- TIGER (EXCLUS! PLAYABLE

лохп DEMOSINSI INSIDE! HE'S

FEBRUARY 2003 ISSUE 65...

THE PC HIT ON PS2

DRAGON BALL 7

B ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA" 02»

February 2003 $8.99 US. $11.99 Canada

PLUS: TIPS, CHEATS, AND HINTS FOR THE SIMS, NHL 2K3, NBA LIVE (| 0) 0""70992 06968" 2 |

SO REALISTIC, YOU'LL SWEAR YOU WERE THERE. The Rocky Mountains? Merely a speed bump. The Mojave Desert? A sandbox. The Black Forest? A flower garden. Welcome to an insanely realistic new world of offroad racing. 40 massive environments, more than 20 real-world ATVs, minigames, a hard-core soundtrack, plus intensely competitive online gameplay. So find yourself a comfortable chair, sit back and get ready, because it's gonna get dirty. BLAZE YOUR OWN TRAIL:

EVERYONE www.playstation.com ATV Offroad Fury is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Developed by Rainbow Studios. Online Mild Lyrics play requires Internet connection and Network Adaptor for PlayStation 2 (sold zi separately). ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "PlayStation" ›% I and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer f H ч CONTENT RATED BY Entertainment Inc. "Live In Your World. Play In Ours.", “Blaze Your Own Trail” and СГ Ilr YE rainbow ESRB BROADBAND AND БАЦИ STUDIOS

the Online icon are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

ke ores oma.

25s

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN GURS?

PlayStation.

Wt

БО Су де | v OVERWORKS"

Ww Se ж ^ ў Ў 1 2. À ; 5

SEGA is a registered trademark of SEGA CORPORATION. SEGA and Shinobi are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sega Corporation and its affiliates. ©2002 SEGA CORPORATION. Original Game @OVERWORKS/SEGA, 2002. All Rights Reserved. www.sega.com "PlayStation"

Blood and Gore Violence

fight ae л avoid ndergfound landscape

_~ Original story pro esses television series and features oig

Stealth Mode: Utilize unique ‘evasive то е plus enhanced vision. ү

DARKANGEL.SIERRA.COM

ig

АМАП ABLE

PlayStation.

à

X H? e Ro /

4 озы. ene

Ф o ©

9

2

>

BLOODY LONDON!

Police will once again regain

control and order will be

restored. Hopefully, not at

the huge price of more lives.

| LONDON

mur Жы і

4, 2002: S

Police chase, Dec. 17, 2002 4 5 dead, 2 injured.

Car bomb, Nov. 10, 2002: ZEN

(Left) Authorities look for answers to a Hampton Street massacre last November. (Above) A gory look at a few of the recent attacks changing London's landscape.

by Brian Endicott Tabloid Press

30 A handful of recent attacks has had Londoners reeling. Buildings are being torched. Cars burn in the streets. People are disappearing. In short, there is a growing feel- ing of danger in the air. And that is something new and unnerving. A brief look back at when and where some of the most recent attacks

have occurred:

6 November 2002: Hollywell Street, London. A bloody shoot-out between two longtime opposing London gangs, the Triads and the Yardies, took place. Six Yardie gang members and eight Triads died in the 16- minute standoff. Six innocent bystanders were

also wounded in the massacre.

(Below) Mark Hammond, ex-gangster of the Collins crew, suspected in Hollywell Street shooting. (Below, right) A police- man takes watch where an executed body was found.

EXCLUSIVE: London Bleeds

10 December 2002: Chinatown, London. The tortured and

"he Siu Fung,

murdered body of Johnny Chai was dumped in the street. The Siu Fung was the head-

quarters of Johnny Chai’s gang, the 14K.

“It’s tough to turn your back when it’s your part of town?"

- Sean Hardwick, Task Force Officer on London violence

18 December 2002: Touch of Cla Downtown London. This lap dance parlour was the site of a bloody turf struggle between

the Collins gang and others. Eleven injured

and three killed.

City on alert? Most say it’s not to that point.

Not yet, at least. The disconcerting part of it all is that this violence has moved out of the slums and ghettos, and is showing up in

middle- and even upper-class areas of the city.

But the general sentiment among Londoners is one of wary confidence. People seem to feel that, as dangerous as the streets are at this time, police will once again regain control and order will be restored. Not, it is hoped, at the

price of more lives.

What’s being done? In short, not enough. jut British Parliament last week okayed а 5 5 million objective to confront the issue. Part of these monies will go toward repairing dam- ages already done. Part will go toward assem- bling a special task force to curb the problem. Finally, a section will go toward paying the medical bills of the innocent bystanders who

have felt the effects of these crimes.

Officials advise Londoners not to make unnecessary trips out of their homes and to report any suspicious behaviour to а law-

enforcement official immediately.

(Below) An amateur photographer captured this shocking image of a bloody shoot-out between police and gang members. Only Officer Frank Carter (in plain clothes, far left) survived.

EXCLUSIVE: (cont*

'These are some of the stories that make up The Getaway, where you're either Mark Hammond, a retired thief whose past has caught up with him ina very ugly way-starting with your wife being killed and your son kidnapped. This is how you’re pulled back into London’s crime sector, doing jobs for England’s worst. Or you’re Frank Carter, a rogue cop who’s hot on the trail of these thugs and more than hungry for a bust.

The Getaway is a gritty, explosive crime story more than three years in the making. And it’s the making of it that truly differentiates it from any game ever produced.

From the beginning, the creators of The Getaway sought to make something that walked the line between the worlds of gaming and сілета-а game that would actually rival an action movie and capture the hearts and minds of their respective audiences.

“The Getaway shows that video games can become as boundless and

(Above, above right) An example of the painstaking detail that went into re-creating London's Regent Street for The Getaway. (Below) The man cast for the role of Frank Carter, the game rendering of his face and one in-game result.

And given that much of The Getaway is driving action, as much attention was paid to the cars as to the locations. In fact, any car, bus or cab can be car- jacked and driven for ahigh-speed getaway.

culturally significant as films.”

- Brendan McNamara, Director, The Getaway

They wanted their game to take place in London and have a decidedly British feel. To achieve this, their inspiration came from British gangster films of the past several decades.

The first step was to re-create London, which was essential to the concept of The Getaway as a whole. The locations for most video games are made up. Not with The Getaway. Forty square kilometers were reconstructed with painstaking detail. The product of this arduous process raises the level of realism ever obtained оп а gaming platform.

Next, unlike other games that just cast voices, The Getaway looked for the best actors for the roles, shot the scenes between the actors, then animated them using a propri- etary motion-capture technology. This effect gives it part of its unique cinematic feel. Everybody in the game, even the seemingly meaningless pedestrians, were cast, scanned and motion-captured.

But for as long as it took to create, the short answer is that The Getaway is quite possibly the most exciting and unique title that has ever come out for PlayStation 2. The most

> Ey

Setting the new standard. A stunning achievement in entertainment, The Getaway is packed wall-to-wall with stellar gameplay, plot twists and an unbelievable look into London's seamy underbelly. It can be played from the perspectives of two complete- ly different characters, revealing new plots of the game entirely. It is the ultimate combination of driving and shooting action, but more importantly, of film and video game.

The Getaway's graphics, gameplay and, most of all, story set the bar for games to come. But is it a game? Or is it a movie? One thing is certain: “By challenging existing production methods, The Getaway shows that video games can become as boundless and culturally significant as films? says Brendan McNamara, director of The Getaway. www.playstation.com

PlayStation.e

LIVE PLAY

IN YOUR WXRLD. IN OURS:

Blood Drug Reference Strong Language Strong Sexual Content Violence

” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

CONTENTS

MAGAZINE

www.playstationmagazine.com

A little bit more of everything

There are now close to 20 million people in the United States who own a PlayStation 2. Huge hits like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City sell crazy numbers in very short spaces of time (1.4 quadrillion copies in three days, or something similarly insane]. This holiday season it seemed that, once and for all, everyone was really starting to "get" that videogames are a really big thing. They're not the “next big thing"—they're just "big" and getting bigger. They've now been on the covers of Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly and featured in big stories in Rolling Stone. We've also seen stuff about them in the New York Times almost every Sunday. All of a sudden, everyone wants to get in on gaming. At last! It's only taken 20 years of gaming and seven years of PlayStation for the rest of the world to wake up to what we've known all along: Gaming is more than a pop-culture phenomenon—it is pop culture. It is entertainment. And it will continue to be more and more important.

Because of this, we've made some changes to the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, 5о we can accommodate more and more of what makes PlayStation so important in popular culture. We want to showcase the games and, just as important, we want to show how the PS2 is influencing every segment of entertainment. We hope you like it.

ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS

ZOE FLOWER

John Davison Editor-in-Chief

3 member

Polic

JOHN SCALZI

a

лісе, too.

Video Games Have Ratings, Just Like Movies

EARLY CHILDHOOD EVERYONE ADULTS ONLY е.

my oy mm fee ee The Entertainment Software ESRBEBESRB . EARLY EVERYONE TEEN MATURE ADULTS ONLY Rating Board provides infor- снцоноор RATING RATING RATING RATING mation about videogame RATING The E replaced Contains These games The extreme Deemed the previous suggestive contain more of the ratings, content. ESRB ratings are обер КА ating themes; mid adult themes, suitable intended as guidelines only; children 3 last year. or strong such as blood for adults only. А or older. Suitable for language; and gore; Packs sexual parents should still monitor pr kids ages and animated | stronger themes and minors' purchases. carrying this 6 and up, violence. language; extreme label have Erated 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. Trated games. under I AO-rated game. by parents.

PlayStation

ZIFF DAVIS M

DIA

[ THE MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief John Davison Managing Editor Gary Steinman Previews Editor Chris Baker News Editor Sam Kennedy Reviews Editor Joe Rybicki Associate Editor Todd Zuniga Gossip Columnist Clish MacLaver Editorial Contributors Zoe Flower, Jon M. Gibson, Ravi Scott Steinberg lapanese Correspondent Yutaka Ohbuchi European Correspondent Axel Strohm

DESIGN

Senior Art Director Bob Conlon

Art Director Jason “Buckshot” Babler Graphic Designer Tina Huynh

Illustration Penny Arcade, Andre Sibayan

COPY DESK Copy Chief Kristen Salvatore Copy Editors Tom Edwards, Greg Ford

PRODUCTION

Manufacturing Director Carlos Lugo

Senior Production Manager Anne Marie Miguel Assistant Production Manager Teresa Newson

‘Art Production Manager Michele Kellogg-Manousos

ZD GAME GROUP Senior Vice President Dale Strang Editorial Director John Davison Creative Director Simon Cox Business Director Cathy Bendoff

CIRCULATION Group Girculation Director Tracy Schultz

Single Copy Sales Director Bob Kerekes

Senior Newsstand Sales Manager Don Galen Internet and Partnership Marketing Dir. Chris Wilkes

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE NUMBER (800) 627-6458 (US. and Canada only)

subhelp@playstationmagazine.com TO SUBSCRIBE ONLINE

Mission Statement

The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine is the only Sony Computer Entertainment America-licensed magazine and is published by

Ziff Davis Media Inc. through an exclusive agreement. As such, the

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (OPM) remains independent from SCEA, and is a critical, autonomous voice that helps readers get more out of their PlayStation system by delivering the most current, compre- hensive, and candid coverage of PlayStation software and hardware.

SALES AND MARKETING

Group Publisher Lee Uniacke 415-357-4910 · lee_uniacke @ziffdavis.com Group Associate Publisher Stan Taigen 415-357-4915 - stan_taigen@ziffdavis.com BAY AREA (Bay Area Peninsula, NV, UT) Mary Gray, District Sales Representative 415-547-8782, fax: 415-547-8777

Aaron Gallion, Account Executive. 415-357-4925, fax: 415-547-8777 SOUTHWEST (Southern California; AZ) Emily Оітап, Account Executive 415-547-8781, fax: 415-547-8777

MIDWEST (AL, AR, CO, FL, IL, IN, KY, LA, ND, MI, MN, MO, MS, МЕ, NM, OH, OK, OR, SD, TN, TX, WA, WI, WY)

Marc Callison, Regional Sales Manager 630-810-4095, fax: 630-810-4099

Meighan O'Rourke, Account Executive 415-357-4920, fax: 415-547-8777

EAST (CT, DC, DE, GA, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, М, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT) lan Sindair, Regional Sales Manager 203-255-5795, fax: 203-255-4560

Mary Letson, Account Executive 415-357-5226, fax: 415-547-8777

KEY ACCOUNTS - WEST

Marci Yamaguchi, Regional Sales Manager 415-357-4944, fax: 415-547-8777

Amy Mishra, Account Executive 415-547-8780, fax: 415-547-8777

ONLINE SALES.

Jonathan Nagy, East Coast, 212-503-4685 Denise Clemetson, West Coast, 415-547-8564

Rey Ledda, Marketing Director, 415-547-8775

Wayne Shiu, Marketing Coordinator, 415-547-8248

Tipler Ubbelohde, Senior Advertising Coordinator, 415-357-4930 Kristeen Laut, Senior Sales Assistant, 415-547-8778 Amanda Nelson, Sales Assistant, 415-547-8783

ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA INC. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert E Callahan Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Bart W. Catalane Senior Executive Vice President (Publishing Operations) Tom McGrade Executive Vice President Stephen D. Moylan Executive Vice President and Editorial Director

(Editor-in-Chief, PC Magazine) Michael J. Miller Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Gregory Barton

Senior Vice President (Technology & Sales Operations) Jasmine Alexander Senior Vice President (Finance) Derek Irwin

Senior Vice President (Circulation) Charles Mast

Senior Vice President (Publishing Director, Baseline) Sloan Seymour Senior Vice President (Game Group) Dale Strang

Senior Vice President (Internet) Jason Young

Vice President (Corporate Sales) Ken Beach Vice President (Publisher, PC Magazine) Tim Castelli

Vice President (Integrated Media) Charles Lee

Vice President (Corporate Communications) Aimee D. Levine Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Internet) Jim Louderback

Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, eWEEK) Eric Lundquist

Vice President (Editorial Development) Bill Machrone

Vice President (Controller) David Mullen

Vice President (Human Resources) Beth Repeta

Vice President (Editor-in-Chief, Baseline) Tom Steinert-Threlkeld Vice President (Internet Audience Development) Stephen Sutton Vice President (Publisher, CIO Insight) Stephen Veith

Senior Director, Manufacturing Carlos Lugo Director, International Christin Lawson

(Contact anyone on this masthead via email using firstname lastname @ziffdavis.com)

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine [ISSN 41094-64683] is published monthly by Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Street, New York, МҮ 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at New York, МҮ 10016 and additional mailing offices. Standard A Enclosed. Single-issue rate: $8.99. Subscription Rates: One Year [12 issues and 12 demo discs] $49.97 U.S., $65.97 all other countries. 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. POST- MASTER: Send address changes to Official U.S. PlayStation 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 countries. Or visit our subscription website at http://service playstation magazine.com. The editors and publishers are not responsible for unsolicited materials. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, 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 on www.playstationmagazine.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_gonopolskyidziffdavis.com. For reprints, contact Reprint Management Services [RMS] at |800) 290-5460 or (717) 399-1900, or on the Web at www.reprintbuyer.com. ТМ & © for all other products and the characters con- tained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright holders. All materials in this magazine are subject to change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed іп the USA.

PlayStation

MAGAZINE

26 Mergers and Acquisitions Dragon Quest. Final Fantasy. Two of the biggest names in gaming. Now their owners are joining forces.

32 This Month in Games

Dive into our new and improved games and entertainment calendar.

34 Seminar in Chinese History Check out the first screens and info on Dynasty Warriors 4.

34 Zoe's World 35 Tiger Woods Sucks

...at his own videogame. Plus, more shocking revelations from golf's greatest.

36 Here's Frodo! We talk with Elijah Wood about Lord of the Rings videogames, J.R.R. Tolkien, and hairy feet.

38 TheAtoZ of PS2 Twenty-six things that have helped

Learn about words like "filth", - change all our lives forever. "copper" and "claret" in our huge multimedia special on The Getaway ах 48 ЅітЕтріге

REGULAR BITS Will Wright spills the beans about London's calling. SimLife, the SimUniverse, and Will you answer? SimEverything.

15 DEMO DISC Find everything

Get deep into London's under RU con CERE 48 The Insider

world with The Getaway, play Dark easily cee

Cloud 2, and much, much more ce чыш ы 52 No Doubt About It... our cover story. We talk to Gwen Stefani about

lending her luscious voice to Malice. 55 Clish MacLaver 58 CD Reviews 60 DVD Reviews

[You send us letters, we print your Wetters. Because we care. Here's the address

26 SPIN i Goku wonders why it What's "Squenix'? Nothing, what's goes begg when he 62 By the Numbers Squenix with you? HA HA HA HA A eres it

Ahem. Plus, the A to Z of PS2

Чун PREVIEWS REPLAY

More Vice City. More Tony Hawk 4 83 Aero Elite Combat Academy Orchid 116 Ratchet & Clank a 007. Nightfire, War of the 84 Batman: Dark Tomorrow Primal Maps aplenty and tips from the onsters, апае Біте; 85 Big Mutha Truckers PTO. IV testers on all the weapons. 72 Dark Cloud 2 Resident Evil Online 80 Devil May Cry 2 Return to Castle Wolfenstein 118 GTA: Vice City 134 PS. 68 Enter the Matrix RTX: Red Rock Score the secret cars at Sunshine

The gals of FFX-2, another wacky 72 Everblue 2 Seek and Destroy Autos and find the Hunter, fast! game/prem olen: ena the new 83 Evil Dead: Fistful of Boomstick Star Ocean: Till the End of Time home of Penny Arcade and PSAT. 85 Final Fantasy Origins StarCraft: Ghost 122 The Sims 66 Final Fantasy X-2 Street Racing Syndicate Stuck in Mom's house? We'll get 85 Jacked Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell you out of there in a hurry. 83 Jurassic Park: Project Genesis Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness 85 Lamborghini True Crime: Streets of L.A. 124 NHL2IG 73 LOTR: The Two Towers Vexx Finally, a PS2 game really worth 84 Масе Griffin: Bounty Hunter Wallace & Gromit pucking around with. 82 Midnight Club II X2: Wolverine's Revenge 72 My Street Xenosaga Episode 1 126 Contra: Shattered Soldier

130 Tony Hawk 4

Every secret spot revealed!

ON THIS MONTH'S PLAYABLE PS2 DVD

Mrs Power Racing 2 ised

Black & Brui Run Like Hell: Hunt or be Hunted

Shaun Mui Def Jam

"s Pro Wakeboarder

VIDEOS

James Bond 007: Ni;

Grand Theft Auto: Vice Tribes Aerial Assault

Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter

BEHIND THE GAME War of the Monsters Red Faction Il The Getaway

COOL

MOVES lution Skateboarding

Evolution NHL Hitz 2003 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII Bike: Street,

Vert, Dirt

13

OPM's quest to fill the magazine with hot chicks whenever humanly possible starts right here.

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 Q8A Sam Bradley, DeMario 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 demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked “OPH Replacement Disc" to the address below with the папе and address of the store plus your phone number and address and we'll send you the disc. Make sure you specify which month the corresponding disc belongs to in order to ensure you get the right one.

Also, if you have a malfunctioning or non-working demo disc, сай SCEA at 1-800-345-SONY. They will provide instructions to obtain repair o replacement services.

‘Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc included is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase. SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its

option, the SCEA product. You must call 1-800-345-50NY to receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement ser- vices.

This warranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if the defect in the SCEA product has arisen through abuse, unreasonable use, mistreatment, neglect, or breakage during shipment. THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTA- TIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BINDING (ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES APPLICABLE TO THIS SOFTWARE PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE LIMITED TO THE NINETY (90) DAY PERIOD DESCRIBED ABOVE. IN NO EVENT WILL SCEA BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM POSSESSION, USE, OR

MALFUNCTION OF THE SCEA SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty tasts and/or exclusions or limitations of consequential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may nat apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state to state.

OPM 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 andor their licensors. See individual screens for details. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Please submit all related demo disc inquiries to: OPM Demo Disc, Inquiries, 919 E. Hillsdale Drive, Foster City, CASUM

VICIOUS!

THE GETAWAY LEADS THIS MONTH'S DEMOS

When you're done getting gritty on the mean streets of London, check out these fun and educational ways to pass the time with the other great demos on our disc. And don’t forget to check out all the videos and other extras you'll find beyond the playables.

DEF JAM VENDETTA

THE DETAILS:

Pick from one of four wrestlers (Def Jam artists Redman and Method Man represent), then get yo’ wrestle on at a nightclub. You've got four minutes to put your opponent down.

ATV: QUAD POWER

THE DETAILS: Holy crap. The first ATV: QPR was complete and utter garbage. What the heck happened?! This game is fun, looks sharp, and seems startlingly realistic compared to Offroad Fury. Neat.

BLACK & BRUISED

THE DETAILS: Cel-shading hits the box- ing circuit, and while it looks really nice, we've got some serious com- plaints in the control department. Still, those characters...they’re like, cartoons, or something.

RATCHET & CLANK

THE DETAILS: This enormous, two-level demo will give you a pret- ty good idea of what Ratchet & Clank is all about. You get to galumph around the vast expanses of both Blackwater City and Metropolis.

DARK CLOUD 2

THE DETAILS: Visit a town, visit a dun- geon, fight a boss, or

watch two movies, one of which features the Georama elements of the game. Can you believe how much better this looks than the original?

HAVE YOU TRIED...

...à flying elbow? Run at the ropes with Redman by pressing Circle, then when you're near the ropes, press X. The ropes play like a trampoline. ..ball-busting? Play as Redman and build up his Special meter (use the right analog stick to taunt, even). Once the meter's shimmering, push the right analog. Then get close to your opponent and hold X for a strong grapple. Then push the right analog.

RACING 2

HAVE YOU TRIED... -..Dailing a backflip? Charge up your Jump meter and pull back on the stick before you leave the ramp. Invert for a front flip. Try two ina row. -..getting a 200-point Wheelie, Stoppie, or Bicycle? Your best bet with a Wheelie is to do it downhill. We're not really sure why. Stoppies are best uphill, and to pull off the Bicycle, you'll need to just keep revving around in circles. Go sLow for all of these.

HAVE YOU TRIED...

«powering up? Hit R2 and you gain some extra juice in your swing, as well as а little extra speed and agility. If the whole game controlled like this, we'd be looking forward to it a Lot more.

«not getting annoyed by the Kung fu-film voiceovers? Why on Earth would we want to sit there and listen to two cookie-cutter characters trading lines of strained dialog ? We wanna fight!

HAVE YOU TRIED... -..getting the Heli-Pack upgrade? In Metropolis City, you'll be able to buy this handy gadget at Al's Robot Shack. Once you have it, head on back to the beginning of the level and see if you can access any new areas.

„escaping the flooding rooms ? This is one of the hardest sections of Blackwater City. Here's a hint: The running Heli-Pack jump covers ground quickly.

HAVE YOU TRIED...

inking up an invention? Take photos of a pipe, a milk can, and a belt. Then hit Triangle and choose Make. Pick the three photos as “seeds” of ап inven- tion and you'll create a jetpack (ог “back tank” as this version so charmingly calls it]. See what else you can come up with. „getting people to pose for your? Most characters will ham it up for the camera.

WAR: MONSTER

REALLY BIG MONSTERS. REALLY BRUTAL FIGHTS. Imagine a classic 1950s monster ith a modern twist, no guys in rubber suits, no bad actors, no subtitles. You're a ot monster and you're looking for a fight. Roam through striking cityscapes, toss swing girders and launch debris. Everything around you is a weapon. Trigger tidal

| thquakes; destroy everything in your path. Hope you have the will to win. And ital plan. ONLY THE MEANEST MONSTER SURVIVES. teen

movie \

www.playstation.com Violence

гала

PlayStation.?

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY ІМ OURS:

THE ESRB VIDEO & ноа САМЕ RATINGS

Find out whether a computer or video game is right for your home.

Learn more about the Entertainment Software Review Board rating system and how games get rated on www.esrb.org.

This message is brought to you by the Editors of:

PlayStation

EARLY CHILDHOOD

ES RE BY

MATURE

Es RB BY

ADULTS ONLY g

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

RATING PENDING

| n Visit wweesrb.org or call

1-800-771-3772 for more info. CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

EARLY CHILDHOOD

Titles rated “Early Childhood (EC)” have content that may be suitable for children ages three and older and do not contain any material that parents would find inappropriate.

EVERYONE

Titles rated “Everyone (E)” have content that may be suitable for persons ages six and older. These titles will appeal to people of many ages and tastes. They may contain minimal violence, some comic mischief (for example, slapstick comedy), or some crude language.

TEEN

Titles rated “Teen (T)” have content that may be suitable for persons ages 13 and older. Titles in this category may contain violent content, mild or strong language, and/or suggestive themes.

MATURE

Titles rated “Mature (M)” have content that may be

suitable for persons ages 17 and older. These products may include more intense violence or language than

products in the Teen category. In addition, these titles

may also include mature sexual themes.

ADULTS ONLY

Titles rated "Adults Only (AO)" have content suitable only for adults. These products may include graphic depictions of sex and/or violence. Adults Only products are not inten-ded to be sold or rented to persons under the age of 18.

RATING PENDING Product has been submitted to the ESRB and is awaiting final rating.

THE ADVENTURE |

OF A LIFETIME AWAITS YOU,..ONLINE.

aft ў

SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMEN'

Customize your character's name, face, armor, abilities, race and class—from barbarian warrior to elfin wizard.

Meet and team up with players worldwide in massively multiplayer online adventures.

Buy, sell and trade magical swords, spears, armor,

shields and more. Master spells, combat

skills and special moves, Browing in power as your character progresses.

Join thousands of players online as | you design and build a hero in the mystical land of Norrath—a persistent,

role-playing world alive with adventure

| and excitement. Conquer challenging

SONY ONLINE n ENTERTAINMENT i

quests, battle a multitude of | monsters and interact with thousands

p L PlayStation. | of others in the online

adventure of a lifetime.

www.everquest.com/eqoa

INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED. ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIPTION FEES REQUIRED.

Suggestive Themes

Violence

) j y /

BROADBAND AND DIAL-UP

Game Experience May Change During Online Play.

Online play requires Internet connection and Network Adaptor (sold separately). | EverQuest is a registered trademark and Online Adventures ond the Online icon ore trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. SOE and the SOE logo ore registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. © 2007 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Al rights reserved. “PlayStation”

ond the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. The ratings icon is о registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association, All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

INPUT

about? Find out here!

What's everyone talking

GOING BLUE EARLY: Traci Lords starred in adult

films before going legit. Here are our favorite titles: Whore

of the Worlds, Tailhouse Rock, and Porn In the U.S.A.

4 MAGAZINE

Looks like you are as excited about War of the Monsters as we are. After putting it on last month's cover, we've gotten scores of responses, including this enthusiastic note from Joel Tonda: “War of the Monsters kicks ass really hard." That it does, Joel. Check out the other reader responses

inspired by our “monstrous” January issue.

Never have | made a more painful

mistake than now. When | first

received Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

in the mail, | played

nonstop. In fact, in

my first run, |

managed to pull

off 92 percent in

about a week without

cheating or using a strategy guide | figured | would buy the strate-

gy guide simply to complete this

hard task of getting 100 percent.

So, | played through everything

this time, getting 75 percent within

the first four days (aren't games

easier when you've played through

them before?)

That being said, | don't think Гуе met one person who doesn't like to cheat when they are having fun with GTA—slow motion, the ever-glitchy Gore mode, etc. So | printed out the cheats to Vice City promptly.

Then | read a frightening and morbid rumor on the Web. | con- tinued to beat the game [finishing Fire Truck and Ambulance mis- sions with flying colors], only to find the rumor was true. The Lock-down system! The rumor was that if one cheated during Vice City, the game would lock down

your percentages so that you could

never exceed 99 percent.

CONTACT OPM

Snail Май OPM 101 Second Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105

E-mail opm@ziffdavis.com and check us out at www.playstationmagazine.com

Fax

If you need to reach us now 415.5478777

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

My heart ached in horror at the site of my percentages. | have to play all over again

This is a warning, citizens of Vice City. | will now proceed to weep In a corner.

Sean Marks lgabriel3(àyahoo.com

The old adage: Cheaters never win and winners never cheat holds true. But ouch, Rockstar. This is one cruel "trick."

| just had a flash of pure genius! What if someone were to make a Tenacious D videogame? Think about it and realize the potential. Seriously, who wouldn't want to buy a fighting game in which you could be Wonder Boy, Young Nasty Man, Shiny Demon Thing, etc.? Or even better, an action-adventure game called Tenacious D: The Wrath of K.G. You play as K.G., and you smash up things with your guitar. Or you can be Jack Black and use your "inward singing" to talk K.G. into resolving the argu- ment. It would soar to the top of the charts and break records in a single day. Let's hope some major game developers take notice of this letter. | am crossing my fin- gers while | type (and it's really starting to hurt].

Sammy Stern feeblegib1(dhotmail.com

With Def Jam: Vendetta taking the chance of tying hip-hop and games, we're hoping there's

MY GAME WILL BE PS2 SUPREME!

even more weaving of pop cul- ture and games. But we'll do our part to put a big picture of the beautiful Jack Black on our cover if the time comes. Deal?

Does the ESRB rating system stand for anything? | used to explain to people that, in my opinion, the PS2 was really the system for adults. Now, all of the sudden PS2 is the only system to censor the game. Bad move. This signals the end of my PS2 gam- ing career. Obviously, I'll be fin- ishing Vice City before | sell my system, but | feel the need to make a statement and try (as small as my singular effort may be...] to send a message to the gaming companies: There are adult gamers who will support adult gaming. If you are going to enter the arena of adult gaming, do it right. Let the rating system do its job (ESRB gave the the game an all-clear "M for Mature” rating. Not the dreaded "Adults Only” that Sony said was the only thing it wouldn't allow]. So, stand by it! The whole reason for having a rating system is so parents can look at a game and say, "Sorry, kid, it says here that there's boobs (ог maybe lots of vio- lence].... Have to wait to get this one till you're an adult." Anyone heard of XXX movies? Seems like the rating system for those has worked.

gamer69z@witty.com

The point you're missing is that Sony's adult enough not to worry about the repercussions of banning the nudity in BMX XXX— because it's a game that isn't worth having on a system. If Sony is going to go to war with naysayers over showing breasts, this isn't the game to do it in. It's a biking game that previously featured breasts. Think about that. It's contextually ridiculous and shows off no signs of intelli- gence. Plus, the game stinks.

GAMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT

From message boards to printed page

Traci Lords

No one will mind if you play naked.

BROADBAND AND DIAL-UP

Look for this icon on ATV Offroad Fury”2 and other PlayStation.2 games with online capability.

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS:

www. playstation.com. Online play requires Internet connection and Network Adaptor for PlayStation 2 (sold separately). "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logos are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ATV Offroad Fury is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Developed by Rainbow Studios. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “Live In Your World. Play In Ours” and the “Online” logo are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc

f THE FOLLOW UP TO THE ACTION-PACKED ZONE OF THE ENDERS: IDOLO ORIGINAL VIDEO ANIMATION MOVIE

gous or THE GND ER d 1. DOLORES.) |

Based on the Best Selling Playstation 2 Game

1992.200:

ANIMATION FOR А NEW GENERATION WWW.ADVFILMS.COM • INFO@ADVFILMS.COM

Zone of the Enders: Idolo c: 2001 SUNRISE « VAP

‘SUGGESTED AVAILABLE AT THESE AND OTHER FINE RETAILERS:

samgoody

got,

SEM U SIS amance

INPUT

THE ARGOS? I'ma Canadian gamer, and I want a Canadian Football League game! There would be nothing better than tak- ing the Argos througha dynasty or play- ing at a stadium I've actually been to. Plus, our balls are bigger! Anne Fisher afisher001(a sympatico.ca

A football game with talentless no-names? We'll just play NCAA Football 2003 with the Tulsa Hurri- canes, thank you very much.

CAN'T PLAY THAT ONE 1 know this is а long shot, but is there any chance of Triple Play 2003 being online? Khaotixmind@ bmts.com

Nope. Because TP is dead—EA is replacing it with MVP Baseball. No word yet if it'll be online.

HOT STUFF

Do you think the blonde girl from Rygar looks like Britney Spears? Krilley84@aol.com

Check out Dream Cast (pg. 48) for our answer!

Set the Record Straight Who wrote your coverage for BMX XXX? A woman or a gay man? It’s got boobs, jokes like “Hot salty nut-sacks here!” and the gameplay is good. Yet, you continue to say you don't like it? What's up?

Dan Copenharve dcopenharve(dhotmail.com

If you've not liked what we've Said about the game in the past, you surely won't like Mr. Zuniga's review this month. Though Todd makes himself an easy target for jabs of all manner, it doesn't change the fact that BMX XXX is a bad game. The control is average, the camera is atrocious, and the name Copenharve is dumb. You like salty nut- sacks, too?

First. OPM. Ever.

| really, really, really want to see the cover of the first OPM ever. Can you tell me how it looks?

from hadiff789(àyahoo.com Nayyer Habeebuddin hydarabadi(àmsn.com

Because we at OPM have always had a soft spot for the last name Habeebuddin, we'll do one better than describe it. We'll show it to you right...now.

Official US.

Online Gaming Blues With Xbox's new live online campaign, I’m worried my PS2

All the reader mail that's fit to print

is falling behind. What's the deal? It seems every game coming out on Xbox is online now, and my SOCOM needs a break. Here are some ideas for PS2 online games: StarCraft, WarCraft 3, Armored Core, Gran Turismo, TimeSplitters 2. Heck, even Monopoly would be a treat! Give me a hint for what's in store for online console gamers like me.

Laguna Loire sagapenn02(@hotmail.com

Not much of a Madden gamer, huh? Maybe you should try a PC with that game list? For PS2 online, you have to be patient (we've stopped get- ting frustrated when our favorite games don't appear online). The good news is that the next TimeSplitters will be online, as will the next Gran Turismo. As for Armored Core, it was online in Japan, but the set-up isn't read here yet.

Poppin' Wheelies In your OPM issue 64, page 145, when you mention riding wheelies in Vice City, you say, try to keep a wheelie for 20 seconds." | did this a long time ago, and | beat 20 seconds by an assload—which is a lot, mind you. My personal record is 573 seconds, or ? minutes, 33 seconds. | know it won't be hard to do, but | want to see if anyone else can beat my record (or already has). I'd like to start a time war, much like one with the Dodo flight time in Grand Theft Auto IIl. That ended with someone named “noops” flying for roughly 49 hours straight [ог at least leaving fly- ing, pausing, etc.]. Zach Durlin zquid(dhotmail.com

We're having a hard time believing you, because we've only been able to keep an 11- second wheelie (we were pre- tending we did 20 seconds]. What's your trick? And who can beat Zach's time?

PlayStation.e

TM

www.koeigames.com

ele

Warriors Return, and the Battle Rages On...

IE IP We abit Zee |

7 Untold Stories | Customize Your Bodyguards

Play as 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! риз " Play XTREME LEGENDS by itself or with Dynasty Warriors 3 " ian I! to power up the original with new XL features. Memory € New "Very Hard" Difficulty Level! @-2-Player Co-op & Versus Modes! REMIX Y

Card data is fully compatible between both games,

! MSRP $29.99

Mild Language sees logo is a trademark of KOEI Co., Ltd. in Japan and/or other Countries.

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

The patent application claiming "Character Group Battle Method" is pending before the USPTO. je

INPUT

You asked, so we answered

ASK US ANYTHING!

From bad data to books to Syphon Filter

E Ou BASEBALL ACROSS T5 3» AMERICA he: Ud ® Q. Why hasn't there | ;

IS much talk of any online baseball games? Vankoyicfdaol.com

A. Because it’s freezing outside. Next month, we'll have baseball informa- tion for what looks to be an awesome gaming season for hardball fans.

CORRUPTED! Q. Little blue boxes keep showing up on my PS2 memory card that say “Corrupted Data.” What exactly are they, and can | delete them?

Walker Donaldson picolofantwrld.com

A. It's basically a data file that’s been bitten by a bug, and d then it won't load anymore. Delete

away—it’s useless in its current state.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Q. Why is Infogrames called Infogrames? Doesn't “Infrogames” or “Inforgames” sound/look better? | know it's French, but what's up with the name?

Nick Riley

SpideyBuddy(@msn.com.

A. For better (and easier] name recognition, the company has started putting its ownership of Atari to good use, branding many of its games as such. Seems Infogrames tired of being chastised for its Frenchness. Can you blame ‘em, really?

START THE PRESSES

Q. | have been curious

about this for a while:

How early do you send

a magazine to the presses before it’s actually out on shelves? The December 2002 issue was due out

on shelves on November 5. So

when would you have finished it and

sent it off to be printed?

irishmalt

(from the OPM message board)

A. We're actually about 11 months ahead of schedule—you guys are gonna go nuts over our preview on GTA: Reykjavik! Seriously, we have what's called a one-month “lead time.” Right now, on December 11, we're finishing up the issue that will hit store shelves on January 14. Many popular magazines have four- to six- month lead times—but we wouldn't

be timely if we had just reviewed Sly Cooper.

FIGHT CLUB

Darnell Williams

dwill2640fayahoo.com

A. Choke is another Chuck Palahniuk best-seller, plus the movie rights have been bought. But we liked Survivor the best. So read that, though it starts out slower than Vice City. Another book to check out if 1 you want to read (but don't like the high-school curriculum stuff]: The Best American Non-required Reading 2002. You'll love it.

WE'RE #1! 0. | heard Rockstar is the second- biggest third-party publisher, and Infogrames is also up there. Where can | see this entire list? And for God's sake, who is No.1? No one ever says who is the biggest.

Paul James nbk17(@yourmom.com

A. EA's easily the biggest. To figure out “ the order, look at stock = profiles for big companies and then list their market-cap numbers in order. EA is something crazy like $12 billion right now!

SYPHON FILTER: SUBSTANCE 0. Is there any chance the Syphon Filter series will return for PS2? Dan Taylor someguythatreallylikesps2(dyahoo.com

A. We can verify that, yes, it's coming. Excited? No details yet, but we'll tell all once we have them!

HAVE SONGS, WILL TRAVEL

Q. | made my own Frequency remixes. Can | transfer these songs from my memory card to a CD?

Jason Alvarado

alvetude(@hotmail.com

A. Nope. But try running your PS2 audio cables (the red and white ones) through a tape deck or PC to record. Like eating a Reese's

Peanut Butter Cup,

there's no wrong f

way to do it.

Walk a Mile in Shinobi's Shoes In issue 64 you had a Shinobi article. You said to go to Nike.com if | wanted Hotsuma’s split-toe shoes. | want them! But they're not on the site. Help. Ryan Colby

Lordicon06(@aol.com

The way the Nike.com site changes, it's tough to find anything at all (let alone something on the site for a second time in two days). That's why we're showing a picture of the shoes right here. If you really want the shoes, don't try to find them online. Just go to a Niketown near you.

That's where Rybicki got his!

Permanent Marker

A small picture on page 23 of your January issue caught my eye. Nineteen-year-old Mary Durall had sent in a snapshot of herself with the Squaresoft logo permanently embla- zoned on her left arm. Beneath the picture was the caption, "Should we be impressed...or frightened?" You Should be impressed! Tattoos are used to express everything from reli- gion to biker gang affiliation. So why not show one's love for videogames? | believe this type of expression is more common than we think, and just to show that Mary is not alone, | have attached a picture of my first tattoo. This symbol was seen in various places in Final Fantasy VIII. It looked so cool that | decided to have it perma- nently etched into my skin. Right now, I'm saving up for an Army Men tattoo. Just kidding. Really.

Ryan Greene

ArtemisJRG(daol.com

Our worst fears have been realized. John just had a barbed-wire Gran Turismo logo etched around his left arm, Gary just put a Rikku tattoo over his heart, Joe now has Yorda on his right shoulder blade, Sam has a fiery Contra "C" on his neck, Chris has a Dynasty Warriors logo on his right butt cheek, and Todd has an NHL 2K3 teardrop under his right eye. This tattoo thing is sweeping the nation!

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. HTP. Pe

2 P^ ‹ 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.

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.”

ШІ! nrw RSS жш T 7

Б ЭР - 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.

> «uL lo

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD PLAY IN OURS

PlayStation.

MATURE

Blood

FERT

7

Violence

oe

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS:

DEVASTATOR

COME ON, IT'S CALLED THE DEVASTATOR. WHAT DO YOU THINK IT DOES?

IT STANDS FOR RIP YOU A NEW ONE. GET IT? €

о Т ESPASSER 1 4

TESLA CLAM —

YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO PAY ‘LET'S JUST SAY THE RESULTS “АНЕ NOT PRETTY.

