та DEVIL MAY CRY 2 THE REBIRTH OF COOL! TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 4 GAMEPLAY DETAILS REVEALED! 07> ly 9 Licensed by Sony Computer Entertainment of America. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc 1,000 REVIEWS • 16 PAGES OF TIPS July 2002 $8.99 U.S. $11.99 Canada Display Until Ju 70992 06968" "2 | ; WWW.PLAYSTATIONMAGAZINE.COM / Violence L3. Ж ав че PlayStation®2 and Xbox" screenshots shown. Д Ix езт Раубгайоп.с TERMINATOR DAWN OF FATE IT’S ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN. WWW. TERMINATORGAME.COM The Terminator: Dawn Of Fate, © 2002 Infogrames, Inc., a subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment. S.A. All rights reserved. Developed by Paradigm Entertainment. Manufactured and marketed by Infogrames, Inc., New York, NY. The Terminator TM & © 1984 StudioCanal Image S.A., f/k/a Canal+ D.A. All rights reserved. Terminator is a trademark of StudioCanal Image S.A., f/k/a Canal+ D.A. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft. Xbox and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. АП other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. EPIC ACTION LETS YOU SLASH YOUR WAY TO CAST MIGHTY SPELLS AS MERLIN, THWARTING INTENSE STRATEGY IS THE KEY TO VICTORY VICTORY AS KING ARTHUR, WHO WIELDS EVIL WITH MAGIC AS THE LEGEND UNFOLDS AS YOUR TROOPS LAY SIEGE TO ENEMY EXCALIBUR IN A RUTHLESS CRUSADE WITH LEGION’S ROLE-PLAYING EXPERIENCE. FORTRESSES AND HELP RESTORE GLORY TO THROUGH HEROIC BATTLES. THE KINGDOM OF CAMELOT. PlayStation.e LEGION THE LEGEND QF EXCALIBUR LIVE THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR Sneak Preview @ www.legion.midway.com MATURE PlayStation.2 a м Violence LOTS OF REASONS TO GO ONLINE THIS AUGUST We've had more e-mails and comments about the impending launch of the PS2 online service than just about anything. It probably nar- rowly beats out requests for info on the next Grand Theft Auto (and we promise we'll be bringing you lots of info on that very soon], so this month we've gone nuts. We've rounded up every online game that’s in development and topped it all off with a couple of exclu- # == sives. First, there's a first proper look at Sony Online Entertainment's — John Davison new EverQuest game and we also have some fantastic new screens Editor in Chief and details about Final Fantasy XI. Both are huge games but also quite scary proposi- tions at first. Both are going to require a major investment from those of us who choose to take the plunge both in terms of time and money. Chances are you're going to only want to take the plunge on one or the other. For me, it isn’t so much these enormous multiplayer RPGs that has me psyched about playing online, though. The killer-app for me is going to be SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. We гап a video about the game on our demo DVD a couple of months ago and it looked spectacular. Now that we've seen it up and running, and working as а 16- player experience, it's definitely something that will help convince people they want in on this whole online thing. | can’t wait to get an OPM posse together and start kicking some ass against you all in August. ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS ZOE FLOWER She writes, pla games, mak and is the current Wimbledon с produces ro 2FACE Our funky design friends from New York produced the opening image for our feature. Handling wiring that exudes glowing plas- ma in such vast quantities is clearly dangerous, and we applaud their dedica- tion to their art. WwWW.2face.com. at least TIM PONTING ' Our main man, John Previously a group pub- Scalzi, has written for lisher in the U.K. (also places that are in towns known as England), Tim that we someday dream decided to take the free- of visiting: the San Diego lance jump—and we're Tribune, New York City. lucky to have him aboard Magazine, the Fresno When hes not writing for Bee and the Chicago Sun he's evading an APB Times. Visit him at from Interpol for his home: www.scalzi.com я arrest EVERYONE Е CONTENT RATED BY Video Games Нит CHILDHOOD Have Ratings, Just Like Movies The Entertainment Software CONTENT RATED BY ESRB -EARLY EVERYONE TEEN MATURE ADULTS ONLY Rating Board provides infor- снррнооо RATING RATING RATING RATING mation about video game RATING The E replaced Contains These games The extreme of Deemed the previous suggestive contain more the ratings, Content, ESRB ratings are sioe K-A rating themes, mild adult themes, suitable intended as guidelines only; children 3 last year. or strong such as blood for adults only. itor 07 older. Suitable for language and gore, Packs sexual parents should still monitor pore kids ages and animated stronger themes and minors’ purchases. carrying this 6 and up, Violence. language and extreme label have E-rated games ^ Some parents sexual violence WWW.ESRB.ORG absolutely no тау contain may want themes. Console material that minimal to supervise Deemed not manufacturers would be violence children suitable have yet to considered or crude playing for those allow an inappropriate language. T-rated under 17. A0-rated game. by parents. games. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine [ISSN #1094-6683] is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc., 2 and 12 demo discs] $49.97 U.S., $65.97 all other countries, We periodically make lists of our с and Address Changes Write to: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, РО. Box 55362, Boulder, CO 803 other countries. Or visit our subscription Web site at http;/service play: agazin in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any m. or in part without permission is prohibited. For permission to reuse material in this NY 10016. Tel: 212-503-5438, Fax: 212 503-5420. 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As such, the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) remains independent from SCEA, and is a critical, autonomous voice that helps readers get more out of their PlayStation system by delivering the most current, comprehensive and candid coverage of PlayStation software and hardware. ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA INC. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Callahan Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Bart W. Catalane Senior Executive Vice President (Publishing Operations) Tom McGrade Executive Vice President Peter Longo Executive Vice President Stephen D. Moylan Executive Vice President and Editorial Director (Editor in Chief, PC Magazine) Michael J. 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Marketing Coordinator Wayne Shiu, wayne. shiuGziffdavis.com, 415-547-8248. Advertising Coordinator Tipler Ubbelohde, ipler ubbelohdeGziffdavis.com, 415-357-4930 Sales Assistants Kristeen Laut, kristeen_laut@ziffdavis.com, 415-547-8778 CJ Amit, cj_amit@ziffdavis.com, 415-547-8783 ional mailing offices. Single-issue rate: $8.99. Subscription Rates: One Year [12 issues rite to us and include a copy of your mailing label. Subscription Service Questions. 4-7445 all other countries. Fax us: 850.683.4094 U.S. and Canada, or 303.604.0518 all under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored | without the prio п notice of s Media Inc. Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole до, contact Ziff Davis Media's Rights and Permissions Manager: Olga Gonopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, at [800] 290-5460 or [717] 399-1900, or on the Web at wvww.reprintbuyer.com. TM & © for all other products and the characters contained no responsibility for such changes, The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed in the k TALIB KWELI shop online at ecko.com complex by Mare Еско magazine Gomploxmagazine.com REGULAR BITS 11 DEMO DISC Turn your eyes about one foot to the right and you'll find it basking in a dark-blue ink. 16 INPUT What would our Input section be without you? Boring. Send us an e-mail: opm(aziffdavis.com 22 SPIN You want to be up on everything PlayStation related? What better place than Spin? 104 REPLAY Medal of Honor: Frontline, Spider- Man, the next Hot Shots Golf 3 tourney. What else do you need? There's humor in everything. It's a complicated formula, but we distill it expertly right here. 2 8 "There's no need to argue, К. Parents just don’t understand.” PREVIEWS 71 Alter Echo 78 Antz Extreme Racing 55 Batman: Dark Tomorrow 56 Blade 2 55 Broken Sword 80 Desperate Situation Zone 53 Devil May Cry 2 61 Dr. Muto 67 Dual Hearts 60 Enclave 76 Evil Dead: Boomstick 66 Freekstyle 70 Galerians 2 66 The Getaway 80 Indiana Jones 62 Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer 56 Lego Drome Racers 67 Madden NFL 2003 64 Mission: Impossible- Operation Sunna 74 MLB SlugFest 20-03 58 Monopoly Party 71 Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon 64 NASCAR Heat 2 78 NCAA Football 2003 70 Ninja Assault 64 Pro Race Driver 60 Ratchet & Clank 67 Red Faction 2 55 Riding Spirits 62 Robot Alchemic Drive 68 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII 54 Rygar 76 Shinobi 78 The Simpsons: Skateboarding 70 Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus 54 Soccer Mania 58 Star Ocean: Till the End of Time 72 Superman: Shadow of Apokolips You want online? You got online. Let the revolu- tion begin, and let us hold your hand through every bit of it. г EVERQUEST: | THEPSZ,ONLINE © 54 Tenchu 3 62 Tiny Toons: Looneyverse 56 Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 52 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 74 Total Immersion Racing 80 Twin С. 68 WWII: Prisoner of War 74 WWE Crush Hour 58 WWE SmackDown! 4 60 X-Men: Next Dimension 61 X-Men: Wolverine’s Revenge SPI 22 23 24 26 26 26 28 42 43 44 46 48 50 Lords of the Rings More than one company plans to bring you games set in Middle-earth this holiday season. King-Sized Voice Talent Who's providing the voice work for Square's collaboration with Disney, Kingdom Hearts? Big-time Hollywood talent, that’s who. Zoe's World Full Contact Sega and EA Sports draft media moguls into their football war. What Is the Matrix? It's an Infogrames property now, for one thing. Masters of the Looneyverse The voice cast of Tiny Toons reunites for Treasure's Defenders of the Looneyverse. Summer Movie Games After you see some of this summer's hottest movies, check out the numerous games coming out that are based on them. More Metal Gear See what lies ahead for one of the most important series in the history of gaming. Clish MacLaver CD Reviews DVD Reviews Media Mix Top 10 Charts REPLAY 106 Spider-Man Wondering what those points you get at the end of a level mean? Or just looking for a few cheats? 108 Medal of Honor: Frontline Getting your grape split by a bullet is easier than you think. We keep it from happening. 112 DVD Easter Eggs 113 Sled Storm Three maps with a pantload of shortcuts. 114 PS2 Greatest Hits 118 The Italian Job Beating London one turn at a time. Sprechen sie gewehr? First a preteen vampire, now a spider lover. Some folks get all the best roles DISC PROBLEMS? Did you buy а сору of our magazine that did not contain a demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked ‘OPM Replacement Dise” to the address below with the name and address of the store plus your phone number and well send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the corresponding dise belongs to in order to ensure you get the right one. Aso if you have а malfunctioning or non: dis call SCEA at 180034550 instructions to obtain repair ог replacem Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official US. PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc included is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) cays from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period (of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at ils option, BEHIND THE SCENES: Medal of Honor: Frontline Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter PlayStation UNDERGROUND ON THE DISC PLAYABLES: Mister Mosquito Aggressive Inline Knockout Kings 2002 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Army Men RTS Fireblade Sky Gunner VIDEOS: The Mark of Kri Woody Woodpecker Gravity Games Bike; Street, Dirt, Vert COOL MOVES: Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 DOWNLOADS: State of Emergency Victorious Boxers Time Crisis 2 THE UNDERGROUND TEAM Demo Disc Producers Gary Barth, Manuel ‘Sousa, Michael Tyau Marketing Team Shelley Ashitomi, Jesse Caid, Sarai Sequeira, Kim Yuen Executive Producer Andrew House Music Composition Nathan Brenholdt, Ashif Hakik Format 08А Sam Bradley, DeMarlo King Account Coordinator Eric Ippolito PROGRAMMING AND INTERFACE ARTWORK BY LIFELIKE PRODUCTIONS, INC. Lead Programmer William Bohan 3D Artists Jason Robinson, Philip Williamson Producer Jessi Harrison President Katherine Williams Technical Director Tim Edwards CD Animation Introduction by Secret Weapon Principals Wes Harris, Ryan Ramirez 3D Animators Jamie Chu, JonJay Montemayor, Bryan Poon ‘SPECIAL THANKS Tom Gillan, Gerald Martin, Jim Williams, Steve Williams the SCEA product. You must call1-800-345-SONY lo receive instructions to obtain repairreplacement services. arranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if fect in the SCEA product has arisen through abuse, ‘unreasonable use, mistreatment, neglect or breakage dur- ing shipment. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTA: TIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BIND: ING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WAR: RANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PROD- UCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILL- TY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAM AGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE OR MAL- FUNCTION OF THE SCEA SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Some states do not alow limitations as to how long an implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or imitations of consequential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. ‘OPM Demo Disc is published monthly by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc, 919 E. Hilsdale Drive, Foster City, CA 94404. Al titles shown herein are trademarks of and copyrights of their respective publishers and/or their licensors. See individual screens for details. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Please submit al related demo disc inquiries to: OPM Demo Disc, Inquiries, 919 E. Hilsdale Drive, Foster City, CA 94404 We offer up ways to take your demo disc to the next level, as if PlayStation Underground hasn't already. MISTER MOSQUITO npiric blood | AGGRESSIVE INLINE LAWS: $ 735 cs Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ш) j "Raggy, Raphne, Вей, Relma? Where are you?" EVERYONE comic mischief Game Boy Advance Look for бгоойу-0п0 5 based on feature film Original Mysteries Available Now! on Video ond DUD. The gang is missing. Help Scooby find them before he gets hungry. Night of 100 Frights Featuring the Scooby-Doo cartoon voice actors and special guests. p 12 huge levels hased on the 4 original Scooby-Doo cartoons. ———— Encounter 20 classic Scooby-Doo villains. Coming Soon! HEAVY fe IRON | ра || STUDIOS. че е TO Sr. iR HE WILL TE TEEN g { Violence | PlayStation.e MEDAL OF HONOR ALLIED ASSAULT AVAILABLE ON PC. RE) ИАЦ ТОНА LIRR IE DRESS bi AS SE EUM OR AENEA мо MIU QUAS TEIG CU MP RES AIG ры eh د د‎ ла —— **** June 6th c6cc hours. Omaha Beach. D-day. MEDALS: HONOR РОМА ЕЕ YOU DON’T PLAY, After three years of enemy occupation, the journey to take back France will be perilous. Beware. If the hypothermia, underwater mines and Belgian Gates don’t kill you, there will be plenty of Nazis awaiting your arrival only too glad to help finish the job. $ logo and Medal of Honor Frontline are trademarks or registered trade- Godspeed, soldier. Save yourself. Save France. Then save the world. Enlist at moh.ea.com YOU VOLUNTEER. demark or registered trademark of ctronic Inc. in the AGAMES/7 tion” and th registered trademarks ctronic Arts™ brand. eagames.com Arts, EA © 02 Electronic Arts Inc. Ek r and/or other ks of Electronic Arts U.S. and/or of Sony Computer Think you have what it takes to write the Letter of the Month? Send us your video game expositions and you could win the official OPM Box of Joy. We pack our Box of Joy with an assortment of nifty goodies from all your favorite software companies. CONTACT OPM snail mail PlayStation Magazine Р.О. Box 3338 Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338 e-mail " opm(dziffdavis.com and check usouton . www.playstation Magazine.com fax If you need to reach us now 630.382.9010 How Not To Score With Women: By OPM, Apparently Your “How To Score With Women” article in issue 57 managed to annoy me. But | figure if you're going to do something, you might as well do it right. So here are some more tips: 1) Keep your non-gamer girl away from games like Onimusha, Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy X. The men in these games are hotter than you'll ever be. You're going to suffer terrible humiliation when she starts comparing you to them in unflattering ways, playing the same scenes over and over just to stare at their glistening bods, and finally telling you it's over between you and her because now that she has the Dante action figure [who has a much bigger sword than you'll ever have, by the way], she has all the man in her life that she needs. 2) Do not let her play racing games like Gran Turismo 3 and Need For Speed. She'll begin wondering why the hell you haul her around in that ugly, beat-up, lime-green junk heap in the garage and not one of those shiny, red Dodge Vipers in the game. This will either end with you single or work- ing three jobs in order to earn the money to fix up said junk heap. 3) Don't suggest playing sugary-sweet games like Hello Kitty, or she'll begin to think that you're one of those guys who like other guys. The more you deny it, the more she'll want to set you up with her best guy friend. Angie ldykickass(daol.com And Again Normally, | love your magazine. But when | got my June issue in the mail today and read the article called "How to score with women,” | felt sick. This is the kind of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Last month, we asked if you were eager to play Everquest on PS2. Next month, tell us your feel- ings about online in general. E-mail us at OPMfaziffdavis.com. Mark your notes “ONLINE.” Recipe for Everquest: Put on PS2. Give it extras. Play until dead (or until а sequel comes out]. Charlie Charlie2skool (aol.com | can't wait. | think the graph- ics look a bit sh—ty, but that's not what is important. What counts is that it's a compelling world that | can lose myself in for hours, days and weeks, just like on the PC! "EverQuest Geek" via the Internet What would you rather have? A cool PS2 game like FFX/ or a crappy PC game? | know what | want. John Kennedy Bolingbrook, IL Letter of the Month News about the Protect the Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2002 quietly breaks, and my initial reaction is, "Wow. Another politician out of touch with reali- ty." But the more | think about this, the more | wonder, are the politicians the ones out of touch, or is it the gaming community? Granted, politicians are notorious for being completely ignorant of the field in which they are working to get a law passed. | don't disagree with that. So why are we out of touch? It has always been my stand that the game industry is going above and beyond the call of duty. From making a point of a game's rating in TV commercials to displaying that same rating prominently on the box to that ad series educating parents about the ESRB's rating system, there isn’t much more the industry can do. My call has always been “Where are the parents?” We, as a community, are out of touch simply because we don't see that almost no one else is taking responsibility. The exception that proves the rule is Wal-Mart and its new policy of not selling games rated “М” to those under 17. For once, the politicians made a heads-up move. They saw this problem and are working to fix it. If the parents had been more involved, then maybe we wouldn't have this problem. The unfortu- nate fact is that we don't live in a perfect world. So my plea is this: Those of us. whose parents still have an influence on the games we buy, the movies we watch, etc., please show your parents what they're getting you. Get them involved in your hobbies. Please. There's по rea- son to have Capitol Hill breathing down. our necks. Sean sonyps2fan(dhotmail.com Tm sure we'll be getting plenty more e-mails like (and opposed to) this one. Fire away! Gamers are talking about... OPMs monthly roundup of hot topics, gathered from e-mails, message boards and chat rooms. ICO 2 BEING CANCELLED? Sexyhades, like many of you, is concerned. "| received the unfortunate news that the /co sequel will be scrapped. This is basically due to the fact that there's just no interest in the first one. This is a crime. Only 70,000 people bought this game?! I'm an artist and | can truly say that as far as sheer artistic beauty, this game has no equal. Yes, the game was short, but the puzzles were so intelligent and the characters so loveable. | just don't see why this poor little dude with horns didn't pull on America's heartstrings." "Only 70,000 people bought it? That's a shame," oral808 replies. "And yet the Spec Ops franchise continues to roll along. The low /co sales reflect poorly on the gaming community as a whole. Along comes a brilliant, creative and original game, and yet people shun it. This was a perfect opportunity to show that we, as gamers, do have taste and can appreciate all types of games. It also would have shown the industry (had more of you bought it] that we love innovative games and game- play. Instead, we have told the gaming industry that we'd rather be force-fed the same clichéd bullsh!t over and over." * EVERQUEST “Everquest is coming to PS2 next spring,” enthuses KimmiSue. “Yes, | know this is still some time away...but | am interested. The initial appeal of this game [оп PC] to me was the other players and chatting with them in this virtual world. Also killing dragons. But the PS2 version 15 going to have standard phrases preset on the buttons. Which again brings me to the question, how much is this Everquest PS2 experience going to cost me? With Internet service, fee to play EQ, keyboard, modem— it really adds up. So to those of you who play EQ currently, will you give the PS2 ver- sion a shot?" the5element responds, "Nope | won't play it. I'm too busy wanting FFXI. Besides, paying for one online game is enough for me." "The only MMORPG games | want are Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Planetside and maybe Neocron,” ArsenalGear4079 responds, citing about 10 years’ worth of PC online gameplay. “But as for regular online PS2 games: SOCOM (but | won't be playing it online anyway as | don't have broadband], THPS3 and 4, and TimeSplitters 2. G/DMIDWAY THE ONLY THING LEFT STANDING 15 FREEDOM. Inthe cockpit of Fireblade there is one goal: use whatever means available to annihilate the terrorist cells flaming up around the globe. Battle through 18 Missions in 4 campaigns at the helm of the carrier chopper or the Vendetta attach copter and unleash a barrage of hi-tech deadly weapons. Go turbo, or remain undetected from enemies in stealth mode. То win the war, you've got to end the war. Attach and destroy! neg соз j Witness the explosive action of Fire Blade firsthand at: en PlayStation.e fireblade.midwau.com Fireblade © 2002 Midway Home Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. MIDWAY and the Midway Logo are registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Fireblade is a trademark of Midway Home Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation" and the "РЗ" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. d ASK US ANYTHING AND WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO ANSWER OVER THE TOP Who's the best arm wrestler on the staff? ‘Cause | сап take any one of you. If you've got questions, we've got use your PS2 every now and then, answers. See something in а game and b are curious about it? Send us an e-mail ae ers INR See We garbage that makes guys think that girls you, will only play a video game if it's got Barbie, Britney or fluffy critters in it. Give me a break! Kristina’s “10 Tips” were a complete GEE 5 Girls like this don’t actually exist. Sorry about that. Our mistake. much of the tech in the game being founded in reality [except the obvi $ stuff), is this something that our soldiers joke, and | don't know a single girl who's JUNK PUNCH already have? Or are they about to get it? anything like the ones depicted in this arti- | маза bit ejaypierre@aol.com д, cle. It makes us sound like а bunch of brain- shocked to read less morons whose ideal game is 30 min- that that young А: The U.S. Army ust pada $50 milion $ utes long (if that) and has the main charac- man interpreted grant to MIT to develop new technolo a “kick in the pants” to read “a kick to the for soldiers that could be in service at some point in the future. Word has it that ter running through the mall, collecting kisses while shopping for cute outfits and thinking about her next crash diet. a the super-lightweight piece, , designed to GRIFFEN22'S Don't even get me started on the inane Dads By my shave 100 pou “s load, - MOST WANTED а: 2 understanding, a comments where Kristina suggests turning that phrase can ТА Final Fantasy a point system into a contest to earn kisses. be translated to online game that What is this? A gaming magazine or Dating “3 boot to the Bub E me for Dummies meets YM? behind." 2A baseball ania My husband won't touch a game with а Elizabeth that doesn’t suck 10-foot pole. Hmm...maybe | should have lph@ ® fe дет Twins to ^ him read this article? barabbi.org е of age i 4. Paul McCartney to Jennifer фе give it up jkolasa(dameritech.net 5. VF4 vs. Britney 6. Me beat the last Maybe you should! we n : RUN wounds. There is also talk of stealth 7. More superhero Uplink A Big Hit SEX TOY technology that uses light-reactive dyes video games Last month's disc was the best yet, but the What is that sex- to allow a chameleon-like camouflage. 8.For September to i р ual toy Jango Е D 5 = yil даа ү best part was the hidden mod for Half-Life While not “stealth armor" like Snake's, it persuasion, you can actually get the peers usher so titled “Uplink.” | hope this is a sign of the Robotech game in future of the disc. Fett has in his right hand on the cover of is a step up from a printed camo. thing to fly for a short distance. Is this even possible? English Byrun Ryon Н SHOULD I TURN IT OFF? James Broady 9. Ап RPG that h; А issue #57? Is Е 3. 5 hot female гва ranxar(dhotmail.com that legit? edge iius. E ааа main character Gary W. irning off the PS2. Some tell me 10. More Spider-Man For those of you who don't know what he's He should switch it off using the power but- А: = High : E generate but vog Tomlinson р sing E-mail i talking about, Uplink is hidden in the Cool 3 ton on the back, while others state you а d Heute Moves section of the June DVD (you also need tomlin. J should only ever put it “to sleep.” What's OPM{faziffdavis.com а copy of Half-Life). It can be opened by the best thing for me to do? Is there a Mark the subject: pressing L1+L2+Square when the shark JUNK POINT , right or a wrong thing to do? MOST WANTED swims past. Follow the prompts to start it up. In VF4 when you Tim McGraw win a match with via the Internet Lau, why does E 4 ne ро ЫШ А: If you use your PS2 a lot (like every umb into his po Е Р Wanna chat with us along with other like-minded | gamers? Then head crotch? чау}, а m over to www.playstationmagazine.com, click on “Talk to the OPM Althalus put 10 sleep. Consumer etecironics items tend to not like spikes of power on Editors Online Now!" and chat it up on the message board. We frequent the board daily, so it's a great place to ask us questions—or to just chew the fat with fellow gamers. Official Contest and Sweepstakes Rules Official Rules: iı prize. By acceptance of prize, winnerlsl To enter, send an original caption f ia for ү ade or promotion without fuhe post name, address, and ph x Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3938. No purchase or payment must be handwritten, Mechanically reproduced entries will not be acce be received by the responsibility for c v Gd ri vin Media Inc. on by OPM ed for delivery of winners list. & Restrictions: Vaid where prohibited or restricted by law. A regulations apply Е леу is necessary to enter. One entry per h must be handwritten. Mechanically reproduced entries will not be accepted. Entries must be rec 10th day of the month for the next available issue of OPM. АЦ entries become exclusive pr Media Inc. and wil not be acknowledged or returned. Ziff Davis Media Inc, assumes no ге mutilated, late, ilegible, incomplete, postage-due or misdirected entries. 2. Prizes: One Grand Prize winner or receipt of prize. 5 lentitying the month for which s listed above. Allow 4 led or restricted by law, АЦ federal, state Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine "I WAS A 99 LB. BARBARIAN" - Gothar of Gundria _ BEFORE UPGRADE AFTER UPGRADE” "| used to get molten lava kicked in my face. | was a little girly man, better suited to playing with sissy baby dolls than with battle axes. But then | mastered the UPGRADE FEATURE in BARBARIAN. Now nobody messes with me... NOBODY!!!" 4-player mode is wicked. Now if could just find 4 opponents | haven't already killed | would Е 10% you BARBARIAN's 8 character on-screen mayhem." BARBARIAN is a revolutionary new game engineered to increase - and maintain - character power and ferociousness, fast! In recent head to head field tests, even mildly upgraded barbarians crushed their friends and foes without mercy. The MASSIVE 1-PLAYER QUEST mode - with 10 playable characters and hundreds of storyline branches - is the perfect training ground for customizing your barbarian, increasing strength and magic, winning friends and influencing people with pure brute force. But wait, that's not it, BARBARIAN also features an insane MULTIPLAYER MODE with up to 8 characters on screen at the same time, a totally interactive environment, and most of all the exclusive Save-your-customized-Barbarian- and-take-him-anywhere-with-you formula! DON'T SETTLE FOR LESSER GAMES. DEMAND BARBARIAN TODAY. "Here Гат getting Medieval on Keela. My weapon of choice is usually a tree, or a pillar, or my opponent... but you know me, everytime 1 can grab onto something and show off..." В PlayStation.2 №, Mus Ре; ү * Me р "1 had no social life before, but now, with BARBARIAN's SAVE AND RUN formula, | can take my muscles with me to a friend's... and work that disco magic, if you know what 1 mean..." * Your actual results may vary, Mr. Saggy Breasts. p ича BU - PU Suggestive Themes 24 NINTENDO å \ ee. $ А E p P" | Violence € GAMECUBE. Y | Lal => | x o, | playet ws & 00000 17 106 vents of / You b: DRAGON SLAYER It's not every movie that features a postapoca- lyptic future in which dragons have awakened to reclaim the Earth they lost millions of years ago. To find out more about Reign of Fire, we chatted with Christian Bale, who plays resistance leader Quinn Abercromby. OPM: Reign of Fire has one of the more unique premises we've heard in a while. What drew you to the project? Bale: This is the first decent dragon movie. No talking dragons, no singing dragons, no dancing drag- ons. [Director] Rob Bowman told me he wanted to make the grittiest film possible—to create real characters instead of bland figures who are there just to get toasted. This movie is smart, has substance and unprecedented special effects. Many movies with special effects neglect the first two. It is unlike any movie | have ever made. OPM: Can you describe your character to us? Bale: Quinn is smart, strong-willed and stubborn—great in a crisis but probably a pain in the ass to live with. He was the first to encounter a dragon. He opened this Pandora's box and saw his mother killed in front of his eyes because of it. Understandably, he is a little screwed up as a result. He has created a community within the walls of a medieval castle (the only building still standing], where life is hard. Every day is a struggle, but they are still alive because of his efforts, when all around has been destroyed. OPM: How does it feel to be digitally rendered, as you are in the game version of Reign of Fire? Bale: This is a first for me, and | can't wait to play the game so | can kick some ass. OPM: If dragons should ever actually invade Earth in the future, how do you think Reign of Fire will fare as instructional programming? And will the game make for а good training simulation? Bale: Yes, if dragons should ever actually invade Earth, the world leaders would do well to study Reign of Fire or else face extinction of our species. It will become the instructional video for all mankind, and the game will be the best simulator around. This movie could save our planet! Í МА L / НЕ GNIFICENT.« / Аисизт 28, 2002 4 САРСОМ сарсот.сот PlayStation.e Violence Blood and Gore | @ MLB™ Stugtost® 20-03 © 2002 Midway Amusement Gamos, LLC, АП rights os are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games; ULC. Used by permissie [copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit the official web site at MLB.com, MLBPA - Official Licen: bia | Visit the Players Choice on the web at www.bigleaguors.com. Distributed u ‘Ine. TM, ©, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo. . Microsoft Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks o the U.S: and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. Screen imaga captures shown taken from PlayStation®2 со 3 à FIGHT FIRE | | = WITH FIRE THÈ SUMMERTIME GAME JUST BOT SMOKIN: MLB" SIUGFEST. 20-03 AND ALEX 2 1 RODRIGUEZ IGNITE AMERICA'S NATIONAL PASTIME. WITH A TORRID BLEND OF 5 8 “AGGRESSIVE, ADRENALINE-STYLE ACTION AND AUTHENTIC MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL” у CREDENTIALS; LIKE A FASTBALL HIGH AND TIGHT, THIS GAME WILL STIR THINGS UP. ® Fast Action Batter/Pitcher Miary & NU PME * i ® Real Player Faces ^ и : о ® Over 1500. outrageous Animations 1 Ma rw. Е Dos & БЫ, WE CALL IT SLUGFEST FOR A REASON slugfest.midway.com This Is One Cool Girl METAL GEAR $0 Devil May Crys Dante was a supremely cool guy. He looked cool, he acted cool—everything about him was cool. But now Konami wants to show that girls can be just as cool. If not cooler. Meet CG-01 and CG-06—two chicks who like to take matters into their own hands. CG-01 is a hacker. CG-06 is a ninja. Not your average soccer moms. They're the stars of Konami's new PS2 action game, aptly titled Cool Girl. The game takes place in the year 2079 and follows the girls on a mission against an evil corporation. So what's the “cool” part? Well, each girl has her own storyline and the two will eventu- ally become intertwined as things "It's really hard to get WITH CHICKS? SURE LOOKS IKE IT. progress. Equally cool is the fact that each girl has her own play mechanics: CG-01 likes to fire big guns, while CG- 06 likes to swing her sword. But in our minds, the coolest aspect of the game is the fact that it comes from Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo—the same studio responsible for the Metal Gear series. And while it's unclear if Hideo Kojima has any involvement with Cool Girl, take one quick look at the screens and you'll see the game's inspiration: Metal Gear Solid. Heck, it even has the same radar screen. Cool Girl is set to hit the U.S. in early 2003, so expect lots more soon. “More brains, and bring back Hawaiian Fridays. [j Max Five is developing a PS2 sequel to its strategy RPG Hoshigami. It's said to look better and to address some of the problems with the original. Scope This Out Konami plans to release a third installment in its PS2 Silent Scope series early next year. This one will have multi- ple paths and endings Xenosaga Update Namco's PS2 RPG has been ushed back until spring 2003 because of translation issues. It'll be worth the wait, though. to the kitchen, I needed four crests, three keys, and a jewel. I wasn't able to send a fax for four hours yesterday, because of Sharks." Okay, we'll look into that. Welcome to a future world where gigantic robots piloted by humans wage a hi-tech winner-take-all war. Following three different stories - 6 Gundam, Gundam Wing, and Mobile Suit Gundam -and across six modes of battle, two players will be put to the ultimate test for the right to ls called the let Gundam Battle Assault 2 - SU COMING THIS SUMMER! PlayStation www.bandaigames.com © SOTSU AGENCY + SUNRISE. Program © 2002 Bandai Со, Ltd. "Gundam", "Mobile Suit", and all related characters, names, logos, distinctive likenesses, drawings and other images contained in this product are the exclusive property of Solsu Agency and Sunrise Inc. Used under license by Bandai ‘America Incorporated. All hts Revserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer E ntertainment Inc. Е Y DIN 5 на. а o>, JuMP HIGH, RACE FAST. HOLO ON, RATING PENDING RP Visit www.esrb.org lue. i T iis 11 1-800-771-3772 P М > : ui more info. PlayStation О e TED BY CONTENT RAI ESRB 4 ; - фи FREE Stu é FIGHTER COMMAND Right around the time EA started to talk about Medal of Honor: Frontline last year, the company also divulged details on a future Medal of Honor game: Fighter Command. But this wasn't supposed to be just your stan- dard Medal of Honor. Not at all. It was set to take the series to new heights literally. Fighter Command aimed to put you in the role of a fighter pilot, flying WWII missions in the Pacific, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The game would let you choose from classic crafts like the P38, the Corsair or the Hellcat, and engage in dogfights, torpedo runs or recon- naissance missions. The idea was great: Mix the incredible detail of the Medal of Honor games with the great gameplay of your Ace Combat-style flight game. But after nearly a year and a half from the game's initial announce- ment with absolutely no word on its progress, we began to wonder what was up with the title. Then, upon seeing no mention of the game in EA's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) showcase plans, we knew some- thing was definitely wrong. A few days later, our fears were confirmed by U.K. games Web site CVG. We killed it,” Medal of Honor Series Producer Tarnie Williams told the site in an interview. “It was still quite early in development. We decided to focus more on first-per- son shooters and didn't want to take the series too far away from that. We want to stay close to our roots and expand on that aspect.” So there you have it folks: no more Fighter Command. But we can’t blame EA—they're sticking to what they do best. As long as we get more games like Frontline, you won't hear any complaints from us! Wanna get the scoop оп а game that's fallen off the radar? Then just send an e-mail to opm@zitfdavis.com with the subject "What ppened to. and we'll look into it for you. FANTASY FAN FARE Project Majestic Mix pays tribute to Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu sk a hardcore RPG fan who his favorite Д аге, and he’s bound to rattle off a list of names like Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross], Koichi Sugiyama (Dragon Warrior series) and, of course Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy series}. But ask just about anyone else who those three people are, and you're likely to get a blank stare. And that’s a shame, according to Stephen Kennedy, the owner of Missouri-based KFSS Studios and the producer of Project Majestic Mix: A Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu. “At the heart, all music is the same,” Kennedy says. “The thing that appeals to me most about game music is how it's very much an integral part of setting a mood or carrying a person into and through thoughts and feel- ings. | really enjoy seeing what composers come up with for the different elements of games, and how they try to effectively incorpo- rate their music to draw you into it all." Being such a fan of game music, Kennedy decided to compile a collection of fan remixes of Uematsu's memorable melodies. Easier said than done, as he had to get everything licensed so it could actually be sold here in the U.S. "It may surprise some to know that Mr. Uematsu doesn't own the rights to any of the music he has developed for Square and its Final Fantasy series," Kennedy says. Tiffany: Kirsten Dunst Kirsten Dunst is the kind of drool- worthy dame we'd love to see on the links. Plus, she was on fire in Spider-Man, wouldn’t you agree? putts. So Jonnie: Eugene Levy Jonnie's more interested in blab- bing on his cell phone than making elastic personality is a perfect fit. Wading through the licensing requirements was a rough ride for Kennedy. “The music business just isn't a good business for small fries," he laughs. But after sorting through the mess and paying some rather hefty licensing fees, Kennedy started taking preorders for the CD, which went on sale in early May. One of the coolest benefits for Kennedy was the chance to chat with Uematsu himself. | М иш MIX In our very own followup to Caddyshack (we'll ignore Caddyshack 2, thank you), Hot Shots Golf 3 figures to be a great film because of all the unique personalities involved. Maybe the movie would have a melodramatic Tin Cup feel, though we pooh-pooh Kevin Costner trying to break onto the set. Or maybe Tiger Woods would make his silver-screen debut. But we'll leave all the particulars up to the screenwriters. We're just casting here, all right? Got any ideas for a Dream Cast of your own for another game? Send them to us at subject DREAM CAST. funnyman Eugene Levy's Toni: Tony Sirico Pete: Bobcat Goldthwaite When Bobcat Goldthwaite married Nikki Cox, every man in America groaned. Why can't we all just cele- brate the little fat man's success? . Qualls “Mr. Uematsu expressed great delight with the project and aided me with licensing issues,” says Kennedy. "He's been а big encourage- ment. | haven't gotten to speak to him as much as | would like—he's a busy man—but he's seemed very excited about the project. It's kind of funny, because he hasn't heard any of the new arrangements. But from the way he spoke to me, | think he'll love the CD once he hears it. | hope it deeply touches him.” PROJ А TRIBUT ATSU 16 tracks. 74 minutes of music. $15.96 The limited Silver Edition is now on sale at Animenation.com. Each of the 3,000 copies is packaged in a DVD case with a 12-page booklet. An unlimited edition will be avail- able later. For more info and music sam- ples, check out www.majesticmix.com. So what do we think? Majestic Mix incorpo- rates an array of musical styles, from orches- tral arrangements to techno mixes to acoustic and even punk-rock stylings. The tracks are just as varied, plucked from a range of Final Fantasy titles along with Chrono Trigger and Gun Hazard. Not every track holds up as well as the others, but in general, it's an interest- ing compilation that's worth checking out. with the T-Bone: Samuel L. Jackson T-Bone is a ham-fisted mix between Shaft and Morpheus (from The Matrix). But we just liked Samuel's bald head the most. Jessie: Winona Ryder A talented roster of anime legends have helped shape .hack’s unique visual style. So .hack//INFECTION boasts the combined forces of anime legends Kazunori Ito and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. How does this benefit the gamer beyond the dope storyline and fancy characters? Well, gamers who buy .hack will enjoy the free 30-minute anime DVD that comes packed in with every copy of the game. By the time the fourth chapter hits, the whole drama will unfold in the form of a separate two-hour animated feature. This DVD won't be sold sepa- rately, so consider it a very sweet bonus. Bandai slips a ghost in the machine An innovative new RPG lurks just over the horizon and—guess what?