ITAR HERO Z NEED ЕОР SPEED CABON + А TON OF VIDEOS Я MORZE! MAGAZINE PS3 WORLD EXCLUSIVE! BLIJION SECRET RPG LAUNCH TITLE CONFIRMED! le a BLOWOUT ALL-NEW FACTION: BECOME THE DIVINE CRUSADER! WORLD-EXCLUSIVE REVEAL! OBLIVION PSP FINALLY, AN RPG WORTH HOLDING ON TO EXCLUSIVE IZIDGE АСЕ 7 NAMCO COMES THROUGH AGAIN FIRST HANDS-ON AND PICS! SPECIAL FEATURE ARE AMERICAN RPGS BETTER? MONI Commandment Thou shall race all offroading vehicles ATVs, bikes, buggi } m Thou shall do sick freestyle tricks off : jumps. E ` ` ‘Thou shall customize vehicle t make faster. “Ва shall race in ай terrain: stow, forest an especially mud. Thou shall strive to become a pro racer. Thou shall feed on adrenaline for breakfast, lunch and diner: Thou shall honor all commandments of the Birt Gods ог feel their wrath. АТУ. Offroad Fury: 4: Now rice with MX bikes; buggies and trophy trucks бп over. 70 new tracks; Live the life of a rookie rider іп Story Mode, andscustomizé your own бас with Track Editor. The Dirt Gods are pleased. Mild Lyrics ATV Offroad Fury 9702006 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Devéloped by Climax Racing. "Blaze Your Own Trail” is a registered tradgmarkof SAY Mild Violence Computer Entertainment America Inc. Onlin'eiconisa trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Online play requires Internet connection, Nework ‘Adaptor (forPlayStationz;2) or PlayStation®2 with internal network connector, and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation@2) (each sold separately). “PlayStati On. ۹ and the” PS" Family logo are.registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Live n Your World. Play In Ours." is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Ine. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association: P AD cs mountain air, tire smoke and nitrous With cities cracking down on street racing and the once-underground drift scene sliding toward sanctioned respectability, the corest of the core are heading for the hills. Or, more accurately, the canyons, where it all began decades ago in the Japanese touge. A perfectly executed drift is a marvel of physics and a thing of beauty on a track, but on a plummeting mountain turn, the stakes - and the adrenaline levels - are higher: Іп street racing, a bad night ends with the police impounding your ride and crushing it. In the canyons, a bad night ends with а 200-foot drop into a ravine - and your ride crushing you THERE ARE ТШО was Raw skill wins races. Recruiting a rock-solid crew paves the road to world domination. drafter Purist. Team player. Creates the aerodynamic draft that slingshots you to the front of the pack. NINTENDETS. scout Knows the map — and what's not on the 5 тар. Sees around corners. Finds shortcuts. ^ кА e blocker | Rough. Aggro. Makes life hell for yaar opponent. Opens the road wide for you. fabricator = Master of mods - adds body panels, roof / "em scoops, tall wheels, exhaust kits, wings. / саит Has skills to boost your ride’s juice m connections to get discounts on cars and parts. fixei Keeps the heat off your back — and ete you extra money when you win races. PLATFORM SPECIFICATIONS Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information. _ CREATIVE CLOSE-UP | ER GAMES ELA TITLE JM ED ORES I, EMD” DEVELOPMENT START at | primer, bolis and welding burns Like a lot of us, Andy Blackmore draws cars — except he does it really, really well. Blackmore, a designer at the EA Black Box studio in Vancouver who once worked for McLaren, spends his days putting down ingredibly detailed visions of American muscle, tuner imports and exotics — freehand, no less. In Need For Speed Carbon, Blackmore 7 has added 200 new works of art.to the game's lineup. In:the Need For Speed Carbon shop, players who love to get their handS-dirty can use the revolutionary new Autosculpt™ toolkit to mid body shapes, hoods, intakes; vents and every other detail of Ehe masterpieces created by Blackmore and fellow designer Mike Hayes. Or they can build eye-popping whips of their own. The best y part of working in the digital realm, as Blackmore puts it: "In the real world, you have to worry about legality." “It’s easily the best RPG to hit PSP, one of the best of the last two со (Game of the Month, 9 out of 10) _ LENNETH You are A VALKYRIE, CHOSEN TO RAISE FALLEN WARRIORS AND PREPARE THEM TO FIGHT ALONGSIDE GODS, DISCOVER CLASSIC GAMEPLAY, ALL-NEW CG CINEMAS, AND AN EPIC STORY OF DIVINE RETRIBUTION. AVAILABLE NOW FOR THE PSP" (PLAYSTATION'PORTABLE) SYSTEM RIE PROFILE 4 SQUARE ENIX. В. Fantasy Violence n Language www.square-enix.com Suggestive Themes Published by Square Enix, Inc. ү щш Use of Alcohol [$ YOUR sour PREPARED? BELT READY FOR ADVENTURES BEYOND MORTAL EXPERIENCE “This is one of the best role-playing experiences on the PS2 and shouldn’t be missed.” = Electronic Gaming Monthly E PROFILE 2 : SILMERIA d А REBEL SPIRIT, THE GODS HAVE EXILED YOU TO THE MORTAL WORLD. WHEN THE WARRIOR WITHIN YOU AWAKES, YOU MUST FLEE THOSE WHO WOULD CONTROL BOTH YOUR BODY AND YOUR SOUL. Ж. 227 AVAILABLE NOW FOR THE PLAYSTATION'2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM Alcohol Reference Fantasy Violence Mild Language шщ Suggestive Themes ESRB PlayStation. AVAILABLE OCTOBER 2006 ALSO AVAILABLE: XBOX 360™ COLLECTOR'S EDITION WWW.SPLINTERCELL.COM MATURE 17+ | | Blood PC Language | Violence (DVD-ROM SOFTWARE ^ СОХ 006 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Sam Fisher the Soldier Icon, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 60, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. ТМ, ©, and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. "PlayStation" and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc, Software platform logo TM and © IEMA 2006. Mobile version © 2006 Gameloft. All Rights Reserved. Gameloft and the Gameloft logo are registered trademarks of Gameloft S.A. IMOBILE VERSION) melê “BROADBAND ONLY, CONTENT RATED BY ESRB € А тот Clancy’s "CE DOUBLE AGENT =e тете өту WHEREVER IT'S DELTA FORCE RAMP UP THE CHALLENGE — — ; ба геол рена Тгоор Commander new missions through ашап) fields South American ا and more. ТИ А оле inclucinghne міс and IMIS Sniper, rifle: me GET THE MOBILE GAME BROADBAND ONLY vgmobile.com id Language lence fam E PlayStation.e ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrh.org 006 NovaLogic, Inc. NovaLogic, the NovaLogic logo, Delta Force and Black Hawk Down are registered trademarks of NovaLogic, Inc. Team Sabre is a trademark of NovaLogic, Inc. " “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Memory Card (8MB)(for PlayStation 2)(each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment nc. All other trademarks and logos are property of their respective owners. TEAM SABRE. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION. AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2006 www.teamsabrethegame.com N | VA L 0 р | б ТЕЕМ Violence - PL ЕІ ч! S 781 71 07 ГТ. 23 ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org ) SEGA. SEGA їз registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, IR&'SEGA logo, FULL AUTO and FULL AUTO BATTLELINES are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. CONTENTS ^ a DIE jy Ӯ ЖЕ »& li TL ІТ 24 DEAR OPM Would you like a К/опоа with that PS3? „—— и = = 32 TAKE А NUMBER Europe is delayed—should America be, too? 38 CLOVER STUDIO Capcom's spin-off hones its creative edge. 50 THE OPM INTERVIEW Criterion's Alex Ward wants you to get excited. 78 RIDGE RACER 7 Want the first hands-on? You got it. LER B4 CHARACTER STUDY Take center stage in MGS: Portable Ops, God of War ІІ, Resistance, and many more. 102 WHERE TO PLAY TODAY? Play anywhere your heart desires, thanks to these PSP games. у НЕ ЛЕШЕ ЕС A, i ils [^ i D A n & 105 Final Fantasy XII 10 МВА 07 featuring The Life Vol. 2 ПО МВА 2К7 no NHL 2K7 12 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 12 World Championship Poker featuring Howard Lederer All In FIFA 07 Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA One Piece: Grand Adventure The Sims 2: Pets Scarface: The World Is Yours Just Cause Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 God Hand The Fast and the Furious se ER * 120 Gangs of London 120 Spectral Souls: Resurrection of the Ethereal Empires 121 Bounty Hounds 122 The Godfather Mob Wars 122 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy 122 NASCAR 07 122 Tiger Woods РСА Tour 07 124 Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded 124 Every Extend Extra 124 Pac-Man World Rally 124 Super Monkey Ball Adventure ИЕН AH ШҮ” E (е 130 EAST VS. WEST Japan and North America face off. So whose RPGs reign supreme? 34 NEED FOR SPEED The history of a franchise. 35 GOOD, BAD, UGLY Cars to drive, cars to avoid. 37 ELISHA CUTHBERT Talks about her first time.... poa 38 IN MY DAY The PS3 cometh. NOUEMAEA OPMIUP.COM COMEIZED INSIDE Ж % ESE TEES The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 121 Bounty Hounds Genji: Days of the Blade 124 Capcom Classics Collection Resistance: Fall of Man Reloaded Ridge Racer 7 74 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Sonic the Hedgehog Every Extend Extra Gangs of London The Godfather Mob Wars Grand Theft Auto: Bully Vice City Stories Capcom Classics Collection Lego Star Wars II: Vol. 2 The Original Trilogy Dance Dance Revolution Metal Gear Solid: SuperNOVA Portable Ops The Fast and the Furious NASCAR 07 FIFA 07 Pac-Man World Rally Final Fantasy ХІІ Spectral Souls: Resurrection боа Напа of the Ethereal Empires God of War Il Super Monkey Ball Guitar Hero II Adventure Just Cause Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Justice League Heroes Marvel Ultimate Alliance NBA 07 featuring The Life Vol. 2 NBA 2K7 NHL 2K7 One Piece: Grand Adventure Scarface: The World Is Yours The Sims 2: Pets Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 World Championship Poker featuring Howard Lederer Allin THE LAST THING GOING THROUGH YOUR THE ULTIMATE NEXT-GENERATION ACTION-RPG EXPERIENCE. AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2006 Engage your senses in a world so immersive that it blurs where only you can end the long-standing oppression the boundaries between gaming and reality. Brought to of a tyrannical king. Get ready to experience Untold life through true HD graphics, heart-pounding combat Legends Dark Kingdom - the ultimate next-generation and in-game cinematic storytelling, players will find action-RPG. A game that will lead you so far into themselves in a world of beauty, betrayal and deceit, the darkness, you may never want to find your way out. р. pL РУ ч” — TATIOTT | WILL ВЕ Ж”. О УТ Go online 4 and play cooperatively with Devastate enemies with chained Embark on a fantasy your’friends or acquire melee attacks, mind-blowing spells adventure as it unfolds in additional game content and powerful special attacks true high-definition Blood Violence www.uldarkkingdom.com SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT RATED BY ESRB arks of Sony Online Entertainment LLC Game experience may change entertainment Inc. Al rights reserved during online play. 2006 Sony Online Entertainment LLC. SOE, the SOE logo, Untold Legends and Dark Kingdom are registered trademarks or in the United States and/or other countries. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Compu CDONTEMTS_DUD WELCOME TO OUR WORLD One of the things we pride ourselves on is bringing you the latest and greatest demos the gaming world has to offer. That is one of the benefits of reading the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, which you are holding right here in your hands. This month's disc lets you rock out to four songs from the upcoming Guitar Hero 11, get behind the wheel in Need for Speed Carbon, or battle it out with Billy & Mandy. Our video showcase also explodes this month, too, with more than a half dozen games to wow you So, what are you waiting for? Grab the disc and get to your PlayStation 2! If you thought the first game made air guitar a thing of the past, then this highly anticipated sequel will bury your days of strumming the atmo- sphere for good. WATCH IT! See what it is like to take control of one of these sky surfing crazy ol’ mechs in this combat- adventure game. It's like Point Break with robots! Choose your wheels, pimp out your ride, and see just what it takes to rule the streets in this latest iteration of Need for Speed. PlayStation.2 Here's more mech crazi- ness for you with IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix, featuring customizable formations and high- speed battles. PlayStation. Sample Versus Mode with up to four friends in this game based on the Cartoon Network series ofthe same name. PlayStation.2 L Fans of the anime series will enjoy this fighter featuring both fourplayer action (2-on-2 or battle royal) and single-player story mode. Namco has joined the kart-racing craze with this entry showcasing the granddaddy of video games: Pac-Man! Check it out! Check out the next install- ment in the .hack series, complete with new char- acters and an original story line set back in the world of The World. Here's something that adds new twists to clas- sic chess rules and let's you join teams in a per- sistent online world. The king of games rules. Play by the rules set by a bunch of creepy girls to solve puzzles, fight enemies and attempt to free yourself from this madness. Unless you like living in insanity. Set in early 1900s Taishou-era Japan, play as a devil summoner and detective who can sum- mon demons, then use their abilities to aid you. Furon Scout Crypto 137 returns to Earth in this sequel. Dive head-first into a col- orful world where jelly- like creatures sing. We could tell you what it is, but what would be the fun in that? Demo Disc Producers. Gary Barth, Cori Lucas, Manuel Sousa, Chris Tan Marketing Team Steve Williams, Егіс Lempel, Jesse Caid Executive Producer Peter Dille 0А Sam Bradley, Edward Toomy Account Coordinator Justin Flores Programming and interface artwork by Lifelike Productions, Inc. Lead Programmers Wiliam Bohan, Ron Midthun, Avery Lodato 3D Artists Jason Robinson, Philip Williamson, David Hayes President Katherine Williams Technical Director Tim Edwards Maimoona Block, Kirsten Costello, Christine DeNezza, Tom Gillan, Gerald Martin, Sean Thomas, Jim Williams DISC PROBLEMS? Did you buy a copy of our magazine that did not contain a demo DVD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked “ОРМ Replacement Disc" to OPM Disc Producer, Ziff Davis Media, 101 2nd Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, with the name and address of the store plus your phone number and address and we'll send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the corresponding disc belongs to in order to ensure you get the right one. If you have a malfunctioning or nonworking demo disc, call EDS at 1-800-627-6458. They will provide instructions to obtain repair or replacement services. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc included is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its option, the SCEA product. You must call EDS at 1-800-627-6458 to receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement services. This warranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if the defect in the SCEA product has arisen through abuse, unreason- able use, mistreatment, neglect, or breakage during shipment. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE, OR MALFUNCTION OF THE SCEA SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of consequential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This war- ranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state to state. 2006 www.guitarherogame.com та! PlayStation.e LN ACTIVISION. HARMONIX 3ctante ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.or 5 Guitar Hero Il ™ & © 2006 RedOctane, Inc. RedOctane® is a registered trademark of RedOctane, Inc. and Activision is a registered trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. Game code © 2005-2006 Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. Developed by Harmonix Music Systems. Protected by US Patent No. 6,429,863; patents pending. Gibson®, S.G.°, and the shapes and design elements of the SG Controller and the guitars are trademarks of Gibson Guitar Corp. under license by RedOctane, Inc. “PlayStation” and ine ded Family od are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. rights reserve STAFF TOM BYRON realizes that the PlayStation community may be crying over PS3 shortages and delays, but he can only think "Hmm, no units in Europe until March, only 100,000 units in Japan and 400,000 in the U.S.?" WO0t! Tom has always known America is #1 and Sony's finally admit- ting it! This is the biggest market and it's about time the good ol’ U.S. of A. got its proper due. Tom also insists it's everyone's patriotic duty to read Joe's feature about ап astounding RPG from an American developer, just a little game called Oblivion. DANA JONGEWAAD got inspired after playing with all of the clothing in The Sims 2: Pets and decided to try dressing up her real-life cat in а nice little outfit of hoodie and cowboy hat. How- ever, her real-life cat had something to say about the plan. Stupid pets. JOE I2 vBICKI has been keeping the existence of Oblivion on PS3 a secret for about six months, so he's very glad it's finally all out in the open. Keeping quiet hasn't always been easy, though. In fact, he's had to resort to some pretty drastic measures from time to time. і 4 Ў AN. RYAN UULK has finally beat Chains of Promathia. After ап extremely long year of constant level caps, random deaths, and a godly amount of potions and medicines, he can finally get his precious rajas ring. Thanks go out to Memento and Hero for making this possible. LOGAN раге has hacked himself into the Internet, so the next time you find items miss- ing from your desktop, you'll know who did it. Just like when we found this issue had disap- peared. He "claims" he just wanted to be the first to read it. We just unplugged his computer. THIERRY NGUYEN duplicated himself tenfold to write this month's previews. Unfortunately, what happened was that each of the ten assumed the other nine would do the work and instead sat and heckled Alejandro for playing that terrible men- ace known as God Hand. GIANCARLO UARANINI is really excited that we're getting to see more and more PS3 games every day. What he isn't excited about is bad Thai food that summons angry stomach fairies that do 48 damage to his insides. It's more like King of Bad Noodles! Jerks! ALEJANDRO СНАЧЕТТА wants only one thing for his birthday, and that is а cone of sweet merciful silence, where the only noises are absolutely no Noises at all. But since he can't get that, he'd like all y'all who come within 100 feet of him to shut the hell up already. Еге TEND AMIL ONTRIBUTORS EDIT Robert Coffey Jonathan Dudlak Chris Kohler Matt Leone GREG SEWART Jeremy Parish hails from the same Paul Semel country cold comes from: ART Canada. He recently got Huck Gee married, and he's about Jonny Krieg to take a full-time job, Stunt Kid which means this is his FONTS last issue with us. Con- Community Service grats, and boo. Unfinished stewy.1UP.com by YouWorkForThem JAMES MIELKE shares with the world his disturbingly extensive knowledge of Japan's bizarro world of pop culture in his debut as the writer of J-Town. We're a-scared. Мо, really. milkman.1UP.com PATRICK JOYNT is very sad that Scooter would not let him review Final Fantasy XII, as he is in love love love. But he still had fun playing Tiger, and didn't HATE his other reviews. egm ford. 1UP.com ROBERT ASHLEY comes from Texas, where they grow their game reviewers tall and snarky. He also makes music in not one, but two different bands. Не5 multifunctional like that. robertashley.1UP.com Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ISSN 41094-6683) is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc, 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY 10016 and additional mailing offices, Ride Along enclosed in all U.S, copies. Single-issue rate: $8.99. Subscription Rates: One Year (12 issues and 12 demo discs) $49.97 U.S., $65.97 all other countries, Ride along enclosed. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, PO. Box 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. For Subscription Service Inquiries call us at 800-627-6458 U.S. and Canada, or 303-604- 7445 all othor countries, Fax us at 850-683-4094 U.S. and Canada, or 303-604-0518 all other countries, ог visit our subscription website at sorvice.playstationmagazine.com. Back Issues: Back issues are $8 each in the US, $10 each elsewhere (subject to availability). Prepayment is required. Make checks payable to Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Mail your requests to: Back Issues, Ziff Davis Media Inc. RO. Box 53131, Boulder, CO 80322-3131, Mailing lists: We sometimes make lists of our customers available to mailers of goods and services that may interest you. If you do not wish to receive their mailings, please write to us at: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, РО. Вох 55362, Boulder, СО 80322-5362. Copyright © 2006 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis Publishing Holdings Inc. Without limiting the rights under copyrights duced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, ог transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written notice of Ziff Davis Media Inc. The editors and publishers are not respon- sible for unsolicited materials. For permission to rouse material from our publications or websites, or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media's Rights and Permissions Manager, Olga Gonopolaky, at permis- sions@ziffdavis.com. For article reprints and e-prints, contact FosteRoprints, 866-879-9144. ТМ & © for all other products and the characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright holders. All materials in this magazine are subject to change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Publications Май Agreement No. 40009221. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON ав are. Printed in the USA. vod herein, no part of this publication may be ге; THE MAGAZINE -Chief Tom Byron ging Editor Dana Jongewaard Senior Editor Joe Rybicki Previews Editor Thierry Nguyen News Editor Giancarlo Varanini Art Director Ryan Vulk Associate Art Director Alejandro Chavetta. Disc Producer Logan Parr Issue Contributors Robert Ashley, Robert Coffey, Jonathan Dudlak, Patrick Joynt, Chis Kohler, Matt Leone, James Mielke, Jeremy Parish, John Scalzi, Paul Semel, Greg Sewart I COPY. DESK `+ = зында ыл ата Сору Chief Jason Wilson Copy Editors Kaitlen Jay Exum, Andrew Fitch Sonior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Production Manager Monica Brent President Scott C. McCarthy r Vice President and GM, 10Р Network Ira Becker r Vice President and Editorial Director John Davison Senior Vice President of Publishing Scott McDaniel Vice President of Advertising Sales Marci Yamaguchi Vice President of Marketing, Research and Events Rey Ledda Group Creative Director Simon Cox Vice President of Advertising Sales Marci Yamaguchi Senior Director of Online Sales Rick Rizzo Director of Onli 's Brent Martyn [PUBLISHING лд ал e а] Senior Vice President of Publishing Scott McDaniel GAMING ACCOUNTS—NORTHWEST Regional Sales Director Amy Mishra Account Executive Mac O'Rourke SOUTHWEST southern CA, А? Regional Sales Director Leslie C. Gelfand Senior Account Executive Rita Kline. EAST AL AR, СО, CT, DE, FL GA, А, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, РА, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY, Canada Regional Sales Manager Andrew Reedman Account Executive Jessica Reback CONSUMER ACCOUNTS Senior Director of Consumer Advertising Sales Marc Callison West Regional Sales Director Laura Hill East Regional Sales Director Bruce Kaplan ‘AUTOMOTIVE ACCOUNTS—DETROIT Rogional Sales Manager Ken Stubblefield Sonior Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde Administrative Assistant Lynn Fortunato Sales Assistant Stephenie Bryant To contact sales and advertising, please call 415-547-8000 Editor-in-Chief Sam Kennedy Senior Manager of Ad Operations Adam Carey Audience Development Manager Nopadon Wongpakdee ‘Advertising Campaign Coordinator LeAnne Hsu Vice President of Marketing, Research and Events Rey Ledda Research Director May Tong Senior Promotions Manager Wendy Donohue PR Manager Jason Freidentelds Marketing Coordinator Vanessa Alvarado Marketing Graphic Designer Drew Hathaway Promotions Coordinator Tiffany Ort Chairman & CEO Robert Е Callahan Chief Financial Officer Mark Moyer Executive Vice President & Chief Content Officer Michael J. Miller Executive Vice Prosident, Licensing & Legal Affairs, General Counsel & Secretary Gregory Barton Presidents Scott С. McCarthy (Game Group) Sloan Seymour (Enterprise Group) Jason Young (Consumer Tech/Small Business Group) Sonior Vice Presidents Kenneth Beach (Corporate Sales) Ira Becker (Game Group) John Davison (Editorial Director, Game Group) Jim Louderback (Editorial Director, Consumer/Small Business Group) Angelo Mandarano (Sales & Marketing, Internet) Scott McDaniel (Publishing, Game Group) Martha Schwartz (Custom Solutions Group) Michael Vizard (Editorial Director, Enterprise Group) Vice Presidents ‘Aaron Goldberg (Market Experts) Barry Harrigan (internet) Kristin Holmes (International Licensing) Michael Krieger (Market Experts) Rey Ledda (Marketing, Research and Events, Game Group) Rick Lehrbaum (Internet) Eric Lundquist (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) Chris Maginn (Internet) Jim McCabe (PC Magazine) Paul O'Reilly (Event Marketing Group) Ellen Pearlman (Editor-in-Chief, CIO Insight) Beth Repeta (Human Resources) ‘Stephen Sutton (Audience Development, Consumer/Small Business Group) Stephen Veith (Enterprise Group Publishing Director) Monica Vila (Event Marketing Group) Marci Yamaguchi (Sales, Game Group) Randy Zane (Corporate Communications) IT West Coast. Senior Technical Analyst Bill Schmelzer Desktop Administrator Nick Kalister Contact anyone on this masthead using firstname. lastnameGziffdavis.com SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER 58 (U.S. and (interna 20 | OAIT ЕТ: 2006 А TALE OF HONOR AND SACRIFICE, DUTY AND CHOICE, WHAT IS WRITTEN AND WHAT WILL BE. Luke fon Fabre, sole heir to a family of aristocrats was kidnapped seven years ago, and the shock left him with no memories of his life before. He has since led a quiet, boring life within " ШЕ the family’s residence, learning little of the world beyond the palace walls. Suddenly thrust into the outside world, Luke is caught in the workings of the Order of Lorelei, keepers of the prophecy d В ж B P. i 1 г known as the Score. No longer sheltered by the palace, Luke must get along in the confusing Ak “8 inl Ш and often hostile world. Не knows nothing about those who might be his friends, or those who already are his enemies. He has not yet noticed the evil that is drawing close to him a 3 Alcohol Reference Fantasy Violence Ns... i PlayStation.e Suggestive Themes Games e ©KOSUKE RIJISHIMA. Tales of the Abyss™™&©2005 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association, АП other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners, THIS TIME. NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH BOTH SINGLE-PLAYER AND ONLINE GAMEPLAY! Fantasy Violence Mild Language Mild Suggestive Themes XBOX 360 В CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org arks ог trademarks of SEGA Corporation: alt layStation" а Xbox Live logo are elther eter regard ware ind MM ос O O Ika, tha oo inoa. ani tha азе 1 WOR] Ds. COLLIDE "m INTERPLANETARY SINGLE-PLAYER THREE EXPANSIVE WORLDS TEEMING HUGE VARIETY OF ONLINE QUESTS ADVENTURE ACROSS 12 CHAPTERS. WITH OVER 70 ENEMY SPECIES. ЕОК А PARTY OF UP TO SIX PLAYERS. JOIN THE BATTLE AT Wwww.PHANTASYSTARUNIVERSE.cOM | 7 www.sega.com ЖІПГІРІПТ Ж ЕЕЕ 1 Ги | E Il I LIT OUl2 READERS AlE SMART PEOPLE a —— CONTACT OPM SNAIL MAIL OPM 101 Second Street 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 E-MAIL opm@ziffdavis.com and check us out at opm.1UP.com SUBSCEIPTION PROBLEMS subhelp@playstation magazine.com or call 1-800-627-6458 TILT-TILATING IDEAS In the small Madden NFL 07 write-up on Page 63 of the September issue (OPM #108), you mentioned something about the game being able to use the motion- sensor feature of the PS3 controller; more specifically, that we might be able to use it for "throwing and kicking." Big whoop. When | read that, | instantly thought it was a witty joke, which would be fol- lowed by a better idea. Seriously, though, was that the best idea you people, the editors of a PlayStation magazine, could come up with? Those few words made me think “Where the #%&@ are the pages devoted to ideas about what the controller will be capable of?” This is one of the biggest changes in the Sony lineup of game systems, and you are practically ignoring it. Well, here are a few ideas | have come up with that will inspire the brilliant minds of OPM editors to create more ideas, and then put all the ideas into their own two-page section. | Instead of using the motion-sensor aspect of the controller to “throw a ball” in Madden, why not use it to guide a receiv- er's hands toward a ball? While using the analog stick to move the player, you can move the controller to move his arms, so you can precisely pinpoint the area where he will catch it. 1 In shooters, the tilt can be used for a lot of things, but one thing that always bothers me is the fake and somewhat lin- ear style of leaning. Most games | experi- ence will only allow you to press a button to make the character lean out, without any means of controlling how far he goes. Well, why not use the tilt to lean, crouch, stand on your tippy toes, and other things? This will let you control how far you go, so you have the perfect lean to get that per- fect head shot. | In racing games, if the sensitivity is strong enough, you could use the control- ler as a steering wheel. 1 How about fighting games? Using the motion-sensor feature, along with the ana- log stick, would allow you to perform cool dodges and other neat moves. Peter Jozwik Via e-mail | 400,000 NORTH AMERICA JAPAN = 100000 EUROPE =} The word is out: 400,000 units expected in North America and only 100,000 in Japan. With so few units being released and the high demand for the PS3, looks like fanboys may be left outside looking in this November 17th. Imagine the eBay bombshell that will explode. Players may find themselves paying out twice what the PS3 actually costs. Japan will be left with even more worries as the units there won't last three minutes or meet even half the demand. The PS3 has had so much hype that the launch may crumble under such a low amount of units. Can Sony keep its huge fol- lowing, or will its following be forced to cross the bridge to the other side? Juan, you voice the frustration of millions of Sony fans worldwide (especially in Europe, where the PS3 won't even be available until March of next year). See EIC Tom Byron's comments on page 18 for further discussion on the PS3 shortages. | just wanted to ask a couple of questions about the PS3 and get straight and honest answers: 1) Will you still be able to rent PS3 games? 2) Are the games going to cost $100 each? | would really like an answer, because no one on the Internet has a clue what they are talking about. Yeah, those Internet folks can be pretty clue- less, unlike us print people who simply don't know! Anyway, to answer your questions as straight and honest as we can at this point: 1) Likely. Though there aren't any PS3 games out yet, the rental market is here to stay. 2) No, new games won't cost $100. PS3 game pricing 24| 006 ЖІГІРНІМТ should be т line with Xbox 360 game pricing, meaning $59.99 (special or deluxe versions will be higher priced). I was just about finished reading OPM #108 when | saw Klonoa in all his full-page glory. I can't tell you how many times I’ve pored through game sites, message boards, and Namco Japan's website in hopes of catch- ing even a hint of a Klonoa sequel. In ОРМ, 1 thought | was about to get my wish—but alas, it was an article appreciating a "forgotten" classic. l've recently heard rumors of a Klonoa for the PSP, which would be better than noth- ing; and ГИ be thrilled if Klonoa: Door to Рһап- tomile appears as a download to my PSP's memory stick when Sony's PlayStation Net- work Platform service goes live. Still, | have high hopes that Klonoa 3 will come to the PS3. Are you listening, Namco? Andy, we're with you: We think Klonoa reborn on the PS3 would be awesome. And Namco is definitely listening! Wielding our enormous power and influence, we used an e-mail pro- gram to forward your note to them, and here was the response: "Unsubscribe." Ha! No, they actually didn't comment, to which we respond with the line from Dumb & Dumber: "So you're telling me there's a chance!” What happened to Zoe Flower? Many OPM readers have been wondering that very same thing, Eric. Coincidentally, so have the FBI, the CIA, and the Post Office. Just kid- ding! In truth, legendary OPM contributor and columnist Zoe Flower is currently designing games for Vancouver, BC-based developer Slant Six Games. She's also expecting her first child soon. Our best wishes go out to Zoel In response to the Letter of the Month in the September issue (ОРМ #108), reader Brian should verify his information before putting his ignorance in writing for the world to see. I'm a supporter of both Sony and Microsoft, as I'm a lover of videogame entertainment regardless of platform. Good games are good games. The two points he made in his e-mail are a bit flawed. First off, 1080p is great, but for the average gamer, not all that earth-shat- tering. Only high-end HDTVs support 1080p, which is why less than 15 percent of HDTVs sold actually have the capability. Second, one year of Xbox Live is $49.95, not $70 as Brian stated. So, we "Xboxers" get our 360 and four years of online service for the price of the PS3. And in the end, paying $600 for a PS3, well, we deserve free online gaming. It's good to finally see that Sony is at least mak- ing strides to match the quality of Xbox Live. Happy gaming, everyone! In Episode 18 of radiOPM, we pulled a reverse "random question of the week" and asked listeners to tell us who they think should play us editors in the big-screen version of OPM. Milo900 posted the picks we liked the best (his ideas are listed first; other posters' ideas are listed as alternates): Alternates: Tom Arnold, Brian Cox Alternates: Alyson Hannigan, Molly Ringwald Joe alternates: Peter Garrett (front man for Midnight Oil), Jack Black Giancarlo alternates: Howie Mandel, Bruce Willis Alternates: Gedde Watanabe, Bobby Lee (from MAD TV) І was just wondering which of the OPM staff can shred the best in Guitar Hero, and what is his (or her) favorite song/singing moment with the game? Steve, that's easy. Giancarlo Varanini, whose Guitar Hero skillz are nonpareil and who counts Boston's "More than a Feeling" as his fave, humbly declares, "Joe is better." Joe Rybicki, who is a former lead guitarist in real live bands where you actually have to pluck on guitar strings, responds, "Can І say "Sweet Child о” Mine"? That's in Guitar Hero Il, but it freakin' rawks." So yes, Joe, you can. ж PS3 PACKAGING РЕЧЕАГЕО! Hey kids, check it out! Sony Online Entertainment gave us our first peek at official PS3 packaging and it's pretty cool. Looks like Sony guidelines are going with the Spider-Man font used on the PS3. We also noticed that they've updated the PlayStation logo "bug" (upper right corner) with a nice bold line around it. We still haven't seen what the Blu-ray casing will look like and at press time SOE was still working on the back, but so far, we like what we see. 26 | бет TEST OZVE INDULGE 7C SS ш ШИ 24 ; «es. It's a INA NEW i — i m fast new life— all at your fingertips. IDENTITY (uu o mm & БЮ zi KIO Language А Mild Violence comes BUM Playstation.2 Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainm and related intellectual property is a registered trade mark of Ducati Motor Holding Test Drive® Unlimited © 2006 Atari, Inc. Al Rights Reserved. Atari and the Atari jogo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, inc, Test Drive® M.0.0.R™ and the М.0.0.87% togo are trademarks owned by Atari, Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox registered trademarks ог trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. "Playstation" and the "PS" Family одо are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Software platform 10005274 IEMA 2006. Software Association. Aston Martin Vanquish S and the Aston Martin logo are trademarks owned and licensed by Aston Martin Lagonda © 2006 Aston Martin Lagonda, Ducati Motor Holding S. p A. official licensed product. Dut S.p.A. The trademarks Lamborghini and the copyright and design rights to the Galtardo vehicte is used under license from Lamborghini ArtiMarca S.p.A., Italy. АН other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. $€ | INUIT AE 2 Ц П ТО 100,000,000 FIJE YEAI2S FLAT Sony's announcement that only 500,000 Р535 will be ready in November—and that North America will get the lion's share at 400,000—sent quakes of outrage throughout the Sony fan base (see Juan Nunez's letter on page 16). But that wasn't even the worst news: Sony also announced that the PS3 wouldn't appear in Europe until March of next year. So much for a worldwide debut and so much for what coulda—shoulda—been the biggest launch in the history of videogaming. It seems odd that a multina- tional corporation that counts its income in billions and has been manufacturing consumer electron- ics for nearly 60 years would be so off its earlier professed plans. It seems odder that as of the day I’m writing this—September 12—PS3 manufacturing hasn't even begun. Can half a million of something as complex as the PS3 be built, boxed, and in stores in just а little over two months? Well, of course it can—and it will, because it has to. Sony can’t possibly move any further from their plans. The company has to get what it still can out of all this. And that's likely to be a lot. It's useful to recall that Sony slashed its U.S. numbers for the PS2 from 1 million to half that when that system debuted in October 2000 at the then-high-ish price of $299. Five years later, Sony announced it had shipped over 100 million units worldwide—that's 100 followed by six zeroes—with the U.S. having an almost 40 percent share. Whether or not Sony can pull off a threepeat with the PS3, especially with competition that didn't really exist in 2000 (no, the Dreamcast PENNY AA DIS Look! A Prinny! саит keep him? Can you keep your demon рекди! No. ZH | OFT Naueveee 2006 zk у They're exploding murderers. That is worse than a regular murderer. 