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FIRST REVIEW AND PLAYABLE DEMO!
MAGAZINE
THE MAKERS OF TWISTED METAL: BLACK GO APE!
IMITATIONS AWESOME! T
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SHPLENDID! E WAR OF THE MONSTERS
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© 2002 New Line Productions, Inc. The Lord of The Rings and the characters, names, and places therein, TM The SauliZaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. All RightsReserved. Electronic Arts, EA GAMES, the EA GAMES logo and. Challenge Everything" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft,Xbox and the Xbox logos are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S.and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. TM, &, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trade- marks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. All other trademarks аге the property of their respective owners. EA GAMES" is an Electronic Arts™ brand.
Blood Violence
Now AVAILABLE ON
THE
ORDÆRING
4 THE TWOSROWERS ^.
SU 7 1 з, ano
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® PlayStation.2 JOIN THE ADVENTURE AT lordoftherings.ea.com Challenge Everything™
© 2002 BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION, Licensed by FUNimation Productions,
Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Dragon Ball Z and all logos, character names and 3i stinctive Animated likenesses thereof are trademarks of TOEI ANIMATION. “PlayStation” anc; the “PS” Blood and Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Y: ve ratings Violence icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. © 2002 tesfogrames Inc. All Rights Reserved. Manufactured and marketed by Infogrames, Inc. , Hew York, NY. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respectives: owners.
PlayStation.2
www.playstationmagazine.com
9 Reasons Why Congar Loves War of the Monsters, and Why You Should Too
. You can be a big, hairy monster, like me, and run around beating the crap out of stuff.
. You can pick up cars and hit people with them. Congar smash!
. Smashing up buildings is fun, especially when you use your oppo- nents instead of scenery. | did it to John, and now I have his job.
. My buddy Ultra V, the big Japanese robot, is cool. He has a rocket pack, laser eyes, and a stretchy chain thing that can grab his opponents. | can still kick his ass, though.
. It was made by the nice people who made Twisted Metal: Black.
. Unlike other fighting games, punch-ups in War of the Monsters can take over an hour to complete. Especially if you're evenly matched. If you're fighting me, though, I'll kick your ass very quickly.
. Explosions are cool. War of the Monsters is full of them.
. The Official PlayStation Magazine gave it five out of five.
. The Official PlayStation Magazine has an exclusive playable demo this issue.
. Because Congar says so!
Congar, Acting Editor-in-Chief
ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS
ZOE FLOWER i DAVID KUSHNER She writes, plays video- Another NY-based writer, games, makes TV shows, David spins yarns for
and has a sheepskin coat Rolling Stone,
to keep her warm. She Entertainment Weekly, and produces rock videos, Spin. He's basically written designs Web sites, and is for everyone. This month a member of the Fashion he investigates what we've Police. That's what she been wondering about for tells us, anyway. a long while: why games WWW. wer. are good for you.
PENNY ARCADE We laugh, we cry, then we start laughing again until we pass out. All because of those witty chums at Penny Arcade. But as much good stuff as they have in our magazine, the racy stuff resides at their website. Don't miss it.
KOZYNDAN
See that brilliant openi spread on the War of the Monsters feature? That's kozyndan, two L.A. based illustrators who give you many, many good things.
More of their work can be found at their website: www:kozyndan.com Smile!
EVERYONE
Video Games Have Ratings, Just Like Movies
The Entertainment Software ELS ESRBBESRBS
ADULTS ONLY [o
‘CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
. EARLY EVERYONE TEEN MATURE ADULTS ONLY Rating Board provides infor- снррнооо RATING RATING RATING RATING mation about videogame RATING The Е replaced Contains These games Тһе extreme ^ Deemed the previous suggestive contain more of the ratings, content. ESRB ratings аге арек КАНО themes; mild adult themes, suitable intended as guidelines only; children 3 last year. or strong such as blood for adults only. or older. Suitable for language; and gore; Packs sexual parents should still monitor poe kids ages ‘and animated | stronger themes and minors’ purchases. carrying this ê and up, violence. language; extreme label have E-rated games Some parents and 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. AO-rated game. by parents. games.
ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA
THE MONSTERS THAT CREATED THIS MAGAZINE Editor-In-Chief Congar
Killer Tomato Head Gary Steinman
MegaVol Chris Baker
Godzooki Sam Kennedy
Collosodome Joe Rybicki
Talkasaur Todd Zuniga
Rumungo Clish MacLaver
Invoicicons Shane Bettenhausen, Zoe Flower, Kristina Grish, Ravi Hiranand, Karen Jones, David Kushner, Christian Nutt, John Scalzi, Scott Steinberg Japanese Ultra Mechabot Yutaka Ohbuchi
Eurozoid Axel Strohm
DESIGN MECHS
Quattro-Oculon Bob Conlon
‘Super Ninja Battlenaut Jason “Buckshot” Babler Atina The Huynh Tina Huynh
lllustraticons Mitch Greenblatt, Penny Arcade, Mike Reisel, Arnold Tiosejo
COPYBOTS Mecha Wordzilla Kristen Salvatore Her Minions Tom Edwards, Greg Ford
PRODUCTION
The Purple People Eater Carlos Lugo
Senior Deadlinasaur Anne Marie Miguel Assistant Deadlinasaur Teresa Newson Double-barreled Deadlinasaur Michele Kellogg- Manousos
70 GAME GROUP
Senior Vice President Dale Strang Editorial Director John Davison Creative Director Simon Cox Business Director Cathy Bendoff
CIRCULATION
Group Circulation Director Tracy Schultz
‘Single Copy Sales Director Bob Kerekes
‘Senior Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen Internet and Partnership Marketing Dir. Chris Wilkes
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ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA INC. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Callahan
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iblished monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, МҮ 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, NY 10016 and additional mailing offices. Single-issue rate: $8.99. Subscription Rates: One Year (12 We periodically make lists of our customers available to mailers of goods and services. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please write to us and include a copy of your mailing label. POSTMASTER: Send ion Magazine, P.O. Box 55362, Boulder, CO 80322-5362. For Subscription Service Inquiries call us at; 800.627.6458 U.S. and Canada, or [303] 604-7445 all other countries. Fax us: 850.683.4094 U.S. and Canada, or 303.604.0518 all other coun- at http-//service.playstationma: ‘огл, The editors and publishers are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, по part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or intro- duced into a п system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise] without the prior written notice of Ziff Davis Media Inc. Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, For permission to reuse material in this publication or оп wwwrplaystationmagazine.com, or to use our logo, contact Ziff Davis Media's Rights and Permissions Manager: Olga Gonopolsky, Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, NY 10016, Tel: 212-503-5438. Fax: 212 503-5420. E-mail: olga_gonopolsky@ziffdavis.com. For reprints, contact Reprint Management Services [RMS] at (800) 290-5460 ог (717) 399-1900, or on the Web at www.reprintbuyer.com. ТМ & © for all other products and the characters contained there- in are owned by the respective trademark and copyright holders. All materials in this magazine are subject to change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed in the USA.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine [IS issues and 12 demo discs} $49.97 U. address changes to Offical U.S. Pla tries. Or visit our subscription
SN 41094-6683]
HOW TO BE A BETTER
сте.
USE COMMON SENSE
Anything claiming to be free has GAME YOUR WAY AT BLOCKBUSTER® to be a sure thing. Unlike your last Rent and buy games and systems. BLOCKBUSTER is all date, this one is for real.
about gamers now. Big new game section. Tons of copies, guaranteed to be there. And you can buy previously-played games for next to nothin'. Need we say more?
осени MAA BLOCKBUSTER oe ion D t na де tena
‘© 2003 Blockbuster Inc, All rights reserved. j 5610PX00038
EVERYTHING EXPIRES Open your fridge and take a big fat whiff of your milk. Nothing lasts TRIMHERE
f r. et your in’. Rip it, tear it, or м pull it out. Whatever
you do, DON'T run KNOW YOUR CODES with scissors. Open all levels with this cheat? Maybe. If not, try dialin’ it. You might just get yourself a date.
pLocKBuSTER
RENT. BUY. GAME YOUR WAY.”
See your participating BLOCKBUSTER store for complete details on previously-played games and our "Guaranteed In Stock" offer on select game titles for rent. BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster Inc. © 2003 Blockbuster Inc. All rights reserved.
O f. 722)
PAN
REGULAR BITS
13 DEMO DISC
How did we pull this off? SOCOM, War of the Monsters, Shinobi, and The Getaway, all in one place
You send us letters, we print your letters. Because we care. Here's the address: opm(aziffdavis.com.
32 SPIN
Why games are good for you, what peripherals you should or shouldn't buy, and nine RPGs for 2003
142 REPLAY
You've been waiting for GTA: Vice City, but have you found the coolest stuff? This is a start
162 P.S.
What if your favorite gaming char- acter had let themselves go? Find out, then take the PSAT!
PREVIEWS
90 All-Star Baseball 2004 88 Alter Echo 90 ATV: Quad Power Racing 2 92 BattleBots 100 Black & Bruised 104 Chaos Legion Crushed Baseball Dead to Rights Def Jam: Vendetta Devil May Cry 2 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Dynasty Warriors 3: XL 102 EverBlue 2 84 EverQuest Online Adv. 94 Evolution Snowboarding 98 The Getaway 96 Galerians: Ash 100 Gladius 98 Ice Nine 92 Indiana Jones 88 The King of Route 66
Take a monster, any monster, and then kick the crud out of another monster. Let the crum- bling begin!
LEER DER ўца Ш
| PlayStation
102 Legends of Wrestling II 104 Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter 98 Midnight Club 2
95 МВА Street Vol. 2
104 Nobunaga Online
92 Orchid
98 Pride FC
102 Resident Evil: Survivor 4 96 5М5 Pro Wakeboarder
94 The Sims
94 World Series Baseball 2K3
N
SPIN
32
34
36
38
40
48
50
52 60 62 68
74 76 78
The GTA Effect
Rockstar's СТА: Vice City is breaking records, breaking the rules, and making people think about the games industry in a new light.
Zoe's World
Busta Move Hip-hop superstar Busta Rhymes talks about his role in NBA Live.
Where's Frodo?
EA tells us why it decided on its playable characters for The Two Towers, plus news on future games.
Peripheral Supertest Read this before you even think about plugging stuff into your PS2
Atari Has the Ballz
The people behind Dragon Ball Z: Budokai tell us why this game is gonna knock DBZ Тап socks off.
Resident Evil Online New details on Capcom's highly anticipated online adventure.
Top 9 RPGs for 2003
Exactly what it sounds like. BMX XXX Censored
Videogames Are Good for You Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
Lara Is Late
Why is The Angel of Darkness taking so long? Eidos spills the beans. CD Reviews
DVD Reviews
Top 10 Charts
REPLAY
144 СТА: Vice City
It's time to find the coolest stuff in Vice City.
148 LOTR: The Two Towers
Middle-earth is no place to be without boss-beating strategies.
150 Shinobi
152
If you're going to putz around asa ninja, you best do it right.
TimeSplitters 2 There are minigames and then there are cartridges.
154 Tony Hawk 4
157
Who is Atiba Jefferson? We know.
Hitman 2
REVIEWS
PS2 Games 120 Activision Anthology 120 ATV Offroad Fury 2 126 Contra: Shattered Soldier 120 Disney's Treasure Planet 120 Drome Racers 124 Fighter Maker 2 124 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 124 Haven: Call of the King 128 Hot Wheels: Velocity X 130 James Bond 007: Nightfire 131 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance 128 Mystic Heroes 129 NCAA College Basketball 2K3 138 NCAA Final Four 2003 138 NCAA March Madness 2003 134 NHL 2K3 134 NHL FaceOff 2003 128 Rally Fusion:
Race of Champions 130 Rocky 137 Rygar: The Legendary Adventure 131 Shrek Super Party 132 The Simpsons Skateboarding 132 Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly 122 Star Wars Bounty Hunter 132 V-Rally 3 118 War of the Monsters 136 WWE SmackDown!
Shut Your Mouth 136 X-Men: Next Dimension 136 Zapper
ON THE DISC
PLAYABLES:
SOCOM: U.S, Navy SEALs War of the Monsters
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Burnout 2: Point of Impact Shinobi
Legaia 2: Duel Saga Minority Report
Haven: Call of the King Reign of Fire
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003
VIDEOS: The Getaway
BEHIND THE SCENES: Ratchet & Clank—The Weapons Jet X20
COOL MOVES: The Mark of Kri Freekstyle
DOWNLOADS: Dynasty Warriors 3 Men In Black Il: Alien Escape
PSI Games
139 Aces of the Air
139 Austin Powers Pinball
140 Disney's Treasure Planet
140 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
140 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
АЛА
v. К, jing compleme
” їз a 00о4бате As etter than
E Sud aure
дей lip implants." de ЕЗ S
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 Q&A 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
DISC PROBLEMS?
Did you buy а copy of our magazine that did not contain a the SCEA product. You must call 1800 245 ЗОНУ to demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement services. OPM Ri Disc to the address below withthe
тате ye plus your phone number This warranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if
and address and wel send you the disc. Make sure you h month the corresponding disc belongs to in ие you get the right one.
Also if you have a malfunctioning or nom working demo dise, call SCEA at 1800-345-SONY. They will provide instructions to obtain repair or replacement services.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official US. PlayStation Maga he demo дес included is fre from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to ether repair or replace, at its option,
the defect 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 MERCHANTABILI 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 andor exclusions or limitations 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 that vary from state to state.
ОРМ Demo Disc is published monthly by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc, 919 E. Hillsdale 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, (02002 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
Pick your favorite monster, and let the War begin. Then try kicking it old school with relaunches to the Shinobi and Rygar series.
SHINOBI
THE DETAILS:
It all begins with a cut- scene of Hotsuma and Moritsune battling it out. But then it's four years later and it's post-earth- quake Tokyo. Then you're off to fight stupidly named Hell Spawns.
SOCOM: U.S. NAVY
THE DETAILS:
You and your team have to bust into a mess of ruined temples in Thailand and get the ambassador to safety. Collect intelligence, then secure the ambassador and his lady friend.
HAVE YOU TRIED...
«locking on using R1? Hold down R1, then hit the Stealth Dash (Х] to get to the enemy, then attack with Square.
«pulling off “tate”? You can attack multiple ene- mies and receive a special killing animation. Hold down R1 the entire time, then hit the Stealth Dash (X) to get in striking range, then attack with Square. Repeat until all enemies on the screen are dead.
SEALs
HAVE YOU TRIED...
gettin’ stealthy with it? As long as the enemies that see you don't live, you're as good as stealthy. Check your rating on the Mission Stats screen to see just how stealthy you are, brotha.
„inverting your pitch? Hit Start, then go to Invert Pitch. Turn it to Off. It'll give you helicopter-style controls that are much easier for veteran and rook- ie FPS players alike.
BURNOUT 2: POINT OF IMPACT
THE DETAILS: From the makers of BMX PG-13 comes Burnout 2!
While there’s no gratu- itousness in this demo, you'll race around а track at breakneck speeds, with the chance for big crashes.
HAVE YOU TRIED...
„winning the race without using Boost? Nothing about this race is easy, but all of it's fun. Try racing the whole thing with skill and control and not speed. Lay off Boost (R1) for the whole race. «ramming a Greyhound wi going 150 mph? Recklessness in videogames is downright fun, but don't do this at home: Get your speed way up, line up with a bus and Boost, baby, Boost!
RYGAR: THE LEGENDARY ADVENTURE
THE DETAILS:
You're tossed right into a dark and dimly lit castle level and you've got noth- ing but your Diskarmor. You can trudge around th level breaking anything in sight. You can even learn. how to slide!
HAVE YOU TRIED.
-..attacking with Triangle? It's a more powerful attack that will result in a pre-swing spin. Problem is, it's directed at one creature at a time. Pressing X will let you hit two or three at once.
learning how to slide? It's ridiculous that a grown man who has perfected the use of Diskarmor can't slide, But you'll have to learn. бо up, up and find the gold statue, then break it. Now you can slide!
MINORITY REPORT
THE DETAILS:
You have access to two different levels: one is
а jetpack mission where you have to use subway routes to escape, the other has you trying to bust out of the hotel before getting beat down.
HAVE YOU TRIED.
..-blasting fools with the shotgun? Go through the hotel level, and when you have to fight the law, a few might drop the shotgun (sometimes they don't, sometimes they do). Then blast away.
...throwing up your dinner? In the hotel level you'll have to fight a bunch of guards carrying "sick sticks." Get hit by them and you'll throw up. Apparently һе was eating green slime for lunch.
LiFT YOUR THUMBS WITH PRIDE, FOR THEY SEPARATE MAN FROM BEAST.
Keep your thumbs happy. Play video games. Ge
ERGAMES on
AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY OUR GAMES
НЕРХЕНСТІПЛ.!!
COMMONWEALTH COUP
The Red Faction is using their entire arsenal in the latest attempt to overthrow
FROM THE AIR
The Red Faction customized Aesir is a maneuverable air assault vehicle equipped with optical zoom which allows for precise hits on enemy targets.
71 JA
E
Aesir Fighter 2.0 %
С
Drop Point 5:37am Troops assemble at the Sopot Harbor.
CIVILIAN UPRISING
After Sopot's forces withdrew from the main city, several Red Faction rebels raided Harbor Island and desecrated the symbolic statue of the dictator.
МАТОВЕ
Blood and боге Violence
For more up-to-the-minute coverage of the conflict, go to www.redfaction2.com
BREAKDOWN
О’ЕТАТ
he Dictator Sopot.
Public Information Building 6:05am Commonwealth Elite Guards attempt to fend off the attacking Faction soldiers.
Fires metal slugs that go through just about any targeting scope makes this weapon extremely
The Slums 6:22am Rebel soldiers continue to fight despite rumors of growing animosity between Faction leaders.
PlayStation.2
volition www.thg.com
Жж лы ч
|. WE ARE THE NATION'S. CHOSEN FEW.:
WE ARE SWIFT, SILENT, AND INVISIBLE.
WE WILLINQTSZNAIL OUR COUNTRY.:
WE WILL NOT FAIL EACH OTHER.
SQUAD ВАЮЕ BÀ T-IIEITIELSD COMBAT Command the Ghosts; и elite амаи ої specially-trained Green Berets, іп а deadly, realistic campaign waged on the war-torn battleiields oi tomorrow's headlines. Use cutting-edge gear and guns to lay waste to the enemy, or your multiplayer opponents. A total battlefield experience that only Tom Clancy and the makers of Rainbow Six can deliver.
MATURE
Blood and Gore Violence
XTomClaneys |
2. GAME OF THE YEAR
PlayStation.
NOW FOR NEXT-GENERATION CONSOLES
14
www.ghostrecon.com
Think you have what it takes to write the Letter of the Month? Send us your videogame expositions and you could win a Logitech cordless controller for your PlayStation 2.
Neat, huh?
CONTACT OPM
snail mail
OPM
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San Francisco, CA 94105
e-mail opm(dziffdavis.com and check usoutat www.playstation magazine.com
fax
If you need to reach us now 415.547.8777
Final Fantasy X-2 = Crapola?
| saw the article for the new Final Fantasy sequel, and just wanna say: “What a load of crapola.” No offense to you guys, of course. I've played the Final Fantasy series for years, and so far I've loved every minute of the 50-plus hours in each one.
It seems that Square wants to completely change the nice, respectful summoner and white- magic caster, Yuna, into a skimpy-clothed, pistol- toting Lara Croft wannabe. This is the complete reverse of the character; and if they want to make a sequel, the characters should stay at least a little like in the past games. Some of the other charac- ters—Rikku for example—would fit the Lara Croft wannabe description much better.
Andrew Jordan stiller7d(dhotmail.com
You raise an interesting point, Andrew, but we'll reserve such judgments until we actually see FFX-2. Who knows? Maybe it's just really hot outside.
What's With That Todd Guy?
| just picked up issue 63 of OPM, and | noticed something very strange. On page 164, there is a review of NHL 2003, and the reviewer of this game is Todd Zuniga, the same guy who reviewed last year's NHL 2002 in issue 50. Last year, when he reviewed it, he basically explained it to be his god of all hockey games available for the PS2. He said Contintued on page 23
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Letter 95 t
| play Grand Theft Auto IlI with my 3-year- old son. And my conscience is clear.
That's right. He loves it. Of course, уе set rules for myself on how to play it when he's around. For one, we can't just yank some innocent person outta their car and squeal off with it. Nope. Gotta walk around and find a parked one somewhere. So there’s a lot of “Now, where did daddy park the ca tuff going on. Kinda like life, imitating a Saturday trip to the mall, you know?
Two. No weapons. Where's the fun in that? Well, hey, what does a 3-year-old care about blowin’ heads off anyway? Sometimes, though, if one of the naughty pedestrians swears at us, I'll sock him in the mush, just ‘cause he needs to learn to watch his mouth.
Three. If the cops give chase, because l inadvertently run down a pedestrian ог some such, | pull the car over. His only thing, though, is that sometimes, he wants а new car—usually based on a color. “Get a yellow one, daddy.” So we gotta hoof it again. Not as easy as you'd think.
Мур —and yes, there is а point—is that this what the beauty of Grand Theft Auto is. It’s so freeform and so nonlinear that it doesn't have to be a bloodbath. It is what you make it. In short, it’s a game that truly is more than the sum of its parts.
Demonocus
GAMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT...
OPM's monthly roundup of hot topics, gathered from the OPM message board at gamers.com.
* GTA: VICE CITY—IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE? "Just curious if anyone's got anything else in their system," wonders djsexysherry. “I'm still working on Kingdom Hearts!"
“I'm not playing anything else," declares DatMonkey. “It's depressing to come on this board and see people so far ahead of you in the game!"
“I'm playing Xenogears,” confesses ladyluccia. “I'm way behind the times!"
inflameskev proves that the PS2 does more than play games: “Well, | have a Joe Satriani DVD in my PS2 right now, since Mister Mosquito turned out to be a very crappy rental.”
He's playing Vice City and a few others now, but punkboy68 claims, "| don't feel the ‘hunger’ to get into the game as much as | did with GTA3."
“I'm done with it for now,” says BadboyofSNL, who beat the game within mere days of buying it. “Unless someone posts something about a special secret for getting 100 percent...l'm done....”
* FIRST-PERSON SHOOTOUT
CyrusisCanadian wants to know what others think about Red Faction Il vs. TimeSplitters 2. "Which do you think is better?" he asks. Sixteen responses later, we have a winner: TS2 10, RF2 6.
* THE CENSORSHIP OF ВМХ ХХХ
After Forbidden Nyght posted an Internet story about Acclaim's censorship of BMX XXX for the PS2 [see page 60}, it sparked quite a few responses.
"| guess this is a good move," MageAuronX replies. "If all stores only sell the PS2 versions because they don't have the nudity and whatnot, then it actually might be pretty good."
In reference to a specific quote from the story in which Acclaim PR compares the дате to American Pie and Sex in the City, StealthMantis enthuses, "The exact same thing I've been saying all along! | even used the same movie example. Heh, | should be the PR guy for Acclaim."
Our old friend oralb808 adds this response: "These retailers are off their rockers. l'm more than certain that a trip to the Best Buy DVD sec- tion will produce more than just pixelated nipples. Hell, Best Buy even carries Playboy DVDs! Fools!"
“I wouldn't mind Acclaim's tactics if it wasn't for the fact that they simply put the naughty bits in to cover up for the lack of innovation," con- tributes SpideyBuddy. "And will putting naked breasts and bodies in the game make it better?"
JustinCredible1 begs to differ: "You're all probably going to call me а pervert, but | think that removing the nudity was a bad move. The only reason anyone was going to buy this game was for the nudity. | wasn't going to waste my money on it, but I'm sure there are a lot of pissed off gamers who had hopes of playing this game the way it was meant to be played. | hope | see less editing in the future, solasa gamer can have my freedom of choice. What's next? GTA without violence?”
MIDWAY
1T BEGINS НЯ я DREAM. THEN IT GETS REA È; HAVEN! CALL OF THE KING
DELIVERS HN EPIC EXPERIENCE OF MULTIPLE GAMEFLEAY STYLES SEAMLESSLY BLENDED TOGETHER IN A MASSIVE UNIVERSE.
YOU MUST FIGHT TO SAVE YOUR PEOPLE FROM AN ANCIENT ЕУІ. DRAW UPON EVERYTHING YOU'VE EVER LEARNED TO FIND THE HERO WITHIN AND ANSWER THE енгі OF THE SING TO FREE Your PEOPLE FROM THE TYRANNY
OF ENSLAVEMENT:
HAVEN! CALL OF THE KING'S FREEFORMER GAMEPLAY MOVES SEAMLESSLY BETWEEN RACING, SHOOTING, FLYING, GLIDING, BOATING AND DOG-FIGHTING GAMEPLAY IN Я SEEMINGLY BOUNDLESS UNIVERSE!
TEEN Fall 2002 Coming 2003 Mild Violence қ G " m к” T To PlayStation.2 hu a GAMEBOY ADVANCE НАМЕП
HAVEN:MIDWAY: COM
COMMANDO UNIT ON THE PLANET. |
"is
NEONIZER'S MOST WANTED 1. True Crime to add to the СТА hype.
2. A baseball game that makes you happy when you win the World Series after a grueling 162 games
3. Online games that are easy to hook up, and don't disconnect 4. Command & Conquer to come back with greatness 5. An Xbox to feed to my dog
6. Todd Zuniga to publish a book of all his reviews
7. A racing game that doesn't get boring
8. To win a game of All-Star Baseball
9. A reason not to buy SOCOM, because it looks awesome 10. Driving in The Sims for PS2
E-mail your most- wanted list to OPM(aziffdavis.com Mark the subject MOST WANTED
OPM LETTER
NTH Off
it is the best hockey game since NHL 95: “The only hockey must-buy I've seen in the last six years,” he said, giving it 4.5. Now, as | look at the review of NHL 2003, in the first paragraph Todd says, “Last year, NHL 2002 stunk.” He went on for a third of the review trashing NHL 2002. What is up with that? Anonymous gtafan255(dhotmail.com
Never one to ignore his adoring public, Todd was quick to respond to this. Here's what he has to say: "One question: Was NHL 2002 any good? My answer: No, it wasn't. Not in the long run. For a quick charge of hock- ey, yes, it's great. But for the long haul, it proved that it wasn't. Did I make a mistake in my review? I did. Sometimes, as a reviewer, I lose perspective on things, but I think
I remedied it this year. Last year, sadly, NHL 2002 was the best of the crop, but after getting it home and trying to play with friends, it showed its weaknesses. Don't trust my reviews if you don't want, but I feel entitled to make mistakes once in a while. Anyhow, if you're going to play a hockey game this year, play NHL 2K3. That's one thing I'd put my job on the line for." Todd is crying now. We hope you're happy, oh nameless one.
1 am a 19-year-old female who started out her RPG existence play- ing Final Fantasy VII in 1998. Since then, | have completed every game in the series (including the Chocobo games] and gone back to my roots
Official Contest Rules
to complete older titles such as Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and most other Squaresoft titles. At the end of most of these titles, | have sat back, evaluated my character's performance, and sometimes even shed a tear. When Kingdom Hearts was finally released, | waded through the throng of people, foaming at the mouth, waiting for my newest Square fix. Upon hearing the ending theme and seeing the glory that is nearly an interactive movie, | decided that the only thing that could possibly make my exis- tence even better would be having the Squaresoft logo permanently tattooed onto my left arm. This past Saturday, | dragged along my boyfriend and had it done. This picture is merely hours old. Enjoy. Mary Durall mdurall(dstarfire.shacknet.nu
Wow! Should we be impressed...or frightened?
So there | was, holding my phone and hearing some GameStop employee utter those magic words: "You can pick up Grand Theft Auto: Vice City now, Adam." | replied, "I'll be there soon," even though | want- ed to shout, "SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!" But | contained myself. | was a grinning idiot driving there and a grinning idiot driving back.
| popped that sucker in my PS2 and sat back and watched the intro movie with Sonny and Tommy talk- ing. | said, “Tom Sizemore! Holy crap!” After all the fuss with the bad drug deal, Rosenburg set me up with a hotel. I took the moped near his place and rode off. A frickin’ moped was worth at least 25 bucks
COMPLICATED REQUEST I challenge you to a game of SOCOM, Avril Lavigne. Let me know when and where, and it's on. Can we play in the Rat's Nest? Jeff Daniel whatami_76133 @yahoo.com We were unable to contact Ms. Lavigne for you, Jeff, but we're pretty sure we know her response: “See ya later, boy.”
DBZ FEVER!
I just got finished looking at the Dragon Ball 2 pic-
I can't wait to get my hands on it! I'm going crazy! ААААННННН!!!!! Kris Lane IcedOutPlayaMan @aol.com
Just stay sane until December, Kris. And check out Previews this month to help tide you over.
DDR 4 ALL Do you guys have something against giving any Dance Dance Revolution game а score higher than a 4 out of 5? LordBomb23 @cs.com
Yes. We want to upset you, LB23.
YU-GI-UH-OH! Why do you guys let Yu-Gi-Oh! stay at the top of the Р51 charts? You should “acciden- tally” omit it. Galen Anderson celticsibs @тіпаѕргіпд.сот Great idea, Galen! If only we could get past that “journalistic integrity" thing.
Www.playstatior. com.
You can't see them, of course. After all, they're SEALs, a commando unit legendary for its ability to penetrate enemy territory undetected. And then strike with surgical precision. Enter the world of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, where stealth, intel- ligence and teamwork are the ultimate weapons.
Developed in association with the U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM is unconventional warfare the way it’s really fought. That means hostage rescues, reconnaissance, ambushes and demolitions. Hoo-yah.
pat ЖШ Whether you're in single-player mode or playing online with and against up to 16 total players, your SOCOM headset is critical. It'll help you communicate and strategize with your unit, so everyone returns in one piece. Remember: “No SEAL left behind.
Combat terror in extreme environments like Turkmenistan, Alaska, Thailand and the gnat- infested Congo. Should be a walk in the park. Next to Hell Week, that is.
LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS"
PlayStation.?
of the game's total value. | saw a street bike near me. | got off at full speed by jumping up, with the moped going underneath me. Wow. | dropkicked the guy off his crotch rocket and sped off. Reali- zing | made a mistake with the moped, the PCJ 600 was worth 40 clams in itself. | pulled back on the joystick. BAM, a wheelie. | went full speed into а саг. BAM! | went flying and lost 60 health. Next, | saw a BMW-looking car. | took it and changed the radio station to Emotion 98.3, and heard a song that was worth the rest of the 10 bucks (even the sales (ах): "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger. А song | memorized for a girl in high school in the great year of 1987. Man, that brought back memo- ries as | mowed down a drug dealer. Knowing
| had the next day off, | played until 3 a.m.
I could go on for days about all the details that make me say stuff out loud, or talk about them to people | don't even know, or even make me feel woozy with a rush of pure fun. So just remember, "You're motoring, what's your price for flight? Adam McDaniel kir mcd(dmsn.com
Tekken It Too Far
I think Tekken 4 is an excellent game, which has awesome graphics. | consider it a flawless mas- terpiece, like Tekken Tag Tournament and Virtua Fighter 4. | vehemently admire, adore, and love Sarah Bryant, Anna Williams, and Nina Williams immensely and intensely, with my entire heart and humanoid entity. | think they are extremely beauti-
nice, sweet,
and super-
Sexy sexpots, and very voluptuous
and virtuous vix- ens. | lust after their big, bountiful busts, bosoms, breasts, and butts. | possess a massive crush on Kelly Packard, Alyssa Milano, and
Jeri Ryan.
Paul D. Wright
Location Unknown (thank God]
І LOVE А MAN WITH A HUGE THESAURUS.
Suddenly, that Squaresoft tattoo seems completely normal. We had to consult Roget' in order to tell you this in terms you'll understand, Paul, but here goes: Your entire humanoid entity needs help, abet- ment, aid, assistance, relief, suc- cor, and support. Your amazing alliteration amuses all Americans (and Argenti s), but we certainly consider your candor crazy and creepily creepy. Except for your crushes on Alyssa Milano and J Ryan. They're hot...and real.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
“
ASK US ANYTHING
If you’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Curious about something you've seen in a game? Want our advice on life, love, and the pursuit of happiness? Wondering which OPM editor has the biggest feet? Send an e-mail to
with the subject line ASK US ANYTHING, and we'll do our best to answer. (Unless it’s a calculus ques- tion. We don’t believe in calculus.)
YOU SURE ABOUT EVIL TWIN?
Q: Last Issue, you said the game Evil Twin was canned, yeah? Well, | just ordered it from some dude in England on eBay for 10 bucks. Was it released there before they can- celed the game here?
Sean Preston
mynameiscensored@msn.com
A: We asked our U.K. correspondent to check into it, and yes, he found that it was indeed released there. So much for Ubi Soft's “the developer went out of business and the game was never finished” comment last month. Good luck playing your copy, though—you'll need both a PAL-format PS2 and TV (difficult to find here in the United States]. You're proba- bly better off not playing it at all, anyway.
WAITING FOR
SWEET TOOTH
Q: | got the PS2 Network Adapter, and the first thing I was inclined to do after opening the package was send in the card for a free copy of Twisted Metal: Black Online. The only problem is that | have not yet received it. It's been quite some time since the Network Adapter came out, and | am still without the game. Why haven't | gotten it yet? Kevin Starkweather bigk18@aol.com
A: In the immortal words of -
Axl Rose, "all you need is just а little patience." It can take as long as three months to arrive. If it takes any longer, con- tact Sony at 1-800-345-SONY, and they'll help you out. (For the record: We quoted Axl, but we'd rather look at Britney.)
SUPERFICIALITY IS FINE, RIGHT? Q: My girlfriend is cool, and she's a gamer. (She regular- ly kicks my ass at High Heat !) But this other girl in my English class is cuter, and she really seems to like me—but | think she'd hate playing games with me. Should I ditch the gamer girl and go for the hottie? (I suck, I know.) Todd Stewart Wichita, KS.
A: Todd, Girls who play High Heat are a rare catch, indeed—
an artsy, English-interested cutiepie is not. Then again, a
few of us have been to Witchita, and there's little in the
way of attractive women. Really, it's a toss-up. Flip a coin. Heads is hottie, tails is your girlfriend. Let fate sort it out.
] А TACTICAL QUESTION 0: | опіу owned Nintendo consoles until | bought a PS2. I'm a diehard Ogre Battle series fan—are there any games like it for PS1 or PS2? Ben Rex71284@aol.com
A: You're in luck, Ben—welll, kinda. Atlus released two Ogre games a few years ago, Ogre Battle: Limited Edition and Tactics Ogre. A used copy of Battle typically sells for about $40 at half.com, with Tactics demanding a much more steep $80—or $150 mint in box! You might just want to wait, though. Square recently purchased the Ogre games developer, Quest, which means a new title for PS2 might be in the works. Let’s hope so.
(MYSTERY OF THE SCREENSHOT REVEALED! Q: How do you get screenshots?
Steve Marley
smarley@austin.rr.com
A: A couple ways, Steve. The easy way—and the way we get all screens for stuff we haven't actually played—is directly from а game company itself. Alternatively, we have screen- capture cards on our computers (you can get one, too, if you want it), in which we plug our Р525.
DVDs BAD FOR THE PS2?
Q: An employee at Best Buy told me that if you played too many DVDs on your PS2, it would cause the system to no longer be able to read апу discs. | was wondering if this is true or if he just doesn't know what he's talking about. Brian Walton
john_mcclane_1988@yahoo.com
A: He's full of crap. Next question...
IS MICROSOFT LYING TO ME?
0:1 just saw the commercial for Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, and | was excited about its PS2 release—until it said it was only for Xbox. So, is Substance coming out for PS2, or is it an Xbox exclusive?
A.L. Best
martinbest@nc.rr.com
A: Even more crap! Substance is definitely hitting PS2 early next year. Although, we will grant that “only on Xbox” is a lot catchier for Microsoft than “only on Xbox...until March.”
JUST PLAIN SAD
Q: All my friends at work make
fun of me. They put on silly voices and say, “Hello, l'm [name 5 withheld to protect the idiot],"
and it's really annoying.
Lately, they've started
e-mailing pictures around
as “mood lifters,” and these
too have poked fun at me.
Another person in the office imitates my voice constantly—
and | don't think it sounds any-
thing like me. It sounds more like Kermit the Frog! What should | do??? Unloved
San Francisco, CA
A: Unloved, what you're missing entirely is that you're actu- ally the favorite. You're the, like, favoritest of everyone at the office. Kermit the Frog is completely lovable! And dammit, so are you. What you need to do is take the mood lifters and Photoshop in your own special touch, like the fun- makers under a pile of rubble, their bodies crushed by rock. Or the fun-makers being terrorized by human-sized bunny rabbits. Then they'll really love you. Also, refer to the girl you like at work as Miss Piggy. You'll be a couple in no time!
"WWW.ZOOYORK.CON
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS, TODD JORDAN, PUTS HIS CAMERA DOWN TO RETURN TO THE ORIGINAL ART FORM . NOLLIE NOSE GRIND & NOLLIE BACKSIDE 180 REDA BLACK AND WHITE PRINTS . BEAUTIFUL . EST 3.0 IN STORES NOW . BEAUTIFUL . NEW WINTER 2002 DECKS OUT NOW . BEAUTIFUL
“oll, Soldan
ITS TRIUM “TOP 5 PS2 GAMES” fan
Аср Hit Rate | К Hit Rate
p-a
Animated Blood
Violence
CONTRA SHATTERED SOLDIER™ and CONTRA ADVANCE THE ALIEN WARS EX™ are trademarks of KONAMI CORPORATION. KONAMI® is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. © 1987 2002 KONAMI & KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT TOKYO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "PlayStation" айд,
SOUNDTRACK ALBUMS AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY ON EPIC RECORDS WWW.VICECITYRADIO.COM МАТОВЕ Violence Strong Language Blood and Gore Strong Sexual Context
\\\ Фа ESRB
R E ж d A = EPIC 4 E 270)
PlayStation.e
‘PlayStation? and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc. ©2002 Rockstar Games, Inc. Rockstar Games, tho Rockstar Games loge Rockstar North and the Rockstar North logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Rockstar Games and Rockstar North are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. АП Rights Reserved. Note: Rockstar will be following IDSA guidelines for M rated games in the marketing of this
ame. This game contains violent language and behavior and may not be appropriate for persons under the age of 17. It is а comic Interpretation of gangster activity and the story, names and incidents portrayed herein are fictitious. No identification or similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is intended or should be inferred. Any resemblance is coincidental. The makers and publishers of this videogame do not in any way endorse, condone or encourage this kind of behavior.
Rule the arena of the world’s two most powerful
fighting Universes. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is bar-none,
the most insane tag-team fighting game on the planet!
An unprecedented 56 playable characters raises the bar
on arcade fighting with 3 on 3 tag-team battles, unbeliev- able control and hyper-fast animation. Pick a fight with your favorite legendary Capcom characters апа Super Heroes from. the Marvel Universe and watch the super combos fly.
Animated Violence Animated Blood Suggestive Themes
INSIDE SPIN
34
Zoe's World
Our Canadian lady thinks gaming and fashion are closely connected.
36
Busta Move
Busta Rhymes talks about NBA Live 2003. He's in the game and on the soundtrack.
40 test
Pads, wheels, and gadgets. The perfect holiday gifts. Find out which ones suck.
48
Dragon Ball Z
DVD fans, rejoice! Now watch the vid on the DVD.
52
9 RPGs for 2003
Need your RPG fix? Here are nine games to keep you occupied.
62
Videogames Are Good For You!
Yes, they are. Here's why.
68
a Is Late
Why
The boss of Eidos Interactive
explains Lara's delay.
71
Clish MacLaver
The latest gaming rumors.
6
DVD Reviews
Reviews. Of DVDs.
G) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
VICE IS SO
Rockstar proves it can make things better every time. But what's next?
масе сабоч reserve |
expect a fifth дате in the GTA series.
Why wouldn't Rockstar be thinking of another sequel? Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is not only selling well, it's actually on pace to become the biggest and fastest-selling videogame ever.
Get this: According to published reports, Electronics Boutique and EBgames.com CEO Jeff Griffiths said Vice City has sold "closer to a million than half a million." Consider that phenomenal number for a moment. Now, consider GTA3's worldwide sales of 8 million copies, or the entire series combined sales of 13 million copies worldwide. The biggest-
I: sales are any indication, we can all
selling game series of all time is Final Fantasy, which has racked up massive com- bined sales of 42 million copies. There are 10 of them, though. GTA is catching up fast, and we're only on number four.
After GTA3 was released, the earlier Р51 games, which were never particularly well received here in the United States, continued
Consider СТАЗ
to sell consistently every month—so much so that they were present on the Р51 sales chart for most of the year.
Last year we thought the “GTA Effect" would mean more urban games offering a greater degree of freedom or, more likely, a proliferation of M-rated games filled with swearing and gritty themes. But instead of
worldwide sales
of 8 million copies, or the entire
series' combined sales of 13 mill
a long road of PS2 copycats, the GTA Effect has meant something very different
"We've all benefited from Vice City," Eidos Interactive President Rob Dyer told us. "The fact that people were in stores looking out for the game meant that they were more willing to check out other games, too. We found that Hitman 2 [also an M-rated game] benefited enormously." So beneficial was the effect that in some games stores, sales associates were given incentives to sell other games in the absence of GTA Vice City. The Halloween weekend was a good weekend for gaming.
NICE!
GHIS NOGE 15 Бепрер FOP 21106865. LEGAL AND legal 2
2018
Demand for the game, it seems, is relentless. Indications were that PS2 owners were going to great lengths to track it down—so much so that EBGames.com is limiting sales to “one per person" and only allowing more if you stump up $61 for game and strategy guide packages. Even then, buyers were limited to three copies.
As OPM goes to press, no sales figures were availa ble for sales of the official sound track discs.
The debut review of Vice City appeared in FHM; the game was also featured in Rolling Stone and on the front page of the New York Times Style section, and even scored a cover line on Entertainment Weekly. The revolution will be televised, and it's sun -streaked and grimy.
COPYCATS?
It seems like any game with a man, a gun, and a car is judged as a GTA clone—but maybe we're too quick to judge. Here are a few games that fall into the man/gun/car category, and our take on whether they're really copycatting the GTA series.
The Getaway
Grand Theft Auto is to Goodfellas as The Getaway is to Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, An interactive Guy Ritchie film, this “flick” is a story- driven adventure game that doesn’t rely on the freedom granted in the GTA series. Plus, The Getaway is set in London. Not a London clone, but London. No gritty corner is ignored. CHANCE OF BEING MISTAKEN: 0/5
True Crime
While True Crime is more of a GTA clone than The Getaway, it begs the question: Who wants to play a game set in L.A.? The City of Angels is also the city of no character, but to each their own. The branching system is different than GTA's, since you can continue on if you fail at a mission. Plus, you're a cop. Which isn't very Vercetti-like.
CHANCE OF BEING MISTAKEN: 2/5
су Quentty
"Wi = home | my eBay | site map | son i b “у eis Sen] [Heo [commun As with any item that's in
demand, people flocked to eBay in hopes of scoring a copy of Vice City. Those who
usseseo | Were desperate enough were
‘sex | even willing to pay greatly
US $85.00 1
Tone leh Louisiana 2 enlUnited State ‘Sued Nov.08.021359361 ecto to enê
inflated prices to get their hands on the game.
І
The XXX star takes
according to affiliated licensor and Tinseltown tough guy Vin Diesel, “it was a
piece of [censored].” Never one to lay down in the face of adversity, the avowed chronic gamer has taken matters into his own hands, announcing that—at least for the immediate future— projects he'd be involved in would come from a new development company he's formed called Tigon Games.
Named for the hybrid offspring of a male tiger and female lion, the company, Diesel assures us, will adopt a similarly ferocious approach to making games. “So my last title sucked—I didn’t know any better. I’m learning. Anything you see pro- duced under this label will be off the hook.”
As for his definition of a hot property, the man cites personal favorites Grand Theft Auto Ш and Dynasty Warriors 3 as inspiration. "The line between movies and games is becoming less apparent. Titles like these use real screenwriters and exemplify а step forward for the business. | couldn't think of a better time to get involved."
With both writing and directing credits to his name beyond starring turns in Saving Private Ryan and The Fast and The Furious, Dieses contributions could only be a welcome addition to the gaming biz. That goes doubly so coming from a self- espoused dork like Diesel, who admits he holds great admiration for both The Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons. Curiously, though, for a fantasy addict, his initial foray will be somewhat more realistic and significantly darker.
“My first game is called Perrone,” says Diesel. “It’s about the story of a cop from the "705 who was simultaneously the most accoladed and excessively aggressive lawman on the force. The guy was involved with both the Mafia and police at the same time...it's a fascinating tale.”
While no partnerships or distribution deals with major industry players have yet been declared, an official statement can't be far off. Diesel promises further news in 2003, presuming he can pry himself away from routine 20 hour per week marathon gaming sessions. “I've been messing with videogames forever,” the gregarious geek confesses. “This project is more of a hobby than a business venture to me. | just want to see if | can actually create something I'd enjoying playing.” - Scott Steinberg
Н: а до at xXx on Game Boy Advance lately? Us neither. That's because,
Batman: Even More Vengeance We want to know what you think are the very best games of 2002, so be sure ST R EA М In addition to Kemco's Batman: Dark to head on over to www.playstationmagazine.com and make your voices heard!
