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December 1997 $7.99 U.S. $9.99 Canada

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With ten treacherous new tracks, Jet Moto" 2 isn't just а more intense, all-terrain racing game, it's a virtual graveyard. This time, you'll race through molten lava, splash down a waterfall and even maneuver your way over a broken-down roller coaster. You'll feel every bump,

The Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc

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he Mad Catz logo are trademarks of Mad Catz Inc. All other trademarks and/or registered trademarks are property of their respect Station logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Nintendo 64@ is a registered trademark of Nintendo of

We at Team Mad Catz take pride in going the distance for you and your game. f p. 2 You want perfect replication of the high-speed driving experience. We got it. <

Sometimes, to achieve perfect control, you've got to get a little out of control. UA The real wheel — for PlayStation and Nintendo 64. By any means necessar ө

FROM THE EDXTOR

PUBLISHER

Jonathan Lane

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

J.E. Funk * joe_funk@zd.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Wataru Maruyama wataru_maruyama@zd.com

MANAGING EDITOR Dindo Perez * dindo_perez@zd.com

ASSISTANT EDITORS Dave Malec • Joe Rybicki Gary Mollohan

CONTRIBUTORS Brent Butterworth • Chris Johnston Stuart Levy

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Michael Stassus

ART DIRECTORS Bob Conlon * bob_conlon@zd.com Jim Cordano

MANAGING COPY EDITOR Jennifer Whitesides COPY EDITORS

Jo-El Damen * Dan Peluso

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Marc Camron

PREPRESS MANAGER Dave McCracken

ASSOCIATE PREPRESS MANAGER Paul Ojeda

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CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Joan McInerney

NEWSSTAND SALES MANAGER Don Galen

CIRCULATION COORDINATOR ‘Ann-Marie Mrozynski

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(303)665-8930 f BUSINESS MANAGER | А Te реа | Cathy Bendoff ou nt ess... | ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: Ziff-Davis Inc. articles have discussed the importance of gameplay, sound production, а System specs and numerous other factors that contribute to the gaming | Telephone: (630) 916-7222

Ši Fax: (630) 916-9254 experience. One area that has been ignored up to now is the electronic components

into which you hook your game console. How do you go about picking the right television for video games? What type of options do you have when it comes to maximizing all the great music and sound effects pumping out of the PlayStation? Unless you are friends with someone who is knowledgeable, you are probably just making do with whatever is

Jennie Parker, Associate Publisher Sales & Marketing

` o o © 2a E o о Ф a

Marc Callison, Senior Account Executive

Mike Darling, Advertising Coordinator Amy Dellos, Marketing Coordinator

in your living room. Well my friend, those dark days are over. Jessica Prentice, Sales Assistant S With the holiday shopping season upon us, this is the perfect time to loosen the purse Anthony George, ® A | District Ad Sales Manager, 50 strings апа get every ounce out of those games you have already paid for. Trust me, Ext Coast a Mignon: = батез you have beaten and grown tired of suddenly come back to life with larger visuals = and movie theater-like sound. Granted, you probably could have cared less about being District Ad Pr iad Mule Northwest us immersed in the tinny sound of the 8- and 16-Bit game systems of yesterday, but you | а 45 have a cutting-edge 32-Bit PlayStation now (ог | should hope so). E e-mail: jon_yoffie@zd.com n 2 > Take advantage of the attention to detail and effort programmers spent to get the Karen EN 2] graphics and special effects of Colony Wars to look just right. Let your ears take in | District Ad Sales Manager, Southwest a т a Telephone: (415) 357-5460 Е the orchestral score of Final Fantasy VII the way it was meant їо be heard. Even if Fax: (415) 357-5201 © you can't afford a fancy setup, you can start at а point where you will still notice Smale karen, Fondonesd.com = dramatic improvements. j ZIFF-DAVIS CONSUMER MEDIA GROUP Е | won't get into too many specifics here since we have j Randy cane Seas: Din UNE & research

Tedd Speck, Associate Research Director Francesca Koe, Creative Services Manager Cynthia Mason, Business Manager

an incredible in-depth article detailing what | had just been ranting about. From the first issue, the crew here recognized the importance of such information so we incorporated gaming-friendly televisions and cool sound systems into the Gear section. Your letters and e-mails have indicated that this was a good decision. People are always talking about new consoles that will expand the gaming experience, but few are taking the steps to get the most of what they have now. So, get that Christmas wish of Ziff-Davis Inc. Copyright © 1997, Ziff-Davis Inc. All . я | Rights Reserved. TM & © for all other products and the list primed and l'Il see you next month! j characters contained therein are owned by the respec- tive trademark and copyright holders. А! materials in this magazine are subject to change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The

Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed т the USA.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ISSN #1094-6683) is published monthly by Ziff-Davis Inc., 1920 Highland Wataru Maruyama | Ave., 2nd Floor, Lombard, IL 60148. Single issue rates: itor i i $7.99. The editors and publishers are not responsible

Editor in Chief | for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publi- cation may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into

a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by

any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,

recording, or otherwise) without the prior written notice

PC GAMER 8296

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about totally immersive gameplay. Take a dip in these sub-infested waters for a spot of nuclear fishin’. 12 subaquatic psychos want to send you down and they've ditt torpetües P tt

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* Monit worry: You'll know you're in T fleep

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PlayStation

tal, Warhawk and Jet 'NGLETRAC d) are t trademarks of Sony Computer E mes logos are trademarks and

wwicsingletrac.com www.gtinteractive.com

ZIFF-DAVIS INC.

ө g CHAIRMAN AND CEO Eric Hippeau President Ronni Sonnenberg President, U.S. Publications Claude Sheer President. Interactive Media Jeffrey Ballowe and Development Group

et Group

President; eb rand and Terri Holbrooke аг е President. Computer Bob Brown intelligence President Training and William Rosenthal

Support Publishing Group

Vice President, Rayna Brown Human Resources

Vice President, Steve Gladyszewski Information Systems

ОИ Lucam mare Vice President, Controller Mark Moyer сна АБОД Тоту O'Brien ө Vice President, Planning Daryl В. Otte Treasurer Thomas L. Wright | ҮП es U.S. Publications Group @

Executive Vice President Lawrence C. Burstein Executive Vice President Ооп Byrnes Executive Vice President Jack Dolce

Executive Vice President Al DiGuido Executive Vice President Thomas McGrade Senior Vice resident. Baird Davis irculation

Vice President, Bob Bader Central Advertising Sales

Vice President Chris Dobbrow Vice President John Dodge

|| Vice President, Production Roger Herrmann Vice President Jim Manning я Marketing Services

Vice President Michael J. Miller

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Vice President, Product Testing Mark Van Name

H Vice President Sam Whitmore = Director, ZD Labs Mark Hall Director, Benchmark Operation Bill Catchings

Finally there's an instant way to get the latest gaming E uc

information and interact with the game editors at ЕСМ & ЕСМ: сүи о . . . n xxecutive Vice Presit t, aniel Rosenwei without using snail mail or the Internet! Деле D °

ident, Editor M Chief JBR Daniel Farber

LATEST NEWS $ GAMING GOSSIP Vice President, ZDTV Richard Fisher

8 " n Editorial Director, ZDTV Jim Louderback Listen to the Q-Mann for the hottest news in the industry! Vict Pvesident: damos singe General MISE? BNE

REVIEW CREW Edigprial Din ا‎ Bill Machrone

ЕСМ'ѕ Review Crew cuts loose with their trademark ZD Brand and Market Group no-holds-barred reviews! x

President, ZD Brand and Terri Holbrooke

arket Group SPEAK YOUR MIND President, Computer Bob Brown Tell us your reviews or strategies, then read MET online— Vice President, ZD Brand Herb Stern or ауре even in the next EGM and EGM! Vice President, ZD Research Elda Vale

Director, Corporate Relations Gregory Jarboe

Executive Vice President, Joe Gillespie COMING SOON Comon cue at Be first to unearth the next big thing in ЕСМ and ЕСМ"! Er Mike Perkowski Ziff-Dayis Media Network ecutive Directors deff Bruge у

2 ELECTRONIC ip i ned Rita Eus EGM GAMINCG a.

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felinda Maginn MONTHLY Hess Never Dhan. fy julie Tuttle Be sure to get your parents’ permission to use EGMs Talkline if you are under 18 years Ziff-Davis Inc., of age. Make sure you have a touch-tone phone. Messages subject to change A SOFTBANK Company

without notice. A service of ЕСМ and EGM’.

CAUTION: er-Monster

Tecmo R&D, the research arm of a leading game manufacturer, НЕА. 3 < recently stumbled ic qmm 2 j upon an astounding Р discovery: ће presence of cyber monsters in all CDs.

According to a source at Tecmo, “We were analyzing CD technology when we came across some interesting coding imbedded in the inactive segment of a CD. Initially we believed this to be an isolated case, but further investigation proved this to be common among all CDs, regardless of their purpose. Even music and PC CDs contain this ‘genetic’ coding."

Tecmo is uncertain of the original intention of these codes, but does confirm that they mirror human genetic coding, and that every CD produced contains a unique set. It is rumored that CD manufacturers have conspired to imbed these hidden codes. An investigation is currently underway.

In order to facilitate further testing of the cyber creatures, Tecmo has developed a safe environment that can be reconstructed with the PlayStation” console. The virtual environment allows the user to release these dormant ‘cyber-monsters’ into a controlled environment for testing. Insiders at Tecmo jokingly refer to the environment as the ‘Monster

Ranch,’ and to themselves as ‘Monster Ranchers.’ The virtual environment has recently passed federal saftey guidelines, and will be available over-the-counter this fall.

“We don't want to alarm the public, but we do recommend caution when using any CD,” a Tecmo spokesperson warned.

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-— trademarks of Sony Computer TECMO 19260 S. Van Ness Avei Phone (310)787-2900 Fax (310) 787-3131. Visit Tecmo at www.tecmo.co jp

Playstation

for men & women

be stronger ре faster be dominant

be immortal

just be

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Critical Depth pg. 116

PlayStation

III

ly

of Home Theater Magazine, reports

on the ultimate Christmas wish list for PlayStation owners.

Not surprisingly, FFVII takes the top spot this month—but it’s not just on the PS charts; it’s the top вате юг all systems

] Master every trick in

(ТЫ the Master Mode with E "m our comprehensive M ини 100-trick list, and learn NE SS how to earn all three I INI hidden characters.

S <

Our Japanese corre- spondent visits the Sft offices of Polygon А, Magic, developers of im T*HQ’s new charac-

Bases rap ter-based fighter, Vs.

Cardinal SYN

Producer and Game Lord Chad Okata speaks about the development of this fighting game from Sony and Kronos.

PS news...

Samsung announces a drastic price drop on their gxTV video

game system, and the Rugrats head for the PS via T*HQ.

Are our demo discs counter- feit? And what's the story with Resident Evil Director's Cut (the key word being cut)?

previews .....................

‚ето disc

Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi, Cardinal SYN and more.

U.S. previews

Duke Nukem, Spawn and Alundra are just some of the highlights.

international

We visit Polygon Magic and preview the unique Baby Universe.

Our crack review staff take their cracks (that’s cracks, plural) at Crash 2, Nightmare Creatures,

MK Mythologies and more.

PS strategy...

Dave Malec assembles the authoritative list of Cool Boarders 2 tricks and secrets. We've got over 100 tricks!

More GameDay 98 Easter eggs, including some amusing snipes at their competition, plus codes for Madden 98 and Oddworld.

AEN RE

Take a peek at the Limited- Edition Sony Suburban from GMC, and check out the newest figure to hit toyland—Lara Croft!

TESTOSTERONE PUMPING,

MURDERING SIDE.

PlayStation and the PlayStation logos оге trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Armored Core is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. C199; from Software. www.playstation.com

PlayStation

+ The fastest killing machines in the world. * 45 lethal missions.

* Huge 3-D worlds.

* Customizable weapons and armor.

+ One- or two-player combat.

+ It’s enough to excite any would-be assassin.

a monthly wrap-up of all the information for your favorite system

Stork to Deliver.

Quotas 5

T*HQ announced that it inked a deal to create and publish games based оп Nickelodeon's Rugrats series. The games will be distributed worldwide by the company for the PlayStation and are slated to hit stores some time in 1998. The development of the games will be handled by Orlando, Fla.-based n-Space Inc.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Rugrats follows the lives of a group of toddlers from their point of view— from the ankles up. The series has garnered numerous awards including an Emmy and a Cable Ace. A fea-

ture film based on the series is scheduled for a fall 1998 release. Now which compa- ny will be the first to announce a South Park game?

ave you been thinking il about getting a television

and sound system setup to complement your PlayStation gaming experience, but are held up by financial restraints? Well, Samsung announced that it is lowering the MSRP of its gxTV to $229 from its previous $299. Additionally, Samsung is also offering a $30 rebate for consumers so that the price is lowered even. further to $199. The rebate is valid for gxTVs that are purchased before Jan. 15, 1998.

This story first started over a year ago when Bandai published the Japanese version of Pandemonium! which they renamed Magical Hoppers and à dramatically altered the character designs. Apparently, that union was success- ful enough for the two compa- nies to come to an agreement granting the Japanese toy giant ù. the exclusive rights to publish

PlayStation (Magazine (3)

he gxTV has been around for a while now and has won many fans due to its conve- nient design and powerful sound system. One thing to keep in mind though is that the screen measures 13” diagonally which is fairly small for gamers who like to play arge. It is a nice size for a personal game television in a bedroom and caters to game- players who like to sit next to their sets. If this sounds good to you, you can find the gxTV at Best Buy, Electronics Boutique, FuncoLand, Kay-Bee Toys, Toys ‘R’ Us and other regional retailers.

and distribute both Pandemonium!

2 and Gex: Enter the Gecko. Gex

will get a bit of a graphic alteration which could be similar to the one

he got when the 3DO version of

Gex was released in Japan. (Has anyone besides me seen these

ads?) Gex was given bigger eyes and seemed a bit more wacky and cuddly. Pandemonium! 2 will probably get a reworking as well, but it remains to be seen whether the same designs used in Magical Hoppers will return. The games are expected for release in Japan in 1998.

“Winner! Best PlayStation Game at Ea.

-GAMEPEN

“Unique gameplay and killer graphics that will rocket it straight into the PlayStation" hall of fame.” -GAMEPRO “positively oozes high production values... This one's going to be big!" -GAMEFAN "...а rarity in today's sequel-studded market: a completely fresh idea." -Р5.Х. “опе of the coolest games I've ever seen..." -GAME INFORMER

“...0ne truly entertaining title.” > -OFFICIAL U.S. PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE

“ту pick for game of the year." -PSX NATION

ODDWORLD: ABE'S ШУ

Strategy Guide

ALIVE. FE moue

Aware Lifeforms In INHABITANTS Virtual Entertainment waww. oddworid.com

PlayStation

\

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į PlayStat

Presenting Masters of Teras Kasi, an all-out fighting frenzy featuring 9 Star Wars characters and introducing a new villain masterfully trained in the ancient martial art of terás kasi. Battle through 9 action-packed arenas. Engage in weapon-to-

weapon or hand-to-hand combat. Wield lightsabers, blasters, flame throwers and

battle axes to engage in the ultimate conflict. Heck, even the «>>

PlayStation

Empire never struck back this hard. www.lucasarts.com

у © 1997 жаб Li. and Lucas Entertainment Company. AI Rights Reserved. Star Wer and the LucasArts logo ar registered аатай, and Masters of Tes КЁ is a trademark сі Lucasfim d, usd under authorization PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Etettnment Ire.

— | — oe mmy — eet

Pus LBA LEKE SEYWALKER j BOAR

ИЖЕ SKYWALKER ` ARDER um

December 1997

Official U.S. (АНУС ТАТА Magazine (№)

Letters

You write us and here we respond

i. | just

picked up

your first issue of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and it's a great mag! But I must confess that the sole reason I picked it up was for the article on GHOST IN THE SHELL and the pic- tures! | am a huge Masune Shirow fan and get anything with his work in it! Ironically | don't even own a PlayStation (I will now for this game). Thank you guys and keep up the good

1ZUKUSS@aol.com

We’re glad you liked it. We’re sure Shirow-san is also smiling and is glad you like his work too.

your input!

OPM Hit List

Dear OPM,

| picked up your charter issue not expecting very much aside from the demo disc (which, BTW, was worth the price of admission alone- how do | go about getting COOL in Parappa?). However, | was pleasantly surprised by what was between the covers as well. The things that impress me about your magazine are:

1. The level of writing is more professional than other console magazines. Your writers exercise admirable restraint in the use of schoolyard idioms rampant in other publica- tions. Your reporting is consistent, composed and relatively free of sensationalism. 2. The use of Japanese cover art, the inter- views with voice actors and the several pages covering Japanese games and paraphernalia seem to indicate that you are pretty clued into the PSX demographic. | was afraid that an “official” publication would pander to middle- American tastes, but your mag- azine laid that fear to rest. 3. A FF7 guide that concen- trated on the secrets instead of wasting pages belaboring the obvi- ous, as in another PS magazine | picked up the same day. 4. Your editor in chief has a Japanese name. As an anime and import game collector, | hope this means that you'll continue to offer more.

However, it would be too generous of me to lavish praise without also suggesting ways in which your magazine can serve me better. I'm the seemingly rare sort of console gamer that likes to read a lot of text in his magazines. |

‚ used to read PC game magazines that often have five or more densely packed pages of text devoted to each feature game review, detailing many points that are important to a prospective buyer. | miss that depth of cover- age in my console monthlies, and, unlike the 16-Bit days, next generation games are becoming sophisticated enough that they are deserving of such. | look forward to the day |

Your chance to speak your peace

can read a 10-page critique of the flight model, controls, weapons system, campaign engine and enemy and wingman А! of Ace Combat 3 in OPM. Well, maybe not that extreme...

Phat H Tran

Unfortunately, you can't get "Cool" on the demo. In the full version, you can only eam "Cool" by beating the stage first, then going back and busting some freestyle action. The editor thanks you for your trust In his name and will keep others like yourself happy with next month’s feature story on young giris In sallor school uniforms who sing karaoke while being attacked by tentacle monsters who ave been sleeping under Neo-Tokyo which, by the way, Is about to explode!

International Interest

Dear OPM, | would like to express my strong interest in the game Baby Universe—a kaleidoscope-

like program with stunning graphics which react to music, available only in Japan. | have read that it isn't being released in the U.S., but this is a shame given Americans’ strong support for the graphics power of the PlayStation over other consoles....| think it would be a hit given the large interest in titles which break the typical fighter-shooter- jumper-driver formula....PaRappa the Rapper’s success is a great example.

Why not try a demo of it on your monthly CD and see what the response is. Please give titles such as Baby Universe (and others like it) a chance—l for one believe the graphics on the PlayStation really excel and should be shown off.

Thank you, biotek@fortwayne. infi.net

We like Baby Universe a lot as well. We often use It around the offices as sort of a musical fireplace In our televisions.

с?

30-Kaleldoscope

BABY UNIVERSE

How do you like the mag? What about the design? Are we leaving anything out? Let us know!

To get special attention as far as design and content issues go, label your Letters or e-mails with the heading: PlayStation Magazine suggestions c/o the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine at the addresses on the next letters page.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

OPEN

A-NIGHT.

Noe LON = ESAS NEEDED.

~uo/IBISAEld

77777 7 ELUTED

77277

TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME! Blaster; BurgerTime; Joust’ 2, Moon Patrol;

Root Beer Tapper; Splat" and Spy Hunter.” 2 cj DMIDWAY

www.midway.com

TAPPER ARE TRADEMARKS OF MIDWAY GAMES INC. BURGERTIME""'O1982 DATA EAST USA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED UNDER LICENSE. MOON PATROL©1982 IREM CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED UNDER LICENSE. COMPILATION ©1997 MIDWAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC. CONVERTED BY DIGITAL ECLIPSE SOFTWARE, INC. DISTRIBUTED BY MIDWAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC. UNDER LICENSE. PLAYSTATION AND THE PLAYSTATION LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OF SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT INC.

December 1997

|I Magazine &

Official U.S. QMEN

id you buy a copy of our

magazine which did not contain a demo CD? Simply send the receipt with the name of the store plus your phone number and address and we will send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the corresponding disc belongs to to ensure you get the right one.

Also, if you have a malfunctioning or nonworking demo disk, simply write us and we will send you an envelope so you can send us the bad disc back. Upon receiving the defec- tive CD, we will ship out the replace- ment disc right away.

ways to

reach us

Letters

You write us and here we respond

The Unkindest Cut

Dear OPM,

| happened to pick up the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine and overall | love it, but | found a certain advertisement somewhat disturb- ing. The Resident Evil Director's Cut ad says, "the uncensored, blah, blah, blah." From what | understand, a graphic intro scene has been cut out of the U.S. version. Isn't that censorship? Isn't that kind of false advertising illegal? Either way, it seemed like the wrong thing to say to me. landau@cshore.com

The official word from Capcom is that RE:DC was supposed to have all the missing cinemas from the Japanese version of the game. During the approval process, Sony rejected the intro due to a single line of copyright information which needed to be removed. Instead of removing that line of text, Capcom of Japan switched out the Japanese uncensored cinema with the cen- sored U.S. cinema. They also proceeded to revert the rest of the game to the domestic version. When the game was resubmitted, Sony saw that the line of copyright was gone and approved the game. By the time Capcom of America noticed the changes, it was too late. In response, Capcom has put the missing footage on their Web site and has offered anyone dissatisfied with RE:DC a refund on the game.