1 Shouldn't have to say doesn't count), may not be known for another five years. But Sony remains its optimistic self, so opti- mistic that it's officially holding to the projection of 6 million units worldwide by the end of their fiscal year 2006 (specifically, March 31). Seem crazy? Maybe. But con- sider this: By March, there will be dozens of titles available for the system, manufacturing will be at full capacity, units will be available the world over—and Sony's accus- tomed spot on top may once again Бе а reality. In the meantime, the PS2 continues to sell at a nice clip, and the PSP—well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Yeah, it does all seem crazy—so crazy, it just might work. See you in 100 million units (and don't forget to check out our PS3 Launch Guide in the December issue, on sale November 14). | Tom Byron Come on. Look ab that Pace! Look ab that evil Pace. Oh, alright. But the Pirst time he Slits our throats and then blows ор, he's outta here. ©2006Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins МЕРЕ ПМ, BABY! ZADIOPM.lUP.COM Not since The View have four people entertained and enlightened so many millions. Check out the latest RadiOPM podcasts as the editors tackle such hot topics as PS3 launch plans, the games they played at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony's online plans and much more than even you bargained for! The must-listen podcastery happens every Thursday at radiopm.1up.com. And don’t forget to check out all the OPM editor blogs at opm.1up.com. х TAKE CONTROL OF THE SKIES The Ace Combat® level of excellence returns in an all-new game designed specifically to take advantage of the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Enter into an entirely new highflying action-packed story that will challenge your abilities in new ways as you take on the role of an ace pilot defending the country of Aurelia. Ace Combat® X Skies of Deception brings all the realistic aircraft and combat to а new level providing intense action to any gamer on the go. ory for tuning, STRATEGIC Al SYSTEM THAT CHANGES REAL LIFE AND ORIGINAL TUNABLE 2-4 MULTIPLAYER WIRELESS ACCORDING TO YOUR IN-GAME DECISIONS AIRCRAFT ТП PILOT INTO BATTLE BATTLES IN VARIOUS MODES ELT E e PlayStation. Portable Games ACE COMBAT@X ©2006 NAMCO BANDA! Games Inc. ® GetEye @ JAPAN SPACE IMAGING CORPORATION LOCKHEED MARTIN, F-22 Raptor, associated emblems and logos, and body designs of vehicles are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the USA and/or other counties, used under license by NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. АИ trademarks and copyrights associated with the manufacturers, aircraft, models rade names, brands and visual images depicted in this game are the property f their respective owners, and used with such permissions. "PlayStation", ће "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stck Duo™ may lb required (sold separately) The ratings icon is а registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. RATING PENDING — Visit www.esrb.org for updated rating information. Alcohol Reference Fantasy Violence Mild Language 5 Partial Nudity | Suggestive Themes [ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrh.org PlayStation.2 pomore e SQUARE ENIX. PRO LOGIC П BYStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software ї Ж: D: All Rights Reserved. CHARACTER DESIGN: Akihiko Yoshida. FINAL FANTASY, SQUARE ENIX, and the SQUARE ENIX logo are register rademarks or trademarks i їс, and the double-D symbol аге trademarks of Dolby Laboratories “DISCOVER THE SECRET | | | THAT WILL UNRAVEL AN EL IN STORES OCTOBER 51, 2006. FINAL FANTASY XI www. ЕГМАТЕАМ ТАЗУХ11. СОМ v | HTAE PPEVIEWS AND NEWS FleOM THE WOleLD OF PLAYSTATION bo О E l IUJ | п М WAITING FOE THE PLAYSTATION 3: THE THE 360'S BEST RPG COMES TO THE PS3! č 25 RIG PICTURE sa OPM INTERUIEM Online play and you. Alex Ward and Mortal Kombat. зв LUCKY CHAM ze eIDGE RACER 7 Inside Clover Studio. Hey, guys! It's Ridge Racer! аа c1- TOWN 25 RESISTANCE Capcom on the inside. When aliens attack! а? PAUSE so GENJI When you're not playing games. Ready for a history lesson? 32 | OAM Novemeee 2005 NDUEMBER 4 If, for some reason, you've been out canoeing in the middle of the ocean and have yet to hear the news—Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has delayed the launch of the PlayStation 3 in that territory from Novem- ber 17 to an undisclosed date in March 2007. While those in Europe were and still are understandably angry about the news, this decision by Sony begs a bigger question: Should the launch also be delayed in North America? Perhaps a better question would be: Should Europe have received North America’s paltry 400,000 units and gone ahead with a launch, while North America was the territory to wait until spring? Of the three regions, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been the most proactive in promoting and marketing the very idea of the Play- Station 3, while the two other territories have communicated mixed messages about the system, including whether or not they should be calling it a computer. Indeed, Europe already has a relatively large ad campaign for the system, backed by the slogan “This is living.” Addi- tionally, as of press time, the first of six short films focused on the | “This is living” theme had been released on the Internet, with each | film focusing on one of the most important features of the PlayStation | 3. Sony Europe has even made these films available for download оп its excellent PSP download site—in another move that demonstrates how far ahead it is marketing-wise compared to Japan and North America. All of this has been serving to stir up hype for a system that was originally supposed to launch within three months. And then the delay was announced, and Europe got the shaft. Meanwhile, the sound of crickets could be heard chirping in Japan and North America. Outside of Sony's slogan "Play Beyond” at ЕЗ, the public has heard little to nothing in the form of a marketing push from either region; communication about the system has been limited to a few quotes from Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertain- ment, and some quips from Kaz Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America. There have been virtually no signs of a market- ing campaign, and yet the launch date grows near, as does the inevi- table shortage of consoles. In October 2000, Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in North America with a shipment of 500,000 units, which led to massive shortages. Cus- tomers were left wondering where they could get PlayStation 2s and how long they would have to wait for them. Now imagine that launch minus 100,000 units. Out of those 400,000 units being shipped, most of them are reportedly going to be the $600 version of the system, which may work to Sony's advantage in that it might prevent a horde of early adopters from rushing out and buying the system on day one. But Japan will have it even worse. Japanese stores have access to an allotment of only 100,000 units for launch day, compared to the 720,000 units that were available for the launch of the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Japan also has the added fun factor of an open pricing structure for the system, essentially meaning that retail outlets can price the PS3 however they see fit, whether that price be $1,000 or $1,200. No mat- | ter how high they go, though, the simple fact is that there will not be INEVITABLE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF THE LAUNCH enough units:to meetidemand. So why not delay the launch in all territories so that an adequate | number of units can be provided for all territories? Not only would | this tactic allow more people to actually buy a PlayStation 3 on day one, but it would give developers more time to put some polish on their games and integrate features that are being left out due to time | constraints. OPM has heard reports from developers who haven't been able to incorporate some of the motion-sensing controller features, simply because there hasn't been enough time to rework the control scheme and get the game ready for the launch. Regardless of how many compelling reasons there are to delay the North American launch, however, it just won't happen. For start- ers, Microsoft showed that you can have a "successful" launch with relatively few units, selling approximately 326,000 units in about in a ы | week from the Xbox 360's launch date. And when it comes down to ai it, Sony can't really afford to let Microsoft have another uncontested, all-important holiday shopping season to itself, and Nintendo's Wii will only complicate things further. The 360 has already enjoyed the benefits of having a year's head start over the competition—a compe- tition that applies to mindshare just as much as it does to actual sales of the system. As it stands now, Sony will already have its work cut out making a dent in either category. ЗРЕНИЕ ЕНИСЕЯ ааа SE AN Imagine that you're playing a first-person shooter and you want to switch to some alternative view of the action, whether it's infrared, heat vision, or any other such bla- tant rip-off from Predator. All you have to do is activate it and take a look at your PSP without totally compromising your default view of the action. Would it be annoying to pick up the PSP every time you use it? Yeah, probably, but it sounds cool PRISON BREAK No one has really tried to do a game set in prison, and why would they want to? But just think of the possibilities with the PS3 and PSP connection! You could use it as one of those mirrors to peer out of your cell to see who's walking down the hall, whether it's one of the "screws" or a "fish." (That's what those in the know call guards and new prisoners, respectively.) You learn something new every day in the pages of OPM. Сев NOTES In Resident Evil 4, ог in any other Resident Evil game, didn't you hate how you had to Switch to the menu to see any sort of docu- ments? Well, with the PSP, all you'd have to do is simply look down and read whatever important file you came across. Though maybe it's not such a good idea to stop and look away when zombies are lurking about. LISTEN UP We've all dreamed of the day that a good rhythm game (emphasis on good) would be able to incorporate your preexisting music library. Well, if one of these games could access whatever music you have on your PSP, it would make it much easier than insert- ing individual CDs into the PS3. Plus, it would actually give people a reason to put music on their PSPs. We've all seen the PSP being dem- onstrated as a rearview mirror for the PlayStation 3 F1 06 game, and while we haven't officially seen anything else demonstrated with this feature, we're still excited about the potential it has—espe- cially if the PSP is a little light on releases. So, without further ado, here are a few options develop- ers should take into consideration while making their games. НАТ IN YOUR PSP? IT DOES MORE THAN PLAY GAMES LAFFY TAYLOR Producer, Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion GAMES 2006 FIFA World Cup The U.S.A. gets to win when | play. MOVIES 28 Days Later Fast zombies never looked bi BYTE-SIZED NEWS Companies are already letting some info fly on some of the bigger games that are coming to the PS3, such аз Devil May Cry 4. Capcom has already revealed that Dante will not be the only character this time around, but will be joined by another character named Nero, who is presumably linked to Vergil in some form or another. We do know that he’s а member of a special group of knights. Additionally, the game will take place between the original DMC and DMC2 and feature much of the same combat style... In other PS3 news, Fight Night Round 3 will have some features not MUSIC Band of Horses These guys are so good, so you'll never hear them on the radio. WEB Penny-Arcade.com It's funny because it's true. | in the Xbox 360 version, such as ESPN integration and a new “get in the ting” mode. Hey, don’t forget about the PS2 and the PSP... Electronic Arts announced that it's releasing a Sega Genesis compilation for both the PS2 and PSP. The collection is scheduled to have some of EA's best games from that era, including Desert Strike, Jun- gle Strike, Mutant League Football, and Road Rash, just to name a few.... Lastly, those lovable Penny Arcade guys are up to more do-goodery in the form of $10,000 game-designer schol- arship. Check www.penny-arcade сот for more information. | STEP INTO THE SHADOWS OF JAPAN’S UNDERWORLD. “AND WHAT A STORY IT IS!” - 1GN.COM “WHOS TO SAY WHETHER NORTH “... THE BEST STORY-DRIVEN GAMING EXPERIENCE IN RECENT MEMORY..." “9.5 OUT OF 10” - PLAY MAGAZINE жт э AMERICA IS READY FOR A GAME "EVERYTHING FELT SO IMMERSIVE, ABOUT JAPANESE MOBSTERS? WE JUST HAD TO KEEP PLAYING” WE SURE AS HELL ARE!” - PSM i - GAMESPOT.COM UNLOAD DEADLY COMBOS WITH STRIKE WITH POWERFUL FINISHING AVENGE DISHONOR THROUGH THE OVER 300 ITEMS AND WEAPONS BLOWS AS YOU UPGRADE YOUR SKILLS TWISTING, DRAMATIC STORYLINE AVAILABLE NOW SEE THE STORY UNFOLD AT... WWW.YAKUZAGAME.COM MATURE 17« Blood Sexual Themes ( = Strong Language А / Use of Alcohol PlayStation e ИА 225 www.sega.com SEGA is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and YAKUZA are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA Corporation. © SEGA. All Rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. THE BIG PIC TUE JOHN SCALZI plays videogames and writes novels, including Old Man's War, nominated for this year's Hugo Award. When he's not blathering here, he's blathering at his per- sonal site, www.s: SCALZI TO ONLINE GAMING: Di2OP DEAD I'm going to let you in on a shameful little secret of mine: | don't give a damn about online play. Really, | just don't. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games? | couldn't care less. Playing head-to-head against a real live human somewhere out in the murky depths of teh Intarwebs? I'd rather not. Joining a group of compadres for a bit of first-person shooter squad-based goodness? I prefer to play with bots, thanks. The fact is, despite all the buzz about integrating the online game experience seamlessly into the next generation of game consoles, it's the thing | care least about—and the one thing that worries me most. Why don't I care about online gaming? Oh, let me count the ways. 11 don't have the time: Oddly enough, when you have a job, а family, and some semblance of a non-game-related life, you end up not having hours at a time to devote to leveling up and going on campaigns and such. You want to be able to easily jump into a gaming experience and then just as easily jump back out of it, whether you have a half hour of free time or just five minutes. There are online and live-player options for quick-in, quick-out gaming, but overall, that still takes more time than just firing up the console and simply having a quick button-mashing session. 2 | don't have the patience: Related to this, being in а single-player experience gives you more control over the flow of the game. There's no problem trying to find someone else to square off against or arranging a time for your guild to go raiding. Also, there's no worry about whether your broadband connection sucks or if someone has sprayed Fresca all over the server farm—your game is all client-side, ready to go when you are. ONLINE GAMING IS TH LEAST ABOLUT—AND | THAT WOlrRIES ME M [2E E THING | CA THE ONE TH OST. 3 | don't need the aggravation: No offense, kids, but as an old fart on the downslope to age 40, | don’t want to spend a whole lot of time dealing with 15-year-old cretins swearing at me in the latest mutation of leetspeak (or, worse, 35-year-old cretins doing the same thing to fit in with the kids. | mean, eeew. That's creepy). | just want to go into my game and kill me some pixels in peace. It's not too much to ask. Which is not to say | don't enjoy a good multiplayer game now and then—l do. I've been enjoying them since | (and a bunch of other geeks) used to play all-night sessions of Marathon and Quake a whole decade ago. There's a special satisfaction that comes from beating another human in a game. But more often than not, | simply want to lose myself for a few minutes in an immersive gaming experience, and the fact is that all the trappings of tl he online multiplayer experience simply act to remind me that I’m not leaving the world behind; I’m just transplanting some of ii Now, gamemakers like the online multiplayer experience because t into my game time. it allows players to entertain themselves and creates another revenue channel. That's all well and good. My concern is that, as more emphasis goes to multiplayer, the single-player experience will become an afterthought, if it's there at all—gaming will become another thing we have to make time for, instead of being able to fit it into the time we have. Remember that most gamers are actually grown-ups with lives; dropping it all just to play a game isn't possible or desirable for a lot of us. So, yes: Online play is fine. Just keep in mind those of us who like to go it alone. | Б | OAM Nauevaee 2008 ШҮН i) I d JS IUD, б мы President and CEO Atsushi Inaba Di ян | | OAM Naueveee 2006 dd «ж CAPCOM'S GOOD HARM Normally, employees of a company like Capcom just don’t get up and leave without а good reason for doing so. While the reasons behind the exodus that led to the formation of Clover Studio aren't totally clear—cries of more creative freedom have been inter- mingled with the simpler explanation of the move being a reorganization of Capcom's internal teams—the fact remains that it couldn't have been a better move for all involved. Actually, since its formation in July 2004, Clover Studio has become the golden child of Capcom, producing new and exciting games, including several Viewtiful Joe titles and, recently, the beautiful Okami. And there’s a pretty good reason why the studio is seeing such great success. Atsushi Inaba, president of Clover Studio and the driv- ing creative force behind games like Viewtiful Joe, has some of the best minds in the indus- try to work with, including Resident Evil cre- ator Shinji Mikami and the immensely talented Hideki Kamiya, who directed the original Devil May Cry. But even for them, approaching the formation of a new studio wasn't as simple as getting up and walking out the door without a clear goal. "Since everyone who left was basically a creator, the most important thing to them was to create a game they wanted to create—for example, like Okami," says Clover ін MEE STUDIO РАМЕ Viewtiful Joe (2004) Viewtiful Joe 2 (2004) Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble (2006) Okami (2006) God Hand (2006) [ДШ == | 39 = Ж HYPE STUDIO PEOFILE rr 2 ү) 5 2%. 3 “CAPCOM DOESNT 15 < IMPOSE ANY SOT OF PRESSURE el DU THS He THAT P ) p" ш «ШЕУ СЕР сав. DP 4 = Ni mW, president and CEO Atsushi Inaba. “They had that in front of them, so they weren't really thinking, 'Should 1 go or not go?' But, of course, they were very nervous about what the future might hold and things like that." Naturally, Capcom wasn't completely excited about the idea of its key players moving elsewhere in its Osaka-based head- quarters. "There weren't any threats like, "We're going to leave if you don't do this for us!' or anything like that. It was nothing that extreme, but the idea did come from us, not from Capcom,” says Inaba. "It was actually something that the group that became Clover proposed to Capcom and said, "Wouldn't this work out if we did this? We'd have more freedom.' So we actually worked this out with Capcom to help them realize that this was the best thing for both sides. Then, of course, when [we were] starting up the studio there were growing pains, and there's still some resistance now and then. Capcom wasn't totally happy about it, but they consented that this could work out." Chances are a game like Okami—or any original intellectual property for that mat- ter—may not have been green-lit within Capcom's walls since there's a greater finan- cial risk involved with new ideas. But that's what Clover Studio is all about: taking risks. "Since l've always tried to give my teams as much creative freedom as possible, even within the Capcom structure, it hasn't been as big a change for them. But in terms of the range of games they could make and range of ideas you can have, if you're inside Capcom, there's a certain limit of what you can make. But by branching out into Clover, even if it is in the same building—although maybe we argue with Capcom over details a lot," Inaba admits with a laugh, "there's a lot more freedom in the end. Although we still have to discuss things with Capcom, who is our publisher, it still gives us more freedom to try new ideas." But what was the most important thing for Inaba and his team at Clover? "I definitely wanted to have the ability to make a new game," he says. “1 didn't just want to make the same games that the marketing team wanted us to." Still, there's always the problem of what happens if a game isn't a success. In that respect Inaba, Mikami, and Kamiya all have to keep in mind that they're in a business, and it's one that looks at the bottom line as a sign of triumph or failure. Would there ever be a point where Capcom pressures them to make a sequel for a proven franchise? "The thing we do have to worry about, obviously, from Capcom's perspective, is [the company thinking] 'Do we need Clover?' or 'Can Clover [afford to keep making] games that don't sell?' and things like that. But if Capcom had the right to say things like that to us, then we wouldn't really need to exist as Clover," Inaba answers. "So right now, they don't really impose any sort of pressure on us to do this or that. The most important thing to us is to have one team together to make an interest- ing game, avoid outside influences, and stay together as a team. That's our mission." Indeed, Clover's collaboration with Capcom has proven to be a fruitful one, at least on the PlayStation 2. With the PlayStation 3 and other next-generation systems, the question of financial risks becomes much more pronounced because it simply costs so much to make a game. At the moment, it seems Inaba's hopes of staying together as a team will remain intact, but for how long? "We're definitely worried about it, because it's more expensive to develop for those systems," Inaba remarks—but he's also quick to point out other problems besides the hardware. "Even beyond that, what we're seeing with this set of next-generation systems is that, depending on the system, there are different countries that have cer- tain systems that sell and don't sell. So the regions are different; if you're developing for America you might have to make for a certain piece of hardware, but if you want to sell in Japan you have to make it for a different piece of hardware," he says. "There are even possibly user-class divisions. Young people have this system, middle-aged people have this system—you have all these divisions, so you have to think very carefully about [these questions:] ‘What kind of game do we want to make, who do we want to make it for, and what system is the best for that?" Given their druthers, Inaba and the rest of the team would love to be able to sit back and see how the industry progresses over the next few years. “I'd love to actually think about that and see how the market develops [with the next-generation systems], but the problem is we'd be too late if we did that. So it's very troubling to have to pick a system, because it's hard to tell where they're going to be in a few years or what the market will be like. [What we do know is that] if the Japanese market keeps shrinking, I'd rather move the studio to London or Los Angeles." As for Inaba's opinion of the next-genera- tion systems, much like the rest of the world, he knows that Sony's been on top, but that position could potentially be a part of what makes the PlayStation 3 a hard sell to the public, particularly considering the cost of the system and its games. "One of the most interesting things is that Sony's been at the top of its game for the last couple of genera- tions, but with the PlayStation 3, there's more challenge involved," Inaba says. "[The com- pany has] put all these interesting features on it, but since it's so early in the game, it feels like maybe Sony doesn't really have a vision of how exactly they're going to use these features or what it's going to turn into. With the Wii you have the controller and with the Xbox you have Xbox Live and a few other things; they both have a distinct vision, but with Sony, you don't sense that there's a dis- tinction of what they're going after. So how they develop that and how they progress is going to be very interesting." We can only hope that Clover Studio will retain its freedom and that we'll continue to see more from them. N р AES "CLOVER'S ONLINE PLANS Clover believes that ж Microsoft's Xbox Live model should act as a standard for Sony to follow with its own online plans. “[Microsoft has] the experi- ence behind it; they've proven that they can do a good job with online,” Atsushi Inaba, president of Clover Studio, says. “Making a game for Live Arcade, where you may not have to put as many resources into it as you would а game that has to be sold at the store—there’s that and the online mul- tiplayer component. Cw IL] | OAM Noveweee 2996 Pr NI OD и У № THE DEATH OF ONE AWAKENS A PATH TO THE END. THE LONG-ANTICIPATED CONCLUSION TO AN EPIC TRILOGY. Over 8 hours of movies including voiced cut s An easily accessible in-game "Xeno Bible" includes every detail fron 7 the entire Xenosaga® series. 1 Money and shops are back! Buy, barter; and sell any items or equipment. І An updated battle system combines the best aspects of the first two games, while introducing the new Break system. "т Customize your characters with a branching skill set. к 1 You'll be highly rewarded for strategic party management. i\ e т 60-premade mini-game levels and а mini-game level editor for sharing custom maps with friends. WEEE TN 47059 о. Language Mild Suggestive Themes j| Violence PlayStation.? Games ® Xenosaga® EPISODE III Also sprach Zarathustra &©2001-2006 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. Blood Crude Humor Language Mild Violence ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org Available forthe PlayStation*3 computer X entertainment system, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the расар PSP" (PlayStation Portable) system © 2006 Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark and Project 8 is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc. АП rights reserved. Tony Hawk is a registered trademark of Tony Hawk, Inc. АП rights reserved. Developed by Neversoft Entertainment, Inc. Activision makes no guarantees regarding the availability of online play, and may modify or discontinue online service in its discretion without notice, including, for example, ceasing online service for economic reasons due to a limited number of players continuing to make use of the service over time. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. “PlayStation”, "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo" may be required (sold separately). The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. АН other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners. PaulRodriquez nollie 360 flip [ NAIL THE TRICK | An entirely new way to play the game, Nail The Trick mode gives precision control over how you move your feet to flip the skateboard. Using dual analog stick motions, you can create your own unique skate tricks - even during a combo - as you watch the action unfold in slow motion. Yeah. It’s that real. www.! HP8.com ACTIVISION. activision.com Hideki Kamiya Atsushi Inaba In my seemingly endless trips to Japan over the years (still waiting for my honorary citizenship, complete with 500-yen discount coupon redeemable at any MOS Burger franchise), l'd yet to actually travel to anywhere outside of the Tokyo metropolitan area (although the Tokyo area's quite large, even compared to American megalopolises such as the New York City area and the San Francisco Bay Area). Somehow, in all of the business trips that had sent me to Japan, l'd never set aside any personal time to shoot to Kyoto—or anywhere else west of Tokyo. That all changed when | went back to Japan to visit Capcom, which is based in Osaka, approximately three hours west of Tokyo by train (three hours by the Shinkansen, aka the "bul- let train," no less). First of all, | was sort of surprised by how much it Cost to take the train. | knew it wouldn't be cheap, but it was 14,200 yen (about $120 U.S.) each way, which made the round trip come out to 240 bucks. Wow. That's as much as a flight to some places. Still, | was glad to be able to head down to Capcom's offices, partly because l'd never been to them before, but also because | wondered what Osaka was like compared to Tokyo. Osaka, as it turned out, was pretty nondescript. | didn't really have time to take the city in, but from what little | saw, it could've been a district of Tokyo, as there were no real distinguishing characteristics. Maybe if I'm down that way again, I'll set aside more time for sightseeing. When | got to the Capcom offices, | was surprised by how demure they were compared to other publishers l've visited. Sega, Qy | OAM Naueveee 2006 Check out our for example, features the famous blue Sega logo on all of its build- ings and heralds your arrival with a rotating Sonic statue, whose finger is aimed in your direction. While that’s not necessarily the most extravagant show of branding in the world, it's а bit flashier than Capcom's simple "Capcom" logo situated above the door to its office building. The lobby is equally unadorned, save for a couple of kiosks offering visitors a free play of some of its recent games. It's funny—as a teenager with a pocketful of quarters, taking my full lunch hour from my high school job at Record World to play the Гм | OFFICES ONE DAY. Capcom arcade classic Forgotten Worlds, | never thought Га be visit- ing the company offices one day. But here | was. | was there to interview Clover Studio president Atsushi Inaba and Clover game director Hideki Kamiya, who's one of the most elusive interviews in the gaming business. Kamiya directed Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami, and he was my main reason for coming to Japan. By now, you've hopefully read OPM's review of Okami and rushed out to buy the game. It's a mas- terpiece—and it deserves to be a hit. | James Mielke | | NEVER THOUGHT ГО BE VISITING THE CAPCOM МА se MAN BAY Past off T4 Lie te Say conayatibstions to you Kobe, for Rossing, ме. oF the cover for NBA 07 the Life Vol.2. EHS A GREAT GAME Se 7 ¥ Се Вам", (уен = 7 РИ а ir Mh merce cover МЕТЕ, But No hey ane ir toYou Kobe, Низы t ауе, ( Же У MAH the right tograce thecover of sue A GREAT ан, EAH MAMEA LM TAI to YOu andi en noticed, thig is ан (NVITE в TOY еп Ж. у ne, tne Мон40056" wr Sone Lon d accion iv bas VEGAS du ring ALL-STAR break, L mist even lek you shoot for take ovk- umight play 62. GAMES a season, byt guess wha MAMB М E: ны balls year emd] // а 05. бөзі lucK trying t drop Я арта be {ough since we're oly paying t6 Ц Bly fe let former Guard Uta "222. “the 0042 is Loose” Ев) 07 the LIFE (oi? f MA phe GRA 50 кем» беге IE Vy Gonna beste ы Қ ah Kroon wether MAPA 29 e ic atin АШ, ABOUT Quibus, £ ply "16 Кр E BGN тт Helps He prepae for пу life rivaly KOBE come viec ту WEB LAUC © mamba VS mMongeose.com PlayStation.2 € M ? NBA.COM LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. <> PLAY IN OURS? ® The NBA and individual NBA member team identifications reproduced on this product are trademarks and copyrighted designs, and/or other forms of intellectual property, that are the exclusive property of NBA Properties, Inc., and the respective NBA member teams and may not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. ©2006 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2006 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Live In Your World. Play In Ours.” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Online icon is a trade- mark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Online play requires Internet connection, Network Adaptor (for PlayStation-2)and Memory Card (8MB) (each sold separately). | | | * OF THE ASING FUN | The Tokyo Game Show has come and gone, and we couldn't be more excited about the huge number of playable PlayStation 3 games that we could get our grubby hands on at the show. Here are a few of the games the OPM editors are most excited about after their whirlwind TGS tour. Games such Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, or others that appeared in trailer form or were otherwise unplayable, were disqualified from the selection. As always, for up-to-the-minute information on these and other PlayStation 3 games, be sure to check out www.1UP.com. TOM BY2ON Heavenly Sword Lair Resistance: Fall of Man DANA JONGENAARC The Eye of Judgment Heavenly Sword Lair ODE PYEL Heavenly Sword Lair MotorStorm THI [3LIVET Devil May Cry 4 Heavenly Sword Lair GIANCARLO YAZANIN бемі! Мау Сгу 4 Lair Devil May Cry 4 (yes, agair л м БИА у THE NICE www.hbo.com The Sopranos might be the most high-profile member of HBO's excellent original TV series, but in our hum- ble opinions, the network's best show is actually The Wire. Set in Baltimore, the | series explores the gritty | reality behind the war on | drugs in a post-9/11 world, | and it features some of the most excellent acting and writing to ever grace the small screen. Each season | follows a single story arc, where all the seemingly disparate pieces slowly come together by the end. Check out the first three seasons on DVD, and then | | | tune into Season Four, which is currently playing on HBO. www.ducati.com Buying your clothes at Target or | The Gap means that you always run | the risk of appearing in public to | discover you're dressed the same as everyone else. That's why we love | Poketo, a site that offers clothing | and accessories emblazoned with illustrations from up-and-coming | artists. And they won't break the | | | | NPR programs һауе а somewhat deserved rep for | being boring. But This American Life isn’t your typi- | cal radio show. Each week, host Ira Glass presents | а collection of stories based around one central | theme, which can range from experimental phases | to semen. They're funny, they're sad, but they're never boring. Find it on an NPR station near you, or listen to free streamed shows on the website—we st Day,” ра! for their newest piece of machinery, the Hypermotard, which is about as prototype won multiple awards for its | bank—most of these tees are priced | | design. It won't be available for pur- at $24. Plus, you won't show up | wearing the same shirt as that guy | | | who always picks his nose. | Normally, we'd say that anyone who | | rides a Ducati is a prissy jackass. But | | we're going to make an exception | | sexy аз a bike can get. Though it was | originally designed as a concept bike, Ducati chose to produce it after the chase till next spring, but that should give you time to save your pennies, since you know it won't come cheap. highly recommend “Firs ticularly Act 2. КЛИНА NOUEMBEA E E ES а | | WINNER OF japans GRAND PRI FOR CRIME FICTION EDGAR AWARD ТІП "| жы Ж KIRINO ТИ TT www.amazon.com | What do boxed lunches, mountains of debt, and the dismemberment of corpses have in common? They're all central to the plot of Out, a novel from noted Japanese author Natsuo Kirino. After some coworkers help their friend take care of her useless husband, they soon realize that they're in for more than they bargained for when what they've done is soon discovered. Not for the faint of heart, this crime thriller offers a great look at the seedy side of | Tokyo and Japanese culture. | www.subpop.com mM | Sub Pop is probably best known as the label that | launched Nirvana, but its roster of artists confirms that it has excellent taste overall. Whether you listen to some of its higher-profile groups such as Sleater- Kinney, Soundgarden, and The Shins, or you prefer lesser-known acts such as Frausdots, Iron and Wine, and Fruit Bats, you'll be happy to have it on your iPod. Stop by the label's website and pick out a new | | L N "i. ROCKSTAR GAMES BN PRESENTS LE ө, Rockstr Leeds, Rockstar North, he А, logo, Grond Theft Auto, the rond Theft А ААА Ави WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/VICECITYSTORIES В.) ‘Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). The ratings icon is o registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. A other marks and trademarks re properties of their respective owners. U.S, AND FOREIGN PATENTS PENDING, Al ight reserved.. The content of this videogame is purely fictional, andis not leogome donot in any way endorse, condone or encourage engaging in ony conduct depicted in this videogame. intended to represent or depict ony өсімі event, person, or entity. Any similarity between any depiction in this gome ond ony actual event, person, or entity is purely coincidental. The makers ond publishers of this SO DAIM А 2005 ALE“ NAZD CA TERON CHIEF ENTAUSIAST И may be difficult to imagine at times, but people who make games play games as well. In fact, some of the best designers are the ones who take the time to see what other industry veterans are coming up with in order to make their own games better. Such is the case with Alex Ward, a hard- core gamer if there ever was one—who just happens to be the creative director of Criterion Games. His story is that of many who play games and dream to make them. Going from giving Mortal Kombat cheats to one of the best-known and liked racing series on the globe—he's done it all. But, from the sound of it, there’s still so much more that he wants to do. | ОРАЛ So you were reluctant to do this interview, but you agreed to do it anyway. Why were you hesitant? | ALE NARD I've done a lot of inter- views Гог the past five years. When | joined Criterion, the company didn’t have a very high profile, so a few of us agreed that I'd do it because | knew the PR people that | was working with. I’ve worked on the pub- lishing side of the business, so | understand how important that is. Part of having a hit game is [that] you can make the best game in the world, but-if nobody knows about it, nobody hears about it. And we learned a lot on Burnout 1 in terms of how more suc- cessful we could've been if we'd done more things earlier and said yes to а lot of things. But after Black, | just got exhausted of it. | felt, "I'm happiest being here [at Criterion Games headquarters in Guildford, England] working on the games.” Every day that | come to work, there’s always something interesting and new for me to review or look at. So that’s what | enjoy much more. The thing | hate to do the most is talk about the software [before] it’s finished. But on Black, photo by JONNY KRIEG we had to do that because it was an antici- pated game. | was away talking about it to press the weekend we were finishing it, and "а much rather have been here finishing it, you khow? With the Burnout team, which is my team—but it's not just me standing at the front; it's 70 members—the thing that's excit- ing for me is that | want to bring my people forward because it's exciting stuff to talk about the game and everything. But Гуе just done it. I've given them everytl | OPM We've sucked every piece out of you. ГАЛІ Yeah, almost. But we want to push the game ав far as we can, right? So it’s hard because, on one side, | think that we don't do enough of that in the industry, | guess. There aren't enough people coming forward апа doing it. | ОРАЛ Well, if what we're doing right now is your least favorite part of дате develop- ment, then what's your favorite part? | AIN | think what | said earlier: | like the end of the game. | like the start of the game, нт Е INTERVIEW because we all know what we're going to do, but I like “the crunch." Which | shouldn't say, because everyone thinks it's all about crunch all the time. There аге so many negative pictures painted of the games industry at the moment that just aren’t true. | like the end of the game. | like making a lot of rapid chang- es. | like it when it's-all coming together, and that’s when the team does really march as опе апа get together, and that’s when it really comes together. | think those final couple of weeks are the best part—l wouldn't miss it for the world. You know, when it's me and [Burnout producer] Hamish [Young] doing a lot of stuff. Hamish is the sort of guy that, even when he's not supposed to touch the code, will touch the code. | 1 Have you ever gotten any resistance from any of your publishers—first Acclaim and then EA—when you've done stuff like that, like changing it up at the last minute? І V Well, we try not to tell them! When we did Burnout 3, it was our first time with Electronic Arts, and we were the external team, so we really didn't tell them! And we һай а lot of procedures іп place to manage the, development. On Burnout 3, we were always a month ahead of Electronic Arts, so whenever they came in and saw anything and went, “Wow, this track’s really looking good!” we were already a month ahead. Whereas now you saw it live as it is, and all the EA publishing guys are seeing it live as it is. | don't know, you tell me—what's the best part of putting the magazine together? | ОРАЛ Getting that last page shipped out the door. That Wednesday. Watching it go. | QU I think for 7, 2, and 3, we'd normally finish, and then we'd have a playthrough. | guess that's one of the things we miss as we go forward. We'd normally be in the old boardroom across the street and have а final picture and a glass of champagne and play Sa. DAM Novewsee 2005 through the whole game. How we do that this time, | don't know. I've sat in meetings where they say, "We can't do this because the cost in OA is gonna be XYZ," and l'm like, “So the testers have to sweat it out! Let's go!” | think there are decisions getting made right now оп a million projects around the world where they're going, "That'll be tough to test, so we’re not going to do it.” I'm like, “Screw it, man. | used to work in QA. They can test it.” | OPM Can you talk a little bit about how you got into the industry? | AWN | was always fascinated by arcade machines. | remember going for swimming lessons and noticing Moon Cresta in the corner and going, “That looks cool.” | can tell you every coin-op I’ve ever played at any swimming pool l've ever been to. | used to be quite into swimming until | discovered Space Harrier. Then I'd just go to the pool and not swim and then go upstairs and play in the arcades. l've probably been in the industry now 10 years, 11 years, but | feel like I’ve been in it since "82, because | followed it. | ОРАЛ Were you always on the develop- ment side? | AVN No, I was in publishing. I've kind of seen the industry from all sides. | mean, | was nearly a journalist, but | didn’t get the job. | OPM Lucky you! | AN So | went to university, and | studied psychology. | wrote my end-of-year thesis on games, which was fun, a way to take games to university. | was dramatically bored by the end of university, and my time at univer- sity was the Super Nintendo years, so | can remember spending long nights playing U.N. Squadron and Super Tennis. Everything | can tell you is about the games | was playing at the time, like Super Mario World. | then spent a year in America, and that's when | saw the rise of the Super NES in America, and saw Final Fight, Super R-Type, and everything. | came back from America, finished my degree, and was totally unemployable. 