Tomorrow, which now hits in February,
Ubi Soft has announced a follow-up PS2 GAME OF THE YEAR BEST FIGHTING GAME
to last year's Batman: Vengeance for * Grand Theft Auto: Vice City * Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Асе Combating release on the Р52 this fall. * Kingdom Hearts p * Mortal Kombat: Deadly
“ Madden NFL 2003 hem Mu • Medal of Honor: Frontline 2% * Tekken 4
e Ratchet & Clank > * Virtua Fighter 4
“ Будаг % e War of the Monsters * Sly Cooper and
the Thievius Raccoonus BEST SPORTS GAME e SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALS A * FIFA 2003
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 * Madden NFL 2003 » f Namco has announced that FASHIONABLY * Virtua Fighter 4 * NBA 2K3 it is working on Ace Combat 5 VINTAGE * NCAA College for a PS2 release this year. VIDEOGAMES BEST RACING GAME Football 2003 й :
* Burnout 2 * NHL 2K3 Wild Orchid 1 was looking through some “ F1 2002 ЫЫЫ ш ae ze Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2 BEST MULTIPLAYER GAME КОЕЛА Ше oh Somun è * V-Rally 3 * James Bond 007: Nightfire sheepskin coat | purchased 5 МВС 58 : U.S. Navy SEAL: оп а recent shopping whim Е í Sunar Bü ga бү 2 2 (couldn't resist the extra-wide 5 AIR ТЕП, шы) Б teve sino id BEST ADVENTURE GAME + TimeSplitters 2 g coat my dad wore when he я g * Deus Ex: The Conspiracy * Twisted Metal: was sporting a serious child- P * Fatal Frame Black Online D | molester look in 1971. The ensuing shock had me falling into. * Grand Theft Auto: Namco has also picked up the a sheepskin-ensconced reverie of fashion flashbacks. Vice City > BEST RPG rights to publish two Argonaut
So, what do my parents’ fashion faux pas have to do with * Onimusha 2 * Dynasty Tactics ^ PS2 games this fall: Orchid
PS2? For most, videogames are synonymous with the realm * Вудаг e Grandia Xtreme =< (pictured above) and /-Ninja. of fantasy, future, and sci-fi. Of course, it wasn’t long ago that e Kingdom Hearts > an overly active imagination was mandatory for visualizing BEST ACTION GAME • Suikoden Ill Winnin 4 Combo any detail in a game's characters, locales, or landscapes (I “ Contra: Shattered Soldier * Wild Arms 3 z Still swear | could see real people running around in «Hitman 2 Пы) Well. ЕО me tiat some recent entries into * Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers BEST EXTREME-SPORTS GAME the games market are suddenly flagrant with retro realiza- a
* Shinobi * Aggressive Inline
tions and vintage vigor. Of course, it's not just games—every- thing from Prada to Spielberg seems guilty of acid tripping into Christmases long past, searching for the style that will
* ATV Offroad Fury 2 * BMX XXX
* TimeSplitters 2
conjure up youth and nostalgia in consumers. BEST PLATFORM GAME * Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
With Incog's War of the Monsters reminiscing over alien * Haven * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 archetypes of the 1950s, and GTA: Vice City reviving Don. * Pac-Man World 2 It's bigger than FIFA in Europe Johnson's glory days, games are doing a great job of blasting * Ratchet & Clank PS1 GAME OF THE YEAR and Japan, and now it’s finally into pop culture's past (are the '80s really the past?). Not a * Sly Cooper and * Arc the Lad Collection coming here: Konami has
big surprise, | suppose, considering the technologies at hand the Theivius and, more importantly, the masterminds behind the machine Raccoonus » code. | may be dating myself with this statement, but I’m sure * Ty the Tasmanian that growing up with videogames meant an adolescence of Tiger
comic books, Star Wars, and Flock of Seagulls (maybe even
on vinyl). So, it's obvious that nostalgia is bound to come into
play for gamers who grew into game designers. And while A N A R Y C A L E N A R
filmmakers and the fashionistas are no strangers to repurpos-
* Capcom vs. SNK Pro revealed that Winning Eleven 6 * Gundam Battle Assault 2 for the PS2 will finally hit the * The Italian Job United States this March.
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
ing ideas and content from their own ancestries, realizing the 1 weonesoay |3 FRIDAY 7 TUESDAY 10 rab 14 wesow |16 ruunsoav past within videogames is a new trend that's bound to contin- * Happy New Year! |» Jack Nicholson |» Indiana Jones • Ed Norton and * LL Cool J has + Thin is ue well into the future. Our resolution: continues his and the Philip Seymour plenty of gaming | still in: a It seems that game designers finally have access to the to make this cal-| Oscar charge Emperor's Tomb | Hoffman shine in| options for his Kate Moss tools necessary to allow true artistic license. I'm not saying endar bigger with the nation- | whips its way Spike Lee's 35th birthday: is 29. creativity hasn't always been present in videogames—in fact, next month so wide release of onto PS2. The 25th The Sims, The it may be that the first videogames were more artistically we can fit more Nicolas Cage Hour. Getaway, Black innovative than much of today's cookie-cutter gameplay. But stuff in it. staggers into his and Bruised and today's tools offer real-world possibilities that continue to. 38th birthday. My Street. allow our imaginations to run wild—only now, it's within а d truly lifelike world. imagine that in one of those worlds, a other s " 17 FRIDAY 21 weso |23 тновзрлу | 24 FRIDAY 28 weso |31 Fray
it's really cool to wear '70s-inspired sheepskin coats again.
+ Martin » Quit your job! * Are we weak * Christina + Bored for a + Justin
Thiessen and Moss pictures from wireimage.com
Lawrence and Dump your girl! because Applegate out board game? Try| Timberlake (22) Steve Zahnteam| Battle Engine we send Gwyneth Paltrow| the newly and Minnie оно up to protect the | Aquila is out! Tiffani- split screen time | released Risk. Driver (32) drink funky things in front of a TV camera. i nt United States Hurry, before it Amber g in A View from Or, check out to the release of in National sells out! Thiessen | ithe Top. these sequels: The Recruit sta r- Security. Kid (29) \ Midnight Club II | ring Al Pacino Rock turns 32. birthday and Devil May and Colin roses? Cry 2. Farrell. ^ Happy new year! We all resolve to play even more games in 2003. And we also resolve to find better things to do than reading fine print saying that all release dates were accurate as of press time.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
If you suck, at least no one will know who
you are.
| © ©
Or 1L.Ir' 1.
BROADBAND ONLY
Look for this icon on SOCOM: U.S. Маму SEALs and other PlayStation. 2 games with online capability.
2.
LIVE ІМ YOUR WXRLD. PLAY ІМ DURS
www. playstation.com. Online play requires Internet coni Entertainment Inc. SOCOM ©2002 Sony Computer Entertain
iork Adaptor for PlayS Pla ica Inc. "Live In Your ond. Bay In Ours? and the “Onl
SPIN
BUSTA MOVE
Rapper Busta Rhymes gets his game on
We he’s rapping, acting, or starring in а videogame, Busta
Rhymes’ crazy energy has crazy energy. The NBA Live 2003 sound-
track artist and hidden baller is nothing—and everything—we expected him to be. He mixes metaphors. Waxes PS2 poetic. Says “crème de la creme”—and means it without irony. But it’s when he talks about NBA Live that his tone changes. He’s pure focus and verbal precision, serious about his game and anxious for fans to be, too.
How'd you react when you were asked to be in NBA Live 2003? My management knows my personal love and desire for videogames. I’m always walking around with a PlayStation 2. In my car, on my Баск... really don't leave home without it. АЦ my homes have a PS2, and | travel with a transportable PS2. So when | found out that 174 have the opportunity to be a character in NBA Live, | dove down, nose first without a parachute, and just went with it.
Do you get pissed-off when you can’t score? After all, it’s
really you making the bad moves.
I'm not a sore loser, though. When | lose, | become that much more determined to bust my ass in the next game. | love playing with my own character, because it ain't until you spend time with the game and master the features that you get really good.
What kinds of skills did EA Sports give PS2 Busta Rhymes? My character's got every feature, and my skills are a 96 radius. That's as high as you can get. l'm among the top five ballers in the game—just like Shaq,
Kobe, and Iverson. | told [EA Sports], “I've got to be the creme de la crème.” They hooked me up
Rapper Fabolous appears in this game. We've seen Fab, and his muscles are much bigger in Live than in real life. Are your pixels true to form? Definitely. All the way down to my tattoos. They got my hairstyle, my height, my weight, and my facial expressions right. Instead of using
motion capture to duplicate my moves, | told the designers about the kinds of athletes whose skills | respect. If people like the skills and
abilities of a character, then they can see themselves playing as him.
Tell us about the song you did for the soundtrack. Гуе got a song with Raw Digga and Rampage from Flipmode Squad called "Here We Go." We thought it was the right adrenaline boost- ег for any basketball game, so we edited a special version for the soundtrack. Only NBA Live is going to have this version.
Def Jam and EA Big are teaming up to release Def Jam: Vendetta, which includes DMX, Ludacris, Method Man, and Nore as char- acters. Any plans to rival it with artists from your Flipmode Records label?
It's not in the immediate plan. | have a new CD out in November called /t Ain't Safe No More. That's my focus. If | were to do a videogame, it would have to be better than anything that's already going on. If | can't make a game like that, | won't try.
What are you into right now? I'm really into Robotron 2084, Defender, Sinistar, and Joust. They're the classics, the games | grew up on. But | can't front. | also love NBA Street, GTA3, and Max Payne. —Kristina Grish
Tom Corbett/COR|
(36 Official 0.5. PlayStation Magazine
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Pac and Hotsuma Go Hollywood Guess who the latest videogame heroes are to land movie
deals? Shinobi's Hotsuma
and Namco's Pac-Man. Live * action films for both franchises are currently in the works. A live-action Pac? Huh?!
> 1
For the first release іп the product line, we wanted to focus on the most memorable and intense action moments of the first two films. Upcoming EA games based on The Lord of the Rings movies will have a different focus, including deeper RPG elements.
STAR WARS: FEEDING THE FORCE It's doubtful George Lucas ever envisioned that Star Wars, the sci-fi opus he created in the 1970s, would morph into the über- franchise it is today. Though the _ recent movies haven't captured _ пе original's zing, Star A Wars remains deeply embedded in our pop culture consciousness, with a constant flow of new material to. feed the faithful.
That said, there's much to chew on this holiday season, with
_ the DVD release of SW Episode II: Attack Y
- of the Clones, plus three new game titles: $ SW The Clone Wars, SW Bounty Hunter and SW Jedi Knight И: Jedi Outcast. There's also the SW Galactic Battlegrounds Saga for real-time strategy aficionados. Though the length of these titles is getting as cumbersome as a wob- bling Imperial Walker, the movie and gaming units of George's media empire appear to coexist nicely.
Star Wars games have enjoyed a relatively good track
- record, seeing that most Hollywood-based content-turned- interactive has only just made the leap from peasant to prince. It doesn't hurt that LucasArts has first dibs on the family jewels, plus access to all of George's multimedia wizardry. Though it might be good to be king, it’s equally good to be close to the throne.
Calling the movie and gaming businesses “inexorably linked,” LucasArts president Simon Jeffery says that the various companies George founded as part of “his vision of
. a long-term digital revolution of cinema," work hand in hand with LucasArts, For example, Industrial Light and Magic did CG work for Bounty Hunter and Skywalker Sound provided audio expertise.
Though nothing will save a bad game (which we gamers can sense with Jedi acumen), early cooperation between movie studios and videogame companies has become much
- more the norm. When this is done right, as in Spider-Man, everybody wins. Also, licensing movie content to videogame publishers has become serious money for Hollywood studios, and access to big-screen content and talent will up the ante for a high-profile game.
Seeing that movies no longer just open and close, but _ have endless. “premieres” (video, DVD, cable, soundtracks, -
` celebrity-bowling debut), releasing a game around one of the - biggies (first-run film or, in the case of the recent Star Wars games, the Episode II DVD) is the target du jour. Videogame - publishers can easily piggyback on the tremendous main-
_ Stream media hype surrounding a “premiere,” ride the wave, and cross-promote content at the same time. . At this point, Wars is an unstoppable force, but like many venerable creative franchises, it does need to stay fresh ` to retain its vitality. Though is only one more official movie coming from George (so they say), the universe will undoubtedly live on. What better way to keep things lively in “а galaxy far, far away than through interactive entertainment?
We decided to pick the primary action heroes of the first films— Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli—and deliver with a strong focus on them. This fits well with Gandalf's role in the story arc; he’s more prominent in the second half of the trilogy. Look for him to play a more important role in future EA games.
No, we have great synchronicity with the film. Since our game visu- ally matches it so closely and we're
foll
James Bond: Pierce Brosnan Duh! EA only paid, like, kajillions for the rights to use Ріегсе 5 likeness in the game. Who else for 007?
Raphael Drake: Carlos Bernard In our Bond flick, 24s Топу Almeda really is а bad guy!
Karen Jones is a freelance writer with expertise in Hollywood/interactive convergence
should
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
5 Questions with The Two Towers development team
DREAM CAST
With Die Another Day still raking in the bucks at a theater near you and a kick-ass unrelated Bond game from EA now at your local game store, we've got a suggestion for MGM: Just turn ) NightFire into your next 007 flick! Since the story's already in place, we humbly suggest the
Dominique Paradis:
Sure, Brooke's no actress, but can you think of a more perfect Bond girl? We're pretty wild on her
Alexander Mayhew: Dennis Hopper "Pop quiz, hotshot! Who
releasing before The Two Towers film, people can think of it as
a really fun game that also teases you into wanting to see more of the world in the film. The reverse is true as well—after seeing the film, people will want to explore all those cool places and characters.
4
The Frodo/Sam/Gollum thread just didn't fit well with our focus. As an action game, we thought people £ would rather fight with the sword/ $ ax/bow as Aragorn/Gimli/ Legolas, instead of swinging pots and pans around as Frodo and Sam. Not to worry—Frodo's trek with Sam and Gollum will be a focus of The Return of the King game
5
They were high on pipeweed and unavailable for production.
lowing cast for your next spy-thriller action extravaganza. Got any ideas for a Dream Cast of your own for another game? Send them to us at with the subject DREAM CAST.
Makiko Hayashi: Shannyn Sossamon The sassy Ms. Sossamon showed ass-kicking poten- tial in A Knight's Tale. Now, she gets to fully realize it.
Zoe Nightshade: Ashley Judd If Angelina Jolie can con- vincingly portray a British videogame character, so can the lovely Ashley Judd
Brooke Burke
Armitage Rook: DMX Young, buff...and bald, DMX makes the ideal bodyguard.
Alura McCall: Nell McAndrew This second Lara Croft
play Mayhew? Me!” model is flat-out...alluring
i the hottest 58165. It's са EXTREME REDEEM online aucti i
PlayStation.2
We literally drove a Volvo over this monstrosity. It still works,
Seriously, why 1 Hey, sweaty palms. bother with any other | Yeah, you—Mr. Clammy. wireless controller? | Ч Ө Timeto dry out.
Wow, sharp angles. С ON Я | г’ ігесі of basic black? Time How comfortable. » > b 3 to add a little color.
hen nothing but bargain-basement
900MHz may be the E 3 Plastic nubs | wave of the past, but at ЖЕ Е tend to get X f the gift that keeps least it's affordable. у Ж % uncomfortable. 3 on giving: silence.
Official US. PlayStation М
PERIPHERAL SUPERTEST
Find out which extras are worth your extra cash
PS2 NETWORK ADAPTER SONY • $39.99 • WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM
When a peripheral completely redefines the system it's peripheral to, it's hard to think of it as "peripheral" at
all. That’s the case with the Network Adapter. We
haven't yet seen all it can do, but SOCOM has given us
a pretty good preview of how revolutionary this little black box can be. It'll only get better from here, so get yourself
connected already! eeee
@ CORDLESS CONTROLLER
LOGITECH * $59.99 « WWW.LOGITECH.COM
This is the undisputed king of wireless pads. It works like a dream and suffers absolutely no button lag. You can even play Hot Shots with it (the ultimate test). Six AA batteries last for what seems like forever, and the big, chunky pad is comfortable to hold. The only issues are that it’s expensive and the analog sticks are a bit floppy compared to those on the Dual Shock 2. eeeee
Ө AIRFLO
NYKO • 29.99 » WWW.PELICANACC.COM
If you're the type of gamer who suffers from sweaty palms while playing, here's a perfect solution. Sporting an inter- nal fan and lots of small air holes, the AirFlo keeps your hands cool at all times. Unfortunately, any comfort gained by keeping your hands cool quickly fades in the face of the controller's ugly design: It's far too big and bulky, and the shoulder buttons are poorly placed. ee«
© SHADOWBLADE ARCADE STICK INTERACT • $24.99 • WWW.INTERACT-ACC.COM
This is the toughest accessory ever made, as far as we can tell. It’s so strong that we backed a car over it and it still works fine. If you're a fighting game fan in need of a good arcade stick, do yourself a favor and buy one of these. For such a finely crafted lump of metal yes, metal—it's rather heavy) and plastic, the price is ап absolute bargain.
NUBY • $19.99 e WWW.NUBYINTERACTIVE.COM
The electric-blue highlights on this pad make it seem more exciting than it actually is. With flimsy analog sticks and supremely uncomfortable shoulder buttons , this рад’ only real plus is the hair-trigger d-pad, which makes fighting moves a snap. Speaking of “snap,” don’t try to spike this one—it came apart on its first contact with the office floor. ee«
Ө DUAL SHOCK 2
SONY * $24.99 + WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM.
We've said it before, and we'll probably say it again: The Dual Shock 2 is the best controller ever made. It's com- pact, sturdy, and comfortable, and it just feels right. And now it’s even better, because it comes in pretty colors (blue, green, and slate gray). Yes, we know, you already have one of these—but if you haven't yet bought a second опе, now's the time. eeeee
@ WIRELESS CONTROLLERS
NUBY e $49.99 • WWW.NUBYINTERACTIVE.COM
The problem with infrared accessories is that you have
to sit pretty much within the line of sight of the receiver. Lying on the couch with the pad resting on your gut isn't an option with these babies—and if you can’t do that, what's the point? For a penny shy of $50 you get two pads and a DVD remote, but they're nasty-feeling plastic and don’t hold up to lengthy play sessions. ee
@ LYNX WIRELESS
MADCATZ * $39.99 • WWW.MADCATZ.COM
It's cheaper than Logitech's pad, and you can tell. Button response isn’t fabulous and the pad has the cheap feel characteristic of so many third-party accessories. It works, but it failed the Hot Shots test miserably (you can't hit shots straight because of button lag). Plus, our test unit got mighty hot after we'd played with it for a while, and it isn't the sturdiest thing we've ever held. eee
Ө ARCADE FIGHTER
PELICAN * $29.99 « WWW.PELICANACC.COM
It costs $5 more than Interact’s ShadowBlade, but likely ought to cost half as much. This nice-enough stick feels plasticky, cheap, and nasty compared to the mighty black behemoth. It plays well with Mortal Kombat and Virtua Fighter 4, but the cheap plastic buttons kept getting caught on the edge of the cheap plastic casing. өөғ
О STEALTH CONTROLLER
PELICAN GAMES ” 519,99 « WWW.PELICANACC.COM
This controller has three awesome things going for it:
a 12 foot cord, silk texturing to make it feel smooth in your hands, and, most importantly, a headphone jack.
For those of you who want to game without disturbing others, this could be ideal. Тһе downsides? The placement of the R2 and L2 buttons is uncomfortable, and there's
a slight hum on the headphones when the game volume 15 low. ӨӨө«
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Finally, a wireless y t It’s really justa Too bad it's got that
nasty lag.
but worth every penny.
p^
@RxX600 WIRELESS WHEEL @privi SAITEK • $59.99 • WWW.SAITEK.COM LOGITECH * $99j A wireless wheel! What a neat idea. Shame it doesn’t work as well as it could. Testing it with GT3 revealed some quirks in the lag department—namely, you end
ORCE
WWW.LOGITECH.COM
The ProRacer 2 isn’t so much a wheel as a circular controller made to look like a wheel. You move the left << half of the “wheel” up and down, but since you're not up overcompensating because the wheel and the game 0 actually turning a wheel, it's not exactly realistic. Still, if are interacting with a fraction of a second gap. The Should be noted that this new Pro Racer controller can "laptop grip" is also worth noting: It's like resting more. Our unit had a weird cali це but we're also be used as a second pad if you need one—albeit an a large, plastic clamp on your testicles. ee assured this is unusual. ee _ awkward and oddly shaped опе. өө
its only co pes with a
© 16MB MEMORY BOOSTER
PELICAN • $19.98 • WWW.PELICANACC.COM
Don't be misled; this does not make your memory card bigger. It's merely a 16 MB memory card that's cheaper than a Sony 8MB memory card, but requires a “real” memory card to work in the first place. All that space leaves you plenty of room for archiving saves, but it feels cheap, and can't sustain being run over by a car tire. eee
Ө 8MB MEMORY CARD NYKO * $19.99 • WWW.NYKO.COM Nyko's canary-colored memory card is five bucks cheaper than Sony's version—and it works just as well. You can throw it against a wall. You can drop it in the toilet. You can berate it for not getting you a birthday gift. You can do anything short of dropping it in the garbage disposal. And you can gloat to your friends about how you saved five bucks. e
О 8MB MEMORY CARD
SONY * $24.99 « WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM
Have we ever had a problem with a Sony Р52 Memory Card? Nope. If you're going to trust the off-brand peripherals, go ahead, but if you really value your game saves, this is the only brand to trust. They invented the thing, after all. And they made it durable enough to be smacked into the wall by a baseball bat. Peace of mind is worth five bucks. eeeee
О 8MB MEMORY EXPANDER
MADCATZ • $19.99 • WWW.MADCATZ.COM
It makes sense in theory: You put your memory card into this expander, giving you access to 16 MB total memory. But this product isn't an "Expander" at all. Like Interact's “Booster,” it's a memory card your PS2 won't recognize without
a "real" memory card inserted at startup. At least the thing won't crack if you bite down on it really, really hard. ee«
Official
AVENIGE HER PAST. DISCOVER’ HER FL
Bark Angel is the story of Max, a genetically Penhanced soldier, who cunningly fights to reclarme her manipulated past and avoid capture through t underground landscape of post-apocalyptic Seattle?
© Original story progresses beyond the E | television series and features voice-overs Бу Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly.
© RAGE System: Unleash over 50 fighting moves by unlocking the soldier within Max,
© Stealth Mode: Utilize unique evasive moves, plus enhanced vision, 8
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DARKANGEL.SIERRA.COM се
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@ SIERRA 4 | PlayStation.2 X
= CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
SPIN
Go ahead, take your PS2 | out for a night on the town.
It's sorta flimsy, but it does conti a total of six de
© с-РАК
NAKI © $24.99 • WWW.NAKI.COM
Here's an interesting idea: Leave your PS2 in its carry- ing case while you're playing. With storage space for 16 games, four memory cards, and two controllers, the G-Pak's got room for all you need. It's sturdy, it's sensi- ble, and it's reasonably stylish; if you're one of those socialites who always lugs your system around, you can't go wrong here. өөөө‹«
[2 Wow ADAPTER
SAITEK * $39,95 * WWW.SAITEK.COM
The biggest problem with all the wireless pads is that they're not quite as good as the Dual Shock 2 we all know and love. Saitek's WOW [Without Wires, get it?) adapter essentially make any pad into a wireless pad, thanks to a box that replicates joypad ports. The range
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
is pretty good, and it seems to work remarkably well. The box looks ugly, but who cares? eeee«
© DVD REMOTE CONTROL
SONY • $19.99 • WWW.PLAYSTATION.COM
Since this package comes with DVD driver updates, this is a bit of a no-brainer. Luckily, it's also sleek, sturdy, and functional. Two complaints: First, it doesn't support
* any other devices [if it did, we'd be happy to make this
the one remote on our coffee table), and second, there's no power button. Considering that the PS2 has a sleep mode, that’s a criminal omission. eeee
[4 UNIVERSAL DVD REMOTE
INTERACT • $14.99 е WWW.INTERACT-ACC.COM.
What remarkable restraint. PS2 remotes tend to be flashy, ugly, and blue; this one looks just like any cheap
4 If you don't like the location of your power switch, change it.
Don't like any of the wireless. (3) The sleekest-looking remote controllers you've seen? Make any pad wireless!
on the market, plus it makes your DVDs work better.-— ^
universal remote you'd pick up at K-Mart—and
that’s essentially what it 15. But what makes it
an option over Sony's remote is that it can control five additional devices (though the product list is
a bit hit-or-miss). eee«
@ POWER SWITCH RELOCATOR NYKO % $9.99 » WWW.NYKO.COM
Through the use of a cunning state-of-the-art technology known as “levers,” this featherweight (and yet surprisingly sturdy!) device gives you access to your PS2's power switch without giving the box a reach-around. It takes a little jimmying to get the position right, and you'll have to use some force to actually flip the switch, but if
your PS2 is in an especially a tight spot, this is
a fine solution. LJ
— M
ALL-NEW FOR THE Ад
PLAYSTATION®2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT) | SYSTEM AND Sgr NINTENDO GAMECUBE"
Enter to win cool ов В
&
“...зтазй into pretty much anything you see. ..get that euphoric feeling that comes rarely in life."
ORIGINAL HIT AVAILABLE FOR )
Screenshots taken from PlayStation’ 2 computer entertainment system gameplay.
ЭТТ LLL TE SRLS Nee
PEA р у
Blast away enemies with new 10U ) Drive down the mob in high-speed pursuits, Take on the cut-throat Yakuza mafia as а top-level ү For even more high-impact action, T A ERS and blast away friends i then explore the city at your pace in сор or spy in 40 1 RAK [ NS. Now if they get in P showdowns. $ —double the number of the original hit. your way, they're gonna pay.
CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
2 2001-2002 Bunkasha Publishing Со. Ltd. Portions © 2002 Activision Publishing, Ic. PlayStation 2 game engine © 2002 Traveller's Tales Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark, and Wreckless and Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions are trademarks of activision.com Activision, Inc and ite affiliates АП rights reserved. Licensed for play on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems with the NTSC U/C designation only. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo аге registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Al rights reserved. TM, © and the
Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. 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 registered trademark of
the Interactive Digital Software Association. Al other trademarks and trade names are the property of ther respective owners.
WWW.NAMCO.COM
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Pus®an 0 2 апу good guy too far, eventually he’s gonna make some bad things happen. Ex-cop Jack Slate is no exception. But when he explodes, things are going to be worse than you can ever imagine. So be
sure to watch your backs, thugs- Your time’s running out.
“most brilliant violence ever realized in а video game." X-X Kk K
"Every so often a game comes along М touches and tickles our dark side." IGN.COM
"It's a John Woo movie pr can play." Playboy
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www.koeigames.com
riors Return, and the Battle Rages On...
AN IP JW Ғы p^ +
| 7 Untold Stories | Customize Your Bodyguards
Play аз 7 fierce generals in Musou mode: Lu Bu, Diao Chan, Assign playable characters, including Lu Bu, as your bodyguards. Meng Huo, Zhu Rong, Zhang Jiao, Dong Zhuo and Yuan Shao. Use Double Musou Attacks in a one-player game. Select the gender, Completely revamped stages with new scenarios and events. uniform, and weapon for each guard in your unit.
© Discover 5th Weapons and New Items! ® Four New Challenge Modes! pw3 "T Play XTREME LEGENDS by itself or with Dynasty Warriors 3 " "him I! to power up the original with new XL features. Memon © New "Very Нага" Difficulty Level! © 2-Player Co-op & Versus Modes! REMIX l ^ d
Card data is fully compatible between both games. мѕ $29.99
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Mild Language
The KOEI logo is a trademark of KOEI Co., Ltd. in Japan and/or other Countries. [ Violence Dynasty Warriors 3 Xtreme Legends is a trademark of KOEI Corporation and KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2003 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. | "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc №. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association,
ent application claiming "Character Group Battle Method" is pending before the USPTO. L ®
illustration by Gary Taxali
4| Twisted Domination
Following Twisted Metal: Black and this | month's cover star, War of the Monsters, the boys at Incog are now working on a PS2 mountain-biking game called Downhill Domination. (Think Road Rash on bikes.) Expect lots of combat and, well, pedaling.
SNIPER STUPIDITY In October, someone started shooting people in the Washington, D.C., area with a sniper rifle, killing 10 and seri- ously wounding three others. It didn't take long for people to suggest that the sniper learned his skills playing videogames. One such person was Florida
sader Jack Thompson, who told Reuters news service, "This per- _ son has a shooting acumen that
еей г shooter....It is an acumen that could be | learned from games,’
15 he right? Well, let's see. Turns out that the fellow charged with the shootings, John Allen Muhammad, was in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1994. He didn’t receive sniper training, but he did earn an expert rating—the highest given—for his skills with an M-16 assault rifle. To receive an expert rating, you have to be able to shoot 36 out of 40 targets from ranges between 50 and 300 meters, typically well within the range that authorities sus- pect the sniper was shooting. The alleged shooter also hap- pened to have a Bushmaster XM-15, a civilian version of the M- 16, which was matched to the gun used in the shootings.
So, you tell me. If Muhammad is indeed the sniper, and if you're the sort of person who feels the need to lay blame for this shooting spree on anyone but the sniper himself, don’t you have to give it to the U.S. military before you lay it on videogames? Muhammad's skills with a rifle weren't honed on the PlayStation 2; they were honed on a training course, with
1 real bullets, and real shooting techniques.
Oddly enough, no one ever suggests that playing Madden 2003 makes you a better quarterback or that the latest Tony Hawk will make you a better skateboarder. In those cases, most people easily understand that mashing buttons on a controller doesn't equate to learning a physical skill. Well, shooting a rifle with precision is a physical skill; ask someone who shoots. It has to be learned for real, not virtually, As
‘shootings in Paducah, Ку.; the
videogames are a root of evil,
— Truth is, neither videogames
fficial US. PlayStation Magazine :
RESIDENT EVIL ONLINE REVEALED
Take a good first look at survival-horror's new direction
o what if GameCube owners are ©... а bunch of remakes of
the Resident Evil games we played years ago—we're going to be seeing something that could poten- tially breathe new life into the tired survival-horror genre: Resident Evil Online. After hinting of its coming for years now, Capcom has finally unveiled the game, and we couldn't be more excited.
Here's why. You choose from one of eight unique characters, such as a police officer, a waitress, a surgeon, or yes, even a plumber. Your mission? Make it out of Raccoon City alive. Easier said than done, though— thwarting you will be challenges big- ger than you can handle alone. Which is where the online part comes in: You'll have to work with other players to survive, as each character will have
their own traits and abilities. Four of the characters will be controlled by other gamers, and the other four will be computer controlled. The freaky part is that since interaction will be limited to simple preset text com- mands, there's absolutely no way of knowing who's real and who's not.
It certainly sounds intriguing, and we can't wait to see what sort of mayhem will occur with tons of char- acters on screen, all plugging away at zombies—not to mention bosses! Resident Evil Online hits Japan next summer and will carry a fee of around $5 a month. No word yet on a U.S. release or price plan, but the good news is that it'll support both broadband and narrow: Ж band connections, so еуегу- t one can jump in on the online survival-horror fun.
he next step in turning the PS2 into a T^ multimedia powerhouse
has finally been realized in Japan: Sony Computer Entertainment released its Broadband Navigator Version 0.20, allow- ing gamers to start downloading and view- ing broadband content on their PS2s. Although it's still in beta form, the current version of the Navigator features four channels: 1] a games channel for down- loading games and game-related multime- dia, 2) a movie channel for watching DVD movies and downloading movie clips from movie websites, 3] a photo channel for storing pictures transferred from a digital
camera and making them available to oth- ers, and 4] a music channel for storing music CDs to the PS2 hard drive and for downloading music from the network.
So far, six game companies have their own channels on the network: Konami, Koei, Bandai, Namco, Capcom, and SCE. Most content on these channels has been limited to character artwork and audio downloads, but the plan is to eventually feature actual game-related downloads, such as new levels or characters.
Unfortunately, it's not clear how soon— if at all—this kind of network will become available here.
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ЕЕ
(52) Official US. PlayStation magazine
Final Fantasy X-2 Ever since the PlayStation launched in 1995, RPG fans have spent every year either playing the latest Final Fantasy or eagerly anticipating the next chapter in Square's flagship franchise. And why not? When it comes to revolutionary role-play- ers—cinematic achievements that also deliver in the gameplay department—no one does it better than Square, and noth- ing tops Final Fantasy.
But this year is different. This year, there is no next chapter on the horizon. FFXI, the first in the franchise to be fully online, can't really Бе considered'a tradi- tional Final Fantasy—and we're not even sure when it'll be out (our best guess puts itas far as a year off). And FFX/I? Don't expect that one anytime soon!
But it's not all bad news. For the first time ever, Square will release a direct sequel to one of its Final Fantasies. (Up until now, each Final Fantasy was a com- pletely separate adventure featuring dif- ferent characters, revamped battle sys- tems, and new worlds.} Due out this fall, FFX-2 picks up where FFX left off, set just a few years after the end of the first game, starring many of the same characters and built around the same game engine.
Dark Cloud 2
But that's got plenty of Square fans up in arms. Some have even suggested that this reeks of being a cynical cash-in ona popular property. So, is FFX-2 merely a quick way to turn a fast buck off the backs of Yuna and her gal pals?
Not at all. As more details emerge about FFX-2's gameplay, we're finding that this. might.be.an even greater leap forward than some of the past Final Fantasies. Already, we've been promised that FFX-2 will feature a new development system to replace the revolutionary Sphere Grid— and if it's half as cool as the Grid was, then we're in store for something fantastic. What's more, the battle system is being remade from scratch. Square is even tak- ing out the Overdrives, the Overkilts, and the summoned monsters—which is espe- cially interesting, considering Yuna's role as a summoner in FFX. (Maybe that explains those pistols she’s packing.} Although we're not sure what'll replace these elements, we do know that Square's working hard to maintain the zippy pace of FFX's combat. FFX-2 even has a new "active" mode for the battles that won't involve any menu fiddling.
Everything, in fact, seems designed to inject more action into the game. As we reported last month, Yuna [the star of this
sequel) can now run, jump, and climb her way through the world map. FFX-2 will also offer a wide range of areas to explore from the very start, breaking away from the linear pace of FFX and throwing а new adventure element into the mix. Naturally, there'll be plenty of new minigames, too.
But the biggest change has got to be Yuna's sassy new look. So.what's behind. the Aguilerization of our once-demure summoner-next-door? Apparently, Yuna is in disguise. Two years after she and her gang restored peace to Spira by ridding the world of Sin, Rikku stops by with a. video sphere showing what we рге- sume to be Tidus. Ав you'd expect, Yuna sets off in search of her lost love, but since she's so well- known throughout Spira, she needs to take on a whole new look for her adventure. Which has us wondering: If Yuna wants to blend in, how the heck will hotpants, knee-high boots, and copi- ous cleavage help her cause?
But we're not complaining. In fact, we love what we've seen so far. Sure, it's not the all-new FF adventure we've come to expect from Square, but when a game includes a cast of beloved characters T with a host of new and intriguing featur: we'll take it. Hotpants and all,
Let's assume you loved the first Dark Cloud {not hard to do, considering its stellar sales]. Well, guess what? Dark Cloud 2 aims to improve everything the original offered. How so? First, thanks to its cel-shaded facelift, the game looks incredible, But the changes are more than skin deep. This time around, you'll get a whopping 100 hours of gameplay [if you try to do everything, that is}, an enhanced Georama element that lets you further customize the towns you rebuild, bigger dungeons packed with innovative enemies, more minigames [including golf!}, and voice acting to round out the game's time-traveling tale. If that’s not enough, Dark Cloud 2 also has a new invention system: The main character, Maximillian, сап snap photos and then arrange them so his pics spawn new weapons. Max can even cre- ate add-ons for his robot pal, Steve, making him a much more powerful ally. With so much. to do, Sony's hybrid RPG may be the perfect way to get through the dull days of February.
-hack//INFECTION
Originally due out last October, .hack was subsequently delayed till February. But it wasn't held back because the developer needed more time; instead, Bandai wanted its release to coincide with the debut of the -hack animated TV series. As Linda Shannon, Bandai's marketing manager, explains: “hack isn't just a game with an anime movie packed in, and it's not just an anime series: It's a "world" in itself. The game has been four sweaty years in the making, and we want to release it with as much gusto as it deserves."
So is it worth the wait? That depends on what you're looking for. As a concept, -hack is light-years ahead of most cliché-riddled RPGs, thanks to its unique setup that: mimics a massively multiplayer online RPG. But as a game, it can bog down in. the mundanity of repetitive quests and countless encounters. Still, the story might hook you, and И does, beware: This is the first a four-part series, which means you might find yourself lost in .hack's world for the entire year—and beyond.
Breath of Fire V
Capcom's Breath of Fire games һауе always been decent—not great, but at least good. They were exactly what you'd buy if you'd already played through the latest Final Fantasy and were looking for a solid secondary adventure to tide you over until the next one.
But that’s what Capcom hopes to change with this latest installment hitting in fall, the first in the series for the PS2. With BFV, the company aims to place the franchise in the spotlight, putting it right up there with the Final Fantasies or Suikodens. Easier said than done, of course, but early indications are proving positive.
The game sports a killer new pseudo-
cel-shaded look to go along with its new focus on sci-fi over fantasy, Perhaps hop- ing to repeat a success story similar to what happened when FFVII took Square's franchise in a darker, more sci-fi direc- tion, BFV features an underworld setting overrun with technology, plus a quest that sets a band of adventurers on a path toward their planet's surface,
Capcom has atso spent a lot of time retooling its battle system, which now incorporates action, RPG, and simulation elements all in one (think Vagrant Story). Topping it all off, the developer has come up with this innovation: You can restart your entire. game at any point while retaining your character's built-up data. This element alone has us extremely intrigued.
Magic тәр
Tales of Destiny 2
Just to make sure we're all оп the same page, the Tales of Destiny 2 for PS2 that we're showing you here is the sequel to Tales of Destiny for the PS1. The Tales of Destiny |І that you may have already played on the PS1 wasn’t a {гие sequel— in fact, itwas released as Tales of Eternia in Japan and had a completely unrelated storyline. So forget about that game.
The real Tales of Destiny 2 you see here looks to Бе the sequel we've always hoped for. Ít retains the 2D visuals the series has become known for, but pushes things to the limit with characters and environ- ments that drip with high-res 2D detail. Battles also appear to be far more dra- matic, with a camera that zooms in and out on the action, not unlike your typical 20 fighting game.
Similar to the previous Tales games, the battle system is also heavily inspired by fighting games, with moves that are pulled off with Street Fighter-esque button combinations. You're even ranked on your performance after each battle. If anything, this action element should set the game apart when it hits this fall.
Unlimited Saga
Although they've never quite had the story lines or gameplay to be considered in the same league as the Final Fantasy titles, Square's Saga games have at least prided themselves on their beautiful hand-painted visuals. And white the jury's still out on key ingredients of Unlimited Saga, from what we've seen So far, we can at least confirm it looks absolutely stunning. Using a new graphics technique that blends 3D and 2D animation, the game often appears to be a watercolor painting in motion, If the game- play matches the visuals, perhaps this will bring the series into the limetight this fall.
Growlanser II
If nothing else, Growlanser Il stands out as this year's only major strategy/RPG. But it's not necessarily the gameplay that’s made the Growlanser series so popular in Japan; it's the handiwork of anime artist Satoshi Urushihara, а man famous for his full-fea- tured depictions of the female form. Still, even if you have no idea who Urushihara is, the simple fact that Working Designs is localizing the game (along with its sequel) means you can expect a breezy translation, tons of gameplay extras, and а cardboard box jam-packed with knickknacks and other fanboy tchotchkes. We're told it should be out by the first half of the year, but, well— you know Working Designs...
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Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Let's ай make a promise right now: We solemnly swear to not overlook this third chapter іп the Star Ocean franchise.
Why bother? Two reasons. First, the previous PS1 Star Ocean, though critically. acclaimed, didn’t make much of a mark оп the gaming world. Second, this is being developed by tri-Ace, an OPM favorite thanks to its incredibly innovative PS1 RPG Valkyrie Profile {yet another overlooked gem].
But End of Time has more than just history оп its side. So far, the gameplay is shaping up to be every bit as com- pelling as its predecessor, The real-time combat, which mixes strategic planning with quick action, is as deep as it's acces- sible. Better yet, battles aren't random;
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The way we see it is, you're either excited about this game or you're not, and this largely hinges on whether you were a fan. of Xenogears. Although, technically, Gears isn’t connected to the Xenosaga series (of which this game is episode one of six], it remains the game's spiritual precursor. {As you've no doubt heard by now, many of the Gears staff—including the game's director—defected from Square and are now working for Namco on Xenosaga.)
If you happen to be a Gears fan, you'll find plenty to look forward to when Xenosaga comes out early this year. The designers have come up with a new 3D.
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you can actually see your enemies onscreen. Throw їп a wealth of customiz- able options along with a story that wan- ders into space and beyond—and you've got a game that'll consume all your time when Enix releases it this fall.
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engine for both the overworld and bat- tle scenes—an engine that
shows off distinct details like flowing hair and realistic facial movements. They've also put a great deal of empha- sis into the story sequences, which, albeit scripted movie cut- scenes, make use of the game's 3D engine. Best of all, though, isa new soundtrack from, Xenogears and Chrono Trigger composer Yasunori Mitsuda, per- formed by
the London Symphony Orchestra.
PS1 28”.
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FANTASY REBORN Square goes back in time to resurrect two classics
It's an old story, often repeated, but it bears retelling: Back т 1987, when Square was a small, struggling company in desperate need of a big game to keep it afloat, Hironobu Sakaguchi had an idea. Why not develop something to rival Enix's immensely popular Dragon Quest? And while Square was at it, why not try to top Епіх'ѕ revolutionary foray into role-playing games? Square decided to sink every- thing it had into the idea, knowing that if it failed, that would be the end of the company. Hence, the name Final Fantasy.
Obviously, it wasn’t the end of the line for Square. Far from it. The Final Fantasy franchise has gone on to eclipse Dragon Quest, selling 42 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the most beloved and innovative series out there.
And now you can go back and see where it all started.
This spring, Square will release a PS1 compilation disc containing remakes of both Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy І. Along with the opportunity to play FFII for the first time ever (despite Final Fantasy's success, FFII was never released in the United States), both games will have enhanced graphics and new CG intro movies. The story and the gameplay have also been tweaked to include a few new events along with different modes to suit newbies and RPG vets alike. And as a bonus for the true fanboy, the compilation has a detailed bestiary and an art gallery packed with illustrations from anime legend Yoshitaka Amano.
So brush off that PS1, hook up one of those miniscreens, and get ready to go back in time to experience the beginning of the fantasy.
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Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance ©2002 Midway Amusement Games, LLC. All rights reserved. MORTAL KOMBAT, DEADLY ALLIANCE, the dragon logo, MIDWAY, the Midway logos and all character names are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.
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"Fast...stunning...impressive, most impressive" IGN
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CHED
Violence
ВМХ PG-13
Did Acclaim take things too far? Sony censors the racy BMX XXX
cast of virtual strippers, pimps, and A hookers mouthing off. Topless girls
on bikes. Videos of real-life strippers baring just about everything for the camera. With all that skin, something was bound to give, and in early November, it did: Acclaim revealed that Sony forced it to censor BMX XXX for the PS2. The game, which had shamelessly prided itself on its blatant nudity (hence the XXX name], would no longer feature any nudity.
"In the PS2 version of the game, players will not be able to create topless female rid- ers, and during the videos from Scores, the strippers’ chests will be covered with the ВМХ XXX logo,” Alan Lewis, director of pub- lic relations for Acclaim, told OPM. In short,
Асб\ах n custo лег survey
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
all instances of nudity have been stripped from the game.
It's interesting that SCEA's decision to force Acclaim to censor BMX XXX came after the game had already been approved by the ESRB (the game industry's rating council] with an M [Mature] rating. Apparently, SCEA felt the rating wasn't enough. "As the plat- form holder, we reserve the right to request content adjustments at various stages of the product development process," an SCEA spokesperson informed OPM. "This is a right we rarely exercise. In the case of BMX XXX, we felt that some of the game's content did not fundamentally add to the overall experience, and is therefore included purely for effect." Sony felt that these "nonessen-
I didn't think they'd do it!
tial” bits could potentially reflect negatively on the console and needed to be cut. "As we have invested heavily into the PlayStation brand over the years, we have a responsibil- ity to protect its essence and associations." It's also interesting that only the PS2 ver- Sion of BMX XXX was censored—both Nintendo and Microsoft allowed the game, naughty bits and all, on their respective consoles. Although Acclaim refrains from condemning Sony for this, it remains puz- zled. "We expected all of the hardware man- ufacturers to fully support the ESRB's rating of this product," Lewis told us. "Our intent
Dave Mirra, pictured here, chose to remove his name from BMX
So, why did SCEA allow Acclaim to devel- op and promote BMX XXX as a game that displayed nudity, when it knew the naughty bits would never fly? Apparently, what became public in November had been going on privately for some time, as Acclaim and SCEA struggled over removal of the publicly displayed private parts and jiggly bits. “While the game concept was approved, the exact nature of the mature-related content obviously did not become clear until much later in the development lifecycle,” the SCEA spokesperson explained.
