MARCH‘99 isjs AUSTRALIA'S N0.1 VIDEO GAMES MAG UZ $7.95 inc GST Kick ass N64 action The complete walkthrough, Part I Gear Solid Masteipiece Reviewed The 3D Sonic Adventure you’ve been waiting for Special preview of Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast WHICH IS BEST? HINTEHDO 64, PLAYSTAT10H. next DREAMCAST, PC Gaming systems compared 30 HOT NEW TITLES REVIEWED!! Australian cricket. Could Keep track of the performance of your bowlers - are they taking those vital wickets or are they getting smashed all over the ground? Watch the action unfold as it happens, either as edited highlights or if you so choose, ball by ball Customise your field placing. What’s your strategy - taking quick wickets or keeping the scoring rate down? ACTUAL SCREEN SHOTS E ver wondered what it feels like to manage a state cricket team? Think you could handle the pressure of a tour to the West Indies? Australian Cricket Captain from Empire Sport gives you the opportunity to prove it in the most comprehensive cricket management simulation ever available for the PC. With real match data including state championship teams, grounds and players, you control every element of cricket strategy, both on and off the pitch. Participating in every Sheffield Shield. Mercantile Cup or One day Internationals, you can even watch the action ball-by-ball as the drama unfolds in stunning real time animation. Endorsed by The Australian Cricket Board and with commentary from Channel 9's Ian Chappell, this is the definitive cricket management sim. empire^ I SPOKT - www.empiresport.com www.metrogames.com. au you manage any belter? How do you measure up as a Captain? Are you Leg glances, square cuts, reverse sweeps, drives. Check out your players' stats • are they leading your side to glory or are you pulls and hook shots - this will show you the performing to the best abilities? If not, maybe it's languishing at the foot of the table? batsman's weak shots as well as his favourites. time to bring in some fresh faces. Here's where you'll find out. Cricket Captain Available soon on PC CD-ROM THE PREMIER CRICKET MANAGEMENT GAME Well, thanks tc a recent jaunt tc Japan by Kevin san, rm the proud owner of a Dreamcast, and it rocks. Vve actually been dying tc finish this issue sc I can get some time tc actually play with the thing. The more / looked at what the Dreamcast is capable off, the more it astounded me. Word is that Sony are announcing their next con¬ sole within the next month, and after learn¬ ing about all the chipsets in the Dreamcast, I'm really at a loss to see how Sony are going tc be able to better the machine at this point in time. Despite the grunt of the machine, we've seen eight games now, two of which rock very hard, and six of which aren't any¬ thing special. There's no denying that good visuals and super hardware do not make poor games into good ones. We also saw the first glimpses of Quake 3 Arena in motion with John Carmack's pre¬ sentation at a recent Mac Cxpc, and it looked very impressive. It does lock like you're going to need a RCALIJl powerful processor tc get a smooth game with all the pretty effects on though, which may mean the rush for the QUake community tc come across may be a bit slower than you'd expect. Locking at what the Dreamcast can do in terms of moving polygons, and visu¬ al effects, I can't see why the Dreamcast couldn't support this game. In fact, with the CPU in the Dreamcast running seven floating point calculations per cycle, com¬ pared tc a Pentium II chip that does one, that means the Dreamcast rates at 1400 FPC/sec while a PII-450 does just 450 FPC/sec. In theory, the Dreamcast would be three times as fast running Quake 3 than a top PC... It's scary! Although I'd be crying like a baby if the keyboard and mouse aren't available for it! The idea of deathmatch¬ ing online, in hi-res full screen anti-aliased, on my big shiny TV is just too appealing If you're a PC gamer who is sceptical about consoles, the Dreamcast could be the one that changes your mind, with all the PC games that are going to be ported to it. Thank Cod console technology is moving on again. Thank God we're all going tc become used tc playing hi-res games at sixty frames a second, without having to shell out thousands for a top PC. 6 News Will Yu Suzuki’s new Shenmue define a new genre in gaming? Latest screen shots and info. Unreal Tournament out before Quake 3? Speaking of which Q3 Arena and PlayStation emulators for Macintosh. ECN, the serious gamers ICQ, and more. 14 Win Win Win 18 Previews 18 Sonic Adventure Dreamcast 22 Kingsley PlayStation Silent Hill PlayStation 23 Descent 3 PC 24 Indiana Jones & the Infernal Machine PC/PlayStation Ehrgelz RayStation 25 Street SkSer PlayStation Poy Poy 2 PlayStation 27 Hardware Three new Thrustmaster peripherals put to the test, plus the Cyborg 3D, a godsend for lefty’s everywhere. 32 Feature - System Wars A comparison of the four current gaming platforms. 38 Reviews 74 Playguide Zelda 64 - Part I 82 Multiplayer 84 Arcade Spikeout, Sega’s latest 3D action beat ’em up gets a going over by Tim Levy. 86 Anime 86 Net Trawlin 87 Retrospect With Sonic Adventure arriving into the office we decided take a trip back to the Sonic games of old that started a phenome¬ non. 88 Cheat Mode 92 Letters 98 Hypermart PC 72 BURNOUT CHMP’ DRAG RACING 58 CYBERSTRIKE 2 64 KING'S QUEST 8 62 MYTH II: SOULBLIGHTER 73 OUTLAW RACERS 73 PRO PILOT‘99 66 QUEST FOR GLORY V 72 RED BARON 30 60 REDGUARD 72 SHANE WARNE CRICKET ‘99 71 STARCRAFT: BROOD WAR 73 SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 57 TOP GUN 68 TRIBES PLAYSTATION 46 THE GRANSTREAM SAGA 40 METAL GEAR SOLID 44 RALLY CROSS 2 NINTENDO 64 56 LET’S SMASH 54 RUSH 2 48 SOUTH PARK 64 CONTENTS Publisher; Phillip Keir Editor; Dan Toose Art Director Steven Scott Deputy Editor; Eliot Fish The cult TV series has given birth to a Nintendo 64 game. Cam Shea reviews the game with authoritai! National Sales Director; Steve Watson Senior Advertising Manager Julie Anne^Cwok Advertising Manager; Aaron Young Advertising Assistant; Emma Beck Ph; 02 9699 0333 Fax; 02 9310 2012 We Break down the strengths and weaknesses of the PlayStation, PC, Nintendo 64, and the Dreamcast. With tech spec comparisons that clearly illustrate where the improvements are being made in con¬ soles. Circulation Manager Melissa Doyle Group Accountant; Theo Fatseas Subscriptions Enquiries ph;02 9699 0319 Fax: 02 9699 0334 email; subs®next.com.au Metal Gear Solid will be in store very shortly, and no PlayStation owner should be without it. Kevin Cheung gives the in depth review. CONTRBUTORS: Max Autohead, David Wildgoose, Kevin Cheung, March Stepnik Tim Levy, Cam Shea, Simon Bailey Peter Jankulovski, Ross Clarksmith Thom MacIntyre, Jackson Gothe-Snape Matt Adamsons Printed by; Offset Alpine Separations by; Prestige Colour Distribution by; Gordon & Gotch Customer Service Ph; 1300 65 0666 Fax 1300 65 0777 All copyrights reserved by Next Publishing Pty Ltd ACN 002 647 645 ISSN 1320-7458 KVIHTETOHYPai 78 Renwick St, Redfern, NSW 2016 Fax; 102)93101315 E-mail: freakscene^ext.com.au Having problems with Zelda 64? We bring the begin¬ ning of the epic playguide, to Nintendo’s epic game. I I i i »HYPER NEWS DREAMCAST’S SHENMUE What you see here on this page are not pieces of rendered art or FMV, but actual in-game screenshots of the most talked about Dreamcast game of the last few months. Shenmue is Sega’s incredibly ambitious Dreamcast RPG, which attempts to simulate "real life” in terms of how you actually play through the game. Your character must earn money to be able to eat and survive, requiring you to either do part- time work or gamble with dice, and there are literally thousands of "rooms” in the game to investigate. Meet people, animals and engage in martial-arts brawls in what looks set to be one of the most visually stunning if not epic RPCs ever seen on a console. The detail in the characters in truly amazing, with different facial expressions, speech, and photo-realistic textures. All the action occurs in real-time, with the same visual quality you see in these pictures here! Sega prefer to call Shenmue a "world sim" as opposed to an RPC, but it’s obvious that this is very much an adventure game. Shenmue will be released in Japan mid to late 1999. Discover the world without it costing the earth. Now you can travel the world of the internet, without having to pay for it later. Microplex Access Cards range from only $24.95 to $99.95. They give you hours and hours on the