s кш: к [лош t E 2 ALIAS SUMMER! “к [сш : = # UNCOVERED p. кш: RIK, O THE HULK Кы 2-8 FURY 2, RAYMAN 3, AND MORE! Pla OE ation | HOT FOR 2003 | FOR | HOT FOR 2003 | SOUL СИ 2 ә г У See why it’ is worth waiting for AUTO MODELLISTA , 2 А cartoon Gran Turismo? | ОП G, ONLINE mia | GHOST Like Metal Шара gee WWW.PLAYSTATIONMAGAZINE.COM g ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA RAGIN 04>5 о "70992 06968" г T Take the first step in the sequel to one of the most'epic quests ever: Dark Cloud. 2:Create weapons. Invent gadgets. Restore the future by rebuilding the past with ап enhanced Géorama system'that puts the fate of the world ‘in your hands. Customize homes, surroundings and towns with virtually infinite possibilities, then see how they affect the future. But beware: Every action has a consequence. www.playstation.com à у à trà ie mde PlayStation.e TEEN Violence ‘CONTENT RATED BY | ESRB LIVEN YOUR WXRLD PLAY IN DURS tombraider.com Blood Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB © 2003 Core Design Limited. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider and Core are registered trademarks of Core Design Ltd. Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Ange! of Darkness. the Tomb Raider logo and the Core Design logo are trademarks of Core Design Ltd. Eidos Interactive and the Eidos logo are trademarks of the Eidos Group of Companies. All rights reserved, “PlayStation” and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. PlayStation.e A D У “= the angel of darkness œŒ out of the tombs. into hell. SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT J| Customize you name, face, eat race and с! warrior to elfin wizz | пева | eet and team up with players wo Itiplayer online adventures. vide in massively persistent, role-playi world alive with adventure and excitement. Conquer challenging quests, batt! multitude of monsters and intera thousands of others in the online adventure of a lifetime. www.everquest.com/eqoa X INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED Blood ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIPTION FEES REQUIRED Suggestive Themes - = 3 2 Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB Game Experience May Change During Online Play. >>> Deciding whether to hurl the heat or bring the funky stuff? With TOTAL PITCH CONTROL you choose the amount of power and use MVP Baseball" 2003's graphic grid to help you exploit the batter's icy areas. You'll be back in the dugout getting forearm bashes in no time. ALL I NEED IS ONE MORE PITCH. RATING PENDING Visit www.esrb.org or 4 C call 1-800-771-3772 i for Rating Information. PlayS tation.c le в It's in the game" ALL I NEED IS ONE MORE PITCH. <<< Skipper sending the sign to Sac Fly? Need to pull the pea opposite way against [-— the shift? with FULL SWING CONTROL, tend off the nasty junk the pitcher's bringing until you see the one you like. Stay alive in the count long enough and you might get tipped off to when the pitcher leaves one in your wheelhouse. Voila! No more ducks on the pond. Get yourself into the starting lineup at mvpbaseball2003.ea.com. SPORTS PITCHER VS. BATTER. WHAT SIDE OF THE FENCE ARE YOU ON? MUI , Vee © 2003 Electronic Arts Ic. Electronic Arts, EA SPORTS, the EA SPORTS logo, MVP Baseball and I's in the Game. are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. АП rights reserved. “PlayStation and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and the Xbox Logos ae ether registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. EA SPORTS" is an Electronic Arts™ brand. Major League Baseball trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Ic. Visit the Oficial web site at MLB.com. © MLBPA. Official Licensee - Major League Baseball Players Association. Visit the Players Choice on the web at www.bigleaguers.com. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. CONTENTS www.playstationmagazine.com 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS Midnight Club I surprised us all Around the time we were focused on our early Grand Theft Auto: Vice City coverage, the guys at Rockstar took great pains to tell us how great the sequel to Midnight Club was going to be. It was their next huge game, they told us, and was going to be some- thing special. My reaction at the time? “Naaaah.” The first game was pretty good, and certainly benefited from its release as a PS2 launch title, but a sequel wasn’t really on my radar as something to get all pumped about—and, as OPM's resident car nut and speed freak, if | wasn’t getting jazzed about it, chances are the rest of you weren't going to, either. So, we smiled politely and made suitably indifferent noises whenever the subject came up. Then, a weird thing happened: Rockstar showed up with a late version of the game...and everything had changed. As so often happens these days in the world of game development, all the really cool stuff came together at the very last minute, and Midnight Club II began looking like something to get very excited about. In fact, so much had changed that we altered all our plans for this issue so we could put the game on our cover and bring you the exclusive first review. It's not often that a game has that kind of effect on us, but wait until you see MC2 when it hits stores in early April. If you're a racing-game fan like | am, it'll blow you away. ABOUT OUR CONTRIBUTORS ZOE FLOWER She writes, plays video- games, makes TV shows, and will knock your ass off the boarding slopes in Tahoe. She produces rock videos, designs websites, and owns her own island. That's what she tells us, anyway. d John Davison ww.zoeflower.com JOHN SCALZI He's a writer of science, fiction, and science fiction; а media reviewer and ап ordained minister—and he’s just signed a two- book publishing deal with fantasy/sci-fi supergroup TOR. You can find out all the sordid details at w.scalzi.com. Videogames Have Ratings, Just Like Movies EARLY CHILDHOOD EVERYONE ADULTS ONLY > [^ РІ OFFICIAL U.S. ay Station MAGAZINE ZIFF DAVIS MEDIA Г TE МАбАЛНЕ 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, Ravi Hiranand, Ryan Lockhart, John Scalzi, Paul Semel Japanese Correspondent Yutaka Ohbuchi European Correspondent Axel Strohm DESIGN Senior Art Director Bob "Daddy" Conlon Ап Director Jason “Big Game" Babler Graphic Designer Tina Huynh Пизгавоп 2Face, Penny Arcade COPY DESK Copy Chief Kristen Salvatore. 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Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Е Callahan Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Bart W. Catalane Senior Executive Vice President (Publishing Operations) Tom Мебгаде Executive Vice President Stephen D. Moylan Executive Vice President and Editorial Director (Editor-in-Chief, PC Magazine) Michael |. 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 Directo, Baseline) Sloan Seymour Senior Vice President (Game Group) Dale Strang Senior Vice President (Interne) 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. 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ESRB ratings are Deemed the previous suggestive contain more ofthe ratings, (OPM) remains independent from Vice President (Publisher, CIO Insight) Stephen Veith suitable for KA rating themes; mild adutthemes, suitable intended as guidelines only; children 3 last year. or strong such as blood for adults only. SCEA, and is a critical, autonomous = Р aio ti pie : Director, Manufacturing arents should still monitor 9 older. Suitable for language; and gore; Packs sexual nior р 2 n Products. kids ages and animated stronger themes and voice that helps readers get more die ел бип Шиа minors’ purchases carrying this 6 and up, violence. language; extreme out of their PlayStation system label have E-rated games Ѕоте parents and sexual violence. һу WWW.ESRB.ORG absolutely no may contain may want themes, Console delivering the most current, compre- (Contact anyone on this masthead via e-mail using material that minimal tosupervise Deemed not manufacturers fistname lastname @ziffdavis.com) would be. violence children suitable have yet to hensive, and candid coverage of considered or crude playing for those allow an inappropriate | language. Trrated games. under 17 Ачакей game. PlayStation software and hardware. by parents Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine [ISSN #1094-6683] is published monthly Бу Ziff Davis Media Inc., 28 East 28th Str w York, NY 10016. 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Without limiting the rights under copyrights cin, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or intro m, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other hout the prior written notice of Ziff Davis Media Inc. Copyright © 2003 211 Davis Media. АП Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part d. 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. 12 503-5420. E-mail: ойда gonopolsi и print Management Services [RMS] at [800 290-5440 or |7171 399-1900, or on the Web a 'eprintbuyer.com. TM & © for all other products and the characters contained there. in are.comed by th » trademark and copyright holders, subject to change and the publisher assumes no responsibility for such changes. The Canadian GST registration number is 14049 6720 RT. Printed in the USA. a TRAVISRICE 7 x 30-FOOT CRANE DROP • NEW ZEALAND WATER-RESISTANT H2ZERO SHOES Skate-shoe aesthetics meet snowboot technology to make the water-resistant HoZERO™ line. ARE YOU READY FOR SNOW SEASON? ж L PCSHOECOUSA SNOWBOARD BOOTS OUTERWEAR D FOR THE DC WINTER COLLECTION DC outerwear is defined ` DC makes the most comfortable snow- TROR оңт YOUR LOCAL SKATEBOARD by clean lines and — board boots, featuring: gel pads, heat- AND SNOWBOARD SHOP. technical features. ed insoles and inflatable liners. „02 CONTENTS Summer Movie Spectacular A preview of this summer's hottest movies...and the games associated. Readers’ Choice Awards Wanna know the best games of 2002? Find out which got the most votes. Square Enix Update What to expect from the mega-merger of the two RPG behemoths. The Insider Alias It's about time someone made a game based on the kick-ass TV show star- ting Jennifer Garner! Find out who. Celebrity Deathmatch Gotham Games has announced the full lineup for its satiric fighter. Zoe's World Hollywood Loves Vice City Your favorite stars are playing your See all the sights of Paris jn favorite game. 74, Midnight Club II. Or don't, because 5 you're goin’ so freakin’ fast! Only in Japan REGULAR BITS You know you've always wanted a dog-raising simulator. When the street i 2 13 DEMO DISC И ! T [| | lights come on, Five Cool Things About ZOE 2 Amplitude will rock you, NCAA | ЖҮЛ; the street races The second Zone of the Enders is out Final Four will jock you, and WWE t A 2 go down. Prepare soon. Here's why you should play it. SmackDown! will sock you У > to get fast and ; 8 furious—online. Clish MacLaver E 776 The latest gossip on things like Gran 20 INPUT z | Ж ЖОЛ. => Turismo, Insomniac, Medal of Honor, You send us letters, we print your у and а Metal Gear remake. letters. Because we care. Here's p " the address: opm(aziffdavis.com я CD Reviews 28 н DVD Reviews You'll play games based on movies " / Jj By the Numbers you see in the dog days of But only Japan gets a dog game REPLAY You're still buying Vice Cit still wing you how to ma: Plus, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sims, and more. StarCraft: Ghost Yu-Gi-Oh! SX Superstar Fusion guidelines for the dorkiest Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell PS2 game going. Unlimited SaGa Urban Freestyle Soccer Grand Theft Auto: Vice City X2: Wolverine's Revenge Last month we showed you the first 50 hidden tikis—now for the rest. The Sims Throw a sweet, raging par-tay! c ou aS You told us your favorite gan We tell you our favorite [г favorite] of everything else. C о x то SUN SOT оу оу Оу Оу Оу Online Gaming Tony Hawk 4, Madden and SOCOM! NCAA College Hoops 2K3 Survive the madness of March. High Heat Twenty-seven hot tips to keep you from a miserable start. хотдоо тоф тп DAD AX BSR DISC PROBLEMS? Did you buy a copy of our magazine that did по contain a demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked “OPM Replacement Disc" to the address below with the name and address of the store plus your phone number and adress and we'll send you the dise, Make sure you specify which month the corresponding disc belongs to in order to ensure you get the right one. Also, if you have a malfunctioning or non-working demo disc, call SCEA at 1-800-345-SONY. They will provide instructions to obtain repair or replacement services. Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official U.S, PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc included is fre from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase, SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, tits ON THIS MONTH'S PLAYABLE PS2 DVD PLAYABLES Amplitude ATV Offroad Fury 2 NCAA Final Four 2003 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth Zapper VIDEOS „hack//INFECTION Silent Hill 3 Мехх INSIDE THE GAME EverQuest Online Adventures Rise to Honor REPLAY Disney's Treasure Planet Dr. M luto Grand Theft Auto III Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing SkyGunner Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 EXTRAS On Tour with Korn On Tour at NCAA Final Four in New Orleans On Tour at Panama City, Florida, for Spring Break 2003 OFFICIAL U.S. ay Station MAGAZINE ROCK AMPLITUDE SERVES UP MORE THAN JUST DANCE-HALL BEATS The sequel to Frequency lets even the tone deaf get their groove on. Once you're done, check out f 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. AMPLITUDE THE DETAILS: This sequel to Frequency (get it? Frequency and Amplitude? FM and AM? Anyway...) boasts some truly rockin’ tunes. This demo has Garbage’s “Cherry Lips” and Quarashi's “Baseline.” ATV OFFROAD FURY 2 HAVE YOU TRIED... ...pre-loading your jumps? Make no mistake about it, this is the key to success in Offroad Fury 2. As you're heading up a jump, pull back and push for- ward quickly on the left analog stick. Time it right HAVE YOU TRIED... «collecting power-ups? Those oddly shaped notes on the tracks will give you power-ups to help out your situation: slow-mo, "auto-blaster" (clears out all the notes in one track), and more. Eu Brutal” Difficulty? Here's the best route to suc- cess: Hold your hand upright over the buttons and tap ©, & and © like they're keys on a piano. Once you're in the zone it'll just, ya know, flow. THE DETAILS: Kids, don't try this at home. Seriously, the maneuvers you'll see portrayed in this game PLAYSTATION UNDERGROUND TEAM Demo Disc Producers Gary Barth, Manuel Sousa, Jerome Strach, Chris Tan Marketing Team Kim Yuen, Chris Hagedorn, Steve Williams Executive Producers Andrew House, Marilyn Weyant Format Q&A Sam Bradley, DeMarlo King Account Coordinator Eric Ippolito PROGRAMMING AND INTERFACE ARTWORK BY LIFELIKE PRODUCTIONS, INC. Lead Programmers William Bohan, Ron Midthun, Avery Lodato 3D Artists Jason Robinson, Philip Williamson, David Hayes Producer Jessi Harrison President Katherine Williams Technical Director Tim Edwards SPECIAL THANKS Tom Gillan, Gerald Martin, Jim Williams, Michelle Manahan, Christine DeNezza option, the SCEA product. You must call 1-800-345-SONY 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 lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of consequential damages, so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights that vary from state to state, OPM Demo Disc is published monthly by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., 919 E. Hillsdale Drive, Foster City, CA 94404 AUL titles shown herein are trademarks of and copyrights of their respective publishers and/or their licensors, See individual screens for details. ©2002 Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Please submit all related demo disc inquiries to: OPM Demo Disc Inquiries, 919 E. Hillsdale Drive, Foster City, [1771 would send you face-first into the dirt often enough to redefine the word "exfoliate." Ouch. and you'll get huge air. The goal here is to land on the downside of a jump; instead of wasting time shaking off the effects of a bone-jarring landing, you'll actually get a bit of a speed boost. WWE SMACKDOWN! SHUT YOUR MOUT. THE DETAILS: You get two choices in terms of match: Single and TLC. You get two choices for wrestler: Brock Lesnar and Triple H. What you do within these parameters is up to you. HAVE YOU TRIED. „reversals? The © button is the Reversal button; try it while your opponent is coming at you for sometimes-amusing results. «leaving the ring? Head toward the ropes and hit R1; you'll slide outside the ring. Now you can wan- der around the whole arena. Do it in the TLC match and you can find new weapons to pick up (with R1). «beating up the ref? It’s fun for the whole family. RAYMAN 3: HOODLUM HAVOC THE DETAILS: Although the gameplay in this sequel focuses more on combat than in previ- ous Raymans (Каутеп?), the game's as gorgeous as you'd expect from the series. Here you get seg- ments from two levels. ZAPPER | THE DETAILS: Since the game is basically Frogger, it’s | strangely addictive in spite of its kiddie look, sometimes-irritating controls, and the loose rhyme of its catch phrase. Wicked Cricket? HAVE YOU TRIED... ...earning а 3500-point combo? That's the little counter that pops up under your score anytime you attack an enemy or pick something up. Here's a hint: Don't try this without a friend nearby. ..earning more than 10,000 points between the two levels? You'll need to rescue all the captives on Dangerous Game and nail all the enemy ships on Special Invaders. See how close you can get. HAVE YOU TRIED... «finding both secret areas іп the Overgrown Undergrowth level? One's on the left, one's on the right. They're really not that hard to find if you look. ...freeing 100 fireflies in the Voodoo Choo Choo level? The best idea is to conserve the super- zapper power-up that you get periodically. You can use this to blow up Snails, and also to blast open the boxes with the big blue starbursts on them. (2) i: mw CE A Ax PlayStation.e > call 1-800-771-3772 for Rating Information. CONTENT RATED BY Esas SEGA i istered in the U.S, Patent and Trademark Office. SEGA, the SEGA logo and The King of Route 66 are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Se ја Corporation and/or its affiliates. © SUGA-AM2/SEGA, 2002 PRIVE IT WAKE, PRIVE IT FAST ny Computer Entert ment Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.sega.com Better Than Real. p- = = C = = individual MLB™ ng deliveries. erocious adrenaling-style play lets you go in Pit your favorite MLB™ players in an ALL-NEW es high: then, relive it from any angle Home Run Derby” and square off against the with the new customizable instant replay most feared long ball hitters in the league. More than 1,500 dazzling animations offer lawless running, fielding, hitting and pitc/2//79 action. MIDWAY Comic Mischief 129) i А ; | о «ША. Game preview at www.midwaysports.net Misit www.esrb.org or call 1 -800-771-3772 for rating information THE FLUTURE OF ONLINE Take it to the street and experience the rush of the first cell-shaded online racer for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. Build the ultimate dream car and go head-to-head against eight online players in your tricked-out, world-class ride. Feel the pulse of the street as you add sonic screen effects and digital music to your own instant replay footage. Racing fans get set and Go! Auto Modellista. © CAPCOM CO., LTD. 2002. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. © CAPCOM U.S.A., INC. 2002, 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM LOGO are registered trademarks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. “auto model. lista" is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. "PlayStation'and the "PS" Family logo and DUALSHOCK are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Online plays requires internet cor Network Adaptor for PlayStation 2 (sold separately). The online icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Race and chat with up to 8 OPPONENTS ONLINE with a Network Adaptor... x y Т ( p "mm TS = SPU EDIT Шаа NEE HESI ME) IPE AME Е УТЕ ЕГАТИ) Edit your own INSTANT REPLAY Add music and screen effects... > ro^ \ ||| AN 7 же” Race REAL CARS from Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and more... p “ М | | | CUSTOMIZE your tires, suspension, А й turbine kit, transmission and тоге. / | % . еркекке EDITORSCH HOKE, E == = 20072 2 BEST GAMES OP GAMES à CAPE blaystation.2 capcom.com [rm ALL MANUFACTURERS. CARS, CAR PARTS, NAMES. BRANDS AND ASSOCIATED IMAGERY FEATURED IN THIS GAME ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INCLUDING TRADEMARKS AND/OR COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | N р U Ели | letters section. Number of spam letters in the OPM inbox this month addressing “Jony.” A special thanks to whomever put us on that mailing list! ЗЕРЕН DEF Gamers are reacting to Def Jam: Vendetta. "Def Jam is my prozac!" claims Anthony Lynn. "Vendetta will be the biggest wrestling game out in a long time." Brant Shepherd likes it for different reasons: "I can't stand any Def Jam ‘artist,’ but I love Aki's wrestling engine," he says. "And better yet, I get to beat up Redman as often as I like." In your preview for the new Matrix game [in issue 65], you posted a quick overview of The Matrix Reloaded's plot. |, like many others, | assume, was avoiding any info on the plot to ensure a clean, exciting experience when | actually went to see it. | read the synopsis thinking it was for the game. Imagine my despair when | found it was for the movie. It led me to wonder why you guys are putting movie spoilers in a videogame mag. It's bad enough when game magazines ruin the plot of games. But movies? Why? Nicodemus Vascotia neodemus3159(dhotmail.com As you'll read in Spin, the plot of the film is integral to that of the game [which you read a lot more about in said preview and don't have any "spoiler" complaints about). Besides, the movie “spoil- er" you refer to was a very basic outline of the movie's premise and gave nothing away. It was two short sentences prefaced by a CONTACT OPM Snail Mail ОРМ 101 Second Street, 8th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 E-mail opm@ziffdavis.com and check us ош at www.playstationmagazine.com Fax If you need to reach us now 415.5478777 Official US. PlayStation Magazine headline reading “Reloaded: The Plot!". What did you expect to read? The Super Bowl commer- cial revealed significantly more. But while we're at it, let's spoil a few other upcoming movies for you: In X2, the X-Men return to protect a world that fears and hates them; in The Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner turns into a huge green monstrosity when he gets angry; and the year ends with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, where Frodo and Sam enter Mordor on a quest to destroy the One Ring. You don't even need to see them now! | was recently playing Madden NFL 2003, in my first preseason game in my second season. With the Chargers against the Colts, | drove down the field and had a 4th and goal on the Colts’ 1 yard-line. | went for it and scored, but there was a defensive facemask on the play. The referee announced it, which brought up the play selec- tion screen for the extra point—but it put me on defense, and instead of me lining up to kick, it’s the Colts going for 99-plus-yard field goal attempt. They missed and had to kick it off to me, but | only got six points. What the heck is with that? Is it a glitch in the game? Chris Borbe San Diego, CA You know Madden—always insti- tuting the latest rules into its new versions just as it should. OK, so maybe there isn't a “we facemask you, we get to kick an impossible field goal" rule on the books yet, but we're sure there will be. It only makes sense, right?... Or maybe it's just a glitch. It's happened. The news struck me like a car driven by Vercetti himself: Senator Joseph Lieberman, enemy to gamers around the country, is running for president in 2004. Will this mean an end to all of our Grand Theft 3 3 Е 5 8 > = g 5 2 а: Autos, Getaways, and BMX XXXs? OK, so that last one won't be missed. But really, if our country elects him as our new president, will he put more pressure on the ESRB? We all know he has been against violent videogames since he heard about Quake Ill, and will he use his power as the president to stop games like this? Sure, the president may have more impor- tant things to worry about, but we mustn't rule out the thought. Gamers, you know your duty come November 2004. Vote. And vote against Lieberman! Agenti91488@aol.com Let's not be so hasty—Lieberman may not even win the