Vibration Depravation

Dear OPM,

Hello! Can you give me some advice? | bought an analog controller. The model number is SCPH-1180u/94054. | tested it with Tobal No. 2, but | can’t feel any vibration.

snail mail: fax:

PlayStation Magazine 1920 Highland Ave. Lombard, IL 60148

Your chance to speak your peace

Someone said it may be the analog controller without vibration. If you get any information, please tell me! Thanks for your help!

royhung@net. polyu.edu.hk

The Japanese models of the analog controller had vibrating feedback (model number 1150), but domestic versions were not equipped with that function.

Dazed and Discoriented

If you need to reach us now 630 916 7227

Dear PlayStation Magazine,

On Oct. 4, | purchased the premiere issue of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine with a demo disc at Walden- books. | love your magazine but the demo disc is a fake because when | look at the disc, one side looks real, and when | look

affront

at the back of the disc all | see is a black back, no silver color like the front. So please explain why are you sending the premiere issue with a fake disc to stores. If you can please send me a REAL DEMO DISC maybe | will start subscribing to PlayStation Magazine with the demo disc. | am holding a subscription mailing card until PlayStation Magazine sends me a REAL DEMO DISC, If you have any questions please e-mail back to me.

Don Koym

Katy, Texas

Hello Don,

The demo Included with the mag Is for use on your PlayStation which plays games with black bottoms. We assume you mistook It for a PC demo disc or have not noticed that all your PS games have black underbeliles.

e-mail:

If you need to reach us even sooner wataru_maruyama@zd.com

; Stay alive wi ms, aliv Tae on deen eL. Spe SANE ay : i : Nine wi sey le nol lot more: ee ү and S j Ee, een Frogger

е КОО updated геп up А PN once: 1 Play in the UP good old days- si WP тееп slith Avoid chompin’ alligators, i lering snakes, biting birds and unch of other b anda

rand new enemies,

www.frogger.com

Playstation L D ORLITI

шїп. эсе

©1997 Hasbro Interactive, Inc. Frogger is a frodemark of Konami Со, Ld. ©1981 Konomi. АЙ Rights Reserved. PlayStation ond Ihe PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Enlerfinmeat Inc. Windows ond Windows95 ore trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Th ratings icon is a Irodemork ofthe Interactive Digitol Software Association.

— TON THE WIZARDS ‚СУРА МАЕ ZONES „тҮ GS О 0

er Scoremejsters $a

avorite PlayS ation™

ackages of Pepsi,

ome. Join the ranks of the y uncovering а $5 coupon for deogames. Just buy speciall 29 venture inside, and snag your о ossal 5 coupon. Plus, Station™ game console

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prizes, hit the Warlord of Web Sites: www. рерз1. сот. Enter to win our own PlayStation™ game center, right there at the Web site. And then go- drink Pepsi. Your quest for savings has begun.

Get your hands on a Pepsi. Get your hands оп the games. WWW -= pepsi „сот

PlayStation™ coupon гү LLy marked packages of Pepsi. . Like you couldn't use five bucks.

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NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO WIN PRIZES. SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR COMPLETE DETAILS. PEPSI, PEPSI-COLA, MOUNTAIN DEW, GENERATION NEXT and the Pepsi Globe design are trademarks of PepsiCo. Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

an (azeze (R) December 1997

PlayStat

Official U.S.

PlayStation

elling U.S. PlayStation titles as d by the nation’s top retailers.

Last MONTH: 13 PLATFORM RELEASE Date: SEPT 1996 Sony’s unofficial mascot jumps seven spots, perhaps in anticipation of the release of Crash Bandicoot 2 in the coming months.

PUBLISHER: GENR

Final Fantasy VII

PUBLISHER: SONY Last MONTH: — GENRE: RPG RELEASE Date: Auc 1997

: ELECTRONIC Arts LAST MONTH: 14

RELEASE Date: Auc 1997 Falling from last month's position at number one, NCAA Football makes way for real college ball as the NCAA season settles in.

Not surprisingly, Sony's longawe ited:ro ау! ga buts.a one, It | no "arn for an RPG its sales num- bers are off the charts.

PuBLISHER: SONY Lasr Момтн: 11 GENRE: RACING RELEASE Date: Nov 1996 xam) Up three spots from last month, Jet Moto is bouncing around a bit in the countdown. Its recent surge may also be due to an upcoming sequel.

(of be’s Oddysee _ PUBLISHER: GT Lasr MONTH: — GENRE: PUZZLE RELEASE Dare: Sept 1997 Debuting at a respectable ninth place, Abe battles Sligs, Slogs

and some frustrating bugs to avoid being turned into sausage.

Sony muscles Madden down a notch as the most еріс battle in console history continues. The sales num- bers indicate that it’s really just a matter of preference.

Madden NFL 98

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Last Момтн: 2 GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE Date: Аис 1997

PUBLISHER: CAPCOM Last Момтн: —

GENRE: ADVENTURE RELEASE Date: Sept 1997 Director's Cut managed to snag

j the 10th slot on this month's

| countdown before news of its

| still-censored footage spread.

Still holding strong at

number three, Madden holds out as one of the most realistic football Sims ever seen on a home console.

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS LAST MONTH: —

GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE Date: Sar 1997 Debuting at number 11, NHL 98 is (Е already enjoying the success of its predecessors. And Sony’s NHL FaceOff 98 is nowhere to be found.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Last Момтн: 16 GENRE: PLATFORM RELEASE Date: Auc 1997 Up an impressive 12 slots from last month, Spielberg’s incredible-looking cast of dinosaurs shows that nice graphics and a hot movie license can go a long way.

Last Момтн: 10 RELEASE Date: Nov 1995

Dropping two spots from last month, Twisted Metal’s still holding on to its impressive sales numbers. Two years old and still on the charts!

NASCAR 98

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Last Момтн: — GENRE: RACING RELEASE Date: Sept 1997

Í With a solid debut at

Send your votes for the readers’ 10 most wanted games to: Official PlayStation Magazine

Attn: Readers’ 10 Most Wanted

1920 Highland Ave.

Lombard, IL 60148

or e-mail us at: bob_conlon@zd.com

racing sims to date.

(13 0 5

PUBLISHER: E GENRE:

ECTRONIC ARTS LAST MONTH: 3

RTS RELEASE Date: May 1997 Dropping a disappointing 10 slots, Triple Play 98 is still going strong at number 13. Apparently, though, the boys of summer have gone.

PUBLISHER: NAMCO Last Момтн: 12

GENRE: FIGHTING RELEASE Date: Auc 1996 You won't be likely to see this one drop out of the Top 20 until Tekken 3 is released. Now, if we only knew when that would be...

(15 |

PuBLISHER: SONY Lasr MoNrH: 6

GENRE: ACTION RELEASE Date: Nov 1996 Apparently, the original Twisted Metal is showing longer legs than its sequel. Still, number 15 a year after release is nothing to sneeze at.

Last MONTH: 7 GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE Date: July 1997 Football games have risen and, like ? Triple Play, this baseball game has

fallen. It’s amazing how game sales fluctuate depending on the season.

(17

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Last Момтн: 8

GENRE: RACING RELEASE Dare: Mar 1997 Need for Speed ll may be dropping to make way for its successor, Need for Speed V-Rally. The question is, will V-Rally stand up to the a chalence

PUBLISHER: SONY

т Момтн: 5 ASE DATE: nor 1997

PuBLISHER: SONY GENRE: COMPILATION Dropping a dramatic 13 Spots from last month, Jampack's position makes one wonder where PlayStation owners are getting their demo fix...?

19 ST MONT

PuBLISHER: NAMCO La GENRE: FIGHTING RELEASE DATE:

Nov 1995

Returning from a long absence, the original Tekken is one of the games д that showed people what the 2А PlayStation could really do.

The first racer to allow players to drive a hummer, Off-Road offers

other unusual vehicles. But just

wait 'til you see Test Drive 4!

Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games, Sept. 3-30, 1997

Call them at (516) 625-0700 for questions regarding this list. Note: No games for competing console systems (e.g. N64, Sega Saturn, etc.) were included. Game descriptions are written by the OPM staff. Overall sales figures may vary.

10 Most Wanted

As compiled by our attractive, intelligent readers

I | Resident Evil 2 It looks like СОВ is stick- ing to their January release date..

3 Star Wars: Masters of Terás Kàsi Check out X this month's demo for a small taste.

Tekken 3 We've still not received anything

playable. What's holding it up?

PaRappa 2 No details yet, but the ending for

the first game has whet everyone's appetites. 7 Tomb Raider 2 Even though it’s basically

more of the same, this one’s a no-brainer. ls Final Fantasy VIII Hey, we can dream, can't | ме?

Twisted Metal 3 Other mags have denied its existence, but it is definitely in development.

Editors’ Top 10

What we’ve been paving instead of working

G Police Psygnosis’ take on flight sims has us yelling “Friendly fire isn’t!”

Cool Boarders 2 Dave “Mad Dog” Malec actually broke a controller with this one.

Dead or Alive Wat says the law of gravity has never looked so good.

Ultima Online “Huh? Is it morning already? Do | have to go to work now?”

| hyper Stereo Surround sound- B _ amplified Бий-їп 18 мабар ег > sound precisión- adjustáble/Stereó | Speaker doors | | | | Video! game sound presets

ваше, Works with all vided ا‎ | дате systems Е \ power ae

| | tilt/Swivel stahd

|stereo headphone jack— _ er

| | | |. backlitvemote.control —

| L of gaming sound power ; И. ^aimed: right at your earc ele

| he national retailers

= Funcoland | KBtey werks | TOYSHUS

E: = : =) for more information on the С; (model E1395 Se 1 ie http://gxtv.sosimple.com/ * estimated selling рсе is $229 П сіџа! dealer price may магу.

па Јап. 15. ‚19%.

Star Wars: Masters of Teras Kasi

“I'd sooner punch a Wookiee!" S we slowly move А toward the release ofthe Star Wars

prequels, LucasArts is

readying the latest install- ment in a long line of Star Warslicensed titles. Masters of Тегаз Kasi is а fighting game, pure and simple, but it does have Some interesting twists.

This demo includes only two playable characters. The first is Arden Lyn, the mysterious disciple of the strange martial arts disci- pline, Terás Kasi. She is armed with a formidable array of hand-to-hand attacks, as well as a high-powered laser with which she can inflict serious damage on her opponent.

right punch PAN [down стоџсһ | right kick Ө)

left move left

left punch | right move right left kick x

R1 not used dodge L1

R2 draw weapon

dodge L2

Of course, all of this is enhanced by the use of the famil-

iar characters and locations—not Бо Compursreentettainment

America (SCEA) warrants to the

The other playable character is none to mention the instantly recogniz- original purchaser of the Official other than Luke Skywalker, sporting able soundtrack. The two arenas PlayStation Magazine that the demo

Б s А t А sf disc included is free from defects in either his Dagobah fatigues or his found in this demo are material and workmanship for a peri

spiffy black Jedi jumpsuit. He begins Ficur with 2 desert landscape, $ of шу COR from the ав : the match armed only with his fists, WEAPONS OR apparently from Luke's o Dd or a period but hit R2 (the button, not the droid) home planet of replace, at its option, the SCEA prod

HAND-TO-HAND. uct, You must call 1-800-345-SONY

Tatooine, and what to e instructions to ob! appears to be Bespin's repair/repi ent services Carbon Freezing Chamber. The

dad E This warranty shall not be fighting platforms are limited in and shall be void if the defect in the dimension, which means that SCEA product has arisen through

and out comes his trusty lightsaber (colored appropriately for each outfit, of course). Armed with this weapon, Luke has a bit more reach than before, and a few spectacular attacks.

abuse, unreasonable use, mistreat-

For example, a quarter-circle from Down to Forward, followed by the

Triangle button, will perform a fancy

figure-eight swing which can land multiple hits on the opponent. A quarter-circle from Down to Back, followed once again by the Triangle, will perform a powerful double

ring-outs are a valid (albeit cheap) way of winning a match. Locations in the final release will include the frozen wastelands of Hoth (complete with diving Snow Speeders), a docking plat- form on the forest moon of Endor (with an AT-AT lumbering through

ment, neglect or breakage during shipment. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL ВЕ BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA

ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICA BLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MER CHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED

TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDEN. TAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES

sweep with the lightsaber. the background), and even the swamps of Dagobah, where R2-D2

can be seen scurrying around in

h ker i RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE the background „а К ОВ MALFUNCTION OF THE SCEA Be warned: The А! in this demo is SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

extremely tough, more so than in lat А f th Control Some states do not allow limitations ater versions of the game. Controls as to how long an implied warranty. and movement are also more slug- lasts and/or exclusions or limitations н ; А " of consequential damages, so the gish than they will be in the final above limitations and/or exclusions release. Meanwhile, check out these of liability may not apply to you. This two shots that you won't find on the жаташу gi ۸ 5 z я rights, and you disc. We'll be doing a full preview rights which vary from state to state. next month, so stay tuned!

OF OTHER LEVELS x AND CHARACTERS NES THE GAME OFFERS.

TS: Fighting

| # OF PLAYERS yz |

INT ака MONTI c

Se У Measurements: 36-24-36 Occupation: Rave 0) Fighting Technique: Pi-Kua Kung Fu Home Turf: The Streets

PS N BEE Loads of cool characters and environments

Endless hours of

unbelievably fast gameplay

Tons of kickin’ alternative rock tunes

Join the Brawl in November

www.thq.com

Visit your local retailer or call 1-818-591-1310 for orders only

Versus © and ™ 1997 THO Inc. PlayStation and PlayStation logos are ТМ trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Ine. lights reserved

с =>

PlayStation

A cut above the competition

hile Squaresoft's first fighter, Tobal No.1, Have you learned enough during your brief stay at up move left was hailed as original, the company's the school to survive? high attack ЛА

follow-up, Bushido Blade, is nothing short While Bushido Blade's roster of characters is S of revolutionary. Published in the U.S. by comparatively small, the wide range of selectable down move right Sony, the game chucks popular fighting conven- weapons makes up for this shortcoming. А А Е mid attack tions, such as rounds, health bars and super

meters, out the window. Instead, it is a true н 1 backward sword fighting simulator. Duels can last

five seconds or five minutes, depending TRY MULTIPLE BUTTON [P pan e |

on the player's skill. Similarly, fights can COMBINATIONS FOR right forward end with a single well-placed blow or VICIOUS ATTACKS.

degenerate into a grueling bloodbath. 3 теб Я А low attack

After discovering the sword fighting school j 1 ^ RI you recently enrolled in is really a training pt | compound for assassins, you decide to : i åg une run L1 make your escape across the grounds of a э СУ ` NM Я neighboring mansion. Your former class- д P x 6 a ee R2 lower weapon

mates, however, follow in close pursuit. it - = not used 12

TS: = йты

Fighting

raise weapon

up not used

Fighting with character punch/kick Л |down crouch |

hose of you who picked up the Black and Los Infernos, Vs. thrusts the player 2 premiere issue of OPM may recall our into the middle of an urban war zone, where rival kick ( ) x epic battle with the lovely Mia. Now gangs are grappling for control of the city. Vs.’ 2 you, too, can get your butt whipped by 16 characters, each of whom belong to one of left move left = Mia (or at least the character she inspired) in four different gangs, duke it out at 60 fps using i © this playable Vs. demo. a variety of real-world fighting styles. special move/dodge [ ] = Featuring character designs by former Marvel While you're wailing away on the Kick and a artist Kurtis Fujita and a smokin’ soundtrack Punch buttons, don’t forget about the Square = including such emerging rock bands аз Razed т button. When pressed in combination with Up or punch X a Down, Square allows your character to sidestep. R1 ПОЕ a Press Square and Forward, and your character = will run, allowing you to perform not used L1 2 THERE AIN'T A LOT sliding tackles. Use the 5 OF DANCING GOING directional pad and Triangle R2 not used

ON IN THIS Disco. 0 perform throws. not used _ 12

Two items in this

demo deserve special SEE

mention: Mia's alternate outfit

(shwing!) and Oleg's rendition of “Volga Boatmen," which

sounds conspicuously like the

&uy from Sling Blade.

Now's your chance to kick more ass than you've ever imagined possible. All ASCIIWARE controllers have features that enhance your gameplay. They're faster \ and tougher, which means you will бе too. So if your controller doesn’t say ASCIIWARE on it, then maybe you should be kicking yourself.

ASCII PAD ENHANCED ASCII PAD

ASCII GRIP ONE HANDED CONTROLLER

ASCIIWARE’ IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES

www.asciient.com NTE BTA Nil © 1997 ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc. All rights reserved. ASCIIWARE is a registered trademark of ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc. С t " 5 ASCII Entertainment, ASCII Pad, Specialized ASCII Stick, ASCII Arcade Stick, Enhanced ASCII Pad, АЗС! Carrybag, MACH 1 and ASCII Grip ustomer service: are trademarks of ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, 650.780.0166

Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Jet Moto 2

he long-awaited sequel to one of last year’s to race across an earthquake-ravaged L.A., through

up lean forward

surprise hits has finally arrived. How does an underground cavern and atop a roller coaster. turbo Д Jet Мою 2 measure up to its celebrated Fans of the original will probably notice both bike predecessor? You can read the review found physics and enemy rider А! have been improved for later in this issue, or you can play it on this month's Jet Moto 2, but don't worry; you also have a lot grapple @ demo disc and decide for yourself. more nitro (Triangle), so really put the pedal to the Ep

What does it take to be a Jet Moto champi- on? Nerves of steel and a castiron stomach, for digesting all those Chef Boyardee products and Mountain Dews. Seriously, though, you will need a strong stom- ach to handle Jet Moto 2's death-defying new tracks, which allow you

metal on those straight-aways.

If you're a newcomer to the series,

= use the grapple button (Circle) to brake B спев slingshot around the two

| ONCE AGAIN, IT'S — suicide turns at the far MOTO TIME! ends of the track. accelerate

Please note that this demo is not analog compatible, although tight turn | the production version definitely is.

Cardinal SYN

up move up vertical attack ۸

(36) ronos Digital Entertainment-maker of SYN, the title character of the game, is an evil 2 one of the PlayStation's earliest fighting Sorceress (are there any other kind?) who lures 17 E. games, Criticom-and Sony team up fora of the world's most powerful fighters together for standing block © dark new weapon-based fighter, Cardinal a winner-takes-all tournament. Although most smell

SYN. The game packs the gothic atmosphere of a trap, the fighters still come, hoping to win the left move left Mace, the lightning-quick action of Soul Blade ultimate prize, the enchanted Swords of Trinity. horizontal attack E and the roam-anywhere environments of Bushido The cast of characters includes a peg-legged Blade into a single game, creating a fresh new shaman, a fairy, a skeleton warrior and a fire- right move right

gaming experience. breathing dragon.

As you play this two-player-only demo, be sure to investigate the small boxes scattered about, which may contain health, weapon power-ups

or other hazards. shove (with d-pad) |

T SHY The finished version,

low attack

Official U.S. РМЕТ Ma;

WITH THE BLOOD due in January, also R2 low block will contain hidden roam (with d-pad) 12

IN THIS ONE.

passages, ring-out hazards and fatalities, which can occur any time at the end of long combos.

January

Our programmers found а мау t0 create the most

authentic basketball game around.

r > =

NBA Fastbreak '98. The most realistic, full-motion 5-on-5 sim you'll ever play. We've duplicated the | Bonus inside game! МВА Fastbreak’98 NBA's hottest players and their moves. You call the shots: use Rodman's rebound or O'Neal's power | Playbook. A Midway exclusive! Authentic M r 7 я \ inside tips оп МВА team plays and dunk; make Stockton shut down Kerr; have Hill take it to the hole and Hardaway shoot the three! | individual player moves. And they're

There's only one way to play a more realistic game of basketball — get drafted into the NBA. yours to call.

ilove 7 thus ghee

МВА Fastoreak'98™ 61997 Midway Home Entertainme! МВА teams and may по be used, n whole

с Е The fastest way тю the МВА"

www.midway.com

ъг>-о-пто

ms of intelectual property ot NBA Proper, Inc. andthe respective SOR

TITIO

“ү У

iment Inc. The ratings icon is а trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Visit www.colonywars.com for a chance to win a trip to Space Camp.

ён Aed o} Вим пох aay `Чбтц st wopaay јо 4502 ayy, ‘syyed yuasayyip алу jo auo Бийпүе sary Aunsap Inok se ‘азер noA aututsajap Пим апте} 10 5593306 ‘SuUOISSIUI anbrun 0/ uey} asow Лү} [[, Nox ‘Aruodeam pue ѕоцѕіча}звлецэо yfi} зиалауутр чим ҷэва ‘wopaasy 10} ysanb 1п0/ ит peda эпбеа] anbrun xs 18}5еш [пох ‘sie}s ay} ш 54145 sayoy ay} Ар pue чот[[ада: ay} шог ‘5рыом 2344 yo эпбеат ay} utol ysnur под чало вт үе} 10} ашц ayy, ‘a[doad amo азі ‘аң 0} yYHresys Aıane[s Jo ѕшецэ ay} 15а

voneisÁetg

Ap

hose of you totally blown away Бу the viewable Ghost in the Shell demo on our November disc must have been good little

boys and girls, because Santa has brought you something special for Christmas: a playable Ghost in the Shell mission!

