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Could there be anything more glorious than the afterlife? Consider a lineup of over 500 of the world’s most

prestigious driving machines. From unrepentant speed demons to the burliest of American muscle cars.

Of course, you don't drive them as much as you try to contain them. Each one is engineered according to

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POLYPHONY

Gran Turismo is a trademark All rights reserved

you test the wall. Either way, it's heaven.

ER LEVEL.

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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 maling offices. SUB- SCRIBERS/POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Game Informer Magazine", 10120 West 76th Street, Eden Prairie, ММ 55344- Game Boy Color 3728. Foreign or Canadian orders must be prepaid in U.S. dollars and must include $20/year additional postage. В issi Game Informer® does not claim any copyright in the screenshots herein. Copyright in all screenshots contained within this publication Beauty and the Beast: Board Game Adventure, Missile аге owned by their respective companies. Entire contents copyright 1999. Game Informer Magazine". All rights reserved; reproduction Command, Yars’ Reven ге

,

in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Game Inlormer* is a trademark of FUNCO, Inc. Products named in these pages are trade names, ог trademarks, of their respective companies.

D Game Informer * January 2000

Cover Story: Tomba 2: Pg 10 The Evil Swine Return

Tomba is back! Whoopee Camp's epic Tomba 2: The Evil Swine Return marks the reemergence of the hero with

* the most dististinctive hair this side of Coolio. Is Tomba 2 the

the maintstream? GI takes a look at the mammoth sequel to one of D e р аг ї теп t S the most unjustly overlooked games of all time to see if Tomba is ready

Letter from the Editor for for prime-time platform stardom.

PlayStation2 Transition Could Be Rocky Feature: Oddentifying the Future Pg 14 M oa ce with Сакоа Game Informer peers into the crystal ball and sees the future іп £ incoherent ramblings, and the occasion- Munch’s Oddysee, the second chapter Oddworld Inhabitant's

al bomb threat. mind-expanding Oddworld Quintology. Harnassing the power of Envelope Art the PS-2, Munch’s Oddysee looks to explode the parameters

You can't win if you don't enter GI's of the 3D gaming experience. In a revealing interview,

Monthly Envelope Art Contest. Oddworld mastermind Lorne Lanning speaks to GI about his

GI News plans for Oddworld’s future, the PlayStation2, and the won-

гева unuelis new Dre аер ders we will behold їп gaming's second millenium.

Shoot Out 2000 called for technical foul, and tons-o-fun with Name That Gamel, Trivia, and Gl's Top Ten.

Photophile

We love anything mini: Mini-donuts, mini-skirts, and especially our super mini-previews of the hottest upcom- ing £ames. This month features Koudelka, Hot Shots Golf 2, and Tekken Tag Tournament for PlayStation2.

Nintendo 64

Armorines: Project Swarm, Hydro Thunder, Lego Racers, NBA Courtside 2 Featuring Kobe Bryant, Pokémon Stadium, Ridge Racer 64, Vigilante 8: Second Offense, Xena Warrior Princess: Talisman

Game Informer PC The mysterious and mercurial PC of Fate Jedi comes down from the moun- PlayStation

tain bearing reviews of Sim Theme Park, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, and Age of Empires Il.

Arcade Brigade After waking up in puddle of Orange Julius in the middle of the food court, the Arcade Assassin scribbled out these rantings on Jambo! Safari and King of Fighters '99.

Play To Perfection

Tomba 2, one of the quirkiest and most challenging platformers in recent memory, has enough missions to cause even a veteren to pull out his hair. To ease your stress, we've includ- ed the solutions to each of the game's myriad missions. Also, don't miss our کو‎

special Y2J-compliant WWF

WrestleMania 2000 moves guide, and At a G | ance

Twisted Metal 4 walkthrough.