Democratic nomination. If he does, though, we shouldn't let our views on gaming be the one and only decid- ing factor in who we vote for— there actually are more important issues in the world. And realisti- cally, it's unlikely much would change. Politicians have bitched about language and violence in movies and music, and you don't see that gone forever. We expect the biggest thing relating to games to emerge from a Lieberman presidency would be a stricter enforcement of ESRB rat- ings. And really, that's not such a bad thing. - GAMERS ARE TALKING ABOUT From message boards to printed page DID YOU KNOW? Originally, Blink-182 was just “Blink,” but an Irish techno band already had that name. “We just pulled [the 1827] out of our ass," says bassist/singer Mark Hoppus. You ask, we answer (possibly by making fun of you). FIFA? Who Needs It? FIFA is going down! We need a little more cover- age of the best soccer series ever, coming to PS2 this March. Winning Eleven is the most beautiful, realistic, and responsive soccer game available. Please show it more respect than a PLAY TIME little preview blurb. On page 47 of the Marc March issue, was it ViperMansaf@aol.com just coincidence that you had Playmates and the PlayStation Online ad that says, “No one will mind if you play naked” on the same page? Lance Verdin Basay basay316 (acharter.net After playing it ourselves, we know what you're talking about! How's a 5-star review for respect? Check out page 100. Ko-wee! Ko-wee! So | just read in Clish's article that Koei is gonna quit doing the Asian history thing, and | am quite upset about it. | have come to know and love all those characters with the unpronounceable names. How could Koei do it? | think | may have to take action against them. Ben Hazelton deathballincarnate(dlycos.com As much as we'd like to take credit for that, you can chalk that one up to coincidence— which kinda makes it even funnier. Cool your jets, Benny. Clish was a little extreme by saying that Koei is "turning their backs" on Asian history—we don't expect the company to totally abandon it, only to cut back in favor of expanding its historical scope to other parts of the world. Wouldn't you love playing a Dynasty Warriors game with pyramids and sphinxes in the background? Us, too. Namco Must Hate PS2 | recently read the article on the extra Soul Calibur ІІ characters, and we PS2 owners are getting screwed! It's not like | haven't played as Heihachi in five other games. He doesn't even have any weapons. I'm now going to have to track down a GameCube and an Xbox to play some real “extra” characters, and this kills me. Shame on you, Namco. Paul Lingard pklingard(@myexcel.com FULFILLING YOUR FANTASY I was wondering if you could adda little section for Final Fantasy VII in the next OPM. Jaime Mushung sephiroth_cloud _zack(@hotmail.com Sure we can, Jaime. This small enough for you? ©) Official US. PlayStation Magazine You're not the only one to voice such disappointment, Paul. There's hope, though: We hear there are even more secret characters yet to be announced. We shall see. Born to Stink I'm a gamer...at least | like to look at myself that way. I've never been top- notch at many videogames, and most of the time I'm too scared to even go so far as to buy a game if it doesn’t have codes, simply because | know I'll prob- ably never beat it...or even the first level to be more specific. Maybe I'm just lazy? Maybe | don't try hard enough? But... like to think that | was born to stink. Sure, everyone's got a talent— this could be mine! Just think about it. l've discovered that being bad at almost all videogames known to man isn't really all that bad! I've used my incredi- ble talent to...well, help me to cheat. This goes back to the whole code thing. If a game's got a walkthrough, I'll find it without trouble. A cheat code or two? No problemo! The truth is, when | use my little God-given talent, | find myself to be quite a gamer. Or maybe | should say quite a cheater? But one way or the other, I'm finally getting somewhere! Chris Spencer Spenzer8(daol.com At least you know your place in enjoy- ing your games, Chris. Just don't apply for a job here anytime soon, OK? Dammit! | was reading issue 66 when | saw your preview for Amplitude, Sony's follow-up to Frequency. | was so happy to see that my favorite band, Blink-182, has its music in the game. | wanted to see more information, so | went onto the Internet and found some information on the game. But everything | saw didn't say Blink-182's music was in the game. | am con- fused. If Blink's music is in Amplitude, can you tell me what song it is? If not, you guys can go to | hell for that misprint. Diane Bush dianebush(ücomcast.net % Wow. Eternal damnation is kind of harsh for a simple mis- take, don't you think? Well, feel free to take off your pants and jacket as you play, because Blink-182 is in Amplitude with "The Rock Show." Herbie Hancock fanatics, however (you're one, right Diane?), might be a little disap- pointed, as it appears his music has been dropped. Blink-182 photo by www.wireimage.com CIVILIZATION 1S ONLY SKIN NEE The battle to save the outside world starts within. As Jen Tate, a conflicted and unsuspecting hero, you'll assume a host of savage yet intelligent demon forms in order to save four distant realms — from decaying kingdoms submerged in poisoned waters to bleak netherworlds shrouded in eternal winter. You'll engage legions of enemies. Meet and, at times, be incarnated as Scree, an ancient and powerful ally. And ultimately face your own shocking secret. Inside and out, there is no sanctuary. / LIVE IN YOUR W*RLD. PLAY IN OURS: Blood PlayStation.2 Violence CONTENT RATED BY ESRB 1." Live In Your World. Play In Ours,” and "Civilization Is Only 5 Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Enter ment Europe, "PlaySta ony Computer Enter www.playstation.com Primal TM/©2003 Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Skin Deep." are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment A VIOLENCE Ps : PlayStation.e CONTENT RATED BY ESRB 1 7 raider returns -- Indiana Jones. Legendary adventurer. Daring rogue. And the most butt- kicking eer the | world has ever seen. It's 1935 and this time you have to prevent a powerful Chinese artifact from falling into evil hands. 50 еі: on your e с and pack уш favorite bullwhip. You'll need them as Zor -— Qu the Ce. s "d and n mmm SSE Lucasfilm Lid & TM or ® as indicated. Ай rights reserved. Used under authorization. LucasArts and the LucasArts ici. websi Xbox and the Xbox Logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. e x A Microsoft "PlayStation" and the "PS' Family logo are registered trademarks of Sany Computer Entertainment Ino. "indianajonies. 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. Understands the infield fly rule. % 3 у Screenshots from Xbox™ video game system Screenshots from PlayStation'2 computer entertainment system EVERYONE | МОМ; Л Visit www.esrb.org ог +. GAME BOY, ANGE ж РЄ -800-7' 72 а | Е e ^ = eae PlayStation. Xeox e logos, are trademarks or regi Major L the Ninten other countries lemarks of The 300 Сот L other countess ague Baseball trademarks Computer Ent t Inc. ТМ. ©, Game Boy Advance and s or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or www.3D0.com 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 x x re-creates every facet of the game.” st - EGM [March 2002) sul ist “Console baseball's first grand slam.” aÈ - OPM [March 2002) £m 8:2 W New graphics include all new, motion-captured animations VN W New Career and Franchise modes include full Minor Leagues" system | (AAA, АА, A) and unlimited seasons | 9 W Two On Two Showdown" mode for the ultimate quick game fun је Baseball. 7 5 agog- жет Ш Improved award-winning controls, А.1., and baseball realism lin m Curt Schilling consulted to create 27 individual pitch types REAL. BASEBALL. www.highheat.com Day Planner What to buy, do, and celebrate—our monthly calendar has it all. Readers’ Choice The very best games of 2002, all picked by you. The Insider What to do when you finally play the game you're making? Start all over. Zoe's World The lovely Ms. Flower wonders where all the humor went in videogames. Only in Japan Let's Play With Dogs. It's a game. The name should say it all. Clish MacLaver OPM's hot Scot dishes up all the latest videogame gossip. Media Blowout Three pages of CD and DVD reviews. Your PS2 plays more than just games. News, views, opinion, wit, and wisdom. ‚48 66 50 FIGHT! 725”) ZOWIE! An oddball lineup revealed | Five cool things about For Celebrity Deathmatch Da \ | ZOE: The 2nd Runner а” 8 өтіне | Acclaim nabs Alias а Spy babe comes to PS2 Е i у [MATRIX RELOADED ~ | 5/15/03 | It hurts more when you punch someone in slow motion. ЕТ. WHAT IS THE ANIMATRIX? If you havent seen the trailer yet, head Hulk smash! over to www.theanimatrix.com. Now. 6/20/03 Tell your mom this is what happens when you eat your vegetables. 5/2/03 Wolverine proves once and for all why hes your favorite X-Man. X2: | X-MEN UNITED | CHARLIE'S ANGELS: | FULL THROTTLE | (СТІ X2: WOLVERIN | REVENGE | Conceived by the creators of “The Matrix Trilogy” as an explosive prelude to “The Matrix Reloaded” ~ is a visionary ten minute short film powered by cutting edge CG-animation and is one of nine mind-bending stories from “The Animatrix”. It will premiere with the release of “Dreamcatcher” in movie theaters everywhere. ХЕ VILAGE ROADSHOW PICTURES MORE SUMMER MOVIE-GAMES ж Coming i in 2003 are Bulletproof Monk and У“ Bad Boys Il from Empire, and The Fast and The Furious 2 from Universal. А TERMINATOR 3 | FINDING NEMO | 4} 72103 | 5/30/03 There are 37 trilion fish in the ocean. - | ae Admit it: The trailer looked plain goofy. Too Бад уоше gonna see it anyway. 7 ші | Youre looking for one. ЕЛЕНЕ | someday 77 Г ЕМЕ 77 TS | BIEN CLE TERMINATOR 3: RISE alttni@tinicome AUTE OF THE MACHINES OF THE MACHINES ГІЗ TOMB RAIDER: THE _ _ ANGEL OF DARKNESS TOMB RAIDER: THE FINDING CRADLE OF LIFE | NEMO | | TOMB RAIDER 2 4 = - 7/25/02 (A Е CHARLIE’S ANGELS 2 | | Angelina ignores those new helmet laws, ~ | | | || 6/27/03 | / that cheeky, dirty girl. Vroooom! = ; Ф, | | | - this is what all Angels look like, then z Y 4 я ~ » 7] g consider us firm believers in the afterlife. N | | ты ЕЗІП ME » + Earn 9 unlockable new abilities in 26 Play as 1 of 3 characters, relying on stealth and Engage in 2 lethal multiplayer modes: intense single-player missions: over 30 authentic ninja weapons and tools. co-op and deathmatch. Live by honor. Kill by stealth. Blood and Gore Violence D ti а ах L PlayStation.c | #22562 ACTIVISION. activision.com its reserve. Licensed for play on the PlayStati т, All other trademarks and trade names are pr uter entertainment systems у their respective owners, ©SPIN In like a lion, out like a lamb. Jon Bon Jovi, Dr. Seuss, ап ©” Mikhail Gorbachev On thiSday in 1949, th®\w6rld gave birth to Erik Estrada. Now only if someone would make a CHIPS game, our world would be complete. Or not. March 23; 1910: Happy Birthday to Akira Kurosawa. Rent any of these NOW: Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, Yojimbo or Sanjuro. ©) Official US. PlayStation Magazine ÀA Happy Birthdayto мі «ul St! Patricks Day Shemp Howard opened his eyes for the first time in 1895. Then repeatedly had fingers stuck in them. Pick up The Muppets Swedish Chef Kitchen action figure today. Bork! Bork! Colin Farrell turns tufns.27 апа 5и looks dumb with a bullseye carved into his forehead. Game releases: Batman: Dark Tomorrow, Primal, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven On DVD: The Osbournes: The First Season, The Best of the Muppet Show: Vol. 3&4 Retro gaming returns with-Dragon's Lair 3D. Plus: My Street, WWE: Crush Hour, World Series Baseball 2K3, World Soccer Winning Eleven 6, ZOE: The 2nd Runner, MVP Baseball 2003 Released: MLB ‘SlugFest 20-04, Midnight Club II, Evil | Dead: A Fistful of Boomstick, Clock Tower 3, Def Jam: Vendetta, MLB 2004, On DVD, check out the ultra creepy The | Ring and the ultra | boring Red Dragon. = Andress turn WWW.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Docks/9187/lyrics.html Lyrics for some of your favorite '80s TV shows, including The Muppet Show, Fat Albert, and Speed Racer! WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY Anger Management Shaquille O'Neal | ү Freddie Prinze, Jr. _ in theaters, starring Bern this day in | 18:27 (апа hopefully Adam Sandler and 1972 | retired] Jack Nicholson Check Www.gamers.com for news from the Game Developers Conference, which is on all week. E-mail the Official 0.5 PlayStation Magazine and tell us what you think of | ZOE: The 2nd Runner. opmfaziffdavis.com Williard squeaks inte thea 5 20075 story about a boy and his rats...lots of rats | Celebrate Michael | Caine's birthday by renting the original Get Carter or playing | The Italian Job. | | Today, turn off what- fer crap you have in your CD player and go baroque: | Johann Sebastian Bach, born in 1685 ama! Иг а 7.5һе was better Шап Berry, and if you don't believe us, then) gê rent Dr. Мо. Games released: Amplitude, Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Operation Resurrection, Dynasty Warriors 4, Auto Modellista, Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell | | Born чау їп 1970: | Mafiah Carey. She's. | not really glittery | anymore. | In 1963: Quentin Tarantino was born. | We can't wait for Kill | Bill in October, or the | game next year. | | | | | | | | | | than Armageddon, The Earth gets an overhSul When The Core drills the big screen, It's probably going to suck worse though. Julia Stiles is 22. She's hot. KONAMI ® www.konami.com/usa METAL Blood and Gore Violence Partial Nudity CONTENT RATED BY ESRB 55 | PlayStation. RESERVED. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of EXCLUSIVE GAMEPLAY ONLY ON SUBSTANCE! 350+ VR MISSIONS * 150+ ALTERNATIVE MISSIONS • 5 SNAKE TALES • EUROPEAN EXTREME MODE • CASTING THEATER • BOSS SURVIVAL MODE * ENTIRE SONS OF LIBERTY™ GAME • MERYL RETURNS! • FIRST-PERSON VIEW MODE • VARIETY MODE • WEAPON MODE * SNEAKING MODE * SKATEBOARDING MODE • BOMB DISPOSAL МОРЕ * ELIMINATION MODE • HOLD UP MODE * PHOTOGRAPH MODE * HIDDEN PLAYABLE CHARACTERS * GIGANTIC SOLDIERS * NEW DOGTAGS * NEW MUSICAL SCORES * EXCITING NEW STORYLINES BEAR SOLID У GD = = registered trademarks or trademarks of KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN, INC. © 1987 2003 KONAMI COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT JAPAN. KONAMI® is а registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Screen shots are from the PlayStation®? version. Skateboarding mode is only avaiable іп the PlayStation@2 version. rame of the year. > Gamespy.com ~ Xbox Game of the Year › of 2002 Veekl А -score PLAYSTATION’2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM SCREENS SHOWN er Ос n t hesitate to buy this PLAYSTATION'2 MPUTER RTAINMEN'T SYSTEM SCREENS SHOWN next generati » My - ealth combat.’ Pro ~ 5/5 PLAYSTATION'2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM SCREENS SHOWN tt 9.6 highest score ever." PLAYSTATION'2 TAINMENT SYSTEM SCRE: | PC ж т Blood and Gore PlayStation. e CD-ROM xBox Violence WHEN YOU’RE THIS DEADLY, ONE PLATFORM CAN’T HOLD YOU. kkk kk REDEFINED FORT PLAYSTATION’2 COMPUTER 1 I Г SYST Led sd Red h all-new cinematics and iour exclusive new levels in t t i rmal gogg and a Х Tom Clancys € Ly Unlike the real The number of Readers — | « „Ж, world, your vote Choice winners that didn't ,,,. , ais << actually counts. get a five-star rating. са m Gs) Official U.S. PlayStation’ абза i Ratchet & Clank: 6% ld like to thank the OPM readers for Medal of Honor: Frontline: the support they showed for Vice City. Virtua Fighter 4: 3% To win the Readers’ Choice Award is Madden NFL 2003: 2% obviously a huge honor and incredibly Sly Cooper and the gratifying. It was a really tough year for Thievius Raccoonus: 2% us, but the reaction to the game has Rygar: The Legendary Adventure: 1% made it all worthwhile. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4: 1% BEST PLATFORM GAME Accepted by Joel Jewett, presi- dent, Neversoft Entertainment Thanks to the readers of OPM from everyone on the Neversoft team. The support we receive from the people who play our games is what keeps us working so hard to make something even better each time around. учан but if any genre applied more than any other, it would be that open-ended concept of “adven- ture.” We are really proud of the reaction players have shown to he nonlinear epic saga of Vice s, and of course, team that built ie was privileged to опе who supported Making a sequel to one ruly great racing games, or Speed ІІІ; Hot Pursuit, daunting task, and our was to do the legacy of that _ дате justice and bring it to the PS2, where it could truly shine. RUNNERS-UP Rygar: Legendary Adventure: 8% Onimusha 2: 7% Dues Ex: The Conspiracy: 3% Fatal Frame: 2% We look forward to delivering many more top-quality Need For Speed games to audiences wor- thy of only the best! RUNNERS-UP Burnout 2: 15% V-Rally 3: 3% WRC: World Rally Championship: 3% F1 2002: 1% MULTI PLAYER SOCOM NAVY SEALS (5596) Accepted by Jim Bosler, president, Zipper Interactive Our goal for SOCOM was to allow the player to experience some of the excitement and challenges of being a Navy SEAL. Just as in the SEALs, we were completely depen- dent on our team to meet the challenge. SCEA and our Sony producer, Seth Luisi, provided critical leadership and sup- port in all phases. We are particularly thrilled with the favorable response of the online community. To receive the Readers’ Choice Award is a real honor. We want to thank our fans and the OPM readers for making our goal a reality! RUNNERS-UP TimeSplitters 2: 26% James Bond 007: NightFire: 8% Twisted Metal: Black Online: 6% Super Bust-A-Move 2: 2% Ga) са “ecko unltd. @) Official 05, PlayStation Magazine BEST ACTION GAME TIMESPLITTERS 2 (24%) Accepted by David Doak, ` director, Free Radical It is a great honor to award is always special heartfelt thanks goe: also particularly gratifyi ng to. receive this award from the renowned OPM—a publication once modestly described by its own editor as "the most fabulous: magazine in the universe." Accepted by Steven Chiang, executive producer, EA-Tiburon The team at EA-Tiburon worked extremely hard to design and implement innovative features. While we're especially proud of the new Mini-Camp, online, and Play Editor features, we know it all comes down to gameplay— which makes this award, as decided by the readers, even more special. Thanks to OPM and everyone that voted! — RUNNERS-UP Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: 21% accepted’ Ww Terry Donovan, СЕО, Rockstar Games ^ ^ We are delighted that people enjoyed The Italian Job. We raised a few eyebrows when we announced we were going to release a PS1 game so far into the PS2 cycle, but it RUNNERS-UP NBA 2K3: 21% NHL 2K3: 15% FIFA Soccer 2003: 10% NCAA College Football 2K3: 4% just felt like a cool game, and so we did. We would like to thank all the readers who voted for The Italian Job. We are really grateful. KINGDOM HEARTS (78%) Accepted by Tetsuya Nomura, director, Square To be honest, I’m a bit surprised that Kingdom Hearts is more pop- ular in the States than in Japan. When the title was first announced, many doubted the concept, but our development team was confident it would work and become a very unique and enjoyable game. | believe this award displays the result of the hearts of our development team connecting with our fans and those who believed in the | game. | couldn't be happier, and | hope Kingdom Hearts becomes a treasure for those who play this. game. Thanks to OPM and the. readers for honoring Kingdom. Hearts as the best RPG. RUNNERS-UP Suikoden III: 13% Dynasty Tactics: 3% Wild Arms 3: 3% Grandia Xtreme: 1% RUNNERS-UP Arc the Lad Collection: 22% Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4: 16% Capcom vs. SNK Pro: 10% Gundam Battle Assault 2: 9% VIRTUA FIGHTER 4 (40%) Accepted by Yu Suzuki, producer, Sega When | decided to develop Virtua Fighter 4 for the PS2, it was at a pivotal time in беда 5 history, as we transitioned from a hardware company to an independent software publisher. | am profoundly happy and proud to see so many people support Sega and Virtua Fighter 4. It’s encouragement like this, from the fans, that keeps me moti- vated and encourages me to keep developing great games in the future. Thank you to OPM and all of those who voted for Virtua Fighter 4! RUNNERS-UP Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance: 19% Tekken 4: 17% War of the Monsters: 12% Marvel vs. Capcom 2: 9% 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 SPECIALLY MARKED BOXES OF BAGEL Birts. GET THE GODE! COLLECT THE points! BID TO WiN! n „COM E PlayStation. Ri ageloires v www.koeigames.com f | e a ) = ү Уч “йе За ар AA Мен Me ry еее | А Е — Tactical Action Without Equal! 27 Play over 50 stages across 17 unique maps & Giant siege engines: battering rams, catapults, and bridge layers 2* Fierce new one-on-one duels 57 Create your own officers and bodyguards 37 New character-specific special attacks & Brand-new Weapon Upgrade System 37 Kingdom Play! Select a new general for each stage in Musou Mode 87 3 brand-new officers for over 40 playable characters MARCH 2003 PlayStationse œ) Эру The Warriors Return, and the Battle Rages On... DW3 — REMIX! ‘Play XTREME LEGENDS by itself or with Dynasty Warriors 3 to power up the original with new XL features. Memory Card data is fully compatible between both games. ее = Ж “ LAB 0 remejegentis’ mn ABLE Визе À Create a Game Character! Ever wish you could design your own videogame superstar? Here's your chance! Design a hero and submit it to PlayStation Underground. If your con- cept is chosen, it'll be featured on an upcoming OPM demo disc! Head over to REFLECTION TIME Every game starts with an idea. Then a plan is formed, documents are written—and soon after, artists and pro- grammers start bringing it to life. Deadlines are met, mile- Stone demos are completed, and before you know it, you reach magic time. You can grab a controller and run around onscreen, fight some baddies, and complete minor objectives. The project, which up till that moment was nothing more than technical tests and art assets, begins to take shape, to actually look and feel like a real game. It's a wonderful time. It's also a horrifying time. It was Deus Ex's Warren Spector who said it best: "Here's a terrible truth about game development—we all pretty much make it up as we go." He doesn't mean that literally, of course. But there's one simple truth in those words: There is no rock-solid plan. Ever. No matter how cool the original vision is—or how many lines of code have been generated, or how much art has been created—it's impossible to really see how a game will turn out until it's finished enough to be judged. Which, unfortunately, usually ends up being in the latter half of the development cycle. This is the time when the people creating the game can finally see the combined fruit of their labors. Sometimes, it's a period of pure celebration. More often, it's a time of re-thinking. Which is exactly what we've been doing this week with our still (believe it or not, one day | won't be saying this) unnamed project. Is this a bad thing? Of course not. Some of the best developers have used this time to scrap nearly every- thing and start from scratch (Half-Life is a great example of this). And some of the worst teams have ignored the opportunity and carried on with business as usual— [insert the name of any crap game], for example. The point is, every team goes through this period, but how they use the time varies. In our case, we're trying to figure out how to make the game more fun and more accessible while giving the overall experience a bigger kick. Luckily, we don't have to change much—the core game is great, we just need to massage out the kinks. l'm not really worried. Let's put it this way: We've all been working on a game for the past year, but up until last week, we never really saw it. Even though playing our game lets us see everything that's wrong with it, it also lets us experience everything that's cool about it, And, I've got to admit—l'm more excited about the project now than l've ever been. Even if that means making some changes. Ryan Lockhart ( ) wonders what his life would be like if he wasn't making games. Aside from actually getting some sleep, of course... Official 05. PlayStation Magazine SQUARE DEAL f Square Enix gets ready to take over the world he announcement read like an April Fool's joke: Square and Enix, the two biggest names in console RPGs, would merge into one company, effective April 1. But after a few small bumps, including an outspoken Square shareholder who threatened to derail the deal due to concerns about the value of his stock, the mega-merger became a reality. It looks like the joke's on anyone else hoping to release an RPG. The newly formed Japanese com- What's in store for Square Enix? RPGs, RPGs...and more RPGs. Six titles are coming this year alone. pany, Square Enix Co., Ltd., will oper- ate in North America under the name Square Enix U.S.A. Enix has already shut down its U.S. office; Square's L.A.