As you maneuver throughout the level, be sure to use L1 and R1 to strafe by ene- mies. By holding either strafe button, you can actually run circles around the bad guys, making them easy targets for your machine guns. Pressing both strafe

his one’s been on our Editors’ Top 10 list for two consecutive months, and now you can see for yourself why. Developed by Delphine Software International (also known for the groundbreaking Fade to Black), Moto Racer is a PlayStation conver- sion of the hit PC racer. Now, before you jump to the wrong conclusion, Moto Racer is not the usual sim-heavy type of racer that finds its way from the

Official U.S. ШЕМЕ Мае B)

SLING SOME MUD, OR BURN SOME TARMAC.

"| # OF PLAYERS

lor2 |

Ke)

cancel

down back up

launch grenade €

fire/charge Е

right turn right jump > R1 slide right

slide left 1

R2 slide right slide left L

buttons in addition to up or down will allow you to jet forward or backward for extra-speedy navigation. Pressing Square will fire a short burst of machine gun fire. Continue holding Square to lock your missiles then release to fire.

A great way to take out choppers is to adhere to the side of a building and fire straight up at their exposed underbellies.

The voices heard on the soundtrack belong to the same voice actors from the dubbed U.S. version of the feature film. The game also has over 10 minutes of theater-quality ani- mation and mech designs by Masamune Shirow, making GitS one of the most visually impressive PlayStation titles to date.

Ту сонет J panum асант) [oeve.onen J

T*HQ Sony of Japan

rear view 4

turbo/stunts @

PC ото the PlayStation. Rather, it's a straight- ahead, arcade-style racer, complete with not one but two types of motorcycles: motocross and superbikes. (Defeating the production version in every Play Mode will give the player access to a third type of bike, the comically tiny pocket bikes!) As you can tell from this playable demo, the Street courses are full of long straight aways, great for pulling power wheelies (Circle button). The motocross tracks, in contrast, are filled with jumps, which allow the player to pull R1 off stunts (also executed with Circle). There are 10 beautifully detailed tracks in all, which range from mundane arenas and sea-side tracks to a jaunt atop the Great Wall of China!

left brake L

right lean right

accelerate

lean left

not used not used 1

R2 change view change view 1

DEVELOPER )

Delphine :

VENBEANLE NOW *10 OFF.

ONLY AT SEARS.

|

| | PlayStation.

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І І 1 І | І Good for $10 off single Sears Funtronics Department purchase equal to or exceeding $10 regular price I Valid 11/15/97 through 12/31/97 only. Offer not good on layaway balances, gift certificates or credit card payments. [| Not redeemable for cash. Not valid with any other coupons or offers. Limit one coupon per transaction, one per customer. І Void where prohibited by Іам. Cash value 1/20 cent. ©1997 Sears, Roebuck and Co. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. R577011151000

lest Drive 4

ccolade and Pitbull Syndicate, the U.K. courses. On this playable demo, you can choose developer of Destruction Derby, team up either a classic '67 Cobra or a brand-spanking-

A PlayStation racer with added muscle

for the most exciting and graphically new Dodge Viper. (Check the stats carefully, up not used super-charged entry in the Test Drive series so and you'll discover the Cobra actually has 40 change view PAN

far, Test Drive 4. more horsepower than the Viper. Talk about

ТО4 puts you behind the wheel of 10 outra- engineering!) geous production cars (both past and present) The track included in this demo represents a Ө, and turns you loose on six challenging street stretch of road near Keswick, England. Other horn

fu tracks include Washington, D.C., a snowy moun-

tain course and San Francisco, which, believe it шеште or not, has even more incredible brake/reverse

jumps than San Francisco Rush. You even have to contend with right шо! some killer cross traffic. Trust us, ассеегае X

it's intense. R1 not used

While playing this demo, be sure - to zoom in on your car to admire the not used L1 pretty environment mapping on the windshield, a previously unthinkable graphical feat achieved R2 not used

in-software by Pitbull Syndicate. Pretty snazzy.

not used L2

STATS: | THEME ) [# OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE ) (AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER DEVELOPER

Racing lor2 100% Now Accolade Pitbull

ou won't find any highly paid him an almost blinding virtual buddies in ASC's latest rage that sends him action/adventure title, but you will headlong into battle, find plenty of screen-filling explo- searching for answers sions and adrenaline-soaked excitement. and the person responsible

Set 40 years in the future, One tells the for his condition. story of John Cain, who awakens to discover One's primary innovation а cold steel blaster protruding where his left is a unique Rage Meter, arm once was. Even worse, someone has which replaces traditional robbed him of his memory and instilled in health bars and power-up meters with a single gauge, seen in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. As the action begins to heat up, the Rage Meter changes to red, making John's shots more powerful and making him more impervious to enemy fire.

One also has a dynamic floating camera, which zooms, pans and CHECK our ОМЕ’$ changes viewing DYNAMIC FLOATING angle to follow CAMERA. all the action.

| THEME [# OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE ) [AVAILABILITY

STATS: | Shooting i 100%

(8)

МАТА Magazine

а

Official U.S. 8]

PUBLISHER _ DEVELOPER

Visual Сопсере

2А The Future Is fhaut | Hg ln Become History

К \

Journey to the far future to save the distant past. Battle-hand-tochand. Solve intriguing puzzles. Wield powerfifl magic. Explore a huge 3D world.

, Your mission} retrieve the legendary sword ~ Excalibur.

Featuring over 200 locations, 60 different characters, full Speech, and incredible reali light-sourcing, Ex п 2555 is an absol

“ „Could well do for.3D action adventures what : Tomb Raider did for 3D plattormers” — Edge

“Excalibur 2555 is one'pf the most unique. 30 games ever... a really, really cool game’

— Diehard Gamefan

SIRTECH \ 6 Tel.: (315) 393-6633 Fax: (335) 393-1525 To order, visit your retailer or са!; 1-800-447-1230

| 1 ROM ‘ A www.sir-techhcom | | PlayStation d Я PlayStation And the PlayStation logos аге trademarks of Sony СотриіеДЕпіеаіптепі Inc.

коз TO ADULTS PlayStatior Station »marks of S С inment Inc. The "Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label m р a Product" la ty of the Independent L rop: all registered federal trademarks/service mark: aker and Total Control Passing are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. www.playstation.com

PlayStation |

EWER THAN 4% ОЕ ALL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ARE DRAFTED BY THE NFL. SO WHAT DRIVES THE OTHER 96%?

ıe GAME -BREAKER

ЖЗ

à a PROPERTY OF PLAYSTATION ATHLETIC DEPT.

Need а reason to get surround sound? You're about to flip through pages of them.

nd Duke's all out of gum. After more than a year of development, Duke Nukem is finally nearing his PlayStation debut in Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown. With all the action of the original PC Duke Nukem 3D, plus an entire episode of PlayStation-exclusive levels, Total Meltdown should offer more than enough to satisfy fans of

SOME SAID THE PLAYSTATION VERSION WOULD BE CENSORED. NEEDLESS TO SAY...

corridor shooters.

other 3-D shooters, the game does not take place entirely in some bizarre science-fiction

One of the most house, multiplayer Duke, if it's interesting aspects of anything like the PC version, Duke Nukem is that, should be well worth it. unlike the majority of Dual-analog support helps

world. Instead, many levels are designed to look repertoire of Bruce Campbell- like normal Earth cities, with bars, movie the- influenced one-liners keep aters, restaurants and other familiar locations. things from getting too serious. This was what drew so many people to the PC

THE COLOR SCHEMES BELOW ARE USED IN THE PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS SECTIONS TO INDICATE THE GAME S GENRE: eAction/Adventure Fighting eSports Platform

CaN YOU NAME THE PLAYSTATION

version, and the PlayStation GAMES THESE version incorporates that design LEVELS ARE into its exclusive levels, as well. MODELED AFTER?

The intriguing thing about the exclusive levels is that almost all are based on a specific theme. One level, for example, is modeled after the films of Quentin Tarantino, while another strives for the feel of an episode of The X-Files. Far more amusing, however, are the levels based on popular PlayStation games. One level sends Duke through a num- ber of Tomb Raideresque caverns, while another has him exploring a creepy house populated with zombified enemies a /a Resident Evil. One level is even set on and around a WipeOut-style track!

Duke has his standard arsenal at his dispos- al, from the devastating RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) to the cunning Pipe Bomb and Laser Tripbomb, which allow Duke to set traps for his enemies.

As expected, the PlayStation version does support Multiplayer Mode through the use of the link cable. As tedious as some gamers may find it to lug an extra console and TV over to their friend's

make the transition from PC to PS a smooth one, and Duke's

But enough talk. Let's rock!

STAT. : SL

REALMS

The Eternal-ly delayed?

inda like Al Simmons, himself,

Spawn: The Eternal is one game — SPAWN’S STORY IS that's done its time in hell. After ADVANCED THROUGH pulling a no-show at E? (the game CG cur-scENES

was present in tape form only) and (BELOW). suffering several delays, Spawn has re-emerged in the form of a playable

beta version—the first released to the

gaming press to date.

Speaking of reincarnation, we first took a look at Spawn back in the June issue of P.S.X. As many of you may recall, the object of the game is to guide former-ClA-assassin- turned- dead-guy, Al Simmons (a.k.a. Spawn), through 18 torturous levels and three separate time lines as he attempts to reclaim his soul from the big man downstairs, Malebolgia.

The gameplay, as Sony originally promised, combines the non-linear level exploration of

December 1997

Tomb Raider with the bone-crunching fighting of Tekken, resulting in a new gaming experience; however (and that's a Mount Rushmore-sized however), Spawn merely apes these groundbreaking titles, at least in his current incarnation. It should be pointed out, however, that Spawn: The Eternal is still months away from release, and a lot can change.

Despite the game's current shortcomings,

Official U.S. ЁК Те СТӨ,

SPAWN’S LIVING CAPE UNFURLS BEFORE FIGHTS, OFFERING ADDED PROTECTION.

there already is much to like about Spawn. The environments—urban, medieval and savage—are large and nicely detailed; however, they’re a bit underpopulated, giving the game a lifeless look. Add a few bums scurrying for cover or some medieval shop owners and bar maids, and Sony's in business.

Spawn's special abilities nicely mirror his comic book attributes, as well. Spawn can heal himself at will and can hurl green energy attacks at enemies, but doing so drains him of precious necroplasm, Spawn's very life-blood.

Spawn already has a number of kicks, punches and special attacks; however, most fights can be won in very un-Spawn-like fashion by simply kicking at your opponent's feet. If Sony spices up the artifi- cial intelligence, speeds the action up a bit and adds some bone-breaking holds or fatalities, Spawn could be stylin’.

mii P mee

ә ы

[THEME _ =" ACTION

SHE'LL KICK YOUR

ЛЕС

Tecmo, Inc. • 19260 S. Van Ness Ave., Torrance, СА 90501 7 e hitgi/ /vvwvetecmo.co jp * Fax (310)787-3131 * Phone (310)787-2900

(HE i ум, For KNEE NICA ADDICTIVE HEAD-To-WHEAD CAMINE ON SALE NOW!

ТЕСМО® із a registered trademark of Tecmo, Inc. Dead or Alive 1996 Tecmo, Lid. 1996 Tecmo Sk оге trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Call 1-800-771-3771 for game rating info

December 1997

Official U.S. УЕ Мева 8)

tis the distant future. The population of Earth has been decimated by a great flood. The survivors retreat to higher ground to attempt to rebuild their society. As the new society emerges, however, it brings with it the crime and corruption that the survivors thought they had left behind. A high-tech, heavily armed police force arises to combat this new menace. Calling themselves the Protectorate, these futuristic lawmen arm themselves with three powerful vehicles: car, bike and wing, each with lightning-fast controls and vehicle-specific weaponry. This is where you come in. In Crime Killer, players take the role of a member of the Protectorate in an attempt to wipe out criminal activity once

and for all. Ten varied levels send the player

on a number of special missions ranging

from apprehending and eliminating criminals

to surveillance missions conducted with the “crime-cam.”

Running at an impressive 60 frames per second, Crime Killer sends players hurtling

through large, futuristic lev- els in search of their high- speed quarry. Arcade-style physics allow the player to perform motorcycle power slides, airborne barrel rolls and 360-degree automo- bile spins (full guns blaz- ing, of course). As if the enemy itself weren’t enough, earthquakes

PLAYERS CAN use Spot lighting, lens flares, THEIR VEHICLES AS AN ADDITIONAL WEAPON, SLIDING FORCEFULLY INTO THEIR ENEMIES.

PLAYERS ARE BOMBARDED ON ALL SIDES BY POWERFUL ENEMIES.

and volcanoes provide additional hazards for

the unwary.

An active cam- era helps draw players into the action by react- ing to events on screen. For example, run headlong into a wall—even in the third-person camera perspective—and the camera will shudder with the impact. Hurtling around a corner sends the camera swinging after, in a style that many found distracting in Tomb Raider but that seems to work just fine here. It even reacts to acceleration—especially in the first-person view on the motorcycle levels, where the entire front of the bike rises up as it takes off from a stop.

Graphic effects including

smoke transparencies and other light-sourcing give the game a “Euro” look. The frame rate, combined with the game's all-out speed, make Crime Killer a very quick action game.

OF PLAYERS D % COMPLETE

AVAILABILITY 1ST QTR. '98

PLAYLOGIC

80%

total of two tennis батез have appeared on the PlayStation with neither one being up to the challenge. Enter Tennis Arena,

which boasts of being the most playable

version yet available on

the PS. Ubi Soft has

definitely done some nice

work with the ball physics

and ease of play. Many

tennis games forget that

you can't make an enjoy-

able tennis game when

the players have a hard

time hitting the ball, as this wrecks the chances for a decent set of volleys. One of the more unique features of the game are the players themselves or, to be more specific, what they are wearing. The play- ers sport clothes native to their countries of origin, similar to the wacky characters found in another Ubi Soft title, Street Racer. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an option to play in more tradition- al attire, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

December 1997

Official U.S. ЁШ УКТ ТЕ Т Magazine (5)

f for no other reason, FIFA:

Road to World Cup 98 is

significant because it's the

first sports title to be released

for all three “next-generation” home consoles (PlayStation, Saturn and N64). And given the waning popularity of Saturn, it may be the last.

In addition to being the only soccer title with the exclusive World Cup license, FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 has a number of cool new features. For the first time ever, players can guide their favorite team from the first qualifying match through the entire qualifying and first rounds all the way to the World Cup finals held in France. FIFA 98 includes 189 clubs culled from 11 different leagues around the world, making the game one of the most comprehensive ever.

FIFA 98 also has hundreds of new motion-captured moves and the ability to customize players’ appearances down to their hair styles, so you know the game is one of the most realistic- looking available. There are also 16 meticulously re-created stadiums and authentic team chants to capture the atmosphere of World Cup soccer. Speaking of atmosphere, FIFA 98 also has new weather effects and the option of playing night games.

Not content with simply improving the look of FIFA, EA Sports also tweaked

FIFA 98 Has 189 CLUBS FROM 11 LEAGUES FROM AROUND THE WORLD.

STATS: Н UG ви EN" 28

e latest on the newest

FIFA 98 Has NEW PLAYER MODELS AND MOTION-CAPTURED

the game's Al, allowing computer- controlled teams to attack and defend more realistically than ever.

Another exciting (and under-advertised) feature is FIFA 98's soundtrack, which includes music by top U.S. and U.K. bands, such as Blur. While it is in sharp — contrast to the crowd chants and more tradi- і а tional music іп the game, 7 the rock soundtrack lends an unexpected amount of energy to such an old- A world sport. 4

Although EA has released several fine soccer games in the past, FIFA 4 " 98's new features certain- ly make the game worth a look.

lizzard Entertainment, designers of the update to Gauntlet. Set in a fantasy world, incredibly successful WarCraft series, the game combines RPG elements with its are bringing their multiplayer blockbuster action-oriented gameplay, resulting in a unique Diablo to the PlayStation via Electronic mix that PC owners have found enthralling. Arts. Diablo is a simple hack-and-slash The most popular feature of the PC version, = | dungeon crawler however, was its four-player Network Mode, and £ НЙ which some have the PlayStation version is expected to support i$; described as an only two players. It's not clear at this point isometric-viewed whether that will be accomplished through a TRAVEL TO TOWN TO link cable or split-screen, but some sort of SELL YOUR LOOT AND ` PLAYERS HACK THEIR WAY multiplayer support will at least be present. COLLECT INFORMATION, Î THROUGH MULTILAYERED, The game's randomly generated dungeons Д MONSTER-LADEN LEVELS. provide a great deal of replay value, offering a new layout with each game.

wou t WALKE FC

0 то

BLIZZARD

JUST ENTERED THE ARENA. бд»,

COLLECTION

Remember these guys? They remember you. This VA game packs punch. 27 Street Fighters in 3 different ; SUI NEN, = Ё Yar № games. Super Street Fighter II, Super Street г °° OF <3 ; Fighter II Turbo, and Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, all in their true arcade form. Own the Street Fighter legacy. At around $1.50 a fighter, that’s a fair

fight, dontcha think? № ^

TEEN

я ue CAPCOM

© Capcom Со, Ud. 199; USA, Inc. 1997. All rights reserved. Street Fighter I, S ond Street Fighter Alpha om is o registered tro PlayStation loge ore кобете of Sony ConpulrEnlrcinment nc Sega ond Sega Solum o

[3 of Sega Enterprises, ld. www.capcom.com

he hit RPG from Sony of Japan is making

its way to U.S. shores with the help of

former Saturn developers Working

Designs. Alundra is an action-based

role-playing game in the spirit of the Nintendo classic Legend of Zelda. "Action-based" means that, unlike many RPGs, combat does not take place on a separate turn-based combat screen. Instead, your character settles all of his dis- putes on the main map, giving the game a much faster pace than the standard-format RPG. Furthermore, since the character always has all of his combat moves at the ready, he can use them to shred through

December 1997

bushes and other small obstacles in search of hidden items.

The game tells the story of a boy named Alundra, a member of a race known as the Dreamwalkers. He possesses the unique ability to enter other people's dreams, and can use this to help a growing number of people who

Official U.S. ЕР Т Те СТӨ

аге becoming trapped in their dreams. It seems that an evil demon is plan- ning on taking over the world, and is attempting to reach people through their dreams. It is Alundra who must help these people and free them from

the influence of the demon, freeing the planet from his clutches.

The game's world, although huge, is sectioned off into areas that can only be accessed after certain events occur in the game. This allows the develop- ers to make the world as large as they would like without running the risk of the player losing focus. It also prevents Alundra from

reaching enemies who are too powerful for him—a fact that die-hard RPG fans may object to, but newer, less-experienced gamers will appreciate.

The dream sequences offer even more area for exploration, as well as a number of unusual elements that would be out of place in a conventional RPG.

The story and dialog, through the work of Working Designs, appear as well-written as they are unorthodox (for RPGs, anyway). Characters often deliver lines which are unusual, and in Some places, just plain comical. This healthy dose of humor helps keep the game from taking itself too seriously, as many RPGs do.

If the U.S. success of other PlayStation RPGs (like Suikoden or Beyond the Beyond) is any guide, Alundra should keep role-playing fans happy for a long time to come.

Тама wizard, and one of the protectors of the Crest. The iius ora b

dir iba { Beantiful eh? I've been a sailor since I was lad younger'n you...

7) [#OF PLAYERS ) |% COMPLETE) [AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER DEVELOPER 80% DECEMBER

NOW

A ™ FOR THRE | MOS E ANTICIPATED „ "SPECIAL MOVE" IN FIGHTING GAME HISTORY...

_ STREET FIGHTER'S IN ,

“ч ^x

Been missin' Street Fighter game- play? The world's premiere fighter goes kickin’ and screamin’ into 3-D. This beast pits the original 8 Street Fighter vets — Guile, Zangief, Ryu, Ken, Bison, Chun-Li, Dhalsim and Sakura in an amazing arcade hit. What else is the same? Signature Street Fighter ` gameplay. New? Lots! Crack your knuckles and welcome 12 all-new fighters in the biggest Street Fighter ever! Playable bosses, 7 different play modes, a total of 23 characters, this is the 3-D game worth fighting for...

+ С. O = [r*] p un > Er, [zm

4 H d H

E E

TEEN ка К

Куртту PlayStation SRB М

Ryu got your number? New Training Mode adds moves, reduces bruises.

New Multi-Hit combos bring ‘em to their knees.

Slow Mo Replay makes victory even sweeter.

CAPCOM www.capcom.com

© ARIKA CO., ПО. 1997 © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 1997 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. STREET FIGHTER is a trademark of CAPCOM. CO., LTD. CAPCOM is a registered trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc

Iready home to such stellar fighters as Tekken 2, Soul Blade and Street Fighter EX, the PlayStation undoubtedly is the platform of choice among fight fans.

