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7" Official T. mA V Ed

January 1998 $7.99 U.S./ $9.99 Canada ,

UNIVERSAL INTERACTIVE STUDIOS

PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back & ©1997 Universal Interactive Studios, Inc. All rights reserved. Developed by Naughty Dog, Inc. All rights reserved, www.playstation.com

پوب ——

Аа And hat all pumped up and rca

This time, Crash will have to work

3-D environments. He'll fly with a

new characters and he'll face p

obstacles. It won't take long to real

his way through huge, all new

jetpack, surf on a jetboard

and saddle up a polar bear cub. He's got new moves, he'll meet

enty of dangerous new

ize: Only the strong survive.

-

PlayStation

January 1998

А Раубгайоп (е)

(IICA

Previous work from our cover artist, Tomotake-san.

hat will the New Year bring? Prosperity? Doom? Lost Christmas presents? Nobody knows. | guess that’s why the New Year is so exciting and mysterious. It’s thoughts like these that bring me to wonder what can be expected from the PlayStation this year. They say the best way to predict the future is to study the past. So a quick retrospec- tive look at the state of games that have graced the PS so far seems like the right place to start. Looking back at early titles like Ridge Racer and Battle Arena Toshinden, it becomes easier to see improvements in both the quality of gameplay and graphics within the two genres these games represent. One look at games like Rage Racer, Soul Blade, Moto Racer and Bushido Blade is certainly enough to convince PS owners that the best is yet to come. Are developers handicapped by the limits of the hardware? Has the Sony console reached its peak performance? Questions like these have dogged the PlayStation ever since its release. From what I’ve seen of some of the titles we are expecting in the first half of this year, it’s safe to say that new tricks are still being performed on the PS. Tekken 3 from Namco will be the company’s second attempt at converting a system 12 coin-op onto the PS (the first was Time Crisis). It will set standards in fighting game graphics (complementing the excellent gameplay engine) if the PS rev looks anything like the arcade version. GT: Grand Turismo sports some of the most realistic lighting effects ever seen in a home console racing game. Parasite Eve will combine CG cinemas by some of Hollywood’s best with a Resident Evil/RPG-style game programmed by Square in Japan. That’s just the stuff І can tell you about. For a look at what is sure to be one of the biggest games of 1998, check out our Resident Evil 2 super feature which starts on page 98. Indeed, the New Year should continue to bring quite a lot of happiness and enjoyment for gamers everywhere. You're already off to a good start by reading this great mag.

Wataru Maruyama

Official

PlayStation

Magazine PUBLISHER

Jonathan Lane

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

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Junior Astronaut

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ZIFF-DAVIS CONSUMER MEDIA GROUP Lawrence C. Burstein, President Randy Cohen, Exec. Dir. Marketing & Research Tedd Speck, Associate Research Director Francesca Koe, Creative Services Manager Cynthia Mason, Business Manager

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ISSN #1094-6683) is published monthly by Ziff-Davis Inc., 1920 Highland Ave., 2nd Floor, Lombard, IL 60148. Single issue rates: $7.99. Subscription rates: One year (12 issues) $49.97 US, $65.97 all other countries. Subscription service questions and address changes—write to: Official PlayStation Magazine, PO Box 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. To call in the U.S.: (303)665-8930, Fax: (303)604.7455. АП other countries: (303)604- 7445, Fax: (303)604-0540. We periodically make lists of our customers available to mailer of goods and ser- vices. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please write to us and include a copy of your mai ing tabel. The editors and publishers are not responsible for unsolicited materials, Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record- L^ or otherwise) without the pior written notice of Ziff-Davis Inc. Copyright © 1997, Ziff-Davis Inc. All Rights Reserved. TM & © for all other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respec- tive trademark and copyright holders. All materials in this magazine are subject fo change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes, The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed in the USA.

Playstation —

ZIFF-DAVIS INC. CHAIRMAN AND CEO Eric Hippeau

President Ronni Sonnenberg President, U.S. Publications Claude Sheer President, Interactive Media Jeffrey Ballowe and Development Group

President, ZD Brand and Terri Holbrooke Mai roup

rket е President, Computer Bob Brown Intelligence President, Training and William Rosenthal Support Publishing Group а еә Vice President, Rayna Brown Human Resources

Feeling

Vice President, Steve Gladyszewski Information Systems

Vice Presiden: General J. Malcolm Morris апа Secretary Vice President, Controller Mark Moyer Сме СВ ВИ: Timothy O'Brien ө Vice President, Planning Daryl R. Otte Treasurer Thomas L. Wright U.S. Publications Group ө President, U.S. Publications Claude Sheer

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Director, ZD Labs Mark Hall Director, Benchmark Operation Bill Catchings

Finally there’s an instant way to get the latest gaming

President Jeffrey Ballowe

information and interact with the game editors at EGM 5 EGM Executive Vice President David Shnaider

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LATEST NEWS 6 GAMING GOSSIP Vice President, ZDTV Richard Fisher

Listen to the Q-Mann for the hottest news in the industry! price e con

ice President, James Savage General MARS Bee DON 9

REVIEW. CREW Edi! prial Director, Bill Machrone ЕСМ? Review Crew cuts loose with their trademark ZD Brand and Market Group

no-holds-barred reviews! President, ZD Brand and Terri Holbrooke 5 Market Group

SPEAK YOUR MIND Presken, apps Bob Brown

Tell us your reviews or strategies, then read 'ет online— Vice President, 20 Brand Herb Stern or тау е емеп іп the next EGM and ЕСМА Vice President, 20 Research Elda Vale

Director, Corporate Relations Gregory Jarboe

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without using snail mail or the Internet!

Marketing

Ziff-Dayis Media Network хесийме Directors

Coe

Jeff Bruce Scott Murphy

EGM? ELECTRONIC Managing Director Ria Burke Directors Ken Beach GAMING сте.

ап jelinda Maginn

MONTHLY Associate Network Directors Ben Коку ie Тисі Be sure to get your parents’ permission to use ЕСМ Talkline if you are under 18 years Ziff-Davis Inc. маи of age. Make sure you have a touch-tone phone. Messages subject to change А SOFTBANK Company

without notice. A service of EGM and EGM’.

А MATCH BOX? THAT'S ALL THE! LEFT OF HIS SISTER.

L; ER J SCORE WASN'T VENGEANCE, IT WAS SIMPLE JUSTICE.

“G Ройсе...опе ot the most amazing-looking titles ever seen оп the PlayStation.”

— ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY You are Jeff Slater, 21st Century cop. 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.

A FI , BLACK, WITH ENOUGH FIREPOWER TO TAKE OUT THE ENTIRE DOME,

m is

е PlayStation:

ZN

.gpolice.com

Laugh while you frag, from Hollywood to ощегврасе!

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

An all-out overload of non-stop carnage!

[4 ат,

DUKE NUKEM: TOTAL) MELTDOWN

Duke’s in town. And there’s nothing he hates поғе Пап

an army of alien punks crowding his spaces J4 levels

of freak-smashing 3D mayhem should see td it.

Gigantic guns! Gruesome enemies! Total interaction! - їп all-outqevastation! Dont mess with The Man! ~ оз( Sas Ее. а

Кам 77; N-A

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PlayStation

Duke Nukem Tota}, Meltdown" ©1996, 1997 3D Realms. All Rights Reserved. Duke Nukem 64™ `©1996,1997 3D Realms. All Ша Reserved. GT is a trademark dnd the GT Logo is a registered. { Шацетагк of 6T reactive: Softmgre Corp. Nintendo, the Official Seal, the 30 ^ti" Logo and N64 are trademarks of Nintendo of America, Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation Logo are. trademarks of = i Son Computer Ene inpeniln Al other trademarks ab e properly of their respective compares: — 147 Ve ` LA ^

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From L.A. to the moon - 32 towering levels of

10050 REEVE carnage! Оп film sets, in bars, оп maving зопугауз. huttzugly alien ts sate from the Wrath CL Duke! Grenade Launchers. Shrink Rays: Hardcore 3D action. And graphics to kill tor!

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GT Interactive Software ез

@ Colony Wars

TII ‚ӨӨӨ азо

PlayStation

| PlayStation Top 20

inal Fantasy VII

| hold steady at num- bers one and two, Î while Madden falls

Bushido Blade 2 /

A sequel to the unusual fighting sim Ex is already in the | works. Check out our International

E -(67

\ | 7 Masters of Terás Kasi

5) Read our two-page * № H review of one of 3 the most unusual Star Wars titles ever to see the PlayStation.

Gary Mollohan takes a nice, close look at what will surely be this year's most gruesome adventure.

Our Tomb Raider 2 strategy throws off all the fluff and

E 1 heads straight for Sif $ the game's most A f да! ult challenges.

PS news................

Sony teams up with Pepsi for a unique marketing campaign, and ASC's Ten Pin Alley is inducted into the bowling Hall of Fame.

letters...............

A reader writes in to express his support for a translation of the Japanese hit Tobal 2, and other readers tell us their concerns.

Р / previews.....................

гдето disc

i Hop to it with Frogger, or hit the road with CART World Series.

US. previews

Ninja, Elric and Vigilante 8 are featured this month.

international Sony's new Dual

Shock analog controller hits Japan.

Honest, no-holds-barred reviews of Tomb Raider 2, Alundra, Colony Wars, Ghost in the Shell and much more.

Our 12-page walk-through will help you smooth out all the rough spots on every one of Tomb Raider 25 16 levels.

Check out the latest collection of naughty cheats for Pandemonium 2, Nightmare Creatures, Marvel Super Heroes and even Final Fantasy VII!

Ре...

The Force is with Tiger Electronics, as we feature a number of new Star Wars- licensed electronic gadgets.

Кабана

ELIT

INFOGRAMES

iji vey

Pw

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PlayStation

1 of these THREE CARS

YOU RATHER be DRIVING2

Need For Speed and Electronic Arts are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts in the U.S. and/or other countries. V-Rally, INFOGRAMES MULTIMEDIA and the

nı and logos present in the game,

е reproduced and used with the formal authorization of the owners. Company names, logos, and trademarks are protected by Intellectual Property Rights.

| AS YOU CAN SEE (SORTOF), NEED FOR SPEED HAS GONE DOWN AND DIRTY. e^ E m mj 7 E y IN NEED FOR SPEED V-RALLY YOU CHOOSE FROM 11 WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP CARS. THEN YOU SLUG IT OUT DAY OR NIGHT OVER 42 PERILOUSLY LIFE-LIKE, GRITTY OFF-ROAD TRACKS. SNOW. RAIN. FOG. AND IF YOURE LUCKY, BLISTERING HOT SUN ROUND OUT THIS BRUTALLY RAW JOURNEY. BRING SOAR

ELECTRONIC ARTS www.ea.com

INFOGRAMES logo a Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment America for use with the PlayStation game console. P

$ MULTIMEDIA. Software © Infogrames Multimedia 1997. All vehicles, company names, trademarks ks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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

Video Game Hits the 7-10 Split

Proving that a slap on the back can come from unexpected places, ASC’s Ten Pin Alley bowling game was recently inducted into the historic halls of the St. Louis Landmark by the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame. This is the first time a video game has been recognized for such an honor since the inductees are usually professional athletes. “It’s a true privilege to have Ten Pin Alley enshrined in the International Bowling Museum and Hall

of Fame,” stated David Klein, president and COO of ASC Games. “We wanted

to create a game that simulated the

total bowling experience, capturing all

the subtle nuances of America’s #1. indoor participation sport, so that it could be appreciated and enjoyed by bowlers and non-bowlers alike.

hat better way to promote the decay of young minds through video games than to team up with drinks and food that decay young teeth?

Sony Computer Entertainment America recently announced that it's teaming up with Pepsi-Cola and Post Cereals for two nation-

wide promotional campaigns featuring PlayStation games and characters. The promotions 3 are part of SCEA’s SS $100 million market- ing campaign to pro- mote the system and its game library. Pepsi beverages will feature PlayStation characters on their packaging, including Final Fantasy МП, NCAA GameBreaker '98 and Jet Moto 2. In addition, Sony and Pepsi are sending 5,000 interactive kiosks nationwide so " people can check out these PlayStation games as they shop. Post Cereals will feature Crash Bandicoot on more than 33 million boxes of Golden Crisp, Alpha-Bits, Marshmallow Alpha-Bits, Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles, Waffle Crisp, Honeycomb and Frosted Shredded Wheat. Each box has

LEGENDARY HALL OF FAME BOWLER Dick WEBER WAS KNOCKED OUT BY THE TEN PIN ALLEY EXPERIENCE...LITERALLY.

CHARACTERS LIKE CLOUD FROM FINAL FANTASY VII WILL BE GRACING THE BOXES OF VARIOUS CONSUMABLE ITEMS IN YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD GROCERY STORE.

a coupon inside good for $5 off the original Crash or Crash 2. These promotions are also backed up by two others—a PlayStation truck will make appearances at sporting events, concerts and festivals, and the Ultimate PlayStation Video Game Search gives kids

a chance to win a $10,000 savings bond. Kids eight and under will be asked to draw their dream PlayStation game, and kids ages nine through 17 will be asked to describe their dream PlayStation game in 25 words

or less. The Ultimate Video Game Search

is touring malls across the country. The promotion runs through Dec. 31 so hurry

up and get to the mall!

Eidos Interactive and Top Cow Productions have announced a special one-shot comic teaming up Lara Croft, star of Tomb Raider 1 and 2 with Top Cow’s Witchblade character.

The art will be provided by regular Witchblade penciler, Michael Turner. Details have not been made available about the content of the story, but the release date of the comic book has. The comic will be available at around the same time of Tomb Raider 2’s release which means

NOW. Top Cow and Eidos first collaborated on

a project when Marc Silvestri (head of Top Cow)

created the main characters for Fighting Force.

Have you ever thought that you should be in video games? | don't mean the program- ming or 3-D art side, but rather inside the game itself. You can get your chance by looking under the caps of specially marked Mello Yello 20-0z., 1-liter and 2-liter bottles. In addition to the three grand

Get your Ugly Mug in an EA Game

bottle will include a $10 discount off EA video games. “This promotion provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for teenagers who have always dreamed of playing \ video games from the other side of the screen,” said Frank P. Bifulco, vice president, marketing, Coca-Cola USA, which markets Mello Yello.

Industry

prizes, you also

have a chance to

win EA games like Need for Speed

Il, Moto Racer i and Road Rash

as well as free

20-0г. bottles of | Mello Yello. In | addition, each

AER

E»

Glasstron coming to the States

Sony Electronics has recently announced they will be bringing out the Sony Glasstron for domestic release. The Glasstron is a head-mounted viewing device that can be hooked up to everything from your VCR to your Sony PlayStation. There is also an optional TV tuner as

well as battery packs for a portable monitor on the go! OPM readers will notice that we covered the Glasstron as an import from Japan in our November issue. It looks like the big wigs are paying attention to our sharp eye.

EDITOR JOE RYBICKI Is TOO SEXY FOR THESE GOGGLES... SO SEXY IT HURTS.

This continues the growing link of software and soft drinks that seems to be on the rise.

50 Million Discs and Counting

Sony recently reached a milestone by pressing its 50 millionth PlayStation disc. The combina- tion of 35 mil- lion PlayStation games and countless sam- pler discs have helped Sony crank out the big production num- bers. Final Fantasy Vil had the honors of being the game that put them over the hump.

Top Bands Featured on Test Drive 4

Accolade has announced the inclu- sion of the groups Orbital and The Younger, Younger 285 into the soundtrack of their game

Test Drive 4. The featured songs, “Out There Somewhere Part 2” by Orbital and “Here | Come” and “Keep the Beat” by the Younger, Younger 28's are both

LOOK AT ALL THE Jookv...ER, | MEAN, MELLO YELLO STUFF YOU CAN WIN!

A PLAQUE COMMEMORATING THE ACHIEVEMENT WAS PRESENTED TO THE FOLKS AT SCEA.

SB prominently played through-

0

С f 2: TEST DRIVE S Recs) out the game. Test Drive 4 is in stores now.

E >

PlayStation

January 1998

Official U.S. GM ENS Ае СТӨ,

еаг ОРМ,

Аге you guys planning to put the magazine online? Or is the magazine already online? If the magazine is already online, can | have the address? Your #1 fan MG315@aol.com

You can find info about our magazine as well as other goodies on www. videogamespot. com.

CORRECTION In the Nov. issue,

we reported that

the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the Sony Power Price line will be $34.95 when the MSRP is actually $39.95. Many retail outlets advertised for the lower amount, but that is not the norm. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

we want

your input!

Letters

You write us and here we respond

No Jewels From Sony

Dear OPM,

Great magazine. Definitely an excellent improvement. | especially love the demo discs (who doesn't?), but | was wondering why the discs don't come in a paper slipcase (like other magazines' discs) instead of a plastic wrapper. | find the wrapper easy to rip apart, and the disc falls out quite easily, also. I'm almost tempted to buy extra jewel cases just to keep the discs in, but Га like the reason why you've chosen wrappers instead of the more secure slipcases. (I mean, now you're endorsed by Sony. Couldn't they come up with the money Somehow?) Once again, great improve- ments, but the disc aspect needs some work. R. Barnholt Bellingham, WA

We'd love to hit Sony up for some money for better CD holders, but that's probably not going to happen. Keep your eyes peeled, though, because we're working on special premiums for subscribers which could solve your problems.

Magnificent Magazine

Dear OPM,

Your mag is incredible! And | should know, 1 subscribe to three. And now, after reading one issue for one day, I’m subscribing to four. I'm hooked. Your coverage of PaRappa was not just a peck on the surface, but real sub- stance. A substance that could only come from an official magazine. As Kelly Mummert said in your November issue, “Thanks for writ- ing a mag that is of the same high caliber as the machine it's devoted to." Another thing I should know about, | own five. Basically, | know what I’m doing when it comes to video

Your chance to speak your peace

games. | beat Final Fantasy VII in three weeks, and you have the best publication I’ve seen. Not that the others are bad, they just aren't as thorough. You are good—expen- Sive—but good.

Your disciple,

Sam Yawitz

FSCalandra@aol.com

Where's Golgo 13, eh?

Dear OPM,

First and foremost, | must say what a refreshing change your magazine is! There are several PS magazines out there that just don't have the content, quality and excellent layout that yours does. Bravo, and keep up the excellent work! Next | have two questions for you:

1) Does anyone remem- ber Golgo 13? Was

there any other

games than

Golgo 13: Top

Secret Episode

and the Mafat

Conspiracy? Are there

any Golgo games in the future of the PlayStation? (I hope!) | know he is a fairly popular anime character.

2) If | live in Canada and subscribe to your magazine, do | still get the monthly demo disc? (Please say yes!)

Sincerely,

Neil Paterson

rudi@lara.on.ca

There isn’t much chance at it since it is rumored that the creator of Golgo 13 is very difficult to work with, but you never know. Yes, you will get the disc in Canada.

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

U.S. PlayStation Magazine at the addresses on the next letters page.

5р or e-mails with the heading: PlayStation Magazine suggestions c/o the Official

We can’t wait to hear from you.

MATURE С

Е be, nn, ESRB .

The Sony Computer Entertainment logo is a trademark of Sony Corporation. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Spawn is a registered trademark and The Eternal is a trademark of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. Based on mg ©1997 Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. Game developed by Sony Interactive Studios America. ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. www.playstation.com

ESPECIALLY WHEN -. ES if BELONGS TO P i Eno THE OTHER GUY. .

СО TO HELL. KILL STUFF. LIVE.TO TELL ABOUT IT. MAYBE.

= : TODD MCFARLANE АЕ

t REMOVABLE LIMBS.

+ у + BLO@D-GUSHING, HAND- Exe F y TO-HAIID SLAUGHTER.

fs ~ + SECRETS, MAGIC AND SPECIAL KEYS,

4T. + FIFTEEN CARMAGE-FILLED ОРЕП WORLDS.

+ DOZENS OF BOME-CHILLING 3-П CHARACTERS,

да 4 + ОПЕ CHANCE ІП HELL YOU'LL GET OUT ALIVE.

xc 2

: ж | PlayStation

ra тм

Letters

You write us and here we respond

id you buy a copy of our magazine which did not contain a

demo CD? Simply send the receipt with the name and address of the store plus your phone number and address and we will send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the corre- sponding disc belongs to to ensure you get the right one.

Also, if you have a malfunctioning or nonworking demo disk, call SCEA at 1-800-345-SONY. They will provide instructions to obtain repair/ replacement services. For more information see the first page of our demo disc section.

ways to reach us

Your chance to speak your peace

Grateful Reader

Dear OPM,

I'm extremely happy that the PlayStation has an official magazine that is 100 percent PlayStation. | have only great things to say about this magazine. The layout is superb, the design and articles are fantastic! | have both the October issue (premiere) and the November issue. And | have read them cover to cover. Thanks a million for those great strategy guides for Bushido Blade and Final Fantasy VII. | find the information in them most useful. The section that | look forward to most each month is the “G.e.a.r.” section. It helps keep me up to date with what's new, hot and what's not. You can expect my subscription in the mail soon.

An avid PlayStation fan and supporter, Benjamin Klassen klassenf@telusplanet.net

Revvin for Riven

Dear OPM,

Outstanding. | picked up my first issue of your magazine today (Vol. 1, issue 2). It took six book stores to find it and it was in a Software Etc. store instead. Go figure. Anyway, love the magazine. The game ratings are short, sweet and to the point. | love it. | was reading the Letters section and had a couple of questions. 1. Will games from Japan run on the U.S. PlayStation? 2. Are you going to do a rating on Riven, the sequel to Myst? And do you know if it will require a mouse to play it?

Thank you. Keep up

the excellent work.

Sean Bennett Las Vegas, NV

PlayStation Magazine 1920 Highland Ave. Lombard, IL 60148

If you need to reach us now

630 916 7227

PlayStation

Games from Japan will not run on U.S. systems and vice versa. We will do a rating on Riven as soon as we get our paws on it. There are no games that force you to use a mouse on the PS and I’m sure Riven will not be the first.

Гат Helpful

Dear OPM,

In reference to the reader letter titled “No Heavenly Engage” (Vol. 1, issue 2) there is a way to get the music from the game into another format so that it may be

listened to. Simply connect the PS stereo out (red-and-white RCA) into a recording device (such as cassette or DAT) and, in the case of Soul Blade, go to the BGM test. Press Record on your recorder and press the Circle button to start playback of the music. Simple. | know, you probably don’t want to bother with it, but I just thought you should know there was a solution to the yellow book audio “shortcomings.”

| will write often, and | will try always to be helpful. Jemigi@aol.com P.S. Good issue!

e-mail:

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

Station СТӨ January 1998

Official U.S. ДМ

Official U.S. РК

ow, | totally

forgot about

the incredible Policenaughts and Snatcher. There was talk about their release earlier this year in Japan, but there has been nothing ever since. Not even any com- plaints about their non-U.S. release. Until now. If you want to start an e-mail petition, | will gladly support any efforts. Until then, I'm going to have a little talk with our “friends” at Konami. They give us Suikoden, Vandal Hearts and Castlevania: SotN, but not Policenaughts or Snatchers? OUTRAGEOUS! hongyul@worldnet. att.net

Letters

You write us and here we respond

My Two Cents and a Nickel

Dear OPM, | was skeptical at first to buy your

magazine, but now | think differently. You are

unbiased and intelligent, and you don’t try to glorify Sony or the PlayStation in any way

(they don’t need it anyway). Your format and

everything is perfect and you lack in only a

few areas. Here’s a list of my critiques:

1) Posters. | love good posters.

