i 4 n just yet. We W Game Informer * July '98 rash Bandicoot has become the global platform star on the PlayStation. The debut release is still selling like mad, and ` the sequel is ripping up the... Wait a minute! We don’t need to go into the formal intro- duction with this guy anymore! You know who he is. You know what he’s capable of. And we're sure you have a fairly good idea of how this third game will play. Yes, good ol’ Crash “I'm Orange For No Reason” Bandicoot is coming back for thirds. He's like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going. Someday though, we're sure he'll figure out that if he really wants some peace and quiet then he'll cap that nasty Cortex right between the eyes. Speaking of which, Dr. Neo Cortex is returning to the platform scene. And guess what? He's evil. He's so sinister that Crash will have to risk orange fur and limb to take him out for the third consecutive time. We predict a sweep for our Bandicoot brother! But get this, Cortex could very well be a back-seat driver. Naughty Dog is currently hinting at the possibility of a new villain. Add in the don we say! Yep, Cortex may not be the guy pulling the strings, but rather it could be Uka Uka. No no! Not Aku Aku, but Uka Uka. Again, guess what? He's evil!!! And he's Aku Aku’s diabolical twin brother who has been buried within the nameless island for years and years and a few days on the side. Well, well, well. What will Crash do? Remember Coco? Of course, she's the annoying sister who needed a stinking battery while you were asleep on the beach. Guess what for the third and final time? She's here to help out Crash and will be a new playable character. Wow! We have very little info on what this femme fatale is capable of, but we've heard that t s À Aku Aku Into Uka Uka Ya Buka Buka PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action/Platform * Special Features: 2 Playable Characters (Crash & Coco); 20 to 40 Levels; Time Travel to Atlantis, The Great Wall, & Egypt: Ride a Jet Ski; New Moves Including a Continuous Spin & Double Jump * Created by: Naughty Dog/Universal for Sony Computer Entertainment America * Available: November for PlayStation 69% Complete she's pretty inventive in what she does. Heck, she even rides a tiger. Go get ‘em girlfriend! (ahh - sis!) Yet, a bigger mystery surfaces, regarding character switching. Can you select Crash or Coco at the beginning of the game? Or are they assigned stages? Our money is on the assigned stages. Its gotta be the assigned stages. As for the story? Who knows. All we know for certain is f- the ending. Crash wins - end of |. trilogy. Put really now, there will probably be a killer story in this one. Uka Uka or Cortex (or whoever) are sending Crash through time. Since Warped refers to Star Trek and distance traveling, Sony should have called this third sequel Time Bandicoots. (We made that one up ourselves) _ So expect to be wrapped by mummies in Egypt: eaten by a T-rex in the prehistoric era; sliced by a swordsman in the medieval age; shot down by the Red Baron in the something or another era; and, tantalized by the mermaids of Atlantis. With these new zones, Crash 3 also presents some interesting gameplay scenarios. There's a jet ski level that supposedly looks just as nice as Wave Race (on the N64), and complete 30 dogfighting (in planes) against the Red Baron. We could go on for months about what Crash 2: (insert Star Trek term here) will be like, but we just don’t have the space in this issue, so until next month, or the month after that, - suffer and expect the best from Naughty Dog once again. Game Informer * July '98 PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Action * Special Features: Many Different mul Weapons; Gameplay Modes Switch From Classic 2D to Full 3D; Authentic Contra B | Shooter Feel; New Health Meter; FMV Cut- B1 Scenes * Created by: Appaloosa Software for Konami * Available: August for PlayStation 40% Complete AIN ITEMS dose ` hile this game is not complete, it certainly gives us more than enough to dream about. Appaloosa Software apparently has been doing quite a bit of homework in order to create a Contra that is worthy of the 8- and 16-bit games of yore. Back then the gameplay was all that mattered and Konami always came through, giving players an ever-increasing thrill ride into the world of aliens and the big guns that destroy them. Then, Contra: Legacy of War came out, and it really disappointed fans. The gameplay was hard, as usual, but the control was sloppy, camera i angles were disjointed, and the graphics needed some work. Most diehard oom | Contra fans don't even consider Contra: LOW as a sequel to the previous games. But Konami has now gone back to its roots, and this new Contra, simply titled C, pays respect to great Contra games of the past. C - The Contra Adventure is a back-to-basics shooter. The first level is just like the old Contras: Get through a desolate city and destroy all attackers with extrerne prejudice. In the form of eagles, many well-known weapons have returned, and deliver the goods for those with the need to destroy everything. The Spread Shot, the Flamethrower, and the Laser are all here. Even the Super Bomb is added in for that extra large punch when needed. But there are some new ideas thrown into the mix. Remember the first Contra on the NES? There were successive corridors that had a pseudo-3D effect. These corridors have returned in C, and are now complete 3D. Fighting techniques like strafing and rolling are just a few of the new enhancements to these scenes. The emphasis of this new Contra is on shooting and destroying, and there is plenty of it, even in the 3I) areas. As always, the game is really hard and tests your patience, as you figure out patterns to the hordes of enemies ready to kill your commando. But what would Contra be if it wasnt hard? That's its namesake, and it lives up to it in this one. Lives are eaten with the ferocity of a pregnant alien, and until you figure out the patterns, you will get massacred. O OPEN TH Ux "us 1 YT 7p PR AS 1 i ` AX * k, Ts foie. d NS z pi -- PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Action (Up to 4-Player Via Link Cable) * Special Features: From The Creators Of Twisted Metal; 9 Power-Ups; 11 Characters; 8 Levels of Destruction (With More Hidden); Memory Card & Link Cable Compatible * Created by: SingleTrac for GT Interactive * Available: September for PlayStation 60% Complete 2 4 ROOT Twisted Metal is an underground phenomenon. As new gamers get into the PlayStation, the series continues to pick up sales. We get mail every Get TT CHAR OU HERE) x Metal 2, even though the game has been out for a year. So it's no surprise when ex-Twisted Metal developers, SingleTrac says it's got a new vehi ular combat game, people take notice. T And notice we do. Rogue Trip, from the demented minds at SingleTrac, is a blast. Beautiful graphics combined with all the car-destroying mayhem one can stomach is the essence of Rogue Trip. Choose from Il characters, each with his or her own background and unique vehicle (sound familiar?). Toss in eight areas, each with its own theme, and you've got a probable hit on your hands. Add a pinch of insanity from the designers, simmer and stir. The result is a delectable smorgasbord of fluffy, yet filling, entertainment that is sure to inspire diabolical feelings from even the purest of souls. The weird and wacky character creations come out of nowhere, including the school bus driven by a vigilant nun, a swamp buggy on wheels driven by a hot little Cajun betty, a pink caddy driven by an Elvis impersonator (or ‘invoker’), and a hot dog wagon driven by a clown. While a clown isn't that weird, you should check out his car's special weapon — Oscar Mayer would never treat his meat like that. " ——— One of the goals on each level is to pick up tourists ØK Us R LEETZ 25:77] and drive them around to the photo opportunities z^ scattered throughout each level. There is only one tourist per level, so the game quickly degenerates into a deadly version of tag. Once all the photo ops are finished, then your next goal is to eradicate the competition. Fear not, there is no shortage of special weapons, so you never have to battle empty-handed So get ready peeps, Rogue Trip is coming your way. Just remember to hide the car keys if you invite your friends over for some four-player-linked-deathmatch- frenzy. 55 WS UTD: RE RES: LEE T: SS Game Informer * July '98 47 PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action * Special Features: 20 Weapons; Heat- Sensitive Sniping Mode; Real-Time Moves & Tons of Text; Streaming Music & Data; Auto-Targeting System; 7 Environments; Timed Levels; Rain Effects; Dual Shock & Memory Card Compatible * Created by: Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) * Available: 4th Quarter for PlayStation 50% Complete TARGET penGER OS 48 Game Informer e July '98 were wrong when we said that a Syphon Filter was an enema tool. This was a good guess on our part, but we were way off. A Syphon Filter is actually a man-made biological virus that can be programmed to kill select targets. Sounds scary, . huh? But get this. An unknown terrorist organization is threatening to destroy the world | with this germ unless... Well, there is no unless! They just want to destroy the world! But here comes Gabriel Logan, a horribly-named secret agent who is assigned to stop this viral threat all by himself. If he doesn't succeed, millions will die and he'll probably end up as a janitor (if he doesn't die first). Thankfully though, this kid is well-trained, a great speller, and a master with any kind of firearm. Throughout gameplay, Gabriel will cross paths with 20 different weapons, one of which is a heat- sensitive sniper rifle that can pick off targets from a distance. As with the Nintendo 64 classic, GoldenEye 007, enemies have specific hit zones. Hit them in the head and they'll drop in one shot. Shoot them in the stomach or shoulders and you'll stun them. The better|your shot, the better off you'll be. Sniping every enemy from a! great distance would be great, butjlet’s face the facts: It ain't gonna happen. More times than not, Gabriel will be on foot running through corridors filled with terrorists. For these situations a pistol, rifle, or any other kind of light firearm will be the best choice. Sony has incorporated a complex, yet user-friendly targeting system that will grant players the ability to pick off tons of enemies on-the-run and not take on too much damage. With the rifle, Gabriel can easily target enemies in front of him, but will be an easy target for enemies that crawl out of the shadows from behind. For this, the pistol works best. With this light firearm, Gabriel can target enemies over-the shoulder, and still have the freedom to comfortably mave about in 3D space. —- You can expect some of the action to take place outside of combat. On one level, Gabriel has to infiltrate a secure complex and search for clues. Other stages; ‘could entail recovering secret documents, and rescuing hostages. Each level throws a slew of different objectives at the player, and for “Level Completion” status, each and every task will have to be taken care of. But not every object needs to be tackled in order, as Syphon Filter gives players the freedom to solve riddles in a