@ & BLADE “a ‘The Game, digi ~The Movie, = The Phenomenon > Pg. 26 Chrono‘ ~ WithYAlternate Locations, & Hi PROLIFIC” PREVIEWS ~ Everything You Ever. Wanted To Know About Tony Hawk 2, Dino Crisis 2, Star Wars: www.gameinformer.com UK £2.50 08> $3.95 Canada $4.95 o 71486 01864 "3 | A t 2000 : oo Issue 08 #88 007 Targets The Playstation 2 & Nintendo 64 With New High-Powered Software a te PlayStation Animated Blood Animated Violence ‘MediEvilis a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. © 2000 Sony Compt H- „Sonyí Computer Entertainment Europe. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademai Se $ \ i tertainment Europe. Developed by ‘Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PASTY COMPLEXION, FUNNY ACCENT, BAD TEETH. HELL FEEL RIGHT AT HOME ~ IN LONDON. Good looks are nice, but they won't help you defeat an evil maniac hell-bent on conquering the world. Lord Palethorn’s sinister spell has unleashed a gang of sadistic villains on Victorian London. it’s up to Sir Dan to destroy them with his lethal arsenal - Gatling guns, torches, axes, his own removable arm and more. Between mighty battles and baffling puzzles, Sir Dan’s facing a deadly challenge. He'll need smarts and some helpful friends - a mad professor, a wily ghost and his Egyptian princess girlfriend - to prevail over an unspeakable horror. After all, a guy can't save the world on bad looks alone. MEBIEVIL A GOTHIC JOURNEY TO DIE FOR. SEGA, WORLD SERIES č __—__ e SEAN Welcome to the Show, meat. It’s all here -- detailed player profiles, full 3D ballparks, and ultra-realistic stat-based gameplay. Live it up while you can, though. Because our nastiest pitching engine yet has been designed to find your weaknesses, then hammer them mercilessly. And aus it’s going to be a certain Señor Martinez’s turn 4 the rotation. SOONER OR LATER, PEDRO COMES FOR US ALL. LABLE ON: TITLE THEME SONG AVAII - i] | | | ‘ts See cc a aa Yl You dance like a white guy. And now the universe depends on your sorry rhythm. Don’t freak space cadet. Cosmic diva Ulala will show you some fly moves. Before long you'll be rump shakin’-it against an alien posse. But don’t get too funky or they'll light you up like a Christmas tree. Visit spacechannel5.com *No Morolians are actually harmed in this game. Their little souls are returned to the planet Morolia where they are recycled and go on to live happy, productive lives. ™ Or co Departments (8) Letter from the Editor Under New Management Dear Game Informer GI readers from across the globe interact with Game Informer. Envelope Art You can’t win if you don’t enter Gl’s Monthly Envelope Art Contest. GI News Microsoft goes Bungiejumping, a moment of silence for Neo Geo Pocket Color, Sony unveils a new PlayStation, and tons-o-fun with Name That Game!, Trivia, and Gl’s Top Ten. Photophile We love anything mini: Minnie Mouse, the mini-ster of defense, and especially our super mini- previews of the hottest upcoming games. This month features Paper Mario, Ferrari 360 Challenge, Red Faction, and All Star Pro Wrestling. 3 (95) Game Informer PC The PC Jedi has been meditating in his cave for weeks. After he awoke from his trance he brought us reviews of Evolva, Imperium Galactica Il, and Ultima Online: Renaissance. May the Force be with you. Play To Perfection Where do you find all those wonderful characters and story branches in Chrono Cross? In Game Informer’s massive PTP, that’s where. © Secret Access What’s that pesky GI Droid up to? Find out, then peruse the latest codes and tips from our readers. @) Classic GI GI takes a look at two golden oldie RPGs for Super NES, flashes back to Commando, and makes fun of Jim Carrey - what more could you want? Pg 12 etc From jammin’ tunes on your Game Boy to delicious chocolate eggs in your belly, this month's etc has got it all. Pg 111 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 rairie, MN 55344. (952) 946-7266 or FAX (952) 946-8155. For subscriptions, back issues, or cus- tomer service inquiries (2 946-7266. 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 screen- Shots contained within this publication are owned by their respective companies. Entire contents jht 2000. 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. a] Game Informer + August 2000 Games Reviewed & Previewed! Features © © Cover Story: Bond Is Back GoldenEye changed video games forever when it delivered amazing multiplayer action to consoles. But Rare lost the license and now EA waves the Bond banner. Last year’s Tomorrow Never Dies was a big disappointment, but as you will see, the new Bond games are shaping up quite nicely. There’s even a driving game to boot. Pg 14 Feature: Blade: The Phenomenon If you haven’t seen the movie Blade, you are missing out on some serious ass-kickin’ action. Now the Daywalker is coming back in a new video game for PlayStation from Activision. We even have some news on the upcoming movie sequel. Quiz: Dude or Dweeb Have you ever taken a really good look at yourself? Are you a serious playa or part-time sucka? Take the Dude or Dweeb Quiz and see what you score on the Nerdometer. Reviews & Previews Pg 46 x (44) Nintendo 64 Banjo-Tooie, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Mario Tennis 64 { PlayStation Breath of Five IV, Chrono Cross, Dino Crisis 2, Duke Nukem: Planet of the Babes, Fear Effect: Retro Helix, NFL GameDay 2001, RPG Maker, Spider-Man, Star Trek: Invasion, Star Wars: Demolition, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Valkyrie Profile, Vampire Hunter D, X-Men: Mutant Academy PlayStation 2 Evergrace, FIFA 2001, Star Wars: Starfighter Dreamcast Ecco: Defender of the Future, Fur Fighters, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Power Stone 2, Super Magnetic Neo, Super Runabout, Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram a Glance Pg 64 PlayStation Army Men: World War, Builder’s Block, Countdown Vampires, ESPN MLS: Game Night, Grudge Warriors, Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: 2nd Edition Dreamcast Street Fighter Alpha 3, Striker Pro 2000, Tech Romancer Game Boy 1942, Croc, Crystalis, Dinosaur, Tomb Raider, Triple Play 2001, Wario Land 3 Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. WORKING D) Our Hames go tot! fe and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "LUNAR" is a registered trademark of Game Arts/Working Designs. Licensed from ESP by Working Designs. Original Game © Game Alex 1994-1999. Reprogrammed game © Game Arts/Kadokawa Shoten 1999. English Translation © Working Design 3 is a registered trademark of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. If you're still iis, you probably need to get a life. Or, a girlfriend. Or both. Web Address: http://www.workingdesigns.com. For a dealer near you, call (530) 7. u ` l e August Issue 2000 Volume X « Number 8 + Issue #88 Richard A. Cihak Publisher Andrew McNamara Edn Jay Fitzloff Erik Reppen Matt Helgeson “Associate Editors Thomas Blustin Art Director Curtis Fung F Gabrielle Dane Sarah Anderson Copy Editor Justin Leeper Matthew Kato Web Editor Advertising Sales Kimberley Thompson-Benike Arthur Mascot Manulactured and printed in the United States of America Audit Bureau of Circulations Member Andy, The Game Hombre andy@gameinformer.com “This last week | have spent my | time taking care of Game Informer's illustrious mascot. No, it's not Reiner...it's Arthur! The Game Informer wonder dog. Back from a long sabbatical of following Bergren around the frisbee golf course, Arthur is once again doing what he does best: laying around the office with us as we play vids. Not only does he protect us from outsiders, he entertains as his favorite pastime is gnawing the head off a Pikachu doll. Ahhh...that just never gets old.” For Game Informer readers that follow the video game business closely, I’m sure Under New Management! you already know that Game Informer is now under new management. If you don’t, then | thought it might be a good time to fill you in and give you some ideas of what we hope to do with Game Informer over the coming months. lam very pleased to announce that Game Informer magazine is now part of Babbage’s Etc, a division of Barnes and Noble, Inc. Now | know many of you are trembling in fear that the evil ogre Barnes and Noble will fire your favorite editors and close the magazine down all together, but that is simply not the case. As a matter of fact, Barnes and Noble is going to help us deliver a bigger, badder, and more informative magazine. The staff here at Game Informer has already put the ball in motion to begin redesigning the magazine. While | don’t want to give away too much, | will say we are going to have some BIG surprises for you before the end of the year. Changes that we feel will help make Game Informer the number one source for interactive gaming Paul, The Game Professor paul@gameintormer.com “Things are heating up for my favorite time of the gaming year - the football season. On the PlayStation, we already have an early version of GameDay, and just today Madden showed up at the door. Sorry, we couldn't get it into this issue. What will be more interesting to see is the DC and PS2 offerings from Visual Concepts and EA respectively. NFL 2K1 has the whole Internet play thing going for it and Madden...it's Madden. The only unknown maybe is GameDay for PS2. Word on the street is that this game is way behind schedule. This will again be an interesting football season.” Reiner, The Raging Gamer reiner@gameintormer.com “Originally, | couldn't wait to see myself in Perfect Dark, Being a playable character in one of the N64's greatest games is a dream come true. However, what started out as the coolest thing to ever happen to little ol’ me turned into a nightmare. Every day | receive hundreds of emails from readers proclaiming they shot me directly between the eyes. When | go out into public, Perfect Dark fans recognize who | am and say, ‘Hey! | shot you in the groin!’ Even my sick and demented friends find pleasure in blowing my brains across the room. Someday you too will be in a video game, and with a tainted grin, | shall seek my revenge.” BY ANDREW McNAMARA news, reviews, and previews (and maybe even a little bit more — but you'll have to wait and see). Since these changes are still months away, there is still time to implement any new ideas that you may have. So please, | would love to hear what the readers want before we complete the new magazine. Do you want more toy, anime, or DVD coverage? How about PC game coverage? Do you want us to change anything? Do you even care? Heck, send us anything you can think of, just jot it down and send it my way to the address below or to my email: andy@gameinformer.com. Big things are coming, boys and girls. In the meantime you can expect us to continue delivering the best gaming magazine out there. Just sit back and watch, ‘cause the best is about to get better. Game Informer Magazine Attn: Andy McNamara 10120 W. 76th St. Eden Prairie, MN 55344 day, The Gonzo Gamer jay@gameinformer.com “The announcement of the Neo Geo Pocket Color being pulled from shelves has hit me pretty hard. Not only because it was a great handheld, but also since this continues the cycle of my console curse. Every new system I've ever owned (the rule doesn’t apply to used consoles for some reason) has flailed completely. Look at my track record: Odyssey2, Turbo Grafx-16, Sega Saturn, and the NGPC. This hex that is my burden should put some worry into all you Sony lovers out there - | intend my next console purchase to be a PlayStation 2.” Builder Oni . Power: Spider- Super Super Ultima Vanishi Matt, The Original Gamer matt@gameinformer.com I received an email asking me what exactly it is | do around here. Here's a typical day - 7 AM: Go to Andy's house, wake him up and give him a bath. Make sure he brushes. 8 AM: One hour of therapy with my psychiatrist. 9 AM: Arrive at Game Informer. Mix myself a cocktail. Pretend to work. Noon: Lunch (anchovie & onion sandwich). Quick round of mini-golf. 1 PM: Naptime! 2 PM: Quitting time! Leave work and hang out in Super America parking lot until dawn. Banjo-Tooie . Blade ........ Blade Arts... Breathe of Fire IV Bust-A-Groove 2 Chrono Cross ... Chrono Trigger . Commando AR Countdown Vampires ......... 83 NFL GameDay 2001 Paper Mario Red Faction RPG Maker. Spec Ops: Ste -Man 2. Star Trek: Invasion Star Wars: Demolition . . Star Wars: Starfighter Street Fighter Alpha 3... Striker Pro 2000... . . Super Mario RPG Sydney 2000... Tech Romancer The Mask i eea Saa The World Is Not Enough (N64) . The World Is Not Enough (PS2) . The World Is Not Enough (PSX) . Tomb Raider si Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 .. Torneko: The Last Hope Triple Play 2001 . . Valkyrie Profile Vampire Hunter D Virtua Tennis . Mss Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram Wario Land 3 ............2005 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: GAMESIUNDEX = m İZ anana S, Game Page # 1942. oo 84 007 Racing...... P Aerowings 2: Air Strike B38 All Star Pro Wrestling >~... -+-+ -+ -92 Army Men: Air Attack 2 . ; 86 Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 2 87 Army Men: World War 83 ATV: Quad Power Racing .. 87 r's Block . Croc . 85 Crystalis .. 5 85 Dino Crisis 2 NRSA, n css... eeeeeeee es 84 Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern 93 Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge . . .95 Duke Nukem: Planet of the Babes ...... 59 Ecco: Defender of the Future ..,.0<:+:::80 ESPN MLS: Game Night . KRR] Evengrace ninnan re nenten anA T TARTO a AE AE ET 95 Fear Etfect: Retro Helix - 58 Ferrari 360 Challenge 90 FIFA 2001 71 Fur Fighters ........ 7 Grudge Warriors PRE Be Halt-Life ...... Ra Imperium Galactica li ........ 95 Incredible Crisis ......... vee BY Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine. .86 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards ...........44 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2..........94 Mario Tennis .........ceveceeccee eee MB Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 ......... 76 Monster Rancher: Battle Card ..........90 Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness ............83 MTV Sports: Skateboarding Featuring Andy MacDonald ............. a NCAA Football 2001 ...... NCAA GameBreaker 2001 .... Stone 2 Magnetic Neo Runabout Online: Renaissance jing Point . 2nd Edition ~- 82 X Squad... Ene) X-Men: Mutant Academy .......-.+... 52 Erik, The PC Jedi erik@gameinformer.com “People are afraid of getting old, but I'm actually looking forward to it. As long as | marry someone with plenty of relatives that are dumb enough to breed, l'Il have a blast. | can just sit there on the porch and shout out, ‘Heyyy!!! Screw You!!! Change my colostemy bag!!!’ And nobody will say anything except, ‘Pay no attention to him. He's just getting old.’ And then to really irk them, I'll become buddy-buddy with the black sheep youth of the family and set him straight on the fact that he’s not really as messed up as the world around him. | heard that when you get older you tend to trail off in the mifrmr.....” What can you get for under $10? 60546 22) 3 2 D 72.64 ECOSDFB 17.00 UPPER UPPER CONCOURSE 72.08 THE CORPORATE-MEGAPLEX ARENA zz 86095 a ) 221 IN ASSOCIATION WITH “ROT Y0 TEETH SODA” 221 | 213498 PRESENTS CHUMP | 5 1 "DA CORN BISCUITS” 15 i HMBONE NO GOOD TIMES/NO FUN MO 1708 | @4AUG FRI AUG 4 2666 330 PM 8 b) O “A great new game for the PlayStation’ game console...” = SPEC OPS: stealth Patrol THE ENEMY IS EXPECTING YOU TOMORROW...YOU'RE ALREADY THERE! Fess SoA Gs eos UA E E Oa 2a SS aie _, EM Kea i z E SPEC oS m Choose stealth or all-out frontal assault as you lead your team of Rangers into combat against ultra-powerful terrorist units. Fight against time and huge enemy forces in global terrorist hotspots. ; An arsenal to choose from including night-vision goggles, sniper rifles, machine guns, tripwire mines, grenades, shotguns, and more. Two player split-screen battle mode. Lead your team with guns blazing or silently under the cover of darkness : April =a across landscapes of thick jungle, barren desert, arctic tundra and dense forest. ACTION BASS SIZE MATTERS Tournament-style Challenge Mode, free-wheeling Free Mode, and an Extra bonus Mode is available. Lure Action Gauge (lure movement status meter) allowing the player to monitor lure movement easily. x Enjoy watching fish (up to five heaviest) you brought back in the Aquarium Mode. Five diverse lures are available at the beginning, covering a wide range of water conditions and lure movements. More lures will be available as the player gains experience. 4 Wide variety of "lure action" possible to attract bass, with some lures requiring retrieving or rod movements only while others requiring skillful combination of the two. WWW.TAKE2GAMES.COM $9.99 worm $9.99 MARTIAN GOTHIC Year 2018. On Vita 1, a base constructed on the face of Mars, man searches for evidence of bacterial life beneath the frozen surface. During the excavation, a giant sarcophagus opens into a vast and ancient necropolis. Soon after, all communication with Mars ends. Reason for breakdown of transmission: unknown. Fate of Vita 1 base: unknown. * t A 4 \ a? f e tee d K l N > Ay Á zar >= % ` as ù Through the complex, layered plot fo v three investigators sent by Earth Control to 5@SS the situation on Vita 1. Dozens of tre subterranean city caverns to € t Non-linear puzzle structures © you at every turn. Strange and violent creatur you constantly as you eek 5 to the aissnnoaranee of Vita 1’s staff and the of the ancient Martian i Ei PlayStation May 2000 GRUDGE WARRIORS (GRtoGE Ta "WARRKIGRS j Boi 8 ut ara 3 mission battle are 11 ruthi and unique ¢ Each level is loaded with of non-gang opponents like attac -head 2 player split screen « Dozens of power-ups including i > amage, guided missile jammers, nitro boosts.. An arsenal of « ive weaponry including S$ g bombs, energy mec S, corrosive gas bombs and mini-thermonuclear + the Final Boss to compete against in battle. 5, hidden power-ups and dozens roids and robotic gun turrets. ve, jou April 2000 * Suggested Retail Price=$9.99. ©2000 Take-Two Interactive. All rights reserved. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and the Take-Two logo are registered trademarks of Take 2 Interactive Software, Inc. Spec Ops & Zombie are trademarks of Zombie Software Incorporated. Grudge Warriors is a trademark of Take 2 Interactive Software and Telstar Electronic Studios Ltd. Martian Gothic is a trademark of Creative Reality, Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icons are trademarks of the Interactive Digital Software Association. $9.99 wom $9.99 WWW.TAKE2GAMES.COM EVERYONE TEEN RATING PENDING The Most Asked Question Of The Month Now that Reiner’s in Perfect Dark, do you sit around and kill him in the game all the time? | do. Just About Everybody Everywhere, US Actually, we’d been beating Reiner senseless for years before Perfect Dark came out. Now that everyone has a chance to cap the Raging One, we find the pastime passé. We now dress Reiner up in diapers and a bonnet, and rock him to sleep in the oversized RE mm DISLIKE I came across so much detritus in your June 2000 issue that | wonder if children were let loose to work. To wit: Re: your review of Grind Session. If you must use the word “blatant” in an article, use it only once.A paperback thesaurus is only $7. Blatant Call From © = Re: your review of Urban Chaos. | can’t say | agree with Larry King’s politics, but you are the first | know of to describe him as “ugly, boring, and generally unpleasant.” Ugly? His comely young wife doesn’t think so. Unpleasant? No one turns down the opportunity to be on his show. Boring? How do you explain that his is the most watched show on cable? MEMO TO BE POSTED:When attempts at humor are juvenile and stupid, redline them. WNBA? Yay! l am a big WNBA fan, so why don’t people start making WNBA video games? Frederick Anderson Sacramento, CA None of the current-generation consoles are powerful enough to capture the beauty and speed of the WNBA players. It’s the same reason we haven’t seen an LPGA game. Perhaps PS2, X-Box, or Dolphin will be able to fulfill your dreams. (12) Game Informer * August 2000 = finds Eden Prairie, Minnesota crib we constructed. This should entertain us until he appears in a Rugrats game. Re: your review of Tomb Raider. | am also not very politically correct, but it is reliably the case that gentlemen and grown-ups do not refer to women as “skank.” Raymond Hanks Orlando, WV Re: using the word “blatant” twice on the same page. In the interest of remaining impartial when reviewing games, we don’t read one another's work before writing critiques. It’s inevitable that the same words get used occasionally. In this case it just happened to be one that blatantly stuck out. Re: your love of Larry King. To be blatant — he's a yutz. Anyone who Larry King attractive, likable, and exciting is a mega dummy that should be kicked repeatedly in thesmads. By the way, King doesn’t have the top-rated show on cable. He’s not even in the top 15. MEMO TO BE POSTED: When attempting to sound snobbish and knowledgeable, do some research before spouting incorrect facts. Re: our Tomb Raider review. Shut up, you blatant skank. Snail Mail: Game Informer Magazine Attn: Dear GI 10120 W. 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 | have been reading articles on the PlayStation 2 and its backwards compatibility. | was wondering if there was any game for the PS2 that would work on the regular PS-X. | definitely know you can update the PS-X system to 128- bit and add a whole lot more RAM. | know this because my brother has updated both his N64 and PS-X. | saw him buy the updates. Please tell me if there are any games and don't tell me that | am illusional. Zaime Light via excite.com Picture This The first thing | want to say is your mag RULES! Anyway, I’m 14 and have subscribed to GI since 1995. I have some questions for you. 1.1 have heard a rumor that Sega said that if Phantasy Star Online does well, it would make a new game with the old Phantasy Stars on it. Is this true? 2. | have a bad memory and can’t remember when you started putting those interesting pictures under the Letter from the Editor.When did you start doing that? 3. How many times has Reiner’s hair changed color? Michael via hotmail.com 1. Sega hasn't declared any such plans, but if Phantasy Star Online sells well it’s a definite possibility. Alternately, if a classic game network is instituted here as it was in Japan, some Phantasy Star titles could become available via download. The Most Asked Question Of All Time I think you guys have the coolest jobs on the planet. | mean all you have to do is play games, write down what you think of them, and get paid. | was wondering if you have any job openings (because I have years of experience in the gaming world)? Chris Cordina Moyock, NC You’re right when you say it’s the coolest job on the planet, but you're wrong when you say all we do is play games, write something down, and get paid...especially the getting paid part. There’s a lot more to putting together a video game magazine than just playing games. Hugh Hefner didn’t create Playboy just by looking at naked women all day, did he? No, he waited until he was retired to do that. But that’s not what you're asking, is it? Email: deargi@gameinformer.com WWW www.gameinformer.com being sold that allows people tof upgrade the PS-X or N64 to 128-bit. f The Expansion Pak i for N64 gives the system more RAM, but you seem to be alluding to something entirely different. Also, games made for the PS2 will not work on the PS-X. Lay off the funny fungi, kid! 2.These highly popular face-pasting pictorials first appeared in the July 1996 issue. It was originally planned as a one- time gag to commemorate Paul changing his title from the Pro Player to the Game Professor (thus the Gilligan’s Island motif).After it was done, however, someone in the office had an epiphany and declared that this was funnier than the boring words-of- wisdom-next-to-a-face-in-a-box format that had previously been employed. The rest is Photoshop history. 3. Three times today. How do you get a job at GI? Amongst current staff you'll find three recurring paths to employment: working here since the magazine’s inception; playing in a band with an editor; and quitting Gl, then asking for your job back a few months later. Unfortunately, without a time machine or the ability to jam on an axe like Richie Sambora, these ways may be out of reach. There is, however, a fourth way to get a position here (or anywhere else, for that matter) that many overlook. Try applying. Send in a resumé and writing samples. If we like what we see, you may just get a call one day from Game Informer telling you to, "come on down!” Just realize that it could be a loocoocoong time before you get that call. After all, this is the coolest job on the planet, and job openings here are few and far between. TITUS OR TETANUS? | want to start a petition to bring Titus’ reign of bad video game terror to an end. Come on, have they ever made a good game? Nope, can’t think of a single one. Neither can you, right? Carlos Fontanez via hotmail.com Your plan has one major flaw, Carlos.You're planning on going head-to-head with the most powerful and well-liked country in the world — France. Titus is indeed French owned, and your efforts would surely be quashed almost immediately by its political might.After all, this is the country that single- handedly won World War Il, and has since gone on to become the most respected country on the planet, both in times of war and peace. Reflect upon how many times in your life you’ve eaten French Fries and you'll just begin to understand how deep its influence is. In your June 2000 issue, you guys said that there is no adapter to play Game Boy games on N64. You're wrong!! | saw one for N64 and PlayStation in a store. They were $40 each. Mr. Mini Mog via aol.com Yes, there is indeed an adapter that NOSTALGIA UPDATE As a youngster, | grew up with the classic systems:Atari, Coleco, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Genesis. While | thoroughly enjoyed all of these, one game for the Genesis really has kept a hold on me throughout the years —Toejam & Earl! | have been looking for info about the possibility of a resurrection of the duo, and it looked bright in early 1999. | have not seen any recent info on TJ&E and it saddens me greatly. If you could look deep into your hearts and kindly inform me about the prospects of TJ&E coming to any system in the near future, | will happily be your indentured servant! Nathan Medina Saginaw Township, MI Considering we received your letter via email, Nathan, it’s rather disheartening that you didn’t use the tools at your fingertips to research your own question. Crank up your web browser and head over to toejamandearl.com for the latest details regarding Toejam & Earl Ill straight from the developers themselves. AUTAA Hi George Hinckle, milwaukee, wI a NN L a We believe you'll also find that Titus has too much business savvy to be defeated by the likes of your petition.After all, we're talking about the same company that’s going to be releasing an N64 game based on a flop movie over two years after its theatrical release. If Titus could be taken down, it would have defeated itself long ago. lets you play Game Boy titles on the N64. However, Game Boy Color titles put on the big screen with this device will still appear in black and white. Some of these adapters allow players to color the games manually, but the results are often less than pleasing. What we were trying to suggest was that there is no full adapter for Game Boy Color games. At this time, pretty much all that’s said on the site is that there will definitely be a TJ&E Ill, but when and for . up in the air. Keep checking this site and Game Informer for further details. We appreciate your offer for indentured servitude, but we already have Matt for all our menial tasks. Please send a large sum of cash (small bills) in lieu of service. Thank you. x This awesome three foot high Triple Triad card was a shoe in for Envelope of the Month. f. A on S e) Benjamin Perez ` | For once, we =x. | don’t know what Z to say. Eamon O’Connor Pikachu hunting season Starts this fall! Mathew Hadly I once caught a fish THIS big. Jay Stoner The last name says it all. Game Informer * August 2000 & Game Informer The world of James Bond and the gaming universe don’t exactly have a long history. Prior to 1997, gamers were treat- ed to a hodgepodge of gaming boredom that did nothing to capture the essence of lan Fleming’s classic spy. Of course, things changed in 1997 - the year Rare and Nintendo released the monumental hit GoldenEye for Nintendo 64. This game had it all. The action, intrigue, and wide assortment of missions engrossed the player and devel- oped the clandestine world that gamers were craving. When GoldenEye was discovered by the gaming populace it was as if he’d just conquered Blofeld, Dr. No, and Goldfinger in one fell swoop. As a gaming franchise, James Bond was at the pinnacle of gaming properties and the world of 007 became highly coveted. This success obviously did not go unnoticed as MGM, the company behind the films, quickly had its interactive division begin work on a PlayStation game based on the film Tomorrow Never Dies. The development of this title was a tumultuous trek filled with delay after delay. When the game was about to receive the death sentence from Mr. Big, in came Electronic Arts who had just reached a publishing agreement with MGM Interactive for the game. EA took Tomorrow Never Dies under its wing and gave it as much ten- der loving care as it could. The game’s subsequent release was met by lukewarm reviews and even a few head shots along the lines of Francisco Scaramanga, but it did get EA’s foot in the door and to the front of the line for the heavily sought after Bond license. Almost to the day that Tomorrow Never Dies hit the store shelves last November, EA announced that it had secured an exclusive licensing deal with MGM Interactive, Danjaq LLC, and Eon Productions for the highly coveted Bond franchise that covered multiple years and multiple game titles — the first being The World Is Not Enough. : Multiplatform : Cover If you had the right to make Bond games, what would you do? Concentrate on one platform or go ballistic and develop for vir- tually every system out there? We thought so. You would go the latter route and attempt to take over the world like Hugo Drax in Moonraker. Obviously, Mr. Drax had to deal with the likes of James Bond. Luckily, Agent 007 is on EA’s side in this push for world dominance. With its multi-year, multi-title Bond license in hand, Electronic Arts is bombarding the console market with no less than four games in the coming months. Three separate first-person shoot- ers based on the World Is Not Enough are being readied for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo 64. While a new driving adventure is also in the works for PlayStation. Game Informer has been debriefed by MIG regarding these covert games and is here with some insights and information in the following pages. The designers of 007 Racing didn’t want to link the game to any one film, and they didn’t want this game to seem like a highlight reel of Bond films stiched together. What they want to do is to make this game seem more like a miss- ing episode and deliver a Bond experience focused on being in the car. EA has been given creative license to create 1 an entirely new Bond story which would encompass some of the more memorable vehicles in the series of films. Even though the title suggests that you might be doing some f =| competitive racing a la Need For Speed, in actuality, 007 i Racing is less about racing and more about action and espi- “T onage. Although it would be easy for EA to create an action | game along the lines of Twisted Metal, 007 is more than just blasting. Players will be required to handle such tasks as sur- | veillance, pursuit, and other covert operations. The game will attempt to balance offensive and defensive strategies that require the player to use a number of different weapons and gadgets to complete various missions. EA worked with MGM to create an entirely new script for 007 rT eb Racing. Here is a general synopsis of the story. | nity ort | An international terrorist organization has orchestrated a theft of { x high tech weapon technology from leading world government insti- | tutions. The terrorists have stolen blueprints, formulas, and proto- | type weapons and reverse-engineered devices for mass destruc- tion in a secret underwater facility in the Baltic Sea. The weapons are concealed in vehicles made by a small, but legitimate car man- throughout the world. The vehicles are actually the Trojan horse for the true method of destruction which is a strain of the small pox virus. The cars are | i capable of releasing the virus through their exhaust system. The exhast system — a hybrid of technology that was stolen from Q-branch — makes the cars hard to detect and destroy as | they release virtually no distinguishing fumes or heat. l The terrorists are bent on world dominance and are lead by evil mastermind Dr. Hammond Wit, who was once the { chairman of the World Health Organization and.now poses as an Eastern European trade diplomat. The diabolical fiend i plans to release the virus throughout world, killing an estimated five billion people and using an estimated 30 million doses of vaccine to recreate his own benovolent world. Bond must stop the release of the virus. i a EE The engine for 007 Racing is based on EA's Need For Speed, but this game has been expandanded to create more grid-based environments as opposed to the course stylings of NFS. This means that many of 007 Racing's missions will : be run on expansive cities that have multiple paths. | The game will be comprised of 15 missions that encompass a | variety of sub-missions within each area. For example, the first intro | mission will require the player to do such tasks as take out enemy positions, collect missiles, destroy tanks and a menacing helicopter, į and make it across the border. | This game will also borrow some of the memorable car chase aspects of NFS: Hot Pursuit. In other words, Bond will be chased around by the bad guys, as well as doing some pursuit of his own. EA | says that the villian vehicles will be nasty and extremely intelligent. The game won't be entirely populated by enemies as traffic and pedestrians will dot the landscape. It will be your job to protect the civil- ians and identify who should be destroyed. 