FINAL FANTASY IX WALKTHROUGH INSIDE 


AMENEORM 


THQ'S FIRST-PERSON 
EVOLUTION ELECTRIFIES 
PS2 & PC 


Who's The King Of The 
Ring? First Reviews Of , 
SmackDown 2, No Mercy, 
& Backstage Assault 


Uncover Locations For New 
Pokémon, Learn Evolution 
Techniques, & Participate 
In Timed Events With Our 
Amazing Strategy Guide 


METAL BLACK 
Sweet Tooth Stalks 


The PS2 In Sony's 
Sinister Sequel 


The Final Word On Computer & Video Games 


Microsoft Recruits 
Heavy Hitters To 
Fuel Xbox Fire 


Holiday Sam Illustrates 
Methods To Trick Your 
Parents Into Buying 
The Perfect Gift 


An Exclusive Look 

At Upcoming 
Resident Evil, Zelda, 
; Space Channel 5, & 
EverQuest Toys 


U.S. $4.99 Canada $6.99 


#92 0 Il ll 3 | 


ISSUE 


WWW. попот 


Sir Pedro II 


Guess which emperor needs your help? Enperor Kuzcoishavinga bday- 
it seems he's been turned into a Пата. It's your job to give him a hand, or, in this case, a hoof. Travel as a llama through 
fantastic, ancient worlds in your quest to find the magic potion that will turn Kuzco back into an emperor. Watch out, 


though, because you'll get turned into a turtle, a rabbit and a frog along the way. It's jammed full of wisecracking movie 


clips, puzzles, races and, of course, tons of Пата attitude. Remember, this is one pack animal that packs a mean punch. 


on and the PI logos are registered trademark прег Entertainment Inc. 


Sir Ferdinand I 


Sir Charles V 


р 
HE EMPEROR'S 


See the movie in theaters 


December 15, 2000 


Sir Napoleon Sir Maximilian І 


Sir Kuzco (duh...it's me.) Sir Rudolf II 


PlayStation 


A DARK FUTURE... 
AN UNCERTAIN PAST... 


no One LEFT TO TRUST. 


AN INTENSE ACTION THRILLER COMES TO 
LIFE WITH EXCITING ANIME STYLE 
CHARACTERS AND STORYLINE. 


REVOLUTIONARY GAMEPLAY BLEND OF 
HAND TO HAND AND WEAPONS COMBAT. 


351 


Buil 


SSAA] ie, 


EASY TO LEARN FIGHTING SYSTEM WITH 
COOL, LIFELIKE AND REALISTIC MOVES. 


THE ARSENAL OF WEAPONS INCLUDES 
PISTOLS, ROCKET LAUNCHERS, ENERGY 
AND PROJECTILE WEAPONS. 


“PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of 
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the 
Interactive Digital Software Association. Dark Horse Comics® and the 
Dark Horse logo are trademarks of Dark Horse Comics, Inc., registered 
in various categories and countries. All rights reserved. Rockstar Games 
and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive 
Software, Inc. © 2000 All rights reserved. 


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AMEINFORM 


FEATURE 
PLASTIC FANTASTIC: 
VIDEO GAMES TAKE 
OVER THE TOY 
MARKET 


Over the last five years, video game toys 


have grown from a small niche market to one 
of the largest and most lucrative sectors of 
the toy business. ey 
This month, \ 
Game Informer 
goes on location to 
Palisades, who will be bring- 
ing us new Final Fantasy 

and Resident Evil toys, to 
learn how they turn digital 
visions into plastic gold. 


4 —GAMEINFORMER 


M) dollars this year. Learn 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


li COVER STORY 
l RED FACTION 


TimeSplitters and Unreal Tournament have already given PS2 
| fraggers two top notch first-person shooters to chew on. Now, 
| upstart development house Volition shows off what might be 
| the new standard in shooters with the amazing Red Faction. 
Behold the future. 


FEATURE 

GET THE GOODS: GI'S 
GUIDE TO GETTING WHAT 
YOU WANT THIS HOLIDAY 
SEASON 


Santa Claus better run and hide, because Holiday Sam has returned to 
snatch back his crown as the king of December. Along the way, he reveals 
the time-honored secrets 
you'll need to con your 
parents into spending 


from the master; just don't 
smell like him. 


"чт 


Get distracted ana 


will hurt you with her 
dominant beach game. 


The 5 the 
the 
, Keep focused - your 
dreams of Sydney, Acapulco 
and Rio could be history. 
There's a lot of sand to cover. 
The sun's blinding. 


You must play your game. 


Rule the beach as Gabby Reece 
or more than 40 other FIVB pros 


Feel the thrill of the FIVB World Tour 


Keep Your Eye 
on the Ball 


Use Incredible Moves 
Last-second Digs, Off-the-Net, 
huge Power Spikes and More 


PRO BEBDHEVOTUEPBBIUD 


RATING PENDING 


Photo: Peggy Sirota 


—> 


CARAPACE Playstation 


Ший; of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, Licensed hy Nintendo. Game Boy and Game Boy Color are trademarks of 


Federation Intemationale de Volleyball. Mikasa and the Mikasa logo © 2000 Mikasa Sports USA. All Rights Reserv 
ШИЕ taken from the PlayStation game console, 


Nintendo of America Inc. ©1989, 1998 Nintendo of Ame! The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interacti 


EDITOR'S FORUM 
Return of the Madman. Gl editor in chief 
(and resident crank) Andy McNamara is 
back to his old self, spewing hate and spec- 
ulation. 


DEAR GI 
Our readers weigh in on the new Game 
Informer, the Jet Grind Radio controversy, 
and funnyman Pauly Shore. Also, one read- 
er exposes the dark (and smelly) underside 
of the Seaman phenomenon. 


GI SPY 
The Game Informer paparazzi stalk the 
video game industry, bringing you candid 
photos of all the action. 


NEWS 
All the video game news that's fit to print, 
and some that's not. Get the scoop on 
Munch's Oddysee's move to Xbox, a new 
X-Men game for PS2, and a report from the 
Tokyo Game Show. Also, hot gossip in 
Loose Talk, and Transformers in R&D. 


PREVIEWS 
If, like us, you've already beaten Tony Hawk 
2 and are wondering what you're going to 
do with the rest of you life — fear not. We've 
got massive previews on hot upcoming PS2 
titles like Gran Turismo 3 and Twisted Metal 


6 GAME INFORMER 


Black, plus the return of big blue in Sonic 
Adventure 2 and Sonic Shuffle. 


REVIEWS 
As the battle for consumers’ holiday dollars 
heats up, publishers are readying a slew of 
blockbuster titles. This month we survey 
the madness, picking the winners and 
losers of this season. Features 
reviews for Final Fantasy IX, WWF 
SmackDown 2, TimeSplitters, and 
Shenmue. 


CHARTS 
What's hot? What's not? 
What's up? What's down? 
It's not NASDAQ, it's the 
Retail Sales Data and 
the GI editors’ Top 10 
Games. 


P 


PLAY TO 
PERFECTION 
GI workhorse Jay 
sacrificed another 
month of his life, 
and a good por- 
tion of his sanity, 
to bring you this 
complete walkthrough of 
Square's Final Fantasy IX. 


SECRET ACCCESS 

GI's legendary codebreakers unleash a 
fierce torrent of codes and tips, plus the 
world's only complete list of the locations 
of the new Pokémon in Silver & Gold. Also, 
lists of the timed event in both games. 


CLASSIC GI 

This month our classic feature takes a 
look back at the Waterworld of the 
Atari 2600, SwordQuest. Find out 
how this would-be epic ended up as 
one of the biggest flops of all time 
(Yu Suzuki, take note). Also fea- 
tures Mike Tyson's Punch Out and 
retro reviews of Skitchin', 

Cybermorph, Cosmic Avenger, and 

Kirby's Dream Course. 


ETC 
This month we put our Game Boy 
Color online, make a crappy 
radio out of cardboard, lis- 
ten to Matt and Andy's 
new CD, and look on in 
amazement as Erik's vehic- 
ular woes continue. 


153 


GAME 

4X4 Evolution 
7 Blade 68 
Army Men: Air Attack 2. . АШ 
‘Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic ш. Er 
Army Men World War: Land, Sea, Air 

Batman Beyond: Retum of the Joker 

Blair Witch Volume One: Rustin Parr 

Blaster Master: Blasting Again 

Breath of Fire IV 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command 

Call to Power ll . 

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon . 

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 

Cool Boarders 2001 . 

Cool Boarders: Code. "Меп. 


РАСЕ # 
126 


Disney's The Emperor's New Groove 
Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers . 
Dragon Warrior | & Il 

Dragon's Lair .... 

Emperor: Battle for Dune 

Eternal Ey 

Evil Dead: Hail to the King . 
F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa 
FIFA 2001 (PS-X) 

FIFA 2001(PS2), 

Final Fantasy IX 

Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (DC) 
Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge (GBC) . 
Goemon 

Gradius IIl & IV . 

Gran Turismo 3 

Gunman Chronicles . 

Heroes of Might and Magic Ill . 
International Track & Field . 

Jet Grind Radio .. 

Kengo: Master of Bushido . 
Kessen 2 

Kirby's Dream Course 

Knockout Kings 2 

Little Mermaid Il: Pinball Frenzy . 
Looney Tunes Racing 

M&M's Minis Madness 

Mega Man 64 

Metal Walker 

Metropolis Street Racer . 
Midnight Club . . 

Midtown Madness 2. 

Mike Tyson Boxing 

Moto GP 

Motor Mayhem . 

Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness . 
MTV Skateboarding feat Andy Macdonald 
NASCAR 2001(PS-X) 

NASCAR 2001(PS2) 

NBA Live 2001(PS-X) 

NBA Live 2001(PS2) 

NFL Gameday 2001 . 

No One Lives Forever 

Orphen: Scion of Sorcery 
Pokémon Puzzle League 
Pokémon Silver & Gold . 


Project Justice . 

Rainbow 6: Covert Ops Essentials . 
Rayman 2: Revolution 

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Rou 


Twisted Metal Black . 

Unreal Tournament 

Warriors of Might and Magic 
WCW Backstage Assault (N64). 
WCW Backstage Assault (PS-X) . 
Wizards and Warriors. 

World Destruction League . 
WWE No Mercy .. 

WWF SmackDown 2 


On a typical day the US Customs service seizes: 
* arms and ammunition worth over $24,000 


* illegal substances worth over $4 million. 


But nevertheless, in 1999 illegal substances 
with an estimated value of $40 billion entered 


the country across the US/Mexican border alone... 


ч 


- PlayStation.e 


a RELEASE DATE: PLAYSTATION 2LAUNCH [ 
WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/SMÜGGLERSRUN 


sms s^ min 


ШШ om АШЫН io j КАТЛЫ 
SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON GUIDANCE RECORDINGS 


ТИТ 


PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 


RATING PENDING The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Angel Studios and the Angel 
Studios logo are trademarks of Angel Studios. Guidance Recordings and the Guidance Recordings logo are 
1 trademarks of Guidance Recordings Inc. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of 
he Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. © 1999 All rights reserved. 
Esk This title is not yet approved by Sony Computer Entertainment America. 


NINTENDO 


Sega Dreamcast A> GAMEBOY 
ШЕШШ ijo GAMEGEAR Cineni) webs 


EINFORM 


DECEMBER 2000 
Volume X • Number 12 • Issue 92 


EDITORIAL 


Editor Andrew McNamara 
Senior Associate Editors Paul Andersone Andrew Reiner 
Associate Editors Jay Fitzloff * Erik Reppen • Matt Helgeson • Kristian Brogger 
Copy Editors Gabrielle Dane • Sarah Anderson • Jon Storm 
Web Editors Justin Leeper * Matthew Kato 
Mascot Arthur 


PRODUCTION 


Art Director Thomas Blustin 
Production Director Curtis Fung 
Production Assistant Rachel Gilles 


ADVERTISING 


Vice President Advertising 
Richard A. Cihak * (952) 946-7256 
National Advertising Sales Director 
Kimberley Thompson-Benike • (952) 946-8159 e Fax (952) 946-8155 
10120 W. 76th Street * Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3728 


CIRCULATION 


Circulation Manager 
Vicky Valley * (952) 946-7274 


Customer Service Department 
For change of address or subscription inquiry only: 
(952) 946-7266 Fax (952) 946-8155 
or send correspondance to: 
10120 W. 76th Street « Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3728 • Attn: CIS Dept 


SUNRISE PUBLICATIONS, INC 
President John Woodson 
Publisher Cathy Preston 


Manufactured and printed in the United States of America. 
The Editor welcomes company product information for all video games. Such materials should be addressed to: Editor, Game Informer& Magazine, 
10120 W. 76th Street, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned or acknowledged, 
Entire contents copyright 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. 


PUBLISHER LIABILITY FOR ERROR 
The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher's 
liability for other errors or omissions in connection with an advertisement is limited to republication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue 
or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. 


INDEMNIFICATION 
The advertiser and/or Advertising Agency agrees to defend and indemnify the publisher against any and all liability, loss, or expense arising from 
claims of libel, unfair competition, unfair trade practices, infringement of trademarks, copyrights, trade names, patents, or proprietary rights or 
violation of rights of privacy, resulting from the publication of the Advertiser's statement. 


4 


Member 
Audit Bureau of Circulations 


PlayStation.e 


"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is 
a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. ©2000 Take 2 Interactive. All rights reserved. Take 2 
Interactive Software and the Take 2 logo are trademarks of Take 2 interactive Software. 

© 2000 ASK / Shogakukan / SHO-PRO 

All other trademarks and logos are properties of their respective owners. 


<s 


Master the techniques 
used by the pros! 


The most beautiful pool 
halls in the world! 


9 modes of play, plus 3 
hidden pool games! 


EVERYONE 


RETURN OF THE MADMAN 


Well, the readers have spoken and 
overall | think the redesign was a suc- 
cess. Some people are pretty pissed 
about the loss of the three reviewers, 
but 1 am hoping they can get over it 
(well, they are gonna have to, because 
we aren't changing it back). About the 
only other big concern | had, was that 
people were somewhat mixed on the 
cover, thinking it looked too much like a 
PC mag, or that it was too white, but | can assure you the look 
will change depending on what art we have available to us at 
the time. 

On other fronts, it seems Sony really screwed the pooch on 
the launch of PS2. Sure, every man and his dog wants one 
and will do anything and everything to get one, but I think this 
would have happened either way (even if Sony had been able 
to get all 1 million units out on launch day). But hey, I'm sure 
you'll be able to get your hands on one sometime in January. 
Sony is turning into the new Nintendo, willing to screw you 
over and over with delays and the like, leaving you sitting high 
and dry just having to take it if you want to play its games. 
Nintendo never learned, but maybe Sony will...unfortunately, | 
don't think it will be anytime soon. 

| certainly would love to be a fly on the wall in the offices 
of Microsoft and Nintendo right about now, as you would have 
to imagine they are doing some serious brainstorming trying 
to figure out how to take down the Sony behemoth, or least 
assure a strong hold on second place. 


4 


Balloons І to г: Andy, Matt, Reiner, Kristian, Erik. Broadcasters: Jay & Paul. 


10  GAMEINFORMER 


Speaking of second place, what is up with our good old 
friend Dreamcast? | know you don't want to hear this, but the 
sad part about the ushering in of PS2 is that the Dreamcast 
may be its first causality. Which is really unfortunate, as | am 
really starting to love the DC - Sega is just so feisty, and it 
may be one of the best and innovative game developers out 
there. 

Now I know you are saying to yourself that old Andy here is 
just down on the Dreamcast, but 1 challenge you to fight the 
facts. Dreamcast sales in Japan are horrible, and even here in 
the States you will be hard-pressed to find a third-party devel- 
oper with a game planned for the DC in the fall of 2001. While 
no one will fess up to this dirty little industry secret (as they 
know Sega will be quick to retaliate), | can't get anyone to 
challenge it. So Sega boys and girls out there, if you want 
Sega to make it through the tough year ahead, you better get 
out there and buy, buy, buy as much Sega product as you can. 
Sega is gonna need some support from consumers to make it 
past the Xbox and Gamecube launch. 

Either way, | should get lots of interesting material for 
Letters From the Editor over the next year from 
this whole battle, and | will even make a 
prediction that if Sega can’t make it 
through the upcoming hardware wars, y 
we may just see our friends at Sega 
making games for another system. 

Hmmm, | wonder which one that would 
be? Guess we'll have to talk about 


that another month. Andy McNamara 
Editor 


andy@gameinformer.com 


qna i1 Ni 
TELE L 


ACELL L 


PAUL, THE GAME PROFESSOR 
paul@gameinformer.com 

“| got an interesting email from Griffith, Indinana regarding my 
reviews of Madden and NFL 2K1. The author was quite disgusted 
at how | scored Madden higher than 2K1 and, because he was a 
former Indiana state champion, he knew his football. However, he 
forgot one thing: He didn’t play Madden. He rambled on and on, 
but I really only read the first couple sentences. Hey, | like nothing 
better than to debate the pro and cons of games, but | think that 
you should have the intelligence to play both of them before calling 
my reviews a ‘pile of crap.’” 


REINER, THE RAGING GAMER 
reiner@gameinformer.com 

Rather than tap into my raging persona to make fun of my 
coworkers (Paul is a mental poophead!), | want to add closure to 
the rumor that the Gl staff is getting canned. We were on the 
chopping block, but thankfully, the powers that be never made it to 
the Gl office to hand out the pink slips. It turns out that their flight 
to Minneapolis was actually rerouted to Iraq in a plane with 
‘Saddam can suck it!’ spray painted on the wings. So, if our new 
bosses ever return, which I highly doubt, we may face extinction. 
Until then, the same staff, and our first female writer, Kristian, will 
continue to churn out the goods." 


MATT, THE ORIGINAL GAMER 
matt@gameinformer.com 

“The stress of this so-called ‘New and Improved Game Informer’ 
has crushed my feeble mind. | can barely string together a coherent 
sentence anymore. The best | can do is spew inane non-sequiters 
and profanity. Hey, maybe this might qualify me for being the lead 
singer of Limp Bizkit! Here's my audition- ‘Yo, getcha groove on! | 
hate my parents, | hate @#$ carrots - getcha groove on- MY WAY OR 
THE HIGHWAY, don't ever @#$ with me, Your elbow's writing checks 
that ya pancreas can't cash! Who gets the blame? I'm @#$ lame! 
DON'T @#$ing @#$ wit’ me skidmark! Yo, it's kinda dark — getcha 
GROOVE on! Don't pee-pee on my windowpane!” 


ERIK, THE PC JEDI 

erik@gameinformer.com 

“Argh! All| can think about is Red Alert 2. | don't have time for this 
silly blurb! For the first time since Doom, I’ve developed a serious 
urge to get out there and kick total strangers’ butts. Nothing is 
quite so entertaining as flattening an enemy base with Кігоуѕ and 
then dropping a nuke on their fleeing troops for a humiliating coup 
de grace. There’s nothin’ like the smell of exploding cows in the 
morning. A lot of you ingrates out there have been sending me 
challenges to take you on in online games. Fine. Just don’t cry 
when the PC Jediski crushes you.” 


JAY, THE GONZO GAMER 
jay@gameinformer.com 

“I've been spending a lot of time out in Las Vegas lately working on 
a top secret project for Game Informer. The fruits of my labor will 
be appear in next month's issue, but I'd like to tell you all about a 
weird thing that keeps happening to me out there. When І go out 
on the town in Vegas, the ladies are all over me. That's not the 
strange thing, though. That's just another day in the life for yours 
truly. What | can't figure out is why all the girls | meet live in big 
houses on the outskirts of town. And why do | wake up missing 
around $150, with the girl nowhere to be found? It's very 
perplexing. Has this ever happened to any of you?” 


KRISTIAN, THE GAME DAWG 
kristian@gameinformer.com 

“Good issue to you, my droogs and only friends. |, Kristian, your 
humble narrator, have been busy with all manner of crazy and 
scandalous things these past weeks. I’m slightly ill at ease as it 
seems Reiner has finally arrived at a mental break. He has been 
chasing me around the office in his favorite pink tutu, ranting and 
raving that | must be a girl because my name begins with a К. At 
first, | was able to fend him off with a bit of the old ultra-violence, 
but now it seems his tactics have shifted, for | woke up last night 
to him grinning at me ghoulishly through my bedroom window. Pray 
for my safety, brothers and sisters, that | may live to write again!” 


QNT АРАДО _ 


PlayStation.e 


5 7/722 7 PACING 


m asa Vow know the rules, 
there are nn rules. 


eo TORY i 


ИН / J 
CUTTING EDGE SOUNDTRACK FROM SOME OF THE WORLD'S LEADING 
TECHNO/DRUM AND BASS ARTISTS - DOM AND ROLAND, DERRICK MAY AND SURGEON 


TAR 5758WY ROCKSTAR 575BWY ROCKSTAR 5758WY 10 ROCKSTAR 575BWY ROCKS 


m ш m um uu }ш иш un n уш иш ищ ин иш ш ш un иш )ш us ми иш уш ш иш ш uu уш иш n n n 


a йч, 


Race across two accurately modeled cities - Win the pink slips of opposing players! Play in a persistent world with 
New York and London! Rise up through the ranks in the interactive traffic, pedestrians 
illicit world of the Midnight Club. and law enforcement. 


HH SPAM se PWT oR за PTY OPM comis PM TT 


WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIDNIGHTCLUB 


PlayStation and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony TEEN 
Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the 


2 
led Interactive Digital Software Association. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios ® pos 
| О» logo are trademarks of Angel Studios. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar a= 
> т «. 
= 


Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. counterbalance we 
jl © 2000 All rights reserved. Eppo чш» 


THE NEW 
GAME 
INFORMER 

So there | am going 
through my mail as 
usual, right? And I 
come across a maga- 
zine that had familiar 
letters at the top of it, 
but it didn't look right. 
Then | realized what it 
was. And THEN I real- 
ized | needed to put 
some new pants on. | 


EXCLUSIVE NINTENDO GAMECUBE COVERAGE! 


Ted ad pae in Gm 


BUT IS IT EVERYTHÍ 
SONY PROMISED? 
Р$2 REPORT 
CARD. 


must say - | had 
already thought of Game Informer as the #1 video дате 
mag out there, but now there is no question in my mind. 
You usually can't improve on perfection, but miracles do 
happen. | am pleased that nothing was dropped from the 
previous version of the mag and many things were added. 
Everything has been improved upon. And | actually found 
myself laughing...numerous times, really. | guarantee that 
all your hard work will pay off...in dividends. You guys rule. 
Everyone else just sucks. 
Nate "Fathead" Lechner 
Park Ridge, IL 


Thanks, Nate. We've received a tremendous amount of 
positive feedback on our new look from our readers. We 
will continue to work to make Game Informer the 
biggest, baddest video game magazine on the block, and 
hope that all our readers will be along for the ride. As for 
your pants, we recommend soaking them in club soda 
and then washing them in cold water to remove any 
poopy stains. Erik swears by this technique, and he 
should know. 


A STINKY SITUATION 
Recently, I've been hearing rumors 
about Sega's Seaman, more specifically 
the microphone that comes with the 
game. I've heard reports from numerous 
people and different websites that peo- 
ple have been renting Seaman with the 
microphone and before returning the 
game have been wiping their private 
parts with the tip of the microphone, 
and in some cases sticking it into 
places it definitely wasn’t intended for. 
Now whether or not this is true still 
remains to be seen, but it might be a 
good idea to warn your readers about 
renting Seaman. Just trying to keep 
America from talking into fecal matter. 
Steve “I warned ya” Kotecki 
Anytown, NY 


Thank you, Steve, for alerting us to this potentially 
dangerous situation. We urge our readers, at least those 
of you who are concerned with personal hygiene, to exer- 
cise caution when playing a rented copy of Seaman. We 
suggest dousing the microphone with an anti-bacterial 
spray, and wearing a dental dam and latex gloves while 
playing. Remember, when it comes to video games, your 
safety...hey...[sniff, sniff]...this letter smells kind of 


12 GAME INFORMER 


funny...[sniff, sniff]...wait a second...[sniff]....OH MY 
GOD....you !@#$!@#$!@! ....real funny, Steve!....WE'LL 
GET YOU FOR THIS!...yuck!! If you'll excuse us, we have 
to go wash our hands. 


JET GRIND RADIO STATIC 

When | first heard about Jet Grind Radio, | thought: 
“Finally, they're starting to make aggro inline games!” 
However, only a few hours later, my mom pointed out to 
me an interesting article in a local newspaper. The article 
stated that the aldermen of my city are moving to try to 
ban this game here in Milwaukee! 

They said the game “glorifies graffiti’ and “teaches 
kids to hate the cops,” making “taggers look like the good 
guys.” My first reaction was, “What a bunch of bull$#!U!!” 
We finally get a decent inline game, and now some damn 
politicians want to ban it! | mean, they've released way 
worse games in the past without much of a fuss. | mean, 
c'mon! The game even contains a disclaimer about vandal- 
ism! Luckily, Milwaukee is the only city so far to try to ban 
this game. Nevertheless, | will not let this take place, and 
| know there are probably lots more gamers who will stand 
behind me. Gamers of Milwaukee and the world unite! We 
can make just as much noise about this as some skater- 
hater politicians can! Video game graffiti is not a crime!! 
We have a right to play good games!!! 

A furious Milwaukee gamer, 
David Nelson 
Milwaukee, WI 


We sympathize, David. It seems like 2000 is the year 
that politicians everywhere are attempting to use video 
games and the entertainment industry as the scapegoat 
for any number of societal problems. However, the main 
problem you have is that you live in Wisconsin. Trust us 
- get out of Milwaukee as soon as you can, and never 
look back. Have you seen American Movie? Don't you 

see all those unemployed alcoholic 
; mongoloids you live amongst? Move to 
Rhode Island, move to Iran – just move! 
| You'll thank us later in life. 


FEAR OR LAZINESS? 

What's up with recent shooter games 
\ like Resident Evil: Survivor and Silent 
Scope not being compatible with the 
light gun? Are game companies backing 
away from the realistic touch that makes 
those kinds of games so fun because of 
government pressure, or are they just 
being lazy? 

John Dettinger 

York, PA 


Fear, mostly. We can't speak for all 
companies, but in the cases of RE: 
Survivor and Silent Scope, we know that Capcom and 
Konami, respectively, were motivated by concerns about 
video game violence. In Capcom's case, it even went so 
far as to take the word "gun" out of the title (the game 
was Biohazard Gun Survivor in Japan). That said, we 
think the game sucks with or without a gun controller. 
As for Silent Scope, the developers actually managed to 
do a good job of overcoming the loss of a gun controller, 
so you might want to check it out anyway. 


WEASEL FAN CRIES FOUL 
Excuuuuuuuuuse me, but how DARE you make fun of 
Pauly Shore in your newest issue? [see Good, Bad, Ugly 
October '00] You say he's got a [expletive deleted] voice 
but | think it is DEAD SEXY. Why must you be cruel [exple- 
tive deleted]? Reiner, | thought you were hot. 
Some Babe 
Via excite.com 


Whoa...let's watch the language, young lady. We did- 
n't mean to slight your beloved Weasel. We haven't for- 
gotten his brilliant pop hit Lisa, Lisa (The One | Adore), 
or his cinematic masterpiece Son in Law. We were mak- 
ing fun of Andy, not Pauly. Just because you don't agree 
with our viewpoints, there's no reason to write in such 
gutter talk to a respectable family publication. If you 
think Reiner is hot, that's because he is. We're lucky 
enough to see him prance around the office every day in 
a zebra-striped Zubaz bikini and high heels. Work that 
sweet patootie, you Raging hottie! 


ROCK THE VOTE! 
Dear future President Paul Anderson, 
| read the GI feature article and think your ideas and 
plans totally kick ass! | cut out the free campaign button 
and will use it when the time is right. As it said in the 
article, | am sending a donation to the campaign. | was 
too cheap to put in a real dollar, so | spent a half hour 
making this one on the ol' PC. You can hang it in your 
campaign headquarters or any place you wish as a 
reminder that you have at least one supporter. In addition 
to my dollar, you have received a free quarter. Yes, you 
read right, 25 cents, if this highly valuable coin is not 
stolen in the mail. 
Michael Guerra 
Stewart Manor, NY 


Thanks, Michael. The overwhelming response to 
Paul's campaign has resulted in a massive groundswell 
of support for his candidacy. Thanks to our readers, Paul 
is now running at almost .0000789% in recent polls 


(which actually puts him slightly ahead of Pat 
Buchanan). Since you were nice enough to send two 
copies of this letter, along with two quarters, Matt 
(Director of Operations, Anderson 2000) was able to buy 
himself an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. It was very refreshing. 


| have sent you several emails in the past, but you 
haven't responded to any of them. Maybe it's because 1 
don't suck up to you like Jeff Jarrett did to Vince Russo. 
Anyway, | have some questions. Answer them, or you will 
be cursed for EEEEVVVVEEEERRRR!!! 

1. | once heard of a portable system called the Sega 
Nomad. In one of your older issues, you said that it was a 
six-button system and it could play Genesis games. How 
many bits did it have, and how many games? Could it play 
Game Gear games or Sega Master System games? And 
how can Sega’s games be so bad that a six-button color 
system is driven out of the market by a black-and-white, 
two-button 8-bit system (Game Boy)?! 

2. Where do you come up with your nicknames? Except 
for the PC Jedi, everyone is “(Name), the (some adjective) 
Gamer", or “(Name), the Game (some really stupid 
noun).” COME ОМІ!!! 

Jacob Rudolph 
West Chester, PA 


All right, Jake, we'll ignore your petty threats and 
answer your questions. Apparently, we've already been 
cursed to a life of answering ridiculous letters, so we 
seriously doubt that your silly little hex could make mat- 
ters much worse. 


1. The Sega Nomad, released in October 1995 in the 
US, was basically a handheld version of the Genesis. It 
featured a 3.25 full-color backlit LCD screen, a d-pad, 
and six buttons. It was compatible with the entire 
library of Genesis games, but not Game Gear, Sega 
Master System, 32X, or Sega CD titles. The system ran 
on a 16-bit processor, a derivation of the Genesis hard- 
ware, and used 6 AA batteries. The system failed for a 
number of reasons, most notably short battery life (only 
2 hours), and lack of consumer confidence in Sega after 
the failure of the 32X and Sega CD. Also, Sega released 
the Saturn that very same year, which meant the Nomad 
was never marketed properly. 

2. In light of your criticisms, we took it upon our- 
selves to come up with some more creative nicknames. 
From now on the GI staff will be known as: Matt the 
Mellifluous Madrigal, Erik the Esoteric Eggplant, Paul 
the Persian Pollywog, Jay the Gelatinous Jockstrap, 
Andy the Angry Areola, Kristian the Comatose Ketchup- 
Head, and Reiner the Rotten Rotary Phone. 


Send your comments to 
Game Informer. 


Snail Mail: Email: 

Game Informer Magazine deargi@gameinformer.com 
Attn: Dear GI 

10120 W. 76th Street www 


Eden Prairie, MN 55344 www.gameinformer.com 


ENVELOPE A 


DECEMBER WINNER! 


Jason Horvath 
“What did | tell you about using the last roll of toilet paper without a tree in 
sight? You stupid fool!" 


DAS 
Ario Elami 
This is Mario's poster for his pro- 
motional campaign for S.S.B. — 
Stop Supporting Bowser — an anti- 
large turtle group. 


Mark Neil 
Unlike many black mages out there, Vivi has the unique ability to conjure fake 
vomit at will from his hand. A great trick at parties. 


Nikki Edwards 
Roses are red. 
Voilets are blue. 
Come near me, and 
l kill you. 


Josh Gilbert 
We are trying to stop Josh from getting in 
the magazine every month, but the guy 

keeps sending us cool stuff. 


Enter the Game Informer 
Envelope Art Contest. All you 
need to do is draw, paint, 
scratch, spit, or carve the 
best darn envelope art you 
can think of and send it to 
us. Please include your 
name, phone number, and 
return address on the back 
of the envelope. If you're the 
monthly winner, we'll feature 
your work in GI and you'll 
receive a video game prize 
from the Game Informer 


= 
Giu игелек, АМЕ ||| 
vault. о ELTE ART 


GAMEINFORMER 13 


GAME GETS EVEN BETTER 


ИП pst АВЕ 
Amir FOR THE M 
Li Р та: Pct THE PINTO” 


[НТ BE 


W cities: pes Havana, Rio, All- Eg uod road systems bring, New. foot. missions let.yoli hit the Partner up with any. 
“the о, epic storytelling, and the action to life with’ Streets and. commandeer. 
-quality cinematics!  ultra-realism! 


thu 
Screen multi-player modes! 


y vehicle! 


THERES SOMETHING GOING DOWN ov m: mi pied won wan nag ufe, stne BLOOD across 


TWO CONTINENTS н д нак ûr murs: ws JUST А AY THE OFFICE ron ove cio ONE GOP нин one нме. 


DRIVER 2 STARRING TANNER: 


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Fu! C. 


+ САНЫЙ PHOTOS FROM THE 
I SEAMY UNDERBELLY OF THE 
“t VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY 


(1) Kristian looks on as comic artists Dan 
Veesenmeyer (Video Game Deathmatch, Wizards of 
the Coast’s Star Wars RPG), and Adam Hughes 
(Wonder Woman, Ghost) spend an afternoon down- 
loading naked pictures of Danni Ashe at the Game 
Informer offices (2) After smacking the taste out 
of Matt’s mouth at the Codemasters’ Mike Tyson 
f event, video game historian Steven Kent asks, 
gg “Who's your daddy?" (3) Andy begins to regret his 
a decision to meet his EverQuest girlfriend in real life 
(4) Jen Stover shows off the costume that won 
^ the Aya lookalike contest at Square’s Parasite Eve 
| 3# 2 launch party (5) Jeff “Club MTV” Casteñeda of 
`’. Rockstar Games and Rob “Pickle King” Fleischer of 
' Linn PR demonstrate the bizarre initiation ritual 
required to join their motorized scooter gang 
(6) Game Informer: The Next Generation? Elsa 
Anderson (daughter of the Game Professor) 
pledges her allegiance to Nintendo, and spends 
some time hanging out with Kirby. (77) At the 
Tokyo Game Show, style maven Paul declares, 
“Orange vinyl is a fashion must this winter!” (8) 
Yochi Erikawa (aka Kou Shibusawa), founder of 
Koei and producer of Kessen, poses for a photo 
with his prom date, Paul Anderson. It takes a real 
man to get away with wearing a silver tie and 
electric blue shirt! 


^ 


ES 


GAME INFORMER 15 


MOHSSWWOO! 


MOHSSMW'Y2ScC 


] 


+ CESA PRESENT 
[OKYOGAME 5! 
2000AUTUMN 


THE SIGHTS OF TOKYO 
GAME SHOW 


The semi-annual Tokyo Game Show drew over 160,000 gamers over its three 
days in late September. Making the trek to Chiba City on the outskirts of Tokyo, 
Game Informer soaked it all in of the sights. 

Although the crowds were big and there was strong showing of product from the 
likes of Konami, Capcom, Koei, and Sony, this session of the TGS was largely void 
of excitement due to the absence of two large game companies - Sega and Square. 
Likewise, Nintendo's only participation in the event is through its sponsorship and 
the company, historically, does not have a booth set up to show its wares. 


Most of the noteworthy games we had a This PS2 controller from 
chance to see at the Tokyo Game Show are *.; A T Konami is made specifically 


featured in this month's preview section. - for use with Dance Dance 
Revolution, Konami's popular 
dancing simulator. Instead of 
jumping around on a footpad, 
this confusingly lets you use 
your fingers. What's the point? 


The USB connection on the PS2 will be put to use with new digital 
cameras that have been introduced. The devices will work in conjunc- 
tion with compatible games to allow players to import their likenesses into the 
action. There is also the possibility that the controller camera could be used in 
future network games to show each player the opponent on the 
other end. 


Talk about playing in style! Sony had a number of stations play- 
ing Gran Turismo 3, including these deluxe set-ups complete with 
a racing seat, side-mounted speakers, and a force-feedback 
steering wheel made by Logitech. 


16  GAMEINFORMER 


Bandai displayed it upcoming handheld, the WonderSwan Color. Due to hit 
Japan in December, this machine will also hook into the PS2 via a USB 
cable. It was also revealed that WonderSwan games could be downloaded 
to a Sony MagicGate Memory Stick. 


Dressing up as your 
favorite video game charac- 
ter, known as "cos-play," is 
really an event within itself 
at the TGS. Prizes are 
awarded for the best 
dressed. Outside the event 
hall, eager photographers 
form lines to snap pictures 
of their favorite cos-play 
participants. Some of these 
amateur shutterbugs carry 
equipment that 
would put a 
professional 
photographer 
to shame. 


GAMEINFORMER 17 


Race with what's 
under the hood. 


Win with what's 
strapped on top. 


PlayStation ‘CONTENT RATED BY 
lo ESRB 


© 2000 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 


tadomarks of Sony Comper Болаттар nc. Customize your wheels Transform through portals Blast your way through 
for maximum firepower. to battle by land, with all the hard-core 
sea and air. weapons you find. 


Take it to the Extreme! Modify then race one of eight 
customizable cars through some of the toughest tracks! 
Transform your vehicle to handle the terrain. But to win, you 
need fire power. Pick up machine guns and missile launchers 
to knock your opponents out! Because in this game, the best 
way to win is to make sure the other guys don't finish at all! 


Game Informer's research and devel- 
f opment operatives search the globe, 
seeking out the untapped licenses 
that will become tomorrow's killer 
games. If you have any great ideas 
for games of the future, be sure to 
drop us a line. Maybe we'll use our 
&odlike power over the video game 
industry to turn you into a millionaire 
- or just steal your idea. 


THE ORIGINAL 
TRANSFORMERS 


Every 20-something fanboy would love to see a 
game featuring the classic Transformers that 
blends the action of Twisted Metal and Armored 
Core with a heavy dose of arena gaming options 
and a single-player action/adventure game mimic- 
king the style of the old episodes. Imagine the 
following scenario. The Decepticons have cap- 
tured one of the wussier Autobots (Bumblebee) 
and wired him to a bomb while the majority of the 
Decepticons run off to seize a mysterious item in 
the desert. You select the fastest Autobot at your 
disposal and he volunteers for the dangerous 
task of rescuing the little guy. As you progress 
through the timeline of the cartoon series, you 
eventually get the opportunity to acquire new 
Autobot allies. Many of these could be the goal 
of a new mission like coming to Sky Fire’s aid, 
while others could be unlocked by completing 
secret mission objectives, like finding a cave full 
of fossilized dinosaurs, leading to Wheeljack’s 
idea for creating the Dinobots. Grimlock like! 


c 
o 
pum 
fJ 
end 
un 
Ps 
dc 
5. 


Based on a legendary 
PS-X series (soon to 
make a highly publi- 
cized Xbox debut), 
this game starred a 
legendary Mudokon 
in his first handheld 
quest. The highly 
unique title favored 
brains over brawn, 
and was а remark- 
able deep Game Boy 
experience. (Answer on page 24.) 


20 GAME INFORMER 


"RESIDENT EVIL FILM 


TOMB RAIDER FILM ON 
TRACK 


The live action Tomb Raider film starring Angelina Jolie is currently still 
shooting in a number of locations across the world. Scheduled to hit theaters 
next summer, we have learned a few more details concerning the cast and 
were sent a few spy photos from the set. 

The most interesting piece of casting news from the Tomb Raider produc- 
tion is the signing of Jon Voight to play the role of Lara Croft's father, Lord 
Croft. In actuality, Voight is Jolie's real-life papa, as well as one damn good 
actor. 

Currently, the crew is said to have wrapped most of its shooting at London's 
Pinewood studios and is going on location to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 


RESURFACES 


In is no secret that the film based on Capcom’s popular Resident Evil 
franchise has taken a long time to get off the ground. However, we have now 
learned that the film has received new financing, a new writer, a new direc- 
tor, and will begin production as early as January. 

Taking on the dual role of writer/director is none other than Paul 
Anderson. No, not Game Informer’s own Game Professor, but the Paul 
Anderson who directed the blockbuster video game film, Mortal Kombat. 
Anderson has apparently 


devised a new cast of char- 
acters for this film and will 
reportedly introduce a new 


duo named Alice and Matt. 
Disappointingly, the casting 
information that we gathered 
made no mention of Barry or 
that pesky Wesker. 

The film is being produced 
by Constantin Film апа 
distributed worldwide һу THE MOWIE 
Intermedia. If all goes as 
planned we should see 
Resident Evil on the big 
Screen next Halloween. 


Defeat Your Fears 


layers enter a world 

of intense magic and 

thunderous battles = 
where.your survival is — 
determined by collecting 
powerful artifacts and 
fashioning them to unique 
armor 
and weaponty. Two 
complete adventures await 
Darius and Sharline®, 
heroes who. must face an 
evil reborn. 
Journey as either һе апа 
nny discover 


characters and monsters for pee =. 
T a м. —À 


each adventurer. They will 
need to master the art of 
arming themselves with 
items of incredible might 
and untold magical 
abilities to thwart the 
powers of darkness. 


NTSC 


Utilize many bi; 


3 gore ous 


s Customizable ешп заа 
weaponry, armor, and clothing. 

* Certain combinations of armor and 
clothing unlock hidden magical 
abilities and powers. 


Destroy foes everywhere * Two independent characters to play — 
you journey 


each with their own storylines, goals, 
and discoveries. 

* Epic RPG storyline with all the action 
needed for a legendary quest. 


ieee i ae agetec 


© 2000 From Software, Inc. From Software and the From Software logo are trademarks of From Software, Inc. 
All rights reserved. Agetec, the Agetec logo, EverGrace and the EverGrace logo, are trademarks of Agetec, Inc. PlayStation and the "PS" Family logo 
are registered trademarks of Sony Computet-Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 


22 


GAME INFORMER 


THE GOOD, THE BAD, 


THE UGLY 


GOOD - With the recent price drop to $150 and new game releases such as 
NFL 2K1, Sega of America reports that Dreamcast hardware sales have 
increased 92% in recent months. 


BAD - Sega of America's recently announced Dreamcast sales increases 
occured prior to the launch of the PlayStation 2. Will the PS2 drown the sales 
of Sega's system? 


UGLY - Nintendo is sending the owners of 55 Pokémon-related domains to 
court for trademark infringement. Nintendo claims these domains are trying to 
profit from the Pokémon franchise, and wants cash and seizure of the domain 
names as compensation. 


GOOD - For our exemplary work habits in the production of the new issue of 
Game Informer, the staff was promised one day off for every three weeks 
worked. 


BAD, UGLY - Sony cut its initial shipments of PlayStation 2 in half to 500,000 
units, causing gamers everywhere to question the availability of the console. 
We hope this event didn't prevent anyone from locating a PS2, but we bet 
there are a few unhappy campers around. 


GOOD - Square Pictures has invited Game 
Informer to its Hawaii headquarters to take a 
look at the upcoming Final Fantasy movie, The 
Spirits Within. 


UGLY - Just a few weeks after featuring asso- 
сїаїе editor Erik Reppen's Volvo station wagon 
in the October's ETC. section, the car threw a 
rod and was completely totaled. Erik hopes he 
can get a few bucks for the tires 


Wherever there's a juicy rumor in the industry, Game Informer experts are on it 
like a fly on stink. If loose lips are spraying hot gossip, we're sucking up the secret 
saliva and drooling it all over this section. Loose Talk exposes inside rumors for all to 
see. These leads may turn out to be 100% untrue, but then again, they could also be 
dead honest, and you've just learned about them months before anyone else! 


One of our sources claims to have seen a gorgeous fighting game running on the 
Xbox development kit, one that TKO's everything else on the market in the graphics 
department. He also said that Konami's name may be attached. 


Word has it Crave Entertainment is trying to land the Razor license to bring a level 
of authenticity to its upcoming scooters game. If we ask nicely enough, maybe they'll 
insert Jay as a character with a "nil" balance rating. 


EA Games is working on Sled Storm 2 for the PlayStation 2. Our sources have 
told us that the snowmobile racing game is slated for release in March. 


With Vince McMahon's hard-hitting XFL just a few months from primetime, the 
WWF phones have been ringing off the hook with developers interested in creating 
games based on this league. Midway...Arena Football...NFL Blitz...sounds like a 
match. 


The new Medal of Honor PlayStation 2 game will tie into the first PS-X release by 
bringing back the main character, Jim Patterson. Apparently, he's not alone, as team 
tactics replace the solo assassin aspect. The rumored date for release is fall 2001. 


With many of the SingleTrac guys back at Sony under a new company name, 
Incognito, one must wonder if a new Jet Moto is in development. A new Twisted 
Metal is on the way (see page 67), so why not another Moto? 


Disney's upcoming film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, has become the most desir- 
able game property on the market. Who will land the license prior to the film's June 
2001 release? Will it be THQ? Activision? Sony? Or does Microsoft have some kind 
of bid on the table? 


11 playable characters each Over a dozen aerial tricks can 
be linked for unlimited combo's! 


“медеу 1 


Next generation wave 6 epic waves to master r te 
modeling physics with unique abilities 
"ш ы з mI ^ PP uh Pee (J Pee 
WWW/.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/SURFINGH30 
Î "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Son 

Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the и шш NI 

Interactive Digital Software Association. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios D 

logo are trademarks of Angel Studios. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar oe, RenderWare.3 

Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. A АДЛ 


© 2000 All rights reserved. 


PUNTA nv тпм «амі 


VIDEO GAME 


TRIVIA 


This month's tutti-frutti test-a-rooti is as prickly as a pineapple and as sticky as a 
tangerine. So what kind of edible pulpy mass are you? Haven't a clue? Then take 
our wonderful 10-question quiz to see how seedy you really are! 


Question 1: In 1976, a company 
named Fairchild Camera and 
Instrument electrified the 
video game scene with the first cartridge- 
based system - the Fairchild VES (later 
named the Channel F). This historic unit 
came equipped with two games installed 
on the hardware. What were they? 


A. Pong and Football 

B. Quadra-Doodle and Shooting Gallery 
C. Тіс-Тас-Тое and Doodle 

D. Hockey and Tennis 


Question 2: Who was the famous anima- 
tor who created the Dragon's Lair charac- 
ter, Dirk the Daring? 


A. Mel Blanc 

B. Don Bluth 

C. Charles Zembillas 
D. Peter Pawlings 


Question 3: How many blocks of memory 
does the standard Dreamcast VMU hold? 


A. 200 
B. 15 
С. 50 
D. 100 


Question 4: Ultima Online designer, 
Richard Garriott, created an Apple II 
game in 1979. What was it? 


A. The Castle of Lord British 
B. Aklabeth 

C. Ultimate Dungeon 

D. Orion Chronicles 


Question 5: In Star Control Il, what was 
the name of the ancient race that creat- 
ed your starship? 


A. Zoikoids 
B. Thradash 
C. Precursors 
D. Klingons 


Question 6: What special power did 
Erdrick's armor give your character in the 
classic NES game, Dragon Warrior? 


Video Game Trivia Answers: 
vor эз 
26 vu 


24  GAMEINFORMER 


A. Increased dexterity 
B. Regenerated hit points 
C. Granted invincibility 
D. Granted invisibility 


Question 7: What six countries were 
available for play in the NES game, Ice 
Hockey? 


A. US, Sweden, Poland, Canada, USSR, 
Czechoslovakia 

B. US, Canada, USSR, China, Australia, 
Romania 

C. US, USSR, Canada, England, Switzerland, 
Australia 

D. Mars, Mercury, Venus, Pluto, Saturn, Earth 


Question 8: In the Genesis game, Altered 
Beast, what did the digitized voice say 
when you started playing? 


A. "Good luck, my friend" 

B. "Find the golden cow" 

C. “Rise from your graves” 

D. “Reap what you have sown” 


Question 9: In the Intellivision #ате Buzz 
Bombers, players were armed with a can 
of bug spray. The goal was simple: kill the 
bees and destroy their honeycombs and 
hives. This war was not fought alone 
though. You had an ally that helped 
remove honeycombs. What was it? 


A. A flyswatter 

B. A Venus flytrap 
C. A hummingbird 
D. An armadillo 


Question 10: Considered the first head-to- | 
head fighting game, Karate Champ's kung 
fu was absorbed by the arcade and NES 


crowd. Who developed it? 
A. Data East 
B. Gametek 
C. UN 
D. Gamestar 
SCORE RANK 

ü 
0 Kumquat ry 
1-3 Crab Apple & 
4-6 Pear An 
7-9 Watermelon EB 
10 Honeydew 28 


ay az | 


ve at 


NEW RELEASES 


ALL DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE. CALL Y 


R MORE DETAIL 


R LOCAL RETAILER 


Release Title Publisher/ System Release Title Publisher/ System Release Title Publisher/ System 
Date Distributor Date Distributor Date Distributor 
NOVEMBER 11/28/00 Test Drive 2001 Infogrames. GBC 12/19/00 Warriors of Might & Magic 300 Ps2 
11/15/00 Cannon Spike Capcom. oc 11/28/00 World Destruction League:Thunder Tank 300 GBC 12/26/00 Army Men Air Attack 2 300 PS2 
11/15/00 Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse. Metro3D. Dc 11/28/00 Evil Dead: Hail to the King TH PC 12/21/00 Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure. Activision. GBC 
11/15/00 Gunbird 2 Capcom. DC 11/28/00 F1 World Grand Prix 2000 EIDOS Interactive. PC 12/27/00 Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure Activision PSX 
11/15/00 Half-Life Havas Interactive DC 11/28/00 Army Men Arcade Blast 300. PSX 12/28/00 Super Bowling 64 Tommo N64 
11/15/00 Batman Beyond Ubi Soft GBC 11/28/00 Ату Men Sarge’s Heroes 2 300 PSX 12/28/00 MDK2 Armageddon Interplay PS2 
14/15/00 Hoyle Card Games Havas Interactive GBC 11/28/00 Big Ol" Bass 2 Konami PSX 12/29/00 Max Steel Mattel GBC 
11/15/00 PowerPuff Girls: Bad Mojo Jojo Bam! Entertainment. GBC 11/28/00 F1 World Grand Prix 2000 EIDOS Interactive PSX JANUARY 
11/15/00 Rugrats in Paris THQ GBC 11/28/00 March Madness 2001 Electronic Arts PSX 1/1/01 Age of Empires II Konami 0с 
11/15/00 WWE: No Mercy THQ N64 11/28/00 Warriors of Might & Magic. 300 PSX — 1/1/01 Deer Avenger. Havas Interactive. ос 
11/15/00 Heist Monte Cristo PC 11/28/00 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks  3DO. PS2 1/1/01 Gorka Morka South Peak Dc 
11/15/00 Heroes Chronicles: Clash of Dragons. 300 PC 11/29/00 MTV Sports: Pure Ride THQ GBC 1/1/01. Legend of the Blademaster South Peak. DC 
11/15/00 Heroes Chronicles: Masters of Elemnts 300 PC 11/30/00 Who Wants to Beat Up a Millionaire? Havas Interactive DC 1/1/01 Max Steel Mattel DC 
11/15/00 Legend of the Blade Masters Ripcord Games PC 11/30/00 MTV Sports: BMX Freestyle. THQ GBC — 1/1/01 Combat Flight Simulator. Konami Dc 
11/15/00 Arthur Ready to Race. Mattel PSX 11/30/00 Chess 2000 Grandmaster Interplay PC 1/1/01 Outtrigger DC 
11/15/00 Batman Beyond. Ubi Soft PSX 11/30/00 Pipe Dreams 2 Talonsoft PC 1/1/01 ‘Shrapnel: Urban Warfare 2025. South Peak Dc 
11/15/00 Moto Racer World Tour Infogrames PSX F1 Racing Championship Ubi Soft PS2 1/1/01 Stunt GP Infogrames DC 
11/15/00 Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Atlus PSX 1/01 Croc 2 TH GBC 
15/00 Dark Angel: Vampire А; Metro3D PS2 Prince of Persia Mattel DC 4/1/01 Scooby Doo Classic Creep Capers THQ GBC 
11/15/00 Fusion GT Crave Entertainment. PS2 Backyard Football Infogrames. GBC 1/1/01 Tech Deck Skateboarding. Act ion GBC 
11/16/00 Hercules: The Legendary Journey Titus Software. GBC NASCAR Heat Majesco [ҖЫ шшш. Rt tang ee NGA 
11/16/00 Blues Brothers 2000. Titus Software N64 NASCAR Racers. Majesco GBC 1/1/01 SeaDoo Hydrocross. Vatical Entertainment N64 
11/16/00 Links LS Classic Microsoft PC Duke Nukem Forever Infogrames. PC — 1/1/01 4X4 Trophy Interplay PC 
11/16/00 MechWarrior 4: Vengeance Microsoft PC 12/01/00 Great White Hunter Humongous Entertainment PC 1/1/01 Dragon Riders. Red Storm Entertainment. РС 
11/16/00 Rising Sun Gold Talonsoft PC 12/01/00 IceWind Dale: Heart of Winter Interplay PC 1/1/01 Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Acclaim PC 
11/16/00 Star Trek: Starfleet Command 2 Interplay PC 12/01/00 Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos Infogrames PC /1/01 Freelancer Microsoft РС 
11/16/00 Torneko: The Last Hope Enix PSX 12/1/00 Backyard Football Infogrames PSX 1/1/01 Mech Commander 2 Microsoft PC 
11/17/00 Hot Wheels Williams F1 Team Driver Mattel PC 12/1/00 Championship Surfer Mattel PSX 1/1/01 LEGO Stunt Rally Lego Media PSX 
11/17/00 Original Маг. Interplay PC 12/1/00 NASCAR Heat Hasbro Interactive PSX 1/1/01 ATV Off Road Fury Sony PS2 
11/20/00 Championship Surfer Mattel. DC 12/1/00 NASCAR Racers Hasbro Interactive PSX 1/1/01 Dark Cloud. Sony PS2 
11/20/00 Disney's Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers Ubi Soft 0с 12/1/00 Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots. Mattel PSX 1/1/01 ESPN NBA 2 Night Konami PS2 
14/20/00 Donkey Kong Country Nintendo. GBC 12/1/00 Worms Pinball Infogrames PSX 1/1/01 Gauntlet Dark Legacy Midway __ PS2 
11/20/00 Dragon Tales: Dragon Wings. NewKidCo_ GBC 12/4/00 3:0 Ultra Pinball. Havas Interactive. GBC 1/1/01 Gran Turismo 3. Sony PS2 
11/20/00 Grand Theft Auto 2 Take 2 interactive GBC 12/4/00 Barbie Pet Rescue Mattel GBC 1/1/01 Stunt GP. Titus Software PS2 
11/20/00 Lemmings Revolution Таке 2 Interactive. GBC 12/4/00 Blue's Clue's Alphabet Book Mattel GBC — 1/5/01 Command & Conquer: Renegade Westwood Studios/EA PC 
11/20/00 Tom & Jerry: Mouse Attack. NewKidCo_ GBC 12/4/00 Kirby Tilt ‘п Tumble. Nintendo. GBC 1/9/01 Disney's Jungle Book Ubi Soft PS2 
11/20/00  — Banjoloole tendo N64 12/4/00 Pokemon Puzzle Challenge Nintendo, GBC — 1/9/01 F1 Championship Season 2000 Electronic Arts. PS2 
11/20/00 Scooby Doo Classic Capers THQ N64 12/4/00 Sesame Street Sports. NewKidCo GBC 1/9/01 NBA Live 2001 Electronic Arts PS2 
11/20/00 Spider-Man Activision N64 12/4/00 Tyco R/C Racin’ Ratz Mattel GBC 1/10/01 Oni. Take 2 Interactive. PS2 
11/20/00 817 ying Fortress 2 Hasbro Interactive PC 12/4/00 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Havas Interactive PSX 1/15/01 Project Justice. Capcom oc 
11/20/00 Blair Witch 3: The Elly Kedward Tale Gathering of Developers. PC 12/5/00 Grandia II Ubi Soft. Dc 1/15/01 Dragon's Lair Capcom GBC 
11/20/00 Kingdom Under Fire. Gathering of Developers. PC 12/5/00 Heroes Might & Magic III Ubi Soft. DC 015/01 Flinstones: Burgertime іп Bedrock Electro Source GBC 
11/20/00 Disney's Jungle Book: Rhythm n’ Groo Ubi Soft. PSX 12/5/00 Force 21 Ubi Soft. GBC 1/15/01 Mario Tennis Nintendo GBC 
14/20/00 ^ — Disney's Goofys Fun House. NewKidCo PSX 12/5/00 Harley Davidson. Infogrames GBC 1/15/01 Matchbox Mission Bravo. Mattel GBC 
11/20/00 Obi-Wan, TH PSX 12/5/00 Mummy, The Konami GBC 1/15/01 Mega Man Xtreme Capcom GBC 
11/20/00 Sesame Street Sports NewKidCo PSX 12/5/00 Playmobile: Hype Ubi Soft GBC 1/15/01 Metal Walker Capcom. GBC 
11/21/00 The Grinch Konami Dc 12/5/00 Road Champs BMX: Stunt Biking Activision GBC 15/01 Microsoft Best of Entertainment Pak Electro Source GBC 
11/21/00 Sno Cross Championship Racing, Crave Entertainment, Dc 12/5/00 Woody Woodpecker Racing Konami GBC 1/15/01 Microsoft Pinball Arcade Electro Source GBC 
11/21/00 Army Men Air Combat 300. GBC 12/5/00 Disney's Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft N64 1/15/01 Aidyn Chronicles: The First Маде THQ N64 
11/21/00 Army Men Sarge's Heroes 2 300 GBC 12/5/00 The Road to EI Dorado Ubi Soft. PSX 15/01 Mega Man 64. Capcom N64 
11/21/00  — Cannon Fodder Activision. GBC 12/5/00 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers. Ubi Soft PS2 01/15/01 __ Clive Baker's Undying Electronic Arts. РС 
11/21/00 Dexters Lab: Robot Rampage Bam! Entertainment. GBC 12/5/00 ESPN NFL Prime Time Konami PS2 01/15/01 ends of Might & Magic 300 Pc 
11/21/00 Godzilla 2 Crave Entertainment. GBC 12/5/00 NHL Faceoff 2001 Sony PS2 01/15/01 MS Links 2001 Course Pack 1. Microsoft РС 
11/21/00 The Grinch Konami GBC 12/5/00 Theme Park Rollercoaster Electronic Arts PS2 01/15/01 Shrapnel: Urban Warfare 2025. South Peak. PC 
11/21/00 Batman Beyond Ubi Soft N64 12/7/00 Robopon (Sun Version) Atlus GBC 01/15/01 _ Sudden Strike EIDOS Interactive. PC 
11/21/00 WCW Backstage Assault Electronic Arts N64 12/11/00 Armada 2: Exodus. Metro3D_ 0C 01/15/01 Summoner TH PC 
11/21/00  — American McGee's Alice. Electronic Arts PC 12/11/00  — Hitman: Codename 47 EIDOS Interactive PC 01/15/01 _ TeamFortess2 Науаз Interactive. РС 
11/21/00  — Insane Activision. PC 12/12/00 Warriors of Might & Magic 300 GBC 1/15/01 Digimon World i Bandai PSX 
11/21/00 007 Racing. Electronic Arts PSX 12/12/00 Star Wars Episode I: Battle for Nabo Lucas Arts N64 1/16/01 Dragon Riders. Ubi Soft Dc 
11/21/00 Nicktoons Racing Hasbro Interactive. PSX 12/12/00 NBA Live 2001 Electronic Arts. PC 1/16/01 Stupid Invaders. Ubi Soft. Dc 
11/21/00 Powerspike Volley Infogrames. PSX 12/12/00 Rayman: Brain Games Ubi Soft PSX 1/16/01 The Bouncer Square. Р52 
41/21/00 FIFA 2001 Electronic Arts PS2 12/12/00  — SeaDoo Hydrocross Vatical Entertainment PSX 1/22/01 Conker's Bad Fur Day Nintendo, N64 
11/21/00 Rayman 2: Revolution. Ubi Soft. PS2 12/12/00 Army Men Sarge's Heroes 2 300 PS2 1/25/01 The Simpsons. TH GBC 
14/21/00  — Roadsters Trophy Titus Software. PS2 12/15/00 PowerPuff Giris: Battle Him Bam! Entertainment. GBC 1/25/01 МТУ Sports: TJ Lavins Ult. ВМХ TH PSX 
11/22/00 ^ Looney Tunes Collector: Attack! Infogrames GBC 12/15/00 PowerPuft Girls: Paint the Town Bam! Entertainment GBC 1/30/01 The Mummy Konami De 
11/22/00 ^ Looney Tunes Racin Infogrames GBC 12/15/00 Sgt Rock Bam! Entertainment GBC 2/30/01 Inspector Gadget Ubi Soft GBC 
11/24/00 Silent Hunter IL Mindscape PC 12/15/00 Yogi Bear: Great Balloon Bla Bam! Entertainment GBC 1/30/01 Hercules: The Legendary Journey Titus Software N64 
11/24/00 Detective Barbie: The Mystery Cruise Mattel PSX 12/15/00 EverQuest: Scars of Velious 989 Studios/Verant PC 01/30/01 Oni Gathering of Developers PC 
11/24/00 Hot Wheels Extreme XTR Racing Mattel PSX 12/15/00 F/A18E SuperHornet Gold Edition Interple PC 1/30/01 Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix EIDOS Interactive. PSX 
11/27/00 Evil Dead: Hail to the Kir TH Dc 12/15/00 Steel Panthers: World at War Mindscape РС 1/30/01 Driving Emotion Ту шаге. PS2 
14/27/00 ^ Doug's Big Game NewKidCo GBC 12/15/00 Trbes2 Havas Interactive PC 4/30/01 Offroad Outlaws Interplay Ps2 
12/21/00_ М & М5 Minis Madness Majesco GBC 12/15/00 Carrier Jaleco PS2 01/31/01 Age of Sail 11 Jalonsoft PC 
11/27/00 Nicktoons Racing Majesco GBC 12/19/00 Powerspike Volleyball Infogrames, GBC 01/31/01 Duke Nukem Endangered Species. Gathering of Developers. PC 
11/27/00 TH PSX 12/19/00 Supercross 2001 Electronic Arts PSX 01/31/01 Rowan's Battle of Britain Empire Interactive. РС 
11/28/00 Star Wars: Demolition. Lucas Arts Dc 12/19/00 NBA Shootout 2001 Sony PS2 1/31/01 Time Crisis Project Titan Namco PSX 
11/28/00 Unreal Tournament Infogrames. DC 12/19/00 NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony PS2 
11/28/00 Little Nicky Ubi Soft GBC 12/19/00 NCAA Gamebreaker 2001 Sony PS2 