MORPH-0-RAY MWALLOPER ORDER CHICKEN? d REALLY, § es ‘ AS IIO

е

CHO NA RTTY A www.playstation.com tå ark of Sony Compute tainme reated and develope

VISIBOME

f REMOTE CONTROLLED MISSILE WITH A MOUNTED GAMERA THAT GUIDES IT STRAIGHT INTO YOUR ENEMY-SAY CHEESE.

PYROCITOR

WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR ENEMIES MEDIUM OR WELL-DONE?

“HYDRO — HISPLALER

К TUS es

NU EET HB. |

Mild Violence

PlayStation. — zzz

News, views, opinion, wit and wisdom

CAST YOUR VOTES

We want to know what you think are the very best games of 2002, so be sure to head on over to www.playstationmagazine.com and make your voice heard!

eet

ENSIDE SPIN

“Your guide to everything PlayStation

32 34 38 46 48 55 58

Day Planner

Dive into our new and improved games and entertainment calendar.

Zoe's World

Ms. Flower stops to ponder why her favorite hobby is so misunderstood

PS2 From A to Z

26 reasons to love your PlayStation 2, including porn star Jenna Jameson

Sega Ages Find out which Sega classics will be reborn under a new gaming label

SimEmpire Five fabulous questions with Will Wright, creator of The Sims

Clish Maclaver Our hot Scot tracks down the latest gossip on all things gaming

Media Blowout

Three pages of CD reviews, DVD news and reviews, and other goodies

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

GAME OF

* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

* Kingdom Hearts

* Madden NFL 2003

* Medal of Honor: Frontline

* Ratchet & Clank

* Rygar

* Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus

* SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs

* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

* Virtua Fighter 4

* Burnout 2

* F12002

* Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

* V-Rally 3

* WRC

BEST ADVI

* Deus Ex: The Conspiracy

* Fatal Frame

* Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

* Onimusha 2

* Rygar

CTION GAME * Contra: Shattered Soldier * Hitman 2 * Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers * Shinobi * TimeSplitters 2

BEST P ис

* Haven

* Pac-Man World 2

* Ratchet & Clank

* Sly Cooper and the Theivius Raccoonus

* Ty the Tasmanian

* Marvel vs. Capcom 2

* Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance

* Tekken 4

* Virtua Fighter 4

* War of the Monsters

Bi GAME * FIFA 2003

* Madden NFL 2003

* NBA 2K3

* NCAA College Football 2003

* NHL 2K3

GAN

* James Bond 007: NightFire

* Socom: U.S. Navy SEALs

* Super Bust-A-Move 2

* TimeSplitters 2

* Twisted Metal: Black Online

BEST RPG

* Dynasty Tactics

* Grandia Xtreme

* Kingdom Hearts e Suikoden III

e Wild Arms 3

TREME-SPORTS

* Aggressive Inline * ATV Offroad Fury * BMX XXX * Mat Hoffm: Pro BMX 2 * Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

PS1 GAME OF THE YEAR

* Arc the Lad Collection

* Capcom vs. SNK Pro

* Gundam Battle Assault 2

* The Italian Job

* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

TOGETHER AT LAST

t's one of those things you

could never imagine hap-

pening—but then it does. Square and Enix, the two biggest names in role-playing games, have merged. Starting April 1 (no, this is not an April Fool's joke], the two companies will officially become one, taking on the moniker Square Enix, Inc. Under the reorganiza- tion, Square President Yuichi Wada

The two biggest names in role-playing games, Square and Enix, have merged into one

will become president of the new company, with Enix President Keiji Honda stepping in as Vice President.

According to the two companies, the reasoning behind the merger is to combat rising development costs, along with stronger competi- tion in the marketplace. “This is an offensive move,” Wada said. “The decision was made in order to fur-

ther please game players, and in order for us to survive.”

It also gives both companies the ability to play off of each other's strengths. “Both companies serve as ideal complements to one another," Wada continued. "We may have big titles such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but their styles are different and they are viewed differently by players.” Enix,

for example, has close ties with well-respected developers like tri-Ace (Star Ocean 3), something Square could well make use of. Square, on the other hand, has

a large presence in the American market, an area in which Enix is currently lacking. Online gaming is also a component of the merger, with Enix now having access to Square's PlayOnline tools. The

possibility of a Dragon Quest Online is already being discussed. Naturally, the biggest question on everyone's minds is whether or not this megamerger will result in some sort of a Dragon Warrior- Final Fantasy crossover. Not sur- prisingly, the idea is being explored. "Since both companies have come together now, I'd like to see something that could not have

Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)

Fans of the music in Xenogears, Chrono Trigger, and Chrono Cross ought to check out Time and

™ Space—A Tribute to Yasunori Mitsuda. For more info on the CD, see www.oneupstudios.com.

All you other RPG developers might as well give up

United States, but in Japan

Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior to us} is them

franchise, with Final Fantasy coming in a close second. So believe us when we say that Enix's recent announcement of Dragon Quest VIII for PS2 was a huge deal in Japan.

Dragon Warrior VII developer Heartbeat recently closed up shop, so Enix signed up Dark Cloud developer Level-5 to handle the development duties on this one (notice the sig- nature cel-shaded look?). Series director Yuji Horii, along with other Enix team members, will still overlook game design and direction. x

So who knows? With the new look and Square's involve- ment, Dragon Warrior fever may take over the United States when VIII hits in early 2004.

Dragon Lagoon Revealed

company made up of former Ridge Васе! members that left Namco. The gam action—you'll face battles on both the with no transition in between. Lagoon mer and hopefully the United States soon after.

Orchestral Game Concert Though seeing live performances of videogame music put on by symphony orchestras is quite popular in Japan, it’s something that’s never made its way over to the States. Until now, that is. On May 16, | will get its first live performance of game music leogames Live at the Hollywood Bowl.” The two-a

Expo [ЕЗ), is said to feature found іп the greatest videoga: its producers. The good news | that if you're unable to make it to the concert, you can still catch it on pay-per-view or find it later on DVD and CD.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Ls

А

From left to right: Square President Yuichi Wada, Enix Chairman Yasuhiro Fukushima, and Enix President Keiji Honda. This is before they began fighting over who will get the largest office.

been done if we weren't together," Wada admitted. "It doesn't necessarily have to be something that crosses Dragon Warrior with Final Fantasy, however.” According to Wada, though, the most important goal is simply to come up with something innovative and new. "Gamers' tastes have changed greatly over the years, and the entertainment and media environment has changed along with it," he explained. "The ques- tion is, How can we connect with this change and innovate with it? The aim of this merger is to build a new structure that's capable of producing the innova- tion we need."

Unfortunately, it'll likely be a long while until we actually see any games

that will directly come about as a result of this merger—perhaps not until the PS3 hits in 2005. But in the meantime, the joining of the two companies should create a powerful brand and help strengthen each side's lineup. Who

knows? Maybe Enix titles like Star Ocean 3 will finally get the exposure that they deserve in the States.

Interestingly, this merger also signi- fies a likely end to Square's distribution relationship with EA. What's more, since Sony already owned a significant share of Square's stock, this merger now gives Sony a healthy stake in the Dragon Quest developer, too. Approximately eight per- cent of the new company's shares belong to Sony—which is perhaps why Enix also admitted to having over 20 PS2 games in development.

The promise for this new joint venture seems spectacular. "The idea that we'd be able to produce some amazing things if our two companies worked together is

“I want to produce games that are out of this world."

-Enix president Keiji Honda

something that Wada and | have been thinking about for a long time,” said Enix VP Honda. "I want to produce games that will make gamers throughout the world take notice. | want to produce games that are out of this world.”

~

Previous Enix-Square S

Partnership?

Believe it or not, but this merger isn't the first time that the two RPG giants have worked together. Near the tail end of the 16-bit era, Square and Enix col- laborated on Chrono Trigger, a game billed as an RPG from the makers of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. Though the title was programmed by Square, many of the key Dragon Warrior staff, including director Yuji Horii and artist Akira Toriyama (also known for Dragon Ball 2), worked on the game.

STREAM

Activision Go Ape

Despite recent rumors of THQ nabbing Ape Escape 2 for the U.S., it appears Activision will now be doing the publishing honors. Look for it soon

Greater Tactics

Koei has revealed Dynasty Tactics 2 for PS2. Look for a whole bunch of new features and an added emphasis on combos in battles when the game hits later this year.

Geek Fest 2003

This August, the first-ever Ultimate Gamers Expo will be held at L.A.'s Staples Center. Open to the public, it’s being hailed as an E3 for game enthusiasts, rather than pro- fessionals. For more info, check out

Heavenly Rockstar

SAN DIEGO

Rockstar recently purchased Angel Studios, makers of the Smuggler's Run and Midnight Club series. Similar to renam- ing Grand Theft Auto developer DMA Designs as Rockstar North, Angel will now be called Rockstar San Diego

(Continued) Tom Brady's brilliance continues in NFL GameDay™ 2003, where he'll take the helm for the Patriots again. This time as the starter, not the young kid waiting for a break. One thing's for sure: he's the guy that every other team is gunning for, and that's a tough spot to be in.

With this in mind, count on Brady to call a number of plays using NFL GameDay 2003's new *Hot Routes." This new feature allows the quarterback to change a receiver's pass

route at the line of scrimmage based on what Чеввссс in the setup of the opponent's choSemidelillisesBefenses are once again very tough in ХЕ батерау Ф002,-у/һеге new

multi-player саб 6 provides I Nasi

realistic football action Cven Bub ІР defenses fail to wrap up the ballcarric ШӨ will see one of 70 new “break tackle" anî AOI This means every play will be different ай guys like Tom Brady can enjoy the highest replay value ever (and add to their constantly growing highlight reels).

Another part of the game that Brady looks forward to is the 2,200 fluid animations, including 300 amazing new tackles and catches — all of these under the most

responsive control ever offered. When defenses take hold of a man and tackle him into the ground, it’s not only something witnessed, but also felt. Perhaps this is one feature that Brady could have done without.

While some players would have enjoyed the time to rest during the off-season, Brady embraced the chance to improve. In fact, even with the departure of his quarterback mentor, Brady knows the Patriots are still looking great. As is every team in NFL GameDay 2003,

PlayStation.c

Ое emotion to the players, whether they're celebrating a touchdown or gathering their pride after an embarrassing sack. Sources also say Brady was *blown away by GameDay's

new 60-frames-per-second gameplay," which puts the athleticism of the NFL irato each player like never before.

NFL GameDay 2003 starts off with a bang, featuring all 32 NFL teams and updated team rosters, including the latest trades a_nd free-

and-new stadium of the ar own.

regular season warms up, Bready and ats will have their work cut out for them. though they're a preseason pick Ey most to win their division, nothing is for <ertain. Except, of course, that Brady will see for the first time the agonizing effort it tzakes to defend a championship. He's going to take some licks, but you can expect tO see the same kind of winning spirit that makes him a great leader and one of toda y 7 s finest all-around quarterbacks.

1 the “PS” Family logo are 2 NFL Properties LLC.

ive and 989 Sports de ks of Sony Comput inment America Inc lainment America Inc.

е "Online"

PLAYERS E

www.989sports.com

A true fan

Knows the organist and the mascot’s real identity.

Would play for free.

Has never caught a ball, but always brings a mitt.

Et nderstands the infield fly rule.

SEQUEL TO THE TOP-RATED BASEBAL , GAME BY OPM, GAMEPRO AND ЕСМ.

Screenshots from PlayStation'2 computer entertainment system

RATING SPENDING ieee

Visit www.esrb.org or

7 PC call 1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information. S cD CONTENT RATED BY i ES 2 Е

PlayStation.e xBox bAEbLBE. ROM www.3D0.com

© 200 3 The ЗОО Company. All Rights Reserved. 300, High Heat, Two On Two Showdown, and their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of The 300 Company in the U.S. and other countries. © MLBPA Official Licensee - Major League Baseball Players Association. Visit the Players Choice on the web at v bigleaguers.com. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. Visit the official web si te at MLB.com. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. ТМ, ©, Game Boy Advance and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo Micros. oft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Can spot a change-up a mile away.

Will hug a stranger over a sac fly.

Can name the farm teams. Double-A, too. Heck, Single-A.

Can find the shortest hot dog line.

Only plays HIGH HEAT"

"This is the only next-generation title that realistically

re-creates every facet of the game." = ЕСМ [March 2002]

"Console baseball's first grand slam." — OPM (March 2002]

„ПУЭН H9/H

New graphics include all new, motion-captured animations

New Career and Franchise modes include full Minor Leagues" system (AAA, AA, А) and unlimited seasons

Two On Two Showdown" mode for the ultimate quick game fun

R

с Y К > E | ! I

Improved award-winning controls, A.I., and baseball realism

Curt Schilling consulted to create 27 individual pitch types REAL. BASEBALL.

www.highheat.com

HOW TO AVOID A HOLIDAY HANGOVER

1. Never drink on an empty stomach. 2. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after the festivities. 3. Avoid the cheap stuff, especially crappy red wine. 4. When you get home, don't take a preventative painkiller. Instead, try a multivitamin chased by a big glass of water.

` OSPIN JANUARY 2K3

SUNDAY

Spooky poet Edgar Allen Poe was born today in 1809. Janis Joplin arrived 134 years later. Both are now dead.

Super, Bowl XXXVII takes place today. Of course, the pregame coverage started back in August.

Ө) Official US. PlayStation Magazine

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY | If you lived in J.R.R. Tolkien It's New Scotland, you'd get would be eleventy- Year’s Day. \ today off. But you one (111) if he were

Joan of Arc born on this day in 1412.

2:

m

LucasArts is set to release Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb.

^ ү Maybe Nic Cage will

4

Despite Martin Luther King’s real birthday being last week, today’s the

Mozart and Lewis Carroll's birthdays

M

| „want a copy for his

„38th birthday. Or maybe not.

The Simsiis out. Manage the toilet habits of your PS2...thrilling, huh? If you don't like the sound of that, buy this

Hope don't...so it's back still alive. Have

you don't to work. Boo. Hiss. you sat through

havea Sucks. the six hours of

hangover. Я RAN , documentary ‚ к=

footage about him p^ f 4 on the Fellowship (о. E > 4 @ DVD yet? ITE y 52% Á УА

Elvis Presley would be 68 if he hadn't died on the crapper. Stephen Hawking is a sprightly 61.

7

Chuck, Berry bı т”

1926 and Martin Luther King Jr. born 1929. To cele- brate, head to the comic book store

3235

Robert, Redford's Sundance Film Festival starts (www.sundance.orq). Expect lots of cool digital movies to get

The 25th Hour, starring/Ed Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman, is the first must-see movie of 2003.

It's all about the Benjamins. Spend а crisp, new $100 bill to toast Franklin, who was born on this day in.1706.

month's cover star, and buy attention. Elsewhere, National Security, The Getaway, instead. | Amazing У 1 space shuttle flight starring Martin LL Cool J turns 35; Spider-Man STS-107 is sched- Lawrence and

apparently, he’s a grown-up now.

Quick! Rush to the d i

store! Battle Engine Aquila is out!

#49! hw V

uled, and Kate Moss turns 29.

The sultry Tiffani- Amber Thiessen turns 29 today.

Steve Zahn, looks mildly amusing.

Christina Applegate mixesiit up with Gwyneth Paltrow in their new movie,

7

Justin Timberlake turns 22. Minnie

‘Slamdance Film Festival, the anti- Sundance event, begins. People attending even don't like Robert Redford.

Virginia Woolf was, born today in 1882. Jeez, can't we find anyone

day you can wangle A View From better than that? some time off to The Top. Take celebrate. a date! x

tec. “” Я ?

are today. January Driver is 10 contributed a lot to “years older, but | world culture. still lovely. The ім d .— Recruit, star- gm ring AL 2” Pacino and ір”

Colin Farrell hits theaters.

` - LOOKS LIKE LESSONS FROM A PRO BOARDER WOULDN T HURT. NEiTHER WOULD A SONY* Bic

SCREEN TV OR A PLAYSTATION.2 WITH THE HOTTEST GAMES. IT'S BAGEL BITES” " ONLINE AUCTION. CHECK OUT SPEGIALLY MARKED BOXES Or BAGEL BiTES. THE MORE YOU SGARF,

THE BETTER YOUR

CHANGES.

1 „COM E PlayStation. www AES

The Power of X

Sierra is working on a new PS2 X-Files game for release this summer. Featuring survival hor- ror-style gameplay, the title will include voiceovers from Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.

ZOE’S WORLD

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WASTED TIME

My mom paid me a surprise visit the other day and, much to my dismay, interrupted a serious fantasy of mine as | was kicking ass as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (alas, this is probably the closest I'll ever get to Viggo Mortensen). She was quick to chide me for my obvi- ous time-wasting, and while я she never denied me the right to play games as a child, her perspective seems to represent all too many adults. Games are for kids, they feel, and merely a waste of time for adults. She'll just never understand the level of story- telling, interaction, or enjoyment games offer.

When I questioned her favorite hobby (she's a big-time bookworm], | discovered she spent an average of four hours a night during the past two weeks devouring a series of dauntingly thick novels. But it’s not as if she’s studying Crime апа Punishment—we're talking cookie- cutter crime thrillers with lots of steamy scenes and tense moments involving a hardboiled New York cop chas- ing a Russian ex-spy. “Those in glass houses shouldn't cast heavy books at their daughters,” | told her. But this did get me thinking about how every form of entertain- ment in history has been construed by one generation as the proverbial time killer or, even worse, a crime.

My mom's a child of the Beatles generation, when rock 'n' roll was the devil's creation, radio caused mass panic, and TV began to ensnare our collective senses. It reached a point where parents told their kids that watch- ing too much would cause blindness (or was that mastur- bation?). And it was my granddad who reminded me that even reading fiction in the early part of the 20th century could lead to an untimely demise, and that he himself had snuck to the cinema against his parents wishes, fearing he would go to hell for such heathen acts.

So, why the negative reaction each time a new medi- um for creative expression arrives? Could it be that peo- ple fear the addictive nature of entertainment so much that a negative connotation (whether truth or rumor] must be attached? Today, videogames are bearing the brunt of parental complaints—whether it's simple time wasting or accusations that games create murderers.

Yesterday, | watched a 3-year-old navigate through Ratchet & Clank's opening level. | smiled, knowing she'll grow up understanding that playing videogames is as normal as sitting through three-hour-long films (did any- one else get a sore bum watching Harry РоНег?). As for time wasting, | started wondering what might come next.

Perhaps one day I'll find myself throwing virtual stones at my own child's house.

Zoe Flower writes, illustrates, and does funky things in front of a TV camera.

(%) Official US. PlayStation Magazine

BATTLE CRY

Koei wages war with Dynasty Warriors 4

We've known for a while now that Koei has had a new Dynasty Warriors title in the works—but only now have we heard anything beyond its promise of a March release. So, what's new for Dynasty Warriors 4? Few confirmed details have surfaced, but the addition

of Onimusha-style magic should spice things up quite a bit. Also, expect to see large-scale siege engines like cat- apults and battering rams, plus officer duels that you control. But will all this be enough to keep us interested for

a fourth round? We'll know soon!

GT SELLS CARS

Auto industry figures

he Mitsubishi Lancer

Evolution has never been

available in the United States. But now, Mitsubishi Motors is planning to release the Evo sport sedan, slated for rollout in early 2003. The reason? Gran Turismo.

That's right: Polyphony Digital's 30- million-selling series has proven so influential to buying decisions that auto companies are finally beginning to take notice. "There's no doubt that Gran Turismo played a huge role in our decision to launch the Lancer Evolution in the United States," claimed a spokesman for Mitsubishi in a recent Reuters article.

Furthermore, Reuters reported, Nissan and Subaru have both made business decisions based on Gran Turismo's popularity: Subaru with the Impreza (available now in the United States) and Nissan with the Skyline

GT-R, scheduled to be unveiled here in the next model year.

Kazunori Yamauchi, GT's producer, has always been confident about the series' power. In our January 2001 cover story, he told us that Aston

89 "04" 45

out what we've known all along

Martin had thanked him for broaden- ing its brand awareness in the United States. "| believe that the GT series has become the biggest automobile media in the world," Yamauchi said. Looks like he was right.

TM AWFUL’

Tiger Woods talks about what a bad golfer he is...when he plays Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003

е'ѕ опе of the greatest

golfers to ever swing the

blade. But to some PS2 players, Tiger Woods is just the name of a great golf videogame. Like John Madden and Tony Hawk before him, Tiger’s name has become so synonymous with Tiger Woods PGA Tour that it's become a brand unto itself. It has, in essence, transcended Tiger Woods. Which might be a little weird for the golf pro to accept— but, considering that he’s not very good at his own game, transcen- dence is the least of his worries.

How involved do you get in the development of the game? They always show me early

versions of the game, and | look at things like how the players swing. That's one of the things,

I think, that's gotten better and better. But then, the people who make the game really pride them- selves on making it as realistic

as possible.

How do you feel about the way you look in the game?

| love it because they make me look all buffed out. | wish | were that big in person.

Do your fellow pro golfers ever make fun of you for being in

a videogame?

Yeah, some of them give me a hard time. Mark O'Meara ribs me

a lot for it. But they also ask if they can look bigger, too.

Are you into videogames?

Yeah, | play videogames all the time. I've been playing them since early elementary school, on the Atari 2600.

What games have you been playing lately?

| just got the new Madden, so I've been playing that. | like it a lot.

Do you ever play any of the goofier golf games, such as Outlaw Golf, or do you find their irreverence for the sport to be, well, blasphemous?

| don't play them at all. | under-

stand where they're coming from, why someone would take a lighter approach, but I’m such a competi- tive person that | want to play a game that’s as realistic as it can get. That's why | play Madden, because | know I'll never be able to play pro football, but that game is as close as I'll ever get to the pros without getting my head taken off.

Speaking of Madden, is it weird for you that your name has begun to transcend you and become а brand of videogame the way Madden's and Tony Hawk’s have? Yeah, that is а little weird. I've never thought about that before. When I was а kid, playing

videogames, | never thought I'd have my own, let alone have my name, as you said, transcend me.

Are you any good at your own videogame?

| am not. I’m awful. | usually shoot in the low- to mid-80s. Thank God | don't do that in real life.

So, does that mean your friends can beat you at it? Yes...and I've come close to breaking the controller over a buddy's head. But then you just say, “Hey, let's go play areal game.” —Paul Semel

Official US. PlayStation Magazine G Э)

HON d 5500.000

RING BEARER

Big movies, big videogames, and big, hairy feet are all in a day's work for

The amount that English gamer Alex “Dreg” Nitkin insured his fingers for. A contestant in Korea's World Cyber Games, Nitkin wasn't taking any chances.

DATA STREAM

Combat Evolved

D k: Sega is porting its arcade title Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution to PS2. This remix features new characters, better graphics, and shorter load times.

War Hammered

THQ is developing a first-per- son adventure based on the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Titled Fire Warrior, the game will be out this summer.

Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood Virtual Playboy

OPM: It must be a bit strange, ment has regenerated. Also, the aren't generally hairy creatures. experience compare to working

working on a trilogy of films for so fact that we went back to New Their feet are the hairiest part of on the film?

long, and then just sitting back Zealand earlier this year to do their body—that and their head. It was a blast. | love videogames,

and waiting. It's been nearly three some pickup scenes and to work so to be part of a videogame

years since shooting began on the movie a little bit more...our And big feet equate to. production was great fun for me.

ELIJAH Woon: Well, it's been two passion for the movie doesn't really [Laughing] No, not necessarily. And to be able to lend my voice to

years since we wrapped principal wane. It gets exhausting after a But then again, that rumor was it—as well as the other actors

photography, and then a year ago while, but ultimately, we still love started. You never know. If only doing voice work—just makes it

we actually released the first film. it—at least, that's how | feel. Tolkien had gone in that direction. that much more realistic in terms Arush Entertainment is work-

A lot of people questioned whether it would get old or boring or hard to speak about after so long, but with the new film out, our excite-

Quick! What game is this? If you answered Twisted Metal: Black, you would be dead wrong, and would thus suffer the wrath of a mighty piledriver.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Hobbits’ feet are very hairy. Does that apply their entire bodies? [Laughs] Not necessarily. Hobbits

х

жа e WL ШІП

And now, all those attributes аге digitally rendered in The Two Towers game. How does that

of the film. It was great fun to be a part of, and the game turned out beautifully.

Jon M. Gibson

SMACKDOWN

A look at what's n

elevision ratings for the

WWE may be slipping, but

WWE games are selling as steadily as ever. Smackdown! Shut Your Mouth was snapped up in droves this past holiday season, and there was a renewed interest in last year's Smackdown! Just Bring It thanks to its recent in tion into the Greatest Hits line. With this in mind, we decided to see what's next for WWE fans. WWE Crush Hour. Think Twisted Metal meets the WWE and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this one (see left], due out in March. Each WWE star navigates

xt for WWE fans

his own vehicle and dishes out

the whup-ass.

WWE Online. Although it's still

a ways off and will likely get a proper name, an online WWE game is in the works from THQ апа Yuke's. It's still up in the air whether it'll end up being an added mode in the next Smackdown! or an entire online-only game. Either way, laying the smack down on your distant relatives will become that much easier.

WWE Mobile Madness. It's wrestling on the go! This winter, THQ Wireless will release a WWE title for game-enabled cell phones.

ing with Playboy to develop a Sims-style PS2 game. You fill the slippers of Hugh Hefner and try to build an empire. Live the life of a playboy when it hits in 2004.

Legacy of Cthulhu А

Headfirst Productions has revealed that it will bring the cult hit Call of Cthulhu (based on the writings of H. P. Lovecraft) to PS2 in a game called Tainted Legacy. Above is a first-ever character render from the game, which hits in 2004. If that’s not enough, a second PS2 Cthulhu title is planned for 2005!

Rob Blake

Blake wants the cup back (continued) So as another season gets underway, you can expect big things out of this Rob Blake, starting with some more of his trademark big hits. As it is every year, NHL FaceOff" 2003 is packed with thunderous checks. And not too many players hit harder than Blake. But we all know by now that he's no thug. He's a smart, agile player — characteristics that are very accurately depicted in this year's game. Fast gameplay and tight, instinctive play-controls return once again as players battle it out every game on the long road to the Stanley Cup.

One of the biggest changes that Blake and every other player will notice this year in NHL FaceOff 2003 is in its new presentation engine. Every game will have the feeling of playoff hockey as a new level of emotion and intensity is delivered. Pre-game warm-ups and walks through the tunnel get the guys pumped up and ready for action. During the game, players pushing and shoving between whistles, banter from the penalty box and plenty of post-game celebrations keep the intensity at an all-time high.

As they begin the 82-game regular season march toward the playoffs, one of the advantages that Rob Blake and the Avalanche have over the rest of the league

is that they return all but a few members of last season’s team. But they did make a few off-season roster moves. This is where Career Mode came into play. With this feature, anyone can assume the role of General Manager and build his hockey team from the ground up. Players will begin to realize that battling with NHL teams isn’t done solely on the ice, as they learn to deal with free agents, trades, rookies and retiring players. Losing a strong fellow defenseman will put some more pressure on Blake, but he'll handle it. And if the past is any

Hard-hitting game with hard-hitting cover guy.

PlayStation. 5%” c.

indication of what's to come, the Avs will make the most of the new Career Mode and

make a strong trade sometime next spring to give themselves their best chance at another championship.

Teams will undoubtedly be tougher this year, due in part to NHL FaceOff 2003's addictive gameplay. The fluid, fast-paced NHL action is back, delivering more tenacious energy and non-stop hockey action. And with 1,000 new goalie and skater animations, there's a whole new feel to the league. Rob

989/ . SPORT

SA

Blake is confident that the Avs look great. But a lot of teams do, especially with knockout player models running at 5,000 polygons.

The determination of the Avalanche after the disappointment of last season will make them a formidable opponent to anyone. But it's a long road to June, with many games yet to play and stars yet to emerge, each hoping to bring the Stanley Cup to his city. But make no mistake, the road to the Cup, in one way or another, goes through Rob Blake.

PlayStation.e

NHL FaceOff is a trademark of the National Hockey League. NHL, National Hockey League, the NHL Shield and the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL Team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. ©2002 NHL. Officially licensed product of the National Hockey League. ONHLPA. Officially licensed product of the NHLPA. NHLPA, National Hockey League Players' Association and the NHLPA logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used under license by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. 989 and the 989 Sports logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

www.989sports.com

NHLPA EVERYONE

PS2 FROM A TO 1. 1 Т

ОШ,

І €^ Y Y Те f

UL. 1

ACTION

Tony Hawk debuted on PS1, action sports, with games like NBA creating an unstoppable gaming Street taking it to the streets with sensation. Then came SSX, a PS2 ап urban, hip-hop sensibility. When launch title that also kicked off EA's you're craving the cutting edge of Big line of extreme-sports games. action sports, you can always get And now, we һауе the next wave of your fix on PS2.

From the moment it launched, PS2 old faves have a home on your hada library of hundreds of games. shiny, new PS2. Plus, certain clas- Granted, you didn't plunk down all sics are always worth revisiting, that payola to play last year's left- from timeless RPGs to those time- overs, but it's still nice to know your consuming ри2 Ж.

Despite Sony's no-mascots policy, the PlayStation keeps churning out memorable characters that we can't help but love. The fop- pish Sly Cooper is Sony's latest—and maybe greatest, thanks to his quirky charm and clever gameplay. Best yet: Unlike, say, Crash or Spyro, he's all Sony's, now and forever.

Capcom might be giving PS2 own- ers the short end of the zombie Stick by limiting the Resident Evil love, but they've thrown us much more than a rotten corpse bone with the exclusive chance to take control of Dante. Devil May Cry's leading man is, without a doubt, the coolest character ever created. From his long, red overcoat to his potent one-two punch of pistols and sword to his over-the-top antics when bat- tling all those das- tardly demons, Dante is idolized by men and lust- ed after by women every- where. (Yes, we actually said "lusted after." And it's true. He's just that cool.]

чечине

consoles, but its unique setup lets savvy developers pull off pyrotech- nics that were once unimaginable.

4 More important, though, is the

In terms of raw power, the PS2's Emotion Engine may not be the beefiest among the current crop of

name itself: Sony wanted to create a system that changed the way we game, offering an emotional punch that just can't be beat.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

After rebuilding the once-revered but recently rundown Twisted Metal franchise with the dark TM: Black, Incog went on to produce the sur- prise smash War of the Monsters. If the developer can continue its string of hits, then Sony made a very wise decision indeed when they bought this Utah-based team.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

When it comes to RPGs, the PS2 is tops. You can thank one franchise for that: Final Fantasy. Ever since the PlayStation-exclusive FFVII revolutionized role-playing, RPGs have been more than just a niche genre. And now, with FFX-2, Final

It took our favorite porn god- dess a while to catch on to the PS2 craze, but now the star of such fine adult cinema as Smells Like...Sex and Jennatilia has roles in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Tasty!

Fantasy has finally reached a point where it can lighten up, let down its hair, and have some fun. The girls-gone-wild campy atmos- phere might be blasphemy to grumpy old-school types, but to us it seems like pure bliss.

=

The art director for Sony's Corporate Design Center in Japan, Gotoh designed both the PS1 and the PS2. He's also responsible for the best controller ever: the Dual Shock. Remember his name—and thank him profusely every time your hand doesn't cramp up during marathon gaming sessions.

"TI

Want proof that videogames are a Very Big Deal? How's this: Kaz Hirai, Sony СЕА5 president and COO, was recently picked as the No. 4 exec in Entertainment Weekly's annual “Power Issue,” outranking other notable bigwigs from all kinds of companies, including Warner Bros., NBC, MTV, and even Sony Music.

Photo by Michael Williams

advertisement —

WINTHROP EARLY PICK IN POLLS

WINTHROP

2 ARIZONA

Sweet Sixteen. Elite Eight. Final Four. And now the Terrific Ten. Can Arizona go all the way? Will Kansas be at the center of this year's bracket? Will the girl in the mail

3 KANSAS

room pick the NCAA champion? Read on for everything you wanted to know

4 OKLAHOMA

5 TEXAS

6 PITTSBURGH

7 DUKE

8 GEORGIA

9 KENTUCKY

10 VIRGINIA

(but were afraid to ask) about college basketball.

Okay, so they went 19-12 last year. And they are from the Big South Conference. But trust us, the Eagles can definitely

hoop. Besides, these guys are made up of

4,500 polygons just like any other team.

The 411 on the ‘Cats? Not only do they have all five starters returning, but they also have what most consider to be the best frontcourt in college basketball. Can you say Dynasty Mode?

Despite losing a key player to the NBA, look for the Jayhawks to return to the Final Four this year. We've seen what they have been doing in Practice Mode, and we are thoroughly convinced.

Another team we predict to be returning to the Final Four. Not only do they return with 70 new player models, they look good doing it.

Өт T

EXAS

They say everything is bigger in Texas, but what we notice on this team are the little guys. The backcourt is the cream of the crop. End of discussion. Obviously, somebody did their homework before this year's recruiting.

©) PITTSBURGH

"i 989 SPORT »

Lookfor what could be the most exciting duo in college basketball to rate high in the on-screen player ratings.

Add the slick job done in recruiting to theusual Blue Devil talent pool, and you get a team that is bound to make some noise. Get ready to hear Billy Packer and Eddie Doucette saying, "And the Blue Devils win again," a lot this season.

Ө ceorcia

The Dawgs’ poll position could change in October, depending on their frontcourt production. If they produce, prepare for this team to movea little higher in the polls.

Should come down to the wire between them and Georgia for the SEC crown. Use the over 30 new dunks (including reverses, follow-ups and 360-degree jams) and this Wildcat team might overtake that other Wildcat team.

n Ж:

The Cavs are not happy with last season's late collapse that landed them out ofthe tournament. Don't let that fool you; they've got the talent. Not a pushover computer opponent. Not in the least.

www.989sports.com

EVERYONE

PlayStation.

university or _ езі NOTRE DAME >= » ®

legiate Licensed Product” label is the property of the Independent Labeling Group. All names, logos, team icons and mascots associated with the NCAA, univer: he exclusive property of the respective i ions. Designed and developed by Killer Game. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Copyright 2002 by STATS, Inc. Any commercial use or distribution of the Licensed Materials without the express written consent of STATS is strictly prohibited. The Sony Computer Entertainment logo isa registered trademark of Sony Corporation. 989 Sports and the 989 Sports logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

The “Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label i

sive property of The Collegiate Licensing Company. The "C.

You know him as the "Father of the PlayStation"—the visionary who created the. bestest console in the world. But soon, you might also know him as Sony's. world leader. That's right, Sony...as in, the-whole enchilada—movies, music, laptops, Walkmans, and more. Word.out of Japan has Kutaragi on the short list to take the reigns of Sony and tran-

a i Е : | Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine f

(ғ) Photo by Lorenzo Agius

sition the company to its next big phase. Known as a maverick (he once tried to settle a business dis- pute by, arm-wrestling a fellow ехес!), Kutaragi has a bold new vision for Sony: rebuilding the com- pany around the concept of super- chips that would power everything from your next PlayStation to your toaster oven.

SUNnLVIN

Lets be absolutely clear here: how gaming has truly grown up, We're not celebrating the sopho- thanks to the mature, cinematic moric hijinks of BMX XXX or the approach of titles like Vice City, gratuitous blood and guts of Mortal ^ Silent Hill, and even the T-rated Ico. Kombat [though that one is a good Thanks to the PS2, games are so game). Rather, we're thrilled about much more than just kid stuff.

Liotta's star turn in Vice City helps talent is turning to videogames as prove there really is a point to {һе next big acting frontier. Yeah, celebrity voice acting in games. we still have to suffer through the But he's not the only one who's occasional earache from а cut- changing the way we hear our rate voiceover, but those days are games. Моге and more Hollywood coming to an end.

Square's rising star not only cre- ated some of Final Fantasy's greatest characters (and then proceeded to re-create them in various states of undress—take a

peek at Rikku just a few pages back], but he also stepped up to direct the incredible Kingdom Hearts. His unique vision has brought so many of our role-play- ing fantasies to reality.

Admit it—you thought it'd never happen. After countless delays, you gave up any hope of heading online

with your PS2. But then, last August, everything changed: Sony's network adapter finally hit stores. To this day, demand for the periph- eral remains high, proving two things: Console add-ons are not the kiss of death, and SOCOM rocks! Plus, with EverQuest and Final Fantasy ХІ on the horizon, PS2 online is set to explode.

Erice, TED — —

All you macho gamers who were too cool to succumb to Spyro's charms can finally see why Ted Price and his team at Insomniac truly are masters of the platform adventure. With Ratchet & Clank, Price helped redefine the 3D plat- former by tossing in a ton of fire- power and allowing you to play the game your own way. Whether you wanna gun down everything in sight or proceed with caution, Price's latest is an absolute blast.

The PS2 might be the mainstream console of choice—it's certainly the best-selling videogame sys- tem in the known universe—but that doesn't mean its library is larded with big hits and commer- cial crowd-pleasers. If you're look- ing for something off the beaten path, you're bound to find it on Sony's system. From wacky music titles (Gitaroo Man, Mad Maestro) to brilliant-but-underappreciated gems [/со, Rez) to the just plain bizarre (Stretch Panic, Mister Mosquito], you're sure to find Something to suit your tastes. Which sums up one of the PS2's greatest strengths: Thanks to its vast catalog, it's got enough good stuff to please just about anyone.

RUBIN, JASON —— —

Had fun playing Ratchet & Clank? Don't forget to thank Jason Rubin for his contribution: the game engine, which he first created for his own Jak and Daxter. As the head of first-party developer Naughty Dog, Rubin has established him- self not only as a creator of great games with cool characters (he's also the guy behind Crash back in

the PS1 days), but as a technical 2 | PlayStation e

wizard as well.

THE WRATH OF HEAVEN...

ІШІП

SEGA

Ever since Sega bowed out of the hardware biz to go multiplatform, the hardest of the hardcore PS2 gamers have been overjoyed. Some of the best stuff, like Virtua Fighter 4 and Shinobi, is only on PS2. For even more Sega stuff to geek out about, turn to page 46.

ШОМ

Nothing says "kiss of death" for a game like a major delay—but in Tomb Raider's case, the wait may well be worth your while. Eidos knew Angel of Darkness needed some extra work, so rather than foist an unfinished game on the public, they smartly held it back to polish it up. That's a good thing for

so many reasons. With Lara contin- uing to reign supreme as the queen of all game characters, it's nice to know her image won't get sullied by a poor release. Plus, with a new movie coming up, Lady Croft can always use the extra buzz from a solid game to help keep her legion of loyal fans lining up for more Lara.

44 ) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Have we seen the best PS2 has to offer? Not by a long shot. Last year, Sony completed a performance ana- lyzer (a program that measures how heavily a piece of software is taxing the hardware), and found that its own groundbreaking Gran Turismo 3 was using a paltry 25 percent of Р525 potential power. Great things are still to come!

It's the biggest thing since man har- nessed fire, since the invention of the wheel, since sliced bread, since..you name it. It’s reason enough to own a PS2. If you haven't yet paid a visit to Vice City, hurry up and get a copy to find out what all the buzz is about. The open-ended, go-anywhere, do-anything game- play, coupled with a stirring story, all set in the go-go, neon-drenched '80s, makes Vice City more than just a game: It's an experience that must be....uh, experienced. But most of all, it's incredibly fun.

..So send us your thoughts on the letter W as well as the rest of our ABCs at

TRA FEATUR Home-theater enthusiasts might scoff at the notion, but for plenty of people, PS2 is their first and only DVD player. And that's just the beginning—Sony hopes to position its console at the center of your home-entertainment setup. Will this happen with PS2? Probably not, but with every PlayStation genera- tion, we're getting closer.

{ORDA

Ico might have been the star of his eponymous game, but Yorda stole our hearts as the pale princess who desperately needed our help in this bril- liant, breath-taking game.

ENDERS 2

Dubbed "one of the best-looking games ever" by...well, us, ZOE 2 might finally live up to the too- high expectations we had for its predecessor. With tons of fancy new moves, a deeper story, gor- geous graphics, and ass-kicking mechs,-ZOE.2- has just about

everything we could possibly

want in а videogame.

Ico 2

Sony recently released this screenshot in a job recruitment ad in Japan. Could this be our first look at Ico 2

4 дені =

LS CLOSER THAN IT APPEARS.

TENCHU

Live by honor. Kill by stealth.

ЗАПАС PENDING Visit www.esrb.org or call 1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information.

ACTIVisic SION.

activision.com

2002-2003 Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Activision and Tenchu are registered trademarks and Wrath of Heaven is a trademark of Activision, Inc. and its affiliates. Published and distributed by Activision Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Licensed for play on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system with the NTSC U/C designation only "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners,

зе

AW

SEGA AGES

With classics back in fashion, it’s no surprise that Sega, with one of the largest libraries of old-school fan favorites, is digging deep into its closet. Following the recent announcement of Sega’s partnership with D3 Publisher to found 3D-Ages, Sega has revealed which games it'll release under this new, budget-priced label. Coming soon to the PS2 is a whole range of classics, including Phantasy Star, Streets of Rage, Virtua Racing, Golden Axe, Alex Kidd, Fantasy Zone, Super Monaco, and Space Harrier. But the best news is that all these games will get a fresh coat of paint (below, check out the difference between Phantasy Star and its PS2 remake). In some cases, the gameplay is even being enhanced. Look for the first remakes to hit Japan this spring апа нш here soon after.