non-linear fashion. Syphon Filter is loaded with variety, tons of character moves [like shimmying across poles and the duck and roll), and it will be story intensive. Whether Syphon packs enough to be a blockbuster is unknown, and will remain so until later this year. PlayStation Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Sports * Special Features: 5-On-5 Gameplay; NFL & NFLPA Licenses; No Penalties; Play With Injuries; Audibles; Weather Effects; Over 50 End Zone Dances; Create & Trade Players; Build Team Mode * Created by: Sony Interactive Studios America * Available: July for PlayStation ts summer and that means football. We Aa ` : | 90% Complete know it's crazy, but the NFL season, with ` various training camps and a longer pre- season, seems to begin earlier every year. If- your hunger for the pigskin is still not satisfied, game companies will be offering up. even more football than usual. Last year, Sony ruled football with GameDay, but Madden a was a kiler game too, and Acclaim’s ,.. Quarterback Club was a huge success. ^ he k A ! This year, those games will be back and ' k A. looking better than ever, but some 7 "24d developers desire to expand the genre. me? In addition to the games that feature i amd v desit oae D 11 men on the field, Sony, Midway, and maybe even EA will have another line of | football titles where teams use five or +. seven players to open up the field and may think k that Sony. m dii Superfly. | |. provide more action. Actually, we're | Snuka for its’ motion capture, ‘in addition to. K: Í surprised a united movement such as iyo i ` players like Jerome E and: s E 4 | this hasn't happened before, since most Niekerson. |" 3 V po 1 de pick-up games of football down at the park or | 5% Xtreme also has the - Standard. _ on the beach take this same approach. ——n features you expect in any football - piki While good sportsmanship has usually SEE game. All 30 NFL teams are included, ! been encouraged (except in Super High an as are Season and Playoff modes with Impact), late hits, taunting, excessive _ Create Player. Plus, there are moves TAE p $ Á 4i d 2 1 l ; t | | | is 4l V ES .. celebrations, and overall mayhem are C ya = | like stiff arm, hurdle, high step, turbo, k encouraged in this new breed of football. In es en ven a jump-flip. Xtreme is almost - Xtreme, helmets fly and players talk trash and. = L. si complete and | should be out this month, i: - i play while injured (without. the ce SEEMS E á so expect a review from us soon. | use of vicodin). It’s a rough WIN ti itor iim I e . and tumble uod out there ; = and after playing Xtreme, wu NA ME Wy E à. ROS usar we LJ mg SUME Ha i W M | peep me EI M £j f bh.) w & PlayStation Review * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Action * Special Features: Hidden Special Moves; Bosses; 12 Cars & Characters; Interactive Battlegrounds with Secrets Everywhere; 2-Player Cooperative & Deathmatch * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: Activision * Available: Now for PlayStation Bottom Line: 7,5 ANDY | REINER JON Concept: 7 8.75 6 Graphics: 9 9:5 8 Sound: 8 8.25 7 Playability: 7 6.75 7 ainment: 7 8 6 7 8.25 6 Heavy Metal, 0? Just Twisted? Vehicular combat calls the PlayStation home, but its roost might be getting a little crowded. Will mama Sony have to ask one ::] of her little birds to leave? Will PlayStation Andy, The Game Hombre "The graphics and physics of this game are far out. ! really dig crusing around, but the combat, well...it's not as groovy as Twisted 1 or 2. This game is good, but Vd rent it first unless you can't live without a new car combat game." Reiner, The Raging Gamer "From the vehicle designs to the effects and detail in environments, V8's look is to drool over, but the gameplay is rather unimpressive. The controls are extremely fidgety, and the computer Al is horrid. " Jon, The Greedy Gamer "Don't believe the graphics hype, this game has huge problems. The one-player is decent, especially the first-person view, but the enemies are totally stupid, and the whole Quest mode is way too easy." 50 Game Informer * July '98 pundits declare one vehicular combat title unworthy to live, and kill it? Activision hopes not, because its title, Vigilante 8, feeds from the same trough as Rogue Trip and Twisted Metal 3. It's not the oldest, nor the middle child; it's the youngest of three very similar titles, and has a lot to ] prove to everyone. Well, prove it does. Vigilante 8 looks outstanding. There are tons of things happening in each of the stages - trains, | planes, even automobiles — and secrets are hidden everywhere. There's no doubt this game looks great, but it all comes with a price. The Quest mode only has you battling four cars at a time (as opposed to 7 in Twisted Metal). Then, in the two- player modes, it's very difficult to see what's happening onscreen. Certainly, vehicular combat emphasizes two-player action, and Vigilante 8's performance is not up to spec. The cars and characters are cleverly designed, and some of the special weapons are hilarious. Once again, however, there is a problem. The enemies are pretty stupid, and most of the time you can destroy them by driving in a tight circle and unleashing your host of rockets. Yes, Vigilante 8 is a close replica of Twisted Metal, we'll even go as far as to say that it's a "Twisted Metal rip off." But that doesn't mean it's a bad game. Let's check the reviews to see how Vigilante 8 measures up. Playstation Review the Atom, but it doesn't come close to the import Satum version. While the slowdown in this game is annoy- ing, the animation is smooth and the fighting is frantic. Street Fighter fanatics won't be disappointed." Reiner, The Raging Gamer "This epic clash of the mutates is hampered by major slowdown. If there's too much on the screen, then sit back and wait. On the other hand, the framerate in the standard moves is decent and doesn't really detract from the gameplay experience." Jon, The Greedy Gamer *XMSF for the Japanese Saturn was one of the best fighters l've ever seen on a console. If I'd never played that version, I'd probably score this higher. But this half-a-game, without the character tagging, and with all the slowdown, is a rental only." * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting * Special Features: 17 Characters Including Akuma; Alpha Countering; Partner Intervenes To Counter & Deliver Team Super; Based on the Popular Arcade Game * Replay Value: Moderately High * Created by: Capcom * Available: Now for PlayStation Bottom Line: 7,5 ANDY | REINER JON Concept: 7.75 7.5 6 Graphics: 8 7 8 Sound: 7.75 7.75 9 Playability: 8.75 8 7 - Entertainment 7 4 Overall: — 6. at a time, so there is no ` ch is the heart and soul of the Even though that key element is Capcom manages to bring us ome great fighting. ` Overall, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter EX solid. The graphics move , the controls are respon- İV use, and the colors are all act. All of your favorite moves can be t xedbted, even Team Supers. There is little to no slowdown of the framerate even when big ol’ Juggernaut gets in on the action. However, the underlying question remains. Is it that much different from the other Street Fighters already on the system? Is there a code to allow player tagging? Is it any good? Is it a buyer, or a renter? Check the reviews to see, Capcom nuts. Unless, of course, you’ve already imported X-Men Vs. Street Fighter for the Saturn. PlayStation PlayStation Review * Size: 1 CD-ROM Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action/Role-Playing Game * Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing (4-Player Via * Special Features: Real-Time Combat Multi-Tap) pow ë Interface; 4 Continents With Unique * Special Features: Unique Confidence Environments; Good Storyline & Music; Meter With Tricks; Intelligent & Adaptive Exceptional Translation; Anime Cut- Ghost Mode; 13 Tracks; 10 Characters; Scenes; Memory Card Required Changing Paths & Obstacles; Link Cable * Created by: Shade for THQ Compatible * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: SingleTrac for GT * Available: Now for PlayStation Interactive * Available: Fall for PlayStation Bottom Line: 6.5 50% Complete ANDY PAUL | REINER 7 6 7 6.75 55 6 6.5 6.5 7 Streak, That's What's Happenin’, | Put My Entertainment: Overall: en you're ingleTrac, g, but it’s | was big in i teboarding in the 70's ' now streaking | defines t Ë ain't streaking, you : ain't got no on home. on of streaking in excellent detail. the power, but you We bet there's a secret halfpipe track. oras Ca je and entertaining with $.and combat interface. ch course builds your th more confidence you'll tighter rolls, and cooler aren't just for show (and or kids either). Learning to walls, bridges, and fences "seconds off your time, and continue on your quest; for the Andy, The Game Hombre developer Shade “Granstream Saga isn’t a. horrible P à 1 RPG, it just moves incredibly slow. If you can take its turtleJlke pace, details. Because of this, everything. comes then you'll be rewarded with an in clear and enemies are well drawn with interesting story and a decent, albeit high poly counts. Especially during combat, slow, fighting engine." Granstream Saga keeps the motion fluid Paul, The Game Professor and the control crisp. This is extremely “The battle interface is fairly enjoy- important to this game because real-time able, but the graphics are generally battles are used to determine the outcome. average. Plus, the regenerating One false move and expect to get smacked enemies are completely annoying." ^ around like you did when you refused to Reiner, The Raging Gamer give the bully lunch money back in grade “This game lacks the excitement to School. The enemies do have patterns, back up the mammoth story that it however, and you can use those patterns to delivers oh so nicely. In addition to your advantage by detecting weaknesses. this, the graphics are ho hum and ` ` Overall, Granstream not be the game lack any kind of detail. So, if you that Final Fantasy VII is, but it is yet : sellers Pecans ig another entertaining RPG to quell the Jeepers Shaggy, this otherwise, the PlayStation ature masses until Xenogears and Parasite Eve haunted graveyard much better adventures like Alundra are released. cata il and Legacy of Kain.” | is actually es in Jet Moto, the «© GEMboard leaned, flipped, and || rotated. Some of the courses have sections built as a halfpipe, allowing you to soar off each side for some major rotation. But watch out, because the other streakers are very competitive, and will constantly | challenge you for the lead. If you build enough 1 confidence, land enough tricks, and clock a fast enough time, you'll become the most ] famous streaker in the land. But more importantly, you'll learn the sinister truth behind this dangerous, underground sport. Ride down, into this tunnel of love. Game Informer e July '98 51 by Bergren, The Game Burrito This was a pretty good month even though | was disappointed with Sanitarium and, to a lesser extent, Might & Magic. Forsaken was my savior. It rocks. Also, check out Spec if you want some good third-person military action. DOS and Windows Collide | 65 3 Sanitarium — ASC magine being stuck in a tiny room with a bunch of other crazy freaks. ] There are no windows and a stale odor emanates from every corner, dominating your olfactory senses. We know it sounds horrifying, but that's what it's like working at Game Informer. Suddenly you wake up. Everything is dark and damp and it looks like you're in an old, rundown castle. Your entire head is wrapped in gauze and your mind randomly flashes disjointed memories. The stench is nauseating and the company disturbing. To one side, a man moans while banging his head on a brick wall to a steady beat that could only be kept by the most insane band leader the world has ever known. You soon realize that everyone else in this rundown tower is marching to a similar drummer. Congratulations, you’re in an asylum. Now figure out who you are and what the heck you're doing locked up in this mold-infested fruit basket. Sanitarium is a strange experience that will leave you wondering what kind of childhood the creators had. As a fan of all things whacked, | was really drawn in by the demented plot and characters of Sanitarium, even though they sometimes got a little bit goofy and absurd. You'll encounter many different characters like a crazy inmate that jumps to his death, a deformed boy with bluish skin and two mouths, and the mysterious Mother. Sanitarium is also laced with plenty of challenging and frustrating puzzles. However, even combined with a dark storyline, Sanitarium moves too slow. Some puzzles seem forced as if there was some sort of puzzle quota that had to be met. Plus, moving through the nine different episodes is slow going, making the whole process even more of a drag. If you have the patience and like the deeply disturbed, you might like this game, but otherwise it’s not that great. 