-based office will now handle the combined U.S. operation. So what's in store for Square Enix? ува Final Fantasy X-2 RPGs, RPGs...and more RPGs. Six titles are confirmed for this year alone. Leading off the list is this month's Final Fantasy Origins (see reviews). Next up is the gorgeous Unlimited SaGa, due out in mid-June. Then, this fall, we'll see both Final Fantasy X-2 and Final Fantasy XI—although FFXI is likely to be co-published by a company that can handle the online elements. Rounding out the list are two from Enix's stable: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time and Drag-on Dragoon. As for Enix's flagship franchise, Dragon Warrior VIII is still on track, with Dark Cloud developer Level-5 handling the project. Meanwhile, Disney and Square are already chat- ting about Kingdom Hearts 2, though that project is still a few years off. So, will we ever see a combined Final Fantasy/Dragon Warrior? Possibly, considering that опе | of the reasons for the merger was a desire to share game develop- ment resources. But we're more likely to see the two franchises i 4 influence each other, with some occasional cameos. Who knows? Maybe—dare we say it?— Rikku could get slimed. GameDay Goes 8-0 Say what you want about 989's GameDay it's taken a beating from us in the past), but you can no longer deny the most important GameDay- related statistic: 8-0. That number stands for the eight Super Bowl cham- pions that GameDay's "Game Before the Game" has effectively predicted. This year it was Bucs' wide receiv- er Keenan McCardell playing NFL GameDay 2003 against Raiders' running back Charlie Garner. After an early touchdown by Garner [апа a two-point OVERHEAR conversion) made the score 8-7, McCardell rattled off three straight touchdowns, walloping the helpless Garner. The final score of the Game Before the Game was 28-8. A slaugh- ter. The Super Bowl? That was a slaughter, too, with the Bucs pounding the Raiders 48-21. "It's one of those games that you want to win,” McCardell said after being handed the trophy by The Bachelorette, Trista Rhen. “It sure beats losing.” -SNL's Jimmy Fallon plays down Nokia's recent announcement of its hybrid cell phone/videogame system, the N-Gage. am - се жылы Keenan McCardell reveals the number of times he's actually played NFL GameDay. MBO www.abc.com/alias b Download the free Alias Underground game. It runs оп PC or Mac—and it's actually not too bad! cclaim announced it has signed an agreement ` with Disney Interactive for the rights to publish a game based 7 hid on the hit spy drama, Alias. Set for E il 4 release by the end of the year, the 4 4 game is being developed in the United Kingdom by Acclaim's Cheltenham studio. We're told it’s | a third-person action-adventure that follows the themes of the | show pretty closely. As you'd _ expect, you control the actions of Sydney Bristow (played by the lovely Jennifer Garner in the show, whom we couldn't help but run а nice, big photo of this month), and the gameplay will be a veritable cocktail of all the gam- ing trends that are hot right now: stealth, action, adventure—and badass martial-arts fighting. Hopefully, some of Ms. багпег 5 outfits from the more recent episodes of the show will make an appearance, too. For the record, we prefer the black one. If you're a fan of the show, you know what we're talking about. “With the strength of the story lines in Alias, we couldn’t imagine a better venue of expression than through the world of videogames,” said Bruce Gersh, vice president of business development at ABC. “We are excited about the prospect of a great game that will bring all the elements of the show to a new fan base in the gaming world.” It's not clear where in the Alias story line the game will take place. With much of the show's original premise recently turned on its head, it would seem sensible for the game to deal with events after the demise of the Alliance. Acclaim has yet to release specific story details, but we'll be bringing you a preview as soon as we get our hands on anything. We think this is a perfect opportunity for Acclaim to get cute and release the Alias game under its A.K.A. brand, but chances are, that won't happen. Official US. PlayStation Magazine (O) OPM POLL à E 100% SPI N Because fat А Yes! guys are funny. up Carrot Top? PS2 Gets Beach Volleyball | We're sure you've seen those pervey TV ads for that Xbox | volleyball game with all those | girls in bikinis. "Who needs it!" we say. Not with Acclaim working on Beach Volleyball for the PS2. DATA STREAM KNOCKOUT Celebrity Deathmatch lineup revealed on't you just love it when Avoid Harry's Pits celebrities come together for a good cause? How about when that cause is to beat the crap out of each other? Gotham Games has finally revealed its lineup of stars for MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch: a virtual who's who of teeny boppers, tabloid princess- es, has-beens, and misfits. All the celebs we've listed have signed on to appear in Activision is working on a PS2 the game, making Deathmatch sound update to Pitfall, simply titled like a riot of massive proportions. The Pitfall Harry. Expect it this fall. only downside? We're going to have to wait until fall to play it. Horror's New Face Capcom has revealed a PS2 adventure game for early 2004 called Gregory Horror Show. CELEBRITY MATCHUPS New Can of Worms Lance Bass (Мбупс) Mills Lane Carrot Top Tommy Lee Joshua “JC” Chasez Marilyn Manson (NSyndl Cindy Margolis Ms. Cleo Debbie Matenopoulos Shannon Doherty Busta Rhymes Carmen Electra Dennis Rodman Joey Fatone ('Мбупс) Anna Nicole Smith Ron Jeremy Jerry Springer Activision's Worms 3 for PS2 Chris Kirkpatrick MrT takes the franchise into the (Мбупс) Justin Timberlake Еее world of 3D this fall. Also look for it to include online play. Online Destruction “MIV's Celebrity Deathmatch is the most fun you can have in front of your television.” -Ron Jeremy Sizing Up the Celebrity Competition In our recent playstationmagazine.com poll, we asked who you'd most like to take оп т MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch. Here's how you voted. SCEE has unveiled Destruction Derby Arenas, the first PS2 installment in the acclaimed car-crushing franchise. The best part? This one is online. Futurama Is Alive The PS2 game is still coming! Fox will release it this fall. Let's hope we still care. © 2003 PriceGrabber.com 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, games or dozens of other products, PriceGrabber.com provides all the information you need to make the best buying decisions. Let the power shopping begin. PriceGrabber.com > Computers > Software > Electronics > Video Games > Movies > Music > Books > Toys > Office Products Comparison Shopping Beyond Compare. ONLY IN JAPAN © | ERENT Ww 7 BUT am " B-n soTUT mE ос осо>ђ Ук KS 805 LOS жлы BES IN THE ZONE Five cool things about The 2nd Runner Although Leo isn't the main character any- more, he still plays a significant role in the game. He pilots the LEV “Vic Viper"—the ship from Konami's classic shooter Gradius. Hideo Kojima replaced original ZOE director Noriaki Okamura with Syuyo Murata for the Here’s why it looks so darn good: "We call it ZOE-shading," says direc. tor Syuyo Murata. “The guys who worked on the special effects for MGS2 handled the effects on this game. We tried to create a PS2 title that looks like it should be LET'S PLAY WITH DOGS Most of the time in this column, we deal with games that can conservatively be described as...creative. To their credit, most are genuine attempts at something new, fun, and fresh—even if the final product is a bit niche. But then we have Dogstation: Let's Play With Dogs, a game that boggles the mind for all the effort and fea- tures put into what's essentially a pointless endeavor. That is, it’s a game about training, nurturing, and playing with dogs. You have your dog onscreen. You nurture it by selecting nice words from a list. You watch it get big. Every so often, you select a bad word to scold it. Don't scold it too much or it'll go away and never come back (great, now we have virtual runaways for kids to cry about). And that's about it, in a massively simplistic sort of way. But wait—there's more! Because a word-based interface is somewhat cumbersome, Konami included the option of plugging in a USB keyboard and communi- cating that way. But typing is also a bit slow...so how about plugging in that USB microphone headset and talking to your dog? Yes, there's voice recognition. Like SOCOM. With dogs. But that's still nothing, because it also links with the Dogstation arcade machine. No, we're not kidding. There are people who actually leave their house, go to the arcade, sit down, and...play with their dogs. How on Earth does this work in any way, shape, or form? Admittedly, it does sound somewhat decent for owners of the PS2 game, because you can get exclusive dog species and items if you bring your data from your home to the arcade, but how does such a game attract other arcade-goers? "Pet a virtual dog for 100 yen"? Naturally, this will probably become the next big fad, making us look incredibly silly. But surely we can't look as silly as someone pumping quarters into an arcade dog machine. MORE FUN WITH POOCH TECHNOLOGY AIBO: Formerly ridiculed by real dog owners, it's suddenly a lot more real than Dogstation. WALK THE DOG: So your PS2 has tricked you into believing that raising a dog | is easy? Check out Sega’s innovative dog-walking arcade game in Japan. No console port yet! BOWLINGUAL: A real-life gadget from | Japan (where else?) that translates | dog barks into human emotions. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine sequel. “Okamura is excellent,” says Kojima. “He put together a stunning game, but it wasn't per- for PS3." fectly rounded. l'd say it's probably because he's a programmer by nature, and not a designer. Murata, on the other hand, can do everything." It has Hideo Kojima's touch. "You can probably get a sense of some of my influence in the game because everything went through me," says Kojima. "Oh, and | have to say the opening movie is especially my taste, since | personally worked on it. Actually, maybe that wasn't such a good idea, since it turned out more like a clip for a new Metal Gear game rather than The 2nd Runner." on the game. “Our own Yoji Shinkawa and Mr. Kaneko did a joint interview for a maga- zine, and they enjoyed Atlus' famed artist Kazuma Kaneko (Persona) worked, it so much they wanted to work together,” explains Murata. “Things evolved into an actual collaboration for this game.” Celebrity Theft Match You voted GTA: Vice City the Game of the Year, and so did they 2 Tommy Lee Never a Dull Moment, MCA Records “Right away, it was like a blast from the past: the music, the way everyone is dressed...it just imme- diately brought me back to the "805. | also like how you can get the old Ferrari Testarossa. They're so much faster than the other cars that ГЦ look around for one instead of driving one of the other beaters. The helicopter thing is also pretty cool, flying over and shooting down on everybody.” Method Man Blackout, Def Jam Records “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is my favorite game because of the real- ism and the freeness. | love playing with the remote-control helicopter. I'm still trying to learn how to fly {Quoted in Ramp) Jack Osbourne The Osbournes “I think it's a little bit more Scarface-esque [than Grand Theft Auto ИП. Like with the chainsaw. | really liked that addition. | also thought it was pretty genius how they did the music, with the '80s soundtrack and stuff. And | like the motorbikes—that was a definite plus for this one. The only problem | had with Vice City was that every- thing in the game looked the same, so | got lost a lot.” Jesse Bradford Bring It On, Swimfan “It's my favorite game right now, and it’s arguably one of the best of all time. The improvements they've made from GTA3 are just excellent, my favorite being the bail-out fea- ture—how you can jump out of the car, even if it’s going ninety.” Samuel L. Jackson Star Wars, Pulp Fiction “It's cool, man. It's the ideal game for anyone who wants to get into shady stuff, but safely. It’s like being an actor in a movie—you can get into all kinds of good stuff. | also like that it's this corrupt little city in which you make your own laws and get to run it the way you want to run it. It's kind of like an old west town, where you're the guy who comes to town and takes over things.” Dave Chappelle Chappelle's Show “[Vice City] is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to my life. сап zone out and doa number of violent acts and illegal acts that | only dare dream of in my normal life.” (Quoted in Stuff] Clish MacLaver's Plenty of good stuff to dish up this month. My track record’s been pretty good lately, but I never get any credit from you guys. I called the Hitman 3 stuff months ago, and it was confirmed this month. Where's the love? INSOMNIAC RETURNS TO ROOTS? Could Insomniac be working on an online game? It seems so. Ina ROCKSTAR'S NEXT MAX PAYNE? Rockstar Toronto, responsible for the PS2 version of Max Payne, is working on а game based on the 267 т GOSSIP GOSSIP All the muck that's fit to rake job listing on Gamasutra.com, Insomniac says it’s looking for online programmers familiar with designing technology for console games. “On our upcoming pro- ject,” the posting reads, "[appli- cants] will be asked to design and build a robust, lag-tolerant net- work system which can support action-oriented competitive gameplay between no fewer than eight players....It would be a huge help if he or she has experience '70s gang warfare flick The Warriors. АШ <. SS «а У “ша ж И А SEQUEL ТО RARE'S BOND? Rumor has it that EA is keen to produce a true follow-up to the revered N64 Bond game, GoldenEye. Could Free Radical be involved? CRAZY TAXI PREQUEL THIS YE! Apparently, it's dubbed Evil Taxi, and is set in the ‘70s or ‘80s. Word is that Sega itself may not publish it. -GT4 ONLINE RACING BEFORE YEAR'S END We've known it’s coming for ages, but it's looki like the game might be unveiled at E3jn May. Expect online play and possi ird-drive support. GOLDEN% wr 4 P = with issues relating to peer-to- peer networking over both 56k modem connections and broad- band connections.” An online Ratchet & Clank is unlikely, but ° given Insomniac's early work [it produced the badass PS1 shooter Disruptor), perhaps it's a hardcore action title? FREED RAD: MORE THAN JUST FPS In addition to the multiplatform TimeSplitters 3, Free Radical is working on an exclusive PS2 game that Sony will publish (SCEE specifically, but SCEA will likely handle it here, too). Two things are known so far: The preview will happen at ЕЗ in May, and it's not a first-person shooter. MAX PAYNE 2 Rockstar looks set to unveil the sequel to the popular Max Payne later this year, and there's talk of it being even more of an action fest than the first game. METAL GEAR REDUX? Although it seems to be common knowledge that there's a new Metal Gear game coming from Konami in the next year or so, there are lots of rumors as to what the game will actually be. My favorite of the moment is that it may not be a sequel to MGS2, but instead a remake of the origi- nal 8-bit games so new gamers сап get more of a feel for Snake's past. Sounds kinda cool, huh? _ E-MAIL МЕ! Got some good gaming gossip? If you hear anything juicy or get your hands on some cool Screens or pictures, send me an e-mail at the following address: Vazhar by Full Sail Gradu Brian Germain he) Real World Education School of: e дате 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 * Ми Fl © 2002 Full Sail, Inc All rights reserved. The tera Full Sail,” "Full Sail Real World Education,” and Us Full Sail logo aic either registered service marks or service marks of Full Sail, Inc The music that shapes our gaming lives. OVERHEARD: “The thing | want is to last through the winter so | don’t miss the new James Bond movie.” —Warren Zevon, on his late-stage lung cancer. (He did.) SOUND STATION Starring All-Star Baseball 2004 Creedence Clearwater Revival: Willy and the Poor Boys Creedence is a band whose oxygen has been sucked out of it by endless exposure on classic-rock radio, which plays the same six CCR songs over and over (including two from this album, “Down on the Corner” and “Fortunate Son”). So, the fun in Willy and the Poor Boys is discovering the songs you haven't heard 37,000 times. Tracks like “It Came From the Sky" and "Feeling Blue” sound just as you'd expect, with John Fogerty's craggy voice and twangy guitar lines, but there’s a freshness to these lesser-known songs. Ironic, considering the album's (God) 34 years old. This is a collection worth rediscovering. Final Score: PAPE " „а House of Pain: House of Pain House of Pain is a one-hit wonder, but what a hit: “Jump Around” is an all- time let’s-get-smashed-and-stupid rap anthem that will still be a signal to get the party started billions of years from now, when humans are gone and the Earth is populated by superintelligent cockroaches. The rest of the album's fine and dandy, too, with slamming beats and flyin’ rhymin’, although the "We're Irish rappers” bit gets a little silly on tracks like “Shamrocks and Shenanigans.” Still, if you're at a party and it’s dying on the vine, slip in this disc and you'll get credit for the save. Final Score: R& RY Joe Walsh: The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get Before he joined the Eagles as a hired-gun guitarist, Joe Walsh had a decent career as a solo performer and member of the James Gang. Smoker is a fine encapsulation of that pre-Eagles era: Not what you'd call brilliant, but it's perfectly good journeyman country-tinged rock, just right for those early 70s after-skiing hot-tub soaks in Aspen. You've heard “Rocky Mountain Way" on the radio and in beer commercials, but other listenable moments include the conga-fied "Happy Ways" and the reflective "Dreams." It's not Hotel California, but it is a bungalow motel along the way. Final Score: RÈR Hank Williams, Jr: America (The Way І See It) Hank Junior has always been the polemicist of choice for the big-buckle set, those folks who think they're the true Americans, yet have never read the Constitution—except the Second Amendment. So, it’s not entirely surprising to find America jammed with songs in which the country folk stand for every- thing that’s good and true in our nation, while city people inject heroin direct- ly into their eye sockets and stab strangers for spare change. It's a simplistic and stupid way of looking at both groups, and it also makes for a batch of truly annoying and lame songs. Hank also throws in his Monday Night Football song. Kill me now. Final Score: % By John Scalzi [Т Warren Zevon: Excitable Boy Warren Zevon's a bitterly witty lyricist, and Excitable Boy puts that talent front and center in tunes like “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” “Excitable Boy,” and, of course, his big hit, “Werewolves of London.” Get beyond the facile wit and you'll discover an interesting clutch of songs about truly random subjects: “Veracruz” takes place during the 1910 Mexican Revolution, and “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” is set in the Belgian Congo. A case of the songwriter showing off his education? Well, yeah, but there are worse things than smart people writing smart songs. Final Score; € John Scalzi was horrified to discover his wife singing along to a Hank Junior song. Really, you think you know someone. Come to www.indiecrit.com ind out what John thinks about the latest in independently released music. AIRING ON CARTOON NETWORK IN FEBRUARY 2003 THE WORLD’S GREATEST ANIMATORS THE WORLD’S GREATEST CONQUEROR AN EPIC SCI-FI SERIES BASED ON THE ADVENTURES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT E WITH CHARACTER DESIGNS FROM PETER CHUNG, CREATOR OF MTV'S AEON FLUX, AND PRODUCED BY RINTARO, DIRECTOR OF METROPOLIS VoL. 1 ASCENSION AVAILABLE ON DVD FEBRUARY 2003! — ® rent it AT BLOCKBUSTER OR BUY IT AT AN U № СОА NT BEST оша TEN The store for movie lovers. А SE OR AT A RETAILER NEAR YOUI www.TOKY OPOP.com © 2003 Bl egistered trademark of Mixx Entertainment, Inc. VD Your PS2 plays more than games, you know. The number of “story editors” credited on The Osbournes. So much for “reality TV"... т WS By John Scalzi ЇЙ FRE ИЕ THE OSBOURNES: FIRST SEASON At home with the Prince of Bleeping Darkness The Osbournes is a television show predicated on the notion that nothing could be funnier than watching an addled, confused, heavy-metal dinosaur deal with his children, his neighbors, and the remote control. Alas, the notion is all too correct. Personally, I've never been able to watch this show without emanating waves of pity in 022у'5 direction. He's just plain pathetic through the whole thing, and what other people find amusing, | find a little depressing and sad. But I'm aware that I’m іп the minority here, and besides, there’s no denying it’s compelling TV. The DVD package @) Official US. PlayStation Magazine Osbournes эке. det n The Osbournes (Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and lack Osbourne. Duh.) is simply stuffed with goodies, including commentary, four additional episodes [culled from the many, many hours of tape you didn’t see on MTV), an Ozzy translator (sad, sad, sad), an edit-a-scene function, deleted scenes, a selection of interviews, and even more. Yeah, it may be a wallow, but it sure is a deep wallow. Note that you can buy this in both censored and uncensored versions—for my money, beeping the profanity makes it funnier. Movie Score: PARI DVD Extras Score: PAPP UPCOMING DVD RELEASES March 4, 2003 Atlantis The Best of the Muppet Show: Peter Sellers Born Free Journey to the Center of the Earth Living Free Of Mice and Men The Osbournes: Season One Quest for Fire The Ring March 11, 2003 | Spy Inspector Gadget 2 White Oleander March 18, 2003 A Man апа a Woman Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams Charlotte's Web 2 Day for Night Empire NYPD Blue: Season One Sordid Lives March 25, 2003 Maid in Manhattan Who Framed Roger Rabbit 8 MILE (Eminem, Kim Basinger) Eminem plays himself, more or less, and—surprise!