1 CO 00 in CD CO 2 in oa ■ CO CO 9 771320 745001 PS2 - PC - GAMECUBE - XBOX - DREAMCAST - N64 - PLAYSTATION^ REVIEWS! O Time Splitters ” MSR Dino Crisis 2 Smuggler’s Run Starship Troopers Project IGI Hitman The World Is Not Enough Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 PlayStation has its dark side Please ask your newsagent VISIT US ONLINE AT W W W. H Y P E R A C TI V E . C O M . A U Yet to be classified Summoner © 2000 Violation. Inc. Published exclusively by THQ Inc. Summoner. the Summoner logo. Violation and the Violation logo are trademarks ol Violation. Inc. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks ol THQ Inc. All rights reserved. and PlayStation are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights Reserved. All other trademarks are the property ol their respective owners. wu/w.svmmonER^corn + An ORjGinAL Rfrom The creaTor§ of The award winnlnG DECEnt AnD Frees pace + DiRECf a 5 PER^on party ahd intERACt wITh a cast of over 120 c haracTers + Summon Ano contRPL 16 DiFFEREnt FAntAStiCAL crea^Ores in comBAt + InCREASE tHE PARTY’S StREnC.tH ,UUitH A VARiEtY OF jAW-DRPPPinG SPELLS AnD UniQVE WEAPONS + KEAL-timE PARjY BASED COmBAt AnD QUEStS + A HUGE. BEAUtiFUL WORLD VIEWED tHRpUGH HiGH RESOLUtiOn GRAPHICS AnD FULL SCREEn Antl~ALiASWG 4 »HYPER contents 06 . EDITORIAL 08 . NEWS METROID ON GAMECUBE CONFIRMED AND THE LATEST GAMING MEWS. 14. EYE CANDY 16. Q&A WITH LUCASARTS WE SEE HOW MANY JAWAS WE CAN CRAM INTO A LANDSPEEDER. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS! Everything you wanted to know about Star Wars: Demolition, Summoner and Player Manager 2001, but were too afraid to ask. So we asked tor you! Hyper gets personal with LucasArts, Volition and Manchester Doited’s Sir Alex Ferguson! 18 22 26 30 32 36 38 78 79 80 Q&A WITH VOLITION THE SUMMONER TEAM YAK ABOUT ALL KINDS OF RPG GEEKY STUFF. Q&A WITH SIR ALEX FERGUSON FROM MANCHESTER UNITED TO THE PAGES OF HYPER - EXCLUSIVE! IN SIGHT PHANTASY STAR ONLINE - DREAMCAST FREEDOM RIDGE - PC/PS2 LOOMING NET TRAWLIN’ WIN WIN WIN WIN A DYNASTY WARRIORS 2 PACK FOR PS2 AND MORE! REVIEWS FOR A FULL LISTING, TURN TO PAGE 38. GAME BOY ARCADE MODE REVERSE ENGINEERING ALONE IK THE DARK. MORE FIN THAN IT SOUNDS. wars WIN! 82 .. ... HYPERVISION DVDS AND ANIME, SLICED AND DICEl 86 .. ...A DAY IN THE LIFE-PART 2 BEHIND 'HE SCENES OF HYPER TV 88 .. ... SUBSCRIPTIONS 90 .. ... WHAT’S ON THE CD? COVER DISC CONTENTS REVEALED 92 .. ... HYPER FORUM SHOULD GAME GRAPHICS BE PHOTO-REALISTIC? 94 .. ... INCOMING MAIL 97. THE OFFICIAL GAMES CHARTS 98. NEXT ISSUE FIND OUT WHAT’S IN THE NEXT HYPER! A PENTIUM 4 BATE WAY PC Gateway HiYRER»>: SHENMUE FEBRUARY 2001 Sega reveal one of the most artistically gorgeous games ever made. Is this as good as the Dreamcast can get? Find out in our full four page review. / HERE WE GO AGAIN. Lara Croft, assumed dead, is back in another Tomb Raider adventure on PlayStation. Is it time to retire Ms. Croft once and for all? contents REVIEWS JJ JJ J J J J J jj J J J J J J J jj jj SHENMUE MSR TIME SPLITTERS DYNASTY WARRIORS 2 SMUGGLER’S RUN X SQUAD READY 2 RUMBLE: ROUND 2 STARSHIP TROOPERS RUNE HITMAN: CODENAME 47 PROJECT IGI TOMB RAIDER CHRONICLES MEDAL OF HONOR:UNDERGROUND DINO CRISIS 2 STAR WARS: DEMOLITION THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH WIZARDS AND WARRIORS WWF NO MERCY THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (PSX) DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETIREMENT VILLAGE 2001 *IH| i I N - *; »HYPER 6 »HYPER contents issue 88 FEBRUARY 2001 WRITE TO HYPER! 78 Renwick St, Redfern NSW 2016 Australia Ph: (02) 9699 0333 Fax: (02) 9310 1315 E-mail: EDITORIAL Editor: Eliot Fish Deputy Editor: Cam Shea Art Director: Sarah Bryant Acting Art Director: Charlotte Fish Publisher: Jim Flynn ADVERTISING Group Advertising Manager Simon White E-mail: <$imon@nextcom.aj> Ph: (02) 9699 0346 Advertising Manager: Colleie Leahy E-mail: Ph: (02) 9699 0349 Production Co-ordinator: Dylan Fryer E-mail: Ph: (02) 9699 0300 Fax: (02) 9310 2012 SUBSCRIPTIONS For all enquiries phone: 1300 36 11 46 E-mail: Fax: (02) 9699 0334 MANAGEMENT Chief Executive: Phillip Keir Finance Director: Theo Fatseas Operations Manager: Melissa Doyle Circulation Executive: Rarer Day General Manager Online: Csrey Badcoe CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Cheung, Dan Toose, Gareth Jones, Adam Duncan, Stephen Farrelly, Derek dela Feunte. Jackson Gothe-Snape, Martin English, George Soropos, Tim Levy, Victoria Flanagan, Harry Maragos, the Sea Hare and Mr.Bump. Printed CTP by: PMP Print Distribution by: Gordon & Gofch 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 editorial HYPE BT UP The Dreamcast has boldy tackled the year 2001 with a stunning adventure game that you just might have heard of... Shenmue. This is the kind of game the PS2 probably needed at launch. It’s innovative, original and absolutely gorgeous, like nothing before it. If adventure games aren’t your style, then how about the shatteringly good Metropolis Street Racer? The Dreamcast this month has nothing but style. Makes you wonder why some people are so quick to write it off in the face of 2001’s hardware. Sure the PS 2 , Xbox and Gamecube will be more powerful platforms in the long-term, but the Dreamcast has had quality games and we’re really yet to see anything on the other platforms that show as much polish and originality. We’d also like to welcome back Lara "the undead” Croft to our cover this month... Lara has copped a lot of flak over the years, but she’s still a pretty cool gaming icon and Tomb Raider 5 , whether you like it or not, is good gaming. If she bothers you, just imagine that it’s Angelina Jolie staring up at you! Oh, did I mention that next issue we will be reporting from the set of the Tomb Raider movie in Cambodia? ELIOT FISH >> editor 'NjnjT-ndn, €cEN6ED0V Nintendo, GAME BOY rays*' u% Available at all these retailers and good games retailers www.thq.com U S» mi Mam C 2M Hfi tat. iClMAI 8 »HYPER news METROID FOR GAMECUBE... CONFIRMED! SAMUS ROCKS Wanna program the next Metroid game? Retro Studios cs looking lot additional s«nioi level progiammers to help us cieate the game everyone's anticipating for Nintendo’s Gamecube. Do you play well with others? Are you ready to take gaming to the next level and develop for the hottest, next generation gaming system on the planet? Do you want to be part of a hand picked group of the industry’s brightest people, brought together to cieate the most innovative games the world has yet to see? If you answered yes. Retro Studios is the place for you! Partnered with Nintendo. Retro Studios. Inc. is a well capitalized, stable and exciting video game company located in Austin. Texas - "one of the top five places to live in America". Out facilities ate seconcMo none in the game industry. We have an impressive complex that indudes a massive top notch motion capture studio for fulUange realistic 3D animation, as well as an awesome on site iheatet with high resolution video projection and digital surround sound. I’VE SENT MY APPLICATION ALREADY One of the most anticipated games for the Nintendo Gamecube would have to be the return of Metroid. The Metroid games have appeared on both the NES and SNES but somehow never saw the light of day on the N64, despite its huge success. After the unveiling of the Gamecube at Spaceworld in japan, the buzz was high that Metroid was a done deal for the next Nintendo system, due to a short slice of footage showing Metroid’s heroine, Samus, charging down a hallway to the delights of the packed crowd. Even though Nintendo keep stressing that no Gamecube games are "official", one of their devel¬ opers, Retro Studios (based in Austin, Texas), have put up an advertisement on their website, searching for high-level programmers to work on the next Metroid title for Gamecube. Whoops. A new Metroid title for the Gamecube is going to be very carefully guided by Nintendo to ensure that it’s one of the system’s greatest releases. The system will sell for that one title alone. But will Shigeru Miyamoto, Metroid’s original creator, return to have a hand in its creation? We can only ^ hope so. Over in the UK, Rare are advertising for programmers to come in and work on Perfect Dark for Gamecube. Well, they won’t say it outright, but the ads they are using have a big picture of Joanna Dark and a blurb on how she needs "constant attention to keep her at the top of her game" followed by a list of jobs available. A little obvious, no? I-tSTSi M ’Q M r\A/ -I IVI 0 IRVIVAL HORROR TOR Devil May Cry is the name of the next Survival Horror game from Capcom, soon to be winging its way to a PlayStation 2. The creator of Dino Crisis and Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, is the brain behind the pro¬ ject which was originally meant to be a next-generation Resident Evil title. Rather than a game full of lumbering zombies and bad voice act- ino. Rpfe and... bad voice acting. The lead character is an arse-kicking hero by the name of Dante, who seems to have some kind of demonic blood coursing through his own veins. This gives him certain abilities above normal humans, in a vam- piric kind of way. With a huge sword strapped to his back ala Cloud from Final Fantasy, a pair of handguns ala Lara Croft and a hairstylist from Soul Calibur, Dante looks like one of the ultimate hybrid heroes. Hopefully set for a mid-2001 release in the US, let’s pray that an Australian release date for Devil May Cry (the name may change) follows shortly after. TAKE THAT YOD CIRCUS FREAK! news CAPTION THIS! PAR115 Get your witty thinking caps on and get scribbling away on a funny caption for this month’s screenshot. Send your captions to with Caption This 15 in the subject line... or whack it on the back of an envelope and post it to Caption This 15 , Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Redfern, NSW 2016 . XBO X DESIGNS A H O A X A number of supposed pictures of the Xbox have been leak¬ ing onto the web with the information that they were hacked out of Microsoft. Whilst they certainly look authen¬ tic, Microsoft have confirmed that they are definitely not , and that the system’s design will be unveiled sometime early in 2001. To clear up any confusion with some readers, the current Xbox image of the silver X that we use in Hyper is simply a mock-up casing for the development kit which Microsoft have released to the press to use until the final console is unveiled. THE PSONE Long before Sony have been able to say anything more about the PSone’s upcoming LCD screen, third-party \ peripheral manufacturer, Pelican, has released their own mini¬ screen for the PSone in the USA. Attaching to the inside of the PSone’s CD lid, the LCD screen provides an image quality equal to most TVs, albeit in a teeny viewing area measuring only a few inches. Still, this is funky cool and definitely a first for the PlayStation. There should be more information on a local solution early in the new year, along with more info on the WAP adaptor. Is going to bite the dust? 3D Realms’ Scott Miller posted on the 3D Realms website, stating that the project was cancelled. Bizarrely, Mike Wilson at Gathering Of Developers has stated that “Max is alive and well, and will be kicking your ass next year!” It seems that Scott Miller posted the controversial message simply to stir up some commotion in frustration over all the false rumours on the internet. Odd man. Yep. the long-awaited Quake 3 Arena* Team Arena demo was released to a slobbering mass of Quake fanatics last month, however we regret that the demo missed our CD deadline (which was last month - duh). Next issue folks! Hey, we're upset too. Sniff. Havas interactive have confirmed that Half Life will also be coming to the PlayStation 2! Gearbox Studios will be handling the conversion, the same company that have brought to the Dreamcast. Gearbox are boasting that the PS2 version will now be the most advanced version of Half Life out there... Nintendo have confirmed that they wi£ ship 1 million Game Be . Advance units at the end cf March 2001 in Japan. However, they will still manufacture standard Game Boy Color units depending on public demand. Nintendo of Japan and Randnet announced that they will be network in February 2001, a service which provided Japanese N64 64DD users to access the internet. Due to a lack of interest and user support for the network, the shutdown of Randnet can be viewed as the official death of the 64DD in Japan. Bizarre Creations, the developer behird the awesome Metropolis Street Racer (MSR) on Dreamcast. are already hard at work on a brand new next-generation title, codenamed SmcKescreer. Smokescreen will be an action title, but not a first-person siooter according to their website. Following the cancellation of the Voodoo5 6000 video card, have announced that they will cease devel¬ opment and manufacturing of high-end video cards. 3Dfx will now con¬ centrate on providing chipsets for third-party manufacturers as well as using its purchase of GigaPixel to spread its technology to set¬ top boxes, cellular phones, game consoles and handheld PCs. You can bet the heads of Nvidia are rubbing their hands together. « »HYPER 0 »HYPER news THIS IS FDR NOT KILLING JAR JAR WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE! rr! r ) r==g j /, BB i j j Bring this coupon into your local Video Ezy store to receive a FREE Game Rental when you hire any other game • Free rental to be equal or lesser value of paid rental • Offer expires 24/1/2001 • Not valid in conjunction with any other offer • Normal membership and hiring conditions apply OBI-WAN CANCELLED In a disturbing turn of events, LucasArts has confirmed that Obi-Wan, their follow up to Jedi Knight, has been cancelled for the PC. In their press release, they announced that the game would still see the light of day, but on a next genera¬ tion games console instead. Speculation on the reasons behind the decision run rampant, from LucasArts looking for the big dollars, to an internal review of the title expos¬ ing that the game would be a poor follow up to Jedi Knight and that console gamers would be less discerning. So what’s it going to be? PS2, Xbox or Camecube? HELP SECA RULE THE WORLD! Segagaga is the name of a bizarre game that is being developed in Japan for the Sega Dreamcast. In this RPG/Sim, you work for Sega and your mission is to help Sega conquer the games industry in less than 3 years by recruiting talented developers to work on in-house games titles amongst other duties. This is no joke. You have to improve Sega’s market share from 10% to 100%... WINNERS HYPER » # 8B RAYMAN 2 Steven Bell, NSW. Nathan Kable, NSW. Gregg Casson, SA Donna Dwyer, Qld. Karen Eyles, Tas. CRIMSON SKIES First Prize Winners: Leo Phillips, Qld. David Hurst, NSW. Harry Edwards, Tas. Vicki Bousles, NSW. Marcos Rios, Vic. Mohammed Hassan, NSW. Eko Hart, NSW. Nigel Gibson, Qld. Dean Probyn, Qld. Graham Roberts, WA SHENMUE 2 You may only just be booting up the first Shenmue in your Dreamcast, but part 2 is just around the corner. Shenmue’s ending leaves the game open for Shenmue 2 which has always been part of the original game’s development. Shenmue 2 should arrive in Japan later in 2001, with hopefully a Christmas 2001 release for Australian gamers. Shenmue 2 is rumoured to be a whopping 6 CD-ROMS, with improved visuals and more interactive gameplay, such as the free battles. If you’ve seen Shenmue in action, then you’ll be drooling for Shenmue 2 too. i INTEL PENTIUM A ARRIVES The Pa is based on Intel’s NetBurst micro-architecture, building upon the P6 core which has been at the heart of the P-II and P-III. The new features include Hyper pipelined tech¬ nology to improve clock rates, a rapid execution engine, new streaming SIMD Extensions 2 instructions, a new high-bandwidth system bus architecture and basically, enough new features that you’ll be needing a new mother¬ board if you want to upgrade. Initial reports are that the P4 innovates but doesn’t really show a significant performance boost from similar PHI and Athlon set-ups. It could just be slightly ahead of its time, so how the Pa will improve PC gaming may not be seen until sometime late in 2001 when Intel start pushing towards the 1.5 to 2 GHz mark. ACTUAL GAME FOOTAGE TAKE COMMAND AND RECLAIM YOUR BLOODRIGHT Choose from 21 ‘Mechs® to outfit with massive weaponry. Then, lead your lancemates in an epic 30-mission, single-player campaign. Or, join a fierce multiplayer battle for up to 16 MechWarriors. Vengeance will be yours. Pel THE ASSAULT B E q, • WWW. M ICR CMne, FR bR MlCIDSOft © 2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademafyrf M^rcsofTCorp. in the United States and/or other countries. BattleTech Material © 2000 FASA Corporation. All rights reserved. Used^under license MedTtWarrior, BattleTedi, BattleMech. and 'Mech are either trademarks or registered trademarks of FASA Corporation and Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Ail other other trademarks are the property of their respective folders.MIC29892/HYP Rating unavailable at time of print. news intelligence AGDC 2000 ON THE FIRST WEEKEND IN NOVEMBER, THE AUSTRALIAN GAME DEVELOPER CONFERENCE 2000 WAS HELD IN MELBOURNE. HYPER HAD STEPHEN FARRELLY ON HAND TO BRING US BACK THIS SPECIAL REPORT. Jem a powerful group of attend*** of Austrafcan game 4e«eiopers as reel as national and international interactive enteitammert compare** at this year’s AGDC Tht* ts th* only opportunity to get access to th* most miuentiai and targeted audience n the Australian garrang community •Vere sparmg you the expense of attending other memationai events by brtngmg the biggest stars m game development to you Donl miss thn uraque opportunity to learn from the some of the most experienced developers m the busmess m your c*n backyard. To see our complete bst of speakers and topees. : ck Attend three days of courses workshops keynotes at the conference program Check out the booths at the Exhfcrtion In you spare time yoxn other developers at the parties. X€ ef GCA* >t of tKa Australian jimu rnourtr, trfr inri« um****-ur***«i ■**3** *- : - Gran Turismo 3 PS2 SONY GT 2000 has been re-named CranTurismo 3, if only for the fact that it’s now being released in 2001. However, the longer development period has meant that the game has evolved considerably from the GT 2000 we saw at E3 2000. GT 3 looks quite amazing in every respect. IS »HYPER 16 »HYPER OBA with Mike Gallo of LucasArts A chat about Star Wars: Demol IE WARS Who would ever have thought of a demolition-style vehicle combat game set in the Star Wars universe? Well, LucasArts decided it was a good idea, roped in the Vigilante 8 team, Luxoflux, and here it is. Hyper send out a probe HYPER: Is making a Star Wars game a daunting task? Are you worried about not pleasing the big Star Wars fans? MIKE GALLO: It is extremely difficult because we’re trying to make sure that we’re doing justice to the license, AND meeting the expectations that a Star Wars game has from the moment it’s announced. If we tried to please everyone we would never ship a game! Everything that we work on is agonized over... "How will the fans accept this?” "What will the casual Star Wars fan think?” If you take a look at the product, there are a lot of things that are in there strictly for the fans. The game must be fun and do justice to the license. That’s really what we’re here for isn’t it? droid for more information... HYPER: Why is a Twisted Metal-style Star Wars game a good idea? What makes it fun? G Well, as I mentioned, we’re trying to do fun games that fit in the uni¬ verse. A few years ago no one would’ve thought of doing a racing game with Star Wars vehicles. Episode I gave us podracers... So, why couldn’t jabba have a "demolition” tournament? HYPER: What kind of Star Wars vehicles did you consider, but not include in the game - and why? Pretty much everything that we discussed from the beginning is included. We were going to have BoShek and the Lar’s Family speeder, but ultimately decided to replace him with a much cooler character/vehicle. We did have a lot of discussions on what Boba Fett would use. In the end, we felt it was better to have him with just his jet pack. HYPER: Is it “ restricting" having to stick to the Star Wars universe and its rules? MG: We were able to do just about anything we wanted. Of course there are certain expectations since Star Wars is a family franchise, so we couldn't have some of the innuendo as seen in the V8 series. HYPER: You invented new Star Wars characters for this title - did you have to get George Lucas' approval? MG: All of the new characters and vehicles have to go to the Ranch for approval just like every other licensee. There is a great group of people in the licensing group that work on all of our approvals. HYPER: Who came up with their names and their look? MG: The names were a cooperative effort between LucasArts and Luxoflux, but the look was basically up to Luxoflux. 