2 9. Forsaken — Acclaim i n Forsaken, Acclaim has one of the best first-person shooters on the market. So why do they plaster a beautiful woman on the cover and include a cheesy girlie calendar in the packaging? Sure, she's a looker, but aren't these the kind of marketing tactics reserved for games that totally suck? A graphics accelerator is not required for Forsaken, but it sure helps. The graphics are sharp and the colors vibrant, but the lighting effects are even better and can also be used to your advantage. Not only can you fire a weapon into a dark corner to illuminate it, but if you are unsure if something is around a corner, fire around it and see if it casts an enemy's shadow. Forsaken also has a useful picture-in-picture feature. By hitting a button you can bring up a box that displays a rear view. While this is a neat feature, it does not compare to the missile cam. Firing a missile automatically brings up another small screen that provides a first-person view of the projectile in flight. Not only is it useful in determining if your missile hit its target, but it's satisfying to see it slam into the enemy and explode into tiny bits. Forsaken looks awesome, but it also plays like a dream. It moves fast and smooth and the missions are challenging. To start out, you are trapped in a volcano that is set to erupt. You must navigate through corridors and kill enemies, all while trying to beat the clock. | like gore and blood in my first-person shooter, and even though Forsaken doesn't have the amount found in Quake Il, this game is almost as good. Definitely check Forsaken out, especially if you're sick of mission packs. D TES. Might and Magic VI: The Mandate Of Heaven - 3DO W hether you will like the new Might and Magic (M&M VI) depends on what you want from an RPG. As part of the RPG market for most of this decade, | expected a lot out of M&M VI. After all, it's the sixth installment and the creators should be blowing our minds with all sorts of inspiring advancements. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Don't get me wrong, M&M VI is a solid game that successfully blends a good story with exploration and character building. On the other hand, the graphics are ho-hum and the combat is lackluster. Could somebody please swing a sword or something? Sure, flair is not necessary for a good game, but like icing on a cake, it would make it that much better. The land of Enroth is huge and the game even comes packaged with a large cloth map for easy reference during play. You and your cohorts can walk from town to town, but that can be time consuming and in Enroth, it can also prove to be rather dangerous. Traveling by horseback or ship is a faster and safer way to get around. In order to make your party members experts in their chosen fields, traveling is obviously a must. In addition to gaining experience by battling the endless amount of aggressive enemies, you must find people to train you in certain disciplines. However, it's more challenging than you may think. Often, you must find someone to sell you a membership to a specific guild and then travel to it for the training. In other circumstances, you will find a master of a specific skill, but he or she will tell you that you must find another instructor to teach you the basics before beginning the advanced training In a nutshell, M&M VI has a lot of what makes a good RPG. There are powerful enemies, plenty of magic and skills to obtain, and a whole planet to save from certain destruction. | guess I’m just disappointed that it didn't rock my world like | had hoped. © Game Informer * July '98 recent releases SWAT 2 - Sierra 6 In this game you can create, equip, and train your own units for a SWAT or terrorist campaign. There is a huge pool of officers and terrorists to recruit from, and the terrorists are a bunch of scary-looking weirdoes. Those aspects | liked about SWAT 2, but the gameplay turned me off. Controlling a group is often cumbersome and shooting proved to be very inaccurate. Outwars — Microsoft 6 Third-person action has never looked so average. The jetpacks are fun to cruise around in, but still, nothing really made me want to keep playing this game. Despite the dull graphics, some of the alien enemies look vicious, but in the end, often prove to be a limited challenge. Redline Racer - Ubi Soft 7 Not bad, especially compared to Manx TT. Redline doesn't have many tracks or motorcycles at the start, but more can be unlocked. The track designs are solid, filled with decent terrain, crisp detail, and vibrant colors. Redline Racer presents a £ood challenge too, and sloppy driving will continually send you tumbling end-over-end for hundreds of yards. Spec Ops - Ripcord 7.5 Tearing through enemy. territory with another army ranger at your side is tons of fun in Spec Ops. The environments range from dark jungles to snowy mountains and there are plenty of weapons and equipment to use, including a handy GPS. The downfall is that the game isn’t very long, the aiming is a little off, and your ranger partner sometimes jumps into your line of fire. Are You Ready For Another Street Fighter? b h As) 7 It seems as if this game appeared out of thin air. The newest title in Capcom s — £a Ma& V JM. i s Downhill Racer - Bike Alpha Series, Street Fighter Zero 3, is out. Along with the returning crew, there will *, A i MV ee A 4 Á ; Racing At Its Finest be some old, and new, characters added to the Alpha Series. . tr m^ From Namco comes another unusual racer, Blanka, Vega, and Honda will all be in the new game, as well as an all-new f a [ M ud but this time it's on mountain bikes. Downhill character - Karin. She is a rival of Sakura and originally appeared rre. Aie Racer features two-player racing across huge in Japan's Gamest Magazine. There are also a couple of new - IU a as mountains. Jumping gaps, negotiating the characters from other parts of the Capcom Universe... Veð | mud, and getting around your opponents are Gameplaywise, the most interesting new feature is each | A ud: mom — all part of the play, as bikers plummet down players choice of a Super Bar before a match. One bar " D D 7 M the summit as fast as they can pedal. What is charges up three levels, like the normal Alpha bar. Another E x: t k. = t really unique in this game is the way jumps are bar charges up, but can only be used for Custom Combos. € ` £. ar : A Jai negotiated. Players get big boosts in speed for The last type of bar can only be used for one huge attack. This P) | el O solid jumps and tricks. The game comes in will definitely make the matches more interesting, as , ZØ) E. LEM u 50” screen size and four-player link cabinets each player will have to choose one of the bars to suit his or “== i BR. ` `. 1 so everyone can get in on the action. her particular style. Get ready for another round of Street 1 Mi — Fighter mania!! Even More Street Fighter News! That’s right, by the time you read this, Street Fighter EX2 should be in arcades near you! The characters are basically the same as in SF EX, but will include Blanka and Vega! Also, the graphics have taken a major upswing and, as usual, you can expect the control to be as solid as ever. We can’t wait to get our hands on some 3D Blanka action! Midway Pushes The Edge With HMyperdrive Midway, maker of the ever-so-popular Cruis’n Series, has decided to flex its arcade muscle a little more and create another racing game. But this ain't no normal racing game, this is Hyperdrive, a futuristic racing 4 game where the players use ships that fly. The ships allow you to cruise ` over and under the other players, along with the normal passing. Extra strategy is provided in the form of obstacles, sharp turns, other players, - and gravity. The farther you get away from the track, the slower you go. This is important to consider since getting past the other opponents is what it's all about. Four- and eight-player link cabinets are available, so you can 'wipeout' with all of your buddies at once. The graphics look sharp and clean, and gameplay is further =. \ enhanced by the controller that was uniquely | ^ T | designed for the game (kinda looks like the old Atari arcade controller for Star Wars). Game Informer * July '98 © * Size: 64 Megabit * Style: 1 or 2-Player Sports * Special Features: 1998 MLB Rosters; Season & Home Run Derby; Stat Tracking; Create Player & League; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible; Draft * Replay Value: Low * Created by: Devil's Thumb for GT Interactive * Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: 4.25 Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 to 6-Player Sports * Special Features: 11 Pro Bowlers; Create Bowler; Tournament & Career Modes; Authentic Equipment & Tournament Sites; Special Lights-Out Cosmic Mode * Created by: THQ * Available: August for PlayStation 75% Complete * Size: 1 CD-ROM (Possibly More) * Style: 1-Player Role- Playing Game * Special Features: 2 Main Characters; Over 40 Hours of Gameplay; New Rendering Techniques; Puzzles; Emphasis on Story; Battles Featuring Real- Time Cinematography; Multiple Vehicles * Created by: Crave Entertainment * Available: Fall 1998 for PlayStation 20% Complete © Game Informer * July '98 Mike Piazza's StrikeZone When compared to the other N64 baseball titles, Piazza comes up way short. It has all of Bl the necessities like a create player, draft, stat tracking, and 1998 rosters, but the gameplay is ! light-years behind All-Star Baseball and Griffey. Piazza's flaws are everywhere. The animation 7 is extremely choppy, the ball has no movement, ` and the trail effects are just plain goofy. In addition to this, the fly ball noises are annoying, and the 900 ft. home runs are impossible (even for McGwire). On the bright side though, the ; stadiums look nice, the hitting interface is fast ü and easy to manipulate, and the edit team option is sweet. But let's face the facts, Griffey and All-Star simply crush this game. Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling When it comes to bowling, Ten Pin Alley from ASC Games is hard to beat. But THQ's Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling brings a lot to the table, including a professional license. You can choose to play as one of 11 different pro bowlers, and compete in authentic tournaments around the States. There's even authentic Brunswick equipment! But if the pro bowlers don't tickle your fancy, you can create your own geeky, overweight, cheesy-mustached bowler. In either case, you can enter your bowler into the career mode, where you qualify for tournaments and compete for purses. Control takes the form of the standard power |! and accuracy meter, but you can apply spin, Æ and the lanes deteriorate in accurate fashion. Shadow Madness Shadow Madness is the newest game from Crave, publishers of Robotron 64. But don't expect any shooting from this game. Rather, it is an RPG that utilizes new graphic technology, as well as a unique interface. There are two main characters, each with a different storyline and subplot. Along the way, more characters can be picked up for the party. Some of the graphics seem similar to FFVII, but are put together in a new way, using cinemas in battles, as well as data streaming to prevent GLANCE (ER E CIEICICR CHER ` 35977 e Lt samant be M vat womad n vat Weston lider in tma s Que (dictamen, r. long load times. There are also vehicles to pop IT H into, such as gliders and ships. Watch for this | game in the fall, if you're not busy hitting the Square lineup. Pe Se 2 a AIN PLLLLLIH PH HELLE s ^ CA WUE "T GLANCE SLA AUR ‘RI GLANCE Kartia We don't know much about Kartia, but there fim ea CORON are some interesting new concepts that could Ø Ø Style: 1 or 2-Player help this game stand out from the RPG crowd. BIN The first, and most interesting, is the ability EZ Niro to create items. Using a force known as Kartia, kg Pa ies players can create anything from small f EENM San items they find (or later create) which house Ø ØV en magic properties. The gameplay itself is BEMEMIISMEE Eur similar to that of Final Fantasy Tactics, but has eis, a distinguishable differences. For example, two f cia a bn a M players can pit their troops against one RØ VE SØ Sei E another, as well as trade items they find on PlayStation NO their journey. This game looks promising. Check back soon for a better look at this unique title. 20% Complete Fight Night The last “true” boxing game to hit the consoles "e Bl was Foes of Ali for 3DO. While Foes was a | Bigger = decent game, it certainly wasn't great, but EA's FERSTIE boxing record looks to make a big change with Ø Ð ies br 9 Over Å its latest game Fight Night (working title only). precy on a. Fight Night boasts an impressive list of fighters Ó MMNsstiestmatden in three weight classes — light, middle, and Mode: Golden Era heavy. The exclusive Fight Night boxers are Ali, Boxers Holyfield, Sugar Ray Leonard, and De La BAM AER í * Available: Fall for Hoya. But other legendary boxers are included Ó gaaon as well. Relive moments from yesteryear, vying for the championship belt against the likes of ™ Patterson, Liston, Mancini, Spinks, Hagler, ] Holmes, Arguello, Duran, Whitaker, Lewis, | Mosley, Norton, and the man himself — Joe & Louis. There's no word yet on any “create 0 | boxer" options. 40% complete | Cool Boarders 3 It's summer and talk of snowboarding is still | around us. 1080 Degree Snowboarding was Ø Bredeateynem | released earlier this spring for N64 and brought Ø Pme with it precise control and the best snow BETTE TEES | effects in the business. But, the experienced BESSAMINESNUMUNCUE team at UEP Systems is working on its third À MENA Hidden); 2-Player Via nstallment of Cool Boarders for PlayStation. Link or Split-Screen; Loyal fans of this game are anxious to see what BUE qe Sue | improvements will be made. Will we finally be coll concep blah y | able to descend glades of deep, fresh, white | >and goodness? Will the bonus track from the f ERTAGIDA original game be hidden within? For certain, BEMESECUUERISES SD Cool Boarders will have six events including BREMEN Big Air, Halfpipe, Boarder Cross, and Slope BENIN ^1 Style, plus new characters and 32 new f EESE | runs (with two more hidden) spread across five 30% Complete mountains. Currently, Cool Boarders 3 is Game Informer * July '98 @ * Size: 1 CD-ROM scheduled for this October. * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1 or 2-Player Sports * Special Features: Stat Tracking; Create-A- Player; Trades & Drafts; Homerun Derby; Fast Gameplay * Replay Value: Moderate * Created by: Interplay * Available: June for PlayStation Bottom Line: 7 Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Shooter * Special Features: All 3 Arcade Versions; Over 50 Levels; Weapon & Ammo Power-Ups; Tons of Firepower; Loop-to- Loops; Dual Shock Compatible; Collection Mode * Created by: Capcom * Available: Fall for PlayStation 90% Complete Preview * Size: 1 CD-ROM * Style: 1-Player Action/Platform * Special Features: 20 Levels; All 3 Games From the G & G Series; Multiple Weapons; Armor; Power-Ups; Dual Shock Compatible; Unlimited Continues; Collection Mode * Created by: Capcom * Available: Fall for PlayStation 80% Complete © Game Informer * July ‘98 CLAN VR Baseball '99 VR Baseball ‘99 has everything you could want in a baseball game, except for good graphics and animation. The playcontrol is solid, with quick responses and balanced fielding. The |^ pitcher/batter interface is much simpler than the other baseball games released this year. Create-a-player, drafts, and trades are all included. Full stats on all the teams and even a , Home run Derby complement the rest of the | game. But the graphics are atrocious, and the animation is putrid. If you have to have a nice | looking baseball game, then stay away from VR '99. But if you are not concerned with graphics, only gameplay, then check it out, because the $ game's control is comparable to anything else out there. Capcom Generations 1: 1942 Series Capcom will begin its Generations series with two volumes, 1942 and Ghouls & Ghosts. 1942 straps you in a plane and transports you to the skies of WWII. Even though it's the 1940s, the weapons you acquire from different power-ups seem more like they're from a futuristic Xevious. In all, Generations 1 includes 1942, 1943, and 1943 Enhanced, which has never been seen before in North America. The arsenal of 1943 Enhanced has been significantly boosted with even more powerful weapons. And with over 50 levels, fans of this vintage shooter should be excited about its arrival on the PlayStation this Fall. As with Ghouls & Ghosts, 1942 will have a Collection mode that displays posters, illustrations, and other artwork from the series. Capcom Generations 2: Ghouls & Ghosts Series Ghouls & Ghosts has returned for Volume 2 of Æ the Capcom Generations series, and the entire trilogy is included: Ghosts & Goblins and Ghouls & Ghosts from the arcade, as well as the slow-moving Super Ghouls & Ghosts from Ë » the Super NES. Armor and underwear have never looked so good together, and with over 20 levels, G & G junkies will want to play the pants off this game. This blast from the past also has a little touch of modern gaming with Dual Shock compatibility. Plus, Capcom included a Collection mode that contains a gallery filled with classic posters, illustrations, and other artwork from the three-part series. The Ghouls & Ghosts series is expected out this Fall. CE m SR HEER x SCORE 40000 í GLANCE PRESS STARI `: ÁT A CLANCE + AT Á € LANCE «AT Á CUAMMCE Azure Dreams | Azure Dreams can easily be looked at as v Bbar BORN | Konami's answer to Diablo. The game focuses f Brett on two aspects - the town and the tower. As an Playing Game apprentice monster tamer, your goal is to enter Ø ls raf NR the randomly-generated tower and search for BRBESGMaNeluui Saul i Tons of Items & Traps; treasure and monster eggs, all while fighting off | NMEvttequetme hordes of enemies and avoiding the pesky Interactive Town That traps. However, the monster eggs are the key Ø ØRVAR to the game. They can be hatched to create Ü MBMMMDACIR I SIS sjá : * Replay Value: monster familiars that can help you in the dun- PETA geon, or be sold to earn money to help build up NRK DARE your hometown of Monsbaiya. Leaving the | AZTECS Natl question of how do you defeat the game? Is IERI | the answer at the summit of the tower, or in Bottom Line: creating a prosperous, well-planned town? Á Sound interesting? Well it is. While the game 8 can be monotonous at times and trying on your patience, there is a lot here to offer RPGers. Rent it first, but definitely check this one out. Castle of Deception In September, gamers will be invited to = entertain themselves with what Tecmo is osea m calling the ‘unsequel’ to Deception. Aptly Playing Game — named, this follow-up is nothing like the BEELZIZ NIC original and features third-person real-time igo = action, as opposed to first-person turn-based Ø Jian 25 movements. This is a big change indeed. Also MØÐI new is the ability to brainwash your captives to Ø Øv: va NS MICE do your bidding. You can even manipulate e oki i m ! them enough to go on a diet, making you a [EN sadistic medieval version of Richard Simmons. Ø SITIS All of this originality sounds great, and the Ø BK EO Mus 1 character models and environment textures Ø Ekiru : for PlayStation look fantastic. However, screenshots can only Ë say so much. We'll be back soon with some Á actual gameplay notes. Stay tuned for more 0 ll very very soon. 60% Complete Crime Killers G-Police did something no other game (save APB) ever managed i d t h la A EM n Á i g . pu play * Style: 1-Player Action realistic situation to take care of thugs and JES TA arrest criminals. But in G-Police you were only WMMCESLSEEE UE allowed to use a helicopter to fly around, and vicies etel your missions were still rather linear. Crime FERSET | Killers takes the patrol idea and puts it to BOBMZY eT E PY solid use with lots of seemingly random Á ØRE k Musae | occurrences, as well as some preplanned | iiibethebambesmMiaae E disturbances. Take the wheel of a fast car, a | IRRIA À r * Available: July for faster motorcycle, or a plane and patrol the city Í Meese in search of the bad guys and take 'em out, or pacify them with an assortment of weapons. Aspiring officers should check this out. 80% Complete Game Informer * July '98 o GLANCE _ | A GLANCE ORT “@URACE Review | Bio FREAKS Fó TERNE Bio FREAKS stands for Biological Flying e Style: 1 or 2-Player Robotic Enhanced Armored Killing Synthoids. Fighting Most importantly, it means characters that fly. * Special Features: This is made possible by jump jets, and RN LEM WE enhanced by various multi-tiered 3D arenas. | Loss: Fatalities: B Also contributing to Bio FREAKS is a lot of gore | Weapons; Jump Jets: and blood that spills as often as a rollerblader | mmm on an ice-rink. If excessive blood flow gets NC Beet under your skin, wait until you see the | "Pieibimuds dismemberments. Characters constantly get * Created by: Midway something