$ 6.95 GST NZ $8.95gsi N-GAGE PLAYTEST How does it shape up? MIDDLE-EARTH ONLINE One really big fellowship... RHIN NO PAIN - NO GAME FEEL THE PAIN with unique SuperStar abilities. SEE THE PAIN in incredible detail as blood spatters the canvas. BEAT THE PAIN into submission with location spécifie damage and the best grappling System ever devised. But that ain't ail! Bra and Panties matches, blood matches, SuperStar voice overs, enhanced season modes and the most realistic W graphies to date mean if you don't get this game you won't be feeling no pain. W 'Rlayitation.E november 2003 World ïreatling Bstartaloant' www.thq.co.uk/wwe -- The names of ail World Wrestling Entertainment televised and frv£ programming. talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves and ail World Wrestling Entertainment logos are trademarks which are the exclusive property of World Wrestlmg Entertainment, Inc. © 2003 World Wrestling Entertainment. Inc. Alt Rights Reserved Game and software ©2003 THQ/JAKKS Pacific, LLC. Used under exclusive license by THQ/JAKKS Pacific LLC. JAKKS Pacific and the JAKKS Pacific logo are trademarks ol JAKKS Pacific Inc. THQ and the THd logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. Alt Rights Reserved. V Playstation 2 RHIN !^v. . •I MAM r: -J h r __j V . • • f» x S; * . V - * ». • • * .* " * High-impact, motion-captured combat Infiltrate exotic, dangerous locations Marshall Flinkman-designed spy gadgets BAS ED ON AN ORIGINAL STORY FROM THE CREATORS OF THE SMASH HIT TV SERIES FEATURING JENNIFER GARNER M15+ Acclaim ® & © 2003 Acclaim Entertainment. Ail Rights Reserved. Alias © 2003 Touchstone Télévision. Ail Rights Reserved. Playstation and Playstation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft. Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and are used under licence from Microsoft. Multi-opponent. hand-to-hand action Intense caméra work from multiple angles She’s a stealth bombshell with spy skills. A covert agent with kung-fu moves. For Sydney Bristow life is the deadliest of games—one of infiltration espionage and action. Now her mission is yours. Go deep into her dangerous world and unlock the secrets behind TV s hottest sensation. 4«lqim PlayStation,2 www.acclaim.com Playstation 2 Al 1 VM s* nLlnCl 4«laim ! THEY JUST KILLED CASH. NOW THEY WANT TO Kl LL HIM AGAIN.- AMERICA IS FULL OF RUN DOWN, 8R0KEN RUST-BELT TOWNS WHERE NOBODY CARES AND ANYTHING GOES. IN CARCER CITY, NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE AND ALL THAT'S LEFT ARE CHEAF THRILLS. THE ULTIMATE RUSH IS THE POWER TO GRANT LIFE AND TAKE IT AWAY, FOR SPORT. THIS TIME JAMES EARL CASH, YOU ARE THE SPORT. THEY GAVE YOU YOUR LIFE BACK. NOW, THEY ARE GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN. YOU AWAKE TO THE SOUND OF YOUR OWN PANICKED BREATH. YOU MUST RUN, H IDE AND FIGHT TO SURVIVE. IF YOU CAN STAY AU VE LONG ENOUGH, YOU MAY FlND OUT WHO DID THIS TO YOU. THE FIN Playstation 2 © 2003 Rockstar Games. Inc. Manhunt and the Manhunt logo Rockstar Games. Rockstar North and the R. logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take Two Interactive Software Rockstar Games and Rockstar North are subs.i les ôf Take-Two Interactive Software. Inc Ail olher marks and trademarks are properties of their respective ovvners Ail Rights Reserved. Playstation" and the 'PS Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc 52 PRINCE OF PERSIA The pinnacle of 3D action? Contente» 10 Editorial 12 News 18 Feature Interview SquareEnix reveal the reasoning behind Final Fantasy X-2 22 Previews Tribes Vengeance, Alias, Donkey Konga and lots more 34 Feature Interview We find out what’s going on over at Rare studios 40 Hardware Our N-Gage review and some of the latest mobile phones 44 Win Win Win 46 Reviews 92 GBA Reviews Sword of Mana, Mario £ Luigi, Top Gear Rally £ Prince of Persia 94 Classics An update on the Abandonware scene 98 Net Trawlin' Hook up with your friends online to save Middle-Earth 102 DVDs& Anime 106 Subscriptions Win an awsome Xbox Beast bundle 108 Forum "What game are you most looking forward to, and why?” 110 Mail 113Games Charts 114 Next Issue REVIEW INDEX 48 Pro Evolution Soccer 3 52 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 54 FIFA 2004 56 True Crime 58 Secret Weapons Over Normandy 60 Glad ius 62 Dog's Life 63 Freedom Fighters 64 SSX 3 66 Project Gotham Racing 2 68 Amped 2 70 Rainbow Six 3 72 Armed & Dangerous 74 Grabbed by the Ghoulies 76 XIII 78 Max Payne 2: The Foll of Max Payne 80 Hidden & Dangerous 2 82 Mario Kart: Double Dashü 84 Star Wars: Rebel Strike 86 Age of Mythology: Titans 86 Group-S Challenge 86 SWAT Global Strike Team 88 Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds 88 Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death 88 The Simpsons Hit & Run 90 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu 90 EyeToy Groove 90 NHL Hitz Pro 92 Sword of Mana 92 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 93 Top Gear Rally Advance 93 Prince of Persia GBA HYPER» 9 HYPER » ISSUE 123 JANUARY 2004 WRITE TO HYPER! 78 Renwick St, Redfern NSW 2016, Australia Ph: (02) 9699 0333 Fax: (02) 9310 1315 E-mail: freokscene@nexf.com.ou EDITORIAL Editor: Eliot Fish Deputy Editor: Cam Shea Art Director. Malcolm Campbell ADVERTISING Advertising Manager: Mathew Price E-mail: mathew@next.com.au Ph: (02) 9699 0349 Fax: (02) 93102012 SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription Co-ordinator: Mark Tesoriero For ail Subscription enquiries phone: (02) 9699 0320 Email: subs@next.com.au Being in charge has its perks, but you also hâve to dô stupid shit. MANAGEMENT Publisher: Phillip Keir Finance Director: Théo Fatseas Operations Manager: Melissa Doyle National Sales Director: Sue Ostler E-mail: sue@next.com . ou Ph: (02) 9699 0346 PRODUCTION Production Co-ordinator: Monique Layt E-mail: moniquel@next.com.au Ph: (02) 9699 0300 Fax: (02) 9310 2012 IT Support: Fahri Cantas Printed CTP by: WEBSTAR Distribution by: Gordon & Gotch Customer Service Ph: 1300 65 0666 Fax: 1300 65 0777 CONTRIBUTORS Jackson Gothe-Snape, March Stepnik, Daniel Wilks, Daniel Staines, Frank Dry, Kosta Andreadis, Brett Robinson, Philip Kenan, Minanda, Vornander and Kelsen. Ail copyrights reserved by Next Publishing Pty Ltd ACN 002 647 645 ISSN 1320-7458 Before you flip through this issue in disbelief... Yes, I know that there are a swag of big games not reviewed this month. It was one of those crazy Novembers when ail the good stuff arrived too late to make it in print (we finish Hyper up about 4 weeks before you read it every month). Sadly, it means that there's a crate-load of cool reviews piled up for next issue, even though you can probably go out and buy the games now... Tony Hawk's Underground, Call of Duty, Beyond Good & Evil, Deus Ex: Invisible War (probably out by the time you read this, damnit!), Castlevania: Lament of Innocence and a whole lot more. But hey, you care enough about our opinions to wait for the reviews next issue, right? Right?! Waaah! We could hâve reviewed them in an unfinished State, but that just wouldn't hâve been right... ahh we're so good to you, dear readers. In any case, next issue will be just as bumper as this one. Hâve a great Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate, and see you then! Eliot Fish >> Editor Become a local hero...at the expense of your mates Microsoft Project Gotham Race your Enzo Ferrari around the streets of Sydney in Project Gotham Racing 2. Shred the slopes of Mount Buller in Amped 2. Wipe your opponents off the court like only Lleyton Hewitt can in Top Spin. With over 230 games now available on Xbox, these three provide a blend of mind blowing game play and exhilarating Australian flavour. Expérience what it feels like to defeat your friends on home turf. ^fROjccjSomm arx s of icrosoft Game Sfactas logo Xbox of actual comoanies and products Enzo Ferrari drstinctive designs are trademarks of Ferrari S aiion 'C2003 Microsoft Corporation Ail r>gnts reserved Micr< J trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the îspective owners. > p.A Saleen ? ait its vehtde names and thetr osolt. Project Gotham Racmg. PGR Amped rtu United States andto other countnes The nam Ferran. Enzo Ferra.'* ail assooated logos, and the Saleen Inc. used under lioense to Microsoft Corpor Xbox bve. and the Xbox togos are either registere mentaned herem may be the trademarks of rhecr r< ifs good to play together xbox.îom.au 1 2 HYPER» News» PSP ■ Xbox 2 ■ Cadbury Mario Kart Double Dash Challenge report ■ Splinter Cell 2 multiplayer screens and more SONY'S PSP REVEALED Prototype design surprises ail ■■^■■^Sony’s Playstation Portable ■“ ■" (PSP for short) was unveiled in mid-November by the head of Sony’s games division, Ken Kuturagi, at their Corporate Strategy Meeting in New York. Whilst only a render of a prototype design, it is likely very close to what the final handheld will look like (otherwise they wouldn’t hâve shown anyone this design, surely). Sleek is most definitely the word. DESTINED FOR SUCCESS just take a look at that screen. That is the biggest, widest, coolest screen we’ve ever seen on a handheld (roughly 4 inches across), and if the final product is this impressive then we’ll be a bunch of very happy gamers indeed. The next thing that grabs our attention are the fiat buttons and directional pad. Whilst the standard Playstation buttons look like they will click in softly, or possibly even be touch sensitive, the d-pad is perplexing. It was reported that the device would feature an analogue stick of some kind, and yet it doesn’t appear to be possible in this incarnation. In any case, it also seems odd that the d-pad is situated on one of the side curves of the unit, which again only leads us to believe that it is either touch- sensitive or that this design is indeed yet to be finalised. We’re not certain where the 1.8GB UMD dises will be inserted, but it seems that on the rear of the handheld, the central area emblazoned with the logo might slip off as does the back of a mobile phone. You can see the fine line indents on either side of the logo which indicate a moveable section. Kuturagi also stated that Sony eventually plan to add "télécommunication features", which could well be the deathblow to the Nokia N-Gage. "PSP will not be one kind of product," Kutaragi insisted. "Rather, it is a platform of related devices with the capacity to add or subtract features." Whichever way you look at it, the PSP seems destined for success - riding on the Playstation name and coming from the consumer electronics giant that is Sony, it really could be the gaming équivalent of the Walkman. BOXOF CHIPS IBM & ATI help out with Xbox 2 a m m u m m Everyone wants to know ■ B ■“ what Xbox 2 will be like, but the reality is that the console is so early in the design phase that no one really knows anything yet... except for the Microsoft boffins of course. What we DO know, is that Microsoft plan on designing their own custom chips this time around. With the first Xbox, Intel and graphies giant Nvidia sold chips to Microsoft that were based on semiconductors those two manufacturers were selling to the PC market. This off-the-shelf technology then allowed uber- geeks to turn their Xboxs into custom PCs or hack the ‘box more easily. With Xbox 2, Microsoft has licensed graphies technology from ATI (who provided graphies technology for the GameCube), processor technology from IBM (who are also partnering with Sony on PS3) and chipset technology from Silicon Integrated Systems (SIS). Microsoft will now use that technology to fashion their own custom Xbox 2 hardware, which will ensure that more power can be squeezed out of the System. Expect to hear a lot more on both Xbox 2 and PS3, and hopefully the next Nintendo System, in 2004. EA EAOHHHH EA promise to Live a little % \As gamers everywhere hâve ■" ■" discovered, EA’s games this Christmas feature multiplayer support for only the Playstation 2. Despite Xbox Live offering the more advanced online console gaming service, EA has declined to include support for the System in their games — a decision that seems to be doing them more harm than good. Sony might be happy, but consumers are livid. Articles on IGN (www.ign.com) decry the lack of Live support and Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) wrote, "While multiplatform games provide at least the illusion of choice, antics like this completely pierce that notion. The Xbox and GameCube • • • versions are incomplète.” In the midst of ail this madness, Chip Lange, the new head of EA Sports Nation spoke to IGN and promised that "...both Microsoft and EA, if you talked to them, would say that we’re hoping that we can figure out a solution so we can get there. There’s certainly no bad blood there, and the good thing is, we’re talking.” Of course, that still leaves out the GameCube, however with no online gaming service for the Nintendo console it might be fair enough that it’s not in EA’s plans. At least we can cross our fingers and hope that we’ll be playing EA Sports games on Xbox Live in 2004. Right, EA? CONSOLE RUMOURS Nintendo promise a new machine soon! m m m m m m Nintendo are preparing to ■* ■* unveil a brand new gaming product at the E3 expo in Los Angeles next year (that’s in May to be exact). But they insist that it is not a new version of the Game Boy Advance or the GameCube! What is this mysterious new gaming device that Nintendo hâve been secretly working on, and can it help resurrect their dominance in the console market? Nintendo promise it is unlike anything we hâve seen to date. This new console will launch in japan next year, and already gamers everywhere are salivating at the thought of what they could be playing next year! WINNERS Hyper 121 COLIN MCRAE RALLY 04 josh Hobbs, QLD Ben Wynn, NSW Brian Binskin, NSW Jason Hopkins, SA Scott Emerton, NSW AIRSTYLE CONTROLLER Darren Chong, NSW Martin Yeaman, NT Brendan McKeown, SA Keiran Stibbard, NSW Marco Brunato, NSW Fred Cox, QLD Chris Stanwix, TAS Simon Beiers, NSW Ryan McLoughlin, VIC Patrick Pigett, NSW CAPTION THIS! Corne on, make us laugh. Do your best. You can do it! Just send your funny screen captions to us at captionthis@next.com.au with Caption This Part 51 in the subject line. Whahaha HYPER» 13 14 HYPER» NEWS » [right] Our winner, Maurice, is the poor bloke getting his butt pinched by Mario CADBURY MARIO KART DOUBLE DASH CHALLENGE The winner reports in... It’s not often that I get to spend the weekend being flown to Melbourne, staying in a class hôtel, and getting chauffeured around town, so winning Hyper’s recent Mario Kart Double Dash Challenge compétition was a pant- wettingly exciting situation to be in. Sightseeing aside though, my trip was ail about one thing; getting to play one of the hottest unreleased games of the year, and on Sunday, i9th of October, Nintendo’s Mario Kart Double Dash challenge gave me that chance. SLIGHTLY FRIGHTENING The day of the challenge itself was cold and wet, but it hardly seemed to matter. Plenty of locals turned up, and the venue (Village Cinémas Knox) was bustling with anxious gamers ail clamouring to get their hands on Mario Kart Double Dash. To say that the game was well received would be an understatement. Attendees crowded the CameCube demo units in gobsmacked awe, and even other high profile unreleased titles such as F-Zero CX and Rogue Squadron III didn’t get a look in while the new Mario Kart was on offer. After playing it for some time myself it’s fair to say that Double Dash certainly seems to be a real return to form for the sériés, feeling much more similar to the SNES Mario Kart than its 64-bit équivalent. After managing to pry their hands free of the demo units, the competitors were ushered into their seats and prepared for the challenge. Those who’ve seen the Super Mario Bros 3 tournament in Fred Savage’s "The Wizard” will hâve a reasonably accurate, if slightly frightening mental picture of just how the compétition played out from this point onwards. Taking their places in front of the massive 28 métré wide V-Max screen, the competitor’s raced four at a time, shelling and banana peeling their way to the finish line, with the fastest lap time securing the winner’s spot in the quarter finals, then the semi finals and so forth. Or at least that was the idea. >> Maurice Branscombe Somewhere between the opening heats and quarterfinals the timekeepers seemed to lose it, placing many racers that performed poorly into the finals and leaving some of the better racers out of the compétition. Within seconds of the announcement more than half of the cinéma had lined up at the announcer’s desk to complain. Being quick to act Nintendo let some of the most irate ejectees back into the comp, narrowly avoiding causing a riot of Coke and Triple Decker addled youngsters. Once the rabble had dispersed the tournament continued without further controversy. Taking out the top spot was 22 year-old Stephen Macrae, whom the MCs had dubbed "the barefoot bandit”, owing to him playing out the whole compétition without footwear. With that the lights dimmed, the MCs bid us ail farewell, and the compétition, and an unforgettable expérience, came to a close. Many thanks to Nintendo and Hyper for making it happen. I owe you one. [below] Maurice and Challenge winner Stephen "Barefoot Bandit" Macrae EW THIS XMAS - Pummel opponents - k with,ouerJ5,weapons ,Race.l8 A mmd : bendmg tracks, fjjm 0 , i x ‘£ 3 * * #7 , y 16 HYPER» NEWS » HELLO FROM NINTENDO Just dropping by to say hi... our recent trip to Japan to ■■ ■" visit the Tokyo Game Show and hang out at SquareEnix, the Hyper crew dropped by Nintendo HQ to drop off a copy of Hyper’s loth Birthday issue and a copy of sister- publication, GBA world to none other than Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Here you can see the friendly guard on duty at the Nintendo main gâte happily clutching our Aussie gaming goodness. Moments later, Shiggy pulled up in a red (Nintendo coloured?) van. Coolness! FASHION CONSCIOUS GAMERS Handbaas for your handhelas ■■^■■^The English leather specialist, ■" ■" Mulberry, hâve manufactured an exclusive leather "carry case” for the Game Boy Advance SP in the UK. The case sells for £49 at selected Mulberry stores in England, and will no doubt be snapped up by British gamers desperate to disguise their geekiness as a fashion accessory. Or something. Check it out! Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow Xbox Developer: Ubi Soft Montreal Publisher: Ubi Soft # SEGA SELLS ROMS New online service for 16-bit dassics V-. Over in japan, gamers continue to get their hands on some ■" ■" pretty damn cool offers. The latest is news that Sega has started an online service called "Sega Came Hompo” for distributing ROMs of their old 16-bit games! For the cheap monthly rate of about AUS$i2, users will be able to download an unlimited number of ROMs, with 30 games available at launch and 10 new games added every month. Sega also plan on offering forums and chat functions for retro- gaming enthusiasts to meet and discuss classic console games, amongst other planned subscriber services. The games available on Hompo at launch are: i6t, Alien Storm, Arrow Flash, Bonanza Brothers, Chakan: The Forever Man, Doki Doki Penguin Land, E-SWAT, Ecco the Dolphin, G-LOC, Golden Axe II, Cunstar Heroes, Hyper Marble, Jewel Master, Labyrinth of Mystery, Party Quiz Mega Q, Phantasy Star II, Puddle Fighter, Putter Golf, Puyo Puyo, Shadow Dancer, Shining in the Darkness, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic £ Knuckles, Sonic Race, Space Harrier II, Super Thunder Blade, Sword of Vermilion and The Ooze . Naturally, the big question well ail want to know is whether Sega will offer this service outside of japan. Well, typically, at this stage it looks like it will exist for japanese gamers only, but we would like to think that this kind of service will also start to catch on with other games publishers. It’s nice to see that at least Sega are aware that old games are still worth caring about. \l/ FFlESS 2F STGFiT BLITTGN CFlEDITS -4 Rockstar’s Manhunt will support the PS2 USB headset. Whilst the game doesn’t feature voice support or online functions, using the headset with the game will resuit in the Director’s commentary to your player going directly through your headset, making the expérience that much more "personal”. Cool. SquareEnix are releasing a new PS2 Action RPG in Japan called Fullmetal Alchemist. Not exactly a triple A title from the SquareEnix crew, but it would still be nice to see this get a local release. Trinity, the first person shooter to be published by Activision next year, has now officially been cancelled, along with a sequel to Street Hoops and another Shaun Palmer’s Pro Snowboarder title. Oh well, we'll live... Final Fantasy XII, the long-awaited continuation of the beloved sériés, has unfortunately slipped from its mid-2004 japan release date to late 2004 or possibly even an early 2005 Japan release, meaning (based on the previous FF games and their PAL release dates) we won’t see it here in Aus until either late 2005 or early 2006! Arggh! Nintendo has already shipped approximately 5 million copies of Pokémon Ruby £ Sapphire in japan. Zounds! Rockstar hâve confirmed that a brand new Grand Theft Auto game (will we possibly see San Andréas as predicted?) will be released for the Playstation 2 at the end of 2004. Meanwhile, we’re waiting for the Xbox GTA double pack to be released locally... Playstation E I www.easportsrugby.com © 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. Electron» Arts. EA SPORTS and the EA SPORTS logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. andor other countries. Ail Rights Reserved PREVIEW » muai DETAILS CATEGORY: RPG / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: SquareEnix AVAILABLE: 2004 / All-female lead characters. Faster battles. Outfits that act as job classes. Mission