Similarly, BMX star Dave Mirra, who'd
In short, all instances of nudity have been stripped from the game
was to release the same product on all three platforms.”
Is Sony undermining the ESRB by enforc- ing its own standards? Is the company sim- ply taking a no-nudity stance on games? Does this set a precedent? Not exactly, claims SCEA. “The ESRB is in the process of rethinking its approach to the ratings sys- tem, including what constitutes a Mature- the SCEA spokesperson explained.” Pending that review and full industry discussion of the results, SCEA has decided to request that publishers not include nudity in M-rated games, in order to maintain consumer faith in the PlayStation brand and its content.”
originally agreed to be spokesperson for the product, later pulled out because of its lewd content. “I've decided to take my name off the game because it is M-rated,” Mirra revealed in an online chat session with extreme-sports site EXPN.
If there's any good news for Acclaim as a result of XXX's censorship, it's that the game may actually see a wider release than previ- ously expected. Retailers including Wal- Mart, Toys R Us, KB Toys, Best Buy, and Circuit City had all previously declared that they would not carry the game. With the nudity removed from the PlayStation 2 ver- sion, there's a chance some of those retail- ers will now stock the title.
Did the fact that BMX XXX for PS2 was censored affect
your decision
to buy it or not?
| didn't plan to get it anyway 52%
Yeah, the nudity was the main rea- son | wanted the game! 4396
Nah, ГЦ buy it regardless 3%
Source: Gamers.com poll
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trademarks of Nintendo. Game Boy and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Screens shown were taken from the Xbox version of the video game.
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© Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
ow many times have you heard
that videogames are bad for you? According to certain parents and politicians, games are powerful enough to rot your brains, make you fat, and send you on a real-life killing-spree. This prejudice dates back to the 1930s, when New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia outlawed pinball arcades for allegedly corrupting the city's youth. And it continues right into the 21st century, with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's recent assertion that videogames "literally teach" kids how to fire guns.
But these days, there's mounting evi- dence that videogames have the potential to improve a player's mental and physical well- being. Dr. Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at Nottingham Trent University in England, conducted a survey of existing psychological and medical studies and discovered that "in the right context, videogames can have posi- tive health benefits to a large range of dif- ferent sub-groups, and that adverse effects are likely to affect only a very small sub- group of very frequent players." In such studies, researchers from Harvard to NASA have found that videogames do everything from honing concentration skills to speeding the recovery of stroke victims. At Bangor University, professors use the PS2 to study how students can build and process atten- tion skills. And, beginning this fall, а com- pany called Cyberlearning will market a PlayStation peripheral (based on studies at NASA] aimed at players who want to use games to flex their brains.
Here's the lowdown on 10 ways video- games have been proven to pump you up:
ОТМЕ IRRITABLE BOWELS!
Feeling bloated and gassy? Time to reach for that videogame controller. At the Royal Free Hospital in London, teenagers suffering from irritable-bowel syndrome— а common intestinal disorder that leads to unpleasant consequences like explosive diarrhea or painful constipation—were treated using a customized videogame. Patients were wired with a series of biofeedback sensors that picked up on how relaxed they were feeling at a given moment. The sensors were connected to a game in which the object was to progress. through a so-called "virtual bowel cluttered with red bubbles of pain. The
HEY, ROCKET SCIENTIST!
MY BRAIN IS :
THANKS TO ALL THE
VIDEOGAMES I PLAY
more the patient relaxed, the more the biofeedback system neutralized the gas bubbles in the game—letting the player emerge from the bowel into a happy, bucolic scene. So much for Rolaids.
by David Kushner illustrations by mitchgreenblatt.com
OR YOU!
10 Ways That Videogames Can Make You Better, Smarter, Faster, Stronger
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
2510» SMOKING! So much for aliens and terrorists—if you | want а real videogame challenge, try
S Шай tar! That's the object
Set Options and injected insid the body ofa smoker. Once inside the lungs, | has to neutralize plaque, debris, and cancerous cells before those ugly tumo
take over. Sound scar! cording to Dr. - Deborah Lieberman of the University of California, Santa Barbara, teens who
PREVENT SEIZURES!
For years, there have been reports that
| videogames—with their high-speed
framerates and strobe-like flashing lights—can trigger seizures in players who suffer from epilepsy. In fact, warning labels now appear on many games. But neurological researchers at Brandeis University and the Children’s Hospital in Boston found that videogames could actually be used to help epileptics lead healthier lives. During a seizure, epileptics experience a flash of uncontrollable brain- waves. For the study, scientists measured the types of electrical bursts produced by gamers as they played a traditional maze game. After observing the results, the sci- entists found that the impulses that might
|
played the game for а week showed а | lead to seizures seemed to originate іп the
dramatic decrease in their desire to | | temporal lobe, the area of the brain smoke. According to rumors, a new | e responsible for memory. Using video-
game called Colon Corey is being | e ndered why a games, the scientists say it’s possible to developed to reduce players’ interest | eir favorite sports help isolate these regions of the brain and
in eating refried beans. e movi or hours possibly develop non-invasive treatment 35 і; | Y e for the condition. "By playing videogames,
these heroic teenagers аге helping the | kids of the future have happier, healthier,
\ OR EPILE ۴ с Y A! N D IR T [ ABI 1 seizure-free lives,” researcher Dr. Robert , Я Sekula says. "With more work, we may be ГНЕРЕ 5 able to understand why the brain's rhyth- mic activity sometimes spins out of con- trol. Our long-range goal is developing a
LÀ | AAS | cure for epilepsy." E ГНАМ A DOSE OF VIDEOGAMES D
2 o
=”
THE FOLLOW UP TO THE ACTION-PACKED ZONE OF THE ENDERS: IDOLO ORIGINAL VIDEO ANIMATION MOVIE
E
I MET MY SASSY GIRLFRIEND WHILE
GAMING ONLINE
SHE KICKED MY BUTT AT SOCOM, THEN WE MET UP AND MADE OUT
the 1980s, when a report in the Journal of American Academic Child Psychiatry argued that games not only didn't inspire aggres- Sion but they actually released it. And despite all the studies that attempt to
link violent media with aggression, such conclusions remain suspect. "Violence in film, in videogames, in music lyrics is disturbing to us all," said Dr. Stuart Fischoff, founder of the Media Psychology Lab at California State University іп Los Angeles, in an address to the American Psychological Association in 1999. "But because two phenomena are both disturb- ing and coincident in time does not make them causally connected."
REHABILITATE FROM
INJURIES! Wheelchair users, burn victims, and mus- cular-dystrophy sufferers have all benefit- ed from videogame therapy, according to research by Dr. Mark Griffiths, a psycholo- gist at Nottingham Trent University who published the report, “Тһе Therapeutic Value of Videogames." One occupational therapist developed three-minute exercise routines that used a videogame controller to increase hand strength for those recov- ering from hand injuries. Videogames have also been used for their powers of distraction—a versatile means of helping people deal with pain management. In one study, an 8-year-old boy was suffering from a chronic case of picking his face. According to Dr. Griffiths, "The child had neurodermatitis and scarring due to con- tinual picking at his upper lip. Previous treatments, including behavior modifica- tion, had failed, so a...videogame was used to keep the boy's hands occupied. After
two weeks, the affected area had healed." Whether games can cure a chronic nose- picker remains to be seen.
10 MAKE
FRIENDS!
Now, there’s proof that beating your friends’ butts in Virtua Fighter may be a healthy way to build social skills. For nearly two decades, scientists have used videogames to help developmentally dam- aged kids practice social interactions.
As Dr. Jo Bryce, University of Central Lancashire, wrote in her study of gamers at live competitions, such in-person gam- ing events “offer [the] opportunity for conspicuous display and the challenge of skills developed through domestic gaming and practice to be applied to a public field of competition. Part of the attraction of public gaming events is not just to be chal- lenged and compete, but to be seen to do so and make eye contact with other mem- bers of the gaming communities.” And with the PS2 now offering online gaming, there’s never been a better time for play- ers to reach out and frag someone—all in the name of good health, of course.
DOLORES; p
SUBGESTED
nders: idolo «c: 2001 SUNRISE • VAP
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CREATE (OTT C014
LARA
IS LATE
The Angel of Darkness won't be with us until
February or March. What's the holdup?
Darkness is now set to hit stores next February or March. Why
0 riginally slated for a Nov. 19 release, Tomb Raider: The Angel of
did Eidos and Core wait until the last minute to announce the
game's delay? "It was becoming pretty clear that we weren't
going to make it by Thanksgiving,” explains Rob Dyer, president
of Eidos Interactive. “If we missed that date, we only had a
small window of opportunity [to get it out in time] for this holi- day. We really had to try to get it out by the second weekend
in December at the very latest. When that was looking unlikely, too, we just decided to do the right thing and delay it properly rather than rush it.”
Given that the game has been in development for two years, what could possibly be wrong? Rumors have been flying since May that the game wasn’t up to scratch, so what's the deal? "It's just not finished yet,” Dyer admits. "It's not a matter of adding some final polish; there are some fundamental things that we need to do, and we need to do them properly.” Like what? “Eidos has had a good run with Hitman 2, TimeSplitters 2, and Deus Ex,” Dyer smiles. “We learned with these games that we have to hold things back until they're ready. We focus-tested all of those games a lot, and it really paid off. We were able to change key elements, like difficulty levels, control sys- tems, and interface design—all things that make the experience better. On the flip side, games like Herdy Gerdy and Soul Reaver 2 suffered because we rushed them out the door. We didn't focus-test them, and we just didn’t manage to get people excited. More time working on Tomb Raider means we'll get it absolutely right.”
“More time working on Tomb Raider means we'll get it absolutely right.”
When pushed on the possibility of a flop for his flag- ship Tomb Raider franchise, Dyer refuses to be ruffled. The Angel of Darkness is slated to be the first part of a trilogy, but even if it fails to spark much interest, the remaining two will definitely still happen. “We won't abandon Lara,” Dyer says emphatically. “We have two separate teams of 30 or 40 extremely talented people working on the trilogy right now. There’s the Angel team, and there's a second team that has already been working on part two for the better part of a year. Once Angel is out, that team will move on to the final part, which means that all of the games will have at least two years of development in them. The final part will hit at the end of 2004.”
68) Official U.S. PlayStation Maaazi
Tian
DATA STREAM
World War 2.5
Master of the strategy genre, Koei plans to release P 7.0. IV here this spring. Set in 1939, the game allows you to choose your nation and potentially alter the outcome of WWII.
Hurrying It Up
Forget F1, rally, and Nascar— chariot racing is where it’s at. OK, maybe not, but European developer Microids is working on Ben Hur for the PS2.
Apocalypse Wow
Жыл -
300 unveiled its upcoming
PS2 game, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The action title features the voices of Tim Curry, Millennium's Lance Henriksen, and one-time adult film star Traci Lords, who apparently didn’t mind being around a bunch of army men.
Character Clash
Konami, Genki, Takara, and Hudson have teamed up to create a PS2 party battle game for next year, using many of their signature char- acters. Bomberman, select Transformers, and Goemon have already made the roster.
50 BRUTAL. M EVIL. so DEADLY. \
“ „Deadly Alliance is the most ышы” accomplished : and
addictive game of the year.” 9.75 oul 0110 E Informer ` 3
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FORGED A DEADLY ALLIANCE THAT NOU REPRESENTS EARTH'S GREATEST THREAT. ITS IN YOUR BLOOD. AN ALL-NEU, LETHAL FIGHTING SYSTEM. THREE UNIQUE FIGHTING STYLES PER WARRIOR. x INCLUDING HAND-TO-HAND AND DEADLY WEAPON COMBAT. OVER 20 NEU AND CLASSIC Now fivailable! WARRIORS. EXTREMELY REALISTIC EFFECTS AND BRUTAL NEW FATALITIES.
Wm NUN uuo a m E
PlayStation.e ЕТСЕ
ONLY IN JAP
AN
Taiko no Tatsujin (Master of the Namco, PS2
Drum)
P STEPPING WIND (Mey
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ITRE)
In ancient times, Japanese warriors used to ride into battle with а secret weapon—the taiko. It was a powerful motivator. It
Struck fear into the heart of adversaries. It...was а dru
im. Or, to
translate it literally, а “fat drum." Hardly an exciting or intimidat- ing presence these days, but a surprising recent resurgence (recent meaning over the last half-century) gives Namco a new instrument to use in a new music game. Yes, we cover far too many “wacky music games” in this section, but this one boasts a remarkable innovation: It’s fun. Taiko no Tatsujin succeeds where other music games of late fail because it doesn’t try to be
cool (Beatmania), cheesy (Dance Dance Revolution), oi
r just
downright weird (Mad Maestro). Like Sega's samba-shaking game Samba de Amigo, Taiko knows how ridiculous it is and revels in that fact. It has no qualms with being full of kitschy superhappy Japanese cartoony figures that dance around in their state of permanent smiley giddy glee and shout encourag- ing phrases. Even the notes have smiley faces and sunny per- sonalities. And like Samba, which paused the action periodically for you to assume silly poses in the name of fun, Taiko will occasionally ask you to drum as rapidly as possible to explode a
bomb. Why? Taiko's attitude is: Who cares? Just have
fun! But
what makes this game really cool is the element of realism brought on by the controller. It's not a colorful, plasticky mass of buttons. The drum doesn't outwardly indicate where you have to hit it (say, in the middle or on its rims); you just have to use common sense and bang on the correct spots. And when you hit the drum, it makes a really satisfying authentic taiko sound. Japanese gamers are currently snapping it up in droves, proving that there's nothing like slamming a big drum to the beat of var- ious Japanese tunes and...Livin’ La Vida Loca. Oh yeah, baby.
INSTRUMENTS WI AMES
(YET)
Sitar Mania: If it's good enough for the Beatles, it's good
enough for Konami, surely?
Triangle Triangle Revolution: The perfect intro to the percussion world. If successful, we recommend Gong Revolution as the sequel.
Recorder de G0!: Arguably the most useless instrument
ever, but we still have to learn it in school. Let's make those wasted hours useful.
Didgeridoo Freaks: The title says it all, really.
“
(70) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
М
AN
Gong
NO TIME FOR ONLINE
5 questions with TimeSplitters 2 development team
just over 15,000. АЦ 11 levels of AstroLander have been completed on Medium dif- ficulty; we've yet to see anyone get past level 9 on Hard. The best lap
time for RetroRacer is 11.3 seconds, and the best total time
is 59 seconds.
1
It wasn't stripped out at the last minute. After E3, it became increasingly clear that, given the timing of the Sony rollout, our launch date, and the finite resources available to us, we wouldn't be able to create a full online experience. The basic online capability is still in the game and is used for LAN play. But we didn't want to force something in that would be a disservice to the quality of the rest of the game.
2
TS2 is clearly better than the
others, providing you can pull out
the rose-tinted contact lenses of
nostalgia. GoldenEye stands the test of time because of the vari- ety and density of objectives. 757 is better than PD, which was hampered by the technical limi- tations of the №64, the need to buy memory expansion in order to experience the whole game, and a number of bad design decisions that were made after we ceased working on it.
3
Half-Life—it was way ahead of its time in terms of plot integration and immersion and still stands up against the likes of Halo.
4
The highest Anaconda score was
5
vertently
Um, we inad-
monkey
and it took over the game.
created a
character,
ALIEN WARS
The Game
What Is It?
The Good
Although it fell on hard times in recent years, the Contra series was once revered as one
of gaming's greatest franchises. Especially in the 8-bit Nintendo and 16-bit Super Nintendo eras, Contra games were must-owns. Beloved for their fast-paced, white-knuckle gameplay and enormous alien bosses—not to mention solid difficulty levels—these games defined the action-shooter genre. With Contra: Shattered Soldier helping restore the luster to this fran- chise, now's the perfect time to take a look back at some of the series' ups and downs.
The Bad
Contra
1988
п Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System
Operation C 1991 5 Nintendo Game Boy
1993 Super Nintendo
Contra: Hard Corps
C: The Contra Adventure 1998
PS1
The classic that started it
all was regarded by many as one of the greatest NES games ever made.
Though technically a sequel to Super C, this handheld game remixed a lot of ele- ments from the prior two.
Developed by the team that later founded Treasure, this Contra featured impressive
16-bit graphical effects.
Konami set out to create
the ultimate Contra with this one: multiple charac- ters, paths, and endings.
After Legacy got panned by critics, Konami bonehead- edly allowed Appaloosa to
botch yet another one.
Incredible gameplay and some seriously catchy
tunes. Plus, who can for- get the old Konami code?
Great Contra gameplay, but on the go. Some new weapons, plus some of the original music.
New gameplay mechanics such as automatic rapid fire and use of shoulder buttons to angle shots.
Multiple weapons to use atany time, and insane bosses with hardware- defying special effects.
This game at least attempted to go back to Contra's roots with a more 2D style of gameplay.
It's entirely possible for a good player to beat the game in under 20 minutes. Damn tough without the code, though.
Sometimes a bit hard on the eyes, especially when you're jumping or moving around quickly.
Had only six playable levels; plus, some of the overhead missions were a bit confusing and far too difficult.
m
Plain and simple: too hard. Emphasis on bosses in this game required lots of patience for learning strategies.
Unfortunately, this played just as poorly as Legacy. Awful graphics, cheap hits galore, and no two-player mode.
Clish MacLaver's
GOSSIP GOSSIP
Gossip, rumor, and scandal. Gaming's biggest secrets dug up and served with gravy.
With holiday games out, we look to the future for what's next. This is always the best time of year for hot info on what’s to come.
KOJIMA IS STILL SOLID
Young newshound Sam Kennedy handed me the following quote from Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance Assistant Director Yoshikazu Matsuhana: “Yes, we are working on Metal Gear Solid 3,” he says. “The concept and direction are still being set, but if | told you about it, you'd be blown away. At опе point, there was talk that
something like this: You're wait- ing for a bus, nothing comes, and then all of a sudden, three come at once. Square’s been remark- ably quiet since Kingdom Hearts, but now it seems there's all kinds of activity set to explode in 2003 and 2004. We can expect Final Fantasy X-2 in September, and sometime after, when a hosting partner is finally announced, we'll get Final Fantasy XI. While this is happening, Square will start the buildup on Final Fantasy XII and Chrono Break. We've also heard that Kingdom Hearts 2 might come
“Once FFX-2 is out, watch out for a sequel to Final Fantasy VII that reunites Cloud and the gang.”
Hideo Kojima wouldn't direct another Metal Gear game, but it looks like he will. MGS3 is so ambitious, it would collapse if Kojima didn’t take charge of it.” So, there you go...you read it here first.
SQUARE GOES GAME CRAZY!
There's an expression in Britain about waiting for buses. | don’t know if you have an equivalent in the United States, but it goes
BITS AND BOBS
even sooner than expected, possi- bly by the end of 2004. Beyond this, we'll start seeing news опа new massively multiplayer game, which may be an entirely new franchise from Square.
The biggest news we've heard lately from the Square camp, though, is that the whole “side- story” concept may become an RPG gamer's wet dream. Once FFX-2 is out, watch out for...wait for it...a sequel to Final Fantasy VII that reunites Cloud and the gang
Ape Escape 2 will finally make it out in the United States—looks like
THQ has signed it. e Rumors are floating around about an expansion
disc being worked on for The Getaway. We'll have more news next
month in our special report on the game. * Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
will be coming to PS2. * Sega, once Microsoft's best friend, will no
longer be releasing Xbox games in Japan. • Look out for TimeSplitters
2.5 (probably not the real name) soon. It's TimeSplitters 2 with online
support. Yay! The way it should be! Expect it to be released as a cheap
version of the game. It’s not clear yet if the disc will be online-only.
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: clish_maclaver(aziffdavis.com Look out for me on AIM, too—
my buddy name is OPMClish.
for a new adventure. You should probably pick your jaw up off the floor now.
SSX EVEN TRICKIER
15 SSX (ог maybe Tricky) still your favorite PS2 game? For many of us, it remains up there in the top five, along with FFX and GTA3. If you feel the same, you'll be pleased to know that, aside from messing around with other extreme sports and failing miser- ably, the EA Sports Big guys are also hard at work on SSX3.
GRAN TURISMO 4 LIFE
I've been gossiping about the fourth Gran Turismo game for over a year now, it seems. At one point, it even looked like Yamauchi and his gang of gearheads would sit out the rest of the PS2 generation and make us wait for the PS3 launch in 2005 before we saw another game. Don't fret, though— according to Japanese games magazine Dorimaga, Polyphony is about halfway through develop- ment on 674, which makes me think we could see it as soon as the end of 2003. Will it be online? Well, if Yamauchi’s previous com- ments are anything to go by, it should be. Will it be the ultimate racing game in which you can download every car ever made? That remains to be seen. It would be incredibly cool, though, huh?
Vazhar
by Full Sail Gradual Brian Germain
hie
Real World Education
School of: e Game Design and
Development
e Computer Animation * Digital Media
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800.226.7625
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¢ Financial aid available to those who qualify. • Job placement assistance. * Accredited college, ACCSCT.
3300 University Boulevard * Winter Park, FL 32792
© 2002 Full Sail, Inc. All rights reserved. The terms
Full Sail,
“Full Sail Real World Education,” and the
Full Sail logo are either registered service marks or service marks of Full Sail, Inc.
DROP IN
rome ULTIMATE
SKATEBOARDING CHALLENGE!
YOUR CAREER IS WHAT YOU
MAKE OF IT...
14 of the world's top pros challenge you to prove your skills.
a کک ی “TONY HAWK'S (PROSKAIER!
Featuring songs by N.W.A., Offspring, and System of a Down.
<x Official Strategy Guide available from Brady Games.
* Online play exclusive to PlayStation®2 computer entertainment $) ystem.
TEEN
Blood
Comic Mischief Mild Lyrics Suggestive Themes
ss. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing. Inc Tony Hawk is a trademark of Tony Hawk. P d S
"rre are trademarks of Nintendo. The ralings icon is
CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system screenshots shown.
"Groundbreaking and brilliant..." “Neversoft has another masterpiece on its hands."
-Official PlayStation Magazine (#60)
Tons of new goals in the All new tricks - skitch behind New multiplayer and online modes deepest career mode to date. cars, skate on moving objects, including Score Challenge and and transfer over spines. Capture the Flag!”
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater™4 is the ultimate challenge. Pros challenge you to make your mark in huge free-roaming levels, taking on 190 progressively harder goals with no time limits to hold you back. Decide when you're ready to take on your Pro Challenge and move into the pro ranks, where it's a whole new game. Build your skills, earn respect, and show that you've got what it takes to Go Pro...
Compatible with Playstation® game console and compatible with Playstation® 2 computer entertainment system. Vicarious
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ЭТАТТОМ.......
The classic rock (Thin Lizzy and Lynyrd Skynyrd) this month comes from Pro Race Driver, as does Morcheeba—the other two are from Tony Hawk 4.
ail: Чат Friday
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Final Score өөө‹
Lynyrd Skynyrd: Second Helping Typically speaking, there are several things I'd rather do than to listen to country-fried rock, among them running my tongue vigorously across a cheese grater, C frankly, if | could never hear “Sweet Home Alabama" again in my life, I'd go church every < day and light a candle of thanks. Having said that, Lynyrd Skynyr Southern rock ever got (possibly excepting the Allman Brothers), Second Helping is as good as they ever got, and “Sweet Home
Alabama" is not nearly the inbred swamp-rat anthem it's been made out to be. So, yeah, this album is good. | never want to listen to it again
as good as
Final Score ДІ
Thin Lizzy: Jailbreak
The song "Jailbreak" used to drive my friend Joe Schmitt crazy, specifi cally because of the lyric in which lead singer Phil Lynott warns that tonight there’s going to be a jailbreak, somewhere in this town.” To which Joe would respond, “Hmm...probably at the jail.” That Joe. What a nut. Jailbreak, the album, is standard issue '70s rock, with one big hit, “The Boys are Back in Town,” and a lot of decent but undistin- guished filler. A lot of people think Lynott is underappreciated as a songwriter, but | think he's appreciated about the right amount. After all, he couldn't figure out where the jailbreak was going to be.
Final Score eee
John Scalzi's been reviewing music since goofy concept albums like Jailbreak were still thought to be kinda cool. Not anymore! Visit www.indiecrit.com for John's reviews of the best independent music, like, ever.
(74) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine У
www.gamers.com Get your piping-hot, right-out- of-the-oven gaming news here, along with a sweetly steaming plateful of reviews, previews, and cranberry sauce. You'll find our message board here, and you can even find out how to chat with us in real-time. Dig it.
www.playstation.com The long-awaited redesign of the official Sony site has finally happened, and the result is a slick, sharp site with lots of groovy info on all your favorite games, peripherals, and head- wear. Plus, pants.
www.apple.com/switch/ ads/tonyhawk.html Whether you see these ads as hip and effective or unbearably smarmy, you gotta love seeing Tony Hawk looking vaguely uncomfortable in front of the camera. You can also check out testimonials from other celebs, like Kelly Slater and DJ Qbert.
bigwhiteguy.com blackpeopleloveus.com Each of these sites is special in its own way, but they both offer pretty hysterical points of view that are, we must hasten to stress, purely satirical.
www. freakyeyes.com/ shapes.html
Wonder where Marilyn Manson shops for his eyewear? No, not his ugly-ass "705 knockoff glasses—his eyewear. This site may give you some indication. Our favorite is the smiley face.
www-bcs.mit.edu/gaz/ These simple demonstrations of optical illusions may have you scratching your head, We just wish they went into more detail regarding why they happen.
www.ddrfreak.com/ videos.php
So you think you have some DDR skills, do you? You know what? You ain't got jack. Check out these videos from official Dance Dance Revolution tournaments. (Yes, they actually have them.) When you can score “perfects” without looking at the screen, you're hardcore.
www.ericmyer.com/ stereotypes.htm
This is neat and unsettling at the same time: This photogra- pher has taken a number of head shots and set them up so that you can mix and match the upper and lower halves of these poor people's faces.
dumbwarnings.com
Is there really a set of Christmas lights that bears the warning “For indoor or outdoor use only"? We're not sure, but it sure is fun to think about how ridiculous some warnings can get in our litigious society.
WWW.project-euh.com "Euh?" is French for "Huh?"
That pretty much sums up most of what's on this site. It's a collection of odd little bits of “interactive art” that don't really have much of a point at all, but are still strangely diverting.
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XXX
(Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson)
This flick positions its main character as the James Bond of the Mountain Dew generation (that's you! YOU! YOOOOOU!!!). As portrayed by that slab о’ manflesh known as Vin Diesel, that means lots of tattoos, ratty clothes, and exploding extreme-sports gear. But what the hell—I actually dig Diesel (he's fun to watch and he can act, just not here), and this flick
punches the right action-adventure buttons. XXX isn't going to
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
by John Scalzi
make anyone forget Bond anytime soon, but it’s а fine way to kill time until the Tuxedoed One gets back on the silver screen. Extras include: director commentary, deleted scenes, making-of featurettes, and a video by Gavin Rossdale (Mr. Gwen Stefani, the lucky bastard).
Movie Score: DVD Extras Score
AUSTIN POWE OLDMEMBER (Mike Myers, Beyonce Knowles) In general, I'm not much for the Austin Powers series, but apparently, 90 percent of humanity has a higher tolerance for Mike Myers flashing his smarmy mug into the camera at every opportunity, so what do | know? Having said that, Goldmember chugs along with the usual AP mix of vile physical jokes and snarky pop-culture ref- erences, and it's hard to imagine folks who like the other films not getting a chortle out of this. You'll also get commentary from Myers and Director Jay Roach, videos by Britney Spears and Beyonce Knowles, a pack of featurettes, and the ability to over- dub lines on your computer and play them back with the movie.
Movie Score: eee
H MPLETE SERT (Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd) Come back with us now, to younger, more innocent days—no, not the '50s, where the first film in the series takes place, but to the '80s. It's a freakish world in which Michael J. Fox was briefly the biggest film star in the world, and Huey Lewis and the News ruled the music charts. This set col- (есі all three Future flicks, the first of which is still pretty darn funny, and the other two installments of which are, well, tolerable. Extras include commentary by Fox, Director Robert Zemeckis, and writer Bob Gale; "pop-up" trivia facts; outtakes and deleted scenes; and interviews.
Movie Score (overall): eee«
DVD Extras Score: eee
AGE
(Ray Котапо, Denis Leary)
Shrek may have stolen last year's Oscar for Best Animated Film from Disney, but /ce Age is probably the film that makes The Mouse nervous—the first computer ani- mated film not made by Disney or DreamWorks that made over $100 million in the theaters. And why not? /ce Age is very cute, visually original, and pretty funny. It's the tale of a motley bunch of prehistoric creatures who take pity on a lost human child instead of eating it. Groovy extras include a new animated short, "Scrat's Missing Adventure"; inter- active games and animation tours; deleted Scenes; the Oscar-winning animated short "Bunny"; and director commentary.
Movie Score: eee« DVD Extras Score: eeee
The Mouse isn't taking the turf encroach- ment lying down. Proof of that is in Lilo &
UPCOMING DVD RELEASES
Dec. 3, 2002 | K-19: The Widowmaker Dec. 24, 2002 EA
Austin Powers in MTV Jackass: Vols. 2&3 Black Mask 2 | Goldmember Stuart Little 2
Lilo & Stitch 1 um
My Neighbor Totoro Dec. 17, 2002
Star Trek: The Next
Dec. 10, 2002 Halloween: Resurrection
Unfaithful
Stitch, a flick that's edgier than the studio's usual animation fare (it's—gasp!—rated PG) and genuinely funny—which isn't always the case with "edgy." Plus, it's still got that whole Disney thing, what with themes about family and caring and accepting people for who they are, even when who they are is an alien felon who looks like a rabid koala (that would be Stitch; Lilo is a cute little orphan, speaking of Disney traditions]. Extras: deleted scenes, a video by A*Teen, an animated short, and a "how to hula" lesson.
Movie Score: DVD Extras Score: eee
LOVE HINA
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
(David Umansky, Dorothy Melendrez)
So, ever hear of the legend that if you admit your love for someone on Christmas Eve, you're bound to be together forever? Yeah, me neither. Nevertheless, it's a key point in the Love Hina Christmas Special, in which anime guy Keitaro and anime gal Naru have mutual crushes but won't do the logical thing and admit it. This is a sidestep from the whole Love Hina series, so you don't have to know too much about the series to get with it. And even if you're not an anime fan, it's reasonably cute. The
DVD comes with the series' final episode (episode #25] as a treat for long-time fans.
Movie Score: eee DVD Extras Score: ee«
K-19: THE WIDOWMAKER (Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson)
A rather underappreciated film based on a true story, in which a Russian submarine's nuclear reactor goes haywire, and the crew has to find a way to fix the problem or die а horrifying death under the sea. Harrison Ford is the tougher-than-Siberian-pine commander; Liam Neeson is his stolid second-in-command. It's light on the tradi- tional action—there's very little gunplay or fistfighting—but watching the crew deal with an out-of-control nuclear reaction is pretty damn gripping, if you ask me. Director Kathryn Bigelow provides com- mentary, and there are the usual "making of" documentaries as well.
Movie Score: eeee DVD Extras Score:
MEN IN BLACK II
(Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones) Hmmmm. What's missing here? Oh, yeah: the funny. The original М/В was funnier than hell; this one basically traffics in our affection for Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. ГЦ give it Frank the talking dog and the Michael Jackson cameo [апа who would say no to Lara Flynn Boyle as an evil alien in lingerie?], but as for the rest of it: Eh. This is definitely one of those films where all the best scenes were in the trail- er. Extras: director commentary, bloopers, an alternate ending, 14 production fea- turettes, and a Will Smith video.
Movie Score: ee« DVD Extras Score: eee«
STUART LITTLE 2
(Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane) Anthropomorphized mouse Stuart gets a girlfriend in the form of a sweet little chick (literally), and the less we think of the genetic ramifications of that, the better. This sequel shares the good nature of the first film, and like that one, the animal characters—including Snowbell (Nathan Lane] and an evil falcon (James Woods]— come across better than the humans. Very sweet, but it won't bore you to death while you're watching it with your kid or younger sibling. Extras: director commentary, a read-along, behind-the-scenes features, and a video by (shudder) Celine Dion.
Movie Score: e: DVD Extras Score: eee
UNFAITHFUL
(Diane Lane, Richard Gere)
| don't know that I'd call Unfaithful a partic- ularly good film, but it's the first time the fabulous Diane Lane is given something to do in a movie besides look good. She plays a wife who threatens her marriage by hav- ing an affair with a hot young dude. Lane grabs her character with both hands, ele- vating the film to something more than just another softcore fest by Director Adrian Lyne (Indecent Proposal]. Richard Gere is decent enough as the hangdog husband. Lane, Lyne, and Gere offer up commentary, and there are also deleted scenes, inter- views, and more.
Movie Score: eee« DVD Extras Score:
MINORITY REPORT (Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell) Science-fiction author Philip K. Dick is like musician Van Morrison: When peo- ple cover his material, it usually turns out well, because the people who want to cover the material actually respect the work. Thus, Dick's short stories and novels have been the source material for some classic science-fiction films, most notably Blade Runner, which was an atmospheric riff off Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Minority Report is another such riff off Dick's material (this time, а shot story called "The Minority Report"), and while it's too early to tell if it'll have the same longevity as Blade Runner, it's clear that director Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise got the gist of Dick's vibe. The movie plops us into a world 50 years from now, full of realistic touches:
The future is here in all its eye-candy grooviness [you'll be using the Pause button to catch it all], and everyone's not walking around in identical silver tunics. This world of wonder also comes with а raging sense of dread, supplied here by a sci-fi concept (arresting peo- ple for "precrimes"—crimes they are going to commit, as predicted by creepy used psychics) that rather
unfortunately resonates all-too-well with the paranoid era we happen to be slogging through at the moment.
The plot of the film kicks into gear when the top cop of the precrime divi- sion (Cruise) is tagged as a future killer; he's suddenly on the run, literally drag- ging one of the psychics with him (a bald and eerie Samantha Morton], try- ing to clear his name before his old teammates track him down. This pre- cipitates some drastic moves— wait till you see the eye surgery— and a scene involving robotic spiders anda bathtub that is а study in how to wi maximum
MING ym КЕ
Minority Report
Street Date: 12/17/2002 MSRP $2999
xiety out of a single movie moment. Spielberg, who knows something about building suspense [see: Jaws], cranks it up, and Cruise, enjoying the chance to play slightly dark, matches the pace. Philip Dick would be proud.
Minority Report's DVD extras focus on how the filmmakers built the future: One documentary features the group of futurologists Spielberg assembles to
spin out how the next 50 years might go, and the DVD also packs in a passel of the production concepts and story- boards. Cruise and Spielberg sit down for an interview about the film, but nei- ther shows up for a commentary track. That's a crime! Track 'em down!
Movie Score: eeee DVD Extras Score: өөө4
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (т)
Because this chart was released before Vice City came out, you'll have to wait to see Rockstar's crime-wave onslaught at No. 1. But isn't it amazing, after all this time, after all those copies sold, that GTA3 is still lingering in the middle of the pack? We think so.
Title / Publisher
Month 1 1 Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports
| Enjoy this, John Madden. This will be the last time your game
| appears at the top of this list for months and months. This is the last time any game besides Grand Theft Auto: Vice City will take the top spot for quite a while. (We know because we consulted a woman witha crystal ball—we couldn't figure it out on our owni) But until then, footballers of the world can continue to unite online, thumping each other from Austin to Vancouver, Bisrnarck to Raleigh. Ah, football—the sports gamer's universal language.
Last Rating
Kingdom Hearts Square EA
501 $ Sony CEA
Tekken 4
Namco
If you're going to get your mothergrabbin' fight on, might we suggest Virtua Fighter 4 or, dare we say, Mortal Kombat? Actually, Rocky is a most pleasant surprise if you want to trade blows with Apollo Creed.
| 4 Grand Theft Auto Ill 5 Rockstar 6 7 Onimusha 2: Sam. Destiny Capcom 3 NCAA Football 2003 7 EA Sports
— Топу Hawk's Pro Skater3 өөөөө Activision
Gran Turismo 3: A-spec Sony CEA
- МВА Street ҒА Від
8 9 10
Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, September 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.
(78) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
Боо-аольомы
di
2
2
4
5
6 7 8 9 10
Final Fantasy X-2 Square EA Def Jam: Vendetta EA Big The Getaway Sony CEA NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Big Devil May Cry 2 Capcom Star Ocean 3 Enix Splinter Cell Ubi Soft StarCraft: Ghost Blizzard Soul Calibur 2 Namco The Sims EA Games
Japan's Top 10 PS2 Games Marvelvs.Capcom2 Capcom Energy Air Force Тайо Dyn. War. 3: Extreme Koei Velocity King 03 Culdcept 2nd Exp. Sega Sanji Digiworld SP Yamasa Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei shack 2: Mal. Mutation Bandai Ico Sony
1 | Need for Speed 2 (PS2) EA Games 2 | Desert Storm (PS2) ^ Gotham З | Tekken 4 (PS2) Namco
4 | Madden 2003 (PS2) ҒА Sports 5 | SOCOM (PS2) Sony CEA 6 | NBA Live 2003 (PS2) ҒА Sports 7 | Red Faction 2 (PS2) THQ
8 | Star Fox Adv. (GC) Nintendo 9 | NCAA Foot. 2003 (Р52) EA Sports 101 Kingdom Hearts (PS2) Square ҒА (Source: BLOCKBUSTER, WEEK or ст. 20, 2002)
Top 10-Selling Games, All Systems l|Madden2003(PS2) ҒА Sports 2 | Kingdom Hearts (Р52) Square EA 3 | socom (Р52) Sony CEA 4 | Tekken 4 (PS2] Namco
5 | GTA3 (PS2) Rockstar. 6 | Yu-Gi-Oh! (PS1) Konami
7 | Onimusha 2 (PS2] Capcom 8 | NCAA Foot. 2003 (Р52) EA Sports 9 | Tony Hawk 3 (PS2) Activision 10) Gran Turismo 3 (PS2) Sony CEA
ң аша BÍ
ор 10
Not only is Yu-Gi-Oh rockin' the Р51 chart, but it's also one of the
top-selling games on any platform! How surprising! How mes-
merizing! How...awful! With all the PS1s flying off the shelves for the holiday season, we're hoping people wise up in a hurry.
Title / Publisher
Last Month Rating
1 1 Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories 94 | ; Konami If you sport a big ot fro and have nimble gaming fingers, yo, if you're anti-Vince van Gogh, you're likely playing Yu-Gi-Oh! Your 0?" but you've already wasted dough, forget your | trip to the Alamo because you're stuck playing Yu-Gi-Oh. If ther not a lawn to mow or à ripped shirt-sleeve to sew, if you lost your | favorite CD by Poe or have no other place to go, we excuse you | playing Yu-Gi-Oh! If you have an arrow with no bow, lost your
cket to see Margaret Cho, why not waste time on Yu-Gi-Oh?
4 Spider-Man 90000
Activision
3 6 ` SpongeBob SquarePants eo THQ ;
2 Gundam: Battle Assault 2 [lll Bandai
4 | 5 5 Madden NFL 2003
_ Activision 6 9 7 7 Gran Turismo 2 Sony CEA Speeding around a Р51 racetrack never got any better than this. But if you're more of a kart-racing fan, be sure to check out Crash Team Racing, the very best kart racer the PS1 has to offer.
Namco Museum Vol. 3 Namco
Digimon World 3
MK Trilogy Midway
n/a
Bandai
10 Tekken3
Namco
00000
Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, September 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
How does it feel to pee а thousand leisure suits stand up and аннат: Slide your skinny ass into Rocky Balboa’s ms shorts a find out as you face 20 vicious opponents in a relentless quest for the title. But don’t plan on coming out unscathed. In this multi-mode slugfest, the blood spurting damage is just plain brutal.
CY n! AN]
Ro БТА
| RED, WHITE, sh UE.
Li www.rocky-the-game.com ^ www.ubi.com Battle the greats іп Xu Mode - Brutal real-time damage Train the Stallion way EEN Violence N PlayStation. LR f GAME BOY ADVANCE Zee TE " аликсььЕ
©2002 Rage Games Limited except “Rocky” —“Воску V” (с) 1976-2002 United Artists Corporation. ROCKY™ United Artists Corporation. © 2002 UbiSoft, Inc. UbiSoft and the UbiSoft Entertainment logo are registered trademarks of UbiSoft, Inc. All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either register trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. тм, ®, GameBoy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
Meet the world's most notorious drivers on the streets of LA, Daris, and Tokyo.
Choose from the latest performance enhanced There are no rules - drive anywhere in the
vehicles and compete to make a name
for yourself.
CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
city. Find the fastest route to win.
“PlayStation” and the “PS” family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Angel Studios and the Angel Studios logo are trademarks of Angel Studios. Rockstar Games and the Rockstar Games logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved.
PlayStation.e
The Future Of Illegal Street Racing
MGAT CLUB M
LOS ANGELES / PARIS / TOKYO
The Midnight Club is now open to motorbikes. The cops know you are out there - Use tricks to gain an edge or just to Take advantage of the speed and control - but don't get caught. show off. Style is almost as important watch out, a wrong move will send you flying. as winning.
WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIONIGHTCLUB2
JANUARY2003 —
Mature Sexual Themes
Strong Lyrics PlayS tation.e
Violence
The names of all World Wrestling Entertainment" televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves and all World Wrestling Entertainment™ logos are trademarks which are the Developed by Yuke's Co, Ltd. Yuke's Co. and its logo are trademarks of Yuke's Co, Ltd. JAKKS Pacific and the JAKKS Pacific logo are trademarks of JAKKS Pacific, Inc. THQ and the THQ logo are registered trademarks of THQ Inc. All
W SHUT YOUR Sona coating ic ae IL. L/ ТЕТ
exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.© 2002 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Game and Software © 2002 THO/JAKKS Pacific LLC. Used under exclusive license by ТНОЛАКК Pacific, LLC Rights Reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc
ld
PREVIEWS
Previewed Inside
All-Star Baseball 2004 Galerians: Ash . Gladius Ice Nine ttleBots... Indiana Jone: Black & Bruised The King of Route 66 88
Legends of Wrestling
Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter. 101 0 Midnight Club 2 98 99 МВА Street Vi
Chaos Legion. Crushed Basebal Dead to Rights.
Def m чн ol. 2 95 Devil M ay fry 2 97 Nobunaga Online.. 104 Dragon Ball Z: B 86 Orchid.. 92 Dynasty Warriors 3: XL......88 Pride FC. 98 EverBlue 2. 100 Resident Evil: Survivor 4....102 EverQuest Online Adv. 84 SM's Pro Wakeboarder 96
94 The Sims... 94 98 World Series Baseball 23.94
Evolution Snowboarding..
The Getaway.... =
Сотіпо Ѕооп
PS2 Butt-Ugly Martians Sierra Racing December D&D: Heroes Infogrames RPG Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Infogrames Fighting EverQuest Online Adv. — Sony Online MMORPG ET: Return/Green Planet NewKidCo Action Freaky Flyers Midway ^ Racing Evolution Snowboarding Konami Racing Gladius LucasArts Strategy Fighter Maker 2 Agetec Develop Mission: Impossible Atari Action Mystic Heroes Koei Action Pride FC THQ Fighting NCAA Basketball 2K3 Sega Sports Return/Castle Wolfenstein Activision FPS RPG Maker 2 Agetec Develop. Star Ocean 3 Enix RPG Star Wars: Clone Wars LucasArts Action Tomb Raider: Angel. Eidos Adv. T.Clancys Ghost Recon Ubi Soft ^ Action Vexx Acclaim Action Whiteout Konami Racing Yu-Gi-Oh! Konami Cards January Future Releases
Armada 2: Star Command Metro3D Action Auto Modellista Capcom Racing
Battle Engine Aquila Infogrames Action Breath of Fire: DQ Capcom RPG
Black & Bruised Majesco Boxing Celebrity Deathmatch Gotham Fighting Devil May Cry 2 Capcom Action Daredevil Encore Action Fisherman's Bait Konami Fishing Dark Cloud 2 Sony СЕА RPG Frogger Beyond Konami Action Def Jam: Vendetta EABig Wrestling The Getaway Sony CEA Action Dragon's Lair 30 Encore Action hsx: hypersonicxtreme Majesco Racing Dynasty Warriors 4 Koei Action
Activision Action Square EA RPG
The Fantastic Four Final Fantasy X-2
Jeopardy! 2003 Infogrames Gm. Show JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom Fighting
MicroMachines Codemasters Racing Indiana Jones: Emperors LucasArts Action Midnight Club IT Rockstar Racing The Lost Crave Adv. My Street Sony CEA Action Mace Griffin: BH Black Label FPS
М. Gear Solid 2: Substance Konami АМ Rise to Honor Sony CEA Action RTX: Red Rock LucasArts Action
StarCraft: Ghost Blizzard | Adv.
