An IDG Communications Pub!fr//iticr; Sonic Adventure 2 Battle Connection! World's Largest Multiplatform Gaming Magazine Reviewed First in GamePro PlayStation^UI Game Boy Advance Game Boy ^ Color Windows 95/98 GamePras Holiday Sweepstakes Win a PS2, Xbox & GameCube! Details Inside! GAME REVIEWS! fHPif*- . £ • Project Gotham ***** 1 ,, " • Halo • NFL Fever 2002 (LC • Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee wS • Maximo: Ghosts to Glory • Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat • Star Wars: Obi-Wan • NBA Live 2002 • Return to Castle Wolfenstein Game Cheats! Isi-D§pth PmStrategy k GaMmi Dead or Alive 3 TOTIYHALUK’S a fflie© Game Finder Agent Under Fire. Aladdin . Antz. Arctic Thunder. BaJdur*s Gate: Dark Alliance. Barbarian . Big Trouble in Little China. Boong-Ga Boong-Ga .... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Bug Busters . Burnout.... Capcom vs. SNK 2. CART Fury Championship Racing . Circus Maximus: Chariot Wars Club Kart European Session . Columns Crown.... Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex. Dead or Alive 3.. Doom . Dragon Warrior VII . Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem FIFA 2002 . Frequency . Fuzion Frenzy. Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Golden Tee 2002 . Gothic. Gradius Galaxies. Halo. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (GBA). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (GBC). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (PC) . Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (PlayStation) High Heat Major League Baseball 2003 . Jonny Moseley Mad Trix. Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer. Knockout Kings 2002 . The Lion King: Simba’s Mighty Adventure.. Madden NFL 2002 . Martial Masters.. Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2. Maximo: Ghosts to Glory . Max Payne.. Mech Platoon . Medal of Honor Frontline .. Mega Man X 6 . Men In Black: The Series. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Monkey Ball . Monster Rancher Advance . NASCAR Heat 2002 (PS2) . NASCAR Heat 2002 (Xbox). NASCAR Thunder 2002 . NBA 2K2. NBA Live 2002 (PS2). NBA Live 2002 (Xbox). NFL Blitz 20-02 . NFL Fever 2002 . No One Lives Forever. Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee. Pac-Man Collection . Pac-Man World 2. PaRappa the Rapper 2. Phalanx. Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat . Portal Runner. Project Eden. Project Gotham: World Street Racer . Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 . Return to Castle Wolfenstein .... Run Like Hell . Sega GT 2002 . Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder. Shenmue II. Shrek . Silent Hill 2. CONTENTS Can Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone as x its magic on video games? Here are aaAisne reviews of the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, PC, and Game Boy Color versions of the game. Reviewed First in GamePro! I 48 The Sonic Connection Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for the GameCube and Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance have more in common than the world’s fastest hedgehog. Find out what the connection is here. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (PS2, GameCube) Let’s get rollin’ with Tony Hawk. This guide will help you complete the goals for eight levels, learn special tricks for 14 skaters, find the S-K-A-T-E letters, uncover the tapes, and more. J Capcom VS. SNK 2 (PlayStation 2) f “ When two of the greatest fighting game fran- P chises clash, you’d best be prepared! Here are a bunch of combos and special moves for six of the games standout fighters. Wfch these codes you can do special stuff with The Smpsons: The Complete First Season (DVD), NASCAR Heat 2001 (PlayStation 2), Silent Hill 2 (PlayStation 2), hffL Bfcz 20412 (Game Boy Advance), and more! THE ctver Feature A has conjured up no less than FopR DiFFFRFNT MAGiCAL ADVENTURES BA§fD on I-Iarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Ahf they as enchanting as GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FACTOR Sorcerers main visual problems are a sometimes-sluggish frame rate and a camera that often loses track of the ac¬ tion. Sharp scenery and magical effects provide the pop. Excellent voice work anc effects earn props for Sor Although Harry himself i EA found good sound-a movie’s actors. The automatic jumping is too spastic, and flying on a broomstick takes a soft, steady touch. Overall, though, these ba¬ sic controls are nicely streamlined for young kids. CONTROL SOUND PROTIP: When you’ve flown through ail the Snitch's rings, grab it by tapping x right when the Snitch on the meter makes contact with the hand icon. PROTIP: Puffpods make trolls sneeze. Throw one at them right when they’re standing on a grate, and the resulting blast will drop them through the grate. A vital thread ofthe Harry Potter yarns is that wizards and ppLf: Muggles (mundane, non-magical folk) mix like oil and water, and I B that applies neatly to Harry’s PlayStation debut. Potter fans will delight in exploring this rich portrayal of J.K. Rowling’s universe, but Muggle ^____ gamers who are immune to Harry’s magic will be bored stiff by the stale, I T~ simplistic platform gameplay. I p Super Wizard Crackers Named after the first novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone puts you ||| ^ in Harry’s robes for his first year at Hogwarts, the wizardry school. Sorcerer’s t S strongest point is its slick re-creation of the book’s world — fans will delight in ^ moments like battling Draco with spell and broomstick, or attending Snape’s I — ' : . 