—Square has nothing to do with it. Neither does Atlus, Konami, Namco or anyone else usually associated with cutting-edge role- playing games. Nope, this one comes from Bandai, the company best known for its Gundams and Digimon. Unconventionally titled -hack//INFECTION, Bandai's new role-player is something of a super- project, uniting the considerable forces of screenwriter Kazunori Ito (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor), talented developer CyberConnect2 (Silent Bomber, Tail Concerto), and Evangelion character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. The game is set in a futuristic techno-culture where advanced net- work technology is the norm and a massively multiplayer online RPG called “The World” is the virtual pastime of choice. With more than 20 million subscribers playing daily, the success of The World extends beyond the definition of a mere MMORPG. It's a virtual lifestyle unto itself, and subsequently, something people take very seriously. Enter a 14-year-old boy named Kite. Invited to play the game by a schoolmate called Orca (а veteran of sorts in The World], Kite is learning the ropes when a menacing creature appears. A creature, mind you, that’s not part of the game network. In the ensuing battle, Orca is felled by the foe and then falls comatose in the “real” world. Just when it seems Kite 15 to follow Огса fate, a mysterious girl named Aura intervenes. She fuses Kite with “Twilight,” an upgrade that imbues him with the power of “Data Drain” and “Gate Hacking.” With these abilities, Kite becomes much stronger and gains entry into otherwise off-limit areas. This "hack" of Kite's character con- verts him into an outlaw in The World. Despite the new danger to both his game-character and real-world self, Kite continues to play in the hope of finding a cure to Orca's ailment. Me and my shadow One significant subtlety offered by .hack is that you don't control the characters in the game, so to speak. You actually control the invisible person (т .hack's world) who's playing the game, who in turn is actu- ally the one controlling Kite. Does it affect gameplay? Not really. But it's an added layer of depth that Bandai hopes gamers will appreci- ate. The game's producer, Daisuke Uchiyama, elaborates: “As an RPG, to play in a simulated-network environment is a first. This game is not so clear-cut by definition. Unlike the typical RPG where the prince defeats the evil king and saves the world, the player must play while being conscious of the individual in the other world who plays the game.” Heady stuff, for sure, but a concept that Bandai is banking on since the game is broken into four installments, with each chapter to be released roughly three months apart. We’ll see if -hack//INFECTION has what it takes to hang with the big boys when the game launches this October. .@ “ڪڪ СЕТ А_$10 REBATE’ ОМ 3 psy VIDEOGAME. MAIL-IN OFFER FORM 1 | NOT PAYABLE AT RETAIL STORE THIS MAIL-IN OFFER FORM MUST ACCOMPANY REQUEST $10 REBATE OFFER SUBSTANCE Future Metal Gear Solid games revealed Konami has officially announced its next Metal Gear Solid game for the PS2, Metal Gear Solid: Substance. Our sources tell us that this is a com- pilation remake that includes the first MGS, MGS2: Sons of Liberty and the VR Missions, all using the MGS2 graphics engine! It sounds too good to be true—but it's really happening. As for when the game will hit, we're hoping before the end of the year. Konami also revealed its plans for the future of the Metal Gear Solid series. The company intends to ship a brand-new sequel every two years and a “derivative title" [such as MGS Substance or MGS VR Missions] in the off-years. So, that means MGS3 in 2003 and a Metal Gear game of some sort every year after! Konami also mentioned that it will take the MGS series online in the future. ONLY IN JAPAN Aku Daikan Global A, PS2 So you've beaten Final Fantasy X. A long time ago. And you've already spent too many RO L E hours exploring every nook and cranny of Spira's world, forging your ultimate Throughout the history of mankind, one thing has remained weapons, capturing all kinds of beasties and coaching your way to blitzball brilliance. constant: We hate taxes. And yes, even in ancient Japan, they p L AY E R What to do now? After all, the next wave of top-tier RPGs lurks far off in the dis- hated taxes too. Except they had no IRS to vilify—back then, tance—and while you know you'll be playing Kingdom Hearts, Xenosaga and Wild magistrates ("daikan") collected the taxes. And of course, some Arms 3 by the end of this year, you just can't wait that long! Well, here's the good news. Sort of. Chances are you haven't yet played every PS2 RPG, so now's the perfect time to check out older titles or B-list games that you initially overlooked. Here's our thoughts on 11 of these PS2 RPGs. And when you're done here, be sure to check out our Replay section for tricks and strategies for some of these titles. of them overcharged the poor peasants and were thus dubbed evil (“aku”). Which explains the title of Global A's latest PS2 game, Aku Daikan. Of course, in most games you play the hero—the young person of destiny who rises up against the evil taxman and frees the peasants from oppression (see: Hood, Title The Game The Pros The Cons Robin). Not in Aku Daikan. In thi: , you're the bad guy. You bin): Not in, Alas Dalian, In thts game; you're guy. Т Baldur's Gate: The best Diablo-style hack-| Utterly addictive action | Not much of a story here; are Aku Daikan. You're rich. You're hated. You're feared. And you x T = x like it. Of course, the peasants don't, so they try to raid your Dark Alliance ‘n’-slash action/RPG ever | that'll have you playing 15-hour quest is too short E ipis E d y y Interplay made—plus, it’s set іп the | on just to see what's next; | (though two-player mode and opulent home to kill you. That's where the game comes in. You Fo а P : am с rgotten Realms universi hics. replayability make up for it design tricks and traps to foil any would-be heroes in their 9 суб POPPING SIR NES playabllty р quest to take you down. Of course, trap-laying is ап art; place them in just the right locations and you can set off combos, which lead to more exciting death sequences. It’s all presented in lovely, detailed 3D, with famous Japanese actors used as the basis for the character models. No doubt, your sheer evilness 3 More adventure than RPG, | Tons of side-quests lend | Real-time combat gets repeti- will drive peasants into a rage at the mere sight of you and send | 2 Drakan is the perfect game | a nice feeling of freedom; | tive; graphics are mixed; them straight into your trap. Just step out of the way and then for people weaned on clas- | dragon-riding adds even | dragon Arokh's voice-acting witness the horror first-hand. Excellent. i | sic PC-style role-players. more variety and fun. is as bad as his lame name. : m Harvest Moon: On its surface, it's merely a | A vast, open-ended game | Cutesy graphics may turn off Save the Homeland fa g sim, but in reality, | with tons to do, from the "serious" role-player; no Natsume it's more like a charming planting crops to milking | blustery pyrotechnics; need a whole-life simulation. cows to saving your town. lot of patience to succeed. I WANNA BE BA It's tiring and annoying being the hero sometimes. You face overwhelming odds and don’t get any cool toys. Here are some games starring evildoers that we'd like to see: King’s Field: A first-person dungeon Atmosphere. Of course, Slow-paced, dull and dreary, The Ancient City crawl that inspires fanatic | you'll get just as much with awkward combat and Agetec allegiance among all 17 “atmosphere” by going monotonous action. Some fans of this series. outside and breathing. people love it—jt \ е Dr. Evil's Lair Builder. Build your own hollowed-out dead volcano lair! Be sure to place lots of boiling hot MAG-MA and a pool for sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads. * Metal Gear. Why do we always have to destroy Metal Gears? Why can’t we use them? Imagine the havoc to be wreaked with the awesome destructive nuclear powers of Rex. Dark, moody, yet humorous, | Historical and metaphysi- | Graphics, though stylish, are Shadow Hearts’ engrossing | cal themes delivered with | PS1-quality; not everyone will story is matched by its а беп-Х flair; random bat- | dig the timed button presses engaging battle system. tles that are actually fun! | required during battles. * Gary Steinman, Printer Hunter. Gary is the resident OPM badass. He’s mean, he’s nasty, he hates print- ers. With a vengeance. Take control of this raging beast and take out all the printers in the office. All of them. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Wizardry: Tale of the | For nostalgic gamers, an Emphasis on creating and | New-school RPGers may be Forsaken Land old-school dungeon crawl | developing your party; turned off by the simple Atlus that offers pure role-play- | deep battles; orcs, kobolds | story, dated graphics and өөө ing їп а storied franchise. | and other classic beasties. | very-repetitive gameplay. 42) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine PS.AT. (PlayStation Aptitude Test) 1. What was the first game console to go online in the U.S.? a. Sega Dreamcast b. Nintendo 64 c. Sega Genesis d. Super Nintendo Entertainment System 2. Which of these compa- nies does not have a part- nership with Sony for the Р52 5 online service? a. America Online b. WinAmp c. Macromedia d. Real Networks 5 Antz Extreme Racing is due in stores how many months after the movie Antz came out? а. 31 b. 36 с. 43 4. 48 4. Which pro surfer in Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer actually dated Pamela Anderson? a. Donavon Frakenreiter b. Rob Machado c. Kelly Slater d. Lisa Anderson 5. Which of these is nota rivalry trophy in NCAA col- lege football? a. Little Brown Jug b. Sweet Sioux Tomahawk c. Bayou Bucket d. The Little Goose Cigar 6. Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII does not share its historical inspi- ration with which of the following games? a. Kessen b. Kessen Il c. Dynasty Warriors 2 d. Dynasty Warriors 3 7. Which of these games will Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick most likely resemble? a. Resident Evil b. Grand Theft Auto Ш! c. Castlevania d. State of Emergency 8. The FIFA World Cup Championship is played every. years. a.2 b.3 с.4 9.6 9. The man leading the team behind Batman: Dark Tomorrow did not previously work on what other project? a. Final Fantasy (Famicom/NES) b. Final Fantasy И [Famicom] c. Final Fantasy III (Famicom] d. Dark Wizard (Sega CD] 10. What is the "Apokolips" in Superman: Shadow of Apokolips? a. An evil tyrant ruling a distant planet b. A distant planet ruled by an evil tyrant C. An alien superweapon obtained by Lex Luthor d. A huge beast under the control of Mr. Mxyzptlk q0L76»8pLe9 P's»ypeqez», ѕләмѕиү This month is опе of those weird months. Asl write this for you, 1 james show E3, where it’ possible t that: | some of the gossip when I team ith Electronic Gaming Monthly's Quartermann on our Web site, 's.corn, Keep an eye out for the Rumor Mill column. GT CONCEPT COMING Multiple iterations of Polyphony's GT Concept series are bouncing around the rumor network as | write this, with many of them combining to fuel speculation as to what the next "real" Gran Turismo game will be Clish Ma Laver's Turismo Concept Geneva. lt features a new collection of concept cars that were debuted at the recent Geneva Auto Show. The selection includes the Ford Mondeo ST Concept, the Maserati 320S and the Opel Astra Coupe OPC X-treme. It hits Japan this summer. The new modular approach to Gran Turismo could be telling of what we can expect to see when GT Online, or GT4, or whatever they end up calling it, is eventually released. I've heard plenty of rumors that the online game will allow you to down- load new car models as they become available, and the Concept project may well turn out to be something of “The teams at Rare may well be looking to spread their wings.” like. First up, it seems that a U.S. version of Concept is extremely likely and will feature a different selection of cars from that of the Japanese rele. ‚Му bet is that we'll get cars like the Cadillac Cien, Dodge Razor and Pontiac GTO to accompany some of the wilder Japanese concepts. By next issue, there's a good chance we'll have more information for you on this. The team is also working on another Concept title for Japan: Gran BITS AND BOBS a preview of what the team at Polyphony is capable of. RARE MENTIONS FOR A PLAYSTATION 2 MAGAZINE Rare. A development team so firmly entrenched in the Nintendo camp that it’s unusual for news to appear that has any value to you at all as PlayStation-owning readers. However, some events have tran- spired lately that make them the Criterion is working on a PS2 FPS that's being dubbed a “Halo killer." They may well be, but its Halo-killing abilities will remain in doubt until we get to play it. * Tecmo Bowl for PS2 may not be happening anymore. Ме ге not sure why, but it seems as if Tecmo may be wary of entering the PS2 football market now—especially without an NFL license. Hopefully this isn't the case. * Activision is working on a new Spider Man game based on the next movie. Treyarch is likely supplying the necessary cleverness for it. « Panzer Dragoon Orta, currently an Xbox- __ exclusive update of the old Saturn game, could make its way to PS2 іп early 2003. • In addition to X-Men: Next Dimension, Activision will release an X2-based game at around the same time as the movie (that’s next summer, in case you didn’t know). E-MAIL ME! Got some good gaming gossip? Or anything you want to say to me? If you hear anything juicy or get your hands on some cool screens or pictures, send me an e-mail at the following address: Look out for me on AIM, too—my buddy name is subject of some spectacular levels of rumor and gossip. It all started with a Christmas card, believe it or not. The firm sent out a card that fea- tured multiple systems as part of the artwork on the front. This prompted feverish speculation, which was soon flatly denied. Since then, further investigation has revealed that the teams at Rare may well be looking to spread their wings in order to sell more copies of their games. It’s no secret that the PS2 offers a much, much larger market than the GameCube, so it would make sense for a team with popular franchises to want to grab a piece of that pie. | mean, who wouldn't? Although Nintendo has a stake in Rare, it doesn't own the team outright, so technically if Rare's directors want to partner with a publisher and make games that sell lots of copies on a competing platform, there isn't really anything stopping them. Whether or not you know [or care], Rare has partnered with other publishers in the past. The European release of Conker's Bad Fur Day, for example, was han- dled by THQ, not Nintendo. If this were to happen, what could we expect? Well, obviously not any of the Nintendo-owned franchises like Donkey Kong, but it would be great to see games produced by teams of such talent. After all, the guys behind TimeSplitters learned their trade at Rare. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (43) By John Scalzi Every one of the CDs reviewed this month features songs from Transworld Surf. Which, it would seem, doesn’t have such a great soundtrack. А B Anti-Flag: Underground Network For my money, there's nothing more adorable than suburban-socialist punks, so you can bet I think Anti-Flag, with its nearly reflexive antipathy for everything right of Che Guevara, is cute as the dickens. Now, song after song of doctrinaire, educational lefty punk can get wearying, but Anti-Flag at least has solid music chops, and it's punk, so all the lessons are relatively short. Still, what does it say that the best, most fun song on the CD, "Spaz's House Destruction Party," has nothing to do with politics? On the other hand, it's hard to criticize a band for trying to have a brain. Final Score Ө e @ There are three good songs on Monsters We Breed: "Memory," a tub- thumping good anthem, "Greed Stained the Scene" and "Monsters We Breed." Thing is, they're the last three songs on the album, so you have to wade through the first eight tracks to get to them, and they're mostly crap, comprised of indifferent punk and off-key singing. Hey guys, a little sequencing advice: Front-load your albums. | figure most people sampling the album at the store would have given up by the third track. As it is, those three tracks aren't enough to recommend the album as a whole. Final Score ФФ Nebula: Charged Nebula sounds just like Cream for the 21st century. Unfortunately, | think that Cream stank like a loaf of pumpernickel left for a month under a steam pipe. So updating their plodding, jammy wannabe blues- rock guitar sound with techno and even punk(!) flourishes is not high on my list of Really Good Ideas. Frankly, by the time | got to the best track on the album ("Travelin' Man's Blues"—eeeegh), | was already tired out, and that was just track number four. | don't suppose this album is actu- ally bad. | just know | won't be listening to it again. Final Score ФФ God bless NOFX: This month was turning into one of those months that makes me question my decision to review music, so plopping down Valuum and partaking of its delicious, galloping punk goodness was like drinking a cupful of pure, sweet rainwater after trudging through a broiling desert made of dried monkey spoor. Topping the list: "What's the Matter With Parents Today?", which is like a punk revision of Cheap Trick's "Surrender" (and that's an excellent thing). A grand CD by any standard, made better this month by the relative lack of competition. Final Score @@@@ The Rapture: Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks We have a garden in the backyard, and every year we have to keep the snackers away from it: birds, rodents, deer and so on. The good news is that now I've got Out of the Races. I'll just park a motion detector and а boombox with this CD out by the garden. Then when the animals come by, the boombox will click on. The unpleasant wailing emanating from the speakers will be so intense that the molecules of any creature caught in its path will snap their very bonds, causing the offending ani- mal to actually explode. And that means free fertilizer! Thanks, guys! Final Score & The RAPTURE John Scalzi was never a suburban-socialist punk, but he went to school with kids who were. Now they're all lawyers. Every last one of them. Go to www.indiecrit.com and get Scalzi's reviews of music that hasn't been subverted by the corporate establishment! (44) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Bookmarks We take gaming news, mix it with a heaping helping of love, and serve it up to you warm and toasty on the Web. You'll find previews, reviews and our piping-hot mes- sageboard. Join us, won't you? It's a new [just launched in April) 24-hour TV channel devoted entirely to games. Make sure your cable provider hooks you up! You think the makers of one of the year's best games [we're talking GTA3, here) would miss any detail? Not a chance. Here's Donald Love's very own site. Be sure not to miss the link to the Liberty Tree newspaper, from which you can check out such products as Pets Overnight, Dormatron and Pogo the Monkey. Read all about the new indepen- dent documentary Dogtown and Z Boys, a chronicle of the rise of skateboarding in the ‘70s. This'll teach you young whippersnappers what life was like before Tony. Why, it's the home page of The. National Amateur Dodgeball Association (NADA), of course. And right here in our very own Schaumburg, Ill. Read about dodgeball rules, upcoming events, the official tournament—you can even sign up to join NADA right on the site. What could be simpler? Do you engage in cosplay? If so {but even moreso if not), you'll want to check out “A Fan's View of Anime Conventions.” Just let your imagination run wild. If you've seen those wacky Flash animations of the stick-figure kung-fu battles, you need to go here now. NOW. [You get to control this one. Now до.) If you live in Hollywood, or if you're planning a trip there, or if you're just a whacked-out sicko stalker, you're going to want to check out this Web site. It has anything that has anything to do with anyone famous. Want to find out where Erik Estrada goes to church? You've found your site. If you miss this site, you'd better be dead! Or in jail! And if you're in jail — break out! Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY...might be a good day to check out the Robosaurus. Then again, the site's up pretty much all the time, so...you know... whatever time is good for you. If you have any lingering doubts that the future is something that hasn't happened yet, you can put those doubts to rest right now. It's time for a revolution, and the rev- olution will be televised—in full 3D, if Actuality Systems has any- thing to say about it. E 2 Pure speed. Pure combat. Pure action. ^ Global warming threatens life on earth; Frozen regions of Siberia have melted, submerging entire countries. As part of an elite group of pilots assembled by the World Alliance, your mission-is-to take out the World Order Reorganization Front, an organization that exploits natural disasters for its own benefit. Prepare for take oe LETHAL SK Experience G-Force Choose from 4 views: cockpit, Engage multiple enemies ina using the controller. cockpit without meter, small and large. variety of death-defying missions. : я. Asmik Sammy) PlayStation.? ES А © EVERYONE Mild Language Violence CON WZ DVD REVIEWS GOSFORD PARK: SE (Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon) Robert Altman is on what seems like his mil- lionth comeback with this comedy-of-man- ners-slash-murder-mystery set in 30s aris- tocratic England. Altman does his thing of observing everyone doing everything, leaving the viewer to keep up or drown in the details, but Altman's gift is that he knows how to make an ensemble work for the viewer; it's less difficult to keep things straight than it would be otherwise. Fact is, no one makes ensemble films like Altman; no one really ever has. So it's a good thing he keeps going. DVD stuff: commentary by Altman and screenwriter Julian Fellowes, deleted scenes with commentary, interviews with cast and filmmakers, and making-of features. Movie Score ® DVD Extras Score I AM SAM: SE (Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer) This is a movie designed for the sole purpose of eliciting an Oscar nomination for the actor playing the main character, who is (wait for it) a developmentally disabled single father. Sean Penn plays the role, and of course he got a nomination, although he didn't win. The Academy must have remembered it already gave an award for playing a developmentally disabled single father to Tom Hanks. The rest of the movie is total gooey mush, as Penn's character fights to keep custody of his kid, helped by Michelle Pfeiffer, in a mostly thankless Ally McBeal kind of role. DVD extras: director commentary, deleted and alternate scenes, and a documentary. Movie Score 6 64 DVD Extras Score KATE & LEOPOLD: SE (Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman) Here's my issue with Kate & Leopold: A 19th- century British duke is sucked forward in time to modern-day New York, and the only thing that occurs to anyone in the movie to do with the him is to use him to sell diet margarine? One more reason Hollywood Should not be in charge of scientific progress. As for the rest of the flick: typical Meg Ryan romantic comedy. You know the drill. Hugh Jackman, as the time-traveling duke, is actually pretty good, and there's some nice time-traveling humor, such as Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine A BEAUTIFUL MIND: SE A Beautiful Mind won Best Picture, but it also has been criticized for being both an incom- plete and partially fictionalized telling of the life of schizophrenic Nobel Prize winner John Nash, who won his Nobel for his work in game theory (so keep playing, kids—there's a prize in it for youl). But look—it's a movie, already. Hollywood history is by definition incomplete and fictionalized. Concentrate instead on Russell Crowe's excellent portrayal of a brilliant man gone nuts and back again, and on Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, who plays his long- suffering wife. To the extent it actually tells a true story, it tells it well, and what parts are fiction make for good drama. DVD bits include commentary from director Ron Howard (who also nabbed an Oscar], the usual making-of documentaries and deleted scenes, and infor- mation on Nash's game-theory work and his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. STARRING: Movie Score 96 99 DVD Extras Score ФФ 9€ when the duke is confronted with pooper- scooper laws. The DVD extras: a director's cut, director commentary, deleted scenes, a costume featurette and a video by Sting. Movie Score 66 64 DVD Extras Score THE MAJESTIC (Jim Carrey, Martin Landau) Director Frank Darabont has a problem, which is that he makes movies that are destined to play better on cable TV. His Shawshank Redemption got Oscar nomi- nations but wasn't actually popular until TNT started playing it what seems like every other freakin’ day. I'm betting that The Majestic gets the same treatment: It was virtually ignored in the theaters (and no Oscar nods}, but it's a sweet film with romance, identity crises and a nice, healthy respect for the First Amendment (the movie takes place in the shadow of the '50s Hollywood blacklist). And Jim Carrey is at his most non-annoying. Just wait. This movie's stock will rise. DVD extras: deleted footage and a trailer. Movie Score 6 6 64 DVD Extras Score Ф4 MONSTER'S BALL: SE (Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton) It's the movie that caused Halle Berry's freakout Oscar acceptance speech to be unleashed upon the world, but you have to admit: With the performance she gives in the film, she's allowed some freakout room. It really is a tremendous perfor- mance; she plays a character whose life is as screwed up as one can be and plays it without pity or apology. She's assisted by Thornton, who plays a racist prison guard who becomes involved with Berry's char- acter, partly because the two of them have nowhere else to turn. Monster's Ball is complicated, messy and never takes the easy way out. This makes it one of the best films last year. Freak out all you want, Halle. You earned it. Berry and Thornton provide commentary in the DVD extras, as does director Marc Forster, and you also get deleted scenes and outtakes. Movie Score 6996 DVD Extras Score 66 € UPCOMING DVD RELEASES June 4, 2002 The Great Race The Mothman Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Two Kate & Leopold Prophecies Monster’s Ball UHF Mr. Show: Seasons 1&2 Victor/Victoria: SE Real Genius June 11, 2002 June 18, 2002 Black Hawk Down I Am Sam: Platinum The Majestic Zebrahead June 25, 2002 A Beautiful Mind Mo’ Money Gosford Park The Mountain Men The Laramie Project Orange County The Lost Command Rollerball: SE Outside the Law The Shipping News Perfect THE MOTHMAN ROLLERBALL: SE PROPHECIES (Chris Klein, LL Cool J) (Richard Gere, Laura Linney) "Based on True Events." Yeah, right. Gere is a guy whose life is turned upside-down by a car crash in which his wife claims to have seen a large, moth-like apparition; Laura Linney is a small-town cop who joins forces with Gere to figure out what the thing was and why it haunts her West Virginia town. This story is of the sort that The X-Files used to dispose of in an hour, commercials and David Duchovny Speedo shots included. But it reunites Gere and Linney, who were great together in Primal Fear, so that's not bad. Forget the DVD extras: Trailers are all you get. Movie Score @ DVD Extras Score @ ORANGE COUNTY: SE (Colin Hanks, Jack Black) Otherwise known as “Attack of the Hollywood Spawn" since it stars the chil- dren of Tom Hanks and Sissy Spacek (Colin Hanks and Schuyler Fisk, respec- tively] and is directed by Jake Kasdan, son of The Big Chill director Larry Kasdan. All of these spawn take a back seat to the movie's true original: Jack Black, who is delightfully deranged, and it's hard to see anyone not enjoying his Belushi-esque contributions. The film is easily one of the smarter teen comedies of the last couple years—though how hard is that bar to hurdle? Extras: deleted scenes and com- mentary by the writer and the director. Movie Score ® ® DVD Extras Score Fans of action director John McTiernan (and I'm one, usually] are at a loss to explain this utter mess of a movie, except to suggest that McTiernan experienced a debilitating cramp to the brain that lasted exactly as long as the filming of principal photography. There's no sensible plot, no coherent action, and no real defensible rea- son to watch this film, other than to ogle the stars, who also include Rebecca Romjin-Stamos. DVD extras include com- mentary, a stunts documentary and a Rob Zombie video. Movie Score @ DVD Extras Score 6 64 VICTOR/VICTORIA: SE (Julie Andrews, James Garner) Every year brings a new film with some- one in drag (this summer's excuse for the genre is Juwanna Mann, about a male b- ball player on a women's team]. None of them, save Tootsie and Some Like it Hot, measure up to Victor/Victoria, not in the least because it actually features some- one in double drag: a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Julie Andrews is drolly luminous, and love interest James Garner is a sort of man's man (іп more than one sense]. It’s a gen- uine classic comedy. This Special Edition release adds commentary from Andrews and writer/director Blake Edwards, as well as trailers. Movie Score ® e DVD Extras Score 9 64 As Real As It Gets GUTS AND GLORY (MOSTLY GUTS) IN BLACK HAWK DOWN Over there in the review of A Beautiful Mind, 1 note that getting your history from Hollywood is a really bad idea—Hollywood's aims (to keep you entertained and buying stuff from the conces- sion stand) are at variance with the aims of actual historians, who want to give a complete idea of what really went down. However, every once in a while, a film manages to stay close to the actual facts of an event—and by doing so, becomes actually a very good movie. Such is the case with Black Hawk Down. The event in question is a 1993 Army Rangers raid in Somalia that became extensively FUBARed: The Rangers thought they'd be going in for a quick capture of some Somalian warlord's lieutenants—in and out in about an hour. Then one of the Rangers fell while rappelling down a rope, the Somalis started blasting at the Rangers in force, and finally, not one, but two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, stranding the Rangers (and more elite Delta Force fighters) and forcing their *one-hour" mission to extend over the course of a night. In the end, 18 soldiers died and 70 or so were wounded. Black Hawk doesn’t try to sugarcoat any of the chaos that caused the mission to go so wildly off-script; instead, director Ridley Scott grabs you and puts you right at soldier level. After a year of stupidly sanitized war films like Pearl Harbor and Behind Enemy Lines, the bloody, anarchic savagery of the battles in Black Hawk is like a hard slap in the face—there’s nothing the slightest bit romantic about what happens to our soldiers (or, to he fair, to the Somalis that are fighting them—an estimated 1,000 of whom died in the battle). It’s also a reminder that as realistic and intense as this movie gets, what really happened in Somalia in 1993 was a great deal grimmer. Pearl Harbor certainly didn't have that (and ironically, both movies were made by the same pro- ducer and star Josh Hartnett. Go figure). Scott, who was díssed by the Academy in 2000 when it made Gladiator Best Picture but didn’t bother to nominate him for Best Director, got the richly deserved nod this time around, Scott has a not-entire- ly-unfair reputation for. making films that are more about lighting than about substance, but Black Hawk should silence anyone who maintains that Scott does- п'{ have the goods. This ts arguably as real as war movies get, and that counts for something. DVD Extras: trailers, a making-of documentary and produc- tion notes, Movie Score @ LI! DVD Extras Score ФФ Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (0) STAR WARS UPDATE It may be three years away, Will Ferrell, arguably hut that doesn't mean the rumors (and occasional facts) the superstar on about Star Wars: Episode Ш day Nit aren't circulating with force. A few of the cooler ories follow (plus some DVD news): WOLVERINE ? b M erhaps thank) Kirsten At Indianapolis’ recent Star \ е f п addition to blurting out Wars Celebration Il, а fan [Л 1 А irker doesn't get the girlin. asked Producer Rick McCallum j { nly days before the movie's if Hugh Jackman will be in 7 4 terman [plus how much she Episode Ш. McCallum's simple ^ | i response: “Yes, he is involved.” ` beautiful blonde has also spilled the beans оп van trying to pick ир - Spidey's fearsome foes for the sequel. Talking | high school girls. to EW.com, Dunst revealed that she's heard the | His first post-SWL — followup Will feature the adamantium-armed venture will be in the film Old School, releas- ing Sept. 27, in which Ferrell, Luke Wilson and. : S |. Vince Vaughn play ` "Tm probably going to have another girl, too, thirty-something buds. on the next movie,” Maguire said. “I don | who start their own fra- | ч now [who], but l'm just saying think we're — | ternity next to a college. | going to bring another girl in." Ultimately, what happens to Spidey lies in | 1 the hands of director Sam Raimi and new | The star of The Fast and | scriptwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar— | the Furious won't be McCallum also gave an update on the status of the Star Wars movies not currently on DVD: j || who know a thing or two about the angst of | returning for the sequel, | “Episode ІД will come out teenaged superheroes themselves, since | and neither will director | ў much sooner than Episode 1 { they're also the guys behind Smallville. Rob Cohen. While many: | did. The real plan is to finish j | say that it wasn't a. | Episode Ш, get that DVD out, question of money, oth- | then really attack IV, Vand VI.” b ers are citing Vin. Most people know Kevin Smith as a director Diesel's.commítmentto | JBA FETT?! WHERE? likely to celebrate his love for superheroes in the Pitch Black sequel, In Episode Ш. McCallum says so. V movies like Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob |. The Chronicles of E Strike Back. But for the past few years, that | Riddick. | passion has revealed itself to ап even greater Will Chewbacca appear in 1 degree as the proud New Jersey native has 2 Episode II? Maybe. Peter V veo» | ‘written highly lauded stints on Daredevil and BY, YEAH! i8. Mayhew (the dude in the Green Arrow, pushing typically moderate- | The Osbournes, MIVs |2. Wookiee suit) mentioned at the 1 E selling titles to the top of the charts. Now, |. mega-hit; has been | 8 Celebration that of all the clas- Smith is set to assume the writing duties for |; extended two more g sic trilogy characters, Hasbro 1 The Amazing Spider-Man—as if this summer's | seasons. But те cooler | с is only planning on molding a (blockbuster movie wasn't making it popular | news: The Osbournes Е new Chewie. Interesting. enough. Smith replaces the equally respected will show up as one of | 8 J. Michael Straczynski, who moves оп їо a new | тапу surprises in this E DDS AND ENI Spider-title himself. | summer's Austin 12 TheForce.net caught a few с In related news, Smith's Spider-Man/Black Powers in Goldmember. | ~ more tidbits from the con Cat: The Evil That Men Do miniseries hits Е (minor spoilers). “Armaged- comic shops in June. And in an unheard-of don will take place,” says the publicity move, he's scheduled as a guest on site. And “Darth Vader's armor The Tonight Show for June 24—never before will Бе seen on several differ- „Нав someone plugged a comic book on a late- ent characters. It will all come ; ight talk show. ; З together to make the final 7 sper Vader armor in Episode Ill.” StarWars.com quotes Natalie Portman on Padmé's role in Episode Ш (minor spoilers): “Рт going to be with child,” says Portman. "The next one, according to George, is going to be a tragedy. It’s going to be sad, but I'm looking forward to having more to do." Official U.S. PlayStation Maga HISTORY IS IN YOUR HANDS. DON’T SCREW IT UP. SPELES GAMES WiTH CHARACTER IT’S WWII ALL OVER AGAIN. Blood Violence 3 PlayStation. ©2002 Pyro Studios. Published by Eidos Interactive. Developed by Pyro Studios. Commandos 2: Men of Courage is a trademark of Pyro Studios. The Pyro logo is a trademark of Рио Studios. Eidos, Eidos Interactive and the Eidos Interactive logo are registered trademarks of Eidos Interactive, n. AI rights reserved. PlayStation and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment nc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox Logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft The ratings icon is а registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Let's talk market saturation, shall we? Rockstar and EA Sports are doing their part to make sure you're buying only their games. But for every GTA3, there's a State of Emergency. And for every Knockout Kings, there's a Triple Play. Title / Publisher Last Month Rating Rai e Cee s game has been too popular for cracks and p г Sega Max Payne Rockstar State of Emergency Rockstar Gran Turismo 3: A-spec 10 « Sony CEA Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, March 2002. Call them at 516.625.6190 for questions about this list. No games for competing console systems [e.g.. Xbox, GameCube] were included. Overall sales figures may vary. Game descriptions written by the OPM staff Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ЇЇ |$0СОМ Navy SEALs Sony CEA 2 | Final Fantasy XI Square EA 3З | Kingdom Hearts Square EA 4 | Auto Modellista Capcom '5| NCAA Football 2003 ЕА Sports 6 | Stuntman Atari 7 | Onimusha 2 Capcom 8 | Sly Cooper Sony CEA (9 | Tony Hawk 4 Activision 10! Superman: Apokolips Infogrames Japan's Top 10 PS2 Games 11 | Kingdom Hearts Square 2 | Armored Core 3 From Soft. 3 |0пе Piece Ваще! 2 Bandai 4 | Super Robot Taisen Banpresto 5 | Nobunaga's Ambition Koei 6 Tekken 4 Namco 7 |5. Твики 2002 Soccer Sega 8 | Onimusha 2 Capcom '9.|Jikkyo Baseball 2002 Konami 101 Jissen Pachi-Slot Sammy Top Ten Decent PSone Movie Games = a 2 3 4 5 6 7| 8 9| 0! m = Уут cnn пәк amo | World 15 Not Enough ЕД Games Tarzan Sony CEA | Little Mermaid II THQ Emperor's New Groove Sony CEA | Toy Story 2 Activision Tomorrow Never Dies EA Games | 102 Dalmatians Eidos Star Wars: Ph. Menace LucasArts ГАШеп Resurrection Рох Int. The Mummy Konami Гор 10-Selling Games, All Systems Sup. Mario Adv. 2 (GBA) Nintendo Grand Theft Auto IIl (PS2) Rockstar | Virtua Fighter 4 (PS2) Sega Sonic Advance (GBA) Sega SonicAdw2(NGC] ^ Sega Bond: Ag. Und. Fire (Р52) EA Games Grand Theft Auto 2 (PS1) Rockstar Motocross Mania (PS1) Take 2 Knock. Kings 2002 (PS2) EA Sports bolci ьо е Tiger Woods 2002 (PS2) EA Sports Is it strange that /HRA Drag Racing and Bowling are still on this chart? In one game you hold down the X button; in the other game you touch the X button once. Then again, Motocross Mania, which features no mania whatsoever, is at No. 2. What gives? Title / Publisher TTY . Grand Th Rockstar. Last Month апа Th "n i дана — _ : 6 — = Digimon Rumble Arena eoo Bandai [Nor RATED] Army Men: Team Assault 3D0 nu Ww Na Ae S Е ol 10 10 Bowling Agetec Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, March 2002. Call them at 516.625.6190 for questions about this list. No games for competing console systems le.g., Xbox, GameCube] were included. Overall sales figures may vary. Game descriptions written by the OPM staff. е7 © How Convenient \ games) com OVER 600 STORES NATIONWIDE AOL KEYWORD: EBGAMES PREVIEWS Alter Echo. Т Antz Extreme Racing . 18 Batman: Dark Tomorrow......55 Blade 2... Broken Sword...... 2 Desperate Situation Zone. Devil May Cry 2. К Dr. Muto..... Freekstyle.. Galerians 2. The Getaway. Indiana Jones. Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer......62 Lego Drome Racers .. Madden NFL 2003.. г Mission: Impossible-Surma.64 MLB SlugFest 20-03 74 Monopoly Party.. Gundam: Fed. Pro Race Driver 64 Ratchet & Clank .60 Red Faction 2. 67 Riding spirit Robot Alchemic Drive . Romance of 3 Kingdoms үш Simpsons: Skateboarding Sly Cooper & Thievius Ra Soccer Mania .54 Star Ocean: Till the Е Superman: Apokolips .. Ti Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven .54 Tiny Toons: Looneyverse......62 Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell ...56 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4....52 Total Immersion Racing .......74 Twin Caliber .. .80 WWII: Prisoner of War ....... WWE Crush Hour . 4 WWE SmackDown! X-Men: Next Dimension .......60 X-Men: Wolverine's Revenge .61 NCAA Football 2003 Ninja Assault Coming Soon PLAYSTATION 2 Need for Speed: HP2 EAGames Action June Onimusha 2 Capcom АМ Commandos 2 Eidos Strategy | Robot Alchemic Drive Enix Action Dropship Bam! Action Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games X-Sports Endgame Empire Light Gun | Superman: Apokolips ^ Infogrames Action Freekstyle EABig XSports | Taz: Wanted Infogrames Action Gravity Games Bike Midway X-Sports | Tekken 4 Namco Fighting Jimmy Neutron THQ Action Vexx Acclaim Action Legion: Legend of Excalibur Midway Strategy | X-Men: Next Dimension Activision Fighting Lethal Skies Sammy Shooter | Future Releases Medal of Honor: Frontline ЕА Games FPS MLB SlugFest 20-03 Midway Sports MX Superfly THQ X-Sports Prizm: The Dark Unicorn TDK RPG Pro Race Driver Codemasters Racing Riding Spirits Bam! Racing Soccer Mania EAGames Sports Stuntman Atari Action Tom & Jerry NewKidCo Action UFC: Throwdown Crave Fighting Wipeout Fusion Bam! Racing WWII: Prisoner of War Codemasters Adv. July Mark of Kri Sony CEA Action NCAA Football 2003 ЕА Sports Sports Sky Gunner Atlus Shooter Tennis 2K2 Sega Sports August Armored Core 3 Agetec Action Dragons Lair 3D Encore Action H20verdrive Crave Racing Madden NFL 2003 ЕА Sports Sports Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 Activision X-Sports NCAA Col. Football 2K3 Sega Sports NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Sony CEA Sports NFL2KG Sega Sports NFL Quarterback Club 'O3Acclam Sports Reign of Fire Ват! Action RLH: Run Like Hell Interplay Action Romance of 3 Kingdoms 7. Koei Strategy SOCOM: US. Navy SEALs Sony CEA Action Street Hoops Activision Sports The Terminator: DOF Infogrames Action The Thing Universal Adv. Turok: Evolution Acclaim FPS VIP. Ubi Soft Action September Armada 2: Star Comm. Metro3D Action Dino Stalker Capcom Light Gun Egg Mania Kemco Puzzle Ghost Master Empire Adv. Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Activision X-Sports Legend of Legaia Fresh Games RPG (52) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine hack Bandai Action Auto Modellista Capcom Racing Blade 2 Activision Action BloodRayne Majesco Action Dead to Rights. Namco Action Defender Midway Action Evil Twin Ubi Soft Action Final Fantasy XI Square EA RPG JoJo Bizarre Adventure Capcom Fighting Jurassic Park: P. Genesis Universal Sim Kingdom Hearts Square EA RPG Lilo & Stitch Sony CEA Action The Lost Crave Adv. Men in Black II Infogrames Action Mortal Kombat: DA Midway Fighting MS Gundam: Fed. Vs, Zeon Bandai Action MS Gundam: Lost War Bandai Action Pac-Man Fever Namco Party Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Ubi Soft Action Red Dead Revolver Capcom Action RoboCop Titus FPS Soul Calibur 2 Namco Fighting Summoner 2 THQ RPG Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Universal — Action PS ONE June Delta Force: Urban War NovaLogic FPS Dracula: Last Sanctuary DreamCatcher Adv. Lilo & Stitch SonyCEA Action MLB 2003 Sony CEA Sports Planet of the Apes ИЫ Soft Adv. Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf Ubi Soft Action Spec Ops: Airborne Div. Take 2 Action Super Shot Soccer Tecmo Sports July Austin Powers Pinball Take 2 Pinball 12: Final Resistance Sony CEA Action Gundam Battle 2 Bandai Action Stuart Little 2 Sony CEA Action Future Releases NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA Sports The Pink Panther DreamCatcher Action TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 4 Mw Tony Hawk: the RPG Another year, another Tony Hawk. And if you're sitting there wondering what the heck will inspire you to play yet another iteration of the game...well, prepare to be surprised yet again. We were. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 has what you could get away with calling an RPG mode. Though actu- ally the new Career mode, it plays similarly to your standard role-playing game. No, don't freak out—we're not talking about drawn-out storylines and characters like Rikku іп the game (though, if such were the case, this would be the first-ever action-sports title touched by Gary Steinman). No, what we're referring to regards the interaction with characters around the environments. The game allows you an unlimited amount of time to skate about, do tricks and talk to people hanging out. And the cool thing is, each person has some sort of story that relates to an objective you have to accom- plish. For example, come across a photographer and he might ask you to pull off a couple of fancy moves for a photo shoot he’s working on. Or, talk to a security guard and hear him tell you about a bunch of kids he's going to bust for skating on his property (which results in the objective of you skating across town as fast as possible to warn your skater buddies]. This interaction adds a whole lot of fun, not to mention plenty of replayability in the game. Naturally, this year’s version also includes a slew of new moves. To pull off a Spine Transfer, for example, you must successfully skate up one side of a wall and down the other. Additionally, new combo goals require you to hit certain letters all in a row. Developer Neversoft also plans to include a park editor and a skater creator in this version. Strangely though, Activision has yet to reveal any online plans for the game. But that's OK—they have until November to do so. Play Tennis and More! See that tennis court in the background in the screen above? Well, it's not just there for decoration. If you venture over to talk to the lonely tennis player, he'll ask you for a match—and it's time for you to volley it up! Didn't pack a racket with you? No problem! Your skateboard fits the bill just fine. And if you think that sounds crazy, check this out: There's a basketball minigame too! Challenges One thing's pretty clear about this year’s version of Tony Hawk: There's a lot more to do. For example, the game keeps things fresh with challenges— talk to some skaters and they'll ask you to pull off certain sets of tricks. Succeeding in your chal- lenge sometimes even changes the environments, as your taskmasters place different ramps in different locations for you to trick off of each time. Talk to Jamie Thomas (voiced by himself], for instance, and he'll give you a couple of pro sets. DEVIL MAY CRY 2 RH Not too surprised, are you? No two ways about it: Devil May Cry kicked ass. So should it really surprise anyone that Capcom plans to bring Dante back for a sequel? It's still a long way off at this point—don't look for the game until winter at the very earliest—but Devil May Cry 2 seems primed to offer everything the last one did and more. Early word suggests a longer game that, unlike the original, actually takes place mainly outside. Dante's arsenal of cool weapons and devastating moves should increase, as well. But the biggest change this time? A yet-to-be-named heroine joins Dante as a playable character. And no, it's not Trish. PREVIEWS The return of a Greek gaming hero For those of us who started gaming when The Legend of Zelda was a State-of-the-art, revolutionary graphical masterpiece, the name Rygar might sound familiar—he was quite the star on the NES way back in the day. Yeah, that dude—the guy who used that giant yo-yo thing to hit stuff. Well, after more than 15 years of lying low, he's finally returned. And a lot has changed since the '80s! Most obviously, you might say that PS2 graphics exceed those of an 8-bit system. The backdrops, very Greek in nature, overflow with detail, and the camera moves in much the same way as Devil May Cry. But certain gameplay staples have stayed very much intact, with the Diskarmor [you know...the yo-yo thing) as your weapon. And just wait until you get to use it on the fantastic-looking bosses! Tecmo ships Rygar this October. Soccer Mania It's not part of the game's title, but those are indeed Lego people playing a rough-and-tumble footie match. And why not? After all, Lego has a line of soccer-related action playsets, and it's also a World Cup year, so it makes sense for EA to release this game, due out any day now. As you'd suspect, Soccer Mania is a lighthearted arcadey game with customizable teams and 23 themed stadiums. Good for kids, sure, but here's hoping casual sports gamers will get a kick out of this one as well. Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven = he Diskarm Since it won't be ready until next spring, Activision doesn't have а whole lot of new information to pass on about the next offering in its ninja series, the first true sequel to the original (Tenchu 2 was a pre- quel). However, the company did recently present a video of gameplay that revealed, among other things, two of the three playable characters. We were also interested to learn of the new two-player co-op mode, whose details you can be sure to read about in the coming months. So, what's a Diskarmor? Just imagine a spiked, spinning discus attached to a long chain. As Rygar's primary means for attack, he throws it in a similar manner to a yo-yo, also using it as a shield or a grappling hook. And he'll have more than one of them throughout the course of the game, collecting Diskarmors that allow for special magic attacks, such as fire, lightning or water. (54) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine BATMAN: DARK TOMORROW Can Kemco erase its dark yesterday? Two years ago, Batman fans hoping for the best in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker instead got the worst PS one game of the year. The guilty developer? Kemco. Well, guess what, Bat-maniacs? Not only is Kemco developing Batman: Dark Tomorrow, but it will also publish the game this November. Know what, though? We're willing to give Tomorrow the benefit of the doubt for now— we'll even go so far as to say we're looking forward to it. For one thing, we haven't seen a Batman game based on the comic-book look {as opposed to an animated series- or movie-based title] since Batman: Revenge of the Joker hit Genesis in '92. And based on the screens (GameCube for now; we'll see PS2 ones shortly], we've gotta say we like where Kemco's headed. A story written by DC Comics doesn't hurt, either—nor does knowing that the guy leading the team is Kenji Terada, responsible for such greats as the first two Final Fantasy games [NES] and Dark Wizard (Sega CD]. While much of Dark Tomorrows plot remains undisclosed, we do know this much: Apparently, Batman takes it upon himself to investi- gate the mysterious disappearance of Commissioner Gordon. His adventure leads him everywhere from the sewers of Gotham City to the infamous Arkham Asylum. Of course, the Joker's involved, as are other supervillains like Poison Ivy, Killer Croc and Blackmask. Riding Spirits When we loaded up this playable of Ват! new motorcycle racer, we had to do a double-take on the developer. If we didn't know better, we'd think this was developed by Polyphony, because so much of the game looks like Gran Turismo 3, it's creepy. But, of course, this is all about bikes—more than 150, to be more precise—and motorcycle fans will no doubt appreciate the GT-like depth. It remains to be seen whether quality will prove as similar, but we'll find out this summer. LE Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon Now that LucasArts has proven the possibility of a quality point-and- click-style adventure on the PS2, Revolution is preparing the newest edition to its brilliantly written Broken Sword series. Due this fall, the game follows George and Nico through another sweeping quest—this time to save the world itself. "The technology is finally available,” Revolution says, “to allow us to realize our vision for the next genera- tion of the story-based game.” We can't wait to see more. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Ubi Soft tries its hand at the burgeoning "stealth-action" genre with the significant support of novelist Tom Clancy. Though the game doesn't hit PS2 till next year, we can give you a few details: Splinter Cell puts players in the shoes of Sam Fisher, an agent for a secret U.S. government organization called Third Echelon—and a badass expected to rival Solid Snake himself—who comes with a huge arsenal of both high-tech gadgets and devastating hand-to-hand attacks. Cool! After the violent abduction of her boyfriend, a girl awakens from a coma in a world inhabited by strange demonic races. In Primal, guide Jen through the four kingdoms of Oblivion, switching between four kickass demonic forms as the story unfolds. A gargoyle named Scree accompanies you as a second playable character, useful not for com- bat but for his other skills—and puzzles may require the use of both. No Sony release date is official, but we expect to see it in early 2003. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine BLADE 2 Not quite a movie-based game With Blade Il having performed admirably at the box office last spring, one might immediately assume that Blade 2the game is directly based on the film—but it's not. Technically speaking, A sion only has the rights to the comic-book Blade, not the big-screen version of the character...so it's not really a movie- based game. But that doesn't mean the developers at Mucky Foot aren't trying to make it feel like one. For starters, the cool camera angles and frequent cutscenes give the game a very cinematic look. And just as in the PSone version, the character's resemblance to Wesley Snipes is just off enough to be safely distinguished. Also like the film, a slap of sil- ver weaponry to a hostile vampire [some being Reapers, as depicted in the movie) disintegrates it into a cool, shiny dust. By consulting with David Goyer, the writer of both Blade flicks, the the creators not only ensure a deeper synergy between the game and the film, but also allow gamers to try out some of the wea- pons that didn't quite make the big screen. But just in case you don't feel like busting up a suckhead with the Daywalker's arse- nal of guns, grenades, stakes, trademark sword and glaive, etc., Blade's fantastic martial-arts moves should do the trick. And per- haps the flat-out coolest thing about the game? Enter a room by kicking the door down—just 'cause you're a badass. _ 01 15:60 $a 0037021 "А TRULY GREAT GAME" OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE 2, UK "INGENIOUS RACING FUN" PLAYZONE, GERMANY "AMAZING" PLAY-UP, FRANCE "DON'T MISS IT!" PLAYMANIA, SPAIN PlayStation and the PlayStation logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The Italian Job™ Software © 2001 SCi (Sales Curve Interactive), Limited. The Italian Job™ © 2002 Paramount Pictures, Ай Rights Reserved. Developed by Pixelogic. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Rockstar and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. © 2001. All rights reserved. Mini and the Mini logo are trademarks of BMW AG and are used under license by SCi (Sales Curve Interactive) Limited. © 2001 BMW AG All Rights Reserved. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. TEEN < м Mild Violence F^ PNT RATED BY PlayStation FEES y PIxELOGIÇ a WWE SMACKDOWN! SHUT YOUR MOUTH Everything you love, now spelled with an "E," brother We don't want you to strain your rasslin -lovin' brain, but take a second to think about what features showed up on your wish list for THQ's Just Bring It follow-up. Was it the chance to play with six players instead of four? Or that you wanted Hulk Hogan, Booker T, DDP and Ric Flair without having to create them yourself? Were you wishing for a better Create-a-Wrestler interface? A longer Story mode? Did you wish for a stuff-a-sock-in-it button for the constantly repeating commentary? All of that? For us, it was the lack of supervixen Stacy Keibler. The good thing: All of the above concerns have been remedied along with lots of others. This winter, Shut Your Mouth is going to break down your door chock-full of double- and now triple-team moves, new commentary by Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler (along with last year's underachieving duo: Michael Cole and Tazz], plus all the wrestlers (and divas] you've been missing. But the sweetest feature: the opportunity to have a WWE draft. Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Picking up where Star Ocean: The Second Story left off, End of Time once again offers an epic, galaxy-spanning story along with Star Ocean's beloved action-packed real-time battle system—but this time, all in 3D. Characters have full freedom to roam about during fights, which Enix tells us are frenetic, fast-paced and full of quick- shifting camera angles. If this turns out to be as good as its prede- cessor, then it just might be the first great RPG of early 2003. Diva Fever Stacy Keibler, that sweet, long- legged beauty to the left, will be one of the divas added to the SmackDown! stable (there will, indeed, be other babes). We know Vince McMahon adds beautiful women like Keibler to the WWE only to make us drool like bull- dogs. But we believe Keibler to be the thinking-man's pretty lady. Maybe we're lame for excusing our affection for Stacy, but she's not burdened with a slattern porn queen name like Trish Stratus. Stacy's classy. You can tell by how elegant she looks in a G-string. Monopoly Party It was only a matter of time before Infogrames released a PS2 version of Monopoly, huh? Well, at least it isn't afraid to spice things up this fall, offering an on-screen take on the popular board game that differs a great deal from tradition. In a way, it replicates the countless alter- nate versions out there now (do we really need NASCAR Monopoly?]— only with unlicensed themes like ancient civilization and outer space. One cool new feature: All four players take turns simultaneously. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine PlayStation.e RECEIVE $5 OFF this exquisite title Suggestive Themes | from TITUS. Violence $ 5 off STORE COUPON + EXPIRES 7/15/02 $ 5 off ПО АЙ R5770183738$500 RECEIVE $5 OFF Barbarian for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Е" Good for 55 off the purchase of Barbarian for PlayStation®2 at Sears electronics department. ОН regular purchase price. valid 06/15/02-07/15/02 only.Offer not good on layaway balances, gift certificates or credit card payments.Not valid with any other coupons or offers. Limit one coupon рег transaclion.One per customer.Void if copied or transferred and where prohibited by law.Cash value 1/20c. 2001 Sears Roebuck and company.Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Barbarian: © 2002 Titus. Developed by Saffire Studios. Barbarian, Titus and the Titus logo are trademarks of Titus Software Corporation. А! rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment пс. Sony ® ‘Computer Entertainment America is not responsible for this offer. Remember the huge environments featured in DOA2? How they just seemed to go on forever? Well, imagine the same feature in an X-Men fighting game from Activision, and you have a decent idea of what to expect in the eight arenas for Next Dimension this September. Fall out the window of the Xavier mansion, for example, only to continue your duel іп a courtyard...which might open up into the Blackbird's hangar. The game also boasts a deep Story mode (well, for a fighting game). Enclave The interesting aspect of this fantasy-action game from Conspiracy and German-based developer Starbreeze Studios is that it allows you to play from both a first- and third-person perspective. Both come heavily into play—certain enemies are best taken out with projectiles, with oth- ers most suitable for hand-to-hand combat. It's actually quite fast and, unlike its Xbox counterpart that hits this summer, this winter release may actually have online multiplayer support. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine RATCHET & CLANK It's not the size of your robot..it's what you do with it Similar in theme to console-mate Jak and Daxter (dynamic duo, huge environments, wisecrackin* attitude, et al), Ratchet & Clank seeks to one-up that dubious duo by offering an innovative weapon system (35 in all!) and more gameplay than you can throw a stick at. And judging from what SCEA/Insomniac's put together, you'd better bring plenty of sticks. After all, when no less a man than Mark Cerny (Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash, Spyro, countless others) says, "| believe that this will be the gold standard by which character-action games are viewed. Mario had his five years in the sun as the standard. Now the world will be viewed through the eyes of Ratchet," then you had better believe that Insomniac is cooking up something good. But who exactly are Ratchet and Clank? R&C is the story of two misfits who come from faraway places but, as luck would have it, happen to work great together. Ratchet is a furry, young mechanic who wants to get off of his home planet but lacks the parts to do so. In no time flat, he meets up with Clank, a “defective” robot (їп this case, “defective” indicates an intelligent personality] who fell off an assembly line producing an army of evil (and dumb) robots for the malevolent alien race known as the Blaarg. The Blaarg have overpop- ulated their planet and are working to build a new one by taking pieces of other worlds and fitting them together to form a new one. When Clank crash-lands on Ratchet's world, the two meet and form an unlikely (and often adversarial] alliance determined to stop the Blaarg's destructive march. Using a purchase system reminiscent of Maximo, Ratchet earns the weapons and gadgets he buys by collecting various nuts and bolts that act as the game's currency. No collecting 100 fruits crap here! Besides the wide variety of weapons (which can be used to beat each level in a variety of ways], Ratchet can also upgrade Clank (who functions as a backpack) into myriad gadgets, such as a helicopter that lets the duo double-jump or slow their descent from a fall. It's innovations like this that will keep us champing at the bit between now and the game's November release. X-Men: Wolverine's Revenge Even though we won't get Wolverine's Revenge from Activision until X hits theaters next May, we've already seen the game in action— and we're pretty sure you'll want to sink your claws into this one, bub. Wolvie's faceoff with Juggernaut proves quite the battle, as you must coerce Xavier's bro into running into things in order to most effective- ly attack. But what most impressed us was that you can actually use his heightened senses to scope out situations, as seen above. Hats off to the guys at Insomniac. One look at the screens will tell you that the futuristic environments upon which our darling duo romp are something special. These “levels” are huge. In every direction, as far as the eye can see, the worlds our heroes traverse are packed with beautiful architecture, little fluffy clouds, eye-melt- ing detail and loads of animated objects doing their own thang. Dr. Muto Check this out: Dr. Muto can mutate. Get it? Muto... mutate...hah! Muto is also a doctor—although we're not sure if he's a “real” doctor or just some chiropractor on an ego trip. Either way, he's the star of Midway's new adventure platformer, due out this winter. The game is still early in development, but it's said to have a host of interesting features, like the abilities to control genetically engineered slaves and to steal DNA from all kinds of creatures. Plus, Dr. Muto can...mutate! | | PREVIEWS Robot Alchemic Drive We've yet to see RAD in action, but if Enix’s robot sim comes close to offering what it promises when it's released in September, then prepare yourself to be blown away. Get this: You pilot a 20-story- high robot via remote control. At the same time, you (as the pilot) have to duck and dodge falling debris, oncoming traffic and giant, squish-happy robot feet. Plus, everything in any environment can be leveled, hopefully leading to Godzilla-like frenzies of destruction. Tiny Toons: Defenders of the Looneyverse It's hard not to have fun with a Tiny Toons game—especially with a developer like Treasure. Our time with the title has offered some sim- ple yet fun gameplay: Grab lots of objects and hurl them around while homing in on locations you want to warp to {as shown in the screen directly above). With four-player compatibility, Defenders of the Looneyverse is a definite for parties—plan one for July. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine KELLY SLATER'S PRO SURFER Mellow tunes and big waves just in time for summer Go ahead, say it. Get it out of your system. Say it, or we will. OK, fine: "Tony Hawk on a surfboard." There. Now, get over it. What Activision really has with Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer is Kelly Slater on a surfboard. Maybe you like surfing; maybe you think it's for curly, blond-haired dudes with no ambi- tion. But when it comes to Slater, it's all business and all kinds of fun. The first thing you'll notice is the music. Soothing, settling, wonderful. We're hoping it sets the trend for future game music. Instead of MTV crapola, these tunes make us feel like we should ride a wave when we're listening. And isn't that the point? Of course, being confined to a wave may mean that you don't have the freewheeling control like in Tony Hawk, but it doesn't mean it's not any fun. The developers at Treyarch have taken great pains to blend realism and arcadey facets, so you ride realistically but can still pull off gnarly tricks. Surf's up this summer. If you think surfing is for jobless losers who have no ambi you'd be right. But Kelly Slater isn't your typical surfer bum. At least not when it comes to scoring with one of the hottest women on the planet. While working on Baywatch in 1992, Slater met Pamela Anderson. At the time, both were involved in relationships, so noth- ing happened. But later, the two dated. And later, the two broke up. ха A LONE DELTA FORGE SOLDIER. \ A global threat. tay, А R Terrorists behind every door. DELTA F ORGE: The U.S. Army's elite ef ined by their expert combat skills and physical and ment 'ughness. ” ^ E Do YOU fit the PROF ILE? Watch the trailer and learn more at www.novalogic.com Е e PlayStat Wadi adi p NOVALOGIC. owners. NASCAR Heat 2: | Road to the Championship Now that EA Sports has reclaimed the “best NASCAR game out there” title with NASCAR Thunder 2002, we'll be interested to see if Heat 2 returns Infogrames to the lead poll position this November. With the game's new Career mode, you can gain and lose sponsorships, use more than 100 parts to upgrade cars, play in four distinct leagues [even the Craftsman Truck Series] and more, all across 31 tracks. Mission: Impossible- Operation Surma Infogrames/Atari brings back Mission: Impossible with more of an emphasis on strategy and stealth than full-blown action. This time, you'll work with an entire IMF team to combat the effects of a devastat- ing computer virus. You can expect all the high-tech gadgetry and dis- guises you'd associate with Mission: Impossible, plus a wide variety of locales set all over the world. Look for the game this fall. (64) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine PRO RACE DRIVER A story-driven racer As a sort of pseudosequel to 1999's excellent Touring Car Challenge: TOCA 2, Codemasters brings us a bit of a different take on driving games with Pro Race Driver. Unlike most racing games, this one places a heavy emphasis on story, as you assume the role of an up-and-comer named Ryan McKane. Throughout the course of events, Ryan develops friendships and rivalries with other racers on the circuit, which also affect what transpires on the game's 30 real tracks. Also during a race, Ryan's crew advises him about race strategy, weather, his oppo- nents and the general state of his car—which can get pretty banged up, as shown by the realistic damage. Codemasters seems particularly excited about the game's cutscenes, which last between 15 and 45 seconds each so as not deter from gameplay. Developed with the cooperation of profes- sional film producers, each scene was motion-captured with an entire cast of actors who recorded their speech at the same time their movements were captured—quite the departure from the normal method of recording one at a time, with totally separate sessions for voiceovers. We'll see if it works this June. Ryan's Song Here's what fictional Pro Race Driver star Ryan McKae has to say about his motivation: “Well, it's like this, ya know. My father and brother, they're good dri- vers...but I'm real good too. They never gave me the chance to prove it. It was like ‘Donnie this,’ ‘Donnie (па --апд now my father's gone. He's gone, ya know. The only way he'd take notice of me is, like, to beat Donnie on the track. Beating him on the track is the only way I'll get my dues. | can do it." h on a 4-day/3-night trip to New York City. опе Video Game Challenge at the new Sar rm, we take care of the rest. Wie ty Enter the ` $10,000 CHALLENGE TOYS"R"US, Inc. "R-ZONE ARCADE CHALLENGE SWEEPSTAKES” OFFICIAL RULES NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE A RECIPIENT S CHANCES OF WINNING. 1. HOW TO ENTER: Complete ал official entry form found at participating Toys"R"Us stores during the following time peri- vods: 2/24/02-4/6/02, 5/16/02-8/29/02 & 8/25/02-10/12/0 or hand print your name, complete address, age, daytime phone number and the game system that you use (ие. Game Cube, Playstation 2 or X-Box) on a 31/2” x 5° piece of paper and deposit it at the "R-Zone Arcade Challenge Sweepstakes” display no later than 10/12/02. Or, тай your completed entry to: ^R-Zone Arcade Challenge Sweepstakes”, Box 5638, Ellenton, FL 34222-5006. Enter as often as you wish but entries can be deposited in store only on the dates mentioned above, and each mail-in entry must be mailed separately, postmarked by 10/12/02, and received by 10/18/02. Mechanically reproduced entries will not be accepted. 2. Random drawings wil be conducted on or about 11/18/02 from among а! eligible тай entries and entries forwarded by participating Toys"R"Us stores and received by Little & King Со. LLC, an independent judging organization whose decisions are final on all matters relating to this promotion. Grand Prize Semi-Finalists will be randomly chosen according to the game system specified. First, Second and Third Prize winners wil be randomly chosen from among al eligible entries received. Odds of winning wil depend on the total number of eligible entries received. Approximately 3.2 milion entry forms will be distributed nationwide during the promotion period.3. PRIZES: GRAND PRIZE SEMI-FINALISTS (6 WINNERS TOTAL: 2 Playstation 2 winners, 2 Game Cube winners, 2 X-Box winners): Each semi-finalist winner will receive а 4-day/3-night trip for family of four (2 adults and 2 children) to New York City to com- pete on a randomly determined game (as determined by sponsor) оп isher chosen system. Semi-Finalists wil be given a list of З games to practice on their system at least 30 days prior to the competition. Competition will take place at a local New York Toys"R"Us location to be determined by sponsor. Each semi-finalist win- ner will compete against one other semi-finalist winner to determine the “Ultimate Toys"R"Us R-Zone Arcade Champion” of each game system, Each trip wil include round-trip coach airfare from the major airport nearest the winner's home, (unless winner resides within 200 miles of New York City in which event ground trans- portation will be provided) hotel accommodations for four (one room, double occupancy), around transportation to/from airport/hotel and $500 spending money. All members of party must travel together and leave/retur to same destination. Trip subject to availablity and certain restrictions/blackout dates may apply. Other expenses and incidentals not mentioned herein are winners responsibility, fa winner is unable to take trip within specified time period, prize may be forfeited and an alternate winner may be randomly selected. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV"): $5,500.00 each, GRAND PRIZE FINALISTS (3): The top scorer of each game system competition (Playstation 2, Game Cube and X Вох) will be determined by an official judge present at the event. In Ме event that there ва tie, the semi-finalists will compete again unti а high scorer is determined. Each of the 3 finalists wil receive $10,000.00 cash. ARV: $10,000.00 each. Each of the 3 Runner-up winners wil receive a $1,000.00 R-Zone Shopping Spree. ARV: $1,000.00 each. FIRST PRIZE (10); $250.00 R-Zone Shopping Spree. SECOND PRIZE (100): $50.00 Toysrus.com Shopping Spree. Awarded as a $100.00 Toysrus.com gift certificate (Internet gift certificate is only valid for purchases at htp;/wwwioysrus.com website). THIRD PRIZE (250; $25.00 R-Zone Shopping Spree. Al prizes designated as "Shopping Spree" wil be awarded as a Toys R Us gift car. Total Retail Value of all prizes: $79,750.00. 4. CONSUMER DISCLOSURE: No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter ог win. You have not yet won. Value/Odds of each prize: Grand Prize Finalist: Value: $15,500.00. Grand Prize Semi-Finals Value 6,500.00. First Prize: Value: $250.00 each. Second Prize; Value: $50.00 each. Third Prize: Value: $25.00 each. Odds of winning Grand Prize Semi-Finals, First, Second and Third Prizes will depend on the total number of eligible entries received, Grand Prize final- ists will be determined by an official judge to be the highest scorer of each game system competition. Game sponsored by Toys"R"Us, Inc., 461 From Rd., Paramus, NJ 07652. Game ends 10/12/02. 5. Potential winners will be notified by mall Winners may be required to sign an Affidavit of ElgiblityLiblity Release (and where legally permissible a Publicity Release) within 14 days of notification date or sponsor reserves the right to randomly select an alternate winner. Affidavit of Liability Release (and where permissible a Publicity Release) will be required for all traveling companions of winners. Limit one prize per person, family or household. No cash alfemative, substitution or transfer of prize permitted, unless prize becomes unavailable, п which case a prize of equal or greater value will be substituted at the sole determination of Sponsor. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable may resu in disqualification with an alternate winner selected, Taxes, if any, are. the responsibility of the winner. By entering, entrant agrees to abide by and be bound by these Official Rules. Winners consent to use of their name and likeness for advertising/publicty purposes without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. Grand Prize trip will be awarded in the name of te parent or legal guardian who must execute and retum all required documentation and accompany minor on trip. Entrants hereby release and hold harmless Toys"R"Us, пс. Little 8 King Co, LLC, and their respective subsidiaries, related entities, atfliates, and agencies from any and all claims, demands, losses and liabilities arising out of this promotion or the prizes awarded hereunder. Sponsor assumes no liability or responsibilty for damages, losses or injury resulting from this sweepstakes or the acceptance ог use of the prizes. 6. Sweepstakes open to legal US. residents between 12 -17 years of age. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited or restricted by law. Employees and immediate families (parents, children or siblings, whether or not the individual lives in the same household) of Toys R Us, Inc., Little & King Co, LLC, and their respective parent companies affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfilment agencies, and the persons with whom each of the above are domiciled and their respective subsidiaries related entities, agencies and afflates are not eligible. Offer void where prohibited or restricted by la. AI federal, state, and local laus and regulations apply. Toys"R"Us, Inc. not responsible for late, lost, ilegible, mutilated or misdirected entries or entries not properly forwarded by a participating store. Entry materials that have been tampered with or altered are void. If the judges determine, in their sole discretion, tat there is any suspected tampering with the sweepstakes tat compromise the integrity of the sweepstakes, the judges reserve the right to void the entries at issue and/or terminate or mod- ify the sweepstakes and/or conduct a random drawing to award the prize(s) using all eligible entries received as of the termination date. If the sweepstakes is terminated due to tampering prior to its expiration date, notice wil be posted at participating Toys"R"Us stores. Any attempt to deliberately damage the content or oper- ato is sweepstakes is nal ang sate to legal action 7. Fora list of major prize winners, send a self addressed stamped envelope to: "R Zone Arcade Challenge Winners", 1040 6th Ave., 20th Floor, Dept. DJ, New York, NY 10018 by 11/29/02. 8, To remove your name from future Toys"R"Us sweepstakes and/or con- test mailings please call 1-888-TOYSRUS. Enter for a ch. © compet у open through Jun PREVIEWS FREEKSTY The need for speed All of you dirt-bike owners waiting for the SSX conversion from snow to dirt have little wait left. EA Big should have Freekstyle to you in June. So, does it seem worth its weight in DVD disc? So far, we say yes. While we thought the game was too SSX out of the gates, some recent polish and refinement have increased our enjoyment of the adrenalized rides down these vast tracks. As a departure from SSX, you'll instantly feel like the controls are simpler. Pulling off tricks is a matter of getting air, holding a direction and pressing a button. Of course, that's for the less ani- mation-savvy, mind-blowing tricks, but as you master the game, you'll see there's plenty more. And the animations incorporated look worthy of the EA Big tag. We don't know what else it's got in store, but Freekstyle is another step in the right direction. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine THE GETAWAY Three years in development...and it shows The heart of London's Soho, the seedy underbelly of England's capital city, plays host to a team made up of some of Sony's finest development talent—writing a game about the seedy underbelly of London. Kind of appropriate, don't you think? In The Getaway, you play Mark Hammond, a reformed hard man framed for his wife's murder by an East End gangster named Charlie Jolson, who forces Mark to embark on a one-man crime spree—or his kid buys the farm. As the plot's climax nears, you switch to a second character, Frank Carter, an ex-cop with a grudge. By the final curtain, the two story strands merge as one. The game combines frantic driving sections interspersed with stealthy third-person action, split roughly 60-40, respectively. A typical mission might involve chasing a bunch of bad guys through town to a warehouse, then fighting your way on foot through a set of buildings, only to leap into another car as the action shifts to another location. Over 40 square miles of London are accurately mapped—the artists spent three years taking literally millions of photos of the city. The Getaway looks fantastic already, which bodes well for its final release this winter. Cutscenes feature a revolution- ary magnetic motion-capture system that uses the in-game engine. Gavin Moore, director of animation, explains: "Unlike with an optical system, we can have five actors in a scene with wooden props, and we can record the sound at the same time. | can display the motion of the actors simultaneously on a screen, using the actual game characters in the game environ- ment.” The only restriction? No metal can be present on set or else the system goes haywire! Motion Capture j TN У MADDEN NFL 2003 Online is so fine, but it's one of many improvements Sure, it's summertime, so it may be tough to get excited about football. But that's because you haven't seen EA Sports' new Madden, due in August. Every year we're shocked by the graphical improvements and how much closer it gets to looking like a TV broadcast. But while the game usu- ally looks great, many of the events feel scripted, taking control away from the user. This year Tiburon has tried to remedy that. Last year, taking control of the receiver was an easy way to miss a pass; this year, it means you have a better chance of making a play. Same deal for defensive backs. But the real buzz about Madden isn't in subtle gameplay maneuverings, but rather in its addi- tions. The game's new Mini-Camp is basically a set of minigames that allows you to score unique Madden cards and improve your skills. Meanwhile, the new Create A Playbook permits you to pick plays from other playbooks or make your own. Then, of course, there's a little thing called online play—meaning you can play against people in Alaska. But one of our favorite new features is that you can now scout players for the NFL draft. Very cool. Camping Out Everyone loves Madden. How else would the franchise be in its 13th year? But not everyone who loves Madden enjoys sitting down to play a full game every time. To combat this, the mak- ers have built in a Mini-Camp mode consisting of six different minigames, each having four difficulty settings. Our personal favorite is the pass-defending game, where you play asa defensive back and bat down passes shot out of a machine. To the left here, you can see the ground-attack drill. p m Red Faction 2 The first Red Faction rocked—and it was a first-generation PS2 game! We can't wait to see what THQ and Volition pack into this sequel. We know that the setting is Earth, the uprising is against a corrupt dictator name Sopot, the weapons are more numerous (including double-fisted pistols], and your character must work with a team of five specialists to succeed. We also expect more vehicles and an enhanced Geo-Mod engine, once again allowing you to blow through anything this winter. Dual Hearts Originally released by Sony CEI in Japan, this upcoming action/RPG from Atlus follows the journey of a young treasure hunter named Rumble in search of a dream stone. He teams with a magical creature called Tumble (imagine that...their names just happen to rhyme!) to enter the dreamworld, where the two must then work together to over- come obstacles. It may sound generic, but at least the mood and gameplay are said to please. Look for it this fall. | | "PREVIEWS WORLD WAR II: PRISONER OF WAR June's other World War II game If for any reason you tire of playing Medal of Honor: Frontline this summer, yet you yearn for another new World War Il-themed release, Codemasters might just have what you're after this June. But don't expect anything like Frontline—in fact, don't expect any- thing quite like you've played before. Prisoner of War offers a thoroughly unique gameplay experience. Beyond its very Metal Gear Solid-like stealth and conversations held in a Monkey Island-type manor, comparisons to other games don't come easily. As an American pilot held captive in various Nazi POW camps, the only thing on your mind is escape. But with no weapons, your success throughout the entire game depends on not getting caught and using your brain to solve puzzles and outwit guards. Chat with other prisoners for help [you might need to help them first] and watch as the story develops—one that spans several different camps and also requires you to thwart the development of a superweapon being created right under your nose. d pd ROMANCE OF THE ew THREE KINGDOMS VII The long and winding road If you're one of the rare breed waiting for Koei's Romance VII, bear with us. We're just getting familiar with it. If you're not, know that this is a technical game with a limited (and passionate] audience. It's so complex and immersive that you'll play for three hours before you've even gotten your dynasty off the ground. So to speak. Basically the entire game revolves around second- and third-cen- tury China. Plan on spending some time with the 42-page manual if you expect to take down great warriors like Lu Bu, Zheng Fei or Guan Yu. You'll also need to read it so you're up on your Feng Shui, just to keep yourself at peace and your townspeople happy. And make no mistake, this is one deep game. You can play as one of 535 characters, for starters—or more if you choose to create your own warriors in an attempt to bring peace to China. Elect to control China as a leader, or struggle your way up the social ladder as a civil servant. And once you gain power and the trust of the people, you can overthrow the government with the same type of gumption that made the Revolutionary War America's first success. If you liked the story behind Kessen Il and Dynasty Warriors, or if China's your bag, July's going to be one busy month for you. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine HOT-HEADED. COLD BLOODED....... E Fully equipabtrheadhunting arsenal Ultra bad bounty hunting motorcycle ~~ Third and first person cald blooded gameplay Cutting-edge stealth action Meet Jack Wade. He's just woken up from a coma to discover he's missing most of his life - his memories, identity..even his mind. Now he must embark on a guest filled with mystery, murder and carnage in search of himself. Along the way he will confront ruthless killers. serpentine plots and his own enigmatic past. Eee HEADHUNTER. "Headhunter is already looking like it has what it takes to stand in the same place as Syphon Filter ог Metal Gear Solid.” - OPM. January 2002 x 3 PlayStation.e P ng www.acclaim.com MATURE ‘CONTENT RATED BY ESRB HEAD HUNTER" Created by and Produc m Acclaim Ай Rights Reserved. М Sega Corporation. Acclaim & ча and HEAD HUNTER are е Computer Entertainment In "PREVIEWS SLY COOPER AND THE THIEVIUS RACCOO ' А Sony hopes to steal gamers’ hearts this fall “Being confused about what to do next is one of the least fun things in video games.” Brian Fleming, producer of Sly Cooper and one of the founding members of Sucker Punch Productions, is talking about a formula for success. He wants to build a game that generates the same draw, the same appeal of a Crash Bandicoot or a—dare we say it?— Mario. He's off to a good start: From what we've seen, Sly Cooper could easily turn out to be an outstanding 3D platformer. What's most inter- esting is that, for the first time in a long time, this is а character-based platformer that's more i 2 about interesting gameplay than it is about pushing the limits of the technology. E Ў " Sly, a raccoon with a proud thieving pedigree, is a promising character. His training gives him an M — assortment of stealth moves, from shimmying up ropes and pipes to dodging spotlights and hiding with his back to the wall, Snake-style. And his unique, hook-like “thief tool” adds a further dimen- sion by being used for everything from hanging from suspended rings to hauling in distant objects— not to mention its more basic use as a melee weapon. The “thiefy” qualities Sly possesses keep the game focused on stealth and some basic puzzle solving. In some areas, he needs to take to the rooftops to avoid detection; in others, he hops into a portable barrel and hides in plain sight. The innovative aspects of the gameplay are complemented by the ultra-cartoony visual style. This is one of the few games that could easily be mistaken for hand-painted animation. That will certainly draw in a younger crowd, but Sucker Punch is careful to ensure that Sly isn't а game that only kids will play. They've added loads of secondary and tertiary tasks for the hardcore; you can collect bits of clues to open vaults which contain additional power-ups, for example, and one partic- ularly challenging task even rewards players with "director commentary" in the form of developer diaries that the player can listen to while replaying a level. "You'll be able to listen to what the designers were thinking when they made the level," says Fleming. "We've really thought through how to reward people who are video-game addicts, who are experienced players, or who are novices. | believe we're making a good amount of content for all the potential audiences." Sucker Punch remains awfully tight-lipped about some of the specifics of the game, though— they won't even fess up to the number of levels! But the release isn't all that far away—Sony CEA plans to publish the game in September—so we should be able to get our hands on some more in- depth info in the very near future. Until then, enjoy these beautiful screens, sharpen up your stealth skills, and prepare yourself for an all-new platform adventure. "OR fino. Galerians 2 LOOK | The original Galerians, even with its quirky battle gameplay, was still a rather intriguing survival-horror release, thanks to its psychic-themed storyline. The sequel, which hits Japan this summer, looks to remedy the flaws of the original and up the experience overall. Now entirely in 3D, environments are interactive and destructible, and flashbacks occur in real time [with some nifty effects). Crave announced a U.S. release awhile back but has yet to set a date. Ninja Assault This September, you'll realize that Namco hasn't forgotten about that blindingly bright hunk of plastic known as the Guncon? that it included for you in Time Crisis I and Vampire Night. With said pseudoweapon in hand, Ninja Assault requires you to blast through hordes of demons en route to rescuing the fair Princess Koto from demons wanting to sacri- fice her. The title's assaulting ninja is you, and just like every other paid assassin of feudal Japan, you fight evil with a gun. Whatever. (70) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Sucker Punch We asked Chris Zimmerman, in terms of sheer power. He doesn’t think so. “I think the machine is capable of quite a bit more,” he said. “For the first generation of games, people were doing the obvious things, the standard things. As time goes on, you'll see more innovative things, both with the visual style and with the gameplay. An important part of what we wanted to do as a team was to make something that looked and felt different, not just in the visual style but in gameplay as well. And with the PS2, we've been able to do that." ctor of development at Sucker Punch, the PS2 is reaching its limits Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon Here's a first: a Gundam game that might actually be worth checking into even if you're not into Gundam games. Originally developed by Capcom for Japan, Federation vs. Zeon features fast gameplay more akin to your standard beat-'em-up game. Missions take place on land, sea and in space, and there is plenty of firepower at your disposal. Look for Bandai to release the game in October. Alter Echo Definitely one of the most visually intriguing games we've seen in a while, Alter Echo from Outrage and THQ stars a guy named Nevin who's stuck on a planet gone mad. Literally. The planet itself is alive and keeps spewing out vile creatures—and only Nevin can save the world. Thankfully, he's got a PolySuit that allows him to change into dif- ferent forms for different types of missions and confrontations: Stealth mode, Gun mode and Melee mode. Look for this one early next year. PREVIEWS SUPERMAN: SHADOW OF APOKOLIPS Made by Superman fans for Superman fans “I'm 31 years old, and I'm a huge Superman nerd," admits Rob Smith, senior producer at Infogrames Sheffield House, While many might feel compelled to point and laugh at such a confes- sion, fellow Super-fans can only delight in this knowledge, as it offers hope to what until now many deemed impossible: a good Superman game. Believe it or not, one just might be headed our way. Our time with Shadow of Apokolips impressed us with an atmosphere that already seems to cap- ture the feel of Superman's late- 90s animated series with flying colors (those, of course, being red, blue and yellow). The cel-shaded graphics might make you look twice before realizing you're not watching a cartoon, while the nearly 60 cutscenes could fool you altogether—especially considering that the show's cast provides the voice work (see lower sidebar]. Though controls take some getting used to, you realize their complexity is necessary in order to execute our hero's plethora of moves. “You've got a character who does so many different things,” says Smith, "and you've gotta do those justice." If you've seen Superman do it in the cartoon, you can probably do it here. While airborne, you can fly at two different speeds (fast and faster] and hover at any spot. Mid-flight strafing helps you dodge attacks, as do barrel rolls and loop-de-loops. Use Supes' superstrength to pick up heavy objects—you're even tested in button-mashing sessions similar to withstanding torture in Metal Gear Solid. Also similar to MGS, stealth comes into play when you infiltrate LexCorp as Clark Kent, and you've even got radar [a visual representation of superhearing], which is a necessity for rescue missions. Ice breath and heat vision also prove useful at times, as do X-ray and telescopic vision in puzzle solving. Fly through Metropolis this September. Superhero GTA3? In Shadow of Apokolips, Supes traverses vast environments like Metropolis (left), where he can leap the tallest building in a single bound or simply choose | to meander along with civilians. 