net, and while you surf, you won’t be running up some nasty bill. Microplex Internet Access is the easiest and most cost effective way to get on the net. And there are no long term contracts or registration fees to worry about. It's got all the services you’d expect from a national internet service provider - including technical support, access to games and a permanent e-mail address. Everything you need to get going, together with a start-up CD, is included in the first pack. Drop into any of the stores listed below, and see how a 10, 15, 40 or 100 hour Microplex Access Card makes it easier to get on the internet. It’s another way Microplex helps you save on the net. Pre-paid internet access Available at: Harvey Norman. David Jones, Dick Smith Electronics, Myer/Grace Bros, Chandlers, Strathfield Car Radio, Software Today, Brisbane Sound, Archie Martin and Billy Guyatts stores. System Requirements: Windows 95, Windows NT or later, 12Mb RAM Windows 95,16Mb RAM Windows NT, 14.4K or faster modem, unused serial port and up to 70Mb free disk space {exact disk space usage is dependent upon installation selections). mpx 5108 /h »HYPER NEWS CO BUILD LEGO ON YOUR PC Anything to do with LEGO is cool, because we say so. Anyone who has never had the chance to build all sorts of mad crap out of LEGO is simply deprived and depraved. LEGO themselves have entered the PC gaming market with some funky LEGO titles designed for kids of ail ages... LEGO Loco allows you to design and run your own LEGO train set on your PC. even letting you route trains to deliver messages across a LAN or the internet to other users using LEGO Loco!! You can also complete your LEGO train set with commuters who will queue up and catch the trains around the land. LEGO Chess on the other hand, is a fun chess title with two different LEGO themes - Western and Pirates. The chess pieces are all fully 3D LEGO characters, all animated in hilarious ways. Cool. Also in the series is LEGO Creator, which sounds like the pick of the bunch. Basically, you can build and play with 3D LEGO bricks on your PC, eventually creating whole LEGO worlds. You can then explore your creation from the viewpoint of one of your LEGO action figures. LEGO Creator is also 3D accelerated. DONKEY KONG 64 Happy Birthday you great big hairy, smelly, banana-eating monkey... you’ve finally hit the big 64! Um... well, actually, you know what we mean... Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64 looks like it is finally a reality. Rare have been listening to the prayers of Nintendo owning gamers around the world, because they have come clean on Donkey Kong 64. and announced that it’s real, it's happening and it’s coming soon. Chances are it will be the big game of Christmas ’99, but for now Rare are being typically silent on the actual gameplay mechanics in the game and have not released any more information. This year’s Electronic Games Expo could very well answer all our most urgent questions... patience young gamers... we have Perfect Dark to look forward to before then. PIKACHU GENKIDECHU Pikachu is undoubtedly the most popular Pokemon in all of Japan, and Nintendo have been smart enough to recognise this and release this bizarre virtual pet game. The reason this game in particular is generating so much interest, is the fact that it requires a new Nintendo peripheral - a N64 Voice Recognition add-on! Coming with an earpiece and microphone, the system allows you to speak words to Pikachu and have him respond. Get angry at him, and he’ll spit out his electricity and disobey you until you regain his trust. You can order him to play, retrieve things and generally do virtual pet stuff. A small icon in the corner of the screen will flash when the system recognises words you speak, so you’ll know when Pikachu ’’understands” what you’re trying to say. Graphically, the game looks great, with fantastic colour and detail. Of course, looking utterly cute, little Pikachu chirps his little "Pika Pika’’ call and hops around the forest, making this a must-have for Pokemon nuts. COMPETITION WI NNERS Rejoice! For free games and goodies are yours! Crash Bandicoot Andrew Thompson, Old George Gifford, WA Alfee Ficarra, NSW Alexander Loxley, WA Kris Harringer, WA Turok 2 Aaron Moodie, NSW Tomb Raider 3 Shane Banning, Old Mark Rucco, WA David McGill, NSW Matthew King, NSW Katrina Booth, NSW FIFA ‘99 Andy Dube, NSW Matt Thomas, WA Jonathon Gerhardy, SA William Gardner, Vic Daniel Tan, WA THEN: NOW: Circa 1984 , Commodore 64 computer. Circa 1998 , ‘Dahlia’ from the Dark Earth game. This fetching object of desire required plenty of imagination to make the Nobody reads books anymore, and as a consequence, imagination is a fantasy complete, which it never was, which is why the 30 year old nerds relic of a forgotten age. Luckily, thanks to modern PC games technology, you see today are so f#@%ed up. you don't need an Imagination. Computer games allow for the most tangible realisation of otherwise unattainable fantasies. You do play, don’t you? PC PowerPlay is the gratification you need. Buy it. Read it. Be up on the latest, coolest games. Be in tune with bleeding edge technology. Play with the games on the cover CD. Stare at cute, semi-naked chicks that aren’t real. lUi PowerPlay Australia’s Computer Games Magazine 10 »HYPER E W S SEQUELS AHOY It is almost confirmed that Shigeru Miyamoto and his Nintendo team are working on another Zelda adventure... originally this was conceived to be like an "add-on" mission disk to use with the 6 aDD to expand your Ocarina of Time cartridge. With the release of the 64DD looking less and less likely every hour of every day, it’ll be interesting to see exactly how Nintendo plan on releasing this "sequel". For the PC RPCers amongst you, you may also be keen to know that the official Might and Magic VII website is now up at http;//www.3d0.com/ products/pc/mmy/. We can’t wait for that one. MICROSOFT BUY MECHS Soon, Bill Cates will be storming the great cities of the world in his heavy-class mobile armour suit, forcing all living creatures to bend to his will or find a sidewinder missile up their backside. Yes, Microsoft have just gone and bought FASA Interactive, home of Mechwarrior i 8 2 and Mech Commander. Microsoft promise to expand upon the Battletech universe themselves, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens there. MACINTOSH GAMING GOODNESS! sound of your Mac being compatible with the entire PlayStation library sound?! A PlayStation emulator called the Virtual Came Station is being released by Connectix for the C3 Mac platform. Whilst it won’t really work with ALL the current PlayStation releases, most of the cool games will be available and the VCS even provides support for joysticks and gamepads for the full experience. This is no dodgy home hack, or illegal product, but a fully commercially released emulator! Currently supported games include Crash Bandicoot 3, Bushido Blade, Cran Turismo, Medievil, Abe’s Exoddus and a few hundred other PlayStation games. Cee. it’s not often we get to report on something ultra cool in Mac gaming, but a couple of things have caught our attention. For starters, John Carmack of id software has uttered the words all Mac gamers thought they would never hear - Quake 3 Arena will be released for Macintosh almost simultaneously with the PC release! "Quake 3: Arena will set new standards for graphics, networking and gameplay, and the new Macs will be among the best platforms to experience it on,” the man himself said. Seeing as the Mac hasn’t yet received a port of Quake 2 (although that is also in the works), that’s big news indeed. The game will require 3D acceleration, but thanks to the new C3S which come with an ATI Rage 128 accelerator, that’s no problem whatsoever for those who take their Mac gaming seriously. If you find the minimal software choice for Macintosh a tad frustrating, then how does the CHARTS Charts kindly supplied by HItech World P^LAYSTATION MINTENDO 64 PC t. Tomb Raider 3 1 . Zelda; Ocarina of Time 1 . Starcraft: Brood War % Crash Bandicoot 3 2. Turok 2 2 . Baldur’s Gate 1^ Shane Warne Cricket 3. Goldeneye 007 3. Caesar 3 4 Abe’s Exoddus 4. Mario Kart 4. Populous; The Third Coming 4 Duke Nukem TTK 5. Mortal Kombat 4 5. Half Ufe 4Tekken 3 6 . WCW/NWO Revenge 6 . Powerslide f. Tenchu 7. Banjo Kazooie 7. Blood 2: The Chosen 4T0CA2 8 . WWF Warzone 8 . Rogue Squadron 4 Medievil 9. ISS 96 9. Sin 10. Pocket Fighter 10. Mission Impossible 10 . AFL ’99 [ MaKc sHocKiNgly GoOd inUsic. 