€ Magazine С ` SaGa Frontier 2 Strategy Mike Tyson Boxing Die Hard Trilogy 2 NASCAR Rumble Triple Play 2001 MediEvil II 77 ТУА pP — ‘Assimilation Has)Never Been So Much Fun?! GAMING ON A BUDGET? < $9.99 PS GAMES AN EXPLOSION OF GAMES A T" АТ ROCK-BOTTOM PRICES “. : | —7 —— HAS LARA CROFT MET HER mg p № " FEAR EFFECT" т АМ EXPLOSION OF GAMES" AT ROCK- BOTTOM PRICES THE FUTURE OF RPES TEH түз ШИШЕК 110,1) " READ'ALL/'ABOUT;THE PUAYSTATIONZ AND) ONLINE-ONLY/FF; SEQUELS 7 April 2000 (590.5. 42 Tired of the country club lelling you whal lo wear? PlayStation EVERYONE Wo t www.playstation.com Lun f E SR ES | flot Shots Goit is a registered trademark of Sony Computer EntertainmentiAmielica (йс, © 2000 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are re lemarks of Sony Computer e! 4 е ебі Ё Ne 7“ 1 ms А e Ше + “ е Thirleen different golfers whod probably under- lip the valel Fierce head-1o-head. foursome and lonrnament compelilion on c seven glorious courses Oxquifmenl upgrades Jor the lue Junalic. ‘Swing free, friend Swing free er T" 8 ">. 54 ы айе, % эў E аы T 3 е ae x Å Ф о d " : 1 GOLF 2) GOLF FOR THE PEOPLE. From Contrail, the Producers of Alundra’; Wild Arms™ and Legend Of Тесайа Mild Animated | Violence || You are Flint, a renegade swordsman on a quest to free a kingdom from the grip of a sinister ruler. Through a land o of hidden danger you Қ. wield your weapon, Э navigating an intricate story wrought with bizarre characters, brain-twisting puzzles and wild games. Beware! An even greater - evil is about to be revealed... April 2000 U.S. PlayStation ТЕО Editorial A few unofficial words from the official editor-in-chief Light Guns Taking Fire in Blame Game ver since the most recent furor over videogames (what is it, semi-annual now?), game companies have begun scaling back some of their violent games in the most absurd ways, whether it be removing a few drops of blood here or there or the most heinous offense—ultimately removing entire features in a feeble attempt to avoid any sort of public relations problem. The light gun genre has immediately taken the brunt of the storm. Not only are companies downplaying light gun support in games that have it (Die Hard Trilogy 2 almost whispers it by just showing only a Light Gun Compatible icon on the back of the box), some publishers like Capcom are seriously considering entirely reworking games to completely remove light gun support. And it isn't just with a small token title or two, it's with big-name franchise game additions like Biohazard (Resident Evil): Gun Survivor (as it's named in Japan). Aside from the fact that this is time genre, the fact of the matter is that political activist The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is the groups are always going to only Sony Computer Entertainment America-licensed find the game that suits their magazine and is published by ZD Inc. through scapegoating needs, whether an exclusive arrangement. As such, OPM remains it makes sense ог not. They're Шаа Ш still bashing Doom for good- voice that helps readers get more out of their ness sake! Don't get me PlayStation system by delivering the most current, wrong, I don't have a problem comprehensive and candid coverage of with establishing a good PlayStation software and hardware. videogames rating system (it's get- ting there) and then playing within those rules, but when companies actually consider major alterations to games so that they may be deemed less "offensive," there's something really wrong. Not to mention that it also inadvertently lends credibility to some of the outrageous claims being made about video game violence. It is often said that in the public eye, the appearance of impropriety is just as bad as the act of impropriety itself. In fact, it was mentioned a lot by political pundits in the Lewinsky case that even if Clinton didn’t do anything wrong, it sure as hell looked like he did based on his reactions (sorry to have to bring that up). And similarly, although the games industry isn't responsible for the acts of violence being blamed on it, their knee-jerk, inconsistent reactions are beginning to make them look guilty nevertheless. After all, if they really weren't guilty, they wouldn't be changing their tune, right? The simple fact is that it's up to the consumers to censor themselves and their kids. There's a rating system in place and, like movies or anything else, if you choose to ignore it, that's your fault. The game industry needs to stop censoring itself with stupid token concessions in their games and refuse to take credit for the actions of the psychotic few. While I can understand removing a little gore to achieve a less restrictive rating is a acceptable thing to do, it's not helping consumers one bit by having features but not talking about them, or just yanking them out altogether. I recently was the guest of a radio talk show in New Orleans, and only one of about 20 calls that I answered thought that games were to blame for recent violence. Consumers aren't stupid, they in large don't blame videogames for their problems. So it's time game companies realize they shouldn't either. Kraig Kujawa Editor-in-Chief Official PlayStation Magazine Dale Strang Editorial Director J.E. Funk * joe_funk@zd.com Chief Kraig Kujawa ® kraig_kujawa@zd.com Managing Editor Gary Steinman • gary_steinman@zd.com” Deputy Editor Joe Rybicki е joe_rybicki@zd.com Associate Editor Mark MacDonald е mark_macdonald@zd.com Assistant Editor Chris Baker « chris_m_baker@zd.com West Coast Editor Wataru Maruyama • wataru@gamespot.com Editorial Contributors Brian Glick е Joe Gray • Chris Johnston Johnny Masthead • Jim Mazurek е Andrew Vestal Copy Editors Dan Peluso • Jennifer Whitesides Creative Director Michael Stassus Senior Art Director Bob Conlon ® bob_conlon@zd.com Art Director Donna O'Hara Contributing Art Director Tim Blum Cover Artist Tsuneo Sanda ® www.planetsanda.com Mixx Entertainment, Inc. Stuart Levy, CEO & Bureau Chief Matthew Galgani, Producer Kiyomi Fukuyama, Editorial Manager Yutaka Ohbuchi, Japanese Correspondent | roduction Director Carlos Lugo Senior Prepress Manager Peter Discoe Prepress Manager Dave McCracken Electronic Prepress Technician Chris Melody Project Leader Mark LeFebvre Analyst Scott Parus Business Director Cathy Bendoff Circulation Director Joan McInerney Circulation Director Shirley Viel Senior Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen Subscription Service Number: (303) 665-8930 (U.S, Only) http://service.playstationmagazine.com ZD Game Group 50 Beale Street, 12th floor San Francisco, CA 94105 tel: (415) 547-8783 fax: (415) 547-8777 Group Associate Publisher Suzie Reider suzie@zd.com Telephone (415) 357-4915 National Sales Manager, Northwest Anthony George anthony_george@zd.com Telephone (415) 547-8774 Account Executive, Northwest Mary Gray • mary_gray@zd.com Telephone (415) 547-8782 District Sales Manager, Southwest Karen Landon ® karen_landon@zd.com Telephone (760) 942-6277 Account Executive, Southwest, Midwest & East Coast Linda Philapil « linda_philapil@zd.com Telephone (415) 547-8781 District Sales Manager, Midwest & East Coast Marc Callison ® marc_callison@zd.com Telephone (630) 382-9034 Senior Marketing Manager & Creative Director Rey Ledda • rey_ledda@zd.com Telephone (415) 547-8775 Senior Ad Production Manager Dennis Fitzgerald « dennis_fitzgerald@zd.com Telephone (415) 357-4998 Fax (415) 547-8868 Advertising Production Coordinator _newson@zd.com Telephone (415) 357-5428 Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde e tipler_ubbelohde@zd.com Telephone (415) 357-4930 Official U.S, PlayStation Magazine (ISSN #1094-6683) is published | Magazine, P.O. Box 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. Call us: (303) 665- of ZD Inc. To reuse any material in this publication, obtain a permission monthly by ZD Inc. PO. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338, 8930 U.S. or (303) 604-7445 all other countries. Fax us: (303) 604-7455 request form at AI ht /zd, or have a form faxed or Periodicals Postage Pending at Lombard; IL and additional mailing U.S. or (303) 604-0540 all other countries. Or visit our subscription Web mailed to you by calling (425) 430-1663. Copyright © 1999, ZD Inc. All offices. Single-issue rates: $7.99. Subscription Rates: One Year (12 site at http://service.playstationmagazine.com. The editors and pub- Rights Reserved. TM & © for all other products and the characters issues and 12 demo discs) $39.97 U.S., $65.97 all other countries. We — lishers are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copy- periodically make lists of our customers available to mailers of goods һе rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication right holders. All materials in this magazine are subject to change and and services. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please write тау be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or (һе publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The 10 us and include a copy of your mailing label. Subscription Service transmitted, іп any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, eae" GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed in the Questions and Address Changes Write to: Official U.S. PlayStation photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written notice кО.сотріехс> ndquz E U с *confipured by Marc Ecko/The Ecko Unltd. Co. — 2 PlayStation f # Special Guest Referee ж — АА Î THEY DON'T. FORGIVE, AND THEY DON'T FORGET, CEET Backstage Politics you kick, grapple, and 7-2 People's Elbow your way to the top. Lay the SmackDown! on your enemies with your еаќеб jabroni or as Make friends then break them as you roam backstage from the boiler room to the kitchen. Call upon your allies for help And then climb over them as kick, ESRB Rating System m CHAIRMAN AND CEO Eric Hippeau Chief Financial Officer . . „Timothy C. O'Brien President, ZD Events. President, SmartPlanet . . Chris Dobbrow President, ZD Corporate Operations тті Holbrooke President, ZD Publishing . hael 5. Perlis [ШИШИ EARLY CHILDHOOD RATING: Deemed Suitable For Children З President, ZDNet... Dan Rosensweig i Н President, 20 Education . . Terry Nulty Or Older. Products Carrying This Label Have Absolutely No Pale ДҮН. A Rd Material That Would Be Considered Inappropriate By Parents. белік Vice President, Бш Senior Vice President, Daryl R. Otte CONTENT RATED BY Development and Plans Senior Vice President, .. Corporate Marketing Vice President, Controller .. Mark Moyer р А Vice President, Тах .... Stuart Simon UT EVERYONE RATING: The E Replaced The Previous K-A Rating Vice President, Treasurer . homas L. Wight e " " Vice President, Human Resourt Tracy Mitchell Last Year. Suitable For Kids Ages 6 And Up, E-Rated Games Vie Presilent information TNR “James Rust i ini я Vice President, Corporate Programs Marylou Berk May Contain Minimal Violence Or Crude Language. Vice President, Business Development . „Lee Feldman Vice President, Corporate Research . Elda Vale Vice President, Marketing Communications . larbara Lyon Integrated Client Sales Executive Vice President .„ . Nancy Newman Executive Vice President ... -Aaron Goldberg TEEN RATING: Contains Suggestive Themes, Mild Or сосы Strong Language And Animated Violence. Some Parents DN es May Want To Supervise Children Playing T-Rated Games. ZD PUBLISHING President & CEO Executive Vice President/Publishing The Enterprise Group Executive Vice President/Publishing .............. Jom McGrade 20 Publishing, General Manager MATURE RATING: These Games Contain More Adult Themes, Executive Vice President/Publishing ........... . Michael J. Miller PC Magazine Such As Blood And Gore, Stronger Language And Sexual Executive Vice President/Publishing ............. Jim Spanfeller Consumer Publications Themes. Deemed Not Suitable For Those Under 17. EAM LEE C Peter Longo Senior Vice President/Publishing ................. „Alan Perlman Publisher, Interactive Week Vice. President (Publ sting MET es ae John Dodge Editor, PC Week Vice President Publishing Editor in Chief, Yahoo! Internet Life ШИШИШИ ADULTS ONLY RATING: The Extreme Of The Ratings, Suitable Vice President/Publishing, Production . For Adults Only. Packs Sexual Themes And Extreme Violence. Posie npe opt y Console Manufacturers Have Yet To Allow Ап AO-Rated Game. НЫ Vice President/Publishin EHET pE BY Editor in Chief, ZD Publis Vice Present epis International & Integrated Vice President/Publishing Circulation ... Jack Dolce 6. Barry Golson Roger Herrmann Tom Jones „ . Robin Raskin Vice President/Publishint ien Editor in Chief, Family PC Vice President/Publishing ..................... Sloan Seymour Publisher, ates ы us W W W . е S r . С 0 1 | | Vice Prep sn Coon ge oos beri Зое, Раш Somerson Editor in Chief, PC Computing Vice President/Publishing, Game Group . Vice President/Publishin Publisher, Yahoo! Internet Life „. Dale Strang ZD Labs Vice President and General Manager Chief Technology Officer, ZD Labs Director .. Director .. a SOPTRANK GZ ШИС Tift-Davis, aa A SOFTBANK Company Eee GAMING Qm Е ПЕ СТОИ It's more than run and gun. It's blow and go. Evil super battle ship Dante has been dispatched to blow up the planet. You've been dispatched to stop it. After all, that's what ‘уе been genetically engineered for. Armed napalm, gravity, fire and paralyzer , you're the only thing standing ween her and total destruction of an entire race. With 26 explosive - it's action so intense you won't be able to tear | yourself away. Bathroom? Maybe next year. ITY BOMBS. FIRE BOMBS. BAN 3 Ф DAI © |. Program ©1999 Bandai Co., Ltd. Distributed by Bandai / Califonia 90630. All Rights Reserved. PlayStation and th и. of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Used under license j ora суа о офа ip na pl PlayStation (ORDER к” -~ Star Trek: Invasion We beam over to Activision to take a look at the Play- Station's first Star Trek game. Learn what makes this amazing-looking title tick in this month's feature. On the eve of the system's Japanese release, we reveal never-before-seen shots of 17 PlayStation2 games currently under development. WWE SmackDown! MI Does the long-awaited wrestling game live up to its considerable potential, or do we have to lay the smack down on THQ? Find out in our review. A * SaGa Frontier 2 4 Learn how the different game events in this varied and com- plex RPG affect each other, and find the quickest, most E. direct route to the end in this =| comprehensive strategy. 100 Contents Letters | Why is Lara Croft grimacing in pain in this picture? And When are voice-overs detrimental to your enjoyment of a game? Find out in this month's Letters where our readers sound off News Final Fantasy IX. Final Fantasy X. Final Fantasy XI?! Yep, all three are already in the works. Also: $10 games, 989 shuts its doors, the latest news and a little taste of Britney Spears. Previews Learn the inside scoop on such games as Vagrant Story, Dragon Valor, MediEvil 2 Nightmare Creatures 2, Gauntlet Legends Triple Play 2001 and the newest game in the Need for Speed series! International Bad news for fans of Resident Evil? Check out our report on the new import Biohazard Survivor. Also a quick look at Sony CEI's freaky new music-themed game, Vib Ribbon Reviews Find out if Syphon Filter 2 lives up to the promise of the first game. Plus, Ace Combat 3, Die Hard Trilogy 2, Fear Effect, NASCAR Rumble, Hydro Thunder and Front Mission 3! Tricks Learn how to access all the cheats in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, open up the original game in Pong, access a ton of secrets in Medal of Honor, and open up new racers in CTR! g.e.a.r. Double your pleasure with this month's g.e.a.r., featuring an integrated two- person dual arcade stick, a new racing wheel, and one of the most outrageous control pads yet Demo Disc Is your Spider-Sense tingling? This month's disc features the eagerly antici- pated Spider-Man, as well as Colony Wars: Red Sun and the always entertain- ing Hot Shots Golf 2 TAKE ON THE BEST. Far beyond the cushy confines of asphalt, a select breed of driver is pushing the limits of man, machine and sanity. The rally racer. Equipped with his trusty co- driver and war horse of a race car, he'll have Í : ШЫ нк, vet 27 to suck it up for up to four days of mur- derous driving in the most inhospitable reaches of the earth. Why not join in on the fun? E E Colin McRae Rally” Slap on Corsica - Even on this idyllic a clean pair of skivvies and island, the ridicu- lously narrow, give thanks for the roll bar. winding roads make it impos- You're about to face the most sible to relax. FOUR HOURS OF SCORCHING HEAT AND BLIND TURNS WEREN'T A hair-raising form of racing since the inven- and handling specs come straight from the you plan on going with all that horse- tion of the wheel. For starters, manufacturers. power? Rally across eight you've got П world-class rally Tire type, steer- different countries. From the cars to run ragged. The ing sensitivity frozen mountaintops of Subaru Impreza WRC, Audi Quattro, Mitsubishi Lancer E4 and Seat Ibiza Kit Car Evo2, just to name a few. Their performance Damn, it’s good to be a man. So, where do the bone-jarring back roads of Greece. And Monte Carlo to the winding coastal cliffs of Corsica. The and suspension are all yours for the customizing. dark jungles of Indonesia to m" Greece - The cradle of Western civilization. іш i 224 England - Bloody lousy driving conditions. Е ШЕН Sweden - Тһе mother lode of treacherous, icy a Home of some really crappy gravel roads. ға mess Muddy sloppy and devoid of traction, mmm roads. And we use the term “roads” very loosely. حص‎ THINGS TO AVOID: "m Qu PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ©The Codemasters Software Company Limited (“Code under license. This game із NOT licensed by or associated with the FIA or any related company. [PIRELLI letters and logo are registered trademarks of Pirelli S All rights reserved. “Codemasters”® is a registered Г] Colin McRae, the Е Rally Champion. 7 Scotsman. World time British Rally mpion. Youngest champion in the > ت = PlayStation‏ history of the sport. Blatantly disregards “Road Closed” signs. Time Trial stages. (Good luck, mate.) Each stage is tougher than the next. Got an equally masochistic buddy? Go head- to-head in the 2-player Super Special Stage Rallies. By now, it's pretty obvious. You're gonna need all the help you can get. Luckily, Ша you've got Nicky Grist, Colin McRae’s real-life Momco-Mec? co-driver, feeding you of high-stakes gambling. directions as you navigate Equally dicey covered, every high-speed turn. winding moun- tain roads. Relax, rookie, there’s also sno PROBLEM. THAT SOGGY UNDERWEAR FEELING, NOW THAT WAS A PROBLEM. from the dusty plains of the Australian ibility and you've got the near-impossible an in-depth Rally School training section Outback to the slippery mud night- driving bogs of the U.K. But this is taught by the master himself, stages. As if the Colin McRae. no vacation. Each track is horrendous dri- If common sense still hasn't riddled with blind turns and ving conditions taken over, you may have weren't enough, what it takes to be one of surfaces that’ll have you double-clutching all the way you'll have to the few, the proud, the to the finish line. Strip away almost all vis- compete against Colin’s best times in the extremely uncomfortable. EBD bones The dar, werjunglesareenoughto send most drivers crying back to their pit crews. New Zealand — "Take on a maze of dusty wood- eal Monte Carlo - Hard-packed ice and slippery land trails, Reduce the kiwi to roadkill. snow are about to have their way with you. EVERYONE trademark owned by Codemasters Limited. “Colin McRae" and the Colin McRae signature device and all copyrights, trademarks, designs and images of car manufacturers and/or on car liveries are being used by Codemasters EXIT OPERATION: OBSERVE SURROUNDINGS. IF SCENERY IS MOVING-REMAIN IN VEHICLE. IF STATIONARY, PROCEED WITH CAUTION TO NEAREST EXIT. Letters Caption Contest Winner IU “Gosh, Kane, why did you put this jelly lid on so tight in the first place?!" Alex Thompson Charleston, WV ow you too can have your shot at history with the OPM Caption Contest! Every month, we run a game-related pic- ture or screenshot. Your job is to write a humor- ous caption for it and submit it to us at any of the addresses on the fol- lowing Letters page. The winner will be chosen by the following scientific method: We'll read them all, and the one that makes us laugh our asses off will get a sparkling new game or game-relat- ed item. Now, see what you can do with this pic: April 2000 Official U.S. GEMS Ти маваат аз) [You didn’t really think those were the official rules, did you? For all the legal stuff on this and our other contests, please refer to page 20.] we want your input! A glimpse into the demented minds of our readers 4: T Put it in Writing! Dear OPM, There is a recent trend in video games that is really starting to bug me: video game companies choos- ing to put speech instead of text in their video games. Well, what about hearing-impaired people?! I have suffered a severe hearing impair- ment since birth. Now I am finding more and more often that I cannot play many video games because there is no form of captioning or text in the games. The most recent examples are Dino Crisis and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. I wrote this letter in hopes that some of these companies would see it, and start providing some way for hear- ing-impaired people to play games. Thanks. Zach Soule via the Internet It seems that many game com- panies are so excited about being able to put voice into their games (especially now that some RPGs are including it as well) that they forget about the fact that they're making it hard for a segment of the population to enjoy the expe- rience. We would suggest that you also write to the game com- panies themselves and suggest that they at least include the option of captioning—or perhaps it's even possible to encode the games with a true CC signal that your TV can detect and translate! | In any event, letters from cus- tomers specifically affected by this problem would likely carry a great deal of weight. Broken Thumbs Dear OPM, Say, did you notice the way Lara Croft is holding her Desert Eagle in the big Eidos ads for The Last Revelation? You'd think a toughie like Ms. Croft would know what would happen if you held your Letter of the Month Dear OPM, | was flipping through your December issue when І noticed an ad for 3Dfx (yes, | know that a reader has already complained about these ads). This one suggests that console gamers have never "actually seen breasts.” Well, ever since | hit puberty I’ve been seeing breasts: my own. But 3Dfx thinks girls don't game. Okay, well, that's just the opinion of one dumb ad executive, right? Oops, make that two—no, three ad execs: 3D0 wants to know if I’m “feeling lucky” and Electronics Boutique wants to assure me that I’m “gonna score.” 15 it any wonder that girls make up a tiny share of the gaming market? These products are not innocently aimed at boys; they’re not just turning women into objects (although it is interesting that the PlayStation and its games are posited as alternatives to women more than once)—they are shutting out any possibility of a female user. How does the world of electronic gaming benefit from limiting their market to less than half the population? Louise Siddons Stanford, CA It's true that the gaming industry focuses mostly on the male half of the population (and we're not innocent of this ourselves) because, until recently, the overwhelming majority of gamers (not to mention game mag editors!) has been male. This is changing steadily, however, as gaming reaches a wider audience, and we can expect to see advertisers waking up to this fact sooner or later. Do you think you have what it takes to write the Letter of the Month? Send us your timely, original, well-written video game expositions (you don't even have to agree with us!) and you too could win an official OPM Box or Jov. New surprise goodies every month! thumb on the back of the slide of a .50 magnum! When you fire one of those things, the slide comes back at about 250mph, and it weighs ut to amo the werd Fron a deadly cre, косек wah her pod looka. about a pound... OW! Kids, don't try this at home! Marcus J. Ranum via the internet Whoops! It's amazing the old girl has survived this long with that careless attitude! Maybe broken thumbs are the reason she keeps slipping off all those ledges in TR4! It looks like Eidos may have recognized the error, however, since the latest ads we've seen show her hands in a much less dangerous position. How do you like the mag? What about the design? Are we leaving anything out? Let us know! To get special attention as far as design and content issues go, label your letters or e-mails with the heading: PlayStation Magazine suggestions c/o the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine at the addresses on the final Letters page. We can't wait to hear from you. шщ 72777. i о | ШАППА) dx - з 2 NS Letters id you buy a copy of our magazine that did not contain a demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked “OPM Replacement Disc” to the address below with the name and address of the store plus your phone num- ber and address and A glimpse into the demented minds of our readers Spinning Symbol Dear OPM, When I looked at the pictures of the PlayStation2 in your magazine and many other game mags, I noticed something strange. If you take a picture of the PS2 and turn it on its side the PlayStation symbol is sideways. But in the pictures of the PS2 standing on end the symbol is upright. Does the new system have some kind of floating symbol? Derrie Ward via the Internet | That's basically it: The symbol is on a small post allowing it to be rotated to the proper configu- ration depending on how the sys- tem is positioned. With the stark design and the availability of the lovely blue stands, it appears Sony has gone to great lengths to make the PS2 look sharp. Dear OPM, You guys are so biased. I never see you review a Nintendo or Sega game. You should be ashamed. Tyler Bartel via the Internet We really, truly hope this is a joke. Please tell us it's a joke. Pretty please? Do YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO OPM? POINT YOUR BROWSER то http://subscribe. playstationmagazine.com/service AND FILL OUT THE APPROPRIATE FORM. WITH A CREDIT CARD, YOU CAN EVEN START A NEW SUBSCRIPTION! The Reader Art Challenge Every month we'll be picking one exceptional piece as our Reader Art of the Month. The winner will have his/her piece published and will receive a new game or game-related item in the mail—so include your mailing address with all submissions. And remember, we accept all formats (ink, pencil, computer generat- 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. Also, if you have a malfunctioning or non-working demo disc, call SCEA at 1-800-345-SONY. They will provide instruc- tions to obtain repair or replacement ser- vices. For more infor- mation see this month's Demo Disc section. reach us ed, etc.) by e-mail and snail mail. So get crackin’! snail mail: PlayStation Magazine P.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 Check out this month’s artists! Far left: Curtis Kent, San Leandro, CA; center left: our winner, Timothy Lim, Little Rock, AR; left: Jonathan Robison, Baltimore, MD; and above: Kristoffer R. Remmell, Erlanger, KY. e-mail: If you need to reach us now 630 382 9010 opmezd.com and check us out on www.videogames.com Official Contest and Sweepstakes Rules ‘TOP 10 MOST WANTED SWEEPSTAKES Official Contest Rules 1, No Purchase Necessary: To enter, send a letter or standardized postcard containing your name, address and phone number together with your list of 10 most wanted video games to “Top Ten Most Wanted” Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, P.O. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 or e-mail it to ‘gary_steinmanezd,com or fax it to (630) 382-9010, No purchase or payment of any money is neces- sary to enter. One entry per household per month. Entries must be received by the 10th day of the. month for the next available issue of OPM. 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Winners or their legal guardians shall sign an affidavit of eligibility/release of lia- bility/prize acceptance within 5 days of receipt or forfeit prize. By acceptance of prize, winner) agree to the use of their name and/or likeness for purposes of advertising, trade or promotion with- out further compensation, unless prohibited by law. Neither 20 Inc., пог its afliates, subsidiaries, divisions or related companies are responsible or liable for any damages, taxes or expenses that con- sumers might incur as a result of this contest or receipt of prize. 5. Winners List: For a list of win- ners, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope identifying the month for which the winners list is requested to “OPM Letter of the Month Winners List” at the address listed above. Allow 4 weeks for delivery of winners list. б. Restrictions: Void where prohibited or restricted by law. All federal, state and local regulations apply- DESTROY ALL YOU WANT. WE'LL MARE MORE. Tread not where you are unwanted. Or pay the ultimate price. If sheer numbers are not your opponents of unfathomable strength surely will be. ©Lucasfilm Ltd & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. => PlayStation О STAR. WARS. downfall, alien creatures and mysterious But, wise Jedi, the choice is yours. Enter at your own risk. JEDIPOWER BATTLES jedipowerbattles.lucasarts.com www.starwars.com harap RU BM ge SU Lt Urn Ft T doo SESS ee E WERE PlayStation ROM Tx s етик Ada отож THE CY YOUNG, ROOKIE OF THE YEAR, AND MVP AWARDS ALL IN ONE SEASON. 