1 IVI Hey, people say about a lot of us! Totally unemployable. [Laughs] | AVN | worked for a cell-phone company, and | used to write. | had ambitions—l thought I'd be a games journalist, so | used to write about cell phones and fax machines апа read (О.К. games magazine] Edge under the desk. | responded to every job ad in the back of Edge, and І got a job in QA, a company in Birmingham, England, called U.S. Gold. | was a dreadful game tester and realized | hated it. It was terrible; the games were rubbish. | was going to quit—but before | could quit, | was fired for “gross misconduct.” They found out | went to Future Publishing for a job interview to work оп a magazine. It's funny—l had a job interview with people who now come to interview me. | didn't get the job because they didn't think | knew enough about games. They asked me a lot of ques- tions about soccer in the interview, and | just said, “Pfft, don't know. | play games." And I think one of the questions was, "Name the next game released for the Sega Saturn.” And | said, “I don't know. | would read your magazine to find out." Yeah, so | didn’t get the job, and | was also fired from my QA job. | was about to jump off the bridge and get a job at an insurance company. | was moonlighting, collecting unemployment, and working as a laborer fitting kitchens in the daytime. | actu- ally fitted a ceiling like this. [Ward points to the ceiling.) Every time | see the ceiling tiles, [I remember that] | used to cut these f***ers by hand, right? And then I got a call from one of the recruitment companies I'd written off to т the back of Edge, and they said, “There's а Compatible phone coverage required. Standard text and game cost apply. To opt out text STOP to 69847. . PlayStation.2 www.thg.com SRB CONTENT RATING MET] q A E ` 1 Рт * À © 2006 THO Inc. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Pandemic Studios С. Pandemic® and the Pandemic logo® are trademarks апа/ jistered trademarks of Pandemic Studios, LLC and are reproduced under license only. THO, Destroy All ( < b ! Humans and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered падет ВБ of THO Inc. АП rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Farfilj jogo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox logos are > Lp = either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation if United States and/or other countries and are used under licé [rom Microsoft. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. 6 INTERVIEW job in London. Do you want to go for the interview?” The company was Acclaim, and the job was giving out the cheats for Mortal Kombat on the telephone. So | took it. The job paid no money, but | believed in myself. | believed | had something to offer. | walked into the office and they had MTV playing, so | thought it was a cool place to work. It was certainly cooler than any other office "а seen. | ПРМ Better than the insurance office. | AWN I used to go to the office every day, even on weekends, because | couldn't afford to pay the bills. So | used to go to work and play games. And the first day | went to work, | went in and cleaned the office at the end of the first day. | did all the washing up in the kitchen, апа somebody сате over and said, “Kid, we have cleaners to do that.” But | just figured, “If it's this messy, l'Il clean it up." | just figured, “I'll do everything. ГИ be the best damn employee they ever had.” So kids used to ring up and say, “Can you tell me Kung Lao’s fatalities on the Genesis?” And if kids wrote in about a game, | used to write back to them and send them a personal letter, saying, “Yeah, look out for this, and you should try this; this is a good game.” | used to get letters from all over the world. And then | moved into marketing, and | worked in the marketing group there. The job | eventually had at Acclaim was like the A&R guy, so | got to travel the world and visit all the developers. All the developers used to pitch games, and some of them were flat-out terrible. Everyone wants to join the games industry, and they probably should, because some of the ideas some of the developers have are just terrible. You'd fly around the world and say, “What have you got?” And they went, "It's FIFA with giant insects." And then you went, "You're kidding, right?" There were all sorts of stories about people who hired an office for a day and filled it with their friends to make it look 54 | DAIT Noveveee 2006 like they've got something [in development]. They'd pretend to play a QuickTime movie on a keyboard, and you'd go, “Сап | play?” and they'd say, "No, no! It's not finished yet!” Classic stuff, уои know? Some developers out there were not actually out to make a great game; they were out get an advance. And that's how they'd make their money. So | traveled around the world, and | got really tired of flying. And | came out and thought, “I have a good job, but it's time to join development. What am | gonna do?” And | figured that people were going to say to me, “You've never made а game before. What do you know?” And my answer to that was, “I’ve never made а game, but I've played a lot of hits. And if it's my ideas or FIFA with insects, we can’t do much worse.” | remember coming to see the Criterion guys, and | remember thinking, “These guys have got great passion and they know the technology, but they really kind of lack direc- tion in terms of what makes a hit game and what formats they're backing.” So | joined Criterion. | came in and sat down and asked, “What are we doing?” The ideas on the table were: World War II flying game like Ace Combat. Well, | don't really think they've heard of the [British WWII fighter] Spitfire in America, so that was off. The next option was a Bruce Lee fighting game. Well, hey, if it was the Tekken team, maybe. But having never done any fighting game, | think it's pretty hard. And then one of the other guys had a platform game based оп vampire penguins. | ОРА Vampire penguins?! Oh, c'mon, that's gold! | ГІЛІ Swear to god. | remember thinking, “Гуе made а huge mistake. | had a really good career on the other side. I’ve really got this wrong. | don’t know; this is just not for me.” And then [Criterion] had a big deal with Midway, and they told me, "They'll do a driv- ing game. Fly over there.” We came over there to Midway, and І knew we were in for interesting times when the pro- ducer we met said, "If | could choose between playing a videogame or a board game, I'd choose а board game апу day.” l'd gone there thinking, “Arcade games, this is going to be great! | love what Midway does.” And the guy talked about rolling dice and all sorts of stuff. So we came back and we sat in the bar in the hotel that night, getting absolutely hosed. And | said to Chris [Roberts], who was the designer | was working with at the time, “Hey, Chris, let’s make this game.” And the pitch they had was this game called Stunt Cop; it was like Crazy Taxi, and you did things like deliver doughnuts for your boss and drive old cars. And | said, “What do you think of this game?” And he said, "Well, I'm not gonna buy it.” And | said, “We're going to make а game, and you're the designer, and you're not going to buy it! Why are we doing that?” Everyone looked at me and said, “Well, then, what ideas have you got?” And | said, “Well, I think we'll make an arcade driving game where you crash the car.” The Burnout idea came from playing OutRun, a game where you go really fast апа can crash and it looked great, and from playing 3DO Need for Speed. l'd remembered when my friends came around to my parents’ house one Saturday night; we played 3DO Need for Speed, and my friend Dave took the controls, spun the Ferrari off the line like Magnum, drove ahead—everyone thought it just looked amazing—and then he hit a car head-on and flipped it. Flipped the car. And everyone cheered in the room and thought it was amazing. And then it did crash highlights. І remember thinking, "No game's doing crash- ing. Let's do it.” | ОРМ What game that you've worked оп are you proudest of? ГАЛ! Well, it's always the last one we've just done, really. Revenge 360, | think we did | W- NO ONE ELSE fo IN THEIR LEAGUE E: JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES ` sriówbhnd .. JUSTICELEAGUEHEROES.COM NINTENDOS Available on the PlayStation?2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation°Portable) system. RATING PENDING [ Visit www.esrb.org Ра! < | for updated rating ( ч | information. | NS 4 |
|
Epi
Е
а phenomenal job. But | think, out of them,
Burnout 3. Whereas Burnout 2 was naked
ambition, and we were just gonna take on
the world, 3 was amazing because we signed
it with EA and, as an independent company,
anybody's lying if they're telling you that they
don’t want to snag EA.
So signing with EA was amazing, and then
seeing it on that video wall at E3 was just
like.... We'd gone to ЕЗ every year before
then, and went, "We'd kill to be there. We'd
kill to be there!" And | remember the day of
watching the test of it go up; we were just
So excited. So going to that E3—it was just
amazing. Absolutely amazing. And because
we saw the PSP that year!
| OPM Where do you hope to see games go
in the next 10 years?
| AIN I hope they get better, for a start. | don't
believe, at the moment, we're where we need
to be for now. | mean, | don't think we were
where we needed to be coming off the SNES
and the PlayStation 1. | thought PlayStation 1
software was going to be far more spectacu-
lar than it was.
Everyone wants to come and [be a devel-
oper]. But the passion that's on the outside
isn't always on the inside. EA gets attacked а
lot. People think we're the evil ones; people
think we're the Borg, the Evil Empire, every-
thing. We're really not. There are certainly
more people passionate about games here
than most of the places l've been. Certainly,
that's why I'm here. | just wish there were
more passion across the whole [industry]. |
wish more games were really exciting. There
aren't that many hits, and | think there could
be a lot more. There are lots of good ideas,
and so many of them are let down.
| just hope it gets more positive. I’m a bit
ground down by all the moaning: "It's hard!"
or "It's everybody else's fault but my own!"
You know, make a good game. We don't go
and speak at conferences and stuff, because
what do you say other than, "Make a good
game"? I think that the rules of the game
have never been easier. There's so much data
out there; there's the Internet. It's never been
easier to work out what the trends are and
what to do.
Developers, you'll find, have never got any-
thing good to say about anything. That's why
[at Criterion] we order all the American maga-
zines. We read gaming magazines. We want
to be excited by the things we read. When
we see you guys getting excited by stuff, like
on the 7UP Show, that's just inspiration for
us, because then we get excited as well. You
know, we want to be excited about games.
I think too many people have a distorted
Internet view of the world, and the Internet's
largely negative, so they’re largely negative
as well, and I'm just tired of that. | just want
to get some big gaming love-in. | want to
walk around at E3 with people saying, "Let's
go and play some great games," rather than,
“S***1 S***1” And that's all you find, right?
Increasingly, people make their minds
up on stuff really early. And I’ve been there
as well: "It's s***! Don't play this s***!”
It's amazing when you've come to play it
through yourself, when you've put your
money down. Developers are spoiled, |
guess. They'll refuse to get the games.
People play more games sometimes before
they came into the industry, whereas we're
pretty aware that people would kill to do
this. People would do this for free! Can you
believe this is a job? Are you kidding me?
You guys get to play all the games before
everyone else, and we're all just sitting there
going, “We never want to talk about what
we think is great. We always want to talk
about what sucks.”
| ОРМ So what do you think is great
right now?
| AIN What's great right now? What һауе
| played that | think is really great? I’ve just
played through Gun by Neversoft; | thought
it was great. Thought it was absolutely great!
| need to get their e-mail address and e-mail
them and tell them, “Great job!”
P Denotes
р Л [Neversoft president] Joel Jewett is
cool. Have you met him ever?
Ге | want to meet him, because he’s
from Great Falls, MT. And | lived in Montana
for a while, so | can understand. When |
lived in Montana, l'd go, "This is great! This
is like the Old West!" And all the Montana
guys would go, "Hell no! You don't even
know s*** about the Old West!" So if he's
from Montana, that guy must have been on
а mission.
1 OPM Yeah, he’s awesome. You should
meet up with him.
| AlN I'd love to meet those guys. So yeah,
| played through Gun and finished it. Played
it when it came out, and then | went back
and did all the side missions, did all that last
weekend. | just took two weeks off to play
games every day. I’ve been playing Ghost
Recon every night with [my coworkers]. |
think cooperative play against Al is great, and
we don't see it enough. | think that's really,
really interesting.
| think the PSP is really underrated at
the moment as well. I've recently been
really into the PSP because | bought the
LocationFree TV thing from Sony. After we
saw [Sony CEO] Howard Stringer show it
at [the Consumer Electronics Show], we
thought it was amazing. Watching TV on the
PSP is great. | just walk around and can have
it on at home. | can literally be brushing my
teeth, watching the news, and then walk
around. You just need suction cups to stick it
on your fridge or something.
That's just genuinely cool, so it really
beefs me up at the moment when, | think,
as you probably know, | think there’s been
a lot of negativity about the PlayStation 3
because a lot of people are in the dark. So
it's like, "Well, we haven't seen or heard
anything! It obviously all sucks!" Are you
kidding? One of the things we've been talk-
ing about internally is lifting up our vibe. But
when everyone sees Ridge Racer 7, | think
all that [negativity] will go away.
S5
DRIT Мочемвее =|
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$ (2000)
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ж
Become the Hidden Leaf Village’s most notorious ninja
student and work together with your team – Sasuke,
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defeat cunning and deadly enemies.
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Unleash the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit,
combine attacks to create new combos and
perfect your skills while you strive to uncover the
many secrets of the Uzumaki Chronicles™!
| А 3 um
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Бехуди, 7X
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Aninja must be cunning as well as fast and
powerful. Customize Naruto's strength, stamina,
special attacks and more to create new abilities
that will give you the edge in battle.
THERE COMES A TIME WHEN EVERY
STUDENT HAS TO FACE HIG TRUE
DESTINY... AND ONE NINTJA’S DESTINY
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Naruto © 2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO Program © 2006 NAMCO BANDAI Games. Uzumaki Chronicles is a trademark of NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. NAMCO BANDAI Games Logo is a trademark of NAMCO BANDAI. Published and Distributed by NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc under license from VIZ Media LLC.
All Rights Reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.
шашы == DO ENDAlI2
NOVEMBER 88
THE MONTH AHEAD FOR YOU AND YOUR PLAYSTATION
SUNDAY
In 1955, Hill
Valley weathermen
warn of a chance
for thunderstorms.
Stay away from big
clocks.
Today is Have
a Bad Day Day.
Celebrate with an
According to Jim
marathon.
MONDAY
The Sex Pistols
play their first
concert in London.
Thirty years later,
Green Day gets
rich playing the
same songs.
SETI is founded in
1984. Aliens retali
g presi-
dential election.
S8 | OFT Мохемвег 2006
TUESDAY
NEW GAMES
Holy gaming over-
load! Today sees
the release of more
games than any
other day of the
year, with Guitar
Hero Il, Every Extend
Extra, Lumines Il,
Marvel: Ultimate
Alliance, SOCOM
U.S. Navy SEALs
Fireteam Bravo 2,
The Sopranos, and
many, many more.
Superman Returns
and wants to be a
SingStar.
Still have spare
change after last Fri-
day's PS3 purchase?
Then perhaps you
would enjoy yourself
some Sonic Rivals
or College Hoops.
NEW GAMES
WEDNESDAY
A trip down mam-
mary lane: Bare
chested women
make their first
appearance in
National Geo-
graphic in 1896.
THURSDAY
We see dead
people: Feliz Dia de
105 Muertos!
It's Cook Some-
thing Bold and
Pungent Day—we
a nice Hulk
It's | Love to Write
Day, a holiday only
slightly more popu-
lar in schools than
І Love to Do Trigo-
nometry Day.
Will Daniel Craig
resurrect the Bond
franchise or kill it
completely? We'll
know when Casino
Royale comes out
tomorrow.
Save a turkey—eat
a kitty.
FRIDAY
NEIN FLICKS
The Kazakhstani
journalist will have
his hands full as the
world is exposed—
literally—to Borat.
Christopher Guest's
new film is in the-
aters For Your Con-
sideration. Consider
us sold,
SATURDAY
Get out the mea:
suring tape: Today
could see a record-
setting line in Japan
as people line up to
get one of the first
100,000 PS3s.
Delroy Lindo, also
known in the OPM
offices as the poor
man’s Morgan
Freeman, turns 54.
t as gameplay ШЕ interest 9 and unique.” e
-IGN -`
еса
umoys ѕиаа2 45а
Real-time Combat Wireless Multiplayer Two Full Campaigns Five Playable Races
EVERYONE
ild Fantasy Viol SG
ЗЕ EN NE ШС
ld Language
"Bethesda
a ZeniMax Media company
ESRB CONTENT RATING wwwestb.org
STAR TREK: Tactical Assault 1409 2006 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company. "^? 8 © 2006 CBS Studios пс, АП Rights Reserved. STAR TREK and Related Marks are Trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. CBS, the CBS EYE logo, and related marks are tr Broadcasting Inc Al RightsReserved © © 2006
Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. Bethesda Soltworks, ZeniMax and related logos are registered trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S, and/or ather countries, STAR TREKS: Tactical Assault developed in association with Quicksilver Softwar, N Station", "PS" Family logo and "PSP" are registered tr
ot Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold separately). Certain limitations apply to Wi-Fi compatible connectivity. See manual tor details. Player responsible for Wi-Fi compatible fees. Licensed By Nintendo. Nintendo DS and the Official Seal aro trademarks of Nintendo. © 200+
DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo, All Rights Reserved, The ratings icon is а trademark of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. All Rights Reser
=
FEGEFINEG EGE NET GER
Visit www.esrb.org
for updated rating
р н er mil Hom а =
®
PERIENCE Я WHOLE
SEGA. OM/SONICNEX 7
© 2006 SEGA Gorporation. SEGA, the SEGA logo and Sonic The Hedgehog are trademarks or registered trademarks of SEGA Corporation.
All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
This title is not yet concept approved by Sony Computer Entertainment America. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and
the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
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"The World, леге are phenomena occurring in
бис
The World that go against ге Jaws. Players who
die іп the game are feeling the effects in reality.
Assume the role of Наѕео, and start a dangerous journey
to uncover the truth, Fight Player Killers, create parties,
join guilds, and develop new hacking skills. Find the
mysterious Tri-Edge, seek revenge, and reveal the truth.
You are Назео, The Terror of Death. 0 аттат =f
Welcome to The World. HEART-STOPPING BATTLES
В PlayStation.2
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„hack and related characters, names, logos, distinctive likenesses, drawings and other images contained in this product are the exclusive property of NAMCO BANDAI. Used under license from NAMCO BANDAI. All rights reserved. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered
trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trademark names are the properties of their respective owners.
Ж Heme COUER STORY i
DAM
ЛО DUVIDE
exclusive
THE ELDER SCIPULLS N
LS IL INI
THE SECIZET WEAPON OF THE i
PS3 LAUNCH I2EVXJEAOLEDI a ang evgicia la
54 | OAM Novemeee 2006
MOUEMBEA
You are standing at the exit of the vast
system of sewers that underlies Imperial
City, the central metropolis of the province
of Cyrodiil. You've just spent the last half
hour escaping from a cell in the Imperial
City dungeon, watching the assassination
of your emperor, and fending off giant rats
and shambling zombies. Coming out into the
afternoon sunlight, you stand on a gentle
slope down to the water's edge. In front of
you is a crumbling ruin, beautiful in its antiq-
uity. Behind you is the sprawling mass of
Imperial City. You see an expansive country-
side rolling up to densely forested mountains.
The question is, what do you do now?
The answer: Whatever you want. Because
this is Oblivion, the fourth game in the
12-year-old Elder Scrolls series, and your
path through the game is limited only by
your imagination. This enormous, multimil-
lion-selling role-playing game has been an
unstoppable powerhouse on both the Xbox
360 and the PC since its launch in March. And
come November, an expanded version will
launch alongside the PS3.
This is a very big deal.
Ф HSE COUER STORY
WHAT IS OBLIVION?
ANOTHER LIFE
IN ANOTHER WORLD
Even if you don’t own a 360 or a high-end
PC, chances are you've at least heard of
Oblivion. The RPG has been winning awards
all over the world, starting with editors'-
choice or game-of-the-month honors in
virtually every outlet it's been reviewed in,
and going on to win Game of the Year, Best
Role-Playing Game, and Best-Looking Game
at G4's 2006 G-Phoria awards. PC Gamer UK
even gave it the top spot in the magazine's
"Top 100 Games Ever" feature.
But what is it that makes Oblivion so
special? In a word: freedom. "It's the game
where you get to live another life in another
world," says Todd Howard, executive pro-
ducer for Oblivion at developer Bethesda
Softworks. "Conjure up in your mind who
you want to be in an epic fantasy world; this
is a game where you get to make that person,
and then go do whatever you want. The Elder
Scrolls hearkens back to that pen-and-paper
experience. | think a lot of PlayStation people
аге used to “ореп world' meaning Grand
Theft Auto...but | think if you play this, you'll
see an open world to the nth degree."
Lest you think this is just idle talk, allow us
to drop some numbers on you. See, Oblivion
is big—really big. When you consider the
main quest, the quest lines of the primary
“factions” or guilds, and all the unrelated
quests you may come across, there are over
200 individual quests. Want to know how that
translates into playtime?
"We usually view gameplay as an hour
per quest," Howard says. "So we usually
say there's 200 hours of gameplay. But if you
were to do everything in Oblivion, it's prob-
ably like five, six hundred hours. That almost
sounds too crazy, like no one would believe
you, but there are also over 200 dungeons.
And only maybe 20 to 30 percent of those are
included in the quests."
There are over 400 unique locations within
the 16 square miles of Cyrodiil, locations that
range in size from small woodland cottages
or roadside inns to vast, multilevel dungeons.
You may be wondering how you could pos-
sibly visit all of these locations. Really, you
probably won't. This is part of the beauty of
the game, knowing that with this enormous
world to explore, there may be an entirely
undiscovered location just around the bend.
This sense of exploration and adventure is
one of Oblivion's most striking feats.
Creating that sense of wonder was a
constant goal for the team. "We spent a lot
of time working on the opening view," says
Howard by way of example. "We intentionally
keep it dark, and you're inside for a while, and
then there's that opening of the curtain when
you come out." Moving suddenly from the
fairly standard—albeit quite pretty—dungeon-
crawl of the first half hour or so into a vast,
open world is undeniably striking. "At first,
it feels like the kind of game you've already
played. You're checking out the stats and
controls, and it seems pretty deep, but it's still
corridors and rats and zombies. And then, all
of a sudden, it'S—" Howard mimics opening
a curtain while imitating an angelic chorus.
"And you're like, 'Are you f***ing serious?'"
But this openness isn't mere window
dressing; it extends into every facet of the
game. "This is the game where you get to
become a warrior and go save the world,"
Howard says, "or become the most evil
assassin anyone's ever seen and kill the
world—and everyone in between."
"The thing that most folks seem to latch
onto," says Pete Hines, Bethesda's director
of marketing and public relations, "is the
ББ | DAIT Naueveee 2006
i UIE EEE
idea that they get to define what the game
is, that you have no idea what's going to
happen, and it's entirely up to you to define.
Do you want to play a save-the-world game?
Or do you just want to dungeon-crawl and
kill stuff and get better loot and just be
à total badass with lots of houses and a
stable full of horses? The ability to have an
experience that's totally defined by you, and
nobody else tells you where to go—the abil-
ity to go at your own pace, even to get dis-
tracted—is great to get people talking about
it. You've been playing the game for 30
hours, and he's been playing the game for
30 hours, and you've seen and done almost
nothing the same."
When Hines talks about "an experience
totally defined by you," he means it. When
you begin Oblivion, you create your own
character, choosing different combinations
of the game's 10 races, eight attributes, 21
skills, and 13 birthsigns, and then custom-
izing your appearance on top of that. Each of
these choices has a very real effect on game-
play; each race and birthsign confers unique
bonuses, for example, and your choice of
race will even affect how nonplayer charac-
ters relate to you. That is, some races within
the Elder Scrolls world of Tamriel are preju-
diced against others. It's a complex world.
But let's look at some examples of how
the game's direction is affected by your most
basic choices. Let's say you elect to play as
a straightforward magic user. You'll spend a
lot of time in the Mages Guild, hunting down
artifacts, assisting in research, and creating
your own spells and enchanted weapons in
the center of magical research, the Arcane
University. Much of your combat will take
place at a distance, using projectile spells and
bonuses that accompany a sneak attack.
If you're interested in a darker approach,
you could even elect to become an assassin:
Join the Dark Brotherhood and spend your
days taking out contracted targets for lucra-
tive cash and serious loot. Or, hey, you could
always become a vampire and revel in your
newfound night vision and enhanced strength
and speed.
Did we mention it's a complex world? And
of course, these examples don't even touch on
“ОМ E&RPEIZIENDLE THATS
TOTALLY DEFINED BY YOU.”
summoned creatures to do your dirty work.
But perhaps you're more interested іп а
little more hands-on approach. You might
create a stealthy thief character instead, in
which case you might choose to join the
Thieves Guild, generating your income by
picking locks, looting houses, and selling the
stolen goods to guild fences. You'd avoid
combat when possible by sneaking around
in the shadows, and when you did engage
an enemy, you'd always try for the damage
the epic central story of Oblivion. In quick sum-
mary, the story involves a murdered emperor, a
hidden heir, and a shockingly powerful Daedric
Prince (read: demon) named Mehrunes Dagon,
who launches an invasion on Tamriel by open-
ing gates to the hellish Planes of Oblivion. Your
mission: Find the heir, close the gates, and put
a stop to Dagon's invasion. Sounds simple,
doesn't it? It's not; the main quest alone will
likely take around 20 hours to complete...and it's
only one-tenth of the whole game.
DIGITAL
CRACK
“You'll notice that once
you find something,
we're always hinting
at the next thing,” says
Howard. “Whenever
you find a dungeon,
usually there's another
one on your compass.
And it's rare that we
leave you with an
empty quest log. It's
always a ‘don't put the
game down, one-more-
turn’ kind of thing.
There's always a skill
that's just about to go
up, so do you really
want to stop?”
ТЕНИ
Ф неге КЕМЕЛ STORY
нь
Um
WHATS NEW ЕГІ
THE P3?
MORE THAN A PORT
Up to this point, all the features and details
we've been talking about apply to the 360
and PC versions of Oblivion. But in order to
make the PS3 version the "best version of
Oblivion that there is," in Howard's words,
Bethesda is adding an entirely new quest
line—an extra 10 to 20 hours of completely
new gameplay for the PS3 audience.
"Oblivion has these really good character
archetypes for evil," Howard says. "It has the
Dark Brotherhood: You get your outfit, you
feel like an assassin, you feel like an evil guy,
you roleplay like an evil guy. We don't have
the opposite end of that. There's very little
reward for being a goody two-shoes. So what
we've done for the PS3 is create what we call
a minifaction called the Knights of the Nine."
In the Knights of the Nine, your goal is to
become the modern incarnation of an ancient
force of good, a holy crusader who helped
protect the land from an evil faction led by
the powerful Umaril. The primary quests
revolve around retrieving the Crusader's
Relics, exceptionally powerful bits of armor
and weaponry. Without spoiling too many of
the details, we can tell you that these arma-
ments carry unique enchantments appropri-
ate for a "warrior-priest" or paladin arche-
type. And in the words of Knights of the Nine
producer Jeff Gardiner, it's “some of the best
gear in the game."
But this is not one of the easier quest
lines in Oblivion. "We designed [the quests]
to be a bit more hardcore," Howard says.
"They take a little more thought; there's more
adventure-game elements in there."
Gardiner agrees. "There are lots of dif-
ferent things you can do: puzzles, a lot of
dialogue—and in some, you have to solve
mysteries. We tried to pace it so that, while
you are doing dungeon-crawls, not every
aspect of it is a dungeon-crawl. It's layered
really well."
As an example of those higher standards,
to simply join the Knights of the Nine and
begin the quest line, you must first embark
on a lengthy pilgrimage across Cyrodiil
(which is, remember, around 16 virtual
square miles of countryside). The goal: to
visit shrines dedicated to each of Tamriel's
nine gods...shrines that don't show up on
the otherwise painstakingly detailed in-game
map. Once you've completed the pilgrimage,
you can begin hunting for those precious rel-
ics. As you collect these relics, you can equip
them instantly and enjoy their bonuses right
away—but you can use them only as long as
you remain on the path of good. Commit a
crime, and the consequences are dire.
“If you get infamy at any time," Gardiner
says, "you will lose the ability to wear the
armor, and you'll have to do the pilgrimage
again. You'll have to visit nine wayshrines to
lower your infamy back to zero. So there is
a penalty for being bad. We really wanted to
make you want to be good. That's why we
put a higher barrier of entry; that's why we
make you do the pilgrimage at first. We don't
want you running around and killing people;
you have to choose."
To be clear, there are gradients of crimes
in Oblivion. "It's not like you steal one flower-
pot and you're screwed," continues Gardiner.
“It takes a murder to gain an infamy point, or
а lot of smaller crimes. We wanted some pen-
68 | DAITI Nove 2006
i UL JE BEH
SUBTLE
CHANGES
At top is Oblivion on
PS3. At bottom is the
same scene on Xbox
360. We've enlarged
ion of the 360
аде to show the
differences in texture
detail of distant land-
scape. In the 360 ver-
sion, a sharp, notice-
able line separates the
foreground texture
* from the muddy ba
ground textures. Оп
Р53 the transition is
much smoother and
more distant. Subtle,
yes—but noticeable.
айу, but we're aiming more at the guy who's
killing people. Of course, like most things in
our game, you can always choose to come
back to the good side. We'll forgive you."
Make no mistake: This PS3 content is
much more than an add-on pack of new
errands. "As opposed to adding content that
allowed your character to just experience
new quests," Howard tells us, "we wanted to
create something that allowed your character
to become something new." Along with the
personal development, this new quest line
introduces new enemies, new characters, and
new locations.