THQ Fighting Primal Sony CEA Action RoboCop Titus FPS The Sims EA Games Sim Wheel of Fortune 2003 Infogrames Gm. Show | Starsky & Hutch Empire Action February T.Clancys Splinter Cell Ubi Soft Action
hack//INFECTION Bandai RPG Barbie: Treasures in Time KnowledgeAdv. Action Р$1
Batman: Dark Tomorrow Кетсо Action January All-Star Racing Bethesda Racing Air Hockey Bethesda Sports
Gubble Bethesda Puzzle February Big Strike Bowling Gotham Bowling
Bratz Ubi Soft Action Future Releases Beyblade Crave Action
Final Fantasy 1 & 2 Square EA RPG
(84) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
EVERQUEST Жї ONLINE A VENTURES
Diary of a newbie
Although not expected to be released until February, EverQuest Online Adventures has begun its first round of public beta testing. What this means is that Sony Online Entertainment sends discs to a few intrepid souls willing to subject themselves to a not- quite-finished product in the interest of helping to make the final game that much better. Want to know what it's like to participate in such an endeavor? Step inside the mind of Maynard the ranger as he walks us through his first days in the strange new world of Norrath. Remember, though, that this is only a beta; some of the more ridiculous elements could be improved before the game's release. At least, we most fervently hope so.
g I begin as a mere twinkle d in the eye of my creator.
I am built from a selection of parts: hairstyle, facial hair, hair color, and one of eight faces. | enter the world in Surefall Glade, home of the rangers and druids, where а disembodied voice tells me to go talk to Sigmor Fallbourne, "leader of the Protectors of the Pine." It is there that | receive my first quest: Walk across the room, retrieve a pendant from the merchant there, and return. | do so and am rewarded with enough experience to bring me to level 2. | beam with pride.
#7 А more challenging day today: | must actually leave the building in which І began. Sigmor sends me to speak to the spiritmaster just outside, who then sends me all the way across town to speak to the coachman. | stop at the inn along the way, then at the tavern. The town seems awfully quiet. | don't see any houses. Where does everyone live? | leave that question for another day. Sigmor is pleased by my prompt return, and | become a level 3 ranger. | wonder: Will all my tasks in this new world proceed as quickly and easily? If so, will reach level 50 in no time!
Combat! I've been itching to try out the sword | found on my person. Now, Sigmor sends me out on my deadliest quest
so far. Apparently, the Glade has been having some trouble with rabid badgers. | must venture out into the wider world and put three badgers to the sword, bringing the meat back to Sigmor. | fear for my life, but am confident | can succeed. As it turns out,
| must slay five young badgers before collecting the meat | need, since one of them yields only a smashed eye, another only а shredded hide. Upon returning the meat to Sigmor, | reach level 4.
DAY
m | 7 6
Sigmor has asked me to dispatch one of the fearsome
Surefall Shamblers that lurk near the Glade, and to bring DAY back one of its eyes as a trophy. | am supposed to go to the inn and recruit other adventurers to aid me in my quest, but the inn, like much of the town, is empty. Even though | am now a level 5 ranger, | fear I'll be no match for the gruesome beast. Suddenly, three other neophyte rangers appear in the glade. Heartened, | travel with my new companions to vanquish the horrific Shambler. Luckily, they've already landed their own trophies; the eye is mine.
Sigmor's next task is beyond my current ability: He wants me to travel into Gnoll territory to locate a lost scout. | will need to grow beyond my current level of 6 in order to prove myself worthy of more advanced armaments, like rusty Sickles and burlap armor; other- wise, ГЦ never make it. So, | set out into the nearby wilderness to gain experience. Beetles, bats, fireflies, and rats fall before my blade. | am The Antslayer. | am Badgerbane. All the woodland creatures fear me Slowly, | reach level 10, then return to the Glade to suit up.
HS
DAY
ice giant guard
atgel flamecrawler
If I'm going to become areal ranger, I'll need a bow. So, Sigmor sends me out to talk to Stannis Domor, who offers to make me a bow if | collect all the bits he needs: elm wood, silk twine, a firefly thorax, and a snake fang. The wood and twine can be bought in town, but the rest
ГЦ have to harvest from the source. | go into the wild again, murdering dozens of snakes and fireflies until | get just the right parts. | amass a grisly selection of animal bits; for some reason, all the merchants in town pay good money for them.
DAY
Т
Burlap armor isn't much help if three Gnoll Shamans take а simultaneous disliking to you. Death is bitter, but not entirely unkind; | am resurrected in the Glade with all of my belong- ings intact. Still, I'm going to have to work off a considerable debt of experience points, and unless | want to spend the next few weeks slaughtering rodents and invertebrates, I'll have to get back in touch with my former group...or form a new one. | remember thinking this would be easy. | know better now. | have a long, long road ahead of me. But at least | won't be traveling alone.
DAY
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (85)
xX
|
PREVIEWS
DRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI
DBZ fans declare, “It's about friggin’ time!”
The last (апа only) Dragon Ball fighter we saw in the United States was the unbearable Final Bout, which Bandai mercifully produced in extremely miniscule quantities. Fortunately, it looks like December's Budokai will set a great foundation for a new legacy of DBZ games. Relative newcomer Dimps has crafted this game with strong attention to fan-pleasing detail. Scenes from the anime series are re-created in full 3D—and, thanks to the PS2, look much cleaner than the decades-old TV episodes. Tons of special moves and characters appear, with Goku and pals battling baddies like Cell and Freeza, who chewed up the scenery in the TV show. For added depth, you can customize your characters, and as you progress, you'll unlock new, special moves in the form of trading cards. We know Budokai will sell a zillion copies—whether it sucks or not—and so does Atari. That
said, it appears that it’s not too shabby after all. This is the DBZ game fans have been waiting for.
ШІМ»
gt Jackhammer 2 [/ UE
Budokai faithfully re-creates important scenes from the long-running DBZ TV series. (You'll see Goku die a hell of a lot of times.)
(86) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Gt.SAIYAMAN
Blast Power
People don't flock to DBZ for the deep and engaging story line— let's face it, it doesn't have one. Rather, it's the firepower that fuels the fandom. The Saiyans (апа their cohorts) are the most powerful warriors in the uni- verse, and they constantly try to prove it. The fact is, Budokai
has the largest variety of earth- shaking special moves you could hope to see in a fighter. With the ability to earn, mix, match, and trade ‘ет, you'll fill the screen with a white-hot blast of rage (above) in no time flat.
Turbo Shock 2 Controller Controller Features Turbo Function Programmable Allows Up To 12 Difficult
For AutoFire Capability Game Screen Multiple Moves To Be Programmed Into
One Button!
Full Color Game Screen Allows You To Play Games, Home Videos & DVD's Anywhere!
Cyber Shock 2
DVD Remote, Multitap Game Sound System & Horizontal Stand
Wireless Control, 4 Player Multitap,
Вы | AV Selector and Organize PS2 Games and DVD's with Style!
3 | T EGGS, =
E | c PITE: Mu To Your Gaming | | ІШ and Favorite CD's! Mee
| ШІ | ) 4 .. | l & : a А 4, > тит“ бате, Audio &Video Selector 4 | | Remote Control Connect Up To 5 Components!
3 | Easily Switch To Game Console; TV/VCR, DVD, Tuner and More!
PREVIEWS
Alter Echo
Though THQ's free-roaming adventure is still a-ways off (it's slated for an early 2003 release], it continues to intrigue us with its color- ful, organic environments and shapeshifting gameplay. As morphing hero Nevin, you can switch between three different modes on the fly—even in the middle of an attack, if you're aiming for the really complex combos. But since you're also able to pause time, you can "queue up” attacks while everything else freezes. Neat.
The King of Route 66 LOOK |
It may not carry the 18 Wheeler name in its title, but The King of Route 66 certainly serves as a sequel to Sega's fast-paced race across the country. As you might suspect from the title, Route 66 takes you from Illinois to California along the legendary highway. Each mission-based race can be completed multiple ways as you attempt to defeat the evil Tornado Corporation—and win the hearts of the Queens of Route 66. Get your kicks in March.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
DYNASTY WARRIORS 3:
XTREME LEGENDS
Koei may not have chosen the best name for its January expansion pack to Dynasty Warriors 3, but Xtreme Legends definitely offers something cool to tide fans over until Dynasty 4 hits a few months later. Unlike expansion packs for most PC games, XL functions as a standalone game. It also fea- tures seven characters not aligned with the Three Kingdoms—characters you likely fought against in Dynasty 3. Sure, you might have unlocked Lu Bu or Zhang Jiao in Dynasty 3, but XL actually offers entire "what if?" scenarios, so you can play as them in Musou mode. Using memory-card data, other enhancements can be made to your old game, like customizing your bodyguards [you can even appoint other generals to such a position!), or adding a Very Hard difficulty level, four new Challenge mode variations, and a fifth weapon for each character. In other words, it's the same thing as Dynasty 3, only with a lot more to do. And the best part? You can pick it up for as low as $30.
Tired of Lu Bu kicking your ass? XL lets you play as him in Musou mode.
MORALE
Though she fought beside Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo in Dynasty 2 and 3, Diao Chan was actually a spy sent to pit the powerful allies (and fellow XL playable charac- ters) against each other and restore the Han Dynasty. For Lu Bu, it was love at first sight, and the two (above) were betrothed. However, Diao Chan went through with her plan and became Dong Zhuo's concu- bine—which inspired a jealous Lu Bu to kill his master. In the end, Diao Chan found she did love Lu Bu, and the two wed.
AFFIX OWN JETPACK BEFORE ASSISTING OTHERS
OUT OF AMMO
tf
@ reay — @ ean (S) BEND. (A) kiss Ass
GOODBYE
IF YOU CANNOT PERFORM THESE FUNCTIONS, PROCEED DIRECTLY TO TRIBES.SIERRA.COM FOR A TRIBES VIDEO FEATURING TRUSTcompany’s “DOWNFALL?
DON'T FLY ALONE. PLAY WITH UP TO 16 PEOPLE OVER MODEM OR BROADBAND USING SONY'S NETWORK ADAPTER. SHARE THE PAIN.
JETPACKS LET YOU TAKE THE CARNAGE AIRBORNE. THE FORECAST CALLS FOR RAIN—OF BLOOD.
CAN'T GET IT UP WITH YOUR JETPACK? JUMP IN A FIGHTER, BOMBER, ARMED TRANSPORT OR GRAVBIKE.
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Before Sony released the stellar ATV Offroad Fury, Acclaim's Quai Power Racing collected dust on store shelves—mainly because it sucked. But Fury's success was enough to dupe some PS1 owners
into picking up Quad, propelling it up the charts. Fortunately, Quad
2is at least a competent title, totally changing gameplay to more of an 55Х on ап АТУ. Control is a bit off at this point, but we're hoping
the game gives Fury 2 some competition this February.
When you're a kid, you dream of playing in Game 7 of the World Series, to the roar of delirious crowds. Inexplicably, when you age to the extent that you predate many of the players in the World Series, you yearn for your sandlot days. Acclaim has figured this out, which is why February's All-Star 2004 includes various beat-up fields—not to mention a Field of Dreams replica. Also notable,
you can play as legendary players and as Negro Leaguers.
(80) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
DEAD TO RIGHTS
Coming out of hiding
By the time you read this, Dead to Rights will already be in
stores. Still, we wanted to offer one final look at the Max Payne- like cop thriller for those of you who might've forgotten it was still coming—after all, Namco has had to keep mum about the PS2 version, since Microsoft paid them to release it "exclusively"on Xbox. But it's finally here for PS2, and the good news is that this version is supposedly better than the somewhat poorly received Xbox version. According to Namco, this is the game the producers wanted to make all along, but couldn't because of time con- straints. So, is it actually better? We'll let you know next month
In certain parts of DTR, you can sic Shadow on unsuspecting construction workers.
Virtual Tease
For better or worse, Dead to Rights is filled with loads of minigames intended to diversify its gameplay. Some include simple button-mashing sequences like arm wrestling (above), weight lifting, and speed-bag punching. But others, such as the scene in which you parade around as a dancer in a strip joint (lower right), involve a little bit of, erm, gameplay precision. By pressing buttons in time with the music, you can effectively make the stripper dance. You know you want to.
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BattleBots
If you haven't heard, Comedy Central recently made a startling announcement: No more BattleBots! No matter—THQ's got your robot-fightin' needs covered with its tie-in game due this holiday season. Tournament mode allows you to build your own robot from scratch [lots of customization available!), although а great many of those seen on the show (Ziggo, Backlash, etc.) are available, too. Combat's a little tough to manage at this point, though.
Don't kick yourself for not knowing about Pride FC (Fighting Champion- ship]. Just imagine Ultimate Fighting Championship, only more brutal and less popular in America. From what we've seen, ТН0/5 game based on the sport could actually help to popularize ultimate fighting in this country—it plays extremely well. Unlike the UFC games, Pride FC is fast, and there's a great deal of tangible diversity among the fighting styles. Check it out this January—it just might surprise you.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
INDIANA JONES AND THE EMPEROR'S TOMB
The one Indy adventure you can count on seeing
There's supposed to be a new Indiana Jones movie in theaters come 2005—but that's so far away, anything can happen. Thankfully, we need only wait until March to play The Emperor's Tomb, and it's something we're pretty sure you can count on seeing (well, unless LucasArts pulls the game's plug at the last minute as it did to The Infernal Machine for Р51).
The search for the Heart of the Dragon (a legendary Chinese artifact that grants mind- molding powers to its possessor) takes Indy on an adventure spanning 10 worldwide locations. Expect the fedora'd one to visit a 15th-century castle in Prague, an underwater palace in Istanbul, and a Chinese fortress set atop a mountain, as he works to stop an unholy alliance of Nazis and a secret Asian society known as the Black Asian Triad. Of course, this all leads to frequent fisticuffs and a wealth of whip wielding, and Indy needs to solve his fair share of puzzles.
Ou Superb-looking hand-to- hand fights are prone to соп- cluding with Nazis falling \ over ledges to their doom.
TX эже. Levels like this car chase Ж vary the action.
WWW.konami.com
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МАМ! CORPORATION pending in U.S.)
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THE SIMS
Real life never felt so..simulated
Many of us have a hard enough time managing our real lives—balancing fun and work, the opposite sex, creativity—but The Sims offers up every aspect of life's most banal moments in excruciating detail. Imagine you were a 27-year-old, but had to think—really think—about the things you were doing. You had to think about going to the bathroom, then you had to go to the bathroom, then you had to think about flushing the toilet, then you had to flush the toilet. Sounds tiresome, doesn't it? With The Sims, even a walk across the floor of your studio apartment might exhaust you.
Despite the necessary effort, Maxis and EA Games' PS2 debut of The Sims is quirky, challenging, and, with a little patience, a blast to play. After you've created your Sim, you find yourself living with none other than Mom. Is there anything more humbling than that? We think not. It's easy to foul things up, but you have to give this game a shot. Once you start playing, you'll see why.
If you're a newcomer, prepare for your Sim to unhappily bang his own skull with his hands— 'cause he's got problems, man. He's tired but can't sleep. He's hungry but can't cook. He has to pee. And he doesn't have a job. Keeping your Sim happy is like holding the attention of a kindergarten class with a Citizen Kane/Dr. Strangelove double feature. But, somehow, it's highly entertaining.
While (һе mission-based Get a Life mode will likely be the chief interest of most PS2 gamers (fix the television, borrow money from Mom, get a job, еїс.), the two-player mode is where the real party begins. In one instance, you compete to see who can beg for the most food in a 10-minute game. Do you sweet talk the food-givers, tickle them, or just outright demand their grub? Since the Sims you speak with are like real people, any reaction is possible.
The Sims on PC meant you could play while Photoshopping yourself into pictures with Nicole Kidman or surfing the Net to find discount tickets for your honeymoon to Qatar. In January, PS2 owners will find out if The Sims is fun enough to offer standalone entertainment on a console.
ыса БЫШЫК АЦЕ In this multiplayer game, you have one goal: Get into the | hot tub with the opposite sex.
World Series Baseball 2K3
Many a baseball virtuoso would have fallen in love last year
with Sega Sports' World Series baseball game if it hadn't wasted away on the Xbox. Now, it's going mainstream, bringing with it last season's graphical flavor and depth. In March, you can scout minor-league players for deadline deals, and watch players progress and slump throughout a campaign. You might even
get to see the Giants blow the World Series. Again.
At what point did the snowboarders of the world wish they were being chased by monsters down a slippery slope? Probably about the same time they decided to carry chains and sticks with nails in the end. We're not sure who the audience is for Konami's new snowboarder, but we have a feeling it fits into the hyper-aggressive category. If you've ever dreamed of snowboarding with a weapon, you need wait no longer. It's out in stores now.
Creating your Sim (above] is the most empowering aspect of the game. You can unlock new looks while playing, but you've got lots to choose from at the start. Dress wacky or classy. Don cow- boy boots or skin-tight shorts.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
NBA STREET VOL. 2
Are you old school? EA Big's first hoops game was a warm-up for the real thing, it seems. МВА Street Vol. 2 is all about imagination. What have you dreamed of doing with a basketball? Street 2 plucks the best elements of the original (gameplay, gameplay, and gameplay] and mixes in some serious old-school ballers like Dr. J, "Pistol" Pete, Wilt the Stilt, and other ex-NBAers with cool nicknames. Plus, it now supports four players, and you can play co-op on the same team. Humor and style mix with hoops, so you can bounce Recreation as an art form? the ball off someone's head into an alley-oop! Tie up your sneak- Sure, we got carried away, | ers for some serious street-ball action in March. but this is what we want for every backyard in America.
A somersault dribble is just one of many new moves!
A happy Sim is a social Sim. Go to the neighbor’s house and hang out. But no long- distance phone calls, please.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (95)
PREVIEWS
Crushed Baseball
While High Heat's got а five-run lead on all other baseball titles, tt Angels proved last October that anything can happen. Enter Ват 5 baseball title. It's the anti-sim, relating more to SlugFest fans than those looking for 1-0 pitching duels. Crushed has cartoony graph- ics, features women players [á la Baseball Stars’ Lovely Ladies), and should fill the void for casual baseball gamers. We'll see if they can pull it off in March.
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Shaun Murray's Pro Wakeboarder
If you spent any time at a lake over the summer, you probably saw—and maybe even found out firsthand—why wakeboarding is quickly replacing waterskiing as the being-tugged-behind-a-boat watersport of choice. But are enough people familiar with it to make for a successful videogame? We'll know this winter, when Activision releases Pro Wakeboarder. We're interested to see how Tony Hawk gameplay pans out through such a linear setup.
(96) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
GALERIANS: ASH ух
More medication than Dr. Mario
Crave jumped onto the survival-horror bandwagon back in 2000, with Galerians for PS1. Though the game never achieved the success of a Resident Evil or Silent Hill, Sammy hopes for great things from its January PS2 sequel. In Ash, you control Rion, a techno-organic construct with immense psychic powers (і.е., a Galerian). His goal: To defeat the Last Galerians, a group of similar beings led by a character named Ash who, much like X-Men's Magneto, believes in the genocide of humanity. Rion's psychic abilities nicely substitute for firearms. With the mere power of his mind, he creates shock- waves, electricity, fire, and a defensive shield. Psychic Power Enhancement Chemicals (РРЕС$] source Rion's abilities; he injects them into his bloodstream, and his powers fade as the chemicals deplete. Complicating matters, the use of too many PPECs causes Rion to stumble around, psioni- cally killing everything in his path—at the expense of his own life. Defeated enemies leave various shots and tablets to consume, and FMVs of Rion injecting his neck with a massive syringe make the game occasionally feel like a medical sim. Though Ash doesn't rely on monstrous snakes or skinless dogs, the game's violence and cyberpunk tone can leave a decided impression on your mind.
Remember all the tedious running around in the first Galerians? Ash seems to share this problem. Rion runs around vast, empty cor- idors devoid of random enemies for him to fight (most fall instant- ly, anyway, to one of Rion's whopping five total attacks], and script- ed enemies are few and far between. With the exception of bosses, the only "fear" we encountered was that of another empty corridor.
Different, but the same
To merely glance at the action in Capcom's Devil May Cry 2 is to know you're looking at the follow-up to one of the best games of 2001. That said, just a few moments of play with this sequel reveals it to truly be its own game. Dante is as cool as ever, back with his trademark sword/dual-handgun combo—only this time, he's got a different array of moves at his disposal. In addition to just about everything he could do before, Dante can now run up and along walls to reach higher heights, catch a new cast of undead enemies off guard...or just plain look like a badass. New battle maneuvers also maintain the sense of cool, with everything from new sword slices to new gun handling. (Our favorite: When he falls from the peak of his highest jump, Dante faces downward—as though diving into a pool instead of a slab of concrete—blasting away at any foe below.) The outdoor environments also add a richer sense of grandness to the gameplay, with everything considerably more wide open than the original If anything disappointed us about the two opening missions, it's that together, they last only about half an hour. We have yet to see the second character, Lucia, in action, an element that makes us anticipate January 28 even more.
Devil mode plays a much bigger role in Devil 2.
Dante uses his trademark hand- „ guns, Ebony and Ivory, in perfect
| harmony to shoot in апу direction— | even behind his back. Impractical? Sure. But still pretty damn cool!
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GAME PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE Rygar Adventure Tecmo 11/24/02 Freaky Flyers Midway Games Inc. 11/28/02 NCAA March Electronic Arts 11/28/02 Madness 2003 Total Immersion Racing Empire Interactive 11/28/02 Evolution Konami 11/28/02 Snowboarding Dragon's Lair 3D Encore Software 11/29/02 Ghost Recon Ubi Soft 12/5/02 Pro Race Driver CodeMasters 12/12/02 NCAA College Sega 12/12/02 Basketball 2K3 Dragon Ball 2: Budokai Infogrames 12/19/02 Butt Ugly Martians: Vivendi universal 12/31/02 Zoom or Doom Malice Sierra 1/1/03 The Sims Electronic Arts 1/15/03 Midnight Club 2 Rockstar Games 1/24/03 Black & Bruised Majesco Sales 1/30/03 Tomb Raider: Eidos Interactive 2/1/03 Angel of Darkness Vexx Acclaim 2/1/03
Starsky and Hutch Empire Interactive 2/2/03
Evil Twin Ubi Soft 2/6/03 2/13/03
shack: Infection Bandai America
The Lost Crave Entertainment 2/15/03 Elder Scrolls Bethesda Softworks 2/17/03 Adventures
King of the Coliseum bam! entertainment 2/21/03 Barbie: Treasures Vivendi Universal 2/28/03 in Time
Mace Griffin Crave Entertainment 3/13/03
Bounty Hunter
Duke Nukem Take 2 Interactive 3/26/03 Return To Castle Activision 3/27/03 Wolfenstein
Armada 2: Star Metro 3D 4/16/03
Command
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PREVIEWS
THE GETAWAY
No, it's not like Grand Theft Auto
Yes, it does involve some driving. And yes, it does involve running around shooting at stuff. But, those elements aside, The Getaway is dramatically different from Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games. For starters, it relies much more heavily on the unfolding of its story line. And while it offers some freedom for you to move around London, it's not put together in the same way that Rockstar's built its baby. What The Getaway does have in common with GTA, though, is a tremendously detailed scenario, as well as a similar look and feel.
If you're a fan of Guy Ritchie movies, you'll get a real kick out of the gritty London gangster vibe that permeates every scene of the game. The Getaway was put together like a movie, and it shows. Alongside the clever brainiac programming and development by SCEE's SoHo Studio was a film production that made use of state-of-the-art motion capture, prosthetic makeup, and set design by movie-industry veterans who have worked on past Star Wars and Bond movies.
Next month, expect a huge amount of coverage in our cover story and on our demo disc, just in
xe time for Sony's January release of the game. In the meantime, enjoy these new shots.
Ice Nine Ice Nine is based on an upcoming Al Pacino movie called The Recruit, but the different title is meant to exemplify that the game isn't another crappy licensed product—a rather sly move by Bam, we think. The game puts you in the role of a CIA operative who must figure his way through a massive conspiracy plot revolving around a virus known as Ice Nine. Filled with lots of stealth gameplay, we've heard that it plays very similarly to Metal Gear Solid. That has us anticipating its spring release.
Midnight Club 2
There's no grand theft involved in late January's sequel to Rockstar's hit street racer—but there are plenty of autos. In addition to illicitly zooming through the streets of L.A., Paris, and Tokyo with the expected assortment of sportscars—these things take some mad damage, so it's no wonder none are licensed—you can also race motorcycles, a Midnight Club first. The game retains its nonlinear nature, as you choose your races along with the course you take to win each one.
(98) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
DEF JAM: VENDETTA
Y'all gonna wrestle some rappers, up in here
On the surface, the concept is laughable. We imagine a few EA Big execs had
too much after-dinner port and started playing the non-sequitur game: "Let's make а game with ninjas and cooking!" "No, let's try farming and astronauts!” “I've got it! Rappers and wrestling!" Thus, Vendetta was born.
As difficult as it is to wrap your head around the concept—and as bad as the title may be—the gameplay rocks. Wrestling games like SmackDown! have lost their flair, and Legends of Wrestling is too slow. But Vendetta sells the sizzle, the steak, and the soundtrack on one fine canvas platter. The soundtrack features 15 songs, all from the game's hip-hop stars.
Each of the rappers (listed below] is a boss character, but en route to them, you must wrestle no-names who use martial arts or get you punch drunk on a knuckle sandwich. If you get far enough and survive the game's twists and turns, you've got a shot at the big bossman. Go for the pin this spring.
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The final wrestling lineup includes Def Jam artists DMX, Ludacris, Method Man, N.O.R.E., Redman, WC, Capone, Keith Murray, Ghostface кіЦаһ, and Scarface. Christina Milian and Funkmaster Flex even show up. To the left, you can check out Method Man doing some hurtin'.
EVERYONE
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GLADIUS
At my signal, unleash hell!
Imagine a turn-based fighting game or a tactical RPG with lots of one-on-one fighting. Then, mix it all up with a Gladiator-style theme and lashings of fantasy elements. Even with all of these images in your head, you're probably not even halfway to getting a proper grip on what Gladius is all about.
Developed as part of LucasArts' recent concerted effort to get away from doing "just Star Wars games," Gladius is certainly an ambitious project. The game takes you on what appears to be a fairly epic quest...but not in the traditional sense. If you could imagine the WWE circa 300 A.D.—with magic and lightning attacks and all kinds of craziness—you'd have a good idea of how things feel. Your band of gladiators travels from city to city fight- ing in giant arenas against all kinds of characters, many of whom you have the opportunity to recruit into your gang. The art style throughout the game particularly distinguishes Gladius, and from the early versions we've had the chance to play, the whole thing certainly looks impressive so far.
As we go to press, no firm release date has been set. When asked for one, a representative from LucasArts yielded the response, "eventually...when it's ready." It may be frustrating for us to have to wait an indefinite period, but it’s great to see that so much care is being taken with the project.
Punch-drunk love in cartoon form
If you're in search of a boxing game for all [а la Ready 2 Rumble), Majesco's pugilistic pursuit is the answer. Each of the 18 cel-shaded boxers comes with a unique Story mode, and there are 18 differ- ent locations to fight in (all outside of traditional rings). The game is prettier than it is fun, but it's still worthwhile for button-mashing boxing fans. Bruised fights its way onto shelves in early 2003.
The more you get pummeled, the more the damage shows on your
Living a boxer's life in Black & Bruised isn't what we'd call traditional. Instead of training and working on your left hook, you're going to be drawn into a wacky world of hijinks, ballyhoo, shenanigans, and tomfoolery. AU characters have a story that takes them to the oddest places. In one, the BloodRayne looka- like above has to defend her home from a robber. Instead of calling the law, she decides to beat down the offender—who happens to be wearing boxing gloves. How convenient!
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
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EASH FAST-PACED FIREPOWER AS A DRAGONFIGHTER IN 16 MISSIONS LOADED WITH a CHAOTIC ACTION, DESTRUCTION AND EXPLOSIONS.
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4 e y BATTLE DRAGONS "p THE SKY AND BEAST: ON THE GROUND WITH HIGH-TECH WEAPONRY AND MILITARY-STYLE VEHICLES.
Violence
PREVIEWS
LEGENDS OF _ WRESTLING II /
The golden age of wrestling returns..again There's nothing quite like old-school wrestling. It was grittier than it was pretty, and the talent ranged from tirelessly flamboyant (Коко B. Ware) to brutally hick (Hacksaw Jim Duggan) to fat and gross (One Man Gang] to complete pretty boy (Kerry Von Erich]. That style was offered in Acclaim's first Legends of Wrestling, but it's perfected in this bigger, better, bloodier version. Choose from 65 wrestlers and pit them in new matches like eight-man elimination bouts, battles royale, and ladder matches. You can even take on Big John Studd in the $15,000 Body Slam Challenge
This holiday season, you'll find a beefed-up Career mode, a more involved Create-A-Wrestler interface, and enough unlockable DVD footage to replace your Blockbuster night. Even if you don't care about wrestling, put this on your game-rental radar just to see the Hacksaw Jim Duggan interview in which he talks about a bolt from a ring post cracking his skull.
EverBlue 2
Recently released in Japan, Capcom's EverBlue 2 is the sequel to a deep-sea adventure game (circa 2001) that never made its way over here. Developed by Arika—the same guys who did the Street Fighter EX games-—it takes place іп the Caribbean Sea as you seek out treasures and earn money by taking pictures of interesting underwater sights. Watch out, though—the occasional sea creature might just wanna eat you. Will we see this one here? Possibly as early as spring!
1
ғ, 3 һе ӨТТ МШШ» w XY d Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 4 Although the third installment to Capcom's Gun Survivor series was based around the Dino Crisis franchise (уои know it as Dino Stalker], this fourth game returns to what made the previous games so pop- ular (ог, often, unpopular): zombie shootin'. Like Stalker, Survivor 4 makes use of Namco's Guncon? in an off-rails blastathon in which you control your character with the peripheral's D-pad. The game hits Japan this spring and may come here soon after.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
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о well, once you've demolished it.
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_ PREVIEWS
| MACE GRIFFIN: BOUNTY HUNTER
That other Bounty Hunter game
Now that Crave Entertainment has moved its focus to the $19.99-and-under market for console games, some of its hottest properties will be published by other companies. Recently, Vivendi Universal acquired Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter for release through its Black Label Games division. With new ownership comes a new character design for the eponymous main character, though the Promising first-person shooter many buzzed about at E3 remains largely intact. Primary action takes place in typical ground-based style, but developer Warthog varies things by including a fair number of space battles—and the transition between the two gameplay styles is seamless. Mace's “rag-doll IK system” means enemies react in a realistic manner when you shoot them with one of your 10 weapons—they slam into walls or crumple like a (уои guessed it) rag doll. The game, which
% also boasts high cinematic values and a deep story, hits stores this March.
Chaos Legion
What would you get if you fused Devil May Cry with Dynasty Warriors 3? Probably something along the lines of Chaos Legion, Capcom's newest Soon-to-be franchise for PS2. Based on a popular series of Japanese novels, the game offers impressive action sequences that allow you to mow down large groups of enemies while controlling allied characters who assist in the mayhem. It also features lots of RPG-like stat-building elements. Japan gets it in spring, and we should see it soon after.
1 Even as а newly redesigned Set in 16th-century Japan, this massively multiplayer online RPG 2 character, Масе still Looks from Koei allows thousands of people to get online and interact = s z 2 like he needs a hug.
with one another in a game that looks somewhat similar to the Ё
Dynasty Warriors titles. It allows you to choose from one of seven
jobs, such as samurai, priest, blacksmith, or ninja, and has you
team up to battle enemies of varying size and species—not unlike
you would in EverQuest. Nobunaga invades Japan in the spring.
(03) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
SHOOTDOWN. Tü | , Н D 0 WN M DB COMPATIBLE WITH PS SA 9 М А C K D Ü W N . ў TAKE YOUR PLAYSTATION IN THE CAR, ON VACATION OR.ANYWHERE!
À L L Ü ү E R Т0 WN | Р AWESOME FULL-COLOR LCD SCREEN!
J> EVERYTHING YOU NEED IN ONE ВОХ TO MAKE YOUR PLAYSTATION TOTALLY MOBILE! FUN-STATION GAMING MOBILITY
With the Fun-Station Gaming Mobility, you can turn your PS One or PS2 into a totally mobile gaming experience. Here's what's included:
P THE ULTIMATE UPGRADE ТО YOUR PLAYSVATION!
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PlayStation 2
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Playstation console not included. Playstation, PS One and PS2 are registered trademarks of Sony. Must be 18 years 2 2. 5 L A or older or have parental consent to order. Shipping and handling charges apply. See website for details. Take Your Game ON 4 А [2 Road.
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There goes the neighborhood. Spyro: Enter The Dragonfly. With all new breath weapons: fire, ice, electricity and bubbles, someone better slap a warning
label on that dragon.
www.spyrothedragon.com
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а radio antenna [you'll find the antennas on top of buildings, obvi- ously), and hit the Circle button when it lights up green. Lock on to your opponent with R1 and L1, and when you think you can make the shot, hit the Circle button to throw your nice, new, pointy-ended weapon at him. Whereas most objects just cause
a little damage, sharp objects will impale your prey. With the projectile. stuck through his middle, your enemy will have to struggle for some time to pull it out...and while he's doing so, he can neither attack nor defend himself. Zap him with range attacks as you run toward him and then unleash whatever combo you prefer to do maximum damage.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
ig monsters smashing stuff up. B Considering the enormous potential
this relatively simple concept has, it's surprising that it's not used more often in games. In fact, it’s pretty rare in movies these days, too. Fortunately, the guys at Incog, the team responsible for Twisted Metal: Black, are helping to push through something of a smash-up renaissance. “Funnily enough, that was one of the big aspects we discussed early on,” says Mike Giam, the creative director at SCEA Santa Monica. “Our game is neither a parody nor an homage, but rather our attempt to cap- ture the spirit of those great old movies and cartoons,” he smiles. “In a sense, we wanted to deliver something along the lines of what the kaiju and giant robot anime would have been like if the original creators had had our technology available. Га love it if our game inspired more of them—heck, I'd kind of like it if someone wanted to make a movie based on our actual game (hint, hint)! | can see it now: big-budget movies, T-shirts, toys lespe- cially jumbo-machines, like the old Shogun Warriors), Saturday-morning cartoons, breakfast cereals, shoe endorsements, a sports franchise...”
It’s safe to say that the concept is something the team has always wanted to work on, then? “Yes, it із,” admits Giam, “but I didn't know it. While it was never on my ‘games | must make someday’ list, as soon as | got a chance to be part of it, it took form very quickly in my head. In my
past projects, such as Jet Moto and WarHawk, | always had this handful of scenes and feelings that represented the essence of the game, and if the game naturally created those moments, | knew the game worked. War of the Monsters was no different. There are these moments...not necessarily the big show- stoppers, but little, simple things | really wanted to see in the game, and thanks to the great work of the guys at Incog, they
are now part of a great game experience.”
Dylan Jobe, the game's producer at Incog, is equally enthusiastic. “There was
Boss fights are all pretty lengthy
encounters and always happen in
multip ages. First, you wear
down your enemy a little and he'll change the way he attacks multiple times before you finally finish him off.
a total lapse in the ‘Big Monsters’ videogame category for a long time, and we absolutely loved the genre. We were stoked to have the chance to produce а game that might fill that void.”
MONSTER FIGHTER?
So, how would the guys on the team categorize the game? Since it was quietly debuted at E3 in May, observers have been struggling to define just what War of the Monsters represents. Is it a fighting
game? “We're always asked this ques- tion,” Jobe replies. "We didn't start out
saying ‘we're going to make а fighting game’ or anything like that. Really, we just wanted to make a fun game about big mon- sters beating the hell out of each other, like in the movies. So, | guess we initially start- ed off down the general action-genre path, but as time went on and the game's combat systems became more and more refined, it was Clear that we had a full-blown fighting game on our hands...and thankfully not just another 2D rehash!”
“| hate to be evasive,” Giam admits, being evasive, “but | cannot really catego- rize this game that easily. | feel like this is the first step toward a whole different breed of action-combat game. Yes, there are some traditional fighting elements in there [like] combo systems, counters, etc., but that’s only a small part of the overall gaming experience.”
“The unprecedented level of environ- mental interaction and
he control system is fairly simple,
featuring just two attacks and a grab, but there are numerous combos you can unleash on your opponent. Try tapping Square twice, followed by Triangle when you get in close to your opponent. Experiment with different button combos along with joypad directions and double- tapped directions. You can find tons of combos to suit your combat style.
creative object-use combined with our unique camera system lets players fight however they want,” he enthuses. "It really is free-form combat. We did not aim to provide the player with a billion moves. Instead, we wanted give more creative options, like a choice between different combo strings, and the ability to use debris
Monsters challenges the player to use their imagination in conjunction with the envi- ronment to come up with as many ways as possible to use everything we offer them.” Check out the demo on this month's DVD to try some of these for yourself.
When pushed on influences from other games, Jobe names a short list. “There
about the SNK classic King of the
Monsters? "King of the Monsters was
a really fun game and many people made
a quick connection between War of the
Monsters and King of the Monsters. But to
be honest, we didn't really reference that
game very much during our production." Giam's list is somewhat longer. "Besides
“We just wanted to make a fun game about big monsters beating the hell out of each other.”
as a Shield, to impale an opponent with
a radio antenna, to use steel girders as а baseball bat, ‘throwable’ gas trucks that explode, and power transformers that carry electric shocks. Rather than force a memo- ry test of button presses, War of the
А: you fight, ог as you collect blue items in the level, your energy bar will increase. When it starts to flash, you can unleash a special attack. Get in as close as you can to your opponent (try not to deplete your energy reserves with a range attack, or this won't work) and hit the Square and X buttons together. This will unleash a devastating special attack that looks pretty darn spectacular!
weren't too many games similar to what we were trying to do with War of the Monsters, but there were a few games that influenced us along the way. We looked at Powerstone, Super Smash Bros, the classic Capcom
fighters (of course], and Unholy War." How
alk up to a building and hit the Circle
button. Your character will grab onto the walls and cling on like Spider-Man. Moving around gives you the complete freedom to zip around on the vertical sur- face. When you reach the top, you'll auto- matically jump up and land on the flat surface. There's very often cool stuff on top of buildings that you can throw at your opponent for added fun.
classics like Rampage, | personally looked at everything from Powerstone to DOA2 or Tobal on PlayStation, to the N64 wrestling games from Aki. | even went back to my vault and pulled out a few hidden gems, such as Treasure's YuYu Haksho game for
f a pointy object skewers you, don't
worry too much, because all is not lost. Mash on the joypad buttons as fast as you possibly can, and your monster will rip it out and then wield it as a weapon himself. If your opponent gets to you first and hits you hard enough to make you fly across the city, the skewer will fall out on its own. Skewering is a great tactic to disable your opponent. Use it wisely.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (1)
Megadrive, Poy Poy on PlayStation, and the old arcade game Wrestlefest. | even started videotaping sumo wrestling and watching tapes of football linemen going at it, to get а sense of what powerful behemoths in motion should feel like. Given that there was nothing we could draw directly from for our game, in the end, nothing was off-limits.”
ues, “so | have a tendency to
hen you first start a game in
the demo, look around on the ground. See the cars driving by? You can pick them up and use them as weapons! Cool, huh? Walk toward a yellow cab, and when it flashes green, hit the Circle button on the joypad. With the cab in hand, you now have a number of options open. Using either of the attack buttons (Square or Triangle) will turn the cab into a melee weapon. Hitting the Circle button will throw the cab.
There are lots of items in the game that you can pick up and use, whether it's rubble, bits of scenery, or vehicles. Look out for stuff that flashes green and has a broken circle around it. You can even grab your opponent— if you can get close enough!
(СЕ) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
“| consider myself kind of a student of design, constantly learning,” Giam contin-
remember and revere most of the clas- sics, like King of the Monsters. The funny thing is that from my end, | ended up paying less attention to other games than | did to classic Ultraman tapes and giant- robot fighting anime for inspiration.”
MULTIPLAYER FUN
Check out our review on page 118 for a more critical look at the game, but it must be said here that the best part of Monsters is the two-player game. “The most unique aspect of multiplayer Monsters is in the way our camera sys- tem allows players to have more free- dom than to fight either just from a dis- tance or just close up,” Giam explains as we discuss the finer points of kicking ass. Aside from the immense satisfaction gained from smashing a 100-foot monster through a building, what really impresses players is how easy it is to control your monster, and how effectively the camera system portrays the action. “Players can move in and engage in ‘monster- б m
сат ona single ў
screen, but if cae Р / у N №
things are going badly, they
can retreat into splitscreen,
using a chase camera that
works very well with a more projectile-style ranged gameplay,” Giam explains.
“As you and a buddy are beating the hell out of each other, it is just pure enjoyment to see how your battle has carved out so much destruction,” Jobe enthuses. “It’s great to see the level basi- cally erode over the course of the battle. But it’s not all about eye candy. The sheer fact that the levels are so destructible allows for nearly endless replay value. Monsters gives players true freedom to run, jump, climb, and in some cases, fly. So all of the level destruction actually alters the way a level plays in the early- game, mid-game, and late-game stages of a battle.”
When pushed on favorite multiplayer battles, Jobe is quick to respond. “One of
my favorite environmental ‘tricks’ is in
am the Atomic Island level. You can cause
the nuclear reactors to vent goo into the center of the level, which causes
a devastating Эм. ^ мг
MONSTERS, INC.
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THE MAJESTY OF ROCK, THE PAGEANTRY OF ROLL... Monsters of Rock: Announced back in 1988, the Monsters of Rock tour was the first travel- ing festival of its kind in the United States. Each show last- ed nearly 10h urs and kicked _ off with Kingdbm Соте, followed by Metallica, Dokken, and the Scorpions, and ended with Yan Halen. The festival 1 paved the way for ever ts he, } С Ozzfest today. M! سس
TEENY-TINY MONSTERS / ^ 7 Monster in My Pocket: Popular collectible toy in the '80s апа early 90s, these were; ily enough, monsters that would in your pocket, Essentially, th relatively badly molded plasti represen- tations of “famous” monsties Pied, werewolves and kraken. Think little green army men, only really u ce http://www.toyarchive.com/MIMP/ | onsterInMyPocket.html "s
SIXTY BUCKS FOR A VIDEO CORD!? Monster Cable: The finest cables you'll ever pay a large amount of money for. It may seem like a lot of cash, but if you have а cool HDTV, you could do a lot: worse than to splurge on а Monster PS component video cable. It's $60, but the | picture you'll get is unbelievable. Ch $ out their audio cables, too...the differ- ences between the Monsters and the | ) cheapies from Radio Shack are easy to tell! www.monstercable.com
GET A JOB, YOU LAZY SLOB Monster.com: A survivor of the big dot- com crash, www.monster.com is still one of the best ways to hunt down a job | online. Check out the résumé-matching: service, especially if your field isn’t too specialized (like, for example, working in the videogames industry).
IT'S DELICIOUS
Muenster Cheese: Muenster cheese has ап edible orange rind with a white interior. It is semi-soft and creamy, and has tiny holes. Great for melting on stuff.
4 га |
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environmental hazard you can throw your opponent into. It’s always so sweet to stun your buddy, grapple him, punch him a few times, and then throw him into the goo! He'll fry like a piece of overcooked bacon...it even makes a sizzling sound as he takes damage!”
“If you go to the trouble of snatching up the military gear—tanks, missile launchers—they can be fired like a giant gun using the light/projectile attack button at long range,” Giam explains enthusiastically. “A lot of the envi- ronments have built-in hazards that double as 'environ- mental weapons’ if you can figure out how to trigger them. These are not dinky little popgun effects, either. Incog really worked some big-time magic on the envi- ronmental effects here. | hesitate to spill the beans, but let's just say that we're not talking A-Team, we're talk- ing /04, Deep Impact, and Armageddon-type stuff. They really outdid themselves on the cool scale this time."
Given the popularity of multiplayer modes in games like SmackDown, many observers comment when they first play Monsters that it "feels" like it ought to be more than a two-player game. It isn't, though. You can intro- duce CPU-controlled combatants into a two-player game, but you can only have two "real" players at once. Was something with more of a party vibe ever consid- ered? "If we went to four players, we would've most likely had to support a four-player split, or keep a con-
BEAST MASTER | PICK YOUR MONSTER, JUST BE MEAN
ULTRA V
“Ultra V was an archetype we knew we just had to have,” explains Mike Giam, the creative director at SCEA Santa Monica. “To have an all-star lineup of monsters without а character that evoked the giant robot anime of the past—like Great Mazinger, Brave Raydeen, GettaRobo, or Grandizer—would have been unforgivable.”