severed, whether it be an arm, leg, Home Entertainment or head. Even with both arms missing, : Merc for however, it's still possible to grasp victory (that's Bottom Line: terrible)! Or how about: With both : legs missing, you can still rise up and meet the 3 5 challenge. (That’s a stretch. Whoops, there we e go again.) Neat concept, but it sucks. N20: Nitrous Oxide EDS PLP This game packs the most intense visuals since e Style: 1 or 2-Player Woodstock. N20 has tons of color, Shooter blinding explosions, and swarms of lethal * Special Features: 4 insects — hey, put down those knitting needles. be hoped In the cockpit of a hovercraft that circles PET tubular tracks, you must shoot 18 types of very Bi: different insect enemies. For example, ants The Crystal Method; come at you in groups of five and if you shoot Pis v the center ant, all are destroyed. But if you REA miss, each ant must be shot individually. NIMM Beetles must be shot three times before being Æ Fox Interactive killed. With each hit, they change color and Ø : són i acquire additional defenses. N20 is highlighted / by solid control that leaves you with little doubt Bottom Line: as to how that big bug squashed you. Check 8 25 this game out if you like shooting mayhem. o Pr eview Command & Conquer: Retaliation The PlayStation already has the original rod ae C&C and its sequel Red Alert, but here Strategy comes Retaliation. Most PC players have * Special Features: played Retaliation since its the combination New Music & FMV of two expansion packs - Aftermath and Fun Counterstrike. But for the PlayStation game, Giant Ant Missions Å ; Fróða Westwood has introduced new music, and Ð Link Cable & Mouse new FMV sequences. Command & Conquer Compatible; 105 revolutionized real-time, and is held in the : dies 47 LR ME highest regard by GI. If you're strictly a console Studios for Virgin gamer, and you've missed out on C&C in the * Available: August for past, this might be just the game to get you PlayStation hooked. There are two sides, the Soviets and the Allies, each with about four different theaters of war. For those who own a Link Cable, C&C packs in 105 different multiplayer maps (10 of which are the Mega Maps from Aftermath). Watch for it in August. 90% Complete © Game Informer * July '98 Fujin * Weapon - B, B, LP * Whirlwind Spin — F, D (Hold LP) * Dive Kick - D + LK (in Air) * Tornado Lift — F, D, F, HP * Slam - (After Tornado Lift) B, F, D, LK * Rising Knee - D, F, HK FATALITIES * Fatality - RN + BLK (5 times) (Sweep) * Fatality II — D, F, F, U + BLK (Outside Sweep) e Spike Fatality - B, F, B + HP * Fan Fatality — D, D, D + HK Jarek * Weapon - F, F, HP e Cannonball Roll — B, F, LK * Ground Shaker - B, D, B, HK * Tri-Blade — D, B, LP * Vertical Roll — F, D, F, HP FATALITIES * Fatality — F, B, F, F + LK (Close) e Fatality I| — U, U, F, F + BLK (Outside Sweep) * Spike Fatality - B, F, F + LP * Fan Fatality — F, D, F + HK Jax * Weapon - D, F, HP * Ground Wave - F, F, D, LK * Dash Punch - D, B, LP * Backbreaker - BLK (In Air) * Fireball — D, F, LP * Multi-Slam — LP (RN + BLK + HK) (HP + LP + LK) (HP + BLK + LK) (HP + LP + HK + LK) FATALITIES * Fatality — (Hold LK for 5 seconds) F, F, D, F + Release (Close) * Fatality II — B, F, F, D + BLK (Close) e Spike Fatality - F, F, B + HP e Fan Fatality — F, F, B + LK Johnny Cage * Weapon - F, D, F, LK e Shadow Kick - B, F, LK * Shadow Uppercut - B, D, B, HP * High Fireball — D, F, HP * Low Fireball — D, B, LP * Split Punch - BLK + LP FATALITIES * Fatality — F, B, D, D + HK (Close) * Fatality II — D, D, F, D + BLK (Close) * Spike Fatality - B, F, F + LK e Fan Fatality — D, F, F + HK Kai * Weapon - D, B, LP * Falling Fireball - B, B, HP * Rising Fireball — F, F, LP (Also In Air) * Air Fist - D, F, HP * Super Roundhouse - D, F, LK * Handstand - BLK + LK (LP Spin) (LK/HK Kicks) Legend F - Forward HP - High Punch B - Back LK - Low Kick U - Up HK - High Kick D - Down BLK - Block LP - Low Punch RN - Run FATALITIES * Fatality — (Hold BLK) U, F, U, B + HK (Close) e Fatality II — U, U, U, D + BLK (Outside Sweep) * Spike Fatality — B, F, D + HK * Fan Fatality — F, F, D + BLK Liu Kang * Weapon - B, F, LK * High Fireball — F, F, HP (also in AIR) * Low Fireball — F, F, LP * Flying Kick — F, F, HK * Bicycle Kick — Hold LK for 3 seconds then release FATALITIES * Fatality — F, F, F, D + HK + LK + BLK (Sweep) * Fatality II — F, D, D, U + HP (Close) * Spike Fatality — F, F, B + HK * Fan Fatality — F, F, B + LP * Weapon - D, B, HK * Air Throw — BLK (In AIR) * Tele-Stomp - F, D, LK * Flying Skull — F, F, LP * Slide Kick — F, F, HK * Weapon Steal - F, B, HP FATALITIES * Fatality — (Hold LK for 5 seconds) F, D, F * Release (Close) * Fatality I| — U, U, D, D + LP (Outside Sweep) e Spike Fatality — F, F, B + LK * Fan Fatality — F, F, D + HP Raiden Moves * Weapon - F, B, HP * Torpedo - F, F, LK (Also In Air) * Teleport - D, U * Lightning Bolt - D, B, LP FATALITIES * Fatality — (Hold BLK) F, B, U, U + HK (Close) e Fatality II — D, U, U, U + HP (Close) e Spike Fatality — F, F, D + LP * Fan Fatality — D, F, B + BLK Basic Strategies Pick Up Objects — To pick up a boulder, head, or weapon simply press D + RN together. Unlock Meat — Complete the Group Mode (located on the Character Select screen). Meat will imitate any character you pick. Reiko * Weapon - D, B, HP * Teleport Slam - D, U (BLK when close) * Circular Teleport — B, F, LK * Flip Kick — D, B, F, HK * Shurikens - D, F, LP FATALITIES * Fatality — F, D, F + LP + BLK + HK + LK (Close) * Fatality I| — B, B, D, D + HK (Outside Sweep) * Spike Fatality — F, F, D + LK * Fan Fatality - D, D, B + LP R e Weapon - B, B, LK * Acid Spit — D, F, HP * Dashing Punch - B, F, LP * Invisibility - BLK + HK * Super Krawl — B, F, LK FATALITIES * Fatality - (Hold HP + HK + LP + LK) U (Close) e Fatality II — U, D, D, D + HP (Outside Sweep) e Spike Fatality — D, D, F + HK * Fan Fatality — D, F, F + LP Scorpion * Weapon - F, F, HK (Sword Spin) D+LP * Spear - B, B, LP * Teleport Punch — D, B, HP (Also In Air) * Air Throw - BLK (In Air) * Breathe Fire — D, F, LP FATALITIES * Fatality — B, F, F, B + HP + BLK (Outside Sweep) * Fatality I| — B, F, D, U + HP (Close) * Spike Fatality — B, F, F + LK e Fan Fatality — F, D, D + LK Shinnok * Weapon - B, F, LP IMITATIONS e Jarek - B, B, B, LK * Sub-Zero - D, B, LP e Scorpion - F, B, LP e Reiko - B, B, B, BLK * Liu Kang - B, B, F, HK * Sonya - F, D, F, HP * Quan Chi — B, F, B, F, LK * Cage - D, D, HP * Kai - F, F, F, LK * Fujin — F, F, B, HK * Raiden - D, F, F, HP * Reptile - B, B, F, BLK * Jax — F, D, F, HK * Tanya - B, F, D, BLK FATALITIES * Fatality — D, B, F, D + RN (Close) * Fatality II — D, U, U, D + BLK (Close) e Spike Fatality — D, F, B + HP * Fan Fatality — D, D, F + HK Sonya Blade * Weapon — F, F, LK * Fireball — D, F, LP * Leg Grab - D + LP + BLK * Square Wave Punch - F, B, HP e Vertical Bicycle Kick - B, B, D, HK * Air Throw - BLK (in Air) * Front Flip Kick — B, D, F, LK FATALITIES * Fatality — (Hold BLK) D, D, D, U + RN (Sweep) * Fatality I| — U, D, D, U + HK (Outside Sweep) * Spike Fatality — F, D, F + HP * Fan Fatality — D, B, B + HK * Weapon - D, F, HK (Wand Freeze) B + LP * |ce Blast - D, F, LP * Ice Clone - D, B, LP * Slide - LP + BLK + LK FATALITIES e Fatality — F, B, F, D + HP + BLK + RN (Close) * Fatality II — B, B, D, B + HP (Outside Sweep) e Spike Fatality — D, D, D + LK * Fan Fatality — (Hold BLK) D, U, U, U + HK Tanya * Weapon - F, F, HK * Fireball - D, F, HP * Air Fireball — D, B, LP (in AIR) * Split Kick — F, D, B, LK e Corkscrew Kick — F, F, LK FATALITIES * Fatality — D, D, U, D + HP + BLK (Close) * Fatality II — D, F, D, F + HK (Close) * Spike Fatality — F, F, F + LP * Fan Fatality — B, F, D + HP Game Informer e July '98 Ó í` Lair B & 7 — In the Witch's Lair, 2s go to the cobweb room and shoot eggs at the webs. Now, backtrack to the Freezeezy Peek's level entrance and use the shoes to hit the Flying Pad that appears. Fly up through the openings and grab the Puzzle Piece. Then, enter the pot room and grab the seventh Piece from the sarcophagus. Enter the 450 Note Door and follow the underwater passages to the Mad Monster Mansion puzzle board. Place your pieces, then walk back to the 350 Note Door. Carefully navigate the tiny path and hop into the cave. Ya + 4 1 ] P; First off, trek behind the house and enter the basement by way of breaking the green door. Use your charge move to break the kegs and you'll find your prizes. Travel even further behind the house and enter the tiny shack that is being guarded by skeleton goons. Inside you'll have to move the shot glass around the board to spell Banjo-Kazooie. Complete the task and a Puzzle Piece is yours. You'll find a Mumbo Token on top of the house located near the stairs. Qa Follow the path behind the shack to the well. In the bucket you'll find the Puzzle Piece. There is also a Mumbo Token here. í 4 — Behind the house there is a church surrounded by numerous y vases. Shoot an egg out your arse into every one to get the fourth Puzzle Piece. To the left of the leise there are stairs that lead down to a green pool. Go there and use the Shock Pad to reach the Blue Jinjo. To the right of the pool there is a switch that opens a door to the church. Hit it and run to the opened door before time expires. Inside the church you'll need to 60 Game Informer « July 98 VD match playing skills with a ghostly pianist. Complete his musical task and a Puzzle Piece is your reward. Now, take the Flying Pad (on a pedestal) up to the rafters. You'll know what to do from here. í 6 — Go to the roof of the Church zi and then climb around the edge of ` the steeple until you find a platform leading up. Once on top, climb up the pole to reach the sixth Puzzle Piece. 2 — Enter the maze and you'll find Æ J the Orange Jinjo in the far left ^ corner. Jump up onto the roof of the house and walk around the gutter until you come to a Shock Pad. Use its mystical power to launch you up to the Green Jinjo. Now, go down the chimney, but don't step on the wood (otherwise you'll wake Napper). Use the cushioned seats to keep quiet. Jump on the table and grab the seventh Puzzle Piece out of his butt. As Banjo (and Kazooie), go to the second story of the house and break the large glass window located on the front of the house. Inside you will find the Yellow Jinjo and Puzzle Piece. + E- m— M Eos to Mumbo Jumbo and let him change you into the fun lovin’ pumpkin. Now, travel to the Church entrance. To the right of this entrance is a passage that leads to the top of the house.At the top you can enter a window (which you should already have broken with Banjo). Inside you will find the first Honeycomb. Around the other side of the house is another window that leads to a toilet. Flush yourself down the hole and head out the drainpipe to a Puzzle Piece. There is a Mumbo Token in this room as well. Ç * 10 — As the pumpkin, make way for the house's roof and carefully øi navigate yourself to the largest drainpipe hole. Drop down and the Puzzle Piece is yours. LEVEL 8 - RUSTY BUCKET BAY. e 6 | — Take the Pumpkin out of Mad Monster Mansion and ascend | the small path on the right. Go through the tiny hole and talk to the Spell Book. Follow its clue to paradise.After completing this task, go into the graveyard and enter the house you couldn't before. In j this house have Mumbo change you into Banjo (and the bird). Use the Beak Buster attack to break the sarcophagus in the middle of the room. Jump on the switch and the water in the next area will rise. & Lair 8 — Go back and use the same technique you used y for Lair Piece 6. But this time fly over to the Witch Statue ` with the glass eyes. Beak Bomb her right eye and grab the Piece. Now, onto the next stage. Go through the 450 Note Door and enter the water caverns. Locate the Rare box and destroy it. Raise the water to level 2 and head through the newly reachable entrance (on the right). In this room destroy the gate and fill in the picture. Enter the previous room and get ready for a real challenge. se «4. 