One of the most interesting of these new.
locations is the ancestral home of the Knights
of the Nine. This small settlement (techni-
cally a priory, as your order is of a religious
nature) is a crumbling ruin when you first
find it. But as you progress through the story
line and word of your good deeds spreads
across Cyrodiil, you'll encounter characters
who wish to join your newly reestablished
order. As you recruit these knights, they will
travel to the priory and begin rebuilding.
Where once there were cobwebs and broken
furniture, you'll find beautiful stained glass
and other fine trappings. Where there was
barren ground, you'll find gardens and flow-
erbeds. And where there was a crumbling
forge, you'll find a working armory with a
particularly useful characteristic.
“Once you finish the quest,” says
Gardiner, "you can bring [the relics] back [to
the priory], and there will be a blacksmith
there who will repair them for free and also
things that always bothered us was how the
distant landscape looked. You'd get this very
perceptible line of where stuff is loaded and
where it's not loaded, and then it pops in. On
the РЭЗ, it's a lot more seamless. We did some
new shaders for how it takes information from
the background to the foreground and blends
all that together. It's a slightly cleaner image."
The results are subtle, but noticeable.
“ЛЕ I2EALLY WANTED TO MAKE
YOU WANT TO BE GOOD.”
upgrade them to your level. So, unlike other
gear, where you'll get it at level 1 and it's use-
less by level 10, you can actually come back
here and have it tuned for your level. So it's
useful for the whole game."
Aside from this new content, you might
be wondering if the PS3 version of Oblivion
sports any technical improvements over the
360 version. The answer: sort of. "It has a lot
of technical niceties," Howard says, "just [as
a result of] the development time. One of the
But what about more sweeping changes
to things like animation, textures, or basic
gameplay? Turns out, the team wasn't inter-
ested in rebuilding the game from the ground
up. "That's the game we want to have out
there," Howard says emphatically. "It's
Oblivion. It's Oblivion on the PC, it's Oblivion
on the 360, it's Oblivion on the PS3. Even if
we had the ability to, for instance, redo all
the art, | wouldn't want to do that. That's
Oblivion; that's the art; that's how it looks."
ARENA,
ABAIN
One of the minor quest
lines in Oblivion hear-
kens back to the first
Elder Scrolls game,
pitting your character
against an ever-more-
powerful lineup of ene-
mies in a gladiatorial
arena. If you work your
way all the way up the
ranks, citizens will hail
you as the arena cham-
pion as you pass by on
the streets. Not into the
fisticuffs yourself? You
can still participate in
the arena by betting
on matches.
Ф Hehe COUER STORY
EPOC E vol
қ.
THE FACTIONS OF CYODIIL
The world of Oblivion on PS3 will have
five primary “factions,” or guilds, to
support the five general styles of play:
fighter, mage, thief, assassin, and
now crusader. While some of these
have specific qualifications for appli-
cants—for example, you may not join
Lie
the Mages Guild if the law has placed
a bounty on your head—as long as you
meet those qualifications, you can join
any faction no matter what discipline
your character specializes in.
The significant thing about these
factions is that each one carries its
own extensive quest line. Each of these
quest lines comprise around 20 differ-
ent quests (with the exception of the
Knights of the Nine, which has around
12 longer quests), many of which go
far beyond the “retrieve this artifact”
or “kill that monster” type. And they
PATH
all offer such significant character-
advancement possibilities that complet-
ing any of the quest lines makes it eas-
ier to complete the main quest—and, in
some cases, also makes it significantly
easier to complete the quest lines of
the other guilds.
FIGHTERS GUILD
Mirroring the straightforward
nature of the all-brawn, no-
brains fighter stereotype, the
Fighters Guild is the simplest of
the five factions. Quests feature
basic security and protection
work, some general monster-
extermination, and basically lots
and lots of hack-n-slash. In other
words, if there's а job in Cyrodiil
that requires big muscles and a
somewhat intimidating nature,
you're likely to be the one to do
it. Obviously, this guild is the best
fit for a hand-to-hand-combat-
oriented character.
MAGES GUILD
Progressing in the Mages
Guild requires a bit more effort
than the Fighters Guild, but the
rewards are a bit higher as well.
In this guild, you'll find yourself
collecting ingredients and rare
magical artifacts, dabbling in
magical politics, and crafting
spells, potions, and magical
weapons. Though the guild is a
no-brainer for the straightfor-
ward mage character, any player
who plans to use magic at all will
benefit from joining the Mages
Guild, especially for the guild's
access to the altars of spellmak-
ing and weapon enchantment.
70 | OFM Naueveee 2006
THIEVES GUILD
Walking the line between good
and evil is the Thieves Guild,
which requires its members to
abide by a strict code of honor
as they lift priceless items from
under the noses of important
personages. Follow the path of
the thief, and you'll find yourself
in all sorts of unlikely places
at all hours of the night. You'll
spend time skulking in shadows
and secret passages. But you'll
make an awful lot of money
doing it. Any player interested
in Oblivion's surprisingly robust
stealth engine should consider
joining the Thieves Guild.
DARK BROTHERHOOD
The path of the assassin is
widely considered to be the
finest quest line in the game,
but it requires a serious commit-
ment to, well, evil. As you rise
through the ranks of the Dark
Brotherhood, you may find your-
self excluded from more upright
endeavors (like, for example,
getting your wounds healed at
Cyrodiil's many chapels). But the
rewards are many: Not only do
you get one of the most intricate
story lines and missions in the
game, you also get some really
killer loot. As in the Thieves
Guild, you'll spend lots of time in
the shadows—but here, you'll
also spend time setting up elabo-
rate schemes for taking out your
targets. And here, things always
end badly for somebody.
KNIGHTS OF THÉ NINE
As described in the previous
section, the Knights of the Nine
аге essentially the polar oppo-
sites of the Dark Brotherhood.
Dedicated to upholding the
tenets of the Nine Divines, the
Knights require an unflinch-
ing dedication to the forces of
good. As in real life, this is not
an easy path. But the thought-
ful, adventure-style quests are
rewarding in themselves, and the
benefits of being a member in
good standing of the Knights are
truly powerful. This expansive
quest line has been described by
producer Jeff Gardiner as “the
‘good’ Dark Brotherhood.”
ІМ STORES
NOVEMBER 14, 2006
www.splitfish.com
©2006 Splitfish Gameware Inc. All Rights Reserved. eyeFX 3D, glideFX controller, gameFX controller and motionFX adapter are trademark's of
Splitfish Gameware Inc. "PS2" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Ф HYPE COUER STORY
WHEN BIG OUST
ISN'T BIG ENOUGH
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT
ON THE PS3?
Oblivion enjoyed the dubious honor of being
the first game to offer downloadable expan-
sions on the Xbox 360. The practice started
with the minimalist Horse Armor pack (priced
at a message-board-inflaming $2.50) and
moved on to much more substantial offer-
ings. Now the downloadable content runs
the gamut from moderately sized quests and
location-based missions to more fundamental
gameplay enhancements.
With Bethesda being at the forefront of
this next-gen download movement, we won-
dered what the plans were for the PS3. Will
the PS3 version include the downloadable
content released so far? And how is Sony
handling downloads on the new system?
“The PS3 version does not come with the
downloadable content in it,” Howard says.
“We hope to have that available as down-
loadable content on the PS3. But right now,
to be brutally honest, it's very fuzzy. It's very
fuzzy how the network works, how we put
things up there, how it gets into the game.
That may be clarified before launch...but
it might not be. So we can't say today that
there will be downloadable content on PS3,
and that it'll be there on day one. Do we want
pens. But it is not as clear on this date on PS3
as it was on 360 at [the same time in develop-
ment]. But we've been building E/der Scrolls,
since Morrowind, to have the kind of data
structures we can add stuff to easily. Oblivion
PS3 is made to work with [downloads]. How
they get there is fuzzy. It may not be fuzzy by
the time this issue comes out; as things roll up
to launch, things move very, very fast. You're
“ЛЕ HAD TO BEND ПМЕ# ЕО
DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT.”
to do it? Oh, hell yeah.”
In other words, as of this writing, the full
details of the PS3's network infrastructure still
have not been communicated to developers.
So we turn to hypotheticals: Would Bethesda
like to see Oblivion's downloadable content
on the PS3 handled similarly to the 360? “I'd
like to," says Howard, "but | honestly don't
know if that's going to happen. | hope it hap-
locking down stuff everywhere...which is
something that we're probably more comfort-
able with than we should be, because we're
always doing—for better or worse—big, crazy
s*** for big, crazy hardware that isn't out yet.
That's our standard operating procedure."
On the subject of downloads, we couldn't
resist asking what these vanguards of down-
loadable content thought of Microsoft's new
WILL LIION
[E LINE 7
“Itis the No. 1 request
we get, to be able
to play co-op,” says
Howard, “but it would
de-focus us from the
main thrust of the
game. | definitely can
see the joy in at least
being able to fight
your friends. | think a
lot of people want to
beat each other up
more than adventure
together: ‘Ha-ha, | beat
you. Now | get to take
one of your items.’ |
think that would be a
lot of fun.”
72 | DAIT Мохемвес 2006
по IEEE TIEAEEER
ADD-ONS AND DOWNLOADS SO FAR
END: ED ES — ELO
As of this writing, Bethesda has released seven different
bits of downloadable content on the 360 and PC. Once the
Р53% downloadable-content delivery system is finalized,
we can expect to see all of these available for the PS3.
as 7 HORSE ARMOR Pretty much
t = What it says on the tin: It puts
lis. fancy armor on your horse, pro-
tecting your noble steed from
attacks by unsavory elements.
ОВВЕВУ Retrieve the pieces of
the Imperial Orrery (a sort of
[cA WEN (С gr Е i
Е 5 Axel three-dimensional planetarium)
and gain access to a new area
in Imperial City. Completing the
quest also grants your character
special powers based on the
phases of Tamriel’s moons.
WIZARD'S TOWER This down-
loadable structure features
many bonuses for the magic-
user, including a garden for
growing alchemical ingredients,
a laboratory that boosts your
alchemy skill, and the ability
T to teleport to any Mages Guild
location in Cyrodiil.
THE THIEVES DEN This loca-
2 tion-based quest opens up ап
А күү underground lair to serve as а
D 2 $x. base of operations for your less-
legal pursuits. It unlocks 45 new
items, 15 new spells, and a staff
of pirates to do your bidding.
E
MEHRUNE’S RAZOR This one
features an entirely new dun-
деоп апа accompanying quest.
Along the way you'll encounter
“consumables” venture. If you haven't been they just want to experience it...well, is there 17 new magical items, including
following this development, allow us to sum- anything wrong with that? I'll say this about it: E the titular one-hit-kill dagger.
marize: The next version of Xbox Live will We'll let someone else try it. We had to bend ў
allow gamemakers to sell items that can break over for downloadable content, to see how А THE VILE LAIR This one’s most
or be used up. Consider paying real money for everyone felt about that. We'll let someone < beneficial to truly evil сһагас-
in-game armor that eventually degrades and else bend over for [this] one.” 3 ters. It includes a "cattle pen"
disappears. We wanted to know if the Oblivion One thing is certain: We can expect down- to allow vampires easy access
team would be interested in this kind of con- loadable content for as long as people are to human blood, a dark shrine
tent delivery method. interested in the game. “We have a number to cure diseases (since regular
^| honestly think that's absolutely abysmal,” of [things] in terms of downloads going chapels won't cure evil charac-
Howard says. “I think it's a horrible idea. It now," Howard says. "It's definitely going to ters), and the Font of Renewal,
cuts against the grain of what | think games go through the end of this year, and probably N which cures characters of vam-
should be. | think downloads are stuff that early next year. It's kind of up in the air. We'd N pirism altogether.
we make when we're done; they're stuff we like to keep doing them until the consumers N =
think would be a cool addition. Whereas соп- say, ‘All right—we're full, thanks.’ And then а SPELL TOMES The most recent-
sumables are, like, pay-for-cheating? | dunno. few will come out we were working on, ‘cause ly released download adds a
People have downloaded our stuff, but to be we're always working on something. Because new type of treasure to the
honest, | think charging for [even] gamer pics the initial game has a lot of gameplay, people game: spell books. Without this
is exploitative.” play it for a while. We've found, looking at m | LT] download, the only way to learn
"| could argue the other side, though,” he how many people are continuing to play * 1% new spells is to buy them from
muses. “In Oblivion, if we let you download Oblivion, that is stays pretty big on a daily | % vendors ог make your own.
gold into the game—which | find offensive, basis. It's a huge number. They're staying with | Spell Tomes allows magic users
but the people who find it offensive won't buy the game, so we can offer them things, and A d to find new spells just as easily
it—and the people who want it because they there will be enough people playing to make as they would new weapons,
want to do something like buy a house and it worthwhile.” armor, potions, or scrolls.
ПЕТ п | 73
F
ні
CPOUEle STUY
IN YOU POCKET
HANDS-ON WITH OBLIVION PSP
After all this time we've spent talking about
what a huge game Oblivion is, the idea of
it coming to a handheld system may sound
faintly ridiculous. But the rumors are true:
The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion will arrive
on the PSP sometime in 2007.
How on earth does Bethesda plan to
squeeze this enormous game onto a hand-
held? “We don't," Howard says. “The PSP
version of Oblivion is a very different game
with a different story line. It's a dungeon
adventure game with 10 large levels. So it
has that experience of the dungeon romp. It
doesn't have wide-open, wander-the-land-
scape kind of stuff. We want to concentrate
on what we can pull off really well."
"We want to get the feel right," elaborates
Laffy Taylor, producer of Travels, "but it can't
be one-for-one with the 360 ог PS3 version.
It needs to feel like a handheld game, so it’s
going to be a little more hack-n-slashy, but-
ton-mashy. It has to be, because you're not
using the analog triggers to do your blocks
and attacks. This is more of a dungeon-crawl-
er than Oblivion; you'll be exploring these
underground areas, and also Oblivion planes
that'll be very much like [the console version
of] Oblivion."
So while the setting will be more restric-
tive and the controls, by necessity, will be
simplified, the fundamental gameplay will be
strikingly similar to the original game. "You'll
be able to create your own character, look
at your character, and it'll update live when
a very early version, we found the indoor
environments richly detailed, and while the
controls took some getting used to, the core
gameplay was all present and accounted for.
In short, all reason to the contrary, Travels
really does feel like a portable Oblivion.
Unfortunately, what we'd consider a no-
brainer feature for the PSP version is prov-
ing impossible due to timing: Travels is not
expected to feature any connectivity with the
Р53 version. While the idea of being able to
take your painstakingly crafted PS3 character
"THE PSP UEIeSION OF OBLIVION
IS А UERY DIFFERENT GAME.”
you change your equipment,” Taylor says.
“We have 18 out of the 21 original skills from
Oblivion; the only ones we removed are the
ones that didn't really apply for our story
line or gameplay. And you have all the core
attributes and perks; all that stuff is still there.
That functionality is all parallel."
The result is a game that very much has
that Oblivion feel. In our hands-on time with
on the road with you is incredibly compelling,
it's not possible to implement, since the PSP
version is releasing so much later than the
PS3 version. "It's difficult to retrofit that func-
tionality,” laments Taylor. “I know that Sony
is keen on that kind of stuff happening, but
the timing isn't going to work out for us."
Still: portable Oblivion. That certainly
counts for something.
ҮТӘ.
FIZEAKS
The designers of
Travels cite Metroid
Prime as an influence
on the control scheme:
The analog stick con-
trols front-and-back
movement and turning
side to side, holding
down the L button
allows your character
to strafe, and holding
down the R button
engages free-look.
Unfortunately, the con-
trols are too complex
to allow for the elegant
Syphon Filter-style
control scheme.
©
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©
Ф.
E
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т
т
ك
>
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Pi
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о
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THE MAKERS OF TAG BODY SPRAY ADVISE THAT WEARING NEW WILD CARD AND PLAYING STRIP BLACKJACK CAN
LEAD TO SEVERE NUDITY. TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T LEAD TO YOUR OWN NUDITY, USE ATTACHED INVINCI-CARD.
des
{
ТАС |
Ф не
COVER STUY
THE LEGACY
THE SECRET OF
OBLIVION'S SUCCESS
In these pages, we've discussed all the indi-
vidual components that make Oblivion a
game unlike any other. We've talked about
what new features the designers are bring-
ing to the PS3. We've mused on how digital
delivery has changed—and will continue to
change—this game in particular and games
in general. But the question still remains:
What is it about this one role-playing game
that has made it such a staggering success?
And it is a staggering success. While
Bethesda does not divulge specific numbers,
they were able to give us a general idea.
“We shipped, initially, 1.7 million units," says
Howard. "Put it this way: It's had a /ot of reor-
ders, so it's well, well, well beyond that. It's
sold really well." (As of this writing, the game
has been out less than six months.)
But what is it about the game that so
captures people's interest? Howard offers us
an example. "There was this guy who was
writing a story in Atlantic Monthly," he says,
“а very highbrow, deep-thinking magazine.
The guy doesn't play games, but he says,
‘Videogames are really popular. | want to see
what this is about. I’m going to write an arti-
cle.' At the time he started writing it, Oblivion
had just come out, so he goes into a store
and says, ‘Hey, what's the big videogame |
should be playing?' And he came by at E3
and said, 1 started playing this thing.... It's the
greatest thing l've ever experienced. | cannot
believe how awesome it is. | can't stop play-
ing it. | love it. | tell everybody about it.’
"This goes back to that sense of wonder,"
Howard concludes. "The reason why the
game finds an audience larger than other
games is that people can discuss it before it
comes out, and it's whatever they want it to
be. When you discuss Oblivion, there's no
barrier to it."
But even more significant is this: When
you're talking about the game, if you ask, “1
wonder if | can...?” the answer is frequently,
"Yes. You can." Can you make your own
spells, potions, and weapons? Yes, you can;
by mixing different enchantments, you can
create literally millions of spell variants. Can
you harvest crops, hunt deer, pick flowers?
Yes, you can; as with spellcrafting, you can
mix the various ingredients that can result
from these activities to create millions of
different variants of potions. Can you buy a
house, ride a horse, read a book? Yes, you
can; the game has eight houses for sale,
seven different types of horses, and over 400
books—a quarter of which actually teach you
something, permanently boosting a specific
in-game skill.
It’s like a massively multiplayer RPG in its.
Scope, except it's all yours to explore. And
that, really, is the fundamental joy of this
game: exploration. We've thrown around
the figure of 16 square miles of countryside
a few times already...but understand that
this figure is only exterior space. Add in the
200 dungeons and the various other interior
spaces, and you're likely to end up with a fig-
ure approaching almost double that. You can
play this game for literally hundreds of hours
and still come across entirely new areas on a
regular basis.
And it certainly doesn't hurt that these
areas look so damn pretty. As Howard says,
“We like graphics. | don't apologize for it; |
THE GOOD
ТЕР:
Oblivion includes 15
level-restricted Daedric
quests, which involve
running errands for
the demonic (though
not always evil per
se) forces of Tamriel.
The rewards for these
sometimes grueling
quests are some really
exceptional artifacts.
Our favorite is the
Wabbajack, a staff
that transforms its
target into a random
creature—sometimes
weaker, sometimes
much more powerful.
4
75| omi
MOUEMBEFA
ТЕРГ
FOM voue
Ее LIFE
Far left: The ghosts of
the ancient Knights of
the Nine put you on
the path to sainthood.
Left: Yes, this is a real
screenshot. Yes, the
game really does look
this good. Lower left:
The Aurorans, servants
of Umaril, are among
the new enemies in
the PS3 version. Lower
right: The central tower
in one of the Oblivion
planes. Your job is
to get to the top and
remove a key artifact.
4
love them. They make me like a game more.
That sense of wonder goes up astronomically
with pretty pictures. We like pretty pictures.
And because of that, it brings more people to
the party. They see a picture of it and say, ‘I'd
play that. | don’t play role-playing games, but
that looks like something | would play.'"
But understand that Oblivion is a very
different game from the largely linear con-
sole RPGs with which you may be most
familiar. This is not a game about an orphan
discovering her hidden identity as the
prophesied savior of the universe; this is not
a coming-of-age story about a plucky farm-
er's son finding his true destiny. Unlike most
console RPGs, the story—while certainly
important—is not the reason for the game's
existence. Instead, as in the pen-and-paper
games from which the genre takes its name,
in Oblivion, you create your own story. You
decide who you want to be. You decide
where you want to go.
This is no hyperbole. If you choose to live
a peaceful, idyllic life, roaming the country-
side picking berries and mushrooms and mix-
ing them into potions, you can do that. Given
enough time, you can even make enough
gold selling those potions to retire in comfort
to the game's most luxurious estate.
And if you choose to literally slaughter
every single person you come across, soak-
ing the berry-strewn countryside in innocent
blood, you can do that too. You'll have to
keep an eye out for guards, of course, but it's
technically possible...not to mention lucrative.
(Oh, and evil.)
And if one day you get tired of the berry-
ing Oblivion will have the same experience;
in fact, it's entirely possible for two people
playing Oblivion to have almost completely
different experiences for the first, oh, 50
hours or so. (And take our word for it:
Comparing notes with other players is half
the fun.) Can you think of another game you
could say the same thing about?
Oblivion is already the stuff of legend.
It's already made a huge splash in the indus-
“| LOJE ORAPHICS. THEY
MAKE МЕ LIKE A GAME MOIE.”
picking or peasant-killing and decide to
go save the world, you can do that, too.
You can take your finely honed alchemy or
combat skills and put them to a more philan-
thropic use. You might suffer at first due to
your drastic skill specialization, but the game
is designed to help you compensate for such
shortcomings of character.
The point is, the game supports wildly
different play styles. No two people play-
try, with ripples only just beginning to be felt.
For those with a sense of adventure, it's an
incomparable wealth of exploration and won-
der. It's a remarkable feat of game design.
And when the PS3 launches, an expanded,
refined version of Oblivion will launch right
alongside it. And with is enormous world,
gorgeous graphics, and near-unending
gameplay, if any single game is worth the
entry price of the PS3...well, Oblivion is it. |
SOUND
FAMILIAR?
In Oblivion, the
emperor of Tamriel
is voiced by Patrick
Stewart (Jean-Luc
Picard in Star Trek: The
Next Generation). His
long-lost heir is played
by Sean Bean (Boromir
in The Lord of the
Rings). And the game's
primary antagonist
is voiced by Terence
Stamp (General Zod
in Superman II). Also,
many of the female
characters are voiced
by Lynda Carter (TV's
Wonder Woman).
ЕЕ
На Н
A Heme FEATURE
=
PUB. Namco Bandai ОЕ Namco Bandai RELEASE PS3 launch window PLATFORM PS3
Ii TI Nove!
MOUEMBEA
of the very first
PlayStation back in 1993, there’s always
been a Ridge Racer game alongside a new
PlayStation system, offering gamers the
same dependable drift-heavy racing at ultra-
fast speeds on tracks designed to provide
maximum tension and excitement. As we
discovered when we went to the Tokyo's
Meguro district to meet with the Ridge Racer
7 development team for the first hands-on
with RR7 (the first real Ridge Racer on a ргор-
er Sony console since 20005 Ridge Racer М),
this PlayStation 3 game is much more than
сетш сот | 79
what's come before it (namely Ridge Racer
for the PSP and Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox
360). Not only does it feature all-new original
tracks and music, but RR7 also introduces а
slew of new online features that should put it
at the head of the racing pack this winter.
Principal among the new attractions in
Ridge Racer 7 is a new focus on customiza-
tion. The team realizes that customization is
responsible for the popularity of other games
in the genre, and that this is something Ridge
Racer has—until now—lacked. To that en
RR7 features over 375,000 possible parts
and decal configurations, not including color
combinations (which are implemented via
RGB sliders), which push that number into
the hundreds of millions. Despite the seem-
ingly intimidating number of options, the part
20 | OFM Noveweee 2005
additions are very simple, and the benefits of
each part are clearly explained; additionally,
numerous preset paint schemes are offered
for gamers disinterested in hand-tweaking
the red, green, and blue. Customizable parts
like spoilers, fenders, decals, hubcaps, mold-
ing, hoods, and more are among the many
options, but another new element introduced
in RR7 is the “plug-in parts” feature. These
are parts that significantly enhance a car's
performance, like a part that analyzes your
opponent's nitro or one that activates ап
"auto-rocket start." If you're wondering
about potential balance issues with features
like these, each car is limited to one plug-in,
whether you're playing offline or on. Other,
more subtle, enhancements to a car's tuning
(although the RR7 team is eager to point out
that the game has not transformed into a rac-
ing sim) include the ability to tweak the drift-
ing or grip specs of each car.
LETS PLAY
Other elements include the all-new tracks
designed specifically for RR7, like the indus-
trial Shanghai-inspired track or the exotic-look-
ing “Lost Ruins” track, which is covered in ivy
and surrounded by cascading waterfalls and
enormous Buddha statues. Completing each
lap takes the customary minute and a half or
so, as the tracks have been designed to keep
gamer interest at optimal levels. In terms of
new gameplay elements, the RR7 team has
added a “slipstream” feature, complete with
slipstream gauge (to indicate how much drift
you're getting by racing behind a competitor).
This should reduce some frustration ехрегі-
enced in past games, as passing opponents
is no longer based purely on the whims of
the CPU Al, but is now in the hands of the
READY FOZ
REKO
head-to-head sense of competition.
Playing Ridge Racer 7 felt like the Ridge Racer
series has over the last 13 years: fast, respon-
sive, and exciting. Of the new courses, we
PASSING OPPONENTS IS NO
LONGER BASED ON THE CFU Al.
gamer with skillful, almost NASCAR-like play.
Another factor in some of the new tracks is
the adjustment of opponents. While most of
the tracks pit you against the typical 13 other
competitors (putting the full grid at 14 strong),
some tracks have been specifically designed
for eight racers in order to create a deeper
sampled the Shanghai course and the Lost
Ruins track, and found that drifting through
corners was as intuitive as it has ever been,
with 14 cars caroming through chicanes and
S-turns with a flick of the wrist. If anything
made it difficult to keep our eyes on the road,
it would've been the beautiful new scenery
aa
А
ПЕ ЛЕІТЕНЕНН
A | Hye FEATLIÍPE
NOS
TOKYO DOES TERS
the bottom
of what inspired all
of RR7's hot new fea-
tures, we talked with
a group of members
from the team,
including Hideo
Teramoto (designer,
Production Unit 4),
Satoru Ouchi (pro-
grammer), Hiroshi
Okubo (sound
designer, soundtrack
composer), Hideki
Nakamura (visual
designer, vehicle
designer), and
Masaya Kobayashi
(game director)
to learn about the
game’s genesis and
what to expect from
the final product.
Б ЕЕ КТ
OUT ON ШР
For more in-depth
information and the
entire, uncut interview
(with more comments
on track design, driv-
ing on the moon, and
how well Gran Turismo
models Toyota MR2
Spyders), you can
go to both the OPM
site at OPM.1UP.
com and the ТУР
RR7 cover story at
ridgeracer.1UP.com.
МММ. Мм
ОРМ What keeps the Ridge Racer series
fresh?
26 To answer this question, basically:
new features. New online features, new
customization features, and all of the new
things you saw during the demo.
OPM Since Ridge Racer isn't about
licensed real-world cars, what do you then
do to attract gamers looking for that sort
of thing?
агг With Ridge Racer, it's not all about real-
ism; it's about being cool. With the speed and
the design of the machines, these are things
you can't experience in real life. Like things in
real life aren't always cool, so we just wanted
to focus on coolness rather than realism. The
way we get the audience is by making some-
thing cooler than real cars in real life. You
can't get this kind of speed in real life.
Having said that we're not focusing on
realism, the game isn’t totally unrealistic.
There is some kind of realism in the game.
This was an important point when making
the game. We haven't gone so unrealistic
that people wanting real cars would just
forget about Ridge Racer. We're maintain-
ing a line. It’s real, but better than real.
“Real unreality” is the motto.
OPM Speaking of straddling the line
between realism and cool, since drift racing
is much more popular now than it was back
in 1993 when the original arcade edition of
Ridge Racer first came out, is there ever a
pressure to make the drifting in the game
more, well, realistic?
г In Ridge Racer, drifting is something
that's very simple to pull off, that everyone
can experience. Players can go around
corners at high speeds; that's something
we don't want to get away from. Making it
more real—we might consider this in the
future, if we can maintain the same sort of
experience. If we attempt to make the drift
mechanics more real, it'll be more difficult
for players to immerse themselves in the
game, and that’s something we want to
avoid. We want to make it more realistic in
the way of sound effects and motion and
things like that.
OPM On another note, track design has
always been a high point of the series.
What's your criteria for designing a track
and deciding when is a course “just right”?
22 You mean, what's the process?
OPM Yeah, because...your first pass at
Bz | OAT Novewece 2908
m"
Edd ГР
making a track isn't always perfect. You
probably decide, “Oh, let's add a hairpin
turn here and a straightaway here.”
212 Ah, you mean the layout as opposed
to the visual design. The game designers
and visual designers get together, and
the game designer explains his particular
requirements for a particular course, and
the visual designer will try to come up with
that on a piece of paper and they come
up with the theme. After that the game
designers discuss where to put certain ele-
ments, make a good balance, and keep a
good rhythm.
OPM So they start off by saying they
have a visual theme in mind or does the
game designer first say, “This track is
meant to be a nonstop drift challenge” or
“This is all about high speed chases”?
[22 It's about 50/50. It's both. It's а com-
account the amount of time it takes a player
to finish a lap. We try to keep the time
around the 1 minute, 30 seconds mark. Any
longer, and the player will lose concentra-
tion and get bored of the track. Plus, there
are the constraints of the console's memory
and how powerful the system is. If it's too
long, then it becomes hard to make.
OPM Are you ever worried about offer-
ing too much customization or getting too
complicated?
(22 With the Ridge series, it's all been
about arcade racing, so there are many
gamers who don't like the feel of gamers
like Gran Turismo. It's bothersome to tune
your саг and make all these settings just
to race. But with Ridge Racer, you can just
start, play, and stop whenever you like.
But with these new customization features,
everything is simple and easy. It's not very
"WITH [2IDGE ACEI, YOU CAN
STAT, PLAY, AND STOR.”
bination of visual and gameplay elements.
It comes from both directions. So the new
Asian course [one track set in an industrial
city area, inspired by Shanghai, China] has
a waterfall and some statues. Those ideas
come from the designer first of all. Then,
once it's been made, then they decide on
the layout and how the race should prog-
ress. When they're actually making the
course, they say, “1 want to put a statue
here, and | want to put a waterfall here.”
OPM So that affects the layout, because
suddenly you think, “Well, | have to drive
around this waterfall.”
f2f2 Exactly, so that's why it’s-basically а
50/50 process. When they design tracks, it's
comparable to how a band makes its music.
Everyone comes together and says “1 want
to do this, and | want to do that." It's not
just one person. It's a mixture of everyone's
ideas; it's a collaboration.
ОРМ When you're designing а course, do
you set limits upon yourself? For example,
if you used a remote-control car kit with
a limited amount of track pieces to lay
out your tracks, you could design as many
courses as you want within a specific
amount of track.
22 When designing tracks, we take into
complex; anyone can tweak their settings, so
we're not too worried about it.
With games like Gran Turismo, while
you're equipping different parts, you'll get
some really complicated description that
goes on forever. Finally, at the end, it'll tell
you what it actually does. But as you saw
with Ridge Racer 7's customization—for
example, the drift enhancer plug-in unit,
with that description you'll see the actual
result—you'll see what the part does straight
away. It's not that we don't like realism, but
the game mechanics found in Gran Turismo
don't suit Ridge Racer's atmosphere. We do
the fine-tuning kind of stuff in MotoGP.
ОРМ So what, then, does “arcade racing”
mean to you guys?
гг Arcade racing is all about easy to play,
easy to get into. It's all about fun, no worries.
You don’t have to study or train yourself to
become a better player, although you can if
you want. You don't have to be at a certain
level to play it; you can just pick up and
play. If you go to the arcade, you don't see
an arcade game that you have to study and
train for...unless you play fighting games, of
course. Our programmer here has 20 years
of experience making arcade games.... So
having all that experience, that's why Ridge
Racer is what it is today.
NDUEMBER
tearing our attention away from the race
at hand. While the version we played was
capped at 30 frames per second, the Ridge
team guarantees us that the final product will
run at 60 fps, and we believe them.
Naturally, with the formidable increase
in power with the move up to the PS3,
Ridge Racer 7 features state-of-the-art, high-
definition graphics. Besides the breathtaking
environments and car models, you can now
see a polygonal driver spinning the wheel
behind the windshield. When the driver turns
the steering wheel, so, too, do the wheels
turn in sync with the driver. The soundtrack
now spreads out among 5.1 channels of
sound for a complete audiovisual assault,
while the actual atmosphere provided by the
soundtrack hearkens back to the early days of
Ridge Racer, when the music was designed
to catch your attention in arcades.
Chief among the new features in Ridge Racer
7 is the battery of online-specific elements
designed to maximize player satisfaction
in the online arena. Naturally, players will
be able to upload their progress and scores
to the Internet so as to show off just how
accomplished they are. Various rankings
are attainable іп RR7 (eight or nine rankings
will be offered), beginning with Rookie and
ending with the ultimate rank of Ridge Racer
(only one player in the world can obtain this
rank at any one time). While various func-
tionalities may change between now and the
and upload a comment like "I totally rOOL!,”
which will, in turn, be distributed to all play-
ers connected online.