Rather than go toe-to-toe with the more established Japanese fighting franchises, Kronos and Sony—co-developers of the forthcoming Cardinal SYN— decided to go a different route. With an eye on Mortal Kombat fans and disenfranchised gamers who can't relate to the horde of Japanese street fight- ers, Kronos and Sony decided to "get medieval" on Play- Station owners' collective asses. As producer Chad Okada explains, "Everyone knows that Japan owns the fighting game market, and to try to come out with a Streettype of fighter, we would have probably gotten killed. We wanted to keep [Cardinal SYN] more American- looking and to set it apart from the other fighters. That's why we went with [a gothic] type of character design and look." Chad and company weren't content with simply giving the game a different look, however;

they wanted Cardinal SYN to play

Having cut their teeth producing CG animation for such games as Sega's Eternal Champions CD, Kronos has been creating high- quality character models like this one of Orion for

differently, too. To this end, Kronos and Sony abandoned the traditional square arenas in favor of unconventionally shaped bat- tlefields, which are filled with hazards, power-ups and secret areas. "When we set out to make this game," recalls Okada, “ме wanted to make it a little different than the normal fight- ers, which are basically kinda like a 2-D fight- ing game with 3-D graphics. We gave it ull 3-D movement including a free-run, 3-D button. Also, we made the environ- ments interactive. here are hazards within the arenas, like fire pits and spikes that come up from the ground. So you can lure [opponents] into them, or you can throw them onto these hazards. Some arenas ave these little, narrow pas- sages. If you want to

ШЕ

get the big power-ups, you have to go down them, but what happens is you kinda get cornered and have to fight your way out. Ultimately, though, we really wanted to keep all of the core fighting game people intact, so we included a pretty elaborate combo system

and plenty of special and dismemberment moves."

When asked about the enduring popularity of fighting games, Chad offered the following explanation: “1 think there is a lot of instant gratifica- tion with fighting games. When you play a platform game, it takes forever to get through, and a lot of people don't have that kind of patience. Finding all the stuff and going through the levels may take too much time for a lot of people who just want a twitch game."

And how does Mr. Okada feel about SYN's closest competitor, Mace?

П П

П

1

i “Mace ! is kind of E interesting. | wasn't { too happy with the { entire combo б scheme and the | special moves. { It reminded те | of most of the 1 other Atari F games, kind of | shallow in its 1 gameplay. Mace 1 also doesn't seem to | lend itself enough to the § 3-D environment. We { incorporated а 3-0 button р to move around freely, and our | environments are set up a little | more strategically." | Sounds like fightin’ words { to us... | i

'

П

1

П

1

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1

0

| THINK РМ GONNA' HURL! TRY YOUR LUCK ON НЕС

ROULETTE Wi

< 5 ROTATING

EEL OF DEATH.

Hoping to infuse Cardinal SYN with additional strategy as well as to differentiate the game from the horde of "me, too" fighters currently on the market, Kronos created some uncon- ventional arenas for SYN's gladiators to duke it out in.

Levels include a giant roulette wheel, a bridge, a mine and the inside of a volcano. Each is littered with power-ups, secret areas and haz- ards, such as rolling mine carts and boulders, acid pools, spikes and lava.

% COMPLETE 8576

AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER ) | DEVELOPER )

Cà oys of our youth just seem to have a way of | » coming back to haunt us. Take the upcoming title 8 from Hasbro Interactive, for example. Based on a toy line and cartoon series that were popular when members of our staff were still in grade school, Beast Wars: Transformers supplies a heaping helping of nos- talgia along with some high-tech mechanized combat.

Gamers take the side of either the Maximals or the Predicons in an epic battle for control of the universe. Settling onto a new planet, the Transformers incorporate elements of the local fauna into their design, causing them to morph into apes, scorpions, cheetas and other fierce creatures. Although the Autobots and Decepticons are nowhere to be seen, Beast Wars does include such characters as Megatron and Optimus, two of the most important figures of the Transformers mythos.

With 10 different characters, 32 different missions and six unique 3-D environments (including desert, jungle, forest and tundra, among others), Beast Wars | offers plenty of variety for the Transformers fan. Of | course, the game's trademark is the ability to morph |

from beast to robot at will. Characters can only remain in one form for a limited time, however, since the beast forms, although almost universally faster than their robotic counterparts, lack any sort of firepower.

The resurgence of popu- larity of the Transformer line, from new toys to cartoons and now video games, leads one to wonder: Can a Go-Bot game be far behind?

IRBORNE BOSSES EXTERMINATE ANSFORMERS.

IR

www.capcom.com

# OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE

1 100%

PUBLISHER DEVELOPER

HASBRO HASBRO

he old-school PC classic has finally made the transition to 32 Bits of con- sole goodness, and the results look to be completely true to the original line. Lode Runner, the fast-paced treasure-hunting game, addicted millions of PC owners before Tetris was a gleam in its designer's eye.

apid Racer was one of several surprise

titles appearing т Sony's expansive

booth at this year's Ез. Developed by

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe,

Rapid Racer boasts some of the most realistic wave physics ever seen on the PlayStation-or anywhere else. A blend of arcade action and simula- tion, Rapid Racer will have 18 basic courses. After beat- ing those, you can race an infinite number of new

ЗТАТЗ: лоно аы б шаб Ga

Gameplay is simple: Players maneuver a tiny character around large levels in an attempt to collect all the gold on that level. Once every piece of treasure is collected, a door opens into the next level. This updated version introduces locked doors and other new obstacles, but the gameplay is still refreshingly simple.

Perhaps the best thing about the original Lode Runner was the ability to design your own levels, and the PlayStation version has incorporated this ability fully, allowing players to save their own diabolical levels to their memory cards in order to challenge their friends. This is one game that definitely deserves to be resurrected.

NATSUME

courses created by the game’s “fractal generator,” which randomly builds 3-D courses through fractal geometry.

As in Jet Moto and WaveRace 64, players must learn to race with currents, waves and boat wakes rather than against them.

Rapid Racer will have a Two-player Split-screen and a number of Play Modes, including Sudden Death, Winner Stays and Championship Modes. Rapid Racer should be in stores in Europe by October. No U.S. release date has been given yet, but we'll keep you posted.

December 1997

Inm Magazine (8)

Official U.S.

ony is combining their

polygonal NFL GameDay

98 engine with all the

atmosphere of Division |-А

college football for NCAA GameBreaker 98, certain to be Sony Athletic Department's next sure-fire hit.

The game is a sequel to last year's NCAA Football GameBreaker, which takes its name from certain marquee players' ability to "break" a close game wide open with a single run, pass or catch. This actually is reflected in GameBreaker 98's gameplay, which is more unpredictable than NFL GameDay’s. Lacking the experience of seasoned pros, GameBreaker's players are more likely to cough up the ball or to throw an interception. Additionally, the R1 and L1 buttons now cause the ball carrier to lateral the ball right or left, occasionally turning a bro- ken play into a TD. (You can still stiff-arm, but this is now accomplished with R2 and L2.)

In addition to 112 Division А teams, GameBreaker includes over 2,000 newly updat- ed offensive and defensive plays, analog con- trol, stat tracking and end-of-the-season awards (Heisman Trophy, Jim Thorpe, Bronko Nagurski, Top 25 and the Football Writers Association's College All-American Team).

e latest on the newest

NCAA GameBreaker 98

“Break” from sprite-based pigskin games forever!

GAMEBREAKER INCLUDES 112 CURRENT TEAMS AND 40 ALL-

TIME GREATS.

Unlike GameDay 98, GameBreaker 98 has a play editor that allows you to create and save your own plays, creating in effect a limitless play book. You can also create walk-on athletes and send them packing to the school of your choice with visions of stars in their eyes (Rudy! Rudy!).

Like GameDay, GameBreaker is loaded with new player animations, such as “belly run and pitch,” fake pitches, end-zone dives and shoulder charges. End-zone celebrations, however, are a little more restained in accordance with college rules. A

If you're one of the 12 people who haven't tried a polygonal pigskin title, you've got to check out GameBreaker. Trust us, the game takes you one step closer to the stadium experience.

SINCE POLYGONAL PLAYERS TAKE UP 3-D SPACE ON THE FIELD, BLOCKING AND TACKLING ARE MORE REALISTIC THAN EVER.

HIGH SCORE 80600

1820

| = EN

co m

^d, AI Rights Reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon В а trademark of the Interact

December 1997

Official U.S. ЕМЕТ СТӨ

f you've been reading ОРМ

every month (and we know

you have), you're already

aware of the quantum leap

both GameDay 98 and FaceOff 98 made in overall quality this season. We'll soon find out if Sony can make it a three- peat with the release of NBA DUUM ShootOut 98.

TRADE PLAYER

Ё дуели According to Sony, the

/ БОЛЛА ROSTERS) 98

CREATE PLAYER.

Кеш game has dramatically

improved Al, better

ne of the '80s' most beloved games soon will be hopping onto the PlayStation. Although the game begins with the familiar arcade level, Frogger soon progresses through 10 3-D environments, spanning a total of 50 treacherous levels.

graphics and tons of new moves, such as no- look passes, follow-up dunks and tip-ins.

In addition to all the usual licenses and Play Modes, Sony has added a unique 2-on-2 Mode, which allows four of the NBA's finest to duke it out on the court to prove who really has game.

As they did for GameBreaker 98, Sony has added analog compatibility for ShootOut 98, making a good deal seem that much better.

To help him on his journey, Frogger has a variety of new moves, such as Power Croak, Heat-Seeking Tongue and Super Jump!

In addition to the familiar one-player action, the new-and-improved Frogger will have four- player action viewed via a quad split-screen.

(Can you say "party game?")

Although the home license still belongs to Konami, Hasbro wanted to do a Frogger title so badly they struck a deal with them.

Frogger will be playable on next month's demo disc, so you'll be able to see for yourself if the game is all it's croaked up to be.

| Call 1-888-625-2876 to purchase the SA-VA7 speakers and you'll receive the Playstation" Underground" CD Magazine, a CD carrying case, and a Sony baseball cap. 5 ONY

Jet Moto, Playstation and Underground are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Offer expires January 31,1998. ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©1997 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Sony is a trademark of Sony. www.sony.com/sava

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Ce » < | Epitors Choirce AwAeb Computer Games STRATEGY PLus

Ce 5 » А 2 MEGAWARD Best CHARACTER, GAMEPAN Best ANIMATION,

» Becr SounDTRACK 1996 Vibeo GAme Buyer's Guibe

Ce m САМЕ ОР THE MONTH ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY,

m 29 “Best GRAPHICAL "ADVENTURE ubi Soft Dicir^L Ture TV

ENTERTAINMENT

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PlayStation in

y) x L Ь y) Ш [e < Ш @ Ü

Tue Best PrAtrorm GAme For THE PLAYSTATHON. Just Became A Greatest Hit!

za d Now Ако AvAIÊABLE ror Your PC -- b d RAYMAN GOLD Tue Compete Now /Av^iLAKEE For A Greatest Hir. Peces > Очама. Авмемтуке PLUS де Ar Tüece-Fiwe STORES (AnD OTHER RETAILERS): [еуен ^w DE

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P, Y | trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The rati TOYS US. Babbages software Де СААШАТ pated ici

are the property of their respective holder.

December 1997

Official U.S. EM NEST TRIS Nagezne( @)

PM was recently

invited by T*HQ to

visit the Japanese

developers of the

game Vs. International correspondent Stuart Levy found out all the details for us.

We were greeted at the Polygon Magic offices by the welcoming waves and smiling faces of T*HQ's VP, Mike Haller, and PM's prez, Masaru Yoshioka. Inside a conference room, we also met Takahiro Koike (VP of development) and Satoshi Kawakami (chief programmer). Soon, we were discussing the relationships between Visual Science, Digital Hollywood and Polygon Magic. This fascinating group of companies was the first to operate and lease out a full motion-capture studio in Japan, as well as co-develop a range of video games published by Taito and others. Between the companies, development equipment includes 100 SGls, 200 Macs, 50 NT workstations and 50 DOS machines (albeit the 5615 are predominantly indies...still though, 100 is an impres- sive number). Yoshioka-san revealed to me his company's plans to create cut- ting-edge 3-D video games, as well as multimedia and digital television-based content. Certainly, T*HQ must be credit- ed for discovering such an ambitious and visionary group. The most impres- sive thing about Vs., the new game T*HQ and Polygon Magic jointly pro- duced is just that—this was truly a joint effort between the two companies, an international co-production from the start. Since most video games are pro- duced in one territory and licensed in another, it is rare to find a game pro- duced in both Japan and the U.S. with the single purpose of combining the best elements of each country's

strength. Without delving too deeply into the specifics of the game (OPM covers Vs. in depth elsewhere),

let me note that the characters were designed in America by a Japanese-American illustrator, with assis- tance and comments from the Japanese staff of PM, while the engine and back- grounds were developed in Japan, with storyboarding done on both sides of the Pacific. Of course, the music is distinctly American "alternative-rock." T*HQ's Haller explained that the look and feel of Vs. was intentionally done with an American comic book style,

through the eyes

mong the recent outburst of truly

unique PlayStation titles is the

unusual Baby Universe from Sony Computer Entertainment International.

and Fumiya Fujii. Billed as a 3-D

of Polygon Magic, a Japanese company. This explains some of the intriguing art in the game, especially in the backgrounds and character costumes.

We were taken on a tour of the facilities, including an enormous open- spaced room with rows and rows of

computers. Yoshioka-san was truly excited about PM's future and the opportunities they have to create new games like Vs. Since T*HQ was the first project together, | predict that the new couple of releases co-produced by these two compa- nies will improve, leading to strong anticipation and the real possibility of a тева-ћії.

kaleidoscope and best described as

an electronic light show,

Baby Universe takes music from any CD (including Some ambient tracks on the game disc) and turns it into a spectacular colored display which can be manipulated in a multitude of ways. Leave it on at a party for a great conversation piece.

AVAILABILITY J PUBLISHER DEVELOPER Now

Fumiya Fujii

SCEI

ADMIT IT.

three’ оре different РА Beyo ] ir way in пе _ (three times аз many as Area ка) and blow

PULL THE TRIGGER

Laugh while you frag, from Hollywood to outerspace!

Bag some aliens with over a dozen hi-tech weapons!

An all-out overload of non-stop carnage!

DUKE NUKEM: TOTAL MELTDOWN

Duke’ s їп town. And there's nothing he hates (morethan ^s. : an army of alien punks crowding his ѕрасе 8L levels of freak-smashing 30 mayhem should seta it.

Gigantic guns! Gruesome enemies! Total interaction!

И And-all-out devastation! Dont mess with The Man! SN SS SEES

Developed bya, ^ n1 A / e i |3? E f > № „> f; асс p S j nc , NEAL LM. PV Duke keratin ©1996, 1997 20 Realms. AI Rights Reserved. Duke Nukem B" 1996-1997 30 Realms, AI Rights eur. GT is a trademark dnd the tT Logo is a registered: [cip] Vatgimark of GT гга will Corp. Hintendo} the Oficial Seal, the 30 “N” Logo ard N64 are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc PlayStation and the PlayStation Logo аге йен v ESRB) Www:3dreatms.com 2 | Song Computer А trademarks але property al their respective companies; — "" ^. < 4 ‹ es } \ д a a Ris e \ УА

s, exploding buildings working subways!

x DUKE NUKEM 64

ор

Л From EA to the moon — 32 towering levels oi UU VOT CHEE carnage! Un film sets, Іп Bars, оп MOVING SEHE ҮЕ CP b SU D alten ts sate trom ULE Wrath UU Duke! Grenade Launchers. Lut Rays: ПЕШ ЩЩ JU action And qraphtes to KO ток

JULES coming to ELE UU ULE GELLE GL

(reviews)

CRASH BANDICOOT 2

ither you love him or you hate of the game, the engine remains funda- levels. They are numbered one through him. That's really the bottom mentally unchanged—which means that five, but he can enter them in any order. line. It’s not necessarily a bad many of the issues that critics had with He must, however, retrieve a special crys- thing; some famous person the game are still present. But I’m getting tal from each of the five levels and defeat whose name | can’t remember ahead of myself. a level Boss in order to advance to the right now once said, “You can love me, The level organization is the first next group of five levels, and so on. Once or you can hate me. At least you're think- improvement | noticed in the game. Level a new set of levels has been opened, ing of me." Maybe it was Adam Ant. (Or progression is much more nonlinear: Crash can choose from any of the levels maybe it was me, just now. Sounds nice, Crash begins his quest in a circular Warp he's seen. This helps reduce the monoto- though, don't you think?) Anyway, it's the Room which opens onto five different ny which can set in when attempting to

state that wacky marsupial, Crash Bandicoot, finds himself in in the well-designed sequel to the PlayStation's first mascot platformer.

See, the original Crash Bandicoot, although well

conquer a particular level; run up against a wall too many times, and you can just move on to the next level. (You'll need to come back eventually, but at least you can take a break from the problem level and Still advance in the game.)

received by the public at large, Also, games can now be saved in drew criticism from the gaming b any of the Warp Rooms, eliminating press for its oftenfrustrating à 3 E. d y F 7] the need to conquer the challenging level design and its equally а

frustrating semi-3-D environ- ment. And although many improvements have been made to the overall structure

December 1997

Magazine (3)

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine “Bonus” (notice the quotes) levels to

ratings ata glance obtain passwords in the original Crash. Bonus levels in Crash 2 really are a bonus, giving players the chance to try for extra lives without risking losing any (which is a good thing, considering Crash 2's bonus levels are some of the most challenging in the game).

PlayStation

THE RATING SYSTEM

THE COLOR SCHEMES BELOW ARE USED IN THE PREVIEWS AND REVIEWS SECTIONS TO INDICATE THE GAME'S GENRE:

eAction/Adventure

Excellent. A must-have game.

| 190

Very good. Well worth your time.

0009;

Good. Its flaws can be overlooked.

Below average, but not awful.

9000

Almost offensive in its badness.

eSports/Racing ePlatform

822; PlayStation |

CRASH IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST-LOOKING PLAYSTATION TITLES AVAILABLE. VISUAL EFFECTS ABOUND, BUT THEY NEVER SEEM TOO FLASHY.

Crash’s new abilities, animations and vehicles also contribute much- needed variety to the game, as well as providing some real comic relief. (Crash's victory animation after retrieving a crystal, for example, is an unending source of amusement.)

Like | said, though, the fundamen- tal gameplay is basically unchanged, which means you'll still find yourself missing jumps you thought you'd make and misjudging distances all over the place due to the game's unique limited 3-D setup. If you were frustrated by this in the original Crash, you'll probably have similar problems with Crash 2. This one is, however, much more forgiving, so it's not nearly as irritating. And besides, you can always hit another

Official

carefully balanced Pla ayStation

LU predecessor. Magazine DOX SUBS level and come back to 7 3 P d 2 Extremely varied levels the problem ones later. DE OA Great new abilities and animations

The many different level

types, from the familiar-

looking jungle levels to the алем jetpack levels, mix ; & G the action up enough to vf i Sac b keep things interesting. ( = 4 So while you might groan when heading into a par-

Top-notch graphics and sound > Music by Mark Mothersbaugh! (Did someone say Devo?)

^ The limited 3-0 still poses problems > Some odd collision errors

ticular level type (like | did Р = EN ANE in the sewer levels), you ' Bosses are too easy

can expect the next level to be something completely different. t 1

коо т‘ fa Official Rating

than its predecessor. Love him or 1 hate him, this one is at least worth з О О D О ® |

a look. It's just plain fun. —Joe Rybicki

(reviews)

December 1997

Official U.S. ЁШ Б Ө Magazine (x)

TIGHTING FORCE

Analog Controller Compatible

1or2 Players

Coke machine to little bits? Wreaking havoc in an office building? If you, like me, answered, “Sign me up!” then Fighting Force is definitely for you. This rambling brawler from Eidos features some extremely tough

Е ver feel like kicking a guy while he's down? Smashing а

like "Misery," "Baldy" and "Smiley." (Smiley?) Playing alone or with a friend, you work your way through wave after wave of enemies, picking up a wide array of miscellaneous weapons to help tip the scales in your favor. Weapons include lead pipes, pistols, rocket launchers, fire extinguishers, ATM monitors and automobile engine blocks. You can destroy most objects you come across, and most yield some Sort of shrapnel which can be turned

into a makeshift bludgeon.

What most impressed me about Fighting Force was the surprisingly advanced enemy artificial intelligence. | noticed groups of baddies circling around to attack my character from the rear, distracting me while others attacked on my character's blind side, picking up weapons I'd dropped, and even using different tactics depending on the strength of my character. It forced me to think strategically, instead of just

throwing my character headfirst into the fray. That was a EACH OF THE FOUR pleasant surprise, considering | was expecting nothing CHARACTERS HASA more than a brainless bashfest.

UNIQUE ARSENAL Level design could have used some work; | would Pros OF HAND-TO-HAND have liked to have a bit more freedom to roam through ATTACKS, AS WELL AS the levels. There were a few too many sealed doors and e KI ска while he’s down! THE ABILITY TO USE АМ blocked-off hallways for my taste. Adding some freedom © Good didis Al EXCEPTIONALLY WIDE - - and variety would have » Wide ze of Interesting weal VARIETY OF WEAPONS. helped break up the nte ПЕ ропе

occasional monotony,

as well. And some weak collision detection Cons marred the visual impact

of the detailed levels. * Some collision problems Nevertheless, Fighting * You can't really roam freely Force is an extremely * Levels can get monotonous

enjoyable arcade-style fighter in the

tradition of Double Dragon (one of e е my first favorites), with some limit- 0 ffi СІ al Ra ti n ed strategic elements added for

replay value. Play it with a friend for

some good ol' buddy-bashin' fun. —Joe Rybicki

шш а heart pounding speed of 160: ш | But up. -- ; ahead is Lombard Street - = famous fer its ау сшуё. ©

у Shall you d down? Or push iic pedal? We suggest - yeu nail it. Because you're in San Francisco Rush, the B “most awesome racing game to ever come home. There: ee,

“What makes San Francisco Rusha E game is it’s pure, c raw, unadulterated Fun."