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

Space Harrier. Golden Axe. Phantasy Star. Streets of Rage. An entire gener- ation of gamers grew up with Sega classics like these.

Now, more than a decade later, Sega's library of hits is being revisited,

for a whole new audience

to experience.

|

PlayStation

EVERYONE

Ride through portals into other universes and catch air a million miles up as you shred | your way through ап intergalactic treasure hunt in Disney's Treasure Planet for PlayStation. Based on the Walt Disney Pictures film Treasure Planet, in theatres now.

Mild Violence

ШЕ PlayStation.

www.playstation.com 2 Г : . М GDisney. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Dino-might SUCK

A Turok: The Dinosaur Hunter movie is currently in the works, with Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode Il] named as опе of the leads. At least it couldn't be as bad as a Rygar movie.

THE INSIDER

ARTIFICIAL FRIENDS

Something I’m quickly learn- ing about game design is that designers spend a great deal of time working on things you'll hopefully never notice. We put hundreds of hours into thinking up new ideas that could potentially take your playing experience to a whole new level, but we put three times the effort into making sure our brilliant brainstorms don't backfire, causing you to freak out and break traffic laws while taking the game back to the store.

I still can't say what our next game is (though most of you who've guessed are right on the money], but that won't stop me from talking about one of its big features. We're trying something kind of crazy here, but something that's very cool: Our upcoming title is always multiplayer, meaning you'll have either your friends or A.l.-controlled buddies fighting alongside you during the entire game.

Now, the ex-reviewer in me cringed when | wrote that sentence. А.І. that "helps" you in a game...| can name a good half-dozen titles that have tried this and failed horribly, and quite a few teams that had this feature planned but axed it halfway through development. And you know why? А.І. helpers are a pain to implement.

Let's use our А.І. buddy system as a keen example. Without looking at my pages of notes, | could ramble off a dozen pitfalls that could turn one of our main features from "cool" to “sucky.” Let's say an A.l.-controlled char- acter follows you around a corner without a hitch—you wouldn't give it a second thought. But if that character got stuck, even for a second, it wouldn't just be some- thing you noticed—it would burn your hide.

And that's just an obvious case. When you get into the meat of it, you can find countless quirky issues that can quickly cause major annoyances. Let's say the А.І. charac- ters don't attack enough, or block enough, or go after the right foes...If the А.І. ever starts hindering you instead of helping—well, then we've screwed up, big time.

That's the thing keeping me up until the wee hours lately. Our А.І. helper characters should act like that per- fect friend—not the annoying one who steals all the kills and glory, and certainly not the idiotic one who can't play games to save his life—but the kind of pal who can hold his own and is there to back you up when needed.

| worry about this often, but our hard work is starting to pay off. Not five minutes ago, | saw several A.l. guys juggle a foe back and forth, and it made me smile. We Still have a ways to go to get this down perfectly, but it's already showing fantastic progress. And that alone makes me confident we can pull this off.

Ryan Lockhart ( ] is hoping the А.І. buddies he's helping to create will be nicer to him than his real friends.

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

REAL WORLD

5 questions with Sims creator Will Wright

from how they play The Sims?

The first thing a lot of people do is put themselves in the game, and maybe their family and their house. And they start using it like a spread- sheet for their real life, almost like a voodoo family. It's funny to see what they do in the game that they wouldn't do in real life, like flirting with the neighbor and having an affair, or what- ever. But, at the same time, a messy person will generally have a really messy house in The Sims, with trash lying around. Where people set their priorities is pretty evident after they've been playing for a while.

What's the biggest difference 2 between the PC and the PS2 versions of The Sims? Consoles have such a different control structure from PCs. You have to devel- op a control scheme so the player is eventually not even thinking about his hands. Console games also tend to be more social. A really great console game is one where you can sit there with your friend and enjoy it together. | think the multiplayer mode is going

1 What can you learn about people

DREAM CAST

Rygar is a great game, but let's face it—the story blows. Still, its characters are cool enough to warrant a Dream Cast for a Rygar movie. We'll just make sure our script leaves out lines like, "What do you think you know?" Send ideas for a Dream Cast of your own to opmf(aziffdavis.com with the subject DREAM CAST.

to have a big impact. It's really fun to be playing alongside another player.

Why do some people get off on 3 torturing their Sims?

A lot of people enjoy exploring the edge of the envelope in a game, seeing how far they can push things. When | was talking to a bunch of teenagers about The Sims before it was released, the first thing they would all ask is, "Can you kill them?" | don't think they want- ed to go kill something; | think it's that they wanted to under- stand the range of possible states or behaviors—to figure out what the size of the envelope is.

Any plans to introduce an 4 online version for consoles?

At some point, yeah. | don't think consoles have hit a critical mass

yet with the online market, but | think іп the next generation, it'll happen.

Do you ever dream about Sims? 5 Not the Sims, but the environ-

ment they live in—dreams where l've been living in that environment.

Rygar: Corey Feldman The raging debate over who should play Rygar divided the OPM staff. Some of us still aren't on speaking terms. But we finally decided: Who better to play a retro game star than a has-been like Corey Feldman? If you saw classics like License to Drive or Dream a Little Dream, this is an obvious casting decision. There can be no argument!

Nor would he ever wear a plaid

skirt/butterfly baby-T combo! Seriously.

Harmonia: Britney Spears For such a clichéd role as damsel-in- distress, acting really isn't that impor- tant. But being a hot blonde is.

EN

Icarus: Raziel We hear Raziel wants to take a break from reaving souls and break into the Hollywood scene. We grant him his start.

Echidna: Milla Jovovich Yeah, she's done a game movie before with Resident Evil...but this time, Milla is

: a bad girl. Just the way we want her.

Argo: Rebecca Romijn-Stamos This lovely supermodel-turned-actress (Femme Fatale) is a goddess anyway, right? Playing one shouldn't be a stretch.

VE IN YOUR WXRLD, PLAY IN OURS? ^, -

Solar surfing. Beware of the locals.

Space pirates. Alien robots. Not the kind of guys you want to drop in on while solar surfing the new frontier. Set sail on an intergalactic treasure hunt on Treasure Planet. Also available on . PlayStation. Based on the Walt Disney Pictures film Treasure Planet, in theatres now. Mild Vielénes

PlayStation.e

А © Disney. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc www.playstation.com "Live In Your World. Play In Ours.” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America In

Best Fighting Game Best Simulation

MATURE

Blood Strong Lyrics Violence

BREAK FACES DRAW BLOOD

FOR ALL THE PAIN HE’S IN, QUITTING WOULD FEEL MUCH WORSE.

DREAM STAGE

www.thq.com

© 2001, 2002 Dream Stage Entertainment, In ively licensed to THQ Inc. iw ide, except in Japan. THQ and its logo а! Ыы rog tracer arks of THQ Inc. All Rights Reserved. ЕНК and the "PS" Fam Cogo an gister: Ed cade arks of Sony Comi puter Entertain

ROCK STEADY

No Doubt's Gwen Stefani gets her game on

ending your vocal unique- ness to a game is one thing, but actually becom- ing that character is another. Just ask No Doubt frontwoman Gwen Stefani, who voices the heroine in Sierra's upcoming Malice. "It's weird. Everyone says Malice and | аге so much alike. Hearing that is flattering, but also kind of strange. Picture what it'd be like if it happened to you."

But for Stefani and her band- mates, Tony, Adrian, and Tom, who also spent time doing voiceovers for the game, it was completely worth it. "Games are an amazing medium for getting both messages and music across," she tells us. "I'm flat- tered to be a part of this project."

Not that it was all fun and games. “I spent hours in the studio getting things just right," moans the exasperated songstress. "I swear to God, it took like six hours of screaming Watch out, they're gonna get you' or Hit 'em!' There are so many details to the story line, and trying to get the right tone in my voice to match what's going on is really complicated. | was totally exhausted by the end.”

Gwen seems pleased with her work, though, and hopes her involvement may actually serve a larger purpose. "It'll interest females. Ask yourself why the only other games featuring girls are stereotypical stuff like Tomb Raider. | hope you like it—and that | didn't make a fool of myself.”

/CORBIS OUTLINE

Photo by Frank W. Ockenfel

(©) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

MIAMI (FL)

3 OKLAHOMA

4 COLORADO

5 TENNESSEE

6 TEXAS

7 FLORIDA STATE

8 FLORIDA

9 UCLA

10 UNIV. OF TOLEDO

CAL TOPS 'CANES IN LATEST POLL

Can the Miami Hurricanes repeat? Can the Oklahoma Sooners make it two out of the last three? Who will win the Heisman? How many polygons does a Butkus Award winnerget? Where is Berkeley? The answers to these (No. No. Lookto Texas. Thousands. Take I-80 west and follow the signs.) and other pressing questions can be found in

this year's College Football Top 10 poll:

Q ca

Sothey went 1-10 last year. Big deal. Serious timespentin the Blue Chip Recruiting Mode has made this team into a rough bunch on the gridiron. A new Power I formation adds athreat for this turn-around team.

Ө mami co

How goodis this team? Eight or nine of their starters should be in NFL GameDay” next year. The ‘Canes may have the toughest sched- ule in football with games against Florida, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and the Florida State Seminoles. About the only quality teams not on their schedule are in the NFL.

New Hot Routes can put the 2000 champs rightbackatthe top. Which means almost as much to the Sooners as beating their heated rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Ө cororavo

Will the Buffs defend their Big 12 crown using the wishbone? The flexbone? The full house? Only the coach controlling the playbook knows for sure.

©) Tennessee

New high-low tackling might give the Vols their toughest defense in years. The ques- tion is: will their offense underachieve?

Ө mas

Can their QB capture the Heisman against what may be the toughest conference in Division I? Can the D come up Texas big? Noteven our highly evolved artificial intel- ligence can answer that one.

Q FLORIDA state

Same coach. Same expectations: Nothing but a national championship will do.

New coach. Same expectations: Nothing but a national championship will do.

Ө va

Look for the Bruins to utilize both a sensational receiving core and Hot Routes toviefora national championship. Once that's achieved, look for them to vie fora championship all over again in the NCAA’ Final Four 2003 edition.

A great run in Career Mode gets these overachieving Rockets a major BCS Bowl bid and a Top 10 finish. Not to mention giving their coach the chance to take over a major college powerhouse. Enjoy that animated contract, coach.

PlayStation.2

EVERYONE

*

>

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

os

FETE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

4

PlayStation.e

‘The “Officially Licensed Collegiate Products" label is the exclusive property of The Collegiate Licensing Company. The “Collegiate Licensed Product” label is the property of the Independent Labeling Group. All names, logos, team icons and mascots associated with the NCAA, universities, bowls and conferences are the exclusive property of the respective institutions. Heisman Memorial Trophy and likeness of the actual trophy are registered ser- vice marks owned by the Downtown Athletic Club under registration numbers 936,853 and 935,852 respectively. Heisman and Heisman Trophy Award are service marks owned by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City, Inc. The NCAA Football logo is a registered trademark of the NCAA licensed to NCAA Football USA, Inc. GameBreaker, 989 and the 989 Sports logo are registered trademarks, and Total Control Passing and Analoj

Camera System are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Designed and developed by Red Zone Interactive, Inc. and 989 Sports devel

lopment team.

"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered

SIMPLE 20002U—Z' Vots

(o2002}HunexX@O200210 3IBÜBITISHERI

LOVE MAHJONG

Ever since Lara Croft burst onto the PlayStation scene back in 1996, developers have looked to add a little more sex appeal to games. And let's face it—it's worked. You've all fantasized about seeing demure Yuna in short shorts and a cleavage-baring top (hello, FFX-2!). And look at the inexplicable sales of the Dead or Alive series. Yet despite the content in those games, desperate teens are still restricted to the odd bounce here and a fortunate camera angle there—generally fleeting glances while the charac- ters go about their decidedly unsexy business (either that or we just never understood the whole "the way you jump and flip and kill bears turns me on, Lara" thing]. So, here comes D3's (of 3D Ages and budget-gaming fame] Love Mahjong, where mahjong is definitely not the focus. Well, the ancient Chinese game is central in a sense, because winning rounds against your ridiculously fine female opponents results in their dropping an item of clothing until only a bikini remains (and no, they never take that off). It’s like a Japanese strip poker, except you don't have to strip (please don't), with the added bonus of play- ing against impossibly good-looking women who are per-

fectly willing not just to strip for you, but to do even more. More? Yes, more. The more you win, the more "punishment" you can dole out. Like sit-ups. Or push- ups. Or, er, "bending." Of course, you can observe them at your leisure, zooming and rotating around them where appropriate (ahem). And if that doesn't quite float your boat, there's also the option to photograph the ladies to, um, preserve their shame at losing. You can save up to 120 photos. Do make the most of it.

GREAT PERVY MOMENTS IN VIDEOGAMING Any WWE Game. The moment you find just the right move to check out the skivvies of lady rasslers. We've heard Trish sports some pretty white panties....

Metal Gear Solid. You know you've abused poor Meryl, making her do sit-ups in her underwear. Tomb Raider. We all did it once: back- << ing Lara into a corner to look at her, Т er, front side. he 7” GTA: Vice City. Pole Position. The ^^ lapdance. Do you need to sit in there forever? No. But you do anyway.... BMX XXX. All of it. Well, the vulgarity and dog-pooping

bits aside, of course. 4

Official US. PlayStation Maga: ©) ““ чк — 5.

ONLY IN JAPAN ГСЗ PLAY TIME

Sopranos star wins it all for charity

ompeting for a charity is

always a good thing—but it's

even better when gaming is involved. Many of Hollywood's finest, including Britney Spears, Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore, Owen Wilson, Fred Durst, Alicia Silverstone, Heidi Klum, and Val Kilmer, turned out to watch and contend in a bicoastal online tournament hosted by Sony CEA. Playing NFL GameDay 2003, Sopranos star Jamie Lynn Sigler New York] eventually defeated Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath the final matchup. Sigler do the $25,000 prize to the Nat Eating Disorder Association.

L.A.] in m CB WS

nated David Spade and Christian Slater face off in

ional the quarterfinals, with Brooke Burke and Gabrielle Reese cheering them on.

After Sopranos star Jamie Lynn Sigler won the online tournament, she stuffed all of the cash in Macy Gray's hat.

FALSE

Eurocom is one of those companies that has generally toiled away in obscurity. It's done some fairly big-name games—most recently, the fantastic James Bond 007: NightFire— but it hasn't really received the recognition many other A-list developers have enjoyed. This is likely because a good chunk of its work has been specialty ports of already- designed games (NBA Showtime, Mortal Kombat, and Duke Nukem, to name just a few). But take a look at Eurocom's library and you'll find plenty of original titles.

STARTS

What Is It?

The Good

The Bad

A side-scrolling platformer/RPG in the style of Faxanadu.

Disney's Hercules An entertaining, side- E 1997 scrolling platformer PS1, PC adaptation of Disney's take on Greek tragedy.

Disney's Tarzan A “2.50” platformer 1999 based on the Disney movie featuring Rosie O'Donnell as a gorilla.

Disney's Atlantis: 15 Eurocom to blame The Lost Empire for Disney's now- œ 2001 standard 3D-platformer | PSL movie-license formula?

It had really nice graph- ics for the system, plus a fair amount of depth.

ice graphics anda fairly extensive combo system.

Really nice 2D graphics, a great soundtrack, and gameplay geared for players of all ages.

A ton of variety helped fight the monotony, and the pretty graphics didn't hurt either.

Good graphics, a few

minigames, blah blah blah... See any recent Disney game.

No one seemed to care.

The hokey prem alien-world 5

We had to wait for Kingdom Hearts to hear the real James Woods as Hades.

We're not sure if the Rosie soundalike was more or less annoying than the real thing.

It set a standard sub- sequent Disney games have failed to live up to.

1047

Clish MacLaver's

GOSSIP GOSSIP

All of this will probably happen

So, what do you think of the new look, huh? In an effort to make an appropriate addition to OPM’s new stylings, I've dug up some juicy info for you to sink your teeth into this month.

CONSOLIDATION According to my buddies in Japan, things there are getting worse and worse every day. The Square and Enix merger is just the begin- ning of what's said to be a mas- sive period of consolidation. My guess? Within the next few months, further buyouts/mergers

will occur. Capcom seems to be a center of attention, with sources indicating that everyone from Microsoft to EA is looking to buy out the company. Also, look for publishers like Sega and Namco to explore closer ties with other companies in the near future.

AGENT 47 AGAIN

If you're like me and you like your men with a nice, clean-shaven head (it's getting popular ‘round here...first Joe, then John, and then Jason! Місе!), you'll have already enjoyed the delights of

The year in which the first written reference to a vampire was made.

on

E-MAIL ME!

Got some good gaming gossip? Or anything you want to say to me? If you hear anything juicy or get your hands on some cool screens or pictures, send me an

e-mail at the following address:

Look out for me on AIM, too—my

buddy name is

“Hitman 2 has proven so popular that a sequel is a necessity”

SPAW

TO STAR IN SOUL CALIBUR 2

Every version gets its own secret character. On GameCube, they get

Link from the Zelda games. I think we

get the cooler deal here though.

RETURNING THIS YEAR! Everyone's favorite undead hero will be back in а game

shooter. Expect more groovy driving ne ing levels, but more importantly the m action will be Metal Gear Solid-style.

Agent 47 in Hitman 2. The game has proven so popular that a sequel is more than expected— it’s seen as a necessity. My sources tell me that we can expect this before March 2004.

TONY HAWK'S AN OLD-GUY SKATER

Word on the extreme-sports cir- cuit is that the next Tony Hawk game won't be called Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5 after all. In an effort to shake things up and push for- ward the concepts that emerged in number four, the new game will get a complete workover. When can we expect it? Perhaps not until next year.

THE GETAWAY 2

No sooner did Team SoHo finish work on this month's big cover game than they started work ona sequel! Sniffing around London for info while John interviewed anyone with an opinion, | man- aged to squeeze a few details from the team. Most notably, the new game is a full-bore, megabudget sequel—not an "add-on" disc, as previously rumored. Expect it in 2004.

Vazhar by Full Sail Gradua Brian Germain

hat |

Real World Education

School of: e Game Design and

Development

Computer Animation Digital Media

Film

Audio

Show Production

800.226.7625

www.fullsail.com

¢ Financial aid available to those who qualify. “ Job placement assistance. * Accredited college, ACCSCT.

3300 University Boulevard * Winter Park, FL 32792

- " ss : { * — i UT шетел ||), уу 22 vwd

„ай emenber amti ma lari nert fane

PN

STUY LEFT оғ FINAL Fi ers GE Aw СРР e»

©

VA

же

Ж” | HUMP - “ж aar

www.playstation.com Jet X20 is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Designed and developed by Killer Game. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are

dh We — кала ees - suopypuco 932090979 pensi Ж ES я А |

62 (ole trip Was Epe ! ft hom orive (eer, j pz а; 43 olber ге Ar fal te erer SCEN Ие k-) H

5 қ ! z9 os ОЕ atone т y

They treated us like Gods ; (ordinates 27°46S EP UN

MEAN:

е

у

Di 2 G) 5-4 2265 = @

On, 22, A 2” 7) ‘

Coo Cos fa о P orn Жо се 7?г-

сео

чоч у Uwe v u J) v)

54.

tof © «ы ч, бы

См

у нй cia їн

Comic Mischief Suggestive Themes

registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "Live In Your World. Play In Ours” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. White Film Border Design Trade Dress used with the permission of Polaroid Corporation.

And your mother Talk-tastic! Says you never Look up Vice City on www.gamefaqs.com listen. to find scripts for KCHAT and VCPR.

$0 uj M D | | © СА IMEHS.COM. & ГАТ 10 М By John Scalzi

This month is all Grand Theft Auto: Vice City—as if you couldn't tell just by | grand ІЛЕС 9000 x à

looking at the selection. Want more? E-mail us: opm(aziffdavis.com AS BLONDIE: EAT TO THE BEAT ПнУ City: tL А =

Blondie is not one of those bands that rewards album-to-album loyalty. =], А ^ = While the band was capable of flat-out brilliant singles, it had a real 5

problem sustaining quality over an entire LP. Eat to the Beat exemplifies [БЕЙ ШЇЇ playstabion Magazine Ten this fact: It features the fabulous "Dreaming," my underdog favorite for

Best Blondie Single Ever, but after that, it's hit or miss. You're better off Bookma rks

getting The Best of Blondie, which features “Dreaming” and all the other

big, shiny hits. On the other hand, the rerelease of this album does fea-

ture the band’s version of “Ring of Fire,” which is a hoot. Your call.

Final Score 69% www.gamers.com media.salon.com/ Get your piping-hot, right-out- mov/jlo.wmv of-the-oven gaming news here, Hint: If you're ever live on A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS: A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS along with a sweetly steaming national television, don’t do this. It's a hard, hard thing to be in a band that's remembered primarily for plateful of reviews, previews, the lead singer's dumb-ass haircut, but that's what you get when it and cranberry sauce. You'll find www.music4games.net looks like the dude dyed Batman's scalp blond. AFOS had an ace in the our message board here, and A great site for lovers of game hole with guitarist Paul Reynolds, though: His crisp-yet-echoey sounds you can even find out how to chat sound tracks. Game-music news elevated a bland set of songs into something bearable, and made the with us in real-time. Dig it. from all over the world, plus a band's singles (particularly "Space Age Love Song") into radio staples radio station featuring exclusive that have survived far longer than the haircuts. Be that as it may, this is www.playstation.com streaming tunes. another band that you're better off getting the Best Of album. Looking for something Final Score @@4 PlayStation related? Check here zanyvg.overclocked.org first. Because, you know, it’s Some of the weirder stuff char- Sony's site, and they probably acters say to each other in HALL AND OATES: BIG BAM BOOM know better than anyone what games—all collected in one This is Hall and Oates’ MTV album, which means that the music here they're talking about. handy place. is best seen with a video to distract you from its complete and utter pointlessness. It’s too bad, too; despite their reputations as cheese- www.inpassing.org www.planetnintendo.com/ meisters supreme, Hall and Oates were a couple of musicians with fine Ironies, oddities, and wisdom for ff1/ Philadelphia white-soul chops—they're just not evident on Big Bam the ages—all overheard (or Wanna see what the original Boom, which features track after track of soft, gooshy, middle-of-the- seen) in passing. Too bad the Final Fantasy was about as you road pop, even the best of which (the single “Out of Touch”) is painful author isn't taking submissions, ^ prepare for the release of in its eagerness to be catchy at the expense of its immortal soul. though; this could easily become Origins? Check out this excellent Final Score 6% а new Web empire. fan site.

IRON MAIDEN: POWERSLAVE

One of the reasons | totally respect Iron Maiden for Powerslave is for its faith that its teenage heavy-metal fans—not exactly the most focused crowd—could handle “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” a 13-minute tone- poem based on the writings of Samuel Coleridge. The rest of the album is Maiden at its best: sharp, siren-like dual guitars, thundering drums, the underrated bass stylings of Steve Harris, and, of course, Bruce

Dickinson bellowing about swordfights and dragons and aerial battles. www.bbc.co.uk/choice/ — www.ozbricks.net/ This is a band with a sense of scale, and that scale is Big. games/games/ bricktales/ Final Score @@@® shootingstars/ You think the Lord of the Rings One of the coolest Shockwave movies are something? Just wait games we've ever played. How until you see much of Tolkien's KOOL AND THE GANG: LIGHT OF WORLDS cool, you ask? Well, it requires epic constructed in Legos! The Kool and the Gang has its moments, but Light of Worlds ain't one of a 3D card, if that gives you any site features other classics, too. them. The band sets down some lite funk that doesn’t go anywhere or indication. Miniature golf has do anything other than suggest it'd make great music for your better never been so insane. WwWW.ps2rosters.com class of elevator. The legitimate songs are also pretty hokey—particu- Don't like playing March Madness larly “Fruitman,” which is either a celebration of the local green grocer www.neoavalon.com/ 2003 with guys named “#05"? or just filled with innuendoes that don't work. The only good news here ts20/setup/ Check out this site. For a mini- is that Kool and the Gang still had “Celebration” in their future when Think TimeSplitters 2 can't be mal fee you can score the real the band made this, so you know they get better. played online? Turns out we names for everyone in the NCAA. Final Score ®@® were all wrong after all. These folks have figured out a way to www.netflix.com John Scalzi's been reviewing music since Members Only jackets were the hip fashion trend. Yes, we were all usu happen, and arpaning lf You like oye but don B really stupid back then. Visit m to see what John thinks of today's latest indie bands. to make it even easier for Know about this site; theres nontechheads. something wrong with you.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

THE TU Yon 7 KOM TRUCKER HAT OUT NOW!

ا

DVD REVÎ EWS By John Scalzi

BLUE CRUSH

(Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez)

You'll probably check it out just for the hot chicks in bikinis surfing the waves—and guess what? You'll get that. But with Blue Crush, you'll also get a pretty decent story about a former competitive surfer (Kate Bosworth) trying to make it back into competition even as she's being distracted by actual life (the movie shows surfers actually working to afford their surf habit—as hotel maids, no less). There's even some

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

romance, which is also pretty well done. In short, if you just want to watch the bikinis and waves, you can do that. But if you want to watch a movie, you can do that, too. Not a bad deal. Extras include a couple features on surfing, director commentary, deleted scenes with com- mentary, a Lenny Kravitz video, and a making-of documentary.

Movie Score: PRRI DVD Extras Score: RRR

(Hugh Grant, Rachel Weisz) Directors Chris and Paul Weitz attempt to atone for unleashing American Pie and its vile progeny upon the world by making a comedy for people with functioning brainstems. Surprise! They do a pretty good job of it. Hugh Grant plays a charming cad who dates single moms because they're easy, but he runs into a speed bump when a moody 12-year-old boy decides to bond with him, whether he likes it or not. That Grant must metamorphose from rascal to acceptable human being is a given, but the process of moving from one to the other is the key, and Grant handles it well. The Weitz brothers have their good taste fatwa lifted, at least until American Pie 3. The directors offer commentary on the film and on additional deleted scenes; the DVD also offers videos by Badly Drawn Boy.

Movie Score: PAPS

DVD Extras Score: PAP

(Eddie Murphy, Rosario Dawson)

A "high-concept" comedy, in that the person at Warner Brothers who decided to spend $100 million pro- ducing this witless piece of dreck was probably high at the time. Eddie Murphy plays a nightclub owner on the moon who runs afoul of gangsters. This gives the film an opportunity to trot out a bunch of flashy-yet-chintzy-looking special effects in the place of plot or laughs. Useful for clearing out your apartment after a party, but other- wise, it's pretty pointless. Someone will have to pay for the huge wad o* cash blown on making this thing— just make sure it isn't you. Extras include deleted scenes and a music video.

Movie Score: &

DVD Extras Score: 0%

(Antonio Banderas, Lucy Liu)

Note to Hollywood: Videogames often don't have much in the way of a plot, so when you make a videogame into a movie, you need to add a plot. Otherwise, you get a steaming pile of crap like Ballistic, which is long on a-blowin' things up real purty, but so intensely lame that the Antonio Banderas/Lucy Liu ogle factor can't hide the fact that even they have no clue about

Jan. 1, 2003 Barbershop

Signs Stephen King's The Shining

Jan. 7, 2003

Born in East L.A.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Three

The Good Girl

Oz: Season Two

The Shield: Season One

what's actually supposed to be happening. You might as well string together a series of random explosions and action sequences and call them a movie. Oh, wait... Extras: HBO documentary and a "Know Your Enemy” feature, although it's pretty clear that the enemy here is the screenwriter. Movie Score: &

DVD Extras Score: ®4

(Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer) Why isn't Ice Cube a bigger movie star? Between Barbershop and the Friday movies, the man has shown himself to be not only a heckuva presence unto himself, but also a fine centerpoint for an ensemble cast. Barbershop has him as the reluctant owner of a trim shop staffed by a crew that jaws about life, the universe, and everything while they're clipping people's heads. Everyone's got something to say, and usually says it in the fun- niest way possible (especially Cedric the Entertainer, whose Rosa Parks riff got the film in hot water with Jesse Jackson, proving you just can't please some people]. And the film actually has a point to make about neighborhoods having their hearts in unexpected places. Funny, thoughtful, and Ice Cube- rific. Extras: director/writer/pro- ducer commentary, deleted scenes with commentary, music video, and making-of featurettes.

Movie Score: PADS

DVD Extras Score: $44»

(Clint Eastwood, Anjelica Houston) Man, that Clint Eastwood sure is old. And, fortunately for us, he's aware of it, so he ends up making interesting films that take his cur- rent physical state into account instead of ridiculously pretending he's still in his early 30s. Blood Work has him as a retired FBI agent with a heart transplant, on the trail of the heart donor's mur- derer. See? Now, that's a plot! From there, it's standard-issue Eastwood, which means it's engag- ing, entertaining, and smarter than

Jan. 14, 2003 About a Boy

Above the Rim

All About Eve

Dead Reckoning Fear Dot Com Undercover Brother

the average thriller. We should all age as well. Extras: a making-of documentary and cast interviews. Movie Score: $$$

DVD Extras Score: 0%

Jan. 21, 2003

The Bourne Identity The Harder They Fall Simone

Jan. 28, 2003

Band of the Hand

The Foreigner Pennies From Heaven Serving Sara

commentary, outtakes, deleted Scenes, extended scenes, and a making-of documentary.

Movie Score: 98

DVD Extras Score: 890%

(Matt Damon, Franka Potente)

Matt Damon awakens to find that he doesn't know who he is, but that he's fluent in several languages and skilled at killing people in a wide variety of ways. He's under- standably curious about all of this—wouldn't you be? But, ulti- mately, The Bourne Identity doesn't add up to much more than à bunch of action sequences— although they're stylishly done and set in picturesque locales, and Damon makes for an interesting kind of action hero, so I'm inclined to let it ride. Damon and director Doug Liman add commentary; there are also deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a Moby video. Movie Score: PADI

DVD Extras Score: RR®

(Matthew Perry, Elizabeth Hurley)

At one point in this film, Matthew Perry has to stick his arm inside a bull; what Perry does to the bull is roughly what Serving Sara does to Perry's film career. Perry is a schlub who attempts to serve divorce papers on Liz Hurley,

but he ends up working for her instead, setting into motion various comic misadventures (with more emphasis on "misadventures" than "comic". | tend to like Perry, who's good with good material, but so far, his movies have served only as a reminder that he should be sure to save every possible penny from his Friends salary. Extras include

(Steven Weber, Rebecca DeMornay) ГЦ give this TV miniseries one advantage over the classic Stanley Kubrick film-version of the King novel: Rebecca DeMornay is much hotter than Shelley Duvall. Otherwise, the Kubrick film has all the advantages. And that's kind of funny, considering this miniseries hews much closer to the original novel (the script was done by King) and fleshes out much that was left out of Kubrick's stylized and spotty adaptation. But Kubrick's version has pure cinematic creepiness and an unhinged Jack Nicholson, while the miniseries reeks of made-for- TV conventionality from director Mick Garris—and from Steven Weber, who, um, is not Jack. Ouch and ouch. No extras.

Movie Score: $44

DVD Extras Score: N/A

(Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan)

Perhaps it's just me, but I'm of the opinion that if you're going to see just one parody of blaxploitation films this year, you should probably see the one with a hero who's actually a black man, rather than the one with a hero who's a fake British spy with bad teeth. Crazy, | know. Anyway, it helps that Undercover Brother is also pretty damn funny and has a field day taking whacks at culture of all col- ors. Griffin, as the Brother in ques- tion, is a hoot, as is Chris Kattan as an evil white dude launching a nefarious plot by The Man to keep the brothers down. Plus, Aunjanue Ellis and Denise Richards! Really, what's not to like? Extras include director commentary, deleted scenes, outtakes, a Snoop Dogg video, animated shorts, a "Beat the Man” trivia game, and so оп. Movie Score: 09094

DVD Extras Score: PAHI

Signs director M. Night Shyamalan shares something with Stephen King, aside from the huge bags of cash they both lug around. What they have in common (and why they both have huge bags of money] is the understanding that nothing's scarier than watching ordinary people realize the world has become totally unhinged—that everything they know and love is like a watercolor painting on a window, and here comes some creepy thing with industrial-strength Windex to wipe it away So you can see what's on the other side. It's a crisis of faith, essen- tially: What you think you believe is wrong. Signs starts off with main character Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) already in an obvious faith crisis as an Episcopalian priest who chucked the collar after his wife got killed in an accident so random, it beggars the existence of a loving God. Hess and his family (a brother played by Joaquin Phoenix, and two kids, one played by a mem- ber of the ubiquitous Culkin clan) are then thrown into anoth- er crisis when crop circles appear at their farm and then all around the world, suggesting an alien invasion. The possible alien invasion is a critical plot point, but the film is less about aliens than Graham's own need to

Signs Street Date:

I SAW THE SIGNS

Aliens or Metaphysics? Your Call

ss

1/7/2003 MSRP: 52999

enforce a rational viewpoint on events—a desperate need that's reinforced because he was once intimately involved with the mys- tical mechanics of faith.

Oh, don't worry—the movie's a lot of fun, too. There are lots of unexplained noises, half-seen crawlies, amusing moments [such as when Graham's family starts wearing tinfoil hats to block out alien rays], and things to make you jump and look nervously over your shoulder.

And Mel Gibson is a great vehicle for anxi- ety: a man of strength on the verge of losing it all. You'll be enter- tained just fine until the ending, which is a bit flat cinematically, but is metaphysically satisfying in that it shows that faith (ігопі- cally] happens for a reason. If you think about it afterward, you might ask your- self if the scope of events in the movie is justified given the rela- tively small payoff—it's pretty much the ultimate case of the shepherd abandoning the flock to find the lost lamb—but at the time, it’s pretty neat.

DVD extras include commen- tary and production featurettes from Shyamalan, an early alien film from Shyamalan, deleted scenes, and storyboards.

Movie Score: @@@® DVD Extras Score: ®®®

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

BY THE NUMBERS

RPG Roll Call

In our playstationmagazine.com poll, we asked which RPG you're most looking forward to. FFX-2 was the hands-down fave, but Square’s other title, Unlimited Saga, got less than 1% of the votes.

Arguably the best game on the PS2, Vice City is now the most popular as well. It took three days to get to No. 1 on this chart. The rest of these games had all month but still couldn't topple it.

last Title/

Month Publisher Rating — Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar) -- МВА Live 2003 (ҒА Sports] %%%% 2 Кіпафот Hearts (Square EA) BERRI 1 Madden NFL 2003 (EA Sports) — Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (Eidos) С

— Топу Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Activision)

— Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (EA Games] BRORI — Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (EA Games]

4 Tekken 4 (Namco) %%%8 -- МВА 2K3 (Sega Sports]

Will Yu-Gi-Oh ever give up its kung-fu grip on the No. 1 spot? It's unlikely, since the game has cast a spell over every PS1 owner.

1 Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories (Konami) DI 3 SpongeBob SquarePants (THQ) BR 2 Spider-Man [Activision]

4 Gundam: Battle Assault 2 (Bandai) DPRD 6 Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Midway) n/a 7 бғап Turismo 2 (Sony CEA)

— Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (THQ) ®® 5 Madden NFL 2003 (EA Sports) BOOSH — Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro (Activision) dedi

— Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (EA Games] RRR

Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, October 2002. Call them at 516.625.6190 for questions about this list. No games for competing console systems (e.g., Xbox, GameCube] were included. Overall sales figures may vary. Game descriptions written by the OPM staff.

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

Def Jam: Vendetta EA Big

Final Fantasy X-2 Square EA NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Big Devil May Cry 2 Capcom Xenosaga Namco Dark Cloud 2 Sony CEA Splinter Cell Ubi Soft Soul Calibur 2 Namco High Heat 2004 3D0 Ico 2 Sony CEA Tales of Destiny 2 Namco Toruneko's Grand Adv.3 Enix Gundam G Gen. Neo Bandai Master of the Drum Namco Breath of Fire V Capcom Dark Cloud 2 Sony Lupin the Third Banpresto MOH: Frontline EA Square Contra: Shat. Soldier Konami

Ultraman Fight. Evo 2 Banpresto

Yt Е GTA: Vice City (Р52) Rockstar LOTR: 2 Towers (PS2) EA Games Tony Hawk 4 (PS2] Activision Harry Potter (Р52) EA Games Smackdown! SYM (PS2) THQ MOH: Frontline (Xbox) EA Games NFS: Pursuit 2 (PS2) ЕА Games Conflict: Des. Storm (PS2)Gotham Madden 2003 (PS2) EA Sports Mario Party 4 (NGC) Nintendo

(SOURCE; BLOCKBUSTER, WEEK OF DEC. 3, 2002)

GTA: Vice City (Р52) Rockstar NBA Live 2003(PS2) ҒА Sports Kingdom Hearts (PS2) Square EA Madden 2003 (PS2) EA Sports Hitman 2: SiL. Ass. (PS2) Eidos Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal (GBA) Konami Tony Hawk 4 (PS2) Activision LOTR: 2 Towers (Р52) EA Games NFS: Pursuit 2 (PS2) ЕА Games Tekken 4 (Р52) Namco

54/196!

FINAL FANTASY X-2

-hack//INFECTION STAR OCEAN 3

Modern Maturity

Gaming grows up

6.9

OF ALL GAMING SOFTWARE EVER RATED BY THE ESRB,

THE PERCENTAGE RATED M FOR MATURE . -ESRBORG

119

THE PERCENTAGE OF M-RATED PS2 GAMES. -ESRBORG

THE NUMBER OF DAYS IT TOOK ROCKSTAR'S M-RATED GTA: VICE CITY TO SELL A STAGGERING 1.4 MILLION COPIES. j

PlayStation.e

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS?”

Wild Arms is а registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo аге fagi "Live In Your World. Play In Ours." is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. www.playstation.com

Boome ang hard to reach switches

ж

d T3

2 1 S TTL € your ar. E 1

3 Visit www.esrb.org р or call 1-800-771-3772 J for more info.

Fantasy girls gone wild Although we've already reported that the first-ever direct sequel to a traditional Final Fantasy game will be quite different from its predecessor, we're still blown away by how much Square is changing in X-2. This certainly isn't just a quickie rehash using FFX's game engine and characters. Instead, we're getting a new development setup to replace the Sphere Grid, one that's based on the Job Wheel from Final Fantasy Tactics and features a wide [and wacky] range of job classes, from gunner and gambler to pop star and mascot. (We're not sure what being a pop star entails, but we figure it can't hurt to have Yuna and Rikku act like „ pop tarts if they're gonna look like pop tarts.) = Characters can even switch job classes midbattle, opening up a range of new combat possibilities. Topping it off, battles feature a dynamic Active mode that aims to speed everything up. And for those who decried the linear nature of FFX, this time around you'll have an airship from the very begin- ning, letting you explore Spira at your leisure.

But the coolest change has got to be the game's tone. X-2 seems to have a campy feel—a frivolously fun Charlie's Angels style that's a refreshing break from the somber story lines found in far too many of today's RPGs. And what's not to love about that? Publisher: Square EA Developer: Square Release Date: Fall

[THIS ISSUE | COMING SOON

This list is accurate as we go to press. Stuff changes 5 though, so please don't get upset if we're wrong. | JANUARY i Battle Engine Aquila Atari ooting Stuff Black & Bruised Majesco Cel-Shaded Boxing

E.T.: Return to the Green Planet NewKidCo Intergalactic Botany Devil May Cry 2 Capcom Kicking Ass Everblue 2 Capcom Diving Excitement! Fisherman's Challenge Konami Fishin’ Frogger Beyond Konami Hopping The Getaway Sony CEA This One's Covered hsx: hypersonic.xtre Majesco futuristic.racing

| Malice Sierra Action? No Doubt! The Sims EA Games Simulation (duh!) War of the Monsters Sony CEA Monsters Smash!

FEBRUARY -hack//INFECTION Bandai Pseudo-MMORPG | Barbie: Treasure in Time Knowledge Adventuring Doll! | Batman: Dark Tomorrow Kemco Caped Crusading | BattleBots THQ Robot Fighting | Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter Capcom Traditional RPG Butt Ugly Martians: Sierra Butt Ugly Racing Zoom or Do: | Dark Cloud 2 Sony CEA World-Building RPG | Disaster Report Agetec Earthquake Survival | EverQuest Online Adventures Sony OE Life Drainer | Freaky Flyers Midway Sky Racing per: | Midnight Club Il Rockstar Street Racing 1 "ee Pride FC THQ Fight! Fight! Fight! a Primal Sony CEA А Girl and Her Gargoyle 2 FLOCK OF SEAGULLS Tomb Raider: Angel of DarknessEidos Finally! м Av 3 Vexx ПЕ Platforming.. With Claws! & " па апа Rikku refer to their group as the | Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists of the Rose Konami Roses, fighting

Kamome, which means seagull

е Official US. Рау? п Magazine

eJ] NM yx » RELOADED е ge KER-POW!