Whenever a player hosts an online battle, a
variety of stats appear for each entrant to show
you what you're up against. In competition,
gamers earn Online Battle Points (OBP)—which,
along with a number of other criteria, like
гог5рнасн
RACER
ONLY ONE PLAYERIN THE WORLD
CAN BE “20СЕ АСЕ.”
game's release (Namco would only commit
to "PS3 launch window"), one of the ideas
the team plans to implement is the continual
uploading of player data and scores, without
requiring players to actively play online.
As long as their PS3 is plugged in and
online, scores and progress will automati-
cally upload and appear on other players’
screens via a stock-ticker-style update bar.
^Hero interviews" will allow players who,
for example, may have beaten the entire
Ridge State Grand Prix challenge, to type in
Fame, number of wins online, and total dis-
tance driven, determine your overall ranking. A
player's name, nationality, and title also appear
when joining a game. Another of the benefits
gained from being perpetually connected is the
hosting of various UFRA (Universal Federation
of Ridge Racing Association) events, which are
special downloadable events hosted by Namco.
The full slate of modes included in Ridge Racer
7 are: Online Battle, Global Time Attack, Arcade,
UFRA Special Event, Machine Connector, and
Ranking Browser.
EEEE
| НЕЕ МІМ-РЕАТШ2Е
і JJ |
MOUEMBER |
CHARAC TE? STUDY
As much as we
оет есот| 85
ФІНЕЕЕ ІМІМ-БЕВТІІӘБЕ
! PUB. Sony CEA DEV. Insomniac RELEASE PS3 Launch PLATFORM PS3
PESISTANCE: FALL OF МА
VIVA LA RESISTANCE!
HEB | OFT Novewsee 2006
WHO AM Г?
Sergeant Nathan Hale, a U.S. Army Ranger
who is part of the initial wave of soldiers
sent to help England fend off a massive
invasion by the Chimera (weird “alien” bad-
dies that are sweeping through Europe). In
particular, you are playing Hale between July
11 and July 14, 1951—because, within these
three days, weird stuff happens to him.
WHATS MY MOTIVATION?
Initially, it'S to survive the Chimeran invasion
and take the fight to them. Then, something
wacky happens to Hale—he and his squad
are ambushed and infected by a Chimeran
virus, but Hale survives while everyone else
just flat-out dies. Now, not only are you deal-
ing with fighting the Chimera, but you also
have to figure out what the hell happened to
you—and why.
WHO AM | DEALING WITH
AND WHAT’S MY RELATIONSHIP?
Your main “buddy” is probably Rachel
Parker, a British officer who gives perspec-
tive on Hale and his disappearance (she nar-
HALE GETS AMBUSHED AND IS ~
INFECTED BY THE CHIMERA
rates events from her detached viewpoint,
which gives context to your playing as Hale
and seeing for yourself what really hap-
pened at any given point). Any friendly allied
soldiers that you run across are also your
buddies. Allied soldiers are either just Al,
or, if you're playing splitscreen co-op, your
real-life buddy next to you on the couch,
MOUEMBER |
or anyone else on your team when playing
online multiplayer.
The rest of the game is filled with various
types of Chimera, including typical hybrids
(workhorse soldiers), menials (simple
Chimera who run up and grab you), slip-
skulls (sneaky Chimera who crawl along the
ceiling), leapers (little swarming critters),
and other various baddies that we don’t
know the names of yet (including a really
big Chimera that kind of reminds us of a
rancor from Return of the Jedi, and a big
spiderlike creature).
This alternate Earth is
home to some crazy
reinterpretations of
places like Grimsby
Cannery (which is now
a bizarre Chimeran
conversion facility),
Manchester (а totally
wrecked town, which
has a cool fight inside
a church) and Notting-
ham, which looks like
a Ratchet level that got
misplaced by accident.
© | НЫЕ МІМ-РЕАТЦ2Е
HOW DO | БЕТ WHAT | WANT?
By using a large variety of weapons to blow
the ever-living crap out of the Chimera. The
guns might arguably be the real stars of the
game, and here's a rundown of the weapons
that we particularly noticed in our play-
through:
BULLSEYE: The standard-issue Chimeran rifle
(human grunts get M14s, Chimeran grunts get
Bullseyes). It shoots weird Chimeran bullets
just fine, but it's better to use the alt-fire to
shoot a tag; all your bullets then home in on
the tag.
AUGUR: A Chimeran assault rifle that fires
bullets that can drill through up to three
surfaces. Here's a demonstration: You're on
a street and the Chimera are attacking from
inside а local store—you can go to one side of
the building, shoot some Augur bullets, and
watch them drill their way through two other
stores before piercing some Chimerans. The
alt-fire generates a shield, which is great since
your Augur can still shoot through the shield
as well.
FAREYE: A sniper rifle that does typical
sniper rifle stuff like zooming in and shooting
Chimera in the head. A notable feature is that
the alt-fire turns on focus mode, which is kind
of like bullet time in that it slows everything
down and lets you aim much better. But turn-
ing focus mode off is a bit disorienting since
everything switches back to normal speed
almost instantly.
HEDGEHOG: A great crowd-control weapon.
It's a Chimeran grenade that bounces and
then jumps up in the air to dispense powerful
needles in all directions. When you're getting
totally hassled by the Chimera, this is a great
way to create some breathing room.
LAARK: A rocket launcher that fires rockets
you can guide. But it's not like the Metal Gear
3
BULLSEYE
alt-fire is also corridor-centric: It generates a
floating autoturret that fires the same bullets,
which is great for watching your back as you
zip down a scary tunnel.
SAPPER: A Chimeran weapon, it fires a big
glop of goop that either explodes on contact
or is manually detonated via alt-fire. You can
layer on thick piles of the stuff and watch it
drip down walls before blowing it up in a
wash of acid and weird Chimeran explosives.
It's very icky, and it's one of the guns that
THE ВЕЙРЕГ PISTOLS CAN
INDEPENDENTLY ЕГЕ.
Solid series, where you assume the rocket's
point of view. No, when you hold down the
R1 button, the rocket stops in midflight and
emits a laser beam indicating where it's head-
ing. This laser beam happens to end wherever
your reticule is pointed—letting go of R1 will
let the rocket continue on its course until you
press and hold R1 again to redirect it; you can
keep guiding it until it hits something. That's
just the normal fire; the alt-fire shoots a rocket
that spews out tiny missiles along the way.
HAILSTORM: A weapon made for tight corri-
dors, it fires ricocheting bullets—each bounce
actually increases the bullet's damage. The
needed the PS3's computational power to do
it justice.
REAPER: A newly revealed weapon that is a
new twist on an old standby: dual-wielding
pistols. While most games have both pistols
aimed in the same direction, the Reapers are
capable of independent firing. How? Consider
R1 the right hand and L1 the left hand. When
you hold down both buttons, the reticule splits
off into two individual reticules. Your hands
sweep the area, and a modest auto-lock from
each pistol will then latch onto whatever
enemy crosses its path. This is great for taking
on lots of small Chimera. |
AILSTORM
DRINE-BY
88 | DAM Мохемвес 2006
ар
Б
music іп every direction
SUPER MOVES. SUPER GROOVES. SUPERNOVA.
FEATURING MUSIC BY
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Ferry Corsten
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PLUS MANY MORE
Ф Over 70 songs and 100+ minutes
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Ф All-new Battle Mode alters the dance
steps in real-time
Become the ultimate dancing machine
with the new Stellar Master Mode
€ Go online to dance head-to-head, chart
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EVERYONE
Alcohol Reference р = 3
Shia Themes 2| Ріау5 га ti 0 п.о ЕЗ IBEMINNI KO N M І
ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org www.konami.com/gs
KONAMI is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. “ВЕШАН is a registered trademark of Konami Digital Entertainment Co, Ltd. "Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA" Б а trademark of Konami Digital Entertainment Со, Ltt. © 2006 Konami Digital Entertainment, ne.
Developed & Polished by Konami Digital Entertainment, lnc. under селе from Konami Digtal Entertainment Co, 10. USP 645088 “PlayStation” and the “PS” Famiy log are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America loc.
Online play requires interet connection and Memory Card (МЕ) (lor PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Sofware Association.
FEATURE
Sony CEA Game Republic
E PS3 Launch
BENJ: DAYS OF THE BLADE
You are one of four playable characters in
this fast-paced follow-up to one of the bet-
ter PS2 Dynasty Warriors-style games (OPM
scored the first Genji 3.5/5)--апа one of the
better-looking PS3 titles we've seen. Loosely
based on the great feudal battles of medieval
Japan, your main role is that of the legendary
samurai Genkuro Yoshitsune. The lithe Lady
Shizuka and the warrior-monk Benkei are the
other playable characters revealed so far.
Genji: DOTB offers lush playable battle-
grounds (hooray for next-gen water effects!)
and hundreds of enemies to button-mash
through as you lead your clan in an epic fight
for control of feudal Japan against the Heishi.
Add the promise of twice the gameplay of the
original Genji (Sony estimates 15 hours), and,
of course, “historically based” giant crabs,
and you have all the motivation you'll need.
You're mainly battling the minions of a
90 | OFT Noveweee 2006
Heishi warlord, but what really makes the
game are the “historically based” crabs.
Genji: DOTB's U.S. producer, Kyle Shubel,
explains: “In the Heian era of [feudal] Japan,
you had the Heishi and the Genji clans fight-
ing for dominance. One particular naval
battle, which is in the game, was the Battle
of Dannoura. There were so many ships in
the harbor that people were hopping from
actually see similar faces in the back.
“Some of these Heike crabs can get pretty
freaking big. Apparently the largest ones on
record were over 2 meters in diameter (over
6 feet). The crabs in the game are much
larger than that, but, hey, we're talking leg-
end here. We're embellishing history to make
it spectacular—you have to have something
fantastical.”
“SOME OF THESE CABS CAN
GET PRETTY ЕРЕАКМС BIG”
boat to boat without getting their feet wet.
Fighting continued all day long. So many
Heike warriors [Heike is the singular form
of Heishi] died that day that, as the legend
goes, their spirits were imbued into the
crabs that are native to that harbor. Heike
crabs almost look like they have a samurai
face on them, with a weird mustache—and
you even can see the eyes. In the game, if
you get the crabs to turn around, you can
Switch on the fly between your four playable
characters and mow through hordes of ene-
mies with a choice of weapons varying from
swords to tree-sized poles, using charge-ups
and combos. Boss battles end every level and
sublevel and most are easily beaten through
efficient character-switching combos. Alas,
Genji: DOTB is single-player only. |
downsizing (doun’s z’ ing)
To reduce an organization’s workforce,
often through forced retirement.
Sopranos
Road to Respect
MATURE 17+ Blood
Intense Violence
Nudity | f а
Strong Language | А
М Strong Sexual Content | PlayStation e /% 72/74 y.
Use of Drugs | UL mm m =
ial display, character
Get Made November 7" оп PlayStation®2 System
© | HAE IVIINI-EEGQTLIBPE
| PUB. Rockstar Games DEW, Rockstar Leeds / Rockstar North RELEASE Fall PLATFORM PSP
GRAND THEFT AUTO: МІСЕ CITY STORIES
GET READY TO DANCE, WITH LANCE VANCE. AS HIS BROTHER, VIC
You're All-American do-gooder Vic Vance,
who represents a break from the series norm
in that he’s essentially a nice guy. Rather than
representing a faction of organized crime, Vic
is actually a Marine who unwittingly becomes
embroiled in the nefarious underground deal-
ings of Vice City.
Here's an interesting fact for those of you
not schooled in GTA-lore: Vic is one of the
three characters that die at the beginning
of Vice City during the drug deal Tommy
Vercetti is sent to supervise.
WHATS MY MOTINATION?
It's all about setting the scene for what's to
come in future GTAs. We hope you've been
paying attention to the GTA timeline, because
this one is chronologically the first game in
the broader narrative. Set two years before
the events of Vice City (which puts this one in
1984), it establishes a number of characters
EVEN MOE
AMEITIOUS IN
TS SCOPE.
and plot points that set a foundation for the
entire franchise.
WHO AM | DEALING WITH AND
WHATS MY RELATIONSHIP?
Vic is the brother of Vice City’s reprehen-
sible Lance Vance (the one voiced by former
Miami Vice star Philip Michael Thomas,
who sounded like he was channeling Hong
Kong Phooey half the time. He returns to
the role in this game, too) and finds himself
immediately mixed up in Lance’s empire-
building schemes. Expect Liberty City crime
boss Sonny Forelli to play a prominent role
as well.
HOW DO I GET WHAT | WANT?
Like Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories
draws much from its nonportable progenitor,
and as such has grown in scale and scope.
Vic's career will evolve іп a larger, more
finely detailed environment that boasts
improved graphics with a better framerate
and significantly less pop-up and draw dis-
tance problems. Even more ambitious in its
scope than LCS, the new game has longer,
more complex missions (such as one where
Vic has to destroy a series of radio towers
scattered throughout the city that the DEA
is using to bug his house), and a lot more
character interaction. There are also а /ot
more toys to play with, including helicop-
ters, motorcycles, and Jet Skis. I
92 | DAIT Мочемве
| PlayStation.2 2.
Ў E» =
A
Zach Long
Cas
жә”
Experience the ultra-fast paced action of the Sport of Combat". Travel the globe and play
100's of field layouts inspired by pro leagues such as the Millennium Series", the NPPL”,
and X Ball". Fire realistic markers up to 24 balls per second. Mothing gets you closer to
the realistic intensity of professional paintball. Check out www.ghtp.net.
"
EVERYONE 10+
coming soon to: p 4) a ә Mild Violence
АСП ISION. V verizon wireless | ы BROADBAND ONLY зузгаирп. |
ESRB CONTENT RATING Wwwesrb.arg
activision.com е А
f X |
GAME BOY ADVANCE: INTENDE к JP
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мин ghtpmusic.com
©2006 WXP, Inc. and Paintball Players Productions, LLC. Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball Max'd is a trademark of Paintball Players Productions, LLC, WXP and the WXP logo are trademarks of WXP,
Inc. All rights reserved. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision. Inc. and its affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Trade dress and promotional materials ©2006 Activision, Inc. Published and distributed
by Activision Publishing, Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
Microsoft. Xbox. Xbox Live, the Live logo, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license
from Microsoft. TM, & Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo. "PlayStation" and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertain-
ment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation 2) (each sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
PUB. Activision DEU. Raven Software РЕТЕАЗЕ PS3 Launch PLATFORM PS3, PS2, PSP
MARUEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
GALACTUS IS BOSS IN “NEXT-GEN LEGENDS”
WHO AM I?
You are a team of four superheroes drawn
from a total of 140 in Marvel: Ultimate
Alliance, an action RPG created in the style
of X-Men Legends. п one particularly epic
boss battle you must stop Galactus, Eater of
Planets, Devourer of Worlds, from consuming
the Skrull homeworld.
WHATS MY MOTIVATION?
Galactus is cranky because you're interrupt-
ing his meal. His giant physical form slowly
advances through the cityscape, destroying
everything in its path to get at your hapless
quartet. Along the way, you must combat
his minions (his Punishers) and some hos-
tile Skrull and avoid being grabbed by the
big man (though if caught you can loosen
yourself from his clutches via a rapid pound-
ing of the Circle button). Keep in mind that
switching characters on the fly will help you
through this level.
O4 | OAM Naueveee 2006
WHO AM | DEALING WITH
AND WHATS MY RELATIONSHIP?
If your team manages to elude Galactus,
you'll then take control of Galactus’ onetime
cosmic herald, the Silver Surfer, to battle him
with both the Power Cosmic and quick reac-
CONTEOL THE SILVERS SUFER
AND HIS POWER COSMIC.
tion commands (vis-a-vis button sequences).
Should the Silver Surfer survive this trial,
Galactus will be defeated.
HOW DO | GET WHAT | WANT?
Your team's and Silver Surfer's failure
ensures that the great purple one’s world
hunger will be sated. Your success means
you can move on to other levels that include
17 locales, such as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier
and Atlantis, as you must ultimately stop the
nefarious goals of Victor von Doom and the
Masters of Evil. Even if you do not defeat
Galactus, you can always try again with a
new team that includes such playables as
Captain America, Thor, Luke Cage, Elektra,
Nick Fury, Blade, Dr. Strange, Ghost Rider,
Spider-Man, Wolverine, Thing, Human
Torch, Iceman, Invisible Woman, гоп Man
and Mr. Fantastic in single- and multiplayer
modes. Known hero nemeses include Arcade,
Fing Fang Foom, Loki, MODOK and Ultron.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance allows four-player
co-op and melee online. |
We're not sure which
villain we like more,
Ultron, the ultra-evil
robot that destroyed a
country for kicks; Fin
Fang Foom, the giant
dragon that wears pur-
ple shorts; or MODOK,
a giant floating head
whose name is short
for “Mental Organism
Designed Only for
Killing.”
! PUB. Warner Bros. DEU. Snowblind RELEASE Fall PLATFORM PS2, PSP
JAUS ПРЕ LEAGUE HEROES
A MODERN HEROIC PANTHEON
i HEI EEE
WHO AM |
You just happen to be seven of the most
powerful people on the planet (at least in the
DC universe): Superman, Batman, Wonder
Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), The
Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Zatanna.
That's the core seven who make up the
Justice League—yet many other superheroes
are part of the League, and these extras
come in the form of unlockables. Extra team
members include two other Green Lanterns
(Kyle Rayner and the Hal Jordan) and that
rascally liberal Green Arrow—and for the PSP
version, Supergirl and Black Canary also join
the League.
WHAT'S MY MOTIYATION?
Why, nothing short of stopping Earth from
being ended! While incidents like robots
going nuts in Metropolis, monsters invading
secret labs, and White Martians marshal-
ling an invasion fleet might seem unrelated,
that's what you're supposed to think. As you
resolve these incidents, you figure out who's
masterminding this whole operation.
UNLOCKABLE
НЕ20Е LIKE
HAL AODAN...
WHO AM | DEALING WITH
AND WHATS MY RELATIONSHIP?
Besides the aforementioned minions (robots
and monsters) and other members of the
League, you'll also encounter many classic
villains for both individual team members
and the League as a whole. In addition to
previously known foes like Gorilla Grodd,
Brainiac, Queen Bee, and Killer Frost, newly
announced foes include The Key (is he
the bizarre chemist who messes with the
League's minds like in the comics, ог is һе
the dude with the key-shaped gun in the car-
toon?) and numerous Doomsday (the mon-
ster who took down Superman) clones.
HOW DO І GET WHAT I WANT
By plowing through the various bad guys in
ап action-RPG throwdown à la Snowblind's
previous titles (Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance,
Champions of Norrath | and II), but with
superhero twists (regenerating health, no
potions, flight). You take two heroes at a time
(the first few levels have set heroes; you then
have more flexibility with whom you can
use later on) to fight baddies, save civvies,
and right wrongs. Besides using good ol"
fists, each hero has five core superpowers
to take on evildoers with—you'll be focusing
on leveling up and customizing these base
superpowers. While each League member
has a pretty cool arsenal, we're partial to The
Flash's powers (spins up a whirlwind and
attacks multiple enemies by simply zipping
from baddie to baddie like a pinball). |
кесшп сете с
4 | НЕЕ ПЛІМ--ЕВТІІӘБЕ
PLUE. Rockstar DEY. Roc
BULL
ar Vancouver RELEASE Fall PLATFORM
PS2
IN EUROPE, THEY CALL THIS "CANIS CANEM EDIT"
WHO AM 17
A rascally 15-year-old named Jimmy Hopkins.
At the start of Bully, you're starting a new
year at your fifth school, Bullworth Academy.
So, you're a bit of a troublemaker, but that
might come from your being annoyed that
your new stepfather is older than your grand-
father, and is more irritating to boot. And you
have a bit of a reputation, according to the
first Bullworth student who actually talks to
you, a wisecracker named Gary.
WHATS MY MOTIVATION?
Initially, it’s just to survive through the school
year. But as you play through, your initial
“friend,” Gary, sets in motion your true moti-
vation: taking him down. According to him,
only one guy can rule the school, and he
wants to make sure it ain't you. As you navi-
gate your way through Bully's five chapters,
Gary will be a constant thorn in your side as
he attempts to be the true ruler of the school.
ІЛІНІП AM I DEALING WITH
AND WHAT'S MY RELATIONSHIP?
As mentioned before, Gary will be one of the
first students you meet, and at first, he acts
like your friend. But that friendship heads
south pretty quickly, especially after Gary
sets up a fight between you and Russell,
who's а huge lummox of a bully. Or when
Gary purposely manipulates other students
at the school into hating you. While Gary
will constantly hate on you, you also have to
has you first obtaining the proper outfit to go
into the secret preppy hideout (a boxing gym
out in town), and the second segment has
you and your new preppy friends egging a
house. In between missions, you have to deal
with classes (minigames based on the type of
class) and nonmission critical students (who
give little side quests). Performing missions,
“АЛЕ TAKEN DUMPS THAT WEZE
SMARTER THAN YOU.”
deal with the five cliques (nerds, greasers,
preppies, jocks, and townies) and various
teachers and nonstudents.
HOW DO | GET WHAT | WANT?
By performing missions for both students
and teachers. One early mission for the cafe-
teria lunch lady has you running into town to
pick up groceries and other sundry items (this
mission actually introduces you to the town
outside of the school). A two-part mission
both those critical to the main story and side
quests, will affect both the number of items
that you have (such as cherry bombs, sling-
shots, or skateboards) and your reputation
among the various cliques—said reputation
will also affect the difficulty of a mission,
depending on who's involved. And yes, this
whole time, Gary snipes at you with insults
like, “I’ve taken dumps that were smarter
than you." Oh man, it'll be so sweet when
you take him down once and for all. |
BOOK
LEGI2NIN*
55| [TI Nouen
So IF YOU LET OTHER PEOPLE, PIECE BY PIECE,
MAKE YOU INTO WHAT THEY WANT, EVEN IF IT’S
STUPID, WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU?
OFFICE oF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL PoLicY /PARTNERSHIP FOR A DRUG-FREE AMERICA
Án ГО)
ІНЕ МІМ-ҒЕЯТИІРЕ
Sega DEV. Sonic Team
PS3 Launch
SONIC THE
HEDGEHOG
V PS3
Why, you're the fastest blue critter on two
feet! As expected, you'll focus on being
Sonic, who's been running and jumping
and blast processing for the past 15 years.
WHE MY MOTI ІПІ
That bad boy Ог. Eggman (or Robotnik
to us Americans) is trying to kidnap
Princess Elise so that he can rule the city of
Soleanna or some such nonsense. Typical
motive from a mad scientist who kind of
looks Teddy Roosevelt іп а Sgt. Pepper's
costume. As expected, Sonic wants to run
in and stop the Big Egg from hatching his
scheme.
| IB. Konami Kojima Productions Winter С Р5Р
` METAL GEAR SOLID: PORTABLE OFS
ШЕМ БЕТТЕ during single- and multiplayer missions. п
Naked Snake, aka the hero of Metal Gear multiplayer you can access the entire world
Solid 3, aka Big Boss, the leader of the elite (in that you can connect to any Wi-Fi hot spot While Sonic maintains his antagonistic
military unit FOX. to not only play against other players but to relationship with Dr. Eggman, he now has
download new characters for your team as two other hedgehogs to befriend: Shadow
x well). Portable Ops features a wealth of online and Silver. Shadow was that rambunc-
You've been running a tight ship for six years, battle modes, which will boast a variety of tious black-furred hedgehog who ran and
but the other members of FOX just decided different characters, including the slightly Sei DS а jumped and used guns in his own title,
to turn corrupt and steal a bunch of nuclear less-young version of MGS3-era Ocelot and a ПН Shadow the Hedgehog. Silver is а whole
warheads. To hunt down your former crew, familiar-looking ninja... x new hedgehog who's supposedly from the
Қ far future—a future where hedgehogs have
EXPECT TO GO THEOUGH EUEN Т
МОЕ EMO TIONAL ANGST. This totally depends on which hedgehog
E you play as. If you take Sonic for a spin,
you form a new team of specialists called Su п then you do the typical Sonic moves of
FOXHOUND (sound familiar?). 5 running really fast and either rolling into or
Kojima Productions is keeping mum on the 1 jumping onto baddies to take them out. If
specifics of the single-player mission (besides T | you play as Silver, you'll have more puzzle-
emphatically stating that this is a true action- ат based action, as Silver can manipulate
Alone, you'll no doubt be dealing with some based MGS title). As for multiplayer, it’s still M objects and puzzles with his mind. Shadow,
of the series' famous personalities, a young important to not be seen, but keeping silent is for some bizarre reason, is the hedgehog
Colonel Roy Campbell among them. Expect now of the utmost priority; every player has that drives instead of runs, so when you
Naked Snake/Big Boss to go through even a sonar device that indicates where and how need а big, honking truck to zip around а
more emotional angst as he completes the loud other players are. Stand still and you certain area, you should use him instead. |
transition to übervillain. Along the way, you won't be followed—of course, that'll hardly
can recruit soldiers to fight alongside you help you win battles. |
ӨЕ | DAM Naueveee 2006
ROCKSTAR GAMES PRESENTS
ed j
COMING
OCTOBER 17, 2006
WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/BULLY
PlayStation.e
| НЫЕ МІМ-ҒЕЯТИІБЕ
ta Monica RELEASE February 2007 Рі
GOD DE WAR II
AGAINST THE SUPREME
WHO AM 1?
You are Kratos, the Spartan soldier who
ascended to immortality by defeating Ares
and taking his place as the god of war.
WHATS MY MOTINATION?
Cory Barlog, the director for God of War II,
explains how you have changed from the
first game: “Kratos is still kind of tormented
[by] some of the things that he's done. He's
coming to terms with the idea that he's a
puppet and that he has masters beyond
what he originally thought. He's realizing
that there's a lot more to the world than he
has ever imagined."
You're also struggling with what it means
to be a god, and that causes some ties that
you have had in the past to become even
stronger. "Every god had his own home
city—his homies. And when Kratos became
youre AlleST
FIGHT AGAINST
A COLOSSUS!
the new god of war, he found he had an even
stronger allegiance with Sparta—it's sort of
his last connection to humanity,” says Barlog.
“The conquest and destruction of other cit-
ies is his outlet for his anger. But that quickly
becomes a bad thing for him.”
WHO AM 1 DEALING WITH
AND WHATS MY RELATIONSHIP?
It doesn't take long for some of your ene-
mies to conspire against you and kill you
(apparently, being immortal doesn't mean
you're infallible). You then have to fight your
way back from Hades. One of your very first
fights is against a monstrous colossus—and
if you remember the hydra from the opening
portion of the first game, you'll get an idea
of the magnitude that the colossus will have.
“We wanted that James Bond or Indiana
Jones sort of experience where, within three
minutes, you are full-bore into this game,"
explains Barlog. "We wanted to open the
game with a larger moment than we had in
any of [in] the last game."
HOW DO І БЕТ WHAT I WANT
As before, you'll gain weapons (such as the
wind bow seen at E3) by defeating enemies.
^He has all-new powers," promises Barlog.
“It isn't just going to be, ‘Hey, we're just
making something with a few new effects
on it.' We're also making him mobile dur-
ing combat." Also new to the game are
relics, which you'll collect along the way.
Relics grant temporary special abilities; for
example, the amulet of the fates allows you
to slow down the fates of people around
you while keeping your own fate moving in
real time—it basically lets you move through
time extra quickly. |
ted Octane DEU. Harmonix f
MDUEMBER |
E November
витае HEZO |
NOW YOUR LIFE’S NO LONG
НО AM T?
For now, let's call you “Rockabilly.” You
happen to be one of the new character
types in Guitar Hero Il. Other new gui-
tarists are a Norwegian black metaller
named Lars Umlaut and an unnamed
rocker chick. Of course, if you like playing
as good ol' Axel Steel or Pandora or any
other original GH character, they'll be in
GHZ as well, but with some new threads.
WHATS MY MOTIVATION?
To rock your way through a new battle of
the bands and then proclaim yourself a
true guitar hero once you reach the top.
That, and to unlock more songs and gen-
erally fulfill your guitar-playing fantasies.
AHO AM | DEALING WITH AND:
WHATS MY RELATIONSHIP?
You'll be dealing with the fickle crowd
who controls your fate based on how
much they like your guitar playing. One
way to help wow them is to use the new
Practice Mode to learn your licks before
going up in front of a crowd.
HOW DO | GET WHAT I INANT?
See that crazy long song list to the
right? You get what you want by totally
rocking out to those songs at all-new
venues. That track list has 24 songs out
of the total 55, and to get us to the (very
nearly) halfway point, we're going to
reveal another song right here: “Carry On
Wayward Son” by Kansas. For those of
who might not have been around during
the "706 when Kansas rocked out with
that title, you might recall that it plays
during the end credits of that Will Ferrell
tour de force Anchorman. |
"Beast and the Harlot" - Avenged
Sevenfold
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" - The
Rolling Stones
"Crazy on You" - Heart
“Freebird” - Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Heart-Shaped Box” - Nirvana
“Jessica” - The Allman Brothers Band
“John the Fisherman” - Primus (original
track)
“Laid To Rest” - Lamb of God
“Madhouse” - Anthrax
“Message in a Bottle” - The Police
“Misirlou” - Dick Dale
“Psychobilly Freakout” - Reverend
Horton Heat
“Shout at the Devil” - Mótley Crüe
“Strutter” - KISS
"Surrender" - Cheap Trick
"Sweet Child O' Mine" - Guns N' Roses
"Tattooed Love Boys" - The Pretenders
"Them Bones" - Alice in Chains
“Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight”
- Spinal Tap
"Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart" -
Stone Temple Pilots
“War Pigs" - Black Sabbath
“Who Was in My Room Last Night?" -
Butthole Surfers
"You Really Got Me" - The Kinks, as per-
formed by Van Halen
“YYZ” - Rush
ONE OF THE
TOP FIVE
GAME-DEGREE
PROGRAMS
- Electronic Gaming Monthly
Student Artwork
"M
Real World Education
і School of
Game Development
School of
0 University Ba
Winter Park, FL 3
Financial aid available to those who qualif
Ca
Accredited College, AC
ar development a
A | Hye PSP PREVIEWS
BATHIZDONM
ON-THE-GO
AIRPLANE
HOME
While the PSP
library is finally
seeing plenty of
good games, not
all of them real-
ize that the PSP
is, well, portable.
To that end, we're
highlighting six
upcoming titles
and giving our
own recommen-
dations as to t
most appropriate
places to play them
(just check out our
handy icons)...
©=°®@ MI COU
WHERE DO YOU WANT TO PLAY TODAY?
GAMES AND PLACES TO TAKE YOUR PSP
ı pup, Sony CEA реч. Guerrilla Games
RELEASE October 31
KILLZONE: LIBERATION
THAN A PAINTBALL
THE GROIN
y
Where should І be playing this? During
those paintball-match lulls
Why? When you and your nerdy friends
are out in the woods of Wisconsin play-
ing would-be survivalist, there's a lot of
downtime—and Killzone: Liberation is the
perfect PSP shooter to keep your trigger
finger sharp. The miniaturized version of
Guerrilla's PS2 shooter is that PSP rarity:
a game designed from the ground up for
Sony's portable system. Objectives are set
up in bite-sized, checkpoint-based chunks,
perfect for those lulls in action when you're
waiting for your opponents to traipse
through the forest and finally find you. If
you'd like to keep your whole team alert
and at the ready during said lulls, there
are ad hoc multiplayer and co-op modes,
too. And hey, you'll be spending the whole
paintball match trying to avoid getting hit
in the junk, plus you'll have to strip naked
and search your body for ticks once you
get home—so you might as well have
some fun, right? @
1 PLE. EA Games oeu. ҒА Canada/EALA
RELEASE Fall
MEDAL OF HONOR HEROES
REPLACING THE PS3 ENTRY AS THIS
Where should І be playing this? At
home, next to your PC.
Why? While many PSP titles have trouble
getting even two- or four-player online
matches working, Medal of Honor Heroes
makes the bold claim that it will support
32-player online matches. EA describes
multiplayer as the “core” of the game, and
will have six modes ready for players who
tire of deathmatch (think capture the flag,
control points, and so on). It's got a solu-
tion for those who think the PSP can't do
first-person shooter controls, too—the face
buttons control the camera while the analog
nub moves you around. It's a bit awkward
to double-tap and hold a face button to
increase your turning speed, but we've seen
worse interfaces. And that whole play-next-
to-your-PC thing? Players will be able to
download software from the game's official
website and set up their own servers if they
choose, giving hardcore fans the option to
customize their games and clans with per-
sonal settings. e
1 PUB. Konami реч. Konami
RELEASE Winter
ы AMAS aw
Where should I be playing this? In a
ghost town, preferably. Try the mostly
deserted Centralia, PA (population:
11)—the real-life slice of suburban tragedy
on which Silent Hill is based—or find one
closer to you at ghosttowns.com.
Why? Because the Silent Hill series is all
about setting the right atmosphere, and
Origins details the events that lead up.
to the classic survival-horror adventure.
As stranded truck driver Travis O'Grady,
you'll play a role in turning Silent Hill into
the unholy place of falling ash and creepy
s*** that it is today. Maybe you'll find
even more insight into Alessa's screwy
past. Explore the desolate town's streets,
schools, and insane asylums in a Resident
Evil 4 over-the-shoulder camera perspec-
tive. That should help you keep track of all
those whatever-the-hell-those-things-are
on the PSP's small screen. Not to mention
the fact that sledgehammer blows to сгеа-
tures' heads just feel so much better when
they're up close and personal. e
MODUEMBER |
ГЕВЕМО
ө
м
=?