AGAMO
“Agamo began his existence as a stone creature whose head looked uncomfortably like that of Cookie Monster from Sesame Street,” jokes Giam. “He went through numerous incarnations, combining rocks, moss, and various shapes, and while many possibilities were explored, most did not seem to fit the tone of the game. Eventually, we went from the more blob-like pile of rocks to a lanky form with an Easter Island-style head. That last bit seemed to Serve as a point of inspiration. Suddenly, Agamo was no longer a rock golem, but rather a stone idol.”
MAGMO “Magmo is our biggest monster,” Giam tells us. “He has four powerful arms for pummeling, and a special attack that repeatedly smashes its target with lava bombs, bouncing the victim around like a ping-pong ball.” “Magmo was actually one of the toughest to pin down,’ Giam continues. “Since the concept was so coal visually, we knew we wanted it, but balancing the ide: of being sentient lava and being physically powerful was quite a challenge, liremember reading somewhere that great character designs should have distinct shapes, recognizable just from their silhouettes, and Magmo certainly fits the bill for that ûne!” TOGERA $ "Togera is our reptilian sea monster," Giam smiles. "He's a spiny gargantuan awakened from his long dormancy by fuel leaking from a crashed UFO. We went through several disparate sea-creature designs during the course of the game (опе of which ended up as an alternate skin for another], but in the end, the best design we got was the result of Koji Saito of SCEI. He and others at SCEI gaye us great feedback оп the game and monster design, and it was from some of his peo- ple's excellent concept art that Togera was born.”
CONGAR |
"Congar is our crazy mutant monkey, and is а very well-rounded monster. He's good in hand-to-hand [combat], and has a pretty decent projectile attack,” Jobe says. “His Sonic Roar special attack is excellent. It's of shorter range, But does major damage, and has the added ability of blasting through buildings as if they weren't even there!"
ROBO-47
"Robo-47 is your classic military robot," Jobe explains. "Like Congar, he's well well-rounded. He has a huge machine gun in his chest that's capable of the fastest. rate of fire in the entire game. His hand-to-hand attacks utilize a variety of robot weapons, like expandable ham- mers, drill bits, and titanium spikes! Robo-47 also has
а vintage special attack...he is, after all, from the ‘atomic age,’ so what robot would be complete without an atomic bomb! Robo-47 can launch his nuke across an entire level. It has homing [capabilities], too!”
still can get around the level better tı most monsters. Preytor’s һапа-{о-Һал
style is very fast with an arsenal ,
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Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ГЕ)
stantly unified camera. In the case of a four-player split, it would have been very difficult to see, and really would've hurt the gameplay in exchange for simply having that ‘1-4’ label on the back of the box. As far as using a single, unified camera goes, that would've short- changed the projectile aspect of the game, which is much stronger with the chase camera at a distance. The decision wasn't just about looks—it was also about gameplay.”
T RE
What's next for the War of the Monsters team? With Twisted Metal: Black, the pro- gression was to build an online game from the foundation of the multiplayer aspects. Is that something we can now expect from Incog again? Does the game even lend itself to online play, or would it require a major reworking? We'd cer- tainly love to see something. "I'd love to someday see a multiplayer online mode, but the key thing for us was to make
sure we got the game right before expanding its scope,” Giam explains. “If you look at SCEA's products, like SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs and Twisted Metal: Black Online, you'll see that the games аге not simply, "Неге 5 this game, and oh, by the way, your opponent is in another room. They really bring an entirely different experience than what you get when playing offline. That's the way | want War of the Monsters to be.”
"When the time comes for us to go online, that'll а whole new ball game designed to make that game the best it can be, whether it’s online or off,” Giam continues. `1 guess the short answer is that the current design is built to be played offline. Rest assured that the next time SCEA Santa Monica and Incog give you an online experience, it won't just be some quick online ‘port.’ It'll be a lean, mean gaming experience designed to bring you an experience like nothing you could get offline.”
Let's hope it comes soon.
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GAMES REVIEWED
PS2 Games
Activision Anthology
ATV Offroad Fury 2 ..... Contra: Shattered Soldier .126 Disney's Treasure Planet . .120
Shrek Super Party
The Simpsons Skateboarding ... 132
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly 132 Star Wars Bounty Hunter .122
Drome Racers .120 Fighter Maker 2 . 354126
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
War of the Monsters
WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth
45126 n X-Men: Next Dimension . . .
Haven: Call of the King ...124 Hot Wheels: Velocity X ....128 James Bond 007: Nightfire 130
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance .
Zapper
PS1Games
Aces of the Air
Austin Powers Pinball . Disney's Treasure Planet . .
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 .140
Mystic Heroes
NCAA College Basketball 2K3 . .
NCAA Final Four 2003 ....138 NCAA March Madness 2003 138
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions
Rocky ...
Rygar: The Legendary Adventure .137 >
THE FINAL SCORE
We rate games on a five-point scale. So, .5 is terrible, 2.5 is mediocre, and 5 is superb. Get it?
JOHN DAVISON The newly shaven- headed boss has been wandering the halls declaring, 717 a monster, grrr! He takes games too seriously.
GARY STEINMAN Gary resolves to play every RPG that comes out in 2003. He also resolves to "get out more often." Seems his resolu- tions are in conflict.
JOE RYBICKI
Joe and his girl- friend marked their one-year anniversary by staying at a "haunted" hotel. The ghosts were also on vacation, apparently.
TODD ZUNIGA
For the second month straight, it's been Vice City all the time for Zuni, except for when he takes breaks for NHL 2K3 and his Blues.
SAM KENNEDY This month, Sam was in old-school gaming heaven with Contra and Rygar. Now,
he's just waiting for Castlevania for PS2. It's almost here...
CHRIS BAKER C-Bake started play- ing Madden online this month only to discover that no one really plays football there. Going for every 4th and 20? Sheesh!
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
WAR OF THE MONSTERS
It came out of nowhere
Publisher SCEA
Developer Incog
Website www.playstation.com Hopefully, you've already read this month's feature—and, more importantly, had a chance to check out the War of the Monsters demo on the DVD. If you haven't, it's worth popping the disc into your PS2 right now and playing around to get a feel for it. Although the demo features just two characters and one arena, it gives a superb taste of what War of the Monsters has to offer.
At its core, WotM is a 3D brawler that develops on prece- dents and styles established in games like Capcom's Power Stone, and latter-day wrestling games like SmackDown. Unlike fighting games of the Mortal Kombat ilk (reviewed elsewhere this month), in WotM, you roam through the environment in full 3D and interact with absolutely every portion of the scenery. The environments in which the monsters fight are living, breathing, and (given the 100-foot tall mutant gorillas, insects, robots, and reptiles stomping about) panic-stricken locales in which life continues as the destruction ensues. Planes and helicopters fly around, traffic trundles around the streets, and
mobs of screaming people flood from buildings to get out of the way. When it comes to the basics, the ambience here is spot on. That's not where it ends, though. Although the basic fighting engine is quite simple, the results are immensely satisfying. Punches and kicks have a real sense of weight to them, and though the creatures don’t fill up huge amounts of screen space, they have a sense of scale that gives you the feeling you're banging around on the set of a Japanese monster movie. When Magmo the lava creature creams Congar with all four of his rock fists, there's an actual sense of impact. What helps amplify this, though, is when crap starts exploding. Smash your opponent into a building and it shatters in the most satisfying display of destruction I’ve ever seen in a videogame. Rubble explodes outwards, dust blows up everywhere, and stuff falls down, big time. The ensuing wreckage is then fair game to use as weaponry. Grab a girder and use it as a club, or pick up chunks of masonry and hurl them to knock your enemy senseless. While you're at it, you can also scoop up cars, trucks, radio towers, and anything else that's not nailed down. Try pluck-
ing a helicopter from the sky, or smash up a plane as it lands on an airstrip and then pummel your hapless opponent with it.
As with Incog's previous hit, Twisted Metal: Black, there are two very good reasons to get into WotM. First is the single-player game, which is well structured and absolutely packed with features. Second is the multiplayer game, which is more fun than a barrel of (mutant) monkeys on unicycles. Wearing tuxedos.
As with so many games these days, playing alone provides rewards that are essentially finan-
MINI MONSTERS
| Two-player fights are fun, but | if you wan to mix things up a
cial within the game structure.
In Vice City, it's cash; in Mortal Kombat, it's koins you use to buy things from the krypt; in War of the Monsters, it's tokens. Beat bad guys and win tokens, then spend them to unlock bonus characters, new arenas for multi- player, “skins” for monsters, and minigames you can play against a friend. The bigger and badder the enemy you beat, the more tokens you get. Bosses, predictably, pro- vide bigger rewards, and some
of the cooler stuff is incredibly expensive. Consequently, the incentive to replay the single- player Story mode is fairly great, assuming you're one of those people who just has to open up all the cool stuff in a game.
The story itself is delightfully campy and silly, modeled after 1950s B-movies involving alien marauders, radioactive goop, and crazy scientific experiments. The explanation for why there are a] lots of big, bad-tempered mon- sters kicking around, and b) envi- ronments surrounded by Star Trek-type shields is actually fairly ridiculous—but ultimately, that’s what's so charming about it. Fighting through the story puts you up against a multitude of monsters, a variety of bosses, and finally up against the aliens themselves, with a final boss- fight in D.C. that’s worthy of the "50s-esque subject material. The action throughout is spectacular, and depending on which monster you choose as your own, different challenges vary immensely in dif- ficulty. Choose Ultra V, the groovy
OPM'S FAVORITE MONSTERS
Without any shadow of doubt, our favorite monster is Ultra V. He looks badass, he has a rocket pack that’s more effec-
tive than Jango Fett's, and he's got a funky paint job. On top of this, he can bust out a plasma sword for special attacks, one of his fists flies out on the end of a chain to grab his enemies (just like Scorpion in Mortal Kombat), and, on top of all that, he has laser eyes. Laser. Eyes. Eyes that shoot lasers. Let us know your favorite monster by e-mailing us at opm(aziffdavis.com. Mark your e-mails with the subject “My Favorite Monster.
Japanese-style robot, for exam- ple, and you'll have an easier time in some boss fights than, say, Togera the Godzilla looka- like, because Ultra V is faster and able to fly around with the aid of his jet pack.
If the charm of the single- player game ever wears off, what will give Monsters really long legs is the radioactive goop. Ha ha, | made a funny. No, sorry. What | really mean is the two-player game. I defy anyone, regardless of tastes, to pick this game up and not have fun with it. There are two very strong things going for Monsters: It's incredibly satis- fying, regardless of your gaming abilities (thanks to huge explo- sions), and it's so well designed
that the control system becomes transparent after spending very little time with it. The camera system is well-integrated with this, too. When the two players are separated by a great distance, the screen is split. When you get in close, everything switches to fullscreen. The camera’s always where you expect it to be, and the transitions are quick and clean.
Whereas bouts in most fight- ing games are over in a few min- utes, experienced Monsters players can make a single fight last for 20 minutes or more. Gary and | went at it tooth and nail late опе night as his Ultra V took on my Robo-47 in an epic “best of three” fight that took nearly an hour to complete. As you learn the levels, you start to under- stand how to best use items, and you can really keep things chal- lenging. The fact that health and energy icons spawn in specific locations also helps to make the fights about more than just beat- ing on each other. Sometimes, it's just as important to guard the area where the big health power- up spawns, so you can give your- self a competitive advantage. If you really want to make things tough on yourself, you can also introduce CPU-controlled mon- sters into fights, and watch the environment crumble in a matter of moments.
If you have any doubts about the game, try out the demo this month. Even if you think Godzilla movies are lame and fighting games suck, War of the Monsters may well convert you on both counts. Ultimately, its most important quality is that it's incredibly fun...and as long as you have friends capable of holding a joypad, it will always be able to provide you with short bursts of entertainment.
Final Score John Davison
Т Players: 1-2 Memory Сага: 71KB
а Activision Anthology
Activision Anthology Publisher Activision
Developer Contraband
Website www.activision.com
The trouble with these classic compilations tends to be that, back in the day, videogames didn't really have all that much to them. Yes, Adventure was the bee’s knees when Reagan was inaugurated, but go back and play it now and you'll most likely ask yourself, "What was | thinking?”
Anthology suffers from the same problem. It’s a collection of some really great Atari 2600 games...but they're Atari 2600 games; most of them look and play like crap. There are a few exceptions, includ- ing shooters like Megamania and Demon Attack, and classics like Pitfall! and Decathlon. But for the most part, you'll load up these games, say "Wow! | remember that!", and then turn them off.
To combat this, Activision added a delicious twist to Anthology: unlockables. Some are of the only-of-interest-to-the- hardcore variety (like the patches you used to get by sending in a photo of your score], but there's a whole other world of unlockables for anyone who digs '80s nostalgia: commercials. Oh yeah, we're talk- ing pure '80s here, and they're well worth the token effort [you have to earn high scores in corresponding games] required to access them. Also of interest are some whacked- out video modes that will make a perfect conversation piece for your next party. Add a soundtrack of totally tubular '80s hits, and you can't go wrong —especially for the bargain price of $30.
Final Score eeee
Joe Rybicki
ATV Offroad Fury 2
| ATV Offroad Fury 2
Publisher Sony CEA
Developer Rainbow
Website www.playstation.com
Is "more of the same" a problem when "the same" is so darn good?
That's the question I'm strug- gling with regarding ATV Offroad Fury 2. | loved the original—loved it. The level design was great, the physics were perfectly over-the- top, and the handling was spot- on—the game just felt right.
The sequel takes the core gameplay of the original and adds lots of stuff around the edges...but doesn't really make any funda- mental changes. This is both good and bad: Rainbow hasn't touched those perfect physics or controls, but it also hasn't addressed the assortment of problems that infested the first game.
The biggest problem is the "off- course" warning. Sometimes you'll cut a corner, shaving seconds off your time, and the game will hardly bat an eye. Other times, you'll get nudged outside the main track on à straightaway—that is, an area where there aren't any corners to cut—and get penalized for it.
The other gameplay problem cornes up during collisions with other riders: They always win. Always. Unless | actually land on top of another rider, | can never seem to knock them off their ATVs. Meanwhile, | seem to go flying if one of them looks at me funny.
Like | said, these are problems we saw in the first game. | just wish Rainbow had addressed them while it was adding all the extra stuff—stuff like the new objective- based Freestyle mode, or the addition of profile points that can be used to buy new bikes, tracks, and gear. These new features add plenty of replay value, which is definitely a good thing. You'll find
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
there's a lot more to do in this ver- | Sion than there was in the original.
That includes playing online, but that feature's not as revolution- ary as | expected it to be. The interface is astonishingly clumsy, bumping you back into the main lobby after every game. What's worse, you can't set up any race options until everyone has joined your game. That's just silly. Despite this, it's reasonably fluid and adds a new dimension to the game—plus, it'll be nice to always have someone to play against.
All things considered, | have to say ATV 2 is a better game overall than the first. But it's better because of additions rather than improvements. If you liked the first, you'll like this one—just don't expect a reinvented wheel.
Final Score e Joe Rybicki
Player: 7А Метогу Сага: 132 КВ
ATV Offroad Fury 2
ы * Disney’s Treasure Planet
Disney's Treasure Planet Publisher Sony CEA Developer Bizarre Creations Website www.scea.com If nothing else, one thing | learned while reviewing Treasure Planet is that | really enjoy playing games in a widescreen, letterbox format. If your TV is big enough, you'll get a much richer visual experience, since you're able to see a lot more of the peripheral scenery. | wish more games offered this option. But that's not the only good
| thing | found. In fact, I'd rank
Treasure Planet among the better licensed platformers I've seen in quite a long while. Although it doesn't reach the heights of Sony's Big Three [that is, Sly, Ratchet, and Jak), it's definitely one of the best “B-level” platformers on the PS2. It looks great and plays well, offers a variety of challenges, is simple enough to appeal to the younger gamer (which, due to the Disney license, is a major part of its intended audience], but has enough hardcore moments to keep seasoned gamers on their toes. And for the cynical among you, Treasure Planet also serves as a great ad for the movie, with some incredible cut-scenes and terrific voice acting from the movie's cast. Think of it as Jak and Daxter
| Lite; Treasure Planet is eerily simi-
lar to Naughty Dog's recent hit. Jak is a better game, but assuming you've already plowed through the best of the best, this will do as
a decent diversion. You won't be blown away, and you're likely to get bored at times by the repetitive fetch quests, but overall, Treasure Planet is a solid choice.
Final Score Gary Steinman
Players: 1
| |
Drome Racers
Drome Racers
Publisher EA Games
Developer Attention To Detail Website www.eagames.com Drome Racers is officially a Lego title. If you're not familiar with the Lego Racers line of toys, the rele- vance is tenuous at best. When
| was a kid, Legos were all nobbly, and you used them for, y'know, building stuff. The cars in Drome are sort of modular, but they don't really act any differently from any other futuristic racer.
After five minutes of playing this game, a sneaking sense of famil- iarity kicks in. Haven't we seen this game before? Why, yes—it's a little like the Р51 game Rollcage. Remember that? A quick peek at the credits and the penny drops: Attention To Detail developed Rollcage for Psygnosis back in 1999. What we have here is a similar idea, regurgitated for PS2. It's like WipeOut with wheels. Even the overly twitchy controls have made the transition. The only thing missing is Rollcage's "innovative" option to flip your car upside down and continue driving.
An attempt at incorporating some teenage "sass" into the mix shows up in the Menu screens, but ultimately, it all seems a bit half- hearted. Imagine a Saturday- morning cartoon show that's essentially designed to peddle toys—what we have here is the videogame equivalent. Unfortunately [for Lego], it doesn't
| push toys particularly effectively.
Rent it if you're curious, but it's probably not enough to warrant a purchase. Buy some Legos instead.
Final Score ee« John Davison
Player: Метогу Сага: 50 КВ
This is hockey like Roenick plays it. Hard-nosed and furious. It speeds toward you so fast you don't have tig
EVERYONE
Violence WEES A THESE
Segais regi 3 a the NHL Shield are registerad irademae gf the National lola Usagi AI NAL ogg team logos and marks depicted herein a й consent of NHL Ente: LG 2008 its resedit NHLPA. NHL 2K3 is a Пу Licensed Product ofthe NHLPA. NHLPA, National Ha je Play м N amily logo are registerad trglemetfvef Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ™, ® oa te arks of Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox andthe Xbox logos are eith тоз oro jon in the U.S. апада countries and nde license from Microsoft. demark of ESPN, Ine, ESPN branded elements © Disney. Screenshots taken om PlayStation 2.
STAR WARS: BOUNTY HUNTER
As pleasing as the death of Boba Fett
Publisher LucasArts
Developer LucasArts
Website www.lucasarts.com You've gotta love the idea behind Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. As one of the most infamous mercenaries in the prequel era, Jango Fett is hardly someone you can refer to as a hero—yet you can't deny that few other pre-established charac- ters make for such perfect game protagonists. Which is why Bounty Hunter disappoints me.
Though LucasArts' developers have obviously done their best to combine everything that makes Jango cool into one galaxy-span- ning adventure, common annoy- ances persist throughout that severely hamper what could have been a great game.
| love virtually everything you saw Jango do іп Attack of the Clones is something you can pull off in Bounty Hunter. His trusty dual blasters take care of most intergalactic scum (along with the
occasional law enforcement offi- cer or wildlife), and the other Mandelorian standards—flame projector, whipcord, sniper rifle, dartcaster, backside rocket—help vary the action. Throw in the Fett trademark jetpack, and blasting up a screen full of Rodians, Gamorreans, Dugs, or other malevolent minions becomes all the more exhilarating.
Well, unless the sloppy weapon-switching interface causes you to get shot up when you really shouldn't be. It'll hap- pen to you plenty of times, mainly because you're just a simple man, trying to make your way in the universe. You see, within each mission comes the optional secondary objective of finding all the prices on the rogues’ heads and collecting their bounties {how else are you gonna put Boba through соЦеде?). Using Jango's 10 scope (уе, that’s what the antenna’s for), you can identify
(E) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
which enemies fall into this cate- gory, then proceed to kill or cap- ture them—whichever earns you the most credits. This adds an intriguing gameplay element;
I totally dug seeing which foes had prices on their heads and why [see sidebar for my favorite example). 1 didn’t dig the hassle of switching from ID scope to ideal weapon when six angry Gran would sud-
apiece to complete, and the game allows only five continues in each. Nothing frustrates you more than dying for the fifth time at the very end of a level, only to spend another hour getting to the same spot—then dying for the fifth time again. What should Бе а 12- to 15- hour game takes closer to 30 hours to
play through.
a combination of “I know | can beat this level now,” the fast- paced action sequences, and an interesting story that runs parallel to The Phantom Menace. Jango actor Tamuera Morrison voices his character in the game's numerous ILM-created FMV cut- scenes—scenes that clear up a lot of things Star Wars fans are dying to know. Ever wonder where the
“With all the Mynocks chewing on the power cables, it’s a wonder I liked the game at all.”
denly start shooting my way. Sure, holding down Circle to select your desired weapon stops the action—but only after a costly delay that can be just long enough to mean that
you meet your demise.
And meeting your demise is not something to take lightly. Bounty Hunter's 18 huge levels take any- where from 25 minutes to an hour
Cheap deaths only exacerbate matters. Maybe it's just a quirk of the Star Wars galaxy not explored in the films (ог books or comics ог Underoos), but bad collision detection sent Jango into a dark void to his unexplainable doom on more than one occasion. He also frequently failed to grab onto ledges and cables when he should have, choosing instead to plummet to his death. Which, again, must be something folks loved to do a long time ago in that galaxy far, far away. It's not uncommon for an enemy to pursue you relentlessly from afar, refusing to allow the huge bridge-free chasm in between you to stop him. (Of course, gravity wins.) A lousy, sometimes unman- ageable camera doesn't help, and the frustration skyrockets when you need to find that one little place to go in a level, but instead wind up wandering aimlessly for an hour or so.
With all the Mynocks chewing on Bounty Hunter's power cables, it's а wonder I liked the game at all. But | did. Oddly enough,
I found it hard to put down—likely
Slave | came from, and how it
got its name? Or why Jango was selected to source the clone army? Or how Jabba became the Hutt to be reckoned with? The answers lie in Bounty Hunter. Playing the game also adds fur- ther impact to Jango's murder of Zam Wesel, as we learn their his- tory. Even throwaway lines from the movies like “the Jundland Wastes are not to be traveled lightly" and “wanna buy some death sticks?” can play a major role. (Nancy Reagan, take pride in Jango’s actions in the intergalactic war on drugs.)
To Star Wars fanatics, the story alone makes Bounty Hunter worth a look, and the core action should please them for the most part. The folks at LucasArts definitely know what kind of premise it takes to excite the faithful. I just wish, looking at the game as a whole, | could say they've done their job well.
Final Score eee Chris Baker
GO STRAIGHT FROM THE SLOPES TO A SLAB IN THE MORGUE. It's Evolution Snowboarding, where every run is a fight to the finish. To stay alive, you've got to shred the cburse as well as the competition—with a sick selbctidn of
clubs, chains, and swords that prove just how cold winter can be. Of course, it
should be pretty warm in the crematorium.
n DODN E: 86777 ia. P
ALL-OUT SNOWBOARDING COMBAT. PLAY HEAD-TO-HEAD.
Blood
РАНЕЕ
Violence
DESTROY ENEMIES ооох
HEE гошан ун ал: E. BUST TRICKS TO BATTLE OPPONENTS.
Mild Lyrics (2 PlayStation e
"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. TM, ®, The Nintendo Game Cube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software
Association. KONAMI ®, the KONAMI © logo and EVOLUTION SNOWBOARDING™ are either trademarks or registered trademarks of KONAMI CORPORATION.
2002 KONAMI & Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka. All rights reserved.
пл Aol
Fighter Maker 2
Fighter Maker 2
Publisher Agetec
Developer Enterbrain
Website www.agetec.com
It sounds great on paper: Design your own fighting-game charac- ters, animations, and moves. Imagine creating cool 3D represen- tations of all of your friends (ог enemies], then squaring off in vicious street combat. Problems arise, however, when you attempt to do anything even remotely creative in Fighter Maker 2. It's so time consuming and complexthat | only the hardest of the hardcore | will have any fun.
The encyclopedic Edit mode casts a big, boring shadow over the entire game—you'll have to spend a good hour or so to get a charac- ter who can even punch and kick. Creating frame-by-frame anima- tions demands tons of careful editing and laborious planning. If you're not in the mood for a lesson in amateur programming, you can simply choose one of the preset characters and modify its appear- ance, but even that disappoints;. you can't do much to alter the body types, so most of your characters look similar, albeit with different clothing. If they make a Fighter Maker 3, the developers should really take inspiration from the Character-creation mode of wrestling games—tons of options allow you to make crazy, out- landish characters. Ultimately, the absurd amount of effort you'll have to spend to get any substan- tial results in Fighter Maker 2's Edit mode won't be worth it for 95 percent of you.
If you do manage to craft a functional character [or if you're lazy and just pick one of the six prefab guys), you can play the actu- al fighting-game portion. Both graphically and control-wise, this
| Shane Bettenhausen
feels like some long-lost, distant cousin to Tekken 3. It's barely PS2-launch caliber stuff, and the | gameplay is mediocre at best. Several special moves and throws have been lifted directly from Tekken games, but the game lacks that series smooth flow. And if you're looking for a solid single- player experience, there's nothing to see here—you can realistically defeat the entire crew of charac- ters in 10 minutes flat.
Sadly, there just aren't many reasons to recommend Fighter Maker 2. It's a niche product, and not a very good one at that. Fans of the first Fighter Maker for Р51 will conceivably like this one [you can even transfer your Save over). The rest of you, however, are likely | to be sorely disappointed. Final Score e«
Player: Memory Card: 2 M
Fighter Maker 2
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
| Developer EA Games
Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the | Chamber of Secrets Publisher EA Games
Website www.eagames.com
Let me put it to you simply: If you're a serious Harry Potter fan, you're going to want to buy this game. If you're a casual Harry Potter fan, you're going to want to rent this game. And if you couldn't care less about Harry Potter, this game isn't going to convert you.
That's too bad, really, because there's a lot to like about Chamber of Secrets. The biggest deal is the opportunity to actually explore Hogwarts; last year's PS1 game offered a glimpse of the environ- ment but little more. Now, you can wander all over the grounds, trying doors, looking for hidden passages, and so on. After a few hours of play, you even get your own broom to hop on anytime you're outside.
The graphics are sharp, the voice work is excellent, and the gameplay variety keeps the game moving along and makes it easy to maintain interest—if you've read the books recently enough that you already know what's going on. Because Chamber of Secrets' most fundamental flaw is that stuff | just...happens. If you haven't read the book, you're very likely to find yourself completely in the dark as to what's going on.
The other major issue has to do with the camera: It sucks. | mean, it really sucks. If the camera issues and resultant targeting problems were resolved, the game would be worth another half-point, easily. Oh well; at least EA will have five more chances to get it perfect.
Final Score Joe Rybicki
Метогу Сага: 173 КВ
Haven: Call of the King Publisher Midway Developer Traveller's Tales Website www.midway.com You can please all kinds of gamers some of the time, and some kinds of gamers all of the time—but, as Haven proves, you can't please all kinds of gamers all of the time. That hasn't stopped Traveller's Tales from trying. In the first few hours of its latest platform adven- ture, | encountered: lots of running and jumping (іп other words, stan- dard Вор-‘п’-Бор stuff]; a quickie Simon Says-style minigame; an on-rails turret-based shooter; a jetpack mission; a speedboat mission; and a quirky spot inside a "Spheri Shield" that controlled a lot like the classic Marble Madness. And that's just for starters. From start to finish, Haven tosses out a staggering selection of gameplay devices, from aerial dogfights to four-wheel races, puzzling platform pieces to twitchy run-'n'-gun blast-fests, stationary
| first-person shooters to flying
obstacle courses—and much more. Around every corner lurks some- thing new, something to break up the standard pacing and to break away from the norm.
But therein lies the problem. In its effort to be all things to all people, Haven falls short in almost every area—not quite short enough
| to be damning, mind you, but just
enough so that frustration sets in, marring what should have been
a fabulous experience. Each seg- ment seems to be missing one essential bit of play-balancing, be it tighter targeting, better control schemes, or more manageable dif- ficulty levels. Even the story suffers from this "kitchen-sink" mentality; the silly quest flies so far off track that | simply tuned out and ignored the narrative in what's supposed to
| be a narrative-driven platformer | (probably a good thing, judging | from the cringe-worthy dialogue | overhead when | did pay attention.) Yet, Haven still stands out for what it tries to do. It really does offer more variety than most plat- formers, and it looks fantastic, despite the iffy character design (bright-red cornrows and a soul patch? Риһ-1ееге!). It's also а great choice for hardcore types who found the recent slate of plat- | formers too easy—this is one of | the toughest titles in its genre. | Still, I can't help feeling disap- pointed. Haven comes tantalizingly close to greatness, but it's undone by its bold attempt to offer every- thing for everyone. It's still a solid game, but it's not nearly as good as it could have been. Final Score e Gary Steinman
| | | | | |
Players: 1
Haven: Call of the King
ADVENTURE, ACTION, ROLE-PLAYING AND MORE. WE'VE GOT THE GAME FOR YOU FOR ONLY $19.99. GREAT GAMES AT A GREAT HOLIDAY PRICE — NOW THAT'S A DEAL.
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іе United States (excluding residents of NY, FL and RI and any other jurisdiction where sweepstakes are prohibited by law), 13 years of age or older at time of entry. Any е
al consent prior to entering this sweepstakes trademarks of Ubi Soft, Inc, Rayman, Ubi Soft and the Ubi Soft Entertainment logo are registered trademarks of Ubi Soft, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS* Family logo are
at ne, ©2002 SFX Маг Sport, ne. draa Clear Channel Entertainment = Motor Sports. SEX Motor Sports. United States Hot Rod Associati er Jam®, and Grave Diggor® are 1 ; used Ubi Soft Entertainment. Presto Studios
marks of Presto i ved. Original game ©1997, 1999, 2000, ао 62000 Ubi Solt Enertainment. Sranda s "Carro" character de by Katsumi Айгай}, Kenji Mizuno and
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5
EVERYONE To TEEN : PlayS tation.2 Violence 5 s Mild Language
TAITO -— 22 СЕЕАЕСНА
HANNEL
7 ОО N REVIEWS
CONTRA: SHATTERED SOLDIER
Hardcore gaming with a hardcore challenge
Publisher Konami
Developer Konami
Website www.konami.com Everyone has their own claim to fame when it comes to games— you know, that one game you could beat when none of your friends could ever seem to, Mine happens to be Contra: Hard Corps for the Sega Genesis. Not only did | beat it, but | beat every dif- ferent path and saw every damn ending іп the game. If you've ever played Hard Corps, you know just how much of a feat that is. It's hands-down one of the most challenging games I've ever beaten. | don't bring this up to brag or anything. | do it to illus- trate this point:
| believe | have just completed something even harder.
The Contra games have always been on the more challenging side. It’s just that some, like the Genesis’ Hard Corps and now the
1Р=02
Hit Rate
PS2's Shattered Soldier, are even more challenging. Shattered Soldier will kick your ass. Scratch that—it’ll kick your ass, chew it up, and then spit it out. Most people won't even beat the first level on their first go, and that’s with the дате set on “easy.” It’s extremely daunting at first, but—and this is where the real beauty of the game lies—it's never impossible. Just like the best Contra games before it, Shattered Soldier puts your gaming skills completely to the test, but can still be effectively mastered. Levels that demand all your lives at the start can later be beaten without a single hit. It's all about patterns in Contra, and in Shattered Soldier, you'll be required to learn them to a tee in order to get anywhere.
So, when | tell you that Shattered Soldier is only about an hour-long game, don't take it at
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
oP Hit Rate
face value. Because you won't beat it in an hour. No matter how good of a Contra player you are, Shattered Soldier will require hours of practice and memoriza- tion before you can make your way to the end. And when you
do finally make it, you'll be faced with a new challenge: beat- ing the game with a higher accu- racy rating in order to open а new stage and ending. Not to mention unlocking all the cool secret items and modes hidden
1Р=00
es ever seen т gaming. Beasts such as the massive mutated fish that leaps from the water to nab you, or the giant robot that throws itself in front of a moving train car (fans may notice this as a throwback to Hard Corps) are just too cool. But even regular stages look great—everything has this super-sharp look to it. It's all 3D, but it comes off as what you'd always envisioned a truly killer 2D game could look like on the PS2.
even bother to get voice actors for the parts. Perhaps it's a throwback to the older games, but it seems kind of, well, dated. Either way, it’s not a big deal; story has never had any real relevance in a Contra game. It can be skipped at any moment land you'd barely notice its absence].
If | could find any other fault with Shattered Soldier, it would be that the game isn’t quite the ultimate Contra | was hoping it
“Just like the best Contra games before it, Shattered Soldier puts your gaming skills completely to the test, but can still be mastered.”
inside the game. It’s only after you've done all that that you real- ize just how great a job the developers have done at squeez- ing every last second of game- play out of that one hour.
And what an hour it is. Contra fans will be absolutely beside themselves each time they stumble upon a new area. Newcomers to the series are just as likely to be in awe of what they'll find here—Shattered Soldier tosses at you some of the biggest, most impressive boss-
бз | Hit Rate
There's also a ton more depth to the gameplay than ever before. Shattered Soldier grabs elements from Contra /// (such as using the shoulder buttons to aim) and Hard Corps (such as the multiple weapons) and comes up with what seems like the perfect evolution of the series. While it’s a shame to see certain staples gone, such as the spread gun and the fact that you no longer have to shoot pods to gain weapons, this new system is absolutely ingenious. There's so much depth to be found simply in figuring out which weapons work best against which enemies—not to mention correctly using each weapon's myriad special moves.
The only place the game seems to stumble is in the story. There's really not a lot of it, and what's there is rather weak. Plus, the entire thing is told with onscreen text; Konami didn't
would be. Frankly, there could have been a few more levels. Granted, the seven levels of this game are quite large by the usual Contra standards (and per- haps could have been split up into smaller levels], but | could- n't help but wish for more. Hard Corps, with its tons of levels and multiple paths, definitely has Shattered Soldier beat in this respect. | think this game is also plagued a little by the same problem that affected Hard Corps: There aren’t enough gen- eral run-and-gun areas. Too much of the game is focused on fighting bosses.
But then again, that’s just me. When | like a game this much, | can't help but wish for more. Final Score eeee Sam Kennedy
Т! Players: 1-2 Memory Card: 103 KB
sp ال BASH = 5 THE " quest for peace - The fates of three opposing heroes are forever altered in a battle that will determine the destiny of the entire land.
Uncover the 108 Stars of Destiny, create a homeland castle town, discover the secrets of the 27 True Runes, and save the world from destruction.
Suggestive Themes
Mild Violence е” PlayStation.? KONAMI |,
SUIKODENO is a registered trademark of KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT TOKYO, inc. ©1995, 2002 KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT TOKYO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association.
I А E
Hot Wheels: Velocity X
Hot Wheels: Velocity X Publisher THQ
Developer Beyond Games Website www.thq.com
What do you get when you try to combine arcade racing with vehic- ular combat? A game that does neither exceptionally well. That's the problem with Hot Wheels; it's a case of jack-of-two-trades, master of neither.
At first glance, Hot Wheels looks like a slightly simplified Rumble Racing. This would be a good thing if it was actually true—but it's not. There are ramps, loops, shortcuts, and the opportunity to attempt simple tricks, but all these things feel sort of tacked on to the ultra- simple, dash-and-bash gameplay that is the real substance of the game. You race toward an objec- tive, stop along the way to beat up on other cars with your selection of mediocre weapons, and then con- tinue on toward your destination.
There's a story, sort of, but to be honest, | just couldn't bring myself to care. It's typical Saturday-morning cartoon fare: cookie-cutter characters (іпсіші- ing the requisite wisecracking robot], "this time it's personal," and that sort of thing.
The level design is also fairly bland, but | guess when you're talking about a Hot Wheels game, the important feature is the car selection. There are certainly plenty of cars, designed in typical whacked-out Hot Wheels fashion But cool cars aren't enough rea- son to pick up an entirely average game. If you're looking for some extreme arcade-racing goodness, pick up Rumble Racing instead. Final Score ee«
Joe Rybicki
Players: 1-2 1а = Memory Card: 110 KB
Mystic Heroes
Mystic Heroes Publisher Koei Developer Koei Website www.koeigames.com Imagine Dynasty Warriors with magic spells, boss fights, and a more involved story—all shrunk down to Hobbit-size with a dose of anime style—and you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect from Mystic Heroes. Well, sort of. If you're as big a fan as | am of the Dynasty games , you might also expect something enjoyable throughout. Mystic has its moments, but ultimately, it disappoints more than it pleases.
Things start out pleasantly enough as you realize you're basically playing a scaled-down Dynasty game. Smaller maps and fewer soldiers equate to battles that rarely last longer than 30 min- utes—a welcome change for those who never had the time to take on a typical hour of brawlin’ in Dynasty. At the same time, though, it sacrifices the overall sense of grandness you feel as you play. Who wants a Happy Meal burger when you're used to a Big Mac? And though the shorter battles might appeal to some, nothing sucks more than spending 25 minutes slaughtering 100 enemy soldiers, only to die when you encounter the boss. If this happens, you're forced to restart the stage from the beginning, since you can't save midlevel
The thing is, you shouldn't have to die so often during boss fights, since a careful approach can get the best of most of them. However, certain boss encounters (usually those within closed spaces] ramp up the difficulty, but only because the camera refuses to allow you to see what you want. The serpent fight, for example, would have been fantastic, had it not been so impos-
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
sible to see the sinister slitherer. Mystic's emphasis on story might have saved things if its take on Houshin Engi, a classic novel of ancient China, made any sense. I can't recall a recent game story that's left me more puzzled. Despite its setbacks, Mystic does offer enough mindless fun to amuse anyone who wants to sit down and bust up hordes of evil. The addition of magic to the Dynasty formula is welcome, and as many as four players can partake in the game's several multiplayer modes, which are actually consistently fun and man- age to surpass the quality of those in Dynasty 3. Still, І have no doubt that Dynasty 4 will improve things even further, come spring. You're better off waiting for that. Final Score ee« Chris Baker
Mystic Heroes
sump; 29.3M
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions
Rally Fusion:
Race of Champions Publisher Activision
Developer Climax
Website www.activision.com Licensed cars? Check. An appro- priate spread of dirt, sand, and tar- mac tracks? Check. Anything else? Well, actually, yes. On paper, Rally Fusion looks like it could be a real challenger for the No. 1 spot in the increasingly crowded PS2 rally space. Unfortunately, when you have the joypad in your hand, all the cool stuff you read about on paper doesn't quite pan out. The game's full of groovy features like extensive damage, realistic physics, and a broad range of play modes, but it fails to deliver on the most important aspect of rallying: the visceral excitement of hurtling forth, barely in control of an over- powered family hatchback or sedan. The feeling of power and speed that V-Rally 3 and WRC man- age to convey just isn't evident in
Fusion, so what you end up with is something that's just too slow. Ultimately, in this sport, slow equals desperately boring. No amount of gameplay-stretching play modes [like Relays and Rally Cross] can compensate for lackluster speed.
Graphically, the game tries hard but fails to impress. A clever attempt at providing a “focus” effect is overdone throughout, and frequently had me reaching for my glasses. With games like this, you spend all your time watching the horizon for hazards. Unfortunately, the overzealous effects mean that looking ahead makes you feel des- perately nearsighted—everything's blurry. Cute idea...it's just overdone.
In all, Fusion's not a total wash; it's just not at all remarkable. Final Score eee John Davison
Rally Fusion: Race of Champions
е.
8.7 a
= Ж”
4 4 ee s Bn 24779
00 ۸ REVIEWS
JAMES BOND NIGHTFIRE
Your chance to become Bond
*
AY
jv je ШУ "ишш un^ Publisher EA Games Developer Eurocom/EA Games Website www.eagames.com There's something to be said for throwing in a little bit of every- thing. Granted, a lot of times, it doesn't work. In fact, most of the time it doesn't work. But in Nightfire, it works like a charm.
You start off sniping from a
helicopter. Then you drop into а саг апа drive. Then you crash a party in an impeccable tux. Then you blast your way out in an armored snowmobile. The game just keeps throwing new stuff at you, fast and furious, in a way
In fact, he sounds more like an American Sean Connery than anything else. Ironic, really.
There's very little not to like about Nightfire. It's got a typically. over-the-top plot (corporate | madman attempts a "hostile takeover" of world politics],
a cast of curvaceous foils for Bond's less-than-subtle charms, and lots and lots of explosions. In short, it really does feel like an interactive Bond flick.
Adding to this feel is the game's tendency to intercut short bursts of gameplay with flashy cinemas. During the
“The one major problem with Nightfire: Nearly all the coolest parts are early in the game.”
that could seem schizophrenic in other games—but here, it all fits together in an orgy of action that is 100 percent Bond.
And speaking of “100 percent Bond,” this is the first appear- ance of a “real” Bond in a Bond
game: This Bond is modeled after Pierce Brosnan, and the resemblance is eerie. It’s only spoiled when he speaks; the voice is noticeably not Brosnan’s.
snowmobile escape | mentioned earlier, you'll play for 30 second intervals, between which you're treated to cinemas of unbeliev- able feats of man and machine. I'd like to tell you exactly what they are, but | think it’s much better if you find out for yourself. Don't worry, this happens pretty early in the game.
In fact, that's really the one major problem with Nightfire:
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
7:
18-0
Cami Nearly all the coolest parts are early in the game. Once you get past the third or fourth level, the game settles down into a much more standard first-person- shooter format. Don't get me wrong—there's a load of variety within these segments, from all-out action to stealth mis- sions, and a fantastic arsenal of weapons and gadgets. (My favorite is a combination of both: the “Phoenix Ronin,” a machine- gun turret that fits into a small suitcase and can be operated by remote control.) And you'll find the occasional driving, flying, or otherwise non-FPS level later in the game...it’s just that the latter half doesn’t seem to live up to the promise of the first half. The major exception is the final level—and no, I'm not going to tell you what that is, either.
Like Agent Under Fire, Nightfire is more than its Story mode; there's a seriously robust multiplayer mode in there, too. It's got lots of characters, lots of different modes, and lots and lots of customizable options— including the option to play with tiny, remote-controlled, armed tanks and helicopters. Rock! It's funny, though; in what
is ostensibly a first-person shooter, the FPS segments are
actually my least favorite parts of the game. Just goes to show that
you can never really ріп a man like Bond down.
Final Score eeeec
Joe Rybicki
ЕЗ Players: 1-4 BS Memory Card: 81 КВ
A
| "BA ‚жт Poo is
Rocky
Publisher Ubi Soft
Developer Rage Software Website www.ubisoft.com
Have you seen Rocky lately? I'm talking the original here—before Hulk Hogan, before pugilism served as a lame Cold War metaphor, and long before Tommy Gunn initiated a bare-knuckle brawl. If you haven't, you should. Then, surf your cable channels to find the Actor's Studio episode with Sly Stallone—Rocky has one of the all-time coolest backstories.
Now, 26 years after the cinema classic punched its way to promi- nence on the silver screen, Rocky is trying to do the same on the PS2.
My feeling from the start was that if you're going to adapt an aged but still legendary movie franchise into a game, you're fighting an uphill battle. But, then again, so was Rocky. Oh, the poet- ry! But now, you can box your way to the top and go from rags to riches to deteriorating brain. It's done in crafty fashion, and it's subtly unique, meaning you might offhandedly sing the lyrics to the movie’s—and game's— disco-fied theme song (“Gonna Fly Now"). Too bad there's no “Eye of the Tiger."
But where this game really throws a knockout punch is the fighting. Rocky features the premiere boxing engine on PS2. Games like Knockout Kings may be fun for a while, but you end up in a circus of button mashing. With Rocky, the ol’ stick-and-move is as important as wearing gloves. Each boxer you fight against has strengths and weaknesses. If you stand toe-to-toe with a heavy hit- ter, you're going to kiss canvas. If you're up against a poor man's Muhammad Ali, you'll have to lay the leather to him before he gets
away. | even went 15 rounds with Apollo Creed. There's no other boxer on PS2 in which you can actually get to a ref's decision.
Training is a perfect support to the fisticuffs. You'll bust your hump in the gym to improve various skills. But why no meat punching? It's a bummer.
The game's real flaw is that it's too videogamey. To knock someone out, you basically have to knock them down three times during a match. I'd like one of my head-snapping punches to knock а sucker out once in a while— really knock him out. And it'd be cool to know that anytime | let my guard down, it could be over. But even with that, play this and you'll be shouting, "Yo, Adrian!" in no time.
Final Score . Todd Zuniga
Players: 1-2 Memory Car
Situps 10
Bos ser
/
Shrek Super Party
Shrek Super Party Publisher TDK
Developer Mass Media
Website www.tdk-mediactive.com Shrek Super Party surprised me. Whereas | fully expected it to be the worst game of the PlayStation "party" genre [i.e., a board game in which your progression depends оп your success in a variety of minigames), Super Party actually revealed itself as the best. Not surprisingly, though, that really isn't saying much—considering that Crash Bash and Pac-Man Fever represent the only competition in the genre.