More reviews available at 
www.gameinformer.com 


REVIEWS ARCHIVE 


BL = BOTTOM LINE 


DECEMBER 2000 


TITLE BL TLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE TITLE BL DATE 
PLAYSTATION 2 Kurt Warner's Arena FootballUnleashed2.5 Јиъ00 Тай Concerto 775 №99 Rocket 8 Мә рам: In the Demon's Hand 65 муо 
ATO Coe 2 9 Novog Legend of Dragoon, The 9 — 0000 Team Buddies 7.25 0000 асай в 0099 Speed Devils 725 0099 
Dead or Alive 2: Hard Core o nooo Legend of Mana в WOO — Tenhu2 8.75 5ер00 Starshot 45 Nov99 Star Wars Episode | Racer 875  Jun00 
Dynasty Werffors в  Novoo Lego Rock Raiders 15 0000 Test Drive 6 7.5 Dec99 Supercross 2000 6.75  Jan00 Street Fighter Ill: 3rd Strike 8.25  Nov00 
Eternal Ring 75 Novo Lunar: The Silver Star Story Complete 7.75 Jui99 Test Drive Le Mans 3.75 300 Super Mario 64 9.75 Aug96 Street Fighter Ill: Double Impact 775 Sep00 
Evergrace 7 Novog Madden NFL 2000 875 0099 Тев Drive Off Road 3 8 Nov99 South Park Rally 45  AprO0 Street Fighter Alpha 3 ^ 8.75 Aug00 
Gun Griffon Blaze 7 Novoo Madden NFL 2001 8.75  Sep00 Thousand Arms 775 Nov99 Tarzan 725 Mar00 Striker Pro 2000 675 Aug00 
кеңий в Novoo Маг Madness 2000 825 Fed00 Thrasher: Skate and Destroy 8 — Jan00 The World is Not Enough 9 NovO0 Super Magnetic Neo 85 Aug00 
Madden NFL 2001 975 Novo Medal of Honor 925 Dec99 Threads of Fate 8 JuQ0 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 925 Ма:00 Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing 7 0ес99 
NHL 2001. 85 мудо Medalof Honor: Underground 9 NovoO Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2000 7.8  FebO0 Top Gear Hyper Bike 725 Feb0O Sword of the Berzerk 8 — Apr00 
Silent Scope 7.75  Novoo MediEvil I 775 May00 Тпу Tank (Revised) 55 Nov99 Тор Gear Rally 2 6.75 0ес99 Sydney2000 35 0000 
Silpheed G муо0о Мена Man Legends 2 8 №00 ТОСА2: Touring Car Challenge 65  Jan00 Toy Story 2 75  Jan00  TeeOff 625 Арг00 
Smuggler's Run 85 Nooo Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions 3.75  Nov99 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 8 — JanQ0  Turok3 8 000 Те Romancer 85 — Aug00 
ple 225 мудо Mission: Impossible 8.25 Feb00 Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return 8.75 Ја*00 иок: Rage Wars 8 — Dec99 Test Drive 6 8 ғо 
Street Fighter EX3 6 Novoo Misadventures of Tronne Bonne, The 7 May0O Tomorrow Never Dies 725  Jan00 Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 8 — Jan00 Time Stalkers 65 Мауб0 
Super Bust AMove 7 Novoo МВ2001 75 Jun00 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 95  Nov99 Маң Disney World Quest: TNN Hardcore Heat 575 00:99 
Swing Away Golf. 75 Novoo Mobil 1 Rally Championship 5.75 May00 Топу Hawk's Pro Skater 2 10 Nov00 Magical Racing Tour 725 0000 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 575 00:99 
Tekken Tag Toumainett 85  Novoo Monkey Magic 525 Nov99 Toy Story 2 8 Јар  WaveRace 64 9 Nov96 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 85 NovO0 
Wild Wild Racing 75  Novoo Monster Rancher 2 85 0099 ТКМ Snowboarders 425 0899 Маск 7.7  Nov99 Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 7.75 Јит00 
XSquad 75 Noviog Mortal Kombat: Special Forces 175 5ер00 Таре Play 2001 8 — May00 МСМ Mayhem 75 0099 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater W^ Db 

Mr. Driller 8 2000 Twisted Metal 4 9 Janû0 Wrestlemania 2000 9 — Dec99 Toy Commander 875  Nov99 
PLAYSTATION Ms. PacMan Maze Madness 825 Аш00 VRaly2 725 Јат00 Xena: Talisman of Fate. 35  JanO0  ToyStory2 7 бер00 
40 Winks 7 Feboo MTV Music Generator 7.05  Jon00 Urban Chaos 275 Jun00 TrickStyle 7.75  Octo9 
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere 775 Mayoo МТУ Sports Skateboarding Vagrant Story 9 муо DREAMCAST UFC 85 0000 
Aion бый 7 sepoo featuring Andy Macdonald З — Nov00 Valkyrie Profile 7.75 Sep00  4Wheel Thunder 7.25  JunO0 vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 8 Mardo 
Mian Resurrection 6 Novoo МТУ Sports: Pure Ride 6.5 NovOO Vampire Hunter D. 525  SepO0  AeroWings 7 Oct99 Virtua Athlete 2000 7 0000 
Alundra 2 65 mayoo Muppet Racemania 5 — Nov00  Vanark 7 MayO0 AeroWings 2: Air Strike 75 5ер00 Virtua Fighter 3tb 775  Nov99 
Arcade Party Pak 15  Deco9 NASCAR 2000 Li Nov.99 Vandal Hearts II 775  Dec99 Airforce Delta. 775  Oct99 Virtua Striker 2 525 Mardo 
Armored Core: Master of Arena. 75 Apr00 NASCAR Rumble 7.75 Mar-00 Vanguard Bandits 775 Jun-00 Armada 65 Feb00 Virtua Tennis 925 Ѕер00 
Anorines 5 2000 МВА in the Zone 2000 6.5 Јаһоо Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense 7.5  Jen00 Blue Stinger. $25  Oct99 Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram 7.25  Aug00 
Army Men: Air Attack 675 безд NBA Live 2000 85 — Jan00 Май Disney World: Cannon Spike 7 SepO0 Wacky Races 6 бер00 
Ату Men: Sarge's Heroes 55 Mayoo NBA Showtime 65 — Jan00 Magical Racing Tour 65 Мау00 Carrier 675  ApO0  Wetrx+ 5 — Mardo 
Army Men: World War 2 Augoo МА Shootout 2000 475 Mar00 Warpath: Jurassic Park 675  Dec99 Сһи Chu Rocket 875 AprOO wid Metal 3 — May00 
АТУ: Quad Bike Challenge & Novoo NBAShootOut 2001 55 №у00 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Crazy Taxi 8.75 Feb0O World Series Baseball 2K1 575 Ѕер00 
Ball Breakers 35 Sep00 NCAA Final Four 2000 7 — Jano 2nd Edition 65 Aug00 02 475 0000 WWF Attitude 85  Jan00 
Ballistic 7 зр NCAA Football 2000 8 баз Wild Arms 2 85  MayO0 Dead or Alive 2 9 Apr00 Zombie Revenge 6.75 Feb00 
Bass Rise. 4 — Nov99 NCAA Gamebreaker 2000 75 0099 Wipeout 3 7.75 Nov99 Deep Fighter 675 00 
Battle Tanx Il: Global Assault 7 Аюб Need for Speed: Porche Challenge 7.75 — Jun-00 Worms Armageddon 8 0ес99 Demolition Racer: No Exit 8 №00 РС 
Bedrock Bowling 35 0000 NFL Blitz 2001 5.5 Nov00 ‘Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style 6.25  Dec99 Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm 735 1400 ‘Age of Empires li 
Baombots. A5 — Jan00 NFL GameDay 2000 825  Oct99 WWF Smackdown 9 — Ax00 Dynamite Cop. 7  Nov99 The Conqueror's Expansion 9  Nov00 
Brokeri Sword Il 675 Jan00 NFL GameDay 2001 7 Sep0o Xfiles 3.75 Јаһоо Ecco the Dolphin: BANG! Gunship Elite 7 0000 
Builder's Block 825 Augoo NFL Xtreme 2 8.25  Sept99 XMen Mutant Academy 75 “600 Defender of the Future 7 Oct-00 Baldur's Gate Ii 95  Nov00 
Fepam 725 Sepoo NGEN Racing 125 ер Хепа: Warrior Princess 7.75  Nov99 ЕСМ: Hardcore Revolution 775 Мау00  Breakneck 625 0:00 
Busta Move '99 а. Nds ШЕ m a носо You Don't Know Jack. в Feb00 tee Gimmick Gear 1 иш Crimson Skies 825 NovO0 

lov volution c: Heavy Metal: FAKK 2 675 0000 

Сер uos m bs NHL Blades of Steel 2000 55 Deco NINTENDO 64 Evolution 2: Far Off Promise. 6 шою нна Cataclysm 8 №00 
со Digan 2 675  Janoo NHL Championship 2000 7.25  Dec99  Airboardin’ USA 55 0099 Expendable: Millennium Soldier 4 0099 Sanity Aiken's Artifact 525  Nov00 
rre SUM $5 део NHL Face Off 2000 7.25  Nov99 AllStar Baseball 2001 775  MayO0 F4 World Grand Prix 775 000 біт: Livin’ Large, The 7 Nov00 
ol Moras Rally Т oo МН Face off 2001 65 №0000 Атоте 725 Jan00 Fighting Force 2 525 Mar0O Soulbiinger 65 0000 
Colony Wars: Red Sun 825 apoo Nightmare Creatures I 525  JunQ0 Ату Men: Air Combat 75 00 Наво Flag 45 Oct99 5а Trek New Worlds 5 №00 
бой йл: 775  Decgg NO Fear Downhill Mountain Biking 4.25 — JanO Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 7 Dec Fur Fighters 775 Aug0O Warlords Battlecry 8.15 0000 
ег one: Naseer ain: 775 фо Omega Boost 7.15  Oct99 Bassmasters 2000 8 — Mar00 Gauntlet Legends 775 Jun00 

Crash Team Racing о Мно Pac-Man World 8 Oct-99 BattleTanx II: Global Assault 7.25 · Nov99 Giga Wing 75 Mardo GAME BOY 
Crusaders of Might and Magis 725 Margo Parasite tel 8.75 Sep00 ВәМегопе: Rise of the Black Dogs 325 May00 Gunbiri2 55  OdO0 1942 55 Augoo 
Бойон Мади 65 лоо Polaris Snocross 55 Nov00 Blades of Stee! 2000 3.5 JanQ0 Grand Theft Auto 2 75 000 Al Star Tennis 65 0ес99 
Cyber Tiger 125 рез Quel 75 0099 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 5.25 Jan00 Hidden & Dangerous 7 0000 Ваз Masters Classic 725 0 
Dave Mirra Freestyle ВМХ 778 Novoo Railfoad Tycoon Ii 75 AprOO Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness 525 Mar00 Hydro Thunder 8 Oct99 Beauty and the Beast 475 Jan00 
Deception Il: Dark Delusion 6.25  Aproo апонб 975 ш Обет сч MOO ын : 55 — Mar00 Ву Bob's Huntin’ ‘N Fishin’ 375  Dec99 
Deine Dany Hay 75 0200 Rampage Through Time 4.75 5еро0 Destruction Derby 64 7.25  Dec99 Jeremy McGrath's Supercross 2000 3.75 Nov0O Bionic Commando: Elite Forces 825 Mardo 
айн neuer 75 Decgg PetAttack 6.75  Nov99 Donkey Kong 64 8.15  Dec99 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 8 Мәг00 Blaster Master: Enemy Below 825 Арго 
Die Hard Trilogy 2 7 maroo Русі: Series Termination 7.25 Nov00  DuckDogers 35 0800 King of Fighters Dream Match 1999 8 0099 Catwoman 475 0ес99 
Digimon World 525 soo, PO Revenge 5.5 0000 Earthworm Jim 3D 5.75 Dec99 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 8  Mar00 Chase HQ: Secret Police 55  Dec99 
Dino Crisis 2 875 одоо R/C Stunt Copter 7 O99 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 8 — Mar00 Maken X 7.75 00 — Contra: The Allen Wars 875 0499 
Ойдан 225  Sepoo _‘Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 65 Feb00 Excitebike 64 7.25 Jun00 Marvel Vs. Capcom 75 0899 ос 575 Aug00 
Dragon Valor 75 Nov00 Reel Fishing N 65 — Ju00 Fighter's Destiny 2 2 5ер00 Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 8 А00 Crystalis 85  Aug00 
Dukes of Hazzard: Racing for Home 6 Маго Resident Evil 3 925 Dec99 Gauntlet Legends 7 0ес99 мр2 8 2000  реа\ш!&! 75 Deco 
Dune 2500 775  Novgg Resident Evi Survivor 4 Nov00 Harvest Moon 64 7.25  MarO0 Мопасо Grand Prix 7 Oct99 Dinosaur 375 Augoo 
ECW Anarchy Rulz 4 о NR 325 Nov99 Hot Wheels Turbo Racing 7 00998 Мопа! Kombat Gold 7.25 0099 Dragon Warrior Monsters в Mardo 
Сова. a25 maroo Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure 6.75 2000 — Hydro Thunder 7.5  May00 Namco Museum 775 Sep00 ^ Оше Nukem 675 0ес99 
ESPN MLS: Game Night 8 augoo Роа Rash: Jailbreak 7 Maroo Indy Racing 2000 8 5р0 NBA2K 9 Jan00 ECW: Hardcore Revolution 2 Mayoo 
Elk zone 5 обоо Rock the Rink 8 — May.00 International Track & Field 2000 7 AprOO МВА Showtime: NBA on NBC 7.25 Dec99 НРА 2000 45 Dec99 
Expendable as 000 Rolcage:Stage II 7.25 Аре00 Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 5 Аю — N&L2K 9.25 08099 Gex3:Deep Pocket Gecko 15 Marto 
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition 375 Maroo Ротапсе of the Three Kingdoms VI 725 — Mar0O Jet Force Gemini 7.75 баз тїзї 95 №00 Ghosts N Goblins 7 Nov99 
Fear Effect 825 maroo FPG Maker 7.75 Aug00 Кіту: The Crystal Shards 75 Aug00 NFL Blitz 2000 9 — 099 кшш 5 099 
FIFA 2000 878 бед аба Frontier 2 8 JanO0 Knockout Kings 2000 825  Dec99 МА. Blitz 2001 525 №99 Lucky Luke 725  Oct99 
Fighting Force 2 55  Feboo Sammy Sosa High Heat 2001 3.75 May00 Lego Racers 775 Јаъ00 NFL Quarterback Club 2000 2.25  FebOO Madden NFL 2000 775 0ес99 
Fishermen's Вай 2 6 decgg Sammy Sosa Softball Slam 5.75  Jun00 Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask The 9.75 М0  NHL2K 825 А00 Mario Golf 875  Nov99 
Final Fantasy Anthology 875 ogg Shadow Man 675  Nov99 Madden NFL 2001 8.75 Sep00 Nightmare Creatures Il 5 SepOO Metal Gear Solid 925 100 
лабе 65 775 Janoo  ShadowTower 75 Novg9 Майо Party 2 5.75 Feb00 Omikron: The Nomad Soul 55 SepO0 Mickey's Adventure Racing 8 Маг00 
Бома э amoo Silent Bomber 775 Мәг00 Маго Tennis 825 0000 — PenPenTilcelon 4 — 0899 Micro Machines 1 & 2 8 Маубо 
Police: Weapons of Justice 475 одод Sihouette Mirage 75 Feb00 House of the Dead 2 8 099 Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Blistein 7.25 May0O Millenium Winter Sports 735 Jan00 
авео 87 Juego SiM Theme Park 7 2000 Gundam Side Story 0079 775 00 Power Stone 8 0099 Missile Command 175 Jan00 
Gallop Racer 6 Novag Smurfs, The 5.5 Маг00 Namco Museum 64 8 — Jan00 Power Stone 2 85 — Aug00 Monster Rancher Battle Card 675 100 
aunit Legends 65 Mayo 870 Cross Championship Racing 6 NovO0 NBA Courtside 2 7.25 Jan00 Psychic Force 2012 7 Jan00 Monster Rancher Explorer 75 Nov00 
Gekido: Urban Fighters 45 Joo Зои Park Chef's Luv Shack 3.25 Feb00 NBA In the Zone 2000 55 Jan00 Quarterback Club 2001 25 NovOO Mr. Driller 825 JO 
anii? 95  Fapog South Park Rally 45 Маг00 МВА Јат 2000 6 Dec99 Railroad Tycoon Il 5 №00 Мә. PacMan 775 Now99 
Grand Theft Амо 2 775 Decgo асе Invaders 8 Dec99  NBALive 2000 825  Dec99 Rayman 2: The Great Escape 8 — ApO0 Perfect Dark 4 ^ Nov00 
Grandia 725 Novog 5808 Ops: Stealth Patrol 6.5  AugO0 NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC 7.25  Dec99 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 7.25 00099 Pokémon Trading Card Game 725 jun00 
ond Session 575 junoo 5066 Punks 7 MayO0 NFL QB Club 2000 5 Oct99 Resident Evil Code: Veronica 9,5 — Aw00 Pokémon Yellow 65  Nw99 
Grudge Warriors 5 Augoo ShderMan 825 0800 Nuclear Strike 875 Feb00 Revolt 5 #000 Rayman 8 2000 
Hot Shots Golf 2 8 Мир  SPin Jam 35 0000 Ogre Battle 64 9 0800 Rippin Riders т Dec99 Road To El Dorado 45 Sep00 
Hot Wheels Turbo Racing 625  No.go 5070 2: Ripto's Rage 8.75 Dec Paperboy 425 00099 Roadsters 55 Jun00 SpiderMan 4 Nov00 
Hydro Thunder 775 apoo ` ShWo:Yearofthe Dragon 875  NovOO Perfect Dark 925 000 Royal Rumble 6.75 5ер00 Star Wars: Episodé I Racer 825 Маг00 
вав Gifals 75 nooo Star Trek invasion 85 0000  PilotWings 64 95  Aug96 Rush 2049 7 00000 Tomb Raider 8.25 — Aug00 
ihtemotional ack & Feld 2000 7 peogg Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 7.25 — Oct99 Pokémon Stadium 8 — May0O Seaman 7 SepO0 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 35 Jun00 
Jacke Chan's зите? 65 Mago 50 Fighter EX2 Plus 7.75  Jun00 Quarterback Club 2001 4 №00 Sega Rally Championship 75  Jan00 Тоопзумапіа 7 Sep00 
Jedi Poner Battles 8 Mayoo Seet SkBer 2 7 20000 Rainbow 6 8 ғо Sega GT 9 — 01000 — ToyStory2 525 Feb00 
Jeremy McGrath 4 обо Sude2 65 2000 Rally Challenge 4.5 — Sep00 Sega Marine Fishing 8 — NovOO Triple Play 2001 4 — Augoo 
Jet Moto 3. 2I Suikoden II Ə — Олз Rayman 2: The Great Escape 7.75 No99  Shadowman 7.75 Feb00 Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion 35 0200 
ak E E s amoo Superbike 2000 4 Jun00 Resident Evil 2 875 Nov99 Siver 8 — SepO0 wario Land 3 875 Augoo 
үс 65 nogo ` Supercross 2000 4 0000 Ready2 Rumble Boxing 65  Feb00 Slave Zero 625  Jan00 © Worlocked 8 5ер00 
кї Grand Pri 55  Feboo 8000101055 Circuit 35  Deco9 емон 475 0099 Sou! Calibur 925 0499 МС Mayhem 775  Ju00 

1505 6 maroo SufRiders 675 0000 Ridge Racer 64 7.25 Feb00 Soul Fighter 55 Jan00 wings of Fury 7 Маго 

Knockout Kings 2000 8 Deeg; Sydney 2000 275 0000 Road Rash 64 8 0099 South Park Chef's Luv Shack 35 Feb00 WWF Wrestlemania 2000 728 0ес99 

Koudelka. 45 Sepoo Әп Filter 2 9 Аио0 Roadsters Trophy 7 — Jan00 Space Channel 5 775 3000 Yars Revenge 625 — Jan00 


СІ NEWS 
Н PS2 BRINGS X-MEN k е 


>» Sony announced that the PA н 
sales of the Crash Bandicoot ABO ARD j 

series of games for the 

PlayStation have reached 20 mil- А : i 
lion units worldwide. The X-Men have become a video game mainstay, and plan to stay that £ i 
И Way thanks to Activision. The company announced that two new X-men ж в. { 
ИЩ ENSE titles are headed to the PlayStation 2. ў di em 1 
America is currently working to Due to release first is a fighter, supposedly similar to this summer's P s - "E 
pone the raye Hen ло top-selling X-Men Mutant Academy. Activision will test the bounds of the АМ m d 
MEUM ДЫ | X-Men appeal with its second title listed as an action/RPG. These are just | 

[MN ЖЕ ЛО Н two ofthe 14 titles Activision is planning for the PS2. 

Japan. Fighting games will have ample representation on the PlayStation2 with 

> LucasArts has officially Monster titles like D0A2 Hardcore, Tekken Тав, and Street Fighter ЕХЗ 5 
E O EE Oi E LG | all slated for the console's launch time. Time will tell whether the upcoming 

ELE CEG ИЛИН X-Men titles will carry on the tradition of excellence Activision has shown in 

С ССС the past, or if they'll slip into mediocrity. 

ing Obi-Wan's development time- 

line and will provide another 

update in early 2001. 

> Even though Koei's Kessen 2 

is still in development, we have 

learned that Koei is already plan- f A A 

ning Kessen 3 for PlayStation 2. 7 DE | 

Plans for the game call for full 5 Э | 

multi-player capabilities via the 

PS2's upcoming broadband net- чш. 


work, 


> The arcade/restaurant/bar 
chain Game Works is implement- 
ing a new access policy for 
mature-rated games. GameWorks 
will utilize a V-Card that will be 
coded to either allow restricted or 
unrestricted access to games 
depending on the patron’s age. 


> Sega of America has report: 
edly shipped close to 500,000 
copies of Visual Concepts’ foot- 
ball game, NFL 2K1. 


> Nintendo’s upcoming succes- 
sor to the Nintendo 64, the 
Gamecube, will be unveiled in a 
playable form at the Electronic 
Entertainment Expo (E3) in May 


> In its first week of release, the 
combined sales of Pokémon 
Gold & Silver topped 1.4 million 
copies. Nintendo expects to sell 


à 
10 million copies of the two i BREAK 
titles. ү! 

> Take 2's PlayStation 2 ^ wey DOWN 
action/adventure game, Oni, mat TE 


won't make it to the system until 
next year. The game, developed ; Цао Я 
ТОТО 5% of our readers think Kristian is а girl 


stores in January. 


> Activision announced that the 
EDN SON GJ LO) 15% of our readers think Reiner looks like a "ratnosed hellmonkey" 
Hawk's Pro Skater 2 has 


Don't buy a lame game. 
shipped over one million copies. 


Check it out on FirstLook.com first. 


Eu е perc 42% of our letters this month weighed in on the ongoing Solid Snake vs. Gabe FirstLook.com lets you see 
eein а; ё еҥ rides, n 
More specifically, we are investi- Logan debate streaming samples of games 


gating a possible feature about 
drivers who hit the streets in rac- 
ing modified cars. If you might. 
want to show off your car, email 
paul@gameinformer.com. 


before you buy, so you can see 
them in action. 

Log on to FirstLook.com 
and see it before you buy it. 


78% of Game Informer editors still believe in Santa Claus 


67% of Matt's remaining brain cells were lost by getting the @#$% knocked out 
of him by Steve Kent at Codemasters’ Mike Tyson Boxing event 


first 
look.com 


Name That Game Answer: 


SaIN\UOAPY риомрро 


же m 
m к”, 


minor metropolis of Champaign. Ре! you've heard 
of it. After all, it is well known as the home to a 
University of Illinois branch that boasts a student population 
of 36,000. If you've ever driven through it, surely you 
noticed why it was voted one of the easiest cities of its iy. 
size to motor about in. Or maybe you've visited the newly 
constructed Hooters restaurant on the outskirts of town. 
Regardless of your Champaign, Illinois familiarity level, 
however, there may be one detail that has slipped your 
attention. Huddled in amongst a street filled with low- 
lying, brick business offices is a simple looking metal- 
framed glass door, behind which works a group of 
insurgents intent on changing your perception of reality. 
According to them, you've accepted the irrational in 
video games for far too long. A bomb will obliterate 
any person who is unfortunate enough to set it off, 
but will leave the wall it was set against 
completely unscathed. A rocket launcher can 
be used to blow a sniper out of a wooden 
tower, but never to destroy the weak 
structure he sits in. These illogical 
elements have stood since 
Wolfenstein 3D showed the world the 
way of the first-person shooter eight 
years ago. Due to technology 
constraints, such limiting factors were 
understandable back then, but they are 
unacceptable now. Я 
In the view of these agitators, it should. 2 ^ 
be just as possible to shoot a pane of 
glass though an enemy as it is to shoot 
an enemy through a pane of glass. If 
you're shooting missiles from a flying 
vehicle, the people in your sights should 
be just as worried about being killed by 
shrapnel and falling rubble as they are 
about being caught in a blast radius. If you 
want to use your demolitions to blow a 
tunnel through a wall, go right ahead. E 
The letters on the office door tell you the 
masterminds behind this revolution call 
themselves Volition. Their first PS2 game was 
a mostly-straightforward RPG. Their next PS2 
title will change the first-person shooter forever. 
Come on in and take a look at Red Faction. 


В, urrowed into the east central part of llinois is the 


^w 


E STYLE | CR 2. PLAYER ACTION ш PUBLISHER THQ 
E DEVELOPER VOLITION I RELEASE MARCH 2001 


26  GAMEINFORMER 


M 
I 
| 


DESTROYING 
EXPECTATIONS 


GAME INFORMER 27 


А perfect example of the Сео-Мой 

engine at work. In this picture, the 

main character is shooting a person 
through a pane of glass 


The Big Change 


On the surface, Red Faction appears to be a first-person 
Shooter of the standard variety, albeit a very attractive one. 
After just minutes of play, however, one quickly realizes that 
this game isn't of the garden variety. Red Faction's claim to 
fame - the feature that will everafter raise people's 
expectations from the genre — is its Geo-Mod engine. 

Short for geometry modification, what Geo-Mod basically 
does is allow a player's weapons to damage the environments 
in more ways than simply putting bullet holes in things. With a 
heavy enough armament, players can blast through walls and 
collapse buildings. Of course, not everything can be decimated 


Here, a pane of glass is being shot through a person. 
In both cases, the glass breaks at the point of impact, 
and the enemy reacts according to where he is shot 


(otherwise, what would be the point of level design?), but for 
the most part players can attempt to use their arsenal to 
circumvent obstacles in their path. 

When the Geo-Mod engine is combined with Red Faction's 
realistic physics engine, and Al that reacts to hit locations and 
environmental changes, the gameplay diversity is enhanced to 
a neverbefore-seen degree. If a firefight breaks out in an 
office, stray bullets will ricochet off the floors and walls. Those 
caught in the conflagration risk not only being shot, but also 
being hurt by weakened pieces of the ceiling falling from 
above, or nearby windows shattering onto them. 


The opportunities such details give might go unnoticed 
initially, but once players realize the power they now have in 
their hands, the game is seen through entirely different eyes. 
One wonders what would be easier: trying to tag all the troops 
crossing a bridge, or blowing out both ends of the crossing to 
send them to the abyss below. A fastmoving creature might 
be too hard to peg between the eyes, but perhaps a nearby 
skylight could be collapsed on it. If a group starts firing on you 
out in the open, you may be able to blow something down to 
use as cover. Even heavy winds can be used to slightly curve 
the trajectory of fired munitions, flushing out hidden enemies. 


Here, the enemy isn't killed by a direct hit from the rocket launcher, but by the concussive 


force of the blast behind him. Also note that the rocket launcher has an infrared scope, 
capable of spotting -and possibly harming - people behind doors and walls 


жы, ius 


31 


— д 


DESTROYING EXPECTATIONS 


DR. AXEL CAPEK 


2 T з 
£4 "Fine, | didn't want to blow up your stupid boxes anyway!" 


Showing Off -— "M^ 


Having used Summoner as its training ground, Volition shows with Red Faction that it's quickly picking up the 
tricks of the PlayStation 2 graphical trade. Without giving up any speed to its main FPS competitors – One of Ultor's head scientists, even if it turns out that Capek isn't responsible 
TimeSplitters and Unreal Tournament = the developers have attained an unparalleled level of detail. forjThe Plagne; he deserves to bo killed based on wardrobe aloe 

The way enemies flinch and fall varies according to what you're using and where you strike them. Glass 
shatters from the point of impact, and the shards remain on the ground, possibly to be skittered about by 
more gunfire. Steam from a vent will briefly waft in a different direction due to an explosion. These are but a 
few examples of the many amazing things that happen during play. 

When one takes into account the mind-boggling amount of calculations already being performed due to the 
Geo-Mod engine, the fact that such nuances can be displayed along with realtime shadows, rich textures, and 
dynamic lighting — all without slowdown — only further proves that both the PlayStation 2 and the Volition team 
are workhorses. Anyone who fails to be impressed with what they see happening onscreen in Red Faction is 
most likely blind. 


"The way it's set up, players «an absorb 
as much or as little of the story as they 
want. For example, if there's two people 
talking up ahead, you can go rushing 
ahead and shoot them, or hang back, 

ten to what they have to say, and then go 
shoot them." 

Mike Breault, Writer 


It's gory, but this shot of Red Faction is very telling 
of the level of detail. Once you're done gawking at 
the blood which was spattered according to where 
the security guard got hit and how close he was to 
the wall, take some time to admire the bullet holes 
in the walls, the ricochet marks on the floor, the 
scattered casings, and the display on the side of 
the gun that tells you how much ammo you have 
left. It's a scene fit for a forensics case study. 


GAMEINFORMER 29 


Miner 
Differences 


Although Red Faction will have a multiplayer option, the main meat of the game will 
be its intensive single-player storyline. If one had to briefly summarize the Red 
Faction experience, it could most concisely be described as the dramatic storytelling 
of Half-Life crossed with the setting of Total Recall. 

Players control Parker, a miner working for the Ultor Corporation on the planet 
Mars. The conditions the miners are forced to endure have always been horrible, but 
once The Plague — a disease that mysteriously only affects the workers — begins 
rapidly spreading, discontentment turns into a revolution. With the help of an Ultor 
insider, Parker becomes the leader of this insurrection, and it's the players goal to 
not only take up arms against their oppressors, but figure out the corporation's 
ulterior motives and the origins of The Plague. 

Much of the adventure takes place in the underground mines of Mars, but as 
players make their way through the web of intrigue they will find themselves on the 
planet's surface, and even in an orbiting space station. The Geo-Mod aspect of Red 
Faction certainly makes one anxious to cause mass destruction, and although 
players will definitely have an opportunity to do just that, there is more to the game 
than just blazing your way through level after level. Many of the tasks put before 
Parker require subtlety, stealth, and sometimes disguise. 

To further flesh out the ever-evolving story, plenty of realtime cutscenes will be 
dispersed throughout the game. These, combined with the realistic gameplay engine 
that aids in suspension of disbelief, create an overwhelmingly immersive journey. 


30 


A Martian stand-off 


All's fair in an underground Martian rebellion 


DESTROYING EXPECTATIONS 


The Bigger 
They Are... 


No matter how long the list of features for a first-person shooter is, the foremost question on 
any potential player's mind is, "What kind of weapons does it have?" Red Faction boasts 15 
different arms in its arsenal, each with secondary functions. In addition to hand-held implements 
of destruction, there are also turrets at various places in the game that allow players to unload on 
anyone or anything nearby. Although the exact variety of weapons hasn't been finalized, here's a 


listing of definite inclusions and their alternate uses. 


Weapon Secondary Function 

Pistol Fire silenced rounds. Helpful in stealth missions. 

Riot Stick Changes to a taser to zap your enemies. 

Remote Charge A proximity mine that detonates when someone gets too 
x; Я close. 
Shotgun Autofire rather than pump action, but with reduced accuracy. 
Sniper Rifle Zoom lens to hit distant, and often unaware, enemies. 
Rocket Laun A Іоскоп homing missile. 
Assault Rifle Rather than three-round bursts, it goes fully automatic. 


"АП right, who put the flares in my rifle?" Machine Pistol angel rounds that shoot through multiple objects and 
4 ы 1 ; 
К AN Grenade Emits volumes of smoke. 
Flamethrower Torch turns off and player can spread fuel to ignite later. 
* 
# 
e 
< "| think everyone has wanted 
gem to see something like this for 


a long time, but until now it 
just wasn't possible. Our lead 
programmer spent easily a 
year just getting it to work 
and making it fast enoug| 
Alan Lawrance, Lead De: 


T 
With a twitch of the thumb, the Remote Charge can blow up almost any obstacle 
and scare away nearly all smartly dressed businesspersons 


If you can't club ‘em, you can always zap ‘em 


As this concept art shows, you won't 
just be facing soldiers and robots 


GAMEINFORMER 31 


A look at the submarine from the outside 


Vehicular 
Manslaughter 


Moreso than any other FPS before it, Red Faction encourages, and sometimes demands, that 
players get behind the wheel of the game's six vehicles (four of which Volition was willing to tell 
us about). When a player finds an alternate mode of transportation, entering changes the display 
to a cockpit view. Some vehicles, such as the APC and flying fighter, are built for destruction, 
armed with machine guns to mow down troops, and either missiles or mortars to destroy 
undesirable constructions. Other vehicles, however, serve to carry Parker to otherwise difficult to 
reach places. There's a submarine for making treks underwater, and a completely unarmed, but 
heavily armored, drilling machine made to bore quickly through mountains of stone. 


What a heartless guy 


fes = zi esse à ` = pr 


OE RGA TR ET 


"We wanted the weapons to be very set 
in the real world. We didn't want there to 
be purple shrink rays and freeze guns. I 
think there's a certain satisfaction that 
«omes with just shooting someone." 
Frank Capezzuto lll, Artist 


It may look like fogging in the back of this picture, but it's 
actually steam being blown through the vent fan 


Listen Closely 


Although audio almost always plays second fiddle to visuals, it's hard not to appreciate 
the decibel detail of Red Faction. In the heat of combat, it's easy to single out the many 
sound facets transpiring at once. Amongst the report of multiple firearms, one hears a 
commander yelling orders from the rear, the sound of your character's feet crunching 
across broken glass, bullets bouncing off walls, and bodies hitting the floor, all as the 
musical score plays on. 

Knowing that people like to do harm to different harmonies, Volition is considering 
putting the soundtrack in the hands of the player. From a menu screen, as many or as 
few of the 45 available tracks are selected, then programmed to play in whatever order 
strikes your fancy. 


DESTROYING EXPECTATIONS 


Complete Control 


Like almost everything else in Red Faction, the controls can be completely programmed by the player. Of 
course, the developers have attempted to make a naturalfeeling default control scheme, but if you think 
their setup sucks, feel free to change it however you see fit. Functions can be assigned to everything on the 
Dual Shock 2 (including the rarely used analog stick buttons). If even this isn't enough, you're welcome to 
plug a keyboard and mouse into the PS2's USB ports and go hot key crazy. 


"This game is a major shift in thought. 
We're going with the philosophy that 
everything is destructable, unless we 


decide it «an't be as opposed to the other 
way around." 
Matt Boynton, Level Designer 


Ironic picture, по? 


This weapon makes the BFG look like a plastic water gun 


"Feeble!" an anonymous comment from 
a Red Faction team member upon seeing 


TimeSplitters for the first time 


"Look man, it's standard company procedure. Now Й 
turn around so | can get my sample." 


GAMEINFORMER 33 


Animated Violence 
Animated Blood and Gore 
Suggestive Themes 


a UE 


PlayStation 


36 


GAME INFORMER 


Video Games Take 
Over The Toy Market 


It’s been conventional wisdom for the 
last 20 years or so that for a new action figure line to be 
successful, it has to be based on characters from popular 
movies, television shows, comic books, cartoon series, 
or, best case scenario, all of the above. It’s easy to see 
why this trend has held true. A personality and back 
story come inherent within such hunks of painted plastic. 
Just seeing these toys creates instant immediacy and 
excitement, reminding the purveyor not only of the 
adventures that character has already had, but also 
conjuring up images of the escapades that could be if 
only the figure were freed from its packaging. 

There may be a new plastic-badged sheriff on its 
way to toy town, however. More interactive than movies 
or television, with a bigger audience than comic books, 
and as animated as any cartoon, video games are the 
next big thing just beginning to be tapped by toy 
manufacturers. Game Informer couldn’t be happier with 
this trend. 

Finally fans have a way of showing what their 
favorite video game is other than sketching its logo onto 
the cover of their algebra notebook. Not only are there 
action figures available and in the pipeline based on a 
multitude of titles, there’s also plenty of statues, 
lunchboxes, and playsets on the way. Have a look 
through the following pages and you'll definitely find 
something you want. There's still time to make some 
additions to your holiday wish list, right? 


PLASTIC FANTASTIC 


GAME INFORMER 37 


Palisades Marketing 
Available: First Quarter 2001 


The Resident Evil statues are just the 
tip of the survival horror iceberg for 
Palisades. The company has the rights 
to produce action figures based on all 
the Resident Evil games, which it 
eventually plans to do. Its first series 
of four figures will all have at least 14 
points of articulation, and will include 
a nine-inch Nemesis figure, and a six- 
inch Jill, Soldier Zombie, and 
Nosferatu. If only the characters in the 
series had access to such good 
looking models. They might be able to 
recreate the mystery using a Raccoon 
City diorama rather than risk getting 
killed by investigating firsthand. 


Blue Box Toys 
Available: First Quarter 2001. 


Following Palisades' streak of success, many of Blue Box's upcoming 
toy lines revolve around the world of video games. If you didn't like the 
ending to the game, the first two figures in the Soul Reaver line allow 

you to reenact the scene. The Kain figure looks fantastic, but Raziel's 
sculpt leaves much to be desired. What's with his Backstreet Boys' 
hairdo, anyway? 


38 GAME INFORMER 


PLASTIC FANTASTIC 


GAMEINFORMER 39 


Game Informer: What's easier to make the 
decision on if it would be a good license — comic 
books or video games? 

Mike Horn: Video games! The 100th ranked 
selling video game is still going to have a larger 
audience than a top ten selling comic book. 
Plus, games are more complex, so the 
characters are more detailed, therefore the 
players are more involved, and the merchandise 
is more appealing. 

Gi: With the time it takes for you to manufacture 
your merchandise, is it hard for you to get. 
product on the shelves in time to coincide with a 
video game's release? 

MH: That's why we usually try to pick a line that 
we think will have some staying power. We try to 


40 


GAME INFORMER 


sA 


President of Palisades Marketing 


pick games with good characters, and we've 
been lucky that a lot of our licenses have had 
sequels to keep interest in the lines going. It's 
our intention to get more timely with our 
releases, and that's going to happen as we get 
to know the game publishers better. 


GI: Case in point with this timeliness issue is your 
Final Fantasy IX license. The £ame comes out 
November 15. When will we see products based 
on it? 


MH: We didn't get our license signed until 
September, so that line won't be on shelves. 
until March 2001. For the Final Fantasy movie, 
however, the deal has already been finalized, 
and the merchandise we have planned will be 
available by the launch of the movie. 


GI: A lot of your product used to be made by a 
Japanese company, didn't it? 


MH: Yeah, we had relationships with two 
Japanese companies and an American company. 
We did some really good business together, but 
we wanted to be completely in charge of the 
products — what characters got done, how they 
got sculpted, when they got released — a lot of 
the things we only had partial input on. We 


Space Channel 5 


Palisades Marketing 
Available: First Quarter 2001 


Your gaming environment won't be complete 
until you pick up an Ulala action figure. She's 
hotter than the sun, and with the release of 
this wave, you'll finally be able to hold her 
sizzling body in the palm of your hand. But 
look out! The Morolians have snuck into this 
assortment, along with Chief Blank, Evila, 
and Pudding. Ulala comes in two forms, 
standard and dancing. No solid release date 
or price has been set for this exciting line as 
of yet, but as you can see, the molds are 
ready to go. All they need now is some color. 


made sure to set them up with distribution in 
the US before going our own way because we 
don't view them as competitors, we just couldn't 
continue to dedicate the time and energy to sell 
someone else's product. 


GI: You guys have made lunchboxes for comics. 
Do you have any plans to make video game 
lunchboxes? 


MH: We sure do. We actually made some 
promotional Parasite Eve 2 lunchboxes for 
Square Soft to give away at a party they had. 
The Sonic lunchboxes have just become 
available, and we've got ones for Space 
Channel 5, Final Fantasy IX, and the Final 
Fantasy movie planned. 


GI: How many of your lunchboxes do you think are 
actually used to carry lunches? 


MH: My brother is a school teacher, and | know he 
uses his Buffy lunchbox for its intended 
purpose. So that's one I know of for sure. 
Beyond that, I'd guess... don't know...very few. 


Gl: What about your action figures? How many do 
you think get taken out of the package? 


MH: I'm sure barely any of our figures end up in a 
sand pile in the backyard, but people still want 
to put them in a fighting pose with other figures 
on their desk or whatever. | mean, what fun is a 
cool looking figure stuck in its package? 


PLASTIC FANTASTIC 


GAMEINFORMER 41 


Toy Biz 

Available: January 2001 

This is the second line of Zelda toys based on the 
Ocarina of Time. Along with Toy Site's upcoming line, 
Toy Biz has a series of its own that should make 
gamers drool. These highly detailed figures will ship in 
sets. Gannondorf comes with his trusty warhorse, 
Zelda is accompanied by Impa and a cute little pony, 
and Link will share his box with Epona. While the 
pictures make these figures look gigantic, they only 
stand at 3 3/4 inches. Gannondorf is a tad taller at 
five inches. 


"- 
42 GANÊ INFORMER 


Blue Box Toys 


Toy Site 
Available: November 

Countering Toy Biz's attack, the original Ocarina of 
Time toy manufacturer has a new series of deluxe 
figures up its sleeve. Along with new sculpts of Link 
and Gannondorf, this series includes Sheik, 
Stalfos, Darunia, and Princess Zelda. 


Available: November 


Despite what ex-Game Informer editor Jon Storm thinks, 
The Legend of Dragoon is an amazing game that is 
worthy of its own toy line. For those of you who sucked 
up this brilliant RPG, how could you not want a Lavitz 
toy? Blue Box did a commendable job capturing the look 
of each character, but it would have been nice if each 
figure came equipped with Dragoon equipment. 


GAMEINFORMER 43 


Crash & Bash 

your way through 
eight hazard-filled 

environments 


Supercharge 
your vehicle 

with a turbo injection 

of high-speed energy 


Play Off-Road 
bumper cars 
with split-screen 
head-to-head racing 


Smoke 
your opponen 
in Battle Mode. 
One of five hair-raising 
modes of play 


PlayStation 


registered trademarks of Sony Co 


CONTENT RATED BY 
ESRB 


Mild Animated | 


Violence Е 


Tyco” R/C Speed Wrench 
vehicle also available. 


Sold separately. Batteries not included. 


Tyco...That's How You Spell R/C" 


Flip off 
your 

, Friends f 29 
3 Гу 


For the PlayStation game console 


www. tycorc.com 


46 


Game 
Informer's 
Guide 
To 
Getting 
What 
You 
Want 
This 
Holiday 


Season 


GAME INFORMER 


In late December, the world 
comes together as one in 


brotherhood and good cheer. 


Christmas, Hanukah, and 
Kwanza give us occasion to celebrate our cultural 
and spiritual beliefs and remember how much 
we love our fellow man. That warm, fuzzy 


holiday feeling makes our world a happier 


place, if only for a few weeks. 
Right! We all know what's really 
on the mind of every little 
one of you stinky 
hooligans. Presents. 


That's right – the good 


stuff that magically 


appears under your tree 
know what it's like to feel totally 
every year. You crave the 
ripped off by a lame present. So, how 
highly prized games and 
can you be sure to get the booty you so 
toys that can make you the envy 

richly deserve? Sure, you could be a 


of all your friends. 
А little angel all year, but what fun would that 
Of course, there is only one thing that can ruin your 
be? To this end, we've devised a surefire system that 
holidays more than passing gas at Christmas Mass – 
will help you stay in the good graces of Santa and your 
and that's bad presents. We've all gotten them. 
i parents this year. To help us out, we've enlisted the 
Whether it's socks, a green turtleneck, a cheese log, 
help of the legendary Holiday Sam. 
or (heaven forbid) an Army Men game. Yes, we all 


GET THE GOODS! 


“Hey you little snail-snarfing snot gobblers! midgets drove me right out of business. 


This is...no...l M NOT SANTA CLAUS! My He's an idiot. Imagine him wedging his fat 


name is Holiday Sam. Santa Claus is a rear end down a chimney and getting all 
no-good hustler who stole this dirty. Heck, І just picked the lock and 
whole holiday gig right out from broke in like a sensible person. 
under my nose. Won the sleigh Anyway, you greedy little turds 
and reindeer from me in a poker wanna know about presents? | done 
£ame in Kansas City back in *65. wrote the book on presents when you 
Got a suit just like mine and started were just a gleam in your pappy's eye! 
claiming he was the one giving every- Now listen close, and Holiday Sam'll 
one presents. What a load of horse tell you the secrets of getting the 


pucky! Started moving in on my territory. good stuff.” 


Pretty soon him and them damn 


GAMEINFORMER 47 


Rat out the competition 
They say that no one likes a snitch, but I’m here 
to tell you that it's every man (or woman) for 
themselves in this crazy world. Every dollar not 
spent on your sibling is a potential dollar added 
to your present budget. See your sister taking an 
extra five-spot from your mother's purse? Run right to 


mommy and sing like a jaybird! 


BADI 
Graffiti 


| don't care if you've been playing Jet Grind Radio or 
hangin' with them hippity flippity breakdancing rap- 
per types — graffiti is one great way to land yourself 
in a whole heap o' trouble. Throw them spray cans 


in the trash, kids! 


QUIZ: 
NAUGHTY 
OR NICEZ22 


Can you expect a PlayStation 2 in 
your stocking this Christmas, or just 
the proverbial lump of fossilized 
thino poo? Take our quiz and find 
out where you stand in the eyes of 
Old Saint Nick. 


48 GAME INFORMER 


1) What is the your nickname? 
a) Sweet Pea 

b) Chip 

с) Shorty 

d) Lil’ Devil 

е) Inmate #1256 


2) You see an old lady crossing 
the street, walking toward her car. 
Do you: 

8) run to help her across 

b) pretend you don't see her 

C) offer to help carry her packages 


**Here's just a few pointers on sucking up 


d 


side in no time! 


d) hope she didn't see you make off 
with her car stereo 


3) You see some kids toilet paper- 
ing your principal's house. Do 
you: 

8) Join in on the fun 

b) Call the police 

c) Run home crying to your mommy 
d) Set his house on fire 


4) What did you give your mother 
for her birthday this past year? 


ES ДА. а 


Giving your sibling a haircut 


This may sound like a good idea on paper, and it might 


to your parents. If you wanna make out like 
a bandit, then mind your Ps and Qs, shut your 
trap, and open your ears. Now, my sweet little 


guano chompers, here we go..." 


Throw out all that noise you 
call music and listen to some- 
thing decent for a change 
Back in your parent's day, they didn't have all this Sick 
Biscuits, or M&M, or Roach Motel or whatever those 
femmy little chuckleheads calls themselves! They had 
songs you could sing along to — like Anne Murray, 
Christopher Cross, and Uriah Heep! Now that was 
MUSIC. Throw away that trash, and start crankin' up 
some Neil Diamond. That'll get you on Mom's good 


even save your parents some bucks - but trust me, it's 
dangerous. One false move and your little sister Katie 
could look like that Coolio fella! 


8) A dozen roses 

b) A candle and a lovely card 
с) A bag of Doritos 

d) An ulcer 


5) What's your favorite color? 


SCORING: 

1) a-0, b-0, c-2, d-3, e-4 
2) a-1, b-2, c-0, d-5 

3) а-3, b-2, с-1, d-6 

4) a-0 b-1, c-3, d-4 


GOODS: 
Getting a tattoo 


| know some of them sissy-pants Harvard types might frown 


on them, but nothing shows somebody how much you 


care like a tattoo with their name in it. | recommend 
getting “Mother” in a big heart with a knife through 
it. Either that or “Dad” written on a big flaming 

skull. Believe me, they'll be moved to tears at 


this touching gesture. 


BAD: 


Becoming a Hare 


Krishna 


Now I think that anyone has the 


right to believe what he or she wants, 
but when that means dressin' like some kind of 
hippy mental patient, shaving your head, and annoy- 
ing people at airports – that's where | draw the line. | 
swear, if those beatniks start that clapping and 
chanting around me one more time, I'm gonna give 
'em a colon exam with my boot! If you want to send 
your dear mother to the therapist, go right ahead. 
Forget about getting a PlayStation 2, you'll have to 


pawn your regular PlayStation to pay rent after 


you get kicked out of the house. 


5) If you answered green, you fail 
this test automatically! Green is the 
color of eeeeviil! Be gone with ye, 
Satan-spawn!! 


If you scored: 

0 – You're stinkin’ lyin’ rat! No one is 
that good! You'll get nothing and like 
itll 


1-5 - You're a real goody two-shoes. 


If | were your daddy, I'd smack ya 
around fer bein' such a weenie, but 
you'll probably make out pretty good 


this year 

5-10 — You're kind of a little brat, but 
your parents are probably nice 
enough to get you some of the stuff 
you want 

10+ — You're ridin' shotgun in the 
demon Camaro on the Highway to 
Hell! Forget about presents - you'll 
be lucky if your parents don't press 
charges against you! 


WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS... 
“Now | know some of you rapscal- 


GET THE GOODS! 


“So there you have it. Thanks to your old buddy 


Holiday Sam, you little puke-bellied pit stains will 


probably get more presents than you could ever 


\ deserve! І ain't happy about it, 
1 ee 


mind you. l'd rather eat a pick- 


ON 


lions are so rotten that you won't get 
a present no matter how many 
secrets | give you! | say, GOOD! You 
deserve a quick kick in the butt, if 
you ask me! And quit playing on my 
lawn!! Ahem...now what do you do if 
you get totally stiffed this holiday 
season? 

Lucky for you, banks are giving 
out credit cards to any broke loser 
on the street! They're easier to get 
than rabies at a pit bull convention. 
Now just get yourself an application, 


led raccoon gizzard than spend 
a dime on you grubby grease 
monkeys. І already lost all the 
1 money they gave me to do this 
| asinine article at the track any- 
way! Now, if you'll excuse me, 
I have to be going. I’m making 
an appearance at the opening 
of a White Castle in Flint, 


Michigan.” 


say that you're 18, and you'll have 
your very own free-money card in no 
time!! If the guy at the store gives 
you funny looks, tell him you have a 
kidney disorder that stunted your 
growth like that dwarf who hangs out 
with Kid Rock. Also, a pair of those 
mustache nose glasses might help 
you look older. Happy shopping, and 
tell ‘em Holiday Sam sent ya!" 


GAMEINFORMER 49 


m 
putre р д 


d 


DREAMCAST/PLAYS' 


EVIL DEAD: 


HAIL TO THE KING 


WHERE'S MY BOOMSTICK? 


For everyone МПО’ ever wanted to jump 
into the middle of an Evil Dead scene, here's your chance. 
The popular film series is being converted into a third-person 
adventure game. Hail to the King takes you inside the mind 
of Ash as he shoots and chainsaws his way through what 
could be called a Resident Evil spoof. 

The game opens seven years after the end of Army of 
Darkness, and is set in the rustic cabin where the original 

" two Evil Dead films 

were made. Taking 
on a new plot line, 
Ash and his new 
Squeeze, Jenny, 
decide to go back 
to the cabin 
because of 
recurring 
nightmares about 
the Necronomicon 
М - a book written in 
{ human blood and 
bound in flesh, the 
contents of which 
concern all 
manner of nasty 
and bad things. 
You must find its 


pages to put an end to the 
menace plaguing you. 

In the game's opening, Evil Ash 
comes back and kidnaps Jenny. 
This, of course, starts you on your 
journey to kill your evil 
doppelganger, and rescue the Jen- 
ster from certain peril. Along the 
way, you visit a number of sites 
from the movies, and even travel 
back to ancient Damascus to 
engage the undead hoards. 

When you begin the game, you 
start with two weapons – an arm- 
mounted chainsaw and a large axe. It isn't long before you 
get your filthy little hands (technically, it would be “hand” 
since the other one is now evil) on a pistol, a sawed-off 
shotgun, a rifle, and another weapon yet to be disclosed. 
The chainsaw uses gas and can be turned on and off for 
greater killing ability. Fuel can be found throughout the 
woods in varying quantities, and you'll want to make sure 
you keep an ample stock of it. You're rewarded for your 
bloodthirsty nature by health kits, bullets, and other bonuses 
that appear from enemies you dispatch 

Bruce Campbell provides plenty of original voice work in 
HttK, as evidenced by the different taunts you can hurl at 
whomever (or whatever) seems to need it at the time. 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE ЕЮ PUBLISHER THQ M DEVELOPER HEAVY IRON STUDIOS Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 1 


50 GAME INFORMER 


SSN 


Interestingly enough, some enemies will become more 
aggressive when taunted, while others may be intimidated 
and run away when faced with a vintage Evil Dead one-liner. 

THQ is well aware that the game is still in development 
stages, and needs to have its bugs worked out. We look for 
this game to have the same appeal as the movies - a heavy 
dose of camp. Evil Dead fans will rush out to buy this one, 
but for those of us who are casual fans, the choice may not 
be automatic. Presumably, Hail to the King will debut with 
refined graphical and audio features that were lacking in the 
preview version. If it's polished and pretty, this title will 
probably enjoy moderate success. 