Ай : Take the red pill E. The Dark Knight is back В | In Shiny' Enter the Matrix = e. E | In Batman: Dark Tomorrow

BO 00 г. Сей Gives Solid Snake a fright

RIVAL GANGS

It's all about heart

Where's Lulu?

A few months back, Yuna stunned the world with her sassy new look. This month, Rikku returns in rare form. But where's еуегуопе 5 favorite goth goddess Lulu? Alas, she моп be joining the gal pals on their latest adven- ture—a quest throughout Spira to track down valuable Spheres. Taking her place is a mysterious new Fantasy girl that Square will debut next month. Stay tuned for a first look at X-2's newest under- clad vixen!

Official 05. PlayStation Magazine

WwWw.starcraftghost.com: Check it for regular updates as well as cool downloads and gorgeous wallpapers.

ENTER THE MATRIX (б

wo movies and at least one game this year News that Shiny had hooked up with the Wachowski brothers to produce games based on The Matrix leaked ages ago, but things have been kept extremely quiet since then. With only five months to go before The Matrix Reloaded hits theaters, Shiny is finally spilling the beans on its first game, which we've been assured we'll see the same weekend the movie hits. So what's the deal? Don't expect a game that follows the movie's plot. Apparently, the Wachowskis wrote an entirely new story for the game that runs concurrently with Reloaded and actually gives gamers an insight

ga. into how some scenes in the movie are set up. Playing as either Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith's part in ey em the flick) or the mysterious character known as Ghost, you get to explore many of the locales that | reos PINK ALIENS you'll see in theaters this May. But you'll get to see them at a different time and in different states of Без? With huge knives for hands | disrepair. In terms of gameplay, early indications point to something along the lines of Max Payne | Charlie confesses to Ghost that the. | with added kung fu. From what we've seen, there will be plenty of Metal Gear Solid-like peeping | А 4 Zerg have no word for “delicate around corners and shooting to look forward to, as well. | ^ i Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Shiny Entertainment Release Date: May

wo шы " і х Ича

МАГ I: I Буз Бу! -! GHOSTFACE KILLAH ч 2 2 lod. Pe 2 Apparently, he's very chilled out

| The Wachowskis describe Ghost as a

| "Zen-Buddhist assassin."

mers are upset

9000S Ammo: 0 Clips: 0

455

Г; inm E d

BIG GUNS

StarCraft: Ghost has lots of them Everyone's packing heat, wandering around like a tank with legs |

жка м m Reloaded: The Plo it Neo has 72 hours before | probes find Zion and destroy it. Meanwhile, he | | must save Trinity from a

і Р 1 pm 7 | dark fate in his dreams.

Official U.S.

NIOBE

Played by Jada Pinkett-Smith She can kick a mean ass, but her real speciality is piloting a hovercraft. And wearing snakeskin-textured leather.

а 1

OVERHEARD: "| know what you're thinking, ‘cause right now, _, I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, I've been thinking it ever since | got here: Why oh why didn't | take the blue pill?” —Cypher, The Matrix

Do you hear that?

All of the principal actors from the new movies recorded voice work, including Keanu Reeves I and Laurence

Fishburne.

Special FX a go-go All the fancy effects are in the game, from slo-mo to that spinny camera.

| WALLCRAWLING

The newest action-game trend? WW Just as in Shinobi and Devil May Cry

12 you can run along walls in Matrix.

BAN `

DAI

hack TM and © 200

PlayStation.c

| Mature Sexual Themes

Mild Language Ix] Violence esas

КТК: RED ROCK

Bionic eye for scanning? Check. Cybernetic arm with taser, grap- pling hook, and grenade launcher attachments? Check. The will to save a Martian colony from alien invaders? You betcha. In RTX: Red

Rock, you're Wheeler, a Radical Tactics Expert (hence the acronym).

Your 10 action-packed missions occur both within the base and on the surface of the Red Planet itself.

Like guns? Boats? Men | in snug-fitting fatigues? Г These аге your pages!

Publisher: LucasArts Developer: LucasArts Release Date: Spring

USA Tih F jla i

i Еш ini tz toyed ous of ing gus ü ie One

towards our victory!

1 d

= Santa Fe

Day 2 10:00

U Tih Fleet

So, Koei's doing another war game. Big surprise, right? Actually, it could be. PT.0. IV has absolutely nothing to do with ancient Asian cultures featuring guys in funny hats! Rather, it follows a line of World War I! strategy games most recently seen on the Sega Saturn (P.T.O. = Pacific Theater of Operations]. Alter history as you order around the forces of America, Japan, Great Britain, or Germany.

Оте step™ A

Publisher: Кое! Developer: Кое! Release Date: February

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

DID YOU KNOW? Tom Clancy hasn't written a book called Splinter Cell. He merely approved Ubi Soft's concept.

TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL

Not just for Xbox anymore “Only on Xbox,” claim the TV and print ads, plus the box of the Xbox game itself. Not anymore. Ubi Soft has now officially con- firmed that Splinter Cell is coming to PS2 and that an enormous effort is being made to ensure that it's as impressive as possible Xbox owners have been going ga-ga over Splinter Cell since it was unveiled early last year—and it certainly didn't disappoint when its November release rolled around. By mixing Metal Gear Solid-style gameplay with the gritty realism afforded by Tom Clancy's involvement on the story, the game became a roaring hit It didn't hurt that the game looks absolutely stunning, either. Some doubt was expressed early on as to whether or not the PS2 is capable of producing some of the fancier effects that are so prevalent in the Xbox version of the game—most notably, the light- ing effects, which lend an eerily realistic vibe to the whole experi- ence. Although we've seen only some early shots, Ubi Soft's devel- opment team in Shanghai seems to be doing an admirable job. Those of you craving a new Metal Gear Solid-style game should be satiated by Splinter Cell for quite some time—at least until Hideo Kojima is finally ready to release Metal Gear Solid Publisher: Ubi Soft Developer: Ubi Soft Shanghai Release Date:

FASHIONABLE, YES

But unneeded light detects bad guys

| .. Youre only supposed to turn on your night vision when you need to, Sammy. _ Triaaer a meltdown a lert.

Night

You have to rely on the cover of darkness а lot if you're going to survive in Splinter

| Cell. The A.I. for all of the

enemies in the game makes them superaware of what's going on around them, and they're always on the lookout. Often, you're required to

| shoot out lights and sneak | around in the shadows so that | you remain unseen. Check out

the cool on-screen effect E when you wear the IR goggles, ;5 Feirona's data in the basement though!

0 The average score that the Xbox version a 4 / of Splinter Cell received according to о www.gamerankings.com.

SNEAKY SNEAK |

Stealth is really, really important As a supersecret NSA agent, Sam Fisher needs to sneak-and-grab more

than shoot his way through levels.

Find the black box]

pv po

Michael Ironside Here at OPM, we love Solid Snake's gravelly voice. He just sounds so damn sexy. Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher is voiced by Michael Ironside. Who doesn't sound sexy. At all. Ever.

4). PlayStation.? M Ru | Mature Sexual Themes BAN т Mild карау Exp] Violence

The Dragon Quest game

? that Level-5, the developer of Dark Cloud 2 is also working on now, for Enix.

Ут

{34140 7а )!

RBLUE :

БЫН; said scuba diving wouldn't make for a great videogame

So wrong, in fact, that F FÎ ROBOT RIDING Everblue 2AND ; р ү me, Everb y ! | It can be quite complicated! IT'S COMING TO THE U. Not only can you « e the Caribbean | When riding on Steve, your robot +h of treasures o TAKE PICTURES AND START | you'll need to monitor his hit points \RIUMII!! WOW! ' | as well as his fuel gaug

experience was wrong...DEAD WRON(

Capcom is about to re second scub:

ins

out you сап:

(

Publisher: Capcom Developer: Arika Release Date: Winter

ANA

Building a better Dark Cloud

How do you improve something that's already a darn-fine gaming experience? You make it bigger, better, and more beautiful—which is exactly what developer Level-5 aims to accomplish with its fol- low-up to the innovative Dark Cloud. Already, the detailed, cel- shaded graphics are phenomenal—but you can see that for your- self. Beneath the surface lies a bevy of other betterments, starting with the dungeon-crawling combat. Though you now have only two playable characters, each comes with a wider range of moves and a deeper arsenal of weapons. Adding to the fun is a customizable robot ride-pod for Max and a creature-morphing ability for Monica. Even the world-building Georama system has been refined, allow- ing you much more freedom to rebuild an even better world. Publisher: Sony CEA Developer: Level-5 Release Date: February

Р; СА” 2 = 22232 СА mum Be sure to pop into

Nothing says circus fun like whacking the Character menu a deranged clown in the back of the BEER head with a meaty wrench. DISC CE oS You can swap between Max and Monica, hitch a ride on Max's robot buddy, or morph Monica into different creatures.

- Oh, Snap! layer У 4 Amateur shutterbugs, rejoice! You can finally put that darkroom to 5 good use with Dark Cloud 2's nifty invention system. Just snap some pics, then arrange them to spawn new items to customize your robo-pal, Steve. Your first challenge: building an energy pack. To do so, you'll need to photograph a milk can, pipes, and a belt—

eet look

rom Lawnmower

which Sheriff Blinkhorn is more than happy to model for you.

DID YOU KNOW?

With quite a few towers mentioned in LOTR, which are the two towers? Tolkien himself was unsure. His publisher created the second books title.

HER _ ; М : à Li | 72 3 g Here, Gimli helps Aragorn fight off

Orcs in Coombs Forest. Expect to see a lot of such teamwork

А Deep Helm's Deep What you see here is an early ren- der for Helm's Deep, where much of Towers’ action takes place. Unlike EA's game, you'll be able to see and go anywhere in the immense fortress, as in a Dynasty Warriors game. And the final version will have a lot more color. Obviously.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS

No, you haven't already played this

Yep, its title is identical to last fall's great hack-n-slasher from EA. But just as it

did with The Fellowship of the Ring, Black Label has plans to release its own ver- 4 Sion of The Two Towers, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's text, not New Line's movies. жыйы} And if Surreal can pull off everything it has planned for the game—which has

been in the works since March (meaning a significantly longer development time

than Fellowship had)—the result will be a longer, better action game with RPG

elements. “Probably the biggest difference between Fellowship and Towers is that

[Towers' book content] makes a better game,” says Alan Patmore, president of

Surreal. Patmore pledges to stay true to the narrative, but never at the expense of

good gameplay (“Мо more fetch the thingies!"]. He also assures us of a better

camera, improved production values, actual motivation to play again, and “one of

the best-looking games on the PS2." We shall see.

Publisher: Black Label Games Developer: Surreal Release Date: Fall

ARAGORN & MORE

Triple the characters?

You'll play as Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Hobbits, and several unannounced characters. There are preciouss rumors.

www.dothack.com

А PlayStation.e

Mature Sexual Themes Mild Language

Er Violence

les Will we get to slaughter Orcs as

2. Éomer? Only time will tell 4

Eum. onu

| ©PREVIEWS

, Пие Grime loosely represents hun- НІН 1 dreds of square miles of LA. streets, jg: psp | * from Beverly Hills to Compton ? n i

TRUE CRIME: STREETS OF L.A. A little bit of everything

After taking a look at True Crime, we're reminded of other recent titles—Grand Theft Auto, The Getaway, Max Payne, and Dead to Rights, to name a few. At the same time, though, it does feel like its own game. As the LAPD's Nick Kang (according to Crime's press release, “а misunderstood, no-holds-barred, badass

cop’ —is there any other kind?), it's up to you to solve a case involving not only a Chinese Triad, but also the Russian Mafia. The story takes you from one side of Los Angeles to the other, with action varying from high-speed car chases to hand-to-hand brawls and gunfights ("bullet time" included].

Publisher: Activision Developer: Luxoflux Release Date: Spring

Much like Max Payne, Nick likes to fall over sideways a lot.

COME INTO ЧЕ FACTOR

О) Official US. PlayStation Magazine

The year of release for X-Men 2: Clone 19 M. 5 Wars on Sega Genesis—the last console X-game not in the fighting genre.

X2: WOLVERINE'S REVENGE

The best there is at what it does?

Can you say "movie tie-in"? You'd better believe it, bub—well, sort of. Though its title indicates a relation to late spring's big- screen sequel to X-Men, Wolverine 5 Revenge very much takes place in the comic-book universe. And, based on what we know, it's the kind of thing the fanboys will definitely want to sink their claws into. Revenge takes the ol’ Canucklehead on an adventure spanning his past (don't be surprised to hear a reference or two to Marvel's recent Origin miniseries), present, and future. We can also expect lots of interaction with other X-Men—plus the obliga- tory boss fights with the likes of Magneto and Juggernaut. Publisher: Activision Developer: Gene Pool Release Date: April i

SNIKT!

Wolverine versus the Wendigo

Go ahead, Wolvie fans. Salivate over this screenshot more than any other you've ever seen in your life.

OH, CANADA

Sweet home, Department H © We haven't seen Logan wear а con- | traption like this since his Weapon X | days. Could this be what Activision

! means by “exploring his past’?

ALL-NEW FOR THE PLAYSTATION®2 :

COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT. SYSTEM AND Sg NINTENDO GAMECUBE

a

Enter to win cool prizes 3

GOWRECKLESS.COM

ORIGINAL HIT AVAILABLE FOR XBOX" VIDEO GAME SYSTÉ

* ..smash into pretty much anything you see...get that

euphoric feeling that comes rarely in life." — PSM, October '02

Screenshots taken from PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system gameplay.

ЙН EE WEEE

For even more high-impact action, DON'T BRAKE FOR PEDESTRIANS. Now if they get in your way, they're gonna pay.

Blast away enemies with new CAR-MOUNTED Drive down the mob in high-speed pursuits, Take on the cut-throat Yakuza mafia as a top-level ROCKET LAUNCHERS then explore the city at your pace in cop or spy in 40 INSANE MISSIONS MULT EXCLUSIVE FREE ROAM CHALLENGES. —double the number of the original hit.

Violence Т ^

2001-2002 Bunkasha Publishing Co., Ltd. Portions 2 2002 Activision Publishing, inc. 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, Inc. and its affiliates. All 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 are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. TM, © and the Nintendo GameCube logo are trademarks of Nintendo. 2 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. Ай other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

PlayStation.e

CONTENT RATED BY ESRB

activision.com

“| ACTIVISION.

e 815/1035 Бе

As big and bold as its title suggests

For those of you not up on your German, Xenosaga's subtitle translates as “the will to power"—a ref- erence to the seminal work of the oft-misunderstood philosopher Nietzsche. If that info alone has your head swimming, then prepare yourself to plunge even deeper into the heady depths with Namco's massive, big-budget RPG extravaganza. With production values that rival the very best from Square (and why not, since developer Monolith is composed of ex-Square guys who worked on Square's Xenogears), Xenosaga is poised to offer the only real challenge to Final Fantasy when it comes to a killer combo of story, gameplay, and presentation. The story is so grand, in fact, that in the first six hours of the game, we spent what amounted to just one hour actually playing. But we're not complaining, since Xenosaga's sci-fi, soul-searching drama had us hooked from the outset—and when we finally got around to a few battles, we were treated to a combat system as deep as it is fun. Publisher: Namco Developer: Monolith Software Release Date: February 25

appear you easily avoid them.

Girl Power Before you get too hot and bothered over Xenosagas sexy leading ladies, keep this in mind: Shion Uzuki (right) seems to care more for robots than she does for her fellow humans, and К05-М05 is a man-made killing machine who wont blink an eye at blasting you away if you get in her path. And if you get really naughty, Shion can call on a massive mech to stomp on your ass.

Battles feature a remarkable depth that'll have you always thinking about f the best ways to clobber your foes.

Official U.S. MayStasieff Magazine

ТҮКТІ Wücefiriet e tert writ devastating 20 раје fighters! Gh as Te v vr rat ня new Missi Medal Gf Millionaires ‘and Story Modes. Use explosive new moves like P

Burst, Failtless Defense, Burst Gauge and mare

тк ыт ‘ate enhanced,

Mature Sexual Themes

p] Violence

| In each of Primal's four worlds, Jen transforms into a more powerful ver- sion of herself, like this Wraith form.

www.castlewolfenstein.com Everything you could possibly need to know is on the official site.

RETURN TO CASTLE

WOLFENSTEIN: ү; OPERATION RESURRECTION"

Doom meets Medal of Honor

If you didn't learn about Adolf Hitler's fascination with the occult in history class, you at least saw it in action in Raiders of the Lost Ark. With that in mind comes the story behind the PS2 debut of the Wolfenstein franchise, a World War II first-person shootout pitting you in a German castle against everything from Nazis to zombielike who-knows-whats. With its zippy new subtitle, Operation Resurrection takes the PC's Return to Castle Wolfenstein and jazzes it up with a few new levels, more secret areas, and additional weapons. The game also looks fantastic—it might even be the most crisp-looking FPS on PS2. It's just too bad there's no multiplayer to be found.

Publisher: Activision Developer: Raster Release Date: Summer

EM. i LIKE THE PC Only not... Many of the scenes come straight from the original PC game. To spice things up, though, there are tons of new missions, as well

Nice Guns

Nazi chicks in black leather She must have lost a contact lens or something.

Turbo Shock 2

Cyber 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, A Ж & DVD's Anywhere!

DVD Remote, Multitap Game Sound System & Horizontal Stand

Wireless Control, 4 Player Multitap, AV Selector and Organize PS2 Games and DVD's with Style!

-. Stereo Speakers

To Your Gaming and Favorite CD's!

Game, Audio & Video Selector

Connect Up To 5 Components! : Easily Switch то Game Console; TV, VCR, DVD; Tuner, and ius

Remote Control

intecandiare mot manutactired) sponsored endorsed or distributed by ویریت ت رترت‎ Entertainmentin

OUR DREAM Before becoming director of Devil 2 Tsuyoshi Tanaka was an editor for a Japanese videogame magazine. This is his first actual game development job.

DEVIL MAY CRY 2

Girl's night out

If you've been following our coverage of Devil May Cry 2, you've

seen your fair share of screens featuring Dante in action. But

only now has Capcom finally shown us much of his new female

companion, Lucia, taking it to the forces of evil. Of the few com- | plaints those who experienced the first Devil had, one of the | biggest was not being able to play as Trish, the sexy blonde who | қ j И у $. j could obviously hold her own in a fight. Well, you won't find Trish I" | i ; in this game [at least not as far as we know], but Lucia is primed ) | to kick major ass—totally in place of Dante if you wish. When you begin the game, choose to play through as either character, then see how your actions affect the game for the other person when you're done [very Resident Evil 2). Yep, we wanna play this one! Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Release Date: January 28

O PREVIE

We mentioned in in mind. To be playabl rsion, we're havi tised mature elements...unless you doing if the camera, controls, and frame at stage, it's just barely playable. Let's | hop Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Austin

Lucia prefers smaller weapons to Dantes huge chopper.

Who's this guy? We know that Devil 2's villain

wants to summon demons to

help him take over the world— but that’s about it. Well, except for the fact that he’s ugly, and his mother dresses him funny.

Í PLAY YOUR WAY

Lucia and Dante do it differently jj Though most levels, like this one, are the į same for Dante and Lucia, each charac

ter also has unique stages to complete.

| Official US. PlayStation Magazine

POWERED BY

gamefixx com

we're your connection!

THIS IS KURTIS

He's new around here Contrary to previous reports, you only

get to control him mone level. Theres no GAME ў г PUBLISHER RELEASE DATE smooching with Lara either. d

Malice Sierra 1/1/03 War of the Monsters SCEA 1/5/03 Dragon's Lair 3D Encore Software 1/13/03 Freaky Flyers Midway Games, Inc. 1/15/03 The Sims Electronic Arts 1/15/03 Primal SCEA 1/17/03 Vexx Acclaim 2/1/03 Starsky and Hutch Empire Interactive 2/2/03 Frogger Beyond Konami 2/2/03 Evil Twin Ubi Soft 2/6/03

The first of a new trilogy

When we polled you on Gamers.com as to whether or not you were excited Pride FC THQ 2/6/03

about the new Tomb Raider, 40 percent of you claimed that you weren't.

Considering that the franchise is one of the most successful in gaming .hack: Infection Bandai America 2/13/03

history—and certainly one of the biggest names on PlayStation—it's further

proof that even a good thing can overstay its welcome. . . Midnight Club 2 Rockstar Games 2/13/03

Eidos and Core have a lot to prove with Lara's first PS2 outing. They're so

eager to please, the game was pushed back from November to February so ;

that it could be focus tested, tweaked, nipped, tucked, and refined into a game The Lost Crave Entertainment 2/15/03

worthy of the original—a second playable character, a glaive-wielding magician

named Kurtis Trent, has even been added Tomb Raider: Eidos Interactive 2/15/03

д БЕРДІҢ Angel of Darkness As we go to press, we have seen very little in the way of playable code. Core

has been playing its cards very close to the vest and clearly harbors concern Elder Scrolls Bethesda Softworks 2/17/03

Adventures

about anything other than final design-work being seen.

Publisher: Eidos Developer: Core Design Release Date: February King of the Coliseum bani ый көші 2/21/03

Barbie: Treasures Vivendi Universal 2/28/03 in Time

Batman: Kemco 3/5/03 Dark Tomorrow

Tankers Titus 3/5/03 Mace Griffin Crave Entertainment 3/13/03 Bounty Hunter

Dynasty Warriors 4 Koei 3/21/03 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

The Sum of All Fears Ubi Soft 4/26/03 Top Gun 2 Titus 6/5/03

RESERVE THESE GAMES NOW AT.

PREORDERPIPELINE.COM

ROCK ON | Release dates subject to change. Visit us online for current information. | Not all titles available in all CompUSA stores. jus

Lara dangles gracefully The free form climbing in a completely new thing for Lara. Shes very good at it.

n | DID YOU KNOW? ү "The original Midnight Club was one of the first " t E games to achieve PS2 Greatest Hits status. M

RESIDENT EVIL ONLINE

Although it's still early, we recently got a chance to see how Capcom's online survival-horror game plays out. You choose one of eight char- acters—a police officer, a surgeon, what have you—and use your spe- cific talents along with the skills of your teammates to escape zom- bie-infested Raccoon City. You can venture out on your own, but the real fun comes from blasting creatures with other players.

Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Release Date: fall

Б, жайы! Range: SHORT,

STAR OCEAN: TILL THE END OF TIME

Now that Square is tied to it; perhaps the Star Ocean series will finally get some good exposure in the States. Not that it couldn't grab a lot of attention on its own merits, though. Till the End of Time is shaping up to be one of this year's top RPGs, with a superb graphics engine,

a great new story from Tri-Ace (of Valkyrie Profile fame], and

a completely original, nonrandom, real-time battle system.

Publisher: Enix Developer: Ti-Ace Release Date: fall

(82) Official U.S, PlayStation Magazine

MIDNIGHT CLUB Il

Fast and furious street racing

The original Midnight Club was one of the first games released on PS2; consequently, it sold signifi- cantly well. Later, association with the themes of the Vin Diesel flick The Fast and the Furious cer- tainly didn't hurt, nor did the Rockstar logo on the box once Grand Theft Auto III hit stores.

Unlike other racers, Midnight Club Il offers an enormous amount of freedom. If you played the original, you'll recall that many of the races allowed you to tag checkpoints in any order you chose to win races and earn new cars. The sequel works with a similar but refined structure. This time, all of the levels represent real cities even more closely than before. Paris, in particular, looks especially believable with all of its famous landmarks in place, including the pyramid on top of the Louvre— which very handily doubles as a kick-ass stunt ramp, if you're so inclined.

The fantasy aspects of MC2 are much more pronounced than in the original, and there are some truly crazy stunts to be pulled off—even on motorcycles this time—if you have the stomach for it. Watch for a review in OPM next month.

Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Rockstar San Diego Release Date: January

—

Leathers Are Cool Street racing a tricked-out hot-rod is all well and good, but if you really want to impress the ladies, pull up to a street race on a superbike. Chicks love a guy in racing leathers.

Ў JURASSIC PARK 4?

қаса” ча Since the release of /P3, Steven Spielberg has said that a fourth film was in order, and recent Ain't It Cool News rumors

ғ. suggest it's well under way. The early word: It sucks.

ROJECT GENESIS

Hold on to your butts

Of all the Jurassic Park game concepts to come along, Project Genesis has got to be the best. Granted, the idea of a Sim City- type game featuring dinosaurs isn't totally original [ап expansion pack to Zoo Tycoon on PC did it last spring], but the JP license does add a certain degree of coolness. Plus, it's just flat-out fun not only to watch your dinos interact (whether peacefully...or hungrily], but also to see a T-Rex go on a people-eatin' rampage. And when you're not managing things like R&D or concession- stand placement, you might choose to jeep through the park yourself or shoot runaways from a chopper in the 12 minigames. Publisher: Black Label Games Developer: Blue Tongue Release Date: March

ү "na evita

Crowd Pleaser

Frequent rain dampens all

guests’ spirits, but you also have to consider individual tastes. Pleasing a “thrill seeker” like Geoff without alienating the less adventur

ous can be tough.

МАУ 2000

IT'S ALL YOURS

Design the park to your liking So, you've chosen your islands shape and built a few things... Now, do some DNA research for more, er, organic attractions.

O PREVIEWS

MACE GRIFFIN: BOUNTY HUNTER Colony Wars + FPS = Cool

We're still holding out for a playable version of this game, but the more we see and hear, the more excited we get. Warthog, as you may remember, was responsible for Star Trek: Invasion, and some of the team worked on the fantastic Colony Wars. This means that the space combat that makes up a significant portion of Mace Griffin should kick some fairly serious ass. What's neat is that there is also a great deal of first-person-shooting action— and the transition between the two is instantaneous: Mace runs along a corridor, hops into a ship, and takes off, all without any messy loading. Check out the video on the disc for yourself! Publisher: Black Label Games Developer: Warthog Release Date: March

Official 0.5. PlayStation Magazine

COMING SOON?

Batman: Dark Day After Tomorrow

DARK TOMORROW The Dark Knight return:

In order to bring us the greatest Batman tale ever told in а videogame, Kemco has teamed Bat-fanatic Kenji Terada (best known for writing the first three Final Fantasys) with Gotham Adventures scribe Scott Peterson to create a dark, intricate story worthy of the DC universe. The plot spans all of Gotham, and the Dark Knight confronts everyone from the Joker to lesser-known, villains such as Mr. Zsasz and Killer Croc—something true fans should really dig. But will the gameplay live up to the story or suf- fer the same mediocre-at-best fate of every modern Bat-game? Check out our hands-on look next month for the lowdown. Publisher: Kemco Developer: Kemco Release Date: March

ОТАМТ RAT

ОЛАМТ RAT

BE BATMAN

The first good Batman PS game? We asked writer Kenji Terada what makes Dark Tomorrow a good superhero game. His response: sm “I think that any superhero game depends on how much the player can become the main char- „ acter and defeat villains using superhuman skills. In Dark Tomorrow, | know that players can become Batman and experience Gotham City. Dark Tomorrow is the game that will give people the Batman experience.” Sounds familiar. Lets hope the extra time this game is taking lives up to the talk—and the potential.

With six classes and four party members, the num- www.lambocars.com ber of possible unique parties that can play throush Want a better idea of the cars in Lamborghini? the game in Final Fantasy |. Check out this site for a history lesson.

AIRSHIPS

The only way to travel These wooden, propellered vehicles B have been a staple from the beginning

Stftous TRAFFIC OFFENCE

FINAL FANTASY ORIGINS PSone

Journey back to Square one

New-school RPG devotees may be salivating over Rikku's return in Final Fantasy X-2, but old-school types are drooling over some- thing altogether different: pixels—and very few of them! That's exactly what they'll get when they boot up Origins, a single-disc compilation including the original Final Fantasy (released in Japan in 1987, then in the United States in 1990) and Final Fantasy II (out in Japan in 1988). Not only will we finally see a U.S. version of FFII, but both games feature numerous enhance- ments that'll make Origins much more than just a history lesson. Publisher: Square EA Developer: Square Release Date: Spring

Шо ж ü ШП ШЕП ш ш ш ш ii di Ж Me iii ili ШЕ! ШП di di шош

i 1 E ш {7 rri NES Original b IS

йз

You call that enhanced graphics?

Believe it or not, the graphics you see in these Origins screen- shots have been enhanced from their original 8-bit appearance. Heck, you might even say they're close to, er, 16-bit quality! But that’s not all that’s new; Square has tossed in new CG opening movies, new theme songs, improved sound quality, a Yoshitaka Amano art gallery, a detailed bestiary, a quick-save function, and several other modes and extras to add to the replay value.

= ` \

LI #

ЕР РО РЎ * ЕЕ За...

Meet the world's most notorious drivers on the streets Choose from the latest performance enhanced vehicles and compete There are no rules - drive anywhere in the city. Find the fastest of LA, Daris, and Tokyo. to make a name for yourself. route to win.

Ап) insane urban racing experience... it's ultra-illegal stuff that you've dreamed of doing." - PSM DECEMBER 2002

"PlayStation" and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online play requires internet connection and Network Adaptor for PlayStation®2 (sold separately). The Online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer А Entertainment America Inc. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered Violence i trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries

! and are used under license from Microsoft. Rockstar Games, Rockstar San Diego and 2 ! the R* logo are r ed 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

The Future Of Illegal Street Racing

> ДУЛУ CLUB П

LOS ANGELES / PARIS / TOKYO

The Midnight Club is now open to motorbikes. Take advantage of the The cops know you are out there - don't get caught. Use tricks to gain an edge or just to show off. Style is speed and control - but watch out, a wrong move will send you flying. almost as important as winning.

COMING SOON WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIONIGHTCLUB2

LIVE _ PlayStatione FEE | Н, | Ў | CD ROM ;

| THE GETAWAY

cover, in case you're scanning your collection for it) hit newsstands with "the coolest-looking game ever" splashed across its cover, accompanied by an early screenshot of The Getaway (then just Getaway, for some reason). Though still quite early in its development cycle, the game was already pegged as something worth waiting for, and had been since before the PS2 had even hit stores. Finally, after a seemingly endless wait, “the coolest looking game ever” is just about ready for release. To see it for yourself, pop the demo DVD into your PS2 and try it out.

“Originally, we were working on a driving game that was a bit like GTI Club for PS1," says Chun Wah Kong, the lead designer on The Getaway project at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's Team SoHo division. "There wasn't much of a story line early on, to be honest, and the project wasn't really going anywhere. We knew we could do a good racing engine because the team had done Porsche Challenge and Rapid Racer, and both had been well received." This is true: If you know your PS1 games, you, too, can attest that both games were gorgeous examples of the PS1's capabilities that stunned everyone with their extremely realistic visuals It's easy to trace the The Getaway’s heritage

"We started working on a concept that’ had you as a getaway driver for a bunch of jewel thieves," Kong explains. "Unfortunately, Driver came out just as we were fin- ishing our proof of concept and pretty much messed everything up for us. If we'd

фр June 2000 issue of Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (X-Men was on the

Official US. PlayStation Magazine (69)

Mark's the character you play first, and the moral focal point of the wholes After escaping from his life of mond is‘drawn back in when

crime with the mo! а Charlie Jolson decides һе has one last job he wants him

to do. To help give himan incentive, Jolson sends Yasmin to kidnap Hammond's Wife and child. In the scuffle, Suzie

Hammond is shot; М: ants to find his son and

have carried on, we knew we could have been as good as Driver...but that wasn't enough."

“When we got the early PS2 development kits, we decided to try to do something different," explains Brendan McNamara, the game's director. “We mocked up an early demo and took things from there. That was three and a half years ago.”

“The things that got us started were movies like Get Carter— especially the vibe of the Michael Caine character in that movie,” explains McNamara. “If you watch that movie, you realize that things just don’t end very well for him, and it was particularly appropri- ate for our character, Mark Hammond. He's not really a hero in the conventional sense; he's more of a victim.” If you play all the way through to the conclusion of the demo, you'll see how this unfolds. The game begins with a tragedy, and with every step you take as Hammond, things pretty much get worse. “When we were working on Charlie [Jolson, the game's villain], we wanted some- one very Machiavellian, and we were looking at the movie The Long Good Friday, a Bob Hoskins

je

movie. He's a typical sort of British Bulldog kind of charac- ter." As you can see from the demo's final cut-scene, Jolson isn’t exactly a pleasant fellow— and as the game's story unfolds, his motives become ever less savory.

Halfway through The Getaway, the gameplay takes an engaging twist: Mobster Mark Hammond's quest to get his child back reach- es something of a conclusion, and the player’s perspective switches to that of Detective Frank Carter. As Carter, you're a cop assigned

; INTERIOR DESIGN ‘g

4 with Building interiors are accurate too Its not just the streets that look like the real thing.

to work the London gang scene. But Hammond is hardly out of the picture; as each scene unfolds, Carter's and Hammond's stories grow more intimately entwined. “We wanted something very adult,” McNamara admits, “but we wanted a story that people could relate to. Something we concentrated really hard on was the darker humor. For this, we obviously looked to Guy Ritchie and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels for inspiration.” The game lacks the wit of, say, the Grand Theft Auto series, but maintains a

RENT THESE MOVIES

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking The Italian Job (1969)

Barrels (1998)

This month's issue is a full multimedia experience as our DVD also has a special section devoted entirely to The Getaway. Not only does it fea- ture an exclusive playable demo of the game, but it also has extensive behind-the- scenes footage.

Click on the special section for the The Getaway on the main disc menu and then enjoy the video of scenes taken from throughout the entire game. Then you can check out inter- views with the guys from Team SoHo (also featured on these pages) as they speak about recreating huge areas of London for the game, the story line, the technology that makes it all possible, and the design process that makes The Getaway quite different from other action games.

sense of colloquial humor throughout. Developed entirely in London, it’s uniquely English in its presentation, and in this regard it shares a lot with Ritchie's work. Although very dark—and, at times, quite dis- turbing—many scenes are pre- sented with a certain degree of sarcasm and irony.

“We worked really hard to merge the story with the game- play as much as possible,” says Katie Ellwood, The Getaway's scriptwriter. “We wanted to ensure that things unfold as you're playing, and that it’s not all

confined to cut-scenes."

“I came to the production from working on plays and scripts. | had absolutely no game experi- ence at all,” confesses Ellwood. “It was great coming in and not knowing any of the limitations of the technology, so | didn’t have any preconceived ideas about what could and couldn't be done.

“Casting for the game was very much like it is for a play or a movie. We got a lot of actors in to read for parts; we needed about 30 people. We have eight princi- pals, 15 second-level guys, and then the rest are extras.” Every character was integral to the game's production, though.

From talking to the team, it’s clear that The Getaway was pieced together very differently than other games. “My background is more on the movie side of things,” explains McNamara, “whereas Katie has a theater background. Working together with the crew and the actors, we were able to do some things that you've not seen in games before. Because of the technology we were using, we could focus on the

performances and really capture the scenes well.”

Gavin Moore, the lead anima- tor on the project, was deeply involved in developing the tech- nology that allowed McNamara and Ellwood to get the perform- ances they wanted. “We went through a film process for all the

wey А

REAL | CARS

56 licensed cars can be picked up Plus there are 10 hidden cars in the game too.

acted scenes in the game,” he explains. “We did the motion cap- ture and the voice acting at the same time. Body movements change the way people sound when they speak, so it was great to be able to record everything together. The motion-capture sys- tem let us use what was effec- tively a 16-by-16-foot stage to act out all the scenes. The technology we used was magnetic rather than light-based, so we could capture lots of information at the same time. Within this space, we could build entire wooden sets the actors could interact with. We built everything out of wood, even the cars. There couldn’t be any metal on the stage because it would have played havoc with the system. There were these huge black monoliths pumping out a magnetic field on the stage. | don’t know if they were danger- ous or anything, but what they generated was enough to stop your watch,” he laughs. “It took us six weeks to capture all the scenes, and in the end, we had over 100GB of data.”

“It was great going through this process with Brendan, because we could have the actual set and the virtual set on the

monitors at the same time. It really made the production process faster; while the actors were doing their scenes, we could always see how things would be in the final game. The technology we pioneered to do this on The Getaway has led to other things. The system is already being used

Chárlie'sthe head of the mob and a really nasty guy. For e cut-scenes, British actor Ricky Hards endured hours of makeup.application to transform his young features

intothose of a grizzly, hardened cockney crime lord. The

iIkeup, which was based on photographs of Hards’ father, was worn at all times so he could stay in charac- e ter and be scanned for the cut-scenes. Jolson spends much of the game puffing on a big, fat 2 and Swearing at poor Mark Hammond while order- 3 9 vicious beatings and brutal murders. By the second. er third scene, it's hard not M2 hate him

alU S. PlayStation Magazine

` THE GETAWAY

in a movie shoot in New Zealand. It’s fantastic that we can push technology we've worked on to outside the games industry.”

Much has been made in the past few years of The Getaway's attention to detail. Those early screens we published in the June 2000 issue showed some incredi- bly realistic scenes. “There are 21 square miles of London in the

game,” McNamara states proudly.

“We take you from the East End to the end of Hyde Park.

Smoke coming from under the hood? Is the car on fire? Move as quickly as you can so you don’t lose Yasmin’s car. Stop near some traffic and hit the Circle button to get out of the car. Run towards some- thing that looks respectable {the car you start in is an Alfa

The area in the game is about the same size as Manhattan. We didn't take any liberties with the work on the city—we were anally accu- rate with the whole thing.” Just how anal? “We have 300,000 still pictures we took of stuff in London for reference, and we built everything meticulously from that. London took over 1,000 years to become what it is today; we pieced it together in just over three,” he laughs. “It was impor- tant to us to keep the same level of detail throughout every aspect of the game—whether it’s the script, the streets of London, or the building interiors.”

London is a unique place. If you've ever been there, The Getaway will definitely feel like familiar territory, even in the small section of the city included in our demo. Aside from the obvi- ous landmarks, the game’s world includes...a certain something that's difficult to put your finger on. The Getaway “feels” like London. We asked McNamara how that was achieved. “I'm from Australia,” he says, emphasizing his accent, “and | can remember when | moved to London noticing how gray it is. When | go back to Australia, l'm always amazed at how high the sky seems. In London, it’s always overcast and

HUMAN SHIELD

Taking hostages is a vital tactic Pick a character that other bad guys respect, and they won't shoot at you for fear of hitting their boss.

gray. There's a layer of clouds visible all the time, and it casts a very gray light over everything. London’s architecture makes а big difference, too. Because there aren't really any high-rise build-

ings here—there are no sky- scrapers—it gives everything a distinctive look. There's absolute- ly no question that you're not in an American city."

It's not just the buildings that are accurate, either. If you're familiar with European cars, you'll recognize pretty much everything that’s whizzing around the streets in the demo. That green number you're driving? It’s an Alfa Romeo 156, an extremely popular car in London. “We approached all the manufacturers we wanted, and I'd say that nine out of ten of them said ‘yes’ to being in the game,” McNamara beams. “The rules we had to

continued on page 96

would be the character with dubious morals:and ques~ tionable intentions, it's actually his pursuer DC (Detective Constable) Frank Carter who-has the itchy

trigger finger. You get to play as Frank after working

E your way through the game as Hammond, and you get to A see a different perspective on many of the events that you'vê already played through.

Romeo 156, try and get another one if you can) and hit Circle again. Mark will draw his gun and tell the driver to get out. Jump in and make sure to keep an eye on those turn signals!

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Find all your favorite products under one roof—yours. Welcome to PriceGrabber.com—the fastest,

most convenient way to locate and compare the best products and prices online. Just pick a category, click, and within

moments you're searching products by brand, popularity, features or price. While you're at it, get the lowdown on products

and merchants from buyers just like you. Bottom line? Whether you’re shopping for computers, software, electronics, movies, )ber.com provides all the information you need to make the best buying decisions.

games or dozens of other products, PriceGi

Let the power shopping begin.

PriceGrabber.co

> Computers > Software > Electronics > Video Games > Movies > Music > Books > Toys > Office Products Comparison Shopping Beyond Compare.

REVIEWS

A post-holiday lull, in more ways than one- this month's selection is bland-tastic!