2) The CD needs to be flashier, with

more games.

3) Don’t print outdated codes, unless

requested.

4) Show some statistics about the

PlayStation, like ratio

of sales compared to Nintendo and Sega.

5) More news.

6) Letter art.

7) Some contests. You are supported by Sony, right?

8) Review some of the best imports in Japan.

9) A listing of the games, and the pages they are featured on.

Now my questions:

1) Will an import game play on my PlayStation?

2) If | had an idea, or a whole bunch of ideas, for a game, what should | do with them?

3) What are the best, or most useful, peripherals for the PlayStation?

Thank you for your time, and expect my

subscription in the mail.

koppc@nsanaples.navy.mil

Answers to suggestions:

1) We love posters too. We had a couple in our last three issues.

2) Иете working on it.

3) It’s an archive. Many new owners do not have these codes.

4) Probably won’t happen.

5) There isn’t that much going on, really.

6) Send some art.

7) Look for some soon.

8) It’s under consideration.

9) Иете working on it.

Answers to questions:

1) No

2) Write them down or you will explode. 3) A good television and a beer.

Your chance to speak your peace

| PlayStation

Extra Translators Wanted?

Dear OPM,

| want to pledge my interest in Tobal 2. | purchased Tobal No. 1 when it came out, and | thought it was a blast. Square really pushed some new boundaries that have already been copied (side-throws in Tekken 3? High frame rate in Toshinden 3?) | was getting really excited for the release of Tobal 2 and the analog controller with the rumble feature. Then what happened? Tobal 2 gets dropped from U.S. release and the analog pad loses the rumble feature on its trip over- seas. All the magazines raved about Tobal 2 and it never got a chance to prove itself in the States. The two reasons | heard for not releasing it here were the limited success of Tobal No. 1 and the fact that Square was too busy translating Final Fantasy VII and other RPGs. Well, now that many magazines have shown support for the game, and Final Fantasy VII is done, why don't they get crack- ing? They proba- bly have made enough money off of FFVII that they could hire some extra peo- ple to help them out in translat- ing. | would appreciate any information on what | can do to get it released here; where | can write to express my support and all that good stuff. Thanks for your time. Daniel Grove Madison, WI

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PlayStation

a) < a Ш 2 < 0)

January 1998

Official U.S. AMENA

[ОШ] Magazine (8)

ey Wat!

You never answered my question about sub- scriptions. | don't want to miss a sin- gle issue. Where do | subscribe? How do | subscribe? Do you think | look good in orange? By the way, | think Clock Tower is not getting a fair review. I'm totally into it! | think it's getting mediocre reviews for the same reason Friday the 13th keeps getting put on the WORST GAME OF ALL TIME lists— nobody played it until the end. Both these games kick ass and it's a shame that patience, like virginity, is a

virtue that is slowly disappearing!

Your friend,

Father Brian O'Toole

You can use one of the subscription cards found in the magazine or you can call (303) 665-8930.

Letters

You write us and here we respond

Your chance to speak your: peace

Alucard-san lives!

Dear OPM,

I'm writing in response to the Japanese art problem that was brought to your attention in the October 1997 issue of your new Official PlayStation Magazine. | bought Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and let me tell you, they did not scrap the Japanese cover art. When you open up the case and take the disc out you will find that under the disc is the original Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Japanese cover art. All they did is move it to the inside part of the case and not on the cover. Either way (whether it's on the inside or outside), it still looks cool!!! Sincerely,

Todd Chedister TChed@juno.com

|

| | | |

PlayStation

Not enough С.е.а.г.

Оеаг ОРМ,

| just wanted to let all of you at OPM know what a great job you are doing. What an amazing magazine...and that’s after only two issues. The covers are not clut- tered like most gaming mags, and the layout is mature, comprehensive and easy to read. | don't feel like I’m reading some kiddie magazine. (No need to mention competitor names!) Kudos to your design team. As far as content goes, you've got all the bases covered as far as | can see. Your Reviews section is great, especially the Pros/Cons box. The PaRappa article was great and Га love to see more like it, not to mention that cover was one of my favorite magazine covers ever. The strategy guides are useful if you have the game (the FFVII guide in #1 was the best), but the Tricks Archive is a valuable section for anyone who (like myself) has only recently bought a PlayStation. The G.e.a.r. section is also fantastic, and I’m sure everyone would like to see it expanded (right every- one?) to more than just four pages. I'd especially like to see more toys—maybe you could do a history of toys based on video games, plus more toys from Japan! The FFVII toys you showed in #1 are great, So let everyone know that there are two new ones out—Vincent Valentine and Sephiroth. Hopefully more are on the way soon. | look forward to getting OPM every month. Keep up the great work. Jason Exum Rogue Trooper@webtv.net

Thanks for the update on the toys, Jason.

Immerse yourself in seven unbelievable fantasy worlds and take on а marrauding metallic battalion of mechanized death machines with your weapon-packed, futuristic assault vehicle. The Shadow Master, an. evil overlord, has gone completely mad, and he will stop at nothing less than total genocide of

anything organic. Through 16 punishing levels, and an endless barrage of spectacular explosive firepower and amazing light: ing effects, you must track the Shadow Master down and make scrap metal of him and his lethal robotic creatures. Shadow Master, the ultimate fantasy shooter.

IN THE

FUTURE, « MACHINES WILL NOT BE USER- FRIENDLY,

5, P5 ТЕЕ

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PlayStation

January 1998

Official U.S. ШЕМЕ СТӨ

Final Fantasy VII

PUBLISHER: SONY GENRE: RPG

Last Момтн: 1 RELEASE DATE: Auc 1997

Continuing its reign at

number one is Square’s unparalleled role-playing epic. If the numbers are any guide, it’ll stay here for a long time to come.

Holding steady at number two is Sony's all-polys-all- the-time update of the PlayStation's first football title. It may drop, however, once GameBreaker arrives.

NASCAR 98

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS

GENRE: RACING

Last Момтн: 5 ВЕ!ЕА$Е Date: Sept 1997

Edging out Madden for the number three spot, the exhaustive NASCAR 98 continues to delight stock car aficionados and Molly Hatchet fans alike.

Madden NFL 98

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS

GENRE: SPORTS

Last Момтн: 3

RELEASE Dare: Дис 1997 Proving the longevity of his video game career, Madden refuses to go down without a fight. He drops one more spot after peaking two months ago at number two.

Resident Evil: Director’s Cut

PUBLISHER: CAPCOM GENRE: ADVENTURE

Last MONTH: 10 RELEASE Date: Sept 1997

In spite of bad press and customer dissatisfaction, Director’s Cut jumps a sur- prising five slots, proving that gamers just can’t get enough of the walking dead.

The best-selling U.S. PlayStation titles as reported by the nation’s top retailers.

sh Bandicoot

PUBLISHER: SONY Last Момтн: 6

GENRE: PLATFORM RELEASE Date: Sept 1996

CS та fay Standing firm just outside of the Тор Five, the original Crash Bandicoot

remains one of Sony’s most interna-

tionally successful titles.

PUBLISHER: SONY Last Момтн: —

GENRE: FIGHTING RELEASE Date: Oct 1997 Square releases one of the only truly original fighting games we’ve seen in a good long time. There’s nothing better than maiming a close friend!

(8 Мога! Кота! Мутпоюотез: ЕЛ

PUBLISHER: MIDWAY Last MONTH: —

GENRE: FIGHTING RELEAsE Dare: OCT 1997 John Tobias’ RPG/platform/fighting title gives gamers a close look into the life of one of the perennial favorites of the MK crew.

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS Last MONTH: 11

GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE Date: Sept 1997 Climbing two spots from last month, NHL continues to be one of the great repeat performers of the sports video gaming world.

(10 Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

PUBLISHER: GT Last Момтн: 9

GENRE: PUZZLE RELEASE Dare: Sept 1997 The strange, yet loveable Mudokon Abe exhibits his characteristic perseverance as he drops just

one spot from last month’s list.

(11@ #, ie PUBLISHER: Sony | Last Момтн: 8

GENRE: RACING RELEASE Dare: Nov 1996 Sony's hysterical Jet Moto 2 ad has people talking about this game's sequel, prompting some to save their cash for its release.

50

PUBLISHER: KONAMI Last Момтн: —

GENRE: PLATFORM RELEASE Date: Oct 1997 Hailed by many as one of the great- est games to come along in awhile, Castlevania finally lets consumers

9 see what all the hype is about.

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 conlonGzd.com

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS LAST MONTH: —

GENRE: ACTION RELEASE Date: Ост 1997 à wanna know what it feels like to hold

Sweaty palms? Nuclear Strike shows that it's fun to blow stuff gp!

[ges Момтн: 4 RELEASE Date: Айс 1997

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONC ARTS GENRE: PLATFORM Dropping 10 spots from last month, The Lost World slides back down somewhere near its initial entry point of three months ago.

15 |

PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS LAST MONTH: 7

GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE Date: AuG 1997 It enjoyed a brief moment at number one, but two months later it’s head- ed for the sidelines. Guess the good players have all graduated.

PUBLISHER: CAPCOM Last Момтн: — GENRE: FIGHTING RELEASE Date: Ост 1997 “Berzerker Barrage!” The long-await- (@ ed home conversion of the Street Fighter-style arcade fighter makes a respectable debut at number 16.

(17 {

PUBLISHER: МАМСО Last Момтн: 12

GENRE: FIGHTING RELEASE Date: Auc 1996

) This one’s been floating around in the middle teens for the past couple of months, remaining a staple fighter of new PlayStation owners.

(18 f PUBLISHER: ACTIVISION Last Момтн: —

GENRE: ADVENTURE RELEASE DATE: Ост 1997 London is burning, and it’s up to a kung-fu monk and a feisty swords- woman to put a stop to the evil Heccate menace once and for all.

(19 |

PUBLISHER: SONY Last Момтн: 15

GENRE: ACTION RELEASE Date: Nov 1996 As one of the three Sony games still in the Top 20 over a year after release, TM2 offers more CARnage than you can shake a spark plug at!

PUBLISHER: Fox INTERACTIVE LAST MONTH: GENRE: PLATFORM RELEASE Date: Oct 1997 Well, it’s not exactly the fabled

“Mario-killer,” but Croc does show that you don’t need 64 Bits to make} a cute, successful 3-D platformer.

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 1 Metal Gear Solid We're hoping for a playable version early this year.

3 Saga Frontier Done with Final Fantasy VII? Square's next RPG is due soon.

5 Gran Tourismo Attendees of September’s Tokyo Game show were wowed by this racer. Messiah Early screenshots show a game with an incredibly unique look.

7 Mace: the Darkening Our readers are always eager for a slick new fighter.

Ultima Collection Readers and editors alike wonder when this classic series will see the PS.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Rumors have been circulating about the first N64-to-PS port.

Editors’ Тор 10

What we’ve been playing instead of working

ic Command & Conquer Red Alert got us in ШЕ the mood for some more realtime strategy.

4 Tomb Raider 2 Joe’s obsessed with trying to drive Lara’s snowmobile off a €

8 Bloody Roar One of the surprises of last

year's E? has made good on its promise.

Frogger Any game that can occupy four edi- tors at once deserves a slot in the Top 10.

^

LE fa THE TERRIFYING SEQUEL То LAST YEAR'S "BEST PLAYSTATION GAME OVERALL."

98. WILL You SURVIVE THE HORROR? CAPCOM E Ж

JANUARY 19

rademarks of Sony Compute

ootball fans who have yet to experience this year’s GameDay should be ashamed of themselves. Nevertheless, for those of you who still haven't had a chance to play this revolutionary football game, we present for your enjoyment a sample of NFL GameDay 98.

Like the Madden demo of а соир!е months back, you don’t get a choice of teams on this one. It’s the Patriots vs. the Packers in a two- minute reprise of last year’s Super Bowl. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t time for some big plays. Hit Start before calling a play and move down to More Options. Here you can set the Clock Speed to Slow and the Game Speed to Fast, giving you the oppor- tunity for the greatest number of plays in the two minutes allotted. Also accessible from the Pause Menu is Customize Game, which allows you to set such variables as Computer 1.0., “tightness” of the physics and Player Size. If you’re

you might want to dumb it down a bit—these are the Packers and the Patriots after all.

If you’re familiar with Madden, you'll want to be careful of the ten-

DEMO DISC PRODUCERS

Jon Мапапап

Gary Barth

Perry Rodgers PRODUCT MANAGER Shelley Ashitomi EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Andrew House

AUDIO

Buzz Burrowes

MUSIC COMPOSITION Nathan Brenholdt TEST MANAGER

Mark Pentek

LEAD TESTERS

Ben Briones

Kenneth Chan

Charles DeLay PROGRAMMING AND INTERFACE ARTWORK BY LIFELIKE PRODUC- TIONS, INC.

Avery Lodato 3-D ARTIST Sonia lvonett PRESIDENT

Tim Edwards

CINEMA DIGITAL IMAGING, INC. PRESIDENT Dave Fisher ANIMATOR

Kurt Rauer

CG MODELLERS Chris Burnbaum Matt Eskew EDITOR

Ryan Ramirez SPECIAL THANKS Karen Borowick David Greenspan Kerry Hopkins

Football

STATS:

Demo disc

NFL GameDay 98

having trouble against the computer,

dency to pass a lot. GameDay is not nearly as forgiving when it comes to passing the ball,

LEAD PROGRAMMER

Katherine Williams TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

CD INTRODUCTION BY

THEME

Football for the new millennium

and you'll find yourself coming up

football, the running game is key.

Luckily, the game includes a huge number of running options to keep things interesting. For instance, if you've got the ball with a defender coming in quick from the side, a well-timed stiff arm will send him reeling and earn you a few extra yards. Or hit the Circle button while running to spin out of the way of attackers.

When passing, try taking contro of the receiver to ditch your cover- age. If it looks like you're not going to make it to the ball in time, hit the Triangle button to jump toward the ball. Experiment with other button combinations to find more o the game's many options. Good luc

THERE REALLY IS TIME TO SCORE. JUST HURRY.

Morrison Postrado Riley R. Russell OPM Demo Disc is published monthly by Sony Computer ainment America

, 919 E. Hillsdale Drive, Foster City, CA 94404. All titles shown herein are trademarks. of and copyrights of their respecti ublishers and/or their licensors. See individual screens for details. (1997 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Please submit all relat- ed demo disc inquiries to: OPM Demo Disc, Inquiries, 919 Е. Hillsdale Drive, Foster City, CA 94404

# OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE AVAILABILITY

1-8 100% Now

A GOAL LINE DEFENSE WORKS

EVEN AWAY FROM 8 THE GOAL LINE.

short more often than not. As in real

PUBLISHER

Son

Sony Computer Ent inment America ( A) warrants to the

of ninety (90) replace, at its option, the SCEA prod uct. You must call 1-800-345-SONY ictions to obtain repair/repla ї services. Thi anty shall not be applicable а shall be void if the di in the SCEA product ha n through abuse, unreasonable use, mistreat: ment, neglect or breakage during shipment. THIS WARRANTY 16 IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATION CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE § BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICA BLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MER- CHANTABILITY AND FITNE: PARTICULAR PURPOSE, А TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDEN: TAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, OR MALFUNCTION OF THE SCEA

Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty. ind/or exclusions or limitations of consequential d: above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This ty gives you and you may also have Sues hts which vary from state to state.

move up

jump/hurdle PAN down move down

change pl./special ¢ ) left move left 'e/tackle | hike/pass/speed X

R1 stiff arm/swim stiff arm/swim L1

R2 juke/forearm deepest man (def.) |2

SISA с

featuring, Hollywood Hogan, "cho Man" Randy Savages " ех Luger, Syxx, Ric Flair, "ng, The Giant, Dean Malenko,

en 1 and many тоге! 0 www.WCWwrestling.com 2 Get beaten by the best! Visit your local retailer or call

818-225-5167 for orders only

=

ony has developed one of the more

complex—and challenging—racing titles

of late; an intricate screamer called CART

World Series. Taking on the personas (not

to mention the sponsorships) of any of a huge number of actual CART league drivers, players can take to the tracks of several unique raceways all across the country.

The track included on the disc is a winding, picturesque track in scenic Lexington, Ohio. Although some tracks are simply basic ovals, the Lexington course has a number of tough turns as well as a fair share of hills and dips. Don’t think you'll be able to just drift through the tight turns. You won't be power sliding here; you'll need to lay on the brake if you want to keep control.

he best-known frog of video gaming has hopped on the 32-Bit consoles with Hasbro's release of Frogger. Full of the same simple gameplay that made the original such a classic, with the addition of some new features, Frogger mixes the old and the new to come up with a charming arcade-style game that appeals to younger players and us nostalgic older folks as well.

Official U.S. ЕРИ ТЕТ Magazine

5 ATS: Platform

DoN'r worry IF YOU LOSE A TIRE; IT'LL GROW BACK.

HUGE LEVELS OFFER MORE CHALLENGE THAN THE ORIGINAL.

Experiment also with the different car configura Ж ШР not used

tions; you might find that a slight change in fin not used VAN

angle or tire grip makes the car easier for you to handle. With this kind of control, finding the rearview || Ө)

perfect setup is basically a matter of taste. brake [Г] right turn right accelerate || X

shift down 11

R2 time/status time/status L2

190 289 185 012 182 569 000 000

ир томе ир

punch/kick WEN

Don't be fooled by the simple circular motions

of the logs and turtles when you first enter the power croak C ) game; they might lead you to think that the level

is a lot smaller than it actually is. Hop on a left move left

drifting log and wait until you come near the tur- й heat-seeking tongue Li

tles. Ride the turtles around, moving from row to row quickly. (Don't stay on a turtle too long, or it right move right superhop —— 7X

will submerge and take you with it!) If you hang

with the turtles long enough, you'll approach the

mainland. Now it's time for a real Frogger-style

flashback: You'll need to head out into traffic! in Eo uso

You won't simply cross the road

this time, however; you have to

head down the highway toward R2 rotate view

the city. rotate view L2 Keep an eye out for

the glowing bugs; nab

'em with your heat-seeking

tongue (the Square button) for

extra time and other surprises.

Remember your Super Hop

when you're in a tight spot!

not used L1

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HIGH SCORE 80600

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Namco Museum Volume 5 are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Ine. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Salvare Association.

his footage of the long-awaited (and oft-delayed)

Spawn: the Eternal, shows several of the unique

J worlds Spawn finds himself in during the course

of the game. In addition to Spawn's present-day costume, you'll also see a couple shots of Savage

Spawn in his primitive surroundings. The final game includes

Medieval Spawn as well.

A bit of trivia: Look closely and you'll notice that Spawn's right leg is covered by a spiked club apparatus which was removed from the final version of the game. See our review on page 76 for more information.

sad CHECK OUT THE GAME'S DETAILED ENVIRONMENTS.

HERE'S FARGUS ON A GOOD DAY.

s if Pandemonium! wasn't strange enough, along comes Pandemonium 2 from Crystal Dynamics and Midway to take players on a truly twisted

2 trip through the darker realms of the subcon- scious and the places where bad things dwell.

You'll notice from the cinema scenes that Nikki, Fargus and Sid have all changed a bit since the last game: Fargus has become more demented, Sid's gained a few new abilities and Nikki...well, Nikki's grown up.

Yes, those are eyeballs Fargus is walking on; and it's not your imagination, they are turning to watch his progress. Other areas in that level include hands which make grasp- ing motions when stepped on, a giant mouth or two ready to swallow the player whole, and huge Fargus heads loom- ing in the background. Keep in mind that the game gets even more bizarre than that. Have a nice trip.

—— — — Official U.S. PlayStation СӨ

Do THOSE BIRDS LOOK FAMILIAR?

К, so you've finished Final Fantasy VII and you're looking for a new challenge. Well, if you're in the mood for more RPG-style adventure, you need look no further than Final Fantasy Tactics, a great game of strategy and conquest in the strategy/RPG style that Vandal Hearts made popular.

You'll see familiar people, places and creatures from the Final Fantasy universe in a game with a visual style all its own. An epic story carries the player through a huge number of turn-based battles executed on large 3-D battle- fields. You'll definitely be hearing more about this one.

Gex: Enter the Gecko

hat sarcastic little lizard has returned in the long-awaited sequel to one of the more unique platform titles of the past few years. This time, Gex is in full 3-D, which raises some truly

interesting possibilities when it comes to his trademark wall-climbing ability.

Some of the levels seen here are the haunted house, the prehistoric jungle and outer space. Each level is designed to be a spoof on a particular movie or film genre. Notice the cute little doll guy chasing Gex around with a knife on the haunted house level. And don’t miss the fact that Gex’s outer-space outfit looks suspiciously like the disposable troops from a certain classic sci-fi trilogy.

Ta Ww (4 71 COMEDIAN Dana

Her nd M А NAAM EL

COMMAND € CONQUER RED ALERT

FOR THE

i WES CA GAME CONS SOLE

2 в е 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 Command & Conquer.

+ "Three game difficulty

5 of close-ups and

* Speci: jesigned interface with completely ud reworked graphics for 3 your Ранар Сате Console.

m N LOAD

ө EREHUENEDUSISSO S www.westwood.com

a PlayStation |

1553

This is what they really mean when they talk ч / about totally immersive gameplay. Take a dip in these sub-infested waters for a spot of nuclear же fishin’. 12 subaquatic psychos want to send you

down and they've got the огрейвев Fay f tt NU ^ a

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PlayStation

©1997 SINGLETRAC Entertainment Technologies, Inc. Twisted Metal, Warhawk and Jet Moto are trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Twisted Metal, Waihawk.and Jet Moto were published by Sony Computer Entertainment America). Critical Depth, SINGLETRAC and the SINGUETRAG logo I6 MNademarks of SINGLETRAC Entertainment Technologies, Inc. PlayStation and the "PlayStation" logo are trademarks of Sony CONGUE Entertainment, Inc. Published and distributed by GT Interactive Software Corp. The GT and the GTGames logus are trademarksand the GT logo is a registered trademark of GT Interactive Software Corp. All other trademarks are the property of thei respeclive companies.

Need a reason to get surround sound? You’

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

eAction/Adventure °Fighting eSports RPG Puzzle/Strategy Platform

Nagano Winter Olympics '98

n a noteworthy licensing

coup, Konami has

obtained the rights to

produce the only official

video game of the 1998 Winter Olympics. Nagano Winter Olympics "98 will include all the major events of this year’s games, giving players a chance to represent the country of their choice in an attempt to bring home the gold.

Events featured in the game include bobsled, luge, downhill skiing, ski jump, snowboarding and even curling. Every aspect of each event is under the player’s control, from the speed and timing of the bobsled launch to the angle, power and hook of the curler’s “rock.” Players can choose to work their way through all events in a simulation of the entire Olympic array, or take each event singly and try to

EVERY MICROSEC- OND COUNTS IN THE DOWNHILL SLALOM. WATCH THOSE TURNS!

ONE OF THE MORE ESOTERIC OLYMPIC SPORTS 15 CURLING. IT MUST BE SEEN ТО BE BELIEVED.

developers placed on the simulation side of the game.