Secret Access What's that pesky GI Droid up to? Find

Boombots, Die Hard Trilogy 2, Fear Effect, Galerians, MTV Music Generator, NBA Live 2000, Road Rash: Jailbreak, SaGa Frontier 2, Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomorrow Never Dies, Toy Story 2, Î Twisted Metal 4, V-Rally 2, Vigilante 8: Second “u. Offense

Dreamcast Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Sega NBA 2K, Sega Rally 2, Slave Zero, Soul Fighter

Nintendo 64

we пеп peruse | hottest codes and Blades of Steel 2000, Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling, ps Tram our rege Namco Museum 64, NBA In The Zone 2000, Roadsters Classic GI

GI looks at classic games on the Super Trophy, Supercross 2000, Toy Story 2

NES, Jaguar, & Turbo Grafix 16 and PlayStation

replays some codes from the vault. This y

month is a long-distance dedication to Ballistic, Broken Sword Il, Chocobo's Dungeon 2,

our main man, Dave the Rave. Formula One '99, NBA In The Zone 2000, NBA

etc Showtime, NCAA Final Four 2000, No Fear Downhill

GI gets plenty of junk every month and Mountain Biking, TOCA 2: Touring Car Challenge, X-

we never know where to put it. But now, with our newest department, etc, we

can put in tons of useless stuff for you to read about. Dreamcast

Psychic Force 2012, WWF Attitude

Files

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266 Fax (6

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in the United States of America:

The Editor

IER LIABILITY FOR ERROR. hat shall not bo liable for slight changes or D le

Audit Bureau of Circulations Member

Andy, The Game Hombre andy@gameinformer.com

“For those of you who don't know me personally, | have a problem. You see, my addiction to EverQuest is getting way out of hand. | have dreams about this game. That's how bad it has gotten. And the worst part is, now that rumors are flying that Verant has signed on for

layStation2, that means | will have to start a new character over when it hits PlayStation2, and let me tell you folks that is not going to be a pretty picture (I may never see my friends again). 1 need help, not more opportunities to play. Ugh...well enough with talking to you...I'm off to kick undead behind."

facts.

PlayStation2 Transition

With the new year upon us, | th would be appropriate to take a look at what will be the most talked about news of the new year - the launch of the PlayStation2. Obviously, the Dolphin launch will be big news as well, but since Nintendo has yet to | show the machine (and | still have serious | doubts about the chances of it making it this | year) | will skip it due to the lack of any hard

The PlayStation2, however, has been shown and is getting ready to launch in Japan on March 4 of this year (with a U.S. launch scheduled for sometime this fall). Even as the hype intensifies, everything in PlayStation

| land тау not be as peachy as one would hope. There is one aspect of the launch that

could make the PS-2's path very rocky, or smooth as a baby’s bottom.

No, it’s not the Dreamcast, though if it continues to grow it may be a big factor. What

Рт talking about

is the backwards

compatibility of the PlayStation2. Industry pundits have talked for years about how great backwards compatibility would be for a system, but the theory has never been

Paul, The Game Professor pauk&gameinformer.com "Ahh, another new year and it may turn out to be one of the most exciting years in video games ever. The PlayStation2's Japanese launch is only two months away and Nintendo will unveil the Game Boy Advance and Dolphin later this summer. | can't forget about reemergence of Sega Sports as a brand to be reckoned with. Indeed, the year 2000 will be interesting if you play video games. C'mon, what else are you going to do? It is almost becoming socially unacceptable not 1o have your pulse on some type of game. Talk about peer pressure. The next thing | know, | might be

playing EverQuest."