2 ЛАРЫ ЖЕСІ Л COMING THIS SPRING. тм www.3do.com © 2000 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, High Heat Baseball, and their respective logos, are trademarks and/or service marks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. MLBPA Official Licensee - Major League Baseball Players Association. Major League jaseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties; inc lea uebaseball.com]. ESL ond the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Rawlings - and "Gold Glove Award” 7 are registered service of Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners. ALL Шш AND RATINGS REFER TO HIGH HEAT BASEBALL 2000. News A monthly wrap-up of all the information for your favorite system "+ Final Fanta: What does Square do when they're ready to announce the next Final Fantasy games? They throw a big party called Square Millennium and invite 10,000 gamers to join in the festivities. On Jan. 27 at the Pacifico Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan, Square announced not one, not two, but three new Final Fantasy games, unveiled a new online service, and even let lucky gamers playtest their first PS2 software. April 2000 PlayStati n Mmagazne( Ы) т illustration by Wayne Vincent Square's Online Fantasy a Reality A the hub of Square’s future plans is PlayOnline, a joint ven- ture between Square and Japanese telecommunications company NTT Communications. It’s not just another online portal, but instead will provide a range of services from gaming to online shopping. At the Millennium event Square showed a short video depicting its vision for its online world in 2001. Three gamers living everyday lives—two at home (and tightly tethered to their PS2s) and one at a remote terminal in an arcade—chatted online and decided on a time when they'd all be able to play some Final Fantasy XI. In the mean- time, one read online manga (comics), another listened to downloadable music and the third returned from his errands. All this led up to the trio getting ready to attack a dungeon in FFXI, with the help of an online strategy guide. Square showed off various demonstrations of how PlayOnline’s various services will work. Users will have schedules that can be shared and written to by selected friends/colleagues. If you're off doing something else on the service, your designated friends will be able to see what kind of service you're currently viewing. Subscribers can read online manga or download the latest hits via music charts updated in real time. Or if sports is more your thing, you can check scores or even download data for use in games like racing (pit your- self against "ghosts" of drivers from real races) and baseball (update your player stats). PlayOnline will also have Web- browsing capabilities. Money burning a hole in your pocket? Digicube, Square's distrib- ution service, will no doubt have plenty of things for you to buy in its expanding e-commerce plans. Square commented that soon enough you'll be able to browse through three-dimensional stores just as you would in real life (it'd kinda be hard to try on clothes that way, though—wouldn't it?). Thousands of fans lined up early to get a sneak peek at Square's latest software. sy IX, X, XI Final Fantasy for the 21st Century What would a Square Millennium be without some Final Fantasy? Square's got three of ‘em for ya—IX, X and XI—all іп the span of a little more than a year. Here’s how it’ all going to go down: Final Fantasy IX While FFVII and VIII took a drastic turn away from the graphical styles of previous Final Fantasy games, FFIX brings it back to the old school. Returning to the series are the superdeformed-style char- acters (designed by Yoshitaka Amano), along with a much more medieval look and feel. Also VIII, with the usual amount of Guardian Force-type summoning attacks. Final Fantasy IX will be released for the PlayStation in Japan this summer, with a U.S. release rumored to closely follow. Final Fantasy X PlayStation2 gets its first taste of Final Fantasy with number 10. What was shown was very early and consisted primarily of the main character running through various real-time environments like a castle and a field. The demo switched over every so often to an SQUARE making a comeback are the old-style wiz- ards last seen in the days of Final Fantasy V. In the trailer we were shown, we see what's presumably the hero of the story, who hap- pens to sport a tail, running from various enemies, climbing a spi- raling staircase in a castle, and taking a ride on an airship. Other scenes include the airship travel- ing toward a vast city; a celebra- tion that looks like it might be a concert of some sort; a huge bat- tle being fought by flying dragons among a hail of what looks like laser beams; and several winged characters including an angel- type woman and a devilish-look- ing red-skinned character. Battles look very similar to those of VII or MILLENNIUM YOKOHAMA online strategy guide attached to Square's PlayOnline; the guide immediately boots up with a screen indicating the player's current position in relation to other areas nearby, and also provides information on what monsters are in the area (handy, eh?). Final Fantasy X is scheduled for a spring 2001 release on PlayStation2 in Japan. Final Fantasy XI Compared to IX and X, there was little to show on XI, as the game is still in preproduction. What was shown were character sketches (with a character that looks much like a hybrid of Cloud and Squall, and a wizard-type character that looks like the one from IX). FFXI also seems to feature plenty of dragons and a more medieval theme. One of the stills shown was of a city looking much like Mos Eisley from Star Wars—only this one seemed to extend higher into the sky. A still shot of a battle scene showed three characters up against a huge winged frog-type creature. Whereas FFX is the first FF to use online features like the strategy guide, XI will be the first online-only Final Fantasy. Square hopes not only to create an online world, but also to populate it with online inhabi- tants. Additionally, PlayOnline will be dual-language and cross-conti- nental so that players from Japan and the U.S. could potentially trade items and meet online. That would mark the first time such cross-continental play has been available to console gamers. Final Fantasy XI is currently scheduled for release in Japan during the summer of 2001. Final Fantasy Movie Square also showed a brief trailer for Final Fantasy: The Movie, set for a 2001 opening. But due to heavy contractual obligations, Square insisted that pictures not be taken of the trail- er just yet. The movie's official Web site will open in March. Play(Ahtine қ Square’s master plan to get everyone using PlayOnline is to make it the service of choice for Final Fantasy players. It'll probably work, too. ІНЕ ‘online оче word Pics of Final Fantasy IX (top two), X (middle two) and XI (bottom two) appeared online mere hours after the show ended. These pics are just a few of the spy camera shots acquired by fans at the event and posted on the Web. News A monthly wrap-up of all the information for your favorite system UPS AND DOWNS | 989 Gets Eighty-Sixed Шп an effort to consolidate its publishing and development efforts leading up to the U.S. launch of | the PlayStation2, Sony Computer Entertainment America will merge 989 Studios with SCEA, effec- Ш tive April 1. Kaz Hirai, SCEA’s president, will head up the combined operation, and Shuhei Yoshida (whose efforts include Gran Turismo and Ape Escape) will become vice president of product develop- ment. Kelly Flock, 989 Studios’ president, will be leaving Sony. According to an SCEA spokeswoman, the merger won't affect 989 titles already in the pipeline (meaning we'll still see Syphon Filter 2 and MLB 2001). No comment yet, though, on whether Sony plans to create sequels to 989's major franchises on either the PlayStation or the PS2—although series like Syphon Filter and Jet Moto seem like no-brainers for the PS2. SCEA will continue to publish all sports titles under the 989 Sports name. 989 Studios began as an internal development studio within SCEA, and later was spun off into a separate unit of SCEA. 989'S LEGACY In the past few years, 989 emerged as a developer/publisher of a wide range of games, both in terms Bi thy "E Wy я ТО CELEBRATE, 5: 0 HUDDLE THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY From its GameDay series to its 989 managed to rip the heart Anything 989 released with FaceOff titles, 989 released out of the Twisted Metal series “Xtreme” in the title turned some of the best sports games when they took over as devel- out to be extreme crap. on the PlayStation. 989 also oper with Twisted Metal III. Witness the NFL Xtreme series took everyone by surprise last Thankfully, they redeemed as well as 3Xtreme and its two year with the little-hyped but themselves with a better predecessors. excellent Syphon Filter. showing in TM4. о S о а 5. < The Condor Potent Quotes ^ ££ The company hopes to sell 2 million units in the first two days of the launch. 55 -kiyoshi vamakawa, corporate adviser to Sony, topping Sony's previous estimate of 1 million PlayStation2 units shipping in the first week of the system's launch 66 It's not more blood—it's just better blood. 23 -Бап Kaufman, head of business affairs for Kalisto, commenting on Nightmare Creatures II Official 0.5. PlayStation ‘Magazine 66 We have not obtained any information regarding the hardware [of Microsoft's X-Box]. We don't think it will be BMX champ Matt "Condor" our rival. For instance, І don't think automobile company A Hoffman will be starring in d B have to necessarily compete against each other. If Activision's MAR EIS an ین‎ y - P 8 Ы Pro BMX, due out this fall. Microsoft thinks we are their rival, that would be an The game will use an enhanced honor. 55 -Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment version of Neversoft's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater engine. PlayStation Games for $9.99! Sony to lower licensing fees, paving the way for $10 titles n a bold move that further proves PlayStation gaming has gone | mainstream, Sony will cut its licensing fees charged to third-party developers, making it easier for them to offer new games at rock-bottom prices. According to a recent article in Games Business, a video game trade magazine, "Sony's new tiered licensing program will provide incentives for game publishers to publish PlayStation titles at lower price points, making PlayStation games more attractive to the growing casual-gaming market and extending the lifecycle of the $99 console.” Games Business spoke with several industry executives who con- firmed Sony's move; moreover, some publishers are planning to release new budget-priced titles, with several saying they're ready to publish games for as little as $10 to $15. One side result of this will likely be a massive boom in the production of kid games. PlayStation titles may also be offered in new sales channels, like Wal-Mart or even grocery stores, notes Games Business. While Sony wouldn't comment on its licensing plans, a spokes- woman did acknowledge making an announcement to third-party partners regarding its licensing fee structure. "As with any business arrangement, SCEA does not disclose details of proprietary contrac- tual agreements," said the spokeswoman. 5 8 2 S a While some retail- ers are already offering selected Greatest Hits titles for $10-$15, you can expect to see new games at bar- gain basement prices pretty soon. LAST-MINUTE UPDATE Activision chases new title Just as we were going to press, we learned that Activision has snagged the rights to publish Sugar & Rocket's action/adventure Chase the Express here іп the U.S. Expect a name change before its release, expected later this year. Thrill Seekers More Bang for 10 Bucks With 70 million PlayStations out there, Sony's got to do something to keep all those gamers happy. The company's move to create a cheaper price point is definitely a step in the right direc- tion. Here are a few thoughts on what we'd like to see for $10. Let us know what you think. * Mission Paks/Add-Ons: Why not release a few new tracks for Gran Turismo 2? Or how about a handful of short missions for Lara Croft? Or maybe even midseason roster updates for sports titles. For 10 bucks, these kinds of “bonus” discs could be big sellers. * Yaroze Titles: Remember Sony's development kit for the masses? Sony should release com- pilations of homemade Yaroze titles from Japan, Europe and the U.S. You never know— there might be some real gems out there. * Legitimate Kid Games: The key word here is legitimate. We'd be proud to pass our PlayStations on to our little brothers if we could be assured that the quality of the new kid games would be up to snuff. Resident Evil remains the biggest name in virtual terror for PlayStation gamers. Of the 6,349 respondents to OPM's online poll, a whopping 57% said Capcom's RE Survivor is the thriller they're most looking forward to. Making a strong second-place appearance, though, is Eidos’ Fear Effect. Look for hands-on coverage of these games throughout this issue. Galerians Nightmare Creatures 1! Deception Dark Delusion SONY FIXES GT2 BUGS Last month we reported that Gran Turismo 2 shipped incomplete, with one major bug that prevented gamers from completing GT2 with a full 100% rating. Since then, a Sony spokesper- son called to tell us the company is aware of the problems and will be fixing them in future copies of the game. “In an attempt to meet and satisfy the extremely high consumer demand, Gran Turismo 2 shipped with a few software bugs that, unfortunately, were not caught during our extensive product evaluation process,” Sony told us. “We have made every attempt to rectify this situation by re-mastering the product and are confident that all discs in production are free of these technical problems.” Sony also offered to help gamers identify whether they have a buggy version of GT2, and offered to replace defective copies within five working days. If you have any questions about this matter, you can call Sony at 800-345-7669. April 2000 Official U.S ЕЗИ Мерке 89) News A monthly wrap-up of all the information for your favorite system 4 Britney Bounces Onto the PS2 We'll be the first to admit that Jaleco's Stepping Selection is not one of the most note- worthy games for the PlayStation2—but any excuse to run a pic of our favorite teen sensa- tion is good enough for us. Stepping Selection is a dance/rhythm game that uses a special dancing control pad (sold separately) and features the music of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and other musical geniuses. The game is set to release as a PS2 launch title. PS2 Software Spotlight SNK, Bethesda Softworks and Edge of Reality have all committed to developing PlayStation2 games. No specifics yet on any of their titles... Sony Computer Entertainment's puzzle game Fantavision has been announced as a Japanese launch title. Also confirmed for the Japanese launch is Capcom's Street Fighter EX3.... Tremor Entertainment is working on two PS? titles: Warcaster, a medieval fantasy game, and Substance, a real-time strategy game that includes flight-sim and shooting elements.... Namco's Tekken Tag Tournament will no longer be a Japanese launch title; the game is now set to release on March 30.... Electronic Arts Square is working on a game called Super Snowboard Cross. Expect it to be the first in about a bazillion snow- boarding titles... Rockstar told us they have seven PS2 titles in development. Two will be developed by Angel Studios and are featured in this month's PS2 Gallery. Bungie Software is also developing a game for Rockstar called Halo, which is rumored to be on its way to the PS2. Other likely titles include a Duke Nukem game and an Austin Powers game.... Midway is planning to release Ready 2 Rumble 2 at the U.S. launch. Other confirmed PS2 titles include a new version of NBA Showtime, Thieves World (which includes Metal Gear-like stealth elements and plenty of looting), Legion (a real-time strategy set in Arthurian times) and Spy Hunter 2.... SCi Entertainment announced it'll be porting two of its forthcoming PC titles, Titanium Angels and Thunderbirds, to the PS2.... Ubi Soft has two Batman titles planned for the PS2, one of which is based on the animated series... Monolith Soft, a subsidiary of Namco, is developing an RPG for the PS2. Current speculation points to the game being similar to Xenogears. Playstation Se y @ Marc Royce/Corbus Outline PS2 Hardware Highlights DVD Details: Just a few days after 4* rumors began circulating that the PS2 wouldn't function as a full-featured DVD player, Sony held a meeting with the Japanese press to demonstrate the Р525 DVD capabilities. The PS2 will indeed include many standard DVD functions like multi-angle viewing and subtitles. Moreover, the picture quality is on the same level as other top-of-the-line DVD systems. However, you need to use a driver file that comes loaded onto the memory card that ships with the system. (The PS2 also includes a utility disc, in case you acciden- tally erase the card.) Backward Incompatibility: Sony .: revealed that some PS games won't work properly on the PS2. Apparently, video images or sounds on certain titles won't translate properly. A Sony official indicated the problem would be limited to older soft- ware. Still, this stands in contrast to Sony's prior assertions that all PlayStation software would work on the PS2. More the Merrier: A new multitap л? will be available at the PS2 launch. It'll sell for 3600 yen (about $34). „ Sensational: Sony has entered into a 4* middleware agreement with Immersion, which will provide its TouchSense technolo- gy to help develop touch-sensitive peripher- als and other products for the PS2. 2 3 4 5 6 7 Acti n announced that they have procured the rights to base games on the “Entertainment Tonight” television license. We can’t wait to see Mary Hart on our PlayStations. PlayStation |: Could the PlayStation2 Japanese launch line-up possibly be any more bizarre? Eidos seems to have a great record with games in which large-asseted women carry dual sets of guns. There ain't nothin’ more enter- taining than torturing Tron Bonne's Servbots. As the PS2 nears release, we're seeing more and more games that really push the capacity of the PSI. Take Vib Ribbon, for example... There’s actually only one Jeffries Tube on the USS Voyager. It’s true; we've been inside it. Less than a month after signing Sammy Sosa, 3007 already got his name attached to two games. So when's Sammy Sosa Army Men coming out? Speaking of...Isn’t it weird for Sammy Sosa, someone known for making a living hitting the hell out of hardballs to be endorsing 3D0’s softball game? We wonder if Vince McMahon got his idea for the XFL after playing a few games of NFL Blitz. If anyone had any sense in their head, they would have a PlayStation version of the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” game out as soon as possible. iii jan Fibre - фал Sa р “THE COUNTRY S MOST POWERFUL'SECRET WEAPON IS BACK. GABE LOGAN RETURNS FOR ANOTHER HIGH*EXPLOSIVE, » “ACTION-PACKED, SHOOT-FIRST-ASK-QUESTIONS-LATER MISSION. WITH-MORE WEAPONS| MORE THAN 20 NEW INTENSE ы | TWO-PLAYER DEATHMATCH ARENAS] PLUS; YOU CAN PLAY AS GABE OR LIAN XING ON DIFFERENT LEVELS. НАТЕ МОНЕ, TRIS BIGGER AND ВАШЕЙ 2-DISC SET) DELIVERS A PLOT-TWISTING STORYLINE THAT WILL HAVE YOU BELIEVING NOTHING AND TRUSTING NO ONE. 50 LOCK AND LOAD, SOLDIER. BECAUSE GABE IS BACK TO KICK ASS AND ТАКЕ NAMES. ON SECOND THOUGHT, SCREW THE NAMES. КР. 22%? A 1 ж ‘eA te . SMO - MORE POWERFUL WEAPONS EXERCISE YOUR TRIGGER FINGER WITH THE STANDARD ISSUES LIKE THE TASER, м-[6 AND NIGHTVISION SNIPER RIFLE. AS WELL AS NEW WEAPONS LIKE THE X PlayStation’ ? ag OLK OV PAR 2:7 7 эл» V К, BIOLAB ESCAPE; MoscOW Disco ANBUIÉW YORK sims: Я % “% » www.Sypbibh(ilter.eom tha Y (7021090 м ба PANOZ MOTORSPORTS \ p Зал y Аш) Күл 8: :57 pm - им вок PROBLEM. ВОР ТО 2244 POSITION. 11:40 pm - WHEELS CHANGED, Tth POSITION. 2:18 ат - SPUN INTO / GUARD RAIL. К 15th POSITION. 7 EVERYONE 4 S вс | ak | | со © — Az (Bom ES wwtdlemanê ^ Ештвбімүқ;; Test Drive, Test Drive Le Mans and Infogrames are trademarks or registered trademarks of Infogrames North America, Inc. © 2000 Infograni@s North America, 27% АП Rights Reserved. Developed by Eutechnyx" Limited. Le Mans 24 Hours Is a registered trademark of Automobile Club de l'Ouest. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks and trade names аге the properties of their respective owners. Top 20 | The best-selling U.S. PlayStation titles as reported by the nation’s top retailers P Га е $ e n t $ As nominated by our attractive, intelligent readers Gran Turismo 2 PUBLISHER: Sony CEA Last MONTH: 1 GENRE: RACING RELEASE Date: Dec. 1999 Looks like the only games coming anywhere near debunking GT2 this month involve either smaller wheels or the same moniker. PlayStation2 As you read this, the PS2 is debuting in ? Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 6606€ Japan. Got a passport and a pocket full of yen? PUBLISHER: Activision Last MONTH: 3 GENRE: SPORTS RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1999 Syphon Filter 2 If you're into more of what made the This incredibly playable skateboarding game seems to be selling better every first one great, then try out this return of Gabe Logan. month...and for good reason. Gran Turismo 2 How many times can we say it? GT2 is the best racing game ever. Galerians You don't need the psychic powers of Rion to 3 Gran Turismo (00000 see that this Crave game is going to be big. PUBLISHER: Sony CEA Last MONTH: 6 GENRE: RACING RELEASE Date: May 1998 Е ЕН Е With а $20 price tag and mega-hype surrounding its sequel, you might have а Fear Effect Beautiful anime-inspired graphics and a hard time finding this one on store shelves. solid story make this one an absolute must-play. Spyro the Dragon ©0000) Dino Crisis Out of nowhere, Regina’s fight for survival PUBLISHER: Sony CEA Last MONTH: 5 GENRE: ACTION RELEASE Dare: SEPT, 1998 against prehistoric beasts returns to the Top 10. Even though Ripto's Rage! is Spyro's latest quality outing, gamers just can't resist the low price of his debut appearance. MediEvil II Get the details on Sir Dan's return in this month's Previews section. Dukes of Hazzard ©6000) PUBLISHER: SOUTHPEAK Last MONTH: - GENRE: RACING RELEASE Dart: Dec. 1999 Those two good ol’ boys never did no one no harm (except for the thousands who bought their crappy game last month). a Tomorrow Never Dies 00060 Final Fantasy VIII After more than six months on the shelves, you're still clamoring for Squall and company. Tomba! 2 Good old-fashioned platforming against evil pigs in a stylish pink ‘do. What's not to like? PUBLISHER: EA Last MONTH: 2 RELEASE Date: Nov. 1999 Driver 2 It shouldn't be too much longer before we get some screens for this highly anticipated sequel. Crash Bandicoot: Warped ©0000 PUBLISHER: Sony CEA Last MONTH: 12 RELEASE Dart: Nov. 1998 a Medal of Honor 0000 Our monthly contest winner's top five picks PUBLISHER: EA Last MONTH: 19 RELEASE Date: Nov. 1999 Fear Effect If Alex has the same tastes as us, then he е) Metal Gear Solid ©6060 has every reason to put this one atop his list. PUBLISHER: KONAMI Last MoNrH: - RELEASE Date: Ост. 1998 Galerians Crave promises 50 hours of psychologically С) Frogger (60€00) thrilling gameplay to keep Alex busy for quite a while. PUBLISHER: HASBRO Last MONTH: 9 RELEASE Date: Ост. 1997 Rollcage: Stage II If Alex liked the ceiling-sticking aq NBA Live 2000 (00000 action of the first Rollcage, he'll love this sequel. PUBLISHER: EA Lasr MONTH: 4 RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1999 Spider-Man Alex should be happy to find that Spidey 12) Rugrats ©0060 has slung his way onto this month's Demo Disc. PUBLISHER: THQ Last MONTH: 16 RELEASE Dare: Nov. 1998 Resident Evil: Survivor Alex might not be as stoked © Driver ©0000 for this one after reading the International Previews. PUBLISHER: GT Interactive LAST MONTH: 14 RELEASE DATE: June 1999 е Namco MuseumiVolume 00000 What we've been playing instead of working PUBLISHER: NAMCO Last MONTH: - RELEASE Dart: Fes. 1997 WWF SmackDown! THQ might be starting a trend [15] Resident Evil 3 Nemesis 0000€ here with this veritable wrestling RPG. PUBLISHER: CAPCOM Last Mont: 8 RELEASE Date: Nov. 1999 Fear Effect When a game makes all three boxes in B Madden NFL 2000 ©6666) this sidebar, you know it's something special. PUBLISHER: EA Last MONTH: 15 RELEASE DATE: Auc. 1999 Colony Wars: Red Sun Not only does it look D Sled Storm 00000 good...it's actually fun to play! PUBLISHER: EA Lasr MONTH: — RELEASE Date: Auc. 1999 Ace Combat 3 Incredible graphics and a great flight B Tetris Plus ©0000 engine make this simulator worth a look. PUBLISHER: J ALECO Last MONTH: - RELEASE Date: Ост. 1996 The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Some of the capti- [19| Crash Team Racing ©0000) vating puzzles challenged us for hours! PUBLISHER: Sony CEA Last MONTH: 7 RELEASE Date: Ост. 1999 Send your votes for the Readers’ 10 Most Wanted games to: б) Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation 6066 Official PlayStation Magazine Attn: Readers' 10 Most Wanted, PUBLISHER: EIDOS Last MONTH: 13 RELEASE Date: Nov. 1999 РО Box 3338, Oak Brook 6032255338 one mall us at: chris m bakerezd.com or visit the OPM section on www.videogames.com Source: NPD TRSTS Video Games, mid-January 2000. Call them at (516) 625-2345 for questions about this list. Note: No games for competing console systems (e.g., N64, Sega Dreamcast, etc.) were included. Overall sales figures may vary. Game descriptions are written by the OPM staff. Over 150 hours of intense strategy and combat c with hwo intersecting storyline scenarios k Ш Rotate the detailed, fully 30 emironmenls to determine the best strategic moves and attacks Poston you (її machines carefully hen do battle with an arsenal of ranged and melee weapons Upgrade your robot's weapons, computer, moves, and more - or simply capture and use a new one ШЕ ШЕ » A HEAVY-DUTY STRATEGY EXPERIENC y SQUA RESOFT’ © 1999, 2000 Square Co., Ltd. АН rights reserved. SQUARE SOFT and the Animated Violence SQUARESOFT logos are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd. FRONT MISSION 3 trade k of St Co., Ltd. PlayStati ıd the PlayStati www.squaresoft.com 3 isa trademark of Square Со. Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Playstation Published by Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. j M YOURSELF FOR MIRE ТИЛ rink. #5 19 PO HURE [T9 ON TWO DIBERI “thoroughly engrossing.” -GAME INFORMER | “the best multiplayer, side of a PC LAN set T — agetec LX agetec.com "t ono, and Master of Arena ara trademarks of Адем; Inc, Armored Core i а. її nghi suv. ler, ДІ m inti. The ains cof triam! e iterative Dot Sota Associaton: You're a mercenary pilot of an AC ums 50 prepare to infiltrate bases, rescue hostages, and destroy hostile enemies in all-new detailed missions. Build and customize your master robot with _ 2]inew weapons and body parts, or use your nastiest saved ACs from previous Armored Core games. Matter of Даша! is jesus with 10 new battle stages and arenas, not to mention the retum of bad-ass 4 "detta, or connect a link ob and Face a serious onslaught of awesome multi- layer ac action - ' 4 RAGE ON! * Over 180 AC Parts — 27 Brand New (Includes Bonus Hidden Parts!) > Battle 150: of the Nastiest Ravens Ever = 22 Battle Stages = 19 Detailed Missi Weapon & Armor Combos News A monthly wrap-up of all the information for your favorite system = PlayStation Coming Soon April Alundra 2 Activision RPG Countdown Vampires Bandai Action Racing World Racing Clockwise from top left: Wild Arms 2, Star Wars: Jedi Power Battles and Arc the Lad Collection. uture Release 8 ES Ё wv pam Г Threads of Fate y Hawk Activision All release dates are tentative and subject to change. More information on all future releases will be given as it becomes available. Animated Blood and Gore Strong Sexual Context NI | 6^ ш \ : ) Animated Violence EAS AREN dw Software www.gtgames.com Ф www.n-space.com à \ Ned} hi AGONY. MADNESS. DEATH. CHEMICALS HAVE THEIR SIDE EFFECTS. -NextGen The ability to deliver powerful psychic blasts! Master a totally unique arsenal of psychic abilities! They are your only defense against the sinister Galerians. -GameFan.com -GameProWorld.com Become totally immersed in a fully realized 3D universe that is yours to explore, JDS: 4 yours to master — yours to obliterate! Ма!асо! Psychokinesis The ability to levitate and freeze matter! Over 50 hours of reality warping game- play, plus over 70 minutes of stunning cinematics that propel the gripping story. The Galerians are an otal anni created techno-species whose E S GALERIANS" n. MATURE In Stores March 2000! | MONG TS SAIS. ors d i ү AH D г | ЛУП? ГҮЛІ, LI: www.3do.com қ “е f | м E Wy E à 4 v 5 4 БИ 3D У d UN April 2000 Official U.S. (АРУ Менше 8) Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow URL: www.playstation.com Theme: Action # of Players: 1 Availability: May 2000 Developer: Sony CEE Publisher: Sony CEA MediEvil Il It’s re-resurrection time for Sir Dan i $ Sir Daniel Foftesgue, back from the desd once agein. This young, cockney-voiced ghost, Winston, is always there to keep you abreast of the situation and to provide gameplay tips. large objects (bottom) are two of Sir Dan’s new abilities. Methods of Annihilation eing reawakened from В: dead must really suck. Just ask Sir Daniel Fortesque. With the upcoming release of MediEvil II, this super- natural set of circumstances has now twice befallen our favorite undead skeletal warrior. And this time it's even worse. Over 500 years have passed since he ended the malevolent plans of Lord Zarok, and Sir Dan has unwillingly re-arisen to find himself part of the poorly tended “Medieval Gallowmere” section of a Victorian London museum. Now the less-than-articulate knight must figure out exactly why he’s back— and what he can do to get back to his peaceful eternal slumber. MediEvil II returns gamers to the comically gothic style of play established in the original, with even more added in an attempt to surpass the original's Burton-esque brilliance. As with the first MediEvil, most of the action is hack-and-slash fighting against the likes of zombies, imps and other bizarre monstrosities. However, those jolly European Sony chaps have decided to add a bit more complexity this time out. Improved AI means that enemies might flee, attack, or react in some other way pertaining to the situation. Much of your success against these ghouls and goons also depends on which type of weapon you use. In many cases, for instance, the short range of your cane-stick is preferred to a distanced pistol shot. As he makes his way through the longer, puzzle-filled levels in his journey, Sir Dan encounters a variety of new characters, both friend and foe. Those on his side will offer helpful tips, develop new weapons and items, and—in the case of a resurrected mummified Egyptian princess—even provide a love interest. Meanwhile, an occultist named Lord Palethorne represents the game's antagonist, and don't be surprised to meet up with Jack the Ripper. Though Dan makes his way through the game mostly in one piece, he might also experience the occasional decapitation. In one level, his headless body must reclaim its upper-most appendage, which has been stolen and dropped by a parrot. By engaging DanCam mode, you'll see what the head sees via first- person perspective as you attempt to guide the body to its destina- tion. From then on, you can use the head separately from the body to help solve puzzles or even place it atop another entity (i.e., a box- ing monster or severed hand) in other tight spots. In its current, early version MediEvil II looks and feels more playable than many completed games currently on store shelves. With great graphics, an impressive framerate and another humorously macabre story, Sir Dan's second quest might turn him into one of gaming's most popular charac- ters. Which leads us to wonder: Is it too early to speculate on a third resurrection? Much of MediEvil II's fun factor lies in your ability to destroy enemies in a number of ways, with the victim's reaction dependent on the type of weapon used. Here are just a few dif- ferent ways to slay a zombie. ..or just burn "ет to a crisp with the torch. «Slice п’ dice with the sword... Use the cane for a nice poke in the gut... Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Theme: Action 1t of Players: 1 Availability: March 2000 Developer: Kalisto Publisher: Konami/Universal URL: www.konami.com Nightmare Creatures II Kalisto consults the classics to create this chiller The in-game cinematics of NC2 occur frequent- ly, often just prior to magine yourself watching a horror an important con- ГЕ alone in your dark room at 1:00 frontation. a.m. As the buxom doomed babe progresses through the hallway, the music draws you to lean in until you're literally at the edge of your seat... And then—WHAM! Out jumps the killer and you need to change your pants. If the French developers at Kalisto succeeded in their goal, then Nightmare Creatures II might make you wanna check your stock of clean underwear before playing. Set in 1934—a full cen- tury after the events of the original—NC2 aims just as much to pay homage to the Friday the 13ths and Evil Deads of the world as it does to provide a solid gameplaying experience. And what better place to start things off than an \ insane asylum? Your game begins with an axe-wielding certified lunatic, Herbert Wallace, whose condition is entirely due to peren- nial NC antagonist Adam Crowley. He wants revenge and won't let a barrage of zombies and other monstrosities stand in his way. But Wallace isn't alone in his disdain for Crowley. Equally pissed and determined is a raven-haired beauty named Rachelle Donnerty who knows how to use her lethal daggers. Kalisto has given special treatment to many of the first game's problems, allowing players to better enjoy parad- ing their hell-bent fighters through rainy City streets, catacombs and other creepy 3D settings. All levels—now 50 percent larger than before—are designed to rep- resent real European locales and feature plenty of new special weapons to pick up. The camera has also been tweaked so as to avoid any awkward angles often produced by 3D engines. Gamers desir- ing to open doors in the background or even just kick things over might rejoice in the greater interactivity, and everyone should find the frequent automatic save points to make life just a bit easier. Finally, pressing backward on your con- trol pad will now actually move you in that direction. Though the demo we received could have been a little less buggy, Kalisto cer- tainly seems to be on the right track. It looks like those 1.5 million people world- wide who purchased the first game have something to look forward to. Special weapons like guns can help out greatly but come in limited quantities. Only use them when you need to. Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow D Namco www.namco.com Dragon Valor Namco brings gamers a tale of soul and sword (and dragons) One dragon you can handle—but a whole flock of ‘em? April 2000 Official и.5.(Ч ДД ө аваа 8) At the end of each level awaits a drag- on that needs slay- ing. Many of the dragons have dif- ferent elemental affiliations; to defeat them, you must track down a different magical blade. Boss battles take place in enclosed arenas that permit quasi-3D movement, giving the encounters more of an epic “duel” feel. If you've mastered all of your slaying techniques up to that point, dispatching these fiery bad boys shouldn't be a problem. he PS has firmly established Те as the RPG aficionado's platform of choice, with flagship series from Square and Enix, die-hard titles from Working Designs and Atlus, and supporting games from such var- ied developers as Konami, Capcom and Namco. Yet despite this wealth of traditional RPGs, action RPG fans have always been left seemingly high and dry. To date, choices have ranged from the exceedingly difficult (Alundra) to the exceedingly simplistic (Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon), with nary a middle ground to be seen. On the PlayStation, the space normally filled by games like Zelda, Beyond Oasis, and Soul Blazer is nothing but a big, black hole. Into the void comes Dragon Valor, Namco's stab at the action RPG genre. Dragon Valor combines elements of 3D platformers, side-scrolling brawlers like Final Fight, and traditional action RPGs. The dragon-slaying hero will find plenty of baddies to dispatch with his sword. Either a regular strike or а charged attack is at your disposal, and multiple strikes can be chained together. Level design is typical side- scroller fare, from left to right with minimal movement into the fore- ground and background. A pinch of puzzles and a dash of jumping action have been tossed in for good mea- sure. You eventually acquire the typi- cal multitude of canonical RPG spells such as heal, fire, lightning and ice, but in a slight twist, magic spells are not only used to attack and defend, but to solve many of the puzzles that impede your progress. Defeating foes nets you money and items. Money, of course, is used to purchase items from stores. Items are used from an inventory screen; the hero can only carry 12 items at a time. With its limited inventory, small spell list, and straightforward level design, Dragon Valor plays like an action game with RPG elements, not vice versa. Savvy fans may find a resem- blance to Namco's seminal coin-op, Dragonbuster. One of Dragon Valor's innovations is a generational system, called the “Heredity System," that bears many similarities to that of Phantasy Star III. Clovis’ chosen bride determines the descendent you take control of next— and his child, your third character. Will you marry a beautiful princess or a homely townsperson? Your choice opens up different levels, unique story elements, and new adventures. Namco hopes this system will extend the replay value of the title, as gamers will want to see every possible permu- tation of the potential family tree. However, all of a character's statistics, spells, and weapons carry over from one generation to the next, so the "new" character really isn't too terri- bly different from the “old” one. With its unique combination of fighting, platforming and RPG ele- ments, Dragon Valor may be the sort of title that appeals to a wide fan base. Hopefully, Namco's developers have been up to the formidable task presented by such an ambitious game design. p deaur * ОПТ 001! Koudelka logos are trademarks of SNK Cor Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The lation and the PlayStation logos £ a trademark of the Interactive Digital Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI China’s on the verge of collapse and the emergence of powerful warlords dominates the landscape in this epic strategy RPG. Nightmare Creatures 2 The sinister Adam Crowley has escaped to the 2oth century, where he encounters new monsters which means more gore and blood! Deception M Tecmo’s long-lasting series contin- ues. If you were a fan of the first two games, you're going to want to get ahold of this. Family Game Pack Just like the good-old days, the fami- ly can gather in the living room for some wholesome fun. This time, with a PlayStation game. ‘Arena Football From the makers of the popular NFL Blitz series, Midway, this game goes one step further in the “no-holds- barred" football arena. Macross МЕ-К2 Big robots with big guns fill this fast- paced 3D action shooter from Bandai. Fans of the Robotech fran- chise will love it. Dragon Valor Similar in style to games like Zelda, Dragon Valor is a follow-up to Namco's 1984 arcade title Dragon Buster. Disney World Racing This CTR-like multiplayer racer features beloved Disney characters like Chip and Dale, Jiminy Cricket, etc. Tracks are inspired by rides like Space Mountain. Test Drive Cycles Featuring the Harley-Davidson license, this is the ultimate thrill ride on two wheels. Yee-haaa! Ace Combat 3 Namco's latest installment features two discs’ worth of high-quality ani- mation and expansive sound effects. Don’t miss the high-altitude action. Army Men World War This is technically the “sequel” to Army Men 3D. Think 3D action with lots of shooting, co-op play and strategic elements. Superbike 2000 This game brings the complete = motorcycle-racing package straight into your home. Just think: all the A thrill without the pain! Blast foolish opponents out of your way with a variety of weapons, including missiles and green ooze. Great four-player racing fun! Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom’s unique 2D fighter based on the original manga and anime of the same name. The five main “Jos” battle Dio, a vampire who wants to stop time. Street SkBer 2 Jump on your board and race against the clock to score points and upgrade your wheels. Galerians 4 Crave is giving us something to be scared about in 2000—this psycho- logical thriller with 7o minutes of FMV, console-induced terror. А Wild Arms 2 Wild Arms 2nd Ignition tells the tale of heroes Ashley, Brad and Riruka as they traverse the world of Filgaia— now in full 3D. Test Drive Le Mans ; The ultimate driving tour de force. And if you feel like staying up all night, there's a 24-hour challenge packed in. Metitvil и In Sony's sequel to MediEvil, this time there's a slew of new enemies and lev- els, increased puzzle-solving and more character interaction. Grind Session With a hardcore approach, Sony takes its turn entering the ever-popu- lar skateboarding game park. NASCAR Rumble А racing game that will appeal to NASCAR fans as well as those who've never seen a NASCAR race. The Legend of Dragoon This game from Sony is a combina- tion of scrolling fighting action and platform jumping that has a distinctly old-school flavor to it. Colony Wars Red Sun Improved textures, live orchestra soundtrack, 30 new weapons, eight customizable ships and dramatic FMV set the scene for this space shooter. age area MORE GAMES FOR LESS Rolicage Extreme Psygnosis' latest racer features four new leagues, six new environments and a staggering 20 new tracks. Unstoppable vehicles stick to walls! Major League Soccer Konami's International Superstar Soccer gets a new name, look and license. A must for fans of Major League Soccer. Lunar 2 The success and level of interest in the first Lunar assures that we get the sequel. RPG fans should set some time aside for this. Triple Play 2001 An all-new point of view fielding, big- league challenge and 500-home run club round out the new additions to this hit EA baseball series. Risk H The year is 1812. Napoleon's army is on the march, and it's every empire for itself. Gauntlet Legends Motorcycle racing doesn’t get a look very often in video games, so if you're a fan of the sport it's worth checking out. Vanguard Bandits Set in a world where mythology and technology are one, huge robots are the dominant instruments of warfare in an otherwise medieval society. ‘Alien Resurrection A group of mercenaries and the clone/alien hybrid of Ripley must escape the military research ship which has been overrun by aliens. Messiah It was foretold that the messiah would return after 2000 years. Apparently, he caught an earlier flight. Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Jeremy took last season off, but he’s back along with eight stadium cours- es, eight motocross tracks, and an improved version of the track editor. Saga Frontier 2 A return to the epic quest that made Saga Frontier such a hit among adventure game lovers. Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Theme: Adventure RPG # of Players: 1 Availability: May 2000 Developer: Squaresoft Publisher: Square EA URL: www.squaresoft.com ШЕШЕГЕ Story Looking for a different kind of RPG? Vagrant Story should cease your wanderings. PG fans love medieval set- В: Unfortunately, most are filled with hyperkinetic 14-year-olds that destroy any chance at a mature or foreboding mood. Square's Vagrant Story comes as a breath of fresh (or is that dank?) air for gamers burnt out on chipper adventuring. Think Metal Gear Solid—circa 1499. Players control Riskbreaker Ashley Riot, special agent of the Valencia Knights of the Peace, who is sent to investigate a mur- der at Duke Bardorba's manor. Most likely suspect? The effemi- nate, metal-armed leader of the Müllenkamp cult: Sydney Losstarot. Sydney's cult is deter- mined to gain the power of the abandoned, cursed city Lea Monde—and per standard badass operating procedures, Ashley's going to stop him single-handedly. Vagrant Story's graphical flair is sure to catch gamers' eyes; producer Yasumi Matsuno (Final Fantasy Tactics) and character designer Akihiko Yoshida (FFT, Ogre Battle) have crafted a fully detailed, ornately textured world that pushes the PlayStation to its Я HP61/100% HR: UJAME- ta- UN/WR/T»fvF Would you ever not target the head? absolute limit. As in Metal Gear Solid, the story unfolds via in- game engine cut scenes. But with no voice acting and shorter story sequences, Vagrant Story's focus is nearly pure gameplay. As with Square's Parasite Eve, battles unfold directly on the area where they begin. Players attack foes with any of several dozen weapons: swords, broadswords, rapiers, daggers, axes, pikes, and more. Each weapon has a unique strength and target range; more- over, Ashley and opponents have "zones," or body segments, that can be individually targeted for maximum effect. Battles are spiced up with Chain Abilities and Defense Abilities. Both types rely on split- second timing. Gamers freely assign up to three Abilities of each type to controller buttons. After landing a successful strike, press- ing one of the assigned buttons combos into a Chain Ability such as an extra attack or a poison sting. Moves can be continuously chained for as long as the player can keep up the timing. Use a weapon repeatedly, and Ashley Beautifully lit environments. will learn one of several “Break Arts.” These HP draining attacks deal immense amounts of dam- age. Ashley also learn four types of magic spells (Warlock, Theology, Sorcery, and Enchant) from ancient tomes called "Grimoires" scattered throughout Lea Monde. Rushing into the depths of Lea Monde pell-mell, however, is a certified recipe for disaster. Everytime Ashley chains an attack or casts a spell his “Risk Meter” increases accordingly. Too high a Risk means missed attacks and ineffectual strikes, so choose your battles carefully and rest in between encounters to reduce risk. As an extra incentive, HP and MP slowly refill when gamers aren't in combat. With its unprecedented blend of action, adventure, and RPG elements, Vagrant Story— thankfully—breaks many gaming conventions. Despite the title's comparatively short length, the stellar presentation and rock-solid gameplay should make it a success when it hits U.S. stores this May. Healing is a Theological spell. The only thing worse than an eight-foot knight is an eight-foot demon knight. Get A Grip (and a Blade) Weapons have varying levels of effectiveness against each of Vagrant Story’s six enemy types: Human, Beast, Phantom, Undead, Dragon, and Evil. Using a weapon repeatedly against a single enemy type increases the weapon's efficiency against said type. Ashley will come across several “Factories” within the depths of Lea Monde. Here, he can break his weapons into their com- ponent “Blades” апа “Grips.” Blades and Grips can then be recombined to form new, nameable weapons. Some weapons can be forged with magic stones for increased strength and abilities. With nearly infinite weaponry at Ashley’s dispos- al, the Müllenkamp cult had best beware. Ashley Riot: Chicks dig the hair. Previews Theme: Sports # of Players: 1-2 Availability: March Developer: TREY ARCH Publisher: Electronic Arts URL: www.ea.com Ted Williams takes a mighty hack at the targets to gain extra points in the Extreme Target home run derby. Theme: Sports April 2000 Availability: March Developer: Electronic Arts ‘Publisher: Electronic Arts URL: www.ea.com Official и.5. ЕЧ Magazne( t) As if being able to engage in fisticuffs with the other team isn’t enough, there’s even a championship belt held by the most brutal combatant. 1t of Players: 1-2 An early look at the games of tomorrow as much as we did, then you're probably wondering the same thing as us: What can possibly be done to top what could well be the greatest PlayStation baseball game ever? EA's answer seems simple—just add more. All of the components of TP2000 return for Triple Play 2001—everything from player creation and modification to the color-trailed baseball that so I liked Triple Play 2000 wishes it was a Fox hockey puck. Buck Martinez and Jim Hughson also return to call the games. And then there's the new stuff. As you might expect, the or the past several years, EA F has continued to develop its line of sports games with a focus on simulation, watching Midway and 989 Studios develop the likes of NFL Blitz, NBA Jam and NFL Xtreme. But now it seems that EA has finally realized something: "Didn't we used to do that?" Harking back to its Mutant League series on the Genesis, EA's Rock the Rink could be the most brutal, fast-paced hockey game ever released. Sticks to the face and use of the almighty fist are more than encouraged in this three-on-three (plus goalies) war on the ice—and there's no annoy- ing penalty box to slow things game addresses any changes made in the MLB's off-season (trades, new stadiums, etc.). Better physical and stylistic rep- resentations of star players have helped improve the graphics, and new animations like umpire arguments and post-game cele- brations make for some nice eye candy. Earn rewards by achiev- ing certain in-game feats and proceed past the World Series to take on other all-star teams from around the globe in the World Tournament. But TP2001's most worthwhile enhancement lies in the addition of all-time greats like Babe Ruth, Cy Young and Hank Aaron. Many down. You can fancy up your goal scoring with five superhuman moves or pound opponents with a variety of special combos. From time to time players will also duke it out as though they starred in a fighting game. If a team beats up on the other effectively or makes a series of good plays, it eventually heats up as though "on fire" in a Midway game. Meanwhile, two Canadian-accented announcers provide play by play with a pletho- ra of unexpected, often bleeped- out comments. The game includes nine fantasy teams, and the 28 professional ones (complete with their most butt-kicking players) can be of them must be unlocked as a reward before being placed into your favorite team's lineup, but members of the 500 Home Run Club are available at any time to belt it over the fence in the Home Run Derby. Here, you can also face them off against mod- ern players or place them in the new Extreme Target mode, a dif- ferent type of home run derby which tallies points for distance and hitting targets. But are all of these new fea- tures enough to recommend Triple Play 2001 over its prede- cessor? Keep your eyes open for a review in next month's issue: unlocked through NHL Challenge mode. Continued success will even net some hidden rewards and more power for your team. Rock the Rink's current version could use some refinement in the ways of control and graphics, but it shows great potential in the way of all-out fun. We can't wait to see how this one turns out. и ТЕТІ кеше A Special Advertising Section ә Pio 1 Т E а A СТАИ Б Тот ALIVE AND ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTS pr ЕТ TO ВЕ SEEN IN A VIDEO GAME. Special Advertising Section anl B о SIDOS tive, the Eidos Interactive logo and Fear Effect р а idos Interactive, Inc. ©2000 ESRB г gs icon is a trademark of the Association. All rights reserved. Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Sammy Sosa High Heat Theme: Sports # of Players: 1-2 Availability: March 2000 Developer: Team .366 Publisher: 300 URL: www.3do.com тош, \Throwing гт RIGHT NE - HH2001 allows you to modify the features and abilities of any player, even obscurities like patience at the plate and tendency to pull the ball. Speed DO is the first to admit that 3° upcoming baseball effort, Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001, graphically falls well behind the Triple Plays and MLBs of the world. But con- tend that there’s a better game of baseball out this year and the company takes serious issue. In fact, 3DO claims to have created what is now the best baseball sim- ulation ever released on the PS. Skeptical? You're probably not alone. Though lauded on PC, High Heat Baseball 2000's PlayStation incarnation was uni- versally panned, charitably given a one-disc rating in the mag Punks ver on the other side of the O Atlantic, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Speed Freaks has given English gamers a reason to set aside Crash Team Racing—at least for a while. Renamed Speed Punks (apparently punks are more marketable than freaks stateside), the title should make its way over here shortly. As one of six prepubescent attitudinal racers, zoom your way across 12 completely unique tracks, each replete with shortcuts. Like many other games in the cartoonish kart-racing vein, driving through a question mark box grants you a weapon to use against any opponent unfortunate enough to feel your wrath. Your typical projectiles, slippery objects and bombs are accompanied by more creative ways to disrupt their path, like the over-inflative Tire Pop and speed-depleting Shockwave. But remember: Anything you can do, those other track brats can too—and quite intelligently at that. Expect to be impeded not only by weapons, but Baseball 2 you're reading now. But the atten- tion paid toward making HH2000 a great PC game has been redi- rected at doing the same for the PS's HH2001. HH2001 attempts to win over non-believers by perfecting all of the little things. Computer bat- ters—especially those with a noto- riously good eye like Jeff Bagwell—refuse to swing until they get something to hit, often taking a walk. Meanwhile, pitch- ers use the count to their advan- tage by strategically using the same pitches as their real-life counterparts. Expect to see out- fielders hitting the proper cutoff also by bumps from the racers themselves. But of course, you can always outrun them by collecting Speed Boost Tokens for your turbo meter. Speed Punks promises a smooth and fast-playing gaming experi- ence, the fun amplified when four players join in at once with the Multi-Tap. Those who prefer to take to the tracks alone, however, can compete in a tournament mode that rewards you with bonuses for first-place finishes. Not enough for you? Then assemble your own personalized circuit with the custom feature. Keeping in mind that the game has been available overseas for months, the early version of Speed Punks plays incredibly well. But does this mob of misfits have what it takes to usurp King Crash? We'll find out soon enough. 001 sens man, intelligent baserunners, sac- rifices, and even the occasional suicide squeeze should the situa- tion call for it. And if you're after Griffey in a trade, don't count on getting him for an untested rook- ie. In other words, HH2001 is just plain smart. In its early previewable ver- sion, HH2001 seems to be headed in the right direction as far as pro- viding a solid game of baseball. But considering its unremarkable graphics and absence of other "bells and whistles," is it enough to recommend the game over Triple Play or MLB? The answer should be evident soon. Theme: Racing # of Players: 1-4 Availability: April 2000 Developer: FunCom Publisher: Sony CEA URL: www.playstation.com t же ші, рпа 60 АССЕРТ Each racer has his or her own strengths and weaknesses—not to mention a completely unique personality. April 2000 Official U.S. ЕЕН Dassin ( 2) Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed ith the utter brilliance W: Gran Turismo 2 still satiating the needs of many PlayStation racing fans, some might wonder why com- peting companies even bother releasing other games in the genre. In EA's case, the answer is simple: They have the Porsche. Excluded from GT2, this line of vehicles almost synonymous with the title “sports car” makes its presence felt in the fifth install- ment of the Need for Speed Theme: Action # of Players: 1-2 Availability: March 2000 Developer: Midway Publisher: Midway URL: www.midway.com Discover hidden areas to col- lect useful items in timed bonus games like this one. franchise, Porsche Unleashed. In many ways a celebration of the European speed machines, the title sets itself apart by providing not only a high-speed racing experience...but also a history lesson. Expect to encounter over 50 types of Porsches, ranging from the original 1948 356 Roadster to the recent 2000 996 Turbo. Your chance to drive each of these comes in a new career- based Evolution mode, in which you'll race decade by decade against the Porsches associated with the time. New vehicles and parts are purchased throughout, with prices dependent on factors like supply, demand, inflation and depreciation. Porsche Unleashed's other new gameplay mode might remind you of Driver, featuring mission-based levels in which you must evade police and execute difficult maneuvers to collect rewards. The game features a heavily revamped engine from the last Need for Speed, the realism fur- thered by such features as a visi- ble poly-based driver, vehicle damage and variant weather conditions. Though some fine- tuning is definitely in order, it shows a great deal of promise and should fill any void felt by racing fans disappointed by GT2's Porsche-lessness. Theme: Racing # of Players: 1-4 Availability: March Developer: Eden Publisher: Electronic Arts URL: www.ea.com From a Scottish harbor (top) to a U.S. canyon (bottom), there's up to 40 total racing segments. Gauntlet Legends fter nearly a year of delays, A Midway is finally nearing completion of Gauntlet Legends, a port of the arcade game that resurrected one of the 1980s’ most popular fran- chises. Just as in the coin-op, the PlayStation version promises plenty of fast-paced action as your Warrior, Valkyrie, Wizard or Archer utilizes a limitless supply of projectile weapons en route to collecting the Rune Stones and defeating the demonic Skorne. The game borrows RPG elements like experience points for gaining levels and gold for purchasing items. While very similar to the arcade version, the PS release features a few subtle differences. Most notably, Midway was forced to limit multiplayer to two in order to maintain a constant 30 frames per second (still considerably slow- er than the arcade, yet about all your PS can handle). Which is not to say that you won't encounter a steady flow of enemies in your 20-plus hours of gameplay; if you fail to destroy the generators that spawn them, don’t expect to move along very quickly. Overall presentation differs as well. Instead of being able to choose any of the seven kingdoms from the start (three more than the arcade), you must first earn access by beating each sublevel and touching those tricky-to-find obelisks. The layout of the levels themselves resembles what you might have seen before, but the PS's limitations change their looks considerably. Similarly, the turbo and magic attacks found in the coin-op are much less grandiose in execution, yet just as effective in obliterating opposition. Many fans of the arcade game have waited a long time to be able play Gauntlet Legends at home. Find out if it was worth the wait in next month's issue. Order OPM Back Issues or Demo Discs Today! To order, simply send your order form indicating which issues you would like to: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Back Issues, P.O. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 All requests must be paid for by check or money order ONLY, made payable їо ZD Inc. (Please do not send cash.) The cost for each issue is as indicated on the order form PLUS shipping and handling. Shipping and handling charges for each magazine are as follows: $3 U.S., $3 Canadian and $5 foreign. All pay- ments MUST be in U.S. funds. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Volume 2 Issue 3-$10 Issue 1-$15 Г | October 1997 Ghost in the Shell, Final Fantasy VII Strategy Issue 8-$10 P Ist а Мау 1998 ЕЕ 10 Greatest PS Fighters Tekken 3 Strategy Demo Disc includes: Metal Gear Solid Crash Bandicoot Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: Tomb Raider III, Crash playables: Einhánder, бех: Bandicoot: WARPED, 2286 Enter the Gecko, Klonoa man World, A Bug's Life, non-playables: Dead or Alive, (ЕШ EUR Wild, Invasion From его: Deception II, Gran Turismo Metal Gear dol i, Gran Turismo, ч Demo Disc includes: playables: Intelligent Qube, PaRappa the Rapper, Ace Combat 2, Fighting Force non-playables: Tomb Raider II, NFL GameDay 98 Big Air Volume 2 Issue 9-$15 Issue 4-$10 June 1998 January 1999 Metal Gear Solid Preview gin Gex Deep Cover Gecko Gran Turismo Review Ы] | Tomb Raider Ш Strategy Issue 2-$10 [ | November 1997 PaRappa the Rapper Bushido Blade Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: Cardinal SYN, Vigilante 8, Forsaken, N20, TOCA, Dead or Alive non- playables: Tomba, Jersey Devil Demo Disc includes: playables: Crash Bandicoot 2, Croc, Armored Core, Madden NFL 98, Cool Boarders 2, Colony Wars non-playables: NHL FaceOff 98, Ghost in the Shell Demo Disc includes: playables: Silent Hill, Moto Racer 2, Brave Ғепсег Musashi, Apocalypse, T'ai Fu non-playables: Rugrats, Test Drive: Off-Road 2 Volume 2 Issue 3- $10 Issue 6-$10 | | December 1997 Cool Boarders Strategy Issue 10-$7.99 July 1998 pum Dictionary Filter Strat playables: Gran Turismo, Svp ПШ ано, Tomba!, The Granstream Demo Disc includes: playables: Saga, Jersey Devil, NBA Syphon Filter, Bust A Groove, Shoot Out, Blasto, Speed Racer © Shadow Madness, Fisherman's non-playables: NFL Xtreme, MLB 99, Bait, Akuji the Heartless, No Tekken 3 One Can Stop Mr. Domino, Street SkBer — non-playables: NCAA Final Four '99, Guardian's Crusade Demo Disc includes: playable: Bushido Blade, Vs., Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Kasi, Jet Moto 2, Cardinal SYN, Ghost in the Shell, Moto Racer, Test Drive 4 non-playable: One Issue 11-$15 | | August 1998 Metal Gear Solid Vigilante 8 Strategy Issue 4-$10 January 1998 Resident Evil 2 Feature Tomb Raider II Strategy Demo Disc includes: РІ) yStation April 1999 The Year of the RPG Silent Hill Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: NFL GameDay 98, playables: Tekken 3, Turbo CART World Series, Frogger Prop Rang ner-playabléi: Ré Ridge Racer Type 5 non-playables: Spawn, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, WCW/nWo Thunder; Rollcage, Warzone 2100, Rugrats: Search for Reptar non-playables: Legend of Legaia Final Fantasy Tactics, Pandemonium 2, Gex 2 Lunar: Silver Star Story, Ninja: Shadow of Darkness, Metal Gear Solid Issue 12-$10 e 8-$ September 1998 д Мау 1999 PlayStation's Birthday р Star Wars: Episode I-The Elemental Gearbolt Strategy Phantom Menace Feature Legend of Legaia Strategy Issue 5-$10 February 1998 Dead or Alive Feature 1997 OPM Editors' Awards Demo Disc includes: Demo Disc includes: playables: NCAA playables: Spyro the Dragon, GameBreaker 98, Tomb Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, Raider П, Command & WWF War Zone, The Uphay o r: Red Alert, Crime War, S.C.A.R.S. F Metal Gear Solid, Rival prem Test Drive 5 Demo Disc includes: Ehrgeiz, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Legend of Legaia, Contender non. Я 3Xtreme, Centipede, Driver, С Police 2, Gauntlet Legends. : Pitfall Resident Evil 2, Vigilante 8, utter Rancher Volume 2 Volume 2 Issue 1-510 Issue 9-510 October 1998 Б | | June 1999 Spyro the Dragon Strategy Resident Evil 3 Nemesis ME бех 5: Deep Cover Gecko es: Bloody Roar, i ms Dise inde Foe N trategy — Monster Rancher, "EP ГЕ ү solid, Demo Disc includes: playables: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, М Shipwreckers non-playables: Test Drive 5, Devil Di Alundra, NBA Shoot Out 98, Saga ~ кыне Bowling, Ninja, NFL M] Bite, АС в: то Frontier, Mega Man Neo ' Xtreme, Cool Boarders 3 поп- avables: Parahe Eve: Rival coils NFL Adventure non-playables: Star Ocean: The GameDay 99 Second Story, Bloody Roar 2, MLB 2000, Issue 7-$10 April 1998 10 Overlooked PS Picks Resident Evil 2 Strategy July 1999 25 Games You Must Ray Street Fighter Alpha 3 Strategy Demo Disc includ: rables: playables: MediEvil, WarGames Defcon 1, 5 Ape Escape, MLB 2 Dragon Seeds, G-Darius, P ре, i Future Cop LA Next Tetris, Tay E шы 's Pro Skater, Interplay Wars Vengeance non-playables: Baseball 2 2000, у регі 2, Soul of the Samurai, Bloody Roar 2 non- playables: Jet Moto 3, Xena: Warrior Princess, Macross VEX 2, Street Fighter pha Demo Disc includes: les: Hot Shots Golf, Pitfall 3D, WCW Nitro, ONE non-playables: Blasto, The Granstream Saga Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Tenchu, Tai-Fu, Rugrats, Abe's Exoddus, Brave Fencer Musashi, You Don't Know Jack ilent Hill, Knockout Kings, Tarzan Lord of the Console Ape Escape Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: imn Final Fantasy VIII, 3 Xtreme, Tiny Tank, Jade Cocoon, Macross VF-X 2, You Don't Know Jack, Centipede, Ultimate 8-Ball non-playables: Shao Li NFL GameDay 2000, NFL Xtreme 2 Volume 2 Issue 12-510 September 1999 EA sports vs. 989 studios Jade Cocoon Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: UmJammer Lammy, Sled Storm, Chocobo Racing, Pong, Monaco Gran Prix Racing non- playables: NFL GameDay 2000, NCAA Gamebreaker 2000, Vigilante 8: Second Offense, Thrasher, Toy Story 2 October zm Final Fantasy VIII Strategy Demo Disc includes: Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions, WipeOut 3, Omega Boost, NFL Xtreme 2, Jet Moto 3, Champion- ship Motocross, Toy Story 2, Bugs Bunny, Pac-Man World non- playables: Rugrats, Countdown Vampires, Wu-Tang, Fighting Force 2, NHL FaceOff 2000, Medal of Honor, NBA Shootout 2000, Hot Wheels Turbo Racing Volume à November 1999 Tomb Raider 4 Crash Team Racing Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: Grandia, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Killer Loop, 40 Winks, NFL Blitz, Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Cool Boarders 3 non- playables: Fear Effect, SuperCross Circuit, Demolition Racer, Kingsley's Quest, G-Police: Weapons of Justice Issue 3-510 December 1999 PlayStation 2 Dino Crisis Strategy Demo Disc indudes: playables: Gran Turismo 2, Thrasher: Skate and Destroy, Test Drive Off-Road 3, Madden NFL 2000, NFL GameDay 2000, NCAA Д GameBreaker 2000, Cool Boarders = ports: Snowboarding, Twisted Matal 4, NCAA Final Four 2000 End of the World Buyers Guide Resident Evil 3 Strateg Army Men: Air Attack, WCW Mayhem non-playables: Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, International Track & Field 2000 Volume à February 2000 Wrestling Roundup. Medal of Honor Strategy Demo Disc includes: Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return, Tomb Raider The Last Revelation, SuperCross Circuit, MTV Sports Snowboarding, Ballistic, International Track & Field 2000 и Medal of Honor, Hot Shots Golf 2 Volume. 