1 — To the left there is a hole M with a 2 Egg Toll. Pay the fine ` then climb the building. On the far side break the glass and grab the first Puzzle Piece. — After getting the first Puzzle 4 Piece, enter the pool of water to the right and swim over to the Yellow Jinjo. 1 — In the same pool of water 197 that holds the Yellow Jinjo, swim down to the opening on the building. Jump on the Honeycomb Switch and fly to your prize. 32+ 1 Climb all the way up the rightmost smokestack and you'll find a Mumbo Token. On the leftmost stack, you will find the second Puzzle Piece. e. On the far side of the level your blue little friend is hidden within one of the three blue crates. Jump through the opening in the middle crate to get to him. There is also a Mumbo Token in one of the crates. WHO DARES ENTER BOSS BOOM BOKS HOLD? I'VE In the far left corner carefully navigate across the acid pool and grab the Green Jinjo and Mumbo Token. — This is a tough jump, but you can make it. Go up on top of the crane that holds the TNT box and fly over to the visible Witch Switch. Caterpillar both tolls. Walk across the small path on the right to receive the Orange Jinjo. J — Go back to the crane and pay " eut 3 — Backtrack to the crane and 4ø% hit the switch to drop the TNT _ box, which in turn destroys the floor gate. Enter the newly exposed hole on the ship and destroy the boss to receive the third Puzzle Piece. Gd. 4 — Go to the other crane and æ% press the button to bring up the cage. From here, run as fast as you can and grab the Puzzle Piece. adi ) Ww Jump down into the polluted water and look on the far side for a broken grate. Enter this little area and grab the Pink Jinjo. Completing this task will also give you the fifth Puzzle Piece. í B — Make your way to the front y of the ship and hit the three horn switches in this order: 3, 1,2, 1, 1, |. For this easy task you will receive the much coveted sixth Puzzle Piece. AÀ — Enter the air vents located all s“ about the ship to find a steady helping of Mumbo Tokens. 537&84 . 2 On the right-hand Side of the ship enter the nearest air vent and hit the Fan Switch. Now, go to the ship's chimney stack and use your charge power to destroy the door. As you drop down, angle yourself into the opening just above the door. Here you will find the well-hidden second Honeycomb. From here, dodge the gears and fans and grab the seventh Puzzle Piece. Also, hit the two Motor Switches in the corners and run like heck to the fans that stopped (on the back of the ship). Jump in the water and grab the eighth Puzzle Piece. .5 8 — From the last Piece collected, swim down to the dolphin ee trapped under an anchor. Follow the anchor chain up into the ship. Hit the Anchor Switch and grab your prize that the dolphin leaves behind. < 10 — Break the window leading to the Captain's quarters and the pi Puzzle Piece is waiting in the closet. Game Informer ù J 62 éd Lair 9 —After leaving Rusty Bucket Bay head to wl the previous room and the ninth Lair Piece is just ~ a dog paddle away. Now, go through the 640 Note Door and jump up the leaves on the right. Pass by the 765 Note Door and the next entrance and hit the Green Switch which opens the mural for the next level. This is a pain, but you'll have to do it. Backtrack all the way to the Pirate's Trove Cove entrance and jump into the water. Place the Puzzle Pieces and head all the way back through the 640 Note Door. Ascend the hill and walk into the level entrance. Be Advised: This level has four entrances, and in order to find everything, you will have to enter each one and figure out the secrets to the clues given. Pay close attention and we'll do all the work for you. à 1-4 — From the start, grab the Mumbo Token w from the mouth of the Venus's-flytrap and jump up = the leaves in front of you. Kill the bird and head to the left up the tiny path connected to the tree. Here you will ascend a cut-out path on the tree. Now, look out toward the wilderness and pass by the Venus's-flytrap to find another Mumbo Token. From here, continue on the path (to the left) and make a stop at the beehive. On top you will find the third Token. Again, stay on the path, jump across the tiny alcoves, and at the house structure walk out and grab the fourth Token. E From the stripped house drop down and cross the broken bridge. Shortly after, you will run into the Sun Switch. After this, walk into the squirrels' house and grab the fifth Mumbo Token. Summer Switch + AA 6 — Remain on your path to the top of the tree Wie! and take a detour at the large egg. Just in front of = you awaits a Token. Grab it and go smash the egg. The baby will now sleep. (Aww, isn't that cute!) At the top of the tree you will see a Green Jinjo trapped in a Venus's-flytrap. Free him by using the invincibility shield and enter the door on the tree. Dodge the roots and the first Puzzle Piece is absolute history baby! Pi Gan yj J + øR 2 Drop into the water and talk to the angry beaver. Don't worry about the boulder though, you will take care of it later. From here, head to the dirt and plop three eggs into the hole. Now, move along through the water, snag the Mumbo Token from the trap, and make way to Mumbo's Hut. As the bee, fly up to the hive. Here, you will find the Pink Jinjo. From here, fly out as high as you can and circle the tree. Now, carefully remove the second Puzzle Piece from the iron grip of the trap. Game Informer * July '98 Summer Entrance From here you won’t need to find any more Mumbo Tokens. The bee was the last transformation in the game. — Head to your immediate left and you'll see his D head sticking out of the tall grass. 1 — This guy is right out in front by the two leaves on the tree. 2 — Enter the water section and go behind the large structure to find this second soon-to-be butterfly. Also, move the rock for the poor beaver. 3 — Climb up the tree and head to the left. Look out on the branch and you'll see this little guy on a leaf. Uis Maneuver up the tree just like you did in the previous season. At the house, locate the Caterpillar out in the open and enter the now almost complete house structure. Jump across the pit and the third Piece is yours. 5 — Head back to the Squirrels’ house and the fourth worm awaits just outside. Now, take the worms to the bird and he will grow right before your eyes. ed. 4 — Backtrack to the bridge and look down to 4ø your left. You should see the fourth Puzzle Piece. udge it perfectly and you can flap your way over ES VE y y py to it. ea, 5 — Now go up to the beehive and use your 4ø invincibility power to take out the swarm. A cheap but worthy victory. Fall Switch — Fall all the way down to the ground and enter the water segment again. Go all the way to the end and you'll run right into the Fall Switch. From here, maneuver over to the dirt hole and Gobi will water the egg. This concludes the summer experience. Leave and head to Fall. 1-4 — Start this level just like all the others by going up the tree. At the first stop (branches), look out to the left and grab the first Caterpillar. The next two ‘Pillars are located at the beehive. For Caterpillar number 4, drop down below the house and grab this confused yet fuzzy baby butterfly. l 5 + Acorns + es 6 Inside the Squirrels’ house you will find the first Acorn and the fifth Caterpillar. From here, look straight out and cross the bridge structures to find the remaining Acorns. Now, go up to the squirrel and he will reward you with the fifth Puzzle Piece. 6 & 7 — Drop down to where you began your ascent up the tree and go straight instead of up. Eventually, you will run into ‘Pillar number 6.Then, run over to Mumbo’s hut and carefully cross over the thorns to find the seventh Caterpillar. l 8 + p At the bull, climb one of the many leaf stacks to find the Orange Jingo. Climb another stack and you will find the eighth Caterpillar. 9 — Stay on the outside of the level and search hastily. Sooner or later, you will find the ninth Caterpillar near a bird hole. Winter Switch + i 10 Go up to the bird and the Winter Switch awaits. Directly behind him is the last Caterpillar. Feed the bird and drop down to the ground again. 4€ 7 — Enter the beaver's hole and the seventh Puzzle 4ø* Piece will be waiting for you. gh 8 — Go to the dirt hole and a flower will grant you 4#% the eighth Piece. m te Entrance 355 M í 8 — The first thing you want to do here is fly. Locate Be one of the two ground-based Flying Pads and soar ` up to the bird’s nest. He'll poop out a Puzzle Piece for you. 1 — Enter the water (via a hole in the ice) and œ reenter the beaver hut. Here you will find the first 7 Honeycomb. 2 — Get the flying power again and break the window above the Squirrels' home to unlock this priceless gem. À s -—— — Hit the nearest Flying Pad and fly 3 around the tree. On a ledge you will JH see a killer snowman next to the Å (di, Witch's Switch. Kill him and press the Switch. ` Use the bee to get the piece. Pres 10 He's sitting on top- of Mumbo’s Hut. Easy enough. Now try and get all 100 Notes on this stage. Good luck! t E “LEVEL 10 - THE FINAL SHOWDOWN JINJOS, NOW WE COME f OUR REVENGE! * Lair 10 — Exit the winter season and go y A get the Bee power again. Fly with it out of the level and grab the final Lair piece. Now that you have everything (or maybe not), enter the 765 Note Door and jump on the flashing platform. From here, you will need to play a boardgame. Get as many Joker pieces as possible and avoid the Timer and Death pieces. Good luck! Hint: Throughout the entire game, Gruntilda’s sister was giving out the answers to the Witch questions. If you avoided the good Witch like we did, then you'll probably struggle with these questions. The Final Showdown Part Deux: The Witch Strikes Back Go across the gameboard and ascend the stairs on the right. Now, unlock the Note Doors and kick her butt. The Jinjos will get their revenge!!! This ending is awesome!!!! This concludes the adventures of Banjo and his annoying friend Kazooie!!! Could there be more!!!? Is there another world hidden somewhere!!!? And what exactly does that Key in Freezeezy Peak do!!!? We'll be back in the next month or so with the answers to THE KEY!!! Here's what all of the Note Doors in this final section unlock. » 810 Note Door — Unlocks a Pot Warp 828 Note Door — Eggs 846 Note Door — Unlocks 50 Red Feathers 864 Note Door - Unlocks 10 Gold Feathers Unlocks 100 Game Informer Game Secret t While vnpaute ontthothvns the famera finv31O0ct963Ie seconds. Ganie Secret 2: yfiouk station, hold down ra button Yor five seconds. Star Wars: Shadows of the | Empire — Nintendo 64 Debug Code — All right! We've been waiting for this code for quite some time. But of course, it's a serious pain to enter. Follow these instructions and you should get it to work on the third or fourth try. Note: If you want to use this code again, you will need to return to the pause menu and reenter it (from step two). 