D 
FS: ANN 


bl PREVIEWS 


The back of the cabin 
WI 


buc 


Ас 


Dreamcast's graphics are decent 


suec е 


es T e 


PS-X's graphics leave much to be desired _ 


a GAME INEORMER ; 51 


With more than 15 million units sold 
worldwide, the Gran Turismo series has transformed the face 
of racing games, and become one of the most talked about 
and highly craved titles on the market. Originally scheduled 
to kick start the Japanese PlayStation 2 launch, the newest 
chapter in the series, Gran Turismo 2000, slid into a seri 
of delays and is still parked in Polyphony's development 
garage, being fine tuned with each passing day. At Sony's 
first US Gamers' Day, the hungry press were fortunate 
enough to catch a special sneak peek at the evolution of the 
GT series. Announcing that Gran Turismo 2000 wouldn't be 
ready for the US PlayStation 2 launch either, but rather an 
early 2001 release, Sony made the smart di 
change the name of the game to Gran Turismo 3. 

The reason for this gigantic delay is quite simple really. 
Polyphony continues to add new material to the game, and 
won't let it hit retail shelves until it is perfect. Everything 
you've previously read about this title has more or less 
changed in the last few months. In the previous GT titles, 
Polyphony captured the utmost realism in car designs, but 
the physics and opponent Al didn't fall into the same level of 
realism. In GT 3, the game physics have been drastically 
enhanced, and now feature real-life physics for each 
particular vehicle. Every little aspect has been taken into 
account, right down to the speed, gear ratio, friction, weigh’ 
and wind. 

Much to Polyphony’s disapproval, the CPU cars always 
drove in packs, never once showing a competitive side. Tying 
into the PlayStation 2 hardware, Polyphony has created 
emotional Al, which is by far the most significant 
enhancement to the series. The CPU will do just about 
anything to win a race. If you cut them off, or bump and 
grind, opponents become enraged and will tailgate you, 
speed up and cut you off, or shove your poison back in your 
face and knock you off the track. 


TURISMO 3 


ENHANCED WITH A NEW COAT OF PAINT 


By no means the final car count, GT 3 currently features 
over 130 authentically detailed vehicles, each sporting over 
4,000 polygons. In GT 2, the cars were comprised of 400 
polys each. Two new tracks, Monte Carlo and Tokyo Racing 
Circuit, have also been added. Several of the tracks from 
GT 1 also make a return with stunning new realism. Along 
with the aggressive CPU and tricky course designs, weather 
conditions will affect your racing. From blinding sunlight to 
thick fog, your visibility will often be poor, making the game 
all the more difficult. For the multiplayer crowd, GT 3 offers 
several new split-scre but most exciting of all, it 
supports the ink can you link 
together for this rat We don't know, but Unreal 
Tournament supports four. Maybe GT 3 will too! 

Due to Polyphony's erratic development schedule, GT 3 
still doesn't have a solid release date; for the time being, 
spring 2001 is the wort it may be painful, but from 
what we've seen thus far, it'll be worth it. 


103327502 
арЫ 013327507 
Tap 2 tl 


e 


W STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA li DEVELOPER 


DIGITAL I RELEASE 1ST QUARTER 2001 


52  GAMEINFORMER 


Fd n 5 


wees e Û a 


New effects include heat rising off of tarmac 


All the replays feature broadcast-quality graphics and camera angles 


If you bump into the opposition, they'll retaliate and seek revenge 


ү 


EE лон Ss 
The soundtrack will consist of music ranging from decades ago to current hits 


P goma 


ТТЕ 


PREVIEWS 


ү 


THE КЇР & THE N 


The NBA mean big business to EA Sports. 
Although its long-running basketball franchise, NBA Live, 
has played second fiddle to the world of Madden football 
in terms of sales, the game has consistently been the 
leader in the hoops genre. So obviously, EA's second- 
most important sports franchise is still going to get the 
push toward the company's new PlayStation 2 efforts. 
NBA Live 2001 is being touted by EA as the "most 
realistic-looking basketball game ever," but will it live up 
to this hype? Well, so far the game has been nothing but 
hype as we have yet to see it in action. 

When Live 2001 was first announced earlier this year, 
the game was scheduled to be on the PS2 by mid- 
November. However, the date was continually pushed 
back due to unknown circumstances. In turn, these delays 
— which we speculate are due to the painstaking process 
of modeling players — has dropped NBA Live 2001 from 
this year's radar. Luckily, players won't have to wait for 
this title too long as the new release has been slated for 
the second week of January. 

As this issue goes off to the printer – in late-October – a 
version is said to be coming our way very shortly. 


Vince Carter does what he does best 


TYLE 1 TO 8-PLAYER SPORTS 


54 


PUBLISHER EA SPORTS 


GAME INFORMER 


BA ON PS2 


However, considering the PS2 translations of EA's NHL 
and NFL games, we think control will be almost identical 
to the PS-X predecessor. Yet, with the PS2's increased 
processing muscle, things like advanced computer Al will 
greatly enhance the gameplay experience. The same can 
be said for the graphics. 

Undoubtedly, Live 2001 will benefit from its snazzed-up 
look on the PS2. The TV-style presentation on the PS-X 
version was arguably a little rough. This section of Live on 
the PS2 should show off a polished spectacle filled with 
fantastic looking scenes. One thing is for sure: Live 
coverboy and NBA superstar Kevin Garnett will now look 
like himself, instead of the mutant player found in the PS- 
X game. 

NBA Live 2001 will be loaded with plenty of features 
and options to round out the entire basketball package. 
However, we can tell you that the NBA Challenge mode 
found in the PS-X version will not make an appearance on 
PS2. Well, you can't have everything, but we are still 
pumped up to finally get a chance to try this game. The 
T'Wolves are gonna rule! 


EVELOPER EA CANADA Ш RELEASE JANUARY 9 


"Watch the hand checking!" Shake and bake. 


Check out the Daisy Dukes on the 70's All-Stars. 


1220 


Preparing for a definite rim rockin' dunk KG elevates over Wallace for some T'Wolves thunder 


EMPEROR: BATTLE FOR DUNE 


WESTWOOD RAISES THE BAR 


Dune II iS considered the first RTS by тагу. While 
this isn't necessarily true, it was certainly the first to utilize a 
very specific formula that has been the mainstay of nearly 
every RTS to come out since the amazing success of 
Command & Conquer. If C&C is the RTS 
equivalent of Doom, then Dune II is its 
Wolfenstein 3D. Now Westwood returns to 
its roots with a full-fledged sequel to Dune Il. 

While criticisms of Westwood's failure to 
innovate in more recent games had some merit, 
the true problem was more a failure to create an 
exciting combination of units rather than sticking with a 
formula that has worked well for nearly ten years. In any case, 
Emperor will put these tired, “mustadvance-the-genre” 
arguments to rest. Westwood has finally moved to a gorgeous 
three-dimensional game and dropped their standard mission-to- 
mission style of play. 

The initial campaign takes place on Arrakis where there are 
33 areas to control. Your goal is to take out your enemies" 
jump gates, which allow them direct access to their home 
worlds. Before each mission, the player must choose which 
zone to attack. The decision is not as simple as blazing a path 
directly to your opponents’ gates, because if you spread your 
forces to thin, with only one area to reinforce from, you put 
yourself at a serious disadvantage. Once an area to attack is 
selected, one of a hundred mission types is randomly chosen. 


While the primary goal of each is to wipe out the opposing 
forces, there will be other goals like collecting a certain amount 
of spice or making an ally. If things go poorly or your only 
interest was to complete a secondary objective, you have 
the option of retreating, which returns you 
to the strategic map screen. Failure 
does not end the game unless your 
gate goes down. 

Westwood estimates that most 
players will win the game in 10-15 
missions, but obsessive players can 
always choose to conquer the entire map for at 
least 33 missions. After the campaign on Arrakis, the 
game moves to new environments like guild ships and 
the Atreides home world, Caladan. It appears as though these 
missions won't feature the same strategic map campaign and, 
without spice to mine, most will simply give you a set number 
of units or a cash allotment to work with. 

As in Dune II, there are three sides to the conflict, the well- 
balanced and noble Atreides, the brutal and merciless 
Harkonnen, and the sneaky tech-sawy Ordos. To make things 
interesting, Westwood has thrown in five sub-groups, any two of 
which can be allied with as the game progresses to grant new 
unit types and abilities. These range from the Fremen worm 
riders to the deadly Sardaukar troops. 

From the speedy wing-flapping ornithopters and massive 


walkers to more standard tanks and artillery, Emperor features 
a wide variety of units for each of the major houses. Not 


counting units that can be acquired from allies, each of the 
ف‎ 


three houses will have 15-20 unique vehicles and infantry. 
The infantry in particular appear to be much more 
diverse than they have been in previous Westwood 
games. Snipers, scouts, mortar troop, rocket 
ù. launchers, and the kamikaze saboteur bombers 
# are only a handful of infantry types. 
As with all Westwood RTS games, a heavy 
dose of cutscenes adds some additional spice to 
the game. Some of the bigger names Westwood 
has acquired for the scenes are Michael Dorn of Star 
Trek fame (Worf), Vincent Schiavelli (the freaky subway guy 
in Ghost), and Musetta Vander from The Cell. Presumably, 
these scenes will depict your progress and the diplomacy that 
leads to your new allies. It seems unlikely that they actually 
filmed 300 cutscenes for every mission type and faction. 

While Westwood is taking a sensible “It's done when it's 
done" approach to the game, the game looks complete enough 
for it to hit the stores as early as spring 2001. From what 
we've seen so far, the game looks excellent. Between the new 
campaign system, the three houses and the allies, and the 
huge variety in units, Emperor exhibits some heavy replay 
value. It's a pretty sure bet that this will be one of the best RTS 
games of 2001. 


Ш STYLE 1 TO 8-PLAYER STRATEGY I PUBLISHER WESTWOOD STUDIOS Ш DEVELOPER WESTWOOD STUDIOS Ш RELEASE 2001 


i 


The shadows are impressive 


56 GAME INFORMER 


This guy was the only thing to like about Ghost 


ela 3 2 
The Harkonnen are about to lose a refinery 


'onnen on Caladan’ madness! 


Check out that giant Harkonnen Devastator 


I 


000000 


бап! The sea is a fickle mistress 


Avast ye! Thar be a new game comin’ o'er the horizon and it looks ta be the closest а 
landlubber has e'er got to the fo'c'sle since Pirates! on the Commodore's 64. All facets of 
the pyrate's world can be explored. Ye can choose ta go on account and take to the high 
seas as a buccaneer, takin' what ye will from the colonies or ye can render your services to 
the petty wishes of the colonies for modest rewards and a pat on the back from the dogs. 

At first, the colonies seemed ta be a bit generic. We swear we walked inta the same tavern 
in every port of call. Not only that, but yer main character’s sea legs make him look like he's 
got a mizzen mast jammed in his poop deck. As soon as we stopped swinging the lead 
however, we realized that the landlubbers are just a prelude to the sea. They are good for 
information, tasks, takin’ on new mateys, finding a place ta spend your loot and gettin’ inta 
the occasional sword duel with a foe. Ye can also choose to conquer them once ye have 
yerself a decent fleet. 

The sea is where you get yer sea legs on. Ye can man the helm of o'er 20 different ships, 
from the quick but modest sloops ta the massive man о’ wars. All vessels have hit locations, 
allowing a captain with his wits about to target the masts and sail to slow his enemy down 
‘fore goin’ in for a raid or sending his foe ta Davy Jones's locker. The scurvy dogs at 
Bethesda Soft couldn't get us a review copy in time, but Sea Dogs looks to be a solid game 
for those with the pirate calling. 


Load the grapeshot and prepare for boarding! 


E : Three decks of cannon make the 
Teach this scurvy dog a permanent lesson man o' war a deadly opponent 


W STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION/RPG Ш PUBLISHER BETHESDA SOFT Ш DEVELOPER AKELLA M 
RELEASE NOVEMBER 1 


GAMEINFORMER 57 


I am Galcian, 
alua and Supreme 
Imperial Armada, 


the Sworn Protector of 
mmander of the 


Arcadia's story borrows heavily from Star Wars and Moby Dick 


Set in a world where powerful magic looms 
large and all forms of life are stranded on floating isles, the 
creators of the wildly popular Phantasy Star series have an 
exciting new tale to tell. As you take on the role of a young 
adventurer and ruthless Blue Rogues pirate named Vyse, the 
skies of Arcadia are yours to explore. As captain of your very 
own sky-ship, a flying vessel modeled after a ship in a 16th 
century Great Voyage-era fleet, it’s up to you to set sail and 
discover new worlds. Along your way, you'll encounter powerful 
new allies, hideous monsters, and an evil empire seeking 
global domination. 

The Phantasy Star team has done little else than develop 
innovative creations, and Skies of Arcadia is no exception. 
Instead of focusing heavily on the traditional role-playing 
standards we've digested for years on end, Skies of Arcadia 
unfolds quite differently than other RPGs out there. First and 
foremost, world exploration could easily be a separate game in 
itself. Instead of walking from place to place, all transportation 
takes place from the sails of a sky-ship. As you venture forth, 


A. й а ae 
All of the overworld exploration takes place in a ship 


DREAMCAST 


SKIES OF 
ARCADIA 


FROM PHANTASY STAR 
TO THE HEAVENS 


random enemy encounters range from hostile creatures 
boarding your vessel to all-out shipversus-ship battles. Each of 
these combat situations unfolds in a different light. Standard 
enemy encounters are tackled in turn-based handto-hand 
melee. In these scenarios, you and your party can either strike 
with weapons or tap into magic. As simplistic as it may sound, 
the combat is actually quite complex. Before each strike, you 
can change the elemental property on your weapon to be more 
effective against different beasts. If a fire demon stands in 
your path, you'll want to use a water attack. Through the simple 
Click of a button, your weapon changes color to show the 
desired property. By using different properties, you will in turn 
be rewarded with colored crystals that match the property you 
used. These crystals are required for magic casting. Along with 
a pointbased system, you'll need a certain number of colored 
crystals to cast a spell. The point system is also a tad out of 
the norm. To regain these valuable points, your player may 
need to sit out and meditate for a round or two. Further into 


E STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME ll PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER SEGA/OVERWORKS lil RELEASE NOVEMBER 21 


58 GAME INFORMER 


& Cutlass Fury } 
999909009095 i 


You can customize, own, and pilot "S 80 sky-ships 
the game, you'll learn that you can actually lace spells onto 
your weapons and transfer points into special attacks. 

While sharing the same turn-based design, the airborne ship- 
versus-ship battles require a little different strategy. Since you 
can't fly and fight by yourself, your crew will also have a hand in 
combat. They can fire cannons, repair the ship, or demand 
evasive maneuvers for better position. Along with characters 
gaining experience, the ships can also be upgraded with new 
weapons and items. In total, you'll have the chance to 
customize over 80 different ships. 

Along with the amazing gameplay, Sega has created a 
wonderful story and beautiful cinematics to go along with it. All 
the characters in the game feature numerous facial 
expressions, blinking and moving eyes, and a few voice-overs 
as well. Skies of Arcadia’s innovative gameplay, unique story 
arc, and magnificent graphics should translate into one of the 
year’s most recognized RPGs, a game that everyone will want a 
piece of. 


Ф 
Paying close attention to detail, Arcadia's cutscenes аге 


Along with hand-to-hand combat, you'll have the chance to fight ship versus ship 


nothing short of breathtaking 


PLAYSTATION 2 ) 


DEPORTED YET AGAIN 
Suffering from the same syndrome as the Street Fighter license, the 


progression of the Rayman series has come to a screaming halt at number 2. Will there 
ever be a Rayman 3? From the warm response Rayman 2 received in its N64 and DC 
endeavors, Ubi Soft would be crazy to end the series. Of course, before Rayman can 
reach the trilogy milestone, the second adventure must be fully digested on every 
platform. Heck, we wouldn't be surprised if new Rayman 2 updates found a home on the 
Xbox and Gamecube as well. 

The PlayStation 2 version of Rayman's never-ending saga looks even sharper than the 
impressive Dreamcast version, and will be equipped with a load of exclusive features, 
levels, and bonuses. A work of art to begin with, it's hard to fathom the game with an 
even higher graphical quality, but Ubi Soft assures us it'll be twice as nice. 

Thanks in part to the numerous versions, and a swanky CG movie, Rayman's popularity 
has soared over the last year, and with a barren PS2 platforming genre just itching for а 
вате, Ubi Soft should clean house with this enticing port. Some day though, Ubi Soft 
has to give this talented brother some limbs. Not being able to wrap his arm around a 
lady must kill Rayman's romantic life. 


V^ 


“Oh dear! I'm surrounded!" 


à е D e TER 
The graphical quality is even sharper than in the As you can clearly see, the lighting effects are 
Dreamcast version drastically improved 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/PLATFORM B PUBLISHER UBI SOFT Ш DEVELOPER UBI SOFT 
M RELEASE DECEMBER 


GAMEINFORMER 59 


CATEGORY 
TEEN 13 


Animated Blood And Gore 
Animated Violence 


ER 


DISTRIBUTED BY MAJESCO SALES, INC - A MAJESCG 
© 2000 Red Storm Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Rouge: 


* SPLIT SCREEN DEATHMA TCH 
* NEW ADVANCED WEAPONS & GEAR 


• 10 NEW PLAYA BLE CHARACTERS 


Dreamcast. 


08837 www.majescosales.com 
arks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. 


Like all good things, the game begíns with a zeppelin crash 


Соте... Me teach you sumthin’ more. 
Uh... Mebbelater... A 
Me need training, 


Reactlor: 65 (Courteous) 


This is where you get some, ahem, fatigue training 


ARCANUM: OF STEAMWORKS 
AND MAGIC OBSCURA 


FALLOUT MEETS FANTASY & THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 


Well, that’s not entirely true. we were 
definitely expecting this game to be a lot more similar to 
Fallout with Troika (a team consisting of some of Fallout's 
key creators) at the helm. That said, the influence is 
definitely there. The graphics look very similar to the original 
Fallout (and just a smidgen out-of-date), the turn-based 
combat is essentially the same, and players still get the 
option of tackling problems through a variety of different 
routes depending on their character designs and the 
Choices they make. 

One of the biggest differences is the setting itself. 
Arcanum is a world of high fantasy that has recently been 
plunged into a bizarre industrial revolution with steam power 
and early firearms accompanied by Orwellian oddities like 
clockwork automatons and wonder drugs. The result is an 
unusual setting where mages uneasily rub elbows with 
industrialists and half-ogres dressed in Victorian-era suits roam city streets unmolested. 

Another thing Troika has taken a very different approach to is character advancement. 
While characters can advance up through 50 levels, only one point is given for improving 
skills and attributes per level gain. Consequently, careful planning is a must. You simply can't 
become fairly good at everything like in the Fallout series. There are eight attributes to raise 
from eight to a maximum score of 20, 16 regular skills (thieving, fighting, etc.) with five levels 
of competency, five spells to be learned within each of 16 schools of magic, and eight 
technological disciplines with seven applications to be learned in each. It becomes pretty 


clear that there is no way in hell anyone will be playing the jack 
of all trades game with only 50 points to spend. 

To further promote specialization, the world of Arcanum has 
its own rules. Technology and magic don’t mix. Where one 
seeks to promote the laws of the universe, the other bends 
them to its will. As a character puts more points into their 
technical or magical skills, they are less likely to be affected 
by the other and vice versa. Bullets frequently miss archmages 
while spells have a nasty habit of fizzling out before doing 
damage to technological masters. Fledgling characters, on the 
other hand are quite vulnerable to both. 

Essentially players are presented with two sets of character 
choices. The first is the Fallout option of becoming a warrior, 
thief, diplomat, or some combination of the three. The second 
is magic or technology. You can try to mix the two if you like, 
but you're just asking for trouble. A technologist who chooses 
to take one basic healing spell for simple convenience will find that the spell becomes less 
and less effective as they advance in the technological disciplines. They would be better off 
knowing how to make Heal Lite, a wonder drug from the Herbology Discipline. 

The depth and scope of character tweaking in Arcanum is comparable to very few games 
out there. If Troika follows through in allowing countless alternate solutions to problems, no 
matter how wacky or impractical, Arcanum could be another RPG hit. Currently, our only 
concern is just how deep they plan on going with the unusual world that they've created. 
Otherwise, we're looking forward to seeing this game in its complete form. 


E STYLE 1 ТО 4-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING I PUBLISHER SIERRA STUDIOS Ш DEVELOPER TROIKA GAMES ll RELEASE FEBRUARY 1 


„ший you get caught 


62  GAMEINFORMER 


zl 


"и Shocking Stall 


With technology, eve the poet ams же transf orined lato эже. 

spring Kens of удете By xc taing ape dette pas to 

any cosseca sal, би powers of be Boing Stall xe brought to 

tear, Ore touch ot бё tedestojid won lend ai Rata 
енсе 


Foe years, «псори. 

Герон and steih. Mo ord By combining the Fine шо! aad 3 
МЫП; he shed Pistol of ers the versatility оГ a firearm without 
saaífideg ihe бетин of згр Süece s pode and now It atl 


А 


L% 


i 
KI 


Heavy Wood Wall |, 
Playing a stupid character makes for some hilarious dialogue 


As can be expected, you don't do to well on your first time 


У 
| = id lied 
— С. 


COOL BOARDERS: 
CODE ALIEN 


EXTRA TERRESTRIAL SNOW ABDUCTIONS 


Despite Sony's efforts to continue the Coo! Boarders legacy through 
internal development, the founder of the series, a Japanese company named UEP Systems, 
is still producing Cool Boarders games in Japan. UEP’s last version, Cool Boarders Burrrn, 
weaseled its way into Sega's first-party lineup, only disguised as Rippin’ Riders. Returning to 
its PlayStation roots, it will be interesting to see if UEP’s next title, Cool Boarders: Code 
Alien, finds a U.S. publisher. Will Sony extend an open hand to UEP? Or will the U.S, Cool 
Boarders series continue in-house at Sony? If you're a fan of UEP's work, keep a close eye 
on this title, because if another publisher does secure it for a stateside release, the name 
will be changed. 

Code Alien made its debut at this year's Tokyo Game Show, but only in video form. From 
what we could tell, the traditional CB formula is intact, but of course, the graphics have 
improved drastically. The courses appear to be expansive, allowing the player to freely carve 
and search for hidden shortcuts just like in EA's SSX. 

If you live in Japan, look for Code Alien this December. As for stateside gamers, cross your 
fingers and wait. 


Ў à Y У á 
‘Whoa! The colors, man! Maybe | If you don't duck, you'll transform 
shouldn't have eaten that taco?” into the headless boardsman 


i ч 


How pretty...now's let's see him crash and burn! Huge environments = huge death drops 


W STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION/SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER ТВА Ш DEVELOPER UEP SYSTEMS 
E RELEASE ТВА 


GAMEINFORMER 63 


PREVIEWS 


64 


GAME INFORMER 


i $ 5 
The cyclone spell tosses around unsuspecting soldiers 


N 


hy CG cutscenes 


z Ен, 4 

Even before the launch ot kessen in the US, we were presented with details and images regarding the 
second installment, aptly titled Kessen 2. At September's Tokyo Game Show, Koei held an event to introduce the title to the 
US gaming press. The development of Kessen 2 is still in its early stages, but it appears that the game will diverge from the 
original game's feudal war theme, and present a number of new story and gameplay elements. 

For those of you who weren't too thrilled with the prospect of the historically accurate plot of an ancient Japanese war found 
in the original Kessen, the plotline of the this so-called sequel will involve an almost entirely fictitious story. Although still set in 
ancient China, the story of Kessen 2 incorporates a lot of fantasy elements intertwined into a theme of love and war. 
Obviously, Koei doesn't want to reveal too many details about the game's story, but from what we've seen, it is clear that Koei 
is looking for a broader audience of gamers for this new title. 

One way Koei hopes to tap into this bigger gaming audience is by introducing magic to the battles. Like we said, Kessen 2 
will introduce fantasy elements and there is no better way than with a little sorcery. We witnessed impressive video footage of 
some devastating elemental attacks unleashed on a massive army. One sequence showed a cyclone attack that dropped a 
funnel cloud onto an army and tossed the soldiers around like rag dolls, and another displayed a lightning storm that 
pulverized virtually everyone beneath. 

The game also promises to give the player more control of the armed forces that he commands. Koei commented that 
players can control the armies at a squad level — meaning that in a group of hundreds of soldiers, the player can control 
individual squads of about a dozen 
or so troops. This feature will surely 
change the dynamics of the strategy, 
as the original game does not have 
this squad-control feature. 

Though Kessen 2 is in an early 
form, graphically it already shows 
signs of greatness. With the 
graphics a lock, we hope Koei 
devotes some serious time to 
modifying and improving the game 
system and playcontrol. 


WI STYLE 1-PLAYER STRATEGY W PUBLISHER KOEI Ш DEVELOPER KOEI Ш RELEASE MARCH 2001 IN JAPAN, ТВА IN US 


PLAYSTATION 2 


4 


А sequel ЖО Konami's actionthriller was a relative 
no-brainer as the first Silent Hill game ranks as one of the 
PlayStation's Greatest Hits. In last month's GI News, we 
brought you just a glimpse of Silent Hill 2 for PlayStation 2, 
and now we return with new details and a bunch of cool 
new shots. 

Silent Hill 2 was recently on display at the Tokyo Game 
Show in the form of a looping video presentation. To say the 
least, some of the segments shown were quite disturbing and 
completely gruesome. Granted, it was hard to distinguish if 
any of this footage was of actual gameplay, but the horrific 
tone of the game was established. Silent Hill director 
Tetsuhiro Imamura stated, "The monsters will not just have 
grotesque appearances, but grotesque movements as well. 
We are working by hand to create unusual movements which 
are humanly impossible." 

This is evident by a video clip that can best described as a 
cross between the film Jacob's Ladder and a Nine Inch Nails" 
video. One scene shows a character that appears to be a 
doctor. You could only see this figure from the waist down, but 
his bloodied scrubs showed that he'd been up to some 
serious malpractice. As the brief scenes flashed in and out, 
we witnessed this character approach a dead nurse and then 
hoist the corpse by the ankles. Continuing down the hall, the 
carcass suddenly comes to life and begins to morph and 
slither like some nasty cow-birthing scene from the Animal 
Planet channel. Unfortunately, we don't have any screens 
of this particular event, but we can fill you in on some of 
the images you see on this page. 

Although Konami has announced that Silent Hill 2's 
story is completely separate from the first game's, the 
setting is the same resort town known as Silent Hill. The 
main character — who bears a striking resemblance to the 
first game's main dude – is named James Sanderland. It 
seems that although his wife had passed away three years 
ago, he receives a mysterious letter from said wife telling 
him to meet her in Silent Hill. Confused, and definitely a 
little scared, James travels to Silent Hill and meets a 


W STYLE 1 -PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE Ш PUBLISHER 
KONAMI Ш DEVELOPER КСЕ TOKYO Ш RELEASE FALL 2001 


Bg | E 
HUSHED HORROR FROM KONAMI 


woman named Maria. This Maria bears an uncanny 
resemblance to James's former wife...and so the 
story unfolds. 

You may also notice that 
some of the screens contain 
a lot of fogging effects. 
Imamura stated that this 
was a deliberate move in 
this game, but in the 
previous PS-X title the 
fogging was used to 
mask the inadequacies 
of the engine. 

Obviously, the mist and 
fog add to the 
uncertainty of what is 
around the next corner. 
Uncertainty also 
surrounds what Silent 
Hill 2 will play like and 
when exactly it will be 
released. 


“Explore the mysteries of Silent Hill 


N pup 
1 


`, PREVIEWS 
^ 


+ 
ё 


Yuck! We don't know what this is and we're not sure if ме want to 


It looks as though things at the hospital aren't going too well 


Ё 


^Hmmm...seems like the toilets need some fresh urinal cakes.” 


GAMEINFORMER 65 


HH 1 


^ abt 19 ч pg 


[ PLAYSTATION 2 ] 


GEKIKUUKA 
PRO BASEB 


GREEN GRASS, WHITE BALLS, & HARD WOOD 


Although baseball is thought of as Fielding is intuitive, as the computer reacts to the hit off 
"America's Pastime," the game has a long and proud history һе bat, then switches control to the player as the view 
in Japan. Baseball was first played in Japan in 1873, and zooms in. Generally, the Al seems to do a reasonable job 
existed as an amateur sport until the 1920s, when the first of putting you in position to make the play. 
pro club was formed in Japan. By 1936, the professional Hopefully, this promising title will make its way Stateside 
league (which featured six teams) held its first season. This in some form or another. It seems to be a solid baseball EN The stike zone Indicator eves уо plapoint pitehing control 
league evolved into Nippon Professional Baseball, which now game wrapped in some awesome next-gen window ТЕ a, MT } yrs 
features 12 teams divided into the Pacific and Central dressing. In fact, it's so impressive that Jay is actually TH 7 
leagues. excited about a baseball game for the first time in his life. 
Baseball, both professional and amateur, continues to 
enjoy massive popularity in Japan. This led Square, a 
company not known for its sports titles, to release 
Gekikuukan Pro Baseball for the PlayStation 2. Square has 
acquired the NPB license, and this game features all current 
stadiums, teams, and players. At press time, there had 
been no announcement regarding the American title or 
release date for the game. Although, given Square's close 
relationship with Electronic Arts, we wouldn't be surprised if 
we saw this engine converted into the next iteration of the 
Triple Play series here in the US. 
From the first, it quickly becomes obvious that GPB is far 
superior to World Series Baseball 2K1 for the Dreamcast. Its |, \ 
visuals are crisp, featuring complex player models and 4 4 рь = 
intricate animations. Players react to the ball with два шше! round ae dmm p. 2 m Пп ak 7 
exceptional realism, running out grounders and snagging s 
one-handed grabs. Most impressive are the home runs, Whiti 


which show the rejoicing crowd, the player rounding the а | [3 
bases and giving his team a hearty round of high-fives in the o» noc enr a etitm mt veneris пе Poe 
dugout. 3 
Unlike WSB 2K1, the gameplay is the equal of the 
graphics. Although it's not an exceptionally deep simulation, 
the pitching and batting interfaces lend a unique twist to the 
action. On defense, your pitches are selected using the d- 
pad, and you can position your ball anywhere in the strike 
zone using the left analog stick. Before the pitch, players are 
able to rotate the fielders left or right, and forward and back ú e " 
by using the shoulder buttons. Batting is similar, displaying а i ...and get your propers from your teammates 
shadow that shows your bat position in the strike zone. 


BI STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER SQUARE SOFT lI DEVELOPER SQUARE SOFT ШЕ RELEASE ТВА 


66 GAME INFORMER 


è * a. a Р ъ wy Е: 
d ы > > 
Li 
^ a 
EMPTY FIRE MISSILE 9 


PLAYSTATION 2 


TWISTE 
METAL: 


BACK IN BLACK 


In the beautiful city of San Francisco, Sony robots. That's right, giant robots! Just wait until you see 
held its first US Gamers’ Day, inviting the industry's leading Sweet Tooth wreaking havoc on a small town as a robotic 
journalists to get a better look at the PlayStation 2 launch clown! It'll blow your mind. 

FIRE MISSILE activities. A conference hall filled with hundreds of hardcore Along with realistic weather effects that create poor 
gamers sat in eager anticipation for Sony to unveil something ^ visibility and force your drivers to use fog lights, every inch of 
new, but after a few hours of boring statistics showing where ће deathmatch arena can be destroyed. On one such stage, 
Sony has been over the last five years, and where Sony the base of a Ferris wheel can be knocked out of place, 
wishes to be in the coming months, it appeared as though which in turn sends the wheel rolling down the road and 
Sony had nothing new to offer. Gamer after gamer dozed off, ^ eventually into a small town, laying waste to everything it 
etched stick-figure drawings in their notepads, and prayed to touches. 

the gaming gods that Andrew House would end his Power The most important news of all is that Twisted Metal: 
Point presentation before they died of old age. At the very Black is only a few months away, releasing next spring. Even 
end of the conference, the lights dimmed, and a series of with the stiffest of competition from The Bouncer and Metal 
unexpected videos were shown. To all who were still awake, Gear Solid 2, Twisted Metal: Black received the biggest pop 
Square Soft tantalized the eye with a gorgeous video of The from the gamers in attendance and has now become GI's 
Bouncer, Konami unveiled a new Metal Gear Solid 2 trailer, most anticipated game. If Singletrac keeps the physics 

and Sony dropped the mother of all bombs by debuting the similar to Twisted 2, then look out world! We may have to 
unexpected continuation of the Twisted Metal franchise. delay an issue or two to beat the game with all 

The two-minute Twisted Metal video riled up the crowd, and of the characters! 
was followed by deafening applause. Sony then announced 
that this high-end sequel is being developed by the original 
Twisted Metal team responsible for the first two installments In th 
in the series. After leaving Singletrac, the talented individuals Seo TUM 
SPECIAL who more or less created the vehicular combat genre, 
formed a new company named Incognito, then sided with 
Sony again to bring the series back to its roots. While the 
gameplay looks a tad like Twisted Metal 2, a good majority of 
the game has changed, but for the better. All 14 characters 
are either familiar to the series or inspired by such films as 
Seven and Silence of the Lambs. These characters can 
actually lean out of the car and use handheld weapons. 

There's a chance that they may run on foot as well. As for 

the vehicles, think more along the lines of Transformers. In т тҮ 
beautiful animated sequences, and upon pickup, all the Maie E RI EDEN 
weapons emerge from hidden compartments in the car, then Ily...but the biggest 
quickly tuck back in after their ammo is depleted. Most change of all is yet to come 
impressive of all, the vehicles can transform into gigantic i 


The multiplayer includes four-player split-screen and i-link compatibility 
EN 2 ~ ay. 


Robot in disguise, Sweet Tooth can transform between vehicle and mecha form 


IN‏ —— ————«, سے 
W STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA Ш DEVELOPER INCOGNITO/SONY‏ 
COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT il RELEASE 1ST QUARTER 2001‏ 


GAMEINFORMER 67 


MISSILE 


|liceman C 


PREVIEWS 


^l... Hate... Chorus Lines!!!!" 


PLAYSTATION 2 


SEVEN BLAD 


DUELING DYNAMIC DUO 


Information оп seven Blades is [ 
scarce, but by calling on our network of well- 
placed Far-Eastern correspondents, we've 
managed to glean a few cubits of information 
concerning both the story and accompanying 
action. It all starts with religion as our two 
heroes, Gokurakumaru (male) and Yuri (female), 
answer the call of religious duty with sword in 
hand. However, the task will not be easy. Turns 
out, quelling a religious uprising on the island of 
Dejima is harder than soliciting gay-pride 
donations from skinheads during National Hate 
Week, and the game pumps out an onslaught of 
enemies similar to the scale seen in Dynasty 
Warriors 2. 

From what we've gathered, gameplay 
surrounds your ability to use both characters, 
which then splits the story between different 
paths, enemies, and endings. While there will be 
times when you fight side-by-side, the title 
stresses replay value by letting you create your 
own unique carnage with either player. 

Gokurakumaru seems to be the main focus of 
the game, as he is the wielder of the namesake 
seven mystical blades, each of which (in keeping 
with the spirit of the title) posseses its own 
brand of quick death. His exclusive use of 
swords makes him a master in close quarters. 
Yuri, however, is different in that her use of 
various firearms make her deadly from a 
distance. Adding flavor to the mix is a special 
meter for both characters that burns with a fiery 
aura, and a ferocious attack to match. 

Seven Blades' holy war should send out one 
helluva "hallelujah" when it comes out in Japan 
on December 21, and over here in spring 2001. 
The religious war is coming. 


ا 
Green demon, tile‏ 


Beware of those devices called “laser 


me 47 
Make “em dance with your musket E STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER KONAMI Ш DEVELOPER КСЕ JAPAN il RELEASE DECEMBER 21 IN JAPAN, TBA IN U; 


68 GAME INFORMER 


CALL TO POWER 


с 
i 
q 
k 
] 
lc 
ү 
j 
1 
[ 
í 
h 
1 
r 
ic 


Build your empire 
———— азза. 


1 


нете 


۵ 


e c= 


A VV dV ГҮЛИЗА ГЕГУ 


end: А Proposal 


Selecta requestor treaty Year: 1748 AD 9 $ — — М 
КЫ Ses feat eter | Terrain Bonus: [30857 Fort Bares: 
1 ; Ciy Defense: [ГУЕ Fortification Bones 


As a gesture of friendship, we offer to give 
[your nation the Communism advance. 


In addition, we propose a trade pact. As 
friendly nations, we should seek to capitalize 
‘on mutually beneficial opportunities. 


Be a diplomat It's smashin’ time! 


CALL TO r~ 
POWER II Е: 


ЕТ 2, ВКОТЕг 


А , -— А 
Sid Meyer s Civilization is undergoing ^ notice your mayor switching from an emphasis on production Other features and gameplay elements have been wisely 

yet another upgrade. Building оп the original CtP engine, this іп peacetime, to defense in wartime. Unconventional units left alone. The unit-building structure still behaves in much 

installment will feature new wonders and units, as well as can now be seen by each other, regardless of type, easing the same way as it did in CtP, unit movement is basically 


updated trade and diplomacy options. the pressure of researching numerous branches of the tech untouched, and graphically, there are only minor changes to 
Call to Power Il will attempt to immerse the player in tree to enable the detection of a certain threat. units and battle environments. These are all things that 
several new tools for governing their piece of the pie. The resource gathering system is another updated work in CtP2's favor, as these were cornerstones of CtP. 
Improved trade and combat features help move the game feature, where your city will expand its borders as it grows, Activision has a large hurdle ahead of it, as bugs have 
along; however, the diplomatic landscape is much more building tile improvements along the way. Your territories been a serious problem with previous Civilization titles. CtP2 
robust than its predecessors. It will assist players in expand while working around each other, which allows each doesn't have an especially new look for this unique genre, 
choosing their political stance, and enemy states will take different city to grow in a unique way. The game also does nor is it particularly innovative. But it is building on a system 
Stock of their diplomatic surroundings before attacking or away with space cities and units, shifting play focus to the that works, and implementing some much-needed changes. 
forming alliances. conquest of land and sea. That being said, we look for this game to come out bug and 
Other improvements include a virtual mayor that allocates hassle free. 


resources to what the Al feels you need most. You may 


E STYLE 1 ТО 8-PLAYER STRATEGY Ш PUBLISHER ACTIVISION Ш DEVELOPER ACTIVISION Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 


GAMEINFORMER 69 


Ouchie! 


E 


TRIBES 2 


THE ULTIMATE STRATEGY FPS RETURNS 


The original Starsiege: Tribes may not have sold as well as it deserved, but the response from fans 
was so huge, there had to be another sequel. Few games foster the kind of devotion that Tribes players have exhibited on the 
Web and in play. Like Team Fortress, it puts emphasis on teamwork over Quake-style brawling with the occasional flag grab. 

In Tribes, you get vehicles and can run back to base to select whatever weapon and armor loadout you desire. More so than in 
any other game, during deathmatch, a team of moderately skilled FPSers that knows how to work together can easily take out a 
legion of top fragmasters. Between the use of vehicles and choosing effective roles for your troops, there is a great deal of 
strategy to be considered. 

Oddly enough, Tribes 2 only appears to feature two new weapons (but the recent delay to a first-quarter release may change 
that). These include a Rocket Launcher that fires heat-seeking missiles and a much-needed melee weapon – the lethal Shock 
Lance. The Rocket Launcher will lock and track its target. If an opponent manages to evade, the missile will automatically track 
the next target it finds, whether friend or foe, which makes it a risky weapon to use. Individual soldiers can avoid the missiles by 
shutting off their booster packs and dropping flares, but it's much more difficult to evade with vehicles.The Shock Lance works 
great with a new cloaking field that players can equip. The field makes you nearly transparent, allowing you to sneak up on 
opponents and cut them down before they even know what's happening. A new type of sticky mine has been rumored, but not 
confirmed. 

Aside from the gorgeous new graphics and enhanced chat and waypoint command options, the vehicles are one of the most 
noticeable changes. Flyers include a speedy single-seat light-attack craft called the Shrike, a bomber with tail and bell-gunner 
positions, and a heavy carrier capable of transporting up to four troops (in addition to the pilot and tail gunner). There are also 
three new ground vehicles. The unarmed grav cycle is an ideal single-seat transport for snipers and flag grabbers, while the 
assault vehicle packs a serious punch with what is essentially a mobile base turret equipped to fire mortars or plasma shots. 
Last but not least is the heavily armored, but weaponless, mobile command vehicle capable of jamming sensors and restocking 
supplies in the field. It's just a hunch, but we imagine Tribes fans will be pleased. 


YS ата ANY у= ех. АБУ, 
ON cod 
© MT М NON E STYLE 1 TO 64-PLAYER ACTION/SHOOTER Ш PUBLISHER SIERRA STUDIOS ll DEVELOPER DYNAMIX 


"Uh...l'll be leaving no B RELEASE 1ST QUARTER 2001 


P == 


"Put on a happy faci 


"Hey wait! That might be one of..." 


70 GAME INFORMER 


dus 


You'd better run 


A GOOD ENGINE GETTING BETTER 


Called upon to assume the leadership of the Gunmen, to 
avenge your General's death, and to fight an alien foe known 
as the Xenomes, you strap on your piece and go to work. 
Gunman Chronicles promises to send first-person shooter 
fanatics into fits of blissful seizures as they start in on over 40 
hours of expected gameplay. 

Powered by the wildly successful Half-Life engine, Gunman 
Chronicles will combine a high-tech arsenal with good old 
Shootout action as your character blasts his way through four 
different worlds and 30 genetically modified mutants. Original 
sounds and music will accompany you on your travels, but the 
weapons will make sure you don't take an early exit. GC will 
offer eight different weapons to help you blast the opposition, 
be it a friend next door, or something even more hideously 
grotesque on-screen. Among the weapons are the following: 


STANDARD ISSUE LASER PISTOL 
You will carry a laser pistol into all missions. This is your 


jump-off weapon — you will never start with less than this. The 
Laser Pistol still packs a punch with it's different modes: 
Pulse, a high-powered burst of three energy units that is the 
most accurate of the three standard modes; Charge, a slow- 
moving packet of 10 energy units; Rapid, a stream of pulse 
bursts, machine gun-style. The is also a sniper rifle stock add- 
on long range accuracy is no problem with this upgrade. 


SHOTGUN 

This will be one of the first weapons you find. The shotgun 
offers two customizable features. You can tweak the spread, 
which refers to the scatter range of the buckshot. Selecting 
lower numbers will concentrate the buckshot in a smaller area. 
Larger numbers — up to 20 degrees — spread the buckshot in a 
wider area, but with less effectiveness. You can also set the 
shotgun to fire from one to four shells simultaneously with 
each shot. 


ТҮШЕ 1 TO 32-PLAYER SHOOTER Ш PUBLISHER SIERRA STUDIOS Ш DEVELOPER REWOLF SOFTWARE ll RELEASE WINTER 2000 


Ab an b 


Could this room be any more detailed? 


"Bite this, dinosaur scum!" 


MECHA GUN 

The standard sub-machine gun has been improved to provide 
substantial firepower — up to 20 rounds per second. You'll 
want to keep on eye on the temp, as the gun will malfunction 
when overheated, firing uncontrollably until it cools. The Mecha 
Gun's default setting fires approximately 10 single rounds per 
second. Adding the Barrel Spin doubles your firepower by 
equipping the extra barrel via a unique spinning action. Barrel 
coolers are clip-on components that cool your barrels, allowing 
the gun to fire rounds for longer periods of time without 
overheating. 

Customization features in GC will be simply mind-boggling for 
firsttime players. Find yourself with rockets, but no launcher? 
No problem, you are now able to disassemble the rocket and 
use the warhead in a number of viciously delicious ways. The 
list goes on and on, and you'll want to find every one of them. 


GAMEINFORMER 71 


^ 


ar 


Knuckles preps the stage for an upcoming Misfits show 


72 


GAME INFORMER 


SEGA'S NEED FOR SPEED 


Faster than a speeding bullet. wore powerful than a VW Beetle. Able to leap small shrubbery in a 
single bound. Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird. It's a plane. It's Super...er Sonic the Hedgehog! Sega's mascot and multi-million- 
unit-selling cash cow is finally making his way back to the powerful Dreamcast scene with an action-packed sequel. For those of 
you who took a chance with the first game, only to be disappointed by the sheer amount of gameplay difficulties, Sega has 
ironed out the wrinkles, hoping all the unbelievers out there will transform into speed addicts. 

Right from the get-go, Sonic Adventure 2 starts out with a killer action sequence featuring Sonic handcuffed to a helicopter. 
Using his many skills to break free, Sonic leaps into the air and plummets rapidly. Just when it appears big blue will make an 
even larger blue smear on the ground, he yanks a sky board out of his back pocket and shreds the clouds, which is an incredible 
sequence that you actually control, then lands safely on the ground. In the first game, Sega tried to implement a number of 
minigames to lend the game diversity. Sega succeeded in this mission, but most of the material was subpar. The sequel uses 
the same techniques, but this time the payoff should be significant. The gameplay segments in Sonic Adventure 2 are rarely 
repeated, and if you ever do want to take a break from the strenuous action, Chao breeding has received a complete makeover. 
Sega not only improved the communication and response between the heroes and the Chao, but several interesting VMU 
minigames have been added so you can play the game on the go. 

Sharing the spotlight with some of his co-stars for the second time running, Sonic will be just one of many playable characters. 
Knuckles, the guardian of the Master Emerald, is lending a helping hand, and if you thought he was da bomb before, he has an 
explosive arsenal of new moves to work with. The notorious gangsta, Dr. Robotnik, a foul human who has always had it in for 
Sonic and his buddies, is no longer the adversary. You 
heard us right! Eggman is actually one of Sonic's allies 
this time around, and he may even be a playable 
character! This is an interesting spin to say the least. 

Along with improved camera angles and more intuitive 
control, several of Sonic’s new abilities allow him to 
reach a new level of interaction with the environments. 
Jumping on the skateboarding bandwagon, Sonic (without 
a board we might add) can grind objects like railings and 
ledges. We'll have to wait and see if Sega went to the 
extreme, allowing big blue to actually perform a 
Madonna. 

We've heard your complaints about the first release a 
thousand times over, and we agree with you. The second 
chapter should sit a little better with everyone, but then 
again, many of the problems with the original were 
caused by Sega rushing the game out of development 
and onto retail shelves. Before it hits the streets, 
hopefully this sequel receives the touch-up it deserves. 


Could it be?! Is Dr. Robotik a new playable character 


PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER SONIC TEAM/SEGA Ш RELEASE SUMMER 2001 


TWO WORDS 


Animated Violence 


Mild L 


Use of Tobacco and Alcohol 


Е wuu.sega.com/shenmue 


© CRI 1999-2000 Presented by AM2 of CRI. All Rights Reserved. SEGA, DREAMCAST, the Dreamcast logo, and SHENMUE are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD or its affiliates. 


PRATO E 


ү; 
0 
О 
= 
C 
ы 
O 


PREVIEWS 


PLAYSTATION 2 


KENGO: MASTER 
/ OF BUSHIDO 
Sony's most ambitious Playstation 2 


property is finally taking shape. Despite early reports that NOT THE MA R YET 


"Dem cube dc te etel Even with а December 15 release date, Kengo and using it to unleash a devastating attack. This new 
All the action is very fluid, borrowing key traits from Zelda's still appears to be in the early stages of development, and system lessens the tension the one-hit system delivered — 
р 1 (Um because of this, our first impressions didn't leave us with the уои don't need to hunt for an opening any more, just slash 
64bit adventures ШӘ Wore GINS geped is also highest of expectations. Former Square Soft heavy hitter, away. 
т ГОЦЕ, вате үш amenu 00 Пате Lightweight Entertainment, has big plans for the continuation The two things Kengo has going for it at the moment are 
p pur E аг wae Am ор QM. pn en of its Bushido Blade series. character models and environments. Each warrior is dressed 
Teac apani Ie MAURIS E gase qud The biggest change is the alteration of the instant kill. If in flowing garments with a remarkable amount of detailing. 
few months later in КШ Spring. Take a tip from us and you look at the pictures scattered around this article, you The little things, like unsheathing a sword, are delivered with 
[eser ОШ CODY DON. can see both life and special meters. As the дате precision as well. The arena: impressive; 
progresses in development, one-hit deaths m > however, they are quit , which leads us to believe the 
implemented, but right now, the only way to win a match is exploration aspect has b 
through depleting the opponent's lifebar. The easiest way to Hopefully, Lightweight is holding out on us, and the 
do this, of course, is through powering up the special meter material we've seen is only the tip of the iceberg. 


DARK CLOUD 


THE WORLD IS YOURS TO BUILD 


| 00'23"48 == 
Kengo has more than enough hidden characters. Filling the special meter enables mighty special attacks 


Sephiroth!!! Ah!! Ah!!! Sephiroth!!! 


= 


The FMV sequences are highly detailed Hopefully, a strike like this will bring instant death 


WI STYLE |-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME I PUBLISHER SONY 
COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA Ш DEVELOPER SONY B STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER FIGHTING Il PUBLISHER CRAVE ENTERTAINMENT ШЕ DEVELOPER LIGHTWEIGHT ENTERTAINMENT 
COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC Ii RELEASE 1ST QUARTER 2001 E RELEASE DECEMBER 15 


76 GAME INFORMER 


mY ЕР ; 
HOP for еВ 
bey tor © m & 


"A visual їеаѕічог Р$2 owners. ...in shooter heaven 


a Gamers! Republic” 


TM 


: А i3 
| г l : : 
£ > 8. П. 
PlayStation and the "PS Family SS tere trademarks of Sohy C ornate г Entertainme: ent Inc. 


f Portiogs of the English Translation Working Designs 2000. "Working. D 
inherésting c. от at http://Avinv.workingdesigns.com? For a dealer year 


Our gam yo @77/ toU 


SILPHEED" is a regis stored trademark of Game Arts. Licensed from Game Arts by Working De: Signs * Origin 
istered trademark of Working Destyns, Inc: All rights reserved. You obvious! ly dont have a life if you're reading this far, so 
243-3417." 


fame. Game Arts 2000. 
По! check out the far more 


* 


PREVIEWS — 


Tom 


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DREAMCAST 


PROJECT JUST 


PREPS AND JOCKS GET IT ON 


Striking gold With its untouched high school license, where hostile students excel in beating the tar out of 

their classmates, Capcom has forged a sequel to the sleeper title Rival Schools. On a grading scale, Rival Schools was 

а C-. Capcom is hoping to raise this mark and possibly make the honor roll with this second attempt. Many of the students 

from the first game are back as either juniors or seniors, and 

six new faces have transferred to the school, bringing the + 

whopping character total to 22. а e [7 JOIN US 
The overall feel of the game is very much the same, but cr Rn == 

bo 44 


some extensive changes have been made to the tag tactics. 

When the power gauge reaches level five, players can 

perform the Party Up technique which lights up the screen эй 
with a simultaneous three-man assault. Each Party Up 
maneuver is different for the different groups of characters, 
and instead of being knocked senseless or blocking this 
move, the opposing force can retaliate and counter the 
attack. Many of the two character co-op moves are still in 
place with hilarious and mind-numbing animation. 

Capcom has also answered the "Where's the beef?" cry by 
giving the game a hefty frontend filled with interesting 
options, including an enhanced Edit Character mode and a 
new League system. 

It's tough to say whether this game will make an impact, 
but we have a feeling it will be the last hurrah for the Rival 


Schools gang. UNG CORR 
Mw PQS 


2510275 К 


Tag team tactics still play a large role. 


e 592 D J01N. US 


Amble around with your army 


If only we had the power to discharge lightning blasts when bullies gave us swirlies 


E STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER FIGHTING I PUBLISHER CAPCOM Ш DEVELOPER CAPCOM Ш RELEASE JANUARY 15, 2001 


78 САМЕІМРОРМЕ 


Animated Violence 
Mild Language 


Our games go eo 


GRIFFON BLAZE ( rts. Licensed from Game Arts by Working T Original > Game Arts 2000. 
1 ed, If you're happy and you К it 1 re happy you know it, target 


ert 


PREVIEWS 


(PLAYSTATION 2 ) 


SURFING H30 


SEARCHING FOR THE 
PERFECT WAVE 


“Surfing 15 а way of life, man — a way of looking at 
a wave and saying ‘Hey, let's party!" So sayeth Jeff Spicoli, 
and so sayeth we. These words of infinite wisdom must have 
inspired Ascii to create Surfing НЗО (titled Surfroid in Japan), 
a surfing game quite unlike any other. We recently got our 
hands on the Japanese version of the game, which features a 
number of sci-fi oriented characters. Rockstar has informed 
us that many of these will probably be taken out of the US 
version, though they might appear as hidden characters. 

The most striking feature of the game is the unique 
surfboard controller, which attaches to the Dual Shock's 
analog sticks. This is used to guide your surfer through the 
waves, while performing tricks with the analog buttons and 
shoulders. This odd little innovation (which will come 
packaged with the game), sets Surfing H30 apart from other 
games of its ilk. There are a handful of gameplay modes, 
most of which require that you attain certain point levels 
through tricks and collecting land mine-like 
bonus objects. The 
graphics are a little 
spotty at this point, 
but Rockstar has 
promised to pull 
out the Sex Wax 
and buff the polys 
to a brilliant sheen 
before its 
American release. 


The Innovative surfboard 
controller uses your Dual Shock 
to simulate real surfing 


This comely beach bum is one of the game's outrageous characters 


W STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER ROCKSTAR 
GAMES Ш DEVELOPER ASCII Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


80 GAME INFORMER 


SACRIFICE 


SHINE ON, YOU CRAZY SACRIFICE 


In the classic struggle to add role-playing to an 
RTS, Shiny has unveiled Sacrifice. Being the current master of 
the PC RPG (sorry, Origin), Sacrifice seems like the next logical 
step for Interplay, which is pushing the RPG envelope in 
multiple genres and platforms. 

Sacrifice hits the RPGer right where it counts — in the detail. 
The character generation in Sacrifice is nothing special, but 
what a person can do with that character...that's impressive. 
Reminiscent of the old "choose your own adventure" books, 
the game has you guiding your newly formed wizard through 
the realms of five gods. Showing bravery and allegiance to one 
or the other will entice your god of choice to show you favor, 
whereas the others will attempt to block you. 

Sacrifice offers more bang for the buck. As it features a 
level editor dubbed Scapex, the possible amount of level 
customization is simply staggering. An advanced level editor 
even has the option to add cutscenes, mission objectives, and 
character audio to the created scenario. Also included is map 
creation and texture editing, giving the creator more latitude to 
make a uniquely recognizable realm. 

Sacrifice will break the mold for an RTS/RPG hybrid. Highly 
controllable situations and missions are already leaps and 
bounds ahead of other RTS/RPG contenders such as Warcraft 
Ill. Unit control and magic manipulation are elements any 
gamer will appreciate given the innovative formation 
techniques and spell options. 

Online play will also be available, only adding to the already 
gigantic replay value. We have a feeling this will be the mark 
other production houses shoot for as more and more 
RTS/RPG's hit the market. Any gaming fan should put aside a 
little scratch for the release of Sacrifice. It will be well worth 
your while. 


Bi 


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СУ 


Soul conversion. Battle! 


B STYLE 1 TO 12-PLAYER ACTION/STRATEGY Ш PUBLISHER INTERPLAY II DEVELOPER SHINY ENTERTAINMENT 
B RELEASE NOVEMBER 1 


FF CE) 
dd 


Hope Springs Шат, N. 


йз KASN 
V7. Leatherette Hardbound 
‘Instruction Manual d 


хош Full-Size Lucia 8 Репйат!. 


* Z&clusive Character м Standees! 
Visit b / 7 Pre-order. to Бесе ЕКЕЕ Limited 
hi sana 1 m / / ^ Edition Ghaleon Pffftching Puppet. For 
0 p info 7 / 2 п Gomplete Пота Participating Retailers, 
` 4 Or visit TS at Uff wwwavorkingdesigns.com. 


PlayStatigf/and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "LUNAR" is a registered trademark of Game Arts/Working Designs. Licéfised from ESP by Working Designs. Original Game © Game 
Arts/Styflio Alex 1994-1999. Reprogrammed game © Game Arts/Kadokawa Shoten 1999. English Translation © Working Designs 2000. "Working Desi E 
У readipf/this, you probably need to get a life. Or, a girlfriend. Or both. Web Address: http:/ W 


PREVIEWS 


GOEMON 


MYSTICAL BLUE HAIRED BOY 


Goemon - sounas like a bad disease ог some really 
Stinky cheese. However, if you've followed the Nintendo. 
world dating back to the days of the Super NES, you know 
Goemon is the blue-haired boy who originally starred in The 
Legend of the Mystical Ninja. Certainly, this little fella has 
seen his share of adventures on the SNES, Game Boy, and 
Nintendo 64, but this upcoming PlayStation 2 release is 
surprisingly Goemon's first frolic on a non-Nintendo platform. 
Yes, Goemon is moving to new pastures and at the recent 
Tokyo Game Show we had a chance to take a quick look at 
his new PS2 game. 

Konami tried a few new tricks with Goemon on its N64 
offering, bringing the game into a 3D arena. The PS2 version 
mimics it, but on a larger scale. The adventure breaks up 
the game into typical role-playing tasks of exploring towns 
and speaking with residents, while providing action through 
combat. Most of what we saw were RPG elements, but from 
what we know of the other games, expect combat to see a 
variety of weapons and a little magic mixed into the battles. 