—does a pretty good job of it. This comes as some relief. You don't have to like Eminem's music to like 8 Mile, but you do have to have some interest in the rapper's life story, from the somewhat deranged mom (Kim Basinger] to the little girl who means everything [a little sister in the film, his daughter in real life]. And no matter what, you have to give credit to Eminem for not doing the usual thing; this is a real film, not the craptacular action flick or brain-dead comedy that most music stars do for their first film. 8 Mile is, in fact, the best film star- ring a musician since Purple Rain (which is still better because Prince is a friggin’ musical genius} and a fine intro to Eminem for peo- ple who want to see another side to this polarizing artist. Extras include Eminem participating in real rap-battles and an interview with Eminem and director Curtis Hanson while they tour the actual 8 Mile area of Detroit. Movie Score: Ф9%% DVD Extras Score: PAP (Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe) This film studies the private life and utterly sordid times of sitcom star Bob Crane, who essentially spent all his free time having sex like a hopped-up monkey until someone eventually bashed his head in. What would Sergeant Schultz think? “I know nothing!" indeed. It's sordid, but writer/ director Paul Schrader specializes in sordid (he directed Hardcore and wrote Taxi Driver], and he gets a lot of mileage out of star Greg Kinnear (who looks like a TV celebrity but acts better than one] and Willem Dafoe, as Crane's creepy sidekick and videotaper. Not a film you want to watch with your mom [at least | hope not), it's certainly a dark look at what seemed to be a sunny sitcom exis- tence. The DVD has commentary up the wazoo from Schrader, Kinnear, and Dafoe, as well as several producers and screenwrit- ers. The disc also includes deleted scenes with director commentary. Movie Score: ®®®® DVD Extras Score: PADI (William Petersen, Marg Helgenberger) There's a saying among the geeks that at some point technology becomes so advanced that it's indistinguishable from magic, and more than a bit of that magicfica- tion of science goes on in the redundantly titled CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Real forensic scien- tists apparently roll their eyes at some of the tricks the characters pull during their investigations, which have as much to do with real forensic science as pulling a bunny from a hat. Thing is, forensic scien- tists spend most of their time swabbing culture dishes with Q- Tips, and that's not exactly riveting stuff, so most people are willing to cut CS/ some slack. I’m not a huge fan, but it's a solid show, and it's fun to watch William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger go through their paces. The DVD includes a documentary on forensics and a video by the Who. Movie Score: 004 DVD Extras Score: ®® (John Leguizamo, Delilah Cotto) John Leguizamo lives the American Dream, criminal divi- sion, as an up-and-coming drug dealer who yearns to go legit, but (of course) it’s never a simple thing to leave that life behind. You know where this film is going before it gets there, so don’t sweat the plot; instead, focus on the per- formances, especially from Leguizamo and Delilah Cotto, as Leguizamo's grounded, stable girlfriend. They make an other- wise average film much better. Director Franc Reyes offers a commentary track; there are also deleted scenes and a making-of documentary. Movie Score: 990% DVD Extras Score: && (Billy West, Katey Sagal) | feel a little sorry for Futurama, since it will always be an after- thought to The Simpsons, with which it shares its creative team, and that's a little unfair for this plucky and obnoxiously endearing sci-fi cartoon series. But there is a fringe benefit to growing up in the shadow of Homer and Bart— the people who put Futurama together actually knew what they were doing ahead of time. As a consequence, the first season of Futurama is substantially better than the first season of The Simpsons. Really. The stories are better, the humor is sharper and meaner, and the characters don't suffer that Jello-y indistinctness that first-season characters (in any show] usually have. So, have some respect for the underdog. This three-disc set comes with commentary for each episode, plus extras like deleted scenes and animatics for the pilot (when it was known as Space Pilot 3000). Movie Score: RRR® DVD Extras Score: ®®® (Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson) Since the development execs in Hollywood clearly haven't picked up the clue, let me make it clear: Don't make any more '60s TV shows into movies. That carcass is picked clean down to its pale, shiny bones. / Spy is a perfect example: No one under 30 remembers the series, and those over 30 probably regard the pair- ing of Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson (as the movie's spy duo) with something approaching holy terror. They aren't Bill Cosby and Robert Culp, that's for sure. And in a world of Austin Powers and Undercover Brother, this spy-jinx comedy seems a little sad and tired. The DVD has commentary from director Betty Thomas and some behind-the-scenes fea- turettes. Movie Score: ®® DVD Extras Score: 6098 (John Hurt, Richard Burton) This is the (yes) 1984 version of George Orwell's truly depressing dystopian novel. While it's an excellent film, it was roundly ignored when it was first released because we were all busy with the Los Angeles Olympic Games and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long." What can | say, it was a simpler time. Be that as it may, John Hurt makes a fine Winston Smith, and Richard Burton as his torturer/ confidant O'Brien is heavy, tired, and mournful—which is perfect (it was his last film role]. This is as close to the book as any film adaptation is ever likely to get, and it's a perfect film to watch while you consider our govern- ment's thoughts on a Total Information Awareness office. Mmm...double plus good! Sadly, there are no DVD extras. Movie Score: ®®®® DVD Extras Score: N/A (Naomi Watts, Patrick Dempsey) Watch a videotape, then die a horrifying death a week later. Oddly enough, the videotape in question is not a Steven Segal action flick. The delectable Naomi Watts plays a reporter who views the tape and then tries to figure out how and why it works before her week runs out. Enjoy the spooks and scares rather than focus on the movie's internal logic (there's not much], and you'll be just fine. This film is a remake of Ringu, a Japanese film which purists will tell you (of course] is creepier and scarier than the American version. You can judge for yourself, because both are being released on DVD the very same day. The American version features a 15-minute experimen- tal film from director Gore Verbinski as a DVD extra. Movie Score: PAS DVD Extras Score: & (Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen) This film brings Fatal Attraction to a younger generation, and like that movie, Swimfan is not something anyone with a functioning brain needs to see. Jesse Bradford is the hot high-school swimming star who has a one-night stand with a hot chick (Erika Christensen) who turns out to be totally bunny-boil- ing unhinged. The moral: Hey, all you hot teen athletes, stay with your nice cheerleader girlfriends! There, I've saved you the trouble of sitting through this. No, don't thank me. It's for your own good. DVD extras include a commentary, ten deleted scenes, and a Girl from Hell featurette. Movie Score: ®® DVD Extras Score: ®®® WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT Bringing the cool back to toons No one was expecting Who Framed Roger Rabbit to be any- where as good as it was. It came out in 1988, a time when feature animation had been dead for decades, confined to the occasional desultory Disney effort or blundering Don Bluth piece. As for TV animation, there was just one word for you: Smurfs. So, when Roger hit, it was as if animation had been reinvented, and not a moment too soon. Roger Rabbit pulled it off in two ways: First, by going back to the m golden age of anima- tion and blatantly ripping it off, both figuratively (by making Roger a clear steal from Tex Avery) and literally, by dragoon- ing every major character from Disney and Warner Bros. into cameo roles in the film. The mixing and matching of toon universes was brilliant in itself, and the filmmakers were smart enough not to tone the charac- ters down for kiddie consump- tion, as they had been for years. As a bonus, the live-action story was no slouch either, and the animators did something neat here, too: The animated Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Bob Hoskins, Christopher characters occupied three- dimensional space with the live- action actors, allowing the cam- ега to move around in a realistic fashion. Today, when we have both Gollum and Jar Jar wan- dering around in movies, this is no big thing. But Roger still feels fresh, because its animation isn’t trying to hide— the toons are toons, the people are people, and where they meet, anarchy follows. It reminded movie audi- ences that animation was cool, not just a pacifier for sugar- bombed kids. Кодег 5 been on DVD before, but in a pointless no-frills ver- sion. This time around, the extras are more forthcoming. In addition to the usual commen- tary and making-of material, there are three cartoon shorts (made after the original movie}, a deleted scene where Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) has his head turned into a pig’s, a pop- up trivia mode, an interactive game, a photo gallery, as well as a collectible booklet. As an overall package, it’s a keeper. Movie Score: 090905099) DVD Extras Score: ®®®® Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (S) BY THE NUMBERS In just a few months, GTA: Vice City became the top-selling title of 2002—and now, if it continues at its unstoppable pace, it's poised to repeat that feat in 2003. Let the race for the No. 2 spot begin! last Title/ Month Publisher Rating 1 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar) — Dragon Ball Z: Budokai (Atari) BRI 4 Madden NFL 2003 (EA Sports) 5 Lordofthe Rings: The Two Towers (EA Games] DODDI — James Bond 007: NightFire (EA Games) DIDDI 3 Топу Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Activision) 6 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (Midway) (%%%% 7 Kingdom Hearts (Square EA) DODDI 9 ATV Offroad Fury 2 (Sony CEA) BORE 2 WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth (THQ) BHI ШЕ ~ pud Sing along with Garvas, your friendly winged monster thingie: Yugi Yugi bo-boogee, bananafana-fo foogee, fee fi fo moogee. Yugi! 1 Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (Konami) DI SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge (THQ) B® Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (Activision) BOHR Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [EA Games] ®®® Spider-Man (Activision) — Yu-Gi-Oh! FM (Premium Edition) (Konami) #9 9__ Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (THQ) B® — Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon (Sony СЕА) — Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Midway) n/a — Gran Turismo 2 (Sony CEA] Source: NPDFunworld TRSTS Service, December 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. ~ је |м | (5) Official US. PlayStation Magazine Splinter Cell Ubi Soft Soul Calibur ІІ Namco ZOE: 2nd Runner Konami Final Fantasy X-2 Square Enix NBA Street Vol. 2 EA Big Dynasty Warriors 4 Koei StarCraft: Ghost Blizzard Silent Hill 3 Konami Unlimited SaGa Square Enix Clock Tower 3 Capcom Armored Core 3 From Software Ratchet & Clank Sony Combat Pachislot Sammy Momotarou Dentetsu 11 Hudson Unlimited SaGa Square Winning Eleven 6 Konami Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Square Million God TGB Master of the Drum Namco FFX (Mega Hits) Square GTA: Vice City Rockstar LOTR: Two Towers EA Games Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Atari SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Sony 007: NightFire EA Games Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports Conflict: Desert Storm — Gotham WWE SmackDown! SYM THQ The Sims EA Games NFS: Hot Pursuit 2 EA Games SOURCE: BLOCKBUSTER, WEEK OF FEB. 2, 2003. GTA: Vice City (PS2) Rockstar DBZ: Budokai (PS2) Atari Madden NFL 2003 (PS2] EA Sports Splinter Cell (Xbox) Ubi Soft LOTR: Two Towers (Р52) EA Games Zelda: Link to Past (GBA) Nintendo Yu-Gi-Oh! Eternal (GBA) Konami 007: NightFire (PS2) ЕА Games Tony Hawk 4 (Р52) Activision Mortal Kombat (Р52) Midway 50 Million Served The PS2 continues to dominate, thanks in part to Vice City THE NUMBER OF POUNDS OF PEPPERONI PIZZA HUT USES EACH YEAR {ACCORDING ТО PIZZA HUT) million [HT £L UB ГГА 7 enmt LOS ANGELESy/ePARIS / TOKYO - 'orld's most notorious drivers on Choose frorn the latest performance enhanced vehicles There are no rules - drive am je pete in the епу. Find Paris, The Midnight сш ТІ s now open (о motorbikes, “tne sheets of LA, and Tokyo. and compete to make a name for yourself. ine fastest n of he speed and control ав = @ аш! f 1 -— PREDICT С IHLE | | т 52) PlayStation. ЕЗ ME со ROM BEI Ж WWW.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MIONIGHTCLUB2 Y суги аг. BROADBAND ONLY REALLY BIG MONSTERS. REALLY BRUTAL FIGHTS. Imagine a classic 1950s monster movie with a modern twist, no guys in rubber suits, no bad actors, no subtitles. You're a 100-foot monster and you're looking for a fight. Roam through striking cityscapes, toss cars, swing girders and launch debris. Everything around you is a weapon. Trigger tidal waves and earthquakes; destroy everything in your path. Hope you have the will to win. And а good dental plan. ONLY THE MEANEST MONSTER SURVIVES. TEEN www.playstation.com Violence War of the Monst етаж | erica Inc | ner 3 t Ріау5 1 Sony Computer Ente Sony Computer CUN Entertainment Inc Live In Your World. Play In Our LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN DURS: Auto Modellista Chaos Legion Che raster Clock Tower 3 Cy Girls. Drag-on Dragoon Dynasty Warriors 4 Fear Effect: Inferno Fugitive Hunter Full Throttle 11 Gradius V Grand Prix Challe’ Hunter: The R Wayward IndyCar Series Resident Evil: Dead Aim Silent Hill 3 Soul Calibur || Speed Kings StarCraft: Ghost SX Superstar Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Unlimited SaGa The soul most definitely still burns Before last year, when we hailed Virtua Fighter 4 as the "greatest fighting game ever made," one game inarguably held that coveted label: Soul Calibur. The sequel to Soul Blade on PS1, the game took arcades by storm and went on to become one of Sega Dreamcast's premiere titles. Soul Calibur was so good, it had us PlayStation-only guys flocking to the Electronic Gaming Monthly area to play it. It was so good, even guys like our own Todd Zuniga—who'd never liked a fighting game in his life—got hooked. That's why the wait has been all the more painful for this sequel. During the last year or so, we've run countless screen- shots of Soul Calibur Il, only to see it continually pushed back. Well, it appears the game now has a firm August release date, and we can only assume it'll be worth the wait: Namco is loading it up with a slew of extra goodies. As we first revealed last month, Tekken's Heihachi makes a guest appearance in the game, as does Necrid, a brand-new character designed by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane. Better still, according to Namco, even more hid- den characters await—secret characters that "are cool enough that many gamers would buy the game just to play as them." Who could they be? Hmmm... In any case, it's time to start getting excited for this one. You're looking at bona fide PS2 screens here—the game looks this amazing. And we're betting it plays just as well. The big question now: Can Soul Calibur reclaim its crown from Virtua Fighter? Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco Release Date: August № A FAMILIAR FACE Although a little bit different Heihachiss character model had to be redone for his 502 appear 65 66 spooky! Е DEADLY! gives us the chills. gets light-gun horror right. Ya Gotta Believe! For the GameCube version of SC2, Namco struck a deal with Nintendo to feature Zelda's Link. This left many PS2 owners wondering why something similar wasn’t done with Sony. “The reason we went with Heihachi was. that there was no other prop- er Sony-specific ҮЙ Todd McFarlane Talks Soul Calibur И candidate,” says | » F A legend in the comic-book industry, Todd McFarlane created a Producer Hiroaki new character [Necrid) for Soul Calibur Il, and his toy company, МИН McFarlane Toys, is developing а toy line based on the game. Our It's not as if we sister publication Xbox Nation had a few words with him. For even could just throw more with McFarlane, pick up XBN Issue 7. PaRappa in the game.” So he says! AA Dain NECRID He's big, green, and spiky And his name makes us giggle. But he can still pack a major wallop. Q: How did you hook up with Namco for the game? A: We were having conversations about whether anyone wanted to do a Spawn game, and when Namco came up, one of things that was sort of early on their plates was Soul Calibur Il. We started tossing ideas back and forth, and the next thing you know, we're | doing the toy line that'll hit when the game comes out. Then it was like, “Do you want to design a character for the game, too?” It sort of just starts and evolves. Q: Can you tell us about Necrid? A: He's big, hulking, and he's got a cool arm on him. Plus, he's got this cool power plant in the middle of his chest. He's actually got some pretty good kicks and flips, too. There are a couple of differ- ent versions of him in the game, with different colors and multiple cool masks. Q: So, what are the SC2 toys you're making going to be like? A: They're going to be a little bit smaller than you're used to seeing from our normal size. We're putting them in boxes. The smaller size seems to be a little more saleable in some of the European and Asian countries, so we're just trying something a little bit different. But again, we were able to have the luxury of adding a little bit of detail to some of the characters that may not be seen on the screen in the videogame. They're all in action poses, too, and don't just look like stiff things. Q: You're also working with Namco оп a new Spawn game for PS2. What can you tell us about that? A: | hope it's the coolest damn game that ever comes out, and that everybody will flock to it and forget all the other games. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine GIRL ON GIRL? In Fear Effect Z Hana and Rain were a little "close." Expect more feminine "energy" with /nferno. "Fear Effect." “Ghost.” Yet neither is scary... INFERNO Where art meets two hot dames Short on sensible story but long on art direction, the Fear Effect series on PS1 played the games-as-art card. Dancing wildly between the rosebeds of avant and accessible, the story also dealt with hellish and meticulously painted underworlds. Problem is, only the folks who wrote the script really knew what the heck was happening. But the art style made story a nonfactor. The settings were so glitzy, you played to see what was around the next corner. Inferno should continue this, and men everywhere can rejoice—the vixen Hana returns, as does the sleek blond bombshell Rain. Deke and Glas come back, too, for all the ladies out there. Publisher: Eidos Developer: Digital Release Date: Sum nam EYE CANDY Visuals by Picasso? Not quite, But the look of Infernos back- grounds (not just the girls) will have you | eager to see whats next оо x) ШІ 40%) FIRE FIGHT The depths of hell, revisited Inferno story will undoubtedly unravel and put the heroes in Hades. Even after playing, its likely you won't know why. ^ \ www.lindaharrison.com The official website of sci-fis original Nova, Linda Aa Harrison of Planet of the Apes— quite possibly the Like Metal Gear in space You needn't have played Blizzard's awesome PC real-time strategy game, StarCraft to get a kick out of Ghost—but if you really want that special tingly nerd-thrill, it makes a huge difference. Grab a copy if you can [you can find it for $20, and it runs on anything—even a Мас) and immerse yourself in one of the most complete sci-fi mythologies around The new game, which, oddly, is being released on everything except PC, cen- ters on Nova, a "Ghost" agent whose job is to infiltrate enemy installations and do her spy thing with the aid of psychic abilities and tremendous agility. Imagine a cross between Lara Croft and Solid Snake, all in space, with gigantic battles, crazy aliens, enormous weapons, and absolutely incredi- ble graphics, and you'll have a good idea of why we're so excited about this. There's plenty of action, a better-than-average plot, and lots of really huge explosions. What more could you possi bly want? How about a heroine who doesn't have to show her boobs to prove she's something special? most gorgeous woman alive in the 1960s. NOVA A normal videogame chick At last, a gaming gal who doesnt have to show her cleavage to prove shes a sassy heroine. PlayStation.? Mature Sexual Themes Mild Language ©PREVIE ЕЕ. = = p " di * УЖА چ CO REE 7o: ШЕШЫШ БОЛЫН EEE GRADIUS V And you thought Konami was through revamping its old-school series With Contra: Shattered Soldier. With renowned shoot-em-up developer Treasure at the helm, Gradius V resurrects the Vic Viper in a game that, like Contra, strongly resembles the spirit of its 2D predecessors, but with a PS2-quality facelift full of flashy effects (Sorry, that Gradius Ill and IV compilation doesn't count.) Publisher: Konami Developer: Teasure Release Date: fall | у г; 4 fads E $ He HUNTER: THE RECKONING-WAYWARD When Hunter: The Reckoning came out on Xbox, it received mostly lukewarm reviews because its Gauntlet-esque, zombie-bashing gameplay was marred by serious camera and design flaws. We've been assured these complaints are all being addressed, and the result should be a satisfying hack-n-slash adventure with five main characters, 25 levels, and two-player cooperative play. Publisher: Interplay Developer: High Voltage Release Date: Fall Official US. PlayStation Magazine Kuh-kuh-kuh- KO-WEE! ЕУ! « ТЕЖІЗЕТ!! WARRIORS 4 Mucho Musou We've finally had a chance to play some Dynasty Warriors 4, and it's kind of what we expected: subtly different from previous releases, but basically the same game fans of the series can't get enough of. It's obvious the character models have gotten a revamp, and we like that you can destroy things in your environ- ment [which serves as a sort of puzzle in at least one instance] Special attacks seem even more delightfully outlandish, and their effectiveness only increases the more you use them, as your weapons gain experience points. Fun stuff. ыг. Create-A-General One of Dynasty 4'5 new fea- tures allows you to build your own general from scratch. Basically, you can mix up the individual characteristics of other generals to customize one to your liking. The number of pages in Three Kingdoms, on which the story Dynasty Warriors is based. = aK CONTRA CONNECTION: Silent Hill series $ composer Akira Yamaoka was also recently responsible SILENT HILL 3 It's not just a dream Unlike previous installments, the third chapter in Konami's acclaimed horror franchise starts off with a bang. You, the young girl Heather, appear in a horrific amusement park filled with all sorts of monstrosities. You run. You fight. You die. Then suddenly, you wake up in a cafe and realize it was all just a dream. Your afternoon at the mall is about to get stranger, though. As you prepare to leave, a mysterious man claiming to be a detective demands to speak to you. A bathroom window proves the perfect escape from this stranger, and down a back alley you run. It's not until you enter one of the mall's side doors that you realize this wasn't a wise decision. Things have changed. No one is around. Except those creatures from your dream...they're now in the mall! You eventually make your way through the mall until you reach an elevator. Inside, you see Claudia (the freaky white-haired lady we introduced you to last month). She hints that terrible things are ahead. The elevator takes you to a strange place—flesh adorns the walls. Off in the darkness, something lurks. You can tell, because you see it twitching. And so begins Silent Hill 3. Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami (KCET) Release Date: Summer ) Splinter Inspired? With your pocket light casting spooky shadows all over the place, Silent Hill 3 sports a lighting engine so good, it may give the mighty Splinter Cell a run for its money. Impressive, considering the Silent Hill team swears it’s never even seen the Tom Clancy game. for Contra: Shattered Soldiers blazing soundtrack. PICTURE PERFECT Graphics to die for You're looking at some of the finest texture usage ever seen on PS2 B AW 4 = THE BIG QUESTION Which end is its head at? Unfortunately, this is the type of thing you've got to think about in Silent Hill = >. Eliminate, |49. PlayStation. е | Mature Sexual Themes BAN DAI Mild Language Really, who needs Resident Evil 4 anyway? RESIDENT EVIL: DEAD AIM Survivor no more No Resident Evil game lives in greater infamy than Survivor for PS1. A bad game designed for light-gun support in Japan, it grew even worse when post-Columbine America was denied trigger happiness in the U.S. version. Dead Aim resembles Survivor in the sense that it is indeed a light-gun game—but this time, we're getting an actual survival-horror light-gun game. We've milled about Aim's zombie-ridden ship as Bruce MacGavin for a bit, and we've gotta say it: Dead Aim feels like Resident Evil. Y You're not simply shooting everything as in Survivor—you're run- Bruce confronts this lovely ning away to conserve ammo, {оо...апа even solving puzzles. woman early in the game. Jut is she friend or foe? X2: WOLVERINE'S REVENGE We've had a chance to sink our claws into Wolverine s Revenge, and it appears to have the goods to satisfy mutant maniacs. Remember those kick-ass death animations in The Mark of Kri? Imagine them executed by a guy with adamantium claws sticking out of his hands. We're also happy with the way Wolvie can use his height- ened senses to move stealthily through levels—it looks really cool! Publisher: Activision Developer: Contraband Release Date: June TEDA Y ЖР un. GO FOR THE HEAD You've only got so much ammo... Л good head shot can down a zom | | ] ] bie in one blast.—and conserving ammo is а huge concern, E 31 Most of Dead Aim is in the third person. I only when youte shooting ist person КАР ха сы. : DRAG-ON DRAGOON Square Enix's new action RPG boasts both air and ground combat. Ride upon a dragon and fight enemies in the sky à la Sega's Panzer Dragoon, take out enemies on the ground via air-to-surface attacks, then dismount and enter into hand-to-hand combat. It sounds cool, to be sure—even though we have absolutely no idea what the title is all about, Let's hope we find out soon. Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Сама Release Date: Fall Wandering One of the things that makes Dead Aim feel like a true Resident Evil game is the wandering and exploration. It’s very much like any other Resident—except the camera always stays behind you. Official 05. PlayStation Magazine The number of playable characters in Unlimited SaGa, who are seeking the seven grand menaces, which have something to do with the Seven Wonders of Lore. Seven also happens to be the combined score of the past two PS1 SaGa games. . ina board game. which promises to push 2D animation Characters move around Square created а new type of (G the field map like pieces. ; У graphics called "Sketch Motion beyond the limits of 3D polygons, In battles, your attack power and combos depend on how you use the Reel UNLIMITED SAGA Pretty, bold stuff Square wasn't kidding when it put Unlimited in the title of its latest SaGa game. After all, this luscious-look- ing, lavishly hand-drawn RPG promises unlimited pos- sibilities in its battles and story line. Combat is based on a new "Reel" system that functions like a slot machine, adding an element of chance and agility to the strategic setup. » You must decide on every turn whether characters will "hold" or "go," and this choice, along with the Reel outcomes, can trigger countless combo attacks. The game also aims to offer an unlimited range of ways for the story to unfold, depending on the paths you choose. At this point, we're not sure if it'll all work (past PlayStation SaGa games were disappointments], but the game definitely shows unlimited potential. Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Release Date: CHAIN OF EVENTS Connect your attacks for powerful results! A combo attack will boost the damage inflicted while giving you extra experience. „hack ranks among the top 9 RPGs for 2003! ас NFE АСК Part1 www.dothack.com >> PlayStation. ы Mature Sexual Themes BAN Mild Language iguagi Violence BANDAI. Program © 2001-2002. mily logo are registered tra The ratings icon is a trade DID YOU KNOW? Chess is just The cut-scenes in Clock Tower 3 are all better with a troll directed by Kinji Fukasaku, an influence named Murgrak. in Japanese cinema since the ‘60s. CORNERED! Just don't pani es a typical s danger- ame over. CLOCK TOWER 3 Fending off evil in a plaid skirt Never played a Clock Tower game before? We don't blame you—parts 1 and 2 on Р51 offered a mediocre-at-best survival- rror experience, With Capcom taking charge of Clock Tower 3, however, things are decidedly changing for the better. Having played through the game's first hour, we're officially hooked. It's an odd thing, too, considering your character, Alyssa, is by no means a Claire Redfield—her only weapons while on the run from ghosts and the monstrous Evil Servants are holy water and her wits. As for the cinematic experience, Tower 3 features frequent cut-scenes and some truly horrific imagery: If you can't stomach watching a young girl getting her head bashed in with a mallet, don't play this game. 9“ ог 77 xat ee ans ERI 5:28 Good Moves During Clock 3's cut-scenes, the game's motion-capture is some of the best we've ever seen. Here, a mysterious man assaults Alyssa, leads her to believe he killed her "mum"...then leaves... dd ОДЕ "s The m МЕШ Episodes of Dragonball 7 — Beginning March 17ТН N 64 Weekdays 5 — 7pm (ET/PT) © PREVIEWS CY GIRLS Feataring two female leads and employing the graphics engine of Metal Gear Solid 2, Cy Girls claims fighting futuristic crime has never been so “smart, sexy, and cool.” Asuka likes to show off her hand-to-hand ninja skills, while Ice prefers to practice stealth and attacks from a distance. Such is the premise for this cyberpunk action game that has you playing missions with both gals. CHAOS LEGION Chaos Legion may deceive you into thinking of it as a Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors hybrid—and in some ways, it is. Your character, Sieg, progresses in a linear quest through gothic-looking environments, while hordes upon hordes of supernatural enemies attack onscreen simultaneously. The difference? Sieg calls upon seven legions—be they man or monster—to help obliterate his foes. Publisher: Capcom Developer: С, Release Date: \uly Official US. PlayStation Magazine TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL With four exclusive levels Splinter Cell looked great оп Xbox and gave Metal Gear Solid 2 а run for its money in the stealth-action department. We've known for a while now it's PS2-bound, but this month, we learned that patience pays off: The PS2 version features a number of extras not available on the Xbox original, nor will they ever be available as downloads through Xbox Live. This is exclusive stuff: new lev- els, new gadgets, new graphical effects, and possibly even new outfits for hero Sam Fisher [voiced by Michael Ironside]. Watch out next month for our own Splinter Cell exclusive—a cover story. We'll have the first review, plus a playable demo. isher: Ubi Soft Developer: Ubi Soft Shanghai Release Date: April FANCY EFFECTS It's а damn-fine-looking game pushes what PS2 mazing lighting www.blueboxtoys.com/bbi Go here to see BBIS Cy Girls. The game is based on its toy line. DID YOU KNOW? The total number of PS1 games scheduled ‘Modellista’ is Italian for “designer.” And theres а for future release as of 1/31/03 lot of designing to be done in Auto Modellista! (gamestop.com and ebgames.com) RALLY RACERS It's not just on tarmac AUTO X MODELLISTA В ЩЕ Meet us online, next month We've waited a long time for Auto Modellista, but soon we'll be racing in style both offline and on. Playing Auto online is free, but, like SOCOM, it requires a broadband connection. It's worth it, though, as all online play we've seen runs without a hitch. Our early copy has also revealed stuff that wasn’t in the Japanese release, including nine new cars [all American, like the Mustang and the Viper), three new tracks, and a slightly different feel thanks to an improved physics model that makes Auto feel decid- edly like a cel-shaded Ridge Racer. Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Release Date: March v -A Color ei Customize! Just about everything in Auto is customizable. You can tune your car, add crazy wheels and body kits, install insane extra parts, and even design your own paint job. You'll definitely stand out online. FROM BENEATH THE SURFACE А SECRET HIDDEN FOR EONS IS ABOUT ТО ВЕ КЕВ!ЗСО\УЕВЕО OF - FIRE. чу Ер ЕС fA ~ * A BRAND NEW EVOLUTION OF THE * NEW REAL-TIME, TURN-BASED • 3-D WORLDS EVOLVE TO SUIT BREATH OF Fire SERIES BATTLE SYSTEM YOUR PLAYING STYLE PlayStation.e CAPCOM L | Rockstar's hot-rod racer proves the company is far from being a one-trick pony. Following the success of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Midnight Club II captures the freedom of Rockstar’s most famous game and blends it with the attitude of The Fast and the Furious. We bring you an exclusive review on page 82, along with tips on how to master the game from the people who made it. BY JOHN DAVISON €) Official US. PlayStation Magazine idnight Club was one of those risky projects that ultimately paid off. Released in the United States on the same day as the PS2, its blend of high-speed racing in an open environment [as opposed to enclosed circuits) with what's come to be known as the elusive “Rockstar attitude” helped push its sales into the millions. Its huge popularity eventually pro- pelled it to become one of the first games re-released on Sony's Greatest Hits label. Naturally, a sequel was inevitable—but often, sequels show up a bit sooner than two and a half years after the release of their predecessors. What's up with the wait? “We put the first game out in September of 2000,” says pro- ducer Dan Houser (a particularly busy man lately—he's also the producer of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), “and we rolled into the sequel immediately. We learned a lot from the original, and we had a very clear vision of what we wanted to achieve right from day one on this.” And what exactly was that? “We wanted a lot more of every- РИМЕ А 2 ТИНЕ ТА 222222772 РМА Г thing. We wanted to make the ѕіп- gle best street-racing game we possibly could,” Houser beams. "Better-handling physics, more speed, better graphics, more vehicles, bikes as well as cars, more interactive environments, and online play (see sidebar ‘Game Modes). Now that we're done, | think you'll find we man- aged to do all of that and more.” The team responsible for deliv- ering on Houser’s ambitious demand for “more!” is Angel Studios, now called Rockstar San Diego since it was acquired halfway through the development FANTASY HOT RODS None of the cars are real They do bear a striking resemblance to actual cars, though. Some more than others. of МС2. Angel previously worked on a number of Rockstar projects, and on the Midtown Madness games for the PC. It should also interest children of the “virtual reality” age that Angel was behind all the computer graphics work in the distinctly average cybernonsense movie The Lawnmower Man. MAKING A FUN CITY “With its work on Midtown Madness, the team obviously has a lot of experience working with games that feature sprawling cities," Houser explains. "It really Official US. PlayStation Magazine Ө, You'll have to take our word for it just how fast the game is. AN YO f Always watch the map z attention to this! FAST AND FURIOUS If theres one thing that's difficult for us to convey, it's the blinding speed of the game. The screen- shots ably illustrate the detailed environments, but you have to see them moving to appreciate ~ Theres always an easier route, so рау | Always [ guys on t ғ PLAYING IN TRAFFIC Тһеуте smarter than you think member how smart road are. They'll о! swerve to avoid you, so compensate. = THE HUD Î What does that do, then? Keep an eye on the bar * when you slipsteam—i has a good handle on what can make a city fun’ to race around, and we worked on making something that focuses on the gameplay. We weren't interest- ed in making accurate replicas of the three cities in the game [L.A., Paris, and Tokyo]—we were much more into making caricatures of those cities." How do you pull that off and still make it recognizable? "I'm not interested in racing through block after block of boring scenery,” Houser tells us. “1 want jumps and lots of fun stuff. To do that, we looked at the basic layout of the cities and concentrated on what's important: namely, condensing them so that all the recogniz- able landmarks are close together, and then fabricating lots of stuff to make the game- play more exciting.” Check out our review of the game and you'll learn that it’s the excitement that really sets MC2 apart from the majority of PS2 racers out at the moment. Houser agrees. "It's the key to a cool racing game,” he enthus- es. "We wanted part of the reward for playing the game well to be the kick of adrenaline you get when you finish a race DICE ROCKSTAR’ RACING TIPS FISHTAILING @ Losing control in a critical mo- ment can thwart an entire race; however, carefully executed col- lision tactics can force a fishtail on an opponent, possibly mak- сг! US. PlayStation Magazine The Vin Diesel-type character The king of the LA. scene and the toughest driver you face in the first He-has а sweet ride that looks а bit like а Wipetyendhesinot afraid to vash it. Especially ће Can takê уой out, too! third of the game. ing the difference between a win and а loss in those last moments. BURNOUT @ Hold down the handbrake (R1] and press the gas at rest or low speeds. When the meter tops out and turns red, release the handbrake. You can also steer the car while burning out to turn GINA The young, cute one friends in all Shes not the most сотр in place, which is especially useful on some of the crazier checkpoint races in which you need to be particularly agile. GAS STATION PUMPS lip one of these while trimming the fat off that final curve an you can kiss your car goodbye. Nudge an opponent into a pump, though—now, that’s sublime strategy. This is a handy trick if you're trying to shake off the cops tailing you in some of the missions. SLIPSTREAM TURBO © Line up in the wake of the car ahead of you, w: streams and li noise. Stay in thi: a few moments until turns red, and then hit the turbo to slip ahead of your opponent with blinding speed. ing air ning for draft sweet spot for e meter Although shes only 19 Gina already has MOSES The guy with no neck MASSIVE JUMPS With the right velocity and power, virtually no di unattainable. Don’t let dead rfor- nce is ends put an end to your р r се. Keep an eye out thing that will work as a ramp Even stairs will do. IN THE AIR When in the air, hold down the weight-transfer button (L1). Tt alone will adjust your roll. Continue to hold down L1, and n use the stick t Hold down the weight-t L1] and turn left or right о hold L1 as you nsfer, braking, slowing down too much, or colliding will bring the vehicle back down. WWW.NAMCO.COM Real bikes. Real riders. 15 of the world's toughest Challenge up to three 2 Get closer to the thrills All with updated stats circuits plus 20 ай of your friends in with the new Cockpit View. for the new season. new fantasy tracks. Multiplayer Mode. It’s no secret. The spoils of victory aren't limited to trophies and prize money. Jump in the saddle and find your motivation. К ЕМЕВҮОМЕ EOL. Suggestive Themes E МеюӘРЗ © (898 2060 2001. 2002 NAMCO LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Licensed by Рота. PI d Sta tion е “PlayStation® ana the "PS" Fami кб are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment inc С e ‘Tha tatings icon i a registemsd-tadernark of the steractive Digiter Software Association: just the way you wanted to. It's a difficult thing to design when you're putting a game together, and we found that we had to do a lot in balancing the gameplay. We wanted to make it difficult to master and always slightly too fast for the player, so you get that feeling of being right on the edge and only just barely in control. You have so much to think about, controlling the car or the bike and making tactical decisions.” Unlike most racing games, there's no right way to tackle the races in MC2. With the entire city speeding by under your wheels, it's up to you to meet each race's objective as best you can. This usually involves little more than hitting checkpoints in a specific order, so the real skill comes in learning the cities well enough to save time and ensure you win the race. Once you get a feel for the layout, you'll find that smashing through a build- ing and hurtling through an underground parking lot is a handy shortcut that'll help you raze a few desperate seconds off your race time. “There's a really rewarding feeling when you learn your own route through a race,” Houser MIDNIGHT CLUB II LE EVOLUTION The game changes with you One of the most interesting things about Midnight Cub Ilis how it evolves with you through- out the Career mode. As you become more proficient purely by playing more, the game offers up more goodies to enhance the experience. Once you've opened up Tokyo (the last of the three cities), you'll be flipping up on two wheels to scoot out of trou- ble. smoking the tires to get a fast жап, and even controll movement of your car in the ай. MARIA The tough chick The one whos а bit like Letty in The. Fast and the Furious, Maria doesn't takelary crap and will persistently give You а êd me duriagithe races. Don't let her fool you—sHes d temm. PRIMO The Italian guy One of Ginas many not clear how ey are), Рато is ad, hell hunt жеті LEAN INTO IT Or you'll just fall off Controlling the bikes is significantly different from controlling cars. Official US. PlayStation Magazine BIKER TIPS THE LEAN TURN A fundamental skill to learn early on. Hold down the weight- transfer button (L1) and steer left or right. This will make you lean in for a sharper turn. This is the preferred method for turning instead of handbrake drifting. NOSIES, ETC. Hold the L1 button and push the left stick forward. Apply the nor- mal brake. The bike will balance on the front wheel. Not always that useful, but it looks cool and chicks love it. Maybe. It looked cool in GTA: Vice City, too. DUCK! Hold down L1 and push forward on the left stick. This will increase the top speed of the bike by reducing drag. WHEELIE Hold down L1 and pull back on the left stick. This will get you going 20 mph faster. Pulling back too much will cause the rider to fall off, which you obvi- ously don’t want to do. Push forward or release the weight- transfer button to return the bike to normal. JUMP OVER CARS If you're racing in Paris ona bike, pop a wheelie ahd then ride directly toward the front of one of the small cars that looks a bit like a Mini. Instead of flying off the bike, you'll jump right over the car! You might want to practice this one a bit and make sure you're careful with how you handle weight movement in the air (use L1 for that). WIRELESS ADAPTER For PlayStation®2 O УМ ге!езЕгееаот (ITO US TO Feet e'AllowsiRumble: Feedback • 4 Кесһагаеабіе Batteriesiincluded • High Speed REConnection | ! Introducing WOW! - The | GameSpy) adapter that allows up to two GameSpy uem controllers of any type to give "Another stellar accessory from Saitek. wireless performance. ...Works great with по perceivable lag in response time" З WOW! turns not only pads, but Joysticks and Steering Wheels into wireless too, so there’s no ка а Кын ie "No need to buy new wireless products./ It's wireless with rumble! Highly” «s 2, 4 WOW! even allows Rumble responsive. Recharger built in" 2 | 7 Feedback so you can still enjoy So I the same effects with your favorite games. In other words sit back, relax and play with no cords, wires, strings or nagging girlfriends attached! Receiver "...по problems at all, no lag, not even a damned twitch to indicate that the controller was not plugged into the system. Simple, intelligent & incredibly effective. | can now place my PS2 where it belongs & not have to sit so close to the TV - for the first time!" "This is an excellent system, a must have for PlayStation®2 owners!" - Ф = ЗЕ 6 о п е” б 5 - = Ф = Е | ей 5 | к- © 2 = E 1 [5] << а. x = © a www.saitekusa.com available at: BUY. SELL. TRADE. MIDNIGHT CLUB Il says. “The key to our design work was ensuring that there was plenty of depth. Everyone plays each гасе differently, and that's the beauty of it.” THE ROCKSTAR ATTITUDE “It was important to us this time to make the best street-racing game we could,” Houser reiter- ates, “but it was also important that it have that special some- thing that makes this a Rockstar game.” To illustrate, Houser cites the unique structure of the races, the collection of cool cars you can obtain (31 vehicles, including three types of cop cars and three motorcycles], the compelling characters, and, just as impor- tant, the music. “Everything's linked with the reward system іп the game's Career mode,” Houser notes, “so when you beat someone and win their car, you also unlock the music associated with them so you can use it in Arcade mode. Everything is ultimately tied in with the vehicles, and building up your collection of these great rides is part of the fun.” JUNK IN THE TRUNK And everywhere else, too The environments are filled with stuff to barrel through. Here, the boxes and the dumpster can be smashed. Elsewhere, you can knock down lamp posts, destroy road signs and phone booths, and even crash through windows to find shortcuts through buildings. 71:37:99 Position === AU ~ LiT Gat he Flag Official US. PlayStation Magazine PLENTY TO KEEP YOU BUSY GAME MODES As is the fashion these days, Midnight Club || spices things up when it comes to the different modes. This isn’t just a case of running races or doing time trials. The two basic modes of play, Career and Arcade, break down as follows: CAREER MODE Earning respect (like Vin Diesel says) is why rac- ers brave the Midnight Club, and winning races is the only way to claim it. Some races allow you to swipe your opponents’ cars while developing your skills as a racer. Career mode is the only way to unlock new vehicles and cities as well as the soundtracks associated with them. CAREER RACES Replay any of the races you've unlocked in Career mode but fine-tune the race settings and opponents. ARCADE MODES The following can be played as two-player split- screen games, four-player iLink matches, or eight-player blowouts via LAN or Internet. ROCKSTAR’ ONLINE TIPS MAKE YOUR OWN GAME With the open city layout, you can create your own games when racing online or via linked multiplayer. Here's one we really like: Have a few friends choose muscle cars (ће 1971 Bestia], and опе per- son choose a bike. The biker needs to simply escape the muscle cars, which attempt to run him/her over. TEAM UP! When playing online, make sure you and a friend are in the same race. Then team up to wreak havoc on the faceless challengers from around the globe! Hide around corners, throw on the brakes right in CRUISE Get a feel for a city or a new car, test how weather conditions affect handling, hunt for shortcuts, or just nail the gas and do donuts. CIRCUIT Circuit mode lets you race through the streets of any city you've unlocked: L.A., Tokyo, or Paris. These are longer races through- out a city; as the name suggests, you're essen- tially doing laps. BATTLE MODES (CAPTURE THE FLAG AND DETONATE) Battle mode offers three multiplayer game options that let you face off against friends: split-screen two-player, four- player iLink, and up to eight online. The rules are pretty straightforward, but to spice things up, these modes feature power-ups that let you wreak havoc on your opponents. Turn invisible, inflict “quad damage,” get extra nitro boosts, reverse your opponents’ steering, swap positions with another player, or even cause another player to accelerate uncontrollably. RACE EDITOR Play races you have designed. front a competitor, or work together to slam people against walls! SCREW WITH YOUR OPPONENT In multiplayer battle modes, always try to pick up the reverse-steering icon when you hit the power-ups—it's easily the coolest and most obstructive weapon. Repeated use may lose you some friends, though, as it’s super annoying. Our other fave is the one that messes with your opponents’ accelerator. WE SAVE MORE PLANETS BEFORE BREAKFAST THAN MOST PEOPLE DO ALL DAY be је ind s me у RED ROCK. Mars needs you. Я one-man army with radical tactics training and 8 biomechanical arsenal built into your right arm. And you're going to need it. Alien invaders have overrun our Martian colony and we're sending you to stop them. Try not to break a sweat. WwWww.rtxredrock.com TEEN Violence Blood í Mild Language јаузгапо! Coming Spring mmg Suggestive Themes ESRB 003 LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC. All rights reserved. LucasArts and the LucasArts logo are registered trademarks of Lucasfilm Ltd. AIX Red Ac trademark of LucasArts tainment Company LLC. "PlayStation" and the amily logo are registered trademarks of Sony Compulér Entertainment ис Making the world a more perfect place. 0:44:86 + S Pasition ese Я " a р 3 МИ) / MEET THE CRITICS JOHN DAVISON Midnight Club 2 has affected John deeply. We expect him to get arrested soon. Current Favorites: Midnight Club 2, Winning Eleven 6 Favorite Genres: Driving, killing, illegal street racing GAR-GI-OH! After solving an ancient Egyptian puzzle, Gary transformed into Yami Gargi, Reviewer of the Crap. Current Favorites: ҒҒ// Favorite Genres: RPG, Platformers, annoying Chris JOE RYBICKI Having spent too much time in My Street, Joe has trans- formed into a whiny brat. Current Favorites: SOCOM, Amplitude, Robin Hood: DotC Favorite Genres: FPS, Puzzle, Adventure CHRIS BAKER C-Bake played through Final Fantasy for time No. 7 this month...and never got bored! Current Favorites: Origins, hating Gary for berating FF7 Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, Sports, Strategy SAM KENNEDY This month, Sam decided to turn 24. He also decided to look older. Or at least try to. Current Favorites: Breath of Fire: DQ, Guilty Gear X2 Favorite Genres: Fighting, Action, RPG TODD ZUNIGA Reasons to celebrate: High Heat, Winning Eleven 6, and OpiumMagazine.com is 2! Current Favorites: Street Vol. 2, High Heat, NHL 2K3, Winning Eleven 6 Favorite Genres: Sports f Y к Official US. PlayStation Magazine № ҚА 5,5; 35 PPPS а 86 MOST DEF Deffer? Deffest? Whichever, it's good. ORIGINAL Never played БЕЈ or FFZ? Now's your chance. Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Rockstar San Diego MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Teen Online: Broadband only s the resident car loon, I can at times become а walking cliché when it comes to discussing the things | like about racing games. Cool cars, speed, crazy oversteer, speed, long races, speed, burning rubber...the list goes on. If it gives the feeling of a car chase from Starsky and Hutch, then I'm digging it. Since Gran Turismo 3, the best racing game I've played has been Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, and my love for it was mainly due to the fact that it was pendulously endowed with the things featured in that list above. Midnight Club II could have been designed with my specific tastes іп mind. It is, ina word, crazy. Crazy fast, crazy tough, crazy feeling, and, most important, crazy fun. Anyone who has ever been ina real car, going really fast, knows the thrill of gut-wrenching speed. Your insides crawl their way up to the back of your throat, your adrenal gland zips into overdrive, and you start buzzing from the natural high. I've been reviewing videogames for a lot longer than is probably healthy, and | can count on the fingers of one hand the number of games that have pro- duced any kind of reaction even remotely comparable. One of them was R360 (the arcade version of Afterburner that physically tipped opponents give an impression of awareness that’s downright spooky. They mess up in believ- able ways, and even cop ап atti- tude with you if you cause them problems. It makes for a tremen- dously competitive environment. Races can take up to seven min- utes to complete (this may not sound like much, but it’s actually pretty long when you're not just going ‘round and ‘round a boring racetrack], and the balance of power can shift significantly based on who makes the right moves at the right time. Every-thing hap- pens so quickly, you really get the feeling that messing up will be downright disastrous. Now, for some, the pressure may prove too much. | know some “Your adrenal gland will start juicing out its stuff so much that you'll actually feel that buzz.” you upside down and made you want to hurl), but | think MC2 is the first PS2 game to really get my heart racing. If you really get into this, your adrenal gland will start juicing out its stuff so much that you'll actually feel that buzz. How is this possible? Well, it's mainly due to the enormous amount of pressure the game places on you. You progress only if you take first place in each race, у’зее, and every challenge you face is almost overwhelmingly sizeable, On top of this, the races all take place in cities as open and intricate as those in GTA, so you feel the thrill from not only trying to win but also discovering new routes and clever techniques to outsmart the other racers. The icing on the cake is the fact that your people who'd suggest that MC2 is simply “too hard"— but it's not. In most racing games, if you screw up, you keep repeating yourself because the options for changing tactics are so limited. In MC2. you can completely change the way you race, to the point where you can totally alter the route you take to meet your objectives. With all of this excitement, and the huge number of options and extras available to you, | have to say that MC2 is probably the best new racing game to come out ina long, long time. There's an awful lot for you to work through in terms of gameplay, and the diffi- culty will make you feel like you're getting your money's worth. John Davison Go dodo do do Racing Online Although there's plenty to keep you occupied in the single-play- er game, there's also a lot on offer for multiple players. Split- screen two-player is fun, but nothing beats the eight-player action offered online. As with a lot of upcoming online PS2 games, MC2 is broadband only—but given the speed, it's easy to understand why. As we showed you in the cover story, all of the game's arcade modes are available online, and they vary in com- plexity from simple races to elaborate challenges. My per- sonal favorite online mode is a straight eight-player race from checkpoint to checkpoint (does that make me boring?). However, the Devastation game has plenty of potential, too. In this mode, all players chase after a detonator, which must then be taken to a checkpoint where it will set off a bomb that destroys every other car. Once it's collected, all players chase after the car carrying it, and anyone can "steal" the device and race to the checkpoint. It's a little like some of the modes in Twisted Metal: Black Online, only at warp speed. It forces you to really get to know the cities, and | have to say, | enjoyed it a lot more than the simpler Capture The Flag game that has you bouncing between checkpoints. RATED PS2 GAMES 84 Aero Elite RRR 95 All-Star Baseball 2004 84 Black & Bruised RRRR 84 Breath of Fire: DQ 87 Cabela's Big Game Hunter REI 86 Def Jam Vendetta RRR 88 Final Fantasy Origins PRRI 87 Fisherman's Challenge RR 94 High Heat MLB 2004 RRRRR 87 НХ: Hypersonic Xtreme жз 90 The King of Route 66 RRR 87 MGS 2: Substance RRRRR 114 Midnight Club Il 95 MLB 2004 RRR 96 MLB Slugfest 2004 BREE 90 Moto GP3 224,221 96 MVP Baseball 2003 з 90 My Street RRR 92 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc RRR 92 Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven RRR 92 Чех wR 97 World Series Baseball 2K3 KEE 100 WS: Winning Eleven 6 Int'l Li 2 2D 98 Yu-Gi-Oh: DOTR PRI PS1 GAMES 98 Gekioh Shooting King Lo d 2.4 98 Superstar Dance Club RRS PERIPHERALS 100 i-Glasses HRV RI 100 Scorpion 3 Light Gun KERI Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine ©) REVIEWS "Ryu" means “dragon.” DO YOU HAVE “BREATH OF FIRE”? Possible causes of chronic halitosis include tooth decay, stress, and “heavy metal accumulation.” Aero Elite Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega АМ? MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Everyone After playing Aero Elite's Arcade mode for a few hours [and beat- ing it), | was prepared to dismiss the game as a wholly mediocre flight sim, with next to no memo- rable traits. But then | fired up the Training mode, and beneath the requisite basics (take off, turn, land], | dis- covered a level of depth most con- sole flight games never even touch. Once you get into the advanced training, the game teaches you how to fly like a fighter pilot: how to stay locked onto a guy who's flying slow- er than you; the quickest way to get behind someone who's tailing you; Immelman turns; touch-and-goes; dive bombing—and that's not even mentioning the helicopter and VTOL (vertical take-off and landing] train- ing. By the time you complete the training curriculum, you feel like you've developed the skills to excel in any flight game. Trouble is, there's not much incentive to show these skills off in this game. The main problem is that there's just no sense of speed. You can be going Mach 1.2 and it feels like you're driving a charter bus. Uphill. Against the wind. In a foot of snow. Towing another charter bus. Related to this is the fact that none of the aircraft—not even the smallest and most nimble—seems to handle with anything approach- ing quickness. This makes it easy to pick off enemies, easy to die by plowing majestically into the ground, and hard to keep playing. A nice change for flight nuts, though. Joe Rybicki NC Black & Bruised Black & Bruised BLACK & BRUISED Publisher: Majesco Developer: Digital Fiction MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Teen Who's going to do the dishes? Don't flip a coin—fist fight. Who's going to run to the store to pick up a gallon of milk? Don't talk it over—throw a punch. Who's going to clean the bathtub? Let a knuckle sandwich be the deciding factor. With Black & Bruised, there's no longer a reason to argue or com- plain. This slick-looking surprise should come in handy to settle all domestic and roommate disputes from now on. It's fast, zany, easy- to-learn, and makes a real prob- lem-solving tool. If you're relationship-free, even better! The Boxer's Life mode is a one-player Story mode that's so wacky, it'll have you in stitches. Usually, when you say Story mode and boxing game in the same sen- tence, it's some drip fighting his way to the top. Not here. You'll truly jump into a boxer's life once you choose one of the game's 18 personalities. All the stories are unique: Some include jailbreaks, others apartment break-ins—and all are worth checking out. The best part is that some jit- tery-fingered button-masher won't necessarily win. You actually have to box. That's something the arcadey Ready 2 Rumble couldn't figure out. But the real balance comes from the power-up system. The more punches you land, the more power-ups you get, and those power-ups turn into speed, power, and health, but in eye-catching, cartoony ways. Rent this for a surprise. If noth- ing else, it'll keep you out of mean- ingless fights. Todd Zuniga 50% Cyber Shock 2 Lazer Wireless Controller Controller Programmable Allows Up To 12 Difficult Play Up To 30 FT. Away! Turbo Function! Multiple Ме Мот Into Game Screen Built-in Rechargeable Battery! Full Color Game Screen Allows You To Play Games, Home Videos & DVD's Anywhere! DVD Remote, Multitap Game Sound System & Horizontal Stand Wireless Control, 4 Player Multitap, AV Selector and Organize Р5'2 Games and DVD's with Style! Stereo Speakers i To Your Gaming |! апа Favorite CD's! ww Game, Audio & Video Selector Remote Control Connect Up To 5 Components! Easily Switch To Game Console, TV, VCR, DVD, Tuner and Моге! DID YOU KNOW? When Rick Rubin killed Def It stands for “Ladies American and launched American Recordings, he Love Cool James.” hosted a full New Orleans-style funeral. Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin start Def Jam Recordings in Rubin's NYU dorm room. | =. Ш ОЕҒЈАМ101 Же) ! дргй 1984: with an initiat y | investment of $2,500 apiece, | 21 October 1985: LL Cool J's album Radio is the first album released on Def Jam Records. It peaks at No. 6 on Billboard's R&B Album chart. | 1987: Def Jam releases Public E. aul ||| Enemy's debut album, Yo! Bum M | Rush The Show. EU | ™ 1988: The Beastie Boys leave Def Jam for Capitol Records following a dispute over unpaid royalties. 1988: Rick Rubin parts with Def Jam and starts a new label called Def American, now American Recordings, home to Johnny Cash and Slayer. 1991: Nikki D, Def Jam's first female MC, releases her debut album, Daddy's Little Girl. 1992: Def Jam releases Redman's Whut? Thee Album. — Е ch 1992: The Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam debuts on HBO. in use to March 1993: Simmons intro- "s attribut duces the Phat Farm clothing | line. In its first year, the New | York City store grosses $2 mil- | lion. | es. You са ppler, a powe who you're igher oppon tember 1994: Def Jam parts with distributor Sony and | sells 50 percent of Rush Communications to Polygram for an estimated $33 million. you work for a Story mode. d-school WWF My game (b hrough to the well, | won't 1994: Method Man signs a solo album deal with Def Jam. d engine.’ \pril 1995: Montell Jordan's This i is How We Do It starts a seven-week run at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, marking Def Jam's first No. 1 pop hit. Noven 1997: Jay-Z releases “In My Lifetime, Vol. 1” on Roc- A-Fella/Def Jam, selling over a million copies. June 1998: DMX debuts at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 with It's Dark and Hell Is Hot, knocking Garth Brooks from the top slot. о these to work fo 1999: Ja Rule releases his debut, Venni Vetti Vecci. TRUE STORY: We once got a phone call from a woman who was angry at OPM because we "didnt make no deer hunting games.” T 12 Cabela's Big Game Hunter i Cabela's Big Game Hunter CABELA'S BIG GAME HUNTER Publisher: Activision Developer: Sand Grain Studios MSRP: $2999 ESRB: Teen Being the resident Wisconsin red- neck garnered me the "honor" of reviewing this gem. Then again, l'm the only OPMer whose dad hacked through a pile of carcasses to cut the head off a beaver, boil down the skull, and give it to me as а Christmas gift. | kid you not. Growing up, we always had a Cabela's catalog in our house. | used to hunt, but | wasn't too good. Dad never asked me to go again after | puked in his hunting boots and then accidentally discharged my rifle, nearly blowing off the top of my foot. So | thought this game might actually redeem a few points on my Man Card. | was wrong. Big Game Hunter has features that seem like a perfect match for real hunters: You can unlock loca- tions around North America and kill over 20 big game. Too bad you never really get a visceral kick from any of it. In fact, being attacked by a polar bear simply sends you back to your cabin after a warden finds you unconscious! The real hook supposedly comes from customiz- ing how you track and kill big game, but that falls flat, too. Purchasing different bows, guns, lures, and stands is supposed to change the experience, but they all seem the same in the end. True hunters will see nothing but shortcomings. While the game tries to make tracking difficult and realistic, running as fast as a deer and shooting it with a pistol isn't. Things like this instantly take you out of the game—and you'll never get back in. Jason Babler aa Fisherman's Challenge CHALLENGE Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Osaka MSRP: $2999 ESRB: Everyone Гуе played more than a couple fishing games in my 61/2 years here at Ziff, and | can honestly say that none of them have bored me out of my mind as much as Fisherman's Challenge. Now, | should point out that I'm not exactly what you'd call a hard- core fisherman. That's significant because it's conceivable—albeit barely—that someone who's fairly serious about the sport of fishing | might find a lot more of interest in Fisherman's Challenge than | did. The game has a little more depth than its arcadey predecessors. The big innovation is in the hook-strength area: As you're reel- ing in a fish, you'll have to move the rod up, down, left, or right—like in most fishing games. The difference here is, unless you move immedi- ately when the game tells you to, the hook loosens up a little in the fish's mouth. Then, when you try to get the fish into the boat, you have to match up a slider in your hook- strength meter—so if you've let the hook loosen up too much, you'll need a lot more precision as you're trying to bring the fish into the boat. It's a solid idea, and it makes things a bit more tense. The problem is, the game's missing what makes fishing games fun: fish. There just aren't remotely enough of them around, and it makes the game more of a boating simulator than anything. Why would | want to play a game that consists mostly of waiting? | can do that for free, and | don't even need to be in front of the television. Joe Rybicki Publisher: Majesco Developer: Blade Interactive MSRP: $999 ESRB: Everyone When the best thing a game can boast on its cover is “Featuring the Xclusive TrakEditor!!!" you know you've got problems. But in all hon- esty, this TrakEditor (one word, no "c"—meaning it's really hardcore!) is actually worth the hype the box gives it. Ever wish you could create your own courses in a futuristic Dare to Compare Extreme G Ш S dose de HSX PRI Kinetica ®®®®9 Wipeout Fusion PADI racer? HSX allows you to do so with surprising depth and little difficulty. Unfortunately, this is really the only thing HSX has going for it. Just about every aspect of the game is mediocre and has been done better plenty of times before. You've got your dull graphics [with textures that look like they could have come straight out of a PS1 game], your obligatory techno soundtrack (апд а | very uninspired one at that), your | standard weather effects (which | obscure your vision so much, the | whole thing becomes nearly | unplayable], and your set of enemy drones to compete against (the term "compete" used loosely]. | Basically, it comes down to | this: If you think toying around | with the track editor sounds like | $10 worth of fun, check this out. If not, don't bother. It's your dough, | so you decide. | Sam Kennedy | Scientists are developing real stealth camouflage with a clever use of cameras and projectors. Publisher: Square EA Developer: Square MSRP: $2999 ESRB: Teen o me a favor and ignore the score at the bottom of this review. Simply said, Final Fantasy Origins is a must-have title for any RPG lover—no matter how casual or passionate your devotion to role-playing games. If, say, you fancy yourself a hardcore Fantasy fanatic, you know you've dreamt of a package like this since you first drooled over the Japan-only FFI and FFII WonderSwan remakes (and if you 4554; УКУЫ UON АМ М 5, Final Fantasy | Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine know what I'm talking about, then you officially qualify as hardcore). If you're a new-school devotee, this is a wonderful opportunity to dig into the roots of this fran- chise. And if you're a casual Fantasy fan, this is the perfect chance to cram it down the blow- holes of all those hardcore Fantasy hardheads by proving, once and for all, that the old Final Fantasies aren't nearly as good as the contemporary ones. But Origins isn’t just a rehash of the first two Fantasy games. Both games have been cleaned up and polished to а fine gloss thanks to all the extras included here. For starters, the graphics have been upgraded from 8-bit crustiness to 16-bit splendor. Yeah, that's still far short of PS1 quality, but it’s just enough to wipe away the old-school ugli- ness while retaining that old- school charm. The gameplay has been tweaked in a few small ways that improve the experience with- out altering the basic setup. The music has been brought up to PS1 standards. And there's a ton of unlockables, from Amano art galleries to full bestiaries. Of course, the question remains: Does the gameplay still hold up? No—and yes. Each of Origins’ two titles has something to offer, but only one is still fun to play. Here's a closer look at both. FINAL FANTASY ORIGINS г... Everything old isn't quite new again FINAL FANTASY Confession time: | never played the original Final Fantasy. My love for RPGs began with FFII on the SNES (known as FFIV in Japan]. So, how did the first title in my favorite franchise strike me? Truth be told, it's a downright bore. From the bare-bones story to the limited quest, there's not a lot going on. Don't expect much from the battle system, either— it's a stripped-down, impenetra- ble, labor-intensive chore. Yech. That said, playing Final Fantasy for the first time was a hoot. It's a blast to see how far the series has evolved while experiencing that intangible old-school Final Fantasy magic. That alone makes this worth a whirl—at least for the dozen or so hours until you get bored out of your skull. FINAL FANTASY II Now, this is where things start to get good! Right away, ҒҒ// grabs you with its briskly paced, well- realized story. Unlike its prede- cessor, FFII starts you off with a bang, rather than plopping you down in some random town on an uninspired quest. The game also features actual character devel- opment, along with a few touch- ing scenes. Pay attention and you'll see the seeds of those dra- matic story lines that became a hallmark of later Final Fantasies. But the story isn’t the main reason for playing this game {which is actually still kinda basic]. РЕП features an innovative battle system that's never been repeated in a Final Fantasy game—and one that still holds up today. The setup eschews experi- ence points, opting instead to develop your abilities based on your actions. If, say, you cast a bevy of bolts on a bounty of Bloodsuckers, you'll become more proficient in that specific spell. Or, if you thwack a pack of Wererats with a blunt stick, your Mace abilities will increase. Meanwhile, certain stats counter- balance others, so you can't cheat the system by creating an unstop- pable fighter/mage. It's one of the best examples l've seen of intelli- gent leveling-up—and it gives you enough motivation to seek out those endless random battles en route to customizing your party's skills and abilities. Before you get too excited about diving into БЕЛ, keep in mind that it still doesn't compare with the current crop of Fantasy fare—but it's enjoyable enough to make it more than just a history lesson. Play Final Fantasy for a glimpse at how things used to be, but play БРИ just for fun. Gary Steinman DADI BOI eNulFire. Rekindle the lig Only then will the the world be banished and peac: fin: Final Fantasy Il JOHN ДЕКАН КЫ ЧҮҮ. МЕН РА РАНЕ И BOSTON PUBLIC ЧЫ сани ОКА, CUL БОЈ БЫС) B MY STREET This street's got a few potholes Publisher: Sony CEA Developer: Idol Minds MSRP:$3999 ESRB: Everyone Online: Dial-up and broadband fthe questions | have about My Street—and there are many—per- haps the biggest is geographi- cal: Where on Earth is this game supposed to be set? Where does it За " eiiis ene 9 ficial US. Р start getting dark at 6:00 p.m. in the middle of August, but remains warm enough for mothers to allow their kids to run around in shorts all day? OK, maybe that's a silly ques- tion, but it is an indicator of the general lack of polish plaguing what could otherwise have been a very cool game. т Here's another exam- 4 же ple: In order to һауе access to all the different minigames, you'll need to open them one by one in the single-player Story mode. Eventually, you get to the point where the only thing keeping you from the next game— R/C Racing—is money: You need $33 bucks to buy an R/C car. The solution? Your neighbor offers to pay you $5 a day for repeating the chores you had to do to open up the Chicken Herding game (think ChuChu Rocket! with livestock). Here's the real problem: One of the chores—escorting a cow out of a barn—is, without ques- tion, the single most infuriating thing l've ever been forced to do in a videogame. And you'll have to do it eight freakin' times to be able to play R/C Racing or, ulti- mately, Dodgeball. But this is really an example of a much larger problem: The reason this process is so gut- wrenchingly irritating is that the controls for My Street, quite frankly, suck. They're simply awful in the roam-around-the- neighborhood sections, and only really adequate in the simplest of the minigames (which, grant- ed, is a good percentage of them). And while we're at it, the bizarre controller-keyboard setup for chatting with other players makes the process almost unbearably tedious. As for the games themselves, well, they're a mixed bag. They range from the simplistic, yet viscerally satisfying—like Dodgeball and Volleyball—to the simplistic, yet mystifying: The "Chemistry" game, in par- ticular, is an odd one. It bears some resemblance to falling- block games like Puzzle Fighter, but involves "freezing" blocks, lasers, and power meters— frankly, after several weeks I still haven't figured it out. I enjoyed all the other games well enough, but none of them are what I'd call addictive; none of them really made me want to come back and play some more. Nevertheless, there is defi- nitely some enjoyment to be found in My Street, both in the Story mode and online with your friends. You'll eventually get used to the controls, and kicking back with four friends for some simple minigames can be a nice way to relax after a tense game of SOCOM. And the large selection of options for each game type allows for a fair amount of customization. But in terms of long-term value...well, it seems to me that most players over the age of 12 will exhaust the game's possibilities in a day or two. That doesn't make it a bad game by any means— just not as good a game as | was hoping for. Joe Rybicki The King of Route 66 Publisher: Sega Developer: Sega AM-2 MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Teen To me, King of Route 66 does noth- ing but exemplify why Sega is in such financial trouble these days. | mean, with all the killer talent and content under the Sega roof, is this really the best they can come up with? Did 18 Wheeler really need a sequel? I’m especially surprised by the money being spent on its marketing. Will people really run down to EB to pick up this game after seeing an ad for it in the pages of Maxim? Usually, l'm all for Sega porting its arcade titles, but with this and Aero Elite as the only two non-sports Sega games on the radar for the first half of this year, you have to won- der what's going on over there. That said, Sega should at least be commended for its admirable job of sprucing the game up for the PS2, making it a much more well- rounded console game experience. The "Queen of Route 66" mode is especially neat; you compete in challenges to raise money to upgrade your rig. There's definitely a solid amount of stuff to do. Still, it's a trucking game. No matter how good it looks or how much Sega added to it, there's only | so much fun you can have with this title, especially considering the brevity of the races and uneven dif- ficulty. Challenges are all over the place, randomly ranging from bor- ingly easy to annoyingly difficult. But hey, if you liked the first one, you'll probably get a kick out of this game as well. Everyone else ought to save this for a rainy-day rental. Sam Kennedy | | | | | | | Moto GP3 Publisher: Namco Developer: Namco MSRP: 54999 ESRB: Everyone When it comes to superbike racing on PS2, there’s only one franchise worth looking at: this one. The games have grown steadily better with each version, and this one is | really quite super. Initially, it's difficult to tell the differences between this and GP2. It still looks fabulous—it's blindingly | quick and uncannily stylish. And, if it's at all possible, the replays now look more impressive than ever, with some particularly spectacular camera wobbles and blur effects. They look shockingly realistic. On further investigation, the biggest improvement (for me, anyway) is that Namco absolutely nailed it with the controls this time. In the past I'd struggled a little with the overly realistic throttle and brake response times, and found the lurching nature of bike racing to be quite unwieldy. With GP3, this has miraculously been cured, and when you get into a groove with the controls, it can get exciting as you lean into turns and scream out of а corner having taken the perfect racing line. In GP2, I'd often get left behind by the pack, but now, | things feel much more competi- tive. | don't want to say it's "easi- er"—maybe just that it's more game-like than sim-like. It's a shame it doesn't offer much more | than your typical racing game, though. With the new breed of racers out there now, this is a tad formulaic. If it were a car racer, | l'd give ita much harder time. Ultimately, if bikes are your thing, this is "the one." If you just love racing, you may want more. John Davison ЛА TEST OF SKILUS™ Tag team players can switch Launch double attacks between characters seamlessly! th a team member! SERES meer Engage in 2 player and single player combat or tag team battles! ы From the hot new Television Show on Cartoon Network! Based on the comic by the great manga artist, Rumiko Takahashi, Bandai До ~ a Я is proud to present INUYASHA for the PlayStation game console! Battle ! і j | ІІ your way through the thrilling world of INUYASHA and unlock new 4 zy / characters for hours of pulse-pounding fighting action! бо head-to- А = | [ head against a friend, or team up in tag-team and versus modes! in this à А МГ І "f. fight for fun, you'll always come out the winner! A Famela) Fara Kale Suggestive Themes A uz Inuyasha ® or TM, the Inuyasha logo, and all related characters and elements are trademarks of T Shogakukan Production Co., Ltd. © 2003 Rumiko Takahaski/Shogakukan-YTV-Sunrise. © 2002-2003 PlayStation BANDAI. This product is manufactured, distributed and sold under license from ShoPro Entertainment. ® All Rights Reserved. Violence REVIEWS The age of Michel Ancel, creator of Rayman. Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc RAYMAN 3: HOODLUM HAVOC Publisher: Ubi Soft Developer: Ubi Soft MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Everyone There's absolutely nothing wrong with releasing a good game. Except, of course, when plenty of better titles are already out there— including the 2-year-old prequel to that very same good game. Granted, Hoodlum Havoc is technically superior to Rayman 2. It looks a helluva lot better, the con- trol is tighter, and the framerate has been cured of its debilitating stutter. (Тһе camera, though, is just as willing to thwart you at the worst of times.) But we should expect these improvements—PS2 games have come a long way in the past two years—and they're not nearly enough to elevate Havoc to its magnificent predecessor's lofty heights. Whereas Rayman 2 gave you a lush, detailed world to get lost in— one that lent the game an almost RPG-like feel—Havoc offers the Does it holdap So should you play Rayman 2 instead of Havoc? Maybe. The core gameplay and richly real- ized world are still compelling, but the technical shortcomings might be offputting to some. opportunity to test your reflexes at every turn, with waves of enemies, a battery of beastly bosses, and all kinds of environmental challenges. Basically, Havoc replaces the joy of exploration and discovery with a newfound focus on combat and quick action. Now, this isn't neces- sarily a bad thing—plenty of plat- formers focus on action, as well they should. But it doesn't always work in Havoc, and even when it does, it often lacks the fresh and funky vibe of recent hits like Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank. Platformer addicts and Rayman fanatics should still check this out, though. Havoc retains that undeni- able Rayman feel, thanks in part to the simple control scheme that somehow lets you to pull off myri- ad complex maneuvers. The range of possibilities for powering up your free-floating fists also adds to the fun. And Rayman's world is just as wacky as ever—although the humor and voice acting often fall flat. Even so, you're probably better off renting Havoc. The game can be beaten in a handful of sessions, and although it offers some replay value with its unique points sys- tem (can you rack up even more points in a level?], | doubt most of you will be motivated to bother. | know | wasn't Gary Steinman Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc The number of Rayman games sold worldwide, in millions. VEXX Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Studios Austin MSRP: $4995 ESRB: Teen Let's start with the fact that Vexx is essentially broken. See, it’s a plat- former, and the one key trait of a platformer is solid control. Not so here. In Vexx, you jump by tapping the X button—but to double-jump, you first tap X, followed by Square! There's no excuse for such an Don't believe us...? Vexx really is that dark! = | You'll have a hard time finding your way around in this дате. absurdly awkward control scheme. Even after you get used to Vexx's thumb-numbing setup, you still have to suffer through a mess of а game. Take the day/night cycle, which often surrounds you with darkness so thick that you can't see what's directly in front of you Or a game camera that utterly hates you. Or the fact that the plat- forms lack any stickiness, causing you to miss, slip, and fall far too often. At one point, | even slid off the far side of a platform that was resting directly against a wall! It's a real shame, because l'm pretty sure there’s a decent game underneath all the crap. The levels are huge, with some intricately designed challenges. My pals at EGM, in fact, tell me the GameCube version is quite good. But this hap- pens to be the Official PlayStation Magazine. And with that in mind, І can officially say that the PS2 version officially disappoints. Gary Steinman 060 BASEBALL SEGA (6-7-1-7- КМ segasports.com Turn back the clock and turn two like never before. Change home run trots into walks of shame. ® REV Official US. PlayStation Magazine Ct It's not that pitchers intentionally walk Barry Bonds, It’s not the thin- ness of the Colorado air. It’s not that managers sub in their reserves when a game is out of hand. These are all baseball things that happen in baseball games. The reason there's a huge, hard- ball-lover's grin on my crazy face is that these baseball things are happening in this baseball game. In High Heat. If you love baseball the way I love baseball, these light touches make all the difference. In the wild hunt for more than authentic baseball—for authentic sports supremacy—High Heat 2004 has put itself among the Madden 2003s and NHL 2K3s as more than the best in its specific sport. This is a defining gaming experience. Gameplay aside, both loyalists and haters have had one consis- tent gripe the last few years: High Heat looks like garbage, 3D0 improved it and then it looked like junk. More changes made it like a worn-out shoe. Finally, the little- by-little graphics initiative was lifted for 2004, and finally, Heat is neck-and-neck with the competi- | EWS Put me in, Coach. N 274 (А 0 PLAYSTR HIGH HEAT MLB 2004 Publisher:3DO Developer:3DO MSRP:$4995 ESRB:Everyone Pp tion. Although the crowds still look more like Degas paintings than real people, the stadiums, players, field, and front-end menus have undergone a significant upgrade. You won't feel the need to apolo- gize to your TV after a four-game series in Shea Stadium. The look of the game also comes through in the movement. The animations have gotten a huge, necessary boost. When a player slides into a base, he does- n't magically pop up. When а bat- ter swings, there aren't Mark McGwire-sized holes in his swing. Defensively, players set them- selves before throwing. In short, it looks like real baseball. The key to High Heat 2004, and the reason it already ranks high on the list of my all-time favorite games, is that it’s the best bargain їп games. A full 162-game season will last you about 90 hours. You're thinking: I'll never play a full sea- son. | thought the same thing... until | played a full 162-game sea- son. | highly advise you to carve out 90 hours and warn your sofa. After 10 games, you'll suddenly CHARITY CASE: For every copy of High Heat 2004 sold, a donation will be made to “Curts Pitch for ALS" to fight Lou Gehrig's disease. What's the best bet in baseball for $50? We break it all down thirst for a shot at Ted Williams’ 406, or Bonds’ 73, or Hack Wilson's 191. Truth is, those records will way more than likely stay intact because, while records are made to be broken, you're going to have to earn every hit, home run, and RBI. You'll go through 10-game slumps and hot streaks. You'll devour Tampa Bay and lose four straight to the Yankees. You'll be offered trades for the playoff push and you'll lose your No. 2 starter for a month, but it won't be the end of the world. Before it hits you, you'll be four games out with 14 to play. It's tense stuff. You'll remember games from the season the way you remember games from real 300 | « life. It sounds insane, but 1 promise, it will happen. And it's all right. Really. The best part of the game is also the worst part of the game: It has a Franchise mode and an entire minor-league system. So, see if your couch can handle 270 hours of your rump, because it might take three seasons to bring Boston to its first title since 1918. If you've never played High Heat, start right now. If you have, hurry it up. You already know that the ups and downs of the baseball marathon await. Todd Zuniga DDED A«Iaim (тїїлїк | NYY (203 cin 908 21 о.о o our @ : Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Studios Austin MSRP: $4995 ESRB: Everyone Maybe you've never heard this longtime baseball cliché, referring to the 162-game MLB season: It's a marathon, not a sprint. Well, |, for one, am exhausted after every single game of All-Star Baseball. This game wears on my health the way a screwball wears on а pitcher's elbow—which is to say, violently. The issue is that catching a fly with chopsticks Miyagi-style is. easier than whacking a pitch in this game. | don't mean hammer- ing the ball into the cheap seats, either. I'm talking hitting the ball. How, in developing a baseball game, is the ability to hit the ball with consistency overlooked? Even if you concentrate, like, super-duper hard, the pitcher throws the ball so stupidly fast that most of the time you simply can't react in time to hit it. Maybe it would work if the bat didn’t move as if it were weighed down by a big fat bat-donut. When games like MVP are making such huge strides to reinvent the way the pitcher- batter interface works, and games like High Heat add АЛ. sliders so you can adjust every facet, it’s dis- appointing that All-Star appears to have given more attention to fancy overlays about how a batter has hit over the last 10 games. | do love that overlay stuff—I just want the gameplay to be perfected before the secondary features. Another issue is that defense is so not fun. The players, as in last year's game, still move as if their cleats were made of concrete. If you do manage to get to the ball, you have to be in exactly the right spot—there’s no room for error. It’s also troubling that, out of my last 108 outs (two full games), there were only 13 ground-ball outs. Say what? What ends up happening with a game like All-Star is that you turn to the extras after you're exhausted from a three-game series. Luckily for fans of the franchise, it beats the pinstripes off the other baseball games in the extras category. The best of these is the Scenario mode [there's Trivia, Homerun Derby, and some sweet interviews, too). You go through games from last season and try to change history. Keep changing fate and you can unlock scenarios beyond Pirates- Brewers snorefests. A very cool, well-executed idea. That said, when extras are a game's bread and butter, there's trouble. Pretty, but not fun, this is another not-quite-High Heat title. Todd Zuniga Publisher: Sony CEA Developer: 989 Sports MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Everyone Although MLB 2004 is the only PS2 baseball game that feels like it’s still on PS1, there's reason to play it over the other, better baseball games this season: Spring Training mode. In Spring Training, you create a player (this player could be you!) and try to get him into the big leagues. You play a handful of Cactus League games, and if your player performs well, he makes The Show. He can go on to make the All-Star team, be an upstand- ing member of the community with a wife and kids, and so on (though you're responsible only for the on-field stuff). Besides that very cool option, MLB 2004 is average in every way. Nothing really stands out, nothing makes it a must-have. At best, it's OK, sprinkled with a bunch of little bugs that need fixing. In the many games I've played, for instance, there hasn't been one error. Not one error. Maybe that’s because the ball will curl toward the fielder’s glove. By that, | mean there's some Wiffle Ball-style voodoo on the ball: It will literally change its trajectory to find a fielder's glove. This is ridiculous. In addition, the players seem overly willing to pull off a jump- spin-throw combo. It's like Tekken meets shortstop. On a bunt in front of the plate, the catcher, equipment and all, might grab the ball, jump up, do a complete 360- degree spin, then hurl the ball to first. Perfectly on line. It’s hilari- ous to watch, but the humor is doused because there's no instant replay—which sucks a big fat egg. Replay would make it easier to get а good laugh. Also, I'd be able to see that just about everyone gets called out at first on a bang- bang play, even if they look safe. That kind of thing gets maddening in a tight game. Weirdly, the game's still very playable. It's simple and it’s not filled with front-end majesty. It's just a baseball game for someone wanting to play a baseball game. I had the kind of feeling playing it that you get while watching an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie: There's no artistic value, but you'll have an all-right time. If Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Adam Dunn, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, and Manny Ramirez didn't hit a homerun every single time | pitched to them, I'd probably like it a bit тоге. But this game echoes the same phrase in my head that | heard all too often lis- tening to Cubs fans in Chicago's Wrigleyville: Wait till next year. Todd Zuniga BRR All-Star Baseball 2003 It features the heartbreakingly haunting theme song from The Natural, plus downloadable ros- ters. High Heat MLB 2004 Teams intentionally walk Barry Bonds and sub in reserves during blowouts. MLB 2004 There's nothing more fun than trying to make it to the big leagues with your very own created player. MLB SlugFest 20-04 The new special pitch is reason enough for baseball lovers to try this game. MVP Baseball 2003 The splitscreen Home Run Showdown makes this whole new ballgame an easy choice for a rental, at least. World Series Baseball 2K3 For a franchise, you have to hire managers, batting and pitching coaches, and scouts to shape your team. Awesome. All-Star Baseball 2003 Besides the worst batting- cursor going, there’s no efficient way to take a look at what makes baseball so great: stats. High Heat MLB 2004 Pitchers try to pick off run- ners at third, a rare unrealis- tic element. MLB 2004 Players don’t round bases. They stop, and then go. Stupid. MLB SlugFest 20-04 Tagging a sliding player is nearly impossible. What's that all about? MVP Baseball 2003 No defensive dive makes baseball gamer-man angry! World Series Baseball 203 CPU pitchers take a whopping nine seconds for each pitch from the windup. That’s ап extra 15 minutes per game! Official US. PlayStation Magazine Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Everyone For the second time in two years, 1, hardcore baseball fan extraordi- naire (self-appointed), looked for- ward to playing SlugFest the way Twins fans look forward to hearing the word “contraction.” (For the record, they don't.) But, like last year, after a few minutes of playing, my frown. turned'upside down. There | was, Mr. Superfan, having a blast. At some point, shouldn't a flaming bat as a symbol for home-run potential get old? Doesn't punch- ing a second baseman about the jockstrap lose its merit? Don't insane leaping/diving/sliding catches stop being fun? Apparently, no. In fact, as far as SlugFest is from televised baseball, what's happened with this sequel isn’t a dilution of baseball's core good- ness, but a saturating of it. Bigger rosters and more player attribut- es will please baseball diehards, but hot chicks on the loading screens, madcap commentary, useful cheats, and an all-new Special Pitch will keep arcade enthusiasts smiling like Steinbrenner after signing a 14th starting pitcher. General gaming fans will also find plenty of strategy in this humdinger. You're equipped with a Turbo meter that can be used on the mound to throw faster fast- balls, slower change-ups, and elbow-popping curveballs. And when the meter runs out, you're just—well, normal. On defense, Turbo lets you whip the ball with 200-mph haste, or run faster to make a diving catch. When your Turbo meter runs out, you'll be wishing for an at-em ball (a batted ball hit ata defender). At the bat, Turbo scores you the ability to pump up your mus- cles for a deep blast, or to blaze around the bases at max speed. And when turbo runs out? You're human once again. What does this all mean? Basically, the trick in the ultra- competitive multiplayer games is to strategically run out of Turbo at the right time. Good luck. Turbo's many uses aside, SlugFest could stand to be stepped up pacewise. Why do | need to see the pitcher get the ball thrown back to him? Tagging a sliding player is handled by not being able to tag a sliding player. What gives? Running bases could stand to be a touch easier, too. Still, at the end of the day, SlugFest is SlugFest. It's not the deepest experience around, and that’s the only thing that really hurts it. But the big plus is that it's both simple fun for hardball enthusiasts and a fun-lovin' base- ball romp for those in the mood for a quick nine innings. Todd Zuniga dodo do do CRUSHING BLOW & УД In the category of not-likely-to-be-a- playable-baseball-game comes Crushed Baseball. While female players get some due and Tom Arnold's color commentary will be a certain delight, we have little interest in playing as an orca, а гат, an eagle, or a bear (didn't Midway prove that was dumb with Blitz?). Crushed Baseball will be released after the sea- son starts, but it features no MLB or MLBPA licenses—meaning that it's pret- ty much about power-ups for players @ _ that don’t exist. Can you say pointless? Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Publisher: EA Sports Developer: EA Canada MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Everyone Taking your eyes off MVP Baseball is as hard as turning the channel to watch Becker during Scott Spiezio's World Series-changing at-bat last season. This game is breath-haltingly gorgeous, and makes every night game feel like a fog-tickled October evening. Not only have MVP's player models been ramped up to brilliant accu- racy, but the stadiums look so good, they're more realistic than the real-life stadiums! OK, so that's impossible—but the stadi- ums are seriously detailed. If you haven't had a chance to get to Pac Bell or Safeco, see them here in their full glory. Which rocks. But looks are secondary ina baseball game, as High Heat proved last year. In terms of gameplay, MVP made the single biggest upgrade of any baseball game with its new pitcher-batter interface. It'll take a little getting used to, but for the first time, a game has made pitching as much fun as hitting. It might wear out High Heat afficionados, but PS2 baseball newcomers will love it. As a pitcher, you'll spot your pitch, hold down the button of the pitch you want to throw, and then release the button when the. Power meter hits a certain zone. How close you are to the zone is how accurate your pitch is. While it's a bit too consistently accurate for my taste, it's only the first step in an already masterful interface. Problems arise, though, with the hitting. Instead of hitting the ball where it’s pitched, you need to focus on timing. Instead of pushing Up to hit a high fastball, you're pressing Up to hit the ball in the air. If there’s a pitch at the letters and | push Down and time it right, it'll be a ground ball. That's so, so lame. | want to swing at the ball, not have an interface do it for me. While I'm griping, why can't | dive? The auto-dive takes the control out of my hands. Also, hurry up the swipe tag when а runner's going for an extra base. Of course, these complaints are balanced by the better-than- TV instant replays, dirt on players’ jerseys after they slide, and a Franchise mode that'll have you locked in to the game for ages. MVP Baseball needs another year to think postseason, but for now, this Ichiro-class upstart is well on its way to being more than just an All-Star Game starter. Todd Zuniga 9%%4 In the war for the best baseball cover athlete, we give World Series 2K3s Jason 5 | Giambi ап A. Most others are also highly rated, but there is one who mystifies us: the basement-dwelling cover athlete for S/ugFest, Jim Edmonds, who gets а D+. N WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2K3 Publisher: Sega Sports Developer: Blue Shift MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Everyone It's the little things that make baseball great, and the really, really little things are where World Series 2K3 shines brightest. Hit a hot foul ball past the first-base coach and he'll try to dodge it. If the next foul ball is lifted into the first row of the stands, the first baseman will hop atop the tarp to make the catch. If a fence-clear- ing fly ball isn't too long, the field- er will climb the wall and try his best to commit home-run robbery. On double plays, the shortstop runs across the bag with A-Rod nonchalance, and then flips the ball to first for the twin killing. WS2K3's Franchise mode is a brilliant example of attention to detail. You hire a manager, batting and pitching coaches, and a scouting director, and this team of phantoms dictates how your team develops over the course of five or 10 or 20 sea- sons. If you want a pitching-rich club, you'd best get a scout who's pitching savvy. Otherwise, you'll have to stack your farm system with sluggers. The game's little details are executed with magnificence, but some bigger issues hold WS2K3 back. The pitching interface is fine, but the pitches themselves. are troublesome. The curveball, even from a Kerry Wood 12-to-6 guy, doesn’t have much curve. The sliders don’t have enough slide. The sinkers don’t really sink, Plus, the pitches move too slowly. | can crank up the pace from medium to very fast, but why is this my responsibility? And yet, if | don’t make the adjustment, it's like hitting a softball. The player models look far too stiff. Their legs look ultrarealistic, but their tops are surrounded by overstarched, immobile jerseys. And their heads look too tiny for their broad shoulders. In the field, the cursor is always the same size on a fly ball; | never know when it'll land. Even with all these little com- plaints, this is, mechanically, a solid game. But somehow, it lacks the one intangible element High Heat has managed to capture: urgency. There's no tension here, so you look up and the bases are loaded. You look up and it’s the seventh inning. You feel half in and half out of every game. WS2K3 is competent and