Super Party actually comes to us from the developer of Fever, but similarities between the two show only to a certain extent. Both fea- ture setups in which you choose from six freakishly large-headed characters, and up to four players can participate at once. (Thankfully, a lack of single-player minigames means you don't have
to sit there and watch three other computer-controlled opponents have fun by themselves a minute ata time.)
Though a few of the minigames simply Shrekify activities found in Fever, there are enough new ones to make the better-looking Super Party its own game, and almost all of them manage to at least mildly amuse. | especially enjoyed the assortment of new takes on old-
school classics, like one game that
cleverly combines Pong, Breakout, and foosball.
Super Party could have done without its confusing “bug-swap- ping” point system, though. And with no Congratulations scene or ending celebration, a Tournament game concludes as abruptly as...well, this review.
Final Score ee« Chris Baker
Players: 1-4
Shrek Super Party
MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY ALLIANCE
Finally, a game worthy of the legend
Publisher Midway
Developer Midway
Website www.midway.com
It's safe to say that expectations for Mortal Kombat games have diminished significantly with each passing revision (well, since the second game]. Once the darling of the fighting-game scene, MK is now something of a pariah. Its first foray into 3D was a joke, and the movies cer- tainly haven't helped the fran- chise on the credibility front. It has to be said: For all intents and purposes, Deadly Alliance is its last hope.
A year ago, when Midway released early Deadly Alliance Screen shots, no one went espe- cially crazy over the game. But now that we've played the final
little bit crazy, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Fans of the series will revel in the absurd story line, which rambles on about the realm of men and gods giving up their thingies while evil stomps across the world and yada yada blah blah blah. Ultimately, who really cares? People get into a ring and kick the crap out of. each other. What difference does it make if we know exactly why they're doing the kicking?
Having learned from past lessons, Deadly Alliance differ- entiates itself in two key areas. First, it mixes things up with a glorious new fighting engine. Second—and possibly most important—it integrates a sys- tem of collectible goodies that
“The collectibles are going to make some of you completely addicted to Deadly Alliance.”
game, Midway has our atten- tion. MK isn’t dead, and Deadly Alliance proves it.
I've gotten some flack from readers lately, for comparing all fighting games to Virtua Fighter 4. Sega's game claimed the throne in the 3D-fighter camp, and is steadfastly refusing to move its skinny little butt. Tekken 4 failed to nudge it aside, and Ill say up front that Deadly Alliance doesn't either. What | will say, though, is that Mortal Kombat comes from a very dif- ferent camp. It’s fantasy, it’s а
provides enormous incentive to play for hours and hours on end. Fights are no longer made up of a simple set of moves. All the characters in Deadly Alliance are experts in not one, not two, but three different fighting styles. Pulling off moves will be a point of contention for fighting fans. Those of us who've grown up with the MK series will forgive DA's crazy button-sequence combo system, which requires you to have the digital dexterity of a double-jointed octopus. I'm all for making games challeng-
ing, but (here | go, | know), after reveling in VF4's gloriously sim- ple controls, having to hit up, down, punch, punch, kick, up, and punch in order to make my character bitch-slap his oppo- nent (and then, with little effect) is a little constrictive. You don't have to write in and chew me out on this; | already know that a lot of you don't agree with me.
In spite of all this, the col- lectibles are going to make some of you completely addict- ed to Deadly Alliance. Winning fights and working your way through challenges earns you various amounts of “money.” Take this cash to the "Krypt" (bekause all c's in the Mortal Kombat world are replaced with k's) and you can peruse a room filled with 676 koffins, each of which contains something kool. Depending on how much it kosts, you'll be rewarded with extra kharacters, kool back- ground info, panels of a komic book, and all manner of other junk. Some of it is, frankly, ludi- crous krap, but it did crank up the game's addictive nature quite spectacularly.
At the end of the day, Deadly Alliance is a somewhat flawed fighting game when compared to its competition. That said, it’s remarkably fun to play. And, really, if you're having fun, who cares if it has issues?
Final Score III John Davison
afl | Players: 1-2 Memory Card: 71KB
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (©)
3579
The Simpsons S
The Simpsons Skateboarding
Publisher EA Games
Developer The Code Monkeys Website www.eagames.com
If you played The Simpsons Road Rage, you were probably expecting the same thing from The Simpsons Skateboarding that | was: a reason- ably solid, guileless knockoff of a good game, with Simpsons charac- ters and locations added. Boy, were we wrong.
Far from being a Simpsonized Tony Hawk, this game takes the fun of skateboarding and the fun of Springfield and smooshes them together into an unrecognizable, unfun mess. It's hard to look at, hard to listen to, and just plain hard...not to mention hard to like.
Unlike Road Rage, which had enough locations and parapherna- lia from the series to keep fans interested even if they weren't so keen on the gameplay itself, Skateboarding just doesn't have much to offer fans. Sure, there are the requisite characters scattered around the levels spouting one- liners (Ralph's "Your skating makes my eyes hurt!” is definitely my favorite). And there are even some half-recognizable locations, most notably the Springfield Gorge, the game's no-brainer final level. But these elements are buried under a mess of irrelevant clutter and generally poorly thought-out level design. Oh, and let's not for- get about the rousing techno music that accompanies your skating excursions. Because nothing says "Springfield" like techno music.
And the game certainly won't stand up on the strength of its Skating engine alone, since the gameplay is just short of com- pletely unredeemable. The level challenges are quite silly—and even worse, they're all timed.
kateboarding
There's nothing like having to col- lect letters to spell out “mono- rail'—in order—in under a minute.
But even that might not be such a problem if the controls weren't total crap. You can't speed up and turn at the same time, for example. You can't get air reliably. And it's far too easy to undershoot or overshoot your target when jumping.
And you know, | haven't even mentioned how awful the graphics look. The characters look lumpy and odd, and the levels look blocky and oversimplified. Plus, as John asked while he watched me play, "Why on Earth has no one done a cel-shaded Simpsons game?"
If you're a hardcore Simpsons fan, you might want to rent this. Otherwise, stay far away.
Final Score e« Joe Rybicki
Tail Side. 150 - nn
Simpsons Skateboarding
Nose Slide
Simpsons Skateboarding
G) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly
Spyro:
Enter the Dragonfly Publisher Universal Interactive Developer Equinox Digital Ent. Website universal-interactive.com On Oct. 20, 1998, Alphonse D'Amato made a colossal mistake.
The three-term senator from New York was in the battle of his political life, fighting off a heated challenge from congressman Charles Schumer. The two candi- dates lobbed everything from nasty cheap shots to direct assaults on hot-button issues. But things hit a real low point on that Tuesday in October. In a meeting with Jewish voters, D'Amato called Schumer a "putzhead." The word putz, though a commonly used slang term for idiot, is actually a Yiddish term for penis. Schumer, by the way, is Jewish. D'Amato is not.
Schumer's supporters were livid. To be fair, no one really believed D'Amato was being anti- Semitic, but the crass comment was yet another embarrassment for "Senator Pothole." Soon after, he was defeated in the election.
With that in mind, it struck me as a bit odd to hear Spyro's side- kick, Sparx, call his pal а "purple putz"—and right to his face! This is an E-rated game, after all.
OK, I know I'm overanalyzing this. But what else am | gonna do during the insane load times between levels? | mean, this game has load screens for its load screens [I kid you not).
Plus, I’ve got plenty of room to wander off on a wild tangent, since Dragonfly can be summed up in a sentence: More of the same, but not quite as good, with crappy minigames and a framerate that's more offensive than calling your political foe a putzhead.
It's really too bad, since | used to adore Spyro. Back when he was
still under Insomniac's auspices, Spyro's games were among my favorite platformers. His first PS2 outing has shades of what made the, uh, "purple putz" so great, but it's a technical mess. Even the best level design (and there's definitely some sprawlingly fantastic stuff here) can't compensate for the game's sloppy controls and sucky side quests.
So, should die-hard Spyro fans bother? Probably not; they're likely to be the most disappointed by Dragonfly. Still, kids might get а kick out of it, since it's aimed directly at the younger set. Of course, the same crowd would also enjoy Ratchet & Clank or Sly Cooper a whole lot more—and they wouldn't have to dick around with a putz of a game in the process. Final Score eee | Gary Steinman
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Players: 1
| V-Rally 3
Publisher Atari Developer Eden Studios Website www.atari.com Licensed cars? Check. An appropri- ate spread of dirt, sand, and tarmac tracks? Check. Oh, wait. That's how | started my Rally Fusion review. Rallying still isn't a particularly popular sport here in the United States—not that you'd know it based on the extremely zealous evangelizing being done by game studios these days. It's the perfect sport for videogames, and when it's done properly, it's very exciting.
Where Fusion fails, V-Rally 3 excels. The feeling of brute force in even the smallest of cars is won- derful. If | have a complaint, it's that in its default setup, the controls are entirely too sensitive. Like previous V-Rally games, VR3 is twitchy and too fast for its own good some- times. Only by moving the sliders on the Options screen all the way to the "least sensitive" setting did | manage to generate any semblance of realism from the steering. With everything set up the way | like it, though, it rocks.
If you were a fan of the Career mode in Ridge Racer 4, you'll be a happy bunny working your way through VR3. Developing your career as a driver is effectively por- trayed as you try out for teams and work through contracts in order to progress toward cooler and more powerful cars. It's not all that complex, but it gives a genuinely satisfying feeling of progress.
My personal opinion is that WRC is arguably the better rally experience, but it's a close call. Gearheads will love this. Final Score eeee« John Davison
Official Star Wars Web Site www
Engage in close combat to all out warfare.
PlayStation.e
STAR. WARS. CLONE WARS
Where Episode || ends, your battle begins. Defend the Republic on the ground and in the air across the battlefields of six different worlds. Battle through four multiplayer modes, including team-based strategy, deathmatch, king-of-the-hill and co-op endurance. Or lead your clone troopers to victory in an epic single-player campaign as Mace Windu, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Your directive: crush the Separatist armies!
4 NINTENDO d GAMECUBE. www.swclonewars.com
1.4
ш
Battle through 16 missions on six vast worlds.
PN
*\2- = OC Ў REVIEWS
NHL ROUNDUP
While EA and 989 struggle, Sega Sports brings home this year's Stanley Cup
[ONE
^w]
NHL 2K3
>.
NHL 2K3
NHL 2K3 Publisher Treyarch Developer Sega Sports Website www.segasports.com Every in-depth sports-gaming conversation I've ever had— drunk or sober—ultimately ends with everyone involved saying the same thing: Why can’t all games be more like NHL 795 on Sega Genesis? This is only partly true since some people prefer NHL 94. But that’s the lone discrepancy. For a long time now, I've believed no sports game would match the sweet intensity of those classics. The pace, the perfection. Tech- nology, it seems, was getting in the way. Sports games were get- ting too complex and trying too hard to graphically mirror the real thing. Somewhere along the way, the question of fun got bumped to the bottom of the list. About every four years—like the Winter Olympics, the World Cup, and the presidential elec- tions—a game will redefine the way videogame hockey is played. NHL 94 started it, NHL '98 contin- ued it, and now we've got NHL 2K3 carrying the torch and setting the pace for the next four years. What makes NHL 2K3 so great? Every aspect of hockey is considered, mastered, and on display. With any sports game, you ask for subtlety, and this game delivers. For instance, it doesn't take three seconds to build up to full power on a snap- shot—it takes a fraction of a sec- ond, since а quick release is the point of the snapshot. Other games won't let you get rid of the
alt bu ¢
a. No ch Us :
NHL 2K3
puck that quickly. If you're look- ing to get some mustard оп a wrist shot, no problem. Just tap Shoot and you'll whip a 65-75 mph wrister toward the net. No need to fill a meter. Just grip it and rip it.
Once you've got your shooting down, the scoring begins. Unlike other games, you'll never see the same goal twice. The puck physics and the quick-shot releases are a part of this, but there are also so many ways to score. Pass the puck to your defenseman at the point, let him fire away, and hope for a tip-in. Or fling off-angled shots and hope they slip through. Or shoot low and hope for rebounds. Or work the риск to the open man for а one-timer. Or work the puck along the boards until someone misses an assignment, and sneak in front of the net for a wrap- around. If you've seen it in the NHL, you can do it in this game.
| don't mean to make it sound like scoring is easy. It’s not. The goalies are on top of things ina big way. If you happen to get them out of position, they'll shimmy this way and that to cover as much of the net as they can while still waiting for you to fire away. If Patrick Roy is a butterfly goal- tender in real life (and he is], then he’s a butterfly goaltender in the game. If Curtis Joseph tends to stand up and then flop around like a newborn calf, it’s replicated in the game. And when the goal- tenders do make a save, when their gloves flash out of nowhere to steal the puck out of the air,
® Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
you can actually see the puck go into the glove. How about that?
The player ratings are in- depth, the Franchise mode is so deep that it’s out of control, and you'll have a roster of 40 guys to choose from (there are minor leagues for your soon-to-be stars). It all shines with excel- lence, like а newly Zambonied sheet of ice.
NHL 2K3 is so good that Ц have nonhockey fans playing it. It's so good that it'll have hard- core hockey fans enthralled. It’s so good that everything else is money misspent.
Final Score Todd Zuniga
Е | Players: 1-8 * Memory Card: 917 KB
NHL 2K3
NHL FaceOff 2003
NHL FaceOff 2003 Publisher 989 Sports
Developer 989 Sports
Website www.989sports.com Vertigo, anyone? If you're not up for a dizzying hockey experience, skip this one.
| wonder what happened. FaceOff on PS1 might not have been spectacularly technical, but it was fast, smooth, and fun. There was lots of action, lots of drama, and the capacity to have a 6-5 barnburner or a 2-1 defensive struggle. This new game on PS2 isn't even worth trying out.
The game gives eye-aches— first by the camera, second by the graphics. With the camera, you're thrust at the ice, into the corner, then out, then in, then out—it's nauseating. | didn't want to play it for more than 10 minutes. As far as the look is concerned, every other NHL game blows this one away. If you're cataract-free, you'll see that the skaters look jagged and unreal, and their jer- seys look either overstarched or made of cardboard. What gives?
My biggest complaint, though, is that the front end is a train wreck. If you're just looking to hop into а дате, go ahead, but none of the options are changeable within. You've got to do everything beforehand, which leads to more Quit? Yes, Are You Sure? Yes moments than any other sports game I've played. Why not give me access to difficulty levels once the puck is dropped?
Picking teams is also а chore. The only information you're privy to is the names of the teams and
their logos. If you’re new to hock- ey and want to find a fair match- up, you'll have to navigate through more menus, and you still might miss the option (I did a few times).
I've shot the puck through the net, I've dealt with the game's ' striking and surprising choppi- ness, and I've turned it off to have fun with NHL 2K3 instead.
With each of 98975 PS2 sports titles, it's been a step back before а step forward. It’s frustrating. Go with NHL 2K3 and NHL Hitz 20-03 to supply your hockey fix. Stay far away from this rink rat.
Final Score ee Todd Zuniga
туам.
Players: 1-8 3 Memory Card: 601 KB
ist A T ES RR es
NHL FaceOff 2003
NHL FaceOff 2003
COLLECT THEM ALL
Issue 63 December 2002 - $10
SHINOBI
PS2 Demo Disc Puavastes:
Suikoden III, NCAA Football 2003, Rally Fusion Race of Champions, Contra Shattered Soldier, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, Superman: Shadow of Apokolips, Disney's Treasure Planet
PLAYABLE PLAYSTATION 2 OVD SI
~ EVERQUEST апо. | THE PS2,0NLINE
Issue 58 July 2002 - 510
1000 REVIEWS «16 PAGES OF TIPS
PS2 ONLINE
PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLES: Mister Mosquito, Aggressive Inline, Knockout Kings 2002, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002, Fireblade, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter
ioco previews: Mark of Kri, Woody Woodpecker, Gravity Games
STRATEGY Devos: Intelligent Qube, PaRappa the Rapper, ‘Ace Combat 2, Fighting Force
Core, Madden NFL 98, Cool Boarders 2, Colony Wars
Issue 3- December 1997 $10 COOL BOARDERS STRATEGY Devos: Bushido Blade, Vs, Star Wars: Masters
of Teräs Kasi, Jet Moto 2, Cardinal SYN, Ghost in the Shell, Moto Racer, Test Drive 4
Issue 5 - February 1998 510 ALUNDRA STRATEGY
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Issue 6- disc only $799 lipwreckers.
Issue 7 - April 1998 510 RESIDENT EVIL 2 STRATEGY Devos: Hot Shots Golf, Pitfall 3D, WCW Nitro, ONE
Teo May 1998 $10 3 STRATEGY
Tans Einhand, Goc Ent he бе Konoa
Issue 9 - June 1998 $15
GRAN TURISMO REVIEW
Demos: Cardinal SYN, Vigilante 8, Forsaken,
N20, TOCA, Dead or Alive
Issue 10 - disc only
PS2 DEMO DVD.
PlayStation
Issue 62 November 2002 - $10
Revolution, Dual Hearts, MX ‘Superfly, Red Faction 2, Dr. Muto, Hitman 2
E. S im DUNT Wien
Issue 57 June 2002 - $10
‘STAR WARS PS2 ремо Disc pavasues: Medal of Honor: Frontline, Fatal Frame, Gerdy, Mad Maestrol, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Viven previews: Delta Force Urban Warfare, Scooby-Doo, Stuntmaner's Stone, NBA ShootOut 2002
Issue Ш - August 1998 515 VIGILANTE 8 STRATEGY.
Demos: Tekken 3, Turbo Prop Racing
Issue 12 - September 1998 $10 ELEMENTAL GEARBOLT STRATEGY
Deuos: Spyro the Dragon, Duke Nukem: Time БҚД WE War Zone, The Unholy War,
Issue 13 - October 1998 510
Bova Nia NEL Xone, Col Bonos Issue 14 - disc only 5799 Demos: MediEvil, WarGames Defcon 1,
‘Dragon Seeds, G-Darius, Future Cop АР,
Colony Wars Vengeance
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Demos: Tomb Raider IIT, Crash Bandicoot:
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Issue 17 SOLD OUT
Issue 18 - March 1999 $10 LTER STRATEGY.
Be 19- Vise 199 $10
Hc Miete e WCWiWo Tobi iege Warne 20 Rugrats
HAWKS. HOFMAN
Issue 61 October 2002 - 510
KINGDOM HEARTS
PS2 Demo DISC PLAYABLE: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, ‘Summoner 2, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Downforce, Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates, The Mark of Kri Vico previews: Treasure Planet, Kelly Slater, Superman, Kingdom Hearts
PlayStation
poise
Issue 56 x 2002 - $10
SPIDER-MAN
PS2 Devo Disc maus:
Hot Shots Golf 3, Rez, Jak and Daxter, Baldur's Gate, SSX Tricky ioco reviews: Spider-Man, Barbarians, Jak and Daxter
GEX 3 STRATEGY Demos: Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus, NFL Blitz, Bust-a-Move 4, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, Elmo's Letter Adventure
Issue 22 - July 1999
L_J STREET FIGHTER ALPHA 3 STRATEGY Demos: Ape Escape, MLB 2000, The Next Tetris, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Croc 2, Soul of ‘the Samurai, Bloody Roar 2
[Issue 23 - August 1999 50 АРЕ ESCAPE STRATEGY
Demos: Final Fantasy ҮШ, 3 Xtreme, Tiny Tank, Jade Cocoon, Macross VEX 2, You Dorit Know Jack, Centipede, Ultimate 8-Ball
g Issue 24 - September 1999 $10 JADE COCOON STRATEGY
Demos: Um Jammer Lammy, Sled Storm, Cho- cobo Racing, Pong, Monaco Grand Prix Racing
Issue 25 - October 1999 $10 FINAL FANTASY VIII STRATEGY
Das: Metal Gear Solid, WipeOut 3 Omega
E E
Killer Loop, 40 Winks, NFL Blitz, Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Cool Boarders 3
Issue 27 - December 1999 $10 DINO CRISIS STRATEGY
Demos: GT 2, Madden NFL 2000, NFL GameDay 2000, NCAA Game Breaker 2000, Cool Boarders 4
Issue 28 - 2000 $10
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Ps2 DEMO OVD 1
Issue 60 September 2002 - $10
SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS PS2 Demo Disc puaaaues: TimeSplitters 2 X-Men: Next Dimension, Hot Shots Golf 3, The Mark of Kri, Frequency, Medal of Honor: Frontline Video previews: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, and more
Tfi FIGHTER 4
т нент сан В
Issue 55 April 2002 - $10
VIRTUA FIGHTER 4
PS2 Demo Disc ptavastes: Maximo, Soul Reaver2, PaRappa the Rapper 2, Frequency, Gitaroo Man, Airblade Vito previews: Virtua Fighter 4, Grand Theft Auto III, Smugglers Run 2, Herdy Gerdy
Issue 29 - Penny 200 2000 $10 MEDAL OF HONOR STRATEGY
Demos: Tomba! 2, Tomb Raider The Last Revelation, SuperCross Circuit, MTV Sports ‘Snowboarding
Г] Issue 30 - March 2000 510 L GT2 STRATEGY
Тем: Syphon Filter 2, Crash Team Racing, NCAA Final Four 2000, Spyro 2, Silent Bomber, Twisted Metal 4
Dewo : Colony Wars: Red Sun, Spider-Man, Eagle One: Harrier Attack, Hot Shots Gof 2, Rollcage Stage II, Gekido
Devos: MediEvil II, NCAA March Madness 2000, NASCAR Rumble, Speed Punks, Rugrats Studio Tour
Issue 33 - June 2000 $10 FEAR EFFECT STRATEGY
Devos: X-Men Mutant Academy, Threads of Fate, WWF SmackDown!, Gauntlet Legends, Grind Session
ГГ] Issue 34 - July 2000 $10 TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER
Demos: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2, Legend of Dragoon, MLB 001 Miler Star rk invasion
Г ] Issue 35 - August 2000 $10 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Devos: Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Toc estin Dy Ran Pay wie Tour, мій Teletubbies.
О Issue 36 - September 2000 $10 ‘SOUL REAVER 2
Demos: Grind Session, Rayman 2: The Great Escape, Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, Tyco R/C Racing
“OTA vice city
a previews:
SLY/COOPER
АЧЫН НІШ RACCOONS)
5 gasse canes REMADE
z М... ШШ
‘SLY COOPER
PS2 Demo Disc пливи: Street Hoops, UFC: Throwdown, Taz: Wanted, Freekstyle, Sled Storm, Stuntman, Britney s Dance Beat Vroto previews: Mat Hoffman 2, Dragon's Lair 3D, Kingdom Hearts, Test Drive
Issue 59 August 2002 - $10
Сое MOE
OMB. RAIDER
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FINAL FANTASY X
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WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth Publisher THQ
Developer Yukes Interactive Website www.thq.com SmackDown! exhausts me. As it creeps closer to looking like the WWF, er, WWE, | feel more in con- trol of the telecast than in control of the game.
To succeed, the WWE needs the Soap opera atmosphere. You watch the chitchat and get riled up, and then people battle. Since the wrestling tends to be the most boring part (outside of the gaudily priced pay-per-view events], the makers of SmackDown! have pushed the game in the soap opera direction with the new Career mode. It starts with the WWE draft and follows the events of the sea- son you just finished watching. You're not only thrown into a world of poor smack talk and severe load times, but you also already know what's going to happen. Not fun.
Replaying the WWE season is even more difficult because of the lengthy load times. Couldn't they have crammed some WWE trivia in between matches to keep things moving? | advise having a sink full of dishes, some undone laundry, and a dirty bathtub available when you play. You'll have plenty of time between matches to finish up those сһогев. Once the first season is over [I'll admit, | liked the draft), you're spun into a new season where anything can happen. I like this, it interests me, it's cool. But you can't get through the first season in fewer than 65,000 hours. Which is about 64,999 hours longer than I’m willing to take.
My other big gripe is the written-by-a-Rhodes-Scholar dialogue that the wrestlers spew about. Stone Cold's dialogue, printed at the bottom of the screen
while his mouth moves around like he's chewing the world's biggest gumball, makes him sound like a well-read, respectable sally who should be in a sweater vest instead of that stupid "What?" T- shirt. Then, when you find other wrestlers patrolling the hallways backstage, passing the taco stand, they bark out wisdom like, “I'm gonna wish you good luck." Couldn't they just wish me good luck? And then they'll say, "Are you up for it, The Rock!" Yes, the speaker says that.
The controls bug me, too. Where's the innovation? l've got the same limited move set, and I'm always searching for the SmackDown! button when the time comes. Why not flick the right analog stick to make things easy? Final Score ee«
Todd Zuniga
WWE SmackDown
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
| backed on some of the buzz that | | most ardent X-Men follower, but | | can't help but think that a lot of
X-Men: Next Dimension
X-Men: Next Dimension Publisher Activision
Developer Paradox
Website www.activision.com | It's surprising that Activision didn't. | just wait until spring to release Next Dimension—that way, the game could at least have piggy-
undoubtedly will surround the release of the second X-Men film. Because the only people who are going to enjoy this game are the die-hard fans of its source materi- | al. As with Paradox's first two X- Men fighters (Mutant Academy and its sequel], Next Dimension just doesn't stack up to the other fight- ing games out there.
That's not to say Paradox shouldn't be commended for some of the features here. The game's graphics engine, for example, is quite solid and allows for massive, | multiarea, Dead or Alive 2-style stages. The character count is also pretty impressive, including 24 good and bad guys drawn from the X-Men universe. Plus, there's a rather innovative branching Story mode that allows you to use dif- ferent characters depending on the situation. Patrick Stewart even lends his voice to the game as Professor X.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that Paradox has clearly spent time trying to improve the gameplay engine, the actual fighting still holds this series back. Even with a commendable combo system, the game feels clunky—controls are stiff at times, and the collision detection can be iffy. The button scheme also seems flawed—con- fining throws and counters to the shoulder buttons isn't right. Plus, there's an overall lack of balance between the different characters, not to mention a rather difficult computer A.l.
When you factor in the insuffer- able load times, this becomes one fighting game | can only recom- mend to fans of the characters. And even then, I'm not entirely sure | should. The art style used for both the CG movies and in- game graphics is so putrid, fans might be offended. I'm not the
people will get turned off by see- ing their favorite characters look- ing like this. To those people, I implore you to check out Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom 2 instead. It might not contain all of your favorite characters, but it certainly remains artistically faithful to those it does include—not to men- tion the fact that it plays light- years better than this.
Final Score Sam Kennedy
X-Men: Next Dimension
Zapper
Publisher Infogrames
Developer Blitz Games
Website us.infogrames.com
Take Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge, subtract the frog, add a cricket (or, "one wicked cricket," according to the rhyming wizards at publisher Infogrames], throw in a handy zap- ping weapon (because, you know, crickets can zap things, but frogs can't), and you've got Zapper.
If you've played Frogger 2 on the PS1, that's all you really need to know; this is pretty much the same game, only now it's on PS2. And, of course, it no longer stars gaming's most famous amphibian.
If not, here's what you'll get: platforming gameplay distilled down to its most basic form. Zapper's the kind of game, for example, that's best played with the D-pad rather than the analog Stick, since it's completely on-rails and limits you to simple directional hops and the occasional two-step leap. Jump, zap, leap, avoid bad- dies, collect stuff, jump some more—and that's about it.
There's not a whole heck of a lot here, and what little you get can be beaten in a few hours. But don't be too hasty in dismissing Zapper. Games like this still fit nicely into a woefully undeserved niche: qual- ity kid stuff. Zapper's bare-bones mechanics and stripped-down controls make it a solid choice for the beginning gamer. Later levels even have a few clever puzzles that offer up a decent challenge. But if you're able to, say, tie your shoelaces without falling face for- ward, you're probably too advanced for this game.
Final Score ee« Gary Steinman
Сага: 101
RYGAR: THE LEGENDARY ADVENTURE
Legendary indeed
Publisher Tecmo
Developer Tecmo
Website www.tecmoinc.com
As an update to the 8-bit classic Rygar, | completely expected that The Legendary Adventure would * offer solid gameplay, since that’s what the original game prided itself on and what Tecmo has been largely promoting for this new installment. To be perfectly honest, good gameplay was all | really hoped for here. Imagine my surprise when, a few hours into playing it, | realized | was playing perhaps the most beautiful game I've ever laid my hands оп.
I'm by no means exaggerating. Rygar is stunningly beautiful— jaw-dropping at times. Its mag- nificent settings and superlative attention to detail yield some of the most picturesque moments in all of gaming. Marvel at how the setting sun paints everything orange as you pass by windows in а coliseum. Watch as fountains
send water realistically cascading down hundreds of stairs as you climb them. See a clouded sky ablaze with lightning as you hang perilously over it. Scenes like these made me want to put down my controller and gape.
Other scenes almost made me forget | was playing a game. As | ran down crumbled stairs in a dimly lit Egyptian tomb, little trails of sand fell slowly beside me. It's an effect so subtle, you might not even catch it at first. But, coupled with the dramatic camera angles, dusky lighting, and seemingly hand-painted Egyptian backdrops, it produces a strikingly realistic picture that had me both mesmerized and baffled. Mesmerized by how such a small effect as trickling sand adds to the scene. Baffled because it’s effects like these that you just don’t see in games. Yet, in Rygar, you do. In terms of its cinematic approach, this game is
unmatched (except perhaps by Sony's Ico).
Adding to Rygar's extraordinary presentation is a divine sound- track performed by the Moscow International Symphony Orchestra. Clearly inspired by such films as Ridley Scott's Gladiator, the music perfectly accentuates the mood of each scene. In terms of game sound tracks, it ranks among the best.
And then comes the gameplay, which had me just as surprised as any of the game's aural and visual spectacles. Returning from the original is the Diskarmor weapon, a spinning, spiked chain that you can forth as you would a yo-yo. With it comes an incredible amount of depth that | simply wasn’t pre- pared for. In addition to several different attack types matched to different buttons on the con- troller, a massive roster of com- bos and special attacks can be
learned and pulled off as you progress through the game. And each Diskarmor you collect has its own set of attacks, resulting in a seemingly endless amount of offensive possibilities.
What's more, the game itself is incredibly deep, something | was definitely not prepared for. | expected a rather traditional beat-'em-up, but quickly realized
wreak havoc in order to discover secret items and pathways. There are, however, a few areas in which the game falters. The camera, for example, can get problematic at times. Rygar uses a Devil May Cry-esque fixed cam- era system that, despite adding great cinematic flair, can some- times confuse, and other times completely obstruct onscreen ele-
“Rygar remains an incredible experience, and one of the finest action games I've ever played.”
that it actually offered tons of strategy, exploration, and replay value. If you've ever wondered what Castlevania: Symphony of the Night would be like in 3D, Rygar is a brilliant example. You're con- stantly unlocking areas, finding secret items, and building up your character's stats. There’s just so much to uncover and unlock, it could take you several playthroughs to discover it all. The puzzles are also well designed, rarely resulting in con- fusion and often offering visual indicators to assist you.
Another of Rygar's remarkable accomplishments is the destruc- tability of massive portions of its environment. It’s absolutely bril- liant; your Diskarmor can crush virtually everything. It’s especial- ly impressive when huge chunks of your surroundings crumble before you—you've never before seen anything like this in а game. Not only does it feel gratifying to smash stuff, but it also becomes an integral part of the gameplay, in that you need to constantly
ments. There’s also a lack of diversity among the enemies, with large caterpillar-like crea- tures popping up a good deal of the time. Many massive bosses are sprinkled throughout, but this brings up my next complaint: The bosses, although incredible to look at, are not as much fun to fight as they should be. Often, there's very little strategy required to take them out, and the experiences don’t come off as well as the designers no doubt hoped they would.
Despite its faults, Rygar remains an incredible experience, and one of the finest action games I've ever played. Tecmo should be proud; this is a game that truly lives up to its fine her- itage. In fact, | wouldn't Бе sur- prised if Rygar is just as revered a decade from now as the original game is today. Final Score ee: Sam Kennedy
er | Players: 1 ® 3 Memory Card: 148 KB
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 67)
OCX М REVIEWS
NCAA BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Who has the skills to make it to at Big Dance?
8 Шар (5 UMS 23) í m ^ і 1 Д
NCAA Final Four 2003
NCAA Final Four 2003 Publisher 989 Sports
Developer Killer Game
Website www.989sports.com
Final Four isn't an unplayable game, ога game you'd dread being stuck with on a desert island, but it's the Richmond Spiders to 2K3's Duke and March Madness’ Stanford. In other words, it tries really hard, but it gets slaughtered when it goes up against Duke and falls short when it goes up against Stanford. In either case, this fresh- man realizes it doesn’t belong in the Big Dance.
The game's biggest issue is that it’s roughly animation-free. The steal animation looks like your guard is pecking at the ball, rather than trying to steal it. There’s no fluidity whatsoever. The dunk ani- mations turn average players into skywalkers without giving them the benefit of momentum. | know it's a videogame, but come on—
І don't need 5-foot-9-inch Bobby Jo Appletree from Big Butt, Montana,
taking off from outside of the lane. Or, if he does, make me give him
a running start.
The shooting meter is another point of contention for me, but it’s Final Four's thing, so I'll simply say that | think it's misused. The meter holds the same pace, regardless of what difficulty level I'm playing. Shouldn't it be more difficult for my 7-foot center to bang down a long-range shot? It is, statistically, but the meter moves at the exact same Speed for him as it does for every other guy. Then again, if it moves slowly for my guard, that means there's a bigger risk of
being blocked. | say douse the shooting meter, and fast.
The good thing about Final Four is that it's largely improved from last year's version, but so is the competition. Ask yourself: Why make your mark at Valparaiso when you can play for Maryland? Final Score LII Todd Zuniga
FA Players: 1-8 3 Memory Сага: 710 KB
Final Four
CATEGORIES | School Spirit
Dunkadelic?
You are special
The crowd is wild, but they sure do echo. Sounds like a noisy cathedral.
"алла ой! A у 5% Su
= EX M LY Ж, MS
NCAA March Madness 2003
NCAA March
Madness 2003
Publisher EA Sports
Developer NuFX
Website www.easports.com Should | really Бе scouring ESPN.com trying to figure out if the Utah Utes is a team packed with All-Americans? Because they play flawless ball. They thumped me and kept on thumping, and took six seconds off the clock every time they ran up the floor. Plus, the team’s super-duper superstar broke the backboard. He must be the next Shaq! Who'd have thought Utah, of all places, would get Shaq 2? The team blocked nearly every shot (26 in a 14-minute game— most teams might block five in
one game]; they were indefensible. They surgically dismantled me, and the lobotomy took out all of the fun. Worse yet, Utah's just one of
Better than its NBA counterpart, the
special moves in Final Four have some effect. But they're still timid.
Ве the next John Wooden
Overall
Improved over last year, but until there's just happy to make the Field of 64.
If you prefer to recruit more than play, this will zip you through lots of seasons fast. The menus are super-ugly, though.
The crowd is right in your face, plus they like to yell "three" for trifectas.
Plus, the menus try to slow you down. The worst of the crop here.
Too much glitz, not enough grit, March Madness doesn't make the Sweet Sixteen. It's been broken since 2000.
many teams that did this to me.
1 feel like nothing | do matters. The game is completely out of control. Like Live, March Madness is too fast. The game gets away from you very quickly. You can’t look at the scoreboard, because the computer team is flashing up the court. When you finally do drain a shot (after retrieving the blocked shot], you feel like you've scored a goal in the NHL. Which is a real problem, because this is not hockey (though it feels like it); scoring shouldn't be impossible.
| hate that the ball has to hit nothing but net. If it doesn't, it's а miss. Why can't my shot play on the гіт? I've seen it in real bas- ketball. But this isn't real basket- ball. It's baskethockeyball.
Just like Live, this game rides the right analog stick for glory. You can use it to get around defenders,
The dunks are great, but if you did them.
The crowd ls loud, ый they never seem to root for the underdog. Strange.
S тү
March Madness
March Madness
but I'm running into the same
problem | had with Live: It's not | intuitive. | try a million things and end up with a basic crossover. те а Help menu so | сап pau check out a cool move, unpaus pull off learned cool move, th
March Madness. | could even around Utah's near-pros. Of all the bad, Dick Vitale’
March Madness is the Sonn more in this pack. If you just live without PS2 college hoop: Й o with 2K3 this season. Final Score eee Todd Zuniga
КООЗ
Players: 1-8 етогу Card: 894 KB
WINNER NCAA 2К3
March Madness
ina college game, youd get benched.
Each player has a turbo special move and a regular special move. But there
needs to be more j
Easy to navigate, quick to load. You choose how to develop your players. This is a hot seat worth sitting on.
While 2К3 has a-ways to go, it's easily the only game that has the chance to leave for the NBA early.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
A
ont 2 [ccs жа 10:35
NCAA College Basketball 2K3
NCAA College Basketball 2K3
Publisher Sega Sports
Developer Visual Concepts Website www.segasports.com
If | rate my favorite sports in order, college hoops is right behind baseball and hockey. | love the energy, the wild upsets, and the strategy.
If there's a team with a crew of tall guys and they're playing а team of short guys, the tall-guy team is going to use its size and power, while the short-guy team is going to use its speed, guts, and outside shooting. Like, if Holy Cross is playing Duke, for exam- ple. And if Holy Cross can hold on, if they can keep it to a three-point game, | relish those last 30 sec- onds. I’m on the edge of my seat, hoping the tall guys choke so the short guys can celebrate as if a giant, speeding meteor has narrowly missed Earth.
With all that in mind, 203 offers up the most authentic college basketball experience. But even 2K3 didn't give me the urgency and atmosphere neces- sary to make the NCAA Tourney games feel as relevant as the real thing. The most fun | had was taking a ridiculously under- talented team like Murray State into the Sweet 16. But if you have any kind of gaming skills and your alma mater is a basketball force, winning the tourney feels too easy.
But since college hoops is mostly about upsets and Cinderella stories, the Legacy mode will keep you interested for
a long time. | took a small school (Lehigh—it's in Pennsylvania) and tried to build the team up so my coach could be offered a better job at a bigger university. | ended up with an ulcer, a vitamin-B defi- ciency, and a job at another school with a chance of making March somewhat mad. | was ecstatic.
The Legacy element I like most is dictating how my coach “teaches” his style. If you want to focus on defensive teamwork, put the sliders towards defense and away from Star Focus. You can choose between Inside or Outside, Flash or Fundamentals, and lots more. It puts you in con- trol of how your players improve from year to year. If they don't go pro early, that is.
The Gym Rat mode is great,
NCAA 2K3
too. You can pick two-on-two or three-on-three, then play to seven or 14 or 21. It's perfect for a multiplayer session. Plus, online’s great.
If the makers of 2K3 tone down the amount of crazy dunks (come on, this is college), tighten up the CPU A.I. (they don’t foul at the end of games}, and brighten the graphics, this one will dominate the Field of 64.
There's no must-have college hoops game to own this season, unless you must have a college hoops game. In that case, go with this well-rounded senior.
Final Score eeee Todd Zuniga Ге | Players: 1-8 3 Memory Card: 547 КВ
{ol HALF C e
NCAA 2K3
Bic Aces of the Air
“Aces of the Air
Aces of the Air Publisher Agetec
Developer D3 Publisher Website www.agetec.com
After playing this game for about 10 minutes, | noticed that my cheeks were wet. | thought at first that | was crying in response to the pain of playing this awful game. Then | realized that my eyes were bleeding.
OK, it's not that bad. It won't actually make your eyes bleed— unless you get so sick of looking at the nasty, blocky graphics that you gouge your own eyes out. | suppose | that would do it. Or if you get so | angry at the mind-bogglingly unresponsive controls that you throw your controller at a wall and it shatters, burying shards of plastic deep in your eye sockets.
Or if you crash one too many times due to the game's incomprehensi- ble refusal to let you fly below 3,500 feet, and bang your head on a table, accidentally impaling your- self on a salad fork. But, | digress; let me get back to the point.
The point is, Aces belongs in the same category of bargain-base- ment shovelware as Racing; it's a game you'll get sick of long before you get your 10 dollars worth.
You'll probably spend less time
with this game than you'd spend
at your average summer block- buster...and yet, you'd pay more. |
No matter how creative you get | (with the math], the fact remains | that Aces is anything but. Save your | money and buy an old Ace Combat game...or Bogey: Dead Six...or heck, buy Crash 3 and dive into the flying levels in that game. They're light- years ahead of this monster. | Final Score « | Joe Rybicki зщ |
Players: 1 2 Не ҮА Card: 1 block
Austin Powers Pinball
Austin Powers Pinball Publisher Gotham Games Developer Wildfire Studios Website www.take2games.com Gotham Games’ parent, Take-2, has been sitting on the Austin Powers license for a couple of years now, and this is the best they could come up with? I like pinball games and find the Austin Powers movies quite amusing, but Austin Powers Pinball is nothing more than a momentary diversion for even the most devoted fans of either.
The game does an adequate job of representing a real pinball machine on your TV—the bottom portion of the screen represents a typical pinball game's video display and frequently runs brief anima- tions of Austin and other popular characters from the films. Since this takes up a good chunk of the screen, however, it occasionally obstructs and detracts from the real action. The controls are pretty spot-on, though. Mapping the pinball flippers to the L1 and R1 buttons feels absolutely perfect.
As for representing the Austin Powers movies, Pinball has a bunch of voice clips and animations from the flicks, plus a number of aptly themed tables and challenges. Unfortunately, what's really missing here is the humor of the films. Everything fits, but there's no wit or excitement. Even the music, though Austin Powers-ish, seems stale. The developers also neglected to include any parts from the third film—not that | minded.
Even though pinball titles are in short supply these days, this still basically ends up being your typical, avoidable $10 game.
Final Score ee Sam Kennedy
ж. Players: 1 Я Memory Card: 1 Block
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (39)
Disney's Treasure Planet Publisher Sony CEA
Developer Magenta Software Website www.scea.com
АЦ | want to do is climb down а ladder. | don't think that's asking too much. | mean, you can go up a ladder, so why can't you go down a ladder? It's only logical. Granted, there are times when it's easier to go up than down. Like last week- end, for example, when | was out on a boat drinking a bit too much. | scrambled up to the top deck lickety-split, but getting back down? Now, that was a doozy! Even so, | made it down. Yeah, it took some effort, but | did it. | didn't plummet to the ground, losing
a hefty chunk of my life energy in the process. | didn't have to pull off some sort of cockamamie proce- dure in which | broke my fall by double-jumping, then lunging forward to grab hold of the ladd
| didn't have to glide down using my shape-shifting sidekick Morph. 1 got down the old-fashioned way, dammit! And now | want is to do the same thing in this silly game. But | can't. So I'm peeved.
Funny thing is, you can get around just fine in the PS2 Treasure Planet. You can go up, down, left, and right with no problem. And you can have plenty of fun doing it.
But good luck trying to do other basic things in this game. And don't even try telling me that the PS1 can't handle simple tasks like going down ladders—l've seen it done before in countless other PS1 platformers. Which only makes me wonder: Why bother with this one when there are so many better games out there?
Final Score ee« Gary Steinman
Memory Card: 2 blocks |
Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Publisher EA Games
Developer Argonaut
Website www.eagames.com
You may be surprised to learn that the PS1 version of Chamber of Secrets is, in some ways, better than the PS2 edition—not many ways, but it does have one signif- icant advantage over its big brother: It makes sense.
By that, | mean that it’s possible for a Harry Potter neophyte to fire up the game and have at least some inkling of what's going on. Granted, you may not be able to appreciate the overall meaning and subtle nuances of the story, but you will be able to keep your head above water—unlike in the Р52 version.
As for the rest of the game... well, it's on PS1—what else do you need to know? It looks and feels very similar to the PS1 version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but with a few more inter- esting minigames thrown in. You're still forced to use the "correct" spell for any given situation; you still play a Simon-says-like button- pressing game in order to learn those spells; and your exploration of Hogwarts is still limited to, essentially, almost none.
Nevertheless, it's a fairly inoffensive game that does a fairly solid job of following the plot of the book. There's some solid voice work, some pleasant diversions courtesy of the frequent mini- games, and that helpful auto-jump, auto-climb control scheme we saw in Sorcerer's Stone. It's not spectac- ular, but it's good enough.
Final Scor: Joe БуБіскі
Players: 1 1 Memory Card: 1 block
(40) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
TONY HAWK'S PRO
SKATER 4
What else are you going to buy?
Publisher Activision Developer Vicarious Visions Website www.activision.com The biggest challenge, for me, isn’t pulling off an inflated Sick Score or twisting off a bunch of insane tricks, it’s playing the PS2 version of Hawk 4, then back- tracking to the PS1 version. But as a wily Hawkster who finds it stupidly important to beat both versions of the game [I’m hard- core, dawg), this is a PS1 title those without PS2s will eat up. Here's how it works: You skate around in different environments and find icons [їп PS2 they're pedestrians) that spill the beans about your next challenge. You might get "Fingerflip Over Grass" or "Knock Over All Trashcans on Pier." Once you've got a mission, the timer starts, and you're on your way. The one thing that. bums me out is that you have to
3,00
finish a challenge right when you get it. In the PS2 version, you can go to the Pause menu and pick out a challenge from there. Is it a memory issue? I'd like to be zapped around to different places, instead of having to skate every- where looking for an icon.