1) At the Name Entry screen input “Wampa Stompa”. Note: Make sure that both the W in Wampa and the S in Stompa are E capitalized. Also, leave one space before the W and two before the S, and make sure the control setting is set to Traditional. 2) Start any level and pause. Now, press and hold all of the C Buttons, Z, the Left and Right Button, and Left on the digital pad (not the analog). | 3) With this combo held, press the analog stick halfway to the Left for about five seconds. correctly, you will hear a bell. 4) Repeat this process. But this time hold the analog stick halfway to the Right. Again, you will here a bell. 5) Now, here's the annoying part. Repeat this process again to the Left, then back over to the Right, and then back over to the Left for the last time. 6) At this point, red text should appear at the top of the screen. 8 Use the Left and Right Buttons to change the options. Some of the choices require the analog to be - pressed Up or Down to change. P ress A to activate your choice. Í “The Rhino” - Toledo, OH importantly, land safely! : | "The Rhino" [mike Piazza's If done Ø 1 1080 Snowboarding — Nintendo 64 Rap On Replay — After a halfpipe race, use the analog stick to add scratching to the replay music. Big Air — From the start of the halfpipe make an extremely sharp left or right and jump. Doing this will launch your boarder way out | into the pipe. Rack up as many points as you can, and most Toledo, OH IkeZone = Nintendo 64 Enter these codes at the Title | Screen. Love Message - Up C, Right Button, B, B Hidden Teams - Right C, A, Down, Left Credits — Right Button, A, Z, Right Button, Right C, A, B Enter these codes at the Pre-Game Menu. Note: The Cheat Menu must be entered before any other code can be accessed. Cheat Menu — Left Button, Right Button, Left Button, Right Button Hidden DTE Stadium — Right, A, Up C, Left Button, A All Homers — Left Button, A, Down, Right Aluminum Bats — Right Button, A, Z, B, A, Left Button, Left Button . Red Bats - Right Button, Down, B, A, Right _ § Blue Bats - B, Left Button, B, A, Right Mvision 5 Conferonre bas NHL NHL Breakaway '98 — Nintendo 64 100 Free Points — Enter the Season mode and at the Main Menu press Left C, Left C, Right C, Right C, Left C, Left C, Right C, Right C, Right Button. Cheat Mode — At the Main Menu press Left C, Right C, Left C, Right C, Right Button, Right Button. Miniature Mo Hill Grove, NJ Psychedelic Bats ` - - 2, B, Button, A 7 All Pitch Types — Right C, A, Z C, Right Button, Left Button Faster Runners — Left C, A, Down, Up C,Z Low Gravity — Up, Right Button, A, Left Button High Gravity - Up, Down, Left Button, Up, Right Button Crazy Ball - Right C, A, Z, B, A, Left Button, Left Button Faster Game — Left Button, A, Z, Right Button, B, A, Left Button, Left Button Slower Game - Up, Left Button, Left Button, B, A, Left Button, Left Button Different Sky Colors — Right C, A, Z, Up C, Left Button, Right Button, Z Crazy Pitch — Right C, A, Z, Up C, Right Button, B “Jessup, The Gaming Hick” Wayneston, KY E correctly. [ Cruis'n USA — Nintendo 64 View a Hitchhiker — Pick lowa as Á your track, then race up to the second cornfield and locate the pine tree on the left. Keep going and you'll see a lonesome hitchhiker standing in the middle of the field. Kyle Petty Austin, TX F snowboard Kids — Nintendo 64 Unlock It All Baby — At the Screen press the analog Down, analog Up, digital Down, digital Up, Down C, Up C, Left Button, Right Button, Z, digital Left, Right C, analog Up, B, digital Right, Left C, Start. You'll hear | laughter when this code is entered Jason Poopiester Jr. Seattle, WA Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon — Nintendo 64 Boss Mode - Collect all 45 Fortune Dolls to unlock a special Boss game hidden within the Options screen. Golden Hair — Die while using Goemon's touch-and-go skills. When you come back, Goemon g will have golden hair. Fun With Impact- Push the analog stick in any direction at the end of Impact's intro sequence to move his head around. Rumble Pak — This game wasn't designed to work with the Rumble _Pak, but for some strange reason, the Rumble Pak works on the boss stages. _ | Janet Jackson Seattle, WA ku PlayStation — Note: These codes were tested on 4 a European version and may not work on the North American. Enter all of these codes at the Main Menu. Then, select the Resume option. Level Skip — R2, R1, L2, R2, R1, R2 Darkness Falls FMV — Left, L1, @, L2, A, R2 The Jewel FMV — E R1 Nagash Hands FMV — R2, Left, R2, Up, Down, Left Death Becomes Us FMV- 6, A, E Right, RIR ` Victory Is Ours FMV - L2, Right, Right, R1, R2 _ R1, A, R2, R2, [ Turok: Battle of the Bionosaurs — Game Boy "Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. R E GRZNNPCRDB Credits - Left, Right R1, R2 Enter all of these codes a Deployment screen. Then, s the Resume option. Battle Skip — Select, R1, R1, L2, | L2, R1, R2 Extra Cash — Select, R1, L1, R1, L2, R1, R2 Instant Loss — R2, R1, R1 Faster Reload — Select, R2, R1, R2, R1, L2, R1 Select Enemy - Select, L2, L2, R2, L2, R1, R1 Tiny Heads — Select, L2, L2, L2, L2, R1, R2 Select, R1, L1, R2, "God Complex Hal" Sierra, NV Ø Level 4- GVZNDPBTNG _ Level 5 - PCVYGRBTDK Level 6 - RCVYGRSTDR Level 7 - VSVYTRSQDG Level 8 - RSQPTNSQNW "The Human Torch" New York, NY | ÍKobe Bryant's NBA Courtside — Rim Foul — Nintendo 64 _ After performing a two- handed dunk hold B to hang on the rim longer. If you hold on long enough you'll receive a technical foul. Replay Glitch — Use a star player and perform an ultra cool dunk. Now, substitute in a scrub for the star player and watch the instant replay. Weird things happen! Hidden Teams — At the Pre-Season option hold the Left Button and press A. Now, scroll through all of the teams and at the end of the list three new Nintendo teams await. Danny “SBR” Troast Paramus, NJ . T Cool Boarders 2 No Music - During gameplay, press Start rapidly until the music continues to play on the pause screen. At this point, press Start one more time to resume racing with the music missing. "The VidMan" Uptown, MN | San Francisco Rush — PlayStation. | Unlock Taxi Cab - Finish the. l J| Circuit Mode, then press Down at $ the Gear Selection screen. Unlock Police Car — Finish the GP Mode, then press Down at the Gear Selection screen. Unlock Muscle Car — Find 4 Keys on any track, then press Down at the Gear Selection screen. Unlock Hot Rod - Find 12 Keys in Selection screen. Unlock Bus — Find all 16 Keys, then press Down at the Gear Selection screen. Unlock Little Truck — After selecting your vehicle hold L1 until the race begins. Unlock Buggy — After selecting your vehicle hold R1 until the race begins. Unlock UFO - After selecting your F vehicle hold A until the race begins. | Billy Zane Jamestown, OH ue [ ^ Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit — PlayStation Destroy the Opposition — St game, then quickly press and h Start, Select, R1, and L2 before Mi the loading screen appears. Now, | honk the horn to make opponents cars flip. Hefty Vehicle — Start a game then quickly press and hold Select, lil, and 3€ before the loading screen appears. From here, simply run Á J| into the opposition to make them wipe out. Out of Town Cops — Start a game then quickly press and hold Up, R1, and L2 before the loading screen appears. All of the cops will now have strange accents. German Cops - Start a game then quickly press and hold Up, R2, and L1 before the loading screen appears. Spanish Cops - Start a game then J quickly press and hold Down, R2, and L1 before the loading screen appears. Italian Cops — Start a game then press and hold Left, R2, and L1 before the loading screen appears. French Cops - Start a game then press and hold Right, R2, and L1 LJ before the loading screen appears. total, then press Down at the Gear f Slow Mo - Start a game then press and hold Up, 3€, and A before the loading screen appears. View the Titanic — Select the Meli Aquatica track (you'll need to unlock it — see last issue for the codes), then turn off night driving and weather. Stop and look out at the water toward the end of the race to see the elegant Titanic pass on by. Leonardo DiCraprio Tampa Bay, FL Cardinal Syn . Forsaken -Gran Turismo Einhander Jersey Devil ` Judge Dredd MLB '99 | Punky Skunk |o Tekken 3 x Men vs. Street Fighter EX Edition Sega Saturn , Buming Rangers a Arcade | _ Star Gladiators 2 - end Secret Access Requests To: . Access & Allies Game Informer Magazine 10120 W. 76th St Eden Prairie, MN 553 ie. Mal access _allies@gameint ormer.com - — - Secret Access Notice: . . Send Game Informer Your _ _ Passwords and Codes and Win! _ d in your codes and passwords, and - | e print them you'll be entered in the ` Game Informer/ASCIIWARE Secret Access Contest. The Grand Prize is an ' ASCIIWARE product of your choice. PlayStation Saturn ASCII Pad ASCII Saturn Stick Specialized ASCII Super NES Stick ASCII Pad SN ASCII Arcade Super Advantage Stick A ee Pad Genesis ASCII Carrybag* Mach 1 Pad ASCII Grip The runner-up will receive a Game Informer Secret Access T-Shirt to - e complement his/her wardrobe. ` Send To: Secret Access . Game Informer Magazine _ -10120 W. 76th Street _ Eden al MN 55344 ecretaccess@gameinlomer com Game Informer e july 198 a ASCII Specialized | RhioPadsG Ë r Hot Shots Golf — PlayStation Mirror Courses — At the Co Select screen highlight the desired course, hold L1 and L2, then press 3€. Lefties and Righties — At the Character Selection — screen highlight the desired character, : md L1, and press 3t. "Virtua Gap Boy '98" Minneapolis, MN V Dead or Alive — PlayStation More Costumes | then complete the ournament mode with any characte receive an additional co Unlock Raidou - First unlock all of the costumes for all of the $ characters. Now, complete the game with all of the settings on $ default and the difficulty set to Normal. Unlock Ayane — Defeat the game using Raidou with all of the | 1 DERYER MEE: BRE E ) | — Bloody Roar - Playstation Big Arms — Hold L1 and L2 while. selecting a character. Big Head/Original Costume — Hold L2 and press % to select a character. Big Head/Alternate Costume — n Hold L2 and press @ to select a $ character. Kids/Original Costume — Hold R2 and press % to select a character. Kids/Alternate Costume — Hold R2 and press 6 to select a character. "Lin Lang Gow Chang" Honalili, HI settings on default and the MEE difficulty set to Normal. New Victory Views — By pressing Up, Down, Left, or Right you can change the angle during a$ character's victory pose. You can also zoom in and out by pressing R1 or L1. New Replay — Hold lil and @, then press A just after a round comes to an end. Doing this will replay the end of the round. Unlock the Configs — To unlock the first five options within the Extra Configure menu simply rack up 15 B. hours of gameplay time. The first is unlocked after 3 hours. The second is hit after 6 hours. And so f on. Unlock Voice Option — Complete all of the moves in Training Mode to unlock this Command List Option. - Lou Lou Loufregnetalou . Webville, COM Enter these codes at the Name Entry screen. f Faster Boats -ZOOOOOM Tiny Boats - COMPACT Big Heads - DEFORM Big Engines - LARGE