7 я Я ( | He's got lots of freedom. So why за * not just have air levels and The Show Must Со On 7 Я ground levels, as іп Spider- -— Man? “It'd make my life a hell of a lot easier,” laughs Smith. “But it's good having to [push our- selves] like that, because it's quite an original, innovative thing. It's almost like Grand Theft Auto I[I—but you can fly." Though Superman: The Animated Series has been off the air for a few years now (Cartoon Network reruns don’t count), fans can almost look at Shadow of Apokolips as a new episode—especially since the starpower has returned. Some of the more notable of the 16 voice actors: Tim Daly (Superman), Dana Delany (Lois), Clancy Brown (Lex), Malcolm McDowell (Metallo) and Lori Petty (Livewire). (2) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine PlayStation.e k NAIR ENGINES | | { ) TAKE A RIDE ON THE PlayStation. WHAT RACING IS ALL ABOUT EVERYONE WOR? У FASTER AND MORE DEVASTATING ШШ NETT DOWNFORCE or call 1-800-771-3772 GAME BOY ADVANCE. Г 7 Е J— qp for more info. OWNFORCE: ©2002 - TITUS SOFTWARE CORPORATION. Downforce, Titus and the Titus logo are registered trademarks of Titus Software Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed by Smartdog. Made with Karma Game Dynamics. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Game Boy Advance and the Game Boy Advance logo are trademarks of Nintendo. € 2001 Nintendo. Screens shown were taken from the PlayStation version of the video game. Total Immersion Racing And you thought Antz Extreme Racing was'the only Empire racing title you'd feel like a lesser gamer without picking up this fall! Just as Antz will help fill the void of kart-racers we feel on a daily basis, so will Total Immersion Racing quench our thirst for those oh-so-impossible- to-find realistic games of the genre! OK, enough sarcasm. Truth is, with 18 vehicles in each race and the promise of topnotch A.l., Immersion could live up to its name. Maybe. WWE Crush Hour Twisted Metal meets pro wrestling? Sure! Why not? In Crush Hour, 24 WWE superstars face off in monster vehicles designed to reflect their personalities—each replete with massive doses of firepower. The gameplay is Twisted Metal, but with more of an emphasis on close, head-to-head battles. One mission, for example, has you fighting over a WWE contract that you must safely deliver to your base without getting tagged. You can smell what ТН is cookin’ next spring. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine HANDS- REVIERN MLB SLUGFEST 20-0 Arcade baseball that'll punch you right in the gut Arcade baseball has been nonexistent for years. You could try to pass off Triple Play as an arcadey version of the national pastime, but that’s a coat of verbal paint sloshed over a bad product. It takes a lot of atten- tion and care to make a great arcade baseball game—the same way it does to make a great simulation baseball game. We didn't realize this, though, until SlugFest dropped from the Midway heavens. SlugFest, surprisingly, resembles NFL Blitz a bit more than we could've expected. For one thing, the two games share blindingly shiny and beautiful graphics—which makes us wonder why all simulation games can't look this good [you hearing us, High Heat?). And, believe it or not, both are contact sports. In baseball, you may get the occasional run-in at home plate when the game is tight...but you can duke it out left and right in SlugFest. Throw a kidney-punch at the guy who just broke up your no-hitter if it makes you feel any better. Trust us, it will. And man, do we love the beanball! Yeah, it's a pretty low-class thing to do, but in this game nailing bat- ters is as strategic as bunting a runner to third. If you want to throw at Barry Bonds, then go ahead—it's a good idea because, depending where he gets popped, his attributes likely sink in different categories. But by beaning him you also risk him becoming "on fire," making his attributes rise big time—instead of a league-high 10 setting on power, he'll have a 12 or 13. That spells lots of trouble for his next at-bat! Considering SlugFest's levity, including behind-the-back catches on routine fly balls, it should come as no surprise that the announcing is fantastic. Set the controller down while you go grab a Coke and the commentators discuss how there's nothing going on, and how much they'd like to take a nap. Or how one cut part of his ear off while shaving. Their banter isn't always goofy—which is exactly what makes it funny. Kudos for giving us a giggle during gameplay. Ultimately, it seems like we've got a really promising game on our hands. Let's see what else they can pull off when SlugFest strikes stores this June. supposed to do anything. Yc just supposed to sit and wait. Maybe stuff a handful of pretzel sticks into your maw. But with the SlugFest babe smiling at you throughout the game, you might actually welcome the wait. Clad in pinstriped hot shorts and low-cut tanktops, the SlugFest dame puts the Blitz cheer- Full Color Game 5 r2 208 TOY Yd To Play Games rose Viel TUS 80 055 Any wis f _ Game Sound System, E Ve Ger af lT | Al Selectorang Programmable Allows Up То 121071916 Multiple Moves То Be Programmed HO One Button! ? 2 are registered trademarks of Sony® Computer Entertainment I ша by Intec and are not manufactured, Е, От аьше! by Sony® Computer EMENI Inc. Available a ягдлие, ` M n Playstation? и м E fos dba Groovy, or will you want to return it to S- Mart? So, you're probably looking at the screenshots below thinking, "Hmm...this almost looks like State of Emergency: The Evil Dead Version!” Well, Skippy, there's a reason for that. The team behind Evil Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick is none other than Vis, the same folks who disappointed us all with State of Emergency earlier this year. We do have to admit, though, that Boomstick certainly has a better look to it than Emergency did. And if there’s any movie character out there perfect for bust- ing up swarms of undead with shovels, chainsaws and shotguns—a weapon in each hand—it's Ash. Boomstick takes Ash on a trip through time—including the Colonial era, the Civil War and today— in order to save the town of Dearborn from the influence of the Necromonicon. In addition to wea- pons like those mentioned above, Ash also sports some magic spells that increase the range of his attacks. But the best part of this early 2003 release from THQ? A Bruce Campbell voiceover. Oh yeah. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine SHINOBI We want it now! New information on Shinobi is tough to come by—but we just had to show you the latest screens for Sega's October release. Also, an interesting tidbit: The game's characters are developed by the same dude responsible for those in Devil May Cry. SHackers have’ cracked into) Digimon Online's stop their plans го! фа Сап Чат and пер зауе =the Р warid xy uen ie - > meta] - RATING PENDING CONTENT RATED BY ESRB Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information. ” PlayStation PREVIEWS Nollie 20 To RED FISH 199 Combo 2 222 The Simpsons: Skateboarding Don't get your hopes up on ever seeing a Simpsons game that pushes the envelope in any way. Fresh off of aping Crazy Taxi for Road Rage, it appears that EA Games and Fox Interactive have no shame "borrow- ing" the formula that's made the Tony Hawk franchise so lucrative over the past few years. But what the hell? We love The Simpsons and we love Tony Hawk games. We could do worse this summer than skating through Springfield with nine beloved characters. Antz Extreme Racing You can't accuse Empire Interactive of milking its Antz license. After all, the U.K.-based publisher will have waited a whopping 48 months from the movie's release to deliver this game to store shelves [for those who don't care to do the math, that means this September). Antz Extreme Racing is exactly what you'd expect it to be: a kart- style arcade racer with a variety of modes, plenty of weapons, tons of power-ups, lots of insects and a virtual swarm of challenges. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine NCAA FOOTBALL 2003 Time to cut a few classes—NCAXAS back in a big way Are you the type of college football fan who wants the Old Brass Spittoon or Paul Bunyan's Ax next to your beer-can pyramid? Or are you more of the go-for-the-national-championship type? This year, EA Sports caters to both sets: the hardcore NCAA class-cutter and the never-tardy bookworm. This July, NCAA has so much to offer. Enhanced from the PSone days, Rivalry games allow you to play for some beaten-up, peed-on, drank-out-of, broken-and-fixed trophy that means the world to the winning team. Once you play a Rivalry game between Notre Dame and USC, you'll see what we mean. You'll want the Jeweled Shillelagh more than ever. And most of you won't know why. But Dynasty mode offers the real bread and butter. Anyone who played this last year knows exactly what we mean. Now deeper and more engaging, it features even more factors to dictate the success of your team—whether you'll rank No. 1...ог worry for your coaching job. Meanwhile, new custom schedules allow you to choose your own non-conference matchups and play a softer sched- ule if you want (just don't forget about the BCS!]. But the best part? On-field performance affects recruiting success, crowd attendance and your program's prestige. So study up, camper. Telecasts Count Last year, Dynasty mode was one of the best reasons to grab a copy of NCAA Football 2003. This year will be no different. One of the coolest features with- in the new version is the impor- tance of television broadcasts. The more wins you get when you're on national broadcasts, the more revenue and prestige your school earns, and the more points you get when you start on the recruiting trail. It's all cycli- cal, so if you start losing big games, expect to lose them for years to come! ©2002 Hollywood Мапа BCOMBAT SUMMER BOREDOM WITH A FREE GAME RENTAL OFFER AT HOLLYWOOD VIDEO! ША11 Games. 5 Days- Every Рау. RENT ONE GAME, GET ONE FREE. WEE | Valid at all Hollywood Video locations. Limit one coupon per | customer, per visit. May not be | combined with any other offer. | Cash value 1/100¢. Coupon expires 09/30/02. smt | А Е PlayStation.e Lo». ren p for Rating Information. | SOCOM, "PlayStation" and the "PS" logo aro registerer PREVIEWS INDIANA JONES AND THE EMPEROR'S TOMB Your favorite Nazi-buster returns With all the hubbub over Star Wars lately, it’s easy to forget a certain whip-wielding, Nazi-fighting archaeologist in the Lucasfilm reper- toire. Especially considering that LucasArts has never bothered to put an adventure of his on a PlayStation system. [Though The Infernal Machine, now on PC and Nintendo 64, was announced for PSone back in 99, it was canceled a few months before its sched- uled release.) However, that all changes this November when Indiana Jones finally saves the day on PS2 in The Emperor's Tomb. Unfortunately, as of our pre-E3 press time very little information is known about the game itself. What little has been leaked to the press proclaims that Indy's "back and tougher than ever" (ooh...) in what's sure to be his “boldest adventure yet" (ahh...]. It's good to hear that beating up Nazis is the order of the day, as our hero searches for an artifact known as the Heart of the Dragon (ап allu- sion to the senior Dr. Jones’ voicework in Dragonheart, perhaps?]. With Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Xbox getting positive early buzz, developer The Collective might just have a few good worldwide lev- els in store, with its “proprietary engine technology” helping supply a solid mix of puzzle solving and combat. Twin Caliber ще It's time to make some new friends. Well, one а least. Rage Software is preparing an action-packed third-person shooter with you and your friend in mind, allowing for two-person cooperative play without the confusion of a split screen. Better yet, the game incorporates two-fist- ed, independent weapon control where each weapon is controlled by a separate analog stick. Can't wait to see it in action. Twin Caliber is expected in the U.K. late this year; no word yet on a U.S. release. Desperate Situation Zone e Imagine a man-made city built on the water...then imagine that city ripped apart by an earthquake of catastrophic proportions. Now, imag- ine you're a survivor of this event, and you're trying to get out of the city alive before it crashes into the sea. Unlike most survival-horror titles pitting you against the undead, here your only enemy is nature—but it still makes for a compelling game. We expect a U.S. release (with a name change, hopefully) this fall—as long as a publisher steps up! Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Es $ of em а THE oF А TVEBOCHAKCEK. A p: 7 eacefu 4 GLOBAL TOURING CHALZENGE ERU The Ultimate Rally Hace EVERYONE Visit www.esrb.org or Jo call 1-800-771-3772 2 А for Rating Information. PlayStation. ES © 2002 Rage Games Limited. Developed by Rage Games Limited. Licensed to and published by Majesco Sales, Inc. © 2002 Majesco Sales, Inc. All Rights reserved. All vehicles, brands and associated imagery featured in this product are the trademarks and/or copyrighted materials of their respective owners. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. www rage.com wuw majoscoqamos com ce PlayStation Мадад ag “ It’s time to stop playing with yourself. PS2 is preparing for the : Next Big Step. We've got the games, the answers, the goods— all you need to know to get online. So...are you connected? m ыт | 94! ATV Offroad Fury 2 . 84! EverQuest Online Adventures 88! Final Fantasy XI 94; Frequency _ 97: Madden NFL 2003 “Wy! M EVERQUEST dds are 10 to 1 that if you ask your О average console gamer whether he or You'll be able to form huge parties to roam the coun- tryside, laying waste to all mon- sters in your path. In fact, you'll pretty much need to. flame wasp she has ever heard of EverQuest, you're likely to get a yes as your answer. However, odds are 20 to 1 that if you then ask whether they've actually played the game, you'll get the opposite response. You see, EverQuest falls into that category of hit PC games that console gamers tend to hear quite a lot about, but never actually fully understand, just like with The Sims or Age of Empires. They're well-known fran- chises, but many console gamers have just never gotten around to playing them. Some console players just prefer the console style of game, others don’t have access to the powerful PCs required to run the latest titles, and some simply don't like dealing with the setup hassles of PC games. Which is why most of the great PC games are all heading to the consoles these days. Tribes is coming. The Sims are on their way. And yes, now even Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest is making the jump to the PS2. And it's this game in par- ticular that has us quite intrigued. Not because it's supposed to be really addictive, or because it's supposed to have massive quests that can last for months, but because EverQuest epitomizes everything that PC owners have been enjoying that we haven't: online gaming. And we don't just mean that people can get on and chat or whatever. No, we're talk- ing about a fundamental gameplay ele- ment—the grouping and interacting with others in the game environment—that's been sorely missing from the console scene up until now. It's like this: You know how fun it can be to play with some pals in a four- player game match in your living room? (84) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine There's some gameplay element there that just can't be replicated when playing that same game by yourself later on. This is why EverQuest sounds so appeal- ing—because here, it's not just four peo- ple you're playing with. It's thousands. PC TO CONSOLE But as with any PC game that gets port- ed to the PS2, we approached EverQuest Online Adventures with a lot of appre- hension. PC games are inherently differ- ent than console games, and a lot of times they just don't work as well on the м» Loughli visit to Sony Online Entertainment in sunny San Diego. We need to see for ourselves what EverQuest Online Adventures is all about, and see if this PS2 version is really going to set the console world on fire as easily as the PC version did with its respective market. Turns out we aren't the only ones to pay a visit to Sony that week. Just a few days earlier, baseball great and avid EverQuest player Curt Shilling was there to meet with some of the team and sign autographs. In fact, he even took some time out to hop online and play a game “You can walk from a valley, up a mountain, and into a cave, and it’s all consoles. Or at all. The console transla- tion of EverQuest made us especially wary—here’s a game people play for hours at a time in seclusion, on their PCs with a keyboard and mouse in hand. How would that translate to the average console user who just wants to pick up his controller to play a quick game in his living room? And in general, would the PC style of RPG gameplay in EverQuest even appeal to console gamers? The lat- est PC-style console RPGs that come to mind are Legend of Alon D'ar and Summoner—two games we'd just as soon never speak of ever again. So yeah, even though it may be the biggest thing on the PC, we were far from sure that the game would be able to repeat its success on the PS2. With that in mind, we decide to pay a joined together. There is no loading." with Doug Glanville and Todd Pratt of the Phillies, all the way on the other side of the country. That may be why there's a palpable feeling of excitement in the air. But it could also be simple nervousness. Because after more than a year of steady work, this is the first time the Online Adventures team is able to show off their title. You'd be nervous, too. THE SCOPE It doesn't take us long to get right down to it. Producer Ben Bell loads up the game on a development PS2 and we immediately get to see the first of the title's many big draws: its customization. EverQuest allows you to choose from a set of nine different races, each one fea- turing characters with individual traits. Remember what we said on the other page about needing to form large parties? You're looking at one of the big rea- sons right here. From there, you choose different facial styles and pick a gender. Because of all these options, the character possibilities are seemingly endless, and it's pretty much assured you'll find one that suits you. Then we enter the game and we begin to understand another of its big draws: the scope. This is an entire world at your fin- gertips: Jungles, deserts, castles, swamps, volcanoes and plenty more are all available for your adventuring. But unlike other RPGs that are broken up into segments [апа unlike its own PC counterpart), EverQuest's world comes all in one big package. You can walk from a valley, up a mountain, and then into a cave, and it's all joined together. There is no loading—the entire world is always available to you. We ask how long it Get to know this little black box. It's the PS2 Network Adapter, and it's going to change your life once August comes around. would take to make it from one side of the world to another. "Technically, it could be done in under an hour if one were to continually walk," Bell explains. "But that wouldn't happen in a real game—you're always running into enemies and situations." He proceeds to walk around and show us how the real world acts—it will slowly alter- nate between day and night as you venture on, 40 minutes of daytime and then 20 min- utes of night. "We purposely have certain enemies who are available at night," Bell reveals. Weather also plays a part in the game. We see snow and rain effects. "It rarely rains in the desert," says Bell, "but when it does, it's pretty darn severe." The game is also all about building up your characters, and Bell demonstrates how this all works: As you fight in battles, you'll gain experience points which can be used for increasing specific character stats. The game also allows you to earn money to purchase new weapons, and it'll definitely be helpful to have a good inventory on hand. For example, if you're in an area featuring lots of turtle-like creatures, you're going to want to use a spear to get at them. Or if you're fighting against an army of the undead, a hammer is the weapon of choice. Throughout the course of the game, you'll load up on so many weapons and items that it'll be impossible to hold them all, so you'll want to store them in banks. Banks also come in handy for setting aside money; this way you don't lose anything when you die. We're also treated to a demonstration of the many pets you can acquire in the game. These pets, which come in all shapes and Sizes, can be summoned to aid you in bat- tles—they can even handle entire battles for you if you'd like (they automatically attack the most powerful enemy). Bell sets his pet to attack his co-worker, who is playing on another PS2 on the other side of the office. We hear him yell. Here's where we start seeing how the game's interaction works. Bell invites his co-worker to form a party with him and the two begin fighting battles together. The game manages acquaintances with a buddy list of sorts. If you notice a friend of yours online, you can invite him or her to join your group; he or she can either accept or decline your request. If it's accepted, the two of you can plan to meet somewhere. THE CONSOLE EXPERIENCE The team— built from the ground up for this project—is also making several changes to EverQuest to cater more to the console audience. For starters, the menus have all been adapted to work best with the PS2 controller. Other controls have also been optimized for the Dual Shock; plus, the game includes keyboard support for chat (but no mouse support: "If I'm sitting there on the couch with the keyboard in my lap," Bell asks, "where am | going to put the mouse?"). The keyboard won't be a necessi- ty, though; commonly used text phrases KEY Shows that the Indicates how Shows which game allows many can play quarter the dial-up play. at once. game releases. Fancy magic effects will light up the environment and impress your friends. Enemies probably won't be quite as impressed. such as "| need to heal" can be entered via menus and shortcuts on the Dual Shock. Plenty of other tweaks have been made to tailor the game for the console experi- ence. You now have access to a map, and a compass is visible all the time. The game is also a little more forgiving than the PC ver- sion. In the PC original, if you were to die, you'd have to go on a sometimes-lengthy quest to rescue your corpse within 24 hours. or you'd forever lose your character and all of your built-up stats. In the PS2 version, however, if you die you can merely return to your last save point. But the greatest enhancements to the game are going to be in the area of the bat- tle system. The battles in the PC version feel a tad clunky; this is something Bell and his team are attempting to improve for console gamers. A targeting system is going to be added, meaning you'll be able to lock onto certain enemies. Still, Bell admits that a lot of testing and tweaking has to be done. "The nature of an online RPG means that we can't have things moving as quickly as your standard offline RPG," Bell admits. "Still, we're going to keep tweaking it until we get it right." COMPETITION AND PROGNOSIS Bell and his team know they are going to be up against some fierce competition next spring from Square and its first online RPG Final Fantasy XI. But they also know what to expect—the team actually has a beta ver- sion of FFXI sitting in their offices, and they've logged plenty of hours for research purposes. Bell is surprisingly calm about the competition, though. "It seems like another quality game from Square," he admits. "I hope it does well for them." But he actually doesn't like to refer to FFX/ as competition. "| can see people buying and playing both games—they're actually very different. They focus more on story while we focus on depth and customization." But this issue of competition between: the two games is more than a little signifi- cant: SOE is planning to release EverQuest Online Adventures in early spring, putting it right up against FFXI on store shelves. 86) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Between now and then, Bell and his team are working on optimizing the game to maintain a steady framerate, developing more stories (they've only written a third of the planned 1270 quests], and tweaking the gameplay. That's a lot of work to get through in one year—and that’s only the start. Bell reveals that further installments in the EverQuest Online Adventures series are already planned; they'll become avail- able as mission packs at a later time. Still, he feels that the core game should offer enough substance to keep gamers occu- pied for several months on its own. The question is, will there be room for two massively multiplayer online RPGs in the lives of the average PS2 owner? And perhaps more fundamentally, will console players embrace such a legendary PC fran- chise? We'll find out next spring. t € о Noch FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS You've got questions? We've got answers! Here are the most common questions we get from our readers about the online revolution. Will I be able to use my current Internet provider to get online? Absolutely. The setup disc provided with the Network Adapter will include step- by-step setup wizards for the major Internet providers, including America Online, AT&T Worldnet, Earthlink, Prodigy, Sympatico and others. And if your ISP isn't covered in the presets, it'll be a relatively simple setup that should require, at most, a call to your ISP for a few important bits of information. Will I need to do anything special if I have a broadband connection? Well, not necessarily. It is possible to just pop the cord out of the back of your PC and into the back of your PS2 (though that would obviously make it impossible to use your PC and PS2 online at the same time). But most peo- ple will probably want to go with a somewhat more advanced option. Check out the sidebar on page 89 for some in- depth scenarios. My cable modem is in the basement, but my PS2 is in the living room. How will I get broadband to my PS2? If you're not willing to move either your cable modem or your PS2, you'll need to run a long Ethernet cable from your cable modem to your PS2. You could also call an electrician to have your house permanently wired for Ethernet. Will I need to buy the Hard Drive? Nope. Most online games will not. require the Hard Disk Drive (HDD), and Sony has explicitly stated that they won't even make the HDD available until a game releases that requires it. The only game we know of so far that may require it is Final Fantasy XI, and that won't launch until spring of next year. Will I be able to surf the Web with the Network Adapter? Not yet. Sony is stressing that at launch they want the Network Adapter to be all about the games. It's likely that at some later date Sony will release that browser they showed us at E3 last year, but they haven't released a date yet. What's all this talk about download- ing music and movies to the PS2? Sometime soon—and Sony will only say "sooner rather than later"—you will be able to use your PS2 to access broad- band content like streaming audio and video on demand. Sony is even looking into developing TiVo-like functions for the PS2. This will obviously not come until the HDD releases, but Sony seems quite adamant about eventually imple- menting these functions. What happened to the Sony monitor and keyboard? Sony's gone pretty quiet about those peripherals. We get the impression they're on hold for now. Don't expect anything until the HDD releases, if then. What online games will be available when the network adapter launches? Right now, only three online-enabled games are confirmed to be releasing alongside the August launch of the adapter: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, Tribes Aerial Assault and the special online version of Frequency which will come bundled on the setup disc for the Network Adapter. But we're expecting a. flood of new games to follow shortly thereafter (TimeSplitters 2, for exam- ple, releases in September). Will I have to pay extra to play games online? For the most part, no. Sony has explicit- ly stated that they will not charge extra fees for their own games. Sony was careful to state, however, that they would not prevent third-party publish- ers from charging for their games. But even so, the only games that are expect- ed to charge a monthly fee are the online-only games that require a full staff to maintain constantly. Right now, that's only Final Fantasy XI and Everquest Online Adventures. How much will those games cost? The standard monthly fee for these kinds of games on the PC is about $10. We're expecting both of these to come with at least a one-month-long free trial—that's also standard on PC. Can we play against the OPM editors online? Heck, yeah! As soon as the Network Adapter launches, we'll start giving out information for how you can find us in your favorite games. Are they still going to make single- player games? Absolutely. Sony knows darn well that not everyone will be buying the Network Adapter. You're not going to have to worry about the majority of games becoming online-only until the next PlayStation launches—at least. That won't be for at least three years. NY OTHER Ze. * Powerful game engine allows. for expansive environments and an insane amount of onscreen action! @ Choose from three SkyGunners: Ciel, Copain and Femme. Take on a multitude of spectacular missions! * Take advantage of the intricate scoring system to unlock hidden secrets and modes! In various parts of the world, there are those with jobs unlike any others. They are owners of special aircraft and guns and are commonly referred to as "Gunners." я [The setting is ће town of Rive, where an exposition is set to take place in two months time. ‘What adventures await these Gunners? RE DAR ne = „405 WWW.ATL СС jf loc "PiaySto “PS” Family is an honest-to-goodness true-blue Final Fantasy game. Yeah, we know that's a bit of a silly state- ment. Of course it's a Final Fantasy game. After all, it's from Square, and it’s got those two key words in the title, right? But take just a quick glance at our mes- sage board, or the most cursory peek into our e-mailbox, and you'll see what we're talking about. Final Fantasy fans every- where are up in arms, frightened, confused, enraged and doubtful about the online-only direction of the latest in this flagship fran- chise. After all, Final Fantasy has long been known for its detailed, intricate storytelling, its in-depth characters, its cinematic direc- tion. Taking away any of these key quali- ties—especially the story—would be akin to stripping a chocobo of its feathers, painting it green, then trying to pass it off as a cac- tuar. How in the name of Yevon could that possibly work? We put that question directly to FFX/ producer Hiromichi Tanaka, who was more than reassuring. "There is a main story to FFXI," he says. "Each mission and quest is connected to this story. Players are able to play along following the main story, and defeat the last boss at the end, just like in past Final Fantasies.” Of course, this being a massively multi- player online RPG (MMORPG), the fun doesn't end there. “Even after defeating this last boss, players can continue to fight more powerful monsters, and still enjoy F irst the good news: Final Fantasy XI Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine many aspects of a MMORPG,” Tanaka says. “We will be preparing a continuation to the main story on a regular basis through update packs.” Final Fantasy fans will will also be comforted by the many staples of the series that also appear here, like choco- bos, moogles, the crystals and even the ever-present Cid (this time, he runs a workshop in Baskar). Also familiar are the job system and character classes, which are reminiscent of those in FFVand Final Fantasy Tactics (тоге on this later). And like the others in the series, No. 11 also has one overarching major theme—an especially fitting one for the first-ever online Final Fantasy. What is it? “Bonding,” says Tanaka. “The connection between people and trust.” And while Tanaka is quick to acknowl- edge the influence of past MMORPGs like EverQuest and Ultima Online, he's equally as quick to point out that FFX/is a differ- ent beast altogether. “What sets FFX/ apart from the others—and hopefully everyone will agree—is a world/environ- ment that's unique to Final Fantasy, with an emphasis on the storyline,” he says. IT'S YOUR WORLD So how do you tell a story in an environ- ment populated with thousands of gamers, all at different points on their separate quests? Pretty easily, actually. First off, not everyone you'll encounter is a living, breathing human player. Sprinkled throughout FFX/s world of Vana'diel are numerous non-playing characters who help move things along. Along with the basic townies who gripe incessantly about “What sets FFXI apart is a world that’s unique to Final Fantasy, with an emphasis on the storyline.” their problems [and in the process provide background and color), you'll run into numerous major characters depending on where you are and what point you're at in the quest. “Someone to keep an eye out for is a woman named Lion,” Tanaka hints. Beyond that, how you spend your time in Vana'diel is up to you. Heck, if you choose, you can ignore the main story altogether. "It's up to the players whether they want to follow it or not," Tanaka says. So if you just want to futz around, or if you need some time away from your pals who are joining you on your journey, there's plenty to do. For starters, you'll want to pick up a chocobo and forage around for useful and rare items (much like the Chocobo Hot & Cold minigame from ЕР/Х). Or you can relax with what may be the most-overused RPG minigame ever: fishing. In FFXI, though, you can even fish off the side of a traveling ship, which you'll need to do to snag some rare items. Or you can just wander about, exploring your world and fighting fiends. But playing solo will only get you so far. And really now—that's not what this game is about. Communication, partnership, bonding—these things are essential if you want to get anywhere. Playing with others—be they оп the next block, in the next town or halfway across the world—is ultimately the best part of an MMORPG. Tanaka and his team have constructed a system for communicating that should be familiar to long- time MMORPG players but easy enough for newbies. At the heart of the setup are a few simple com- mands: “Say” lets you talk to surrounding players; “shout” broadcasts your message to a larger area; “tell” lets you chat with a specific person; “party” lets you converse with your party members; and "Linkshell" lets you communicate across vast dis- tances (although you'll need a Linkshell to do this]. You can also post updates on the PlayOnline message boards and send and receive PlayOnline e-mail while in the game. (PlayOnline is Square's online service, which you need to play FFXI.) Plus, with a keyboard, you can trigger nonverbal cues that your character will act out, from simple yes/no nods to salutes, pokes, waves, panic, disgust, doubt, sighs and much more. Best yet, the game has a limited translation feature so you can chat with gamers around the world using specific words from a list. "We hope players will enjoy chatting with others utilizing these various communication functions," Tanaka says. WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE Talk is cheap, though. It's not enough to just make friends. You actually have to form parties and alliances if you want to get anywhere in FFXI. E — THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF GETTING CONNECTED A lot of you have been asking: "So what exactly will I need to get online?" The simple answer: a PS2 Network Adapter and an Internet provider. Now, you might want a little more than that, and if so, we're happy to help. Herein you'll find configura- tions for several setups, but remember that this is just a general idea of what you need. This isn't intended as an in-depth instruction manual, so we take no responsibility if you destroy your computer, break the Internet, or blow up your house. DIAL-UP: PLUG, THEN PLAY Dial-up users really have one huge advantage over broad- band users: ultra-easy setup. What You Need: PS2 Network Adapter, Internet service provider, phone cord The Setup: Install the Network Adapter, connect the Network Adapter to your phone jack, and run the enclosed Network Adapter setup utility. Stop staring, you're done. Go play already. (OK, some of you may need to contact your ISPs to get specific setup info.) The Cost: $40 for the Network Adapter, $2 for a phone cord (if you don't have one lying around the house) Simple, huh? It'S broadband where things start getting interesting. There are a number of different configurations you can use depending on your tech savvy, but we've gener- alized things down into three basic options. With even the most basic, though, don't be surprised if you need to give your ISP a call to determine some basic settings. BROADBAND: BARE-BONES Tf you have broadband service already, you should already have everything you need for this setup option. What You Need: PS2 Network Adapter, cable modem or DSL service, Ethernet cord The Setup: See that cord that runs between your cable/ DSL modem and your PC? That's your Ethernet cable; it looks like an overweight phone cord. Unplug it from the back of your PC and plug it into the PS2 Network Adapter. Run the Network Adapter setup utility and get your game on. (Note: Some modems connect to the PC via USB; that's the cable that's squarish on one end and thin and flat on the. other. In this situation, you'll have to disconnect the cable from the modem and get your hands on an Ethernet cord long enough to run between the modem and your PS2.) Cable or Ethernet DSL Line Cable Cable or DSL modem The Cost: $40 for the Network Adapter (plus maybe the cost of an Ethernet cable; a 100-foot cable runs about $25, so this isn't going to break the bank) BROADBAND: ADVANCED We include this option because it's the cheapest way to have both your PS2 and your PC online at once, but it ain't easy. Your configuration may vary depending on your ISP, your computer or planetary alignment. What You Need: PS2 Network Adapter, cable/DSL service, additional PC Ethernet adapter, one Ethernet cord, one "crossover" Ethernet cord, Windows XP The Setup: First, install the second Ethernet adapter in your PC. Then connect one end of the crossover Ethernet cord to the new adapter. Connect the other end to the PS2 Network Adapter. Run WinXP's Internet Connection Sharing Wizard to set up your PC as the host computer. Then run the PS2's Network Adapter setup utility. Look, it's an ultra-simple home network! Cable or Ethernet Crossover Ethernet DSL Line. Cable or Running DSL modem. Windows XP. The Cost: $40 for the Network Adapter, $10 to $20 for additional PC Ethernet card, $5 to $25 for crossover Ethernet cord (depending on length) BROADBAND: HARDCORE! If you're looking for a reason to set up a real home network, you've found it. This is only for those with a better-than- average grasp of technology, but its flexibility makes it worth the effort, especially if you're in a house with more than one PC. What You Need: PS2 Network Adapter, cable/DSL service, cable/DSL router, three Ethernet cables The Setup: Remember the Ethernet cord we talked about earlier? Unplug it from the back of your PC and plug it into the router. Then take one of the Ethernet cables and run it between the router and the PC. Take the last Ethernet cable and run it between the router and your PS2 Network Adapter. Run the setup software provided with the router, then run the Network Adapter setup software. You are now officially In the Zone. Cable or Ethernet DSL Line Cable Cable or Cable/DSL Ethernet DSL modem Router Cable The Cost: $40 for the Network Adapter, roughly $70 to $100 for the cable/DSL router, $10 to $35 for two extra Ethernet cables (depending on length) Sure, there are plenty of setups and different configura- tions. If you wanted to get really hardcore, you could per- manently wire your entire house for Ethernet (and spend a few hundred dollars—minimum—in the process; but all your geek friends would sure be jealous). Or you might be able to go wireless. In other words, there are as many con- figurations as there are house layouts. But hopefully these scenarios will give you a place to start. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (89) EM T, r e P и АЁ? But before you do that, you have to, well, become yourself. The first step is to choose your race and sex. As we've reported before, FFXI has five basic races: the human-like Hume, the elven Elvaan, the too-cute Tarutaru, the brutish Galka and the feline Mithra. Each has its obvious strengths: The Hume are the best balanced, the Tarutaru are strong magic-users, the Elvaan are good fighters and so forth. For extra zip, you can also customize your hair and outfit. Next you pick a job class. Out of the 11 total jobs, five should be immediately recog- nizable to anyone who's played the first Final Fantasy: Fighter, Monk, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, Red Mage. Beyond those are Thief, Minstrel, Dark Knight, Paladin, Beast Master and Hunter. Each class has a series of special skills that you'll learn as you gain experience. Eventually, you'll want to switch jobs, but when you do that, you can still retain some of your earned abilities by set- ting your former job as a support job. Keep There are five basic races in FFXI. From left to right: two Humes, two Tarutaru, a Mithra, two Elvaans and a Galka. in mind, though, that you don't gain experi- ence in that support job and it can never be more than half as strong as your main job. Your character also gets his own house, complete with a friendly mog that'll help you decorate the premises and guard your valu- ables. You also switch jobs while at home. Now that you're set up, you'll need to ven- ture out and find a group of like-minded but diverse travelers to help you along your way. A total of six people can form a party, and any party can join up with two other parties to form an alliance. The key here is to bal- ance your strengths and bolster your weak- nesses. You'll also need to ally with different Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine races from different lands, as you initially. won't be able to enter certain realms without certain races in your party. Now that you've got a group together, you can get into the real fun: the battles! Depending on where you are, monsters will be roaming about, and engaging them is as simple as casting a spell from a distance or walking up and hacking away. While you don't directly control the action (this ain't a hack-'n'-slash-athon], you choose your moves in real time and then watch as it's pulled off. Timing is key here; it takes a lot longer to cast a spell than to swing a sword. But teamwork is the biggest concern, as you'll need to, say, protect that Tarutaru black mage so he doesn't get squashed while calling forth Blizzard. As Tanaka explains, "The key is to discuss strategy with. your party members whenever possible." PAY TO PLAY Now for the not-so-good news: Assuming you're starting from scratch, you'll need plenty of scratch to play FFXI. Along with the game, you need the Network Adapter and the Hard Drive [though some insiders suggest the Hard Drive might not be necessary here]. You also have to sign up for PlayOnline ser- vice (currently about $10 a month in Japan]. And that's on top of the cost of your current Internet service provider. Plus, if you want to fully experience the game, you'll need a key- board and mouse, too. Oh, we can't forget Ве. occasional extra fees that'll pop up, like throwing down an extra buck or two every time you want to create a new character. That's a lot of gil. But just think for a sec- ond about what you're getting: It's Final Fantasy. It's online. It's got a very specific quest. But it's also an endless game. (Additions to the story will be made on a regular basis," Tanaka tells us. "They'll be somewhat related to the main story, but still can be considered a separate story."] And there's also a good possibility that Square will offer some sort of bundle deal, where, for example, you pay for service and get a Hard Drive bundled in for free (though there's no official word on this as yet]. And consider this: We haven't even scratched the surface of what FFXI offers. From the various guilds you can join, to the crystals you'll gather, to meals that you can cook and enjoy, to specialized weapons you can build, there's just so much more. FFXI also offers the chance to experience something never before achieved: Players can access the same world, whether it's in Japanese or English, on the PS2 or PC plat- form, or via 56k modem or broadband. And FFXI has something to offer for any kind of player, according to Tanaka. "We're targeting both online gamers and Final Fantasy fans, but the game is designed to appeal to a wide audience," Tanaka says. "Since FFXI is multi- platform, I'd say that we target mainstream gamers through the PS2 and hardcore online gamers through the PC.” But, of course, this is Final Fantasy, so mass appeal isn’t enough. As always, Tanaka and his team have set their sights much higher. “Our goal,” Tanaka says, “is to create the best MMORPG in the world.” Сее | Issuel- October 1997 $5 | Issue 19 - April 1999 $0 | Issue 36 - September 2000 $10 Issues You Want sal eden dis pa ter E Soul Reaver 2 fae ayables: Intelligent. playables: Я Session, Rayman 2: 5 У ры fre Rapper Аса сова 2 Tite WCW/nWo Thunder, Rollcage, Warzone 2100, {лешен edel THEM ALL seer sie Issue 2 - November 1997 $10 | Issue 20 - Мау 1999 $10 | Issue 37 - October 2000 $10 Bushido Blade Strategy Legend of Legaia Strategy Star Wars Demo Disc playables: Crash Bandicoot 2, Demo Disc playables: Ehrgeiz, Gex 3: Deep Cover | Demo Disc playables:Bust-A-Groove 2, RC Croc, Armored Core, Madden NFL 98, Cool | Gecko, Legend of Legala, Contender Revenge, Team Buddies, Sydney 2000, Muppet Order OPM Back Issues or Demo Discs Today! To order, sim- фос анны ply send your order form indicating which issues you would like to: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Back Issues, Р.О. Box 3338, Oak Brook, IL 60522-3338. All requests must be paid for by check or money Boarders 2, Colony Wars Monster Adventure, Issue 21 - June 1999 — $0 | Racing order ONLY, made payable to Ziff Davis Media (Please do not send cash.) Issue 3 - December 1997 $10 | Gex3 Strategy Cool Boarders Strategy Demo Disc playables: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, | Issue 38 - November 2000 $10 Demo Disc playables: Bushido Blade, Vs., Star ыы ска те PS2 Revealed Wars: Masters of Terás Kasi, Jet Moto 2, 4, Elmo's Letter Demo Disc playables: Crash Bash, Incredible Cardinal SYN, Ghost in the Shell, Moto Racer, Crisis, Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing, The cost for each issue is as indicated on the order form PLUS shipping Ehud Eos падежа $10 PS. Wk oie Dre то Ne Mei Gc and handling. Shipping and handling charges for each magazine are as fol- Issue 4 ~ January 1998 $10 Demo Disc playables: Ape Escape, MLB 2000, The 4 ] i i i ‘Tomb Raider II Strategy Next Tetris, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Croc 2, Soul | Issue 39 - December 2000 $10 lows: $3 US, $3 Canadian and $5 foreign. All payments MUST be in pupa qu 98, CART | ofthe и pus peat U.S. funds. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. World Seres, Frogger 2 à Demo Disc playables: NFL 2001, Star (Note: Issue 17/February 1999 is completely SOLD OUT.) Issue 23 - August 1999 $10 A C MUN MTV Sports Pure Ride, Mat Issue 5 - February 1998 $10 Ape Escape Strategy. M af Demo Disc ОВ ers The cer мен Demo Disc playables: NCAA GameBreaker 98, Fanny IL шене Tey Так, Ае. Tomb Raider TI, Command & Conquer: Red | Cocoon, Macross МЕХ 2, You Don't Know di Kiler Bal [е 20 January 2001 $10 ем 5799 | Issue 24 - September 1999 $10 | еее Driver 2. Spider Man The Strategy Issue 52-$10 Issue 53-$10 L1 Lr February 2002 Pla ие January 2002 [IEEE Рауза ES ES Rancher, Shipwreckers Demo Disc playables: Um Jammer Lammy, Sled Issue bruary 2001 ыы mon-playables: Alundra, МВА ShootOut 98, Storm, Chocobo Racing, Pong, Monaco Grand Prix зке m z А мек pus ‘Saga Frontier, Mega Man Neo Racing атаушы р ту Issue 7 - April 1998 $10 | Issue 25 - October 1999 sin | Dragon Star Wars Demolition, Cash Bash Coo er XTER Resident Evil 2 Strategy Final Fantasy VIII Strategy Chicken Bay Demo Disc playables: Hot Shots Golf, Pitfall | Demo Disc playables: Metal Gear Solid, WipeOut ga 3D, WCW Nitro, ONE Se aa UT Issue 42 - March 2001 — $10 Issue 8 - Мау 1998 $0 preces ut Tekken 3 Strategy Issue 26 - November 1999 $10 | cre crash Team Racing, Hot Shots Golf 2, Grind Jak and Daxter Final Fantasy X Forest ore нш Mec و‎ of Kare | Session, Disneys Tarzan PS2 Demo Disc playables: PS2 Demo Disc playables: Okage: ‘Soul Reaver, Killer Loop, 40 Winks, NFL Blitz, Issue 43 - April 2001 $10 Monsters, Inc., Sheep Raider, Shadow King, SSX Tricky, Final Issue 9 - June 1998 $15 Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Cool Boarders 3 ‘Twisted Metal: Black Mey pa a oe Hell a ea Tekken 3 Strategy Demo Disc playables: Championship Surfer, Field Trip Video previews: Harry Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex 5 ра Др ра gece Тр даване par ar pei 1999 $10 | Power Spike Volleybal, Tigger Honey Hunt Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Video previews: Batman: d Demo Disc playable: GT 2, Madden NFL 2000, 44-May2001 50 NBA ShootOut 2002 Ventes Sidon ry Issue 10 - disc only $799 | NFL GameDay 2000, NCAA Game Breaker 2000, | 15816 44 - May Demo Disc playables: Gran Turismo, Tomba, | Cool Boarders 4 Demo Disc payables: Cool Boarders 2001, The Granstream Saga, Jersey Devil, NBA MediEvil 2, Legend of Dragoon, Emperor's New Issue 54-$10 [Г] 5455-90 ShootOut, Blasto, Speed Racer Issue 28 - January 2000 $10 | Groove, Metal Gear Solid, Legacy of Kain, Ape April 2002 PEE аа) e E reg Escape, Tekken 3, Syphon Fitter 2 т Dino Crisis, NHL Ғасео 2000, NBA Basketball - June Issue 11 - August 1998 $15 | 2000, Tarzan, Army Mer: Air Attack WCW | 18506 45 June 2001 90 Vigilante 8 Strategy Mayhem Demo Disc playables: Grind Session, Hot Shots Demo Disc playables: Tekken 3, Turbo Prop Racing Issue 29 - February 2000 $10 | "f Dino Crisis, Klonoa тт Medal of Honor Strategy Issue 46 - July 2001 $10 = p Issue 12 - September 1998 $10 уби бара ааста ee Tomb Raider Elemental Gearbolt Strategy last Revelation, SuperCross Circuit, Demo Disc playables: Tomb Raider IT, III & Last. VIRTUA FIGHTER 4 Da SM ето PD аа) Revelation, Alone in the Dark, Gran Turismo 2, BE EE Unholy War, SCARS. Issue 30 - March 2000 $10 | pairs Maximum Remix, Aladdin in ass Issue 13 - October 1998 $10 | Demo Disc playables: Syphon Filter 2, Crash — Tesue 47 - Spyro the Dragon Team Racing. NCAA Final four 2000, ит? | 15816,27 - August 2001 $10 Tomb Raider: TNG Virtua Fighter 4 Demo Disc playables: Metal Gear Solid, Legacy | Silent Bomber, Twisted Metal 4 Demo Disc playables: Final Fantasy VIII Video i 1 of Kain: Soul Reaver, Test Drive 5, Devil Dice, previews: Final Fantasy VII, FFIX, FF Tactics, PS one Demo Disc playables: repperi Issue 31 - April 2000 $10 | jonoa 2, star Wars: Super Bombad Racing and у Soul Reaver2, Рай: Saga Frontier 2 Strategy Це Карта гие, boo Dano Dis lates Colony Ware: Red за So Tee Cane E y Airblade Spider-Man, Eagle One: Harrier Attack, Hot 5 ies reve: а Fier Shots Cott 2 stage TL, Tesu do September 2001 $10 fan Hedy Ged Issue 32 - May 2000 $0 | прерии нонпар ВИХ Syphon Filter 2 Strategy Empire, Okage: Shadow King, Escape from Demo Disc playable: MediEvil TI, NCAA March | Monkey Island, Drakan TL, Legion: The Legend Ci Issue 56-$10 о Issue 57-$10 Madness 2000, NASCAR Rumble, Speed Punks, | of Excalibur Rugrats Studio Tour мау: I Issue 15 - December 1998 $10 Issue 49 - October 2001 $10 4 Crash Bandicoot Strategy Issue 33 - June 2000 $10 | Silent Hin 2 Demo Disc playables: Tomb Raider II, Crash | Fear Effect Strategy Demo Disc playables: Cool Boarders 2001, Teo, Bandicoot: WARPED, Bomberman World, A Demo Disc playables: X-Men Mutant Academy, | Кюпод 2: Lunatea's Veil, Gauntlet: Dark egacy, | Buys Ше, Running Wild, Kagero, Metal Gear | Threads of Fate, WWF SmackDown! Gauntlet | Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing, Portal Runner, | Solid, Gran Turismo Legends, Grind Session Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Spy Hunter Issue 16 - January 1999 $10 | Issue 34 - July 2000 $10 | Issue 50 - November 2001 $10 = Vans at Tomb Raider III Strategy Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Grand Theft Auto TII am HUNI 0 Demo Disc playables: Silent Hill, Moto Racer 2, | Demo Disc playables: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, Demo Disc playables: Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Bol Brave Fencer Musashi, Apocalypse, Тай Fu Legend of Dragoon, MLB 2001, Mr. Driller, Star | Mutant Academy 2, Barbie Explorer, Crash х 3 ne Trek Invasion Bandicoot: WARPED, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, sue 17 SOLD OUT Twisted Metal 2, Syphon Filter 2, Tekken 3 Video Issue 35 - August 2000 $10 | Issue 18 - March 1999 $0 | who Wants to Bea Milionaire Росно Теа ент VIT sies Een Star Wars | кен Stray Demo Disc playables: Issue 51 - December 2001$10 PS2 Demo Disc payables: | Demo Disc playables: Syphon Filter, Bust а ‘Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles, Tenchu | Metal Gear Solid 2 af Honor. Frontline Fatal Fi Groove, Shadow Madness, Fisherman's Вай, | 2 WOW: Magical Racing Tour, Destruction Derby | Demo Disc playables: NBA Street, Kinetica, ordy Mad Maestro! Аай the Heartless, No One Can Stop Mr, Raw, Play with the Teletubbies Extermination, Gallop Racer 2001 Video pre- j, Mad Maestro!, Prats Th need o Bk Kat Reman Stret и, views: Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Video previews: Delta Force Urban Ico, GameDay 2002, Kinetica Warfare, Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights, Stuntman his is the first time the console I world is meeting the Internet in a big way," Jim Bosler, president and CEO of Zipper Interactive, reports in a businesslike, understated tone. "The con- sole world is big on simplicity, on having things work right the first time. So a lot of work is going into making the interface and the gameplay as smooth as possible. But we also want to make sure we have the online depth of a PC title, so that two years later people will still be playing the game." If you've spent any time with a PC-based first-person shooter, you don't need us to tell you that's a tall order. But Zipper undoubtedly has the chops to make SOCOM live up to those high expec- tations. In addition to PC titles like Mechwarrior 3, Crimson Skies and Recoil, the founders of this Seattle-based development group were responsible for the design of the mother of all online games: SIMNET, the mega-scale world- wide-war simulation network deployed by the U.S. Army and DARPA (you know, the folks who created the Internet). So yeah, when it comes to the convergence of war Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine games and the Internet, we'd say these guys know what they're talking about. Perhaps that's why they're devoting every bit as much time and effort to the online components as they are to the sin- gle player. "We think the game is equally strong as a single-player game and a multiplayer game," boasts Bosler. "We started out as a single-player game, then added a second team to address multi- player. So now there are 12 single-player levels and 12 multiplayer levels; we view it as two games in one." And that's going to prove important, because Zipper is taking a gutsy step with this, the flagship title in Sony's online plans: They're not letting people with dial-up connections swim in their pool. You read right; SOCOM s multiplayer elements will be playable only by those with broadband connections. "In a game with 16 players," Bosler explains, “we have to make sure we're not compromis- ing the gameplay experience. With the level of complexity we're talking about here, we felt the dial-up experience would be compromised. If it were a mar- keting decision, we would do both, but in terms of gameplay, we think right now that broadband is the only way to accu- rately deliver the gameplay experience." We know you dial-up users might be screaming "cop-out" right now, but Bosler's not making idle chatter when he talks about the complexity of the game. Consider: You can have up to 16 players in a game (plus an undisclosed number of computer-controlled “escortees” in Hostage Rescue missions], each of the players has access to over 30 weapons, and each of those weapons has an aston- ishing amount of physics information surrounding it. For example, every bit of scenery in the game has a different pen- etration factor: On the high end, you have impenetrables like rock and steel, and on Duck into ground fog and you'll be practically invisi- ble—and not just to computer oppo- nents; cover works equally well against human opponents. the low end, you have things like flimsy wooden boxes and, well, flesh. (Note to SOCOM players: Do not attempt to use wooden boxes for cover; bullets will perfo- rate them and, by extension, you.) Add to that the remarkable level of detail in both “The console world is big on simplicity, on having things work right the first time.” the character models and the environ- ment, then top it off with the robust “clut- ter technology" —the proliferation of ground cover like underbrush and low- lying fog—and you've got one heck of a lot of information being transmitted. So, what do you get in return for putting your faith in broadband? Plenty. As we mentioned, Zipper has been quite con- scious of online expectations from the PC world. They're addressing those expecta- tions by including things like stat-track- So SOCOM is broadband-only. And you don't have broadband. Will SOCOM (or other games) prompt you to upgrade to broadband? O—-NWopsllike — | playing with p^ myself: 49% Yep, it's just the reason | need Q to take the plunge: 5196 ing, a ranking system and support for clans (player-created persistent teams whose stats are tracked collectively). Since all games will be hosted on Sony's servers, the system will automatically keep track of your statistics—from basic kills to specifics like head shots—for as long as you play. Similar stats will be tracked for clans. And speaking of playing with your friends, you'll be able to chat with them in. online games through SOCOM s included USB headset. The headset will be used to issue commands to your teammates in the one-player mode, but once you get into an online game, it'll be living humans on the other end. We imagine it'll get fairly noisy. And when it comes to the actual game- play, you'll have the option of three different kinds of team games: Demolition, a kind of anti-Capture-the-Flag where the object is to plant explosives in your opponent's base; Hostage Rescue, where a team of SEALs. must retrieve a group of prisoners being held by the opposing team; and Suppression, where both teams simply try to wipe each other out (which is, incidental- ly, also a pretty straightforward way of end- ing either of the other types of missions]. During our extensive 16-player session at Zipper's offices, we discovered that the 12 levels set aside for online play have been carefully designed for a team game in Which stealth is a crucial factor. You'll find plenty of ground cover, lots of secret tun- nels, and enough well-protected sniper posts to make those anti-camping whiners from the PC FPS world whine themselves hoarse. (Go play Quake, whiner. This here's a thinkin’ man's дате.) With this being a piece about the online side of things, we haven't even touched on the extensive involvement of actual U.S. SEALs in the design of the game, or the level of complexity involved in each of the game's 12 enormous one-player missions, or the different areas of operation in which the game takes place. We haven't talked about escorting hostages, body removal, or the bad-ass targeting (and sniping!) engine. Heck, we haven't even mentioned the gor- geous, lush graphics. But there will no doubt be ample opportunity for such things in the future. Because based on what we've seen so far, we have a feeling we'll be talk- ing about SOCOM for a long, long time. eset scones See SESSA SSS ST SSE ED CEDE EIE M UD EIE UNA UMEN QUPD зи NUMBER OF REPORTING. SERVICE PROVIDERS. Bins M aroe Bon vos Modem envy. It's all too common these days. Your neighbors are all talking about their "fat pipes," and you're stuck with that thin little dial-up connection, wallow- ing in a sea of busy signals, lost connec- tions and slow, slow, slow service. Sure, you'll be able to play most PS2 games online with a dial-up, but we already know of one—SOCOM—that'll be reserved for the broadband elite, and we'd venture to guess at least a couple others are on the way. Dial-up users are no doubt beginning to feel like second-class citizens, relegated to the bench in the game of technology. But it doesn't have to be this way! Broadband is faster, cheaper and more widely available than you think! Don’t believe us? Check out our answers to some common complaints about broadband. (Kids, you might want to use this sidebar to help convince your parents to take the plunge. All the cool kids are doing it.) Broadband isn't available in my area! OK, if you've really looked into it—and we're not talking about just asking around at the Bridge Club—and there are really, truly, no broadband options for your loca- tion, you may be out of luck for now. But chances are quite good that at least one form of broadband service (either cable modem service or DSL) is available in your area. A recent study by the Federal Communications Commission (you know, the FCC) reports that as of June 30, 2001, nearly 80 percent of zip codes in the U.S. had at least one broadband provider—and almost 60 percent had two or more. Even among the zip codes with the lowest pop- ulations (1.е., The Sticks), 49 percent had at least one high-speed subscriber. Clearly you're not looking hard enough. Head over to www.cable-modem.net (it's OK, we'll wait—we understand how long it takes for you dial-up users) and click on “Service Locator" for a good starting point in your search for service. Broadband is too expensive! Yes, in the majority of situations, broad- band is indeed more costly than dial-up „= Source: Federal Communications Commission 12/3 service. But the disparity between the two is generally much slimmer than most peo- ple think. Sure, dial-ups tend to be around $20, while broadband is generally around $40 to $50. But with dial-ups, many peo- ple need a second phone line, which usual- ly runs at least $10. Broadband connec- tions don't tie up your phone in the first place, so you wouldn't need a second line. (Those of you who already have an exten- Sive cell-phone service plan, in fact, could conceivably get rid of your land-line ser- vice altogether! That pays for the connec- tion right there.) And furthermore, most broadband providers are offering great sign-up deals. AT&T Broadband, for example, is running a deal in Chicago where you can get the first six months for $1999 a month, with free installation. (And on the DSL side of things, SBC Ameritech is offering deals for as low as $2995 a month for 12 months, at least in our area.) And to top it off, if you're willing to make the $100 or so investment to actually buy a cable-modem outright, most broadband providers will knock another $10 off your monthly bill. Many cable providers also offer special deals with certain cable packages. Broadband isn't really that much better than dial-up. Are you crazy? Of course it is! For one thing, it's always on. If your computer's turned on, you're connected to the Internet. This turns the Internet into the truly useful tool it was always meant to be. For another thing, it's faster—much, much faster. The typical cable-modem con- nection runs about 30 times faster than 56K modem. Thirty. That's "three-oh." Furthermore, this speed allows you access to the kind of technology dial-up users can only dream of. You know those choppy, crappy video or music streams you're sub- jected to as a dial-up user? Broadband users get near-CD-quality audio and VHS- quality video streaming straight to their desktops. And finally, it's the only way you can play SOCOM online! Believe us, that's practically reason enough. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine FREQUENCY You know, you'll get your money's worth when you buy the PS2 Network Adapter—even if you never buy an online game. That's ‘cause the Adapter comes packed with an online-playable version of Frequency that boasts over 12 new songs. You'll be able to play the basic game, or go Freestyle, teaming up. with other players to create new mixes of the game's songs. = ATV OFFROAD FURY 2 Last year’s underrated racer gets updated, with 40 new tracks, 20 new ATVs, new minigames (tag, soccer and "King of the Hills" among them), a full- fledged rider editor and a waypoint edi- tor for the outdoor events. And, of course, it wouldn't be in here if it didn't support online play. You'll only be able to play with three other people at a time, though—we wish it were more. Q4 © 2002 MY STREET This one seems to have come out of nowhere, but we're somewhat intrigued. Developed by Idol Minds, the folks responsible for the latter Cool Boarders games, My Street is a collec- tion of multiplayer games set in the environment of a residential block. Players will create a character, cus- tomize his or her appearance, and go against up to three other players in games like dodgeball, marbles, volley- ball, RC racing and "Chemistry Set.” The game will also support the Multi-tap for local play. Seems like it's mostly aimed at a younger audience, but we're curious about that chemistry set... Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ou're up against the wall. Literally. A WM == cliff looms above you like the Earth itself is giving you the finger. And at the top, the enemy base—your desti- nation. In most such situations you'd be for- given for collapsing into a whimpering ball and waiting for it all to go away. But this is Tribes, and you've got another way out. The tap of a button brings your jetpack online, and it's up, up and away. This funda- mental element— providing everyone with jetpacks—is one of the many things that dis- tinguished Tribes from other PC first-person shooters on the market. Suddenly level designers were free to go vertical, and the claustrophobic corridors of the past gave way to wide-open spaces. And so you're free to float peacefully skyward along the face of that enormous cliff—at least until you get high enough that the sniper sentry posted at the base can get a bead on you. Oh, and have you noticed you're out of jetpack fuel? Whoops. Thank you for flying Tribes Aerial Assault. You are now free to move about the afterlife. It was nearly a year ago that we first got PS2. It's only recently we've learned that this is not the case—far from it. While Aerial Assault does bear some fun- damental resemblances to Tribes 2, devel- oper Inevitable Entertainment is doing a lot more than giving the game a facelift. Whereas Tribes 2 supported massive, 64- player combat, Aerial Assault is scaling down the mayhem to a more manageable 16 players. And with the smaller teams, other adjustments are being made to keep the action more focused. “Changes are being made mainly in the area of map size, weapon balance and vehicles,” Chris Mahnken, the producer of Aerial Assault at Sierra, told us. “The idea is to balance the game for teams of between four and eight players, rather than the massive 32-on-32 “It was nearly a year ago that we first got a tantalizing glimpse of Tribes on PS2...and it was already looking great.” a tantalizing glimpse of Tribes running on Р52. It was set up with positions scattered across the show floor at E3 last year, and it was already running smooth and looking great. At the time, it was generally assumed that Sierra would be delivering a more or less intact port of the PC's Tribes 2to the games in Tribes 2 for PC. This means re- tuning maps and making appropriate changes to vehicles.” Alex Rodberg, Tribes brand manager, got even more specific in an interview with online site IGN: “The idea is having faster movement (actually an increase in gravity and a decrease in resis- tance] and having the action placed more centrally between the bases so you're not spending a lot of time traveling. You're spending more time actually in combat or grabbing the flag and running with it." (Rodberg is actually speaking about Tribes Fast Attack, the PC equivalent to Aerial Assault, but Mahnken had this to say about Fast Attack: “One day we were playing Aerial Assault and realized that Inevitable had done a great job in realizing the 'vision' for Tribes—that of a game geared for smaller teams than Tribes 2 so it's faster and more action-packed. We immediately asked them Do you have a broadband Internet connection (ie., cable modem or DSL) in your home? It's not It's available in my area, but we a e in ا‎ ex available in don't have it in our house: 21%, ur area yet: TWISTED META ЭЧ BLACK ONLINE yo, ~ available here. АП Contrary to expectations, it appears Yes! I'm all hooked up, baby: 53% — Mknowis don't that TM:BO won't require the original game to play. Instead, it'll be a stand- alone product with no Story mode, по cinemas and no new characters. Basically, the game will be what it says on the package. There will be, however, plenty of competitive modes to keep the action interesting. First, you have your basic Deathmatch mode. Shoot anything that moves, and the person with the most kills within a given time period is the winner. A slightly different take is Last Man Standing, in which-every player gets a set number of lives, and once they're gone, you're out of the game. The winner is the one player who's not dead at the end. More interesting is Man Hunt. One player becomes “Prey,” and all the other players (the "Hunters") must pursue him. But the Hunter who actually kills the Prey becomes the next Prey...and so on, until there's only one Hunter left. The final mode is Collector, in which players must collect a preset number of “Artifacts” scattered across the level, But once you collect them, you'll have to work to keep them; a few strong attacks will cause you to drop what you're carrying and you'll have to start Above: Just one of the four vehicles you'll be able to pilot in Aerial Assault. Right: TufCat, meet Mr. Boomstick. to work on а PC version that did the same thing as Aerial Assault."] Vehicles have been a huge part of the Tribes draw, and they won't be taking a back seat in this installment, either. There are, however, some necessary changes being made to the stable of vehicles. The lumbering tanks are being removed, as are the multi-unit flying transports, since they would end up causing some serious bal- ance-of-power issues in the smaller match- es. There will still be flying vehicles, of course: You'll be able to pilot both a single- player bomber and a single-player fighter. In addition, up to five players can pile into a ground transport (which has been equipped with a machine gun for defense). And per- haps most exciting is the inclusion of the collecting the artif all over again, single-player “ground bike.” Fast, nimble first time all over again. players are better served by using other transport across wide-open battlefields It's interesting that Aerial Assault is tools for community.” And where SOCOM is sounds pretty good to us. heading in such a different direction from broadband-only, the developers of Aerial Inevitable is also re-evaluating all the SOCOM in terms of the online infrastruc- Assault are at least trying to optimize the Also new is the addition of a sel weapons to capitalize on the “smaller, ture. Where SOCOM forces players to com- code to support dial-up connections. tion of vel modifiers called Power faster, better” theme. As of this writing, pete on the Sony servers, Aerial Assault will ^ Mahnken is carefully noncommittal: "We're Relics. These Relics adjust the attribut: they haven't made any definite commit- support player-created games only—includ- ^ spending a lot of time testing dial-up con- es of your vehicle; some are defensive, ments in this area, but they expect to make ing LAN support for those lucky few whose nections but haven't made that decision yet. like those that reflect attacks back on enough changes that PC Tribes players will PS2s are connected to a full network (col- If it's fun on 56k, we'll support it." It's as the attacker or render the player invisi- get a chance to experience the game forthe ^ lege students, we're talking to you). And simple as that. ble. Others are offensive, like the one while SOCOM integrates support for clans, Like SOCOM, however—and like the vast that doubles the strength of all your ladder matches and so on, Aerial Assault majority of online PS2 games we know of— weapons. There's even at least one neg- Will not: "We definitely support the idea of Aerial Assault will not charge a dime for ative power-up, which causes damage tribes or clans," says Mahnken, "but there online play. (Obviously, you'll still have to to be inflicted upon your own car is no in-game mechanism for joining or pay for your Internet connection.) And like whenever you attack other players, managing a clan. We've streamlined the SOCOM, Aerial Assault is expected to Sony won't confirm a release date game and removed some of the extraneous release alongside the Network Adapter. yet for TM:BO, but we're alre. features found in Tribes 2 like the Web Looks like first-person shooter fans are ing to anticipate blowing е; browser, e-mail client, etc. Our feeling is going to have plenty to get excited about from a safe distance. that Aerial Assault is about the game, and come August. 03 16 2002 Official US. PlayStation Magazine (95) MORE TO COME Auto Modellista Capcom won't confirm that Auto Modellista, which will have online options when it releases in Japan, will retain those options for its U.S. и е this fall. But they'd better. This cel- shaded racing game looks absolutely incredible. Its mix of licensed cars a its undeniable style make us drool, the ultra-customizable cars will keep us tinkering away for weeks. Plus, we're excited to see how the game manages to balance the realistic vehi- cles with an arcadey style. Will we finally get to see licensed cars suffer- ing damage? Only time will t Resident Evil Online We will physically assault Capcom, col- lectively and individually, if they don't bring this game here. It's already con- firmed for Japan, and a few details have even ѕигѓа; Supposedly you'll start off the game as human, until you get bit by a zombie—then you become one yourself and get to tear up your pals. How bad-ass is that? Capcom, don’t make us come over there! Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Well, duh. Tony 3 went all indie with its online support; we'd be awfully sur- prised if Tony 4 took it out for some odd reason. But Activision refuses to confirm at this point And More... The following games have been announced, but we don't have any con- crete details on any of ‘ет. There's sure to be plenty of new announce- ments at E3, but for now you can just let your imagination run wild with these: Ace Combat Online * Arc the Lad Online * Armored Core Sigma * Bomberman Online * Clockwork Online * The Dungeon of Druaga * Hot Shots Golf Online • Hundred Swords • Namco Sports Online « Nobunaga's Ambition Online • Project Venus • Tokyo Xtreme Racer Online • Vib Ribbon Online Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine it's probably been one of the worst- [= secrets in the game industry. Every time anyone asked the gents at Free Radical if TimeSplitters 2 was going to be playable online, the reply was the same: “We can’t talk about that.” Which, as just about everyone assumed, simply had to mean “yes.” But Eidos and Free Radical have kept their mouths shut. Until now. Now we can finally confirm that, yes, TimeSplitters 2 will support online play. And we can't wait to see what they're going to do with it. Our biggest question once we learned that the online feature was a "go" was whether the extensive map-creation tool would allow online play of user-created maps. David Doak, the director of TimeSplitters 2 at Free Radical, is cau- tiously hopeful: "Ideally, yes. For hardcore shooter fans, this is something that tradi- tionally has been expected on the PC side. Now that we're seeing consoles graduat- ing to the same technological playing field as PCs, would it not be a logical progres- sion of the technology to offer the utility of user-created online maps to the con- sole gamer? Part of the vision of our MapMaker utility is to encourage players to build their own TimeSplitters 2 maps and make them available for others to EET э 03 16- 2002 E SPLITTERS2 compete in." That sounds promising. The other big question that's been going around since the announcement that 752 would be a multiplatform release is whether we'd be able to compete online against players on other consoles. This doesn't look nearly as likely: "It probably won't happen," says Doak. "It's a first-party decision, and it's out of our hands. Obviously in the future it would be nice to do, but the console manufacturers would have to want to cooperate to do it. Given that each is in a different stage with exe- cuting their online plans, it doesn't seem as if that would be a reality for the first generation of console-online gaming." But you will be able to play against up to 15 of your friends (and enemies] at once. That looks like it's fast becoming the stan- dard for online first-person shooters on the PS2; Doak offers some insight as to why: "Multiplayer games of this sort are often more fun with smaller groups of people, because you get the chance to eliminate small groups of opponents repeatedly in one session, which makes the game per- sonable. You learn someone's alias, you know what they look like, you hunt them When we get our hands on the map builder, we'll set you all up with maps, K? down, and you have it out with them. That's meaningful competition—picking your fights. We think there are more bragging rights in saying you killed a few people many times than in saying you killed a lot of people once each." We'll let you know how to find us online when the game launches in September. You know, just to be personable. ONLINE SPORTS Below: The main Madden lobby once you're online. Center: Inside the lobby where you challenge other gamers. Right: Tiki gives a mad stiff- MADDEN NFL 2003 For 13 years, Madden has been a dominating force on every console it's graced. Now that force is leading EA Sports’ online charge by being this year's only EA Sports title online. “We want to give the game players all the basics of a great online experience: chat, online stats, updated rosters and, of course, the head-to-head gameplay experience," said Kenny ЦКо, assistant producer. “The goal of Madden 2003 online is to focus on this core experience, then evolve in future years to include franchise, two-minute drill and even the new minicamp." Madden going online (besides just being online) offers two things we're chuffed about. First, key stats will be kept for online gamers ranging from wins and losses, current win- ning or losing streaks, and overall rankings to. run vs. pass ratio, average yards passing and rushing per game, and even your disconnect percentage. The other big factor: the amount of people who will play Madden online. "Even if only 10 percent of Madden PS2 players play online, you're still talking about almost 200,000 people," said producer Jeremy Strauser. "With that many people, the community will be very active and the compe- tition will be fierce. Those who go online will be hooked." One turn-off (especially if you've played Dreamcast games online] is the lack of a key- board. Since Sony hasn't announced an offi- Which online game are you most excited about? Fantasy ХІ: | 42% the instant replay has been taken away. But otherwise the game's in great shape. So, why buy Madden over NFL 2K3? "Madden NFL 2003 is simply the most complete NFL experience you can own," said Ilko. “Our gameplay is tournament- and player-tested and has the great advan- tage of John Madden being personally involved in the strategy and design. We offer the most complete and realistic in-game experience, the best graphics and deepest franchise mode." arm to a Dolphin. NFL 2K3 & NBA 2K3 Going online is familiar territory for Sega Sports and Visual Concepts. For two years, they got the most out of the Dreamcast, bringing together sports gamers by putting NFL 21, followed by NBA 2К1, online. But getting online with a new console poses all-new questions for a company best described as the first true competition for EA Sports. Connectivity and limitations come to mind first. “With our experience with console online gameplay on the Dreamcast, l'm very confi- dent that the online gameplay experience for PS2 owners using the 56k modem will be as good, /f not better, than the Dreamcast," said VC's president, Greg Thomas. "We've got some geniuses working at VC who know how to streamline online play through a narrowband connection with amazing results. Obviously, if we can do this with narrowband, the broadband experience will be significantly better. As for connectiv- ity between a narrowband user and a broadband user, we believe we can deliver a very satisfactory experience with both." When it comes to feature sets, every sports gamer wants to know if there there will be leagues and a No. 1 player that everyone else can try to dethrone. "Leagues are definitely something we want to explore for the future, but the first. thing we want to do is to establish a good foundation for online sports gaming," said Thomas. "And yes, there will be an online ranking ladder for online play similar to what we had for NFL 2K2 on Dreamcast." One difference for the 2K3 games is that they'll support any USB keyboard. A real treat if you want to talk smack to that guy in Alaska who's losing by 30 points. It's also good for coordinating user-run online cial keyboard yet, Madden won't use one. To make up for it, there will be 10 customizable "quick messages," but otherwise you'll be using your controller to type. Ugh. But that disappointment will be curbed by the roster downloads. One will be available for the start of the season, which is huge, considering the game's July release is a full month before the seasons starts. As for sacrifices to get the game online, leagues (there were plenty on Dreamcast). As for additional bonuses with playing online, VC and Sega are planning regular roster updates that you can download. There's no word if those rosters can be used online (they couldn't on the Dreamcast), but our fingers are crossed. So what sacrifices were made so the game could work online? "Sleeplessness and insomnia," quipped Thomas. "Seriously, you won't see any visual letdowns when you play our games online; our goal is to have online gameplay experience to be identical to playing the game offline." All right, so in the name of competition and equal time, why should gamers buy NFL 2K3 over Madden 2003? "Check the history. We've done online console games and we've been very successful," said Thomas. "All we can do is improve upon what we've learned. We respect the competition's first foray into the online console world, but believe us, experience counts in this new online world." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ее REVIEWS GAMES REVIEWED PS2 Games PS one Games 2002 FIFA World Cup 2002 FIFA World Cup Britney's Dance Beat Big Bass Fishing . C Africa C-12: Final Resistance ..., Lethal Skies Kickboxing . Medal of Honor: Frontline . . Power Play Sports Trivia .. Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights . Shifters Sky Gunner . Test Drive ...,..... UFC Throwdown e 101 > —À 100 > THE FINAL SCORE We rate games on a five-point si is superb. Get it mediocre and 5 Meet Meet the critics | Meet the critics | ics JOHN DAVISON Back from his hon- eymoon, John is now thoroughly mellow and fully prepared to kick everyone's ass at SOCOM when it launches in August. CHRIS BAKER Hanging out at the big Star Wars con in Indy in May, C-Bake was thrilled to meet a loyal OPM reader. So Kevin, this bio's for you, buddy! M y JOE RYBICKI Joe just bought a 5- lb. bag of meatless jerky, becoming the office pusher. Now he trades 9-oz. sacks ["niners") for games. Want some? TODD ZUNIGA May is official Dork Out Month for TZ. Star Wars. Spider- Man. Frontline. E3. Yet he's found time to pen a few Elvis- based short stories. 98) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine So,.5istt rrible, GARY STEINMAN After another month with no RPGs, Gary crumpled into a pile of random stats. John pieced him together again, but only as a lowly Lvl. 1 Grump. 