With the exclusive Olympic license, the designers are definitely

beat the world records. Two players can also concentrating on participate, competing against each other or statistical accuracy, as opposed to arcade-style working together for a single country. action. In other words, don’t expect Nagano to The athletes are represented as detailed be another incarnation of the coin-op classic polygonal characters, and the environments Track & Field. Although the outcome of each are statistically accurate down to the smallest event is without question determined by the detail. This serves to emphasize the focus the player, the events are paced to allow for precise

control rather than all-out speed. Still, considering that the Olympic Games never fail to 1/9 generate a huge amount of hoopla, Nagano Winter Olympics "98 should enjoy a certain degree of attention on the Olympic name alone. Fans of winter sports and those look- ing to participate (to some degree, anyway) in the Olympic festivities will want to keep an TOE eye on Nagano. EE пате

STATS SPORTS

е latest on the newest

Hack your way to fame and fortune

t was only a matter of Gauntlet by yourself; you can do ѕог—пої to mention more varied.

even dank, poor- ly lit dungeons. It's not a sur- prise, however, that the game has a more carefully realized environment, since the story is based on the writings of the popular fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Gamers play the part of Elric, the leader of a declining empire, in a struggle against the power of the gods which oppress him. t seems that Elric's beloved Cymoril has been taken from him in a cruel twist of divine whimsy. n the depths of his despair, Elric earns that there is hope for her return: If he can but gather the nine pieces of the Cross of Chaos and place it on er coffin, Cymoril will awaken from her eternal

moment it first became HAND-DRAWN ANIMATED popular. There's a funny CUT SCENES DEVELOP

thing about games which ELRIC'S UNIQUE LOOK draw on enormously

time before the Diablo it, but why would you want to? Whereas Diablo was set primarily clones started hitting Elric, on the other hand, focuses іп very angular dungeons, Elric i the market. This enor- much more carefully on the one- has a more organic, realistic г ELRIC MUST mously successfully multiplayer player aspects of the game. appearance, with locations rang- і TRAVEL TO MANY PC hack-and-slash RPG was And while the PlayStation version ing from normal-looking living Н UNIQUE AREAS IN destined to spawn a number will support two players, the areas to the decks of sailing ves- i HIS QUEST. of look-alikes from the sels, and yes, ! 1 1 1 1 1

popular titles multiplayer version is not

for their inspi- expected to carry the game. Sleep, brought back from

ration, though: Furthermore, Elric's environ- the arms of death by

Sometimes ments are richer and more the heroic deeds of they're better. A lot better. detailed than its PC predeces- her beloved.

Psygnosis' Elric may be the first Diablo spin-off in a long line of spin-offs. But based on what we've seen, it may stand up as the best of the bunch for a long time to come. Consider, for example, that Diablo's One-play- er Mode was generally looked on as signifi- cantly inferior to its Multiplayer Mode. The difference was somewhat akin to playing

With such graphical milestones as WipeOut and Colony Wars under their belts, the. folks at

Learning of this possi- bility, Elric sets out imme- diately to retrieve the pieces of the Cross. Now he must hack his way through nine huge levels, battling all manner of beasts, avoiding traps and solving puzzles which prevent him from continuing on his quest.

Unfortunately, Elric’s evil brother is attempting to block his progress, for reasons not entirely clear to Elric—at least at the start of his quest. Rest assured, however, that as the story unfolds some very interesting information surfaces about Elric’s relationship to Cymoril, and his brother's involvement in it all, as well.

Like in a conventional RPG, Elric begins with simple weapons, armor and magic ability. As he progresses through the levels, however, he finds new, more deadly

Moody, lightsourced dungeons create a feeling of enormous space while maintaining the classic fantasy feel. An unusu- al graphic style, however, appears

to keep things fresh and interesting.

EACH AREA IS UNIQUE, FIGHTING THE MONOTONY FOUND IN some RPGs.

weapons; stronger armor; and more powerful magic runes to aid his mystical incantations.

The game seems to have more of an arcade feel to it than other action RPGs. Elric is forced to jump and run to avoid the many traps and other obstacles which plague him. This places an even greater emphasis on the action side of the game. Also, Elric's visual style has far more personality than, say, Diablo. With a ightly lighter feel, the game almost seems to be an interactive cartoon, forsak- ing the claustro- phobic dungeon cliché in favor of more open spaces and varied environments. The animated cinematic cut scenes help to underscore the graphical personality.

Given the success of such action RPGs as Legacy of Kain—not to mention the popularity of Моогсоск 8 fantasy series—Elric is certain to generate a lot of buzz right from the start. Whether the game delivers, however, is a matter for our

о

reviewers to tackle.

= ص

In Elric’s world, magic is the key to everything...

Elric places equal emphasis on magic and hand-to-hand combat. The game’s magic system is based on runes which must be collected and equipped in order to cast increasingly powerful spells.

Of course, the enemies get more powerful as well, which balances things out a bit. Nearly every spell is accompanied by some spectacular special effects, with flames leaping out to sear the enemy and lightning bolts which snap, crackle and pop, light- ing the environ- ment around them as they move. The more powerful spells, of course, are more draining on the caster, but the reward is some truly spectacular visual effects. Beware, however: Some enemies can cast magic as well, and Elric’s energy might be better kept in reserve and used only as a defensive measure.

THE RING OF FIRE IS ONLY ONE OF THE GAME’S MANY SPELLS. IT DOES INCREDI- BLE DAMAGE TO ANY CAUGHT WITHIN.

е latest on the newest

Vigilante 8

ation owners, you should have had a V-8

ctivision is taking a shot at automobile hated “pop-up” combat with the release of Vigilante 8 problem), retains in March. With a distinctive look and a basic landscape hearty dose of retro style, the game should features even at appeal to those looking for a slightly more great distances, irreverent update to the genre that Twisted and simply adds Metal made famous. graphical detail Followers of the PC gaming scene may find as the landmarks LiGHT-SOURCING this scenario particularly familiar: Activision is move closer. This AND OTHER the company responsible for the exceptionally gives the game a “foggy” look which is strangely GRAPHICAL TRICKS groovy auto-combat hit, Interstate 76. In fact, reminiscent of an N64 title. Copious use of MAKE THESE when we first saw Vigilante 8 in action, it was technical tricks like lens flare and environment HUGE EXPLOSIONS identified as “Interstate '75." However, although mapping (where you see a reflection of the envi- APPEALING ON the game was originally conceived as a sequel ronment on a shiny object as it moves about) THE AESTHETIC add to the graphic style. LEVEL AS WELL

The story itself is fairly simple: AS THE VISCERAL. Two rival gangs are competing for dominion of the American Southwest. Armed with souped-up muscle cars equipped with high- tech weaponry, the player must compete in a number of large off- road arenas in an attempt to oblit- erate the opposing gang members. The arenas are modeled after real locations, such as Hoover Dam and the snowy slopes of the Rockies. Furthermore, the environment is highly interactive; players can destroy scenery as easily as they destroy their opponents, and in some cases even actually deform the terrain itself.

Although it’s hard to deny comparisons

January 1998

TWO PLAYERS CAN COMPETE VIA A SPLIT SCREEN, WHICH CAN BE SET TO EITHER HOR- IZONTAL OR VERTICAL.

Official U.S. ШЕКТЕ agazine ($)

of sorts, Activision decided that the changes between Vigilante 8 and the made in developing the PlayStation version Twisted Metal series, V8 does made the game different enough from the PC appear to include a number of hit to warrant an entirely new name. features that some found lack-

The first thing players will notice about V8 is ing in Twisted Metal. Its unique the unique look. The graphics engine, instead of look and "705 flair undoubtedly drawing in the fundamental landscape features earn V8 the right to be

at a given distance (which causes the much- examined on its own merits.

STATS: ACTION та CON ene Фада

ү. Between the Worlds of Lig

Between the State of Conscious

"a

ae Our paret ge ЛГ"

uter Entertainment Inc. "ALUNDRA" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., licensed by Working Designs. Original Game © Sony

ie PlayStation logos are trademarks of Somputer Entertainment Inc./Matrix 1997. English Translation © Working Designs 1997. "Working Designs" is a registered trademark of Working Designs, Inc. All rights reserved. Landstalker is a trademark of SEGA Enterprises, LTD. Combatting wetness, one dream at a time! For a dealer near you, call (916) 243-3417. Call 1-800-771-3772 for Game Rating Information.

he latest on the newest

Power Soccer 2

Ithough far from the most popular team sport here in the U.S., soccer is practically a religion elsewhere around the globe. Not surprising- ly, European developer Psygnosis has added a host of improvements to their third PlayStation soccer sim, Power Soccer 2.

So why is their third soccer sim entitled Power Soccer 2, you ask? Well, Psygnosis released an enhanced ver- sion of Adidas Power Soccer called Adidas Power Soccer International, which added

THE COMPUTER 15 BRUTAL IN ARCADE МОРЕ, AS SHOWN BY THIS FLYING KARATE KICK REPLAY SEQUENCE.

злошноо W

А TRAINING MODE most scrupu-

roughly 100 international ALLOWS PLAYERS TO lously accurate teams as well as more LEARN ALL THE MOVES. action you'll tournament ever see па options to à video game, the developers really let the already Wh y their hair down for Power Soccer 2’s new excellent e. Arcade Mode, which basically throws the Soccer sim. É rule book out the window, allowing players а While ч to perform a variety of outlandish moves, = Psygnosis such as flying karate kicks to the heads 5 dropped the Adidas of their opponents! Gamers can combine 5 license for Power moves by Soccer 2, the game is a pre-pro-

full-blown sequel rather than gramming an update. The new game them as engine delivers roughly twice as they would

in a fighting game. In addition to the improved colors, the programming wizards at Psygnosis found their way around the PlayStation’s perspective correction bug to improve the look of the pitch. Even more impressive, all of the scenery around each of Power Soccer 2's eight stadiums is now 3-D! In contrast, most football or baseball titles have 2-D scenery, if any at all.

In addition to sampled crowd responses and chants, Psygnosis also crammed in 17 different music tracks that range from techno to rock to funk.

On the downside, you still can’t con- trol the goalies, but maybe Psygnosis will correct that for Power Soccer 3.

many frames of motion-captured animation in addition to 32,000 on- screen colors, making Power Soccer 2 one of the most vibrant PlayStation titles ever.

Although Power Soccer 25 Simulation Mode has some of the

Official U.S. МИЕ еи agazine ( Е)

IER

OSIS

ще PSYGNOSIS

E PLAYS TATION” GAME СТО NSO LE

READY TO WEAR

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takes peripherals to a “ The coveted Glove whole new level. " is a truly revolutionary - Next Generation " heave controlor, £ Online 1997's most - PSM PlayStation unique October 1997 м PlayStation" peripheral." Е МЫСЕ 100% Compatible January 1998 with the Standard Controller for the з Ў, PlayStation™ D, Game Console 3i Digital, Analog, and | Simulated Analog < Modes ۹ м Intuitive, Natural NN Wrist Motion NS р Controls On Screen M Adion Arcade Style Button Layout

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Presenting Masters of Teràs 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 т

Us. 04

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иб © 197 шок Lt. and LozastsEnteinmet Company. AL Rights Reserve, Star Wars and the Шказм go apie trademarks; and Masters of eis Kia trademark ot Lucas Lt, usd unger uhr. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Ic.

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January 1998

Official U.S. (EM ТЕТЕ Magazine( 7)

е latest on the newest

Klonoa

A lighthearted romp through a cartoon world

amco is hard at work on the U.S. transla- tion of their recent Japanese platformer, Klonoa. Using the now-popular “two-and- a-half-dimension” platform format that Pandemonium! made famous, Klonoa presents a refreshing twist on the platform genre.

“Twist” is an especially appropriate term in this case; the game's levels are intricate mazes of intertwining platforms and doorways. With multiple paths from which to choose, the player must navigate through the large levels with care, often returning to cer- tain areas repeatedly in order to solve one of the game's many puzzles. The levels are segmented with the use of locked doors, most of which can only be opened with a key located in a hard-to-reach area. This divides the game’s 27-plus levels (nine worlds with three stages each) into even smaller bits which offer

СИТЕ FULL- MOTION ANIMA- TION SEQUENCES EXHIBIT NAMCO’S CINEMATIC FLAIR.

quick double jump, or can be thrown at other enemies to remove a threat.

The levels are col- orful and varied, with more shaded polygons than intricate tex- ture-maps. This gives the game a clean, simple look that should appeal especially

dozens of challenges, with frequent mileposts to younger players—although it will doubtlessly with which to mark the gamer’s passage. appeal equally to those of us who grow weary of Players take the role of a small feline hero the overuse of sloppily joined texture-maps. The with a few remarkable abilities. With the aid of variation in levels keeps the action moving; one giant flapping ears, he can hover for a few level, for example, sends players on a head-on- moments in the air, which can be indispensable perspective roller-coaster ride through a dark when attempting to avoid a string of enemies. cavern, while another consists of moving plat-

When enemies cannot be avoided, however, our forms which are knocked from one location to hero can pick them up another with giant wooden mallets. (most of them, anyway) Air vents, conveyor belts and

and either hurl them to propeller-headed enemies present their doom or put them additional unique means of to better use: They can transportation.

be used to shove off of If the platform while jumping, giving a stylings of Pandemonium! or Spider drew you in, but you're yearning for something a lit- tle more upbeat, COLORFUL POLYGONAL then you'll definitely ENVIRONMENTS GIVE KLoNoA want to watch for

A LIGHTHEARTED FEEL. Klonoa when it travels Stateside later this year.

` -Fhirst yr ULTIMATE т?

Get the scoop on all the cool PlayStation" videogames Pepsi has to offer by hitting WwW.pepsi.com. You could win your own PlayStation™ Game Center, a PlayStation™ game console or PlayStation™ videogames, just by entering at the Web site. Plus, find out how to get a $5 coupon or win free PlayStation" videogames when you purchase specially marked packages of Pepsi. Get your hands ona Pepsi. Get your hands on the games.

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

Official U.S. Ga кү ө] СТӨ

f you like gun games but are turned

off by high levels of violence, Namco’s

Point Blank is the game for you.

Like Time Crisis, Point Blank utilizes Namco's Guncon, which, quite simply, is the most accurate light gun ever available for home use. All similarities to Time Crisis, however, end there. Point Blank is a lighthearted arcade conversion in the same vein as Nintendo's Duck Hunt. Rather than embarking on one big mission, the gamer must play through scores of entertaining minigames. Among other things, you'll be shooting apples off of people's heads,

blasting falling meteorites and disintegrating flying skeet. Some missions require you to shoot

Hogan's Alley-style cut-outs of human figures, but it never gets more violent than that.

In addition to Arcade Mode, Point a Blank’s special Arrange Mode contains four additional modes of play—Training, Special, Party Play and Quest Mode, in which the player guides two hapless explorers across a hazard-filled island in search of treasure.

Shop Assistant — "With this Shot gun. you can easily shoot smaller target

PLAYERS MUST SHOOT THE TARGETS OF THEIR COLOR.

: THEME * SHOOTING

STAT

onami’s NBA In The Zone 98 delivers the kind of action only a third- generation 32-Bit sports title can deliver.

You want such nuances as signa- ture dunks, behind-the-back drib- bling and no-look passing? You got "ет. Want a wealth of play options and a full 12-man roster? They're in there.

In NBA In The Zone 98, players will be able to guide their favorite team through an entire NBA

CHOOSE FROM A VARIETY OF CAMERA ANGLES.

season, including the playoffs and finals.

Through In The Zone 98's player editor, you can even put yourself in the game. With all-new motion- captured moves, you'll look so good, shoe companies may start calling. And thanks to In The Zone 98's unlimited trading, you can even put yourself on your own dream team.

One interesting side note is that NBA In The Zone 98 is the first sports title Konami is simul- taneously developing for both the PlayStation and the N64. How will a third-generation PlayStation sports game stack up against a first-generation N64 title? We're as interested as you to learn the answer to that one.

FREE THROWS ARE FAR FROM FREE IN THE GAME.

SCII is giving PlayStation owners a taste Hand-drawn cinematic cut scenes of a classic Genesis strategy/RPG with advance the game's story, and the

the release of Master of Monsters. battles themselves are punctu- The game is comparable to a game ated by new graphic effects like Ogre Battle, with players travelling which put the 32-Bit version across a largely 2-D landscape and encountering head and shoulders above the various enemies along the way. 16-Bit. Watch for this one on

Unlike Ogre Battle, however, combat store shelves soon. is resolved by the players summoning monsters to conduct their battles for them. Each type of Master has his or her own special abilities, making the choice of character very important when it comes

to the game's key battles. der Я [ Г d # OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER DEVELOPER 1ST QTR 98

8 е ·

ENCHES.

‘The downside:

THE pose

T. salt spray hits your lips as you look Y into the deep blue. The frigate creaks and

the plank bobs. Will this be the end?

е

Welcome to Shipwreckers! Life on the high seas at its swashbuckling best. Wield flame throwers and hurl lightning bolts as you man

cannons and command great vessels under the

Jolly Roger. Battle one to five other players.

The rewards are great, the puzzles daunting

E а and the excitement high—just watch your step.

The plank is a cruel mistress.

osis.com and enter the „Гы Sweepstik

"PlayStation" are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.

*HQ is bring-

ing the hit

PC adventure

Circle of Blood

to the PlayStation under the name Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars. The game takes an Indiana Jones-style story of history and intrigue and presents it with the flair of a classic animated film.

Gamers play the part of an American traveller named George Stobbard. On a trip to France, George becomes involved in an international plot to recover a medieval manuscript believed to have ties to the mysterious religious order known as the Knights Templar.

January 1998

GEORGE STOBBARD FINDS HIMSELF TRAVELLING ALL OVER THE WORLD TO SOLVE THE GREAT MYSTERY.

Oi Magazine (2)

The story of the Knights Templar is a fascinating one. According to historical accounts, shortly after the First Crusade, an order of warrior monks came forward to defend the pilgrimage routes between Europe and the recently reclaimed Jerusalem. Consisting of only nine men, these religious knights success-

Official U.S. QMEN

e latest on the newest

Broken Sword

Is it fiction, or is it history?

" 2 гав = REAL-WORLD LOCATIONS ARE

fully protected FOUND THROUGHOUT THE GAME.

pilgrims to the Holy Land for years before their popularity—and therefore their numbers—grew. After the group was officially recognized by the Pope as the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or the Knights Templar, they began receiving large grants of money and land to support the organization (in fact, they are rec- ognized as the fathers of our current banking system). They also became the wardens of many priceless religious relics, such as the Holy Grail, the Crown of Thorns and the head of John the Baptist.

The order enjoyed recognition and prominence for nearly three centuries, until 1307, when the French King Philip IV, seeking retribution for being denied membership into the order, had the Knights Templar officially condemned as heretics and disbanded. When this occurred, however, the Knights, their fleet, the holy relics and all their treasure simply disappeared. Their location remains a mystery to this day.

With such a compelling back story, it’s not hard to overlook the graphic quality of the game. This would be a mistake, however, since the developers include a team of animators and artists formerly in the employ of Don Bluth and Disney. Using an array of technical feats, the designers have created what is in essence a truly interactive animated film in the classic Disney style.

RICHLY DETAILED, SCROLLING ENVI-

RONMENTS HIGH-

LIGHT THE GAME'S GRAPHIC STYLE.

ESAS [ DE тсс:

REVOLUTION

ы тт

HDS TO ADULTS

th

IT’S A SIMPLE PROPOSITION, REALLY. JUST USE THOSE STRATEGIC POWERS IN THAT NOG- GIN OF YOURS TO OUTSMART AND DESTROY THE HUMORLESS GEOMETRIC BLOCKS AS THEY COME CRASHING TOWARD YOU. OR BE SQUASHED LIKE A POTATO CHIP. YOU MIGHT ALSO FIND YOURSELF CAREENING OFF THE END OF THE UNIVERSE. IS IT ANY WONDER YOU’LL KEEP COMING BACK FOR MORE?

PlayStation

Intelligent omm

» Only on PlayStation.

PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Intelligent Qube is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©1997 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. www.playstation.com

March Madness 98 ЕЖ

A Sports is finally adding a college } basketball game to their exhaustive — lineup of sports titles for the PS

with the release of March Madness 98. Based on the compa- ny's hit NBA Live engine, March

et in a post-apocalyptic future, Forsaken allows the player to assume the role of an off-world scavenger who has returned to a decimated planet Earth to forage for weapons and other valuables.

The action is highly reminiscent of the PC classic, Descent, which received a less than auspicious PlayStation translation a couple of years ago. So far, Forsaken seems to be looking much better. Even in Two-Player Split-Screen Mode, Forsaken maintains a high frame rate, and

# OF

STATS: ACTION

Don't get mad—get March Madness!

Madness will feature all the options that make college ball so spectacular.

Mode like the one found in NCAA Football 98,

% COMPLETE ) | AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER DEVELOPER 10R2 80%

Exhibition Season

м Tournament Rosters

‘User Stats

Options Exit

For example, the game will include a Dynasty

which allows players to manage a team over the course of several years. The game also includes an innovative “momentum meter,” which gives players an extra boost when the game is going in their favor.

With loads of accurate arenas, all the best college teams and even some school fight songs, March

Madness 98 is sure to delight the heretofore slighted fans of college football. Check it out this February.

Hoop IT UP WITH UP TO SEVEN FRIE

/ Hkc- SOURCED EXPLO- SIONS LIGHT YOUR WAY.

the game is filled with transparencies and screen-filling explosions.

To give each of Forsaken’s 15 levels an original look, Probe made the unusual move of utilizing three separate level design teams. Working in isolation from the others, each team was responsible for creating five levels. We haven’t seen enough of the game to judge whether or not the experiment was a success, but we applaud Probe’s originality.

Acclaim assures us Forsaken will be analog compatible for silky-smooth control.

DEATHMATCH A FRIEND IN THE TWO-PLAYER MODE.

Official U.S. M Ж Т И Magazine (8)

PlayStation owners, whatcha gonna do?

e already know where wrestling fans are their own personal “signature” moves.

Monday nights (glued to their TV, watch- Known for their dirty dealing, each member of ing WCW Nitro), but where are they the NWO can call upon a companion character the other six nights of the week? Come at any time during a match to provide a little January, they'll be glued to their PlayStations “assistance.” Kevin Nash can call upon crony with the release of T*HQ’s WCW Nitro. Scott Hall, while Miss Elizabeth is always ready Although WCW vs. The World continues to to stand by her “Macho Man.” Don't worry; WCW enjoy strong sales, T*HQ wanted to give is able to fight fire with fire by doing the same! wrestling fans a game that captures all the You can even change a character’s alliance to insanity of cable’s most watched program. keep up with Nitro’s soap opera-like plot twists Nitro contains 20 top WCW and NWO and turns.

grapplers, including “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan, Sting, The Giant, Diamond Dallas Page, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and others. Each wrestler has over 30 motion-captured moves, including

Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are included in War Zone along with eight others.

Where War Zone scores a pin fall over WCW Nitro is in the wide assortment of brutal specialty matches included in the game, such as ladder matches, cage matches and tag matches.

aving suffered a black eye with the abysmal WWF In Your House, Acclaim is hoping to rehabilitate the franchise with WWF War Zone.