„apocalypse

Reiner, The Raging Gamer reiner@gameintormer.com ‘I've received a buttload of skepticism as to why | loathe my coworkers so much. Just to set the record straight — | do not ‘hate’ any of these frail creatures. | actually find their pathetic lifestyles quite amusing. But alas...they are all inferior to the ayatollah of video game rock ‘n’ rolla, or as many of you have put it, they pale in comparison to the almighty Reiner. Their walnut sized brains can't comprehend reality like my pulsating melon. As for Matt's rant...! got one word for ya brother — Rogaine! With this scalp fertilization you may score something more than that inflatable

Tom Hanks you lick at night.”

post nuclear |

Could Be Rocky

BY ANDREW McNAMARA

seriously tested as part of a mass market launch (except for the Game Boy Color, but that system has the advantage of basically owning its own market niche). backwards compatibility confuses the market, as many consumers won’t know which games are for which system (even though it will be painfully obvious to us hard-cores). Secondly, publishers will have to choose if they want to produce PlayStation2 software that only works on its smaller installed user base, or a good PlayStation game that will work on both and have a better chance of bigger sales. Certainly, all the good programmers will want to work on the latest and greatest system, so the transition to PlayStation2 will eventually happen; but the first couple of months of the launch will be a precarious time, where game companies and gamers may not know where to turn. Of course, Game Informer readers will be enlightened like no others so you will have few worries, but don't be surprised if there is a lot of confusion through the industry when PlayStation2 hits

For one,

the streets.

Y2K gamers left to right: Jay, Reiner, Paul, Matt, Erik. Top Left: Irradiated Mutant (Andy).

EH, WHATEVER...

Jay, The Gonzo Gamer

Jay@gameinformer.com "So this is the year 2000, huh? So where's the all the flying cars we've been promised since the 1950s? Or how about the personal laundry robots we were supposed to have? І haven't changed my underwear in weeks! For that matter, shouldn't New York City have become a nuclear wasteland filled with cannibals by now? This millennium's a дур! | for one am refusing to pay anymore taxes to the American government until | get my robot. Everybody chant with me now: Ro- Bot! Ro-Bot! Ro-Bot!”

Game

Broken Sword Шага... Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling Chocobo's Dungeon 2

Colin McRae Rally . Crusaders of Might & Magic Die Hard Trilogy 2

Dirty War А

ESPN МВА Tonight

F1 World Grand Prix

Fear Effect T Formula On Galerians Gekido Guardian Heroes .... Hot Shots Golf 2...... Hydro Thunder (N64) . Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Jambo! Salari

King of Fighters 99°. Konami International Rally Racing Koudelka... н Lego Rac Nias Millenium Winter Sports Missile Command . .

NBA In The Zone 2000 (N64) . . NBA In The Zone 2000 (PS-X) .. NBA Live 2000 (PS-X) МВА Showlime (PSX) ........ NCAA Final Four 2000 No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking Pharoah ane : Pokemon Stadium... ..... Pokemon Trading Card Game Psychic Force 2012 . Rayman 2: The Great Escape Resident Evil: Code Ver Ridge Racer 64 . . Road Rash: Jailbreak Roadsters Trophy ..... Roller Coaster Tycoon: Corkscrew Follies SaGa Frontier 2

Sega Rally 2 . Seven Kingdoms II Sim Theme Park . .

GAME Szl N D E X:

Page Number

4 Wheel Thunder = 73 Aerobiz Supersonic Аде of Empires II Armorines (Nà4)...... Armorines (PS-X) Ballistic

feat. Kobe Bryant

Slave Zero Soul Fighter South Park Rally

Tekken Tag Tournament .. . Test Drive 6 (DC) . gji Thrasher: Skate and Destroy . „. TOCA 2: Touring Car Challenge . Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Tomorrow Never Dies ............ Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (N64)

Matt, The Original Gamer matt@gameinformer.com “Houston, the ego has landed. | think my bed-wetting homie Reiner left the lid off the rubber cement a little too long, because he must be high. My pathetic lifestyle? Trick, please. You're in your mid-twenties and you still collect COMIC BOOKS. It's time to retire the Batman pajamas, skippy. | don't know what retarded thoughts are swimming around in your deranged psyche, but I do know that your SAT scores were lower than the speed limit in most states, so don't go around spouting off about your mighty intellect. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Class

dismissed.”

Toy Story 2 (N64) .......... Toy Story 2 (PS-X) .