Which brings me to the game's biggest problem, which is a PS1-
on the PS1, which makes it hard- er for PS2 owners to get into it. Still, if you've never played any of the Hawk games before, this is a great way to cut your teeth. The first level of the game serves as a sort of tutorial, which I really liked (even though old pros will know all of the moves). Plus, you get to choose the 9с ls
“The coolest part is that the Hidden Tapes are still around..."
related issue. If you have to col- lect S-K-A-T-E, good luck. You can't look around, you can't see off in the distance, and you're basically going on faith. The lev- els (modeled after the PS2 уег- sion) are so big, you really need a map. А map wouldn't have been such a bad idea. A map would've been innovative! But instead, you go through the game without any sense of direction. It's really unfortunate. Every level feels more like you're playing in an oasis. Things are vaguely view- able, and then when you get closer, they start to appear. Alternately, making the levels smaller would've been a hit. But the kids want a PS2 kind of game
\
p
you feel like doing. But if уои! е looking to get onto а virtual у skateboard, | would sugge: t going back to the original. It’ cheaper, more compact, and | great warm-up for Hawk 2, w 15 a great warm-up for Hawl 4. (Go ahead and skip Hawk 3.] The coolest part of the 9: that the Hidden Tapes аге still around (they've been shunne | the PS2 version], апа there а skateboards hidden within levels. Then again, trying ti out your skater’s set of moves.
really sucks. Still, when it comes down what other new PS1 games are you going to buy? In that respect, Hawk 4 is a clear winner. It up more goods than its Р51 рі decessors, and you'll love thi sound track. { Final Score e Todd Zuniga
re-
| Players: 1-2 4 Memory Card: 1 block
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Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ба)
EXCLUSIVE STRATEGY!
СТА VICE CITY
Vice Vice Baby!
Everyone knows you've been Dye nothing other than Vice City. How do we know? Because we've been playing nothing other than Vice City, Because
the game is so vast and so endless, we decided to show off some cool stuff with- out giving too much away. We don't want to ruin the surprises, now do we? That's why we're giving you tidbits, like where to find the choppers, what songs are miss- ing from the CDs, and five DVDs to watch.
ficial US PlagStation Magazine
PS2 Games
GTA: Vice City ............ 144-147, 149, 151 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin ... 2 157 Kingdom Hearts..... 143, 149, 158
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 148 147, 153
Madden NFL 2003 . МСАА Football 2003 . Shinobi ..... SOCOM Navy SEALs Timesplitters 2... Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 Virtua Fighter 4 .....
Tony Hawk 4
If you bought Tony Hawk 3 and thought Neversoft let you down, don't worry. The follow-up is brilliant in countless ways, and you'll get more than 40 hours of gameplay from it, easy. If you want to find everything, you'll have to stick with us. We give tips to the first three levels, show off some secret spots within the game, and answer the question that's been on everyone's mind: Who is
Atiba Jefferson?
Р52 Tricks and Review Archive
Game names in indicate a Greatest Hits title. Ratings in indicate a five-disc score.
A number. @ indicates its rank in the top 10
selling games for each system.
Game Publisher Score Issue 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Acclaim 52 4x4 EVO GOD Games 44 2002 FIFA World Сир EA Sports. 58 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Namco 5 The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Agetec 44 ‘Aggressive Inline Acclaim 59 Airblade Namco 53 All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim 44 All-Star Baseball 2003 Acclaim 56 Antz Extreme Racing Empire e« а Аша Aqua 300 42 Arctic Thunder Midway 50 Armored Core 2 Agetec 39 Armored Core 2: Another Age Agetec 48 Armored Core 3 Agetec а Army Men: Air Attack 300 44 ‘Army Men: Green Rogue 300 45 Army Men RTS 300 56 Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 300 45 V Offroad F Sony CEA 42 Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Interplay 52 Barbarian Titus 57 Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament THQ e« 51 Batman: Vengeance. Ubi Soft 51 Blade IT Activision ee 62 Blood Omen 2 Eidos 57 BloodRayne Majesco в Bloody Roar 3 Activision 47 Britney's Dance Beat THQ 58 The Bouncer Square EA 42 Burnout Acclaim 52 Burnout 2: Point of Impact Acclaim 63 Capcom vs. SNK 2 Capcom 51 CART Fury Midway e 47 Casper: Spirit Dimensions ТОК Mediactive 50 City Crisis Take 2 48 Commandos 2: Men of Courage Eidos 62 Conflict: Desert Storm Gotham Games 63 Conflict Zone Ubi Soft. 63 Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA 46 Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Universal 51 Crazy Taxi Acclaim 46 Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro3D 49 Dark Cle Sony CEA 46 Dark Summit THQ 52 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Acclaim 50 DDRMAX Konami 63 Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo 39 Defender Midway 62 Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos e 56 Devil May ( Capcom 50 Dino Stalker Capcom eee« а Disney Golf. EAGames eee 61 Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows Ubi Soft 63 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft « 42 Downforce Titus ee. 57 Dr. Muto Midway ee« 6 Dragon Rage 300 e« 54 Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Sony CEA 53 Driven Bam! @ 52 Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA 41 Dropship Bam! 57 Dual Hearts Atlus в Dynasty Tactics. Koei 61 Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei 38
Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei 52 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future. Acclaim 56 Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness Кетсо 6 Endgame Empire. 59 Ephemeral Fantasia Konami 49 Escape From Monkey Island LucasArts 46 ESPN International Track & Field Konami 39 ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 Konami 54 ESPN MLS ExtraTime Konami 44 ESPN National Hockey Night Konami 45 ESPN МВА 2Night Konami 42 ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Konami 56 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding Konami 4 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 Konami 53 ESPN X Games Skateboarding Konami 49 Eternal Ring Agetec 38 Eve of Extinction Eidos 56 Evergrace Agetec 39 Evil Twin Ubi Soft 52 Evolution Skateboarding Konami 63 Extermination Sony CEA 48 Extreme G III Acclaim 50 F12001 EA Sports. 52 F1 2002 EA Sports 60 F1 Championship. Ubi Soft 43 FI Championship Season 2000 EA Sports a Fantavision Sony CEA 40 Fatal Frame Tecmo 55 Ferrari F355 Challenge Sega а FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports 39 FIFA 2002 EA Sports. 51 FIFA Soccer 2003 EA Sports 63 Final Fantasy X Square EA 53 Fireblade Midway 59 Forever Kingdom Agetec 53 Formula One 2001 Sony CEA Freekstyle EA Sports Big 59 Frequency Sony CEA 52 Frogger: The Great Quest Konami 5 Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge Acclaim 46 Gadget Racers Conspiracy 50 Gallop Racer Tecmo 48 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway 46 Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay 51 Gitaroo-Man Koei 53 Godai: Elemental Force 300 54 Gradius Ш and IV Konami ee« 39 n Turismo 3: A-spec Sony CEA 46
You want the bonus cars. You want all four of them. But you're having trou- ble getting them, eh? Be troubled no more. Just get two memory cards and enough cash to buy the cars at the resale price. Then get ready to roll. First, save your progress at the end of the second-to-last race, as long as you have enough points to skip the last race. Then—you guessed it—skip the last race. Press X when the black circle is under the desired car. If you do not get the car you desire, reload card one and try again. Once the desired car is chosen, save it to your second memory card. Reload card one, skip the last race, and choose the desired car. Trade it in without saving in the main ‘menu, Load the second card in the Trade menu. Buy the previously chosen car, then overwrite and save to the second memory card. Reload the first memory card, skip the last race, choose the next car, then go to Trade again. Load card two in Trade. Next, buy all previously chosen cars, overwrite, and save to card two again, Sounds taxing, but its easier than you think. Repeat until you get exactly what you want. Its the only fair way.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Rockstar 63 rand Theft Auto Ш Rockstar 52] Chances are (if youre smart) that you're on to Vice City, back in time to that lost decade of decadence. These codes will come in handy, though, if you're still stuck in СТАЗ.
SPEED UP TIME While playing a game, press Circle, Circle, Circle, Square, Square, Square, Square, Square, L1, Triangle, Circle, Triangle. If you entered the code correctly, a message will appear.
ALTERNATE COSTUMES While playing a game, press Right, Down, Left, Up, L1, L2, Up, Left, Down, Right. If you entered the code correctly, а mes- sage will appear
PEDESTRIANS RIOT While playing а game, press Down, Up, Left, Up, X, RI,
R2, L2, LI. If you entered the code correctly, a message will appear. Note Saving the game will make the effects ofthis code permanent. PEDESTRIANS ATTACK While playing a game, press Down, Up, Left, Up. X, RI, R2, LI, L2. If you entered the code correctly, a message will appear.
Note: Saving the game will make the effects ofthis code permanent.
Grandia II Ubi Soft ө‹ 53 Grandia Xtreme Enix өн 62 Gravity Games Bike: Street, Vert, Dirt Midway 4 e GTC Africa. Majesco ee« 58 Guilty Gear X Majesco/Sammy ө 51 Gungrave Sega a Gungriffon Blaze Working Designs 39 Half-Life Sierra 51 Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Natsume 51 Headhunter Acclaim 57 Herdy Gerdy Ей 56 Heroes of Might and Magic 300 46 Hidden Invasion Conspiracy 60 High Heat MLB 2002 300 44 High Heat MLB 2003 300 55 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Eidos. 63 Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony CEA 55 Ico Sony CEA 50 Jade Cocoon 2 Ubi Soft 53 Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy Sony CEA 52 James Bond: Agent Under Fire EA Games. 5 Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Acclaim 53 Jet X20 Sony CEA 63 Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 300 54 Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Activision 6l Kengo: Master of Bushido Crave 42 EA Games 39 Koei 51 Sony CEA 50 Agetec 55 Square EA 61) TRINITY LOCATIONS RED TRINITY World Location Traverse Town — First District, alley where Sora first arrives; Alleyway
entry to Secret Waterway; Second District, roof of Gizmo Shop
Agrabah Cave of Wonders, Treasure Room Halloween Town — Oogie's Manor
Hollow Bastion | Entrance Hall
BLUE TRINITY
Traverse Town First District, by tables; First District, near exit to town; Third District, ramp behind fountain; Mystical House, near the save point
Wonderland Lotus Forest; Lotus Forest
Deep Jungle Сатр: Climbing Trees
Olympus Coliseum Coliseum Gates; Coliseum Gates
Agrabah Bazaar; Cave of Wonders, Silent Chamber Monstro Mouth; Throat; Chamber 5 Hollow Bastion Dungeon; Great Crest
GREEN TRINITY Olympus Coliseum Coliseum Gates
Traverse Town Accessory Shop
Agrabah Storage Room
Neverland Ship's Cabin
Hollow Bastion Library (2F)
Wonderland Rabbit Hole, near Save point; Bizarre Room, in the fireplace
Monstro Mouth, on top of Geppetto's ship
Deep Jungle Treetop YELLOW TRINITY Olympus Coliseum Coliseum Lobby
Traverse Town Mystical House, behind house
Neverland Ship's Hold
Agrabah Cave of Wonders, Hall WHITE TRINITY
Wonderland Lotus Forest, through portrait Deep Jungle Cavern of Hearts
Olympus Coliseum Coliseum Gates Traverse Town Secret Waterway
SOCOM: SOUND OFF!
Readers reveal their favorite spots
Awhile ago, we put a request out on the message board for your favorite snipe points and strategies. We got a ton of responses; here are a few of the best.
PS2fan325 tells us: “My favorite hiding spot in Abandoned is the tree to the left of the entrance as you're facing the temple where the terrorists start. Make sure you're іп the opening that gives you enough room to go prone.”
Lord_Shimazu says: “My favorite early sniping spot for the SEALs in Frostfire is on the big crate that’s against the left wall.”
And oralb808 delivered a mini- strategy on The Ruins, including these two choice hiding spots:
“Head to the left from the SEAL
] Droppin' bombs
The cheat box
и Feed the Tree
рү
This is a crate spot!
starting point. There should be a ledge with what looks to be a fall- en column. Climb up the column and you've got a great sniper spot. Or head left from the SEAL start- ing point and go into the river. Take cover in the shrubbery that allows you to see both ahead of you and the platform on the left. Terrorists with packages often go this way, and you can easily gank “em without them knowing."
As a final note, we've noticed some shameless miscreants exploiting a bug in Frostfire that lets you climb into a crate in the warehouse. Exploiting a bug is cheating; don’t do it unless you want to be voted off your team.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Ld
Y
Ш
REPLAY
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
Tips, tricks, and tactics for the fastest-selling game ever
is Find the glowing Tiki!
HIDDEN PACKAGES
Before, you'd get hooked up with a pistol when you scored 10 hidden packages, but in Vice City there's a better rea- son to get the packages. As soon as you score 10 of those КГ (emerald green with a lovely gold trim), you'll get body armor. After 20, well, you'll see.
GOOD-CITIZEN BONUS
You see the law running after some pickpocket on the city streets? Well, if you stop what you're doing and run over and punch a criminal (no guns, or you'll be the wanted person, plus don’t hit the сор!), you'll score a fast $50. That pocket change can save your life, so
FLY GUY
Want to score a helicopter fast? We pick the hottest spots to find a copter in a hurry.
1. See that point on the map, the one with the big pink arrow a-pointin'? Go there as soon as you've got access to the
opposite side of the map.
2. You see that staircase on the left? If you (all 4% 2 VA. get closer, you will. Go to it and go up it.
3. You'll come to a spot with a big ramp. At the top is a chopper. Aren't unguarded police stations great?
КЕМ
be a Good Samaritan.
€ 2 ...to find the Sparrow
. Find this stairway [it’s right by where you'll find the police copter). j 2. At the top of that platform, you'll find
ROCKSTAR’S SKINNY ПІР There's a Rockstar pool located somewhere in Vice City. Want
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
to find it? We'll say this much: It's on Starfish Island, along with some other decadent swimming pools. Better yet, you'll find a useful piece of weaponry floating in the water. Can't wait to find it, can you?
FIREFIGHTS
When you're in the shit, remember to crouch. Press L3 and you'll duck down. With machine guns, it makes you way more accurate than if you're standing. It'll come in handy. But remember, you need to uncrouch to move.
THE COMET
See that little convertible, called a Comet? Pull the driver out, get out yourself and make sure Vercetti politely closes the door. Then press Triangle to get back in. You'll hop over the door, instead of bothering with the handle. It makes a perfect getaway car, since you won't bother opening the door to get in. Make a note of it.
...and at the top of the ramp is a Maverick.
®
Go to the top of the mansion meet
Once you rake Diaz over the coals, the top of the mansion. You'll usu; able to find a whirlybird there (if Li nce ; isn't trying to score dope with it].
а nice chopper. How good are your | flying skills?
yi
RAMPAGE!
While playing GTA3, it was wise to avoid the Rampage icons. Rampage meant you'd try your best and still end up with the screen flashing: Wasted! Not so in Vice City. You'll have a much better chance to succeed, and we encourage it. It’s fun killing gang members, or completing whatever the mission du jour might be. So go for it.
SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH
For whatever it's worth, remember that Tommy Vercetti has a bit of Superman in him. He can push cars a few feet ata time just by running into them. While we haven't found it par- ticularly useful, it's good for pushing buses into the lake— which is sort of cool unto itself.
HIDEOUT HAVEN Go to your hideout if you’ need of health. You'll be | instantly recharged. ^ If you need to get the fuzz off your tail, go to the hideout, save your game, and then load it. If you don't load it, the 5-0 will still be hot after you.
HUNGRY FOR SOME PIZZA? те
PIZZA DELIVERY
If you're in a workin'- man mood, you'll need to find a scooter out back of any pizza place. From there, you can deliver pies ina drive-by | fashion. You're timed, so speed it up, Franky.
| |
\ "m
у Бы
You have five тіпа до deliver the orders before the customers phone another pizza shop.
Get оп your dorky motorscooter and deliver!
PIZZA HOTSPOTS
Eat, drink, be merry, and refill your health at neighborhood pizza joints. A glowing pink circle means up to $99 for a refill of life {a buck for each point of recov- ery). Pricey pepperoni, don't you think?
RI Order a fat slice of ‘za to fill your health meter
S THE VICE CITY STRATEGY GUIDE WORTH IT?
If you're going to go through the missions of Vice City only, you won't need this guide. But if you want to beat every aspect of the game, it's the only way to ride. From secret garages to secret packages to secret secrets, this guide delivers in brilliant fashion. At $15, it’s areal bargain, and a necessary one.
BIKE TALK
POPPIN’ WHEELIES
If you want to get the most out of your biking experience, you're going to want to perfect the wheelie. It's nothing special: Pull back on the right analog. The trick is sustaining it. Find a nice straightaway and try to keep a wheelie for 20 seconds. Oncoming traffic is your worst enemy.
THE LONG GRIND
Wheelies are cool, but riding the front wheel of a bike is way cooler. You won't be able to do this on the Harley clone, but on any other bike, you can get a load of speed, hammer the brake, and push up on the analog. You'll use your front wheel to stop, and the more momentum you have, the longer the grind.
DROP KICK
Go to the front of the any bike and press Triangle. You'll kick the rider right in the jaw and instantly hop on the bike. Perfect for getaways.
FIREFIGHT
Getting into a firefight while on a bike isn't a bad thing. You can shoot straight ahead, plus it takes a lot of damage (though you can be hit, too, so beware]. You can do some serious damage without hopping off your ride this way, and the bike absorbs most of the pain.
Why elbow, when you can kick?
G’s up, nose down, baby
fake voun came ғивтнен ҮШ eee р,
ты
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine баў)
Have any tips on beating tough GTA: Vice City missions? Write us at o> 02. солт and tit
Vice City
Sound track
So you burned $50 on the sound track, and you've spent $50 more on the game. While playing, you've noticed that some tracks in the game aren't on the sound track. Here's а list, per station, of the songs you'll need to find on a handy Napster clone.
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY
The missing tunes, must-see DVDs, and why you should buy GTA3 | Vice City DVDs
Іп order to enjoy the references in Vice City, you're gonna need context. These five DVDs were chosen as source material by the makers of Vice City. Of course, you'll still have to find reruns of Miami Vice on your tube in order to get the full frame of references, and sadly, it's not available on DVD just yet.
MANHUNTER
The prequel to The Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter is so highly stylized that you'll have to watch it more than once to let it all in. Directed by Miami Vice co-creator Michael Mann, it’s since been remade as Red Dragon. Yeah, the one with Ed Norton and Ralph Fiennes.
GOODFELLAS
Based on a true story, Goodfellas follows the life of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) as he moves up in the mob hierar- chy. Drugs, mob hits, and Joe Pesci overplaying a stereotype make this опе а
| must-see.
ARTIST ‘SONG TITLE ALBUM YEAR V-ROCK Alcatrazz "God Bless Video" Disturbing the Peace 1985 Loverboy “Working for the Weekend” Get Lucky 1981 Rockstars Lovefist “Fist Fury" GTA: Vice City 2003 The Cult "She Sells Sanctuary" Love 1985 Quiet Riot "Cum on Feel the Noize" Metal Health 1983 WAVE 103 ABC “Poison Arrow” The Lexicon of Love 1982 Animotion “Obsession” Animotion 1985 Sigue Sigue Sputnik ^ "Love Missile F1-11" Flaunt It 1986 ‘багу Митап "Cars" The Pleasure Principle. 1979 FLASH FM The Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" The Age of Plastic 1980 Joe Jackson “Stepping Out” Night and Day 1982 The Fixx “One Thing Leads to Another" Reach the Beach 1983 Aneka “Japanese Boy” Aneka 1981 WILDSTYLE Trouble Funk "Pump Me Up" Drop the Bomb 1982 2 Live Crew "Get it Girl" Is What We Are. 1986 Tyrone Brunson “The Smurf” Sticky Situation 1983 FEVER 105 In Deep “Last Night a DJ Saved My Life” Last Night a DJ Saved My Life 1983 ESPANTOSO Alpha Banditos "The Bull is Wrong" Rockstar Games 2003 Apenas Como Eso "Yo Te Mire" Rockstar Games 2003
(20) Official Us. PlayStation Magazine
SCARFACE
If you're going to play Vice City, you absolutely must see Scarface. This flick follows the life of Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who builds a criminal empire т "805 Miami. If you're going to exe- cute Diaz and buy up property in Vice City, this film hints at what kind of life you'll lead.
LESS THAN ZERO
Based loosely on the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same пате (апа we do mean loosely), Less Than Zero is ап eye-opening look at wealthy post-adolescents living in Beverly Hills in the "805.
FAST TIMES AT
RIDGEMONT HIGH
All the movies Listed above capture a certain dark spirit, but this flick shows off some outlandish humor. Sean Penn breaks in as Jeff Spicoli, an always-stoned surfer who battles Mr. Hand, the history teacher who thinks everyone is high (and
he was right, wasn't һе?).
Agrabah Cave of Wonders, Entrance
Monstro Chamber 6
Atlantica Triton's Palace
Halloween Town Moonlight Hill
Neverland Pirate Ship, on deck
Hollow Bastion Rising Falls Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil EA Games Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports Le Mans 24 Hours Infogrames Legaia 2: Duel Saga Fresh Games The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubi Soft Legends of Wrestling Acclaim Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Midway Lego Racers 2 Lego Media Lethal Skies Sammy The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Black Label The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. EA Games. Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports. Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports.
GET MUMMIFIED To get the secret team, "The Mummies,” put a saved- game file from any EA Sports racing game on your memory card.
EXTRA HOT ROUTES Its not in the manual, but there are extra hot routes thatll come in very, very handy. Pull up your Hot Routes menu by pressing Triangle, then hold down the icon of your chosen receiver. Press L2 or R2 to make them go out for a slant. Be careful with the tight ends, though— sometimes the command will make them stay in to block.
The Mark of Kri Sony CEA Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Capcom THAT'S INSANE! If you're going to accomplish the of the sweetest rashes this side of Prawn Mat Hoffman's Pro ВМХ 2 Activision insane stunt jumps, you'll want a PCJ. Cars just Island. Just look at the shots above and Max Payne Rockstar make it tough. But once you've done it on a bike, try to tell us that doesn't look like a = Maximo: Ghosts To Glory Capcom. you have to try it in an Infernus. It makes for some total blast. «Ж МОК2 Armageddon Interplay
8 Medal of Honor: Frontline EA Games
Men in Black II: Alien Escape Infogrames
GTA3 VS. GTA: VICE CITY Metal Gear Soit 2 кеші
Most people who've spent 165 hours toy- Cityis on store shelves (assuming it’s not plus tax in your pocket, which one Metropolismania Natsume
ing with GTA3 will likely tell you that sold out, that is). So, if you don't yet own should you buy? The answer might not Midnight Club Rockstar
there's no reason to own it, now that Vice — GTA3 or Vice City, and you only have $50 be so simple. Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Codemasters
SUS T. A BANA x Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh
GTA3 GTA: VICE CITY
WHICH ONE HAS| If you love gangster flicks so much that More refined than its predecessor, the mis-
THE COOLER planting саг bombs and having a dead guy in | sions in Vice City are extravagant and littered MISSIONS? your trunk are integral parts of your with surprises. The missions are deftly Sopranos fan-fic, GTA3 will beat your head in cinematic, with more toys (including
with a baseball bat, DeNiro-style. fa weapons and cars) along the way.
MLB Slugfest 20-03 Midway Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo Bandai Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Bandai Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA Moto GP Namco Moto GP2 Namco Motor Mayhem Infogrames MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters The Mummy Returns Universal MX 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO MX Rider Infogrames MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael THQ Myst Ш: Exile Ubi Soft Namco Museum Namco NASCAR 2001 EA Sports NASCAR Heat Infogrames NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports NASCAR Thunder 2003 EA Sports NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Infogrames NBA 2K2 Sega Sports NBA 2K3 Sega Sports МВА Hoopz Midway NBA Live 2001 EA Sports NBA Live 2002 EA Sports NBA Live 2003 EA Sports NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony CEA NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony CEA NBA Starting Five Konami
| Б WHICH GAME | Debbie Mazar's raspy vocal contribution 1 t 7) Fairuza Balk, the wicked witch of 1 HAS THE | as Maria made you want her to shut her American History X, stars as a dame kn
CHOICEST | mouth. She was that good. who willingly indulges in some of the aH
CHICK? game’s more pornographic moments.
WHICH OF THE | The graphics are dusty, but they're stylized, | Crystal graphics, brilliant sunrises, and an TWO WINS THE | and it might be easier to play ina underbelly uglier than pink parachute pants, EYE-CANDY NYC/Chicago hybrid than some sunswept Vice City is the place to go to see the power of BATTLE? wonderland. This is crime we're committing | the PS2.
here, you know?
ARE THE '80s | Maybe you're a child of the “90s and feel а If you shared your first kiss while Cutting BETTERTHAN | compulsion to avoid games like Vice City or Crew wailed in the background, or if you felt | PRESENT DAY? | Medal of Honor because you're an egotist cooler than words when you scored a pair of | about your birth decade. Or maybe you just acid-wash jeans, or if you impersonated | like dot-com commercials, because they Crockett and Tubbs, this one will hold your | make you feel at home. hand down memory lane.
WHO'S THE 8-Ball was there from the RPM | Lance Vance has every rea- BEST BUDDY? = beginning. Не had your 2 son to stay loyal, but he gets back, and he set you up е 3 | a little squirrelly when the from the get-go. He was A money starts rolling in. He tough and gravelly voiced, 3 loses focus and seems to but you could trust hi A. forget that his brother's a rarity in Liberty City. dead. Plus, he's sloppy.
Unlocking cool pregame stuff can make Street even more fun. Heres the system: The first number is the number of times you press Square, the.
9 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (147)
Tp 1
REPLAY
LOTR: THE TWO TOWERS
Follow these simple steps and beat all of Middle-earth's most malevolent bosses
THE NAZGUL AT WEATHERTOP THE WATCHER IN THE
@ Don't use your sword—it has WATER EN ROUTE TO MORIA по effect against Ringwraiths. @ Approach the Watcher's However... tentacles in the water and
Ө ...fire does! Simply get next to parry its attacks. (Pressing the fire to draw a torch and wield Square repeatedly works
it as you would a sword. When it's great.)
extinguished, pick up another. @ The tentacle you parried
will rise up, stunned. Chop it off! At the same time, though, be on the lookout for other free tentacles that might hit you before you can strike.
Ө The Watcher shows him- self! Feed him a healthy diet of tasty projectile weapons.
THE CAVE TROLL AT BALIN’S TOMB
@ Once you've weakened the Cave Troll enough to hop up to the ledge, remember that you also have to deal with the occasional Orc.
LURTZ THE URUK-HAI AT @ Avoid the Cave Troll's AMON HEN chain by using the columns @ Dodge the arrows Lurtz shoots like shields in Space
your way by running around and Invaders—for as long as they parrying them. When the timing's last, anyway. You can also right, throw or shoot your projec- dodge his attack by running tile weapon his way. When he from side to side.
weakens, he'll pursue for some Ө After the Troll has missed hand-to-hand combat. you, it’s time to unleash your @ Projectiles are useless now, and projectile weapon on him.
so is direct combat. You need to You can usually get between coerce Lurtz to swing at you near a one and three shots off, statue. When his sword gets stuck, depending on your character.
assault him with combos! And
don't forget to acknowledge the
presence of other Uruk-Hai ипдег-
lings. CAPTAIN OF THE WARG RIDERS @ After you've taken out the lesser Warg Riders, continu- ally parry the Captain. He might still knock you down, but you won't be hurt. Ө At some point, the
© Captain will triumphantly raise his Warg into the air. This is your time to strike with combos. {© The Captain will intermit- tently summon underlings to distract you. Simply back up to the water and fire projec- tile weapons in order to take them out quickly. Then get back to the Captain!
visor and title the e-mail
Who's your favorite character in Two Towers? Write us at op (sii
(С) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
second is Triangle, the third is Circle, and the fourth is X.
ABA Ball 044-0
ABA Socks. 4-4-4-4
Beach Ball 0112
EA Big Ball 014-0
NuFX Ball 013-0
Soccer Ball. 0210 NCAA College Football 2K3 Sega Sports ee« 60 NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA ө 4 NCAA Final Four 2002 989 Sports. 52 NCAA Football 2002 EA Sports eeee« 48 NCAA Football 2003 EA Sports 60)
CHEATING THE CAMPUS CHALLENGE Create your own team. Edit the ros- ter so your team is filled with big-time studs. Enter Season mode with your team, and under the preseason options, schedule as many IAA teams as possible. Set your playing time for 15 minutes and kick the snot out of every team you play. The campus challenge points are awarded based on your level of play. Play on Heisman, since its the hardest level, and you'll get increased value on your campus challenge credits.
NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony CEA e« 4 NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Sony CEA а NCAA March Madness 2002 EA Sports 5 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 EA Games 62 NFL 2K2 Sega Sports. R NFL 2K3 Sega Sports 60 NFL Blitz 20-02 Midway. 55 NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway 60 NFL GameDay 2001 Sony CEA e 40 NFL GameDay 2002 Sony CEA 53 NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA а NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim 50 NHL 2001 EA Sports 38 NHL 2002 EA Sports 50 NHL 2003 EA Sports 63 МНЕ FaceOff 2001 Sony CEA 43 NHL Hitz 20-02 Midway 5 NHL Hitz 20-03 Midway 62 Ninja Assault Namco а No One Lives Forever Sierra. 56 Okage: Shadow King Sony CEA 5 Oni Rockstar 43 Onimusha: Warlords Capcom 4
Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Capcom eeee 60
UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY Want the mystery item? Go to the Dark Realm (where you scored the fire sword) and fight through the 20 levels. On the last level, youll find a fiery crack in the ground. Examine it once to get the fire sword, then examine it again to turn it into a beam of light. бо into the light and youll be swept away to a new level. There won't be anyone to fight, but open up the chest for a treat.
MIND FUNK To unlock Mind Twister mode, beat the game and collect all 18 artworks.
ALL KINDS OF FIREPOWER You can score unlimited arrows, magic armor, and bullets if you clear the game on Hard mode. You'll start the game with the Rekka-Ken, 20,000 Gold, 30 Secret Medicines, 10 Talismans, Maxed-out Armor, Unlimited arrows and bullets, and always-full magic. The question is:
What will you use them for? You just beat Hard mode.
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Activision eee — 39 Pac-Man Fever Namco 60 Pac-Man World 2 Namco 54 PaRappa the Rapper 2 Sony CEA 5 Paris-Dakar Rally Acclaim 5 Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat EA Games 55 Portal Runner 300 50 Project Eden Eidos 52 Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn ТОК Mediactive 60 Q-Ball Billiards Master Take 2 40 Quake III Revolution EA Games 44 Ratchet & Clank Sony CEA 63 Rayman 2 Revolution Ubi Soft 41 Rayman Arena Ubi Soft 57 RC Revenge Pro Acclaim 41 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Midway 40 Real Pool Infogrames 40 Red Card Soccer 20-03 Midway. 57 Red Faction. THQ 46
Red Faction II THQ 63 Reign of Fire. Bam! 63 Resident Evil-Code: Veronica X Capcom 48 Rez Sega 53 Ridge Racer V Namco 38 Riding Spirits Bam! а Ring of Red Konami 43 RLH: Run Like Hell Interplay 62 Road Trip Conspiracy в Robot Alchemic Drive Enix 63 Robotech: Battlecry TOK 62 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIT Koei 60 Rugby EA Sports 48 Rumble Racing EA Games 45 Rune: Viking Warlord Take 2 48 Salt Lake 2002 Eidos 55 Savage Skies Bam! 56 ‘Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights THO 58 The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian Universal 62 Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega 62 Sega Soccer Slam Sega Sports 62 Sega Sports Tennis Sega Sports 60 ‘Shadow Hearts Midway 52 ‘Shadow of Destiny Konami 43 ‘Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim 57 Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision 52 Shifters 300 58 Shinobi Sega 63 Shox EA Sports Big в Silent Hill 2 Konam 50 Silent Scope Konami 39 Silent Scope 2 Konami. 49 Silent Scope 3 Konam 62 Silpheed: The Lost Planet Working Designs 40 The Simpsons: Road Rage EA Games 52 Sky Gunner Atlus 58 Sky Odyssey Activision 40 Sled Storm EABig 55 Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sony CEA 62 ‘Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Namco 56 Smuggler's Run. Rockstar 3 Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Rockstar 52 Soccer America: International Cup Нов. 48 Soccer Mania EA/Lego. 59 ‘SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Sony CEA
LEVEL SELECT AT YOUR LEISURE To choose whatever level you want, beat the game on the ‘Lieutenant Junior Grade’ rank.
GET YOURSELF THE MGL To unlock the multiple grenade launcher, you'll have to beat the game three times. It's worth it.
TERRORIST FIREWORKS Beat the game with the rank of 'Ensign, and you can select Terrorist Weapons in the armory during single-player missions.
Soldier of Fortune Majesco өөө 52 Soul Reaver 2 Eidos. 52 Space Race Infogrames 59 Spider-Man Activision 57 Splashdown Infogrames 52 Spy Hunter Midway 50 SSX EA Sports BIG 38 SSX Tricky EA Sports BIG 52 Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Majesco 53 Star Wars: Episode I - Super Bombad Racing LucasArts 45 Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter LucasArts 56 Star Wars: Racer Revenge LucasArts 55 Star Wars: Starfighter LucasArts 43 State of Emergency Rockstar 55 Stitch: Experiment 626 Sony CEA 59 Street Fighter EX 3 Capcom 39 Street Hoops Activision 60 Stretch Panic Conspiracy т Stuntman Infogrames/Atari 59 ‘Sub Rebellion Metro 3D. 62 ‘Suikoden III Konami 63 ‘Summoner THQ 39 ‘Summoner 2 THQ 62 ‘Sunny Garcia Surfing Ubi Soft 51
GTA: VICE CITY: TRAILS OR NO? In Vice City, you have the option to turn Trails on or off in the Display menu. | pre- fer to turn the Trails off, because it seems like everything is too blurry, and its hard- er to see when they are on. This could also be because | am using a smaller TV. What are your views on this?
Shizneté
We play with Trails off. Otherwise, it's not sharp enough for our visual palettes. But she looks pretty with the trails on.
VIRTUA FIGHTER 4: HEAVY METAL
How do I get the weird metallic
chick in VF4? Cadethartzell(@aol.com
Defeat Dural in Kumite mode to unlock her in Versus mode. She is only fightable randomly in higher rankings. You will always go to her stage when you select her.
KINGDOM HEARTS: TEAM VICTORY | found an interest- ing bug in Kingdom Hearts for the Olympus Coliseum levels. It’s hard to get the timing down, but you need to use a curative item right as the battle ends, just before the Team Victory screen— the part where the members of your party do their Little poses. You'll be cured, but the item won't be taken out of your inventory. With proper timing, you can use an elixir after every fight and still have plenty to Spare.
Chris Newswanger verticality(adejazzd.com
Super Bust-A-Move
Super Bust-A-Move 2
Supercar Street Challenge Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Surfing H30
Swing Away Golf
Tarzan Untamed
Taz: Wanted
Acclaim өөө
LING XIAOYU'S NEW DUDS Beat Story mode with Ling Xiaoyu, then high- light her in the Character Selection screen and press Triangle.
DISPLAY ATTACK NAMES In Arcade/Time Attack/Team Battle/VS modes, you'll have to press Select during the game to see the names of your attacks. Every time you enter a command attack, the Japanese name will show up. INTERNET-RANKING PASSWORD Complete Time Attack, Survival, Force, or Training mode to get your Internet-ranking password. Hold down Square and Triangle and press Up/Right (diagonally) on the control pad. You сап then submit it to Namco Japan's Tekken 4 webpage to see how you rank against the rest of the Tekken gamers worldwide.
Tekken Tag Tournament 3 The Terminator: Dawn of Fate 6 Test Drive. Infogrames e. 58 Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames @ 48 Tetris Worlds 57 Theme Park Roller Coaster EA Games ө а The Thing 62 Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Eidos e« 52 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports ө 44 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 55 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 63 Time Crisis 2 49 TimeSplitters 39 TimeSplitters 2 в Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero 45 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 51 Beating the game over and over can be tedious. Heres what you'll unlock along the way. Scoring Perfect Rail Balance is worth the effort.
1) Darth Maul 12) Always Special Mode
2) Wolverine 13) Perfect Rail Balance Mode
3) Warehouse Level 14) Super Stats Mode
4) Officer Dick 15) Giant Mode
5) Private Carrera. 16) Slowmo Mode
6) Burnside Level 17) Perfect Manual Balance Mode
7) Ollie, the Magic Bum 18 Tiny Mode.
8) Kelly Slater 19) Moon Physics Mode
9) Roswell Level 20) Expert Mode
10) Demoness 21) First-Person Mode
11) Snowboard Mode.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Activision eeeee 63 Top Angler Xicat 57 Top Gear Dare Devil Кетсо 41 Top Gun: Combat Zones Titus 50 Transworld Surf Infogrames 57 Tribes: Aerial Assault Sierra 62 Triple Play 2002 EA Sports. 55 Triple Play Baseball EA Sports. 45 Tsuganai: Atonement Atlus 5 Turok: Evolution Acclaim 62 Twisted Metal: Black SCEA 47 Twisted Metal: Black Online. SCEA 6l Ty the Tasmanian Tiger EA Games 62 UFC Throwdown Infogrames 58 Unison Tecmo 44 Unreal Tournament Infogrames 40 Vampire Night Empire 52 Victorious Boxers Empire 51 Virtua Fighter 4 Sega 55 War Jetz 300 48 Warriors of Might & Magic 300 m Wave Rally Eidos 53 Way of the Samurai Bam! 59 Whirl Tour Vivendi Universal 63 Wild Arms 3 Sony CEA 62 Wild Wild Racing Interplay 3 Winback Koei 43
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (49)
n 11
REPLAY
HINOBI 101
The only ninja survival guide you'll ever need
0) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
>
< can tell how many enemies you
Shinobi may be a straightforward action game, but it can get really tough at times. Familiarizing your- self with some basic strategies will make life much easier, and that’s what you'll find here.
LEARNING TATE One of the most important skills you'll have to learn in Shinobi is how to pull off "tate," which is attacking multiple enemies with- out the attackee figuring out they're being hit (now that’s ninja power!).
To do it, strike one enemy, then immediately dash to the next and strike, then to the next and strike, and on and on until all of the enemies have been taken out...or you've become bored. If you successfully hit all the ene-
attacked one enemy, immediate- ly use your Stealth Dash (Х but- ton). As long as you're still holding down the Lock-on but- ton (R1), you'll immediately warp to the next closest enemy, who you can then attack.
Certain enemies (such as the rabid armor dogs) will block like crazy. The only way to land an attack on them is to use your stealth dash and circle around them. Hold down a direction and use the X button to pull this off.
CHARGING UP AKUJIKI
| mies within a given time, you'll see the spect ының tate — There's a point in Shinobi where
sequence in which Hotsuma strikes a pose and all the ene- mies fall apart behind him. You
eed to take out in order to pull f tate-hy looking at the Kanji symbols in the ight
You can take out multiple air- borne enemies, too. After you've
Five Tips to Become the Perfect
Follow these steps in the game, then use them on your kid brother to hone your real-life ninja skills.
1. Keep an eye on the walls. Hotsuma can cling to most wall surfaces. It can make life easy in terms of reaching secret power- ups and for taking out certain bosses—even when you'd least expect it.
your sword, Akujiki, will awaken
and thirst for the blood of your
enemies (or you, if you're
not careful). If you attack enemi
edly in succession, АК
for each kill. еду is not only inte- nquishing larger ene-
(like tanks), but also for sses, who tend to send hench- men after you. Take out as many of these henchmen in a row as possible to charge up Akujiki, and then immediately go after the boss. If you manage to hit the boss in time, you'll deliver a powered-up devastating blow. In fact, it’s entirely possible to kill bosses with only one hit if you pull this off correctly!
2. Dash as much as you can and stay airborne. The more you're off you're feet, the more you're out of reach of enemies.
3. Shinobi really pushes the envelope with this next innova- tion: Be sure to hit crates (where did they think of that?) and other elements in the background to unearth secret items.
On certain bosses, be careful not to take out the objects that bosses use to respawn enemies. For example, when fighting the giant spider, don't take out the nests around him—you need them to build up your sword strength to fight the big guy.
Remember to use the walls on bosses, too. When fighting Benisuzume, affectionately known around the OPM office as “Moth Bitch,” warp over to the back wall after you've attacked her, so you don't fall in the pits.
WHAT ABOUT RANKINGS?
At the end of each stage you'll receive a ranking. These are the factors for getting ranked: how many enemies you kill, how many tate combos you pull off, how much damage you've taken, and how you take out the bosses (with tate or with several smaller attacks). Of course, ranking only gets you bragging rights. So fuel your ego after you beat the game, all right chump?
4. Throwing your shurikens at certain enemies will stun them. It's a smart tactic to lock onto an
enemy, throw a shuriken, and then dash in for the final blow.
5. Look for secret passages to find hidden health power-ups. Certain levels are nearly impos- sible without first searching out all of the health power-ups.
SECRETS TO UNLOCK
SECRETS TO UNLOCK
Hidden throughout the game are small coins that bear the Oboro Clan symbol. Collecting them will open up a bunch of cool stuff (but you need to play all three difficulty settings to find them all).
E MOVIE GALLERY (10 COINS) Watch all of the stunning CG cut-scenes from the game.
ART GALLERY (20 COINS) Check out a lot of the cool CG and painted artwork that went into making the game.
MORITSUNE [30 COINS) Play the game with Hotsuma's brother, Moritsune.
1 itt
E7
В — Í // |
JOE MUSASHI (40 COINS)
The original ninja is back! Play as Joe and see his new moves.
= ші 7j CHALLENGE MODE (50 COINS) Play three secret VR-style mis- sions that will really, really test your skills.
Bam! eeee« 5
57
_ Atlus өөө
WTA Tour Tennis _ WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It
5
Acclaim e Electronic Arts өөө Konami өөө Ascii eee«
Infogrames өөөө
Interplay өө
Virgin өөө —
Sony CEA өөөө
GTA: VICE CITY: COPS & ROBBERS In GTA3, you could jump in a car with
a cop/enemy right there and race away (апа the cop would lose his grip on the handle}. Don’t even try that in Vice City. If there’s a cop by either door, they will point their gun at you, and you can’t even press the pedal to get away. You have to run to a саг that is away from the cops or they will get you every time. Same with bad guys—if you get in a car and they're right there, they will just continue to pull you out.
Also, never expect your car to still be around after you go into a store or hotel. Fifty percent of the time, someone will have stolen it by the
time you get back. irishmalt
Another tip: Later in the game, put your car into the garage before saving/ starting a mission. Then your ride
will be waiting.
FINAL FANTASY X: GLITCH RAIDER | just found out how to get unlimited use of Yuna’s ability to heal while playing Final Fantasy X [though you can only use it when you're not in battle). How? From the menu you reach when you tap Triangle, go to abili- ties, then to Yuna, and use Cure. It’s like a potion, but free. It really helps in spots like the High Road and Old Road, where there's battle after battle. Hope this helps some FFX newbies. orangecrusader14 fanetscape.net
Bam! ө __Sony CEA өөөө |
| | | lo BSN в 8 INS IR 8 з. ішік
PERMANENT DIGIMON Want Paildramon or Omnimon forever and ever? If you're playing this game, you probably do. For Paildramon, you must have a Digimon that can digivolve to Exveemon and Stingmon at Level 5. To get Omnimon as well, you must have a Digimon that can digivolve to Metakgararirmon and Waryreytnon at Level 40, Happy? das Capcom eeee
Capcom eeee«
Ubi Soft e«
Ubi Soft eee
вв
Бызаа ё
Dukes of Hazzard П: Daisy Dukes it Out _ SouthPeak EA Sports Supercross |
Eagle One: Harrier Attack
ECW Anarchy Rulz
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 65)
What other secrets have you found in TimeSplitters 2? Write us at ору 13 com and title the e-mail
"y
REPLAY
TIMESPLITTERS 2
The games within the game
Hidden on three different levels in Апасопда the Story mode of TimeSplitters 2 are three carts" that contain knock- offs of old-school arcade games. These delightfully nostalgic little numbers are playable on your Temporal Uplink by switching to the device and hitting Triangle—but you have to find them first. Here's how:
ANACONDA Where to find it: This simple-yet-challenging game is stashed on a shelf in one of the storage rooms on the far side of the Oblask Dam in Siberia, 1990. You'll cross the top of the dam, go down the stairs, head outside, and go around the blue building to the left. Go in through the door, turn left at the end of the hall, and then swing left into the room [after dispatching the enemies, of course). It'll be on the back of the shelf closest to the entryway.
This one can be found when A playing at any difficulty level. =:
How to play it: v aS Maneuver your Anaconda to pick | | up the little Xs. Each X your da Anaconda eats makes it longer; sa blue and gray Xs add even more segments. But be
careful: Run your Anaconda into a wall—or itself—and it’s
game over. Scoring is based on the length of your Anaconda and
the amount of time you manage to keep it alive.