HLILISE
For when you're at home,
or any one place for a
lengthy period of time.
P
1 PUB. Sony CEA реч. Zipper
RELEASE Fall
SOCOM: US NAVY SEALs
FIRETEAM BRAVO
THIS IS PSP TO PS2, | HEAR YOU 5x5
П
Where should I Бе playing this? Both
when you're on the plane being shipped
out to a tour of duty and when you come
back home.
Why? Few things kill time faster than quick
bursts of tactical action. Fireteam Bravo 2
ups the tactical ante by slowing the action
somewhat (by making aiming and lock-on
a bit slower) and adding things like com-
mand equity (determines additional items
and abilities like calling in airstrikes) and
local influence (based on collateral dam-
age, and determines how much help you
get from natives). But the feature that
encourages you to play this both away
and at home is crosstalk, where actions
performed in the PSP version can affect
missions in the Р52 title (SOCOM: US Navy
SEALs Combined Assault)—take out enemy
targets fast enough in the PSP version, and
the crosstalk comes into play when you
synchronize your save with the PS2 title.
Then, when you perform a mission in the
same area, it will be secured. Bravo! ө
BATHROOM
For when you're in one
place, but only for a short
period of time.
ON-THE-GO
For when you're out and
about.
ж.
1 PUB. EA Games oeu. EA Canada
RELEASE Fall
NEED FOR SPEED CARBON
OWN THE STREETS
A $300 OPTION AT THE DEALERSHIP
IG
y
Where should 1 be playing this? When
you're stuck on the bus and wish you
and your buddies were driving tuned-up
2006 Honda Civics with that really short
hood instead.
Why? First off, it’s a Need for Speed, so you
have quick racing with tuning elements to
get you through your commute. That's all
fine and dandy, but additionally, you now
have both a new crew mechanic and an
open city environment in which to race with
said crew. During your commute downtime,
you can recruit crew members to race
alongside you—crew members improve as
the game progresses, so every bus/subway
ride translates into better racers. The new
open city makes it easier for portable play,
as you сап just set short goals like find а
quick race or learn a new shortcut, all with-
out having to leave the game. And when
you find yourself about to land or stop or
leave, you can keep on tuning and custom-
izing your car, as well as creating your own
graffiti tag to spray around town. ө
All2PLANE
For when you're stuck on
a long trip.
BUS
For when you're on а
trip that could end at any
moment.
WHERE HAVE YOU
PLAYED TODAY?
This is just a quick
and dirty list of places
to go when playing
these particular PSP
games. How about
you, though? Where
have you played your
PSP games? Tried
playing GTA: Liberty
City Stories while іп а
cab? Played Lumines
at a rave? LARPed with
The Lord of the Ri
Tactics? Write to us
at opm@ziffdavis.com
and tell us your por-
table gaming location
stories
1 Pus. Ubisoft oeu. Ubisoft Montreal
RELEASE December
STAR WARS
LETHAL ALLIANCE
А TWI'LEK AND A DROID AT А BAR
gu
y
Where should І be playing this? In а
galaxy far, far away, or, at the very least,
on the couch of your Star Wars nerd friend
who decides to host some sort of Star
Wars megamarathon, where you can time
yourself to play this in between Episodes
Шапа IV.
Why? Because this is a wholly new action
game that takes place in that time period.
You play as two characters: Twi'lek Rianna
Saren and her droid Zeeo, who work
together to fight bad Empire dudes and
find the plans to the first Death Star. The
"collaborative fighting," where Rianna
focuses on weapons and acrobatics while
Zeeo focuses on defense and hacking,
sounds pretty intriguing on paper. The
combination of cooperative gameplay via
ad hoc and the generally epic scope of the
game (locations like Tatooine, Coruscant,
and the Death Star, and a whole lot of cam-
eos from Boba Fett, Darth Vader, and even
freakin' Kyle Katarn) make it more suited
for playing at a Star Wars gathering. e
2
THE PLAYSTATION UNDERGROUND:
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No matter what you're into, the PlayStation? Underground" is where you'll hear about it first—from
the latest tips and tricks to the hottest releases on the horizon. But if you haven't provided us with a
complete member profile, you're missing out on:
* SPECIAL SAVINGS on stuff gamers crave, including game coupons and offers for other
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106
FINAL FANTASY 1
THE GREATEST
TATION FF
окко. US PLAYSTATON MAGAZNE
GAME OF THE MONTH
М =”
124 Le]
CAPCOM CLASSICS
COLLECTION RELOADED
и
[Sa
FECAL US. PLAYSTATION MAGAZNE
GAME OF THE MONTH
ص ص
4
RATING KEY
In our new scoring system, a game that receives an OPM score of 10 is something
truly special that deserves a spot in your collection. On the other hand, a 5 is
merely average. And a 0.5? Well...at least they're fun to rip apart.
>>
Capcom Classics Collection
Vol. 2
Dance Dance Revolution
SuperNOVA
The Fast and the Furious
FIFA 07
God Hand
Just Cause
МВА 07 featuring The
Life Vol. 2
NBA 2K7
NHL 2K7
One Piece: Grand Adventure
Scarface: The World Is Yours
The Sims 2: Pets
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
World Championship Poker
featuring Howard Lederer
Allin
12А
122
Bounty Hounds
Every Extend Extra
Gangs of London
The Godfather Mob Wars
Lego Star Wars 11:
The Original Trilogy
NASCAR 07
Pac-Man World Rally
Spectral Souls: Resurrection
of the Ethereal Empires
Super Monkey Ball
Adventure
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
b psz |
&
VL
PUB. Square Enix реч. Square
i | 2 in a ЧИ
FINAL FANTASY ll
поген
сомеа
Ultima readies Redemption:
EIIFFIC!
The espers which you
must defeat before
obtaining them in the
normal story line are
hard enough to fig!
But the optional espers
have even crazier
battles, like one that
doesn't let you cast
magick, or one that
doesn't let you use the
“attack” command!
Mateus readies Flash-Freeze.
4051405 МР
1026 Slow 2
11291129 МР
Attack GBalthier
Attack GFran
Attack GBasch
about Final Fantasy XII not feeling like a Final Fantasy
title were quickly dispelled when, upon booting the game, the trium-
phant “Bridge-Crossing Theme” blared out from my speakers. No
matter how radically different the look and feel of the overall game
is, there are enough allusions and references to remind us that FFXII
deserves its name.
FF fans are traditionally the sort who just blurt out, “OK, but how's
the story?” before learning much else about any particular installment.
So you probably have heard that the story is about a powerful empire
(Archadia) steamrolling another country (Dalmasca) and the resistance
movement that rises against said empire. Within this resistance is your
motley crew, which consists of a street thief (Vaan), his spunky friend
(Penelo), a princess (Ashe), a sky pirate (Balthier), a Viera (Fran), and a
traitorous soldier (Basch). Do these characters and their stories mea-
sure up? Yes, but in a different way than you'd expect. Many FF titles
tend to intertwine the personal with the epic—FFV/I was about Cloud
dealing with identity issues against the backdrop of a giant meteor
hitting the planet; FFX was about Yuna and Tidus growing close while
Sin/Yu Yevon messed with reality. FFXII, however, focuses on the
monstrously epic (a grand war filled with political intrigue topped off
with an injection of godly mysticism) while somewhat de-emphasiz-
ing the characters. Sure, characters like Ashe and Balthier have great
character-development moments, but overall, FFXII focuses more on
the plots, counterplots, strategic alliances, and resistances of the war
rather than the feelings of a simple thief boy. Fans who yearn for FFVI-
style character-background-unearthing might be put off by FFXII's more
aloof storytelling, but its grandeur and execution make up for whatever
slight hiccups it has with some of the characters.
қ.
GVNaan
Attack @Ashe
Attack GPenelo
23052761 MP. 513
18681868 MP _498
ME 6
Ultima readies Eschaton.
LRA
ү Attack GPenelo
chaton GUItima
One way to describe the execution (i.e., the combination of the
localized script and the numerous cut-scenes) is “Star Wars plus The
Lord of the Rings as scripted by Billy Shakes.” The cut-scenes echo
the Star Wars films: Scenes of airship battles between the Archad-
ian Empire and the Resistance look like they're taken straight out
of Return of the Jedi, and a scene where Judge Gabranth briefs a
bounty hunter resembles Vader talking to Boba Fett in The Empire
Strikes Back. Even the character archetypes are similar, with Balthier
and Fran filling the Han and Chewie roles, while Ashe is Leia and
Vaan is Luke. It has that LOTR vibe of featuring an intrepid party
exploring the countryside in search of a powerful artifact that can turn
the tide in a war. And I say "scripted by Billy Shakes" because of both
the preponderance of British (with some Indian and even Middle East-
BEAST
INAS
if there was one
thing | did more than
run around fighting
things, it was read
the bestiary. I'm
not sure whether
to congratulate the
localization people or
the original writers,
but the bestiary has
some of the goofiest
(їп a good way) text
seen in an RPG yet. А
particular favorite is
the first sentence for
the cockatrice entry,
which reads: "Lo, the
mighty cockatrice,
proud-feathered
sphere, known as
much for its ill humor
as its dire rotundity."
Not only does every
enemy get a descrip-
tion, but they also
get weird embellish-
ing texts, like diary
entries supposedly
written by zoologists
or descriptions of
loot that the creature
often drops.
[FESS БРАМОЕ ЈР AND EXECUTION
| МАКЕ LIP FUE SLIGHT HICCUPS.
ern) accents in the cast and the lyrical flow of the dialogue. Peppered
with words both archaic and anachronistic (phrases like "expedition-
ary force" or "insurgents" are paired with words like "marquess" or
"'tis"), FFXII's dialogue sounds different than that of previous titles.
Heck, Balthier frequently describes himself as a mere actor on stage.
Additionally, more than in previous titles, the "villains" are fleshed
out so that you can conceivably understand their point of view, unlike
the more simplistic antagonists like Zemus, Kefka, and Sephiroth.
Going up against these villains is where ҒҒХ// makes its other
massive departure from the series: the new combat system. You see
4
сит ТҮРД
ly mEUIELLIE PSZ
monsters on the field and you just run up to them and start fighting (a
little like FFXI, of all titles). Sure, it feels like a slow, pseudo-real-time
affair (input commands, wait, repeat as necessary) at first, but as you
develop the characters and gain more options (via gambits, spells,
"technicks," "mist quickenings," and gear) available to you, the tactics
open up as well. The gambit system (a set of rules that player charac-
ters follow when controlled by the АІ instead of you) is a great counter-
part to the pseudo-real-time nature of the game—it's nice to be able to
automate repetitive tasks like "when someone has 40 percent of their
health, cast Curaga on him" rather than try to manually keep track of
health and spellcasting in the midst of combat. Of course, you can still
override the automated gambit settings. When fighting easy enemies,
it's neat to watch your party automatically steal loot, target the stron-
gest enemy, exploit vulnerabilities, and cast beneficial spells without
your having to lift a finger. Yet when going up against hard enemies,
you will often need to step in and compensate for the rapidly changing
conditions of battle.
Another tactical layer to combat comes from the type of equipment
you use. Weapons and armor are no longer just a series of increasing
numbers—they now have tactical properties. Some weapons depend
on the wielder's magic attribute to determine damage while others
Before you think, “Wait, OPM l , 25.
they've given every FF game a five out of five!" realize
that this is technically my first FF review. To give you
some perspective, here are my own personal ratings for
some of the other FF titles.
ы My overall favorite FFtitle is definitely FF/V (which
also helps increase FFXII's overall appeal because it has
so many random references to FFIV). Score: 10/10
Very good for its time, but once ! wipe the nostal-
gia away | find that it's simply a solid JRPG with an overly
melodramatic story. Score: 8/10
Er, there are a lot of interesting ideas that make
this one even more “nontraditional” than FFX/I (draw
system, junctions, no real money/weapons), but they just
didn't click for me, and this one is saved only by its crazy
story. Score: 7.5/10
+ After the weirdness of FFVIII, this game was a
purposeful nostalgia-drive. The back-to-basics emphasis
with “cute” designs make this a charming end to PS1
Final Fantasy games. Score: 8/10
=x: The first PS2 FF, and one of the grander ones.
Looks fantastic, has a pretty crazy story, and has new
gameplay mechanics like aeons, swappable characters,
and the sphere grid. Plus, voices! One of the more land-
mark FFs. Score: 8.5/10
A bizarre fan-service sequel with Charlie's.
Angels flair. Plus, the only FFto make changing clothes.
the core gameplay mechanic. Fun, lighthearted, and
totally unnecessary. Score: 8/10.
Ft | respect this game, but when | heard that you lose
experience points when you die, that totally drained any
appeal it had. Overall, it seems a bit too grindy for my
taste. Score: 7/10
Attack GFran
Attack GBasch
Attack GAshe
TION
9561050
11201120
10011001
depend on the target's resistance to magic. Heavy armor provides
high defense (though, there is a particular battle where heavy armor
is a detriment), but light armor facilitates evasion and even results in
occasional health bonuses. Equipping gear is no longer a matter of just
having everyone use the biggest damage-dealers; now it pays off to
diversify your party's arsenal.
Using your gear and even some of the tactics requires extensive
time with the license board, an intimidating map of every skill in the
game. Each character starts off with some basic licenses unlocked,
and you then spend license points (LP) unlocking more squares on the
board. Unlocking a square earns you both the ability to use whatever
Sskills/weapons/spells are inside that square, but also allows adjacent
squares to be unlocked as well. So while it may take a mere five LP to
learn how to use a dagger, it can take something like 120 LP to learn
how to cast Scathe or 75 LP to add an additional 200 hit points to your
life bar. Because the license board dictates what skills, weapons, and
108 | OFT No
MOUEMBER
a
PARTY TIME
Alas, while you have six characters, only
three can be used at any time, and the other
three do not get experience points, so you
either have to do a lot of juggling to make
sure everyone's caught up or focus on making
three awesome characters. Here's what | did:
| made her the party leader, because if
there's anyone else besides Vaan who fits the
role аз “main character,” it's her. Heck, she’s
in the very first scene of the game, while Vaan
doesn’t even show up until 20 minutes later
or so. | initially used her strictly as a mage,
as she has a pretty high magick skill, but then
| developed her into a sort of battle-mage,
where | stopped having her use staves and
switched her to using one-handed swords
paired with shields (she still wore mystic
armor for the various magic resistances/
bonuses). It's pretty cool to let her alternate
between hacking and slashing and unloading
crazy magic like Countdown or Flare.
BAT HIE: | made him my thief/gunner. His
high speed and agility mean that he gets hits
in fast and can quickly run in for some choice
pickpocketing. | augment his speed by hav-
ing him equip light armor, and | also obtain
licenses for various accessories that help
make him a better thief. You absolutely need
at least one gunner, because not only are
guns ranged weapons (for flying enemies),
but they also completely ignore enemy armor,
which is helpful for armored-up dudes you
fight later.
When | first got him in my party, Га
knew how | would use him after | saw him
punch his way through most enemies, and
how he'd often be the last one standing in a
tough fight. | had him equip heavy armor (so
that he could be the requisite tank), and strik-
ing weapons like axes and hammers, which
deal unpredictable damage (he would hit an
enemy with 12 damage and then his next hit
would deal 2,709 damage). | also tended to
give him licenses that increase his physical
damage output and his hit points in order to
make him a pure fighting machine.
As for my “reserve team,” | made Vaan
my thief/last-ditch-White-healer (by giving
him daggers and White magic), Penelo my
general backup mage (she would unlock the
©
НР 102 314
Ана Рап 7 РОА 313
CureCz Ashe —HP1i95.261
Attack G Vaan HP 868 951
сток” р EERS
Attack GBalthier HP902 918
CuraGFran НР724866
ACTION
а
even bonuses your characters get, it ends up being more important
than your characters’ levels (leveling only really increases your hit
points and magick points a bit). Instead of looking forward to hitting
level 30, you'll find yourself checking your LP totals to see if you've
saved enough to learn another branch of Green magic. The minor (to
me) downside to the license board is that there’s an odd bit of overlap
(for example, to get from guns 3 to guns 5, | needed to learn stuff like
same licenses as Ashe for magic), and Fran
my thief/archer/support mage (use her speed
and split her licenses between ranged weap-
ons and Green or White magic for healing
maces, staves, and hand bombs), which translates into specialist char- and debuffs).
acters with an odd mishmash of additional skills on top of their special- - -
ties. There also ends up being a sense of “LP grinding.” As mentioned
earlier, LP is easily the most important statistic in the game, but most
enemies give a whopping one LP, and a generous reward from killing
a boss is 20 LP (with some as low as five!). So just unlocking licenses
without really focusing can lead to instances where you're like, "Oh |
man, | gotta fight more snow wolves before | can purchase a license
| actually want.” Fortunately, | love the combat so much that | don’t
really mind running around just to gather more LP.
Longtime fans who are concerned that FFXII is simply too weird
need not fear, as it has the requisite awesome story, great production
values, chocobo appearances, sly in-jokes for true fans, and terrific
combat that is expected of a FF title. People who thought that FF totally
jumped the shark with VII and beyond or thought that the formula was СШ ШС
feeling a bit stale can also appreciate how unique and crazy FFXII is. RIDERE. О
Either way, Final Fantasy ХІІ is a fitting send-off for the series on the
PS2, and it justifiably has a chance to proclaim itself the best Final
Fantasy on the PlayStation. | Thie Ng.
aes
Yeah, | said it: To date, it's the best Final Fantasy
сіт сот | 109
z zt 1—1
З | REUEWS PSZ
erg АА
NBA 2K7
THE BEST JUST GOT BETTER—BY
ABOUT 2 PERCENT
l 2K Games реч. Visual Concepts
pH E user $29.99
75 55 ИИИ 5 2
With the PS3 peeking its shiny head around
the corner, it should come as no surprise
that NBA 2K7 on PS2 is little more than a
carbon copy of last year’s tilt. Still, for only
$30, you'll be buying one of this console
generation's finest sports games, the best
basketball game on the PS2, and a chance to
see Adam Morrison's cyber-'stache.
2K7 has improved from last year, mind
you; it’s just that its best new elements are
basically pared-down bits from the next-gen
version of the game. You'll see signature
moves, dunks, and shots from the game's
superstars (check out Shawn Marion’s ugli-
fied ball-flinging to get the gist), but it's a
miniscule percentage compared to next gen.
Another bonus for this year is that certain
big-timers play to their strengths instead of
their positions, meaning power forward and
7-foot sharpshooter Dirk Nowitzki won't run
the typical power forward Al scheme—-he'll
take a step behind the 3-point line and throw
up a long ball once in а while. But Dirk's
one of a few, as this feature is also on a
much smaller scale than on the next-gen
version. Still, | count the game's biggest
improvement as the chance to play with
Charlotte Bobcats rookie sniper Morrison.
Who doesn't want to bomb shots with a guy
sporting a sweet moustache? | know | do!
Even though the improvements are mini-
mal, no other hoops title gives such gravity
to every possession. It forces you to play the
sport like it's meant to be played: take open
shots, even if that means firing up a
15-footer (instead of just lobbing up trifec-
tas or trying to hammer down dunks). The
online continues to be brilliant, the shot stick
is better than ever, and there's nothing better
than stroking a game-tying three (potentially
with the mustachioed Morrison) and hearing
the raging home crowd scream, "Defense!
Defense!”
Best basketball game on the PS2,
Adam Morrison's moustache, franchise
drills are cool.
Little in the way of improvements
510
SCORE
CBSSportsLine.com's
; Matt Rehm once
rote, "With his sweet
i mustache, floppy
i hair, and socks pulled
high, [Adam] Morrison
would have fit right
i in as a character in
; Napoleon Dynamite.”
Genius.
In a basketball game
in the 1974 regional
boys tournament in
Sweden, 13-year-old
Mats Wermelin scored :
272 points to lead his
team to victory. Final
Score: 272-0.
FEATURING THE LIFE VOL. 2
IF ONLY GAMEPLAY DIDN'T MATTER TO
VIDEOGAMES
ірин. Sony CEA г
BE м $39.99
ух “еее “ХАУ”УРРУРХФХУ,ШҺШ Ж
If it weren't for all the basketball in Sony's
new МВА 07, Га give the go-ahead on trying
this one out. The storytelling that drives the
game's title mode (The Life Vol. 2) is won-
derfully executed—from the realistic script
to the fantastic voice acting to the emotional
twists and turns. But while it's a slam dunk
when it comes to narration, it tosses up a
big fat air ball every time you're plopped
onto the court.
From the camera to the unforgivable
bugs, the gameplay із a complete mess.
Challenge a guy going to the bucket, and
instead of a two-shot foul, your opponent
will inbound. Goaltend a shot, and instead
of getting two points, your opponent will
inbound. Those types of bugs mix with
lightning-fast back-and-forth gameplay that
resembles hockey more than hoops, which
is occasionally fitting: Bump a guy with the
ball and he'll slide back half a step as if he's
standing on fresh ice. On the plus side, at
least the bump won't get the ball handler
whistled for traveling.
You'll also see plenty of goofy Al mis-
takes. A penetrating guard might try one,
two, three! spin moves to try to break down
his man. It's enough to make you peel off
and let him through so the court stays
vomit-free.
Still, for all the game's double dribbles
and subpar graphics, it's not a total bust—a
testament to its ambitious story. While it
won't supplant b-ball classics like Hoosiers,
White Men Can't Jump, or He Got Game,
I'm still surprised by how | was drawn
through the engaging tale. Does Big W's
son win his battle with anemia? Do The Kid
and David Jenkins make peace? It's fine
melodrama—even though the long load
times give you time to wish the gameplay
weren't so dreadful.
SCE Studios San Diego
А compelling story, minigames
Awful gameplay, some story-mode
challenges are shorter than the load times
2 Jc
SCORE
NHL 2K7
EA WINS
2K Games Deu, Kush Games/Visual Concepts
Esee Е10+ msep $19.99
ل
| Greg Sewart
A once-great series in desperate
need of restructuring and innovation.
cain
% / ГА
SCORE
Ў sl OWV : "
conspii'aty threatens the : Мф — j
Capital’s survival, it takes. 1 Ss
than your average private %..
detective to solv, n x “ %
1 F ' - ¿_ * Put demon henchmen into
Sn, Sen Lit. { action with real-time combat!
Densely. populated envit
put you into Taisho.
ip
ЕБ |
1. | |
| Сар! см tum i
{ 4 im own kind! | 1
; ' Kus Ф, WINI: Goto, s
у panus com/devilsum
А р w
г м мең ed ai d |
lithograph from ren ٤
Kazuma Kaneko.
Blood
Sexual Themes
Violence
‘CONTENT RATED ВУ
ESRB
e
| PlayStation.2
© 2006 Atlus USA SHIN MEGAMP'T&NSEI, SMT and Devil ui are registered ігайетаж 61 Апиз USA. © 2006 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of
| Sony Computer Enteftainment Inc. The rating icons are trademarks of the Entertainment Software Association.
WWW.ATLUS.COM
|
}
E
є | БЕЕСШЕШЕ PSZ
POKER FEATURING HOWARD
LEDERER ALL IN
SHORT STACKED
Pus. Crave £ Point of View
Е Т msep $19.99
“е УФ کک
Weird things happen іп poker. This is а
given. If you play long enough, you will see
things you do not believe. But never before,
in all my years of playing poker, have | seen
the same two hands shown down not twice,
not three times, but five times...in a row. But
in a five-card draw game in World Champi-
onship Poker featuring Howard Lederer All
In, | watched "Milhouse's" trip fives lose to
"Camilla's" nines full of aces an astonishing
four times in a row.
And to really crank up the weirdness, on
the next hand, Camilla mysteriously dropped
out, and | looked down at my hand to see
two aces and a nine. | was already starting
to get freaked out, but when | drew two
more nines | knew something was up. Sure
enough, | ended up against Milhouse, who
showed three fives.
Now, it would be unfair to take this
bizarre experience as proof that the tech
behind All In is in some way flawed. As
| said, things happen. But it’s certainly
not a positive sign for a game that's little
more than a graphical overhaul of last
year's version.
Oh sure, this year’s edition does intro-
duce the Scenario Mode, which throws
you into bizarrely specific poker situations
with practically no explanation of why the
scenarios are significant, and also offers
the helpful Turbo Mode, which speeds up
play significantly (but still isn’t remotely
as helpful as World Poker Tour's “fold and
skip” option), But aside from those bits, a
graphical overhaul, and a bare-bones tutorial
mode that can help you learn how to play
particular variants of poker, there’s not much
new here.
Up to this point I’ve been recommending
Stacked for the advanced poker player, and
World Poker Tour for newbies. | don't see
any reason to change that recommenda-
tion.
UN While the nonlinear career
mode may appeal to some players, All In
fails to be exceptional in any one area.
The odds of being dealt
‚ trip fives in a five-card
i draw game аге 1 in
1 272. The odds of being
i dealt trip fives five
{ hands in a row аге 1
| in 1,488,827,973,632.
} We're not even sure
} how to calculate the
i odds of trip fivesigoing
; up against nines full
five times in a row. But
we're pretty sure our
calculator doesn’t go
that high....
Legendary Arsenal
manager Arséne
Wenger | am not.
Although | took
personal control to
trounce the hated
Spurs and glare con-
vincingly at Chelsea, a
mostly quick-simmed
season saw me lead
Arsenal to a miserable
fifth place in the Eng-
lish Premier League
Next season, I'm going
to spend less time fos-
tering talent and more
time on the pitch.
FIFA 07
SO CLOSE TO WINNING ELEVEN..
1 PUB. EA Sports DEV. EA Canada
E: E 2р $39.99
کک Ж
A lesson to chronic underdogs everywhere,
FIFA 07 sets its own terms for victory and
then blows the doors off them. Authentic kits
and badges for over 510 teams isn’t just a
nice marketing tagline; being able to play as
or against virtually any club that strikes your
fancy sweetens the deal almost as much as
having the entire world to trade players with
in management mode. Managerial choices
like careful youth recruitment, player trans-
fers, resting starters before key games, and
balancing the desires of the fans and the
players will really change your team’s per-
formance on the field. And if you throw your
manager-mode data on your PSP's FIFA 07,
you can play with it on the go, even if you're
playing with a custom-made club.
The sheer number of teams and mana-
gerial choices available will swamp some
gamers, but if you're one of them, you can
choose the simpler game types. One choice
is the new Interactive League, an online
setting where fans of teams from select
leagues play fans of other clubs during the
real-life matchup periods between the two
sides. The aggregate results determine the
ПЕЗ results, which is а good way to create
an online community for club fans, not just
online gamers.
The shooting mechanic's changes fail
to create the sort of gasp-inducing shots
we saw in the World Cup this year, but
the other physics and gameplay changes
are exactly what an annual sport game's
improvements should be. Passes can veer
off course, the speed of a player accurately
distorts the performance of his moves,
and the ball ricochets off heads and chests
believably. Fighting for a thrown-in ball is
consistently satisfying.
FIFA's weakness continues to be that it
lacks the depth of Winning Eleven's controls.
That shortcoming makes it too hard to con-
nect to your player, but everything else is
excellent. Arsenal striker and French national
Thierry Henry looks and plays as he should,
and that should be enough for most soccer
fans. | Patrick Joynt
Almost nothing's weak—
physics, manager mode, and Al tactics are
all excellent.
It's still not Winning
TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
OH TIGER, MY TIGER!
1 PUB. EA Sports EA Redwood Shores
ESBE ^ $39.99
Lm А
This is a great annual update,
but innovation could have bammed it up a
notch.
SCORE 54 1 О
4
got дате?
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Ny | БЕЛЕ PSZ
ONE PIECE: GRAND
ADVENTURE
NOT QUITE POWER STONE
1 Namco Bandai оғ. Ganbarion
Том > 539.99
(ЖУУ УИ ИУ ИИ УИ ИИ ИИИ ИИИ ИИ ИИИИЙ И
set in wide-open arenas
filled with wacky weapons can be awe-
some, but this one, unfortunately, is not.
Even the eclectic cast of the popular manga,
with all their wild pirate-kung-fu moves,
can't fish One Piece: Grand Adventure out
of the ocean of mediocrity.
It's not as if the developers didn't make а
solid effort at fleshing out the single-player
experience. You start out as the manga's
main character, the rubber-limbed pirate
boy Monkey D. Luffy, but soon you pick
up allies who can fight in his stead. Rather
than just jump from fight to fight, you sail
about the ocean, picking fights on each
island you come to.
But once you're in the battles, it's all just
a repetitive mess. As you jam on buttons,
you quickly get locked into stiff dial-a-
combo moves that, more often than not,
leave you facing away from your oppo-
nents, wide open to attacks from behind. It
can be easier to just use some of the items,
like giant baseball bats and bombs, that lit-
ter the playfield.
You сап zip straight through the story
battles, or you can tackle minimissions on
the world map for more experience points.
Each fight has some kind of bonus condi-
tion that you can try to attain for extra
experience points—finish a fight without
jumping, for example, or beat an enemy
within a shortened time frame.
Leveling up will earn you new moves.
Chaining the X and O buttons in various
permutations can produce a wide variety
of wacky moves—but since simple but-
ton mashing works well enough against
the brain-dead enemies, it's unlikely you'll
bother learning them. The multiplayer
mode might offer some help if there were
а four-player mode, but it's only for two. If
you're a huge One Piece fan, then dive in;
otherwise, find an alternative.
10 Decent graphics and music,
lengthy Single: player story
'2(3H Clunky, repetitive fighting,
no four- Ta action
SCORE
Novewsee 2006,
: Pirates aren't just
for cartoons and
| Halloween costumes
and ye olden days. It
iis estimated that mod-
ern-day pirates hijack
between $13 billion
and $16 billion worth
of loot each year.
Yaaaarr!
According to
АРРМА$ 2005/2006
National Pet Own-
ers Survey, the most
numerous pet type is
freshwater fish (139
million), followed by
cats (90.5 million),
and then dogs (73.9
million). The least
popular type of pet?
Saltwater fish, with a
mere 9.6 million.
THE SIMS 2: PETS
LIVING IT UP, ANIMAL STYLE
1 EA Games реч. Maxis
3 Е10+ мер $39.99
کک
or Snowball in your life
isn’t so big on being stuffed into little sweat-
ers or shoes. But if you can’t make it happen
in reality, you now have a digital option for
pampering animals—the Sims franchise has
finally brought pets to consoles.
Creating your pets is pretty entertaining
in and of itself: There are over 50 breeds of
dogs and 20 breeds of cats to choose from,
or you can randomly generate a mixed
breed (sadly, you can’t choose the parent-
age for that). And thanks to color, fur, tail,
and body tweaks, it's pretty easy to re-cre-
ate your own family pet in the game. You
can also accessorize this pet with any num-
ber of clothing items, including glasses,
shoes, and hoodies. And any game that lets
you make a cat wearing a white top hat is
deserving of praise.
Once you're in the game, your Sim is
responsible for training and caring for the
pet; success in these areas earn the Sim
pet points. You can flip over to а pet's point
of view while in the game, but you don't
actually have control over their actions.
However, it does help you get a gauge on
what the pet actually wants at that point.
And while | initially thought micromanag-
ing someone who needs to take care of
someone else might get somewhat tedious,
the pets actually fulfill your social needs, so
there is some multitasking going on.
The public space has been modified
as well. Now the town square is centered
around pet life, and all of the goods up for
purchase are for the animals in your Sim's
life. The only currency that works here is
pet points, which can be used to buy pet
treats, pet clothes, pet toys—even more
pets. If you find you're running a little low
in appreciation from your animals, you can
convert simoleans, but the exchange rate
(5 to 1) isn't too great.
As for the rest of the game, the structure
is still the same as before, but for Sims
fans, the pet aspect will add plenty of new
entertainment to make this worth picking
up. |
fi Е Lots of new items and activi- `
ties, improved loading times
ШЕ! Мо real change to the gameplay
formula
SCORE
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION
SUPERNOVA
MORE EVOLUTION THAN REVOLUTION
JE ч. Konami
> $39.99
т ҰҰУУУ DBS,
12) г For folks who still get excited
about DDR, the extra songs and modes in
SuperNOVA might be worth a purchase.
Casual fans shouldn't expect much of any-
thing new.
E
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hundred years. Play as if you
were to die tomorrow: |:
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“Hoo-ah! I'm the devil in disguise, and have | got
a deal for you! Oh, wait—what | meant was, say
howdy to my li'l buddy..." 4
Рив. Sierra реч. Radical Entertainment ев М see $49.99
THE WORLD IS Your FING OYSTER, MENG!
detailed and fairly convincing Al Pacino ani-
mations created for this game, there is one that is noticeably absent:
a digitized portrayal of the actor reaching deep into the territory twixt
his legs and grabbing the dangly bits lurking furiously therein. For if
Scarface is about anything, it is about—and there is really no delicate
way to say this—balls. Great big nasty balls so full of unharnessed rage
that any babies conceived with the fruit of said gonads would claw
their way out of their mother Alien-style and shoot the obstetrician. So
if you're OK with balls, you're OK with Scarface.
The thing with testicles is this: The better your furious little Oscar
winner (wiener?) fights his enemies, the bigger they grow as repre-
sented by the poetically named "Balls Meter." Once Tony Montana's
'nads are (quite possibly literally) too big for his britches, you can trig-
ger "blind rage," inciting a homicidal spree where this Marielito never
misses, enjoys unlimited ammo, and heals himself with every enemy
he mows down. So, while you never actually see them, you do spend
an awful lot of time in this open-world, GTA-style game keeping an
eye on АІ Pacino's balls. All | can say is, "Thank you god for not letting
Richard Dreyfuss get this part."