Given the current stage of the game, it's hard to tell in 
what direction it's moving. On the one hand, the graphics are 
fairly devoid of detailed textures. Likewise, the дате engine 
is not too spectacular. However, one thing is for sure — if 
Goemon is anything like the past games, the story and 
events will be as crazy as a bad disease caused by eating 
smelly cheese. 


e 


Yikes! It looks like the watermelon patch has come alive. 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/RPG Ш PUBLISHER KONAMI 
M DEVELOPER КСЕ KOBE Ш RELEASE TBA 


82 GAME INFORMER 


OANT HATE ME BECAUSE I’M DAMNED 


“Okay, we’ve got a great idea for a new PS2 title. We'll take 
this guy, ау, And we'll put him іп a bad situation, like maybe he's in a war- 
ravaged land full of disease and famine, and people are blaming each other for 
all the bad stuff that's happened. We'll call the place, oh 1 don't know, Ardon or 
something like that. So anyway, here's our boy, and he's one of the people 
being accused of doing naughty things! Can you believe it?! So, to prove his 
innocence he has to go on a quest to find out what's going on in Ardon. If he 
fails, he's thrown into a pit of demonic creatures or something. Who knows, 
we'll work that out later. But anyway, as our dude is trying like the dickens to 
figure out what's going on, he finds out that an evil god is behind all this! So he 
has to kick the bad god out of Ardon to save humanity. What do you think? Oh, 
and our hero kills lots of baddies along the way with assorted blades and 
magic." 

Warriors of Might and Magic is not a game that makes use of incredibly 
original plot lines. However, it looks like WoM&M will offer gameplay that makes 
full use of the PS2's processor through FMV, dialogue, and other assorted 
features that only a system like the PS2 can offer. 3DO is very confident in 
WoM&M's graphical prowess and promises that, at times throughout the game, 
it will use 20 times more polygons than the PS-X’s Crusader. 

Aside from the technical improvements, this installment of M&M is delivering 
updated combat techniques, as well as defensive options, to improve and 
expand gameplay. We have high hopes for Warriors of Might and Magic, as does 
much of the gaming community. With spectacular graphic effects and 3D 
immersion as promised by 3DO, we would be surprised if this title did poorly. 


He's an Ardonian badass 


E STYLE ACTION/RPG Ш PUBLISHER ЗРО ш DEVELOPER 3DO Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 2000 


PLAYSTATION 2/PC 


PROJECT EDEN 


LIFE AFTER LARA 


The developer that gave birth to 
Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series has a 
new story to tell. This time around, however, 
it won't be seen through the eyes of a tightly- 
clad heroine. In Project Eden, players can 
freely switch control between four different 
characters from the Urban Protection Agency 
elite force. This team was formed to deal 
with serious disturbances within the mega- 
cities. Cleaning up the streets is one thing, 
but the UPA has never handled a situation 
this severe. A group of technicians was sent 
to the Real Meat factory to repair machinery 
that simultaneously malfunctioned. The group 
hasn't been seen since. It's up to you to 
solve the riddle. 

This epic story not only unfolds through the 
eyes of four highly-trained operatives, Project 
Eden features interchangeable first and third- 
person views. While in the first-person 
perspective, if you look down, you can 
actually see your torso and feet. The team- 
based gameplay spans across 11 mission- 
heavy stages. The PlayStation 2 version is 
limited to a single-player game, whereas the 
PC version allows for two to four-player 
networking. Both versions are expected to 
Shoot up the gaming scene in February. 


aS А) 
Players can freely switch control between four different UPA operatives 


UBLISHER EIDOS INTERACTIVE ш DEVELOPER CORE DESIGN Ш RELEASE FEBRUARY 2001 


PREVIEWS 


if 


The main character, Eike Kusch, tries to find what's behind his death. — 


SHADOW OF 
MEMORIES 


IS THIS AMNESIA? 
If Shadow of Memories was a feature 


film that was set in Los Angeles and starred Warren Beatty, 
the game might be called Heaven Can Wait. Well, not 
exactly, but the plot of Konami's PlayStation 2 adventure 
made us immediately think of this late ‘705 flick. 

In the game, you take the role of a young man named Eike 
Kusch who, at the outset of the adventure, has been 
murdered. Eike's subsequent resurrection — or so we think — 
sets off a chain of events where he retraces the steps 
leading up to the murder. We're not talking just a few days 
or weeks, as Eike will travel hundreds of years into the past 
to discover his origins and reveal key events that could have 
lead to his dismal destiny. 

Shadow of Memories is a third-person perspective 
adventure featuring characters and settings that are 
rendered in real-time. With your character traveling through 
many different eras, you will interact with a huge variety of 
personalities — all present with voice acting depicting the 
change in time. Items, 
puzzles, and clue 
gathering will all be a part 
of this adventure. 

At this stage, Konami 

" hasn't nailed down a 
definitive US release date 
for this game. However, 
the presentation and story 
have piqued our interest. 


Needless to say, these 16th Century maidens are surprised 
to see someone from 400 years in the future 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ADVENTURE IM PUBLISHER KONAMI 
W DEVELOPER KCE TOKYO Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER IN JAPAN, 
TBA IN US 


GAMEINFORMER 83 


MU VUR N t 


FROM WDL TO VCL 


In what seems to be a WCW versus WWF feud, 3D0 and Infogrames are butting heads in the vehicular 
combat genre. 3DO has shown its development prowess with World Destruction League, and Infogrames hopes to steal 
the love-stricken audience away with its first title in the Vehicle Combat League, Motor Mayhem. While vehicular 
destruction is the main focus, Motor Mayhem adds a new element to the mix. All of the characters are visible within, or on 
top of, their monstrous rigs. As the player hunts his or her prey, the characters react to objects in the environments and 
taunt the opposition. Infogrames may be delighted by this groundbreaking innovation, but little do they know that Twisted 
Metal Black has already demolished this aspect with characters that not only show emotion, but actually pop out of the car 
with handheld weapons. You snooze, you lose! 

Back to the battle at hand. Motor Mayhem's premise is set within the year 2025, and the gameplay unfolds through 
gigantic arenas filled with fans hungry for carnage. On the other hand, WDL's premise is set in...well...who cares! We 
surely don't. Now then, time for the ever 
so important propaganda-filled quotes 
from Infogrames director of marketing, 
David Riley. Woo hoo! 

Take it away, David! “Motor Mayhem 
brings an edgy element to our PlayStation 
2 lineup that will appeal to the masses as 
well as the hardcore gamers that will 
purchase the new game console." 
Hmmm...Very intriguing, David. "With up to 
four-player split-screen pandemonium and 
spectacular special effects, this game 
really takes advantage of the technology 
that the PlayStation 2 has to offer.” We're 
sure it does, David. We're sure it does. 


All the battles take place within gigantic arenas filled 
with traps and weapon power-ups 


SONIC SHU 


DOSIE DOE, MOFO 
So, there YOU аге, wondering aloud to 


yourself, “Gosh, I’m going to have three of my geeky video 
game friends over tonight and, by jove, we need something to 
do. | wish we could play a Dreamcast game which 
incorporates Sonic and all his friends into a party game set in 
a whole new magical world.” Well, Sega has heard your cries 
for party-time entertainment, and will release Sonic Shuffle in 
early November. Sonic Shuffle features a 3D gameboard for 
Sonic, Knuckles, Amy Rose, and Tails to play out their search 
for Precioustones. These stones in question were ruthlessly 
n 
Р, 


thrown about by a force known only as The Void. What does 
this mean? It means you have to collect these Precioustones 
(isn't that clever?) before your friends do, to save the land of 
Maginary Whirl. Sega has thrown in minigames and trivia 
questions to make things interesting. This game could be a 
lot of fun, but right now it's missing that je ne sais quoi that Sonic has to share the spotlight 
makes a party game cool for all ages. 


" 


a 


is time 


W STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER SONIC TEAM Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 13 


NINTENDO 64/DREAMCAST 


As though all information was blanketed by a huge cover-up, the 
developer really hasn't divulged any information surrounding the Roswell 
Conspiracies. Already though, this upcoming Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 game 
has stirred up quite an interesting story. Both versions of Roswell Conspiracies 
are based on the animated series bearing the same name. Are you a big fan of 
the Roswell Conspiracies cartoon? If you answered yes, then you're a big fat 
liar. The show hasn't been picked up for syndication yet, and while the game 
was originally scheduled for a fall 2000 release, Red Storm is holding onto the 
project in hopes that some network will pick it up. Red Storm has set a 
deadline. If the show doesn't air by early 2001, the game will release in spring 
regardless. 

The story is more or less a replica of the Men In Black concept. Aliens are on 
earth and it's up to an underground agency called The Global Alliance to 
combat the extraterrestrials 
without letting mankind know 
there's life on other planets. 
Through 40 stages, players 
switch control between Nick 
Logan and Sh'Lainn Blaze, 
each bearing unique 
abilities. 

Even without the cartoon 
foundation, this game has 
an impressive look and the 

HH i et basis of gameplay seems 
Dreamcast solid. We can't wait to see it! 


W STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER RED STORM Ш DEVELOPER RED STORM Ш RELEASE ТВА 


\ 


Our crack (ог crackhead, we can never decide which) review team rates games in a 
number of categories to help you sort out the great from the stuff you hate. Each 
game is reviewed by at least two staff members, and you will find both their opinions 
on each review. To make things a little easier we have put together some definitions 
of what the numbers mean, what the reviewers are like (so you can find the reviewer 
most like youself), what we look for in a game, and also a cheat sheet so the 
newbies can understand our advanced video game jargon. Read on and soon you will 
be talking FPS and FMV with the best of them. 


THE SCORING SYSTEM 


CONCEPT 
What new ideas the game brings to 
the table and how well old ideas are 


Was 


THE CONSOLE TEAM 


ANDY 

E Handle: The Game Hombre lil Expertise: RPGs, Action/Platform, Driving, Strategy IM 
Interests: R.A. Salvatore Fantasy Books, Clint Eastwood Westerns, Dr. Pepper, Vikings. 
Football, Timberwolves Basketball Ш Dislikes: Your Mama, Uncooperative PR People, 
Kentucky Fried Chicken lli Current Favorite Games: EverQuest, Zelda: Majora's Mask, MoH: 
Underground 

When Andy's not yelling at a game for “rippin’ him off", he plays drums in Minneapolis indie 
rock band, Unbelievable Jolly Machine. A longtime fan of Metroid, Andy has been reviewing 
video games professionally since the days of the 8-bit NES. While a big sports fan in real 
life, Andy isn't the first to line up for sports titles, but is always willing to put in the extra 
hours to play a good RPG or strategy game. 


Game Informer's rating system ranges 
from O to 10, and is similar to school 
grading. 7 is average, 9 and above is 


PAUL 
W Handle: The Game Professor lil Expertise: Sports, Action/Adventure, Racing W Interests: 
NFL, NBA, Arizona, Alan Greenspan, IRC ll Dislikes: Pennies, Mike Tyson Boxing, US Tax 


exemplary work, 5 and below is a presented. Policy Ш Current Favorite Games: Madden 2001 (PS2), MSR, Tony Hawk 2 
failure. Aside from concept, Since the days of the Mattel Intellivison, Paul has consumed every type of sports video 
entertainment, graphics, playability, GRAPHICS game imaginable. Not only is he the staff's resident sports gaming expert, he also has 


authored detailed strategy guides on all of Capcom's survival horror games. A GI Staff 


sound, and replay value (all explained 
member since 1992, Paul has reviewed well over 500 games during his tenure. 


How good a game looks, taking into 


to the right), other factors that 
influence a game's final score are how 
much game you get for your money 
and how all the game's elements 
come together. 


10 - Perfection. One of the best 
games of all time, if not THE best 
game of all time. This game has no 
flaws, and thus this rating is rarely 
given out. 


9 - Worth owning. Fans of the genre 
should definitely enjoy this game, 
but even those who don't normally 
like this type of game may find them- 
selves getting hooked. 


8 - Worth playing. Still a great 
game, but arguably so. It may not be 
the best ever, but there's enough to 
keep your fingers wrapped around 
the controller for some time. 


7 - Worth renting. Unless you're a 
fledgling gamer, you've probably 
seen everything this game has to 
offer before. Still, just checking it 
out won't ruin your weekend. 


account any flaws such as bad colli- 
Sion or pop-up. 


SOUND 

Does the game's music and sound 
effects get you involved or do they 
make you resolve to always play with 
the volume down? 


PLAYABILITY 

Basically, the controller to human 
interface. The less you think about 
the hunk of plastic in your hands, 
the better the playability. 


ENTERTAINMENT 

Flat out, just how fun the game is to 
play. The most important factor in 
rating a game. 


REPLAY VALUE 

The longevity of the title. 

* High - You'll still be popping this 
game in five years from now. 

* Moderately High - Good for a long 
while, but the thrills won't last forever. 
* Moderate - Good for a few months 


MATT 


W Handle: The Original Gamer lil Expertise: Racing, Puzzle, Action/Adventure W Interests: 
Rolling Rock, Bands Nobody Likes, Soup Ш Dislikes: Chewing Gum, Robin Williams, The 
Former Czech Republics W Current Favorite Games: Tony Hawk 2, TimeSplitters, Emperor's 


Ii Handle: The Raging Gamer Ш Expertise: RPGs, Fighting, Action/Platform, Sports 
E Interests: Comic Books, Star Wars, Transformers, Anime Ш Dislikes: Country Music, 
People With Guns, The PC Jedi Ш Current Favorite Games: Final Fantasy ІХ, Tony Hawk 2, 


TimeSplitters 


Reiner considers himself the biggest Star Wars fan in the world. Along with his impressive 
collection of Star Wars action figures, he has seen the trilogy 489 times. A fan of all game 
types, role-playing games are his strong suit. In his six years as a professional gamer, 
Reiner has achieved the impossible. Penetrating the pixel boundary, he not only plays 
games, he’s in one, and can be shot daily in the epic N64 release, Perfect Dark. 


New Groove, Metal Walker 


While record collecting, watching reality television, and playing video games might sound 
like a state of retarded adolescence, Matt manages to scrap together an almost meaningful 
existence out of these activities. His encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture is either 
amazing or annoying, depending on how close your desk is to his. Less esoteric than his 


colleagues, Matt prefers traditional action and platform games. 


or a few times through. 
* Moderately Low - After finishing it, 
there's not much reason to give it a 


6 - Limited appeal. There are always 
a few people that will fall in love with 
a game of this caliber, but for the 


JAY 
Wi Handle: The Gonzo Gamer Ш Expertise: Strategy, Puzzle, RPGs lil Interests: Dungeons & 
Dragons, Comic Books, Wrestling, Paintball ll Dislikes: The Minnesota Vikings, Teams 


most part, those playing it will be second gO. А Unable To Beat The Vikings Ш Current Favorite Games: Final Fantasy ІХ, Tony Hawk 2, Tile 
yearning for something more. * Low - You'll quit playing before you Pai Gow Poker 
complete the game. Jay lives in his mom's basement just like you. Adding further fuel to his archetypal nerd fire 


5 & BELOW - Garbage. From 
this point down, it's just a matter of 
how much of a failure the game is. 
The lower the score, the more you're 
hating life for playing it. 


is his love for comic books, metal miniature painting, and twice weekly pencil-and-paper 
RPG sessions. In fact, he's such a D&D fanatic, he hates professional football simply 
because it interrupts his Sunday gaming schedule. Par for course, his favorite fames are 
often obscure ones. He is also one damn handsome man. 


THE PC TEAM 
ERIK 


W Handle: The PC Jedi W Expertise: Strategy, RPGs, Anything That Allows Upgrades 
E Interests: White Vermont Cheddar, Science Fiction, Tom Clancy W Dislikes: 
Wisconsin Cheese, Soccer Moms, V6s With Automatic Transmissions Ш Current 
Favorite Games: Red Alert 2, Suikoden II 

Erik is a self professed closet nerd, otherwise known as a NUCI (Nerd Upon Closer 
Inspection). Although he couldn't care less for people who love everything and 
anything about anime, he has developed a fixation on mecha. Erik is completely 
clueless about sports, and will attempt to change a conversation on the topic to 
one about X-Com or 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons so he doesn't look foolish in 
front of the ladies. 


KRISTIAN 

апае: The Game Dawg lil Expertise: RPGs, Strategy, Sports ll Interests: The 
Cincinnati Bengals, Stanley Kubrick, Boyle's Law Ill Dislikes: His Roommate's 
Wicker Furniture, Helen Hunt, Beets lli Current Favorite Games: Rune, Red Alert 2, 
Chutes and Ladders 

Kristian enjoys opening a can of whoop-ass on his buddies at the ping pong table, 
then running off to the golf course for a lesson in humility and anger management. 
The original text-driven Zork started Kristian on the gaming road; Ultima 6, NES 
Baseball, and Zelda made sure he stayed. Still an avid RPG fan, he can always find 
time to pound out a good sports game. 


EN 
> 


GAME INFORMER 


86 


NEWBIE 
CHEAT SHEET 


For our newer readers, here is a 
glossary of terms and acronyms that 
commonly appear in the magazine. 


Video game veterans should move along 


(these aren't the droids you are looking 

for). 

Action - A term we use for games like 
Rising Zan 

Adventure – A term we use for games 

like Myst 

Al - Artificial Intelligence. Usually used 
to refer to how well the computer 
reacts to a human opponent 

Board – A term we use for games like 
Jeopardy 

CG - Computer Graphics 

cutscene — A portion of the game where 
players simply watch as the story 
unfolds 

DC - Sega Dreamcast 

ЕЗ - A place where pathetic people 
jump for hours on end to get free 
shirts 

Fighting — A term we use for games like 
Street Fighter 

FMV - Full Motion Video. Usually refers 
to an animated CG cutscene 

FPS - Frames Per Second. How many 
animation frames happen in one 
second. Also used to denote First 
Person Shooters like Doom, 
GoldenEye, & Unreal Tournament 

framerate – The frames of animation 
used to create the illusion of 
movement 

frontend – A game's menus and options 

GB – Game Boy 

GBC - Game Boy Color 

ISP - Internet Service Provider. The 
company that provides you with access 
to the Internet. 

LAN - Local Area Network. Connecting 
computers or consoles together within 
a small space to allow communication 
between them. Provides fast, 
simultaneous gameplay 

minigame - A small, simple game within 
a larger one 

motion-capture - Using human models 
and infrared cameras to record 
movement for game animation. Also 
mo-cap 

N64 - Nintendo 64 

NES - Nintendo Entertainment System 

part time sucka - Anyone who's not a 
full time playa 

Platform - A term we use for games like 
Super Mario, and Crash Bandicoot 

pop-up - When onscreen objects, 
usually distant, suddenly appear 

PS2 - Sony PlayStation 2 

PS-X - Sony PlayStation 

Puzzle - A term we use for games like 
Tetris 

Racing - A term we use for games like 
Ridge Racer 

RPG - Role-Playing Game. A game that 
involves character improvement 
through collecting and spending points. 
A term we use for games like Final 
Fantasy 

SG - Sega Genesis 

Shooter — A term we use for games like 
RType 

SNES - Super Nintendo Entertainment. 
System 

Sports - A term we use for games like, 
well duh, Madden Football 

SS - Sega Saturn 

Strategy – A term we use for games like 
Command & Conquer 

third-party - Something made for a 
console by a company other than the 


console manufacturer 


GAME OF THE MONTH 
FINAL FANTASY IX 


When Final Fantasy first hit the PlayStation, its flowing 
mixture of FMV, cutscenes, and gameplay bedazzled all 
eyes that fell upon it. In the years since that time, such 
spectacles have become the rule rather than the 
exception. Does this mean that Final Fantasy has lost its 
relevance? Absolutely not. Resisting the urge to follow 
FFVIII’s trend towards more intricate gameplay options 
and world design, the designers of Final Fantasy IX have 
taken the series back to simpler times, and in the 
process created a gem that is sure to be considered one 
of the best in the series. Pg. 100. 


س 


GAME INFORMER 87 


Scone D 


IONS 
EN 
SN 6 


REVIEWS 


FPS that is [ PLAYSTATION 2 ] 


e" TIMESPLITTERS 
Doom and as 
explosive as PERFECTLY GOLDEN 


Unreal" 


GOODIES 

‘After completing a stage, many 
interesting awards await. You 
may unlock a character or two, a 
multiplayer stage, weapons, or a 
Challenge level. All of the 
characters feature amusing 
introductory animations, which ч 
make them all the тоге 
desirable, and the new weapons 
range from a Rocket Launcher to 
a Brick. That's right. A Brick. 


he brilliant team responsible for Perfect Dark and to be a time-consuming pain in the arse. 
GoldenEye are no longer soldiers for Nintendo's Showing it's the best at what it does, Free Radical worked 
development army. Shortly after putting Joanna Dark on wonders with the PlayStation 2 technology. Screaming across 


the map, several key members from Rareware fled the 64-bit the screen at a constant 60 frames per second, the 

trenches and formed the independent development company, movement is silky smooth and the control couldn't be more 

Free Radical Design. Instead of branching out to new responsive. The visual content is also a work of art, 

horizons, Free Radical is sticking with what the developers do introducing several new effects to the console medium. Along 

best – first-person shooters. Tossing out all the high-tech with glass that actually shatters at the point of impact and 

gizmos, complex mission objectives, and covert story realistic specular highlighting, the CPU animation and weapon 

material, Free Radical has pieced together a simplistic FPS detailing are some of the best around. To much surprise, the EFFECTS 


that is as mindless as Doom and as explosive as enemies are very crafty. They can duck behind objects, raise Not only does TimeSplitters 
Unreal. their gun arm, and spray bullets into the nearby area hoping хуа ected 2 por 
Part of me craves a much more compelling to have tagged you. Just like in GoldenEye, players can target impressive new effects not yet 
package, ripe with an engrossing plot and varying different hit zones on the enemy. As always, headshots end seen in the console realm. When 


missions. Yet the explosive play TimeSplitters offers their life in one blast, often knocking the head clean off. you shoot a window, the glass 
doesn't explode like we've seen 


is hard to deny. Actually, it grows on you like a foot The pride and joy of Free Radical's work is the Map Editor. in the past. It actually breaks at 
fungus and is nearly impossible to shake. While For multiplayer use, players can create new stages up to the exact point where the bullet 
^ the single-player game is limited, multiplayer is eight tiers high — setting starting points, lighting, texturing, made contact. Also, If you shoot 
fully loaded. However, if you don't have three and weapon placement. This feature is easy to grasp and a M Me A polst um 
buddies around for a split-screen frag fest, blast to use. off into a different direction, 
the single-player game is very difficult and While a story would have been nice, TimeSplitters is a creating a spectacular visual. 
the Challenge minigames, which require technological wonder that offers infinite play with its 
ridiculous things like blowing the head multiplayer options and gameplay sculpted by the gods 
off 50 zombies in two minutes, prove themselves. A must for FPS junkies. – REINER 


К ACTION Ш PUBLISHER EIDOS INTERACTIVE II DEVELOPER FREE RADICAL DESIGN 
26 


44 Light P» r pam Reset Light STATISTICS 


É А a б Following in the footsteps of 
quom, Ж Sane eda Joanna Dark and James Bond, 
d С * Set Light (Ж O) Free Radical has incorporated a 


heavy statistical front that tracks 
everything from glass panes 
broke, miles traveled, heads shot 
off, heads punched off, and 
bullets fired, to average speed, 
total kills, longest killing spree, 
favorite level and weapon, 
accuracy, and time invested. 


Each of these zones After conquering Story mode, try your hand at the insanely ` Î through basic point-and-click technology, players can create their own levels 
features a different weapon set difficult Challenges and use them as new multiplayer battle grounds 


88 ` Milit INFORMER 


SECOND OPINION 


m Concept: 


Lacking in story and mission 


Objectives, deathmatch is 
the main focus 

B Graphics: 
At 60 frames per second, 
this is the smoothest 
shooter on the market. The 


animation is also something 


to marvel at 


E Sound: 
A diverse soundtrack with 


memorable spy beats similar 


to GoldenEye 

m Playability: 
The dual analog sticks 
haven't been used better. 


Targeting is a breeze and the 


CPU Al is ferocious 
W Entertainment: 
With a level editor, this FPS 
can be played forever 
п Replay Value: 
High 


Information on TimeSplitters 
has been circulating through 


| the office for quite a while and I 


Statistics 


Player REINER 
Favorite character; Dect Нату Tipper 
Game type Overall 
Page 42 
Total bullets fired; 3446 
Accuracy: 197 
Head shots; 61 
Heads shot off; 12 
Heads punched off; 0 
Glass panes broken; 89 
Distance travelled: 7.04 miles 
73 Tenn f 


Average speed; 


Awards eamed; | 
| 


never really paid much 
attention to it. was thinking it 
would be some boring first- 
person shooter. How wrong 1 


am. This game is incredibly fun. | 


The Story mode is excellent, 
with enormous environments 
and ultraintelligent enemies. 
Speaking of the environments, 1 
think it's great that there are 


| multiple paths to the same | 
objective. There seems to be so 


much to explore. | must say, 
the weakness of the Story 
mode is the rather simplistic 


| objectives, but the game more 
| than makes up for that with its 


‘speedy engine, beautiful 
graphics, and incredible 


| challenge. The designers at 


Free Radical know their stuff. 


| The design of TimeSplitters is 
| exceptional and there is just a 
| ton of modes. Definitely check 


this game out. 


PAUL - 9.25 | 


MIDNIGHT 
CLUB 


RACING 'TIL THE DAWN 


idnight Club is a straightup racing game that 
M never veers away from the pedal-to-the metal 

formula, even though it could have done so much 
more with the authentically modeled cityscapes. Finding 
immediate success with the PlayStation 2 and its 
blockbuster release, Smuggler's Run, Angel Studios’ second 
venture is not quite as exhilarating, but it does add a much- 
needed spark to the over-polluted racing market, making 
Ridge Racer V seem a generation behind. Midnight Club's 
checkpoint racing system through the streets of New York 
and London is very difficult, often pushing the player to find 
shortcuts and learn patterns to beat the competition. 

With only two cities, the racing does become a tad 
repetitive, and the selection of vehicles, while plentiful, 
misses the boat on variety. Many of the vehicles are similar 
in design, and the handling ratio doesn't vary all too much. 
The means needed to unlock these rides is grand, forcing 
you to search the entire city for hidden markers, and race 
head-to-head to win the ride of your opponent. Midnight Club 
has the racing aspect down pat, and the graphical front is 
breathtaking, especially the vehicular deformation, but the 
game just doesn’t have the drive to keep you playing. Variety 
is crucial nowadays, and unfortunately, Midnight Club 
doesn't е it. - REINER 


In the most minute of detail, Angel Studios has created accurate models of the 
streets and locales of New York and London 


Ш STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING IM PUBLISHER ROCKSTAR GAMES 


W DEVELOPER ANGEL STUDIOS IM RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


TEEN 


ш Concept: 
Illegal racing set in New York 
and London 


Ю Graphics: 
The cityscapes look very 
realistic, and the ambient 
life and traffic are 
implemented realistically 


п Sound: 
Nothing special, yet some of 
the opponents’ taunts are 
amusing 


ш Playability: 
Other than speed, the cars 
really don't differ in handling. 
all too much 


W Entertainment: 
With only two cities, the 
racing suffers from 
monotony, but the challenge 
is definitely there 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


SECOND OPINION 


Expansive driving environments 
based on actual cities. Sounds. 
pretty good, eh? In some ways | 
Midnight Club is impressive, 
but in many ways it's just plain 
dull. Cruising the streets and 

| learning the huge road system 

| is an incredible challenge. 
There are just a ton of back 
alleys and unmapped areas. 
The control is also fairly tight 
and the racing is loaded with 
plenty of traffic and 
pedestrians. The real downfall 
of the game is the repetition. 
You just keep following the 
other cars over and over and 
over. Sure the routes change, 
but the entire thing gets a little 
boring with only two cities. I 
think I would have preferred 
more, smaller cities. There are 
going to be plenty of racing 
games for the PS2, and | think 

| this one just Isn't worth the 
50 clams. 


PAUL - 6 


GAMEINFORMER 89 


“In many 
regards, 
Summoner is 
a PC game 
hiding within a 


«onsole skin." 


Each villager has a long, 
drawn-out story to tell 


Many of the boss battles unfold 
with realtime sequences 
qo IBVERFORY 


Utne Gare me 
Ove муос 


Along with customizing the 
look, players must assign skills 
to each character 


90  GAMEINFORMER 


[ PLAYSTATION 2 ] 2 


SUMMONER 


AN RPG CREATED BY HARD WORKING NERDS 


is hoarse from screaming at your DM for not granting you 

the ability to cast Magic Missile at the darkness, you may 
want to quit your day job and try securing a line of work within 
the upstart console developer, Volition. Everyone within this 
company is a nerd, or at least that's the impression | gathered 
through playing Volition's first console RPG, Summoner. If a 
game could exude a scent, Summoner would reek of geeks. It 
touches ground on nearly every fantasy property on the market, 
and clings ever so tightly to the principals that keep society's 
intelligent rejects off the streets and strapped to their PCs. 

If you thought Square Soft created engrossing stories with 
more than enough substance, wait until you see what Volition 
has in store for you. Similar to the Lord of the Rings animated 
films, all the backstory and history of the Summoner world are 
told through spoken narrative accompanied by hand-drawn 
images and realtime sequences. Many random conversations 
lead to pages and pages of interesting information, almost too 
much for your brain to handle. Having all this material isn’t 
necessarily a bad thing, yet at times, the quest becomes 
clouded with details and badly obscures the next objective. If you 
like games with novels worth of reading material, you'll love 
Summoner. It's a good game, and a pretty decent book as well. 


I f your wrists hurt from shaking 12-sided dice, or if your voice 


As with the story material, Volition also paid close attention to 
developing the gameplay. The loose camera really needed 
another month or two in development, and the realtime combat, 
while sufficient as is, could have used some tweaking. Other 
than this, Summoner's mechanics are quite good. | really like 
the attention to detail that went into the character development. 
Not only do different armors and weapons showcase cosmetic 
changes in the highest of detail, the player actually has the 
ability to tweak the class of their character through distributing 
Ability Points to different categories. The most vital piece in the 
mix is the ability to summon. Even with а hefty five-man party, 
players can summon help, and the beasts actually become new 
characters with unique talents. The great thing is, there are a 
ton of summon creatures to find. 

Volition claims that Summoner is a 40-hour RPG. | can see 
players cruising through it in this time, but if you want to conquer 
every little sidequest, I'd say you're looking at a 70 to 80-hour 
quest. In many regards, Summoner is a PC game hiding within a 
console skin. Unlike Final Fantasy, kids won't be able to jump 
into this game. It's designed for an older audience and the dark 
plot reflects it. For all the RPG fans out there, | think you'll be 
surprised by how engrossing this game truly is. - REINER 


Ш STYLE ii -PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME I PUBLISHER THQ IN DEVELOPER vamen E RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


All of the characters are class-specific, offering 
different hand-to-hand and casting talents 


To enter the castle, the party must use stealth to sneak past the guar 


COMBAT 

For those of you who have 
invested most of your years in 
traditional console RPGs, 
Summoner's PC-styled gameplay 
may be a little difficult to grasp. 
For example, the combat 
chemistry is something entirely 
new. All of the actions are real- 
time, meaning every member in 
the party Is doing something 
simultaneously. Along with a 
human-controlled character, the 
CPU handles the rest, yet players 
can freely switch between 
different characters and tweak 
how the CPU will handle the 
melee. 


EXPLORATION 
Following the traditional console 
RPG formula, the overworld map 
ls way out of proportion, allowing 
quick access to new towns. The 
interesting thing is, when combat 
occurs in this area, it's not 
instantly loaded up, but rather 
you enter a large diorama filled 
with dozens of battles. This 
eases the burden of gaining 
experience and gives each 
encounter some substance, 
opposed to the quick in-and-out 
action we're accustom to. 


SUMMONS 


By far the most impressive 
aspect of this release is the 
ability to fabricate creatures out 
of thin alt, The monster you 
conceive actually gains 
experience, leams new attacks, 
and follows group tactics. The 


ring you use to cast the summons 
also gains levels. When the ring 
reaches a specific level, new 
monsters can be projected. 
Basically, the summons become 
new characters: 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


п Concept: 
A dark RPG that targets an 
older audience 


m Graphics: 
The world is highly detailed, 
and character appearances 
change when new items are 
equipped 


п Sound: 
Both the voice acting and 
Soundtrack are music to 
your ears 


й Playability: 
The combat is quite sloppy, 
and the camera is 
troublesome. Tuning 
characters' abilities and 
summoning beasts are this 
title's strong suits 


W Entertainment: 
Slow and heavy on text, but 
a great journey nonetheless 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


| SECOND OPINION 


| When an American developer 
puts together a console RPG, 

| there's usually not much to get | 

| excited about. Summoner beats 

| the odds by not only being | 

| playable, but interesting and | 

| involving as well. There's so | 

| much detail in the game that it's | 

| all quite daunting at first. Hours 

| Will be spent pondering such 

| things as where should 1 put my 

| skill points, is this chain attack 

| better than another one, and 

| what the hell is this guy talking 

| about? Once the smoke | 

| surrounding the play mechanics | 

| begins to clear, Summoner really | 

| starts to shine. It's obvious that | 

| this game was a PC title first, | 

| and a PS2 game second, but in | 

| my opinion the adaptation was | 

| pulled off. Summoner isn't the | 

| greatest game the PS2 has to | 

| offer, but it's certainly the best | 

| RPG currently available and, | 
assuming some improvements 
were implemented, | wouldn't. | 

| mind seeing a sequel at all. | 


(. PLAYSTATION 2 


SCION OF SORCERY 


Monet. From a distance, it looks gorgeous. Elaborate 

scenery, lush backgrounds, fluid graphics — everything 
you've come to expect from a PS2 title. It's when you get 
fight into the nitty-gritty of the game that its faults come to 
the front. It seems the developers put the emphasis on 
graphics and corny dialogue rather than gameplay. It would 
be nice to be able to heal one's self during the course of a 
battle, but lo, it was not to be. Instead you are left hoping a 
blitzkrieg-type attack will work in every situation. As far as 
PS2 titles go, this is by far the weakest I've played. It’s a 
shame because it looks so damned good. 

I'm guessing the Orphen staff wanted to be different, so 
they've done away with things like hit points, for instance. 
I'm all for a new way to display and manipulate health, but 
come on, people! Can't we do any better than little crystals 
that pop up above characters’ heads every so often? And for 
the love of everything good and pure, give us a combat 
system that won't prompt a controllerbashing tirade as we 
try frantically to target monsters that are flying around the 
screen. If you're an RPG fan with a penchant for self- 
destruction, Orphen is right up your alley. ~ KRISTIAN 


T he best way to describe Orphen is by comparing it to a 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


B Concept: 
Find a guy's kid, try not to 
ruin your controller 
W Graphics: 
Lush and deep. 
ш Sound: 
Lots of lame dialogue, but 
it’s dialogue nonetheless 
п Playability: 
THBBBT! 
W Entertainment: 


Гуе had more fun waiting for 
water to boil 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


SECOND OPINION 

This title was contaminated 

before it even entered 

| development. ! made the fatal 

| mistake of purchasing the 

| anime series, and let me tell 
you, they don't get much worse. 

| than Sorceress Stabber Orphen. 
I reckon a game based on Little 

| Orphan Annie would have more 

| entertainment value than what | 

ESP has constructed. To be fair, 1 

| the graphics are spectacular, 

| tapping into the PS2 power to 
unleash a hurricane of amazing. 

| effects and highly detailed 

| character models. 
Nevertheless, the eye candy is. 
the only noteworthy aspect. 
Orphen has the most confusing 
and poorly designed combat 
system on the planet. Menu 
management, of all things, is 

| also a nightmare. All of the 

| environments are cookie-cutter 

| pieces with little ingenuity. Just 

| follow the crumbs and you'll. 

| eventually reach a boss. Lame! 
Lame!! Lame!!! 


Ee —  — 
| Ш STYLE | -PLAYER ACTION/RPG I PUBLISHER ACTIVISION 
M DEVELOPER ESP\SHADE Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


GAME INFORMER 91 


^ holds its own 
as one of the 
best FPSs out 


there.” 


ET 


Locate the enemy base and. 


Take no prisoners 


92 GAME INFORMER 


PLAYSTATION 2 


TOURNAM 


DEATH IS CERTAIN 


n the PC world, many would argue that Unreal Tournament 
Į: the new standard for online first-person shooters, and 

that it has even usurped Quake as king in this arena. Of 
course, a big part of its popularity comes from the online 
component that is available on PC (and even the upcoming 
Dreamcast version), mixed with its various games that you can 
play besides the standard Deathmatch. However, even as a 
stand-alone game, Unreal Tournament can hold its own with 
the best of them. 

There is no story to Unreal Tournament; however, you still 
need to choose a character and work your way through its 
various games unlocking more characters, new modes, and 
new arenas. You start off in Deathmatch where you must get 
a required number of Frags (or kills) to move on. Soon you 
unlock Domination mode, where the goal is to hold certain 
positions on the playfield for the longest time, which sends 
your team running from point to point blasting the enemy. 
Then comes Capture the Flag, which follows the simple rules 
of get the enemy flag and bring it back to your base (not easy 
with the entire enemy team running after your butt). The final 
mode is Assault where you and your team must infiltrate an 
enemy position in a given time, then after (or if) you have 
taken the enemy stronghold, you must then defend it for the 
same amount of time, or fail the mission. 

These modes, even in single-player, are quite entertaining, 


with Capture the Flag and Assault being my two personal 
faves. Across these four modes there are 51 maps, so 
there's a lot of game here, and the computer Al is actually 
pretty good, even for your teammates. 

The biggest hurdle in this game is probably just getting 
started as the control configurations are limited, and the 
turning radius on the default is horrifically slow. But once you 
find a good control config and turn up the horizontal speed, 
this game cooks. Epic even went as far as to add in some 
auto-targeting, since the joysticks aren't as precise as a 
keyboard/mouse combination (by the way, any USB standard 
mouse and keyboard can be picked up and used with this 
game). 

Like any first-person shooter (FPS), Unreal Tournament's 
long-term enjoyment comes from its multiplayer modes. 
Without online capabilities your choices are somewhat limited, 
but with up to four-player split-screen available on a single unit 
and the ability to have a LAN (local area network, for the 
Internet illiterate) party with four machines together through 
iLink, there are still plenty of chances to frag your friends. 

Overall, | got hooked on UT, and I definitely think it holds its 
own as one of the best FPSs out there. It may not have the 
flair of TimeSplitters, but it certainly has the best Al in this 
category, which means the most frantic action you can find 
anywhere. – ANDY 


E STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER INFOGRAMES lil DEVELOPER EPIC Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


| t 


ue À 
Each weapon has a primary and a secondary function 


ч 


” 


Unlock new Avatars as your work though the levels 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


E 
m Concept: 
Screw story and plot, this is 
all about the Frags baby 
m Graphics: 
New art, new levels, and the 
detail in this port of the PC 


hit are more than 
satisfactory 


и Sound: 
Soundtrack's nothing to 
write home about, but the 
voice-overs are great coming. 
from your enemies and 
allies — "Medic!" 

m Playability: 
Limited control configuration 
is a hassle, but the added 
Target Lock feature helps 
make this game more user- 
friendly 


п Entertainment: 
This game is quite addicting 
once you get started, 
especially the Assault mode 


m Replay Value: 
Moderately High 

SECOND OPINION 

| If your gaming rig is portable, 
toss your PlayStation 2, TV, and 
a change of clothes into your 

| саг, and camp out at your | 

| friend's house for a week. With | 

| Sony's new iLink cable, Unreal | 

| Tournament's multiplayer | 

| experience is just as impressive | 
as its PC counterpart. For all of | 

| you who whine about the 

| control with a Dual Shock 2, 

| you can plug your PC keyboard 

| and mouse into the USB ports 

| оп the front of the PS2 to 
replicate the control schematic 

| you love. All the lag and 

| slowdown that comes with 

| Internet gaming is no longer an 

issue with the PS2 version. The | 

play is incredibly smooth. Just 

| like the Doom games on the 

| PSX, Unreal's console debut is 
loaded with 14 exclusive levels. | 

| Anew Target Lock feature has | 

| also been implemented to ease | 

| the burden of targeting with an | 
analog stick. Let the frag-fest 

| begin. This is Unreal 

| Tournament at its finest! 


REINER - 9 | 


j 


"NASCAR 2001 is 
the first title to 
bring realistic 
scale and speed 
to give NASCAR 
the props it de- 
serves, and at 
the same time 
make a nice 


dri 


ing game." 


Come ínto a corner too hot and 
slide you shall 


side tires when pitting 


[PLAYSTATION 2 ] 


NASCAR 2001 


ALL I WANNA DO IS ZOOMA ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM 
IN A VROOOOMMMM VROOOOMMMM! 


others out there 1 used to think NASCAR was the most 

asinine sport on the planet — hold pedal to floor, turn 
left, repeat — until | went to a race. NASCAR is one part 
party (if you go to events, you know what 1 speak of); three 
parts crazy-ass freaks who drive way too fast really, really 
close together; and one part bloodlust as the crowd waits in 
anticipation for the next huge wreck. 

Previous NASCAR games, even this year's PS-X one 
offering, lacked the feeling of speed and car proximity that 
makes the sport truly amazing. NASCAR 2001 is the first 
title to bring realistic scale and speed to give NASCAR the 
props it deserves, and at the same time make a nice 
driving game. 

Each race features a field of 24 sponsor-decorated speed 
machines that can tear across the ground like a rocket. But 
it isn’t the cars or their physics that make this game so 
realistic, it's the tracks. Each track really has its own 
temperament. Daytona is fast, but if you come into turn 
three too hot, you will quickly find yourself scraping the wall; 
Talledega is all about keeping your speed up by holding a 
solid line; and Bristol's short track is all about staying alive 
in its non-stop traffic jam from start to finish. 


d t's sad to say, but | am one of the converted. Like many 


However, the game is not without its faults. For one, the 
crashes stink. Sure it shows nice damage on the cars, and 
the smoke from burning rubber as you zoom around the 
track is great, but | want carnage. Cars going sideways in 
front of me, wheels flying off, tons of cars flipping end-over- 
end, massive pileups, | can go on and on. Instead, NASCAR 
2001 basically brings your car to a quick stop with the 
occasional flip or two. Yippee! 

In the end though, NASCAR 2001 is a solid racer, with 14 
official tracks (with Bristol, Charlotte, and Daytona featuring 
both night and day driving), 30 drivers with improved racing 
Al, adjustable season and lap length (including pit stops on 
lower-lapped races to add some strategy), and some pretty 
impressive graphics. If you are enlightened enough to 
understand the beauty and power of NASCAR, this game will 
find a home in your PlayStation 2. If you think NASCAR is still 
a sport for hillbillies looking for a place to get together and 
get drunk, then maybe it's time you tried to take a 2,000 
pound car around an oval at speeds in excess of 190 mph, 
‘cause let me tell ya brother, it ain't easy. Now, where's my 
beer? – ANDY 


B STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS Ш DEVELOPER ELECTRONIC ARTS lii RELEASE DECEMBER 5 


The yellow flag, time to go get a drink 


This is about as spectacular as the crashes get 


INTERWA 
4 +00:02:8 


wS.: 


03:3 


32 +00:03:3 
97 +00:03:4 


m Concept: 
Speed, speed, and more 
speed 


m Graphics: 
The cars are detailed and 
the tracks are a marvel to 
behold 


m Sound: 
Racing commentary, spotter 
headset transmissions, and 
screaming engines complete 
this racing package 


m Playability: 
Super-tight controls make 
holding a line easy, and 
avoiding traffic the key to 
victory 


п Entertainment: 
Put a 12-pack by your Lazy 
Boy, take off your shirt, 
show some buttcrack, and 
race all afternoon 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


SECOND OPINION 


| Гѕреп my other NASCAR 

| review in this issue denigrating 

| the sport, and stopped just 
роот о Save atone ANO 

| liked It а moron. Now, after 

| playing NASCAR 2001 for PS2, | 
| I'm forced to eat my words and | 
| admit that this game is pretty 

| fantastic. | guess that's what | 
| get for talking out of my ass all 

| the timo. First off, it remains | 
| essentially the same game, but 

| the new level of graphical detail 
| elevates it well above its 

| predecessors. The crashes and 

| car damage are beautifully 

| done; you actually see 

| individual parts fly off cars. The 

| controls are tight, allowing you 

| to pick a smooth line or just 

| grind it out with your 

| competitors. There are a few 

| flaws that keep It from 

| attaining stock car perfection, 

| namely some pretty serious 

| antialiasing and framerate 

| Cors et ccc i YO 
have the rearview mirror on. A 
bur m 


GAMEINFORMER 93 


"...yet another 
winner we 
gamers can 
thank Activision 
for bringing 


over." 


Some of the tougher challenges 
include landing on an aircraft carrier... 


„апо a rendezvous with 
an in-flight tanker 


94  GAMEINFORMER 


PLAYSTATION 2 


TAKE TO THE SKIES 


Japanese titles and bringing them Stateside, and Sky 
Odyssey is yet another winner we gamers can thank 
Activision for bringing over. 

Activision touts this game's great nextgeneration PlayStation 
2 graphics, but | would have say that | am a little 
underwhelmed. Yeah there are some nice particle effects like 
geysers blasting water into the air, or the torrential wind 
currents that swirl around you, but otherwise the levels are 
pretty bare. 

Graphics aside, Sky Odyssey is a pretty massive game. Sure 
you don't shoot anything, but in the Adventure mode you will 
search for lost cities hidden in long, stalagmite-filled caves, ride 
high-speed jetstreams that blast you across vast oceans, and 
even search for lost campers hidden in a treacherous mountain 
pass. | found myself quite addicted to this mode, and 
eventually had to seriously restrain myself so | could get my 
work done. 

The other modes aren't nearly as fun, but are a decent way 
to pass the time. There is Target mode where you fly through — 
huh...what do you know – targets that are strategically placed 
in an environment, within a limited amount of time. Sky Canvas 


A ctivision seems to have a knack for picking up good 


lets you take a crack at skywriting with a smoke trail as you 
complete various shapes for scores (a lot harder than you 
would think, let me tell you). Then the standard Training and 
Free Flight modes finish out the list. 

There are 11 planes in the game (eight of them hidden) that 
you can upgrade by scoring well in the Adventure mode. The 
planes vary from a bi-plane all the way up to stealth jets, 
Autogyro jet helicopters, and even UFOs. 

As | write this and try to come up with a score for Sky 
Odyssey, a lot of questions cross my mind. Mainly, is this game 
really good, or is it just one of those weird titles that just syncs 
with certain players? To give you an idea, | am not the biggest 
flight sim or air combat fan, but even with those credentials, | 
found myself intrigued by this game. For one, it takes some 
serious flying skills to make it through some of the missions, 
and a big part of that challenge comes from reacting to the 
currents that swirl around your craft. 

So in the end, I'm gonna have to say Sky Odyssey is a good 
game, but | think its charm comes from the fact that it uses 
some of the nice environment effects the PS2 has to offer. Ina 
year | will look back on this game and think it's crap, but for 
now it’s fun to fly the friendly skies. - ANDY 


M STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION I PUBLISHER ACTIVISION Ш DEVELOPER CROSS/XEX ENTERTAINMENT/FUTURE CREATES 
E RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 


Lightning fills in the sky during storms... 


тиз fjz 


„гапа the sun shines bright as you discover lost ci 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


Im Concept: 
Flying through hoops may 
not sound entertaining, but 
when you throw in some 
weird goals it works 


m Graphics: 
Nice particle effects, 
but otherwise nothing 
spectacular 


п Sound: 
Some crazy tunes and 
buzzing props 


п Playability: 
Some planes are easy, 
others are more difficult, 
but all can pull some 
amazing moves 


п Entertainment: 
Oddly satisfying in a “I 
always wanted to fly" sort 
of way 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


SECOND OPINION 


| Sinco the foundation ofthis tite | | 

| is primarily а fight simulator, 

| Sky Odyssey won't gamer the. 

| respect it truly deserves. 

| Without mass destruction or 

| intense dog fighting, | have а 

| feeling most gamers will find 
the simple nature of flying 

| aroun gs quit bog. Most 

| of the missions are rather 

| lengthy, but the developers did 

| a phenomenal job keeping the 

| action lively. Changing wind | 

| pattems send your aircraft | 

| barreling out of control, and the 

| diverse missions often force you 
| to navigate narrow passages 

| fied with rockstides and 
unstable weather conditions. 

| Many of the missions are too 

| long, but again, close attention | 

| was paid to making the | 
| surroundings and objects i 

| 


| different. Altogether, Sky 
Odyssey is a nice diversion from | 
the mainstream of gaming. It 
won't blow your mind, but it will 


| entertain all who give it a | 
chance. | 
ls REINER - 7.75 


ry, TOT 


“манг 


_баггїег: 
те Next E 


N (Game name may change) 


25 Larkin Drive 
Unit 4 
Wheeling, IL 60090 


Re: Carrier: The Next Mutation ad copy 


The following is the advertisement copy for our new game, Carrier: The Next Mutation. The game will 
be published on the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. 


Carrier: The Next Mutation is the agn MD. awesome game on the planet. AM. it’s got it all! 


Chicks with a. Guys with ap NN Action! agi Bom! ! Blood! Guts! 
Gore! ame! Destruction! <i! P Д Rock-n-Roll! All that really amm stuff that makes kids 
PF сг PF ZI parents pinch amm tighter than a RN Getting 
through по» explosions and Э monsters on this ship 

uoo: during Desert Storm. 


Carrier: The Next Mutation has the aa 2050 od AM scariest, a> ы ай 
monsters and, of course, mU of bad — MORPH! This huge All» plant 
named MORPH is just ма! ing to get you a шч а infect you! MORPH! is the baddest 
peel ‘Were not talking MEE off philodendron 
here. This plant is so mr ус 4 think a weed could SS Best to play 
this game on an empty stomach. Your momma’s cookin See anyway. 


In Carrier; The Next Mutation you go through this EE. Ed ED aircraft carrier 
trying to reach the engine room without zetting ЧИИ, infected by MORPH o P 
your head CEES off and ag. MORPH! and his band of 

started to I the crew. They’re EE ар. aD :: «ааш gonna help AMEN 
Am now. You can’t age your friends or crew mates any farther than you сап» а rock. 


Sure you got а Ж». EL „Бим blow mv 7 ed MORPH! away. Your gonna 
need help, amm. Bu who am" Who is still alive and who js e b: 


Thank you for taking the time to review my сору. We know that Carrier: The Next Mutation will bea 
К == ЖШ have for all gamers. 


Sincerely, 


PlayStation.2 


JALECO 


225 Larkin Drive, Unit 4 
Wheeling, IL 60090 847.215.1811 


www.jaleco.com 


© 2000 Jaleco Ltd. Publi 
|. Published by Jaleco U! 
SA. "PlayStation" а 
nd the "PS" Famil 
ly logo are registered 
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The rati 
. The ratings icon is a trademari 
k of the Interactive Digi 
igital Software Associa! 
tion. 


RIVERA 


amu 


4 
“Although the 
Al of the 
opponents is 
definitely 
tougher, there 
is a difference 
between mak- 
ing a game 
harder and 


making a game 


better." 


New interactive training modes 
includes jump rop 


and Rumble pads 


GAME INFORMER 


96 


PLAYSTATION 2 


READY 2 RUMBLE 
BOXING: ROUND 2 


NOT QUITE THE G.O.A.T. 


defined for me the problem | have with so many next 

generation games. The developers seem to think that 
a game can succeed on graphics and gimmicks alone. Don't 
get me wrong- visuals are a tremendously important part of 
the gaming experience. It's just frustrating to see so much 
effort being put into character designs and models at the 
expense of creating a compelling gameplay engine. 

Midway promised that the large part of Ready 2 Rumble: 
Round 2's development process would focus on improving 
the gameplay. | was skeptical, and for good reason. After 
sitting down and picking apart this highly anticipated sequel, 
| find that that not enough was done to address the 
complaints that so many had with the first game. 

Although the Al of the opponents is definitely tougher, 
there is a difference between making a £ame harder and 
making a game better. Even though you won't bulldoze 
through your matches with the same ease as before, the 
simplistic strategy for winning still holds true. Here's a quick 
strategy guide — Jab, jab, back away, jab, combo, back away. 
Repeat until you've won every match. They've compensated 
for making the game relatively easy by making the last boss 
ultra-difficult. By this time, you'll probably be so bored that 


T he original Ready 2 Rumble for Dreamcast pretty much 


you won't even care about winning the belt. 

The last boss illustrates another problem | have with this 
game, which is the lack of balance between characters. As 
in the first, there's absolutely no reason to play as a larger, 
slower character like Mama Tua. Big boxers don't to have 
any more punching power than smaller ones, and their lack 
of agility makes them essentially worthless. 

There are some key changes to the game, most 
importantly in training. It now revolves around a training 
schedule and fight calendar. There are several cool new 
events, which require timed button pressing, my favorites 
being Rumble Pads and Jump Rope. It is essential to keep 
up in you training or your stats will slip. This results in much 
time wasted going through menu screens just to get to your 
next fight. 

In the end, Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 fails to grab the 
torch from the game it tries so hard to emulate, Mike 
Tyson's Punch Out. That game used the same combination 
of crazy characters and amazing (for its day) graphics. 
However, that classic utilized a simple, yet timeless 
gameplay model that had endured to this day. If you want 
boxing perfection, skip ahead to Classic б! and check out 
our Punch Out strategy guide. — MATT 


BI STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER MIDWAY Ш DEVELOPER MIDWAY Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


The character designs are even more outrageous. 


e d 
PLE A, 
m 


Call Guinness - We've found the world's largest camel toe! 


p 


м 
THE BOTTOM LINE 


m Concept: 
Silly arcade boxing with 
outrageous characters 


m Graphics: 
Not a huge improvement 
over the DC version; 
characters are slightly more 
detailed and buffed. Also, 
the ropes bounce! 


п Sound: 
All characters have an array 
of allegedly funny taunts. 
Also, that ring announcer 
Says some phrase a lot, 
too...hmm...can't quite 
remember it offhand 


п Playability: 
Improved Al, but combos are 
pretty limited 


m Entertainment: 
Impressive multiplayer; 
single-player is average at 
best 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


SECOND OPINION 


| Sharing the same fate as its 
predecessor, Round 2 focuses 
heavily on graphical fluff but 

| not enough on gameplay. As 
intended, the visual content will 
stupefy the eye, and the 
amusing character personalities 
will tickle the funny bone, but 

| the play will do little more than 

| bore and aggravate consumers. | 

| I truly believe Midway made a 

| valiant attempt to improve the 
Al, and to some degree the 

| CPU opponents are smarter, ye 
even so, the same strategy 

| from the first release can be 

| tapped to topple most of the 

| competition. Just punch and 
retreat. They never catch on. 
As a multiplayer game, Round 2 | 
shines. Using superhero-esque | 
moves to snap your friends jaw 
proves to be enjoyable every 
time. For the second time, the 

| single-player experience is { 
dreadful. Training grows old { 

| within minutes, and only the — | 

| last boss is challenging. 1 


REINER - 7.5 | 


| 
| 


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PLAYSTATION 2 


GAMEDAY 
2001 


989 TAKES A KNEE 


Prepare to run a lot because the passing game is putrid 


aced with a third-andHong situation and fearing its 
۴ chances slipping away in PlayStation 2 sports 

development, 989 Sports called a running play and 
then punted GameDay 2001 to the new Sony console. 
This obviously incomplete game had me scratching my 
head and leaves me in disgust. The evidence of the poor 
quality was clear to me after the first pass. The playcontrol 
is unresponsive and clearly not tuned. The rosters and 
depth charts are way out of whack. No matter how big a 
fan you are of GameDay, don't get this game. — PAUL 


W STYLE | ТО 8-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER 989 SPORTS 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


Concept: 

Thing are attempted, but are 
never fulfilled. GameDay has 
definitely been rushed to 
market 


m Graphics: 
The player model are nicely 
designed, but horribly 
animated — a very jerky 
presentation 


I Sound: 
The players yell out trash 
talk after plays, but all the 
other sounds seem the 
Same as its predecessor 
E Playability: 
This game plays far worse 
than the current version on 
the PSX. What the heck 
happened to the passing? 
W Entertainment: 
Madden just pancakes 
GameDay in every category 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


SECOND OPINION 


This Is a joke, right? | can't 
believe 989 Is trying to pass off 
this PS-X port as the next 


generation of video football. 
This is a new low, even by 989. 
‘standards. 


‘REINER - 4.5 


W DEVELOPER RED ZONE INTERACTIVE Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 


PLAYSTATION 2 


REAL POOL 


HOT POCKET ACTION 
ч 


for pool simulator games, but there must be. Why else 

would Infogrames spend time on Real Pool? | like 
playing pool, | even like watching pool on ESPN every once 
in a while, but | really think it loses something when it hits 
the simulation circuit. There’s nothing really new or exciting 
with Real Pool. There's a puzzle mode that's moderately 
interesting, a few different games, but it’s not knocking my 
my socks off. It looks like this is a game for pool junkies 
only- just like every other pool sim.- KRISTIAN 


| was not aware that there was a huge market out there 


STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS i PUBLISHER INFOGRAMES 
W RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


ESRB 


E Concept: 
Put your balls in the hole 


m Graphics: 
There isn't much you can do 
with a pool table, but what's. 
there looks good 


W Sound: 
Crappy music, run-of-the-mill 
sound effects 


т Playability: 
It's easy to jump right in and 
start missing every shot 


п Entertainment: 
This game would be a lot 
cooler if you could fight your 
competitor 


W Replay Value: 
Moderate 


SECOND OPINION 


DEVELOPER TAKARA 


POSITION 
CIRCUIT RECORD 


PLAYSTATION 2 


MOTO GP 


TICKET TO RIDE 


mouthful: FIM Road Racing World Championship 

Grand Prix. Clearly, this racing league is far more 
popular in places like Europe and Asia, but | do appreciate 
a racer with authentic tracks, teams, and drivers – even if | 
don’t have the slightest idea who the heck they are. 

Undoubtedly, the look of this game is quite a jump from 
cycle racing games of the past. The riders are nicely 
animated and you'll see such things as a racer looking 
over his shoulder, sitting up in his seat, and sometimes 
flying over the handlebars. Also, the replays show off some 
nice camera work after the race is through. 

Certainly, the gameplay is solid and has options for 
difficulty, as well as settings for adjusting the bike's 
handling. However, | found it essential to use analog 
controls on both steering and acceleration to get the most 
out of this title. | also found it necessary to play in the Sim 
mode, as the game is far too easy if you don't. Still, it's 
odd how your bike is faster than anyone else's on 
the track. 