16) Game Informer * August 2000 ufacturing company in Estonia - who distributes the vehicles a It is not too hard to figure out that 007 Racing will be more 5 ; : $ k ig 5 Cover Sto y about the cars of the Bond universe rather than James Bond himself. Over the span of the James Bond film library, many % Size: 1 CD-ROM cars played key roles in the film and are almost bigger stars > s e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action than some of Bond's supporting actors. Right now the plans : * Special Features: 6 Classic Bond Cars call for no less than six Bond cars to be featured in the game, = Including Aston Martin DBS, Lotus Espirit, but EA didn’t rule out the inclusion of other, surprise vehicles - & BMW Z8; 15 Missions with Multiple we suspect the BMW motorcycle. Objectives; New Bond Storyline; Weapons Although there have been more than a dozen cars featured See enn ee a in Bond films, 007 Racing will concentrate on the cars e Created By: Eutechnyx for EA Games created by Aston Martin, Lotus, and BMW. Here’s a look Z * Available: November for PlayStation at the what you can expect. ae 50% Complete / LLL bak FLL LL All Time High ad better get that gun reloaded! Tomorrow Did Die ` 47200) You're going to need more firepower, Mr. Bond, the previous Black Ops game. Live And Let’s Pla As the title of the game suggests, you will take part in a virtual world surrounding the storyline of the film. The game follows the film almost precisely and recreates many of the film’s scenes with great detail. Still, the game will take some liberties with the plot, but only to expand the story and translate it into better gameplay. When watching the film, there are a number of instances where you think to yourself, “How did 007 get there?” or “What did he do in-between these scenes?” The game tries to bridge these gaps and provide some extra action along the way. A classic example of the extras is in the opening scene of the film when Bond is in a bank meeting. In the game, the scene begins well before Bond gets to the office and you must use some covert tactics to get past the guards and infiltrate the bank and its security system. There are a number of other liberties that the game’s designers take with the story, but they are all for the better. Besides, who would want to play a game that only lasted as long as the film — two hours and eight minutes? The game is split into ten separate missions which will be broken down with a number of key objec- tives to complete in each. An in-game hint system will aid those players who aren't quite up on their 007 skills by pointing you in the right direction when you are wandering around too much. As this is a Bond game, the scenarios of play won't always lend themselves to guns-a-blazing action. As mentioned, the game will incorporate various tactics that reward the player for avoiding con- flict and, many times, will require the player to not be detected at all. One such example lies in a mission set in Elektra’s villa. After James and Elektra have met each other on a very personal basis, James makes his way outside the villa Í and, almost immediately upon leaving Elektra in the bedroom, is faced with a puzzle. A guard is blocking James’ descent to the first floor so he must use his wits and a stereo to get by. Turning on the stereo alerts the guard to investigate and James slips through an alternate hall and down the stairs to the first floor. j There are other instances of this type of Í assignment, but there are also plenty of seek and destroy objectives as well. © Game Informer * August 2000 We can count the number of quality first-person | shooters for the PlayStation on one hand, with two of these games being adaptations of PC games. This genre has never really been exploited on the system, but recent Í releases like the highly acclaimed Medal of Honor have things changing for the better. Now, Electronic Arts and developer Black Ops are readying The World Is Not Enough (TWINE), and the bar may be raised even high- er as this game is the answer for PlayStation owners’ search for something comparable to GoldenEye. Remember the last PlayStation Bond game? Í Yeah, we'd like to forget it too. So would EA. You would think that after a fairly lackluster effort with Í Tomorrow Never Dies that Black Ops would have | been given its walking papers, but TWINE’s produc- ers at EA are quick to point out that Black Ops has many strengths and learned a tremendous amount from the feedback it received concerning TND. Much of the existing programming code from TND was removed and/or modified to spectacular results. The rendering engine has been completely rewritten and, obviously, the perspective has been changed from third to first-person. TWINE bears no resemblance to ay 77 AUTO: SHOTGUN us WA { GRENADE LAUNGA Ae N y EN The grenade launcher can be set for time or impact detonation. PlayStation lames Bond films have not always been about Cover Sto ry violence and killing. There’s always elements of intrigue, suspense, and, of course, the many women that 007 seems to always end up in bed with. Yet, we mustn't forget that James Bond has a license to kill and that the game would be oh-so-boring if you couldn't gun down thugs. The designers at EA and Black Ops have done a remarkable job of creating enemies that look and move like the actual henchmen you'd see in the film. Detailed face texturing and equally accurate move- ments add an interesting and entertaining quality to the action. Utilizing over 300 motion-captured anima- tions, the inhabitants of the game maneuver with great fluidity. Foes of Bond will dive and roll to avoid enemy fire, cower when weaponless, and take a bullet in a wide variety of ways. The game's stunt directing and motion-capture stunt work was accomplished using seasoned Hollywood talent. In fact, the stunt coordinator for TWINE worked as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double in The Matrix. No, there won't be any high flying martial arts in TWINE, but the hit-specific animations will contort and twist the enemies unlucky enough to bite the bullet. In other words, if you shoot a thug in the leg, he will go down on one knee. Hit him in the gut and he may double over. Hit the baddie’s weapon and he'll drop it. Watch out! This guy may be packing more heat and pull a gun from his jacket. Other animations can also be discovered through various and destructive tactics that you can unearth when you have the license to kill. e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1-Player Action e Special Features: Action Based On Film of Same Name; 10 Missions With Multiple Objectives; 30 Weapons & Gadgets; Stealth Tactics; Well Over 20 Minutes of Movie Footage; Cutscenes With Voice Acting e Created by: Black Ops for EA Games e Available: November for PlayStation 75% Complete | Dr. No Mu layer Strange as it may sound, the PlayStation version of by TWINE will not support any multiplayer capabilities. ] Blasphemy you say? Well, EA and Black Box decided that perfecting the one-player experience was far more important in this game than adding a split-screen mode for deathmatch. Instead of spending time making the two-player work and designing levels that would compliment this mode, the game's production staff have concentrated on designing a one-player game engine that is smooth, as well as pleasing to the eye. We are not sure at this point if excluding multiplay- er was a wise decision, but looking back at how little we played two-player Medal of Honor, we may see EA's point. However, you may have had a different experience with head-to-head shooters on the PS-X. You will actually see Elektra in her bed Grab the briefcase and escape! Sorefinger Every button on the PlayStation controller is utilized in TWINE. From weapon Ps id gil selection to firing and moving, the system of controlling James in the game does amie take some dexterity. Luckily, the TWINE button configurations are completely programmable. This opens up the control scheme to a number of possibilities. Although movement was controlled using the digital joypad, we prefer using the standard buttons as the keys to moving and strafing and the L and R button to control gun firing and other weapon controls. PELLTER A SEELLL ES EET The Q Branch of MI6 has always supplied bond with the latest in gadgetry and Q will again be developing anice assortment of seemingly mundane items. Of course, the outward appearance of these objects appear as though they would be of no particular aid to Bond, but with special Q Branch training these items can blow up an entire city block. X-Ray Glasses Credit Card Lock Pick Grappling Hook Watch Telephone Bug Night Vision Goggles Pen Explosive Micro-Camera Cell Phone Fingerprint Scanner Keychain Flashbang Flashlight VLF Disruptor Credit Card Radiation Detector ELLE -a LEE LLL Dif ge T PlayStation Thunderarms i Where would Bond be without a selection of the latest weaponry? You can't stop crazed } lunatics that are hellbent on world dominance without a little fire power. Wolfram P2K IAC Defender Koffler & Stock KS5 Munitions Belgique PS100 Kazakovich KA-57 Ingalls Type 20 Koffler & Stock AR36 Meyer TMP Frag Grenade Gas Bombs Cell Phone Stunner Tranquilizer Dart Gun Frinesi Auto Shotgun Pipe Bombs Frinesi Double-Barreled Satchel Charge Rocket Launcher Digital video with optional rocket launcher. Always Say Video Again The added storage capacity of a PlayStation CD-ROM will allow TWINE to be filled with a bunch of footage from the film. The digitized video footage will be used to bridge the gap between levels, and the game’s creators have plans to include more than 20 minutes of movie scenes. We've been told that there is a possibility of including nearly 30 minutes. That's almost one quarter the actual film. Also adding to the story will be real-time cutscenes complete with voice acting. Game Informer © August 2 OQO 2 °° YUM MOLE TTL From Britain With Love The development of the Nintendo 64 version of The World Is Not Enough has been in the pro- duction stage for over a year — even before Electronic Arts announced it had the rights to the game. For the title, EA has enlisted U.K. development house Eurocom, whose credits include such N64 games as Duke Nukem 64 and Duke Nukem: Zero Hour. Eurocom’s goal is to create the best Bond game for the N64 — a pretty lofty goal considering the phenomenal success of Rare’s GoldenEye. Still, there has been plenty of time for both Eurocom and EA to completely dissect GoldenEye’s strengths and weaknesses — along with plenty of other first- person shooters - and adapt The World Is Not Enough to these high standards. Eurocom’s offices are not too far away from another well known U.K. devel- oper. You had better believe that Eurocom has a rare opportunity to one-up its fellow countrymen. From what we've seen of this N64 game, Eurocom and EA are close to achieving these goals. The game is impressive to look at and equally exciting to play. / 220 f R30 F B3 Use the laser sight or pull up the ; zooming scope. Golden Seguel EA boasts that this game is “the official Bond N64 sequel,” and you can’t really argue with the logic. Even though Perfect Dark was produced and developed by the creators of GoldenEye, Perfect Dark lacked a key ele- ment that, in our opinion, was detrimental to the game — Bond. Perfect Dark, although phenome- nal, failed to deliver an interesting story and key 007 elements. Plainly stated, Bond is back regardless of which is the Some characters will work with you ; “true” sequel. in combat. There are a ton of multiplayer options. Game Informer * August 2000 Nintendo 64 Clearly, the basic storyline of the film remains intact within the game — a story of love and betrayal, along with e es] Cover Story some classic Bond booty kicking. The game will spread the plot across 20 missions that take the player to the heights of the Caucas Mountains and to the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Each mission will take Bond through a series of objectives which are sometimes presented before the mission begins, but other times the action will be a little more dynamic. ¢ Size: 256 Megabit Style: 1 to 4-Player Action e Special Features: Action Based On Film The expansive environments in TWINE open up the game and create the freedom to take a number of different of Same Name; 20 Missions With Multiple paths to the same result. The designers intend for this feature to adapt the game to many different playing styles. Objectives; Multiple Mission Paths; 40 Some players will be more aggressive, shooting anything that moves while taking a very direct route. Others will be Weapons & Gadgets; Stealth Tactics; more cautious, taking the time to explore every nook and cranny of the game. These types of players will likely find Cutscenes With Voice Acting; Wide Variety that the environments yield many different routes to the same end. For example, a mission revolving around James’ of Mutliplayer Games & Arenas investigation of Davidov will lead him to an airfield. To get the plane, Bond will be required to navigate a forest. This forest will have a well-worn path filled with guards, along with several offshoots that provide a much easier route. There are many more examples of this throughout the game, but the creators would much rather have you discov- er all the possibilities. Night vision goggles will help you spot the ¢ Created by: Eurocom for EA Games e Available: November for Nintendo 64 85% Complete This version of TWINE will allow players to interact with different civilian characters. These bystanders will give you clues, hints, and sometimes special items and gadgets. Additionally, and more impressively, the characters will all speak to you. There have not been many N64 titles that use voice-overs within the game, but this one will include over 100 lines of script that are performed by actor voice-alikes. At this point we aren’t sure how you can find a voice-alike to perform as poorly as Denise Richard's character, Dr. Christmas Jones, but the dialogue we heard from head honcho M bears an uncanny likeness to the actual actress, Judi Dench. You will swear that these are actual voices from the film. You might also swear when a player partner frags your butt in TWINE’s extensive multiplayer mode. If you have played any of the more recent first-person shooters, TWINE is essentially a “best of” com- pilation. Multiplayer levels are completely separate from the normal one-player experience. One such level is on a plane. Actually there are two planes that are coupled by a refueling catwalk. Players can move between the two planes, fight on the wings, and, if they are unlucky, plummet to their death. This mode can also be set up with computer controlled “bots” to add to the carnage. Now that's a shocking development. Game informer + August 2000. 23, RAMraker All the action we saw and played in TWINE was presented in normal resolution, meaning we did not see it with the enhanced resolution that will be offered via 5 the Expansion Pak. Unlike Perfect Dark, the Expansion Pak is not required to play the game with all of the features, modes, and levels. The game will also support the Rumble Pak and Controller Pak. The N64 With The Golden Gun This game's arsenal is huge. Even though TWINE’s creators opted to avoid the cost- ly and time consuming route of licensing weapon names and likeness, they did pack in more than 20 arms. All are near representations of many actual weapons in the film, plus a few bonus items of destruction. Each weapon has a unique load animation and details like flying shell casings. Additionally, weapons have secondary fire functions that can be as simple as turning on laser sighting or more destructive qualities like a grenade launcher. To be sure, there will be a number of sniper weapons with zooming scopes. Can you say head shot? Wolfram P2K MRL-22 Rocket Launcher IAC Defender Meyer TMP Koffler & Stock KS7 Koffler & Stock SA90 Munitions Belgique PS100 GL-40 Grenade Launcher Kazakovich KA-57 Koffler & Stock M45 Ingalls Type 20 AT-420 SENTINEL Anti-Tank missile Windsor Viper Delta 900-Mag Crossbow Calypso P-750 SeaMaster Speargun Windsor FSU-4 / MAR-4 Satchel Charge Meyer UGW Flash-Bang Grenade Frinesi Special 12 Cullpepper M6HB .50 Caliber Machine Gun SWZ SSR 4000 The Gun Is Not Enough , Indeed, Bond never has succeeded without the § ingenuity of the Q Branch, and he won't have a chance without the use of these gems of deception. Look out! That bow tie is really a camera. X-Ray Glasses Key Copier Inflatable Protective Jacket Keypad Decryptor Grappling / Laser Qatch Laser Deflector Telephone Bug Bomb Defusing Kit Night Vision (Infrared) Goggles Portable Satellite Link § Data Scrambler Remote Cameras Q-branch Wrist Dart Gun Booby Trap Kit Safe Decryptor Fingerprint Scanner Electronic Safe-Cracker Covert Modem Camera Sticky Bombs Flashbang Gun SCUBA Gear For Gamers’ Eyes Only Along with the other The World Is Not Enough titles that are under development in studios outside of Electronic Arts proper, two more are simultaneously being constructed for the PlayStation 2 and PC inside the walls of EA’s Redwood City headquarters. Unfortunately, the development team is shackled to their computers and EA's brass won't let them loose to allow anyone a peek, Luckily, we did manage to pick the lock on one of the padlocks and had the game's executive pro- ducer, Jon Horsley, answer some questions. Game Informer: With the PS2's DVD capabilities are you con- sidering using the extra space for more cutscenes and other bonuses or has this game been planned for CD-ROM all along? I We're still deter- mining how to best approach the PS2's DVD capabilities, so | think for now | will say that noth- ing is set, but we definitely have some interesting options to choose from. More information will be revealed at a later date, | promise. Gl: Aside from the Internet multi- player features of the PC version, what differences, if any, will there be between the PC and PS2 versions? We're trying to capitalize on the strengths of each system, understanding that there are varying limitations and parameters on both the PC and PS2. This also applies to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 games. As for the PS2 and PC, we are utilizing id Software's fantastic Quake III Arena engine for our PlayStation 2 and PC games. We've enhanced portions of Quake Ill's functionality so we could best bring the world of Bond to life. The World is Not Enough film was superb and we respect the work and art that crafted it. Ina similar manner, our partners at MGM and Danjaq respect the work required to make a game equally entertaining and fun. They've been great partners for Electronic Arts and | have always thought their ideas and guidance were key to capturing the essence of Bond. They are smart, talented people and it shows with their help on our game and character design. In terms of differences aside from multiplayer, we expect to share much of the content, but to modify or enhance as appropriate. The PC will have very high screen resolution, a mouse interface, plus various PC sensibilities about game saving and the like. It should feel like a PC game, in other words, but deliver the experience of being James Bond, for example. Similar goals for the PS2 — it will share content, but not interface and certain key technical specs. ~ Gl: The game has been said to require the player to use covert tactics such as stealth. Can you explain some specific examples of how this is being incorporated? Our goal is to capture the essence of Bond — the exotic locations, the sexy women, his wit, and the fantastic gadgets and weaponry from Q Branch. The challenge is to do so in a way that is entertaining to a game audience, not just a film audience. We've been very careful to focus much of our attention on the second-to-second and minute-to-minute gameplay experience. Detailed, attentive focus on core aspects of gameplay combined with the unique elements of 007's world should yield an entertaining experience. In terms of the license, MGM and Danjaq’s James Bond franchise is one of the most high- ly coveted and successful licenses across all forms of entertainment. With 19 blockbuster films that span over 40 years, I'd say we have an established property (and game) that will match, if not exceed, past Bond-licensed games as well as give the first-person cate- gory a good run for its money! One of those aspects of the Bond property is stealth. The player will be asked in certain missions to avoid detection while at the same time achieving his goals. So the use of material sound properties (i.e., walking on a marble floor cre- ates more noise than walking on carpet) is an example. You need to be aware of how much noise you make. Likewise, the use of infrared glasses will let you sneak around in the dark and avoid those things that could reveal your presence to the enemies. There are portions of the game that are real- ly full of action, but also places filled with tension and fear. Gi: What are some examples of Al routines you are using with these stealth missions? All of our virtual characters will be very intuitive and will be able to “see” and “hear”. Our engineers have routines that have some characters sleeping while others are highly vigi- lant. The player can visually determine their status and then decide which covert method to use. A sleeping guard, of course, compels the player to be quiet, a vigilant guard forces both stealth and line-of-sight avoidance. Use of diversions can help draw the guards away, so the stealth strategy would be to use their ability of sight and hearing against them. PlayStation 2 Cover Story e Size: Unknown e Style: 1 to 4-Player Action e Special Features: Action Based On Film of Same Name; Utilizes Quake III Game Engine; Detailed Character Models & Environments; Weapons & Gadgets; Stealth Tactics; Cutscenes With Voice Acting; Wide Variety of Mutliplayer Games & Arenas e Created by: id Software/EA Games e Available: Winter for PlayStation 2 25% Complete Gl: What other interesting details can you tell us about the ene- mies’ behavior? : All the enemies are controlled and compelled via a blend of hand- scripting and general Al, so we have a lot of diversity. Consequently, sometimes the player is chasing an enemy who is attempting to avoid being captured by ambushing, outrunning, or outgunning the play- er. Other times the situation is reversed and it is Bond - the player - who must flee. Gl: We assume that each of the ten levels will be split into a number of sub-missions. How many and what tasks can a player expect on a level? We will actually have over ten missions, and each mission will consist of multiple goals. The World is Not Enough game will let the player see the world through the eyes of James Bond. Whether you are tumbling into the ocean depths in a stolen Russian sub- marine or flirting with women in an exotic casino, the player — as Bond - will need to use his wits to stay alive and succeed. This game stays true to the Bond legacy of fast paced action, intense stealth and complex storylines that reveal themselves through a series of missions and objectives. For instance, in the Casino level Bond will need to crack a safe, win enough money play- ing blackjack to bribe another character, as well as covertly explore the back rooms of the casino using his X-ray glasses and other devices. GI: The multitap doesn't have much consumer support on the regular PlayStation and many games with four-player are largely unplayed. Do you think this will change for the PS2? think so, especially for the PS2. | think multiplayer experiences are compelling, and also think that the hardware can more easily accommodate four-way splits. The combi- nation should create more demand and consequently increase supply. Gi: Are there any other gameplay features along the lines of skiing — such as the boat or car? here will be a healthy slew of gameplay features for players to experience. In trying to capture and highlight the best action scenes from the movie, we've opted for lots of variety ranging from downhill skiing o sneaking through a nuclear facil- ity. That said, you will see vehicles - namely the BMW Z8 - in the game, but the player will have very imited control and access to the vehicle. I'd say this is hardly worth defining as driving. But in terms of skiing and boating, it should be pretty cool. For example, the player will have an accessible interface where he can race the boat up the Thames in pursuit of the Cigar Girl and, as previously mentioned, ski. The PlayStation 2 game is built he Quake Ill engine. ~ Game informer e August 2000-5 2 3 2 è é $ i 26 Born a second-rate comic character and mocked by thousands, the ferocious vampire hunter known only as Blade quickly disap- peared from Marvel Comics’ monthly continuity, never to be seen again. Joining the mysterious Darkhawk, the brawny Cage, and millions of failed superhero ideas, it appeared as though Blade secured a home within Marvel’s dirtiest toilet bowl filled to the brim with loathed comic rejects. Just when it seemed Blade’s fate was sealed, tremors rip- pled through the comic industry and the name Blade was whispered with a raised brow. In an odd turn of events, New Line Cinema and Amen Ra Films secured the movie tights to Blade, gave it a 45 million dollar budget, and quickly transformed it into a 121 minute live-action motion picture. Filmed by British director Stephen Norrington, and adapted by David S. Goyer, New Line Cinema cast Wesley Snipes as Blade and Stephen Dorff as his nemesis, Deacon Frost. Since nobody really liked the character to begin with, the film received practically no press, and was literally first announced when its trailer hit the big screen. ; At this point, Blade lost even more a. respect with nerds and movie goers alike. The trailers made Blade look like yet another comic to silver screen flop, look- ing to join DC Comics’ Steel and Dark Horse’s Barb Wire as one of the worst movies to date. Casting Axl Rose as Anakin Skywalker seemed to make more sense than Wesley Snipes as a sword-wielding vampire slayer. Despite the negative feedback and expectations, Blade didn’t head straight to video, and actual- ly opened in thousands of theaters across the country on August 21, 1998. The always trustworthy critics gave it mediocre reviews, but the theater going public ate it up as the next big thing. Blade, a comic character nobody even knew existed, quickly trans- formed into one of the big screen’s most admired action stars. Wesley Snipes’ brilliant acting abilities personified Blade as a character. While his role steered away from dialogue and well...everything actors do, he did participate in some of the cra- ziest action sequences to date, making Jackie Chan’s films look like a nice walk in the park. Even off the screen, the Blade film continues to pull in the cash, and is heralded as one of the best-sell- ing DVDs on the market. Spreading the blood line even thicker, New ment for a 2001 theatrical release. After fester- ing in the bowels of Marvel hell for years, Blade has also reemerged as a monthly comic. Better yet, Activision has teamed with Marvel Comics and Hammerhead to develop a unique Blade game for the PlayStation console. As some of the biggest supporters of the film (not the comic — it was stu- pid!), we’ve scored an exclu- sive look at the game and have dug up some exciting details surrounding the development of the second film. Blade may not be the most inspiring comic character in the world, but as long as he slices and dices vampiric armies on the big screen, he’s all right in our book. Game Informer * August 2000 Line Cinema has another Blade film in develop- 27 Real Name: Unknown Height: 6'2” Weight: 180 Ibs. Eyes: Brown Hair: Black Base of Operations: Mobile Powers: Heightened Vampire Senses; Trained In Hand-To-Hand Combat & Small Bladed Weapons Occupation: Former Vampire Hunter, Now Private Investigator First Appearance: Tomb Of Dracula #10 = lhe Sequels Good Keacon Gg Gy lo tea the Keaper We don’t want you to wet your pants or have a heart attack, but we have some juicy details on the new Blade film, currently set for a 2001 release. A source close to the Blade 2 project has filled us in with amazing tidbits. Currently, the script has the header Blade 2: Bloodhunt, but the title will more than likely change. Both Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson have signed on to reprise their roles as Blade and Whistler. Hey - wait a minute! Didn’t Whistler...uh...you know, bite the big one? According to our source, Whistler's return doesn’t invalidate any of the material from the first movie. The way he comes back will make your knees shake! Both New Line Cinema and Amen Ra are developing the film, and to much surprise, the sequel will be directed by Guillermo del Toro and not Stephen Norrington. Amazingly, our source also sent us a brief snippet of the story. After you read this, you won’t be able to sleep again. It sounds awesome! In Bloodhunt, Blade is forced to ally himself with the vampire clans to combat a new form of evil called the Reaper. With a bloodlust consum- ing their every thought, Reapers are the next evolution above vampires. They possess the abil- ity to transform both vampires and humans into their own kind and appear to have no weakness- es. Led by Novak, the Reapers must be stopped. But how? There you have it! Remember this may not be legitimate, but it sounds way too good to be a hoax. We can’t wait to see what these mysteri- Lhe Come: Zn Wa A D) Dref ous Reapers look like! Created by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan in 1973, Marvel Comics had high hopes for its new dark vigilante. Instead of falling into the comic spotlight, Blade played second fiddle to Marvel denizens Ghost Rider and Morbius. Blade quickly vanished and periodically appeared in various comics, but never really found his niche. In the early ‘90s, Marvel’s dark universe finally fell in a groove that was popular with geeks. Ghost Rider and his mean street posse paved the path, and Blade even made a valiant comeback attempt. Teamed with detective Hannibal King and Dracula’s descendant Frank Drake, Blade joined the superhero team Nightstalkers, and together the three freaks stalked the vampire clans. Even with this amazing premise, Marvel canceled the series, and Blade once again became a nobody. He made cameos from time to time, but for the most part he was dead. Then, out of nowhere, New Line Cinema snatched up the movie rights and transformed Blade into the coolest vampire hunter to ever touch celluloid. Hot on the heels of this success, Marvel developed a new Blade series, which is still running...or at least we think it is. Blade has dropped his vampire hunting act and is now a private investigator. FACTOID: While filming Blade, several vampire extras were soaked in fake blood and developed an ugly, pimply rash. In return, these extras tried to sue New Line Cinema for product liability, negligence, fraud, and battery. All this over pimples... 28 Game Informer © August 2000 GF , Bi the Movie: A Virtual Blood Ba With a modest budget of 45 million, director Stephen Norrington did- n’t have much to work with. Most Hollywood blockbusters are devel- oped comfortably with at least 80 to 100 million behind them. Miraculously, the development of this high-octane action film didn’t need a dime more. Stephen flaw- lessly translated David S. Goyer’s screenplay while incorporating some of the most spectacular fight and special effect sequences to ever be seen on the big screen. The cinematography has a brilliant spin to it that has the edginess of most horror films, but still clings tightly to its comic book heritage. Wesley Snipes adapted the role of Blade nicely, and the supporting cast followed suit. For a low bud- get outing, Blade ended up as one of 1998’s most exciting films. Unlike the unbearable comic book series, Blade’s script was actually very methodical and grip- ping. On an expedition to the Tomb of Dracula, Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire while he was still in utero. When she finally gave birth, Blade soon learned that he was- n't human, nor fully vampiric, but somewhere in-between. Vowing to avenge the death of his mother, Blade uses his superhuman powers to become the most feared vampire hunter to ever walk the night. But for how long? His unique blood line is immune to the vampire bite, but he still hungers for the blood of life, and slowly his vampiric side is taking over. Moments before his transformation, a fellow vampire hunter, Abraham Whistler, saves Blade and develops an antidote that stops the transformation cycle. Teaming together, Blade and Whistler convert a warehouse into their base of operations. Whistler is gifted with the abil- ity to build custom weapons for Blade to use on the devil’s spawn. The two make a perfect team and they’ve located the root of all evil. In hot pursuit, Blade raids a notorious vampire nightclub, just as hun- dreds of vampires feast on unaware humans in a virtual blood bath. Slaughtering them all, the burnt corpse of vampire Quinn magically reanimates in a hospital morgue, biting hematologist Karen Jenson. Blade arrives and quickly brings Karen to his hideaway to try to save her. Behind closed doors, Blade’s arch nemesis, Deacon Frost, has used computers to translate the Book of Erebus and has unlocked the secrets to perform the ceremony that will trigger the Blood Tide - an act in which everyone across the world will transform into a vampire. The fate of the world lies within Blade’s hands...but is he too late? If you haven’t had the chance to digest this cinematic gem, run out and pick it up. Renting it won’t be enough. This is a film that you must own. If you don’t think the introductory night club sequences is the greatest thing since the Star Wars trench run, then you either must be a Sandra Bullock fan or just stupid! @ NEw LINE PLATINUM Feature Vampire Survival Kit Authentic vampires may be figments of our creative minds, but as you may have seen, individuals with issues have had no problems whatsoever transforming themselves into fake blood suckers. It’s easy. First get your guardian’s permission, then secure the following goods and you too can walk the night as an undead moron whom society has shunned. Be wary of your purchases or you may end up looking like a gutter punk instead of a blood sucker. Black Wig $49.95 Basically, you want to find a wig that looks like Cher’s hair. That’s the goal. It has to be long. Adding curls to the end gives it a classy look that elder vampires find attractive. Spiking it shows you’re rebellious! Ẹ simply because vampires E Y EE e w 2 o et] W wW don’t use nail clippers. If you can, try to buy them during Halloween. You can find some ghoulish designs that should be a hit with your darkside friends! Press-On Nails $5.99 All goths have long nails, Sharp Plastic Teeth $24.95 These are essential. Without sharp pointy teeth, you’ll never be a vamp. This should be the first purchase. Viper Plastic Teeth $24.95 Since most goths buy the same pair of plastic teeth, many long-time vamps have experimented with new teeth. Along with the sabertooth fangs, the viper teeth are becoming quite popular. Misfits T-Shirt $19.99 This isn’t a necessity, but you will find that most goths wear these shirts. Black Trench Coat $209.00 Wearing this heavy garb may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but it does give the illusion that you have wings, or better yet, a cape just like Count Dracula. Black Boots $129.99 Be very careful when picking out your goth boots. Try and find a pair that stretches to your knees and has studs and some kind of buckle on them. Newbie vamps have a tendency to purchase Dr. Martens, which is a big no-no in the goth community. 30 , , ie SEA Solving the Mysteries of Adira = Daywalker If two movies should ever be made into games it would be The Matrix (minus Keanu Reeves, “Whoa!”), and of course, an adaptation of New Line Cinema’s work of art, Blade. Keanu should study Wesley Snipes’ performance in Blade. To be a great actor, just shut your trap and kick butt! That’s all we want in our action flicks. The possibility of a game based on The Matrix has been tossed around the industry, but appears to be stuck in development hell. Blade, on the other hand, landed in good hands. Activision has assigned developer Hammerhead to the project, and right now the game is slat- ed as a fall PlayStation release. This powerful development team pieced together the Quake II port to p With an auto lock-on system, targeting enemies is a breeze. Redecorate the art institute...with blood! N the PlayStation, and also forged Shadow Master for Psygnosis way back in ‘97. Plummeting deep into the eerie development sea, we caught up with the elusive Hammerhead, poked its funny eyes, then asked it some hard-hitting questions about the upcoming Blade game. Since Blade is a comic and a movie, we were a little confused as to where this new story takes place in the grand scheme of things. A spokesman from Hammerhead was quick to clear it up. “We view it as a kind-of prequel to the movie, mainly because we wanted to keep Whistler as part of the game. That said, as you don’t actual- ly see him die in the movie...in fact it could take place afterwards. It’s more a complementary tale, rather than a direct continuation.” Stroking our hideously deformed chins, we pushed even further for a clearer answer, fearing all the while that the shark would bite our nose. “Stylistically we were more concerned with recreating the ‘feel’ of the movie, for want of a better description. So that was our major touchstone in plotting the game. We used the basic ground-rules established by Marvel: the history of the character, his abilities, and so forth.” Interesting...most interesting indeed. With Marvel and New Line Cinema offering Hammerhead the opportunity to extend the legacy of Blade through a brand new chapter, a perfect plot that didn’t conflict with both universes had to be forged. According to Hammerhead, mission accomplished. “A routine vampire-slaying mission for Blade and Whistler goes awry when they stumble across a mysterious cargo at the docks. An ancient evil force is unleashed causing havoc in the city, the dead walk, and our heroes find themselves trapped in a deadly game played by warring vampire factions.” Cool! With this unbound creative handle, Hammerhead was granted creative freedom to construct its own characters and environments. “We’ve been given a free hand really. We pitched a story idea, script, and some character designs, and were given the okay to proceed. Marvel has been very encouraging and helpful during the development.” After running a teaser preview of Blade in the July issue, Game Informer readers’ most asked question was, will Wesley Snipes be in the game? Hammerhead has the answer. “Our Blade is definitely a mix of the comic and movie personas. The intention really was to design the character in such a way that it would be immediately recognizable to comic Money shot! Game Informer + August 2000 All of the environments showcase fine details. fans and movie fans alike.” So, does this mean Wesley Snipes will actually be used? Unfortunately, no. However, Hammerhead has a solution. “There are a significant number of dialogue sequences in the game, as we have a fairly involved story to tell. We chose experienced American voice actors to perform the dialogue, and they've done a great job for us. | think people will be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the work.” We hope so too, but a license can only go so far in this industry. Just look at Acclaim and the “Eek! It’s that horrible alien-thingy from He-Man: The Movie!” In addition to guns and swords, Blade can perform hand-to-hand combat. Money Shot: The Sequel. Batman games. Ouch! So what does Hammerhead have in mind for gameplay and style of the game? You'll find this most interesting. “Blade is actually quite an unusual mix of styles, so it’s a little diffi- cult to draw direct comparisons. While it is an action game, there is also a significant puzzle and strat- egy element. It’s not a complete no-brainer. For example, when the player equips Blade with firearms, they will need to bear in mind the type of ammunition to use. What works on a vampire will be less effective against a human familiar, and vice versa. When the sword is used, the player needs to be accurate in his strikes, otherwise Blade will tire and become more vulnerable to injury. As much as pos- sible, we’ve tried to avoid the game becoming a basic button-basher.” It sounds like development is heading in the right direction, but we still can’t make a clear visual as to how the game will play out. “Blade is an action game first and foremost. What we've tried to do is tie everything together within an ongoing and unfolding story line. Hopefully, it'll make the game more involving and immersive. There are secret areas, branching points, and different endings to the game, but on the whole it plays in a linear fashion. Structurally, it’s probably best compared to something like Half-Life.” Hmmm....Half-Life, huh? 3D third-person games like Tomb Raider can make for some very frustrating combat. Hammerhead noted this early on and has worked day and night to make it play like a dream. “The main difficulty in this area is that in Blade, enemies can attack in a variety of ways (different ranges and styles), and from anywhere in the 3D world. Automating the system entirely is problemat- ic because there is no reliable way to predict the target of greatest threat for any given situation. For example, Blade could be facing two unarmed vamps at close range while a familiar snipes at him from a distance. Which target is the most threatening? Our solution is to superimpose an icon over each target, indicating a pad-direction. Pressing the appropriate direction will cause that target to become locked. In this way, Blade can rapidly and accurately switch between multiple targets.” Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Well, hold onto your seat, because you’re going to love the tools he uses to slay the vampiric horror that is running amok across the land. “Blade has a variety of firearms, from pistols to machine guns, and a way-cool multi-launcher device. Ammunition is all-important though, as Blade’s enemies are not all vampires, so they don’t share the same weaknesses. Using the right ammo at the-right time is critical.” Whoa!!! Double Whoa!!!! But wait...there’s more! “The tasks the player is asked to perform are always dictated by the needs of the storyline. For instance, at one point Blade needs to rescue Whistler, and later on Whistler (who is the playable character at that point) returns the favor. We've gone for a cinematic approach insofar as [story] events happen outside Blade’s control, forcing him into taking certain courses of action. The player should always have a clear goal to achieve at any point in the game.” Fearing that the shark in front of us was growing hungry, we backed away and bid the beast a good night. From this terrifying encounter, we’ve actually unearthed some amazing info about this highly anticipated game. Hopefully, it will become snagged in our fishing net and we can ask it for more info in upcoming months! e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1-Player Action e Special Features: Original Story Based Before the Motion Picture; 21 Levels; 34 Different Enemies; Tons of Weapons Including Swords & Guns; Hand-To-Hand Combat; Assisted Lock-On Fighting System; Gigantic Boss Battles e Created by: Hammerhead for Activision e Available: Fall for PlayStation 70% Complete Undead Gaming Here’s a small listing of games featuring vampires. If you’re one of those goth kids who paints your fingernails black, you may be inter- ested in adding these games to your collection. BloodNet: A Cyberpunk Gothic - PC Castlevania - NES Castlevania - GB Castlevania - N64 Castlevania 2 - GB Castlevania Adventure - GB Castlevania: Bloodlines - SG Castlevania: Dracula X - SNES Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge - GB Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - N64 Castlevania: Legends - GB Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest - NES Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - PS-X Countdown Vampires - PS-X DarkStalkers - PS-X, Arcade DarkStalkers 3 - PS-X, Arcade Dracula - NES Dracula - Intellivision Dracula/Frankenstein - Sega CD Dracula Resurrection - PC Dracula the Undead - Lynx Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen - PS-X, PC Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver - PS-X, DC, PC Night Warriors - PS-X Vampire - Commodore 64 Vampire - Arcade Vampire Diaries - PC Vampire Hunter D - PS-X Vampire Killer - SG Vampire: Master of Darkness - GG Vampire Savior - Arcade Vampire Savior 2 - Arcade Vampire: The Masquerade - Redemption - PC Nerds. The Fonz refused to hang out with them in Happy Days, i E ka EE A Qu iZ to and Ogre was fond of beating them up in Revenge of the Nerds. I H Then again, for a guy that constantly made derisive comments i : ) about dorks, Fonzie sure spent a lot of quality time with Potsie, and 5 Ea Pai M easu re Ogre joined forces with those he hated in Revenge of the Nerds II: Prema! 67] Nerds in Paradise. So being a nerd is okay, right? Well, if you think so, that’s all that matters. Yo ur Gee k There’s a bit of dorkiness inherent in simply playing vids, but by taking the quiz on the pages that follow, finally you’ll know just how big a video game goof you are. The pride you take in your score is Qu otient left to you (but if you’re high on the chart, do us a favor and don’t talk to us when anyone else is around). DWEEBS What’s the most times you’ve ever played the same game the entire way through? Was there new characters or secrets to find each time? Which of the following have you named after a video game character: e An online persona e A pet e A child © Game Informer * August 2000 Game Informer Which of the follow- Have you ever had a seri- Feat re ing have you done in - ous conversation of over order to stay home ten minutes length about: and play a video game. e The various reasons one video game ° Lied to get out of a console is better social engagement than another with friends e How to exploit an ¢ Lied to get out RPG’s battle system of a date with to maximum effect a boyfriend or girlfriend e The pros and cons of the Alpha system for e Feigned illness Street Fighter to avoid going to school e Called in sick to work Which of these situa- tions would cause you to never speak to a life-long friend again? Have you ever kissed anyone full on the lips ¢ Slept with your who wasn’t a relative? boyfriend or girl- friend * Borrowed a game of Do you own any of yours and broke it the following: Erased one of your ° A video game memory cards poster e Made a bad e A video game shirt Pokemon card trade with you e A video game action figure e A video game cardboard standee Picture in your mind the most beautiful person in the world. What word best describes what this person is made of. UONISALId ¢ Sugar and spice and everything nice © Snails and puppy dog tails e Silicone * Polygons Game Informer * August 2000 33 Have you ever played a pen and paper RPG? e Have you ever painted a metal miniature? ie ch eee 4 z f pee a : e Have you ever adapted Ms a video game RPG adventure or battle it system to a pen and paper RPG? Has a video game ever caused you to: Has a driving game ever influenced a car purchasing decision? e Break a controller? e Break a console? e Get in a physical fight? e Cry? CAR DEALER CR PRE —— CASH AIZ (34) Game Informer * August 2000 Translate this EverQuest sentence into English. BTW do the mobs in WC aggro to How many video game AE DOTS? console systems do you own? How many multiples of the same console do you have? On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not very and 10 being extremely, how excited would you be if presented with the following situations? e Getting a new issue of Game Informer e Winning a prize package from Game Informer e Having your picture appear in Game Informer e Meeting all the editors of Game Informer ~ ¢ Working for Game Informer Imagine you have no money, no job, haven’t 4 eaten in two days, and will be kicked out of the place you live at if you can’t make your rent payment in a week. While out trying to figure out what to do, you find $800 in cash lying on the sidewalk. There’s no indication of who it belongs to and no one sees you pick it up. You suddenly realize that today just happens ` to be the day PlayStation 2 arrives in stores. What do you do with the money? N VHITE HOUS À D asah ei “VM HOT AND | KNOW IT!” © Game Informer + August 2000 900 - 1000 800 - 900 700 - 800 Andy: 733!!!! 600 - 700 500 - 600 400 - 500 Reiner: 454 300 - 400 200 - 300 Jay: 234 100 - 200 Matt: 180 Kato: 120 0- 100 After you’ve completed the quiz, use this scoring guide to tally up your points, then see where you rate on the Nerdometer. The higher your score, the clos- er you are to being that bearded freak dressed up like Sailor Moon. We've even thrown in the editors’ 14 If you've dressed up as a video game character for Halloween, score 1. You score 10 if you were over 12 or it wasn’t Halloween. You score 100 if you answered yes to all. scores so you don’t feel so bad. 1 If the picture excited you because Pikachu was in it: 20 points If it excited you because of the lady: O If it didn’t excite you: 5 2 1 for every time you've finished the game beyond the first. 2 for every time you finished the game when there was nothing new to dis- cover. 3 If you've named an online character after a video game: 5 for each instance A pet: 5 each A child: 50 each 4 If you’ve purchased a vid soundtrack: 5 A Depeche Mode album: 5 A They Might Be Giants album: 10 A Luteski aloum: 100 5 If you've lied to friends: 5 If you've lied to a date: 20 If you've called in sick to work or school: O (who hasn't?’ If you've never called in sick to work or school to play a vid: 25 (nerd!) 6 If you've talked about one console versus another: 5 An RPG system: 10 The Alpha system: 25 7 This is Yu Suzuki. If you answered correctly, score 25. If you guessed another Japanese developer, 5. If you guessed Pat Morita, sub- tract 50 from your score. 8 If you haven't kissed a non-relative: 5 If you said you did, but actually haven't: 25 9 If you'd break a friendship over a slumber party: O Because of a broken game: 5 An erased memory card: 10 A bad Pokémon trade: 30 10 If you own a video game poster: 5 A shirt: 5 An action figure: 5 (20 if it’s still in the packaging) A cardboard standee: 40 11 Trick question. These are all nerd choices. Score 5 if you picked one of the first two choices, 10 if you chose silicone (because you're obviously desperate), and 20 if you said polygons. If you imagined Chelsea Clinton, score 50. 12 If you saw something video game related, score 10. If you saw anything involving a naked person, score 20. If you saw Mariah Carrey, score 50. 13 If you've played a pen and paper RPG: 10 If you’ve painted a miniature: 25 If you’ve used a vid for pen and paper material: 40 15 If you've broken a controller: 5 -A console: 20 Gotten in a fight: 10 Cried: 50 (ya big baby!) 16 Score 20 if you answered yes. Score an extra 5 if you thought of an example immediately upon reading the question. 17 Score 10 if you answered yes. Score 100 if you didn’t even take the car for a test drive before you bought it. 18 Score the following for each correct answer. Link - Legend of Zelda: 1 Squall - Final Fantasy VIII: 5 Terry Bogard — King of Fighters: 10 Headdy - Dynamite Headdy: 25 Sister Mary Lascivious — Rogue Trip: 50 19 The translation is: By the way, do the bad guys in West Commons attack when | cast area of effect damage over time spells? Score 25 if you got it word for word. 10 if you were half right. 50 if you’ve never played EverQuest, but you figured it out anyway. 20 Score 40 if you answered yes to this. Why so high? Because sports nerds are the worst nerds of all. 21 Score 5 for every system you own. Score 10 for every multiple. Score 50 if one is a working Fairchild Channel F. 22 Score 10 if you answered yes. 25 if you do it regularly. 23 Add up the ratings you gave everything and that’s your score, unless you rated meeting the GI editors as a 10. That means you're just screwed up, and you score an automatic 50 for this question. 24 If you answered President of Sega of America: 10 Rockstar Games: 0 The Hair Club For Men: 20 The USA: 5 Proctor & Gamble: 35 25 This is an open-ended question. Score yourself points if your answer involved the following in any way: Buying the PS2: 10 Buying a console or games five or more years old: 25 Online investing: 30 Golfing: 50 Your mom: 5 Bonus Points e If you looked ahead to the scoring section to adjust your final score: 15 e If this quiz makes you so mad you feel like writing us an email or letter: 25 e If you're considering bragging about your score to friends: 10 e If you haven’t taken a bath or a shower in over five days: 10 e If you think the pictures on the Nerdometer should be in a different order: 5 recs Ee I aie ae OF THEIBABES) DUKE-NUKE E ®© 18 KICK-ASS WEAPONS, PLUS LOADS OF HIGH-TECH GADGETS! @ FEATURES IN-GAME MUSIC BY STATIC X, COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. RECORDS®! > ONE MILLION BABES. ONE DUKE. ANY QUESTIONS? 3 p Animated Violence Ri 18) 5 GT Interactive Animated Blood and Gore PlayStation EALM d B Software Strong Sexual Context z ESRB www.3drealms.com www.n-space.com www.gtgames.com With the launch of the PlayStation 2 looming on the horizon, Sony surprised some in the indus- try with the announcement of a redesigned PlayStation console to be retitled as PS One. The unit will debut on July 7th in Japan, and is scheduled to go on sale Stateside some- time in September at an as-yet-undisclosed price. The streamlined unit is i about one-third the size of the current PlayStation, and weighs in at just eral and mobile phone over one pound. The PS One will come packed with a Dualshock ee network adapter. Also Analog controller, AV Multi Cable, and AC Adapter. ! > available will be a car The PS One will function just as its predecessor, with two con- o power adapter. There troller ports and slots for two memory cards. New features include are no plans for a PS an adapter that will allow gamers network access via a mobile One battery unit. phone (the adapter will be compatible with original PS-X units as well) and a four inch LCD screen peripheral that can be attached directly to the console. With the LCD screen add-on, the unit should be semi-portable, although many were disappointed when Sony president Ken Kutaragi confirmed that there would not be a battery pack available for the unit. There are plans to release a PS One car power adapter, similar to those used for cellular phones and portable CD players. Sony, obviously still convinced there is life left in its aging platform, said it expects to sell around six million PS One consoles world- wide by the end of March 2001. Sony will end production of the original PlayStation console this year, after around two million more units are manufactured. Here is the PS One pictured with special 4“ LCD screen periph- uly Pikachu N64 Cute As A Button While most gamers are excited about the PlayStation 2, the general consensus among the public is that Sony’s basic black console just isn’t cute enough. Nintendo intends to quench the gaming community's thirst for a cute console with the release of the Pikachu Nintendo 64. The unit, which will be available in blue and orange, features a raised-relief Pikachu and a Poké Ball which functions as the on/off switch. Another giggle-inspiring innovation is Nintendo’s “Advanced LED Cheek Illumination System” which allows Pikachu’s cheeks to light up when the unit is turned on. Amazing! If this wasn’t enough, Pikachu's foot is now the reset button. Tickle, tickle! While the Pikachu Nintendo 64 has been slated for a July 21 release date in Japan, no official U.S. release has been announced. Nintendo promises that the unit will be available before the end of the year, presumably in time for the lucrative holiday shopping season. © Game Informer * August 2000 You've no doubt suspected that we live in a cruel and unfair world, now here’s the proof. Unable to compete against Nintendo’s ubiquitous, outdated, and crap- py Game Boy Color, SNK has thrown in the towel after just under a year of fight- ing the good fight. In a tersely worded statement, SNK Entertainment broke the sad news - the Neo Geo Pocket Color is dead. The company has immediately ceased distribu- tion of Neo Geo Pocket Color hardware and software in the U.S. and Canada. The company has requested retailers to return any unsold NGPC units or games for a full refund. Also, all U.S. distribu- tion of SNK’s Dreamcast and PlayStation titles has been stopped. Any scheduled American NGPC titles have been scrapped. SNK will continue to market Neo Geo Pocket Color hardware and software in Japan, so Pocket Color diehards will be able to track down new titles through importers. Fair readers, shed a tear and pour out a little liquor for the Pocket Color as it shuffles off this mortal coil. LucasArts has enjoyed a long and pros- perous relationship with Nintendo, so it came as no surprise when we first heard word that the honchos at Skywalker Ranch were planning to develop Star Wars games for both the Nintendo Dolphin and Game Boy Advance. LucasArts is currently evaluating the capabilities of Nintendo’s next-genera- tion console, and hopes to have a game available for the Dolphin launch. The game’s plot will take place between the events of Episode I: The Phantom Menace and the upcoming Episode II. Rumors that the game would be titled Jar Jar’s Adventures On Dagobah have proven to be untrue. Activision had hinted that there would be a third playable character in Tenchu 2, and now we have exposed this shadowy figure named Tatsumaru. Tatsumaru is the eldest of the three characters, and a more seasoned warrior than Rikamaru or Ayane. His hand-to-hand combat skills, as well as his poise, are well beyond his younger companions. Like Axl Rose, he is said to possess many self-destructive tendencies, which, coupled with his sense of honor, can get him into precarious situations. Nintendo is staying mum regarding any information about the Dolphin, but it did whisper a few sweet nothings in our ear / regarding the Game Boy Advance. Apparently not wanting to alienate the 100 bazillion kajillion youngsters that have purchased a Game Boy, the Game Boy Advance will be backwards compatible with the original unit. The GBA will operate on a 32-bit processor, which has raised speculation that Nintendo might be able to port over Nintendo 64 and Super Nintendo classics to the handheld. Additionally, Nintendo has big plans for the GBA and Dolphin. The Big ‘N’ is already working on a Pokémon title of monumental proportions. Artist's rendition Game Informer * August 2000 © ) editors’ top ten 10 Builder's Block - PS-X 9 Powerstone 2 - DC 8 Super Magnetic Neo - DC 7 Tomb Raider - GBC 6 Fear Effect: Retro Helix - PS-X 5 Virtua Tennis - DC 4 Dino Crisis 2 - PS-X 3 Perfect Dark - N64 2 Chrono Cross - PS-X 1 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2-PS-X ~ readers’ top ten 10 Wario Land 3 - GBC 9 Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles - PS-X 8 Excitebike 64 - N64 7 Syphon Filter 2 - PS-X 6 Vagrant Story - PS-X 5 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - PS-X 4 WWF SmackDown! - PS-X 3 Pokémon Stadium - N64 2 Pokémon Trading Card - GBC 1 Perfect Dark - N64 top ten lists 10 Top Ten Infectious Diseases 9 Top Ten Best Whoopi Goldberg Movies 8 Top Ten Backstreet Boys (there’s only five!) 7 Top Ten Famous Midgets 6 Top Ten Happiest Korn Songs 5 Top Ten Best Atari Jaguar Games 4 Top Ten Greatest All-Time L.A. Clippers 3 Top Ten Favorite Croc Catchphrases 2 Top Ten Uses For a Dead Hamster 1 Top Ten Sexiest Game Informer Editors 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 * August 2000 FROM THE GIN CWS | EWS CENTER IN EDEN PRAIRIE 000,0 Nintendo’s Game Boy, the Energizer bunny of game consoles, has now officially sold over 100 million units worldwide since its debut in 1989. Fueled by the Pokémon craze, Nintendo sold over 17 million Game Boy Colors last year alone. To put this awesome number in perspective, we calculate that to reach the 100 million mark, the Game Boy has continuously sold an average of 1,000 systems per hour for 11 years. This record makes the Game Boy without a doubt the most popular game system in history. Looking towards a future in which gaming consoles are likely to be replaced by multi-functional settop boxes, Sega and Sony both made recent announcements stating their intention to sell con- sole components and chip sets to outside manufacturers. What does this move mean for consumers? The most likely possibility seems to be third-party DVD players that play Dreamcast or PlayStation 2 games. Also, it would be possible for television manufacturers to market a TV/console hybrid, similar to current TV/VCR units on the market. While neither company outlined definite plans as to what manufacturers they would be forming partner- ships with at press time, expect more details to be forthcoming. Sega vice chairman Shoichiro Irimajiri commented, “The future game box will be an all-in-one set-top box. In that case, Sega's role is one part of many func- tions, so we cannot do it alone. We need very good alliances or a joint ven- As Microsoft continues to engage in locker room bragging regarding the size and strength of its unit, the Xbox, Sony whipped off its towel and flashed these pictures of the Japanese PlayStation 2 Hard Disk Drive (HDD) peripheral. The piggyback unit will be released this winter in Japan. The U.S. version of the PlayStation 2, and probably future iterations of the Japanese PS2, will feature a built-in hard drive expansion bay which will allow owners to plug the drive directly into the back of the console. The HDD will allow PS2 owners to store game information, stats, store download game levels, and possibly manipulate images. Software developers will be able to use the HDD to store game data, which should make switching between multiple game discs a thing of the past. Sony also announced a broadband adapter card for the console, which should facilitate high-speed Internet access through the PS2. Crave recently announced that its upcoming martial arts masterpiece, Kengo: Master of Bushido, has been canceled for the PlayStation. Fear not, grasshoppper, this is not the end. Instead, the game is slated to hack and slash its way onto the PlayStation 2. There are few details as to how the game will change when it moves onto Sony’s console of the future, but judging by screenshots we’ve seen, at least some of the gameplay elements from the PS-X will remain, including the sword practice and water resilience tests. Killer List Of Video Games www.klov.com Far and away the most comprehensive arcade game site on the web. Try as we might, we just can’t seem to stump K.L.0.V. It features alphabet- ized listings for virtually every arcade cabinet ever made, and provides a brief synopsis of each game, along with tech spees and sereenshots when possible. Well organized and frequently updated, K.L.0.V. is an excellent web resource. @ What was the last Neo Geo Pocket Color game released in America? ® What was the first one-on-one fighting game? © What actor starred as James Bond in only ONE film (Her Majesty’s Secret Service)? @ What was the first game developed by Rare? © What is the name of Blade’s mentor? [Answers on the bottom of page 42] Ex-Square Staffers To Create GBA RPG As the Pokémon phenomenon begins to wane (many retailers are reporting that sales of Pokémon-related merchandise are down more than 50% from last year), Nintendo has tapped a start-up development company, oddly named Brownie Brown, to create a new “communication RPG” game for the Game Boy Advance entitled Magical Vacation. The game is said to center around brownies, the mythical fairies from Scottish folklore. Few details are available regarding Magical Vacation’s gameplay but Nintendo promises that, “While This legendary PlayStation series was slated to Pokémon broke new ground by encouraging RPG users to trade with and battle with each other, make an appearance on a handheld console. The Magical Vacation will facilitate the communication aspect further.” We speculate that this could game was to be developed by the creators of the mean that the game will have some sort of online function, given Nintendo’s recent announce- series, UEP, but due to some rather unfortunate ment for an Internet connection adapter for the Game Boy Color (see Data File). circumstances it will now never he released. What Nintendo is fully funding Brownie Brown’s $180 million startup costs. The company includes was this game called? four ex-Square staffers who were responsible for creating the classic PS-X RPG Secret of AENA onthe pallor of page 12) Mana. At press time, no formal release date had been set for Magical Vacation. Game Informer e August 2000 44 EWS CENTER IN EDEN PRAIRIE ™ > Abi Sort is developing a Game Boy Color title” based on Little Nigky, an upcoming movie starring autistic funny- man Adam Sandler as the son of Satan. Sniff...we smell Oscar! Expect the game to ship around November, in conjunction with the release of the film. > Microsoft has formed a partnership with digital satellite provider Direct TV and Thomson Multimedia to create a system that will offer Xbox users Internet access, interactive TV, and dig- ital video recording. > Famitsu has reported that the sec- ond chapter in Yu Suzuki’s Dreamcast masterpiece, Shenmue, should be released by the end of the year in Japan. The first chapter of the saga, currently undergoing localization, is slated to be released in the U.S. this fall. > Contrary to our previous report, Resident Evil Survivor has not been cancelled. The game, called Biohazard Gun Survivor in Japan, is still slated for a U.S. release. Game Informer apolo- gizes for any confusion caused by our report and applauds Capcom’s deci- sion to remove “Gun” from the game’s title. > A new game in the legendary Capcom series, Mega Man X: Cybermission, will be released this August in Japan. The game, which returns Mega Man to his side-scrolling roots, has not been given a U.S. release date. > Despite the fact that the original black and white Game Boy launched in 1989, before most of us had even heard of the Internet, Nintendo has unveiled plans for the Game Boy Online adapter. The unit allows its prosperous handheld, the Game Boy Color, to con- nect to the Internet. Players will be able to exchange information and trade Pokémon online. » Sega and Sun Microsystems will incorporate Java Virtual Machine tech- nology into the Planetweb 3.0 Dreamcast browser that will be released this September. The updated browser will give Dreamcast users access to Java-based games and other advanced applications. »> In Forbes, Microsoft gaming head Ed Fries stated that he expected that there would be only 30 titles available for the Xbox in its first year, and between 100 and 150 titles the follow- ing two years., > In further Xbox news, reports have been circulating that have Raven's Soldier of Fortune 2, the sequel to the ultra-violent first-person shooter on the PC, as being the first confirmed title for Microsoft’s console system. (42) Game Informer * August 2000 Grave, no doubt inspired by the success of EA’s Sled Storm for the PS-X, is developing a Dreameast snowmobile racer entitled Sno Cross Championship Racing. The game sports an array of licensed Yamaha sleds, each of which can be upgraded. The game’s 12 tracks span the northern regions of the globe, from Aspen to Nagano. The tracks are filled with tight turns and jumps perfect for busting out a few flashy tricks. Look for Sno Cross Championship Racing to hit stores sometime in the fall. Nintendo 64 survival horror fans have been awaiting the arrival of Resident Evil Zero, an to the long-running series, for some time. Un have been circulating throughout the industry and Nintendo have shelved the N64 version of launch title. Capcom has been tight-lipped regarding th Zero, cryptically commenting that the status o expect Capcom to let the proverbial cat out o minute now. Video Game Trivia Answers: 1 Metal Slug 2 2 Warrior. This arcade cabinet was released by Vectorbeam in 1979. The black and white graphics showed a top-down view of two System 5 Whistler knights lighting around two square pits. Supported two-players simultaneously. 3 George Lazenby Color breathlessly N64 prequel ortunately, it appears that they might have to wait a long while. Rumors hat Capcom RE Zero, and have instead decided to designate the game as a Dolphin e fate of RE the game is “to be determined.” There has also been talk of a Game Boy Advance port of RE Zero, which would be compatible with the Dolphin version via a link cable. Stay tuned, as we the bag any 4 Slalom for the Nintendo Entertainment Name That Game Answer: Cool Boarders Pocket for Neo Geo Pocket It was only a matter of time. As Microsoft continues to eye up the video game industry like a fat man staring at a juicy slab of prime rib, the company treat- ed itself to a tasty little appetizer. In a recent press release, the computer giant announced that it has acquired Chicago- based developer Bungie Software. Per the agreement, Microsoft will have exclu- sive publishing and distribution rights to select Bungie titles, including the upcom- ing PC/Mac/PS2 game Halo — which now may be an Xbox-only game. The acquisition of Bungie should help Microsoft beef up its internal Xbox devel- opment efforts. The Bungie development staff will continue to operate as an inde- pendent development studio within Microsoft's games division, focusing on developing games for the Xbox. Take-Two Interactive, which had formerly owned 19.9 percent of Bungie, announced that it had sold its interest in the company to Microsoft while retaining the rights to cer- tain Bungie properties, including Oni for the PlayStation 2 and the Myth series. “This acquisition reflects our commit- ment to growing our business with a strong portfolio of quality games for the PC and Xbox platforms,” said Ed Fries, vice presi- dent of games publishing at Microsoft. Fries went on to note that Bungie “tastes just like chicken.” md pe | THE GOOD, ELAI - Stan “Hot Boy” Lee’s golden voice. Those of you ladies (or fel- las, if that’s your cup of decaf latté) lucky enough to have seen the Marvel Comics legend’s cameo appearance in Mallrats know that Spidey’s creator 00zes sex appeal from every pore. Now, thanks to Activision, gamers everywhere will be able to swoon to the dulcet tones of Lee’s voice in Spider-Man for the PlayStation. Lee, who did extensive voice-over work for the game, serves as the narrator to Spidey’s PS-X adventures. Excelsior, you sweet thang! ghost of 989 Studios is haunting the development team. wearing a Vanilla Ice t-shirt. It must be pointed out that this shirt is lic, but that doesn’t stop him. We may even suggest that Jay receives Nerdometer scale. Tonya Harding, and yo mama. OF $4.99! might have to retitle the game Blues Brothers 2001 if it continues to Do you think that broadband will have a positive effect on gaming? POSITIVE - 65% In a perfect world, There'll be games there wouldn't be everywhere. NEGATIVE - 35% > any need for Broadband doesn’t g customer service, make a console. ğ because we would all get what we wanted. But you can't always get what you want, and even worse, sometimes you can't get your Game Informers. If you are having subscription woes or your dog ate your favorite issue, contact our customer service department at the address to the right or, for even quicker service, give Source: gameinformer.com survey us a call. - It appears that Sony’s GameDay 2001 for the PlayStation 2 might be pushed back from its release date. The game was scheduled to come out on October 26th as a PS2 launch title, but some sources have been saying that the game has fallen behind schedule. Perhaps the - On page 111 of this month's issue, Game Informer staff member Jay Fitzloff is shown = Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Bob Thorton, Fred Durst, Craig Mack, Bill Gates, Rik Smits, Manny Fresh, Steve Buscemi, E Mayim Bialik, Patrick Ewing, Tori Spelling, Marilyn Manson, - Further release delays for Blues Brothers 2000. How much longer is Titus going to make us wait? We've been nearly wetting our pants in anticipation of this video game adaptation of one of — no — THE greatest sequel in movie history (sorry, Godfather 2 and Aliens). Originally scheduled for a summer release, the game has now been pushed back to November. Heck, they in Jay’s normal wardrobe and IS NOT a mock-up. It is obvious that Jay may risk being attacked for wearing this shit in pub- 500 bonus points on the Rhea Pearlman, Steven Tyler, Sandra Berhardt, Billy Corgan, - Gl’s new masters. After playing step ‘n fetch it for Funcoland brass for nearly a decade, Game Informer (along with Funcoland) has been acquired by the Barnes and Noble empire. No matter who owns us, rest assured that our irreverent attitude and hard-hitting reviews will remain unchang—bzzt——ssshttzzz——LOOKING FOR A GREAT BEACH BOOK THIS SUMMER? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE PERFECT STORM BY SEBASTIAN JUNGER. THIS THRILLING ACCOUNT OF A DOOMED SHIP IS AVAILABLE AT ALL BARNES AND NOBLE STORES FOR A SUPER SALE PRICE get delayed. For Change of Address, New Subscriptions or Inquiries please send correspondence to: Game Informer Magazine Attn: Customer Service 10120 West 76th Street Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Customer service hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 am — 4:00 pm (Central Time). (952) 946-7266 Outside Minnesota make sure to dial area code (this is a toll call). Or email us at: customerservice @ gameinformer.com Don't buy a lame game. Check it out on FirstLook.com first. FirstLook.com lets you see streaming samples of games before you buy, so you can see them in action. Log on to FirstLook.com and see it before you buy it. first look.com * Size: 64 Megabit ¢ Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: 1 to 4-Player Minigames; Inhale, Copy, Exhale, & Throw Enemies; 6 Worlds With 4 Stages & 1 Boss; Real-time Cutscenes; 3 Slot Built-in Battery Back-Up ¢ Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Hal Laboratories for Nintendo e Available: June 26 for Nintendo 64 Nintendo’s second-class hero, Kirby, always Uni . plays runner-up to everyone’s favorite plumber, Bottom Line: 7 5 Mario. But it’s been a long time since Mario reared his ugly head, and Kirby is here now to save the day with his new adventure, The Crystal Shards. The game starts off with a little animated sequence that explains how this evil cloud, known as Dark Matter, is coming to steal the Ripple Star Fairies’ shining Crystal. One fairy manages to mane ke Clinton, “For what it is, Kirby 64 is a great game. „ANDY `- He has lots of powers that are easy to use —.——— and the levels are stylish and fun. But Concept since Nintendo decided to make this game 7.5 for the younger crowd, I blew through this Graphics game like a Mexican platter does my escape with it before Dark Matter envelops the 7 digestive system. And like the Mexican land, but the crystal shatters, and it is up to Kirby, Sound platter, it got a little messy at times, but in with a little help from his friends, to find all the P general it's a smooth ride. Don't oa 7 misunderstand me, | enjoyed playing Kirby shards and put the crystal back together. Fairy tale or not, Kirby still has to use all his pow- ers to find all the pieces of the Crystal. Armed with the ability to inhale enemies and then either swal- Playability while it lasted. The ability to mix and match special powers kept things interesting, and ———— like any Nintendo game, there is always Entertainment plenty to do and find. Not everyone should at 5 ee ki a 102; @66066 £ : ; low them or copy their powers, there are many 7.5 buy this game as it is definitely for a things Kirby can do. In this new adventure, Kirby (7.5 | Ty Sole iota ste | i now has the ability to combine different powers the night and playing it through.” together to make even more powerful attacks. For OVERALL instance, one burn power turns you into a blazing comet, two makes you into a massive fiery phoenix. Or match the flame with the needle and get a flam- ing sword. There are seven different special powers that can be mixed and matched to defeat the vari- “Kirby's a big, pink bucket of blubber, yet JAY I still wish there was more of him to love. THE GONZO GAMER As ig common with Kirby games, the Concept adventure is fun while it lasts, but is i i 7.15 over too soon and it isn't too hard to get a he P alias that Kirby encounters as Cane to the finish. The Power Combos in Kirby psc ches (Glave Snares: i 8 64 make it especially easy. Find the right Other creatures Kirby encounters don’t have a power and you'll be able to breeze eee aa power that he can copy, but that doesn’t mean Kirby Sound through level after level, gathering stars sibra mions arealways wilh to can’t use them to help him in his adventure. Kirby 7.5 and free lives. l'm pretty far from being a end'ainelping hand: i = Aa — 5 platforming whiz, but | made it through can hold on to these characters to hitch a ride with Playability PEE aE on my first go (end ik ees 3 6 a flying birdie or float to the ground with an umbrel- 8 got plain reckless at the end because | lawielding baddie. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is definitely best for the younger player, as this adventure is not too dif- ficult; still, older players might not want to miss the great action/platforming that Kirby 64 delivers. Entertainment had to go to the bathroom). Kirby 64’s 7.75 definitely fun to play, and anyone who likes the character and/or the series will (7.75 | want to play it, but most will only need to rent it for a few days to get everything OVERALL they want out of it.” “Dwarfing the efforts of both Monica REINER Lewinsky and Christina Aguilera, Kirby once THE RAGING GAMER again proves he’s the one and only king Concept masta sucky. With a ferocious appetite, 6.5 bowels made of steel, and an uncanny —_7"_—— ability to suck up everything within a five Graphics foot radius, gaming’s favorite pink puff has 6.75 finally landed his first solo N64 venture. T= Sound E Sculpted just like an NES game, Kirby 64 is designed for a younger audience. Some of 6.5 the bonus items are well hidden and can be Playability a challenge to reach, but the majority of 8.25 the game is a simple walkthrough for —————— experienced players. As always, the Entertainment gameplay is uniquely sculpted, featuring 6.75 innovative powers and interesting puzzle solutions. | love this character; unfortunately, the game was just way too easy. On the other hand, the tikes out there OVERALL couldn't ask for a better game.” Flame on! Medieval castles are just one of many places Kirby will venture for the crystal shards. E Kirby’s freeze ont ower puts enemies e rocks. h | Ze. DARK“ S Color availability will vary by store ` S - quantities are limited. h Color availability will vary by store Pokemon Red or Blue Expected to be - quantities are limited. Limited Supply available 7/28/00 = os ® ‘ F | FX JA pb SA ean MCcOLa (Nintendo. Visit us @ www.funcoland.com Limit one per customer. Quantities are limited. Quantities and product selection vary by store. Prices and offers are subject to change at any time. Manufacturer reserves the right to delay game title at their discretion. Nintendo 64, “N” logo, Game Boy, Pokemon and Nintendo are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America. © 2000 Funco, Inc. FuncoLand is a registered trademark of Funco, Inc. All rights reserved. yp = Uy 4 j Hey kiddies! Nintendo just delayed another game! For all of FA b ~N J you out there who have been holding your breath since the gm summer of ‘98 for the Banjo-Kazooie sequel, you may just bi choke and die before it actually hits retail shelves. Scheduled for the street date of August 28, the sequel, Banjo-Tooie, has slid out a few weeks to September 18. We’d like to think this is the last delay for Banjo-Tooie, but who knows? With Nintendo, you can never really say what will happen next. The good news is the game is looking remarkable. The bad news? You have to wait a little longer to play it. Just the other day we bumped into Nintendo big wig, Ken Lobb. Spraying questions faster than the fastest man alive, Game Informer learned a few interesting new tidbits about Banjo-Tooie. Ken wouldn’t drop any info about how Banjo-Tooie would 4) interact with Banjo-Kazooie, but } he was more than happy to talk we, ( about the rest of the game. This \ i í f time around, Gruntilda isn’t alone. y She’s joined by her two evil sisters, \ creating a very sticky situation for our beloved heroes. In addition to N this new threat, the overworld has > È | been expanded drastically. Some levels don’t even link Di | up to the overworld. You'll actually have to find their à entrance in a different level. Banjo’s saving grace: the Jinjos are back in the sequel. Actually, the game À is based around the Jinjo Village. The player will once again need to 7 collect the Jinjos, but this time, will need to travel from level to level to col- lect families of Jinjos. That’s right, you'll i actually have to identify them before you pick them up, then move to a different level and grab another that ¥ ? looks the same. Crazy! B 4 i AG) OS Nintendo 64 Preview e Size: 256 Megabit e Style: 1 to 4-Player Action/Adventure ¢ Special Features: 40 Abilities Including Single Character Control; 125 NPCs; 10 Multiplayer Games; 8 New Worlds; 10 Bosses; Dolby Surround Sound; 16:9 Widescreen Display ree e Created by: Rareware for Nintendo a e Available: September 18 for Nintendo 64 90% Complete It was painful, yet I'm sorry to see it pass. Preview e Size: Unknown © Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports e Special Features: Multiple Tournaments; 16 Familiar Mario Characters; 4-Player Simultaneous Doubles; Minigames; Ring Shot Mode; Introduces Waluigi to Mario Universe e Created by: Camelot for Nintendo i: 5 .- e Available: August 28 for Nintendo 64 any gamers still regard Super Tennis as the game that set the standard for video tennis. Although Super M Tennis was released way back in 1991 on the SNES, the game balanced ease-of-play with a surprising 70% C | t depth that hasn't been surpassed to this day. In 2000, it seems as though the video tennis drought is finally 0 om p e e over. Along with Sega's Virtua Tennis, it is quite possible that Mario Tennis could contend for the title of best tennis game of all time. Created by Camelot, the developer that hit a hole-in-one with Mario Golf, Mario Tennis impressed us at E3 and has been gathering a buzz ever since. OLD FRIENDS )) Nintendo's stable of characters is unparalleled in the world of gaming, so it’s no wonder that Mario Tennis is packed with superstars. There will be 16 characters in the final game, including such familiar faces as Donkey Kong, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Toad, and Yoshi. While these choices might seem obvious, there are some long-forgotten Mario characters making a return in Mario Tennis. Birdo, who hasn’t made a public appearance since Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES, is back, as is Daisy from Super Mario Land. Other lesser-known characters include Boo and Baby Mario. It’s not often that Nintendo introduces a new character into the Mario universe, so Mario Tennis will go down in history as the debut of Waluigi, the evil likeness of Luigi. Waluigi’s long limbs give him lightning speed, making him a strong presence on the court. When partnered with the powerful but sluggish Wario, the evil brothers make a formidable double team. eoeoee e e ee eco LET THE GAMES BEGIN ) _) Nintendo's massive success with the Mario Party series has taught it a thing or two about the appeal of minigames. While Mario Tennis focuses on great tennis gameplay, Camelot has packed in a few goodies to add some flavor to the mix. Foremost is Ring Play, which is similar to the Ring mode included in Mario Golf. There are three Ring Play modes, each of which features five individual challenges. Another interesting game uses three piranha plants to spit balls at the player, who must return as many of them as possible. A special exhibition match features a teetering court that is suspended in Bowser’s castle. There is also rumored to be a top secret Game Informer Fruit Cup tournament hidden in the game. BASIC STROKES ) ) Minigames and obscure characters are great, but Camelot promises that Mario Tennis will deliver gameplay that is second to none. The intuitive control system uses the analog stick to deal a wide variety of shots, from lobs to overhand smashes. Also, Doubles mode can support up to four players simultaneously. All dates subject to change. Call your local retailer for more details. Release Title Publisher/ System Release Title Publisher/ Date Distributor Date Distributor JULY 8/29/00 Ultimate Fighting Champ Crave 7/15/00 Evolution 2 UbiSoft 8/29/00 Vanishing Point Acclaim 7/15/00 MTV Sports: Skateboarding THQ 8/29/00 CyberTiger Electronic Arts 7/15/00 Blaster Master Crave 8/29/00 Dragon Warrior 1 & 2 Enix 7/15/00 MTV Sports: Skateboarding THQ 8/29/00 Gauntlet Legends Midway 7/15/00 Scooby Doo THQ 8/29/00 SeaDoo HydroCross 2000 Vatical 7/15/00 International Superstar Soccer Pro Tommo 8/29/00 Spider-Man Activision 7/15/00 MTV Sports:Skateboarding THQ 8/29/00 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 Activision 7/15/00 Surf Riders UbiSoft 8/29/00 Mia Hamm N64 Soccer SouthPeak 7/17/00 Lemmings Revolution Take 2 8/29/00 SeaDoo HydroCross 2000 Vatical 7/17/00 Action Bass Take 2 8/29/00. Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Acclaim 7/18/00 McGrath Supercross 2000 Acclaim 8/29/00 Aladdin: Nasira’s Revenge Sony 7/18/00 Metropolis Sega 8/29/00 Animorphs Frontline Video 7/18/00 Mr Driller Namco 8/29/00 Monster Rancher Battle Card Tecmo 7/18/00 McGrath Supercross 2000 Acclaim 8/29/00 SeaDoo HydroCross 2000 Vatical 7/18/00 Threads of Fate Squaresoft z 8/29/00 Spider-Man Activision 7/21/00 Super Bowling 64 Tommo 8/29/00 Star Trek Invasion Activision 7/24/00 Hidden & Dangerous Take 2 8/29/00 Team Buddies Midway 7/24/00 Austin Powers 1:Oh Behave Take 2 8/29/00 Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Activision 7/24/00, Austin Powers 2:UG Lair Take 2 8/29/00 Vanishing Point Acclaim 7/24/00 Warlocked Nintendo 8/29/00 WTC: World Touring Cars Activision 7/25/00 Namco Museum. Namco 8/30/00 Motor Madness Interplay 7/25/00 Seaman Sega 8/30/00 Harley Davidson Infogrames 7/25/00 Magical Drop Sunsoft 8/30/00 Earthworm Jim 3D Interplay 7/25/00 Microsoft 6-in-1 Puzzle Collection Classified SEPTEMBER 7/25100 Pocket GT Racin interpl B é ; cna Interplay ___ GBC) 9/1/00 Daikatana Eidos DC 7/25/00 Test Drive Cycles Infogrames GBC = > 9/1/00 Microsoft Pinball Arcade Classified GBC 7/25/01 NCAA Fi 112001 - O C. ootball 200 Electronic Arts PS-X 9/1/00 Aion Man Hasbro PS-X 7/27/00 Titus the Fox Titus GBC : 9/1/00 Breakout Hasbro PS-X 7/271 20 Carmageddon Tius Nes 34/00 Galaga Hasbro PS-X 7/30/00 Peter Jacobsen’s Golden Tee Off Infogrames PS-X a benis 7/30/00 RPG Maker Agetec PSX 9/5/00 Bang: Gunship Elite Red Storm DC 9/5/00 NFL 2K1 Sega DC AUGUST 9/5/00 Kiss: Psycho Circus GOD DC 8/1/00 Tokyo Extreme Racer 2 Crave 9/5/00 Rush 2049 Midway DC 8/1/00 AMF Bowling Vatical 9/5/00 Cannon Fodder Activision GBC Electronic Arts GBC Midway GBC 8/1/00 ESPN MLS: Game Night Konami. 9/5/00 John Madden 2001 Electronic Arts N64 8/1/00 Jimmy White's Cue Ball Vatical 5 9/5/00 Rush 2049 Midway N64 8/1/00 Kengou: Master of Bushido Crave m 9/5/00 In Cold Blood Midway PS-X 8/1/00 Snow Cross Champ Racing Crave z 9/5/00 NFL Faceoff 2001 Sony PS-X 8/8/00 Spec Ops: Omega Squad SouthPeak 9/5/00 Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 Activision PS-X 8/8/00 ECW: Anarchy Rulz Acclaim - 9/5/00 Torneko: the Last Hope Enix PS-X 8/15/00 Aero Wings 2: Airstrike Crave 9/7/00 Nickelodeon Cat/Dog Hasbro PS-X 8/15/00 Deep Fighter UbiSoft 9/11/00, Perfect Dark Nintendo GBC 8/1/00 Jimmy White’s Cue Ball Vatical 9/5/00 Road Rash 8/1/00 Mr Driller Namco 9/5/00 Rush 2049 8/15/00 8/15/00 Ecco the Dolphin Sega 9/12/00 Legend of the Blademasters SouthPeak DC ESPN Baseball Tonight 8/15/00 8/15/00 Test Drive OffRoad 3 Konami 9/12/00 NFL Blitz 2001 Midway DC Infogrames 9/12/00 NFL Blitz 2001 Midway GBC Microsoft Entertainment Pack Classified 9/12/00 VR Powerboat Vatical GBC 8/15/00 Rocky Mountain Trophy Hunter Infogrames 9/12/00 NFL Blitz 2001 Midway N64 8/15/00 Toca Tour Racing SouthPeak 9/12/00 VR Powerboat Vatical N64 8/15/00 Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Acclaim 9/12/00 Micro Machines: Micro Maniacs Activision PS-X 8/15/00 Polaris SnoCross 2001 Vatical 9/12/00 Ms PacMan Maze Madness Namco PS-X 8/15/00 Bust a Groove 2 Enix 9/12/00 NFL Blitz 2001 Midway 8/15/00__ Carmageddon 9/12/00 Parasite Eve 2 Squaresoft 8/15/00 Chrono Cross 9/12/00 Rollerjam Electronic Arts 8/15/00 NFL Gameday 2001 9/15/00 Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro 3D 8/15/00 Polaris SnoCross 2001 Vatical 9/15/00 Dragon Rider UbiSoft 8/15/00 ReVolt 2: Pocket Rockets Acclaim - 9/15/00 ESPN Intl Track & Field Konami. 8/15/00 Teletubbies Havas Interactive 9/15/00 F1 Championship 99 UbiSoft 8/16/00 DarkStone Take 2 z 9/15/00 Heroes 3 Might & Magic UbiSoft 8/16/00 Moho Take 2 2 9/15/00. Monster Breeder Tommo 8/18/00 Spawn Capcom 9/15/00 The Mummy Konami 8/18/00 Sydney 2000 Eidos 9/15/00 Peace Makers UbiSoft 8/18/00 Sydney 2000 Eidos : 9/15/00 Stupid Invaders UbiSoft 8/22/00 D2 Sega 9/15/00 Animorphs UbiSoft GBC 8/22/00 NFL QBClub 2001 Acclaim 9/15/00 F1 Championship 99 UbiSoft GBC 8/22/00 NFL QBClub 2001 Acclaim 9/15/00 Hoyle Card Havas Interactive GBC 8/22/00 ATV:Quad Racers Acclaim 9/15/00 Hoyle Casino Havas Interactive GBC 8/22/00 John Madden 2001 Electronic Arts 9/15/00 Inspector Gadget UbiSoft GBC 8/22/00 NCAA Gamebreaker 2001 9/15/00 Lego Racers Lego Media GBC 8/22/00 Resident Evil Survivor 9/15/00 Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage THQ N64 8/22/00 Rugby 2001 Electronic Arts 9/15/00 F1 Championship 99 UbiSoft N64 8/22/00 Valkyrie Profile Enix PS-X 9/15/00 Dinosaur UbiSoft PS-X 8/23/00 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue working designs _ PS-X 9/15/00 ESPN Great Outdoors: Bass Fishing Konami PS-X 8/25/00 Gun Bird 2 Capcom DC 9/15/00 F1 Championship 99 UbiSoft PS-X 8/28/00 Donkey Kong Country Nintendo GBC 9/15/00 Frogger 2 Hasbro PS-X 8/28/00__ Banjo Tooie Nintendo N64 9/15/00 Inspector Gadget UbiSoft PS-X 9/15/00 Lego Extreme Team Lego Media PS-X 8/29/00 Sega GT DC 9/15/00 Rayman 2 UbiSoft PS-X BL = Bottom Line BANJO-REVIEWIE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE MediEvil Ii 7.75 May-00 Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return 8.75 Jan-00 Ridge Racer 64 7.25 Feb00 Wetrixe 5 Mar-00 PLAYS TAT ION Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions 3.75 Nov-99 Tomorrow Never Dies 7.25 Jan-00 Road Rash 64 8 Oct-99 Wild Metal 3 May-00 3Xtreme 575 Jun99 Mission: Impossible 8.25 Feb-00 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 95 Nov-99 Roadsters Trophy 7 Jan-00 WWF Attitude 8.5 Jan-00 40 Winks 7 Feb-00 Misadventures of Tronne Bonne, The 7 May-00 Toy Story 2 8 Jan00 Rocket 8 Nov-99 Zombie Revenge 6.75 Feb-00 Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere 7.75 May-00 MLB 2000 8.5 May-99 Trick'N Snowboarders 4.25 Oct-99 Shadowgate 64 4 Aug-99 Akuji the Heartless 6.75 Mar-99 MLB 2001 7.75 Jun:00 Triple Play 2000 65 May-99 Shadow Man 7.75 Sep-39 Alexi Lalas Int! Soccer 225 Jun99 Mobil 1 Rally Championship 5.75 May-00 Triple Play 2001 8 May-00 Snowboard Kids 2 62 my9 GAME BOY Alundra 2 6.5 May-00 Monaco Gran Prix 2 5 Jun-99 Twisted Metal 4 9 Jan-00 StarCraft 8 Oct-99 720° 7 Jun-99 Ape Escape 8.75 Jul99 Monkey Hero 5.5 Feb-99 Ultimate 8 Ball 6.5 Ju-99 Star Wars. Episode | Racer 9 Jun99 All-Star Baseball 2000 7.25 Jul-99 Arcade Party Pak 75 Dec-99 Monkey Magic 5.25 Nov-99 UmJammer Lammy 825 Sep-99 Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 8.75 Feb-99 All Star Tennis 65 Dec-39 Armored Core: Master of Arena 7.5 Apr-00 Monster Rancher 2 85 Oct-99 V-Rally 2 7.25 Jan-00 Starshot 45 Nov-99 Bass Masters Classic 7.25 Feb-00 Armorines 5 Jul00 Monster Seed 6 May-99 Uprising X 4.75 Feb-99 Supercross 2000 6.75_Jan-00 Beauty and the Beast 4.75. Jan-00 Army Men: Air Attack 6.75 Dec-99 Mr. Driller 8 Jun-00° Urban Chaos 275 Jun-00 Superman 1.25 Aug-99 Bust-A-Move 4 8 Aug-99 Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 5.5 May-00 MTV Music Generator 7.25 Jan-00 Vagrant Story 9 May-00 Super Mario 64 9.75 Aug-96 Billy Bob's Huntin’ 'N Fishin’ 3.75 Dec-99 Assault Rigs 8 Feb-99 NASCAR 2000 7 Nov-99 — Vanark 7 May-00 Super Smash Brothers 85 Apr-99 Bionic Commando: Elite Forces 8.25 Mar-00 Ballistic 7 Jan-09 NASCAR Rumble 7.75 Mar-00 Vandal Hearts Il 7.75 Dec-99 South Park Rally 45 Ap-00 Blaster Master: Enemy Below 8.25 Apr-00 Bass Landing 7 Oct93 NBA In the Zone ‘99 6 May-99 Vanguard Bandits 7.75 Jun-00 Tarzan 7.25 Mar-00 Bugs Bunny Carrot Crazy 35° Apr-99 Bass Rise 4 Nov-99 NBA in the Zone 2000 65 Jan-00 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 7.75 Jan-00 Tonic Trouble 7 Aug-99 Catwoman 4.75 Dec-99 Battle Tanx Il: Global Assault 7 Apr-00 NBA Live 2000 8.5 Jan-00 Walt Disney World: Magical Racing Tour 6.5 May-00 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 925 Mar-00 Chase HO: Secret Police 55 Dec-99 Big Air 4 Jun-g9 NBA Showtime 65 Jan-00 Warpath: Jurassic Park 6.75 Dec-99 Top Gear Hyper Bike 7.25 Feb-00 Conker's Pocket Tales 45 Sep-99 Blast Radius 7 Mar-99 NBA Shoot Out 2000 4.75 Mar-00 Warzone 2100 7.75 Jul99 Top Gear Rally 2 6.75 Dec-99 Contra: The Alien Wars 8.75 Oct-99 Bloody Roar Il 7. May-99 NCAA Final Four '99 5.5 Mar-99 _ WCWINWO Thunder 4.75 Feb-99 Toy Story 2 75 Jan00 Deja Wu la tt 75 Dec-99 Bomberman Fantasy lace 725° Marag NCAA Final Four 2000 7 Jan-00 Wid Arms 2 85 May-00 Triple Play 2000 5.75 Apr:99 Dragon Warrior Monsters 8 Mar-00 Boombots 45 Jan-00 NCAA Football 2000 8 Oct-99 Wipeout 3 7.75 Nov-98 Turok: Rage Wars 8 Dec-99 Duke Nukem 6.75 Dec-99 Broken Sword II 6.75 Jan-00 NCAA Gamebreaker 2000 75 Oct-99 Worms Armageddon 8 Dec99 Vigilante 8 8.5 Apr-99 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 2 May-00 Bugs Bunny Lost In Time 5.25 Aug-99 NCAA March Madness 99 5.75 Mar-99 Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style 6.25 Dec-99 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 8 Jan-00 FIFA 2000 45 Dec-99 Bust-A-Move ‘99 8 Apr-99 Need For Speed: High Stakes 8.75 May-99 WWF Attitude 9 Aug99 WaveRace 64 9 Nov-36 Gex 3: Deep Pocket Gecko 75 Mar-00 Castrol Honda Superbike Racing 6.25 Jun-99 Need for Speed: Porche Challenge 7.75 Jun-00 WWF Smackdown 9 Apr-00 Winback 7.75 Nov-99 Gex: Enter the Gecko 8 Mar-99 Centipede 7 Jugg Next Tetris, The 6 Ju99 X-Files 3.75 Jan-00 World Driver Championship 6.25 Jun-99 Ghosts N' Goblins 7 Nov-99 Championship Bass 8 May-00 NFL Bitz 2000 65 Sep-99 Xena: Warrior Princess 7.75 Nov-98 WCW Nitto 4.25 May-99 — JoustDetender 6.25 Jun-99 Championship Motocross 6.75 Oct-99 NFL Game Day 2000 8.25 Oct-99 You Don't Know Jack 8 Feb-00 WWF Attitude 9.25 Aug99 Ken Griffey Jr. Slugfest 5.25 Sep-99 Chocobo Racing 6.25 Aug-99 NFL Xtreme 2 8.25 Sept-99 WCW Mayhem 75 Oct89 Klax 7.75 Jun-99 Chocobo's Dungeon 2 6.75 Jan-00 NHL 2000 8.5 Nov-99 Wrestlemania 2000 9° Dec-89 ~ Kiustar 5 Oct-99 Civilization II 7.75 Mar-99 NHL Blades of Stee! 2000 55 œc9 NINTENDO 6 4 Xena: Talisman of Fate 35 Jan-00 Kwik 9 Jun39 Clock Tower 2 6 Feb-99 NHL Championship 2000 7.25 Dec-99 Airboardin' USA 55 Oct-99 Logical 5 May-99 Colin McRae Rally 7 Feb-00 NHL Face Off 2000 7.25 Nov-99 All-Star Baseball 2000 8 May-99 Lucky Luke 7.25 Oct-99 Colony Wars: Red Sun 8.25 Apr-00 Nightmare Creatures Il 5.25 Jun-00 All-Star Baseball 2001 75 myo DREAMCAST Madden NFL 2000 775 Dec-99 Contender 6.75 Feb-99 No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking 4.25 Jan-00 Al Star Tennis '99 55 Aug99 4 Wheel Thunder 7.25 Jun-00 Mario Golf 8.75 Nov-99 Cool Boarders 4 7.75 Dec-93 Omega Boost 7.75 Oct99 Armorines 7.25 Jan-00 — AeroWings 7 Oct-99 Men In Black: The Series 4.75 Mar-99 Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn 7.75 Jul-00 Pac-Man World 8 Oct-99 Army Men: Air Combat 75 Juo Airforce Delta 7.75 Oct-99 Metal Gear Solid 925 Jud Crash Team Racing 9 Nov-99 Point Blank 2 8 Apr-99 Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 7 Dec-99 Armada 6.5 Feb-00 Mickey's Adventure Racing 8 Mar-00 Croc 2 7.5 _Jul-99 Populous: The Beginning 7 Jun99 Bassmasters 2000 8 Mar-00 Blue Stinger 5.25 Oct-99 Micro Machines 1 & 2 8 May-00 Crusaders of Might and Magic 7.25 Mar-00 Pro 18 World Golf 1 Feb-98 Battle Tanx 6.75 Feb-99 Carrier 6.75 Apr-00 Millenium Winter Sports 7.25 Jan-00 Cyber Tiger 7.25 Dec-99 — Psybadek 3.75 Feb-99 — BattleTanx Il: Global Assault 7.25 Nov-99 Chu Chu Rocket 8.75 Apr-00 Missile Command 1.75. Jan-00 Dead in the Water 7.25 Feb-99 Quake Il 7.5 Dec-99 — Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs 3.25 May-00 Crazy Taxi 8.75 Feb-00 Monster Rancher Battle Card 6.75 Jul-00 Deception Ill: Dark Delusion 6.25 Apr-00 Railroad Tycoon II 7.5 Apr-00 Beetle Adventure Racing 8 Apr-99 Dead or Alive 2 9 Apr-00 Moon Patrol/Spy Hunter 6.75 Jul-99 Destrega 8.25 Mar-99 Rainbow 6 6.75 Feb-00 Blades of Stee! 2000 3.5 Jan-00 Deep Fighter 6.75 Jul-00 Mortal Kombat 4 5 Apr-99 Demolition Racer 7.5 Dec-99 Rampage 2: Universal Tour 55 Jun-99 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 5.25 Jan-00 Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm 7.75 Jul-00 Motorcross Maniacs 8.5 Sep-99 Die Hard Trilogy 2 7 Mar-00 Rat Attack 6.75 Nov-99 Bug's Life, A 5.25 Jul-99 Dynamite Cop 7 Nov-99 Mr. Driller 8.25 Jul-00 Digimon World 5.25 Jul-00 R/C Stunt Copter 7 O99 Bust-A-Move '99 9 Apr-99 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 7.75 May-00 Ms. Pac-Man 7.75 Nov-99 Dino Crisis 9 Sep-99 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 6.5 Feb-00 California Speed 225 Apr-99 Elemental Gimmick Gear 7 Mar00 NBA In The Zone 99 4 Jun-99 Driver 8.25 Sep-99 _ Reel Fishing II 65 Jul-00 Castlevania 64 6.5 Mar-99 Evolution 7 _Dec-99 NBA Jam 99 7.5_May-99 Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home 6 Mar-00 Resident Evi 3 9.25 Dec-99 Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness 5.25 Mar-00 Evolution 2: Far Off Promise 6 Ju-0o NFL Blitz 6 Apr-99 Dune 2000 7.75 Nov-99 Re-Volt 3.25 Nov-99 Chameleon Twist 2 6.5 May-99 Expendable: Millennium Soldier 4 Oct-99 NHL Blades of Steel ‘99 75 Apr-99 Echo Night 6.75 Aug-99 Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure 6.75 Jul-00 Charlie Blast's Territory 3 May-99 — F-1 World Grand Prix 7.75 Feb-00 Oddworld Adventures 7 Feb-99 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 8.25 Mar-00 Ridge Racer Type 4 8.25 May-99 College Hoops 99 5 Feb-99 Fighting Force 2 5.25 Mar-00 Pac-Man 7.75 Sep-99 Ehrgeiz 6.75 Jun-99 Rising Zan 8 Sep-99 Command & Conquer 8 Sep99 Flag to Flag 4.5 Oct-99 Pitfall: Beyond the Jungle 6.5 Mar-99 Evil Zone 5 Oct-99 Road Rash: Jailbreak 7 Mar-00 CyberTiger 7.25 May-00 Gauntlet Legends 7.75 Jun-00 Pokémon Pinball 8 Sep-99 Expendable 3.5 Juk00 Rock the Rink 8 May-00 Destruction Derby 64 7.25 Dec-99 Giga Wing 7.5 Mar-00 Pokémon Trading Card Game 7.25 Jun-00 Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition 3.75 Mar-00 Rollcage 7 Apr-99 Donkey Kong 64 8.75 Dec-99 Grand Theft Auto 2 75 Jul00 Pokémon Yellow 6.5 Nov-99 Fear Effect 8.25 Mar-00 Rollcage: Stage Il 7.25 Apr-00 Duke Nukem: Zero Hour 8.75 Sep-99 Gundam Side Story 0079 7.75 Jul-00 Prince of Persia 6 Jul-99 FIFA 2000 8.75 Dec-99 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI 7.25 Mar-00 Earthworm Jim 3D. 5.75 Dec-99 House of the Dead 2 8 Oct-99 Quest for Camelot 5__Mar-99 Fighter Maker 8 Jun-g9 Type Delta 7.25 Aug-99 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 8 Mar-00 Hydro Thunder 8 Oct-99 R-Type DX 75 Sep-99 Fighting Force 2 55 Feb-00 Rushdown 5 Apr-99 Excitebike 64 7.25 Jun-00 Incoming 55 Mar-00 Rampage: World Tour 65 Apr-99 Fisherman's Bait 2 6 Dec-99 SaGa Frontier 2 8 Jan00 Fighting Force 64 6.75 May-99 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 8 Mar-00 Rayman 8 Jun-00 Final Fantasy VIII 25 Sep99 Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 3.75 May-00 Gauntlet Legends 7 Dec-99 King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 8 Oct-99 Rugrats Movie 25 Feb-99 Final Fantasy Anthology 8.75 Oct-99 Sammy Sosa Softball Slam 5.75 Jun-00 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko 7.75 Sep-99 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 8 Mar-00 Spawn 6.25 Sep-99 Fisherman's Bait 6 May-99 Shadow Madness 6 Apr-99 Goeman's Great Adventure 7.25 Sep-99 Maken X 7.75 Jun-00 Spy Vs. Spy 75 Aug-99 Formula One ‘99 7.75 Jan-00 Shadow Man 6.75 Nov-99 Harvest Moon 64 7.25 Mar-00 Marvel Vs. Capcom 7.5 Oct-99 Star Wars: Episode | Racer 8.25 Mar-00 Freestyle Boardin’ ‘99 6 Mar-99 Shadow Tower 7.5 Nov-99 Hot Wheels Turbo Racing 7 Oct-99 MDK2 8 Jun-00 Super Black Bass 8 Jan-99 Front Mission 3 9 Ap-00 Silent Bomber 7.75 Mar-00 Hybrid Heaven 7 Jun99 Monaco Grand Prix 7 Oct99 Super Mario Bros. Dix 9.25 Aug-99 G Police: Weapons of Justice 475 Oct-99 Silent Hill 7.25 Apr-99 Hydro Thunder 7.5 May-00 Mortal Kombat Gold 7.25 Oct-99 Survival Kids 7.5 Sep-99 Galerians 8 Jun-00 Silhouette Mirage 7.5. Feb-00 ~~ in-Fisherman's Bass Hunter 64 7.75 Sep-99 NBA2K 9 Jano Tarzan 65 Aug-99 Gallop Racer 6 Nov99 Sim Theme Park 7 Ju00 international Track & Field 2000 7 Apr-00 NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC 7.25 Dec-99 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 9.25 Mar-99 Gauntlet Legends 6.5 May-00 Sled Storm 8.75 Sep-99 Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 5 Apr-00 NFL2XK Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.5 Jun-00 Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko 8 May-99 Smurfs, The 5.5 Mar-00 Jet Force Gemini 7.75 O&t99 NFL Bitz 2000 Top Gear Pocket 6 May-99 Gekido: Urban Fighters 45 Julo Soul of the Samurai 4.25 Aug-99 Ken Griffey Jr's Slugfest 85 Ju-99 NFL Quarterback Club 2000 2.25 Feb-00 Toy Story 2 5.25 Feb-00 Gran Turismo 2 95 Feb-00 South Park Chef's Luv Shack 3.25 Feb-00 Knockout Kings 2000 8.25 Dec-99 NHL2K 8.25 Apr-00 Twouble 65 Apr-99 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 7 Jul99 South Park Rally 45 Mar-00 Lego Racers 7.75 Jan-00 Pen Pen Trilcelon 4 Oct-99 V-Rally Ed. '99 5.5 Aug-99 Grand Theft Auto 2 7.75 Dec-99 Space Invaders 8 Dec-99 Lode Runner 3-D 6.5 May-99 Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Blistein 7.25 May-00 WCW Mayhem 7.75 Jul-00 Grandia 7.25 Nov-99 Speed Punks 7 May-00 Mario Goll 9 Aug-99 Power Stone 8 Oct-99 Wings of Fury 7 Mar-00 Grind Session 6.75 Jun-00 Sports Car GT 6 Jun-99 Mario Party 3.5 Mar-99 Psychic Force 2012 7___Jan-00 WWF Attitude 6.5 _Jul-99 Guardian's Crusade 8 Apr-99 Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage 8.75 Dec-99 ` Mario Party 2 5.75 Feb-00 Rayman 2: The Great Escape 8 Apr-00 WWF Wrestlemania 2000 7.25 Dec-99 Hello Kitty: Cube Frenzy 65 Jul-39 Star Ocean 7.5 Jun-99 Micro Machines 64 Turbo 7 May-99 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 7.25 Oct-99 Yar's Revenge 6.25 Jan-00 High Heat Baseball 2000 3.5 Jun-99 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 7.25 Oct-99 Monaco Gran Prix 2 5 Jun-99 Resident Evil Code: Veronica 9.5 Apr-00 Hot Shots Golf 2 8 Mar-00 Street Fighter Alpha 3 8 Jun-99 Monster Truck Madness 5.5 Sep-99 Re-Volt 5 Feb-00 Hot Wheels Turbo Racing 6.25 Nov-99 Street Ftighter 2 Collection 7 Feb99 Namco Museum 64 8 Trt Rippin’ Riders 7 Dec99 NEO GEO POCKET COLOR Hydro Thunder 7.75 Apr-00 Street Fighter EX2 Plus 7.75 Jun00 NBA Courtside 2 7.25 Jan-00 Roadsters 55 Jun-00 Baseball Stars 6 Aug99 International Track & Field 2000 7 Dec99 Street SkBer 45 Apr-99 NBA In the Zone 2000 55 Jan-00 Sega Bass Fishing 8 Sep-99 Beast Busters: Dark Arms 8.75 Dec-99 Interplay Sports Baseball 2000 5 dun-99 Street Sk8er 2 7 Jun-00 NBA Jam 99 7 Feb-99 Sega Rally Championship 7.5 Jan-00 Bio Motor Unitron 9 Oct-99 Invasion From Beyond 6.75 Apr-99 Strider 2 6.5 Jul-00 NBA Jam 2000 6 Dec-99 — Shadowman 7.75 Feb-00 — Bust-A-Move Pocket 8.25 Sep-99 Jackie Chan's Stuntmaster 6.5_Mar-00 Suikoden II 9 Oct-99 NBA Live 2000 8.25 Dec-99 Slave Zero 6.25_Jan-00 Crush Roller 7.5 Aug-99 Jade Cocoon 8 Aug-39 Superbike 2000 4 Jun-00 “NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC 7.25 Dec-99 Sonic Adventure 7.75 Sep-99 Dive Alert 3.25 May-00 Jedi Power Battles 8 May-00 — SuperCross Circuit 3.5 Dec-99 New Tetris, The 7 Sep-99 Soul Calibur 9.25 Oct-99 — Faseleil 85 May-00 det Moto 3 7 Oct-99 Syphon Filter 9 Mar99 NFL Bitz 2000 7.75 Sep-99 Soul Fighter 55 Jan-00 Fatal Fury: tst Contact 8 Aug-99 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 8 Apr-00 Syphon Filter 2 9 Apr00 NHL Breakaway 99 6 Feb-99 South Park Chef's Luv Shack 35 Feb-00 Gals Fighters 7.75 Apr-00 Juggernaut 6.5 Nov-99 Tai Fu 6.5 Apr-99 NFL QB Club 2000 5 Oct-99 Space Channel 5 7.75 Jul-00 King of Fighters 8.5 Aug-99 K-1 Grand Prix 5.5 Feb00 TRAG. 7.5 May-99 NHL Blades of Steel '99 6 Apr-99 Speed Devils 7.25 Oct-99 Last Blade 7 dun-00 K-1 Revenge 6.5 Apr-99 Tail Concerto 7.75 Nov-99 Nuclear Strike 8.75 Feb-00 Star Wars Episode | Racer 8.75 Jun-00 Magical Drop Pocket 7 Apr-00 Kensei: Sacred Fist 5.25 Jun-99 Tarzan 7.75 Sep-99 Paperboy 4.25 Dec-99 Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing 7 Dec-99 Match of the Millennium, The 9 Mar-00 Killer Loop 6 Mar-00 Test Drive 6 7.5 Dec-99 Penny Racers 5.75 Feb-99 Sword of the Berzerk 8 Apr-00 Metal Slug: 1st Mission 8.5 Aug-99 Knockout Kings 2000 8 Dec-99 _ Test Drive Le Mans 3.75 Jul0O Pertect Dark 9.25 Jun-00__ Tee Off 6.25 Apr-00 Metal Slug: 2nd Mission 8.5 May-00 Konami Arcade Classics 6.75 Aug-99 Test Drive Off-Road 3 8 Nov-99 ~ PilotWings 64 9.5 Aug-36 Test Drive 6 8 Feb-00 Neo Geo Cup ‘98 8 Aug-99 Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed 2.5 Jun-00 Thousand Arms , 7.75 Nov-99 Pokémon Snap 7 Aug-99 TNN Hardcore Heat 5.75 Oct-99 Neo Turf Masters 8.25 Oct-99 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 8.5 Sep-99 Thrasher: Skate and Destroy 8 Jan00 Pokémon Stadium 8 May-00 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 5.75 Oct-99 Pac-Man 7 Nov-99 Legend of Dragoon, The 9 Jun-00 Threads of Fate 8 Ju00 Quake Il 7.75 Jul99 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 7.75 Jun-00 Pocket Tennis Color 6.75 Aug-99 Legend of Legaia 8.25 Apr-99 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 7.5 Feb-00 Rainbow 6 8 Feb-00 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater a Jun-00 Puyo Pop 7 Oct-99 Legend of Mana 8 Jul-00 Time Stalkers 6.5 May-00 Rampage 2: Universal Tour 5 Apr-99 Toy Commander 8.75 Nov-99 Puzzle Link 7.75 Dec-99 Lunar: The Silver Star Story Complete 7.75 Jul-99 Tiny Tank (Revised) 5.5 Nov-99 Rayman 2: The Great Escape 7.75 Nov-99 — TrickStyle 7.75 Oct-99 Puzzle Link 2 8 May-00 Madden NFL 2000 8.75 Oct-99 Tiny Toon Adventures 6.75 Mar-99 Resident Evil 2 8.75 Nov-99 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 8 Mar-00 Samurai Shodown 2 8.75 Aug-99 March Madness 2000 8.25 Feb-00 TOCA 2: Touring Car Challenge 6.5 Jan-00 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 65 Feb-00, Virtua Fighter 3tb 7.75 Nov-99 SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighter's Clash 8 Feb-00 Medal of Honor 9.25 _Dec:99__ Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 8 Jan00 Re-Volt 4.75 Oct-99 Virtua Striker 2 5.25 _Mar:00 Sonic Pocket Adventure 8.5 _Feb-00 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. Game maintenance products available from Player’s Edge: Cleaning Kits for: NINTENDO” 64 e SUPER NINTENDO® « NINTENDO”? e SEGA™ GENESIS” e GAME BOY” e GAME GEAR" e MULTIMEDIA & GAME CDs Available at FuncoLand’ PLAYER'S © 1997 Player's Edge. Player's Edge is a trademark of InterAct Accessories, Inc. InterAct Accessories is a trademark of STD Manufacturing LTD. g Wipeout, Wipeout XL and Psygnosis are trademarks of Psygnosis. © 1996 Psygnosis Ltd. Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo and Game Boy Æ | are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega Genesis and Game Gear are trademarks of Sega Enterprises Ltd. Lem SS “Seeerrge. | am your Faathurrr!” 50 Playstation Review e Size: 2 CD-ROMs e Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game © Special Features: 44 Characters, Each With Unique Special Attacks & Abilities; Summoning Spells; Nonlinear Plot & Exploration; 2 Alternate Worlds & Other Locations; Deep Plot Ties to Chrono Trigger; New Game+ ¢ Replay Value: High Created by: Square Soft * Available: Now for PlayStation Bottom Line: Q 5 ae yy oie El L š š Ses, I'm gonna kick yer a sorry arses so hard you'll kiss the moons! Game informer e August 2000 While RPGs have come a long way since the 16-bit days, they've also managed to lose much of what made the experience such a popular one. Beautiful graphics, amazingly cool power-ups, and heavy emphasis on plot have made for a truly cinematic experience, but the inability to break out of the walls and explore areas whether they were rel- evant to the immediate quest at hand or not has made us yearn for some of the best of the 16-bit era RPGs. Chrono Trigger comes to mind. With an amazing story that was never spoiled by the ability to freely roam about and explore new areas, intense character interaction, and time/space plot twists that might be the envy of a seasoned sci-fi author, Chrono Trigger is one of the definitive classics of the SNES. Square has delivered a true sequel, tak- ing the best of its precursor and melding that with the beauty and depth of gameplay of its more recent games. Surprisingly, Chrono Cross features less emphasis on time travel and more on a time stream which has been divided in two by an event that occurred 14 years ago. When the characters discover a means to travel between the two time lines that have developed along a different set of circumstances, they will dis- cover two seemingly similar worlds where things have become more different than alike. Oddly enough, the worlds are still linked in some ways. Pushing a rock over a hole in one dimen- sion could cause a loose rock to suddenly fall over and trap a hapless mushroom prospector in the other. This aspect of the game is the key to unlocking many of its secrets. With 44 characters, wide open exploration, an interesting combat system, and an intriguing story, Chrono Cross makes a good argument for being the best RPG we've seen on the PlayStation thus far. Despite the deceptively small world size, we were truly blown away by how much there was to see in both worlds, and Chrono Trigger fans will be tickled with con- stant references and tie-ins to the previous game. A worthy sequel indeed. > ~ Crossing Dimensions Between New and Old ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 9.5 Graphics 9.75 Sound 9 Playability 9.5 Entertainm 9.5 OVERALL ERIK THE PC JEDI Concept 10 Graphics OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 9.75 Graphics 9.75 Sound 9.5 Playability .75 9, OVERALL “All | have to say is wow. Chrono Cross is amazing. From the detail in the character animations and backgrounds to the suspenseful storytelling, Chrono Cross has got it all. It has graphics that easily rival Final Fantasy VIII, and characters with tons of fluid animations that make them much more life-like and interesting. Oh yeah, and there are 44 of them - booya! Even the townsfolk in this game seem more real than those in any RPG I've played before. Then you add all the wonderful things Square has done with the gameplay (like the spectacular combo specials), and Chrono Cross is a combination that can’t be beat. Don’t miss this game if you play RPGs. If Final Fantasy 1X can outdo it | will be duly impressed.” “Square has gone and taken everything that kicks butt in classic RPGs and brought these concepts forward into a visually dazzling, intensely story driven, nonlinear game that has renewed my slightly wavering faith in the modem RPG. FF VII brought RPGs back to the next generation of consoles and showed that spectacular new things could be done with them. Chrono Cross reminds us why RPGs got so big in the first place. While not quite as visually mindboggling as Final Fantasy, Chrono doesn’t ‘cheat’ by throwing gorgeous movies into the game every 20 minutes or so, and still it remains a beautiful game. Furthermore, of the 44 characters (holy crap!), | actually found that | liked most of them. Chrono Cross is hands down my personal favorite RPG on the PS-X to date.” “If you asked me what my favorite Super Nintendo RPG is, l'd say it’s a toss up between Final Fantasy Ill and Chrono Cross. Ifyou asked me what my favorite PlayStation RPG is, I'd exuberantly exclaim, Chrono Cross! Years ago, Square Soft redefined console role-playing with Chrono Trigger; and with the long-awaited PlayStation follow-up, it's followed suit, delivering unfathomable material. With 44 different playable characters, all with unique abilities and multi- character combinations, you'll rack up well over 100 hours just trying new things. The storytelling and dialogue are hands down Square's best yet. Combat is also delivered oh so nicely. Chrono Cross outshines, outperforms, and out-duels Final Fantasy in every conceivable way. It is, in my humble opinion, THE greatest PlayStation RPG experience to date.” e Size: 1 CDROM ¢ Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game ¢ Special Features: t Everything Right sin ig idk ug ititi dititiki itii 7 * Created by: ASCII/Spline A hamster ball, Slim; Shady, and an erupting) volcano * Available: Now for PlayStation | have absolutely nothing in ‘common, Likewise, you'll never seg, any significant ties between Sammy, Sosa, silly putty, —_ Score and a three-legged dog. That!is...until now. With Agetec’s “Just like every gamer out there, | have (RPG Maker, anything and/everything can happen. As a vol: always Wanted to make my own games. 