0 BA HYPER: What are some of the games the Demolition team worked on previously? MG: Well, the game was developed by the same team that did Vigilante 8182. Obviously the game engine is basically the same, with enhancements to make it fit bet¬ ter with the Star Wars universe (everything hovers for example). I think that we’ve done some nice things to streamline the interface and added a couple of interesting new game modes. The weapon system is a little differ¬ ent because there is no ammo, and we only allow 1 "mounted" weapon at a time. The weapons all use power, and we have a power bar that can be regenerated using special areas in each level. We only have 1 mounted weapon because we wanted to make it a little easier for the average player to just pick up and go. Each weapon can be charged up to 4 levels, so that means you really have 8 differ¬ ent weapons available at any time. HYPER: Are you all big fans of the movies? Looking forward to Episode 2? MG: I’ve been a fan for a long time. The Empire Strikes Back is in my top 5 movies of all time! HYPER: Will you get to work on an Episode 2 game? MG: That's to be determined. I already have a full plate once Demolition is finished, but I'd like to in some capacity! HYPER: What are the differences between the PSX and Dreamcast versions of Demolition? MG: The Dreamcast version has all new mod¬ els and textures. We’ve done a little more with the damage to the vehicles on the Dreamcast. For example, you’ll see animated sparks on the damaged vehicles only on the Dreamcast. It also runs at 6ofps. HYPER: Will we see Demolition on any other platform? MG: There’s nothing planned at this time. HYPER: What's was an average day work¬ ing on Demolition like? MG: Hectic! We had a lot of work to accom- HYPER: Is there secret stuff locked away in Demolition? What can you tell us? MG: I can’t say anything yet. We do have 3 special characters/vehicles and a couple of interesting special modes... heh heh! HYPER: Thanks Mike! May the polygons be with you. plish in a relatively short time frame. In the end it’s worth it! We have a pretty good game on our hands that I think will surprise a lot of people! HYPER: What do you think of the upcoming super consoles? What will the games be like on them? MG: It’s going to be very interesting! I think that you’ll really see some stuff in the next couple of years that will blow you away graphically, but the real test will be to see how the stories and gameplay matures in that same time period. With all of the power in the PS2, Xbox, Camecube and Dreamcast it’s going to be great time to be making games! v 17 »HYPER QBA Q8A If you've wrestled yourself a PS2 and love a good adventure, you've no doubt slapped your dollars down for the RPG, Hyper's Eliot Fish caught up with Volition's Assistant Producer, Anoop Shekar, to find out a little more about the PS2's very first RPG. HYPER: Summoner is the PS2's first RPG - how do you guys feel about that? Does it make you nervous? I think that we were more excited than nervous. We knew we were making a fun and interesting game. We just hoped that people would see it that way. Looking at the early feedback it seems as though we succeed. HYPER: What kind of RPGs did you look to for inspiration when developing Summoner? Seeing as there were so many RPC fans on our team (both console and PC) we wanted to incorporate elements of many of our favourite RPGs within Summoner. Games like Final Fantasy, Planescape Torment, Vagrant Story and many others were all inspiration for Summoner. HYPER: Was there a pressure to live up to PSX RPG giants like Square? Certainly there is a given amount of pressure to create ^ games that are as good, if not better than your competi- tion. Square has the advantage of having large devel- opment teams and a great deal of experience, but we wanted to make a game that was different than any of the other console RPC’s out there. Since Summoner is so unique I don’t think we will be ^k directly compared to Square games and we will have created a market of our own. ^k HYPER Was Summoner always a multi- ^k pie character game or did you have ^k other concepts originally? ^k When the early drafts of the story ^k were written we always had multiple characters accompanying Joseph. P They went through different concepts i and versions, but we felt that having k Wf multiple characters in the party B would give the game more depth, I both through the story and gameplay. HYPER; What is involved in keeping a balance between the four evolving characters in terms of levelling, magic, weapons etc? The main balance we created was to give each of the main characters a specific subset of skills that would be appropriate to their character types. Flece, for example is a thief, so she has many thief oriented skills (sneaking, backstabbing, lock picking, etc.). There is some crossover between the different characters but in general, each character has quite different skills giving them each a different role in battle. HYPER: How did the combat system come about? The chain¬ ing concept has been seen in another PSX title. Vagrant Story. Tell us why it's cool. When we designed the combat system originally, it was going to be used on a PC, but when we moved it over to the PS2 we felt it needed to be more interactive and more exciting. Our solution was to implement the chain combat system. Vagrant Story did have an influence, but the chains that we created are unique to each character and are built upon each other. We feel that the chain system is cool because it gives a level of interac¬ tivity to the player and allows them to influence the outcome of a battle without making the character’s stats obsolete. 20 »HYPER QBA HYPER: The environments in Summoner are very large and impressive - were you worried that the cities were too confusing to explore? The cities in Summoner are quite large, but we did provide a map for players to look at so they won’t get too lost. One of the cool things about RPGs is being able to explore vast areas and see what you can find. HYPER: The story certainly progresses in a linear fash¬ ion - what are the limitations when it comes to adding “extra " sub-quest stuff for the player to discover? 1 don’t think that having a linear story limits the types of sub-quests for players. Probably the only limiting factor is that certain quests need to be completed by a specific point in the game, otherwise they become obsolete. HYPER What's it like play-testing a complex game such as Summoner? What sorts of things do you dis¬ cover? It can be very daunting to have to test a game that has the size and sccpe of Summoner. However, we had an excellent QA team both here at Volition and at THQ. The game certainly cou!d not have come out anywhere close to on schedule had they not worked extra hard. Of course, they found some great bugs that were quite odd. One bug that comes to mind is that Joseph is supposed to lose max Hit Points temporarily when he has a summon available, but for a while, even when the creature was unsummoned Joseph would permanently lose those Hit Points. HYPER: In what main areas do the PS2 and PC versions differ? The main differences between the two versions are the interface (mouse and keyboard for the PC) and there will be multiplayer for the PC, as well. HYPER: How did you find the PS2 to program for? What's good and what's bad about it? The PS2 brings it’s own unique challenges to pro¬ gramming (as with any other new console). It’s great at pushing polygons, that’s for sure. As to its specific shortcomings, I’m not sure, since I’m not a programmer and I didn’t work directly with the hardware. HYPER: Are you interested in other platforms? Xbox and Gamecube? We are looking at other platforms to determine their viability, but at this time I cannot say whether we will be making games for those systems. HYPER: What cool stuff was taken out of the game against the team's initial wishes? There were many different locations that we wanted to have in Summoner that never made it into the final game. There was a city called Angenu which was known as the "City of Blood". However, due to time constraints we had to cut it early on. There are several things like that which we will hopefully see in the future. HYPER: So, we will see a Summoner 2? If the game sells well then there’s a good possibility that there will be a Summoner 2. We certainly have ideas for a sequel. HYPER: Is Flece the coolest RPG Thief ever? 1 think that’s something each gamer needs to decide on their own. 1 certainly am partial to her sneak then backstab combination.:) HYPER: Thanks Anoop. Bye! IkL - %. • Bl L i 22 »HYPER 08 A n lex Ferguson’s Player Manager 2001 finds you choosing your favourite team to manage through the four English professional divisions as well as the F.A. Cup, the Worthington Cup, the Auto Windscreen Trophy (for teams in Divisions 2 and 3), the Champions League and UEFA Cup, assuming you qualify. Many licensed games only use the name of the person in question but in this case, Alex Ferguson really did have an input into the game. Anco, the developers, spent time showing him the game and listening to his remarks, resulting in a 20- page transcript that they used for reference. "He particular¬ ly liked the tactics designer and showed us Man United’s typical strategy against tough opposition,” says program¬ mer Steve Screech. "It proves Player Manager 2001 is a strong game because Ferguson never works with number two. To compete in the sports game market you need some heavy hitters, and Alex is certainly one of those.” IT'S TRUE TO LIFE Player Manager 2001 boasts a wealth of technical improve¬ ments over its predecessors: an all-new 3D game engine, with over 50 major changes and new features programmed in to enhance the menu system, speed up the pace and improve accessibility of in-game options. There are 122 new player motion captures alongside new player models and texturing; motion blending and new player dynamics deliv¬ er true-to-life representations of tactics as each game is played in real-time; and a new control system. Anyone who has played a management game knows that statistics play a big, big part in the scheme of things. Shooting skills, heading ability, passing, tackling, stamina and goalkeeping are now joined by three new stats: spirit, match fitness and confidence. Blend these together with the right tactics and you may, just may, have a winning combi¬ nation (remember that these stats can both increase and decrease as seasons progress). "If a player transfers from York City to Arsenal, his attrib¬ utes don’t increase simply because he now plays for a bet¬ ter team. They only change through playing,” adds Screech helpfully. No doubt that same player’s wage, reputation and value would improve, though. Going back to tactics, one useful addition to PM 2001 is the option to try out new formations and strategies on a non-league side before a vital game with the ability to change these strategies at the press of a button, allowing for a swift response to opposi¬ tion tactics. There is also the useful post-match graphs and statistics which give an at-a-glance guide to how well each tactic worked. "The first Player Manager game had an option of controlling individual players, hence the name, but that facility isn’t in this particular version.” Every play¬ er in every squad has an in-depth Optima rating, messages from talent scouts around the globe are relayed back to you and even Sir Alex himself gets in on the act by giving you a special management rating at the end of each season. NO BORING COMMENTARY! One thing most players of football management games are divided on is the inclusion of in-game commentary: id J£J-=J *J PUT THE HOSE AWAY! THIS IS NO TIME TO WATEB THE PITCH! THE NEXT INSTALMENT OF THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL PLAYER MANAGER SERIES IS TO BE RELEASED SOON FOR PLAYSTATION, PS2 AND PC, ONLY THIS TIME IT HAS A REAL HEAVYWEIGHT BEHIND IT: MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER, SIR ALEX FERGUSON HYPER'S UK MAN ON THE MOVE. DEREK DELA FUENTE, STOPPED THE LEGEND HIMSELF FOR A CHAT ABOUT HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GAME some like, some don’t, but don’t expect any John Motson style banter here. Steve Screech explains why: "We find that most players would switch off commentary if they could, as it’s repetitive and boring. We prefer to save the space in the memory for something more important.” With clubs notorious in changing shirt colours every few years, Anco has thoughtfully included not only a full kit designer but an edit facility for the way a player looks. Also deemed fit for inclusion is the recent trait of players trying to con a referee: if you think some foot¬ ballers are prone to diving, wait till you see these. A io for theatrics is no problem! For those familiar with the Kick Off brand, you’ll be pleased to know that the classic camera view from that game will be one of nine views in all. along with a zoom facility. These camera views are different to the three match modes available: 3D, text commentary with scanner, or quick watch. For PlayStation users, a second memory card will allow you to both watch and then store replays of games for future reference or showing off to your mates. Now what does the man himself think of all this...? SIR ALEX FERGUSON SPEAKS... HYPER: What are your thoughts on the Australian footballing scene? They appear to have some top- notch players but are not making any real impact AF: They have a great tiered system in all sports in Australia, which allows individuals to progress and improve. Australia also produce very athletic foot¬ ballers that play all over Europe. It obviously takes longer to create a team, but they are certainly heading in the right direction. HYPER: Have you ever been here in Australia? AF: Yes, the first time was in 1967, then again in 1985. In that gap I saw remarkable changes. I found Sydney to be a very enterprising city that was quite vitalising and I also enjoyed visiting Melbourne. HYPER: Do you own a PlayStation or PC and have you played Player Manager? AF: No to the first question and yes to the second. HYPER: Have you ever put in the Manchester United team in Player Manager , added their formation and been pleased with the outcome? AF: Yes, we beat Ipswich Town 1-0 at home in my first game with a goal from Dwight Yorke! HYPER: What is your favourite dream team from past or present and if you could buy one player to play in the current team, who would it be? AF: Real Madrid of the late 50’s/early 6o’s would be the team and the player can only be Pele. HYPER: Did your son have a computer/console and did he constantly ask for games? est Ham SET PIECE FREE KICK I 5ET PIECE FREE KICK 2 BET PIECE FREE KICK 3 BET PIECE FREE KICK 4 FREE KICK 1 FREE KICK 2 FREE KICK 3 FREE KICK 4 CORNER 1 CORNER 2 CORNER 3 CORNER 4 Set piece designer SAVE SET PIECES The Shot / f&\ Pf# — i *-! £ | .. Kg- A wg y x START 1 2 THE SETUP THE PASS THE SHOT SHOOT PASS CROSS CHIP LOAD SET PIECES TEST A PHWOAR! MORE EXCITING THAN A FERRET IN YOUR TROUSERS! TECHNICAL STUFF 23 »HYPER 24 »HYPER OBA ^MANCHESTER U. 1 / CHELSEA 0 HIGH ALTITUDE TRAINING AF: Yes, my main memories are of expensive Christmas Days! HYPER: If the rewards were right, would you ever con¬ sider managing a team like Gillingham and do you believe you could make a difference with such limited resources? AF: I’m retiring in two years - I've done my time! HYPER: How did you become involved in this game? AF: I was approached by ANCO and after having a proper chance to have a look at the game, I was more than happy to get involved. HYPER: How close do you think a computer game can get to simulating real life football management? AF: It is always very difficult to recreate real life situa¬ tions and emotions on a computer, but the overall detail attached, in particular, to the tactical side of the game is very impressive and certainly takes you a step closer to the real thing. HYPER: Does the game give you the chance to try out tac¬ tics you would be too nervous about trying in real life? AF: Not really, I never approach things with a ’trial and error’ attitude. HYPER: Likewise , if you came up with a winning strat¬ egy in the game, would you be tempted to try it out with the real squad? AF: I don’t think so! HYPER: Single most important aspect of football man¬ agement? AF: Decision-making. HYPER: Which clubs other than Man United, would you most like to manage? AF: None. HYPER: Best player worked with? AF: Eric Cantona - he brought so much to the club in so many areas. Not just during the 90 minutes but also his approach and dedication to training and improving. HYPER: Is it necessary to have been a player before becoming a manager? AF: In my opinion, yes. HYPER: Are you looking forward to retirement and will you miss football? AF: I will miss the daily contact with the players/staff etc but I am also looking forward to having time on my hands to do other things. I will still go to football matches -1 have done for 50 years and I can’t see that side of it stopping. U 0H GOODNESS. I SEEM Tl RATE FORGOTTEN MY TEXTURES!” HYPER: Thanks for your time! s fi 1 \ ' i i \ \ www.rollercoastertycoon.com www.microprose.com C 1999-2000 Chris Sawyer. All rights reserved. C2000 Hasbro Interactive, Inc All rights reserved. Published by Hasbro Interactive, Ltd. written fi designed by: G Harvev Norman MYER GRACE BROS HASBRO Interactive in » sight AYAIIAILE: Early 2001 CATEGORY: Online RPG PLAYERS: 1-4 PUBLISHER: Sega phant asy star online "Character creation gives you the ability to alter everything from your costume through to your hairstyle...” PLATFORM: Dreamcast A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THE