A definite move away from the Mortal Kombat-inspired In Your House, War Zone features 3-D polygonal grapplers and more “real-

istic” wrestling action (if that isn’t a contradiction According to Acclaim, a unique method was in terms). employed to generate War Zone's “faces” and Such standouts as “heels” (wrestling lingo for good guys and bad The Undertaker, “Stone guys). First, each grappler was photographed Cold” Steve Austin, from every conceivable angle, then a clay model

was sculpted and scanned to create the most photorealistic characters ever to grace a World Wrestling Federation title.

# OF PLAYERS % COMPLETE ) |AVAILABILITY PUBLISHER DEVELOPER WRESTLING

DO YOU HAVE THE BALLS? TEE WEVE GOT, THE GAMEI

Your Racket Is Your Only Weapon

KIDS TO ADULTS

CONTENT RATED BY

lord who has kidnapped your sci- entist father. To do so, you must visit six unique zones during d three different time periods, creating a mw total of 18 distinctive levels. One of the most unique things about Rascal is the way each zone changes over time. A sprawling castle Rascal visits during medieval times becomes a present-day museum, while a Ә frontier town becomes a movie set! In addition to running and jumping, the title character can swim and race mine 5 carts Indiana Jones-style. Rascal’s technical achievements, including an intelligent camera and environment mapping, are too numerous to list in such a limited space.

ith such impending releases as Gex: Enter the Gecko, Jersey Devil and Pac-Man: / Ghost Zone, the red hot 3D 4 platform genre shows no signs of cooling off. Now it seems a brand- new contender will be throwing his purple baseball cap into the ring. In Rascal, you must help a young boy defeat an evil time

* PLATFORM

reach switches in each of the far corners of the level, which opens up a Boss area.

This game should be reviewable any day now.

low progress is better than no progress, and Activision is still hard at work refining Pitfall 3D, Pitfall Harry's first foray into free-roaming adventure.

Armed with only a pickaxe, Harry must battle his way through a number of underground levels populated with some familiar hazards from the older Pitfall games, as well as a few new “friends.”

Found in the game are such classic elements as the swinging rope, the vicious scorpion and the yawning chasms which are where the game got its name. On many levels, Harry must avoid such obstacles in order to

Official U.S. @ А а Magazine( )

ADVENTURE

AN INTELLIGENT CAMERA FOLLOWS THE ACTION.

DEVELOPER — ACTIVISION

OPEN

“NIGHT.

No QUARTERS МЕ ЕЮ Е 2.

playstation |.

«011215 ела

\ à

м

VI cA HL LD ABIIT STOVE

7222

PlayStation

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

Root Beer Tapper; Splat and Spy Hunter.” 3 cj DMIDWAY

www.midway.com

JOUST@201986, SPLAT™©1982, BLASTER'61983, SPY HUNTER™®1983 AND TAPPER™©1983 MIDWAY GAMES INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MIDWAY, JOUST, MOON PATROL, BLASTER, SPLAT, SPY HUNTER АМО TAPPER ARE TRADEMARKS OF MIDWAY GAMES INC. BURGERTIME"™©1982 DATA EAST USA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USED UNDER LICENSE. MOON PATROLO1982 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.

Official U.S. ЗЕМЕТЕ СӨ,

rom the publisher of Formula Опе:

Championship Edition comes yet

another ultra- —

realistic racing

sim, Newman-Hass Racing. Although developer Studio 33 had access to Bizarre Creations’ F1 game engine and racing data, they rewrote virtually everything to allow Newman-Haas Racing to capture the excitement of Indy car racing. Although the game lacks a CART license

A SPLIT-SCREEN MODE SETS PLAYERS HEAD-TO-HEAD.

RACING

Ithough originally scheduled to be

released before Fighting Force, Eidos’

Ninja has been progressing slower than

originally projected. Development should

be shifting into overdrive, however, now that Several key members from the Tomb Raider 2 team have joined team Ninja.

0022750 И7 308005

LOGGED AREAS PRESENT UNIQUE PROBLEMS.

(Sony had it pretty well sewn up with CART World Series), Newman-Haas Racing does have 16 real-world drivers and 10 CART tracks.

If you already own F1, you still may want to take Newman-Haas for a test drive. Studio 33 built all of their car and physics models from scratch to capture the way the wider, fatter Indy cars handle. Tracks are wider, too, allowing more passing than is seen in a typical F1 race.

Studio 33 managed to Squeeze a few extras into Newman-Haas Racing that are absent in F1. Most notably, you can race against a sixcar field in Two-Player Mode instead of against a single human opponent.

DIFFERENT VIEWING ANGLES SHOW ALL THE ACTION.

PSYGNOSIS

Although Ninja’s 3-D combat has much in common with Fighting Force's, the game runs on an entirely different game engine and was created by an entirely different team at Core.

You play as a solitary ninja who must use his powers of stealth, hand-to-hand combat and magic to defeat an evil overlord. Although the fighting seems every bit as intense as Fighting Force’s, Ninja seems to place an equal emphasis on platforming. The ninja must successfully avoid rolling logs and other traps in addition to performing death-defying leaps across rivers and picturesque waterfalls.

lU Do KENN

ABUNDANT ENEMIES TRY TO BLOCK YOUR PASSAGE.

Get the point? This magazine is loaded with reasons why you need the SA-VA7 speakers—a sound system that can rattle your inner organs. It’s 17 inches of the most realistic sound projection you'll ever drool over. Bib sold separately.

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 О МҮ

Ш 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

PICK A

(HEY, IT’S CHRISTMAS.

“Tekken 2 is the hest...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

FIGHT.

PICK TWO.) А

"Soul Blade heads the early list for best

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

"no gamer should be without this: the most

spectacular fighting game ever to grace a

console.” - GameFan March 97

"its simply the best 3D fi

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

Шепайопай) | >

Ете [tired]

raveling across Japan is the PlayStation Club Festival

97-98. It is mainly an event meant to give the public a chance to play upcoming games and for companies to promote their products. Although many of the attendees

IM 67-9, ИД

saw these games during the public show days of the fall Tokyo Game Show, many games were not in playable form until the festival. The closest event we have like that over here is the occasional mall tours of the PlayStation truck. Fun and excite- ment for everyone...in Japan.

ou may be wondering what that

picture of the silver comet below

is. It’s actually the cover of the CD case of the arranged soundtrack for Final Fantasy VII. The majority

are given the deluxe treatment with a full orchestra. Your enjoyment is totally dependent on how much

e of the remixed you liked the music of the

= tracks sound game while playing it, since |

= like chip found many of the tracks enjoy-

Е music gener- able while other staffers were

Е ated by the left unimpressed. For fans who PS, but are waiting for a full CD of orches- there are trated FFVII tunes, the wait is three going to be a little longer now. Not tracks a bad listen, but I'll stick to my SF which Alpha Il techno music tracks CD.

Official U.S. @ ЕКЕТ Маале)

he original analog controller has

T been out for less than a year

” and already we have a new ver-

sion of it. The Dual Shock has new analog sticks with rounded, rubberish tips and the analog on/off switch is now receded into the Controller Mode to avoid accidental activation. The rounded tops of the sticks give it a taller feel which provides an added degree of ana- log control. Internally, there is now two motors which generate a greater range of feedback and is the reason for the

controller's name. The first game to take advantage of the extra vibration is GT: Grand Turismo from Sony. Until that game comes out, we can’t properly test this nifty peripheral out so we bring this to you here instead of the в.е.а.г. section. The Dual Shock controller from Sony is out now in Japan and could make its way here very soon with feed- back intact! It looks like this is going to be the controller of choice as the latest PlayStation console boxes have a Dual Shock controller packed in.

75073;

PlayStation.

Бтр ГДЕ ә A

ushido Blade stands out as one of the more innov- ative fighters released last year and now we can look forward to a super sequel. The first character pictures as well as game

between the characters. In addition to some new weapons, you will be able to get some double sword action going. The most exciting

one each) and additional fight- ing stances. The first time out, you could select from three

screens different sword aspect of all has to

of stances which be the tweaking of the

Bushido were high, fighting engine. It is supposedly

Blade 2 middle and low. In this update, you more realistic than before with a 4 have still have three per character, but greater emphasis on the timing ^N begun to the stance will vary depending on of your attacks and defensive Ва e у surface іп {һе character you choose. For exam- movements. This is going to + (Ел. 1 p Japan. So ple, one character's low stance will be hot.

far, there have them holding their weapon

are three in front of them near the ground

returning while another character will be

characters from the first

game and three new charac- ters. Some of the more notable changes revealed include different outfits for the characters (instead of

an this be the long-

awaited sequel to Soul

Edge/Blade that we've been waiting for? Not quite. Japanese gamers sent in their suggestions for what they want to see in a fighting game and Namco listened and implemented many of their ideas into this new game. Currently, it is being called an unofficial sequel to the smash arcade and PlayStation hit. Developed on the system 12 arcade system (Tekken 3), it is des- tined to eventually find its way to the PlayStation. After the drawn-out conversion process for Tekken 3 from the arcade to the PlayStation, Namco Should have an easier time converting this title.

AVAILABILITY

ARCADE

PUBLISHER

DEVELOPER

crouching with their swords

sheathed. There will be a total of

eight different stances split

ontinuing with the eventu- al arcade-to-PlayStation

theme of the Namco title we previewed to the left comes the latest from Capcom. Legion of Heroes is the third foray for Capcom into the realm of 3-D fight- ers (Star Gladiator, SFEX + @ were the first two). Choose one of 15 members from some of the toughest high schools around. Some of the types of characters include a volley ball player, school yard ruffians, street toughs and teachers. Unlike the Namco game, this is still the same PlayStation arcade hardware that SFEX and Star Gladiators were developed on, which means a flawless and timely conversion is virtually guaranteed. When released in the U.S., it will be renamed either Rival Schools or Justice League.

DEVELOPER

CAPCOM

PUBLISHER

CAPCOM

vicis ufo

а Gt. TOTAL А70 4 195 02 *

POTA CRIME

01: 3740

TOTAU amon SIRS у Gam

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.

(reviews)

January 1998

TOMB

RAIDER 2

ara Croft returns as the

feisty, British adventurer in

Tomb Raider 2, the greatly

anticipated sequel to last

year’s smash hit. Our heroine

is once again scouring the globe for an ancient artifact, encountering her usual quota of gun-toting scumbags along the way. Sporting her favorite pair of Daisy Dukes and equipped with an arsenal that would make even Rambo jealous, Lara is back and she means business.

With the success of Tomb Raider behind them, the question for Eidos was, what could they do to improve upon their already sound base? There weren't any major revisions made to the overall design of the lev- els. You can still expect to be challenged by navigating through large, sprawling caverns with seemingly

MR

unreachable goals. | often found myself muttering, "How the heck do | get up there?" The introduction of climbable walls gives some additional depth to the levels. The gameplay itself has been left relatively untouched, and for &ood reason: It didn't need it. They

did add several new techniques to

her repertoire, including a mid-air turnaround and the ability to backflip

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ratings at a glance

THE COLOR SCHEMES

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

eSports/Racing ePlatform

eAction/Adventure

THE RATING SYSTEM

Excellent. A must-have game.

е

Very good. Well worth your time.

Good. Its flaws can be overlooked.

00 00

Below average, but not awful.

90000

Almost offensive in its badness.

while climbing ladders and walls. Although they didn't make any drastic changes, the many little improvements are what kept me saying, hey, now that's pretty cool. The most noticeable of these was the incorporation of two vehicles into the Scheme of things. Explore the canals of Venice in a speedboat and later traverse the foothills of Tibet saddled on a snowmobile. You'll find yourself breaking through plate- glass windows to face a pack of gnashing doberman and then making allies with the fighting monks of the Barkhang Temple. All of these latest perks come together nicely to enhance your adventure as the sultry Lara Croft. Lara has undergone some minor

cosmetic fine-tuning, from smoothing out many of her blocky polygons (easy now) to allowing her ponytail to sway freely in the breeze. Not only is she looking her best, but she’s also upgraded her arsenal; introducing Lara to a grenade launcher, an M-16 and

a harpoon gun. Battles can now take

place underwater, but | still find it more effective to just avoid these adversaries altogether. How are you going to best a great white shark?

With adequate improvements made to Tomb Raider 2, all that was left was to address the problem areas of its predecessor. The old save point icons have been replaced with a new feature which allows you to save at any point during the game. This should relieve some of the frus- tration of having to repeat diffi- cult areas. Perhaps the biggest problem that plagued the original was the poorly executed camera angles. Unfortunately, the kinks still haven't been worked out and

Official

PlayStation

Magazine

box score

there will be numerous x os A 18 huge levels occasions when you can : 1 Take control of two vehicles

become disoriented. : | Unique level interaction Although Lara has been Bee i Lara Croft

cleaned up, choppy

polygons are still found throughout the game.

• Awkward camera angles * Same old game engine

Despite falling short in a couple of areas, е Lara’s hot, but she’s no Rhona Mitra

Tomb Raider 2 puts forth an extremely solid performance and should rate as one of the top games of the year. Even if you replaced x Дай Д Lara Croft with some gnarly faced быа О f f ] R

old man, you would still have 1 Cl а а ti n @ yourself a winner. 5 -Dave Malec

(reviews)

January 1998

Official U.S. GM Бү Ав СӨ)

Psygnosis

-raising the standards of video game quality.”

Nae

here are few who would doubt that WipeOut was a revolutionary game. As one of the first racing titles on the PlayStation, it made a statement in look and presentation that few games have matched. Now, Psygnosis has taken the genre of space combat to a higher plane with the release of Colony Wars. This exceptional game proves once again that Psygnosis has a way of raising the standards of video game quality.

The first thing you'll notice about Colony Wars is the graphics. Sporting every trademark European technical trick, the game captivates from the first look. Glowing engines, sparking spacecraft, spectacular explosions, all of these betray a grasp of graphic design that is practically unparalleled.

Luckily, there is plenty of gameplay to back up all that visual style. Solid, nicely balanced missions carry the player through an epic story of oppression and revolution. Extremely cinematic (albeit excessively grainy) cut scenes provide believable transitions between the game's many "acts." And the game handles beautifully, allowing the player to rocket past an enemy, flip around, and come in from the other side without і losing track of the target—a feat that puts Official PC standards TIE Fighter and Wing Commander to shame. Of course, analog

controls help a bit, although Sony's pad was a bit too ay a sensitive for my tastes; one third-party controller with longer joysticks did a better job. | enjoyed the fact that losing your ship in a mission did not necessarily mean the mission was lost, the game over. It offers testimony to the fact that the computerized wingmen are there for a reason other than moral sup- port. In fact, my only real complaint was the fact that the game saves only at the end of a three-mission act, which can force the player (Cons) e to replay all three missions if something drastic hap- * Less-than-perfect save system pens in the last one (like е Somewhat grainy cut scenes when | accidentally hit an important cargo vessel, causing my compatriots to label me a trai- о о е Топ). Colony Wars is an exceptional (0); ffi С al R а П n 0 £ame which deserves a place in anyone's library. —Joe Rybicki

Magazine

Pros jms score

Beautiful graphics Fast-paced missions Flawless controls Classic story

(reviews)

GHOST IN THE SHELL

“For devoted fans,

drenaline-filled, shooting mayhem. That's the term | use to sum up the Ghost in the Shell experience. The opening cinema starts the blood pumping with a great techno-style track while the anime action on the screen strains your eyes to keep up with the action. The action just gets more intense once you actually start to play the game which is comple- mented with good controls and interesting play mechanics. Before | get into too many of the high points, | should point out the lows.

The biggest weakness in Ghost in the Shell is the repetitive levels. Some areas are just too similar with no other mission objective other than getting out alive. The majority of the city and interior building sections are a matter of memo- ry. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it would have been nice to have more variety. There are some levels which take place in the sea and on the high- ways, but these seem to be levels that were thrown in at the last minute since they don’t seem as balanced. That said, | still had a great time. The difficulty is a bit high, but can be random at times. The reason | say this is that you can get lucky and advance through the first eight

missions without dying your first time

out, but you'll be hard pressed to repeat that feat without continued practice. There are 11 total missions with a Practice Mode. The Practice Mode is where you can

unlock extra cinemas and is as challenging as anything b OX о СО ЖӨ in the game. That brings me to the most important point Pros ) Е about GITS, it’s fun. The gameplay is solid and it will take you a while to unlock all its secrets. | must admit that the * Fast gameplay hook for me is the fact * It’s Ghost in the Shell that the game is based on * Challenging GITS. It's not that I’m a big fan of the movie or comic, but having that anime [ Cons) m background lends the story more credibility. The game * Repetitive levels becomes immersive and * Random difficulty thus more enjoyable. Many gamers who aren't familiar with the anime or manga on which the MSS А game is based will find themselves (0) ffi С а l IN a ti n 0 enjoying it as much as myself. For devoted fans of Ghost in the Shell, it's a nobrainer. —Wataru Maruyama

Official U.S.

tation

Magazine

|

| 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.

Sometimes, to achieve perfect control, you've got to get a little out of control. We at Team Mad Catz take pride in going the distance for you and your game. You want perfect replication of the high-speed driving experience. We LA it The real wheel — for PlayStation, Saturn and Nintendo 64. езза

( r e V i e Ww S ) gii Memory Card

January 1998

Official U.S. @ Ж Н И Magazine e

2 ей 5 un > 9 a

SPAWN: THE ETERNAL

“Tt should have been so

had high hopes for this game. Having seen the quality of the Spawn comics, the HBO animated series and the newest figures in the McFarlane Toys line, | thought this game would be as carefully crafted as Todd McFarlane's other pursuits; it seemed like the man had some sort of diabolical Midas touch. After last summer’s film, however, | began to wonder. And as later revisions of the game showed up in our offices, my hopes were slowly crushed. It’s not that Spawn is a horrible game; it’s just that it could have—and should have—been so much better. But let's start with the positives. First of all, the enemies that Spawn encounters in the game are pretty fast, and somewhat of a challenge right from the start; and health power-ups are sufficiently scarce to make nearly every battle an important one. There's also a whole lot of mood going on: Spooky music, decent sound effects and a shifting, otherworldly sky contribute to the dark atmosphere. And finally, it is a Spawn game, which means instant recognition by fans of the comic. Overtkill, Violator and Redeemer (among others) all make an appearance in the game. They're even represented in a style that's relatively faithful to the comic. Official Unfortunately, Spawn himself is not. The particulars are there (albeit excessive- ly pixellated), like spikes, chains and cape. It's the style ay ta

itself that's missing. In the comic, Spawn is just plain

Magazine cool; in the game he looks like...well, a dork. His fighting

running animation is simply laughable. A soldier of Hell е Familiar characters TD + 7 terrible; there’s a lot of in the real world, and the (Cons) tants. Where are all the е Graphics are excessively pixellated All in all, Spawn is a disappoint- adventure game. This one’s

movements are jerky and unrealistic (causing the battles (Pros ) р ох SCORE to get monotonous after a while). What’s even worse, his showy not look like he’s ети а pd m A * Dark atmosphere gameplay В е Decently challenging enemies 4 exploration and hidden items. But the comic is set game world is almost * Spawn looks ridiculous entirely bereft of inhabi- * Fighting is simplistic and monotonous people, the traffic, the Levels are unrealistic elements of normal city life? oe Е ing title that can’t decide whether it 0 ffi С а! Р а t n 6 wants to be a fighting game or an marked “Rental.” —Joe Rybicki

Blast the chains of slavery straight to Hell. Join the rebellion and fly the hottest ships in the stars. You'll master six unique craft in your quest, each with different flight characteristics and weaponry. You'll fly more than 70 unique missions, success or failure determining a destiny that lies along one of five different paths. The cost of freedom is high. Are you willing to pay it?

<>

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(reviews) Gi.

oo o бу = © S е © 5

Official U.S. ШЕРМЕТ Magazine

PlayStation®

o EZ

“иска, the: sop Od.

ony has followed up last year's premier NCAA football title with a revamped, retooled and altogether improved update in NCAA GameBreaker 98. Sporting similar graphic

improvements as this year's GameDay, GameBreaker makes a few additional changes to solidify its position among the top football titles.

Like GameDay, this year's GameBreaker has gone fully polygonal. In fact, in terms of its basic look and graphic feel, it's virtually indistinguishable from GameDay 98. Although some might speculate that the similarities will prevent owners of GameDay from buying GameBreaker, there are a few significant differences which should be pointed out.

First of all, although the games are graphically similar, GameBreaker's physics engine and artificial intelligence are noticeably different. Like the original version, this game has a much more arcadeike feel. It's much easier to complete passes, for instance, or to run for big yardage. The computer is more likely to flub a play or try for a two-point conversion. Scores are higher, win margins bigger, and plays more spectacular—just like in real college ball. The game even includes a Fantasy League Mode.

Second, GameBreaker 98 includes analog support, which makes controlling Official players more precise. You can even use the analog stick to move the viewing

perspective around, giving a better view of the field.

The third significant difference is the inclusion of a play editor. This lets players customize and create their own plays, eventually building an entire custom playbook. Although the parameters for the plays are relatively strict, it still adds a nice degree of personality to the game. And * Play editor speaking of personality, the marching band fight songs * Analog support

add some nice atmosphere. eats of action

* Inferior interface e Мау be too arcade-like for some

tation

Magazine

On the minus side, the interface is less polished than in GameDay, and at times downright confusing. And that college-style arcade feel might turn off hardcore NFL fans, who might consid- er it simply unrealistic. Bearing this in mind, however, GameBreaker 98 is still at the RAI е. top of the college football heap, О ffi С а | IN a 18 n 0 and a worthy football title in its own right.

—Joe Rybicki

VENGEANCE NOW *10 OFF.

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ny Wars, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are trademarks of Psygnosis Limited. ©1997 Psygnosis, Ld. All rights reserved. The PlayStation logo and "PlayStation" are trademarks ol Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Digital Software Association.

(reviews) ele

is

ack when Capcom originally announced Mega Man X4 as a Saturn-only title, | complained as loudly as any PlayStation owner. When Capcom abruptly made an about-face and announced the game would be coming out for PlayStation, | applauded the move with equal enthusiasm. Now that the game is available, | have to confess I'm not really sure what the fuss was about. Sure, the game has some of the most gorgeous hand-drawn graphics ever seen on the PlayStation and ultrachallenging platform action, but having played through Mega Man 8, it's nothing | haven't seen before.

Like the previous Mega Man X titles published for the Super Nintendo, X4 allows gamers to play as either the blaster-toting Mega Man X or as the sword-wielding Zero. You can also utilize popular vehicles from previous Mega Man X titles, such as a mech and an air bike. Unfortunately, Capcom did not include the innovative weapon modification system introduced in Mega Man 8, which allowed you to purchase weapons and new abilities with hidden bolt icons. This is a shame, because finding the hidden bolts and experiment- ing with different weapon configurations Official

U.S. = added loads of replay value. With the lack of any real technical innovations, Capcom ay а оп

apparently decided to focus on gameplay, making X4 Magazine obscenely difficult. I've played plenty of platform games,

but parts of X4 had me looking like an amateur. If (Pros ) b ох SCOPE Capcom decides to release another 2-D Mega Man

game, perhaps they could implement Crash 2-style player e The ability to play as X or Zero assistance, which adjusts the difficulty of the game on- e Vehicles

ble to a wider range of the game's vibrant * Obscene level of difficulty Director's Cut, | believe that 3-D is

the-fly based on player performance. This would т кепш ош scenes players, particularly Cons) younger gamers, who graphics. * X's more “mature” anime look Having played the brief Mega the true future of the Blue Bomber. —Gary Mollohan

January 1998

Official U.S. GENS е Magazine (8)

о ооооооеоовов

таке Мева Мап ассеѕѕі-

would surely appreciate * Lack of innovation Man Neo sample included in the о о е Japanese version Resident Evil: 0 ffi Cl d | R а tl n 0

оооооооооооооое

(reviews)

[duy IG

Working Designs

зора зае вв фа теста docldssic style."

orking Designs’ first foray into translating PlayStation

role-playing games is a sprawling Zeldeike adventure

called Alundra. Contained in a huge world and populated

with all manner of creatures, both friendly and fiendish,

Alundra is best described as an action-RPG. The main character (named, aptly enough, Alundra) often finds himself beset on all sides by foul beasts, and quick pounding on the attack button is far more important to winning these battles than strategy or cunning. There isn’t time—or reason—to plan each move with care.