Ultra Gameplayers

“San Байес Rush is à game that's all about a air. Not het е air;but real air.

Game Informer Magazine

(reviews)

December 1997

Official U.S. ЕМЕТ СӨ

= Де

„| Memory Card EE: 1 Моск

"What the. hell ts that?l^

andemonium. Yes, you can say that again. | never figured

out what the developers from Crystal Dynamics were think-

ing or even smoking when they were creating this sequel.

Bizarre is an understatement. If you've been exposed to the

predecessor you will be ready for things to come in the game, but if you're that fresh new meat you will tend to stop at times and look at the backgrounds and animations and say to yourself, "What the hell is that?!" Pandemonium! 2 has matured as you can tell by the new look of Nikki, Fargus and Sid. Age has hit Fargus, but he still has that bizarre feel about him. And Nikki...you can just imagine her at your own discretion. Play mechanics are generally the same as before. Nikki and Fargus have the same basic moves with touches on their abilities. Unlike before, Fargus can hurl Sid to collect items such coins or icons where they cannot be reached by jumping or other means of action. This is something that Fargus has as an advan- tage over Nikki and should not be over- looked. Strengths for Nikki haven't change drastically, and she did in fact

improved her magic skills and jumping abil- Official п

ity, which Fargus lacks. She can now double jump, enabling her to reach secret areas where Fargus cannot reach. There are tons of PlayStation secrets in this game. Depending on who you choose to Magazine

play that level you may not be able to get to those secret areas. You may have to go back and forth between

Pros i aia levels, changing characters in trying to find all of the

secrets. This is good. It adds challenge to a player » Lots of secrets and puzzles end prowdesiteplavvlUe To the вате: 1 * Good variety of gameplay for each level The perspective of the * Wat says Nikki is hot! £ame always changes. i with levels that are more interactive, plus there Cons are more puzzles and thought you cleared the * It’s a bit too difficult at times; can level, something else be frustrating opens up another section of the know what | am talking about. The game is a bit hard; beginners may get frustrated. A very good sequel.

Gameplay has improved

secrets. Just when you • Some areas look too bitmapped game. If you’re lucky and have ee . reached the final level, you will 0 ffi CI d l IN a tl n 0 —Dindo Perez

Ы бет В tertainment Inc. "RAYSTORM" is a trademark of Taito Corp., licensed by Working Designs. Original Game © Taito Corp. 1996. Tanslation © Working Designs Glking Designs" fed trademark of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. is a trademark of Working De: Inc. All rights reserved. ray light my fire!? For a dealer near you, а! (916) 243-8417. @all 1-800-771-3772 for Game Rating Information. $ 5

1 Е

PICK A

(HEY, IT'S CHRISTMAS.

“Tekken 2 is the best...no contest.” -Game Players August ‘96

“Tekken 2 is THE can't-miss PlayStation game of the year!”- Game Players September ‘96

“This game is a must buy for anyone who owns a PlayStation (novices and

fanatics alike).” - PS Ext

September ‘96

Sot

PICK TWO.)

“Soul Blade heads the early list for best

fighting game of the year.” - GameFan February ‘97

^ по gamer should be without this: the most spectacular fighting game ever to grace a

console.” - GameFan March ‘97

“ifs simply the best 3D | PlayStation.” - Video Game

The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

(reviews) m

December 1997

Official U.S. АРК Те СТӨ,

ow. This one really snuck up on me. | loaded G Police up, watched the amazing intro cinema, zipped around in the training levels for a bit, jumped into the first mission and

was instantly hooked. This is easily one of my candidates for Best of the Season, if not Best of the Year.

In G Police, you control an attack vehicle which behaves like an extremely maneuverable helicopter. A number of missions send you careening through the streets of the domed cities of 2097 in an attempt to combat corporate and gangrelated crime and maintain the peace. An engrossing, wellfleshed-out story quickly draws you into the futuristic world, and the detailed and complex environments provide a challenging arena for your everescalating battles. The constant stream of radio chatter also helps draw the player into the fictional world.

Mission objectives range from simple seek-anddestroy sorties to running escort for corporate dignitaries. Each one proved sufficiently challenging, and yet with the exception of one mission I felt like | was making steady progress throughout. (That mining drone mission is a bitch.) Occasional assistance is pro- == vided by а wingman, although they never — Official

seem to contribute all that much to the mission objectives. a The controls, which are crucial in a game which sends ay а ion

you blazing through skyscraper canyons, are excellent, Magazine

although the complex controls do take some getting used

to. Although a bit over-sensitive at first, the duak-analog (Pros № р OX SCE, pad quickly became my weapon of choice, especially

with the right stick configured to look around the cockpit. e Detailed environments

The somewhat jerky frame rate and extremely notice- e Great control although never quite during radio communica- • Minor audio problems should miss.

apie drain; car ue * Detailed, well-fleshed-out story

eliminated. And | did

tion, which got a bit e № damage from collisions! —Joe Rybicki

ооооеооооо

adjusted from the compre- notice a strange popping (Cons; annoying. But overall, G Police is a

hensive Options Screen, sound in the speakers * Noticeable draw-in unique, challenging and engrossing ‚о e title that no scifi or flightsim fan 0 ffi Cl al R a tl na

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one psycho cyclist. 250 extreme errands. a whole city of hurt, 4

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: a cast. ae wig ат. Л D. Buy better hikes.

EXCLUSIVELY FEATURING

Bicycles

PlayStation

Courier Crisis 711997 New Level Software. The New Level logo is a trademark of New Level Software. USed M vell a BI т "Toga isa trademark of BMG Music. All rights reserved. Distributed by GT Int га Corp. GT is a trademark and:the: j rademarkol Sait on поп Logo are trademarks, ot Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Sega Saturn and the Sega Saturn Logo'are trademarks, of Sega Entreprts All other. tradefmar 3 erty | c

"

(reviews)

December 1997

[+] Magazine (8)

Official 0.5.@

Memory Card 1 block

C^ E PlayStation] +

Walking the 1ine between control and anarchy

ontrolled chaos. That elusive quality, as any racing fan will

tell you, is the most important ingredient in a racing game.

And no other PlayStation racing title has walked that fine

line between control and anarchy as unflinchingly as Jet

Moto. The game had it all: speed, stomach-churning jumps, killer wipeouts, a great Two-player Mode—the list goes on. So how do you go about improving a game as excellent as Jet Moto (not to mention doing so in a year’s time)? If you were hoping for a quan- tum leap in the quality of graphics, you're out of luck. While the graphics engine seems better optimized (track textures appear less grainy and there are fewer white seams between misaligned polys), the jump in quality is far less dramatic than the one between Twisted Metal 1 and 2, two other SingleTrac hits. SingleTrac also tweaked the game’s physics and added spot-on analog control and a slew of new tracks, which are even more wicked (if you can imagine that) than those found in its celebrated predecessor. The good news is if you liked the first Jet Moto, you'll find much to like here. The bad news is since SingleTrac got the game so right the first time around, there really isn't a 1 - x compelling reason to run out and buy . . Official

U.S. Г] the sequel. As in the first installment, there are a variety of colorful ay а ion

riders to choose from, but the real stars of the game are Magazine

the tracks. Players can race over an earthquakeravaged b Ca

LA., a scorching lava field and a roller coaster, among others. The tracks are so treacherous the grappling towers are now used to keep riders from falling to their * Sexy analog control deaths rather than simply facilitating turning. SingleTrac • Bigger, badder tracks , • Trophy Room feature modes, such as a Trick Mode, adding a good Cons deal of replayability. PlayStation owner, the e Kawasaki still hasn’t released real original Jet Moto, priced at Jet Moto bikes a hot $19.95, probably is a with analog support, you really can’t go wrong with Jet Moto 2. —Gary Mollohan

also has added a trophy room feature that allows gamers to unlock hidden So what's the final * Insane difficulty verdict? If you're a new * Not all that different than the first better value. If you beat the first oe ° one and are dying for more or 10) ffi СІ al IN a ti n 0 if you're looking for a new game

LIBIDO

ox. Satisfyjall your needs,swants,and desires.

d + а) АД, A

Descend into the all new h side-kick Sid for skull crushing good times. of Pandemonium 2 and twist r г e the undulating 3D hyper-kinetic out. Explore a whacked-out psychedelic xm j rounds ‘till it turns your brain to puddin’ landscape with Nikki’s insane double 2 | it's a twisted new world of furious jump -then dominate with Fargus' maniacal me r our you before you attacks by hurling his v -tongued 3

t E > — Fargus is а raving maniac prone to light ^ Nikki-equipped with powers that Pilot а giant mech through Hidden bonus levels take yo fires now and ask questions later. only big bad girls have. warped 3D tunnels. a

оз To aus Г => A № Playstation | 5 esas Call 1.800.771.3772 for A N M N M Game Ва! TII iis charac are alec of OL E чш w^ pute а ES F ^w A

(reviews)

x o 5 5 а Е $ о o ©

Official U.S.

"An

ike many people, when I first saw Armored Core I thought it was going to be a cheap Virtual On knock-off. Considering that | find Virtual On one of the most annoying arcade titles to come along in quite some time, | was prepared to dismiss this game quickly. | am happy to say that | was pleasantly surprised by what | found when | actually sat down and played it. Armored Core, like Virtual On, is a game of mech combat. And like that Sega title, you can play one-on-one against a friend or a sin- gle computer opponent. But that's where the similarities end, since this game has more to it than Virtual On players could dream of. Want to customize your mech, from weapons and propulsion down to color and insignia? No problem. Want to take it out into an open area and pit it against multiple opponents? You got it. How about specific missions, perhaps with credits awarded toward the pur- chase of new equipment? Absolutely. This game has all that, and more. Perhaps the most surprising thing

about Armored Core is that it exists in a much as you'd like; if your only desire is — to get out there and destroy something, Official seem to have managed to appeal to both the arcade Magazine gamers and the mech fanatics, which is no small feat. the expense of responsive controls; they do seem a bit Pi TOS Sluggish at times, but that may have been an intentional * Well-developed, consistent world Support could Nave ® Good interface made the controls more unfortunately absent. And the Two-player Cons enough to get lost in; • No analog support time can run out without * Two-player arenas are too large eae б would have helped. Still, Armored 0 ffi С] al IN а ti n 0 Core is an above-average title in a

well-developed, consistent universe. You can involve yourself in this universe as you'll find missions allowing you to do just that. If you have something more Y complex in mind, you'll find that as well. The developers у || The game is graphically rich, which may have come at Side effect of the mechs' enormous weight. Analog • Head-to-head two-player action responsive, but this is Mode, although fun, is held in arenas large * Somewhat sluggish controls you ever seeing your opponent. Perhaps a longerrange radar largely mediocre genre. Good work. —Joe Rybicki

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| PlayStation 3 г. О-КОМ jue nis WOO О pd 1 RATINGS BOARD] L Se Nae ВО i egistered service е Warner te

: Enter The Gecko.

An explosively new, - ве-гоатіпо 3D _ action game. We're

pushing the limits of —

D technology with 60 degrees of “go anywhere you want”

exploration. Brilliantly —

detailed graphics and lightning fast Gecko action. |

For more СЕХ product anı ital Dynamics, the

| Dynamics

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Crystal

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Id.com

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namics. All rig|

reserved.

Rebuilt for secret | agent action. ч Gravity-defying wall crawling. | ip-cracking аск. And multiple disguises. All in a sarcastic

lia-dimension | ly. Take that James Baund, |

Fredrico Cruger and Mr. Lee {legal weasels require us to

NONIS LENT

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m D o © 2 E $ 9 Ф б

Official U.S. РЕ

NIGHTMARE CREATURES

Рон о bU m mna mg.

reated by French developer Kalisto Entertainment,

Nightmare Creatures is a surprisingly good offering from a

first-time PlayStation developer. In fact, it’s better than many companies’ second- or thirdgeneration efforts.

The object of the game is to rid 19th century London of a horde of monsters created by an evil alchemist named Adam Crowley. Gamers play as either a staff-wielding man of the cloth or a sword- wielding American girl, although there are no substantial differences between the two; Ignatious is slightly stronger and more vigorous, while Nadia is speedier.

Publisher Activision has been touting Nightmare Creatures’ menagerie of monsters, which continue to attack despite the loss of limbs, tails and heads; however, | found the game's atmospheric, interactive levels even more impressive. Based on historical maps of the day, Nightmare Creatures’ 16 levels are filled with hidden rooms, atmospheric effects (fog, falling leaves, fire) and physical hazards, such as falling ceilings and collapsing bridges.

In fact, Nightmare Creatures' London is So well-developed it becomes the most compelling "character" in the game.

Although remarkable for a firsttime effort, Nightmare Creatures is not without

its problems. Choppy control makes certain actions, Such as jumping, unnecessarily difficult.

Activision also took the liberty of remapping Nightmare Creatures' controls, making it difficult to [Pros J b Q X 5 С О Г е Scroll through your special items. | died numerous times during fights, because | couldn't select a health-up fast • Highly atmospheric, interactive levels enough. Frustrating. ® No mindless “throw-away” enemies

Каі SOULE © Bloody dismemberments

made more substantial differences in the main characters, as well. Nadia, for instance, (Cons) as should be able to jump

up to secret areas, while e Choppy controls

lgnatious should be able e Underdeveloped characters to break through certain walls. Perhaps Kalisto could have better spent their time tweaking oe L Nightmare Creatures' controls or O ffi С] а| Р d tl n 0 improving the game's camera instead of creating moves and a polygonal model for a second main character.

—Gary Mollohan

with his or ins own — weapon and so many different moves and combos that inflicting pain will be easier than ever before. And thanks to the arcade

development of the “Voodoo Graphics”

chipset, you'll get 3-D fighting as you've never seen before, So pick up Mace - The Dark Age today. But watch out for Lord Deimos - he’s looking for his next victim,

AVE “з ALS

a m д] Лайк А, aol Ал лш

EVERYTHINGS A WEAPON.

MATURE

MIDWAY D

(reviews)

December 1997

Official U.S. ЕКЕТ И Magazine (3)

D

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COR =?

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Memory Card 1 block

anting not one but two new Mortal Kombat titles in 1997,

Midway made the unorthodox move of splitting up arguably

the hottest duo in gaming, Ed Boon and John Tobias. The

technophile of the pair, Boon was given the Herculean task

of harnessing Midway's new Zeus chipset for the all-polygonal Mortal Kombat 4, currently burning up arcades everywhere. Tobias, who had always wanted to flesh out the MK mythos a bit more, was selected to helm Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, the first MK title developed exclusively for home consoles. While MK4 remained true to the original premise of one-on-one arena combat, Mythologies is a total departure. The game is an action/platform game with an added dash of role-playing elements and full-motion video. That's not to say that MK fans will be totally lost when playing Mythologies for the first time. Along with the traditional digi- tized 2-D characters, Tobias chose to retain Mortal Kombat's familiar control scheme (albeit slightly modified) and combo system, which is something of a mixed blessing. While MK fans will instantly feel at home controlling Sub- Zero, jumping with PlayStation's stiff directional pad, notoriously bad at perform- ing diagonal movements, is, quite frankly, a pain in the ass. Even more counter- intuitive, the player must hit L2 to change direction. While | understand the necessity (the player may want to back up without changing direction), it still is a chore.

On the plus side, the polygonal backgrounds scale smoothly and retain the moody atmosphere of previous MK titles; however, the numerous background-to-fore- ground swinging hazards and platforms are extremely tough to judge, com- pounding the frustration. | was also disappointed by the combat. While all the old combos still work, it’s generally easier to just throw the bad guys off a ledge, diminishing the fun.

The final verdict: While the premise of opening up the MK universe for free exploration is cool, the awkward controls, frus- trating platform elements and watered-down fighting result in an untimely fatality for Mythologies. —Gary Mollohan | у A

Take $10.00 Off ate 30 Racing Experience.

lon

PlayStat

Саа RATIO OF ESRB

SCUS-94167 $4167

14-97 throu oe 89u alay hough 1-34.

Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark о! Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Jet Moto is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. © 1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

(reviews)

December 1997

Official U.S. @ К Т өү СТӨ,

1or2 (1 ||| Players

= Memory Card | block

et ready to strap on your belt buckles, grab a jug of

moonshine (if you're 21 of course), and slide into your

greasy coveralls! The aromas of high octane and burnt rubber are about to sting your nostrils.

The first thing NASCAR fans will appreciate about EA's newest racer is the depth of the racing field. NASCAR 98 includes 24 authentic drivers and sponsors as well as all engine and chassis manufacturers. Add the list of 10 tracks, and you have the most realistic simulation to date. This buzz of racing excitement is, however, somewhat dampened by the glaring omission of one of the greatest names in all of professional sports, Mr. Dick Trickle. LAP TIM

Trickle snubbing aside, this game rocks. i The cars' setups can be tailored in an exhausting combination of settings to suit any player's preferences. This is most helpful for running a simulation, but can also be helpful in Arcade Mode. Subtle changes in the setup do make a differ- ence, and are worth getting familiar with.

The tracks do not merely look different, they also play very different. The short tracks don't allow for much full-on acceler- ation, which you learn after punching into a couple of walls at 175 mph. While the big- ger ovals allow for more face-flapping acceleration, they actually require more

strategy since after awhile the field tends to stabilize,

making it difficult to advance without some trickery. The

road courses are a combination of the two. You find some areas to open it up, but hairpin turning requires concentration and single file. This is where the best mix of speed and control pays off.

Even with all this praise, | do have a couple of com- plaints. The graphics were a little disappointing. The cars are choppylooking, and tightening up these anima- tions would have made a huge difference in the whole experience. Also, the "Freedom Rock"-esque

Overall, EA has given race fans a very playable, accurate and above all, fun game that us wannabe dirttrack demons can really sink our gap-teeth into. —Jim Cordano

Pas IAP #1 8-3

PlayStation (Pros J

soundtrack gets a little tired.

Official

Magazine

* Varied track design • Excellent Simulation Mode e NASCAR authenticity

® Choppy animations * Monotonous soundtrack

Official Ratinq

5 discs deep. A universe wide. Say goodbye. ire going to be away a long time.

ЖИТ УХУ

м 9 TETO MYST

THE SEQUE

1997, Cyan Inc. and Sunsoft, All rights reserved, PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Ent Acclaim is a division and registered trademark of Acclaim Entertainment, 8 = & © 1997 Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. All rights/Teserved.

PlayStation

IF BATTLING THE CYCLOPS AND THE FOUR-HEADED HYDRA ISN'T FUN ENOUGH, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO TO HADES.

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4-€ In addition to all the other freaky creatures, you'll have to battle a boar.

Which is anything but a bore

Zeus not only has to conquer Hades, >

but also conquer the heart of Atlanta.

A Herculean task, indeed.

In Herc's Adventures, unlike life, to you can also arm yourself with ray guns,

houses, sheep and inflatable cows.

EVEN WEIRDER BAD GUYS.

have a happy ending, you'll have to wind up in hell. After all, that's where you

must duel with Hades, god of the Freaky weapons are perfect for underworld, to save civilization. fighting even freakier enemies:

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. You'll go

The four-headed Hydra, snake-

haired Medusa, sword-swinging

into battle as one of three skeletons, crazy clowns, nasty

heroic, mythological characters, Martians and more. GamePro each one with unique powers: says “Challenging bosses, humorous Hercules possesses super strength. anecdotes, and gigantic landscapes - Нету Atlanta has lightning speed. And, has it all.” In the end, it’s up to you

Jason 2 savvy street smarts. to save the world in this crazy twist on

WEIRD WEAPONS. Sure, you get the EE Greek mythology. And, if you fail? Well, at usual arrows, slingshots and swords. But, и > least you'll die laughing.

Жр

4-& So many Martians, so little time! And,

to make matters worse, they've got

Jason surrounded with ray guns.

Unfortunately for Atlanta, the Cyclops > has a huge appetite for destruction.

Not to mention beautiful warriors.

http://www.lucasarts.com

Adventures is a trademark of LucasArts Entertainment Company. The LucasArts logo is a registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd. PlayStation да Saturn are trademarks of SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD. The ratings icon is а trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

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WORLDSERIES

8 PlayStation |+

BIST Analog Controller B=} — Compatible

> | Memory Card 1 block

C^ o 5 <

(reviews) PEA

“Easily keeps up with the best of them”

Au s зареги Pete or Sony's first racing sim, CART World is surprisingly 1 ZANARDI 000 000 polished, and that's а good thing; With EA Sports’ = E Ar НИП

NASCAR 98 and Psygnosis' Formula 1: Championship 15 FITTIPALDI 000 000 Edition on the scene, CART World Series will face stiff competition. CART fans will be glad to know Sony's first effort easily keeps up with the best of them.

With such heavyweight names as Al Unser Jr., Alex Zanardi, Bobby Rahal and Jimmy Vasser, many race fans may prefer CART over F1: Championship Edition. CART also has 10 authentic courses, includ- ing Long Beach, Nazareth, Michigan, Cleveland and the awesome Laguna Seca Speedway. There's a good mix of ovals and street courses, providing plenty of challenge and variety.

World Series has all the options de rigueur in today's top racers: Arcade and Simulation Modes, adjustable DOB: JANUARY 18, 1971 difficulty, customizable cars, time — EMT ROS trials-you get the idea.