IDEA OF PLAYING A massively multiplayer RPG on a console was pretty far fetched, but with the Dreamcast’s online capabilities, Sonic Team have been working on just such a title, Phantasy Star Online. Unlike the old Phantasy Star games, which were far more traditional japanese RPGs, PSO uses a fast paced real-time interface, making it play like a 3D version of Diablo, rather than the turn-based style used in Everquest. However, like Everquest, PSO offers a large 3D world to explore, and what a gorgeous world the folks at Sonic Team are creating for us. Lush environ¬ ments both indoors and outdoors play host to 3D characters toting lightsabers, laser rifles, and spectacular magical powers... and of course the various monsters they’re up against. The screen shots make it pretty clear just how gorgeous a game we’re talking about here. HIGH-TECH WEAPONRY PSO is set on a planet called Ragol, which is a proposed site for colonisation for the people of a dying world. A ship named Pioneer 1 is sent to Ragol to set up the "Central Dome", which is essentially the base of operations on the planet. As Pioneer 2 arrives into orbit seven years later, the dome explodes, and contact with the first settlers is lost. This leaves us with a future- fantasy scenario, with high-tech weaponry and spacecraft, co-existing with magic. Players can choose from one of three main character classes, Hunters (melee experts), Rangers (ranged weapon experts), and Force (magic users). Each class is again split into three variants, offering more diversity. Character creation gives you the ability to alter everything from your costume through to your hairstyle, to help make everyone look distinct, which is important in a game with so many players logged on at once. Sonic Team are gearing much of Phantasy Star Online to revolve around teamwork, and players can form into parties of up to four, rather than no limit, which makes it a lot more manageable for the developers to create encounters and challenges that are suited to the party at hand. Some puzzle elements will require players to work together to get the job done, and it goes without saying that there will be countless situations where one character alone could not hope to take on all the monsters before them. So players can communicate properly with other folk from around the globe, PSO will feature a simple translation system that will allow players to say a series of commonly used phrases and instructions, that will come out in the other players’ native language (assuming they speak Japanese or one of the main European languages). You’ll also be able to arrange to meet people at a certain time, as the game uses a time system called "beats”, of which there are 1000 in a day. This is a simple means of having everyone use a single time zone. THE GLOBAL SCENARIO Recent demonstrations of a PSO demo have taken place in Japan, and the result was a fast moving game with no apparent lag problems. How this will hold up on a global scenario obviously remains to be seen, and probably won’t be known till we see a local release here, or get word on how things are working in the US, or the UK. in » sight Kill IT! Kill IIIITH YEAH, WHAT HE SAIB There are still uncertainties as to what the situation will be here in Australia, purely because Sega have not released details on how the networking will work for this title, but the plan has always been for a global game. Phantasy Star Online will feature single player gaming, which is something massively multiplayer RPGs have not had to this day, but Dreamcast owners should be far more interested in the prospect of participating in the first online console RPC. At least this ensures you’ll still have a decent game to play in the event that lag is a problem for us here. Phantasy Star Online is looking awesome from what we’ve seen, with amazing visuals, a fast paced real time combat system, and gameplay that not only encourages teamwork, but actually requires it, there seems much reason to be excited about Sonic Team’s next RPC. All that really remains to be seen is how well the game will play for us down here, and if Everquest and Ultima Online are anything to go by, whether or not there will be an ongoing fee to keep playing the game. Due for release in Japan just before Christmas, the local release should be early in 2001. ■ WHAT WE’D LINE TO SEE: No monthly fees. A one off payment to buy and play the game. 27 »HYPER in* sight "Our focus at Mythos is on the gameplay.” PLATFORM: PC/PS2 AVAILABLE: Early 2001 CATEGORY: Strategy PLAYERS: 1'Multi PUBLISHER: Virgin Interactive QC U CL >• GO CM Will SOMEONE JOST SHOOT IT?! D evelopment house mythos is headed by Julian Gollop and has a long and proven record of writing top selling games right back to Chaos and Rebelstar Raiders on the Spectrum. They developed the original UFO: Enemy Unknown, the original XCOM games and Magic 6 Mayhem. The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge (DCFR) builds upon the experience Mythos gained when developing the XCOM games, and it looks like we’re back to fighting off those alien hordes. At present they are way past the half way stage with DCFR - a strategy game set in the future. Mythos spoke with Hyper’s UK correspondent, Derek dela Fuente... SPACE INVADERS Our story begins shortly after an alien inva¬ sion in which mankind has been defeated after a short and bloody war. For reasons, which become evident as the player progress¬ es through the game, enclaves are left to the surviving humans where they attempt to scratch out a living. The player heads up the 'Terran Liberation Army’, and initially finds weapons and equipment in the old aban¬ doned military bases, which still contain all manner of equipment from handguns to F16 aircraft, and Chinook helicopters. If all goes well, you may be able to muster enough forces and firepower to wipe out the Sauran invaders and free the surviving human population. Julian Collop from Mythos explains what we’re dealing with. ’’Freedom Ridge is a strate¬ gy game. There are elements of resource man¬ agement but these are minor. The player can find equipment and research ways to produce new equipment or use captured alien technolo¬ gy. Success at defending the enclaves will affect the number of candidates available for recruitment as new troops. The Saurans’ aggression depends upon how much of a threat you become to them so there is almost always a chance for recovery. As you progress through the game, your scientists may discover the rea¬ son for this strange Sauran behaviour. Starting out, you get an initial base and can recruit a small squad. There will always be at least one ammo dump and deserted military base in the vicinity of your base when you start.” TAKING CONTROL The user controls his own squad and the game has two main elements. The strategic element of the game is controlled through the geosphere - a rotatable, zoomable view of the planet Earth, which accurately reflects the day and night cycles. Here the play¬ er dispatches aircraft to intercept alien craft or to drop troops off at sites of interest. The sites include alien crash sites, abandoned bases, human enclaves, and later Sauran ’terraforming’ factories, power stations or bases. Once a squad of troops is dropped off at a site, the player may enter the tactical component of the game where they control their squad of troops in a full 3D environment. Mythos added, ”We haven’t decided on the maximum number of troops yet but expect it to be more than 12." The differing members of the squad and their proficiency in various skills were also explained. "We have detailed experience models and squad members can be trained too. You have more than just troops to consider with their spe¬ cific weapons skills; there are the psi skills from the Reticulans or Men in Black, research skills for your scientists, medics, etc.” The tried and tested isometric view has not been used, the game is fully 3D and unlike most 3D environments this one is fully modelled in terms of physics. Houses will col¬ lapse if you take out too much from the walls but there is noth¬ ing to stop you blowing a hole in the wall and using it as a door. Unlike most RTS games that either use 3D just for the visuals or are too com¬ plex to control for most players, the player will feel in complete control the whole time as a result of the turn based play and simple and intuitive controls. The technology issue was answered with consummate ease by the team. "Our focus at Mythos is on the game- play. However, we are working actively with the guys at NDL and Telekinesis to in» sight “TDODE UNDER ARREST EOR INVADING THE EAITH AND STUFF.” ensure that the 3D environment and the physics offer better visuals and effects than anything that has been seen before. We have the additional advantage from the turn based play of being able to use excellent camera shots - 'directors cuts' providing the most exciting and satisfying views of the action.” DO OR DIE Is it possible to sum up the game? "I can’t reduce a game, which is this accessible and deep, to a simple list of selling points. The tactical combat is incredibly tense. The simple interface and total realism of the environment make the player intensely aware that they control the fate of their troops and gives them incredible freedom in developing their tactical skills. The realistic and familiar equipment contrasts wonderfully with the half-known truths about the Reticulans and The Men in Black. The player gets a real sense of satisfac¬ tion as they discover the secrets behind the different alien factions and turn them to their advantage. The Geosphere realises the megalomaniac incumbent in us all as you spin and zoom in on dif¬ ferent areas in the world. You decide whether to ally with the Enclaves or leave them to suf¬ fer the alien incursions. You decide how to spread your bases across the globe as you drive back the Sauran men¬ ace. Through research and experience you discover their strengths and their critical weaknesses. A satisfying tactical combat can be complete in as little as fifteen minutes but saving the world could take any¬ where from 30 to a hundred hours of immersive gameplay.” ■ 29 »HYPER iMM HERE'S OUR MONTHLY LOOK AT WHAT’S ON THE WAY IN 2001 AIBYN CHRONICLES CONKER'S RAO FUR OAT IIBERB CRANBE 2 SIMPSONS WRESTLING INCREDIBLE CRISI8 32 »HYPER net trawlin’ » ADAM DUNCAN new online com¬ petitor, there’s an impressive draw card unique to Shadowbane... A CLASSY SELECTION The range of available charac¬ ter-types one can choose to play as is pleasingly vast. A majority of the races we’ve come to know and love are available in some form or another with a few new hybrids added for good measure. Class selec¬ tion takes things much fur¬ ther. There are only four main classes to pick from: Fighter, Healer, Mage and Rogue, yet these merely categorize the healthy list of available subclasses. Just using Fighters, as an example, can mean more specific roles such as a Barbarian, Crusader, T he onslaught of online games continues. Some time next year we’ll be graced with WolfPack Studios’ foray into the mar. /assault,html net trawlin’ Southern Cross cable Zoom! Last month, Southern Cross Cables completed a new high-speed cable connection between Australasia and America. The two- year project involved laying 30,500 kilometers of cable on the ocean floor doing a round trip from Sydney, to New Zealand, Hawaii and finally hitting the US. The result of all this is an astronomical increase in available bandwidth. Where previ¬ ously we were linked to the states via a i-Cigabit connection, the latest installment improves on that 12,000% with a 120-Gigabit link (160Gb from Hawaii to the US). To give an idea of what all these numbers mean, apparently the new bandwidth on the whole will be fast enough to download two full-length motion pictures every second! All this is obviously excellent news for gamers in particular. Pings to the US will be far lower, likely making even inter¬ national FPS matches a viable con¬ cept. This couldn’t have come at a better time with Australia slowly but surely moving into the high-band- width era. For more detailed info check out the Southern Cross site at: ird Dawn u: I LTIMA ONLINE WOULD HAVE TO officially be the granddaddy of MMORPGs. It actually came out way back in 1997. Despite its age and despite being technically superceded by Asheron’s Call and Everquest long ago, the game is still amazingly popular. Although they’re heavily into IQ test This link will bring up a "proper” IQ test. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea, but some of you might like a challenge. At the end of it all you’ll be rewarded with a detailed rundown of how you went, not to mention your IQ. See if you can beat what the Hyper boys got. We all scored 200... except Eliot, (ehh? - Ed.) It’s okay El, 60 IQ is still good! (What are you talking about?! - Ed.) Yes, yes El, life is like a box of chocolates. (Mmmm... choco¬ lates. -Ed.) http://www.queendom.com/ tests/enq/iq_frm.html development on a sequel, Origin intend to prove to their loyal subscribers that there’s plenty of life left yet in the old fella. That proof comes with word of an all-new expansion, UO: Third Dawn. GLORIOUS 3D-NESS! Third Dawn won’t be any ordinary expansion. As far as new areas to explore, monsters to kill and new items to find is concerned, this expansion provides. The real drawcard however lies in the fact that Origin is giving UO’s aesthetics one heck of an overhaul. From a world that, for the moment, consists solely of sprites, the developers intend to transform its creatures, characters, items and even the terrain into 3D. Buildings will remain 2D however. That’s right, every monster and even your own character will bask in the glory of motion-captured animated 3D-ness! Adding to the new graphical features is a particle system for rendering magic and other special effects, predictably now adding a 3D accelerator to the list of requirements for play. Rest assured, this won’t affect people who log on and don’t own the expansion - everything will still run fine for them in 2D. The graphics aren’t the only things to be enhanced however. The guys at Origin are making an effort to rework a lot of the music and aging sound effects as well. Besides the 3D upgrade, Third Dawn will present gamers with an extra world to pillage. Ilshenaur, said to be the name of this new land, will play host to thirteen new creatures, all of whom incidentally react to your character’s alignment. Goodly creatures will pounce on evil-aligned players and vice versa. And in what sounds like as a smart move, Origin have marked these lands as ‘adventure only’. Meaning that while you can run around carving up creatures all you like, you won’t be permitted to set up a house. Anyone who has played UO in the past will understand the reasoning behind that decision. Houses were not only a cause of lag, but they tended really make a mess of the landscape. By now Third Dawn should be going through some form of beta testing. So it’s probably safe to assume that fans will be able to grab hold of a copy early next year. UO has certainly come a long way since release. The last expansion all but solved any player killing issues, and now with such a wonderful graphical update on the way and promises of more to come, UO could go well on for another three years. ■ PATCHES DARK REIGN2 ▼ http://www.pandem cstudi0s.com/dr2/ RED ALERT2 v http://www.westwood.com/ ROCKET ARENA 1.60 ▼ - Provides several new maps www.planetunreal.com/arena RUNEVI.OIt http://www.runeqame.com/ 35 »HYPER 36 »HYPER camps WIMWIHIH! Entries close January 23rd. WARRIORS 2 Dynasty Warriors II is a brutal slash ’em up on the PS2 that puts you in charge of a huge army, armed to the teeth and ready for blood. Thanks to THQ, we have these great prizes to give away. The first prize will win Dynasty Warriors II for PS2, the Gladiator SE: DVD, and a Samaria Sword letter opener. Five runners up will win a copy of the game. To be in with a chance to win, answer the following question: » Which country is Dynasty Warriors set in? Put your answer on the back of an envelope with your name and address and send it to: WIN THE WAR, Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Red fern, NSW 2016. NO ONE LIVES EVER ALICE FDR PC Need something to warm your PC these holidays? Thanks to Electronic Arts Australia, we have some gourmet gaming for you and your CPU. No One Lives Forever is a first person shooter in the style of Austin Powers and James Bond that’s sweeping the world with its brilliance. We’ll be reviewing this great game next issue, but for now, you can win one of three copies! Then there’s American McGee’s Alice, the trip- py and surreal action/adventure that a true feast for the eyes. We also have three copies of Alice to give away. Three lucky readers can win both games! To win this great pairing, answer the following question: » Who wrote Alice in Wonderland? Stick your answer on the back of an envelope with youir name and address and send it to ALICE FOREVER, Hyper, 78 Renwick St, Red fern, NSW 2016. SCARY AGP-V7100 Series Experience Radical 3D/2D Graphics Performance with 2nd Generation GPU Twin View AGP-V7100Series graphics cards are born to provide mainstream PC users with the radical 3D/2D graphics and video performance of 2 nd generation GPU-"GeForce2 MX". With TwinView™ architecture, ASUS presents the most comprehensive models in AGP-V7100 series graphics cards to fit the diversified needs of video output, including dual display with RGB monitor, TV, digital flat panel. AGP-V7100 series not only completely exerts the power of NVIDIA'S GeForce2 MX GPU, but also continues ASUS' tradition of providing the greatest security for your valuable entertainment platform. So, just experience the radical 3D/2D graphics performance with the flexible options of the ASUS AGP-V7100 series. NEW! ^eviDL*.. TwinView™ AGP-V7100 Series • AGP-V7100/2V1D : GeForce2 MX. 2VGA+ 1DVI, 32 MB/16 MB SDRAM • AGP-V7100/DVI : GeForce2 MX. VGA+ DVI, 32 MB/16 MB SDRAM • AGP-V7100/T : GeForce2 MX. VGA + TV-out, 32 MB/16 MB SDRAM • AGP-V7100/PURE : GeForce2 MX. VGA . 32 MB/16 MB SDRAM • And other combinations of dual display (depends on the request) Available Hot Products AGP-V7700 Series • AGP-V7700 Deluxe TV: GeForce2 GTS, 32MB DDR. SGRAM. TV-out, Video-in, VR 3D glasses, TV-Box • AGP-V7700 Deluxe : GeForce2 GTS, 32MB DDR, SGRAM, TV-out, Video-in, VR 3D glasses • AGP-V7700 / T / 64MB: GeForce2 GTS. 64MB DDR, SDRAM, TV-out • AGP-V7700 /T / 32MB: GeForce2 GTS, 32MB DDR, SGRAM, TV-out • AGP-V7700 / 64MB: GeForce2 GTS, 64MB DDR, SDRAM, w/o SmartDoctor • AGP-V7700 / 32MB: GeForce2 GTS. 32MB DDR, SGRAM AGP-V3800 Magic Series • AGP-V3800 Magic / T: TNT2 M64, 32/16MB, SDRAM, TV-out • AGP-V3800 Magic: TNT2 M64, 32/16MB, SDRAM AGP-V300C: WWW.asus.com OLD Unit 1/14 Hitech Drive Kunda Park. QLD 4556 Tel: (07) 5445 2992 Fax: (07) 5445 2069 NSW Tel: 1300 365 047 VIC TAS Tel: 1300 365 047 Tel: 1300 365 047 game of the month DREAMCAST month Avenge the murder of your father in this epic tale exclusive to the Dreamcast review intro REVIEWS DREAMCAST. .SHENMUE .METROPOLIS STREET RACER PS2. TIME SPLITTERS DYNASTY WARRIORS 2 SMUGGLER’S RUN X SQUAD READY 2 RUMBLE: ROUND 2 PC. STARSHIP TROOPERS RUNE HITMAN: CODENAME 47 PROJECT IGI WIZARDS AND WARRIORS PLAYSTATION . TOMB RAIDER CHRONICLES MEDAL OF HONOR: UNDERGROUND DINO CRISIS 2 STAR WARS: DEMOLITION THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH NINTENDO 64. THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH WWF NO MERCY Lap Fastest Lap ' i m imrnvra '-■£1221 |dS *** ■Ks ^ ~ 85 » BRou i 1 &| 3PD^v Green for DreamceSt Yellow for PC Red for Nintendo 64 Dark Blue for PlayStation Light Blue for PlayStation 2 THE HYPER CREW'S TOP 5 WHAT WI RE PLAYING THIS MONTH Eliot Fish - Editor 1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - Dreamcast “It's an addiction. I need it 24/7.