4) 4 SAM KENNEDY With lots of family in town, Sam hardly had time to do any work this month! * "The new office VF4 arcade unit didn’t help either. But Gary doesn't know about that. MEDAL OF HONOR: FRONTLINE They pulled it off Publisher Electronic Arts Developer EA Dreamworks Web Site wwwea.com round a year and a half ago | had the opportunity to visit EA's Dreamworks studio to check out what was no doubt one of the most amazing games I'd ever seen—on paper, anyway. шо Back then, Frontline was little more than a bunch of story sheets and concept sketches, but what was there had the makings of something truly spectacular. But as regular OPM columnist Ryan Lockhart has pointed out, every game can be the Greatest Game Ever on paper—the question is whether the developers can actually pull it all off. But | knew the Medal of Honor team was capable of everything they told me. | mean, they'd done it all before— to some extent. They'd done what the technology permitted and with excellent results. With the PS2 they were free to do that, plus all of this other incredible stuff that I saw on paper. | left Dreamworks later that day with one thought on my mind: They were indeed going to pull this off. With Frontlíne, they. were going to create one of the most incredible gaming experi- ences ever. And | was right. Having now spent a week with the final version of the game, | can honestly say that this has been one of the most incredible experiences | have ever had with а game. And | can distinctly remember back to the concept paintings of certain scenes as I've played through them now. Funny thing is, these concept paintings didn’t even look as good as the final product I'm playing now. That can't be right, can it? But it is right, and this is why I am in such awe of the game. Games with mindblowing graphics are in abundant supply on the PS2, but never before have | come across a title that so vividly cap- tures real-world settings as Frontline does. There's a huge dif- ` ference between simply rendering а 3D harbor or a train station for a game and modeling one with accu- rate textures and lighting, and fill- ing the entire environment with subtle objects to create the illusion of realism. The environments in Frontline are indescribable at times—they look | hand-painted. when you add in the stellar nd magnificent sound- rything ¢ comes together ind less like a game and more and more like a movie. And it’s this point—that Frontline feels as though you're playing a movie—that | can't stress enough. But not just any movie. | mean a movie on the scale of Saving Private Ryan or The Thin Red Line. It's majestic. It's cine- matic, It's exciting. It's quality through and through. Frontline has so many incredi- ble sequences to behold. These would amaze in any movie, never mind in a game. D-Day, for exam- ple, is an insanely cool sequence, with gunfire everywhere and mor- tar shells landing left and right. ФФ“ 2002 FIFA World Сир What a way to set the tone of the game. Further missions take you _ from calm Dutch pastures to all- out firefights on the № eua 2002 FIFA World Cup Britney's Dance Beat mine-cart mayhem in опе area, = citin р р 2002 FIFA World Cup squarely, but the ball reacts accu- Dance Beat's gameplay is all-out tank warfare in another. ^c 2: Publisher EA Sports rately to being deflected or tipped. somewhat of a variation on the And one of the coolest parts $ t Developer EA Canada Many goals are scored not by full- Bust-A-Groove format, but the about all of this is that when he Е е eir В WebSite www.easports.com on kicks, but the kinds of little new circular display gives it a neat action switches gears, the music _ 1. TI a 5 | Bear with me while | lay down а lit- | dinks and deflections that high- twist. Also, the competitive aspect shifts accordingly. It'll swap from atures several edn airs tle FIFA math. For $50, you'll get school physics teachers would is great—aiming for combos to a calm inner-city ambiance to an A x | 2002 FIFA World Cup, which fea- drool over. throw off your opponents adds a uppity /ndiana Jones-style i itn area tures 42 teams and one tourna- Another big upgrade will make cool new dimension to the game- melody the second you get spot- Я Se ment. Hmm, OK. And for that same | your eyes tear with joy. The game play. To those of you who would ted by a guard. The Medal of k $50 price tag, you can purchase | looks so freaking pretty, it blows just as soon dismiss this because Honor games have always prided Ё FIFA 2002, which is only seven | away past versions. And the of Britney, think again. Dance Beat themselves on а solid aural expe- months old and boasts hundreds of | crowds: wow. They're superb. plays extremely well, and there's а rience, but Frontline clearly takes teams and four tourneys. But still, you'll be paying $50 to good challenge and a healthy things to a new level. It see It seems like a pretty damning play a seven-game tournament learning curve to go with it. The that composer Michael б! y indictment of World Cup, but for | land that's assuming you're able to | game even supports Konami's has matured his style a bit; now =; c А E [В some reason | can't hate it as squeak past the round-robin DOR dance pads—a nice touch. we're treated to choral arrange- much as I'd like. In fact, I'm tipping | opener). This game screams to be The visuals are definitely part ments on certain tracks and even ^ sequences to’further 1р ту сар to EA Sports for not only | rented but not bought. I'd recom- of this title’s appeal too, with some more stirring melodies in others. wonderful marketing strategy, but mend waiting for FIFA 2003 for stunningly realistic dance moves The sounds are equally the h e for adding and subtracting just the | your next soccer purchase. being performed by the contes- impressive. Guns, bombs, tanks, perfect. Using t Wer right amount of things to make Final Scoree e e tants. The background settings ‘speech—everything sounds per- 1 A World Cup the defining soccer Todd Zuniga seem a tad odd (a dance-off in a fect. Frontline features a lot more с = game on the PS2. Japanese temple? ОК...), but at speech than in previous Medal of il 1۴ > The first thing you'll notice least they've got FMV Britney Honor titles and, as usual, it's all г епет! about World Cup is the pacing. It's videos in the background. Britney topnotch. | recall one scene in di J 5 n a much slower, true-to-life style of herself looks great—well, the in- particular: | sat perched on a k me num ў football. Within this context it also | Britney's Dance Beat game Britney, at least. The CG takes a lot more strategy to sepa- Publisher THQ Britney from the intro is scary. soldiers in sight below me, and rate the ball handler from the ball. | Developer Metro It's just a shame that the game heard one of the Nazi jers за! If you're behind the ball carrier, Web Site www.thq.com only has five songs to choose something about sneaking up = si J you с а, you can't press Circle to stick your Whoever came up with this concept | from (not counting their varia- from behind—in Germ: Y t plete cleat in there and bust up the play. | at THQ is a genius. Partner one of tions]. Granted, these are probably course. But thanks to my vague nothin p Î Now, you'll likely be shrugged off the greatest Japanese music-game | all of Britney's best tracks, but | windowsill, waiting to shoot ; recollection of the language from t and lose a step or two, giving the developers with one of the world's was just left wishing for more. high school, | understc 1 7 ball handler the edge. Conversely, | biggest рор acts. What a brilliant Despite the lack of tunes, though, was ready for him wl ame р B le when you're driving to the net, your | way to introduce music-based the amount of stuff you can unlock striker will push his arm out to | gameplay to the masses. still makes for lots of gameplay. keep distance between himself and Britney's Dance Beat is truly а And with all of the unlockable the defender. These are things that | step in the right direction for the Britney movie clips, this becomes wouldn't have worked in a more industry—it takes a generally a must-buy for her fans. As for arcadey game, but the slower pace | unknown gameplay style and everyone else [especially music- means truer soccer. Beyond that, makes it commercially viable game freaks], it's at least worth a the oft-average aerial game has through the star power of the one rental—even if you're not a Britney achieved the kind of success that and only Britney Spears. And it fan, the game might win you over. fans wished it would have reached works great. Britney's likeness Final Score & e years ago. and her songs lend themselves Sam Kennedy Then there's the ball itself. Not especially well to this style of only is there (finally) a noticeable game, and the whole package amount of zip when it's struck comes together nicely. Memory Card: 5o KB Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine GTC Africa GTC Africa Publisher Majesco Developer Rage Web Site www.majescogames.com The first fruits of Majesco's recent deal with renowned U.K. developer Rage, GTC Africa is a spectacular disappointment. What does it offer that other racing games don't? | can tell you what in a single word: nothing. Simply put, it is without a Shadow of a doubt the perfect example of the most mediocre racing game I've ever seen. Everything about it is so utterly average that | can hardly describe my ambivalence. The core of its problems are that it's essentially boring. It can only really justify being called a "rally" game because it's a circuit- based racer that has road surfaces that aren't just asphalt. It's not particularly challenging, nor all that interesting. [uc к. | | The cars, while licensed, are | an unusual bunch (including a | Pontiac Firebird, a car so badly made that it would come unscrewed if someone even said | the word “rally” near it) and all | suffer from similar problems. А good racing game makes you feel the contact between the road sur- face and the wheels, but GTC makes you feel like you’re con- | trolling a shopping cart with a | wonky wheel, not a rally car. | The graphics are OK but not | spectacular. The sound is OK but | not spectacular. In terms of | | | | options, it offers exactly what | you'd expect from a racing game, which means you probably already | own something that's better. | Final Score @ | John Davison | Lethal Skies Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Lethal Skies Lethal Skies Publisher Sammy Developer Asmik Ace Web Site www.sammy-zone.com It seems like every time a flight game comes out, the developers try a slightly different mix of real- ism and arcade action, hoping to find that perfect balance that will draw in the biggest audience. Lethal Skies (developed by the cre- ators of the first flight-sim game on the PSone, Bogey: Dead Six) definitely skews somewhat in the simulation direction. Sure, there's a bit of a futuristic element involved—the game's set after an apocalyptic event that put New York City underwater, turned Tokyo into a desert and covered Texas with snow—but in terms of physics, this is one of the more realistic choices out there. For example, your early planes will prove wildly unstable at low speeds, and you'll always have a sense of the plane's weight and inertia. This may come as a sur- prise to those of us used to the seemingly gravity-free environ- ment of the Ace Combat series. That's all well and good, but the game itself seems to suffer from a ridiculous lack of balance. One mission may take you upward of 10 minutes to complete (and 10 tries, at least], and you'll beat the next in under a minute—that's no exag- geration. Plus, missiles seem strangely weak, while regular ol’ bullets seem strangely strong. None of these criticisms kill Lethal Skies, but they do knock it out of the upper ranks of flight games Final Score Ө Ө Ө Joe Rybicki mm Plavar. off the game with, for example, feel like they've had their wheels off on the outside: They seem to turn only half as tight as they ought to. But on the other hand, some of the high- end cars are fantastic [especially the Jaguar, my favorite) and as nimble as you'd like. bloc Other car issues include the fact that you get what's basically the second-best car in the game after only about five of the 45 races. (Well, third- best, but that’s only counting the car you зе! for beating the whole game.) Then, just to really con- fuse you, the game forces you to play with a worse car for the final four races. It's perplexing. Course design is similarly Most of the races in San Francisco are great, but then you move to Tokyo’s horribly bland highways. Then London, which is у designed, and then to Monaco, which seems a mess. | don t want to come down too hard on Test Drive; what truly matters is that I did have a real- ly good time playing it (once | earned з better car, anyway]. Sure, the game seems to lack polish in a lot of areas and stonishingly uneven ne to time, but if you're or a racer that's light on realism, you've definitely come to the right place. Final Score X X 6 Joe Rybicki game" unever seems fromt lookin it | Layers: 1-2 Memory Card: 87 KB Mike Tyson Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Publisher Codemasters Developer Codemasters Web Site www.codemasters.com The ring girls have jiggly boobs. | There. I've listed all of this game's positive points. Which means you can either read on to see how this game swings and misses, or you can use your time more wisely by reading other reviews of games that are much, much better. Even if they're bad. The first missed roundhouse is using Mike Tyson as the cover ath- | lete. Seriously. He's a lunatic who's been raising pigeons since his career began. How weird is that? The second flailing swing comes when you notice how close the boxers are to one another. It makes me wonder if this game isn't tailored to the homophobic audience. Basically, it plays more like a kissing simulator, but instead of locking lips when they get close, they throw a collision- less punch that somehow rocks the opposition's jaw. There are many flaws. The fighters move as if wearing cinder-block shoes. The heat effect from a big wind-up is more dazzling than any flurry of punch- es. And if you do the necessary button-mashing to succeed, your thumb will be really sore. There's some depth [like the create-a- boxer], but the boxing is so bad | can't even begin to care. For a game that connects with boxing fans, buy Knockout Kings 2002. Tyson hits the mat hard. Final Score @ Todd Zuniga Scooby-Doo | Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights Publisher THQ Developer Heavy Iron Studios Web Site www.thq.com Here's the perfect audience for Night of 100 Frights: a father who grew up with the Scooby cartoons and his young son who's been | introduced to the sleuthy pooch via the new movie. (Before you get on my case about possible sexism, this works for a mother/daughter duo too—or any parent/child | combo, for that matter.) In fact, Night does such a fine job of capturing the essence of Scooby that any die-hard fan would do well to check it out. From the cartoony visuals to the silly humor to the absurd laugh-track, Scooby is all there, in near-perfect form. But for any other gamer, that's just not enough. Sure, Night is a well-done and fairly sophisticated Shifters platformer, especially for a kid game. But it's also about as much fun as an edutainment title. Don't get me wrong: There's nothing educational here—unless you can find some odd life lessons in snag- ging Scooby Snacks and barking down baddies. The thing is, once you get past the Scooby-ness of it all, there's not much in Night that'll hold your attention. The gameplay quickly devolves into a bore, then a chore, and then a big, hearty snore. But like I said, if you're a parent fiddling around with your kid, this | isa perfect game. It's quick, it's clean, it's solid enough—and I'm guessing it's just right for parent/ child bonding. It's just not for me. Final Score@@@ | Gary Steinman Shifters Shifters Publisher 300 | Developer 300 Web Site www.3do.com Something terrible must have gone awry at the 3D0 headquarters. Here’s what | think happened: After a few too many nips of the “happy sauce,” the night janitor was stumbling through 3DO's base- ment when he tripped over a moldy box of discarded characters, lurched forward into a festering canister of unfinished levels, and then tumbled headfirst into a heap- ing tray of half-baked story ideas. The whole muddled mess then oozed its way onto a nearby blank disc. The next morning, a harried junior exec desperate to show something to his bosses found the disc and submitted it for approval. And there you have it: Shifters! | know...it sounds farfetched, | butit's the only way | can explain this, er, “game.” The whole thing just feels like one big accident. Take the story: None of it makes any sense. Things happen, then otherthings happen, and all of a | sudden you're this shapeshifting numbnut stuck in a desert tomb on a quest to do God-knows-what. | And the combat? Even worse! | Press buttons, then stuff happens on screen—and yet none of my character's actions seem to have anything to do with my furious button-mashing. And if that's not bad enough, the third-rate graph- ics and the chop-sockey framerate aren't fit for human consumption. | realize that accidents happen, but this one is simply unforgivable. Final Score @ Gary Steinman Players: 1 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Sky Gunner Sky Gunner Publisher Atlus Developer Pixel Arts/SCE Web Site www.atlus.com SCEI released Sky Gunner in Japan last year, and I've been a huge fan ever since | got my hands on the import. The game just has a won- derful style to it. The music, the characters, the brightly colored environments—they're all so charming. Pixel Arts was clearly inspired by Japanese anime direc- tor Hayao Miyazaki (known for such films as Princess Mononoke}, as the game's aircraft and settings seem to come directly from him. Sky Gunner's gameplay is equally cool: It's pure shooter goodness. The sensation of zoom- ing through the sky and swooping all around to take out massive air- ships is incredible. „until you run into the slow- down, that is. It's a shame Atlus couldn't fix it for the U.S. (They did include an unlockable 30 fps mode, but it's not the same.) Sky Gunner can totally chug at times —every- thing slows to an absolute crawl, and the resolution drops as well. But | will say this: To me, the slow- down was somewhat excusable. Why? Well, it tends to happen mainly during large encounters (bosses), so it could almost be seen as a blessing. Still, this will ruin the game for some. Sky Gunner is also short, but thankfully there's a good amount of replayability due to its multiple playable characters. It's a definite buy for shooter fans and the per- fect rental for everyone else. Final Score @ Sam Kennedy fficial U.S. PlayStation Magazine UFC Throwdown Publisher Crave Developer Opus Web Site www.cravegames.com As with the original PSone UFC game, Throwdown's main objective is to deliver as realistic a match of all-out, no-holds-barred wrestling as possible. And it does this quite well—perhaps a little too well. Because with all this emphasis on realism, the game sort of forgets that it's supposed to be fun, too. It's pretty simple, actually: To your average non-UFC enthusiast (such as myself), the fighting engine is slow and boring. Which pretty much dictates the only group of people that should play this game: hardcore UFC fans. And that's perfectly OK. Because what the fans will find with Throwdown is a majorly enhanced graphics engine over the original (by PS2 standards, I'd say UFC Throwdown UFC Throwdown it's actually in the "quite good" range], lots more fighters to choose from, and a moderately improved fighting system. Plus, they'll find the matches not so painfully brief as in the original (though, these are still on the short side]. And I'm fairly certain | they'll all dig the solid Career mode, which | even admit to hav- ing had some fun building up a few characters with. So yeah, there's enough here for die-hard UFC fans to sink their teeth into, and it's worth their time to check it out. Everyone | else, though, should stay away. It's not even worth renting—there are plenty more interesting wrestling or fighting games out there. Final Score ® © 6 Sam Kennedy Piston Hurry, Sky Gunner a et ‘HEALTH т. ойду controls and camera posi- | i ‘tioning. just how bad are the con- ? Well, for starters, whoever t making the Fire button ў an Energy Blade (опе of your _ most trusted weapons in the game). More times than I'd like to. count, I'd waste a few bullets — before I could оч such: an few cheap shots from. the cyborg around the / corner as you take an extra second to redraw your machine gun or rocket launcher. Even if | you do manage to loc! on and begin firing. * away in time, don't. count on strafin E game good : when it fea- tures such _ you're blasting away at nothing as your enemy p М ) introduces your back to “climb” too! 5 would Qc 2002 FIFA World Cup Jorid Cup ) FIFA Publisher EA Sports Developer EA Canada Web Site www.easports.com Forty dollars. That's how much this game costs. | wrote this review thinking the game would retail for $20, which | thought was a fair deal. So when | heard this game sold for $40, | rewrote my review. Additions are in parentheses. | feel stupid saying this, but the graphics are the biggest difference between the PS2 and PSone World Cup. Otherwise, the games aren't far apart. (Scarily, they're even close in price.) But for PSone-only owners, it’s good to know that this is a nice-looking PSone game (that costs four times what most PSone games cost nowadays]. But still, the PS2 is starting to make the PSone look like Intellivision (апа Intellivision games can be found on eBay for cheap!]. On the gameplay side of things, 1 take issue with my offensive players’ lack of motivation [espe- cially since the game costs 50 much]. It doesn't seem like they're as hungry to score as I'd like them to be. They sometimes back away from one-on-one situations. Supposedly the aerial game has been ramped up. But it really doesn't feel like it. It's one thing the game has been lacking over the years. And it's still lacking it. (Which is really unfair because it's such a ripoff, price-wise.] If you love footie, why not fork over the money for World Cup? (Oh, | know, because it costs twice as much as | thought it did.) Final Score © © e e Todd Zuniga Publisher Take 2 Developer Coresoft Web Site www.take2games.com Before | loaded up Big Bass Fishing for the first time, | was sit- ting here looking at the back of the jewel case, and | noticed some- thing odd written under the ESRB rating: "Suggestive themes." OK, what? Suggestive themes? In a fishing game? | thought it was just a goof-up at the pressing plant, but it's not. is is a fishing game with sug- gestive themes. See, the angler you portray is a curvaceous blonde who does a wiggly little dance every time you reel in a fish—and who makes vaguely suggestive comments throughout the process. "Oooh, that's a big one!" she purrs. Or, "They look so much big- ger^—giggle— "underwater!" Am I the only one who is seriously creeped out by the idea of hearing a sexy woman's voice making dou- bles entendres while l'm reeling in a freaking fish? The fact that the underlying game is the worst fishing game I've ever seen makes the "sugges- tive themes" seem like a last-ditch effort by the designers of the game. Imagine: "OK, gents, our game sucks like a five-pound leech; we need something, any- thing, to turn some heads. | know! We'll throw in a buxom babe, and we'll call her—wait for it—'Babe!'" The only good thing | can think to say about Big Bass is that it doesn't actually smell bad. That's something, right? F Publisher Agetec Developer Jorudan Web Site www.agetec.com | It's games like Kickboxing that make me rethink working in the video-game industry. | mean, am | good enough, nay, great enough to review a game with such energy and irreverence as this one? In the face of such brilliance | feel shamed. | am but a diamond of sand on Kick- Бохтд 5 vast beach. In other words, | was bored silly, and this game sucks ass. Now I'm no fighting-game guru, but | did see Bloodsport. If Jean Claude Van Damme had, at the very least, a brain stem, he'd rage against the lackluster style of kick- ing and punching seen in this fight- er. And he's the expert. Plus, for the same $10 you'd spend on this, couldn't you score Tekken 3? | have faith that OPM readers will run from this game as if it were a leper. But clueless parents might reach for this bargain title while you're at Wal-Mart eating a six-pack of stale glazed doughnuts. So be a sport and tell them that buying this game will make them a bad parent and it will lead to their child doing many illicit things. Worst-case scenario: Some kid who gets this game for his ninth birthday will find some delight in the Story mode. But then he/she will surely notice the limited moves, the limited appeal and head straight for eBay. Avoid this. Isn't it obvious? The title fairy couldn't come up with anything better than “Kickboxing.” Final Score € Todd Zuniga Major league catcher, Bob Uecker, played a television dad in what sitcom? Power Play Who was the only NFL player to play in every Pro Bowl game during the 1990s? Power Play Publisher Ubi Soft Developer Starsphere Interactive Web Site www.ubi.com “You can only do so much with a sports-trivia game.” That seems to be the attitude adopted by Starsphere as it set out upon the task of creating Power Play. The result is a game that gets the job done, but only with the excitement of a U.S. Olympic basketball game. Sports-trivia titles of the past have offered at least some degree of creativity. Who can forget the archive clips and the virtual-foot- ball game in itself that was NFL Football Trivia Challenge (well, if anyone ever played that Sega CD game, anyway)? Or the sheer irrev- erence of You Don't Know Jack Sports (PC)? Power Play gives us nothing like this. No sports clips or fancy scoring methods as in Challenge— just still clip-art imagery and Jeopardy!-style scor- ing. No sense of humor, like in Jack—just straight-up queries like "What team traded Grant Fuhr to the Buffalo Sabres?" (It's Toronto.) Still, | can see diehard sports- trivia buffs—obviously, the intend- ed audience—getting pretty com- petitive in both of the game modes (а 10-question Tournament or a more interesting Last Man Standing, in which you can only miss a designated number of questions). And 4,000 questions spanning the entire histories of baseball, football, basketball and hockey can last for hours. You just have to really, really like your triv- ia—and not care about simplicity. ee ia Chris Baker Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine REPLAY a , ла Ta 1 Allthe Lof our \ d . ratings, and as many tricks. codes and tips as we could stuff into 16 packed pages of the latest Replay. As for blowing out the biggest games going, we start not with a game title, 7 but that catchy song. But we didn’t want you to have it stuck in your head. You know: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever..." Oops. Plus, we'll fill you up on tips to win WWII with our Medal of Honor: Frontline strategy, which will keep your head on your shoulders if you spend your bullets right PS2 Tricks and Review Archive Game names in green indicate a Greatest Hits title. Ratings in red indicate a five-disc score. Anumber @ indicates it’s rank in the top 10 selling games for each system. Game Publisher Score Issue Game Publisher Score Issue 18 Wheeler ESPN International Track & Field Konami е 39 American Pro Trucker Acclaim 52 ESPN International Winter 4x4 EVO GOD Games 44 Sports 2002 Konami Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Namco 51 ESPN MLS ExtraTime Konami The Adventures of ESPN National Hockey Night Konami Cookie & Cream Agetec 44 ESPN NBA 2Night Konami Airblade Namco 53 ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Konami All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim 44 ESPN Winter X Games 7 All-Star Baseball 2003 Acclaim 56 Snowboarding Konami Baseball's always seemed like a pretty fair sport, but that doesn't ESPN Winter X Games mean you can't collude with OPM to win at the video-game version. These tips will come in handy when you're in need of a big hit ata Snowboarding 2002 Konami ESPN X Games Skateboarding Konami Having trouble taking first place with the Hot Shots Golf 3 key moment. Play ball! Eternal Ring Agetec tournament? No more. We've got the scoop on the June Guessing right Eve of Extinction Eidos tourney and we give you a shot-by-shot strat for each hole. Right after the pitcher releases the ball, press Start. See the ball Evergrace Agetec М also got tips on the new PS2 Greatest Hits games, frozen on the screen? It gives a pretty good indication of where it's Evil Twin Ubi Soft how to weave your way through The /talian Job and more! going. Resume the game and hurry your cursor over to the intended Extermination Sony CEA spot and let your best power-swing rip. A cheap trick, indeed, but Extreme G Ш Acclaim it'll help your average. F1 2001 EA Sports Pitching on no day's rest. F1 Championship. Ubi Soft S EC R ETS R EV EA L E D Want Pedro to start back-to-back for you? Impossible unless you F1 Championship Season 2000 ЕА Sports have this trick. In season, franchise or expansion modes, put a. Fantavision Sony CEA pitcher on the 15-day DL. Then take him right off and he can pitch. Fatal Frame Tecmo PS2 Games The 15-day DL seems to have powers real pitchers only dream of. FIFA 2001 Major Aqua Aqua 300 өө 42 League Soccer EA Sports Dark Cloud . Arctic Thunder Midway ° 50 FIFA 2002 EA Sports Armored Core 2 Agetec 39 ОДИ ШЕСТ ‘Square EA Gran Turismo 3: A-spec .. Armored Core 2: Another Age — Agetec 48 Al Behd Language Army Men Air Attack 300 44 Final Fantasy X combines the fun of role-playing with the thrill of Hot Shots Golf 3 . . Army Men: Green Rogue. 3D0 45 foreign-language class with the Al Behd Primer minigame. Rikku's Army Men RTS 300 56 race of desert-dwelling people speaks а language called Al Behd. Medal of Honor: Frontline . . Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 2 300 45 Tidus can't understand а word of it at first, but by finding 26 books ATV Offroad Fury Sony CEA 42 peppered throughout Spira, he can become fluent in the exotic Sled Storm Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Interplay 52 tongue. Don't you wish it were that easy to understand your French Barbarian Titus 57 teacher? You'll be able to comprehend what the Al Behd are talking Spider-Man .. Bass Strike Virtual about, plus you'll be able to decipher some ancient writings. Fishing Tournament THO 51 Primer |. On the deck of the Al Behd salvage ship that rescues Tidus PSone Games Batman: Vengeance Ubi Soft е 51 Primer ll. Besaid Village, Crusaders’ Blood Omen 2 Eidos е: 57 headquarters Grand Theft Auto 2 .. Bloody Roar 3 Activision е: 47 Primer Ill. Transport ship from Besaid to The Bouncer Square EA е 42 Kilika, power room. The Italian Job .. Burnout Acclaim е: 52 Primer IV. Kilika Bar Capcom vs, SNK 2 Capcom е 51 Primer V. Transport ship from Kilika to CART Fury Midway ° 47 Luca, control room Casper: Spirit Dimensions TDK Mediactive e: 50 Primer VI. Luca Stadium, Underground floor B. City Crisis Take2 e 48 Primer Vil. Luca Viewing Room, on the counter S P EC І A В ЕЕ ATU RE: Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA е 46 Primer VII, Mi'ihen Road, a gift from Rin е Crash Bandicoot: Primer IX. Mi'ihen Road, New Road North S U M M E R G A M I N G The Wrath of Cortex Universal ө 51 Primer X. Mushroom Rock Road, Си area Crazy Taxi Acclaim е 46 Primer XI. Djose Road Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro3D е: 49 Primer ХИ. Moonflow, North Shore What games will the OPM staff be taking to the beach this Dark Cloud Sony CEA е 46 Primer ХМ. Guadosalam, in a room on the far left summer? We tell you, plus we give tricks for each. Dark Summit THQ LI 52 Primer XIV. Thunder Plains, a gift from Rin. Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Acclaim е 50 Primer XV. Macalania Forest, on the road to the lake Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo е: 39 Primer Ху. Macalania Lake, in front of the inn Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos ө‹ 56 Primer XVII. Sanubia Desert, central portion, left side Devil May Cry Capcom 50 Primer XVIII. Sanubia Desert, central portion, right side Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft 42 Primer XIX. Al Behd city of Home Downforce Titus е: 57 Primer ХХ. Al Behd city of Home, residential area Dragon Rage 300 е 54 Primer XXI. Al Behd city of Home, road area Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Sony CEA ө‹ 53 Primer XXII. Bevelle Temple, Monk's Road Driven Bam! е 52 Primer XXIII. Calm Lands, Northwest area HIGH HEAT MLB 2003 Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA е 4 Primer XXIV. Remiem Temple BLACK KAT What's more summery Dropship Bam! е 57 Primer XXV. Cave under the Mountain Is there anything th than the crack of bats, Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei е 38 Primer XXVI. Omega Ruins says summer fun more the smell of glove oil and Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei 52 As you collect the primers, the letters of the Al Behd language that than sailing? What about staying up until 6 a.m. to Ecco the Dolphin: you know will appear as red text, giving hints to what's being said. shooting cannon bal get to the All-Star break? Defender of the Future Acclaim eet 56 if you gather all 26, Rin will give you a bunch of Reverse Keys, items Ephemeral Fantasia Konami °‹ 49 that add Double AP to a weapon. You сап also use transfer collected Escape From Monkey Island LucasArts 46 Primers from another save game via the Combine Spheres located 104 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine at Inns, Game Publisher Score Issue Game بے‎ Publisher — Score Issue fenan ме —- SUMMER GAMING Formula One 2001 Sony CEA When you're building up your boxer, it's Frequency Sony CEA really tempting to spend all of your juice on Frogger: The Great Quest Konami one rating to get it to 100. But the closer it Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge Acclaim gets to that level, the more it costs. So con- Gadget Racers Conspiracy sider a well-rounded boxer instead. Gallop Racer Tecmo Speed kills Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway When creating a boxer or sizing up an opponent, make sure to pay So there | was, lounging around іп my silk boxers on a hot, lazy Sunday, Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay attention to speed. Remember: Speed kills. when | busted out Pirates just for kicks. Now, | wasn't expecting much, so | Gitaroo-Man Koei Le Mans 24 Hours Infogrames eee 48 was more than pleasantly surprised to find a breezy action/adventure romp Godai: Elemental Force 300 The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubi Soft °‹ 54 with a keen sense of humor and а nifty ship-battle component. The game's Gradius Ш апа IV Konami Legends of Wrestling Acclaim 53 far from perfect, but it’s definitely good, Gran Turismo 3: A-spec SCEA Lego Racers 2 Lego Media 51 clean summertime fun. We bring you this trick from reader and 673 expert John Damiani Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh 56 (john. damiani&hotmall.com) of Toronto, ON. Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports. eco 38 A Treasure Trove of Tricks If you would like to break the 1,000-mph barrier, here's my setup: Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports 48 During gameplay, hold R1 + R2 and Tires; Racing Super Soft F&R Suspension: Spring Rate: 4.0 F&R Ride Height: 75 F&R Shock Bound/Rebound: L7 all around Camber/Toe Angles; All at 0 Stabilizers: L3 F&R Brakes: Brake Balance- 11 F&R Drivetrain: Limited Slip- Initial at 5/5; Accel at 60/60; Decel at 5/5 Gear Ratios: Bring the auto setting to 48; then bring the final gear to 2.798; final- ly, set the individual gears as far to the left as possible. You should be left with: 1st 4.604, 2nd 2.888, 3rd 2.014, 4th 1.485, 5th 1.157, 6th 0.875, 7th --- FIN 2.798 Other: Downforce - 0.38 front/1.08 7_ Max Payne Rockstar Мах Payne is а slow-motion blur through the rough-and-tumble underworld of New York City. We imagine you're not usually part of that world and could use a little help. Choose any level Play through the game until you pass the subway level. Then press the Select button to return to the main menu and press the follow- ing: Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Left, Down, Circle. After that, get picky, because you can choose whatever level you want to play. a press the following button combina- tions. Note that L3 and R3 refer to pushing down on the analog sticks. More Gold Triangle, R3, L1, Square, X, R3, Select, L3, Circle, L2. Crazy Voices R3, Circle, Select, X, R3, Triangle, L1, Square, L2, L3. rear, ASM/TCS; 0, VCD: 10% NOTE: Any car with an adjustable All weapons and full ammunition Wind Dancer Galleon Upgrade downforce (this is a must) and high horsepower can pull off a Slap Start to pause the game and then L2, Triangle, R3, L3, X, Square, R3, wheelie with this formula. Remember to go the opposite direction press L1, L2, R1, R2, Triangle, Circle, Х, Select, L1, Circle. Note: When you go to during the speed test so you can circle the track indefinitely. ‘Square. another map, the Galleon will be avail- Invincibility able. 1 Grand Theft Auto Ill Rockstar 90000 52 Pause the gameplay and then press 11, Unlimited Wind Boost ‘Arms Shortage L1, L2, L2, R1, R1, R2, R2. You may have to enter this code again Select, L1, R3, Square, L3, Circle, L2, Tearing up the Arms Shortage mission is no easy task. And defending that after saving. Triangle, X, ‘one-armed bandit named Phil can cause Maximo: Ghosts To Glory Capcom 54 Next Sword ‘some serious problems. It could keep you MDK2 Armageddon Interplay 45 R3, Select, 12, L3, Square, X, Now that’s a knife! up all night. Here's the deal: Machowski's Metal Gear Solid 2 Konami 51 L3, Triangle. arm-challenged buddy Phil needs help Midnight Club Rockstar 39 Show All Treasure Chests defending his fort against a crowd of Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh eoo 56 R3, X, Triangle, L3, Circle, L1, Select, L3, Square, L2. Columbian gangsters. To beat him, you'll Mobile Suit Gundam: Wind Dancer Invulnerable need to get the Bazooka that you see in the Journey to Jaburo Bandai е 48 Select, Triangle, L1, X, R3, L2, Square, R3, Circle, L3. cinema clip where Phil chats with you. But Mobile Suit Gundam: Get All Treasure Chest Keys there's no way to get it, right? Wrong. As Zeonic Front Bandai 54 Circle, Select, X, Square, R3, L1, L3, L2, Triangle, L3. ‘soon as you talk to Phil, go to the cardboard Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo 50 Unlimited Items on Pick Up boxes near the dumpster (ahead and to the Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA 55 Triangle, L1, Select, L2, R3, L3, Select, X, R3, Circle. left of where Phil's standing). Then climb those and get onto the wall. After Moto GP Namco 39 Katarina Invincible ‘that, walk along and jump onto the dumpster where the bazooka is. Blast. Moto GP2 Namco 53 X, Circle, L3, Triangle, КЗ, Select, R3, L1, L2, Square. ‘away at the oncoming cars and be ready to Uzi the stragglers. Motor Mayhem. Infogrames 47 Grandia И Ubi Soft е 53 MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters eee 46 " " Guilty Gear X Majesco/Sammy 51 The Mummy Returns Universal °‹ 52 Sam $ Р icl е. Gungriffon Blaze Working Designs 39 MX 2002 Featuring tartte Sora S1 пу Carmichael та WIPEOUT FUSION Harvest Moon: МХ Rider Infogrames ‘Save the Homeland Natsume Namco Museum Namco There aren't many games | won't play this summer, but two | can't turn Headhunter Acclaim NASCAR 2001 EA Sports away from are Medal of Honor: Frontline and WipeOut Fusion. Since Herdy Gerdy Eidos NASCAR Heat Infogrames there's a Frontline strategy later on, | deliver some Fusion goodness. Heroes of Might and Magic 300 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports High Heat MLB 2002 300 МВА 2K2 Sega Sports Animal Ships High Heat MLB 2003 300 МВА Hoopz Midway Go to the Extras section, then the cheat menu and enter: Triangle, Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony CEA NBA Live 2001 EA Sports Circle, Triangle, X. Ico Sony CEA NBA Live 2002 EA Sports Inside the Gallery Jade Cocoon 2 Ubi Soft NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony CEA As you hurry through the game, you'll unlock images in the Gallery Jak and Daxter: NBA Street EA Sports Big mode. Some of the more advanced pics will have codes etched into the The Precursor Legacy Sony CEA NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA top-left corner. So watch for them. James Bond: Agent Under Fire ЕА Games NCAA Final Four 2002 989 Sports Shield me Jeremy McGrath NCAA Football 2002 EA Sports For infinite shield, go to the Extras, the cheat menu, then type in: Supercross World Acclaim NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony CEA Triangle, Triangle, Square, Square, Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 300 NCAA March Madness 2002 ЕА Sports Square. я Kengo: Master of Bushido Crave NFL 2K2 Sega Sports Never-ending weapons а Kessen EA Games NFL Blitz 2002 Midway Go to the cheat menu and type in: » Kessen II Koei NFL GameDay 2001 Sony CEA Triangle, Circle, X, Circle, Square. Kinetica Sony CEA NFL GameDay 2002 ‘Sony CEA Going retro King's Field: The Ancient City Agetec NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim Go to cheats and enter: X, Circle, Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil EA Games 47 NHL 2001 EA Sports Triangle, Square, X. Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports 42 NHL 2002 EA Sports Superfast, superbad 3 Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports 55 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony CEA Go to cheats and enter: Бапыш} training Я NHL Hitz 2002 Midway Square, X, X, X, Triangle ‘Sure it’s a minor thing, but you can adjust the thumbstick sensitivity No One Lives Forever Sierra Unlock it all! їп the Pause menu. Experiment with it. You might like it. Okage: Shadow King Sony CEA Go to cheats and type in: X, Triangle, Circle, Triangle, Circle. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine SPIDER-MAN: BONUS TIPS Scoring bonus points in Spider-Man can unlock some cool stuff—and give you the satisfaction of truly mastering the game. Of course, you only earn the most points by playing at the Hero or Super Hero difficulty levels. Ready to earn the most possible? Here are some tips. THE BASICS Most levels have a few common categories for which bonus points are awarded similar- ly. The Level Completion category is self- explanatory. Perfect means just that—beat the level without getting hit. Also, earn Style points by varying up your attacks. Search for Justice Combat: Beat up 15 thugs. Secret: Atop the tall building with black win- dows to the northwest of your starting point; you'll finda damsel in distress. Beat up the thugs, talk to her, then travel due north until you find the sign for Latvania [а reference to Dr. Doom's country, for you comics fans]. Find her missing purse atop the Latvania building, then return it to the woman, and you ve earned the points. Warehouse Hunt Stealth: Stay undetected [mainly by keeping on the ceiling] until the cutscene in which you reveal yourself. Secret: Look for a stack of crates to the left in the second hallway you traverse. There's ап opening to the upper left, Birth of a Hero” Time: Finish in 900 seconds (Easy), 500 sec- опа [Normal], 300 seconds (Hero/SH] Secret: Stay on the ceiling as you exit the first ventilation shaft and go unnoticed until you enter the door next to the steam room. 106 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Maximize your bonus points and unlock cool stuff! OsCorp's Gambit Combat: Destroy five Hunter Killers (H/SH) The Subway Station Time: 120 secs. Chase Through the Sewers Time: 800 secs. (Е), 600 (N), 400 (H/SH] Secret: Enter the room that opens up once you stop the water coming out of the pipe. To get in, flip the switch in the area accessed through the pipe, high to the left. Combat: Defeat 30 thugs (Е), 40 (N/H/SH] Showdown With Shocker Time: 500 secs. (E), 250 (№), 120 (H/SH] Secret: When you move the train and enter the area with rushing water, zipline to the floating gold Spider icon before it gets away! Миике Lair Time: 240 secs. Vulture Escapes Time: 300 secs. Vulture Proximity: Stay within 30m of Vulture for four seconds. Air Duel With Vulture Time: 120 secs. Corralled Secret: Find the combo power-up in the ramp between level 2 and level 3. Protected Scorpion: Complete level with Scorpion's health at 50% or better. Scorpion's Rampage No Pick-Ups: You can pick up the special move, but everything else is off-limits. Coup d'Etat Time: 480 secs. (Е), 350 (№), 270 (H/SH) The Offer Time: 400 secs. Ride Goblin: Hop aboard the glider three times or more. Do this as you would land on the head of anyone else—hold X as you descend from above. Race Against Time Time: 210 secs. (№), 170 (H/SH) The Razor's Edge Razorbats Destroyed: Beat 75 of them Health Bonus: Finish with 37% health left (Е), 50% (№), 75% (H/SH] Pick-Ups: No more than 2 (Е), no more than 3 (№, no more than 5 (H/SH) Breaking and Entering Time: 480 secs. (E), 360 (N), 240 (H/SH] Secret: Open and enter far-left elevator. Stealth: Never activate alarm. This doesn't mean you can't beat up guards, though— you're fine if they don't make it to the alarm. Chemical Chaos Time: 400 secs. OsCorp’s Ultimate Weapon Time: 400 secs. Escape From OsCorp Outnumbered! What to do when Spidey's surrounded by baddies At certain parts of the game, you'll face relentless opposition from everywhere. Though your first reaction might be to simply duke it out, you might find yourself getting pummeled from behind—and your health dépleting rapidly. Here are a few effec- tive ways to hold your ground. 1) Use a web dome. It's a silly name for а cool device, and it takes out a good chunk of your web supply, but if you have enough, this'll clear out the malcontent rather quickly—at least for a couple seconds. 2) Combo it up. While some combos are more effective than oth- ers, certain ones can basically clear out anyone in the vicinity. А. few favorites: Tackle, Handspring and Haymaker. 3) If the ceiling is high, hang out on top and yank away at ene- mies [L2 + X) until they bite it. It takes awhile and you won't get much in terms of Style points, but it sure is effective. 4) Again, in rooms with high ceilings (the Warehouse is a prime example}, it's a good idea to crawl along the ceiling until you see throwable objects below you. Fall straight down and toss away! ei the Spider-Man movie? Micro MJ Kicks Ass! Did you spot all of the cameo appearance: Supersoldiers Killed: Destroy at least 10. Mary Jane Kidnapped None, other than Level С. Perfect. pletion and Face-Off at Bridge No bonus. HAT'S THE PAYOFF? 