Although better than average, CART's graphics fall short compared to F1, which runs in the PlayStation's p Highres Mode despite having more CHASSIS: cars on the track. Surprisingly, CART ` SWIFT

has much less popup than F1, Official ^ although track textures draw-in a few саг lengths ahead of you, slightly diminishing CART's visual ay ta ion

appeal. Hopefully Sony will correct this for subsequent Magazine

December 1997

HE Magazine (2)

Official U.S. (ЕАМ

that department, either. Aggressive computer Al makes * Racing's top names and tracks That’s not to say your oppo- frequently occur ahead of | Cons) Optional steering and/or * No steering/braking assistance Edition) would have been nice, surprisingly polished first effort

editions of the game. But enough talk about graphics. What matters is (Pros ) b 0 X S C ore gameplay, and CART World Series doesn't disappoint in HE eng а е Eua p pone bois im iind • Excellent, car-mutilating crashes effectively and take advantage of your slightest mistake. e Tracks that change in elevation nents drive like infallible machines, however. Wrecks you, forcing you to wind * Textures that draw-in ahead of you your way through. * Suspect collision detection braking assistance (as is found in F1: Championship P . particularly for CART's winding 0 ffi СІ a | R d tl n 0 Street courses. Still, CART is a from Sony. — багу Mollohan

PlayStation

you'll catch more air, you'll even nail 360-degree corkscrews. Plus, you can challenge a friend on the two-player split screen. дит All you need is a PlayStation" and a death wish. Because if you're lucky, you'll reach the checkered flag. Or you'll die trying. [8 LN

- -

PlayStation

Officially licensed by PlayStation! Complete steering wheel, accelerator, brake and Stick shift system! 4-way D-pad plus 8 programmable digital action buttons. Incredible 270? wheel rotation.

= | SecA SATURN

You have the POWER. In this contest you don't rely on the luck-of-the draw. You determine if you win or not. You win by outscoring others in a game of skill. Can you solve the puzzle below? Then you have what it takes. It looks simple, but its only the start. Each of five more puzzles get a little harder. But this time it's all up to you. Stay in to the end with the highest score and the gear is yours. ith whatever options you want. Do you have what it takes? Then play to win!

Computer Contest. Wina blazing fast computer with 300 Mhz MMX Pentium Il, 32 meg. RAM, 4 Gig. HD, 24X CD-ROM, Windows 95, modem and тоге!

Video Game Contest. Pay on the hi-tech cutting edge with this line-up: Sony Playstation w/ ASCII control pads; Sega Saturn; Game Boy Pocket; and Nintendo 64! Get all four or trade the ones you don't want for CA$H! Bonus options include: 33 inch monitor, $1,000 in games, cash, accessories and more!

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In the future. There will be four more puzzles at $2.00 each and one tie- . breaker at $1.00 which will be sent to you by mail. You will have 3 weeks to solve each puzzle. We don't know how many will play but typically 55% will have the highest score possible score to Phase |, 43% to Phase Il, 36% to Phase Ill, and 32% to Phase IV. The tie-breaker determines the winner. If players are still tied they will split the value of the grand prize they are playing for.

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Кмин Tap Adaptable) С. 1-8 Players

Memory Card

(reviews) m

December 1997

Magazine (8)

Official U.S.

t's that time again when basketball fans are gearing up

to watch their favorite NBA teams play on national TV,

and what better way to simulate and control those teams than on a PlayStation?

In NBA Live 98, EA takes another angle toward NBA Live and they have proven they are still one of the best sports developers of all time. You've never seen NBA Live like this before. The graph- ics can be simply described as phenomenal, with new instant replays and various free-throw perspectives. You also have new character animations. There are a number of dribbling moves and shooting animations as well. When driving toward the basket you have a choice of moves that you can initiate. The actions are random, but you can choose if you want a conserv- ative shot like a layup or a posterizing dunk. You can even go for a lean-in shot or fadeaway from the basket. The new alley-oop feature is much better than its predecessor. Unlike 97, а!еу-оорз here are much harder to finish. Your player has to be open and alleyoops can be blocked more often than before. This is a plus! Р z

EA has been known for their game- Я Official

play, but | was a bit disappointed at last = year's edition at the on-court regulations. In 97, your ay "Pros box score

offensive player can camp down in the paint and most of the time will not get caught with three seconds in the lane. Not here. Refs seem to have gotten their eyes checked. They will call that more often. Refs will even Call Illegal Defense. If you do it more than once, you will * Great improvement in graphics get a technical call and result in a free-throw. Hey, if it's * True on-court regulations in the game, it should be in the game. * Accurate passing Another feature that EA Pass. This is similar to NBA | Cons) Shoot Out's Icon Passing. Honestly, you will hardly use * Fairly easy, especially for seasoned it because passing the ball hard-core NBA Live fanatics is accurate as it is. • Where is Jordan? What really prevents that the difficulty is too easy. | $c Ы started from bottom Rookie О ff Cl а ] IN a tl n level to Superstar and | beat all games with ease. It’s better playing against another player. Great comeback! —Dindo Perez

ation

Magazine

has added is the Direct this game from being perfect is

Г. [3 © 3 ул > 8

(reviews) ETE

"Perhaps the cartoon

f you were a reader of P.S.X., you may have seen the inter-

view | conducted with Dave Perry of Shiny Entertainment

on the development of МОК. At that time, before the

PlayStation version was really playable, Mr. Perry demon-

strated the PC version of the game on his 3Dfxbased Pentium machine. | was floored by the game's graphical richness and variety of gameplay, from the standard shooting levels to the overhead flying scenes, and the ever-present Sniper Mode. If you've seen this game on а similar machine, you'll know what I'm talking about.

The reason I'm telling you all of this is to warn you that | may have been а bit spoiled. For one thing, the PlayStation just doesn't do &raphic resolutions approaching PC graphics cards (and even if it did, the vast majority of TVs wouldn't be able to display it). And the relatively limited memory of the PlayStation forces some засийсез to be made in terms of tex- tures, polygon size, &ame speed and so on. Because of all this, what was an exceptional game on the PC becomes а console game that is merely average.

The mixture of platform elements and corridor shooter elements caused some er confusion even on the PC version, and the , Official j в PlayStation version is no better; controls which seem perfect for blasting Doom- Y

style through the levels seem inadequate for the sensi- ay а ion tive sniper missions. This is truly unfortunate, since the Magazine superzoom lens sniper rifle is one of the most innovative and entertaining elements of the game. With the PS controller (even the analog pad), the sniper scope is jerky and imprecise. The game also seems to have lost its rich colors, leaving the levels looking bland and uninteresting. - МОК is a truly unique take on the corridor-style shooters, but its novelty wears thin under the pressure of bad controls (Cons) and monotonous envi- ronments. Check out the * Monotonous levels PC version if you have * Weak controls the technology; other- * Some graphical problems wise, this one's more likely to be a rental than a purchase title.

Perhaps the cartoon will be better. 0 ffi С] al IN a ti n 0

—Joe Rybicki

e Unusual level elements * A great deal of odd humor * The Sniper Mode

А NAME

чер ST

18 Burton snowboards. Halfpipe. Big air contest. Snowboard park. Freestyle. Two- player racing. And any trick вто imaginable. Cool Boarders” 2. № КА

The next best thing to fresh pow. ЕЕ

ا |=

PlayStation

тм

(reviews)

` D бу © 2 E Ф o Ф [=]

Official U.S. QMEN

Ее Magazine

don’t really know how to describe this game. You can’t really call it a puzzle game; that term seems to be reserved for largely one-player skilHoased titles. Nor is it a strategy game, really; those are more careful, more thoughtful. And yet, most other genres seem to exclude Poy Poy by comparison to other titles within that genre. So what is it? Billed as “The Wild and Wacky Party Game in a 3-D World!” Poy Poy is fast, it's fun and it's mindless—perfect for recovering from

the brain-fry associated with press deadlines. Players pick a charac- ter based on attributes of speed, strength and so on; pick a “glove”

which offers a particular kind of attack or power-up; and head to small arenas to beat up on one to three other characters, all competing for the most points in a three-round match.

о earn points, players pick up various objects scattered around the arenas, тот boxes and rocks to bombs and other miscellaneous objects, and hurl them at other players. Each player has a iealth bar, which diminishes after being it by heavy objects until the player final- ly drops. When one player is left stand- ing, the round is over. After the round, points are awarded based on direct hits,

38; PlayStation!»

x Multi Tap Adaptable = .|_ 1-4 Players

1-4 Players

1 block

] Метогу e

Konami

luck, and how long the character stayed alive in the round. The player with

the most points after three rounds is the winner.

| said it was mindless, didn't I? Oh, there are a few twists; most levels have a particular hazard which inflicts damage on anyone it comes in contact with. The desert level, for example, is plagued by dust storms which sweep unlucky players away, while the ice level is populat- ed with a few angry penguins. But for the most part, play simply consists of running to an object, throwing it at your oppo- nent, and running away before he can throw something at you. It's like a stripped-down Bomberman in 3D.

The different gloves add some variety, giving each play- er a unique ability. But for the most part, Poy Poy is just what it claims to be: Nothing more than a wacky party game. Check it out if you're looking for some brainless fun. —Joe Rybicki

* A wide combination of power-ups * Amusing level hazards * Fun for the whole family

* There's just not that much to it * Weak as a one-player game * Based more on luck than skill

Official Rating

DOS, ФФ

c

PlayStation

E0 BY INTENT RAT ESRB

ч SCUS - 94172 94172

Good tor $10 off egular price of Breaker 98, vari 10-14-97 thr, -31. Not go, а away balances, gift се Сага payments, Not redeemable for eel

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SONY

АТИ,

Single re

—

SOMER.

(reviews)

"Nuclear war has never been this much fun

hermonuclear war. The mere thought of it sends shivers down my spine. Unfortunately, there is a lunatic on the loose with the power to make it a reality. STRIKE.net has been alerted of the situation and they are preparing to counter the threat with their best pilot: you. Take command of the Super Apache combat helicopter and delve into the enemy-infested islands of the South Sea. It's up to you to put a stop to this war, before it goes nuclear.

Electronic Arts has extracted all of the features that made Soviet Strike a great game, improved upon them and created the sequel. Nuclear Strike offers an easy Play Mode for those of you who had a tough time with the first one, which was apparently a much bigger problem than | was aware of. Fortunately, they didn't stop with just an added difficulty setting. Perhaps the games’ greatest asset is the addition of 12 new vehicles to control. Missions not only include flying the Super Apache, but involve switching to anything from tanks to ? arriers to hovercrafts. They even give . Official

you the chance to issue orders to ground troops on two of the levels. Now how cool is that? ay al iO n

You ive The gameplay itself has been left relatively Magazine untouched and with good reason; it didn't need it.

THE SUPER APACHE The new on-screen oe window makes it easier to [Pros $ b ОХ SCONE AND HAVE THE OPTION locate your position and those of your enemies and TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY objectives. EA also did a good job sharpening up the

WITH А VARIETY graphics with improved light-sourcing and excellent

OF DIFFERENT water effects.

ASSAULT VEHICLES. The one thing that I really don't care for is the length of the mis- sions. | would rather there be shorter, more difficult missions, opposed to the six longer ones. Perhaps having a halfway point to start from would solve that problem. 2 о

All in all, Nuclear Strike gives 0 ffi С] al IN а ti n 0 me little to complain about. Nuclear war has never been this much fun. -Dave Malec

` D o $ 2 E $ o D a

* Twelve new vehicles at your disposal • Improved graphics ® Loads of destructive firepower

* Lack of option to save during missions

Official U.S. АРТЕ МА.

REINFORCHEN ES HAVE ARRIVED

COMMAND & CONQUER RED ALERT

FOR THI: РЕАТЗТАТОК" GAME CONSOLE. —.

Over two dozen Allied and Soviet missions on two action-packed CDs.

+ Fight over land, sea and air with MiGs, spies, destroyers, submarines and more!

* Take the ultimate challenge by fighting up to 3 Al opponents in SKIRMISH mode.

.

Battle maps are up to 2 times larger than those in Command & Conquer.

Three game difficulty settings.

* Dozens of close-ups and action movies.

.

Specially-designed interface with completely А reworked graphics for your PlayStation™ Game Console.

LOCK 'N LOAD

С. 0 077 05 o S www.westwood.com

[

| PlayStation |

Com

“The only NFL game good enough to put my name on it."

- Jimmy Johnson, Miami Dolphins

Ask Jimmy.

Motivation, game tips, personnel assessment and post-game analysis from Jimmy Johnson.

Coach’s Clipboard.”

Create your own custom plays and save them on memory card.

One-Step™ Play Calling.

Choosing your play is as simple as pressing a button.

3-D Passing Interface.

An innovative interface provides precise control of passes and kicks.

Fully Licensed.

Real NFL teams, logos and players with authentic play books and formations.

Plus Customize Players and Teams, General Manager Mode, and Adjustable Real-Time Camera Movement Before the Snap.

“There is so much more in my game...so get a move-on and check it out for yourself!”

— Jimmy Johnson

| CET PlayStation арор cti STUDIOS

is. АЙ rights reserved. VR Sports, VR Football and The Difference Is Real are trademarks of a subdivision of Game Tek, Inc. Jimmy Johnson is a trademark of Golden Cane Enter

" —

SPORTS;

Back-to-Back Super Bowl Championships Four-Time NFL *Coach of the Year" 36 Consecutive NCAA Victories

ЛАЛЕ eon Ss

FOOTBALL قر‎

S Start Taking Notes.

$7

UnitedWay VR Sports will donate* $1 for every VR Football '98 purchased.

Help support the United Way!

Team names, nicknames, logos and other indicia are trademarks of the teams indicated. Officially Licensed Product of the NFL Players. O 1997 PLAYERS INC. The PLAYERS INC. logo is an official trademark of the National Football League Players. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. АН rights reserved. All other copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners *up to a maximum of $25,000

PlayStation! >

(reviews) шы] | eem) | [EA

like motorcycle racing games. | remember when I used to ride my bike daily up the long hills of Garfield Heights, Ohio, just to plunk endless quarters into the beatup Excitebike machine in the mediocre donut shop on the other Side of town. Recently, having been disappointed by VMX Racing, 've been eager for a racer with some meat to it. | was not prepared, however, for the thing of beauty that is Moto Racer. | consider this game one of the best racers on any console. he mixture of adrenaline-pumping speed and challenging courses makes for a balanced game which will continue to pick up and play long after Гуе beaten every mode. So what's so great about it? First of all, Moto Racer includes, not only street bikes, but motocross bikes as well. Ten tracks are evenly divided between the two distinct racing styles, offering more variety than most racers. here's something here for everyone: The street bike tracks offer straight ahead power and speed, while the dirt tracks are full of stomach-dropping jumps and neck-wrenching hairpin turns. A nice difficulty curve allows players to slowly prepare for the higher j < levels, making the game challenging ^ ۹ Official

without being frustrating. And the prize of = H opening four new tracks is worth the challenge. (Only ay а Ion

Six are selectable in Single Race Mode until you play Magazine

through the Championship Mode, and all 10 can only be accessed when playing at Medium difficulty or better.) (Pros } р ох сое

As with any racing game, control is absolutely key, and the developers did a superb job with Moto Racer. Excellent controls These days, analog is everything, and | definitely e Most tracks are ve ell-desi d prefer playing with the dual stick; but the D-pad is Great ple мегу өз!Бпө

letel table. Е • Adequate challenge

My main complaint is the

relatively silly prize awarded • Weak reward for beating the game

after “beating” the game— that is, placing in the top

* One track is much harder than all the others

СИ Magazine. (2)

y5

г

three of all 10 tracks, racing both forward and backward— which is "Pocket Mode."

This simply puts your rider on

a ridiculously small bike that Lee 9 appears to offer no real change 0 ffi Cl d | IN a tl n 0 in play. Still, that's a truly insignificant complaint about

a truly exceptional racing game. A musthave for all racing fans. —Joe Rybicki

Official U.S. fil

жыш

UNIVERSAL INTERACTIVE STUDIOS

SEARS Mite —

TRONS R577013481000

Good for $10 off single regular purchase price of Crash 2 . Valid 11/04/97 - 01/31/98 only. Offer not good on layaway balances, gift certificates or credit card payments. Not redeemable for cash. Not valid with any other coupons or offers. Limit one coupon per transaction, one per customer. Void where prohibited by law. Cash value 1/20¢. © 1997 Sears, Roebuck and Co. Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back" TM & © 1997 Universal Interactive Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Naughty Dog, Inc. All rights reserved. Call 1-800-771-3772 for game ratings information.

PlayStation =

TEST DRIVEZ

(reviews) sme] | Вето Accolade

"This one will keep

here's nothing like a pleasant drive in the country—

that is until you see a '69 Chevy Camaro careening

toward you at 190 mph. In the past, the thunderous

sounds of muscle cars filled the air as they cruised the

streets, just oozing with the raw power that gave them their name. Now, a new era of sleek supercars reigns supreme. Test Drive 4 gives you the chance to put these two unique generations of vehicles in head-to-head competition.

Although the Test Drive series has been devoted to present- ing solid racing simulations, Accolade takes more of an arcade-style approach to their latest installment. This is partially due to their new partner- ship with Pitbull Syndicate, the developers behind Destruction Derby. You can expect to see plenty of spectacular crashes, accented by outrageous spins, rolls and flips in typical Pitbull fashion. By no means is this a bad thing. The only disappointment here is that due to the official licensing of the cars, damaging these cars was not allowed. However, a smashing job on the graphics was permitted and Official

- М а) U.S. Li was taken advantage of with excel- lent car detail and track composition. ay а ion

There are 10 fully licensed cars to choose from, Magazine

December 1997

ay Magazine (=)

Official U.S. Ё жета

including five from each era. Choose from six tracks, b ох SOLO ELS cross traffic. The courses are surprisingly long, (Pros ) This adds to the replayability, taking much longer * Long courses to learn the ins and outs of each race. My only e Link Mode gameplay was that the steering seemed a bit too easy to oversteer, e Weak turn-based Two-player Mode which left you sliding all • No damage to vehicles Overall, | think this makes a great addition to aile E one will keep Sunday drivers 0 ff Cl al Ra tl n 0 on their toes.

each loaded with police, oncoming vehicles and some taking well over five minutes to complete. * Clean, crisp graphics complaint about the too sensitive. It was much (Cons over the track. the Test Drive series. This -Dave Malec

] '!PEessIve. pos i VE“ LOOKING GANES сє Tue Ҹар.)

oni

PE x^

; PlayStat

$ e Ghost in the Shell; Special Edition a vie, now available on DVD!

orporation,

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е registered tradem:

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Test Drive and Test Drive .

Hot Soundtrack

Featuring The Music Of

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ACEO AR ru UU UL = Available November ‘97 For Sony PlayStation and PC CD-ROM!

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“...let them dream

lear the slopes and make way for the sickest shredders around. Snowboarding has emerged at the top of the extreme sports scene and promises to continue its steady rise in popularity. Sony’s Cool Boarders 2 may keep boarding fanatics indoors this winter season. Or, at the very least, it will let them dream about pulling off a Misty 720 to Stalefish. A vast improvement over the original, Sony has jammed their sequel full of new features. The number of tracks to choose from has increased dramatically from three to a whopping nine courses. Players can try their hand at the new Half-pipe and Big Air Modes, in addition to the normal competition slopes. The Half-pipe Mode tests your ability to put together a routine combining both technical and basic tricks. The Big Air Mode gives you the opportunity to practice tricks and helps to prepare you for competition. You may even wish to try your luck at the Master Big Air Mode, attempting to pull off over 100 moves to reach the bottom. There is even a board park with т E W Official

cliffs, ramps and the occasional bus " === -— to practice your skills or just mess around on. They ay а ion

could have almost gotten away with a game that Magazine

included just these two new options. Sony has been 3 у working closely with Burton snowboards and has BS 0 X ane done a great job of implementing their expertise to give the game a more authentic feel.

There are still a few flaws in the game that remained to be addressed. For some reason, they still couldn't seem to fix the misaligned polygons in the backgrounds. (Cons) E Invisible boundaries also remain to plague you * Annoying invisible barrier E ec. р during your aerial antics. * Misaligned background polygons TAS Running into barriers on the ground is one thing, but crashing into nothing but air, well, that's another story. * * * Regardless of its minor 0 ff СІ a | IN а ti n inadequacies, I’m ready to grab my mittens and hit the snow.

—Dave Malec

* Larger variety of courses * Increased number of features * Great tunes

eccccococe

Official U.S. @ КЕ

PSYGNOSIS

Psygnosis brings you maritime mayhem at its swashbuckling best...without the threat of scurvy.

Shipwreckersr

Now Available Just follow these simple instructions: 1. Peel this sticker off. 2. Carefully place it on the lid of your PlayStation. 3. Visit your local retailer and pick up a copy of Shipwreckers! 4. Insert Shipwreckers! disc into your PlayStation and turn power on. 5. Prepare yourself for the wackiest pirate adventure ever!

Be sure to head to www.psygnosis.com and enter the Shipwreckers! Treasure Quest Sweepstakes for a chance to win cool prizes and $5,000!

Shipwreckers!, Psygnosis, and the Psygnosis logo are trademarks of Psygnosis Ltd. © 1997 Psygnosis Ltd. АН rights reserved. Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStation game console. PlayStation is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

= 22

PlayStation

et in a mystical kingdom where noblemen and commoners race side-by-side atop giant insects to determine who will become the unquestioned ruler of the land, Bug Riders is an ambitious fantasy/racer from GT Interactive. In addition to the ability to pass opponents on all four sides, Bug Riders’ primary innovation is a unique riding crop method of acceleration. To urge your mount forward, you must flail it with your crop. Crop too hard, however, and your bug will become exhausted and come to a halt. Unfortunately, Bug Riders’ innova- tions are all but undone by the

his concept is getting tired, but

Acclaim managed to make this

title float for the PlayStation.