Trevor McFur in the Crescent Twisted Metal 4 V-Rally 2 Vagrant Story Vigilante 8: Second Offense (N64) . . . . Vigilante 8: Second Olfense (PS-X) WWE Altitude (DC) ...................66 X-Com Collector's Edition . .

X-Files 5 Xena Warrior Prince: Yars' Revenge zt Zombie Revenge ..................-

Erik, The PC Jedi erik@gameinformer.com “Reiner, you sorry fool. Your pathetic and misinformed attempts at disproving Marxist theory by bringing up the tired example of the failed Soviet economy fall on a weary audience at best. The Communist Manifesto required that after stability had been achieved after the revolution, the dictatorship voluntarily give way to the rule of the working class. This never happened in the U.S.S.R. and furthermore, the ‘revolution’s’ leaders attempted to push an idea for a recently industrialized nation on to a primarily agrarian society. Thus, your point is as moot as your feet are stinky.

Get bent.”

INTELLIGENT GANG WARFARE GRAND THEFT AUTO IS BACK

Earn Respect

Get Work

Fight ina Gang Betray your Bosses Join your Enemies

Start Turf Wars

Faster Cars. Busier Streets. Nastier Bad Guys.

More Aggressive Police

And now, the FBI and the

Army are getting involved.

GET THE DEMO AT: WWW.GTA2.COM

MATURE

PlayStation CONTENT RATED BY ROM R, ө ESRB DMA Design Ltd.

Snail Mail:

Email:

Game Informer Magazine deargi@gameinformer.com

www www.gameinformer.com

Attn: Dear GI 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Pokémon Questions

In the November issue | read about Pokémon Gold and Silver and 1 got real excited, but then | realized that | don't have a Game Boy Color. | would like to know if the Game Boy Color games will work with the Game Boy/SNES adapter.

Sean Maloney via aol.com

More Classics Please

| have been a long time video game addict. From Atari, to Nintendo, to Sega, to Turbo Grafx 16, and so on. One of the things | look forward to every month is the Classic СІ section. | was curious about how this section comes to be in the magazine. What careful process goes into the selection of the codes and reviews? Or is it a deal where somebody goes through a box in the back of a closet with their eyes closed and pulls out an old game? Do fans submit their reviews and codes?

| just know somebody has to be in hog heaven sitting around playing the golden oldies or sometimes just fiddling around with a stupid game to try and see what makes it tick. It sounds like a dream job! I'd love to see a bigger Classic СІ section. Since the material is virtually limitless, could there bea bigger Classic Gl section in the future for Game Informer?

Га love to see some more Saturn reviews, Turbo Grafx 16 reviews, and of course, reviews for Jaguar in the Classic Gl section.

Dave,The Rave via TheGym.net

No! You Don't Want This Game

Last year, you had a cover story on Sega Dreamcast. It featured a lot of games with screenshots for each. But now since Sega's U.S. launch, I've heard nothing of these games. What happened? For example, what happened to Godzilla? That is one of the games that made me want to buy a Dreamcast! Did Sega make up the game to build up hype for their last chance at the U.S. market? Let's face it, Saturn was a huge let down. Does Sega hope to buy us back with lies?

Or is this one of these stupid things where the game doesn't come to the U.S.? If this is true, I'll gladly buy a Japanese version. (Where could | get one anyway?) It’s not like I'd have

6 | Game Informer « January 2000

Do not fret. Like many Game Boy Color games, Pokémon Gold & Silver will be backwards compatible with the original Game Boy. In other words, you won't have to buy the Game Boy Color to play the new Pokémon games. To answer your other question, games designed specifically for the Game Boy Color will not work with the Game Boy/SNES adapter, known as the Super Game Boy.

The criteria of picking the games featured in Classic Gl is fairly complicated and involves plastic straws, chewing gum, and hair spray. Without giving too much away on this top secret opefation, we keep an extensive library of classic games and an extremely knowledgeable staff that has played thousands of games. That said, picking the classic games usually begins with a perusal of the game archive. Sometimes a game just catches our eyes or we uncover a game that we hadn't seen in years. Other times, we fulfill the request of readers. This month's Classic Gl is all you, Dave.