In this respect, Alundra may be considered by RPG purists to be more of an action/adventure title than anything else; but the advancement of the character is absolutely key, as is the solution of a large number of challenging, classic RPG-style puzzles. And, like many of the best role-playing titles, Alundra has a sweeping, epic story that contains its share of mysteries, plot twists and moments of high drama. Alundra is wit- ness to the death of more than a couple innocent characters, for example, mak- ing the story seem somehow more real. Superb writing (and, presumably, transla- tion) is also a refreshing change.

As is often the case with plotheavy games, however, the sequence of events is especially linear. Oh, Alundra does have the freedom to wander about the available areas, but in the grand scheme of the story, the events take place in an inevitable order. The fact that players don’t even have Pros access to most of the world from the beginning adds to the linear feel (even though it does help the player focus on a specific task, which counters another common prob-

lem of RPGs). And the fact

that Alundra doesn’t have

any real choices when it

comes to interacting with

other characters under- Cons scores this point.

My only other complaint is the cartoony graphics, which is mainly a personal thing. | know many RPG fans love the cutesy anime style; I’m just not one of them. Nevertheless,

Alundra is a great game in a clas- sic style. All lovers of role-playing titles should take note.

—Joe Rybicki

Heck, you'll even get to churn tl

Ж,

just great music.

FESPA PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Parappa the Rapper is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment

be - fore. Parappa the Rapper.

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PlayStation

m

Only on PlayStation.

(reviews)

STAR WARS

MASTERS OF TERAS KASI

"Il admit it. I'm а Star Wars fan. sims, 3D shooters, even strategy titles | player control. Like it or not, that’s

These days, who isn’t? Oh, can understand. But a fighting game? It something that definitely holds weight for

I'm not rabid about it; | could- seemed somehow...undignified. But then | a Star Wars fan.

n't tell you who fought in the thought about it further. It's a Star Wars 1 say all this because as a fighting game,

Clone Wars or the name of Luke fighting game. Meaning Luke and Darth in Masters of Teras Kasi leaves quite a bit to

Skywalker's mom (assuming “Mrs. a playercontrolled lightsaber battle. Han be desired. Controls are frequently sluggish, Skywalker" doesn't count). But like many and Leia battling it out in a real lovers" for example, which is inexcusable in a fight- who experienced the series in its original quarrel. And Boba Fett finally using that ing game. If Tekken 2, for example, was incarnation, | find that Star Wars has a rocket thing on his back. Simply put, it's able to deliver lightning-fast response, why special place in my heart, for reasons the familiar Star Wars characters under full can't every fighter do the same?

Furthermore, enemy Al—although for the most part acceptable—occa- Sionally suffers some ridiculous laps- es. When attacking Chewbacca from the back, for example, | was able to completely demolish the poor furball since he didn’t seem to feel the need to turn around and attack. And when fighting Arden Lyn (the second-tolast enemy the first time | played through

not entirely nostalgic. And so, whenever there’s a new game released, I’m always interest- ed in checking it out. The bottom line is, I’m a sucker for the license.

When | heard that LucasArts was planning a Star Wars fighting game, however, my first instinct—like that of many people—was to simply dismiss it as an attempt to squeeze some more mileage out of a hot license. | mean, come on. Star Wars flight

January 1998

a d a (нет mal а nner mns тте ш”

ЦИЕ STYWALUXER. PROCESS LOA URE SKUUALKER the game, who should be the second-most

difficult enemy) | managed to pull off a perfect win when | maneuvered her near the edge of the ring and she threw herself out. | thought it was an isolated incident until halfway through the next match she did it again! Apparently this young lady has a death wish.

Official U.S. @@ ЖЕДИ agone ( R)

PlayStation} +

playSTATS

My final major caveat has to do with the tracking “super” projectile attacks. Although | felt that they were balanced by the fact that every character has a similar attack, fight- ing purists might take issue with the whole principle of a tracking projec- tile attack.

Nevertheless, the thrill of control- ling Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader in a lightsaber battle, even consider- ing the weapon's unexplained weak- ness (no dismemberments here!), must be experienced to be believed. And the fact that Masters of Terás Kasi would be only a mediocre fight- er without the Star Wars license is irrelevant, since the game does in fact have that license and all the associations it carries with it.

Let's face it: A person who isn't a Star Wars fan wouldn't be interested in this game even if it had the greatest fighting engine ever. And the engine isn't that bad; in my opinion, the use of the familiar characters and settings outweighs most of the problems. Those less charmed by the Star Wars universe may feel differently, but most will find this game enjoy- able in spite of its flaws.

—Joe Rybicki

(reviews)

oo o бу = © 3 i © 5

Official U.S. PISTE TU]

n

E 2 8 т > Ec] е

Having the balls to

he anime series has been a hit in Japan as well in the U.S. media. It’s too bad you have to wake up so early in the morning to even catch one of the episodes. Released in Japan not long ago, Dragon Ball GT finally hits the U.S. shores due to its popularity around the world.

Dragon Ball GT is directly based on the fighting perspective of the anime series with the exception of the stories that revolve on these episodes. The game will feature 10 fighters from the anime series with varying strengths and abilities, and even height advantages. Also, not only will you get these characters, but eight more will be hidden and will be playable when revealed.

As you begin you can pick from two Playing Modes. Enter the Battle Mode and compete against the computer of a friend or choose the Tournament Mode where up to eight players can compete in a roundrobin tourney. If you feel you're not ready to compete, access the Practice Mode and perfect your skills such as the special moves (Knockout Trick and the famous Meteor Smash) which can generally be called a finishing attack. If you still feel that you need to

increase your character's power to last in Official в

the competitions, you’re allowed to do so in the Build Up Mode. In here, you can develop your character's fighting techniques and improve ay а ion your special moves. You can then save your character on Magazine а memory card.

The fighting perspective can be compared to a Street Pros ) hec sco

Fighter game with the addition of being able to move

vertically/horizontally through the ways of flying. If you've е Build character’s abilities seen the series you know what | am talking about. • 18 playable characters in all

Though the special moves

are interesting, the battle system is not balanced. You end up using special moves

ос е \ 4 the entire fight with the lack * Lacks moves and combos; relying of your basic punch and too much on special move kick combos. One reason (Meteor Smash)

we resolve to special moves Needs attention to graphics is because this game lacks 2

combos for all characters.

While the artist of the characters е. е is Ше same as the Тора! series, the Offi CI al Rati n 0 graphics are still outdated. | love the anime series, but | fail to embrace this title.

—Dindo Perez

IN THIS CITY, THERE IS NO RUNAWAY GRIME RATE...

.. BECAUSE NOTHING OUTRUNS THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW.

In the are al

t Century, a license to kill and heavily armed, turbo-charged patrol vehicles i need to keep the peace. Just don't get blown to pieces in the process.

ons rame Developed by:

9$. eS \

BY GAMERS, FOR GAMERS. PlayStation еду С

www.interplay.com

©1997 Interplay Productions. Crime Kiler Polygon Engine: ©1996 Pixelogic Ltd. Al rights reserved. Crime Killer and Interplay, the Interplay logo and “Ву Gamers. For Gamers.” are trademarks of Interplay Productions. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Al rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation Al other trademarks and copyrights are properties of their respective owners. Al rights reserved.

=°

m~ Patrol the streets at a breaknec

Bring in law breakers dead or alive (or barely aliv powered non-lethal or lethal weapons like the V

Maintain the peace with the Turbo F or Wing - you're a crack shot from each

Real-time 3D environments with complete of movement for clean shots in the back

Over 20 levels of uic E BT high .—— criminal pursuit missions — all caught on inte or exterior cameras

——— 1 or 2-player police action* *Sony PlayStation™ version only

x

md Xu

“AT 60 FRAMES PER SECOND,

THE... VIEW ABSOLUTELY SCREAMS.” ‘ULTRA GAME PLAYERS

(reviews)

January 1998

Official U.S. (МЕИ ЕЕ СТӨ,

T СС

SC Games and Visual Concepts have finally finished опе of

the more anticipated games of the season. Titled simply

One, this game follows the adventures of John Cain as he attempts to unravel the mystery of his strange situation.

It seems that Mr. Cain has awakened in an alien land to find a strange weapon grafted onto his arm. He now seeks revenge upon his tormentors as much as he seeks to find where he is, why he’s there, and how to get home again.

This game has quite a lot of unusual features going for it. Most noticeable is his unique health bar, called the Rage Meter. Cain starts out relatively weak, but gains power quickly—not by collecting items or gaining experience, but simply by blowing stuff up. See, John’s an angry boy, and the more enemies he runs into, the more Rage he develops, and the stronger he gets. So if you’re running low on health, you don’t have to go looking for a power-up; you simply have to look for something to kill.

One of the great things about this game is something the ASC folks call “asynchronous loading.” This means that the next section of a level is being

loaded as you're traversing the previous Official ~ section. This makes it possible to have levels which are virtually infinite in size without having to deal with annoying load times. ay a оп Interesting level elements, like the giant mech Boss, Magazine the ziptine pulley area, and Cain's travels across metro- politan rooftops make for some unique moments in the [Pros J b (Que SEO Г e game, and the overall excellent graphics give everything a nice-ooking polish. Dynamic lighting, transparencies and * Rage Meter other visual goodies spice up even the darkest levels. * Interesting level elements

шшр Ey * Huge levels, no load times!

the game is the somewhat

oversensitive controls, at least in terms of turning. The camera isn’t smart

With the exception of the Lab е е level, however, level design is over- (0; ffi СІ а! Ка ti n 0 all quite good. This is an interest- ing and unusual title that deserves a long look. —Joe Rybicki

enough to make precise > movements, which makes е Occasional hiccups between level е

things worse. And the fre- sections k

quent shifts in camera * Shifting camera gets confusing г

view can make things confusing. е Boring Lab level is irritating 9 е

:

(reviews) ES

COMMAND & CONQUER:

Link Cable 2 Consoles

Memory Card 1 block

RED ALERT

ommand & Conquer was one of the titles that defined the

realtime strategy gaming genre. Setting numerous sales

records on the PC, the game took the strategic aspects of

classic games of war and added an element of edge-of-your-

seat action (and a thumping techno soundtrack) which opened the game to an entirely new audience. It hit the PlayStation just as its sequel, Red Alert, was enjoying the peak of its even greater suc- cess on the PC. Now, Red Alert has finally made it to the consoles, giving realtime strategy fans a solid addition to their collections.

If you enjoyed the original C&C, you'll almost undoubtedly love Red Alert even more. More and different units add more variety, combating the occasional monotony experienced by players of the original. Mouse support adds more intuitive con- trols for this style of game. Link Cable Support gives players a chance to go headto-head with friends. And a cus- tomizable Skirmish Mode lets players square off against one to three Al oppo- nents on the battlefield of their choice.

Like the original, Red Alert is great when you know what you're doing. The problem is, figuring out exactly what you need to do to conquer each mission is purely a tria-and-error process—and commanding an entire military force can be

quite daunting when you don't know what you're doing.

This wouldn't be that much of a problem if it weren't for

the horrendous oversight which gives PlayStation owners

the chance to save only after a mission is complete (the

PC version lets you save whenever you wish). Since mis-

sions can take literally hours to complete, this unfriendly Challenging missions

save system can prove exceptionally frustrating—espe- Adequate computer Al cially since you can con- Skirmish Mode

tinue with the mission eT | Mod long after any chance of WO PAVEL VOSE

victory has been lost. The significantly C ons increased level of diffi-

culty would have been е Horrible save system challenging enough with- * Tiny, tiny characters out a poor save system. * Missions are not explained well

Still, after all is said and done Red

We twere |. Official Rating

keep me away from this one.

Strategy fans, give it a try, at least. —Joe Rybicki

(reviews)

LODE RUNNER

of gaming history.”

eres band DATE atsume has delivered to PlayStation owners a bit of gaming history with their port of the clas- sic PC puzzle game Lode Runner. The game pits one or two players against a horde of cannibalistic monks in a quest to retrieve all the gold from an over- whelming number of single-screen levels. The player must determine the best order in which to collect the gold pieces scattered across the level, taking care to avoid various traps and other hazards.

The first few lev- els are extremely simple, but the challenge increas- es quickly after that. Some players

January 1998

ust when you thought it was safe

to go back into the arcades, the

original Monsters of Rock, Rattle

and Stomp-George, Lizzy and Ralph-return!

As in Ше "805 arcade classic, the object of the game is to level city after city, being sure to sample plenty of the "local flavor," usually in the form of hapless civilians. World Tour's main twist is that you can hop on a 747 and visit foreign countries to show the locals how a real ugly American takes care of business.

Graphically, Rampage looks like a carbon copy of its coin-swallowing cousin. The monsters are now rendered and have a wide range of humorous animations.

Official U.S. ЁТ ТА ҮП СТӨ

Do the monster mash-'90s

Š AC RUNIN f

X. = 9 5 л >. ic) А.

10г2 Г Players

might even find it too challenging, even to the point of frustra- tion, especially when the player finds him- self in the arms of the enemy just steps from the exit door—requiring him to start the entire level over. Additional problems come from the fact that the game was designed to be played with a key- board, and the PS pad's tendency to drift toward the diagonal can cause problems at key moments. Still, the informative intro, the huge number of levels, the unpredictable Al and the Level Construction Mode make for a game with more than a few surprises.

—Joe Rybicki

е It’s a classic! е Infinite levels with the editor

‚€D

е Dated graphics е Clumsy controls

OOKKII)

style!

In addition to the usual kicks and punches, your character has a few secret moves, such as karate kicks, for punishing enemy forces—or a second player. You can also morph into V.E.R.N., a flying purple people eater, by eating

toxic waste.

The real problem with Rampage is that after a dozen or so levels, the action gets monotonous, despite the developers’ subversive sense of humor.

Midway was wise not to alter the original formula too much, but could have created a party favorite by adding a multitap option. —Gary Mollohan

* Buddy bashing * Full frontal nudity!

* No three-player capability е Monotonous gameplay

004.

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January 1998

his year’s edition of FIFA (fully titled FIFA Road to the World Cup 98) continues the series’ trend toward the purely strategic. It's got tons of teams, challenging artificial intelligence, comprehensive team tactic options and even a Customize Player option for building your own personalized squads. These elements make the game perfect for number- crunchers and die-hard soccer sim fans. Unfortunately, EA seems to have dropped the action down a notch, which hurts the game in my estimation.

The problem isn't in the graphics; those are as beautiful as

"A lighthearted and

f you're looking for a hardcore tennis sim, Ubi Soft's Tennis Arena probably isn't the game for

you. But if you're looking for a

lighthearted and entertaining game

that harkens back to some of the earliest sports titles for the NES, Tennis Arena is

well worth a look.

Rather than going through the time and expense of securing real-world players and licenses, Ubi Soft instead focused on making Tennis Arena entertaining and easily accessi- ble. From the opening serve, you'll be volley- ing and reeling off exaggerated special shots with ease.

In addition to Tennis Arena’s colorful assortment of players

“Perfect for number-

TENNIS ARENA

‘Analog Controller ‘Compatible у ‘Multi Tap Adaptable Б] -| 1-8 Players

PlayStationlit

chrunchers.s

any previous FIFA. The problem is that

the players are b OK AS CORC

incredibly slow, and 2 > the controls are slug ЕЕ [ Pros | gish as all hell, even :

: * Loads of teams with the use of the ana- ° Customizable players log pad. It’s frustrating to see the 2 graphic level improving at the * Great graphics expense of the playing speed. (Check out Konami's Goal Storm for the opposite end of the spec- е Slow players trum.) Soccer is largely an action-oriented е Extremely sluggish controls sport, and a game should represent that. Gamers in countries where soccer (or more properly, football) has a long-standing tradition will appreciate the exhaustive stats, but | would have liked much more action. —Joe Rybicki

JT tor2 | Players

а PlayStation

entertaining game.”

(you'll find no Agassi clones here), the game has a wide range of courts and surfaces. Among other settings, you can play in the middle of a Roman coliseum and on the deck of a rocking ocean liner. While good as a two- player game, Tennis

е Powerful super shots е Unusual arenas

Щ Cons) • Few selectable characters * A bit too simplistic for sports bu

1123200

gameplay and lack of tournament options make one-player con- tests average at best. Volleying is a bit too easy, and you don't have a very fine degree of ball control. In their effort to make Tennis Arena accessible, the developers dumbed the game down a bit too much. —Gary Mollohan

n

(reviews)

a

update of the classic

An adequate

wave of nostalgia has swept through the video gaming industry recently. Namco and Midway released their classics for the PlayStation. On the Internet you can find Atari 2600 and ColecoVision emulators for your PC. And now Hasbro has updated the Konami classic Frogger for the PlayStation.

At first | was a bit skeptical of taking the classic amphibian hopper into the 3-D realm; nevertheless, it holds up surprisingly well. The first few levels are three- dimensional versions of the classic. After that, you take Frogger through caves, forests with

Fastbreak tries

tip my hat to Midway and Visual Concepts for attempting to compete against the big boys (NBA Live and ShootOut), but what I've seen here is only a poor man’s version of these.

Fastbreak lives up to its name, as the action is fast-paced. Seemingly more geared to the arcade-style scenario, the simulation aspect is hardly seen. | prefer a well- balanced basketball game with strategy as well as a fast-paced engine.

One of the reasons why it’s so fast is that the Al is incredibly hard. Rookie is a fair setting, but when you enter the Pro Mode you will need some playing experience.

to play

pla

1-4 Метогу Сага 2 blocks.

BI.

hopper

honeybees and buildings filled with gears in order to save your little froglings. There is also the added element of eating bugs in order to get special features such as making your tongue grow to twice its size (making you a very popular frog, indeed).

The real fun begins when you gather your friends and loved ones around multiplayer Frogger. With the multitap adapter, up to four players can race through five different levels of traffic. I've found this is a great way to introduce people not familiar with the PS to the power it possesses. —Bob Conlon

box score Pros

е True to the original е Multiplayer Frogger rules!

Cons

е Nostalgia factor wears off quickly

11900

above the rim Not only is the computer good on the defensive side, it is awesome on its offensive sets. It takes advantage every oppor- tunity for some incredible ball movement. Be ready to get burned.

Graphically, Fastbreak is a hybrid of NBA Live and ShootOut, but not as impressive as these. The characters need detail in their tex- tures...especially when the Instant Replay zooms in on them.

Midway and its producers made a good attempt to compete with the rest, but it will take more than this to be on top of the hill. —Dindo Perez

box score

е Difficult Al е On-the-fly play calling

е Needs attention to detail

004.

(reviews)

L| norm in the video-gaming industry. / First comes Namco with their Museum collections, then Williams" arcade classics, and now Capcom with their SF fighting game series, Street Fighter Collection, which comes on two CDs.

The Street Fighter series was the best fighting series of all time on the Super Nintendo system. Then came the PlayStation. Here, Street Fighter Alpha is released and a sequel, followed by the first 3D SF fighting game, Street Fighter EX plus a. Sadly, not all of these will be available in this

mr

January 1998

"A bunch of visually

| had known as a kid that | could one day own arcade-per- fect versions of Moon Patrol, Burger Time and Tapper, | proba- bly would have done cartwheels. So why am | reluctant to shell out 40 or 50 bucks to get these games (not to mention four others) on a single disc? I'll tell you why. Aside from bone-fide classics like Pac-Man or Asteroids, most games of yesteryear just don't have the playability of today's hits. An unfair comparison? You bet it is, but it's true, nonetheless. Most “classic” games were based on a single play mechanic, and after the nostalgia wears off, you're left with a bunch of visually archaic yawners.

STREET FIGHTER COLLECTION

1or2 Players

o ВЕСИ

e

5. $

collection. | don’t know why it’s called a collection when only three games are included. The world will never know.

The first disc con- sists of Super Street Fighter II and Super Street Fighter Il X. The second disc features Street Fighter Alpha 2, which introduces | а few new characters never seen & before in addition to those in the prequel. All three titles play superbly; they're very easy to control with the PlayStation pad.

| can’t argue that this is a good deal considering you get three full games, but they all are still the same game to me. —Dindo Perez

archaic yawners.”

Out of the bunch, the side- scrolling lunar exploration game Moon Patrol and the whimsical bartending sim Root Beer Tapper held up the best. Burger Time and Joust 2 still suffer from what ailed them originally; Burger Time’s bad con- trol still makes it a pain to get on and off those ladders, while small arenas and the awk- ward Pegasus transfor-

mation still ruin Joust 2. ® e You can play most of this stuff

Unless you have a wheel, Spy Hunter is 5 B for free on your PC via emulators painfully bad, while the ultra-obscure fossils y m

Splat! and Blaster are so terrible they should have been allowed to rest in peace. —Gary Mollohan

MIN

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After an abortive first attempt at spawning a sequel, the game that coroner-ed the survival horror market once again walks among us.

lose to 70 percent finished with what was intended to be the sequel to Capcom’s 2.8 million-selling spine-tingler, Resident Evil, producer Shinji Mikami faced an agonizing decision: plow ahead on what he knew to be a lackluster sequel or pull the plug and start from scratch. For Mikami, there was only one answer. Informing the next of kin, namely the 40+ artists, animators and programmers who had been laboring on the game for the better part of a year, proved more difficult. “Everyone turned blue” upon hearing the news, recalled one team member. After some initial grumbling, Mikami's staff unanimously agreed it was the right move, too. So what exactly was so terrible about Resident Evil 1.5, as the game has become known to Capcom R&D? Mikami-san recently shed some light on the matter in an interview with Famitsu Now, Japan's best-selling weekly (yes, weekly) video game publication. Employing a cooking analogy, Mikami explained that blame couldn't be placed on a single ingre- dient. "Each ingredient was not bad—good vegetables and good meat. At that time, | thought it would be a good stew if | threw everything in the pot with a little spices. But after throwing everything in the pot and tasting it, I thought, ‘What is this?’ | knew that even if | took time Y and cooked, this would not be a good stew." а

7 3

Further deciphering of the Famitsu interview (When lealing with the press, Japanese developers can be notoriously coy, forcing magazines like Famitsu to print such Tiger Beatesque information as the developers’ favorite foods. Mikami-san, it seems, has a hankering for white tice and pickled cabbage...) lead us to believe three of RE 1.58 "ingredients" weren't quite as tasty as the others. First, the ultra-modern concrete and steel buildings that housed ДО much of the action were | bland and repetitive-looking. Second, in an effort to get *- more zombies on screen, Capcom simplified their polygonal models, making the zombies less frightening. And third, a professional

writer was brought in to review 1.58 coy?) We story, which co-starred a spunky female inferred motocross racer...with attitude, and that since was understandably appalled. RE2 has

So Mikami abandoned the first stew and set about finding an entirely new recipe. The first ingredient to change was the backgrounds. While Resident Evil 2 shares 1.5’s urban setting, Raccoon City Police Headquarters (site of most of the action) is an agi Western-style building, re spooky atmosphere of RE: mansion. To achieve the hi

no returning characters, Claire at lea provides a blood link to the first install: ment. Plus, she doesn't run around in brightly colored motorcycle leathers...