1 Pounding drums, funky riffs, big beats, phat grooves. You choose the sounds, music makes the music. Whether you are a complete beginner or a music genius, you’ll be surprised at how good you are, at music Create Trip-Hop, Ambient, Drum'n’Bass, Techno or House using: • 750 pre-recorded riffs ! and 580 vocal riffs • 3000 sample instruments Plus make your own video from 300 video samples. It’s amazing what you can do on your PlayStation. ^Codemasters j www.codem ast^rs. cojw Check out the Sounds of ITIUSIC on the Net. Proudly distributed by music MUSIC CREATION FOR THE PLAYSTATION e 1998 The Codemasters Software Comparry bmrtod *CodemastOfs" All Rijhu Reserved. 'Codemasters'® is a registered trademark owned by Codemastors bmitod. © 1996 Jester Interamive ar*d The Codemasters Software Company bmilod. rCodemasters'J All Rnihts Reserved. 'Codemasters'© is a registtned trademark of Codemastors. 'A' and 'RayStation' are regislered tradt*marks of Sony Computer Entrtrtainment Inc. All other marks are tiademarks of their resprH;tive owners. 12 »HYPER NEWS UNREAL TOURNAMENT Gee, it’d didn’t take Epic MegaCames long to realize that id Software were onto something with their multiplayer-only Quake 3 Arena. Unreal Tournament will be a multiplayer only follow-up to Unreal, to tide us over until the eventual release of the true sequel, Unreal 2 which is being developed by Legend Entertainment. So what can we expect from Unreal Tournament? Well, Epic assure us that the network code will be absolutely spotless for starters, which is probably most gamers’ inital point of concern. Considering the latest patches for Unreal have the game running almost as well as Quake 2 over the internet, there seems little doubt that Epic will get it right this time with the network code - this will be a multiplayer-only game afterall. Features will include updates to all the weapons and a new tool of destruction called the Redeemer, which actually allows you to control the projectile from a camera mounted inside. Players models and skins will also be quite different, and from what we’ve seen the game looks incredibly pretty. Different gameplay modes will range from Novice to Turbo, and players can face- off against increasingly smarter bot opponents, until they are deemed Grandmasters. The game’s interface will be designed specifically for getting online and finding games easily and efficiently, although you won’t necessarily have to play on the internet. Online games will actually allow a mixture of human and bot opponents which could be interesting for team games. Some major changes are planned for the game’s physics in comparison to Unreal, to make it more multiplayer friendly. Unreal Tournament is expected sometime before the middle of the year - direct competition to Quake 3 Arena, with Unreal 2 being released ’’when it’s done” of course... EGN KEEPING GAMERS TOGETHER AAost PC users on the net know about the wonders of ICQ - being alterted of when friends get online and being able to chat and send each other stuff. Well, another utility which promises the same sort of communication but with a slant towards gamers has surfaced, called EGN (EnterNet Global Network). Like ICQ99. ECN provides funky new features like Voice AAessaging (where you can record yourself and send your message to friends) and Gamescan which works in a similar fashion to Gamespy, essentially providing you with a list of servers running particular games. If you have friends who get online and then log onto servers to play games, you can now just retrieve the information of where they are, what the IP is and who is playing on the server, and then just hop in yourself. Brilliant! You can also customise EGN to look exactly how you want it to look, including various game-related themes... makes a nice change from ICQ and those happy flowers, eh. The download is only i.Bmb for the latest build, go to http://www.egnus.com/ for more information. OVERFLOW For those of you who have grabbed yourselves one of those cool new colour Game Boys, you'll be pleased and surprised to learn that the funky Beatmania is coming to the Nintendo handheld. We don’t really know how they'll get the Game Boy to pump out those fresh beats, but we’ll keep an open mind... Another seemingly revolutionary Game Boy title is being released In the next few months - Pokemon Pinball. What is amazing about this particular Game Boy cart? Well, would be believe Rumble support?! Yep, this will be the first Game Boy title to actually have rumble! This is only the beginning... Take Two have teamed up with Microsoft to develop some games for the Nintendo 64, the first being Microsoft's Monster Truck Madness. The game should be pretty darn close to the PC version, and will include Rumble Pak support for the full experience. Expect it roughly in July. Resident Evil is coming to the Nintendo 64, according to sources at Capcom in Japan! Currently titled Resident Evil 64, it is not sure whether this will be an all-new installment In the series, or Resident Evil 2 ported to the Nintendo console... SquareSoft are releasing a Final Fantasy collection for F^yStation in Japan, with FF IV, V and VI in one package. The games may have been on the SNES, but they're still top RPGs, and if this disc gets a local release, it should be a must-buy for any RPG fan. The more Final Fantasy the better, we say... Bungle’s new Myth II: Soulblighter was recently released in the USA and then recalled due to a dodgy uninstall program on the disc. Gamers have been advised (if they bought one of these copies) to manually drag the Myth II folder into the recycle bin and delete it themselves rather than use the utility. The game has been recalled, and the local Australian release should feature a fully fixed and functional version... Coming this year to PC... Intel’s new Katmai processor, or by it's more common name - the Pentium III. Hopefully available in the USA by March, the processor will be churning out at up to 700MHz by the end of the year, entering the market at 500MHz. The chipset contains an extra 60 Instructions to help improve 3D graphics amongst other things. Imagine the super smooth gaming this beast will deliver... Here are some juicy rumours concerning those hot Namco arcade games, Time Crisis 2 and Soul Calibur. The word is that Sony’s PlayStation Is being snubbed for Sega’s Dreamcast as the platform for these much anticipated releases. Chances are the PlayStation 2 will get ports, but it looks like the Dreamcast will get them first... ARMAGEDDON - The last ^ battle between GOOD and EVIL on the Day of Judgement. ' WORMS - Sneaky little blighters with a bad attitude who couldn't care less about any day, let alone the last one! Now, open a new can of WORMS! It's the biggest. If^s the best. And it's packed full of Goodies (and Baddies!). Whether it's Single Player, Multiplayer or slithering across the Internet, this is the KILLER BIG PINK ONE . all the add¬ ons, all the features and a multitude of ultra fun-tastic play modes: THIS IS THE ULTIMATE WORMS GAME Worms Armageddon: Humorous; Annoying; Innovative; Emotional; and most of all it's pure Gameplay. Worms Armageddon ^<^1998 Teaml? Software lid All Mts Reserved. Published by Team17 Software Lid Distribuled and marfceled by MicroProse Lid TEAM17 WORMS ARMAGEDDON are Irademarks or regislered trademarks of Team17 Software Lid MICROPROSE is t^fisleted trademark of MicroProse Lid or its aftiMated companies All other trademarks are the property of their rttpeciive holders Original concept Andy Davison .^p^jPROSE www.microprose.com worms.team17.com www.leam17.com 14 »HYPER Uftunttttttt SWORD WL £NG9t^1 27.4 ov9fS B CORNHILL Insurance HILL Insurance ■■■■liiS Slllinii Canon » IRELESS lYS ENG 1270 I LI DECEMBER SUBSCRIPTION WINNERS Prize; PlayStation, Sony 51cm TV, 7 Psygnosis games! Winner: Sam Miller, Vic Terms i CornMorrs: 1. Entry is open to all re ai denta of Austrafo & New Zealand except employees and the nwnediate famies ct Next F\jbli8hing and its agenciee associated with the promobon. Only entries completed with theae Terms aryJ Concftbons wi be ehgtoie. 2. Competition begro 3 February, 1099 and entnee dose m midrsj^ 17 March, 1999. 3. In detemninrg eligibilily the judge's decMon a final and no correspondence wiH be entered into. 4. Winner wi be drawn at 9.00am on 18 March, 1909 at Ned Pitolielwig Pty Ltd, 70 Renwick Street, Redtem NSW 2016. 