Nen e PREVIEWS < REVIEWS e CODES EA Steps Into The Ring: WCW m” m SILVER GOLD, Hots & Info E The PLAYSTA TION < Backer HE patibt SN U Coming 1 L $3.95 Canada $4.95 UK £2.50 05> 0 '/1686 01864 "3 T vor x» issue os #73 “1 USUALLY VISUALIZE THE THAT'S ABOUT ALL PlayStation © PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. CRASH BANDICOOT: WARPED TM & © 1998 Universal Interactive Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. Find us JUMP BEFORE | TAKE OFF. THE HELP | NEED.” A s ah S S S B at www.universalstudios.com. Developed by Naughty Dog, Inc. All rights reserved. Visit us at www. Driving on the ground is so 90's. A Uad Fi Ë lon: ied j fJ ti. pa) MT > i E | PlayStation | š le Drive any of 6 indestructible vehicles anywhere and everywhere, from the sides of walls to the roofs of tunnels. Blast away at the scenery with 8 innovative weapons to slow down your opponents. Race through 20 different tracks spread over 4 distinct environments. 2-player split-screen, head-to-head racing action with 4 specially designed tracks. 315.. Games Reviewed & Previewed! MAGAZINE Departments Letter from the Editor Double Your Pleasure Dear Game Informer GI readers from across the globe interact with Game Informer. Envelope Art GI News Pokémon Gold & Silver carts in development for GBC, Acclaim unveils games for PS-X, N64, and DC, and Final Fantasy VIII toys are on the way. Game Informer PC The Game Burrito takes a gander at Heroes of Might & Magic Ill, Recoil, Resident Evil 2: Platinum, and so much more. Arcade Brigade Konami displayed some games at the ASI, and Gl gobbled them up. Learn about Beat Mania, Silent Scope, Guitar Freaks, and the American version of Dance Dance Revolution. Play To Perfection GI dissects the mammoth racer, Ridge Racer Type 4. Find out how to unlock all 320 cars with our comprehen- sive list. Secret Access This newly designed section presents more codes and tips than ever before! Classic GI Join us as we journey to the past and revisit Donkey Kong Country, Gun Smoke, and Herzog Zwei. Plus, tons of historic codes! Pg 32 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 screenshots herein. Copyright in all screenshots contained within this publication ‘ate owned by their respective companies. Entire contents copyright 1999. 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 g Game Informer * May '99 Features (10) Cover Story: Before the Storm: The Games of The Phantom Menace The time is drawing near and we are proud to join the hype machine for the movie of a lifetime, Star Wars: Episode | The Phantom Menace. LucasArts has created two Episode | titles for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, and Gl is here to give you the lowdown on each of them. Plus, read our interviews with the masterminds at LucasArts who create games for the ultimate license. Feature: An Indepth Look at PlayStation 2 It’s that time in the video game industry, when all the talk focuses on the next generation of console systems. Dreamcast ignited the fire and now the PlayStation 2 is stoking it to even greater temperatures. Turn to page 20 for everything you need to know about Sony’s new machine. Pg 10 Feature: Fear and Loathing in Vancouver There’s been a shake up in the world of video game wrestling and as a result, the WCW has aligned itself with Electronic Arts in a five year contract. Join the Gonzo Gamer and experience his wild trip to Vancouver as he witnesses the making of EA’s first WCW title, Mayhem. D Nintendo 64 All-Star Baseball 2000, Harvest Moon 64, Lode Runner 3-D, Pokémon! Snap, World Driver Championship, WWF Attitude. PlayStation Ape Escape, Bloody Roar II, Dino Crisis, G-Police: Weapons of Justice, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Gran Turismo 2, Jade Cocoon, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Need For Speed: High Stakes, Next Tetris, Ridge Racer Type 4, Star Ocean, Thousand Arms, Tomorrow Never Dies, Um Jammer Lammy, Xena: Warrior Princess. Dreamcast Power Stone At a Glance 57) PlayStation Croc 2, Fisherman’s Bait, Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, MLB 2000, Monster Seed, NBA In The Zone ‘99, Omega Boost, T.R.A.G., Triple Play 2000 Nintendo 64 A Bug’s Life, Chameleon Twist 2, Charlie Blast’s Territory, Fighting Force 64, Micro Machines 64 Turbo, Monster Truck Madness, Snowboard Kids 2, WCW Nitro Game Boy Conker’s Pocket Tails, Logical, NBA Jam 99, Revelations: The Demon Slayer, Super Mario Deluxe, Top Gear Pocket Dreamcast NFL Football PlayStation L Wild game, baby. / ee, y k PS 0 + s Next party, lose the piñata. New Point Blank™ 2 allows up to 8 of your gun-crazed pals to unload on over 70 wild and wacky shooting scenarios - from fish and fowl to ninjas and gangsters. Blast through an all-new Arcade Mode, Theme Park Mode, Endurance Mode - plus a VS. Mode for the perfect head-to-head (no pun intended) party game. Point Blank 2. Time to get pistol whipped. HHT D i H W H WR Y giat a www.namco. com Point Blank™ 2 & © 1994 1997 1998 Namco Ltd. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation a logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of Point Blank ` 2 sold with Guneon and without. the Interactive Digital Software Association. Guncon™ 8 © 1996 Namco Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Guncon for use with software that displays the Guncon icon. Double Your Pleasure BY ANDREW McNAMARA Yes, it’s true. Game Informer has jumped on the figured if you're going to do it...hey, it might as well May Issue 1999 _ Star Wars bandwagon, and gosh-darn-it, if we're be Star Wars. + Game Page # a z. | going to hop onto a hype-machine, we're going to The two issues are exactly the same, so don’t 41 63 RI A Chak | do it right. As you can tell from the pictures below, think you're getting screwed because you didn't IE 1 pu sss 34 a ie | this month’s Game Informer actually features two get the other magazine. Of course, if you are a true aT "E Edito | unique covers — one for Racer and the other for The Game Informer connoisseur, you'll try to get your rrer ged ET 2 Paul Anderson t Phantom Menace. This isn’t the first time in video hands on both copies, but other than the x one L r a SR | game history that a magazine has featured multiple collectability of the whole thing, it's basically just wayapa es pipe aren | Covers, so this is nothing groundbreaking. But we an excuse for us to get more cool Star Wars art. =- Close Combat Ill ae ee The Russian Front ............... 63 Associate-Editors Conker's Pocket Tales. ee 62 Thomas Blustin HOC n hemes s an s 22 pata 60 Art Director E DNO CHSIS paysi aaa 52 Curtis Fung | Donkey Kong Country............ 70 Production Director | Extreme Bullrider................ 63 aaia isi A E Fighting Force 64................ 57 hana arkeo 2 | Fisherman's Bait ...............- 62 E G Police: Weapons Of Justice...... 54 We n v metra ian E Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko......... 40 Chet Barber E GranTurismo2.................. 50 Japan Correspondent | Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 .... 61 Gabrielle Dane 2 Gun Smoke. osses oree. linan 70 Copy Edi Harvest Moon 64................. 36 Advertising Sales E Heroes Of Might & Magic Ill........ 63 Kimberley Thompson- Benike BE Herzog ZWe[. y; s.a T 70 National Advertising Sales Director Jade Cocoon: The Story Of Tamamayu........... 48 E Kingpin: Life Of Crime............ 63 | Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver....... 55 | LodeRunner3D................. 36 R Logícal.............. ciesa 62 E Micro Machines 64 Turbo.......... 57 Be Mi:B:0000>eeeae ............... 60 Monster a 59 Ha E Monster Truck Madness...........58 LAS RR H 63 | NBAIn The Zone '99.............. 58 NBA AMT OO 2. so es NN Sats acco 62 E Need For Speed: High Stakes ...... 41 Arthur E The Next Tetris... .%iis...0..0005+ 55 teas NFL Football... ................ 63 Gre UIT SY orton Omega Boost............ a 60 Pokemon Snap... U tier ar rere 37 Power SI0he....... . aee .... ua 56 R4: Ridge Racer Type 4........ 43, 65 RECO ia un OD mew emas 63 Resident Evil 2 ocaso sasi cres 63 _ Revelations: The Demon Slayer..... 62 E Snowboard Kids 2............... 62 | Star Ocean: The Second Story ..... 47 K. Star Wars: Episode | PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR The Phantom Menace........... 6-17 eT a i i Star Wars: Episode | Racer...... 12-13 | Super Mario Deluxe ....... 000.44. 62 4 Superbike World Championship ... . 63 Thousand AIMS. ................. 46 THERE IS NO TRY, | Tomorrow Never Dies............. 53 PLAY YOU MUST! da Top Gear Pocket. o... .a.aniana. 61 H TRAG oaie. 22.1. enika aaa 59 Teple Ray 2000 T ARA 59 Um Jammer Lammy.............. 51 WCWMayhem................ 24-25 WCW NIO: Toeren anaa 62 | World Driver: Championship....... 37 WWF'Attitude-................. 35 ky Xena: Warrior Princess ........... 54 Audit Bureau of Circulations Member com Paul, The Game Professor Andy, The Game Hombre Reiner, The Raging Gamer Bergen, The Game Burrito reiner@gameintormer. paul@gameinformer.com “I just got back from Tokyo (you'll see the Tokyo Game Show Report next month) and | watched the craziness of the Japanese when it comes to games. | spent a few hours on a Sunday in one busy shop. The hot items were almost exclusively PlayStation; a ton of Um Jammer Lammys, Densha De Go 2s, and Beatmanias were flying out the door. It even seemed that Saturn games were selling more than the N64 or DC. | can't forget the Game Boy Colors and Bandai WonderSwans. The handheld market is also kickin’ butt in Japan.” Game Informer * May “99 6 andy@gameinformer.com “This just in. My secret contact at LucasFilm managed to get me some earth-shattering news about the upcoming Star Wars film. Apparently, George is using an incredible new technology for Yoda. This new science is called puppetry’ (pronounced pup ii tré). This amazing onscreen deception is accomplished by a man placing his hand inside what my source called a puppet’ (pronounced pupiit). Then, by opening and closing his hands he is able to give this ‘puppet’ the illusion of life. It will be hard to pick out the ‘puppet’ in the movie, but if you watch carefully I'm sure you'll catch it.” “I've asked the entire staff to recite a favorite Star Wars memory or two. Bergren whined and protested this act, until | sent 10,000 volts of Force lightning through his pansy hide. That's right, | am a Jedi. I've explored the Sith and am one with the dark side. Why? Because I'm pure evil. My favorite moment from the trilogy? When those two hapless ewoks were trampled by a scout walker. Now that was rich. | also enjoyed the scene where Salacious Crumb ripped off See-Threepio’s eye. Death to the droids!! Long live the Sith!!!” bergren@gameinformer.com “Reiner demanded everyone write about Star Wars this month. | violently resisted, since conformity makes me break out in a rash, but then he grabbed my Backstreet Boys CD and held it over the toilet until | agreed to scribble something out about his precious Star Wars. | refuse to see this movie simply because | was cheated out of the role of Obi-Wan. | had the part wrapped up, but then Ewan McGregor told me that call backs were clothing optional and George axed me.” Robert, The Game nr, roberi@gameinformer.com “The best memory | have of Star Wars is the day | went to see Return of the Jedi for the first time. It was opening day, and | bugged my mom all day about getting there early to ensure a ticket. She lollygagged around until about 5:30, when she decided to bring me to the 7:00 show. When we got there, there was a line around the corner of the building. She wanted to leave, but I wasn't taking no for an answer. We got a ticket about 30 minutes later, but it was for the 11:00 show. About four people behind us, the show sold out. To all of those that didn't get to see that show, but waited in the mile-long line, | say, 'ha!” “My fondest Star Wars memory? The day | realized that Boba Fett's nothing but a big wuss. Oh sure, you can quote tales from all the books, comics, and cassette dramas you like, but according to the canon which is the Star Wars trilogy, the only thing Fett's got going for him is a cool set of armor that he probably found somewhere. All he ever did was get a little smart with Vader (big deal, he’s no Grand Moff Tarkin), hide in garbage, shoot a lasso (??), and not keep his jet pack in proper working order. What a loser.” A, SAW LTE w” : F <= molt EN RUE EE wg : Over 60 of th ‘ wrestling e top WCW The fastest wres and NWO superstars! All your favorite signature moves, ; I vailable! S | g finishing moves, and taunts: EVERYONE INDOWS L Ea L el H CONTENT RATED BY WCW Nitro © 1998 World Championship Wrestling, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All rights reserved. WCW™ and NWO™ are trademarks of World Championship ESRB īm Wrestling, Inc. All characters depicted, are trademarks of or used under License to World Championship Wrestling, Inc. All rights reserved. THQ TM 1998 THQ INC. —].|"Í.A Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine Attn: Dear GI 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Email: deargi@gameinformer.com WWW www.gameinformer.com Top 25 Stirs Controversy In the Table of Contents of the March issue of Game Informer, we introduced our Top 25 PlayStation games. “They almost always cause some kind of fight,” we wrote.As predicted, our feature did cause an influx of mail from readers looking for a rumble. Most letters held comments like this one from the Earth Viper:“Final Fantasy VII being placed as the best PlayStation game is a far cry from the truth,”. Another reader thought we “put very little thought and effort into compiling this list,’ then went onto suggest that we give “readers an opportunity to vote for what we | believe are the top 10 PlayStation games ever.” There was plenty of dissension in the Top 25 picks, but Erik Hansson spoke for many fellow readers when he wrote, “l agree with your 25 | Worst, but you forgot Bubsy 3D.” For all who disagreed with our Top 25, we suggest re-reading the Table of Contents summary of the March issue. | It basically sums up our point of view on this list and makes clear why magazines love to do lists like these in general. nee err ae E E H NUNN rr eer TEN eRe zee Y2K Paranoia Many or all of our systems [came] before companies really cared about Y2K. Now, how many of our game systems ranging from Atari and Game Boy to Dreamcast will be affected by this virus? And these are not normal Who's the RPG Fan Now? Now [that] Jon is gone, who is the RPG fan around the office? Justin Florio aol.com Andy and Reiner were RPG fans long before Jon realized that there was a company called Square Soft.While it is a toss up who is more rabid, both are extremely passionate about their RPGs. However, the rogue known as the Gonzo Gamer has been known to throw the |2-sided die on a regular basis. Yes, new associate editor Jay Fitzloff is a regular player of Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer. Now that’s an RPG fan! PlayStation 2 Price Is it true that the PlayStation 2 will cost around $400? That’s ridiculous! How can they expect people to pay that much for a new system when you can buy an 8-bit Nintendo for $20 and get some of the best games ever made for under $5? I think Sony should concentrate on delivering a cheaper system with inferior graphics, instead of a system that will blow away the few people that will be able to afford it. James F. Kerr aol.com The PlayStation 2’s price has not been set, but even if it was 400 clams, You'd be getting a system that plays all the existing PS-X titles and new games as computers where you can simply reprogram them. Matt Ross via snet.net To our knowledge, no video game | console will be affected by the Year 2000 bug. well. That sounds like a fairly good deal. You can pick up a cheap NES these days, | but do you remember how much it was originally? It was around $250 to $300. You're bonkos to think that Sony should | make a cheaper system. We'd just have to shell out $200 every two years instead of $400 every four years.A system will | always seem rather expensive when it is first introduced. It is the nature of consumer electronics. Over time the cost will drop as the device becomes a more mass-marketed product. Just look at DVDs, CD Players, and VCRs. Q Game Informer * May '99 Bitterness Is Amusing Your staff seems to lack one of the key elements of any magazine or game studio: a true fountain of bitterness. Someone who hates his life and job almost to the point of violent disgruntled rage, and chooses to vent that resentment in a thoroughly amusing column. The “Think About This!” section comes close, but it doesn’t seem to supply the fulfilling anger that many of us enjoy. Any takers? Jay? Reiner? ..Andy? Mike, The Not-So-Well-Adjusted Reader via aol.com Got Life? Do you guys have social lives? | just can’t see any of you with girlfriends (except maybe Reiner). Do you actually go out and play sports? Or do you have genetically deformed bacteria that keep you from moving any appendages besides your thumbs? Love the magazine even if you guys are biological freaks! John Interno via aol.com We have social lives.Andy lets us out of the office for two hours a day to exercise, take in a film, or maybe even shower — but that’s only in the winter. In the summer, our pasty white skin is burned almost instantly System Swapper | would like to state a problem | have with video game systems, or better yet, a problem with me. | have had this problem since the PlayStation was released a couple of years back. When the PlayStation arrived on the scene, | purchased it for $300 by trading in my Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo for added cash towards it. | was very | satisfied with it, that is, until Nintendo 64 was released. That’s when | traded a friend my PlayStation for his Nintendo 64. Nintendo 64 was alright until | decided | wanted PlayStation back a couple of months later. That's when | traded in my N64 for a new PlayStation.As new games arrived, | went back to N64, then | went back to PlayStation, then back to N64, back to PlayStation, right back to N64, and now | currently own my fifth PlayStation! A lot of my friends get a huge kick out of this and | personally think I have a serious problem! | mean come on, l even had a Sega Saturn thrown in there somewhere. That’s a total of five PlayStations, four N64s, and one | Saturn! The thing is, | just can’t be satisfied We're at a loss to find the festering anger you see in “any magazine or game studio.” C’mon, Nintendo? A “fountain of bitterness”? As for the Game Informer staff, we all have flashes of utter contempt for games, manufacturers, and, on occasion, an obnoxious reader. If you look through the past few issues, you'll see our scorn staring you right in the face. Most of the time our angst passes quickly and we wake up from our delusion to realize that we work in the most enjoyable industry in the world. by the sun so we can only be outside | for 15 minutes or so. We are never allowed to talk to girls. Seriously, four out of six editors | surveyed claimed to have significant others, with one actually wearing a ring on his left hand. Everyone knows that women dig video game players. If basketball, golf, fishing, and Dungeons & Dragons are sports, then yes we do play sports. Heck, we can school any other video games magazine's staff in basketball. Bring “em on. (No disrespect | to a former Imagine publication which, at one time, could have kicked | our butts.) as new games arrive.A good solution to this problem would be to buy both, | but that goes against everything | believe | in video game-wise. | believe you stick up for the system you own; | don’t like the idea of rooting for both. | may sound a little weird, but who ever said | had to be sane? | need your help though, give me some answers on what | is wrong with me! | would also like to know if | hold the record for trading systems back and forth! Joe Andress via usa.net You really don’t have a problem. You | are merely showing the symptoms of a video game junky. You realize that every system has some games that you just have to play. To end this vicious cycle, you must keep more than one system. All this trading and changing has clearly lost you more money than it would have cost to own several systems. Get rid of the notion that you | have to be loyal to one system. True gamers, like yourself, need to own them | all. We're not sure if you hold the record for trading systems, but you definitely rank in the top ten for indecisiveness. | Is There Money Involved? Do you ACTUALLY make money just | for playing games? i Jon “Mashed Potato Boy” Rose via erols.com Where’s Earthbound 64? I think | heard that Earthbound was | coming to the 64. If | am right, is that | still on, and when will it come out? | Paul “The Eager RPG Gamer” Johnson via juno.com | Earthbound 64 (known as Mother 3 | in Japan) was originally announced for | the ill-fated N64 Dynamic Drive | (64DD). Last year, we learned that the | game was going to be converted to a | cartridge. Our sources have said | that Nintendo is considering the | release of Earthbound 64 this fall. Is Online Gaming the Future? With the Dreamcast having Internet | play in the works, how do you think | this will affect the gaming community? i | have goose-bumps just thinking | about it. Rick Archer via kiis-fm.com | We don’t want to knock the | possibilities of network play on the | Dreamcast as we haven't tried any of | the modem functions in the Japanese | unit. Online gaming and consoles | don’t have a great track record. The | X-band system that powered the | 16-bit systems, as well as the NetLink N64 Informer? | was wondering if you ever thought | of making a separate magazine for just | one system. Most kids want to see a i lot of one subject. always love to read | about N64 new releases. But why does | a N64 fanatic want to know that Silent | Hill is coming out for PlayStation? It | sure would be a lot more interesting | to read all about PlayStation than | Nintendo 64’s new graphic enhancer. | | know you guys know where I’m coming | from.We all love video games, but hate | to have to pay $4 for a gaming | magazine when we are only going to Í read a section. | think you will be more | widely known and sell many more copies | worldwide if you take my advice into consideration. | Daniel Saccomando Oldenburg, IN No, we MAKE money for writing, editing,and producing a magazine and website. It’s called Game Informer. Have you read it? for Saturn, didn’t exactly change the industry. Likewise, we are still waiting for the revolutionary changes that pundits predicted for the PC community when online gaming communities started sprouting up a few years back. Other than the influx of java-based card and board games, the growth of online gaming has been slow. We predict that the next batch of console systems will do little to speed up the trend. We have considered the possibilitie of doing separate magazines, but we | have found that many of our readers | have more than one system. There are | a ton of GI faithfuls that have both the N64 and PlayStation. Some readers hav the N64 and Game Boy.The list goes | on. We think readers with only one system would like to know the other options they have with video games. | For that reason, an N64 owner might | be curious to see what Silent Hill is | all about. It may make them realize that | they are missing something or possibly | want to purchase another system. | you look at some of the one syste magazines, | bet you'll find that Gam Informer covers just as much info. Plus, | we are under $4. Alan Taylor Ephrata, PA Argh! Did someone just poke me in the butt?! Willie McGarry Jr. Dallas, TX You gotta be kidding me?! | have to run all the way back to the castle just to get a stupid mask?! “AMO” X Annadale, VA Reiner loves to play with his monkey...and cook acidic brew for Paul. Josh Gilbert Glendale, WI Ascene from Lara and the Argonauts. Shelley Smith Louisvelle, KY | Now my banana friends, we take = over the world. Ha ha ha!!! Game Informer * May '99 STAR. WARY THE TRANTOM MENACE Sa A aH Oa RS ANAKIN “ANNIE” SKYWALKER “I had a dream l was a Jedi.” In Episode I, Anakin is the sweetest boy in the galaxy. Hes so humble and loving that you'd never in a million years see how George is going to tie Anakin, he and his mother, Shmi Skywalker, are enslaved on the planet Tatooine. Through the Force,Anakin can sense how technology — works, developing a natural ability to build and pilot machines. He especially enjoys manhandling the podracer, the fastest land vehicle this side of Mos Espa. Actor Jake Lloyd is the lucky child who fills the shoes of nine-year-old Anakin. OBI-WAN KENOBI chs “You will be a Jedi, | promise.” Ben is an all around good guy. Hes also one of the most noble Jedi Knights ever to have lived. But were his intentions, and his devotion to the training of Anakin Skywalker, too noble? After his mistake with Anakin, we see a wiser Obi-Wan train Luke Skywalker. Ewan McGregor, of Trainspotting fame, fills the robes of Ale Guiness in Episode I. Qui- Gon JINN qipapa ARLENE “Feel, don’t think, use your instincts.” Qui-Gon could very well be the individual responsible for the Empire’s uprising, as he is the one who believed Anakin would be a pivotal piece in the growth of the Jedi.Armed with a green saber, = Qui-Gon proves to be both methodical and aggressive. His Jedi skills are as strong as his will and his love of life. This determined Jedi is portrayed by Liam Neeson, and is believed to be 45 years of age in the film. st Ra EN ROD aiaa TULEN AMIDALA PADAO AAS O A EAA TS R Das aaae JÄ sth: “This is my decoy, my loyal bodyguard.” Somewhere in the next two films, we believe that Queen Amidala will wed Anakin Skywalker and give birth to Luke and Leia. In her younger days er of Naboo who will risk all to keep Federation begins an invasion. When away from the throne and in her civilian clo hes, Amidala goes under the guise of Neral Portman, wears the this lad to Anakin’s dark future. When you first meet ` -~ out of hiding and presented his plans for cont hrough chronicles of the Sith and a plethora of novels, the Star Wars Universe has continued to expand, detailing the further adventures of Luke Skywalker and even the earliest days of the Force. But none of these expanded universe epics written by Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson, and ‘nearly 50 other authors have filled in the blanks of George Lucas’ creation. None of these adventures have even hinted at what happened in the years before A New Hope. This gap in the timeline has become known as the sacred era, a tale that George Lucas has kept close to his heart and shrouded in mystery. ars that he had s, and this film a aa a = —Ç e with his Then bout four years ago, with the first three chapters: the prequels. We though remastered and basically refilmed the classic trilo release called the Special Editions. Whether these films were reer Star Wars universe, used as test subjects for the prequels, or (as we've guessed) a little of both, is unknown. All three of these films, which released One after the other, enjoyed enormous success and drew all the Star Wars fans out of the woodwork once again. Now, the first installment to the long awaited prequel trilogy is just a month away. Two theatrical trailers have supplied fans with a sliver of what will become known as the movie event of the century. In each trailer, you can clearly see that Lucas has done it again. From the Kaadu walking out of the mist in a Naboo swamp, ei ear oere oid E JAR BINKS rne “When is yousa tinkin' wesa in trouble?” Along with See-Threepio, Jar Jar Binks (pronounced Ja Ja Binksss) is the comic relief in The Phantom Menace. Jar Jar is an outcast from his gungan race, which resides in the seas of planet Naboo. Upon reaching the surface and under the worst of circumstances, Jar Jar runs into his newly acquired lifelong companion, Qui-Gon Jinn. Jar Jar plays a huge role in Episode |. He may be clumsy, silly, and a major nuisance, but his multitude of mistakes may end up saving the day. Jar Jar is the first all-CG character in the Star Wars universe. He was named by George Lucas’ son, Jett, and his voice is portrayed by Ahmed Best. ‘Multiplatform | Cover Story AH AAA SENATOR PALPATINE nine “The senate is full of graod squabbling delegates.” In Episode |, Palpatine is a senator of the anda politician on Naboo. His evil nature fe, the view to Darth Maul igniting both ends of his — double-sided lightsaber, shivers are sent up and down our spines, and our anticipation for the film becomes more unbearable v each passing second. The time for judgment is upon us; will Lucas’ new film as the next best thing, even be 9 Orwi MMM <<°-NNN LLL CAN UNM R MAUL inven RRM eH “At laet we will reveal ourselves to the ~ At last we will hav aveng nstead of just one game based n the ucasArts has pieced together three. Star — Racer will launch on the PC and ado 64 on May 17. Star Wars: Episode | The Phantom Menace will launch on the PC and PlayStation on May 17. And last (and most certainly least), Star Wars: Episode | The Gungan Frontier will debut on PC in the summer. In the next eight pages, in typical Game Informer fashion, we tear apart Racer and The Phantom Menace, breaking down each little tidbit of information, while x ane | never once spoiling any significant surprises — except of course Obi-Wan Kenobi's secret night life and Senator Palpatine's risqué dancing career. Both games look to be phenomenal releases, putting forth amazing graphics and heart-pounding excitement. As for Gungan Frontier? We thought it best to skip discussing that one, for LucasArts' sake. Gungan Frontier is a Lucas Learning release, filled with nothing but the tall, lanky, and overly animated gungan race. Ew! It needs a Jedi or some kind of hutt to keep us glued to the screen. Now, sit back and enjoy Game Informer’s deep look into the beginning of the Star Wars saga... SLU SSR ES Aaa BATTLE DROIDS aa MHA yeni Se niao ltl You re under arrest!” We like to call these automated footsoldiers Jedi fodder. Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan slay a ton of these droids. The battle droids also pilot hover tanks and Stap vehicles. They'll march day and night, until their objective is met. The battle droids, coupled with the power of Darth Sidious and Darth Maul, pose the greatest threat ever to hit Naboo. Most of these droids are CG, however, or clo puppets have been used. pe win.” You'll see this battle-hardened warrior slay a heap of battle droids. Captain Panaka is the Queens Chief Security Officer. He will do anything to mal sure the Queen is safe. He and his foot-soldiers will battle to the death against the onslaught of the Trade Federation. Captain anaka is brought to life by actor Hugh Quarshie. de | The Phantom Menace images © & TM 1999 | dedicated an entire ga podrace is extremely run inA New Hope. The pilots of thes required to have lightt Many of these fearless arms, and heightened ser DESIGN eee As you can see apen the comparison shots of Anakin in the cockpit, £ this game tries to embody as much of the movie as possible, ! but only in the first level. The rest of the levels are completely irrelevant to the movie. Instead of having a really short game on its hands, LucasArts — expanded the Episode | universe and created different planets and tracks to race on. All 18 of the podracers from the movie are in the game, plus l i the three pods that LucasFilm cut. In the you never really get a Several views are available to the user, including good look at more than @ engine view as seen in the movie. The details in the movie are well addressed in : w ka ee r three of the pods, : since they the game. i og Each track features an introduictory cutscene. Here, Anakin‘ S rival, Sebulba, readies for a Stell race d i gabe With the Expansion Pak, the graphics are extremely crisp, just like those i in Rogue Sguadon, Now to the complicated stuff. The design of the vehicles and the theme of the game ` Some of the tracks in Racer are amazing in are def tely new innovations for the racing genre, but the design of the game is not. | composition, featuring asteroid belts in the background, When you reach the Title Screen, you'll know what we're talking about. Options like Time | crazy lighting effects produced by lava flows, and ` Trial, Tournament mode, and Quick Race, which we never thought wed see in Star Wars, ` remarkable space station textures. LucasArts also did a ` are hee. The Tournament i is the bulkiest mode in the game. It consists of three difficulties, commendable job making this game move fast. The | each comprised of seven different tracks. The competition picks up after each race, textures actually look like there’s a motion blur to them _ pushing the player to purchase upgrades like coolant systems, power boosts, traction ` when you really get hauling, and when you leave the track, ` grids, extra Pit Droids, and powerful engines from Watto. If you can’t afford anything from ` particles and other environmental effects spray toward the ` Watto, then you can hit the junkyard for a used item. After upgrading, you can examine | screen. The vehicles are also recreated with authentic | your vehicle. This mode comes equipped with complete camera freedom. Pan from any | details. From the moving flaps on the side of the pod to the ` angle and check out your hot rod! Winning races will unlock extra characters and tracks. ` magbeam holding the engine together, every little detail Just like nearly every other LucasArts’ game, medals can be obtained by placing in first, : is there. second, or third. TEUR POOR A C Waa "Runt pees YOUR CASH nenes apna 4 x 3000 Over 21 vehicles can be manhandled. However, N 7 Racer features three Tournaments (Amateur, Semi- only a Bandi are available from the eal The Pro, and Pro). Each of these Tournaments consists l of diff As each Tournament progresses, the competition Will increase, so ) upgrades must be purchased. that is until Anakin is forced to enter the event. host of this undergrou f | Humans are usually too clumsy to handle such the odds are stacked against little Anakin from ` _an intense vehicle, but Anakin’s special gift the get go. Anakin’s arch-nemesis, Sebulba, is proves to be a helpful tool for this sort of event. also in the event, and of course, Sebulba doesn't ove f 0 [ It just happens that the race Anakin entered,the race clean. He’ll cheat and SE you given Boonta Eve race at Mos Espa Arena, is the most the chance. perilous course on all of Tatooine. Its narrow Anakin’s pod is old and small. The ° Size: 128 Megabit (With Built-In Save) canyons, rocky surfaces, and unpredictable turns competition is experienced and ferocious. And ° Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing can spell doom for even the most advanced the stakes are high; his life hangs in the balance. e Special Features: Incredible Speeds; 21+ podracer. The crime lord, Jabba the Hutt, is the Vehicles; 21+ Tracks on 8 Worlds; Pod Upgrades; 3 Tournament Modes; Taunts; Soundtrack by John Williams; Expansion Pak Compatible e Created by: LucasArts ¢ Available: May 17 for Nintendo 64 The pods actually hover above the ground. They 95% Complete _ don’t need to take off. The manner in which they hover _ is strange, not allowing the podracer to pull more than ten-feet-off-the-ground:-Fheyre-stuck-there on an — nvisible track. The pods, however, can turn on their sides and barrel roll through zero gravity r. I The engines come equipped with turbo boosters. The pe can summon these boosters at anytime, ' Ka fn be reset on the track SG ZKD a few seconds of ph The =: can also ; | smash into walls, lose an e ine and s ut of Lop ag launch into bottomless pits. Punch the turbo in the straightaways to hit speeds of over 600mph! However... "Bumping and grinding is allowed. But don’t be "using too much turbo will cause the engines to ised. if the alien opponents reply with a taunt. smoke and even be engulfed in flames. i i I There are over 20 tracks spread across eight different worlds in Racer. eight planets feature al tracks. In addition to the Boche Eve race, | All of the tracks are accompanied by musical triggers, taken from John Tatooine features two other courses. All of these tracks feature tons of | Williams’ Episode | soundtrack, and sound effects directly from the movie. shortcuts, obstacles like Sandcrawlers, Tusken Raider attacks, and closing _ The engine hum, the grinding of gears, and the silence created by hitting doors. Some obstacles can be used to your advantage. Ifa pod is on your | jumps are all part of this package. tail and you cross over a ‘methane lake, then look out! The second the | The tracks differ drastically from one another. From icy lakes to flames from your engine L Br the lake, the trailing player is in fora world | treacherous mining colonies, Racer offers up plenty of variety. Each of the of hurt! U if rares can create competi yo Ala at t breakneck speeds, then Racer will definitely be a hit. The graphics are there, the license cannot be topped, and the concept is one of a kind. It’s going to be hard not to | drop 60 big ones on this game. Hopefully, you already pre-ordered a copy. | i 4 L | The zero gravity te allows for complete freedom _.of movement and barrel rolls. On this track (and no, it's not Hoth), the upcoming patch will make the pods shi and slide. AN INTERVIEW Wiru Jon KNOLES If you thought the Speederbikes or Swoops hauled, then think again. Podracer is fast; faster than anything you could think of. LucasArts granted us the privilege to play this explosive title over at its San Rafael headquarters, and after participating in the Boonta Classic Podrace, which took our breath away and peeled our eyelids back, we decided to hunt down someone involved with the Podracer project. Lo and behold, we spotted Jon Knoles, Racer's senior artist and co-project leader. Jon was more than willing to let us know everything about this highly anticipated game. There was also a certain degree of mystery in his responses, almost like a disturbance in the Force. Jon insisted that his answers fall under the name “JONK”. We granted him this, fearful that he may use the Force to choke us to death if we said otherwise. Alas, the interview... Game Informer: What other games has the Racer team worked on? JONK: Here are some LucasArts games several of us have worked on in the past: Shadows of the Empire N64, Rogue Squadron N64, Jedi Knight, TIE Fighter, X-Wing, Rebel Assault 1 & 2, and the SNES Star Wars Trilogy. GI: Do you prefer working on Star Wars games rather than original material? JONK: People often ask me if | ever get tired of working on Star Wars games after 8 years and over a dozen of them behind me now. | say, “No way!” If | had been working that long on Hockey games or something, | might have jumped in front of a train by now. | was a fan at 8 years old and I'm a fan now. Most of the people on the Episode |: Racer team are big Star Wars fans, too. We are very proud of all the original titles LucasArts produces as well, like our award-winning Grim Fandango, Herc’s Adventures, the Monkey Island series, and so on. We also try to keep the ratio of | license games like Star Wars or Indiana Jones and original LucasArts titles fairly even. As you can imagine with the upcoming films, the ratio is skewed slightly heavier on the side of Star Wars. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come along often. This is an exciting time for all of us at LucasArts, and we're not simply taking advantage of a big marketing opportunity—we're striving to make the best games we know how, based in the ever-expanding, wonderful Star Wars Universe that George Lucas has given us. Gl: Who came up with the concept of creating a game based on this epic racing scene? Did you guys pick over the script and say “This is it baby.” Or did LucasFilm say “Do this now..so says God?” JONK: Eric Johnston (co-project leader and lead programmer) and | were clued in early on to the key action sequences of the film — in a very vague sense, of course. We knew of a space battle, some ground battles, some underwater sequences, and the Podrace. The Podrace really grabbed us. Just the thought of a | chariot race at 400 to 600 miles per hour was quite a thrilling concept. Wow. George Lucas did not pull us aside and say “This part of my movie would make a great game!” He's a filmmaker. He was busy making his movie, but was gracious to give us access to the ideas and concepts going into it. LucasArts works closely with LucasFilm Licensing when making a Star Wars product, but the game ideas are not hatched in “high- concept” meetings with marketing people and what-not. The idea for the game and the decision to make it really rests with the game designers and, of course our President, Jack Sorensen. Game Informer * May '99 GI: How far in advance did you see the Podrace? And were there any big changes between what you originally saw and what is in the final cut? JONK: Quite a while ago, in spring of ‘97, we saw some rough footage of an animatic version of the Podrace scene from Episode | that LucasFilm shared with licensees. Even in its rough state, we were in awe. The speed, the thrills, the crashes—it was very exciting. As time went on and new shots were added or deleted, our team would have small screenings (on videotape) of the latest Podrace sequence. This was very helpful in keeping us abreast of what was happening in the film, which is very important when you treat the Star Wars license as carefully as we do. We wanted everything to look and sound just right. There were a few changes to the movie's Podrace sequence over the course of development, but George Lucas had a very clear vision of what this scene was all about, and the pace, blocking, and editing were worked out pretty early on. Its amazing how true the final sequence is to the essence of the original animatic. Gl: How long has this project been In the works? JONK: Eric Johnston, Mark Blattel, and | came off of Shadows of the Empire N64 and PC CD-ROM versions and got right to work planning our next game. We were working on some low-altitude flight sim action game ideas, taking the more successful elements of that game and expanding on them when we were shown the concept sketches for the new movie. We immediately decided we would need some time to work out a new game engine for the Podrace sequence of Episode I. Eric and Mark began writing a new physics engine while | started working on placeholder art and track designs. This was back in mid to late ‘97. Around January of ‘98, two level designers from Jedi Knight joined our team (Duncan Brown and Jacob Stephens), as well as our user interface programmer Darren Johnson, followed by our awesome 3D artists, Jim Rice, Clint Young, Lisa Wong, Christina Napier, and Armando Lluch. The rest of the team joined on over the next few months. So the whole team has been in full-tilt boogie for about a year and 3 months. GI: Was It difficult to recreate the track featured in the movie? JONK: The Podrace course featured in the movie, The Boonta Classic, was a tough one to do because of its vast open areas in some places and very tight turns in others, so | started with that first. We wanted to see how big we could make these courses. We made a decision early on to try to match the scale speeds of the Podracers in the movie—400 miles per hour. This is a tall order when you consider a Daytona-sized track (2 1/2 miles or so) would be covered in 15 seconds! That's no fun. So we started by making a Tatooine - course roughly 20 miles in length, based on a sketch from Lucasfilm. We found out, however, that driving around in the tight turns represented by the sketch at | that scale was impossible at those speeds, so we | shrunk the Podracers by almost half, thereby increasing the perceived scale of the track to 30 or 40 miles in | length. Then it felt right, but at 400 miles per hour, the long straight areas took forever to cross, and a lap took 6 minutes! It would take all day to play a3 lap race! So | we kept tweaking the scale and speeds until we could drive one lap of the Boonta Classic Podrace course in | 2 1/2 minutes at speeds high enough to peel your | eyelids back. Gl: What about the other tracks, did LucasFilm stick | design of these, or did you guys | a hand Into the have freedom to create what you wanted? JONK: We came up with our own world ideas with the exception of Tatooine’s Boonta Classic, then submitted | them with some art to LucasFilm Licensing for approval. In the film, the Podrace only happens on Tatooine. Podraces, being an almost “outlaw” sport, would not | take place on any of the other planets in the film. You'll understand when you see the movie, But we wanted to | incorporate some of the vehicles, creatures, and other things from the new movie, so we designed worlds that would be similar in some respects to these. We wanted to avoid using worlds from established Star Wars lore, as this may have tied us down with timeline | contradictions. Plus we want to move on, invent new | locales with which to play in. That's some of the most fun about working in the Star Wars Universe—it’s | always expanding. We always have a surprising amount of creative freedom considering the license, but | we are trusted by LucasFilm to do justice to Star Wars. | GI: How do you cut away from the movie and enter the expanded universe? JONK: Great gameplay is always our primary objective | when designing a game. Fitting the game into the | grand scope of a big movie like SW Episode | is not always easy, and you want to let players feel like they're part of the environment they experienced when they saw the movie, but not tied too closely to the film's plot. Sitting back and watching a great story is fun for the movie-going audience, but gamers want to experience a game. We take certain liberties with plot and characters to make the game more fun, without | sacrificing any of the credibility of the game as a movie tie-in. For example, in the film, the Podrace only | happens on Tatooine. Furthermore, Anakin only races on Tatooine—he's never been off the planet before, to | our knowledge. Since we knew most everyone would want to race in Anakin’s Podracer (I sure did!), we | thought it would be a real let-down if we were bound to | this plot idea, so we invented other new planets to host | Podraces. We felt this was perfectly within reason, since all Podrace pilots except Anakin are aliens. We | also felt, in a racing game such as this, it would be okay | to let Anakin travel from one Podrace to another on | different worlds. This is where you step away from the | reality of the story line a bit and let players accept this as unique to the game — not part of the factual, but | more the overall feel of the Star Wars: Episode | | experience. LucasFilm agreed with our idea. JONK: Eric and Mark spent months perfecting the physics engine for SW Episode | Racer. We really worked it over and over until we got it right, too. For the reasons like varying terrain types and extremely high speeds, this was a very difficult task for our programmers. It’s much easier to design a tight, clean, realistic physics engine when you know that the track will always be x-units long and have walls at x-angle. But we didn’t want to design NASCAR or Wipeout-type tracks for this game. It didn’t sit right with what we see in the film. Plus, hovering vehicles that skim across the ground at 600 mph and bounce over rolling hills while steering you with no realistic aeronautic control isn't an everyday physics problem, no matter what planet you're from. Actually, some of the inspiration of the swinging motion of the Podracer cockpits came from the way Eric daringly (I say recklessly!) exercises his Labrador retrievers. He hangs onto two ropes tied to the dogs’ harnesses as they pull him around the neighborhood while he’s riding behind them on a skateboard. JONK: The idea that you are in a pod pulled by two massive jet engines like a Roman chariot (talk about This is where the pilot sits, tightly fastened in. There isn't much room for maneu- verability in the drivers seat, so a smaller pilot is needed. K REAR FLAPS Two flaps pull off the pod's hull delivering tighter control. w LIEN MRO RENT s PODRACER _ Chariots of Fire!) is a pretty unusual one — making the player experience this was a good challenge for our , programmers. We also worked hard to design the | controls around an analog joystick. You re not just turning left and right, but “reigning-in” the engines, almost like | horses. You pull back to slow down a bit and take | sharper turns, push forward to really gun it, but lose some cornering ability. The Podracers themselves hover, | but not in a loose, “swishy” way. They use stiff repulsorlift antigravity generators (for Star Wars purists) to hover a | few feet above the ground. This is totally different than most racing games, especially when you consider that we allow the player to cross vast open and uneven terrain, like an off-road rally racer, rather than being | forced down a chute or trench. But this is all transparent; | learning the controls is very easy and intuitive in this | scurrying creatures, but at the speeds you're traveling, | | you'd never see anything so small. For example, for a | | person standing along the track to be visible at 400+ | game. JONK: The immense scale of our worlds means the Podracers cover huge distances in any given frame, but much of the sensation of skin-peeling speed is also a result of detailed ground textures, many objects to the sides of the track like rocks, trees, machines, etc., and a | camera that falls back and wide as the Podracers reach maximum speed. We pulled every trick we knew of to make this game feel really fast. In many racing games, the speed indication number is pretty arbitrary. It says 200 miles per hour, but is it? In Episode | Racer, you } really are traveling at scale speeds. We cheated things | a bit compared to the movie by allowing the Podracers to go much faster than 500-580 miles per hour when they upgrade their vehicles and use their boosters. When you get the best parts, you're going so fast you might as well go out and get your headstone engraved | — you won't survive a mishap. By pulling on the pod’s levers, the flaps will change, propelling the pod in the desired direction. These can be used for braking as well. | authenticity to Episode |: Racer. JONK: Jake Lloyd, who plays Anakin Skywalker in The | Phantom Menace, did a terrific job of reading lines | written especially for our game. He trades insults with the | other Podracers with exclamations like, “Eat my dust, | slimeball!” and holds his own with the tough-bargaining | Watto. From the sound of it, he had fun doing it, too. m | told he likes video games and | can’t wait for him to play | this one. We also had Andy Secombe, who is the voice | of Watto, and Lewis Macleod, who is the voice of | Sebulba, read lines for our game as well. They are all wonderfully talented actors who lent a great deal of | JONK: Nope. We did try filling the tracks with some | miles per hour, he’d have to be like 20 or 40 feet tall! JONK: Anakin, although destined to become the evil | Dark Lord of the Sith we all grew to love/hate, is a good | boy in this movie. But he doesn't take any bull from the | likes of Sebulba or Watto either, so you get the sense | that he is a strong-willed independent person, much like | his descendants eventually will end up becoming. | Gamers who play. our. game will get the chance to play | the movie’s Podrace villain, Sebulba, once they defeat | him at the Boonta Classic. Everyone who sees this | dastardly Podracer in the movie will get a real kick out of | him. He's a dirty rat and a real meanie, but man, his | Podracer is awesome! And he’s got a nasty surprise | built into his Podracer that Episode | game players will | enjoy using on other Podracers. Let's just say Sebulba | really cooks! x The engines pull the pod | forward like a Roman chariot. Anakin's pod features two T-14 engines that can propel his little pod to lightning speeds. These engines can overheat if too much pressure is applied. j | MAGBEAM This stream of energy creates a | magnetic tether between the two engines. If it breaks, there's no telling where the engines will pull the pod. | Game Informer * May '99 15) K This title is constructed just like the Super Star Wars trilogy for the. Super Nintendo. The entire movie is on ; documented into this game in some form or another. Many of E ae aoe the scenes have been altered.to deliver more action and iE P I SO D E | combat sequences, but some, like the great Lightsaber duels y: with Darth Maul, are identical. It's up to you to make them | look just as good as the movie, or expand upon them and add | a little zest of your own. | | The Phantom Menace is a gigantic story that takes place 32 years before A New Hope and spans to the far reaches of kusi Obi-Wan are the Gl favorites. Their Lightsaber work and Force technique are awesome. They can propel enemies || away by unleashing a Force Push blast. They can try to x persuade local villagers to do as they ask,and they simply hon i gla „Padmé Naberre) If the Lightsaber i isn’t doing the trick then hand-to-hand combat is a must. The Jedi can also D blasters a | Padmé Naberrie is also included. Panaka warrior who will protect the Queen at q LucasArts has really outdone themselves with this B concept is right on the money, delivering exactly what we crave — nonstop Star Wars action. The graphics are also phenomenal, presenting gorgeous scenery and effects straight out of the movie. _ When you enter buildings and different dwellings, the ceiling fades way to reveal what lies inside, instead of loading a whole separate image. The entire game keeps loading at a minimum. The little details are also in place. The Lightsabers flare up and ound just like they do in the movie, humming at every quiver, and the blaster fire is lightning quick and accompanied by authentic ound. There’s plenty of indigenous life in each level as well. Little creatures scurry across the streets of Naboo, and Gamorrean Guards protect wealthy visitors in Mos Espa. Like the main tina === ; sea) characters, the wide variety of creatures that can be approached Many of the environments are breathtaking and are Ñ and talked to feature authentic voices and sounds. Jabba’s Huttese „accompanied by dramatic camera angles. language is present, and the horrible dialect of the gungans also a | 4) comes into play. The story unwinds in several different ways. Much of the plot s divulged through character interaction during gameplay, but real- time and CG cutscenes also deliver filler material and the most explosive confrontations. There are eight different CG scenes that accompany the l l levels. These scenes show ships flying to planets, battle droids on the march, and some crazy Jedi antics. The real- time cuts that are dispersed through each level show some big moments, but mostly these scenes deliver level-related incidents nd conversations between the main characters. 16 Game Informer * . M: ay ‘99 space, visiting familiar locales and adventurous new worlds. The game focuses mainly on the Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, not young Anakin Skywalker, the focal point of the film. LucasArts wanted this epic tale to be as exciting as possible, and a little boy won’t deliver the caliber of thrills that two highly ` toned Jedi, can. This release is one of the most exciting of the year, and the most anticipated game ever Not every fight is necessarily fair. One tank could never take out a well-trained Jedi. The Phantom Menace delivers | to the swamps of Naboo. The goals o Jabba and Watto to help out little Anakin. for diehard Star Wars fanatics. John Williams’ complete soundtrack has been integrated into this title, as well as hours upon hours of dialog. You'll twitch when Obi-Wan says, “‘Do not defy the Council Master, not again!” and you’ll squirm all over again when Jar Jar Binks blurts out, “Woah, yousa guys bombad!” A majority of the dialog from the film is in this game, there ‘are also tons of new lines and scenes exclusively created for the game. Through the course of the adventure, new weapons j „and allies will come into < PlayStation Cover Story e Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1-Player Action e Special Features: 4 Playable Characters (Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Queen Amidala, & Captain Panaka); 11 Levels With Side Quests; CG Clips; Character Interaction; Force & Lightsaber Techniques; Soundtrack by John Williams e Created by: Big Ape Productions /LucasArts e Available: May 17 for PlayStation 90% Complete The blaster capital izes an distance, but lacks any kind of defensive capabilities, As displayed in many of the screenshots, the R handiwork is very impressive. oes can b blocked and deflected back at the enemy with ease, and the blade can cut into destroyer drol nd : droids like butta. Some levels will even push the Jedi to hop across narrow platforms, scale large ropes push enormous blocks, pilot a Stap, and escort Queen Amidala to safety. When the Jedi explore new towns ` and areas, they'll more than likely want to keep their weapons at bay. If the saber or blaster is drawn, the: village folk will react accordingly, fleeing and even opening fire. Each level features side quests and secrets. scattered about. It'll take the bravest of souls to find everything on a stage. ' Besides the constant action and dialogue, the player will also be forced to manage an i consisting of first-aid tools and plenty of weapons and items. The PlayStation controls are nice, button set aside for jumping, one for the Lightsaber, and one for running. E marin te Pao rb ke ps ` e battle droids are everywhere in this game. They attack without fear and in great quantities. Most of the gameplay is about nonstop action, particularly chopping battle droids in half. However, you'll also have to use your brain by gathering information fro rs, and solving tricky puzzles. The character interaction is implemented nicely, allowing for long conversations and several different responses to each question or comment. the Jedi can attempt ne of the creatures in and become hostile ‘It’s safe to assume that this game will sell | regardless of how it turns out. From what we've seen, the play is quite enjoyable; but at press time, the animation for the main characters was a little on the weak side. Really though, who cares if Obi Wan walks flat footed? All that matters is that you get to duel Darth Maul with a saber, run side by side with the Queen, and romanticize the Star Wars legacy with John Williams’ outstanding new soundtrack. This is a must for the Star Wars crowd. persuasion; 1 | this game catch on to the | when this happens or even call ( upo About 20% of The Phantom Menace's gameplay in volves character interaction. nere, Qui-Gon f Game Informer: What other games has Big Ape Productions developed? And if you don't mind us asking, where in the world did the company’s name come from? Dean: Previously, Big Ape developed Zombies Ate My Neighbors, Metal Warriors, and Herc’s Adventures. As for the name, I’m not quite sure. We tossed around a few ideas. “Big Nose and Glasses” was our favorite for a while, then we had “Flying Cow”, but decided the whole cow thing was too trendy. Most importantly, we didn’t want to have some geeky computer name. | remember Mike (Ebert) just walked into the office and blurted out, “BIG APE”. | don’t think there was any inspiration or anything. He was just so sold on it, | said sure, what the heck. Gl: How long has this game been in development? Dean: It’s been in development for 20 months. GI: Since The Phantom Menace game was developed side-by-side with the film, how difficult was it to piece this game together? Was LucasFilm gracious in helping you guys out? Dean: The development of the game followed the production of the film very closely. In the beginning, we had an opportunity to read the script, so we were quite familiar with the story line. In addition, we were able to view a great deal of production art and a wealth of stills from the film, and see rough cuts, so we had a very good idea about the look we needed to achieve. That being said, we did encounter a few challenges since some things like costumes, CG characters, and sets and locations were not finalized in the film, so we had to go by concept art. LucasFilm was extremely forthcoming though, providing us with as much information as we needed throughout development of the game. Gl: How much freedom did you have in designing sequences and events not shown within the movie? Did LucasFilm supply material? Or did you have complete creative freedom? Dean: We did have an scotia to create some side-stories and to create a few : : original characters with the caveat that they could not affect the overall story. None of this was supplied by LucasFilm but we were well aware that anything we created had to be consistent with the Star Wars canon. GI: Did you develop anything that had to be cut? Dean: Yes. There was an instance wheo we included creatures othe the Informer * May 99 | classic Star Wars Trilogy However, we took them o Star Wars: Episode l. GI: Working with a structured plot solutions did Big Ape come up with fo of action? Dean: We employed a couple different genres with adventure, depending upon what was happening in th Mos Espa the player will encounter a lot of characters and will have and solve a variety of puzzles to complete the level. On the other hand, level is more action-oriented, requiring a lot of lightsaber combat. Gl: What about the podrace? When the player gets to the racing part of the game, what will they run into? And please don’t say it’s an order form for Episode | Racer? Dean: Ha, ha! That’s not a bad idea. If we only had more time! In all seriousness, the podrace level requires light puzzle | solving, but the player never actually races a | podracer. Gl: Since the PC was the original development format for this title, did anything need to be changed in the | PlayStation version? Are there any | significant differences between the two? Dean: The two platforms are virtually identical. Gl: We noticed that there’s a ton of Lightsaber work in this game. Are Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala at a disadvantage since they do not wield the power of the Force? l Dean: No. Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala have their own unique | attack styles. | GI: In the Super Star Wars trilogy, Luke had the ability to perform several Force | techniques not featured in the movies. Will Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon have any | exclusive abilities in the game? x Dean: Yes, they both can use the Force push and the Jedi mind trick. In addition, because they're both Jedi Knights, they have the ability to jump higher and farther than other characters in the game. GI: Talking to villagers and answering questions seems to play a significant role in the outcome of certain stages. Can multiple paths or secrets be unlocked through answering questions differently? Dean: There are several side-missions players may engage in that are not u necessary to complete the game. However, some of the characters you encounter | may show up later in the game to assist you. ; X GI: Are there any vehicles in the game? Do you get to pilot one of those groovy hover tanks? Or ride on Jar Jar Bink's back? Dean: There are several vehicles that players will have to battle against. GI: Did any of Episode I's actors record extra dialogue specifically for the game? Dean: No. GI: Okay... How much original footage from the film has been implemented into the | game? Dean: None. The film was meani used Tor inspiration, but all the cutscenes were rendered by the team. GI: Approximately how long is this | adventure? Will you need to collect Medals or anything to unlock something special? Dean: Depending upon ability of course, we | estimate it will take -players somewhere between 30 to 40 hours to complete. As | mentioned earlier, there are several side- | missions and hidden areas the player can | explore that will enhance the overall : experience. | ` T La WA ate RS... cover these goods as well. Starting on May 3,a nae of new Episod be released by Hasbro, Applause, brd Pepsi, and even Lego. If you hee able to merchandise lying about. Large raa cutol uts, a auf aie on a dart board, the tennis shoes Mark Hamill wore on the second l lof the fourth week of shooting for Returí I d about the office has ps pted a sie x vehicles, nts Simi Sa DARTH Mav C packaged with a aiCommilech ou This little chip is worthies: K itself but when yo buy the CommTech Reader and fasten the chip onto it, the figure will speak, mouthing off sey eral lines from the movie. Some of the chips even work together, allowing for two cha hold a conversation. This interesting device will work for every figure, but of course, because He STA of the new ability to speak, the price on each figure has skyrocketed to nearly seven dollars. D WARS After series |, Hasbro has nearly 50 more figures planned for the remainder of the year. F i We'll see deluxe Jedi figures who spin at the waist, a Jabba that oozes slime, accessory kits P from the Sith and Naboo, plus a ton of vehicles and large creatures, That’s right, characters like Watto, the junk dealer, Ki-Adi-Mundi, a Jedi council member, Ric Olié,a Naboo fi ighter pilot, and Boss Nass, leader of the gungans, are all on the way to a toy store near you. ` We're most excited about the upcoming Royal Starship. This spacecraft i is gigantic. From what we hear, you'll need to be rich to pick up this toy, since i c ones. Ouch! merchandise on the way. For Applause, if you saw it in the movie, then e either see it on a keychain or on a mug in some fashion. Likewise for Galoob. If it's in the film, you'll find a toy of it shrunk down to microscopic proportions. Lastly, Pepsi is presenting cans tattooed with characte smash a Darth Maul on y id. In May, be prepared to be blown away by Episode l. It’s going to be everywhere. If you seek more info, check out Sir Steve's Star Wars site (at wwwairstevess ila; com) for all of the latest and greatest Star Wars merchandising news. Game Informer * May '99 L A Z LN G & BRAZEN Sony Computer Entertainment Unveils The Technology Behind PlayStation 2 On March 2, 1999, Sony Computer Entertainment showed its vision. Not just a glimpse of the future of video game entertainment for Sony, but of its ability to see and understand it. The announcement of PlayStation 2 shows Sony Computer Entertainment understands the video game business. As Game Informer has said in the past, history shows that each new ae generation of consoles must not only match the current PC power, but significantly surpass it. Sony understood the past and “Father of the PlayStation” saw the future, for it has made a bold statement with its "e S technology demo of PlayStation 2 — a backwards compatible, CD and DVD-ROM reading powerhouse. At the heart of the PSX2 is the world’s first full 128-bit CPU, christened the Emotion Engine, that was co-developed by SCEI and Toshiba. Blessed with a cornucopia of components on a single wafer, the Emotion Engine is more powerful than any chip available on the market today, with benchmarks that outperform even the most powerful SGI workstations. The biggest reason for Sony Computer E - i Teruhi oes k the Emotion Engine’s high performance (besides its 300 MHz n clock speed) is its ability to do ten floating point calculations at "i once, generating a massive 6.2 GFLOPS (that's 6,652,600,000 Floating point Operations Per Second for those of you scoring at home). The Emotion Engine’s partner in crime is called the Graphics Synthesizer, and was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The GS is basically a rendering processor that works in parallel with the Emotion Engine. One particular innovation of note is its use of 4 megabytes of Rambus Direct RAM built right onto the chip. This enables developers to move massive amounts of data, and as one developer put it, “without it, moving data is similar to emptying a pool of water with a bucket — with it, it's like connecting a huge drainpipe .” Add to that the GS's 48-Gigabyte memory access bandwidth, and the PSX2 pumps out colossal pixel fill rates that double even SGI's Infinite Reality 2 workstation. At peak performance, the Graphics Synthesizer is capable of drawing 75 million small polygons per second or 150 million particles per second. Obviously, it can’t do both at once, but with its large drawing power it should be able to create images close to movie-quality. An example of the kind of power we are talking about here is that the PSX2 should be able to