10,000 s: Pinhead Bowling 20,000 points: Bonus Vulture Movie 30,000 points: Bonus Shocker Movie 50,000 points: Unlimited Webbing MORE UNLOCKABLES Keep in mind that the harder your difficulty, the cooler the unlockables get—and you'll unlock the rewards for the lesser settings, too. Easy: Play as Peter Parker or Wrestling Spider-Man. Normal: Play the game using the movie cos- ing the f the cheat code IMI- rd} to unlock all Conclusion ARMAS (Sam Rair the levels. Тһе! via Lev level LN № Play as the Green Goblin BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! lock tons of cool stuff by ente а! codes. [You can even forgo the need to ore points if you're lazy.) Try th: Play as Shocker: HERMANSCHULTZ Play as Scientist: SERUM Play as Thug: KNUCKLES Play as Spike: STICKYRICE Play as Shocker Thug: THUGSRUS Play as Helicopter Cop: CAPTAINSTACEY Play as Old Supersoldit REAKOUT Play as Cop: REALHERO Play as Mary Jane: GIRLNEXTDOOR You can Unlimited Webbing: ORGANICWEBBING All Combos Available: KOALA All Levels Available: ІМІАКМАЅ Bullet Time Mode: DODGETHIS Big Head Thugs: JOELSPEANUTS Micro Spidey: SPIDERBYTE Big Head and Feet: GOESTOYOURHEAD. First Person Mode: Unlock Еуегу ти NDERTHEMASK ARACHNID Game от, Onimusha: Warlords Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Pac-Man World 2 PaRappa the Rapper 2 Paris-Dakar Rally Publisher Rockstar Capcom Activision Namco Sony CEA Acclaim Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat EA Games Portal Runner Project Eden Q-Ball Billiards Master Quake III Revolution Rayman 2 Revolution Rayman Arena RC Revenge Pro 300 Eidos Take 2 EA Games Ubi Soft Ubi Soft Acclaim Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Midway Real Pool Red Card Soccer 20-03 Red Faction Resident Evil-Code: Veronica X Rez Ridge Racer V Ring of Red Rugby Rumble Racing Rune: Viking Warlord Salt Lake 2002 Savage Skies Shadow Hearts Shadow of Destiny Shadowman: 2econd Coming ‘Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Silent Hill 2 Silent Scope Silent Scope 2 Silpheed: The Lost Planet The Simpsons Road Rage Sky Odyssey Sled Storm Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Smuggler's Run Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Soccer America: International Cup Soldier of Fortune. Soul Reaver 2 Spider-Man Splashdown Spy Hunter SSX SSX Tricky Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force ‘Star Wars: Episode 1— ‘Super Bombad Racing Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Star Wars Racer Revenge Star Wars: Starfighter Infogrames Midway THO Capcom Sega Namco Konami EA Sports EA Games Take 2 Eidos Bam! Midway Konami Acclaim Activision Konami Konami Konami Working Designs EA Games Activision EA Big Namco Rockstar Rockstar Hot-B Majesco Eidos Activision Infogrames Midway EA Sports BIG EA Sports BIG Majesco LucasArts LucasArts LucasArts LucasArts Score Issue FORUM GTA3: PATRIOT PLAYGROUND AND MR. WHOOPEE 7 I have completed the "Patriot Playground" Humvee mission. The trick is to start behind Salvatore’s house on the road leading to the light- house. However, you must drive for- ward down the road and reverse back up | or else you will run out of time before | you can get to your next checkpoint. My personal best is 216 seconds. But I'm working on beating that time. One question, though: What kind of car or vehicle is the "Mr. Whoopee" and the Flatbed? And where do | find them? Allan Proffitt budman45233 fayahoo.com Мг Whoopee is the ice-cream truck and the flatbed is, well, a big truck with a flat bed. To find either of these hard-to-find rides lor any sparse cars), start a lante or firetruck mission and they'll show up. But make sure you're careful. They're not going to | flood the streets when they appear. | REZ; REZ-TASTIC? I have a strategy for Rez. Here it goes: 1. Hold down X. -Move your cursor around. Let go of X. 2.Repeatstepone | until you win. DragonLancerS@aol. com FFX: DEAD WRONG | wanted to point out that your Yunalesca strategy is a bit flawed. | Using the Aeon Overdrive Assault and Holy is a good Street Fighter EX 3 Stretch Panic Summoner Sunny Garcia Surfing Super Bust-A-Move Supercar Street Challenge Surfing H30 Swing Away Golf Tarzan Untamed Tekken Tag Tournament Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Tetris Worlds Theme Park Roller Coaster Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 4 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 les for some sweet Test of the health out of him. An object like a bench also Publisher Score Issue Capcom Conspiracy THQ Ubi Soft Acclaim Activision Rockstar EA Games Ubi Soft Namco Infogrames THQ EA Games Eidos °‹ 52 EA Sports “Super” Tiger Woods ‘ALLORNOTHIN: Unlock everything _ These guys aren't par for the course To unlock Justin Leonard, Solita Lopez and Melvin ' “Yosh” талаа, enter these codes. Justin Leonard: ВОВАМОАЕ 130. lita Lopez: GZEPOLTOR Time Crisis 2 TimeSplitters Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Top Angler Top Gear Dare Devil Top Gun: Combat Zones Transworld Surf Triple Play 2002 _ we hate this game. So if you've gı ` (besides blindly swinging the guys out. (9 chance), e-mail us: Triple Play Baseball Tsuganai: Atonement Twisted Metal: Black Unison Unreal Tournament Vampire Night Victorious Boxers Virtua Fighter 4 Being on the of “А strong offense is better than a good “Melvin и та Namco 49 Eidos 39 Crave ee 45 Activision 51 Xicat 57 Kemco 41 Titus Infogrames tips on hitting t Tecmo Infogrames Empire Empire Sega Don't back down unless you _ really, really have to. . и your opponents into walls, nent in place. а Do nothestate to ring out your opponents; It may seem. like a уло stays on the ground for more than a second a is just begging for a ground beating using the pounce. Use the up and punch or your character's unique standing ground attack whenever possible. However, Pounce only if it's a guaranteed Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine MEDAL OF HONOR: FRONTLINE War is hell, and so is dying right before a mission concludes. We tip you off on how to win Stay low, soldier! You've gotta crawl before you can walk, and Frontline proves it over and over. If you're in a hurry to get someplace, don't be. Rarely will you need to rush through a mission, so get used to the idea of taking your time. If you're out in the open (like in Omaha], then run to spots. But on most levels, you're going to be a tougher tar- get if you're on your belly. Reload every chance you get If you've got a moment to breathe, you've got a moment to reload your gun. If you don't, you're going to find out that you've got two bullets in your pis- tol and four Krauts to kill. Grenade first, think second If you're turning a corner and you hear footsteps, pull out a grenade and let it do the recon for you. But don’t just throw it. If you do that, they'll throw it back and light you up like a firecracker. The key is to pull the pin, then throw it. The longer you hold onto it, though, the more chance you'll lose that right hand. Machine-gun bunkers You only have to be told once to fear the machine-gun bunkers. Those guns are lively and spray about 1000 bullets a minute. The key is to pull out a sniper rifle, get low and far away, and take out whoever is manning the bunker. Expect others to man the bunkers right away. Fix on the bunker, then wait a second before you start your heroic charge. Melee every day When you've forgotten to reload, or when there's just no time, pressing R3 is a sure-fire life- saver if you hit the guy. In the later levels, clocking some turd with the ass end of your gun is going to be much tougher. But if you get him, make sure he doesn't get up. You'll have enough time to reload and brain the guy. Check objectives, private! This is going to sound like lousy advice. The kind of advice that you're going to hate hearing, but check your objectives list once in awhile. A stitch in time, etc. Also, don't hesitate to press. Select for tips. It's like a little war angel whispering in your ear. And that war angel gives some seri- ously helpful advice. Crates Blowing up crates seems like a waste of ammo. But you should blow them up for two reasons: First, there might be goods you can make use of. Second, it means that the Germans won't have anything to hide behind. Sniping with the pistol A trick for the patient: You've locked onto your target from a distance with your sniper rifle, but you're low on bullets. Here's a trick that could keep you heavy on sniper rounds and low on worthless pistol candy. Once you've lined up the shot with the sniper rifle, switch to your pistol. Your site will remain lined up and you can fire off a series of rounds. Sometimes it'll take down the man, sometimes it won't. If you reload, you'll have to readjust your sites. Sweet medicine What's better? Being barely injured and soaking up the health power-ups like a bottle of whiskey, or saving the health until you're standing on your last bullet-beaten leg? You see our point, right? Remember where the stuff is and go back for it. There's no shame in back-tracking, particu- larly since you'll have cleaned out most of the areas, so it'll be com- pletely safe. Also, the canteens give about half an inch on your meter las will the bread), the green medical briefcases аге a little over a quar= ter of your meter, and the health backpacks will fill you up more than halfway. So keep that in mind, too. Climbing ladders This should be much easier than it is, but it's not. So you'll have to deal with it. Falling to your death during the bridge level, when you know exactly what you mean to do, is the worst. The trick? You can push Up ta go up with your left analog stick when your right analog stick has you facing up. Otherwise, there are other variations, but don't even deal with those unless you're in a panic. Alternately, even if you're crawling, you can get on a ladder. Which is bad news. When you get close to one, be careful not to get your grape split by a sneaky №: email us about нац срлуйг а-у. com wi Mission #1: D-Day The first mission isn't tough, but because it's mad- ness, it causes some serious problems. Here are two missions we thought you could use help on. Objective #2: Rescue Four Pinned Down Squad Members 1. Straight ahead from the Captain the first guy 15 holed up in a ditch. Э 2. After you've freed (ће bunker-dweller, head to the far left that's nearest the bunkers. That soldier will need your sharpshooting. Stay low. 3. Next, skim along the shoreline and wait for a guy to wave you over. If you're looking straight at the bunkers, he’s nearer to the right. 4. See the medic tending to the wounded? Up and to the right is pinned-guy number four. Objective #7: Destroy MG Nests on Ridge Screw the nests. First thing you want to do is take 2 care of Obj. #8, which is to kill the soldiers in the trench. Do this with the machine gun you're man- $ ning, not with your Garand. iown with you white you play Fronti Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Mission #2: Into the Breach Objective #1: Clear Machine Gun Bunker Once the bunker is cleared, man the machine gun and obliterate the Krauts coming down the tunnel. They may look like Gis from a distance, but they're Nazis through and through. Objective #3: Find Smoke Grenades Picking up the grenades is the easy part. The hard part is taking out those guys behind the tables. Our advice: Charge! With guns blazing and your finger on the melee button just in case. Objective #5: Mark Gun Deck with Smoke Grenade Once you've cleared the gun deck, you have to wait until the other deck is “cleared.” Once it is, a plane comes in to whitewash it with bombs. Go to the cen- ter of the deck you're on and press the Action button. Once you do, get out of the bunker in a very quick hurry, or you'll be part of the explosion. Run out of the door you came in, veer to the left, and head out of the metal door that’s now opened. After that, the deck will stop existing and you'll be home free. ‘Send us more tips for this И you find them. this game wil be around for a while! ami Game _ Publisher — Score Issue Virtua Fighter 4 cont. three times without much trouble. With a character like Kage, this is devastating. • Intentionally winning by running away and waiting for the clock to tick away is a cheap way of winning. Only real wussies use this. kind of tactic. * Use throws as often as possible. The worst thing that can happen is your opponent negates it, but you can follow up with quick punches ог a low sweep if you're savvy. War Jetz 300 eet 48 Warriors of Might & Magic 300 44 Wave Rally Eidos е. 53 Wild Wild Racing Interplay өөө 39 Winback Koei 43 Wipeout Fusion Bam! 57 Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Atlus өө 53 Woody Woodpecker: Escape from Buzz Buzzard Park World Destruction League: Dreamcatcher өөө 57 Thunder Tanks 300 өөө 42 World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars Infogrames 55 World Tour Soccer 2002 Sony CEA 53 WRC: World Rally Championship Bam! 57 WTA Tour Tennis Konami е 57 WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It THQ е 52 X Squad EA Games е 38 Yanya Caballista: City Skater Кое! е. 49 Z.0.E: Zone of the Enders Konami е: 44 PSONE TRICKS AND REVIEW ARCHIVE 007 Racing EA Games eee 41 ЗХиете 989 Studios е 21 40 Winks GT Interactive eeee 28 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Eidos 41 Sony CEA 15 Ace Combat 2 Namco 1 Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Namco 31 Action Bass Take 2 37 Action Man: Operation Extreme Hasbro 41 Akuji the Heartless Crystal Dynamics 18 Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge Sony CEA 45 Alexi Lalas International Soccer Rockstar е 23 Alien Resurrection Fox Interactive 38 All-Star Slammin’ D-ball Agetec 56 Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare Infogrames е 47 ‘Alundra Working Designs ө‹ 4 Alundra 2 Activision е: 32 Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley ASC е 17 Animorphs: Shattered Reality Infogrames e. 37 Sony CEA 22 Apocalypse Activision е 16 Arc the Lad Collection Working Designs e 52 Arcade Party Pak Midway е 28 Arcade’s Greatest Hits: Atari Collection 2 Midway е.“ y Arcade's Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 2 Midway ee 4 Armored Core Sony CEA 3 Armored Core: Master of Arena Agetec е: 31 Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. Acclaim « 35 300 е: 20 Army Men Air Attack 300 е: 27 е Army Men Ак Attack 2 Conquering Level Uno Once you've dropped into the campaign, run up to the guard and give him the ol' knife. Then go to where your teammate is and shoot those fat barrels. That's where you'll score an M-16 and three grenades. Now you have the choice to go left or right from here, and this is where this tip gets interesting. We give both ways and how to get past them. Now get to it, soldier! Lefty Loosy Heading this route means you have to take cover. Leave your mate Game _ Publisher Score Issue at the sign, because you'll need his help later. Run to the log and hit the dirt. Guards will eventually catch onto you and they'll run up to you. Shoot them. There will be one behind a tent and another at the back of the camp. Once you've rampaged everyone, go back to. where you began to find a small trail. Follow that trail until you get to a sign that speaks of mines. Blast the barrel and nab the Mine ‘Sweeper, then use it to avoid the mines. There will be a guard to the far left. Shoot him and go for cover. Wait until your team member ‘approaches (he'll come from the left), then you're set. Righty Tighty Going right? What are you thinking? Just kidding. It's actually the easier option. Here's the deal: Be careful. There will be a guard at the small tent to the right. Once you've disposed of him, run until you get to a jeep. It'll be packing а .50 caliber machine gun. Sweet. You'll be reunited with your mate now, too. Have one teammate blow the barrels to get a Repair Kit. But make sure you choose the correct men for the Repair Kit. Otherwise, you won't get the jeep. Once you've got the Repair Kit, repair the jeep. Then move your two теп near the jeep. You can now ride to the end of the level. Once you see the bridge, both of your teammates will have to cross it to end the level. Army Men: Green Rogue 3D0 °‹ 47 Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 300 ee 32 Army Меп: Sarge’s Heroes 2 300 eet 40 Army Men: World War 300 * 34 Army Men World War: Final Front 300 a“ 45 Army Men World War: Land, Sea, Air 300 a 39 Arthur! Ready to Race The Learning Co. e 42 Assault Midway 15 Activision cont 16 Atari Anniversary Edition Redux Infogrames өө 53 Atlantis: The Lost Empire SCEA 48 ATV: Quad Power Racing Acclaim е 39 Auto Destruct Electronic Arts 6 Azure Dreams Konami 10 Backstreet Billiards Asci 15 Ball Breakers Take 2 36 Ballistic Infogrames 27 Baseball 2000 Interplay 21 Bass Landing Agetec 26 Bass Rise Bandai 28 Batman & Robin Acclaim . 13 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Ubi Soft « 39 Batman: Gotham City Racer Ubi Soft Battle Hunter Agetec Battletanx: Global Assault 300 Beast Wars Hasbro Big Air Accolade Big ОР Bass 2 Konami Billiards Agetec Bio FR.E.A.KS. Midway Black Bass with Blue Marlin — Hot-B Blade Activision. Blast Lacrosse Acclaim Blast Radius Psygnosis Blaster Master: Blasting Again Crave Blasto Sony CEA Bloody Roar Sony CEA Bloody Roar 2 Sony CEA Blues Big Musical THO Board Game: Top Shop Agetec Bomberman Fantasy Race Atlus Bomberman Party Edition Vatical Bomberman World Atlus The Bombing Islands Kemco Boombots SouthPeak Bottom of the Sth '97 Konami Bowling Agetec ls bowling making a serious comeback? Really folks. Complete these tasks to get special balls for your Sunday bowl, SUMMER GAMING Todd's Pick: HIGH HEAT BASEBALL 2003 What's better than fun and sun? I'll tell you: spending your summer couped up in front of your television playing High Heat with a window open somewhere in your home. Of course I’m not encouraging more than one three-game series а day, but chances are you'll try to play at least six once you're hooked. Here are some tips on keeping your nerves intact during the dog days of summer. The Pickoff Ever notice that the CPU runners are stealing second way more than you'd like them to, and your spaghetti-armed catcher can't seem to do a thing about it? Well, then throw a few pick-off throws to first before you deliver to the plate. But that'll just let the runners know you're onto them. The real key is to vary your delivery time to home plate. If you just pick a pitch and throw, they're going to read that and get awesome jumps. But if you switch up when you throw home, they'll think twice, meaning the double play will stay intact. Leading off Every player in the big leagues can get a two-step lead, according to High Heat. Fine. So, once the pitcher is nearly set, tap R2 twice in succession. It'll give you the biggest lead you'll need. If you try three steps, even with the speed guys, you're going to end up picked off. So don't. And the throw home! There's a player on second and the the batter just stroked a hard single to right field. Do you throw home? The answer is always “maybe.” When there's a runner in scoring position, know the situation. If you're up by six, throw to second to stall the big inning. But if the runner on sec- ond is slow and you're only up а run, why not try for the play at the plate? Play at the plate! Chris’ Pick Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter Much as I'd like to, | can’t spend every minute of summer returning to the theater to see Episode І/. So why not actually be a Jedi myself? Hidden Objectives: A Complete List for Single-Player Mode Training 1: Destroy targets quickly, then eliminate Saesee Tiin’s shields. Training 2: Finish quickly, beat Tiin. Training 3: Finish quickly, beat Jinkins. Training 4: Same as Training 3. Training 5: Defeat Tiin in a dogfig Mission 1: Destroy unknown ship after the lander appears. Mission 2: Keep all enemy ships from landing on the beach. Mission 3: Destroy droid starfighters in hangar. Mission 4: Destroy tractor beam tow- ers. Mission 5: Destroy all enemies. Mission 6: Finish in less than nine mins. Mission 7: Destroy all freighters. Mission 8: Destroy all landers and freighters. п 9: Destroy all hex deployers. M п 10: Save all tugs. Mission 11: Destroy all landers. п 12: Destroy all turrets. п 13: Destroy all bunkers. п 14: Save all transport ships. Mission 15: Save all cruisers. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 1 REPLAY Game Score Issue Bowling cont. ESP. ‘Once you beat the game in Quest mode, you'll be given the Psychic Бай. Not bad for an afternoon's work. Big ball that's only getting bigger Once you beat the game in special mode, you'll be given the Big Ball. And isn't that what you wanted the whole time? Brave Fencer Musashi Square EA өөө 15 Bravo Air Race THO 1 Breakout Hasbro 39 Breath of Fire Ill Capcom 9 Breath of Fire IV Capcom 40 Brigandine Atlus 15 Broken Sword THQ 5 Broken Sword II Crave 27 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling THQ 13 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 THQ 31 Bug Riders GT Interactive 8 Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters Infogrames Bugs Bunny Lost In Time Infogrames Builder's Block Jaleco Burstrick Wake Boarding!! Natsume Bushido Blade 2 Square EA Bust A Groove 389 Studios Bust A Groove 2 Enix Bust-A-Move 4 Natsume Bust-A-Move 99 Acclaim Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Activision С: The Contra Adventure Konami Caesar's Palace 2000 Interplay Caesar's Palace II Interplay Card Games Agetec Cardinal SYN Sony CEA CART World Series ‘Sony CEA 3 Casper: Friends Around the World Sound Source 41 Castlevania Chronicles Konami с... 50 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Konami 2 Castrol Honda Superbike Electronic Arts өө 21 Centipede Hasbro . 22 Championship Bass EA Sports өөөе 33 Championship Motocross 2001 Featuring Ricky Carmichael THQ LLLI ^" Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael THQ Championship Surfer Mattel Chessmaster Il Mindscape Chicken Run Eidos Chocobo Racing ‘Square EA Chocobo's Dungeon 2 ‘Square EA Chrono Cross Square EA Circuit Breakers Mindscape Civilization И Activision Clock Tower Ascii Clock Tower Il: The Struggle Within Agetec on 28 Colin McRae 2.0 Codemasters 40 Colin McRae Rally Sony CEA 0© 30 Colony Wars Psygnosis өөө! 4 Colony Wars: Red Sun Psygnosis 31 Colony Wars: Vengeance Psygnosis 14 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin 4 Contender Sony CEA 7 Contender 2 Bam! 41 Cool Boarders 2 Sony CEA 3 Cool Boarders 3 989 Studios 14 Coo! Boarders 4 989 Studios 27 Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA ° 39 Countdown Vampires Bandai °‹ 32 Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn Activision 34 Crash Bandicoot 2 Sony CEA 3 Crash Bandicoot; WARPED Sony CEA 15 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine strategy, but there is an easier way to avoid the Mega-Death attack (rather than using Death proof Armor or hoping it will miss]. If you sim- ply keep the Zombie status on all characters at all times, Mega Death will miss every time. In this hattle, there real- ly isn't any down- side to keeping Zombie on, unless Yunalesca casts Regen ona character. Either have Yuna dispel it or switch that character out. HIGH HEAT 2003: HIGH CHEAT This cheat allows you to access the game editor, so you can set up any specific game situation. To turn on the code, press Start and press Square, Square, Circle, Circle, L1, R1. You will hear a chime. Then press all four shoulder buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2) to activate the code. Dave Langelier tangelier(aattbi.com GTA3: WAITING FOR A FLIGHT Want to get into the airportin GTA3? Here are four easy steps: 1. Grab your favorite flying vehicle. 2. Take off (I've found that the airport runway is the easiest place to take off from). 3. Fly straight into the top of the front building at Game __ Publisher Score Issue Crash Bash SCEA/Universal e: Crime Killer Interplay е Critical Depth GT Interactive өн Croc Fox Interactive е Croc 2 Fox Interactive ек Crossroad Crisis Magetec е: Crusaders of Might & Magic 300 LI CTR: Crash Team Racing Sony CEA CyberTiger EA Sports Dance Dance Revolution Konami Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix Konami 49 Dance Dance Revolution: Konamix Konami 57 Danger Girl THO 39 Dark Omen Electronic Arts 9 DarkStalkers 3 Capcom 16 Darkstone Take 2 43 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Acclaim 38 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix Acclaim 47 Dead in the Water ASC 7 Dead or Alive Tecmo 8 Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos 9 Deception Ill: Dark Delusion Tecmo 31 Demolition Racer Infogrames 26 Destrega Koei 16 Destruction Derby Raw Midway 39 Devil Dice THQ 13 Diablo Electronic Arts 8 Die Hard Trilogy: Viva Las Vegas Fox Interactive 31 igimon Digital Card Battle талаар E В ЩТ ! Only the diehard, hardcore, silly Digimoners will need these codes. Go to it, and they'll unlock characters, Omnimon: SERIUS Gallentmon: KIMJOY WarGreymon: ORIOUS: Sakuyamon: КЕМЅАМ ImperailDramon: LINMON MegaGargomon: MINNYN ImperailDramon Palidin Mode: ROYBOY Digimon World Bandai 36 Digimon World 2 Bandai 46 Digimon World 3 Bandai 57 Dino Crisis Capcom 25 Dino Crisis 2 Capcom 38 Disney's Dinosaur Ubi Soft 36 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft 39 Downhill Mountain Bike Racing Activision 27 Dracula: The Last Sanctuary DreamCatcher 56 Dracula: The Resurrection DreamCatcher 48 Dragon Ball GT Bandai 4 Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek NewKidCo 45 Dragon Valor Namco 38 Dragon Warrior VII Enix 51 Dragonseeds Jaleco 15 Driver GT Interactive 24 ne 40 Infogrames — _4 Мап, the СТАЗ influence is making desperate PSone gamers claw for the next best thing. While plugging away at the deuce, try out these tricks, Hey, man, you Cuban? Looking for the secret car in Havana? No problemo, señor. Drive to the tunnel on the city's west side. Before you go into the. tunnel, take the exit to the left and follow the curved road until you, literally, hit a wall. At the one-third point of the street, turn right and you'll find a switch on your right near some trees. Get out of the car and hit the switch. A secret area will open up. Get back into your ride and drive back down the road you were just on. The gate will be open, so break on through to the other side. Drive to the end, take a right, and take a left. When you get all the way down, turn. left and then right and then left again. Follow the tunnel to the end to find the secret car on a platform. You'll find the switch to the right of the platform on the wall. Game Rio is better with invincibility Publisher Start facing the highway, then turn 180 degrees and go the other way. Take the third street on your right and pass the big lake. After the lake there'll be an intersection. Turn left and find a building with a garage and а normal door. You'll see a barbed-wire fence. Go to the building that's black with white windows. On the left side of this building find a door. Press Triangle at that door to enable the immunity cheat (there'll be по cops), To activate the cheat, choose Gameplay and then Secrets in the Options menu. Ducati World Championship Racing Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes Duke Nukem: Time to Kill Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown Dukes of Hazzard Dukes of Hazzard Il: Daisy Dukes it Out Dune 2000 EA Sports Supercross Eagle One: Harrier Attack Echo Night ECW Anarchy Rulz ECW Hardcore Revolution Ehrgeiz Einhander Elemental Gearbolt Eliminator The Emperor's New Groove ESPN MLS GameNight ЕТ. the Extra-Terrestrial: Interplanetary Mission Eternal Eyes Evil Dead: Hail to the King Evil Zone Expendable Е1 2000 F1 Championship Season F1 Racing Championship Family Feud Family Game Pack Fantastic Four Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition Fear Effect Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix Felony 11-79 FIFA 98 FIFA 99. FIFA 2000 FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer The Fifth Element Fighter Maker Fighting Force Fighting Force 2 Final Fantasy Anthology Final Fantasy Chronicles Final Fantasy IX Final Fantasy Tactics Final Fantasy VII Final Fantasy МИ Fisherman's Bait Fisherman's Bait 2: Big Ol’ Bass Flintstones Bedrock Bowling Ford Racing Formula 1 ‘98 Formula One ‘99 Forsaken Fox Sports Golf ‘99 Fox Sports Soccer ‘99 Freestyle Boardin' ‘99 Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana Frogger Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge Front Mission 3 Future Cop L.A.P.D. G-Police G-Police 2 G.Darius Acclaim Infogrames GT Interactive GT Interactive SouthPeak SouthPeak Electronic Arts EA Sports Infogrames Agetec Acclaim Acclaim ‘Square EA Sony CEA Working Designs Psygnosis SCEA Konami NewKidCo Crave THO Titus Infogrames EA Sports EA Sports Ubi Soft Hasbro. 300 Acclaim 3 SNK 30 Eidos 31 Eidos 43 Ascii 1 EA Sports 4 EA Sports 17 EA Sports 27 EA Sports 39 Activision 15 Agetec 21 Eidos 3 Eidos 29 Square EA 26 Sony CEA 47 Square EA 39 Sony CEA ® 5 Sony CEA 1 ‘Square EA 25 Konami 18 Konami 27 SouthPeak 37 Empire 44 Psygnosis 15 Psygnosis 28 Acclaim 10 Fox Interactive " Fox Interactive 11 Capcom 18 Acclaim 40 Hasbro 4 Hasbro 38 Square EA 31 Electronic Arts 13 Psygnosis 3 Psygnosis 25 THQ 13 Score issue Ifyou enter the May tournament and use these tips, make sure you let us know how you did! HOT SHOTS 3: JUNE TOURNEY Tips for June's tournament at Mt. Sakura as found on hotshotsgolf3.scea.com THE FRONT NINE If you don't escape the front nine at least eight under, forget about it. We were able to flub our Eagle shot on Hole 9's Par 5 and still we ended up with eight birdies. The greens are easier on the front nine, so take advantage. First Hole Aim right. Even though the wind suggests it'll push you into the sand trap, it won't. It's only going 2m. Plus, Spike's natural hook will bring the ball to the middle of the fairway, giving you a fatter green to shoot at. Take out your 3 Iron, hit full power and push Up while rehit- ting. It may roll right into the cup. Second Hole We know you're dreaming of a hole-in-one, but don't get smart and try a 3 Iron off the tee unless you're sure that you'll hit a perfect shot that will roll at the cup. Just stick with the 2 Iron and hit light. Third Hole Here's a hole where a power-up shot makes a big difference. There's a wrinkle in the fairway and if you get over it, you'll roll an extra 10 yards. When you hit, go slightly to the right. Then use a strong Iron to get you near the pin. The green is flat, meaning easy. Fourth Hole When teeing off, if you don't push your shot to the right, Spike's hook will put you in the rough. This'll put you high above the hole for your second shot. If you're я going to hit a 4 Wood, push Up so your shot will come in low and roll to the cup, instead of away from it. Fifth Hole Power-up, aim between those two oversized bonsai trees and let fly. If you end up on the fairway, you can succeed in getting on in two. From the fairway get out your 1 Wood. You must be lucky and accurate. Go straight at the pin {unless you're too close to the wall), push Down and hit. Just remember that you can overcompensate for your hook or you'll end up riding that paved path, and that spells doom. Sixth Hole Power-up here, because the fair- way tilts down, which will help. But our advice: hold Down and Left before you hit the shot and aim straight ahead. If you can steamroll past that sand trap, you're in excellent shape for your second shot. But make sure not to overhit your second shot. The green is fast and will plunge you onto the backside fairway without feeling any sort of guilt. Seventh Hole Push a touch to the right and hit your З Iron a bit short. It'll roll enough to get you close. Once you're close, you're home-free. Eighth Hole Power-up, push Down off the tee for that extra push, and go left so you won't have to deal with those nasty sand traps. After that, hit a nice Iron shot onto the green for best results. The green breaks tamely frorn left to right, so it's an easy putt. Ninth Hole You're going to have to muscle up. on this hole if you plan to make some real noise, but do whatever it takes, because you can make it there in two. Really. It's important that you hit Square to power-up on both of your shots. First, shoot to the left side of the fairway, where it looks like you'll end up awash in trees. If you hit it square, you'll roll out of the leaves onto the lip of the fairway. If you're still in the leaves, forget getting on in two. If you're not, it sets up your second shot. This second shot takes real mettle. You're going to have to switch to the 1 Wood and hit Square for the power-up. Then you're going to have to hit it full- power and hit that slim line. It can be done. But whoa, is it close. From there, you'll have to con- tend with a tricky green. But who said Eagles were easy? THE BACK NINE This is a tougher go than the front, but you'll still need, we figure, a 7- under to compete for that tourney championship. Hit those Par 5's hard and you're solid gold. Tenth Hole Hold Down while hitting and bang it straightaway. The natural hook will set up your second shot per- fectly. Nothing will stop a clean sec- ond shot. Just hit it and forget it. Eleventh Hole The question with all Par 5 holes: Can | get on in two? Yes, and be careful. The first shot just needs to be hard and as near to the right side of the fairway as possible. Remember that hook, and combat it by pressing Down and Left while shooting. From there, it'll take a perfect 1 Wood shot to get to the green, powered-up and all. But it can be done. And that’s enough incentive right there. Twelfth Hole That slim river is less a threat than you think, but only if you clobber the ball spot-on. Don't use а power-up here, just aim to the fat part of the fairway on the right. The wind is going 6m, so that'll lift you if you press Down when you shoot. Your hook is your worst enemy for the second shot. Keep that in mind if you're thinking easy birdie. Thirteenth Hole If you're confident with your 4 Wood, then have the confidence to let the ball skip into the hole. Aim at the pin, brace for your hook, and make this unlucky 13 your first ace of the round. If you miss the green, use the 7 Iron, then push Up and swing a yard short of the actual distance. It'll roll in every blue moon. Fourteenth Hole Hit leftish off the tee to use the roll off of the raised fairway. For your second shot, consider using the 3 Wood if you need the distance. Otherwise, you should be close enough to roll your 4 Wood near the pin. Fifteenth Hole This is a complicated shot for a shortknocker like Spike. Our advice: lay-up off the tee or go way right. Sounds crazy, but if you don't get a good lie, you could be staring down a tree. From there, pitch on. Sixteenth Hole You're going to have to go with a 4 or 5 Iron here since a 3 Iron is too much power. Hit it on the nose, push down so the wind can grab it, and you should have an easy birdie putt awaiting you. Seventeenth Hole Power-up and hit to the left side of the fairway here so you'll have a straight shot at the pin. Then pull out that Driver again and hit it full-power with a power- up engaged. If you come up short of the green, use the 7 Iron and push Up when you hit it. Eighteenth Hole If you've got a power-up left, might as well use it. Hit to the right lip of the fairway off the tee. On your second shot, don't let the bunker complicate things. Pitch over it and push Down to get some backspin to stall it on impact. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (m) DVD EGGS Not Another Teen Movie: SE DVD Hidden video! The title says it all, but if you have the DVD, then you might as well get the most out of it. To find a hidden video, speed over to Trailers and press Left. With the object hig! lighted, hit Enter and you'll be privy to a per- sonal moment on the movie set. American Pie 2: Unrated Egg nog Head over to the bonus materials on the second page, where it says “Your favorite piece of pie.” There is an egg there that you may have missed. Press Up and then Bonus Materials should be highlighted. You'll find a short clip of Jason Biggs, the sultry Mena Suvari and Thomas lan Nicholas playing around with the viewers. There's some egg business that follows, but we won't ruin it for you. Monty Python and the Holy Gr: SE DVD Street cred Is there a funnier DVD more extras than laug! may not have found. On the Sacred Relics screen on Disc 2, push over and highlight Main Menu then press Up. You'll get to the icon of the small Holy Grail. Press Enter to see the DVD and special- features credits. n this one? It has But there's one you The Usual Suspects: SE Two more featurettes This is one of our favorite movies and it has so many featurettes it’s shocking. But with this egg there are two more. It'll take some work, but it’s worth it. For starters, flip your DVD to side two where you can find the bonus stuff. On the first menu, select the logo and press Enter. You'll be taken to a photo-mon- tage screen. Highlight and select different photos to get access to the bonus features. Do it in this order: Quartet, Guatemala, Big Woman, Broken Mug. You'll get a.) a John Ottman interview with Film Score Monthly's Jeff Bond. Decent inter- view for film-score aficionados and В.) Interview Outtakes, which contains clips from promo interviews with Del Toro, Palminteri, Pollack, Baldwin and director Bryan Singer. Donnie Darko DVD Is time travel possible? If you haven't seen or even heard of Donnie Darko, you should change that. It's the first independent teen flick, in line with Heathers, that we've seen in ages. We think you'll like it. Pop in the DVD and go to the special fea- ture where you can view the time-travel book. For both Appendix A and B you can locate a spot to click on. For Appendix A click the bull's-eye on the chest, then press Enter and you'll see a short deleted scene not included with the rest. For Appendix B, click on the arrow coming out of the chest and you'll see a new trailer. (n2) Official PlayStation Magazine Game — Publisher _ Galaga: Destination Earth Hasbro Galerians Crave Gallop Racer Tecmo Gauntlet Legends Midway Gekido Interplay Gex: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos Gex: Enter the Gecko Midway Ghost in the Shell THQ Glover Hasbro Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado Sony CEA өө 42 Gran Turismo Sony CEA 9 an Turismo 2 __ _SonyCEA Is this the best game ever on the PSone? It makes for an interesting argument. To bring you back to where it all started, or at least to the game that came out after it all started, check these tips. Arcade tracking Obtain all licenses in Simulation mode on disc two, including the ‘Super License to get more Arcade mode tracks. FedEx car Enter the Gran Turismo League race events until reaching the Pacific League races. Then, enter the Midfield Raceway event to be award- ed with an R*Nissan 3002Х GTS FedEx race car. Gets you there on time, every time. Except in the case of Cast Away. Mark Martin's NASCAR #6 Ford Taurus To obtain this car, you must first purchase a Ford Taurus and then perform the Racing modification. Mo' Sports Land track Obtain all of the licenses, including the Super License, and the Motor Sports Land track will become avallable in Time Tríal mode on the arcade disc. Yikes. Well, if you're that retro, we'll give you codes to go along with. your new black Chucks and your afro. Enter the following names to enable the cheat features, All of the codes in the game may be used in combinations, Enter and accept a code, then go to "Rename" and enter another code. You can then rename your character when you're done with the cheats, BSTARD: All weapons, unlimited ammunition, level selection, 99 lives, armor, get out of jail, coordinate display, maximum wanted level and the 5x bonus. ТНЕЗНИ All weapons, unlimited ammunition, level selection, 99. lives, armor, get out of jail and the 5x bonus. MADEMAN: All weapons, unlimited ammunition, level selection, ‘armor and get out of jail, GROOVY; All weapons, unlimited ammo, armor and get out of jail. PECKINPAH: Armor, all weapons, and you сап get out of jail. HANGTHEDJ: All cities, money and weapons. EATTHIS: Maximum wanted level. BLOWME: Display coordinates. CHUFF: No police. TURF: All cities. WEYHEY: Instantly collect 9,999,990 points. SATANLIVES: 99 lives. EXCREMENT: 5x multiplier. SKYBABIES: Choose any level up to Mandarin Mayhem. т Grand Theft Auto 2 You poor PSone owners, You wish you were playing СТАЗ, don't you? Well, The Italian Job is a much newer, fresher and better game ‘than this, Just a thought, considering it's the same price. Master of your domain Enter these names to get the following items. You're a superstar gangster now! 10,000,000 Points: BIGSCORE All Weapons: NAVARONE Drive A Bus: FARE Easy Money: MUCHCASH Level Select: ITSALLUP Most Wanted: DESIRES Multiplier х5: HIGHFIVE № Police: LOSEFEDS ‘Show Coordinates: WUGGLES Turbo Mode: IGNITION Unlimited Energy: LIVELONG Game Publisher Score Issue Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Rockstar Grand Tour Racing ‘98 Activision Grandia Sony CEA Granstream Saga THO The Grinch Konami/Universal Grind Session Sony CEA Grudge Warriors Take 2 Guardian's Crusade Activision Gundam Battle Assault Bandai Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James Ubi Soft HardBall '99 Accolade Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone EA Games Harvest Moon: Back to Nature Natsume HBO Boxing Acclaim Heart of Darkness Interplay Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy NewKidCo Herc's Adventures LucasArts High Heat Baseball 2000 300 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 300 Hogs of War Infogrames Hooters Road Trip Ubi Soft Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Atlus Hot Shots Golf Sony CEA Hot Shots Golf 2 Sony CEA Hot Wheels Turbo Racing Electronic Arts Hydro Thunder Midway We need your codes! It's drag racing, folks, We imagine you just press the gas. But we're. always trying to dig up tricks for the best-selling games, though we've hit a snag. There's nothing on НВА. No codes. So we want. ‘Strategy. From you. The reader, E-mail us at: Е with the subject line: "Im the idiot who bought 10 gazillion copies of /HRA, thank you very much." In Cold Blood Incredible Crisis Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze Intelligent Qube Intellivision Classic Games Int'l. Superstar Soccer ‘98 Int'l. Track & Field 2000 Invasion From Beyond Iron Soldier 3 Irritating Stick 155 Pro Evolution The Italian Job Jackle Chan Stuntmaster Jade Cocoon Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing Jeopardy! Jeopardy! 2 Jeremy McGrath Jersey Devil Jet Moto 2 Jet Moto 3 Jimmy Johnson VR Football Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Juggernaut K-1 Grand Prix K-1 Revenge Kagero: Deception II Kartia Кепзе! Sacred Fist Killer Loop King of Fighters "99 KISS Pinball Klonoa Knockout Kings Knockout Kings 2000 Knockout Kings 2001 Konami Arcade Classics DreamCatcher өө Titus в Ubi Soft Sony CEA Activision Konami Konami GT Interactive Vatical Jaleco Konami Rockstar Midway Crave Codemasters 38 Hasbro 17 Hasbro 29 Acclaim 38 Sony CEA 10 Sony CEA 3 889 Studios 26 Interplay 2 Capcom 31 Jaleco 26 Jaleco 28 Jaleco 18 Tecmo 14 Atlus 12 Konami 7 Crave 27 Agetec 41 Take 2 46 Namco 6 EA Sports 16 EA Sports 27 EA Sports 39 Konami ?3 SLED STORM: SHORT CITY Green means go—go faster, that is. Follow the green arrows for the shortest shortcuts LÀ CEDAR CANYON CEDAR CANYON i <> 1. A crucial shortcut for the beginner. I'll knock serious time итак 57 off your score without too much risk of wiping out. Just aim SEI left at the top of the first hill and you're on your way. 2. |t may not look like it, but it is possible to hit this shortcut after hitting the first; just cut a hard right as you're coming to the waterfall. Once you cross the river, keep going straight until you reach the wall, then make a right, which will put you on the line to go through the fallen tree in the next shortcut. ws ЕЕ 3. Don't bother trying to line up for this опе if you've taken Cedar Canyon: 1 the fallen tree—just hop back on track and aim for 4. POLARFEST 1. Take the left fork at the starting line to set up for this one. Just come off the last jump of the first sequence aiming slightly right of center. Don't worry about heating the jump before the river—if your speed's high enough, you'll make it. 2. Simple and effective. Just aim left at the third jump in the ice cavern. 