Penning Classic Gl is very entertaining for the lucky editor who gets the call to compose it — usually Paul. He hardly calls it a dream job, though, because only a small fraction of his time is spent on the section each month. Currently, we have no plans to expand the Classic Gl section beyond one page; however, anything is possible.

to read much for Godzilla. WALK!

CRUSH! BOOM! WIN! Jason Jernegan Franklinville, NJ Sega does not hope to win you over with lies. It hopes to win you over with good games and keep the stanky games away from your system. Godzilla was one of the stankiest pieces of software since Air Cars for the Atari Jaguar. Believe us, they did U.S. gamers a huge favor by keeping this title in Japan. It isn’t a stupid thing. On the contrary, it is one of the smartest moves Sega of America could have made.As for the other three games that launched the Japanese Dreamcast (Virtua Fighter 3tb, Pen Pen Tri Icelon, and July), July is the only one we have yet to see. (We likely

won't.)

N64 Demos? No Way

A couple months ago, | sent you guys a list of questions. It was a rather long list at that. Anyway, you guys didn't answer (probably because it was a letter and not an email) and | finally have email now. | don't care if you don't publish these questions in your magazine, but please email me the answers.

Why aren't there N64 demo cartridges like there are demo CDs for PlayStation? | know cartridges cost a lot, but it would be nice to have a N64 demo cartridge with levels from Perfect Dark, Jet Force Gemini, Donkey Kong, etc.

Why do all magazines grade games differently? For example, you guys gave Tiny Tank a 5.5, and Next Generation gave it 4 stars out of 5. You guys gave Mario Party a 3.5, and a certain Internet site gave it an 8! This is really getting confusing! Why do you grade differently than other magazines/Internet sites?

Frank Koszorus Jr. via prodigy.net

Video Game Infatuations

Awright here's the deal: My best friend John is a video game addict, but it hadn't gotten too serious until recently. Most of my friends like video games, but John is a bit err...different from the

Hey, Bootlegs!

My father just bought me a CD-R drive, and | wanted to make copies of all my PS-X and DC games, but when | finished copying them and put them in the systems, they did not register. Why is this? What am | doing wrong? Please help me!!

Kan Jackson via aol.com

Welcome to the world of software encryption. PlayStation games include

First off, how about if we publish your Ё

questions (and answers) in the {f

magazine and don't answer them via email? Rest assured, we do read all of the email and snail mail, but we get far too many letters each day to answer them all individually. On to your questions...

You are right, the reason you don't see N64 demos is that the cost of producing them is far too high. N64 carts are all manufactured in Japan. Couple that with the fact that it takes more than $10 to produce each cartridge and you have a very expensive proposition.Are you ready | to pay $50 bucks for a demo cartridge? Conversely, PlayStation discs cost far less to manufacture (around $1) and are made in a number of locations across the U.S.

In regard to your second question, we grade games differently because we have different opinions. What a boring world we would live in if every mag rated everything the same. We have the perfect solution to your confusion — Just read Game Informer!

bunch. He is attracted to... (shudders)...video game characters. First Lara, then Morrigan, then Tifa, and now Quistis. What do | do about it? Accept it or smack him upside the head? Joel Gimpy Puggles via aol.com We know someone exactly like that. Editor Andy McNamara used to be in love with Veronica from the Archie Comics. He had all the issues and even got the Archie gang bed sheets. Eventually, he grew out of that phase and, after a short infatuation with Julie from the Love Boat, he came to realize di] that real women were far more entertaining. However, it seems that he has again fallen into a trap and thinks ] a certain Erudite in EverQuest

is pretty peachy. Accept your friend's strange fascinations; he'll get over them.

special encoding that communicates with your PlayStation hardware.This software encoding, which is not possible to copy, tells the hardware that the software is authentic and allows your PlayStation to load it. Your copies do not work because your PlayStation does not recognize them as authentic. Dreamcast games will not copy because they are not CD-ROMs.