based adventure. A true sequel. Hyper travelled to Tokyo, Japon to meet up with the Division One Développaient Team at SquarèEnix HQ to talk about Final Fantasy X-2 - the first Final Fantasy game to revisit.a, pretàously told story - to get the low down allblacks.com Was it the director’s idca to make a sequel, or was it the scénario writer’s idea to make a sequel - to do more with the story? NK; We had no intention of making a sequel to Final Fantasy X in the first place. Final Fantasy X International was released in Japan, which had a bonus dise called the Eternal Calm, which featured a really short épisode concerning Yuna and what happened after she defeated Sin. But around that time the company asked if we could make a sequel to FFX, and that’s when we started moving - thinking of ideas, what we thought we should include in FFX-2. What’s the biggest challenge with making a sequel and not a stand-alone Final Fantasy? MT The first challenge was making For example? r K Well, since the big boss of FFX — Sin - was defeated, there were no big bosses to defeat anymore. That was one obvious challenge. Well, we didn’t hâve much problem in building the main flow of the story itself. But since there are Division One Development Team members présent: [left] Motomu Toriyamo - Director, gives direction to the entire team, but his main concern is the event section of FFX-2. [middle] Yoshinori Kitase - Producer, worked on ail Final Fontasies since FFV. a direct sequel in the Final Fantasy a lot of guidebooks published out [right] Nojima Kazushige sériés. And the biggest challenge there in the public, there are minor _ Scénario Writer, wrote was how to drastically change the game System and the atmosphère within the Final Fantasy sériés. Compared, for example, to other game titles - sequels to a certain sériés tend to be similar (in the battle Systems, and the menus for example), so the biggest challenge was how to drastically change that and offer something different. Why did you décidé to do something completely different from the typical Final Fantasy style with this sequel? MTs First of ail, it’s not completely different. We reused the engine, graphies and maps from FFX, so we had ample time to think of the game and the scénario Systems that we wanted to include - the most obvious resuit is that we hâve the mission based System in FFX-2. We felt compelled to make the change from FFX. Since it was a first sequel in the FF sériés, we didn’t want to make it the same System as FFX, because then that would be very tedious for players to play, let alone tedious for us as developers to make. [Yoshinori Kitase walks in, obviously latej FFX was a finished product. Was there enough material to do X-2? Was it quite difficult to create the sequel in regards to a finished story? NK: It was very hard. It was very difficult to find and create another story based on FFX without plot holes. details concerning each of the the scénarios in FFX-2. characters. We sometimes had to look up the published guidebooks to compare these minor details, so that the main scénario in FFX-2 doesn’t clash with what’s been published externally. Were you worried what fans would think, with FFX-2 being so different from FFX? MT: In making FFX-2, we read comments from lots of the Final Fantasy fansites. One of the main criticisms that the Final Fantasy sériés has been receiving is the linear structure of the events and scénarios. Players haven’t had a lot of freedom to do what whatever they wish - there was always one linear scénario for the main characters that the player had to follow in order to get to the ending. With FFX-2, we adopted the mission- based System, where players are able to choose whichever mission they want to clear. This is something that the fans hâve been dropping a lot of hints about - how happy they would be if there was a lot more freedom in FFX-2. So we took that on J board as a challenge for FFX-2. One of the obvious différences with FFX-2 is the focus on female characters. What brought you to that decision? Y K: We thought the guys would be happy - being able to watch Rikku and Yuna and Paine change their dresses. In Japan, our strongest response came from females, 2 PlayStation.2 © 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts. EA SPORTS and the EA SPORTS logo are trademarks or regstered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. www.easportsrugby.com Ail Rights Reserved. especially girls from 10-15 years of âge. We had a contest so that people out there as to what dress spheres they could add into FFX-2, and we were inundated with responses. We were very happy, of course, though not surprisingly the guys didn't get involved in that aspect as much. And the male reaction in Japan? YK: We had very positive reactions from the public, there were no négatives, japanese audiences accepted and enjoyed the drastic changes found in FFX-2. Hollywood - with the recent trend in films with strong lead characters - has facilitated greater acceptance and appréciation of female leads. Final Fantasy games are usually quite heavy - FFX-2 looks like a much lighter game, and it looks like you had more fun with it. How did this corne to be? YK: Whenever we start a new project, we’re always told from up above that we shouldn’t be restrained just because Final Fantasy has been presented in a certain way. Over the years, players hâve developed a sense of what FF is - and if it goes in a different direction from what they’re used to or what they expect, then they’re really disappointed. We feel that, as game producers and as creators, we shouid be able to hâve the freedom to do what we want, and be free from ail of the restraints that the users pressure us into. In a sense, we wanted to express that with FFX-2: that we hâve the freedom and that we are able to change the Final Fantasy sériés despite the restraints that we hâve. But if you look at the game, there are many similarities with past Final Fantasy titles. We wanted to show that in context, we were able to change the FF sériés, show it from a different perspective, give it a different atmosphère. How challenging was it to develop the open-ended nature of FFX-2 as compared to the previous, more linear Final Fantasys? NK: Although FFX-2 is considered a free game where players are able to go to any location or clear any mission at the same time, it’s divided into five chapters. It was harder to program than FFX, but we didn’t hâve too much trouble doing that. Since it was a free System, we had to provide a lot of scénarios so that players can make their own decisions throughout the game. So the real challenge was generating ail those missions. Freedom seems to be the main theme of FFX-2. What do you believe is the main theme of FFX- 2? What is the purpose of Yuna in FFX-2? YK Well, the main theme of FFX-2 is actually change. The freedom that the players encounter in FFX-2 is one of the changes that we wanted to show, compared to FFX. At the end of FFX, we see that Yuna has changed the world of Spira — in FFX- 2, its two years after the downfall of Sin. We see that the whole of Spira has changed. The characters are changing - or they’re trying to change, adapting to the changing environment around them. So although many things hâve changed - the menu System, the battle System - many things hâve also remained constant due to the staff’s desire to keep things in the spirit of Final Fantasy. So FFX-2 is a direct resuit of ail of this. Give us an example of how Yuna has changed since FFX. YK In FFX, Yuna was someone who sacrificed herself for other people. Everything was for the people, for Spira. In FFX-2 she finally cornes to the réalisation that she wants to live life on her own. While she has that desire, there are certain characteristics about her — like in FFX, whenever she saw someone in trouble, she just had to help them out - holding her back. In order to put a stop to that, along with the proposai from her friend Rikku to join the sphere hunter gang in FFX- 2, she's changed her physical appearance so that she could start off fresh, to find her own self and to enjoy life. That’s where the journey IN FFX-2 SHE FINALLY COMES TO THE REALISATION THAT SHE WANTS TO LIVE LIFE ON HER OWN "ïfcKvH* w»aw:?< rwa-vx W starts. And that’s why she changes the way she dresses. You seem to hâve successfully created three lead female characters, which is a rare thing in this industry. Were there any problems with developing the three lead female characters? 1 : Since the clear majority of the staff involved in the making of FFX-2 were ail males, in their mid-thirties, they always had the worry of whether they would be able to create a game focused around female characters, but on many occasions they.asked for advice from the opposite sex and other female staffers. What kind of advice? • They were very helpful [laughs ail round]. They often criticised certain aspects of the dress sphere System and the outfits - that they were too sexy. They also criticised many aspects of the scénarios - that girls don’t think or act like that. Final Fantasy X was a very long game. Did you consider shortening FFX-2 or were there pressures to make this another epic adventure? K In FFX-2, players are allowed to select missions. If they select only the missions that hâve to be cleared to finish the game, then it’s about half the size of FFX. But if players choose to explore the world, then it’s very much larger than FFX. A bit more of a fun question: which Final Fantasy is your favourite and why? YK My favourite was Final Fantasy VII. The task of developing a Final Fantasy on a new platform left a very strong impression. Ail that potential at the time was exciting! FFVII left a strong impression because it was my first FF. But my favourite is the one that was universally disliked: FFVIII. fd like to do something about that - but it’s already been released! MT: Final Fantasy VII also left a strong impression [laughterj. But FFX was my favourite — with the addition of voices, and the new caméra angles were really dramatic. I loved it. Which of the three leads in FFX-2 is your favourite and which is your favourite outfit? Y K Yuna as the gunner. Paine as the warrior. Rikku as the Black Mage, since she has a mini-skirt on, and since that battle pose/clothes change is so cute. Was Kitase involved in casting the English voices? YK: Toriyama was involved in some of the sélection of the English voice actors. But there wasn’t much work needed there because ail of the recurring characters are voiced by the same actors as in FFX. Are there any cool extras or features in the PAL release that aren’t in the lapanese version? A T There are no additional bosses or content - but the lip-sycning has been enhanced, and ail the movie scenes hâve been enhanced too. Any plans for FFX-3? Could this become a long running Final Fantasy X sériés? K K We’re not thinking about it at this point. Do you see potential there? YK; ln our minds, this whole sequel thing is finished. Are you guys working on your next project? YK We’re in development of 5 PAL versions of FFX-2, as well as FFX-2: International for release here in Japan, so at the moment we’re very busy with FFX-2! Cheers guys, thanks for your time. ü [above] One of the main story threads concerns the rise of a new faction on Spira called the Youth League, led by Nooj (that's him on the left with the rifle). [below] New girl Paine as a Samurai. Other Dress Spheres include Dark Gunner, Animal Traîner and Gambler. 22 HYPER» PREVIEW » TRIBES VENGEANCE Throw a rock into the air and *** when it faits there’s a good chance it will land on a games journalist who will tell you that Tribes and Tribes 2 are great games - it’s a well known fact. It’s also a well-known fact that the Tribes sériés thus far has been one of the most newbie-inaccessible games franchises to date, such is the level of dedication required to learn the ropes. If you’ve ever seen a game of Tribes running you’ll be familiar with the action known as "skiing”; sliding down the side of mountains to gain the speed necessary to assault the enemy’s base or achieve higher, longer jumps. Whilst the players make it look easy, skiing in Tribes is much like skiing in the real world - the pros make it look easy but for the rest of us it takes some time to work out the fine details. This is perhaps the reason why Tribes never hit the popularity of the likes of Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament. ONE OF THE SCARIEST Even more interesting than the fact that a new Tribes game is being made is the fact that it’s being made by Irrational Cames, the Australian based developer responsible for Freedom Force and System Shock 2 amongst others. Aside from giving Hyper a little jingoistic pride, the idea of Irrational Cames doing a game set in the Tribes universe is a brave and controversial choice indeed. Irrational are known primarily for their strong plots and single player games, things not usually found in Tribes. Up until now the plot of the shooters could be best described as there being two sides, both of which are heavily armed and aren’t too fond of each other. That’s it, more of an excuse for action than any real plot. It cornes as a real surprise then to discover that Vengeance has a strong single player campaign (not simply a tutorial for multiplayer) with a script written by Ken Levine. The name may not be familiar to most of you but rest assured it’s something to get excited about - Ken Levine is the genius behind the script of System Shock 2, one of the scariest and best plotted/paced games of ail time. INTO A JUMP PACK In the single player game, players will initially take control of a young female warrior and sports star, struggling against an agency responsible for the death of her family. In a decidedly compelling move, Tribes Vengeance is set to présent its action in a chronologically non-linear way with players jumping through time periods and settings, playing different characters at various âges. One example we were given of this Creative spin on time is a flashback mission in which the main character AVAILABLE ON: PC DETAILS CATEGORY: FPS / PLAYERS: 1 -Multi / DEVELOPER: Irrational Games AVAILABLE: 2004 / WOW-O-METER WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE: We suspect that it will probably happen, but what about console versions? remembers the death of her parents. Players will play through the level as a five-year old version of the character, incapable of doing anything aside from run and hide until a loyal retainer straps her into a jump pack, a piece of equipment synonymous with Tribes. Due to the fact that the child is five and the pack is set for someone much bigger and therefore heavier, flying in this level is set to be a new and challenging task. On the multiplayer front, Tribes Vengeance looks like a whole new ballgame as well. Cône are the huge and rather dull outdoor maps typical of Tribes 2, replaced instead by a variety of smaller (though still quite large) and varied maps with settings ranging from tundra to cave Systems to ruined cities or sports arenas. Online/LAN play is %%GONE ARE w w THE HUGE AND RATHER DULL OUTDOOR MAPS TYPICAL OF TRIBES 2 set to support 32 players, a number that may Sound a little small in today’s 64 player révolution, but Irrational assures us if s been kept down to 32 players as a maximum so they can create maps that both small and large numbers of players can hâve fun on. What we’ve seen so far of the Unreal powered game looks absolutely stunning, with beautiful textures and the bones of some really impressive animations. Whether or not Vengeance will be able to bring what is essentially a niche shooter out into the public eye remains to be seen but we look forward to out when the game is released mid 2004. www.easportsrugby.com O 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS and the EA SPORTS logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. andfor other countries. Ail Rights Reserved. 24 HYPER» PREVIEW » . Vs- /v 5. VI/ LV K_ r ~ y» ' 1 Hagttff feréttd'rrx-?- ~ Distance 14 , The invisible trumpet and harp band ALIAS ççv We àll know that the transition *** from TV to game is never a particularly easy one but every now and then a show cornes along that captures the imagination of the viewing public. In recent years we’ve had the phénoménal success of Buffy, the cuit addiction to Dark Angel and now Alias is tearing up our screens and doing more than its part in winning the ratings war. Each of the shows has a number of things in common - they ail feature smoking hot women kicking a crapload of arse, with thèmes of loss, regret, love and rédemption. They’re also now ail games. QUASI-MYSTICAL WIDGET This is where the similarities end, as the first Buffy game was a minor triumph in third person action, whereas the less said about the dull Dark Angel the better. Although there is obviously a lot of work to go on the Alias game from the code we hâve seen, it shows the potential to be one of the good ones. As could be expected, players will take the rôle of Sydney Bristow, 20- something undercover agent working for the CIA. The game appears to take place some time in the second season after the fall of SD6 with Syd tracking down the escaped Sloane and yet another Rambaldi device. For those of you not familiar with the sériés, she’s after the bad guy and a quasi- mystical widget that may hâve the power to do something really nasty. Also like the show, this single player game will see players jetting around the world to such locales as Saudi Arabia, Romania, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and Monte Carlo. CHOKE THEM Although hand-to-hand fighting plays a rôle in both the game and TV show, stealth and the effective use of gadgets will also play a major rôle. Although it seems likely that players will be able to fight their way through most of the levels, Syd can also sneak, make costume changes, and perform a number of different stealth takedowns, including the now familiar neck break. You’Il even be able to drop from a height to take out enemies or choke them with their own weapons. As far as combat goes, Alias will feature a number of simple combos as well as a number of disarms. Sydney crashes Jamie's Kitchen Much of the environment should be interactive so you should never hâve a problem finding a weapon either. Although the graphies we saw were yet to be finalised, they do feature some excellent animations and faces. Ail of the major characters are voices by the actors from the sériés and it’s sounding pretty good so far. One interesting feature of the graphies engine is the use of split screens to show Syd’s current position as well as approaching enemies or plot spécifie events. At the current stage of development there do seem to be some clipping and caméra problems, but those should be cleared up by the time the game is released. AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Action/Adventure / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Acclaim Cheltenham / AVAILABLE: Early 2004 / WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE: Jennifer Garner deliver the review code to us personally. Vivendi UNIVERS/M- Sierra Entertainment présents «îBLUDE TO The LORD OF THE R WÉLCÔME to MIDDLÈ • EARTH ADVENTÜRE BEGINS THIS GHRISTMAS 0 Playstation ? tfdbbit Jlobbi t Sierra Game Studio IflEVITHBLE 26 HYPER» PREVIEW » DONKEY KONGA AVAILABLE ON: DETAILS GCN When we heard Nintendo were teaming up with Namco to produce a new Donkey Kong game for GameCube, we didn’t expect... this. Not that we were really that disappointed - or surprised - but it would hâve been fantastic to get a new Donkey Kong platformer, maybe even featuring Mario, like the good old days. Ah well, we can put those dreams aside for now and take a look at Donkey Konga, the latest in a long line of very popular "rhythm” games. PAN! PAN! Ever since Donkey Kong Country on the SNES, Donkey Kong has been imbued with a new-found personality. He’s gone from the grumpy boss monster to the lovable crazy, Homer Simpson-esque oaf who really has a heart of gold, or bananas, if that’s more valuable to apes. Slapping hisbiggoofy .v 7 yj grin on this game gives it a certain level of charm, and we’re sure we wouldn’t be quite as interested if it was called Princess Peach’s Percussion Party or something along those lines. Just look at the screenshots... this game is going to let you really monkey around like a true chimp. Whoo hoo! With its unique bongo-drum controller peripheral, Donkey Konga will not only make you hâve a laugh whilst you're playing it, but your friends can sit back and laugh at you at the same time. Just don’t believe them when they say they’re laughing "with” you. It’ll be their turn eventually, so start warming up your gorilla jokes. As is the case with most rhythm games, the idea is to slap the bongos in time to the shapes passing across the screen, as accompaniment to some jungle grooves straight from the mind of some wacky Japanese composer. Although we suspect the PAL version will hâve a few licensed A pop tunes. Maybe you’ll be slapping away to Britney Spears... oh geez, let me rephrase that... BONGA! BONGA! Up to four players will be able to take part in the mayhem, which certainly earmarks Donkey Konga as a potential party game masterpiece. But if banging away on a small set of plastic bongos (hey, why didn’t they call it Donkey Bonga?) doesn’t really go the distance for you, then you’ll be relieved to know that the music games are also broken up by crazy little Donkey Kong mini- games. If you remember the vine- swinging game from Ape Escape, then you’ll hâve an idea of what you can expect from this other ape- inspired game. Expect to see appearances from ail our Kong friends; Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Cranky Kong, Lanky Kong, Chunky Kong, King Kong (okay we put that one in)... We just hope that the timeless Donkey Kong Rap from Donkey Kong 64 is one of the songs in the game to play the bongos to. If not, then the Hyper crew will be utterly devastated. Well, not really. CATEGORY: Rhythm / PLAYERS: 1 -4 / DEVELOPER: Namco AVAILABLE: 2004 / WOW-O-METER W WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE: How will four player work with only one bongo peripheral? Let's hope they provide support for the standard controller... PROUDLY RUSTRRLIRN SINCE 500 Heaps more fun stuff for your mobile at: uuiuuu.mob5tuff.com.au CflLL NOUJ 1902 265 585 If you can’t call from your mobile call from a normal phone. If you hâve any problems, call our customer service li (02) 9369 8855. Skyecloud P/L.S5 50/mm higher from mobile/pay phones If under 14 seek parents permission. S + CHRISTMRS Tired of ringtones that Sound like a sick budgee? Try ours, They really do sound like the songs ! You can hear how they ACTUALLY Sound on your phone on our hotline, HEAPS MORE on the EASY-TO-USE website. XMASTONES M0VIE5 JUNGLE BEU.S.900147 W1SH YOU A MERRY XMAS.900150 RUD0LPH.900152 SIEENT NIGHT.900157 XMAS TREE.900159 DECK THE HALLS .900143 ISAW MUMMY KISS .900148 JOYTO THE WORLD .900156 YOUR FRV5 SANDSTORM DARUDE .123123 GET BUSY SEAN PAUL .123765 SWEET CHILD O' MINE GUNS ROSES 123190 WHATS LOVE FAT JOE.123471 IGNIT10N R KELLY .123783 SIMPSONS .123478 IN DA CLUB 50 CENT.123725 WITHOUT ME EMINEM.123481 THUNDERSTRUCKAC/DC .123192 BACK IN BLACK AC/DC.123242 HALLOWEEN THEME.123166 BENNYHILL THEME .123205 MISSION IMPOSSIBLE THEME . 