There is plenty to like about Moto GP, but I think the only 
people who may appreciate it are those who actually know 
the name Kenny Roberts, Jr. Others may just want to take 
it for a short spin. – PAUL 


T he racing league re-created in Moto GP is a 


[ING 
Luckily. big crashes don't result in a trip to the hospital 


E STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING I PUBLISHER NAMCO 
E DEVELOPER NAMCO Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


m Concept: 
Cycle racing with real World 
Grand Prix riders and tracks 
presented in a no-frills 
package 


W Graphics: 
Extremely detailed and well 
produced replays; however, 
the in-game look isn't quite 
as good 


ш Sound: 
This game needs 
commentary to spice things 
up a bit 

B Playability: 
Solid control, but the 
challenge was still limited 
even on the hardest settings 


п Entertainment: 
There is really nothing too 
exciting about this racer — 
unless you follow the World 
Grand Prix 


W Replay Value: 
Moderate 


SECOND OPINION 
I've never been a big fan of 
motorcycle race games, and 
Moto GP didn’t change my 
mind, | don't know why I've 


GAMEINFORMER 97 


rappec 


sea of min 


98 


| minigame 


GAME INFORMER. 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
_ EVERYONE 


cept: n 
mpetent clone of 


ге have problems taking 
it 20 mph 
ent: 


SECOND OPINION | 
Î In this game, you race slow, 
crappy cars through tiny city 


PLAYSTATION 2 


FIFA 2001 


KICK THAT ****, HOMIE! 


A Sports is attempting to corner the 
3 PlayStation 2 sports game market from 

the get-go. Having already done my thing 
with both football and hockey, it's time to move 
onto the world of soccer. 

FIFA 2001. was already released in Japan 
slightly different form, so playing this versio! 
was really nothing new to me. In fact, if you 
have played the previous and current PS-X 
versions, the game will probably be quite 
familiar to you too. Getting past the graphics — 
which are very well done and include some 
great detail — the play control is dead-on. There 
is never a question of why the ball went where 
it did, nor is there trouble in gaining possession 
of the ball. The major difference between 
playing this version over the PS-X is the 
computer Al. Defenders contest and intercept 
passes far more frequently in this game. Still, 
the seasoned player will want to play on the 
hardest of the three difficulty settings, as there 
is little challenge otherwise. 

In terms of options, FIFA does a great job by 
providing easy-to-use menus and logical 
formats for the Season, Tournament, and 
Practice modes. Plus, with over 60 teams, 
there is definitely a big selection (I prefer the 
Netherlands). However, this game definitely 
needs some extras – possibly a challenge 
mode like Madden and Live. – PAUL 


This perspective offers a classic view of FIFA's action 


W STYLE | TO 8-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER EA SPORTS Ш DEVELOPER EA CANADA 


E RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 


Í 


ба | 
Players show off a variety of expressions and can 
be heard complaining to the official 


Notice the shadows covering the edge of the pitch 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE, 


m Concept: 
It seems that EA basically took 
the PSX version and ramped 
up the А! and graphics. 


m Graphics: 
As this is really the only footie 
game for PS2, it's hard to 
argue that this isn’t the best- 
looking soccer game to date 


m Sound: 
Excellent commentary, sound 
effects, and crowd noise 


п Playability: 
With only three difficulty 
settings, mastering the game 
may be a snap for some. Yet, 
the control is excellent 


п Entertainment: 
FIFA packs in a ton of teams 
and players. Not a 
breakthrough game by any 
means 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


| SECOND OPINION 
| Thanks to Electronic Arts’ 
| launch lineup, my checking 
| account is tapped. Madden- | 
gotta have it. NHL - wouldn't | 
miss it for the life of me. SSX — | 
playing it as we speak. EA's 
sports onslaught continues. i 
with FIFA 2001. For those of | 
уои who have followed the — | 
series, a good majority of the | 
PS2 alterations are of а | 
graphical nature. Along with | 
enhanced animation, EA | 
pumped hundreds of polys into 
the character models. The | 
stadiums also harness the | 
smallest of details. Shadows of | 
the flags mounted on the top of | 
{һе stadium are projected | 
down onto the field, and the | 
crowd is animated to be as 
rowdy as the real deal. The | 
| gameplay still fits like a glove, | 
yet the Al has been tweaked to 
play a more aggressive game. 
With over 60 teams, and a 
wealth of interesting options, | 
FIFA’s PS2 debut is powered by 
a mighty kick. 


4 


Explore your artistic side in rhythmic gymnastics 


ESPN INTERNATIONAL 
TRACK & FIELD 


RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS RULE! 

nfortunately, the Olympics suck. It goes on forever, 
U and it's a bunch of sports no one cares about. It 

wasn't even live this year, which meant you had to 
sit through countless "personal history" segments in which 
that pompous ass Bob Costas told you about how some 
steroid-swilling mutant was the orphaned son of some 
legless Lebanese lesbian lettuce farmers. Gag me. 

I'm usually not a fan of button mashers, either, but 
International Track & Field was a fine diversion for a few 
hours. | especially liked the horizontal bar and rhythmic 
gymnastics events, which featured some Bust-A-Groove 
style action. Almost innovative, really. Of course, the best event in any game of this genre is 
Trap Shooting, because you actually get a gun. How about a first-person shooter called 
Munich Massacre ‘72: Olympic Village Sniper? I'd definitely buy that. – MATT 


SECOND OPINION 
| Рт still of the opinion that | 
| Track & Field games Just suck. | 
| But they сап be fun fora small | 
| amount of time, and Konami's | 
| latest effort is definitely one оѓ | 
| the best (if that's sayin’ much, | 
| which is isn't). | 


ANDY - 6.5 | 


W STYLE 1 ТО 4-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER KONAMI Ш DEVELOPER KONAMI 
E RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


Use you pointer to connect the dots... 


PLAYSTATION 2 


FANTAVISION 


KISS THE SKY 


f you're more into hydroponics than Hydro Thunder, 
l here's the game for you. Remember those 
psychedelic Fruitopia commercials that were a big hit 

with the fanny-pack-and-Birkenstocks crowd a few years 
back? Fantavision, a mesmerizing fireworks puzzle game, 
should become the next craze among devotees of the 
sweet leaf. Even sober folks will fall under the spell of its 
beautiful effects. 

The gameplay is similar to Bubble Bobble, forcing you | JAY - 5.5 
to use your pointer to connect multicolored fireworks in 
order to ignite them. Some charges split into multiple rockets, which, if detonated 
correctly, create dazzling displays. It isn't as refined as others of its genre, but the urge 


SECOND OPINION 
This nifty technology demo 


| shows the PS2's ability to | 
| easily handle particle effects. | 
| Wait...this is a game? And 

| Sony wants you to shell out 50 

| bucks for it? Screw that! 


to create even more awe-inspiring flurries will keep you playing. Think of Fantavision as an 


amazing screensaver built into an average puzzle game. - MATT 


TYLE | OR 20-PLAYER PUZZLE Ш PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA 
E DEVELOPER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


. 
5 
LJ * * 
" Sa اک‎ 
S 
THE BOTTOM LINE - 
EVE ONE w e 
. LJ 
^5 
ee 


m Concept: 
Press buttons make go fast! 


B Graphics: 
Detailed character models 
and smooth motion-capture 
moves bring the games to life 


ш Sound: 
Ho-hum; more effort could 
have been made to 
implement commentary 


п Playability: 
Competent button mashing 
for the most part, but 
gymnastics push the 
envelope a bit 


W Entertainment: 
Most will be able to get by 
with a weekend rental 


PLAYSTATION 2 


GRADIUS Ш & IV 
SHOOTER? | THOUGHT YOU SAID 
COOTER! 


radius Ill & IV is just 
as you might have 
guessed — a little 


combo title featuring two 
Konami shooters from the 
past. As you would expect, 
there is plenty of challenge 
here. So much so that even 
with unlimited continues you 
aren't gonna go anywhere 
fast in this one, unless 
you're a shooter game 
wunderkind. Neither game is 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


= 


m Concept: 
Shooter from '89 shooter 
from '98 = new PS2 гате 
in 2000 


W Graphics: 
Each game looks good for. 
its time, but seems terribly 
outdated on PS2 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


bad, but neither is W Sound: 

impressive. Sure, Working Techno beats that move 

Designs’ Silpheed wasn't your feets 

groundbreaking, but at least  W Playability: 

it was made for PS2. This Classic shooter challenges 
and contro! 


game is just a classics 
collection being pawned off 
as a PS2 title. Shame on 
you Konami. – ANDY 


W Entertainment: 
Do you consider frustration 
entertainment? 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


| SECOND OPINION | 


1 adore the Gradius series and 
drool over the prospect of a 
PS2 sequel. Yet if Konami 
wanted to do a classic 
collection, all the Gradius titles 
‘should have been included. 

REINER - 6 

m Concept: " ^ 

Bubble Bobble - Missile 

Command = a fascinating, if 

flawed, puzzle game 


m Graphics: 
The firework effects are 
stunning, and almost 
hypnotic to watch 


W Sound: 
The twee music is kept low 
in the mix, allowing the 
explosions to have 
maximum impact 


m Playability: 
Control is fairly accurate, but 
play can get chaotic 


@ Entertainment: x 
Strangely soothing, but * 5 
needs more depth 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


Ш STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER SHOOTER I PUBLISHER KONAMI 
B DEVELOPER KONAMI @ RELEASE OCTOBER 26 


GAMEINFORMER 99 


Tidal Flame 


After taking so much damage, characters enter a Trance state where new 
and deadly abilities become open to them 


Vivi > DU LL 

Zidane 7" 405 50 = 

Freya 356 45 

ашпа 410563. 
Quina gains new spells by eating weakened creatures 


eee быт ЇЇ 
The environments will blow you away 


100 GAME INFORMER 


PLAYSTATION 


FINAL 
FANTASY IX 


BACK TO BASICS 


inal Fantasy fans are always quick to argue about which Of small games — such as jumping rope, choreographing а 
is the best in the series. Many of these die-hards scoff Sword fight, and running races – to take up an hour or so of 
at Square's first two PlayStation efforts, admitting that Your time, but there are also games that run through the 


they were pretty to look at, but complaining that the fun entire course of the adventure — such as Quad Mist, Chocobo 
somehow got lost in the glitz. Final Fantasy IX certainly digging, and the mystery of Mognet - that are so huge they 
doesn’t lack in flash, but its backto-basics gameplay barely qualify as minigames. A person who barrels through 
structure is sure to keep both new-school and old-school FF Final Fantasy IX could probably finish it in 40 hours, but a 
fans happy. In fact, | predict that years down the road Final completist is likely to spend three times that amount. 
Fantasy IX will be the most fondly remembered of the Personally, | spent around 70 hours playing Final Fantasy IX 
PlayStation run. before writing this review. About halfway through the 

First and foremost, it must be said that Square has endeavor, it was all | was thinking about when | wasn’t at my 
outdone itself on the graphical presentation front - and that's PlayStation, and | even dreamed about it at night. I'm still not 
saying a hell of a lot. The FMVs are, of course, top-notch as sure if it's my favorite of all-time, but this level of obsession 
always, but the real eye-grabber of the game is the certainly says to me that it's a great RPG. There are tons of 
environments. The combining of painted backgrounds with inside jokes for those who have followed the series all the 
rendered graphics and streaming animations brings the cities мау through, yet plenty to draw in those who are jumping on 
to life. Also, veering away from the realistic presentation of for the first time. All in all, a great end to a great run. – JAY 


FFVIII allows for more exaggerated character animations that 
serve to attract even more attention. 

Gameplay has made a return to its roots in a big way. For 
the first time on PlayStation, up to four characters can be on 
the battlefield. This extra person is a serious boon since no 
longer can all characters do all things. For example, Steiner 
is a straightforward fighter, and he'll never be able to use 
black magic like Vivi or steal items like Zidane. To give 
players a bit of control over their characters’ specific focus, 
Square has implemented an ability system. Equipping items 
to certain characters allows them to use abilities ranging 
from being immune to poison to always regenerating hit 
points in combat. Each ability takes a certain number of 
Ability Points to learn (which are gained after combat along 
with experience) and require a set number of Magic Stones 
to activate (which are gained by characters as they go up 
levels). Once an ability is learned, that character no longer 
needs to have that item equipped to have access to it. 

Though players will be more than pleased with the main 
meat of the game, it's the multitude of minigames that will 
send them into ecstatic (and frustrated) fits. There are tons 


B STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME Ш PUBLISHER SQUARE SOFT ШЕ DEVELOPER SQUARE SOFT Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 


то 
k 
zd "NAME HD sen MD mr AST; B nimi 
^ zidane ^ 2418168 
v4 vivi 1885 154 “=== 
and Steiner 3789 1 2 2 - - When the words "Active Time Event" flash in the corner of the screen, pressing 
Eiko 750 oo Select will allow you to see what other characters are up to 


«Final Fantasy 


IX will be п Concept: 
3 A conglomeration of people, 
places, and ideas from all 
the Final Fantasys gone 0) 
the most fondly е айкы ен 
“ 5 Square showcases its 


" 1 mastery at pulling every iota 
remembered of power from the 
: > ч PlayStation hardware 
"МАМ i п Sound: 
of the Zidane 4047.18 88 = Again, a combination of 
Dagger / 2099. 57. rarae music and effects from past 
é Amarant® 1907 105 ae FF games 
PlayStation ` ашла Ж п Playability: 


Anyone familiar with the 
series will instantly know the 
basics, but the ability 
system gives everyone 
something to ponder 

п Entertainment: 
The main story of the game 
draws you in, and the 
minigames can become an 
obsession 

п Replay Vali 
Moderately 


SECOND OPINION 
Tapping Into the Final Fantasy 


E mu 74047188 


rA Dagger, 2099 57 
FS ls ашса ac: 1907.105 Ss 
т gui а . 
> alin dy mr eng зо Fantasy IX is Square's answer 


to this dilemma — an answer 


» 
D 
Is this à monster? 


Loss 


Summons still play a large part. Here, Odin rides through a group of j ut 
hich one of us is that question aimed at? monsters, slaying them all REINER - 9.75 | 


GAMEINFORMER 101 


You see yourself | 
`` as a great warrior... 


awe 


Your opponents see | 
you as spare parts. | 


PlayStation 2| ADOS д < p ннан ч 
©2000 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation ү i i 
logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. AG menacingirobipte; each Devastate your opponent. Learn incredible combo 
with its own special way with weaponry like moves that will make your 
to turn enemies into missiles, flame throwers competitor's head spin 


scrap metal. and lasers. (if it's still attached). 


di i 4 
, bw ‚ - 
f г j 
4 y, — i 3 ү \ J 
y j ' : A 
P d 
B , 
m 
7 айний " 

MF em "wd 2 x2 gum 5 ee р E та е 


шаа a~ а ma .^» н À 


җ э NI 


x Rock "Em Sock 'Em" Robots Arena gives you 
= the power to rip off your opponent's body 
с Ж parts and attach them to yourself. Turn your 
[ré enemy into rubbish with their own weapons. Or 
io save the parts you collect for future victims. 
ST The more you win, the more powerful you 
E : become. You're not just competing for pride 
тст 


and honor, you're fighting for limbs. 


www.rockemsockemrobots.com 


"Adding to the «ҮСТ 


wstomization WWF SMACK 
tre yu t+ KNOW YOUR ROLE 


THE SMACK YOU NEED 


tional wrestler 


is only the tip 


stellar release to begin with, the changes THQ has уои can re-create it, and yes, Cactus falls through the 
A to the existing property are astronomical — cage, but no, his tooth doesn't go up his nose. 
outperforming my every expectation and paving the The only downfall to this gargantuan sequel is the 
way for the future of wrestling games. Picking up right alterations made to Season mode. Extensive loadtimes 

of the user where the action left off, the sequel boasts more run as long as commercials, and instead of flipping past 
innovations than the first offering. In addition to this, if CPU vs. CPU matches, the player actually has to watch a 
some features were lacking in comparison to competing 30-second sequence where the game decides who won. 
wrestling games, THQ went to the extreme to put its It's slower than baseball, folks. Thankfully though, the 
series on top. Most notably, the Create-A-Superstar, an amusing backstage activity and story arcs are still in 
area Acclaim excelled in with its wrestling games, is now place. Again, they often have little to do with anything 
the most comprehensive editor on the market. Not only is whatsoever, but they are worth a chuckle or two, and 
it equipped with hundreds of cosmetic choices, but players some of the material, like Stone Cold destroying the 
can actually tweak the dimensions of a wrestler's body — McMahon's bus, is accompanied by a stellar graphical 
making chins longer, and torsos thicker. assault. 

Adding to the customization fire, your fictional wrestler is Not messing with a good thing, the actual gameplay is 
only the tip of the user creations. Wrestling Stables little more than a rehash of last year's chemistry. The 
consisting of any WWF superstar can be formed and backstage commotion has been improved ever so slightly, 
named, managers can be assigned duties, and through a and to take another shot at WCW, the interaction and look 
snazzy frame-by-frame editing system, taunts can be of these environments crushes everything Backstage сап actual [E e the 
constructed. As if this wasn't enough, the in-ring action Assault has to offer. ladder to the outskirts of the ring. 
has received a hefty touch up as well. Casket, Hell In A THQ still needs to work on character collision fields and that's missing is Strap, 
Cell, Table, and Ladder matches accompany the standard fluidity of play for SmackDown to truly shine like its N64 SNC шо 
fare. For all of you who feel the Cactus Jack versus The brethren. – REINER 
Undertaker Hell In A Cell match is the greatest bout ever, 


„as a load of bricks destroys 


their bus... II STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER FIGHTING Ш PUBLISHER THQ E DEVELOPER E RELEASE NOVEMBER 8 


and the culprit shows his face 


UPPER 


e 7 T 


vam ч _ 
Not only can you create a wrestler, E 4 5 | n the devious tradition of the WWF, many matches are held with a special 
you can actually customize taunts Backstage, The Rock receives backdoor treatment referee. Wonder if he'll interfere? 


ТОД GAME INFORMER 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


m Concept: 


The next level in wrestling 
complete with Ladder and 
Casket matches, plus 
enhanced story arcs, 
backstage activity, and 


P 5 Я customizable options 
^ J m Graphics: 


ў N The softskinned character 
V. models are still the best in 
P =, the biz. The character collision 
mel а fields remain a tad off 


и Sound: 
Still no chants, but all the 
entrance music is there 

W Playability: 
The CPU is intelligent and the 
in-ring action is incredibly fast 


THE UNDERTAKER 


E Entertainment: 
If you can overlook the 
loading, immediate addiction 
is inevitable 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


SECOND OPINION 


Acclaim has officially been 
stripped of its Create-A-Wrestler 

| championship title. Your new 
champion is SmackDown 2. It 
would be impossible to even 
briefly describe the 
overwhelming amount of 
options in Create-A-Superstar, 
so | won't. I'll just say it's the 
best, that the Create-A-Taunt is 
brilliant, and leave it at that. 

| The rest of the game plays 
identical to the original, but 
with enough match options to 

| keep things interesting for a 

f time. There’s only 
one chink in this juggernaut’s 
armor, and that's the Season 
mode. Not only must you suffer 
through events that you take 
no part in, you have to watch 
quirky match simulations and 

| cutscenes that have absolutely 

| nothing to do with the | 
character you're playing. Aside 
from this asinine feature, 

| however, SmackDown 2 is а 

| sequel well worth the 

| admission price. 

JAY -9 


а ibt ж 


2 THE BOTTOM име PU 


MIKE TYSON 
BOXING 


m Concept: 
A platoon of fantasy boxers 
fight for the chance to take 


ATTEMPTING TO TAKE A BITE OUT gener 
OF THE BOXING MARKET ecc 
m Sound: 


Minimal crowd sounds, 
music, and no commentary 


ш Playability: 
Boxers' reaction times are 
extremely slow, making it. 
hard to pull off combos 

п Entertainment: 
Not worthy of a purchase, or 
even a rental. Check out 
Knockout Kings instead 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately Low. 


grade IQ, an effeminate lisp, and a penchant for 

cannibalism would be a very appealing video game 
license. Then again, Tyson's stock has sunk so low 
Codemasters probably signed him for a case of Mickey's Big 
Mouths and some food stamps. No doubt Codemasters was 
hoping that NES fans with fond memories of Mike Tyson's 
Punch Out would turn out to buy this game in droves. Guess 
again. Point blank — if you loved Punch Out, don't buy this. 
game. It's not even in the same league as that classic. Heck, 
it's not even in the same league as Ready 2 Rumble. 

There are so many problems with this game it's hard to 
know where to begin. Its appearance is severely lacking. The. 
characters are blocky, and their movements appear unnatural 
and sluggish. The arena environments are drab, which adds to 
the half-hearted feeling that permeates this game. | suspect 
the developers had good intentions, but were not given the 
time or money required to create a top-notch title. 

Of course, graphics wouldn't matter if the gameplay was 
there, but this is sadly not the case. ! would expect a game 
with such little graphical detail to at least run fast. 
Unfortunately, the action offers little depth and runs at a 
snail's pace. Avoid. — MATT 


Y ou wouldn't think that a convicted rapist with a third- 


SECOND OPINION 


| After playing and reviewing 
Knockout Kings in this very 
same Issue, 1 would have to 

| say its virtues far exceed this 

| joke of a title. The animation | 

| is a freaking disgrace. Did the 

| artists on this game ever 

| watch a boxing match? A 
better question is: Are they 

| boxing? It sure doesn't look 

| like it. The boxers contort and | 
move so unnaturally. Next, the 
entire concept of the career 

Í mode is entirely stupid due to 

| the fact that it goes through 
these useless newspaper 
reports on fighters that you 
don't give a rip about. Ugh! | 
didn’t even want to play the 
career after one fight anyway. 

| | had to struggle against the 
controller to get my guy 
turned toward the opponent. 

| This game completely blows 
chunks, As it stands now, this. 

| is clearly the worst game | 

| have played all year. Yuck. 


PAUL - .25 


"Ifth you wanna beat me, you betta twain hawd!” 


W STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS Ш PUBLISHER CODEMASTERS 


W DEVELOPER CODEMASTERS Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 24 


GAMEINFORMER 105 


"While the last 
endeavor was a 
tad too proble- 
matic for the 
masses, Capcom 
has ironed out 
the wrinkles 
and constructed 
a sequel that 
has something 


for everyone.” 


As always, the late: 
includes humorous’ story breaks 


^ 2 
Realtime cinematic sequences 
much better than this 


Pe 
In dragon form, Ryu is nearly 
unstoppable 


106 GAME INFORMER 


[PLAYSTATION J N 


BREATH 
FIRE IV 


OF 


BURNING IN THE RING OF FIRE 


dark horse role-playing series since its Super 
A Nintendo inception, the Breath of Fire lineage has 

yet to receive the attention it truly deserves. While 
the last endeavor was a tad too problematic for the masses, 
Capcom has ironed out the wrinkles and constructed a 
sequel that has something for everyone. The annoying 
loading times that plagued Breath of Fire Ill — wasting 
countless hours of our lives staring at a blank black screen — 
have miraculously disappeared and the game now flows at a 
feverish pace. 

Combat, another not-so-friendly element of Breath of 

Fire Ill, has been completely revamped and drastically 
improved. The battles may seem simplistic from the get-go, 
but as you trench further into this gigantic game, depth 
unfolds through hefty doses of innovative techniques. 
Instead of just three members of your party clashing with the 
opposition, all the other characters eagerly await in the back 
row. These characters can be swapped into combat, they 
replace characters that die, and even lend a hand by 
launching distant attacks. With the added firepower coming 
from behind the lines, the enemies are stronger and more of 
а nuisance than ever before. On top of this, Breath of Fire IV 
features over 200 different spells. Starting out with barely 
any spells, you'll need to train under different NPCs to learn 


new spells and abilities. Another interesting addition is the 
ability to create new spells during combat itself. When two 
characters cast spells back to back, there’s a chance the 
two attacks may meld into one powerful blast, which in turn 
becomes a new choice. 

To break up the monotony of traversing from village to 
dungeon, a slew of minigames rear their heads at any given 
moment. While most of these events are quite simple, some 
can easily drive you to the brink of insanity. As always, and 
to cool your nerves, you can drop a line in a fishing hole and 
try to collect every aquatic species in this dangerous world. 

Sticking to the roots of the series, Breath of Fire IV is 
sculpted from an artist's perspective. Over 3,000 frames of 
hand-drawn animation bring each scene to life with vibrant 
details, while all of the backdrops are filled with stunning 
visuals, ambient life, and cinematic camera angles. The only 
complaint | have with this release is the interaction between 
the 2D characters and the 3D world. During play, they slide 
around way too much, and examining objects can be a 
serious nightmare. 

Other than this, Breath of Fire IV is an excellent release. It 
offers plenty of interesting plot twits, and a gameplay 
package that will keep you hooked until the very end. 

— REINER 


E STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME ll PUBLISHER CAPCOM Ш DEVELOPER CAPCOM Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 


The popular fishing sequences are back and better than ever. 
You can even catch Piranhas! 


Sausage 1 z--9 Steak 


iest is constantly 
interrupted by inventive minigames 


From races to eating contests, your 


m Concept: 
A fairly straightforward RPG 
with interesting plot twists 


m Graphics: 
With over 3,000 frames of 
animation and highly 
detailed backdrops, this RPG 
is a graphical knockout 


п Sound: 
The score is elegant and 
very 16-bit 


m Playability: 
Reinventing the battle 
system added depth, and 
the annoying load times 
from Breath Ill have been 
cut in half 


п Entertainment: 
After 15 minutes of play, you 
want to see the ending 


m Replay Value: 
Moderately Low 


SECOND OPINION | 


| Loved Breath of Fire Ill, but — | 
| the расе of that game made — | 
| me wish for death many times 
| (or at least for the game to 1 
| hurry along). Breath of Fire IV is | 
| not only sped up, but is also | 
| well orchestrated to create a | 
| fantastic and twisted tale that 
| features cinematic cutscenes | 
| and tons of great 2D art that — | 
will tickle the fancy of any RPG 
| fan. Certainly, BOF IV doesn't 
| have the flair of a Final Fantasy | 
| or Chrono, but it is close, with | 
| the biggest drawback being its | 
| somewhat small environments | 
| that require you to use the | 
| camera to rotate around to find | 
| treasures (which is clumsy to | 
use at best). This epic will | 
| definitely keep you glued to | 
| your TV for a number of days | 
and is a great addition to the 
PlayStation's already | 
| impressive lineup of RPGs this | 
| fall, which includes Final | 
| Fantasy IX and Chrono Cross. If | 
| you dig RPGs, Breath of Fire IV 1 
| should fit well into your library. 


ANDY - 8.75 | 


ign al 
DIFFICULTY TOTAL (Е 


( | PLAYSTATION 


COOL BOARDERS 
2001 


A NICE SURPRISE, BUT 
STILL NOT ENOUGH 


[Ше graphical THE BOTTOM LINE 
п Concept: front, nothing really. EVERYONE 


Sony's answer to Nintendo's P" jumps out, and to E 
Mario Party be quite frank, the collision 


The inventive pogo stick game is addictive, fast, and furious 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


m Graphics: fields are serious те 
The environments and monstrosities. Annoying 
DAA: ) bs character designs blend &raphical flickers appear all m Concept: 


THE BANDICOOT SHUFFLE 


nicely with Naughty Dog's 
work; however, the distant 
camera is often troublesome 


W Sound: 


the time, and the camera is 
always a nuisance. However, 
the gameplay is something 


Steering away from the 
standard CB formula, Idol 
Minds implemented several 
new events and tweaked the 


As Я 5 В Я to admire. Adding а great gameplay 
rouble within the Bandicoot family has forced Crash and his colleagues to turn tail Wacky as always deal of variance to the mix, Sus 
and hunt for a new development house. With Naughty Dog, the original Crash m Playability: the play continually shifts жешс 
ч z у: a play y The collision fields are 
creator, out of the picture, Sony has enlisted the talent of Eurocom to continue the All of the minigames are between events, offering horrible and the framerate is 
legacy and reinsert Crash into challenging, and many bear something a little different pathetic 
the limelight of gaming. The innovative concepts vith each rune The tick ABER 


latest marsupial offering is п Entertainment: System has also been What in the world happened 
Crash Bash, Sony's answer to The minigames lose their simplified to give players the here?! The effects sound 


i , | i flavor after a few hours, and like they are from an Atari 

mario ШУ үз к ип other than multiplayer, there utmost control. At the very EOD Cae a atl 

ы c In mind, really is nothing else to see most, this is a fair rainy-day m 
an of focusing on i L] ility: 

inigames with a bo: Е е п Replay Value: Бате, SUI CSI PAR is responsive 
minig: i ard gam Moderate there's nothing else to play. An REP 
Ee к зү bin — REINER an id new We 5 roc! 
tossed the dice out the window m Entertainment: 

- ——À EA 
and opted to focus solely on SECOND OPINION | SECOND OPINION | Moderately шч if уш 
the games. | can overlook the graphical 

Keeping the flavor of the | It's pretty clear that Universal | There has been a steady problems 

d H | and Sony took a look at | 4 
original Crash games intact, | Nintendo's success with Майо | m Replay vaie: 
almost every significant | Party and thought they might | | 2 


character has returned, | do the same good oe | ee ees and the playcontrol 
i i abil | Crash. Why not just e; the equally as scary. 

sporting unique abilities and | crn Ranchise and ty to 

| sucker some of the millions of 


Crash does his best Poy Poy impersonation 


moves. Many of the minigames are familiar, with gameplay stylized after Pong and 


Combat. One game even mimics Poy Poy to a tee. Along with these copycat concepts, | Crash fans into picking up a 


Eurocom has created several 
innovative games, some of which 
I'm sure other developers will 
steal ideas from. Entertaining 
indeed, but the thrills are 
definitely limited. The quest mode 
doesn't really seem to have a 
purpose, and repeating the same 
£ames over and over again with 
subtle variations in Al, rules, and 
appearance makes you crave 
variance and something more. 
But alas, Crash Bash has nothing 
else to offer. - REINER 


E STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT 
E DEVELOPER EUROCOM/CERNY GAMES Ш RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 


та гга зза TRE 
Four-player Pong with multiball 


| 
| 
| party game? Don't fall for this | 
| crap. If you've been reading | 
| these pages Юг a while, you | 
probably recall my distaste for | 
| Mario Party. Likewise, Crash | 
| Bash leaves an equally foul 
| taste in my mouth. In fact, 1 
| think Crash Bash is even 
| worse, since you don't even 
| have an overlying game that. |! 
| Чез all the minigames together. 
| 1 will give this game credit for 
| having more playable 
| minigames than Mario Party, | 
| but that is of little consolation | 
| because Crash Bash is just — | 
plain lame. It doesn't even 
register to me as fun, and I | 
wouldn't suggest you even 
consider picking this game up. | 


PAUL - 2 | 


"XN 


The new re beautiful creations tha 
and extensive trick time 


W STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING B PUBLISHER SONY 
COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA ЕШ DEVELOPER IDOL 
MINDS I RELEASE OCTOBER 24 


GAMEINFORMER 107 


DISNEY'S THE que 2 
EMPEROR'S 
NEW GROOVE 


GETCHA GROOVE ONI 


PLAYSTATION 


THE WORLD IS > 


The first-person shooter 
here's something to be THE BOTTOM LINE engine is healthy considering 
Г said for pulling off an ченә the ill nature of the last PSX 
extremely competent rip- c Bond game. Still, the level 


MEDAL OF HONOR THIS AIN'T structure isn't spectacular 


off. Sure, | could spend my 


review grousing about the ESAE п Graphics: 

numerous similarities between Ж Ж z ertainly, TWINE's first-person engine Ша сате теа. а ood 
Emperor's New Groove and the Алеш € is more in tune with the video game 3 f animation is very tics; There 
Spyro series, but why bother? | M Graphics: Bond that GoldenEye made famous, y are some instances of slight 
had fun playing this game. The Ra boy a аз Spyro, and is far more enjoyable than the ‘ { р slowdown 

&raphics, while not spectacular, кш hodgepodge that was Tomorrow Never à в Sound: 


ге moi у 
еше че The Tons of voice-overs featuring 


Dies. However, this PlayStation game fails , 5 The soundtrack includes the 
storyline and voice-overs didn’t Kuzco's snide personality } 


in aspects of control, game design, and familiar Bond theme and 
some great sound effects 


make me want to puke, which Playability: overall entertainment. g 

is more than can be said for В Reds een although The playcontrol is fairly straightforward E п Playability: 

the majority of 3D platformers jumping i and a configuration screen will provide i The playcontrol is adequate, 
Jon р platform jumping is a chore E P but there are also instances 


out there. Most importantly, options to tailor the buttons to your liking. of collisions that hang up 


Argonaut packed this game ы (Mee out on For the most part, moving around the your character 
with a ton of different [Cd Een ccs environments and gunning down enemies п Entertainment: 
minigames, which run the is highly recommended is not a problem. However, things get a P йел ший frustrating, but 
gamut from racing to Crash- п Replay Value: little suspect when toggling on the manual challenging, game that is 

;. style running levels, water Moderate targeting. The problem with this system É Р over way too quickly 


rafting, and even some maze- becomes apparent when your weapon С a п Replay Value: 


| SECOND OPINION 


puzzle levels. This variety helps |, | reloads itself and the perspective quickly : я А Moderate 

lift Emperor's New Groove If you want a lackluster Spyro- | switches away from your target. 1 S 

above the dozens of mediocre | Speaking of targeting, the design of the Om 

titles out there. Worth checking B weapons is suspect. Virtually every Дере has a ton of footage fomite flm 
out – just tell the guy at the | 5 weapon seems to have nearly the same strength and there is no worthy use for a weapon | After thoroughly enjoying the N64 | 
store you're buying it for your — | J such as the sniper rifle. Furthermore, with only ten levels, the game comes up way short | offering, I was excited to get a — | 
little brother. - MATT | in playtime. There are two difficulty settings, but one time through is enough as 70 


i SENE percent of the missions are predictable, lacking in both action and intrigue. 
= j SRE TWINE falls short of its N64 counterpart, as well as the Medal of Honor series on PS-X. 
i Ў If you hadn't guessed yet, | can't recommend this as more than a quick rental. — PAUL 
| better levels, but the flow of the. 
| Ў game seems to make some 
? / | from scene to scene and lets you | 
| take over after you watch a clip 
from the movie. 1 was really 
| expecting a lot from this game as 
| Medal of Honor: Underground is a 
| truly impressive shooter, but 
Г 1] EE а cS * Б | ТИЛМЕ is extremely disappointing. 
У 1 "m : | There are some nice touches to 
j^ this version, like the voice-over 
| mission overviews from M, R, and | 
was | Moneypenny, but the gloss isn't 


LT 


R > 


Ў f I x EN ‘enough to cover up this game's 
River levels evoke the arcade classic Toobin’ Combing the subway for nasty villains The enemies are very stupid in this game flaws. TWINE is a definite must on 
N64, but this PS-X wannabe is. 
B STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/PLATFORM Ш PUBLISHER SONY E STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION I PUBLISHER EA GAMES Ш DEVELOPER BLACK OPS | best left on the shelf. 
COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA IM DEVELOPER E RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 f ANDY - 


ARGONAUT liil RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 Ё dba 
108 GAME INFORMER 


“BEST ACCESSORY” 


-1999 Editors’ Award 
Official PlayStation Magazine 


“BEST OF SHOW” 


-Consumer Electronics Show, 
Winter 2000 


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REVIEWS 


Get used to field work, you'll be doing a lot of it 


om HARVEST MOON: 
=a BACK TO NATURE 


gres Farming, romancing, cooking, 
= DOWN ON THE FARM dancing, and rima husbandry 


PLAYSTATION : S | = collide in a whimsical RPG 
| "ll say this- Harvest Moon's agrarian mix of role-playing ТТ m Graphics: 
and farm simulation is a unique package to say the à ae 
WCW least. Between tending to your crops, raising livestock, e Шенне The варке a чур» 
B AC KST AGE attending local festivals, and searching for a mate, there That is, if you're into raising — FF fans 
are a huge number of things to do in this game. | have no crops and livestock. I wouldn't m Sound: 
doubt that this game will attract a rabid cult of followers go as far to call it a sequel to Rocks that dope tinklywinkly 
ASSAU LT who succumb to its quirky charms. | will not be one of the N64 release, but an update. harpsichord, homeslice! 
them. Maybe it’s the fact that, growing up on farm, I've REINER - 7 | п Playability. 
EMBARRASSING EVEN BY WCW done enough chores for one lifetime. Tending to fields every —— 1 Easy to pickup and play, but 
STAN D ARDS day is not my idea of fun. To add to my boredom was the this farming stuff is hard work! 
slow pace at which the game unfolds. There are only two or three events each month, and B Entertainment: 
n one of the backstage THE BOTTOM LINE you must spend the rest of the time working and talking to the slackjawed yokels that Moves slow, and the tedium of 
areas, you can stick a 2x4 п TEEN populate the village. | respect Natsume's efforts, but there are dozens of better RPGs out labor to wear after awhile 
а fire, then use it to ignite $ there. - MATT п Replay Value: 
your opponent. I'm not saying Moderate 
this is really amazing, I'm just еза II STYLE 1 -PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME ll PUBLISHER NATSUME DEVELOPER NATSUME 
trying to come up with an п Concept: RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 
aspect of Backstage Assault There are many new ideas — 
that doesn't suck. Let's see if | and all of them are bad 
Can CODE oT ОЕ m Graphics: ABEFROMANN Чч л ARCHIE MOORE 
else. Um, the opening ЕМУ is Why does every wrestler 
okay... guess. have sticklegs and Gumby 
Now for the bad news. The ams? 
graphics are worse than the B Sound: 
already lackluster N64 version. A lot of the commentary is 
Much of the commentary is reused from Mayhem 
repeated from Mayhem, and п Playability: 
Mark Madden isn't one of the Horrid controls and collision 
announcers. Not having a ring do little to improve upon a 
in a wrestling дате is as terrible game 
; stupid as not having one in а п Entertainment: 
boxing game. — JAY More fun could be had by 


d sticking your tongue on the 
SECOND OPINION receptors of a 9-volt battery 


The loading screens outshine m Replay Value: PLAYSTATION 


everything else this game has Moderately Low 


sj npe wi guae KNOCKOUT 


venture is nothing short of 
ae REINER - 2. KINGS 2001 
REINER - 2.5 EN 
= وت‎ u With a roster of virtually every 
/ me ЕА 5 SUCKER PUNCH well-known boxer, this game is 
hard to beat 
Е A Sports has continually tried to pack a lot into " п Graphics 


Knockout Kings. The roster of boxers, which SECOND OPINION The likenesses of the real boxers 
includes some of the greatest boxers ever to enter The Career mode Is deep | are well done, but the game's 
the ring, is one of the game's strong points. This year enough to keep you playing for | engine seems a lot slower 
they've also added women boxers to the fray. The game | п Sound: 
still plays quite a bit like last year’s title, but there have | The entrance üres a кее 
SMS У : R i e 
been modifications to the game's graphics that give the Bas 1e choppy and a fad ERE агу suffers from 
play a slightly different feel. Even so, the control, slow. Wait for the PS2 version. 
although great in concept, is fairly cumbersome — Playability: 
especially when going to the body. In the end, this is the There are a ton of combos, but 
boxing title, but you will save yourself a few bucks by you may find that you only use a 


нан few punches. 
icking up last year's game. – PAUL 
p gup У B п Entertainment: 


It's a lot like last year's game, 
with slightly different graphics 
W STYLE 1 TO A-PLAYER FIGHTING I PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC WI STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER SPORTS lil PUBLISHER EA SPORTS Ш DEVELOPER EA SPORTS п Replay Value: 

ARTS i DEVELOPER KODIAK INTERACTIVE RELEASE OCTOBER 17 E RELEASE OCTOBER 31 Moderate 


110 GAME INFORMER 


ent 
77 pp TOI cay HEFRANCHISE _ 


‘BOOKER Т. 


PLAYSTATION QUICKIES 


ARMY MEN WORLD WAR: LAND SEA 
AIR & ARMY MEN: AIR ATTACK 2 
STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION 


PUBLISHER 3DO 
IB RELEASE SEPTEMBER 19 


Army Men: Air Attack 2 Army Men World War: Land Sea Air 
WY. 


At this point, | think Game Informer's position on 
Army Men games is quite clear — we're tired of them 
and we want them to go far, far away to a place where 
they will never again sully our PlayStations. Thus, we 
have now decided to give every new Army Men game a 
1 until some serious improvements are made to the 
series. On a brighter note, did you know | just got some 
new coasters? Yeah. They're really cool, made out of 
heavy black felt. They were on sale at 
Target for only $1.99, so | couldn't pass 
them up. - MATT 


BUZZ LIGHTYEAR OF STAR COMMA 


LAYER ACTION 
PUBLISHER ACTIVISION 
B RELEASE OCTOBER 3 


Note to self: Jump on a bandwagon before it grows 
stale. Otherwise, something like Buzz Lightyear of Star 
Command might happen. Granted, running after a boss 
and shooting things in the process is a way to pass the 
time, but only for a grand total of five minutes. 
Graphically not all there, and with gameplay that made 
me run for the hills, BL will not be on my top 50 games 


to buy. Please, Activision, no more [155 


Bu ISTIAN 


FIFA 2001 
STYLE 1 TO 8-PLAYER SPORTS 
PUBLISHER EA SPORIS 
RELEASE OCIOBER 24 


Craving a soccer game 
or your PlayStation? EA 
Í Sports has everyone 
beat in terms of options 
and teams, while the 
playcontrol has always 
been very solid. However, 
as with most of the EA 
Sports lines, this дате isn't a whole lot different 
from last season's. If you don't follow the roster 
changes of the soccer world, there is even less of a 
difference. | can't find a reason to 
recommend this game. At the most 
it's a rental. — PAUL 


111 GAME INFORMER 


BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF 

THE JOKER 

STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION 

E PUBLISHER (ВІ SOFT 

BW RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 

- Holy bat droppings, 

Batman! This is without a 
doubt the most atrocious 
release of 2000. Just to 
give you an idea of how 
terrible this game truly is, 
it makes Titus’ Superman 
look somewhat decent. 

Every inch of this title is revolting. Whoever made the 

decision to release this game must be blind. If you’re 


collecting for the worst games ever 


made, here’s another heap of guano for 
your librat IER 


LOONEY TUNES RACING 


STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING 
E PUBLISHER INFOGRAMES 
W RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 
Here's one to play at a 
friend's house. Or even 
better, at a friend of a 
friend's house. Infogrames 
will probably end up 
selling a few Looney Tunes 
ы! Racing units to the 
ИШИ kiddies, but it'll stop 
there. It should stop there. LTR is fun to look at, it'll 
make you giggle at the little sounds and music, but the 
cartracing specter raises its ugly head 
and dooms this дате to mediocrity. 
Super Mario Kart it ain't. — KRISTIAN [36.25 


NBA LIVE 2001 


TO 8-PLAYER SPORTS 
PUBLISHER EA SPORTS 
Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 17 
4 With Garnett on the 
BA _ м cover, | was almost ready 
to give this game a 10. 

— However, it is far from 
perfect. There are some 
nice additions to the 

i presentation and the NBA 
— s | | Challenge is really a lot of 
fun. Yet, the early release of the game might have 
prevented EA from making last-minute roster adjustments 
— namely Pat Ewing. I’m more eager to 
see what EA does on PS2. – PAUL 


WORLD DESTRUCTION LEAGUE: 
THUNDER TANKS 
E STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION 


B PUBLISHER 3DO 
W RELEASE SEPTEMBER 28 


P.T. Barnum once said, "a 
Sucker is born every 
minute," and if you buy this 
game you are proving 
Barnum's theory as WDL is 
just awful. It's just Battle 
Tanks all over again with a 
new name and improved 
"attitude" — if you can call that an improvement as the 
machismo cheese factor runs quite thick here for a but 
of hosers who blast each other in tanks. If the concept 
wasn't bad enough, WDL also features enemy vehicles that 
pop in and out of the battles as the 
program struggles to keep up with its 
mediocre play. - ANDY Hs 


REVIEWS 


INI 
145 mph 


( PLAYSTATION 


NASCAR 2001 


WHERE'S DICK TRICKLE? 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


amers, please take 
G: quick litmus test. 
Fact: This is the first 
NASCAR game to include the — B 
legendary Daytona 500 as опе ESR 
of the season races. Does this 
fact make you, um, anxious? If ш Concept: 
so, please skip this review, run Racing around oval tracks. 


to a store and buy this game. NE 
For the rest of you, this might 


be а game you can do without. 


Graphically, there are few 
improvements over last year's 
model. The cars handle well, 
and there were times when I 
was enthralled by jockeying for. 


positions around corners. | just 


can't get over the lack of track 


variety. EA makes a fuss about 


having Daytona in the game, 
but what's the point? It may. 
mean something to fans, but 
to everyone else it's just 
another boring track in a game 
filled with thei MAIT 


| SECOND OPINION | 


I've enjoyed this series over the. 
| years, but it is for the NASCAR. 
fan only. The cars are excellently | 
reproduced, but otherwise I'm a 
little sick of the choppy graphics. 
PAUL - 7.75 | 


س 


The interactive pit stops from last year have been jettisoned 


colorful paint jobs and 
stickers 


m Graphics: 
Slightly touched-up texturing, 
but choppiness and seam- 
tearing run rampant 


m Sound: 
Communication with pit crew 
is absent; generic bar band 
blooze-rock is present 


ш Playability: 
Control is solid, but cool 
interactive pit options are 
gone this year 


п Entertainment: 
Unless you've a burning 
desire for all things NASCAR, 
your racing dollar could be 
better spent elsewhere 


и Replay Value: 
Moderate 


WI STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING I PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC 
ARTS I DEVELOPER BLACK BOX Ш RELEASE SEPTEMBER 19 


GAMEINFORMER 111 


| 


А BLAST FROM THE PAST 


'd like to blast the stupid blastards that blasted my 
l childhood memories of Blaster Master into 
smithereens. These rehashes always seem to be 
some crass attempt to take some easy money off 
nostalgic game fanatics — sort of like a washed-up 
athlete taking his Olympic medals to the pawn shop. 

This redux of the classic Sunsoft NES title fails in 
the same way that most revived old-school games do — 
it fails to capture the charm and addictive gameplay of 
the original. While all the elements are there on paper 
(cavern exploration plus platform/shooter action), the 
levels and mission goals are so tedious | didn’t feel 
compelled to play on. 

It didn't help that Blaster Master: Blasting Again 
looks like absolute rubbish. The texturing and 
character models are laughable, with camera problems 
and seam tearing at nearly every turn. Playability is 
severely hampered by the camera, especially when 
of the vehicle and the angle must be adjusted 
manually. | guess the developers had trouble fixing the 
camera, and just decided to make you do the work for 
them. Sorry guys, but you'll have to pay me at least 
time and a half to play this stinker. - MATT 


. THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE | 


EFS 


m Concept: 
Stays true to the premise of 
the NES classic; features 
both in and outofvehicle 
action 


m Graphics: 
I'm tempted to say the old 
version looks better; the 
cave walls look vaguely like 
burnt toast. 


п Sound: 
Rock guitar dukes it out with 
lackluster sound effects 


m Playability: 
Unlike in the first, you can't. 
move your gun turret 


m Entertainment: 
This game succeeds only in 
reminding me of how much 
better the old Blaster 
Master is 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


SECOND OPINION 


'Crappy-Crapper" might have 
been a better title for Blaster 
| Master. Although I’m a fan of 
| driving around in a jumping car 
| and shooting stuff, this just 
| didn't quite float my boat. 
| Maybe it was the subpar 
graphics, maybe it was the 
boring missions, or maybe, just | 
| maybe it was because this is a 
| game that should never have 
been released. Some of the 
FMV was good, and a few of | 
| the lighting effects were worth | 
| watching, but that’s too little 
| too late for a game that had a 


retrieve my safe? 


out there. — ERIK 


PLAYSTATION — ) 


ETERNAL 
EYES 


LOOK INTO MY EYES | 


t first, | was convinced | was playing a 100% total 


Banker: Kind sir, go I have no 
idea who you are, could you 


hy the !@#$ did they bring this title to the US? 
W: it because they thought "World of Dragon 

Warrior" would sell it? While | enjoy the fact 
that the main character is a big fat ass, the dialogue is 
juvenile, the control is stupid, and the game is loaded 
with arbitrary bizarreness. There isn't much of a story 
and the dungeon crawling itself is horrendously lame. 
This game is an outdated, ugly piece of crap whose silly 
antics will charm no one. There are so many better RPGs 


| Pointless to the extreme. 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
NE 


m Concept: 
Arbitrary rules and weird 
control make this game 
dumb 


m Graphics: 
Aside from the cutscenes, 
pretty crappy 
W Sound: 
Wacky in an irritating way 
W Playability: 


Simple yet awkward and 
nonsensical 


п Entertainment: 
You can play it without 
getting angry, but why 
bother? 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


SECOND OPINION 


f 
Not only is this game about five 

| years behind the times, it would | 

| still have been considered 

| sucky even if it had been 


released on a 16-bit machine. | 
| 
JAY - 3 | 


II STYLE 1-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME if PUBLISHER ENIX Ш DEVELOPER CHUN SOFT 
I RELEASE NOVEMBER 16 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


ESRB 


W Concept: 
Final Fantasy Tactics blended 
with some watered-down 
Pokémon elements. 


п Graphics: 
The graphics look a lot like. 
FFT, which was an attractive 
game 


E Sound: 
The music was just a little too 
dandy for my taste 


W Playability: 
Simpler than FFT, but 
basically the same exact 
thing 

п Entertainment: 
Criticism aside, it's a fun 
game, but not too hard to put. 
down 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately _ 


lot to live up to. Sunsoft! | A tip-off of Final Fantasy Tactics and | got excited. | | SECOND “OPINION | | 


| What's the matter with you? The truth of the matter, however, is that while the. 

| Don't you know better than to gameplay is practically identical, all you really do is collect 

| release a game that doesn't and mutate monsters that differ only in their spells and а 
een pi veg г single physical attack. There are 169 possible monsters to 

| Master will d faster than | create, and you can bring up to three of them into a battle, 

| Superman on laundry day. | but the main character is primarily a measure of his 

| KRISTIAN - 4 | equipment and doesn't change classes. It's surprisingly 

| addictive, but no FFT. — ERIK 


years ago. Now, 1 say this game's 
cheese went hard long before it. 
| ever went to press. 


Features action in and out of your vehicle 


KRISTIAN - 3.5 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SUNSOFT Ш DEVELOPER SUNSOFT 
ΠRELEASE NOVEMBER 7 


Ш STYLE 1 -PLAYER STRATEGY/RPG Ш PUBLISHER SUNSCFT M DEVELOPER ТАМТАМ 
W RELEASE NOVEMBER 17 


112 GAMEINFORMER 


PlayStation 


From the option attack and wing T formations, to the fight songs and 
crowd chants of 115 Division I-A teams, we've captured the rivalry 
and spirit of college football. It'll get in your head and stay there. 


EVERYONE 


The “Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label is the exclusive property of the The Collegiate Licensing Company. The "Collegiate Licensed Product" label 
is the property of the Independent Labeling Group. All names, logos, team icons, and mascots associated with the NCAA, universities, bowls, and conference 
are the exclusive property of the respective institutions. GameBreaker, 989 Sports and the 989 Sports logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment 
America Inc. Developed by Red Zone Interactive, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 
© 2000 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. 


re you ready for _ ! 


THE REAL EXTREME?, 


Welcome to the world of full contact, high octane, Xtreme Sports. 


Choose from six different alternative sports as you battle your way through a challenging triple-event competition. It's 
a pulse pounding race against time... and some hardcore opponents. Master tons of intense tricks in hand-to-hand 


racing combat. So leave your rule book at home. Adrenaline is the only fuel you'll need! [а “ш =a ELEN 
LE Е s 


Xtreme Spor 20001ппай р, inc EEG P Шы, 5 ә are tr. s of гайпез Entertainment S.A. 
All other marks and tade names are пее, E LTD 


Ili 
| 


The cityscapes are wildly detailed and loaded with grind zones 


Public Service 
Announcement!!! 


City Ordinance Law 14- 
56A -- Vandalizing 
state property is a 
crime that is 
punishable by community 
service, time in 
prison, and the death 
penalty. If you have 
tendencies to deface 


bridges, storefronts, a "уе always had the greatest respect for Sega's ability to 


DREAMCAST 


JET GRIND RADIO 


MARK YOUR TERRITORY 


gangs’ territories. Through 18 massive missions, the goal is 
simple — spray paint your gang colors over those of the 
opposing gang. Each of these stages is timed and the police 
are always in pursuit. When you enter a stage, you can 
choose from different gang members, all equipped with 
different abilities. Additional members can be added by 
completing training exercises that pop up through the course 
of the game. To ease the burden of spraying everything in 
sight, each gang member wears rocket-fueled roller blades 
and can jump, grind, and abuse practically everything within 
the city limits. 

As entertaining as it is to blade all over the city, the play 
just isn’t where you would like it. The control schematic is 
way too loose, especially when the game asks you to 
complete some pretty crazy jumps and grinds. Because of 
this, most of the game is played with a feeling of frustration 
and anger. The rewards are magnificent, and each stage is 
something to behold, but the gameplay is mediocre at best. | 
tip my hat to Sega for trying something new, and even thougl 
it drives me nuts, Jet Grind Radio is a game that must be 
seen by everyone. – REINER 


oe Ene каке барап; steer away from the mainstream and create unique 
think about the А А : 
е Anoak ! software. With Jet Grind Radio, Sega has boldly stepped 
Xu i NN EN into the unmapped quadrant of gaming and has pieced 
notepad. If you do together a completely original game that doesn't borrow 
spray paint your gang concepts or mimic other games. Even the artistic angle holds 
symbol on something it many innovative qualities. Instead of mapping the polygons 
will be removed imme- with standard textures, Sega created a new art style that 
diately, unless it is makes everything in the game appear as if it were from a 2D 
in the shape of a comic or a Saturday-morning cartoon. The time and effort 
flower, strawberry, or Sega spent forging these landmark graphics is the foundation 
butterfly. Thank you that will intrigue gamers and pull them into the world of Jet 
for your time, don't дао Grind Radio. At times, this experimental technology shows а 
drugs, and stay in few holes, especially in some of the effects, but altogether, 
school, the detailing is marvelous, hitting the smallest of details like 
Mayor P.J. Whazisnuts rippling clothing and realistic shading. The authenticity also 
includes ambient life, ranging from stunned city dwellers to 
non-stop traffic. 

The concept is not as intriguing though, and to be dead 
honest, | have a feeling most gamers will either be confused 
or turned off by its obscure presentation. The entire game 
revolves around a town overrun by gang activity and a pirate 
radio program called Jet Grind Radio. Players assume the role 
of an upstart gang, and hit the streets to overtake rival 


Some of the character challenges 
are extremely difficult 


E STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER SEGA Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 31 


When you see the run icon appear. 
you'd better hit the road. or the 
cops will take you down 


^ 
Eu out there! This is Tokyo's 


This dude is way whacked, yet he knows all the lat 
across Jet Grind Radio 


The cartoon-styled graphics deliver 
realistic shading and amazing 
animation 


116 GAME INFORMER 


To join a gang nowadays, you 
have to prove you're capable of 
living the gangsta lifestyle. Your D. 
pants must be baggy enough to 
conceal metal objects, and your ^ 
graffiti spraying must be ) 
completely illegible. To help you Р i 
out, Jet Grind Radio is equipped 
with a graffiti editor that allows 
you to design your own graffiti for 
use within the game. Spray у 
whatever you want, but make 
sure you can't make heads or 
tails of what it actually says! 


The goal of this obscure game is 
to roller blade, pull off huge 
tricks, and spray paint your 
gang's symbol all across town. 
Not loved by the law, the city 
police are in hot pursuit and want. 
to end your vandalizing streak. 
Level completion occurs when all 
the graffiti zones bear your 
‘emblem, or when the cops bust a 
cap in your rear. They'll even 
соте at you with dogs, 
helicopters, and rocket launchers. 


Every so often, usually after stage 
completion, an unknown gang 
banger will interrupt your crime 
spree and challenge you to match 
his or her moves. If you can do 
this, the banger think you're 
pretty fly and will join your cause, 
becoming a new selectable 
character with unique abilities. 


* 


L onn 
With the capability to drive across town and showcase your gang sign to millions, 
ee of the most highly-craved graffiti zones 


the sides of trucks are 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


TEEN 


PRINT BOTTO 
PRINT WITH PRALCE THUMB FEO LY THIN п Concept: 
Innovative play combines 
graffiti with rollerblading 
gangs 
ш Graphics: 
With cartoon-styled textures 
sewn into a 3D polygonal 
world, Jet Grind has a unique 
look that is stunning 
W Sound: 
The original urban/industrial 
soundtrack is funky and fresh 
п Playability: 
The controls are way too 
loose, which makes many of 
the challenges overly difficult 


W Entertainment: 
Originality and decent 
gameplay combine to forge 
an addictive package with 
plenty of rewards 


W Replay Value: 
Moderate 


| SECOND OPI N 


| Sega is definitely an innovator 

| in this industry. Not only that, 

| Sega has style and is willing to 

| take chances (which is rare 

| indeed in this industry | 

| nowadays). Sometimes it leads | 

| them to failure; other times, 

| amazing success. Luckily, Jet 
Grind Radio is one of those 

| Instances when Sega's unique 

| style puts an original twist on 

| an old game concept and puts 

| together a great package. The 

| skating and trick system is 

| actually very basic and really 

| easy to get the hang of. About 

| the only problem you'll find with | 

| the playability is when you lose 

| some momentum and the game 

| doesn't want to let you off a 

| rail. The graffiti aspect is really | 

| cool, and can be quite 

| challenging with the cops hot 

| оп your trail (other times it’s 

| Just getting to the spot where 

| you have to mark that's the 
challenge). On a whole, the 

| game isn’t that deep (though it 

| starts to offer more challenge | 

| later), but it scores extra points | 

| with me for its incredible art 

| direction. Definitely one of my 

| favorite Dreamcast games yet. 


| ANDY - 8.75 | 


STARLANCER 


FIGHT THE POWER 


flight sims have been plagued by the same problem for 

years — there's only so much you can do with 
dogfighting. Some developers tried inserting RPG elements, 
others have steered toward realism in the attempt to keep. 
our interest. XWing struck a perfect combination, making 
the game an instant hit. Starlancer approaches X-Wing 
quality, but comes up short. 