You start off by choosing one of the Fantastic Four characters: She- Hulk, Torch, Mr. Fantastic, Thing or Invisible Woman. You can play up to four players at one time. If you’re playing alone you can have up to three drones (Fantastic Four Members) that will help you on the side. Overall, the 3-0 environment is a nice

touch. Well-detailed backgrounds set the mood of each level. Players’ animations and the addition of the huge Bosses have been animated very well. What's really missing is the lack of moves and attacks.

(СУ 102 1] Players

game's short, self- steering tracks and unfair method of

time extension; for some reason, you are the only racer required to fly through circular gates, which adds time to the clock. What promised to be a race to the death becomes little more than a Pilot Wingsike exercise in flying through rings, with your “opponents” serving as little more than obstacles.

The slightly more enjoyable Exterminate Mode and two-player split-screen races are not enough to salvage this nicely conceived but poorly executed racer.

—Gary Mollohan

You expect more moves from a comic character. Also, you end with only a few special powers for each player.

Another gripe | have about this game is the fact that it gets repetitive. Pretty much the object of the game is to walk around, beat up some enemies, pick up some power-ups, and beat up some more baddies. It gets boring after clearing the earlier stages. Plus, the game is very easy even when you turn it up to the hardest level.

Final Fight-type games never really did it for

me since the action gets too repetitive. —Dindo Perez

* Croppin' them bugs!

• Killer intro and fantasy М elements Cons ® Short, self-steering courses

* Staring at the ass-end of a big bug

box score

* Detailed levels * Able to play with up to four players

* Action is too repetitive * Lack of moves for characters

(reviews)

December 1997

PlayStation Ere

Official U.S.

DESTRUCTION

Маг is heck any games falter by falling short of overly ambitious aims, while others seem to be underachievers by design; they aren't bad games, they simply have very limited scope and make no attempt at innovation. Mass. Destruction is such a game.

Best described as a grounded Soviet Strike or possibly as Return Fire minus the cool Two-player Mode, Mass Destruction is a top-down tank warfare game. Players choose one of three futuristic tanks (no jeeps, choppers or gunboats here) and embark on a series of missions, such as destroying fuel dumps, inter-

doing a submarine game, most of us thought it would end up being Twisted Metal under water. Unfortunately, although Critical Depth’s premise is similar enough to the TM series, the gameplay itself falls a bit short. The main problem with this game is the speed—or more precisely, the lack thereof. Controls seem terribly sluggish, which really cuts back on the adrenaline. It's water these subs are supposed to be sailing around in, not molasses. Use of an analog controller helps somewhat, but it’s still slower than | would like. Also, some sloppy collision detection and some unremarkable level

(damned editorial

CRITICAL DEPTH

“Tt’s water these subs

hen we heard that SingleTrac was

CENS On shapes sis)

cepting convoys and rescuing hostages. The game has intuitive controls, analog compatibility, large levels and sharp (albeit simplistic) graphics, but it’s nothing you haven't seen before. Had ASC added a Two-player Mode or extra vehicles (as Electronic Arts did with Nuclear Strike) the game might have gone from “average” to “good.” I'm sure there are plenty of new PlayStation owners who'd be happy playing Mass Destruction for hours on end, but |, аз you might have guessed, am not a new PlayStation owner... —Gary Mollohan

* Multiple-objective missions * Nearly every on-screen object blows up real good

* Loads of unavoidable hits * Been there, done that

DOLI,

p

1 Player

ages ли пове мо sses

design make for some more minor annoyances.

On the other hand, the inclusion of a Two-player Mode, available even in the standard mission progression, adds a level of co- operative play in addition to the stan- dard deathmatch fare. Amusing characters and story line add some much-needed atmosphere, as well.

| imagine that Critical Depth will probably appeal most to die-hard fans of the Twisted Metal series. Not being one of them, | have to admit it didn’t do all that much for me. I'd suggest renting it first. —Joe Rybicki

Ed ох Score

* Two-player Co-operative Mode • Amusing characters

• The game is just plain slow * Questionable collision detection

000

Command state-of-the-art Transformers!

І. - Be a heroic Maximal like Cheetor 1 3 and change from beast... \

E: ag ТЕ wy € whole new meaning When BEA] 9 can CHANGE

| into ROBOTS ted не teeth with ПРОСИ Weaponry ү И: ое от ing the UNIVERSE!

| | | 3

..to robot fighting machine with awesome firepowers!

Or choose to be an evil Predicon = like the terrifying Megatron!

Battle in rugged 3D terrain with natural hazards and enemy armies. Defeat rival Transformers in head-to-head combat!

у

Maximize! Terrorize! Fight for control of the Energon supply!

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A

HASBRO | Interactive

©1997 Hasbro Interactive, Inc. ©1997 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Beast Wors Transformers ore trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. Manufactured under license from Takara (0, Lid. Developed by Sony Сот Enertainment Europe (а division of Sony Electronic Publishing Limited.) Playstation ond Ње PlayStation logos ore trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Windows the Windown95 are rademarks of Microsoft Corporation To rotin, xon нова ol the Interactive Digital Software хабов

Coming Soon on

Windows? 95 CD-ROM I WILL BRING OUT pL THE BEAST IN YOU

Playstation الت‎

© 1997 YANOMAN GAMES © 1997 CLIMAX. All rights reserved. ASCII Entertainment, Felony 11-79, and the Felony 11-79 logo are trademarks of ASCII Entertainment Software, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other ENTERTAINMENT brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

he object of the game is quite simple: Play as a pirate in search of treasures, attacking friendly cities for resources (icons) and terri- tory supremacy. You then have to find the exit portal to advance to the next level. Your ship is equipped with cannons on the sides and one cannon at the bow. You can acquire more weapons later on in the game, but you must find them. Increase your arsenal's damage by collecting the upgrade icon. Sailing the high seas is not that easy. Encounters with ships and sea monsters are com- mon. Obstacles must be destroyed

"Speed

ot being a big fan of previous Need for Speed games, | didn't have particularly high hopes for Need for Speed V-Rally. It's a 5004 thing, because if | were a fan of the series | think | would have been sorely disappointed.

V-Rally has some good things going for it, like extremely customizable vehicles and a large number of graphically detailed tracks. What it does not have is acceptable controls, and this is what ultimately kills the game.

Try turning your car to the side and you'll be treated to one of the most unusual and unpleasant racing effects I’ve seen yet: The car will appear to turn a certain

Official U.S. ЗЕМЕ е Magazine:

Living the pirate ways

NEED FOR SPEED: V-RALLY

isn't the only thing V-Rally needs"

or avoided. Every detailed scenario is different and will get more difficult as you advance, but despite the changes in the scenarios the action hardly changes. Though the game is fun, it becomes repeti- tive. | do like finding the secrets

(treasure chests) and weapons [ Cons) that I've not yet acquired. * Lack variety of enemies

For a change of pace, take some time off * Action could be more exciting from the adventuring and go at it with a

friend in the Death Match Mode. Don't ask.

Shipwreckers is a good game with a Simple concept. Unfortunately, this is going to be one of the sleepers of the year. —Dindo Perez

box score

* Well-designed levels • Good controls * Lots of weapons

|

layStation! >

distance, then suddenly straighten out for a brief moment, and then turn again. | had to try it on a number of controllers to be sure my pad wasn't shorting out. Also, even on straightaways, the cars lag. Ridiculous crashes add to the mind-boggling physics engine. If you're into cars flipping 50 feet in the air end over end (which I’m not), then this one's for you. Repetitive courses, weak sound effects and an obnoxious hair-metal soundtrack round out the unpleasantness. Speed isn't the only thing V-Rally needs. —Joe Rybicki

* Customizable vehicles * Detailed tracks

(Cons)

* Horrifying controls * Questionable physics

OOO)

y?! Why NOT?. №5 easy! `

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Never Underestimate the Power of PlayStation"

PlayStation

(reviews)

"Nothing if not unusual”

his new fighter from T*HQ is noth- distracting "alterna- ing if not unusual. Presented in an tive" soundtrack odd, ultra-blocky polygon style, Vs. (who let Razed In contains some of the most bizarre Black listen to that characters ever assembled in a fighting much Nine Inch

game. What other game lets you pita 6 Nails, anyway?) add e Characters are...um...unique pimp—oh, excuse me, a "businessman"— to the bizarre atmos- against a street mime? phere this game conjures. And : Sadly, the gameplay does not stand dismal, unbalanced Al makes for лы С ons out nearly as much as the characters do. a strange progression of match- 7 اک‎ Combat is jerky and monotonous, and con- es. | plowed through nine ene- * Action is clumsy and stiff

trols often unre- mies in a row simply by crouching * Gameplay is extremely sponsive. And a and punching repeatedly—nothing more. unbalanced

particularly unusu- | have to give the company credit for al control scheme putting such strange characters in a fighting can add confusion game. Unfortunately, when you get right

to the mix. down to it, that's about all Vs. has going for Odd sound it. This is a rental, if that. effects and a —Joe Rybicki

Lai i>

e S 3$ Nothing like sitting at home catching fish T his may not be the best fishing catch a fish. You have to worry z бате for the PS, but it's damn about what fishing pole you'll e 5004 and fun too. be using, type of bait to use үги What makes this good is that and finally, the best hook for a it’s simple to play and it doesn't the type of fish you'll be catch- = require as much patience as other fishing ing. You can then keep 2 games out there. A beginner can pick up the track of what you b ох score o controller and start fishing with no problem. catch by keeping your Also, the interface is easy to follow rather fish in an aquarium, [ Pros | than in some other games where you have feeding them once in 2 to go through several options to get started. a while and showing * Easy to get into You start out at the local entry waters them to your friends. * Able to keep fish in aquarium where fishing is a The fishing scenario breeze. In order to is well detailed. Reel

open up the harder Fishing uses full-motion

fishing sites, you have video for the active waters. As you go below to catch bigger fish. you will see a more detailed view. Га rather This is when the chal- go fish for real, but if you don’t want to smell lenge sets in. There like fish, stick to this game.

are several ways to —Dindo Perez

“PGA Tour 98 has

have not had much to get excited about. The first PGA tour golf on the Sony console was full of bugs and played like molasses which explained my trepidation when booting up the newest install- ment in the series. Luckily, PGA 98' is definitely swifter in the action department and has a sim- pler menu system. Speaking of play, the loading

times between button inputs and onscreen action

is quite distracting. It seems to take an awfully long time to play through a hole of golf

whole game. The graphics seem pretty dated and the anima- tions of the players needs work. Two cru- cial areas that should

SIUS gust рат ad Red Asphalt been released back when it was originally announced two years ago, it would have been mediocre. Today, it's just plain bad. Virtually everything about the game is derivative, from the hack- neyed scifi story to the race-for-parts-and- cash gameplay. Crash 'n Burn for ЗОО used the same formula four years ago, and it was far from revolutionary then. At least the 3D graphics were impressive at the time, some- thing most gamers take for granted today. Perhaps Red Asphalt's biggest sin is its shoddy control. Despite looking as stable as a tank, your car spins out on all but the most gradual turns and—for no

proble

layStation gamers who like golf games

in PGA 98' let alone a

bad”

1-4

lemory Card Players

2 blocks

аб

be the core of a &ood golf game are ball physics and graphical presentation of the course. EA has the physics down, but it is really hard to

box score

* Lots of official licenses * Better than previous version

|

* Cumbersome loading time * Outdated Graphics

grass and course textures. It would also be nice to create the type of consistent ambi- ent sound that is the hallmark of a golf experi- ence. It is very unnerving to hear the sounds of nature interrupted while the game is loading the player animations. PGA Tour 98' has problems that will take getting used to, but it isn't a һо ble golf game. PlayStation owners will have to wait a little longer for something more substan- tial. —Wataru Maruyama

apparent reason—on straight- aways occasionally. Upgrading with your winnings does little; even with the best equipment, it was still the same story. Your poor maneuverability, of course, makes you fodder for drone cars, which race up behind you and machine gun you to bits.

Red Asphalt does have large, nicely detailed tracks, but you have to race each one five or six times before advancing to the next. Most gamers, however, will toss the controller in frustration before seeing more than one or two.

—Gary Mollohan

• Large, branching tracks ® Voice-overs by Optimus Prime guy

® Horrible control e Trite story and gameplay

9€. 0

BESIDES DANCER AND INTRIGUE,

TREASURES OF THE DEEP

OFFERS SOMETHING THAT’S BEEN LACKING IN ACTION/ADVENTURE

GAMES.

hat's the missing ingredient from action and adventure games? Salt water. Treasures of the Deep" places you in the role of Jack Runyan, ex-Navy Seal. Your global treasure trek whisks you from the shark-infested Great Barrier Reef to the foreboding abyss of the Mariana Trench. You'll utilize lethal high-

tech weaponry and submersibles as you explore sunken

ships, battle sea monsters and thwart terrorists.

3 р 1 Your underwater hardware is 100% high-tech: robotic vehicles, Grab your scuba gear. It's time to dive into danger. homing torpedoes and heat seeking mines are all at your disposal.

ACTION

14 treasure-hunti@§ missions, including Antarctica, the Bermuda Triangle and the sunken Aztec ruins off the Yucatan Peninsula?"

The most striking 3-0 world in all of qame dom Beautiful E Pilot 8 state-of-the-art submersibles. Amass your fortune and sea creatures propel themselves with polygon perfection: " trade up from а USN RV-1 mini-sub to a deadly Viper attack sub.

ADVENTURE.

Explore mysterious wrecks, retrieve a lost satellite, defuse

а nuclear warhead, then treat yourself to some alligator shoes. | f | | АЛЛА

perez. - |||

THIS TIME, YOU'RE IN OVER YOUR HEAD.

www.namco.com Playstation |

and the PlayStation Tqasyare trademarks ой Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratingsicon i5 a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

near ай machine? Plug into one of these killer A/V systems

by Brent Butterworth

Most video game fanatics plug their PlayStation into a state-of-the-art audio/video system-state of the art, that is, for the days before Marsha Brady could fill out a sweater. If you're playing video games on an old 19-inch TV, you're really just spending hours a day making little things jump around on a screen. This is what you call entertainment?

Instead, try hooking up your PlayStation to a big-screen TV and a surround-sound system, and you'll find you're halfway to virtual reality—you'll get into the game like never before. You'll lean hard right when you're banking into the turns on Rage Racer. You'll duck when your opponent swings a sword at you in Soul Blade. You'll find yourself bouncing up and down in your chair as you're making Crash Bandicoot hop around. Simply put, the bigger the Screen and the better the sound, the more you'll enjoy your PlayStation. | know-—I got seriously into games way back in the days of NEC TurboGrafx, when | was lucky enough to have a job writing about both big-screen TVs and video games. Once | put the two togeth- er, | realized right away that playing on a small screen just ain't the same game. Even the old games you've already finished will take on a whole new feel when the characters grow from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers action figure size to, say, Tickle Me Elmo dimensions.

The prices on TVs and audio gear have fallen so fast that almost anyone can afford а decent-sized TV, a nice little receiver and five speakers for surround sound. Oh, yeah, one more thing—you'll also get a lot better sound and picture for those one or two times a year when you want to shut off your PlayStation to watch TV or listen to a CD.

We've already got a couple of sys- tems all picked out for you—one budget system you might be able to swing right now, and one that's perfect for when

you land your first gig out of college (assuming, of course, that you graduate. from Stanford, start your own software business and clear a few mil when Microsoft buys you out a year later). If neither of these systems seems just right for you, don't worry—we'll start by spelling out the rules to follow when you pick out your new gear.

Don't Break The Rules!

There's a few rules you've gotta remem- ber when buying A/V gear, but it's not $0 complicated when you realize that you're only really looking at three pieces of gear: the TV, the receiver and the speakers. If you can't afford all three

at once, that's OK—start with the TV, add the receiver next (using whatever old speakers you can find) and finish with the speakers.

The basic rule of buying a TV is very, very simple. You won't even have to write this one down. Ready? Here it is:

THE BIGGER, THE. BETTER.

Why's that? Simple: Because the bigger the screen, the more you'll feel like part of the game. Get a big enough TV, and you'll have to start moving your head a little to follow the action on screen—just as you would if you were actually running down the darkened halls in Tomb Raider.

How big is big? Well, don't even think about any TV that's less than 27 inches. But 35 inches is really more like it, and if you can afford a big projection TV, so much the better. | play games on а 7-1/2foot screen—sitting only about 10 feet back—and it's nothing short of awesome. I’ve actually seen people get queasy playing racing games on my System! That's as real as it gets outside of a military simulator.

Besides the big-screen rule, there's only two more rules to remember when you buy a TV. First, get one with an S-video input. An S-video input carries the color and brightness parts of the video signal separately. (Sony makes

December 1997

Official U.S. (ЕЖЕЛИ Magazine (3)

Sei RES CRIT ELD

an S-video

PlayStation adapter you'll need to use this input.) Using S-video eliminates artifacts called dot crawl and hanging dots. Dot crawl shows up as crawling, almost pixelated-looking vertical borders between colored objects on screen. Hanging dots is the same thing, only horizontal. Both make colored edges of graphics look dull instead of sharp.

Also, get a TV with picture-in- picture. Most people use PIP to watch. two TV shows at once, but you:can: also use it to play games while you're watching TV. I’ve found this a great

rear speakers. Other games will probably sound great in one of the other surround-sound modes, which are designed to simulate certain acoustic spaces. You can just keep trying modes and adjusting the rear-speaker delay until you find a setting that fits. On my Harman Kardon receiver, | like Stadium Mode on NFL GameDay (of course), but even on Crash Bandicoot (бо figure). Soul Blade sounds better to me in the more subtle Theater Mode. You'll also need five speakers: the usual left and right Speakers, plus a center speaker and two rear ‘speakers. You can spend.

ast a speaker with a couple of good-sized woofers. There's a lot of bass in today's games that you don't hear over those dinky speakers in your TV. Big

Get a big enough TV, and you'll have to

start moving your head a little

follow

the action on screen:

way to use your time more efficiently. Say you're watching Conan O'Brien, and he's got Salma Hayek on—but maybe Michael Bolton is on first.

No problem: You just put Conan into а little window in the corner, and enjoy stimulating gameplay until Salma comes on.

Once you've got the TV, you'll want to add a surround-sound system. Here's your one rule: Get a receiver with Dolby Pro Logic, plus some extra surround-sound modes. Any game produced in Dolby Surround (like Codename: Tenka and others) will sound absolutely awesome through a Dolby Pro Logic receiver—you'll hear all sorts of sounds behind you, coming from your

/ woofers will do the job, or if you pre-

fer small speakers, you can add a subwoofer to extend the bass response of your system. Like a big-screen TV, a subwoofer or speak- ers with deep bass get you one step closer to virtual reality—when your car crashes on screen, you won't just hear it, you'll feel it in your butt.

The Real-World (for you) System Our first recommended system comes in at only $2,300 for the whole schmear. And that’s list price— you'll probably get a decent discount on at least the receiver and the TV. The system starts with the $949 RCA F3267SB, which meets our three TV guidelines without breaking a sweat. For starters, a 32-inch screen. Plus, there’s an S-video input and pic- ture-in-picture. And as if that weren't _ enough for nine-point-five bills, it's (I think) the cheapest 32-inch with a digital comb filter, which does a lot of

the same good things that an S-video input does, only with normal video signals. (Not that this is an excuse for you to cheap out and skip buying that S-video adapter for your Play- Station.) Also, RCA TVs have an excellent reputation for color fidelity, so what you'll see on screen is closer to what the producers saw when they were creating your game.

Once you get a big-screen TV, you might notice that while the picture’s gotten bigger, the sound hasn't. Even most big TVs have only a couple of cheesy little speakers powered by amps better suited to telephones than ПЕЙ. That's why your next purchase should be Yamaha’s $500 RX-V592 receiver. Yamaha’s the leader in receivers with digital signal processing. The company’s engineers actually went out and measured lots of famous clubs, concert halls and cathedrals so that they could digitally re-create the acoustics of those spaces in your living room. You can just dink around until you find a sound you like. Want to hear Final Fantasy VII like all the action’s taking place in New York's Village Gate jazz club? You now have the power, my friend. The RX-V592 is also ready if

you want to add a DVD player and a Dolby Digital adapter for state-o’- the-art surround sound. One

Lexicon DC-1 Surround Sound Processor

caveat, though: It doesn't have S-video connectors (which are

only available in receivers costing twice the price or more). You'll have to hook up your PlayStation's S-video line straight to the TV, and connect only the stereo audio lines to the receiver.

Last—and way, way far from least—is what might be your favorite part of the system: Energy's $800 Take5 speaker system. Take5 is, hands down, the best surround- sound speaker system I’ve heard for under $1,000. The little satellite speakers sound clear as a bell, every bit as good as a lot of the $2,000/pair audiophile speakers l've heard. And the subwoofer that comes with the system puts out more powerful, punchy bass than any box this size has a right to— thanks in part to the built-in 100- watt amp.

Atlantic Technologies System 450 THX

The Real-World (for Bill Gates) System

OK, we've checked out your basic A/V system. Let's pull out all the stops and see what we get by upping the budget by, say, a factor of 13.