123448 RUNTO THE HILLS IronMaiden.123491 SMELLS UKE TEEN SPIRfT Nirvana . .123537 HEY SEXY LADY SHAGGY .123597 ROCK YOUR BODY J TIMBERLAKE .123715 IKNOW WHAT YU WANT BUSTA RHY12375Q THE EXORCIST THEME .123761 GET BUSY SEAN PAUL .123765 BY THE WAY RHC PEPPERS.123605 ROCKY THEME .123543 BEVERLY HILLS 90210 .123238 THE GODFATHER THEME.123169 FREESTYLER BOMFUNK MC'S .123115 KERNKRAFT ZOMBIE NATION .123117 CAN'T RGHT THE M'NLIGHT .123184 GHOSTBUSTERS THEME.123278 WOULD YOU BE HAPPIER CORRS . .123365 INSPECT. GADGET.123470 ALL THAT JAZZ.123730 FRIENDS THEME l’LL BE THERE ... .123704 IWAS MAOE FOR LOVONG YOU KISS123189 COME AS YOU ARE NIRVANA.123428 HAWAÏ 5.0.123251 KISS KISS HOLLY VALANCE.123498 DIRRTY CHRISTÏNA AQUILERA.123593 BABY ELEPHANT WALK .123204 JENNY FROM THE BLOCK JLO.123618 INEEDAGIRLPDIDDY.123505 ENTER SANDMAN METALUCA ... .123194 I LOVE ROCK N ROLL BRITNEY . . .123497 ENTRY OF THE GLADIATORS .123101 QUEEN-THE NIGHTS ARIA.123103 WEST SIDESTORY THEME .123104 SINGIN'IN THE RAIN .123107 AXEL F B E V HILLS COP.123162 BATMAN THEME.123163 CHARUE'S ANGELS THEME.123164 HALLOWEEN THEME.123166 INDIANA JONES THEME.123168 THE JAMES BOND THEME.123170 MEN IN BLACK THEME.123172 EDELWEISS SOUND OF MUSIC ... .123243 PETER & THE WOLF THEME.123364 MEN BEHAVING BAOLY .123397 E T. THEME .123429 SUPERMAN THEME.123486 F1DDLER ON ROOF THEME .123502 CHARIOTS OF FIRE VANGELIS .123529 SPIDERMAN THEME .123591 SWEET HOME ALABAMA .123651 MACHO MAN VILLAGE PEOPLE .. .123703 PULP FICTION MISIRLOU .123724 SUPERMAN EMINEM .123677 THE GOOD, BAG & UGLY THEME .123646 SPIDERMAN THEME.123591 CHARUE S ANGELS THEME .123164 ALL ALLINMYHEADI BREATHE BLU for Mi iake! B0031M Dirais® 3M5M7M 3M5M72 800025 1 HATE MONDAVS 3M5820 3M5828 Bbgl****;| 3M583G 3M5832 3M5833 m&m 3M583M 3M5836 3M5591 3M5592 1 zszm 3M559M *. • 0 3M5595 lilaa + CHRISTMRS PPPTY PPPPTY PPPTY M56798 M56251 RLL NEUJ HEAVEN UVE . M56B23 M55825 MR VAIN CULTURE BEAT.123820 MR BARTENDER SUGAR RAY.123821 MISS INOEPENDENT K CLARKSON . .123822 LOVE DONT HAVE TO HURT KfTTEN . 1238Z3 IIVING LOVING MAID L ZEPPELIN .123824 THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA.123825 FAMEIRENACARA .123827 BILLIE JEAN MICHAEL JACKSON . . .123830 W1LDEST DREAMSIRON MAID .123831 UN EMOZIONE PER SEMP...EROS ... .123832 STAR TREK .123833 SWAYTO HEAVEN ZEPPEUN .123834 SOME SAY THE DEVIL W TUNES.123835 SOMEDAYNICKELBACK.123836 RE-OFFENOERTRAVIS.123837 LOVE BURNS B R MOTOR CLUB .123838 HEY WHATEVER WESTUFE . 123839 GUANTANAMO OUTIANOISH.123840 GOING UNDER EVANESCENCE.123841 FALUN' HIGH SAFRI-DUO.123842 E SAMBA JUNIOR JACK.123843 EAT YOU AUVE UMP BIZKIT.123844 CARNEVAL GIRL TEXAS .123845 CAMBIA LA PIEL RICKY MARTIN .. 123846 LUVfTWHENWE MIS-TEEQ ALL I HAVE J LO . NOT GUNNA GET CANT NOBODY KELLY LOSING ■■ vou? M56831 M56836 M56M0M M56812 M56383 M56592 M56593 M5659M M56838 M568MG COMfUNOONE :5M5 CHAT Hâve you tried SMS CHAT? to start chatting send the word MOBSMS to: * guys use: 188 1011 $2.20 per send girls use: 0428 213 550 ünly normal 5M5 charges apply IDROVE ALL WORK fT NELLY IF YOUR NOT THE 1 D i • V- '^-Tfîïià* :P0LYPH0NIC5 :TOP 20 HOT! POLYS HOW TO ORDER QUALITY POLYPHONICS ! 1. CHECK YOUR PHONE IS COMPATIBLE - CHECK OUR WEBSITE IF YOUR NOT SURE 2. CHOOSE YOUR POLYPHONIC & NOTE 5-OIGITID NO. 3. ENSURE YOU HAVE GPRS OR WAP ENABLED 4 CALL NOW1902 222 474 S5.50/MIN HIGHER FROM MOBILE AND PAY PHONES. AVERAGE CALL LASTS ABOUT 2.5 MINS. 6 . PROBLEMS? EMAIL US CS@MOBILETONESASIA.COM MISSION IMPOSSIBLE THEME .70111 CAFÉ DEL MAR ENERGY 52 .70149 AUSTIN POWERS THEME.70321 JAMES BOND (VERSION 2) THEME.70340 TUBULAR BELLS MIKE OLDFIELD .70055 FOOLISH ASHANTI .75513 MUPPETS THEME .70114 COLOURBLIND DARIUS DANESH .76553 MAGNIFIENT 7 THEME.75714 ANYONE OF US (STUPID MISTAKE) G GATES 76269 THE LOGICAL SONG VERSE SCOOTER .75825 RAINBOW THEME.71110 THE GREAT ESCAPE THEME.70092 A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION ELVIS VS JXL75793 HOTINHERREFULL NELLY.76299 DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT TOPLOADER .71314 BIGBROTHER ELEMENT FOUR .70846 WITMm IT MP PMIMPM 7R7fl? JHVR GRME5 1 HOW TO ORDER JAVA GAMES!: 1. CHECK YOUR PHONE IS COMPATIBLE - CHECK OUR WEBSITE IF YOUR NOT SURE Z CHOOSE YOUR POLYPHONIC & NOTE 5-OIGiï ID NO. 3. ENSURE YOU HAVE GPRS OR WAP ENABLED. 4 . CALL NOW 1902 222 478 S5.50/MIN HIGHER FROM MOBILE AND PAY PHONES. AVERAGE CALL ONLY LASTS ABOUT 2.5 MINS. 6. PROBLEMS? EMAIL US CS@MOBILETONESASIA.COM :TOP 10 JRVR GRME5 1. PLASMA INFERNO (NOKIA 7650,35101,3650,5100,6100.6610,7210,7250/72501). 16668 2. SUMMER GAMES 2004 (Nokia 7650,3410,3510L 3650,5100,6100,6310i, 6610,7210,7250/7250i, Siemens M50). 16692 3. DAMAGE SAN (Nokia 7650,3650,5100,6100,6610,7210,7250/72500 . 16623 4. RED DWARF (Nokia 7650,3510i, 3650,5100,6100,6610,7210,725Q/7250i, 8910i, Sharp GX1Q/GX10Î). 16671 5. RUBIK'S CUBE (Nokia 7650,3650,5100,6100,6610,7210,7250/7250i). 16676 6. EXTREME SPEED (Nokia 7650,3650,6100,6610,7210,72S(V7250i). 7254 7. JUNGLE COMMANDO (Nokia 7650,3410,3510i. 5100,6100,6610,7210,7250/7250Î, 8910i, Sharp GXIQ/GXlOi, Siemens M50) ... 7283 8. MAGIC ELEMENTS (Nokia 7650,3510i, 3650,5100,6100,6610,7210,7250/7250i.Sharp GXIQ/GXlOi) . 7293 9. BAYWATCH BEACH VOLLEYBALL (Nokia 7650,3510i, 3650,5100,6100,6610,7210, 72S0m, 89101, Sharp GXIQ/GXlOi,). . . .16612 10. HIGHWAY RACER (Nokia 7650,3410,3510i, 3650,6310i, Sharp GXHVGXIOi. Siemens M50) . 16646 LOGOS, PICS, MONOTONES are compatible wrtfi these Nokia s 2100,3210,3310,3315,3350.3330,3510,3530,3650,5110 (logos onty). 5210,5510,6090,6100,6110, 28 HYPER» PREVIEWS » Jack slingshots one of his boogers NIGHTMARE CHRISTMAS If you caught Tim Burton’s animated treat, The Nightmare Before Christmas, back in 1993, then you’d know of the gangly jack Skellington and his bid to reclaim Halloweentown. The movie featured fantastic animation (for its time) and a delightful sense of humour, both of which we pray hâve been captured in this videogame conversion that’s coming ten years after the fact. Naturally, you play as Jack the pumpkin king and wield magic against ail sorts of kooky and spooky enemies in this atmospheric action adventure. The game certainly has a Medievil (P$one)/Maximo (PS2) flavour, complété with ail the Tim Burton style twisted architecture, and we can only hope the game has the same amount of Creative energy BEFORE AVAILABLE ON: PS2 DETAILS CATEGORY: Action/Adventure / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Capcom / AVAILABLE: 2004 / WOW-O-METER invested in it as the film did. There’s no word yet on whether any of the voice talent will return, and we’re a little unsure whether the game will feature the same kind of musical numbers as the film did, but this is one to look forward to for sure. SINGLES: FLIRT UP YOUR LIFE ASTERIX & OBELIX XXL çjw Ever wanted to play a version y* of the Sims that was ail about simply getting jiggy with your housemate(s)? Always wanted Electronic Arts to release another expansion pack such as "The Sims: Sex Escapades”? Well, then this Sims clone that’s coming next year is the game for you. Singles is being developed over in Cermany where they’re obviously more comfortable with allowing digital companions to get on with a bit of rumpy-pumpy. Yes, the aim with Singles is to develop a healthy relationship between male and female housemates to the point where they strip off and get busy between the sheets. Of course, there will be hours and hours of managing their bathroom and AVAILABLE ON: PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Horny sim / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Rotobee / AVAILABLE: 2004 / WOW-O-METER eating habitsfirst... Nodoubt this game will be hugely popular with Sims fans who are tired with the overtly family-oriented EA game. cç, Many a school library *** lunchtime was wasted reading Astérix 6 Obelix comics, and we can now look forward to many a night at home on the couch wasted playing them in this upcoming videogame. Take on over 70 romans at once as you control both Astérix and Obelix in this wacky adventure based on the comic books (lovingly created by Coscinny and Uderzo) over 6 huge levels. Get your hands on a magic potion and you’ll hâve the power to knock back whole légions of soldiers, making for some pretty dynamic beat ’em up challenges. Hopefully the hilarious cast of characters from the comics will make an appearance, including Geriatrix, Fulliautomatix, Getafix, AVAILABLE ON: PS2 GCN DETAILS CATEGORY: Action / PLAYERS: 1-2 / PUBLISHER: Atori / AVAILABLE: Early 2004 / Vitalstatistix, Cacofonix, Unhygienix and so on (and no we’re not making those names up). Visually, they’ve really nailed the look of the characters, and the game seems to hâve that vibrant, colourful charm of the comic. We’re really looking forward to this one, and praying it won’t suck. KNIGHTS OF THE TEMPLE: INFERNAL CRUSADE Knights of the Temple - also *** once known as the working title, Templar - is a title in development by Swedish studio, Starbreeze. This baby is ail about the i2th century crusades from which many a conspiracy theory has emerged - were the Knights Templar really protecting the Holy Crail? In this game at least, you are Paul de Raque, Knight of the Temple, as you set out on a holy crusade across a forbidding, médiéval Europe to join your order in the Holy Land. Armed with your sword, axe, bow and shield, you must fight with ail your strength to complété your journey, for saving the future of the world is your ultimate goal. Stopping an evil bishop who is intent on opening a gateway to Hell is at the top of your list of things to do, but we’re sure you’ll be waylaid with other duties across the 25 levels. Realistic médiéval sword fighting has been promised, so you can look forward to some dirty fighting amongst the Divine powers and spécial effects. AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX GCN PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Action/Adventure / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Starbreeze / AVAILABLE: TBA / PREVIEWS » Redbull gives you wings... and acné j SHINING SOUL II The Came Boy Advance is y* finally delivering ail those 16- bit style Action RPCs that many gamers hypothesised would end up on the handheld System. Just take a look at our Sword of Mana review this issue for starters, and now take a look at Shining Soûl II... This is a continuation of the Atlus RPC that debuted on the CBA last year. Whilst the first instalment wasn’t the greatest of games, this sequel looks far more promising. Now there are eight character classes, with the four new jobs being Priestess, Dark Wizard, Ninja or Brawler, making for far more interesting combinations of characters and skills. There’s also a brand-new co-operative mode, allowing you to play the game with a friend. The link-up also allows for trading items, weapons and armour and cool colosseum battles against your mates. There will also AVAILABLE ON: GBA DETAILS CATEGORY: Action RPG / PLAYERS: 1 2 / DEVELOPER: Atlus / AVAILABLE: TBA / WOW-O-METER ■■ be proper side quests in Shining Soûl II to allow for the discovery of rare items and to extend the life of the game. We’re pretty keen to see this one turn out well. WHIPLASH RICHARD BURNS RALLY nç. The game formerly known as W Prince... er sorry, Chain Gang, is now going by the wacky title, Whiplash. The story revolves around two animais (Spanx the weasel and Redmond the rabbit) who are chained together and attempting to escape from a laboratory where they’re due to be experimented on. As we ail know, animal testing is bad, but thankfully a videogame about it might be lots of fun. The fun part being that you’ll get to rain grief upon the nasty scientists in sick and twisted ways. Spanx £ even gets through the game using ^ Redmond as his weapon (attached > to his wrist with a chain, no less) by ^ shoving him down toilets, dousing oo him in toxic fluid and freezing him AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX DETAILS CATEGORY: Action/Platformer / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Crystal Dynamics / AVAILABLE: TBA / WOW-O-METER into a cube so you can smash at enemies. Enemies such as the Hazmats, Mad Scientists, and even a rather dodgy-looking cafétéria lady. Whiplash looks inventive, funny and sports some very polished comic-book style présentation. Hopefully we’ll get some hands-on time with it soon. r^. Following in the footsteps (or ^ is that tyre tracks?) of Colin McRae, cornes Richard Burns Rally, a new rally sim on the way from brit developers, SCi. Richard Burns, is of course, the world champion and has been Britain’s top driver for the past three seasons. In the game, you’ll start out in Rally school and get trained by Richard and his co- driver in ail the skills you’ll need to go out there and become the world champion yourself. The aim of this game seems to be to offer a truly realistic simulation, including spectators who will even help roll your car over should you flip your four-wheels near a crowd! Cars featured will include the Peugeot 206, Citroen Xsara T4 and Subaru Impreza 2003. There will AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Rally sim / PLAYERS: 1 -4 / DEVELOPER: SCi / AVAILABLE: TBA/ WOW-O-METER also be a host of official circuits from Japan to Finland and the French Alps. SCi seem to be pretty confident, as they promise the most realistic driving physics yet, and "unprecedented photo-realistic graphical quality". We’ll see! CH AMPI ON SH IP MANAGER: SEASON 03/04 Middlesbrough Action Zones c*v Whilst it didn’t arrive in time AVAILABLE ON: *** for a review this issue, the PÇ routine yearly update to the Championship Manager football details management sériés should be category: Sim / players: 1 -Multi / hitting shops by the time you’re DEVELOPER: Sports Interactive / reading this. 03/04 is quite an available: Now/ important update to the sériés, after CM4 introduced the controversial 2D WOW-O-METER w match engine, allowing you to watch your team pass the bail around. At release, CM4 was a due to training and much more, horridly buggy mess, though still including a fully updated player quite the entrancing game that it is. roster. This should be it, folks. 03/04 After 5 patches, we’re now staring at should be the game we hoped CM4 the super-duper 03/04 release - was when it was released. Check it which is sold as a separate entity - out - and a review next issue, with more than just a handful of glitch fixes and menu nips and tucks. 03/04 introduces a completely revamped training screen, which now appears to be far more intuitive and user-friendly; more interactions with the players and media (such as declaring your club’s interest in a certain player and dealing with the fan and media reaction); player screens that now Fbcture Details Date Compétition Venue Ru les Werther Forecast Arsenal News Wednesday 31 st Mardi 2004 (Today) English Premier Division The Riverside Stadiunv Middlesbrough No player restrictions 5 subs named, maximum 3 used wetrc Ashley Cote suspended Middlesbrough Stats Player Ratiogs Latest Scores highlight which stats are increasing Looks like a spreadsheet, but it plays like heaven Lauren traps the bail nicely Z600 real satisfaction Expérience true gaming with the new Sony Ericsson Z600. Embedded with V-Rally 2 racing, you can now enhance your game play with an attachable Gameboard.™ Together with its rich colour screen, polyphonie Sound, and force-feedback, the Z600 brings the excitement of V-Rally racing to life. The Z600 is the ultimate entertainment System including a built in caméra, Style-up™ covers, MMS, and Bluetooth™ 1 Start your engines with the Z600. £ \Jrallyz ipone V-Rally®2 © 2003.lnfogrames Europe SA. Ail rights reserved. ATARI is a registered trademark of Atari Interactive Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of the Infogrames Entertainment. Published and distributed by iFone under license from ATARI. Gameboard™ sold separately. www.sonyericsson.com/au 5ony Ericsson CHOOSE your path It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire. Thousands of )edi and Sith are fighting an epic battle between light and dark with you at the epicenter and the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance. You can side with the light or succumb to the darkness-but in the end you must choose and let the galaxy suffer the conséquences. ■ ; i M . ; ' V 3 i à ' ' a GAME A xeox BïOWARE COR P -STAR.WARS K NI G HT S ^ t0r _QF r h i Vw-_ ^—* **eû* W -TTAR-WARI KNJchts OLD REPUBLIC Official Sfàr W^rs" Web Site www.starwars.com LucasArtsandtheLucasArtsIogOareregisteredtrademarksofLucasfilmLtd.BioWareandtheBioWarelogoareregistered trademarksof BioWare Corp.©?Q03 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. & (r) or™as indicated. Ail rights reserved. 34 HYPER» FEATURE » HYPER: You’ve seen Rare change as a development studio over a long period of time - ten years. How has their focus changed now that they’re working on Xbox? What are the différences inside the company? Ken Lobb: My impression is that there’s none. At Nintendo we allowed Rare to run very independently. They made the games they wanted to make, literally we didn’t tell them to do anything. We never asked them to make a certain type of game, or certain types of changes beyond the obvious stuff. At Microsoft we’ve given them that same freedom. It was part of their interest during the acquisition — it was very important to them, that they could remain as Rare, not become Microsoft - a one time Rare group of guys. They’re where they’ve always been; they make the games the way they want just like they always hâve. lhe highlight of Hyper’s recent excursion to France was undoubtedly talking to Ken Lobb and james Veevaert. Although not working within Rare, Ken has a r history with the company, having corne to Microsoft from Nintendo where he oversaw ail of Rare’s projects. He is now the Studio Manager of StudioX, which encompasses Rare, Lionhead, the teams working on PGR2 and Rallisport Challenge 2 and Oddworld. James too has unique insight into the workings of the company, liasing exclusively with Rare on ail their Xbox titles. So, what's up with Rare now that they’ve moved onto Xbox development? Let’s find out... HYPER» 35 36 HYPER» FEATURE » HYPER: How hands on are the Stamper brothers within Rare these days? Ken: Very. HYPER: They’re still very much at the helm? Ken: Oh yeah. And just as, if not more excited, than fve seen them in years. Over the last year or year and a half at Nintendo, when the option was coming up, they knew what was happening, so they started having to focus a little too much on business. And to them, their business is making great games, so when they’re happiest is when they’re not focusing on someone buying them! Y’know, they’re focused on 'how do we make Choulies the best game it can be' and let’s spend 120% of our time doing that. But right now they’re very happy. James Veevaert: There’s been a real revitalisation within the studio itself and right now one of the things they’re most excited about, along with Microsoft, is Xbox Live. So they’ve been extremely passionate about getting back into games, getting back into the technology in terms of where they think the console business is headed. And Xbox Live they’ve really determined as a key central point in terms of where games are headed. They’re very excited. In fact, ail our conversations with Chris Stamper - it’ll be, literally, npm UK time and he’s calling me saying "oh, I was just trying this in this game, and it’s amazing”. The level of passion and the level of diving into the games they’re doing now and how much time they’re spending on Live is amazing. I guess because of broadband connections in the UK, he’s always going back to the office to play until late into the night. Ken: Yeah it’s funny, I had to call him about a month ago and I get this kind of quick "can I call you right back?’’ Five minutes later he calls me back "sorry, I was playing Mech Assault”! He couldn’t eut out on his teammates in the middle of a game. HYPER: Alright, well, I guess the obvious question is - what can you tell us about Perfect Dark? Ken: Perfect Dark is in development. It was announced last year at X02. When it’s time to see it you’ll see it. When it’s ready to be shown you guys’ll see it. Rare like showing their game when it speaks for itself. HYPER: That’s one of the things we respect about Rare actually. The fact that they are so secretive, and the fact that even when a game is well into development - if they’re not happy with it, they’ll pull the plug. It’s very refreshing in this industry. James: For ail intents and purposes E3 was a real distraction for them, because the process a team goes through to pull a build together for show purposes is really challenging. They hâve to do a lot of things, eut a lot of corners and actually assemble a lot of items that they normally wouldn’t do in terms of a normal development process, and so from their point of view both Kameo and Choulies - and even Conker for that matter —E3 was too early for them. They still complied to do it but if you see the évolution of where Choulies is now and you saw the video for Kameo last night, and when you hear more about Conker in the next few months you won’t believe it - it’s incredible. The level of progress and excitement, just like we’ve been able to watch from start to finish, and the changes that hâve taken place are just incredible. HYPER: Tell us a little more about the strengths of Kameo, and the évolution of the game throughout the development process. Ken: Well, by having the number of monsters they hâve in that game and the unique variants in their abilities, mixed with the idea that you can combine them... that’s one of the cooler things about what’s going on with Kameo. Besides the fact that each of the monsters ail fight differently and that gives you the ability to deal with different enemies in different ways. James: Tim Stamper has been spending a great deal of time thinking about Kameo over the past couple of months. And one of the changes that you’re going to find, when you hear more about the game is the fact that they’re taking the level of monsters - that used to be just, an incredible amount, almost 100 in the game, and they’ve scaled it back, saying they want to hâve more concentration on this expérience of the monsters in the game. Instead of going for a Pokémon-like expérience, let’s make it more of a concentrated action/adventure-like expérience, where each of these monsters does more interesting things. HYPER: And are more intégral to the gameplay... James: Absolutely. So that way you can see the combinations, like leaping through a halfpipe then changing to an ice gorilla then something else, to perform a manoeuvre. So he’s looked at that and said it’s that moment to moment gameplay expérience that’s really going to be important to Kameo - how do we help drive that forward? And I think last night’s premier video was a real resuit of that effort that’s been coming together over the last couple of months. There’s been just a SIMPLE OLD SCHOOL GAMEPLAY TURNED INTOTHIS INTRICATE PUZZLE, IN A WAY tremendous amount of buzz internally at Redmond and across the European offices about where Kameo’s headed. Same thing for Crabbed by the Choulies. It’s the most recent évolution in terms of the game - and when you spend some time with it, you’ll réalisé that the simplified gameplay mechanic you saw at E3 has really evolved to add a lot of things later on in the game that are really challenging. It’s not just about going in running and punching, it’s now about problem solving and finding 15 different ways to finish a room. Sometimes there’s going to be things you hâve to do that you wouldn't necessarily think of - using enemies to fights enemies, using anti-power ups, figuring out delay tactics. It’s no longer just about fighting. Ken: Although it never really was. It’s one of the reasons they like to hold stuff back. You take a game, especially like Ghoulies, which is room-based, and you’re not going to show 20 rooms at E3 because no one’s going to get there. You hâve to show four or five, and in the end what was shown were two or three of the more simplistic rooms and then one that was maybe too hard because you haven’t been trained yet at what you need to do to finish that room. But when you put them in order and you see the subtle way that Rare teaches you, then that’s really when the beauty of Ghoulies cornes out. There are a couple of rooms in particular in that game that just amaze me - the depth of what seems like such a simple situation. You’re in a room, the doors are locked, there’s a certain number of enemies that corne in a couple of waves and a certain number of pick-ups and weapons lying around the room. And depending on what you do, you hâve one of the hardest things you’ve ever played ail the way down to - a six year old would be able to finish it if you told them do this, hit that guy, now do this and so on. That’s what the genius of Ghoulies is - kind of simple old school gameplay turned into this intricate puzzle, in a way. It gets really complex the further you get into it, where you hâve to use combinations of power-ups. You can’t just rely on the mechanics of just fighting, fighting, fighting. Now it becomes problem solving. So it’s a game that really educates the player in the process from start to finish. And you really feel like you’ve accomplished something when you finish it, and the storyline is great, the humour within the game is really fun. So it’s a combination of ail these éléments, but the bottom line is that it’s a Rare game. And that’s the real jewel, plus it’s their first game for Xbox. James: Even from the designer’s perspective, there’s a trick to every room — a simplified way of figuring [above] Just like Lionel Ritchie - dancing on the skeleton. Oh wait, that was ceiling, wasn't it... finding their way better, because as an adult you hâve a logical way of trying to process, whereas kids are so intuitive in terms of how they attack the game. HYPER: How did the Microsoft deal affect the development of Ghoulies and Kameo? James: Both games hâve been in development for about a year and a half. Microsoft, as you know, acquired Rare in September 2002. Both Ghoulies and Kameo were in development at that time. Both were in development for GameCube, but they pretty much scrapped most of the work that was being done for the GameCube and started over with Xbox development kits. So both products hâve been in progress since that time. HYPER: How did Grabbed by the Ghoulies corne about? James: Grabbed by the Ghoulies is from the team that did Banjo Kazooie and the team that did Donkey Kong Country. The project leader at the time (at the end of making Banjo Kazooie) had been thinking - and strangely enough I talked to him about this. They looked at the American cartoon Scooby Doo and they thought this is really funny the way these characters move about, the way they interact. They saw several épisodes where they were going it out. And solution you think ’of course, I should hâve thought of that’. It’s that second level of intuition that you don’t always hâve but you should hâve. The signature of a Rare product is that it’s a game for ail audiences, and you can play it in a number of different ways, and be challenged at very early levels and challenged at the very end levels. It’s a game that families can play together — and for me that’s the mark of a great game. HYPER: Aside from personal expériences, how do you détermine how a game will be received by different âge groups? James: Microsoft has useability testing facilities. It’s really great, and that’s one of the big benefits for Rare with Microsoft is the fact that we hâve the ability to test a game extensively and bring in groups of people to corne in and play games and look at different aspects of the expérience. So they brought in groups of kids and groups of adults, and we thought the kids were going to hâve a hard time. But what we got with the data was really similar, in terms of how kids attack the rooms and how adults attack the rooms. The rooms that adults were getting stuck in were the same that kids were getting stuck in. And the kids were actually HYPER» 37 38 HYPER» FEATURE » WHEN YOU SEE THE ARTWORK THAT'S BEING DONE FOR CONKER NOW, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE [above] Conker the conquerer, obviously... through a haunted mansion and liked the comical aspects of it. So they kicked around the idea how can we combine this young, fun approach yet add some adult éléments into it to make it a little bit twisted, a little bit strange, a little bit Rare if you will. And so they started playing around with that idea and experimenting with a comical haunted house, yet at the same time having some really adult aspects to it. When you play Choulies you’ll réalisé there’s a lot of humour that’s built in for adults, yet at the same time the graphie style really caters for young players. So they were trying to figure out a way of doing both things. So that was an idea that formulated around that team and they kept working with it and working with it and refining it. So it just evolved naturally into this product. You’ll see when you play through the game if you actually go through and work through ail the bonus challenges they hâve a spécial gallery book that will actually show you some of the unseen edited versions or unseen rooms that were actually never used in the game, which are really exciting. You get to watch the évolution of the game. HYPER: And how about Kameo? James: That was an idea where they basically wanted to tell an epic fairy taie. They wanted to corne up with a Creative approach of - how do we take this central character and create a new mechanic, yet at the same time make a game that’s for ail audiences? They liked the concept of the Earth éléments and thought about building monsters around it. What would that approach be like? So they kept experimenting artistically. The artwork in Kameo is phénoménal from my point of view. They wanted to build upon ail the éléments and see - wouldn’t that be interesting if we drive the monsters based on the natural éléments of the Earth. And so that’s how that idea formulated. Then they started creating the fiction and the history behind Kameo. HYPER: Moving on to Conker. Why revisit this game? Is it because the Xbox has a slightly older démographie? James: Well, there’s a couple of things. Conker was developed towards the end of the N64’s life right? So it wasn’t necessarily the optimal time to release the game. The Conker team, when they looked at Xbox Live, like we were saying before, Xbox Live is really central to the Rare strategy of moving forward. So they thought Conker represented the first opportunity to take Live functionality and Live gameplay and take an IP that they already hâve, and really do something interesting with it. And Conker really does suit the current Xbox démographie, which is very Halo-esque. The mature, multiplayer gaming audience, where it’s very much about first person shooters and about action games. So Conker seemed to fit right down the middle of that, plus there was a lot of unedited and uncut — thus the name - gameplay content that we could include. Plus, when you see the artwork that’s being done for Conker now, it’s unbelievable. So they were able to go back, take a look at a lot of the art éléments, rework them, add a bunch of details that weren’t there before, and balance out and experiment with the multiplayer modes. And that’s why you’re not seeing anything about Conker right now. The team is so busy that they didn’t want to eut away and make a build, because it would hurt the progress of what they’re making right now. You’ll hear more about it in the next couple of months and you’ll see why they’re taking the time doing what they’re doing. With the new multiplayer modes - if you think about what’s hot today in multiplayer gaming, Conker’s absolutely going to encapsulate a great deal of that. Ken: And Conker’s single player game was genius. There were players that just dabbled in it, and never saw the Matrix scene or the Saving Private Ryan scene. So what we hâve is a team that’s super passionate about making an online game. So we’re able to make Conker 2, so to speak, and hâve it be just online. But if you think of what a lot of people hâve done with online multiplayer games, what you end up with, is a big multiplayer game, but then when you play it by yourself, it’s a big multiplayer game with bots. And this team is like - look, we hâve this great asset, which is Bad Fur Day, which not a lot of people played ail the way through. I mean, it sold really well by most publisher’s standards, but by Rare’s standards it was, y’know, one seventh of Coldeneye. So they’re like, rip it apart, whole new engine, ail new art, and then throw in Bad Fur Day with some of the stuff that didn’t make it in because of schedule or was eut out because of content. So if you’ve played Conker before — first of ail it’s gorgeous, Controls better, runs faster and has some extra content you’ve missed. If you’ve never played it before and you’re buying it because multiplayer is going to be so great, then here’s a one player expérience that’s not just bots. James: And everything about E3 is no longer relevant - we can tell you that. The entire look and feel of Conker has evolved since E3, and that’s why you’re going to be greatly surprised when you see it in the next couple of months! HYPER: Cool. Thanks for your time guys! Q 2003 Ubi Soit (ntcdo-nmcfit Ail Rigéih R«emd. Bcyond Good & Evil, Ul» Soh and iht Ubi Soit logo are lrod«nork\ ol Ubi Soll EUeitommed in die US ond/or «lire* roiwlric 'X ood 'PlaySlatiMi'we regnlered (rodemarln of memermenlist/auflêitlï OROOtOUWMMTIWMl ...un vMBsm * _ journalistic quest ^ -^ - ' ' WWj T k A ~ ANIMATEO VIOLENCE Playstation,? PC CD-ROM Be yon d GopD&Evii: www.beyondgoodevil.com UBISOFT 40 HYPER» NOKIA N-GAGE RRP $599 playing games doesn’t. The N-Cage launched with about seven games, but as of going to press, Nokia were only able to get us three. Civen the slaggings that many of the launch games received online we’re left wondering whether they really didn’t hâve any press copies... or if it was simply damage control. In any case, to test the unit we were given Sonic N, Tomb Raider and Pandémonium. VISUALS AND PLAYABILITY It’s very clear that in comparison to ail other mobile phones, the N-Gage is way ahead in terms of gaming. Both Pandémonium and Tomb Raider demonstrate competent 3D, and Sonic N shows that the System can move at a pretty decent rate in 2D too. In ail, the N-Gage games remind us of first génération PSone titles... and not only because half the games are just that. Whether you want to play these titles is another matter altogether. Pandémonium was always a poor man’s Klonoa and really should hâve been left where it belongs — in the bargain bin. Tomb Raider’s a little more debatable. It actually looks quite faithful to the Playstation original, but the frame rate and convoluted Controls (gee, shoulder buttons sure would corne in handy!) don’t help matters much. [left] When you zoom in, it doesn't look so bad! ERRORS IN DESIGN Starting out with aesthetics, there’s no denying that this is a larger-than-average piece of equipment. Whether you like the look is up to you, but the good news is that it sits comfortably in the hand, is fairly light, and features an impressively responsive D-Pad. Nokia hâve made some serious errors in design though. For starters, making the screen vertical rather than horizontal is a strange decision that défiés the conventions of videogaming. Outside puzzle games and arcade ports, this could definitely be detrimental to gameplay. Compared to the GBA, the screen’s quite small too. Then again, at least it’s nice and sharp, with good contrast and colour représentation. The lack of shoulder buttons is also a missed opportunity, leaving you fumbling for buttons on the number pad in some games. Also odd is the placement of the phone speaker and receiver on the side of the unit, forcing you to hold it side on when making a call. This, unfortunately, results in looking like a dick. In fact, whenever I answer my N-Gage the people around me generally start laughing. Not a good sign. Perhaps the most criminal design decision of ail, however, is to force you to turn off the phone, take off the back of the unit and remove the battery in order to switch games. You then hâve to put the battery back, replace the back cover, boot the phone up (which is considerably longer than for most - a good thirty seconds) and go into the game. Not only does this waste almost two minutes of your time, but juggling batteries and flash cards on public transport would be a nightmare. For a device designed largely for playing games, it also seems quite baffling to us that the N-Gage doesn’t corne with any games installed. We’re not asking for anything too elaborate - just some small games to give us a feel for the unit before we shell out for actual games. The irony really is delicious - every mobile phone in the history of man cornes with at least one crappy game already installed, yet the first phone designed primarily for 0 0S00SÏÏ0 [above, left to right] Pandémonium, yep that old game; Tomb Raider, again. 00J Brace yourselves gentle readers, as this SH I review may be a rocky ride. Standing atop the page, you can expect to tumble down a mountain of criticism, but also catch air off kicker ramps of positivity. In other words, the rumours you’ve heard are true - the N-Gage isn’t quite what we were hoping for, but by the same token, perhaps it’s not quite the devil device that some hâve made it out to be. Let’s take a ride. HYPER VERDICT »mfortable te use, bluetooth bas great potential for multiplayer, good FM radio fonction, good ring tones and wallpapers, cute game boxes! support, no extemal volume control, small screen, small in- built memory, no shoulder buttons, bad design for changing games, taco flavoured phone calls, no caméra, gaming chews through the battery, sluggish response on mony menus. OVE RALL_ N-Gage is sluck in no-man's land. At this stage, we can't recommend if as a gaming device or a mobile phone. The future looks bleak. Sonic runs pretty nicely, but again, pales in comparison to newer efforts like Sonic Advance 2 on the GBA. It also highlights the restrictions of the screen ratio, with the default view being heavily letterboxed, so that you can see more of the course. Switching to the much prettier full screen mode sacrifices visibility, leaving you with a choice between visuals and playability. Damn. It’s rather amusing that Nokia hâve focused so heavily on pushing 3D gaming on their System, because until the hardware is powerful enough to do it properly, the games will always compare unfavourably to other gaming platforms. Nintendo’s portable System is proof that people are still happy to play beautifully crafted 2D games, with a smattering of 3D on the side. Perhaps Nokia are now realising the same thing. Either that or they’re lamenting that they didn’t put a damn GPU in the thing. If you already hâve an N-Gage, however, and are wondering which of the launch titles is worth getting, our advice (although based on limited play-time) would be Tony Hawk, thanks to its good wireless multiplayer options. Mind you, you’d need a friend with an N-Gage and the game too. Could be a tricky proposition. JUGGLED AND RE-PLUGGED In the realm of general functionality, there are a bunch of things that the N-Gage really has going for it. For starters the range of ring tones that corne with the phone are excellent. There are stacks of them, and the sound quality is quite decent. Also positive on the audio front is the included FM Radio tuner - the réception is excellent and the software is very user friendly, allowing you to auto tune, then name and save your favourite stations. For some reason, however, you can only activate the radio when the headphones are plugged in... even through from there you can switch to the extemal speaker. Indeed, we suspect that Nokia are assuming that users are almost ail going to use the included headphones. How else to explain the baffling piece of design that results in users looking like they’re listening to a taco when they make a call? Mind you, if you’re using the headphones you can add yet another thing to be unplugged, juggled and re-plugged when you want to change games. The N-Gage also lets you transfer mp3s from your PC to the unit. The only problem is that there’s almost no free memory. Thus, in order to record from the radio or transfer music from PC, you’ll need to purchase a spare MMC, which is yet another thing to juggle in and out if you intend on playing games. For the price of entry the phone really should corne with a 16MB flash card. HYPER» Hardware» To complément our N-Gage review, we thought we'd take a look at a couple of top of the line phones to see how they compare in both gaming capability and phone functionality + + SHARP GX20 RRP $1049 The CX20 is the latest Vodafone Live! exclusive phone, and we hâve to say - it’s really impressive. Those of you with CXios can pretty much just toss them in the bin the improvement is so huge. The interface has been completely revamped, and the screen is amazingly sharp (no pun intended), packing in 240x320 pixels into a space only marginally larger than the N-Gage’s 176x208 screen. The image quality on the GX20 is leaps and bounds ahead of the Z600 and the N-Gage, and its 16-bit colour palette is on par with the Z6oo, but higher than the N-Gage’s 12-bit. NICE AND INTUITIVE Using the GX20 is a pleasure. Adjusting from a Nokia mindset was very straightforward, and the options available are ail nice and intuitive. There are plenty of features that raise this phone above others we've used too. For starters the caméra is about as fully featured as we’ve seen on a phone. There are two focal lengths - near and far, as well as three resolution options and two detail settings. At the top resolution (480x640 - as opposed to 288x352 on the Z600) the pictures turn out admirably. There are a number of retouching options, and you can also set a delay (allowing you to get into the shot) as well as set it to "external mode” which lets you