create 20 million textured polygons a W, Development Unit second with full Z-buffering, lighting, and alpha blending (transparency). Compared to a Model 3 board’s one million or the Dreamcast’s three million equally effected polygons per second, the number seems mighty impressive. Supporting the PSX2’s power is a Sound Processing Unit that delivers 48 channels of sound (plus software programmable voices) at a sampling frequency of 44.1 of 48 KHz. Redbook audio can also be read by the PSX2’s 8x speed DVD/CD-ROM drive. The incorporation of the DVD drive and the PSX2’s MPEG2 technology would also make it possible for PSX2 to run DVD movies. Unfortunately, at this point Sony is not quite sure if it will incorporate such a feature. However, a game will be able to run high quality video if the designers choose to do so. Which, through PSX2’s digital outputs, should look quite nice. The last new feature of PSX2, but certainly not least, is its backwards compatibility with all PlayStation 1 games. The PSX2 is the first home console unit to incorporate such a feature in the modern gaming era. The chip for this function will be created once again with LSI Logic, and will also serve as the input/output processor (I/O) of the PSX2. In other words, a PlayStation 1 CPU will do all the menial functions like talking to the controller, universal serial bus, and PCMCIA slot (modem/communication). Besides the fact that it’s quite funny that a PlayStation 1 has taken on these responsibilities, it is also interesting to note that with all these high speed ports, the PlayStation 2 is capable of talking to almost any digital device (like digital cameras, PCs, Internet, etc.). With PlayStation 2, the possibilities are indeed endless. WHAT IT ALL MEANS Technical jargon aside, Sony Computer Entertainment is trying to do something, but what that something is we're not quite sure. The numbers that PSX2 can put up are startling, and the applications of such a unit are multi-fold. Ken Kutaragi, the creator and father of the PlayStation 1 & 2, stated that the real-time media trend is heading towards delivering a new kind of entertainment. Games, but games on a scale that encompasses music, movies, and what we perceive as the standard computer entertainment. Games, in the present sense of the word, are driving a race, jumping lava pits, or leading an adventure. The choices are finite. This character says this or does that. He/she follows this path and then fires a weapon. All standard computer logic that we see in today’s games. Of course, all of this is possible with the PSX2. But the possibilities don’t end here. PlayStation 2 could be a glimpse at Hollywood of the 21st century. Developers with this kind of power in their hands could theoretically create real-world environments, with living breathing characters all affected by real-world physical attributes such as gravity, friction, and mass. Plus, PSX2 can accurately simulate different materials such as water, wood, metal, and gas. Real worlds that look like real worlds. Full motion video that’s not full motion video, but real-time gameplay with speaking characters, fluid motions, and facial expressions. m <. — luma, Se U B DESIGN CONCEPT E Behavior Simulation (Geometry Transformation) Graphics System Arbiter | External Memory BANDWIDTH (crops Graphics Rate: i Infinite Reality 2 6. ai ; l FACT: The GS is 360 times Voodoo 3 M 3 more powerful than ] PlayStation, and 7.5 times Í 1.6 faster than an SGI Infinite Power VR2 0 Reality 2. PlayStation PIXEL FILL RATE fe Graphics | s raphics i Synthesizer | I — 2.4 Infinite Reality2 | 0.9 C L Voodoo 3} — | FACT: The GS is 34 times kaa TOE more powerful than Octane} PlayStation, and more Power a) than twice the speed of Eee SGI Infinite Reality 2. PlayStation i FLOATING POINT VECTOR CALCULATIO (MILLION VECTORS/SEC) 3D Perspective 120 1/Distance ` Pentium 3 (500MHz) EE (300MHz) GIPS Bus Bandwidth GFLOPS Hz) Pentium 3 (500MHz) EE (300MHz) A prime example of what the future may Game Infor mer hold may very well be the Final Fantasy movie that is currently in the works at Square. Square Ë a T re obviously has development units for PlayStation 2, and if you believe for a second that the models and motion-capture for the movie are going to stop there, you will be sadly mistaken. After the movie is launched, Square will more than likely release games based on the characters in the movie, and will let you play out other parts of their lives or adventures. Imagine if weeks after the Empire Strikes Back hit the movie theaters, a game was released would let you take on the role of Boba Fett as he hunted down Han Solo. The adventure would be a sub-plot where you encountered fellow bounty hunters, caught different glimpses of Han as he managed to escape your grasp, and then ultimately claimed him as your prize before Jabba the Hut The problem with the theory is where will you find a developer who could create such a quest. Square has proven that if you throw 100 people at a game, you can do almost anything. But what other developers out there can make that kind of commitment? As a matter of fact, games such as these are probably not on the horizon with PSX2. At least not for while. In all probability, most companies will probably publish many of the first games for the PSX2 on the CD-ROM format. If developers publish games for the PSX2 at all, manufacturers will be faced with the choice of going cutting edge on the PSX2 and facing the prospect of selling less, or creating games on a lower scale to play on the PlayStation 1 that will have an installed base well over 20 million units in the US alone. While we may be faced with a slower transition with the advent of the PlayStation 2, it will also mean that it will be smoother. In the past, when a newer system came out, almost all development for the older system screeched to halt. This will probably not be the case with PSX2, but you can rest assured that developers will be making games for this monster, if for no other reason than to say they did. WHAT ABOUT THE COMPETI Obviously, Sony just can’t release some cool wr and expect the competition to run away and hide. Sega is still alive, and Nintendo has even gone as far as to state that its new machine, currently under development at Art-X, will be more powerful than Sony’s. But it is hard to ignore the situation that Sony has created for itself. Backwards compatibility is an awfully nice feature to have on your box, as is the library of over 650 titles that goes along with it. However, there are some stumbling blocks in the road ahead. First of all, Sega is going to have a head start in the video game rat race. Which Saturn proved doesn’t mean much, but it does carry some weight if Sega can create that one piece of “super software” (like a Mario, Zelda, or Crash) during this window of opportunity. That could make the race very interesting. At that point, Nintendo could quickly find itself on the defensive (though we highly doubt it), or Sony could find itself on the outside looking in. Now this may seem like an odd scenario for such a powerful machine, but it's possible nonetheless. If PSX2 has trouble meeting a market-friendly price point (DVD isn’t cheap, nor is the chip process that Sony's using for its CPUs), it may find itself sitting in 3D0-ville. Do we think this is likely? No. Sony just spent $200 million on R&D for its new console, and an additional $1.1 billion on plants to create them, so if it wanted to, it could give away the PSX2. Perhaps the real challenge for PSX2 will be if developers can harness the power of this monster. Already there is talk that programming for it will be man’s work, leaving the boys on the side of the road. This would be the ideal situation for Sega, as the Dreamcast is very programmer friendly, since it uses many tools and chips that are familiar to many programmers. And if this sounds like a story you've heard before, you just may remember all the talk about how difficult it was to program the Saturn, causing developers to hop on the PlayStation wagon. Sony may be able to rectify the situation with a new middleware developer program which gives companies a license to create tools and programs that it can sell to developers to help ease the process of creating games for the PSX2. But any self-respecting development house will create its own tools, rather than buy them off the shelf. But after talking to many of the developers at the unveiling, they didn’t seem to be too concerned about developing for PSX2. Jason Rubin, president of Naughty Dog, summed it up with a simple, “Dreamcast is a turd...PlayStation 2 kicks its f—-ing ass.” He even went on to state that Sony has, “put the smack down on the other companies.” Mark Cerny, president of Cerny Games, was more diplomatic, but his thoughts were much the same. “Tens of millions of polygons is a lot of power! In fact, | didn't think we'd see a system of that level of capability until around the year 2002 or 2003.” Game Informer won't be so bold as to make any predictions in the upcoming video game war, but we will say that the good money's on Sony. It made the right move to create a system powerful enough to leapfrog the PC market and bring consoles back to the forefront of graphics technologies. But with development kits just getting out, and the Japanese launch planned for this winter, things are going to be tough. Even the American launch, which is scheduled for 2000, will be an ambitious goal to meet. But if Sony can do it, Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation, will have written himself a place in history. eri kuu E E H Í š Pe sT PLAYSTATION 2 SPECS SYSTEM OVERVIEW 128-bit CPU core “Emotion Engine” GS oS Synthesizer SPU2 Sound Synthesizer UO Processor 8x Speed DVD/CD-ROM Disc System fg Digital LE EMOTION ENGINE L -$ Emotion Engine g Graphics Synthesizer The Emotion Engine incorporates two 64-bit integer units (IU) with a 128-bit SIMD multi-media command unit, two independent floating point vector calculation units (VUO, VU1), an MPEG 2 decoder, and high performance DMA controllers. Hummming along at 300 MHz, the Emotion Engine has a floating point calculation performance of 6.2 GFLOPS. Vital Stats T CPU Core Clock Frequency Integer Unit Multimedia extended instructions Integer General Purpose register TLB Instruction Cache Data Cache Scratch Pad RAM Main Memory Memory Bandwidth DMA Co-processor1 Co-processor2 Vector Processing Unit Floating Point Performance 128-bit RISC (MIPS IV-subset) 300MHz 64-bit (2-way Superscalar) 107 instructions at 128-bit width 32 at 128-bit width 48 double entries 16KB (2-way) 8KB (2-way) 16KB (Dual Port) 32MB (Direct Rambus DRAM 2ch@800 MHz) 3.2GB/sec 10 Channels FPU (FMAC x 1, FDIV x 1) VU 0 (FMAC x4, FDIV x 1) Micro Memory (I:4KB D: 4KB) VU 1 (FMAC x 5, FDIV x 2) Micro Memory (I: 16KB D: 16 KB) 6.2 FLOPS moray CC LL + Perspective Transformation + Lighting + Fog Curved Surface Generation (Bezier) Image Processing Unit Image Processing Performance GRAPHICS SYNTHESIZER 66 Million Polygons/sec 38 Million Polygons/sec 36 Million Polygons/sec 16 Million Polygons/sec MPEG 2 Macroblock Layer Decoder 150 Million Pixels/sec Vitai Sais — — _ GS Core Clock Frequency No. of Pixel Engines Embedded DRAM Total Memory Bandwidth Parallel Rendering Processor with embedded DRAM 150 MHz 16 (in Parallel) 4MB of multi-port DRAM (Synced at 150 MHz) 48 Giga Bytes per Second Combined nemal oS S S S SSS Data Bus bandwidth Read Write Texture Display Color Depth Z Buffering Rendering Functions Pixel Fill Rate Particle Drawing Rate Polygon Drawing Rate Sprite Drawing Rate NTSC/PAL, Digital TV (DTV), VESA (maximum 1280 x 1024 pixels) Sound Processor == 48 Channel ADPCM (2xSPU) CPU Software Voice CD Audio 3D Sound (Dolby AC-3 or DTS) 44.1 Khz or 48 KHz 2560 bit 1024 bit 1024 bit 512 bit 32 bit (RGBA: 8 bits each) 32 bit Texture Mapping, Bump Mapping, Fogging, Alpha Blending, Bi- and Tri-Linear Filtering, MIPMAP Anti-Aliasing, Multi-Pass Rendering 2.4 Giga Pixel per Second (with Z- Buffer and Alpha blend enabled) 1.2 Giga Pixel per Second (with Z-Buffer, Alpha, and Texture) 150 Million/sec 75 Million/sec (small polygon) 50 Million/sec (48 quad with Z and A) 30 Million/sec (50 Pixel triangle with Z and A) 25 Million/sec (48 Pixel quad with Z, A, and T) 18.75 Million (8x8 Pixels) VO Processor si lll __ CPU Core: PlayStation CPU Clock Frequency: 33.8 MHz or 37.5 MHz (selectable) Sub Bus: 32-bit Digital Interfaces === IEEE1394 (Digial A/V) Universal Serial Bus (USB) PC-Card (PCMCIA) for Modem/Communication Memory Card Controller TECHNOLOGY DEMOS The demo portion of the presentation started with Crash Bandicoot marching over a hill. Yippee! But right behind him was a legion of what appeared to be 500 penguins breathing smoke particles, seamlessly animated, with bodies as smooth as a baby s bottom (no blocky polygon people here!), and to top it off they had real shadows. After Crash’s little jaunt, the series of technology demos began, and we'll break them down one by one. Basically, it was just a ton of polygonal rendered shapes, with burrs and without, flying at the screen like mad. The most impressive of the technology demos, Bath showed a sub, a rubber ducky, and a can in a kitchen sink. Whenever an object was moved (in real- time we might add) it sent shockwaves across the surface. Certainly impressive, but we were even more amazed when Sony drained the water from the sink, and then refilled it; with each change in the environment affecting all the objects. Globular trapezoids of mercury zoomed around the screen, reflecting images and changing shape. As the sep spun around in circles, seamlessly growing and shrinking to show true depth, they came in and out of focus with the camera. It may look like a simple pool of water on the surface, but underneath the hood of this pond were real-time waves and reflections that distorted a fish below and i bird flying above. eer merz. miam a 7 R 22 E E Eag x Feather An impressive swirling tornado of thousands of small, translucent feathers tumbling delicately in the wind. This demo was created to show the line- draw capabilities of PSX2. Featuring puffballs made of hundreds of straight lines coming from a single vortex, this demo showed how even the smallest lines could be seen onscreen (for when they met, you could see the other ball behind). And just about the time you realized how incredible these little tribble-like creatures looked, Sony pulled the camera away to show that PSX2 could create not just 50, but hundreds of them. Fireworks This demo showed the particle power of the PSX2 by placing a single firecracker in a dark room. Once ignited, it spewed forth a continuous stream of sparks (or particles) that flew into the air, then bounced off the floor in a breathtaking display. Sony claims that the PSX2 was creating 600 frames of animation per second for the sequence, and that the machine was choosing a random frame every ten to create 60 FPS animation. Impressive in its own right, but then Sony stopped the demo so you could see that everything onscreen was affected by motion blur to give the animation a very fluid motion picture-esque appearance. Did we mention that they were spinning the image in real-time? Curved Expressions A polygonal head made of millions of d polygons that morphed from fish, to alien, to a hairy duck. 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Operating four studios, Iguana is Acclaim’s biggest developer. Acclaim began its event with a showing of Shadowman for the PlayStation, N64, and PC. Developed at Iguana U.K., this third-person action/adventure game is definitely not for the weak of heart. There's D a heavy voodoo element to the story, plenty of violence, and strong language. It’s appropriate for the twisted story that sends a former hit man, Mike Le Roi, on a quest to destroy a mass of undead serial killers. To do this, Mike Le Roi travels between two alternate realities, the Liveside and the Deadside. When Mike travels to the Deadside, he takes on another identity - Shadowman. One of his most useful characteristics is that he is ambidextrous and can therefore use two weapons and/or items at once. The game, releasing this summer, will also be Expansion Pak compatible, have two different endings, and contain an estimated 70 hours of gameplay. ` One of the biggest morsels on Acclaim’s plate was its newest and final WWF title. This behemoth weighs in at a whopping 256 megabit. From the looks of it, the new game, WWF Attitude, will be a super-enhanced version of War Zone. The Career mode has been expanded; there are over 150 new moves; and the sound has been overhauled, beginning with a total digital package. The PlayStation version will use over 10,000 audio cuts, and the N64’s sound will be compressed 300% more than normal. Attitude will release in May for the PlayStation and June for the N64. For more on this game, check out the N64 Preview on page 35. Acclaim also showed off a brand new game called Veloelty (working title) for the Dreamcast, and possibly other platforms, including PC. This stunt-based racer looks a lot like GT’s Streak, except the graphics are sharper and there is more freedom in doing tricks. Landing tricks successfully is also one way to attack opponents on the track. The tricks are fairly innovative — they often look like dancing - and can be linked together. Velocity, which will hopefully be available for the Dreamcast’s American launch, will also have a half-pipe, a skate park, and multiplayer options. In addition, players will be able to plan race routes through the pre-made environments. Jeremy McGrath Super Cross 2000 was also on hand, but we didn’t get to see a lick of it. It was interesting, however, to hear Acclaim talk about the game because it was up front about its disappointment with last year’s version, even though it sold well. To remedy this, the development of JMSC 2K was moved from an external Swedish studio to a team inside the walls of Iguana West. That alone is promising, but Iguana has also included a 3D tile-based track editor, 16 outdoor and indoor tracks, front and rear brake controls, and as many as eight open environments that allow players to cruise around and jump their bikes anywhere with no time limit. Look for this franchise on the PS-X, N64, PC, and Game Boy Color this fall. For shooting fans, Probe Studios is using the Turok 2 engine and some Forsaken technology to deliver Armorines, another game from the Acclaim comics property. Playable in 4st- and 3rd-person, the game has Deathmatch and Cooperative modes that let two players play jy Re-Volt through the one-player missions. Slated for the ‘99 holidays, Armorines Armorines will also use rail levels that let players engage in activities like shooting alien bugs from the side door of a moving helicopter. Other Acclaim games on hand were Re-Volt, a remote- controlled racing game due out this fall (see GI April, 1999); All-Star Baseball 2000, already available for the N64 and Game Boy Color (page 34); and NBA Jam 2000, which will hopefully be ready by November 1, 1999. One interesting note is that Iguana is considering including the classic W 2-on-2 gameplay that made Jam famous, along with the seri- Nu Re-Volt Ous 5-0n-5. Armorines Fg 10 Velocity Velocity Super Cross 2000 Shadowman — PS-X Super Cross 2000 Shadowman - PS-X 26 J Game Informer * May '99 IN NASHUN + COMIC WATCH Me L nuna hr x STUDI mA k. a tma N B. my We R. <> >t ae | M M N j À ” A n A ih wail j N ee i # vOe ss . TOP TEN + IA AME THAT GAME! + WHAT'S HOT + TECH TALK + MUTATION NASHUN + COMIC WATCH + TO Baas sss Í h. LA MTP Ee He ii ll TAN Square's Secr et Returns On a recent business venture to Japan, a Game Informer reporter met secretly with a notorious spy who has been known to secure the most juicy news in the Japanese video game scene. Our first question for this devious personality, who was dressed from head to toe in black, was whether or not Square Soft was working on a new Chrono Trigger yet. His response...well...it was in Japanese, but his dumbfounded look and raised arms led us to believe that he didn’t know a thing. However, he did hand over a metal suit- case containing several materials on Square’s upcoming line-up . Amongst folders for Racing Lagoon, Front Mission 3, and Saga Frontier 2, was a file for Selken Densetsu 4 (better known as Secret of Mana here in the States). The Japanese contact pointed at the Seiken Densetsu 4 logo and said, “Legend of Mana for PlayStation!”, then turned face, ran, and jumped over a bush. We don’t have any other details now, but we predict that Square will debut Legend of Mana for the PS-X at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. v Alas, we scored some images early and from what we can see, this sequel ; T will feature a gameplay style very similar to the original releases. Multiple playable ad WE. Ç characters, detailed environments, and a ton of exploration, look to be some of the A D qualities in this anticipated sequel. As of now, there is no official word that this action/RPG £ C K will make its way to the States, but don’t be surprised if Square squeezes it into its line-up W = L for the fourth quarter. > ew k KOLTER: ma- a Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Sliver are new versions of the Nintendo powerhouse, Pokémon, i| featuring over 250 monsters, as well as new transformations for any old monsters you may have maxed ws out on the Blue or Red versions. Over 200 tricks can be learned as well, and different Pokémon can be cross-bred to form a Poké-baby. Of course, since there’s breeding, there are male and female versions of each monster. Monsters can now sleep, and some can only fight during certain times of the day, thanks to the new clock feature. Some of the new Pokémon’s names are Mariru, Buru, Togepy, and DonFan. Pokémon Gold and Silver will be available in Japan this April for Game Boy Color, and an American release should be announced later this year. LH-RANShO DIES Lait LOTR? O Sybex, makers of countless strategy guides for the PC and console systems, has announced that it is publishling an officially licensed Pokémon book. Titled Pokémon: Pathways to Adventure, the fully illustrated book follows the journeys of Ash as he travels about the world in search of all 150 Pokémon. Written by Jason Rich, a well-known scribe of strategy guides, the Pokémon novel features an exciting story that many already know and love, and that others will find entertaining as well. While reading the story, players can also learn hints and clues on how to beat the game and other hidden secrets. “Very few games have created a worldwide phenomenon like Pokémon,” said Rich. “What makes this concept different from other o 1 licensed game novels is that, as someone reads the story, they'll discover \ valuable gameplay strategies and secrets that will actually help them beat \ the game. This novel will appeal to Pokémon fans of all ages.” as The Pokémon novelization is the second in the Pathways to Adventure series from Sybex, which takes video games and transforms them into written form. Roger Stewart, associate publisher at Sybex, commented that “while this retelling of Pokémon in story form provides readers with the clues they need to find the best pathways through the game, as well as catch, train, and fight Pokémon, it can also be enjoyed completely on its own for the exciting adventure.” Pokémon: Pathways to Adventure is available now for $9.99. Stormer hay '99 kumu 2 WHAT'S HOT @ Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - PS-X © WWF War Zone - N64, PS-X @ Gran Turismo - PS-X @ GoldenEye 007 - N64 @ Guardian’s Crusade - PS-X © WCW/NWO Revenge - N64 Tenchu: Stealth Assassins - PS-X @ The Legend of Zelda: @ Pokémon-GB @ Syphon Filter - PS-X -] @ Pokémon - GB © Legend of Legaia - PS-X @ Tenchu: Stealth Assassins - PS-X @ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64 @ Power Stone - DC © Guardian's Crusade - PS-X © Syphon Filter - PS-X © Need For Speed: High Stakes - PS-X @ Super Smash Bros. - N64 @ Final Fantasy VIII - PS-X all you do is race. @ How the old Game is Jedi? © Sega and Nintendo do exist, despite what you may think. Treasure Cove? @ Be your own boss!!! Work at home!!! @ What were you guys smoking when you reviewed (name of crapola game here)? @ Is he/she male or female??? I'm dying to know!!! Parasite Eve? @ #$*% YOU!!! 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 GI Secret “| Access T-Shirt! So get writing! © Game Informer * May '99 Ocarina of Time - N64.. 1 @ don't like racing games, because @ Do you guys know the camel in @ | think South Park is a great RPG. @ What's wrong with Madonna doing F e TECH TALK < Mucho Releaso For Game Boyo There isn’t any shortage of upcoming releases for Game Boy Color. Konami is giving kids everywhere the chance to play their favorite hell reject, Spawn, sometime in May. Featuring classic side-scrolling platform elements, Spawn should entertain until the apocalypse. Nintendo isn’t slacking either. Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest, shipping on May 10, features a 2-player game via link cable, a new easy to compre- hend fielding view, and a battery back-up that saves all season progress and statistics. R-Type DX, being released on June 28, combines R-Type 1 and 2 into one massive GBC shooter. Pokémon Pinball, also- releasing on June 28, uses the new rumble technology and stars those cute little monsters that the world just can’t stop loving. Is it any wonder that Game Boy Color is selling so well? A New Tekken and Everyone's Invited Shortly before the Tokyo Game Show, Game Informer learned from a source within Namco Japan that Namco will release a new Tekken title — currently known as Tekken 3.5 - sometime this June in Japanese arcades and this fall for PlayStation. The arcade game will use the System 15 board, which should make it relatively easy to port over to the PlayStation. The new Tekken will k A contain all of the characters from Tekken 2 that aren’t already in Tekken 3 (see = b list below), and hopefully some new fighters as well. N á e Alex & Roger e P. Jack e Kazuya | e Baek e Bruce e Gan Ryu 9 e Kimnitsu e Jack-2 e Devil & Angel i e Michelle e Lee e Armor King e° Wang e Jun Ehi _ Looking at all the baseball titles coming out, it almost appears as if it’s a popular spectator sport. Nintendo hopes to further that illusion by releasing Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest for the Nintendo 64 on May 10. Up to four players can hit for any of the 30 Major League me Baseball teams in all 30 MLB stadiums, playing a standard team ia member or creating their own Major-Leaguer. Other features include improved animation, Expansion Pak compatibility, commentary by Dave Niehaus, and, you guessed it, an endorsement by Ken Griffey Jr. Game Informer’s 7 7 isa i E oe, y a w IN NASHUN + COMIC WA . TOP TEN + TRIVIA + NAME THAT GAME! + WHATS HOT + TECH TALK > Namco has announced its first Dreamcast title. In a move that still seems amazing, Soul Calibur, the hot arcade fighter, will head to the Dreamcast later this year. In Soul Calibur, players take on the roles of different characters trying to locate the Soul Edge, a mys- terious weapon said to have limitless powers. But the weapon cor- rupts anyone who touches it, attempting to take the soul of the owner. This is a pretty big title for Sega to get. Is the Dreamcast going to be the fighting game nut’s system? It’s starting to look that way. Here are some pictures of the DC version of Soul Calibur. Smithsonian Institution The Force.net htto://www.theforce.net/ Star Wars interviews, surveys, technical commentary, humor, trivia, collecting, fan fiction, and the best prequel news around. If you can’t find it on this site, then it must be from Rockstar In The House It’s controversial, it’s edgy, and it isn’t afraid to rock. Rockstar is the HEA name of Take-Two Interactive’s new subsidiary that wants to shake, rat- ' What is the trademarked name of the tle, and roll your world. How hard do they plan to rock? One of the many titles PlayStation 2's CPU? ee planned for the year 2000 is Kiss: Psycho Circus for PlayStation and @ What city is considering the incorporation Game Boy Color. Just about everything on this game is shrouded in mys- of Game Boys into its mass transit tery, but it will most likely not feature Kiss working on their retirement stock system? portfolios and HMO structures. j Ilh If that weren't rocking enough, another new millenium title will be ° R brer yr TARSA sa Thrasher: Skate and Destroy for PlayStation and Nintendo 64. j Rockstar is getting a big assist on this game from Thrasher magazine © Hs eph Cia ben p dst in and claims that this will be the first “real” street skateboarding game utilize rnad ip ad rather than available. What the heck that means is anybody's guess. a joystick? Other upcoming Rockstar titles include Earthworm Jim 3D for PS-X and N64, Wild Metal Country and Max Payne for Dreamcast, and a new Duke Nukem game for an as yet unnamed system. Rock on! [Answers on the bottom of page 32] Tony Hawk Teams With Activision Tony Hawk, the man regarded as the undisputed king of the field, is teaming up with Activision and developer Neversoft Entertainment to create Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the PlayStation. “| have always wanted to help create a video game that represented the reality and excitement of professional skateboarding,” said Hawk. “Activision has given me the opportunity to make this dream a reality. With their track record, | know this will be a groundbreaking venture.” Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater will have feature upon feature. A trick and combo system will allow players to perform hundreds of moves and stunts in real-world tracks, secret areas, and environments ranging from malls and freeways to elementary schools and congested downtown areas. A Career mode will allow gamers to play the life of a skater, beginning as an unknown street skater and working his or her way up the ranks to become a multi-sponsored superstar. Split-screen two-player will have skaters competing on ramps and skateparks, racing on tracks, or playing a brutal game of tag. In 1994 Capcom faithfully ported the first of this popular PC trilogy to the SNES. In this Advanced Dungeons £ Dragons based RPG, you formed a party of four and ventured into the sewers under Waterdeep, but soon found yourself on another world. Your goal was to kill Xanathar, an eleven- eyed tyrant that was just too evil to live. What game is it? [Answer on the bottom of page 32] Game Informer * May 99 © — ax cle, r that the mar cam- Data File: rket for the Dreamcast’ "ç S” launch is full steam ahead. Sega of America’s most recent addition to staff is Peter Moore, formerly of Reebok, as senior vice president of marketing. Moore, who has 16 years experience in the marketing biz, will oversee Sega’s impending $100 million advertising blitz. Sega is promising that its campaign will be something which the video game industry has never seen the likes of. » GT Interactive’s new CEO, Ron Chalmowltz, has decided to move the company headquarters from Manhatten to Los Angeles. The reloca- tion will most likely happen after this year’s E3 in mid-May. » GT Interactive’s Driver is slated to release for PlayStation on July 8. » GT Interactive and IMS Properties announced that the two companies have entered into a long-term global publishing agreement for the Indlanapolls 500 and its sanctioning body, the Pep Boys Indy Racing League. Under the terms of the multi- year global agreement, GT Interactive obtains exclusive interactive software rights to the Indy 500, Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Indy Racing League teams and drivers, for all PC and console platforms. » Electronic Arts has secured the rights to the Formula One license. Planning to develop games for the PC and all consoles, EA is doing what it does best. » THQ announced it will publish a new pool simulation called Ultimate 8 Ball. Expect it on the PlayStation and PC in June. » Nintendo has drawn up plans for the London Underground Jubilee line that incorporate Game Boys affixed to the vertical handrails. Passengers, who are frequently mashed together, would need only enough space to use their thumbs to play. > Electronic Arts announced that Madden NFL 99 was the number one selling PlayStation sports video game for 1998 in North America. Selling 1,128,366 units (according to TRSTS data), Madden NFL 99 outsold its closest sports competitor (NFL GameDay ‘99) by over 160,000. » Last month, we reported on three great Dreamcast titles that Visual Concepts was cooking up for the U.S. launch. Unfortunately, a certain lackadaisical reporter didn’t spell VC’s action/mystery title correctly. It’s Flolgan Bros. Soory abowt tht. © Game Informer * May '99 SouthPeak interactive announced it will make a game based on this summer’s upcoming movie, Wild, Wild West, for the PlayStation and PC. The game is based on two government agents, James T. West and Artemus Gordon, who are great at charming the ladies and utilizing many different disguises. The film, based on the 60’s TV show that starred Robert “Black Sheep” Conrad, is essentially James Bond in western duds. The new film stars Will Smith and Kevin Kline. “Developing these games based on Wild, Wild West is a tremendous honor and responsibility for SouthPeak Interactive,” said Armistead Sapp, president of SouthPeak. “Warner Bros. has placed a lot of faith in us to deliver a game that’s as exciting and entertaining as Wild, Wild West — The Movie will be, and we intend to deliver.” So, watch the movie on July 2, and prepare to rumble through the Wild, Wild West video game this holiday season. It's not every day you get to sit down to dinner with Sega of America’s COO and president, Bernle Stolar. When you get that opportunity, you first try and get him to pay for your meal, and then you pick his brain about the state of the Dreamcast in America. We had this very opportunity during the Game _ Developer’s Conference in San Jose, California last March. — After a couple of crab cakes, GI finally got around to discussing Sega's new console with Mr. Stolar. We started out by asking him if he was worried that America's biggest third-party software publisher, Electronic Arts, had not yet committed to the x ‘Dreamcast. According to Stolar, that support will come eventually because he totally expects the Dreamcast to sell enough units so that EA's stock holders will demand it support the console. Nintendo has Mario and Genesis had Sonic. What game would best help boost Dreamcast sales? According to Stolar, Shen Mue is that title. Sega refuses to classify the game into any one genre and, to its credit, Shen Mue does seem to have a little bit of everything. Role-playing, fighting, adventure, and action are some of the elements to Shen Mue. Plus, the game will come in 16 different installments. To finish the story, consumers will have to buy all 16 discs. It sounds like an interesting concept, but during our visit to the Tokyo Game Show last March, we came away with sense that there will be better games for the Dreamcast. Before dessert arrived, we got into the Dreamcast’s inevitable clash with PlayStation 2. In Gl's opinion, it seems most of the gaming press is a little more excited about the PlayStation 2. We asked Stolar what he would do to try and change this perception, and he said he was not concerned with what the gaming press thought, and was only interested in what consumers thought about the Dreamcast. That statement has some merit, however, the gaming press is also made up of consumers and they probably play video games more often than most people. And while the gaming press knows that its readers have their own opinions, we believe they also listen to our opinions, otherwise they wouldn't support the dozens of gaming magazines out there. The day after our dinner, Stolar gave a speech at the Game Developer's s Conference and dlecussed more Dreamcast topics. “At launch,” said Stolar, “look for Mortal Kombat 5 and Ready to Rumble from Midway, Castlevania from Konami, PowerStone from Capcom and Soul Calibur from Namco.” When asked if Dreamcast has DVD in it’s future, Stolar replied, “Absolutely. When DVD reaches a comfortable price point for consumers and developers. That’s when we will add DVD to Dreamcast.” Also, Bernie announced the modem for Dreamcast would be of the 56K variety, rather than the older 33.6K. Certainly, there are reasons to wonder about the future success of Dreamcast in America, but it is far too early to write it off, even with the release of PlayStation 2 looming in the not-so distant future. ~ Shen Mue “Pass the Maalox ence.” KONAMI. EVERYONE CONTENT RATED BY ESRB size of your skill, with Fisherman’s now on PlayStation® Two player lets you feel the bass biting Software Association. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos i Co., Ltd. ©1999 Konami of America, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation Fisherman's Bait is a trademark of are registered trademarks of Sony Erat œ Ln ~~ š A WHAT'S HOT + TECH TALK + MUTATION NASHUN + COMIC WATCH + TOP TEN + TRIVIA - NAME THAT GAME! + WHAT'S HOT + TECH TALK +» MUTA dan z s rg — il THE BAD, anges : Ç pe _ A aT ao | - Black Ops Entertainment, famous for Here are some pictures of the Final aw ` ss 7 Z Y. W Treasures of the Deep, is hard at work on a Fantasy VIII toys from Bandal. There will be < # ¥ @ Jurassic Park-licensed fighting game. Game six Final Fantasy figures, with an emphasis ; 19 7 R “Informer has learned that the game is under on articulation. Bandai again holds the Y pe M < the direction of DreamWorks and Electronic rights to the FFVIII fantastic plastic. Here ~~ jp Arts. Jurassic Fighter (working title) is i i scheduled to release for the PlayStation (and they are. Watch for them in the agen this a maybe Nintendo 64) this fall - Just when you thought all the good | motor oil games had come and gone, | Electronic Arts announces Castrol-Honda Ñ Superbike Racing. Developed by Intense @ Interactive, the sludge-inspired racer will be | appearing in late spring for PlayStation. - ASC Games has unfortunately informed us that the futuristic PlayStation racer Jeff Gordon XS Racing has been 8 delayed all the way back to fall of this year. It was originally scheduled to release on N _ Mi ZÑ PlayStation this month, but ASC will take the k (an ' : €< 4 @ extra time to hopefully make the title even 7 a” lam L - L | 4 better. However, it is not a completely sad day, as ASC also stated that the PC version will make its way to stores in the coming weeks. Keep a lookout for more informa- tion on this hot racing title. =F (saa See wl ii E - N sP x i ie) E x V _ A w- a TER K P ia N J ke < die Œ. R. Mi, ~ oy 7 E | - On the most recent issue of the | ed. But you cant a Edan Drairip MN REAL | PlayStation Underground CD-magazine, Video Game Trivia Answers: | get what you want, and even worse, == = °? W Game Informer editors Andy, Paul, and Reiner 1. WCW Mayhem. | sometimes you can't get your Game Customer service hours | appear in several spots during the Spyro party 2. Emotion Engine. rS. If you are having subscription Monday through Friday, 88 segment. Shown running rampant in casinos, 3. London. woes or your dog ate your favorite issue, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (Central Time | as well as enjoying other entertaining misad- 4, False. | contact our customer service department (612) 946-7266 E ventures in Las Vegas, the GI editors had a 5. Thayer's Quest. | at the ght or, for even Outside Minnesota make sure to dil | Isi Take a glance at the G/ sighting in the | quicker service, give us a call area code (this is a toll call) | latest PlayStation Underground, and look to Name That Game Answer: | Or email ug < www.playstation.com for more information on Eye Of The Beholder | customerservice@aameintormercomn 1 how to receive PlayStation Underground. © Game Informer * May '99 BL = Bottom Line aS THE OCARINA OF REVIEWS TLE BATE THE BATE THE SB DAE ME — B. DATE TE — BL DAE G Darius 8.25 Sep-98 Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge 75 Feb-97 VR Baseball ‘97 7.75 May-97 Snowboard Kids 6.75 Apr-98 PLAYSTATI o N GFoice 7.25 Nov-97 OverBlood 7.25 Jun-97 VR Baseball ‘99 7 Jul98 South Park 7 Jan-99 A Bug's Life Jan-99 Gex: Enter the Gecko 9.25 Mar-98 Pandemonium 6 Dec-97 VH Powerboat Racing 6 Apr-98 Space Station: Silicon Valley 6.5 Dec-98 Ace Combat ll iy Sep-97 Ghost in the Shell 8 Oct97 PaRappa The Rapper 8.25 Oct-97 Vs. 6.25 Dec-97 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 8.75 Feb-99 Activision Classics 5 Oct-98 Goal Storm ‘97 8.75 May-97 Parasite Eve 7.75 Sep-98 Nar Gods 6.25 Feb-97 Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire 9.25 Jan-97 Adidas Power Soccer ‘98 2 Sep-98 Golden Nugget 8 Oct-97 Perfect Weapon 7.25 Feb-97 Wargames Defcon 1 7.25 Sep-98 Starfox 64 9 Jun-97 “Adventures of Lomax, The" 7 Jan-97 Gran Turismo 9.5 Jun-98 Persona 8.5 Mar-97 Warhammer: Shadow of the Horned Rat 7.75 Jan-97 Super Mario 64 9.75 Aug-96 Akuji the Heartless 6.75 Mar-99 Grand Slam Baseball 45 Jun-97 Pitfall 3D: Bynd. Jngl. 8 May-98 Warhammerll: Dark Omen 7.75 Jun-98 Super Smash Brothers 8.5 Apr-99 All-Star Baseball ‘97 w/ Frank Thomas 5.5 Jul-97 Grand Theft Auto 7.75 Sep-98 Pocket Fighter 7.75 Sep-98 WCW Nitro 6.75 Feb-98 — Tetrisphere 75 Sep-97 Alundra 8.5 Jan-98 Grand Tour Racing 7.75 Nov-97 Point Blank 8.5 Feb-98 WCW vs. The World 8 May-97 Top Gear Overdrive 7.25 Jan-99 Apocalypse 75 Jan-99 Granstream Saga 6.5 Jul-98 Point Blank 2 8 Apr-99 | WCW/NWO Thunder 4.75 Feb-99 Top Gear Rally 8 Dec-97 Arcade's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 6.5 Dec-97 Guardian's Crusade 8 Apr99 “` Pool Hustler 7.25 Dec-98 Wheel of Fortune ~ 7 Jan-99 Triple Play 2000 Apr 99 ` “Armored Core 8.28 Novy Guilty Gear 8.25 Dec36 “Porsche Challange — — 25 Aug? Widg — “6.25 Dec-98 Turok 2: Seeds of Evil” 9 Jan-99 Armored Core: Project Phantasma 8.75 Nov-98 Hardball 99 2 Jan-99 Powerslave 8.25 May-97 Wild Arms 8.75 Jun-97 Turok: Dinosaur Hunter 95 Mar-97 Assault 7.25 Dec-98 Heart of Darkness 8.25 Aug-98 Poy Poy 7 Jul-97 Wing Commander IV 7.75 Apr-97 Twisted Edge 3.25 Nov-98 Assault Rigs 8 Feb-99 Hercules 6.75 Sep-97 Pro 18 World Golf 1 Feb-99 WWF War Zone 9.5 Oct-98 Vigilante 8 85 Apr-99 Asteroids 7 Jan99 Hot Shots Golf 9 Apr98 Project X2 7 Feb-97 X-Games: Pro Boarder 6.5 Dec-98 Virtual Chess 3 Oct-98 Atari Collection 1 - Arcades Greatest Hits 8 Feb-97 IQ. 7.5 Sep-97 Psybadek 3.75 Feb-99 X-Men Vs. Street Fighter 75 Jul-98 VR Pool 64 7.75 Dec-98 Atari Collection Vol. 2 7.5 Jun-98 Independence Day 6 Apr-97 Psychic Force 6.75 Feb-97 X-Men: Children of the Atom 45 Mar-98 Waialae Country Club 3.5 Sep-98 Auto Destruct 7 Feb-98 International Superstar Soccer ‘98 8.5 Aug-98 Punky Skunk 7 Jun-98 Xenogears 9 Nov-98 War Gods 6.75 Jul-97 Azure Dreams 8 Jul-98 Invasion From Beyond 6.75 Apr-99 Rage Racer: Ridge Racer Revolution 8.25 Feb-97 Xevious 3D/G+ 5.5 Aug-97 WaveRace 64 9 Nov-96 __BackStreet Billards 7.5 Dec-98 J. Johnson's VR Ftbl. 98 ` 6.75 Nov-97 _ Rally Cross 9 Apr-97 WCW/NWO Revenge 8.75 Nov-98 ` Bail Biazer Champions — 625 dun-97 Jeopardy — B Jjan99 Rally Cross 28 Jan ee ee 77 eee eee WEWINWO World Tour 85 Dec-97 Batman and Robin 5 Jun-98 “Jersey Devil 6 Jul-98 Rampage World Tour 6.25 Nov-97 N T N TE N D o 6 Wetrix 825 Jul-98 Battle Arena Toshinden 3 7 Jun-97 JetMoto 2 85 Dec-97 Rascal 6 May-98 1080 Snowboarding 9.25 Apr-98 Wheel Of Fortune 8 Feb-98 Battle Arena Toshinden 3 (Japan Import) 6.75 Mar-97 Jimmy Johnson Football 6.25 Feb-97 Hay Tracers 7.5 Feb-98 — Aerofighters Assault 6 Mar-98 WipeOut 64 75 Dec-98 BattleSport 3 Sep-97 Judge Dredd 8.25 May-98 RayStorm 7.75 Aug-97 AeroGauge 5 Feb-98 World Cup 98 8 Jun-98 Battlestations 6.75 Apr-97 K-1 Revenge 6.5 Apr-99 Re-Loaded 6.5 Feb-97 All-Star Baseball 99 8.5 Jul-98 WWF War Zone 8.75 Oct-98 Big Bass World Champ. 7.25 Apr-97 K-1 The Arena Fighters 6.75 Feb-97 HE2: Dual Shock 8.5 Oct-98 Automobili Lamborghini 5.75 Jan-98 Yoshi's Story 8.5 Feb-98 Bio FREAKS 3.5 Jul-98 Kagero: Deception II 7 Nov-98 RE: Director's Cut - Dual Shock 7 Oct-98 Banjo Kazooie 9.25 Jun-98 Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 9.75 Dec-98 Blast Radius 7 Mar-99 Kana: The World of Fate 8.5 Aug-98 Hebel Assault 2 6. is Feb-97 BattleTanx 6.75 Feb-99 Blasto “mii 8.25 May-98 Killing Zone 5.25 Jan-97 ReBoot Apr-98 Beetle Adventure Racing 8 Apr-99 PERINI es cee Sp cece soe ea ses Bloody Roar i 85 Apr98 Konoa B Apr96 Red Asphalt OTT 75 Dec; Bio FREAKS — 45 jí C Bomberman Fantasy Race 7.25 Mar-99 Knockout Kings 6 Jan-99 Heel Fishing 7 Apr-98 Blast Corps 8 May-97 G A ME B O Y Bomberman World 65 Oct98 Kula World 75 Sep-98 Resident Evil 2 95 Jan-98 Body Harvest 7.75 Nov-98 A Bug's Life 5.75 Dec-98 Bottom of the 9th 99 8 Aug-98 League of Pain 5.75 May-97 Risk 7 Jun-98 Bomberman 64 7.25 Dec-97 All-Star Baseball ‘99 7 Oct-98 Brahma Force 7.5 May-97 Legend of Legaia 8.25 Apr-99 Rival Schools: United by Fate 7.75 Nov-98 Buch Bumble 8 Oct-98 Animaniacs 7.25 Jul-95 Brave Fencer Mushashi 7.75 Dec-98 Lemmings & Oh No! 7 Oct-98 Riven 8.5 Feb-98 Busi A Move 2 8 Aug-98 /Asteroids/Missile Command 7.25 Aug-95 Bravo Air Race 5 Sep-97 Life 5 Jan-99 Hoad Rash 3D 7.75 Aug-98 Bust-A-Move '99 9 Apr-99 Battle Arena Toshinden 8 Jan-97 Breath of Fire {ll 8 May-98 “Lost World, The” 5.5 Sep-97 — Robotron X 7.75 Jan-97 California Speed 2.25 Apr-99 Carrot Crazy 3.5 Apr-99 Brigandine 7 Dec-98 Machine Hunter 7.25 Aug-97 Rogue Trip 9 Oct-98 Castlevania 64 6.5 Mar-99 — Centipede/Millipede 7.75 Aug-95 Broken Helix 7.75 Jul-97 Macross Di al Missons VF-X ` 5.75 May-97 _ Rollcage + r-99 Chameleon Twist 7 Apr98 Datfy Duck: The Marvin Missions 6 Jan-95 Broken Sword 7.25 Feb-38 Madden NFLOB — 85 Oct-97 RoscoMcQueen TTTS p-98 — Chopper Attack 5.25 dun-98 Donkey Kong 8 Sep-94 Brunswick Circuit 7.25 Nov-98 Madden NFL Š 9.25 Oct-98 Rugrats ; Jan-99 Clayfighter 63 1/3 6.5 Oct-97 Donkey Kong Land 75 Jul-95 Bubsy 3D 6.25 Feb-97 Magic: The Gathering 6.5 Nov-97 Running Wild 6 Nov-98 College Hoops 99 5 Feb-99 Donkey Kong Land 2 85 Dec-96 Bug Riders 6.75 Dec-97 March Maddness 98 7.75 Apr-98 Rushdown 5 Apr-99 Cruis'n the World 65 Nov-98 Dr. Franken Il 6 Apr-98 Bushido Blade 8.5 Oct-97 Marvel Super Heroes vs. X-Men 8 Jan-99 SaGa Frontier 7.25 May-98 Crusin' USA 7.75 Jan-97 FIFA Soccer 1997 75 Nov-96 Bushido Blade 2 7.5 Nov-98 Masters of Monsters 3.5 Sep-98 San Fran Rush:X Racing 6.75 Jun-98 Dark Rift 6.5 Jun-97 FIFA Soccer 97 75 Nov-96 Bust A Groove 6.5 Jan-99 Mech Warrior II 8.5 Apr-97 SCARS 8 Nov-98 Deadly Arts 3 Sep-98 Frank Thomas Big Hurt Baseball 6.5 Feb-96 Bust-A-Move ‘99 8 Apr-99 MediEvil 8.75 Nov-98 Sentient 6.75 Apr-97 Diddy Kong Racing 85 Dec-97 Galaga/Galaxian 6.75 Aug-95 Bust-A-Move 4 9 Dec-98 MegaMan 8 7 Feb-97 Shadow a 6 Apr-99 Doom 64 85 Jun-97 Game & Watch Gallery 5.5 Jul-97 C: The Contra Adventure — — 6 Sep-98 Mega Man Legends ` 8.5 Sep-98 Apr-98 _ Duke Nukem 64 ` 7.75 Jan-98 GBCamea T Sp 98 “Cardinal Syn — 7 dun-98 — Metal Gear Solid — — — 925 Nov-98 i ‘5 Feb98 ExtremeG —""BS Oct-97 Gex: Enter the Gecko 8 Mar-99 Carnage Heart 8.5 Mar-97 Micro Machines 8 Feb-98 Sien Hill 7.25 Apr-99 Extreme G 2 8.25 Dec-98 GriffeyJr. Pres. MLB 8.75 Dec-97 CART World Series 8.75 Dec-97 MK Mythologies: Sub Zero 6.5 Nov-97 — SkullMonkeys 8.75 Mar-98 F-Zero X 8 Sep-98 Harvest Moon 75 Oct-98 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 9.5 Oct-97 MLB ‘99 8.75 May-98 Small Soldiers 7.25 Dec-98 F1 Pole Position 64 7 Nov-97 Hexcite 85 Jan-99 Chronicles of the Sword 2 Mar-97 MLB 98 B Sep-97 Soul Blade 9 Mar-97 F1 World Gran Prix 7.5 Sep-98 James Bond 007 85 Apr-98 “City of Lost Children, The" 55 Apr97 MLBPA Bottom of the 9th 97 8.25 Oct-97 Spawn: The Eternal 4.75 Jan-98 FIFA64 8.75 May-97 Jimmy Connors Tennis 6.75 May-94 Civilization lI 7.75 Mar-99 Monkey Hero 5.5 Feb-99 Speed Racer 6.75 Jun-98 FEA 98 8 Feb-98 Joust/Defender 6 Dec-95 Clock Tower 7 Dec-97 Monster Rancher 9 Feb-98 Spice World 3 Oct-98 FEA 99 8.25 Jan-99 Kiler Instinct 7.25 Jan-96 Clock Tower 2 6 Feb-99 Mortal Kombat 4 7.75 Aug-98 Spider 5.5 Mar-97 Fighter's Destiny 8 Feb-98 Kirby's Block Ball 8.25 Jul-96 Codename: Tenka = «8.25 Mar-97 Moto Racer 8 Nov-97 Spyro the Dragon 95 Sep-98 Forsaken 64 ` 8 Aug-98 Kirby's Dreamland2 B Jun95 ` “Solay Wats —— Wk sasa EE A. We Lo “Fig 58 Colony Wars: Vengeance 8. 5 Nov-98 MotorHead 6.25 Nov-98 Starwinder 7 Feb-97 GoldenEye 007 8.5 Sep-97 Madden NFL 97 7.25 Nov-96 Command and Conquer 9 Mar-97 N20: Nitrous Oxide 8.25 Jul-98 Steel Harbringers 6.25 Feb-97 Gretzky 3D Hockey 98 7.75 Jan-98 Mario's Picross 7.25 Jun-95 Contender 6.75 Feb-99 Nagano Winter Olyp. 5 Feb-98 Steel Reign 7.75 Nov-97 Hexen 64 7.25 Jul-97 Mega Man V 6 Nov-94 Cool Boarders 3 7.75 Nov-98 Namco Museum Vol. 3 7.25 Feb-97 Streak 8.25 Dec-98 Iggy's Reckin’ Balls 8.75 Sep-98 Men In Black: The Series 4.75 Mar-99 Coolboarders 8.25 Jan-97 Namco Museum Vol. 4 7.5 Jul-97 Street Fighter Col. 8 Oct-98 International Superstar Soccer ‘98 9 Aug-98 Mortal Kombat 4 5 Apr-99 CoolBoarders 2 9 Nov97 Namco Museum Vol. 5 7.25 Jan-98 Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha 8.5 Oct-97 Intemational Superstar Soccer 64 9 Jul-97 Mulan 4.75 Dec-98 Courier Crisis 4.5 Dec-97 Nanotek Warrior 8 Feb-97 Street Ftr. 2 Collection Feb-99 Jeopardy! 6 May-98 NFL Blitz 6 Apr-99 Crash Bandicoot 2 9 Nov-97 NASCAR 98 8.5 Nov-97 Street Sk8er Apr-99 Killer Instinct Gold 85 Jan-97 NHL ‘95 7 Jul-95 __Crash Bandicoot: Warped _ 9.25 Dec-98 NASCAR 99 8.25 Nov-98 Super Puzzle Fighter l| Feb-97 Knife Edge 3 Nov-98 “NHL Blades of Steel 99 = 7.5 Apr-99 ` -aima Kles ck ni RT a en «mL a TE an Tep e CNR HT Critical Depth 8.75 Dec-97 NBA HangTime 7.5 Aug-97 Syphon Filter Mar-99 Lucky Luke 6.5 Nov-98 “Original Blues Brothers Game, The” 5 Nov-94 Croc: Legend. of the Gobbos 8 Oct-97 NBA Jn the Zone 2 8.25 Jan-97 T'aiFu 6.5 Apr-99 Mace: The Dark Age 9 Dec-97 PGA European Tour 7.25 Jul-95 Crusader: No Remorse 7.75 Mar-97 NBA In The Zone 98 8 Feb-98 Tactics Ogre 8 Apr-98 Madden 64 9 Oct-97 Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle 6.5 Mar-99 Crypt Killer 7 Mar-97 NBA Jam Extreme 75 Jan-97 Tall of the Sun 7.25 Jun-97 Madden NFL 99 8.75 Oct-98 Pokemon 9 Oct-98 Dare Devil Derby 3D 7.25 Feb-97 NBA Live 98 8.25 Dec-97 Tales of Destiny 6.75 Oct-98 Magical Tetris Challange 8 Jan-99 Primal Rage 7 Aug-95 Dark Forces 8.75 Feb-97 NBA Live 99 7.75 Jan-99 Team Losi RC Racer 7 Oct-98 Major League Baseball f. Ken Griffey Jr. 7.5 Jun-98 Quest for Camelot 5 Mar-99 Darklight Conflict 7 Sep-97 NBA ShootOut ‘97 8.75 Apr-97 Tekken 3 9.5 May-98 Mario Kart 64 9.25 Feb-97 Rampage: World Tour 6.5 Apr-99 Darkstalkers III 7 Jan-99 NBA ShootOut 98 8.75 Apr-98 Ten Pin Alley 8.5 Jan-99 Mario Party 3.5 Mar-99 Rugrats Movie 25 Feb-99 Dead i ur 99 55 Mar-99 Ten Pin Alley ` 85 Jan-97 `“ Mike Piazza's Strikezone _ i Beads ee wa a we ech P PRE err Deathtrap Dungeon 6.5 Jun-98 NCAA Football 98 8.5 Sep-97 Tennis Arena 75 Feb-98 Mission: Impossible 8 Jul-98 Smurfs Nightmare 65 Jan-99 Descent Maximum 85 Apr97 NCAA Gamebreaker 98 9 Jan98 Test Drive 5 8.25 Jan-99 Mortal Kombat 4 8.5 Jul-98 Sor Kids: The Ultimate Triple Dare 7 May-94 Destrega 8.25 Mar-99 | NCAA GameBreaker 99 8 Jan-99 Test Drive Off Road 2 6.5 Jan-99 Mult-Racing Champ. 8.25 Sep-97 Super Black Bass 8 Jan-99 Devil Dice 8.25 Sep-98 | NCAA March Madness 99 5.75 Mar-99 Test Drive: Off Road 5.25 May-97 Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon 8 Mar-98 Super Breakout/Battlezone 8.25 Oct-96 Diablo 8.25 Apr-98 Need For Speed II 8.5 Jun-97 Theme Hospital 8 Jun-98 Nagano Olympics 98 5.5 Mar-98 Tamagotchi 7 Apr-98 Die Hard Trilogy 8.5 Feb-97 Need For Speed III 7.75 May-98 Thunder Force V 6.5 Sep-98 NASCAR 99 7.25 Oct-98 Taz-Mania 7 Sep-94 Discworld Il: Mortality Bytes! 7 Sep-97 Need For Speed:VRally 7.5 Dec-97 Thunder Truck Rally 7.75 May-97 NBA Hangtime 8.25 Feb-97 Tetris Attack 8.5 Oct-96 Dragonseeds 5.25 Dec-98 | Newman/Hass Racing 7.75 Apr-98 Tiger Woods 99 2 Jan-99 NBA lIn The Zone ‘98 4.75 Apr-98 Tetris Blast 8.75 Mar-96 Duke Nukem: Time To Kill ' 85 Nov-98 “NFL Blitz 8 Oct-98 _TigerShark 8 Apr97 NBA Jam 99 7 Feb-99 TetisOX — — _ 8.5 Dec98 ` “Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown” — 75 Jan-98 — NFL GameDay 7 32 Feb-7 Time Css — — U 825 Oct-97 NBALive 9 "7.25 Dec-98 — The Fidgetts 75 Apr-96 Dynasty Warriors 9 May-97 NFL GameDay ‘99 7 Oct-98 — Timeshock! Pinball 7.25 Nov-98 NFL Blitz 9 Oct-98 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 9.25 Mar-99 Eggs of Steel 25 Jan-99 NFL GameDay 98 8.75 Oct-97 Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal 55 Jan-99 NFL QB Club ‘98 5 Dec-97 Twouble 65 Apr-99 Einhander 8 May-98 NFL XTreme 6.5 Aug-98 Tiny Toon Adventures 6.75 Mar-99 NFL QB Club 99 8.25 Dec-98 Vegas Stakes 8.25 Oct-97 Elemental Gearbolt 8.25 Aug-98 NHL 98 9 Nov-97 Tomb Raider Il 9.25 Dec-97 NHL99 8.25 Nov-98 Wacky Sports Challenge 6.25 Jan-95 Excal. 2555 AD 6.25 Sep-97 NHL99 9 Nov-98 Tomp Raider III 9 Jan-99 NHL Blades of Steel ‘99 6 Apr-99 Wario Land II 8.75 Apr-98 Felony 11-79 8.25 Sep-97 NHL Breakaway 98 7.75 Nov-97 Tomba! 8.25 Jul-98 NHL Breakaway ‘98 8.25 Mar-98 World Cup 98 3 Oct-98 FIFA 99 7 Jan-99 NHL FaceOff ‘98 8.25 Nov-97 Treasures of the Deep 9 Sep-97 NHL Breakaway 99 6 Feb-99 World Heroes 2 Jet 7.75 May-95 FIFA Soccer 97 8.5 Jan-97 NHL FaceOff 99 7.75 Nov-98 Triple Play 98 9 Jun-97 Nightmare Creatures 8 Jan-99 FIFA: World Cup 98 — — — — 8.75 Feb-98 NHL Powerplay 98 8 Sep-97 _ Triple Play 99 85 Apr98 _ Off Road Challange 6 U U U U UU uuu Z= E ati, “Fifth Element 7 Dec-98 Nightmare Creatures — — 875 Nov? Tumel Bi TUTT 45 Feb-97 Olympic Hockey 98 — — — — 4 Fe Fighting Force 65 Dec-97 Ninja 25 Oct-98 Turbo Prop Racing 8.5 Aug-98 Penny Racers 5.75 Feb-99 Final Fantasy Tactics 8.75 Feb-98 No One Can Stop Mr. Domino 7.75 Jan-99 Twisted Metal Ill 8.25 Jan-99 ÉPlilotWings 64 9.5 Aug-96 Final Fantasy VII 9.75 Sep-97 Norse By Norsewest 5 May-97 “Unholy War, The” 7.25 Nov-98 Quake 64 75 Mar-98 Formula 1 8 Nov-97 Nuclear Strike 9 Nov-97 Uprising X 4.75 Feb-99 Quest 64 6.5 Jul-98 Forsaken 8 Aug-98 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 9.25 Dec-98 Vandal Hearts 8 Mar-97 Rampage 2: Universal Tour 5 Apr-99 Fox Sports Golf ‘99 45 Aug-98 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 9.25 Aug-97 Vigilante 8 7.5 Jul-98 Robotron 64 5.5 Feb-98 Fox Sports Soccer ‘99 7.25 Aug-98 ODT 5 Nov-98 Virtual Pool 8.25 Jan-97 Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA 8.75 Dec-98 Freestyle Boardin’ ‘99 6 Mar-99 Ogre Battle Lmtd. Ed. 65 Aug-97 VMX Racing 6 Nov-97 San Francisco Rush Extreme Racing 8.75 Nov-97 Future 8.5 Nov-98 One 85 Jan-98 VMX Racing = l 6 Mar-97 SCARS oo 7.75 Dec-98 === (Please print clearly) Name Address City Phone ( ) Payment Method: (J Visa Card # Cardholder Signature Name Address City Bill To: Name Address City Phone ( ) Visa L) Payment Method: Card # Cardholder Signature New kaad AE? $. n Check or money order enclosed. (ALL INTERNATIONAL & CANADIAN ORDERS MUST BE PRE-PAID,’ K IN U.S. FUNDS, with $20/yr. additional postage.) Discover Card MasterCard (For faster service with credit card - call 612/946-7266) Or subscribe online at http:/www.gameinformer.com Please allow 8 - 10 weeks for 1st mailed issue. GIFT SUBSCRIPTION! Please send one year of Game Informer Magazine to: State__ [ ] Check or money order enclosed. (ALL INTERNATIONAL & CANADIAN ORDERS MUST BE PRE-PAID, IN U.S. FUNDS, with $20/yr. additional postage.) MasterCard Discover Card (For faster service with credit card - call 612/946-7266) Or subscribe online at http:/www.gameinformer.com Please allow 8 - 10 weeks for 1st mailed issue. ters facing left) A: Weak Punch B: Weak Kick C: Strong Punch D: Strong Kick P: Press A and C simultaneously K: Press B and D simultaneously ward) for two seconds YASHIRO NANAKASE Regert Bash: > +A Step Side Kick: > + B Upper Duel: >, +, w + P Sledgehammer: +< <= + K Missile Might Bash: +w bie £ +P Jet Counter: eie +%> + P Jet Counter Still: $£w— + P From eredua +P Final Impact: b%-», $% -> + P, hold P and release Million Bash Stream: be e, er bu- + P, tap P rapidly SHERMIE Shermie Stand: > + B Shermie Whip: +< < + P Axle Spin Kick: + € + K Shermie Spiral: w +*— + P when close Shermie Shoot: £w +*— + K (Note: All moves are shown for charac- I: Either (i.e. €/-» = either back or for- Charge: Hold in the next listed direction From: Do after move listed in command (Counter): Indicates a counter-attack <: Back >: Forward t: Up +: Down +w: Quarter Circle Forward, or $ to xto > +< €: Quarter Circle Back $y: Half Circle Forward, or € to w to bto% to- udu ©: Half Circle Back Shermie Clutch: >, +, w + K Shermie Cute: +*w— + K after a com- mand throw Shermie Flash: e +w, w$ € + P when close Shermie Carnival: ce +w, €v +w + P when close CHRIS Spinning Array: -> +A Reverse Anchor Kick: + + B Carry Off Kick: w + B Slide Touch: $w — + P Scramble Dash: b%-» + K Direction Change: >, +, % + P Hunting Air: +, +, w + K Shooting Dancer Thrust: we <= + P Shooting Dancer Step: ->w be < + K Glider Stamp: Jump, +w — + K Chain Slide Touch: 44>, d x- + P Twister Drive: +< £, $< € + K SUBSCRIBE!!! Don't get stuck with another lame game. Subscribe to GAME INFORMER MAGAZINE TODAY and receive twelve information-packed issues for only $19.98. Renewal State aet A Pene Exp. Date Zip Exp. Date RYUJI YAMAZAKI Bussashi: -> +A Hebi Tsukai (Gedan): +< <= + A, hold A to delay Hebi Tsukai (Chuudan): + < + B, hold B to delay Hebi Tsukai (Joudan): +< < + C, hold C to delay Hebi Damashi: Press D while delaying H. Tsukai Bai Gaeshi (Kyuushuu): +w— +A Bai Gaeshi (Dan Hassha): $+w— + C Sabak no Aikuchi: +, 4, w + P Yakiire: +, d. w +B Suna Kake: >, 4, w + D Sadomazo: uy + K Bakudan Pachiki: wee, > + P when close Guillotine: bw», $w — + P Drill: ++ €, * $< é + P when close 12 Issues Only 19% Take this card with you to your local arcade and show’em who knows all the moves! 12 Issues Only a LZ le BLUE MARY Hammer Arc: + +A Climbing Arrow: w + B Double Rolling: = + B M. Spider: $w —+ P Spin Fall: bw + K Vertical Arrow: >, +, w + K M. Snatcher: >, +, w + K From >, 4, x +K Straight Slicer: Charge <, + + K Crab Clutch: $w—+ K From Charge £, > +K M. Reverse Facelock: +< € + B M. Head Buster: +< & + D Backdrop Real: + wb <, + + P when close M. Splash Rose: 43-9, w$< € + P M. Dynamite Swing: +w —, +w— + K M. Typhoon: >w be £, w$< € + K ATTN: CIRCULATION MANAGER ATTN: CIRCULATION MANAGER 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Sn ad Sn. uk Sh ene fe eee eect) tees “ees, 2 Ret den ieee E ei S u Cain. dee te tet a im œ m um m m f]: mm mm mm mak m m m ee | BILLY KANE Dai Kaiten Geri: > +A Boukou Tobigeri: -> + B Senpuu Kon: Tap A rapidly Shuuten Renha Kon: Tap C rapidly Sansetsu Kon Chuudan Uchi: eebu +P Kaen Sansetsu Kon Chuudan Tsuki: +w> +P From eebu +P Sen'en Satsu Kon: >, $, w +P Kyoushuu Hishou Kon: >, +, w + K, move €/—> Karyuu Tsuigeki Kon: + <= + B Suiryuu Tsuigeki Kon: +< <= + D Chou Kaen Senpuu Kon: +wə, wie +P Dai Senpuu: +w, +w— + P IORI YAGAMI Ge Shiki Yumebiki: > + A, A Ge Shiki Gou Fu In "Shinigami": + B Ge Shiki Yuri Ori: Jump, < + B Shiki Yami Barai: $w — + P Shiki Aoi Hana: +< & + P (perform 3 times) Shiki Oniyaki: >, 4, w + P Shiki Sou Kushi: >, +, w + K Shiki Koto Tsuki In: wu & + K Kuzukaze: ->w b <=, > + P when close Kin Shiki Ya Otome: +w, >% be < +P Ura Shiki Ya Sakazuki: +< <, eeu +P MATURE A Despair: +w — + P Sacrilege: >, +, w + P Ebony Tears: bw, +w+w € + P Death Row: +w < + P (perform 3 times) Metal Massacre: +< <= + K Decider: du + K Heaven's Gate: be £, cv bu +K Nocturnal Lights: $y», +w— + P VICE Monstrosity: > +A Mayhem: +e +P Outrage: +< <= + K Ravenous: Jump, +< < + K Gore Fest: ->w be €, + + P when close Blackened: ew +> + P when close Decider: ew +w— + K Mithan's Robe: $%-» + P From erbu +P/+eec +P Negative Gain: udu e, awd € + K when close Withering Surface: $w—, +w— + P HEIDERN Critical Drive: In air, any dir. but f + C/D Shooter Narnagel: + + B Cross Cutter: Charge =, + + P Moon Slasher: Charge +, * + P Neck Rolling: Charge 4, f + K Storm Bringer: ->w b & + P when close Killing Bringer: ->w bie < + K Final Bringer: +w, bw- + P R 2! U. SPO. Y. TITS T + UOS TAKUMA SAKAZAKI Oniguruma: -> +A Kawara Wari: + + B Ko Ou Ken: +w%ə +P Mouko Burai Gan: +< +P Zanretsu Ken: >be € +P Shouran Kyaku: ->w b < + K Haou Shikou Ken: +, e bw- + P Hien Shippuu Kyaku: Charge <, + + K Ryuuko Ranbu: +w, awdwe + P Shin Kishin Geki: bw-», 4a + P when close SAISHU KUSANAGI Ge Shiki Gou Tsuchi: +A Ge Shiki Atama Tsui: + + B Shiki Yami Barai: +w— + P Shiki En Jou: +< € +P (perform 2 times) Shiki Oniyaki: >, +, w +P Shiki Nataguruma: >, +, w + K Shiki Shin Ken: wu < + K Ura Shiki Orochi Nagi: +< <, erebus +P Shiki To Bou Gai: 43, +w— + P LUCKY GLAUBER Dunk Otoshi: Jump, + +A Lucky Kick: > + B Death Bound: +w> + P Lucky Vision: bw- + K Death Dunk: +< < + P Cyclone Break: +< +K Death Heel: +, +, w + K Death Shoot: +, + + P/K Hell Bound: 4s, +w + P Pe a 5 TET Se, | c Z. s WP. HEAVY D! Rock Crush: -> + A I Rolling Soul Diver: +w — + P Ducking Combination: + & +P (per- l form 2 times) Blast Upper: +w — + K Į Soul Flower: +< < + K Dancing Beat: +, +, w + P when close i Shadow: $, 4 + P, then perform any move b D. Magnum: +4, +w— +P D. Crazy: be e, ee du +P BRIAN BATTLER Buster Tomahawk: Jump, + +A Brian Tornado: ew +w> +P Hyper Tackle: ee +w— + K Rocket Tackle: +, +, w + K Scrw Body Press: Jump, $w + P Brian Hammer: +< < + P Double Hammer: b < + P From B. Hammer DDT: +< < + P From D. Hammer Tiger Driver: “$y + P From B. Hammer Samurai Bomb: 4, + + P From Tiger Driver Shoulder Backbreaker: +, +, 4 + P From Tiger Driver Buster Bomb: +, T + P From S. Backbreaker American Supernova: +w, +w— + P Big Bang Tackle: +w—+, +w — + K All dates subject to change. Call your local retailer for more details. Release Title Publisher/ System Release Title Publisher/ System Date Distributor Date Distributor APRIL 5/15/99 Cabella’s Big Game Photo Shoot Vatical PS-X 4/10/99 Rugrats the Movie THQ GBC 5/15/99 LeMans Infogrames PS-X 4/13/99 Bust A Move 4 Acclaim GB 5/15/99 Loony Tunes Lost in Time Infogrames PS-X 4/13/99 NBA In the Zone 99 Konami GBC 5/15/99 Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft PS-X 4/13/99 Bust A Move 99 Acclaim N64 5/15/99 Vermin Eidos PS-X 4/13/99 _ Fighting Force 64 Crave N64 5/17/99 _ Star Wars Episode 1: Racer Nintendo N64 4/13/99 Bust A Move 99 Acclaim PS-X 5/18/99 _ RC Stunt Copter Midway PS-X 4/13/99 _ High Heat Baseball 2000 3DO PS-X 5/24/99 Legacy of Kain 2: Soul Reaver Eidos PS-X 4/13/99 ___ Shadow Madness Crave PS-X 5/25/99 San Francisco Rush Midway GBC 4/15/99 _ Klustar Infogrames GBC 5/25/99 WWF Attitude Acclaim GBC 4/15/99 Smurfs Nightmare Infogrames GBC 5/25/99 Quake 2 Activision N64 4/15/99 _ Top Gear Pocket w/rumble Kemco GBC 5/25/99 _ WWF Attitude Acclaim PS-X 4/15/99 _ V-Rally Infogrames GBC JUNE 4/1 i itory i 599 Charlie Blasts Territor Kemco N64 6/1/99 Centipede Hasbro PS-X EG M OE u, I = 21 3059. e Ta Hasbro PS-X 4/17 B F PS- pains arna Ar NGA /99___ Bomberman Fantasy Race aus ae 6/8/99 Gauntlet Legends Midwa N64 arona. Aopen Se H w i 4/19/99 Logical Sunseti ceg 6/8/99 Gauntlet Legends Midwa PS-X A1999 Quest Fantasy Challenge — Sunsot — GBC _ i 9/99 Quest Fantasy Challenge Sunsoft GBC 6/15/99 Asteroids Crave GBC 4/1 h | i 419/99 Chameleon Twist2 — — — Sus Net | e459 Babe reve, SB A2099 3xXtreme 889 Studios PSK 6/15/99 Dracula Returns Tommo GBC i Strast Fighter Aipha 3.. T _ Paus Mpha Š Capcom PSX 6/15/99 Duke Nukem GT Interactive GBC ce LL es ee Pq. Crave GBC OO DS P 6/15/99 _ Legend of the Sea King Natsume GBC 4/26/99 Super Smash Bros. Nintendo N64 6/15/99 Miera Machias i22 THQ GBC 1210S. SP Huntar On a 6/15/99 Motocross Maniacs 2 Konami GBC MAY 2 6/15/99 _ Paper Boy Midway GBC 5/1/99 Spiderman Crave GBC 6/15/99 _ Yoda Stories THQ GBC 5/1/99 Spy vs. Spy Kemco GBC 6/15/99 _ Zebco Fishing w/rumble Vatical GBC 5/1/99 X-Men Crave GBC 61599 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos__= N64 5/3/99 Barbie Ocean Discovery Mattel GBC 6/15/99 _ Goeman's Great Adventure Konami N64 5/4/99 G-Police 2 Psygnosis PS-X 6/15/99 GT Rally Midway N64 5/4/99 Ridge Racer 4 (R4) Namco PS-X 6/15/99 _ Hybrid Heaven Konami N64 5/5/99 Vigilante 8 w/rumble Vatical GBC 6/15/99 Rugrats Scavenger Hunt THQ N64 5/6/99 Point Blank 2 w/Gun Namco PS-X 6/15/99 _ Space Race Infogrames N64 5/6/99 Point Blank 2 w/o Gun Namco PS-X 6/15/99 _ Tonic Trouble Ubi Soft N64 5/10/99 _ Conker's Pocket Tales Nintendo GBC 6/15/99 _ World Driver Champion Midway N64 5/10/99 _ Griffey's Slugfest Nintendo GBC 6/15/99 Ar Race 2 THQ PS-X 5/10/99___ Super Mario Bros. Nintendo GBC 6/15/99 _ Iron Soldier 3 Vatical PS-X 5/10/99 _Griffey's Slugfest Nintendo N64 6/15/99 __ Knights of Carnage THQ PS-X 5/11/99 Superman 64 Titus N64 6/15/99 _ Mission: Impossible Infogrames PS-X 5/15/99 Return of Ninja Tommo GBC 6/15/99 _ Pool Shark THQ PS-X 5/15/99 Skateboard Kid Tommo GBC 6/15/99 _Toonstein Vatical PS-X 5/15/99 Spawn Konami GBC 6/28/99 Pokemon Pinball Nintendo GBC 5/15/99 _ Wild Gun Tommo GBC 6/28/99 _R Type DX Nintendo GBC 5/15/99 _ All Star Tennis 99 Ubi Soft N64 6/28/99 Command & Conquer Nintendo N64 5/15/99 _ Caesars Palace Crave N64 6/28/99 _ Pokemon Snap Nintendo N64 5/15/99 Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft N64 6/30/99 Shadowgate 64 Kemco N64 5/15/99 All Star Tennis 99 Ubi Soft PS-X 5/15/99 Bugs Bunny Lost in Time Infogrames PS-X ® T. runcoan Bring Home The Fun Expected release date May 14, 1999! Present this coupon at any FuncoLand store and save $10.00 on one of these N64 games: Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest (reg. price $59.95) or MLB featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (reg. price $29.95). Offer valid effective April 15, 1999 through May 29, 1999. No rainchecks will be issued. No dealers or resellers. Coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Customer is responsible for applicable sales tax. No photocopies or facsimiles of coupon accepted. Coupon value 1/100th of one cent. Not valid in combination with any other offer. See your nearest FuncoLand store for details. Limit one coupon per customer. Quantities are limited. FuncoLand m aici r = f 2) z) Instructions to cashier: Coupon must be entered as a tender type. 1) select “coupon”, press “enter” 2) enter $10 for amount, press “enter”. 3) select #9 “KGJrN64”, press “enter”. | < mas G u RETAIL COUPON ma ma ma N64 Console with Two Controllers vee ais) Expected release date May 14, 1999! 209 ss] on with any other offer. idi inati Not valid in combina s iied. able in FuncoLand retall stores. aha. Q vantities ar r is not avail o be shipped together wh i ffe I promotional 0 | and game choice t Basebal Visit us @ www.funcoland.com For more on Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest for N64 New colors coming ° Berry e Kiwi or Game Boy visit @ www.nintendo.com May 14, 1999 © Dandelion. Teal Offers and prices good through May 29, 1999. Limit one per customer. Quantities are limited and no rainchecks will be issued. Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest: Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. © MLBPA. Official Licensee- Major League Baseball Players Association. Rawlings is a register trademark. All rights reserved. Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr., Ken Griffey Jr.'s Slugfest, Nintendo 64, Game Boy and “N” logos are trademarks of Nintendo of America. All rights reserved. © 1999 Funco, Inc. FuncoLand is a registered trademark of Funco, Inc. All rights reserved. Review ° Size: 128 Megabit s Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports ° Special Features: 2-Man Commentary; Phenomenal Animation; Fantasy Draft; Create Player; Stat Tracking; Improved Hitting; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible ° Replay Value: Moderate ° Created by: Iguana for Acclaim Entertainment ° Available: Now for Nintendo 64 x st-generatio P land a fair s Bottom Line: Ñ La IT p “We haven't had a chance to play Ken THE GAME Homere Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest yet, but at this point, ~ Concept All-Star Baseball looks to be the best 7 option on the N64. The gameplay moves at — — asnails pace. This is great for the purists, Graphics but | don’t have two hours to sit and play a 8.5 baseball game, so | found this little aspect Sound to be pretty annoying. Otherwise, the | sound becomes muffled. This is what pling last year’s ALS 6 pees ll Z orh Baseball was like. It was seriously bu d didnt al 1e pia) Playability — and batting interface is still the best | 7.5 around. In the end, this game is just too “Entartainmant slow for my tastes, but overall, it’s still a Kale a solid title. If you've got the time, or should | say stamina, to sit through hours of TA baseball at a time, then this game is for you.” OVERALL “Acclaim learned a lot from the last PAUL installment of its baseball title. For one THE GAME PROFESSOR thing, the players in this year's game Concept actually look like they've swung a bat 8.75 before. However, the computer still blindly Graphics takes cuts at thin air. That small gripe 8.75 aside, the crazy computer base running is — — nolonger an issue and in the time | played, Sound | experienced no memory pak troubles. 