Still, in the context of the game, the Balls Meter makes a certain kind
of sense. Picking up almost where the movie left off (Tony miraculously
lives instead of dying from the 15 pounds of bullets in his body), Tony
vows to claw his way back to the top of the drug world. As Montana
says, "All l've got is my word and my balls," and since the game
doesn't provide you the opportunity to go around making heartfelt
promises, well, there you go. Getting control of Miami means taking
over four different turfs, managing a number of fronts, making deals
with suppliers, seeking out new contacts, building your rep, smuggling
drugs, distributing drugs, paying off vice cops to keep them and rival
gangs from cramping your style, manipulating the illegal drug market,
and doing a number of other things guaranteed to scandalize your
mom. Considering the open nature of the game world, it would seem
that Scarface offers a bigger, more open playground than the GTA
games—except it doesn't. It's bloodier and has a dirtier mouth but, as
an open-world action game, it's deceptively limited and lacks GTA's wit.
And that's because as well-executed as the all the shooting, driv-
ing, and boat-piloting action is, it all occurs in missions that don't offer
you any real choice as to how to go about them. There are maybe five
basic mission types, and while they're generally fun, they don't give
you the opportunity to experiment with solutions, instead just asking
you to shut up and do as you're told before rewarding you with money
and reputation. This is never more evident than in the midpoint of the
game, where your quest to conquer Miami is abruptly hijacked by a
series of missions in the nearby islands, which are nothing more than a
lengthy and tiresome sequence of uninspired shooting galleries.
This is a big game, a good 40 to 50 hours long, and those hours are
almost all good. But like the over-the-top voice actor gamely imitating
Al Pacino, Scarface falls just a little short.
THE ЕМО A bloodier, ballsier, but limited alternative to
ns
When Tony Montana
grows weary of death
and criminality, what
does he do? He deco-
rates! The game's repu-
tation system requires
you to blow your money
on all sorts of expensive
junk (in addition to the.
usable cars and boats)
and there's a Sims-style
decoration system
that lets you litter your
mansion with all the.
doodads you buy. Why?
God only knows.
NOVEMBER
| Pue. Eidos реч. Avalanche Studios Е:
The urban bits of the game are held in
the equivalent of Rio de Janeiro's favelas
(think City of God but way worse). Check
out the documentary Favela Rising (www.
fa ising.com) for the real scoop on
just how ugly South American gang vio-
lence can get.
A PEMOLUTION IN SARIT BUT NOT EXECUTION 4
—start a revolution and bring
down a local dictatorship—is golden. But the rest of
this woefully ambitious sandbox catastrophe falls prey
to the PS2's limitations. Its first fault is that it's set on
the (fictional) gargantuan archipelago of San Esperito,
with 390 navigable miles of foliage, water, and moun-
tains—and lots of that stuff repeated over and over.
The setting's impressive size should be a selling point,
but it ends up being a lot of unthrilling repetition. Try-
ing to navigate toward your destination takes ages, as
you'll have to traverse mountains and severely winding
roadways that make going from Point A to Point B a
huge nuisance. And whatever you do, don't try to roam
around on foot. You will throw up. And god forbid that
you have your character engage in a gunfight while
you're sitting upright. The camera is so nauseatingly
jarring that winning a shootout onscreen is a secondary
success to staying conscious throughout it.
While you're free to steal cars and blow things up,
this isn't a GTA/Mercenaries mash-up. This game
features countless—and unforgivable—missteps. To
begin with, the pacing is miserably skewed. You start
off doing very boring things that are very far away
from each other. If you can stay awake, you'll gradu-
ate to semiboring missions that are even farther away
from each other. If you're still awake, you can do side
missions that are tedious and disinteresting. Also, the
shooting mechanic is awful—it makes pulling the trig-
ger in GTA seem flawless. And good luck figuring out
who's on your side in a firefight, as there's no indication
of who's your ally and who's not.
The game's greatest asset is its silliness, which is
showcased by using the grappling hook. It can attach
to helicopters, planes, and cars, and make you imme-
diately airborne—then you can pop your 'chute and go
along for the ride. But it's weird how the grappling hook
doesn't work if shot at trees or buildings.
Do your part and make sure the Just Cause revolu-
ción will not be televised.
S Sweet grappling hook, enormous play area 5
Camera will make you ill, targeting will
make you mad, graphics will make you squint
SCORE
4
Next-Gen Cinemotion graphics and
presentation are hot enough to
melt ice. No game brings you
inside the hard-hitting, lightning
fast world of pro hockey |
like МНЕ 2K7. ay-
2 =
"n
ue =
NHLPA
NHL and the HHL Sil are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League AN NHL д and maris ond
team logos and marks depicted herein ar the property of the NHL and бе respective bans and may not be
reproduced without he pror writen consent of NHL Enterprises, LP. 2005 Al rights reserved. © NHLPA. NHL
КТ is an fiiy Licensed Product of the NHLPA. NHLPA. National Hockey League Players’ Association and the
NHLPA log are trademarks of the NHLPA and are usod under icense hy 2K Sports.
“According t GameRankings.com average scores o 2003 - 2006 hockey video games.
Clover Studio в M user $29.99
THE BEST WOIEST GAME YOULL ЕМЕ PLAY A
God Напа is a terrible, terrible game, yet | can't stop play-
ing it. There's just something horrifically appealing about
how bad it is in almost every conceivable way. In fact, a
car wreck might be an apt comparison for the game since
there's some morbid curiosity involved in wanting to see
just how bad things get as you progress. Because, really,
most of God Hand seems to be intentionally designed to
take the worst aspects of every brawler ever made and mix
them into a repulsive soup.
First, the level design can only be adequately described
as leftovers from a circa 1998 first-person shooter level-
design contest. Seriously, it's as if Clover thought it would
be a good idea to use as little power as possible from the
PlayStation 2 to help conserve energy in case of a power
crisis. But the mediocrity doesn't stop there. The camera
is atrocious due to the fact that it's almost always locked
behind the main character. And since he can only turn like
an M1 Abrams tank (though there is a 180-degree move
that flips him around quickly), there's essentially no way to
maneuver about the fighting area in an effective manner.
But this is where the main character's evasive moves
come in and the stupid brilliance of God Hand shines.
The right analog stick gives you four evasive moves, all
of which are quite useful in the face of generally terrible
movement controls and a lame camera. Actually, know-
ing how to use these evasive moves properly, along with
learning the fighting patterns of individual characters, is
what will help you plod through most of the game, should
you be willing to endure such torture.
And then there's the combat. Selecting and custom-
izing the main character's attacks and combinations
actually matters because one combination may have a
huge effect on the types of enemies you're fighting while
another may not. It's oddly addictive—coming up with dif-
ferent strategies and trying out new moves in an attempt
to see what works and what doesn't—because the А! is
just good enough to make it challenging and entertaining.
Still, God Hand is a guilty pleasure in that it's so embar-
rassingly poor in its basic design, yet totally awesome in
its combat.
[PROS Why is this combat so addictive? WHY? Offbeat |
humor is pretty cool.
CONS Just about everything else.
SCORE
CAPCOM CLASSICS
COLLECTION VOLUME 2
RECYCLE, REDUCE, REUSE
1 Capcom Digital Eclipse
Т $19.99
In some ways, you can’t help but feel a little
miffed at the games included in the second
collection of classic Capcom games for the
PlayStation 2, particularly if you already
own the PSP version of the original collec-
tion. Two games that should've been in the
original collection (Captain Commando and
Strider) are now thankfully present in this
follow-up, along with the very welcome
Super Street Fighter ІІ Turbo—even if it’s not
the best game in the series—and Knights
of the Round, which is essentially like Final
Fight but set against the backdrop of a
Renaissance faire gone wrong as opposed to}
the mean streets of the inner city.
So, for the most part, the meat of Volume
2is comprised of these four games. Much
of what makes up the rest of the collection
seems more like filler than in the previous
collection (with maybe a few exceptions like
Quiz & Dragons, which is totally awesome
if only because there is a dragon that asks
you trivia questions about The Beatles). Eco
Fighters, a happy-go-lucky, we-have-to-save-
the-environment kind of shooter, is also fun,
as is the classic The King of Dragons, which
should appeal to old-school arcade junkies.
But these aren't quite as notable as some of
the games found in the previous collection.
Also, these types of games are gener-
ally better suited for the PSP to begin with.
Don’t get the wrong idea; it’s still a very
good collection of games. But if you've had
the chance to experience one of the collec-
tions on the PSP, you can feel right away
how much better it is to have these games
on the go and be able to pick them up and
put them down after a quick dose of Street
Fighter. | Giancarlo Varanini
PROS Good collection of games.
CONS More filler than that in previous
collections, most notable games found in
original PSP Capcom collection.
2.55
4
SCORE
8 | m eee 2006
z. Namco Band Games
Back in 2001, a lot of things were different. Vin Diesel
had yet to attempt career suicide with The Pacifier,
pimped-out rice rockets didn't appear in every game
under the sun, and EA hadn't yet released Need For
Speed Underground 2. That last one is the biggest
problem facing The Fast and The Furious.
Had this game come out five years ago, when the
flick itself was fresh and everyone was discovering
the whole street racing scene, it would have been
incredibly unique and innovative. Traveling around
a relatively large city, looking for rivals, partaking
in street and downhill drift events, beating various
crews to gain the respect of other racers—in 2001, I
would have been very excited.
Problem is, NFS Underground 2 did all this, and
better. And that was two years ago now. F&F isn't
necessarily a bad game—it's actually pretty solid—but
it's woefully underequipped in the features depart-
ment to take on its street racing predecessors. The
City is too small, the racing styles too few, and the
variety simply nonexistent.
Even the bolt-on parts in F&F present a problem.
[YU ЕЕГПЕАЕ=Н |
if you look up this game on 1UP.com, you'll
actually find two different movie-to-game
products listed for the PS2. The Fast and
The Furious game started life as a street
racer more closely tied to the movies from
publisher Vivendi Universal and developer
Genki (of Tokyo Xtreme Racer fame).
Sadly, that game never saw release.
Eutechnyx Ta $39.99
THE FAST AND THE ЕШ
While there are a ton of different ways to improve
the performance of your ride, or simply to pimp it
out, the interface is very vague and can easily lead
you to bolt on a part that'll screw up your vehicle
more than help it. Add to that a complete lack of tun-
ing options, such as being able to adjust gear ratios
and the like, and you've got one frustrating trip to the
garage after another.
| want to like The Fast and The Furious, because
somewhere under all the excruciating load times
and arcade setting menus (І have to load a menu to
change my camera angle? сар lies а solid game.
It's a real shame. у
It would have been good if not for
a major lack of variety and some awful design
choices.
SCORE
Signature Style, that is. Every NBA
baller plays with his own unique
style of play with true-to-life
moves and skills for
unmatched Next-Gen
authenticity.
The NBA and individus NBA member team identifications used on or in this product are trademarks, copyrighted
designs and other forms of intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective RBA member teams
and may not be used, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, рс. © 2006 NBA
Properties, nc. All rights reserved.
“According to GameRankings.com 2003-2006 average review scores of NBA simulations.
рив. Sony пем, Sony London Esee М м
TEATIME FUE CAME
Whether you're in a car or running around on foot,
the controls break the laws of good gameplay.
Which is why we're siccing this bobby on them.
—— fat
БЕТ A MOVE ON/ THEY'RE GETTING AWAY! |
4
Though America is currently experiencing
some of its lowest crime rates in recent
history, American entertainment is obsessed
with violent crime. Be it the latest WWGG
(Where'd the White Girl Go?) kidnapping case
pounded into our brains on 24-hour cable-
news networks, the popularity (and multiple
spin-offs) of gory TV crime drama CSI, or the
seemingly endless variety of crime-themed
games inspired by the success of the Grand
Theft Auto series, crime is on the minds (if
not in the lives) of many in the U.S.
It’s so in demand, in fact, that we have to
import more. Here, we have a taste of the
U.K.'s brand of criminal fantasy life, Gangs
of London, an open-world underworld game
by the makers of The Getaway. Besides
experiencing the cutlure shock akin to
watching a Guy Ritchie film with its strange
limey slang, this game just doesn't get
America's obsession with the wrong side of
the tracks. Where we go for gritty realism
(at least to our criminally inexperienced
imaginations), Gangs of London aims for
(or perhaps accidentally hits) absurdity.
The world of Gangs is one in which racially
grouped crime families can't seem to make a
run to the supermarket for toothpaste without
being caught in a machine-gun ambush in the
middle of Trafalgar Square. In this criminal
underground, the Russian mob sends the
yakuza death threats via text message.
Apart from the cheese factor, Gangs simply
fails at the basics. Navigating the game's
street-by-street reproduction of London via
automobile is a disaster, plagued by touchy,
overcompensating steering. And once you
leave your car, the problem reverses. You
pilot your chosen hoodlum (part of several
selectable crime families with separate
missions) via unresponsive tank controls.
Missions are kept at a portable friendly
length, a definite plus when you consider
that these segments fall into a few types of
endlessly repeating scenarios. There are
the droning shootouts, the lose-that-cop
car-chase getaways, and the rubbish stealth
missions, which stretch the game's interface
beyond all conceivable limits. Stick to the
minigames and the Tourist mode, which lets
you explore London without dragging you
through the mud. | Robert Ashley
-[2DICT You'd have to be а rabid Anglophile to spend your crime i
time in London instead of last year's Liberty City Stories.
as
SCORE
THE
POWER OF
SIMPLICITY
The best thing about
Gangs of London may
very well be its least
assuming feature.
Tucked away in the
minigames section,
“Ye Olde Arcade” is
a surprisingly addic-
tive—though monochro-
matic—distraction that
makes a few interesting
twists on the old cell-
phone standby Snake.
Kinda sad, really.
SPECTRAL SOULS:
RESURRECTION OF THE
ETHEREAL EMPIRES
THE GHOST OF GAMEPLAY FLOATS
SLOWLY
1 NIS America
Idea Factory
Т 539.99
ع A;
Three kingdoms are at constant war in the
world of Neverland. It's not the most refresh-
ingly original premise ever (and has nothing
to do with either Peter Pan or Michael Jack-
son), but it's nonetheless the setup of Spec-
tral Souls, another in a long line of strategy
RPGs from NIS America.
The hook with this setup is that you can
play the game from each of those kingdoms"
points of view, switching over whenever.
You don't see it very often with the same
old "warring states" rigmarole of other
console RPGs—or at least not done well.
And, frankly, this isn’t that well done, either.
Progression isn't automatic, as you'll have to
go into the menu, switch factions, and select
the next story when you've done all you can
as one group of characters. The game isn't
very helpful with letting you know, either: If
you've run out of things to do, you might as
well move on and see what the other war-
torn drama queens are doing.
The approach is imperfect, but it's appre-
ciated. It puts more "RPG" into "strategy-
RPG," along with little gameplay features
like point distribution and the ability to use
multiple attacks in one character's turn. Yet
what really holds back Spectral Souls isn't
what's on the outside but what's beneath.
The game is plagued with severe slowdown
and load times at virtually every turn—even
lines of dialogue come in at seconds-long
intervals—spilling over into the realm of the
ludicrous, For a PS2 port that's mostly 2D to
begin with, we weren't expecting the world,
but something at least civilized.
If you have superhuman patience to tol-
erate the technical gaffes, you still have to
contend with the dry story, which is full of.
the anime clichés you can find in numerous
other RPGs. Outside studio Idea Factory
developed Spectral Souls and it shows; NIS
would be much better off sticking with its
internal developers next time. ! Ray Barnholt
VERDICT It might be worth it if your tacti-
cal mind needs to process everything in
slow motion; otherwise the wait for a pre-
mier SRPG on the PSP isn't over.
SCORE
0
4
120 | OFT Noveweee 2006
ІЗ ЕТЕНЕ
Namco Bandai peu. Namco Bandai ғ
BUTTON-MASHING FUN
Sure, the mechanical baddies in this action-RPG might
be ridiculous—such as robotic spiders holding up
Ginsu knives and bosses that resemble vacuuming
Roombas—but you can't get around it: This game сап
be yippee fun. Turning Teddy Ruxpin rejects into scrap
metal keeps you coming back for more even when you
get bored of leveling yourself up, pimping out your
abilities, and upgrading your weapons.
And it's a good thing that the actual combat is so
much fun, because the brain-dead missions that have
you securing areas by, well, killing all the naughty bots
won't have you strategizing or planning your method
of attack. You find the red dots on your radar and
then wipe their blips off the screen with the helpful
use of your very rad sword. Thankfully, the controls
are intuitive (although it'd be cool if you could jump
around), and weapon switches are simple—when you
get bored with a battle-ax, it's supereasy to quickly
change to a kick-ass bazooka. And after you've gone
amok, pick up the loot and sell the bad guys' drop-
pings to a shopkeeper strangely named Bono. There
is enough of a variety of weapons (you can hold onto
four at a time), but you'll find yourself sticking to your
favorites, as a few weapons are disappointing, like
the flamethrower—which you can't aim and looks like
you're helping to make s'mores instead of trying to
torch bad guys.
You'll also have a blast playing around with the
force field feature, which lets you can inflate a bubbled
area under which all your stats are increased. There's
nothing quite like throwing up your own thunderdome
(minus the Tina Turner) and shredding enemies once
they've stepped into your invisible arena. And when
all this still gets mind-numbing, you can warp to more
advanced areas of a stage to give yourself more of a
challenge and move at your own pace. | James Lee
OOD Nifty features and simple controls
ВАО Poor variety of missions and a bit repetitive
т.510
SCORE
4
Coaches preach it, champions
exhibit it-7eam Unity.
If you want to taste
The Tournament, you'll
have to master team
chemistry. Without it,
your bubble hursts.
ШИШҮҮ
Visit www.esrb.org
for updated rating
information.
CONTENT RATED BY
ESRB
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LEGO STAR WARS Il: THE
ORIGINAL TRILOGY
AN EWOK ADVENTURE
1 Pus, LucasArts реч. Traveller's Tales
тов Е10+ msep $39.99
УУ5У5УҰУҰУ(БҰЯЯ
What's irritating about most PS2-to-PSP
ports is that the PSP versions tend to be
significantly inferior, due to things like load
times, graphics, or that pesky analog nub.
What's pretty refreshing is that Lego Star
Wars ІІ makes a damn nice jump from the
hefty console down to the wee portable.
The game plays the same, sounds the same,
looks the same for the most part, and even
controls the same (the original console ver-
sions didn't use the second analog stick).
The graphics make a pretty good transi-
tion; the only indication that they've been
altered at all is that they seem to have gone
through some sort of soft-focus filter. Addi-
tionally, if you're doing fast stuff like rapid
jumps or swinging your lightsaber around
you'll spot some ghosting trails, but that
might be more of a fault with the hardware
than the software.
Another aspect that didn't quite make the
transition is LSW2's best feature: co-op. Тһе
best part of LSW2 (besides the opportunity
to see thong-wearing stormtroopers) is the
ability to play through a level and have fel-
low Lego Star Wars aficionados walk by,
drop in to help you out, and then leave to
continue about their business. But the PSP
version doesn't have that easy entry/exit
elegance; to use the ad hoc mode you have
to go into the “wireless lobby” in the Mos
Eisley cantina and have both players sync
up. Then from the cantina you go into the
actual game. It's an OK compromise, but it's
also a significant one, as co-op play is now
something that requires some external plan-
ning (it took a couple of tries for my PSP to
see Dana's before co-op worked) rather than
the carefree method of the console.
While the PSP version has some pretty
nice additions (the end parts of levels from
the previous game and even more char-
acters), the scaling back of LSW2’s best
feature makes what would otherwise be a
superior version now a slightly inferior pack-
age. Which ultimately makes this game like
Return of the Jedi (turning the Wookiees into
Ewoks made that flick not as awesome as it
should have Бееп!). | Thierry Nguyen
4
= эе Almost better than the console
version, if it weren't for the softer graphics
and the co-op entry method.
SCORE
TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07
NEW COURSES AND PLAYERS DON'T
FIX THE PUTTING
1 PUB. EA Sports реч. EA Redwood Shores
Eseg E msep $39.99
е“ ҰУ У 2
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 оп the PSP
nails most of what a portable golf game
should be, so it makes it all the more dis-
tressing when it stumbles. The biggest
issue is still with control, which is a mix of
problems from the game’s design and the
PSP itself. Until the mythical PSP redesign
happens, though, there’s nothing that can
be done directly about the single, unre-
sponsive analog nub on the system. With
that and the responses from last year's
game in mind, EA's designers should һауе
made some allowances.
It's difficult to get the right amount of
swing on the ball with the PSP nub, even
with the aid of the new Swing Path Meter.
The meter lets you know that a shot is a fade
or a draw, but actually getting the correct
shot is still too hard. (There may be some
reason why the face keys couldn't function
as an alternate right stick during the shot,
but whatever it is, it's not a good enough
reason.) This is less of an issue as you
approach the green, but it's maddening once
you're trying to get a putt in. The control's
quality falters around this small but crucial
bit of bogey-inducing inaccuracy.
Just like last year, that single issue brings
down an otherwise amazing title. Virtually
every feature only takes a few moments to
load, multiplayer includes infrastructure and
ad-hoc play, the engine looks a little better,
and Game Face has more stuff to play with.
The new PGA Tour career mode's calendar
nicely balances your time with tournaments
and skill tests, and includes the Tour's new
playoff format for 2007, the FedEx Cup
Championship Series.
Failing to fix the biggest problem of
last year's game is the real issue with this
The compound where
the Corleone fam-
ily stays is actually
located in Lake Tahoe,
California, not New
York. Of course, Fran-
cis Ford Coppola is a
California resident, so
that kind of makes а
little bit more sense.
ADULTE
Tiger Woods’ winning
ways started when
he was very young.
Іп fact, he is the only
erson ever to win
three consecutive U.S.
Junior Amateur golfing
titles. Overachiever.
release, and that sours all of the improve-
ments a little. Even so, this is an easy update
to justify picking up. | Patrick Joynt
'UEIPDICT A great and worthy update. EA
needs to get an alternate control scheme
packed in, but Tiger still rocks.
SCORE
gjo
tid ngo ern
THE GODFATHER MOB WARS
LOST THE MAGIC
ірив.ҒА Games oeu. EA Games
esee M msep $39.99
«Жу ““
For those of us afraid of ballooning to
Brando-esque proportions from sitting all
day, the console version of The Godfather
The Game has gone portable. However, the
Grand Theft Auto-like game has gone dorky,
too: Imagine the Corleones setting up a game
of Magic: The Gathering. You flip between the
kick-ass story mode, where EA did a great job
of trimming the tedious missions and kept
the extorting, bribing, and excellent fighting
controls, and then you have...the Mob Wars
card mode. | couldn't get over the tiresome
switch from the adrenaline-pumping action of
shooting rival families to suddenly having to
play а game of Risk. | Јат
Emm
NASCAR 07
RUBBIN', SON, IS RACIN'
1 PUB. EA Sports реч. Exient
Eseg Е msep $39.99
I'm impressed with what developer Exient
managed to squeeze out of the PSP. This is
basically the latest version of the console
NASCAR title in portable form, complete.
with 43 cars on the track at one time. But for
all the game accomplishes, it doesn't pull off
a complete victory. NASCAR lacks a rearview
mirror option, which is crucial in a game
where you're almost constantly surrounded
by other cars. The spotter—whose job it is to
warn you about approaching vehicles—isn't
informative or quick enough to make up for
this problem, either, which turns each race
into a battle for survival. It makes NASCAR.
way too hard to enjoy. | Greg Sewart
SCORE
122 | DAI мочемвег 2006
PRODUCTS RANGE FROM
RATING PENDING ro EVERYONE 1й+-
Б, ЯТ => PLAY STATIOChkS
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81:28:83
highscore
EVERY EXTEND EXTRA
BOMBS AWAY
| рив, Buena Vista Games bev. Q Entertainment
езен Е мәр $39.99
Tlove puzzle games. Love, love, LOVE them.
In fact, | love them so much that | play one
game or another almost daily, whether it’s
while I’m talking on the phone, sitting on the
couch watching mindless ТУ, or putting off
my work for just five minutes longer. The
games from this underrated genre are a per-
fect blend of simplicity and strategy. At least,
the good ones are.
Every Extend Extra is a remake of a free
Japanese flash game that has a confusing
and pretty much pointless backstory about
bombs and destruction that is nonetheless
enjoyable for its abominably bad translation.
The basic concept: You have a set number
of bombs, and you try to blow up as many
enemies as possible with them. After wreak-
ing havoc across the battlefield, you face off
against a boss at the end of each level.
From a visual and audio standpoint, it’s
readily apparent that this is a Tetsuya Mizu-
guchi game, with sleek graphics that morph
from level to level and cool house beats in
the background. One very neat aspect of the
game is that the music and gameplay affect
each other—as you pick up little bonus dots
called “quickens,” the music increases in
speed, which makes you move faster and
also speeds up the enemies, giving you a
greater number of objects to blow up.
There's plenty of strategy to be had in this
game, but the accessibility bar is a lot higher
than one usually sees in puzzle games. And
that ended up being a turnoff to me. The
tutorial teaches you the basic skills, but it
doesn't teach you why you're doing what
you're doing. As what's happening in the
game is not terribly intuitive, this meant that
it took me quite a while to get past figuring
out the mechanics so І could begin building
a strategy.
Some will find this as addictive as
Lumines, but due to the increased difficulty
level and lack of accessibility, Every Extend
Extra lacks the broad appeal of О Entertain-
ment's prior titles. | Dana Jongewaard
"EDICT Strategic and addictive, but also `
| confusing and tricky.
SCORE
710
CAPCOM CLASSICS
COLLECTION RELOADED
"RELOADED" IS RIGHT
ірив. Capcom Dev. Digital Eclipse
esee Т msep $29.99
ي
This can never, ever be stressed enough:
Loading time can totally ruin an entire
gaming experience. Case in point: The
three versions of Street Fighter Il included
in Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded
(original, Champion Edition, and Turbo:
Hyper Fighting) all have that same, incred-
ibly lame loading time that occurs before
and after matches. If some effort was gen-
uinely taken to make these particular ports
function without loading time—and getting
a 15-year-old game to run on the PSP with-
out load time shouldn't be an issue—then
it would've made the entire collection all
the much better than it already is.
Much like its Capcom Classics Collection
predecessor, Reloaded offers a nice variety
of arcade (and some console) classics to
choose from, including multiple versions
of Ghosts ‘n Goblins and 1942. The oth-
ers may not be as well known as those in
the original Classics Collection, but they
offer many of the same experiences, since
Capcom focused heavily on a few key
genres—mainly shooters, fighters, and
beat-em-ups—in the 1990s. For example,
unless you were some sort of big-time
arcade junkie, you probably don’t know
much about Eco Fighters, but it's a pretty
decent shooter—albeit with a cheesy Cap-
tain Planet message—with some interest-
ing mechanics that still hold up today.
And, really, that’s just one of the rea-
sons this collection is almost as good as
the original one. The games are nearly
timeless, so many of them hold up as well
today as they did 10 or 15 years ago, but
part of that is also because they’re ona
portable system where quick bursts of
gaming work best. Additionally, there’s
а ton extra stuff you can unlock ranging
from art to music, so there's no question
that, like the last collection, Reloaded will
keep you glued to your PSP for quite some
time. | Giancarlo Varanini
"POS Great selection of games
[EONS Loading times—arggggh!
SCORE
EIC
pGAZNE
GAME OF THE MONTH
ӘЙ ое
мы.
ШІНШІ
ы ыы
DESPERADO
Back in the day, kids
were driven to desper-
ate measures to get
money to feed their
arcade addictions.
One OPM staffer
even stole $100 once
i and spent all of it on
j Shinobi. But then that
person got struck by
a disfiguring disease.
Crime never pays.
EE с =
TUPAC SHAKU
KIDS AND THE
PSP
It's just not a super-
sound idea. Before age
27, most children are
made entirely of sugar
and broken electron-
ics. And despite how
Tower Records sorts
things, Tupac Shakur:
Thug Angel is not a
kids’ PSP томе
SUPER MONKEY BALL
ADVENTURE
TAKE YOUR BALLS ANYWHERE
1 PUB, Sega реч. Traveller's Tales
eses E mser $39.99
х<<5““ М жж
Hey, guess what happens when ports аге
made? Well, you see, a game that's made for
one platform gets made for another platform
and the features remain largely unchanged.
Unfortunately for the PSP, Super Monkey.
Ball Adventure is made only worse by a
more cumbersome control setup (which isn't
entirely the game's fault) along with some
technical problems, such as slowdown, in
the adventure mode. The challenge mode
makes up for a lot of the shortcomings, since
it offers great, classic monkeys-in-balls action
that fits perfectly with the PSP's portability,
but sadly, it's not enough. | Giancarlo Varanini
SCORE
CAP 00%
а
w
PAC-MAN WORLD RALLY
TRUST A KID WITH YOUR PSP?
ірив. Namco Bandai Dev. Smart Bomb Interactive
eses E mser $39.99
7
If you have kids that you bring on trips and
trust with your PSP, then you should rank
this game about three points higher. It's a
nearly exact port of the PS2 game, making
it an inoffensive, if unoriginal, kart racer
chock full of Pac-Man characters (and а
few Namco surprises). The various tracks
still all рор with hidden paths and colorful
surprises; battle mode is still a frustrating
waste of time. Load times between rounds
are slow, and the wireless play is ad hoc
only, so it's hard to imagine the adult who
would prefer this to the PSP’s other (great)
racers. But if you trust a kid with your PSP,
this is a gem for trips. | Patrick Joynt
aya
SCORE
124 | Dam
Check it out:
www.espn.com/videogames
Меісоте-іо Sports Gamer Paradise
Brought to you by ESPN.com,
The Worldwide Leader in Sports
in conjunction with 1UP Network
Кеи МОЧЕ
Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart
es-IMEN: THE LAST STAND
Dy omma scacal
This is the sort of film that you make when you know that no mat-
ter what sort of film you make, you're going to have а $100 million
opening weekend, so who gives a crap? To that end, The Last Stand
is superficially all about giving the kids what they want: new favorite
X-Men (most notable here is Kelsey Grammer’s turn as The Beast),
a thin veneer of plot that nods in the general direction of the idea of
mutants being a persecuted minority—this time it's about a cure for
mutantism, which may or may not be forced on the mutants—and
then lots and lots of going kerplooey. But go any deeper into it,
which real X-Men fans will, and you discover The Last Stand has a
mutant power of its own, and not a good one: the ability to be com-
pletely hollow on the inside.
Part of this, | suspect, is simply the problem of doing too much all
at once: The film wants to deal with the problem of Phoenix (aka the
resurrected Jean Grey, who is very emphatically not the nice girl she
was before), but it also wants to have the “mutant cure” plot too,
and jamming the two of them together into a Frankenstein monster
of a story line doesn't do much for either. It also doesn't help that,
as Phoenix, Famke Janssen is largely confined to dressing up та
ren-faire ensemble and scowling darkly. The rest of the cast seems
largely lost as well; Hugh Jackman is reliably cranky as Wolverine,
but, despite his character's established loner vibe, he really can't
carry the film all on his own.
The movie offers not one but two egregiously loose threads that
threaten the eventuality of X-Men IV; let's hope that if a fourth film
does come into being that its mutant power is a script that can make
the rest of из give а damn.
126 DAM Novevece 2006
‘ART SCHOOL
CONFIDENTIAL
| Max Minghella, John Malkovich |
Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes, who brought
Ghost World into being, thus giving 19-year-
old po-mo freaks something to quote, are back
at it again with another suitably arch and arty
little flick. This one takes place at an art school
where there's a serial killer but, more impor-
tantly, the students and the teachers snark
in that overeducated, underfunded way that
defines 21st century American intelligentsia.
SCORE
ITHE BREAK-UP
| Jennifer Aniston, Vince Vaughn |
4
You know, | saw this movie the first time,
when it was called The War of the Roses,
and that film is so much better than this film
that | recommend you stop reading this and
go watch Roses right this very second. As
for Aniston and Vaughn, | spent all my time
going, “Yeah, but these two are so totally
dating in real life.” This film was not nearly
enough to distract me from pointless tabloid
headlines. Which means it's failed.
EZ ACA
"us
Ж
ICLICK
| Adam Sandler, David Hasselhoff | 4
If only | could have used the magical remote
in this film to fast-forward through the time |
spent watching it! Oh, don't mind me, that's
my reflexive disgust at all things Adam
Sandler kicking in. Actually, as Sandler flicks
go, this one is perfectly passable: a nice plot
gimmick, some amusing moments, and a
heart tug or two as the hero wises up that
fast-forwarding through life ain't ideal. You're
done, thanks, see you next year, folks.
‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III
| Tom Cruise , Phillip Seymour Hoffman | 4
This movie is а perfectly cromulent action
film that piles up all the excitement in all the
right places, but the expiration date on Tom
Cruise’s sanity seems to have zoomed right
by, and (not unlike The Break-Up) you spend
your time wondering just what the deal is
with him and Katie and whether their kid will
ever be normal. Oh, for the days when studios
were powerful enough to keep their actors’
weirdness out of the news.
‘NACHO LIBRE
| Jack Black, Héctor Jiménez |
Jack Black's a Mexican monk who wrestles
lucha libre-style to save an orphanage. That's
the pitch line, and you can just see some
studio stiff getting all sweaty over it. That's
because Jack Black exists at that blessed stage
in his career where just showing up makes
people laugh. See, watch: Hey! Jack Black!