5 Pnzee must be taken as offered and are not redeemable for cadi. 7. Total pmo value is $309.90 and oonaala of let Prize: 1 choket bat autographed by Shane Wame (valued at $100 for the bat only) $ 1 cricket ball aiiographed by Shane Wame (valued at $30 for the beH only) $ 2 Consolailion Prizes besig a copy of Shane Wame's Cncket (valued at $80.05 each). 8. Wnners will be notified by mail and results pitoiished in Hyper on sale 28/4/09. The promoter is Ned Pitokslsng Ply Ltd ACN 002 645 647 of 78 Renwick Street. Redlem, NSW. 2016 NSW Pemd No: TCOe/OI 46. ACT Permit no TCOe/2202. NT 99/73 Mil WM A CnCHr MT Mil MU SIMEI IT SHNE WAMB! The release of Shane Warne Cricket ‘99 is a cause for celebration, and it’s not only Hyper and Codemasters spreading the joy of this great game... Shane Warne himself has signed a Gunn & Moore Scoremaster special cricket bat and a hand-sewn Gunn & Moore cricket ball for some lucky Hyper reader to win! That’s right, the spinning legend himself, Warney, has auto¬ graphed these prizes, making them absolutely priceless!! The winner will also receive a copy of Shane Warne Cricket ‘99 for PC or PlayStation. Two further runners-up will receive a copy of Shane Warne Cricket ‘99. A big thanks goes out to Ozisoft for these unbelievable prizes!! To enter the draw for this amazing competition, all you have to do is subscribe to Hyper this month. Subscribing to Hyper means you pay less per issue compared to buying the mag at the newsagents... save 37% over 12 issues and save 47% over 24 issues. Whether you take home these autographed prizes or not, you still win in the long run... so get to it! HOW TO SUBSCRIBE Call US tollfree on 1300 30 1146 Monday to Friday 9am-6pm EST Fax a copy of the completed form, with credit card details, to: 02 9699 0334 Cut or copy the form and post it with a cheque or money order, or your credit card details, to: Hyper Subscriptions Reply Paid 634, 78 Renwick St. Redfern, NSW 2016 check out our website at http://publishing.next. com.au/subs Fill out this coupon and mail it to HYPER SUBSCRIPTIONS, Reply Paid 634,78 Renwick St. Redfern, NSW 2016 SUBSCRIBER DETAILS Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms: Address Suburb State Postcode Phone number Email PAYMENT DETAILS Enclosed is my cheque/money order, or debit my credit card for $79.95/$44.95 payable to Next Publishing Pty Ltd □ 2 years/24 issues ($79.95 saving 44%) □ 1 year/12 issues ($44.95 saving 37%) □ Bankcard □ Mastercard □ Visa Expiry Date I Signature PH: Allow 4/6 weeks for 1st delivery HYPER» 15 WIN WIN WIN Kick ass! Everyone loves South Park, and this month, we have a whole bunch of cool South Park prizes up for grabs... better than a barrel-load of Cheesy Poofs! Hell, better than a five-arsed monkey! Five winners will win this mad South Park pack which includes - a South Park soundtrack CD thanks to Sony music, new South Park videos (volumes 4, 5 and 6) thanks to Warner Vision and South Park 64 for the Nintendo 64 thanks to Acclaim! That’s one truly awesome pack, for all you lovers of the ”Park". To enter the comp, you need to send us a funny South Park drawing of your own creation, the best drawn and/or funniest entries will win! Whether you decide to depict Stan. Cartman, Kyle or Kenny in a situation of your own devise, or if you’d prefer to create new South Park characters of your own, give it a go and see if you can make us laugh. Remember to include your name and address ON your artwork. Send your masterpiece to: Park me dead!. Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Redfem, NSW 2016. Get scribbling! To keep you RPCing until Final Fantasy VIII is released, get your hands on this enjoyable adventure from Sony. With a fast as lightning graphics engine, Cranstream Saga will whisk you away to a magical otherworldy land, so you can spend hours blissfully unaware of reality. Much like the Hyper crew. To grab yourself one of five copies for your PlayStation, thanks to Sony Computer Entertainment, send us your opinion of who the best RPC character of all time is. Entries must be in 50 words or less. Send your entry to: My Hero, Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Redfern, NSW 2016. Tribes servers are spawning all over the net. faster than you can gib a keyboard-using newbie! This multiplayer shooter is an awesome team game experience, with the fresh approach of huge outdoor battlefields, vehicles and funky player classes. If you own a PC and play games online, then you’re going to want a copy of this game NOW. Luckily, Wolf Interactive are cool enough to grant five copies of Tribes to the lucky Hyper readers who enter this comp. To be in with a chance to win, send us a design or detail in 50 words or less, of what you consider to be an exciting new concept for a Deathmatch weapon. Get out your pens and send your entry to: Kick Arsenal, Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Redfern, NSW 2016. HYPER» 17 »HYPER Sonic Adventure DREAMCAST AVAILABLE: SEPTEMBER CATEGORY: PLATFORMER || PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER; : SEGA !■ Whilst Virtua Fighter Team Battle had the whole office excited like kids at their first birthday party, some were disappointed simply because we knew how it should look before we slipped the disc into the Dreamcast and our expectations were of nothing less than an arcade perfect port. Sonic Adventure on the other hand, was still a mystery - aside from quicktimes we had seen on the web and some amazing screenshots in a few import mags, nothing quite prepared us for how amazing this game would look in motion. Technically, Sonic Adventure is nothing short of incredible. Hours into playing the game, we would still find moments where we would have to rub our eyes and say ”Oh my Cod!!’’. Sonic really drives home how powerful the Dreamcast really is, and to think this is only the first Generation of games for the console, it’s going to be quite incredible a year or two down the track. The image quality is so sharp, so colourful and so smooth that I don’t think you could find a high-end PC which could achieve the same sort of consistent performance. Whilst the majority of the game runs at 30 frames per second, there are a few stages which switch to 6ofps, and not once did we notice any slowdown, clipping problems or pop-up in large open areas or geometrically complex levels. Sonic is of arcade quality. The gameplay is just like the classic Sonic action we know and love, but on steroids, thanks to the amazing environment. Getting caught in torna¬ dos, snowboarding out of the way of an avalanche, hanging from helicopters, flying in a bi-plane, running down the sheer face of a skyscraper and surviving the ferocity of an oncoming killer whale is the sort of action PREVIEWS HyPER» 19 20 »HYPER PREVIEWS ' (I CWTH n,: ;*yj PREVIEWS the original Sonic couldn't have even dreamt about. The game begins with Sonic having to dispatch a bizane creation called Chaos o - a jelly like alien with a trans¬ parent body, allowing you to see the brain in it’s head. Like all good platformers, the secret is to bounce on his head, which will lead Sonic into a series of progressively more amazing levels. Whilst the aim of the game is to still race like lightning through a level and collect all the golden rings, the amount of detail now makes exploring your surroundings that much more engaging. Whilst the incredible environments are racing past you. you can always get Sonic to stop and take a look around at the gorgeous scenery. The textures are photo-realistic in some cases, with stone paths and wooden planks looking almost real in appearance, though there were slight mip- mapping anomalies in the floor sometimes. But really, at the speed you’re meant to be playing the game, there’s no way you notice these sorts of things unless you stop to look. But stop you should, simply to admire the sort of design which has gone into these huuuuge and compli¬ cated environments. In some moments. Sonic is flung far up into the sky, and you can almost see the entire level in full detail sprawling beneath you, and the sense of depth is amazing. Besides Sonic, there are another five characters which you can play through the game with. Whilst Sonic’s aim is to complete things as fast as possible, other charac¬ ters like Knuckles may have to find specific crystals which involves more exploration and adventuring over arcade action. Spanning ten different worlds. Sonic Adventure is fairly massive, with in-between level envi¬ ronments which have their own hidden secrets and beautiful scenery. Cars zoom through streets, machinery whirs, and there is even a Casino where you can