Capcom also added greater detail to their character models, creating a total of 1 ique zombies, including an all- пе ale zombie. Instead of the dingy ‘ n pajamatike garments worn by [2 adheads, RE2's zombies wear

ood-stained T-shirts, tattered jeans and sy, АЧ а

ы Not only are-the

zombies тоге varied, but they.can be дезкоу a variety of new а!

Japan to take pictures and to

get a feel for the ways. 20 S can now general ambiance. be lit on fi blown in Next Capcom half with hotgun. nixed motocross Arms and legs can be racer Elza Walker removed with a single,

in favor of Claire Redfield, younger sister of RE1's Chris Redfield and friend of rookie cop Leo Kennedy, RE2's second protagonis LT

an interview we conducted with Capcom

well-placed shot, and the zombies' heads can А be punted from their odies Pelé-style.

nd Leon have added detail, as w damage system

of Japan, the develop- al indication of their ers said, “Claire is y few bites, and your more appropriate ch his or her side.

„Саше and Leon walk imp and.are unable further elaborated on im in the Famitsu inter- ged it so that the char- heir stomach heir foot when s/he gets dam- aged. In the

design-wise, charac- n near d teristics-wise and with a prono

story line-wise.” to run. үе (See what we

mean about being `

original, you didn’t know the characters’ health condition unless you opened the sub- screen. Because of that, the character. could die all of a sudden after running fine....Also, | think that it is possible to [create] tense situations. that you haven't seen [before]. For example, a situation where a character with [an] injury cannot run

but [is attacked] by some fast enemy like a dog."

These cosmetic improvements, howev- er, pale in comparison to RE2's new "Zap" system, which allows the player to vary the story by choosing from differ- ent scenarios. Here's how it works: The player begins by selecting either Claire or Leon, each of whom has their own ded- icated disc. After beating the game and saving to a memory card, you may begin a second scenario as the same character or you may Switch. As you 21 play through — the game a second time, you'll notice changes in

PlayStation Magazine (3)

OfficiarU.S>

story line and endings. You will also witness many of the same events but from an entirely different perspective. By our count, this creates at least four ways of completing Resident Evil 2. Even so, “there is still only one big flow of [events],” explained Mikami. In our interview with Capcom, the devel- opers indicated they first thought of the so-called Zap system during a late stage of КЕ1 5 development; however, it was too late to implement it in the series’ first installment. Aside from some additional weapons,

a new Lara Croft-style auto aim, and

an expanded cast of sub-characters the player may briefly control, including a 12-year-old girl, RE2 remains remarkably true to the classic Resident Evil formula. The sequel runs on a modified version of the first game engine and contains the same prerendered backgrounds and static,

or fixed, cameras. Given the success of Tomb Raider, many wondered if Capcom would make a move toward true 3-D for RE2. Even though the idea occurred to Capcom, such was not the case. “Even before we started develop-

ment of RE1, we considered making it a true 3-D game. However, we gave up on that idea, because we decided the current perspective is the best way to present the sense of horror and a movie feel.”

And it is Resident Evil's “movie feel" that has always been the game's most striking quality. Perhaps for the first time in history, a video game used lighting, dramatic camera angles, editing, sound effects and music to rival / the tension created by a Hollywood epic. In an interview appearing on PlayStation Underground | Volume 2, Final Fantasy VII у ф producer Hironobu Sakaguchi | stated it is now possible, in his opinion, for video games to surpass movies in enter- | tainment value. Thanks to a higher degree of interactivity,

Sakaguchi enthused, players can

"get further into [games],” to the

point of "becom[ing] one with the

visual images.” When asked

about the comparative advan-

tages of the two media, the

developers of RE2 were more

diplomatic. “Movies and games

have their own merits, so it’s 2 impossible to say which is a better medium. Both should be improved to reach a higher level. The only thing [we] can say is that it’s impossible to produce high-quality entertainment by simply imitating other media. [We] believe more and more superior entertainment can be produced if both movies and 4

i я 7 6

۹

January 1998

Magazine Ө

1 PlayStation

games understand each other's merits and take advantage of them."

As the line between video games and movies

game, Activision's Apocalypse. Cutting- edge game developers like Psygnosis use Dolby Surround Sound, the same technology used by filmmakers, to draw their audiences into the action. LucasArts' PC title The Dig was originally conceived by Steven

continues to blur, the argument over which is the superior form of entertainment eventually may become

realizing his story was unfilmable. Even more incredible, action guru

Spielberg, who had intended to develop it as a movie before

tight-lipped, stating only that they

a moot point. Bruce Willis will soon become

the first A-list movie star to appear in a

йоу, ré | i Gu e

5 series of Resident Evil action figures!

he first group of five will contain characters from the original Resident

While toy giants Hasbro/Kenner and Mattel were duking it out over the master toy license for the new Star Wars Trilogy (Hasbro/Kenner was awarded the license in October, reportedly beating a last-minute $1 billion-dollar bid by Mattel), New York-based Toy Biz was quietly snatching up the licensing rights for some of the most popular video games. As seen in the December issue of OPM, a naugahyde shorts-wearing Lara Croft should be swinging onto store shelves some time in the new year. Equally exciting, Toy Biz will produce not one, but three

Evi

some Hunter. Tyrant, Resident Evil, also

will be available and will tower a full three

will be included

Resident Evil 2 is, it is the possibility of a third installment in the series

. Included in the series will be 5” versions of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, a dismemberable Zombie and a fear-

inches over the other figures. If that weren’t enough, a companion figure

would consider additional installments if RE2 becomes “a big seller.”

James Cameron is considering using nothing but CG- generated characters in his next feature film! As impressive as

that really has us salivating. When asked about Resident Evil 3, Capcom was characteris- tically

with each 5” figure, making them a steal at $5.99. Chris, for instance, will come with a zombie dog that can be blasted to pieces, while Jill will be terrorized by a giant spider filled with smaller baby spiders. Series One is scheduled to hit stores in late March or early April. Series Two and Three, based on Resident Evil 2 and the big-screen adaptation of Resident Evil, are scheduled to appear sometime thereafter. V^?

oF

the end Boss from

They also refused to comment about which platform would be the recipi- ent of RE3. Resident Evil's memory- hogging backgrounds and cinemas make the N64 an unlikely candidate, but you can never really count out the big N, especially with the impending release of the N64's disk drive add-on. While the current PlayStation still has several J x y

good years ahead of it, the rumored # PlayStation 2 (or PlayStation 64 ог d whatever Sony ends up calling it) Фа offers more intriguing possibilities. If f. à г the Resident Evil movie-currently i being penned by heavy-weight screen- writer Alan McElroy, whose credits include Spawn, Die Hard 4 and Scud: The Disposable Assassin—is a box-office hit, might Capcom incorporate its stars into RE3 in the same manner Activision digitized Bruce Willis? (Doing so might be a good way to remedy the sub- par voice acting that continues to plague the series.) Could a big-name Hollywood director, Such as George Romero or Sam Raimi, be brought in to block key shots or video sequences? Given the continuing convergence of film and video games and the processing power of emerging game con- Soles, the possibilities are almost as scary as the residents of Raccoon City.

[Oia ет I E ra

ст шъ |

ША

ELECTRONIC ` : Official camme EGM? PlayStation

et Boe Der u dir y 1998

Tt’ S Фан Vou Nod. To Pao

"m. прау, videogamespot company

- <

ara Croft has never been one to

sit around and it wasn’t long after

, her previous expedition that she

А embarked on а new adventure. Marco Bartoli has discovered the location of a powerful dagger, enabling the possessor to transform into a fierce dragon. From her start at the Great Wall to the foothills of Tibet, this rigorous journey will test her abilities at every turn. This strategy is not a complete walk- through, but rather a guide pointing out trouble spots and the locations of secrets. The later levels will be touched on in a little MP more depth, but still leaving plenty for you to Т discover on your own. Now strap on your favorite pair of automatic weapons and head for the interior of China.

er

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lara's abilities, | suggest you spend some time in the Practice Mode at her mansion. Veterans of the first installment will find that she controls the same apart from several new moves. The obstacle course will explain how and when to use the various tech- niques that are available. Practice jumps while sliding down an incline and test out her new midair turn-around. If you can complete the course in close to a minute and a half, you are ready to put your skills to the test.

In addition to the pistols, automatic pistols, shotgun and uzis from Tomb Raider, the following are the new weapons Lara has in her arsenal.

| Flares have been К | The M-16 is power- added to explore LT | ful and best used Í dimly lit areas. E at a distance. It

Use them sparingly through will take her longer to fire this the early levels of the game. than some of the other guns.

The harpoon gun AA | Use the grenade is the only weapon $ И launcher on unsus- a ШШ used underwater, Same pecting enemies.

but it has slow reload time. It will be almost useless once | like to avoid using this one. they are on the move.

ULTIMATE GOAL - Search the Great Wall for clues as to the location of the Dagger.

KEY OBJECTIVES - The Stone Statue can be found in the first area. About half way up the wall to the guardhouse you can follow a ledge that leads back toward the pool.

This is where you will find the statue.

- Once Lara has reached the top of the Great Wall, seek out the Guardhouse Key in the pool below (watch for a tiger when you leave the pool).

- Once inside the guardhouse, your skills will be tested by the gauntlet of traps that line its corridors. This area can be tricky and your success will ultimately depend upon your precision and timing. The following is the layout of the traps in the gauntlet:

ULTIMATE GOAL - Open the large gate under the clock and escape in the speedboat before it strikes 12.

KEY OBJECTIVES - Open the gate leaving the area so that you can leave with the speed boat. Before leaving this first area, you will want to snag the Automatic Pistols from the gunmen who appears after you open the Boathouse.

- Stop the boat after you go over the waterfall. Search the water for the Gold Dragon.

- To continue any further, you will -

1 - Wade into the water and use the ledge on the left to shimmy past the booby traps below the water's surface.

2 - Run across the break- able floor and take a hard right. Entering this room will set off two boulders that will be gaining on you from behind. Continue running until you near the spikes and jump over them. Jump early to use the slope to cushion the drop.

3 - Immediately run to the left and head for the elevated opening. The spiked walls will be closing in on you, making the retrieval of the automatic pistol rounds very tough without getting impaled.

, 4- Keep running and leap over

| the series of floor blades until you emerge into yet another spiked wall trap. Grab the Jade Dragon

| quickly and enter step to safety.

5 - This corridor is lined with | spikes, but if you hug the wall | on the right, you won't get hit.

chime, use the ramp through the walkway to reach the now-opened canal. When attempting the ramp, hold the X Button to reach a faster top speed. This is the quickest route and the gate needs to be reached before the clock strikes 12. How do you get past those mines? Rev that engine up and head straight for them. Jump off just before your boat collides with the mines. Use the other speedboat

| | | | | 4 | ! то leave the level.

need to raise the water in the lock. To bad we don’t have a good

6 - Finally, stand on the breakable floor after you have dropped down from the spiked corridor.

- From the ledge you can use the rope slide to reach the exit or explore the area below by climbing, down the cliff. This deep crevice contains the Gold Statue and much to my surprise, two T-Rexes. One will appear when you first enter and the second attacks after you grab the statue. Use the narrow corridors to shelter you while you pick them apart or have some guts and take them on head-to-head.

The Details

Eidos has created more detailed enemies for you to face in Tomb Raider 2. The grimacing lion of Tomb Raider has been replaced with a much cleaner looking tiger in this sequel. Other opponents include fierce Xian warriors and even the abominable Yeti.

Lion from the original Tomb Raider

Improved tiger from Tomb Raider 2

locksmith...never mind. Pull the boat all the way forward and then throw the switch to raise the water level. Jump in the water and pull the lever to open the door leading out. Before leaving this area, search the opposite wall to find a = ladder leading to the Stone Dragon. There | q are also some uzi clips in the water here. |

- In this portion of the level, you will need to raise the two gates blocking one of the narrow canals which are an essential part of your escape route.

А a ФЕ - The switch that opens the gate leaving the level will trigger the clock. As it begins to

ШҮ,

- The Jade Dragon is found in

the portion of the walkway that you crash through with the speedboat. *NOTE: Be careful when running the speedboat at top speed. If you ram into something, you will take the damage, | по the boat.

uonelsÂeld

Although it is easy to get caught up in the adrenaline rush of a firefight, keep in mind that many enemies can be taken out with the pistols. Learn to conserve your more powerful ammo for the more dangerous

Some Advice...

Bartoli's H

I ULTIMATE GOAL - Locate the Detonator Key (to destroy a portion of the building blocking your way to the Opera House.

balcony. The Stone Dragon is here.

- You will find a moveable block in the fire- place which leads to a ramp lined with blades that activate when you slide down. Instead, step to the top of the ramp and dive into the water. The burners that face you are timed and will go out briefly when you step on the square in front of the first burner.

) KEY OBJECTIVES - When you arrive at the

» dock, the first thing you will need to do is open the outer door. Reaching it will require

lyou to work your way to the second floor.

- In this large ballroom, you will eventually | want to end up at the windows оп the top left. A quick survey of the room and you will discover a switch across from the

| middle chandelier (it opens the painting

' holding the Library Key). On the back side of the rafter is a switch changing the levels of the chandeliers allowing you to reach the key.

- The overhang directly in front of the door you just opened can be tricky to jump to. With your back to the wall, take two steps forward to make the jump successfully.

- On the second story of the house you will be attacked by a gunman. Enter the large room where he came from and turn to the left to find a switch. Go back out into the hallway and enter the opened doorway to the

- The drop down the chimney will put you outside the library. Throw the switch in the water to open the gate into the next room. Explore

| Opera Hou

ULTIMATE GOAL - Work your way through е Opera House and confront the evil artoli in his hidden warehouse.

- For some reason, the swinging box on the opera house roof had me trying to time my jump with the box. All you need to do is a

1 running jump to grab just left of the box. KEY OBJECTIVES - You will first need to obtain the Omate Key from the room directly across from the swinging box. Return to the platform next to the swing- ing box and then head for the stained glass window. Locate the flattened area of the roof to the right of the

{ window. Once there, jump

| left onto the slope and grab | and hang. Now drop down fto the window ledge.

- The control room you've opened has two switches and a slot for the Circuit Board you obtain later. Throw the switch on the left for now; the other won't be functional until you find that circuit.

- When you reach the stage area, work your way down to the | ground floor and then up to the second level from the bottom.

| The only way to reach this level

- Once you've used the Take this route across... Omate Key, save your Бате. You are faced with ‘leaping across these break f ing tiles until you reach safety on the opposite side. There are two sections of three tiles in a row that will take you across. standing jump followed by two running mps will get you to the other side. The

| tiles won't break while hanging on them,

пу when standing on them.

adversaries to come later in the game.

this underwater area to turn up the Gold Dragon and two grenades.

- The room on the left from where you ——— - entered the library leads outside and to a small building. The building itself contains the Detonator Key. Go to the far end of the wall and jump to the roof of the building. On the other end is a smoke stack and an opening in the wall. A standing jump will allow you to grab the wall and drop to the pool containing the Uzls.

- The Jade Dragon can be found by climbing the brick wall past the detonator. Work your way up to the window and go through it to claim the statue. Do this Î before you use the detonator!

- Use the Detonator Key and watch the fireworks.

is to go down first. From this level you can drop down the elevator shaft into some water. Climb up two levels and enter the air ducts from the dressing room. Opposite the area of the ducts with the сгаїе in it, you will notice a dark ledge. This is where you will find the Jade Dragon.

- The switch at the top of the room off to the right of the stage will drop a sandbag, opening a trapdoor in the stage floor.

- Explore this area to find the Relay Box, a switch and the Stone Dragon.

- The Relay Box will allow you to activate the elevator on the uppermost level of the stage area. If you wait for the elevator to go down, get on the roof and grab the ladder on the side of the shaft. This will lead to the Gold Dragon. Take it easy around that bro- ken glass. Once you have sent the elevator back up, you can explore the new area to find the Clreult Board. Inserting the Clrcult Board in its spot will raise the curtain.

= The final warehouse area is lair to the Boss, Bartoli. He is tough! It would be suicide to drop to the floor at this point. Once you have made the leap past the swinging box, find a spot out of Bartoli’s sights. The crates against the wall on the right side of the room

are perfect. Pick off the dogs and get in a few shots

on Bartoli as well. Use the uzis or the shotgun to finish off this

ULTIMATE GOAL -

| Get access to the series of locked

| doors by using three colored pass cards.

| KEY OBJECTIVES - | Those dirty thugs

m - took all your weapons! Your first priority is to recover your pistols from the plane. When swimming near the plane, be aware of the fan just waiting to catch you in its pull. When you swim through the passage opened by the lever, you will notice a door under you. Pull the lever in the area in which the tunnel emerges to open the door, revealing the location of the Jade Dragon. Once you have your pistols back in your possession, take out the two roaming henchmen. One of them has the Yellow Pass Card.

- Once through the door accessed by the Yellow Pass Card, go right until you find the living quar- ters. Here you will regain the Automatic Pistols and find the Harpoon Gun. Н

- Enter the ceiling hatch from the top bunk on the right side. When you slide down the incline, do it backward so you can grab hold of the edge at the bottom.

- Once you have made it past those burners, be sure to climb the ladder on the left before diving into the water. The Stone Dragon waits for you on the roof of the rig. The thug in this corridor holds the Red Pass Card.

Secret Dragons

By now you may be wondering, what’s the point of collecting all of those dragon

statues? Well, there is no big payoff. You've got yourself bragging rights with your friends and the satisfaction that you've

left nothing in the game unexplored.

Isn't that enough?

- In the room with two large water pools, your goal is to find the Green Pass Key, allowing you to enter the second take while it's filled

with water. When you open the trapdoor in the y (97 control room, you will slide down to a large r D 3

room. Before entering the water below, | IW. 4

would suggest taking out the gunmen =, \

on the catwalks (one of them will give \

you a Shotgun). The Gold Dragon is at \

the base of one of the elevated walk- ways and can be reached by

jumping into the water. The Green Pass Card is on the opposite side of where you entered

the room.

- Fill the far pool with water and exit the level through the water-filled corridor.

ПД TIO 9661 Menuer

Official U.S PlayStation СӨ January 1998

b b Diving Area ULTIMATE GOAL - Reach the final diving area to head off Bartoli.

KEY OBJECTIVES - When you have ente the room with the two moving hooks, be sure to collect the Uzis off one of the fallen gunmen. The key to passing the hooks is to make a standing jump to the platform. If you pull yourself up to the far edge you won't get hit. Now line yourself up for a running jump. Time it well and you won't take any damage from the hook when you back up.

- The long slope in the next room holds the Stone Dragon. Slide down backward to

land in the notch containing it.

- After that long climb, you will want to drop down the opening so that you are sliding backward. This allows you to grab the ledge at the end of the slope. Drop down a level and pull yourself up quickly to avoid getting killed by the waiting gunman. A running jump through the break in the railing will get you safely to the Blue Pass Card.

- The area accessed with the Blue Pass Card is home to the first of the enemies that are armed with flamethrowers. He is to the left and he is aided by four dober- mans. Take the dogs out first and keep your distance from his fiery reach.

- When you

come to the

area past the

helicopter pad,

you will find the

Machine Chip

and the M-16.

Hit the switch

on the right and then the left one. Now move as quickly as you can before the flames return. Grab the chip on the first run and then go back for the M-16.

- The Jade Dragon is beneath the grate in the room opened by the Machine Chip. The control panel across the room from the entrance will open to reveal the switch.

- The second Machine Clip is needed to shut off the saw, enabling you to grab the Red Pass Card. When you enter the room after you hear the voices talking, don’t approach the body in the center of the room until you have picked up the Gold Dragon in the next room. Hope you don’t mind getting your feet wet.

Underwater Foes

Battling the denizens of the deep with your harpoon gun can be difficult. Slow to shoot and reload, there is plenty of time for them to close in on you. | suggest you avoid engaging these nasty creatures altogether. It shouldn't be difficult to outmaneuver them, but if you must take them on, use the quick turn-around. Put some distance between the two of you before turning to take a couple of shots.

| Рота |

ULTIMATE GOAL - Work your way through the outer portions of the ship to reach the decks of the Maria Doria.

KEY OBJECTIVES - Air. Where do you find it down here? Follow the barrels strewn about the sea floor and enter the hull of the ship by the anchor.

- When you first emerge from the water and enter the open room, you will see the Stone Dragon. Take care not to run over the trapdoor in the center of the room to collect it.

- After you are through with the thugs in the room below the trapdoor, jump to the open- ing and turn to your left. Throw the switch here and run toward the portholes. To the left is now an opening. Dive to find the Jade 1, but watch out for those barracudas.

- You will need to swim all the way to the top of this next area to find a lever that opens a door at the bottom. How's that for conve- nient? The lever there opens the hatch at the top. Be sure to look to your right to find the С Dragon.

The puzzle involving the two sets of burners block-

ing your path is a little tricky and will take some good timing on your part. Take the darkened hall in the middle and climb the ladder (A) to find the first switch. Throwing it will open the door to the room (B) that is down the hall to the right of the burners. The switch inside Room A will turn off the first section of the burners (C). The switch that was blocked by these flames is now safe to throw and it will open the door near the row of portholes (D). The switch inside Room D will turn

off the far section of burners (E). Once you throw this switch, it is a race against the clock. Head back to Room B and proceed to throw the switch there. Quickly make your way back to the hall with the burners. If you are quick enough you should be able to run safely to the door (F). The switch in front of you will open the door.

- Drop down to the bottom level of this rock- filled room and move the box to allow you to reach the switch. The rocks in the room above will have fallen through, giving you a way to reach the opening on the oppo- site wall. This opening leads to

a steep drop with a door in the

Climb the ladder to. find the first switch.

The door to the right of the burners opens.

side. It sure would be nice if there was some water in there. Return to the previous room and locate the two holes leading back up. The one on the right leads to the switch opening the door in the aforementioned room. Now &o back down and climb up the opening on the left to find the switch that fills that room with water. This will take you out of the level

The switch inside will shut off half the flames.

uoneijsAe|d атӨ

Good timing will get you through safely.

| ULTIMATE GOAL - Find the three Circuits to make your way | into the living quarters of the

| Maria Doria.

KEY OBJECTIVES - The Stone Dragon can be seen from where you drop through the breakable

` floor. Go forward and look for two overturned sofas in the corner to the left. The opening above will lead you straight to the statue.

- Move the three blocks to reveal two passageways. Go right to the large, open room. On the opposite side of the staircase is the Rest Room Key.

/ - You will end up returning to the area where you got the Rest Room Key to explore the newly opened panel. To get

up to that second floor, find the elevated area of floor and climb up. You are able to shimmy along that far wall, even though it doesn’t look possible. Shimmy to the other side and run around the outside to find the First Clrcult.