1 _jj Potions class. The world is impressively large and nonlinear, and respectable PROTIP: The flying stone pig (sent visuals and good audio breathe life into Rowling’s words as you check out f*? er you by a dark, hooded & takes damage only to its underbelly. Run Hagrid’s hut, recover the missing Hedwig, ride through Gringotts tunnels, underneath it, pop it with Flipendo, and experience many other straight-from-the-book highlights. and when it’s toast, levitate it back The gameplay, however, is the stuff of cliche rather than legend, involving atop its co,umn - lots of platform hopping mixed with some gentle puzzles, mild doses of action, and PaRappa-style sequences where you learn new spells. The Fun Factor directly corresponds to your level of Potter fandom: The joy of this game comes from experiencing Harry’s universe, not from the repetitive, trite gameplay. ^ A Naturally, Sorcerer is aimed at younger gamers, and it has basic controls ;: | and lots of help to make it easy for them to play. Between tips from other E - f ‘ characters and the onscreen hints, you’ll rarely figure something out on |e * your own. Jumping is automatic, and playing Quidditch (the wizard’s § soccer-like sport) is a matter of flying through a trail of rings left by the Snitch until a meter fills up. PROTIP: The flying stone pig (sent after you by a dark, hooded figure) takes damage only to its underbelly. Run underneath it, pop it with Flipendo, and when it’s toast, levitate it back atop its column. Borrowing from PaRappa and Dance Dance Revolution, Harry learns new spells by cor¬ rectly timing a sequence of button taps. Chocolate Trogs " With legions of Potter fans flocking to book¬ stores and theaters, Sorcerer will surely enchant hordes of Harry’s follow¬ ers. If, however, you’re a Muggle and proud of it, you’ll find Sorcerer to be the kind of dreary platform game that you’ve played too many times before. Q GRAPHICS OTIP: When battling Draco with wizard crackers, the best way to take him out is to run right up to him and throw your cracker. PROTIP: When hunting down Hagrid’s PROTIP: When you’re on your way to fire seeds, move quickly across these Sprout’s class, use a charged-up Flipendo platforms-they’ll crumble if you stay on (hold x until the tip of your wand glows) them too long. to move these blocks into a line, and then jump across them. FUN FACTOR If you love all things Potter, Harry’s PS game casts a powerful spell despite its tried-and-trite platform gameplay. For non-fans, knock another point off the Fun Factor. Continued' ■ Developed by KnowWonder ■ Published by EA Games ■ $39.99 ■ Action/ ■ Available now adventure ■ I player GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FUN FACTOR BY DAN ELEKTRO harry’s debut o n the Game Boy Advance is tc you might think, combining puzzles with repetition executed if standard handheld adventure. Like the other Potter titles, the Game Boy Advance game loosely follows the book, picking up from when Harry starts school. Fans will enjoy hallmarks like chocolate frogs, wizard cards, and Every Flavor Beans, which play various roles in health and progress. f. ! .‘|:j, // The character animation is smooth, with many frames—which is good, since watching Harry run . \: around is half the gameplay. Most of your actual tasks involve navigating 2D maze-like levels, collecting v items while figuring out switch-and-lever puzzles. There's also a bit of PaRappa button pressing when j % learning new spells and some broomstick flying, which plays like a top-down racer without radar. How- ' j ever, the Game Boy Advance’s infamous lighting problems do come into play, especially on some of r • Harry’s shadowy, nocturnal missions. || L PROTIPs < Some of the gameplay mechanics are frustrating—one slip into a pit and its back to the start of the segment. You’ll also wish Harry could run faster while traveling long distances, but overall, the controls perform well—any errors you make are more ■rCj likely to be caused by a missed visual cue than a botched button ^ fl press. Speech is used sparingly, such as Peeves’ laughter and when I Harry calls out spells like “Flipendo!