play Sonic or Nights pinball to progress to another point in the game. There seems to be enough here to satisfy any demanding gamer. As far as gripes and quibbles are concerned. Sonic is hard to fault. However, a few things got our goat. The camera angles are at times quite frustrating, as they seem to follow Sonic in a dramatic, cinematic way rather than a practical gameplay way. You do have the option, though, of maneuvering the camera with the D-pad and shoulder buttons, on-the-fly, whilst you play. Whilst we are all drooling over Sonic Adventure and the precious Dreamcast now, it will be interesting to see if the game still has the same sort of impact when it finally gets it’s PAL release in September this year, ef HYPER» 21 22 »HYPER PREVIEWS Kingsley PLAYSTATION AVAILABLE: MARCH/APRIL CATEGORY: ACTION/ADVENTURE PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: PSYGNOSIS Spyro the Dragon was the first hint that there were some PlayStation games on the way which would attempt to deliver the same sort of cute yet wondrous gaming which Rare (Banjo Kazooie) and Nintendo (Super Mario 64) have nailed for the N64. Kingsley comes from the unlike¬ ly stable of the Psygnosis team, and indeed it seems to be an attempt to crack the cute platforming genre. Kingsley is a 2 foot tall fox in a trippy colourful world of animals and magic, and he’s decided it’s time to try and become a True Knight. Played from the third person per¬ spective (just like Spyro), you can get Kingsley to jump around those mysterious hanging ledges, wave a sword around and sniff out keys and other items to help you on your adventure. Hilariously, the animal voices in the game are the same blibbering squeaks as the characters in Nintendo’s Lylat Wars, which is a pretty direct refer¬ ence to the fact that Kingsley is very much a Nintendo- style game for the PlayStation. The character design is nice, and rather Disney at times, and there’s certainly no lack of colour in this game world. All the locations are packed with detail, but sadly most of the objects in the environment are for show only. I don’t know why they put treasure chests lying around the place, when you can’t open them. The controls feel a little jumpy and character move¬ ment seems a little slow, with the rotating camera prov¬ ing to be more problematic than at all helpful, but the version we had to play with was early, so hopefully these problems will be tweaked away. Kingsley shows huge promise in a cute, Medievil sort of way. Silent Hill PLAYSTATION AVAILABLE: TBA CATEGORY: ADVENTURE PLAYERS: 1 PUBLISHER: KONAMI Like the bastard child of Resident Evil and the Saturn’s D, Silent Hill is an eerie horror/adventure set in a sleepy american town - all in glorious polygonal form. You play Harry Mason who has just survived a near-fatal car crash on the outskirts of Silent Hill. Strangely, your daughter Cheryl has gone missing after the crash, so you venture into the odd little town to try and find her... Though the majority of Silent Hill is played in a third- person, Resident Evil style engine, the backgrounds are all actual 3D models (not prerendered) and the action is strung together by a huge amount of FMV. What is most startling, is the incredible quality of this FMV, which looks truly realisitc. Seriously, the character ani¬ mation in these FMVs is very articulate, and it’s the main talking point for Silent Hill. We just can’t wait to experience this game, which promises to take us on a serious thrill ride. Mixing puzzle solving with nifty action sequences. Silent Hill could very well be one of the most stylish PlayStation games ever. PREVIEWS Descent 3 AVAILABLE: TBA CATEGORY: ACTION PLAYERS: 1-MULTI PUBLISHER: INTERPLAY It’s been a long time since any of us have delved into the dark labyrinth which is the world of Descent. Maybe that’s a good thing... 1 lost far too many meals (some due to the unfortunate dizziness induced when playing the game) and lost a fair bit of my youth thanks to the first game. Though we've had the space combat sim Descent: Freespace to tide us over, and the Descent- clone which was Forsaken, the lure of the official sequel is strong. Descent 3 is finally at the front door, and it promises to be everything the first two games were and way more. For starters, the visuals beat Forsaken at it’s own game, with some incredible coloured, specular and volumetric lighting, transparencies, amazing weapon effects and a suitably atmospheric environment. Lovers of the original game will enjoy the familiar design, from the same cool little ship to the look of some of your opponents, so veterans should be able to slip in really quick. The game in fact uses a new graphic engine called the Fusion engine, which seamlessly takes you from complex indoor locations to sprawling outdoor environments with little or no performance hit. That’s right. Descent 3 takes you out of those mind-numbing maze-like corridors to the atmosphere above the plan¬ et’s surface, which is something the first two games could not achieve. Thirty new bots and twenty new weapons are featured, showing off some fairly advanced A 1 and the post-car¬ nage polygon scrap heap you can achieve with your new toys of destruction. Whilst there’s plenty of ’’racing to the exit” to be done, the missions this time around will have multiple objectives and a complex plot to keep you intruiged. Descent 3 will also come packed with a mission builder, so that once you’ve completed the game you can go back and cook up some challenging scenarios of your own. To whet your appetite, you can log on and download a demo of the game now from the^ Interplay website. Full review soon. HYPER» 23 24 »HYPER PREVIEWS Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine PLAYSTATION/PC AVAILABLE: MARCH £ CATEGORY: ACTION/ADVENTURE * PLAYERS: 1 g PUBLISHER: LUCASARTS M Yay Indy, we love you. Virtually Lara Croft’s big broth¬ er, Indiana Jones is finally coming to the PlayStation, though the PC users probably already have a soft spot in their hearts for the bad-ass archeaologist thanks to the great adventures like Fate of Atlantis. This time. Indiana is coming atcha in full 3D accelerated third-person glory, and considering LucasArts’ track record with this license, I don’t think they’re keen to stuff up such a suc¬ cessful history. Nazis, ancient temples, rope-bridges, snakes - the Infernal Machine looks to be packed with all the good elements you'd expect from an Indiana Jones adventure. Mixing action and adventure in an Alone in the Dark-ish sort of way, we hope that IJATIM isn’t too heavy on the Tomb Raider style shooty bits and that there’s more depth to the adventuring than just finding keys to doors. Indiana will be able to do just about everything a Harrison Ford could do, except maybe pick his nose - oh you missed that scene? Most interestingly though, is that a multiplayer mode is going to be included! Apparently, the game can be played co-operatively (maybe the second player plays Indy’s sidekick Sophia Hapgood) in the PC version, which is very intruiging for this style of game. As long as the game is not delayed at all, we should be reviewing IJATIM within the next few issues... Ehrgeiz PLAYSTATION AVAILABLE: TBA £ CATEGORY: FIGHTING PLAYERS: 1-2 1 PUBLISHER: SQUARESOFT Those of you who frequent the arcades will be more than familiar with Ehrgeiz: Cod Bless the Ring (er...yeah, whatever that means), a pretty darn awe¬ some 3D fighting game which is most famous for including characters from Final Fantasy VII. Well, SquareSoft recently released Ehrgeiz for PlayStation over in Japan, so we grabbed a copy to see how it trans¬ lated to console. On the whole, this is a pretty good conversion, silky smooth, analogue control but with slightly disappointing re-modelled backgrounds. The PlayStation version has all the characters from the arcade version, including Cloud Strife and Tifa, but this version also includes Sephiroth, Vincent and Yuffie from FFVII! Playing as Sephiroth is just one of those cool things you have to do! Most of the moves steal from Tekken, Virtua Fighter and other 3D fighting games, but the special moves are excellent. Cloud and Sephiroth can pull out their swords for extra tonking action, as well as summon forth a Meteor Strike - just like in FFVII. Other characters can fire rockets, hurl fire¬ balls and wield other cool-ass weapons - even Yoko’s deadly yo-yo is something to beware of! She’ll make you walk the dog, boy! We don’t know when this is coming to our shores, so let’s all take