What do you get for $30,000? For starters, one of the best video monitors made today: Runco's $14,995 DTV-852 video projector. Hang this thing from your ceiling, put up a 6- to 12-foot screen on the wall and you've got a humongous TV that doesn't take up a single inch of floor space. Clearly, the big-screen rule isn't a problem here, and there's an S-video input, too. OK, the DTV-852 ` doesn't have picture-in-picture, but neither does any other video projec-

_ tor's also _ with high-definition digital TV, when _ that comes along in a year or two.

DC

tor sold

today. But

all is not

lost. Many

projector

fanatics

(myself included)

fulfill their PIP fetish by adding a whole 'nother TV to the system! The DTV-852 also has a builtin line dou- bler, which converts the interlaced, TV-style video of the PlayStation into progressive-scan, computer-style video, so your games will look like you're playing them on a Silicon Graphics workstation! This projec- 00-percent compatible

For sound, we'll start with the 'surround-sound processor from Lexicon. There's notia rock star in lord who n't have a piece exicon gear it his studio; these guys are truly the masters of digital signal processing, and they've used every iota of their expertise in creating the DC-1. This processor starts at $2,000, in a version that comes with Dolby Pro Logic and the coolest di surround-sound modes ever mitted to silicon. (You can also add Dolby Digital and DTS digital surround sound decoding; a fully loaded DC-1 tops out around five grand.) There’s | even a Logic7 mode that synthe- Я sizes surround sound for seven - speakers, instead of the usual five. Hook up the DC-1 to a stack of Lexicon's studio-grade amps, and you've got enough juice to get ‘em hearing Need for Speed not just on the next block, but in the next neighborhood. But you need some pretty bulletproof speakers to handle all that power, and Atlantic Technology's got a brand-new system that completely fits the bill: System 450 THX. For about $6,000, you get beefy left, center and right speakers; two dipolar surround speakers that cre- ate a very realistic surround-sound

Runco DTV- 852 Video Projector

effect; and a muscular subwoofer that'll pound like Rush Limbaugh jumping up and down on your floor. This system's THX-approved, so you get real movie theater-quality sound. Plus, it's engineered to sound great

_ on your music CDs, too. And it plays

loud enough to make the members of Korn run from the room. (Incidentally, you might notice Atlantic Technology's logo used in the new Jet Moto 2.)

When It’s OK To Break The Rules

Don't let the $30,000 price— or even the $2,300 price we quoted before—scare you. It's actually possible to put together a passable little video game system for under $1,000: а $300 27-inch TV, a $199 Pro Logic receiver and maybe Cambridge SoundWorks $399 Ensemble IV speakers. -

Now, you will find yourself. breaking a few of our rules if you want to get your budget down this. low. But still, better to break a few rules than to play even one more round of your favorite race game on that old 19-incher. Banish that thing to the basement, and start playing your games in style.

Brent Butterworth is president of CFG Labs, where he tests audio and video products for Home Theater Magazine and others. He began covering video games way back in 1989, when he attended his very first press conference—the launch of the Atari Lynx.

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Here's where all you

daredevils get to show

off your stuff. There

are two different n /

Mode-Contest and Master. Contest Mode challenges you to come up with your best trick on any of the

The Board Park is just an area three jumps. This is an excellent place to practice to goof around on and hone your tricks without any distractions. Going fakie will your boarding skills. There is always give you more points if you land the trick.

no time limit here and you can Try using tricks that involve rotation and double- even turn around and hop back grabs for maximum points. You may get lucky during up the course. Try your hand at Contest Mode, but Master

learning how to grind. As you metiri SO, Mode will challenge you approach a rail, jump up and a to land specific tricks. The spin the board sideways with combined lists of basic and the Square Button. This skill advanced tricks gives you

4 may come in handy at a later the complete set of 100 time, so get accustomed to it. There is a "Cool Meter" that changes moves that need to be color reflecting how well you do. See if you can get it to light blue. completed in this mode.

head races during Competition [his event consists of racing through all nine courses, with points awarded depending upon how well you place. Each course will require you to accumulate a certain number of points to continue to the next. At the beginning of each race, you will compete on one of the three Big Air jumps. You have two attempts to compile as many points as possible. This is where practicing the Big Air Mode will come in handy. Where you place here directly effects your starting position, so make it good.

ШШЕ

Running the half-pipe will require you to competently perform a well- balanced routine. You will be rated а on standard maneuvers, amplitude, landing, rotation and technical merit. Start with one or two basic tricks to get your speed up and then go for something a little more difficult. Pay close attention to nailing your landings, for

it can make or break the outcome of e адр. seme

TOUGH COURSES

The first five courses shouldn’t give you much trouble to get the hang of, but the latter half are more difficult. I’ve tried to point out the specific areas that gave me trouble and the

several shortcuts available. Hopefully, this will help you to improve your times and gain an advantage over your opponents.

Strangely enough, you'll need to beware of the | pipes on this course. After the second jump you will come across a pipe that runs over the canyon. You can ride it by lining up with У the pipe and then switch- ing to a grind. When you see your character leaning to either side, tap the D-pad in the opposite direc- tion to compensate. It's not easy, but it will shave seconds off of your time. Take it easy on the snow- covered pipes. If you are cruising along at high speed, crossing them will send you airborne. Near the end, there are a couple of pipes jutting out into your path. You can leap over these obstructions or 50 to the outside. Just beware of the ice patches.

Grind across this | pipe to reach the shortcut.

Freezing Point is covered in ice and filled with sharp. turns, making it one of the fastest and hardest cours- es in the game. Although the rocks you encounter look ominous, you can jump off of them to boost ahead. Following the second jump, you will notice

р an area scattered with trees on the left. Jump up here to give you a straight shot through the bend. Be careful of your exit angle or you'll fly .. off of the cliff.

à The check point after the bridge requires you to jump to higher ground and is tough to land tricks on. | sug- gest using an

all-around board.

ncholy tside 180 Mute Grb —————— Backside 180 Indy 6 : Frontside 180

Flip Mute Grab

ттуу 3

Flip Nose Grab

Frontside 180 Nose Grab

Backside 180 Tail Grab

Backflip Tail Grab -

Frontside 180 Indy Nosebone — — — Backside 180 Stiffie

Flip Melancholy

Backflip Shuffle ——— — 4 flip / Li L2 Backside Misty 180 Melancholy 30

( (=) 1661 29949594

Шад:

UNLOCKING

т СТЕК

course is tough h to beat H

the trick score on. The ЖО» During the first five courses, first two checkpoints Y ме you will need to place first are immediately after a ein a) - in Time, Tricks and Total. sharp turns, while the me EL Beating each set of five will grant you

next one gives you little access to the corresponding special board. elevation. Slow down

early to be able to line up properly to attempt SPECIAL SPECIAL SPECIAL your tricks. Once you reach the first area FREESTYLE ALL-AROUND ALPINE with an open cliff to the left, look for the path to bend to the left. Just before this point you can leap off the edge to land safely a little farther up the track. It’s not

much, but it will save you some time. After MAXSPEED MAXSPEED MAXSPEED the third checkpoint

there is a ravine nil ni uil just past a group И RESPONSE RESPONSE — RESPONSE is on an upgrade,

So you will need to ТИЙ! [T ll charge back slighty (R/T NA f TIC UT CNL] The second checkpoint has two 2 if you es to land levels, but Г’ use the top опе. squarely.

\ Jj З This course is steep! A well-balanced A" № boarder is what you'll need to tackle this AA WM cvertwisting course. There are several | рмет areas that give you the option to go to Bo

either side of rocky outcroppings. The faster route is a bit more treacherous, but worth the effort. When you

reach the third checkpoint, look to the

right side of the temple. There is a gap

here that will lead you to an alternate

path. It’s pretty cool, but may not be

worth it during a race. The caves you must

50 through are dotted with huge crystals.

Advanced tricks consist of two or more basic tricks put together. The most important tip | can offer is to treat each portion of the trick as an individual move. For example, the Mute Grab to Indy Grab requires you to press Up and R1 to Up and R2. You can't just hold the D-pad in the up position and then hit R1 and R2. You need to release the buttons and the D-pad completely between each portion of the trick. With this in mind, you should be in decent shape to master this mode.

Shifty to Mute Grab ——————— Lito TRI Mute Grab to Indy Nosebone ———— T+ 1 to T+ 82 Stalefish to Shifty ———————— | + 2 to Indy Grab to Stiffie ——————— ——— Ф + 22 to T+ 81 Mute Grab to Indy Grab ——————— Ф + Ri to T+ 72 Stalefish to Shuffle — |, + 22 to

Shifty to Lien Ar ———————— lI to b+?! Stalefish to Tweak — J+ 2 № 4), + Ri Lien Air to Mute Grab —————— +R to THRI Nose Grab to Shifty ——————— Ф THRI to

Method to Mute Grab. ——————— 1 +12 to T+ 2! Tail Grab to Stalefish — JL 4, + 82 to b+ 22 Mute Grab to Lien Air —————— Ф + Rito JRI Nose Grab to Indy бб ————— T T+Ri to T+ 2 Stalefish to Method ———————— —— |, + 12 to b+ 82 Tail Grab to Mute Grab ———————— 4 LHR? t Т + 81 Lien Air to Indy Grab ——————— 4L + 81 to T+ 22 Nose Grab to Lien Air ——————- T Т + Rito J+ 01 Stalefish to Lien Air —————— 4, + 82 to d+ Ri Tail Grab to Method ———— ——— 4 b+ 82 to b+ Method to Shifty —————————_ |. + | 2 to Indy Grab to Melancholy —————— T+ 82 to b+! Method to Lien Air ———— — — — | + 12 to J+ 81 Mute Grab to Tweak —————— ——— T + Rito УЕ Lien Air to Stalefih — J+ ito b+ R2 Stalefish to Indy Nosebone ————— +82 to T +22 Stalefish to Mute Grab —————— 1+ 82 to Т + 81 Lien Air to Stiffie ——— J+ Rito T + ВИ Indy Grab to Mute Grab —————— Ф + 82 to T + 21 Method to Stiffie ————————— — |, + Rito TRI

Shifty to Tweak —————————._ Li to LRI Method to Melancholy ——————— УК! № 4, + 01

Юз DO YE RAVE FERE oec

This is the secret

( -" course that you receive

5 when you have complet- ? m WM ed the first 100 tricks BALANCE | 9 in the Big Air/Master ;

М Em М Mode. There are two r |] nuni bn paths to choose from in

each cave. Both paths The Snowman can be obtained after TECHNIQUE QUICKNESS

are about equal in terms of time, but | prefer to successfully placing first in Time, Tricks and ттт.

take the right side for the sake of lining up for a Total on all 10 courses or at least the last HAT ППУ

trick. The second checkpoint is where you'll five. This includes the secret course, Dive SEDI MAYSPEED

need to get big trick points. Line up to the left into the Cave.

for the steepest angle on this jump. During the

second leg of the course there are also two. ЁЁ ena, м оао

paths. Again, | like the

right side. Keep to the

right of that first split |

and then stay in the ПИ

middle when you = - Sa. N DE |

come to the ud ' SAN JUMP BALANCE pillars. The left » V aM ] ?

side less, fl v Mass = [ши шш

MENS

obstructed, but E zu ei You will be able to board as Gray after you TECHNIQUE QUICKNESS harder to line М \ have surpassed the first 100 tricks on the up to the bridge Big Air/Master Mode. Unfortunately | don't from. The final have an exact number for you, but you don't и

jump is your 4 need more than 130 tricks to get him. POWER chance to make у

up any lost trick points.

: И BONUS MODES К А xm JUMP BALANCE MIRROR MODE: This mode will allow you DC

to race the mirrored versions of each ‘itu "T

course and is obtained by coming in first The computer opponent Bose is playable TECHNIQUE QUICKNESS place in the Competition Mode. once you place first in Competition Mode 4 HARD MODE: A more difficult mode while in Hard Mode. He is the toughest j wil

obtained after placing first in Competition character to get, but with stats like that, 7 Mode while in Mirror Mode. I'd say that he's worth the trouble. POWER MAXSPEED

[TD

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[| MAXSPEED

4

Backside 180 Shifty to Indy Grab —— > spin / Lt to T+ Backside 180 Stalefish to Melancholy — —>spin/b+ ^ to 12

Frontside 180 Shifty to Method < spin / Lito +12 Misty 180 Method to Tweak ————— м 30 / V +12 to i Li Fakie to Flip Mute Grab to Shifty —— T flip / T+ Ri to Lt “Frontside 360 Nose Grab to Method — < spin / TT + RI to 12 Frontside 180 Stalefish to Indy Grab — < spin / T+ 2 to T+L2 Flip Nose Grab to Stalefish —————— T flip / T T + to + Misty 180 Shifty to Stalefish қ 3D/Lito b+ “Misty 540 Tail Grab to Shifty v 30 4 LR? toli

Backside Misty 180 Indy Grab to Shifty — №30 / + R2 to Lt “Backside 1260 Nose Grab to Mute Grab — — spin / T T+ Ri to T Backside 180 Mute Grab to Stalefish — —> spin / T+ RI to D+ Backflip Tail Grab to Indy Grab У flip / b+ R2 to T+ Frontside 180 Indy Grab to Stalefish — < spin/ T+ R2 to b+ "Backside Misty 720 Tail Grab to Lien Air — A3D/ PL+82 to b+ Misty 180 Method to Indy Grab v 30 / L+12 to T+ Flip Indy Nosebone to Shifty 1 flip/ T+ R2 L2 toli

Fakie to Backflip to Indy Grab to Lien Ат — flip / T + R2 to b+ ‘Frontside 540 Melancholy to Mute Grab — < spin / + 112% T+ Frontside 180 Stalefish to Method —— < spin / -- R2 to L + L2 ‘Misty 540 Stiffie to Indy Grab R3D/T +RIL2 to T + Backflip Method to Stalefish У flip/ +12 to b+ ‘Backside 720 Tweak to Mute Grab — —>spin/ 4, + RI Lt toT + Backside 180 Indy Grab to Shuffle — = spin / T+ R2 1401112 Backflip Melancholy to Method 4 flip/ b+ RI L2 to b+12 Flip Mute Grab to Indy Nosebone T flip / THRI to T+ 2212 ‘Backside 540 Indy Nosebone to Mute Grab — —>spin/T+ R2 L2 to T+ Backflip Shifty to Melancholy У flip / Lito b+") 12 “Fakie to Backside Misty 540 Tweak to Method — R 3D / L + RILI 4+ L2 Frontside 180 Stalefish to Tweak < spin/ P+ R2 to + Ri L1

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A SEANCE SIMPLE JUSTICE.

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С Police, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are trademarks of Psygnosis, Ltd.

SLATER NS v THERE, ON ~ x HOLY RETURN TO THE HORIZON! бш < МОТНЕК FORMATION!! у Я

BLACK, WITH ENOUGH FIREPOWER TO TAKE OUT THE ENTIRE DOME.

"B Police... one of the most amazing-looking titles ever seen on the PlayStation.”

—Electronic Gaming Monthly You are Jeff Slater, 21st Century сор. Fly your Havoc gun ship on 35 missions through 51 of Callisto's domed environments.

You have fly-anywhere 360° maneuverability and tons of firepower. Serve & protect.

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www.gpolice.com

j N К 7 ТІТА | WRAP AROUND SLATER’S HEART- SQUEEZING, SQUEEZING, SQUEEZING...

December 1997

Official U.S. QENEETA СӨ

Codes and Tricks for the PlayStation

Fantastic Four B

Secret Cheat Menu

his trick will get you a Cheat Menu that gives you four more options in the Options Screen. Just go to the Main Menu with The Thing's face, and access the Options Menu. nside this screen, highlight "Training" and then press all our Shift buttons at once (L1+L2+R1+R2). The new options will appear underneath the Training Option. These include Invincible, For Tiburon team enter: Loin Cloth Level Skip, Big Boy and Free Play. All For EA Sports team enter: of them have meters with Off and On Orrs Heroes i switches, with the exception For All Madden team enter: Coach TURNIER of Big Boy, which has a meter For All Time Leaders team enter: where you can grow or shrink Leaders Hidden Stadiums your character. For All 1960s team enter: For Astrodome enter: Jetsons Pac Attack For Cleveland stadium enter: For All 1970s team enter: Dawgpound Steelcurtain For Oakland stadium enter: Snake For All 1980s team enter: For Tampa Bay stadium enter: Big Gold Rush Sumbrero For NFC Pro Bowl team For Orange Bowl enter: Dandaman enter: Aloha For RFK stadium enter: Olddc For AFC Pro Bowl team For Tiburon stadium enter: Sharksfin enter: Luau For Wild West stadium enter:

Ghost Town

Oddworld: п

Abe $ Od dysee Excalibur 2555 A.D.

Madden NFL 98 min FRONT orice

— ue Secret Cheat Menu To enter these codes you must * 4 ee 50 to the Front Office option and 1 sen папа

then choose the “Create A Player" : жоюш PT |+ Option. From here, enter any of [pr the following codes and then айыке save the name. When you return

to Exhibition Mode and to the

Vs. Screen, you will be able to

select from the hidden teams

and stadiums.

Hidden Teams

The first two of these are accessed by highlighting the Password Access

Option at the Main Menu. After this is done, do these Any time during the game, press Start to tricks: pause. Now press Square, Circle, Square, Movie: While holding R1, press Up, Left, Right, Square, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle. Circle, Triangle, Square, Right, Left, Up, Right. Now unpause the game and the screen will Level: While holding R1, ру change to the Level Complete animation. You

press Down, Right, Left, 5 will then be awarded with the password for Right, Square, Circle, у that level, and be transported to the next. Square, Triangle, Circle YA This trick has been

Square, Right, Left. 3i AX proven to work on

Fart: This next trick can м УГ - T d the preproduction be done any time x / nas copy and may during the game. While ANNE Y LR. change in the

holding R1, press Up, д à final version. Left, Right, Square, : і Circle, X.

PAANONIAN. TEMPLE Му стс

NFL GameDay 98 Е; Тіте Сгіѕіѕ

Easter Eggs Nine Lives/Weapon Reload At the Main Menu Screen, access the This cool 3-D shooter comes Options, then choose Easter eggs. Now 0 with a couple cheats you can pick the "Add Entry" Option and enter 5 4 easily access by following these one of these cheats: methods. To enable the Cheat credits—Shows credits ВЕ Mode, go to the main Title equal teams—All players equal Screen and shoot at the center quiet crowd—Crowd quieter of the R in the word CRISIS. busy ref—Lots of unfair penalties Then shoot twice directly inside loud mouth—Loud PA announcer the crosshairs, next to the word blind ref—Ref doesn't call PI or TIME. If your shots are accurate, personal fouls a Cheat Menu should appear crunch time—Louder hit noises ith a few extra options to

big foot—Long field goals : + oose from. You can begin your gloves—Great hands for receivers »ext game with nine lives! The toast—Bad pass coverage other trick is to take the second leech—Great pass coverage ў controller, while in your game, hatchet—Forearm shiver is juiced R and press the X, Square, Circle bettis—Shoulder charge is juiced or Triangle buttons. This is an juice—Hyper speed burst alternate, possibly easier

jack hammer—Super stiff arm ы E gm method to reload your weapon rejection—Defensive jump is higher or to hide from enemy fire.

flea circus—Players are tiny and quick

watery ai—Catch-up speed high;

pursuit angles are wrong

virtual polygons—Flat players

thin ait Special stadium and. NHL Powerplay 98

teams y Two Hidden Teams

look ma—Players have stumps ИУ М This trick will give you two hidden teams for arms normally not available in the game. On the horsemen—Players have no Mete ^uid aN Main Menu Screen, choose the “Start heads food mouth m Game" Option. On the next screen, choose show off—CPU does only High trench time =~ “Exhibition” and then hold the X, Triangle,

big foot

Steps gloves entry Square and Circle buttons until the next gd challenge—Hidden difficulty кес To US screen loads in. Once the Team Select level Screen appears, let go of the buttons and deep gray—CPU remembers 30 - scroll through the teams on the first or plays second controller, and you'll find that you cpu offense—CPU offense gets f can choose two n " 3 a speed juice teams; the Virgin A | m cpu defense —CPU defense > 2 Blasters and the ee

gets a speed juice Rad Army. Both o Я ae. x psychic—CPU cheats on every = “с. these teams have a

play call ‘ high rating, so you у; [rin o ош fire drill—Player and ball speed i: ДУН will be sure to do [ЖЕ | are very high ТТИ well with either mm |

nyse—Swim moves are juiced one of them. pm о

Triple Play 98

Vocal Credits

While in an Exhibition game, press and hold all of the top four buttons (L1, L2, R1,

R2). While holding these, press the following buttons to access voice credits:

Chuck Osieja: Up, Triangle, Up, Square. } Darren Stone: Up, Triangle, Up, Circle. p З тш Michael J. Sokyrka: Right, Circle, Right, Square. BOSTON RED 50

Chris Johnson: Up, Triangle, Up, X. $

Frank Faugno: Right, Circle, Right, X.

Brent Nielsen: Left, Square, Left, Circle.

Pauline Moller: Left, Square, Left, X. : 5:

Steve Rechtschaffner: Left, Square, Left, Triangle. yi шокка ә Pera Ernie Patzel: Right, Circle, NS Triangle. т E к LIED

December 1997

Tricks Archive is a monthly collection of every code available for the PlayStation starting with the earliest releases first. The Archive will also feature past GameShark and other related tricks and codes.