“ 2. Dead Or Alive 2: Hardcore - PS2 3. No One Lives Forever - PC 4. Hitman: Codename 47 - PC 5. Chicken Run - Game Boy Cam Shea - Deputy Editor 1. Dance Summit 2001 - PS2 “Kitty N may not be back, but baby still got back." 2. Shenmue - Dreamcast 3. Jet Set Radio - Dreamcast 4. Banjo Tooie - Nintendo 64 5. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - Dreamcast Kevin Cheung - Reviewer 1. Dance Summit 2001 - PS2 “I can't get the music out of my head, somebody heeeelp me " 2. Madden 2001 - PS2 3. Guilty Gear X - Dreamcast 4. Escape From Monkey Island - PC 5. Blair Witch Volume 1 - PC All in-house PC previews and reviews are done on Gateway computers. A Gateway. www. au. gateway, com 40 »HYPER reviews» ii Dan Toose enters Yu Suzuki's epic adventure masterpiece... and emerges with two thumbs up. : N intendo can attribute much of their success to the efforts of Shigeru Miyamoto, and Sega have a couple of developers that they also should be very thankful for having on their team. One is Yugi Naka, cre¬ ator of the Sonic series, and the other is one of the greatest game developers of “LOWER...LOWER... AHHH, THAT’S IT!" ) - AVAILABLE: Nov CATE68BT: Adventure/Action/Fighting PLATERS: 1 PUBLISHER: Sera PRICE: TBA RATTNC: M * PA160HZ. VGA. vibration pack. VMU all time, Yu Suzuki. The man responsi¬ ble for a great cross range of titles, such as Space Harrier, Outrun, and the Virtua Fighter series, has headed up development of a Dreamcast title that redefines what we can expect in an adventure game, as it brings other genres into the mix, leaving us with a title that offers a very complete gam¬ ing experience... Shenmue. NO-BRAINER LOVE INTEREST Sega’s epic adventure tells the tale of Ryo Hazuki, the son of a lapanese mar¬ tial arts expert who is murdered by a mysterious Chinese man who has come for a strange mirror his father has been keeping for many years. Ryo decides he must avenge his father, but he has little to go on, other than the fact the Chinese man, Lan Di, arrived with some goons in a black car. Ryo must explore the areas around Yokosuka to discover why his father was murdered for a stone mirror, and how he can face Lan Di to avenge his father. Ryo is not alone though, as he has the help of Fukuhora. his father's disciple, his mother, and Nozomi, his gorgeous classmate who thinks rather highly of him (the no-brainer love interest). The thing that makes Shenmue so complete is that the game seems to adapt to the situation at hand. While most of the game is spent in a "Free Quest" mode, looking around in a third person mode, much like in Tomb Raider, it breaks into frequent cut scenes, action events, and even fights. The way the game branches into these different modes is fairly seamless, and reviews FIRST PERSON TO LAUGH LOSES INSERT PUSSY JOKE HERE THE POWER Of AN UNWASHED EOOT “BABY, YOU HAVE SUCH SEXY POLYGONS” RYO TICKLES THE INFORMATION OUT Of HIS ENEMY provides a nice free flowing adventure for you to progress through. Visually, Shenmue smokes every game like it, and pretty much every game unlike it as well. Regardless which element of the visuals you’re looking at, Shenmue delivers and then some. Each character has been carefully modelled and tex¬ tured, with major characters having a few more polygons thrown in, and some more attention paid to the way the tex¬ tures line up, etc. Each character looks good, not only in stills, but also in the way they move. AM2 obviously spent a mammoth amount of time doing motion capture for all the various scenes in Shenmue, from the simple conversations, *hrough to the action sequences where people stum¬ ble and fall realistically. Even the smaller details have been carefully reproduced too, like blinking, and small facial twitches that help con¬ vey emotions duting dialogue. It’s hard to sa/ if the environ¬ ments in Shenmue are more impressive than the characters, but regardless, *hey are stun¬ ning. Shenmue celivers what appears to be a real, living, breathing world, which doesn’t seem to leave anything out, including the garbage 41 »HYPER PER in the alleyways We’ve seen games with a lot of detail before, but Yu Suzuki and his team have been uncom¬ promising when it comes to the level of not only visual detail, but also interac¬ tivity in the world around you. A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE While in Free Quest mode, you can look at everything around you, and if there’s something you can do with the object you’re looking a*, you can zoom in, pick up, open, or manipulate the object in question. This goes all the way to walk¬ ing into your bedroom, turning to the desk, and going through its drawers. That may not sound riveting, but it makes visual puizles far more intuitive than in most adventure games. Much of Shenmue is spent talking to people, in an effort to learn more about Lan Di, or those connected to him, and just like in real life, you often have to make appointments to meet people, or sometimes simply have to show up somewhere you expect to see someone. In this sense, time plays a very important role in Shenmue, along with its less impor¬ tant role of making the sky look the right colour and brightness. Besides the realistic light¬ ing of night and day (including street lights that come on at 7pm), where would a game so hell bent on creating a real world be without realistic weath¬ er effects? The answer doesn’t matter, because Shenmue has those too. A large part of the reason for the lengthy delay for Shenmue was the massive amount of speech that had to be voice acted all over again for an English-speaking audience. With the exception of a few minor characters who sound like they’re on truth serum, the voice acting in Shenmue is first class, and helps you develop an affini¬ ty with the characters in no time. As the son of a Jujitsu master, Ryo has learned more than a thing or two about self-defence, and it’s a good thing, because he has plenty of people after him. Ryo is still young though, and has a lot to learn to become strong enough to face Lan Di. You can stum¬ ble across new moves while practising, and also be taught new techniques, by other people, or by scrolls. The depth doesn’t stop there though, as you have to develop each move you have learned. You can do this by practising or sparring with friends like Fuku-san. As you progress through the game, you’re reminded of the fact Ryo lives in the real world, where money is a neces¬ sity. Besides being able to buy things with his allowance, Ryo can eventually get a job to earn a more impressive income, by making the right con¬ nections down at the warehouse district. That may not sound “EAT6IICCI, CREEP!” A RANGE OF MODES Besides the main mode (Free Quest mode), Shenmue has a range of game modes to suit different situations. FREE BATTLE MODE Shenmue features a combat system that feels like a strange cross between the Virtua Fighter series, and Sword of the Berserk. The controls feature buttons for kick, punch, block, throw, and one that puts you into a free movement (running) mode. The thing that makes the combat something like Sword of the Berserk is the fact you’re often facing off against many opponents at once... SEVENTY at one point! As you learn new moves through the game, you can implement them in Free Battle Mode, and you will also notice that moves you have practised will be more effective as you develop them to higher levels of mastery. This combat system is consistent enough to be considered far more than a novelty thrown in on top of an adventure game, and is a major part of Shenmue as a whole. QUICK TIMER EVENTS Not every moment of action warrants breaking out into Free Battle mode, sometimes because the conflict at hand is too short to require a whole fight, or because the problem at hand doesn’t involve fighting at all. Enter the Quick Timer Event, which basically is a simple reflex test to see if you can guide Ryo through a situation properly. On the up side, this offers diversity, which always makes for good gaming. The down side is that the gameplay here is very reminiscent of Dragon’s Lair, where you simply tap a direction or a button at a given point of time. Not only that, but if you fail a QTE, you simply have to repeat it, which takes away the element of consequence, and keeps things kind of linear. Having a whole heap of non-important sub quests that use QTEs would have made their inclusion appear less of a novelty. MINI CAMES These events are not important in terms of finishing the game, but definitely help add some spice and variety. Ryo will find various video games and amusement machines in arcades, rec rooms and the like. Some basic games such as darts are available, but Sega fans will get more of a kick from being able to play the arcade versions of games such as Hang On, and Space Harrier. Thanks to the Internet passport disc, you can upload your high scores to compete against other Shenmue owners. Other little games pop up for one off instances, such as taking a shot on a pool table for a bet. Every mini game that comes around has its own instructions, so you’re never dumped in the deep end trying to figure out what to do. reviews WE WON’T BOBE YOU WITH A BLOW BY BLOW ACCOUNT Of THIS SCENE... PlflBf THAT BAB BUYS DON’T FLOSS too exciting, but rest assured that AM 2 have ensured that doing your job will never really feel like work. NOT HARD, JUST REALLY GOOD A nice touch to put the icing on the cake for this 3 GD-ROM adventure is a 4^ disc - the Shenmue Passport. This GD-ROM allows you to view all the movies you have unlocked, listen to all the in-game music you have heard (you can find tapes within the game to listen to), get instructions and briefing from various characters (showing off the stunning 3D character modelling), and also allows you to get online to go through character profiles, and a host of other information. Shenmue’s only real downfall is that it doesn’t explore many opportunities for non-linear gameplay, as you are essen¬ tially pushed in the right direction. In this sense, if you’re a hardcore adventure gamer after a real brainteaser, Shenmue won’t deliver, but the same could have been said about Final Fantasy VII for RPC fans... It wasn’t hard, just really good. Sega may be calling this a new genre of gaming ’’FREE” (Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment), but it’s really just a game that incorporates multiple gaming styles, and brings them together smoothly, which is usually where most games that attempt this come unstuck. Shenmue is a joy to play, with intuitive controls, variety in gameplay, and a plot that sucks you in and keeps you addicted to the very end, where you’ll no doubt do what we did and curse that you don’t have part 2 ready to play right then and there. This is a class game that everyone out there should be able to appreciate. If you own a Dreamcast, get this game. If you don’t, go check this game out, it may just make you want one. ■ PUIS Amazingly convincing gaming world. Multiple gaming styles in one game. MINUS Feels like you’re pushed into the plot after a while. OVERALL A wonderful bleod of gaming styles that results in one of the most amazing adventuri games ever nade. 43 »HYPER 44 »HYPER reviews» THOU SPEEDEST The religion in question goes by the name of Kudos, and it is on this that a player’s progression depends. The Kudos system can only be explained by the title’s motto: It’s not how fast you drive, it’s how you drive fast. The game is split into 25 chapters, each of which contain around 10 separate quests. These fall under different categories, either a hot lap, timed run, challenge, one on one, street race or champi¬ onship. There is a specific aim for each one, and only if these are reached can Kudos be obtained. Kudos are awarded for both skill and style, but also taken away for collisions, so a balance must be sought. All this racing occurs around some 270 courses in detailed replicas of London, Tokyo and San Francisco, all of which are raced at the ■ ■ a * ,■ He's back. Jackson Gothe-Snape hurtles across the deadline... mimu Now _ Cinar: Street racing _ mm 1-2 _ WttUSHii. Sega _ »«K: $83.95 _ mm 6 Sflrare VWU. Vibration Pack. Wheel T he delayed game theory states that, if a game is held back for a year or more it will, without doubt, be a stinking pile of lukewarm faeces. With good reason therefore, gamers’ heads dropped lower and lower with each news item detailing a further delay of what was once the racer to beat all racers. Bizarre Creations’ supposedly revolutionary new game, Metropolis: Street Racer became lost in the haze of the Dreamcast driving scene to all but the true believers. As we find ourselves a year after its supposed release, it would appear that the believers have indeed been praying. For this game is holy, and brings forth a religion des¬ tined to enchant millions. actual time of day you play the game. Thus if you’re up late, Tokyo will be covered in a sheet of darkness, as it’s in a similar time zone to Australia. The only area where the long delay seems to have caused a problem is in the somewhat poorer image quality than in current generation titles such as Le Mans. MSR does still look superb, reviews but its graphical strength lies in the sensation of speed created by the mul¬ titude of trackside objects as well as road textures. Cars are very recognis¬ able, but lack polish, while weather effects are competently reproduced, yet are by no means top draw. All things considered though, the game is a treat to watch, and maintains a solid framerate, while the experience of charging down Tokyo’s narrow back alleys in a pre-dawn fog with my IT’s gear is an absolute joy. HOLY HOTWHEELS If nothing else, the visuals suggest that Bizarre Creations’ have made a concert¬ ed effort to be unique, particularly when it comes to replicating the cities. Everywhere you look there is tremen¬ dous detail, and although the locations are devoid of life, when different cours¬ es pass through the same landmark, you truly get a sense of awareness and place in a realistic area - an experience few other games can provide. This uniqueness on behalf of the developers continues into the region of sound, where they have made an ambitious attempt in both car-based and soundtrack areas. In the most part the effect is fantastic, but sometimes it just sounds a little too artificial, like the booming echo of your engine in narrow streets or the whoosh (in full stereo) of the trees as you fly down London’s St. James’s Park. Engine effects otherwise are great, and listen¬ ing to the variations in engine noise after unlocking cars is a treat. The soundtrack takes the form of city-spe¬ cific radio stations, and provides a good range of tunes, ranging from jazz to Japanese pop. The radio ads and presenter ramble between tracks adds novelty value, and immersion to a degree, but after a few hours you will most likely have set up your own playlist of the tracks on offer, if you’re still listening to the music at all. There is a good selection of vehi¬ cles, but only after spending hours unlocking them through performance in special races or completing chap¬ ters. An estimate of the total number would have to be around 50, but includes novelties such as Cabs and even a ride-on lawnmower. The cars’ physics are consistent and somewhat realistic, without being overly anal. Powerslides are the name of the game, so the handbrake fea¬ tures heavily. The best part about the handling is the satisfying learning curve, and ability to get familiar enough with the feel of the cars to acknowledge the subtle differences from car to car, and to take a particu¬ lar car on as your own, even though it may not be the fastest. The physics' model suits the whole tone of the game, and the concept of Kudos. There is enough realism to do the cities justice, while still allowing for ridiculous automotive antics. The Kudos system is perhaps a little too vague and complicated sometimes, and can also be rorted, but it is truly refreshing, and makes this title stand out above a mammoth DC racer crowd. The game is just so likeable and easy to take on, it even won me over, and I consider myself to be far more a simu¬ lation-fan. Add to this the most com¬ prehensive two-player mode I have seen and we have a winner. So much for the Delayed Came Theory, this baby has brought Kudos into our lives, and taken us into the promised (some time ago) land. ■ LOOKS LIKE OUR TEKKEN JOKES MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO SEGA! PLUS Inspired. Offers plenty. MINUS A little too different fir some gamers. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 90 91 93 45 »HYPER 46 »HYPER reviews» The left analogue thumb stick is used for strafing and moving forwards and backwards. The right stick is for looking around freely. As compared to the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast controllers, which are restricted to a singular analogue stick, these navigation controls are a decent compromise with the traditional keyboard and mouse set-up. The Ri button is for primary weapon fire and R2 for alternate fire, which most players should take to quite readily as it’s virtually identical to how one would place his or her fingers on a mouse. Having the triggers configured to the right hand also seems a lot more intuitive than the left-handed trigger set-up of the Nintendo 64 controller. GOLDEN DARK Challenge Mode is the mode for single player gamers who want some longevity and challenge. The hot blasts are increasingly difficult, so start doing your finger exercises. :■> Four-way action on the PS2? No it's not a porno, as Kevin Cheung discovered AVAILABLE: Nov CATEGORY: First Person Shooter PLAYERS: 1-4 publisher: Eidis Interactive PRICE: TBI RATING: M SUPPORTS: PS2 Multitap T here are numerous reasons why many people don’t like console- based first person shooters. No mouse. No floating point performance. Bad controls. Yet there are just as many reasons others enjoy them - creative weapon designs, simplicity of inter¬ face, eye candy. The new generation of videogame development being herald¬ ed first by the Dreamcast and now with the PlayStation 2 has the potential to cross that divide. Can the PS2 actually have a successful FPS on launch? PERFECT EYE With a development team comprised of veterans from the ColdenEye and Perfect Dark teams, it’s easy to spot the creative similarities. The levels ’feel’ like Perfect Dark. The ancient Egyptian tombs in the game bear striking resemblance to ColdenEye. There are even the cheeky stats like ’longest killing spree’, ’heat shots’, ’most kills in 3 seconds’, and so on. What’s immediately apparent is that developer Free Radical isn’t going for the super PC-style detail of Q3A, but is rather sticking with their atmosphere-rich Perfect Dark style, except without the fog and vicious over-filtering. The results are utterly fabulous - 60 unhindered frames of glisteningly smooth motion per second, perfect clarity and depth of vision, and an army of bots trying to frag your arse. The controls work surprisingly well. WIEN YOU DISCOVER THE JOYS Of A FOUR WAY, YOOTl NEVER GO BACK reviews JUST STOPPING FOR AN IBID0L06Y CHECK-UP m HITMAN YOU AIN’T BUDOY FRANK LOST HALF A GRAM FROM THAT CARELESS ELBOW BUMP HEY, WOULO YOU GUYS GO A THREE-WAY WITH ME? Time Splitters takes place in three different time periods. There’s the 1935 Tomb (Raider) theme, the 1970s Chinese theme, and the 2005 Cyberden. Each time period has a series of missions that can be played through in single player mode as either Captain Ash or Lady Jayne. As far as single player modes go, Time Splitters is rather dull. Fetch item. Take it somewhere. Fetch some other doohickey. Take it someplace else. Visually, there’s enough detail for you to actually marvel at the surroundings - the first level of the Tomb, for instance, looks like it came straight from the set of The Mummy, complete with flickering lights and hieroglyphics on the wall. But once you’re done looking around, it’s just a case of marching from one corridor to the next in search of an open space, killing a token hapless guard, and then advancing through the next series of corridors. Multiplayer mode, however, is where the real fun unfolds. There’s the basic deathmatch, Capture the Bag mode (read capture the flag) and Bag Tag, which most closely resembles the Capture the Chicken mod for Q3A. Basically players fight for longest overall possession of the bag the catch is once you’ve got the bag, you can’t shoot anyone. Other great multiplayer moces can be unlocked (through single player mode) like Escort and Last Stand. There are a few mechanics that fans of both PC and console persuasions will have to get used to. Firstly, it doesn’t take much to kill someDne. A few well- placed bullets from a bog-standard pistol is all it takes. Secondly, the auto¬ aim is very generous. Combined with the fact that the multiplayer maps aren’t all that spacious and filled with dead ends it means very fast frags and lots of carnage. Campers and snipers aren’t likely to last long. It’s a good idea to set the frag count much higher than the default settings. The level designs are a mixed bag. The levels feel cramped, mostly because they rely on long corridors to move from one open 47 »HYPER 48 »HYPER reviews» space to anotner. It’s also worth mentioning again how frustrating all the dead ends are. The majority of them are mini-rooms with either health or an extra weapon inside — the scarcity of actual corridors leading to other open spaces making it somewhat pointless to devise a memorised route. Thankfully this is something that can be remedied in the Map Maker mode, which is so elaborate yet simple to use that it is bound to take up countless design hours. Unfortunately, this means that quick quality deathmatches straight out of the box are unlikely. BIG BADABOOM Weapon design is touch and go, but let’s first put t.nings in perspective. The members of Free Radical were involved with ColdenEye and Perfect Dark, both of which were landmark games that introduced sniper rifles, automated sentry guns, X-Ray rail guns, machine guns that can be turned into a bomb, and John Woo- style two-handed gun play. PC-based first person shooters across the board have borrowed these concepts. Yet in Time Splitters, the weapons stash isn’t quite as exciting. What do you get? A rocket launcher that fires four at a time in alternate mode. Plasma rifles with a UT-inspired flak grenade in alternate mode. Blunderbusses, M-16 machineguns, and other period weapons, mostly bullet-based. Extra weapons can be unlocked as progress is made, but none that offer any fantastic options. Without the portrayal of the same kind of crucial weapon quirks as you’d find in Counter-Strike like reload times and rate of fire, it adds up to an extremely straightforward firefight with minimal strategy. I LIVE TIE SMEll IE NAPALM II TIE MORNING... AFTEINOON... EVENING... SPLITTING HAIRS OVER CUSTOM MAPS Time Splitters features a Map Maker mode that allows players to create gigantic multi-level maps that can be saved to the memory card. As compared to map makers for Q3A and Unreal Tournament, this is a hugely simplified exercise — though that’s not to say it's easy, as there is a system to be learned. Custom levels are mapped on a massive grid, where players have control over three main categories: tiles, items, and lighting. Tiles form the basic structure of the level. The CPU provides a large selection of possible configurations within a 3x3 grid such as tunnels. T-junctions, cross¬ roads, trapezoidal walls, and so on. There are also larger multi-level rooms with different platform, exit, and ramp configurations — all you have to worry about is pressing the Li and 12 buttons to make sure you've lined up all your doors on the right level. Tiles can also be set to follow a certain theme, such as industrial, futuristic, slums, and so on. Item managenent lets you place weapons, health, and armour at almost any position on each individual tile section. Each tile section also has a lighting indicator, which can be changed to display different colours or configured to flash, flicker or pulsate at different speeds. Once you feel you’re done, you can preview the level and then save it for future use. LINKS HIE THESE GUYS STARTER THE THREE-WAY WITHOUT ME Bear in mind, though, that the weapons are still fun to play with. The frantic pace at which this game runs, especially in four-player split screen mode, is what’s most important; and it wouldn’t have worked were it not for the fact that the weapons can be used to create some wanton destruction. It’s just that with the shadow of Perfect Dark lingering, one can’t help but yearn for more. At least they kept the two-handed guns. On balance. Time Splitters is a first person shooter that excels in many important areas, but at the same time has some crucial flaws. On one hand, the motion is incredibly smooth; the deathmatches are fast, frantic, and addictive fun; the control system has been well implemented; and the Map Maker mode is a Godsend. On the other hand, straight out of the box the levels aren’t very well designed and the weapons could have been better. Time Splitters isn’t the Ai system seller we were hoping it would be. It’s the next best thing — a game you absolutely must own if you’ve got a PlayStation 2. R PLUS Fast, smooth action: moves remarkably well for a console FPS. Excellent Map Maker mode. MINUS Hideously dull single player mode. It's frustrating to have to unlock the goodies. OVERALL Time Splitters is proof you don't need a PC port for a great console-based first person shooter. FROM DECEMBER 18 taaftaiMioa ALL THE NEWS. ALL THE REVIEWS. ALL THE TIME 50 »HYPER reviews» We 've discovered that Kevin Cheung is quite deadly with a Samaria letter opener... AVAILABLE: Now _ CATEGORY: Action _ P1AYEBS: 1 _ PUBLISHER: THQ _ PRICE: $99.95 RATING: 8 _ SUPPORTS: Dual Shock 2.8MB Memory Card )PF rVATi I F YOU’RE WONDERING WHY THERE ARE such amazing thematic similarities between THQ’s Dynasty Warriors 2 and EA’s PS2 war simulation, Kessen, it’s because they both originated from Japanese developer Koei. However, unlike Kessen, this game firstly takes place in feudal China, and secondly it is an action game that simulates his¬ toric battles in real-time, placing you a a : *. right in the middle of the action as one of the main characters. THE HAN SOLO DYNASTY? Dynasty Warriors 2 is set in the tumul¬ tuous period right after the Han Dynasty when no clear ruler could be found for China. When one group attempted to seize power, another two equally pow¬ erful factions rose up to prevent it. This split in the empire resulted in a war that spanned many years; a war that pro¬ duced some of the most ingenious mili¬ tary tactics that are still being used in modern warfare. For many generations, these famous battles between the Three Kingdoms have been retold in comics and books that span dozens of volumes, and it’s very common to see heroes like Guan Yu (red face, beard, green robe) standing as porcelain figures in Chinese restaurants. If Hollywood ever made a film of the war on the same scale as Gladiator or Braveheart, it would kick serious arse. The Tale of the Three Kingdoms, no matter what form it takes, is under¬ standably very popular in the Asian videogame markets; but Western mar¬ kets have rarely seen them since they’re mostly hardcore strategy titles. There were a couple of exceptions, though. The first Dynasty Warriors sur¬ faced briefly around the same time as Bushido Blade and was a head-to-head 3D fighting game. In this case, Dynasty Warriors 2 is a 3D scrolling beat ’em up that’s set in a number of real and fictional cam¬ paigns. Even the opening FMV is based on an actual Three Kingdoms story. The crew of an advancing fleet of ships was suffering from seasickness. A double agent convinced the ship captains to link their ships together with wooden planks and chains so that their syn¬ chronised movement in the water reduces motion sickness. Once word of this got out to the enemy army on the land, a hail of flaming arrows was sent to burn down the entire fleet as one. Sadly it doesn’t get anywhere near as elaborate as that during gameplay. Each level in the game is a massive playing field filled with several thou¬ sand troops - half on your side, the rest for you to slaughter. The CPU co¬ ordinates the movements for each indi¬ vidual battalion, which is updated in real-time and can be viewed at any ELIOT AND CAM CET SMACKED ABOUT FOR A LATE DEADLINE reviews Wondering what happened to the first Dynasty Warriors? It never got released here, so don't waste a day going looking for it... DOI-EON JINN AND HIS TWIN BROTHER, BOB WHEN HABORENS SO BAB YOU SHOOID HEAR THE “AISTRAMA'S EIHHIEST HOME VIDEOS" STYLE SOHHI EFFECT field. With a time limit of ioo minutes per level, it’s not uncommon to rack up a kill count of over 1000. However, like Beserk, Dynasty Warriors 2 suffers from a distinct lack of moves. There are only a handful of combos numbering in two, three or four hits; complemented by a super move (via a super meter) and a few openings for juggles. At some points in the game you’ll be able to exercise your archery skills, or even ride a horse that plows through whole brigades like a bowling ball, but that does little to dull the monotony of 100 minutes’ worth of repeating the same combos over and over. Still, Dynasty Warriors 2 manages to captivate. And it’s not for the menial novelty of unlocking extra levels and characters - it’s because the game is slightly original and offers a very decent challenge. This is something that can’t be said of many of the PS2’s titles. On the other hand, much as many old-school gamers would like to see it, a resur¬ gence of the Golden Axe style of gameplay isn’t likely to happen. Enjoy it while it’s around. ■ time for your own purposes - such as helping out a battalion that’s pinned behind a defensive gate. Your role is basically to run around and fight as you deem fit to win the campaign. While your weapon is capa¬ ble of doing some incredible damage on a wide scale, you won’t survive for long by running straight into the fray. You should stick with your army and let them provide you with a little cover. Along the way you can expedite the opening of key gates by killing the general who’s garrisoned the area; or prevent further enemy reinforcements by taking out the battalion guarding their entry point. You can even use your bow and arrow to take out the archers who snipe at you from the top of unreach¬ able towers. THINK LIKE A BOWLING BALL What distinguishes Dynasty Warriors 2 from any other modern scrolling beat ’em up (like Beserk on Dreamcast) is the sheer scale of the game. The levels are of an unprecedented size, taking a good five minutes to run between opposite corners of the map. Between those corners are encampments, guard towers, cliffs and mountaintops, temples, castle structures, and so on. It’s also no exaggeration that there are thousands of warriors run¬ ning around on the OVERALL Think Golden Axe. only 3G0 times bigger. It's very challenging, but slightly monotonous. 51 »HYPER 52 »HYPER Cam Shea takes time out from his Columbia » Florida run... I> AVAILABLE: Nov CATIEDBT: Nefarious Racing PlAYIBS: 1-? PUBLISHER: Take 2 PRICE: $99.95 BATINS: G f ELL HOW ABOUT THAT? A PlayStation 2 launch title with originality to spare. Yea and verily tis a good thing! This is the sort of game we crazy kids dream about - smuggling contraband across national borders all for the green. “VOU’B! NOT TAKINE THAT MAPLE SYRUP BVEB THE BOBBER YOB OIRTY CANADIAN SMUCGlER! n Smuggler's Run is essentially a very simple game, but for all the right rea¬ sons. Rather than confusing things with an overly complicated control setup or convoluted gameplay, Smuggler’s Run lets the environments, AI and brilliant physics bring the depth to you. GAMING IS THE DRUG BABY At its core, the game is basically arcade racing across massive terrains - similar to those in the recent PC title insane. The visuals aren’t exactly mindblowing, using relatively bland texture sets and barren environments, but their sheer size is amazing — if you can see it, you can drive to it. Best of all, the draw distance is magnificent. You really get an impression of scale when tooling about these environ¬ ments. The physics too are superb. Developers Angel Studios have walked that fine line in creating intuitive physics that feel realistic, but also have plenty of arcade influences thrown in to the benefit of the game. Missions vary in objectives, but all conform to one of a few basic types. There are "pick up and drop off contra¬ band” runs, there are point to point races against competing smugglers, and there are team games where you and a squad are trying to beat the opposition to the pickups and drops. There are also a couple of other varia¬ tions thrown in for good measure, like destroying communications towers, and recovering booty from the cops. Smuggler’s Run proves to be a very challenging single player experience right from the word go. Whether you’re racing against the clock, jostling with other smugglers, or trying to outrun the cops... or some combination of all three, you’ll have your work cut out. The cops, in particular, are aggressive bastards who rarely let up once they’re on your tail. They’ll come at you in packs and generally have faster vehi¬ cles too, placing the emphasis entirely on your skill and usually a healthy dose of luck to get through. PUTTING THE JOY IN JOYRIDING The main single player game is the mission mode, with over 30 missions to play through. These are generally chal- reviews PLUS Original, with a great physics model. MINUS 1*2 player only. Unexplored potential. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 85 84 85 THAT'S ONEWAY TO BEAT THE HEAT lenging and fun, but they do tend to get a little samey, and must be com¬ pleted in a strict order, raising frustra¬ tion levels when you get stuck on a particular mission. Even so, there are a couple of other playmodes in which to relieve those tensions. "Joyriding" is an exploration mode - choose a map and a car and go for a burn, without worrying about time limits or the fuzz. There's also "Turf Wars", which is bro¬ ken into three varieties of smuggling games, where you have a fair amount of control over the game parameters. This mode is particularly good fun in multiplayer games, but unfortunately these are limited to two players. The sound effects and music are good, and we’re particularly enam¬ oured with the announcer, and the way she always calls you baby. Yeah yeah it sounds sad, but there’s something very cool about this very retro, very black voice over. Plus, for a game that revolves around getting booty, it’s nice to see them pack in a little more of that sweet sweet "boo-tay”. Ultimately, Smuggler’s Run will be remembered as yet another game that almost had it all... but didn’t. It’s cer¬ tainly worth a look, as you will without doubt enjoy countless hours of suspen¬ sion smacking, drug smuggling may¬ hem, but it’s around the time that you start to get really good that you’ll realise that the concept simply hasn’t been explored as far as perhaps it should have been. The Turf Wars game mode in particu¬ lar, holds so much promise, but the (Oft IN THE BOOT options aren’t expansive enough to real¬ ly leave the long term gamer satisfied. Our biggest gripe, however, is prob¬ ably that there are only two maps to explore. Granted, they are absolutely massive, and you can return to the Canada/US map in winter for some extra slip and slide action, but it would have been nice for the developers to at least include a few smaller and more varied maps for multiplayer games. Even so, Smuggler’s Run is a fresh and fun title that’s well worth a play, it’s just a pity that the concept has so much untouched potential. ■ OVERALL 84 Smuggler's Run took us iy surprise with its high impact, car-crushing gameplay. Good fun. THUSE DASTARDLY MAPLE SYRUP SMUGGLERS! Oddly enough, the two borders that serve as the flashpoints in the game are Mexico/US and Canada/US. Mexico makes a lot of sense (eh ese!), with plenty of real life parallels, but Canada? Forgive our ignorance, but what could you possibly want to smuggle from Canada to the States? A sense of dignity? Intelligence? After much umming and ahhing, the only thing we could think that might be smuggled is comedy talent, because let’s face it, all the best American comedians are actually Canadians anyway! S3 »HYPER 54 »HYPER SO HOW 00 YOU THINK HE EOT THE NAME AFRO? n ( Has any boxing game bettered the awesome Super Punch Out on the SNES? Now that was a classic... SO FAST, HIS FISTS ENTEREO A SPACE TIME CONTINUUM reviews» PS7 YOU IE HOIYEIINC CANYAS OUST, ROY! With a blinding uppercut, Kevin Cheung makes his point... T he oricinal ready 2 rumble boxing was a welcome breath of fresh air. For years, developers like EA Sports filled the boxing genre with dry, realistic sims, failing to realise that they were neglecting an entire genera¬ tion raised on the triumphs of Rocky Balboa. Midway filled that void with Ready 2 Rumble by providing brute strength and comic violence. Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 is their follow-up. HOW'S YOUR FATHER Previously. Ready 2 Rumble presented a cast of fighters :rom around the world who beat the living snot out of each other, with bruises, welts and teeth being knocked out in real time. Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 is essentially the same thing, with only a handful of cosmetic changes to character designs and just as many changes being made to the substantive gameplay. The four-button configuration is used for four basic jabs - left or right, high or low. Variations on those body blows come from pressing the D-pad in a certain direction, such as uppercuts, hooks, headbutts and so on. Blocks and dodges are performed with the right shoulder buttons. A decent hit will reward players with letters along the bottom of the screen, which eventually spell the word "Rumble". Mash down on the shoulder buttons, and a fighter’s rate of attack won’t be dependent on the stamina bar anymore - a few quick combos should easily floor the opponent. As distinct from the first game, though, fighters can accumulate more power on top of the first "Rumble”, which can be even more devastating. Fighters can also be bounced off the ropes for laughs. BEAT IT, JUST BEAT IT What fans and newbies alike will enjoy about this sequel is the characters. It’s possible to unlock fantasy fighters like Michael Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal, and even the Clintons. The novelty of beating up celebrities is great when playing with friends (where’s Dicky Wilkins?), but even the fictitious game characters have some value, especially Mama Tua, mother of Salua Tua. Interestingly the pace has been slowed down, the rhythm with which fighters dance around the ring and throw their punches being nowhere near as fast as the original. Fans of the fighting genre often see this as a good thing, as it requires more skill and timing than the lightning-paced button mashers. But Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 isn’t that deep. Aside from the one-off punches, there are only a few basic dial-a-combos to memorise. The learning curve is 30 minutes at maximum, and before long you’ll either be wishing for more moves or at least for the action not to be so patronisingly slow. Graphically there’s very little to distinguish between the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast versions, or even the original Ready 2 Rumble. With that in mind. Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 is just a better version of the original, hardly worth considering as a sequel. It’s definitely worth checking out if you missed the first game, but owners of the original will be disappointed. ■ PLUS Real-time braises and jiggly bits of flesb. Very easy to get into. MINUS Gameplay has undergone virtually no change. Slower pace may be a detractor to fans of the original. visims mm eamfpiay OVERALL On its own, it's a rowdy beat'em up that everyone should enjoy. If it were marked as a sequel, it would score zero. Think harder Midway! Simply put, games are meant to be dominated, not merely played. And though practice may eventually get you to perfection, the Microsoft" Sidewinder Precision Pro will get you there a lot quicker. And with the new ergonomically designed stick, buttons are at your fingertips and right under your thumb. You know, the same place you wish your games were. Microsoft www.microsoft.com/sidewinder With Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro you get: • patented digital-optical technology • unbeatable accuracy and reliability with no actual wear and tear • shift button to double functions • map-specific keystrokes, maneuvers and strings • 30 pre-loaded game profiles • on-handle rotation control 02000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft and SrdeWinder are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation m the United States and/or other countries. MIC30671/HYP/A 56 »HYPER reviews» AVAILABLE: Now _ CAllSflBY: Actbn _ PlAYIBS: 1 _ publishes: Electronic Arts PRICE: $99.95 _ RATING: M nSA ASH TRIES TO SNEAK PAST BY POSING AS A COTTON BUD I N THE SPIRIT OF SYPHON FILTER. ONE AND Winback comes EA’s squad-based third-person shooter, X Squad. The potential for a gripping, in-depth and exciting tactical shooter on the PS2 is there, but has X Squad managed to live up to the expectations of this next-generation console? GETTING TO KNOW YOUR X-MEN You are Ash, the squad leader of a crack team of troops attempting to lib¬ erate some hostages deep within a vast scientific complex overrun with terror¬ ists. It’s the year 2037, so naturally, you have a weird-ass white hairdo gelled into place like the Statue of Liberty. You and your frightening hair¬ piece have control over the other three members of the team - Mr. T, and two Lara Crofts with different hair colour. Okay, cynicism aside, it turns out that the characters in X Squad are a pretty generic bunch of game characters. If you can find any true personality there, then let us know. Otherwise, we’re resigned to the fact that not a lot of thought has gone into the character creation, story or level design. X Squad really is a paint by numbers action game, although it’s not a total loss. For starters, the controls in X Squad feel great. Ash can be controlled with the two analogue sticks, allowing you to move and look around the environ¬ ment with true ease, the shoulder but¬ tons implementing rolls, strafing, lean¬ ing around corners and the buttons giving you access to menus and squad commands. Once you get to grips with it, it feels quite natural to run in one direction and aim and shoot in the other. Cetting a target on your enemies would be a disaster if it weren’t for the auto-aim that’s available. The environ¬ ments are so dark, and enemies so dis¬ tant, that the flashing green indicator and auto-aim lock making getting a hit on the plethora of terrorists fairly easy. The enemies are such deadly shots that it’s rare you can get very close to one without a bullet lodged in your tower¬ ing silvery quiff. What results, is a fair bit of sneaking around corners, looking anxiously for the green indicators to lock onto a terrorist hiding in the shad¬ ows, as opposed to actually pin-point¬ ing the enemy with your eyes. Rattling off a few rounds of lead into your opponents can be quite a bit of fun, reviews X Squad would have been that much cooler with a split¬ screen co-operative mode. Damn. We should make games TAKE THAT YOU STUPID CORKER! LETS HOPE HE WORE THE ASBESTOS UHDIES because the weapons in X Squad are all pretty pleasing to the ears and eyes. You’ll be doing a bit of switching around due to the limited ammo, plus trading weapons between characters, as well as sharing around the med- kits and energy packs for your futur- 1 istic body shields. All up, the action is quite fun, if entirely predictable as the game wears on. FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS, DAMNIT! The squad you’re stuck with in X Squad are, unfortunately, as good with taking orders as your little five-year old sister is playing Flight Simulator 2 WWII Pacific Theatre. You have a variety of verbal commands, such as "recon", "stealth" and "follow" amongst others, but the results you achieve with these commands and rarely terribly useful. Even though you have three team members with you, you’re sometimes only accompa¬ nied by one team member, even though the other two were with you sec¬ onds before in the cut- scene. Where exactly did they find that alternate route to the exit? Maybe it’s for the better anyhow, because in terms of offensive power, you’re probably better off on your own. Facing off against the bosses with your deadly squad is quite frustrating. Sometimes they seems to run around simply trying not to die, whilst it’s up to you to unload your gun into the bad guy who’s bothering you. Likewise, you can send a team mate ahead to "clear the area”, have them go out, shoot off a few rounds, tell you it’s "clear" and then enter the room to find enemies standing there with their guns cocked. Thanks a lot. The level design in X Squad is also generic and bland, with lots of corri¬ dors and empty rooms with your main objective usually being to find the elu¬ sive door switch. Visually, the best thing about the game is the way your character is animated, and some of the cool effects from the weapons and scattered fire. Otherwise, X Squad real¬ ly doesn’t do anything to take advan¬ tage of the emotion engine or anything else the PS2 has to offer. Sure it looks better than the PSone, but by golly it’d be pretty scary if it didn’t. It’s just not up to the potential of the machine and not far enough above what we've seen achieved on consoles already. X Squad is only half way there, with some good controls and deadly fire- fights. The overall package however, is an uninspired third-person action game that fails to deliver the tactical action its name implies. ■ PLUS The action can have yen feeling pretty tense as yen explore. MINUS No story to get you going and really qaick to finish. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 83 84 69 OVERALL Some nice ideas that have gone to waste. Maybe a sequel could deliver the real goods? 57 »HYPER 58 »HYPER reviews» Adam Duncan straps on his Mortein-launcher... the 23rd century amidst an intergalac- tic war against those lovable Arachnids. With Buenos Aires having been obliter¬ ated by a bug-guided meteor it’s now officially payback time! Assuming the command of a squad of mobile infantry you and your men storm out of a drop- ship onto Klendathu soil with all-too- itchy trigger fingers. Organizing your squad before a mis¬ sion is cool. Everything about your team is configurable, from their equipment and weapons to their names. And there is an intricate RPC-like experience system that lets your troops’ abilities improve as they rack up the kills. Gradually your men will move up the ranks, being able to wear new armour and wield beefier weapons, which subsequently lets them dish out more destruction. All this helps to attach you to each individual as you progress, knowing that if any die you’ll have to replace them with an inexperi¬ enced trooper. Each mission thankfully involves more than just shooting everything that moves. To succeed you’ll need to stem Microprose $83.95 Fll 233, 64MB RAM, 3D card PIUOO 128MB RAM. 30 card T’S ALREADY 3 YEARS SINCE STARSHIP Troopers hit our theatres. So it’s been quite a wait -if anyone has actually been waiting- for the game to arrive. With so little hype concerning this title and with all movie-to-game conversions rous:ng that inevitable skepticism it’s pleasing to note that Aussie developers Blue Tongue have churned out quite a tasty little game. Do you want to know more? KICKING ALIEN BUTT Starship Troopers (ST) is a real-time strategy title that sticks tightly to the story of the film, setting the player in the flow of ene¬ mies by blowing up bug-holes, undertake the familiar res¬ cue and escort type tasks and even capture alien specimens for research. Actual combat is usually a straightforward affair. The arachnids charge you and you mow them down. Strategy does play a part, but not necessarily as big a part as you might expect from, well, a ’strategy’ game. Resource management -if you can call it that- is restricted to the conservation of your limited ammo supply. This can be managed by learn¬ ing the various vulnerabilities of each bug and by avoiding unnecessary fights. However there are a healthy variety of soldier-types to bring onto the bat¬ tlefield, such as artillery, scouts, engineers and even troops who wield psychic powers. All of whom combine to make gameplay a little more colourful. In the end, what ST lacks in tactical depth is made up for by its simple ability to stay fun and challenging. DIDN'T THEY TEST FOR BUGS? Controlling the action is fairly simple. Movement and formations are easy to execute, and in fact the interface on the _ YOUR FRIENDS WON’T YOU _ Those of us looking forward to getting some friends together for a bit of multiplayer action are sadly going to be out of luck. For a feature so expected in a game of this genre to be totally left out is just plain odd. The developers likely came to the conclusion that with the lack of any sig¬ nificant tactical aspects in the game, multiplayer might have been a pretty dull affair. As a result, ST’s longevity is ultimately hurt, big-time. reviews whole is quite solid except for a couple of issues. Camera control is almost spot- on, barring the inability to properly look towards the sky to watch for flying insects. It also would have been nice to be able to zoom out of the action a little further. Another gripe concerns Blue Tongue’s choice to leave out a mid¬ game save option. Instead you get a couple of ’continues’ from the spot you failed. An inconvenient substitute. Individually, each troop isn’t exactly the most graphically detailed of units you’ll find in a game. It’s when you see the whole squad in action against the bugs that the game blends into a lovely collage of carnage. From the very first mission the game shows off some spe¬ cial treats. At night the squad leaders light up the area with their head-torch¬ es and the canyons shake as various Terran ships cruise overhead, doing well to make you feel like the war goes beyond just your platoon of men. Even more captivating is the sight of the giant bugs, you know the ones who shoot blue stuff out their rear-ends... The scale of those behemoths is cap¬ tured very well. And as you’d expect, you get to use the tactical nuke-launch¬ er to take the brutes down. Blue Tongue certainly did a top-notch job at bring¬ ing every detail of the film to life. What’s more, a lowish-end PC seemed to have no trouble pulling off a smooth frame-rate with all the bells and whistles turned on. The audio side of things isn't quite as spectacular however. The sounds of battle do their job well enough, yet the quality of the music - typically army-beat stuff - grew monotonous in short order. Admittedly, it’s not the most cerebral of titles and certainly the neglect of multiplayer makes it hard to recom¬ mend Starship Troopeis over other great games like Ground Control or Dark Reign 2, but when it comes to single¬ player at least, this is one of the more entertaining RTSs out there. PLUS Thrilling firelights, interesting missions, nice environments. MINUS No multiplayer, simplistic combat strategy. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 85 80 70 OVERALL An entertaining transition of the film that ultimately lacks depth. THi IAY WE OYERCIOCREB THE HYPER PC A EITTlf TOR MUCH “WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND 59 »HYPER 60 »HYPER reviews» x TV ' f - ^ & ' 'f A- |Mg K jf 3^ * v4h : '-iz Hr i A 'v Rosco P. Coltrane is the man in the leather undies for this one. CD- Nov First Person Slasher MS via TCP/LAN/Direct Take 2 $83.95 M K6-2/3 or Intel P*ll. or Celeron 300Mhz. 64 Mb R4S0Mhz or higher. 128Mb RAM. 32Mb 30 card “HEBE, LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO MY AXE." HAT’S TALL. PALE, UNCOUTH AND ' v : boasts three horns? A Viking warrior of course. In this con¬ text a Viking warrior named Ragnar. Truth is Vikings didn’t actually wear helmets with horns on them, that idea came from the costume designers of longwinded German operas but what the hell, they look funny. It’s been quite a while since the development team that put together the Hexen and Heretic games had a new release to show off and fans of those games have had to bide their time and hope something new would come along. Rune is a natural evolu¬ tion of those earlier games, incorporat¬ ing the melee style of combat and magic powers into a first person shoot¬ er environment. SMASHING HEADS The story begins with a very atmos¬ pheric intro sequence that cleverly kicks in when Ragnar and the lads head off to smash some heads after hearing of a raid on a neighbouring village. The evil Loki is using his minions to break free of his prison in order to challenge the elder Gods again, but Odin has other plans and guess what? You’re it! The developers have limited the weapons available to help you on this quest to melee style hack and slash types. Swords, Maces, Axes and the like are the main implements and there is three of each type, accessible by hit¬ ting their corresponding number keys several times. Of course this wouldn’t be the succes¬ sor to the Hexen legacy if there were no magic and those powers are provided to you with each new weapon type that you find. The different spells in the game, reviews Another hack and slash title. Severence: Blade Of Darkness, should be out soon for those of you with a hankering for more steel and blood. - “AVON CALLING!" you see, are connected to a particular kind of weapon. For example a normal Axe will cast an invisibility spell, as long as you have enough spell energy, while a Goblin Axe will change into a throwing axe as long as the spell lasts. Unfortunately there is an inherent weakness in such a system that the developers really should have avoided. Basically, the requirement to change weapons to use a particular spell is just pathetic, especially in multiplayer combat where you want to be able to do things as quickly as possible. It means that you sometimes have to have an inappropriate weapon selected to use a spell leaving you vulnerable and bloody frustrated. The ability to block attacks with your shield is a nice touch that is somewhat reminiscent of a console style of aesthetic and handy when you know how to use it. It can be quite fun in multiplayer games to be able to time your blocks and hits so that your opponent never hits you but you hit him every time! HAVING A SLASH The best feature of Rune however is the level design, which is intricate and creative. There is one section where your character is taken on a bug-back ride through some awesome scenery, a labyrinth of caves and tunnels which obviously took a long time to make but which you pass by very quickly. The maps also have a lot of interactivi¬ ty, reminiscent of classics like the Duke Nukem series. There is one slightly odd thing about the levels though, for a Viking game you spend an awfully long time running around the pits of Hell and a very short amount of time in actual snow and ice. It’s often a bad sign when a patch is released for a game before the game is even in the shops and such a thing has happened with Rune. The ioi.zip patch is needed to fix some minor bugs but we didn't have any problems with crashes or getting stuck on things while we played and the game is really pretty solid. From a multiplayer perspective Rune is not for everyone. The nature of melee combat combined with the somewhat stupid way in which magic power is used up very quickly make playing online an experience probably only suited to the devoted fan. Gamers used HANK JUST WISHED HE HAD A 8AUG0WN ANO A OASHING PRINCE ON HIS ARM to the action of games like Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 may get bored with Rune rathei quickly. Rune is a well put together game but perhaps more thought should have been put into the weapons and magic to make it more exciting as a multiplayer experience and to inject a bit more vari¬ ety into the single player game. PLUS Great levels, good atmosphere. MINUS Melee style gameplay can get monotonous and not as much fun in multiplayer. Magic linked to weapms a bad idea. visual s sniiNn gamfpiay OVERALL Close but no cigar. The weapon and magic system hold this game back from being great. 