a few moments before bed each night to pray that the game gods deliver. PREVIEWS Street Sk8er PLAYSTATION AVAILABLE: MARCH CATEGORY: SKATEBOARDING PLAYERS: 1-2 PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Now that the avalanche of snowboarding games seems to have subsided (thank the maker), the next logical step is a few decent skateboarding games. Really, why there hasn't been a cool street skateboarding game until now is a total mystery. Thankfully, EA have Street Sk8er to unleash upon the board-hungry public. No silly futuristic hover-racing, no crazy powerups, this is a hardcore street-smart skateboarding game with a fresh soundtrack and solid gameplay. The similarities to Sega’s Top Skater are minor, but they are there, with players required to complete a course within a time¬ limit, pulling off awesome tricks to earn enough points to continue. Successfully completing a course then opens up new tracks, boards, skaters and features. The controls seem to be just what a real-life skateboarder would expect - all the PlayStation controller’s buttons are used to provide enough combinations to pull off something in the order of 200 moves! Because of the detailed environment, you can perform tricks off walls, stairs, railings and all sorts of objects within the envi¬ ronment, not to mention huge jumps. The physics in the game are thankfully fairly realistic, so Street SkSer "feels right". Really, this should hopefully be very cool. if lA lira tStiei T^i Poy Poy 2 PLAYSTATION AVAILABLE: TBA CATEGORY: PARTY GAME PLAYERS: 1-4 PUBLISHER: KONAMI The original Poy Poy proved to be a surprise hit with the Hyper crew with its combination of wacky violence and simplicity of control. Best described as Bomberman without the mazes, Poy Poy requires you to run around, pick up large heavy objects and explosives, and to throw them at everyone else on the screen. Your ultimate goal is simply to survive the mayhem. Poy Poy 2 brings back Channel Poy Poy and the goofy commentator and will be faithfully reproducing that same mayhem with a few new touch¬ es. First off, the character count is now up to 16, and the number of magic and special weapons you can use has been significantly beefed up. Each character has extra default moves like jumping, back-stepping, and charging, which will probably allow for greater personal involvement and strategy. The fighting arenas have also been improved, with more obstacles, multi-level platforms to jump around on. and yes - the jumping Easter Island heads are back. And so’s Anton and his chin. Everything else seems to be going through the usual sequel-related improvements, such as better graphics, improved sound effects, and so on. The japanese version we’ve been playing is proving every bit as fun as we’d hoped. There are multiple chal¬ lenge modes, team battles, and free for alls. Combine that with A-player gameplay, and Konami looks like they have another great party title in store for us! HYPER» 25 26 »HYPER PREVIEWS UPCOMING RELEASES The complete guide to what’s coming out over the next couple of months here in Australia it Hot stuff on the way... PC MARCH Akuji Army Men 2 Biosys Blaze & Blade Conflict Cowpokes Daikatana it Deo Gratis Oiscworld Noir Dungeon Keeper 2 Golden Bear Challenge Great Britain III Grunts Half-Life Team Fortress it Homeworld Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine Jagged Alliance 2 Lands of Lore 3 Legacy of Kain 2 Mankind May Day Messiah Metro Police Monkey Hero Nations Panzer Elite Premier Manager 99 Quake III Arena it Redline Revenant Road to Moscow Roll Cage Scotland Yard Shogun Siege Silver Starsiege SU/27 Ranker Swords and Sorcery m Tank Racer Hollywood Rugrats Tanktics Big Air Running Wild Tiberian Sun it Clocktower 2 Superbikes TDCA 2 it Conflict Tai-Fu Trans Am Racing Cowpokes Unification Unification Dungeon Keeper 2 Violent Conduct Violent Conduct Grand Theft Auto London WCW Nitro 2 Warzone 2100 Kingsley Warzone 2100 Water Events World Legacy of Kain 2 N64 Championship Master of Monsters Wild Metal Country NHL Faceoff ‘99 X-Wing Alliance w Populous in the Beginning MARCH Pro 18 World Tour Golf FIFA 99 PlayStation X-Games Pro Boarders Rainbow Six Gex2 Micromachines V3 it MARCH Rally Cross 2 DOT AFL 99 Retro Vigilante 8 Beavis and Butthead Do Roll Cage it 27 »HYPER HARDWARE TOP GUN PC TYPE: JOYSTICK RRP: TBA DISTRIBUTOR: PLAYCORP As soon as the Top Cun was popped out of it’s box, it was obvious that this was a "junior” Thrustmaster X-Fighter. The design is almost identical, which is a good thing for the Top Cun seeing as the X~Fighter is one of those classic joysticks that just never goes out of style. Whilst the grip and buttons are the same, the Top Cun is quite smaller than the X-Fighter, and honestly feels like a joystick made for kids or those of you with small hands. Really, all you have to do is check it out in the shop to know whether this joystick feels too cramped for your playing style. The other main difference between this and the X- Fighter, is the joystick’s base and the mechanics inside. The Top Cun is simply a cheaper version, with rubber instead of a great big solid block. Still, this is a well made joystick, and is perfect for those of you who wanted an X-Fighter, but found it too big and chunky. FRAGMASTER TYPE: 3 D CONTROLLER RRP: TBA DISTRIBUTOR: PLAYCORP Though the concept of a first-person shooter joystick seems a tad silly (considering the mouse is unbeatable for complete 360 degree movement), we approached the Fragmaster with an open mind. Installation was a bit hit and miss, but the Auto Came Configure programs that comes with the Fragmaster set-up the controller for Quake 2 and a bunch of other new releases like Shogo and Heretic 2 with no fuss. Movement was actually quite good, but the controller fails miserably when it comes to more complex movements of survival - like jumping and spinning and looking up and around quickly whilst moving. The problems is. the controller’s main "stick" is used for just about everything, so the co-ordination needed to strafe, turn, jump, look up and shoot at the same time is next to impossible. Whilst the controller may work fine in single-player games where you don’t necessarily have to be as nimble on your feet, for multiplayer gaming it is pretty useless. When it comes down to it, you still can’t beat the good old mouse and keyboard for a first-person game?: although the creators of the Fragmaster should get a slap on the back for trying hard. Some of you may well love it for the novelty value, but we can’t really see why you would want to pay for something which is not as convenient to use as your mouse. PltYSIATIDN MAC PC CDROM CHAT SEGA ARCADE NINTENDR R4 30 »HYPER HARDWARE NASCAR SUPER SPORT PC TYPE: STEERING WHEEL AND PEDALS RRP: TBA DISTRIBUTOR: PLAYCORP The Super Sport wheel is yet another Thrustmaster PC wheel variation, designed with convenient gear-shifting paddles on the underside of the wheel. The design is nice and simple, yet the wheel and pedals feel solid and tough - perfect for lots and lots of gaming. The steering wheel grip is rubber, and feels excellent, designed to prevent any slippage whilst working up a sweat on the final straight. The tension in the wheel is also good, with that feeling of weight and resistance, but with a smooth action. The pedals are nice and chunky, though they tend to slip on carpet, so you may have to get out the yellow pages. The wheel simply clamps to your desk, and locks in nice and tight (there’s no force feedback, so you shouldn’t be grappling with it too much anyhow), and generally everything feels nice and solid. Installation was a breeze, and after a few laps in Grand Prix Legends, the Super Sport proved to be a comfortable, and decent wheel. CYBORG 3D ?c WE: JOYSTICK aRP: TBA 3ISTRIBUTOR: SAITEK If you're after something different, the Cyborg |D may be the joystick for you. Looking like lomething out of an Alien movie, the Cyborg has to many bits and pieces sticking out all over the place, it’d scare off anyone who tries to use your Somputer when you’re not around. Whilst it looks freaky, it’s all actually very straightforward to ise. The main drawcard here, is that left-handed Jamers can alter the grip of the stick and use it Ixactly as a right-handed gamer would, with the fhrottle control equipped with a grip on both lides of the base. By removing a few screws, you can set up this joystick to fit your hand perfectly. There are two pieces of plastic in the handle that allow you to rest your hand whilst