AZTEC COLUMN PUZZLE
This was the only puzzle in the game we had much trouble with, so we figured you might too. But in case you just want a gentle nudge, we'll give progressively more explicit hints. See if you can solve the puzzle without reading them all. (Oh, and if you're having trou- ble with those wood golems, ready your crossbow and walk up to any- thing that's burning. The bolt will catch on fire, letting you burn the golems and the beehives.)
1. Think of the set of six columns as a giant circuitboard that con- trols the door beyond them.
2. Electricity passes through a cir- cuitboard following the path of least resistance.
3. Notice how not all the columns. have the same symbols?
4. Arrange the columns so that
RETRO RACER Where to find it:
every symbol on every column matches the symbol that faces it from the adjacent column.
. Still can't figure it out? Look at
the map below and follow along. Column 1: One turn. Column 2: Three turns. Column 3: Two turns. Column 4: Two turns. Column 5: One turn. Column 6: Two turns. (These apply if you're playing on Medium; if you're on Hard, Column 1 is two turns and Column 6 is only one turn.]
This is the hardest cart to get—not because it’s hidden well, but because you can only find it when playing the Robot Factory 2315 level on Hard. Meaning you'll have to play all the levels ир to Robot Factory on Hard. If you manage that, we salute you. You are truly hardcore. Anyway, it’s stashed under the far ramp on the far side of the second big room, just before the boss battle. Have fun trying to get it.
How to play it:
Astrolander
(52 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
ASTROLANDER Where to find it: The year is 2019. The place is Tokyo, Japan—now known as Neotokyo. Тһе cart is stashed in а hidden bio-research lab deep in the sewers below the city, just past the checkpoint. (That's the room where you have to enter the hacker's code—you did get her password, right? You had to sneak into the camera room and watch her type it in, then turn off all the cameras to avoid raising an alarm? Of course you did.) In the bank of lockers in the computer room, you'll find a bad- ass rifle and this hidden cart. You can't find it if you're playing Easy mode. How to play it: It's just like the old classic Lunar Lander: Carefully ration your fuel to land your ship on the designated pad...and make sure you're going slow enough to avoid acrash. It gets a lot harder than it sounds,
especially once you get past Level 5. Don't be afraid to whip your ship sideways to slow down in those nar- row passages; it conserves fuel if you’re moving laterally.
The gameplay is so basic here that it might make you wonder why you bothered playing through all those other levels on Hard. It’s a simple, top-down racing game with one level and one goal: Get around the track as quickly as possible. You can play two players, though, which makes it infinitely more fun. Of course, that’s not hard to do.
Retro Racer
ECW Hardcore Revolution Acclaim e« 30 first purchase a Ford Taurus and then perform the Racing modification. Ehrgeiz Square EA 21 Grand Theft Auto Take 2 10 Einhánder Sony CEA 8 Grand Theft Auto 2 Rockstar. 27 Elemental Gearbolt Working Designs 1 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Rockstar ee« 22 Eliminator Psygnosis 20 Grand Tour Racing 98 Activision eee 1 The Emperor's New Groove SCEA 40 Grandia Sony CEA 26 ESPN MLS GameNight Konami 40 Granstream Saga THQ eee 10 ET. the Extra-Terrestrial: Interplanetary Mission NewKidCo 54 The Grinch Konami/Universal ө! 39 Eternal Eyes Crave 38 Grind Session Sony CEA 34 Evil Dead: Hail to the King THQ ee« a Grudge Warriors Take 2 3 Evil Zone Titus 25 Guardian's Crusade Activision өөө 9 Expendable Infogrames e« 4 Ө ТЕШТИ Bandai 62| F1 2000 EA Sports eee« 33 | Whats “Gundam” mean, anyway? No matter, just do what we say and use F1 Championship Season EA Sports 40 [these codes. А Racing Championship Ubi Soft 39 UNLOCKING NEW MOBILE SUITS Family Feud 39 ZAKU IIS To unlock it in Street mode, beat Street mode on Hard with Family Game Pack 33 Gundam RX-78. To unlock it in Versus, Time Attack, and Survival modes, Fantastic Four 3 beat Street mode with the Zaku IIS. Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition 30 TALLGEESE Ш Beat Street mode on Hard with Gundam Deathscythe Hell Fear Effect A Custom and Wing Gundam Zero Custom. To unlock it in Versus, Time Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix 43 Attack, and Survival modes, beat Street mode with the Tallgeese Ш. Felony 11-79 1 MASTER GUNDAM To unlock it in Street mode, beat Street mode on Hard FIFA 98 4 with Burning Gundam and Gundam Maxter. To unlock it in Versus, Time FIFA 99 17 Attack, and Survival modes, beat Street mode with the Master Gundam. FIFA 2000 27 Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James. UbiSoft ee« 52 FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer 39 HardBall 99 Accolade e« 15 FIFA Soccer 2003 63 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone EA Games eee 5 The Fifth Element 15 Harvest Moon: Back to Nature Мабите 40 Fighter Maker 2 HBO Boxing Acclaim өө 4 Fighting Force 3 Heart of Darkness Interplay B Fighting Force 2 29 Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy NewKidCo 20 Final Fantasy Anthology 26 Негс5 Adventures LucasArts 2 Final Fantasy Chronicles 47 High Heat Baseball 2000 300 e 22 Final Fantasy IX Square EA 39 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 300 еее 0 Final Fantasy Tactics Sony СЕА eeee 5 Hogs of War Infogrames eeee 38 inal Fantasy VIL Sony CEA 1 Hooters Road Trip Ubi Soft « 55 inal Fantasy VITE Square EA 25 Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Atlus 5 Fisherman's Bait Konami 18 Hot Shots Golf Sony CEA 7. Fisherman's Вай 2: Big 0!' Bass Konami eee. 27 Hot Shots Golf 2 Sony CEA 30 Flintstones Bedrock Bowling SouthPeak ө 37 Mot Wheels Turbo Racing Electronic Arts 25 Ford Racing Empire ee« 44 Hydro Thunder Midway 31 Formula 1 98 Psygnosis eeee 15 THRA Drag Racing Bethesda 4 5 Formula 1'99 Psygnosis 28 In Cold Blood DreamCatcher 49 Forsaken Acclaim 10 Incredible Crisis Titus 38 Fox Sports Golf 99 Fox Interactive l| Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze Ubi Soft 50 Fox Sports Soccer 99 Fox Interactive l| Intelligent Qube Sony CEA 2 Freestyle Boardin' 99 Capcom 18 Intellivision Classic Games Activision 28 Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana Acclaim 40 Int'l. Superstar Soccer 98 Konami n Frogger Hasbro 4 Int'l. Track & Field 2000 Konami 27 Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge Hasbro 38 Invasion From Beyond GT Interactive 19 Front Mission 3 Square EA 31 Iron Soldier 3 Vatical 35 Future Cop L.A.P.D. Electronic Arts 5 Irritating Stick А Jaleco 18 G-Police Psygnosis 3 ISS Pro Evolution Konami 35 G-Police 2 Psygnosis 25 The Italian Job Rockstar. 57 G-Darius THQ B Jackie Chan Stuntmaster Midway 30 Galaga: Destination Earth Hasbro 39 Jade Cocoon Crave 23 Galerians Crave 33 Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing Codemasters. 38 Gallop Racer Tecmo 28 Jeopardy! Hasbro y Gauntlet Legends Midway 32 Jeopardy! 2 Hasbro 29 Gekido Interplay 34 Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Acclaim 38 Gex: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos 20 Jersey Devil Sony CEA 10 Gex: Enter the Gecko Midway 7 Jet Mot Sony CEA 3 Ghost in the Shell THQ 4 Jet Moto 3 989 Studios 26 Glover Hasbro 28 Jimmy Johnson VR Football Interplay 2 Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado Sony CEA өө 42 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom 31 Gran Turismo Sony CEA 9 Juggernaut Jaleco 26 Г KA Grand Prix Jaleco 28 КІ Revenge Jaleco 18 ARCADE TRACKING Obtain all licenses in Simulation mode on disc two, Kagero: Deception II Tecmo e и including the Super License to get more Arcade mode tracks. Kartia Atlus e. 12 FEDEX CAR Enter the Gran Turismo League race events until reaching the Kensei Sacred Fist П Pacific League races. Then enter the Midfield Raceway event to be awarded Kickboxing Agetec ө 58 with an R*Nissan 3007Х GTS FedEx race car. Gets you there on time, every Killer Loop 27 time. Except in the case of Cast Away. King of Fighters '99 а MARK MARTIN'S NASCAR #6 FORD TAURUS To obtain this car, you must KISS Pinball 46
MADDEN NFL 2003
Money ball
TRIFECTA
Here’s a play that will score you easy yards with little risk [as long as you time it right). Follow these steps to get to Touchdown City!
e Go to a Single Back Trips set, which will bunch three wide receivers on one side of the field. Press Triangle to pull up the Hot Route menu. Hold down Circle (for your right-most receiver) and press Left, so he'll run an "in."
* Press Triangle, then hold R1 (for the middle receiver] and press Left, so he'll run ап”
Press Triangle, then hold X and press R2, so he'll run a slant towards the sideline.
• Snap the ball, drop back a few steps, let the play develop, then tap X once the wideout breaks.
• The receiver can usually gain separation and get eight yards.
Set up your hot routes
=
зех
Wait for the break
Time it right and you'll get an easy eight yards
CHEAT TO MAKE THE BIG CLUB Look, we know the minicamps can be gruesome, especially if you're aiming to unlock the likes of Barry Sanders, John Elway,
and Deion Sanders.
* Turn off auto-save.
* Save your rosters as Cheat.
* Go to the Cheat rosters and edit the players that do the minicamps. In the case of the Ground Attack, raise Emmitt Smith’s stats to 99, then lower the defensive players’ ratings (Dat Nguyen and Roy Williams].
* Load Cheat rosters and serve.
Cheat Emmitt to the 95 Take that, Dat!
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 153)
ул and title the e-mail Aco
What's your favorite level in Hawk 4? Write us at ортдан
REPLAY
TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 4
Hidden spots, fast cash, and pointers on breezing through the best skating game ever
COLLEGE
“ай E
A
Love lift Tony Hawk up where he belongs!
STRAIGHT А5
If you want to get high above the world in the College level, follow the above screens. Go behind the tower, jump into the black, and voila! Don't ask us to explain the physics, though.
GET ALL FOUR MASTERS LIP GAPS
Scoring the four lip gaps isn't tough, once you know where they are. Here's a quick guide that points them out. There's enough time to do them in any order, but start with the one right in front of you.
get oni 4 Masters ip aas
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
SAN FRANCISCO
GRIND THE BLOCKERS OFF THE LEDGES
That cop in front of you doesn’t cotton to you grinding your days away. Fair enough. But a mission’s a mission. Start by going around the corner and wallriding the red bell on the wall. He'll leave his post, and you'll have a free shot at the ledge. For quickness’ sake, ollie off the green hill shown below so you can hurry up to the ledges. Once you're there, grind up the first set of ledges and down the opposite set.
Grind che Block: off the Ledge:
ш
Jump over this ledge
SPENDTHRIFT
Who doesn't like free money? The easiest place to mop up a few hundred bucks is the Practice mode. Practice might not make perfect, but it will fatten your wallet. Just get momentum on the halfpipe and you'll be able to pull down six bills. Might not seem like a lot of money, but that’s 12 skateboards at the skateshop—if you feel like spending your bucks that way.
KAREEM'S SPECIFIC PRO CHALLENGE:
RIDING THE HIGH WIRED
Don't make the mistake of trying to pull these off without finding the wire connecting the buildings. Once you know the wire is there, this is one of the easier pro challenges. Just link tricks together while grinding that wire and you'll be able to knock out moves with haste.
Кагеет'ѕ electric
MANUAL THE PAD: шш BOTH DIRECTIONS IN ONE COMBO : is
This us heartache, but just wait until you get to Alcatraz! For this one, the key is to build speed by grinding the rails. Then, shoot off the ramp (do a grab move, it'll make you faster] and use the ledges before the pad to keep your speed. Don't grind the last ledge, or you'll never recover in time for the manual. After the first manual, use the ramp, revert, then hold another manual until you clear it.
Build speed by grinding
GETTING THE SHAFT Klonoa 6; While the SF level is Knockout Kings # 3 slim on secrets, we Knockout Kings 2000 did find this elevator Knockout Kings 2001 that will take you Konami Arcade Classics inside the building. Koudelka Infogrames You'll score a quick Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed Midway hundred bucks if you The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing TDK Mediactive find it. р The Land Before Time: Return to Great Valley Sound Source " E Largo Winch // Commando Sar Ubi Soft " $ 4 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Eidos.
The Legend of Dragoon Sony CEA Legend of Legaia Sony CEA Legend of Mana. Square EA Lego Island 2: The Brickster’s Revenge | — Lego Media Lego Rock Raiders Lego Media Lilo & Stitch Sony CEA The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure Activision The Little Mermaid II THQ ee Lode Runner Natsume Looney Tunes Racing Infogrames Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider Infogrames The Lost World; Jurassic Park Electronic Arts Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete | Working Designs Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Working Designs. Madden NFL 98 EA Sports Madden NFL 99. EA Sports Madden NFL 2000 EA Sports Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports Madden NFL 2002. EA Sports
Going down?
OL [ETE —_ CHEAP PLAYERS, MAD SKILL Want a Randy Moss clone for cheap? Go to Create Player and make a quarterback. Give the player very low passing 5 int abilities and high catching and ball-handling abilities. The player will cost 235. ‹ very little because his quarterback skills are bad. You will have to sign him я asa quarterback but use him as a wide receiver. His salary will never go up Get up this ledge... ... then head to the ramps because he wort play as a quarterback You can also changé his niber 3 and attributes in the Edit Player screen. You can also make a dirt cheap 1 GET A SICK SCORE: 300,000 POINTS fullback by eliminating his receiving skills. Ger a Sick Score: After you've played the game for Martian Gothic: Unification 200,000 points countless hours, you'll score this Marvel Super Heroes. Capcom | | many points in your sleep. But early Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter Capcom | | оп, you don’t have the stats to do it Marvel vs. Capcom EX Capcom | n easily. If you're a street skater, just Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall Acclaim ыы | use the huge гай along the road. Vert Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner's Circle Acclaim | skaters should seek out these spots: Mass Destruction ASC | 1. The rooftop: Get speed and get to Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX Activision | the top of the building you're facing Maximum Force Midway | when this challenge starts. Grind to MDK Playmates | "cling" to the building. Then, take a Medal Of Honor Electronic Arts right, hop over to the other building, Medal Of Honor Underground Electronic Arts ”, and you'll have all kinds of room to MediEvil | Sony CEA maneuver. MediEvil II _ Sony CEA 2. If you want to take more time, Mega Man Legends. Capcom RaT] cruise down the Embarcadero Mega Man Legends 2 Capcom 4. toward the Wharf, then go under the Mega Man X4 Capcom. bridge and into the glass-encased Mega Man X5 Capcom wooden areas. Mega Man X6 Capcom
Men In Black-The Series: Crashdown Infogrames Metal Gear Solid Konan Metal Gear Solid VR Missions Konami Metal Slug X Agetec Micro Machines Midway Micro Maniacs Codemasters Mike Tyson Boxing Codemasters The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Capcom Miss Spider's Tea Party Simon & Schuster Missile Command Hasbro Mission: Impossible Infogrames MK Mythologies Midway MLB 98 Sony CEA MLB 99 Sony CEA MLB 2000 989 Studios MLB 2001 989 Studios MLB 2002 Sony CEA
t manual
Use this quarterpipe 2 1 Grind along this rail
Official US. PlayStation Magazine 6
Hy 1]
REPLAY
TONY HAWK PRO SKATER
Escape from Alcatraz and find out what Atiba's all about
ALCATRAZ
IDA.
Start оп this high wire
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ This one is no picnic, but escaping
prison never is. To beat it, you'll Ae. have to practice repeatedly and т 49 BR 1 expect to fail endlessly. But as Noso Manual) |
long as you're getting closer to all 34 pieces of the puzzle, don't sweat it. There are only two real complications.
The first is when you get onto the winding pipes. Be sure you get on the leftmost pipe, and then do a Kickflip somewhere along the way to keep your speed high. Otherwise, you'll start sliding back the way you came.
The second hitch is the last piece, which is on the deck of the boat. Climb the stairs and you'll find it.
Remember to get lots of speed before you start
, MANUAL THE SWITCHBACKS о © This will put exactly three gray hairs on your head, so be wary. The. «trick is to turn around from the starting point and do a fat vert move c ‘the ramp. You need to ollie before you go from concrete to asphal 3turns, try to ease around them or you'll fall. Also, keep an eye out fc the tram. There's nothing worse than getting knocked over. And, Ji “careful i in the middle of the road—those medians сап trip you up wi ‘You least expect it.
STRATEGY GUIDE
Let's face it, some of the challenges in Hawk nearly impossible. With a few hints you'll soai top of your skateboarding game. This guide deliv sweet step-by-step info for every goal, plus i
you in on all kinds of secrets. If you want to com le! the game [we're talking 100%, gaps, cash, goals etc.) this is a must have. Plus, the maps are gn
ASS 2L2 SAME FURTHER | ТВ
IN
Ride up eines ramp... ..to score the last piece
i THE 200
: THE DOODY TOSS WHOIS ATIBA
5 The monkey cage always smells horribly of dung, so Hawk 4 puts you JEFFERSON?
& right into a dodge-the-doo competition against some cute little monkeys. You know, the
$ Find the giraffes, go into their pit, and then scoot into the door. Once | photographer
2 inside, you сап score а quick five bills with а little agility. dude with the
black-power pic?
ашаға 0 His name's Atiba
Jefferson and
he's regarded as
one of the best
action-sports
photographers
out there.
If you've picked
up a skate mag, you've likely seen his work. That's one of his shots above.
by Doug Walsh
What's your favorite pro-specitic challenge in Hawk 4? Wr
Go into this door... ...then dodge the poop!
(5) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
MLB 2003 Sony CEA eeee 60 MLBPA Bottom of the 9th 99 Konami 12 Mobil 1: Rally Championship. Electronic Arts 32 Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Soft a Monkey Hero Take 2 18 Monkey Magic Sunsoft 29
onopoly Hasbro. 5 Monster Rancher 2 Tecmo 26 Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode II Тесто 36 Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout Tecmo 41 Monster Seed Sunsoft 20 Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA 5 Mort the Chicken Crave а Mortal Kombat: Special Forces Midway өс 36
Mortal Kombat 4
HIDDEN MENU Go to the Options screen and hold all four shoulder buttons for three seconds, and the screen will shake. Then you can select the. Question Mark option, allowing one-button fatalities and other options. OLD-SCHOOL CHARACTERS Highlight either Kano, Kung Lao, Jax, or Rayden and press Select. They should explode and turn into МК1 Kano, МК? Kung Lao, MK Rayden, and МК2 Jax (without metal arms). They have the same moves and fatalities as the ones inthe old games,
Moto Racer Electronic Arts 3 Moto Racer 2 Electronic Arts м Moto Racer World Tour. Infogrames 40 Motocross Mania Take 2 48 Motorhead Fox Interactive M Mr. Domino Acclaim 15 Mr. Driller Namco 33 Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness Namco 38 MTV Music Generator Codemasters. 28 MTV Sports: Pure Ride THO 39 MTV Sports: Skateboarding Feat. Andy MacDonald THQ 39 MTV Sports: Snowboarding THQ 27 MTV Sports: T.J. Lavin's Ultimate BMX THQ 45 The Mummy Konami 41 Muppet Monster Adventure Midway 39 Muppet Race Mania Midway 39 NGEN Racing Infogrames 35 N20 Fox Interactive. n Nagano Winter Olympics 98 Konami 6
GALAXIANS TURBO MODE During the Demo mode, press Select 32 times to add to the Credits total in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Now, the number 32 should be displayed. Hold Select and press Start to begin the game їп Turbo mode,
NASCAR 98 EA Sports 3 NASCAR 99 Electronic Arts M NASCAR 2000 EA Sports 26 NASCAR 2001 EA Sports 38 NASCAR Heat Hasbro 40 NASCAR Rumble. Electronic Arts 31 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports 52 NBA Fastbreak 98 Midway 4 NBA Ноор? Midway 43 МВА In the Zone 98 1 МВА In the Zone 99 19 NBA In the Zone 2000 28 NBA Live 98 3 NBA Live 99 16 NBA Live 2000 28 NBA Live 2001 EA Sports 39 NBA Live 2002 EA Sports 5 NBA ShootOut 98 Sony CEA 8 NBA ShootOut 2000 989 Studios 30 NBA ShootOut 2001 989 Studios 39 NBA ShootOut 2002 Sony CEA 50 NBA Shoot Out 2003 Sony CEA в NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC Midway 28 NBA Tonight. ESPN Digital и NCAA Final Four 99 989 Studios. в NCAA Final Four 2000 989 Studios 28 NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA 40 NCAA Football 98 EA Sports 2
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 111
Need for Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed Need for Speed: V-Rally
Need for Speed: V-Rally 2 Newman/Haas Racing
The Next Tetris
NFL Blit
eed: High Stal
NFL Blitz 2001
NFL GameDay 98
NFL GameDay 99
NFL GameDay 2000
NFL GameDay 2001
NFL GameDay 2002
NFL GameDay 2003
NFL Xtreme
NFL Xtreme 2
NHL 98
NHL 99
NHL 2000
NHL 2001
МНЕ Blades of Steel 2000 МНЕ Breakaway 98
МНЕ Championship 2000 NHL FaceOff 98
NHL FaceOff 99
NHL FaceOff 2000
NHL FaceOff 2001
NHL Rock the Rink
Nick Toons Racing Nightmare Creatures Nightmare Creatures II Ninja: Shadow of Darkness Nuclear Strike
0.01.
Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
Omega Boost
Parasite Eve II
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf PGA Tour 98
Pipe Dreams 3D
Pitfall 3D
Planet of the Apes
Play With The Teletubbies Pocket Fighter
Point Blank
Point Blank 2
Point Blank 3
Polaris SnoCross
Pong
Pool Hustler
Populous: The Beginning Porsche Challenge.
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 Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Psygnosis Hasbro Midway Midway Midway
Sony CEA
989 Studios EA Sports 989 Studios Sony CEA Sony CEA
989 Studios 989 Studios EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports Konami Acclaim
Fox Interactive Sony CEA
989 Studios 989 Studios Sony CEA Electronic Arts Infogrames Activision Konami
Eidos Electronic Arts Psygnosis
GT Interactive GT Interactive Sony CEA
ASC
Capcom Namco Midway Agetec
Sony CEA ‘Square EA Square EA Atlus Infogrames
EA Sports Empire Int. Activision
Ubi Soft Knowledge Adv. Capcom Namco
Namco
Namco
Vatical
Hasbro Activision Electronic Arts Sony CEA
HITMAN 2
Having trouble? Cheat!
These are the “official” Hitman 2 cheats direct from our friends at Eidos. They are only triggered by these codes, and if you use them, you may find that they cause some problems with the game recogniz- ing that you've actually finished a level. Use them to work out how to complete something, and ti
back and do it properly.
The following are in-game cheats and you don’t need to pause the game to input them.
SLOW MOTION
One of those tricks that falls in the “not very useful” category. R2, L2, Up, Down, X, Up, L2
FULL HEALTH
This one, on the other hand, can be filed under “very useful.”
R2, L2, Up, Down, X, Up, Down
PUNCH MODE R2, L2, Up, Down, X, Up
GRAVITY
We're not sure why you'd want this...but here it is anyway. R2, L2, Up, Down, X, L2, L2
LETHAL CHARGE
Makes your shots even more effec- tive. One-shot kills are easier to pull off.
R2, L2, Up, Down, X, R1, R1
BOMB MODE Does exactly what it says. R2, L2, Up, Down, X, Up, L1
MEGA FORCE
Has the amusing effect of making bad guys disappear into the dis- tance when you kill them.
R2, L2, Up, Down, X, R2, R2 {restart level to remove effects)
E--—
Nailguns are cool
NAILGUN MODE
This one pins people to walls once their dead. The effects aren't always obvious as it depends where you shoot the bad guys. Try shooting corpses for amusement. Activate this and Mega Force together for added frivolity.
R2, L2, Up, Down, X, L1, L1
On Main Menu screen, try the following.
LEVEL MENU R2, L2, Up, Down, Square, Triangle, Circle on Main menu
HHH %
Not useful, but it lightens the mood
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (57)
REPLAY
KINGDOM HEARTS:
Extra bosses
Four extra bosses are available after you seal the Hollow Bastion Keyhole.
SEPHIROTH Time to even the score with Final Fantasy VII's cold-blood- ed Aeris-killer! Face him one-on- one at the Olympus Coliseum in the Platinum Match. Here’s how ShenlongNova1021 aol.com got by: "First of all, it's best to be at least level 80, and you must have the Second Chance ability. Make sure you have Elixirs in all of your item slots. As soon as you start the fight, Superglide far away from Sephiroth and cast Aeroga. When Sephiroth walks around the arena and sharply swings his sword, Dodge Roll behind him and use Ars Arcanum and/or Strike Raid. When he takes too much damage, he'll teleport behind you and attack; immediately jump out of the way. He'll also emit a Fire Pillar, which you should Dodge Roll away from.
"When you're finished with his purple HP meter and start on his pink meter, Sephiroth uses a new attack: He teleports and casts Sin Harvest. Superglide up to him and strike before he finishes it. It's essential to stop him because Sin Harvest will demolish your Aeroga, your MP, and, basically, all of your HP. If this happens, Superglide away and use an Elixir before Sephiroth finishes you.
“When you get to the orange HP meter, he jumps away from you and attacks with Flying Combo techniques. It's very difficult to dodge these attacks, so try to stop the combo string with Ars Arcanum and Sonic Blade.
He'll teleport a lot more when you're at his yellow HP meter and will cast his most powerful attack, a Meteor Storm. Your best bet is to dodge them. His last attacks are Spinning Combos and Energy Orbs. Avoid the Orbs and use Ars Arcanum and Sonic Blade when he lands. Do this enough and you can
claim that you defeated the most powerful Squaresoft vil- lain known to man!”
(С) Official ~ 5. PlayStation Magazine
ICE TITAN After wining the Hades Cup at Olympus Coliseum, you can fight Ice Titan in the Gold Match. Arthur Huynh (Joss 14(@aol.com) took down the Titan with this strat- egy: "The only magic you need is Cure. Also, have Ethers ready just in case. Always have Ice Titan locked on so you can see him. Ice Titan will start by shooting small icicles at you. You can either deflect them back with the Guard skill or hit them back. (Note: When PEERS 77 Ice Titan is shooting icicles, don't use Aero because then he'll shoot giant 2 icicles that you can't deflect.) Next, Ice Titan will attack with giant icicles or ice balls. Try to dodge them. After that, Ice Titan will shoot a barrage of icicles. Deflect as many as you can and take the damage [it won't kill you). Following the barrage, the process starts over again. This is a good time to Cure. After going through this a couple of times, you should have done enough damage to stun the Ice Titan; that’s when you can attack with a few combos. Keep doing this till you beat him.
KURT ZISA Speak to the magic car- pet in Aladdin's house, and it'll whisk you away to this boss. Zisa isn't that difficult—it's just a Б marathon slog. When Zisa is т its first form, you ‘<> can’t use magic. Avoid its attacks while you lunge in to whack the Orbs it’s holding. Once the Orbs are gone, you'll have a few seconds to whale on Zisa before it takes on its second form. You can now use magic, so cast away while avoiding Zisa’s attacks. If you run low оп MP, wallop Zisa to unleash some MP bubbles. Soon enough, Zisa will go down for a few seconds, then return to its first form. Quickly get in there and whack away! Keep at it until you finally defeat Zisa.
PHANTOM In Neverland, put Peter Pan in your party, then speak to Tinkerbell. You need tons of magic to defeat the Phantom, so take Donald with you, too. Use Stop to halt the Doom Countdown (which can knock out your allies for the entire battle). Then, attack the Phantom according to the colors: white for Physical, red for Fire, blue for Blizzard, and yellow for Аһипдег. Be sure to stock up on Elixirs in case your MP runs low.
Power Play Sports Trivia Ubi Soft Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue THQ Power Shovel Acclaim Power Soccer 2 Psygnosis Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball Infogrames The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction Bam Poy Poy Konami Pro 18 World Tour Golf. Psygnosis. Pro Pinball: Big Race USA Empire Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Empire. Pro Pinball: Timeshock! Take 2 Psybadek Psygnosis Punky Skunk Jaleco Putter Golf Agetec Puzzle Star Sweep Agetec Q'bert Hasbro Quake П Activision R-Type Delta Agetec R-Types Ascii R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco Racing Agetec Railroad Tycoon II Take 2 Rainbow Six Red Storm Rally Cross 2 989 Studios Rampage Midway Rampage 2: Universal Tour Midway Rampage Through Time Midway Ray Tracers THQ RayCrisis Working Designs Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubi Soft. Rayman Brain Games Ubi Soft Rayman Rush Ubi Soft Razor Freestyle Scooter Crave RC de GO! Acclaim RC Revenge Acclaim RC Stunt Copter Titus Re-Volt Acclaim Midway
Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 Midway Red Asphalt Interplay him Natsume
Reel Fishing IT Natsume vil: E Capcom
Capcom
І Capcom
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Capcom. Resident Evil Survivor Capcom Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Atlus Rising Zan Agetec Risk Hasbro Rival Schools Capcom Riven: The Sequel to Myst Acclaim Electronic Arts
Road Rash: Jail Break Electronic Arts Rock "Ет Sock ‘Em Robots Mattel Rocket PowerTeam Rocket Rescue THQ Rogue Trip GT Interactive Roll Away Psygnosis Rollcage Psygnosis Rollcage Stage II Psygnosis Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Koei Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths & Legends Рей Storm RPG Maker Agetec Rugrats: Totally Angelica THQ Rugrats in Paris: The Movie THQ Runabout 2 Hot-B Running Wild 989 Studios Rushdown Electronic Arts Sabrina, Teenage Witch: A Twitch in Time! Knowledge Adv. SaGa Frontier Sony CEA SaGa Frontier 2 Square EA Saiyuki: Journey West Koei Saltwater Sportfishing Agetec ‘Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 300 ‘Sammy Sosa Softball Slam 300
ee
Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage SNK e« 36 Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase THQ 52 Scrabble Hasbro 28 Sentinel Returns Psygnosis u Sesame Street Sports NewKidCo 54 Shadow Madness Crave 9 Shadow Man Acclaim 27 Shadow Master Psygnosis 5 Shadow Tower Agetec « 28 Shanghai: True Valor Sunsoft 20 Sheep Empire а Shipwreckers. Psygnosis 3 Shooter: Space Shot Agetec 48 Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein 43 Silent Bomber. 30 t Hill 18 Silhouette Mirage Working Designs 29 Sim Theme Park Electronic Arts 33 The Simpsons Wrestling Taito ee 45 Skullmonkeys Electronic Arts 6 Skydiving Extreme Banpresto 49 led Storm Electronic Arts 24 Small Soldiers Electronic Arts. 5 Smurfs Infogrames 29 Smurf Racer Infogrames 45 Sno-Cross Championship Racing Crave 37 Snowboarding Agetec B ‘Soul of the Samurai Konami e« 24 South Park Accaim e« 2 South Park: Chef's Luv Shack Acclaim e 28 South Park Rally Acclaim 29 Space Invaders. Activision eee 27 Spawn: The Eternal Sony СЕА e. 4 Spec Ops: Covert Assault Take 2 ө 52 Spec Ops: Ranger Elite Take 2 e 46 Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Take 2 e 34 Speed Punks Sony CEA eeee« 32 ‘Speed Racer 8 Speedball 2100 40 EJ CURSES! Whats more fun than swearing? Spider-Man berating you. If you. try to enter a dirty word as a code, Spidey enters the picture to change it. Ty it yourself! Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro Activision e. 50 Spin Jam Take 2 e« 38 juarePants THQ ee E] Wed like to give you new codes for the game, but this is all there is. 50 sponge away, Sponge lovers. LEVEL PASSWORDS: 1 BGNR 6 NGPS 1 WFXM 16 CNXK 2 01MB 7 WMCV 12 MNTL Y LKKV 3 KVNF 8 XNAD 13 QGAV 18 PVHS 4 WKGA 9 HRIQ 14 LXHK 19 JAST 5 DFW 10 QHDG 15 HGCD End WMBT Sports Car GT Electronic Arts ee« a Spyro: Year of the Dragon Sony CEA 39 pt Sony CEA ө‹ 27 у ) Sony СЕА e. B Star Ocean: The 2nd Story Sony СЕА өн 22 Star Trek: Invasion Activision 3 Star Wars: Episode I - Jedi Power Battles LucasArts 33 Star Wars: Episode 1 - Th | LucasArts 25 Star Wars: Masters of Terás Kasi LucasArts 4 Star Wars Demolition LucasArts а Steel Reign Sony CEA 2 Streak GT Interactive. 5 Street Fighter Alpha 3 Capcom a 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 Electronic Arts 9 Street SkBer 2 Electronic Arts. 32 Strider 2 Capcom м Striker Pro 2000 Infogrames 33
Strikers 1945 Agetec ee« Stuart Little 2 Sony CEA ee« Suikoden IT Konami ө Super Shot Soccer Тесто Superbike 2000 EA Sports SuperCross 2000 EA Sports SuperCross Circuit 989 Studios Surf Riders Ubi Soft Sydney 2000 Eidos
989 Studios Syphon Filter 2 989 Studios. Syphon Filter 3 Sony CEA Tai Fu Activision TRAG. Sunsoft Tactics Ogre Atlus Tail Concerto Atlus Tales of Destiny Namco Tales of Destiny IT Namco
Sony CEA Team Buddies Midway
Team LOSI RC Racing Fox Interactive
Unlock the doc. Collect bronze, silver. and gold keys in Tekken Force by completing it three times. Then play through it one more time. After you beat the boss of the last stage, you will be taken to an underground cave
and you will fight Dr. Boskonovitch. Beat him to use him.
Activision Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Activision Tennis Agetec Tennis Arena Ubi Soft Accolade Accolade Test Drive 6 Infogrames. Test Drive Le Mans Infogrames Test Drive: Off Road 3 Infogrames Thousand Arms Atlus Thrasher: Skate & Destroy Rockstar Threads of Fate ‘Square EA Thunder Force V Working Designs Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports Tigger's Honey Hunt NewKidCo Time Crisis: Project Titan Namco Tiny Tank Sony CEA Tiny Toon Adventures: Plucky’s Big Adventure — Conspiracy Tiny Toons: The Great Beanstalk NewKidCo TOCA 2 Activision Tom & Jerry in House Trap Eidos Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear Red Storm Eidos Eidos ‘Tomb Raider: Chronicles Eidos Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Eidos Tomba! Sony CEA Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Sony CEA Electronic Arts Tonka Space Station Hasbro t Activision Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 Activision Toonenstein: Dare to Scare Vatical Тотеко: The Last Hope Enix Toy Story 2 Activision Toy Story Racer Activision Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals Bam Trap Gunner Atlus Treasures of the Deep Namco Тиски Snowboarder Capcom e« Triple Play 99 EA Sports Triple Play 2000 EA Sports Triple Play 2001 EA Sports Triple Play Baseball EA Sports Turbo Prop Racing Sony CEA
989 Studios 989 Studios
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 II Konami Vanguard Bandits Working Designs. Vanishing Point Acclaim Vegas Games 2000 300 МІР. Ubi Soft
Activision Vigilante 8: Second Offense Activision Virtual Kasparov Titus VR Baseball 99 Interplay VR Sports Powerboat Racing Interplay ж. THQ
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 THO
WCW/nWo Thunder THQ The Weakest Link Activision Hasbro
Wheel of Fortune 2 Hasbro Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 2nd Edition — Sony CEA 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 Is 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 1 Acclaim
X-Bladez: Inline Skater Crave XFiles Fox Interactive X Games Pro Boarder ESPN Digital X-Men: Children of the Atom Acclaim X-Men: Mutant Academy Activision X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Activision Xena: Warrior Princess Electronic Arts Xenogears Square EA You Don't Know Jack! Berkeley Systems You Don't Know Jack! Mock 2 Sierra
If you're looking for these codes, sign up for the nerd clinic. In two short
months, you'll be reformed, looking for codes for games like Ancient Elf 93221206 Great White Blue Eyes White Dragon 89631139 Magical Ghost
Dark Magician 46986414 Claw Reacher Exodia (Head) 33396948. Man-eating Bug Curse of Dragon 28279543 Celtic Guardian Dragon Zombie 66672569 Witty Phantom Monster Reborn 83764718 Beaver Warrior The Stern Mystic. 87557188 Change Of Heart.
13429800 46474915 41218256 54652250 91152256 36304921 32452818 04031928
READER REVIEWS
We want your reviews of the
best and worst games, so
write a review and send it to opmf(üziffdavis.com. We can't publish everyone, so keep it short, be witty, and remember that not every game deserves a 5-disc rating just because you like it!
GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY What you said: “It is hard to find many games that improve upon the last installment, but this is exactly what Rockstar North has accomplished. The game is vastly improved in every area, and the feel of the 805 is captured com- pletely.
For those of us old enough to remember the '80s, the game captures the feel of that genera- tion, from the opening of the game to the music, the clothes, the glitz and glam, and the sayings of the time. It is amazingly well done, and the vibe of that generation is there in all its glory—and for some of us, everything we loathed about those times.
Vice City is easily the most amazing game created, a title held previously by GTA3. Rockstar North has got something special going and | hope it continues for a long time to come.”
Your Score Greg-massivegrooves(dcox.net
PS2's defining title." Our Score 99299
SLY COOPER What you said: “I love good games. Good games that make you glad to play them because they're so fun. Games like Sly Cooper are the reason we game. Sly Cooper is the best looking plat- form game I've ever seen. The graphics are smooth and crisp, but what sets it apart is the won- derful “toon-shading” art style that is so unique and fresh, it makes the game really come alive. What makes this game really addictive are the clues scattered throughout the levels that unlock secret moves, or give you the ability to see clues and breakable objects in your binocu- lars. Allin all, Sly Cooper is a true gaming masterpiece, and worth every penny.” Your Score lan King mlkirkendall(@comcast.net
What else you said: “Stylish, fun, and short. That about sums up Sly Cooper. Look, this game is a blast, but | beat it 100 percent, with all
clues found and all Time-Trials completed, in two days. Two days! I'm glad | rented it, and you will be, too. Just don’t do anything more, because once you complete it, there’s no reason to play it.” Your Score ‹
John/Vicky Boreyko
jboreyko(dintrex.net
What we said: "We haven't been this hooked on a platformer since Crash: Warped.”
Our Score
TEKKEN 4 What you sai VF4, VF4, VF4, that’s all | hear about from you guys when it comes to fighting games. Tekken 4 is by far better then VF4. Tekken has a ton of extras besides the main modes you'll find in every fighting game. (Tekken Ball anyone?) And it has the deepest, easiest-to-learn yet hard-to-master fighting engine around. Yeah, there are some cheap moves, but only cheap people use them. The character graphics may not be quite up to par with VFZ, but it's hardly noticeable. The water and the are- nas are by far better then those of VF4. And the characters actually have reasons for being involved in the tournament, unlike іп VF4.” Your Score e Tom Atkinson deviouslywicked_17(@hotmail.com
What we sai
managed to parry the challenge from Suzuki and Co. at Sega? Ina word: no.”
Our Score
HITMAN 2 What you said: played Hitman 2, | noticed fea- tures missing from the second version that were in the first game. | was disappointed for the first half hour or so, but quickly realized how much this jewel really shined. Eventually, | start- ed to notice features in the new version that were not in the old one (instead of vice versa]. | have beaten the game and I'm having a blast trying to replay the mis- sions to get that perfect one- shot, one-kill, so I'll have the full arsenal this game has to offe Your Score
James Sullivan James.F.Sullivanfabankofamerica.com
What we said: “Our favorite part about this game is that it makes you feel like James Bond. Don't overlook this—you'll regret it." Our Score
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Play
160) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
On sale Jan. 14
Station
MAGAZINE
*Editorial content subject to change»
ЕЙЕСТЕОІІЕДЕНДЕ (ez VELAT (= On sale now = un
Metroid Primetime
Judgment day for the new Metroid games finally arrives this month. Will the sequels to EGM's No. 1 game of all time live up to expectations? The truth shall be revealed. Also: the season's coolest gaming- related gift ideas in EGM's Holiday Buyer's Guide, plus EGM's 10 Naughtiest Console Games feature
Towers of Fun
Find out how good a game based on a movie can be...then learn all the ins and outs of fighting enemies and get a free Two Towers poster, too! What more could you want? How about strategy blowouts for RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, Resident Evil Zero, Metroid Prime, and GTA Vice City? GameNow's got those, too!
COMPUTER
= AMING On sale now
Ride the Lightcycles
How can a 20-year-old Disney movie translate into a slick-looking PC game? CGW gets some hands-on time with Tron 2.0 and gives you the straight scoop on lightcycles, multiplayer, and meeting a digital Bruce Boxleitner. Plus: No One Lives Forever 2, Unreal Tournament 2003 and Age of Mythology reviewed.
FINAL FAT-ASS-Y
What if your favorite game characters let themselves 90%
Illustrations by Jeff Newsom jeff@noggintoboggan.com
Double-jumping just got a whole lot more difficult for Jak and Daxter.
Ever since Tidus disappeared.. Yuna's turned to food for comfor Wanna know the
real reason Tomb Raider was
Looks like Sly’s next adventure... delayed?
won't involve any sneaking
You're looking at it!
around in the shadows.
GEEKS UNITE FOR MMORPGW нш
Putting Final Fantasy XI online was supposed to offer all sorts of new gameplay experiences, but this is taking things a bit far: In Japan, the first-ever official wedding ceremo- ny was held in the game. Two hard- core players, "Otoku" (the bride) and “Jar” (the groom), recanted their real-life wedding vows in front of tons of fellow gamers and а тоск priest іп a massive cere- mony officially hosted by Square, which even custom-made wedding
Hawaiian shirts are only for frat guys and fat guys.
rings for the couple and celebra- tion crackers for the guests [no word on who caught the bouquet). The first wedding was sucha success that Square is looking into making it an actual feature of the game—and inadvertently bringing in real-world problems. You'll now have to book at least two weeks in advance for a venue, rings will cost you dearly, and you'll have to hire the priest yourself. Wonder how many Gil the caterer costs...
7 f “
P.S.A.T.
(PlayStation Aptitude Test)
1. Which of the following wasn't developed by the team responsible for War of the Monsters?
a. Road Trip
b. Twisted Metal: Black
c. Twisted Metal 4
d. WarHawk
2. Who is the only boxer in the Rocky films not in the Rocky game?
a. Clubber Lang (Mr. T)
b. Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan)
c. Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren]
d. Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers)
3. Including Deadly Alliance, how many Mortal Kombat games have there been? a.3
b.4 c5 d.6
4. Porn star Jenna Jameson has done voice
work for which two games?
a. BMX XXX and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
b. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
c. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and BMX XXX
d. BMX XXX and Grand Theft Auto 3
5. Which is the only Final Fantasy you won't be able to play on your PS2 anytime soon?
a. Final Fantasy
b. Final Fantasy 1!
c. Final Fantasy ІІІ
d. Final Fantasy V
2'6'Q'y'p'E'q'Z 2L :51эм5и\у
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ei)
Ту * “_..the most realistic re-creation of %ы»
real-life combat
to ever appear in video game form.”
-GameSpot.com
PRS DE: С
FIGHTING, CHAMPIONSHIPS
PlayStation.
g Best Fighting Game í Best Simulation "
“It’s already looking а lot like , P actual PRIDE broadcasts."
-PSM
«жайран; 2
www.thq.com
ment, Inc. Exclusively licensed to THQ Inc. worldwide, except in Јај IQ and its logo are registered trader n ion" and the "PS" Family logo аге registered trader опу Computer Entertainment Inc.
CRACK SKULLS
BREAK FACES DRAW BLOOD
WIN AT ALL COSTS
Reserve your copy for a free demo disc at
GameStop) an S2GAMES
or register for one online at www.thq.com. DREAM STAG
ШЕТІН
Blood Strong Lyrics Violence
; e у әу A WU ©2002 THQ Inc. © Viacom International Inc. All rights reserved. Nickelodeon, SpongeBob SquarePants and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc. 50 {| д P е ра N t 5 3
Created by Stephen Hillenburg. Exclusively published by THQ Inc. THQ and the THO logo are trademarks and/or registered trademark of THQ Inc. All rights reserved. ™, @, and the Nintendo ‘GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo." PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Another thoughtFul, intelligent conversation From the new SpongeBob videogame.
Е Comic Mischief ІРІ : шы PlayStation.2 4 ёлиЕсове www.nick.com 6
www.thq.com
12752002 “DUTCHMAN
Made with love Бу
<EIKCMAG-
Ourgoal TS UO SON classic MICE дате тадагіпеѕ ЕВ they! аге пой lost permanently:
People interested in helping out in any capacity, please visit us at retromags-com.
No profitis таде тот ECS SEEMS, nondo we offer anything амайа етот the publishers themselves:
ІГуош come across anyone selling releases from 15 site? ріеаѕе ао по 50ррог them апа CKO E 05 Кпом.
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