8 Again, this game is loaded with options ~ DPlavahility_ and stats up the wazzoo. The fantasy ( heel baseball fanatics should be pleased. f xÇ A —— — Games speed along at a nice clip, but are ai is fener ut still | “kum Entertainment sometimes dull because of the repetitive basically the same in delivery. Pick | c 8.5 SE nee hie relic Gta a pira pace it on the plate, then i 85 also around the corner and | have to - ; Z ff recommend to hold off on All-Star until he : Lining the batting cursor OVERALL shows his face. { directly atop the pitch location } ” oe equates to big contact. D avy ate Z “As expected, All-Star Baseball is a real S a ton of stats await for ad 0 ra REINER work of art. The graphics and animation | the baseball itc fear _THERAGING GAMER _ are simply breathtaking, and the front-end | I x Concept is overflowing with fantasy options. 8.5 Latched onto all of this is a solid gameplay = engine. Last year, All-Star was good, but it Graphics wasn't great. The fielding seemed a little 9.25 on the floaty side and strikeouts = Sound dominated the batting. This year, both the fielding and batting have been polished Up, and ultimately, improved to a nearly Playability flawless state. Sometimes the players a .5 may make a weird move toward the ball, all to get for t S mma but as a whole, the play is very tight. With l W i kina Griffey on vacation until summer, | the season. Its play is . x 8 recommend All-Star as the baseball to get, but | advise doing a little research before purchase, because surprise-surprise, All-Star may have shipped buggy just like it OVERALL did last year. **” Big time grap time p ays. io A Blaze of Glory mw Women are just as good as men - at wearing tights and pulling hair. asun ECO x2 a PAYPER view wrouszen «rodza In the world of pro wrestling, wrestlers form and break alliances as often as they flex and tell us how great they are. One of the long-standing alliances, ten years between Acclaim and the WWF, is coming to an end and will be finalized with WWF Attitude. Wrestling fans are insanely devoted to their passion. Some show off signs, others paint their faces, and a few of the truly whacked even believe that the stuff is real. When playing a wrestling game, wrestling fanatics pay attention to the smallest details, and if some- thing is wrong, they make themselves heard. In the case of Attitude, the fans’ devotion is paying off. Iguana Studios, the minds behind the recent WWF titles, have closely tracked every review of it’s last WWF title, War Zone, from magazines to fan sites. Iguana has lis- tened to the criticisms with an open mind and has put forth an earnest effort to make Attitude its crowning achievement. One of the most notable features of War Zone was its superior create player. Attitude’s will be even better. Players will have more control over facial features and will be able .@ to customize move sets by a: selecting moves from fea- tured wrestlers like Steve 7 Austin. Moves can even be j Ñ renamed. There will be a D-LO BROWN LTR a ARC reer PBS9ZOG ` N 6924260 S) = Fez l Pay Per View give more attitude. Preview e Size: 256 Megabit e Style: 1 to 4-Player Fighting e Special Features: Massive Create Wrestler: Edit Move; 150 New Moves; Over 40 Wrestlers; 15 Game Modes; 7 Title Belts; Improved Sound & Entrances; Rumble Pak Compatible; No Paul Wight e Created by: Iguana West for Acclaim Entertainment e Available: Late June for Nintendo 64 70% Complete “STONE COLO | , R MICHAELS ” s this game number of outfits to choose from and players will also be able to adjust the length of pants and shirt sleeves, and then write messages on the clothes to express even more attitude. There are also 64 nicknames to choose from and the announcers will even use them when announcing the bout. Attitude has 15 game modes including a King of the Ring event that allows up to eight players to participate in a round robin-style tournament. But perhaps the greatest addition is the Create Your Own Pay Per View mode. You can select the wrestlers, format, and even create your own atmosphere in the arena by controlling the lights and putting up banners. While not required, you can even send Acclaim $30 every time you want to play in your own Pay Per View event. War Zone was a solid game and we believe Pa A Attitude could surpass it in every respect. The i create player, the modes, and the sound have all been improved. The gameplay, while basically unchanged, will even have a couple of extras packed in. For instance, players can now fake being stunned to set up a counter move to an opponent’s finisher. All of these additions will help send Acclaim and Iguana out of the WWF in a blaze of glory. Tia l k: e Size: Unknown s Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game ¢ Special Features: 50 Non-Player Characters; Over 400 Subplots; 5 Women To Court; Power-Up Tools; Customize Your Home; Part-Time Job System; Horse & Dog Racing; 13 Special Events & Holidays e Created by: Natsume e Available: Fall for Nintendo 64 40% Complete Harvest Moon was a very unique title for the Super Nintendo and the Game Boy. Role-playing, combined with the simulation aspects of farming and courtship, earned kudos from many critics and Harvest Moon became a sought-after title. Now, there is another opportunity to experience this game. Harvest Moon 64 features the basic gameplay of the first, but is expanded to a larger realm. The goal is to have a profitable farm and find a wife who suits you. Fifty townsfolk will interact with the main character, and will have different = responses and attitudes based on how much they like him. For example, if you are interested in a girl, another character may s» begin to dislike you and try to prevent _ you from marrying. Over 400 subplots exist, _ as you choose from one of five women to try and marry. Of course, there is the farming as well, with many choices of plants and animals. Raise these resources and bring them to the 13 harvests and special events that occur , throughout the year to impress others and make some money. If you are low on funds, and the crops are bad, you can take up a part-time job. Unlike other RPGs, however, there is no fighting. Although this may sound dull, the extensive amount of things to do will keep you intrigued. For fans of the first game, as well as the Game Boy incarnation, Harvest Moon 64 will be a must buy. And for all of those neglected, starved, RPG-loving Nintendo 64 owners, this game offers a great glimmer of hope. 4 ° Size: 64 Megabit e Style: 1-Player Puzzle ¢ Special Features: 5 Worlds; 136 Levels; 20 Bonus Levels; Fully Moveable Camera; Over 18 Devices; Rumble Pak Compatible ° Replay Value: Moderately Low e Created by: Big Bang Software for Infogrames e Available: April for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: & 5 PAUL | REINER Concept: 8 5 8.75 Graphics: 6 7 5.5 Sound: 6 5 6.25 Playability: 7 5 8.5 Entertainment: 7 5 8.75 Overall: 6 5. Classical Rehash For those who don't know, the object of | Lode Runner is to grab all the gold without } getting caught by monks or accidentally | killing yourself. Your only sidearm is a gun that can dig holes in the soft, regenerating ground. Luckily for old Lode, these monks aren’t the brainy types, and often trap themselves in these holes, allowing Lode to tap dance over their craniums. Lode Runner 3-D does exactly what | you’d expect from the title; it adds another | dimension to this puzzler of bygone Commodore days. How challenging can | such a simple game be? Consider this - | you’re awarded a free life both for every 9 level you complete and for extra life tokens Andy, The Game Hombre “Lode Runner 64 is an excellent remake of the gaming classic; however, this puzzler ain't for everybody as patience and serious problem-solving skills are a must. If you’re interested, rent it first.” Paul, The Game Professor “I have to mention that | played this game a ton on the Apple ][ and it rocked. This new. version does a great job of reviving the lost runner, but does little to keep me interested. Unless this game is priced at $20, skip it.” Reiner, The Raging Gamer “You gotta be a geek-a-holic to get into this blast from the past. Lode Runner is a thinking man’s game that proves to be as addictive now as it was way back when: With over 100 levels to cut through, this puzzler will boggle your mind for days and stretch your patience to the limit. But it's not for everyone. It’s strictly for puzzle fanatics.” that are scattered generously about, and & gems send you to bonus life levels. Yet all can be lost in one mind-screwing level. To ease your gold-grabbing vexations, Big Bang incorporated total camera control into Lode Runner 3-D. Feel free to pan up, down, left, or right, and zoom in and out on every little thing to figure out just what the heck to do. The third dimension also allows some new pieces to be added to the classic formula. For example, floating platforms usually carry you to a different part of the board, but sometimes they move you to an entirely new section you didn’t know existed. Lode Runner 3-D is the kind of title you'll either hate loving or love hating. It will challenge you like no other game, forcing you to stare at the screen for a few minutes before even beginning a level. This much thinking drives some to play more, but has others drive a control pad through the screen. e Size: 128 Megabit e Style: 1-Player Action s Special Features: 60 Exposures Per Roll; Pokémon Portfolio; Study Pokemon Behaviors (Excluding Breeding); Camera With Zoom Lens; Luring Techniques s Created by: Jack for Nintendo e Available: June 28 for Nintendo 64 The better the picture...the more points you'll receive. 85% Complete Safari for the Elusive Squirtle “Say cheese!!!” Apparently the Game Boy just wasn’t big enough to contain all 150 Pokémon. Now, the cute little critters are spilling over onto the Nintendo 64, where they'll have complete freedom to interact with one another, go into hiding, and display their true behavior pat- terns. It’s up to you and your trusty camera to =| Catch their every act. # Pokémon Snap is about as original as a game can get. The goal is to photograph Pokémon in their natural habitat, then com- pile all of the photos into a Portfolio for the world to see and study. Pokémon Snap was originally intended to be one of the first 64DD titles that would capitalize on its massive storage functions. But as you might have guessed, the DD isn’t coming any time soon. So...Pokémon Snap is now an ordinary Nintendo 64 title that will make its debut - stateside on June 28. Taking pictures of Pokémon sounds easy. Just stand and shoot, right? Wrong. Professor Oak is grading you on each photo you take. The critter has to be centered perfectly, it has Í to be caught in the act, and the shot has to d make clear what the Pokémon is doing. Sometimes, the Pokémon are shy or in hiding. 1 To capture the best shot, you'll need to toss d apples to lure certain Pokemon into the open. Toss rocks into brush to make the airborne species hit the sky. And play the flute to make some (like Pikachu) dance. Your cam- H era is limited to 60 exposures and comes R packed with a handy zoom lens for distance shooting. Steve “The Croc Hunter” Irwin would have a hey-day with this game. “Oh look there! It’s a lil’ Charmander. He’s a real feisty bugga, and he may spray us with fire if we get too close... Let’s go pick ‘im up. Look at ‘im! Dat’s a bute.” We can’t wait for this one! Let’s hope that the animation and sound effects are just as cute and lively as they are in the cartoons. You'll need to perform certain feats to lure the Pokémon into the open. i = ` The Zero 1 shuttle will help you locate Pokémon more quickly. e Size: 128 Megabit e Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing ° Special Features: 34 Cars & 15 Racing Teams; 10 Tracks With Tons of Variations; 20 Events; Replay Save; Controller & Rumble Pak Compatible e Created by: Boss Game Studios for Midway Home Entertainment e Available: June 16 for Nintendo 64 70% Complete i and over 100 track variations. Midway Home Entertainment claims that GT: World Championship Driver is the most gorgeous racer ever to cruise onto the N64. The screenshots definitely speak volumes, showing intricately detailed cars and realistic lighting effects. But, to be quite frank, we could care less about the look of this game. It could be the most photo-realistic game ever to hit a console, and we still wouldn’t care. The Nintendo 64 has a severe popula- tion problem on its hands. There are more racers on this machine than any other genre, and most of these games are completely worthless,. fronting an attractive graphical cover to mask a diseased gameplay engine. If Midway wants to catch the consumer’s eye, then it’s going to have to get down and dirty and show us what’s under the hood. The look is more or less irrelevant at this point. Thankfully, World Championship Driver not #4 only looks great, but its engine has an attrac- tive purr to it. The garage will feature 34 exotic vehicles that can be powered-up and = x Oe abused on 10 different tracks. These tracks High-res graphics Die) m are designed quite nicely, offering up a ton though letterbox play... of variations. Midway states that these variations will create over 100 different | 0 track experiences. GT also sports a solution that will save gamers a few bucks. For high- resolution, the Expansion Pak is not needed. Ñ GT simply shrinks the screen size to letterbox to recreate the same ultra crisp graphics. World Driver will also come packed with a unique Career mode that delivers over 20 rac- ing events, over 15 distinct racing teams, and some of the most ferocious Al around. GT will ES even allow you to customize and save your instant replays. This racer definitely sounds (and looks) exciting; but, as we learned with California Speed, all upcoming Midway racing games should be fully revealed before being hyped for sale. ep The graphics look hot. You can customize the replay and save it to the Controller Pak. ... with no Expansion Pak needed. o = An interesting solution to multiplayer. `opuəlul!N Aq pesusory ‘Ou| e9uƏuuvy JO OPUSIUIN 666 L2 ‘OU eouawy JO opuƏlu!N 10 syseWApe.} 9/5 OBO] N., G-€ 94} pue +9 opuəlu!N 'opuəluiN `3ul JUsWUIe}Ja]UQ 1ə]nduioo ÁuoS Jo syeWAapes} paiajsiba: are soBoj uoyelsÁejd au} pue uonesÁeld “dul 'sÁoL qoo|eS UM paye JOU SI OU] 1luəuuuleluə]u3 ƏtuoH Aemplyy `əsuəol| e o) 1uensind 1onpo.d siy} 10} yew SƏUIUOSPINO1SIN ay} Buisn si ou] 1luəuuuleli9]u3 eWOH Aempiyy `3u| 'sÁol qoojeg Aq paumo ylewape) pƏ181sIBƏ1 e s! SOUIYDEYYOII OU) saweg Aempiyy JO yewapen; palajsiBe e S! AYMAIN “OU| JUaWUIe}Ja}UQ ƏtuoH Aempiy Aq 009IxƏNW pue BpeUeD “s'n əy} u! Əsuəol| sapun pəlnqiuisip Ajeaisnjoxe pue siə9)seuuəpoo Áq padojeneq ‘siajsewapod jo yewapes e si ,Aejdawed aind, ‘papu siajsewapogd Aq paumo yeWapes) paiajsibal e SI SIBJSEWAEPOD “pansasay SIU iy Iv “Paw Auedwog aiemyos sia]sewapoy 666! © 1luBuÁdoo =D. gi = g oO E Sex = 9 © & pas o ° Q 2 E D = m = D 2 9 oS L R Bx => Š ees n” S o Z = © Oo cC — 2 S ee 9 Z ° UE 6 Ox 6 ° s S mS O E 0 = ° š haa B = ab > >x E Oe S Z 4 A as fe O aL ý= Mog e = ie H 2} we £ ° Oo < 5 += = Ë = G a2. 2 O © = ru) Í Sao O 0 < =s L E SOs SOs | EB < Ə acs S O O y i — a IT’S NOT EASY BEING SMALL. ` EVERYONE CONTENT RATED BY ESRB PlayStation Review e Size: 1 CD-ROM t: ⁄ ° Style: 1-Player Action/Platform G e Special Features: Improved Camera Look at the on N Physics; Tons of New Costumes & of that tail! Gexisms; Same Classic Gameplay; Memory Card & Password Save; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Replay Value: Moderately High Gi e Created by: Crystal Dynamics for Eidos Interactive s Available: Now for PlayStation 8 With a hype machine made of titanium steel at the tip of his tail, and an industry in love with his floppy tongue, Gex wi was destined for greatness. He was to be the next platform Í superstar; the greatest thing since the blue hog and the orange coot. But Bottom Line: ANDY | his color didn’t sit well with the gaming nation. Despite the praise that Concept A E | to rock the retail world. It just sat on the shelf. | To this day, only 250,000 units of Enter the Gecko have been sold. «á | This number might seem big, but compared to sales figures for Crash i >=] Bandicoot, or even the newcomer, Spyro the Dragon, it's chump WMI s ( | change. Enter the Gecko didn't have the universal appeal of these [Ka | games. It was designed for an older audience. Its camera controls were ln e a mett] too complex for beginners, and the wacky Gexisms were targeted la Searching for Private Gecko.) specifically for adults. Kids didn’t really understand what Gex was saying. He was talking their ears off, but it didn’t register as anything Fi other than blather. Now, if he had periodically farted or used different vocabulary like “dumbohead” or “poopie”, then he would have done just | fine, and may have had the chance to join Crash Bandicoot on his | soaring retail pedestal. | ln ihe sequel, Gex: Deep Cover Gecko, it would have been easy for | Crystal Dynamics to learn from its mistakes and calibrate the appeal for | a wider audience. But Crystal did nothing of the kind. Deep Cover . Gecko is a straight up sequel to Enter the Gecko. Granted, the Eee, camera has been improved so it is more playable, but the humor and attitude are the same. We'd even say that Gex’s tongue is more sinister and abrasive. In Enter the Gecko, Gex played around with a handful of lines from Austin Powers, and he occasionally made reference to that thing men and women do together when they’re alone. y But in Deep Cover Gecko, he goes all out. Almost every line ends with 9 Austin Power's classic, “Baby!” Gex is uncensored and raring to go with | this sequel. | As far as gameplay is concerned, Deep Cover Gecko is much | larger and more difficult. Tail bounce- UU | ing, tongue grabbing, crazy leaping, | | and Remote Control searching are | a | all ingredients that make this |= | platformer so addictive. One big t change is the overworld. It’s | | | gigantic and very much like that | ' NTC eerie found in Rareware’s Banjo-Kazooie. | in-game trainer, Alfred Crystal D even included a few | | i i Graphics 8 Sound 8.25 8.5 8.5 OVERALL PAUL SSL Concept 7 8.5 pE} D l wi’ Minigames periodically appear during the quest for the Remotes X wnn 7.75 OVERALL — Z REINER A ew Bb K Concept 7.75 í most skilled players can unlock and | ! „| play as these new ‘zards on the |. BE nancuratditoron arters. J - T block for a bonus level or two. Gex's handful of different critters. | animation and moves are basically ro | the same, but his wardrobe is larger | 7 | and quite different. We'd say he | | throws on about 20 different guises. | | These fashions cover cowboys, «@ | firemen, anime characters, super er x | heroes, and even a snowboarder. Pee P Gex’s tail is as lethal as ever. Yam _ Deep Cover Gecko's gameplay is much better, the voice-overs are more outrageous, and the graphics are improved tenfold. If you liked the last game, this sequel delivers the same ol’ Gex goodness. Sound 8.5 7.25 Í wi y ee api A o Ai. ma N M OSS That crazy gecko is as amphibious as a frog. ees 5 $ F yl | E 1 . E P — 9 i > g B. xj L > +4, wed i uot 0 v f 2 o eo NS Game Informer * May '99 40 THE GAME HOMBRE | the press dished out, Gex's first 3D adventure, Enter the Gecko, failed 7 Playability Entertainment THE GAME PROFESSOR Graphics Sound Playability 7 Entertainment friends for Gex to hang with, and the | K ee oe _THE RAGING GAMER _ fA oe S Graphics 9 Playability Entertainment He 's Coming Again, Baby! “Nothing will change the fact that Gex (in any form) is fun, but it’s hard not to talk about its obvious shortcomings. Hey, | like the one-liners and the Baywatch babe popping out of her outfit just as much as the next guy, but all these extras can only take Gex so far. While the reworked camera is better than previous Gex installments, it’s still obviously outclassed by other entries in this genre. To its credit, Gex features very well-designed levels, plus lots of action. But without some new elements to the engine, Deep Cover Gecko feels like just another game from the Gex assembly line. Which is a real shame, because this is an ingenious product that will more than satisfy platform fanatics. But to get me back into the fold, Crystal needs to do more than create new levels, add babe, then mix.” “In little over a year, a lot has happened to the action/platform genre on PlayStation and unfortunately Gex has not kept up with the times. With killer titles like Crash and Spyro setting the curve, the lizard is struggling to find third place with that other green guy named Croc. This game, like its predecessor, is huge and offers plenty of challenge. As usual Gex’s wisecracks are plentiful and very humorous. The sad thing about this game is the camera perspective. It is so cumbersome and really makes it hard to play. Crystal D was attempting to add some variety with new games and vehicles, but | think it was all in vain. Make sure to try this game before throwing down the cash.” “Deep Cover Gecko isn’t too much of an innovation over last year’s release, but it offers up just enough variety to keep you hooked a second time. The biggest gripe with the last game, the camera, is partially fixed, but is still a little on the buggy side and often creates frustrating situations. As for gameplay, Gex is once again well executed. The controls can get sloppy at times and strange collision occurs, but for the most part, the play is very precise and user-friendly. Deep Cover Gecko's platforming is challenging as all heck, and the expanded overworld delivers a less linear quest and a heap of exploration. Deep Cover Gecko isn’t the most spectacular platformer on the PlayStation, but it’s good and delivers a difficult challenge. It’s a great rainy day game for this spring.” cs 6 eœ œ ... PlayStation Review e Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing e Special Features: Test Drive, Single Race, Hot Pursuit, Tournament, Special Events, & High Stakes Modes; 14 Cars; 10 Tracks; Visible Car Damage; Random Track Events; Economy System; Analog Compatible s Replay Value: Moderately High ¢ Created by: Electronic Arts av, The Need For Speed series has been rolling with PlayStation for a while now, with every sequel stomping its predecessor. Need For Speed: High e Available: Now for PlayStation Are We Still Needy? — Stakes (NFS:HS) once more takes it to the next z level. Aside from the standard graphic and lighting Bottom Line: 8 15 improvements, NFS:HS has an overhauled e physics engine, vanity plates, and the actual Ae Ae ai We ea e „ANDY recorded engine burn of every car. Add in new siete And if that weren't enough to sel “Concent TT e t Ne npa NFS:HS starts me, EA threw in and improved the Hot pee ook like a go-cart racer. es Lu a m ee Po n T Previously, races had to be won to unlock better cars. In SE E HS (fhe Tee bec pe 8.75 NFS:HS, all your dream autos are going to cost you a pretty nervous as | was racing for pink slips); and — Sound - penny. A new player starts off with just enough cash to buy the Special Events mode, where you get to 8.25 a no-frills BMW Z3 Roadster or Mercedes SLK 230. From n F y be Playability there, the long road to the $500,000 McLaren F1 GTR begins. experience). This game may have some 9.5 A variety of tournaments and special events can be entered technical issues to deal with, but the Entertainment (for a price), with prize money given to the top three finish- lay is ri xÇ is the ultimat ; ; ie: pu ae Turismo 2 hs 9.5 ers. In some special events (like the Corvettes Only race), a the streets.” ED one of a kind boss-mobile will be the prize for the winner. The economic system, coupled with having to pay for the damage caused during a reckless run, brings a new level of “This year’s installment of EA's long- thought to the track. A player can use earned money to running racing series has improved in PAUL purchase one of three upgrades for the car he or she has, about every category. The track designs, THE GAME PROFESSOR sell a car off, buy a new car, or maybe save a little extra in car models, and lighting effect are Concept ke s L superb. | found the frivolous environment 9 case a difficult tournament, along with the entry fee, is lost. additions (like the hot air balloons) to tax ——— With one memory card, players can assemble a garage full of the fluidity of the game, creating some Graphics nice toys choppy action at times. Hot Pursuit mode 8.5 ys. ; ` : Z E . still rocks, but itis even better because you Sound Once you've built up an impressive array of cars, it’s time can play on both sides of the law. | never 7 to risk it all in High Stakes mode. Two players enter their ee 0 Olan Ste Playability memory cards and race what they think are their sweetest more entertaining than last year’s version. 9 rides. The winner steals the loser’s car, keeping it for game packs a lot of racing action. The : 3 only drawback to this title is that it has the 8.5 The popular Hot Pursuit mode also makes its much need for cars. Some muscle cars, SUVs, improved return. Playing as the law; call for backup, lay road S > aaa spikes, or set up a road block. Luckily for all would-be perps out there, a police scanner spouts all the info a well-trained “I've always admired the NFS series for its ear would need to avoid trouble. Best of all, Hot Pursuit can ability to deliver mammoth crashes; REINER be played in 2-player split-screen, either as a team or as law vs. law-breaker. ee | could leel rean get into e De a Standing on its own, Need For Speed: High Stakes is the best there’s ever been for the mi Sees E k en nie ot n series. The only question is, how does it compare with the multitude of other PlayStation racers direction. The crashes are as dynamic as o ` out there? ever, and the play is quite satisfactory. For rapnics multiplayer, the High Stakes mode is 8.75 awesome and forces a player to hand over Sound a car when he or she loses. The single 8.5 player modes are excellent as well. The Hot a Pursuit is even better than it was in the last ayability game, and the Tournaments are tough, 8.75 pushing you to race like a madman. As with Entertainment the earlier games, the loading times are 9.25 still way too long, and the framerate is a tad sluggish, but the variety in modes, the creative tracks, and beautiful graphics “Whoa! | did not expect this game to kick OVERALL more than make up for any discrepancies.” OVERALL Game Informer * May ‘99 41 PlayStation Review e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting s Special Features: Beast Morphing; 8 Characters Plus More Hidden; 6 Modes; Sidestep (Custom Mode Only); Kid, Big Head, & Big Arm Character Models; Hi-Res Graphics; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible; 8 Difficulties Replay Value: Moderately High e Created by: Hudson Soft for SCEA e Available: May 25 for PlayStation Bottom Line: The Beast Within was a horror film from the 1980's. When we were young, it horrified us to watch the main character begin his painful transformation into a hideous monster. This morphing concept has been used far and wide, including in the Bloody Roar series from Hudson. But unfortunately, the transformation process in Bloody Roar is quick, painless, and far from hideous. An elaborate morphing sequence with screams, blood, and cracking flesh would break up the action, but it would be a lot more realistic. Although we find the morphing process in Bloody Roar II boring, the concept is wonderful. Since there aren't a whole lot of characters in this game, the morphing effectively doubles the size of the cast by changing the look of a character into a ferocious beast, as well as increasing his or her strength and attack variations. There are some basic strategies to use when morphing. When a fight begins, the beast meter will be about half full. You can choose to morph immediately, but you may want to wait for the meter to fill up so you can enjoy the advantages of the beast state for as long as possible. Another reason to hold off on morphing is that, as a beast, you can add to your health meter by beating the tar out of your oppo- nent, unlike the original Bloody Roar, where morphing would fully refill the health bar automatically. But BR2 is not just about fighting. There is a story to this game that unfolds through the Story mode. People that have the morphing ability are called zoanthropes. Some were born that way and some have been genetically altered. Each character has a unique story that is unraveled with hand drawn artwork, written dialogue, and, to a lesser degree, the ‘ fights that ensue. The Custom mode is another solid feature that allows you to select different character models like big head, kid bodies, and big arms. You can also select a practice bout to work on your moves, as well as choose a sidestep move to be used during combat. Strangely, the sidestep iS sas rn ait mess an not offered anywhere else in the m -a > —.. game. d Tun We would lastly like to touch on ! some other differences between the first and second Bloody Roar games. Unfortunately, the Rave meter has been omitted, as has the blood toggle. On the bright side, BR2 uses hi-res graphics and, of the eight initial characters. five are brand new to the Bloody Roar experience. The kids are ‘back, — BR — TRT! 55712 AARNE S Se gar Tim ay ei $ at SE ol. caked 1 l | ! k T wa ss x F Da tng, La, Puna truies “wahai re worse ary marsose prin uO 3 i Deryn, mao Of Coal, "A era rul thee T 42 Game Informer * May '99 Graphics Playability 9 Graphics Playability 8 Entertainment Graphics Playability 8 bY ee, ares is Wh know. Spiit Decision “Bloody Roar Il comes back at ya with the same great gameplay that made the first a solid fighter. On the outside, it's obvious that there has been a lot done to improve this game. The graphics are now hi-res with blazing frame-rates, there are a 9 number of new modes, and the moves are Sound better and flashier than ever. But when 75 you get down to the real nitty-gritty, this : game still only has 11 playable characters. Which is a real shame, because Bloody Roar Il rocks; but it’s basically just Bloody Roar 1 in a new hard candy shell. If you own the first one, there isn’t much reason to buy the second (except maybe the so-bad-it’s-funny Story mode). If you’ve never played Bloody Roar, OVERALL it’s at least worth checking out. ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 8 Entertainment 7 “| normally don’t pay much attention to PAUL THE GAME professor intros in games, but this one caught my eye. It is truly an ugly site when you fire this game up. FMV that is not even full screen? Yuck. The Story mode is also poorly done. Compared to the previous 8 version, the graphics engine has been Sound vastly improved. The characters are nicely 5.75 designed and the effects are terrific. Yet, : it pales in comparison to Tekken 3. In Bloody Roar Il there's the token blood, simplistic combos, and some beast transformations. It all isn’t very exciting and the game does little to push the fighting game genre in any direction but down. Do yourself a favor and forget about this title. You'll be glad you did.” Concept 7 “Bloody Roar Il’s front-end and graphical prowess are improved, sporting several new game modes (including a horribly written Story mode) and beautiful hires graphics. Its gameplay isn’t necessarily improved, but slightly changed. Amidst its 8.75 sea of combos and juggles, Bloody Roar : II is nothing more than a button masher. Sound If you don’t take the time to master its 7.75 complex combat system, then victory can also be achieved by simply slamming the buttons on the controller. Even if you do just tap, tap, tap, Roar Il’s gameplay REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 8 Entertainment proves to be quite enjoyable, as it 8 delivers unique gameplay attributes, and lightning quick play that looks simply A Wa stunning at 60 fps. If you haven’t played Roar, then | recommend clawing your OVERALL way into Roar Il.” Ades internat erperrreedy B en ot subjecta, te ev) Krn 4 Wow, phe A kaq a Etat. - Rc style that was absent in R the previous games, | was hooke es and powering around the . The volume of cars to unlock is ` impressive, but after unlocking about 20 or so, the game gets extremely repetitive. Yes, you can acquire cars by swapping with other PocketStations, but many of the cars seem virtually identical. Ridge Racer is a Cr man good racing game, but is overshadowed by Rac ae Gran Turismo, Need For Speed, and Test í Drive. This is a rental at best.” x Graphics = Sound 9 Playability 9 “If Type 4 is any kind of example, all racing games will now be divided into two categories — the ones made before Gran Turismo and those made after. Type 4 Concept delivers a truckload of options, but misses 7.25 out on presenting the key ingredient that ———“~_—— made all of the previous Ridge Racer titles Graphics so entertaining. It lacks KNL play. 9.5 REINER THE RAGING GAMER ` Sound Hor turns almost D ‘7 — Í her hand, the multiplayeris Playability means to unlock them is pretty ————— e 4 pushes you to trade cars with Entertainment | PocketStation. It's gaming T Z ide to gather ‘em all through play. All in all, This is a de oe but Revolution | aS Playstation d Review ° Size: 2 CD-ROMs e Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing (Up to 4-Players Via Link) e Special Features: 320 Cars; 8 Tracks; 14 Songs; Bonus Disc With Original Ridge Racer (60 FPS); Dual Shock, JogCon, PocketStation, & Analog Compatible e Replay Value: High e Created by: Namco e Available: May 5 for PlayStation 8.25 Both Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution soared to the top of the charts for one reason and one reason alone - gameplay. Granted, excessiveness wasn’t a factor at the time, but both of these racers capitalized by delivering the minimum. One track and a handful of cars was all it took to grab the crown of racing king. This series took a step to the side when Namco tried to implement a different direction with the third release, Rage Racer. This racer sported improved graphics, more tracks, upgradeable cars, and tweaked play mechanics. But instead of praise, the majority of the gaming nation frowned upon this release and said that Revolution was still the best in the series. Improving the look was definitely a step in the right direction, but the new tracks showed poor design, and the new play took most of the arcade qualities out of the game. Now, even bigger changes are on the way in Namco’s latest offering, Ridge Racer Type 4. But are these the J ™ m ae changes we crave? ` Instead of reverting back to the classic roots, this new Ridge Racer reached out and latched onto the bumper of the prestigious PlayStation racer, Gran Turismo. In Type 4, the arcade vibe that made the first two releases so exciting plays second fiddle, and the primary focus isn’t necessarily based on intense racing. Type 4 pushes gamers to become infatuated with collecting all of the hidden vehicles. It’s like a Pokécar game. Type 4's lot is crammed to capacity with 320 unlicensed speed demons. That’s almost one for each day of the year. Yowza!! Some of the cars show NASCAR and Indy-like qualities, while others reveal far-fetched space-age designs. However, none of these cars come for free. They have to be individually unlocked before they can be accessed. The biggest addition to this Ridge Racer is the Gran Prix mode. When you start a Gran Prix, you'll first be asked to join one of four teams: France, Japan, Italy, or the United States. After this you'll need to select one of four different car manufacturers: Assoluto, Lizard, Terrazi, or Age Solo. Each of these manufacturers brings forth twenty different cars. Do a little math (20 x 4), and the car total jumps to 80. Mix in the four paint jobs from each of the teams, then do a little more math (80 x 4), and 320 cars are born. To get these cars, you'll need to beat the Gran Prix mode over and over again, unlocking one... maybe two... and if you're lucky... three cars at a time. The Gran Prix mode consists of eight tracks. Some of these tracks require cat-like reflexes and use of the patented powerslide. Other tracks demand that you put the pedal to the metal and floor it from beginning to end. The last track is something new...and something odd for the Ridge Racer universe. It’s a high speed ring; an oval track that pushes the player to corner tightly and block out the opposition. Type 4 is a leap and bound above what we've seen in the previous installments. Some will say the powerslide is too mechanical. Others will complain about the noisy car designs. All complaints aside though, Type 4 delivers breath-taking graphics, tight gameplay, and tons of single and multiplayer options. Namco even created a new controller, the JogCon, just for this title. The new PocketStation peripheral is also compatible for trading cars. f, UG, eee L L Qw Uniquely immersive role-playing experience is limited only by your imagination. Collect over 150 creatures including rare and ultra-rare breeds. Then custom combine them into millions of powerful new monsters. Strategically use your monster’s dominance of one of the four elements: Earth, Wind, Fire or Water. Welcome to the world of Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu. As Levant, a Cocoon Master, you will engage powerful monsters in deadly one on one combat. As the magic and talon clash of these titanic battles turn to your favor you can call on the mystic Cocoon powers and capture a fallen foe as they are on the brink of death. Once captured these mighty creatures can be trained to fight for you and combined with other monsters to form millions of new beasts. Once created these creatures will be your key to surviving the perils of the forest. Pit your creation against a friend in the arena mode. PlayStation LEARN THE SECRETS. OF THE -FAMAMAY LU. VISIT WWW.CRAVEGAMES.COM Jade Cocoon: Story of the Tamamayu, Crave and their respective logos are trademarks of Crave Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Crave Entertainment is a registered trademark in the U.S. © 1999 Crave Entertainment, Inc. Genki is a registered trademark of Genki Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. d CCIM aisle 1S, SSS Preview ° Size: 2 CD-ROMs s Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game e Special Features: 12 Hours of Spoken Dialog; Anime FMV; Unique Elemental Weapon System; Memory Card Save; Dual Shock Compatible e Created by: Red Company for Atlus e Available: 3rd (Possibly 4th) Quarter for PlayStation 60% Complete I This two disc epic is | loaded to the hilt with b personality. Play wise, it’s Í similar to most of the RPGs {on the market. Talk to | villagers, fight random | monsters, run along a linear | path...it’s the same ol’ song | and dance we know so well. | But don’t write this game off jas another RPG zombie just / yet. Its look is unique and oh so stylish, and some of the techniques that are tossed out are wild and original. The development team tried to incorporate anime into every inch of this game. If not in a cutscene, then you'll see it in combat, or maybe even in a random chat with a villager. The entire game features 2D sprites shackled to beautiful 3D environments. Red Company was also quite clever with the camera angles. First- _ person, isometric, distance pans, and over the shoulder... it’s all here. Thousand Arms also features over | 12 hours of 4 spoken dialog | re-recorded | in English. Complete camera control is available in towns and in _the overworid. parties can enter the fray, on the front man, which in tu “The shan P anite lon is Aecom paN ed by 3D backings. ) The battle formula is a little strange. Full Í specific zones.The front character (who is always | | onscreen) has the ability to duke it out hand-to- | | hand or to cast magic. The back characters, on (i | the other hand, can only cast magic and direct | | projectiles. They will also have the ability to cheer | | point or two to the front man’s current stash. | The fights are all turn-based, where the most | | experienced opponent attacks quicker. x ousand Arms boiled in the development brew for over three years before its Japanese debut on December 12. Hardcore developer, Red Company, of Bonk’s Adventure fame in the States and Sakura Taisen fame in Japan, went the extra mile to make sure that this RPG was as close to perfect as could be. Japan seemed to think the wait was well worth it,and now, druids and clerics in the States will have the pleasure of biting nails in anticipation as Atlus readies a Thousand Arms port for this summer. Atlus emphasized that this is the most ambitious localization project in its ten year history. VWith FFVIII on the way and a surprisingly fruitful RPG market of late, this RPG better be extraordinary. We think it will be. The Tale and the Faces : To win the affection of women, you'll need to do 6 a will p _ down showing an animated strange things conversation. Players assume the role of Meis Triumph; a young noble who enjoys blacksmith work almost as much as he does women. Whenever a young gal crosses his path, Meis freaks out, a heart appears in a thought balloon over his head, and his feet float off the ground. Through the course of the game, you'll need to help Meis hook himself up with a lovely lady. When you talk to the womenfolk, you'll be asked to answer specific questions correctly (and carefully). One slip of the tongue and BAM!!! You may end up with a black eye. Meis will even be forced to conquer minigames to win the affection of a hot mama.There are a handful of other characters that will join your party, and we'd love to tell ya who’s who, but many of their origins are tied heavily into the plot...and, teasers that we are, we don’t want to say a word. Think evil...the world hanging in the balance...and tons of ladies. but are split into Anime There's a ton of video in this game, and while not pictured in this bar, some of the animation utilizes CG and real laa footage. rn adds an extra hit ! All weapons can be endowed ‘= with elements to create) different spells and attacks. $ y w E $ ent c Tare A te kr NSS a nerez Raion 1 inthe anf honest Ln ln i wel eae | 0. nnu Py a L Trn i g“ ý y P e se ae v i Maan e 95) 2 5, C . I t. e Size: 2 CD-ROMs s Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game e Special Features: 2 Playable Characters; 80 Possible Endings; 3 Combat Styles; Side Quests; Specialties; CG Cutscenes; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible; From the Makers of Dragon Warrior e Created by: Tri-Ace/Enix for Sony Computer Entertainment America e Available: June 8 for PlayStation 90% Complete «Ten FE SECOND STORY = Enix Finally Returns t's definitely been an RPG festival this year, and it seems like the party will keep going until the wee [es of the morning with more solid RPGs still on the way like Jade Cocoon, Final Fantasy VIII, and Star Ocean. From the makers of Dragon Warrior, Star Ocean uses incredible detail, from item creation to emotional levels, designed to wrap players up in the experience. The Story Star Ocean begins on two planets, Earth and the primitive Expel. It seems some angry gods have hurled a deadly meteorite through space in order to destroy all life in the universe. The meteorite collides with Expel and is planted deep within its crust. The people of Expel, somewhat superstitious, dub this rock the “Sorcery Globe.” Soon, strange things begin to happen, including monsters surfacing to terrorize the people. Two characters meet and decide to investigate the Sorcery Globe, but not just to save Expel. One seeks answers so he can return home to Earth. The other seeks answers about her past and her natural mother. The Sorcery Globe approaches Expel. There are two playable characters in Star Ocean, but you will meet others who can join your party. You can have as many as eight in your party, but only four at a time can be used in combat. Claude C. Kenny is one of the playable characters. Nineteen, he is a new Lt. Commander of the Earth Federation. His father is a military hero, leading Claude to struggle for his own identity. While on his first mission, Claude has an accident that sends him through a warp portal to the planet Expel. The other playable character is Rena Lanford. Seventeen, she is from a village called Arlia on the planet Expel. She has a strange ability to heal and her past is filled with many questions. She has a strong desire to find out who her real mother is and why she has her unique healing powers. W Hero select Select your charact A. EA Card C. Kann Sen of Earth Federation Army Renixis i Kenny. Crawd has hi Tm doubts, but he still attends the C Federation Academy. ñ typical 19 year old his make for namis Basic Combat Arts. But 2 Private Actions | Private Actions are the side quests you will come upon during the game that can change the story line. These allow characters to build relationships as well as emotional levels. Combat In Star Ocean, there are three battle modes to SE choose from — Standard mode, which is turn-based; | Semi-Active mode, which is real-time and allows | some freedom of movement; and Full Active mode, which is also real-time and allows for complete freedom of movement. In Full ae mode, you | could, for example, move away from your partner anp and act as a decoy or guard someone who is œ eL LA ag | casting a spell. ' c Although the other characters in your party Pe, a C9 fight without your controlling them, you can set Celine unleashes a the Al for each character. Each has six options very potent attack. that are slightly unique. Also, there are 13 different formations you can apply to your party. “Emotional Level à All characters have an emotional level in relation to the other characters. This bond characters form can actually change the way they reminisce about their adventures at the end of the game. Even better, if two characters E Specialties z e s N have a strong bond and one is killed during Normal moves are the basic attacks characters _ s I S We have no idea what S combat, the survivor can attack with rage and use in combat. However, even if a character has k T that thing is. S palse axia amade no traditional magic powers, he or she can spend ` w d : Magic Points with Specialties or Killer Moves. bron s ltem Creation These Killer Moves can also be combined together to form a Link Combo to deliver even more damage. But first, you must find the Link Combo item hidden somewhere on the planet. Lastly, there are the Super Specialties that are created cooperatively by the party. For these, certain conditions and skills apply. — While items can be found or bought, some must be created. To do so, you must first be proficient at a skill, like cooking, compounding, alchemy, or metalwork. Then, you need to obtain the raw materials to work with, like seafood, grains, gold, or crystal. Work with a material and something will be created, but the result can be completely unexpected. The specialty level, skill level, and talents of the character will all affect the outcome. PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game e Special Features: Over 160 Monster To Capture & Combine; Summons; Four Types of Magic; Voice-Overs; Over 600 Beautiful Pre-Rendered Backgrounds; Art Direction by Katsuya Kondoh; Anime Intro e Created by: Genki for Crave Entertainment e Available: July for PlayStation 0 The early part of this year saw Guardian’s Crusade, 607% Complete Legend of Legaia, and Shadow Madness. And more of the same is on the way with titles like Lunar the Silver Star Story, Star Ocean, and FF VIII. While RPGs will never be the most dominant genre in America, they have seen such an increase in numbers lately that we’re tempted to proclaim 1999, The Year of the Geek...er...RPG. Sorry about that. But hey, having a streak of geek is of little concern when you have all these games to choose from. pce £ Fighter 3tb for the Dreamcast, is an í - upcoming option. a] In Jade Cocoon, players take on the \ Ç role of Levant, a young Cocoon master. ` w Levant has the ability to capture evil ~ minions and keep them trapped in cocoons. Such a prison is called a Firefly Cocoon. But this is worthless to a master like Levant without the help of a Cocoon Sorceress, | | who can purify the minion within. Once purified, the new | White Cocoon can serve two ends. It can be spun into silk | by the sorceress and then traded for cash, or the purified minion can be summoned by the 4 Cocoon Master in battle. But that's only the VA beginning, because the minions can be | N combined together by a sorceress to | form a new and more powerful monster. These combinations are ' seemingly endless because each combination can then be joined with other combinations! But t beware. Cocoons purified by anyone other than a female | sorceress are tainted and must never be touched. Once you have purified a minion, it effectively becomes | a member of your party. While you can store a | wide number of minions, only three at a time can | be equipped and used in battle. The bummer is, when you summon a minion to battle, it takes | your place instead of fighting by your side. However, you can switch back and forth as much | as you like and it doesn’t always cost an attack turn. | Enhancing the game further are stunning character models and painted backdrops that are rich in color and finely detailed. The games art director is Katsuya Kondoh, t who has been the conceptual artist and director of popular | anime films like Totoro My Neighbor, Ki Ki’s Delivery I Service, and Princess Mononoke. The graphics and B eplay of Jade Cocoon definitely make it one to watch. š W I Ë Game Informer * May '99 PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1-Player Action (2-Player Minigames) e Special Features: Analog Required; 25 Levels; Minigames Such as Boxing, Skiing, & Galaxy Monkey; 10 Gadgets; Bosses; Tank & Raft Vehicles; Worldwide Launch; Memory Card & Dual Shock Compatible e Created by: SCEI for Sony Computer Entertainment America e Available: June for PlayStation 80% Complete In Japanese, the name of this game translates into “Monkey Get You.” Oddly, in the American and European markets, the game is known as Ape Escape. Calling a monkey an ape...there has to be some animal rights group out there that’s upset about this one. Erroneous vernacular aside, Ape Escape is a wild game. After over two and a half years of development, Ape Escape is ready to shock the world as the first game that requires an analog controller. It stars the young upstart Kakeru on his quest to capture renegade bands of monkeys that have been turned intelligent and evil by a siren-equipped helmet. The goal on each of Ape Escape’s 25 levels is to capture the monkeys hidden throughout. Some of these devilish little fellows are easy to find, while The Boxing Minigame is a others are cleverly hidden. Rock’em Sock’em good time. / Controlling Kakeru is easy. The left analog stick maneuvers him both That’s no spacestation... on land and in water (standard analog rules apply — press lightly to walk, that's a monkey. push all the way to run), and by pressing down on this stick you can also crouch or crawl (which is good for sneaking up on cheeky monkeys). The symbol buttons serve as a quick interface for choosing gadgets, with the shoulder buttons delivering camera controls and the ability to jump. The right analog stick controls the gadgets that Kakeru finds dur- ing his quest. For example, when you press the stick in a direction with the club equipped, Kakeru takes a swing. Spin the stick 360 degrees and Kakeru arcs the club around him. The stick works differently with each gadget, so mastering each is essential for solving the various puz- zles and passing the platform pratfalls that await. L Some of the more unique gadgets that Kakeru will find include the Sweet Sassy Mollassey! Remote Control car (that Kakeru drives using the right analog stick); the radar (that you can use to deliver live broadcasts of the monkeys in their hiding spots); the dash hoop (that with some quick spins of the right analog stick sends Kakeru shooting across the screen); the sling shot (that takes the player to a first-person view where you pull back and release the right analog stick to fire); and the propeller (that you spin with the analog to achieve flight). Ape Escape is mostly an action game, but there are plenty of platforming elements to keep things interesting. For example, at one point in the game, you are charged with the task of hitting a switch using the slingshot from a moving platform. Certainly nothing new eo Kr yr si A What? Did you think finding the w monkeys was going to be easy! G there, but check this out. At another point in the game, you must drive LS must vrer m vera = the RC car through a series of obstacles on a level below you, while you | : : m ine e-r isu] ; f shark infested waters. e- £ — control Kakeru on a glass structure above. If that's not rubbing your Go ahead, touch my monkey. = belly and patting your head at the same time, we don’t know what is. PRESTAS ae TOUCH HIM! m" Ape Escape also features 60 specter coins for you to collect that will unlock even more zany fun in the form of Ape Escape’s minigames. Using the two analog sticks, you can unlock a skiing game, a 1 or 2-player boxing game, and even a very Asteroid—esque game called Galaxy Monkey. Also, if you clear a level of all the monkeys, you are given a chance to challenge a time attack mode where you can race against the clock. Ape Escape may be the first game to be exclusive to the analog controller, but we’re willing to bet that it’s not the last. While control- ling all aspects of the game using the analog sticks is a tad clumsy at first, it soon becomes second nature and creates a new experience in If you were a monkey, where the world of video games. would you hide? i os I “We guess a hero in the mouth is ~ better than a banana in the tailpipe. A Game Informer * May '99 49 Playstation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1 or 2-Player Racing e Special Features: Over 400 Cars; 60 License Exams; 20 Tracks; Sounds Recorded At 3 Actual Racing Tracks; PocketStation & Dual Shock Compatible; 5 American Manufacturers; Rally Racing, Drag Racing, & Mountain Climbing; Help Mode e Created by: Polyphony Digital for Sony Computer Entertainment America e Available: September for PlayStation 70% complete Exiending TI 16 Legacy uch ready accomplist the toughest feats in the dog-eat-dog world of game design. His genre-defining game, Gran Turismo, set new standards for the rest of the | industry — standards that no one had ever achieved, nor | could surpass. But Yamauchi was not satisfied. His desire | with GT was to make the game equivalent of an “encyclopedia of cars.” That's a lofty goal; one that is | likely never to be accomplished. | But don't tell him that. He's determined to hit that | pinnacle, and Gran Turismo 2 is the next step towards racing nirvana. Featuring over 400 real cars and 20 |§ tracks, GT2 can easily be described as the most |] encompassing racer ever designed. His team of 40 developers {out of the 60 employed by Polyphony) will | attempt to defy the odds once again and create the single reatest racing game ever. Round the clock since April of | 998, Yamauchi and Co. have worked feverishly to create a racing game that is so realistic, so deep, that few UT any) racers will ever top it. His team went out and tested cars around the globe, noting the nuances of each. They even | recorded sounds for over 120 of the cars at three | different racing venues in America and Europe (Sears Point Raceway and Laguna Seca in the U.S.; Donnington Park in Europe), keeping track of the smallest details. GT2 currently includes five different American manufacturers |f (Ford, Chevy, Dodge/Plymouth, Shelby, and Vector) and has licenses for 39 American cars, with more pending. In terms of realism, everything imaginable has been done to achieve Yamauchi’s impossible dream, and to make every racing enthusiast around the world happy. Gran Turismo 2 also has refined physics and grapes L engines, squeezing the PlayStation until it turns blue (you | gotta love it when a developer says, “there was a little bit | more room, so we used it”). The Al of computer opponents | has been increased dramatically, making the player earn * that first place finish. Sixty license exams ensure that — players know how to drive with the precision of a steel-nerved pro. For those that can’t cut the nee ney y difficult exams, a help mode is added, allowing the ity : less-skilled driver to enjoy every inch of this title. There are also a couple of added racing modes including rally racing, dra K and mountain climbing up Pike’s Peak. As if all this weren’t enough, Gran Turismo 2 will support the PocketStation, allowing drivers | to save their fastest times and | share them with others, creating a ranking among friends. Players can also trade cars through the PocketStation. Gran Turismo 2 is still a couple of months off, but there isn’t | much doubt that this will be the greatest racer ever seen. Especially since the first still hasn’t been eclipsed. Sia K aN ay Eii = Game Informer * May '99 = ~ _ PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action ° Special Features: Earn & Collect Guitar Effects; 7 Levels; Pitch Bending; 2-Player Vs. or Cooperative; 2 Difficulty Levels; Cutscenes; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Created by: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. s Available: Now In Japan for PlayStation (U.S. Release in ‘99) Translation Easy — Text and speech can both [EIO be experienced in English. Keep On Rockin’ is still aired, there 'S trouble tapping yOu" U e is about eae t. : grind it ou ext best thing to sty room. sleep in a a your guitar. To R by the rhythm, as well as the P bat e will be grade uence. button pee your pedal in-between. E aaa | — Like ol. with bad and 9 the result, you W gr L > of awful to CoO’, 4 and, depending on a awful. yo n T down the scale — ual lick is judge? < i — x eG II have to play the x If you ever din down pan ae eer i L : each y and her guitar are 9 over. elow | SUCCessfy| not th aRapp beat it, yo e the star of th u ll unlock him a s is gam gle- o S, with 300 TS, the other erwise, hi to having both neon’ at the end of t unlocked. ^ players on guitar, on he Song wins. in addition Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1 Player Action/Adventure ° Special Features: Interactive 3D Environment; Dinosaurs Stalk & Disarm Characters; Weapon Combining & Creation; Blood Trails; Spooky e Created by: Capcom e Available: 3rd Quarter for PlayStation It's not all shooting and running in Dino Crisis. 50% Complete ust when it looked like dinosaurs might get jammed into that cute and cuddly ” category that the vicious unicorn and deadly pegasus got stuck in, Capcom leaked the word on its next grisly thriller that’s sure to earn fearful respect for all the Jurassic killers: Dino Crisis. As Regina, you lead a team of government agents to Ibis Island on a simple mission: capture Professor Kirk and nab the plans to his energy experiment. As per usual, things quickly spiral out of control when it’s discovered that carnivorous beasts of a reptilian nature are all over the island. Is there a Se Se relation between Kirk’s experiment and the dinosaurs? Probably, but you’ll have to get off the island alive to make your report. Produced by Shinji Mikami, the man behind the Resident Evil series, Dino Crisis promises to be an experiment in survival and horror. The raptors don’t just appear at set points in the hallway and wait for you to gun ‘em down. No, they stalk and toy with you, even knocking weapons out of your hands if they get the chance. Luckily, Regina knows how to put two weapons together when she finds them in the fully 3D polygonal environment. A smart player will come up with a unique arsenal she can shove down a rex’s throat. Then there’s the little touches. Characters begin walking in a cautious manner when they (not you) suspect danger is near. Better safe than sorry, since a severely injured character will leave a trail of blood behind them wherever they go — and these dinosaurs love blood. Secret missions don’t come any scarier than Dino Crisis. “My stained glass window!” Well...maybe a little running. a Not a good dino killing position. ` Investigating Professor Kirk's lab. j Injuries like this will cause trails of blood. Picking off enemies in the calls for G Rifle accuracy. Just like in Bond's Nintendo 64 adventure, react realistically according to where they are A bullet in the head is instananeo! Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action ° Special Features: 3 Perspectives of Play (Foot, Skiing, Driving); Wide Variety of Stealth & Combat Tactics; Sniping; Nonlinear Mission Select; Multiplayer With Several Character Choices; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Created by: Black Ops for MGM Interactive/Electronic Arts e Available: Summer for PlayStation 65% Complete Bond's many gadgets nn a vo ompleting missions, Here he uses : The player has a slew of targeting mo from, one even features a transpare the movies and even offe scenes not featured in the fi e ® PlayStation Playstation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM Preview s Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure s Style: 1-Player Action/Shooting s Special Features: Chakram (Xena’s ° Special Features: 4 Vehicles; 25 Trademark Weapon); 8 Different Weapons; New Echolocation Device; 3 Environments; Hidden Weapons; Difficulty Levels; 30 Missions; Ground Locations From Popular Episodes; Troops; Memory Card Save; Dual Shock Ambiguous Love Interests(?) & Analog Compatible na q e Created by: Universal Studios Digital e Created by: Psygnosis c came Arts for 989 Studios u. a] | ° Available: June for PlayStation Oy ° Available: August for PlayStation Ey. . — E e Mand ] 80% Complete emas, 11 10% Complete Three feet m Front of Your Face An easy kill. The first G Police entered the game world | mythology, medieval superstition, and campy ff ra with mixed reviews. Some felt that the game À mock-comedy coexist. This land is a land Y ima was huge and intuitive, while others believed beyond time, beyond history, and beyond A i the game was fundamentally flawed with its belief. It’s the land of the Action Pack, and G, ia difficult control scheme and limited visibility. home to heroes Hercules and Xena. Fans U un z. ASS aan Psygnosis responded to these often-heard everywhere must be asking, when will |. be ndh — i s 94 0 complaints while creating G Police: Weapons able to play an Action Pack interactive “um b Gan S > of Justice. I | game? Game Informer never thought to ask i The biggest enhancement is the new wire- such a question, because quite frankly, we frames that go up before getting too close to didn’t care. Xena is great for television, and i | buildings, helping to prevent many of the the struggle of good vs. evil is a gripping | € unnecessary collisions that plagued the first journey, through fantastic lands, but a video ` Sa game. Now, when you start getting close, a game? C’mon! < ' W: green frame of the upcoming object appears. As big-time Xena enthusiasts, Game x 5 S The control has also been simplified, allowing Informer wonders what 989 Studios and IU the novice to have fun while giving the — Universal Digital plans for our beloved Warrior | fm veteran ultimate freedom of movement. Princess. Perhaps an ambiguous love story, ` N x Si Four different vehicles are another with an underwater kiss. Perhaps it’s a Wireframes stretch the improvement over the original, with ground spellbound Joxer, obeying the command of nonon a ot more: vehicles like the Havoc (a small assault car) some devillsh monster. We just had to find out oN rom sl W and the Raptor (a two-legged attack robot). what lay in store for Xena and her trusty ” P ~q The Havoc can get around the city pretty sidekick Gabrielle (we call her Gabby). What N N quickly, and is very responsive. The Raptor did we do? We called 989. - ie fr has the ability to leap high Into the air and | The Xena: Warrior Princess game for N ° hover about, making it the most versatile of | PlayStation takes us deep within the world of WS ë GSS vehicles. l. GH Xena. Her latest adventure brings Xena face- fine Fi ` Thirty missions will keep even the most to-face with the dreaded Minotaur King and ` seasoned officers on thelr toes, complete Amazon Queen. You see, the evil pair plans to | He shouldn't have F with new enemy Al, three levels of difficulty, __ kidnap Gabrielle, then use her as a sacrifice pole We way new ground troops, and more. Can G Police: | to an evil sorceress. To rescue Gabrielle, L eee ao ep pare Weapons of Justice deliver on its promise of | Xena and ‘her trademark weapon, the 7 ii righting the wrongs, and produce a title that | Chakram, do battle against the hordes of ‘ ‘Is astonishing? The answer will be here — Hades. It seems the entire underworld has SE E s: thls summer. risen to meet Xena - even Dyzan, the fire- £ i breathing gatekeeper of Hades. In Xena, all of the settings are taken straight from the | TV show, and Action Pack fans (like us) B manas | will recognize: Valarian’s Castle, Hades’ The other new member of Underworld, and the Temple Of The Pinnacle. the squad, the Havoc, tt w ao Game Informer * May '99 PlayStation PlayStation e Size: 1 CD-ROM pr l s Size: 1 CD-ROM s Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure e Style: 1 or 2-Player Puzzle e Special Features: Vampires; Soul Sucking; e Special Features: Cascading Blocks; Time Interactive Objects; Gliding; Spectral & Trial, Vs., Marathon, & Classic Modes; Material Planes; Real-Time & FMV Spinning Playfields; Player Record & Leader Cutscenes; Wall Climbing; Recruit Help Board Save Via Memory Card e Created by: Crystal Dynamics for Eidos e Created by: Blue Planet Software for s Available: May 24 for PlayStation Hasbro Interactive e Available: June for PlayStation jaz ° It's a long drop... fm 80% Complete 70% Complete en, ...but hey, you've got wings. | Sometimes you hear about a game and GERETS: LEVEL 3 Hasbro Interactive is in league with the E want it to fail miserably (like Rob Liefield’s HT loony bins. The asylums haven’t been filled Youngblood). Other times you hear about a EE E with the Tetricized freaks out there in a while game and want it to revolutionize the indus- r since, given time, the block-fitting dreams try. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver falls into the Ei ume have subsided. But now, those susceptible to latter category. Early versions of Soul Reaver == F'IP mereg line madness better beware - The Next Tetris hint at huge level designs, inspiring graphics, cometh! and excellent control. Yet, as much as we ve J This time around, not only will you have to want Soul Reaver to be a great game, we ner- Eanan consider where a block must be placed for vously await its May release date. maximum efficiency, but also how it will In its early form, Soul Reaver has yet to a HE Jie break and cascade. That's right, multi-col- demonstrate any cohesion or flow to its L. i ored blocks will split apart when they reach adventure, and: concerns regarding the cam- mmc x their target point, sliding down if space is era still loom heavily. Manual camera adjust- T available. This simple feature adds volumes ments in 3D games used to be acceptable, to the already mind-numbing Tetris placement but that time has passed. So it must be the š | strategies. But if this gets to be too much for game's potential that has us all stoked. T S your addled brain, you can always retreat to Kevin Garnett gets $126 million and Raziel i Pie cree Classic mode, which harkens back to simpler gets his face plastered on a dozen covers of f Tetris times. various gaming magazines. But remember, it ! When you've built up your personal record is potential we're talking about. Except for dl, MHH and skill level, you and a friend (or better yet, some people at Crystal and Eidos, no one has G$ a a bitter Tetris rival) can plug your memory gotten a good look at this game, Just bits and vm Ñ H cards into the PlayStation and face off in pleces. We still remain hopeful, though, r = J split-screen. In addition to the cascading because Crystal says It will (or, at least, it ' | s blocks, 2-player gives opponents the ability to 2 would like to) delay Soul Reaver if it's not up “sa tod a | @ spin their adversary’s playing field whenever all to snuff. Of course, Crystal won’t wait too yi “ $ a particularly brilliant bit of block laying is long and have a Wild 9 fiasco on its hands. P ee me performed. Make sure to take your Lastly, consider that Eidos has the final say. Dramamine before getting into serious com- And who would be surprised If Eidos held Soul petition in this mode. Reaver back, not necessarily to perfect it, but eh A s ing The Next Tetris should make everyone to Include it in its 1999 holiday lineup, filling 1 keo o happy. It has all the elements of the original, the void temporarily left by its actión/adven- | plus enough new options to keep its crown as ture cash cow, Lara Croft? | Í = |) the king of the puzzlers. Open the sanitari- This is all speculation, but then again, so + -~ a ums! is claiming that Soul Reaver is “one of the ! 