PS2 GAMES 100 .hack//INFECTION %9%%8 98 Battle Engine Aquila BORG 101 BMX XXX ®4 99 Dead to Rights DDD 99 Disaster Report BORE 104 Dragon Ball Z: Budokai BORE 100 Dynasty Warriors:

Xtreme Legends BRR 101 Evolution Snowboarding ® 101 Island Extreme Stunts BHI 104 James Cameron's Dark Angel B® 104 Legends of Wrestling II BOS 108 Minority Report DDI 108 Monopoly Party RRR 108 The Powerpuff Girls:

Relish Rampage %% 108 Ргіде ҒС odo dede 109 Pro Race Driver ROBE 106 The Sims DPAP 102 Star Wars The Clone Wars BRE 109 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon BRI 109 Whiteout * 109 World Tour Soccer 2003 %%%0% PERIPHERALS 112 Cobra TT ® 112 Hip Screenpad DDI 112 NetPlay Controller dodo dododo 112 QCast Tuner dodo dodo

Ф, MEET THE CRITICS %

JOHN DAVISON

If John and Joe put their heads together, it looks like a butt with one hairy cheek. Current Favorites: Pro Race Driver, The Two Towers, Maroon 5, OPM's new look Favorite Genres: Driving, Killing

-gary//STEINMAN Gary threw a party with all of his toys to

Current Favorites: .hack, Dark Cloud 2, Rikku, Xenosaga, Squenix Favorite Genres: RPG, Platformers

JOE RYBICKI

Joe’s new Vaio laptop is so powerful,

it auto-wrote all of his text this month. Current Favorites: 007: NightFire, The Sims, Jeff Buckley: Grace, Alton Brown Favorite Genres: Adventure, FPS, Puzzle

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

more re place.

| celebrate the merger of Square and Enix.

Battle Engine Aquila

BATTLE ENGINE AQUILA

Publisher: Atari

Developer: Lost 1

Website: wwwataricom

Playing Battle Engine Aquila is like

being a pawn in someone else's

real-time strategy game. There's assive war going on, and you're

in the middle of it all—except

you're in control of a massive mech

that can kick the crap out of every-

thing else. It's a pretty cool con-

cept, if you ask me.

It works well because you're given specific objectives to carry out, yet it's up to you to decide exactly how you want to accomplish them. For example, you can go for all-out action and try to take on an enemy base by yourself. Or, you can use your massive firepower to take out a row of enemy tanks, plowing a path for your troops. It's a unique twist; you essentially get RTS-style management with

CHRIS BAKER action-based gameplay.

C-Bake learned he’s not yet a Jedi when Another cool element is your he failed to repel Clone Wars’ mediocrity. тесһ в limited flying ability. This Current Favorites: Dynasty Warriors 3: XL, leads you into sky battles, and lets seeing The Two Towers as often as possible you attack enemies from above. Favorite Genres: Action, Sports, Strategy Unfortunately, with all the SAM KENNEDY possibilities surrounding you, mis- Disaster Report taught Sam one thing: It’s son objectives often become ei 7 а А fusing. And, even though Aquila time to get ready for the Big One. has this cool Tron thing going on Current Favorites: Contra, Rygar, Disaster | re inblue andith Report, Metroid Prime (sacrilege, | know) VOU dure sie Б, M

Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG enemy is in red), it can sometimes be hard to figure out who's who.

TODD ZUNIGA Thankfully, solid graphics and Todd's writing tip: Play 10 games of NHL audio, two-player Co-op and Versus 2K3, then write for 10 minutes. Repeat. modes, and lots of stuff to unlock Current Favorites: NHL 2K3, GTA: Vice keep this blast-a-thon steady.

City, Chuck Palahniuk, Larry David Sam Kennedy RRR

Favorite Genres: Sports, Arcade Sports

Dead to Rights

Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco Website: wwwnamco.com l've been having a seriously tough time deciding how to score Dead to Rights. The problem is that it's loaded with a bunch of interesting features—but they're packed into a game that's fundamentally pretty poor. Let's discuss:

If | had to summarize DTR in

| |

| one phrase, l'd call it a poor man's

| Max Payne. The story is similar—

| good cop gone bad—and the

| gameplay is similarly, uh, similar.

| And then, of course, there's the

| slow-motion dive both games

| share. But where Max’s Bullet

| Time was essential to your suc-

| cess in the game, DTR's slo-mo is

| nothing more than a cheap—and

| often quite useless—gimmick. DTR does have a lot going for

| it, though. Beyond the basic run-

| and-shoot action, the game is

| simply saturated with minigames

| and alternate-play modes, ranging

| from a fairly simple, hand-to-hand

| combat engine (think The Bouncer

with a lobotomy] to a very odd,

Irritating Stick-like bomb-defusing

game. You'll beat up cops, blast

| away clowns, and put out fires.

Dead to Rights

ЕЕЕ“ Yo [it i i 177

Disaster Report

There's a lot of variety, to be sure.

Trouble is, there's too much variety to the variety—that is, you'll occasionally go through stretches where you'll do three or four different minigames in a row...and then follow it up with two hours of fighting the same cookie- cutter enemies hand-to-hand. There are bits where you'll be doing something new every five minutes, and bits where you'll spend an hour thinking, "Wasn't! just here? Didn't | just kill you?"

Moreover, the game looks surprisingly dated. The anima- tion is jerky and unrealistic, the graphics range from unremark- able to ugly, and the camera and controls have serious issues. | hate to say it, but it feels like a first-generation PS2 game. Coming from an experienced company like Namco, that's almost unforgivable.

In spite of all this, Dead to Rights is a reasonably entertain- ing diversion that'll take a fairly satisfying amount of time to beat. If you're looking for something to tide you over till the next Max

| Payne, you could do worse.

|

Dead to Rights

Publisher: Agetec

Developer: liem

Website: wwwagetec.com

Considering | live in an area of the country that's ready to fall into the ocean at any given moment, a game like Disaster Report is per- haps a bit more relevant to me than to most people. Regardless, anyone looking for a brand-new twist on the tired survival-horror genre would be wise to check out this rather inventive adventure. The chills | got from the after-

| shocks rival any I've experienced | from the undead in other titles.

It's a great concept: You're on a floating city that is slowly crum- bling to pieces because of an earthquake and its aftershocks. Literally, at a moment's notice, massive chunks of the environ-

| ment can give way, sending

debris—and sometimes you—into the ocean. It's extremely unset- tling, and producing that feeling is what this game accomplishes best. Disaster Report also separates itself from the rest of the pack by relying on something other than gunplay for its action. It's more of a

| puzzle-solving game, yet it some-

how remains completely thrilling throughout. Perhaps it's because you never quite know what's next. Even the story line remains com- pelling, tossing in twists as you go. There's also a unique Save sys- tem (based on water), and lots of inventory management—a clothes hanger has never been so useful! Unfortunately, Disaster Report stumbles drastically in the produc- tion department. The game's graphics are solid, but certain

Disaster Report

areas force the engine to slow to a crawl. It's mostly a result of fancy onscreen effects, and thankfully, it never adversely affects the game- play, but it’s a shame this wasn't rectified. The camera could also use some work—it hardly ever feels quite right. Here's a game that's just begging for the polish a bigger publisher—like, say, EA or Konami—could provide.

It's too bad, too, because there

| are moments when Disaster Report

really shines—moments that make you feel like you're really playing out a disaster movie. If you can manage to get past the technical issues, you'll find a unique and

| captivating experience here.

Disaster Report

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

Meta. Wanna sound smart without really trying? Then toss in the word meta when discussing .hack. As in, "The postmodern interplay in .hack is so meta."

4131 EWS LM ШИЕ» 100% more stars!

'U31/556 | ANH poe SI 94/ 106

-hack//LIMINALITY

-hack (the game) comes with an original anime DVD that tells a separate story set within the same overall world. Be sure to рау attention to hints for special dungeon-generating keywords...

Gary Steinman

dododod

Ей ей 3 6 сей к ӨЯ Fs

1060

cere

DYNASTY WARRIORS 3: KTREME LEGENDS Publisher: Koei

Developer: Omega Force

Website: wwwkoeigames.com

Expansion packs for console games? They're a rarity, to be sure, but Koei knows that Dynasty Warriors fans can't get enough of being a one-man menace on an ancient Chinese battlefield contain- ing thousands of fighters. Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends not only enhances the features of Dynasty 3 {ма а memory сага), but it's also playable on its own for those simply wishing for Dynasty 3's gameplay in a somewhat cheaper ($30) package.

The most notable addition is, you can now play in Musou (Story) mode as one of seven enemy char- acters from Dynasty 3, each hailing from outside of the Three Kingdoms. Of course, the big draw is Lu Bu, who, under your control, beats the crap out of opposition almost as well as he did when you fought against him in Dynasty 3.

You can also play XL or power up Dynasty 3 with two new difficulty levels (kind of useless, but, what- ever], a fifth weapon for all charac- ters [it's hard enough to attain the fourth!), some new items, and cus- tomizable bodyguards [nothin’ like fighting alongside Jennifer Garner and Elisha Cuthbert). Free mode even allows you to choose an actu- al Dynasty Warrior as a bodyguard, which absolutely rocks. Four new Challenge modes round out the enhancements, each one a great way to kill a few minutes.

Being an expansion pack, Xtreme Legends does little to affect Dynasty 3's core gameplay. Both the good and bad aspects of its predecessor occur here, too. Although | can't deny the Dynasty games repetitive nature (which

Dono Zhuo “We shall show them. Feel the power of

turns off its share of critics], I've always found something magical about the series. The hacking ‘n’ slashing never grows old, because your path to winning a battle is so wide open. You're always thinking

| about what strategy will not only

be the most effective, but also the most rewarding for building up

| your character. However, | can't

deny the technical problems, like

| enemies who pop up out of

nowhere, persistent fog (especially with two players], and graphics

| that are starting to show their age.

As a standalone game, XL

| should satisfy anyone with a mild | interest in the series, while hard- | core Dynasty fans will definitely

| want the extras. Anyone between | the two extremes, though, is

| better off waiting for Dynasty 4,

| currently scheduled for a

| March release.

| fee Chris Baker Y BRI

Xtreme Legends

Lego Porn. What better way to mix your BMX XXX with your Island Extreme Stunts? For adults only: stuffideath-from-above.com/Ip

те ишт топа тїн

SCORE

Evolution Snowboarding

SCORPION

DESTROY ENEMIES

Evolution Snowboarding

EVOLUTION

SNOWBOARDING

Publi: i

Developer: Konami Osaka

Website: wwwkonami.com

Lop your hand off with an ax. Slip

on ice and fall on your tailbone.

Drop-kick a chainsaw with your

bare feet. Join a fight club. Put bro-

ken glass in your pillow case. Cut

your meat with a butter knife. Eat

toast without the benefit of butter

or jelly. Listen to Jay-Z on a monot-

one speaker. Drink unfiltered entioned games, yet it's as kid-

water. Use a wireless mouse with friendly as it gets. If you're in the

low batteries. Take a cold shower. market for an E-rated game for a |

Developer: Silicon Dreams Website: wwweagames.com When you think of /sland Extreme Stunts, think Stuntman without the difficulty and realism. Think Tony Hawk 4 with 25 challenges instead of 190. Think Vice City without the profanity and prostitution.

This game borrows loyally and liberally from each of the afore-

Get online using a 14.4K modem. yet-to-be-corrupted youngster, this Eat soup with a fork. is the crown jewel on PS2.

Sadists can now add a new Once on Lego Island, your goal option to their perverse torture list: | is to become the lead stuntman in Play Evolution Snowboarding. an action-adventure film that would make Michael Mann proud. You'll have to drive at breakneck speeds, skysurf, jet ski, and motorbike your way to fame: glorious stuff for kids.

As for the extreme part of the title, you'll scoot around the island on your skateboard (although you'll later upgrade to speedier means]. Unfortunately, the skateboard is the game's major shortcoming. Whenever you bounce into an object while riding the board, you spin 180 degrees, causing the cam- era to whip around you with eye- jarring haste. This flaw is a small price to pay considering all of the cool stuff within, like chatting with focus is no longer on the snow- pedestrians who assign tasks or boarding, but on the...wait for jumping in and out of minigames.

ghting. Huh? What? Yes. The | You can even goof around at the fighting. You race down hills and skate park to perfect your Kickflip. you fight along the way. At what While this might sound tantaliz- point did someone actually think ing to adults, it won't be—it's just this was a good idea? too simplistic. But there's surpris-

The cover art tells all: There's a | ing depth and lots to do for a guy with a chainsaw in the back- younger crowd. It's perfect for an ground. | can't stop laughii under-13 gamer.

Пе Todd Zuniga id dodo dod

Second Opinion

"Watching Todd's pinky finger wiggle in his nostril was a pleasant diversion from what was on the screen.” -Chris Baker

Making a play for both stupidest concept and lamest game on the PS2, Evolution is a cry for help. Instead of improving on the ha to-comprehend and harder-to-nav- igate X Games Snowboarding, Konami opted to crap in its oat- meal with this doody filet. The

Ad Todd Zuniga %

ВМК

№

Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Z-Axis Website: wwwacclaim.com

ven if BMX XXX were misogyny-free...even if it lacked the overt sex-

ism and the freeform racism... and even if it relied on some- thing other than blatant stupid- ity, it still wouldn't be worth the disc it's printed on. The game is milquetoast in every gameplay aspect, relying on profanity's

pale emphasis and some less- than-Skinemax "strip shows" to earn an M-rating.

І could go on endlessly (and

think a naked chick on a bike is as sexy as losing my balance while straddling a chain-link fence. In games like GTA: Vice City, there are hookers and porn stars; in Tony Hawk 4, there are

OVERHEARD: “I've decided to take my name off

the game because it is M-rated.” —Dave Mirra

on the troubled gameplay, because it makes me shout out more profanities than BMX XXX's more-stereotyped-than-thou pimp.

Everything that was wrong with Dave Mirra 2, controlwise, is wrong with XXX. Which is plenty. The most frustrating part is that you need to stop the bike altogether if you want to look around. Instead of just turning your bike around, you'll find yourself stopping to turn your bike around, because that way, at least, the camera will follow you. If you jump, the camera gives more of a top-view. That's great for a better angle on bails, but I'm trying to succeed here. Don't make it any harder than you already have.

Which brings me to the part that confuses me most about this game. It's f'ing hard! Really, really hard. When strippers are

"A naked chick on a bike is as sexy as losing my balance while straddling a chain-link fence.”

pimps and crap-flinging mon- keys. These things can be funny in the right setting. The key is

put aside the

mic Mischief” and “Partial Nudity” and “Strong Language” and "Strong Sexual Content” (all listed under the "Mature" umbrella on the back of the game's box). Let's focus instead

the ultimate goal, shouldn't the difficulty be toned down? No one who's new to BMX games is going to be able to stomach the camera, the difficulty, and the level design for more than 25 minutes before realizing that surfing the Net for strippers is going to be a lot easier. At least give me a map to help me around the levels, will you?

The goals are the same lame things you'll find in any action sports game: Collect five things in two minutes, score a bunch of points, collect coins. Who cares?

—

b (ТЕС ^ чач

Now that Hawk 4 has reinvented the action-sports wheel, there’s no turning back. XXX is more Hawk 2 than anything, but with- out the spirit.

And yet, while | believe the makers of this game should be ashamed of themselves for bringing the darkest craters of their personalities to light, | still love boobs. Of course, a Cheat code can get me right to the goods—and has. | have to say that | was completely under- whelmed. The best you'll get is a BMX XXX logo pasted over some knockers. It's lame, and it's not even remotely worth the effort required to access it.

1 know this game is supposed to be American Pie funny, but it's ‘not. It's not Andrew “Dice” Clay funny—it's not even Carrot Top funny. BMX XXX is the worst example of what PS2 games are capable of.

т Todd Zuniga DI

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

mea ча! ДАА

ANIMATED STAR WARS Beyond games, books and comics, the Clone Wars are rumored to continue in a Cartoon Network animated series.

Serious Star Wars fans who read the Expanded Universe novels and Dark Horse comic books will get a lot out of The Clone Wars. A few examples:

Wookiee World: A few mis- sions take place on a moon of Chewbacca's homeworld, Kashyyyk (the first time it's been portrayed onscreen...well, outside the Star Wars Holiday Special]. The Wookiees even lend you dinosaurlike creatures to ride, each equipped with bowcasters.

Primed for Young Readers: Raxus Prime, another planet you battle on, comes from the pages of Star Wars: Boba Fett-Crossfire by Terry Bisson, a Scholastic-published recent release aimed at younger fans. In the book, Boba is betrayed by Count Dooku on this planet.

A Fallen Jedi: Readers of Dark Horse's Tales of the Jedi

series know Ulic Qel-Droma as a Jedi much like Anakin: Once good, he turned to the dark side, only to see the error of his ways by his life's end. His ghost, and the Hoth-like ice planet of his burial, Rhen Var, plays an important role in the story of the game.

пча

Chris Baker

DDD

—— :

= age

A COLLISION OF THE WORLD'S MOST

UNIVERSES!

Rule the arena of the world’s two most

tag-team fighting game on Mi ота tag-team battles.

and Sup: 7; Heroes from the Marvel Universe and watch the super combos fly.

p PlayStation.2

J g

Ni

Animated Violence Animated Blood Suggestive Themes

© CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2002 © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2002 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. MARVEL AND ALL RELATED CHARACTERS AND THE DISTINCTIVE LIKENESSES THEREOF ARE TRADEMARKS OF MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC., AND ARE USED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT 2002 MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ynww.marvel.com. STRIDER: MOTO KIKAKU. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. /

DRAGON BALL Z: BUDOKAI

Two reviews for the price of one

Publisher: Atari Developer: Dimps Website: wwwataricom hen it comes to consid- ering Dragon Ball Z, it seems there are two distinctly opposite frames of mind: There are those who are absolutely ga-ga over it, and those who wouldn't consider going near it. | happen to be in the rather unique position of being totally indifferent toward it. | simply appreciate the show for what it is: bizarre, wacky Japanese anime.

That said, I’m going to attack

this review from two differing

perspectives: that of a hardcore

fan of the show and that of a hardcore fan of fighting games. See which side you relate with.

Dragon Ball Z Fan: Sweet! A DBZ fighting game featuring 23 of my

favorite DBZ characters.

2: Hardcore.

DBZ Fan: How about Akira Toriyama's cool character designs? Gotta love those.

FG Fan: Uh...why does that guy have a tail? And, um, where exactly is he sticking it?

DBZ Fan: At least all of the tele- vision show's voice actors did the voices here.

FG Fan: OK, the voice acting is actually pretty good by game standards.

DBZ Fan: The branching Story mode is also great! Several story lines from the show have been redone in 3D. They look even better than the originals. FG Fan: No wonder these guys all have weird spiky hairdos—if 1 was surrounded by absurd nar- ratives like this all the time, I'd be yanking at my hair, too!

DBZ Fan: Well, it's really cool how the Story mode teaches you lots of tactics, not to mention

"Isn't it kind of weak that the button combinations for moves are the same for each character?”

Fighting Game Fan: It's a solid- looking 3D fighter, so I’m game.

DBZ Fan: The graphics look great! | love seeing all of my favorite characters in 3D!

FG Fan: The characters do look great, but those backgrounds are stale.

DBZ Fan: | like how you can destroy the environments and open new areas.

FG Fan: | liked this game better when it was called Dead or Alive

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

mixes things up with minigames.

FG Fan: Yeah, that | agree with. Minigames are always fun. DBZ Fan: The battle system is also very solid. The mechanics may be a tad simplistic, but the combo system is quite deep. | also like how you can earn skills as you go.

FG Fan: Yeah, the fighting engine works well, and the earning skills part is cool. But

isn't it kind of weak that the but- ton combinations for moves are the same for each character? DBZ Fan: Matches will even progress into the air, just like on the show!

FG Fan: Yeah, but this does nothing to change the actual dynamics of the fight. Plus, it's annoying that this occurs only when an enemy pummels you into the air.

DBZ Fan: You can also trade skills with your friends.

FG Fan: You go, Pokémon.

DBZ Fan: You can even collect the seven Dragon Balls to earn more powerful skills.

FG Fan: | don't need to be col- lecting any balls.

DBZ Fan: This is the best DBZ game ever!

FG Fan: It is the best DBZ game ever, but that's not saying much. Dragon Ball GT Final Bout for the PS1 was utter crap.

DBZ Fan: Either way, this is a must-own for Dragon Ball Z fans. It may not be the greatest fighting game ever, but it remains completely faithful to the source material and offers lots of replay value. It really does feel like you're playing the show. | give it a 4.

FG Fan: I'll admit, | was sur- prised at how deep the game is, and | actually enjoyed the Story mode, despite all the oddball characters. There's even a healthy challenge to be found here. It's an overall solid fight- ing game that gets a 3 from me.

Sam Kennedy

James Cameron's Dark Angel

Publisher: Sierra

Developer: Radical

Website: wwwsierra.com

Not just Dark Angel—it's James Cameron's Dark Angel to you, OK? Thought up by Mr. Titanic, starring Jessica Alba, cancelled by Fox, and picked up by Sierra, a Universal company: It's a troubled history that leads us here. The game, much like the show's stars, is incredibly good looking and ultimately without sub- stance. | watched the show a bit (mainly because, well, let's face it, Jessica is hot), and wasn't a big fan. The game is essentially a distilla- tion of everything "cool" about the show, so after about five minutes of play, you start to understand why the show was cancelled.

Accompanying the tried-and- tested "run around beating people up" gameplay is the dark, broody, angst-ridden bullshit that made the show so odious. Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly provide voice work, which is nice—but the former says only “sassy” things and the latter spends the entire game speaking like he's trying to be “moody” and "sexy." He's actually just "annoying," much like the repetitive, cliché-ridden gameplay. Slo-mo fight moves are now offi- cially the most overused effects in games. Please make it stop.

ki

Publisher: Acclaim

Developer: Acclaim Salt Lake

Website: wwwacclaim.com

At some point [admit it or not, you know it's true], we've all loved pro- fessional wrestling. It's in our blood; humans like the highs and lows of well-told stories, and for many of us, Wrestlemania ЇЇ! was our Catcher in the Rye. So, a game

| like Legends of Wrestling casts a

wide net, aiming to grab wrestling diehards and apologists. It does this with some verve, but at the end of the day, the game is too slow and too clunky, and the load times will put some softcore gamers to sleep. The game's biggest issue, though, is also its biggest asset. While you'll buy it because it has all the old-school wrestlers you used to love (plus, the character models are shaped like the action figures from back in the day—which is very

| cool), you'll dig the fact that it relies | on a lot of today's wrestling moves

(the Pedigree and the Rock Bottom

| are prime examples] to get by. It's

anachronistic to a pleasant fault. But it's the game's extras that are its shining moment. Scour the Net for cheat codes and you'll be able to unlock comedian Andy Kaufman and the superb Theatre section featuring 15 creepy/funny interviews with old-time wrestlers. Once you've watched "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan’s surreal tale about how he literally cracked his skull,

| you'll realize that actually playing

the game is secondary.

The bell's rung on PS2 wrestling: Both options are disappointing. But Legends at least makes a great rental because it takes itself less seriously than Smackdown!

X

Tear up the terrain in a multitude of modes, including Follow

the Leader, Elimination, LOEN and Rallycross.

Jockey for position- and even collide-with ruthless competitors in chaotic packs of cars.

Tackle hazardous weather and real-time damage that accurately affect performance.

YOU COULD WIN A KILLER GAMING SOUND SYSTEM!

Go to www.rallyfusionracing.com for details.

EVERYONE

| | |

| | | | V

for Rating Information |

MUN | activision.com

| No purchase necessary to enter or win. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States (excluding Florida) at least 13 years old. Sweepstakes ends 2/14/03. Void in Puerto Rico and where prohibited. Go to www.rallyfusionracing.com for official rules. Sony Computer Entertainment America takes no re for this offer.

"STUPID FUN CLUB" The TV development group that Sims creator Will Wright works with when һе5 not abusing imaginary people.

In the end, you're going to have to decide for yourself.

- MOTIVES

o бб тля

5. Put two Sims іп a room and buy enough furniture to fill in all the empty space, so they have to sleep standing up.

. Then, place a stereo some- where they can't reach. Tune it to the Bluegrass station. Now they won't sleep at all.

. Lock two Sims in a room. Make one a hugger. Make the other a slapper. After 10 minutes, switch roles.

RT TO \ 5:21PM

e Joe Rybicki nT DDED

Hygiene Energy Social Bladder Fun Room

2. Put two Sims ina large room. Partition the room with a kitchen counter so they can’t actually interact. Give one a bed, a TV, and a refrigerator. Give the other only enough room to stand. Wake him or her up every time he or she tries to sleep.

. Ten Sims, 10 espresso machines, no bathroom. Enough said.

TARE | ила YOU

Bon Nadine just wants to в а mu music star. But the road to stardom’s a bit hn Join Nadine and 18 other wacky, not-so-typical boxers as their storylines intertwine eling, over-the-top slugfest to the next. But beware. What happens in their life affects their perfo ing. And vice-versa.

"Black & Bruised looks a feels like a nent generation PUN OUT! It's about time." { ШП Power

GAMECUBE

Minority Report

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Treyarch

Website: wwwactivision.com

After seeing the movie Minority Report, | had no idea how it could be turned into a decent game. So it’s a somewhat pleasant surprise that Treyarch has managed to do what it’s done with this beat-em- up (which, granted, follows its source material so closely that Tom Cruise’s character resem- bles Rainier Wolfcastle with Lex

Luthor's voice from the animated Superman). Still, decent is about the most | can say for it.

Imagine something in the Final Fight/Fighting Force vein, and rivaling The Bouncer as the best- looking example of its genre. The character models may not sur- pass a lot of other stuff out there, but Minority's visuals certainly contend with anything else when it comes to fighting. Bodies react to punches, kicks, and other attacks in an incredibly realistic fashion, and almost anything in an environment is breakable. Step into a room full of swan ice Sculptures, for example, and Soon, it's likely bye-bye, birdie.

1 especially enjoyed the graphical effect of the concussion rifle, the gunfrom the film that projects cool-looking circular energy blasts.

Outside the eye candy, though, lies a rather standard beat-em- up, the kind that subscribes to

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

what | call the age-old cloned foes theory—you know, where every fat cop can hug you to death, and each mall thug (in

a mall where everyone but you

is a mall thug) attacks with a baseball bat. Unlike Final Fight, however, you cannot pick up said bat (ог gun, sick stick, etc.) to use for yourself, a feature that always added a little something to those beat-em-ups. The lack of such an element in Minority may seem trivial, but l've always thought of it as practically essential in a game such as this one. It doesn't take long for the action to repeat to the point of boredom, with only the occasion- al jetpack level breaking up the monotony. Frustrating, check- point-free stages only furthered my desire to quit playing. | sus- pect you'll feel the same way.

Minority Report

[X 5007

Monopoly Party

Publisher: Infogrames

Developer: Runecraft

Website: wwwinfogrames.com

The notion of a Monopoly game in which four players roll and move simultaneously sounds intriguing. It's Monopoly Party's big draw—but it doesn't work very well. Having everyone roll dice at once does speed up the game, but the result yields more confusion than fun. And you still have to wait until every- one's completely done with a turn before you can roll again. The board also maintains a faraway perspec- tive in four-player mode, making it hard to keep track of your location, let alone read property names.

Fortunately, Party allows you to Switch to Classic style and take turns in a less-hectic manner. The result pulls off Monopoly about as well as you can on a TV screen, and even though I'd rather play the actual board game, | can't deny the advantages of a videogame version. Beyond the obvious money man- agement (no corrupt bankers!), you can also play alone against some stiff (or easy—you decide) А.І. competition, or customize anything from Free Parking payouts to auc- tion rules. And while you won't see any licensed tie-ins, the generically themed Ancient Monuments, Sci- Fi, Fantasy, and Prehistoric boards add some pleasant variety.

The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage

Publisher: Bam

Developer: Vis

Website: wwwbam4fun.com

Take a look at these screen shots, and guess which one Relish Rampage most resembles.

Is it a) The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction, b] State of Emergency, or c) Crazy Taxi? You'd be forgiven for picking а) or Б), but the answer is actually Crazy Taxi.

Now, think about that for a second. If you were making a game about diminutive girl superheros who can, you know, fly...would you make a game almost entirely devoid of vertical freedom? Would you make a game that's basically a driving game with a really oddly shaped car? Neither would І. And | can't for the life of me figure out why Viz did. It really is an awful lot like Crazy Taxi: You dash between different points in a city, dodging cars |!) and periodically engaging in ultra-simplistic battles.

It would have been cool if some of the brawling from State of Emergency had been incorporated, but the fighting engine in Relish Rampage is just awful. Part of the problem is that you have to lock onto enemies before you can attack them, but you can't lock onto them unless they're onscreen— even if the Girls are actually facing them. It's awkward, and stupid, and it makes a shameful waste of the absolutely perfect cel-shaded visual style.

That style and the often funny dialogue are really the game's only redeeming qualities, making it of interest only to fans of the show. Too bad.

i3

Pride FC

Publisher: THO

Developer: Anchor

Website: wwwthq.com

Never heard of Pride? Doesn't sur- prise us. It's a sport so violent, it's never made its way to America. And yet, THQ—obviously riding high from its success with the WWE franchise—has decided to create an entire game around it. A hopeless cause? Not at all.

What Pride lacks in terms of brand recognition is made up ten- fold by its fantastic gameplay. It's based on the critically praised fighting engine created for Anchor's previously released UFC Dreamcast title, which could be compared to Tekken, in that the X, Circle, Square, and Triangle controller buttons cor- respond to the individual left and right arms and legs of your fighter.

The difference is that here,

everything is spot-on real. The game features an abundance of fighting styles, and everything from the grapples to the counters comes off incredibly well. It plays faster than the UFC games, yet it's far more strategic.

With a solid Create-A-Player mode [complete with custom combos], lots of video clips, and great ring entrances, this is a top-

| notch PS2 brawler. The only thing

| could ask for is some sort of Career mode.

n a BES Pro Race Driver

Publisher: Codemasters

Developer: Codemasters

Website: www.codemasters.com

Cutely dubbed a "car-PG" by its makers, Pro Race Driver stands a very good chance of changing the way racing games are presented. Picking up the idea R4 left off with, PRD has you playing a character who seeks to develop his career on the professional circuit. As a result, you pay a lot more attention to rankings, championship points, and team rivalries than you nor- mally would, because the game gives everyone a face. It also makes it exponentially more addic- tive than most racers. It's a neat trick that's only slightly marred by the whiny, complaining, spoiled brat of a character you're forced to play as. Driven by a need to prove yourself as a worthy member of a racing family (Daddy died on the track, big brother is a champ], you often feel almost embarrassed by the dumb crap that comes out of your mouth.

Story aside, PRD is a damn fine racer. Based on Codemasters’ uni- versally acclaimed TOCA driving engine, the game throws an enor- mous number of challenges at you. Car handling feels spot on, with tight and snappy steering. Although everything has a colorful, almost cartoon-like quality, the sense of speed is excellent, and the cars (there are lots of them) all look cool. The damage system kicks ass, too. Smash things up and bits bounce around on the track—and they stay there for the whole race, so you'll sometimes hurtle into a bend and accidentally bonk over someone's fender.

I'm completely addicted.

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

| Publisher: Ubi Soft | Developer: Red Storm

Website: wwwubisoft.com

Tom Clancy has a grim view of the world. He also has some concerns about the country of Georgia, judg- ing by the latest games bearing his name: In Splinter Cell, Georgia's the hub of nefarious activities, and here in Ghost Recon, its political leaders are up to no good as well.

The year is 2008, and, according to Clancy, there's trouble in Russia. The country has shaken off com- munism, but it's now struggling with the other end of the political spectrum. "Ultra-nationalist" forces are attempting to stick the former Soviet Union back together again, bringing the whole world to the brink of war.

As an elite unit of blah blah blah (you know the drill) known as the "Ghosts," your job is to head to troubled spots and prevent war from escalating by rescuing prison- ers, making things explode, and shooting at things. Mostly people.

| Bad people, obviously. From what

| can gather, there isn't actually a

| lot of "recon" involved. Perhaps a | better title would have been "Ghost | Blowing Crap Up".

If you've played any previous Clancy games, you'll be familiar with the squad-based nature of the

| gameplay. Unlike the Medal of

Honors of this world, Ghost Recon is all about working as a team. You need to be aware of how each mis-

| sion is planned, and assign your squads specific tasks so you can

pull off missions with deadly precision. It's not as complex as it seems, and more often than not, you spend the planning stages of the game telling everyone under your command to run toward the objective as fast as they possibly

can while pointing the biggest gun they can carry at anyone with an accent. Bad-guy intelligence can, on occasion, be dumber than a dumb thing on dope, so, you'll often creep up on guys who are lying on the ground, facing away from you, shooting at a wall. That said, your own boys can some- times be quite dopey, too—much like Boomer in SOCOM.

The game's not scored higher because it's plagued with a bunch of annoyances: It looks great, but the environments don't feel inter- active. The А.І. lets the squad work together, but there's no basic common sense. The levels are huge, but you don't feel like there's much freedom because the game very strictly controls where you can and can't go.

All that said, | do kinda like it. | just don't love it.

Tum кп

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon

64»

ГРАНИТ]

Whiteout

Publisher: Konami

Developer: Vicarious Visions

Website: wwwkonami.com

Let's see: graphics that look straight outta 1997, snowmobiles that control like automobiles, a pair of obnoxious announcers, and a nitro boost that adds such a heavy motion blur, the game becomes literally unplayable. Does this sound like a good time to you? If it does, you're in luck [you're also a moron, but that's a topic for another day)—Whiteout was made with you in mind.

The rest of us will laugh at the shoddy graphics, yawn at the soporific level design, and scratch our heads as we try to figure out the difference between the Snocross and Cross-Country courses. We'll also smirk as the game attempts edgy humor, like calling points "props" and wipeouts “whiteouts.” Because, you see, the game is called Whiteout. Tee hee.

| found exactly two interesting things about the game. First, the fact that every major jump in the game is named (e.g., Hanged Man бар). | just think that's cool. The other is that there's a Bad Religion song on the soundtrack, which is something of a novelty. It is, how- ever, one of my least favorite Bad Religion songs, which strikes me as entirely appropriate.

World Tour Soccer 2003

Publisher: Sony CEA

Developer: 989 Sports

Website: wwwplaystation.com

It's not that the latest World Tour Soccer isn't a great game—it is. But it's going up against one of the competition's strongest titles: EA Sports’ FIFA 2003. For those who don't keeps tabs, World Tour is 989 Sports strongest sports franchise, and it's well ahead of its steadily progressing counterparts.

The game's strength comes from its simplicity. The airplay is practical and easy to learn, and comes down to the press of a but- ton. Instead of trying to figure out timing, the timing's done for you. If you have position (and sometimes if you don't] you can win the header to a teammate or push it past a diving goalie. Because the airplay is easy to master, you'll feel good about punting the ball high in the air for 50/50 balls.

The best part of the game, though, is beating a defender on the dribble and creating a scoring chance. It's energizing and it's effort well-spent. The game's not easy, so every chance counts. Plus, the variety of goals is endless.

This one will surprise people (the last one surprised mel, plus at $39.99 it's $10 cheaper than FIFA. Though FIFA's worth the extra coin.

Е

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Ss ]biboju| :ѕ1әимо КЕШУ ale. [p pue 591002 защо ш 10/pue 59049 рәнү oup ut

SBWAPPA} ТИ UONPIDOSSY BIBMIJOS [Ite] ЕЛТӘЕЛТЕЛ КРАЯ 0012100109 HOSOI JO SABWIAPeA 10, ! A ТТТ |У oof ѕәшебо Ше Ор! шо

NS e. À

"Fast...stunning...impressive, most impressive" IGN

"Frenetic land assaults, overwhelming numbers, smooth, bright graphics, a ton of multiplayer options...quite simply, the greatest amount of "stuff" you've ever seen in a shooter... you may need a reminder to close your gaping jaw"

OXM

"Large and detailed, graphically impressive..." PSM

TO CHECK OUT THIS BADASS GAME GO TO

WWW.BATTLEENGINE.COM

= 1/28/03 | = Bai

Violence

Avail T EEN

Cobra TT

Manufacturer: Pelican Accessories Website: wwwpelicanacc.com There's very little about Pelican's Cobra TT that inspires confidence, except maybe the big, rubbery grip on the wheel itself. Otherwise, it's your typical unlicensed, cheap- feeling, plasticky peripheral. Following the current trend, the wheel comes with pedals that weigh slightly more than a feather and skid across the ground when you press on them. It also comes

with a table clamp and a lap rest, which is essentially two bits of curved plastic that force you to squeeze your thighs together. If you're at all chunky in the tree- trunk department, you're gonna have problems, cuz this puppy ain't adjustable. According to Pelican's website, the lap thing "enhances the overall comfort and realism"of the wheel. I've never driven a car in which you lean the steering column on your testicles. Perhaps you have and I'm missing something?

| tested the wheel with a bunch of games, and it was, in a word, horrific. The unit | had was set up wrong: When the wheel was straight, it wasn't centered. The center was actually a few degrees to the left, so everything was screwy. Pro Race Driver played bet- ter with a Dual Shock 2. If you want a wheel, look elsewhere.

(ш) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Hip Screenpad

Manufacturer: Hip Interactive Website: wwwhipgearproducts.com.

| So, you want to get your game on

while you're on the go, but you

| don't have the space to lug around

a TV or the $150 for one of those 5-inch, system-mounted LCD monitors for your PS2. How can you resolve this issue?

Why, with a 2-inch, controller- mounted monitor, of course. OK, maybe it's not the most practical item to ever cross our desk. And,

| considering that it's a controller

and screen in one big piece, it's as

| clunky-looking as you'd imagine. It | doesn't feel so spectacular, either; | the weight of the screen makes it

feel heavy and poorly balanced. In fact, the whole device seems

| rather sloppily constructed. For

one thing, the screen wiggles even

viewing angle. And the headphone jack (a wise addition] constantly emits an unsubtle hiss. (I imagine it's interference from the screen itself.) Plus, all the controller buttons feel fairly unresponsive— almost sticky, in fact.

In spite of all this, the Screenpad boasts an astonishingly crisp screen. l'm amazed at how easy it

| is to read text on this tiny thing.

Yeah, you have to hold the screen about a foot from your face to do

| so, but even still, that's quite a feat.

The other plus is its price: While not exactly in impulse-buy territo-

| ry, at $100, it's not out of reach.

But what will dictate whether or not people buy it will be personal

| preference: Are increased mobility | and lower price reasons enough to

choose this over a screen that's

| twice as big, but only $50 more? | Personally, I'd say no.

| Manufacturer: Logitech

Website: wwwlogitech.com If technologically advanced,

| vaguely humanoid aliens

descended upon our planet to

| dispense their wisdom and tech- | nology, | imagine they'd bring

along something resembling

| Logitech's NetPlay Controller.

| continue to be impressed by the quality and sensibility of Logitech's products, and the

| NetPlay is no exception: It inte-

| grates a fully force-feedback-

| enabled PS2 controller with a fully | functional, comfortable keyboard.

Designed for online gaming, it's equally useful for any game that

| requires both controller and key-

board (RPG Maker 2 comes to

| mind]. And it really does look like | it comes from another planet. when it's "locked" at your preferred |

In fact, when | first looked at this oblong oddity, | thought it couldn't possibly be comfortable.

| With the two analog sticks set

| roughly a foot apart, it seemed like | a case of sacrificing comfort for

| convenience. But it's amazing how | well this thing works. A few

| moments after picking it up, | was-

| |

n't even thinking about the strange

| configuration. The controller por- | tion of the package handles nearly

as well as the standard Dual

| Shock—with two exceptions. First,

the shoulder buttons are really comfortable only if you're resting

the device on your lap; otherwise, you're using your index fingers to stabilize the plank, which makes it harder to hit L1 and R1. The sec- ond issue is negligible: The Start and Select buttons are both on the

| right half of the controller. I'd pre-

| fer to have Select on the left...but | that's only an issue in titles where | you hit Select a lot.

The keyboard is similarly comfortable. The keys do feel a tad close together, and the top

| two rows (numbers, function keys

and Backspace) are tiny, but these minor details require very little adjustment time. More important,

| key response is quick, quiet, and | comfortable—so comfortable that

I'm writing this review using the keyboard.

That's right; for maximum com- patibility, Logitech designed the device with two separate cords: USB for the keyboard and a stan- dard PS2 cord for the controller. They even made it so that the key-

| board can be completely detached | from the controller to create what

is, as far as | know, the most com-

pact USB keyboard on the market. Other than moving the Select

button or knocking down the

somewhat steep $70 price tag,

I can't think of a single way the

NetPlay could be improved.

file browser

go

Ооо

ечи Орак Атап 7419

QCast Tuner

| Manufacturer: BroadQ

Website: wwwbroadg.com Remember all that talk about the PS2 becoming an “entertainment hub"? It's been a long time coming, but it looks like that vision is edg- ing closer to becoming a reality. Let me warn you, though, that the QCast is a very specialized product. This is for the PS2 owner who has 1] a Network Adapter 2) a home network to which the PS2 is connected and 3] a healthy collec- tion of digital media residing on a computer that's also connected to the network. If you meet all of these criteria, you're in for a treat. The QCast is essentially a glori- fied MP3 player for your PS2—one that draws the files not from a CD or a hard drive, but from the com- puter where you do all your MP3 ripping. It sounds like a lot of effort for a fairly simple return, to be

| sure. But if you, like me, have days | worth of music on your PC—and a | lot of files that you don't own on

| CD—this is a wonderful invention.