1 10 March 2000 Wrestling Roundup. Medal of Honor Strategy Demo Disc includes: playables: Syphon Filter 2, Crash Team. Racing, NCAA Final Four 2000, Spyro 2, Silent Bomber, Twisted Metal 4, MTV Music Generator, Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Test Drive Cycles, Vigilante 8: 2n Dee Alundra 2 а sopore EXP Tomba! is a trademark of WHOOPEE CAMP" Co. Ltd. ©1999 WHOOPEE CAMP Co. Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation © э THE EVIL SWINE RETURN JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT THE HAIR, DOESN'T MEAN YOU'VE GOT THE POWER. FLYING SUITS. STYLISH YET FUNCTIONAL, ТОЛВА GOES COVERT WITH A PIG SUIT. BEAT THE CLOCK, SUMP THE TROLLEY. SORRY, TOUGH GUY. BUT THERE’S ONLY ONE TOMBA. AND HE'S ON HIS WILDEST ADVENTURE YET. WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM April 2000 Official U.S. (РУЛЕТ мава ®) Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Micro Maniacs Codemasters have abandoned tiny vehicles in favor of a freakish footrace in the spiritual successor to its Micro Machines series. Choose among 12 wee crea- tures (four of which have to be unlocked), all with different weapons and power- ups. Jumping plays a prominent role in the races, with plenty of obstacles that you'll have to vault over. There are 40 differ- ent tracks, including a handful of vehicle- based levels! Theme Racing Publisher Codemasters # of Players1-8 | Developer Codemasters URL: www.codemastersusa.com Grind Session Ever since that little title starring Tony Hawk, skat- ing games have become all the rage. Sony's entry into the genre, Grind Session, offers even more tricks than the aforementioned bestseller, to be per- formed by 10 real-life riders such as Willie Santos and Pigpen. It sports customizable gear by name brands like Vans and includes eight unique arenas great for scuffing knees. Join a friend for six multi- player modes, and rock out to Sonic Youth, KRS- One and other known artists. у Theme Sports Publisher Sony CEA # of Players 1-2 Developer Shaba Games URL: www.playstation.com Tenchu 2 Activision’s long-awaited prequel to Tenchu follows the path of two ninjas on a quest of vengeance. Through 29 missions, battle it out with other mar- tial arts masters, using stealth for a lethal sneak attack whenever possible. You now also have the ability to swim, destroy grenade-filled boxes, or even move dead bodies to conceal evidence. Publisher Activision Developer Acquire ! Тһете Асїїоп # of Players 1 URL: www.activision.com Mobil 1 Rally Championship With over 420 miles of road replicating all 36 stages of the Official British Rally Championship, this upcoming EA release promises the largest rally driving environment ever. Race more than 20 licensed cars across roads of mud, snow, gravel and dirt, complete with variant weather conditions and car damage. Co-pilots warn you of upcoming turns as you race your way to the trophy. ! Theme Racing Publisher Electronic Arts ! # of Players 1-2 Developer Hot Gen URL: www.ea.com WTC, World Racing (| Championship ТЫ Gran Turismo 2 may be the undisputed racing champ, but WTC looks like it could give ч Sony's masterpiece a real гип for Е its money. With 23 actual tracks from around the globe, 42 licensed cars (including Audis, Beemers and Alfa Romeos), no pop-up, visible vehicle damage, and realistic close-pack racing, WTC has a lot to offer for racing fans in need of a speed fix. Theme Racing Publisher Codemasters 3t of Players 1-2 Developer Codemasters URL: www.codemastersusa.com F1 2000 Race through the new millennium in style with EA's F1 2000. The game includes every race run during Y2K, allowing play- ers to follow along and try to match the perfor- mances of their favorite drivers. You can also tune up your vehicle for optimal race-day performance. [ELI] Aone БЕРІ ҮТ l Theme Racing Publisher Electronic Arts # of Players 1-2 Developer Visual Sciences URL: www.ea.com Theme RPG Publisher Atlus # of Players 1 Developer Nippon Ichi URL: www.atlus.com Rhapsody Odds are you've saved the princess in an RPG or two...but have you ever saved the prince? Rhapsody, a unique entry to the genre featuring hand-drawn anime charac- ters who sing and dance at key moments in the story, centers around the young Cornet's quest to save Prince Ferdinand, her true love. Its humorous magic spells and Pokémon-esque puppet and monster collec- tion could keep young gamers very happy. 2 12v 9 Хіғрка НЕ 172/95 FP 32en-—- Wild Arms 2 It's been three years since the first Wild Arms was released, and its upcoming sequel promises all of the improvements you might expect. Thanks to a new graphics engine, the characters now traverse a completely 3D world with full polygonal treatment. You can also control the camera to your liking as you explore the various towns, maps and dun- geons. There are three separate beginnings to the story, depending on which uniquely able hero you choose to lead your crusade. Look for it in May. Г Theme RPG # of Players 1 Publisher Sony CEA Developer Contrail URL: www.playstation.com Vanishing Point Vanishing Point features tons of licensed vehicles, from SUVs to classic muscle cars, and allows you to perform high- flying stunts as you speed through the streets. The game also utilizes an advanced graphics engine that's said to eliminate poly- gor pop-up. r Publisher Acclaim Developer Clockwork Games URL: www.acclaim.com Theme Racing 1t of Players Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Arc the Lad Collection Hot on the heels of its critically praised Lunar localization, Working Designs is bringing to the U.S. all three chapters in the Arc the Lad Saga, complete with plenty of extras like a remixed soundtrack CD and a “making of" CD. The three games were released separate- ly in Japan but will be pack- aged together and released in November of this year. There's something special about a convertible car—the thrill of driving with the top down, wind blowing through your hair... Titus is hoping to capture that excitement in its forthcoming racing game, Roadsters. Slide behind the wheel of some of the snazziest cars, including Jaguars and Fiats, and speed through a vari- ety of themed tracks on your way to earning the highly prized Roadster Trophy. | TUR 41 "Theme Racing Publisher Titus # of Players 1-2 Developer Smart Dog URL: www.titusgames.com T Theme RPG Publisher Working Designs | # of Players 1 Developer Sony CEI Arc the Lad 2 URL: www.workingdesigns.com Superbike 2000 5 first Superbike PlayStation release features 20 motion- captured riders pro- grammed to respond appropriately to any situation across 13 cir- cuits of racing. You can _ rev it up this spring. April 2000 Legend of Dragoon Sony's upcoming RPG boasts a deep story, amazing graphics and over 80 hours of gameplay. Nine uniquely talented humans combine with the spiritual forces of the Dragoon as they fight for freedom in an oppres- sive world. Count on more info soon. Official U.S. PlayStation мава ®) Theme Racing Publisher Electronic Arts # of Players 1-2 Developer Milestone > (Theme RPG Publisher Sony CEA | URL: www.ea.com ora ENR # of Players1 Developer Sony CEA URL: www.playstation.com WDW: Magical Racing Quest If you've ever wished upon a star to race through Walt Disney World's attractions as a Disney character, Reel Fishing Real men looking for realistic fishing would do real well to consider Reel Fishing II. The game boasts more than 50 different real fresh and salt water fish as well as 500 dif- ferent pieces of tackle equipment—man, that's a real lot. Sounds like real reel fun! then what your heart desires will come to you \ Tint this March. Zoom Hk: through the likes of и 01,030 Space Mountain as you Sports Natsume speed to the finish line— 1 Victor or even duel it out in www.natsume.com arena battle mode! Sammy Sosa Softball Slam When he's not belting homers at Wrigley Field, Sammy Sosa is just an average Joe slugging away at slow underhand pitches before crowds you can count on one hand...or so 3DO would have us believe. The Cub all-star's Softball Slam brings us a variety of humorous male, female and co-ed teams along with much of what you might experience yourself in an ama- teur league—horribly off-line throws, cringing fielders and beer-bellied teammates are includ- ed. To further the realism, you can even re-cre- ate your real-life team with the player editor. Eidos 1-2 Crystal Dynamics www.eidos.com Racing Sports 3D0 А - Test Drive i ш www.3do.com Le Mans This speedy racing game features more than 50 cars to compete across eight tracks at any time of day. Establish your team as the best of 25 as you attempt to endure the continuous 24-hour mode (abbreviated for those who value sleep). » жасат т" 00:00:37 т. 00:27:70 ШЕСТІПТІЗ Mike Tyson Boxing Don't expect any wacky antics in Codemasters’ forthcoming punch- fest; Mike Tyson Boxing is pure sim, with a deep, detailed career mode starring none other than Tyson him- self as your adviser. Or you can play as Iron Mike and attempt to unify the belts in Showcase mode. г Racing Infogrames 1-2 Eutechnyx www.infogrames.com Sports Codemasters І 1-2 Codemasters www.codemastersusa.com 1000 The 300 Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, Army Men, World War, Real Combat. Plastic Men., respective logos, are trademarks and/or service marks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. п and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. er trademarks belong to their respective owners. Edna? How’d you get this number? No! I can’t talk right now...we're about to launch a major offensive! WWII-based tactical action with 20 missions covering 6 terrains. 3 All-new game engine vividly Б recreates the pain of battle. LJ 29 rH Intense head [0-1 cooperative пи РІ ARMY МЕ Aj УИ Waa "M Wi nii bs REAL COMBAT. PLASTIC МЕМ." PlayStation | REAL COMBAT. PLASTIC MER: 2 y E507] зро Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Gekikuukan Pro Baseball Square. Baseball. At first glance, the two don't seem to go together—but then we saw these incredibly detailed and lifelike screens of the game in action. Everything from the swing of the bat to the movements of the fielders to the antics of a team's mascot is represented here. All Star Pro Baseball also includes extra animations that follow the plays, giving the game a TV-style presentation. Currently, the game features actual teams from the Japan Baseball League, as well as voices from the athletes and Japanese sportscasters; we're hoping to see this same game brought to the U.S. with a Major League Baseball license. From the looks of it, Square has created a baseball engine that would rival anything from the sports experts like Electronic Arts and 989 Sports. All Star Pro Baseball is scheduled to release in Japan in late March. April 2000 Official U.S. PlayStation [мавааие( 2) Primal Image The frontrunner for the most deliciously creepy game on the PS2 is definitely Atlus’ Primal Image. You're a "pho- tographer" who snaps pics of CG girls. Better pics net you more points, which in turn allows you to position the girls in new poses. The mod- els are programmed to move like actual people, so don't try anything too funny—oth- erwise she might complain. Now if only someone would make a one-handed con- troller for the PS2... "1559525: HP. рови Hb ope. Reiselied What's a PlayStation game doing in the PS2 gallery? Hah! We wondered the same thing—until we realized this is actually Konami's forthcoming PS2 RPG, Reiselied: Ephemeral Fantasia. Originally planned for the Dreamcast, Reiselied doesn't look like it'll push the PS2 to the limits—but then again, Konami's Suikoden series was no technical mas- terpiece on the PlayStation, and it was still a heck of a lot of fun. The game will release this spring in Japan. If we didn't already know that Square is working on two more chapters in the Final Fantasy series for the PS2, we might not have been able to forgive them for spending their precious resources on a wrestling game. All Star Pro Wrestling will feature realistic body-muscle movements (that is, for a wrestling game) and detailed facial expres- sions. The game is set to release this spring in Japan; no word on whether it'll make its way Stateside. April 2000 Official U.S (ЕМЕЦ Magazine( N) Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow The Bouncer You've seen ‘em before, but now you get to see them again, this time in high-resolution. Developed by Dream Factory and published by Square, The Bouncer looks like it may be a real showcase title for the PlayStation2. Paradise From what we've seen of T&E Soft's Golf Paradise, the game has that same mixture of cartoony graphics and real- istic gameplay that made Hot Shots Golf such a hit. Golf Paradise is also one of the only—if not the only—four- player PS2 title at the Japanese launch. (Good thing Sony's got that new multi- tap!) Golf Paradise features six playable characters and a wide variety of exotic courses. Real-time strategies have always been better on PCs than on consoles, but that may change due the PS2's processing power. We're told that War Monkeys’ engine can display as many as 200 units onscreen and can show battlefields as big as 25 kilo- meters. Developed by Silicon Dreams, War Monkeys takes place іп 2161 on a planet named Primus IV, and fea- tures the voice work of Charleston Heston. Screenshot or concept art? You decide—either way it gives you a good idea of what Rockstar is shooting for with this new driving title. Developed by Angel Studios, Getaway sets you in open environments that you have to race through in order to smuggle con- traband while avoiding cops and other enemies. Look for it this fall. а. 976 TOTAL TIME 01:46:466 LAP TIME O4:17:3 bes: №: y Driving Emotion Type-S We recently got some hands-on time with Square's racing title, and while the control was somewhat slippery, the game looked fabulous. The in-car view is simply stunning—although probably utterly useless for the vast majority of gamers. Let's hope Square can tighten up the control a bit before its release. Buchigire «Шана 18261 Tekken Tag _Kongou Tournament No longer a launch title, Tekken Tag Tournament is now set to release on March 30. (At least that's not too long of a wait.) Until then here are a few new screens from Namco's flagship fighting title showing different charac- ters and levels. Finally, we get to see the armor-clad Yoshimitsu as well as every- one's favorite Bruce Lee clone, Marshall Law. We also hear that TTT may sup- port four players at once. Leave it to Artdink—the minds behind such PlayStation won- ders as Tail of the Sun, Aquanauts Holiday and Mr. Domino—to come up with this one: Buchigire Kongou puts you in the role of construction workers who fight opponents using bulldozers, cranes and other pieces of heavy machin- ery. Are you man enough to handle your big machine? Can you extend your crane and penetrate your enemies’ defenses? Well, can you? Baki the Grappler Here's a little some- thing for the ladies: Tomy's wrestling game for the PS2, based on a Japanese manga of the same name, featuring some delightful beefcakes in ques- tionable poses. /——————— -AAAAAAA—— Previews Street An early look at the games of tomorrow Fighter ЕЖЗ While Tekken Tag Tournament may be generating more buzz as a PS2 title, Street Fighter EX3 has a chance to steal TTT's M ісі n i ght с І и b Н thunder since it's now slated as a Japanese = launch title. Capcom's game will include Street mR acin g three-on-one battles and tag team melees, as well as a few new characters. Judging from‏ 1— = ت EE = these screens, Capcom may finally be able to‏ — = Rockstar and Angel Studios are combining their efforts capture that special 2D feeling in a 3D game.‏ for another risque driving game. Focusing on illegal‏ street racing, MC:SR puts you behind the wheel of‏ souped-up cars, seeking challenges from other members‏ of the “Midnight Club.” When encountered, you can‏ race through the streets of actual cities at breakneck‏ speeds. MC:SR is slated for a fall U.S. release.‏ This month we got our hands on a few new gameplay shots of Namco's Ridge Racer V, and we're pleased to say they look almost as good as those replay shots that we've been featuring in these pages over the past sev- eral issues. We've also learned that RRV will supports a host of controllers, including the Dual Shock, Dual Shock2, JogCon and neGcon. It's no exaggeration to say that RRV may be the best game of the Japanese launch. April 2000 Fantavision No, this isn't a sad attempt at re-creating the millennium festivities on your PS2; rather, this is a new puzzle game from Sony Computer Entertainment. Slated to be a Japanese launch title, Fantavision's gameplay is reminiscent of Missile Command, but in this case you'll be battling against fireworks instead of nuclear disarmament. And while it may not appear so from these screens, Fantavision apparently greatly exploits some of the PS2's graphical capabilities—each fire- work is created using hundreds of particles. You can also alter the camera angles when you replay your games. Official U.S. PlayStation мавт X) r | | | PlayStation Remember, the only thing to fear is fear itself. Especially in this deadly mercenary mission where your own emotional responses determine what happens next. So go ahead, make your move. Just be sure to keep your fear in check. 4 E 1 Bi Breakthrough SUSPENSE/ACTION ADVENTURE game. Beyond your realm of fear. Beyond any 3rd person game created. MorioN FX TECHNOLOGY. Pre-rendered, fully animated backgrounds creating a frighteningly real world. NON- INTERRUPTED GAMEPLAY for more intense action and debilitating power. Comes in handy for the THREE RUTHLESS MERCENARIES whose destinies you control. Meam EIDO ы eidos.com EIDOS, EIDOS INTERACTIVE, and the EIDOS INTERACTIVE LOGO are all registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive.Fear Factor is a trademark of Eidos Interactive. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trade- marks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. International Previews An early look at the games of tomorrow Vib Ribbon зу CEI, Now The latest from PaRappa devel- oper Nanaonsha is this even more quirky and bizarre music-themed game called Vib Ribbon. Presented completely in vector graphics (the straight lines old arcade games like Tempest used), Vib Ribbon has you negotiate a series of obstacles that fly at you in time to the music with pre- scribed button presses. For exam- ple, push R1 just before a loop to slide around it, or triangle right as your character approaches a pit to step over. Sound simple? The idea may be, but when up to eight different obstacles are flying at you at different speeds, . all requiring certain button com- bos, it quickly becomes a big pain in the ass. The best part of Vib, though, would have to be the music—a collection of infectiously bizarre J-pop that will have you laughing at how ridiculous it sounds one minute and humming along the next. And if you ever get tired of the soundtrack, you can pop in your own CDs to play along with instead. L пс Сарсот In case you missed our coverage a few months back, Gun Survivor is Capcom's new off-rails light gun game (although you can use the Dual Shock if you prefer) set in the Biohazard universe (Resident Evil in the U.S.). By using the A and B buttons on either side of the GunCon to turn and shooting offscreen to walk, run and move backward, Gun Survivor lets you wander around freely, like in a first-person shooter. Picking up and using keys, herbs and other staple Resident Evil items is han- dled simply by bumping into the object you want to take or oper- ate. There are seven different guns you can find, including perennial favorites like the grenade launch- er, shotgun and good ol’ magnum. One item you won't find, however, are the ink ribbons—Gun Survivor allows you four continues but you cannot save at any point during the game. The save option only appears once your game is over, and loaded games always start you back at the beginning, but with all the guns and ammo you had in your save file. Story-wise, Gun Survivor takes place after Resident Evil 3 and doesn't star any of the major RE characters, although it does make reference to them in a couple spots. The game opens with you awakening from a helicopter crash with amnesia; and you have to piece together clues both to figure out who you are and also where all the deadly monsters came from. (Gosh, you think Umbrella could be involved? Naaaaaaaaah!) There is some technique to the gameplay—shooting enemies in the head kills them faster, and hit- ting them during certain frames of animation will stop their attacks— but in most ways Gun Survivor is sadly lacking. Monsters don't react to being shot in specific areas— you can't blow off a head, shoot off an arm, or take out zombies' legs like in the other Resident Evil titles, despite the fact that you can now aim more precisely than ever. The graphics don't fare too well either, with sparse environments and pix- ely visuals including erratic and severe slowdown. But perhaps the most annoying fea- ture is the fact that the game auto-centers the screen on whatever enemy you shoot and tries to track it as it moves; not only is the herky-jerky motion disorienting but it defeats the purpose of a light gun game in the first place. B:GS is still scheduled to be released stateside this fall as Resident Evil: Survivor, probably with the light gun support removed altogether. Hopefully Capcom can do some major retool- ing between now and then to fix up this very disappointing addition to their flagship series. Theme Action Availability Now ALFA В ASTON MARTIN ر‎ PlayStation AUDI BMW CHEVROLET CITROEN DAIHATSU DODGE FIAT FORD HONDA JAGUAR LANCIA LISTEF LOTUS MAZDA MERCEDES-BENZ MG MINI MITSUBISHI NISSAN OPEL PEUGEOT PLYMOUTH RENAULT RUF Fear is a powerful motivator. 272 That and coming in second. SUBARU SUZUKI TOYOTA TVR VECTOR VENTURI VOLKSWAGEN www.playstation.com The demise of the slow and the weak has just been accelerated. Arm yourself with over 500 of the world’s most prestigious driving machines. From unrepentant speed demons to the burliest of American muscle cars. Of course, you don't drive them as much as you try to contain them. Each one is engineered according to exact specifications. You can customize them to no end. Sound excessive? Not considering what you're up against. Twenty of the world's most unforgiving tracks. An equally merciless Rally Racing Mode. And the constant threat of the unthinkable. Losing. SMO RACING. ON A HIGHER LEVEL. brands а * You're in the Kill Zone. * Night Fight. * Lock and Load. AGS COMBAT = eleStrosphere FROM THE MAKERS OF AIR COMBAT EVERYONE mo | PlayStation. | ш PlayStation! ENS AS E EX t (ue Wa 11 wow By Kraig Kujawa - | - c - + and Joe Rybichi. ` illustration by Tsuneo Sanda 4 Captain Kirk’s voyage was to be a five-year one; about as long as it has taken for the PlayStation to get its taste of Star Trek. But is it really worth the wait? 1$ of the ^ April 2000 Official U.S Де мава ©) ЕНШІ THE GENESIS DEVICE To accomplish that, Activision handed the Invasion project to Warthog, a U.K.-based development team comprised of wily old space combat veterans, some of whom cut their teeth on Colony Wars, a Psygnosis fran- chise known for beautiful visuals but uneven game design. While some involved with Invasion will quietly tell you that the persons responsible for the design flaws in those Colony Wars games weren't brought on board, others in Warthog acknowledge that those previous titles served as invaluable lessons in Invasion's creation. "Less than half of the team are from Colony Wars, but people are always going to compare Invasion to it," explains Chris Graham, Senior Designer of Invasion. "You're constantly going to compare games of a similar genre if you've worked on more than one of that type. We continually think 'How could we do it better [than Colony Wars]?' ог ‘This didn't work on Colony Wars, so try some- thing different.’ It's helped mainly in the fact that we have done a game like Invasion before—just not this bloody good." € E From time to time you'll be required to strap into the gunner's seat and blast away at enemies from the less maneuverable con- fines of the Typhon's turrets. Though you'll be armed with a rapid-firing, high-powered cannon and will have a full 180 degrees of motion, you'll find yourself exceptionally challenged by the need to track fast-moving vessels in three dimensions. THE NEXT, NEXT GENERATION We tend to agree with Graham's blunt analy- sis of his game as the unfinished version that we have already looks no less than incredible. Mission after mission manages to be visually impressive and interesting, despite the fact that the game is based on a current Star Trek universe that has been around for years. In fact, one of the surprising draws to Invasion is that it has a lot of things that you've never seen in the series. “We originally wanted to use the ‘Species 8472’, Jem'Hadar, and the Hirogen, but these were all rejected due to their place [relative to when Invasion takes place] in the Star Trek universe,” explains Haydn Dalton, Invasion's Lead Designer. "Species and Hirogen came from Voyager and the Jem'Hadar were prominently Deep Space Nine." So the Invasion team was left to find an enemy that didn't conflict with the television series—so they resorted to creating one. Invasion revolves around a mysterious rift caused by an aggressive alien race named the Kam’ Jahtae bent on destabilizing the quadrant by provoking attacks between the Klingons, You'll also be sent into the upper atmos- phere of a nearly barren planet in an attempt to initiate peaceful negotiations with the Kam’Jahtae. (As you might expect, these won’t go precisely as hoped...) In addition to the huge world looming below the battlefield, your ships’ maneuvering will be affected by the gravitational pull of the planet, altering play mechanics slightly. Romulans, Borg and Federation. The story, which we won't fully reveal, has plenty of twists, but we can say that Invasion includes an attack run on a Borg cube and a battle with one of your own Federation flagships. A whole new class of Kam'Jahtae vessels had to be cre- ated from scratch and then approved by Paramount, which sounds like a daunting task—especially given how protective most companies are regarding their treasured prop- erties. “Initially I [felt handcuffed] by the license,” says Dalton, “but as I continued to spec out the design I realized there is a lot more depth to Star Trek than meets the eye. Paramount has been great with Invasion. We wanted to bring Trek to a newer, younger age bracket and [Paramount] wants the same thing.” That younger spin translated to a focus on fast-paced dog-fighting instead of players controlling the big, plodding starships stan- dard to the PC titles (the closest you'll get to that is controlling their turrets). With that in mind, Invasion's designers went to the draw- ing board and created the heavily armed and nimble Valkyrie class of ships, which are the workhorses of the game. One of the most refreshing things about Invasion is the variety of mission objectives. Not content to be merely a space-based dogfighter, the game requires players to escort poorly armed medical ships, protect various allies, and even rescue escape pods from the grip of a black hole. Here are a few highlights: Later in the game you will be required to pursue a Federation vessel. We won’t reveal the details regarding how these cir- cumstances come about (we wouldn’t want to spoil it for you), but we can say that the prospect of flying against an immense Federation ship—especially one that bears such a close resemblance to the beloved Enterprise—is strangely exhilarating. Han Randhava, Invasions Lead Artist, com- pares the process of ship-crafting with Trek parameters to "walking down the aisle of a supermarket with a shopping trolley that has “To stay faithful to the lool Trek universe was a ta -Нап Ra one wheel with a mind of its own. Down one side of the aisle is my natural design instinct, and on the other John Eaves’ Star Trek design. Every now and again the trolley would veer toward my natural way of designing cool spacecraft, and then I'd have to steer hard to bring it back to middle ground." So if you think designing ships for the Star Trek universe would be a dream come true, think again. "It was tough," says The ship models not only look exceptional on their own, they're lit dynamically by the nearest sun, adding an even greater look of realism. Randhava, "especially the Valkyries and the U.S.S. Typhoon (the Red Squads’ mothership), because they took some serious revisions. There are certain guidelines that we'd stick to because А! of that unique look the Star Trek universe has. To stay faithful to that was a task and a half. We could have taken the easy way and stuck to nice, safe designs we could easily get approved, but we were doing a concept involving fast dog- fighting spacecraft, which was unheard-of in the Star Trek universe.” One huge improvement over Colony Wars is the addition of two-player combat. You can even add enemy ships to the mix. EY v RED А, 3A This dog-fighting ы” focus leads to Ў The Valkyrie-I action unlike ^ first appeared in / ST: Insurrection and the Invasion team named it so with Paramount's blessing. anything you've ever seen in а Trek game. You'll find you and your fellow Valkyries swimming in swarms of Borg, Romulan and Kam'Jahtae fight- ers hell-bent on destroying you—and not just mindlessly. Invasion's enemies, even at this incomplete stage, are quite agile and evasive during combat—a far cry from the mindless drones often present in Colony Wars games, including Red Sun. As you might expect, howev- er, there are plenty of tools at your disposal to even up the odds. Many of the missions assign you wingmen who help protect your rear, but the most trusty way of staying alive is making | к Incendary [Marshal April 2000 Official U.S. ЕЗЕШ Magazine( $) мәл = THE FINAL FRONTIER It's amazing that it's taken this long for the Trek universe to make it on to the PlayStation, but don't expect any such snafus as far as the PlayStation2 is concerned. Malamed was coy about revealing Activision's plans, but mentioned that *We are committed to bringing Star Trek games to the PlayStation market. We haven't addressed the timing issue, but | would expect a PS2 title more quickly than it took Invasion to reach the current PlayStation." Apparently some of the Invasion team have already been dreaming up scenarios for the new System: "[PlayStation2] would allow us to sim- ulate real-time scene translations such as fly- ing from space into a planet's upper atmos- phere,” said lead programmer Mike Anthony, “and you could choose whether to fly down to the planet's surface." The closest thing Invasion does to this is allow you to fly inside of a huge Borg cube, but Anthony reasons that “On PS2 you could take this further: [You could] dock with craft and explore the vessels as part of an Away Team in a Quake- style environment." Haydn Dalton, Invasion designer, is a bit more vague. “If we were to do a PS2 sequel 1 would like to see things such as chasing battle cruisers through wormholes, being caught up in true armada-sized battles, land-based