Enter these codes at the Password Screen. Championship Mode — CUP Slalom Courses — L.R Mine Levels — U.G Catamarans (Minnow) — MIN atamarans (Pike) - IKE larans (Barracuda) - CUD Lisa Testia Fargo, ND F Tombat - Playstation ` - Refill Health — This is kind of a. pain, but it does come in handy. When your health gets low, save the game, and quit. Then, reload the game and you will come back with full health. "The VidMan” Uptown, MN and max out. Tem 10/10]. Bonus Cars — At the Car Se screen press and hold R1, R2, L1, L2, Select, A and Down. Now, release this combo and press Right or Left to view the new crop. E Night Racing — At the Course fí Select screen, hold R1 and R2, Í | then press 3€. Day Racing — At the Course Select screen, hold L1 and L2, then press 3. l Fog Racing - At the Course Select Í screen, hold R1, R2, L1 and L2, then press 3€. d New Cams - During a race tap Right five times, then tap Left five bring up a different view. | Charles Xavier Orlando, FL 1 Beast Wars: Transformers - z PlayStation —— — Super Firepower - During gameplay quickly tap Up, Down, Left, Right, A, %, B. Replenish Weapons - During gameplay pause, then hold L2 and press Up, Down, Left, Right, A, E %, NH. Now, unpause with L2 stil held and your weapons will refill "The Rhino" Toledo, OH Í Rascal - PlayStation Enter this code at the Password. |. screen. Level Select - HOUSE (Note: Press R1 during gameplay to Ú select a level. Or press R2 to | choose a new room.) The Platform Fanatic Chicago, IL 2 3s» POSITION | _ The Side balow c ü Ga „TT Blasto — Playstation View Babes — Save all of the Babes and beat the game. Then, f start up a new game. The View 7 _ ‘ Babes option will be available. | "o uc | OO — | Kerry Wood Í -SaGa Frontier — PlayStation _ Phoenix, AZ MEE — = Infinite LP in Battles — 800148300063 | | Infinite Magic Points in Battles — - Need For Speed 3: Hot Pursuit i | | 80014838 03e7 _ — NHL Breakaway ‘98 _ | Mortal Kombat 4- Nintendo I Infinite Health Player 1 — Infinite Attack Points in Battles- ` Point Blank Do 64/ Plays i ú | 301c4508 0002 | 80014834 03e7 1 A Powerboat m v Infinite Health Player 2 — ini v Rascal : ` 30104509 0002 Infinite Credits — 80012808 ffff SaGa Frontier | | sd : | || San Francisco Rush ` Different Weapon Draws ` Æ Dead or Alive — PlayStation iria Rush — | ` Snowboard Kids _ ins a Enable Extra Config Menu — — _ Speed Racer ` ed | | Randper Kombat — 80092cda 7140 tar Wars: Shadow: of the Empire | 333-333 - ip dm n] heme Hospital - Mu * ce MLB '99 — PlayStation TAS LP | Away Team Scores 0 — Weapons on Ground — - 80019208 0000 555-555 No Music — Away Team Scores 50 — 80019208 3232 p parent" E due up 666-666 No Weapon Draws — B. 002-00? HUC it Infinite Time - li Red Rain - ursult — Playstation 800b2814 002d M 020-020 Explosive Kombat — Theme Hospital — PlayStation EI 050050 Infinite Cash — oo 8013b33a 0200 sega "ee - : TM Sega Game Play Assistance Noob Mode — is Bie de 900-200-7342 (SEGA) 012-012 $.85 per minute for automated : : assistance and R i De GoldenEye 007 — PlayStation $1.05 per minute for live help. omm Extra Characters — e MD/Throwing Disabled - Start On Lap 4 (Tournament) m 8002b197 0040 $1.25 per minute automated 110-110 d011dd30 0000 NINTENDO Unlimited Run - 001-001 8011dd30 0003 WCW Vs. the NWO: World Tour Game Counseling * Bo PUT as > ri Mu Moo ~ Note: These codes work for $95 per mid : Scor pi on Stage — 022-022 8011dd30 0001 ÁR 1.0 is version 1.1. Er B ne Elder Stage — 033-033 Enable Empire City & El Nino — Start vid Aluminum | | Nintendo's Automated Power Line! Skull Stage — 044-044 800fa9e0 003d ee pee dude tee Outdoor Stage — 055-055 | = Reptile Stage — 066-066 B o2: 0101 8001080 0064 Ke) | Dojo Stage — 101-101 23 x T pac c n $.95 per minute | PM Forest Stage — 202-202 | n M cc | uisum m 4 y o = 800f1c22 0000 ` .. “The Rhino” ee =. : — ` Toledo, OH : : R 0024 p Contra - NES 30 Lives - At the Title Screen press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. Life Force - NES 29 Lives - At the Title Screen press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start. NARC - NES Continue Screen - At the Title Screen hold A, B, Select, and Start. Then, with this 4 combo held, press Up/Right. Now, whenever you die, a Continue screen will appear. Mission: Impossible - NES Enter all of these codes at the Password Screen. Level 1 - LRHN Level 2 - HMPR Level 3 - KMVW Level 4 - XDGJ Level 5 - TVJL Level 6 - QBY2 Killer Instinct - SNES Play As Eyedol - Select either a 1 or 2-player game and choose Cinder as your character. At the Versus screen press and hold Right. Then, with this held, press Left Button, Right Button, X, B, Y, A. You'll know this code worked when you hear the announcer say “Eyedol.” Nosferatu - SNES Level Select — Enter the Configuration mode and highlight Exit. Now, press Left Button, Left Button, Right Button, Right Button, Right Button, Left Button, Left Button, Left Button. From here hit Up or Down to warp to any stage. Maximize Health - During gameplay, perform a back kick by pressing Away and Y. At this point, pause the game and press Up, X, Right, A, Down, B, Left, Y. When you come back, you'll have full health. Maximum Power Crystals - During gameplay, pause and press Up, X, Right, A, Down, B, Left, Y. Valis IIl - Genesis Level Select — At the Title Screen hold A, B, C, and Up. With this combo held press and hold Start. When you release these buttons, press Up or Down to choose any level. Cinema Test - At the Title Screen hold Up, Left, A, B, and C, then press Start. This will bring up a display that will allow you to view all of the cinema scenes in the game. Prince of Persia - Game Boy Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. Level 2 - 06769075 Level 3 - 28611065 Ó Game Informer * July '98 Level 4 - 92117015 Level 5 - 87019105 Level 6 - 46308135 Level 7 - 65903195 Level 8 - 70914195 Level 9 - 68813685 Level 10 - 01414654 Level 11 - 32710744 Level 12 - 26614774 Last Battle - 98119464 Ending - 89012414 Operation C - Game Boy Ø 10 Lives - At the Title Screen press Up, Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Down, Left, Left, Left, Left, Start. Level Select — At the Title Screen press Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, Start. Sound Test - At the Title Screen press Up, Down, Left, Right, Start. The Lion King - Game Gear Invincibility - While turning on the game, hold the I and II buttons. Level Select - At the Sega screen press Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Down, Start. Bomberman - NES Longer Bonus Games - To play the bonus game longer and get more points just hold down the A button after your bombs explode, and keep walking around laying bombs in front of the explosions. Note: If you have the Remote Control power-up you need to hold down the A and B buttons. Level Passwords Level 10 - DJEFPGGKGLPCGKMFEFEG Level 20 - BADJODAHICDJNMEHIMNF Level 30 - FEABECHCPAFEKGDNMIHJ Level 40 - FEHIMCHPCGJNJDEFECPA Level 50 - JONMKLGJDJGGCPOLOMNF Space Harrier - Game Gear Easier Game - For an easier game, hold Button 2 while turning on the Game Gear. Harder Game — For a greater challenge, hold Button 1 while turning on the Game Gear. Level Passwords - Feeling harried? Unfrazzle your feathers with this set of passwords. Level 2 - EAGF Level 3 - CHFA Level 5 - DGBC Level 6 - HBGA Level 7 - FBHE Level 9 - BFCH Level 10 - HGDA Level 11 - AGEC Availability: Common Replay Value: Moderately Low Similar Games: Ecco the Dolphin (SG), Ecco Jr. (SG), E.V.O. (SNES) Created by: Sega Access Tip: Move Ecco left and right, and pause the game while Ecco is facing the screen. Then, press A, B, C, B, C, A, C, A, B. You can now access several options including Level Select, Sound Test, and Invincibility. Overall: 8 The puzzles in Ecco are challenging, and at times they maybe a little too difficult. Nevertheless, with 40 levels, this second installment provides hours of mind-boggling adventure. Throughout the quest, Ecco will encounter sharks, jellyfish, crabs, and a huge squid. As for the final boss, well, wavy balls never looked so cool, or devious. To battle these monsters of the deep, Sega has given Ecco a few attacks. Ecco's basic nose-dash returns from the original game, and you can gain various attacks for Ecco's sonar as you proceed through the adventure. The graphics are above par. Sega uses more than the Genesis' 64 color maximum, and the characters animate smoothly. Also, the first-person levels are artfully executed. Although the music isn’t terrible, if you own a Sega CD, buy that version, your ears will be in for a real treat. oN “ Genesis TIT Space Megaforce Availability: Rare Replay Value: Moderate Similar Games: Axelay (SNES), Blazing Lazers (TG16), Star Soldier (TG16), Thunderforce Series (SG) Created by: Toho Access Tip: Highlight the options selection. mea Press and hold Select and then press Start. H During the game, the last digit of the score V indicates the level of danger; 0 represents low danger, while 7 represents high danger. Overall ; 9 Space Megaforce is a refreshing dose of old-school shooter action. On Wacky and Hyper modes, enemies unload tons of bullets and lazers everywhere. This makes the game's 11 levels difficult. Don't worry though, this insane shooter isn't a one-hit wonder; your ship can take multiple hits depending on your weapons level. To destroy the opposition, Toho includes eight different weapons with six levels of power, and you can choose variations of a weapon by using the R button. The graphics in Megaforce were ahead of their time. With brightly colored levels, huge bosses, and lots of Mode 7 effects, you may wonder whether you're playin£ on a next generation system. Toho includes a Short Game option, which allows beginners to warm up before the real challenge. And, in the Break mode, you can listen to the rockin' music while scaling and rotating an enemy ship. If you can find a copy of Megaforce, buy it! You won't be disappointed. America's Place to Shop for Video Games' e 30th Available Jun INC REDEEMABI ML Mul m" S E Fon A af My S WILL BE FOUGHT ON THE PLAYSTATION GAME CONSOLE The horror of global combat is coming to your living room. Twenty years ago, the WOPR, the deadly military supercomputer, nearly ignited the Cold War. Now the WOPR is back with a new mission: Exterminate humanity. You command NORAD's forces on land, at sea, and in the air as you plunge into battle against the WOPR’s mechanical legions. The world’s future hangs in the balance. It’s not a game anymore. +: Launch strategic attacks with over 32 different assault units. - Command up to 8 killing machines at once and blow the WOPR’s drones into silicon dust. - Turn friends into enemies in the PlayStation™ game console’s first split-screen two-player combat game. * Feel the terror of combat as detailed graphics and a true 3=D environment bring battles to life. “A Step beyond other action/strategy games." = PS Extreme Golden A "m H d ays, ` Á (a ERE Euh J aie nD sg r c cc N OG RIGMINTERACTIVE WWW.WARGAMESMGM.COM PlayStation™ and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. WARGAMES GAME © 1997, MGM Interactive, Inc. WarGames™ and © 1983, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. Distributed by MGM Home Entertainment, Inc. 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404. All Rights Reserved. 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