As part of the 45th Volunteers Squadron, you fly against 
the Ruskies, but now they're called the Eastern Coalition. 
It's your mission to ensure peace in the galaxy. Sound 
familiar? | hope so. So, it's not Starlancer's story that keeps 
a guy's hands wrapped around a controller. Interestingly 
enough, it's the mission detail and customization options 
that really set the hook. You get a choice of 12 different 
ships (eventually) which you can load with a variety of 20 
different types of weapons. Each weapon has strengths and 
weaknesses that you'll have to manipulate in battle. 

The technical side of Starlancer is decent, with an 
adequate framerate and polygon count that add to 
believability. Online play may help those teetering on the 
buying fence. Starlancer didn't blow my hair back, but | 
wasn't bored – KRISTIAN 


L et me start by saying X-Wing this is not. Of course, 


Some nice cut-away shots 


Ш STYLE | ТО 6-PLAYER SHOOTER Ш PUBLISHER CRAVE 
E DEVELOPER WARTHOG Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 24 


REVIEWS 
LE * 
Le 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


TEEN 


m Concept: 
Fly faster and shoot 
straighter than the other guy 


m Graphics: 
Run-of-the-mill flight sim 
graphics with some nice 
lighting effects 


I Sound: 
Hearing your enemies gasp 
for their last breath is 
always nice 


W Playability: 
This is a game that's hard to 
catch up with, so plan for a 
big learning curve 


п Entertainment: 
The fun comes when you're 
done throwing your controller 


W Replay Value: 
Moderate 


| After witnessing the opening — | 

| movie, there is little doubt that | 
you're in for a disappointment. 

| As much as | like flight combat 
games of any kind, Starlancer 

| just reeks. It really gave me a 
feeling of playing another 


[ SECOND OPINION 


exactly a bad thing, but this 
game offers nothing new. | will 
give the game credit for having | 

| some decently designed ships, 
and the control scheme, 

| although a little confusing, 
makes good use of the DC pad. 
However, there is little here 

| that is either interesting or 
revolutionary. Horrible voice 

| acting and a completely dull. 
storyline, combined with a very | 

| average space combat game, is | 
a recipe for boredom. 1 | 
remember reviewing Deep 
Fighter for DC a few months 
back. | didn't like it, but 

| compared to this it's quite 

good. Do not consider taking 
this game for a spin. 


PAUL - 4.75 


GAMEINFORMER 117 


TIME TO SETTLE 
THE SCORE ONCE 
AND, FORI ALES 


W 


ИР 
АР 


AO o 
AP | 


ا0000 "0 


АРЗ 0°’ 00*00 


" 


«hot the next 
step in video 
games; merely 
a glimmer of 
what the future 
of gaming 


might hold." 


Some sequences flash back to 
Ryo's early days 


Just like the real world, you can 
spend your cash on worthless junk 
T 


Many of the village folk have 
interesting stories to tell 


120 GAME INFORMER 


DREAMCAST 


THE SAVIOR COMES UP SHORT 


since the Dreamcast was first announced. The game 

that’s to change video games forever. The game that, 
whenever the chips were down, Sega claimed as its savior. 
Shenmue has arrived, and I'm sorry to say that it isn't even 
close to everything you hoped for. 

Players will certainly be enamored for much of the first disc. 
The world is more "alive" than any we've seen before in 
gaming. People shuffle about the streets, all willing to say at 
least something of interest to your character if you take the 
time to talk to them. Storefronts open and close on regular 
schedules – many filled with items you can buy but don't 
need. The attention to detail is so exacting that even the 
most unimportant of objects seems vital to those of us used 
to being force fed facts through years of linear RPGs. 

It literally takes hours before anything of consequence 
happens, and that's exactly how you want it during your early 
moments spent with the game. But then cracks start to 
appear in Shenmue's comely facade. You start to see the 
same actions repeated over and over, notice that many of the 
people always have the same thing to say, and realize that 
the world you're presented with isn't quite as big as you once 
thought it was. 

By the second disc, you're familiar with the formerly 


i ere it is. The game that we've been hearing about 


amazing surroundings and ready for some action — but it 
never comes. Every critical encounter is handled either 
through a cutscene, a Quick Time Event (where you tap the 
buttons that flash across the screen), or a Virtua Fighterlike 
battle. Each lasts for less than a minute, and if you fail, you 
simply try again, then it's back to wandering around for a few 
hours. 

If Shenmue required players to concentrate heavily on the 
mystery at hand, this pace might be acceptable. 
Unfortunately, what once seemed so intricate in the 
Japanese version has become elementary now that the 
language barrier is broken. Determining your character's next 
move requires little more than talking to someone, who will 
then tell you who to see or where to go. 

Shenmue is not the next step in video games; merely a 
glimmer of what the future of gaming might hold. Once 
planned as a 16-part epic, then downsized to a trilogy, rumor 
now has it that this first effort will be the last, and | will not 
lament its early passing. After the fun of playing slots and 
Space Harrier has worn off, all that's left is a guy walking 
around an amazingly detailed environment. If | wanted to 
experience that, | could see it in another game with proven 
endless entertainment value. It's called life. — JAY 


Besides imitating life, Shenmue is equipped with a dramatic story 


W STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE Ш PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER SEGA ШЕ RELEASE NOVEMBER 11 


- 


Combat has a Virtua Fighter feel to it, but instead of taking on foes 
head-to-head, Ryo must often tackle a handful of hooligans 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
TEEN 
m Concept: 

Not as completely fresh as 


the overabundant hype 
would have you believe 


m Graphics: 
The game's strong point. 
The entire game looks like a 
cutscene, which it almost is 


E Sound: 
The voice-overs are plentiful, 
highly varied, and 
surprisingly well acted 


п Playability: 
When the action finally does 
go down, you'll have no 
problem keeping things in 
control 


п Entertainment: 
Questionable. Very 
questionable 


п Replay Value: 
Low 


SECOND OPINION. 
| SECO 
| 


If you play video games to 

| escape the arduous tasks of 

| life, Shenmue should be 

| avolded at all costs. As scary 
| as it may sound, Shenmue is 

| more of a life simulator than it 


Я 
i 
$ 
i 
| 


T 
in 
in 


Е 
d 
d 
; 
i 
i 


“this fresh 
racer brings 
some new rac- 
ing concepts to 
the table and 
emerges as a 
top-quality 


game." 


An internal clock will change the 
cing setti 


and then to late night 


[ — DREAMCAST ) 


METROPOLIS 
STREET RACER 


KUDOS FOR RACING 


fter more than two years in the making, Metropolis 

Street Racer has finally hit the Dreamcast. Although 

this racer may have slipped from the minds of many 
gamers due to its rather long development, it does bring some 
new racing concepts to the table and emerges as a top-quality 
game. 

While we've all probably seen or played games that touted 
environments based on actual cities, MSR provides this feature 
with exceptional attention to detail. The design team at Bizarre 
Creations is said to have used over 40,000 photos and hours of 
video footage to recreate the look of MSR's three urban 
environments — Tokyo, San Francisco, and London. Having spent 
a fair amount of time in all of these cities, it is easy for me to 
say that the detail is phenomenal. Even though there are only 
three cities to race in, the 8O-plus circuits each city offers is a 
completely mind-boggling number for a racing fan like me. While 
this kind of environment recreation may go unnoticed by a lot of 
players, things like the animated drivers and car detailing — that 
includes working odometers – are equally well done. Speaking of 
cars, MSR has a selection of authentic rides from such 
manufacturers as Mercedes, Mitsubishi, and Toyota just to 
name a few. However, | do wish MSR gave me the ability to 
modify performance, or jack with the appearance a little more. 


The meat and potatoes of MSR is, of course, the racing, but 
the game takes a different approach to things. The Street 
Racing mode is split up into 25 different chapters and each of 
the chapters contains ten or so events. Acquiring points, known 
as “Kudos,” opens new events and subsequent chapters. The 
Kudos are awarded based on three factors: skill (meeting the 
event criteria), penalties (keeping crashes to a minimum), and 
style (racing with powerslides and counter-steering). The events 
are broken down even further by providing the ability to adjust 
the skill level by, for example, lowering the time limit to complete 
a lap. Being the sort of person who never picks up the game 
manual, the concepts of the Kudos awards and adjusting the 
skill was somewhat confusing at first. However, the structure of 
the game came to light after ten or so races. The one thing that 
didn’t come to light was progress into the game. While the 
second chapter was not too hard to open, the difficulty goes up 
steeply after that. This may be a great thing for some, but | 
found the balance to be a little off. 

Even with MSR's insane difficulty, | found the game's control 
and physics to be exceptional. Likewise, the graphics are brilliant 
and are probably the best of any racing game on the Dreamcast. 
If you are looking for something postSega GT, | highly 


recommend this racer. — PAUL 


W STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER SEGA Ш DEVELOPER BIZARRE CREATIONS lii RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 
To i 


A typical foggy evening in San Francisco 


When racing. you'll see the driver shift gears and jostle the wheel 


m Concept: 
Street racing with style and 
authentic cityscapes is a 
nice formula 


W Graphics: 
From the driver in the car to 
the beautifully re-created 
environments, the look of 
this racer is exceptional 


и Sound: 
A bunch of tunes and radio 
stations give the soundtrack 
a huge variety 


@ Playability: 
Superb control is only 
hampered by MSR's insane 
difficulty 


W Entertainment: 
A challenging and sharp- 
looking racing game, MSR 
ranks as one of the best on 
DC 


I Replay Value: 
High 


SECOND OPINION. 


GAMEINFORMER 121 


k 
d. 
E 
Б. 
© 
C! 


TAKING HELL TO THE NEXT LEVEL 


TODD McFARLANE 
T ENTERTAINMENT 


SPAWN.COM 


-Todd McFarlane's blockbuster -Compete in the four-player -Includes the original Arcade ~All your favorite characters from the 
comic book characters come to simultaneous Battle Royal mode Mode and tournament style Spawn series are faithfully recreated 
life on Sega Dreamcast Dreamcast Mode in the ultimate death match challenge 


REVIEWS 


| Ы => 


scone 3 Ы 
6 МАМИ 


i 
“Some minigames are reminiscent of the classic Frogger 


DREAMCAST 


FROGGER 2: 
SWAMPY'S REVENGE 


DOING IT FROGGY STYLE 


[ n Frogger 2, our green hero nearly manages to redeem 


DREAMCAST 


SAMBA DE 
AMIGO 


SEGA'S MONKEY MAMBO 


ther than breaking a 
sweat and getting some 
muchneeded exercise, | 


found this innovative game to be 
pointless. This crazy Latino 
release can be conquered in a 
whopping 15 minutes, and the 
additional minigames can be 
tackled in under five. Wow! Is it 
worthy of purchase? Heck no! 
Unless, of course, you want to 
see your lady friends shake 
profusely. | suggest you avoid the 
hyperactive monkey dance and 
invest your hard-earned cash in a 
title with a little more depth and 
a higher difficulty level. It's way 
too short, way too easy, and 
completely dedvoid of a story or 
a purpose. - REINER 


SECOND ОРІ N 


| I was pleasantly surprised by 

| this one, as I definitely wanted 

| to hate Frogger 2 with a 

| passion. It does do a good job 

| of revamping a classic and 

| giving the player a good feeling 

| of nostalgia with some new 

| twists. However, it only lasts 
50 long. 


ANDY - 6.5 


himself from the unadulterated mess that was his first 

comeback attempt. Frogger for the PlayStation just out- 
and-out sucked, with unsightly graphics and a confusing 
camera system. The move to 128-bits has actually turned 
this homely amphibian into an attractive character, with 
colorful and vibrant visuals. The levels revisit the simple 
hop 'n stop gameplay of the '80s classic, albeit in a more 
complex, quasi-3D world. Some twists to the formula 
include a multitude of new minigames and levels in which 
you must flee from a giant rolling stone à la Crash 
Bandicoot. Like most revisited classics, the enjoyment gets 
pretty thin once the nostalgia value wears off. Definitely a rental only. — 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
Е 


m Concept: MATT 


A spin on Sony's PaRappa, 
but much shorter 


m Graphics: 
You gotta love the 
hyperactive monkey. The 
blue balls also have nice 
reflections 


B Sound: 
Will the Macarena ever go 
away!!! 


п Playability: 
With the requirement to. 
move more body parts than 
just your thumb, Samba will 
surely tire out any hardcore 
gamer 


п Entertainment: 
If the shallow play doesn’t 
Spark your interest, you can 
always whack yourself on 
the head with the maracas. 
Fun indeed! 


STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER HASBRO INTERACTIVE 
II DEVELOPER BLITZ GAMES Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 12 


SECOND OPINION | 


Samba is a gadget game. 
Plugging in the maracas and 

| shakin’ what your mama gave 

| you is definitely fun. However, the | 
| game lacks depth and quickly 
becomes a party game where 

| you stand around and laugh at 

| your friends. | like this kind of 

| crap, but the audience is limited. 


ANDY - 6.5 | 


These races can be harrowing experiences 


DREAMCAST 


F355 CHALLENGE: 
PASSIONE ROSSA 


RIDIN’ LIKE CROCKETT & TUBBS 


or some reason, F355 Challenge has been 
Е with the subtitle Passione Rossa for its 
| Although the arcade version is 
| extremely impressive, the 


debut on Dreamcast. | guess they wanted it to 
sound like a wine cooler flavor or something. First off, | | 

have to give Sega props for creating a top-notch racing | та тше ex ls pretty i 
engine. The graphics are detailed and run smooth as f E M WEN Fede 
Silk. However, 1 feel more could have been done with | 1 would not take this game for 
this game to make it a longer, more compelling | a spin. 
experience. There is only one car in the game, and few 

tweaking options. Secondly, there are no alternate 

views — just the cockpit perspective. F355 Challenge was breathtaking when played in 
the three-monitor coin-op unit, but it seems to lose impact on Dreamcast. Also, the 
Network Race mode is little more than an elaborate time-posting function. | would 
recommend checking out Sega GT and Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 instead. - MATT 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately Low 


| PAUL-7 


7 The minigames can be toppled in under five minutes 


B STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER RACING PUBLISHER ACCLAIM Ш DEVELOPER SEGA 
W RELEASE SEPTEMBER 1 


W STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION I PUBLISHER SEGA 
W DEVELOPER SEGA/SONIC TEAM Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 17 


124 GAME INFORMER 


Escape this giant rock or end up as frog puree 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


EVERYONE 


m Concept: 


Nothing amazing, but some 
of the level designs are 
quite clever 


и Graphi 


A vast improvement over 
Frogger for the PlayStation 


п Sound: 


Features music and 
sound effects 


m Playability: 


Overhauled camera system 
enhances playability 


m Entertainment: 


Frogger fans will find this a 
nice way to kill a couple of 
hours 


m Replay Value: 


Moderate 


m Concept: 
Few enhancements. A variety 
of cars and camera views 
would be appreciated 


B Graphics: 
Looks as good as the arcade 
version, on par with almost 
any console racer 


п Sound: 
Features a Japanese Sammy 
Hagar impersonator 


п Playabilit 
Novice mode provides assist 
functions, but still offers a 
stiff challenge 


п Entertainment: 
Great gameplay, but suffers 
from lack of depth and 
options 


п Replay Value: 
Moderate 


` She's out for Blo 


FIND WITH vi ILE HAND. SHE CAN ALMOST THSTE "99 


Vampire Apocalypse 


- Fnplarg secluded swamps and ТИ dungeons, 
tranquil foresta and ancient erypts 
- Crouch, jump. toll. site-step. anm] stash and dash 
- Fuperience ever-changing landscapes, 
laser an poyer performance 
- Roam Freely throughout open 
ШИШИТИП ИТ ТЕЙ 


t 


Metro3D, Inc. 


E PlayStation2 (© Dreamcast. Zens 


DREAMCAST 


RED DOG 


WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? 


ehicular combat fans 
should appreciate 
Red Dog for its. 


intriguing weapon scheme 
and gorgeous graphics. The 
weapons are what hooked 
me ~ you have one main 
cannon that can be powered 
up for short periods, several 
secondary weapons you 
acquire throughout the gam 
and a defense shield that 
goes up in front of your 
turret. The missions also 
demonstrate enough variety 
and invention to lift Red Dog 
out of the throng of auto 
destructive knockoffs. If you 
discount the fact that you're 
piloting a vehicle, Red Dog is 
really more of a traditional 
action game — and a good 
one at that. - MATT 


| SECOND OPINION | 


| Pace and physics that apply 
only to you. Plus, I can't get 
over the fact that my vehicle's 
Just a moon rover with a gun. 


JAY - 5.5 | 


Powerful se 


Ш STYLE | ТО 4-PLAYER ACTION IM PUBLISHER CRAVE 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
TEEN! 


m Concept: 
The futuristic, heavily-armed 
dune-buggy game has been 
around since Moon Patrol, 
but Red Dog's enormous 
levels and secondary 
weapons make it new again 


m Graphic: 
Superb. TI 
textures and 


framerate 


ш Sound: 
The score doesn't do much, 
to heighten the drai 
neither do the sound effects 


m Playability: 
The camera 
troubl 
difficult. 


3n be quite 
, and aiming is 


п Entertainment: 
A good time, but would have 
been rated higher if not for 
control problems 


m Replay Value: 
Moderate 


f 
й D. sil 
ndary weapons bring the pain like BLAUGH! 


W DEVELOPER ARGONAUT Ii RELEASE OCTOBER 31 


126 GAMEINFORMER 


The backgrounds are fancier, but it's the same old Tetris 


THE NEXT TETRIS: 
ON-LINE EDITION 


TEACHING THE OLD DOG NEW TRICKS 


T etris has been a staple of the gaming diet for years. 


m Concept: 
The greatest puzzle game of 
all time goes online 


m Graphics: 
There's lots of fancy 
background animations that 
can be distracting at times 


SECOND OPINION 
I'd gotten plenty of Tetris back in 


Its countless imitators have come close to besting 

the original, but have never created a formula that is 
so beautifully simple, yet extremely addictive. Indeed, there 
are few gamers who have not fallen under its spell for a 
time. Of course, this begs the question, “Why should | buy 
yet another Tetris title?” 

For some, the newly added Internet functions might be 
reason enough. Via SegaNet, you can log on to engage in 
an online two-player match with anyone around the world. 
Unfortunately, it quickly becomes obvious that it's really no different than playing a traditional 
two-player contest. Sure, it's a neat feature, but 1 can't see Tetris On-Line becoming much of 
a phenomenon amongst gamers. Still, if you couldn't get enough of Chu Chu Rocket, this 
might be a satisfying purchase. – MATT 


п Sound: 
I still miss the old Russian 
music from the NES Tetris 


W Playability: 
It's really impossible to 
improve on perfection, 
although | wouldn't have 
minded some new block 
shapes 


W Entertainment: 
No matter how tired this 
series becomes, it remains 
intensely addictive 


W Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


W STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER PUZZLE I PUBLISHER BLUE PLANET SOFTWARE Ш DEVELOPER CRAVE 
B RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 


Jumping for joy 


DREAMCAST 


4X4 EVOLUTION 


HERE'S MUD IN YOUR EYE 


m Concept: 
Win the race, get the cash 


m Graphics: 
Every vehicle is beautifully 
rendered and the courses 
are gorgeous 


W Sound: 
Your run-of-the-mill engine 
and tire sounds 


п Playability: 
The controls and camera 
settings are easy to learn, 
but hard to master 


SECOND OPINION 


and this is far and away the best. Featuring a Career 

mode that allows players to build up their racing 
stats and modify their vehicles to an almost comical 
degree, 4X4 Evolution will become a pioneer for online 
racers, and could very well prove to be Sega.com's flagship 
title. If addictive qualities alone were the sole basis on 
which games were scored, 4X4 would have received a 10. 
Begin playing 4X4 at your own peril, race fans. It is destined 
to rule your free time with the iron-isted ruthlessness of an 
18th century dictator. – KRISTIAN 


$ ega will debut at least two online racers very soon, 


п Entertainment: 
This will rob you of many 
hours of your life 


п Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


B STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER GATHERING OF DEVELOPERS I DEVELOPER 
TERMINAL REALITY Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 30 


Frogger? 2:! 
Swampy's Revenge 


HASBRO 


Interactive J t M 7 
au Available on „7w 
EVERYONE M ee dg 

n, TEFA 
ERIS P l8" ria 


“KONAMI” and "FROGGER" are the trademarks of KONAMI CO., LTD. 

1981 KONAMI. All Rights Reserved. © 2000 Hasbro Interactive, Ino. All Rights Reserved. 

Sega. Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Enterprises, LTD. 
Game Boy and Game Boy Color are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. O 1989, 1998 Nintendo of America Inc. 
Licensed by Nintendo. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 


Frogger® 2 
Available on 


GAME BOY 


Distributed by Majesco Sales, Inc. - A Majesco, Inc. Company 
160 Raritan Center Parkway 

Edison, М) 08837 (732) 225-8910 
www.majescosales.com 


mm " 
NIS 


Featured Skaters-findy Macdonald 
Danny Шау 

Colin Mckay 

Rick Howard 

Brian Howard 

Rob Dyrdek 

Josh Kalis 

.. Stevie Williams 

-Alan Petersen 

. Keith Hufnagel 


dor Barbier 


Sports: Skateboarding Featuring Andy Macdonald - Game and Software © 2000 Yellowbelly Corporation. Developed by Darkblack for Yellowbelly. "MTV 
" names, trademarks, and os and alll related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. "МТУ: Music — . 
ision" name, trademark and all related titles and logos are trademarks of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. Game and software exclusively 

d and published by THQ Inc. MTV Sports exclusively licensed to THQ Inc. THQ, the THQ logo, Skateboarding, and the Skateboarding logo are trademarks EVERYONE 
à registered trademarks of THQ Inc. Andy Macdonald used under exclusive license by THO Inc. All other trademarks and logos are property of their respec- 
tive owners. All rights reserved. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment of America for use with the Sony PlayStation game console. PlayStation and the 
PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon. is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. 
Sega is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. eon, Dreamcast and the Dreamcast logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA 

its reserved. NINTENDO AND THE OFFICIAL SEAL ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO OF 

Е BOY AND GAME BOY COLOR ARE TRADEMARKS OF NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. (c) 1989, 1998 NINTENDO OF AMERICA INC. 


Mild Animated Violence 
Mild Language 


| Enterprises, Ltd. (ee ENTERPRISES, LTD., 2000. All ri 


AMERICA INC. GAT 


FEATURING ANDY MACDONALD ™ 


6 ATEBOARW 


Deftones 
Cupress Hill 
Pennywise 

System of a Down 
opm 

Snapcase 
Goldfinger 

Pilfers 
No Use for a Name 
Flashpoint 


< WINDOWS 
сет 95/98 


Sega© Dreamcast. 


TEIZ 
www.thq.com 


"Without a 
doubt, Red 
Alert 2 is one 
of Westwood's 


finest." 


ut revenge is sweet 


130 GAMEINFORMER 


day | heard about the wacky units. The fact that they actually 

managed to balance the forces out so well is a true feat, 
given the remarkable diversity of the units and structures in the 
вате. Both sides of the conflict have been painstakingly 
tweaked to create a web of strategic thinking that will have 
people writing FAQs and strategy guides for a long time. 

Red Alert 2 sticks with the same general balancing 
philosophy of the first C&C RA, but adds a few twists. Once 
again, the Allies still have the subtle advantages of superior 
information gathering, advantageous base structures, and 
Stealth options, while the Soviets continue to crush their 
enemies with brute force. However, each side has been given a 
few new options to make up for their shortcomings. 

The Soviets, for instance, can combine mind control with their 
special Crazy lvan demolition units to send kamikaze cows (or 
any other neutral critter) into hapless enemy bases for some 
devious bovine destruction. The Soviets also gain some much- 
needed intel-gathering skill, with a Psychic Sensor device that 
detects incoming attacks targeted at base structures, then 
plots the course of the offending unit. 

The Allies add some oomph to their land-based units and 
base defenses with prism technology. Prism Towers and Prism 
Tanks unleash devastating beams of focused light that split into 
multiple beams when nailing enemies, making them deadly 
against tightly.grouped enemy formations. 


E had a really good feeling about this game from the first 


CRY HAVOC AND LET LOOSE THE COWS OF WAR 


There are also some new gameplay features. The Mobile 
Construction Yard, for instance, can now be redeployed 
back into vehicle form after establishing a base in 
multiplayer. This eliminates the need for 
sandbagging, which no longer works. Infantry 
have also become a lot more useful in urban 
environments, where they can garrison buildings 
with up to ten units, allowing them to take out small 
groups of tanks and large forces of enemy infantry 
with ease. 

The humorous cutscenes are another star feature of 
the game. One of my favorites depicts a beleaguered 
US President Dugan, after some devastating losses, 
making a press announcement in a run-down shack. In 
the middle of a statement about the need to maintain secrecy 
in regards to his present location, a Canadian flag falls from the 
backdrop and a frantic Marine quickly removes it. 

As for the multiplayer game, it's barely been 24 hours since | 
crushed Kristian and several very nice, and undeserving 
Westwood employees, and I'm kicking myself for not having 
tried a mass monkey-bomb attack on someone. Seriously 
though, 1 can't stop thinking of things to try, and 1 haven't 
even played around with the Allies yet. Without a doubt, 
Red Alert 2 is one of Westwood's finest. – ERIK 


II STYLE | TO 8-PLAYER STRATEGY I PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS li DEVELOPER WESTWOOD STUDIOS 


E RELEASE OCTOBER 24 
a 


Crazy Ivan makes this kamikaze-cow attack possible 


Once Kirov battle blimps start dropping their payload, it's all over 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


m Concept: 
The same old C&C style with 
well-updated features and 
excellent unit balancing 


и Graphics: 
They won't blow your mind, 
but they won't slow you 
down either 


ш Sound: 
Fantastic voice-overs, sound 
effects, and the best music 
since the original C&C 


ш Playability: 
C&C veterans can jump in 
right away, but a few new 
features will pleasantly 


This horde of Terror Drones will make short work of these tanks surprise them 


You might want to postpone 
any longterm relationships 
Є E or other commitments 


I Replay Value: 
High 


SECOND OPINION 


| Oh Westwood Studios, where. 

| would we be without you? By we, 

| Lof course mean RTS fans 
worldwide. We've been yanked 

| and jerked in all directions by 

| umpteen production houses 
promising the “next best thing" 

| in RTS gaming, only to be given 

| halfbaked piece of cold, hard 
crap (Force Commander, I'm 

| looking in your direction). 

| Westwood has done the smart 


8 thing - it's not saying RA2 is 
т = 5 » going to change the face of 
It’ d idea to ki fi thi tter ke hen Р! Tanks she 
22 idea to еер a inger near the scatter у nem fanks show up | gaming, it's taking something 
U a & 5 that works, then adding to it 
DU 3 Б jÎ RA2 is an RTS gamer's fantasy. 


| Detailed missions, numerous and 

| varied units, as well as Intemet 

| play are just a few of the things 

| designed to keep us coming 

back for more. That Westwood 

| would stick to its guns, and 

| make a good game even better, 

| Is indicative of the company's 

| focus on us, the gaming public, 

| Instead of pandering to cube 

slaves who insist that if a game | 

| doesn't "expand ће genre" it’s a | 

| failure. | 
KRISTIAN - 9.25 | 


RAINBOW SIX: 
COVERT OPS 
ESSENTIALS 


BRAINS, BRAWN, AND BULLETS 
A ll you Clancy fans out there may have to change 


your pants after spending five minutes with Covert 

Ops Essentials. Anyone who's ever read a Clancy 
novel and wondered what it would be like to actually be in 
the action will have all questions answered with COE. 

To begin with, there are two discs: a training disc and a 
mission disc. Being a Clancy fan, | was expecting a lot of 
attention to detail. There's so much detail in the training 
disc that | was actually paying attention to these 
enormous texts about everything from nonlethal weaponry 
to covert insertion techniques. There's anything and 
everything you military sim fans ever wanted to know 
about the ups and downs of primary weapons like the 
Steyr Aug or secondary weapons like the HK .45 Mark 23. 
Plus, there are interviews, articles, and just about 
anything else you could ever want for your own invasion of 
Iraq, or neutralization of an irritating neighbor's meth lab. 

The mission disc runs on the same engine as Rogue 
Spear, but there are some minor tweaks. The landscapes 
have been given a facelift. Hills are more realistic looking 
and the backgrounds are sharper. The sounds and general 
ambiance of the missions are smooth as silk. This is a 
game for the hardest of the hardcore Clancy/military sim 
buff. Anyone else just won't understand — KRISTIAN 


Speak softly and carry an HK MPSSD5 _ 


Ш STYLE | ТО 16-PLAYER ACTION/STRATEGY Ш PUBLISHER 
RED STORM ENTERTAINMENT INC. lii DEVELOPER MAGIC 
LANTERN PLAYWARE Ш RELEASE SEPTEMBER 20 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


W Concept: 
A thinking man's shooter 


m Graphics: 
Dy-no-mite! 


п Sound: 
Getting blown away never 
sounded so good 


m Playability: 
The learning curve is quite 
high if you're not 
accustomed to the engine 
W Entertainment: 


Once you figure everything 
out, it's hard to quit 


I Replay Value: 
Moderate 


| The nine missions in Essentials 

| are challenging and cool, but 

| the real goods are on the 

| game's training CD. It's an 
information stockpile of 
fascinating information, videos, 
pictures, and tests to see how 
much information you managed 
to absorb into your noggin. The 
topics range from tactics and 

jeapons to psychology and 
іѕќогу. | found myself deeply 

fascinated by most of the 

| material, especially the 

| historical stuff. 1 was a little 

| disappointed in the future 

| weaponry section of the 

| training. The military is working 

| on pretty interesting stuff and 

| it's being perfectly open about. 

| it, but only two new 

| technologles were mentioned. 1 

| also thought the speculation 

| about sticking with gunpowder 

| was a little shortsighted. Not 
an ultimate encyclopedia, but a 

| great jumping point for Clancy 

| addicts and war nerds. 


ERIK - 8.25 


GAMEINFORMER 131 


М № 


called No One Waits Forever, since that's what it seemed 
like | was doing from time to time. I'm not a Ritalin addict 
who needs to be entertained every second, but for a PC game 
to drag its feet on a top-oftheline system like | have is 
\ something to furrow one's brow about. Granted, the 
environments are very large, and there's a lot going on in them, 
but two minutes between mission briefings and the actual 
\ game is a bit excessive. 
Speaking of excess, this is what NOLF is all about. If you like 
W cleavage, there's excessive cleavage at every turn. If you like 
Y taking a guy down, then pouring more shots into his head at 
point blank range, well, you're going to have a lot opportunity 
for that. There's just a ton to do in this game. The speech is 
another feature that adds to gameplay. The reactions NPCs 
have to different situations is particularly impressive. If you're 
lucky enough to be able to sneak up on a couple of guards 
having a conversation, you'll be able to eavesdrop until you're 
bored, then pull back to put a slug through one of their heads. 
If you let his partner react, he'll probably lean over the body and 
say something like "Are you okay?". Feel free to send the 
second person home to his creator at that point. 
There are over 30 weapons and gadgets to play with, 


| to think that No One Lives Forever should have been 


ONE LIVES 
REVER 


PAISLEY PANTS AND ROCKET LAUNCHERS 


including a briefcase that launches rockets, exploding lipstick, 
and a robotic poodle. With each weapon comes advantages 
and disadvantages. The AK-47 will give you great suppressing 
fire, but the muzzle blast inhibits your vision and the kick 
affects its accuracy. The revolver has great knockdown power, 
but can’t be fitted with a silencer. They're all things that add to 
the realism and gameplay. 

Technically, the game is trying quite hard. There are a lot of 
elements present in No One Lives Forever that haven’t been 
done well before and, unfortunately, still haven't. The texturing 
on the faces is a step in the right direction in terms of coloring 
and simulating realistic movement, but it's not anything that 
wasn't being toyed with a year ago. The environments are very 
impressive, but there are still pop-up issues and polygon 
integrity problems that hamper the game. 

On the plus side, there are 18 different zones where NPCs 
will respond to damage inflicted, with specific recoil and death 
animations for each. AI is particularly impressive during a 
firefight as units will coordinate their attack by laying down 
suppressing fire for each other, or will fan out to search for you 
once you've been spotted. These, plus other delectable details 
should make sure this title sees its share of daylight. 

- KRISTIAN 


B RELEASE NOVEMBER 10 


Take a sled ride 


AK-47 muzzle flash can hamper accuracy 


132 GAME INFORMER 


Ш STYLE 1 TO 16-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE Iii PUBLISHER FOX INTERACTIVE I DEVELOPER MONOLITH 


RY Picked up 9mm РМ) ( 10) 
Î Picked up 9mm dum dum (100 


Get some, sucka! 


m Concept: 
Assume the role of vixen spy 
Cate Archer circa 1964, 
travel to exotic places, and 
shoot people. 


m Graphics: 
Choppy framerates can tax 
your patience at times, but 
otherwise adequate enough 
so you're not thinking about it 


и Sound: 
Typical sounds for this genre, 
but there are a few goodies 
here and there 


п Playability: 
An easy game to jump into. 
The controls are intuitive and 
don't get in the way 


п Entertainment: 
A fun little shooter when 
you're not waiting for load 
time or a cut scene 


m Replay Value: 
Moderate 


SECOND OPINION 


| I was really looking forward to | 
| checking this game out after | 
seeing it at E3, but | was a 
| little disappointed. То its credit, | 
| it's an attractive game with a 
| fairly solid engine. Although, | 
| the frames tended hook up from | 
| time to time, even on our 
| recently acquired gigahertz 
| machines. | certainly wouldn't | 
| recommend it to anyone witha | 
| PC that's more than a year old. | 
1 think my major problem is that | 
| the game can't seem to decide | 
what it wants to be. At times. 
| it's a goofy series of тіпі- | 
| games and somewhat | 
| humorous or interesting 1 
| cutscenes. At other points it's | 
| a serious FPS spy game where | 
stealth is key. As far as first- — | 
| person shooters go, however, | 
| it's not very innovative. Many of ` 
| the gadgets were really just 


| regular guns aren't too | 
| exciting. NOLF is solid, but | 
| nothing to write home about. | 
ERIK - 7.5 | 

а 


“The detail that 
goes into each 
and every 
object is remi 
niscent of the 
quality of 
Norse crafts- 
manship 


itself." 


!w | 


Flame on Ragnar! 


D 


Ê 
Random jets of flame in a dungeon?! 


The Viking elevator was way 
before its time 


К 


RAGNAR ROCKS 


n Rune, players take on the role of Ragnar, a young 
Jie warrior chosen by Odin to hack and slash his way 

through hordes of monsters in an attempt to thwart the 
evil Loki's plans. Hacked mythology aside, one thing Human 
Head Studios did an incredible job on was the game's 
gorgeous environments. The landscape is loaded with an 
enormous number of different textures and beautiful art. 
The detail that goes into each and every object is 
reminiscent of the quality of Norse craftsmanship itself. 

That aside, the gameplay is pretty basic. Ragnar can 
open doors, jump, and climb ropes, but melee abilities get 
the heaviest use. Ragnar can attack and do combos, and 
he can even throw weapons (including disembodied limbs 
and heads) at enemies. For defense, shields can be 
picked up and used to block attacks, although they break 
apart after absorbing too much damage. 

Ragnar can find swords, blunt weapons, and axes 
throughout the game. Each category of weapon has 
certain advantages and disadvantages. Swords are quick 
and work best against lightly armored opponents, while 
axes are better at getting through slower, medium-armored 
opponents. Blunt weapons do their best number on 
shields and heavy armor. There are six unique weapons 
for each category. Each weapon possesses its own set of 
attacks and combos, plus a special power. 


| 


As Ragnar moves through the game, he picks up runes 
that enable him to use magic. With rune magic, each 
weapon in the game gets a special power. These range 
from subtle and protective abilities like invisibility and a 
magic shield, to more potent, destructive abilities like 
lightning and a vampiric attack that heals Ragnar every 
time he scores a hit. Although some of these abilities are 
extremely powerful, the required runes are pretty far and 
few between, forcing the player to conserve rune energy 
for tough situations. With all the attacks, combos, thrown 
weapons, and rune powers, there are over 400 attack 
animations in the game. 

When Ragnar isn't killing something, he's usually trying 
to find a switch, navigate a series of tricky jumps, or 
simply figure out where the heck the entrance is to the 
next area. This is one aspect of the game I'm not exactly 
blown away by. While some of the puzzles are fairly 
interesting, most of it's pretty standard Tomb Raider/FPS 
stuff. Thank Odin you don't have to push blocks around. 1 
had also hoped there would be a little more story to 
accompany the incredible artistry. If the developers had 
done a better job of capturing the essence of Norse 
mythology, rather than using it as a pretty backdrop for a 
hack n' slasher, it could have been a much more 
interesting experience. — ERIK 


B STYLE 1 TO 16-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER GATHERING OF DEVELOPERS lii DEVELOPER HUMAN HEAD STUDIOS 


B RELEASE OCTOBER 31 


E 


Lu. 


Argh! It's a...Fjord Crab! 


„REVIEWS 


j 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
MATURE 


m Concept: 
Kill stuff, flip switches, and 
search for the right path 


m Graphics: 
Drop-dead gorgeous 


m Sound: 
| would have enjoyed the 
voice-overs more if they'd 
been Scandinavian, but still 
good 


п Playability: 
The FPS-style control is 
simple and effective 


W Entertainment: 
The game has beautiful 
environments that are a 
pleasure to hack through, 
but the switch puzzles get 
pretty old pretty fast 


W Replay Value: 
Moderately Low 
| SECOND OPINION 
I, being of Viking descent, had | 
a particular interest in Rune. | 
| Hoping that it wouldn't suck, | | 
loaded it on my machine, | 
expecting the worst. The 
Instant the game began, | knew 
this would be one for the All- 
| Time Best vault. Rune kicks 
| ass on so many levels, it’s hard 
| to pick just a few. 
| Cinematically, this game swept 
me off my feet. The beginning | 
sequence Is truly something to | 
be seen (if you're a self- | 
respecting PC gamer). | 
Gameplay and graphics are | 
easy and engrossing 
respectively, while the 
seamless FMV comes at all the 
right times. The Rune powers. 
may be a bit on the so-so side, 
| but the weapon and armor 
| designs make up for it. The 
realism of the different 
Weapons, coupled with the 
‘subtle and incredibly effective 
| sounds, add depth where many 
| hack n’ slashers are 
| particularly lacking. Rune is a 
| well designed, well planned, 
and well implemented romp. Be 
f a berserker, buy this game. 
| KRISTIAN - 9 | 


GAMEINFORMER 133 


REVIEWS 


Ps 


ОРУН 


е ia 


Yellowhead. Йаа? 1 
B. idonei ано 5 бош 
Yellowhead: Bag? taken 
Yellowhead: *Potion? taken 


WIZARDS & 
WARRIORS 


A FEW CLOWNS SHY OF A CIRCUS 


s an upgrade to the THE BOTTOM LINE 
A style of role-playing |МАТОНЕ 

made popular іп the V 
longrunning Might & Magic 
and Wizardry series, Wizards 
& Warriors clings to too many ш Concept: 
of the old ideas without doing Wizardry and Might & Magic 
enough justice to the new UE ао 
style of environments. Р 
Roaming abut in ap Я s worse, but it's 
popu m. Kind definitely below the bar 


A LEAD-FOO 


О һ, how I long for the day when I can take my Audi TT out for a night of destruction 


Mi D E О WN и Concept: 
Tear ass around London and 
San Francisco in cool new 
rides. Smash said rides to 
pieces 
FANTASY m Graphics: 
The vehicles are tight, but 
the different cities’ polys 
in a consequence-free environment. Until that day comes, l'II stick with Midtown could be better 


Madness 2. | guess you could call this game a Driver clone without the ‘70s п Sound: 
The sounds are better than | 


theme, but that would be an understatement. j 
expected for a racing game. 


Like any other racer you play, it's always more interesting when you can come up with 


i i W Sound: Н МЕА н From sirens to the screams 
serious lack of detail. Plus, Pen SIS SUIS and your own routes. ММ2 not only allows creative pathfinding, it encourages it. The more you of terrified pedestrians, you 
switching between magic, sounds, but most of them play, the better you learn the city you're driving in. You have to pick your way through the won't be disappointed 


weapons, and special skills is are lame 

simply too awkward when п Playability: 
enemies come straight at you The party system is 
with their bows firing. 1 Still 
might have enjoyed it, but the 
constant bugs were driving 
me crazy. – ERIK 


a serious upgrade. 
B Entertainment: 


couple of hours 


W Replay Value: 
Low 


| SECOND OPINION | 


Cikals Garno 159 бхр 
Efkata: On my wap 
ikala: Ready at tbe Collin... 
Royal Mummy Vomite! 


awkward at best and needs 


If it hadn't crashed so often, 
| might have enjoyed it for a 


W STYLE |-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME I PUBLISHER 
ACTIVISION I DEVELOPER HEURISTIC PARK I RELEASE 
SEPTEMBER 27 


134 GAMEINFORMER 


back streets, and even some buildings, to unlock the different vehicles and paint jobs in 


Cruisin' on the Golden Gate 


E STYLE 1 TO 8-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER MICROSOFT Ш DEVELOPER ANGEL STUDIOS 


RELEASE SEPTEMBER 21 


the game. You do this 
through checkpoint races, 
disabling other drivers" 
rides, or following 
Someone as they make 
their way through the city. 
The paint jobs can be 
pretty cool, but the 
different cars you unlock 
are just sweet. Plus, they 
all handle differently: the 
TT turns on a dime, the 
Caddy drives like a boat. 
For the road rager, MM2 
is a nice place to release 
all the pentup anger that 
results from getting your 
license suspended. Your 
races can be customized 
to alter the number of 
cops in your area, the 
traffic density and time of 
day, plus more. | would 
definitely suggest anyone 
who liked Driver go buy 
this game. The game's 


and addictive gameplay 


will keep you coming back. 


— KRISTIAN 


т Playability: 
Easy to play, and easy to 
learn 


Entertainment: 
Everybody would love to 
plow into a cop at 103 mph. 
ММ2 gives you ample 
opportunity to do this, and 
more 


п Replay Value: 
High 


| SECOND OPINION 
Since Twisted Metal 2 and 
Felony 11-79, I've come to 


Madness isn't all that 
‘spectacular graphically, but it is. 
a refreshing wild ride through 
the city. The physics ignore. 
reality and make it possible to 
smash through hordes of cars, 
telephone poles, and hundreds 
of other objects with relative. 
ease. As far as shocking 
Congress goes, it's a relatively 

| tame game. Pedestrians leap. 

| ош of the way instead of 

| splattering on your windshield, 
| and the level of destruction is 
limited to objects on the 

| streets, rather than entire 

| buildings and monuments. 
Overall, it's nothing 
| spectacular, but the level of 

| challenge and diversity of 

| vehicles to try keeps it real. 


ERIK - 7. 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


BLA 6.75 
BLAIR WITCH = 5 9 
VOLUME ONE: 
RUSTIN PARR 


TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE W Graphics: 


€ ongratulations to Terminal Reality, the latest in a Wait a second, | thought I'd 


m Concept: 
Murder, death, kill... 


long line of bandwagon jumpers trying to get a piece already played Nocturne 
of the Blair Witch action. Unfortunately, the E Sound: 

developers made a mediocre attempt. In Blair Witch The screams and gunshots 
Volume One: Rustin Parr, you play a young Englishwoman will keep you on your toes 
named Doc Sullivan. Doc tries like hell to find Rustin Parr, ш Playability: 
the Burkettsville baddie. It seems he has done not-so-nice Nocturne veterans will have 
things to local children, and you are charged with finding no problem jumping in 
out why. Along your search, you encounter various foul- 
tempered monsters that try to devour you. This, of course, It's an acquired taste 
means you must shoot them in the face...or anywhere, it п Replay Value: 
doesn't really matter. Combat is your basic point-and-shoot Low 
interface, and interaction with the world around you is a bit 
awkward. The graphics are adequate, but BW's real 
strength comes in the sounds and situations your 
character passes through. Some are refreshingly cinematic 
at times, and even I felt my heart start beating faster now 
and again. 

This aside, you might put this game in your machine and surprised | 
think that it looks really familiar. Well, you'd be right. What I р, 
Terminal Reality has done here is dump a Blair Witch | Noctume with the Blair Witch 
scenario on top of its Nocturne engine. Dark and clumsy, it | name tagged on, І was ready to | 


ш Entertainment: 


Y t з 1 | eut it to ribbons. 
rese t ies bi ш E "eda n "i ida | they did improve a bit on level 
you're a fan of Nocturne, you'll probably dig this. I'm | design and the game has taken 


not, so | didn't. Go figure. – KRISTIAN 


| every single woman in the game | 
| sports double Ds regardless of | 
| age, role, or general | 
| attractiveness. I've got better | 
| games to play, but if you liked | 
| Noctume, you may like this one | 
even more. 


ERIK - 7.25 | 


i ` 
That’s one big muzzle flash 


STAR TREK 018.25 
VOYAGER: 

ELITE FORCE 5 Per ee guys, try not 
JANEWAY'S JUGGERNAUT 


The levels are solid, and the 
effects are quite nice 


shooter genre, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force is 


. It's diffi i Tr ш Sound: 
really well done. It's difficult to find a Star Trek AGGRO eae 


sounds add a lot; the voices 
are the icing on the cake 


F or basically being a rehash of ye olde first-person 


shooter that the average gamer can sink his or her teeth 

into. EF is the closest I've seen. The Star Trek name 

typically either turns you on to a game, or turns you off. Ў 

If it turns you off, EF tries very hard to win you over Ы RE dg 

anyway. The sounds and graphics compliment each problem i 

other perfectly, and the missions give you a taste for the m Entertainment 

frontal assault, as well as the covert op. I'm not a big Star Trek fan, 
The amount of speech in the game was something and I dug this game 

that grabbed me immediately. Characters can be Я 

overheard having their own conversations about a а Конгу уаще: 

conduit they're repairing, or even the food they're 

eating. Not only that, it's obvious the Voyager television 

actors spent a bunch of time in the Foley studio for this 

one. All of their voices add a lot to the realism in EF. 
For the Trekkie and the shooter fiend, this is a must. 

The sounds, the voices, and the painstaking realism are 

just too much to pass up. For the rest of us, if renting 

PC games was possible, | would say have at it. There 

are things that will turn your crank. Otherwise, a nice 

foot massager would probably give you the same 

satisfaction. – KRISTIAN 


| SECOND OPINION 
| This is the best Star Trek game | 
| I've ever played. That's not 


| game with TV/movie license | 


| show rather than simply relying | 
| on the name alone. Trekkies (not | 
| Trekkers, you PC handfed 


: А | freaks) will ove it, and shooter | 
% S | fans will too. Voyager: Elite Force | 

% € | Is top notch. | 

} | 

WE » ERIK - 9 | 


Don't take any guff from those swine 


W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE Ш PUBLISHER GATHERING OF DEVELOPERS 
E DEVELOPER TERMINAL REALITY Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 2 


W STYLE 1 TO 12-PLAYER SHOOTER Ш PUBLISHER ACTIVISION Ш DEVELOPER RAVEN 
SOFTWARE Ii RELEASE SEPTEMBER 26 


GAMEINFORMER 135 


"the best 
wrestling game 
the current 
generation of 
«onsoles will 


have." 


а E 
Although not as interactive as those 
in SmackDown... 


interesting 


136 GAME INFORMER 


E 


AFA 


'ou've got to appreciate THQ's approach to its wrestling 
Y= It makes sure to acquire very playable and 

versatile engines for the first game, then continues to 
make improvements that don’t bog down the fun as the series 
goes along. WWF No Mercy is a perfect example of this 
business model. It has the same gameplay of WCW Revenge, 
and most of the accoutrements of WrestleMania 2000, yet 
hoards of new features make it a musthave for N64 owners. 

The Create-A-Superstar has been beefed up considerably. 
Players still have the ability to micromanage their wrestlers’ 
repertoire down to the most minor of moves, but appearance 
options are at least twice those of its predecessor. I'd even go 
so far as to say that it nearly rivals Acclaim's (but | give more 
props to No Mercy since you actually want to play the game 
with the wrestlers you make). 

Multiplayer is what will give this game longevity, but I'm glad 
to see that major efforts have been made in the single-player 
arena. Championship mode allows players to go after their 
choice of the federation’s seven belts. With each belt comes a 
unique story with branching plotlines that change depending on 
whether you win or lose certain matches — and winning the belt 
doesn’t even take you through half of the tale to be told. For 
every win in Championship, cash is awarded that can be used 


ULOUS FINISHING MOVE 


to hire characters, or purchase costumes, weapons, and 
moves. 

No Mercy even shares a few features with its PlayStation 
brethren. Backstage areas are now accessible when there isn't 
a count out, giving Hardcore matches much more flair. Players 
can also relive all their favorite Hardy Boyz moments by 
participating in a Ladder Match. Use the ladder to grab the belt 
suspended above the ring, or as a convenient platform for high- 
risk maneuvers. 

All these improvements have created a few flaws, however. 
Slowdown is noticeable with four characters onscreen 
(especially during a Ladder Match), and adding more reversals 
has made the computer Al a bigger pain in the ass than it 
already was. It's certainly challenging to have your opponent 
counter everything you do, but about as fun as chewing gravel. 
And could somebody please think of a clever way to keep tag 
and four-corner matches from taking a half-hour? 

Despite my complaints, there's no denying this is a great 
game — probably the best wrestling game the current 
generation of consoles will have. Long after the sun has set on 
the Nintendo 64, you'll still be pulling it out of the back of your 
closet to play a few more rounds of No Mercy. – JAY 


E STYLE 1 TO 4-PLAYER FIGHTING Ш PUBLISHER THQ Ш DEVELOPER ASMIK/AKI I RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 


UpPer-Body. 
Upper Body. 


Others > 


...there are even more ways to make a fool of yourself 


Hey JERICHO! 
You better start polishing that belt of yours, 
since it’s going to be mine soon! 


‘SmackdounMall shop 
© ETRE] [NES] RTE 


Backlash Arena 


Barbed  Wire2 xa) 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


TEEN 


m Concept: 
The same engine you know 
and love stacked with new 
features galore 


m Graphics: 
More animations, and a bit 
sharper looking, but with 
noticeable slowdown when 
four characters are onscreen 


W Sound: 
The same as always, but the 
nutshot wouldn't be the 
same without that ding 


E Playability: 
More reversals make for 
better multiplayer action and 
more-frustrating Al 


W Entertainment: 
If you like wrestling, this is 
the cart you'll still be pulling 
out years from now 


п Replay Value: 
High 


SECOND OPINION 


| The continuation of the 


Nintendo 64 series was In need 
of some significant changes, 
and THQ answered the call of 
all the whiney wrestling fans 
out there. Borrowing a few 
moves from the PS-X release, 
SmackDown, this 64-bit update 
now features a hefty TV-style 
presentation that has it all - 


| backstage capers, taunting 
| between rivals, and strange. 
| twists by the devil himself, 


Vince McMahon. Along with 


| this key ingredient, the Career 


mode offers story branching. 


| and the ability to spend cash on 
| clothing, bodyguards, and new 


moves. THQ also worked 
wonders with the Create-A- 


| Superstar, allowing players to 
| tweak practically everything. 
| As expected, the gameplay 


hasn't changed too terribly 
much. The CPU Al is a tad 
more vicious now, but that’s 
about the extent of it. Despite 
the familiar ring play, the new. 


| material is too cool to pass up. 


BACKSTAGE 
ASSAULT 


BACKDOOR ASSAULT IS MORE 
LIKE IT 


hat do you get when you take the wrestling ring and 
W:: out of a wrestling game? | don't know, but | 

know 1 don't like it. After an admirable start with 
Mayhem, EA has taken a bizarre swerve that belies the 
developer's scant knowledge of what wrestling fans want from a 
video game. 

Nary a rope or turnbuckle can be found in Backstage Assault. 
Rather, all matches begin in one of a handful of environments 
that are presumably located in the bowels of an arena. Here 
players will find makeshift weapons to bash opponents with, 
and objects to climb and leap off. 

You might think that since there is no ring, the backstage 
areas would have many interactive facets to them — but you'd 
be wrong. Both No Mercy and SmackDown have better- 
designed backrooms. That's beside the point, however. For 
even if this game's engine, environments, and graphics were as 
good as those games, I'd still rip it a new hole for choosing 
against any in-ring action whatsoever. 

With the absence of a squared circle, one starts wondering 
why there's announcers, or even the sounds of a crowd 
reacting. Why even bother including elements of professional 
wrestling when what you're creating isn't even a wrestling 
game? EA should have buried this project early in the 
conceptual process. – JAY 


Еу" 
з | e52 [ 
“OF NECA Д ow — | 


The Create-A-Superstar is barely adequate 


W STYLE 1 ТО 4-PLAYER FIGHTING Ш PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC 
ARTS Ш DEVELOPER KODIAK INTERACTIVE I RELEASE 
NOVEMBER 21 


esas. 

W Concept: 
Is a wrestling game without a 
ring still a wrestling game? 


m Graphics: 
Even with an Expansion Pak, 
everything is blurry and 
undefined 


W Sound: 
Commentary without Mark 
Madden isn't worth 
listening to 


m Playability: 
Bad collision fields and 
characters who don’t 
automatically face one 
another create unparalleled 
frustration 


W Entertainment: 
Even the most dedicated 
WCW fans (all three of them) 
will have trouble enjoying this. 


W Replay Value: 
Moderately Low 


SECOND OPINION 


| Did the lead designer have a 
lobotomy done prior to the 

| development of this unsound 
wrestling title, or is the rumor 
true that everything the WCW 

| logo touches turns to crap 

| within a year? | was quite 
impressed with EA's maiden 
release, Mayhem, and 1 would 
have loved to see a follow-up 

| rather than this defective. 

| departure. | suppose the 

| "wrestling out of the ring" 

| aspect could work, but why not 

| make it an additional feature to 

| the standard mix like THQ has 

| done with No Mercy and 
SmackDown? Backstage 
Assault is a catastrophe, a 
terrible, terrible game, and 
another stake into the heart of 
WCW. What's EA's next step? 
Oh маќ... know! Maybe it will 

| be a Tomb Raiderlike game 

| with Sting searching for the 
Scorpion Stone. Better yet, it 

could be WCW in hell, where 
Goldberg must take on the devil 

| to win the belt. 


REINER - 3 


GAMEINFORMER 137 


REVIEWS 


steve 


P 


^| wear my sunglasses at night so | can, so | can" mode adds a nice twist to the already irresistible gameplay 


NINTENDO 64 


POKÉMON PUZZLE 
LEAGUE HM 


TETRIS ATTACK MEETS PIKACHU Pokémon, and sell millions 


ENDO 64 ) п Graphics: 
ersonally, | can't stand Pokémon any more, but | SECOND OPINION | Nothing spectacular, but the 
р you slap the franchise on a classic SNES SECOND OPINION Pokémon art is nice if you are 


MS. PAC-MAN | : 
game like Tetris Attack and add a 3D mode, you're | I think Andy and I share the | into that kind of thing 
MAZE MADNESS going te dci me hooked: ышк ыо ен | ол SN wee | mon making lots of 
N А x | the е 
Tetris Attack, the concept is simple. You switch the | Фм Дол | Pokémon noises... annoying, 


THE DIVINE MS. P location of two pieces of the puzzle trying to make | options make this incarnation | but bearable 
combos and large blocks that in turn dump blocks on | even more desirable. | mPlayability: 
| was a big fan of this Я 


your opponent. The bigger the combo or block, the bigger | REINER - 8.5 | With six play modes, mostly in 
вате on the PlayStation, the mess you drop on your opponent. With puzzle, — Е 2D and some 3D modes, Tetris 
and I'm happy to report training, multiplayer, and single-player games there is Attack....uh...| mean Pokémon 
that the addictive, puzzle- plenty here; but be prepared for a barrage of Pokémon sound effects and art. If you are rd pecu ae ми 
oriented gameplay remains into puzzlers, | can't recommend this game enough, even if you don't like Pokémon. If 


untouched. | admire the way  ™ Concept: you do, they are an added bonus. - ANDY п Entertainment: 


i A blend of maze action and Addictive as can be, with a 
the developers took the basis great multiplayer mode 


of what made the original box pues 
Pac-Man games so m Graphics: E STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER PUZZLE IBI PUBLISHER NINTENDO Ш DEVELOPER NINTENDO п Replay Value: 
compelling, and managed to Almost identical to the PS-X SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY fl RELEASE SEPTEMBER 25 Moderately High 
yeloventte b ding M version, but what’s up with 

nt it by sending Ms. the chuggy framerate? 


Pac-Man into a world of large З 

mazes filled with puzzles, Е зош. tho a 
doors, and switches. It’s not "chomp" sound effect 
a grand concept, but its 


simple pleasures were = Playability: 


Control is solid, making it 


enough to keep me playing. easy to negotiate the mazes 
On the downside, | was very and obstacles 

perturbed to see that this п Entertainment: 

port is plagued by some Enjoyable, but graphical 
annoying slowdown in the slowdown is hard to ignore. 
framerate. C'mon people, if п Replay Value: 

Capcom can pull off a Moderate. 


reasonably good version of 
Resident Evil 2 on N64, I 
think the technology exists to 
port this modest little game 
without any graphical hitches. 