And now you're smiling, aren't you? This is а
good thing, because without Black’s tubby star
power, this silly flick's got very little going оп. -
MOUEMBER |
Monster House (about three 12-year-old kids
who discover that the house across the street
is alive—and evil) was created using the same
motion-capture technology used on The Polar
Express. That flick was on the wrong side of
Uncanny Valley—all the characters looked like
they'd been Botoxed into insensibility—but
this time they got it right: The computer-
animated kids here are slightly exaggerated
to make them just cartoony enough not to be
creepy, and their faces are amusingly expres-
sive. Technology stumbles forward, it does.
The movie is now my 7-year-old's favorite
film, probably because it's like the kiddie
coaster at the state fair: spooky enough to
give her a thrill without being genuinely scary.
| liked it for the same reasons and because
there were just enough throwaway lines to
keep me interested as an adult. ;
2 119
SCOPE
S
жент
‘THE OMEN RELEASES
| Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles | A | October3
You know, it's not that | don't like Liev Sch- X-Men: The Last Stand
reiber and Julia Stiles, but watching the two October 10
of them go through the same paces in this Art School Confidential
remake as Gregory Peck and Lee Remick (who Click
were realistically aged for their roles) did in October 17
their original is like watching your 7-year-old The Break-Up
walk around in your sneakers. In fact, this The Omen
entire remake feels like it's walking around іп Over the Hedge
the original film's sneakers, which isn't a good October 24
thing when it's trying to scare your socks ой. Nacho Libre
October 31
Mission: Impossible III
Monster House
‘OVER THE HEDGE
Î Bruce Willis, Steve Carell |
The best of the various “bunches of animals
do allegedly amusing things” animated flicks
this year, because the animals here actually
are amusing, thanks to a nice setup (woodland
animals meet suburbia, complete with SUVs
and trash piles), some sharp gag writing, and а
vocal cast that’s spot-on (Nick Nolte as a bear?
бепіше!). It's not brilliant, just fun. But you
know what? Sometimes "just fun" is exactly
the right thing for a film to be.
Ense Rare
lL] SEARCH э
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the Web's only search engine dedicated
to finding videogame content!
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arranges the results into the categories you
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MOUEMBER |
| BEUUING UP THE PLAYSTATION WAYBACK MACHINE
Ж
ГЕССЕ
TIMELINE: NEED FOl2 SPEED
F 3 2 With Carbon just around the bend, it’s time to take а look
4 : қ | ; 5 back at one of gaming's longest-running racing franchises.
TAY | | Та : Е
— ے а | ТЕДІ корь. | GOOD, BAD, UGLY
A CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE HISTORY OF RPGS 4 Witness the racing genre's best laps and biggest wrecks
on PS2 and PSP.
MY Е! T TIME (NEW SECTION)
24's Elisha Cuthbert reveals how gaming stole her heart.
PS1-DERLAND
Last month Jeremy examined the worst of voice acting...
but it hasn't been а// bad.
java, 4
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кыд
КЕРІ
BLIC
e ARENA ULTIMA KOTOR FALLOUT
We like GTA and football. They like Animal Crossing
and the other kind of football. The Xbox 360—a hot
ticket here—languishes on their shelves while their
retailers struggle to keep the quirky DS Lite and its
bumper crop of educational and instructional soft-
ware in stock.
It's hardly news that America and Japan are like
night and day when it comes to tastes in videogames,
but the differences are even more pronounced when
it comes to RPGs. Aside from a shared fascination
with the primping pretty boys of Final Fantasy, our
two nations define “roleplaying” as two very differ-
ent creatures. Here, they’re enormous, open-ended
adventures in which the story is loosely presented
and players are free to progress as they see fit—just
like in the old days of tabletop RPGs, when the dun-
geon master determined the plot and outcomes were
settled with a roll of the dice.
In Japan, though, an RPG is something completely
different. You have your character stats and your
experience points. You may have familiar character
classes and even beasts to battle straight from TSR's
Monstrous Compendium. There could be dungeons
to spelunk and townsfolk to assist, too. But those ele-
ments ultimately serve as mere window dressing for
largely linear adventures in which plot, not the player,
determines the game's outcome, direction, and pacing.
Despite sharing a common root—namely, Dun-
geons & Dragons—the RPG creations of the U.S.
and Japan demonstrate very different ideas of what
precisely it means to play a role. For American
developers, it means affording players the oppor-
tunity to take control of a hero and determine the
game's final outcome through exploration and effort,
even if the player's path leads them far from the
core story line.
Take Interplay's Fallout, one of the most highly
regarded Western RPGs of the past decade. It allows
players to create and customize a character, form
allegiances, take on jobs and bounties—all of which
are tangential to the main story, which involves a
hero's quest to save his "hometown" from imminent
drought. But the path to completing that task is left
to players to determine.
Compare that to JRPG juggernaut Final Fantasy
VII, which, after nine years, remains the single most
popular RPG in the world. FFVII certainly has its share
of optional side quests and out-of-the-way secrets to
discover, but the bulk of the game remains the same
for every playthrough: Players always take the role of
Cloud Strife, Aerith always bites it, there's always an
ultimate showdown with Sephiroth, and all the points
in between are the same. Stat growth follows the
same pattern every time (aside from minor adjust-
ments made by certain Materia) and none of the char-
acters possess unique or intrinsic abilities outside of
the simple Limit Break skills.
In short, the Japanese approach to roleplaying is
the fundamental opposite of American design: Play-
ers step into the shoes of a hero whose (typically
complex and twisting) story has already been deter-
mined. It's the difference between being the director
and being an actor—between creating an experience
and experiencing a creation.
This wasn't always the case; the earliest Japanese
RPGs such as Falcom's Dragon Slayer had much in
common with their Western counterparts. But Ameri-
can role-playing games have always been a predomi-
nantly PC-based genre. The PC has never been a sig-
nificant factor in the Japanese gaming market, likely
because the dominant PC standards—Windows, Mac
OS, and Linux—are of Western extraction, and Japan
has always been somewhat resistant of non-native
gaming systems.
Just as U.S. RPGs started to get good—the golden
age that began with 1985's Ultima IV and continued
through the early '90s—Japan developed its own
gaming platform, the Famicom (known in the U.S. as
the NES). For a while, simplified versions of Ameri-
can hits like Ultima, The Bard's Tale, and even Pool of
Radiance made their way onto the NES...but before
ELE
SS
miim mL ІРЕІБ-ІРЕГТІМЕ
PHANTASY STAI
long, it became apparent that games designed for a
PC's keyboard interface fared poorly on the two-but-
ton NES controller. But games built for the NES—
those were perfect.
19865 Dragon Quest ushered іп a new era of
RPG design: streamlined games offering a limited
command set and colorful, tile-based graphics. The
gameplay was simpler, ideal for the younger console
market, and anything like openness of design was
largely abandoned in favor of a more focused, lin-
ear story. American RPGs continued to grow more
open and immense, while their Eastern competition
became more stylized, more idiosyncratically Japa-
nese. Phantasy Star added anime-style cut-scenes,
while CD-based RPGs like Cosmic Fantasy and Lunar
went a step further by incorporating actual anime.
It wasn’t until the advent of the original PlaySta-
tion that Japan's RPG output truly hit the American
‘mainstream, as, for the first time, the games were as
lovely as they were immense.
The PC/U.S. and console/Japan dichotomy is still
very much in effect, as Windows remains the domain
of Western RPGs, with a few small exceptions, and
consoles are still home to RPGs of Japanese design.
And each format has both strengths and weak-
nesses. American RPG design offers far more
DRAGON QUEST
immersion and depth, while JRPGs generally have
more engrossing stories and varied settings. Still,
the Eastern brand of roleplaying seems to have the
edge in terms of popularity, due in large part to
sheer numbers.
Despite the limitations of the console-based
games (or perhaps because of them), Japanese RPG
developers tend to be far more prolific than their
DAGON OUEST USH- |
ERED IN A NEIN ЕРА,
American peers. Freed from tweaking and balancing
the thousands of variables introduced by free-form
adventuring, they can produce RPGs quickly...and
they can spin the genre into entirely new forms. As
a result, console RPGs range from the plodding,
FPS-like King’s Field to the speedy Tales of the
Abyss; from the neoclassical Dragon Quest VIII to
the avant-garde Devil Summoner, from single-char-
acter Roguelikes (The Nightmare of Druaga) to the
108-character Suikoden epics. Not only does the for-
mat play host to games as diverse as laser-focused
dungeon crawls and sprawling tactical RPGs, some-
times they even come from the same team (as in the
4
> OL BL) pb.
کے THE OTHER RPGS
Aside from these two design
styles, there's the MMORPG,
which is very much its own
creature in more ways than
one. Like the traditional role-
playing game, MMORPGs
were born in America but
have taken on a life of their
own in another territory. But
in this case, the “other terri-
tory” is South Korea—home
of such diverse and popular
creations as Ragnarok
Online, MapleStory, and Lin-
ваде Il. Meanwhile, Japan's
only significant MMO cre-
ation to date is the modestly
popular Final Fantasy XI.
journey of ultimate
FEUI ZELDA II
case of Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy Tactics, both
Squaresoft creations).
Still, the walls are coming down. As consoles
and PCs grow more alike and massively multiplayer
online RPGs make Windows unfriendly territory
for solo RPGs, the amount of cross-pollination
between the two formats has increased. BioWare's
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Jade
Empire offered open-ended morality-based gameplay
on the Xbox. Even more recently, Bethesda's colossal
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion launched simultane-
ously on the PC and the Xbox 360, and it's headed to
the PS3 this fall.
Still, these RPGs are very Western in feel. Perhaps
the true happy medium in this clash of cultures may
come courtesy of the latest chapter of that most
Japanese of RPG series, Final Fantasy ХІІ. Though
story-driven to the end and populated by a cast of
clearly defined characters, FFXII offers much of the
flexibility (not to mention the immediacy of game-
play) typically seen in Western games. There's even
a hint of MMO about it.
Of course, there's no telling whether or not FFXI/'s
best-of-both-worlds approach will catch on. At this
point, all we can really tell about its sequel, FFXIII, is
that it’s completely insane.
(mm =]
The RPG may have been created in America, but Japan has its own very
specific take on what the genre is all about. With the arrival of Dragon
Quest in 1986, the JRPG was born, and the two schools of design have
grown further and further apart. Here are some of the key titles that
have defined each nation’s role-playing experiences:
Jitima (1981, PC): The game that started it all,
Ultima spanned the cosmos and featured first-per-
son perspective dungeons...all in minimal black
and white.
Wizardry (1981, PC): More limited in scope than
Ultima, Wizardry focused heavily on dungeon
crawling...and has since become far more popular
in Japan than in America.
Ultima IV (1985, PC): A massive leap for the genre,
the fourth Ultima emphasized morality and charac-
ter interaction over
simple combat.
е (1986, PC): The minimalist ASCII graphics
belie the amazing depth offered by Rogue and its
descendants.
(1988, РС): SSI’s PC-based RPGs
(such as Pool of Radiance) were true to the Dun-
geons & Dragons license and marvelously crafted
to boot.
The El Te (1994, PC): An immersive
3D RPG with immense freedom in an equally
enormous world. The fourth chapter, Oblivion, is a
game you may have heard of.
(1997, PC): Fallout's dystopian future was
paradise for gamers with an open structure and
flexible character building.
(1999, PS1): America's first sig-
nificant JRPG-alike, created by ex-Square employ-
ees, set the tone for the rest: It was pretty bad.
Star \ 5: К h d Republic (2003, PC,
Xbox): BioWare combined their RPG. expertise, the
moral dimension of Ultima IV, and the sheer rad-
ness of Star Wars for this brilliant adventure.
ol n (2006, PC, Xbox 360,
PS3): МЕЛ О ореп- ond Е with old-school
sensibility, Oblivion has revived the classic U.S.
RPG ethos in a major way.
er (1984, PC): Falcom’s loosely knit
series was Japan’s first major RPG creation, an
action-oriented take on the genre later refined in
the Ys games.
ago est (1986, NES): Possibly Japan's most
beloved series, DQ distilled RPG dynamics into
something simple, accessible, and attractive.
(1987, NES): The original Final
Fantasy felt like D&D, streamlined: Players could
choose character classes and travel the world, but
the progression was strictly linear.
(1987, SMS): Ultima-esque in its
multiple gameplay perspectives, Sega’s Phantasy
Star nevertheless featured anime sequences that
hinted at cinematic RPGs to come.
(1987, NES): Zelda Il was actually more
of an RPG than its predecessor, with experience
points, magic and sword skills, апа random
encounters—the father of the action-RPG.
(1993, SNES): Drawing heav-
ily on Rogue, Chunsoft's series of dungeon crawl-
ers feature simple visuals and friendly mascot
characters—disguising hardcore challenges.
(1996, SNES): Mario’s role-play-
ing debut fused platform gaming with the RPG,
creating an even more simplified, action-oriented
take on the genre.
(1995, SNES): Wolf Team went
a step further, adding real-time battle controls and
fighting-game-inspired input techniques to create
exciting combat.
(1997, PS1): FFVI/'s mix of 3D
graphics and seamless movies defined RPGs for
a generation: flashy affairs with linear gameplay‘
offset by impenetrably dense plotting.
(2003, PS2): This
у шла, А turned JRPG conventions
on their heads, emphasizing repetition and failure
as the keys to progress.
tas (2006, PS2): Ambitious and beau-
tiful, FFXII just might pull off its lofty goal: to marry
all the conventions of American, Japanese, solo,
and MMORPGs in a single, cohesive package.
A TIMELINE
134
DAIT Мочемвее 2006
D— M. — 1
is a staple of the racing genre today, but virtual speed
freaks may be surprised to learn that the series started life as the flag-
ship racing game of a doomed system—former EA owner Trip Hawkins’
ill-conceived 3DO Multiplayer. Now that the franchise is оуег а decade
old, it officially qualifies for one of OPM's trademark retrospectives.
(Note that we're skipping the handheld versions of the games because,
honestly, they've never offered anything new.) Let's begin!
Originally released for the doomed
3DO system, Need for Speed was
Electronic Arts' attempt to take
console driving games in a dif-
ferent direction; namely, it was а
simulator that featured real cars,
each with its own unique handli
model. Players could jump in any
a handful of exotic dream cars that
looked, sounded, and drove relatively
authentically, thanks to the involve-
ment of the Road & Track folks.
But that wasn't the only unique
part of NFS. According to EA associ-
ate producer Scott Nielsen, “Need for
Speed also had the first pursuit mode
that allowed players to test their rac-
ing skills as police cruisers followed
in chase mode."
Need for Speed was later released
on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn,
but it was a drastically different
game. "Focus testing on the original
3DO version showed that, although
people enjoyed the realistic phys-
ics model, the game felt too slow
and lacked a sense of speed and
adrenaline that was expected when
driving some of the fastest cars in
the world," says Nielsen. Thus the
arcadey-er NFS was born.
The PlayStation and Windows plat-
forms enjoyed a twitchier, arcade-
style Need for Speed built from the
ground up. Hardcore sim fans were
disappointed that Road & Track was
no longer involved in the process,
but its contributions lived on. "When
we launched the NFS franchise we
felt having the automotive experience
of the Road & Trackteam behind the
product would give it authenticity
and credibility among car enthusi-
asts," says Nielsen. "We achieved
this goal with the first product, and in
subsequent NFS products the individ-
ual car manufacturers we partnered
with took on this role."
Here's a bit of trivia for you: Need
for Speed Il was the first PlayStation
game to take advantage of the dual
analog, DualShock, and NeGcon
controllers all in the same product.
Hardcore, baby.
JEIMBER |
- 1998
NEED FOR SPEED Il:
HOT PURSUIT
Hot Pursuit introduced a couple of
features that have become mainstays
not only in the NFS series, but in the
genre in general. Being chased by the
cops was the main game mechanic
in this third title, as was finding and
utilizing shortcuts on each track.
Hot Pursuit also allowed players
to get behind the wheel of a black-
and-white and give chase to virtual
lawbreakers.
NEED FOR SPEED: HIGH STAKES
Though High Stakes’ major contribu-
tion to the overarching series was
actually its career mode—again,
another staple of the franchise and
genre—the most interesting bit
about the fourth NFS was racing for
“pinks.”
That's right, long before mov-
ies like The Fast and the Furious or
television shows like Pinks made it
a mainstream phenomenon, putting
your car on the line was a regular
feature in Need for Speed. Lose the
race; you lose your ride. The PC
version's online play made this mode
especially exciting.
NEED FOE SPEED
POZSCHE UNLEASHED
Unlike previous games in the series,
Porsche Unleashed put the spotlight
on a single car manufacturer and
attempted to give gamers a virtual
history lesson. Nielsen assures
us, however, that this was never
meant as a shift in direction for the
NFS franchise: "It wasn't meant to
be a turning point nor philosophy
change for the franchise; it was really
an opportunity for us to feature a
complete history of all the cars that
Porsche had released so players
could learn more about one of the
greatest automobile manufacturers in
the world in Need for Speed style.”
Though the game didn't fare as
well as its multimanufacturer prede-
cessors, it was nevertheless a fine
way to end the series' run on the
original PlayStation.
i
za
NEED FOR SPEED
HOT PURSUIT 2
The transition to a brand-new system
brought a one-year hiatus for the
Need for Speed games. The result
was Hot Pursuit 2, the culmination
of just about everything good in
the series to date. Everything came
together perfectly—fantastic track
design, a lightning-quick sense of
speed, wonderful soundtrack, and
great graphics. It remains one of if
not the best NFS ever made.
At least on the PlayStation 2.
The PC, Xbox, and GameCube
games, however, were pretty hurtin’.
Nielsen explains, “Without getting
into too much detail, the simple
answer is: two different development
teams, two drastically different time
frames to complete the game. | think
the PS2 version is widely regarded as
the superior product; however, given
the circumstances that the other
team faced, | think they did a great
job." We'll spill the beans, though.
The other development group was
EA Seattle.
NEED FORZ SPEED
UNDERGROUND
Underground marked the death of
the classic Need for Speed formula,
eschewing expensive, exotic sports
cars for the illegal street racing scene
and a stable of mostly Japanese
import tuners.
Says Nielsen, “Near the end of
developing NFS Hot Pursuit 2 we
sat down and evaluated what game
we should build next. We started to
explore other ideas that could be
interesting but [would] remain true
to the core concept of Need for
Speed, which has always been ‘real
cars, real fast.’ Typically that has
meant high-end, exotic European
sports cars.
“When we looked around at what
was popular in the car scene it was
obvious that...we needed to go in
the direction of ‘tuner’ cars. Even
though everyone aspires to own a
Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche,
the reality is that most of us will
never have the cash to park а саг
that can cost upward of $1 million
in our garage, let alone get behind
the wheel. Instead, today’s kids are
building their own ‘urban exotics'—
cars that are relatively inexpensive
to buy and then modifying the s***
out of them, a little bit at a time, to
create highly tuned, high perfor-
mance sports cars.”
Oddly enough, Underground
didn’t include a pursuit mode, traded
instead for the ability to modify
and bolt-on performance and visual
upgrades to the cars.
NEED FOR SPEED
UNDERGROUND 2
Underground 2 continued to expand
on the ground broken in Under-
ground, including a few new race
modes, the addition of SUVs to the
vehicle roster, and a whole slew of
more bolt-on parts to play around
with. It also introduced a free-roam-
ing, GTA-style game interface where
players were tasked with driving
around the vast city looking for
events and other hot spots to further
their careers.
NEED FOR SPEED
MOST WANTED
Most Wanted represents yet another
evolution of the series, or maybe
devolution, depending on how you
want to look at it. Take the free roam-
ing and car customizing of Under-
ground, add the police pursuits from
the Hot Pursuit games, mix in a very
linear story mode, and you have the
next generation of Need for Speed.
Though you could basically go
anywhere and do anything in Most
Wanted, your main goal was to work
your way up the “Black List,” a group
of 15 notorious street racers. Beat
them all and you win back your ride,
and maybe even the hot chick. Who
says crime doesn't pay?
NEED FOR SPEED CARBON
For the next generation of NFS, EA
is working to add yet another racing
style to the series—touge racing, or
drifting. Adding downhill and uphill
racing to the street racing action
won't be an easy task, but we figure
if anyone's up to it, the talented folks
at EA Black Box are. | Greg Sewart
SPINNING OFF
The Need for Spee ies also saw two
rally titles released in 1997 and 1999. Need
for Speed: V-Rally and V-Rally 2 weren't
true-blue NFS games but rather European
imports that had been licensed by Elec-
tronic Arts and had the NFS logo slapped
on them in the hopes of earning a few
more sales. V-Rally 2 was actually released
on the Dreamcast as well, though on that
system it was called Test Drive V-Rally.
INFORMATION
SUPEESPEEDIVAY
EA was planning on releasing a Need for
Speed game in 2001. Dubbed Motor City
Online, it was to be a perpetually online
game that appealed to car junkies by
allowing players to trick out their vehicl
join virtual car clubs, take part in various
race types, and so on, all online
The game was eventually released sans
the Need for Speed name and was a colos-
sal failure. The servers weren't even online
for two years, due to a lack of interest in
the product.
GOOG Bac, UGL
| REALA _ZECOMMENDATIONS
WITH THE LATEST NEED FOR SPEED ON
THIS MONTH'S DISC, WE THOUGHT WE'D
OFFER A PRIMER OF THE TOP RACING
GAMES TO LOOK FOR ON THE PS2 AND
PSP...AND THE TOP ONES TO AVOID.
LM
her: Sony CEA
I2E: 10-10
Gripe all you want about the lack of online
play, car damage, or major improvements
from the previous version; GT4 is still the
peak of sim racing on any Sony platform.
BURNOUT REVENGE
EA Games
"Dee: 10-710,
Waaaay at the other end of the spectrum
from GT4 is this pinnacle of over-the-top
arcade racing. With eyeball-fusing speed and
more gameplay modes than you can shake
a crumpled bumper at, Burnout Revenge is
pure adrenaline.
MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: DUB EDITION
ver: Rockstar
Sao
You can't talk about PS2 racers without men-
tioning the free-roaming model that made
its debut on the system. And sorry, Need for
Speed Underground, but when it comes right
down to it, we'd rather spend our time with
Midnight Club.
RIDGE RACER У
ir: Namco
9-10
No PlayStation launch is complete without a
Riiiidge Racer, and the PS2 was no exception.
While not as over-the-top as Burnout, RR5
nails the pure, arcade-style drift racing.
sher: Namco
РЕ: 9/0
With Tourist Trophy proving so disappointing,
there’s really only one other franchise motor-
cycle fans can turn to for a simulation fix.
MotoGP3 is, as far as we're concerned, the
pinnacle of the series.
PSP
тег: EA Games
(ORE: 8-10
There are plenty of racing games on the
PSP—it seemed at first that there was little
else—but for sheer playability, content, and
longevity, Burnout Legends can't be beat. It's
so fast as to appear almost unplayable...but
somehow it totally works.
RIDGE RACER.
or: Namco
ала
The oodles of tracks make this one feel like а
Ridge Racer history lesson and, while it’s not
as fast as Burnout, the no-frills drift racing
just plays right.
WIPEOUT PURE
г: Sony CEA
While the track selection could be better,
Pure's innovative track design and frenzied
speed make it a worthy successor to the ven-
erable series.
IPS
sher: Konami
"Dee Som
Konami's attempt to go head-to-head with
Gran Turismo falls flat; the realistic driving
engine and interesting graphical effects can't
make up for the bizarrely stat-heavy racing
and unforgiving "Enthu points" system.
Empire Interactive
ИРЕ: S1
Though the deep damage model and ridicu-
lous rag-doll, driver-tossing minigames offer
something new, the floaty controls and fun-
damentally uninspired gameplay make for a
wholly mediocre experience.
er: EA Sports
CORE: 510
It isn't bad enough that the glitchy graphics
make NASCAR 2001 look like a PS1 game;
to add insult to injury, the game features
almost none of the under-the-hood tweaking
that makes NASCAR an interesting sport.
Not good.
| PSP
her: Sony CEA
рє: eun
When the PSP launched, Blazin' Trails earned
more points than it should have for simply
being a solid port of a fairly broad PS2 game.
But the painfully twitchy controls caused the
game to be quickly surpassed by, well, just
about every other PSP racer.
Lilt!
1252
г: Square ҒА
510
As опе of the first PS2 racers, Type-S sure
did look pretty. Painstakingly recreated inte-
riors and some nifty graphical effects gave
the game a beautiful shine. Unfortunately, it
didn't outshine the excruciatingly ugly (to the
point of being virtually unusable) controls.
г: Capcom
Sa
A cel-shaded online racing game? With
licensed cars and loads of customization?
Such a cool, unusual idea. And then we
played it. The online hiccups would perhaps
have been more bearable if the offline game
didn't equally suck.
136 =
ПЕСЕННАЯ ЧЕНИНЕН E ВЕСЕННЕЙ
vL I| ЕЕЕ ЛЕ
ages
Photo: Getty
Elisha Cuthbert is intelligent, funny, kind, easy to talk to—and, oh, just a little easy on the eyes.
But while we wanted to save her when she was on 24 and wished she were our neighbor when
we saw The Girl Next Door, it wasn't until she admitted, "I'm a huge PlayStation fan" that we
truly fell in love. And wondered how strict restraining orders get.
“I'd been playing videogames for a while when [my family] moved up to a PlayStation. |
started with games like Donkey Kong Country and all that stuff, but when we got our PlaySta-
tion, | became a huge PlayStation fan. | used to play a lot of sports games, like a lot of hockey
and NFL. Then, when we moved up the PlayStation 2, | got into racing games and things like
Grand Theft Auto Ill. | went through a really big phase with that one. I'm really into games that
are like movies. Games like Splinter Cell. | like the idea of a game that has a story. So I’m not
really big into sports games as much anymore, except for maybe Tiger Woods. Unfortunately,
| haven't been playing much lately. уе been really busy. The last game | played was the 24
game when we did the junket for it." | P
[esame лок E e сл е ч уст чын сҮ
ПЕ ЕЕГПЕЗЕЕЕ |
SPEAKING UP FOR THE NOT-SO-SILENT MINORITY
JEPEMIS y=
EN ШЕ
When he's not trying to reclaim his vanished youth with
obsolete games, Jeremy works as 1UP.com’s features
editor and charming mascot. Check out his blog at
toastyfrog.1UP.com.
5 D е е of voice acting in PlaySta-
tion games. “And there was much to lament; the 32-bit era was not
kind to those with a taste for quality drama. The cumbersome vocal
performances of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Resident Evil,
and countless other games raked across our ears and souls like fiery
fingernails across a chalkboard.
You'd think someone somewhere along the way between devel-
opment kit and Wal-Mart store shelves would have stopped to say,
"You know, we've spent nearly a million bucks creating, translat-
ing, publishing, distributing, and advertising this game. Maybe we
should reflect that investment in the final mix by not making the
dialogue sound like it was recorded during a raw reading in an
ESL classroom.”
Clearly, you think differently than large corporations.
Fortunately, there were a few brave souls struggling against the
tide of mediocrity to show us the way. Crystal Dynamics, for one.
Its PlayStation debut, Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, turned as many
heads with its dramatically intoned dialogue as it did with its blood-
soaked, vampire-as-antihero gameplay. A handful of other games—
all notably developed in the West—also bucked the trend with
decent-to-good voice work, including Core Design’s Tomb Raider.
But Japan-based publishers were slow to catch on. Oddly enough,
ЗАМЕ TAKEN
NITS EBA T
TINY STEPS
мати.
the first Eastern companies to jump aboard the quality bandwagon
had also been some of the worst offenders. Capcom, for instance,
had made children cry with Mega Man 8's English dub (wherein the
hero spoke in a hyper-castrato pitch, kindly Dr. Light had Elmer Fudd
as a voice coach, and evil Bass—named for the musical term—was
called "Bass," as in the fish), while Resident Evil had brought a gen-
eration to tears of laughter with howlers like "the master of unlock-
ing" and "You were almost a Jill sandwich!"
Yet 1998's anime-like Mega Man Legends featured a fantastic dub,
alternately serious and over-the-top as it fit the characters and situ-
ations. Its sequels were every bit as good—even if Mega Man sud-
denly sounded like a Sailor Moon character in the second game—and
Capcom continues to produce above-average English vocal tracks
today. Most recently, Dead Rising impressed reviewers with Из tense,
gripping performances while amusing gaming's literati by mocking
the company's own checkered past...courtesy of a mall restaurant
called Jill's Sandwiches.
Dead Rising's excellence should hardly be a surprise, though,
since the English voice work was reportedly directed by one Kris
Zimmerman, who earned the respect of attentive gamers when she
graced Metal Gear Solid with one of the best American dubs ever
recorded. And good thing, too; with hours and hours of dialogue in
MGS, an audio track reminiscent of Konami's earlier creation Cas-
tlevania: Symphony of the Night would have been an excruciating
exercise in abject suffering.
Of course, as with every fledging medium, gaming's taken tiny
baby steps (punctuated by horrible missteps) on its road to maturity.
So consider each bit of wooden dialogue and tin-eared proclamation
а tiny arc in the learning curve that led gaming to where it is today.
Game vocals certainly aren't perfect...but at least you don't find your-
self throwing your speakers out the window, either. |
© а, NUS
Dp
Every day brings us closer to the launch of the PS3. It's barely two
months away as of this writing. And yet many fans have observed
that the fountain of information is still flowing at a desultory trickle.
Where's the official launch lineup? Where's the flood of games? Why
isn't the hype train chugging along at full speed?
There's a really simple, three-word answer: simultaneous world-
wide launch.
Yes, | know Sony recently revealed that the European release is
being pushed back to next year. But that doesn’t really change things;
up until that decision, the company has been operating as though the
system would in fact be hitting store shelves everywhere in the world
virtually simultaneously. The point is that no one gets the system
before the U.S. does.
Think about that for a moment. Think how that changes things
for us here in the North American market. When the PS1 and PS2
launched, we had months to salivate over import games. With the
system already rolling overseas, there was a constant stream of new
information as new games and peripherals were released.
And think how that changes things for Sony. Before, the company
was able to focus its attention on one market at a time and put all
its muscle behind each regional launch before moving on to the
138 DAIM Naueveee 2006
next one. This time around, even with Europe out of the picture, the
company has to orchestrate production, distribution, and sales in two
wildly different markets simultaneously.
But most importantly, think how that changes things for develop-
ers. Most game designers, as of this writing, have only just received
their final PS3 development kits. But when the PS2 launched, devs
had over half a year longer to fiddle with the final hardware. Six
months—especially the six months right before release—is an eternity
in game-development time.
All these factors build upon each other, pushing the whole state
of the PS3 into a tizzy of uncertainty and last-minute locking down of
details. So what does this mean looking forward? Well, for one thing,
expect the PS3 to have a slower start in North America than the PS2
did. I’m not saying the stock won't sell out; | suspect it will, as there
are more than half a million people in the U.S. and Japan who would
buy а PS3 even if it didn't have a single game. But | do think that
we're likely to see a much larger wave of games next spring.
Does this mean Sony is doomed? | doubt it. Ultimately, the way a
system launches doesn't matter one whit. It has been, is, and will con-
tinue to be all about the games. As long as the PS3 is host to a few
key titles you can't get anywhere else—or, failing that, superior ver-
sions of games you can get elsewhere, like Oblivion—it will thrive.
Of course, that doesn't change the fact that the next few months
should prove very interesting indeed.
ADVERTISER INDEX
www 2ksports.com
117, 119, 121, 123
wwwactivision.com
42-43, 93
wwwatari.com
27, 106a-b
wwwatlus.com
m
Bethesda Softwork
www.bethsoft.com
59
www.eidos.com
140
www.ea.com
45
www.fullsail.com.
101
wwwgillette.com
75
www.koei.com
139
www.konami.com
www.namco.com
21, 29, 41, 62-63, 106a-b
www.whatsyourantidrug.com
97
www.paramount.com
37
redoctane.com
19, 106a-b
www.sega.com
12-13, 22-23, 35, 60-61
Entertainment America
www.scea.com
2-3, 45, 46
www splitfish.com
n
Square Enix U.S.A., Inc.
www.square-enix-usa.com
6-7, 30-31
www.take2games.com
48-49, 99
www.thq.com
Jad, 53, 91
Ubis
www.ubisoft.com
8-9, 25
Vivendi Universal Games
www.vugames.com
10-11
www.wbie.com
55
www.koei.com
Ancient China’s greatest warriors have rocked the foundations of heaven and
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sequel that eclipses the original. )
* For the first time, multiplayer combat with Battle Royal for up to 4 players (ad hoc).
* Includes the сот)
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EVERYONE
Fantasy Violence
i NINTENDO
DS.
[ирдин ESRB
ВІОМСІЕ game software © TT Games Publishing Ltd 2006. Developed by Traveller's Tales Ltd. Certain technology developed by Amaze Entertainment, Inc. Certain technology © 2006 Amaze Entertainment Studio Inc. Ant
о! Amaze Entertainment, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Published by Eidos Inc. and TT Games under license from the LEGO Group. LEGO, the LEGO logo and BIONIC
Eidos Interactive Ltd. All "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 4,44, Game Boy Advance
IEMA 2006. The rating icon is ered trademark ofthe Entertainment Software Association, Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Li hy logos.aiid the Xbox Live lo
tertainment and the Amaze Entertainment logos:
e trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2006 The LEGO Group. Ei
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and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo, © 2004 Nintendo. Software platform logo (™ and ©)
гайг opssfemarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other counties
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