1 ANDY cano erupts, ia alh goo nee a i village, a mys- knew | could make better games than any THE GAME HomeRI developer out there, and RPG Maker finally ear ca terious hamster ball leads Slim Shady to Sammy Sosa’s secret gave me a chance to prove it. However, | 9.75 abode, a place where three-legged puppies are getting high off EONS Tie et en cannes — Graphies fa Magical silly putty. Sounds like a great plot for a game doesn't the tools of RPG Maker, which isn’t as 5.75 it? Well guess what?) itis agame! We just made it! MoM, its difficult as hard coding, but don’t believe ESA your! iturn! for an instant that this is not going to take 7 For the first time in RPG history, the vided game enthusiast Pome tne oean Sank sone ne into has the power to create his or her own fictional world. All you | ‘ound and | really didn’t ili ee eee 5 pa sett the neredi anes ea need is imagination, and you too can make RPGs that rival the quest that | dreamt up. Okay, so my game- —————__ likes of Final Fantasy, Dragon.Warrior, and Lunar. ofallgames didn’t quite turn out the way | Seen So what does it take to make a good RPG? Both time and peepee ees wY patience are crucial. In the “real world” it takes development stuff. If you want to make games, and you 7.5) teams-of fifty: people over two years to concoct a role-playing have lots and lots and lots of time, RPG game. While most of the work is done for you, it will still take Maker is a your only choice.” OVERALL weeks, months, maybe even years to put the finishing touches — n on-your adventure — which: hopefully, won't suck. ia mee rer na Mees wal ao JAY Once it’s time to get down and dirty with the development! in your place real fast. This title gives _THE conzo camer process, the player can tweak everything, and we mean. every- potential world creators all the tools they Concept thing. This includes the story, town and dungeon designs, item need to slap together a quest of titanic 10 location, enemy hit points, loading screen effects, and even the proportions. Anae required is gatene Graphics fgg color of the hero's shoes. For those of you who become com: | a dienes borne 7 pletely. entwined, you can even design and animate your own adventure. | estimate that once all the game Sound characters from scratch. Thankfully, RPG Maker is actually RPG | tools are understood and the manual 7 Maker For Dummies. To fully understand: how this game works, properly earmarked, every five minutes of ———— all you need:is time and the ability to read English. That's it! ~ ee M He an er o aae tae ejebily When you break it down, RPG Maker sounds like more work. fF controller gets old real fast). Stil, even those “Entertainment than play, But believe us, the effort is well worth it: Watching your | without an epic tale or an iron constitution 7 friends dig into your adventure and become truly engrossed:in it, may find interest in RPG Maker if they have a iis a remarkable feeling. A feeling rivaling your first kiss, Which, if Dex Drive. Imagine an RPG with thousands of | 7.5) you're a hardcore gamer, is Something you'll never e-e- ever | adventures downloadable online. If RPG experience. SA thisig the held best thing! If you're truly talented, you can design and animate your own characters. Maker catches on, imagine no longer.” OVERALL “Finally, the power to create lies within the hands of the gamer. If Kid Rock can cal REINER himself a musician, we can call ourselves _ THE RAGING GAMER game developers as well. With RPG Maker, Concept any notalent schmo can construct a 40 hour 8.5 RPG, then load it onto the Intemet for all Dex t——~___ Drive owners to download and enjoy. There Graphics are parameters and limitations, but for the 7.75 most part, users have complete creative Sound oa freedom to bring their vision to life. Don't N expect instant gratification though. To make a 1.5 decent RPG, it takes time and patience. Just Playability coming to grips with how the game works will 8.5 suck away hours of your life. On top of this, if ———————— youwantthe game to look and playjustasyou Entertainment envision it, you'll need to tweak animations, 8.25 and even design your own characters. If you have a creative flare for storytelling, fulfill your dream and make your very own game. This Place over 100 different enemies may be your only chance.” OVERALL Teh across the battlefield. 90 Computer è : Color Let your creative juices flow and scribe Reverse Off your very own story. i Edit Attack / Treasure HP 1 WE Attack Guard AGI ric’ s Attack! rtd (Foise 50 |W Once your adventure is complete, unveil — it to your irenda Review e Size: 1 CD-ROM ¢ Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting è Special Features: 10 Playable Characters (4 Locked); 3 Super Meters; Alternate X- Men Movie Costumes; Arcade, Versus, | MUTANT Survival, Academy, & Cerebro Mode; X-Men Tagline Voice-Overs © Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Paradox for Activision e Available: June 27 for PlayStation Bottom Line: J one Cajun spice in ya gumbo!” aR : we Academy mode allows new players to become acquainted with the moves. The game often shows its 3D colors during throws and supers. Hollywood and the X-Men are a pairing about as likely as Kitty Pryde and Wolverine — it sounds like something that would never happen, yet it has. With Marvel’s mighty mutants getting the summer blockbuster treatment, a movie-based video game was inevitable. That it would be a fight- ing game was practically predictable. The fact that the game is actually somewhat original is downright unbelievable. For tke first time in a video game, the X-Men are going 3D...sort of. The one-on-one battles between Mutant Academy’s selection of Homo Sapiens Superior take place on a 2D plane, with the camera revealing the third dimension when throws and supers are performed. This feature may sound rather frivolous on paper, but considering how vital and plentiful supers are it’s a welcome bit of eye candy. Each character has three bars at the bottom of the screen representing the availability of Supers, Stringed Supers, and X-Treme Supers. When one of these heavy combo moves is pulled off, the action freezes as lightning crackles around the character responsible. In the scant seconds before the super is unleashed, an arrow will appear below. If the d-pad is tapped in the corresponding direction, the super will do double the damage and another directional arrow will appear. Another correct tap will triple the damage and another arrow appears, and so on. Sure, you’ve seen the movie, but have you seen Wolverine get his adamantium skeleton in CG? As a bonus for hardcore players, X-Men: Mutant Academy has Cerebro mode, where achieving a long list of goals in all the game’s play modes unlocks FMV clips, comic book frames, and extra costumes. Sounds Mag-Neato! EA wort GH T N CY, cen Cyclops gives Wolverine his X-Treme Super. ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept T15 Graphics Playability 8.5 Entertainment 7.5 OVERALL JAY THE GONZO GAMER Concept 7.75 Graphics 8.5 Sound 8 Playability 7 Entertainment 7.5 OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 6.75 Graphics 7.25 Sound 6.5 Playability 6.5 Entertainment 6.5 OVERALL “X-Men: Mutant Academy isn’t going to turn the world of video game fighting on its ear, but it does offer up a competent game. The developer, Paradox, did a good job of creating a balanced fighter, however its Al features some loopholes very similar to early Capcom fighters (like computer opponents who can’t break a corner trap). The characters themselves feature a nice arsenal of attacks and the action is furious. | especially like the throws in this game, as some of the them are quite ingenious and the Matrix-styled camera work adds a nice effect. XMen’s biggest problem is its lack of characters. Throw in 15 more characters and this game could last you a long time, but as it stands, there just isn’t enough here to entertain for long. But the fighting is fun while it lasts.” “X-Men: Mutant Academy is better than | thought it was going to be, but it’s certainly not going down in history as one of the best fighters on PlayStation. The 3D effects serve no actual purpose, but l'm forgiving this since the developers really went to town on making the character-specific supers as flashy as possible. Unfortunately, the mostly underused 3D graphics make some of the character animations somewhat chunky. This, combined with controls that are erratically unresponsive, are the makings of a frustrating fiasco for fighting aficianados. If you're a comic book freak like me, though, you'll probably still like this game, Mutant Academy is much like a plot for an X-Men comic book - there’s tons of cool snippets, but it never quite comes together.” “Jumping on the Hollywood bandwagon, Activision’s bold new fighter combines elements of the comic series with the movie. Surprisingly, this venture turned out better than expected. The graphics are highly detailed, and the characters look fantastic. Furthermore, there are a ton of interesting secrets to unlock, and the Danger Room training exercises are hilarious. As for the actual gameplay? Activision did a commendable job balancing the difficulty and Al, but the fighting mechanics are messed up. The animation is extremely choppy, and many of the collision fields are a tad off. Worst of all, the freeze frame specials destroy all the strategy in the game. If one of these moves is a projectile, the opposing player has all the time in the world to block it. Lame! If you don’t play fighters for complexity, this game isn't bad. If you seek more, avoid it.” am vecon KENICHI IWATA caaewes onecron KOJI HASEGAWA evens onecion TAKEHIRO KAMINAGAYOSHI evo onscioe KENICHIROU (DE oane onecion MASARU OHNUMA TEEN T esre wwe arcs otc KAZUKI HAYASHITANI smono DART SHANA ROSE HASCHEL LAVITZ ALBERT LLOYD NEVER COMING TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU. in www.thelegendofdragoon.com Animated Violence Animated Blood The Legend of Drago nputer Entertainment America Inc 2000 Sony Computer Entertainment Ine. PlayStation and the wistered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc PlayStation TONYHAWK'S Gey Se PRO) SKATER P: AUN i pega face be | all over Tony's first venture, and come this September, your world | he blown Z utat vm oe he tigre sea etry of PS pon = RUNE GUIFBERG =H SSeS Neversoft has revamped the r- PHILADELPHIA PENNSYUWA\ entire frontend with stylish | i new menus and navigational y aavet eee tools. From streaming video : CONTINUE a three-dimensional ho STYLE B 7 : graphic globe that actua e Gals SINE i O rotates, Tony Hawk's 1 SKALESHER, re are a force to be re L with. True, they menus...but ma super cool! ~ C INDUSTRIAL aeionT SPEED! 160 ( STACEFISH 160 STALEFISH al, you'll run into a numbel one of which is the swee WM and hard-to-reach place Nill eventually unearth bil . Collecting this curre s the player to buy new boards oying the illusion that skaters wear the same clothes day in and day out, around, the boards do Ie, ater's performance. To all 13 skaters feature two different outfits. And you thought dressing up Barbie wess, you'll need to spen joolah on each statistic was fun? 54 Sapra NEN: ncredibly painful nutter. Piece sz OF 14, TR? Tax! ORT too Caballero Hit 4 Roll Coll,'Spats Collect 8) Heli Passes | > Wollesde 5 Bells Kickflip TC's Roof Gap Y Find Hidden “4 Tope School Cleaned 100% Press’ X- to Play ct letters, and crush poii tead of receiving tapes | onjunction with vario over 100,000. t goals: three devoted , and hard levels), S-K- ree item-based events, Playstation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Sports/Action e Special Features: 13 Skaters; 8 Parks; Create-A-Skater; Park Editor; New Grab, Grind, Kick, & Lip Tricks; Skate Shop; Ground Manuals; Hidden Areas; New Multiplayer Modes e Created by: Neversoft for Activision e Available: September for PlayStation 80% Complete LIL’ SHORTY ROOF GAP Game Informer * August 2000 455 oe NOSE MANUAL FS SHOVE IT PlayStation Preview FMGPROCC CALL -SPOIS A On big jumps... «you'll need to hit the % button on impact... Throughout the game Neversoft has hidden interestin little things. Pictured above, Bill Clinton gets a wet one fro a hottie, while Hillary looks on in disgust. Game Informer e August 2000 57 ] : ré u] RESTA Y ~ eo Preview e Size: Unknown Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure e Special Features: 4 Playable Characters; Over 120 Minutes of CG Sequences; 60 Enemy Types; Over 800 Camera Angles; Improved Inventory System; New Weapons; Replay Spawns Different Enemy Set e Created by: Kronos Digital Entertainment for Eidos Interactive Available: 4th Quarter for PlayStation 55% Complete a Hana Reveals All in Cyber Prequel! 7 For those of you who trekked all the way through the first Fear Effect adventure, you know a sequel featuring all three characters would be incredibly difficult to pull off. Instead of concocting a solution to several plot problems, Kronos Digital Entertainment has taken the safe path and woven a new story set in the not-so-distant past. Joining the ranks of the George Lucas-type prequel, Fear Effect: Retro Helix showcases the early adventures of Hana Tsu-Vachel, Royce Glas, and Jakob Decourt. It will also introduce Rain Qin, Hana’s “bestest” friend. The question is, why isn’t Rain in the original Fear Effect? We can't wait to find out! IRO HE LAN BE Puzzles Menu Management Cinematics In our early look at the follow up, we can see that Kronos has clearly added several new puzzle concepts to the mix. Most of the puzzles will probably make you pull your hair out, or if you're already bald, buy a strategy guide. With over 120 minutes of computer-generated With the game set within a widescreen frame, Kronos cutscenes, you'll be seeing a whole lot of Hana, her utilizes the dead space on the top and bottom of the screen revealing clothing, and her battle against Rain's evil twin to display stats and item management. In the sequel, the sister, Mist. menus will be improved to be more user friendly. Let It Rain Name: Rain Qin Profession: Assassin Known Facts: Other than the fact that she bears a look similar to Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager, not much is known Kronos has developed over 60 differ- old ones once stood, creating what we If you're not solving a puzzle, then about little ol! Rainy Poo. She has a sister ent enemy types each with unique Al. believe will be a second quest just like you're probably hunting for an item. Just named Mist, and we heard that she may Hopefully, this time they'll hear gun shots the one in the original NES classic, The like the last adventure, this quest is have a brother named Fog. Actually, we fired ten feet away. After beating the Legend of Zelda. This time, a good heavy on exploration, and of course, made that last one up. Funny though. game, new enemies will appear where majority of the enemies are mechanical. locked doors that require specific keys. : PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action/Adventure © Special Features: 16 Levels; 6 Multiplayer Arenas; Real-Time Cutscenes; New Weapons & Inventory Items; 3 First-Person Split‘Screen Modes; New Enemies; Music by Static X; Whaaaassuup! e Created by: N-Space & 3D Realms for GT Interactive e Available: Late July for PlayStation a “op GT Interactive Drops : 80% Complete f Lara Croft was the game geek’s ultimate fanta- sy woman in the nineties, then Duke Nukem was his id fantasy run amok. An ironic riff on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator persona, Duke looked like Max Headroom on steroids while spouting laconic one-liners that someone found in a dumpster behind the set of a Bruce Willis movie. Of course, what separated this muscle-bound killing machine from his competition was his winning way with the ladies. At long last, the Duke has returned to the PlayStation; and if you haven’t already guessed by the title, Planet of the Babes finds Duke knee-deep in imperiled cheesecake. Planet of the Babes pits Duke against a host of nasty alien invaders who have laid waste to our beloved blue planet, executing most of the native populace in the process. As further proof of Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” axiom, the only survivors of this genocide are a gaggle of buxom beauties who have been enslaved by the alien conquerors. It’s up to Duke to save the babes, and if he succeeds, he will be rewarded with the task of repopulating the earth with the newly liberated vixens. Talk about incentive! If that doesn’t get your heart pumping, perhaps Duke’s new arsenal of weapons will. Grenade launchers, flame throwers - Duke’s got ‘em all - but the crown jewel in his palette of destruction is his gold-plated Desert Eagle. You're going need every bit of firepower you can get your hands on, as Planet of the Babes is teeming with enemies ranging from gigantic gorillas to vile pigs dressed as...tee hee...cops (get it?). Planet of the Babes owes a considerable debt to the Tomb Raider series, with its emphasis on exploration and the love-it-or-hate-it control scheme that Ms. Croft patented. However, expansive levels, real-time cutscenes, and Duke’s brand of “charm” ensure that this iteration of the Duke legacy is a captivating experience. “You complete me.” N-Space has added some action-hero flair to the familiar formula through some killer combat sequences. Early in the game, Duke takes command of a laser cannon to blast an enemy spaceship out of the sky. Later on, the big There’s nothing like a clean headshot. guy straps on a jet pack and takes to the air himself. } Although it was unjustly criticized, GI loved Duke Nukem: A Time to Kill for its addictive multiplayer mode. Keeping this in mind, GT has implemented six two-player battle arenas into Planet of the Babes. Players will be able to stay in the third-person, or zoom into first-person for a more traditional shooter experience. While we are definitely excited about Planet of the Babes, we feel obligated to warn our readers about one potentially disturbing aspect of the game: Duke’s new fascination with America’s most ubiquitously annoying catchphrase, - “Whaaasssuup!” Oh Duke, how could you? ‘yg p | was on the men’s gymnastics team ir in high school.” Se ae ee a SPRE Taw ON DE Game Informer * August 2000. 59 What would you do if you were a god? Would you eliminate disease and hunger? Turn into a sway isit the ladies? Perhaps you could use divine intervention to keep ‘N Sync at the top of the charts for years to come. Sure, gods of today might have time to work on such things, but for members of the Norse pantheon it was nothing but work, work, work. Just ask Valkyrie, the appropriately named heroine of Valkyrie Profile. Odin himself declares her one of the three goddesses in charge of all fate. Ragnarok, a war between the gods that marks the end of all existence, is imminent. Valkyrie needs to travel to | Midgard (that’s earth to you and me) and gather strong souls for the fight. e Dead Valkyrie flies around the world looking for places to explore. Towns and dungeons are explored in very similar ways in Valkyrie Profile, both being 2D side-scrolling affairs. While | you're wandering about the beautifully detailed scenery, | arrows will appear at the top of the screen when it’s possible | to travel to different areas by walking to the background or | foreground. Fully exploring towns is a piece of cake, but reaching every niche in dungeons requires serious platforming skills. Chests and bags are often hidden in high places, and Valkyrie must use her ability to shoot ice crystals to reach | them. Blocks of ice can be formed on the ground to provide _ elevation, or formed on walls to create a makeshift ladder. Ice | crystals can also be slashed apart, then the pieces can be | picked up and stacked to create a mile-high pile. ai I thark you from the bottom of Once Valkyrie arrives at Midgard, her first order of business is to locate suitable warrior spirits known as Einherjar. To find such souls, players simply press Start while floating above the overworld map. Performing this Spiritual Concentration will reveal which town new party members can be found in or which dungeon to train them in. Valkyrie can then fly from place to place, swooping down to witness the details of people’s tragic deaths and recruiting their spirits for her party. SC Hoe delightful the gaping void in my soul Dialogue is often accompanied by a Spiritual Concentration allows Valkyrie to voice-over. find new party members. Arrows tell you when there’s somewhere Create ice crystals to get to else to go. out-of-the-way places. T ke the Einherj thy of ding t | asgar Valke must led them mo bate waan | PAAVO CATION thin air. Good timing also earns gems that give more experience and allow players to attack more often. Rather than use the standard role-playing game formula for going up levels, Valkyrie Profile puts players in control of every aspect of character improvement. | When a new level is acquired, Capacity Points (CP) are | given to that character. CPs are used to increase proficiency in an ever-expanding list of skills. Want to be | able to counterattack? Get the skill. Want to have more hit points? It’s a skill. Need someone to heal damage during battle? You guessed it, it’s a skill. Skills are all Valkyrie needs to spend her CPs on, but 5 all her formerly human compatriots also need to spend some points on traits. These are the mortal hang-ups that are keeping them from ascending to Asgard. Spending CPs will decrease a character’s undesirable experience. Monsters wander in the dungeons, and running into them or slashing at them brings up the review combat screen. Up to four people can be in the party at one time, and each is assigned to a button on the PlayStation controller. When it’s the player’s turn, pressing the appropriate button will cause the assigned character to make a move. Characters can be made to attack one at a time in any order, in pairs, or all at once. Also, characters can eventually strike up to three times in one round. Timing is crucial, however, to make the most out of combat sequences. For example, if one character causes an enemy to fly into the air, a second attacker that came in too soon would swing at Size: 2 CD-ROMs e Style: 1-Player Action/RPG ¢ Special Features: Interactive Combat; Combos & Finishers; Platforming Dungeon Exploration; Item Creation; Skills & Traits; Combat & Cutscene Voice-Overs; Multiple Endings e Created by: Tri-Ace for Enix e Available: August for PlayStation 90% Complete A gauge at the bottom left of the screen rises every time characters score a hit against the same enemy. Pausing between strikes causes this gauge to lower, so once again timing is key to filling this bar. Why should you bother? Like in a fighting game, when this gauge is full the option opens up to do super attacks. These devastating assaults cause major damage, and best of all, if they do enough damage, the attack gauge can again be filled, allowing another party member to perform his or her super. This process can be continued until all characters have delivered their massive assaults, and is the key to defeating the game’s bosses. personality defects (such as Snobbery) or increase positive ones (such as Optimism). Once these characters ig ee | are sufficiently heroic, Valkyrie can remove them from the party and send them to the gods to fight the Yee, good fight. a05 That’s right, you actually have to remove your most powerful characters from the group to win the game and get the best ending. What's more, every time you leave a town or dungeon, a countdown to Ragnarok timer tells you exactly how much time you have left to accomplish your mission. There’s no casual leveling-up in this game! Another large departure from the RPG norm made by Valkyrie Profile is that there are no item or weapon shops anywhere, and nary a gold piece is earned in the entire game. Occasionally, items will be earned for a particularly well done combo, but for the most part any equipment needed must be created using raw divine power. Valkyrie begins the game with a limited amount of Materialize Points (MP), and a short list of items she can create. The more powerful the item, the more MP it costs to make. Pretty much any type of equipment - armor, weapons, accessories, and items - are made using MP. The only way to earn more MP is to transmutate extra items or send heroes up to Asgard. Transmutating items earns a mere pittance, while ascending Einherjar can pull in quite a few MP. Add to this the fact that weapons break quite often in combat, and you have yet another reason to power-up party members and send them knockin’ on heaven’s door. N AEN PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM Style: 1-Player Role-Playing Game e Special Features: 3,000 Frames of Animation for Each Party Character; Rendered & Hand-Drawn Graphics; Summon Dragons & Transformations; Story Branching; Agetec Fishing Controller Compatible " , j iain ° seein e Created by: Capcom With over 3,000 frames of animation designed specifically for each party character, the newest in the B e Available: September for PlayStation series hits the screen with av vd presentation rivaled by no one. The fourth installment also deploys new gameplay aspects, as 70% Complete too slowly have been laid to resi moving, keeping you on the every Step of the way. Capcom is one of the only developers clinging Breath of Fire IV is yet another reason why it should continue to do so for years to come. nif If you thought the fishing in of control, Capcom has delightful experience evel and addictive. Over 30 species can be caught and doci your records. You can even use Agetec’s fishing controller to make the experience — more real. Telling a story is one thing, but seeing it CE unfold through animated actions is an The combat chemistry is your standard After Ryu, the main character, encounters entirely different beast - one that Capcom RPG dish, featuring a few unique twists dragons across the land, he will gain the has tackled with flying colors in Breath of like secondary character back-up, a timed power to summon them at will. Fire IV. combo system, and magic dragon transformations. it ‘Sadly, exploration has been greatly toned In Zelda-esque fashion, each character is equipped with a unique power, allowing the down, and is now based on a tiny map party to pass certain obstacles. For example, Ryu slashes with a sword, Nina soars with lines leading to different locals. into the sky, and Cray pushes heavy objects. il t Mage Coo 3 MoSEL5 w S12 WI2BE a aga mp 1233 ME By tapping into his AP source, Ryu's „he feels the burn... molecular structure changes... e Size: 1 CD-ROM o Style: 1 or 2-Player Action/Shooter e Special Features: New Races; Ships Include New Borg Spike; Voices by Pat ric Stewart & Michael Dorn; Running on Colony Wars’ Engine; Over 20 Mission S; Turret Mini-Missions Created by: Warthog for Activision e Available: September for PlayStation 85% Complete Play It Long & Prosper . Game Informer editor and Star Trek fanatic, Erik Reppen, transtormed himself into a Vulcan just as many Gothic youths shed their humanity and become vampires. Asked what his thoughts were on Activision's new Star Trek: Invasion game, Erik said, “I show no emotion, but | will say this game tickles me in places that no tribble ever could.” After threatening to place the Genesis Device where the light don't shine, Erik proceeded to replicate a fresh pair of boxers, then eventually spilled the beans on this space sim. bes: NCD AG TENN A COMEAT SRN TURRETS: E On a few defense missions, tł player ascends a flagship-mounted tu A 3 z ret and opens fire on a swarm of e ns Fearing the wrath of the Star Trek nation, Before you can kick Borg booty, you Running on the Colony Wars engine, mies. Star Trek this is not! Star Wa rs developer Warthog has styled every inch of must enroll in several mind-numbing training Invasion has already proven itself to have the js! “Great shot, kid! Thatwas one #1 the game to look just like it came out of aNext exercises made up of flying through rings, best gameplay in the console galaxy. Combat million!” What next, a trench run? Generation episodé. The backend is crafted target practice, and convoy assignments. has been improved with a lock-on system and pata = Z identically to that of the show’s computer. an'evasive roll. ; AGRE SERS E SHIELDS We couldn’t end this preview wi tk out first showing one of the magra if = p a IIR cent explosions in the game Instead of just blasting the player large phaser blast streaks across space, Destroying enemy shielding is one of the whenever you blow away an enemy, vessel without warning, Warthog has an infrared target laser is fired. A split” difficult hurdles players are faced with. To blinding light, fire streaks, and satis devised an interesting system giving the second later, the actual shot caresses -signify its density, the shield changes from faction soon follow. player the chance to maneuver. Before the screen. -green (max) to red (low), then disappears. SHIPS D Joining the voices of Patric! Playing a Star Trek game without the Enterprise is like eating a cheeseburger Steward (Picard) and Michael Dorr without the cheese. Yet as odd as it may | (Worf), the player will encounter a hO S seem, Activision is confident that players | ofaliens, including the Borg, Romulan S will adjust to the smaller vessels. After all, and Klingons. Pictured to the left is «& mammoth Borg Cube. Along with th i: these fighters are fitted with enough fire- power to drop a Romulan Warbird and fearful vessel, Warthog had the fre € even a Borg Cube. As the player pro- dom to create a new Borg vehic E« gresses through the game, more vessels called The Spike. will become selectable. Pa Breaking AW ayok qt Capcom is ati new dredi with Din A step that may prove to differentiate it from its ig Who’s Who? OPP R OOOOH e eo Dore re re Dero renee berereseeeusoeresore Regina 4 The star of the first game will again be the main * character in this adventure. This voluptuous heroine with no last name is a hard- ened gal with tons of dino slaying experience. Dylan When we first saw the game, we assumed that this “| guy was actually Gail from | the first game. Even though this tough guy could be Gail's brother, he will actual- ly aid Regina in Dino Crisis 2. You will play as Dylan in part of this adventure. 22222 We only had a brief glimpse of this mysterious character. Could it be the Rick from the original? Or maybe it is one of Dr. Kirk's diabolical colleagues. Whatever the case, this dark figure may 1| prove to be the link to solving this grand adventure. Change in Operation We Oe OOOO a ewe reece eee c ee ens eresenseeeressesecesesseccceecee Dino Crisis was a carbon copy of the game system found in Resident Evil, but there are major changes in the makeup of Dino 2. Although there will be a number of puzzles requiring you to do such things as open a locked door, Dino 2 will be much zæ More action oriented. The game | system will award you points for killing dinosaurs. For example, tak- SO } ing out a raptor will award you 100 : RESULT points, whereas a boss dino like an a 4 ba ee allosaurus awards 5,000. More i Room TOTAL 5 points are also awarded for multiple go 205025 | kills in a given time frame. This combo system is an interesting twist, and you soon develop a strat- egy to move through an area quick- ly while taking out as many foes as possible. At the end of a sec- tion, your kill tally is accumu- lated, and extra points are awarded for taking no damage and multiplied by the number of kills you made. i Another interesting change has taken place in the control scheme. Never before in a survival horror game have you been able to move and fire your weapon at the same time, but in Dino Crisis 2 you can. In fact the new combo system makes moving and firing a necessity. Even so, this is a welcome addition. Lastly, Dino 2 has changed in graphical appearance to more closely mimic the look of Resident Evil. The first game featured rendered backgrounds, whereas Dino 2 has RE’s distinctive painted backdrops. This allows Dino 2’s creators '| to add more action on the screen, which means packs of two or more raptors at once — or even more, smaller dinosaurs. 64 Game Informer © August 2000 O MITRAL creo SERVICE Ž Go +o the Dino Store eae -$ LA i Ganna ee A Preview system isn’t just for high | he z scores. The points awarded $ PLEN e Size: 1 CD-ROM to the player are actuall ~ L * Style: 1 Player Action/Adventure | used to arta a | = ar eMATEST. e Special Features: 2 Playable Characters; | and health at conveniently et f etl Fs Primary & Secondary Weapons; New located computer terminals. @ BACK 2E Battle System; Wide Assortment of Much like the Save termi- . Armaments; Weapon & Health Purchases; nals in the initial game, Dual Shock Compatible these computers can save | _ e Created by: Capcom sel crows and will offer e Available: October 24 for PlayStation you a selection of new weapons, med packs, and a © ece (75% Complete There will be no ammo pickups in this game, rather ammo is acquired by | | recharging your weapon at the computer. Weapons can also be modified at —hY ey noae 2 d NO S SACK s. these terminals to hold more ammo. Dino Killers por er rer reer ree eee eee eee rere cere eee ee eee eee eee ee eee Dino 2 will boast more and more destructive weapons in its < arsenal. The game will also make = use of main and sub weapons. Each character will be able to "| equip a main weapon - such as one that fires bullets - as well as a secondary, sub weapon such as a Cy SETS | knife. In the short demo we were Tian Sens “-. provided with, Regina carries an electric prod that looks like a short lightsabre. Using the triangle button will wing this device at a dinosaur and knock it to the ground. Similarly, Dylan carries a machete. These secondary devices are not only weapons, but can be used for such things as opening certain doors or uncovering secret items. As for the complete arsenal, the demo gave us a glimpse of standard armaments like a pistol and shotgun. We also got a chance to try a machine gun, flame-thrower, and huge anti-tank rifle. Also worth noting are some weapons that ", weren't accessible. We are not exactly sure what they are, but one looks like a rocket launcher and another — WEAPON SERVICE looks like something out of Aliens. F Heal Your Wounds Mixing healing concoctions are now a thing of the past. There are distinctive med packs that increase your vitality by various levels. Again, there are the Resuscitation Packs that will add additional continues if you die. There is also a standard heal pack that will cure poison. PlayStation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1-Player Action e Special Features: Wall Crawling: Web Swinging; 3 Web Weapons; Narrative Voice- Overs by Stan Lee; Superhero Cameos; Training, Records, & Gallery Modes; Classic Spidey Quips e Created by: Neversoft for Activision e Available: Late Summer for PlayStation 75% Complete In the comic book world, Spider-Man is about as hot as central Alaska in January. On the other hand, the character seems to rear his web-head every five years or so in the video game industry - and each time he has met with resounding success. Wisely intending to reiterate Peter Parker’s past sales, current license holder Activision has given the development chore to those skateboarding wunderkinds, Neversoft. Money sense, tingling! In classic comic fashion, Spider-Man is faced with a cadre of terrible dilemmas. Someone is impersonating him and committing crimes; Venom has captured his girlfriend, Mary Jane; and Rhino, Scorpion, and Doctor Octopus are up to their no-goodnik ways. Between every mission, surprisingly well voice-acted cutscenes sling out story details on the ever- complicating plot. Stan Lee himself even has a few voice-overs, introducing the beginning of the game’s chapters. Not only will this be Spidey’s first PlayStation appearance, it’s also the first time he’s been in a fully 3D game. With a character like Spider-Man, it’s easy to imagine the numerous design headaches. As per usual, Neversoft has risen to the challenge. Outdoor scenarios place Spidey among the towering buildings of the city skyline. While racing to the Daily Bugle or dodging missiles from an overzealous helicopter, Spidey can swing from building to building and climb along their sides. If he ventures too low, however, he gets lost in the mysterious low-lying fog. Once inside a building, players can climb and swing on practically everything. Thanks to a highly intuitive camera, arrows that point out nearby enemies (simulating Spider Sense), and ceilings that turn transparent when crawled along, the action never becomes too complicated. There's a lot going on in this game, but luckily Spider-Man doesn’t have to face it alone. Along the way, both Black Cat and Daredevil chat with Spidey in the cutscenes, and offer to help him out. The way these two move and swing away leads us to believe that perhaps they are hidden playable characters. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be too difficult to give Venom the same treatment. In this chapter, S| along the skyline while dodging the 66 | Game intorm Playstation Preview Size: 1 CD-ROM © Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure e Special Features: Based on Anime Movie; Eerily Familiar Survival Horror Gameplay; 2 Playable Characters; 3 Spells; Combo | Moves; A Talking Left Hand; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Created by: Victor for Jaleco e Available: October for PlayStation 60% Complete Obey Thy HAND ere in North America, many are probably familiar with Vampire Hunter D through the į popular anime video of the same name that’s been around for years now. Oddly enough, Jaleco’s upcoming Vampire Hunter D game for PlayStation isn’t based on this | movie, but on a new film that was released in Japan last year starring the same character. Fans | of the original needn’t fear, for the game features the same brooding human/vampire A io x = = ; àf crossbreed they're familiar with. In the game, D is hired by a noble to rescue his daughter who has been taken to a vampire’s . castle. Players begin in. the foyer of this large estate, and soon meet D’s right...er, left-hand l k | man - the parasite that’s formed a face on his palin. While all your hand may be good for is | choking things, D’s can give him advice and cast spells.A green meter in the lower left corner _ of the screen shows how much magical power the hand has. If the gauge is running a little low, the hand can also swallow the souls of weakened enemies to recharge its power. In most réspects, Vampire Hunter D plays very much like Resident Evil. The controls, movement, camera angles, and puzzles will feel very familiar to those who have played any survival horror game. Other than the handy features mentioned previously, and the option to (Left Hand save anywhere, the only gameplay distinction is in its combat chemistry. Since D uses a sword ha care nne iD aa cuale bes rather than guns, combos and hack n’ slash take precedence over ammo conservation, In I've never felt anything like addition to a health meter, players must also keep an eye on vitality. Since he’s part vampire, it before. PSEA . . . 5 blood invigorates D.Whenever a strike of his causes blood to splatter, this meter rises and D’s blows become stronger. Should vitality ever be Š : diminished to nothing, D’s combat ability becomes “Hold me! Kiss me!” rs A SR greatly reduced. For Vampire Hunter D fans, the impending arrival of this game in the States should be a more exciting prospect than getting a bag full of candy on Halloween. Lord knows how excited we’d be about an Ogenki Clinic game. a z { E = : Preset camera angles determine the mood like in Resident Evil. ie, 75 Game Informer * August 2000 67 ‘PlayStation Preview Size: 1 CD-ROM Style: 1 or 2-Player Action e Special 10+ Characters/Vehicles; 8+ Arenas; Individual FMV Endings for Every Character; Each Vehicle Possesses Unique Attack; Level-Specific Weapons e Created by: LuxoFlux for LucasArts q Wipe Than, DTE Out. All of Them. © Available: Fall for PlayStation The totally fat Jabba the Hutt is holding another totally phat tournament. The galaxy’s most feared pilots (and Lando) are putting their lives on the line to become the champion of vehicular combat. The losers will pack their bags and return to Tatooine where they'll scrape bantha dung off of Mos Espa’s streets. $ Demolition is one of the wildest Star Wars games made. It combines timelines, unleashes new characters, F and offers the best vehicular gameplay known to man, alien, and whatever crossbreed you can fathom! = $ 75% Complete Do you know who this fine lookin’ lass is? Of course you do...right? After all, she was in Episode |. Where? On a ledge during the podrace for a whopping two seconds. Her name is Aurra Sing, one of the galaxy’s most feared bounty hunters. Her prey? Jedi. Aurra collects the lightsabers of the Jedi she defeats. Early rumors indicate that Aurra may be one of the big players in Episode Il. Some say Boba Fett and Aurra are very close. Could the fabled wookie | braids on Boba’s arm actually be braids of 4 fallen Jedi? Whoa... Demolition is running on the popular Vigilante 8 engine. What made this engine so special? Well, the vehicle physics are second to none, and everything within the environments can be completely destroyed (excellent!). Just like in V8, every vehicle features an exclusive weapon function, and every level has a hidden power of some sort. Right now, LuxoFlux is tackling the task of figuring out how to operate each of the vehicles and make them appear as though they are actually in the environments. When we saw the game at E3, the Rancor looked as though it were floating rather than running. Hopefully, they’ll iron this out before release. Steering away ee the mythical side of the Force, LuxoFlux and LucasArts stretched their imagination to the far reaches of space and concocted a playful group of characters that are obscure, yet very intriguing. Below is a list of the characters and their vehicles. There are more hidden...and from what we hear, we'll see Leia on a speederbike. | | | Character Vehicle | SS SP AUIT SING i ciate rie va. <5 e ee E coa Skiff EREET ERE E I aT AEE I LEI e Boba FONR ae a raa een Jetpack Demolition’s gameplay spans across all ° Cloud City (floating platforms) e General Otto nonu c ees eee ucviueuur geen AT-ST four movies, invading familiar scenes like ° Death Star Il (surface) MIARE fc sa e E RASE cc creamed Rancor the ice planes of Hoth and the city of ° Hoth (remains of Rebel base) 2 PUOWIS (JUO): -a a a ere e E Podracer Naboo. Here’s a listing of the sites, but ° Kessel (asteroid surface) * Quagga (Wookie) ee AAT again keep in mind, LucasArts is planning ° Naboo (city) * Tamtel Skreej (a.k.a. Lando) ............6004 Desert Skiff { to add more. Dagobah, perhaps? * Tatooine (Mos Eisley) ONDE Gha ia ee tented Snowspeeder * Tatooine (Dune Sea) “Wade Vox ere... ess X-34 Landspeeder * Yavin IV (Ruined Jedi temple) * Wittin & Battle Droid . „STAP Playstation Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM ¢ Style: 1 to 8-Player Sports ¢ Special Features: GM Mode; Import Plays From GameBreaker; Play Editor; 4 Difficulties With Custom Settings; Commentary by Dick Enberg & Phil Simms; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Created by: Red Zone for 989 Sports e Available: August 15 for PlayStation 85% Complete G A M. E D A Y has been with the PlayStation every season since the system launched in 1995. It has grown and evolved, introducing such innovations as Total Control Passing and polygonal graphics. Even so, GameDay has always been overshadowed by the PlayStation football king, Madden. With the football focus now shifting toward the PlayStation 2, many believe that GameDay 2001 may be the last for Sony's original machine. We recently had a chance to play an early version of the new GameDay and can't deny that the end might be near. The development staff for GameDay promises a number of improvements and new additions to this version in areas such as Al and other options. These may prove to be empty promises as the version we played seemed almost identical to last year’s game. Nonetheless, 989 Sports claims it will offer the “best graphics ever,” the “smartest computer opponents,” the removal of some of the more ludicrous break-dancing celebrations, and a “refined play editor’ Most new features in GameDay 2001 seem to be modifications of existing modes, but one entirely new feature will be in-game help menus that are specifically designed with the newbie player in mind. In that same vein, 989 changed the advanced moves. Instead of holding the L2 button and a corresponding button, players can just double-tap a button to get moves such as the dive over the pile or double spin. Clearly, this version of GameDay 2001 is far too early in development for us to pass judgment on what the final product will be. However, we will point out that if you enjoyed last year’s game, this game will be just as good. Will it be better? The jury is still out. I ee a ; ~ E Game Informer August 2000 69 ) $ LALU bap r otal 2 Preview e Size: 1 DVD-ROM è Style: 1-Player RPG e Special Features: 2 Playable Characters; Plenty of Attribute-Enhancing Weapon & Armor Pieces; Tweakable Attributes; 3D Real-Time Action; Traps/Puzzles e Created by: From Software for Agetec © Available: October 26 for PlayStation 75% Complete Fagin pparently the censors didn’t want you to see something Sharami was momentarily distracted in battle 4 | FA Be “ = i he Flashing Fly. : = : by Jimmy the Flashing Fly ee ae : aos aera PlayStation 2 Preview e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Sports e Special Features: 12 Major League Soccer Teams; World Cup, League, Exhibition, & Training Modes; Side-Line Bench Animations; FIFA Series Stats & Licensed Players e Created by: EA Sports ¢ Available: October 26 for PlayStation 2 90% Complete With the PlayStation 2 enjoying a healthy life in Japan, EA Sports has already jumped onto the scene with its first sports game. Known in Japan as FIFA Soccer World Championship, the game will get a slight overhaul for its U.S. release in October. Along with the addition of the 12 Major League Soccer teams, the U.S. game will be known as FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer. And yes, this game is a heck of a lot like the PlayStation game released last year. We got our hands on the Japanese version and we are here to bring you some details. ROP b= 0 TRAP % ABNP 0-0 723-2 on Game Informer + August 2000 77] STAR. WARS | P] SOLDE ie ; ÇTARFIGHIER wA The Trade Federation invasion begins.... „and the Gungan’s are screwed! LucasArts’ long running and highly acclaimed flight simulator ,. series has never escaped the PC sector of space. After hearing rumors of a luxurious new system, LucasArts has packed its bags and is bringing its goods to planet PlayStation 2, ‘where a r long and healthy‘relationship with its inhabitants is eXpected. If ‘ you’ve had the chance to*immerse yourself in the PC product, namely the X-Wing series, you know what kind of magic LucasArts can work with this genre. Not having the luxury of dozens of buttons on a keyboard could result in a more simplistic arcade-styled game, but from what we’ve seen thus These amazing model detail and beautiful “fi ji ji iam | H H terrain texturing, LucasArts will bring most of the » far, LucasArts is trying to jam as much geek-ness into this game So and eatae to life via eate clipe The as it can before the upcoming fall release. story is loosely based on the events seen iñ The Phantom Menace, but unfolds | through the eyes of three different pilots: Rhys (pronounced Rees) Dallows, Vana Sage, and Nym. Rhys is a rookie pilot with a gigantic ego problem. He thinks he’s the greatest there ever was. His vehicle of choice is the N-1 Starfighter. Vana is a Naboo expatriate who treks across the | galaxy as a gun for hire. Her vessel of choice is the Guardian, which is equipped with stealth capabilities, tracking devices, and powerful ` weaponry. Nym is a quiet little guy who makes his home on the outskirts of the Naboo system. He pilots the Havoc, a ship fitted with bombs and a rotating turret gun. Starfighter takes place during the festivities within the film, The Phantom Menace. Since only a handful of vehicles were shown, LucasArts has designed several new ships to co-exist in this prequel era. Of course, the Naboo Starfighter will make a triumphant return, but the rest of the ships % we’ve seen are new to the SWU. Rumor has it, you'll even get to pilot an artillery speeder. On the other hand, the Trade Federation and rowdy space denizens will attack in over 50 different vessels including the newly created Protector, Scarab, and Dagger. 72 i % “4 v # Game Informer * August 2000 _ | PlayStation 2 — Preview e Size: Unknown e Style: 1-Player Action/Shooter e Special Features: 20 Playable Vehicles; 3 Pilots; 50 Enemy Vehicles; 14 Environments Inspired by The Phantom Menace; Real-Time Cutscenes; Unique Targeting & HUD e Created by: LucasArts e Available: Fall for PlayStation 2 75% Complete With aie expanded power of the PlayStation 2 # hordne LucasArts has transformed the face of console flight sims by incorporating sophisticated combat within an easy-to-use arcade control scheme. Each of the 20 plus vehicles features unique attributes and abilities. Some may be more powerful while others are more agile. As you can clearly see in the two pictures shown, targeting is implemented very nicely, and the player has a weapons and shields display up at all times. Of course, seeing the details of your vehicle is fine, but the first-person view is equipped with a handy 3D map on the HUD. The most unique aspect of Starfighter’s combat chemistry is the ability to zoom in and target enemies through a lens. This is performed very similarly to sniping in a game like Syphon Filter or Perfect Dark. es on this effect-heavy ex Game Informer * August 2000 73 ¢ Size: 1 GD-ROM è Style: 1 to 4-Player Action/Fighting ¢ Special Features: 1-On-1, Arcade, Original, & Adventure Modes; 5 Stages & 2 Bosses; Interactive Environments; 12 Characters; Over 120 Items Including 65 Weapons; 2 Gigantic Bosses e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Capcom iii 4 » dii i sii e Available: Now for Dreamcast he first Power Stone was a treat for as Dreamcast owners, featuring unique 3D Bottom Line: 8 5 fighting in interactive environments that e delivered barroom brawl-styled action to fight- ing fans across the nation. In true Capcom fashion, not even a year later a new, bigger, and badder sequel is ready to hit the streets. To keep it easy, the marketing geniuses at Capcom came up with the apt title, Power Stone 2. Armed with the same furious action, this sequel’s big improvements are mostly in the environments, which are much larger than the first and feature more interactive items. Some of the more interesting stages include the airship (which explodes halfway through your fight and sends you plummeting to the earth, fighting all the way), the dojo (where you must complete a series of jumps as the action moves from courtyard to inside), or the tomb (where the floor falls out from underneath you and then you are chased down a corridor by a huge boulder). All the original cast is back plus four new combat- ants named Pete, Julia, Gourmand, and Accel. Unlike the original, Power Stone 2 offers four-player simultaneous action in multiplayer to give all these characters a workout; but if you don’t feel like going mano-a-mano with your compadres, there’s plenty to do in the one-player game which gives you an oppor- tunity to collect, find, and create new items for your characters. All four game modes in Power Stone take basical- ly the same path of two stages, huge boss, one stage, and then an even bigger boss. While the modes don't offer a lot of variation, there is lots to do and collect; and if you like fighting games, the mayhem and action that Power Stone 2 delivers will certainly entertain ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 8.5 Graphics 8 Sound 8 Playability 8 Entertainment 8 OVERALL JAY THE GONZO GAMER Concept 8.5 Graphics 8.75 Sound 8.25 Playability 7.5 Entertainment 9 OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 9 Graphics 9 Sound 8.5 Playability 8.75 Entertainment 8.5 Gai “| was a fan of the original, and the sequel doesn’t disappoint. Sure, | still think the levels are too small and the game too short, but there is just some- thing about running around this game’s interactive levels beating the crap out of each other, jumping off walls, and smashing up the arena like Motley Crüe does hotel rooms that | just find so pri- mal and fun. The new levels are very cool, though | wish there were a lot more, along with maybe some secret rooms, but | guess Capcom is saving that for the next sequel. Until that arrives, Power Stone 2 is a solid brawler that will appease fans of the first and maybe garner some new followers.” “Power Stone 2 is the bigger and tougher brother of Super Smash Brothers. There’s endless four-player entertain- ment, but unlike SSB there are actually things to accomplish in the one-player game as well. It could just be the obses- sive collector in me, but | was totally involved in mixing items and earning nice apparel for Wang-Tang (best name ever in a fighting game). The fighting is pretty far from the deepest thing you'll ever see in your life - but to be fair, a plethora of but- ton combinations would be wasted on a game this chaotic. There’s no time for special moves when you're jumping in tanks, grabbing stones, and leaping over traps. You might already have a fighting game in your Dreamcast library, but | guarantee it’s nothing like Power Stone 2.” “For all you ‘stoners out there, Capcom has conjured a powerful new fix that’ll toy with your mind and fill your veins with an unlimited dose of competitiveness. In my humble opinion, the original Power Stone is still one of the best Dreamcast games available. The sequel is even better. Combining spastic four-player melee with Power Stone’s innovative gameplay trans- forms an already addictive experience into one of the most exhilarating pleasures known to man. Implementing the Item Shop gives this game the longevity the previous incarnation lacked, and the newly designed levels give the game a taste of the unexpected. To my disap- pointment, the overall challenge has been tamed significantly. However, if you have friends roaming your house, multiplayer is the only mode you need. Brilliant!” Ogposites Attract “Super Magnetic Neo is a surprisingly charming game that may look kiddie on the outside, but is a hardcore platformer through and through. Genki’s ingenious use of polarity to create multiple routes past obstacles or to hide bonus Pinki icons makes this game unlike any other. Besides the magnetic push and pull that must be completed to conquer a level, there are also harrowing old-school plat- forming elements to keep you busy, which when you add it all up makes Super Magnetic Neo a fantastic game. | thought Sonic Adventure was neat, but if you want action/platforming on the Dreamcast look no further than Super Magnetic Neo; he’s definitely the best thing yet.” “It’s not often that something new comes along, especially in the platformer catego- ry, but here it is. The minds behind Super Magnetic Neo have taken a simple premise and used it to create one of the more challenging games in recent Dreamcast memory. Don’t be fooled by Neo's cutesy looks. You'll quickly develop, as | did, a real love/hate relationship with the little blockhead. Having to make split- second, life or death magnetic color choic- es will drive you crazy, but it will also keep you coming back for more. The only prob- lems with this game are its occasional awkward camera angles and its short adventure length. In a way, though, I’m glad the game doesn’t have twice as many levels. If it was much longer, I'd have had to break something to alleviate my frus- tration.” “My expectations were merely adequate, and my excitement for the game couldn't have been any lower. For crying out loud, the character looks like he should be endorsing a sugar-filled cereal! Above and beyond this, the colorful backgrounds have a toddler's appeal. Boy, was | wrong. This is without a doubt one of the most sophisti- cated platformers on the market. Incorporating magnetism with Crash Bandicootesque gameplay sounds ridicu- lous, but actually it works very well. Along with the stresses of difficult pitfalls and cun- ning enemies, a new form of tension-filled play comes from mastering the ins and outs of polarized magnetic fields. The way itworks is actually quite brilliant. The look of the game is a tad too childish, but the gameplay solely targets platforming gods who seek an incredibly difficult challenge.” ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 9.5 Graphics 8 Sound 8 Playability 8.25 Entertainm 9 EXD OVERALL THE GONZO GAMER Concept 9 Graphics 8.75 Sound 8 Playability 9 Entertainm 8 REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 8.5 Graphics 8 Sound 7.5 Playability 8.5 Dreamcast Review Size: 1 GD-ROM © Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: Innovative Magnetic Gameplay; 4 Worlds With 5 Levels Each; Alternate Routes in Each Stage; Collectible Bonus Cards; Crash Bandicoot-esque Race & Escape Levels ¢ Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Genki for Crave Entertainment ting of a Beastie Boys song, yet delivers the sophisticated edge of a science fiction thriller. Unfortunately, you won’t run across any creepy sunglasses-wearing goons calling you Mr. Anderson, nor will you stumble upon a super hot girlie in skin- Ss Magnetic Neo. The name has the clever tight black leather. Super Magnetic Neo is actually one of the most bizarre games to come along in recent years. For a change, this is actually a very good thing. The main character, Neo, is a robot who has the strange ability to summon magnet- ic hands from the top of his head. With this power he can control south and north polarized magnetic fields. Basically, he can attract and repel objects by intensifying his magnetic fields. With this talent of sorts, Genki has sculpted the gameplay to include as much magnetic activity as possible. It’s up to the player to learn how to use both north and south fields. Since magnetism is invisible to the human eye, Genki has color Coated it so that everything with south magnetism is blue and ; everything with north magnetism is red. Players will also have to determine if they want to attract the object or repel it. This aspect alone is more than enough to confuse and frustrate gamers. In crucial situations with perfect timing a necessity, players will be forced to summon a magnetic field. If they choose incorrectly, they’ll repel off the object they wanted to Stick to and plummet to their death. The entire game is filled with such instances, but not everything is constructed around this. Genki, obviously inspired by Crash Bandicoot, has developed a number of different gameplay scenarios ranging from riding a pony (instead of the Warthog), and fleeing from a firewall (instead of a boulder). The overworld warp room is also very Crash-esque as are the level goals and checkpoints. While childish in appearance, Magnetic Neo is actually one of the most perplexing and challenging platformers to release in the last five years. The magnetic puzzles will drive you to the brink of insanity, and the side dose of platforming will eat at your soul. He’s cute, but believe us, when Neo doesn’t accom- plish specific tasks, we want to take a machete to his head and splatter his magnetic goo everywhere - a sign of a great game. Available: Now for Dreamcast Bottom Line: 85 a! From the top of his head, — Neo can unleash both north Z Size: 1 GD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting e Special Features: 3-on-3 Gameplay; 24 Characters (32 More Hidden); Item Shop Containing New Costumes & Characters; 3 Ism-Style Meters; New Polygonal Backgrounds; Standard & Super Cancels e Replay Value: Moderately High e Created by: Capcom e» Available: Now for Dreamcast Bottom Line: Unique to the SF heritage, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 doesn't utilize medium attacks. Head to the Shop to purchase new characters, arenas, and costumes. g 001938209 (TD) @ a pee cx ees = se! VITAL ae00000 hanneling deeper into the heart and soul o ‘tec nology, the video game-industry grows more powerful with each passing day. It all started with a small pixel moving across the screen. Now, over one million — -polygons.can be displayed at once without any slowdown or flicker. In the next few months, console gaming will stretch- s cybernetic arm into the next dimension — the dimension of online gaming. Underdog Sega is the first to attempt the— ‘online revolution in America, but thus far, the Internet experience- has been dry and empty, not worth a-second took. In Japa Séga’s Internet empire has blossomed into a beautiful thing.. One of the most impressive online games is Marvel Vs. Capcom ~ 2. Not only can players trade characters via the web, they- can also compete head-to-head. Initially, Capcom planned. | ing this game Stateside without any changes — meaning we'd finally-have the chance to battle fellow amag: fanatics across the nation. -Unfortunately; Sega is still struggling withits U:S. online- operations: Instead of waiting for Sega to iron out the kinks, Capcom was forced to remove the online capabilities from: the U.S. version. On top of this, the arcade scene has not been as fruitful as it once was, and once again, Capcom was forced to remove the arcade link-up as well- Thankfully, the Sarees end here and nothing else has = been removed: 5 ~ The game still weighs in = a whopping 56 characters. featuring several new faces and a hearty crop of familiar fighters. Other than slightly pixelated character details, and a completely different pallet of starting chatacters, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is arcade perfect. Each match-is composed: of three-on-three battles. Super and standard cancels can be performed at whim. Tag characters can-be-summoned- for a quick fix. Best of all, almost every special in the game + can be linked into gigantic combos reaching to an amazing — -100 hits plus: : = Some people complain about Capcom “making the same game over and over again. However, for those of us- who take the time to play the games, we know each and every one is different in its:own unique way. — u Gss Sis ‘BUTTON ie By performing cancels, the player can link together huge combo Siringo oar w, “T = ee Neo te orld, We lee aysus Bie ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 7 Graphics Playability 8 Entertainment 8.5 OVERALL JAY THE GONZO GAMER Concept 1:9 epes Playability 8.5 Entertainment 8 OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 7.5 Graphics Playability 7.5 Entertainment 8 OVERALL “Like most of the free world, | have played my fair share of Capcom fighters. So every time a new one hits the streets, the same old question comes up - What makes this one tick? Well, Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 comes at you with an overwhelming number of fighters with three different attack settings so you can slightly tune the characters to your liking. The new four- button battle interface is interesting, as it seems to work better with the Dreamcast controller, but overall it left me feeling a little less in control than the standard six- button Capcom configuration. Even with this little drawback, | did find MVC2 to be very entertaining and the overall presentation to be very eye-catching (though | could have done without the pixelated last boss).” “With part 2, Marvel vs. Capcom has taken on a rather surreal slant, and | think | like it. The same Capcom gameplay of the first installment is present, but with more characters, 3-on-3 action, and borderline ludicrous supers. Overall, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is an incredibly fast-paced and fun fighter. | do wish, however, that there had been as many game options added as there were characters - and having the Internet options removed didn’t help alleviate this feeling. With the overabundance of fighters available on Dreamcast, the ante has to be raised continuously to keep up the interest level. The best thing this game has going for it is the entertaining new characters and the general chaos of gameplay. That was enough to make me like this title, but it might not be enough for you.” “As a fan of the original, my first impressions of the follow-up held no praise whatsoever. The general concept of the game is the same, yet Capcom hacked it to shreds and made some drastic renovations to the gameplay formula. Amazingly, these changes include the removal of all medium attacks. On top of this, the player can freely perform cancels. These major alterations will disturb a good crop of fans, yet | strongly recommend you get to know it before condemning it. Granted, the new play is more simplistic and targeted toward the general gamer, but the combo system is definitely something hardcore fighting fanatics can get into. In a game that has over 50 characters under its belt, replayability isn't an issue either. Personally, | enjoy the original formula much more, but the sequel is still immensely entertaining.” ie aE emai =e ey ti Dreamcast Review e Size: 1 GD-ROM e Style: 1 to 4-Player Action e Special Features: 6 Playable Characters Each With Unique Abilities; 10+ Weapons; MDk2 Control Scheme; Gigantic Worlds; Puzzles; 2 to 4-Player Deathmatch e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Bizarre Creations for Acclaim “Fur Fighters is by no means outstanding, but it does deliver a lot of gameplay. At times, | found the third-person shooter action of Fur Fighters to be slightly annoying as there really isn't much to it. Luckily, the puzzles are interesting enough to keep you playing. The use of the six dif- ferent Fur Fighters to accomplish different tasks adds a bit of depth to the game, owever it also makes you retrace your steps a lot as you bring different Fur Fighters to different parts of the game. None of the characters are very interest- ing, nor is the story for that matter (though love the evil dog with a little human as a pet...very humorous). When you add it all up, Fur Fighters is a pretty average game, but one that offers plenty of bang for your buck and some interesting places to visit.” “What at first glance appears to be a child-oriented game turns out to be a surprisingly good action/adventure. Surprising because Acclaim’s track record of late has been horrid. After stumbling through a rather dull Training mode, the game opens up with massive environments and challenging puzzles. Although the story is somewhat hard to follow, the game seems to gather some inspiration from Donkey Kong 64 in terms of design. Fur Fighters is not with- out some problems as the action is a lit- tle sparse and the triggering events are somewhat disjointed. All in all, Fur Fighters packs enough to keep anyone busy for quite a while. It is worth a look.” “The Dreamcast really hasn't landed a game quite like Fur Fighters yet; to be dead honest, no system has. It’s violent. It's funny. It's off-the-wall gameplay at a feverish new pitch. The characters are cute and cuddly, but the gameplay is developed for the seasoned player who loves shooters and games featuring incredible depth. Fur Fighters’ world is enormous and loaded with dynamic visu- als. | respect this game’s semi-aggressive difficulty, but most of the levels are way too big - big with regard to running for a few minutes without anything happening, then backtracking across the same vast plane to accomplish another task. | was also a tad disappointed with the cinemat- ics and overall story arc. Fur Fighters does a commendable job with action, but struggles with everything else.” ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept 7 Graphics Sound 7.5 Playability i Entertainment 8 OVERALL PAUL THE GAME PROFESSOR Graphics 8.5 Sound 7 Playability 8.5 Entertainment 8.75 EXD OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept 7.25 Graphics 7.75 Sound 8 Playability 7 Entertainment 7 OVERALL teering away from fi m the senseless vio- lence that makes cartoons fun, Saturday morning viewing was rocked to its knees by a bold new concept in the fall of 1982, forever changing the course of low-budget animation. Wearing single-colored shirts with tag lines like “Hug Me” and “Wild ‘N Crazy” that changed depending on the particular wearer’s mood, a new cast of cartoon animals cleverly named The Shirt Tales caused America to fall in love. Bogey the monkey, Rick the raccoon, Pammy the panda, Tyg the tiger, and Digger the mole...(whimper)...we miss you guys. In the spring of ‘85, just when the show was beginning to mature into the most hys- terical program on TV, it was canceled. The reason? Those damn Care Bears!!! For those of you who still haven’t come to terms with The Shirt Tales’ vanishing act, Acclaim Entertainment has concoct- ed an alternative, the Fur Fighters. They may not wear T-shirts that say witty things, but for those of you who know The Shirt Tales in and out and all about, you’d swear that the Fur Fighters were actually your childhood heroes in dis- guise. The only difference between the two groups is The Shirt Tales are loving creatures. The Fur Fighters, on the other hand, live for violence and bloodshed. Then again, their main goal is to save the children of the world... heartfelt act that would bring tears to the eyes of everyone, even The Shirt Tales’ superintendent, Dinkle. Through vast levels ranging from snow-filled cityscapes to pre- historic planes, the player must control all six Fur Fighters, using each of their unique talents to pass roadblocks placed periodically throughout each stage. To jump higher, you’ll need to use the kan- garoo. To climb wooden objects, you’ll need to use the cat. And so on. With an MDK2 control scheme, the face buttons on the con- troller are used for swift and accurate movement. Targeting ene- mies with a handful of weapons ranging from pistols to bazookas is a breeze, but the challenge comes in dodging the retaliating | attacks. Basically, gameplay unfolds like this: run, run, run, shoot, shoot, wah!, wah!, shoot, shoot, run, next level. Repeat this process and enjoy. Entertainment e Available: Now for Dreamcast Bottom Line: 775 BUNGALOW Rowen 100, FLUFFS 0/5 78 Game informer » August 2000 e Size: 1 GD-ROM è Style: 1 or 2-Player Action/Shooter e Special Features: 12 Playable Mechas; 17 Fighting Arenas; 2-Player Split-Screen Mode; Training, Replay, & Watch Modes; Kill Animations; Runs at 60 FPS; Compatible With Japanese Twin Stick Controller ¢ Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Sega for Activision e Available: Now for Dreamcast Bottom Line: 7 25 There are 12 different With a Dreamcast adapter, the Saturn Twin Stick controller is compatible with Virtual On, / 7 N 6% ay This boss means business. i .semon 100% the PlayStation (soon to be continued on the PlayStation 2). Virtual On may not have the name recognition of the aforementioned series, but with Oratorio Tangram, the sequel to the arcade classic Virtual On: Cyber Troopers, it is coming a long way toward becoming a legend in its own right. Virtual On isn’t a traditional mecha series, in that it does not focus on upgradable parts and new weapons. Think of an arena-based fighter like Powerstone, starring mechas instead of humans, and you've got a good idea what Virtual On is all about. The robots in Oratorio Tangram come off the rack as is, | Core has become a classic franchise on configuration and powers. The mechas spot weapons, a middle weapon, as well as som cks, Turbo strafing helps you escape a tight spot, í 2 are also $S] na attacks that can be launched from your — defensive crouch position. This game was a huge hit in the Japanese arcade scene, and Sega has perfor Oratorio Tangrat ecoming almost a ames lately), it does f lus a much-n Trai those who wish to order the peripheral from an importer will be able to use it with their American Dreamcast. 4 Mecha Lecka Hi, Mecha Hiney Ho! ANDY THE GAME HOMBRE Concept Sound 7 Playability 6 Entertainme 5 Gai OVERALL MATT THE ORIGINAL GAMER Concept 7 Graphics 9.5 Sound 8 Playability 6 OVERALL REINER THE RAGING GAMER Concept Playability 7.5 Entertainment 7 OVERALL “Virtual On: Oratonio Tangram does offer some fantastic mecha battle action. Unlike so many mecha games, Virtual On delivers blazingfast action and lots of weaponry to pummel your opponent with. This Dreamcast version looks great, and if you were to put it side-by-side with the arcade unit, | would be hard-pressed to tell you what was different. Other than the cool Dreamcast unit built into each cybertrooper, there's only one thing - the controller. The Dreamcast controller is just not made for this game. Sure, it kinda works, and with time you get used to it, but it definitely detracts from the fun of the game. Unfortunately, | doubt even the awesome two joystick controller from Japan would be enough to save this game. The one-player game is limited with no story, and the Vs. could make you permanently squint with its minuscule split-screen.” “Unlike Erik, | don’t instantly get happy in the pants every time | see a giant robot, although | admit these are some of the most comely mechas I’ve ever seen. Graphically, this game sports some of the best visuals the Dreamcast has to offer. The explosions and lighting effects are truly awe-inspiring. Unfortunately, some- times the fireworks seem to overwhelm the gameplay, causing disorientation. This con- fusion is not helped by the control, which is Virtual On's most glaring fault. The game was made for a dual joystick. Apparently, no one at Sega could figure out a good way to translate the control scheme to the Dreamcast controller, because you will often find yourself struggling to face your opponent. Lovely game, but I'd recommend tracking down an import Twin Stick con- troller before you play.” “In both the arcade and on the Satum, | never really came to terms with the original Virtual On. The gameplay just didn’t have the dynamics needed to lure me in. | expected a similar showing with the sequel, but after playing just a few matches, | noticed that this was a whole new ball game. Along with explo- sive new graphics and gameplay streaming at 60 frames per second, Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram is packing serious heat with its incredibly smart computer opponents and its depth of play. As many of you know oh so well, the only noteworthy challenge in the original game was against a human oppo- nent. Not any more. Many of the CPU oppo- nents in the sequel are cold blooded and relentless. With the standard Dreamcast controller, part of this game’s charm is lost. However, if you can get your hands on the Twin Sticks...oh man! It's oh so sweet!!!” “Put Teddy on the most. : endangered species list and _-FUR FIGHTERS on your most _wanted. A new kind of game has animal liberator malevolent. fat-cat, General Viggo. Its- a raging romp of feline. conspiracies, blazing animal combat and unrelenting beaver shots! Animated Violence Comic Mischief Suggestive Themes » 2000 Atoian Enter anent; Ine’: All Righis Reserved: ioe by: Bizasre Creations. Ve rademarks: Trademarks, OF Sega Fiitérprises. 