Now, | can play all the music

| that's stored on the computer in

my office through the high-quality sound system in my living room. What's more, | can access any MPEG video files or even set up

| slideshows of JPEG photos. And at | $50, it's a good $100 less than the

cheapest hardware equivalent. There are a few bugs to be worked out of the current version, but since the QCast resides partial- ly on your PC, it can be updated with fixes and new features. So I'm fairly confident these'll be fixed. Like | said, it’s a very specialized

| product. But if your home setup is | anything like mine, it might be just

what you've been looking for.

We've given you everything « you wanted in print. magazines.

ce

Ө — | 3 :

4 EXCLUSIVE STRATEGY!

GTA VICE CITY acam)!

118 Car Thief

Anyone can steal a car while they're visiting the grimy burg of Vice City by hitting Triangle. That part's easy. But

once you buy Sunshine Autos from B.J.

Smith for a cool $50K, you'll have to be more particular in your thieving. But figuring the difference between an Admiral and a Washington isn't as easy as it sounds. We show you the cars, so you can fill your fancy show- room with hot, unlockable rides.

(uà) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

REPLAY

PS2 Games

126 Contra

128 James Bond 007: NightFire 115 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin 132 Kingdom Hearts

129 NBA Live

124 NHL 2K3

116 Ratchet & Clank

115 Rygar

122 The Sims

130 Skate or Die

Playing through Tony Hawk 4 has taken awhile, hasn't it? It’s longer than the last version, but ten times more addic- tive. But while you're finishing all the objectives, you might have missed out on little secrets that are scattered around the different areas. Sure, you've beaten Bjorn at the tennis courts, but have you found the poo- flinging monkeys? We tell you every last money-making secret spot!

Tricks, strategy, cheats, AND a handy list of every game we've ever reviewed!

PS2 TRICKS AND REVIEW ARCHIVE

Game names in indicate a Greatest Hits title.

Ratings in red 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 PERDS 4x4 EVO 600 Games PASS 2002 FIFA World Cup EA Sports BEES ‘Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Namco 60050504 Activision Anthology Activision BEBE Agetec PADI Acclaim PASSI Namco PPDS Acclaim PASG Acclaim PARI Empire @@ 300 9% Midway ® Agetec RRR Agetec PEDI Agetec DAPI

300 $$$

300 6%

300 $$$*

зро BBE Sony CEA $$ dodo Sony CEA PEDS

Interplay PESE

Titus @@

THQ %8 Batman: Vengeance Ubi Soft BRB Blade Il Activision @@ Blood Omen 2 Eidos PESI BloodRayne Majesco RRR Bloody Roar 3 Activision 9990606 Britney's Dance Beat THO BROS The Bouncer Square ҒА PEW

Acclaim 0900606 Acclaim PERS Capcom SERRE Midway ® ТОК Mediactive @@@ Таке2 PES Eidos 6% Gotham Games $4 Ubi Soft DRA Contra: Shattered Soldier Konami $$$ Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA && $$ | Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Universal PORI Crazy Taxi Acclaim PRES Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro3D @@ Dark Cloud Sony CEA RRS Dark Summit THO PESI Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Acclaim PESI DDRMAX Konami PPPS Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo @@@@4 Midway PEDA Eidos PEDDI Capcom HELE 50 Capcom PESI 61 EA Games DESS 61 Ubi Soft 664 Sony СЕА PREI Ubi Soft PASI Titus 0%

The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Aggressive Inline.

Airblade

All-Star Baseball 2002

All-Star Baseball 2003

Antz Extreme Racing

Aqua Aqua

Arctic Thunder

Armored Core 2

Armored Core 2: Another Age Armored Core 3

Army Men: Air Attack

Army Men: Green Rogue

Army Men RTS

Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2

ATV Offroad Fury

ATV Offroad Fury 2

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Barbarian

Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament

Burnout

Burnout 2: Point of Impact Capcom vs. SNK 2

CART Fury

Casper: Spirit Dimensions

City Crisis

Commandos 2: Men of Courage Conflict: Desert Storm

Conflict Zone

Defender

Deus Ex: The Conspiracy

Devil May Cry

Dino Stalker

Disney Golf

Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows Disney's Treasure Planet

Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers Downforce

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Dr. Muto Midway @® 63 Dragon Rage 300 ® 54 Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Sony CEA $$$ 53

Driven Bam ® 52 Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA DI 41

Drome Racers EAGames 9096 64 Dropship Bam $e 57 Dual Hearts Atlus BRB 61 Dynasty Tactics Koei PADRI 61 Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei 6%%% 38 Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei RRR® 52

Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Acclaim 6096 56 Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness Кето $$$ 6 Endgame Empire 9% 59 Ephemeral Fantasia Konami 08 49 ESPN International Track & Field ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 Konami &&&& 54 ESPN MLS ExtraTime Konami 60% “4 ESPN National Hockey Night Konami 4 45

Konami ФФФ 39

ESPN NBA 2Night Konami && 42 ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Konami 090%) 56 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding Konami @®® 41 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 Konami 0060 53 ESPN X Games Skateboarding Konami 00060 49 Eternal Ring Agetec @® 38 Eve of Extinction Eidos ®99 56 Evergrace Agetec RR 39 Evil Twin Ubi Soft B® 52 Evolution Skateboarding Konami ®99 63 Extermination Sony CEA 60998 48 Extreme G Ill Acclaim 500060) 50 F1 2002 EA Sports PAPRI 60 F1 Championship Ubi Soft 0000 43 F1 Championship Season 2000 EA Sports & pd 41 Fantavision Sony CEA 600060 40 Fatal Frame Tecmo RRRR 55 Ferrari F355 Challenge Sega DR в НЕА 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports PARRI 39 FIFA 2002 EA Sports PAPPI 51 Fighter Maker 2 Agetec 608 64 Fireblade Midway @@@ 59 Forever Kingdom Agetec @@ 53 Formula One 2001 Sony CEA 5098 50 Freekstyle EA Sports Big PARE 59 Frequency Sony CEA @999 52 Frogger: The Great Quest Konami @@ з Fur Fighters: Viggo's Revenge Acclaim 06099 46 Gadget Racers Conspiracy AARG 50

Gallop Racer Tecmo && 48 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway 00808 46 Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay AADI 5 Gitaroo-Man Koei PAPI 53 Godai: Elemental Force 300 98 54 Gradius Ш and IV Konami $$ 39

‘Gran Turismo 3:A-spec Sony

Its cheating, but we're going to give you these codes anyway. Should we say it's ignoble to use them? We will not. Punch these in during gameplay, and the vehicle listed will fall from the sky. ‘SPAWN A RHINO

0, 0, L1, 0, 0, 0, L1, L2, R1, Triangle, 0, Triangle

SPAWN A BLOODRING RACER

Down, R1, 0, L2, L2, X, RL, L1, Left, Left

SPAWN A BLOODRING BANGER

Up, Right, Right, 11, Right, Up, Square, L2

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

SPAWN A HOTRING RACER NO. 1 R1, 0, R2, Right, L1, L2, X, X, Square, RI

SPAWN A HOTRING RACER NO. 2 R2, L1, 0, Right, L1, RI, Right, Up, 0,2

SPAWN А ROMERO'S HEARSE Down, R2, Down, R1, 12, Left, R1, L1, Left, Right SPAWN A LOVE FIST

R2, Up, L2, Left, Left, R1, L1, 0, Right

SPAWN A TRASHMASTER

0, R1, 0, R1, Left, Left, R1, L1, 0, Right

‘SPAWN A SABRE TURBO

Right, L2, Down, L2, 12, X, RI, Ц, 0, Left SPAWN A CADDY

O, L1, Up, RI, L2, X, RI, L1, 0, X

Grandia І Ubi Soft PAPI 53

Grandia Xtreme Enix PRRI 62 Gravity Games Bike: Street, Vert, Dirt Midway @ а GTC Africa Majesco ®99 58 Guilty Gear X Majesco/Sammy RRR 51 Gungrave Sega RRR 61 Gungriffon Blaze

Working Designs DERI 39 y TI

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ЕА Games $4 64 Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Natsume $$$ 51 Haven: Call of the King Midway POPI 64

Headhunter Acclaim 06099 5 Herdy Gerdy Eidos 0% 56 Heroes of Might and Magic 300 968 46 Hidden Invasion Conspiracy 60806 60 High Heat MLB 2002 300 $e e 44 High Heat MLB 2003 300 RRR? 55 © Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Eidos $$ $4 63

Ту these in-game cheats. Input them during gameplay.

SLOW MOTION One of those tricks that falls into the "not very use- ful" 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, 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 effective. 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 distance when you kill them. R2, L2, Up, Down, X, R2, R2 (Restart level to remove effects.)

NAILGUN MODE This one pins people to walls. The effects aren't always obvious-it depends on where you shoot the bad guys. Try shooting corpses for added amusement. Activate this and Mega Force together for added frivolity. R2, L2, Up, Down, X, L1, L1

Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony СЕА 0806080 55 Hot Wheels: Velocity X THO $$$ 64 Jade Cocoon 2 Ubi Soft PAPI 53

EA Games PAPPP 52 Activision PADI 64

James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire James Bond 007: NightFire

Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Acclaim @ 53 Jet X20 Sony CEA && 6 Jonny Moseley Mad Trix 300 98 54

Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Kengo: Master of Bushido

Activision PAG 61 Сауе DAD 42

Kessen EA Games R@® 39 Kessen II Koei 505060) 5 Kinetica Sony CEA PAPPI 50

King' Field: The Ancient City Agetec BR 55

RYGAR

Camera trickery leads to confusion

Rygar is about as straightforward an action-adventure game as they come, and it's not even an overly hard one at that. The basic strategies are to hit everything (to see what you might find] and to revisit areas once you have gained new items and abilities. Do that, and you should be all set.

There is, however, one spot in the game that might have you completely. stuck (many of us here at EGM and OPM were stumped by it), but it's actu- ally much simpler to get past than it appears. In fact, the problem isn't so much that it's a tough puzzle; it's that the camera's positioning actually creates an optical illusion that leaves you unsure about how to proceed. The part we're talking about is in the Elysion Shrine. You'll cross two

it. Now, if you're like us, you'll probably wonder what you're supposed to do here (what trigger you're supposed to hit) to get through the door. And you might end up running around in circles trying to figure it out. In actuality, the wall with the crest on it is not a doorway at all—it's

a pathway. And it can be slid under. See? It's really not that tricky

a spot at all—as long as you don't get fooled by the illusion.

UNLOCKABLES

In addition to movie files, music, and artwork, there's a bunch of other cool stuff that can be unlocked. Here's a selection of what can be uncovered.

PIZZARMOR Complete the game (including Necromandio Cave) in Easy mode or higher to unlock an armor shaped like a pizza.

GUITARMOR Complete the game {including Necromandio Cave) in Normal mode.

HARD MODE Complete the game (including Necromandio Cave} in Normal mode to unlock Hard mode.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (ш)

The finest PS2 tips and www.ratchetandclank.com strategy known to Be sure to check out the cool “Challenge mankind. Seriously. Clank” minigame. It's awesome!

Maps, tips, and strategies from our pals at Insomniac

Maps Galore! Trouble finding the Thruster Pack? Looking for every Gold Bolt? We've got maps marked with the locations of all the goodies. But what to do with all those Gold Bolts? Trade them in for powered-up weapons at the secret storehouse in the tallest tower in Gremlik Base! We've also gotten tons of requests for a quick and easy way to load up on bolts. Tony Garcia, a programmer at Insomniac, offers this advice: "My favorite location to grab bolts is in Drek's Flagship, after you have already completed the level. If you have the Tesla Claw, you should be able to easily run though the main path of the level while picking up tons of bolts as you fly through. After you've run though Drek's Flagship a few times, the number of bolts that you pick up with each run will fall, and eventually, each enemy will begin to give you just a single bolt. When that happens, its time to pick up and move to one of the two hoverboard races, either in Blackwater City on Rilgar or Gadgetron Site on Planet Kalebo Ill. Once you get bored beating your best times for bolts, head back to Drek's Flagship. You'll find that the enemies should once again be dropping their maximum number of bolts." Thanks, Tony!

@ TOBRUK CRATER, NOVALIS

Legend *

Start Area

G 3 Gadgetron Vendor

A

9 OUTPOST X11, ARIDIA заг 5) =

Golden Bolt me 2)

І

ё

Infobot

Chickens!

WHAT THE FLOCK? On Kalebo 111, beneath the plat- form where you get the Map-o- matic, there's a teleporter that'll take you to a room with a Gold Bolt and lots of chick- ens. Kill all the chickens, and more will pop out of the teleporter!

FEATHERS!

When you use the

Suck Cannon ona chicken you made

with the Morph-o- Ray, it spews out a spray of feathers.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

i i i

ON THE DISC

o do de do de "Plenty of other action platformers can boast similar features—but few have pulled them all together the way Ratchet & Clank has."

Not played Ratchet & Clank yet? Try it out on this months demo DVD!

9 JOWAI RESORT, POKITARU

IL PLATEU, VEL

Weapons 101

Not sure when to pull out the Pyrocitor? Need help handling the Tesla? Here's a handful of hints from Insomniac's programmer, Mike Stout, and tester, Steve Martin.

BOMB or MINE GLOVE on charging enemies. If an enemy is charging straight toward you, try using the Bomb Glove (or preferably the Mine Glove] to take them out. They tend to get caught in the blast and thrown back, which gives you enough time to hit them again before they recover. And two free hits is usually enough to kill most enemies.

Snipe (DEVASTATOR or VISIBOMB) dif- ficult enemies when possible. There's no shame in being a sniper. If an enemy is too tough for you, take it out at a distance with the Devastator or, if you have it, the Visibomb gun. This is an especially viable strategy to use on the Blarg Elite troops on Veldin and Kalebo III.

When sniping, release some DEFENSE DRONES. Unfortunately, when sniping, you're often vulnerable to attack. To patch this hole in your defenses, throw out some Defense Drones. They'll soak up the damage while you lay the smack down on all your enemies.

Use the MINE GLOVE and TAUNTER together. The Taunter activates dormant mines from the Mine Glove, giving them a longer range. It also makes enemies run toward you. Toss out some mines, use the Taunter, and

then watch as the mines rush toward the enemies, which are run- ning toward you. When they meet, it gives you a warm feel- ing inside.

Puffer fish on Pokitaru? Use the SUCK CANNON! On planet Pokitaru, the path to get the oxy- gen mask is treacherous. The best weapon to use is the Suck Cannon. Simply stand at the bot- tommost part of the Resort Owner's raft and hold down Circle to activate the Cannon while pointing it at the Resort Owner. The fish should almost leap into your Cannon, making the path a breeze.

WALLOP Kamikaze Bots. The Kamikaze Bots on planet Gaspar

[the ones that run toward you and explode] are a nuisance. The best weapon to use against them is the Walloper: It takes them out in one hit, and stops them from exploding on you.

PYROCITOR or TESLA CLAW on swarmers. Whenever you have a horde of small enemies nearby, the Pyrocitor or (if available) the Tesla Claw will make short work of them all. Always have one of these babies in your Quick Select, ready to kill a few dozen swarmers if they show up.

MINE GLOVE on hiding bounty hunters on Batalia. There are some Blarg Bounty Hunters on Batalia that hide underground. The best thing to do with these elusive enemies is use the Mine Glove to throw a mine next to their hiding place. When they pop out to attack you, the mine will kill them.

DOOM and duck the Patrol Bots. A lot of people have trouble with the Patrol Bots on the path to the Infobot on planet Oltanis (Gorda City). The best thing is to throw out Agents of Doom and then hit the R1 button to duck. Their elec- tricity will go over your head and the Agents will do the dirty work for you while you sit in complete safety. (Be sure you're not stand- ing on a raised portion of the ground, or the electricity will hit you even if you duck.)

BLAST and DEVASTATE Drek. At the end of the game, the two best weapons to use on Drek are the Blaster and the Devastator. Keep another weapon low on ammo (we suggest the Pyrocitor) and you should have

enough to last - the whole battle.

Official US. PlayStation Magazi

E è а Ei È H | Б i i Š і B Е

GUN FUN: Need a gun? Apparently, this Vice City Try stealing a cop car. You'll come out thing is quite popular. with a shotgun and five shells. GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY Ф

Unlock all of the secret cars at Sunshine Autos!

PART 1: GET THE DELUXO! PART 2: SCORE THE SABRE TURBO!

STALLION RANCHER LISTA COMPACT SENTINEL STRETCH Go to the Vercetti mansion = > to find the Stretch. It'll be on the left side as you go down the stairs.

v WASHINGTON The differences IDAHO When searching out the between the Washington and the Idaho, remember that it's not the Admiral are a subtle pain in the Virgo. Note the rounded front and rump. Look at the hubcaps to tell the hubcaps to tell the difference. the difference. To make it easier on

yourself, go to the airport.

ADMIRALS are easy to find, but if you're mistak- ing them for the Sentinel, remember that the Sentinel has a big hunk of plastic hanging below the headlights. Also, the Admiral has huge win- dows (no blind spots).

ESPERANTO For the Esperanto, go to the East Side of LANDSTALKER The Landstalker and Rancher are differ- the southernmost bridge. ent trucks. Don't forget it. Go downtown for this one.

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

www.kentpaul.com It was the first place for screenshots, but now it's full of weird references to the game.

PART 3: BRING ON THE SANDRING! we tip our hats to the master of

CHEETAH Skulk around right out. STINGER strategy: BradyGames. It provided this month's side the dealership to find lots of © | GTA: Vice City strategy. Look for more info in its these cars. The Cheetah, Infernus, | Official Signature Series guide.

and Banshee are around that area

pretty often.

COMET Go to the golf course to i find a Comet. There'll be one parked out front.

PHOENIX

INFERNUS If you have the memory of water, maybe you can’t remem- ber where to snag an Infernus. Instead of calling some pay-for- tips 900 number, just go to the Vercetti mansion. See that car near the stairs? Yep. You're dumb.

BAGGAGE Can't find the Baggage PIZZA BOY Head over to the pizza vehicle? Head to the airport. shop downtown [it’s on the top left y S corner of the тар). You'll find one sitting right outside, near the drive-up window.

{ CADDY Head to the golf

j course, but don't bother going Е in the middle of the night.

| Around the right side of the clubhouse [also known as the

| 19th hole], you'll find a ramp. It'll get you over the wall.

VOODOO Remember where Auntie Poulet's house was in the middle of Little Haiti? There's a Voodoo right outside her of her crappy lit- tle excuse for a shack.

TAKE YOUR GAME FURTHER SIGNATURE SERIES

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazin

GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY

Tips, cheats, and a handy little shortcut to get the most badass chopper in the game!

Face Off

Tired of playing as Tommy Vercetti? Try these skins on for size. Input the codes during game- play to take on a whole new look. @ RICARDO DIAZ L1, L2, R1, R2, Down, L1, R2, L2 @ LANCE VANCE O, L2, Left, X, R1, L1, X, L1 Ө CANDY SUXXX 0, R2, Down, R1, Left, Right, R1, L1,X, L2 @ KEN ROSENBERG Right, L1, Up, L2, L1, Right, R1, L1,X, R1 @ HILARY KING R1, O, R2, L1, Right, R1, L1, X, R2 @ LOVE FIST GUY #1 Down, L1, Down, L2, Left, X, R1, L1, X, X @ LOVE FIST GUY #2 R1, L2, R2, L1, Right, R2, Left, X, Square, L1 Q PHIL CASSADY Right, R1, Up, R2, L1, Right, R1, L1, Right, O Q SONNY FORELLI 0, L1, 0, L2, Left, X, R1, L1, X, X (9 MERCEDES CORTEZ R2, L1, Up, L1, Right, R1, Right, Up, O, Triangle

and title the e-mail Replay: GTA: New Identity.

Using the cheats, which character will you play as, besides Vercetti? Write us at

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

THE POLE POSITION

Can't figure out how to earn cash from the Pole Position? We did.

* Blow 30 large after beating Shakedown

* Go into the Pole Position and find the back room (a girl is dancing].

* Spend $600 on her rump-shaking ways.

* The club will now generate $4,000 in revenue.

SAVE FOR DOLLARS

Every time you save a game, six hours are added to the game's clock. Use this to your advantage— like, if you want your businesses to thrive and you don't feel like wait- ing. It's like cryogenically freezing yourself, but not.

WHERE AM I?

Wondering what part of town you're in? Press Start, then Start again, and look at the lower right- hand corner of the screen. Super convenient when you're trying to find a car in Little Havana, or a friend in the Downtown area.

SCREAMING MIMI

Ever notice that someone keeps screaming even after you've stolen a car? That's because the passen- ger never got out. To shut their pie hole, get out and then get back in.

BROWN THUNDER Want to make your Vigilante missions easier? You can collect all 100 packages, but there's an easier way! Get into a police outfit, then go to the army base. You'll find a chop- per there. Makes life

a lot easier, don't it?

Backtalk: “If you dont like it, don't play it. | think if someone 18 and over makes the decision to buy this product,

you hope they come through with enough awareness of the world to know they shouldn't emulate it in real life."

-Sam Houser of Rockstar Games, defen

g the violence in the GTA Series to the BBC News.

2 2 Ring Sting

If you frequent the stadium, you've learned that between 20:00 and 23:59 on the game clock, there's an open door for you to enter. Within, you'll find three events that will rock your face's ass. They alternate, so if you go for three straight days, you should get all three events. There are posters up to show which event will go down that day.

The trick: Buy a building close to the stadium, then save your game to increase the clock by eight hours each time. That way, you can go back to the stadium within minutes of leaving and there will be a whole new event to try.

BLOODRING!

This is an old-fashioned demolition derby with a new-school twist. You're presented with a target time—the first is one minute. Every time you hit a pink target, your time will increase, so try to get your time over one minute in order to accomplish the task. Beware, though—everyone is gun- ning for you. One trick? Use an Uzi to blast any fools trying to crush you.

DIRT RING!

You'll have to score 32 checkpoints. There's no time limit, but if you beat it in less than five minutes, you'll be paid $50,000. If you do it in 10 minutes or less, you'll get $10,000, and you'll get $5,000 if you just finish. Easy? Not quite. The toughest spots can only be mas- tered by doing a perfectly timed wheelie—even if that means you have to do a wheelie off a ramp. This is, by far, the hardest of the events.

HOT RING!

Speeding around a racetrack at breakneck speed might be the game's most exhilarating feature. Cars will try to turn into you, break you down, and generally make your life miserable. But there are ways to win:

1) Pit stop. That glowing pink spot will refill your car's health meter. The longer you're on it, the healthier your car will get. If you're in trou- ble, try filling it half way. Otherwise, too many cars will overtake you and you won't be able to recover.

2) Start slow. At the opening of the race, everyone will try to crash and crush. Avoid all that by waiting three seconds before hitting the gas.

3) Use your brake. When you see smoke, fire, and brimstone up ahead, slow down. No need to be part of that mess.

4) Hop out. If you're going to lose the race, hop out of your car quickly enough and you can hurry back into the stadium for another shot. That is, if it's before 23:59.

5) Be patient. Paced and steady wins this race, especially considering all the accidents.

LaPS: itinn: 3

ina Mio

NI ж

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

@ Kingdom Hearts Square EA OPRI 61

Find all 99 dalmatian pups

DALMATIAN LOCATION

1,2,3 Тамегѕе Town, island across from Mystical House

4,5,6 Тамегѕе Town, Alleyway

78,9 Traverse Town, ltem Workshop

10, 11,12 Traverse Town, Secret Waterway

13,1415 Wonderland, Queen's Castle

16,1718 Wonderland, Lotus Forest

1920,21 Wonderland, Tea Party Garden

22,23,24 Coliseum, Gates (near statue on the right)

25, 26, 27 Deep Jungle, Hippos’ Lagoon

28,2930 Deep Jungle, Vines 2

31, 32,33 Deep Jungle, Climbing Trees

34, 35, 36 Deep Jungle, Camp

3738,39 Agrabah, Aladdin's House

40, 41, 42 Halloween Town, Bridge

43, 44,45 Neverland, Clock Tower

46, 47,48 Agrabah, Palace Gates

49, 50, 51 Agrabah, Cave of Wonders, Entrance

52, 53,54 Agrabah, Treasure Room

55,56,57 Monstro, Chamber 3

58,59 60 Wonderland, Queen's Castle

61, 62, 63 Hollow Bastion, Grand Най (second time there)

64, 65,66 Halloween Town, Cemetery (after defeating Oogie Boogie)

67, 68, 69 Halloween Town, Guillotine Square (below Jack's house)

70, 71,72 Halloween Town, Guillotine Square (gray pumpkin)

73,74,75 Monstro, Mouth (after water recedes)

76,77,78 Monstro, Chamber 3

79, 80, 81 Monstro, Chamber 5

82, 83, 84 Neverland, Ships Hold (fly to the beam, but only after defeating Captain Hook)

85, 86, 87 Neverland, Ships Hold (trigger yellow Trinity)

88,8990 Neverland, Captain's Cabin

91, 92,93 Hollow Bastion, Rising Falls

94, 95,96 Hollow Bastion, Castle Gates (grab floating chest

using Gravity) 9798,99 Hollow Bastion, High Tower (grab floating chest

using Gravity) Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil ЕА Games PADHI 47 Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports $e 42 Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports RR@® 55 Le Mans 24 Hours Infogrames 999 48 Legaia 2: Duel Saga Fresh Games DAS 63 The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubi Soft 68 54 Legends of Wrestling Acclaim 6098 5 Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Midway @®® 59 Lego Racers 2 Lego Media @@% 5 Lethal Skies Sammy DAS 58

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Black Label 600606 63 @the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers EA Games PAPRI 63

MOVE (LEVEL) EFFECT COMBO

Rush/Charge Attack (2,4) Charge Unshielded Foes Xo

Swift Terror (2 Take Out Unshielded Foes XXT

War Rush (2) Wound, Knock Down, and X 0, R2 Finish Off Powerful Enemies

Fury/Rage/Wrath (2, 6,8) Devastating Attack hold T

Bane (4, 6, 8) Instantly Kill Attacking S,X,R2 Goblin (4)/Orc (6)/Uruk-Hai (8)

Rising Attack (2 or 4) Attack as You Regain Your Feet X

Death Charge (4) Wound, Knock Down, and XCO Strike Enemy

Gambit (4) Strike Unshielded Foe, XTX,K Dispatch Him, and Strike Another

Deliverance (6) Dispatch Shielded Foes Rapidly T, X, X, T

Judgment (8) Smash Shield, Knock Down TTOT Foe, and Strike Him

Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh PAS 56

Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports PAMI 38

Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports 009098 48

4 Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports BERR® 60 CHEAT TO MAKE IT BIG Look, we know the minicamps can be grue- some, especially if you're aiming to unlock the likes of Barry Sanders, John Elway, and Deion Sanders.

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

* Turn off Auto-save.

* Save your rosters as Cheat.

* Go to the Cheat rosters and edit the players that do the mini- camps. 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.

The Mark of Kri Sony CEA ®®® 59 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Capcom @®®@ 61 Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 Activision BRB 60 Max Payne Rockstar PPDS 53 Maximo: Ghosts To Glory Capcom PAPI 54 MDK2 Armageddon Interplay PRSI 45

Medal of Honor: Frontline. EA Games PEPES 58

Men in Black Il: Alien Escape Infogrames 098 60

Metropolismania Natsume 60% в Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Codemasters ® 58 Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh PARI 56

MLB Slugfest 20-03

Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Monster Rancher 3

Midway 60000060 59 Bandai 09096 61 Bandai ® 48 Bandai 800%) 54 Тесто PADS 50

Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA RRR? 55 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Midway BREB® 64 Moto GP Namco &&&$ 39 Moto GP2 Namco PAPEI 53 Motor Mayhem Infogrames @®@ 47

MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters 0090 46

The Mummy Returns Universal @@ 52 MX 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO PEES 47 MX Rider Infogrames PASG 52 MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO RRR 59 Myst III: Exile Ubi Soft PASI 63 Mystic Heroes Koei DPI 64 Namco Museum Namco PRI 53 NASCAR 2001 EA Sports @99 40 NASCAR Heat Infogrames 060600 47 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports 000608 51 NASCAR Thunder 2003 EA Sports @®®@% 62

NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Infogrames 500606 63

This із ош favorite hoops game of the year, so we're excited to deliver these codes for your basketball pleasure.

THREE NEW TEAMS

* Go to Options and select Game Options.

* Press and hold Left on the D-pad and Right on the left analog stick, then press start.

* Exit thís menu and you'll see codes at the bottom. Enter the Codes screen.

* Enter MEGASTARS in all caps to unlock three secret teams. GARBAGE At the Codes screen, enter SPRINGER in all caps. Now there will be trash blowing around the courts during Street mode.

NBA Hoopz Midway @@® 44 NBA Live 2001 EASports & $$ 42 NBA Live 2002 EASports RR S1 O NBA tive 2003 EA Sports $$$$ 63

There are plenty of unlockable rappers in Live (we put a sidebar on page 129 for that), Try these tips once you unlock those stallions. ТАКІМ CHARGE! When your opponent is backing you down, press Taking Charge to get the CPU to foul you.

‘SLOW IT DOWN Change the game type to Arcade and select the desired rules for the game. Its slower and easier to control. Makes you wonder if this is actually a mislabeled Sim mode,

NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony СЕА DSG 44 NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony CEA $&& 6 NBA Starting Five Konami &&4 63

NCAA College Basketball 2K3 Sega Sports RR®R® 64 NCAA College Football 2K3 Sega Sports 8096 60 NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA @ 41

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (гі)

THE SIMS

Cruise through the first level without messing your shorts

Sims rookies may be at a loss after kicking off the game by hopping into the hot tub. We asked the makers of The Sims to hold our hand through the first level. This should keep Mom off your back.

Borrow 800 simoleons from Mom so you can move out

* You can borrow money directly from Mom or sell some of her furniture. Sometimes you will receive phone calls that allow you to win money, so always answer the phone.

* Mom must be in a good mood to lend money. Check her Mood bar. If it has at least one green bar, she will probably loan you

some cash.

Get a job

Don't sweat this one. It's possible only after all other goals have been accomplished.

Make dinner without starting a fire Study cooking and get at least one skill point before attempting to make dinner.

Fix the TV

Mom will break the TV, and she needs her boob tube [don't want to miss any Magnum PI. reruns!). Go over to the bookshelf and study up

and title the e-mail Replay: Simlicious.

‘Are you a console Sim convert? Or do you think it's for PC nutjobs only? Write us at

Read the mechanical book before fixing the TV. One reading may not be enough!

(2) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

on Mechanical skills. Once you get at least one skill point, you can try to repair the TV. If you get shocked, go back to the bookshelf and earn yourself another Mechanical skill point. After that, you should escape electrocution.

Get the bills from the mailbox and pay them with the money Mom gave you. (only after bills arrive)

This goal will appear only if you've been shacking up in Mom's house for three or more days. Mom will give you enough money to pay the bills. Later on, once you're in your own place, you'll have to pay your own bills, freeloader.

Maintain house value

This is an unwritten goal. Mom's house is worth $23,660. As long as the house maintains this value, Mom will let you leave with all the money you borrowed. If you sell some of Mom's furniture before moving out, she will deduct that amount from your budget when you move out, sometimes taking all of your money.

SECC

Ё

Watching fish can increase you

* Right after you start, make your Sim study Mechanical skills and Cooking at the bookcase.

* Confused about what to do in Mom's house? Just wait. Mom will eventually nag you about your needs and the house goals.

* Mom is in a good mood when the house starts, so take advantage and borrow simoleons from her right away.

* Mom is pretty good about keep- ing her own Mood high. If she is in a bad mood, just wait a while.

* After you cook your first meal successfully, Mom will be able to cook, too. Make her cook dinner to free up time for your Sim.

* You can skip the entire simoleon- borrowing process by selling something of Mom's to get your budget up to 8800. But Mom will take back the money you owe her. * Since you don't have to work until you move into the second house, socialize with Mom [you can use her as a friend when you need job promotions in later levels].

* Since you can stay in Mom's

Lj "e

r mood, anda good mood makes everything easier.

house for a long time, buy skill objects and get all your skills up high before going into later levels. Later on, you'll be pressed for time due to carpools and parties.

* Mom has an antique grandfather clock worth a lot of money. You can sell it and buy other objects that you may find more useful.

e If you are greedy, put Mom to work building gnomes with the KraftKing woodworking table. When you leave, you can pocket any money you make from this home crafts project!

Unlocks

AROMA MACHINE - First time you cook a successful dinner

VANITY MIRROR - Fix the TV TREADMILL - First time you get a job

THE MUSEUM (CON ARTIST) TWO-PLAYER GAME - Borrow 800 simoleons from Mom BEEJAPHONE ELECTRIC GUITAR - Get through

the house in 24 hours

or less

STEPPING OUT OF THESE PAGES AND INTO YOUR HOMES!

Join Shoe and the rest of the Game Group editors as they invade your screen with the latest game news and releases that will jumpstart your weekend!

Tune in every Thursday 7:45 pm ET/ 4:45 pm PT to HOTWIRED's Big Video Game Hunting hosted by Renay San Miguel on CNN Headline News.

ori TUM

алу

S PAS дыр

® REPLAY

Tips from the people who know best.

www.crushem.com

Rankings for pretty much all online sports games.

NHL 2K3

9 tips from the makers of 2K3!

NCAA Final Four 2002 NCAA Final Four 2003 NCAA Football 2002

989 Sports #4 52 Sony CEA $$ 64 EA Sports PAPEI 48 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony CEA &4 а NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Sony CEA @@ а NCAA March Madness 2002 EA Sports &&& 5

NCAA March Madness 2003 8 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

ne first taste of unlockable cars. We'll have even more nt

EA Sports &&& — 64 EA Games RRRRR 62

xt

mon he Main menu to unlock these.

BMW

Square, Right, Square, Right, R2,

Triangle, L, L2, L, 12, Triangle

Right, R2, Right, R2, R1, L1, R1, 11

Square, L1, Square, L1, Triangle,

iangle

, Triangle,

blo 6.0 VT

Right, Triangle, Е

а GT Left, Right, Left, Right, R1, Right, Left, Right, Left, R2, S

R2, Square R2, Right, R2, Ri

ngle

iangle, Left,

NFL 2K3 Sega Sports PASI 60 NFL Blitz 20-02 Midway &&$$ 55 NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway PRI 60 NFL GameDay 2001 Sony CEA & 40 NFL GameDay 2002 Sony CEA #9 5 NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA @@% 61 NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim EI 50 NHL 2001 EA Sports BER@® 38 NHL 2002 EA Sports PAPRI 50 NHL 2003 EASports PRSI 63 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony CEA PRPA 43 NHL FaceOff 2003 Sony СЕА @@ 64 HL Hitz 20-02 Midway &&&& 51 NHL Hitz 20-03 Midway PERDI 62 Ninja Assault Namco 899 61

Sierra BADI 56 Okage: Shadow King Sony CEA DAS 5 Oni Rockstar 08 43

No One Lives Forever

Capcom 9090080 60 Activision PES 39 Namco && 60 Namco 09099906 54 Sony СЕА PERI 53

Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Pac-Man Fever

Pac-Man World 2

PaRappa the Rapper 2

Paris-Dakar Rally Acclaim 80% 5 Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat EAGames PRRI 55 Portal Runner 300 && 50

Project Eden Eidos RESI 52 Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark UnicornTDK Mediacive @@@ 60 Q-Ball Billiards Master Take 2 RRR 40 Quake ІІ Revolution EA Games BERRI 44 Rally Fusion: Race of Champions Activision &&& 64

ayman 2 Revolution. MENE Rayman Arena Ubi Soft PEHI 57 Acclaim & 6 а Midway 5099998 40

RC Revenge Pro

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Real Pool Infogrames PPA 40 Red Card Soccer 20-03 Midway &&& 57

Red Faction Il THO PEES 6 Reign of Fire Bam! PAPI 63 Rez Sega PAPRI 53

Namco 09090804 38 Bam! ®®®? 61 Konami PPDS 43 Interplay BRR 62 Conspiracy PAMP 61

Ridge Racer V Riding Spirits Ring of Red

RLH: Run Like Hell Road Trip

ШЫ Soft 600080 64

Rocky Robot Alchemic Drive Enix ФФФФ 63 Robotech: Battlecry TOK BER 62 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII Koei BBE | 60

EA Sports PEÐI 48 ҒА Games @®@@@ 45 Take 2 PRI 48 Тесто PEDDI 64

Rugby Rumble Racing

Rune: Viking Warlord

Rygar: The Legendary Adventure

Salt Lake 2002 Eidos @@% 55 Savage Skies Ват! BRB 56 Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights THO RR® 5 The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian Universal @@ 62 Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega BBR 62 Sega Soccer Slam Sega Sports 0% 62

Sega Sports PEPPI 60 Midway PPPS 52 Konami PEG 43

Sega Sports Tennis Shadow Hearts Shadow of Destiny

Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim 090 5 Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision @@% 52 Shifters 300 ® 58 Shinobi Sega RRR 6 Shox EASports Big 4006 6з Shrek Super Party ТОК Mediactive 8094 64

Konami PES 39 Konami PASI 49 Konami PESE 62 Working Designs ®@@d 40

Silent Scope

Silent Scope 2

Silent Scope 3

Silpheed: The Lost Planet

The Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games @@ 64 Sky Gunner Atlus 00908 58 Sky Odyssey Activision ФФ | 40 Sled Storm EABig RRR 55

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus Sony CEA RRRRR 62

Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Namco PESI 56

Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Rockstar 0904 52

Soccer America: International Cup. Ho-B Ө% ав Soccer Mania tA/lego RRR 59 Soldier of Fortune Majesco @®@ 52 Soul Reaver 2 Eidos RRR 52

Space Race Infogrames BRE 59 Spider-Man Activision PASSE 57 Splashdown Infogrames PARS 52

Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Vivendi Universal ®®® 64

SSK EA Sports BIG RRRRR 52 Majesco 8846 53 LucasArts 0% 45

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Star Wars Episode I-Super Bombad Racing Star Wars Jedi Starfighter LucasArts RRR 56 Star Wars Racer Revenge LucasArts PAPPI 55 ‘Star Wars Starfighter LucasArts RRR 43 Star Wars Bounty Hunter Activision @®@®4 64 Rockstar BRB 55 Sony CEA ERA 59 Capcom PAMI 39 Activision PASI 60 Conspiracy DBASE 47

State of Emergency Stitch: Experiment 626 Street Fighter EX 3 Street Hoops

Stretch Panic

Stuntman Infogrames/Atari PAM 59 Sub Rebellion Мето 30 @®®@ 62 ‘Suikoden IIl Konami PÈS 63 Summoner THO OS 39 Summoner 2 THO PEI 62

Ubi Soft PASG 51 Acclaim @@@ 41 Ubi Soft PADI 63 Activision 899 52 Atari PEDI 63 Rockstar 0% 40 EA Games DAS 38 Ubi Soft & 4 52 Infogrames PASI 60

Sunny Garcia Surfing 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

LOOK FOR THESE SPECIAL АҒАСЫ | v) اد‎ Шан =) ө) М МЕ EV WS 59 STAN DS Order these back issues to make sure that

you have a complete reference library of

=) / тті P) ү \ | ! Е 2 zl the most valuable tricks, cheats, and codes SVEN Лк шһ4 р for all the top games on your console.

RTS’ STAR WARS RPG—EXCLUSIVE NINE-PAGE REPO INSIDE: GOLDEN S@i PERS SS ғ B |

Xbox Nation. $12.00 $12.00

Xbox Nation Premiere Issue $12.00 $12.00

Pocket Games 9 Pocket Games 8 Summer 2002 Spring 2002 $12.00 $12.00

Pocket Games 7 Pocket Games Fall/Winter 2001 ‘Summer 2001 $12.00

Pocket Games Pocket Games Fall 2000 Summer 2000 $12.00 $12.00

HOW TO ORDER: Simply check off which magazines you want and send in the order form (photocopies accepted) along with a check made payable to Ziff Davis Media, for the amount indicated for each mag-

= azine plus shipping and handling—add $3 for U.S., AME PlayStation $3 for Canada and $5 for foreign orders—in U.S. = MONTHLY funds only for each magazine! Orders should be mailed to: Back Issues, 1411 Opus Place, Ste. 340, Downers Grove, IL 60515. Price and availability subject to change without notice.

CONTRA WAR TACTICS

You're going to want to use these

Let's face it—Contra: Shattered Soldier is hands-down one of the most difficult games for PS2. Its call for absolute precision and breakneck reflexes will test the abilities of any gamer. With that in mind, we've come up with a few general tips to help you get the most out of the game.

THE CONTRA CODE

First off, the Contra code is back! Here's one sure way to make your life a lot easier. At the Title screen, press the following on Controller 2: Up, Up, Down, Down, L1, R1, L2, R2, L3, R3. (L3 and R3 are the analog buttons—push them in). If you correctly pull off this sequence, you'll hear the "Extra Life" chime and you'll be rewarded with 30 men in the game's Normal mode.