aerial combat, ana 50 on...but that is a whole new design.” We expect lots more “whole new designs" for Star Trek games in the coming years, since Activision has the license tied up for many years to come. One possibility: The company recently announced a partnership with Verant, developers of the block- buster online PC RPG EverQuest, to develop a massively multiplayer online game based in the Trek uni- VEFSE. The game is expected to release late in 2001—right about the time the PS2 should gain its online capabilities. Coincidence? You decide. The cockpit view (left) puts you right into the acti You'll feel each laser blast as it rocks your ship to the side, and you'll see a slight inertial delay as you shift directions. “We have done a game like Invasion before—just not this bloody good!" —thris Graham, Senior Designer best use of the bevy of phasers, torpedoes and special weapons whose number and variety increase as you complete missions. Fans will rec- ognize the familiar sights and sounds of the typi- cal weapons, but later in the game new tech- nologies (some alien) are discovered that are considerably more impressive and fun to use— such as the gravity gun that produces black holes in space. If all else fails, you can also try pulling off a few of the ship's preprogrammed (and fun to watch) evasive maneuvers that are activated similar to special moves in a fighting game. There's even a motion-lock option, "simi- lar to the Z-lock used in Zelda 64," that lead programmer Mike Anthony suggests will "help inexperienced players target the enemy in 3D space easier" during the tougher battles. And trust us, there are plenty of those. ATMOSPHERIC ANOMALIES Hopefully, the action won't be so intense that you aren't able to pause and just enjoy the out- standing sights and sounds of Invasion. The opening of the game immediately sets the tone, with Michael Dorn as Worf (of Next Generation fame) narrating the mission objectives. The scene opens to reveal a dramatic shot of your Valkryie flying toward the underbelly of the Enterprise-E while original thematic music plays in the back- ground. This incarnation of the well-known ship, first seen in the movie Star Trek: Insurrection, looks absolutely stunning as it drifts lazily toward a debris field in front of a soft yellow glow generated from the planet behind it. In fact, the 3D model in the game is the same one used in the movie, only with less detailed tex- tures (obviously). When the editors at OPM saw that mission, we knew that we were in for a visual treat. And those thoughts were greatly reaffirmed in a later mission when a large Romulan Warbird decloaked before our eyes just in time to fire its main guns into our ship's hull. "| feel that past Star Trek games have failed to generate the correct atmosphere visually,” says Anthony, “so we have really concentrated on ensuring that the craft and special environ- ments—such as animating nebulas, wormholes, and enormous planets—look like what you expect from an episode.” Just wait until you see the battles atop a planet's atmosphere, not to mention the eye-popping Borg attack. Hopefully these visuals won't overshadow the game's attention to audio. A variety of original The story is advanced through a number of dramatic cinematic sequences, all delivered via the use of the in-game engine (above). tracks have been created for Invasion, and whether Activision decides to license some of the songs from the series’ iconic soundtrack or not (we suggested Next Generation's opening theme), the game already has some brilliantly epic songs that change dynamically in keeping with the action on screen. And Activision has gone through the trouble of having Patrick Stewart provide the voice of Captain Picard— who will provide help during missions—and also tapping Michael Dorn to narrate the mis- sion briefings as Worf throughout the game. When the whole package comes together it provides an atmosphere that definitely feels like Star Trek—no small feat considering the lackluster PC offerings so far. Granted, the game is still a ways from completion, but what we've seen is extremely promising. In more ways than one, Invasion is boldly going where no Trek game has gone before. When we saw Colony Wars, we didn’t think space shooters could look much nicer on the current PlayStation. We were wrong. Since he's the primary character in Star Trek: Invasion, we interviewed Michael Dorn briefly about Trek and its games and found that he was about as...well, shall we say...succinct...as the character whom he played for so many years. Perhaps a bit of Worf rubbed off on him. OPM: Aside from the Trek-related things, what are you up to these days? Michael Dorin: After four seasons on Deep Space Nine, l've broken into the inde- pendent film market with hopes to direct. Secondly, flying. OPM: Do you ever play the Trek games, and if so, are there any favorites? Dorin: I'm not a big fan of the role-playing games—it takes too much brain power. OPM: Spoken like a true Klingon. Speaking of, one of the ideas rumored would be a television series based on the Klingons. What do you think of that? A PC game along the same lines is already in the works. Dorin: | always thought instead of Deep Space 9, {the new series] should have been а Klingon spin-off—people love them more. OPM: Any particular favorites among the Next Generation movies? Dorin: | liked First Contact the most. OPM: And in closing, would you like to grace us with one of your favorite “Wort-isms”? Dorin: “For love | would need a Klingon woman. Earth women are too fragile.” Editors’ note: As soon as we brought up the subject of getting his independent film produced, we couldn't shut him up! 1 F 5 Reviews The final word—official and unbiased КЕШ К ИГИ ЕРИ ЕЕ ЕЙ by Mark MacDonaldezd.com ith the impending debut of the MORE COVERAGE THAN GAMES DESERVE: W PlayStation2 in Japan, I've been Does anyone really care about Take the A thinking all month (or at least the Train games? Hell no! But when it's the only last 10 minutes before deadline) about what game you have screens of for a new system we can expect in the coming months. Don't (and somehow Take the A Train always is), worry, I won't give you the same spiel about you want to see it and we want to show it. better graphics, new types of gameplay, or SAME GAME, NEW LOOK: This is where a any of that upbeat, feel-goody crapola—we company takes the same old title they have all know there are PS2 titles on the way that been putting out for years and churns out are gonna blow the socks off our asses, but a quick sequel for the new machine. I don't I'm here to talk about the inevitable down- want to name any names, but the PS2 sides to any new machine. In case you've Armored Core better be more than a fresh never gone through a new system launch coat of paint, and if there's another cookie before, here's what to watch out for: cutter Tomb Raider rehash I'm coming down GAMES THAT LOOK GOOD, PLAY LIKE there. Oops, guess I named some names. POOP: Just look at Toshinden, which very INFLATED REVIEW SCORES: Not from us of few people know is Japanese for "crappy course, heh heh, don't be silly! But take a game with decent graphics." There were look back at some of the earliest PS games plenty of better-playing fighting games and how they were rated in the magazines. available for the older systems, but Yes, of course time changes some things, but Toshinden was all 3D and new and shiny I mean, come on—Loaded? That game was a and a lot of people got suckered into buying load alright, even back then. It's very easy to it. Oh, and speaking of Toshinden... get caught up in the excitement of a new "FIRST IN A GENRE" GLUT: This is where machine and new graphics, so trust you have a bunch of horrible games rushed no one...except for us of course. to market in attempt to be the first and я only title for that genre and grab some quick sales. The worst part about this is it usually works. It gets really sad about a year into the system’s life, though, when compa- nies start running out of categories Meet the C $ Editor-in-Chief Kraig watched as his former favorite team, the Oilers- turned-Titans, found yet anoth- er way to lose the big game. At least it was an entertaining one. Sports, Strategy Madden NFL 2000, Colony Wars: Red Sun, Star Trek: Invasion PlayStation2 football and that fancy online Final Fantasy game Deputy Editor After roaming the decks of the USS Voyager on the Paramount lot, Joe had a hard time settling back into work: He kept running into doors, realizing too late that they didn't slide open in front of him. Adventure, RPG, Puzzle WWF SmackDown!, Ace Combat 3, Star Trek: Invasion, Tron Bonne Err...PS2? West Coast Editor Vagrant Story has plagued Wat like a sore throat. No matter how hard he tries to focus on his review games, VS and start touting stuff like "the € %% nags at him and demands attention. There's по first character-based under- © с ж” Chloraseptic for his problem this time. water action shooter.” “ & Fighting, Racing, Adventure Vagrant Story, Vagrant Story, Vagrant Story SF EX3, R5, DrumMania Games Reviewed Associate Editor Everything was going great for Mark this month—he stole a big new cornfy chair, the Rams won Front Mission 3 Hydro Thunder Ace Combat 3..... Armored Core: MOA.. BattleTanx: Global Assault..94 the Super Bowl, his car hadn't been shot or broken into for almost two straight weeks—and then came BattleTanx. Why, God, why?! Action, Adventure, RPG Fear Effect, Front Mission 3, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure ....96 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling .97 Colony Wars: Red Sun. Deception Ш. NASCAR ВитЫе..................95 Rollcage: Stage Il Syphon Filter 2 The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Final Fantasy IX, X, XI, XX, XXXIV Die Hard Trilogy 2 Tron Bonne. Fear Effect ....... It doesn't get much more simple yet effective than OPM's five-disc rating system. Very few games are lucky enough to get our golden five-disc salute, but if one does, be sure to pick it up! оС ОС ОС 0000: 00000 Fabulous! These are the Below average. There are A good title. It’s a fun Definitely a topnotch fundamental flaws with this game with some flaws that game. Very good and well games that really make you game; get something better. can be overlooked. worth your time. proud to own a PlayStation. We'd rather smell William Shatner’s toupée than play this game. Reviews The final word—official and unbiased Eidetic Al “Compatible. Adventure Compatible Sypho Filter PlayStation laying Syphon Filter 2 is like meeting up with one of your old buddies from high school who still works at a gas sta- tion—it's fun to see him again, but pretty sad he hasn't moved on or done anything with himself. What we have here is really less of a proper sequel and more of an add-on mission pack. The graphics look pretty much identical to the first game: There's a nice variety of locales, including mountains, an airbase and downtown Moscow, but there's also still a lot of sloppy textures, blocky models and horribly lame FMV cutscenes. Controls are another straight transplant from the original that could have used some tweaking—you've got lots of different moves, but quick weapon selec- tion and auto-aiming between multiple targets are still trouble spots. Most of the additions and improvements 989 was touting for the sequel don't end up making much of a difference either. The new jump- ing ability is used only sparingly and you have no real control over it, and outside of the bad guys taking head shots at you, the AI doesn't seem significantly better. As for the multiplayer game, it's a fun елін diversion but not at all balanced and ultimately quite shallow. So with most of the game's framework carried over from the original Syphon Filter, the focus in part 2 falls on the story and level design, both of which are handled well but hold few surprises. Many of your missions play like rehashes from the first game—rescue a prisoner from jail, dis- arm bombs before the timer runs out, infiltrate an enemy facility without being seen, etc. There are a few moments of inspired and original design, but they are few and far between. It's also worth noting that much more of the game is based on the “sneaking’-style levels this time around, with less all-out action, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your tastes. In the end, most people who enjoyed the first Syphon Filter will be content with part 2, if a bit disappointed by its lack of ambition and innovation. —Mark MacDonald The multiplayer game (above) is mindless fun for a bit, but the nature of the controls (easy lock-on autoaiming or having to stop moving to aim for headshots) limits its depth. The rendered FMY cutscenes (above) still look barely better than the in-game graphics—why? Someone get these guys in touch with Capcom or Square and teach them how to do this stuff right. Box Score “Most people Pretty good enemy Al (like | who enjoyed the first game) the first * A few new fun level ideas Syphon Filter * Good storyline will be content with part 2, if a bit disap- pointed by its lack of ambi- tion and inno- * Graphics rough around the edges * Auto aiming and weapon switching still problematic * Not much improved from the first game Reviews The final word—official and unbiased 1 | Player РАЧ LZ [Memory Card EE ^1 block J Analog Control Kronos 99-1 Compatible Eidos e Vibration Function. Adventure Compatible Fear Effect PlayStation his game really surprised me; I've had high hopes for Fear Effect ever since I first saw it last May, but even so I never expected it would turn out as good as it did. First of all, the graphics are just stunning. Looping full-motion video backgrounds make the gritty, futuristic settings come alive—plants sway in the wind, waves gently ripple across water and lights flicker, changing the shadows and shading of everything around them. The tradeoff for constant FMV (as you may notice from the screenshots) is a adventure game, however, you die a lot in Fear Effect, and I mean a lot. Sometimes you have to get killed a bunch before you can even tell what you're supposed to be doing, then die a bunch more trying to actually do it. All this death might not be so bad—it does make the game challeng- ing—except that it takes so long to restore your saves that you spend a significant amount of time looking at the loading screen. Other sore points include the strange "confidence-based" health system and aspects of the controls, which aren't quite as responsive as they should be when aiming and using weapons. But it's easy to forget these complaints when you're wrapped up in Fear Effect's graphics and intense story. Expert voice work and a fascinat- ing mix of action, sci-fi and horror elements make for a refreshingly mature experience you can't help but get drawn into. Don't miss this one. —Mark MacDonald cropped screen and some slight graininess, but in motion FE is still one of the best looking PlayStation games so far. Plus the real-time characters look just as good as the backdrops: A mix of anime and American comic art styles, they are truly unique and look more like cartoons than piles of polygons. In terms of gameplay, Fear Effect generally fits into the Resident Evil adventure game mold: You spend most of your time searching for items, fighting enemies and solving big puzzles, with a boss or reflex-driven sec- tion thrown in once in awhile to mix things up. Unlike your average Look familiar? The above shot is typical of the puzzles in Fear Effect, which range April 2000 from wonderfully challenging to tediously obscure. Luckily the majority of them are both logical and enjoyable. Вох Score “A fascinating mix of action, sci-fi, and hor- ror elements you can’t help but get drawn into. Don’t miss this Great story, dialogue and voice acting Cool FMV backgrounds and stylish characters Some great puzzles Official U.S (ERLE RIL маваат %) Controls could be tighter Weird health system Lots of dying and reloading saved games ee The FMV in Fear Effect often plays an active role in the game. For example, some bosses (like the bullet-spraying helicopter above) are actually part of an animated background. Other games have attempted this effect before, but none as convinc- Official 5. PlaySt ingly as Fear Effect. Reviews The final word—official and unbiased 1-2 Players | Memory Card | iblock PlayStation] Publisher Genre bration Function Compatible SmackDown! PlayStation Excellent—but not quite couple issues ago I had the chance to take a long look at an early version of this game. I was impressed, not only because of the solid wrestling engine but also because of the intriguing plans for a revolutionary Season mode. Now, having had the chance to play the finished product, I have to report that it's not quite what I had expected. That's not to say that SmackDown! is a bad game—far from it! The actual wrestling engine is as exceptional as expected. Though the game gives the appearance of having a small arsenal of moves, the sit- uational modifiers (i.e., when your opponent is on the mat, against the ropes, etc.) and ability to alter your repertoire of moves offer a good amount of variety. A well fleshed-out reversal system helps even more, as does the ability to take the action to five different backstage areas. The wrestler models, for the most part, are the best I've seen yet. Animation is smooth, as well, with superb motion captures and some great added touches, like wrestlers grabbing themselves in pain and rolling around on the mat. perfect But it's the Season mode that's both the greatest triumph and the biggest disappointment here. The ability to build up a created wrestler and follow him through years of competition is fantastic, especially when you start to forge your own alliances and rivalries (though the graphical choices for building your own character are disappointing). And forcing created wrestlers to "buy" access to advanced moves with experience points is a brilliant idea. But the promised backstage episodes, which were to give your wrestler a chance to interact with the superstars, are extremely disap- pointing. The fact that there's no voice wouldn't have been much of a problem if the text were at least halfway interesting. Instead we get “I wonder what Buh Buh Ray and D'Von are talking about." Pathetic. Nevertheless, it's an excellent game; I just wish some areas had a bit more polish. —Joe Rybicki Though the Season mode does offer some drama, the writing is so bland that you don't really get a good feel for what's going on (above). But check out those character models (left)! The excellent collision detection makes four-way dances (above) and tag team matches especially interesting: Certain moves can connect with more than one opponent, which makes it possible to accidentally land a move on your own ally. Pros • Extremely deep Season "It's an (and Pre-Season) mode excellent * Excellent graphics and game; | just animation wish some * Good reversal system had * Backstage madness! areas nad a bit more Cons polish. * No voice, not even an announcer * Small selection of moves at any given time Reviews The final word—official and unbiased | 1 Player A [Memory Card 1 block Vibration Function nSpace Compatible Fox Interactive I— Action Compatible Die Hard Trilogy: Viva Las Vegas т April 2000 Official U.S. ЖЕ Т мавз S) PlayStation > hen Die Hard Trilogy arrived in the first year of the PlayStation’s life, it was notable because it offered a vari- ety of games that showcased the system's potential in addition to being pretty fun to play. Unfortunately, neither of those things can be said about this sequel. Like most disappointing Hollywood sequels, Die Hard Trilogy 2 is a shameless rehash. All of the main elements present in the first game (three different gameplay styles, a t-shirt clad John McClain, complete with Bruce Willis voice impersonator, and loads of blood) once again comprise the portions of this second "trilogy." And by the way, what's up with that? The first game's scenes were derived from each of the three Die Hard movies, hence the trilogy moniker, but this one takes place in a story set in Las Vegas that was never put to film. Dumb. This redux might have been more palatable if there were some noticeable improvements over the previous game, but aside from bet- ter special effects and a few cinema sequences piecing together the levels, there's nothing that makes Die Hard 2 Trilogy seem much Now, you can (above). Ever want to throw the switch on a electric chair? better. After all, you would think that Fox Interactive might have learned a few new tricks during the years that set the two games apart. Instead, what you get is a pretty decent shooting gallery (that looks almost identical to the previous one but is the ‘gem’ of this title), a lame car chase sequence that looks like a cheap Twisted Metal ripoff (with even worse controls), and a mediocre action game that we've seen 200 times before. To tell you the truth, I still found that I enjoyed the first-person shooting gallery—call it a guilty pleasure—but after a few levels, it got way too repetitive after I mowed down the millionth wave of similarly dressed henchman. Die Hard Trilogy 2 isn't a horrible game—it's just a really uninspired and forgettable one. In fact, one of the only kicks I truly got out of it was shooting rats and rolls of toilet paper during gunbattles. —Kraig Kujawa A Practice mode allows you to hone your gun skills, even though it isn't really needed. We appreciate the thought, however (above). Box Score “Like most * Three different types disappointing of gameplay Hollywood * Above-average graphics sequels, Die Hard Trilogy 2 is a * Only the first-person shameless light gun-like game is rehash." really fun. One out of three isn't a good average. * Lame sound (ЧЕЛ 0.5. PlaySt Reviews The final word—official and unbiased RATING PENDING Я 1 Player Memory Card ШЕН 2 blocks Analog Control SquareSoft A Compatible. Square EA Strategy Vibration Function Compatible PlayStation here's been about a dozen true strategy/RPGs released for the PS, and of those maybe a handful worth playing, but Front Mission 3 is the only title I would put alongside Final Fantasy Tactics as must-play games for any fan of the genre. A lot of what makes Front Mission 3 so special is its believablilty. OK, yes, there are giant robots running about, but there are also tanks, troop transports, helicopters, and other recognizable weapons and mil- itary vehicles everywhere. The realistic and detailed storyline helps too: set on Earth in the near future (2112, to be exact), it deals with the same type of political and global power struggles that you might see on the nightly news—a refreshing change from the swords and sorcery setting almost every other title in the genre seems to be stuck in. Besides the large amount of time spent developing the plot, you'll spend most of FM3 in combat—which is definitely a good thing. The game does a great job of easing you into the battle system and teach- ing you all the controls, ramping up the complexity and difficulty gracefully. There’s plenty of room for planning and strategizing in troop placement, choosing attacks, and balancing your offensive and defensive capabilities, but never so much that the game gets bogged down or boring. There's also lots of opportunity for customization in building and equipping your mechs, and in the weapon and special skills you can develop for your characters. Really the only complaint I have with FM3 is the lack of mission vari- ety. There are more than enough stages (the game is huge), and the scenarios leading up to battle are all different and interesting, but too often the ultimate goal is merely to destroy all the bad guys. The few times you have different objectives—escape an enemy complex, take out the opposition leader, etc—are awesome, I just wish they weren't so rare. Even so, this is the kind of game that you can curl up with and for- get the outside world for a week. Don't miss it. —Mark MacDonald Between battles you can customize your party in all sorts of ways (above)—upgrade pieces of your mech, sell off captured robots for cash or salvage them for parts, buy new weapons, even name your cre- ations or give them a new paint job. ЯР 127 Atk AP 3 Anti- Although you usually have a detached overhead view of the battlefield (top left) that you can rotate around, Front Mission 3 zooms in once you attack for cool close-up shots of the mayhem (above). Box Scor Huge game with multiple | “Front Mission paths for replay 3 is the only * Well-balanced and intense title | would combat қ * Nice graphics and sound р панне * Detailed and unique пеаг- па! Fantasy future setting Tactics as must-play games for fans * Not quite enough variety of the genre" in the mission objectives Reviews The final word—official and unbiased EVERYONE LESSEE AOE COME AT —) block ‘Analog Control Compatible Developer Publisher отек Genre = ра o о 8 я 5 < Official U.S. PlayStation ;Magazinel Ace Combat 3 Large and varied, but lacking challenge onsidering how few flight games exist for the PlayStation, the Air/Ace Combat series basically leads the pack by J default. And so when the newest game comes forward for review, it's hard to not have high hopes for an outstanding game. Unfortunately, though Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is an enter- taining and action-packed dogfighter, it still retains many of the flaws of the last game. The biggest problem with Ace 3 is the challenge level: Even on the hardest setting, the game simply isn't that difficult. After playing through the whole game on the normal setting, I looked back and realized that I'd never been shot down. Not once. Oh, I'd crashed into buildings and the ground more times than I'd like to admit while try- ing to pull off some close ground attacks, and I'd had my ship infested by a virus in one level, but I'd never been knocked out of the sky by enemy planes, surface-to-air missiles, or anything. The lack of this kind of challenge really takes the tension out of what could have been an edge-of-your-seat game. Counteracting this, however, is the large selection of missions. The variety here is probably the game's strongest suit (well, maybe next to the gorgeous graphics): You'll conduct missions focusing on air targets, ground targets, indoor targets, even satellites in space. This definitely saves Ace 3 from the monotony that doubtless would result from the lack of challenge. Also helpful is the grading system which pushes the diligent gamer to finish a mission in the shortest time possible. It would have been nice to have a real story here, too; the game tries half-heartedly for a coherent plot, but the gist of the story is sim- ply a rivalry between two tech corporations that I couldn't have cared less about. (In fact, I kept forget- ting which side I was allied with.) It's still an entertaining game, but without a real challenge (not even the benefit of a two-player mode) there isn't much to keep me coming back. —Joe Rybicki The missions in Ace 3 now go so far as to send you into space (above), where the laws of physics behave a bit differently. Toward the end of the game, you'll need to take on a computer Al opponent in a virtual-reality arena known as the Electrosphere (left). Pros * Lots of varied missions * Gorgeous graphics * Fast, solid controls Cons * Very little challenge * No coherent story * No two-player modes “It’s an enter- taining game, but without a real challenge there isn't much to keep me coming back." Reviews The final word—official and unbiased EVERYONE > o NE Player > | Memory Card И] block WJ Analog Control ОР: Compatible Psygnosis Psygnosis Vibration Function Action Compatible — Wars: ed Sun PlayStation new development team, a whole new focus. The Colony Wars franchise was always on the PlayStation’s visual cut- ting edge, but the games were never polished otherwise. Pretty visuals are one thing, but the outrageously difficult missions and an unforgiving save system overshadowed what could have been a great series of games. But that's all in the past; this aptly named Red Sun shines brightly through those dark clouds. Vivid color and imaginative vessel designs often make Colony Wars feel more like a Babylon 5 episode than the traditionally dark metallic world that sci-fi games usually reside in. In the middle of a dog fight you might be a little stunned by what looks like a moving work of art as much as it does a space battle. At any given time, a cacophony of missile and laser blasts splash throughout the screen against varied backgrounds, whether they be a nebula or a planetscape, with no noticeable slowdown. And there's nothing quite so satisfying as the thundering explosion caused by the fall of an enormous capital ship. Colony Wars is presented in Dolby Surround, and you really can tell. CWRS offers a third-person mode, which we cer- tainly don't recommend using during combat. It looks nice, but isn't very practical. The battles are as fun to fight in as they are to gawk at. Red Sun offers a mission-based system that always gives you a choice of various types of assignments, many of which are beyond the normal (protect, kill, survive) fare. And if you find that one is particularly annoying, you can usually skip it altogether (provided it isn't one of a handful of mandatory plot-important missions), or recalibrate your weapons and defensive countermeasures to better suit it. If you're not certain about your custom armament, you can save your game before you make the modifications. This flexibility is what makes Red Sun so much better than its prede- cessors—the developers concen- trated on making the game acces- sible instead of emphasizing diffi- culty or realism. The end result is a Colony Wars game that you might actually finish—and have lots of fun doing so. —Kraig Kujawa Tons of lighting effects set the mood and scenery during missions (above). New ships and weapons are unlocked for purchase as you progress through the game (left). Box Score “Іп the middle * Lots of weapons of a dogfight * Beautiful graphics you might be * Great mission design a little * Interesting story stunned by what looks like a moving * No two-player mode work of art as * Really bad enemy intelligence much as it * Loads of load time does a space battle." Magazine, 6000 Rating Reviews The final word—official and unbiased Developer Publisher Genre EL ШЕ ЕН И Deception Ш: Dark Delusion Not as twisted, but just as fun я he Deception series of games were known for two things: that they were quite twisted (pitting you in the role of the bad guy) and that most people have never heard of them. Deception III changes the formula a bit, and was clearly designed with getting a larger audience involved. The victims you dis- patched in the first two games were comprised of relatively innocent people It’s now possible to perform endless com- bos in Deception III, but it’s nowhere near as satisfying as i mega damage by dropping multiple pillars on enemies ““ Box Score] and sinister but sympathetic villains. Deception III's cast of trap meat is almost totally made up of people who deserve to get smashed into a spike Pros Cons wall, which actually takes away some of the edge of the experience. I know * Unique * Story text is full that sounds horrible, but it's true. gameplay of grammatical The story is entertaining, although it's riddled with lots of grammatical * Good жегу. errors у errors. Tecmo did a great job of adding lots of play value, with branching with branching * So-so graphics ч Қ paths * Controls are a story paths and a huge number of traps to discover. The Trap License and * Tons of replay bit rough value the design of the first few chapters in the story makes the game very friend- ly to newcomers and quickly familiarizes them with the control schemes. Graphics and control were never a strong point in the series and unfortu- nately, that hasn't changed. Even so, Deception III is unique and offers hours of addictive fun. —Wataru Maruyama 0000 : ЕСЫ 1-2 || Players -|Memory Card 1 block {PlayStation} 8 Developer a Publisher СУД Vibration Function 5 Teme Î Compatible BattleTanx: Global Assault Putting the Ass in Assault t's not a good sign when any game gives you a new apprecia- tion for Tiny Tank, but next to BattleTanx that average-at-best game seems like a classic. It's literally hard to look at this game, the graphics are so horrible—with incredibly boxy buildings and tanks, crummy textures, lame special effects and explosions, and a wildly fluctuating framerate, BattleTanx looks like a first-generation PlayStation game. Controls depend a lot on which tank you are using; those with the strafe The "story" in B:GA unfolds not through ren- dered FMY, not through real-time cinemas, not even spoken voice, but instead through small paragraphs of text (right)! Intense! Official U.S. PlayStation мав 9) Pros Cons brace Qo start ^ ees | * A few fun o Terrible, terrible а ability are manageable, but the tanks without it maneuver like shopping multiplayer graphics 3 carts and are just about as fun to drive. modes * Lackluster Luckily BattleTanx isn't a complete wash—the multiplayer game can single-player be fun, despite the terrible graphics and clunky controls. More options mode would have been nice (like being able to set your own kill or time limits), * Controls can be annoying 0€ с but there are a good number of levels to choose from, up to three com- puter opponents you can add to the fray, and lots of different play modes (mostly capture the flag variants). It's definitely no Quake II or Twisted Metal, but compared to the rest of BattleTanx it's definitely a highlight. —Mark MacDonald Reviews The final word—official and unbiased NASCAR Rumble So crazy that it just does work f someone came into my office to pitch a game concept as “It's Jeff Gordon meets Crash Team Racing” I would proba- bly laugh at them right before I punch them in the throat. But lo and behold, here it is, having taken the shape of NASCAR Rumble. And I must admit, it's pretty darned fun. NASCAR vehicles are powerful machines—just think of what they could do away from the (relatively) safe confines of their regular tracks. It's an amusing idea, to say the least, and EA has pulled it off pretty well. I loved dumping Dale Earnhardt into a lake at a loading dock and pushing the Andretti family one by one into the wall with a hammer ramming weapon. And I'd imagine die-hard NASCAR fans might get an even big- ger kick out of it (I'll admit, I'm not too interested in the sport). You won't get bored of NASCAR Rumble anytime soon because of lack of levels or play modes—there's plenty of them. Instead, the difficulty (or lack thereof) is what I'm worried about. Rumble is more about bashing your way to the top—once you're there, it's hard to lose the lead. But then again, some Jeff Gordon fans might find that to be a case of this game being realistic, while others will find it annoying. —Kraig Kujawa EVERYONE Vibration Function Compatible Developer ATD Publisher Psygnosis E Analog Control Gne Compatible Racing Stage II's impressive list of new features includes the intriguing—but quirky— Rubble Soccer (right). Pros Cons * Lots of new * Too-short features tracks * Good selection | * Some irritating of tracks slowdown * Fantastically * New features stylish graphics are Poorly implemented 000€: с 2 j Card = jemory Са T. Developer Electronic Arts ES Мака Funct Publisher Electronic Arts Racing Em Analog Control Compatible Whoa, Nellie, lookee dat tornado on the road! Tornadoes are a pain in the ass and will throw cars around the road like con- fetti (above). Pre Elite Pros Cons * Speedy, colorful | * Horrible graphics “commentator” * Lots of tracks * Maybe a bit and cars too easy * Very smooth * Some of the gameplay weapons are lame 000€: Stage Insane racing with some frustrating flaws he original Rollcage was an interesting racer with one signifi- cant problem: There just wasn't enough of it. Now Psygnosis has undertaken to remedy this with Stage II, and the results are, on the whole, favorable. In addition to the standard racing features in Stage II—circuit mode, time trial, etc.