2 p most epic gaming masterpieces of the year.” 55 Game Informer * May '99 Dreamcast Preview ! e Size: 1 GD-ROM s Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting e Special Features: Full 3D Arenas; 8 Characters (Plus More Hidden); Multiple Weapons & Power-Ups; Interactive Arenas; Unlock New Items & Power-Ups; 3 VMU Games e Created by: Capcom s Available: Fall for Dreamcast (Now in Japan) Translation d — The options are in Analysis Playable Japanese, but it is simply a For years, the fighting genre has been stagnant. Ever since Street Fighter, the only significant advances have been the 3D graphics and the side-step maneuver. However, there has been a recent increase in completely new styles of fighters. Super Smash Bros. features up to four players at once, on levels with multiple tiers. Ehrgeiz features a huge 3D arena, and a quest mode where items can be picked up and used. And Destrega also uses the 3D arena format, with players flitting about all over the place, smacking each other with projectile attacks. Now, Capcom hopes to succeed in this new 3D fighting market with the release of Power Stone. With depth and imagination never seen before, Power Stone is simply awe- inspiring. Grab anything in the room that’s not nailed to the floor and huck it at your adversary. Leap up and grab the beam supporting the room and shimmy to the top for a better position. Swing by the rafters, waiting for opponents to be in the right place, and put the drop on them. It’s all up to you to exploit the numerous ways to win. So numerous, in fact, that unlike other fighting games, a certain character does not have to do the same moves to maximize his or her effectiveness. Instead, the player can play more in his or her own style. Are you a long-range fighter? Send some boxes toward the opponent, or pick up a gun and use it. Do you like to spend your time up close and personal? Multiple combos, as well as swords, hammers, pipes, and more appear, specifically for whacking on someone’s head. Are you the grapplin’ type? Use one of the many grab attacks and smack the beasts around. But this description does not even begin to uncover the excellence of Power Stone. In fact, the thing that puts this fighter over the top has not yet been mentioned. What could that be? Why, the Power Stones, of course. On each level players attempt to possess all three Power Stones. As the stones are being collected, the players can beat each other down and knock the stones loose, creating a sub-game of tag. And keep those Power Stones away from your opponent at all costs! For whoever acquires all three Power Stones powers-up and transforms into a dangerous, super-powerful being, able to unleash dangerous super attacks on the other person with ease. Considering that there are only three stones on the board, the battle for these are very important indeed. As it stands, Power Stone is easily one of the most unique fighting games out there. But is it a game that will enable Sega to gain a foothold? We shall see as September arrives — and with it, the release of the Dreamcast. Characters change orms once a _the Power Stones are e obtained. TET R Characters can interact withthe ` ones. such as climbing poles. PL: = a oe i Along with dangerous weapons like the Grenade Launcher. there are also defense items, like y E the shield. oo +. ë | There are many ways to attac your opponent. j x This super is pretty ft and quite color UTAFUTE GLANCE Chameleon Twist 2 For those who didn’t get enough tongue action in part one, here comes Chameleon Twist 2 from Sunsoft. Choose from four different chameleon characters (which differ only in hue) and venture about an adorable Technicolor world, using your tongue aS a weapon and main mode of | transportation. In addition to the various tongue ~ maneuvers of the first game, all chameleons now come equipped with a retractable parachute. Chameleon Twist 2 is a platformer of the most difficult caliber, but it crosses that fine line between challenging and frustrating. The timing required to pull off the moves that this game demands will quickly anger most players. However, if you were a fan of the original, enjoy shouting profanity, or love throwing controllers in F disgust, you might want to check it out. Micro Machines 64 Turbo If you’ve played the PlayStation version of Micro Machines, then you've played this one. Micro Machines 64 Turbo has only one new feature: you can adjust the speed of the races with a turbo setting. Up to four players can race with cars won from beating the challenges. For those who enjoyed games such as R/C Pro Am, MM 64 Turbo is a perfect choice. The tracks are themed; some of them are at the beach, others are on the dinner table, still others have different variations. Trade cars that you win with other players, and race them against each other. If you don't already have the PlayStation version, take a look. You might be surprised. Fighting Force 64 After arriving on the PlayStation well over a year ago, Fighting Force has finally made it to the N64. Essentially, it's the same game, minus the excessive loading time. Fighting Force is no S ordinary fighting game, using an action format to _ bring players on a quest to stop the evil Dr. Zeng | from destroying the world. During this quest, players encounter interactive objects, weapons, power-ups, and alternate paths. This solid į concept is heightened by good graphics, but the combat is lackluster. Novice fighters will enjoy it, 5 but if you're looking for a challenge, look elsewhere. Forget about combos and juggles, Fighting Force is serious button mashing. Combine that with wave after wave of unexceptional enemies, and you have a forgettable action game. ° Size: 64 | ° Style: 1- Action/Platform ¢ Special Features: 4 Characters; Parachute; Tongue Snatch; Tongue Stand; Tongue Vault: Tongue Flip; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible ¢ Replay Value: Moderately Low unsoft Bottom Line: 6.5 Review e Size: 128 Megabit ° Style: 1 to 4-Player Racing ¢ Special Features: Collect Cars To Trade With Friends; 4 Modes (1-Player, Multiplayer, Teams, Party Play); Same as PlayStation Version; Controller & Rumble Pak Compatible ° Replay Value: Moderately High e Created by: Codemasters for Midway e Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: L ° Size: 128 Megabit ° Style: 1 or 2-Player Action/Fighting e Special Features: 4 Playable Characters; Power-Ups & Weapons; Breakable Foreground Objects; Level Branching; Rumble & Controller Pak Compatible e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Core Design for Crave Entertainment s Available: Now for Nintendo 64 Bottom Line: 6 e° ] 5 Game Informer * May '99 SE GLANCE CLANCE CLANCE A Bug's Life ske TANGA A Sony-published platformer has managed to ° Style: 1-Player make its way to the N64. Developed by | Action/Platform Traveller's Tales for Activision, A Bug's Life casts EREE the player as Flik, and reenacts the entire movie AUE EN from start to finish. Collecting items, throwing Multiple PowerÚps; berries, and discovering secret areas are all part APO Ee of the package. If you have already seen this munis game on the PlayStation, you know what to eK rad eh Wa expect. However, Traveller's Tales has included Challenge Mode a new feature called the Challenge mode, where ea aa players are pushed to complete certain tasks in Tales for Activision a set time. There are 60 of these challenges, s M ig which will unlock more secrets as they are completed, as well as give players bragging rights on how fast they can collect grain. 90% Complete Monster Truck Madness SE Monster Truck Madness is the newest ° Style: 1 to 4-Player repackaging of the genre that has overrun the Racing N64: racing. In a truck with oversized tires, smash eee cars on the way to the finish line. Or, just run š sie. oer W around and smash cars. Army Armstrong, the Army Armstrong: voice of monster truck racing, provides the Realistic Dashboard commentary for the more interesting moments. Instrumentation Realistic dashboard instrumentation allows the . elas ked B player to look at multitudes of gauges that are Developers /Take-Two probably foreign. Five modes of play and eight Interactive tracks offer some variety of gameplay. Power- ° Available: July for ups are also added for more entertaining races. Nine Featuring 20 licensed trucks, including Bigfoot and Gravedigger, as well as WCW-themed trucks, Monster Truck Madness could fill a small 60% Complete niche in the oversaturated N64 racing market. Review | NBA In The Zone '99 A This game was actually close to being reall e Size: 1 CD-ROM 4 ° Style: 1 or 2-Player good. From a unique slam dunk contest to great Sports animation, NBA In The Zone ‘99 is much ° improved from last year. There are a number of Paka A preset camera angles, plus you can adjust the x Kee zoom and height. But ITZ ‘99 has two major rane cane Nea shortcomings. Although it's customizable in Players; 3 Modes: almost every way, you can’t speed up the Sala painfully slow gameplay. More importantly, the Ë ° Baol aeee control is horrid. Players on court respond slowly, K ° Created by: Konami and sometimes begin an animation sequence TE Voa that overrides the control. You could have a fast Ñ ° Available: Now for break and want to push the ball down the floor, PlayStation but your player may pull up and slow down, no Bottom Line: matter how hard you press that d-pad. Frustrating!!! © Game Informer * May ‘99 CLANCE While this game may not be the next Resident ereas 71 Evil, it is certainly one nice title. Play as multiple | ee 1-Player | members of the Tactical Rescue Assault Group, 1 a @ while you attempt to stop terrorists from IR rate deaa pa" so E rates g eliminating a crew of scientists and accessing a Sen ARE ass. researe top-secret experiment. Multiple weapons, tough Characters at Any Time: puzzles, and a solid fighting base ensure that the A Eoo player has a good time. Each of the five to Resident Evil | characters have combo attacks to use on the [B ara ie sewa qi ° y: Sunsoft opponents, and characters can be swapped | FEP anytime after meeting the other characters. Also, PlayStation multiple pathways offer diverse gameplay. Although the voice-overs are a little stale, and the game isn't quite as gripping as Resident Evil, e G is a lot Vais in re title. For the unsure, (MACUL AUCs l rent it; but for avowed fans of the RE type of 7 5 game, this is a must buy. ° Í Monster Seed Although Monster Seed is a valiant effort at figa ee Ñ i s š ize: 1 CD-ROM showcasing the collectible items idea, the game | RRP Rane ! falls short in a number of ways. The translation | TT] is horrid, leading to confusion and making 1 T otherwise simple situations tough. The control is E Epshi S S $ ollect; Gene Splicing; more complicated than it should be, and getting | Strategy-Based Battles: around is slow. However, behind these flaws, Í OIT I players will find an interesting strategy game that E TT requires them to collect seeds to hatch new |# A monsters. Some of these monsters are very | Erena powerful, while others are extremely weak. The Í| FT] game also has a 2-player mode for battling. 111 : : : PlayStation you are a strategy fiend in need of a fix, check out Monster Seed. Otherwise, stay away for fear of a boredom-induced death. Bottom Line: Triple Play 2000 While Triple Play 2000 is quite a step up from its ls Soe Cheon predecessor in terms of gameplay and speed, | aiT the game still has a long way to go. The camera 1 angles are the biggest concern, causing trouble Í B ie carde i for the defense. Another major problem is that | ERa TT the game is inconsistent with logic and general 1 1] e baseball teachings, making the player switch eu Stag fielders every time a ball is put into play. Batting Ë EST is extremely simple, with strikeouts a rare I MAIS HOM T Í Occurrence. As important as the pitcher-batter | aeaa confrontation is in baseball, you would expect it | Saan = to be a little tougher to hit. Check it out, sports f RRUGES AZE B fans, but don't expect any amazing progressions 1 in Triple Play this year. Bottom Lin s 6 e 5 Game Informer * May '99 © GLANCE KaR As last year’s pick for PlayStation baseball, we oe Style: 1 or 2Player were very eager to put MLB 2000 through the it Mate T Sports paces. What we found is a game virtually TESE i . H E A TEE: . i SUDER 7 ° aaoi aar N identical to MLB ‘99. This isn't a bad thing, N cunve & Home Run Derby l because features such as the fantastic Spring Bet Modes; Player Training mode are still intact. 989 Studios made s mess 21 Sammy Sosa rK 7 the obligatory updates to rosters, stadiums, and — Pea Create Player; 175 menu aesthetics. There is also new General NI TEEN Manager options, as well as color commentary by Stances; Dual Shock & [ i int f Analog Compalbe ESPN’s Dave Campbell. Our biggest complaint anei with last years game was the overabundance of js ° Available: Now for home runs and 989 has addressed this issue, but | Jon you can still jerk them out with the power hitters. meet This is essentially the same game with minor Bottom Line: tune ups. A solid game, but a little disappointing. BD, ure AVG 000 HAG ARO IODAYGO 8.5 Preview | croc 2 Mor TY Awwww...Look at the cute little baby crocodile. ° Style: 1-Player He makes such cute little noises and does such Action/Platform cute little things. He even has a cute little sequel: e Special Features: 5 Croc 2. This time, Croc has to leave the island eae inhabited by the cute Gobbos to find his parents. Each; New Croc Moves; . š s On the mainland, he runs into all-new cute Pets Gobbos that give him clues and sometimes fight Shock & Analog alongside him. What other cute things will Croc S STE H 20 n this new adventure? He'll pick up some new Software Ltd. for Fox cute moves like the high tail attack, power flip, Interactive hanging kick, and the boost super jump. Croc will emo” use crystals to buy extra lives, jellyjumps, and PlayStation clockwork Gobbos. He'll even travel back in time, 20,000 years before Croc existed. If you're hooked on Croc, then Croc 2 is sure to delight " with its improved color and textures, and 10% Complete smoother gameplay. How cute! ATANN omega Boost s Omega Boost may be a shooter, but it’s a shooter eee with incredible graphics and a rather silly sto ° Style: 1-Player Shooter WR g p aa y k ry ° Special Features: 9 line. Charged with the mission to take a giant § ATAU MMS mecha into the past and replace a vacuum tube eee on the ENIAC, you can't get much sillier than Person Camera Views; i Full Replay With 4 Omega Boost. Yet, armed with a Razor and Camera Angles; 2 Vulcan Cannon, you can't get much more intense UIT 789 action than ripping through the legions of Alpha : pore ee Core enemies, defeating gigantic bosses along | Tor Sony Computer the way. And, while the story may be silly, the | [TOI graphics are no joke. Not only does this game | VEST look like a movie, it treats the player to some of | Eres GUEZ the most amazing graphics on the PlayStation. At | p one point, you take on a giant metallic head that | morphs and stretches with each hit. Impressive. Most i ive. 90% Complete ost impressive © Game Informer * May ‘99 GLANCE ARR 72" London 1969 Shooting people and stealing their cars is a long- standing American tradition that dates back to 1924, when Henry Ford first said, “Git yo’ self outta my Model T for’n | tizommy gun y'arse.” Was it any wonder, then, that Grand Theft Auto succeeded? Capitalizing on that success, Take- Two Interactive’s new edgy-content subsidiary, Rockstar, is not only going to release a GTA sequel, but also the first PlayStation add-on pack — Grand Theft Auto: London 1969. The expansion will give players the chance to cruise the streets of the U.K., committing larceny and avoiding bobbies in the European cars of yesteryear. These were the halcyon days of police without guns, hippies on parade, and good-natured souls all around. They'll never expect a car-jacking maniac. Good hunting. RTT EIS NFL Football — Visual Concepts’ NFL Football (working title) will ® be one of the first sports titles for the American Dreamcast and will help set the tone for the | system's reputation as a sports machine. We | showed a glimpse of this game last month and S now have some new and improved pictures of | it. Note the detailed crowd. Instead of using » painted backdrops, the crowds are animated, as _ are the bench players and camera crews. Plus, check out the ref running down the sideline in an attempt to follow the play. Attention has also been put on collision. When a player is struck by another, how he responds will depend on where he is struck (low, middle, or high) and from which of eight directions. Expect to see NFL Football as a launch title this fall. G Top n Gear pork et 1 As far as racing games go, there aren't that many on the Game Boy Color. Top Gear Pocket T tries to be a nice racer, but falls short in key areas. Firstly, this game is very unoriginal, laid | out exactly like the old classic, Rad Racer. | Secondly, the different cars don’t seem to be | that different, and finally the challenge is nearly nonexistent. The tracks all seem the same. The rumbling is kind of nice, but it doesn’t even come | close to saving this cart. However, the control is solid, albeit exceptionally simple and mundane. Of course, racing games don't exactly shine on | the Game Boy. Kemco should have realized this | before attempting Top Gear Pocket. BESCERL SESE © Ge | PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM ° Style: 1-Player Action ° Special Features: Cars & Scenery From London’s Past; Many Hidden Vehicles; Shoot People for Their Cars; Controversy; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Created by: DMA Design for Rockstar e Available: October for PlayStation 45% Complete: e Size: 1 GD-ROM è Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports e Special Features: NFL & NFLPA Licenses; Animated Crowds; All 31 NFL Stadiums; VMU Compatible; Season Mode; Create Player; On-Field Refs e Created by: Visual Concepts for Sega e Available: September for Dreamcast 30% Complete: ° Size: 2 Meg Cart s Style: 1-Player Racing (2-Player via Link) ° Special Features: 8 Cars (Plus More Hidden); 6 Tracks (Plus More Hidden); Rumble Cart; 3 Modes (Championship, Time Attack, 2-Player Vs.) ° Replay Value: Moderately Low e Created by: Kemco e Available: Early April (tentative) for Game Boy Color Bottom Line: Game Informer * May '99 CR e Size: Unknown s Style: 1-Player Role Playing Game e Special Features: Over 100 Monsters To Join Your Quest; Unique Battle Interface; Fuse Monsters for New Personas e Created by: Atlus e Available: July for Game Boy Color 40% Complete s Size: Unknown ° Style: 1 or 2-Player Action/Platform ¢ Special Features: Contains Original Super Mario Bros.; Identical to Arcade/NES Versions; All Old Bugs & Cheats Included; New 2-Player Vs. Mode; 32 New “Challenge” Courses; Game Boy Printer Compatible e° Created by: Nintendo e Available: May 10 for Game Boy Color 85% Complete ° Size: 4 Megabit s Style: 1-Player Action ° Special Features: 6 Intricately Detailed Environments; Secret Areas & Hidden Items; 3 Battery-Backed Save Slots e Created by: Rareware e Available: April 26 for Game Boy & Game Boy Color 90% Complete © Game Informer * May ‘99 CLAW CE Persona: Revelations enjoys a strong underground following, with multiple fan sites dedicated to this obscure series. Atlus finally plans to reward the faithful with Revelations: The Demon Slayer. Armed with weapons, a sharp mind, and a handful of clues, players set out to gather over 100 monsters that can be convinced to join their group, allowing them to create new personas. Battles are not the same as most RPGs, as the player is constantly trying to convince the monsters to join. Fighting is always used as a last resort. For a new RPG that’s portable and not Pokémon, Revelations: The Demon Slayer looks like it will be fun and original. Nintendo has found a great way to resurrect } some classic NES games that would otherwise never be played again. Using the newly found power of the Game Boy Color, Super Mario Deluxe will feature the same gameplay and levels found in the NES version that took the world by storm. All of the classic “secrets” are [ts included, like hopping on the turtle in world 3 to get more lives, as well as the minus world. This resurrection is also equipped with a new 2-player mode and over 30 new challenge courses. A generation was infected by Nintendo because of this game, and now a whole new generation gets to experience it anew. But this time, it’s playable anywhere. Let’s hope that Nintendo continues to resurrect NES titles for the GBC. x à I/F. dan ALLN The Nintendo 64 game vanished from the face of {x gaming, and to be frank, we don't know if it’s ever coming back. But alas, the cute squirrel known as Conker is still a part of the gaming scene. He'll always be remembered as that pesky squirrel in Diddy Kong Racing, and now, he'll be thrust into | his first full-on adventure for the Game Boy. Rareware has claimed that this title is very reminiscent of Zelda: Link’s Awakening because it delivers the same kind of action and RPG S elements. Yeah right! This game is nothin’ like plà Zelda, because Link ain't no freakin’ squirrel. Link J; would eat the squirrel to rejuvenate hearts. Only C kidding. Conker’s looks like it has great potential. The colors are vibrant, the minigames look like a riot, and the exploration aspect seems interesting. R lÍ as name of the game Ë the character design rateg to hold out befo _ NBA Jam 99 : rather annoying it becomes q | If you are a WWII buff, then dig in to this real- time strategy game and lead the Russians against those pesky German fascists. |. There are tons of mis- sions in three formats: single battles, operations aS series of battles), and cam- paigns (a series of operations). Overall, CC3 is a good chal- lenge that requires excellent strategy and management skills. Plus, the interface is easy to use and kept me very informed during battle. However, a couple things bothered me, like a lack of flexibility. For instance, you can’t divide up an infantry unit to perform separate functions. Then, there’s this weird quirk. Let's say two infantry units are side by side. lf one gets slaughtered, it surrenders instead of joining the other's ranks. It’s ridiculous to watch 15 soldiers fighting while one or two wave the white flag. Aside from these petty complaints, | liked CC3 quite a bit and would recommend it to strategy fans who like to focus on warfare. If you like Superbike racing (crotch rockets on pavement), then you'll love this game. The sim side of the game is thorough, including a number of real professional bik- “mayus ers and bikes from Honda, Ducati, “Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. Plus, there are a number of real tracks, including Laguna Seca and Hockenheim. You can also tweak your bike so it performs just the way you like it. There are a number of viewpoints, including two dizzying first-person views. Personally, | get a little bored with racing games like this since | prefer weapons, big air, and power-ups. But there are some pretty sweet wipeouts in Superbike, and there is no denying the overall quality of this superb-looking game. Just make sure you have a graphics accelerator and a controller of some sort because the keyboard control is horrid. This game could be very sweet, but then again, Fox could screw it up. Honestly, | liked what | saw of this three-level demo. AvP is a first-person shoot- |, er that lets you take n three perspectives, that C the Alien, Predator or Maire Each is unique. Aliens have no weapons, but they can climb walls and ceilings, and move as fast as Marbury’s pen once he stepped off the plane in Newark. The Predator has Cloaking ability, good strength, and alien weaponry, but | thought it was the least interesting. The Marine doesn't really offer anything you haven't experienced before, but there is something to be said for the terror instilled by Aliens tracking you with incredible speed and stealth. When your proximity radar first starts beeping, you'll definitely feel your heart shake your rib cage. The graphics are really good, but sometimes the Aliens look a little small and disjointed when running at you. Regardless, AvP is scary and will be worth a look when it’s released in the middle of May. ‘fom H llo by Bergren, The Game Burrito A Stephon has left, but | don’t care. That's because I’ve been able to lose myself in Heroes of Might ` and Magic Ill. The pleasure of this strategic masterpiece is only overshadowed by the horror that is Extreme Bullrider. Don’t step in that one. sawam mana. VROU OOE IR EIA n i r — maim. Ü v w... q. . ek mS = A rite Fe te GOOS EZ Wina EI Lu = RL LIR = If you've played À Resident Evil 2 on the PlayStation, then ` there isn’t much of a reason to play it on the PC. Still, it's a great game for those who ü like horror and vio- lence. Capcom refers to this particular RE2 as the Platinum Edition for a couple of reasons. Least important is the inclu- sion of an RE2 screen saver. There is also a new Arrange game that places items in different places than in the original version, as well as a Gallery with a variety of artwork, including sketches and short movie clips. Lastly, the Extreme Battle mode does not need to be unlocked and is available from the start. My big disappointment with the game is that the lengthy load time is still intact. Bummer. But if you've never played RE2 and have a PC, this game will not disappoint. That's one-tenth of a < point for each second | was allowed to ride d the bull. | was actually wms interested in what this dl, unique-sounding title might have to offer, but it only lasted for w about...eight seconds. Although the game's called Extreme Bullrider, that only tells half the story. There is also a Bullfighting mode where you take on the role of a rodeo clown and clash horns with the bull of your choice, rodeo- style. But alas, the bold direction Head Games took with this title was not enough. | found the graphics acceptable, but everything else bored me to tears. The control is incredibly primitive and to stay on your bull you just move your mouse back and forth. To bullfight, race around and pick up power- ups while avoiding a slow-moving bull and green cow pies. I'm quite sure my rodeo-loving relatives in Nebraska would scorn Extreme Bullrider and | do too. Even Luke Perry did a better job of capturing rodeo excitement. A lot of folks have E been waiting for # Heroes Ill, and it appears to have been worth the wait. What’s great about this game is that it combines ) turn-based strategy, Mii ! role- -playing, and a solid adventure into one CD- ROM for a gaming treat that's bursting with fruit flavors. Building up towns and armies is fun in itself, but you also get to save your homeland of Erathia and battle hordes of enemies on the hard, cruel battlefield. But make no mistake, the strategy aspect of the game is the main focus; so if you don't like that, forget about it. However, even players who have not dedi- cated their lives to simulated tactical warfare, or have no past exposure to the Heroes series, can still enjoy this game. Plus, there is enough deviation from past versions (but not too much) to make Heroes III a safe bet for those who have played the other two. Basically, if you like strategy and fantasy, you'll like this game. The character development and adventure are just a great bonus. Recoil offers some furious arcade shoot- ing action in the first- and third-person from behind the controls of a high-tech tank. The levels are fairly large and open, and the graphics are pretty sweet with an accelerator card. However, perhaps the best feature of Recoil is the fluid and natural control. You'll immediately be able to speed around with pre- cision and destroy everything in your path. Power-ups are lit- tered everywhere and the six single-player campaigns con- sist of several mission objectives. There is also a story to this game, but it's practically worthless and conveyed through some of the cheesiest FMV ever. Your best bet is to ignore the story and just aim for anything that moves. There are also seven multiplayer levels that are loosely based on the campaign environments. If there is any depth to this game, it is most definitely in the multiplayer. If you just want to shoot and destroy, Recoil is for you, but | definitely wanted a little more substance to keep the itch in my trigger finger. Developers hie start- ed to come up with | different approaches to set their first-person shooters apart from the herd. Some games, like Thief, drastically changed gameplay to lure buyers. Xatrix, the creators of Redneck Rampage, have taken a more sensationalist approach with Kingpin. Extreme depravity and violence have garnered a lot of hype for this game. But that’s to be expected when your ultimate goal is to ascend the ranks of a seedy underworld. In a city marred by urban decay, gangs rule the streets. In Kingpin, you'll start a gang of your own and if one of your members shows some disrespect, you'll have to waste him. It's a cold and brutal world, but if you want to become Kingpin, you'll have to be all that and more. Yes, this game will be very violent, but other aspects, like character interac- tion, stealing, and item shops will hopefully add some variety too. Look for Kingpin this June. This is another first- person shooter, but Mortyr is special because it pays homage to the forefa- ther, Wolfenstein 3D, by dropping players into a world ruled by Lo Nazis. Society often frowns o on excessive vro prrs ly in video games), but when a Nazi is getting his brains blown out, the squeamish seem to find it less offensive. Go figure. The story goes like this: the Nazis won WWII and the future in the late 21st century is bleak. Two officers in the German high command, a father and son duo, discover that they have been living in an alternate universe, and that the Germans actually were supposed to lose WWII. The son, Sebastian Mortyr, travels back to the year 1944 to set things right. It's one man, and a technologically advanced arsenal, up against the Nazi army. | like those odds. Mortyr should be in stores this spring. Game Informer ¢ May '99 © This month we focus on Konami, who has decided to release a few ° titles that we were certain would never make it stateside. We thought Beat Mania the 1999 ASI show would simply be filled with games that we already knew about. Instead, Konami wowed us, and will release these games in the U.S. Although the rapper has been the focal point of a lot of hip hop music, nothing can be done without the DJ. Konami is answering the call to aspiring DJs out there by releasing Beat Mania in the arcades. Basically, players mix and scratch the tunes available on the machine, trying to score points and extend their time. While playing, interesting music Dance Dance videos appear to keep onlookers occupied. Two players can ° battle it out in DJ Battle mode, each trying to punk each Revolution other off the decks. Multiple songs allow the player to — Dance Dance Revolution is one interesting game that has spawned play quite a few times without ever hearing the a legion of fans in Japan, as well as numerous sequels and PlayStation same songs twice. Beat Mania is second only to ~ titles. In the game you dance as best you can to the beat of the music Pokémon in terms of popularity in Japan. Beat Mania fi by yourself or against another player. In Japan, this game is a major is everywhere in Japan, from the Game Boy to the phenomenon, with dedicated players dressing up as their favorite WonderSwan, as well as on the PlayStation. It even characters and really getting down; doing spins, leg kicks, and more. has a special controller for the PlayStation version, You don’t want to miss the action on this one...or at least the hilarity available in different colors and designs. of watching some brave soul step onto the machine for the first time. T T T—— x But it is fun. Trust us. | Silent Scope We have one more tidbit of information for you from Konami, though this game was not at the ASI. Silent Scope, an innovative light gun shooter, was showcased at the recent AOU in Japan. It’s a game where you shoot Z the opponents that appear, but Guitar Freaks these opponents don’t appear on the screen. Instead, players Although you probably will have to look to some of the more upscale arcades to find this one, it is have to use the small screen around. Basically, like PaRappa the Rappa, Guitar Freaks lets players pick up a miniature guitar located inside the scope of the gun and strum away at the baby, scoring points while keeping up with the music. Three buttons allow the to pinpoint enemies. Then, you aim player to stay in key, and point bonuses can be obtained by hitting a series of the right notes in and fire. The dead terrorists appear order. Up to two players can play at a time, though it is not known whether or not the players can on the main screen and you get compete against each other. points based on how many you It definitely looks unique, and kill, It’s a very unique idea, we'll try to get our hands _and it should be quite on one as soon as we can for $ the game to play. a review. S © Game Informer * May '99 In the previous Ridge Racer releases, the method for unlocking vehicles pushed the player to kick the living tar out of the game. In Type 4, unlocking the vehicles is a whole different bag of tricks. The procedure to unlock all 320 of Type 4’s vehicles is more a science than a gameplay technique. Read on to find out what kind of dirty work is needed to unlock all the hot rides. Out of the 320 cars, 304 must be unlocked through the Gran Prix mode. The remaining 16 20 Cars | cars must be unlocked + through the Extra Trial mode (which is accessi- ble after the Gran Prix is 20 Cars + beaten). In the Gran Prix, each of the four teams has the ability to unlock 80 different rides. These teams actually represent a game difficulty: Micro Mouse Mappy (Easy), Pac Racing Club (Normal), Racing Team Solvalou (Hard), Dig Racing Team (Expert). Out of the 80 cars for each team, 20 come from each of the 4 manufacturers (see diagram above). So...20 x 4 = 80, 80 x 4 = 320. Get it? Zoe 20 Cars Ñ 80 Cars in’ Rides Here is a listing of every car and its top speed. It took approximately 200 hours to compile this list. Cherish it for life. Note: All Stage 01 cars have four gears; all Stage 02 cars have five gears; and all Stage 03 and 04 cars have six gears. already, then prepare to be shot out of a cannon and launched into the galaxy of the confused. Each time you beat the Gran Prix, you'll have the ability to unlock a maxi- mum of three or four different cars. Which cars you receive depends on how you place in each of the eight Gran Prix races. We've compiled a complex flow chart showing you how to unlock all 19 cars. The chart below is one of the many ways to obtain all 19 cars available in the Gran Prix. Remember, the 20th car is unlocked by beating the Extra Trial and you always start with car 1. As you can see, the Gran Prix will have to be conquered seven times to unlock all of the cars. "ktr potas | | e mmber: 15 |° 1st Heat 2nd Heat Final GP Race 1 &2 Race 3 & 4 Races 5-7 22(Car6) 1141 (Car 13) 1 2 (Car 7) 111 (Car 14) 2 1 (Car 8) 111 (Car 15) 11(Car9) 111 (Car 16) 11(Car10) 111 (Car 17) 11(Car11) 111 (Car 18) 111 (Car 19) 11 (Car 12) ALCAN WARNING: This guide reveals elements of the game you may want to discover by yourself, thereby possibly reducing your enjoyment of the game. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! 1- Unlock all 320 cars © and this Pac-Man car will appear in the Garage. Hidden Decals and Team Trophy - Place in first for all eight GP races and ` a new trophy and decal will be your reward. Assoluto Age Solo Lizard Terrazi Team: Italy Team: France Team: USA Team: Japan Type: Drift ASSOLUT. Type: Grip f! Type: Drift Type: Grip REAR Car Car Maximum Speeds Per Team Car Car Maximum Speeds Per Team Car Car Maximum Per Team Car Car Maximum s Per Team No. Name D.R.T. M.M.M. P.R.C. R.T.S.] No. Name D.R.T. MMM, P.R.C. RTS. l No. Name D.R.T. MMM. PR.C. R.1.S.] No. Name D.R.T. MMM. PRC. R.T.S. Stage 01 Stage 01 Stage 01 Stage 01 01 Promessa 103 101 106 112 01 Prophetie 102 99 105. 444 01 Bonfire 102 101 105- 111 01 Ambitious 103 99 106 ` 12 Stage 02 Stage 02 Stage 02 Stage 02 02 Promessa 112 111 116 120 02 Prophetie 112 107 116 -112 02 Bonfire 111 109 114 121 02 Ambitious 113 109 116 123 03 Bisonte 115 113 119°. 124 03 Dirigeant 116 111 TH8 + TU 03 Detector 114 111 me 125 03 Troop J6 R I9 -126 04 Regalo 119 116 123 127 04 Bataille 117 114 121 117 04 Wisdom 117 114 121 126 04: Rumor 19. 116" e 129 05 Fatalita 122 121 Je 192 05 Megere 124 118 123 124 05 Officer 117 118 121 126 05- Wildbgar 196 19 125 122 Stage 03 Stage 03 Stage 03 Stage 03 06 Promessa 122 121 124. 182 06 Prophetie 122 119 124 122 06 Bonfire 121 119 Ja _ 19 06 Ambitious 121 117 Jo 13 07 Bisonte 126 122 129 0 07 Dirigeant 124 121 127. 124 07 Detector 124 122 o 1383 07 Troop 124 122 129 134 08 Regalo 129 126 132 139 08 Bataille 126 124 129 126 08 Wisdom 127 124 129 136 08 Rumor 127 126 18t 438 09 Fatalita 132 -127 135. 140 09 Megere 131 126 135 181 09: Officer 427 124 129 - 138 09 Wildboar 132 127 135 140 10 Rondine 139 132 138 145 10 Antilope 136 129 436 136 10 Colleague 137 131 136 -1483 10 Capital 136 131 136 143 11 Cavaliere 144 134 140 147 Tt Ayerse- 1442 139 — 1397 442 11 Comrade 143 134 139 146 11 Cowboy 143 133 139 146 12 Infinito 138 138 144 150 12 come == 1152-2136 143 152 J2 Ignition -153 _ 136 143 149 12 Starlight 153 137 144 149 Stage 04 Stage 04 Stage 04 Stage 04 13 Promessa 177 175 180 187 13 Prophetie 173 176 179 178 13 Bonfire 177 174 180 187 13 Ambitious 178 173 131 187 14 Bisonte 182 178 184 190 14 Dirigeant 180 179 183 180 14 Detector 180 177 183 -191 14 Troop 1⁄9 176 184 188 15 Regalo 184 181 188 194 15 Bataila 183- 180- 187- 183 15 Wisdom - 183 180 187 194 15 Rumor 184 179 186 193 16 Fatalita 188 184 191 197 16 Megere 186 185 189 186 t6 Officer 183 180 187 194 16 Wildboar 187 183 194 T 17 Aquila 194 188 195. -200 17 Espion 194 188 191 194 17 Tamer 192 186 193- 199 17 Decision 192 187 192 — 498 18 Estasi 201 191 197 209 18 Sorciere 198 188 196 198 18 Cataract 198 188 197 _ 201 18 Terrific 199 191 196 _ 203 19 Squalo 121 195 199 206 19 Supernova 208 192 199 208 19 Reckless 208 192 198 204 19 Destroyer 209 192 198 206 20 Vulcano 224 222 222 232 20 Ecureuil 187 195 183 196 20 Nightmare 229 219 219 222 20 Utopia 245 245 248 246 Game Informer * May ‘99 © SOOCOO JOGGA moe. meme -oam o Bumper Ball Maze 1 — Reach the goal of Mini-Game Island and defeat Toad in Slot Car Derby 2 to unlock this wild game. Bumper Ball Maze 2 - Beat all 50 Games on Mini-Game Island then talk to Toad at the goal line. Bumper Ball Maze 3 - Set a new record on Bumper Ball Mazes 1 & 2 and this Maze will magically appear. Magma Mountain Board - Play on all of the standard boards (at least 35 turns), and the Magma Mountain Key can be purchased from the shop for 980 coins. Eternal Star Board — Capture 100 Stars to unlock this awesome game board. Free Money - Enter Mini-Game Stadium and set the computer difficulty to Hard. Use handicaps and set 50 coins for every player. Set the game for 30 turns, then when you near the end of the game, turn the computer players into human players (by pausing and accessing the controllers in the Options screen). This mischievous trick will land you approximately 700 to 1000 coins. Stars can also be obtained! Wahooo! Mo Money - Enter the Mini-Game house and look in the pot next to the mushroom man to rake in the cash. Hasan "The Hassassin" Rizvi Sayreville, NJ Extra Teams - At the title screen, press Up, L, Up, L, Down, L, Down, L, Left, R, Right, R, Left, R, Right, R, B, A, then hold Z and press Start. “The Vid Man” Uptown, MN Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. Invincibility — LIVING FOREVER All Endings - LONG SLIDESHOW Duplicate Cars - MIX MATCH CARS All Cars - GANGS UNLOCKED Flying Saucer - GIMME DAALIEN No Enemies — POPULATION OUT Hidden Levels - LEVEL SHORTCUT al gk Difficulty - | AM TOUGH Slow Mode - GO REALLY SLOW Highest Res - MAX RESOLUTION No ‘hla Delays - FIRE NO LIMITS © Game Informer * May '99 Enter all of these codes at the Pause screen. Control Ball - Left C, Right C, Left C, Right C, Up C, Down C, Right C, Right C Death Spell - Up C, Left C, Left C, Left C, Left C, Up C, Right C, Up C Hercules Mode - Down C, Down C. Down C, Left C, Left C, Down C, Right C, Left C Infinite Lives - Up C (x5), Right C, Down C, Right C Infinite Power - Right C, Right C, Down C, Right C, Right C, Right C, Up C, Left C Invisible Ball - Down C, Down C, Left C, Left C, Up C, Up C, Down C, Up C Level Select - Up C, Right C, Right C, Down C, Left C, Down C, Up C, Right C Low Gravity - Left C, Left C, Up C, Left C, Right C, Up C, Up C, Up C Power Ball - Up C, Down C, Up C, Down C, Up C, Down C, Left C, Up C Speed Up Glover - Left C, Left C, Right C, Up C, Right C, Left C, Down C, Down C Summon Ball - Up C, Left C, Left C, Up C, Right C, Left C, Down C, Up C Turn Off Cheats — Down C (x8) Julian Moore Claire, IN ‘Enhanced Missile- ` MISSILE ATTACK Reduced Gravity - A MOON GETAWAY Unlock Everything - JTBT7CFD1 Ru, Kevin Parker Houston, TX Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. All Bikes - 3GP8ZKW76ZMW All Tracks - 8KLSZKW76ZM7 All Multiplayer Arenas — N31GG76CG9DZ “The Kramer Gamer” Whitefish, MT Fly an X-Wing or TIE Fighter (No Challenge Points) - In the final stage, during gameplay, turn the controls to the traditional setting, Pause, then press and hold the Left C Button, Down C, Right C, the Left Button, the Right Button, and Z. While holding these press Up or Down on the directional pad to change the Outrider into an X-Wing or TIE Fighter. Wampa Sound Test - At the name entry screen, input R Testers Roar to activate a strange sound cheat. Note: Make sure you have a space between all of the words. Lance Johnson New York, NY ENTER TO WIN! Send in your codes and passwords, and if we choose your entry as Code of the Month you'll win a- wonderful prize from the Game Informer Vault! All other entries | printed within these hallowed pages | will receive a Secret Access T-shirt. _ Sendio: Secret Access Game Informer Magazine 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 E-Mail: Enter these codes at the Magic Code screen. No Bananas (Multiplayer) - NOYELLOWSTUFF Bananas Reduce Speed - BOGUSBANANAS Start With Ten Bananas - FREEFRUIT All Bananas Are Green - TOXICOFFENDER All Balloons Are Yellow - BODYARMOR All Balloons Are Rainbow - OPPOSITESATTRACT All Balloons Are Red - BOMBSAWAY All Balloons Are Blue - ROCKETFUEL 2-Player Adventure - JOINTVENTURE No Balloons (Multiplayer) - BYEBYEBALLOONS Horn Taunts - BLABBERMOUTH Unlimited Bananas — VITAMINB No Zippers (Multiplayer) - ZAPTHEZIPPERS Power Balloons - FREEFORALL Sound Test - JUKEBOX Large Players - ARNOLD Small Players - TEENYWEENIES Four Wheel Drive - OFFROAD Credits - WHODIDTHIS Good CPU - TIMETOLOSE Same Player - DOUBLEVISION Unlock Drumstick — First unlock both Amulets and win all four trophy races. Then, go into the overworld and squash the frog with the red rooster head. When you do this, Drumstick will fly into the sky and will land in your playable character list. Unlock T.T. - Choose a character, then select Tracks and turn on the Time Trials. Now, head to any level and use the default vehicle to beat the best time on that track. When you beat this time, you will race T.T.’s ghost. Beat his time on all of the tracks and he will be added to your playable character list. “The Rhino” Toledo, OH Unlock Blue & Red “?” Menus - At story screen (during the intro), press the following buttons very quickly: HK, LK, RN, LP, HP, HP, HP, LP, LP. If this is inputed correctly you'll hear a sinister voice. The Game Junkie Minneapolis, MN Advanced Options - Head to the Options screen and press L1, L2, R1, or R2. Alternate Endings - Silent Hill comes packed with four different endings. Here’s how to get each one. Bad Ending Don't do anything that Dr. Kauffmann X leaves in the bar. Also, don’t save Cybil. Moderate Ending Don't do anything that Dr. Kauffmann leaves in the bar. But this time, save Cybil. Good Ending Do the things that Dr. Kauffmann leaves in the bar. But don’t save Cybil. Best Ending Do the things that Dr. Kauffmann leaves in the bar and save Cybil. Next Fear Mode - To unlock this mode you'll need to beat the game. To access this mode, simply return to the Title screen after the ending comes to a close. Here’s how to get the new weapons. Chainsaw Simply head to Cut-Rite Chainsaws. Be warned though, if you pick up this weapon you won't be able to grab the Rock Drill. You can only have one of the two. However, if you beat Next Fear, you'll be able to grab both. Rock Drill This awesome weapon can be found in the lower door of the Bridge Control Room. Katana You'll find this hard-to-use weapon in the locked house on Bachman Street. Gasoline Where else? This stuff can be found at the Gas Station. Use this stuff to start up the Chainsaw or Rock Drill. Channeling Stone + UFO Ending This strange tool can be found in the Convenience Store only if you beat the game with a Good+ rating. Now enter the Next Fear mode and immediately use the Channeling Stone at these locations: — On the roof of the Alternate School. — Outside the Hospital (before fighting the Moth creature). — Norman’s Motel (in front of the apartments). — On the roof of the Lighthouse. — On the bridge of the boat. Hyper Blaster Obtained through unlocking the Sci-Fi ending. “The Rhino” Toledo, OH R Level Select — Pause the game and enter the Options Menu. Highlight Select Mission and press and hold Left, L1, R1, Select, W, % (in this order). All Weapons & Ammo - Pause the game and highlight the Weapons option. Now, press and hold Right, L2, R2, @, E, % (in this order). Weaker Enemies - Pause the game and highlight Maps. Press and hold Right, L2, R1, and % (in this order). Kenny Lodges Fargo, ND Instant Wins — This trick only works in the Career mode, and requires that the opposition be knocked to the mat. At almost the exact moment that you knock out the opponent, press Start and throw in the towel. If you pressed Start at the correct time, the game will be tricked into thinking that the CPU threw in the towel rather than you. Mustang Thunderjam Teseroo, AK Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. Level 2 — Left, Left, Up, A, A, %, E, e Level 3 — Down, Down, Il, À, Down, A, Down, À Level 4 - @, @, @, %, %, Down, %, @ Level 5 - Right, Right, A, W, A, Left, Right, A Level 6 - Up, Down, A, E, %, ê. Left, Left Level 7 - A, W, Left, Left, Right, Up, Down, | Level8- A, A, E, @, Up, Up, E, @ Level 9 — Left, Left, Right, Up, Up, g, E, © Level 10 - %, 9, Left, % E, W, A, x Level 11 - E, A, A, E, Up, Up, Right, Up Level 12 — Down, Down, Right, II, x, x, R All Weapons - Left, @, Right, I, Down, A, Down, % Oppie Doppie Hickleton, CT Easy Cash - This is a cheap trick, Level Select - At the Title screen, highlight either R-Type or R-Type II and quickly tap L2 (x10), then R2 (x10). Now start a game to choose which level you would like to go to. Enter these codes at the Pause screen for R-Type or R-Type Il. All Weapons - Hold L2 and press Right, Up, Left, Right, Down, Left, Up, Right, followed by one of these various weapons - A, W, %, @, or R1. Super Speed - Hold L2 and press Right, Up, Right, Up, Down, Left, Down, Left, followed by @ to boost the speed, or % to decrease the speed. Slow Mode - Hold L2 and press Right, Up, Right, Up, Down, Left, Down, Left, %. Joe “Master of All Evil” Hanks Enter this code at the Main Menu. Debug Menu - L1, L2, R2, R1, Select, Start Jasper Harenut Ballsworth, NH and not really sporting; but if you really suck at this game, we recommend that you cheat like mad and launder some funds. After you build up a car or two, transfer your save to another memory card. Perform a High Stakes race against your copied vehicles, then sell them off. Cheap, but efficient. Auto Readjust - If you find yourself spinning out of control or piled up in a huge wreck, simply press Select to center your car on the track with a safe starting speed of 0 mph. Joxer Ronin St. Budweiser, KY San Rafael, CA Note: This code was tested on the beta version and may not work on the final. Level Select - With the game paused, hold L2 and press Up, @, Right, Up, Left, Right, Down. Now return to gameplay and press Select to bring up the Level Menu. David “Sponge Face” Wetingback Innerhole, OR Enter all of these codes at the Main Menu. After you enter each code, tap E & @ to display the Cheat screen. God Mode - R2, L2, R1, R2 All Tracks - L2, L2, R1, L1 Big Waves - R2, L1, R1, R1 Chicken Mode - R1, R1, R2, L2 RC Boat Mode - L1, L1, L2, L1 Unlimited Special — R1, L1, L2, L2 Unlimited Turbo - L2, R2, L2, R1 Unlimited Missiles — L1, R1, L1, L2 Level 2 Boats — R2, R1, R1, L1 Level 3 Boats - L1, R2, L2, L1 Sean "The Dark Jedi" Davis Flint, Michigan All Tracks — Pause a race and enter the Options Menu. From here, select Sound and highlight FX Volume. Simultaneously press L1 and L2, then back out and quit the race. Return to the Track Selection screen and every track will be open. Backwards Tracks - At the Track Selection screen simultaneously press L2, R2, %, and Down. If entered correctly, an arrow will appear onscreen. Now, choose any track you desire. “Virtual Gap Boy 2000” Phoenix, AZ Debug Menu - At the Password screen enter: Left, Up, %, ll, Down, A, E, Down. Morris Hews Oakland, CA Game Informer * May '99 Q BOOGES U EEJ R 6 2 wome Enter all of these codes at the Main Menu. Powered-Up Ships — Press Right, Li, Up, Up, Down, Right, R2, L2, R2, Down, Up, Down. Now begin gameplay, then quit to activate this code. Wraith Ships - First enable the Powered-Up Ships code, then press Left, Right, L1, Left, Right, L1, R2, R2, L2, Left, Right, Up. Now begin gameplay, then quit to activate this code. New Planets — First enable the Powered-Up Ships code, then press Down, Up, L1, Right, L1, Up, Right, Select, Right, R2, L1, L2. You won't need to quit to make this code work. Bonus Levels - L1, Left, L2, Down, Select, Left, Down, R2, R2, R2, Select, Up. You won't need to quit to make this code work. However, this code won't work when the Powered-Up Ships or Wraith Ships codes are entered. Sean "The Dark-Jedi" Davis Flint, Michigan Item Cheat — To get this code to work, you will need the W-ltem Materia. Follow the commands below to master this trick. 1) Enter any combat scenario. 2) Go to the W-Item and select the item you want to cheat with. 3) Now, click on another item but don't use it. 4) An arrow should be pointing to someone in your group. Alternately hit the % and @ buttons to use the item. Note: This code works great for Magic Pots. You'll never run out of elixirs. “The VidMan” Uptown, MN © Game Informer * May '99 Dynasty Warriors Characters - Beat the One-Player mode with any character on any difficulty level, then head back to the Character Selection screen and highlight the character you just beat the game with. Press R2 while selecting that same character to unlock an alternate Dynasty Warriors combatant. Tony Hawk Oakland, CA Enter all these codes at the Password screen. All these codes require that a memory card not be present. Note: "_" represents a single space. Die Hard Last Level (Fully Equipped) — B42_RJ498VGPC 7S8DVXY2P2NB5 8P2NBKB58P2PB PB58P2NBKB58J Die Harder Last Level (5 Lives) — N_1B58Y3N2JB1 85_N2JHHXP2NZ JB_76LXXNV195 4N2JB185_N2J_ Die Hard: With a Vengeance Last Level (100% Complete) - 9N24LMLG9P6NV MBF9P6QJWBC9T 6NW8V2YX72L82 C89248C9MQZN_ Samuel L. Jackson Santa Villa, FL Unlock High-Pitched Announcer - Enter the Options screen and press Select forty times to give the announcer a high-pitched squeal. Laura Graving Boston, MA EX Options — Highlight the Options icon at the Main Menu, then quickly press R1, @, Left, A, A to bring up this helpful menu. Carla Dimple Freckland, MD Enter both of these codes at the Name Entry screen. All three of these codes demand that a saved game file featuring the game beaten at least once be present. Play as Axe Lord - AXEARMOR Enhanced Luck — X-X!V"Q Play as Richter - RICHTER Richter's Special Moves (all these moves are listed as facing right) Whip Uppercut - Down, Up and % Run — Right, Right (hold after second press) Whip Twirl — hold W, then tap any direction repeatedly Slide - Down and % Slide Jump - Down and %, % Back Flip - %, % Whip Dash- Up, Down, Down/Right, Right and IB (Richter is invulnerable when performing this) Whip Lunge - Left, then Right and a Jason Todd Telanap, MI Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. Invincibility - OBL1ONTR1PTOF1N1SHOFF Infinite Ammo - BOXOVTR1CKS All Weapons - DY1NGTON1GHT Level Select - Type GOLVL, followed by the level number you wish to go to. Theodore Clamp Locheat, IL Enter these codes at the Name Entry screen. After entering a code, the game will ask for your name again. At this point, enter whatever you want. All Tracks — cdnalsi Reverse Tracks — cesrever Tiny Bikes — ctekcop Reik, Metasu Washington, DC Alternate Endings - During the ending sequence, the screen will fold down to letter box, at this time an action can be implemented to change the ending. Here’s the list of the buttons that must be pressed for each character. Note: Certain moves require specific timings. NOTE: A = Slash Attack B = Fierce Attack Hwang - Press A. Li Long - Press A and B repeatedly to make him stand. Rock - Press B. Cervantes - Press B. Siegfried — Press B. Mitsurugi — Press Left or Right to avoid Tanegashima’s bullet, then press B to attack. Seung Mina — Quickly press Down, Up to make her dodge. Sophitia — Tap to the Right. Taki - Press Guard to block the attack. Voldo - Quickly press Up, Down until the Soul Edge breaks. Ending Camera - You can also manipulate the camera during the ending. Hold A to zoom in, B to zoom out. Press Up to activate a top view, Down for a horizontal view. And Left or Right to spin to the sides. “GI Droid” (Location Unknown - last seen slamming shots of WD-40) | Secret Weapons - Go to the Weapons Select screen through the Options menu. Now press % and E simultaneously about 10 times. When you start a new game, Sheep of Death, Banana Bombs, and Miniguns should be available. Elaine Martin Centerville, IA Head to Cinnibar Island and pay a visit to the Pokémon cloning lab. Talk to the stranger who wants to trade Ponyta for Seel. Trade for the Seel, then head to the nearby Pokémon Center and deposit the Seel. Withdraw enough Pokémon so that your party is full, then go outside and step into the water to the right of the gym. Whatever you do, DO NOT surf to the right. Stay along the coast and cruise the strip (mainly Up and Down). Eventually, your screen will go completely blank for a few seconds, then a battle with Missingno will commence. This trick is very difficult to access. Be patient and you'll eventually get your hands on this glitched Pokémon. Unlock ---‘m--- Pokémon - Go $P to Viridian City and chat with the (9 lad holding the coffee. Ask him to (7 show you how to catch Pokémon. Immediately after doing this, fly to Cinnibar Island and surf Up and Down in the water, just like you did for Missingno. This time around you will fight a powerful Snorlax, a Nidorino, and the new Pokémon by the name of ---‘m 150 of Any Item — Have the desired item in the sixth place of your item holder. Get into a fight with ----’m and beat it or run away. Doing this will bring up a picture that has a random icon and then a 1 for whatever item was in the sixth slot. Up to 150 items can be acquired this way. Safari Zone Pokémon - Enter the Safari Zone and head to the area where the Pokémon you desire reside. Let the time run out then surf south of Fuchsia City. Do not encounter any Pokémon at this time or the trick will not work. Now, surf along the Seafoam Island coastline. Now, all of the Pokémon from the Safari Zone will appear in this area. Slot Trick - The slot machines are a serious pain in the butt. Here’s a trick that will cut the time spent on these machines. All of the slots have different odds that are completely random. Play each machine 4 times. If you score 2 or more times, then stick with that machine since it’s hot. If you don’t strike at least 2 times, move on to another machine. If you nearly hit a 777 or triple Bar, then stick with that machine. It will more than likely cough up the big score. John “Pokéfreak” Fontaine Westport, MA Unlock Missingno Pokémon ZN The codes below o with ImgecAats Ga Unlock All Pokémon —- 01XXd8cf (Replace the XX with the number of the Pokémon you desire. Then, simply walk in the Ka wa k: S enhancer attachment grass to unlock the Pokémon you want. When you fight one of SF these Pokémon, it will appear as a distorted blur on the screen. 07 i Don't fear, they'll revert to normal after they are captured.) Z Bulbasaur — 99 Ivysaur — 09 Venusaur — 9A Charmander — BO Charmeleon - B2 Charizard — B4 Squirtle — B1 Wartortle — B3 Blastoise — 1C Caterpie - 7B Metapod — 7C Butterfree — 7D Weedle — 70 Kakuna — 71 Beedrill — 72 Pidgey — 24 Pidgeotto — 96 Pidgeot — Rattata — A5 Raticate — A6 Spearow — 05 Fearow — 23 Ekans — 6C Arbok — 2D Pikachu — 54 Raichu — 55 Sandshrew — 60 Sandslash — 61 Male Nidoran — OF Nidorina — A8 Nidoqueen — 10 Female Nidoran — 03 Nidorino — A7 Nidoking — 07 Clefairy — 04 Clefable — 8E Vulpix — 52 Ninetales — 53 Jigglypuff — 64 Wigglytuff — 65 Zubat — 6B Golbat — Oddish — B9 Gloom - BA Vileplume — BB Paras — 6D Parasect — 2E Venonat - 41 Venomoth - 77 ae Diglett — 3B Dugtrio — 76 Meowth — 4D Persian — 90 Psyduck — 2F Golduck — 80 Mankey — 39 Primeape — 75 Growlithe — 21 Arcanine — 14 Poliwag — 47 Poliwhirl — 6E Poliwrath — 6F Abra — 94 Kadabra — 26 Alakazam — 95 Machop — 6A Machoke — 29 Machamp - 7E Bellsprout — BC Weepinbell — BD Victreebel — BE Tentacool — 18 Tentacruel — 9B Goedude - A9 Graveler — 27 Golem - 31 Ponyta — A3 Rapidash — A4 Slowpoke — 25 Slowbro — 08 Magnemite — AD Magneton — 36 Farfetch'd — 40 Doduo — 46 Dodrio — 74 Seel - 3A Dewdong - 78 Grimer — 0D Muk - 88 Shellder — 17 Cloyster — 8B Gastly — 19 Haunter — 93 Gengar - 0E Onix — 22 Drowsee — 30 Hypno — 81 Krabby — 4E Kingler — 8A Voltorb — 06 Electrode — 8D Exeggcute — 0C Exeggutor — 0A Cubone - 11 Marowak — 91 Hitmonlee — 2B Hitmonchan — 2C Lickitung — 0B Koffing — 37 Weezing — 8F Rhyhorn — 12 Rhydon — 01 Chansey — 28 Tangela - 1E Kangaskhan - 02 Horsea — 5C Seadra — 5D Goldeen - 9D Seaking — 9E Staryu - 1B Starmie — 98 Mr. Mime — 2A Scyther — 1A Jynx — 48 Electabuzz — 35 Magmar - 33 Pinsir — 1D Tauros — 3C Magikarp — 85 Gyarados - 16 Lapras — 13 Ditto - 4C Eevee — 66 Vaporeon — 69 Jolteon — 68 Flareon — 67 Porygon — AA Omanyte — 62 Omastar - 63 Kabuto — 5A Kabutops — 5B Aerodactyl - AB Snorlax — 84 Articuno — 4A Zapdos — 4B Moltres — 49 Dratini — 58 Dragonair — 59 Dragonite — 42 Mewtwo - 83 Mew- 15 Anthony “Pokégod” L Hotmail, COM Codes found in this issue: Alien TORY u a u ar s + Blast Balp u uu. uu uman + Castelvania: Symphony of the Night ...................... + Circuit Breakers ............................. + GOOI BOTOS. aao S wa + Dead in the Water.................................. + R 2... D. u E Sua + Diddy Kong RACING: a a aun wh Dio Hard IHogy us u una os + EOM 2 uu u y u us L. Fifth Element, The neiii + Final Fantasy: VII: 1 a u u + Gex: Deep Cover Gecko ...................... + GIVEN T cages wy International Superstar Soccer 64........................ P Knockout aT E P + Mario PANY assists ol n uuu. E Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter... ....................... A Mortal Kombat Trilogy............................ P Moto Rapp ZY ale B+ Need for Speed: High Stakes................ Ë, Nightmare Creatures ............................ 2 Ñ Pokémon. T aa. Ë R Typos S a aini + Sent RII n u Ë+ SOU BAGG rs Wa un u. + Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire....................... TN SVONONFINGE T u s s. + Ë s a. on + Violante 6. u u dTa: Wu ar iaiia + WALL — A These lines may not have information for all titles. If you're under 18 be sure to get your parent's permission. All calls cost between $.95 and $1.25 per minute. Acclaim 516-759-7800 Capcom 900-976-3343 Electronic Arts 900-288-4468 GT Interactive 900-225-5248 Konami 900-896-4468 LucasArts 900-740-5334. Midway 903-874-5092 Nintendo 900-288-0707 (Game Counseling) 425-885-7529 (Automated) Sony 900-933-7669 THQ 900-370-4468 Game Informer ¢ May '99 © ‘gaming From the past to the pressat ` Availability: Common Replay Value: Moderate Similar Games: Donkey Kong Country 2 & 3 (SNES), Super Mario World (SNES), Yoshi’s Story (SNES) Created by: Rare for Nintendo Access Tip: Wait until Cranky Kong (the old donkey) takes the stage playing the phono- graph. Hit Down, Y, Down, Down, Y. If this is done correctly, you will get to play all the bonus levels. Overall: Availability: Uncommon Replay Value: High Similar Games: Dune (SG), Command & Conquer Series (PC, PS-X, SS) Created by: Techno Soft for Sega Access Tip: Secure the minor bases to gain additional resource power. Overall: ong before the real-time craze swept the gaming scene with such titles as Dune and Command & Conquer, a lit- tle known game from Techno Soft quietly hit the Sega Genesis. The year was 1989 and the game was Herzog Zwei. Even though this title was (and still is) virtually unknown in the Genesis circles, there are legions of underground gamers who consider this the best Genesis game ever created. The premise of the game pits two factions against each other in a kill or be killed scenario. Played against the computer or in a fantastic head- to-head mode, players quickly build an army of infantry, tanks, and other weapons to defeat the enemy's base. Battles, especially in two-player mode, can last for hours and offer truly intense action. Commanding troops, defend- ing outposts, and monitoring the oppositions is hectic, but this game offers so much. Herzog Zwei is truly a classic. f you've been gaming religiously for the last four or five years, you already know how Donkey Kong Country took over the SNES. The holiday SNES hit of 1994, DKC was crafted by the masters at Rare. It spawned two sequels on the SNES and (in case you haven't heard) Donkey Kong will debut on N64 this fall. We can still remember the summer day in ‘94 when Nintendo surprised the gaming community by unveiling this never-before-seen game at the Consumer Electronics Show. Dazzled by the phenomenal graphics and the fantastic playcontrol, we were amazed that the game was actually running on the SNES. Donkey Kong Country has really stood the test of time with graphics that are still killer. Next to Super Mario World, the Donkey Kong Country games are the pinnacle of action/platform- ing on the SNES. Pilotwings - SNES again. Note: just hitting Stage Select - To execute, Level Passwords reset won't do it - you must enter the password 0119. Level 1- 000000 try the codes after turning Level 2- 985206 on the power. Kirby’s Dream Land - Game Level 3- 394391 99 Lives - X, X, B, A, Y Boy Level 4- 520771 7 Continues - A,B, A, Y,A,X Continue - At the Title Helicopter 1 - 108048 All Characters Available - X, screen, press Up + Select Expert X, Y Y, Y. X + A. The screen will say Level 5 - 400718 All Characters, Infinite “Extra Game” and you'll Level 6 - 773224 Detonators, and Debug have one Continue. Level 7 - 165411 Menu - A, A, B, B, X, X Y, Extra Lives and More - This | Availability: Common | Replay Value: Moderate | Similar Games: Commando (NES), 1942 (NES), | Smash TV (NES) | Created by: Capcom Access Tip: To start the game with a machine gun, press A, A, A, A, Select, Select, Select, | Select, Right, Right, and Start. \ Overall: Level 8 - 760357 Y, A, B, X, Y, A, B, X, Y trick will give you a menu he NES has a rich heritage of shoot- | Helicopter 2 - 882943 (Access the debug menu by where you can select your ers that range from the military- | pressing L & R on Controller starting lives, listen to the styled Contra and 1942 to the space- | Super Black Bass a _ Two) game's sounds, and more. age blasting of Life Force and Gradius. One ~ Mone of Tie es ee ; oe í i Lake Passwords | Pirates of Dark Down + Select + B. shooter that doesn’t exactly fall into one of i Clear Lake = E Water - Genesis these neat shooter pigeonholes is Gun Smoke. Originally created for the HJR222P5Z5H1iF A E, Level 3- NCOOKIE Crystalis - NES arcade by Capcom, Gun Smoke hit the NES in 1988. This vertical scrolling 9PBRL33171319 E Level 4- ALEXISK Warp - To warp from one shooter puts the player in the role of a six shootin’ sheriff on the trail of the Lake Murphy - Level 5 - SCOOBYD place to another while play- most wanted desperadoes. What makes Gun Smoke so great are the controls HNR222P5Z5P1F Level 6 - STOYODA ing, do this: Press A + B on and power-up system. The control, or more specifically, the shooting is three 9PJDL531V3L3R Level 7- ZEROTKS Controller One while hold- directional. The B button shoots left, the A button shoots right, and both but- Bluestone - nR A on Controller Two. A H5P5Z5R222B3L Streets of Rage 3 - Genesis screen will appear where tons shoot straight. As for power-ups, the game rewards with cash which then can be used to purchase such items as the shotgun, magnum, and even a SANTIN cc Ry abn bn sl n A aa tees aiaù horse. Gun Smoke is a rootin’-tootin’ shooter, pardner. Super Return of the Jedi - and. hold these: bition. on I SNES Controller Two after you N.A.R.C.- NES To get these codes to work, highlight the players menu: Continue - At the Title you must turn on the game Up, A, B, and C. Then use screen, hold À + B + Select š l and touch nothing until the Controller One to choose + Start and press aE AEZ: | Start/Options/Password your number of players. Up-Right. When you die, a po anne ae | screen appears. Then hit Continue screen will the buttons listed below Spanky’s Quest - Game Boy appear. and press start. If the code Music Test - Enter the pass- — T doesn’t work, turn off the word 1007 to call up a power on your SNES and try music menu. g WANTED 24000 This is yous gape. EXTENDED TIME This i5 Your Sama on The blink. ANY QUESTIONS? 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. = his š Š Ë š = et Le Game maintenance products available from Player’s Edge: Cleaning Kits for: NINTENDO” 64 e SUPER NINTENDO” < NINTENDO” e SEGA” GENESIS" e GAME BOY” s GAME GEAR™ < 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. EE] E =a Wipeout, Wipeout XL and Psygnosis are trademarks of Psygnosis. @ 1996 Psygnosis Ltd. Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo and Game Boy EE] Js | are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega Genesis and Game Gear are trademarks of Sega Enterprises Ltd. © Lucasfilm Lid & ™) All rights reserved. Used under authorization. The “N” Logo is a trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. ©1998 Nintendo of America inc. www.nintendo.com Game, System and Expansion Pak sold separately. cere the flight goggles of Star Wars°: Rogue Squadron”. s the Rebel flight commander, you have 5 starfighters to fly, 15 planets to save from destruction, and a hangar full of proton torpedoes, cluster missiles and laser cannons all at your fingertips. T low go blow the evil Empire to bits. Only you can save the galaxy on N64“ ant even more hyperspace? Then boost your system with the N64 Expansion Pak™ for supercharged graphics. GET OUT“ © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 1999 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. STREET FIGHTER is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3 is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. “Fighter's Edge is a registered trademark of GamePro magazine, the world's largest multiplatform gaming GAME PURCHASE WORTH 20 FIGHTERS EDGE” POINTS! magazine and the official magazine sponsor of the Capcom Fighters Edge promotion. Reproduction of the Fighters Edge name/logo in whole or part without prior written permission by GamePro magazine is prohibited PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. 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