shut the case and use the external display as the viewfinder - perfect for self portraits. There’s even a "flash” of sorts - a light next to the caméra that is used as both an icon for charging, and a flash for taking photos. Vou can even set it to a host of different colours (including "disco” that rapidly flashes through them ail). Although it’s a little gimmicky, the feature worked better than expected. Sending pics via MMS and email is also simple, as is emailing from PC to the phone (to send a wallpaper for example). And let’s not forget the option to record video with sound. Gear! There are a host of small touches that really help make the GX20 feel polished too, such as alternate frames on the main menu icons when you select them - giving the illusion of [above] Cam tries out his new lime green eledric shaver. a little animation and making things feel a little more interactive. So what’s it missing? Well, the addition of bluetooth would hâve been nice, as infrared doesn’t really eut it any more. PAN PIPES Hand in hand with the GX20 is the Vodafone Live! service... and we’re a little less Impressed by it. Accessing it is as simple as pressing a button, but it’s a little disappointing that you’re charged for pretty much everything. Even reading the latest news costs money. Since we weren’t paying for our test model though, we went nuts downloading ring tones and games and graphies. To this end Vodafone really need to implement some quality control on their service. The ring tones were rather poor, with tracks like JT’s Senorita and Sweet Child of Mine sounding like McDonald’s muzak renditions. Sweet Child should never, we repeat never, feature pan pipes! NES quality sound for $3.30 a pop? Hmm. Games were a little more reasonable... provided you know which ones are good. The pricing structure is $5-$7 for a game (although some offered a trial version for $1), with the likes of Mini Galaxian, Puzzle Bobble and Bubble Bobble being reasonable value for money. Paying for excrement like 3D Darts and Ministry of Sound: Dance Nation, however, is a crime. Worms was perhaps the worst of the lot though - the CPU hit itself with its own bazookas over and over again, grenades miraculously fell through solid earth, and there was no way to tell which worms were on which team. Vodafone really should hâve some standards, otherwise people won’t want to risk wasting their money again. SONY [above] Your choice of two covers - one ugly, one boring! ERICSSON Z600 Phone RRP $869 • Gameboard RRP $59 The Z6oo is the new flagship model for Sony Ericsson, but unfortunately it isn’t as désirable as the CX20 in our eyes. For starters, the screen resolution is a paltry 128x160 pixels, leaving the présentation looking decidedly fuzzy. The overall feel of the unit is good, however, and slightly more sturdy than the GX20 - producing a really satisfying click when it opens. The buttons also feel great. Whether youjike the operating System or not is really a matter of personal choice, and although l’m sure it becomes second nature after a while, I found adjusting to the Z600 rather painful. Even when you understand the way it works, there's still a slight delay on button presses and the menu System is a little counter intuitive at times. eut. Now, normally the games that corne with a mobile wouldn’t be of ail that much interest to us, but the Z600 has taken an interesting tack towards luring gamers in. Rather than go the Nokia route and design a phone around games, they’ve released an add-on that is literally a controller that snaps to your handheld. It’s a great idea, but do the hardware and software stack up? A GREAT IDEA The Z600 is a little shorter than the CX20, but also a little chunkier. For the style conscious, its front and back panels are exchangeable, but we think the silver option is the most sleek. Like the CX20, the Z600 has an external LCD. It’s small and monochrome, but serves its purpose well, with a very easy to ready time display. Pity that it doesn't hâve the extra functionality that the GX2o’s does. The Z600 also has a caméra with two resolution options - 120x160 and 288x352. It has a night mode, as well as a number of effects - black and white, négative and sepia, which add a little fun to the expérience (and will be familiar to users of the T610). The area that the phone does excel in is sound - the quality is perhaps marginally better than on the GX20. The Z600 cornes with a number of games installed. Sony Ericsson weren’t able to confirm at the time of going to press just what ^ games they would be (aside from V-Rally 2), but we’ll tell you about the games that were on the test model as no doubt one or two of them will make the POTATO ROLLING The games that we got are: Alien Scum, Honey Cave 2, Minigolf and V-Rally 2. Alien Scum is a very poor Space Invaders clone, nuff said. Honey Cave 2 sounded kinda dirty, but turned out to be a very poor side on jump and shoot game, where you play some kind of machine gun toting honey loving warthog (or at least that’s what it looks like to us). Minigolf got us a little excited, especially after the excellent flash minigolf that had done the rounds of the office, but alas, it wasn’t to be. Whoever decided that having an accuracy bar in a mini-golf game should be spanked. And not in a nice way. And last of ail is V-Rally 2, which has about as much in common with rally driving as a potato rolling down a hill. Think Hang On but with a whole lot less Visual pizzazz and no real handling. Still, we did laugh out loud when it became apparent that the game has a grand total of two sound effects. Worst. Sound effects. Ever. Unfortunately, it was a little difficult to test how responsive the controller was... simply because the games themselves were so poor. From navigating menus and playing the available games, however, we’d hâve to say that a SNES controller this is not. It’s adéquate but not great. We’ll re-evaluate it if some good Z600 games corne our way. design, Bluetooth, Gameboard has potential. •w resolution screen. inter intuitive menus, bad Stylish, but a lot of missed potential. \L > ? 3 S » CO 44 HYPER» WinWinWin » Entries close January 6th Win Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines on PS2Î He’s back... on console! While he isn’t staring lovingly at a map of California, Amie is busy kicking arse as the Terminator. Rise of the Machines is hitting consoles this Christmas, and we hâve a cool Terminator pack to give away, as well as prizes for the runners-up. If you want to get your hands on Amie and the sexy Terminatrix for some action figurine fun, then answer the following question: Who directed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines? Put your answer on the back of an envelope along with your name and address and send it to: SkyNet Sucks, Hyper, 78 Renwick Street, Redfern, NSW 2016. FIRST PRIZfc, 1 x Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (PS2) 1 x 20cm Terminatrix Figurine 1 x 20cm TX Figurine 1 x 20cm T-850 (Arnie) Figurine 1 x Atari T-shirt FOUR RUNNERS-UP ; PRIZES: 1 x Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (PS2) 1 x Atari T-shirt > A Win Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time on PS2! Cee, the Prince is back too! Who woulda thunk it? He’s transformed from ! his 2D pixel State to a gorgeous 3D character capable of some truly breathtaking acrobaties. You want this game! Ubi Soft and Hyper want to offer 5 copies to some lucky readers if you can answer the following question: n® /Name the man who created the first Prince of Persia game. Put your answer on the back of an envelope along with your name and address and send it to: Princely Prizes, Hyper, 78 Renwick Street, Redfern, NSW 2016. Lords Of EvcrOuest wants WarCraft 1II s head on a :\\ Ociober 2003 ’owcr MEDIUM LEVEL ANIMATED VIOLENCE SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT UBI5CJFT REVIEW INDEX 48 Pro Evolution Soccer 3 52 Prince of Persio: The Sonds of Time 54 FIFA 2004 56 True Crime 58 Secret Weopons Over Normandy 60 Gladius 62 Dog's Life 63 Freedom Fighters 64 SSX 3 66 Project Gotham Rac'rng 2 63 Amped 2 70 Rainbow Six 3 72 Armed & Dangerous 74 Grabbed by the Ghoulies 76 XIII 78 Max Payne 2 80 Hidden & Dangerous 2 82 Mario Kart: Double Dashü 84 Star Wars: Rebel Strike 86 Age of Mythology: Titans 86 Group S Challenge 86 SWAT Global Strike Team 88 Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds 88 Judge Dredd: Dredd vs Death 88 The Simpsons Hit & Run 90 Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu 90 EyeToy Groove 90 NHL Hitz Pro 92 Sword of Mana 92 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 93 Top Gear Rally Advance 93 Prince of Persia GBA Reviews» Game Theory DANIEL STAINES ï^The most obvious and important advantage games hâve over other entertainment media is that they are interactive. Interactivity opérâtes on a variety of levels, some of which are quite abstract and entirely different to simply manipulating objects and pressing buttons. Interprétation, for example, is a form of interactivity. Whenever a player attempts to assign motives to a character in a game or tries to predict what's going to happen next, they are actively interpreting éléments of the game they're playing and interacting with it on a cognitive level. To get a good sense of what l'm talking about here, load up a copy of The Sims and watch one of the "conversations" that take place between your little Simizens. Semantically, the conversations are garbage - just meaningless noises randomly attached to equally meaningless visual imagery. But to a player watching and interpreting these conversations within the context of the game, they're extraordinarily meaningful. "Oh," one says, "that little peace sign must mean they're talking about politics. That'd be right. After ail, my Sim is an opinionated little bastard." In fact, it's arguable that this kind of interprétation is precisely what makes The Sims a game that appeals to such a wide audience. The ability to interpolate motives and émotions into "normal people" going about everyday domestic duties is something that almost anyone can do, but the same cannot be said for a gun-toting hero abandoned on a démon infested space-station. This raises the interesting question of whether or not ambiguity is an asset for game design. After ail, the reason one can so easily interpret what happens in The Sims is because ail the events are contextually ambiguous - players essentially take the base materials offered by Maxis and craft their own unique expérience out of it. Could the same kind of thing happen in a more traditionally structured game? Would a narrative that features characters with well-developed but intentionally ambiguous personalities be more involving than one with personas that are easily categorised and understood? l'd be inclined to say "yes". System Shock 2, for example, featured one of the most engaging narratives yet seen in a videogame despite the fact that the player never actually "meets" any of the characters involved in it. Ail that we get are snippets of audio diaries and a context to place them in - the rest is up to the imagination. For the most part, System Shock 2 isn't scary - what the player thinks while playing it is. Until next month, daniels@next.com.au HYPER CREW TOP 5 GAMES Eliot "Left Back" Fish 1. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 - PS2 "Time to edit a full Southampton squad..." 2. Call of Duty - PC 3. Championship Manager 03/04 - PC 4. Mario Kart: DD!! - GCN 5. Counter-Strike - Xbox Cam "It's fun to play to gether" Shea _ 1. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga -GBA "Brilliant if not a little lacking in Wang." 2. Max Payne 2 - PC 3. Mario Karl: DD!! - GCN 4. Call of Duty - PC 5. Prince of Persia - Xbox Malcolm "1-0" Campbell 1. Pro Evolution Soccer 3 - PS2 "Fixed player mode is a révélation." 2. Mario Kart: DD!I - GCN 3. Soûl Calibur 2 - PS2 4. Retum of the King - PS2 5. Castlevania - PS2 Frank "The way I like my gin" Dry_ 1. Prince of Persia - PS2 "l'm hypnotised by those combat moves..." 2. Mario Kart: DD!! - GCN 3. Project Gotham Racing 2 - Xbox 4. Bombastic - PS2 5. Ghost Hunter - PS2 THE HYPER SCORING SYSTEM The Overall Score - what's it ail about? These games simply suck. A total waste of money! 50-59 1 60-69 1 70-79 1 80 39 Bad game design and possibly not even worth renting. Average, verging on bad. This game is flawed, but worth a rent. Good, verging on average. Maybe try before you buy. Very, very good. This is a great game, but not perfect. Excellent and worthy of a Big Rubber Stamp. Buy it! HYPER» 47 48 HYPER» REVIEW » KONAM aèicèài Vittel i Now Simon Says "Freeze! Gee, the balls are getting bigger PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 3 JACKSON GOTHE-SNAPE never walks alone. THIERRY HENRY'S FEET Like tinea in your grandfather’s shower, the Pro Evolution Soccer sériés is infectious. From the shadows 0/ FIFA, Pro Evo has slowly emerged in the last two years to stand head and shoulders above its rivais. Because, like tinea from your grandfather’s shower, the magic of Pro Evo grows on you. Initially, control might appear unresponsive, licenses lacking and the game slow, but over time an appréciation of the game’s subtle récréation of soccer, itself a finely balanced, diverse game, should convince every rational gamer. PRO EVO 2004 See, unlike tinea in your grandfather’s bathroom, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is the best game in its sériés, the best sporting game ever created (better even than FIFA on 3DO!), Hyper game of the month, and undoubtedly one of the games of the year. It is an achievement in gameplay refinement, the most intellectually and physically challenging title ever made as well as the most compelling multiplayer title you could want. However, like licking tinea fungus from the floor of your grandfather’s shower while he stands next to you naked, on paper it appears a little bit screwed up. But... licenses? Good commentary? High-quality new features? Who needs em!? It is a testament to the power of good old gameplay that Pro Evolution Soccer 3 remains so grand a game. Don’t get fooled by the dramatic title, Pro Evolution Soccer 3 is simply a yearly update to the sériés. While EA get bagged for their yearly sports releases, Konami can escape the not-so-formidable wrath of gaming journalists. Annual Christmas releases? Cynical, some might say (others, perhaps, realistic). The point is, between Pro Evolution Soccer 2 and Pro Evolution Soccer 3, not much has changed. It is still basically the same game - old players will be able to make the transition with ease. Gameplay has been tweaked, sure, while présentation has been improved and a few cute additions hâve been made. The textures in particular are much sharper, blur filters add polish to replays, and the animation is aesthetically another dramatic leap forward. But Konami knows full well that if it’s not broken, then there’s no need to fix it. The fact that Pro Evo 2 was the game we removed from our PS2S when we inserted Pro Evo 3 says stacks. If you’re still concerned, don’t be. The game is very definitely a whole new challenge, and the additions, even if they are small and sometimes poorly implemented, make PES3 an undoubted must-buy. But let’s start with the bad stuff. Firstly, the same old license garbage means that only six of the 62 club teams (there are around 70 nations), and many nations’ players in the game hâve incorrect names. While many are obvious (Smiter for Smicer, Harston for Hartson), many are not (Farzel Menst for Van der Meyde). This has knock-on effects for the commentary, which has to revert to referring to players only by their number. Likewise, team kits are also inaccurate, as are many player likenesses. In true bewilderingly inconsistent Pro Evo fashion though, six club teams are fully licensed, featuring accurate sponsors, kits and names. Great, if you’re a Feyenoord, Juventus, Roma, Milan, Lazio or Parma fan. Frustrating if you’re not. And don’t give me that shit about these quirky names adding character to the game. Play Gee, the balls are getting smaller YOU CAN GUESS WHERE JAMIE CARRAGHER WILL PUT A BACKHEELED, LEFT-FOOTED THROUGH BALL TIME TO PUT AWAY SWOS There's no escape from the glory of Pro Evo: PES3 is coming to PC. Ifs a straight port of the PS2 version, meaning the graphies aren't as sophisticated as PC users might corne to expert, but after playing on Pro Evo on TVs for years, by gee she's crisp. And give these freakish online soccer communities just a few hours and they'll corne out with so many unofficial patches with proper kits, and names, and compétitions, that PES3 on PC could become the version you simply must own. You'll just need a Dual Shock 2 style PC gamepad... Milan versus juve and if s hard to go back to crappy Merseyside Red in Mrs. Houllier’s knitted red jumpers. Apart from that, ifs only really the menu System gremlins and the length of replays (you can’t save that classic 60 yard bail that leads to Kewell’s wonder strike, only the strike itself) that will irk everybody. We’d like to see the ref, linesmen - sorry, assistant refs - and bench players in the game. We’d like some full leagues, and more club teams. We’d like the option of taking quick set pièces. We’d like better commentary - PES3’s is more précisé in its description of the game but also more répétitive. But that’s about it - nothing major. For a football fan, ifs close to perfect. For the rest of you, it could be the best advertisement soccer has ever known. What makes Pro Evolution Soccer so incredible then? Primarily, the learning curve that cornes with such an essential simulation of a sport. As if you were playing soccer yourself (you know, on grass), initially you’ll be able to do ail the basic stuff: pass, kick, tackle. You won’t be very good, but you’ll get by. Over time, you’ll begin to understand the subtleties in control, swarming in defense, instant mid-height crosses, different running speeds, and the excellent player balance/stability System. As confidence grows, 360s spins, 30-yarders and bicycle kicks will become more common, but always will you hâve to work for goals. What is the most crucial factor in the game’s greatness though is the control system’s predictability. Solid, realistic physical principles détermine the | | You can buy | some lovely Pro • • • Evolution 3 merchandise at www. konami-europe.com success of button presses, meaning you can guess where jamie Carragher will put a backheeled, left-footed through bail — that is, consistently at Thierry Henry’s feet. Intuitive is the only way to describe it. Players will only perfectly complété commands when under no pressure, and with succinct, timed button presses. Chuck Olof Mellberg up your arse, and as you’d expect your control and accuracy will be compromised. The best example is shooting, where even the simplest tap ins can be skewed wide if you go a little mashtastic with your dual shock. Make no mistake, Pro Evolution Soccer has the most rewarding, comprehensive, and satisfying control System of any game on any System. AS GOOD AS GAMING GETS Likewise, intelligent, footballistic Al gives you the chance to use a range of workable strategies that suit your game and the style of your players in both attack and defense. Use the new version’s ’forwards press’ quick tactic setting, and punish the opposition’s défensive mistake, then jü simply sit back in your own half and J hit it long to jan Koller (sorry, ’Kemar’). But, as good as the Al is — >0 50 HYPER» REVIEW » NEW MEANS GOOD, YA? Here's a sélection of the new additions. The good and the bad... ADVANTAGE RULE Good: Sometimes works. Bad: Mostly doesn't. HANDBALLS Good: They're in real life. Goodo then. Bad: Annoying, unfairly biased towards the defense, and unnecessary. REPLAY AT ANY TIME Good: Watch yourself smash the crossbar in slow-mo, even if you don't score. Bad: You can't go bock to it after the whistle has gone, and they're so damn short! GOALIE CONTROL Good: Better for dispatching long throûgh balls. Classic in multiplayer. Bad: Twitchy Controls. And the Al will always be better than you. FIXED PLAYER SYSTEM Good: Libero Grande done properly. Just watch the offsides! Bad: Nothing, this is serious glory in 8 player. PES SHOP Good: Offers a matériel excuse for playing more. Bad: We'd play anyway. And a roster edit option should be unlocked from the start. MAN UAL PASS SYSTEM Good: More précision in weighting balls. Bad: You're supposed to click R3 in now. Stoopid Konami. WEFA MASTER LEAGUE Good: A better illusion of the European league network. Even more compelling than last year - the first few seasons are the most demanding, rewarding gaming expérience we've ever had by ourselves. Bad: Division ladder not high enough. Minimal management. It's not real. Promising young players get too good too easily. it will press for equalisers, send keepers up for late corners, sit back and defend a lead - it is multiplayer where PES3 offers the most reward. With friends, there is no reason why you should stop playing Pro Evo 3 before PES4 arrives. Some might be disappointed to hear the balance of the game has swung back towards the defense from the dribble-happy PES2 System. The resuit is a game that forces you to play it around more. We tend to like it. Particularly the way the Al defenders cluster around the top of the box means that clean shooting opportunities are now much more difficult to discover. Add to that volleys now being much easier to strike, and shots in general having a little bit more zip, and we’re in heaven. And though the new, somewhat stubborn manual passing System (now, a click of R3 is required) will force vétérans to relearn new Controls, it promises to add more précision to your distribution. This is a game everyone - football fans, serious gamers, girlfriends, even grandfathers - must play. It is about as good as gaming gets. ü CATEGORY: Soccer / PLAYERS: 1 -8 / DEVELOPER: KCET / PUBLISHER: Konami / PRICE: $ 99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Refined gameplay with less emphasis on pace than PES2. MINUS: Quite a lot actually. But we still love you. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 89 80 95 Pity the fools that never get to play it. You’re the commander of Rainbow Six, an international elite SWAT team. With the new voice communication System, use your microphone to control your fellow agents and accomplish your mission together. www.rainbowsix3.com 20C3Rtdtam InfnKwnent Atty*Rcw i«d R*d Simm ond Rfd tam ln»rrt#nment are irodrnwk* o» Rfd Swm bUfttMitni .ndw USo«d <• rfv wv*ir Red Sv-r- frtt-v-^i h. - : llb fcdt Iniptonment company «iottoft W»» «** Ut ond dit XKn legs «ne erfw reg^ttd «aSemorls cd M«owft Cocpcr otion m ihe US and .** mcdwi l\ ■üi 9 JTfl 1/ 1 1 flî] 1 K w 52 HYPER» REVIEW » I told you it would be an exciting ffirst date' PRINCE OF PERSIA > v PHILIP KENAN wishes he moved as realistically as the Prince. Aside from being a powerhouse distribuer and publisher of gaming titles, Ubi Soft is quickly shaping up to be a developer of note as well, with recent releases such as Splinter Cell, Raven Shield and now Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Vou’ve seen amazingly lifelike yet simultaneously stylised animations in Splinter Cell, the malleability of time in Blinx, third person hand-to- hand combat in the likes of Oni or Buffy, bullet time in Enter the Matrix or Max Payne, and the general puzzle solving aesthetic in Tomb Raider or earlier itérations of the Prince franchise. What you haven’t seen, however, is one game that présents ail of these tropes in such an incredibly polished way that the whole thing seems totally unlike anything else you are likely to hâve played. The end resuit is an incredible expérience that, although sometimes frustrating, is always immensely playable and compelling. A NUMBER OF OBSTACLES When the first Prince of Persia was released way back in 1989 there was a lot of hullabaloo in the gaming press about Jordan Mechner, and how he filmed his brother prancing about and then painstakingly rotoscoped the whole shebang to achieve the uncannily lifelike animations. Although the amazing animations hâve returned in this most welcomed follow up, you won’t find any rotoscoped footage hidden anywhere, as ail of the amazing work has been animated by hand. Aside from showing how far computer animation has corne in the last 14 years, the hand drawn animations mean that the Prince isn't simply limited to realistic physical actions, although they do make up the bulk of his abilities. Aside from running, jumping, climbing and fighting, the Prince can now run up or across walls for short distances and even launch himself off said walls to reach hard to access areas or one of the omniprésent flagpoles just aching to be swung from. Each level challenges the player to brave a number of obstacles ranging from drop-away floors to traps and bottomless pits, requiring the judicious use of ail of the Prince’s abilities. It’s unfortunate that there is only one way through ail of the levels, but the size and intricacy of the puzzles more than make up for this. Although the prospect of navigating through the highly dangerous terrain can seem a bit daunting at first, Ubi Soft hâve added a nifty little feature along with their save points. At the beginning of each new area the player is given the opportunity to save (something that they really should do at any given opportunity). Aside from just saving the data of the player’s current status and location, the save also flashes up a fast motion highlight of some of the tasks that need to be performed to beat the coming area. These videos are immensely helpful and never give too much away, instead informing the player just enough to whet their appetite and make them stay up way past their bedtime to play the next level. y> THE PRINCE COMES INTO POSSESSION OF A MAGICAL DAGGER WITH THE ABIUTYTO STOP OR REWIND TIME AVAILABLE ON: CAN'T LIVE WITH 'EM... Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time has an excellent and evocative soundtrack but unfortunately it sometimes overshadows the wonderfully acerbic voice acting prévalent through the majority of the game. After setting ail of the evil in motion it quickly becomes apparent that up until being thrust into the limelight as a saviour, the Prince led a pretty self-absorbed, cushy life. Do yourself a favour and turn down the music so you can hear some of the Prince's wonderfully bitter diatribes about life, the universe and especially his lovely female sidekick. FATAL SWORD BLOWS Combat plays quite a major rôle in The Sands of Time and highlights one of the finest technological achievements in the game. After the first few levels, the Prince cornes into possession of a magical dagger with the ability to stop or rewind time. Much like a wooden stake is used against vampires, the dagger is a finishing move and absorbs the titular sands of time possessing many of the enemies. Once the dagger is charged with enough sand, the player can freeze opponents for easy killing, slow time or even rewind about 15 seconds. The latter ability, aside from being incredibly useful for negating deadly falls or fatal sword blows is quite a technical achievement considering that the PS2 has no dedicated storage device unlike the Xbox, the ni Whilst you can only play POP • • • on PS2 this year, exped to see some other versions in the new year... console that first introduced the idea of playing with time to such a degree in Blinx. Although Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time isn’t the Prince’s first foray into the world of 3D - that dubious honour goes to the terrible and justifiably forgotten Prince of Persia 3D - it definitely showcases what is possible with the combination of a new school graphies engine and old school gameplay. Hopefully Ubi Soft will add more to the Prince of Persia canon in coming years and with any luck a certain other developer with a sériés of action games about a busty ponytailed English woman will take some notes, ü PS2 / XBOX / GCN / PC CATEGORY: Action / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Ubi Soft Montreal / PUBLISHER: Ubi Soft / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: Ml 5+ / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Visually amazing, intricate level design, slick animation MINUS: Some caméra problems, linear VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 94 88 91 This is how ail 3D action games should be. HYPER» 53 54 HYPER» REVIEW » FIFA 2004 FRANK DRY goes back to playing FIFA '98... FIFA and Pro Evo always seem to launch at the same time of the year and inevitably go head-to-head in the comparions. For many football-loving consumers the choice can be a very confusing one, and generally FIFA wins out due to the real-life players on the cover of the box and the promise of a fully licensed expérience with ail the player names, kits and stadiums. But does ail that polish make a game fun to play? OFF THE BALL We hear it ail the time, Tm going to buy FIFA because I want the real players”. But what exactly are you getting? Yep, the kits are perfect, the player likenesses are on the whole pretty accurate, the teams are ail named correctly and ail the stadiums are modelled on the real-life venues. But when the caméra perspective is zoomed out to a playable angle, those likenesses and licensed kits are rendered moot, and you’re left with the gameplay. The real question gamers should be asking is "does it play a good game of football?" Sadly, the answer would be no. FIFA 2004 introduces the "Off the Bail" System. Much like EA’s Madden sériés, this highlights your teammates on the field and links them with a button on your controller. This allows you to - in theory - select a player you’re going to pass to, and move that player into space to receive your pass. Yep, that means that whilst you’re controlling your own player who is in possession of the bail, you then move a separate player with the other analogue stick into a desired position. We get the feeling this System was created because EA couldn’t write Al that would make runs, move players into space and generally play intelligently. With the off the bail System, you hâve to do it ail by yourself. GLITZ AND GLAMOUR Well, we persisted with this method for a number of days, and our verdict is that it just doesn’t play well. As soon as you take your eyes off the player you’re controlling, you tend to get tackled, or your passes don’t complété. EA hâve attempted to counter this problem by slowing the speed of the game down to give you time to make the play. But from the zoomed out angle the game becomes slow, clunky and awkward. There isn’t even an option to increase the game speed (they removed it in this version). Even so, you can still hold down the shoot button from almost anywhere outside the box and still score like Cantona, even if you’re a second division no-hoper. Is it worth persisting with this unrealistic gameplay because the Man U kit has a Vodaphone logo on it? Buy FIFA this year you’ll discover the harsh truth. ’i’i AVAILABLE ON: PS2/XBOX/GCN/PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Sports / PLAYERS: 1 -4 / DEVELOPER: EA Sports / PUBLISHER: EA Sports / PRICE: $ 99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Fully licensed. MINUS: Poor menu design, off- the-ball control, the pick-up-and- play element has gone. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 90 85 70 FIFA 2003, ironically, is a better game than this one. M | FIFA 2004 | does hâve • • • an excellent & voried soundtrack. /7VIDIÀ. From the original creators of Mystï one ofthe best-selling PCgames ever, cornes the biggest, deepest , most challenging adventure yet. Discover Mijstf UKU ™ SfKment in me U S and>'of other countrtes Unf* D'nf" Cyan 1 and Mysf are trademarts of Cyan. Inc and Cyan Wortds. Inc under icense to Utxsoft Entertainment i and other countres y^03 Cyan Wortds, Inc. Putûshed byffcsoU EntertainmK^S.A,resetved Ubisoft uix NVIDIA. tne NVIDIA logo arw the Way It^.MwnUÔ'^PiayedSço are rôggped trad evykatrf 56 HYPER» REVIEW » Let's try this in the privacy of my bedroom TRUE CRIME JACKSON GOTHE-SNAPE is the office kingpin... KING KANG Thankfully, True Crime is much prettier than Vice City ever was. With vibrant use of colour, and a busy urban environment modeled competently, developers Luxoflux hâve managed to impress. Destruction is the name of the game, and as trees fall, lamp-posts explode, ceilings crumble, glass shatters and vehicles ignite, you’ll be cackling at such devastating splendour. While the game’s distance focus blurring lessens the clarity of the graphies, a deflated tyre’s heaving shower of sparks, or the flare of a head-on vehicle’s lights create a level of intensity and intricacy in the visuals that puts Vice City to shame. The engine can even produce some crisp, expressive cut-scenes with its sharp character models. The standard of actors enhance the game’s polish, as characters are voiced by reputable Hollywood names such as Christopher Walken and Cary Oldman. Although the script bubbles along with personality, it’s ail renegade cop/sassy female sidekick stéréotypé. The game earns accolades in effects and soundtrack as well, with the booms of gunfire, the Hong Kong pow of the fight sequences, the extensive West Coast hip-hip soundtrack and the cries of Kang and the pedestrians assisting the intensive visuals in creating an illusion of a living city, and underline the player’s rôle in ail its oblitération. Yet at the heart of True Crime there exists a great absurdity. For as satisfying as destruction might be (unlimited ammo says plenty), only at designated times can you really throw caution to the wind. As a member of the Elite Operations Division, your character Nick Kang has an Following Grand Theft Auto 3’s outrageous success, we haven’t quite received the overwhelming numbers of clones it once appeared were inévitable. Sure, many games hâve taken eues from Rockstar’s masterpiece, but no one has managed to better it. Gameplay- wise, the illusion of non-linearity has defined titles such as Jak il and Tony Hawk’s Underground, and many titles hâve since tasted the waters of controversy. Clearly, though, it was the balance between rewarding gameplay and irrépressible image that led to GTA3’s dominace. So as other publishers try to extract portions of GTA and insert them into their own titles, Activision has other ideas. True Crime: Streets of LA is GTA3 plus Matrix kung fu, big name actors and artists, and bullet-time. It is a cringe-worthy imitation, and as much as we hâte to admit it, it’s really quite fun. Lincoln Blvd •- AS SATISFYING AS DESTRUCTION MIGHT BE, ■ ONLY AT DESIGNATED TIMES CAN YOU REALLY ■ ■ THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND obligation to serve the city, and not decapitate its citizens. Killing innocents makes Kang a ’bad cop’. And before you ail start thinking about the potential with a badge and no questions, at different points in the game’s story you’ll need a 'good cop rep’ to proceed. While the city is huge, its mostly fiat geography and endless residential areas hardly make for interesting commuting. CTA always encouraged exploration, but True Crime’s empty backyards and dearth of jumps mean you’ll want to get back to taking down crims as soon as possible. But herein lies another True Crime paradox. For while the fun lies with the guns, you’ll hâve inadvertently run over so many pedestrians on the streets, that the only path to good karma is through beating and arresting these crims. Which would be fine, except for the fact that fighting success is more a resuit of quick button mashing that anything else. Thankfully, the story sequences provide the méat of the game, but still, too often these are inconsistent and brief. The stealth éléments in particular are horrible - worse, even than those in the Hulk. INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR But True Crime’s biggest problem? The long-time nemesis of the gamer: the loading screen. The apparent incapability of the engine to offer a transition between interior and exterior without the need for loading severely restricts the game’s potential. While smashing furnishings and fixtures in an indoor brawl is quite splendid, the adrenalin seeps away as the fight’s climax is followed by a dozen seconds of thumb twiddling. But — and this is thanks primarily to the game’s grounding in open- ended gameplay - many missions enable the player to use ail the initiative he or she likes. Automotive homicide works just as nicely as a bullet-time style précision drive-by. Though the police pretense does restrict this freedom to a degree, there’s still mounds of fun to be had chilling in LA. Completing a mission, and cruising off to Venice Beach to the sounds of Snoop Dogg, you will get caught up in the big badass LA cop tone of the game, even if most of True Crime’s sheen is transparently corporate (the wittiest it gets is a ’Jockstrap’ mock Rockstar billboard). Play it, enjoy it, and curse it. This is the Jerry Bruckheimer videogame — predictable and formulaic, but just a little bit fun. It’s no work of art, but you could do a lot worse. \'ï Yep, Snoop | Dogg is a • • • hidden playable character in the game. AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX GCN DETAILS ~ CATEGORY: Action / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Luxoflux / PUBLISHER: Activision / PRICE: S99.95 / RATING: MAI 5+ / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Mr. Sheen in présentation. MINUS: Too much loading. Badasses or not, cops are lame. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 89 93 81 True Crime: proving how great GTA3 actually was. HYPER» 57 58 HYPER» REVIEW » think NI go watch Flying High instead Dumbest aircraft design ever? Cigarette lighter must hâve been faulty SECRET WEAPONS NORMANDY DANIEL WILKS says, "Nazis, I hâte those guys." OVER WJ Larry Holland and the team at liii Totally Games are kind of like the unknown soldiers of gaming. Most people hâve heard of Carmack or Newell, and the great Shiggy goes without saying, but Holland and his crew are relative unknowns - unknowns who created such classic games as X-Wing, TIE-Fighter and the first game in the Secret Weapons sériés, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe. Now the boys are back, tackling familiar ground with an accessible, rollicking arcade style combat flight sim set in a quasi-fictional part of WWII that sees a spécial group of Allied fighter pilots roving the sky destroying Nazi weapons development, bombing priority targets, shooting down wing after wing of German and japanese planes and generally making life a living hell for anyone in the Luftwaffe. QUITE A FEAT Secret Weapons Over Normandy présents players with 15 lengthy missions, each with numerous objectives and 23 aircraft to pilot. The planes aren’t simply limited to fighters as well - throughout the various missions you may find yourself behind the yoke of a Wildcat or Hurricane shooting down enemy fighters or flying a ponderous IL-2 Sturmovik bombing a tank column to clear the way for a Russian tank advance. Whilst it’s ail well and good to feature lengthy missions with multiple objectives, developers should take note to give players something to do between objectives. A number of the Secret Weapons missions feature objectives on opposite sides of the map, necessitating a couple of minutes (literally) of straight flying to get to the next goal, most of the time with nary an enemy in sight. To add insult to injury it's not a rare occurrence to get to the objective to either hâve the mission fail because you were too slow or to be routed on to the next objective as your wingmen hâve already completed the objective you were on your way to. One of the real highlights of Secret Weapons are the introductory cutscenes that précédé each of the 15 missions. Although simple in design they work perfectly to convey the serious yet simultaneously "boy’s own” nature of the game. The combination of archivai still footage, CG animation and letters to home works a treat and really help to bring the whole game together. The in-game graphies are generally less spectacular with some quite low-resolution planes, dull landscapes and unsatisfying explosions yet they somehow manage to corne together and churn out something quite appealing. One of the more interesting (if somewhat pointless) features of the game is the ability to record and replay 15-second snatches of the action at any given time in the game. Ultimately this feature serves no real purpose aside from some pretty cool bragging rights, and from a technical point of view it’s quite a feat. HORDES OF AXIS WARPLANES Probably the biggest setback facing Secret Weapons is the control System. Although it offers three permutations of both of the basic control setups ail these really do is change the basic button configuration. Both the standard arcade style Controls and advanced flight sim style just don’t feel right. Using a single stick in a combat flight sim just doesn’t seem to hâve enough précision to help in shooting down hordes and hordes of * J, J •- ^ INOURBOOKS, A MULTIPLAYER OPTION IS "■ "■ FAR MORE PREFERABLE THAN A LEVEL r ■ EDITOR ANY DAY OF THE WEEK ONE FOR DUBYA Why is it, that after the lengthy preamble detailing how England was the only country to manage to defend against German/s blitzkrieg and to counter-attack Churchill created a spécial group of pilots made up of members drawn from ail over Europe and even a few (note the word few) Americans, players end up in the rôle of an American? Honestly - the war is in Europe, it's about a British spearheaded operation but you still hâve to play an American? Is the Yank market really that fickle that they wouldn't buy a game that doesn't feature one of their own countrymen? Axis warplanes. Unfortunately the options allowing the player to use both sticks for control don’t fare much better with the right stick (meant to control yaw) seeming to strafe rather than perform its function. These problems become apparent as early as the first mission of the game, which sees players striving to shoot down a wing of slow but powerful German Stukas before they blow up an Allied flotilla, a task you’ll hâve to try multiple times due to the lack of any pinpoint accuracy needed to shoot down an enemy flying ace. Strange as it may Sound, this inaccuracy doesn’t hinder multiplayer at ail, as both opponents are saddled with the same drawbacks making for an even playing field. Combat flight sims often work better on the PC than on a console (due to the range of peripherals available) but Secret Weapons over Normandy is one of those times where the console version is far more préférable. Why? Secret Weapons on consoles cornes bundled with a 2 player head to head multiplayer option whereas the planned PC port will forgo multiplayer altogether in favour of a level editor. In our books, a multiplayer option is far more préférable than a level editor any day of the week. The console version of the game features eight multiplayer maps and numerous game styles to keep you happy. Unfortunately Larry Holland and his team hâve failed to recapture lightning in a bottle (unlike the sterling X-Wing and TIE-Fighter) with Secret Weapons Over Normandy but what we are left with is still a highly playable, if somewhat frustrating combat flight sim. ni The greatest warplane ever • • • was probably the British Spitfire... AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Flight Combat / PLAYERS: 1 -2 / PUBLISHER: LucasArts DEVELOPER: Totally Games PRICE: $89.95 / RATING: Ml 5 + AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Great planes, excellent cutscenes, long missions. MINUS: Iffy Controls, frustrating, long flight times. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 80 79 78 OVERALL An enjoyable airborne romp. HYPER» 59 60 HYPER» REVIEW » GLADIUS DANIEL STAINES enfers the arena and préparés for the worst... Glàdius is a game based on a whole bunch of good ideas. Establish, develop and maintain your own gladiatorial school - that’s a good idea. Recruit warriors from a myriad of different races and use combat expérience to learn powerful offensive, défensive and magical skills - that’s another good idea. Travel across the globe and participate in gladiatorial leagues, tournaments and championships - yep, that’s a pretty good idea too. However, as anyone who’s played Blinx or The Sims Online can attest, good ideas don’t always make for good games. It takes a lot of hard work and design savvy to transfer appealing theory into playable reality. Given LucasArts’ track record of late, one would be forgiven for being a little sceptical in this regard. After ail, RTX Red Rock sounded pretty good on paper and it turned out to be little more than médiocre in practice. Could the same thing hâve happened to Gladius? DEEP AND SUPREMELY ACCESSIBLE Well, yeah, it could’ve - but the important thing is that it didn’t. Gladius is actually a really cool game. I know that calling something "cool" is hardly the most professional brand of game criticism on the planet, but that was the word we kept using while we were playing and there really doesn’t seem to be anything more appropriate. It’s just so COOL that Gladius is as much fun as it sounds. LucasArts has taken a great game concept and fleshed it out with a huge variety of equally well-conceived and skilfully implemented features. This isn’t just a Final Fantasy Tactics knock-off with new textures and weapons - it’s a deep and supremely accessible RPG/strategy hybrid that takes the context of its setting and réalisés it with a set of beautifully constructed game mechanics. An average game day in Gladius will see you hiring mercenaries, training recruits, maintaining vétérans, buying weapons and supplies, participating in leagues and entering tournaments. A busy day will hâve you doing ail that as well as some side questing, world- map trekking and random encounter fighting. The feeling of industriousness is constant and it imbues one with a real sense of responsibility and involvement, developing to the point where you can actually become quite harried and frustrated if your school isn’t performing as well as it could be. This is what we mean when we say that Gladius réalisés its setting through game mechanics. You don’t feel like you’re in charge of a school of arena warriors because the background narrative and character models told you so. You feel like you're in charge of a school of arena warriors because ... well, you’re in charge of a school of arena warriors and you hâve to deal with the host of responsibilities that entails. However, managing your school and its gladiators is only one half of the Gladius expérience. The other half is the actual gladiatorial combat itself, which cornes in the form of an easy-to-learn yet surprisingly deep turn-based battle System that fans of games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Advance Wars or Tactics Ogre will immediately be familiar with. Basically, there’s an even number of specialist units on the field at once and each one can perform up to two basic actions or one spécial action per round. Spécial actions consume "action-points" that are accumulated at the rate of one a THE HARDCORE AND THE PATIENT WILL RELISH ITS DEEP MANAGEMENT AND COMBAT GAMEPLAY MECHANICS OH DARLING, THAÏ HAIR'S SIMPLY AWFUL! Unlike a lot of other turn-based tactical games, Gladius cornes with a nifty character editor that you can use to customise your character's appearance quite significantly. Hoir, skin colour, clothes - it's ail here. I tried to make my warrior princess look like my girlfriend. It was... unsuccessful. Apparently, spectacles and arena combat just don't go well together. Who'd hâve thought? turn. When these two éléments are combined with a context sensitive damage System (attacks from the side and back do more damage), the resuit is a brand of extremely addictive and enjoyable tactical gameplay perfectly suited to a console. Playing Gladius is as easy as pie, but mastering it is a matter of patience and ski11. CHURNING OUI THE FUN STUFF Not everyone will hâve the patience necessary to uncover the deeper depths of Gladius’ gameplay though. If there’s a bad thing to be said about this game, it’s that it is a tad on the répétitive side. Developing your school entails entering dozens upon dozens of leagues and tournaments and the combat begins to feel formulaic and predictable as a resuit. LucasArts hâve done an admirable job of trying to alleviate this problem by introducing a variety of different gladiatorial gametypes such as King of the Hill and Destroy the Monument, but the fact is that most of these boil down to the basic task of hitting your enemies with everything you’ve got until victory is yours. At any rate, this is a flaw that can easily be overlooked with a reasonable amount of patience and persistence. And trust us, Gladius is definitely a game that’s worth sticking to. Superficial gamers may find themselves turned off by its repetitiveness, but the hardcore and the patient will relish its deep management and combat gameplay mechanics. It’s uplifting to see such a good idea done justice and it’s nice to know that LucasArts are still capable of churning out the fun stuff when they want to. ni There's a cool co-op • • • mode for up to four players. AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX GCN DETAILS CATEGORY: Strategy/RPG / PLAYERS: 1-4 / DEVELOPER: LucasArts / PUBLISHER: LucasArts / PRICE: S99.95 / RATING: Ml5+ AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT _ PLUS: Accessible and deep combat, robust management mechanics. MINUS: A bit répétitive, sometimes looks a little bland. à VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 78 80 90 OVERALL À Deep and rewarding tactical gaming HYPER» 61 62 HYPER» REVIEW » Gotta love that doggy style | That is one obvious stink up ahead_| That's not snow... ifs pigeonshiT DOG'S LIFE is ouronly house trained reviewer... DANIEL STAINES Originality’s a funny thing sometimes. In an industry like interactive entertainment, where "me-too” clones are a dime a dozen and risky creativity is often frowned upon by the suits with ail the money, originality of the kind we see in Dog's Life should definitely be applauded. I mean, it’s a game where you’re a dog and you go about doing dog things. You can track people and animais by their scent, you can dig up the ground looking for bones and you can chase cats and chickens around ail over the place. You can even pee on a person's leg if so inclined. SMELL-O-VISION There really hasn’t been a game made that’s quite like this one and it makes for a very interesting play expérience ... for the first half-an-hour, anyway. You see, the problem with Dog’s Life (DL from now on) is that it isn’t very fun for very long. Originality aside, it is definitely one of the most répétitive and linear games we’ve ever played. The goal of the game is to get your doggy-girlfriend back from a trio of evil dogcatchers who intend to use her and the other canines they’ve captured for nefarious purposes. This is achieved by making your way through a variety of towns and powering up your dog - a mongrel named jake - by finding bones to eat. And this is where we corne to the repetitious part. Generally speaking, there are two ways to get bones. The first is by going into "smell-o-vision” and collecting a set number of multicoloured scents that are scattered about each area. For what it’s worth, smell-o-vision looks great and does an excellent job of making one "feel” like a dog. Unfortunately, however, the actual task of collecting scents is unchallenging and remains essentially the same throughout the entirety of the game’s very brief lifespan. There’s a scent, you walk up to it and - bang - scent collected. Repeat this about a thousand times and you’ve encapsulated approximately seventy percent of DL’s gameplay. BONING UP The other thirty percent consists of quests and mini-games that you can also complété to obtain bones. Quests, such as they are, are ail essentially variants of the "find this and bring it back to me" formula and are almost as repetitious as collecting scents. The mini-games - which include digging holes, racing other dogs and marking your territory with urine - are fun for a while, but quickly lose their appeal when you discover that the same ones are in just about every level you go to. As a dog simulator, DL is a fabulous piece of work. And as a kid’s game, DL is also excellent. More seasoned gamers, however, should be wary. ■•X AVAILABLE ON: PS2 DETAILS CATEGORY: Adventure/Simulation / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Frontier / PUBLISHER: SCEE / PRICE: $89.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Amazing art style, fun and rewarding gameplay ideas. MINUS: Quirkiness could initially turn some people away. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 80 83 70 OVERALL 75 An average game with a great concept. m David Lucas (of Cowboy • • • Bebop famé) provides the voice-over for Dingo. p T qioiŒOo POTbldt/g [OIQIOIO] He really hated that painting, I guess FREEDOM FIGHTERS BRETT ROBINSON célébrâtes his freedom... Freedom Fighters’ setting is an interesting one indeed - a kind of alternative reality in which the Soviet Union is the reigning global superpower. Chris Stone is a New York plumber whose bad day suddenly gets a whole lot worse when the Soviet armed forces décidé to pay the US a surprise visit. The Soviets say they’re there to liberate American citizens from their corrupt leaders, but Chris isn’t having a bar (or pipe) of it. It’s your job to lead Chris and a band of like-minded patriots on a crusade to send those Commie bastards packing. Reckon you’re up to the task? A NEW YORK PLUMBER The mission System is where Freedom Fighters makes its most welcome break with convention. The story is divided into a number of chapters, with each chapter covering your actions in a spécifie geographical région. You're presented with a map of the current région and a list of objectives - for example, blowing up some bridges to the east, capturing an ammunition dump in the south and destroying a héliport by the harbour. You’re free to tackle these objectives in any order, but the game opérâtes on a dynamic logistics System. Consequently, demolishing the héliport will clear the ammunition dump and bridge areas of Hind gunships, capturing the ammo depot will give you access to more weapons than you’d normally hâve, and blowing up the bridges will prevent armoured personnel carriers from delivering reinforcements to the région. It’s a brilliant System that opens up a whole spectrum of tactical possibilities, particularly when you move on to larger régions later in the game. Instead of assigning a certain number of rebels to your squad for each mission, Freedom Fighters makes use of a terrifie little recruitment System. You’re rewarded for achieving objectives and performing good deeds - like sacrificing a medpack to heal a wounded civilian - with Charisma Points. As you accumulate CP’s you'll be able to convince more urban warriors to join your cause, up to a maximum of 12 fighters. COMMIE ARSE The command System itself is quite simplistic, but that’s fine because your squadmates are perfectly capable of looking after themselves. They’ll take up positions behind barricades or débris, man machinegun emplacements and generally kick Commie arse with very little input from you. Most impressive is Freedom Fighters’ représentation of urban guérilla warfare. It’s gritty, it’s intense, and every street-by-street battle of attrition feels utterly authentic. : X ni www.jesperkyd.com Official website of • • • the talented man behind the Freedom Fighters and Hitman soundtracks. AVAILABLE ON: PS2QXBOX GCN PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Squad-based Shooter / PLAYERS: 1 -4 (Xbox & PS2 only) / DEVELOPER: IO / PUBLISHER: EA / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: MAI5+ / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Awesome combat, terrifie mission System, molotov cocktails! MINUS: Loses some of its impact on the easier dlfficulty settings. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 89 90 86 OVERALL À Enlist now - you won't regret it. HYPER» 63 64 HYPER» REVIEW » How he's balancing I just don't know Whoops, wrong turn... oh crap! Cue avalanche. SSX3 a. WANG takes time off the court to go snowboarding... First things first. If you’re a snowboarder, then go get Amped 2. SSX 3, like the previous games in the sériés, is not really a snowboarding game. It’s actually a racing game with tricks, set on snow. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and there are plenty of people out there who liked the blend of gameplay éléments in the last two games. ONE HUGE MOUNTAIN With SSX 3, EA Big hâve corne to the development process with a new graphies engine and a slightly different approach. It’s certainly a more competent game, spanning a wider array of gameplay, with everything from racing and half- pipe comps to slopestyle and miscellaneous challenges. The entire game takes place on one huge mountain, but you’ll need to unlock the three peaks in turn, so there’s a familiar progression System at its 111 heart. There’s also the much talked about ability to board ail the way down the mountain from the highest peak in a half an hour run. It’s cool, we’ll give them that, but ultimately the freedom isn’t quite what you’d expect, since despite the many short cuts, some sections are actually very restrictive, with déviations resulting in going "out of bounds". And although the course design is a step above previous efforts, it’s still not one of the development team’s strongest areas. Aside from the whole mountain concept, the other big change in approach is in incorporating more freestyle snowboarding. To that end, EA Big hâve included a combo timer and board press System. When you land a trick a timer pops up on screen and if you can launch into a new trick before it runs out the two tricks are chained. The combo Wow, an entire SSX review • • • without once saying the word "uber"... oh, damn. System is strengthened by the ability to board press (butter) in between tricks to keep the combo alive. It’s a good idea that works relatively well, allowing for some cool slopestyle areas that are littered with ramps and grinds. ON THE MOON The gameplay is much the same as it was before. It still feels like boarding on the moon, with ridiculous airs and a very floaty feel. It’s still very forgiving most of the time, so you can land sideways, and if you release from a trick early enough your rider will automatically align himself to land. In other words, this is a game that anyone can pick up and play. Fortunately, it also has a stack of longevity, with heaps to unlock, countless shortcuts to discover, and player stats, tricks, music and more to buy. •i'i AVAILABLE ON: PS2 XBOX GCN DETAILS CATEGORY: Racing / PLAYERS: 1 -2 / DEVELOPER: EA Big / PUBLISHER: EA / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Good, lightweight fun. MINUS: Chuggy framerate on PS2, more gamish than substance. * VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 83 88 79 OVERALL §3 A litfle fluffy, but the best game in the sériés. DECISIOIIS, DECISIOnS.,. WHiCH DEfflOn-KILLERWiLL YOV BE? BATtLE AS BvFFY & 5 OtHER. StORy BASED On A LOS+ EPiSODE fTlVLti-PLAYERCHAOS U/i+H FAVOVRÎtE CHARACtERS. OF tHE tELEViSIOn SERiES. SVPPOR+ FORVP tO 4 PLAYERS on tHE SAFT1E SCRJEEn • UniQVE WEAPOnRY AnD OVERI50 CH ARACtER-SPECiFiC SLAYERmOVES AnD COmBinAtionS-nEW EViL CHARACtERS SUCH AS ZOmBiE GORÎLLAS Bonus FEAtVRJS: • intERViEU/S. CASt PHOtOS. OUttARES. AnD mORE! in COLLABORAtion U/i + H SERiES CREAtOR jOSS U/HEDOn Playstation i Playstation E AB Wnjht. RelttWSt f Ji Hitii.ic.tw. flüffv MX Pti.intt Jhai jsHttataJ Ingb» arc i tenMy t (h ï tün Corpoi.iliori and EnJfnamnitfi». lut \ REVIEW » PROJECT GOTHAM RAGNG 2 JACKSON GOfHE-SNAPE goes in search of "great line"... The Dreamcast’s Metropolis: Street Racer carved out quite the niche back in 2001. At that time, we’d ail recognised Cran Turismo 2 as the yardstick when it came to serious console racers. But M:SR was as close to CÎ2 as Mario Kart was. Suddenly M:SR decreed racing isn't about winning, it’s about being the coolest. The application of the game’s measure of style, Kudos, was a little rough, but it was a novel, compelling title. In 2002, when Bizarre Créations were willingly pulled under Microsoft’s wing, they squeezed out the best racer for the Xbox launch, in the form of Project Gotham Racing. Similar to its Dreamcast predecessor, Hyper praised it for the refinement of a fresh ^ concept, "A game that has managed £ to create an art form out of hooning”. > FRI LL HER UP * But Gotham 2 isn’t going to receive 'O the same level of generosity for the novelty of its concept as Gotham was afforded. Kudos is an established norm now, as Need for Speed Underground’s stylistic rewards rip-off attests to. So here’s the bad news: the racing in Project Gotham Racing is an almost identical expérience to the original Gotham. There are better graphies, more cities, more vehicles, different progression structures and more music, but this plays very much the same. That is, the opponent Al and narrow courses make Street races frustrating, the cities are pretty yet eerily dull, the event formats are identical, and pulling Kudosly moves is only actually relevant in Cône Challenges. Though attempts to offer rewards for different styles of racing are made with the incorporation of the abstract 'Good Line’ reward, its inconsistency means that in Cône Challenges you wouldn’t want to rely on hitting good lines to link massive combos - something judged so ambiguously will only lead to frustration when thousands of Kudos are involved. We’ll stick to slides, thank you very much. Meanwhile, though répétition is minimised through Gotham 2’s introduction of car classes, many of the events could be seen as unremarkable stuffing to draw the game out. Still, the overwhelming number of events (14 tiers in World Sériés, 60 Arcade races and close to 200 Time Attack events) makes this a behemoth of a racer, and provides the first indication of what Gotham 2 is ail about: frills. Gotham 2 is simply bigger, broader, stronger and with a better haircut than its predecessor. Refinement has been made with the structure of the game, particularly to enforce a greater exploration of the game’s vehicle catalogue: now the Kudos World Sériés is divided into car class-based tiers, Arcade mode has no vehicle select option, and the Time Attack mode has one challenge for both each car and course. Meanwhile, Live functionality invades every menu screen (in a good way), promising eight player races, collisions, full voice, friend list-compatibility and considérable flexibility in setting up games: we can’t wait to try it. Instantly uploading your times to global leaderboards means no longer do you race in a vacuum - that lap you >: ENGINE NOISES ARE DIVERSE AND SATISFYING, TRACKS ARE OF A CONSISTENTLY BRILLIANT GRAPHICAL STANDARD just did: if s the seventh fastest in the world, ever. This extra level of compétition should also reaffirm the measure of Kudos in events such as Time Attack - hopefully Kudos and speed will be sought equally. Add to this four-player split screen and System link and Cotham 2 has multiplayer down. SOMEHOW MORE IMPORTANT But the polish continues throughout the package. Never does it appear the game has been rushed in any way. Menus are clean, options are extensive, engine noises are diverse and satisfying, tracks are of a consistently brilliant graphical standard, and three radio stations in each of the eleven cities means some 400 tracks included with the game. We particularly like the cute Showroom mode, where you can wander in first person around a building looking at ail the game’s cars motor-show style. The suspiciously empty ’Xbox Live’ room in this building points directly at downloadable cars. We like it, even if the first-person movement makes us physically sick. The car models in particular are brilliant - tailgating the car in front you’ll be amazed at the clarity of the textures and lines up close. As good as the cities are though, ifs ail a little bit too 28 Days Later for our liking - the only movement you witness is the odd blowing newspaper or flock of birds, accentuating the eerie tone. At least the drivers are visible in the cars. Of particular note is the appropriate usage of colour in each city. Stockholm’s grey chill contrasts strongly with Sydney’s vibrant Rocks sun. Sydney? Oh yes, if you’ve missed our previous coverage, Cotham 2 uses Sydney’s ni • • • The Sydney radio stations include MMM, 2-Day FM and NOVA. Rocks area as one of its locales. Accuracy is good, and though you’re restricted to north of Wynyard, and west of the Quay, it makes us feel somehow more important than we actually are. So, are we convinced by the magnitude of the package? Thankfully, the returning Cotham racing expérience is solid and rewarding, consistent and predictable, with a suprême vibrating function that actually helps you judge your level of traction. In the end, we’ve played it before... but never like this. Cotham 2 isasuperbly ^ polished title, AVAILABLE ON: PS XBOX CATEGORY: Driving / PLAYERS: 1 multi (Live) / DEVELOPER: Bizarre Créations / PUBLISHER: Microsoft / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: A monster of a game. Great use of Live. MINUS: Little advance in racing from Gotham. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 93 91 87 OVERALL filled with a huge array of events, courses and vehicles. Even without Live ifs great, but Live gives meaning to your success. A Christmas must-buy, and the best racing package on Xbox. iK. A superb package brought to life by Live. ■< •ü o 68 HYPER» REVIEW » He'll be grinding with his face in a minute Hey my hand has frozen stuck! thought there was something stuck to my shoe AMPED2 CAM SHEA's getti n' agro off this kicker... Two years on from Amped, and nothing much has changed in the world of videogame snowboarding. No other game has corne close to capturing the freeform boarding and wide open mountains of the original, but the question is not whether the sequel can deliver more of this powdery goodness, but whether Microsoft Came Studios can iron out the kinks in the play mechanics from the original. SIMPLE BUT STYLISH Bet first, let’s talk about what’s new, what’s improved and what you can expect from Amped 2. The main structure of the game is much the same as in the original. You create a character for Career mode and try and take him or her up the world rankings. This is achieved through high scores, showing off for the media, impressing sponsors, performing on photo shoots, winning events and taking pros out in one-on-one challenges. Ail these éléments represent separate goals on each mountainside, and there are several difficulty levels for each to be unlocked and beaten. As you work your way through the challenges and unlock more slopes to ride on, your ranking will steadily rise and you’ll earn stat points to allocate to both your board and your rider. So far, so similar. The actual gameplay hasn’t changed a great deal either. The left analogue stick is still used for steering, spins and flips, while the right analogue stick is used for grabs, the triggers are used for tweaking, and the face buttons are used for jumps, jibs and lip tricks. The most significant change to the Controls would hâve to be the implémentation of buttering. Buttering is much like manualing in Tony Hawk, so you move the left stick up then down, or down then up and your boarder will start balancing the board on either the tail or the nose. It's a sweet movement in freestyle snowboarding today, and we thought it would work well in Amped 2 to help link tricks and build up large combos. And indeed, when you mean to do it, buttering is a solid addition. The problem is, however, that the game is so sensitive to slight movements on the left analogue stick that you’ll find yourself buttering when you’re simply trying to steer the damn snowboard. This isn’t just frustrating - it’s a massive flaw that often ruins the flow of the game and can destroy your chances in events like sponsorship demos, where streamlined boarding is important. Another change in Amped 2 is the "steez” System, otherwise known as "style”. The basic idea is to reward boarders more for simple but stylish tricks over the usual crazy and convoluted maneuvers. Thus, the aim is to gracefully spin or flip, rather than going for maximum rotation, as well as busting sweet tweaked grabs and jibs. Landings also hâve a bearing on your trick scores too, with stomped landings giving you bonus points. The other new addition to Amped 2 is the inclusion of snowskating. If you haven’t seen a snowskate before, they’re slightly larger than a skateboard, with a second smaller deck underneath with métal edges for cutting in the snow and a rubbery grip on top. So yes, no bindings, just you, your shoes and the snowskate. It’s a pretty funky new sport, allowing for kick flips, shove its and a different style of boarding. The snowskate courses are generally mini-parks within the other courses, and certainly help break up the action. GREAT COURSE DESIGN Like the first game, the biggest strength of Amped 2 is in the course design. It really does feel like having a Yoshi's longue gets a workout Up up and awaaaay Beware: Falling Jocks y> NO BINDINGS, JUST YOU, YOUR SHOES AND THE SNOWSKATE SHREDDING... AND GRATING Amped 2's soundtrack is outstanding, with over 300 alt- indie tracks, plus support for custom soundtracks. Pity the same can't be said for some of the voice acting. Hearing Australian pro Torah Bright spout stuff like "no shrimp on the barbie for you", "stone the crows" and "choice bro" is rather embarrassing. The bizarre noises that sponsors make are also very grating. mountain at your disposai - there are countless alternate lines, and you’ll very rarely find yourself going out of bounds. The emphasis on freestyle snowboarding also means that courses are absolutely packed with half pipes, kickers, rails and potential combos. If anything the course design is even better than in the original, and the sélection of locations span everywhere from Utah to Australia. Yep, Australia’s own Mt Buller is in there, and having gone boarding there only a few months ago we were pleasantly surprised by just how faithful many of the locations (such as the village) look in the game. Unfortunately though, the great course design is married to somewhat unreliable gameplay, where you can never be sure just how the game will react. Sometimes the landings are really forgiving, sometimes they’re overly tough. Sometimes you can corne off a jib sideways, sometimes you can’t. Sometimes the game will count a grab then butter then jib as a single combo, sometimes as separate tricks. It ail feels a little glitchy to be honest - just like the original did - and we’re really disappointed that MGS weren’t able to get a little more consistency in the game mechanics. It’s not like the game is ruined, but it does feel like skill can only get you so far, with the final outcome being at the whim of the game. While the visuals may not hâve the style of a game like SSX 3, Amped 2*s realistic depiction of environments and boarders suit the freestyle focus of the game, and the draw distance helps further emphasise the scale. The lag-free online play simply sweetens the deal. AVAILABLE ON: PS2 / XBOX/GCN/PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Snowboarding / PLAYERS: 1 8 / DEVELOPER: MGS / PUBLISHER: Microsoft / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now/ HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Wicked course design, online play. MINUS: The butter System almost ruin the game. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 86 86 84 Amped 2 keeps the sériés balanced on the cusp of greatness. | | | Amped 2 is | another XSN • • • Sports title, so now there's really no excuse not to go get Xbox Live! HYPER» 69 70 HYPER» REVIEW » LS * Who stuck this flashlight down my gun barrel?! « ■'fs* -wr ! 0 OING CMAVeZ f \\\\ . M4 (S.98MM) 027—m ki » ' COVER ING V\\\ WW WW PRICE LOISCUfc WEBER Hey guys, car» we stop for a coffee soon? m V C OING CMAVEZ \\\\ tMP (>ISCAg 009 ■ il 2 PRICE I COVERING . ÆM Shoot, shoot! Oh, it's my shadow, sorry.. v\ • YHÿV V\N\ g ■ ICE LOISiOE WEBCR I H RAINBOW SIX 3 BRETT ROBINSON wonders what's at the end of the rainbow... You hâve to feel sorry for the members of Australia’s counter-terrorism units. In other countries, counter-terrorism opératives spend ail their time killing terrorists and rescuing hot women held hostage by terrorists. But with no terrorists in Australia to kill, the most exciting thing our opératives get to do is fly over Sydney in Blackhawk helicopters. The rest of the time, our boys in black are stuck down on the shooting range, where they struggle not to nick the ears of the Bob Carr hostage cutouts when firing at the terrorist cutouts. It is therefore fortunate that our opératives hâve access to games like Rainbow Six 3 - without them they’d undoubtedly get very bored. And as we ail know, when people with access to flashbangs and claymore mines get bored, it’s only a matter of time before someone loses an eye. TRUTH BE TOLD Just to clear up any confusion, Rainbow Six 3 isn’t a direct port of the PC’s Rainbow Six: Raven Shield. True, there are some similarities between the two games, and some shared content (sound effects and some objects and textures, for instance), but there are also some significant différences. In a first for the Rainbow Six franchise, Rainbow Six 3 finally does away with the antiquated pre- mission planning phase, which means you can now pick your primary and secondary weapons and other gear, then jump straight into a mission. Like Raven Shield and SWAT 3, Rainbow Six 3 features an intelligent reticle System that allows you to issue squadmates with orders corresponding to the object the reticle is pointing at. Where R63 goes one better, however, is in its support of voice commands. Because it’s so skilfully implemented, a lot of players will love Rainbow Six 3’s voice command System - particularly those experiencing the technology for the first time. Using a headset, you can order your fellow opératives to blow open locked doors, clear rooms of terrorists, etc. You might hâve to put on a bit of a Yank accent to ensure your squadmates comply with your instructions, but that’s a small price to pay when you consider the advantages a headset affords. It’s more convenient to issue orders verbally than it is to use the controller, there’s the obvious cool factor and the ability to communicate with other combatants in multiplayer, and there are extra orders that only those with a headset can issue. Truth be told, if you don’t own a headset you won’t be missing out on a hell of a lot, but Rainbow Six 3 represents the best excuse yet to go and get one. While you’re buying a headset, you might want to think about investing in some patience or maybe even a punching bag, because Rainbow Six 3 is one of the most challenging tactical shooters we’ve ever encountered. In fact, it might well be too difficult for the average gamer. Even on the easiest skill level, those cursed Tangos will ail too frequently hand you your arse on a siIver platter, and on the medium and high difficulty settings you’ll hâve a tough time just surviving the first two minutes of a mission. But there’s nothing wrong with games that can’t be mastered overnight, and U ING CHAV/EZ ëNCjAGINL XXVN XXXX NNXN pRice toiseue weber M203 40MM HE ooo COVCRING \\\V WW \\\\ PRICE LOI9ELLE WEB EK Someone rubbed vasoline on my TV. Can I tell them to piss off home? \\ NEVER BEFORE HAS AN OPERATIC RENDITION OF AVE MARIA BEEN USED TO SUCH DRAMATIC EFFECT to Rainbow Six 3’s crédit, you’ll always feel compelled to come back for more, in spite of the frustration it’s very capable of engendering. TRULY IMPRESSIVE Craphically, Rainbow Six 3 lacks the wow element of games like Splinter Cell, but its absolutely superb weapon models and painstakingly detailed environments are more than adéquate compensation. And when it cornes to flashbang, teargas and thermal imaging effects, the game certainly doesn’t disappoint. What could be cooler than popping on your thermal goggles, picking up the heat signature of a terrorist standing on the other side of a door, and firing a trio of bullets through that door and into that terrorisas torso? That’s right, nothing! Rainbow Six 3 also boasts some truly impressive audio — the weapon sounds are the best we’ve heard, and on a number of occasions we were utterly floored by the impact the soundtrack had on our play expérience. Never before has an operatic rendition of Ave Maria been used to such dramatic effect. Rainbow Six 3’s single player campaign offers a total of 14 missions, with plenty of interesting objectives and some incredibly fierce firefights to become embroiled in. What hurts the game’s single player component is the fact that the developer elected to hard-wire the position of every terrorist and hostage in the campaign. Rainbow Six 3’s longevity suffers quite badly as a resuit, and this poor design decision is ail the more perplexing for the fact that the terrorist and hostage positions are semi-randomised in the cooperative version of the campaign. On the topic of multiplayer, Rainbow Six 3 features three distinct multiplayer modes: cooperative, deathmatch and team deathmatch. In co-op mode, you and three mates can tackle the campaign missions or embark on terrorist hunts, while in the latter two modes it’s possible to battle it out with up to 16 other players. We can tell you now, you won’t hâve any trouble finding fellow Aussies to fight with on Xbox Live; this game is going to take off here in a big way. In spite of its serious learning curve and unforgiving terrorist Al, Rainbow Six 3 has a terrifie ’pick up and play’ vibe to it. It’s by no means a perfect game - if you’re after a game that’s genre-shattering, you’ll invariably be disappointed - but if you’re in the market for a quality tactical shooter, Rainbow Six 3 is the game to own. CATEGORY: Tadical Shooter / PLAYERS: 1 16 /DEVELOPER: Red Storm / PUBLISHER: Ubi Soft / PRICE: $99.95 without headset / RATING: MAI 5+ / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Squad control, awesome firefights, incredible audio. MINUS: Single player marred by static terrorist positioning. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 88 90 86 More of that classic Rainbow Six goodness. | | In order to | accurotely • • • simulate their effeds in-game, development staff subjected themselves to numerous teargas and flashbang assaults. Now that's dedication! HYPER» 71 72 HYPER» REVIEW » ARMED & DANGEROU ELIOT FISH is armed and dangerous every morning through Redfern. to the chunky machine gun, but Armed 8 Dangerous features some of the coolest weapons yet. Take the Shark Gun, for instance, which when fired sends an ominous dorsal fin along the ground that hunts down enemies, eventually gobbling them up in a jaws-like shark attack that'll take you by surprise every time you witness it. There’s also an incredibly long-range sniper rifle that can pick off enemies situated on the other side of a level, sticky mines that wreak havoc, an awesome black hole bomb that sucks whatever it can out of the level and a nicely powered rocket launcher and personal mortar gun. Then there’s the infamous (already?) Topsy-Turvy weapon that when stuck in the ground, will rotate the entire landscape upside down so ail the enemies fall away into the sky. Once rotated back the right way, they ail fall back down to their death. Funny. As is the case these days, the shoot outs are broken up with the odd giant turret to commandeer, as well as some quirky levels including one where you hâve to defend a village from hundreds of rushing grunts with a big cannon and machine- gun. Destroying everything is usually the task at hand (although you usually hâve side objectives), so unleashing this array of weapons on the oncoming hordes of enemies is a lot of fun. Some small buildings act as enemy spawning points, much like gauntlet, requiring you to take them out as soon as possible or encounter far more résistance that you’ll be willing to stomach. The action is répétitive, but because there are such a variety of weapons, it’s entertaining to try a different approach each time you hâve to replay a section of level - something which you’ll unfortunately hâve to do many times. THAT WAY LIES DEATH, SUFFERING AND WEAK BEER Gameplay is primarily third-person shooter fare, with some of the most gratuitous action we’ve seen in a game of this type. Buildings, trees and various other objects are ail destructible, allowing your character to let loose with some pretty furious firepower. You’ll spend most of your time defaulting Take the lunacy of Monty Python, combine it with the outrageous action of Serious Sam, and you hâve the makings of Armed 8 Dangerous, this new third-person shooter from LucasArts. A truly bizarre cast of characters will accompany you on one of the strangest console games ever put together. This is a videogame that makes no attempt at realism, continuity, logic or plausibility, and benefits greatly as a resuit. 39/216 Just when you thought it was safe to go for a walk, » SOME LEVELS ARE RELENTLESSLY DIFFICULT, WITH ENEMIES CONTINUOUSLY RESPAWNING WHILST YOU'RE BOMBARDED. The reason for this is that sortie levels are relentlessly difficult, with enemies continuously respawning whilst you’re bombarded by long range weapons or being picked out by distant snipers. Because the only save points are at pubs (yep, the beer drinking venue kind), you’ll hâve to play some frustratingly long sections of levels over and over again (fm talking up to a dozen times) just to eventually survive the barrage of enemies the "right” way. Yes, the game is ail about total and utter carnage - but even that kind of gameplay ends up just pissing you off after you hâve to play through for the umpteenth time. There’s never a moment of peace to assess your surrounds - you’re getting hammered every second of the game, which might make the expérience unnecessarily frustrating for less-experienced gamers. TEA-SIPPING ROBOT As an Xbox game, Armed 6 Dangerous is visually disappointing. Levels are large, and chaos ensues, but most of the éléments look fairly low-poly, and some of the textures are rather ugly, with some horrid seams and mis- matched sections. The frame-rate seems to struggle most of the time too, and control feels twitchy and jerky. The between level cutscenes, whilst hilariously scripted, are damn awful to look at with some bad compression artefacts and dirty looking colours. Let’s hope the PC version (which wasn’t finished in time for review) looks substantially better, considering the top video cards currently available. As we mentioned though, the script is very funny, and the characters are ail suitably over-the- top. There’s Qi-ii the hulking tea- sipping robot, Jonesy the explosive expert (who looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in disguise to us), Rexus the virtually useless Seer, and the character that you play as - Roman. It’s like the Young Ones meets Monty Python’s Holy Grail, and it makes the game that much more entertaining. In fact, if it weren’t for the humour, ludicrous mission objectives and silly weapons, Armed £ Dangerous would be in danger of coming across as a rather forgettable blast ’em up. As it stands however, it’s an entertaining and strangely addictive game that * would be worth checking out if you’re an action nut who just loves to sit back and watch ail sorts of things explode. ü AVAILABLE ON: PS2/XBOX /PC DETAILS CATEGORY: Adion/Shooter / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Plonet Moon / PUBLISHER: LucosArts / PRICE: S99.95 / RATING: Ml 5+ / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Full-on action, lots of crazy humour, unlockables. MINUS: Disappointing graphies, difficult, poor animation. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 77 85 78 You'll hâve a love/hate relationship with this one. ni Planet Moon, the developer, • • previously brought us the wacky Giants: Citizen Kabuto. HYPER» 73 74 HYPER» REVIEW » GRABBED BY THE 6H0UUES ELIOT FISH checks to see if his ghoulies are bruised... Well it may not be what we expected from Rare’s first Xbox game, but there are good reasons why Crabbed by the Ghoulies is what it is. This was originally intended to be a GameCube game, and if s quite obvious that Rare were targeting a younger Nintendo audience. Since its transition to Xbox, Rare might hâve changed parts of it, but this is still just a stylish game for the less- demanding - or younger - gamer. GOOFY COMIC BOOK ROMP Rare hâve a knack for making a game appealing, regardless of the content. As soon as you boot up Ghoulies, you’ll be treated to a very slick intro and some cool animated menus. There are small artistic touches here that make you réalisé Ghoulies was a labour of love. You’ll hâve your pants charmed off as you progress into the first tutorial style level. Sure, ifs a bit kiddy, but dam it if you won’t crack a smile. There’s an old-school british computer game vibe to Ghoulies that is hard to explain. If you grew up playing Commodore-64 or Amiga games such as Dizzy and Atic Atac (a game actually made by Rare for the Spectrum back in 1983), then you might understand the style that Ghoulies seems to hearken back to. Ifs a lighthearted, kooky, goofy comic book romp. Ghoulies employs a simplistic control scheme where you move with the left stick and attack with the right stick - almost Robotron like in execution. The différence is that you can pick up various objects with the A button and then swing them around as a weapon. Old chairs, brooms, paintings, pool eues, potted plants and so on, can be utilised as weapons to bash the various spooky créatures with. This is the core of the gameplay. HUMOUROUS SET-PIECES The action is fairly mindless, but manages to be entertaining in the way ifs presented. Great looking environments, colourful and well- animated monsters, lots of humour, the odd puzzle, and a variety of powerups keep you playing Ghoulies longer than you might expect. The game just looks so gorgeous that you’ll be tempted to see what’s around every corner. Whilst the locations are incredibly varied, the gameplay here is pretty répétitive, and progression through the house and its surrounds is somewhat linear. The game has been designed to lead you through various humourous set-pieces until it reaches its conclusion. This is mildly made up for by the inclusion of bonus challenges and unlockable features. An incredibly slick piece of work, but maybe too "young" for some. << AVAILABLE ON: XBOX DETAILS CATEGORY: Action/Puzzle / PLAYERS: 1 / DEVELOPER: Rare / PUBLISHER: Microsoft / PRICE: $99.95 / RATING: G / AVAILABLE: Now / HYPER VERDICT PLUS: Humour, slick présentation, visuals. Rare easter eggs for fans. MINUS: A bit too linear, simplistic gameplay. VISUALS SOUND GAMEPLAY 93 85 75 Charming, slick and funny, but too easy and répétitive. | | Next for Xbox | should be • • • Kameo, followed by Conker... A warrior slave*. Chosen by the Gods... Rome needs a Champion! Playstation 2 Xxeox P Ç CD-ROM 4<