- The hallway lined with five doors may look intimidating, but it shouldn’t give you any grief. Your goal here is to find the Rusty Key.

- After using the Rusty Key, run across the breakable floor, making sure to watch out for the barrels coming from the right. The

à — / | ULTIMATE GOAL - Fill the first | area of the level with water and | find your way to the theater in | the next.

KEY OBJECTIVES - You will

want to find the switch that

changes the position of those | giant pistons. You can find it

Official U.S PlayStation @ January 1998

just past where you turned off the burners.

N

\

| \ | Living Quarters

Jade Dragon is behind where the barrels came from. Climb up and then immediate- ly drop down i and move to LENIN A... - the left to avoid a second wave of barrels.

- Drop down through the floor to the boat and pull the lever that is in the water to open the above door. Quickly climb up to the door that has opened and throw the Switch to keep it open. Slide down the Slope and jump back and forth over the trapdoor until it closes.

- Circle to the left in the large room with the glass floor and push the switch there. Move straight back and hang/drop to the lower level. The Second Clrcult is out in plain sight.

- The Third Circult is found back by the rest room. The double doors you opened here need to be shut to reach the Circuit. With all the Circuits in hand you can now use them and make your way across the room.

- Seek out the Cabin Key in the shark-filled water in this next area. The Gold Dragon is found in a cave in the top of this under- water area.

- The final area of this level has you in the water again, navigating an eel-infested tunnel. It’s on to the next level.

- From the top of one of the pistons you will be able to jump to a ledge with the Stone Dragon on it.

- Once you have rearranged some boxes to leave your- self an exit route, throw the switch to move the pistons again. Work your

way to the switch she looked at on the way in. This will fill the room that had the burners in it with water. Watch out for divers.

- Having re-entered the boat, find the switch

| to open the door. Use the switches inside to

| drop the trapdoor, allow- | ing you to reach the upper walkway and the living quarters.

- You will see the Gold Dragon, but it's surrounded by broken glass. Jump across the opening to the hallway above and drop through the breakable

ULTIMATE GOAL - Find the Seraph, a key to uncovering the Dagger of Xian.

LEVEL OBJECTIVES - Try as you may, it is not possible to get up to the next level of the deck from here, but you will find the Grenade Launcher. Dive into the water below and pick up the Stern Key on the surrounding rocks. The Stern Key opens the door hidden behind the middle box 4 eee in the area at the base of

to the upturned section of the ship. From

floor. Walk past the glass and pull yourself up.

Enter the water with the barracuda. Break through the floor and swim into the next area to find the Jade Dragon.

- |n the next area, head to the spot that looks like it would make a good pool. Move the box to find the Theater Key. This place has Abe Lincoln written all over it. Raise the curtain to check out the backstage area to find a switch. It will fill that suspicious area in the other room. This will take you to the deck.

| - Drop to the | deck below

| on the side of the ship you haven't already been Î оп. You need to use the pillars to leap across

the ship.

- After you have drained the water from this room, you will find yourself at the edge of some water with a rubber raft floating in it. The Stone Dragon is in the

water here, along with usual aquatic pests.

- Exit the pool on the opposite side and follow the cave to a hole in the floor that drops down to the raft. A full life bar is needed to survive the drop. Grab the Cabin Key and watch out for the newly arrived trio of sharks.

- Return to the cave and take the passage to the left. This will return you to the deck of the ship. Use the crates provided to climb back up to higher levels once you have dropped down.

- When you reach the deck with the pool on it, check | out the discolored portion of | the wall. It will open to reveal the Gold Dragon and a diver. This pool comes in handy if you get hit with a flamethrower.

-—

the second pillar you can jump to the ledge with the Jade Dragon on it. Grab the area next to the glass and then shimmy over to pull yourself up. The drawback is that you will have to go all the way around to get back on the pillar.

- When jumping across the gap to the orange area of the ship, take your jump from the higher portion of the wall you're standing on. Go to the opposite edge and drop down to the ledge below. Follow the passage across

from it to the top of the deck area.

- You will finally come to the door requiring the Cabin Key. The switch inside is sur- rounded by breakable floor. Run straight at the switch and then use the other unbroken section to make your retreat. д

that last door on the ground level. This storage room holds the Seraph. Now, back to dry land.

- The Storage Key you find will open Y

Cabin Key

ULTIMATE GOAL - Use the snowmobiles provided to help you locate the hidden entrance to the Barkhang Monastery.

KEY OBJECTIVES - Jump through the large sec- tion of cracked ice and then jump and grab the wall in front of you. You will need to work your way around the outside of this area to reach the cabin across the ravine. Keep an eye out for falling icicles.

- Before trying out the snowmobile, collect the Stone Dragon to the right of the hut.

- Alright, Гуе never ridden a snowmo- bile before! Similar to the speedboat, use the X Button to accelerate over

larger jumps. Unlike the boat, you can run enemies over with the snowmobile.

Battle Tactics

- Use the drawbridge to race past the avalanche area. When you look around the scat- tered snowballs, you will find the Hut Key. Trying to deal with the snowmobile Boss can be very tough and doesn’t give you anything but a headache. Don’t even worry about him. Grab the key and high-tail it across the big jump. He won't follow you past it. You will have to leave your beloved snowmobile when you near the hut.

- Once you throw the switch in the hut, a small army of henchmen will come from outside. If you

Always take the opportunity to get in some sniper shots on the enemy when the chance arises. When you have no choice but to engage the enemy, use Lara's side flip to your advantage. You're a tough

target to hit when you hop around like a jumping bean. When using any of the smaller weapons, you can face even the toughest foes with taking minimal damage.

A series of ramps run around the outside of the area you enter. Move the blocks in the opening in the wall and jump across.

- As you proceed into this cave, you will come to a narrow path that veers off to the right from the main one. Take it and climb up the wall to find a switch which opens the gate

blocking the left side of the cave.

January 1998

e

- When you come to the big jump, stop

and get off the snowmobile. Look to

the right to find the Jade Dragon sitting on a ledge.

- On the far side of the jump there is an avalanche of snowballs waiting for you. Accelerate quickly to get past them.

S PlayStation (|

- Walk to the edge and climb down the wall where the snowballs rolled off. You will find the Drawbridge Key tucked in this cave.

Watch out for the gunmen behind the wall of ice and the icicles over the switch to the gate.

are low on ammo, run into the cave where you left the snowmobile. Putting some distance between you will certainly make this easier.

- The raised area in the center of the next room is where you want to go. Another snowmobile rider will attack when you enter the room. Shoot him and then take his snowmobile.

- Keep to the left of the next gap you come to or you will plummet to your death. The Gold Dragon is at the bottom of the gap. Climb down and be sure to watch out for the snowballs that come out of the cave.

- Use the gun-mounted snowmobile to assault the two riders that attack you in the next area. Wait at the top of the slope for them shooting from behind once they pass you by.

- Gun down the sniper to the right of the big cliff. Now ride the snowmobile off the cliff and it will land in the pond below. Lara will jump off before it explodes. Follow x

the tunnel that leads to the hidden Barkhang Monastery. | hope she doesn’t shave her head.

ULTIMATE GOAL - Find the five prayer wheels to unlock the exit.

KEY OBJECTIVES - You will arrive on the scene of quite a melee between some of Bartoli’s goons and several spear-wielding monks. Don't shoot the monks! The monks will aid you throughout this level, repelling attackers as they come. Feel free to help them out, but just make sure it’s an enemy you’ve got a bead on. Hitting one of the monks will result in getting bum-rushed by any monks in the vicinity. Trust me, it won't be pretty.

- Climb the ladder and work your way around to the upper balcony, entering the monastery through the windows.

- Enter the room on the left in the large hallway, climb the ladder and grab the Maln Hall Key. Continue your exploration of this walkway and you will come to a large pool. Keep to the edges of the pool or the suc- tion will drag you to the bottom. Drop down the shaft to the water below and travel through the waterway. Watch out for booby traps on the walls. The first Prayer Wheel is in a hidden room behind a crate. Leap over the flames that fire up after you grab it. Head to the Main Hall.

- A look behind the giant statue will reveal the location of the Gold

| Dragon.

t - For now you will have to explore the hallway to the right of the large statue. | The hall at

| the very end leading to the ! left is just a series of traps. Run toward the flames and they will briefly go out. Move toward one of the swinging spikes just as they move away. from you. Wait for the rolling blade to pass to your left before climbing out and then tackle the second set of swinging spikes. After the final rolling blade, you can find the Trapdoor Key in the next room. The Jade Dragon is at the end of the hall

with the rolling blade. A little patience

and it's yours.

- Through the trapdoor you will head outside. Work your way to the top of the small building and drop down to find another Prayer Wheel inside.

right. sunglasses аё nip

"F wear My

- Go to the hallway on the opposite side of the Main Hall. After the room, the hallway is lined with blade traps. The room on the left side has the Strongroom Key in it. Don't bother going any farther down the hall, it's a dead end.

- The Strongroom simply holds the Rooftops Key.

- Now you want to go to the room with the two rolling blades to use the Rooftops Key. After the row of burners, throw the switch and drop down one of the two trapdoors. Break the glass and grab the two Gemstones. Use one of the Gemstones

to open the star-shaped door, giving you access to another Prayer Wheel. Hang on to the other Gemstone for now.

- Check the first door on the left of the large hall to find a pool. The Stone Dragon is in a small nook in the corner of the pool.

- Return to thé large hallway to the right of the large statue and take the first door on the right. Under one

of the lower crates are some automatic pis-

tol clips. There are some harpoons under the top box on the left, but you'll need to. do some rearranging. | don't care much for that harpoon gun anyway. As you continue on, there will be a stairway on the right which ends with a window. Run up and break through the window (make sure you have a decent amount of health). Three gunmen will try to attack you from behind, but you can sick the monks on them once you are outside. A very long climb to the top of that ladder will be rewarded with another Prayer Wheel.

Vote: pack long LOS nect time

- The second Gemstone is used to open the trapdoor under the statue. Climb the ladder lead- ing to the top of the statue and place it in the notch on the far side.

- Enter the trapdoor under the statue and drain the pool to reach the last Prayer Wheel.

- Insert all of the Prayer Wheels to open the doors. Use the Seraph to exit the level.

ULTIMATE GOAL - Collect the two Tibetan Masks to make it through the catacombs.

KEY OBJECTIVES - The S on can be found by grabbing the ledge to the left and shimmying to the opening.

- Climb down the ladder and kill the Yeti. These guys will close on you very quickly. You need to slide down that slope back- ward to make it across.

- Your goal in this large cavern is to drain that pool. First, get rid of those boulders by running up the slope beneath them and quickly getting out of their way. Climb up to the three breakable tiles by the ladder. Backflip from the top of the ladder to land

„January 19

Ice Palace

ULTIMATE GOAL - Find the Talion hidden inside the Ice Palace.

KEY OBJECTIVES - Shoot the bell at the beginning to open the door. The room you enter echoes with the sounds of Yetis. Never fear. This motley crew is locked

* up tight; that is for the time being.

Official U.S. PlayStati

trategy

Catacombs of the Talion

on the ledge. Flip the switch and grab the Tibetan М The pool drains when you do.

- When you open the gate with the mask, run up the slope and jump to the side. Get up on higher ground to safely dispose of the four leopards that appear.

- Climb up through the opening on the left side of the room. There are six snow leop- ards when you hit the floor. Two will appear right away, but the other four will try to surround you. Lure them out by twos and use the elevated area where you came in to shoot them from.

- Search the area near the ice wall to find another Tibetan Mask. The area this opens sounds worse than it is. The Yetis are locked up and can’t go any- where until you throw the switch. Once finished with them, push the block under one of the gates. This allows you to escape after throwing the switch, opening the door

in the other area.

- When you have made your way to the pool behind the ice wall, look for a ladder leading up to the Ja . This level is full of places that require you to backflip off of a ladder.

£

The other one in this area leads to a switch opening the set of double doors.

- Having opened the large gates, you are confronted with two sets of ominous-look- ing boulders. Jump onto either ramp to trig- ger the snowballs. Do a backflip and then jump forward over the oncoming boulders. Repeat this for the other slope as well.

- In the next room, the off-colored floor plate on the left will open the door on the left. Once inside the room filled with spikes, leave through the other door leading back into the room you came from. Don’t miss the climbable wall to the left of the two doors. The Gold Dragor is on a ledge above the room. Jump over the - boulders, hitting the plate on the other side. Do a quick about-face and get back into the room and through both doors before they close. Jump immediately after you are through that second door and grab the ladder on the far wall. The dropoff here will break every bone in her body.

- After defeating the Yetis, you will find a switch , lowering a ledge in the area behind where their cage used to be. Check the wall in front of the opening to this area to find that you can move the block. You will have to make a leap of faith to reach the G

. There is an invisible walkway that leads straight to the statue.

- Run toward the single springboard near the gates, holding forward to land on the new ledge you have created. Jump up to shoot the bell, opening the sec- ond of the gates. The next section will require a little more of Lara's skills. Run toward the springboard with the sloping wall on your left. Hold grab on the way up to get hold of the ledge. Shimmy to the right and pull yourself up, backflip- ping to the slope behind you. You will have to jump back and forth between the two slopes. Draw your gun while jumping to shoot the bell opening the gate to exit this area of the level.

- The room ahead containing the Tlbe sk you need is guarded by several white tigers. Seek higher ground to get out of reach of their deadly claws.

- In the room with unlit burners, go to the last open-

ingt [o drop down without landing on spikes. Use the to cross a foot bridge in what should

bea а fami iar area. Mais the switch at the end to reach the G . Be sure to check the small pool from the evê level to receive two uzi clips. Swim into the next room to find the path to the Ice Palace.

- The path to the left leads to a cache of grenades, while the one to the right leads to the Ice Palace. Don't pass up the Stone Dr: hidden in the dark

Temple of Xian

ULTIMATE GOAL - Return to the upper level of the temple to try to stop Bartoli.

KEY OBJECTIVES - As you approach the Dagger of Xian, you will fall through a trapdoor slide down a series of ramps ending in a large pool. As you near the waterfall, face backward and hang on to the edge. Shimmy to the side to find the (

- Use the springboard to reach the roof and throw the switch that opens the trapdoor.

- There are two ledges to drop down to from the top of the next room. The drop is too far from the top so climb down the ladder before dropping down You must shimmy to the 1 from the bottom ledge.

—

area near the flares

you pick up. The two groups of boulders will roll down, but the rest won't move until you are running through the chamber. Work your way past the icy ravines to the top of the Ice Palace.

+ Whack the gong using the Gong Hammer. Check underneath the gong for the п. When you hit the floor outside, the enormous Guardian

of the Talion will attack. Lure

him in close and then climb

back toward the gong for a

safe vantage point. The

grenade launcher

works well

against him.

Killing him will

` end the level. Before you go, run

across the room to the left side to

find a ladder lead- ing to the switch

that opens the

hut next to

the Ice

Palace. Inside

the hut is the location of the

8661 Menuer

Ө

trateg

- Climb the wall over the spike pit and use a back- flip followed by a forward jump to reach the top of the wall. You will need to stand on the third section of breakaway tile to land safely below. The next

room holds the switch that opens the temple door.

- In the temple you will come to a room with lava. From the final sloped pillar, do a midair turn to grab the ledge. The switch you come to is nothing and you have to drop through the trapdoor in front of it. Never mind the medi pak—quickly throw the switch and get out. The next area has three boul- ders to avoid while heading to the ladder. Light a flare and drop into this room and throw the switch. The next ladder with the blades is a pain. Go past one at a time or try your luck with a free fall. Go past the rolling blades and you'll find yourself above the entrance room of the temple. The switch opens

the doors on the opposite wall and will require good timing to reach before they close.

- After the swinging spikes, hit the switch on the right and side flip to hit the one on the left. Go quickly down the corridor before the gate closes. Once through, don’t stop. A boulder will be closing from behind. Just backflip over it. At the base of the statue you'll find the Dragon Seal. Throw the switch to raise some platforms that allow you to exit the level. Starting on the right, work your way around to the left side. When you use the spring- board and land, you will trigger a boulder. Jump to the right to avoid it and then jump back immediate- ly to avoid the new boulder you triggered. The gene EM on the right will allow you to reach the n from the ledges above.

- Go through the door opened by the Di seal until you reach the room with water in it. There are three switches that need to be thrown before the door will open. The urgency is that the ceiling is coming down on you and it is loaded with spikes.

Magazine

- In the pool, the first lever will raise the water level. Look to where you came in to find a stash of items. Swim down the corridor and go to the tunnel on the right. Pull the lever and turn to enter the door it opened. Now pull the lever. inside to open the door by the very first lever you pulled. The last lever opens the door at the top.

US PlayStation

- When you drop into the water with the current, it will bring you right to the € - Find the switch opening the gate on the right side

of the tunnel. The dark cave is crawling with spiders and they are big! You can take them out easy enough with the pistols, just keep backing away with guns blazing. In the final chamber,

climb around the outside of the room to reach the opening leading to the ey.

- When jumping up the first set of platforms, beware of the oncoming boulders. They will be trig- gered when you step on the second and third plat- forms. When you have crossed the bridge, work your way up to the rolling blade. Backing down the slope and climbing down the ladder will lead you to some uzi ammo. Go the other direction to find a stationary rolling blade. You can grab the items there safely and then must go across the bridge to hit the switch that opens the inner temple. | hate to say it, but the rolling blade is now active. As it approaches you, jump over it and make a hasty retreat. Go back to the springboards in the first room. Stand to the right of the first springboard and back all the way up to the edge. Take one step forward and side flip onto the springboard. The momentum will take you all the way up. As you hit the last springboard, hold forward and then grab.

ULTIMATE GOAL - Find the evil Bartoli and recover the Dagger of Xian.

LEVEL OBJECTIVES - Jump to the sloped island in front of where you started. You'll slide down and then be able to jump across to the first Mystlc Plaque. Jump to the island with the three statues on it. As soon as one of the Xian comes to life, jump back to the previous island to shoot him. Climb the ledge on the left side of the island to reach the roof and the Jade Dragon. Climb down to the area under the island; follow the chain of islands until you come to the large t-shaped structure. The switch inside will open the bottom of the house. Jump to the steep portion of the island in front of you and use it to jump to the structure. Another Xian will come to life when you land on the island, so use the same method to dispose of him. The second Mystic Plaque is inside. Taking it will awaken the final Xian. Now it's time to go crash the gates.

is located down a Ped to uo right of the gates.

- You need to open the gate at the end of the rope slide. You first need to take the rope slide half way down and drop onto the bridge. The switch inside will open the gate. Deal with the two Xian that come to life and head back up to the rope slide.

‘Floating Islands |

- You will notice a tunnel in the wall of flames on the one side of the room. Stand on the block to pick off the Xian that emerges. Jump to the other side and another Xian will come from the same place. Having dealt with them, move the block and throw the switch on the second level. A switch is now accessible in the deep chasm dividing the room. Throw that switch to open the trapdoors in the fiery pool on the far side of the room. Climb up to the second level and do a running dive into the opening. The switch in this room opens a doorway above the rope slide. Turn the blades off with the switch opposite the exit and head for the newly opened passage. Walk to the edge of the spiked room and jump across to find the Switch to open the door to the next area.

- Slide down into the pit backward, with your back facing the door with the two Xian. Throw the switch to lift the cage and then run to the blocks behind you. Hide behind the center pillar to peek out and sniper these thugs. If you drop to the floor, they will overwhelm you. The Xian down here will come to life when you get close to them. Draw them out and then Seek safety on your perch. This will con- serve your much-needed ammo. There are two switches on the sides, one opens the gate at the base of the stairs and the other opens a door at the top of the pit. When you throw the switch at the top of the stairs, the Xian outside will come to.

| usually run back downstairs to deal

with them.

- Climb to the top of the lattice work and then move down à couple of steps. You then need to backflip, followed by the mid- air turn-around, grabbing the other wall when you do. To use the rope slide at the top, move the block underneath it. Before you do, grab the Gold Dragon on the left side of the room. Jump to the rocks and look for the indentation on the other side of the lava. From there jump across to the opening until you finally claim your prize. It's time to deal with Bartoli.

of the trade

Codes and Tricks for the PlayStation

Marvel Super BACK UP MENU Heroes SAVE DATA

Play As the Bosses LOAD DATA You must first beat the game and

save it in the Back Up Menu.

Now play Arcade Mode with the

Shortcut Options off, so you can

see the players’ pictures. Now go

to the Player Select Screen and N А do the tricks as shown to access шаг. пи: the secret Bosses (The default E е Cheat Menu Code

config for the buttons are used): a On the Main Menu Screen, move down Dr. Doom: Press Down, then hold i ер to the Enter Password Option and

Down and press and hold X. With 3 ` access it. Enter the code: Left, Up,

X held, press and hold Circle. | 9! LOND 3 Triangle, Down, Circle, Triangle, Square, With X and Circle held, press and s Я Down. Then press Start. Move ир їо hold R1. Do this in succession Y "Start Game" on the menu and access with Down held at the same time. it. A new menu will appear that allows You must do this code quickly. with Up held at the same time. you to turn on or off unlimited contin- The picture will now change to You must do this code quickly. ues and weapons, the option to play as Dr. Doom! The picture will now change to a monster and a level select cheat. Thanos: Press Up, then hold Up Thanos. Choose any one of these before you and press and hold L1. With L1 Ben Rosko begin your game.

held, press and hold Triangle. Pittsburgh, PA Matt Barnes

With L1 and Triangle held, press Willoughby, OH Square. Do this in succession „ ——-----------------------------

Street Fighter EX+OL

Hidden Characters Revealed

This code has now been confirmed on the U.S.

n of the game, but the commands have changed slightly. On the Mode Select Screen, highlight the Practice Option and press Select, Up, Right, Down, Right, Select. You will see “Here Comes a New Challenger” on the bottom of the screen. PLAYER SELECT mes You now have e „т to Cycloid Gamma, sd ® Бр” Cycloid Beta, Killer К

Hakuto and Evil Ryu! d Curtis Bunch О)

Norfolk, VA ни RYU un 18 иа EE тко и 2

т витон то EXIT

Pandemonium 2

Many Incredible Codes

From the Title Screen, access the Password Option. On the Password Screen, enter one of the codes as shown below:

January 1998

GETACCES: This code opens up all the levels. SKATBORD: Get Speed Greed after every level. HORMONES: Gives you maximum health. IMMORTAL: This code maxes out your lives.

MAKMYDAY: Gives you a permanent weapon. NEVERDIE: Invincibility throughout the game.

Official U.S. Ё Ж елау Маале (У)

1 Д GENETICS: Gives you JUSTKIDN: Monsters 1 г: = = Mutant Mode. regenerate. i р а E GONAHURL: Access to ACIDDUDE: This gives you i ‹ еа sib offa 2 camera roll. cool psychedelic textures. vorite. dd йена ара oci oe dM ERREUR eee Lal U.S: E hd ga ne

Tricks of t 1920 Hig Lombard,

A y

" Final Fantasy МП Increased Items Track This will boost up the amount of items within your inventory. Once you have equipped a character with the W-Item

Command Materia, you should

be able to perform this trick.