you play which is a top idea, making this one of the more comfortable sticks around. The tension in the stick isn’t too tight, which could prove a problem after a lot of use. A small problem is the three buttons on the top of the stick’s handle being too close together, meaning sometimes you press the wrong button in the heat of the moment. If the centre one was slightly higher than the others this would help to solve this problem. The Cyborg feels like it may not stand up to rigorous use. but otherwise this is a different stick which just may be what you’re looking for. HARDWARE Buyers Guide The guide to purchasing the best vaiue games hardware around! Item RRP Notes 1 PSX Memory Card Memory Card 2MEG $29.95 It costs the same as the Sony card, but stores twice as much. Nyko Memory Card x 8 $49.95 A better buy for those that don’t think 120 save game slots is enough at any one time. Digital Controller Std Sony Controller $29.95 It’s certainly not the cheapest, but it has the best feel and reliability. Analogue Controller Sony Dual Shock $59.95 Great analogue control with a rumble effect. Widely supported now. Arcade Stick Namco Arcade Stick $49.95 Solid as all hell, really authentic sensitive arcade button, and a stick that’s perfect for whipping out fireballs. Hado-Ken! Steering Wheel Gamester Dual Force $169.95 One of the more expensive wheels, but is solid and has Dual Shock support. Pc 3D Accelerator Maxi Gamer Pheonix $299 Better performance than Voodoo i cards. The best cheap option to get 3D. Diamond Monster 3D II $399 The top end of the "affordable” 3D accelerators. Best results require a Pentium2, but Pi users will still benefit. Sound Card Professional Sound $89.95 It’s PCI does SB support, 3D Direct sound, and is dirt cheap! Video Card ET6100 $99.95 The best value buy for those who own, or who plan to own a dedicated 3D accelerator Maxi Gamer Pheonix $299 A 2D/3D card in one. The best value card for those who want some 3D acceleration, and don’t have a PII-300 or better. Great 2D performance. Flightstick Thrustmaster X-Fighter $150 Sure, there’s no throttle, but this stick feels great, and will last you for yonks. Microsoft Force Feedback-Pro $269.95 The most comfortable of the PC Force Feedback joysticks available at the moment. Gamepad Microsoft Sidewinder Gamepad $79.95 Love em or hate em, Microsoft make great peripherals, and this is no exception Mouse Microsoft Wheel Mouse $59.95 Works as a three button mouse, and the middle button allows window scrolling. N64 Memory Pak Nyko Hyper Pak $59.95 Four times the normal memory storage AND variable Rumble settings. The all in one "Pak” Memory 64 DLX $29.95 Not only does it have four times the standard memory, but it’s only $5 more expensive than the standard Pak! Rumble Pak Gamester Tremor Pak $24.95 This rumble pak DOESN'T need batteries, making it excellent value. Tremor Pack Performance $19.95 Two rumble modes, with the strongest being REAL strong. Great for those wanting to put it into a wheel. Gampad Mako Pad 64 $59.95 Expensive, but its design allows you to hold the controller and press every button without moving your hands. Docs Controller $39.95 $10 cheaper than the Nintendo standard. Feels better, and comes with auto-fire and slow as well. Racing Wheel V3 Racing Wheel 64 $149.95 Gears on the wheel, really sturdy, great feel, and configurable buttons. Also allows for Rumble Pak. Mad Catz $129.95 Cheapest of the actual wheel controllers, includes a gear stick, and built in Rumble Pak. Not amazingly sturdy though. HYPER» 31 PElk systemWARS with the introduction of the Dreamcast into the picture, there are now four major gaming platforms... the others being the PlayStation, the Nintendo 64, and the PC Which one is the best gaming platform? Which one should you invest your hard earned money in? We take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of each of these systems, and lay out the tech specs of the consoles against one another to give a cold hard factual look at which one is the most powerful, and in what areas. Il SYSTEM WARS F E A T U E W hen Sony entered the video game console market, many Nintendo and Sega fans dismissed the PlayStation as a toy from a hi-fi company that wouldn’t be able to compete with the machines from the industry veterans. Sony not only made a mark, but went on to outsell all prior home video game console sales figures. In fact the only video game hardware to have sold more than the PlayStation is the Cameboy. The PlayStation is now the oldest of the current consoles, and as a result is the weakest system in terms of tech specs. Like with the SNES, developers have been able to get outstanding results through new instruction libraries, which have seen high resolutions and improved frame rates possi¬ ble as a result. It must be wondered if the PlayStation has been recognised as "in it’s last stages’’ by Sony, as word of an official PlayStation emulator for PC is circulating, and this would mean any PC owner who buys the emulator could play PSX games WITH the hardware acceleration existing on their PC, basically making purchasing the system obsolete for anyone owning a vaguely decent PC. ^ STRENGTHS: Software Lineup: Of all the current home systems, the PlayStation has the largest library of games. This is a huge draw card, since anyone looking to purchase a system with many games to choose from will be unlikely to go past the PlayStation. Price: Not only is the PlayStation unit itself affordable, but with the best selling games being re-released as Platinum titles at a budget price, it’s easy to a get a collection of good games cheaply with the PlayStation. Wide range of peripheral support: There are a host of con¬ trollers available for the PlayStation, including the Dual Shock controllers, which seem to have answered the challenge laid out by the Nintendo 64 controllers. Metal Gear Siiid Final Fantasy Vll Gran Turismo Wipeout 2097 Tekken series Tomb Raider series Upcoming Big Uns: Final Fantasy VIII Silent Hill Legacy of Kain 2: Soulreaver Ridge Racer Type 4 h WEAKNESSES: Low amount of RAM: One thing that the PlayStation is quite poor at is 2D visuals, due entirely to a low amount of RAM. In particular, 2D fighting games on the PlayStation are really quite heavily compromised compared to versions on other systems. Indeed, this factor kept the Saturn ahead of the PlayStation as a 2D fighting game enthusiast’s machine. Piracy: While the benefits of the CD format were obvious in terms of low costs for manufacturing units of software. Sony are now paying the price for it. Thanks to the wide spread existence of mod chips, the amount of pirate copies of games being sold for the PlayStation has reached plague propor¬ tions. ® ST CD 01 fii tn VJ CD CD " O ZcD O O < CD CD 3 CCD 0 n cn Overheating & CD skipping: Although newer models of the PlayStation were more reliable in this sense. It became evident that the PlayStation was not the sturdiest console around. Many PlayStation units tend to become prone to CD skipping, and simply failing to load games due to overheating. Turning the PlayStation on its side tends to help on both counts, but of course very few people try this. Texturing: Of all the major systems available right now, the PlayStation is the only one not to feature special texturing effects, and thus produces pixelated environments. FEATURE SYSTEM WARS N intendo first started their triumphant reign in video gaming with the Came 6 Watch, which were card like hand held clocks with an LCD game. Their next big success was with the 8 bit NES, then the Gameboy, then the SNES which went on to become the most successful home console yet. Nintendo amassed an army of loyal followers as a result, and when they came out with their 6 a bit entry into the next generation console war, they had plenty of support. Nintendo’s adherence to the cartridge format has obvious pros and cons, and received a mixed reception from the gaming populace, but it has ensured the system does not suffer the same problems with piracy that is now hammering the PlayStation in terms of software sales. Speculation over a readable/writable disc drive for Nintendo 64 perhaps cost the com¬ pany some credibility, with the eventual canning of the idea (even after we saw one work¬ ing at Acclaim in the UK). Nintendo have apparently made a modem peripheral, but there’s no sign of it out here in Australia. While some speculate that Nintendo will soon announce another upcoming console, it would seem that this is unlikely as Nintendo