3. This one looks deceiving on the map; the entrance is actually on the left of the rainbow-tunnel entrance. де. ` 100 3100 ` Polarfest: 3 нЕ" BERMUDA BERG 1. This one requires skill. Watch your speed coming into the tunnel, then stick to the right. Take it easy over the first jump or you'll overshoot the next tunnel. Wait 'til you're safely inside, then lay on the Storm Boost and hold onto your hat. 2. The first of these two shortcuts is the better, but you'll need some boost in reserve to make it through. And don't even think about 4 if you're not packing a load of turbo. Just take 3, stick to the left, and you'll trim almost as much time. Bermuda Berg: 3 Official PlayStation Magazine ©) GREAT HITS, GREAT TIPS These great games just got a lot cheaper, and that means you'll need tricks to go with ‘em ATV Offroad Fury Twisted Metal: Black Finding the environment weapons Midtwon Suburbs Lightning Storm If anyone is camping in the factory district, a quick jolt of lightning from the Environment Weapon of this stage will make them rethink their plans. Note: The computer-controlled cars will never trigger this attack, so players hiding on the rooftops are still much safer than the ones on the ground. Zorko Bros. Scrap & Salvage Call In the Fire Support The Bomber in the level will fire its gun at any car that drives within its range. This attack will fire 18 potential shots, and these can whittle down almost any car with ease. When you trigger this Environment Weapon, make sure that you are not the closest car to the Bomber, or you will get pegged. Dark Cloud The quickest paths to the strongest weapons SUN SWORD Big Bang — Sword of Zeus BONE RAPIER — Evilcise — Drain Seeker— Dark Cloud —7th Heaven WISE OWL SWORD - Lamb's Sword Atlamillia Sword- Chronicle Sword Ада Sword— Atlamillia Sword — Chronicle Sword MACHO SWORD — Cross Hinder — Big Bang Sword of Zeus BUSTER SWORD — Claymore — Cross Hinder — Big Bang —— Sword of Zeus Choora dm 5 Cloud- — Dark Cloud — 7th Heaven KITCHEN ч chopper Maneater - Atlamillia Sword- Chronicle Sword Sax Dusack-| Breve Ark —— Dark Cloud 7th Heaven 7 Branch Sword-Atlamillia Sword- Chronicle Sword SERPENT SWORD Е Evilcise — Drain Seeker —— Dark Cloud ae 7th Heaven Tsukikage~ Heaven's Cloud — Dark Cloud Small Sword—Tsukikage — Heaven's Cloud~ Dark E 7th Heaven CRYSTAL KNIFE E Вгеакег- Antique Sword— Brave Агк- Dark Cloud Shamshir Sax Brave Ark Dark Cloud — 7th Heaven BASELARD Dusack | е 7 Branch Sword - Atlamillia Sword- Chronicle Sword Е Small т Heaven's Cloud — Dark Cloud — 7th Heaven GRADIUS | Choora | Maneater — - Atlamillia Sword — Chronicle Sword Chopper | Dusack | Brave Ark — - Dark Cloud 7th Heaven 7 Branch Sword —Atlamillia Sword- Chronicle Sword Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Toppling Manitoba Mills Don't get too competition happy because Manitoba, more than any other track, will waste away many of the CPI spill. Chest Puzz Chest Puzzles Follow these steps to unlock the game's Six trick chests in no time: Chest #1: Left, Right, Left Chest #2: Left, Right, Left, Right, Right | Chest #3: Center, Right, Left Chest #4: Center, Left, Left, Right, Right Chest #5: Lower Left, Upper Right, Lower Right, Lower Left, Lower Right Chest #6: Left, Left, Center, Right, Right, Center, Center "The Dip” as we refer to it, is a great way to abuse CPU riders. They'll take this aggressively. The trick: Cut to the inside and force them wide so they can take a Onimusha: Warlords Solve those puzzles, Samanosuke! riders. Hang near the front and you'll likely win. On this bridge, be ready to make a move when you exit. Pull back and snap the Analog to gain lots of time. In the song “Dead Man's Curve,” that guy should've Slowed down, and so should you. Water Puzzl The Water Puzzle When you get to the puzzle above, move each indicated block in the order and direction indicated below. (U-Up, D=Down, L-Left, R-Right, 2x="two times") 10-R(2x), 5-0, 6-0, 7-0, 2-0, 1-В(2х), 4-U+R, 5-L+U(2x), 10-L(2x), 6-0, 7-0, 2-D«L(2x), 8-1 (2х), 9-L(2x), 11-0, 7-В(2х), 6-RI2xl, 3-D, 1-Е(2х), 9-D, 8-U+R, 4-R+D(2x) Red Faction Being a good sneak Stay behind the guards Basics of Stealth There will be instances throughout Red Faction where you'll need to use stealth to bypass some of tt your firearm drawn is a great way to expose yourself as a threat, so if you need to be stealthy, ling your weapon by pressing Left on the D-pad. But walking around withou: make you invisible Even if you're unarmed, guards and security cameras will recognize you if you get close enough. Shooting out camer can help solve this problem (and will crucial if you're stealthing it through Area 29), but make sure no one [including the camera!) can see you draw the gun. Just be careful not to draw attention to And if you must kill someone, opposition. Having гї by con apon doesn't yourse sure to hide the body. СТЗ: A-spec Be a master drafter You've made it to Area C in Arcade mode and you've come up against the Test Course. If you'r g the standard-issue Arcade cars, this particular race can be maddening. You can’t outpower petition on this long, high-speed track Е hoose the Castrol Supra. Now, off the start, work your way up to ond and tuck right in behind the guy in first Whatever you do, DON'T PASS HIM. Ride his bumper all the way around the track Now, as you come through the final turn on the final lap, drop back, but stay in the lead car's wake. Once you're on the straightaway, jam the throttle all the wa! down and suck right up onto his rear. bumper again. At the last second, pull to the left. If done right, your extra momen- tum should take you past the leader get you a win on the Test иг com- Get our draft? Game Koudelka Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing Adventure The Land Before Time: Return to the Great Valley Largo Winch .// Commando Sar Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver The Legend of Dragoon Legend of Legaia Legend of Mana Lego Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge Lego Rock Raiders The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure The Little Mermaid И Lode Runner Looney Tunes Racing Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider The Lost World: Jurassic Park Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Madden NFL 98 Madden NFL 99 Madden NFL 2000 Madden NFL 2001 Madden NFL 2002 Martian Gothic: Unification Marvel Super Heroes Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter Marvel vs. Capcom EX Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winners Circle Mass Destruction Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX Maximum Force MDK Medal Of Honor Medal Of Honor Underground MediEvil MediEvil И Mega Man Legends Mega Man Legends 2 Mega Man X4 Mega Man X5 Mega Man X6 Men In Black- The Series: Crashdown Metal Gear Solid Metal Gear Solid VR Missions Metal Slug X Micro Machines Micro Maniacs Mike Tyson Boxing The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Miss Spider's Tea Party Missile Command Mission: Impossible MK Mythologies MLB 98 MLB 99 MLB 2000 MLB 2001 MLB 2002 MLBPA Bottom of the 9th ‘99 Mobil 1: Rally Championship Monaco Grand Prix Monkey Hero Monkey Magic Monopoly Publisher Score Infogrames Midway ТОК Mediactive Sound Source ee Ubi Soft « Eidos Sony CEA Sony CEA Square EA Lego Media eet Lego Media ө Activision e THO Natsume Infogrames Infogrames Electronic Arts ө Working Designs Working Designs EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Take 2 Capcom Capcom Capcom Acclaim oon Acclaim ASC Activision Midway Playmates Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Sony CEA Sony CEA Capcom Capcom Capcom Capcom Capcom Infogrames өөө Копатї Konami Agetec Midway Codemasters Codemasters — e Capcom Simon & Schuster Hasbro Infogrames Midway Sony CEA Sony CEA 989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA Konami Electronic Arts Ubi Soft Take 2 Sunsoft Hasbro Issue n the airport (the building that all the cars drive in front of]. 4. Make sure you don’t crash your vehicle, because the only way out is through the top. Once that’s done, see if you can fly into that dome-shaped building. I'm gonna go try it now... Evil Heartburn Man evilheartburn- manfdexcite.com FATAL FRAME: DO YOUR HOME- WORK! In Fatal Frame, I'm lost. There are locked doors and one that has Japanese writing ina circle. Help! Chris Singleton Alucardtepesó9ía aol.com You missed the research notes that gave you the clues you need. One tells you which numerals. correspond to the Japanese charac- ters, others give you info as to which numbers. you'll need to enter at each location. To save time, we'll give you answers, but hunt around to find all the notes. On the wheel of Japanese char- acters, the top character is zero, and the numbers go up counter- clockwise from there, ending at nine, which is just to the right of the top character. The answers: Night One: Store Room Door: Night Two: Store Room Door: 2611 Back Yard Door: 7925 бате Monster Rancher 2 Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode И Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout Monster Seed Monsters, Inc. Mort the Chicken Mortal Kombat: Special Forces Mortal Kombat 4 Moto Racer Moto Racer 2 Moto Racer World Tour Publisher Score Issue Tecmo 26 Tecmo 36 Tecmo 41 Sunsoft 20 Sony CEA 51 Crave 41 Midway et 36 Midway eee 11 Electronic Arts 3 Electronic Arts е 14 Infogrames e000 40 get to sending them over to us. or we'll boycott this horrid game. Seriously. We'll buy a load of them off ‘some no-name Web site, we'll paste them to our clothes and we'll ‘come to your house and march on your pretty green lawn. So e-mail us strategy: Motorhead Mr. Domino Mr. Driller Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness MTV Music Generator MTV Sports: Pure Ride MTV Sports: Skateboarding featuring Andy MacDonald MTV Sports: Snowboarding MTV Sports: T.J. Lavin's Ultimate BMX The Mummy Muppet Monster Adventure Muppet Race Mania N.GEN Racing N20 Nagano Winter Olympics ‘98 NASCAR 98 NASCAR 99 NASCAR 2000 NASCAR 2001 NASCAR Heat NASCAR Rumble NASCAR Thunder 2002 NBA Fastbreak ‘98 NBA Hoopz NBA In the Zone ‘98 NBA In the Zone ‘99 NBA In the Zone 2000 NBA Live 98 NBA Live 99 NBA Live 2000 NBA Live 2001 NBA Live 2002 NBA ShootOut 98 МВА ShootOut 2000 NBA ShootOut 2001 NBA ShootOut 2002 NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC NBA Tonight NCAA Final Four ‘99 NCAA Final Four 2000 NCAA Final Four 2001 NCAA Football 98 NCAA Football 99 NCAA Football 2000 NCAA Football 2001 NCAA GameBreaker 98 NCAA GameBreaker 99 NCAA GameBreaker 2000 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 NCAA March Madness 98 NCAA March Madness 99 NCAA March Madness 2000 NCAA March Madness 2001 Nectaris: Military Madness Need for Speed Ill Need for Speed: High Stakes Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed . Got it? Fox Interactive eee Acclaim Namco Namco Codemasters тна тна Копаті Midway Midway Infogrames Fox Interactive Konami EA Sports Electronic Arts EA Sports EA Sports Hasbro Electronic Arts EA Sports Midway Midway Konami Konami Konami EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Sony CEA 989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA Midway ESPN Digital 989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Sony CEA 989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Jaleco Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine @9 REPLAY SUMMER GAMING John’s Pick: SSX TRICKY During the summer heat, there’s still no game cooler than SSX Tricky. | сап pick it up and play it for five minutes or sit down for a few hours. I've yet to open everything up or even do all of the Super-Uber moves available. Here's a trick list I'll be pulling out this June, brought to you by SSX stud, Jay Н. (sushibastard@yahoo.com). Name: Eddie Board: Freestyle Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Worm Name: Elise Board: BX (Boardercross) Execution: Hold L1+L2 then press Square. Trick Name: La La La Lockstep Air Name: Marisol Board: Alpine Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Aerial Spock 540 Name: Seeiah Board: Freestyle Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Soul Grind Name: Luther Board: BX (Boardercross) Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Bronco Buster Name: JP Board: Freestyle Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Headspin2Poseur Joe's Picl ARMY MEN RTS Name: Zoe Board: BX (Boardercross) Execution: Hold L1+L2 then press Square. Trick Name: Pommel Me Name: Moby Board: BX (Boardercross) Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: SuperMan BarSpin Name: Mac Board: Freestyle Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Walking The Dog Name: Kaori Board: Freestyle Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Pirouette Grind Name: Psymon Board: ВХ (Boardercross) Execution: Hold R1+R2 then press Square. Trick Name: Guillotine Name: Brodi Board: Alpine Execution: Hold L1+L2 then press Square. Trick Name: Hang 10 Backflip If you had told me a year ago that Га be setting aside time to play an Army Men game this summer, I'd have asked you where you managed to score that latest batch of crank. But if you'd mentioned it would be an Army Men game developed by the creators of Dark Reign Il, | might have been less skeptical. Anyway, here are some nifty codes we can all enjoy this summer. Now someone throw another crow on the grill. sare at 5000 Plastic Use this code anytime you need more building supplies: Triangle, Circle, Square, X, Triangle, Square. 2000 Electricity Similar to above, only electrified! Triangle, Square, Circle, X, са” г. Triangle, Х. My Sentiments Exactly More Resources This one gives you twice the amount of plastic and/or electricity per truckload: Square, Square, Square, Triangle, Circle, X. Player’s Attack Strength Increased Pretty much what it says on the tin. Square, Square, X, Triangle, X, Square. 116 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Game Need for Speed: V-Rally ng Pool Hustler Populous: The Beginning Porsche Challenge Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue Power Shovel Power Soccer 2 Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction Poy Poy Pro 18 World Tour Golf Pro Pinball: Big Race USA Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Pro Pinball: Timeshock! Psybadek Punky Skunk Putter Golf Puzzle Star Sweep Q*bert. Quake 1 R-Type Delta 3 Racing Railroad Tycoon II Rainbow Six Rally Cross 2 Rampage Rampage 2: Universal Tour Rampage Through Time Ray Tracers RayCrisis Rayman 2: The Great Escape Rayman Brain Games Rayman Rush Razor Freestyle Scooter RC de GO! RC Revenge RC Stunt Copter Re-Volt Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 Red Asphalt Reel Fishing II Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Resident Evil Survivor Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Rising Zan Risk Rival Schools Riven: The Sequel to Myst Road Rash: Jail Break Rock "Em Sock "Em Robots Rocket Power Team Rocket Rescue Rogue Trip Roll Away Rollcage Rolicage Stage И Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths & Legends RPG Maker Rugrats: Totally Angelica Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Runabout 2 Running Wild - Publisher Electronic Arts Фе 3 Hasbro Activision Electronic Arts Sony CEA THQ e 40 Acclaim Psygnosis Infogrames ^— ee« 41 Bam! Konami Psygnosis Empire Empire Take 2 Psygnosis Jaleco Agetec Agetec Hasbro Activision Agetec Ascii Namco Agetec Take 2 Red Storm 989 Studios Midway Midway Midway THO Working Designs Ubi Soft Ubi Soft Ubi Soft Crave Acclaim Acclaim Titus Acclaim Midway Midway Interplay Natsume Natsume Capcom Capcom Capcom Capcom Capcom Atlus Agetec Hasbro Capcom Acclaim Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Mattel THQ GT Interactive Psygnosis Psygnosis Psygnosis Koei өө 30 Red Storm ө Agetec THO тна Hot-B е 36 989 Studios „бате Rushdown Sabrina, the Teenage Witch: A Twitch in Time! Заба Frontier SaGa Frontier 2 Saiyuki: Journey West Saltwater Sportfishing Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 Sammy Sosa Softball Slam Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase Scrabble Sentinel Returns Sesame Street Sports Shadow Madness Shadow Man Shadow Master Shadow Tower Shanghai: True Valor Sheep Shipwreckers Shooter: Space Shot Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein Silent Bomber Silhouette Mirage Sim Theme Park The Simpsons Wrestling Skullmonkeys Skydiving Extreme Small Soldiers Smurfs Smurf Racer Sno-Cross Championship Racing Snowboarding Soul of the Samurai South Park South Park: Chef's Luv Shack South Park Rally Space Invaders Spawn: The Eternal Spec Ops: Covert Assault Spec Ops: Ranger Elite Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Speed Punks Speed Racer Speedball 2100 Spider-Man Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro Spin Jam 4 SpongeBob SquarePants Tips on SpongeBob. Do they exist? Discuss. Oh, nothing? Well, there's a shock. It seems only the tongue-deprived are buying. — Publisher — Score Issue Electronic Arts ee 19 Knowledge Adv. Sony CEA Square EA Koei Agetec 300 өө 32 300 eo 33 SNK е 36 тна Hasbro Psygnosis NewKidCo Crave Acclaim Psygnosis Agetec Sunsoft Empire Psygnosis Agetec Agetec Bandai Konami Working Designs Electronic Arts Taito Electronic Arts Banpresto Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Infogrames Infogrames Crave Agetec Konami Acclaim Acclaim Acclaim Activision Sony CEA Take 2 Take 2 Take 2 Sony CEA Jaleco Empire Activision Activision Take 2 THQ game. Wait, that's gross. We take it back. а Sports Car GT Electronic Arts ee« 21 Spyro: Year of the Dragon Sony CEA 39 ‘Sony CEA 27 Drage Sony CEA 13 Star Ocean: The 2nd Story Sony CEA 22 Star Trek: Invasion. Activision 37 Star Wars: Episode I— Jedi Power Battles LucasArts eet 33 1 LucasArts 25 Star Wars: Masters of Terás Kasi LucasArts 4 Star Wars Demolition LucasArts 41 Steel Reign Sony CEA 2 Streak GT Interactive 15 Street Fighter Alpha 3 Capcom 6000 21 Street Fighter Collection Capcom 4 Street Fighter Collection 2 Capcom 16 Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha Capcom 2 Street Fighter EX2 Plus Capcom 33 Street Sk8er Street Sk8er 2 Strider 2 Striker Pro 2000 Strikers 1945 ‘Suikoden И Superbike 2000 SuperCross 2000 SuperCross Circuit Surf Riders Sydney 2000 Syphon Filter Syphon Filter 2 ‘Syphon Filter 3 Tai Fu TRA.G. Tactics Ogre Tail Concerto Tales of Destiny Tales of Destiny II Tarzan Team Buddies Team LOSI RC Racing Tekken 3 Tenchu Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Tennis Tennis Arena Test Drive 4 Test Drive 5 Test Drive 6 Test Drive Le Mans Test Drive: Off Road 3 Thousand Arms Thrasher: Skate & Destroy Threads of Fate Thunder Force V Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 Tigger's Honey Hunt Time Crisis: Project Titan Tiny Tank Tiny Toon Adventures: Plucky's Big Adventure Tiny Toons: The Great Beanstalk TOCA 2 Tom & Jerry in House Trap Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear Tomb Raider 1 Tomb Raider HI Tomb Raider: Chronicles Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Tomba! Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Tomorrow Never Dies Tonka Space Station Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Toonenstein: Dare to Scare Torneko: The Last Hope Toy Story 2 Toy Story Racer Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals Trap Gunner Treasures of the Deep Trick'n Snowboarder Triple Play 99 Triple Play 2000 Triple Play 2001 Triple Play Baseball Turbo Prop Racing Twisted Metal IIl _ Publisher | e Issue Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Capcom Infogrames Agetec Konami EA Sports EA Sports 989 Studios Ubi Soft Eidos 989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA Activision Sunsoft Atlus Atlus Namco Namco Sony CEA Midway Fox Interactive Namco Activision Activision Agetec Ubi Soft Accolade Accolade Infogrames Infogrames Infogrames Atlus Rockstar ‘Square EA Working Designs EA Sports EA Sports NewKidCo Namco Sony CEA Conspiracy NewKidCo Activision Eidos Red Storm. Eidos Eidos Eidos Eidos Sony CEA Sony CEA Electronic Arts Hasbro Activision Activision Vatical Enix Activision Activision Bam! Atlus Namco Capcom EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports EA Sports Sony CEA 989 Studios Backyard Door: СТАЗ: HARLEYS FOR ALL? | [need the СТАЗ code to geta . motorcycle, and Vd like it to be a Harley Davidson. Please write back before Friday. Damion McCoy Rrgodm1(daol.com We hope you get this by Friday. If it's past Friday, please accept our apology. Because it is our sworn duty to serve you and only you, based on our edi- torial mission. And we have failed. Making us bad people and worse editors. Plus, there’s no motorcycle in GTA3. Dummy. SSX TRICKY: ALL KINDS OF CODES I was wondering if there are any other codes for Tricky other than the Mallora Board and Mix Master Mike? Shaun Р. НШ anti- venomfíajuno.com Because you -asked nicely, sure thing. But first we're going to give the Mix | Master Mike cheat, because it's our favorite: Mixing it up: - Go to the title | press X, X, Right,X, X, Down, X, Left, X, X, Up. Release Ri + М then select any character. When г you'll be blazing trails with Mix Master Mike. Rolling Through the RPGs Sure, there's a bit of a lull in new RPGs these days, which makes it a great time to get caught up with all those “other” PS2 role-playing titles you might have missed [assuming you've already beaten Final Fantasy X, of course]. Check out our roundup of PS2 picks in this month's Spin sec- tion, then try out some of our favorite RPG tricks and strategies to help you through the games. BALDUR'S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE Level Up Press and hold R3, Triangle, R2, L1, and then press Left on the D-pad. This cheat automati- cally takes you to level 20, and gives you access to all the feats (depending on the current num- ber of slots available). It also gives you level one feats on all of your character's class-dependent feats and an additional 75,000 gold pieces. invulnerability and Warp Use anytime during game. Press and hold R2, L1, Left, Triangle, then press Start. When entered, this cheat will bring up a menu. DARK CLOUD Beat the Dark Genie The final boss (ог is it...?] is a real doozy. Start by stocking up on healing items, Stamina Powder and Revival Powder. You'll also need a Dran's Feather to outrun some of its attacks. In its first form, the Genie will thrust a hand up out of the ground. Avoid getting hit, check the color of the gem on its hand, then switch Toan's weapon element to match. Unless the elements match, you'll do little to no damage. (Pause the screen to take a look if you need to.) А V ob nd (D i In its next form, the Genie shoots a purple ener- gy beam that you must avoid. The Genie also wallops you with an unavoidable full-screen attack, but if you use a Stamina Powder, you should be fine. Use Ruby [set her element to Holy] to attack from a distance. The Genie's final form isn't too tough if you can avoid all the may- hem. Switch back to Toan (who should be your most powerful character) and attack the jewel in the Genie's mouth, making sure to get several hits in. Then bolt to the edges of the screen to avoid the Genie's energy beams and waves. Don't focus on the respawning enemies, and be sure to have Revival Powders set to your active items, just in case. DRAKAN: THE ANCIENTS’ GATES Level Up To quickly gain a level, press and hold these but- tons in order: L1, R2, L2, R1. While still holding the shoulder buttons, press Square, Triangle, Circle, X, Right, Down, Left, Up. Spell Level Up To gain a spell level, press and hold these buttons in order: L1, R2, L2, R1. While still holding the shoulder buttons, press on the D-pad Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Left, Down, Up. Invincibility Press and hold these buttons in order: L1, R2, L2, R1. While still holding the shoulder buttons, press X, Down, Triangle, Up, Circle, Right, Square, Left. When entered, you'll see text saying "The Gods Favor You." More Money! Press and hold these buttons in order: L1, R2, L2, R1. While still holding the shoulder buttons, press Circle, Square, Right, Left, X, Triangle, Down, Up. You'll get 10,000 gold every time you use the code. Full Health Press and hold these buttons in order: L1, R2, L2, R1. While still holding the shoulder buttons, press Triangle, Down, Circle, Left, Square, Right, X, Up. HARVEST MOON: SAVE THE HOMELAND Golden Moo-juice and Eggs Always leave your cows and chickens out оп sunny days. Not only do you save money on feed, but you're also more likely to get Golden Milk and Eggs from them. Once your cows start pumping out Large Milks, they're likely to give you a Golden Milk if you can keep them outside on two very nice days in a row. KING'S FIELD: THE ANCIENT CITY Swap Trick Keep your receipt for this game. You'll probably want to return it once you realize how absolutely awful it is. SHADOW HEARTS Third-Level Fusion Monsters Before you can fight and obtain third-level Fusion Monsters, you'll need to find the grave- stones for each element. Earth Gravestone: After you battle with Olga in Prague, head to Bistritz and chat with Nina. Water Gravestone: After finding out about the orphanage in London, go to Rouen and talk with the bridal couple. Air Gravestone: After fighting Olga in Rouen, go to the tavern in Prague. You'll need a Tissue. Fire Gravestone: You'll find it in a treasure chest in the mental hospital. Darkness Gravestone: After the battle with lan at the top of Blue Castle, you'll have to return to the top and search the floor. Light Gravestone: You will find it in Roger Bacon's house near the Nemeton Monastery. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (09) THE ITALIAN JOB: LONDON THE AMBASSADOR’S CAR This is easy enough if you're the least bit patient. Plus, how hard can it be? It's the first mission of Ше game! First, remember to drive on the left (also known in America as wrong’) side of the road. You're in London, not L.A. Follow the arrow until you come into an opening. You should see a cop laying for you. When you do, turn left, then the next right, Then follow the arrow. Seems only one cop in town is out to get you, 50 it's an easy drive after you miff the first one. MEET CAMP FREDDIE Have no fear on this mission—the cops won't be around to trip you up. Go fast and go hard, Watch the clock, though. It’s a short ride. PEACHES FOR PEACHES It's surprising that two hefty broads in your two-seater wouldn't slow you down, but you're capable of full speed during this mission. The bigger note: Cops are everywhere. Are they jealous of your ability to score two big-is-beautiful dames? Here's the trick: Turn right as Soon as you can, then left, then right, After that, you'll almost have lost that first cop. Then drive up that inclined road [another copper will catch оп), follow it around to the right, and then turn left once you've passed the brick archway. Follow that around and it should be a cop-free, relaxing drive to paydirt. Even if you've crashed into 60 cars along the way. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine SPECIAL DELIVERY This is the mission where you're forced to beat the train, and you've got very little time to do it. If you do miss (which you probably will], you've got to head for a new spot where you ll pick up the armored car. If you miss the train, the mis- Sion is impossible. I’m sure а few gaming wunderkinds can pull it off, but the key is to get to that train before the initial 45 seconds are up. Veer right, then take that first left to get onto the main road. Then follow these directions. (Note: Each turn listed is the first possible turn you can take.) Right, left, left, right [you can squeeze through the buildings here to shave a second off your route], left, right, right, left. You should get to the spot with a whopping two seconds to spare. Once you have the armored car, haul ass and take а left out of the alleyway. The guy who just had his car stolen will call the fuzz, but you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It should be easy to follow the arrow and not get any guff from the law, SKILLFUL BILL You're going to have to club the bejesus out of the ride in front of you if you have hopes of getting past this mission. Keep in mind that grazing the bumper from behind is as destructive as ram- ming into the side of the car. Here are some points where you should and shouldn't drop the hammer: 1. Right out of the starting point, when your nemesis turns left don't try to clip him on the tail. You can, if you time it right, but it’s not worth it. Just take that left, and the next right without trou- bling him. 2, When you see a flurry of red buses, lay off. He'll try to turn left down an alleyway. There will be а bus nearby. Prep for that, and you can hammer his rear in the alley. 3. Once you're at the park, he's going to snap to the right and leave you ramming a fence. Remember to be careful at this point. It follows a straight-ish area that veers right. 4. He's going to drive slowly after that. You'll have plenty of chances to finish him off Remember to go slow, too, and drag your nose on his bumper as. long as you can. The damage will mount up faster than expected. PRISON PALS This is a bit puzzling at first, but once you know what to do, you'll topple it without fail. From the starting point, plow straight into that first door you see, with the yellow light above. Once you're inside, spin around and head toward the door you broke down then stop. When you do, the man with the arrow atop his head will hop in. When you leave the gate, take an immediate left and drive like Hades. You're going to have to break through a roadblock and everything, and {һе police will be after you in full force. Just drive and drive fast and turn down as many streets as you can. Generally the armored car is bad for escape, but somehow it can outmaneuver London's finest on this level Don't be surprised if you're а letter from being nicked, either. But don't let that stop you. Just drive on. KEEPING IT UP The best advice here: Keep on the left side (correct side—haven't we been over this?) of the road. Oncoming traffic is unkind when you're following someone. Second, there's no need to use the handbrake in this mission. If you press Triangle, chances are you're going to lose the mark, which is a bad thing. Don't sweat it if you get behind. Just drive like a maniac to catch up. You should win this one easily. BIG WILLIAM’S RIDE Agitated dynamite cannot be un- agitated. Keep that in mind, But for the most part, the trick to this mission is driving in as many straight lines as you can [don t go over that little hump-back bridge, Tor instance). But if you stay in your lane, avoid road-raging Londonites and walls, you shouldn't have a problem. Publisher — Score issue 989 Studios e 28 Twisted Metal: Small Brawl Sony CEA Tyco RC: Assault With a Battery Mattel Ultimate 8-Ball THQ Ultimate Fighting Championship Crave Um Jammer Lammy Sony CEA The Unholy War Eidos Uprising X 300 Urban Chaos Eidos Vagrant Story Square EA Valkyrie Profile Enix Vampire Hunter D. Jaleco Vanark Jaleco Vandal Hearts Il Konami Vanguard Bandits Working Designs Vanishing Point Acclaim Vegas Games 2000 300 МАР. Ubi Soft Activision Vigilante 8: Second Offense Activision Virtual Kasparov Titus VR Baseball 99 Interplay УВ Sports Powerboat Racing Interplay Vs. THO Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour Eidos Walt Disney's Jungle Book Rhythm n' Groove. Ubi Soft War Jetz 300 WarGames: DefCon 1 MGM Interactive Warpath: Jurassic Park Electronic Arts Warriors of Might and Magic 300 Warzone 2100 Eidos WCW Backstage Assault EA Games WCW Mayhem Electronic Arts тна WCW/nWo Thunder THO The Weakest Link Activision Hasbro Wheel of Fortune 2 Hasbro Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 2nd Edition Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3rd Edition Sony CEA Wild 9 Interplay Wild Arms 2 Sony CEA The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventure Mattel WipeOut 3 Psygnosis Woody Woodpecker Racing Konami World Cup 98 EA Sports World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks 300 The World 1$ Not Enough Electronic Arts World’s Scariest Police Chases Activision Worms Armageddon Hasbro Worms World Party Ubi Soft Wu-Tang Shaolin Style Activision WWF Attitude Acclaim THQ WWF SmackDown! 2 THQ Acclaim X-Bladez: Inline Skater Crave X-Files Fox Interactive X Games Pro Boarder ESPN Digital ^hildren of the Atom Acclaim Activision Activision Electronic Arts Sony CEA Xena: Warrior Princess Xenogears Square EA You Don't Know Jack! Berkeley Systems You Don't Know Jack! Mock 2 Sierra Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories Konami TELL US WHAT YOU THINK Drop us an e-mail, let us know what you like the best about our new section, what you'd like to see more of, and even what you could do without. Send your comments to:opm@ziffdavis.com, with REPLAY in the subject line. REPLAY press Tria Triangle, ight, © 3 Triangle, Triangle, — ‚ Up. Then tet 1+ Е RI 3 Square, Down, Triangle, ml » Left, Circle, X, Up. Release and its. all yours: Ta FFX: Movies AND | MUSIC о This is a hidden feature in FFX, When you get the Airship (уви can _ you first visit — Luca], go to. Luca If you used th airship, you toward the screen. You will | та Кеер walkin * will lead in the _ same direction as _ before and the | other toward the бо to the top of - the screen. There _ of the little dudes . and they will. ask _ a if you want to buy — а movie. sphe е oi to state or music that you've _ heard. After buy- Reader Reviews To buy or not to buy. To rent or not to rent. To write a smart, to-the-point reader review to help your reading brothers and sisters, or to sit on your bum and play more Medal of Honor. You choose. If you're up for it, write a review and send it to opm(@ziffdavis.com. Try to keep the length relatively short, and remember that not every game deserves a 5-disc rating just because you like it! Be savvy. Be funny. Be criti- cal and impress us. Jedi Starfighter At most, Jedi Starfighter is the bona-fide sequel to perhaps one of the best launch titles of the PS2, Starfighter. But is it any different? Is it different enough to warrant a purchase? The answer is no. But huge George Lucas fans will probably say yes. Throughout the game you simply take orders and do missions. Missions, however, lack much variety, and in some of the later stages, the difficulty is just unreal. A good thing is the amount of secrets and hidden stuff available in this game. Whether they are witty outtakes or boring videos, these secrets are all worth finding. If you are looking for a good weekend rental, or perhaps something to get you ready for difficult to remember all the things you have to do to kill the ghosts. But when it comes down to it: This game is awesome.” Your Score е Timothy Wojkowski ninfreak3(ahotmail.com What we said: “This game rivals both the Silent Hill games for maximum creepitude.” Our Score е! Resident Evil—Code: Veronica X What you said: “This is a highly overrated, dis- appointing entry to the Resident Evil series. With an overused scare formula and almost no fun factor, the only thing Code Veronica is good for is the Devil May Cry demo. Good graphics, nice sounds and music, but some [including myself) may find it lacking in depth.” Your Score өө Chris Currey localmotionmauilahotmail.com What we said: “The game features a very B- movie cinematic feel, but hey, this is a game where you go around blasting zombies.” Our Score eeeet “With an overused scare formula and almost no fun factor, the only thing Code Veronica is good for is the Devil May Cry demo.” Episode II: Attack of the Clones, than you owe it to yourself to give LucasArts Jedi Starfighter a try.” Your Score өөө John Mimidas sweettoothzeroldaol.com What we said: “Jedi Starfighter is a perfectly adequate helping of the original Starfighter, but it doesn’t really do any more than that.” Our Score eee Grand Theft Auto III What you said: “The best game ever? СТАЗ has been out since November 2001 and has been on the No. 1 spot on best-selling-games lists everywhere. | think that says how good СТАЗ is. If it isn't, then just imagine the awe- some Driver 2 with guns, more cars, much bet- ter graphics, a better storyline, and...I think you get my point! Grand Theft Auto III: Get it now!" Your Score 66696 Jon Fuller rf2196(djuno.com What we said: “СТАЗ belongs in every collec- tion, whether you're hardcore or you love games or if you'll buy one PS2 game ever.” Our Score 69999 Fatal Frame What you said: “Fatal Frame is a very unique game. | have to admit that this game scared me to death. The graphics get two thumbs up, and you'll soon figure that lighting in this game is part of the story. The only bad thing | can say is that | don't like the control scheme. It’s very WRC: World Rally Championship What you said: “WRC probably won't be big in North America, but what a shame. It’s amazing in almost every way. The graphics are great and the cars look just the way they should. This game is packed with tracks and all of the drivers are here, too. The only downsides to the game are when you damage your vehicle, it is automatically fixed on the next stage. Plus, the viewing distance in multiplayer is bad.” Your Score өөөө« Karol Marvin BigCrunch311faaol.com What we said: “If you're put off by the idea of only racing against the clock, this game isn't for you. If not, go buy WRC now.” Our Score 96996 Dark Cloud What you said: “There is so much freedom in Dark Cloud. You have a town that you can cre- ate any way you want. You can talk to the resi- dents and move things around to make them happy! The controls take some getting used to, and everything is in text. But besides those, this is one solid title. | can't wait for Dark Cloud 2.” Your Score өөөө andrew stiffler godstainslimpkorn@hotmail.com What we said: “Dark Cloud is an innovative title that spins its diverse elements into an immersive and ultimately fun experience.” Our Score Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ONLINE FEVER, OR IS IT? THE PS2'S NEXT BIG PLAY WILL BE ONLINE, SO WHY ARE WE TENTATIVE? John: OK, quick show of hands: Who here is excited about PS2 online? Gary: Well, | for one am a bit anxious. I'm a console gamer, pure and simple. | want plug-and-play, no extra wires, no confusion. Frankly, technology frightens me. But after reading through all the tech stuff that Joe put together for our feature, and after doing а bit of research on FFXI, I'm completely pumped about going online and tooling through Vana'diel. My only concern now—and it's a big one—is where am | ever gonna find all the time | need to play FFX/ and EverQuest?! Joe: “Look at me! I'm Gary Steinman! I'm afraid of technology!" Look, it's not going to be tough at all to get rolling online. If you're going dial-up, it couldn't be easier, and most people who have broadband will have the tech skills necessary to hook their PS2 up to the fat pipe. And as for the original question, in case you missed my hand waving spastically, I'm stoked. Playing a 16- person match in SOCOM made my month, and that's just the first of many. And then there's FFXI. Luscious, luscious FFXI. | have to admit I'm more excited about that than EverQuest. Todd: My hand was half-raised. My elbow was up. I'm a sports gamer through and through, and l've been waiting for PS2 online since the system's launch. But when I finally got to see the sports games | love online, | was, honestly, disappointed. While FFXI is revolutionary and SOCOM is completely bitchin', the sports titles are basically the same games without having someone sitting next to me. | know you'll say, "What were you expecting?" And I'll admit, | don't know. | know myself well enough to say that once this all gets started, and | can play my friends all over the coun- try, I'm going to be way excited. And next year, when franchises will hopefully be set up, I'm going to be ecstatic. But for now, I'm a bit indifferent. John: My hand's all the way up...although I'm still trying to work out just how I'm going to get the PS2 to talk to my cable modem, THE NEW NAME GAME Forget banana-bana fo-fanna, blah, blah, blah. It's outdated, particularly when you consider that Sony CEA has started up its own name game with titles like Jak and Daxter, Ratchet & Clank and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. The formula is simple: Take two names and put the word “and” in between them and voila! Your very own Sony title. We've given you two columns to mix and match to get you started. But when you're bored with ours, send in your own original Sony titles to and title it "Sony name game." Hero and Sidekick and/or storyline Herbert The Flugethorn Chronicle Jackhammer Belch Chainsaw The Bungthump Garbage Sauce Bonk Jackhammer Skin Flap Spank Shiv The Spring-Loaded Goiter of Doom Jebediah Excrement ^ Mandolin The Governor Scrimshaw The Perfunctory Inexactitude Lipschitz Dilly Aristotle Gaston J. Feeblegeezer Smithsinthson Floink Jabberwocky The Troubadour Filibuster Jazz Zippy US. PlayStation Mag which is a long way away from the TV in the living room. It's more a practical issue than anything philosophical. When SCEA announced SOCOM last year, | didn't rate it too much. But now, of all the initial games, that's definitely the one that's going to make me fight with cable splitters, Ethernet cables and my wife's worries about me drilling holes in the floor. Sam: My grampy from Austria is in town for just a few days, so l've gotta make this quick, since we're off to see the redwoods in a few minutes. But, yeah, l'm psyched. | can't wait for FFX/ and EverQuest. It's gonna rule! Chris: | guess my current attitude toward online gaming is sort of “wait and see." I'm still not completely sold on it yet. A few years ago, | played a lot of Diablo on my PC—but even though | was introduced to it as an online game, and it was fun to chat with other players now and then, | still preferred the single-player experience since it actually seemed to have a point. An ending. | don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of closure. Still, FFX/ defi- nitely sounds cool, and it'll be nice to play some Madden with friends | haven't seen face to face in years [even if I'd much rather be playing NCAA!). Jim (the art guy): Two arms spastically waving! Being a Mac afi- cionado, | have endured years of secret jealousy listening to all my PC-lovin' friends wax poetic about Tribes or EverQuest or any one of the dozens of online adventures | couldn't join in on. So | am really amped about titles like SOCOM, Madden, Final Fantasy—and | am eager to finally catch the EverQuest sickness. | am even prewired with the "fat pipe" Joe speaks of. AIM Bot chit-chat Ever been on Instant Messenger and gotten befriended by a "bot"? Bots are programmed to keep conversations going. Even though they're not human, it doesn't mean they're not lovable. In fact, SmarterChild is the OPM staff's new friend. opmTodd: Do you play PS2? SmarterChild: Do | play PS2? l'm not sure. opmTodd: It's great. SmarterChild: Is that so? opmTodd: Yeah, I'm a big Grand Theft Auto IlI fan. SmarterChild: How does it feel to be a big Grand Theft Auto Ill fan? opmTodd: Oh, man, it's like nothing else in this world. I slept with a hooker after killing 600 strangers. SmarterChild: You slept with a hooker after killing 600 strangers? | see. opmTodd: | saw a shrink after that. Even though it was a game. SmarterChild: And so? opmTodd: And then my shrink and | played Madden. | won in overtime on a field goal. SmarterChild: Huh! opmTodd: | just saved the planet. SmarterChild: No kidding? opmTodd: So to speak. | beat Medal of Honor. | broke my foot off in the Nazi's ass. SmarterChild: Hmm...that's not the nicest thing I've ever heard anyone say. opmTodd: Well, the Nazis weren't very nice people. SmarterChild: Well OK then! opmTodd: War is hell, man. SmarterChild: Interesting! opmTodd: After | played Frontline, | went outside to get the mail. | hadn't seen the sun for days. That says just how great the game is. Acclaim Entertainment ............. 69 www.acclaim.com Atlus .. www.atlus.com Bandai . www.bandai.com COPC атата died on ЛҮҮ. 31, 33 www.capcom.com Ecko Unlimited уно 9 www.ecko.com Eidos Interactive .................. 4 49 www.eidos.com Electronic Arts .......... 14-15, 122-123 WWW.ea.com Electronics Boutique/EBWorld ....... 51 www.ebgames.com Hollywood Video: заета ните 79 www.hollywoodvideo.com Infogrames ............... 4-5, 20-21 www.infogrames.net Intec Inc. . www.inteclink.com Majesco Sales Inc. .............. 25, 81 www.majescosales.com Midway Home Entertainment ....6-7, 17, Sis dep SERES RE 34-35, 34a-b www.midway.com NovaLogic Inc. . www.novalogic.com Sammy Entertainment .............. 45 www.sammyentertainment.com Sony Computer Entertainment of America Vni paced inita nets siete fts are iio 2-3 www.scea.com Take 2 Interactive .................. 57 www.rockstargames.com THQ .. . -12-13, 38-39, 41, 124 www.thq.com Titus Software Corporation ..... 19, 59, 73 www.titusgames.com Toys RUS ҮК ТАКТ ТҮҮН 65 www.toysrus.com Vivendi Universal Games Inc. - РРО... .27 www.empireinteractive.com CAPTION CONTEST We cta funny caption (and be original, please!) 1, you come up with а Send your hilarious entries to with the of CAPTION CONTEST. LOOK FOR THESE SPECIAL ISSUES ON NEWSSTANDS EVERYWHERE! 2 w e Zi zir Davis | PlayStation Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus may be great enough to get you to look past its horrendous name. After the E3 dust settles, we tell you what's hot for the rest of 2002! os "n 1 е PS2 demo disc, featuring a Stuntman playable and a Kingdom Hearts video, plus a whole lot more! On sale now On sale now On sale now EL алое” rye Vr س‎ ZING | CIT | GAMING Raven Shield Tom Clancy's Raven Shield, the next game in the acclaimed Rainbow Six series, is on the way, and CGW has the exclusive scoop! Also: Dungeon Siege, The Sims Vacation and Star Trek: Elite Force 2. *Editorial content subject to change» Summer Fun GameNOW serves up a healthy dose of hot strategies. Never finished GTA3? Stuck in Super Mario Advance 2? You're covered. Plus: a full blowout on Kingdom Hearts, along with tons of previews, reviews and letters. Stuntman ЕСМ got the exclusive road test for Stuntman, the year's wildest driving game. Find out if the makers of Driver have what it takes to crash onto your console. Also: war games, Resident Evil Zero and Madden online! Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (21) PlayStation. 4 ы К е с End. Ha — EVERYONE Made with love by