YOUR GUESTS SHOULD STAY IN COMFORT. NO MORE THAN 8 TO A ROOM.

As you jump through a boxcar, don't stare at the hobos. "They're people too.

Many experts say that ten or twelve guests in a room is completely acceptable, but in mv y y 8 I y

Заб " T а : ® FORO е К о he fmi experience, a good host will cap it at eight. Your guests’ needs should always be top of mind. When crossing a road, share a good moon

Offer up a thigh for a pillow, or if you have a toothbrush, share it. witha family. Preferably one in a mini-van.

America ine, Designed and developed

In the heat of competition, show no etiquette. Losers never get the honeys.

Another great energy source is the #1 snowboarding game, Cool Boarders 4. Make your soul patch tingle with new tweaked out grabs and tricks like method-melons and

hand plants. 16 pros including Jim Rippey, Shaun White

and J.P. Walker tear it up on 30 new courses riddled with

short cuts, kickers and rail slides. One to EVERYONE f id 1 fi "T | 7 our riders can choose from 34 boards но)

by 9 top companies, or customize their STUDIOS

i PlayStationi ®

E PlayStation

ied trademark and 989 Studios and the.

own. Please friend, have a lovely shred. www.989studios.com

Envelope Art

Are You Faking Time?

I. What's real-time? Is there а fake time?

2. Can you make a list of the top 25 N64 games (since you made a list awhile back of the top 25 PlayStation games)? 3.What’s the best game of all time so far? 4. Are any of you actually human? Aeris Gainsborough via aol.com Oh, numbered questions. Here we go! 1. Real-time refers to strategy games where the action doesn't stop.The classic example is Westwood's Command and Conquer. The opposition is in constant flux and continues its activity

One Last 64DD Question...

When | first heard about the 64DD — how long ago? — | was as impressed as the next gamer at some of the possibilities that were being thrown around under the 64DD name.Then of course it never came, and | felt fairly let down about the whole thing.

Then in your last issue you showed a glimpse of some of the 64DD games that were being released in Japan, but mentioned that we'd never see them over here. Why IS this? Personally, | wouldn't mind having Sim City 64 or the F-Zero X Expansion Kit. What happened to the "better late than never” | philosophy? Is this the last we'll see of cartridge-based games?

Julian J.Alderman via juno.com It's not that we won't see the games, but we won't see the 64DD hardware. In our interview with

Ratings: Old Vs. New

| was just looking through my Game Informer magazines and | noticed something. For regular Nintendo, you give some games really high scores, like 8s or above. You give lower scores to some N64 and PlayStation games even though they have better graphics, better gameplay, and all sorts of other stuff. Why is that? Troy Wegner

via aol.com

There are a couple things you have to keep in mind. In the days before the 32 and 16-bit systems, believe it or not,

Game Informer • January 2000

David Elliott, Tampa, FL

January Winner

It's true she doesn't have a face, but will anyone notice?

independent of your actions. In other ; +

words, it doesn’t wait for you to execute $L t3

your moves. In games, there is indeed Е 1 ge

fake time and comes in the form of turn- КЫ А y

based strategy games.A game like Panzer ES HH Bryce Boucher General will allow the player as much AUTE Pembroke, NH time as he desires, and after his is If you think

moves are complete, the computer will

: Reiner looks then execute its maneuvers.

funny as Link,

2. No, but if you refer to the Reviews you should Archive insert in the magazine, you can See hi ih Мө p see what games our list would likely я

Princess

include. 3. So far, we'd have to say that it is chess or possibly soccer.

4, Bipedal? Mortal? Anthropocentric? The last time we checked, yes.

Zelda outfit.

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Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto in the November issue, he stated that Nintendo of Japan is already developing ff a system to easily convert 64DD games into cartridges for U.S. consumption. Nintendo has already Ec announced that Mario Artist (Paint Studio IE & Talent Studio) will be released in the U.S. as a cartridge. We won't be surprised to see Sim City 64 joining that list very soon.