11d: © SEGA ENTE! ‘Dreamcast Preview e Size: 1 GD-ROM Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure © Special Features: Massive 3D Underwater Environments; Ambient Lighting Effects; Real-Time Cutscenes; Story by Sci-Fi Author David Brin; Advanced Animal Al; Puzzle Solving; 35+ Levels e Created by: Appaloosa Interactive for Sega e Available: Summer for Dreamcast 80% Complete He's One Bad Mammal-Fishy Ecco is by nature a peaceful creature. But when it’s on, homefish is more than ready to throw down for his dolphin homies. Thus, Ecco has a slew of power-ups that turn him into a mean fightin’ machine. The most useful is Power Sonar, which turns his sonar waves into a weapon capable of breaking objects or send- ing most enemies to a watery grave. A Super Strength power-up boosts his dolphin charge, allowing him to swim against strong currents. Ecco can also use his repertoire of songs to control the behavior of other sea creatures. Swimming in the Past Appaloosa Although the new Ecco is three-dimensional through and through, fans of the Ecco games on the Genesis will be in for a pleasant surprise. In keeping with the series’ theme of time travel, Appaloosa has included a couple of old-school 2D levels in Defender of the Future. 80 aie informer * August 2000 Ecco the Dolphin has always been un kely video game hero, but his non-violent and environmentally minded adventures on the Genesis made him a Sega icon. Now he’s back on the Dreamcast, in a beautifully rendered 3D world. Once again, our hero must swim through the seas of time, this time to defeat an enemy known only as The Foe. The Foe has traveled back in time to disrupt the present, enslaving the dolphins and causing man and cetaceans to become enemies. With tons of cutscenes and a script written by sci-fi legend David Brin, Defender of the Future should be Ecco’s most engrossing quest yet. Unbelievable Undersea Worlds Defender of the Future showcases the Dreamcast’s ability to produce awe-inspiring vistas. To accurate- ly recreate underwater environments, the developers used numerous videos, photos, and National Geographic layouts to help them make the aquatic landscape come to life in vivid detail. Of course, Ecco’s adventures take him far beyond the bounds of our dreary reality, so many of the levels reflect the game’s futuristic sci-fi bent. Equally impressive is the fluidity with which Ecco moves. Much time and effort has gone into replicating the movements of actual dolphins, and it shows. The tight and respon- sive control makes it easy to navigate through craggy underwater ravines, and the camera is more than capable of following Ecco’s manueverings. A Little Help From His Friends Ecco is just one little dolphin in this great big crazy ocean, so one couldn’t expect him to save the future all by his lonesome. Ecco frequently enlists the help of his fellow dolphins, as well as some other friend- ly sea creatures. Sometimes, a pair of dolphins will help out Ecco when he needs a little more muscle to move an obstacle, or a grateful blue whale will block a waterfall that is stopping Ecco’s progress. As in the previous Ecco games, communication is key. Through the use of sonar, Ecco gains valuable clues to solving puzzles. Other ocean-dwelling creatures, like the nasty sharks, aren’t quite so fond of our hero. Dreamcast © 3 Preview e Size: 1 GD-ROM * Sty! -Player Action/Racing ¢ Special Features: 2 Scenarios (Cops & Robbers); 16 Missions; 25 Vehicles; Accurately Modeled San Francisco Cityscape; Mass Carnage; Hang Time Meter yma t . c e Created by: Climax/Digital Mayhem i iii iain nen j m mee nee iia for Interplay Will the lical Crazy Tent Hees UE * Available: Fall for Dreamcast Most gamers will look at Super Runabout and say it’s little more than a big fat Crazy Taxi rip-off. Little do they know, Crazy Taxi is actually inspired, or so we believe, by the PlayStation cult classic, Felony 11-79. Now, you're probably scratching your head, peri- 80% com plete ‘odically yanking out lice eggs and dandruff patches, and ultimately wondering where in the world these facts are leading. The catch is, Super Runabout is Eas the aoe to ee z 1-79. nn grend ee things, this transforms Crazy Taxi into the big fat rip-off game. Just when you thou EEN everything about ee BAM! Your all ite ile is forever charged? : Cons & Robbers Gameplay With miles upon miles of authentically modeled San Francisco streets, complete freedom is granted to cruise around and explore the sur- roundings. Each of the 25 vehicles handles differently, and at times, is needed for a specific assignment. The A physics are loose and do anything if we dont have a car, designed to incorporate the most destruction possible. No no...this game isn’t based on that horrible Chevy Chase film. Before the game actually begins, the player must choose his or her allegiance, which is either to the Cops or the Robbers. Both teams feature eight completely different missions, plus great variety in vehicles. Similar in theory to Twisted Metal, everything in Super Runabout's environments can be i ity of San Fransisco. destroyed, smashed, and com- bring thei to, the pletely obliterated. Food stands the Police Station can be knocked over, storefronts r < demolished, even your car can h sustain immense damage. If too much damage is taken, your tace will come to a sudden stop. Usually, this terrifying action is displayed through wobbly tires that eventually fall off. k ~ Oxa w 03:19:83 war 1362 3.40 ’ Ks Instead of racing from start to finish, Super Runabout asks that missions be accomplished. These range from rescuing the President to tooling around town to find ingredients to make a dden Vehicles hot dog, or even removing illegally parked cars. = e With the far-fetched physics and camage, gravity is also taken fi to the extreme. When you hit a {i jump, you'll not only fly forever, f you'll also see how you rate on the hang time meter. Eat your Looney Tunes heart out, Michael Jordan! Naturally, more air usual- ly transforms into a disastrous run...but for some reason, you | continually strive to catch as | much air as you can. m 00:16:76 we 0033870 wen'2: 500/000) wssti358 207 dust like Felony 11-79, the hidden vehicles are as obscure as they come. A Men In Black- styled vehicle is hidden, as are a tank and a pig. That’s right, a pig. 82 PlayStation by Andy, The Game Hombre Size: 1 CD-ROM © Style: 1 or 2-Player Puzzle e Special Features: 600 Questions; Fastest Finger; Regis Voice-Overs; Life Lines; Time Limit + Replay Value: Low e Created by: Buena Vista/Celador for Sony Computer Entertainment America + Available: Now for PlayStation Concept: . Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: PlayStation by Matt, The Original Gamer e Size: 1 CD-ROM Style: 1 or 2-Player Puzzle e Special Features: Multiple City Maps; Various Building Motifs; Puzzle, Arcade, & Battle Mode; 2-Player Mode; Multiple Characters in Arcade Mode; Dual Shock Compatible © Replay Value: High e Created by: Taito for Jaleco e Available: Now for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: 9 Bottom Line: 8.2 PlayStation by Reiner, The Raging Gamer Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action Special Features: $10 Price Point; 23 Missions; 2-Player Split-Screen; Tons of Power-Ups Including Double Damage & Mini-Thermonuclear Warheads e Replay Value: Low © Created by: Tempest Software for Take 2 Interactive * Available: Now for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: 5 Wing wants uo BG A MiniitoMmairas Zinc) Eion en the sho o Wa o BeA onaire < PENIS 0 BLO Pa y became a TV phenomenon, we all knew a video (5) ái game version was unavoidable. As predicted x buena a (a bra of AB pare The Apple iMac computer is available in all ompany Disney) had a PC version of the game of the following colors except which? on the stree ee onaire q 0 wi as A A: Tangerine QÀ LiFeLINES e98 i5 SP LION 14 $$00,000 153 $250,000 BRES T 10 $32,000 9 $16,000, e anes shee 5 © $1,000 4 $500 3 æ $300 xe 2 3200 | ee ` 1<- $100 Builders Block È 64872900 I Grudge Warriors Tokens Generators 18 s PlayStation by Reiner, The Raging Gamer Size: 1 CD-ROM © Style: 1 or 2-Player Action e Special Features: $10 Price 7:45 Point; Team Tactics; Co-Operative z Ie iy 2-Player Split-Screen; Tons of S, ; DN Weapons Including Grenades, ¥ 2 X Sniper Rifles, & Trip-Wire Mines Hp e Replay Value: Moderate us ah e Created by: Runecraft for Take 2 ona F him Interactive si} I i È d ate o e Available: Now for PlayStation e 2 could have give game a normal price ome 0 e value 0 age arrio a po and ould ell a ta are O all I'd pay fo e e supe eap price Concept: A pec Ops doe offer the best animation o point of $9.99, | didn’t feel that | go one Graphics: . ound e world, but the ga egrated 0 e look of the ga a grade belo Sound: $ e ely. As the game strive er rea e3DO and Sa and the ve ar comba Playability: a ea ow to tackle e not completely terrible eaques belo Entertainment: erro e mines. and call fo a ed Metal and Vigilante 8 have to 6.5 ba gle-player game ore 0 ave e q ay do’ an e a 2i e e oqe a riot and a 0 spot for a Greate e Bottom Line: be alf. For 10 cla game is a barga My word, | don't like this game. 3DO is pushing this whole Army Men concept way too far. So much so, that it makes me shiver to even hear the name. Don't get me wrong, if it wasn’t for the uninteresting level design, poor controls, stupid Al, and lackluster graphic engine, this game would really rock. There is nothing positive | have to say about the game. It is poorly produced and filled with strange bugs and glitches. Toss Army Men World War in the brig and throw away the key. PlayStation by Paul, The Game Professor e Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Action * Special Features: Vehicles Include a Jeep, PT Boat, & Tank; 2-Player Split-Screen; 9 Different Weapons To Collect; Dual Shock & Analog Compatible e Replay Value: Low e Created by: 3D0 e Available: Now for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: Konami has received mixed reviews on its sports games over the years, but | think its soccer titles have been fairly solid. While the initial soccer games it produced for PS-X (Goal Storm), were adequate, Konami really hit its stride with International Superstar Soccer Pro. The strange thing about this new MLS title is that it is the same game as the recently released International Superstar Soccer Pro Revolution, except this game has the MLS teams and ESPN slapped all over everything. Even so, both games feature excellent playcontrol, animation, and enough options to keep any soccer-hungry fan very happy. | especially like the shooting control which takes exceptional timing to get a shot on net. If you don’t get it right, the ball goes sailing out of bounds - a common sight in many matches I've witnessed. MLS: Game Night has stiff competition from the likes of EA's FIFA, but | recommend that true soccer fans take a look at this game. original arcade Ms. Pac-Man was better than her hubby, and this 3D update stands slightly above last year’s very good Pac-Man World. Where Pac-Man World was essentially a platformer starring the chubby yellow legend, Maze Madness truly represents a reinvention of the classic Ms. Pac-Man. In keeping with ij tradition, no buttons are used during play, only the d-pad. The mazes are much more A complex, forcing you to solve Kwirk-style box puzzles and find keys to access new areas. Of course, there are the familiar ghosts and a host of new enemies that force you to think on the tun. By combining elements of the puzzle and platform genres, Maze Madness shows itself to be a welcome reminder of the days when gameplay, not flashy graphics, was the cornerstone of a great game. Factor in the inclusion of the original arcade game and Maze Madness becomes hard to pass up. Has the video game industry finally run out of ideas? Bandai’s attempt to entrance fans of the Resident Evil series is a monumental catastrophe. Not only is it void of unique gameplay, its premise is completely asinine. The Setting for this horror-a-thon takes place in a gothic casino that has been overrun by vampires. Gothic casino? It's up to the bouncer to lay down the law. Bouncer? Oddly, even with his life on the line, he still feels the need to gamble. Gamble? Need | go on? Play RE and let this wannabe die a quick death. PlayStation by Paul, The Game Professor e Size: 1 CD-ROM Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports e Special Features: 12 Major League Soccer Teams & Over 50 International Teams; Season Play; Cup Play; Custom Leagues; Create & Edit Players + Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Saffire for Konami e Available: August 3 for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: PlayStation by Matt, The Original Gamer Size: 1 CD-ROM e Style: 1 to 4-Player Action/Puzzle ¢ Special Features: 4 Multiplayer Games; 16 Stages; 3 Bonus Rounds; Boss Characters; 15 Types of Enemies; Puzzle Solving; Original Ms. Pac-Man Arcade Game e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Namco e Available: September for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom tine: $. 25 PlayStation by Reiner, The Ragi e Size: 1 CD-ROM Style: 1-Player Action/Adventure e Special Features: Lengthy FMV & Realtime Sequences; Holy Water/Vampire Transformation System; Tons of Puzzles; Resident Evil-Style Controls; Item Management e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Bandai e Available: Now for PlayStation Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: 6, 5 Game Informer * August 2000 © Severely dated and stacked against heavy competition, Capcom's wonder child, Street Fighter Alpha 3, has finally landed on Dreamcast. Its graphics may not display flash 3-Ism Types; Revamped World Tour equal to many of today's fighters, but the NCH E ea gameplay is just as impressive now as it was Cc em emt when it originally released in arcades years ago. (2-On-1) Battles The Dreamcast version is stacked with even ¢ Replay Value: High * Created by: Capcom The World Tour mode has received a subtle * Available: Now for Dreamcast facelift consisting of new battles and challenges. In addition to the standard Arcade, Training, and Survival modes, Capcom has implemented a Concept: . new Internet feature, allowing players to Graphics: i download new Grudge Match characters Sound: 5. weekly. The Grudge Match is designed for Playability: . Entertainment: sleep, and breathe Street Fighter. For the e Size: 1 GD-ROM e Style: 1 to 3-Player Fighting © Special Features: 30+ Characters; compete head-to-head-to-head. Graphically, is still the best in Street Fighter history. Siriker | Pro 2000 by Paul, The Game Professor e Size: 1 GD-ROM e Style: 1 to 4-Player Sports © Special Features: 130 Teams Including Club & National Squads; Custom Teams & Uniforms; Training Mode Skills Test; VMU Strategy Calling; Create-A-League e Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Rage for Infogrames e Available: Now for Dreamcast Although you'd have to drag me kicking and screaming to an actual match, | have always Concept: appreciated a good soccer sim. This game Graphics: doesn’t win any awards for innovation, nor is it Sound: a huge step forward in graphics or playcontrol. Playability: Entertainment: However, itis easy to say that Striker Pro is way better than Virtua Striker - the only other soccer game available for DC. The game does lack the actual players and teams, but it more than makes up for that with a ton of options and customizable features. Dinosaur by Jay, The Gonzo Gamer . Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: 6 Playable Characters, Each With Unique Abilities; 2 Different Flower Types To Collect; Many Tasks To Complete; Game Boy Printer Compatible * Replay Value: Low e Created by: Digital Eclipse/Disney Interactive for Ubi Soft CRORE Dinosaur's six playable characters each have unique abilities, and the player must switch Concept: between beasts to accomplish level goals. This Graphics: is a rather good gaming idea that could have Sound: worked if not for the fact that pretty much Playability: entenainment: everything else about this title sucks more you know what than Christina Aguilera. Note to developers: taking a $200 million special effects movie and turning it into a cheap-ass game is never a good idea. Bottom Line: © Game Informer + August 2000 more options than the PlayStation counterpart. jj experts and will whoop anyone who doesn'tlive, |. Dramatic Battle mode, three players can now K Alpha 3 is a day late, but the gameplay package e Size: 1 GD-ROM e Style: 1 or 2-Player Fighting © Special Features: 9 Mecha Plus Numerous Unlockable; Cool Specials & Counterattacks; Art Done by Creators of Robotech/Macross; Transformations & Recombinations; Unlock VMU Minigames by Earning Cash © Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Capcom e Available: Now for Dreamcast Tech Romancer’s attractive graphics, destructible environments, and the uniqueness Concept: . of each mecha are its strong points. The enemy Alin single-player mode is fairly weak, but as a two-player game, the variety of moves provides for attack/counter marathons. Mecha fans will no doubt appreciate the wide variety of styles that have been employed in creating characters. Whether you're a Robotech, Apple Seed, or Tranzor Z fan, it's all here. e Size: 4 Megabit © Style: 1 or 2-Player Action e Special Features: 32 Levels; 3 Difficulties; 5 Stages of Power- Ups; Loop-The-Loops; Printable High Scores & Passwords; Unlimited Continues © Replay Value: Moderately Low © Created by: Digital Eclipse for Capcom l. i o aee EEE 1949 suffers the same problem that all arcade- to-Game Boy translations seem to encounter. Concept: Players receive unlimited continues for a game Graphics: that worked best in quarter-long doses. Replay Sound: value and survival urgency are thereby greatly Playability: reduced. To make matters worse, the graphics are less detailed than the 16-year-old arcade game, the music is unbearable, and some of the power-up effects are missing. Lazy work at best. Entertainment: Bottom Line: 5.5 n Ht G4 AVOAG DOS 47084 In the sea of sludge that is the Game Boy Color title list, an occasional gem that’s actually worth the silicon it's burned on can be found. In this case, the jewel is made of crystal. Nintendo has taken the post-apocalyptic Zelda knock-off SNK made for the NES, and translated it perfectly to the Game Boy Color. Anyone who's ever enjoyed Zelda, either on the NES or Game Boy, will find enjoyment in Crystalis. Damn you cruel fate [sob]! With the cancellation of Croc for Dreamcast, it would seem that this is the last game that will feature Croc. It's too bad that he will bow out with this generic platformer. | doubt that | would have been excited about this game ten years ago on the NES. Croc features nothing you haven't done a million times before - jumping onto platforms, jumping on enemies, jumping over pools of lava, then jumping off a bridge in a fit of boredom-induced psychosis. Oh Croc, parting is such sweet sorrow. Game Boy Color by Jay, The Gonzo Gamer e Size: 8 Megabit e Style: 1-Player Action/RPG + Special Features: Complete NES Game; 4 Elemental Swords; 8 Spells; Zelda-Esque Puzzles; Digitized Speech & New Cinematics Added; Battery Save e Replay Value: Moderately Low e Created by: SNK for Nintendo e Available: Now for Game Boy Color Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: EVERYONE] Game Boy Color by Matt, The Original Gamer e Size: 4 Megabit e Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: Overworld Map; Swimming & Climbing Abilities; Secret Levels; Minigames; Jigsaw Puzzle; Password Save Replay Value: Moderately Low e Created by: Argonaut Software for Fox Interactive & THQ e Available: Now for Game Boy Color Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: Wario Land 3 While Mario continues to prance in the limelight of console gaming, his red-nosed nemesis, Wario, is slowly making a name for himself on Nintendo's minigaming rig, the Game Boy Color. His latest chronicle, Wario Land 3, is a harrowing adventure loaded with classic action/platform elements. Unlike most platform games, Wario will never visit the reaper. You -f won't have to worry about a set amount of lives nor pitfalls. When enemies attack, Wario is 4 affected differently by each encounter. He may 3 catch fire, grow obese, or even transform into | a zombie. These freak occurrences actually j| play a large role in gameplay, and players must i learn how to use them to their advantage. works, it shows its true colors - how it's just as Z : When you fully understand how this game much of a puzzle game as it is an action game. S eee sree ames E With colorful graphics, and a hearty quest filled ae with mind-bending puzzles and out-of-this- world solutions, Wario Land 3 is a game no handheld should be with Tomb Raider thrilled with the prospect of a Game Boy version of Tomb Raider, but | enjoyed this version more than the last few on PlayStation. It can be a tad slow moving, but it’s really quite an impressive game. The animation is fluid, and I'm amazed at how many moves the designers were able to pack in with only three buttons available. Best of all, the most was made of the Game Boy's sound by using a minimum of audio effects. Bravo! Triple Play 2001 As if baseball didn't have it bad enough already, THQ had to go and release this stink bomb. A painfully slow framerate coupled with choppy control make Triple Play 2001 about as appetizing as a cup of chew spit. It appears to be an adaptation of NES chestnut RBI Baseball, but TP 2001 doesn't come close to delivering the fun of its ancestor. Even worse, there is no Season mode or password save, and the Home Run Derby mode is a complete snooze. This game should go over like John Rocker at an NAACP meeting. Game Boy Color by Reiner, The Raging Gamer e Size: 8 Megabit Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: 100 Treasures; 25 Levels; Tons of Transformations Including Fat Wario & Vampire Wario; Unique Enemy Interaction; Super Mario 3-Style Overworld + Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Nintendo e Available: Now for Game Boy Color Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: ©. 75 Game Boy Color by Jay, The Gonzo Gamer e Size: 8 Megabit Style: 1-Player Action/Platform e Special Features: Over 50 Still- Frame Cutscenes; Tons of Exploratory Moves; Prince of Persia Gameplay; Smaller Lara, Smaller Bazongas © Replay Value: Moderate e Created by: Core/Eidos for THQ e Available: Now for Game Boy Color Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Game Boy Color by Matt, The Original Gamer e Size: 4 Megabit Style: 1-Player Sports + Special Features: Home Run Derby; Field Assist Control; Radar Gun; Scoreboard Animations; Announcer; Fully Updated Team Rosters & Statistics; All Major League Stadiums + Replay Value: Moderately Low e Created by: Handheld Games/EA for THQ e Available: Now for Game Boy Color Concept: Graphics: Sound: Playability: Entertainment: Bottom Line: Game Informer + August 2000 © = Farn CREATED BY: NINTENDO AVAILABLE: DECEMBER 26 Ever since he shocked the world with his triumphant return in Mario 64, the pudgy one has been spiraling out of control in the Hollywood fast lane like a video version of Robert Downey Jr. He's spent most of the past few years partying with his buddies (Mario Party 1 & 2). His few sober moments have been spent recklessly driving fast cars (Mario Kart) and getting into barroom brawls (Super Smash Bros.). We can't wait for VH1’s Mario: Behind the Game special. Hopefully his comeback RPG bid, Paper Mario, can knock some sense into our hero. Titled Super Mario RPG 2 in Japan, the game features whimsical 2D characters adventuring in a vibrant 3D world. While definitely not for the Square crowd, Paper Mario does features some hectic Timed Attack combat, which requires accurately timed button punches to pull off combos. The game's plot centers around the Mushroom Kingdom and familiar characters like Peach, Bowser, and Toad. It is rumored that Mallow and Geno from Super Mario RPG will be making appearances as well. n) ARMY MEN: SARGE’S INDIANA JONES AND THE HEROES2 = 7 CREATED BY: LUCASARTS APAA r AVAILABLE: FALL That Sarge is one mean son of a buck, the type that'll eat up railroad iron and poop out = Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones! After years of absence, Indy is finally climbing back into the console saddle. steel. All you hippies out there better get your lazy butts ready. Attention soouljuh! Are any Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine is little more than a PC port, but if you haven't played it, of you maggots ready for war? You better be if you intend to tackle Army Men: Sarge’s there's good reason to be excited. With gameplay styled like Tomb Raider, players will explore Heroes 2, the sequel to last year’s N64 hit. A playable demo we received shows a game = some of the largest and most that is very similar to its predecessor, albeit with some new enemies that include giant = treacherous sites across the land as bugs, robots, and even tan they vigorously search for a machine zombies (aaiiyee!). Weapons and rumored to have the power to open a gameplay remain unchanged door to a parallel dimension. from the first Sarge’s Heroes. Unfortunately, Indy isn't the only one in Features four-player multiplayer, cf pursuit of this device. The Russians are 14 missions (in both Plastic and pe? hot on your trail, and will do anything to Real worlds), and 12 weapons. 3 obtain what they desire. The Expansion At ease. : | Pak gives this game a crisp look, and ; LucasArts is touching it up to play better than ever before. = supermini prevea Soper previews p! DS oS When it comes to Army Men titles, 300 seems to subscribe to the adage, “strike while the iron is hot.” Rarely a day goes by that we don't receive a new Army Men title to examine. Following CREATED BY: 3D fast on the heels of Air Combat for the N64, Air Attack 2 appears to be essentially identical to its AVNEABLE FALE precursor. Minor additions include one new helicopter, new co-pilots, improved winch mechanics, and new boss characters. Here’s another proverb for you — “Familiarity breeds contempt.” a TORNEKO: THE LAST HOPE __ CREATED BY: CHUN SOFT FOR ENIX AVAILABLE: THIRD QUARTER The Last Hope follows the adventures of Torneko, the fat merchant introduced in Dragon Warrior IV. The game is set in the Dragon Warrior universe, but is more an action game than an RPG. Players have Torneko wander about randomly created dungeons, finding new equipment and going up levels. When he returns to town, Torneko regresses to level one and his wife sells all the stuff he has found. Torneko then must find another dungeon and start all over again. This game probably won't be a blockbuster here in the States, but for Dragon Warrior fans it will be the next best thing to the oft-delayed part seven that everyone is waiting for. ® (2) CREATED BY: CLIMAX FOR ACCLAIM AVAILABLE: AUGUST We all know how much fun offroad motocross games are. Now, what if instead of two-wheeled motorcycles, you had offroad racing with four-wheeled ATV vehicles? With a little simple math....umm....let's see...two times two...carry the one...ahh...that would be TWICE as fun! Obviously the Acclaim think tank made this same calculation when they decided to publish ATV: Quad Power Racing for the PS-X. Jam packed with 12 shortcut-laden outdoor tracks, 12 vehicles, and six riders, this game should make us forget how much we loved Championship Motocross featuring Ricky Carmichael. . x POSBONI 6 eE | OF%E MTV SPORTS: SKATEBOARDING CREATED BY: DARK BLACK FOR THQ AVAILABLE: FALL From fashion to movies, MTV has already co-opted about every element of youth culture, so it comes as no surprise that it is taking on the skateboarding video game, a genre that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater ushered into the spotlight. MTV Skateboarding’s control scheme betrays the influence of the master, as do many of the level designs. Some new games, like Timebomb and Deathmatch, and a downhill Stunt mode, should add some interest to this title. The game features 30 pro and fantasy skaters, including Colin McKay and Rick Howard, as well as a soundtrack (Cypress Hill, The Deftones, Snapcase, and Pennywise, among others) that would make a pretty good Warped Tour lineup. (2) CREATED BY: ENIX AVAILABLE: FOURTH QUARTER Now that Enix has its foot in the door of game publishing in America, it's bringing on a flood of new PlayStation games. One of its upcoming titles is a mix of exploration and fighting called Blade Arts. The game looks much like Tomb Raider, but rather than a pair of big guns, the main character sports a sword that gets bigger as the game goes along. It doesn’t have a hot tamale for a protagonist, but every teenage boy |i loves a good sword fight, right? CREATED BY: METRO/FRAME GRAPHICS FOR ENIX AVAILABLE: NOVEMBER H ri LH Dri TAUGE hnas BRADBAVWE TO POPGE CREATED BY: CRYSTAL DYNAMICS FOR EIDOS AVAILABLE: FALL i a Looks like Dreamcast owners finally have something to hold over the heads of PlayStation loyalists. For various reasons, the PS-X version of Soul Reaver 2 has been scrapped. Only Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 will be blessed with the further adventures of the jawless wonder. In the sequel, Raziel goes after Kane...again! Thanks to the power of the Dreamcast, new additions to this chapter are a sword that changes color depending on the powers associated with it, and a rewarding 7 ending. Considering q AUTOFACE’+ & © a = THCH œ TO DODGE the timeliness of the 4 Hh AN original, expect these Sy extra features to stymie the design team for the next five years. x © VIRTUA TENNIS kaa daa CREATED BY: SEGA 2 AVAILABLE: JULY E 1) a y ‘ E ‘ Te Generally considered to be one of Sega's top titles at E3, Virtua aaa YN Tennis continues to impress us as we play our preview copy. {fem Ug Although the gameplay retains the ease-of-play of the arcade unit, the inclusion of a Career Tournament mode and four-player doubles adds some depth to the package. Player movement and racket i \ Luan NE control are unprecedented in their realism, as are the graphics. While t i Bo 4] r professional tennis has been a bore since McEnroe and Conners RE COR retired, even the presence of such new-school sissies as Mark Philippoussis and Carlos Moya can't ruin this amazing sports game. coucona 2P VRIS Given the sheer magnitude of racing games on the market, it's easy for many promising titles to get as lost VANISHING POINT 7— as the proverbial needle in the haystack. If not for the excellent Stunt mode, Vanishing Point could have easily © CREATED BY: CLOCKWORK GAMES FOR ACCLAIM been one of those titles. Although it appears to be an above average racer, with 16 tracks, Officially licensed AVAILABLE: FALL vehicles, and custom parts, Vanishing Point starts to shine when you abandon all caution and start busting treacherous tricks on the stunt courses. These harrowing challenges must be unlocked through a point system that forces you to shave every second possible from your time. Pirn HERE ‘pos Er WINDOWS COLLIDE — WHERE DOS Years ago, companies were talking about devising a skeletal framework system where damaged objects would collapse realistically. Mythos has finally done a game that fully implements this technique. Not only do buildings col- lapse when the foundation is uprooted, = The: Dreamland Chronicles: @ = Bethesda: - 4th Quarter = ) by Erik, The PC Jedi Ahh...Nerd Games % It's been a long time since | played a strategy game that didn't feel like just another lackluster sequel or imitation. In fact, | still go back to Master of Orion Il and X-Com Apocalypse to hone my strat kills, for both have managed remain vastly entertaining even after playing them hundreds of times (got nailed on the Nerdometer for that one). Per s we'll have to wait for Mythos and its pseudosequel ti the industry's eye to turn-based strate; I've been wondering when Mythos would follow up on X- Com with a title that just happened to be about an alien inva- sion, but had a different name. | was thoroughly excited to see this game at E3. Although nowhere near finished (I’m a little dubious on that 4th Q release date), Freedom Ridge looks like it's going to be an incredible experience. The general X-Com formula of capturing enemy tech to improve your odds against encroaching aliens appears to be the same, but is approached from an action style perspective. Instead of directing your troops from an isometric perspective, you can actually move around fluidly as if you were playing a shooter. It's still turn based. You will run out of time units if you walk too far, and nothing else will move at you unless you triggered an unwelcome hail of opportunity fire. If you think of all the times you turned a corner with an X-Com agent and suddenly ran headlong into five aliens, you can imagine the enhanced freak- out factor of Freedom Ridge’s approach. the detail of the debris left behind is spectacular. Everything in the game appeared to be destructible. Walls, trees, cars, mail- boxes, individual components of stereo systems, furniture — everything in this game looked like it could be totally trashed, or at the very least knocked around. Furthermore, the building interiors are fully decked out with furnishings and even working appliances. Some aliens have weaknesses like sensitive ears that can be exploited by cranking up a stereo system, the equivalent of a stun grenade to any nearby alien unfortunate to get caught without earplugs. In addition to military vehicles, your troops will be able to drive a number of other types of civilian vehicles. When asked about the likelihood of being able to ram enemies with vehicles, Mythos sounded enthusiastic. What could be more fun than taking it to the hostiles with the front end of a Beamer. The plot is similar to the X-Com phenomenon, but the situation is much worse than the beginning of Mythos’ previous alien incursion games. In 70 days, the aliens have managed to wipe out all major earth defenses and have begun eliminating the last remaining pockets of humanity. You start the game with a ragtag band of survivors who have managed to scrounge a few weapons and supplies together for a last desperate battle against the alien menace. | do have to confess some doubts that everything Mythos hoped to È - em Ooi Ss com. to return CEC Le 77 = PC Quickies = Imperium Galactica Il GT Interactive - | really liked the interface and real-time engine of this game. | Everything from Í planetary and | ship combat to | colony manage- | ment and mov- essi ing ships on the starmap was done nicely. Unfortunately, | found myself frustrated by the game’s campaign mode. The random events and pre-established plot points frequently hap- pen simultaneously, making it near impossible to deal with three or four major time sensitive crises all at once. It’s solid, but it could have been a lot better. Evolva Interplay - In Evolva, the , player takes f command of four genetically jeg created soldiers who can absorb {8f the genes off any monster they kill to take on new traits. The concept had me excited, but by the time | got to the second level, | was bored out of my skull. The graphics and level design were both pretty lackluster and the methods used to alter your characters are more frustrating than fun. | hope the developers don’t give up on the idea though. It’s cool. Ultima Online: Renaissance Origin - 6.75 This update allows people to | suburbanize the lands of Ultima | even further by offering twice the housing space | and throwing ina new town for beginners called Haven. It’s still fun foe the fact that you can spend hours messing around and training “Battle Magpies” to follow you around, but it’s still buggy and the game is starting to show its age. UO remains fun for people who enjoy mucking about, but serious online RPGers should stick with EQ. implement in the game will be a part of the finished goods, as it wouldn't be the first time its goals ran headlong into deadline issues (| blame the publishers for those), but if the game is only half as cool as it sounds, it's going to be an excellent experience for strategy fans. Game Informer + August 2000 © tae i PASA EDTECHON Eo WARNING!!! This is a game walkthrough. It may spoil the enjoyment of the game. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! SELECTING ELEMENTS As the game frequently reminds you, it is usually a good idea to have a wide variety of element types to handle any situation. However, there are times in the game when you can figure out what types of elements you're going to be dealing with. If going to the “Earth Dragon Isle,” for instance, you can expect mostly yellow monsters. Stock up on the hardest hitting opposing elements you have. Remember, black opposes white, red opposes blue, and yellow opposes green. Opposites will do more damage to one another and have less resistance to each other's status attacks. COMBAT Combat can be pretty confusing if you think too hard about it. Every time you use stamina points, everybody else including enemies gains the amount that you used (or more with stamina items equipped). However, if all the characters in your party run out or go under zero, your enemies appear to get a few free licks in, automatically returning everybody's stamina to a full seven. Since spells use up a full seven stamina (but only return one point to others), you may want to avoid using six points on physical attacks and then your last to blast them with an element unless a quick, heavy strike is in order. Depending on the circumstances, we generally used six points on attacks and then defended, waiting until a party member was back up to seven to use elements. This leaves your party considerably better defended and makes HP maintenance a much easier process. Pay attention to how much damage you do with physical attacks, as lower level elements can get outdated pretty quickly when you start getting weapon upgrades and better elements. Some spells just aren't worth wasting the stamina on if you can do more damage with physical attacks. CRITICAL CASTING When the party is near death and you have a character who is low on stamina, but close to being able to cast a desperately needed spell, you can get them what they need by switching back and forth between characters and making weak attacks. This will frequently allow you to get a powerful spell off while minimizing the threat of an enemy knocking someone out before you get the chance to cast it. This works well for last ditch attacks and powertul healing elements. SUMMONING Turning the element field one color can be pretty tricky to pull off in this game as it only takes one use of the wrong element to foil your summoning plans. Since most bosses use a spell or special attack, it's almost impossible. Using the following method is the only way we've managed to actually summon creatures against certain bosses. First initiate physical attacks with everyone in your party until the summoning character's power level is at > maximum and everyone else has at least enough to cast a spell of the same color as the summons. When you achieve the necessary power levels, defend until everyone has seven stamina points and wait for the enemy's next elemental attack. Right after GENERAL TIPS AND POINTERS the enemy attacks, switch to your summoning character and have him or her cast a Level 1 spell that is the same color as the summoning element. Next, have your two companions cast whatever spells they can to change the element field all the way to that one color. Your summoning character should have just enough stamina to get a spell off but they will be one power level short, so switch back to one of your other characters and have them make a single weak attack. Now switch back to your summoning character, make a weak attack (while praying that it hits), and you should be able to get off that powerful summoning spell in the nick of time. TURN TAIL AND RUN AWAY! Chrono Cross definitely has some of the toughest bosses we've seen in a while. Fortunately Chrono Cross breaks with RPG tradition and allows you to run away from anything (including the final boss), allowing you to collect valuable information about how they fight. Many bosses have a predictable pattern. FORGING MATERIAL Forging material can sometimes be tough to come by and at the beginning of the game you won't have enough elements to spare to trade them in to item dealers. The best way to stay on the ball with items is to try and fight every monster type you encounter at least three times. Also, keep Kid in your party so she can use her Level 3 Pilfer ability on monsters and bosses in particular for the rarer items and elements. Most weapons and armor have a primary item. From weakest to strongest, these include bone, bronze, iron, mythril, Level 6 , and rainbow. If you have this primary item but none of the other stuff, you can usually get all the items you need by disassembling an inferior item. For example, if you're trying to make a Bronze Helmet and you have bronze but none of the other items, disassembling an Ivory Helmet will probably get you all the other items you need. This won't always work as well for more powerful items. Don’t slack on your gear. Upgrade whenever you get a chance. PRISM WEAPONS These are the most powerful weapons and armor you can construct in the game. While you will have to find Rainbow Shells to make a weapon, all the other elements can be acquired by finishing off enemies with summoning spells. The final blow must be the summoning spell or you won't get the goods. The type of items you get depends on the element color of the summons. Attack enemies of the same color so you can get the summons more easily. Monsters that show up in large groups are the best way to go. SUMMONING SPELLS You can get all of the more powerful summoning spells from the dragon quests, but with the exception of FrogPrince, Level 7 summons must be trapped with the trapping elements that can be purchased in Marbule. Grab a bunch of these and then use them on the following enemies. Note: Enemies that are capable of casting summons will sometimes reveal their secret by giving out trap items for the appropriate summons after you defeat them. This also works for high-level regular elements that you normally wouldn't be able to purchase. Mothership: Use the trap on the Shadow Cats that appear in Fossil Valley A when you return to the home world with a lot more hair on Serge’s chest. Unicorn: Use a Unicorn trap on the hopping mad Dodo in Fossil Valley A (this may work on other Dodos). Golem: The Centaurpedes in Hydra Marsh lay claim to this summoning element. Sonja: Trap Sonja from the Preymantis at Gaea’s Navel. RedWolf: Hot Doggity! That’s the monster you need to trap the RedWolf summoning element from at Mount Pyre. STRATEGIC TRAP DEFENSE INITIATIVE Trap Elements aren't just for acquiring new spells. They make for a perfect defense against powerful spells that certain bosses almost always attack you with. However, only one trap element will work at a time. Casting a new one will cancel the previous one, so you will have to know a boss’ pattern before casting the proper traps. They do not wear off until the battle is over, however, so if you know what to expect from a boss, cast it as soon as possible. COMBOS If you have the proper characters in a party and their power levels are at the required level, they will be able to perform combos. When looking for combos, try characters with similar abilities (Kid and Mel), professions (Nikki and Miki), age groups (Leah and Draggy), affiliations (Karsh and Zoah), and types of attacks (Serge and Glenn). We don’t have space to list all we've found so far. After we've played through the game two more times, we may put together a list for Secret Access or some such, but don’t expect it next month. Combos are wickedly cool but totally unnecessary for finishing the game. WALKTHROUGH The game starts off in a dream sequence. Simply run through the door on the right and then take the first stairs to the left and keep going until you're outside. Try to avoid enemies as you won't be able keep the experience or items you collect here. Head up the stairs to the left and go through the door. Just move forward along the path in the next area until you get to a room with a large crystal in it. Examine it to activate the portal in the previous area. Head back and take the second set of stairs to the right to get up onto the portal. Examine the area and you will be shot up to a large floating platform. Run forward and examine the door to end this sequence. betes. £ IN THE BEGINNING You start off in the quaint fishing town of Arni. When you wake up, search under Serge’s bed for 200G. There are several items to be found in this town. Get a Heckran Bone in the back room of the restaurant under the bed, a Shark Tooth amulet from Kiki's father in the basement of their house, and a Komodo scale from the man underneath the giant fish by telling him, "You're probably right!” Give the kid waiting outside Kiki's a Komodo scale to get an Uplift element. Search the bucket in front of Radius’ place for an AquaRay element and behind the framed Kanji character (Japanese symbol). CHARACTERS Poshul: Give Heckran Bone to Poshul who is playing with a child out in the training field. ssa test LIZARD Rock A Push the rock out of the way at the beginning of this area. Walk up to the Komodo Dragon to the Southwest to scare it through the tunnel. Now push the rock in front of the tunnel and run around to the other side of the coral patch. The Komodo dragon will run into the tunnel, where you can trap it. Head South to the next screen. North of where you spot the next Dragon, there is a large green plant stalk. Hop onto it and head up to a hidden area. Head South along the path and you will get to the previous screen. Run down to the edge of the rock and jump on top of the Komodo Dragon to ambush it. Now head to the area to the Northwest. There is a Komodo Dragon in plain sight. Chase it around the loop until you catch it. When you defeat the last of the Komodos, their mommy shows up. Mama Komodo is easy. Just nail her with a couple of FireBalls and hack away. LIZARD ROCK B | You will have to head back through Lizard Rock to get back to Ami Village. Strangely enough, there are new monsters in the area and a couple new chests. ARNI VILLAGE B- Talk to Leena on the docks to have a confusing conversation. Select “I am Serge” when the option appears as this will allow you to get Leena’s Level 7 Element later on. Leena will tell you that her old friend Serge died 10 years ago and that his grave is at Cape Howl. Head Northwest from Ami to get there. Before leaving, search all of the old locations for new items. Lift the drapes in the room that used to be Serge’s and search behind the junk to the left to find a MagmaBomb element. AIL, ate tsn CAPE HOWL B Enter Cape Howl and head North to find Serge’s grave. After you notice that he is supposed to have been dead for seven years, a boss battle will ensue. BOSS BATTLE Karsh, Solt, & Peppor: With Kid's help, these guys are pretty easy to take down. Just work Solt and Peppor first as they are easier to knock out and both are capable of using magic to do serious damage. CHARACTERS Ditch Kid to get Leena. You'll get Kid soon enough. ARNIB QUEST You will automatically be returned to Arni where the party has awakened after resting for the night. Leave the village and head North to get to Fossil Valley. CHARACTERS Mojo: Show the Shark Tooth to Kiki's alternate dad in the basement to get this character. FOSSIL VALLEY B Take the path going North to get to some guards by a ladder. Tell them that you are the exorcists they've been waiting for and then walk up to the dragon skull in the next area to get Skelly's Heavy Skull. You can also get a Bellflower on the cliff to the North and a Big Egg by climbing down the bone in the area to the left of the tent. If you get in a fight with a Dodo, be sure to avoid using elements on it as this will cause you to wipe out one of your characters. When you're done getting all the stuff, head back down to the main path and continue to the left. You will bump into Solt and Peppor again. * BOSS BATTLE Solt and Peppor: Oh please. Just hit these guys hard and fast to take them out. When you exitthe area, head Northwest to Termina. CHARACTERS Skelly: After you get Skelly’s skull, you will need to find the rest of his body and bring them to his grandmother's house in Termina to get him as a character. The rest of his parts are in the following locations in World B (Another). Angry Scapula: In the cave behind the waterfall in Shadow Forest Firm Pelvis: Offer to trade with the item dealer in Guldove and then cancel. Good Backbone: Hydra Marsh in a hidden cave South of where you fought the hydra in World A. Sturdy Ribs: Talk to the explorers on Water Dragon Isle. Mixed Bones: In a cave at the island of the damned. -TERMINA B To get things rolling in Termina, the first thing you have to do is talk to the man polishing the statue at the top of the stairs. This will cause Kid to announce your new quest to get into Viper Manor. It's okay to let her join your party now. There are three different ways to get into the mansion and each one will get you a different character. Here are the details on each. Note: Once you initiate one of these three plot branches, the other two will be closed off to you. For the hardcore player who has to see everything, we recommend you save here so you can go back later. CLIFFS OF INSANITY (GUILE) To take the crazy back route into the mansion, talk to Guile at the bar and let him join your party. Exit the bar 4 and head East until you get to some stairs. Head gf down and run around the shrines to get to Korcha. Pay him 100G to have him take you to the back entrance of the mansion. ENTOURAGE TO THE FRONT GATE (PIERRE) Head over to the Weapon Smith and go inside. If you walk behind the counter and take the door to the South you will meet the sissy swordsman who complains of his missing Hero Medal. Take the next door to the South and talk to the little kid who is running around to get the medal. Give it back to Pierre to begin the mission. SUPER STAR RESCUE (NIKKI) Head West from the central area until you get to a narrow set of stairs going up. Take them up until you get to a level with a door. Talk to the people inside and agree to try and find Nikki. Talk to the Viper Churro salesman and then again after selecting a quest. Tell him > that they cost too much and that he should sell them for 89G. After they start selling you can heal your party by talking to him. You can watch his progress from the window of Skelly's grandmother's place. dtr BREAKING IN TO VIPER MANOR B After selecting a quest you will have to take one of three routes to Viper Manor. Our favorite is Super Star Rescue as Nikki is probably the most well-balanced character of the three you can acquire and his quest is the most entertaining. He is also the source of a great deal of comedy throughout the game. ENTOURAGE TO THE FRONT GATE Just head Northwest to Viper Manor on the world map and enter to get to the gate. For some humor you can see what Pierre does when you try to come up with a plan, but you'll just end up rushing the gate anyway. Fight the privates and then the Sergeants for a star. Next you will get to a real boss battle. BOSS BATTLE Solt, Peppor, and Ketchop: The two stooges have finally found a third. Completely ignore Solt and Peppor as they will get knocked out by their enthusiastic friend after a few rounds. One of your characters gets KO’d right off the bat. Don’t worry about this as Peppor will revive them in a fit of ne, you shouldn't have any trouble eeping your health out of the red long enough to defeat him. When Ketchop goes down, your break in to Viper Manor is “complete. CLIFFS OF INSANITY To make it through this quest, you must first climb several cliffs to get up to the top while dodging rocks being thrown by the soldiers above. We recommend ignoring the chests until you get to the top as it is much easier to see what routes you have 3 left and move toward the tree. Zoah, Solt, have to deal with the boulder-tossing $ Acacia soldiers. To get to two seemingly $ inaccessible chests, you have to go tothe * bottom and walk across the dark stretch of $ water leading to the right. Following a + battle with two Acacia Privates (which = KingMoaman. ELEMENTS Meteorite: A chest in plain sight. “When you get past the Quaffid, head and Peppor will show up for another boss battle. BOSS BATTLE Zoah, Solt, and Peppor: Solt and Peppor « have finally equipped elements powerful enough to be a reasonable threat to you. Eliminate them quickly before going after Zoah. He has plenty of hit points and a couple attacks that do more serious + damage, but he isn’t as much a threat as to take when climbing down, and you won't $ the dubious duo. After defeating Zoah and cronies, enter $ the tree and move forward to the next + area. Hug the left wall until you get toa = «rock with a Wraith standing behind it. Fight the wraith and then push the rock up 5 : toward the hole in the wall to prevent the pams'you an easy star), you will fight $ monsters from jumping out of it. Go back $ down to the water and continue on. Go + through the hole in the next area to get into * a well and you will have successfully FreeFall Capture Element: A chest in £ plain sight. BOSS BATTLE KingMoaman: As with most bosses of : this kind, take out the cronies first to £ the di tall if took Guile’ prevent them from using combo attacks : Ùe dragon sta's are. li you look fauie s and powering-up the king, and then go * after the big guy. After defeating this boss, wall to break in. SUPER STAR RESCUE This one isn’t too complicated. Move : forward until you spot Nikki and then follow £ him to a boss battle. BOSS BATTLE quickly and reduce the threat to Nikki. z atthe front door (door, not gate), and then: After the battle, Nikki runs down into the: cave behind the waterfall. Go after him 5 (you'll have to go left and around to get 5 down to the water) and he will join your $ party. Run back inside the cave to get the $ Aroma Pouch out of the chest and Skelly’s £ Angry Scapula. The Aroma Pouch allows $ ou to examine the | ffy looking $ y ine:the large puffy looking : carpet in the middle of the floor will cause plants outside to get a chunk of pollen that follows you around. broken into Viper Manor. cufecdichinasrettiti ant tor gasps teased hares} VIPER MANOR B Once you've made it to Viper Manor, you will have to go to the back area where route, this is where you start. Enter the large building to the Northeast and talk to i $ 3 * the man in back to initiate the dragon- simply climb up to the top and examine the $ feeding game. We recommend Pleingtbe 10 to 40 games as they will award some pretty decent prizes. We got all the way up to 40 dragons just $ by quickly zipping back and forth and £ + hammering on the X button, pausing only to pick up three buckets. Feeding 100 : $ dragons will get you a suit of Iron Mail, but 3 Cassowary: The Cassowary have more £ hit points than your average monster but = they're not very hard. Just focus on one at : a time and don't be afraid to use elements: right off the bat as this will eliminate them : it's not really worth the hassle. Either way, you only need to feed 10 to get the Manor Key. Once you've acquired the key, run back to the front of the Manor, fight the guards use the key to open it. The interior of the YOU W appear after the battle is over. Dragoon’s Honor, which is a handy item whether you're on Guile’s quest or not is in the upper right-hand corner of the cafeteria. You will also want to enter the treasure room that is guarded by two soldiers. Fight them and search the room for all kinds of goodies. Be ready for a battle when you examine the large vase though. Check out the item on the wall and choose to fall for the trap. This will land you in the next room $ over where Luccia decides to use you as a test for her modified monsters. BOSS BATTLE Neo-N-Bulb: Just focus on one at a time. After the battle, talk to Luccia and then $ release Pip in the back of the room. For a random battle, you can grab the shield off of the wall of the armory and place it on the suit of armor that is missing a shield. You will fight four phantom knights who yield some decent stuff. Be sure to equip any bronze items that you have found at this point as the action will start to get more intense. When you're ready, head back to the entrance area and input the code at the snake statue to open > the big doors. Head inside and then take a Manor is pretty basic. The first thing you $ need to do is examine the left snake statue up by the huge door to fall through a hole in the floor. Here you will be released from a cage and forced to fight three guards. Once the battle is over, you are free to explore the interior. Running along the : lantern enemies to drop on you, so just By moving up to one of the thumb- : shaped plants the same color as the t pollen, you can get them to follow you $ back to the sleeping plant monster who romptl ki , apy: makes a meal of themsand : doors with the spooky eyes that open and wakes up. Don't let them get too close to the pollen, however, as this will cause + them to eat it and stop following you. Ifyou $ get the red plant at the beginning of the $ level, you will be rewarded with a Skull $ Duggery frame that can be selected from $ the Customize menu to change the look of: dialogue boxes and other windows. If you use one of the other plants, you will be forced to fight it. There is no reason to, however, as this boss doesn’t give you astar. ‘BOSS BATTLE a. The Quaffid can dish out some pretty serious damage, so use a defensive egy and make sure you don't let any hug the edges of the corridors to avoid them. They do yield some impressive elements if you steal from them, so it's worth fighting them a few times for the goodies. If you attempt to open any of the close, make sure you do it when the eye is detour to the left where you will meet up $ with a librarian and the creepy little kid, Marcy. You can activate the ladder here to get to a chest by examining the books next to it. After your conversation with the librarian, Marcy decides to test her mettle against you. BOSS BATTLE Marcy: Marcy is tough and has plenty of special attacks that nail the whole party. Do your best to prevent the element field from going totally blue as her IceBlast ; attacks do plenty of damage even without + a bonus from a full field. When she is close $ to losing, she unleashes multiple IceBlasts $ in a row, so don't be afraid to go all out $ when this happens. When you've defeated Marcy, head * back out into the central hall and examine $ the back of the second to last pillar on the closed to avoid a battle with a tough $ enemy. (Of course, you gotta fight one just to see what they're like.) To get the code you need for the central door, you need to find the barracks and examine the patch of wall that young Glenn was just looking at. The two digits are randomized so we can’t give you the code. If you missed it the first time, just leave the room and come back. Before running off to open that large door you will want to check all the chests in the area for “Tum” elements. Examining some chests will lead to a battle with the Boxer Brothers. Don't worry if you choose Milwinwcwecccevccsccessccseseccces left to cause the throne to come down on an elevator. After eliminating the guards, examine the throne to make the elevator go back up. Head through the first door to get to a boss battle with Lynx. BOSS BATTLE Lynx: Lynx would be more dangerous if he didn’t waste so much time casting non- damaging spells like AntiBlack. Use your healing items sparingly as the battle does go for a while, but Lynx isn’t too scary the first time you fight him. As it turns out, you weren't really fighting Lynx. A whole bunch of stuff happens and before you know it, Serge wakes up in Guldove. ton the poison on the dagger that Lynx threw. Eventually you will come to a : aot point where you have to decide : whether to refuse to save Kid at seemingly $ hopeless odds or help her out. The natural $ response in any other RPG would be, “Help her of course!” But in Chrono Cross this is a plot branch that could mean the difference between a few characters. SAVING KID Ifyou decide to help Kid out, Korcha will stick with you and you will have a long and interesting journey ahead of you. Saving Kid will also enable you to get Mel in the 5 party at a later date. We expect there is a : third character you get as a result of this » path, but we never played through the = other choice long enough to find out who it : was. Choosing to save Kid will get you her | Astral Amulet. ! DITCHING KID $ — Wishing the tomboy-in-distress the $ best of luck and a fond farewell will result * in Korcha ditching you for the rest of the * game, but this will enable you to acquire ’ e ® : Macha, Glenn, and eventually the good : Doc himself. (Kid will return eventually if $ you don't help her but, you'll have to do $ without her for a while.) If you decide to ditch Kid, Korcha will force you to leave the Astral Amulet with her. Talk to the dwarf in the bar for the Green Tinkler. If you choose to save Kid you will be able to get this item * ata later time. Whichever choice you make, you will end up having to go and talk to Direa and Steena on the leftmost tower to get the $ goods on what to do next. Before going anywhere, be sure to check for new © elements at the element shop in the : middle tower, and get any bronze you z found at Viper Manor turned into more $ effective weapons and armor at the docks. You will also want to pick up Skelly’s pelvis $ from the Item/Element trader at the docks. Simply offer to trade something and then cancel to get the bone. Simply head back to the boat at the docks and talk $ to Korcha or Macha when you're ready © to leave. genaaid nepazina TERMINA B PLOT PATH: DITCHING KID $ Ifyou decided to ditch Kid, head over to + the exit of town and you will witness a : dialogue between Glenn and the flower $ seller. Head back to where Macha is standing by the boat and talk to her to get the boat. Glenn will join up shortly after this. Skip ahead to Termina B, pg. 99. If you got the Green Tinkler from the dwarf in Guldove you can also complete the side quest at Hydra Marshes B to get the required item for NeoFio on Termina B, pg. 99. PLOT PATH: SAVING KID f you chose to save Kid, run on down to Opassa Beach and use her Astral Amulet. After checking people's reactions to Serge’s return with another Leena in Ami, head over to Hydra Marshes A to get the Hydra Humour. CHARACTERS è Greco: Head down to the shrine area of ® Termina B to witness a funeral scene fora After the grand escape, Kid takes ill SD _ young child. Go inside and talk to the ` : ‘ee MARSHES A ` The guard will let you pass at this point. Move left and forward to get to a large tree trunk (it looks more like a large fungal Stalk) that leads up to the left. You will see a spectral fairy moving up the stalk when you get to it. Follow the spirit and keep on heading up until you get into a conversation with a strange looking creature called a Beeba. A fight will ensue. While these guys aren't incredibly hard, they are incredibly annoying as they attack you after almost every hit, and the first one will summon up to four allies. Once you beat the first group of Beebas, they will give you their Beeba Flute so you can summon the Wingapede. Continue on along this bizarre tree and you will see another Beeba. You can go through the same hassle again to get to an item in the chest behind them. When you're done, continue to head up the tree until you get to a gigantic stump. Use the ~ unusual priestipro wrestler to get Me as. Beeba Flute in the middle of the stump to. summon a Wingapede, which will attack you after you attempt to feed it something it doesn’t want. BOSS BATTLE Wingapede: It’s just another medium powered boss. After putting up with the Beebas, it will seem like a cake walk. After you kick the tar out of the Wingapede, someone in your party warns you not go near the center of the tree. (Yeah right!) Immediately run up to the cracks and you will fall through to a hollowed-out area inside the tree. Fortunately a gigantic octopoid creature breaks your fall and is knocked senseless. There is a cage in the room containing a fairy. If you choose to save her, you will be forced to fight the recovered boss. BOSS BATTLE Pentapus: She’s got some hit points to speak of, but little else. After you take out this fairy-tale boss, Razzly will join your party. Make sure you got the goods in the chest and head outside. You will be in a previously inaccessible area of the swamp. Head Northwest and just keep on hugging the wall on your characters’ left to get to a battle with six dwarves. BOSS BATTLE Dwarven Chorus Line: If you have Razzly in the party, don’t expect her to survive this one, but your other characters should be fine after you take out the head dwarf, who is the sole dwarf (he’s just called “Dwarf’) responsible for the Hi-Ho Charge. Simply focus on one dwarf at a time to reduce their attacking strength quickly, and you should make it through this battle with minimal problems. After you defeat the dwarves, take Razzly out of your party if she was in it already. If you have her in your party, she will notice something that will prevent her from getting her Level 7 Element later. You may want to save before this battle as the Hydra can be pretty nasty. Just remember! You can always run away. BOSS BATTLE Hydra: The Hydra has plenty of hit points and can seriously dish it out. Be extremely careful when fighting and be sure to bring plenty of healing elements to this battle. It uses some pretty hefty magic attacks, so by all means, don’t let it get a full element field. When you defeat the Hydra, examine its body to get the Hydra Humour. If Razzly was in the party she would notice that it was about to give birth, thus saving the Hydra from extinction yet again. This is great, but if she does this, the dwarves won't kill her sister later and she won't get her Level 7 Element. You are ready to return to Guldove B. ~ GULDOVE B Give the Hydra Humour to Doc to get Kid back in your party. Choose to chase Mel down so you can get her in the party later. Just run through town and talk to people. You'll catch up with her at the residential tower. You will have to talk to ° Direa and Steena once more and then > head back to Termina. Be sure to pick up the Green Tinkler from the dwarf at the bar for a nifty side quest. -SIDE QUEST: GETTING NEOFIO Head over to Viper Manor B and go all the way to the top. Here you will see Luccia talking about what she needs to evolve her latest creation. Head back downstairs to get her in your party and then head over to Hydra Marshes B and enter. The layout of this place is identical to Hydra Marshes A but the water has been poisoned. Make haste to get to the tree you followed Razzly up before and take the same route to get to the huge stump at the top. If you're on the Ditching Kid route, you'll have to come back here after you fight the Wingapede in Hydra Marshes A to get to the same hole in the stump. Kid Ditchers will have to head back down the tree and use the Green Tinkler (they couldn't have just called it a little bell) to get the grumpy plants to make bridges for you. Talk to the guys on top to get Protective Gear to prevent your party from losing health as they walk through the water. Kid Savers can jump through the hole in the tree and get into a battle with an undead hydra. Save before jumping through the hole, because if you have to run away from this one, it won't come back and you'll miss out on Steena’s fifth level element. BOSS BATTLE Undead Hydra: We didn’t fight this thing until much later in the game so people who take this side quest on right away may have more trouble than we did. For the most part, it only attacks with weaker black elements like Gravity Blow and Gravitonne, casting more powerful and potentially deadiy black elements like FreeFall. If you managed to find the FreeFall Trap element on the cliffs of Viper Manor, you may want to try casting it here as a defense. Otherwise, if this Hydra is too tough for you, just reload your game and try later. It rewards with a Level 5 Element that only Steena can equip, and you won't be getting her for a while so it's not worth the bother if you're too weak. Whether you fight the Hydra or not, just take the same route you take in Hydra Marshes A to get where the original Hydra was. Here a Snob and SnibGoblin are discussing a flower in the middle of the water. Beat the crap out of them and take it. Now head back to Viper Manor and use the Life Sparkle on the little pool at the top of the level to get NeoFio in you pary, niiskesse, TERMINA B This is the point where the Kid Ditching and Kid Saving paths converge. Kid Ditchers can start on this one right after they leave Guldove, but Kid Savers will have to complete the Hydra Humour quest to get here. Talk to Korcha or Macha to “borrow” the boat for the rest of the game. You now have free reign to cruise around to all the islands on the overland map. We recommend exploring like mad, but be wary of the monsters in the Isle of Dungeons as most of them are downright nasty, particularly Earth. At the very least, wait until you can start equipping your party with iron weapons and armor. HERMIT’S HIDEAWAY B Stop by Hermit’s Hideaway on the way. to the Mount Pyre to get into an easy boss fight with Harle and a conversation with Radius. $.$. INVINCIBLE Go to the large foggy mass on the Southeast corner of the central island and choose to head into it when prompted. Shortly after entering you will run into the pirate ship, S.S. Invincible. Some plot stuff will happen if you have Nikki in the party, so go ahead and bring him along if you have him. Shortly after stepping onto the ship you are accosted by pirates and forced to fight through a series of battles Tight up to the good captain Fargo himself. The pirates, of course, don’t play fair and the characters pass out from Fargo’s doped blade. They later wake up in a prison cell to a skeleton walking in. The ship has been overrun by undead from a ghost ship (never seen this in an RPG). Your goal is to fight your way through the undead hordes to the top of the ship. As you work your way along be sure to scour every room you come across for items and dialogue. Most of the enemies reward with some pretty decent stuff so don't be a slacker in the fighting department. Also, be sure to steal from the Cross Bones whenever you fight them as they will reward you with iron for improving your weapons. Eventually you will be stopped at a room with a blazing fire. Examine the wall for an air vent. Walk up underneath and examine the wall to get to another room. Talk to the chubby guy twice to get a key and head back down below to get to unlock the door at the end of the hall to the right. Continue on and you will eventually see Pip. Chase him down until he talks to you and he will join your party. Keep on trucking from here and you will eventually get to the top of the ship. Head left and talk to Fargo. This will lead to a boss battle with gelatinous evil. BOSS BATTLE Dead Head: Aside from blinding your characters on occasion, this guy ain't too tough. Just stick it out and nail him with elements whenever you get the chance. The grateful pirates will let you go free and even get downright buddy-buddy with you. Fargo warns you that the caves of Mount Pyre are full of magma and that they are the only way to get to Fort Dragonia. He suggests that you undertake a quest to receive a blessing from the water dragon. We do too. Players who chose to ditch Kid can return to Guldove at this point only to discover that Kid has miraculously recovered. Both Kid and Doc will join your party at this point. It's time to make iron weapons and armor with all the iron you got from those Cross Bones WATER DRAGON ISLE A Head back to the home world and talk to the old guy at the docks of Arni A to get him to take you to Water Dragon Isle A. When you get to the island and cross the water using the lily pads, you will notice that the local fairies are in the process of being slain by those dwarven eco- terrorists. Kick their genocidally self- righteous butts and work your way up to the cave entrance. The going is pretty straightforward from here. Just keep fighting dwarves until you get to their boss. BOSS BATTLE Hi-Ho Tank: The Hi-Ho Tank is pretty tough. It can take a pretty severe beating and unleashes some pretty powerful single character attacks, so be sure to have a party with a reasonably high number of hit points and make sure you keep their health in the green. If you had Razzly in your party when you defeated the Hydra, her sister will survive and she will not be able to receive her Level 7 Element. If you didn’t, her sister bites it and Razzly can come back later to reap from tragedy by examining the tree that grows here. When you defeat the tank, you will be able to gain entry to the cave of the water dragon. Talk to it to receive its blessing in the form of the Ice Breath item and your first summoning element, FrogPrince. MOUNT PYRE You are now ready to head to Mount Pyre on the Southeastern area of the central Island. Change back to World B, and hop on your boat to get to Mount Pyre. This is a pretty small dungeon. When you run into magma, you can freeze it by getting on the edge of it and using the Ice Breath item, but we recommend you look carefully before you do. Some magma pools have chests in them that can only be opened while the magma is hot and yes, freezing is permanent. You can actually make your way through this dungeon without the Ice Breath, but you'll blow a ion of Tablets doing it as the > magma i LN reduces your T health to one point