- 


| SECOND OPINION | 


This update of the classic is 

definitely fun, even though it’s 
incredibly easy. So with that in 
mind, I think it's a good rental 


Boss battles are not for the faint of heart ZZ Top sure looks old these days 


THE BOTTOM LINE 


NINTENDO 64 |EVERYONE 


Consider Maze Madness a | as you can check out the cool | 
Solid effort marked down for level designs and pass the time | MEGA MAN 64 
with some old-school fun. а 


sloppy execution. — MATT 
ANDY - 7 


THE GAME REMAINS THE SAME — 


M: Man 64 perfectly illustrates the М oti port of tis oneal 
frustrations that Nintendo owners have had to | ева Man Legends for 
suffer. It’s not a bad game. Far from it. It’s SECOND OPINION m Graphics: | . 
just a port of a game that everyone played two years Mega Man Legends was a good The graphics have definitely 


Т " А 1 game when it came out back in suffered in the move to N64 
ago on PlayStation, only with slightly worse graphics, | September of 1998 for 


and control hampered by the awkward N64 controller. | PlayStation, but now this title и Sound: 
Excited yet? Me neither. Of course, Nintendo stalwarts | seems old (and even looks ie noe 
who have already finished Majora's Mask may not have | worse than it did on the PS-X ` Е s 
oice-overs into this cartridge 
many other options this holiday season. | ee: Se асе li bit " 5 
0 msi il eti gamers y m Playal б 

Тһе pus s long de Muss xe ы) “| , this thro heri The two button auto aim ls 
charm those Mega Man fans who haven't already played | rehash of an old PS-X title Is extremely frustrating 
the superior PlayStation version, and the boss battles | not a bad way to pass the time. 
are thrilling as ever. However, the control — especially f 
the auto-aim and camera rotation — is not a pleasant L 
experience. Capcom should have worked harder to make 


п Entertainment: 
Not bad, but falls short of 
the standards of the series 


п Replay Value: 


Using blocks to fill in holes is a common task Mega Man 64 a more satisfying (and unique) experience – MATT Moderate 
ا‎ oc diui каси EC ee P MEUM 
B STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION/PUZZLE I PUBLISHER NAMCO STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/ADVENTURE IB PUBLISHER CAPCOM Ш DEVELOPER CAPCOM 


B DEVELOPER MASS MEDIA Ш RELEASE DECEMBER 12 E RELEASE NOVEMBER 15 


138 GAME INFORMER 


Choice of 6 
Funtastic 


Color avaltability will vary by store 
Color avallability will vary by store = quantities мо limited, 
- quantitio» aro limited. 


Pokémon Gold Super Marlo Bros. Deluxe Tetris Deluxe 


Expected to be available. 
11/20/00 


» right to delay game title at their discretion. 
k of Funco, Inc. All rights reserved, 


Gold and Silver expected to be available 10/16/00 


Limit one per customer, Qui 


гө limited, Quantities and product selection vary by store. Prices and offers are subject to ch 
Boy, Pokemon and Nintendo are registered trademarks of Nintendo of America, © 2000 


ge at any lime, Manufacture 
о, Inc. FuncoLand is a regis! 


"| thoroughly 


enjoyed my 


rd 


GAME BOY COLOR Ф 


РОКЕМОМ 


~~ SILVER & GOLD 


THE ADDICTION CONTINUES 


Poké-pastures, 
and am sure 
the kids who 
invest time 
with it will love 
it as well.” 


көө 
юш.ттттт 
от/ттттт. 


It moves around 
inside sometimes. 
It must be close 
to hatching. 


Find an egg... 


ntil it hatches. 


|TOGEPI came 
out of its EGG? 


„then marvel at your new Poké-pall!! 


140 GAME INFORMER 


flagship Game Boy series, and is expecting Poké- 

fanatics to devour a record-breaking 10 million units of 
Silver and Gold. Showing that kids still love their cuddly war 
demons, Nintendo secured 600,000 presales; last year's 
Yellow has already sold 4.5 million units; and, in total, Pokémon 
games have reached an astounding 18.7 million units sold to 
date. If the phenomenon is as hugely successful as it was last 
year, Nintendo really shouldn't have a problem reaching this 
landmark figure, but several key factors may make this release 
а disaster. Have kids outgrown the fad? Do kids really want to 
catch “ет all again? 

After investing serious time in both versions of this sequel, | 
was once again hooked and fully immersed in the collectibility 
and frenzied battle Pokémon delivers oh so well. Initially, as | 
searched high and low for fuzzy new creatures, | fought sleep 
by drinking cans of Coca Cola just so | could search a new 
area. Ultimately, | found myself growing tired of the game, and 
finally reached a state of nauseating boredom. Developed with 
toddlers in mind, this Pokémon product is so easy to play and 
fully understand that even monkeys could comprehend it. The 
story, or should 1 say rehash of Blue and Red's plot, does little 


N intendo has high hopes for the long-awaited return of its 


to entice. Rolling over the gameplay from the previous 
versions, Nintendo hasn't spiced up the combat or overworld 
exploration either. Granted, this is a GBC release, and you 
really can't ask for too much, but some differences other than 
splashes of color would have been nice. 

Nintendo has added several aspects to the mix — and to be 
quite frank, these are the only things that kept me going. Both 
Silver and Gold are equipped with a new clock feature, where 
when your day turns to night, it happens in the game as well. 
Events take place in realtime, and certain Pokémon only come 
out at day or night. After combing the land for new finds during 
the day, you'll need to do it in the morning and night as well. In 
addition to this, some of the Pokémon feature genders; and no, 
your character doesn't need to lift the tail to find out what sex 
he found. When you pair a male with a female, your Pokémon 
will mate, and produce an egg that hatches to reveal a new 
baby Pokémon. In total, 100 new Pokémon can be found, many 
of which introduce new Dark and Steeltype combat abilities. 

| thoroughly enjoyed my return to the Poké-pastures, and 
am sure the kids who invest time with it will love it as well. 
It's addictive, a great multiplayer experience, and a worthy 
sequel. - REINER 


WI STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME lil PUBLISHER NINTENDO Ш DEVELOPER GAME FREAK/CREATURES/NINTENDO 


í 


| 


AMY & MAY 
to battle? 


types. 


ш Concept: 
100 new Pokémon...need | 
Say more?! 


m Graphics: 
The combat still lacks 
pizzazz; however, the 
overworld is much more 
detailed 


E Sound: 
One word: Irritating! 


m Playability: 
Geared toward kids, the 
gameplay is easy to grasp 
and quite simplistic in theory 


п Entertainment: 
It's not the most innovative. 
sequel around, but it is 
addictive, lengthy, and a 
stellar multiplayer 
experience 


п Replay Value: 
High 


them. In fact 1 would have а 
hard time choosing between 
taking them or ‘N Sync out. But 
even with all my hatred for 
Pokémon, | have to admit Silver 


compelling. The game is still 
basically the same, but there 
| definitely Is a whole lot more to 
do and find, especially when 
you get into mating females. 
and males to make eggs. Fans 
will definitely gobble thls up, 
but I don't feel compelled to 
play through this one as the 
graphics and gameplay are 
identical. Perhaps Game Boy 
Advance will inspire me to hop. 
on the wagon again, but until 
then, I've had Pokénough. 


ANDY - 8.5 


GAME BOY COLOR QUICKIES 


FROGGER 2 


B STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION 
E PUBLISHER MAJESCO 
E RELEASE SEPTEMBER 22 


This version of Frogger 
3 = 1 2 is actually pretty close 
lto its Dreamcast 
== counterpart, but 
obviously the monotony 
of Frogger works much 
Ший better оп a smaller 

Н scale. This modernized 
version of the Konami arcade classic is pretty 
entertaining with some new twists like oil slicks and 
odd-shaped lily pads to keep you on your toes. It's not 
rocket science, but it is good, clean 
Game Boy fun. - ANDY 7.5 


DRAGON WARRIOR | & Il 


W STYLE | -PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING-GAME 


Ш PUBLISHER ENIX 
ш RELEASE SEPTEMBER 1 
For anyone who's ever 
wanted to play the original 
E — — Dragon Warrior, or play it 


again, here's your big 
2 chance. Except for some 
minor editorial and 
graphical tweaks, this is 
the same game you fell in 
love with 11 years ago. You might want to just savor the 
memory of past DW experiences, as this one loses 
something in the jump from NES to GBC. Some people 


like their music on vinyl; likewise, | like 7 


my DW on the NES. – KRISTIAN 


LITTLE MERMAID 11: PINBALL FRENZY 


STYLE | TO 4-PLAYER ACTION 
PUBLISHER NINTENDO 
E RELEASE OCTOBER 4 


EJ 


Most of our readers 
might be concerned that 
$ owning this title will brand 
them a pansy for the rest 
of their elementary school 
j careers. This is true. If 
you're comfortable 
enough in your own 
Sexually to own a girl game, though, you'll find Little 
Mermaid II: Pinball Frenzy a worthwhile pastime. Not 
as good as Pokémon Pinball, and not 
worth getting beat up at recess every 
day, but still fun. — JAY 


BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 
W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION 

E PUBLISHER THQ 

Ш RELEASE OCTOBER 1 


Unless you're one of 
those pathetic dorks who 
spends all day 
downloading Sarah 
Michelle Gellar pictures 
off the Internet, avoid this 
= game like the plague. An 
Fa inane beat-em-up 
interspersed with dreadfully slow cutscenes, Buffy the 
Vampire Slayer might well be the most pathetic excuse 
for a video game I’ve seen in a while. Please Fox, next 
time just pound a stake through my 
heart — it will be quicker and less 
painfull. — MATT 


MTV SKATEBOARDING FEATURING 
ANDY MACDONALD 


II STYLE |-PLAYER SPORTS 
B PUBLISHER THQ 
W RELEASE JULY 15 


Finally, à Game Boy 
Color game that's better 
than its PlayStation 
sibling. Although, given the 
putrid reviews MTV 
Skateboarding has 

EE 3 garnered, that's not saying 

[MEt] much. Dark Black has 
constructed a pretty solid graphics engine here and this 
game easily outshines the GBC version of Tony Hawk. 
Unfortunately, there are too few tricks (a mere eight), 
and the levels lack variety. With a little 
more depth, this could have been a 
solid game. — MATT 


DRAGON’S LAIR 


W STYLE |-PLAYER ACTION 
B PUBLISHER CAPCOM 
B RELEASE NOVEMBER 7 


| was truly impressed that developer Digital Eclipse 
managed to take a laser disc game like Dragon's Lair 
and capture the look and spirit of this 1983 arcade hit. 
Unfortunately, even though it looks great, it is missing 
some elements from the original as some scenes are cut 
short. Even so, old-school gamers will find this to be a 
fun blast from the past. But be warned - the nostalgia 
doesn't last long as you soon remember 
that death comes easy in this one. 
- ANDY 


M&M'S MINIS MADNESS 
W STYLE 1-PLAYER ACTION/PLATFORM 

W PUBLISHER MAJESCO 

B RELEASE NOVEMBER 14 
TEE ЕЕЕ They may be amusing 
in the commercials, but 
the antics of the M&Ms 
falls flat in the field of 
gaming. You control the 
four different-colored 
candies, each with 
unique abilities, trying 
to find levers to correct problems in the M&M 
factory. If you succeed, you get to find more levers 
in another factory. A fine premise if only the game 
were fun for more than five minutes. 
This game melts your mind, not your 
hands. – JAY 


Evolved to 


M. LAUNCHAS ! 


GAME BOY COLOR 


METAL WALKER 


THE SINCEREST FORM OF 


FLATTERY 


irst, let's dispense with 
Е the obvious — Metal 

Walker is a Pokémon 
clone. However, it has some 
features which give it an 
identity all its own. The most 
intriguing aspect is the battle 
system, which is unlike any 
I've seen before. You cannot 
select special attacks; rather 
they are thrown onto the 
battlefield in an order you 
specified before combat. In 
battle, you choose the 
direction of attack with an 
arrow icon, then launch your 
volley. You can hit your 
opponent head-on, or direct 
your character into a special- 
attack icon. New attacks are 
learned from scanning enemy 
data, then exchanging them 
at junk shops. The only thin; 
that kept me from giving this 
a higher score was the 
inordinate number of random 
encounters, which slows the 
pace to a crawl. If you have 
the patience, Metal Walker is 
a fine alternative to 
Pokémon. ~ MATT 


THE BOTTOM LINE 
EVERYONE 


m Concept: 
Addictive Pokémon rip-off with 
а unique battle system 


m Graphics: 
Virtually identical to Pokémon 


п Sound: 
Minimal sound 
rinky-dink GBC mt 


I Playability: 
Combat system is interesting, 
but too many random battles 


W Entertainment: 
The engrossing story will 
hook many Pokéfans 


m Replay Value: 
Moderately High 


| SECOND OPINION | 


| It's obvious Metal Walker is a 
Pokémon rip-off when you walk 
up to Metal Ball and the first 
thing he says is "Piki." One of 


DIRECTION 


M STYLE }-PLAYER ROLE-PLAYING GAME B PUBLISHER 
CAPCOM Ш DEVELOPER CAPCOM Ш RELEASE JANUARY 16 


GAMEINFORMER 141 


In association with the NPD TRSTS Video Games Service, Charts presents an in-depth listing of the 
best selling software on a month to month basis. Are the games you spend your hard-earned dollars on TOR 


top sellers? Take a look below to find out. We've also teamed with Gamestop to bring you a listing of the 1 m GU Quest VII Ed 
я used software, and, of course, we included a Top 10 list of the games the СІ staff is currently 2 N/A Etemal Arcadia DC 
a 3 N/A — Mysterious Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2 — N64 
LE 4 N/A Meadow Story GB: Boy Meets Girl GB 
М PD TO Р 2 0 5 N/A Kirby 64: Crystal Shards N64 
RANK L. MO GAME SYSTEM RELEASE PRICE S N/A Dino сыз 2 PSX 
DATE POINT 1 N/A Amusement King: Duel Monsters Ill GB 
1 $ Madden NFL 2001 PS-X Aug-00 $40 8 N/A Fighting Illusion K-2GP 2000 PSX 
| For the second month running, Electronic Arts’ latest PlayStation pigskin is at the top of 9 N/A Kamurai PSX 
the retail charts. Sony's lackluster GameDay has bumped its way up to the tenth slot, 10 N/A Pocket Monsters Puzzle GB 


yet it's still a far cry from touching ugly John Madden. It's hard to believe Madden and 

GameDay used to compete on the same level. Nowadays, it's no contest. 

3 2 N/A NFL 2K1 DC Sep-00 $49 

/ Whoa! It appears as though Sega's red-hot football franchise is making a sneak attack 

on EA. To the company's benefit, Sega is approaching big John from behind. You never 

want to go head-to-head with him. Staring at his fat head for too long may turn you to 
stone! Needless to say, we expect NFL 2K1 to top Madden next month. 

3 N/A Топу Hawk's Pro Skater 2 PS-X Oct-00 $41 


"I t ition, Tony Hawk pulled off another 900, and there's no better way t: ian са 
n a гесепі competition, опу Hawk pulled off another 900, ап tl ere's no better way 0 d 4 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 PSX 
celebrate than with a big wad of royalty checks from Activision. If this game doesn't = 

" 2 ч 2 4 Final Fantasy IX PS-X 

| reach the number-one slot next month, damned be the gaming community! It received 3 2 Madden NFL 2001 PS2 
Game Informer's first – that's right, first perfect 10 rating — meaning it'd better hit the 

top, otherwise we'll look kind of foolish. 3 : Timesplitters Lom 

К 9р, : 5 N/A Driver2 PSX 

4 4 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater PS-X Sep99 $29 6 6 WWF No Mercy N64 

Î Just like Harry Potter on the New York Times bestseller list, Tony Hawk has not one, but Я 5 NFL 201 рс 
two games іп the top five, and the first release hasn't even reached its Greatest Hits 8 N/A WWF SmackDown! 2 PSX 

V^ sales point yet. Could next month's top two slots belong to Mr. Hawk? Oh yeah, baby! 9 N/A Baldur's Gate Il: Shadows of Amn РС 


5 15 Gran Turismo 2 PSX Dec99 $26 10 N/A Pokémon Silver & Gold GB 
With Gran Turismo 3 continually getting pushed back, we fear that gamers are confused 
and are buying number two again, thinking it's actually the long-awaited sequel. Silly 
fools! Again, here's a game that will benefit from Sony's Greatest Hits program. Last 
„Ж month it ranked number 15 with a retail price of 35 bucks. This month, it rose to num- 
E ber 5 with a retail price of 26 clams. Next month...eek! Don't bump out Tony 2!!! 


6 N/A Mario Tennis N64 Sep-00 49 
7 N/A Spider-Man PSX Aug-00 41 POS. L.MO GAME MONTH PRICE 
8 3 Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer N64 May99 $11 1 N/A The Sims: Livin’ Large Sep-00 $26 
9 1 Spec Ops PSX Apr.00 $9 2 10 Age of Empires ll: The Conquerors Expansion Aug-00 $27 
3 The Sims Feb-00 $42 
10 N/A NFL GameDay 2001 PS-X Aug-00 $40 ^ Diablo 2 JunO0 $51 
11 Chrono Cross PSX Aug-00 41 5 3 Roller Coaster Tycoon Mar99 $29 
12 Driver PSX Jun-99 23 6 N/A Madden NFL 2001 Aug00 $35 
13 8 Pokémon Red GB Sep-98 25 7 4 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2 May-00 $18 
14 N/A Mario Party 2 N64 Jan-00 49 8 N/A Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn Sep-00 $46 
z 9 5 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Nov-99 $10 
15 s Pokémon Yellow ЕЕ 09 29 10 17 Sim Theme Park World Nov99 $21 
16 10 ММЕ SmackDown! PSX Mar-00 39 et 
17 17 Tekken 3 PSX Apr-98 23 
18 N/A Crash Team Racing PSX Oct-99 24 
19 N/A Madden NFL 2001 N64 Aug-00 $50 
20 N/A Ultimate Fighting Championship DC Sep-00 $49 


142 GAMEINFORMER 


D una MES 


PlayStation. 
4 


У 


» >” 
0 $ 


c oo 


223 i 
Ё The Bouncer & M 
8 by EA SQUARESOFT. ats 

р 


Get. ready for а cinematic action experience like 
no other.Battle through the mean'streets of 
tHe fütute with amazingly realistic, interactive 
environments like you fis never expetienced 
before! Ап incredible storyline and.visuals 
await those Whbo:cfoss into the Dog Street. 


3 Ready-2 Rumble Boxing 2 
#, by Midway. 

Return to the ring for more wild boxing action 
` With Ready 2 Rumble Round 2. Select from 
$ 24 boxers and 
tons of new 
wana, Options, Pick 
your fighter 
and step into 
the ring, 

if you 

dare! 


E: PlayStation.2 


Congratulation- р ЙЕ ЕНД Here 


Kessen PlayStation. E 

by Electronic Arts 
Become.d'Japanese 

Generat and conquer the 

= World in.Kessen.from Koei. 
“Players plan out strategies, 
then watch as armies carry 
Out their orders in real time 
with this intense strategy 
game for the PlayStation 2. 


PlayStation.2 -| Summoner 


* we | by TAQ 
Я А Summoner's inheritance is a 
уі “hag: power Peer than magic. With 
5) # tings o 
" 
$ 


channeling, Summoners 
call forth;demons' and golems, 
, Supernatural servants and ele- 
af fu os SEE ag eo 
_ | Mave toppled empires ani 
= | challenged gods. 


E 
Ex ns d 
j " 
PlayStation- L ) 
Unreal Tournament, __ чан 
by-Infogrames & ч 449 XX- 
From the créators,of the mind- unr EM. 
blowing Unreal comes Unreal TOURT AMENT 


Tournament, theultimate in 
competitive gameplay. Unreal 
Tournament showcases the 
enhanced hugely poplar Unreal 
engine, the benchmark of 3D 
graphical excellence and 
immersive gameplay. 


OS B 


MS a 
THE GLADIATOR BLOGOSPORT 
mA OF THE FUTURE A © 


Babbages| P^ i | 
сан = SOMA 


PLAY TO PERFECTION. 


FINAL FANTASY IX 


7 A step-by-step walkthrough of everything in 
j Final Fantasy IX would take up much more than 

ten pages, and probably more pages than are in 
this magazine. Rather than holding your hand 

i every step of the way through this game, we're 

" £oing to make a bold assumption this time 

around — that you aren't stupid. You might need a 

J Є Г 7 jc hint here or there, but you know how RPGs work. 

D Ё If Someone in the game tells you to go 

н у ре. somewhere, you're smart enough to follow their 

s. directions. 


In keeping with this theme, you'll find a 
walkthrough sidebar that lays out the bare 
essentials to finishing FFIX. This has been kept 
purposefully vague so as not to ruin the story. 
In-between these bars, we'll detail the many 
minigames and secrets to be explored and found. 


Does this guide have every little, teeny-tiny, 
itsy-bitsy secret in the game? Nope. But it does 
have a huge percentage of them — enough to 
keep you busy for 100 or so hours. Have fun! 


This guide tries to keep spoilers to a 
minimum, but even perusing is bound to give 
away a surprise or two. If you want to enjoy 
FFIX to the fullest, keep your eyes away from 
these pages as much as possible. 


This PTP was assembled by playing a 
not-quite-complete version. All major 
points of the guide will be correct, but a 
misspelling of a name here and there 
is likely. 


Bui o -— 


Basic Training 

* Search everywhere. Many items are hidden in back 
corners and hard-to-reach places. Luckily, you'll 
always know you're standing near something thanks 
to a "I" that will appear above your head. If you do a 
detailed search of every place the first time you go 
there, you won't have to backtrack to find something 
you missed, or at least you'll know you have to come 
back later to get something inaccessible at the tim 

* Keep equipment on until you've learned the ability 
from it. Abilities are the key to winning in battles, and 
if you keep haphazardly upgrading and switching your 
armaments, you'll never gain enough AP to learn the 
really good ones. Even if you have a better weapon or 
armor to equip, it's often worth it to keep the inferior 
product on until you've scored more AP. 


144 GAME INFORMER 


* Save everything. Never EVER sell off extra items. 
You may later meet a new party member who can 
use it to learn an ability, or one of your old items 
could be the key ingredient to a great weapon at a 
synth shop. If you need a quick cash fix, sell 
something you know you can buy back later or 
acquire during gameplay, like Tents. 

* Always do the Active Time Events. You'll see more 
of the story, and sometimes get new items. 

* Always steal from bosses. Zidane will almost 
always be in your party, and some advanced 
equipment can usually be acquired by having him 
steal from major enemies. This isn't always possible 
since you may desperately need Zidane to fight, but if 
you can spare the time, steal. 


Boss Battles 


If a boss beats you once, shame on it. If a boss 
beats you twice, shame on you. During a boss battle, 
pay attention to its tactics. That way if you lose, at 
least next time you'll know what to expect and how to 
approach the battle. For example, if it uses a lot of 
Thunder magic, be sure to equip items that absorb 
Thunder damage if you have to fight it again. In some 
cases, it may just be that your party isn't tough 
enough to fight the boss, and you'll have to level up 
before facing it again. 


World Map 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


1. Alexandria 

2. Alexandria Harbor 

3. Evil Forest 

4. Ice Cavern 

5. Dali 

6. Observatory Mountain 
7. Lindblum 

8. Lindblum Harbor 

9. Lindblum Dragon's Gate 
10. Qu's Marsh 

11. Chocobo's Forest 
12. Gizamaluke's Grotto 
13. South Gate 


. North Gate 

. Burmecia 

. Treno 

. Quan’s Dwelling 
. Cleyra 

. Pinnacle Rocks 
. Fossil Roo 

. Conde Petie 

. Black Mage Village 
. Mountain Path 

. Madain Sari 

. lifa Tree 

. Oeilvert 


. Desert Palace 
. Esto Gaza 

. Daguerreo 

. Ipsen's Castle 
. Water Shrine 

. Fire Shrine 


ind Shrine 


. Earth Shrine 

. Shimmering Island 
. Chocobo's Lagoon 
. Mognet Central 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


new equipment, seen some ATEs, and found Vivi 
and Garnet. 

~ After meeting back at the inn with Garnet, go to where 
you last met Vivi. 


— Go into the windmill building and investigate the hatch. 


— Go down. 
— Follow after Vivi through the underground passage. 


~ After rescuing Vivi, investigate the room beyond the 
double doors, then exit and continue right. 


— As Steiner, talk to Morrid inside the building at the 
bottom of the watchtower. 


¬ Leave this area. 
— Boss battle. 


— You can stay in Dali if you need a rest, or depart 
immediately. There's nothing new to be discovered for 
the time being, so your choice. 


— Explore the airship. 
— Boss battle. 
Lindblum Grand Castle 


— Follow Minister Artania, or explore the castle a bit and 
then follow Minister Artania. 


— As Zidane, explore the Business District before 
boarding the airship across from the inn. 


— Go to the Theater District and look around. 

— Go to the Industrial District and look around. 

— Go to Lindblum Castle and find Garnet. 

— Try to get past the guard blocking the lift 

— Talk to the sleeping guard below Garnet's room. 
— Take the lift and find Garnet. 


— After the Festival of the Hunt is explained, SAVE YOUR 
GAME! This way, if you don't win you can try again. 


(see Festival Of The Hunt) 


— Go to the basement level of the castle and take the 
left trolley to Dragon's Gate. 


— Stock up on potions since you'll be going without 
Garnet for a while, then head outside. 

— Go north and a little east to... 

Qu's Marsh 

— Search the marsh until you find Quina trying to catch 
a frog. 

— Pick up a frog and give it to Quina. 

~ Let Quina join your group. 

— Play the frog catching minigame. 

(see Frog Catching) 

= Leave the marsh. 

~ Go east, cross the bridge over the river, and go 
straight to... 

Chocobo's Forest 

~ After getting the Gysahl Greens, go back to the 


overland map and use them while standing on some 
Chocobo footprints. 


— Return to Chocobo's Forest on the Chocobo, 

— Talk to the Moogle to learn about the Chocobo 
Digging minigame. 

(see Chocobo Digging) 

= Once you've dug to your satisfaction, leave Chocobo's 
Forest, cross the bridge, and follow the mountainside 
northwest to... 

Gizamaluke's Grotto 

— Talk to the dying man to get a Gizamaluke Bell. 

— Use the bell to open the door. 

= Fight the stray Black Mage to get another bell. 

= Use it on the door to the far left. 


146 GAME INFORMER 


JUMPING ROPE | hor 


In all likelihood, this is the first minigame you 
encounter. The best method to do well at this event is 
to hit € as soon as Vivi's feet touch the ground. 
Awards are given for performing 20, 50, 100, 200, 
300, and 1,000 jumps. 

The jump roping girls disappear for a while after 
their first appearance, but return near the end of disc 
three. To find them, go to Alexandria's bell tower with 
either Vivi or Eiko in the party. 


QUAD MIST 


The basics of this game are explained to you well 
enough, except for one glaring omission — no one can 
tell you what the numbers and letters at the bottom 
mean. You can research this mystery on your own and 
find all the answers by disc three, or you can just read 
our spoiler. We recommend the latter. 

The first digit is the card's attack power. The third 
and fourth digits are its defense power. The higher the 
number, the stronger the card is in this area, with 
letters being stronger than numbers. The strength 
ratings break down as follows: 

(Strongest) E-D-C-B-A-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0 (Weakest) 

The second of the four digits tells you which of the 
defense numbers the card's attack number will go up 
against. If the card has a P, it will go against the third 
digit. If it has an M, it will go against the fourth. Once 
in a rare while, a card will have an X for a second digit. 
We never quite figured out how these cards worked, 
but they occur so infrequently it shouldn't cause too 
much of a problem. 

If you're intent on collecting all 100 Quad Mist cards, 
then you should be sure to press W instead of % when 
talking to someone to challenge them to a game. Many 
hard-to-find cards can only be acquired by winning 
against other people two or three times, so be sure to 
play multiple games with someone until you're sure 
they don't have anything you need. Also keep in mind 
that the most cards you can carry is 100, so 
occasionally dump duplicates so you don't miss out on 
getting any rare cards. 


LANCING FOR 
LUCRE 


Simply follow Blank's commands quickly and 
accurately, and you'll impress the audience 
and the queen. The higher your score when 
you quit, the more Gil you get as tips. If you 
Score above 90, the audience will ask for an 
encore. Feel free to do so, but realize that if 
your encore score is lower, that is what 
determines how much money you make. 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


— Talk to the injured soldier to get another bell. 

— Use it on the door to the far right. 

= If you've been exploring Mognet, give the frantic 
Moogle the Kupo Nut. 


— Open the chest that was under the giant bell to get 
another bell. 


— Open the door to the right to find a save point. 

— Climb the vine to see something cool, and then be 
killed by it. 

~ Load your last save. 


— Leave the Moogle's room and you'll be given a 
Holy Bell. 


— Use the Holy Bell to open the door to the left. 
— Boss battle. 

South Gate 

— As Steiner, approach the gate. 

J — Talk to the people in your way. 

— Move towards the alleyway. 


THE MYSTERY OF 
MOGNET 


You'd think a race of creatures with giant antennae on their head wouldn't have 
problems communicating, but that just isn't the case. Talk to the first Moogle you meet 
about Mognet, and he'll ask you to deliver a letter for him. This is the first step in a long 
chain letter that will eventually lead you to discovering the mystery of Mognet Central. 

The letters you deliver always go to a Moogle you'll meet later in the game, so 
delivering them isn't too much of a hassle. If you've been carrying a letter around for a 
while, though, you may have missed a pink kitty along the way. Later on, the Moogles 
aren't always forthright about having mail that needs delivering. Always reread a letter with 
every Moogle, and they'll give you a letter if they have one. 

As a reward for bringing them mail, Moogles will reward you with a Kupo Nut. You can 
only have one of these at a time, but whenever 
you're without one, the next Moogle you make a 
delivery to will give you one. At Gizamaluke's 
Grotto, you'll meet Mogmi, who is "kupo for Kupo 
Nuts!" Give him the nut and he'll give you an 
item. The more Kupo Nuts you bring him, the — Talk to the guard. 
better (and stranger) the items get. If you're a Я — Go into the alleyway. 
courier for Mognet, be sure to bring Mogmi your ШЫ “Hey, hey, hı á * — Board the train. 

il Ё u häve Киро Not?” WE 3 
Kupo NUES as 000 = possible: А ا‎ а — As Zidane and crew, go north to... 
Eventually you'll start wondering, along with all 
M Burmecia 


the Moogles, where exactly Mognet Central is. To | 
find it, you have to have a flying Chocobo (see — After the fight with the Black Mages, go through the 
door up the stairs to the right. 


Chocobo Digging for details on how to achieve 
this lofty goal) and a Dead Pepper. Go to the ~ Search inside until a balcony falls as you try to 
cross it. 


island north of the Outer Continent on a flying 
— Go back outside and take the door on the left. 


Chocobo and use the Dead Pepper by the 
cracks in the mountain. c Я 

— When given the opportunity, go out on the balcony to 
leap to another area. 


After finding Mognet Central, you may be 
— Check under the bed to get the Protection Bell. 


wondering what it is you have to do to get it up 
and running. Go to the following locations, 


in order, and exchange letters with — Go back outside and back in the door on the right. 
the Moogles there. Pd MELA ro 6 ~ Ring the bell at the locked door. 
- Burmecia EE EOE КЕКЕ hi — In the outer courtyard area, be sure to explore both 
— Black Mage Village doors before heading up the stairs. 
- Ірѕеп'ѕ Castle — Boss battle. 


— Qu's Marsh (Mist Continent) 
- Daguerreo 
- Alexandria 


Disc Two 


— As Garnet, explore the rest area. 

= When your train arrives, get on. 

= Boss battle. 

— Visit Dali if you wish (there's not much to see). 


FESTIVAL OF THE iU NT Otherwise, take the right path to get to... 


Dark City Treno 
The key to winning the Festival of the Hunt is to pay a visit to the synth shop before it begins. If you've ~ As Steiner, explore Treno. Garnet will be found in the 
been combing dungeons, you should have the funds and items required to make the best weapon Auction House. You can also take some Stellazzio to 
available to Zidane at this point in the game. With, and the Bird Killer and Beast Killer abilities, Zidane will the queen for a reward. 


be able to kill most monsters he faces in one blow. (see The Auction House) 


(see Stellazzio Stumper) 

— As Garnet, go talk to Marcus at the inn. 

— Talk to Baku. 

— Go to the formerly locked tower on the west side 
of town. 

— Talk to Tot and he'll open the path to Gargan Roo. 


Quan's Dwelling 

— It isn't required that you come here, but there's some 
interesting things to see and collect here. Head east 
of Treno, through the forest, and look for a cave in the 
mountains. Be sure to have Vivi and Quina in 
your party. 

— After you've started collecting Dead Peppers in the 
Chocobo Digging minigame, return here and use one 
by the cliff. You'll find a buried treasure. 


Always keep on the move, looking for monsters to take out. Once you've cleared one district, move on 
to another. If you end up facing a monster with Freya, this is a good sign that you're about to take 
top prize. 


GAMEINFORMER 147 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


Gargan Roo 

— Take the left passage. 

— Pull the lever. 

— Go back out and take the right passage. 

— Pull the rope. 

— Pull the lever marked "Feed." 

— Boss battle. 

— As Zidane, head southwest and enter the giant 
sandstorm. 

Cleyra's Trunk 

— To get all the items in this dungeon, make sure you 
search everywhere before pulling levers or sticking 


your hand into holes. Doing this opens new passages, 
but blocks off others. 


— Eventually, you'll reach... 

Cleyra Settlement 

— Take the guided tour. 

— Explore Cleyra. 

— Eventually a Burmecian soldier asks for help. Follow 
him. 

— Boss battle. 

— As Freya, explore the town again. 

— Try to leave Cleyra. 

— Head to the Cathedral. 

— Boss battle. 

— Search the airship for Queen Brahne. 

= Follow Vivi. 

— Get in the pods. 

— As Steiner, swing to freedom. 

— Take the far ladder up. 

— You have 30 minutes to find Garnet. 

— Go to the uppermost part of the castle. 

— Move the purple candle in the Queen's room. 

— Go down the long spiral stairs. 

~ Boss battle. 

— With Garnet in hand (literally), go back up the 
spiral stairs. 

— Boss battle. 

— As Zidane, fight your way down the stairs. 

= Boss battle. 

Pinnacle Rocks 

— Take Ramuh's challenge. 

— Leave. 

— Find Cid in Lindblum. 

— Be sure to visit everywhere you can in Lindblum before 
getting led out. 

— Return to Qu's Marsh. 

— Talk to Quina. 

— Search the easternmost reeds for the passage to... 

Fossil Roo 


— Run away from the steamroller while avoiding 
pendulums. 


— Boss battle. 

— Use flower to ride Gargant. 

— Explore area. 

— Ride Gargant east of the Moogles, open chest, return. 
— Ride northernmost Gargant. 

— Find and flip switch 1. 

— Ride Gargant. 

— Find and flip switch 2. 

— Ride Gargant. 


148 GAME INFORMER 


CHOCOBO DIGGING 


This is the biggest minigame in Final 0 48 "6 
Fantasy ІХ апа, fortunately, one of the most A 
entertaining as well. Use some Gysahl Greens - 
on the tracks outside Chocobo's Forest to 
summon a Chocobo. Ride it into Chocobo's 
Forest and talk to the Moogle about playing 
Chocobo Hot & Cold. After enough play, you'll 
dig up a Chocograph. 

These small pictures 
will lead you all over the Л 
world тар in search of hA / 
hidden treasure chests. : 
Most of these chests 
contain a wealth of 
items, but occasionally 
your Chocobo will travel 
to Chocobo Dream World 
where it will gain the 
abilities to travel 
across reefs, climb 
mountains, cross the 
oceans, and eventually 
fly. As you find 
chests, you'll 
also learn of new 
places to go digging — 
Chocobo Lagoon and 
Chocobo Sky Garden. 


Here's a rough idea of where to go looking for all the Chocographs. Note: This is not the order in which 
the Chocographs are found, but the order they are presented in the game. If you're unable to reach one 
of these places, be patient. The acquisition of an airship later on makes Chocobo Digging much easier. 


1 – A beach near Chocobo's Forest. 


2 — A beach west of the Mist Continent's 
Qu's Marsh. 


3 - The mountains south of Evil Forest. 

4 — A beach north of Cleyra. 

5 — A beach south of Outer Continent's 
Qu's Marsh. 


6 - Southwest of the Lost Continent's 
eastern beach. 


15 - On the lower ledge of a plateau of the 
Forgotten Continent, almost directly north from 
Daguerreo. 

16 - On a plateau near the beginning of the 
Forgotten Continent's northwest peninsula. 

17 - In the sea north of the Wind Shrine, and 
northeast of Oeilvert. 

18 - Search the sea west of an island of the 
Forgotten Continent with long stretches of 
beach. Almost directly west from Oeilvert. 

19 - The bay west of the Fire Shrine. 


20 - Near two islands northeast of 
Alexandria Harbor. 


7 – In the waters near the islands between the 
Lost Continent and the Forgotten Continent. 

8 - In the waters directly east of the Forgotten 
Continent's northwest peninsula. 

9 - In the shallow waters southeast of Black 
Mage Village. 

10 - The waters surrounding an island west from 
the Mist Continent's Qu's Marsh. 

11 - On a beach on an island south of 
Chocobo's Forest. 


21 - On an island northeast of the Desert 
Palace. 


22 - The island southeast of the one where 
Mognet Central is. 


23 - The island southwest of the lifa Tree. 


24 - On an island to the east of the Forgotten 


А Continent's Qu's Marsh. 
12 - Waters south of Treno, near a long island. 


13 - In a forest surrounded by mountains west 
of Dali. 


14 - A plateau northwest of Evil Forest. 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


FROG CATCHING 


There are three Qu's Marshes scattered about the world, and in 
each one is a place where frogs spawn. With Quina in the party, 
go to one of these frog pits and s/he'll ask if there's time to 
catch a few. If you say yes, you'll be in control of Quina. Simply 
run around and grab them all. Don't worry about depleting the 
swamp's supply of amphibians. Even if you take them all, more 
will appear there later. 

Not only does Quina's Frog Drop spell get more powerful as she 
catches more frogs, Quina also gets a reward from her master for 
catching 2, 5, 9, 15, 23, 33, 45, and 99 frogs (but we 
recommend waiting until your party is over level 40 before 
catching frog number 99). If you plan on using Quina in the 
party a lot, partaking in this activity is highly 
recommended. 


If you really want to burn through the 
Chocobo Digging minigame, keep 
digging up Chocographs until you learn 
of these chests, which contain Chocobo 
upgrades. Once your Chocobo can fly, 
gathering treasure is much easier. 


Reef Upgrade – Chest 4 
Mountain Upgrade – Chest 12 
Sea Upgrade - Chest 14 
Flying Upgrade – Chest 20 


Once your Chocobo can fly, you can 
go to Chocobo's Paradise. It's located 
on an unmarked island that can be 
found in any corner of the world map. 
Use a Dead Pepper (an item you'll start 
digging up when your Chocobo can fly) 
on the cracks in the mountain, and 
voila! After this, use the clues on the 


| Chocograph Pieces to find Chocobo's 


Sky Garden and other hidden treasures. 


~ Flip switch 1. 

— Ride Gargant. 

— Ride Gargant east of the Moogles. 
~ Hit switch 4. 

~ Ride Gargant. 

— Open chest. 

— Ride Gargant. 

— Hit switch 4. 

— Ride Gargant. 


~ Explore all the passages off the vines before hitting 
Switch 3. 


— Mine for Ore and a Moogle if you wish. 
= Hit switch 3. 

— Climb the vines to the bottom right passage. 
= Ride Gargant. 

= Walk to the light and you'll be on the... 
Outer Continent 

— To the northwest, on a bridge, is... 
Conde Petie 

— Find Vivi and talk to him. 

— Go to the item shop. 

— Leave town. 


— Head southeast through a valley of trees to get to 
the forest. 


= Read the sign, and go the direction in which there are 
no owls. 


— Repeat until you reach... 

Black Mage Village 

— Find Garnet. 

= Find Vivi. 

— Go to the inn and talk to Vivi. 

— Rest when ready. 

— Return to Conde Petie. 

— Speak to the dwarf blocking your way by the Kirkboat. 
~ Find his holiness walking by the inn. 
~ Travel down the... 

Mountain Path 

— Meet Eiko. 

— Find the Moogles. 

— Take the path to the left of them. 

~ Boss battle. 


— You now have access to the four colored stones. Get 
them all and deposit them in the altar located to the 
right of the Moogies. 


— Take the high road east to the overland map, then 
search the island for... 

Madain Sari 

— Take a look around and see some ATEs. 

— Try to го into Eiko's house. 

— Follow your Moogle tour guide. 

— Find Dagger. 

— Return to the Eidolon Wall. 

= Go to Eiko's house. 

— Get the pot off the table. 

- Bring it to Eiko. 

~= Rest. 

~ Return to the Mountain Path. 

— Take the northern exit to the overland map. 

— Go southwest to the big tree. 

lifa 

— Ask Eiko for help. 


GAMEINFORMER 149 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


— Follow the path. 
— Ask Eiko for help. 
— Follow the path down. 


— Get in some fights and discussions on the 
leaf elevator. 


— Search around. 

— When the ground shakes, go get Garnet. 
— Boss battle. 

~ Return to Madain Sari. 

= Find Eiko. 

— Go to rescue Eiko. 

— Boss battle. 

— Find Eiko and tell her to come with you. 
— Outside Eiko's house, there's a new "I" to explore. 
— Return to lifa. 

— Follow the path. 

— Chase after Garnet. 


Disc Three 


— As Vivi, explore Alexandria. Head east and race if 
you like. 

(see Hippos Can't Run) 

— When ready, talk to Blank in the alley, and agree to 
see the play with him. 

— Go down the stairs behind Blank. 

— As Eiko, explore the castle. 

— As Zidane, take the boat to the castle. 

— Explore Treno. 


— When ready to move on, go to the Quad Mist Stadium. 


— Win three games of Quad Mist (winning the 
tournament is worth it). 

— Protect Alexandria with Steiner and Beatrix. 

— Have Garnet go upstairs to the left tower. 

— As Zidane, go after Garnet. 

(see Optional Bosses) 

— Back in Lindblum Castle, go see Cid. 

= Go to Garnet in the guest room. 

— Go to town to find the three potions. 


— Ask Alice outside the Business District's weapon shop 


for the Beautiful Potion. 


— Talk to the artist in the Theater District about potions, 
then search his shop to find the Strange Potion. 


— Go ask Cinna in the Theater District about the 
Strange Potion. 

— Take the potions to Cid. 

— Go pay Quina's pickle bill in the Business District. 

— Take the trolley in the lower castle level to 
Serpent's Gate. 

— Board the boat. 

= Return to the Outer Continent. 

— Go to Black Mage Village. 

— Find Vivi. 

— Go to the Chocobo shack. 


— Take the boat to the northeast side of the 
Outer Continent. 


— Go to where there's four sinkholes in the sand. 

— Three lead to fights with antlions, one leads to 
a dungeon. 

— As Zidane, follow the path laid out by Kuja. 

— Form a party. Remember, magic will not work in 
Oeilvert, and the members you don't take will form 
another party later. Save Freya for the second group. 


150 GAME INFORMER 


COFFEE ANYONE? 


An old man at Dali's watchtower is willing to trade you a nice model if 
you can find him three coffee types. These can be found at South Gate, 
Eiko's Kitchen, and behind the windmill's locked door in Dali. To get the 
mayor's key to open this door, го to his room during disc three before 
the Quad Mist tournament in Treno. 

So what the hell can you do with the model? Not much. But if you can 
buy the matching Cid and Burmecia figurines at Treno's Auction House, 
and nab the Brahne figure from under the chair in the mayor of Dali's 
house, you'll be well on your way to making the four-armed man in 
Daguerreo jealous. 


THE AUCTION 
HOUSE 


To bid at the Auction House, go up to the auctioneer. A 
"?" should appear over your head when you're in the right 
place. A lot of good items pass through this place, and it 
would behoove you to save up some money to get them. 
There's people in Treno that are willing to pay good money 
for the Rat's Tail and the Griffon's Heart. Just be sure to 
always turn down their first offer. 

Whenever you're in Treno, be sure to stop by the Auction 
House and see what's on the block. Two items you should 
spend as much money as necessary to gain are Dark 
Matter (it allows Garnet to summon Odin) and the 
Magician's Finger (a man in Daguerreo will trade you 
Excalibur for it). 


STELLAZZIO 
STUMPER 


The queen of Treno is a collector, but she's very particular 
about what she wants. She's looking for coins with symbols of 
the zodiac on them that tell a story — and she's willing to give 
out big rewards if someone can bring them to her. You'll 
probably find a few of these without even trying too hard, but 
here's the location of all of them so you know you won't 
miss any. 


Aries — The windmill in Dali. 


Taurus — Behind the item vendor's cart in Treno. 277 
Gemini — Keep giving the fountain by Treno's entrance money / 
until you get this. 
Cancer - Behind a broken cart in Burmecia. 
Leo - In Alexandria Castle anytime during disc three or four. 
Look around the statue of Neptune in the west tower. = 


Virgo – The inn of Black Mage Village. 

Libra — Behind the fountain in Madain Sari. 

Scorpio – In Quan's Dwelling. 

Sagittarius — In the business district of Lindblum anytime 


during disc three or four. Look to the west of the 
pickle vendor. 


Capricorn - In Daguerreo. 
Aquarius – The entry hall of Ipsen's Castle. 
Pisces — Aboard the Invincible on disc four. 


After bringing the queen all 12, inform her that there's still 
one missing. You'll find the thirteenth Stellazzio, Ophiucus, in 
Quan's Dwelling where you found Scorpio. 


LAY TO PERFECTION 


— Head for the airship. 
— You will be taken to the... 
Forgotten Continent 


= the encounters here are too much, find some 
Chocobo tracks. 


— Head south, through many twisting valleys, to find... 
Oeilvert 


— You cannot cast spells inside Oeilvert, so stock up on. 
healing items from the Moogle outside. 


= From the beginning room, take the central path. 

— Touch the orb. 

— Return to the beginning room, take the left passage. 

— Tum on the four ship hologram projectors. 

— Touch the orb in the middle of the huge staircase. 

— Go through the formerly locked blue door. 

— Return to the beginning room, take the right passage. 

— Get on the platform. 

— Boss battle. 

= Grab the Gulug Stone. 

— As Cid, go to the right room. 

— Press 6 when the monster isn't looking to get the key. 

— Put the clay, stone, and iron weights on the scale. 

— Have Cid climb the scale. 

= As the second party, go to the right room to save and 
buy any equipment needed. 

— Head left and up the stairs to reach... 

Desert Palace 

— Light the candles on the left. 

~ Touch the bloodstone on the right. 

— Go up the stairs and left past the three statues. 

— Light all the lamps in the library. 

— Return to the three statues and go right. 

— Go up the path that appears and light the candles. 


— Return to the library and touch the bloodstone 
that appears. 


— Go through the right passage. 
= Light the candle. 

— Touch the bloodstone. 

— Go up the stairs. 

— Light the candle. 


= In another library, light candles to open 
Secret passages. 


— When you hear a Moogle, go left. 

~ Make both gargoyles’ shadows go left. 

— Go up the stairs that appear. 

— Attempt to light the candles. 

— Boss battle. 

= Light the candles. 

— Step on the lit platform and press 3€. 

— As Zidane, follow the path off the airship and activate 
the teleport pad. 

— Go talk to Кија. 

— Exit past where the airship was. 

= Hit the lever. 

— Climb down the ladder and exit the screen to reach 
the... 

Lost Continent 

= Get a Chocobo if the random encounters are too much 
for you here. 

— Head west to reach... 


GAMEINFORMER 151 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


HIPPOS CAN'T RUN 


When Vivi returns to Alexandria on disc three, look for a fat hippo kid and his mom. Talk to 
his mother and she'll tell you that her son is out of shape from playing too much Quad Mist, 
and she asks you to raise his metabolism by racing him. 


To win, you need to jam out on 6 and W alternately. The more distance you beat Hippaul 
by, the more his level goes up (which you can check by talking to him after a race). 
Eventually, Hippaul will get so fast that you can only raise his level one at a time. When you 
get him to level 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 100, his mother will give you a reward. 


3& 


ENCOUNTERS 


While wandering in the wilderness, every 
so often you'll come across random 
encounters of a different kind. Rather than 
the normally intense battle music, you'll hear 
a lighthearted tune, and meet either a 
creature who wants some minerals or a 
strange looking thing with a question to 
ask you. 

If a monster asks you for minerals, give it 
to them if you can. Select the item and use 
it on the monster. If you do this, the monster 
will thank you and tell you of the next 
creature type you need to seek out. In all, 

| there are nine begging monsters to find. 
Being generous with these creatures is 
always worth it, since the characters 
involved are given a ton of AP for doing so. 

When а red creature appears with an X and 
an O next to him, it's time for a pop quiz. 
This weirdo will ask you one of 13 questions 
(always presented in the same order, so if 
you miss one, you can reset your game and 
answer correctly the next time). If you get it 
right, he'll give you an ever-increasing 
amount of Gil. If you get all 13 correct, he'll 
give you a Memory Ring. 


PLAY TO PERFECTION 


OPTIONAL BOSSES 


Per usual, there are a number 
of places in the game where 
there's a fight waiting for those 
who can find it. The easiest to 
locate and to beat are in Treno. 
Talk to the weapon shop owner 
about the interesting creature 
living below the floor. Eventually, 
you'll have the option of going 
one-on-one against this beast и mi T 
with a character of your choice. S à 1 idge 
Check back every so often, and Э 5 
you'll find that new, and tougher, 
monsters will take the place of 


the ones you kill. 
n А AME nns HD sa А 

At the beginning of disc three, " zidane 19601397 
your characters are hurriedly 
running to the top of Alexandria 
Castle to save Garnet. If you 
dare, take a detour through the 
libraries. Atop a bookshelf is a 
tome that likes to talk trash. 
Accept its challenge for a very 
tough boss battle. 

If you manage to find 
Chocobo's Sky Garden, examine 
the large rock in the northern 
part of it. A deadly boss battle 
awaits. If you've managed to 
appease the nine beasts looking 
for minerals in the woods (see 
Non-Lethal Encounters), then x 
this battle will be easier. m | 3 E ч 15] 
Regardless, it is worth doing, Ў ` d : 
since winning it is the only way : 
to get Garnet's final summon. — | ^ 

N 


Breya 1029 r8 T A 


Vivi 1283159 کچ‎ | Ж 
Amarant 1822 94 — д 


knows why it's there, 
but it is. Beat the game, and 
at the The End screen tap 
R2, L1, R2, R2, Up, X, | d 
wn, А, L2, R1, | pe lov 
You'll hear a | S 
jingle. Press Start to bring 
up а гате of blackjack. If 
you lose all your money, just 
reenter the code at the The 
End screen again to start up 
another round. 


STAND 
HIT 
DOUBLE 

SPLIT " ا‎ 


= 
ы. Е 


Y 
Û GAME BOY COLOR 


192 Sunflora Evolved Sunkern With Sun Stone 
193 Yanma (Night) Route 35, Talk to Arnie 
194 Wooper Route 32, 33 
195 Quagsire Evolved Wooper (L 20), Union 
Cave, Route 9, 10 
196 Espeon (Day, Morning) Evolved 
Eevee (Tameness) 
197 Umbreon (Night) Evolved Eevee (Tameness) 
198 Murkrow (Night) Route 7, 16 
199 Slowking Trade Slowpoke or Slowbro 
with King's Rock 
oett — -— 200 Misdreavus (Night) Mt. Silver 
201 Unown Ruins of Alph 
Enemy SPINARAK 202 Wobbuffet (Flash) Dark Cave 
203 Girafarig Route 43 
used POISON STING? 204 Pineco (Night) Shake Trees Route 31, 34 


205 Forretress Evolved Pineco (L 31) 
206 Dunsparce (Flash) Dark Cave, Talk to Anthony 


POKÉMON SILVER & бош 207 Gligar Route 45 
Game Informer's crackpot Poké-fans scoured the earth for the locations of all of the new 208 Steelix Trade Onix while holding metal coat 
creatures in both Gold and Silver. The listing is easy to use and more detailed than any 209 Snubbull Route 38, Talk to Chad 
official strategy guide on the market. Actually, this is the only guide that lists every loca- 20 Firm ae 5 2 — 
tion or strategy needed to snatch all of the exciting new beasties. 212 Sh Trade Soyther with Metal Coat 
Locatii 213 Shuckle Smash Rock Route 40, 41, 
025 Pikachu Route 2 Cianwood Island 
152 Chikorita New Bark Town, Elm Lab 214 Heracross Shake Trees Route 42 
153 Bayleef Evolved Chikorita (L 16) 215 Sneasel (Night) Route 28 
154 Meganium Evolved Bayleef (L 32) 216 Teddiursa Route 45 
155 Cyndaquil New Bark Town, Elm Lab 217 Ursaring Route 28, Victory Road, Mt. 
156 Quilava Evolved Cyndquil (L14) Silver, Evloved Teddiursa (L 30) 
157 Typhlosion Evolved Quilava (L 36) 218 Slugma Route 16-18 
158 Totodile New Bark Town, Elm Lab 219 Magcargo Evolved Slugma (L 38) 
159 Croconaw Evolved Totodile (L 18) 220 Swinub Ice Cave — 
160 Feraligatr Evolved Croconaw (L 30) 221 Piloswine Evolved Swinub (L 33) 
161 Sentret Route 1, 29 222 Corsola (Fishing) With Super Rod 
162 Furret Evolved Sentret (L 15) 223 Remoraid Route 44, Talk to Wilton 
163 Hoot Hoot (Night) Route 1, 2, 29-31, 35-37 224 Octillery Evolved Remoraid (L 25) 
164 Noctowl Evolved Hoot Hoot (L 20) 225 Delibird Ice Cave 
Route 2, 8,12,14,15, 43 226 Mantine Route 41 
165 Ledyba (Morning) Route 2, 30, 31, 37 227 Skarmory Route 45 
166 Ledian (Morning) Route 2 228 Houndour (Night) Route 7 
167 Spinarak (Night) Route 2, 30, 31, 37 229 Houndoom Evolved Houndour L 24 — 
168 Ariados Evolved Spinarak (L 22), 230 Kingdra Trade Horsea or Seadra with 
(Night) Route 2 Dragon Scale 
169 Crobat Evolved Golbat (Tameness) 231 Phanpy Route 45, Use Fastball 
170 Chinchou Route 21 232 Donphan Victory Road, Mt. Silver, Route 
171 Lantum Evolved Chinchou (L 27) 28, Evolved Phanpy (L 25) 
172 Pichu Breed Pikachu 233 Porygon 2 Trade Porygon with Upgarde 
173 Cleffa Breed Clefairy/ Clefable 234 Stantler Route 36, 37 
174 Igglybuff Breed Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff 235 Smeargle Ruins of Alph, Grass to the left 
175 Togepi Egg in Violet City, Breed Togetic 236 Tyrogue Talk to Karate Master in Mt. Mortar, 
176 Togetic Evolved Togepi (Tameness) Breed Hitmonchan/Hitmonlee/Hitmontop 
177 Natu Ruins of Alph, Grass 237 Hitmontop Evolved Tyrogue 
strip to the left 238 Smoochum Breed Jynx 
178 Xatu Evolved Natu (L 25) 239 Elekid Breed Electabuzz 
179 Mareep Route 32, 42, 43 240 Magby Breed Magmar 
180 Flaaffy Route 42, 43, Evolved 241 Miltank Route 38, 39 
Mareep (L 15) 242 Blissey Evolved Chansey (Tameness) 
181 Ampharos Evolved Flaaffy (L 30) 243 Raikou Burned Tower, Use Sleep 
182 Bellossom Evolved Gloom with Sun Stone & Fastball to Capture 
183 Marill Mt. Mortar, Talk to Parry on Route 45 244 Entei Burned Tower, Use Sleep 
184 Azumarill Evolved Marill (L 18) & Fastball to Capture 
185 Sudowoodo Route 36, Water tree with Squirtbottle 245 Suicune Burned Tower, Use Sleep 
186 Politoed Trade Poliwag and Poliwhirl & Fastball to Capture 
with King's Rock 246 Larvitar Silver Mountain 
187 Hoppip Route 13, 14, 15, 32, 33 247 Pupitar Evolve Larvitar (L 30) 
188 Skiploom Route 14, Evolved Hoppip (L 18) 248 Tyranitar Evolve Pupitar (L 55) 
189 Jumpluff Evolved Skiploom (L 27) 249 Lugia Whirl Islands 
190 Aipom Shake Tree Route 42 250 Ho-Oh Tin Tower 
191 Ѕипкет Shake Tree In National Park 


154 GAMEINFORMER 


Tameness 


Certain Pokémon only evolve if 
their mood is right. If you see 
(Tameness) in our listing, / 
then you'll need to take spe- 

cial care of certain 
Pokémon. Use them in battle, 

let them hold items, use healing 
agents on them, and they'll eventually evolve. 

You won't be able to get Crobat, Togetic, Blissey, Espeon, 
or Umbreon without setting their mood. Also, Pichu, Cleffa, 
and Igglybuff won't evolve unless they are happy. 


By talking to certain characters in the game, you'll learn 
about Pokémon swarms - timed events where rare 
Pokémon show up in greater abundance. Even if you are 
miles away, these characters will call you and let you know 
that a swarm is happening. Snubbull, Remoraid, 
Dunsparce, Yanma, Qwilfish, and Marill are easiest found 
in swarms. 


Evolve Tyrogue 

This funky fighter evolves at level 20, but the new creature 
you unlock is based on the balance between attack and 
defense. Here's how to balance the scale to get the goods. 


Hitmonlee — Attack > Defense 
Hitmonchan – Attack < Defense 
Hitmontop — Attack = Defense 


Certain Pokémon imported from 
Red, Blue, and Yellow enter the 

new world with exciting new items 
attached. Be sure and load all of your 
old Poké-pals onto Gold or Silver! 


After solving all of the puzzles in the Ruins of Alph, capture 
all of its forms (A through K), then talk to the scientists, to 
unlock the ability to print out pictures of Unown on your 
Game Boy Printer. 


Poké-Breeding 

Bring a male and female Pokémon to the Breeding Center 
on Route 33 south of Goldenrod City. Eventually, this cou- 
ple will produce an egg. When it hatches, a new Poké-baby 
awaits. Also, if you don't have the opposite sex, you can 
always use like Pokémon or a Ditto. 


Timed Events 
Here's a list of all the timed events in the game. 