LE ө NW 4"

Hey look! This guy's a better artist than Rob Liefield.

Eric Anderson К | Baltimore, MD

Mmmmmmmmm | mmmm...Mega Man!

Tom Kim Blue Bell, PA

These two Pokémon, like kids at school, are fighting over trading cards.

Nintendo games did get 8s, 9s, and 105. Ё Also, when we rate games in Classic СІ we do not rate them against the current crop of new games. The classic games are rated versus other games of their time. Collectibility and the game's impact on current software are also factors in rating the oldies. Even though today's games have better graphics, we'd have to argue that not all of today's games have better gameplay. There are a ton of classic games Ё that are still far superior to some of E today's clunkers. [

Ario Elami Grosse Pointe Farms, MI "Go ahead...touch my monkey! TOUCH HIM!"

NCAA’ Final Four’ 2000 has more than 300 Division I teams from 31 conferences. It's got 100 new animations including 15 new high flying dunks with graphics twice as detailed and smooth as last year. Team-specific playbooks, crowd chants and fight songs create an intense college setting for every game. It's the complete

college experience, minus the midterms and missed classes.

EVERYONE

PlayStation

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PlayStat

www.989sports.com

t the dawn of the last generation of console systems, a

“It's been a while since we've seen a strange but entertaining thing happened - just about every- classic platforming game like this, and AY AND CAST, VILE one in the video game industry became graphics snobs.

Tomba! 2 reminds you what a pleasur- THE GONZO GAMER " z^. ر‎ А i [ able experience it can be. For the first ^ Concept CURS ES, UPON People spent a great deal of time discussing the trivial details of “frame RUE зо the рае O ET you Rb Lm uad rate" and whether or not a game was “truly” 30. Mario 64 was held aloft clusion and items you Sene ise er CDRS ' НЕ. DAN over other popular platformers of the time simply because it was a true It's like being in a foreign country and not 8.5 free-roaming platformer.

Rd the Tanguage, in ime, de player Sound д a We loved the big M's return as much as anyone else did, but Tomba! 2 once set of the game, missions [m to fall 8 # again proves that the core of every excellent action/platformer is the gameplay. like dominoes, and you're hooked. | ПО | Wi Unfortunately, few developers seem to understand that the graphics and stun-

could have done without some of the voice-overs, but the thrill of exploration made up for it. Tomba! 2 obviously bor- rows heavily from classics in the genre,

ning possibilities of our new toys are quickly rendered pointless by shoddy game design. For years now, we've seen hordes of attractive free roaming games with rom ] horrible camera control and lackluster gameplay concepts. \ оов ie SD | 8.75 ) While no graphical masterpiece by a long shot, the original Tomba! proved to be a To put it bluntly, | love this game, and so T vastly entertaining game. Its bizarre humor and focus on tricky platforming earned hig! will you." gun : praise from the Game Informer staff in our July ‘98 issue. The second installment pl. тотто Tomba in a much more attractive 30 environment, while keeping the engaging 20 Tomba game, but | can say that the forming action that made the original such a hit with us. sequel is one whacked adventure. The wi In Tomba! 2, Tomba's girlfriend has been kidnapped by the vile Evil Pigs who Be aie dt ties a ale ” Concept d much trouble in the last game by stealing his dad’s bracelet and mutating the land. overwhelming. Luckily, the playcontrol in ume: s = quest to save № girl M me “| set things right, Tomba will have the opportu Tomba! 2 is exceptional. The branching numerous people in need alon: е perspective does take some getting used 8.75 way by completing а ton of d» н е - to, but soon the platforming апа naviga- Sound i Funny, a lot of our readers say that about our mag. tion become second nature. The basic 85 quests. з AN ca wE 9% maneuvers are actually very simple, even P b | These tasks with the added moves of Tomba's cos- ayability b. шла. tumes. However, the RPG-styled items 9.25 =, over a hundred and and character interaction put an enjoy. -Entertainment providing able twist on the standard platformer, Entertainment There are definitely not a lot of games