—the game includes some unique highlights. One such is the maddeningly challenging Scramble mode, which forces play- ers to race through a progressively more difficult series of intricately twisting courses suspended in midair, trying to meet a preset time restraint. Other additions include two-player combat arenas, Survivor modes, and an off-the-wall extra called Rubble Soccer. The game also suffers from some new problems, however: Though the tracks are still as disappointingly short as in the original game, Stage II seems to have some odd patches of noticeable slowdown. And the two- player Combat mode, though a nice idea, is hindered by restrictive level design and the lack of an easy means of tracking your opponent. The Scramble mode would also have been better with less touchy controls. Stage II is still worth a look for anyone seeking a new racing experi- ence; it just needs a few more tweaks to take first place. --/ое Rybicki Reviews The final word—official and unbiased The Misadventures April 2000 Official U.S. Еее СТӨ of Tron Bonne Surprisingly enjoyable action romp ven though we categorized this Megaman Legends sequel as an action game, it doesn't fit neatly into any one category— Tron Bonne is basically a collection of different genres and minigames, all enjoyable in their own way, and all neatly tied together in one big lighthearted package. The overall goal in Tron is to collect money, which you do by completing a series of increasingly challenging puzzle, first-person dungeon explo- ration, and Legends-style action/shooting levels. Taking on too many gen- res often spells disaster, but Tron succeeds by keeping everything simple and straightforward, concentrating on fun rather than technique. Another big part of the charm of Tron Bonne comes from the Servbots— those little guys who look like Lego men. There are 40 unique Servbots you can talk with, name, train to help you on your missions, torture, help develop special skills, and more. Plus their high-pitched voices and eager-to-please attitude lends the game much of its distinct humor. With its crisp, colorful graphics, plenty of excellent voice work, and eclectic gameplay that's never very deep but can be awfully addictive (especially the puzzle game), Tron Bonne makes a perfect rental for fans of almost any type of game. —Mark MacDonald Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Genre Fighting se: PlayStation! Mini games like the monkey shoot above are very cool, but most others sort of suck. Pros Cons * Cool story * Fighting engine mode is not too deep e Lots of goodies | e Weirdness fac- to unlock tor may turn * Great animation some gamers off * Tight controls * Minigames are hit or miss 00000 Л QO Curry Rice (D Spaghetti Tron Bonne includes a smorgasbord of differ- ent games, including (clockwise from bottom left) puzzle, first-person dungeon exploration, action/shooting and various mini-games. Pros Cons * Raising and * Not very long training * None of the Servbots games are very * Great voices deep * Simply fun to play 0000” Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Bizarre and brilliant at the same time t certainly has been an up-and-down situation for Capcom's 2D PlayStation titles. After SF Alpha 3 won our fighting game of the year, Marvel vs Capcom turned out much less impressive. True to its title, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is fittingly weird, but it's also a great fighting game. The gameplay meets with Capcom's usual high standards although the depth is lacking compared to other offerings. You get all the standard modes you expect with this genre, like Arcade, Training and Versus modes, but they also threw in an awesome story mode and tons of secrets to unlock. The point system keeps you coming back for more and the story has a few branching points as well. There are definitely lots of lost animation frames from the original arcade version, but it's amazing how much stayed in considering they ported it over from a CPS III board. To give some perspective, the Versus series (Marvel vs Capcom, X-men vs SF, etc) that so taxed the capabilities of the PlayStation ran on CPS II. In short, Jojo is right up there with SF Alpha 3 and Guilty Gear as the best the system has to offer in 2D fight- ing. Die-hard fans will feel at home immediately while the simplistic engine is newbie friendly. — Wataru Maruyama Reviews The final word—official and unbiased Hydro Thunder Man the life boats, this ship is sinking idway has done a good job of surprising me with the quality of their arcade ports, especially with MK4 and the Blitz games. So it's especially disappointing to see this below- average translation of an above-average racer. It's not the actual engine translation that's so disappointing; there's the expected drop in frame-rate, but the solid Dual Shock controls help counteract that. It's still really annoying in places, and can hurt your performance during some tight spots, but the precise controls can help you pull through. Similarly annoying are the super-glitchy graphics: Hit the water too hard, for example, and you may find the entire surface disappearing as the camera view moves underwater. But what's most disappointing is the lack of any significant improve- ments. Sure there are two brand-new tracks, but they're both short and boring. There's a two-player mode with no noticeable hit in frame-rate, but the glitchy graphics make this nearly unplayable. And there's a circuit mode, but that's simply playing through all the tracks in one go, with the only reward being four new boats. And basically, once you gain these and open up all the tracks (by coming in first on each one in Arcade mode), there's really no reason to come back to the game. —Joe Rybicki ГОТ 1-8 (î j| Players A | Memory Card СЕ 1-6 blocks Brunswick ‘Analog Control Compatible ro Bowling 2 Developer Adrenline Publisher THQ Genre f you're too lazy to get up and exert yourself playing the high-impact sport of bowling, then this game will satisfy your thirst for pin-bashing. The name of the game with Brunswick is realism. From the real- life pros available at your controls to the brand-name bowling balls (each with strengths and weaknesses), you'll feel like you're really on the pro circuit—if that's what you really want. There's plenty of play modes; you can compete on the Brunswick Pro Circuit with one of the pros (or your own created bowlers), or chill out and play a relaxing game of Cosmic Bowling. Despite its elaborate physics engine and eye for realism, anyone can learn the game easily. Surprisingly, it's the load times that are a bit tough to stomach. —Kraig Kujawa © e 8 - Analog Control Developer Blue Shift E3 Compatible Publisher Midway В Genre Racing Hydro Thunder’s tracks are all about insane jumps, hidden shortcuts...and crappy frame-rate. Cons * Bad frame-rate * Nasty glitchy graphics * Lack of added features hurts replay value Pros * Solid controls * Great track design Armored Core: Master of Arena Developer From Software О Vibration Function Compatible f you've played either of the two Publisher Agetec 1 Genre Action previous Armored Core games, you pretty much already know what you can expect from this latest title: decent controls (although still no ana- log support?! Why?! Arghh!), a solid graphics engine, and a nice variety of single-player missions. Split screen or link cable multiplayer is still good fun once both players get used to the controls, and as always there's plenty of parts, weapons and paints for you to customize your mech. The big new (0000. feature this time around is supposed to be the expanded Arena mode, where you challenge computer char- acters to one-on-one combat in a large tournament of sorts. A nice addition, but one that will really only be enjoyed, like the rest of AC: MoA, by those who are already fans of the series. —Mark MacDonald (00€00 JOHN McCLANE STUNT DOUBLE #134 - STEPPED ON PROXIMITY MNE NEAR ROULETTE TABLE WHILE BATTLING TERRORISTS. | THEY COULON'T НАМОШ BEING JOHN McCLANE, САМ You? www.foxinteractive.com For mature audiences only. McCLANE IN ZRD PERSON ACTION MODE. OUBLE 1-56 wes IN jas ERROR IST. Joun McCLANE STUNT D - BROKEN NEAR SLOT А СТеК риє. with A RUSSIAN Баа t Hom 3 y TE | McCLANE IN SHARPSHOOTER MODE. "T AC a Ыра McCLANE IN EXTREME DRIVING MODE. FLEX YOUR SKILLS IN ONE OF THREE UNIQUE GAME MODES. OR MIX ALL THREE MODES INTO ONE INTENSE STORY-DRIVEN DIE HARD ADVENTURE, IF YOU LIKED THE ORIGINAL BEST-SELLING DIE HARD TRILOGY, THE SEQUEL МАУ JUST BLOW YOUR MiNb. IT STILL HAS 3 INTENSE GAME MODES, BUT NOW MCCLANE IS BATTLING INTERNATIONAL TERRORISTS IN LAS VEGAS WITH BETTER GRAPHICS, SMARTER ENEMIES, MORE HIGH-POWERED WEAPONS, FASTER CARS ANO A LOT MORE ODDS STACKED AGAINST HIM. $0 TRY TO SAVE SIN CITY—JUST MAKE SURE YOU ALSO SAVE YOUR OWN BUTT. VIVA LAS VEGAS © 2000 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Die Hard © 1988 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Fox, Fox Interactive, Die Hard Trilogy 2, and their associated logos are all trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association April 2000 Official U.S. РУДИ мава) STRATEGY by Jim Mazurek jim_mazurek@zd.com f you're looking for a combat-heavy non- linear RPG with plush graphics and a mag- nificent musical score, then SaGa Frontier 2 may be the game you've been dreaming of. However, if you're not one to drool over the thought of entering repetitive battles every 10 seconds or so (like me), and you absolutely hate having to make even simple decisions in-game, this game isn't for you. With that off my chest, I think it's fair to say that SaGa Frontier 2 is a love-it or hate-it kinda game. You'll either love its use of clean graphics and the deep and involving storyline, or you'll hate it because the combat system and level up structure are just plain ridiculous. Either way, it's worth check- ing out to see for yourself. Special thanks to Fernando Bustamante at Square EA for his help! MAC LP/WP/SP/HP: How Many Different Ps Are There? We'll be the first to admit that the battle system in SF2 is a bit overwhelming at first. You'll need to learn about the different points systems, the spells, the Spell Arts, the weapons, the Weapon Arts, the weapon skill levels, and so on and so forth. This list breaks down the most important details of each, and hopefully clears up most of the questions you may have had. Ф LP (Life Points) Ө SP (Spell Points) LP stands for Life Points. As such, LP. For the most part, SP act just like WP. are your primary means of healing dur- They can only be restored by visiting an ing sticky situations. Once you use up inn, or by using an Ark Stone. Like WP, your LP, they are gone until you go to they increase when you gain experience. an inn and sleep. Unfortunately, there are no items in the game that restore LP, so the 20 or so points devoted to each character should be used for emergency situations only. Don't burn through LP if you don't have to. Ө Weapon Arts New Weapon Arts are learned through the prolonged use of existing Weapon Arts. The more that you use them, the better your chances for learning new ones. Each character can only have eight Weapon Arts equipped at one time (max), so it pays to be organized and know which ones are best. There are six categories of Weapon Arts: Martial Arts, Sword Arts, Staff Arts, Bow Arts, Spear Arts and Axe Arts. of the game’s special arts. Lesser arts will consume only a few WP each use, while greater arts can consume gobs of them. Each WP that you use is per- manently used up, much like Spell Points in normal role-playing games. Restore them by visiting an inn, or by using an Ark Stone. Your maximum WP will increase as you gain experience. О Custom Combo Arts Combo Arts act like regular arts, except for the fact that two, three, or even four of them will connect at once for massive damage. There are three distinct types of Custom Combo Arts. [3 Character Role There are many different types of roles for your character, and each of them has its own distinct set of strengths and weaknesses. See the "Roles" sidebar on page 105 for more details. 7) Duo Combination (two attacks) 2) Triple Onslaught (three attacks) J) All Out Attack (four attacks) Equipping Arts Did you know that you can check and change your party's equipped arts list require you to manually enter com- mands during battles (charge, charge, cleave for example), so you will be Once a specific art is learned by a character, that art is also fair game to at any time? Just access the arts tab on your main menu, then page through each character. Once inside, you'll see that you can equip a maxi- mum of eight arts per character. anyone else in your party. So if you have two characters with swords and one of them learns the Bear Crush art, why not equip it on the other guy as well? Unfortunately, the Duel Battles unable to equip these in this menu. Refer to the arts list (on page 101) for а command/arts conversion list to help you during Duel battles. S: This is the complete list of standard Weapon Arts. Use this chart as you'd use a move list for a fighting game (for Duel Battles). Listed next to each art are the respective WP, attack powers, and commands for use during a Team Battle. Remember that the arts are listed T in ascending order (damage-wise), so you probably won't learn the ones farther down the list until very late in the game. Punch 1 3 Punch Slash 1 9 Slash Karate Punch 2 9 : Ready, Punch Double Slash 2 21 Cleave, Cleave Backhand 3 15 Feint, Punch Cross Slash 3 25 Slash, Backslash Rotation Kick 5 527 i Charge, Kick Strike Slash 5? 27. 1 Feint, Slash Bear Paw 4 24 Charge, Grab Running Slash 3 33 Feint, Backslash, Backslash Brawl 4 27 Punch, Kick, Punch Mist Double 3 34 Feint, Cleave, Slash Ogre Run 4 32 N/A Smash 4 37 Charge, Cleave Crush Beat :4 55 i Charge, Punch, Punch Final Letter 36 539 : Backslash, Cleave, Backslash Heart Breaker 5 38 Focus, Grab, Punch Dead End 7 42 Cleave, Backslash, Slash Arm Hammer 5 45 Charge, Charge, Punch Double Stroke 4 44 Ready, Backslash, Backslash Kick Rush 5 :49 Kick, Kick, Kick Cross Break 5 46 Charge, Cleave, Cleave Corkscrew 6 :51 : Charge, Focus, Punch Slice & Dice 222) 49; : Slash, Backslash, Cleave Somersault 6 i 54 Charge, Kick, Kick Dragon Tail 5 50 Feint, Slash, Backslash Triangle Kick 6 57 Feint, Kick, Kick Head Cracker 6 52 Ready, Charge, Slash Sumo Throw 8 60 Punch, Grab, Kick Heaven & Hell 6 55 Charge, Slash, Backslash Kitchen Sink 7 : 62 : Charge, Feint, Kick After Vision 7 ТЕБЕ : N/A Rolling Thunder 9 64 Focus, Punch, Punch, Punch Head Wind 7 59 Feint, Cleave, Backslash Tumbler 9 72 Feint, Grab, Charge, Grab Bull Crush 8 63 Charge, Charge, Cleave Cascade Rising 10 79 Focus, Kick, Kick, Kick No Moment 8 66 Ready, Ready, Ready, Slash Dragon Revolution: 10 85 i Feint, Grab, Kick, Punch Blade Spray 9 ВД : Ready, Charge, Charge, Backslash Kamikaze 10 (+P) : 90 Charge, Charge, Charge, Grab Bear Crush 10 80 Charge, Charge, Charge, Cleave Eradication 10 Punch, Punch, Kick, Kick Multi-Way 13 Slash, Backslash, Cleave, Slash ) J or Spear Arts, but qu | probably be using them quite a bit. Staff A s. Because they often favor statu s ailments | n or Def. Down. ? definitely an acquired Attack Power Commands Beat 1 1 Roll Beat 2 10 : Swing, Swing Aim Shot 3 18 Feint, Focus, Shoot Heart Beat 3 14 Focus, Beat Random Shot 2 12 N/A = Lobster Slayer 4 :28 ; Swing, Feint, Swing Shadow Bind D N/A i Feint, Focus, Shoot е Bone Crush 4 31 Focus, Charge, Beat Arrow Rain 4 32 N/A TN Head Splitter 4 34 Focus, Focus, Beat Mind Break 5 36 Focus, Feint, Quickshot 5 Gong Beat 6 42 Ready, Charge, Swing Sidewinder 4 44 Focus, Focus, Shoot id Painful Beat 5 145 3 Ready, Focus, Beat Shadow Slayer : 6 :49 i Shoot, Focus, Quickshot Rock Crush 7 50 Charge, Beat, Beat, Beat Thousand Needle : 6 52 Quickshot, Quickshot, Shoot Turtle Killer 10 : 61 Charge, Focus, Focus, Beat Rapid Fire 7 55 Charge, Quickshot x3 Grand Slam 8 274 М/А Hi-Speed Arrow 7 64 Charge, Focus, Focus, Quickshot Time & Tide 14 :77 i Feint, Focus, Beat, Beat Crystal Prism 559 i Quickshot, Shoot, Quickshot, Shoot А select few can use Axes effectively, but these weapons do dish There are few characters thal ë in Spear Arts, but if out considerable damage. Tyler is especially well-suited to use they do, be prepared for some impressive results. The Wide the Axe, so make sure to have a fresh supply of them on hand. Swing is an excellent attack for taking out groups of enemies. Art WP Attack Power Commands - WP . Attack Power Commands Official 0.5. PlayStation Mmagazne( S) Slash 12 Slash Thrust 1 Thrust Tomahawk :17 Charge, Throw Swing & Stab 2 Backslash, Thrust Heel Crush 19 Focus, Backslash Double Thrust 2 Я Thrust, Thrust Hyper Hammer i 24 } Charge, Backslash Lawnmower i4 127 i Backslash, Backslash Wood Cutter 27 Charge, Charge, Slash Rush 13 32 Charge, Thrust Fake Out 34 Feint, Backslash, Slash Skewer 14 1% Charge, Charge, Thrust Skull Crush 40 Focus, Charge, Slash Wave Thrust :5 43 Backslash, Thrust, Thrust Axel Turn 144 : Ready, Charge, Backslash Wide Swing KS +: 47 i N/A Ogre Crossing 49 Ready, Backslash, Backslash Brain Shaker 4 51 Focus, Feint, Thrust Sky Dive 53 Charge, Feint, Throw Aiming 25 55 Focus, Focus, Thrust Megahit 60 Ready, Charge, Slash Squash 56 :57 : Feint, Backslash, Thrust Yo-Yo 355 : Focus, Charge, Throw, Throw Shining Arm go : 63 i Charge, Feint, Thrust Wheel Grind 61 Feint, Slash, Slash, Slash Heavenly Strike : 10 16 : Backslash, Backslash, Thrust Flash Trinity 70 : Ready, Slash, Slash, Backslash Beast Lightning : 9 69 Ready, Focus, Backslash, Thrust Sky Rendezvous 73 Throw, Throw, Focus, Throw Thousand Cross : 12 80 : Thrust, Thrust, Thrust, Thrust Tornado Divine :91 ; Backslash, Backslash, Charge, Slash Fearless Triple 214 288 i Feint, Backslash, Backslash, Thrust Strategy 01 Gustave Arrives 02 Gustave Exiled O3 Departure From Homel land 4 04 Gustave 12 Years Old 5 05 Gustave & The Blacksmith 6 16 06 Gustave 15 Years Old 7 8 9 10 16 07 Wil's Departure 68 9 08 Reunion N/A 09 Desert Megalith 8 10] 16 17 10 Mother's Sickbed [112 16 17 11 Infiltrate! Alexei Gang 12 15 12 Conquest of Wide 13 16 17 20 13 Gustave and the Pirates N/A 14 Atthe Mines 16 2117] 23 15 Showdown Alexei 1120 16 23 # 16 Gruegel N/A E 17 Vogelgang N/A a 18 Weissland N/A « 19 Laubholz М/А 20 Father's Sudden Death 13 212] 21 Landing 23 24 SaGa 22 Beyond Grand Valley 23 24 23 Tycoon Wil 16 18 19129 30 24 Battle of Bunkerhill 25 Gustave's Reunion 26 Construction of Hahn Nova 27 At the Mines Il 16 17 18 19 The Firebrand Tragedy 29 30 Johan the Assassin Map Key (by Region onis е Lordless Land (E) 6) Weissland @ Jade & Wide Ф Unknown Land 16 17 18 31 Grand D * This guide labels the different paths of paper, just jot down the different event num- © пап esert SaGa Frontier 2 by event and coordinates them bers (noting that they are colored according to with a useful number system. These numbers region) and you'll be well on your way to com- Grand Teille represent the events that you can travel to pleting SaGa Frontier 2. upon completion of the previous event. So, if Once you complete the game, you'll be able you beat the event Gustave Arrives (1), you сап to make a save file and restart to complete the Ө Lordless Land (W) now access two new events (2 and 7). If you next wave of events. The cool thing is that beat Gustave Exiled (2), on the other hand, you'll still have all of your items and acquired т you'll only be able to access one new event (3). arts. This makes it much easier to complete Ф Merchmin See how it works? Very simple. Knowing the second or third time through. this, you should be able to plot a course through the game on your own. With a pad of 16 17 18 19 29 31 ETE] Anima Е Fiasco 30 N/A The General's Memories 31 16 19 ЕЕ Wil vs. Egg 32 The Southern Fort 33 Into the Forest 34 Gustave's Successor 35 16 17 18 19 38 To the Monster Nest 36 38 Hahn Nova in Flames 37 16 17 18 19/4107] Life Tree Island 38 16 40E 71 Death of Cantal. 39 43 Return of the Egg 40 16 17 18 1927] To the Fossil Caves 41 43 45 Kelvin's Last Battle. 42 47 Misty's Plot 43 16 17 18 19 40 To Cast a Rainbow 44 46 48 Fake Gustave Arrives 45 48 49 Ginny's Departure 46 45 46 Deadly Battle with the Egg 47 49 50 Edelritter 48 Ginny's Adventure Peace Conference Insect Megalith Battle of Hahn Nova Pursuing the Egg Battle of South Moundtop 19 56 16 17 18 19/2/ To Gustave’s Stronghold Battle of S. Moundtop И 58 Into the Northern Capital N/A The Last Megalith Official U.S. GEMS EM Cela) Nrageane( © ) April 2000 * Getting your roles set up before boss battles can be invaluable. Here's a list of what we used for some of the tougher ones. (See diagram at right.) Area Attack Role/Position 2 x When encountering a boss who's supported by @ A character with lots of HP and WALL here. multiple enemies up front, it's wise to use an @ A well balanced character with ACE here. (ENEMY) (ENEMY area attack like the Wide Swing. This way, you Q Your strongest attacker as HEAVY ATTACK $ can stun the two supporting creatures while still here. inflicting a decent amount of damage on the © A well balanced character as BANDWAGON (1) main boss. This is only necessary with one attack, here. since multiple stuns get no cumulative bonus. 0560? ә “(9% SaGa FRONTIER Strategy Walk-Through Wil’s Departure-Showdown! Alexei Gang SaGa Frontier 2 is an open scenario RPG that has many different paths that lead to the end. This guide shows you the quickest way to get from start to finish and does not include many of the side quests or optional events. It details the paths for William Knights only. The numbers on the events coordinate with those on the map preceding this page (hence the strange, non-linear numbering sys- tem). If you want a direct path, don’t stray from these numbers. Just e-mail jim_mazurekezd.com for more info on the optional quests. 01 Wil's Departure © Proceed northeast and find the woman in the small house. She's next to some bunk beds. Talk to her and she'll reveal info about a boy named Kyle. Return to Alexei once more (near the fire), then proceed to the Wil begins in the town of Westia after setting off on a quest to find Quells. @ Locate the bar in the upper left corner of town and enter the building. Talk to the man there and a girl (Cornelia) will enter the room. Talk to her and she'll join your party. Narcisse will also join up. Leave Westia and travel to the Ruins of Hahn. Once you arrive, head all the way to the left and enter the small stone 02 Desert Megalith archway. Here you'll meet Tyler, who will also join your party. Your goal is to continue down the cave until you find one of the three Quells located there: the Amber Maleate, the Pocket Dragon, or the Kris Knife. Once you find one (or all) of these Quells, leave the cave and return to Westia. This will complete the scenario. ladder and talk to all the kids nearby. Enter the house to the right and talk to the old man there. Exit the house and return to the bar. Talk to the kid hiding in the shadows, then head to the eastern side of town. Q Enter the tower structure and search the hole in the center of the room. Leave, and outside, talk to the dog. Now, you'll need to run all the way back to the other side of the city (near the bar) and find the spot where the dog ran off. © When you approach the dog, enter the passage to the right of him. After talking to the man, you'll be thrown into a small dungeon. Find Kyle (by touching him), then leave the dungeon area. The scenario will complete after a small story sequence. Showdown! Alexei Gang | 04 Wil begins in the town of Westia at the home of his aunt and uncle. @ Return to the bar and talk to your friends about a new quest. Ө Leave Westia and head to Gruegel. In Gruegel, talk to the townspeople there and gather information about the Desert Megalith. Leave Gruegel and enter the Continent Interior. Navigate through the Interior until you reach the town of Vogelgang. Infiltrate! Alexei Gang © In Vogelgang, talk to the people at the bar (including the bartender). Read the Guest Book he offers you, then leave. Once you leave the town of Vogelgang, this scenario will be complete. Wil starts in Mickage Quarry, where his main quest will be to find and defeat Alexei. @ Head up and around to the left (one or two screens), then go down to the right until you find the base of the mine entrance. You'll see two net ladders. Climb up the ladder on the right, then proceed up the next lad- der and go to the very top of the quarry. Make a Quicksave, then enter the mine. The battle ensues... In Thermes, Wil sends Tyler out on a quest to the City of Night. At the same time, Wil infiltrates the infamous Alexei Gang. @ Talk to Tyler. He'll head to the City of Night. Leave the bar, then Wil will warp back to the town of Westia. Approach one of the men in the bar and they will ask you to join them in their quest. @ You'll be in the City of Night with Wil, then the game will switch back to Tyler. You'll need to talk to (and kill) a series of people before progressing in this scenario. First, go to the boy at the top of the ladder. CHEAT THE YSTEM © After defeating the boy, head out to the bar in the upper left hand cor- ner of the town and exit through the back door. Three Ruffians will attack you. After finishing them off, go back into the bar and talk with everyone. You'll learn of a man named Kisk. Q Head down to the house with the note stapled on the door. Read it and а woman will appear telling you the news about Kisk. Head right to find Alexei near the fire and talk to him. For this technique, it's key to find an enemy that doesn't dish out too. much damage. There are supposed to be only two ways to earn back the WP (weapon points) that you expend in battle. Normally, you'd have to either visit an inn and sleep, or use an Ark Stone (which fully restores both WP and SP). Unfortunately, there never seem to be any inns when you need them, and those darned Ark Stones aren't exactly easy to come by. As such, I developed somewhat of a poor man's WP-restoring system. Follow the steps at right and you'll back in action in no time! Alexei's Dragons (x2) N/A It's impossible to kill these dragons, so don't feel bad when you lose. Nina will revive everyone in your party and destroy the dragons with the Megabolt spell soon after. After the first battle with the Dragons, you'll enter another battle where you'll need to defeat Alexei himself. Alexei 23,000 This is a tough fight. You'll need to use the strongest attacks that you've learned up to this point. If you fail because you don't have enough WP, use the "Cheat the System" tech- nique before battle. @ Make sure to have some sort of recovery-based spell equipped on each of your characters. Water is a good choice. @ Engage in a Team Battle with the weakest enemy you can find (any enemy will suffice). Kill off all ene- mies in the group, except for the weakest one (the guy who inflicts the least amount of damage). Q On the following turn, enter the Defend command for each character (characters will regain WP each time they defend). Ө Use Water to restore lost HP to damaged charac- ters. The Defend skill will significantly reduce dam- age, but it won't completely eliminate it. Q Repeat steps three and four until your WP are completely restored. WILLIAM KNIGHTS’ QUEST 05 |At the Mines | Walk-Through At the Mines-Anima Faith Fiasco 07 Tycoon Wil Wil starts in the Svendorf Mines, and, after a small story sequence, he'll be taken to Westia. After hearing of trouble back at the mines, Wil checks it out. @ Return to the mines and you'll dis- cover that it's infested with monsters. You'll need to navigate through the mines (saving miners as you go) until you reach the far right side. You'll encounter a room that's full of ene- mies (these baddies continually respawn from a little generator in the back of the room). Approach the gen- erator and you'll enter a fight. You'll need to select the "close-in" option to destroy the generator (during battle). If you don't, the enemies will just keep appearing. Once you've destroyed the generator, the scenario will end. Wil needs to find a way to cross the Grand Valley. The ridiculous toll for crossing the bridge is definitely out of the question. You'll fight between 20 and 50 of these little guys when you're in here. Ugh! More Gremlins! Beyond Grand Valley @ From the Stone Bridge, head down until you find Narcisse. He'll join your party. Continue down until you enter the forest area. Covered in fog, the enemies won't become visible until they're right up in your face. Ө Advance through the forest until you reach an area with a large clear- ing in the middle of the screen. Make a Quicksave, then prepare your char- therein. @ Head up to the shop on the left side of the street. Talk to the girl (Labelle) and she will join your party. Leave the shop, then exit the town of Laubholz. Ө Next, travel to Weissland and enter the shop on the left. Talk to the shopkeep and learn some valuable info. Leave the shop and head down to the inn. Talk to the man there (William) and he will join your party. Exit the town area (making sure to have William in your party), and head to the upper left corner of the snow field. © Once you enter the area with all the monsters, proceed forward until you come to a tent. William will inform you that the bridge is down and that you can enter the Ice Megalith. Ice Megalith Beast 1st Form 21,200 In the town of Laubholz, Wil learns of the Ice Megalith and the perils that lie 2nd Form 28,000 Ө You'll need some basic dungeon- crawling skills here, since it can be fairly confusing at times. Once you reach the room with the two doors, enter either one and you'll be in the room with little blue warp points. Follow the warp points to the bottom (each point corresponds to the same point on a higher or lower block), then stand on the large warp point in the middle of the screen. Ө Enter the door at the top of the screen, then watch the small story event. When you regain control, make a Quicksave, then re-enter the room with the large blue pillar. You'll fight the Ice Megalith Beast three times (with a chance to Quicksave between each battle); winning com- pletes the scenario. 