National Park Bug Catching – Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 
Rival at Indigo Plateau (After Mt. Moon) - Monday, 
Wednesday 

Rival at Dragon’s Den (After Mt. Moon) - Tuesday, 
Thursday 

Brother at Goldenrod Salon - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday 
Young Brother at Goldenrod Salon – Sunday, Thursday, 
Saturday 

Goldenrod Trinket Shop Opens - Monday 

Goldenrod Pharmacy Opens - Sunday, Saturday 

Union Cave Lapras - Friday 

S.S. Aqua Departs for Vermilion - Monday, Friday 

S.S. Aqua Departs for Olivine - Sunday, Wednesday 

Mt. Moon Clefary Dance - Monday Evening 

Pokémon Radio Plays Lullaby - Monday, Wednesday, 
Friday 

Pokémon Radio Plays March - Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, 
Saturday , 
Frieda on Route 32 - Friday 

Wesley at Lake of Rage – Wednesday 
Arthur on Route 36 – Thursday 
Tuscany on Route 29 - Tuesday 
Sunny on Route 37 - Sunday 

Monica on Route 40 – Monday 
Santos in Blackthron - Saturday 
Lucky Number Radio Chooses Number – Friday 


- 2 PLAYSTATION 


SECRET ACCESS 


CODE OF THE MONTH 


Tony Hawk's Pro SKATER 2 


Neversoft Skaters - At the Main Menu, hold L1, then 
press Up, ÛJ (x2), A, Right, Up, O, A. Doing this will 


make the wheel spin. Now, enter Create-A-Skater and 
input any of the Neversoft team names like Mick West, 
Connor Jewett, Joel Jewett, Nolan Nelson, or Noel Hines. 
Just look in your game manual under the Credits to see 


who the team consists of. 
Cheat Menu - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 and 
B x Ga Г} A, Up, Down, Left, Up, O, А, X, A, 

‚ X, A, ©. Now, end the run to unlock Spider-Man, 
Officer Dick, Hawaii, and Skater Haven. 


Full Special Meter — During gameplay, pause. then hold 
L1 and press Ж, A, © (x2), Up, Left, A, 


Raise Stats 10x - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 
and press <, A, 8 Li K Up, Down. 


Turbo Mode - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 
and press Down, L], A, Right, Up, ©, Down, D, A, 
Right, Up, 


Blood Mode - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 and 
press Right, Up, 5 


Fat Skater - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 and 
press Ж (x4), Left, Ж (x4), Left, Ж (x4), Left. 


Big Head Mode- During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 
and press LI, O, Up, Left (x2), LI, Right, Up, Left. 


Skinny Skater - During gameplay, pause, then hold L1 
and press Ж (x4), tise (x4), ial X (x4). 


Dave Mirra FREESTYLE BMX 


Play as Slim Jim - In Pro Quest mode, go to the Rider 
Selection screen and press Down (x2), Left, Right, Up 
(x2), O to unlock the big Slim Jimmy. 


All Bikes - In Pro Quest mode, go to the Bike Selection 
screen and press Up, Left, Up, Down, Up, Right, Left, 
Right, O to get all of the fun little bicycles. 


All Levels & Styles – In Pro Quest mode, go to the Style 
Selection screen and press Left, Up, Right, Down, Left, 
Down, Right, Up, Left, O to get the booty you crave so 
dearly! 
Aaron Groute 
Webville, COM 


Additional Cheats 

Each time you beat the 
game with different charac- 
ters (excluding Tony Hawk 
and Officer Dick), a new 
cheat is revealed. Here’s 
the listing of cheats іп the 
order they are unlocked: 


Officer Dick 
Skip to Restart 
Kid Mode 
Perfect Balance 
Always Special 
STUD Cheat 
Weight Cheat 
Wireframe 
Slow-Nic 

Big Head Cheat 
Sim Mode 
Smooth Cheat 
Disco Mode 
Level Flip 


Hawaii Chopper Drop - 

Simply earn three gold 

medals with every char- 

acter in the game (excluding 

Private Carrera). => 


Skater Haven – Beat the game with every character, each 
with a 100% rating and three gold medals, to get this 
awesome new course. 


Spider-Man - As cool of a secret this is, it's really easy 
to access. All you have to do is complete the game with 
a 100% rating and three gold medals with a created 
skater. When you do get this web crawler, check out his 
Special moves! 


80's Tony Hawk — Beat the game with a 100% rating and 
three gold medals with Tony Hawk. Simply go the Bullring 
with 80's Tony and win a medal to see a new video. 


Private Carrera – Complete every gap in the game, a dif- 
ficult feat indeed, to get this hot skater. 


Moon Gravity – Unlock Officer Dick, and use him to beat 

the game with a 100% rating and three gold medals to 
unlock this other worldly cheat. 

Martin Sweet 

Plano, TX 


Hocs or War 
Enter all of these interesting cheats as player names. 


Team Lard - MARDY PIGS 

All Movies – PRYING PIGS 
Extra CG – WATTA PORK 

"Virtual Gap Boy 2001" 

Phoenix, AZ 


Star Trek: INVASION 


Cheat Menu - At the Mission Selection screen, press 

Up, Left, Down, Right, Up, Right, Down, Left, Up, then 
simultaneously press L1 and R1, then L2 and R2. 

"Daddy Fat Sax" 

Memphis, TN 


GAMEINFORMER 155 


„ДУ PLAYSTATION 


Monster RANCHER BATTLE 
Carp: Episope ЇЇ 


By inserting different music and game CDs into your 
PlayStation, you can create different battle cards. Here’s 
a comprehensive list revealing the CDs needed to unlock 
some of the rarest cards in the game. To no surprise 
whatsoever, the games producing the rarest cards are all 
from Tecmo. 


Battle Card Required CD 

Henger & Thunder Bolt Dead or Alive (PS-X) 

Busy Time Kagero: Deception 2 (PS-X) 
Tiger Charge Monster Rancher 2 (PS-X) 
Jell Stab Dead or Alive 2 Demo (DC) 
Plant Seed Gun Dead or Alive 2 (DC) 


Deception Ill: Dark 
Delusion (PS-X) 


No Doubt — Return of Saturn 


Suezo Tail Slap 


Hare Rush Punch 


Tiger Lightning No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom 
Blow Away Blink 182 – Enema of the State 
Mew Head Butt Mariah Carey – #1’s 
Golem Roller Celine Dion — Falling Into You 
Naga Whirl Blow Britney Spears — Oops! | Did 
It Again 
Phoenix Beak Metallica — And Justice For All 
Metalner Yo Yo Soundgarden — 
Badmotorfinger 


Mocchi Roll 

Plant Life Steal 
Phoenix Mys. Power 
Mocchi Hide 

Tiger Sonic Move 


Jewel — Pieces of You 

Dave Matthews Band — Crash 
Andrea Bocelli — Sacred Arias 
Fear Factory — Remanufacture 
Brian Setzer Orchestra — 
Dirty Boogie 

Kiss — Greatest Kiss 


Guns N' Roses — Appetite for 
Destruction 


Korn - Life is Peachy 
Rob Zombie — American Made 
Music to Strip By 
"Vince, The Game Visualizer" 
Otter Creek, IL 


Twinkling 
Gali Evil Dance 


Naga Evil Shots 
Dino Throw Away 


Duke NUKEM: LAND or THE BABES 


Debug Code - Enter then Options menu, then access the 
Cheats menu and enter: L1, L2, R2, R1, L1, L2, R2, R1, 
L1, L2, R2, R1, L1, L2, R2, R1,O (хд), X (x4), C (x4), 
Select (x4). 


Michael Kohut 
Scranton, PA 


156 GAME INFORMER 


00:242119. Y 


Be mph 


NASCAR 2001 


To access these codes enter the Options menu, select 
Credits, then choose Development. After the movie 
plays, and the credits begin to role, enter one of the 
codes below. 


Ud Car - Hold L1, then press O, A, O, О, 


EA Sports Car - Hold L2, then press 7,0, A, Ж. 
Exotic Blackbox Car – Hold R2, then press C, O, %, 
Up, Down, Left, Right. 
Blackbox Classic Car - Hold R2, then press [.], O, Ж, 
Down, Up, Right, Left. 
John Andretti Second Car - Hold R1, then press LI, A, 
Treasure Island Track - Hold L2, then tap O, O, [ 1, 
Up, Up, Down, Up, Left, Right, Ж. 
Blackbox Track – Hold R1, then press Left, O, Up, 
Down, Right (X3). 
Wrecking Ball Effect — Hold L2, then press О, A 
(x5), Ж. 
1 On 1 Mode – Hold R1, then press © (x3). 
"EA Lover" 
Jellystone, NY 


Hor Suors бош 2 


Simply enter "2GSH" as a Player Name to unlock all of the 
characters, all of the courses, and the Тор-Рго difficulty. 

"The Kramer Gamer" 

Whitefish, MT 


MTV Sports: SKATEBOARDING 


Cheat Mode - Enter Lifestyle mode, then input PASWRD 

at the Name Entry screen. This code will unlock all of 
the boards, costumes, skaters, and parks. 

Candy Nadora 

Toronto, Canada 


No Swearing - 
Marvel's меб 
slinger doesn’t much care for 
cussing. As a matter of fact, if you 
enter the Secrets menu and enter а 
salty four-letter word into the Cheat 
menu, he'll pop onto screen and 
replace it with something nice. If you know 
some of these words, check this out. It's quite, 
entertaining to see Spidey hop onto screen and! 
erase your foul-mouthed spew. 


Jimmy Martin 
Nashville, TN 


DREAMCAST 


IMMVISIBLETRACK ON 
BRAKES ОН 
SUPERTIRES OK 
MASS MASSIVE 
SUICIDE MODE 
BATTLE PANT SHOP 


RAMOOM WEAPONS 
aL 


RRECT IN PLACE 
FRAME SCALE 


San Francisco Rush 2049 


Cheat Menu - At the Press Start screen, hold the L and 
R Buttons, and X and Y, then tap Start to display the 
Cheats function. Now, enter the Cheats menu and input 
any of the codes below. Note: These codes must be 
entered at lightning speeds. 


Demolition Battle Mode – Highlight Demolition Battle, 
then old the L Button and A, and press Y, X. Release these 
buttons, then hold the R Button and A, then tap Y, X. 


Random Battle Weapons – Highlight Random Weapons, 
then hold the L Button and A, and tap X, Y. Release L and 
A, then hold the R Button and A, then tap X, Y. 


Invincibility — Highlight Invincible, then hold the L Button 
and X, the tap Y, A. Release L and X, then hold the R 
Button and A, X, and Y. 


Super Tires - Highlight Super Tires, the hold the R 
Button, and press X (x3). Release R, then hold the L 
Button and press A (x2), Y. 


Master Brakes - Highlight Brakes, the press Y (x3), the 
hold the L and R Buttons, A, and X. 


Track Orientation — Highlight Track Orientation, then hold 
the L and R Buttons and press X. Release these buttons, 
then tap A, X, Y. Lastly, hold L and R again, then press X. 


Invisible Tracks – Highlight Invisible Track, then quickly 
tap R Button, L Button, Y, X, A (x2), X, Y. Now, hold the L 
and R Buttons and press A. 


Invisibility — Highlight Invisible, then hold the L Button and 
X. Release these buttons, hold the R Button and Y, then tap 
A. Release R and Y, then hold the L and R Buttons, and 
press X. Finally, release the button combo and press Y (x3). 


Heavy Cars - Highlight Mass, then hold A, and press X 
(x2), Y. Rélease A and tap the L Button, then the R Button. 
"Scarecrow" 

Burnt Hills, NY 


F355 CHALLENGE 


Hidden Tracks – From the Main Menu, enter the Options 
menu, then hold X and Y. This will unlock the Password 
screen. Enter this new menu, without letting go of X and Y. 
Now, input any of the case sensitive codes below to unlock 
а new course. 


Fiorano Track - CinqueValvole 
Nurburgring Track - LiebeFrauMilch 
Laguna-Sega Track - Stars&Stripes 
Sepang Track – KualaLumpur 
Atlanta Track - DaysofThunder 
Carrie Fischer 
Endor Moon Hills, NM 


SEAMAN 
Awareness Message - Place the Seaman GD-ROM into 
any CD player and listen to the tracks to find a strange 
kitchen awareness message. 
William Aterblou 
Orlando, FL 


V HH EG 


NEW MOVES 
TTT SELF TAKEDOWN 
a "TFI SEO! NAOE 


т ҮТТЕМ DASH KNEE KICK = 
к ТТ VICTOR CROSSARM COST 
Е ҮТҮ SWEEP 


| TTT TRIANOLE HOLD su prs 


INCREASE FIGHTERS KICKING POWER, PRESS ( ACCEPT @ RETURN 


ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 


Super Fighter — Enter Career mode, the input "Best" as 
the first name, and "Buy" as the last name to unlock a 
fighter with 999 creation points. 


Bruce as Referee - In Career mode, unlock Bruce as a 

character, then choose a fighter, then when the match is 

loading, hold the L and R Buttons to swap the announc- 
er with the ref. 

Henry Schultz 

AOL, COM 


OPTION MODE 
ет "TENET 


CAHE- OPTION 
BUTTON CONFIG. 
SCREEN ADJUST 


SOUND 
EXTRA OPTION 


STREET FIGHTER Ill: 
DousnrE ЇМРАСТ 


For either game, head to the Options screen. Hold the L 
and R through the entire code sequence. Start off by 
highlighting Game Option and pressing Left (x2), X (x2), 
Right (x2). Next, highlight Button Config and press Left 
(x2), Y (x2), Right (x2). Continue on to screen Adjust and 
press Left (x2), X, Y, Right (x2). Lastly, highlight Sound 
and press Left (x2), Y, X, Right (x2). Entering this com- 
mand will open the extra options. This cheat is actually 
quite difficult to access, yet if you are truly determined, 
you'll nail the sequences and it will appear right before 
your burnt viewing eyes. 
Clarence Waters 
Webville, COM 


Spawn: IN THE DEMON’s HAND 


Hidden Characters – Complete Arcade mode with different 
characters to unlock exciting hidden characters like Gold 
Spawn, Green Spawn, Medievil Spawn, Future Spawn, 
some other Spawn, and many other versions of Spawn. 


Character Galleries - Complete Tournament Battle with 
different characters to unlock artwork for each of the 
combatants you choose. Just wait until you see all the 
Spawn shots!!! 
"The Rhino" 
Toledo, OH 


NINTENDO 64 


Turok 3: SHADOW 
OF OBLIVION 


Simply enter the Secrets menu and input any of the 
codes below. After you enter a code, you'll need to 
activate it before entering the game. 


Invincibility - Raven, Fish, Eagle, Bear, Lizard, Rabbit 
All Weapons – Owl, Bear, Owl, Beetle, Hawk, Owl 
All Keys - Lizard, Dragonfly, Bull, Bear, Wolf, Eagle 
Warp Level 1 - Frog, Elk, Horse, Dragonfly, Wolf, Rabbit 
Warp Level 2 – Owl, Owl, Horse, Elk, Elk, Elk 
Warp Level 3 - Owl, Rabbit, Bear, Beetle, Frog, Cougar 
Warp Level 4 – Bear, Horse, Raven, Eagle, Horse, 
Coyote 
Warp Level 5 — Bear, Dragonfly, Horse, Bear, Frog, Elk 
Headless Mode - Lizard, Elk, Eagle, Owl, Fish, Horse 
Big Head Mode – Cougar, Wolf, Snake, Rabbit, Lizard, 
Coyote 
Big Limbs – Lizard, Lizard, Dragonfly, Horse, Lizard, 
Coyote 
Stick Characters - Horse, Eagle, Snake, Cougar, Insect, 
Fish 
Small Characters - Frog, Frog, Fish, Beetle, Wolf, 
Cougar 
Deathmatch Mannequins – Snake, Bull, Snake, Frog, 
Bear, Elk 
Pen & Ink Mode - Jaguar, Horse, Elk, Fish, Jaguar, Hawk 
Gasping Mode – Dragonfly, Bull, Rabbit, Fish, Eagle, 
Raven 
Gouraud Mode - Lizard, Fish, Beetle, Fish, Wolf, 
Dragonfly 
Menu Madness – Rabbit, Owl, Horse, Beetle, Bear, Bear 
Full Pause - Rabbit, Owl, Lizard, Elk, Fish, Rabbit 
Credits — Elk, Elk, Elk, Elk, Elk, Elk 
"Gl Droid" 
(Location unknown — last 
seen hugging Kurt Cobain's grave) 


ALL ACCESS 


Not finding the codes you need? 
Trouble with a powerful boss? 
Do you keep running out of lives? 


Visit Game Informer’s online code database featuring 

over 10,000 codes for over 5,000 games. 

Updated daily! 
http://www.gameinformer.com/secretaccess 


SECRET ACCESS 


Mario TENNIS 


Enter the Special Games menu and choose Ring 
Tournament as your game of choice. Now, input the 
codes below to unlock exciting new tourneys. 


Peach Cup – OF9XFQOFR 
Bowser Cup - N24K8QN2P 
Donkey Kong Cup - MM55MQMMJ 
MarioTennis.com Cup - 48HWOR482 
Blockbuster Cup - ARM6JQARU 
Kim Watts 
Wilhelm, OH 


San Francisco RusH 2049 

Cheat Menu - At the Main Menu, highlight the Players 
icon, then hold the L and R Buttons, Z, Up C, and Right 
C to open the Cheats menu. Now, input any of the codes 
below. 


All Parts – Highlight All Parts, then hold the L and R 
Buttons, and press Z. Release these buttons, then press 
Down C, Up C, Left C, Right C. Lastly, hold the L and R 
Buttons, then press Z. 


Invincibility - Press Right C, L Button, В Button (x2), L 
Button. Now, Hold Left C and Down C, then tap Z. 
"The Vidman" 
Uptown, MI 


POKÉMON PUZZLE LEAGUE 


High Speed Marathon - At the Title Screen, hold Z then 
press B, A, L Button (x2). 


Very Hard Difficulty — At the Difficulty screen, hold Z, 
then press L Button (x2), A, B. 


Super Hard Difficulty — At the Difficulty screen, hold Z, 
then press R Button, L Button, A, B. 


All Puzzles - At the Title Screen, hold Z, then press A, B, 

R Button, A (x2), B, R Button, A to unlock every puzzle 
within the Puzzle University. 

Jenny Simmons 

Red Meadows, WA 


Army МЕМ: Sarce’s HEROES 2 
Enter all of these codes at the Password screen. 


Silver Uniforms - TNMN 
Level 17 - WHSWZRD 
"The Milkman" 
Tellos, TN. 


ENTER TO WIN! 


Send in your codes and passwords, and 
if we choose your entry as Code of the 
Month you'll win a wonderful prize from 
the Game Informer Vault! All other entries 
printed within these hallowed pages will 
receive a Secret Access T-shirt. 


Send To: 
Secret Access 
Game Informer Magazine 
10120 W. 76th Street 
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 
secretaccess@gameinformer.com 


GAMEINFORMER 157 


PC PERSONAL COMPUTER 


ROGUE SPEAR: 


URBAN OPERATIONS 
Simply hit [Enter] to input any of 
the codes below. 


God Mode - avatargod 

Refill Inventory – 

5fingerdiscount 

Invisible Player — 

theshadowknows 

Team God - teamgod 

No Al - nobrainer 

No Victory Conditions — explore 
"Mac, The Video Master" 

San Diego, CA 


SHADOWS OF AMN 


Cheat Mode - To enable these cheats, you'll need to 
edit a game file, so make a backup before proceeding. 
Edit the "baldur.ini" file within the game folder. Add the 
line: "Debug Mode-1" under the Program Options head- 
ing. Now, begin a £ame and press [Control] and [Space] 
to enable the console window. After entering any of the 
case-sensitive codes below, press [Enter], then press 
[Control] and [Space] again to activate the code. 


Set Gold – CLUAConsole:AddGold ("<number>") 
Set Experience - CLUAConsole:SetCurrentXP ("«0- 
2950000>") 
Enable Key Cheats - CLUAConsole:EnableCheatKeys() 
Teleport – CLUAConsole:MoveToArea ("<location num- 
ber>") 
Full Map – CLUAConsole:ExploreArea() 
Spawn Monsters - CLUAConsole:CreateCreature 
("<monster name>") 
Spawn Items - CLUAConsole:Createltem ("<item 
name>") 
Spawn Multiple Items - CLUAConsole:Createltem 
("<item name>",<number>) 
"Amnfan102" 
Webville, COM 


Star Trek: New Wonibs 


Level Select - This code requires a text editor to edit the 
"game.ini" file, so make a backup before proceeding any 
futher. Simply change the following lines to their new val- 
ues. 
FedLevel=100 
KliLevel=200 
RomLevel=300 
TauLevel=400 
MetLevel=500 
HubLevel-600 
Osborn Woltenwood 
Rocky Bluffs, RI 


158 GAME INFORMER 


АСЕ or EMPIRES ll: THE 


CONQUERORS EXPANSION 


Cheat Mode - Simply tap [Enter] to activate the cheat 
function. Now, input any of the codes below. 


Instant Victory — i г winner 
Instant Loss - resign 
Cobra Car - how do you turn this on 
Little Monkey - furious the monkey boy 
Control Nature – natural wonders 
Fast Building - aegis 
1000 Food - cheese steak jimmy's 
1000 Gold - robin hood 
1000 Stone - rock on 
1000 Wood - lumberjack 
Flying Dogs – woof woof 
Full Map - marco 
Kill All Opponents – black death 
Kill Opponent 1 – torpedo1 
Kill Opponent 2 - torpedo2 
Kill Opponent 3 - torpedo3 
Kill Opponent 4 - torpedo4 
Kill Opponent 5 - torpedo5 
Kill Opponent 6 – torpedo6 
Kill Opponent 7 - torpedo? 
Kill Opponent 8 - torpedo8 
Saboteur Unit - to smithereens 
Tall Villager — i love the monkey head 
Suicide – wimpywimpywimpy 
Jake Henderson 
San Rio, NV 


Buair WITCH: Rustin PARR 


Press [F10] to display the console window. At this point, 
any of the codes below may be entered at your leisure. 


Invincibility — iworkforgod 
Full Health — givemefaith 
Invisibility - nod3d 
Easy Combat – combatisscary 
Easy Difficulty — isuck 
Hard Difficulty — irule 
Easy Puzzles - puzzlesarescary 
Dismemberments - gibnplenty 
All Weapons – getintomybelly 
Crossbow - mediumrare 
Shotgun - bigstickofdeath 
Tommygun - meetmypaltommy 
Elephant Gun - smileynomore 
Flame-Thrower — burnyourassoff 
Night Vision Goggles – icansee 
Gas Mask - thedogfarted 
Dynamite — goodtimesman 
100 Bullets – iamawimpforthis 
Silver Ammo - wwbeware 
Lith Ammo – vampbeware 
Mercy Ammo - demonbeware 
Flaming Ammo – flameonastick 
Charge Radiance Emitter — sunofgod 
Metallic Skins - t2000 
Recharge Flashlight – recharge 
Disable AI – hellfreezeover 
Big Head Mode - bighead 
Rain - thunderstorm 
Snow - snowstorm 
Haley Dent 
Salt Lake City, UT 


STAR TREK VOYAGER: 
ELITE Force 


Cheat Mode – Press [`] to display the cheat console. 
Now, enter one of any one of the following codes. 


God Mode - god 

Level Select - map (level name) 

Hidden Zone - map brig 

999 Health – undying 

All Weapons - give weapons 

Unlock Items - give (item name) 

No Clipping – noclip 

Invisibility – notarget 

Third person View – cg thirdperson 1 

Set Third Person Range - cg thirdpersonrange (1-100) 
Nate Strizinski 
Webville, COM 


Game: Star Control 2 


| Download: A Hacked Sequel Called Time Warp 


Site: www.starcontrol.com/timewarp 

These talented maniacs hacked into the Star Control 2 | 
code in order to create a freeware fan-based sequel for | 
one of the coolest PC games of all time. While the | 
game is still nowhere near finished, they have made it 
possible to fight with multiple ships on the screen | 
instead of SC2's limited one-on-one style of combat. 
They've even gone so far as to create a couple of new 
ships although they're still no match for a Thraddash 
vessel with a talented pilot at its helm. Once they've | 
perfected melee mode, they even have plans to create | 


| а new adventure portion of the game. The project has | 
| been in development since 1998 and the game still | 


seems like it's a long way from completion, but we'll 
be checking the site at least once a month, and so 
should every Star Control 2 fan. 


A PrayStation 


GAME SHARK 


SECRET ACCESS 


Dino Crisis 2 


All Characters (Dino Extra 
Mode) - 800aeace ffff 


Infinite Health — 
d0039590 1823 
80039594 04b0 
40039740 ffdf 
80039744 04b0 


Infinite Ammo Shotgun — 
800aece0 270f 


Solid Cannon – 
800ae306 0200 


Infinite Solid Cannon — 
800aed28 270f 


Max Extinct Points — 
800aee10 ffff 
800aee12 bf53 


a 
CAESARS Pal, 


i6 S 


Knockout Kincs 2000 
Infinite Stamina — 
8002184c1000 
800218463221 
800218521020 


Infinite Stamina (Player 2) — 
8002184c1000 
8002184e3221 
800218521420 


Infinite Creation Points — 
800c56980064 


Infinite Health — 
8001dabc082b 
8001dabe0277 
8001dac61420 


Infinite Health (Player 2) — 
8001dabc082b 
8001dabe0277 
8001dac61020 


Tony Hawx's Pro Skarr 2 
Win Gold Metal — 
50000302 0000 
800c2266 03e8 
50000502 0000 
800c2360 03e8 


Stud Cheat — 
800bbd4c 0001 


Wire Frame Cheat — 
800bbd54 0001 


Big Head Cheat – 
800bbd5c 0001 


Smooth Cheat — 
800bbd64 0001 


Level Flip Cheat — 
800bbd70 0001 


Disco Mode Cheat — 
800bbd6c 0001 


Moon Physics Cheat – 
800bbd68 0001 


Sim Mode Cheat – 
800bbd60 0001 


Slo-Nic Cheat – 
800bbd58 0001 


Weight Cheat — 
800bbd50 0001 


Always Special Cheat – 
800bbd48 0001 


Kid Mode Cheat — 
800bbd40 0001 


Perfect Balance — 
800bbd46 0001 


DANGER GIRL 
Infinite Health — 
80061b40 2400 


Infinite Pistol Ammo — 
800ef518 03e7 


Infinite Pistol Clips — 
800ef51a 03e7 


Infinite AKA7 Ammo – 
800ef578 03e7 


Infinite AK47 Clips — 
800ef57a 03e7 


Infinite Sub Machinegun Ammo — 
800ef5d8 03e7 


Infinite Sub Machinegun Clips — 
800ef5d8 03e7 


NHL 2001 


Max Momentum (Away) – 
8011ffd8 03e8 


No Momentum (Away) – 
8011ffd8 0000 


Max Momentum (Home) – 
8011ffdc 03e8 


No Momentum (Home) – 
8011ffde 0000 


Duke Nukem: 
LAND OF THE BABES 

All Cheats — 

8006ff20 ffff 
All Secrets — 

300ea17a 0003 
Flame Thrower — 

800ea040 0001 
Infinite Flame Thrower Ammo — 

800ea042 00c8 
Grenade Launcher – 

800ea030 0001 
Infinite Grenade Launcher Ammo – 

800ea032 0014 
Torpedo Launcher — 

800ea028 0001 
Laser Gatling — 

800ea038 0001 
RPG - 

800ea048 0001 
Bullet Proof Vest — 

800e9f50 2710 
Stealth Generator — 

800ea088 0001 
Shrinker – 

800ea080 0001 
Dynamite — 

800ea060 0001 
Infinite Ego — 

800e9d32 2710 
Infinite Air — 

800e9f52 2e85 
Quest Item — 

800ea168 0002 
Timer Always at 00:00 – 

800ea164 0000 

800ea166 0000 


Infinite Continues — 
300ea17b 0000 


MTV Sports: Pure RIDE 


All Extras Unlocked — 
800d5510 ffff 
800d5512 ffff 
800d5518 ffff 
800d551a ffff 
800d5520 ffff 
800d5522 ffff 
800d5528 ffff 
800d552a ffff 


Mupper RaceMania 


First Place Finish — 
910с3572 0000 
800с3572 0001 


All Cars — 
800e02bc ffff 
800e02be ffff 


Studio Track — 
80060256 0161 


Arches Track — 
800e025e 0161 


Fraggle Track — 
80060266 0161 


Disco Track – 
800e026e 0161 


© Dreamcast 


STREET FIGHTER Ш: 3RD STRIKE 
Infinite Health — 
e76f2451000000a0 
Low Health — 
e761245100000001 
Infinite Health (Player 2) — 
523f4b93000000a0 


Low Health (Player 2) — 
523f4b9300000001 


Infinite Health — 
32f9270f00000190 


Max Credits — 
cc33e4b0000003e7 


Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 


Infinite Cash — 
d8c0836800000010 


Low Lap Time – 
24d7adeb00000000 
£2e95a9500000000 


Plenty Of Cash – 
1634d44405f5e0ff 


VN NINTENDO 64 


Army Men Sarce’s 
Heroes 2 
Infinite Armor — 
8135c5180600 
Infinite Health — 
8135c5160600 


All Weapons & Ammo — 
8115d06e0001 
811636860001 


OGRE Barme 64 


Infinite Goth — 
81196a6e ffff 


GAMEINFORMER 159 


A 


SWORDQUEST 


THE ADVENTURE THAT NEVER ENDED 


2600's best-sellers, the inclusion of comics by 
some of DC’s best talent to flesh out the 
story, and valuable prizes to attract customers 
and media attention. There was just one major 
flaw in Atari’s master plan. The games were 
some of the most boring ever made, even 
besting E.T. in the race to be 
the absolute worst on the 
2600. Rather than concen- 


ists flown out to San Francisco to play a spe- 
cial version of the game, and the first to com- 
plete it would win a valuable treasure. 
According to the September/October 1982 
issue of Atari Age magazine, the winner of the 
EarthWorld tournament would get a “spectacu- 
lar 18kt solid gold Talisman, 
studded with 12 diamonds and 
12 other precious stones.” The 


In 1982, Atari was anx- 
ious to make a sequel to 
Adventure, one of its most 
popular (and profitable) 
games for the 2600 con- 
sole. Wanting to create a 
much larger experience 
than the predecessor, Atari 
decided to make the sequel a four-cartridge 


series. Perhaps because the hidden Easter 
egg in Adventure, which contained the pro- 
&rammer's initials, had succeeded in generat- 
ing volumes of word of mouth sales, Atari also 
resolved to have the games revolve around 


hard-to-find, hidden clues. 


The series' name was changed from 
Adventure 11 to SwordQuest, with the four indi- 
vidual games known as EarthWorld, FireWorld, 


WaterWorld, and AirWorld, 
each to be released six 
months apart. The cartridges 
would come packaged with a 
comic book that would be inte- 
gral to the quest. Through 
playing the game, clues could 
be gathered that would point 
to certain panels in the comic 
where words were hidden with- 
in the artwork. In all, there 
would be ten hidden words in 
each comic - five of them the 
ones people needed to find, 
and five of them fake words 
so people couldn’t win just by 
combing through the comic. 


160 GAME INFORMER 


winner of FireWorld would obtain 
“a gorgeous Goblet of platinum 
and gold, glistening with rubies, 
sapphires, diamonds, and 
pearls.” The victor of WaterWorld 
would receive a “golden Crown, 
encrusted with diamonds, rubies, 
sapphires, green tourmalines, 
and aquamarines.” AirWorld's 


Adventure, the inspiration 
behind the SwordQuest series 


FireWorld 


blade, blazing with diamonds, 

To add even more enticement to this already emeralds, rubies, and sapphires – 
attractive package, Atari put up $150,000 in 
prizes. Those who sent in the correct words to 
Atari had a chance to be among the 50 final- 


a $50,000 sword!” 
All the pieces were in place: a 
great idea based on one of the 


prize would be “a 
modern-day ver- 
sion of the mythi- 
cal Philosopher's Stone, 
encased in an 18kt gold box 
studded with emeralds, rubies, 
diamonds, and citrines.” Each 
of these prizes had an evaluat- 
ed worth of $25,000, but the 
four who earned these would 
have a chance at an even 
greater prize: “...an incredible 
jewel-encrusted 
Sword, with 18kt 
gold handle and 
gleaming silver 


EarthWorld 


trating on making the series 
entertaining, programmers 
were more intent (probably 
by the mandate of Atari's 
executive board) on making it 
as arduous a process as 
possible to find clues. The 
SwordQuest titles were basi- 
cally games of trial and error, 
where not only could a mis- 
take deny you further 
advancement in the game, it 


would be hours before you realized you needed 


to start over. 


What could have been the Zelda of its era 
ended up being one of the biggest flops of all 
time. The first in the SwordQuest series, 
EarthWorld, enjoyed a modest level of suc- 
cess, but even the chance to win big-money 
prizes couldn't entice anyone to continue buy- 
ing into this quartet of vileness. Further hurt- 


The Talísman, Goblet, Crown, and Philosopher's Stone 


ing SwordQuest's sales was the 
"beginning of the end" for the 
home video game market, as the 
great crash was just around the 
corner. Only EarthWorld and 
FireWorld were released to store 
shelves. WaterWorld was only 
made available through direct- 
mail order to Atari Club mem- 
bers in late 1983 (and is a high- 
у collectable item today), and 
AirWorld was never released in 
any form. 

The EarthWorld and FireWorld 
inals were held as planned, but 
only 15 (rather than 50) finalists were invited 
out for the WaterWorld finals, which ended up 


THIS MONTH 


The prize for winning the 
EarthWorld tournament 


never happening. Atari gave 
$15,000 each to the winners of 
the first two tournaments, and 
$2,000 each to the 15 
WaterWorld finalists as compen- 
sation for the contest being 
suspended indefinitely. The 
Crown, Philosopher's Stone, 
and Sword were never awarded, 
and rumor has it that all three 
of these valuable pieces of triv- 
ia are resting on the mantle of 
Jack Tramiel, the person who 
became the co-owner of Atari 
Corp. in 1984. 


In an unusual 
twist, the 
comics that 
came with 
SwordQuest 
were much 
better than 
the game 
itself 


By 1984, Nintendo was having astounding 
success with its Famicom home console in 


IN GAM NG Japan, and was hoping to keep its fortune 
streak rolling by bringing the system to the 
US. It was quite a bold move considering the 
Р н ISTO RY fallout that had occurred in this country a lit- 


tle over one year earlier, and the only kind of 


home video games business being conducted was the kind that lost money. 

Undaunted, the newly named Nintendo Entertainment System was test mar- 
keted in New York City in December 1985. The NES exceeded all expectations, 
and was quickly expanded to nationwide sales. Within a year, everyone would 
have Super Mario Brothers manía, and the rest, as they say, is history. 


By Matthew Johnson 


Every month one of Game Informer's readers 
anaa picks his personal choice for Greatest Game 
Of All Time. 


¦ CONTRA 


E FORMAT NES Ш PUBLISHER KONAMI 


| have just one 
word to say about 
what the greatest 
game of all time is 
— Contra. Everyone 
has played this 
classic. Everything 
about it is so awe- 
some - the music, 
the gameplay, the 
intensity. Who cares about the story? The game 
was all about kicking alien butt; blasting through 
each stage with a machine gun, laser gun (which 1 
thought wasn't really effective until certain boss- 
es), and the spread gun. 

Who could ever forget about that alien with the 
snake-like arms at the end of the vertical stage? | 
keep laughing at that because when | was playing 
with my brother, | would always keep on jumping, 
and he would fall behind and lose a life. When he 
ran out of lives, he 
would of course 
steal mine through 
that trick. Апа 
speaking of tricks, 
everyone who's 
played Contra will 
have the Up, Up, 
Down, Down, Left, 
Right, Left, Right, 
B, A, B, A, Start for 
30 lives code embedded in their memories until the 
day they die. This game should definitely be con- 
sidered the greatest game of all time. Too bad the 
modern Contra games will never be in the running 
for a "best anything" list. 


GAMEINFORMER 161 


CLASSIC REVIEWS 


i RETRO 
Ie RATING 


OURSE 


action/platform setting. If you couldn't tell by the name, Kirby's Dream Course is 

actually a take on mini golf, and surprisingly this game was Nintendo's first such 
attempt. Dream Course has some semblance of golf as you attempt to use the fewest 
strokes to make it into the hole. However, it differs slightly from a straightup mini golf game 
because the hole is hidden and the ball is actually Kirby. The game contains 64 holes 
dispersed over eight courses. Each hole contains a number of enemies, and you must put 
Kirby into contact with these baddies to uncover the hole. Mixing elements of billiards and 
action/platforming, Dream Course is a thinking game just as much as it is action. Lining up 
the multiple bank, jumping-floater shot will take some skill and thought. For this reason – and 
Dream Course's excellent playability — this is one no SNES fan should go without. 


р rior to the release of this вате, Nintendo's semi-popular puffball was only seen in an 


SKITCHIN" 


and hitching a ride. Yeah, you know, just like Michael J. Fox in Back to the Future. Anyway, 

this game came on the heels of another popular Electronic Arts game, Road Rash, and is 
very much like that game. In a race to the finish, players take the role of an inline skater. 
Competing against 14 other skaters, you must skate the streets, rack up cash by doing tricks, 
and avoid a slew of vehicle traffic. Of course, the traffic is where the skitchin' comes in. 
Grabbing onto a car will boost up the speed and help you place near the top. Like Road Rash, 
you can battle with other skaters using your fists and other acquired weapons. After each 
race, players can purchase new equipment such as new skates, pads, and the like. For its 
time, Skitchin’ was an excellent spin-off of the Road Rash franchise, and the concept is 
altogether crazy. This is one title we'd love to see updated. 


| f you're not familiar with the slang term “skitchin’,” it involves hanging on a car's bumper 


E STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER ACTION Ш PUBLISHER NINTENDO Ш DEVELOPER НА! LABORATORIES 
W YEAR RELEASED 1995 


( COLECOVISION J 


COSMIC 
AVENGER 


system, and thus garnered much playing time from those early adopters. The game is 

based on the arcade title of the same name, which in turn was an almost exact copy 
of Scramble, the arcade title from Konami. Regardless of its origins, the game is a very nice 
adaptation of an existing arcade title - something that was a strong selling point for the 
Colecovision at the time. Cosmic Avenger puts the player in control of a spaceship equipped 
with lasers and bombs. Through successive waves of air and ground-based enemies, you 
unload your ammunition on as much as possible. Obviously, as with most shooters of this 
type, the action gets progressively more difficult as you go along. Thus, the challenge of 
Cosmic Avenger is quite steep. This £ame may not be the most brilliant of Colecovision 
£ames, but it still holds a spot in history as one of the most memorable. 


T his side-scrolling shooter was one of the first games released for the Colecovision 


II STYLE | OR 2-PLAYER RACING Ш PUBLISHER ELECTRONIC ARTS M DEVELOPER ELECTRONIC 
ARTS M YEAR RELEASED 1994 


CYBERMORPH 


understand that the 14 Jaguar fans in the world can't expect too much ink in Classic GI 

because when you pick through the library of Atari Jaguar games, there are a bunch of 
games that standout as utter junk, while only a few are recognizable as worthwhile. Luckily, 
Cybermorph is the latter. Looking back at this game, its polygonal, textureless graphics suffer from 
some of the same problems that games of its time do — they just don't look that cool now. Even so, 
the gameplay is pretty solid. The basics of the game require you to navigate through the world, pick 
up a set amount of pods, and keep the enemy off your tail. One of the more interesting aspects of 
Cybermorph's playcontrol is the ability to switch perspectives. This turns out to be an essential 
gameplay element, as certain levels require precise navigation that is difficult to do from the normal 
perspective. Cybermorph shows its age, but is clearly one of the best games on the Jaguar. 


II STYLE 1 OR 2-PLAYER SHOOTER Ш PUBLISHER COLECO Ш DEVELOPER COLECO Ш YEAR 
RELEASED 1982 


162 GAME INFORMER 


E STYLE 1-PLAYER SHOOTER I PUBLISHER ATARI Ш DEVELOPER ATARI Ш YEAR RELEASED 
1993 


CLASSIC CODES 


=" GENESIS 


irum? Е PRESS STAR 


TMNT: HYPERSTONE 
HEIST 
Quick Continue — Right 
before you lose your last 
life, press Start on 
Controller 2. 


Level Select — At the Konami logo, hit C, B, B, A, A, A, B, C. Then at the 
Title screen, press A, B, B, C, C, C, B, A. Start the game and a Select 


screen should appear. 


Secret Control Mode — At the title screen, press Up, C, Down, C, Left, C, 
Right. Start a game and then pause it. You can now use A to restart, В 
for slow motion, and С for frame advance. 


BATMAN FOREVER 

Cheat Menu — At the main menu, 
highlight the words Play Game. 
Then press Left, Up, Left, Left, 
A, B. 


(d 


HEAVY SHREDDIN 

99 Lives - At the Title screen, press 
and hold A + B + Left, then press 
Start. 


BAD DUDES 

63 Lives - On controller 2 at the Title 
screen, enter B, A, Down, Up, 
Down, Up, then press Start on con- 
troller 1. 


VICE PROJECT DOOM 

Level Select - When the game starts, 
hold A and press RESET. Now, 
press A or B to select a level. 


STRIDER 
More Continues — Hit A, C, B, C, A, 
Start at the Intro screen. 


DOUBLE DRAGON 

Skip 2nd Boss – After climbing the 
ladders on the 2nd Mission, you will 
be greeted by a boss. Simply go to 
the ladder and continue to climb 
down. The boss will soon be defeat- 
ed using this simple maneuver. 


Get Hearts Quickly — To get hearts 
quickly and subsequently acquire 
more moves, simply use only the 
punch attack on the first level. 


CYBERMORPH 
Bonus Levels — To access the bonus 


MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 
Enter these at the Password screen. 


Area 1 - LRHN 
Area 2 - HMPR 
Area 3 - KMVW 
Area 4 — XDGJ 
Area 5 - TVJL 
Area 6 - QBYZ 


CAPTAIN QUAZAR 
Disappearing Walls — Pause the game 


and hit R, L, B, B, B, R, L, Up. 


Life Refill - Pause the game and 


press L, R, L, R, L, B. 


GEX 
99 Lives — First, pause the game. 


Then hold the Right Shift button 
and press Down, Right, A, C, Up, 


AGU 


levels, enter the password 6009. 
Choose the planet in the lower right- 
hand corner to receive a bunch о’ 
goodies. 


1328 
9325 
9226 
3444 
6009 


RUN 


— P 
ы. 


BUBSY 
Password — Enter these 
password to gain access 


шш 


CONTRA: ALIEN WARS 
Enter the following codes at the 


Password screen. 


Level 2 - 3KNT 
Level 3 - MDWH 
Level 4 - 2S3W 
Level 5 - 125C 


Infinite Lives - B32R 


Level Skip – H2F2 (press Start to 


advance) 


HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER 
Level Select — At the Player Select 


screen press B, Select, Left, Right, 
and then press Start. 


Extra Missiles — For 25 extra mis- 


siles, hold A + B, then press Up, 
Down when the sub course is dis- 
played. 


Extra Ships – For 25 submarines, 
hold A + B, then press Select, Up, 
Down when the sub course is dis- 
played. 


to each level. 
4 JSSCTS 
2 CKBGMM 
3 SCTWMN ( = 
4 MKBRLN 
5 . LBLNRD Ж. а 
6 JMDKRK У, к / gs 
7 STGRTN i hs SN 
8  SBBSHC m" 
9 DBKRRB \ 
10  MSFCTS 
11  KMGRBS ГУ 
12 SUMBG \ 
13 TGRTVN 2 
14  CCLDSL > j 
15 BTCLMB 
16 STCJDH \ 
b 
NAL FIGHT V 
Options Menu – To open ) | 
the Options Menu, hold L ( I 
and press Start at the NS X 


Title screen. 


"s 


Bonus Stage – To uncover an extra stage, at the game Start screen 
hold L + В and the hit Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Left, Right, Right. 


GAMEINFORMER 163 


CLASSIC STRATECY 


uum 3 * 
GENERAL STRATE 


GY 


Star Uppercuts: Most of the earli- 


er boxers in the game will give you 
stars if you nail them at the proper 
times, particularly right before they 
are about to attack you. Be sure to 
nail your opponents a few times to 
stun them before hitting the Start but- 
ton to initiate an uppercut. Otherwise 
they might dodge the attack. If you 
take a hit or block, you will lose a 
star. 

Heal Up: Once a match, you can 
hit select during intermission to heal 
up a little. 

Second Round TKO: When box- 
ers start getting too tough to take out 
in the first round, sometimes it helps 
to knock their healthbar all the way 
down to a near knockdown toward the 
end of the first round and then wait 
for the next round to begin. This will 
allow you to take them out at the very 
beginning of the next round, giving you 
almost three minutes to get two more 
knockdowns for a TKO. 

Attacks and Dodges: When 
dodging, the direction you choose 
seems to be irrelevant. In fact, when 
dodging multiple blows, attempting to 
switch direction only seems to slow 
you down. We did find that using cer- 
tain combos of right and left attacks 
seemed to allow us to hit certain ene- 
mies for a longer period of time than 
if we had just pounded them with one 
fist, but it’s hard to tell. The rumor 
that you do more damage with your 
right fist appears to be an urban myth. 


164 GAME INFORMER 


MINOR CIRCUIT 
CHAMPIONSHIP 

Glass Joe: You can pretty much 
punch the crap out of this pathetic 
boxer at your leisure. When he blocks, 
just start hitting him in the location 
you haven't been (if head, then gut or 
vice versa). If he backs up, taunts, 
and then rushes forward for a pathet- 
ic special, just punch this Frenchman 
named Joe in the gut to drop him for 
good. 


= 3$ 


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©? 


5 


Von Kaiser: Von Kaiser has two 
basic attacks. When he wiggles his 
head, he takes a jab at you. If you hit 
him in the face early enough, you can 
get a star and interrupt his attack. 
When he crouches, he's going for an 
uppercut. Just gut-punch him to get a 
star and interrupt him again. 


Minor Circuit Champion - 
Piston Honda: Piston is tougher, 
but he still gives away all of his 
attacks. If he ducks, twitches his eye- 
brows, or winds up, just dodge and hit 
him repeatedly in the head. If he 
backs up, dances around, and then 
charges, punch him in the gut to drop 
him with one punch. Shortly after he 
twitches his eyebrows, he lifts up his 
gloves. If you're quick, you can punch 
him in the gut for a star. 


Minor Champion Perfect Score: 
005 737 5423 


Don Flamenco: Don is pathetic. 
When he taunts you, pop him one and 
then dodge. After his uppercut, hit him 
in the head with alternating left and 
right punches. This should put him 
down eventually. When he gets up, 
he'll try to uppercut you right away. 
Sidestep it and repeat the alternating 
left-right punches to the head to put 
him down for good. 


King Hippo: Like Don, King Hippo 
is a one-trick pony. Do your best to 
dodge his punches, but whenever he 
twitches and opens his mouth, pop 
him one in the teeth and then go nuts 


on his exposed belly. Repeat until 


Great Tiger: The Great Tiger has 
two basic attacks. Dodge when the 
jewel on his turban flashes or when 
he crouches, and come back at him 


with head hits. If he suddenly twitches 
around, get ready to block his tele- 
porting spin attacks. Every time you 
hear a high-pitched sound, block. 
Eventually he will stop and one punch 
to the head will put him down. 
Hy HEH 


Major Circuit Champion - Bald 
Bull: Bald Bull is fast but not unbeat- 
able. He gives away his attacks by 
whirling his gloves around, winding up, 
and crouching low. You can get stars 
by throwing a punch at his head when 
he winds up. His nastiest attack, the 
Bull Rush, can be dodged fairly easily, 
but if you nail him in the gut right 
before he attacks, you'll get a one-hit 
knockdown. 


Major Circuit Champion Perfect 
Score: 777 807 3454 


WORLD CIRCUIT 
CHAMPIONSHIP 

Piston Honda: Piston returns for 
a rematch, but this time he has some 
new moves. Whenever his eyebrows 
twitch, he comes at you with two to 
three punches. You can dodge them 
all. You can get stars by hitting before 
he punches, but it's difficult to avoid 
getting hit by the next one. He also 
ducks for an uppercut, and ducks and 
turns back and forth for a delayed 


super uppercut. Both attacks can be 
avoided fairly easily. He still does a 
charge, but rather than dancing 
around first, he backs up and comes 
straight at you. If you manage to 
punch him in the gut you will either 
KO him or get a star. If you only get a 
star or miss with the punch, you will 
have to block his follow-up punches. 


LL 


Soda Popinski: Soda's timing is 
difficult to get down. If he rears his 
right arm back, wait half a second 
before dodging and following up to the 
head. He also has two different duck 
and uppercut moves that move at dif- 
ferent speeds. If he starts to slap his 
gloves together, wait for him to do it 
three times and then dodge the next 
three punches. You can jab him in the 
head after each punch, but as wi 
Piston, it's hard to avoid the nex 
attack. Just dodge. 

HH H EHHH 


Bald Bull: The second Bald Bull is 
intimidating, but stay cool. Whenever 
he twirls his gloves, dodge quickly to 
avoid one of his tornado punches and 
follow up on his head. He also has 
duck and uppercut and quick uppercut 
where he lifts his gloves up and down 
before punching. Dodge and follow up 
with punches to the head. There are 
only two ways you can knock him 
down - with a star uppercut when his 
health is low or by gut punching him 
during his new and improved bull 
rush. You can get stars by punching 
him whenever he lifts his gloves up 
and down repeatedly. It's best to save 


the stars until you're sure the upper- 
cut will finish him. If he does a bull 
rush, dodge the first charge. He will 
back up halfway up the screen and do 
a second charge. Just punch him as 
you did the first time and he'll go 
down. 


Don Flamenco: The new Don has 
a hook and a jab that don't really 
come with warning, but each attack is 
slow enough that you should be able 
to dodge it. When he starts taunting 
you, hit him and dodge right away. 
Most of the time he just blocks so be 
prepared to run out of stamina 
(hearts). If this happens, he starts 
throwing hooks like mad. Keep on 
dodging until you are no longer purple 
and then counter his last punch. This 
will cause him to start blocking again. 
Don's second coming is really pretty 
irritating. 


Mr. Sandman: Sandman is the 
most intimidating boxer aside from 


he big T himself. He does Bald Bull's 
ornado punches, but about twice as 
ast. Dodge his initial flurry of tornado 
punches. You can get in a head hit 
after each tornado punch about half 
he time, but it’s a risky proposition if 
you don’t connect. Eventually, he 
starts attacking with uppercuts. When 
е switches his hands around, dodge 
and then hit him in the head once and 
hree times in the gut. He also has an 
even faster duck and uppercut attack 
hat can be countered in the same 
ashion. When he doesn't attack you 
for a long time be prepared for the 
worst, because this typically means 
that he's preparing for his triple upper- 
cut combo. The split second that he 
twitches and flashes, start dodging or 
he'll nail you to the wall. Only dodge 
in one direction or you're sure to get 
slammed. If you manage to dodge all 
three devastating attacks, hit him in 
the head and then pummel him with 
gut punches until he comes to. Be 
prepared, as he also tends to start 
off with the triple uppercut after get- 
ting up from a knockdown as well. We 
beat this game years ago, but it still 
took us a long time to finally take 
Sandman down all over again. 
HH 


World Champion - Super 
Macho Man: At first, fighting Super 
is almost a walk in the park compared 
to Sandman. His normal attacks are 
much more easily evaded, and you 
can usually get in several head hits 
before he starts defending himself 
after each follow-up. Unfortunately for 
you, he has two devastating spin 
attacks. One is a single attack that is 
difficult to avoid. The other is much 
like Sandman's triple uppercut. 
Without warning he flashes and then 
starts throwing spin punches like 
crazy. You have to dodge them all and 


then wail him in the head for as many 
hits as you can get. 


Mike Tyson: Tyson is absurdly diffi- 
cult, and the second you beat him 
once, you won't want to ever do it 
again. For the first minute and a half 
of the first round, he flashes and 
throws super uppercuts that will knock 
you down in one hit. Dodge and follow 
with a couple hits to the head. After 
the longest minute-thirty in your life is 
over, he starts launching more easily 
avoided hooks at you. Whenever he 
winks, dodge and follow up with a 
punch to the head. At the beginning of 
the next two rounds, he attacks with 
nigh undodgeable jabs so be ready to 
block if you have to. He will still do 
the super uppercuts on occasion, but 
they won't knock you down in one hit 
unless you've already been beaten 
down to a near pulp. In the last round, 
he will sometimes do a double jab 
and then an uppercut combo, so be 
prepared to do some dodging. His 
only other move is to sit there and 
twitch and wink for a while. Smack 
him in the face and block a long 
series of jabs. Good luck, and remem- 
ber that throwing your controllers or 
NES across the room will not defeat 
Mike Tyson. 


GAMEINFORMER 165 


SHARK MX 


Manufacturer: InterAct 
Website: www.interact-acc.com 
List Price: $39.99 

Now, kids on the playground will have a great prop when they play busi- 
nessman board meeting. The Shark MX turns your Game Boy into a personal 
organizer with a calculator, address book, 
and calendar you can make notations on. 
If you plug a phone cord into the back of 
the cart, you can also make use of the 30 
minutes of free online time that comes 
included to send and receive email 
(although your address has to be at 
gamesharker.com, the message length is 
limited to 2,000 characters, you can't 
send or receive any pics, and you have to 
use the d-pad to enter messages). Handy 
device, especially for those who would 
prefer to look like a Pokémon nerd rather 
than a Palm Pilot nerd. 


THE SCUMMIEST CAR 
BATTERY ON THE PLANET 


Manufacturer: Unable to determine due to corrosion 
Website: Nope 
List Price: This is the kind of thing you pay other 
people to get rid of 

For those who have lived in terror since we reported 
on Erik's lack of braking power in the September issue, 
you may now rest easy. The two-tone beater has finally 
met its junkyard fate. The car Erik currently drives 
(acquired through means best left unmentioned) lacks 
a key feature that his Volvo had, however – its head- 
lights don't shut off automatically. Thus, it didn't take 
long before Erik was asking coworkers for a jump start. 
Most were more than willing to oblige — until they saw 
what was lurking under the hood. The battery was so 
tainted, most were afraid to connect cables to it, fear- 
ing it would either explode or somehow infect their car 
with some form of vehicular leprosy. Here's a quick rule 


| FOF GAME BOY» COLON/GAME BOY» POCKET 


Shack Mi 


E-MAIL БОЯ GAME BOY. 


RAYEARTH 


BUILD-YOUR-OWN KITS 


Manufacturer: Sun-Mate 
Website: www.sun-mate.com 
List Price: $14.99 

A ton of ridiculous crap comes across 
our desks, but a new standard in useless- 
ness has been set with the Build-Your-Own 
Kits. You get all the pieces required to 
assemble your own $5 item for only 
$14.99, and the casings are made of thin 
cardboard rather than plastic. “Wow, it's 
like a real AM radio, except it falls 
apart in my hand!" As an added 
bonus, each piece of junk 
comes with an educational 
instruction book. Wahoo! 


THE DANGERS OF FREE 
PARKING 


Manufacturer: Unbelievable Jolly Machine 
Website: www.worldofstuff.com/ujm 
List Price: $10 

If you scan the liner notes of this and other 
Unbelievable Jolly Machine albums, you'll find that two- 
thirds of the band have the same names as a couple of 
editors here at Game Informer. Barely known for being 
a part of the soundtrack for Scud on Sega Saturn, 
UJM's recent CD release party boasted a crowd of well 
over two dozen people — and that's not even including 
the bar staff! To get an impartial review of the album, 
we asked a random person what they thought of it. This 
totally non-biased individual said, "After listening to The 
Dangers of Free Parking, | want to make out with fat 
chicks." If this insightful critique doesn't tell you 
enough, you can also go to the web page listed above 
and listen to a few sample tunes. 


of thumb for all motorists out there: when the weight of 
a battery's corrosion appears to be greater than the 
battery itself, it's time to get a new one. 


Manufacturer: Manga Video 
Website: www.manga.com 
List Price: $19.95 each 

Some of you may remember Working Designs' Magic 
Knight Rayearth for the Saturn, or perhaps the anime 
series it was based upon. If you were fond of either, you 
should definitely check out the Rayearth videos. This 
entirely new trilogy once more follows the adventures of 
Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru. Having recently graduated from 
junior high school (is any heroine in anime over 18?), 
the girls are worried that attending different high 
Schools will break up their friendship. Luckily, alien 
forces from another dimension show up to do battle. 
Nothing strengthens the bonds of companionship like 
saving the planet together. 


Game Informer Magazine" (ISSN 1067-6392) is published monthly at a subscription price of $19.98 per year, or five trial issues for $9.98 by Sunrise Publications, 10120 West 76th Street, Eden Prairie, ММ 55344. (952) 946-7245 or FAX (952) 946-8155. For subscriptions, back issues, or customer service inquiries (952) 
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 addi- 
tional postage. * Game Informer’ does not claim any copyright in the screenshots herein. Copyright in all screenshots contained within this publication are owned by their respective companies. Entire contents copyright 2000. Game Informer Magazine", All rights reserved; reproduction in whole or in part without permis- 


sion is prohibited. Game Informer" is a trademark of FUNCO, Inc. • Products named in these pages are trade names, or trademarks, of their respective companies. 


166 GAME INFORMER 


KANY 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. 


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Game maintenance products available from Player's Edge: 


Cleaning Kits for: NINTENDO? 64 • SUPER NINTENDO? • NINTENDO? • SEGA" GENESIS" 
* GAME BOY* • GAME GEAR" * MULTIMEDIA & GAME CDs 


Available at FuncoLand 


PLAYERS 


© 1997 Player's Edge. Player's Edge is a trademark of InterAct Accessories, Inc. InterAct Accessories is a trademark of STD Manufacturing LTD. E 
Wipeout, Wipecut XL and Psygnosis are trademarks of Psygnosis. © 1996 Psygnosis Ltd. Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo, Nintendo and Game Boy 
are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. Sega Genesis and Game Gear are trademarks of Sega Enterprises Ltd. 


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jut Mickey and his friends still tear it up with 4-player action and 16 magical tracks. 


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"à "- 4 More prehistoric predators! One question 

Animated Violence 
remains... are you the hunter – or the hunted? 


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© CAPCOM Or. LTD. 209 2 COM USA, INC. zu ALURIGHTS А, CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO аге registered trademarks of CAPCOM СО, LTD. DINO CRISIS is a trademark of CAPCOM CO.. LTO 
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