RANKINGS

The only way to really beat Shattered Soldier is to focus on your ranking, as doing so will unlock new levels and endings. The only way to see Level 6 is to complete the entire game on Normal mode with at least a "B ranking or better. And to see Level 7, you're going to need an "A" ranking or better. Here are some general tips on how to get a higher ranking.

1) Destroy everything. Take out everything possible within a level. Every enemy, every boss—every- thing. It's a good practice to not let anything fly offscreen without

killing it, which is easier said than done. The transforming subma- rine/airship is a prime example. To take it out, shoot out every gun attached to it (we recommend using the Energy Blast). Another example is the flying mech, later in that same level: You're going to want to use Homing Missiles when it shoots its laser, or nail it with a well-timed Energy Blast.

2) Attack properly. All bosses have weak spots. However, to attain the best ranking, take out all of the bosses' secondary

targets first.

Perd

3) Don't die. Seriously—losing lives and using continues subtracts from your Hit Rate at the end of a stage (2 points for losing a life, 10 points for when you continue at the midpoint of a level). However, if you do end up needing to con- tinue, a good strategy is to simply restart a level when the game asks you if you want to start from the "beginning" or "half-way point." Doing so will wipe clean your lost lives, plus you won't be penalized for using the continue.

HANG IN THERE

Always consider what weapons work best in specific situations. For example, the flame thrower can actually block certain enemy bullets. The Energy Blast is always a good choice to take things out quickly. And, play as much as you can—after a few hours, the game will reward you with more lives, permanently.

MAKE SURE TO FIND THE SWEET SPOTS

In Contra, it's all about finding those spots where you won't get hit.

Get up on the top platform first and you won't get hit. From there, make your way down to take out the fort.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

Position yourself under this boss so you can shoot both its missiles and its weak point, without getting hit.

Orekken 4

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Namco PAPI 61

Мете lovers, not fighters. If you're the latter, make use of these. PRACTICE MODE MOVE PERCENTAGE Enter Practice mode and select à character. Press Start and choose Command List. Now, press and hold any of the shoulder buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2) and you'll see the percentage of how many times you have performed a particular move in Practice mode.

UNLOCK DOJO STAGE Clear Tekken Force mode to unlock Dojo stage. Tekken Tag Tournament Namco BRERA 39 The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Atari PRI в

Test Drive Infogrames 609908 58 Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames ®®® | 48 Tetris Worlds THO 9% s

Theme Park Roller Coaster EA Games RRRR 41

The Thing Universal BRB 62 Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Eidos ®4 52 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports RR® 44 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 EA Sports RRR® 55 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 ЕА Sports RRRRG 63 Time Crisis 2 Namco RRR 49

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero

Сауе BRE — 45 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 ion 2

Activision ERED 51

We're still working around the clock searching for more codes. Until then, these will hold you. Input them on the Cheats screen. Always special: doasuper Perfect Rail Balance: ssbsts Perfect Manual: mullenpower Top Angler Xia PERI 57 Kemo PAPI 41 Titus RRR 50 Infogrames PARI 57 Siera RRR 62

Top Gear Dare Devil Top Gun: Combat Zones Transworld Surf

Tribes: Aerial Assault

Triple Play 2002 EA Sports 6090 55 Triple Play Baseball EA Sports 99 45 Tsuganai: Atonement Atlus BER 53 Turok: Evolution Acclaim 608 62 ‘Twisted Metal: Black SCEA 52522525: 47 Twisted Metal: Black Online SCEA 5006080 61 Ту the Tasmanian Tiger EA Games PP 62 UFC Throwdown Infogrames PAMI 58

Unison Tecmo PARI 44

Unreal Tournament Infogrames 60604 40

V Rally 3 Infogrames 809060608 64 Vampire Night Empire PAF 52 Victorious Boxers Empire PARI 51 Virtua Fighter 4 Sega ESDAS War Jetz 300 @® — 48 Warriors of Might & Magic 300 6668 | 4 Wave Rally Eidos 66 5 Way of the Samurai Bam! RRR 59 Whirl Tour Vivendi Universal @ в Wild Arms 3 Sony CEA 800948 62 Wild Wild Racing Interplay 804% 39 Winback Koei RRR® 43 Wipeout Fusion Bam! PERDI 57 Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Atlus $i 53

Woody Woodpecker: Buzz Buzzard ParkDreamcatcher RR® | 57 300 $$$ 42 Infogrames RRRR 55

World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars

World Tour Soccer 2002 Sony CEA &&&& 53 Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Activision 0% 8 WTA Tour Tennis Konami & 5 WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth THO PRI в WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It THO RRR 52 X-Men: Next Dimension Activision & 44 64 X Squad EA Games RRR 38 Yanya Caballista: City Skater Koei BREE 49 Zapper Infogrames 60686 64

Z.0.E: Zone of the Enders Konami 60060606 44

PS1 TRICKS AND

GAME IBLISHER SCORE — ISSUE

007 Racing EA Games 0606) 4 3Xtreme 989 Studios @ 21 40 Winks GT Interactive 0606060 28 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Fidos RRR 41 2002 FIFA World Cup. EA Sports 800060 58 ABugslfe — Sony CEA RS TTB

Namco &&$ 31

Agetec 8 64

Take 2 @@ 37

Hasbro 686 41

Crystal Dynamics PAW 18 Sony CEA 0% 45 Rockstar ® 2

Fox Interactive 8) — 38 Agetec Rd 56

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Aces of the Air

Action Bass

Action Man: Operation Extreme Akuji the Heartless

Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge Alexi Lalas International Soccer Alien Resurrection

All-Star Slammin’ D-ball

Alone іп the Dark: The New Nightmare Infogrames 5006060 47 Working Designs 006066 4 Activision 8% 32

ASC RRR р

Alundra Alundra 2

Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley Animorphs: Shattered Reality

Гаре Escape Sony:

Apocalypse Activision BR | 16 Arc the Lad Collection. Working Designs 060606 52 Arcade Party Pak Midway PRRI 28 Arcades Greatest Hits: Atari Collection 2 Midway 666 7 Arcade's Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 2 Midway 69% 4 Armored Core Sony СЕА RESI 3

Armored Core: Master of Arena Agetec DDG E!

Armorines: Project S.WA.R.M. Acclaim @

Army Men 3D 300 && | Army Men: Air Attack 300 @®®® 27 Army Меп: Air Attack 2 зро BRR 39 Army Men: Green Rogue 300 99 “ Army Men: Sarge's Heroes зро RR 32 Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 300 RR 40 Army Men: World War 300 68 34 Army Men: World War - Final Front 300 68 45 ‘Army Men: World War - Land, Sea, Air 300 66 3 Arthur! Ready to Race The Learning Co. ® 42 Assault Midway $$$ 15 Asteroids Activision e Atari Anniversary Edition Redux Infogrames @@ 5 Atlantis: The Lost Empire SCEA PARP 48 ATV: Quad Power Racing Acclaim ® 39 Austin Powers Pinball Gotham Games 6060 64

Electronic Arts 50060 6 Konami 6060 10 Ascii DADI 5

Auto Destruct Azure Dreams Backstreet Billiards

Ball Breakers Take 2 PADI 36 Ballistic Infogrames 8080640 27 Baseball 2000 Interplay 6060 a Bass Landing Agetec PAI 26 Bass Rise Bandai 500%) 28 Batman & Robin Acclaim @ B Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Ubi Soft 8 39 Batman: Gotham City Racer Ubi Soft @9 46 Battle Hunter Agetec 08 48 Battletanx: Global Assault. 300 66 31 Beast Wars Hasbro @@ 5 Big Air Accolade 608 20 Big Bass Fishing Take 2 8 58 Big ОГ Bass 2 Konami REG 45 Billiards Agetec 6096 45 Bio ЕК.ЕА.К.5. Midway @@ 10 Black Bass with Blue Marlin HotB 9% 29 Blade Activision 60906 а

Blast Lacrosse Acclaim DG 48

Blast Radius Psygnosis RRR 19 Blaster Master: Blasting Again Crave &&& 38 Blasto Sony СЕА PEDA В

The year that the original

Rygar was released in arcades. It hit NES in 8.

“You need the grappling” The original Rygar was filled with amusing misuses of the English language. Check zanyvg.overclocked.org for more!

PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Bloody Roar Sony CEA PARI 6 Bloody Roar 2 Sony CEA 600% 21 Blues Big Musical THO $$$ 46 Board Game: Top Shop Agetec PAPP 45 Bomberman Fantasy Race Atlus 6096 9 Bomberman Party Edition Vatical BBE 38 Bomberman World Atlus 6096 B The Bombing Islands Kemo 60996 47 Boombots SouthPeak PPE 27 Bottom of the 9th '97 Konami 600906 1 Bowling Agetec R@ 43 Boxing Agetec 606 45 Brave Fencer Musashi Square EA & $$$ 15 Bravo Air Race THO $ed 1 Breakout Hasbro @@ 39 Breath of Fire ІІ Capcom DADI 9 Breath of Fire IV Capcom DADI 40 Brigandine Atlus BAPI 15 Broken Sword THO $$e* 5 Broken Sword Il Crave DADI 27 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling THO PAPI B Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 THO 69%% 3 Bug Riders GT Interactive @@ 3

Infogrames BR® 41 Infogrames PADI 23

Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters Bugs Bunny Lost In Time

Builder's Block Jaleco PAPI 35 Burstrick Wake Boarding!! Natsume @@ 45 Bushido Blade 2 Square EA PODI — 14 Bust A Groove 989 Studios $$ 16 Bust A Groove 2 Enix 600%) 36 Bust-A-Move 4 Natsume 600060 17 Bust-A-Move 99 Acclaim @@ 9 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Activision 6096 39 C: The Contra Adventure Konami 68 12 с-12: Final Resistance Sony CEA @@@ 58 Caesar's Palace 2000 Interplay @ 41 Caesar's Palace II Interplay 60% 5 Capcom vs. SNK Pro Capcom PAPI 60 Card Games Agetec @@ 50 Cardinal SYN Sony CEA @@@ 9 CART World Series Sony CEA PADI 3 Casper: Friends Around the World Sound Source @@ 41 Castlevania Chronicles Konami $$$ 50

Castrol Honda Superbike Electronic Arts @@ 21 Centipede Hasbro && 2 Championship Bass EA Sports RRR 33 Championship Motocross 2001 Feat. Ricky Carmichael THO @@@ 4 Championship Motocross Feat. Ricky Carmichael THO RRR? 25

Championship Surfer Mattel DBAS Di Chessmaster ІІ Mindscape PPI 23 Chicken Run Eidos PES a Chocobo Racing Square EA $$ 23 Chocobos Dungeon 2 Square ҒА @@% 23

Circuit Breakers Mindscape PO 12 Civilization Il Activision PAPPE 18 Clock Tower Ascii POD 2 Clock Tower І: The Struggle Within Agetec 0686 28 Colin McRae 2.0 Codemasters sedeo 40 Colin McRae Rally Sony CEA PADD 30

Colony Wars: Red Sun Psygnosis POPMA 31 Colony Wars: Vengeance Psygnosis PAPE —

Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin DEDI 4 Contender Sony CEA 60%) 17 Contender 2 Bam! @ AL Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA @ 39 Countdown Vampires Bandai 96 32

Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn Activision @@@ 34

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Crash Bash SCEA/Universal 6086 — 39 Crime Killer Interplay 69% 12 Critical Depth GT Interactive $$ 3

Croc 2 Fox Interactive 506 2 Crossroad Crisis. Magetec 04 50 Crusaders of Might & Magic 300 DAS 30

(CR: Gash Team Rading | Sony ŒA ESSEE 26 CyberTiger EA Sports $ed 27 Dance Dance Revolution Konami ФФФФ 42 Konami 509600 49 Konami 000 57

Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix Dance Dance Revolution: Копатіх

Danger Girl THO RR з Dark Omen Electronic Arts @@ 9 DarkStalkers 3 Capcom $$$ 16 Darkstone Take 2 @@@ 43 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Acclaim 609606 38

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix Acclaim 066 47

David Beckham Soccer Majesco 50090 61 Dead in the Water ASC 098 7 Dead or Alive Tecmo PAADI 8 Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos DG 9 Deception Ill: Dark Delusion Tecmo RRRR 31

Delta Force: Urban Warfare Demolition Racer

Novalogic 69% 61 Infogrames PAPP 26

Destrega Koei 5006080 16 Destruction Derby Raw Midway PEDE 39 Devil Dice THO 0%%8 B Dexter's Laboratory: Mandark's Lab? Bam! PAPI 59 Diablo Electronic Arts $$$ 8 Die Hard Trilogy: Viva Las Vegas Fox Interactive @@ 31

Digimon Digital Card Battle Bandai @@® 48

Digimon Rumble Arena Bandai PEPI 55 Digimon World Bandai 08 36 Digimon World 2 Bandai @@ 46 Digimon World 3 Bandai DSG 5 Dino Crisis Capcom 60096 25 Dino Crisis 2 Capcom PAPPE 38 Disney's Dinosaur Ubi Soft 98 36

Disney's Treasure Planet Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Downhill Mountain Bike Racing Dracula: The Last Sanctuary Dracula: The Resurrection Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek

Sony CEA DRI 64

Ubi Soft PAS 39 Activision 6096 7 DreamCatcher DRE 56 DreamCatcher 0909 48 Bandai 9% 4 NewKidCo 08 45

Dragon Valor Namco $$$ 38 Dragon Warrior VII Enix 69868 51 Dragonseeds Jaleco @® 5 Driver 2 Infogrames 6090) 40 Ducati World Championship Racing Acclaim $994 а

Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes Infogrames 60908 40

Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown GT Interactive BRB 5 Dukes of Hazzard ІІ: Daisy Dukes it Out Dune 2000

EA Sports Supercross

Eagle One: Harrier Attack

SouthPeak B® а Electronic Arts ®4 7 EA Sports RRR? л Infogrames $$$ 3

Echo Night Agetec DAM 23 ECW Anarchy Rulz Acclaim @ 38 ECW Hardcore Revolution Acclaim @@ 30 Ehrgeiz Square ҒА $9 &$ 21 Einhãnder Sony CEA 60%80%0 8 Elemental Gearbolt Working Designs 5006060 11 Eliminator Psygnosis 808 20 The Emperor's New Groove SCEA 00606 40 ESPN MLS GameNight Konami ®®® 40 ЕТ. the Extra-Terrestrial: Interplanetary Mission — NewKidCo 8 54 Eternal Eyes Crave $4 38 Evil Dead: Hail to the King THO @%% 41 Evil Zone Titus RRR 25

KINGDOM HEARTS: THREE QUERIES 1) | beat the Deep Jungle, but when | go into the Bizarre Room in Alice's world, | thought | was going to fight Trickmaster, and when | go in, nothing happens. 2) How long do | have to wait for the tournaments to start at the Olympus coliseum? 3] When do | get to go on to levels other than Alice's, Тагғап'ѕ, and Hercules’, and to Traverse Town?

Eric Bratt

Assuming that you've already presented your evidence to the Queen of Hearts and fought off the Card Knights, your next step is to enter the Bizarre Room via the door in the Tea Party Room [which is in the forest, of course). Next, hop onto the table and light the lamps. Now, find the Cheshire Cat and chat with him. That should trigger the Trickmaster battle. As for your other questions, be patient! Get past Trickmaster and more worlds will start opening up. Same goes for the tournaments, which continue to become available as you play through the game.

GTA; VICE CITY:

BIKE THIEF

Гуе heard that you

can drop-kick guys

off their motorcycles

in Vice City, but all

1 do is elbow them

off! What gives?

| want to be a bike-

hopping superstar! Wayne Hillson

Go to the front of a stopped bike and press Triangle. Easy.

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Expendable Infogrames 99 34 F1 2000 EA Sports PPI 33

F1 Championship Season EA Sports PERI 40 F1 Racing Championship Ubi Soft &&d 39 Family Feud Hasbro BBR 39 Family Game Pack 300 $99 3 Fantastic Four Acclaim 0% 3 Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition SNK &á 30

Fear Effect Eidos PADI 31 Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix Eidos #9999 43 Felony 11-79 Ascii RRR

FIFA 98 EA Sports PADI

НҒА 99 ҒА Sports 60608008 17 FIFA 2000 EA Sports PAPRI 27 FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports PAPRI 39 FIFA Soccer 2003 EASports &&&$ 63 The Fifth Element Activision @ 15 Fighter Maker Agetec 9d 21 Fighting Force 2 Eidos 6% 29

Square EA RRRRE 26 Sony CEA &&&é 47

Final Fantasy Anthology Final Fantasy Chronicles

Final Fantasy ІХ Square EA RRR WH 39 Fisherman's Bait Konami PEI 18 Fisherman's Bait 2: Big ОГ Bass Konami &&& 27

Flintstones Bedrock Bowling SouthPeak @ 37 Empire @@% 44

Formula 1 99 Psygnosis PAE 28 Forsaken Acclaim RR@® 10 Fox Sports Golf 99 Fox Interactive 60% 1 Fox Sports Soccer 99 Fox Interactive #99. 1

Capcom @@@ 18 Acclaim 008 40

Freestyle Boardin’ ‘99 Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana

Hasbro PAS 38 Square ҒА PAPPI 31

Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge. Front Mission 3

Future Cop L.A.PD. Electronic Arts PRS B G-Police Psygnosis 09050606 3 G-Police 2 Psygnosis 0080606 25 G-Darius THO $e 13 Galaga: Destination Earth Hasbro 999 39 Galerians Crave BRE 33 Gallop Racer Tecmo RI 28

Midway 60606 32 Interplay $99 34

Gauntlet Legends Gekido

Gex: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos RRR? 20 Gex: Enter the Gecko Midway RRR 7 Ghost in the Shell THO 6%9%% 4 Glover Hasbro @® 28 Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado Sony CEA 0% 42

Grease monkeys unite! Roll with this code, won't you?

MO’ SPORTS LAND TRACK Obtain all of the licenses, including the Super License, and the Motor Sports Land track will become avail- able in Time Trial mode on the arcade disc.

Grand Theft Auto 2 Rockstar BRB 27 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Rockstar #999 22 Grand Tour Racing ‘98 Activision &&& 1 Grandia Sony CEA PRRI 26 Granstream Saga THO RRR — 10 The Grinch Konami/Universal 808 39 Grind Session Sony CEA PRES 34 Grudge Warriors Take 2 6% 34 Guardian's Crusade Activision @®@ 9 @ Gundam Battie Assault 2 Bandai &&$ 62

In case the headmaster at Nerd University isn't doling out codes at a proper rate, try unlocking these suits without permission. MASTER GUNDAM To unlock it in Street mode, beat Street mode on

Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)

JAMES BOND 007: NIGHTFIRE

Get the goods on golds and platinums

One of the great things about NightFire is the huge assortment of unlockable treats. But how do you get all those extras? Well, 24 of them are accessed by getting either a Gold or a Platinum medal on each of the game's 12 levels. (To earn one of these medals, finish a level quickly and with a high accuracy rating.) Here's what you get with each medal:

PARIS PRELUDE

Platinum: Play as Renard in Multiplayer mode. Victor “Renard” Zokas, one of the villains in The World Is Not Enough, was played by Robert Carlyle, best known for his leading role in The Full Monty. Gold: Racing Missile upgrade.

THE EXCHANGE

Platinum: Play as Baron Samedi in Multiplayer mode. Samedi was an odd character in Live and Let Die, played by Geoffrey Holder, who is perhaps best known as the voice of Ray the Sun in Bear in the Big Blue House. Gold: Pistol upgrade.

DOUBLE CROSS

Platinum: Play as Xenia Onatopp in Multiplayer mode. Before she was Jean Grey in X-Men, Famke Janssen was the...er...strong-legged Xenia Onatopp in GoldenEye. She still complains about being known as a Bond girl. Gold: Rifle upgrade.

NIGHT SHIFT

Platinum: Play as Christmas Jones in Multiplayer mode. The sultry Denise Richards (Starship Troopers) played nuclear physicist Christmas Jones in The World Is Not Enough. Gold: Pistol upgrade.

ALPINE AMBUSH

Platinum: Play as Zorin in Multiplayer mode. The evil Maximillian “Max” Zorin, played by the incomparable Christopher Walken, made things difficult for Bond in A View to a Kill. Gold: Grapple upgrade.

ENEMIES VANQUISHED

Platinum: Play as May Day in Multiplayer mode. Model- actress-singer-performance artist Grace Jones, as A View to a Kill's May Day, was definitely one of the more unusual Bond girls. Gold: Micro camera scope upgrade.

You're secretly in love with Grace Jones, aren't you? Don't lie. You can't take your eyes off of her!

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

CHAIN REACTION

Platinum: Play as Goldfinger in Multiplayer mode. Beyond the role of Auric Goldfinger in Goldfinger, Gert Fróbe proba- bly hasn't been in anything you've seen except Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Gold: Dart gun upgrade.

t PHOENIX FIRE Platinum: Play as Drake in a suit in Multiplayer mode. Whee! Couldn't they come up with any more real villains? Did they really have to resort to a lame alternate costume here? Oh well. Gold: Pistol upgrade.

DEEP DESCENT

Platinum: Play as Elektra King in Multiplayer mode. In The World Is Not Enough, Sophie Marceau played the villainous Elektra King, far exceeding her role opposite David Spade in Lost and Found. Which isn't hard to do. Gold: Decryptor upgrade.

ISLAND INFILTRATION Platinum: Play as James Bond in a tuxedo in Multiplayer mode. Which is, really, only slightly less lame than the "Drake-in-a-suit" thing. Have you seen Pierce Brosnan's other films? The Thomas Crown Affair was surprisingly good. You should see it. Gold: Stunner upgrade.

COUNTDOWN

Platinum: Play as Pussy Galore in Multiplayer mode. Goldfinger featured a very young Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore. Blackman went on to get much older and was most recently seen in Bridget Jones's Diary. Gold: Laser upgrade.

EQUINOX

Platinum: Play as Bond in his space suit in Multiplayer mode. OK, this one is totally worth it because he looks so damn goofy running around in a space suit. Too bad we haven't found a cheat to turn off gravity yet. Gold: Rifle upgrade.

САМЕ PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Hard with Burning Gundam and Gundam Maxter. To unlock it in

Versus, Time Attack, and Survival modes, beat Street mode with the

Master Gundam.

Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James | ШЫ Soft & 4 52

HardBall '99 Accolade $4 15 (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone EA Games RRR 53

When new movies are released, old games are bought. This proves it. ALTERNATE ENDING After beating the game, credits will run for about 10 minutes. Then it will tell you who has won the Hogwarts House Cup. If you've collected all 17 Famous Witches and Wizards. cards, you'll score an alternate ending. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets EA Games 909060 64

Harvest Moon: Back to Nature Natsume DAI 40

HBO Boxing Acclaim @® а Heart of Darkness Interplay PARS 13 Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy NewKidCo $4 20 Herc's Adventures LucasArts $$ — 2 High Heat Baseball 2000 300 & 2 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 300 PARS 43 Hogs of War Infogrames PARS 38 Hooters Road Trip Ubi Soft @ 55 Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Atlus @@@ 53

Hot Shots Golf Sony СЕА PODS 7

Hot Shots Golf 2 Sony СЕА PSSI 30 Hot Wheels Turbo Racing | Electronic Arts 886 — 25 Hydro Thunder Midway 0%) 31 IHRA Drag Racing Bethesda @ 53 In Cold Blood DreamCatcher 6090 49 Incredible Crisis Titus API 38 Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze Ubi Soft PAPI 50 Intelligent Qube Sony CEA DAS 2 Intellivision Classic Games Activision @@ 28

Konami PASSI 11 Konami &&$& 27

Int'l. Superstar Soccer 98 Int'l. Track & Field 2000

Invasion From Beyond GT Interactive 6% 9 Iron Soldier 3 Майса! PARP 35 Irritating Stick laleco ФФ 18

155 Pro Evolution Konami 000068 35

Jackie Chan Stuntmaster Midway 0606086 30 Jade Cocoon Сауе RRR 23 Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing Codemasters RRR 38 Jeopardy! Hasbro ®@@9 17 Jeopardy! 2 Hasbro PADS 29 (eemyMcsrhSupsrioss2000 ^ ^ Aim $4 — 38 Jersey Devil Sony CEA && 10 Пе Мою2 Sony CEA 6886 з Jet Moto 3 989 Studios PAPI 26 Jimmy Johnson VR Football Interplay B® 2 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom PERRI 31 Juggernaut Jaleco B® 26 K-1 Grand Prix Jaleco PAFI 28 K-1 Revenge Jaleco @@% 18 Kagero: Deception Il Тесто PEDDI 14 Kartia Atlus BASS 12 Kensei Sacred Fist Konami @@ y Kickboxing Agetec ® 58 Killer Loop Crave $9 27 King of Fighters 99 Agetec RRR® 41 KISS Pinball Take 2 @% 46

Knockout Kings Knockout Kings 2000

Knockout Kings 2001

Konami Arcade Classics Koudelka Infogrames PES 35 Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed Midway 600% 34 The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing ТОК Mediactive 6000 46

EA Sports PEI 16 EA Sports && éd 27 EA Sports RRR® 39

Konami 008 23

The Land Before Time:Return to Great Valley Sound Source @@@ 39 Largo Winch .// Commando Sar Ubi Soft @ 57 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Eidos RRR 25 The Legend of Dragoon Sony CEA 60960608 34 Legend of Legaia Sony СЕА 00%) 19 Legend of Mana Square ҒА 60898 %

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Lego Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge Lego Media Ges 46

Lego Rock Raiders Lego Media ® 3 Lilo & Stitch Sony CEA PEPI 59 The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure Activision 606 2 The Little Mermaid Il THO PPPE 39 Lode Runner Natsume @@8 4 Looney Tunes Racing Infogrames 086 39

Infogrames 60906 5 Electronic Arts ® 2 Working Designs RRR? 22 Working Designs 909000 40

Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider The Lost World: Jurassic Park Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

Madden NFL 98 EASports ®®®® 2 Madden NFL 99 EA Sports REESI 13 Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports BESSI 49

Ө Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports RRR® 62

You paid $40 for a PS1 game. Think about that for a while.

CHEAP PLAYERS, MAD SKILLS Want a Randy Moss clone for cheap? Go to Create Player and make a quarterback. Give the player very low passing abilities and high catching and ball-handling abilities. The player will cost very little because his quarterback skills are bad. You will have to sign him as a quarterback but use him as a wide receiver. His salary will never go up because he won't play as a quarterback. You can also change his number and attributes in the Edit Player screen. You can also make a dirt-cheap fullback by elimi- nating his receiving skills. Martian Gothic: Unification Таке 2 RRR 52 Capcom ®® 2 Capcom ®®® 18 Marvel vs. Capcom EX Capcom &&4 30 Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall Acclaim PAI 40 Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner's Circle Acclaim DRI 45

Marvel Super Heroes Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter

Mass Destruction ASC $ed 3 Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX Activision BRBS 45 Maximum Force Midway 64 2 MDK Playmates RG 3 Medal Of Honor Electronic Arts RRAS 27 Medal Of Honor Underground Electronic Arts PAES 39 MediEvil Sony CEA RR®® 14 MediEvil I Sony СЕА PRPA 32 Mega Man Legends Capcom PPSS 12

Mega Man Legends 2 Capcom RRR 39

Mega Man X4 Capcom $$$ 4 Mega Man X5 Capcom BARG 41 Mega Man X6 Capcom &&& 53 Men In Black-The Series: Crashdown Infogrames BRB 54 (Metal Gear Solid Konami TLE Metal Gear Solid VR Missions Konami 9%%% 25 Netal Slug X Agetec RRDP 43

Codemasters PASS 32 Codemasters @@ 39 Capcom $e 31

Simon & Schuster 0060 4 Hasbro PAS 28 Infogrames 0% 28

Micro Maniacs

Mike Tyson Boxing

The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Miss Spider's Tea Party

Missile Command

Mission: Impossible

MK Mythologies Midway $4 3 MLB 98 Sony CEA PAP

MLB 99 Sony СЕА $$$ 9 MLB 2000 989 Studios &&&& 21 MLB 2001 989 Studios &&& З MLB 2002 Sony CEA @@ 46 MLB 2003 Sony CEA &&$ 60 MLBPA Bottom of the 9th 99 Konami &&&4 — 12

Electronic Arts PAS 32 Ubi Soft PASI 21

Mobil 1: Rally Championship Monaco Grand Prix

Monkey Hero Take 2 @® 18 Monkey Magic Sunsoft & 29 Monopoly — Hasbro PAS 5

Tecmo $&&$ 26 Тесто RRR, 36 Tecmo RRR л Sunsoft PP 20

Monster Rancher 2

Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode Il Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout

Monster Seed

NBA LIVE

2003

Hip-hop hoopsters

Some of today's hottest rappers are in Live 2003. /f you want to see

how these guys ball, try this!

1) From the Main menu, select

Roster Management 2) Select Create Player 3) Select Bio

4) In the Last Name field, enter one

of these codes: Busta: FLIPMODE

Fabolous: GHETTOFAB

DJ Clue: MIXTAPES

Hot Karl: CALIFORNIA

Just Blaze: GOODBEATS

B. Rich: DOLLABILLS

5) Press X

6) You'll get a confirmation overlay if you entered the code correctly. 7] Go to the Free Agent pool. You'll have to release a player for your team to add these artists.

Just Blaze

Busta Rhymes

Official US. PlayStation Magazine

. He's a pro, for sure.

Want to see a bail video of Todd Zuniga —skater extra

TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 4

Side Money for all these locations

RACEKTEERING:

PLAY TENNIS WITH BJORN

Time Infinite/Awards $500

Skate up to the tennis racket on the ground near the tennis courts and talk to Bjorn. The skater has nothing to lose when playing Bjorn and money to gain. Manage to beat Bjorn in one service game of tennis (scored 0, 15, 30, 40, game) and skate away with an extra $500. Of course, there is a catch. Bjorn isn't going to let some “skater-person” use his racket, you have to use the Skateboard as a racket!

The Jump button is used to serve the ball and to swing the board. The closer the skater is to the ball when the Jump button is pressed, the harder the ball is returned. Bjorn can just about return any slow or medium hit ball, so be sure to get good and close for a hard hit—the old man has a bit more trouble with those! Press Left and Right to run down the ball as Bjorn returns it and also to direct the shot. Typical rules of tennis apply; if the ball bounces twice on one side of the net, the person who hit it gets a point. Also, any ball hit out of bounds is a point for the opponent.

ERE

co oi

Bjorn: “Hey! Skater-person! You wish to play me in tennis, no?"

GARBAGE DAY

Time 0:40/Awards Thirty $50 bills

Spine transfer into the garbage truck parked outside the frat house to trigger the Garbage Day minigame. Several garbage trucks make their way toward one another from either end of the street. It’s up to the skater to try and snag as many of the $50 bills floating above the street as possi- ble. Spine transfer back and forth between the garbage trucks to pluck the cash out of the air. Another way to nab a lot of the cash is to use a single truck as a halfpipe and repeatedly leap into the air while the truck motors down the street.

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

HITTING THE LONGBALL

Time Infinite/Awards $25 per home run Skate over the pitcher's mound of the baseball diamond in the old exercise yard and press the Grab button to see what the mysterious

Hittin’ longballs

voices have to say. Agree to their offer to hit a few baseballs and the skater digs in next to home plate and prepares for batting practice. The ghosts rise up and pitch 10 balls down the pipe. Wait for the ball to approach home plate and press the Jump button to swing the skateboard. The skater earns $25 for every ball hit over the rear wall of the exercise yard, between the two watch towers.

Although the skater can rotate toward first or third base, it's best to keep square with home plate and work out the timing. The most common mistake is a late swing, which either misses the ball com- pletely or causes it to fly off over first base (to the right). This can be corrected by swinging slightly ear- lier. On the other hand, if the ball keeps flying off to the left of the screen, it means the skater is swinging too early—wait a moment longer before swinging.

PIMP DADDY Time N/A/Awards $100 Skate up to the group under the bridge and talk to the pimp to get the opportunity to bet on one of the lovely slappers. The ladies take turns slapping each other, and if the one you select stays on her feet, the pimp pays you $100.

A^

Bitchslappin’ in London

fs

There's nothing better than a BradyGames guide, that's why we turned to them for this month's Tony Hawk 4 info. Look for more in their official guide.

161

Rhino Keeper: “Care to wager on these rhinos charging?”

BUTT-HEADS

Time N/A/Awards $100

Hop the moat to the rhino exhibit and choose which rhino (or both] drops when they ram one another. Choose correctly and the rhino keeper forks over $100!

THE MIRACLE OF BIRTH

Time N/A/Awards $500

Whoa, there's a bird's nest on the floor of the aviary! Skate up to it and press the Jump button to inspect it.

The three birds perched above will take turns laying eggs and it's up to you to catch them. Move the board-less skater back and forth under the birds to catch the eggs as they fall. Beware, the eggs start dropping a lot faster once the birds, ahem, loosen up. Quickly move back to the center after each catch so as to be ready for the next egg. The minigame ends as soon as an egg is dropped or when all 10 are caught.

Monkeyman: “Wanna play dodgeball with monkey feces?”

MONKEY MISCHIEF

Time 0:30/Awards $500

Go through the open door in the back of the giraffe pen and hit the red button under the “Release The Monkeys!” sign. Three monkeys appear and starting flinging feces that must be avoided for 30 seconds. Press Left and Right to keep out of the line of fire and collect $500.

WOOD WARRIORS COMPETITION Time First to cut 5 logs wins/

Awards Bragging rights

Skate up to the unmanned saw and tell the lumberjack you want to com- pete. Press back and forth on the controls in a smooth motion to cut the log. Press the Jump button to place another log on the chopping block to continue cutting. The first to cut five logs wins.

E Miri Us

TEXAS JUSTICE

Time 10 shots/Awards $15-$30 per target

Take the air rifle from the carnie and prepare for some target practice. Watch the red crosshair move around the screen, and press the corre- sponding button when it gets in front of a target. The targets are worth various point totals (5 points for stationary targets, 10 for moving ones], and your score after 10 shots determines your ranking. More importantly, each shot can be worth up to $30! The lantern, jug, and cross are all worth $15, while the cowboy and the vulture are each worth $30! Be patient and only shoot when the crosshair

is directly over the symbol matching the button on the controller!

SQUEAL LIKE A PIG

Time First to catch the pig wins/

Awards Good karma

Oh brother, one can only imagine what those guys are gonna do with that poor little pig in the rodeo ring. Skate after the pig and rescue it from the pig lover's cousins. Knock the cousins to the ground by slapping

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA DPI 5 Mort the Chicken Gave 8 а

Old school is in—a perfect reason to unlock these characters. Highlight either Kano, Kung Lao, Jax, or Rayden and press Select. They should explode and tum into MK1 Kano, MK2 Kung Lao, МК1 Rayden, or MK2 Jax (without metal arms). They have the same moves and fatalities as the ones in the old games.

Electronic Arts 60909008 14

Moto Racer 2

Moto Racer World Tour Infogrames 8005060 40 Motocross Mania Take 2 @ 48 Motorhead Fox Interactive DASE — 14 Mr. Domino Acclaim @@®@ 15 Mr. Driller Namco DAAD 33 Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness Namco & $e 38 MTV Music Generator Codemasters PASS 28 MTV Sports: Pure Ride THO $ed 39 MTV Sports: Skateboarding Feat. Andy MacDonald THO ® 39 MTV Sports: Snowboarding THO $ed 7 MTV Sports: TJ. Lavin's Ultimate BMX THO @@ 45

The Mummy Konami ®®® 41 Muppet Monster Adventure Midway ФФ 39 Muppet Race Mania Midway DODI 39 N.GEN Racing Infogrames 0906 3 N20 Fox Interactive 6060 1 Nagano Winter Olympics 98

Konami && 6

EA Sports @®@®@ 26

NASCAR 2000

NASCAR 2001 EA Sports bd 38 NASCAR Heat Hasbro & d 40 NASCAR Rumble Electronic Arts 98098 31 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports ®® |52 NBA Fastbreak 98 Midway @@% 4 NBA Hoopz Midway @@@® 43

NBA In the Zone 98 NBA In the Zone 99 NBA In the Zone 2000

Konami @@@ 7 Konami $$$ — 19 Konami @@@ | 28

NBA Live 98 EA Sports Reg 3 NBA Live 99 EA Sports @@@® 16 NBA Live 2000 EA Sports PASSE 28 МВА Live 2001 EA Sports Rép 39 МВА Live 2002 EA Sports gi 53 NBA ShootOut 98 Sony CEA $E 8 NBA ShootOut 2000 989 Studios BBB 30 NBA ShootOut 2001 989 Studios 9598 | 39 NBA ShootOut 2002 Sony CEA (d 50 NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony CEA DASI вз NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC Midway @®® 28 NBA Tonight ESPN Digital GSS 14

NCAA Final Four 99 NCAA Final Four 2000

989 Studios 606008 18 989 Studios PASE 28

NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA @@ 40 NCAA Football 98 EA Sports @@ 2 NCAA Football 99 EA Sports 50000608 12

NCAA Football 2000 NCAA Football 2001

EA Sports POPS 25 EA Sports 609008 36

NCAA GameBreaker 98 Sony CEA $$ 4 NCAA GameBreaker 99 989 Studios PRBS 15 NCAA GameBreaker 2000 989 Studios $$ 25 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony СЕА @®@ — 3 NCAA March Madness 98 EA Sports BEDS 7 NCAA March Madness 99 EA Sports @@® 18 NCAA March Madness 2000 EA Sports PAPS 29 NCAA March Madness 2001 EA Sports ®@ л Nectaris: Military Madness

laleo SESS 17

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed Electronic Arts ®®® 33

Need for Speed: V-Rally Need for Speed: V-Rally 2

Electronic Ans @ з Electronic Arts @®@@ 28

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Newman/Haas Racing The Next Tetris

тару

NEL Blitz 2000! NFL Blitz 2001

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

NHL Blades of Steel 2000 NHL Breakaway 98

NHL Championship 2000

NHL FaceOff 99 NHL FaceO#f 2000

NHL FaceOff 2001

NHL Rock the Rink

Nick Toons Racing Nightmare Creatures Nightmare Creatures Il Ninja: Shadow of Darkness Nudear Strike

One Piece Mansion Pac-Man World Pandemonium! 2 Panzer Front.

Parasite Eve Il

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

Power Play Sports Trivia Power Rangers Lightspeed Power Shovel

Power Soccer 2

Power Spike Pro Beach Voll The Powerpuff Girls: Chemii Poy Poy

Pro 18 World Tour Golf

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA

Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey

Pro Pinball: Timeshock! Psybadek

Punky Skunk

Putter Golf

Puzzle Star Sweep Qbert

Psygnosis 60% 7 Hasbro DES 24

989 Studios @®@@ 13 EA Sports 9050600 25 989 Studios PG 37

Sony CEA 8099 49 Sony СЕА 60506068. 62 989 Studios 90%) п 989 Studios 908 24

ҒА Sports &éeee 2

EA Sports BRBB® 26

ЕА Sports PERS 38 Konami ® 28 Acclaim @®@ 2

Fox Interactive DAS 27

989 Studios 50506060 14 989 Studios PADS 26 Sony СЕА 60986604 38 Electronic Arts @@BB 32 Infogrames @®® 48 Activision 5090608 3 Konami Ge 3

Psygnosis @@ GT Interactive Ф}

Sony CEA PPRS | ASC DRES

Midway BREE 3 Agetec RRR 51

SuSE ER. Zn Square EA PARDI 37

Atlus RDD л Infogrames PADE 41

EA Sports 806 3

Empire Int. @® 52 Activision 9060. 9

Ubi Soft 980 6 Knowledge Adv. 6099 36

Capcom DPSS 1 Namco PPSI 6 20

Vatical PS | 38 Hasbro 9996068 27 Activision 8080800 15

Electronic Arts ®9 21

Sony СЕА $$ 1

Ubi Soft && |58

Rescue THO $$ |0 Acclaim 06060 — 49

Psygnosis RRR 5

leyball Infogrames Ша ical Х.Тасіоп Bam 66 4 Konami $&$ 3

Psygnosis ® 19

Empire SASA 37 Empire 609606 37

Take 2 @ 0 Psygnosis Ө6 — 15 Jaleco $$ 6

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine G&D

KINGDOM HEARTS

Readers' tips on the Gummi Ship

10 STEPS TO GUMMI MASTERY

1) Equip your ship with the weakest thrusters—flying too fast will send you crashing through walls. With the slowest thrusters, you can ride the brake and take out all the baddies while keeping a full shield.

2) The Imp is the best ship. Its four walls allow you to easily mount four cannons, and its wings pro- vide extra maneuverability. The Imp is also quite wide, which makes it a lot easier to pick up items in the corner.

3) Equip cannons sideways—or any way but the "correct" way. Otherwise, they'll shoot only straight ahead. If you place cannons the wrong way [like upside down), you'll be able to shoot up, down, left, and right, as well as straight. Enemies won't have a chance to slip by ya even if you were screwin' off. The Imp is perfect for this.