are still making healthy profit margins on the N6 a Q) CD cn Games of distinction: Goldeneye 007 Super Mario 64 Mario Kart 64 Zelda 64 Upcoming Big Uns: Perfect Dark Donkey Kong 64 Conker's Quest Castlevania 64 STRENGTHS: oc lAl o. >• X Texturing: The Nintendo 64 works in such a way as to allow huge polygons to cover large areas, and to apply mip mapping to these surfaces to keep a low poly count, with a smooth finish to the texture image as well. Not everyone is a big fan of this blury effect, but it does allow for large 3D textured environments. Four controller inputs: With no need to buy a multitap, the Nintendo 64 is quite readily made "the party" machine, although purchasing 3 extra controllers is not exactly cheap. Rugged design: You could practically throw your N64 across the room into a brick wall, and it would still work (try this at your own risk folks). Not a huge factor, but defi- WEAKNESSES: Small software lineup: Due to Nintendo’s rather hefty licensing fees, many developers have decided not to support the Nintendo 64, and this is the main reason the software lineup is quite small, relative to that of the other systems. Software manufacturing costs: Because there’s no real cheap way to make a cartridge, this prevents software prices from being dropped too far, simply because the publishers will run at a loss if they try to do so. Low polygon count: While the N64 has some strengths in 3D visuals, it also has weaknesses in that it has the low¬ est maximum polygon count of today’s systems. This explains why we are yet to see a detailed 3D fighting game like we have seen on the PlayStation, and now the Dreamcast. Basically, the Nintendo 64 is not capable of running a game like Tekken 3. nitely a consideration for those that have younger children, or a large dog that eats innocent inanimate objects. Cartridge: The data access with a cartridge based sys¬ tem is far and away the fastest of any type of system. Thus, the Nintendo 64 has the lowest loading times of any system available today, including the PC. RAM expansion pak: The new 4AAB RAM expansion is allowing some games to run in a higher resolution, which will appeal to many gamers. When utilised, this also seems to take away the apparent "blurriness" that many people complain about with the Nintendo 64’s visuals. Low system price: The Nintendo 64 itself does not cost much, and since they don’t charge themselves royalties, all games distributed by Nintendo tend to be cheaper than the rest, and these are more often than not the best games available on the system anyway. So getting a decent soft¬ ware lineup on the N64 isn’t too costly. Anti-piracy: While there is piracy of Nintendo 64 software happening, it is not something that the average loe has the cash outlaw to get started for, or the technical know-how to do, and as a result, software sales for the system aren’t hurt by piracy anywhere near as much as the PlayStation or PC. This helps ensure continued development, as companies aren’t losing sales. No CD Media capability: While some do not find it important, having no ability to play CD music, or to stream FMV video in games is something that is taken for granted on all other systems, and is thus considered a flaw by some. Limited game data: Because a cartridge, even with compression holds no where near as much information as a CD, some conversions of games see some short cuts when they make it to the Nintendo 64. The obvious example would be commentary in sports games, which would nor¬ mally include the player names being called. E SYSTEM P i A T U R S ega have not have a good run with their last three home console releases. The 32X, Mega-CD and the Saturn were considered by many to be unsupported and thus a failure. The Sega Saturn fared very well in Japan, but in the west, performed very poorly. It is common belief that this is the rea¬ son Sega have not put their name anywhere on their latest console, the Dreamcast... For fear of carrying a bad reputation. All this aside, the Dreamcast looks to be the most powerful gaming system available in the world. The main processor has more raw power than a Pentium II - 450 MHz chip, which of course costs several times what a Dreamcast does. With a keyboard and mouse coming for the Dreamcast, and Internet capability, this could well take away the advantage PCs have held over consoles in this area for so long.. With the awesome hardware, and the very promising list of upcoming titles, the Dreamcast looks like a winner. Perhaps it may not generate the same mainstream hype as the PlayStation has, but it certainly doesn’t look like it’s going to suffer the same fate the Saturn did. STRENGTHS: Outstanding visual effects: The raw grunt of the Dreamcast is such that it can throw around a ton of polygons, with CPU power that is far more than that of top of the line PCs. For example, Virtua Fighter 3tb could be handled by the 3D accel¬ erators available for PC, but the current processors are simply not up to the task of handling all the calculations fast enough. Dreamcast visuals are calculated at 1600 x 1200, then sampled down to 640 X 480 full screen anti-aliased, producing super smooth lines and crisp edges, unlike any console to date. Anti-piracy: Although there is word that it is possible to duplicate Dreamcast games, it will not be possible for the end users with CD writing equipment available, and thus, piracy should not be a major problem for the Dreamcast like it has become for the PlayStation. PC Ports: Due to the Windows CE operating system, the Dreamcast will not only be getting many PC titles ported over, but also the other way around, although this may require the PC owners to use Power VR accelerators. Four game ports: Like the Nintendo 64. the Dreamcast a comes with four controller ports, so we should be seeing many P" "party” games, which have had widespread following on the " N64. Built in modem: While it is not a certainty if the PAL machines will come with a modem, at this stage there has been no word to say it will not. This will mean that you will be able to use a Dreamcast to not only play games online, but also web browse, and send email... which will be made easy thanks to the keyboard and mouse which will supposedly become avail¬ able at a later stage. Ozisoft, the Australian distributors have told us they definitely have plans to support Dreamcast online gaming, so the future looks bright. Value for hardware: The Dreamcaft is currently selling in Games of distinction: Virtua Fighter tb3 Sonic Adventure Upcoming Big Uns: Climax Lander Virtual On 2 Grandia 2 Quake 3 Arena Alone in the Dark 4 M Biohazard: CQcigVeronica (Resident Messiah Marvel vs Capcom Japan, for the equivalent of about AU$385. This may seem a bit expensive compared to the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, but keeping in mind this machine has a built in modem, and in all areas, vastly better hardware (CPU, RAM, CD drive, video and sound chips) it is definitely good value for money. Also, considering the PlayStation started at $700 locally, and the Nintendo 64 started at $400, and have now both droppe^to just under $200, we can probably expect the Dreamcast to cost around $300 by mid next year, which is quite affordable. Strong list of upcoming titles: The list of games in devel¬ opment looks more promising for the Dreamcast than any other system available. It would seem the Dreamcast is going to be supported by many developers who have been "PC only” till this point, due to the ease of porting to the Dreamcast. Also, with the Dreamcast being better than Model 3, and almost identical to the new Naomi arcade boards, we can expect many arcade perfect translations, with almost no turn around time. 4 WEAKNESSES: Small software lineup: Of course this is only a temporary issue, but if you were to import a Dreamcast right now, there would not be many good titles to choose from. By the time the Australian launch takes place, the software lineup should be quite large, and we may see a better lineup than the PlayStation had back in ’95. CD fragility: Due to how densely packed the information is on the special Dreamcast CDs, scratches and smudges on the CD are far more likely to cause problems than on other systems. We’ve yet to see a scratched Dreamcast CD to verify this, but we have noticed having almost any fingerprints on the parts of the CD that are written on results in failure to load. •< Ol FEAT u O. U R o D) fO O £ ■ ■■■ 2Vo ■■■4 ■ ■ 2o Q.O 3 U tn < 0) £ (0 u i* 0) S!-S CD >« 0)