** (which, on the handheld, * I despite its full arrangement, is sometimes just plain incongruous ■ with the onscreen action. You can (and very likely will) turn it off. Many of the pulses Im Hidden obiects in an are; or its ground;, and they time-consuming. Touf H Enough The game is harder than you might expect—sometimes in chal¬ lenging ways and sometimes in annoying ways, but hard nonethe¬ less. The sadly limited save points mean you should expect to play for an hour or two each time you pick it up if you want to make real progress. Fans, however, will enjoy spending that time and more for the simple fact that it’s digital Harry. Other players may find themselves less enchanted. Q missions require you to sneak around the Hfib undetected, so peek over walls and time yoyr movements accordingly. PROYIP: You’ll need WingarfSn? osa to solve some switch puzzles-keep an eye out for nearby obiects to levitate. Skillful use of shadows highlights Harry’s spruced-up, colorful 2D look. The char¬ acter animation is particularly well done. The sound effects aren’t anything major, and the speech—while clear—is brief. Both are better than the loopy, busy music, which gets grating fast. Harry does as he’s told via the direc¬ tional pad, and spellcasting with the B button is simple and straightforward. Pottermaniacs will love exploring even a 2D version of Hogwarts, but be pre¬ pared for challenging and sometimes frustrating gameplay. PROTIP: Not all switches are gc some unleash traps. Beware whe activate one. k ■ Developed by KnowWonder ■ Published by EA Games ■ $29.99 ■ Action/ ■ Available now adventure ■ I player ■ Developed by KnowWonder ■ Published by EA Games ■ $29.99 ■ RPG ■ Available now ■ I pla) Harry’s PC appeal doesn’t come from the straightforward, simple gameplay itself, but the joy of exploring a 3D Hogwarts in all its hoggy, warty glory. /ViAC iX; If' i NGDO M As with most of the other Potter games, the PC version picks up as Harry begins his days at his new school and loosely follows the events of the book (though it helps to have read it before playing). Along his adventure, Harry collects Every Flavor Beans, wizard cards, and chocolate frogs while complet¬ ing goals and learning new spells. For Potter fans, seeing Hogwarts in hi-res 3D is the main appeal. Powered by the Unreal engine, every stained-glass window, translucent ghost, and rough- hewn wall looks gorgeous. You’ll feel like you’re there, whether you’re fetch¬ ing potion ingredients for Snape, sneaking past Filch in the tower, running from an angry troll, or racing Maifoy on broomsticks. All that gameplay is fun, but none of it is particularly challeng¬ ing. As with the PlayStation’s version, unless you’re an ickle firstie, - v ~ chances are you’ll breeze through the puzzles and only goof on the occasional platform jump. Harry can strafe only during cer- tain action sequences, so control feels a little awkward. Also, : * flying a broomstick takes much practice, but learning new spells by mouse motions is a welcome and novel idea. GRaD£ 82 s PASS MARK- 25 % PROTIP: Learn the spells as well as you can to earn bonus house points- you won’t get a second chance. PROTIP: When battling Peeves, speed is essential. As he pauses to attack you, unleash a Flipendo. riOGWARTS AND AU The orchestral music has a nice fantasy feel that subtly adds to the atmosphere, and while the voice-acting is good, Harry sounds a bit constipated as he jumps and climbs. Beyond that, the inconveniences are minor, and Potter on PC makes for a fun, hi-res playground. Q PROTIP: Your spells have a range limit. If you’re not dose enough to youi target, even the basic Flipendo won’t work correctly. PROTIP: Flying sequences are tricky; be sure to choose the proper Invert Broom setting to make control more comfortable. With turn-based battles and a reward system centered ¥ m 1 + .. on the accruement of experience points, the Game Boy Color version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a whimsical though somewhat flat Zelda-esque RPG. GRAPHICS SOUND CONTROL FACTOR The GBC game differs from the other Potter offerings since your initial quests take place before your enrollment at Hog¬ warts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When you do get to Hogwarts, your professors will assign you quests, which you must complete in order to learn new spells and advance to higher levels. You’ll also stockpile wizard cards, which enable you use against hostile creatures to create special kinds of magic to ke rats, gnomes, and trolls. The Sorcerers Stone isn’t particu- arly puzzle-orientated, as most of the game centers on Easter egg hunts around the campus of Hogwarts for enchanted herbs, :haic tomes, and magical rabbits. This can get a bit tedious because you don’t receive a map of Hogwarts and its surrounding areas, which results in endless random room sweeping and backtracking. PROTIP: Search around Hagrid’s hut for magical herbs. PROTIP: Hagrid will assist you in your quests and can usually be found outside or near the entrance of Hogwarts. GBC RPG? Op ^ iBr *• Han 7 Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a pleasant enough little adventure * * f° r P^ easant enough little people. Harry’s pixelated world is nicely re-created, ^ % *- V w *th detailed textures and some nice character animations. The music is charm- ~ * ■ ing aR d catchy, albeit a bit monotonous. The control scheme is incredibly sim¬ plistic, even though the list-based menu system is too long. If you aren’t a big I 'J 00 *' * ^ f an °f the book, you may have trouble locating certain people and objects __2_ during your quests. If you are, you’ll find this Game Boy Color version to be : : - Weasley, Peeves, and many other a delightful, if a little bland, adventure. Q - = 'acters who made the book so en¬ chanting are aii here in their 8-bit glory. [This is it. Keep an eye out Tor Draco and Crabfea. Even magical people need a little help from their friends. JANUARY 2002 WWW.GAMEPRO.COM LETTERS@GAMEPRO.COM