4) If you don't want to go through all this trouble because the Gummi game sucks, just wait till you beat Wonderland. Then you can have the Cid ship built and pretend you're playing Gradius 64. If not, just add two more sideways blasters and ride the brake through the levels. Cake.

5) If you toggle the D-pad long enough when selecting paint colors, you'll eventually get to the two-tone paint jobs.

Flames, anyone?

6) Do a lot of drugs. Maybe this will intensify the Gumminess and turn it into Gummifun. Sounds like a bad trip to me, though.

7) Never start from scratch. Just throwing together a cockpit and some thrusters may seem easy, but it's not, especially when the computer keeps telling you the cockpit is facing the wrong way.

Just have a ship built, even if it's unfinished. Adding to a weaker ship is more fun than tryin' to create one from scratch.

8) When selecting parts, remember to hit Up on the D-pad for each item—this is how to scroll for

a better design/power for that particular piece. Notice that the blasters will turn into lasers.

9) Speaking of lasers, ignore them. They tend to mess up the rhythm you get when riding the brake and mashing the blasters. With lasers, you have to choose which one to use because they're auto- matically assigned to the Triangle button. Nice, but now you notice that you're not takin' out as many enemies because the extra button is slowin' you down.

10) Ignore the Lock-on button (R1). Just equip four cannons in differ- ent directions and you won't need to lock on. Brute force, bay-bee! Matt Loebig MLoebig402faaol.com

GUMMI FORCE

| really don’t have any tips or strategies for making the Gummi ships, but | wanted to share two of the many ships that | have made.

| even used the Transform Gummi Block on the X-Wing so that my ship changes. | have sent before and after pictures. Scott Leek sleek_ps2fahotmail.com

Fighter Fighter

Gummi Factory

(93) Official US. PlayStation Magazine

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Quake 1 Activision 060% 27 Rilype Delta Agetec 006068 23 Riypes Ascii B® 17 R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco DASS 20 Racing Agetec @ D Railroad Tycoon Il Таке 2 00%) 30 Rainbow Six Red Storm & 27 Rally Cross 2 989 Studios PASG 15 Rampage Midway 60608 4 Rampage 2: Universal Tour Midway @ a Rampage Through Time Midway 04 36 Ray Tracers THO PES 5 RayCrisis Working Designs 606006 38

Ubi Soft PAPS 35 Ubi Soft PAS 50

Rayman 2: The Great Escape Rayman Brain Games

Rayman Rush Ubi Soft &&& — 57 Razor Freestyle Scooter Crave $$ 4 RC de GO! Acclaim PES 40 RC Revenge Acclaim @@@@ 37 RC Stunt Copter Titus @®®Ф 25 Re-Volt Acclaim @@ Ready2Rumbe —— ^ — Midway HBG Ready 2 Rumble Round 2 Midway ®®® 40 Red Asphalt Interplay 606 3 RelFshing = Natsume $9& — 3 Reel Fishing Il Natsume @@ 34

Capcom PEDDI 27

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis

Resident Evil Survivor Capcom @% 38 Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Atlus ФФ 35 Rising Zan Agetec RRR 24 Risk Hasbro ®®® 11 Rival Schools Capcom 009060 14

RoadRash3D 1 EecmekAns $8 11 Road Rash: Jail Break Electronic Arts 060 30 Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots Mattel 60060 4 Rocket PowerTeam Rocket Rescue THO @@ 51

Rogue Trip GT Interactive PASI М Roll Away Psygnosis @@@@@ 13 Rollcage Psygnosis DSSA 19 Rollcage Stage Il Psygnosis 606 31 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Koei 0% 30 Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths & Legends Кей Storm 60 48 RPG Maker Agetec 6006064 35 Rugrats: Totally Angelica THO BBR 48 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie THO $$ 41 Runabout 2 HotB @ 36 Running Wild 989 Studios B® 4 Rushdown Electronic Arts @@ 9 Sabrina, Teenage Witch: А Twitch іп Time! Knowledge Adv. @ 45 SaGa Frontier Sony CEA DADE 8 SaGa Frontier 2 Square ҒА PADI 29 Saiyuki: Journey West Koei pd 47 Saltwater Sportfishing Agetec @@@ 52 Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 300 B® 32 Sammy Sosa Softball Slam 300 6% 3 Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage SNK 98 36

@scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase. THO $$ 52

Admit it, you like Wilma. It's all right, she's our secret crush, too. Here's a tip to help you keep on keepin’ on.

BEAT THE FIRST BOSS When Scooby's taking on the first boss, the boss will come at you with a sword. When he shoots the fire, stay in the corner, but be in the same lane as him. This way, you don't lose energy if you're hit.

Scrabble Hasbro 668 28 Sentinel Returns. Psygnosis 9% n Sesame Street Sports NewKidCo @@@d 54 Shadow Madness Crave DDI 9 Shadow Man Acclaim @@ 7 Shadow Master Psygnosis @®®@ 5 Shadow Tower Agetec 6 28

GAME

Shanghai: True Valor

Sheep

Shipwreckers

Shooter: Space Shot Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein Silent Bomber

PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Silent Hill —— - Konami PADS 18 Silhouette Mirage Working Designs PADI 279 ‘Sim Theme Park Electronic Arts ®99 33 The Simpsons Wrestling Taito 6080 45 Skydiving Extreme Banpresto @@ Sled Storm Electronic Arts SASDA 0 Small Soldiers Electronic Arts 908 Smurfs Infogrames PRSS Smurf Racer Infogrames 900 45 Sno-Cross Championship Racing Crave 08 y Snowboarding Agetec 990 B Soul of the Samurai Konami 08 24 South Park Acclaim @@ 27 South Park: Chef's Luv Shack Acclaim @ 28 South Park Rally Acclaim 06 29 Space Invaders Activision 50506) 27 Spawn: The Eternal Sony CEA 0% 4 Spec Ops: Covert Assault Take 2 @ 52 Spec Ops: Ranger Elite Take 2 ® 46 Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Take 2 @ 34 Speed Punks Sony CEA 60908 32 Speed Racer Jaleco B® 8 Speedball 2100 Empire DRA 40 @ Spiderman

The Sub-Mariner is the last guy in the character viewer. To get him in

there, do this:

* Enter the What If? mode code (GBHSRSPM).

* Reach the Spidey vs. Carnage! level.

* You'll be able to see the Sub-Mariner peeking through one of the

windows outside the boss area.

* Be sure to see him in full view to add him to the character viewer. QO Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro Activision PAPI 50

Want codes for the Spidey sequel? We've got 'em. Put these codes in

at the Cheats menu.

Big Feet: STACEYD АП Costumes: WASHMCHN Big Head: ALIEN All Levels: NONJYMNT Spin Jam Take 2 64 38 @ SpongeBob SquarePants THO 6% 51

At any point, you can stop dumping money into this game. Seriously. We hereby free you from its spongy grasp.

1BGNR 6 NGPS 11 WFXM 16 CNXK 2амв 7 WMCV 12 MNTL 17 LKKV

3 KVNF 8 XNAD 13 QGAV 18 PVHS.

4 WKGA 9 HPJO 14 LXHK 19 JAST

5 DFV} 10 QHDG 15 HGCD End WMBT Sports Car GT Electronic Arts 0508 a

Star Ocean: The 2nd Story Star Trek: Invasion

Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles

‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Masters of Teräs Star Wars Demolition Steel Reign

Streak

Street Fighter Collection Street Fighter Collection 2 Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha Street Fighter EX2 Plus Street SkBer

Street Sk8er 2

Strider 2

Striker Pro 2000

Strikers 1945

Sony СЕА PASSI 22 Activision DASSI 37

LucasArts @99 LucasArts PAS 4 LucasArts PASI — 4l Sony CEA DED 2 GT Interactive 008 15

Capcom PES 4 Capcom B&B 16 Capcom && $$ 2 Capcom ®®® 3 Electronic Arts 99$ 9 Electronic Arts PAS 32 Capcom BBA 34 Infogrames &&&$ 33 Agetec 094 44

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Stuart Little 2 Sony CEA DDI 60 Suikoden II Konami @@@® 26 Super Shot Soccer Tecmo DASI 61 Superbike 2000 EA Sports @@ 32 SuperCross 2000 EA Sports ® 29 SuperCross Circuit 989 Studios 00606 28 Surf Riders Ubi Soft @@ 35 Sydney 2000 Eidos 0% 38 Syphon Fitter — — 989Studios @@@@ 18

989 Studios PAPI 31 Sony CEA PEDI 52

Syphon Filter 2 Syphon Filter 3

Tai Fu Activision $94. 9 TRA.G. Sunsoft 60060 20 Tactics Ogre Atlus & d р

Atlus ASI 26 Namco 000 13 Namco PAPI 49

Тай Concerto Tales of Destiny Tales of Destiny Il

Midway BBS 38

Team Buddies Team LOSI RC Racing

Tekken 3 маг ys Tenchu Activision $$. 14 Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Activision @®@ 7 Tennis Agetec @® 3 Tennis Arena

Test Drive

Test Drive 5 ERE j

Test Drive 6 Infogrames 08868 27

Test Drive: Le Mans

Test Drive: Off-Road 3 Thousand Arms Thrasher: Skate & Destroy Threads of Fate

Infogrames @@@ 34 Infogrames @® 26 Atlus DASS 26 Rockstar 9606 29 Square EA ®®® 35

Thunder Force V Working Designs ®®® 13 Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf EA Sports 964%) 16 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports PRSI 41

NewKidco 906% 41

Namco 98 | 45 Sony CEA 6% 25 Conspiracy @4 50 Tiny Toons: The Great Beanstalk Newkidco $$$ 18 TOCA 2 Activision PESSA 27 Tom & Jerry in House Trap Eidos @®®@ л Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear Кей Storm @@@ | 45

Tigger’s Honey Hunt

Time Crisis: Project Titan

Tiny Tank

Tiny Toon Adventures: Plucky's Big Adventure

‘Tomb Raider I Fidos 98666 4 Tomb Raider) "Fidos 6668 16 Tomb Raider: Chronicles Eidos 0%8 4

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. Eidos && $$ 29

Tomba! Sony CEA & $$$ П Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Sony CEA 690% 29 Tonka Space Station Hasbro $999 41 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision @@%@% 26 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Activision 600606068 51 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Activision PADS 64

Vatical 6099 29 Enix @@ 40

Toonenstein: Dare to Scare Torneko: The Last Hope

GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE

Crave BEI 40 Sony CEA PAPI 24

Ultimate Fighting Championship Um Jammer Lammy

The Unholy War Fidos B@® и Uprising X 300 ®@® р Urban Chaos Fidos @@ » | vagrant Story Square EA RRR 3 Valkyrie Profile Enix @@@@ 36

Jaleco @@ 3 Jaleco Ө%%Ф 32 Konami &&&4 27 Designs @@@ — 53 Acclaim @@@@ 44 300 B® 27 Ubi Soft @@ 51 [Activision @@@@ 10 Activision DAD 29

Titus B® 49

Interplay DASG n

Interplay @' 10

THO & 3

cing Tour Eidos 694 3

foove. Ubi Soft @®@@ л

300 6% 48

MGM Interactive PADS 12

Electronic Arts @® 27

gic зо &&& л

4 Eidos PAPS 22

ы EA Games @@ 40

WCW Mayhem Electronic Arts @®@9 26 WOW Nitro © 2 22000 0666 05 WCW/nWo Thunder THO ® y The Weakest Link Activision 0966 — si

Wheel of Fortune Hasbro $9$$ 17 Wheel of Fortune 2 Hasbro @®@@ 39 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 2nd Edition Sony СЕА 60608 35

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3rd Edition Sony CEA @@ 47 Wild 9 Interplay PEDI 15 Wild Arms 2 Sony CEA BAPA 3 The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventure | Mattel ®9 а WipeOut 3 Psygnosis PEPP 26 Woody Woodpecker Racing Konami @® 40 World Cup 98 EA Sports ®®® 10 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks 300 8 39 The World Is Not Enough Electronic Arts @@® 40 World's Scariest Police Chases Activision @@ 47

Worms Armageddon Worms World Party Wu-Tang Shaolin Style

Hasbro &&&d 27 Ubi Soft 000) 55 Activision 509069 28

WWF Attitude Acclaim & dd 24 WWE SmackDown! | THO 6666)

WWF War Zone Adam SSES 12 X-Bladez: Inline Skater Crave @ 55 X-Files Fox Interactive ®®® 28 X Games Pro Boarder. ESPN Digital @®@@ 14 X-Men: Children of the Atom Acclaim 600 6

Activision DEP 36 Activision DBAS 50

X-Men: Mutant Academy X-Men: Mutant Academy 2

Toy Story 2 Activision ®®® 28 Хела: Warrior Princess Electronic Arts @®@% 26 Toy Story Racer Activision @@@ 44 Xenogears Square EA BEDD 14 Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals Bam ® 36 Жи Don't Know Jack! Berkeley Systems PAPRI 25 Trap Gunner Atlus & 13 ои Don't Know Jack! Mock 2 Siera @@ 40 Treasures of the Deep Namco ӨФӨ 1 Yu-Gi-Oh: Forbidden Memories Konami 604 57 Trick'n Snowboarder Capcom @% 25 We could go on and on, making fun of the dork-tribe that plays Yu- Triple Play 99 ЕА Sports BRE 9 бі0һ, but why bother? They're the leaders of the PS1 industry now. Triple Play 2000 EA Sports SASSI 20 Мете all just followers. Blue Eyes White Dragon 89631139 Magical Ghost ^ 46474915 Triple Play Baseball ЕА Sports @@@ 44 Sorcerer Of The Doomed 49218300 Dark Magician 46986414 Turbo Prop Racing Sony CEA ӨФӨ Ш Fissure 66788016 Claw Reacher 41218256 isted Me SENE TE | Exodia (Head) 33396948 Ansatsu 48365709 ; 77989 5104057%%%% 28| | Мап-езіпе Bug 54652250 Маһоки 12607053 Twisted Metal: Small Brawl Sony СЕА @®@ 5 Mystical Elf 15025844 Curse of Dragon 28279543 Tyco RC: Assault With a Battery Mattel @@ 38 Celtic Guardian 91152256 Dragon Zombie 66672569 Ultimate 8-Ball THO $$ 22 Witty Phantom 36304921 Monster Reborn 83764718

READER REVIEWS

We want your reviews of the best and worst games, so write a review and send it to opm(azifídavis.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!

TONY HAWK PRO SKATER 4

What you said: “I’ve never played a Tony Hawk game before. But any game that opens with old-school AC/DC deserves at least three stars in my book. Still, after all the praise the Hawk series has received, | found the game a little inscrutable. | read the manual and understood maybe half the gobbledygook about Ollies, Wallies, and Nollies. | took the game for a spin for a couple of hours, but 1 really suck at it.

I'm like those kids in the high school parking lot who can’t land a single trick. | could recognize the game was simply dripping with quality and attention to detail. There’s a variety of envi- ronments, and a ton of challenges in each one. Best of all, you can just fart around for as long as you want. The lack of a time limit is genius (апа the only reason | could play the game for more than two minutes). If there are any other newbies left besides me, be prepared to fall. On your ass. A lot. Besides that, Tony Hawk veterans should rejoice.”

Your Score BR RR Dan Wheeler Oosknuba(aaol.com

What we said: “Funny, smart, richly entertaining, and superbly crafted, Hawk 4 is more in the same class as GTA3.”

Our Score * Xxx

GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY What you said: “СТАЗ was а mas- terpiece. It had a great story, a wonderful cast of characters, and overall, the freedom to do what- ever the hell you wanted. But when you play Vice City, you're going to think GTA3 was compara- tive crap. Rockstar North did an amazing job making you feel like you were actually in the ‘80s, and for hardcore gamers, this is a nice trip down memory lane. With a fantastic list of voice actors that bring life to their characters, the story will seem more like a movie. Although better than GTA3's, the graphics and targeting system are still not that great. If it were up to me, I'd give this game a higher rating. But that wouldn't be fair. What would 1 rate the next GTA Your Score PEDES Eli Dasilva PS2mark1189{daol.com

What we said: “This game proves that games are the coolest form of entertainment going. "

Our Score PEPES

CONTRA: SHATTERED SOLDIER What you said: “After playing the new Contra for about a half-hour, the all-too-familiar frustrations of classic gaming hit me—bosses that have more firepower than a major country, one-hit kills, and having to start over again and again and again. Maybe | have become jaded by recent games that are slightly more forgiving. Or maybe I've grown far too accus- tomed to 3D environments where | can more easily dodge enemy attacks. Or maybe | have evolved with the game industry. | didn't really enjoy running in one direc- tion and shooting everything that moves or having to memorize a boss pattern only to have to lose all of my lives and start over again. The game isn't a total loss, but it’s far too frustrating and too old- school for my tastes.” Your Score PEPI Chad Lanctot cdtlanctotfa@yahoo.com

What we said: “Shattered Soldier puts your skills completely to the test, but can still be mastered.’ Our Score ‹

NHL 2K3 What you said: “Take out your two nt teeth and get prepped for what is easily the best hockey game today: NHL 2K3. This game has everything! Board battles, realistic goalies that poke check around the crease, and puck physics that will blow your mind. Sega has not only blown EA Sports out of the water with 2K. it's done something with its sports games no other company has been able to do. Sega has given us a sports experience that has all of the simulation elements we want, and it’s somehow made the games fun. Sega is the co pany that really knows what's ‘in the game." ur Score 22222 Jeff Belsky ohjtbehaaavelacs.com

What we said: “NHL 2K3 is so

good, it'll have nonhockey fans playing it. It’s so good that eve: thing else is money misspent. ” Our Score PEPES

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (133

P S Loading up on е [ PS2 levity

IS FANTASY BETTER THAN REALITY?

Who would you choose for your Final Fantasy?

fter getting the latest shots of FFX-2, we noticed that the title isn’t the only familiar thing. It appears that two of the

game's eye-catching vixens resemble two of today's hottest

acts. We compare and contrast fact with fiction, asking: Who would you choose?

AGUILERA OR RIKKU? While Christina Aguilera may be hot by Webster's Dictionary standards, she also looks grimier than a Vice City afternoon. Skirts the size of a Kleenex give the illusion of sexy, but she looks like she stinks of patchouli (or dirt), which ruins her.

Meanwhile, Rikku remains the Um í y ý

cutie-pie that we'd much rather see in Al Bhed. ? 4 i

).LO OR LEBLANC? No polygonal fantasy can compete with J.Lo's p ў "4 а

reality. Prior to her overexposure, we all daydreamed about а glimpse f Р b

of her ample and curvy backside. LeBlanc doesn't come close.

BRIT BUTTS ON BIKES

in the U.K. The above shot was snapped at the BMX XXX :unch event in the United Kingdom. We will now add this picture

to the ever-growing and lengthy list of things better than the game.

WWW.penny-arcade.com

j Well... He

could kick Raiden's ass, though. No ` problem.

I think Sam Fisher could kick Solid Snake's

I mean, look at the grey hair, there. He's got experience.

And Solid Snake doesn't? Have you ever even heard of Metal Gear?

(54) Official US. PlayStation Magazine

mage.com

Lopez and Ben Affleck- duh) at powerhouseanimation.com. It was created by Kevin Smith. You'll also find a load of witty short films to peruse.

P.S.A.T.

(PlayStation Aptitude Test)

1. What is the name of the strip club in BMX XXX?

a. Rusty's House of Breasts

b. Scores

c. The Ranch

d. Schlong's

2. Which planet in Star Wars: The Clone Wars is also the name of a Greenland city that (coincidentally?) is the home of a U.S. missile-defense base, part of the Star Wars defense program?

a. Kashyyyk

b. Rhen Var

c. Thule

d. Raxus Prime

3. In The Getaway, what does the term "claret" refer to?

a. Fine red wine

b. A region of France

C. A hooker

d. Blood

4. The Sims for PS2 is the only Sims game with:

a. Multiple players

b. Pets

c. An adjustable viewpoint

d. Specific missions

5. Disaster Report was known as Zettai Zetsumei Toshi in Japan. What's a rough English translation?

a. Crumbling Planet

b. Desperate Situation Zone

c. Corrupt City Planner

d. Mount Saint Shut the Hell Up

DISASTER REPORT See Keith run. See Keith trip over rubble. See Keith get crushed by a building.

Q'G'p'y'p'e '2 g'g `1 ‘Suemsuy

COLLECT THEM ALL

Order OPM Back Issues or Demo Discs Today!

To order, simply send your order form indicating which issues you would like to: Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Back Issues, 1411 Opus Place, Suite 340, Downers Grove, IL 60515. All requests must be paid for by check or money order ONLY, made payable to Ziff Davis Media. (Please do not send cash.) The cost for each issue is as indicated on the order form PLUS. shipping and handling. Shipping and handling charges for each magazine. are as follows: $3 U.S, $3 Canadian, and $5 foreign. All payments MUST be in U.S. funds. Prices and avail- ability subject to change without notice. (Note: Issue 17/February 1999 is completely SOLD OUT.)

(şa EXCLUSIVE! 52 DEMO ovo INSIDE! À =

Issue 59 August 2002 - $10

SLY COOPER

PS2 Deno Disc pavastes: Street Hoops, UFC: Throwdown, Taz: Wanted, Freekstyle, Sled Storm, Stuntman, Britney's Dance Beat Vigo previews: Mat Hoffman 2, Dragon's Lair 3D, Kingdom Hearts, Test Drive.

Issue 64 January 2003 - $10

WAR OF THE MONSTERS PS2 Deno Disc PLAYABLES: ‘SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, War of the

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

Vivo Previews: The Getaway

PLAYABLE PLAYSTATION 2 OVD INSIDE!

EVERQUEST.

. THE PS2 шш

Issue 58 July 2002 - $10

PGA Tour 2002, Fireblade, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter

Vioo previews: Mark of Kri, Woody Woodpecker, Gravity Games

Issue 63 December 2002 - $10

SHINOBI

PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLES:

‘Suikoden ІІІ, 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, Primal

Issue 57 June 2002 - 3m.

STAR WARS

Р52 Demo Disc PLAYABLES: Medal of Honor: Frontline, Fatal Frame, Herdy Gerdy, Mad Maestro!, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat

Vipto previews: Delta Force Urban Warfare, Scooby-Doo, Stuntmaner's Stone, NBA ShootOut 2002

EP EXCLUSIVE PS2 DEMO DvD 115

Issue 62 November 2002 - $10

LUI RATINGS » 16 PACES OF TIPS

GTA: VICE CITY

PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLES:

Wild Arms 3, Sly Cooper, Silent Scope 3, DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution, Dual Hearts, MX ‘Superfly, Red Faction 2, Dr. Muto, Hitman 2 Моғо previews: Ratchet & Clank, Contra: Shattered Soldier, -hack/INFECTION, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

Issue 56 May 2002 - $10

SPIDER-MAN

PS2 Deno Disc ринви:

Hot Shots Golf 3, Rez, Jak and Daxter, Baldur's Gate, SSX Tricky Моко previews: Spider-Man, Barbarians, Jak and Daxter

XCLUSIVE! PS? DEMO OVD INSIDE

GETTING ONLINE MAD

Issue 61 October 2002 - $10

KINGDOM HEARTS

PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLES:

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Summoner 2, Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly, Downforce, Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates, The Mark of Kri Vioco previews: Treasure Planet, Kelly Slater, Superman, Kingdom Hearts

Issue 55 April 2002 - $10

VIRTUA FIGHTER 4

PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLES: Maximo, Soul Reaver?, PaRappa the Rapper 2, Frequency, Gitaroo Man, Airblade Vito previews: Virtua Fighter 4, Grand Theft Auto Ill, Smuggler's Run 2, Herdy Gerdy

EXCLUSIVE P52 DEMO DVD INSIDE!

E PlayStz: "on

10

U.S. NAVY SEALS“

FEF ovo insive: т" т,

Issue 40 September 2002 -

PS2 Demo Disc PLAYABLE: TimeSplitters 2, X-Mer 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

Issue 54 March 2002 - $10

TOMB RAIDER: TNG

PS1 Demo Disc pLavastes: Sheep Raider, Monsters, Inc., Twisted Metal: Small Brawl, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase, E.T.

Vinto previews: Batman: Vengeance, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3,

Jak and Daxter

Issue 1 - October 1997 $15 FINAL FANTASY Vil STRATEGY DEMOS: Intelligent Qube, PaRappa the Rapper, Ace Combat 2, Fighting Force

Issue 2 - November 1997 $10 BUSHIDO BLADE STRATEGY DEMOS: Crash Bandicoot 2, Croc,

Armored Core, Madden NFL 98, Cool Boarders 2, Colony Wars

Issue 3 - December 1997 $10 ‘COOL BOARDERS STRATEGY

DEMOS: Bushido Blade, Vs., Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Kasi, Jet Moto 2, Cardinal SYN, Ghost in the Shell, Moto Racer, Test Drive 4

Issue 4 - 198 %0

——À TOMB RAIDER il

DEMOS: NFL GameDay 98, CART World Series, Frogger

Issue 5 - February 1998 — $10 ALUNDRA STRATEGY

DEMOS: NCAA GameBreaker 98, Tomb

Raider Il, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Crime Killer

DEMOS: Bloody Roar, Monster Rancher, Shipwreckers

Issue 7 - April 1998 $10 RESIDENT EVIL 2 STRATEGY

DEMOS: Hot Shots Golf, Pitfall 3D, WCW Nitro, ONE

Issue 8 - May 1998 $10 TEKKEN

3 STRATEGY DEMOS: Einhánder, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Klonoa

Issue 9 - June 1998 $15 GRAN TURISMO REVIEW.

DEMOS: Cardinal SYN, Vigilante 8, Forsaken, N20, TOCA, Dead or Alive

DEMOS: Gran Turismo, Tomba!, The Granstream Saga, Jersey Devil, NBA ShootOut, Blasto, Speed Racer

Issue 11 - August 1998 $18 VIGILANTE 8 STRATEGY DEMOS: Tekken 3, Turbo Prop Racing

те 12 - 1998 $10 |_| ELEMENTAL STRATEGY DEMOS: Spyro the Dragon, Duke Nukem: Time to Kill, WWF War Zone, The Unholy War, S.C.A.R.S.

Issue 13 - October 1998 — $10 DRAGON

SPYRO THE

DEMOS: Metal Gear Solid, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Test Drive 5,

Dice, Brunswick Bowling, Ninja, NFL Xtreme, Cool Boarders 3

DEMOS: MediEvil, WarGames Defcon 1, Dragon Seeds, G-Darius, Future Cop L.A.P.D., Colony Wars Vengeance

Issue 15 - December 1998 $10 CRASH BANDICOOT STRATEGY DEMOS: Tomb Raider Ill, Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Bomberman World, A Bug's Life, Running Wild,

Kagero, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo

шесі 16- 0 жалы 1999 $10 DEMOS S peto ТЩ Moto Racer 2,

Brave Fencer Musashi, Apocalypse, Tai Fu

Issue 18 - March 1999 | $10 FILTER STRATEGY

‘SYPHON DEMOS: Syphon ГЕ

Bust A Groove, ‘man’s Вай, Akuji the [ees No One Can Stop Mr. Domino, Street Sk8er

19 фо

DEMOS: R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, WCW/nWo Thunder, Rollcage, Warzone 2100, Rugrats: Search for Reptar

Issue 20 - May 1999 $10 LEGEND OF LEGAIA STRATEGY DEMOS: Ehrgeiz, Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko, Legend of Legaia, Contender

Issue 21 - June 1999. $10 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 $10 ‘STREET FIGHTER, 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 — $10 АРЕ ESCAPE STRATEGY

DEMOS: Final Fantasy Vill, 3 Xtreme, Tiny Tank, Jade Cocoon, Macross VF-X

2, You Don’t Know Jack, Centipede, Ultimate 8-Ball

1999 $10 |__| JADE COCOON. DEMOS: Um Jammer Lammy, Sled Storm, Cho-cobo Racing, Pong, Monaco Grand Prix Racing

: Metal Gear Solid, WipeOut 3, Omega Boost, NFL Xtreme 2, Jet Moto 3, Toy Story 2, Pac-Man World

STRATEGY DEMOS: Grandia, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, 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 RESIDENT EVIL 3: ‘STRATEGY DEMOS: Dino Crisis, NHL FaceOff 2000, NBA Basketball 2000, Tarzan, Army Men: Air Attack, WCW Mayhem

Issue 29 - Pee $10 MEDAL OF | DEMOS: Tomba! 2 To 2 Tomb Raide Raider The

Last Revelation, SuperCross Circuit, MTV Sports Snowboarding

Issue 30 - March 2000 — $10 STRATEGY

em DEMOS: Syphon Filter 2, Crash Team Racing, NCAA Final Four 2000, Spyro 2, Silent Bomber, Twisted Metal 4

Issue 31 - 2000 $0 [] SAGA Med STRATEGY DEMOS: Colony Wars: Red Sun, Spider-Man, Eagle One: Harrier Attack, Hot Shots Golf 2, Rollcage Stage Il Issue 32 ey 000 #10 SYPHON FILTER 2 STRATEGY DEMOS: MediEvil Ii, NCAA March Madness 2000, NASCAR Rumble, Speed Punks, Rugrats Studio Tour

Issue 33 - June 2000 $10 FEAR EFFECT STRATEGY DEMOS: X-Men Mutant Academy,

Threads of Fate, WWF SmackDown!, Gauntlet Legends, Grind Session

г epe 2000 $10

TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER DEMOS: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Legend of Dragoon, MLB 2001, Mr. Driller, Star Trek Invasion

Issue 35 - 2000 $10 WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE DEMOS: Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles, Tenchu 2, WDW: Magical Racing Tour, Destruction Derby Raw, Play with the Teletubbies.

Issue 36-September2000 $10 REAVER 2

DEMOS: Grind Session, Rayman 2: The

Great Escape, Ms. Pac-Man Maze

Madness, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, Tyco R/C Racing

Issue 37 - October 2000 $10 STAR WARS

DEMOS: Bust-A-Groove 2, RC Revenge, Team Buddies, Sydney 2000, Muppet Monster Adventure, Sno-Cross Championship Racing

Issue 38 - November 2000 $10 PS2 REVEALED

DEMOS: Crash Bash, Incredible Crisis, Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing, Spyro: Year of the Dragon, UFC, plus Metal Gear Solid 2 video!

Issue 39 - December 2000 $10 CRASH BASH

DEMOS: Madden NFL 2001, Star Wars Demolition, MTV Sports Pure Ride, Mat

Hoffman's Pro BMX, Disney's The Emperor's New Groove

DEMOS: Driver 2, Spider-Man, The Grinch, 102 Dalmations, Army Men Air Attack 2

Lege edd $10

DEMOS: Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Star Wars Demolition, Crash Bash, Cool Boarders 2001, You Don't Know Jack, Mort the Chicken

Issue 42 - March 2001 %0 EA SPORTS BIG

DEMOS: CTR: Crash Team Racing, Hot Shots Golf 2, Grind Session, Disney's Tarzan

Issue 43 - April 2001 $0 TWISTED METAL: BLACK

DEMOS: Championship Surfer, Power Spike Volleyball, Tigger’s Honey Hunt

Issue 44 2001 $10

мон: тше

DEMOS: Cool Boarders 2001, MediEvil

2, Legend of Dragoon, Emperor's New

Groove, Metal Gear Solid, Legacy of

we Ape Escape, Tekken 3, Syphon ilter 2

Issue 45 - June 2001 $10 aouo

DARK DEMOS: Grind Session, Hot Shots Golf, Dino Crisis, Klonoa

Issue 46. July 2001 fio

DEMOS: Tomb Raider ll, ІІ & Last Revelation, Alone in the Dark, Gran Turismo 2, Dave Mirra: Maximum Remix, Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge

Jona 47 - Magnet 2001 $10

DEMOS: Final Fantasy Vill VIDEOS: Final Fantasy VII, FFIX, FF Tactics, Klonoa 2, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing and the Final Fantasy movie trailer

Ioue 48 - September 2001 $10

DEMOS: Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX VIDEOS: Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Okage: Shadow King, from Monkey Island, Drakan il, The Legend of Excalibur

lers 2001, Ico,

5 Veil, Gauntlet:

Dark Legacy, Star Wars: Super

Bombad Racing, Portal Runner, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Spy Hunter

ГГ te Po November 2001 $10

Academy 2, Barbie Explorer, Bandicoot: WARPED, Spyro: the Dragon, Twisted Metal 2, Syphon Filter 2, Tekken 3

VIDEOS: Dragon Warrior VII, Syphon Filter 3

Issue 51 - December 2001 $10 METAL GEAR SOLID 2

DEMOS: NBA Street, Kinetica, Extermination, Gallop Racer 2001 VIDEOS: Jak and Daxter: The

Precursor Legacy, Ico, GameDay 2002, Kinetica

DEMOS: Monsters, Inc., Sheep Raider, Mary Kate and Ashley's Crash Course, Jumpstart Wild Safari Field Trip VIDEOS: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, NBA ShootOut 2002

TimeSplitters 2, Dynasty Warriors 3, Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex VIDEOS: Batman: Vengeance, Splashdown, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

NEXT MONTH

But we want Christina Milian now!

Play

Statio

MAGAZINE

*Editorial content subject to change*

3D0 Company

A.d. Vision ACTIVISION

Bandai America Inc. BMG Music Service Capcom U.S.A., Inc. Columbia House Comp USA

Ecko Unlimited

Full Sail Real World Н. J. Heinz ~ Foodservice Division Infogrames, Inc. Intec Inc.

43, 45, 75, 105 66a-b, 69, 71, 73 82a-2ab

103, 140

34a-b

81

59

55

33

110-111 7

Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine

On sale Feb. 11

- | 7

ГТУ 3

© SpA Жош ТӘ © © 9-21 2 Ы pa | | f | ji ў | WARE f Doina Mat o ساس‎ www.3do.com Kellogg Company 63 www.kelloggs.com www.advfilms.com Koei Corporation a www.koeigames.com MAJESCO SALES, INC. 107 www.majescosales.com www.bandai.com NAMCO HOMETEK 93 www.namco.com www.bmgmusic.com Pricegrabber.com 97 www.pricegrabber.com www.capcom.com Sammy Studios, Inc. 7 www.sammyusa.com www.columbiahouse.com Sega Of America Dreamcast 4-5 www.sega.com gamefixx.compusa.com Sony CEA 2-3, 8-10, 14-15, — www.scea.com. www.ecko.com 18a-c, 19, 22-25, 29, 37, 41, 47, 49, 53, 56-57, 64-65, 138-139 www. fullsail.com THO 50a-h, 50-51 www.thg.com www.heinz.com Take 2 Interactive Software 86-87 WwWw.take2games.com Vivendi Universal Games demo disc www.universalinteractive.com www.infogrames.net Inc. - Universal www.inteclink.com Vivendi Universal - Sierra 6-7, demo disc www.sierra.com

Entertainment

image from Retna

EVECTRONICS CAMIN G

On sale now

The Sims

Welcome to the ultimate game of life. The Sims is hit- ting consoles, and EGM's got everything you need to know about getting ahead in this virtual world. Plus, EGM picks the Next Big Thing—games, trends, gen- res, characters, and secret projects that'll make it big in 2K3. And don't miss EGM's must-read reviews!

On sale now

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai is here—and GameNOW's got everything you need to know to battle your way to Super Saiyan greatness. And now that you've been playing Vice City for a while, make sure you've gotten through every nook and cranny of the game with GN's 14-page strategy special.

On sale now

Splinter Cell

The best stealth game since Thief and Metal Gear Solid hits the PC, and CGW's hands-on preview shows that you don't have to get an Xbox to enjoy this great game. Also: hard-hitting reviews, including Medal of Honor: Spearhead, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, Civ III: Play The World, and EverQuest: Planes of Power.

A NEW MAGAZINE HAS BEEN DETECTED!!

GENESIS > GMR IS A NEW SPECIES OF MAGAZINE. IT WAS BRED TO BE THE BEST MONTHLY BUYING GUIDE FOR VIDEO GAMES. EVOLUTION — GMR WILL GROW TO BECOME THE INDISPENSIBLE VOICE FOR ALL GAMERS IN NEED OF A SECOND OPINION WHEN BUYING THEIR NEXT GAME.

POWERS -» GMR'S VAST ARSENAL OF WEAPONS ARE THE LATEST NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL GAMES ON-SALE NOW. IT COVERS ALL FORMATS, INCLUDING PSE, XBOX, GAMECUBE, GBA AND PC. IT IS CONSIDERED A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO LESSER GAMES MAGAZINES.

KNOWN HABITAT — БМА CAN BE FOUND AT ALL STORES BEARING THIS SIGN:

EEGAMES electronics boutique’

RECOMMENDEDsRESPONSE 3 IF GMR.IS SPOTTED. IT 15 ADVISED THAT YOU PURCHASE A COPY OR SIGN-UP FOR A SUBSCRIPTION IMMEDIATELY,

ггвпа transmission?”

POWERED BY > ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA. THE SAME PEOPLE WHO BRING YOU ELECTRONIC GAMING

MONTHLY, COMPUTER GAMING WORLD. OFFICIAL US. Eau PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE, GAMENOW. AND XBOX NATION.

НЫ

LOOK OLT...

„IT'S GOING TO BE BIG.

TATION2. NOW

Introducing the Network Adaptor for PlayStation. 2.

Reach out and smoke someone.

Ф.

LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD.

-

(

Or cross-check, smash, tackle, leg-sweep or ollie over them- even if they're in another time zone. With the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) (for PlayStation.2), just about anything is possible. Like downloading new rosters, stadiums and characters. Trash-talking opponents you've never met. Or, better yet, starting your very own East Coast-West Coast sports rivalry. All against live competition, so no two games are ever alike. The Network

: Adaptor for PlayStation 2 is here. Get your game online.

WHAT YOU GET:

* The Network Adaptor, which offers both dial-up ‘and broadband connectivity E

* Mail-in offer for a FREE copy of Twisted Metal:Black” ONLINE

* Start-Up Disc with playable demos of Madden NFL’ 2003 and Frequency”

* Video demos of Tribes” Aerial Assault, ATV Offroad Fury” 2 and Tony Hawk Pro Skater” 4

* All this for just $39.99 (SRP)

WHAT YOU NEED TO CONNECT: * PlayStation 2 (duh)

* Network Adaptor (obviously)

+ Memory card (8MB for PlayStation 2) with at least 137K of space (that ain’t much)

* Dial-up or broadband Internet connection (in English: such as cable modem, DSL, T1 or just a plain ol’ phone line)

* Network Adaptor Start-Up Disc to create ISP settings (don't worry, it's easy)

OTHER STUFF:

* The Network Adaptor works with just about any ISP subscriber, including AOL, AT&T Worldnet’ Service, EarthLink, SBC Yahoo!’ Dial and Sympatico. Check with your ISP for details.

PLAY IN OURS:

These are just a few of the games with online features available this year:

www.playstation.com “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “Live In Your World. Play In Ours.” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. NFL GameDay 2003 ©2002 NFL Properties LLC. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other (NFL- related) marks are trademarks of the National Football League. Officially licensed prod- uct of PLAYERS INC. The PLAYERS INC. logo is a registered trademark of NFL players. www.nflplayers.com. ©2002 PLAYERS INC. АП other games featured herein are trademarked and copyrighted properties of their respective publishers and/or licensors.

Ф

Madden NFL 2003

Tribes ` Aerial Assault

C3r 1L rade BROADBAND ANO DIALUP

Look for this icon indicating PS2 games with online capability

PRODUCTS RANGE FROM RATING PENDING ro MATURE

CONTENT RATED BY

СЕЗЕ А a *DANTE ROCKS WITH NEW ACROBATIC AND ASS-KICKING MOVES - RUN AN D JUMP ON WALLS, AERIAL KICKS, SIMULTANEOUS

SHOOTING IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND MORE!

y M

*DANTE 18 BACK IN THIS STYLISH ACTION- THRILLER AND SEQUEL TO THE PHENDMENAL DEVIL May CRY! 1

*PLAY AS DANTE OR THE MYSTERIOUS AND. SEXY LUCIA...THE NEWEST MEMBER TO THE DEVIL MAY CRY SAGA 1

Қ й i И a y SEN: à. d

й

*JAW-DROPPING GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION. BATTLE IN MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTS FILLED WITH WRETCHED ENEMIES AND ATMOSPHERIC SPECIAL EFFECTS.

M = ar PlayStation. à <=

ed trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. |

ation" and the “PS” Family logo are ге

"Plays

Made with love by

<EIKCMAG-

(ӨЛІГЕ CSE TS UO SON GEESE MICE дате magazines SO that they! аге пой lost permanently:

People interested in helping out in any capacity, please visit 05 а retromags-com.

No profitis madeifrom ECS SEEMS, nondo we offer anything ayailablefrom the publishers themselves:

ІГуош come across anyone selling releases from 15 site? ріеаѕе ао по 50ррог them апа CKO E TSOA

Thank you!