3rd Form >12,000 Don't bother attacking either of the supporting monsters directly. Instead, focus all your power on the Megalith Beast itself. Things won't be too tough for the first and second forms, especially if you've got a couple key combos that can hit the beast for consistent damage. Once you've dealt enough damage, a "Retreat" command will appear. Use it! Anima Faith Fiasco| 08 acters for a tough boss battle (equip your best arts, best weapons, best armor, and use defense against fire if you have some). This was the first boss that we couldn't beat on the first try. Roles are very important here. Vulcanoid 28,000 The first real test of strength, the Vulcanoid is one tough hunk of earth. Don't be afraid to expend all of your WP and LP for this battle. Every once in awhile, he'll dish out four attacks in a row on one of your characters. This usually leads to death. Remember that you can use the Water art to "revive" dead characters with minimum HP. Once they've revived, use LP to bring them back to full strength. Head up and to the left until you find a clearing in the fog. Cross the bridge and exit the area to complete the scenario. Once back in Westia, Wil decides to return to the Ruins of Hahn... @ Talk to your friends and exit the town right away. Go to the Ruins of Hahn and enter the small stone arch- way that leads down into the caves. Q You'll hop through the dungeon slaying wave after wave of monster filth until you finally reach the bot- tom. Here, you'll encounter some Merman (x3) 21,000 each These guys are actually quite simple (they all have ultra-low defense ratings), and even your standard/mid-level arts will do enough damage to take them out swiftly. Anima Faith Followers. Head right and you'll find the Anima Faith Chieftain. Backtrack a few screens to the left and you'll see the doorway that was previously blocked is now clear. Head up through the doorway and you'll have to fight three Mermen. CHARACTER ROLES You'll have the choice of select- ing many different roles for you characters in SaGa Frontier 2. Effectively choosing the roles for different situations can be tricky and sometimes downright con- fusing. Hopefully, this list of top choices will clear up some of that confusion and allow you to focus on more important things. Ace/Bandwagon Both of these roles increase the percentage of custom combos used in battle. These are KEY roles to use during boss battles—espe- cially during Team Battles. Since they only increase the actual rate of combo attacks, it would be ridicu- lous to assign these roles during a Duel Battle. After all, in a Duel Battle you only have one character to worry about Heavy Attack/Blitz These two roles are for the “Hercules” types in your group—the guys who just seem to hit hard no matter which art they use (like Gustaf). Both of these roles increase attack numbers (with Blitz offering just a lit- tle bit more, but sacrificing those key evasion skills), You'll notice a considerable gain in attack power when in Duel Battles with these roles equipped. Heavy Spell This role is useful only once in a while. A good choice would be a character with high specialization in Fire or Tree magic (or any other offensive magic, for that matter). It works well with your third or fourth charac- ter when in Team Battles; especially since it's entirely possible to connect with high-level custom attack/spell combos. Wall/Defense Both of these rol substantial increa: defense ratings (Wall is for nly. Defense for the entire party). We found tl useful when we had a weak character up front during Team Battles. If you knc one person weak charac- ter is going to be pounded on repeatedly jn them role like Wall. It makes a difference, trust us. Official U.S. ayStation Magazine( ©) SaGa FRONTIER Strategy Walk-Through Wil vs. Egg-Life Tree Island 09 [Wil vs. Egg | @ Talk to Tyler (he's sitting at the table in the bar), then listen to the plan of action. Leave Westia and travel to the City of Nights. After a few short cinema sequences, the game will cut back to Tyler in the City of Night. Ө Climb up the pile of rocks nearby and enter the house. Talk to the man inside (Gustave) and he will join your Wyvern 213,000 Gustave does massive damage ti Q The scene will change over to Wil Knights, at which point you'll climb up the ladder and engage a girl and a few of her pet monsters. She's not a threat, so you can take her out with just a few simple combo attacks (see the Weapon Arts chart on page 101 for more info). Moving on, you'll need Pirate >1,500 telies on your ability to use effective comb weapon/status. Into the Forest 10 cially with arts like the Bull Crush. When you defeat the Wyvern, the scene will switch over to William Knights on the pirate ship. Since it's a Duel Battle, the difficulty of the battle on page 101 to find the most effective combo for your current Can Wil finally track down the Egg and get his hands on it once and for all? party. Gustave has a special sword with an attack power of 53. This will make the battles flow a bit easier from here on in. Ө You'll need to scour every screen of this town, exterminating every mon- ster you encounter. Once you've done so, head to the center of town and talk to the pirate. Gulp—prepare to meet his pet Wyvern! Wood Guard 28,000 This guy doesn't deal out much damage, especially if you have your roles set up to help increase the frequency of combo attacks. After six or seven rounds, you should be able to drop him. Ө Advance a bit further into the forest (probably about five or six screens). When you reach the screen with the Treefolk >12,000 base of a large tree leading to a tower, you're almost there. Climb the tower to the fifth floor, then fight the boss. You'll definitely need to use an Ark Stone before fighting her, and, even then, this fight will be tough. Get the custom combos working as early on as possible and make sure o the Wyvern, espe- to go through the cabin door and engage the captain's pet Slime. Again, not a tough battle. Proceed through the ship and climb down the ladder to examine the small sack. Run up the ladder and go out onto the main deck. A boss battle will ensue. os. Just use the chart „А? Ө Defeating the Pirate completes this scenario. to adjust your roles accordingly (see “Roles” sidebar) To the Monster Nest| 11 Eleanor begins at the entrance to the monster nest, with Raymond, Patrick and William as support. Q Go through the nest until you reach the mine, then explore the mine until you find the large blue glowing rock. When you exit the Gargoyle >18,000 mine, Eleanor will say that you need to return the way you came. When you're almost all the way back, you'll be ambushed by the Gargoyle boss. The Gargoyle has tons and tons of HP. It's basically a war of attrition; the only effective way to win is to build up WP. before battle (use the "Cheat the System" technique). When you ; defeat him, this scenario will be complete. Life Tree Island] 12 @ The entire forest is basically one big puzzle, with the screens looping over on one another until you finally find the correct path. What you'll need to do first is make your way to the right until you come upon a small stone-filled courtyard. Make a Quicksave, then approach the trees to the north of the courtyard. You'll be attacked by the Wood Guard Although it may seem like killing monsters and selling items are the best ways to grow rich, you'll soon find that the amount of time invest- ed in doing so can be astronomical. We recommend spending less time crushing baddies and more time searching dungeons and caves for valuables. We've hit paydirt, Сарт! Eleanor will be smack-dab in the middle of the forest looking for a tower. She gets a map of the forest, then proceeds inward. Richard Knights begins in the home of Narcisse, as Narcisse mentions an island that contains special life-replenishing seeds. Richard grows interested, so Narcisse asks him to go and bring back some of the seeds for him. @ Leave the house and approach the man with the boat at the north side of town. Take it across to Life Tree Island. Once on the island, enter the cave and proceed past the shipwreck. Go up and around to the left until you see the large tree. Making Money There are three ways to make money in SaGa Frontier 2. @ Kill a monster, then grab its loot. @ Find a large sum of hidden Crowns/Chips as treasure. © Buy and sell Tools (or weapons) to specialized dealers throughout the world. Currency Conversion The Chips are a treasure of sorts, holding value only because they are actually little concentrated chunks of Anima. Upon entering certain @ Pick up all the seeds and return the way you came. When you get back to the shipwreck, it will begin to move and take you to a completely different area to fight Mother Grendel. shops, you'll find dealers who spe- cialize in the conversion of these Anima Chips to Crowns (normal cur- rency). There are different rates for different amounts, and you tend to get better conversions for larger trades. This is all great news until you figure out that your Crowns don't carry over from one scenario to the next (although Chips do). The moral of this story? Don't convert all of your Chips into Crowns if you don't need to. Only use up Chips as you need equipment, which should be rarely, if ever. Mother Grendel >5,000 prepare afraid Ө Bring the seeds back to Narcisse (in his home), then exit. You'll bump into a strange girl who seems to be in possession of the Egg. A story WILLIAM KNIGHTS’ QUEST 13 |To the Fossil Caves sequence will take place, after which you'll need to head back and talk with Narcisse once more. This will conclude the scenario. SaGa Frontier 2 Walk-Throu To the Fossil Caves—Insect Megalith 16 Misty's Plot Richard begins in the town of North Gate, where he learns of treasure in the Fossil Caves to the east. @ Proceed north and enter the inn. Talk with the blonde girl near the fire- place (Diana), and she will join your party. Exit the inn and head right toward the Fossil Caves. will have two tle (wher acking them © After destroying the Fossil Beast and his minions, continue to the right and the bridge will shatter (closing off your path to escape). From here, head 14 |To Cast a Rainbow @ Avoid as many enemies as you can until you reach the bone bridge (you'll really need to conserve WP, SP, and HP for the boss). Cross the bridge and you'll be attacked by the Fossil Beast. down and around to the left. Take one more screen north, then examine the nearby stones. This will complete the scenario. Richard is still in North Gate when he learns about a mysterious spell that’s been cast over the townspeople there. @ Go to the inn and speak with the innkeeper. Exit the inn and head to the Fossil Caves. Go through it until you reach a room with a large Anima dinosaur skeleton on the back wall. © Examine the blue Anima Crystal and you'll be attacked by the Anima Beast. 28,000 Deadly Egg Battle| 17 Richard learns more about the mysterious Egg, as well as a few things about Misty (Misty is the girl holding the Egg). @ From the docks, head up to the inn. Talk to the innkeeper, then travel to the right side of town and exit. Q You'll arrive at the Inland Settlement, at which point you'll need to approach the woman near the barrel. After talking with her, exit the Inland Settlement on the east side (left). © Now that you're inside the Insect Megalith, travel down and to the right. Once you pass the group of monsters, climb up and approach Misty. You'll instantly be attacked by two Land Krakens. You'll fight each one separately in a Duel Battle, so don't freak out. After defeating the guards, choose the option to "Defeat Misty." Richard finally gets his hands on the egg and a small story sequence takes place. This completes the scenario. Ginny's Departure | 18 Richard begins in what used to Бе a grand and colorful tower (it is now a pile of useless rubble). Then he returns to Westia and learns a thing or two... @ Head to the bar and talk to Eleanor. At this point, Sargon will join your party. Run down and leave the town of Westia. Ө Travel to the Water Tower and take the left staircase. Once inside, head down until you come across the Water Device. Examine it, then head down and to the left. Soon you'll come across another Water Device. Once you examine it, head back to the previous Water Device and check it out once more. It works! © Go north from this room, then grab the item sack in the water (Spring Orb). Continue up the tower until you reach another Water Device. You won't be able to activate it yet, so continue on. Go right from this room, then wrap around and locate 15 Return of the Egg the next Water Device. Activate this one, then return to the previous Water Device and it too will activate. @ Head to the right and enter the room with rocks in the upper right corner of the screen. Grab the item sack (Blue Water), then jump over the pile of rocks. If it won't let you jump over the rocks, this means that you have not yet activated the four pre- liminary Water Devices. If it does let you pass, continue on. © From this point you'll have to keep climbing ladders and activating Water Devices until you reach the roof. When you reach the roof, acti- vate the sixth and final device—you'll be treated to a short cinema. This will complete the scenario. Beginning as an introduction to Ginny Knights, this scenario starts off in the town of Wide. Ginny sneaks out of her house and stows away on a pirate ship. The pirates discover her, but then she is rescued by Primiera. Ginny arrives in North Gate and meets a man named Roberto (who later joins the party). @ This is a story-driven event that completes automatically. Ginny's Adventure| 19 Ginny chats with her newfound friends in the town of North Gate and then enters the inn. @ Talk to Gustaf (who will join your party), then leave the inn and head for the cave on the right side of town. There are two ways to complete this scenario. A) Enter the cave, then leave right away. Wowza! B) Enter the cave and make the insects chew through the root. This will reveal a cache of hidden trea- sure. The way you get the insects to chew through the root is by repeat- ing this process: Get to the screen below the large root and kill off all of the insects. Go up to check on the root, then repeat. Do this until a path through the root is cleared—you can then enter the dungeon and collect various treasures that are spread throughout. You'll find 5000CR, the Sea Beast Horn (x1), an Ark Stone (x1), a Silver Chain, and a Fossil Sword (x1). Insect Megalith| 20 Richard Knights begins in North Gate. He talks to Diana and she reveals that she’s pregnant with his baby. @ Head to the inn and talk to the red-haired woman (Misty). After speaking with her, leave the inn and head south to the dock area. Talk to Diana once more and the scenario will be complete. This scenario begins with Ginny Knights in the town of North Gate. After a short conversation with her friends, she leaves the inn. @ Leave through the right side of town and enter the Inland Settlement. Again, you'll need to visit the girl near the barrel to gather some information. Go to the far left side of the settlement and proceed to the Insect Megalith. (Continued on the page 108.) April 2000 Official 0.5. PlayStation Masazine( ©) Strategy Walk-Throu A Pursuing the Egg-The Last Through "6A WILLIAM KNIGHTS” QUEST Ө Head down, then go right and up are relatively weak non-boss charac- M NA to where the large yellow egg ters, so don't stress out over it. When Strategy: Stacked with more than 36,000 HP, this sub-boss is resides. You'll be ambushed by two you defeat both groups, you'll com- probably the toughest of the bunch. Equip your front character consecutive groups of monsters. Both plete the scenario. with the Spring Orb (which nullifies water attacks), and also some Steel Armor (which offers resistance to Sonic Attacks). Just go all-out and use your best and most powerful attacks. 21 |Pursuing the Egg Ginny talks to her grandfather and he tells her that the Egg has resurfaced once again. Ginny travels to Thermes to learn more about the situation. @ After defeating the Water Lord, follow this pattern (per screen) to get to the next sub-boss: right, right, left, left, up to the left, right, right, right, and right. We recommend that you fight this guy, just as long as you suit up your reserve character before doing so. Quicksave often! @ Once in Thermes, enter the bar and talk to Ventabre (in the middle of the room). He'll reveal the current location of the Egg, then the scenario will end. 22 |To Gustave's Stronghold In the city of Hahn Nova, Ginny seeks the Egg. (unless you have the statistics/items to defeat him). с А T uu 12 ee a small story event will Ө After defeating the Beast Lord, follow this pattern (per screen) to get to the =| automatically when you talk to them). @ After the event, you'll find yourself ext sub-boss:lettiond then ира о патат: К| After you do so, head north and exit on the Old Battlefield. Cross the z| the area. You'll appear оп an over- bridge to the south and follow the HP: 220,000 world map of Hahn Nova, at which path down. Soon you'll exit the area y N o point you should select to enter the and the scenario will be complete Е aine yau R 2027 jum «e c y Once inside thi PASSES ters, the Tone Lord might be worth à shot. Make sure to equip e Оттоп area;tinice IRE EE your character with protection from Sonic attacks. “| 23 [South Moundtop Battle | “ Q After defeating him, go one screen to the left to reach the next sub-boss. о] Ven hands over Gustave's Sword to Gustaf and then details why he is the rightful «| heir to the legendary blade. о @ This is а story-driven event that completes automatically. Strategy: The strongest of the optional sub-bosses (HP-wise), the Stone Lord needs to be beaten іп a Duel Battle. Switch out | 2 4 | South Moundtop Battle | Gustaf with your primary reserve character for this fight. e Ginny Knights begins in Thermes city with the idea of soon leaving for North Gate. @ After defeating the Beast Lord, follow this pattern (per screen) to get to the © next sub-boss: down and to the right, then down and to the left. © | @ Leave the bar and exit the city. go to the left and exit the settlement. Once in North Gate, run north and You'll be ambushed by three groups Boss: Wood Lord then east to enter the Inland of monsters, after which you'll square HP: 225,000 i Settlement. Make a Quicksave, then off with the Megalith Dragon. Strategy: This boss is actually quite easy if you have some pro- .. tection against Tree damage (or in the case of Ginny, a specialty А Megalith Dragon in Tree Magic). Try switching out one of your primary characters. | 7^ >31,000 for this battle. [4 Stacked with more than 30 quite a while to beat. Our only г r your characters’ roles assigned to inc likelihood of custom ыы combos. If you don't have high level arts like Bear Crush or Thousand Strike, then it's time to go build up first. @ After defeating the Wood Lord, go one screen to the left and meet up with the final sub-boss (or if you like, just ignore him and go one screen down). Boss: Fire Lord HP: 225,000 j 5 Strategy: The final sub-boss is also the only one that makes 25 |The Last Megalith your entire party enter battle. Because of this, we recommend yt M" you that skip him and engage the final boss instead. у) In the heart of the Unknown Land, Ginny and the rest of her party journey to the Last Megalith. Perhaps it’s time to settle the score with the Egg once and for all. Official U.S. (ЕМЕЦ Magazi (8) А © With the last of the sub-bosses eradicated (or skipped), it's time to head The last boss in SaGa Frontier 2 acts character/equipment situation. If you right two screens and square off with the final boss. much like the end boss in Xenogears. don't have at least six Ark Stones, In case you didn't play Xenogears, along with a Soul Crystal or two, you we'll break it down real quick for you. could be in a bit of trouble as far as Boss: Egg There are basically six sub-bosses that your WP and ІР go. Try the final boss HP: Depends on which sub-bosses were defeated (250,000) all directly link to the final boss. All of ^ approach many ways, knowing that the Strategy: The final form of the Egg depends on which of the these sub-bosses grant the final boss method listed below is only ONE of preceding sub-bosses you've destroyed. If you killed all six ‹ special powers (in one way or anoth- the MANY different possibilities. them, you'll only have to fight one form before squaring off er). Therefore, any sub-boss that you against the Egg itself. If yo decided to kill only one destroy further weakens the lifeline of | @ Once you enter the final dungeon, sub-boss, you'll have to fight the remaining five forms the final boss. As you can see, it's to progress a couple of screens to meet 45 part іне ват арса 1 ake MIS todo E your advantage to take out as many the first sub-boss (you'll have no e right EE fam 115 E Use d RN sub-bosses as possible before choice but to fight this guy). You'll SP EE EE Б EET dde a s oN approaching the final boss. The only find him in ап ice-covered cave about game. Then, you'll get а (5 ee your ШОЧ eari problem lies with your current five or six screens into the dungeon. fromthe beginning to play Gustave's scenario. Good luck! Technology is a playground. We've come a long way since Pong created the digital playground, haven't we? On ZDNet, you'll find the biggest playground on the Web: GameSpot. It's got everything your gaming heart desires: PlayStation, N64, PC or Dreamcast. Maybe that's why the Academy of Interactive Arts named it "Entertainment Site of the Year." Or maybe it was the pictures of the real-life Lara Croft. Whatever game-thing you're into, ZDNet's GameSpot has something for you. ™ VISIT ZDNET'S GAMESPOT TO DOWNLOAD A FREE DEMO AND OFFICIAL GAME GUIDE FOR LARA'S et LATEST ADVENTURE, TOMB RAIDER: THE LAST REVELATION. (62000 ZD Inc. ZONet, the ZDNet logo, and Where Te: ir respective owners, Eidos plc is one of publishes a diverse mix of tiles for the Sony PlayStat shares are traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market unde: www.zdnet.com Tricks of the Trade Our support resource for cheaters April 2000 Official U.S. PlayStation мава 2) Bass Landin Lake Configuration Tips Check out the Free Fishing Mode on your next Bass Landing outing and experiment with the Lake Configuration settings. Here are some suggestions as to how to configure the lake conditions for that optimal fishing experience. Now you can hook your limit! You can always try a variety of settings, but this should help. Lake: Lunker Lake Pressure: None Season: 4 Mid—6 Mid (April-June) or 8 Mid—10 Mid (Aug.-Oct.) Weather Yesterday: Cloudy/Sunny Weather Today: Cloudy/Sunny Wind Direction: East Wind Speed: 0.0 to 1.0 Water Temp: 60° - 70° Water Quality: Clear Start Time: 6:00 - 8:00 or 15:30 - 17:30 Time Elapsed: None Best Lures: Spinnerbait and Popper Hint: Fish like to hide in and around vegetation. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Tons of Codes All of these codes are entered while the game is paused during play. Refill Health Hold L1 and press Down, Circle, Up, Left, Up, Left. Next Level Health Hold L1 and press Right, X, Left, Triangle, Up, Down. Maximum Health Hold L1 and press Right, Circle, Down, Up, Down, Up. Refill Magic Hold L1 and press Right, Right, Left, Triangle, Right, Down. Maximum Magic Hold L1 and press Triangle, Right, Down, Right, Up, Triangle, Left. Pass Through Barriers Hold L1 and press Down, Circle(2), Left, Right, Triangle, Up. Wall Climbing Hold L1 and press Triangle, Down, L2, Right, Up, Down. Hurt Raziel Hold L1 and press Left, Circle, Up(2), Down. Force Hold L1 and press Left, Right, Circle, Left, Right, Left. Constrict Hold L1 and press Down, Up, Right(2), Circle, Up(2), Down. Force Glyph Hold L1 and press Down, Left, Triangle, Down, Up. Stone Glyph Hold L1 and press Down, Circle, Up, Left, Down, Right(2). Sound Glyph Hold L1 and press Right(2), Down, Circle, Up(2), Down. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Blowout Trick This trick will blow open the game, plus give you a new character. From the Menu, access Career Mode. Begin a new game, press Start to pause. Press and hold the R1 button and enter Circle, Right, Up, Down, Circle, Right, Up, Square, Triangle. The screen shakes if entered correctly. Go to the Main Menu Screen. Choose to continue the career mode, and Officer Dick will be available, plus all tapes, levels, medals, stats and FMV movies. EXTRA POWERUPS 1 BACK BRAG (с? SELECT CONTINUE Pong Open Zones, Levels, Etc. As soon as you see the “Zone 1” screen, press the Start button to pause. Now — press L1, R1, L1, R1. Press Start again. OFFICER DICK a а Now choose any Zone in the game. This also opens up each stage and the second “level type.” Go back to the Zone Selection Screen and press Start. This time press L2, R2, L2, R2. Press Start again. You now have access to the third "level type" and under the pause menu, (ARS 7402565, 77 ^ а new option called, "Secrets" will be ШЫЛЫ У available. You can choose power-ups, i pong size, etc. Check out all the classic Pong games in Zone 8! Sr COURSE MEAL ОТА А ТІН 274 ИСТ 74 TURNING d соок [/ 9.4 a select са CyberTiger Unlock Courses From the Course Select Screen, press the Circle button and enter one of these codes to open up new courses: Cyber Badlands Course — HARESO is the password. Cyber Canyons Course - NAMOPI is the password. Cyber Sawgrass Course - SECARE is the password. Cyber Summerlin Course — PORASO is the password. Now you have your choice of courses! . Tomorrow Never Dies Awesome Tricks While playing, press Start to pause. Enter the fol- lowing codes for the results as shown. Immunity From Bullets Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Triangle, Select. Pass Through Walls Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle, Triangle. Every Weapon and 50 Health Select, Select, Circle, Circle, L1, L1, R1, R1. Mission Complete Select, Select, Circle, Circle, Select, Circle. Medal of Honor Many More Codes From the Options Screen, choose “Password” then enter any of these codes into the Enigma Machine: (These codes are unlocked in the Gallery Screen.) Unlock the Making of Level 1 (history) Put in INVASION as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 2 (history) Put in BIGGRETA as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 3 (history) Put in DASBOOT as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 4 (history) Put in STUKA as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 5 (history) Put in KOMET as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 6 and 7 (history) Put in TWOSIXTWO as your code. Unlock the Making of Level 8 (history) Put in VICTORYDAY as your code. Pictures of the Development Team Put in DWIMOHTEAM as your code. Secret Photo Gallery of Staff Put in DWIGALLERY as your code. L. Henson Picture Put in COOLCHICK as your code. A. Jones Picture Put in AJRULES as your code. Crash Team Racing Unlock New Racers (These codes work in Multiplayer Mode.) Unlock Wolfgang Put in HOODUP as your code. Unlock Bismarck Put in WOOFWOOF as your code. Unlock Otto Put in HERRZOMBIE as your code. Unlock Noah Put in BEACHBALL as your code. Unlock Von Braun Put in ROCKETMAN as your code. (For the next two codes, load a saved game, enter the password, then highlight Mission Log and go to any previous stages.) Audie Murphy Mode (Invincibility) Enter MOSTMEDALS, turn this option on at Secret Codes Screen. Wire Frames Enter TRACERON as your code. Turn this option on in the Secret Codes Screen. At Main Menu Screen (with Adventure, Time Trial, etc.), press and hold L1+R1 and enter one of these codes (works in any mode except Adventure): Ripper Roo Right, Circle, Circle, Down, Up, Down, Right. ИГ, 048916700 — аш! write us at: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine P.O. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 Do you have a trick that you, and only you, know? Don't hold back— N. Tropy Down, Left, Right, Up, Down, Right, Right. Sorry, we cannot respond to individual letters asking for codes or tricks. ТОН Tricks Water Glyph Hold L1 and press Down, Circle, Up, Down, Right. Sunlight Glyph Hold L1 and press Left, Circle, Left, Right, Right, Up(2), Left. Fire Glyph Hold L1 and press Up(2), Right, Up, Triangle, L2, Right. Shift at Any Time Hold L1 and press Up(2), Down, Right(2), Left, Circle, Right, Left, Down. Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace Droid Test Debug At the Main Menu, highlight Options, but do not select it. Press Triangle, Circle, Left, L1, R2, Square, Circle, Left. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a beep. Then, hold L1 + Select + Triangle to access a droid test debug menu with level select, FMV sequence, sound test and invincibility options. To start on a new selected level, exit the Cheat Menu and start a new game. The game will begin on the level selected. To watch the FMV sequences or hear the game sounds, highlight the desired clip and press X. Hold L1 + Select + Triangle to return to the menu at any time. V-Rally Edition ‘99 Cheat Mode At the Press Start Screen, press L + R, C-Left, C-Right, L + R. Press Start, then at the Mode Selection Screen, hold Z and tap L until “Cheat mode” appears at the bottom of the screen. Cheat mode includes special modes and the option to unlock bonus cars. Xena Warrior Princess Multiple Codes Invincibility: At the Main Menu, press Up, Up, Up, Circle, Square, Up, Right, Left. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound. Full Shield and Attack: At the Main Menu, press Triangle, Square, Triangle, Square, Square, Up, Up, Up. If you entered the code correctly, you will hear a sound. Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style Chamber Secrets Rza Chamber Specific Secrets Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 6-10 — Scale mode Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain Mudan Kill number 3 Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's secret outfit Gza Chamber Specific Secrets Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's rival playable Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Character art for GZA and rival Gain chambers 18-20 — Super Turbo mode Ol’ Dirty Bastard Chamber Specific Secrets Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's secret outfit Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 (cont. on page 112) Tricks of the Trade Our support resource for cheaters (cont. from page 111) April 2000 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine) Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain rival's kill number 2 Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain rival's kill number 3 Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 6-10 — Disco lighting mode Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Character art for Inspecta Deck and rival Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's rival playable taekwon The f Chamber Specific Secre Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 6-10 — Character art for Raekwon and rival Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain character's rival playable Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's secret outfit Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Night fighting mode Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain Lei-Gong Kill number 3 Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's rival playable Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain practice dummy — Bodyguard Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain character's secret outfit Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain Arena 4.1 Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Merry go Round mode Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Gain Arena 3.1 Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's secret outfit Task needed to gain secret — Secret Description Gain chambers 1-5 — Gain Arena 1.1 Gain chambers 6-10 — Gain character's kill number 2 Gain chambers 11-15 — Gain character's kill number 3 Gain chambers 16-17 — Character art for Method and rival Gain chambers 18-20 — Gain character's secret outfit Practice Arena Complete Practice Mode with all 21 characters to unlock the Practice Arena. To access this arena in Versus Mode, highlight any arena, then hold L1 and L2 buttons and confirm your selection by pressing the X button. Level Select and Cheat Menu On the Main Menu Screen, quickly put in these button combinations for the following tricks: In-Game Cheat Menu: After entering the "Cheats" on the Main Menu Screen, press L1, R1, L1, R1, L1, R1, L1, R1, L2, R2. Then pick a level and enter it. Now press Start to pause. The "Cheat Menu" will appear at the bottom of the screen. Access this option to get access to all letters, mucho fruit, infinite lives, etc. Level Select: Left, Left, Right, Right, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Up, Down, Down. Now move down past the "Load Game" option and the word, "Cheats" will appear. Access this option to have access to the game levels. Press Right to get the bonus levels. ine is ab hottest ma more! Lots; yearly pri MIXX-NOW 7; ый y 1 ? to subscribe iN > „OR via the wire : а е nea? info@mixxonline:com ет an www.mixxonline.com ШШ Win the new Sega Dreamcast system! You have the POWER. In this contest you don't rely on the luck-of-the draw. You determine if you win or not. You win by outscoring others in a game of skill. Can you solve the puzzle below? It looks simple, but its only the start. Each of five more puzzles will get harder. But this time its all up to you. Stay in to the end with the highest score and the gear is yours. With whatever options you want. Do you have what it takes? Then play to win! ng fast computer with 500 Mhz MMX indows 98, modem and more! Computer Contest. Win a blazi Pentium Il, 128 meg. RAM, 14 Gig. HD, DVD, Video Game Contest. Play on the hi-tech cutting edge with this line-up: Sony Playstation w/ ASCII control үні: Sega Dreamcast!; Game m Pocket; and Nintendo 64! Get all four or trade the ones you don't want for CASH! Bonus options include: 33" monitor, $1,000 in games you choose, cash, accessories and more! LETTER CODE chart „А WRECK MYSTERY WORD CLUE: WORLD RULERS HAVE IT AND IN THIS CONTEST YOU HAVE IT p The Ultimate over 520,000 w przes! E Gaming R lp Puzzle Me, Inc. “We Make You Think...” E Contest. The Ultimate Gaming Environment, 60 inch monitor, Media Rig 130 watt receiver w/ Dolby Digital Surround, DVD and all components shown. Win DSS Satellite Receiver as a BONUS OPTION! This rig will blow you away!! We're talkin’ GAMING HEAVEN! Directions. Fill іп the Mystery Word Grid with words oing across that spell out the Mystery Word down the side. Hint: use the Mystery Word Clue: In the future. For each contest there will be four more puzzles at $2.00 each and one much tougher final at $1.00 which will be sent to you a mail. You will have 3 weeks to solve each puzzle. We don't know how many will play but typically 55% will have the highest score possible score to Phase |, 43% to Phase II, 36% to Phase Ill, and 32% to Phase IV. Highest score in the final determines the winner. If players are still tied they will split the value of the grand prize they are playing for. ENTER ME TODAY, HERE’S MY ENTRY FEE: C ($3.00) Video Game Contest L1 ($3.00) Media Rig Contest Г] ($3.00) Computer Contest [Г] ($5.00) SPECIAL! Enter them all (SAVE $4.00) Name Age Address City State Zip DS SEND CASH, CHECK, MONEY ORDER TO: PUZZLE ME, P.0. BOX 9315 PORTLAND, OR 97207-9315 VOID WHERE PROHIBITED « ENTRY DEADLINE: POSTMARKED BY June 4,2000 » ENTRY FEE MUST BE INCLUDED Only one entry per person. You must be under 30 years old to win. Employees of Puzzle Me and its suppliers are ineligible. Judges decisions are final, Not responsible for lost or delayed mail. Open to residents of the U.S, and Canada, Winners determined no later than 2/28/01 You can request Winners List and Official Rules by writing: Puzzle Me Rules, 1511 SW Park Ave. #315; Portland, OR $7201. Merchandise names and models are trademarks of their respective companies who, along with this magazine, have no affiliation with this contest © 1999 Puzzle Ме, Inc. Yes! TVW ОМУ апо Verifiable retail value of the prize packages as follows: Media Rig Contest package $7,012.00 core components shown, honus options $3,449.00, cash options $1,250.00. Computer Contest package $2,500.00 for computer, honus options $2,337.00, cash options $1,250.00. Video Game Contest $1,000.00 for systems shown, $3,549.00 honus options, $1,250.00 cash options. 9.е.а.г. by Chris Baker chris_m_bakerezd.com adgets, electronics, arts and recreation 5G No question, this should be in your home 4G Recommended, very cool 36 Pretty good, check it out 2G Below average 1G Very lame Home Arcade Accessory If you've ever been waiting for a good excuse to build your own personal arcade cabinet, look no further than the Twin Shock from Blaze. Featuring a pair of arcade-style joysticks on an area spanning nearly 29 inches, this is the ideal peripheral for fighting games and also works well with your action-packed twitch-fests. The joysticks can get a bit clickety and the rumble feature is a little less than “shocking,” but aside from the picky details this is a must-have if you hope to recreate the arcade experience at home. Blaze $59.99 www.blaze-gear.com Croft Controller It may look strange, but AFD Entertainment's Handheld Heroine is undoubtedly the best third- party controller on the market. The first in a line modeled after popular female PlayStation charac- ters, this Lara Croft version features the most com- fortable and responsive analog controllers you'll ever grasp. The secret? A mass of silicone tops each stick, Officia U. HEVALE UE Мавание( = ) Yep, Another Wheel Logic3's GTO offers plenty of laudable features for the money—Namco JogCon compatibility, good control, even a nice rumble when called for. But unfortunately, you ultimate- ly get what you paid for. While it remains very stable when clamped onto a desk, the question must be asked: Who plays their PlayStation at a desk? Also working against the GTO, X is placed on the left with Square on the right—not entirely “logical.” X's placement on the wheel also causes the base of your thumb to ache after 30 minutes or so, a weirdly unpleasant feeling. For another 10 bucks you can pick up the advanced model, the Sprinter (unavailable for review), which features foot pedals and a laptop design that might alleviate the GTO's problems. But just remember...we said "might." Logic3 $29.99 www.logic3.com providing a formfitting cushion for your thumbtips. However, we are a bit puzzled about the “constant shock” feature, which activates a continuous, adjustable rumble effect whenever turned on. AFD's future Handheld Heroines include Dino Crisis’ Regina, Final Fantasy VIII GF Shiva and Fear Effect's Hana Tsu- Vachel (available in both hooker dis- guise and towel). If only all women were this easy to handle! AFD Entertainment $30.01 1-888- - ‘Specials are limited to stock on hand and in most cases quantities are limited. Prices are subject to change without notice. Shipping and han- dling are extra. Returns subject to evaluation and re-stock fee. Import PlayStation games are not compatible with newer systems. Call or visit www.gamecave.com for details. Artwork copyright their respective companies. All rights reserved OPMAPROO U.S. PlayStation Bass Fishing $39.99 | NFL Bitz 2000 Berzerk $41.99 | NFL Quarterback Club 2000 Caesar's Palace 2000 $42.99 | Nohimare Creatures 2 999 DAR NM пера Ie comes n We are bred to be mentally and phy: Deep Fighter .99 | Resident Evil: Code Veronica f cally manipulated, our senses directed Racing $34.99 Draconous: Cult of the Wym Roadster Trophy electronically through alternate medi- > ше Soccer $34.99 ECW. Hardcore Revolution Semn ums. 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Bahamut $ 40 Winks $45.99| МВА іп the Zone 2000 $43.99| $11.99 Battlezone 2 "T NHL Blades of Stee! 2000 $43.99) ig Mountain егесі Dar К Аа Game Shak Pr OGB $21.99 | Pecan Memoy Card 4 Meg Dc $29.99] | Catmagedon | PGA European Tour Шет Nyko Power Pak CGB $14.99 | Peican Рау 2Racng Wheel OC $45.99] | Carmivale64 Rat Attack $32.98 | Nyko Wom Light 58:99 | Ракал RF DC 55:99) | Cyber Tiger $46.99 | Starcraft 64 $47.99 | Pica Fip 9н Magner СОВ $8.99 | Pelican S-Video Cable. ОС $6.99) | Donkey Kong 64 $57.99 | Super Bowling 64 $39.99 Cable OGB 56.99 | InterA AC Adapter №4 $12.99) | Fighter Destiny 2 545.99 | Tony Hawks Pro Skater Eu НИЕ DG $25 Md ne ii [cs i» | Hydrothunder 2 Cal ай Тор Gear Hyperbike Wied Dinan cle ПС 999 erase red EUN | алаша Track к Field 2000 $43.99) World Tun Soccer 2000 EE] Nyko Commander Contoler DC 92099 Power N& $18.99) | MK Speci Nyko Dream Master Controler DC 522.99 | Nyko Hyper Alpha: №4 $29.99 Nyko RF Game Switch Be 5% Pelican Super64Analog №4 ER || РІ i Қазалы” E оо m mport PlayStation ‘Aero Dancing Todorokis HD $54.99 Jo Jo Adventure. $54.99 unas ЕНЕ 38 | | Beast Wars Metals $54.99 | Harlem Beat Al Japan Pre Vesting 2 $54.99| Langrsser Milenium $5499 | | orara тато Contes DC $2439 е Сале блакСОХ pax 5280) | Beatmania Sth Mix $58.99| Jo Jo Adventure Bangaio 54.99. 38499 | ne тосот BE $1899 No ате ер РӘХ 0899) | Bio Hazard Gun Survivor 858.99 King of Fighters 99 54.99 | Mercurius Pretty $5499 | San DC $2299 Мо Gu le РӘХ $23.99 | | Chocobo Collection $58.99 | Koudelka Bio Hazard: Code Veronica — $58.99 | Metal Max 3 $5499| | A E Gun DE $2899 муо Su Cos Laf Gun PSX $28.98 | Chocobo Stallion $58.99 | Legend of Mana Black Matrix AD $54.99 | New Japan Pro WWesling4 $5499 | pescon DC Vibration Pak ОС $49.99 | Pican Sper Jol Gunw Pedal PSX $3899| | Countdown Vampires $58.99 | Macross True Love Song c rp ied ed no DreamshodContolerDC $29.99 | Pelcan Wreless Contoler PSX $26.99 | | Dark Tales from the Lost Soul, $88.99 Macross VEX | [i Incing Blade Complete .99 | Power Stone A ў evo Append Club Ver. қ across i Death Crimson 2 $44.99 | Rainbow Cotton фы ооу [Pecan Fore Fak роз RR В ا‎ $58.99| Monster Farm Battle Card $58.99 Ecco the Dolphin 54.99 | Revive $5499 Dewprism $58.99 | Patlabor the Game $54.99 Бета! Arcadia 9 | Space Channel 5 $54.99 Dragon Quest 7 $58.99| Popolocrois 2 $58.99 Psychic Force 2 $54.99 Ray Blade $58.99] Rockman 5 Special $38.99 Rockman 6 558.99 fagrant Sto $58.99 falkyrie Profile $54.99) Wild Arms 2 $52.99 F-1 World Grand Prix Space Griffon Hamlet $54.99 Dragonball Final Bout $37.99 Geist Force $5439 Ser Gad 2 $54.99 Game Boy Co r Dragonball Z Legends $37.99. $54.99| Sveet Fighter 3 Wimpact | $54.99 Dragonball Z U2 $37.99 $54.99 Super Producers 38499 | All Star Tennis 2000 2299 Muppets $2 citing Bass 2 $58.99 F Bowlin, NBA in the Zone 2000 $9. | Fre P Wiesling G $56.99 | V. NBA Live 2000 $2439| | Front Mission 3 $58.99| М NBA Showtime 32699) | Gaia Master $58.99 .99 | NHL Blades of Steel 2000 — $21: Batlletanx 99] Polaris Snow Cross 2000 Carmageddon 9| Rainbow Sie Самае Ff ena Grand Prix 2 LUFA MIR Battle Card b Ri Magical Drop р Top" бег Pocket 2 99 Melal Gear 23.99) Towers: Lord В Baris коо $3 Microsoft Entertainment Pak $25.89) Triple Play 200: Microsoft Puzzle 523.99 | T- MLB 2 $2439 | Vegas Games Mummin Ў rane Reviews - Previews - Pictures - Movies - Codes Demo Disc If a picture is worth a thousand words, a playable demo is worth a million C l W. R d $ Players 1 Developer Psygnosis = Availability March Publisher Psygnosis 0 опу аг5: е ип Analog Compatible Yes Genre Action What is it? The third title in the space-shooting Colony Wars series, Red Sun doesn't force you to ally with the Navy or the League of Free Planets; this time, you're on your own. You play as Valdemar, an adventuring free agent modeled after Fire Primary Weapon Cycle Secondary Weapons Cycle Primary Weapons Toggle Target Reverse the suave and smarmy Han Solo. Roll Left Depending on your choice of missions, you could end up on either Thrust side of the struggle. Roll Right | What to expect in the full game: Fifty different space and plan- et missions across five new solar systems; more than 20 minutes of FMV sequences; nine ships customizable with 30 weapons and add-ons; multiple endings; training missions; improved AI; the option to save after every mission; nebulae and other environmental effects; majestic, live orchestral sound- track; beautiful textures that really, truly push the PlayStation to its limits. Our advice: While the demo offers you the ability to upgrade your ship with new parts, there's nothing compelling enough for you to purchase that makes it worth selling your stun missiles to raise cash. Be sure to choose the planetside "Escort Duty" mission first—the space-based "Defense" mission is much more challenging. While on escort, stick as close to your convoy as pos- sible, watching out for April 2000 ЕС PlayStation @ w insidious pirate tanks that may sneak below your field of vision. Don't be afraid to fire your stun: missiles after targeting foes—they'll be immobilized for a crucial five seconds or so, giving you just enough time to introduce enemy ships to Mr. Laser Cannon. Your dogfighting skills will be put to the test in the second mission. Make sure to master the use of rolls, reverse, and forward afterburners when enemies fly by at close range. Target the space station and look at the life meter on the right-hand side of the screen to keep a close eye on its condition. Don't worry about staying too close to the station, and, again, abuse your two- stage rockets mercilessly. Clear out the baddies as quickly as possible, but don't lose heart if it takes more than five attempts before victory reigns. OPM psychic sez: Psygnosis has listened to complaints from gamers who have been frustrated by the near-impossible level of chal- lenge in previous titles and adjusted the learning curve accordingly. Add to that numerous features that build on the series' addictive game- play and Psygnosis has a promising sequel on their hands. Take a look at our review on page 93 of this issue for the verdict. pm Pace cou се < - PlayStation = Players 1 Developer Neversoft Spider-Man Availability | Summer Publisher Activision Analog Compatible Yes Genre Action What is it? A man in a red and blue skin-tight suit who swings around skyscrapers fighting crime. No, not Mark MacDonald; it’s Spider-Man! Neversoft is reusing the graphical engine from the smash hit Tony Hawk Pro Skater to develop a title based around Marvel's web-slinging Ө jump @ kick @ Рипсһ e Trap Web (ШЕ Look Around Mode (ЕВ Not Used р comic superhero. GB Web Zip Line EB swing Web What to expect in the full game: Faithful reproduction of Spidey's comic book moves; a free-roaming 3D world with skylines, subway tunnels and buildings to explore; villain appearances such as Scorpion, Venom, Carnage, Doctor Octopus and the Lizard; a variety of combo attacks. Our advice: The demo gives you a fantastic chance to experience nearly all of Spider-Man's trademark moves for your- self—so try them! Swinging from building to building is about as much fun as you can have without being bitten by a radioactive spider. Enter the first-person mode with Of course it wouldn't be a Spider- Man game without the ability to crawl along walls and hang up- side down from buildings. the L1 button and target your desti- nation—if the target is green, tap R2 and you'll automatically shoot out a web and swing away. This technique even works when you're hanging upside-down. Or, if you're feeling particularly courageous, take a leap of faith and hit R2 at the peak of your jump. When confronting henchmen, try to keep out of sight and |] sneak up from behind them. Resist the urge to simply immobilize them with webs— it works, but it's not nearly as satisfying as forming web spikes (Left + Triangle) and going in for some hand-to- hand combat. Then, just fol- low the compass and you'll reach the bank before long. Did you try? Pulling a henchman off a building with your web? Ol’ Spidey was never this cruel. OPM psychic sez: The demo may be short and a tad buggy, but it seems that Neversoft has all the critical elements in place for a smash hit. Could this be the first decent Spider-Man title to hit consoles? We're remaining cau- tiously psyched about this one. Players Eagle One: Harrier Attack Availability Analog Compatible Yes 1-2 Developer Glass Ghost Now Publisher Infogrames Genre Action What is it? Let's face it. No matter how many Pepsi points you collect, Pepsico and the U.S. government aren't likely to hand over a Harrier jet into your sweaty hands. But you'll be well-off settling for Glass Ghost and Infogrames' Eagle One: @ Fire e Select Weapons @ Throttle Down ө Throttle Up Harrier Attack. ШЕВ Change Camera PEDI What to expect in the full game: Two-player co-operative and competitive missions; 25 varied single- player missions with multiple aircraft; CNN-like news reports between missions; tons of atmospheric effects; 10-second replay feature. GB Hover / Jet Mode EB Rudder Right Our advice: You're not flying a VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) jet for nothing—be sure to enter hover mode and strafe enemy units as you secure the landing site. Same goes for | the bridge—pop up behind the nearby hills, fire off a few vul- ture missiles, then sink out of sight again. It's like playing peek-a-boo, only deadlier. Did you try: Shutting off the flight model options? It's the only way to perform certain stunts that'll unlock spe- cial bonuses in the full game. OPM psychic sez: If Eagle One delivers on its promise of a huge variety of missions, Namco's Ace Combat series could have a serious com- petitor on its hands. Demo Disc If a picture is worth a thousand words, a playable demo is worth a million Players 1-4 Developer Sony CEA Hot Shots Golf 2 Availability Now Publisher Sony CEA Analog Compatible Yes Genre Sports What is it? Starts Swing / Selects Power Golf simulations had long remained one of the more niche markets in the videogame industry—that is, until Hot should take advantage of the famously gentle learning curve and select the "Easy Moves Camera Backwards Shot" mode. Be sure to @ Switches to Power Shots Golf came around. With a gener- select Mel as well rather than e Moves Camera Forward ous learning curve and simple play Chip—superior control and mechanics, Hot Shots Golf appealed to impact stats will make your GBB Select Club the masses, yet retained enough depth first virtual round of golf an @ Toggle cross-section view to please even the most hardcore golf enjoyable one. GB Select Club fan. And since runaway success will invariably lead to a sequel, Hot After you've played a few (ЕЗ Return Camera to Default Shots Golf 2 is now on the way. rounds and can reach par comfortably, give the “Normal Shot” mode a try. You'll need = What to expect іп the full more precision on your swing to ensure you Е game: don't end up with a big ol’ mound of topsoil Improved course scenery and laying about afterwards. graphics; smaller character heads; tons of secret golfers Finally, once you're really comfortable with the (including Crash Bandicoot and game's controls, give Chip a try. He may not Spyro the Dragon); old and new have much control, but his high power stat will play modes; more encouraging sound bites after great | definitely give him the furthest distance on the tee-off. shots; large variety of courses; more detailed character From Mel's toupee-stomping out- animation; tutorials for beginners and seasoned golfers ОРМ psychic sez: bursts to Chip' impromptu guitar alike looking to hone their skills. While Hot Shots Golf 2 has built on the immensely suc- licks, Hot Shots' characters have cessful Hot Shots with some interesting feature addi- plenty of exaggerated, amusing Our advice: tions and engine polishing, it's not quite as much fun as behaviors. It goes without saying that newcomers to Hot Shots the original. It's still one of the best golf titles, though. Players 1-2 DeveloperAttn. to Detail Availability Now Publisher Psygnosis Analog Compatible Yes Genre Racing e = E What is it? new "Stock-o-Cam" to « e Accelerate The followup sequel to Psygnosis' futuristic, ensure the camera always (18) e Aute Correct pulse-pounding, electronica-filled racing title. faces the direction you're (You know, the one with the four-wheeled rac- racing, it's still possible to 2 ® Brake ers that stuck to walls and ceilings like glue. lose your orientation after a 8 (N Reverse What other game were you thinking of?) particularly nasty ceiling flip Е n in the Arcade Mode. Try to E GBB Fire Weapon | What to expect in the full game: keep a sense of which end of о ЖЕ Zoom In Over 60 tracks; fewer “spin-out” situations; your car faces forward, or hit d ED Fire Weapon 2 over 50 cars; five leagues; Over 14 different the circle button to auto-cor- я game modes, such as Scramble, Destruction, Survivor, rect your vehicle. If you pick up a missile, hold up on > ЄЗ Zoom Out Pursuit, Tournament, Knockout, Training, Stunt, and a the D-Pad to target a racer up ahead, then fire away! “ beast known as “Rubble Soccer;" а licensed soundtrack Апа don't forget to start accelerating when the count- D chock-full with big-name artists; a super-weapon down hits "1" for an extra boost. 3 powerup created by merging together all existing ni weapons. On the second Scramble track, holding the accelerator 5 to the floor will be а one-way ticket off the track into а Our advice: pit of nothingness; the brake is there for a reason too! While developer Attention to Detail has employed a Some of the turns and jumps will require extreme per- severance and skill—try creeping through the level first before attempting to break any time records. Thanks to bizarre laws of physics, toppling over an OPM psychic sez: edge doesn't always Rollcage fans will definitely find a lot to mean certain death. gush about in this worthy sequel, but check out our review on page 95 to see our verdict. © Kick ө Rage (8) Light Punch @ Heavy Punch GB jump EE Crouch / Pick Up Objects GIB Not Used ШЗ Lock Mode What is it? <, е PlayStation Players 1-4 Developer Infogrames Availability May Publisher Interplay Analog Compatible Yes Genre Fighting Gekido comes inspired by the classic side-scrolling fight- ers of yore such as Double Dragon and Streets of Rage. But unlike previous attempts to bring the genre to the PlayStation (see Batman Forever, Fighting Force), Gekido doesn't suck away your desire to live. What to expect in the full game: Five different fighting modes, including Street Battle, Adventure Mode, and the four- Our advice: First-time players will want to pick Ushi— he's slow, but can deliver the bone-crushing hits to knock foes down quickly. It's vital that you pick up weapons and objects as they appear, especially sub-machine guns and power-ups. Try using the combo grab (Square + Triangle) instead of a regular grab—you can kill two birds with one stone by throwing your target into an oncoming attacker. OPM psychic sez: It's been a long time since we've had player Arena Battle; interactive 3D environments; nine unique characters; 17 levels; over 100 combos and weapons; multiple story / level paths; cut scenes between levels. a decent side-scrolling, button-mash- ing, arcade-style classic like Gekido. If the four-player Arena Battle holds up as well as the demo's single-player mode, Gekido should be a huge hit at parties, too. Players 1 Developer ASCII Availability Now Publisher Crave Ent Analog Controller Yes Genre Adventure What is it? Crave's "psychological thriller." Crave promises a terri- fying, three-disc cinematic experience lasting 50 hours and containing 70 minutes of FMV sequences. chemicals and subjected to experiment after experi- ment, Rion decides he's had enough—and starts using his powers to kill the "Galerians." Expect lots of blood. OPM video critic sez: TET-SU-OOOOO!!! Erm, getting back on track, not since Galerians seems like it may actually stand out in the Dan Quayle's infamous speech at the United Negro crowd of Resident Evil clones. Galerians is the story of College Fund have we seen a movie's ending quote Rion, an amnesiac 14-year-old boy who slowly discovers ^ used so effectively. Let's hope the game is as com- his latent psychic powers. After being pumped full of pelling as the movie. Tentative thumbs up. Why should I care? ИМЕ Smackd iva Now Publier “на тас own Analog Controller Yes белге 5 Wrestling What is it? Any wrestling fan worth his or her candy ass is already intimately familiar with THO's WWF Smackdown. Heralded as possibly the best wrestler to date on any Why should I care? ell, if you're a wrestling fan, and you're reading this magazine, chances are you're interested in seeing a high-quality, blockbuster wrestling title appear on the platform, Smackdown has a mind-boggling number of PlayStation. tantalizing features and presents the most lifelike wrestling experience to date. Plus, you'll be able to OPM video critic sez: extend the "drama" backstage like never before—and take the pain and violence to a whole new level. The video is fast-paced, intense, and doesn't last nearly long enough—just like the sport it depicts. Thumbs way, way up. DEMO DISC Derek Rayla Mik " i PRODUCERS Ken Chan CHIEF BUSINESS STRATE- eter iy, CN SAO Jessi Harrison PROGRAMMING AND GIST All titles shown herein Gary Barth INTERFACE ARTWORK BY Wes Harris e of aridi Perry Rodgers LIFELIKE PRODUCTIONS, DIRECTOR OF OPERA- Copyrights of their respec- PRODUCT MANAGER INC. TIONS tive publishers and/or Shelley Ashitomi LEAD PROGRAMMER pH in Ramirez their licensors. EXEC! Е PRODUCER William Bohan SPECIAL THANKS See individual screens Andrew House 3D ARTIST Jon Manahan for details. 92000 Sony AUDIO Philip Williamson Michelle Manahan Computer Buzz RATONES Jason Robinson Kathleen Lynch Entertainment Chuck Dou PRESIDENT Karen Borowick America Inc. MUSIC COMPOSITION Katherine Williams Kerry Hopkins QA SUI ERIS TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Riley R. Russell А SUPEI Tim Edwards i Chris Caprio CD ANIMATION OPM репе рі Charles Dela INTRODUCTION BY by Sony Computer LEAD TESTERS Secret Weapon АЯ Tim Duzmal CREATIVE DIRECTOR Next Month A look ahead at our next issue On sale April 11 layStation2. Yep, by next month's issue, we'll have the Japanese system in our eager hands—and we'll be bringing you the biggest, most comprehensive coverage ever of Sony's new supersytem, complete with hands-on previews of all the games that will revolutionize the way you look at your TV. Plus we'll have all the latest PlayStation reviews—including Alundra 2, Galerians and Gauntlet Legends—as well as plenty of previews, the hottest tricks, exclusive news and detailed strategies. And don't forget our demo disc, packed with hot new playable games like MediEvil 2, Speed Punks and NASCAR Rumble! MEDIEviL 2, SPEED PUNKS, NCAA MARCH MADNESS 2000, RUGRATS STUDIO TOUR, NASCAR RUMBLE MLB 2001, vAGRANT STORY, FRONT MISSION, SARGE'S HERO, ROAD RASH JAILBREAK *Editorial content subject to change» Rare's Perfect Dark is the biggest thing to hit the N64 this year, and some would argue that it's the biggest Nó4 game ever. EGM's April issue will include every tiny. little detail about this mucho-anticipated follow-up to GoldenEye. Will its multiplayer modes top GoldenEye's? Will the game be worth the wait? We turn to Rare for the answers in the issue you've been waiting two years for. Also in the issue: * Reviews: Hot Shots Golf 2, Syphon Filter 2, Ace Combat 3, Giga Wing and many more! * News: Chris "Scoop" Johnston brings you the latest from around the world. * Tons of Tricks for all systems * Cool NGPC reviews and previews Who's da man? Gabe’s да man, and ХС’ got him covered. That's right, kiddies, Syphon Filter 2 is here and XG won't miss one sneaky step. Tear into the game with a complete walk-through, full maps and secrets galore. Or if spring's got you in the mood to hit the links, be sure to check out XG's complete guide to Hot Shots Golf 2. Also featured are Fear Effect, Galerians, WWF SmackDown!, NASCAR Rumble, Dragon Warrior Monsters and more than 2,000 hot codes arid tricks! And oh h, di mention previews? Hmm... mebody Advertiser Index ЗОО Company ....24-25, 44-45, 68-69 www.3do.com 989 Studios www.989studios.com ...32-33 Activision www.activision.com Agetec. www.agetec.com Bandai. www.bandai.com Crave Entertainmen www.cravegames.com Ecko Unlimited . www.eckounlimited.com Eidos Interactivi www.eidosinteractive.com Electronic Arts .. www.needforspeed.com Fox Interactive . www.foxinteractive.com Game Cave www.gamecave.com GT Interactive www.gtinteractive.com Hasbro Interactive www.atari.com Infogrames. www.infogrames.net LucasArts Entertainment www.lucasarts.com Midway www.midway.com Namco Hometek www.namco.com Psygnosis www.psygnosis.com Puzzle Me, Inc www.puzzleme.. SNK.. www.snkusa.com Sony Computer Entertainment. 2-3, 14-15, 62-63, 77 www.sony.com, Square/EA .. www.squaresoft.com THQ www.thq.com www.ugodirect.com Working Design www.workingdesigns.com ZDNet.. www.zdnet.com AN EVIL SO POWERFUL, THE WORLD WAS SHROUDED IN DARKNESS. ONLY FOUR HAD THE COURAGE TO FIGHT. THEY WILL BECOME... LEGENDS. AUNTLET LEGENDS X PlayStation" game console Screens Shown sts, PK , ryline = | > . sequences, kingdoms, secrets, sub- magical power-ups and an expand that only Midway can deliver! DMIDWAY www.midway.com Vr | FIGHT FOR MANKI INTRODUCTION тне SHA'HAR, as EVIL SUPERBEINGS AND sTARRNL YOU as VALDEMAR, ULTIMATE POWER, тне MONSTROUS STARSHP, RED SUN. сољтдвем 50 SEUECTABLE MESIONS сет N DEEP SPACE AND ON ALIEN PLANETS WITH OVER ЗО DEADLY WEAPONS PACKED FULL OF GRAVITY-SHREDDNG FREPOWER. 3 FEATURING Ч VAST NEW SOLAR SYSTEMS WHERE UP-CLOSE DOCHIGHT ACTION MAKES ` THE DEFINITIVE SCI-FI COMBAT GAME, ду, ONLY оч PLAYSTATION? GAME CONSOLE. WWW.COLI D [pousy surrounp |" er Animated Violence — PlayStation PSYGNOSIS | (c) 2000 Psygnosis Ltd. Colony Wars Red Sun, Psygnosis and the Psygnosis logo are ™ or ® of Psygnosis Ltd. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Digital Software Association. 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