61 »HYPER 62 »HYPER reviews» Eliot Fish has spent years trying to have a hit, man. TRY STEALING HER OISGDISE, HITMAN! HE THIRD-PERSON SHOOTER CONTINUES its ascent in popularity, whether it’s as a result of boredom with the first-person perspective or an attempt by developers paranoid of the interactive violence issue to remove the player one step from committing the atrocities on screen. Is playing a pro¬ fessional assassin in Hitman any more acceptable because it’s some bald american guy doing the killing, and the "meat cleaver to the head” action isn’t being viewed in first-person? Is the universe REALLY flat? Hey, do we really care? Hitman is a lot of fun, regardless of the brutal nature of his profession, so let’s get into it. SHOOTING SHIT UP The third-person perspective has never been ideal for shooters due to the inher¬ ent camera perspective problems that arise. However, Hitman is the first game that achieves its goals with the mini¬ mum of problems. Staring at the back of Hitman’s chrome dome is actually never a problem, so you’ll be more intrigued by the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck than wishing his head was out of the way of what you’re shooting at. Basically, you get hired to accomplish a series of missions that only a crafty pro¬ fessional could achieve, however it’s not until much later in the game that you find out exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing. A lot of attention to detail has gone into creating Hitman’s environments, giving the player a true sense of explo¬ ration as you plan out your approach to the job at hand. From a complex Chi¬ nese restaurant, complete with brothel, garden and private cliff-side living quarters to a plush sprawling hotel with everything from a florist and bathhouse to ballroom and rooftop, Hitman’s environments really give the game a real-world feel. But because the envi¬ ronments look so good, it’s a little dis¬ appointing that so many of the detailed interiors are so non-interactive. Unlike most other shooters, you can’t actually interact with much other than doors, mission-specific items and objects and people. A little more irrelevant interac¬ tivity (working light switches, tele¬ phones, opening cupboards, fridges etc.) would actually have brought the reviews , , &»• r D Tor alO' * ANTHONY WARL0W ALWAYS HAS DINNER IN CHINATOWN BEFORE HIS PERFORMANCES Of “ANNIE” INDIANA JONES FOR THAT ONE YOU MIGHT REMEMBER NE FROM SUCH HITS AS... world to life that much more. Much of the game is incredibly lin¬ ear, and you pretty much have to pro¬ ceed through the mission objectives in a strict order and use items in only the fashion they were created to be used. The only freedom is in how you approach these goals. Disguised in the uniform of your enemy, you can walk right in the front door and choose to whip out your guns when you’ve taken good note of where everything is. The only problem with stealing someone’s clothes, is that it leaves a bloody, naked body lying around. The solution is to drag your victims into open sewers or empty rooms and hope they don’t get discovered. Alert messages pop-up on screen when guards or even just civilians discover your dirty work else¬ where in the level, so you always know how alert the enemy is to your presence within their walls. You’ll allow a few failed missions along the way, just so you can experiment with and examine your surroundings. For instance, getting inside the brothel in the Chinese restaurant can be achieved by chatting to the barman, or by quiet¬ ly garrotting one of the Chinese body¬ guards and stealing his uniform. BUST A CAP INYO ASS Trial and error actually plays a pretty big part of Hitman, as the way the mis¬ sions are constructed, you sometimes have to try things out first to see if they work. Unless you’re very careful, it can be quite easy to find yourself under fire and once everyone is after your hide, you sometimes have to resign yourself to starting over. The missions are not hugely elaborate, but there can be plenty of complications, and you’ll be playing missions over and over just to get things to go your way. The big problem is that Hitman is another one of those games that has abandoned any save function. You literally have to start the mission from the beginning if you die, or choose to "continue” from somewhere else in the level. The prob¬ lem with continuing is that you’ve died as a result of being shot to pieces and respawning in a level full of alert guards out for your blood isn’t always the best alternative. As far as the A1 is concerned, it’s a mixed bag. The way guards are aware of the player is brilliant, and as soon as you pull out a gun, civilians run screaming. Characters’ heads also turn eerily as you walk around, following your every move as if there’s some¬ thing not quite right about your appearance. Once the shit hits the fan, guards call each other for back-up and make some attempts at avoiding your fire, however, they’ll quite happily shoot each other in the back if you line them up properly... unfortunate. The fire-fights are probably one of the games most entertaining aspects, but you’ll actually want to avoid them most of the time. The less attention you draw to yourself the better. That’s not to say that there isn’t a terrific amount of action, and you’ll find it’s pretty tempting sometimes to let loose your frustration and just whack everyone in sight. But the game rewards you more for avoiding the aggressive approach... unless you’re left with no alternatives. The fact that you have to replay mis¬ sions over and over just to come up with a correct solution steals away a lot of Hitman’s fun factor. If more time had been spent on making the missions less strictly linear in structure, Hitman would have been far more successful. PLUS Great graphics, great shoot-outs. Playing dress ups is fun. MINUS A tad repetitive in nature and the lack Hitman is addicthe, but feels a little shallow overall. 00CT0R, I HAVE SPOTS BEFORE MY EYES 63 »HYPER 64 »HYPER reviews» First Person Stealth Shooter EiAos $89.95 M15+ P300. 64Mb RAM. 3D Card P60Q. 25 6Mb RAM, 32Mb 3D card wmrrmmw “RUSTRBORUG? WHAT DDES THAT MEAN?” N THE BEGINNING, COD CREATED JOHN Carmack and his buddies, who creat¬ ed Wolfenstein 3D and then Doom and then Quake. And there was much rejoicing. Other game developers noticed this rejoicing, and soon enough there were more first person shooters on the shelves than there were animals on the Ark. And there was more rejoicing, but not quite as much as before. Different aliens or people to shoot, different settings in which to shoot at them, slightly different weapons to shoot with, and more and more real people to shoot at and be shot by. But it was all getting a little bit stale, and tired, and same-y. The people cried out for something new, something at least slightly different. And lo, the developers (eventually) listened. THIEF WAS GREAT WASN'T IT? Like the dawn of a new and slightly dif¬ ferent age, the new shift in FPS games came along - the re-emergence of the strategic single player game with titles like Half-Life and Thief: The Dark Project. Yea verily, again much rejoic¬ ing ensued, and again other game developers noticed this rejoicement. Counter Strike came out of nowhere to become immensely popular, Delta Force set the standard in realistic combat simulations, and now little known development house Innerloop is wad¬ ing in to the market with Project: IGI. IGI is short for I’m Going In, an apt description really - Tm* meaning ’by my self’ and ’going in’ meaning ’going to take on everyone’. You take on the role of David Llewelyn Jones (a good Welsh name if there ever was one), a retired SAS operative now work¬ ing freelance for the British and American governments. You’re called in when a crazy ex-KGB Colonel decides to add a few bucks to his retirement fund by stealing a nuke and blackmailing the Russian govern¬ ment for $100 million by threatening to make Chernobyl look like a fire in a water factory. So it’s off to Russia we go, as you follow the evil KGB dude around a series of Russian bases to find reviews THAT SPEED SUIT SURE IS POPULAR THAT’S NOT A KNIFE... OH WAIT, YES IT IS ELIOT DOES HIS REST TO SADITAEE THE 20AY EM TRANSMITTER the nuke and stop a very big explosion. Stealth is always very important in your travels, but this is no namby pamby Thief-alike. There are guns aplenty and a body count high enough to rival your average Arnie flick. Innerloop actually went out to a firing range to test out all the weapons avail¬ able in the game just get the authentici¬ ty down right. Generally, you start each mission with only a few guns at your disposal; a Clock 17, a combat knife, and a silenced H8K MP5. Dead enemies don’t have much use for their guns any¬ more, so as you shoot your way through the missions you’ll find yourself making badguy’s brains explode with AK-47’s, Dragunov sniper rifle’s, Spas 12 shot¬ guns, Uzi’s, 'Minimi’ HMG’s, the awe¬ some ’jackhammer’ shotgun, as well as the nifty odd anti-tank weapon such as the LAW 18, proximity mines, flash grenades and more. The realism of the game is quite well implemented. Weapons ’kick’, it’s very easy to die, reloading takes a fair amount of time, enemies hide and duck for cover and sneak up on you, surfaces are accu¬ rate in that you can shoot through thin wood but not concrete, and weapons don’t have a (save for the Dragunov). There are a few issues with the AI being a bit stupid at times, and sometimes they appear from thin air behind you, but for the most part ICI succeeds in evoking a very realistic atmosphere, yet it’s still very enjoy¬ able to play. Innerloop previously developed the flight sim joint Strike Fighter back in 1997, and they have modified the engine from this game for ICI. If you have a powerful enough machine and video card, the detail and polygon count of the characters and your sur¬ rounds is most impressive, and Innerloop have included a slider bar for those encumbered with less than top-of-the-line computers which still provides more than adequate detail and prettiness. NO SAVE OPTION? ARGH! Now, let’s get to the contentious bit - during the missions you are not able to save your game. The argument ’for’ realism and really gets the adrenalin pumping; If you screw up, you die, just as you would on a real mission infiltrating a base filled with enemy soldiers toting machine replaying the same mission over and over and over and over again because you keep dying at the really hard bit near the end actually reduces the realism markedly, and makes the game anything but gripping and adrenaline-laden - in fact just the opposite. With Project ICI, it’s hard to fault the developers for going down the 'no saving’ path; unlimited saves during a game like this really does turn the game into a series of very small encounters and can ruin the fun and the flow of the game completely. However, ICI is a very hard game - it requires a heap of planning through your overhead satellite display, some very fast reflexes and good vision, patience, skill, and at times a lot of luck too. Add to this that the missions are generally quite long, and often what could conceivably be split into two missions (two main sets of objec¬ tives) is set down as one single mis¬ sion. It’s no exaggeration to say that one mission in particular was replayed over forty times by this reviewer. Now, I don’t claim to be the world’s best FPS gamer but I am pretty good, and after starting through the same mission, the same starting enemies walking through the same paths, reacting in the same way, shooting at me from around the same corners...well, my impressions of Project ICI went down¬ hill rapidly. Perhaps save points during missions would have been a good idea, or maybe a limited number of saves during a mis¬ sion might have worked, but as it stands it can become very frustrating BOOM BOOM SHAKE SHAKI THE SCREENSHOT THE OUTER PERIMETER OF HYPER’S REBFERN HQ and does detract from the enjoyment of the game. This is still a top quality game from Innerloop, and Project ICI is an excel¬ lent example of how to meld realistic stealthy action with just plain balls- out shooting fun. If you’re becoming a little bored with just running around various levels in Deathmatch and blasting anything and everything that moves, IGI can provide an almost per¬ fect bridge between the ultra-realistic combat simulations and the fun of, well, just shooting at stuff. Recommended. PLUS It’s bucketloads of fun. yet still quite realistic. MINUS Not being able to save during missions = much frustration and repetitiveness. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAV 82 73 84 OVERALL A great blend of fast paced action with realistic combat elements. 65 »HYPER 66 »HYPER reviews» » Gareth Jones tries to fit into Lara's shorts one last time. It's not a pretty sight. I ■ Next issue in Hyper, we talk to Angelina Jolie herself on the set of the Tomb Raider movie! T he impact of the original tomb Raider (TR) cannot be overesti¬ mated - it is still a landmark title in the history of gaming, and shall ever be so. There were other preceding games that offered the same kind of gameplay, the same sort of experience, but TR was the first to package togeth¬ er a different kind of gameplay to the usual "kill everything that moves, run out the exit” style. It included a raft of puzzles, traps, and challenges geared more towards the thinking gamer rather than "he (or she) who has the best reflexes”. Since the original went on to sell in massive numbers around the world and establish Lara and her two friends as kitschy pop culture celebrities, the Tomb Raider series has gone from strength to strength. Well, in terms of sales, anyway. FIFTH STRIKE AND YOU'RE OUT? For the games themselves, nothing all that radical has changed as Lara evolved into a megastar and the inevitable sequels were pumped out by a now very rich and successful Core Design. For those who have followed Lara through her previous travails, each new game in the series has seemed like coming back to a warm and welcoming environment. Sure, there’s always new maps, enemies, puzzles and challenges - but the premise of the game remains the same, the game engine remains the same (though each incarnation’s engine has been slightly improved), and for the most part the controls and actions remain the same too. Of course, for all that is good about going back to a warm and welcoming game, there’s a downside too. After a while, it can all become a little stale and, well, same-y, and one way to keep players coming back for the sequels is to increase the difficulty of the gameplay. The original TR had its fair share of really hard sections to complete, but since then the series has reviews “CAN'T A Sill NAVE SOME MIVACY?" “THE MATRIX? I'VE NEVER SEEN IT." just gotten harder and harder - the previous in the series, The Last Revelation, was insanely hard in so many places and will have left many a fan more than a little frustrated. So is this, the last Tomb Raider game ever to appear on the PSX, yet harder still? And what’s the deal anyway - Lara and her two forward-mounted friends died in The Last Revelation, didn’t they? Actually, as it turns out...maybe. Well, probably. At least possibly. Oh look, I dunno, ok? It’s all very confusing - there’s a movie, there’s bound to be new TR games for the next-gen con¬ soles, but if you were expecting TR Chronicles to fill you in on just what happened in that Last Revelation you’re going to be disappointed. ZOMBIE CROFT She might have died, she might have made a miraculous escape. It doesn’t really matter to the plotline of Chronicles, you see, because the story is told in a series of flashbacks through Lara’s closest friends. The game begins at Lara’s funeral, at the always magnif¬ icently appointed Crof: Estate, with the aforementioned friends; lean Yves, Winston, and a priest, sitting together and having a chat abojt Lara’s past exploits. Each person relates a different adventure that she bounced her way through as we slowly dissolve, crappy TV sitcom stylie, back :o those exploits, and here the game begins. There are four missions in Chronicles, including one set on 'Black Isle’ in Ireland where a young 16 year old Lara is faced with a horde o: the undead attempting to nibble her with only a priest along for comfort. In a very fami¬ ly friendly move, as yojng Lara you have no access to weapons at all, and you are forced to, well, run away a lot. But also, you’re forced to think through the puzzles and challenge-oriented tasks rather than go around blowing away the bad guys. Strangely, there’s also a decent smattering of horror sequences in this section - hanging 67 »HYPER 68 »HYPER reviBws» PUIS Slightly prettier, a few tweaks here and there, more ef the same good eld Tomb Raidering fim. MINUS More of the same Tomb Raidering fun. Nothing all that new. and even more difficult than those previous. ALWAYS LATINS DOWN ON THE J00 victims swinging in the wind as you pass by, foetid ghouls jumping out from dark corners and so on. Naturally, some of the challenges in this section are very tough, especially the timed challenges where you’re required to execute a series of running, jumping, crawling, ducking and div¬ ing maneuvers within a certain period of time that Core so love to throw in on a regular basis. You’ll have to get pret¬ ty damn used to the high pitched scream of young Lara as she plummets to her death, hit’ing start and selecting 'load game’ and trying again. Still, for veteran Tomb Raiderers you should revel in the challenge, or at least be used to it by now. LARA AND A BOTTLE OF VODKA There’s also a Russian U-Boat to jour¬ ney through, wilh Lara kitted out in her winter military fatigues facing a host of Ruski bad dudes. I liked this section the best of all, mostly because of the James Bond-style feel of the adventure. Rather than pushing an arcane combinaion of switches in some crusty old tomb you get the feel¬ ing that it’s just Lara, secret agent, up against hordes cf nefarious bad dudes with the requisite big bad dude (who in this case actually looks a lot like Davros of Dr Who fame) with plenty of action, running and shooting. There’s even an underwater wetsuit-clad chase and escape scene too. “NOT... COW... PUNT!" BLAM! The movie homage doesn’t end there though, the Tower Block chapter has a distinctly Mission Impossible feel to it, as you wind your way through a futur¬ istic tower block (well, duh!) with a number of puzzles featuring hi-tech alarm systems, robots firing laser thin- gies at you, the odd helicopter buzzing you from above and plenty of sneaky spy-style maneuvers to pull off. Tomb Raider purists won’t be disap¬ pointed though - there’s still some good ’ole tombs to raid, this time in Italy, starting in the Rome Opera House and then moving ever downwards into the good old brown and grey tombs. It’s in this section that you’ll probably notice just how much the graphics have improved and how far the team at Core have pushed the PSX since the original TR. Compared to modern PCs, Dreamcasts and the PS2, the graphics are nothing to write home about, but in terms of what the PSX is capable of Core really have done an exemplary job of making the best of what’s available. Lights pulse and flash, the character movement of both Lara and her ene¬ mies is well done, and the scenery is always pretty to look at too. NO NUDE CODE But, when all is said and done, this is just another Tomb Raider episode (not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course). Slightly better graphics, some new areas to explore and enemies to face, the odd new weapon (includ¬ ing a nifty sniper rifle) and abilities to use but as with the other sequels, it seems more of an upgrade than a stand-alone game. Core still just seem content to milk the very last drop out of the nice and safe franchise rather than push themselves to really give gamers the most they can from the undeniably popular Tomb Raider 'uni¬ verse’. TR Chronicles is good enough to sell in major numbers (and it will, regardless of what this review says), there’s always the pubescent tumes¬ cences of drooling boys with a healthy fascination for large hobbling breasts to market towards, the game is still attractive and approachable to a main¬ stream audience of 'non-serious gamers’, and for those that have bought themselves the first four in the series - well, why stop now? It has to be said though, that if Core really pushed themselves, maybe took a chance and moved the series in a new direction, adding more than just cos¬ metic changes and new levels... sure, they might completely screw it up and end up with a terrible game. But they also might make something wildly bet¬ ter, newer and more enjoyable too. Perhaps the next episode of Tomb Raider, the one with the completely new engine, making use of the power of the next-gen consoles and PCs will be the one that is actually a full blown standalone game. Maybe.B lesm reviews YOB'RE TOO PIIEIATEO TO HIE! » Since Martin English lives in the past, we felt it only fitting he should review this WWII title. L ike many sodden citysiders. after spending a week contending with the longest period of rain Cod has ever spat down on Sydney, I was ready to kill Nazis. Blame the Nazis, I thought. Drench them in a torrent of their own blood, I thought. "Why don’t you just calm down and play Medal of Honor 2 instead?” suggested Eliot. And both myself and disgraced war crimi¬ nal Conrad Kallej are glad I did. NAZIS. I HATE THOSE GUYS. If Medal of Honor (MOH) made you smile, MOH2 will make you grin. If MOH made you frown, maybe you’d better just go off and sit in a corner at the bot¬ tom of a septic tank where you rightly belong. For some odd reason, first per¬ son perspective games on the PlayStation have always had difficulty besting their PC competitors, even when the latter machine couldn’t faithfully reproduce ports of the 32-bit’s third- person action games like Resident Evil. But EA did their darndest to subvert a long standing tradition of First Person bodgyness with MOH and the sequel successfully builds upon its appeal, this time including a multiplayer mode. If ever there’s been a good excuse to murder your fellow human being, it’s in the context of war. And plugging the enemy with bullets in MOH2 is very fun indeed. Although the concept of subjectively selecting a limb or torso and, ahem, popping a cap in it may be poached from Goldeneye, it pro¬ vides just as much evil joy here and is a feature that should be henceforth included in every single videogame to be produced. Ever. Even future Pokemon titles. Especially future Pokemon titles. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, the killing. Enemies may be shot in the head, legs, arms, the ever- popular groin, and my personal favourite, the armpit. You start off as the sister of a resis¬ tance member in occupied France working to hijack a truck full of arms. When the whole thing turns fouler than the idea of kissing Juan Antonio Samaranch on the anus, you’re forced to carry on taking orders from HQ and see plenty of action in due course. Fighting your way through hordes of bloodthirsty Nazis, all wishing they had the same kind of armour that allows you to take repeated shots to the chest and face, it’s obvious that EA aren’t looking to confront gamers with anything new. With respect to AI, MOH2 is a mixed bag of tricks. Most of the time the enemy will act as though it had a reasonable zest for life. Once spotted, you can expect the Nazi scum to run to the near¬ est corner and duck, poking their guns around the corner for the occasional pot shot and dive out the way when you shoot back. Sometimes though, they act with suicidal stupidity, ignoring spurts of gunfire and explosions that should probably arouse the concern of a trained killer. They may even watch you re-load and fire, as if learning how to do it for the first time themselves. Graphical glitches spring up in unusu¬ al places too. Some programmers at EA have decided to screw with physics - leaving bullet holes lingering in mid-air, permitting the walls to bend and allow¬ ing the player to suffer epileptic fits when the clipping messes up their crawl space. Aside from these marginal oversights, for which I blame the Nazis under EA’s employ, the game gives you a firm taste of what a marvelous time one can have while engaged in warfare. ■ PLUS Mere ef that good Medal of Honor gameplay. MINUS The PlayStation is aging every day. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY OVERALL Awww shoot - it’s a stiflin’ rifle-run. 69 »HYPER 70 »HYPER reviews» Kevin Cheung makes sure there's no T-Rex on the soundtrack... “NICE DIHO. NIIIICE DINO. R esident evil meets iurassic park. That’s the basic idea behind Shinji Mikami’s Dino Crisis. While it innovated the genre of survival horror somewhat by making the backgrounds completely polygonal (thus making camera movement possible), numerous questions still remained as to whether it was too much of a straight rip-off of Mikami’s more well-known series, Resident Evil. With criticism in hand, Capcom have come back with a surpris¬ ingly well-thought out sequel. DINO CRISIS: THE LOST WORLD Dino Crisis 2 picks up a short while after the conclusion of the original game. The search for the third energy revolution continues in earnest, but not without the unfortunate consequence of the entire island facility being overrun by prehis¬ toric reptilian beasts. How dinosaurs and fuel have anything to do with each other is anyone’s guess. With the entire complex compro¬ mised, the Tactical Reconnoitering and Acquisition Team (TRAT for short) is sent to mop up and rescue any sur¬ vivors. Unfortunately, a pack of veloci- raptors get the jump on our intrepid soldiers and they are all shredded into lunchmeat, with the exception of two who managed to get away. They are Regina and Dylan, the former having been the star of the original Dino Crisis. Almost perfectly mirroring the plot of James Cameron’s Aliens, the rescue mission turns into a desperate race for our two survivors to get off the island with their hides intact. Those of you who are familiar with the Resident Evil games and the original reviews PLUS Excellent new game design, loads of things to shoot. The visuals are great. The PSone ain't dead yet. Net a very long game, but not surprising for a shooter. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 87 88 88 different levels on the vertical plane. There are even some special effects worth stop¬ ping to admire, like the mist that hangs low in the rainforest area. But no matter how serious Capcom tries to make the events, it’s impossi¬ ble not to laugh at some deliberate game-related quirks that stick out from the congruity of the rest of the package. Strategically placed medi- paks in the middle of the forest, keys from two separate buildings that acti¬ vate a switch on the other side of the complex to unlock a door elsewhere, a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a Phantom of the Opera complex... it’s not meant to be taken too seriously. Nobody expected the Dino Crisis series to take a turn in design of this nature. It’s fast, it’s frantic, sometimes scary, and excellent shooting fun. Capcom were smart in doing away with the lethargic process of suspense thrills through cinematography, as dinosaurs theoretically aren't slow movers like zombies. Too bad the game is a little on the short side, but like all good shoot 'em up games, there’s definite value to be had in replaying the game for a better performance. ■ OVERALL 88 An nice variation on the survival horror formula. Dino Crisis 2 is a worthy sequel. Dino Crisis will be in for a shock: this game is very fast. The game switches between controlling Dylan and Regina as progress as made, with the basic goal of each level being to get from point A to point B without being killed. The backgrounds have gone from polygonal to pre-rendered. Each time your character moves on to a new background screen, or if an old screen refreshes, the CPU will send three or four hungry dinos your way, which you have to kill or avoid. With the right shoulder button depressed, the Square button will fire your primary weapon, typically a high-powered shotgun. The circle button activates your secondary weapon - for Dylan it’s a fat Cherka knife, for Regina it’s an electric prod. To facilitate the speed, the R2 button can be used to instantaneously spin 180 degrees. Pressing the Ri button in preparation TAKE THE PS2 CHALLENGE Fot best visual results, anyone who has one should play Dino Crisis 2 on a PlayStation 2 with smooth textures switched on. Especially against a pre-rendered background, the smoother polygonal characters are much easier on the eyes and generally more enjoyable. On a straight PSone, the dithering and rendering creates an awful blur-o- vision effect during certain animations. of shooting a dinosaur will also auto¬ matically target the nearest enemy. DO YOU THINK BRONTOSAURUS? From a design and presentation per¬ spective, Dino Crisis 2 is not an adven¬ ture game, at least not in the same style as its predecessor. In each sec¬ tion, players rack up points for every dinosaur killed. More points are awarded for combos (killing consecu¬ tive dinosaurs without being hurt) and counters (shooting a dinosaur just before it gets you). These points can be traded as virtual cash at the various save points in the game, where you can purchase medipaks, ammunition refills, extra clips, and new weapons. The focus is therefore on your skills and reflexes as you mow down the rep¬ tilian hordes, while at the same time keeping tabs on your ammo. The fact that this skill is rewarded with better weapons of destruction suggests that Dino Crisis 2 is in fact a shoot’em up game with a decent story and a few basic puzzles to solve. The move from polygonal to pre¬ rendered backgrounds wasn’t a bad move at all. In fact, the artistry that’s gone into them creates a much more believable atmosphere than the warp¬ ing, pixellated surroundings of the original. Trees and shrubbery cleverly hide the entry points of the dinosaurs, who run and jump ferociously across 71 »HYPER 72 »HYPER reviewsn ESX AVAILABLE: Nov CATEBORY: Vehicle Combat PLAYERS: 1-2 PUBLISHER: LutasAftS PRICE: T8A RATINE: M A VEHICULAR-BASED COMBAT TITLE SET in the Star Wars universe is an odd decision. Sure, the Star Wars characters and vehicles are damn cool, but the thought of a Battle Tank going up against a bounty hunter on a speeder bike just sounds... wrong. A Snowspeeder up against a Landspeeder? How would that work? I mean, it’s implausible even for a space fantasy universe. Well this is a videogame, so we’ll let them get away with it. But what we won’t forgive them for, is thinking that we’ll just suck down this uninspired game because it has Star Wars slapped on it. ANGER LEADS TO BEER Luxoflux wrapped up their Vigilante 8 engine and stuck it in a postpak to LucasArts who then decided to turn it into a Star Wars combat game. On paper, this sounds like it could be truly cool. Unfortunately, the real world result is that LucasArts have virtually done nothing new with the engine. If JABBA LIKES TO LET IT ALL NANE OUT you’ve played Vigilante 8, you’ve played Demolition, you just have to deal with the fact that Vigilante 8’s music wasn’t as cool. Seeing as this is arena-based com¬ bat, you would assume that your "vehicle” - whether it be Aurra Sing’s Swoop Bike or Wade Vox’s Landspeeder - would be well equipped to tackle the fast-paced chaos that will ensue. Unfortunately, the controls seem clum¬ sy, and due to the absence of reverse or strafing controls, it can be a pretty frustrating game in the thick of it. The controls are really only part of the problem, as the weapons and powerups don’t really do anything ter¬ ribly interesting to the game. The weapon effects are all visual, as opposed to actually changing the way you approach each different vehicle during combat. In each vehicle, you can charge up your main laser to four different settings. It takes a while to charge up your guns, so you must decide whether to pepper the enemy R2 HITCHES A RIDE I ■ LucasArts still have Super Bombad Racing on the way for a variety of platforms. It’s looking like super-deformed-head kart racing, Star Wars style... A BATHE TANK LAYS THE SMACKDOWN ON A HAPLESS PASSING GUNGAN with weak laser fire or take a risk by saving up for your ’’special”. Most of the specials home in to some degree, so it’s not always a wasted shot if you’re a little off target. Actually, things can get so chaotic when there are more than two combatants, that there’s more luck involved in the com¬ bat than there should be. What seems to play best in Demolition is when you’re simply having a show-down against one other opponent, so with that in mind, the two-player game has some merit. This is the only way you can truly be tactical in combat. A bunch of different play modes help to offer some variety. Battle (straight out carnage), Tournament (a series of duels), High Stakes (betting credits on yourself to win) and Hunt-A-Droid (blast as many droids within the time limit) are all varia¬ tions on the same concept. Zoom around and try to survive your assailants. BEER LEADS TO SUFFERING In terms of sound and visuals, the Star Wars feel has been captured well, which certainly makes it harder for a hardcore fan to resist the temptation to play the game for hours just to unlock the extra reviews STILL THE MAN... OR HELMET AS THE CASE MAY BE THE HOOD-MOUNTED TRACTOR BEAM FINALLY PAYS Off vehicles. LucasArts do know how to bring the Star Wars universe to life very well, and the detail in the vehicles, sounds, music and arenas is great for fans, but the novelty wears off as soon as you play the game for extended periods of time. The fun factor simply isn’t there and the PlayStation just can’t handle the visuals well enough. The texture draw-in is pret¬ ty shoddy, and if you look just ahead of your vehicle you can see the detail liter¬ ally popping up in front of you. There’s no doubt the Dreamcast version will be a lot better than this. We hope. In any event, Star Wars: Demolition isn’t inter¬ esting or innovative in any sense of the word and whilst it’s okay for short bursts of gaming, you’ll be casting this one aside pretty quickly. Now that LucasArts have cancelled Obi-Wan on PC, and after experiencing their last few Star Wars titles, it seems that they really don’t know what to do with the license any more which is kinda sad. ■ US NTSC VERSION USED FOR THIS REVIEW PUIS Star Wars in fill effect. MINUS Frnstratiig. dull aid uneriginal. VISUALS SOUNI GAMEPLAY 72 82 65 OVERALL 70 Even hardcore Star Wars fans may find it hard sticking with this one. 73 »HYPER 74 »HYPER reviews» HE MR. WHIPPY, OIE! DISGRUNTLED READERS RAID THE HYPER OFFICE » Stephen Farrelly never says neverto a Bond game... HEY, I THODGHT YOU SAII YOU WOBIDH’T PISS ON HIM IF HE WAS DH FIRE W ELL IT FINALLY HAPPENED. AFTER years of complaining about the lack of a follow-up to the successful Goldeneye on the N64, Bond fans finally have another 007 game to sink their teeth into. Does it stack up to the standards set by Rare? Read on to find out. IN THE BEGINNING There is no question that Rare is one of the best developers in the world. The success of their titles is proof enough, but none of their games have quite stood the test of time like their genre shaping Goldeneye. Rare set the stan¬ dard for first person shooters in the console market with this landmark game, adding mission objectives and a level of stealth and cunning that had never been truly utilised in games before. It wasn't the mechanics howev¬ er, that made Goldeneye the classic that it is. It was lames Bond that boost¬ ed its charm. The idea of being the immortal James Bond was too much for gamers to pass up and once word had gotten out that Goldeneye was one of the best first person shooters avail¬ able...well you know the rest! The Turok series tried to encapsulate Rare’s features within its own polygo¬ nal worlds, only to ultimately fall short of the pedestal Goldeneye had been erected upon. The Quake games never translated very well to consoles as with Duke and Hexen. It wasn’t until Rare themselves released their follow-up title, Perfect Dark, that Goldeneye was shifted from the number one spot (although many fans of Coldeneye will dispute that last statement). Perfect Dark had all of Goldeneye’s extras plus a ton of it’s own, but the game was still missing that all important element that Goldeneye had... it was missing James Bond. Rare had been offered the license to Tomorrow Never Dies only to turn it down in favour of furthering develop¬ ment of their own creation. Thus TND finished up on the PSX and left a sour taste in the mouths of anyone that had reviews MULTIPLAYER MADNESS No N64 first person shooter, and especially one carrying the Bond license, is complete without a multiplayer game. TWINE offers a series of cool scenarios, weapons, gadgets and levels for you to kill your friends in, as well as the ability to unlock character skins in the single player game. Scenarios include: ARENA which is a basic combat stage with no real objectives other than winning. TEAM ARENA The same as arena but with teams of two vs. two. CAPTURE THE FLAG Two teams once again. Each team must go out and steal the other team's flag. Bringing the flag back to your own start point scores your team points. CAPTURE THE BRIEFCASE The same as capture the flag, only if your briefcase is gone when you return the stolen one no points are given. KING OF THE HILL A scenario where a coloured area of the level is the 'hill*. Stay in this area for a certain amount of time while fending off enemies will award you points. TEAM KING OF THE HILL Same as king of the hill only with two teams. UPLINK Three uplink units will be scattered throughout a level and two teams will have to seek them out. Touching the uplink means that it is in your team’s possession. Try and maintain possession of all of the uplinks to win. LAST AGENT STANDINC Each player has a set number of lives. Once all your lives are gone you’re out of the scenario. Try to be the last agent standing. GOLDEN GUN Not too unlike the Goldeneye version of this scenario, players have to seek out the golden lighter, golden cigarette case and the golden pen, once all of these are in your possession you can get the Golden gun, which of course has a lethal one-shot kill. ... , HERE, IET ME” ADJUST" YOUR TIE EDI YOU ANOTHER HITMAN WANNABE been swept away with the brilliance of Goldeneye. Bond fans were scream¬ ing for another N64 incarnation. The success of the films the games were based upon ushered the need to cre¬ ate another Bond movie, starring the one and only James Bond, Pierce Brosnan (that’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it!) in The World Is Not Enough. MGM/UA once again approached Rare about furthering their Goldeneye success, but work on Perfect Dark was too far gone to begin development on another game. EA snapped up the license and recruited the talented Eurocom to see if they couldn’t cash in on the success of the million plus seller, Goldeneye. GUNS, CARS AND GIRLS Right from the word go, it’s apparent that Eurocom studied the Goldeneye game very closely. Using Rare’s mas¬ terpiece as a template was the first step in trying to better it. This is conveyed in the game very obviously as the engine plays almost e