Just begin your game and when that character enters a battle,

select the W-Item command by pressing the Circle button

when it's his/her turn to fight. Now choose the item you wish to increase by pressing Circle again. Then select the character in the menu you wish to use the item on by pressing Circle. When you return to the Item Screen, choose a different item than the one you chose before by pressing Circle once again. Finally, press X (to can- cel), Circle (to activate), X, Circle, X, Circle and so forth. By pressing these buttons continuously, you should see the number of the first item you initially chose increase steadily.

Dragon Ball GT: The Final Bout

Six Hidden Characters

This code will increase your character count to 16! At the Title Screen, press Right, Left, Down, Up,

Right, Left, Down, Up.

You will hear a sound

to confirm that the trick

worked. Now press Start

and go to the Character

Select Screen. You will

have six additional

fighters at your disposal.

Each one varies in

strength and abilities.

Triple Play 98

More Vocal Credits More credits have been found! In the middle of a game, hold

the top four L and R buttons and enter these codes: Eric Kiss: Up, Triangle, Up, Triangle. Duncan Lee: Left, Square, Left, Square. Tony Lee: Right, Circle, Right, Circle. Jon Spencer: Up, Triangle, Up, Up. Gary Lam: Left, Square, Left, Left. Kirby Leung: Right, Circle, Right, Right Marquis Davis Warner Robins, GA TORE e:

PlayStation Underground No.3

Hidden Preview Moves

Put in the second CD of PlayStation Underground No. 3 and you will get to a Menu Screen (shown below). From here, you can access the hidden preview movies via a few cool codes:

Blasto: Press R1+R2. Hold the

and press L1+L2. You'll get a Blasto preview movie.

Crash Bandicoot 2: Press Circle, Triangle, Square, Circle for the

preview movie.

Spawn: Press Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Circle to get a Spawn preview movie.

Formula 1: CE

Many Game Cheats Enter any of the following cheat codes at the

“Edit Driver” Option to receive various results within a race. Begin your race to see the results. For Four Bonus Tracks enter: BILLY BONUS

For Helicopter View enter: ZOOM LENSE

For Background Music/New Sound Effects enter: SWAP SHOP

For Sprite Commentators enter: BOX CHATTER For Huge Tires enter: LITTLE WEELZ

For Wipeout 2097 Mode enter: PI MAN

For Virtual Graphics enter: VIRTUALLY VIRTUAL For Raining Frogs enter: CATS DOGS (Note:

Be sure to switch the Weather Option to view

this code).

January 1998

Official U.S. ДАНИ Е СӨ,

Die Hard Trilogy

Begin one of the Die Hard games and press Start to pause. Press and hold R2 and then press Left, Right, Up, Down, Square.

Each game will give you

different results.

Die Hard: The code gives you unlimited energy (invincibility). Die Harder: The code gives you unlimited energy, map editor (Start button) and a weapon select (Triangle).

Die Hard With a Vengeance: After entering it, press Start on controller two for the Options. Press Triangle to toggle the clock and X to select your level.

y E] nnnnnnnnnn

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.

Machine Head

At the Main Menu of the Title Screen of these codes to get the results

nter any one

Infinite Ammunition:

BE ‚ L1, Circle. L1,

L1, Circle, L1, Circle, L1, t1, E15 L1. Infinite Energy: Circle, L1, L1, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L1, L1. L1, L1, Circle, Circle, L1.

L1, L1, L1, Circle, Circle, Circle, Circle, L1, L1,

le (Then use R1 and R2 to select your level).

You will hear a laugh if you did a code correctly. Now you will never run out of ammunition, never get hit and you can choose your starting level. To turn a code off, just do it again at the same Main Menu Screen.

To get a hidden Options Menu in this game, highl the Options from the Main Menu. Now press and hold-L1+L2+R1+R2. With these held, press X. In

addition to the normal options that appear, you will have access to many more under each subheading such as Ghost Car, View Angle, Missile View, Position Marker, Panel Layout, Track Map, Headup Speed Meter and much more. You can choose to turn these options on or off.

Listed below is the method to access each of the three new characters that were previously unplayable.

Bilstein: At the Title Screen, press and hold Select while entering Arcade Mode. Keep holding Select, move onto Gore and press X, Circle, X, Circle, Square, Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, X+Circle. Kappah: At the Title Screen, press and hold Select while entering Arcade Mode. Keep holding Select, move onto Hayato and press Circle, Square, Triangle, Square, X, Square, Triangle, Square, Circle, Square, X+Triangle. Blood: At the Title Screen, press and hold Select while entering Arcade Mode. Keep holding Select, move onto Bilstein and press X, Square, X, Square, X, Square, Right, Circle, Triangle, Circle, Triangle Circle, Triangle, L1--R1.

Time Commando

At the Main Menu of the game, TIME COMMAN

enter the “Code” Option. At the Password Screen, put in the word, ACTIVATE. Then press the X button. You will begin the game at Level 1. as normal, but you'll start out with very little energy in your lifebar. Instead, you will start out with four batteries and 99 blue chips!

Р VAA

WipeOut XL

After you put the WipeOut XL CD in the system, wait until the PlayStation logo appears and then press and hold L1+R2+Start+Select. You must hold these for the duration of the trick, or it will not work. When the Title Screen appears, take your finger off the Start button and then press and hold Start again with the rest of the buttons while the Loading Screens are on. Once the Main Menu appears, you will be rewarded with animal vehicles that have replaced the regular teams.

WipeOut XL

If you want to jump ahead of the competition. you had better be able to get off the starting line in a hurry. What you must do to get a fast start is keep the gauge of the thrust meter between the first two large bars. When the announcer says, “бо,” then you will be thrusted ahead as if you had landed on a turbo boost. You can put the

gauge between these bars either by accelerating until it is around that mark, then repeatedly pressing the button so . it stays around that mark, or by timing it so the meter is

in that area by the time the announcer says, “Go.” Either way will work fine.

<>

| PlayStation

| Tomb Raider

When you are in the

game, go to the

Inventory Screen by

pressing Select. Now

press the following but-

tons in this order: L1,

Triangle, R2, L2, L2, R2,

Circle, 11. You will hear Lara make a sound. Now press the X button. Go back into the Inventory Screen with Select. You will now have access to all the weapons!

Twisted Metal 2

These tricks will give you а

5 T an advantage in the game, е. Twisted Metal 2, and make it more fun:

CHOOSE BATTLEGROUND

[Ken DAN MENU орилох]

Special Moves

During the game, you will have access to a number of

special moves and attacks for any vehicle you choose.

Three of them are already listed in the manual (Freeze, High Jump and Rear Attack). Here are some more that you can do while in the game (Note: Your special meter must have some energy to do these moves. Each one

takes different amounts of energy).

Land Mines: Right, Left, Down.

Napalm: Right, Left. Up

Shield: Up, Up, Right

Temporary Invisibility: Right, Down. Left, Up.

Secret Characters

To access two secret characters from the first Twisted Metal game. go to the Car Selection Screen and press the following buttons on the first controller: After entering the code, you will hear an explosion to confirm that you did it correctly.

Sweet Tooth: Up. L1, Triangle, Right.

Minion: L1, Up, Down, Left.

Secret Battlegrounds

These stages can only be accessed in a two-player game. Choose a Challenge Match and at the Battleground Selection Screen, enter the following codes to get these new battlegrounds. After the code has been entered,

you will hear an explosion to confirm the code was entered correctly.

Cyburbia: Down, Up, L1, R1.

Suicide Swamp: Up, Down, Right, R1.

Rooftop: Down, Left, R1, Down.

auizesew ена NI EE S

Official U.S. ЁК А

gadgets,

There comes a time when you

just want some big honkin’ speakers. If it is that time for you, you should check out the Sony SAVA-100 surround-speak- er system. The system comes with two big tower speakers like you see here as well as two rear satellite speakers to complete the experience. There is an on- screen display to help you navi- gate all the features. Speaking of features, the unit also has a built-in tape player and seven- disc CD changer. Performance wise, the unit produces deep, rumbling bass that makes you feel every beat. There are sever- al surround modes that let you cater to your listening tastes and all are satisfying. Considering you get a nice surround system with CD and tape player, the price is right.

Sony $1000 ООС

ectronics, arts and recreation

оос 5G No question, this should be in your home QOG 46 Recommended, very cool

(УХО За Pretty good, check it out СО 2G Below average 1G Very lame

п our never-ending mission to bring you the latest and coolest entertain-

Portable DVD Player ment items comes the P-Theater. It is

basically a portable DVD player and it

comes from Samsung. The existence of this cutting-edge product was just recently announced straight from the corporate headquarters of Samsung in Korea. As you.can see, the unit is quite compact and is said to be the smallest DVD player to Бе introduced in the coming months. The unit will not come with the head set (or woman) pictured below. The unit does give you the option of being con- nected to a TV like a normal DVD player. When

you're ready to hit the road, the unit can be powered by lithium-ion batteries that provide up to two hours of viewing per charge. The coolest part about the unit is that it will play video CDs and audio CDs in addition to the snazzy DVDs.

If all that wasn't enough, it can be used as an external DVD-ROM unit for PCs! It can also be hooked in to a car to provide a high-end audio experience. The P-Theater will hit some time in the 2nd quarter of 1998. You should start saving now if you want to have this piece of hardware in your home in time for Christmas.

Samsung $TBA

peripherals

PlayStation ™

The Glove

s the look and complexity of video games continue to advance by leaps and bounds, the one constant in the industry seems to be the oft-maligned pad controller. Sure, they may have a few more buttons than they used to and are a little more comfortable to hold, but the standard PlayStation pad uses the very same technology as the boxy old NES controller.

Enter The Glove by Reality Quest. The device straps onto your arm (only righties need apply), allowing you to literally play all of your favorite PlayStation games with one hand tied behind your back. Simple wrist movements do the work of the directional pad, while Square, Circle, X, Triangle and L&R1 are conveniently grouped at your fingertips. (L&R 2 are hiding under your thumb.)

[PILUS Rather than generate cheats like InterAct's GameShark, Realtec’s Game Plus is more of a silicon storehouse for all of your favorite codes. In addition to containing built-in codes for 90 hit tiles, the Game Plus allows you to add your own cheats, such as the ones found at the back of this magazine.

The device is 100 percent compatible with your entire PlayStation library

and contains such whiz-bang extras as Simulated Analog, reconfig- urable buttons, a true analog

X-axis (left/right) for driving games

and a Y-axis (up/down) that can

be flipped on-the-fly.

So has Reality Quest built a better mouse trap? Alas, no. While The. Glove may breathe new life into some of your older titles, the device is

more of a hindrance to

attaining higher scores

than a help. The sensor

arm moves smoothly

but makes precise

movements a real chore. While The Glove works reasonably well with DOOM-type games and flight sims, don’t even think about using it for fighting or platform games.

Realtec $59.95 (23

Reality Quest $89.95 OG

8661 enues

Barracuda

ony had designed themselves a nice analog controller, but that didn’t stop InterAct from making a version of their own. The first thing you notice is that the mold of the

cumbersome. The Barracuda

does have some delicious

extras like Slow Mode and Programmable buttons. Trust

controller is a sort of large, con- “зш. а me, the programmable but-

toured, crescent shape. It’s very ^ ton feature is critical when

comfortable to hold and gives ( ۵ № ^ playing games with no button configura- you better access to the L and ^e tion option. Rounding things off

R shoulder buttons which are is the D-pad which feels nice, but

located on the underbelly of the controller. The analog sticks are slightly longer than the Sony model which is a good and bad thing. On games like G-Police and

Colony Wars, the

longer sticks give

you a looser control

o ultimately is not as effective as the stock model. There are some trouble spots though. The L and R shoulder buttons could be made

to be more comfortable as well as the D-pad. So what's the final verdict? The Barracuda is a fine controller with lots of advantages over the regular analog pad. It really is an acquired taste though,

suzese UO

9: J ie

over your movements while the Sony model is a bit too tight. On

the other hand, a game like Moto Racer requires tighter control which suits the Sony model, while the

Barracuda's longer sticks make steering

InterAct $29.95

but one that has definitely made me a believer. Once you adjust to the layout of the pad, you'll find it's hard to go back to other controllers.

ообо

hat happens when a dynamic art form meets a dynamic storage format? Anime DVD! So, is it a match made in heaven or a passing fad? Judging by the latest releases available in stores now, it’s leaning toward the former. Quite delicious.

Battle Arena Toshinden The first of the anime releases on DVD packs in most of the features we'd heard the format is capable of. There are dual languages supporting Japanese and English dialogue with the option of English or Japanese subtitles as well as chapter selections for you to choose from. Very nice transfer quality resulting in crisp colors and good sounds. Recommended.

U.S. Manga Corps $24.95 00010 Street Fighter Il: The Animated Movie

This release is a mixed bag. 5 has some of the nicest animation sequences around, but lacks an involving story. The biggest crime is that it seems to suffer from a mediocre transfer resulting in muted colors. Defining it as muted is a bit extreme, but the colors are not as vibrant as they should be. There aren't any extra features either. Still good. Sony Music Entertainment $24.95 QOO

Aeon Flux Vol. 1 You can't quite define it as anime, but for our purposes, it's close enough. Aeon

Flux suffers from the same lack of extras as SFII, but makes up for it in improved sound. The fact that each episode on the DVD is a chapter break is very conve- nient. This disc collects some of the best episodes making this a nice package. Sony Music Entertainment $24.95 сас

Armitage Ill: Polymatrix If you want to see what DVD can do for anime, get Polymatrix. This

is by far the best of the pack in terms of story, sound and animation quality. The voices of the main characters are provided by Elizabeth Berckley (Showgirls, Saved by the Bell) and Keifer Sutherland. Don't worry, they do a fine job. Polymatrix also packs in lots of extras. So go out and get it already.

Pioneer $24.95 особ

Tenchi Muyo: The Movie Tenchi Muyo in Love is the big-screen adaptation of the popular OAV series. The animation and sound is solid as is the transfer quality. Where Tenchi falters is the story. It suffers from slow pacing and bad English voice dubbing. The original Japanese voices are excellent and is the best way to view the disc. Tenchi also has the most extras of any anime DVD.

Pioneer $24.95 GOG

Evangelion и „Ане METURE QUALITY Coming next year is one of the hottest series going. Shown on the opposite page is the import version. ADVision $TBA Coming soon

Anime DVD/ Video

“rhe sean, green rignung. machine is back - and! | better than ever!”

ny way you slice it, giant turtles are just plain cool. A.D. Vision has come to the rescue, delivering the star of many a classic monster movie to U.S. shores. Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe is a tale of people in the midst of disaster, brought together by a turtle with a big heart. It’s a modern-day telling of the classic Gamera story, and an excellent monster/action movie.

A.D. Vision, $29.99 (sub), approx. 90 minutes

GOGOE Варна,

Rail of the Star is a drama about a little girl, Chiko, | 23 0а Q and her Japanese family on their journey from North Korea to South Korea during World War II. The story and animation are both good, and it moves at a good pace, but those unfamiliar with the history of World War Il might not be interested in it.

A.D. Vision, $29.99 (sub), approx. 80 minutes

осо

Viz Video's Grey: Digital Target is an action-packed film about Grey, a soldier who follows his own rules on his mission to relieve his pent-up frustrations.

} The animation quality and story are both very good Guided by the light (in a retro way), and Viz's dub is top-notch.

Viz Video, $24.95 (dub), approx. 80 minutes

ообо

DVD SPECIAL EDITION

{ШЕМ

A desperate Journey.

Across a warzavage

ixx Zine #2 is a little bit different than the first issue, and the improvements the team has made are for the better. Sailor Moon and Magic Knight Rayearth now lead off the book, with Parasyte and Ice Blade finishing the lineup. The translations, as with the first issue, capture the essence of the original Japanese manga without over-Americanizing the content. This issue also rings in the era of new paper. The first issue had newsprint, and was kind of clumsy for those used to nicely printed magazine or U.S. comic book pages. The paper makes it more enjoyable to read over again (no dirty fingers!).

Mixx Entertainment, $4.99 AX i

y

ow many variations can you make from Simon? Sounds of the Force is nothing at all like Simon, but is a variation that comes out as an enjoyable piece of entertainment. . The game basically requires you v to hear a familiar sound from the Star Wars Trilogy and

One would think that marrying the two concepts i of Laser Tag and Star Wars would be the best

thing since sliced bread. Unfortunately, Star Wars Laser Tag falls short in a

' couple of key areas. Although it is compatible with the previously released Laser Tag game from Tiger, it isn't quite as efficient.

The worst thing being that you have to use so many more batteries than the earlier edition. The guns don't feel quite as good and the chest targets are cumbersome. The triggers of the gun are a litte hard to pull i iM as well. If you like this type of action, you'd be a lot

Official US PlayStation

happier picking up the other Tiger Laser Tag game.

Tiger Electronics $49.95 гета

Sounds of те Еогсе

> a game. It’s not T. going to change the

toys, games

then find the corresponding sound. You have to search blindly at first, but it quickly turns into a game of memory.

It can get repetitive after a while, but taken in regular doses, Sounds of the Force is very enjoyable.

Tiger Electronics $24.95

OO

> A Stormtrooper

». Room Alarm

ove along! There they go, blast them! Zappp! That's the sounds you'll

hear if you're one of the

unfortunate few who trespass

in someone's room that is equipped with a Stormtrooper Room Alarm. That's right, a

Stormtrooper Room Alarm. Who wants some?! Simply pop the correct amount of AA batteries into his back and select a sound setting.

You can choose one of three sounds for the Stormtrooper to emit when security has been breached. As a nice bonus, the room alarm comes with a small laser

blaster that can be used with the

Stormtrooper as

face of home security as we know it, but it sure is neat to watch fellow officemates jump in a startled yelp.

ообо

Tiger Electronics $19.95

к and ped

Hey Gamers!

This time of year there are so many cool games coming our way it's hard to find enough space to tell you about 'em all. That's why we have EGM and EGM? special issues like the 1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide, Guide to Sports Video Games and Video Games for the Nintendo 64. Although these mags are created by your favorite EGM and EGM? editors, they contain lots of information not found in the pages of EGM and ЕСМ2. Let me tell you a little about each...

1998 Video Game Buyer's Guide

Put together by Dan Hsu and the rest of the Review Crew, this mag tells you our pick for this year's best system and which games you should buy! We also have our Good, Bad and Silly look back on the gaming industry, along with a massive trick index and game review chart with over 1,300 games listed and rated! Plus, go behind the scenes with Shigeru Miyamoto on

the future of Nintendo, and take a top-secret look at the world of video game-controller design.

Video Games for Nintendo 64

Written by brand-spankin' new Review Crew guy (and Nintendo-book veteran) John Ricciardi, this mag has everything you've ever wanted to know about the N64. It's packed with reviews of all the new N64 games, previews of more than 20 hot new titles, a huge tips-and-tricks section and —best of all—strategy guides for all of your favorite games. John just got back from Japan with the latest Nintendo news, and he's itchin' to unload it all in this special issue.

Sports Video Games

Tired of watching the other team make all the big plays? Want to know which sports games you should even bother playing? EGM's guide will satisfy all of your sports-gaming needs with comprehensive strategies, interviews, in-depth previews and a hard-hitting review lineup of the ultimate sports titles. Watch for the huge Madden 64 behind-the-scenes blowout and an interview with legendary Q-back Brett Favre. EGM's armchair jock Kraig Kujawa is writing

this sucker, which focuses mainly on football, basketball and hockey titles. Watch for it!

Crispin Boyer EGM Review Crew Features Editor

1998 vweo GAME BUYER'S GUIDE

On Sale Nov. 11, 1997

FOR THE NINTENDO 64

On Sale Nov. 25, 1997

On Sale Dec. 2, 1997

£ Don’t forget to look for our newest title...

Official

РІау$5абоп

Magazine

АуаПа!е Тодау!

Next Month

in the Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

PlayStation

Magazine Alps Interactive ...........ccccsscossssessvessees 21 ASG: Games... ы лсана 24-25 ASCII Entertainment ............... 68-69, 93 сак © E Come dungeon-diving in ( j it Working Designs’ new RPG Ў. ў à Eidos Interactive............ 134 Stop banging your z / WA M A 12-13 head into the dun- а geon wall! We'll - Fox їтїегасїїүе..........................; 131-133 take you through d a 2 this huge adventure, да GT Interactive нн. 8-9, 36-37 revealing the most \ juicy secrets to 3 _ Interact Accessories ..................... 48-49 help you solve the м , 1 вате"5 dozens of E - - N Interplay ARE POE VEEE ый 5, 87-89 puzzles. You'll find 7 à à it all here! Sa n EA e 46-47 Майса ......:... erre ron etonien e riesco rina 74-15 HOW TO CALIBRATE OPM Editor VE Beer Du rr РЫН И ЫА НОНЕ 61 YOUR TELEVISION eio More tech talk from Brent So who was tops in 1997? Find out in NAMO SEs ааа 33, 64-65 Butterworth of Home Theater Mag. OPM's first-ever Editors’ Awards. We've = > already started sifting through our game Pandemonium... closet in search of the wild, the weird Pepsi-Cola ... and the just plain stinky. 1997 was the most exciting year in PlayStation history, Psygnosis...........-. А so narrowing the list down is gonna be tough! Find out who made the cut and Вөайу.Ошевї...;...............;..............— 45

who got left out in the cold. Sony ....2-3, 17-18, 38, 55-56, 63, 82-83

T*HQ, Inc. .... 31 UB SON: И аген opi creen erra 59 Virgin Interactive ша 35 Working БЕШ... —— 43

Official U.S. PlayStation ДЖО) January 1998

е NCAA GameBreaker 98 * Crime Killer е Command & Conquer: Red Alert е Bloody Roar е Resident Evil 2 * Monster Rancher e Vigilante 8

Мех? Пето Disc! e Pitfall 3D

* content subject to change

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DELICIOUS!

“Like Lara Croft, (ВОС has more moves than you can shake a stick at.” -PSM-PlayStation Magazine

“Move over Mario. . .and cruise by Crash. . CROC rocks!” - GAMEPRO

“Don't be fooled. . .this is no kiddy game.” -Official PlayStation Magazine

“CROCs deep enough for even the most serious explorer!” -Gamefan

“One of the best PlayStation games of the year! 95% Gold.”

-PSExtreme

CROC © Argonaut Software Ltd, 1997. All rights reserved. CROC and CROC: Legend of the rks of Argonaut аге Ltd, 1997. © All rights reserved. PlayStation and the я =, PESARO yas ee tridemiatke ol Sony Cómputer Entertainment, Ic: Sega and Sega Sal ga Esrpisón Lid. Windows an rosa Corporation. Al Ни Reserved Windows “95 CD-ROM Е rere Каша LEGEND ӨЕ THE GOBBOS

ic mind Зате. torture and hideous mind дап)

Fi. names have changed, but the torment remains the same. In this institution of higher loathing, its skeletal warriors, zombies, flying dragons and monstrous spiders who are out

to make your Ше a living hell. So бо ahead, outwit and outslice £ 1

" |

“=> еуегу undead inhabitant in this maze of devious traps. And Е PlayStation - d А А i of ы find out w hy these just might be the best years ol your Ше. You’ve been warned.

www.deatht rapd ungeon.com

Майе уин! оме (97

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OUT Cel TS UO presene с/аѕѕіс оо дате magazines SO Wiel they аге по lost permanently:

Peopleinterestediin helping outinany capacity, please visit us at retromags-com.

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Thank you!