like this for PlayStation, and if you liked games like Crash, Ape Escape, or Klonoa, | have no doubt that you will love

this game.” E s hard to look tough in a squirrel outfit, =

ت

Entertainment Г

This book has too man I can*t read it,

^While the rest of the world focuses on the

ascension of the third-dimension, Tomba! 2 REINER wines and dines the second-dimension, тне RAGING GAMER delivering phenomenal side-scrolling game- Concept

play based within a colorful and creative 9 å ^ ; Е world. While the look of the game has ————— — — 2 й == a cotton loincloth, and... evolved to the world of polys, the gameplay Graphics 4 >й я и РЕ

is still brought to life with classic blood. | 8.5 E ; ф` = "ut

enjoyed the goofy play in the first game, but cnn ei. à d d

this series will be remembered by the Sound ao ys bu:

highly intense platforming delivered in this URGES UND 1 Te IPS

second adventure. Every little inch of Playability

this platformer is brought to life brilliantly. 9.25

Whether you be navigating the skies in a fly- ——————— ——

ing squirrel costume, or tackling an evil pig Entertainment

with your mouth, Tomba 2 is a wacky ride 9.25

that never seems to get old. Much to my surprise, this game reminded me greatly of Super Mario 3, and joins it as one of the

lie

Twant a banana, а new monkey ^^. ^;

best platformers around.”

» n Ah... уо your ur baby's 8 -~ ~ crab is on fire...

The Meet р told us all about {+ khat exactly áre they?

Sé m ierant mn атре

Tomba’s girlfriend from the clutches of the evil pig oppressors. While the objectives are offen sim- ple enough, the means of achieving them tend to be a lot more than you bargained for. So your monkey friend wants baked bananas? Well, first you'll have to locate the bananas; find a place to cook them; find a hammer so you can activate the stove; find bombs; use them to free another friend who is trapped so that the hammer’s owner will finally relinquish it to you; and finally, place the bananas in the stove and bring them back to your hungry buddy who prompily departs and requires your attention at a later point in the game when he gets itchy.

As the average quest in the game goes, this one is pretty basic. Quite frequently, the player is challenged to find a way to get across a level while suffering from one malady or another so that they can enter secret doors. By eating laughing or crying fruit, the player can access doors repre- om the same actions, but will be unable to use weapons until a neutralizing fruit can be

While Tomba has all of his old moves intact, he’s gained a few new skills as well. In addition to his basic jumping, biting, and swinging skills, he can now charge his enemies with a rapid Animal Dash that will allow him to move faster and jump higher. He also gains a wide variety of abilities through the use of weapons and garments. By donning the goofy looking Squirrel Clothes, he gains ity to glide long distances and is granted the additional benefit of staying warm in chilly b ditions. Acquiring new pants can enhance his speed.

- Enoug said. Tomba! 2 serves up a fine dish of porcine thrashing action, a tough platform chal- oY, and an immense number of objectives to ара, It's guaranteed to res

° You must defeat this hoss _ by pounding on its tongue.

~ Catch the fat clown on a hig pillow. to heighten his confidence.

Cover Story ie

* Size: 1 CD-ROM

‘e Style: 1-Player Action/Platform

* Special Features: Special Outfits Allow Unique Gliding & Magic Abilities; Pants Enhance Speed; 7 Weapons, Each Weapon Equipped With a Special Function; Special Minigames; Puzzles; Over 100 Quests to Complete

* Replay Value: Moderate

* Created by: Whoopee Camp for SCEA

* Available: Now for Playstation

Bottom line: 0.75

^E “It makes aman excited tobe __

dressed like a squirrel.

м.

The Moves

A good action/platformer has a diversity of means towards an end, and Tomba has a vast array of skills at hand. You will need to take advantage of each and every one of them in order to get to every secret in the game. 4

Jump

It seems to even mention. Few platform gai have attempted to go without a jump and it is the most fre-