competitive, but needs to wait till next year. Todd Zuniga ФФФ® 2 SIMULATION STATION Big moments and highlights from each PS2 baseball game's simulated season If you don’t play a full 162-game season, you'll at least want your simulated stats to have some real- ism. Here’s a breakdown of each game’s simulated year (get your gamblin’ dollars ready!). ALL-STAR BASEBALL 2004 HIGH HEAT MLB 2003 MLB 2004 Realism Factor: 3/5 Realism Factor: 3/5 Ч Realism Factor: 1/5 All-Star erred on the side of The Royals make the play- | It was а win-win-win situa- | caution. No pitcher won 20 games; only two batters hit more than 40 longballs (Jim Thome, Barry Bonds); and only Thome, Bonds, KC’s Mike Sweeney, and Minnesota's Torii Hunter drove in 100 runs. As for pitching, Pedro Martinez went an injury-riddled 14-9 with a 3.37 ERA. The Phillies walloped the A's in six to win the World Series. МІВ SLUGFEST 20-04 offs! The Royals make the playoffs! At 81-81 they won baseball's weakest division. Barry Bonds rocked 62 homers while walking 161 times [yet only one was intentional). Pedro (456) and Randy Johnson (435) each ran up whopping K totals (the record, since 1884, is 417). Іп the championship, the Yankees spanked the Astros four games to one. MVP BASEBALL 2003 tion for the pitchers, as six of them won more than 30 games! New Cy Young win- ner Bartolo Colon of the ChiSox won 36. A-Rod hit 70 dingers, Angels slugger Garrett Anderson whacked 64 doubles (the most since 1936). In the playoffs, the Angels toppled the Twins in five, the Yanks in seven, then were champs again after slipping by Atlanta in seven. WORLD SERIES BASEBALL 2K3 Realism Factor:0/5 NN You really care what the sim- ulation says? We lost inter- est when 11 players had 47 RBIs after the 14th game. But then, we started caring again when the Rangers. traded Alex Rodriguez for a hyperintelligent chimp, and then the Cubs management decided to put a dome over The Friendly Confines. Wait, no, neither of those things happened. Just inflated stats. Realism Factor: 3/5 Budding Yankees superstar Alfonso Soriano wins the MVP with a hot (and realistic] line: .299, 47 HR, 120 RBls, 114 runs, 47 steals. Bonds plunks 64 taters (10 players hit over 50) and drives in 164—walking 125 times. The pitching-poor Texas Rangers creep into the playoffs as the wild card, but the Yankees slaughter them, then the White Sox, then the Cards for their zillionth championship. Realism Factor: 4/5 Both Corey Patterson (724) and Alfonso Soriano (709) broke Willie Wilson's 23- year-old record for at-bats in a season. Bonds scorched 57 dingers, and Thome blasted 50. AL MVP Jason Giambi drove in 152 runs. Rob Nenn was the 2003 NL Cy Young winner after converting 48 of 50 save opportunities. The Yankees scored 13 runs in Game 7 of the Series (after the Giants blew Game 6). Official US. PlayStation Magazine KI2EIT lu dg 1 YU-GI-OH! THE DUELISTS OF THE ROSES Roses are red, violets are blue, this game is stupid Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami (КСЕЈ) MSRP:$4999 ESRB: Everyone just don't get it. Lord knows, | tried. To pre- pare for this review, | immersed myself in all things Yu-Gi-Oh. | read the manga. | watched the cartoons. | flipped through an actual deck of Yu-Gi- Oh cards. | played with the toys. This is, after all, the biggest thing since Pokémon, so | want- ed to know what it’s all about. And, oddly enough, | found myself charmed by Yugi and his card-carrying pals. There's a lot to like about this massive, world-conquering phenomenon. Except when it comes to the videogames. Last year’s Forbidden Memories was dread- ful, yet it was the top-selling PS1 game of 2002. But now we have a PS2 game—a next-gen game—at the height of Yu-Gi- Oh's popularity. | expect more. And, to be fair, | got more. Duelists of the Roses is signifi- cantly better than its PS1 coun- terpart. The playing-board setup adds an additional layer of complexity to this card-battler. The graphics, although barely adequate next to other PS2 games, are solid enough to ren- der Roses' 600-plus monsters. And the game's interface is a tad bit easier to negotiate. But these few improvements merely pull Roses from the muck of morbid atrocity into the mire of mediocrity. What a mess! Everything about Roses is designed to make you feel like a total loser. The difficulty level is Official US. PlayStation Magazine ratcheted up so high, you're bound to lose billions of battles before you can build a decent deck. Even then, you'll continue to face foes holding far superior hands. In fact, the only way to win this game is through a series of duels against decks more powerful than yours. Because the odds are stacked so heavily against you, strategic planning rarely comes into play. It's all about nabbing one powerful card or learning one powerful Fusion, praying that it pops into your hand before you get shellacked, then bluntly bludgeoning away in a war of attrition. Obtaining that one card or learning that one special Fusion is a nightmare for all but the most psychotic Yu-Gi-Oh fanat- ics. | had to take pages of notes, chronicling all my failed Fusions {along with my few successful combos), jotting down every- thing from the type of creature to the elemental attributes. I then cross-referenced my data, trying to determine which cards might cre- ate similar Fusions and which combos would fizzle on contact. After hours of plugging away, | real- ized that this isn’t a game— it's a homework simulator! I'm not having fun—l'm taking notes while learning basic chemistry and biology. Finally, I'm completely baf- кзы fled by the cockamamie story. The game is set in 15th-century England during the Wars of the Roses, with Yugi masquerading as Henry Tudor. Say what? Why can't | just play as Yugi in some contemporary setting, or at the very least have Yugi as my pal and mentor? Oh, yeah—this is a home- work simulator, so why not toss in some boring history lessons while we're at it. Gary Steinman af Yu Gekioh Shooting King Publisher: Natsume Developer: Warashi PS one MSRP: 5999 ESRB: Everyone Finally, budget pricing is used for good! Natsume has wisely picked up the classic Japanese shooter Shienryu—a game that would oth- erwise never have made it over here—and released it with a can't- resist $9.99 price tag. Of course, the company also tacked ona rather uninspired name for the U.S. release, but regardless, Gekioh deserves a spot in any true shooter fan's collection. It's probably about as straight- forward a shooter as they come: Your mission is simply to blast your way through eight levels of the typ- ical “make your way into space” theme. Gameplay is also pretty standard: You're able to gain three types of weapons, each of which can be powered up five times [spe- cial attacks are, of course, also available). That said, Gekioh is real- ly fun, despite not being all that groundbreaking. It offers the per- fect challenge level for any gamer, thanks to selectable difficulty lev- els and the option to give yourself extra continues. The only thing that really sets Gekioh apart is its bonus modes: Pocket [picture Gekioh on your cel phone), Stingy (опе life and one weapon —good luck!], Comical (the first shooter with a laugh track], Slow (slower bullets, but more of them], and Ancient [your grandpa's shooter). They're fun to play around with, if only for a laugh. With its killer 2D graphics, Gekioh holds up surprisingly well, even next to PS2 games. Shooter fans: Buy this game. Sam Kennedy SuperStar Dance Club *1 Hits!!! Publisher: XS Games Developer: Warashi PS one MSRP: $999 ESRB: Everyone Look beyond the excessive enthusi- asm and the hyper-cutesy girl- | power motifs and you'll find a sur- | prisingly playable budget music | game here. While it's not the most innovative or deepest thing to hit PS1, the $9.99 asking price means Superstar Dance Club more than warrants a look from hardcore music game fans. Its gameplay could best be com- pared to Bust-A-Groove's, but with- out the competitive aspect. It's about as simplified as a music- rhythm game can get, only requir- ing you to tap the X, Circle, Square, and Triangle buttons in conjunction with onscreen indicators. The game's only difficulty lies in the memorization of patterns and quick button-pressing reflexes. That said, those of you who dig the upbeat Japanese techno crap that permeates most of these music games will get a kick out of tapping along with the selection of tunes here [most of them are admittedly pretty catchy). There's that, and the hilarity of seeing a girl in a skimpy outfit dancing around with a bunch of sumo wrestlers. That's gotta be worth the 10 bucks, right? Sam Kennedy Bronto SUPE finds staying out of jail is as hard as breaking out was. Join Bronto and 18 other wacky, not-so-typical boxers as their storylines intertwine from one grueling, over-the-top slugfest to the next. But beware. What happens in their life affects their performance in the ring. And vice-versa. "Black & Bruised looks and feels like а next generation PUNCH OUT! It’s about time." -Nintendo Power СА = Dozens of facial expressions ^ and insults en 24 combos per character gize using 18 different 08 per character power-ups Mild Language Suggestive Themes Violence Get your free dema at BIACKANOBAUISED.COM € PlayStation. LI [оне www.majescogames, com ТМ, @ and the Ni GameCube logo аге GameCube version of the game. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. Free Black & Bruised demo available while supplies last. Alt Ri j. Licensed to and publish ] Inc. іол? "P 1 i it Inc, о ҮЕ ИА, ished by Majesco Sales, Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, WINNING ELEVEN 6 INTERNATIONAL Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Tokyo MSRP: 54999 ESRB: Everyone 5 a quick explanation: Winning Eleven is the title of the is the sixth incarna- Winning Eleven. Hence Apparently, someone tit? ne of the finest simulation imes out there. In rope and Japan, where they WHY EUROPE LOVES WE6 So is Winning Eleven 6, the antithesis of FIFA. EA has the licensing flash, but WE6 has gameplay crafted with such _ саге about official logos. You have a dizzying array of itous; everything has a pur- pose. It's so well-balanced, you're not limited to a video- give up on this one есацзе the title reads Ке a legal document. dant. And finally, it's soc- that all cleared up, this _ Soccer is ubiquitous in Europe. care and passion that you don't options, but nothing is gratu- game strategy. You can play it | any way you like. It's real soc- cer, and that's why we love it. -Ravi Hiranand frequent OPM contributor, CNN writer, soccer nut, European ле FIFA killer crosses the pond know a thing or two about soc- cer (it's actually chopped up into tiny bits and put in their food), this is outselling EA's FIFA. Because, in technical terms, it’s a better football game for foot- ball lovers. Still, “soccer” fans shouldn't hesitate, this may take some work, but it’s so worth it. Basically, Winning is exactly bad guess, huh?) and my name's Todd (which it is]. If Todd's pass rating is 67 out of a 100, and he connects on а series of passes to Balthazar, his Pass rating to Balthazar jumps up. But the improved Pass rating is specific to Todd-to-Balthazar passes. So, an overall rating in one of the 25 categories is constructed from “in Europe and Japan, where they know a thing or two about soccer, this is outselling EA's FIFA.” what you saw if you watched the World Cup last year. It's refined, it's subtle, it's paced like any of the songs on Radiohead's Kid A: generally quiet, but with loud parts that are so white-hot they could melt steel. Winning's greatest feature is the Master League mode, in which you take over a league team and try to build it into a powerhouse. Players improve each time they play together. Say we're on the same team and your name is Balthazar (not a an endless number of subratings {how well Todd passes to Balthazar, to Sampson, to Agamemnon, for instance). | become a better passer because 1 keep passing well. If | keep my shots on target, that rating goes up. This is one of the most excit- ing and fascinating experiences to have as а sports fan, to watch a team grow into a team. Every scoring chance counts, every detail is considered, the minigames rule, and the half- time show features instant replays that show near-misses and big goals. It really makes you feel like you're watching a TV broadcast. the music gets you absolutely fired up. If you love soccer, play this. If you love football, buy it. Todd Zuniga (090% Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine issrealgame. i-Glasses HRV Manufactui MSRP: $69900 When we first moved from Chicago to San Francisco, we arrived a good week before our televisions did. During that week, we scrambled to find some sort of display on which we could play games. My solution was the i-Glasses LC, predecessor to the i-Glasses HRV. During that week, | discovered many interest- ing facts about headset video units: 1. They rarely look as good as you think they will. Even the HRV's "HDTV-quality" image looks about as sharp as a standard TV with S-Video plugged into it. 2. Playing games on them can make you sick. The reason: When you move your head, the image remains stationary relative to your eyes, but everything in your periph- eral vision moves. Certain people will find this nauseating. 3. They're not terribly comfortable. The HRV weighs only 8 ounces, but it's 8 ounces pro- jected out three inches in front of your head. Trigonometry tells us this makes them feel heavier. 4. They're REALLY FREAKIN* EXPENSIVE. | mean, come on—700 bucks? | could understand it if the unit offered videophile options, but it doesn't come with so much as a contrast control, much less com- ponent video inputs. Adding insult to injury, the HRV feels flimsy, almost cheaply made. (In the review unit we got, one of the headphones kept shorting out unless | jacked up the volume.) On top of all that, the "male" video inputs require extra male-to- male connectors in order to hook the thing to your PS2. All this for $7007 | think I'll pass. Joe Rybicki 0 Display Systems ее fr/Eng Scorpion 3 Light Gun SCORPION 3 LIGHT GUN Manufacturer: Blaze MSRP: $3999 ГЦ say it right now: The Scorpion 3 could have received a perfect score if not for what may have been a matter of unfortunate coin- cidence. When the first gun Blaze sent us failed to fire, we assumed we'd merely received a defective product. Blaze's replacement fired just fine, but its accuracy was inconsistent —sometimes, aiming offscreen to reload would recali- brate the gun. So, neither gun worked well. Quite possibly the result of bad luck. Soon after, handyman Joe Rybicki was able to get the original sample to fire spot-on, consistent- ly. From then on, | was playing Time Crisis Il with a light gun that seriously rivals Namco's Guncon2 as the best on the market. Folks with big hands might not like the Scorpion 3's small size, but the button placement works well and it has a comfortable grip. Aim at the screen and you'll see a red laser that greatly improves your accuracy. This peripheral also works very well with a Guncon2 for two-player games. Even better, the more ergonomic D-pad ensures your thumb lasts longer than it would using Namco's gun in a game of Dino Stalker or the upcoming Resident Evil: Dead Aim. Do remember, though, that if all you want is a second gun, $39.99 is quite steep—you can get a Guncon2 with Ninja Assault for just $10 more. And don't say we didn't warn you if you have to return your Scorpion 3 a time or two before getting one that works. But if so, it'll be worth the effort. Chris Baker 2” KONAMI INCLUDES THREE LIMITED EDITION OFFICIAL GAME CARDS 2 unique campaigns to undertake in the quest for the Legendary Rose Cards Card Movement Battle System introduces new and more advanced strategies The Fate of the World is in Your Hands The balance of power is at stake. Will you choose to side with Yugi to reclaim the throne of England or join Seto in his attempts of world domination? The creation of your deck is more important than ever with the addition of all-new 3D battle systems, enhanced fusion and effect systems, and dozens of dueling locations. The most advanced Yu-Gi-Oh! game ever comes to the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system! EVERYONE Mild Violence Т www.konami.com/usa PlayStation E © 1996 KAZUKI TAKAHASHI Konami and "The Duelists of the Roses" are trademarks or registered trademarks of KONAMI CORPORATION. ©2003 KONAMI CORPORATION. "PlayStation" and the logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association. All rights rese PS2 TRICKS AND REVIEW ARCHIVE Game names in green indicate a Greatest Hits title. Ratings in red indicate a five-star score. A number @ indicates its rank in the top 10 selling games for each system. GAME PUBLISHER SCORE — ISSUE -hack//INFECTION Bandai BADE 65 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Acclaim DOSP 52 4x4 EVO GOD Games $$ 44 2002 FIFA World Cup EA Sports 609% 58 Activision Anthology Activision 00600 64 The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Agetec DODI 44 Aggressive Inline. Acclaim 99088 59 Airblade Namco BERS 53 All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim ФН 44 All-Star Baseball 2003 Acclaim ФН 56 Antz Extreme Racing Empire 94 61 Aqua Aqua 300 @@ 42 Arctic Thunder Midway ® 50 Armored Core 2 Agetc $$ 39 Armored Core 2: Another Age Agetec bé 48 Armored Core 3 Agetec POHDI 61 Army Men: Air Attack зро PARI 44 Army Men: Green Rogue зро $$ 45 Army Men RTS 300 PADS 56 Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 зро $4 45 QIAN offroad Fury 2 Sony CEA ФФФФ 64 Head over to the Profile Editor and click Unlock Items. Theres a place to cheat in there. Enter these codes for these results. EATDIRT Disable/enable aggressive АЈ. FLYPAPER | Disable/enable wrecks GABRIEL Unlock San Jacinto Isles GAMEON All Games GIMMEPTS 1,000 Profile points Ё GOLDCUPS АШ Championship events | IGNEUP Unlock Everything SHOWROOM АН АТУ THREADS АП Equipment TRIBLAZR All Tracks ATV Quad Power Racing 2 Acclaim DDS 66 Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Interplay PAPPI 52 Barbarian Titus 6% 57 Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament THO $6 5 Batman: Vengeance Ubi Soft SSS 51 Battle Engine Aquila. Atari DESI 65 Blade Il Activision 68 62 Blood Omen 2 Eidos & $4 57 BloodRayne Majesco POSI 63 Bloody Roar 3 Activision 609686 47 BMX XXX Acclaim 04 6 Britney's Dance Beat THO DEES 58 The Bouncer Square EA $&$ — 42 Burnout Acclaim POPPI 52 Burnout 2: Point of Impact Acclaim $$$ 63 Capcom vs. SNK 2 Capcom $$$ 51 CART Fury Midway Ф 47 Casper: Spirit Dimensions ТОК Mediactive 68 | 50 City Crisis Take 2 BES 48 Commandos 2: Men of Courage Eidos @® 62 Conflict: Desert Storm Gotham Games @@ ө Conflict Zone Ubi Soft BHI в Contra: Shattered Soldier Konami PESSI 64 Cool Boarders 2001 Sony СЕА $$$ 46 САМЕ PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Acdaim ARA 46 | ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 Konami ФФФФ 54 XENOSAGA Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Мепозр 64 49 ESPN MLS ExtraTime Konami 9% 44 5 Dark Cloud 7777777 болу(ЖА SERRA 46 ESPN National Hockey Night Konami 428 45 You say ether, we say either ESPN NBA 2Night Konami ®® 42 ® У Dark Summit THQ SEEE 52 ESPN МВА 2Night 2002 Konami 0% 56 "Раме Mirra Freestyle ВМХ 2 Насаат $4 50 ЕЅРМ Winter X Games Snowboarding Konami $$ 4 Every character in Xenosaga has special abilities and attacks, called DDRMAX Konami 0000 63 ЕЅРМ Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 Konami ФФФ 53 Ether attacks. Of these, none is more spectacular (or damaging) than Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore. Тесто PARMI 39 ESPN X Games Skateboarding Konami 6989090 49 Shion's Erde Kaiser attack. Dead to Rights Namco RRR 65 Eternal Ring Agetec BR 38 Acquiring the Erde Kaiser requires finding six robot parts scattered Defender Midway PERI 62 Eve of Extinction. Eidos BRE 56 around the game. In order to find these parts, you'll need specific seg- Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos PAPPI 56 Everblue 2 Capcom 800% 66 ment file numbers, the location of each hidden part, and a decoder to Devil May (j бароп Evergrace Agetec 60% 39 open the locked doors containing said parts. It’s a lot of effort, but the Devil May Cry 2 Capcom ®®® 66 EverQuest Online Adventures Sony Online Ent. 004 66 end result is worth it. As you can tell by the Voltron-esque sequence of Dino Stalker Capcom PERA 61 Evil Twin Ubi Soft B® 52 events that follow, the Erde Kaiser Ether attack is nothing short of Disaster Report. Agetec 999 65 Evolution Skateboarding Konami &&$ в incredible. Happy hunting. Disney Golf EA Games PAD 61 Evolution Snowboarding Konami ® 65 Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows Шы soft DRG — 63 Extermination Sony CEA PI — 48 Disney's Treasure Planet Sony CEA PRI 64 Extreme Gill Acclaim RER 50 Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubi Soft BRI 42 1 - Kukai 1 - Talk to the Tom in the Dock Colony's Downforce Titus B® 57 F1 2002 EA Sports BERRI 60 Foundation, roof weapon shop to learn about the Pink Bug. Dr. Muto Midway 999 8 F1 Championship Ubi Soft && dé 43 of Our Treasure Then talk to the Pink Bug in King's Q@bragon Ball Z: Budokai Atari RORI 65 F1 Championship Season 2000 EA Sports 499 41 (Inn) warehouse on Kukai Foundation City Sector INSTEAD OF YELLING BUDOKAl, START HOWLING UNLOCKABLES! Fantavision Sony CEA BEDS 40 26/27, and select “Great story.” Next, check CELL Defeat Cell in Story mode. Fatal Frame Тесто 006080 55 the planter in Durandals Observatory. CELL SIDE-STORY To unlock the Cell side-story, clear all the episodes Ferrari F355 Challenge Sega ®® 61 2 - Dock Colony, 2 - Defeat the Athra 26 Series that appears in the Android Saga. After that, two new episodes will be available FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports PAPPA 39 junk store on the central floor of the second tower on that allow you to play as Cell. Now, you'll see Cell's Perfection come FIFA 2002 EA Sports PASI 51 Song of Nephilim System (destroy the true...sort of. fourth box in the location where five boxes DODORIA Beat Frieza with Vegeta in Story mode. Fighter Maker 2 Agetec 06 64 are ina line). FRIEZA Defeat Frieza in Story mode. n 3 - Kukai 3 - The treasure box in Bunnie's house in FRIEZA SIDE STORY To unlock Frieza's side-story, clear all the Fireblade Midway DRI 59 Foundation, the Encephlon. episodes in the Namekian Saga. You'll unlock two new episodes Forever Kingdom Agetec 98 53 Cleaners 1F that let you play as Frieza. Now, you'll see what would have hap- Formula One 2001 Sony CEA EDI 50 7 - Woglinde, front 7 - Talk to Swaine on Woglinde during the pens if Frieza had defeated Goku in the series. Freekstyle EA Sports Big RRR® 59 of Sergeant Major Gnosis attack. GINYU To unlock Ginyu, defeat him in your second encounter with Frequency Sony CEA RRR 52 Swagger him after he takes Goku's body in Story mode. Frogger: The Great Quest Konami $4. 53 8 - Elsa, corridor 8 - Before the Gnosis attack, talk to the GREAT SAIYAMAN Beat World Tournament in Advanced mode. Fur Fighters: Міре05 Revenge Acclaim RRR 46 of the cargo bay woman in Ironman bar in Kukai Foundation HERCULE Beat World Tournament in Adept mode. Gadget Racers Conspiracy PESI 50 City Sector 26/27 to learn about the Unlock Legend of Hercule mode Galerians: Ash Sammy 48 66 Engagement Ring. Search the white tub on Beat Adept level for World Tournament mode. You'll then be able to Gallop Racer Tecmo 48 48 the second floor of the cleaners to obtain buy Legend of Hercule mode from Mr. Роро5 shop. Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway RRR 46 Fish Detector. Go to Gaignun's private beach NAPPA Beat Nappa in Story mode to unlock him. The Getaway Sony CEA RRR® 66 and catch the fish that has the engagement RADITZ To unlock Raditz, beat him in Story mode. Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay PEPI 51 ring. Return to the bar and the ring back to RECOOME To unlock Кесооте, defeat him in your first encounter as Gitaroo-Man Koei PADI 53 the woman. Vegeta in Story mode. Godai: Elemental Force 300 $$ 54 9 - Inside Gnosis 9 - The treasure box guarded by Stribog TRUNKS Clear Perfect Cell Complete to unlock Trunks. Gradius Ill and IV Konami PSI 39 Mothership, (the long armed monster] inside the Gnosis VEGETA Defeat Vegeta in Story mode. "Gran Turismo 3: Sony CEA FERDE 46 Research Lab 3F Mothership. VEGETA SIDE QUEST Beat Story mode once and you'll unlock a side @ t quest with Vegeta on Earth. You must defeat the Z-fighters from his ‘All Weapons No. 1 RI, R2, 11, R2, +, $, =>, t, 4, $, >, t perspective. All Weapons No. 2 R1, R2, 11, R2, +, $, =, fe $$ = YAMCHA Defeat Yamcha as Cell in Story mode. All Weapons No. 3 R1, R2, L1, R2, ©, 8,9 t, + $, 4, 4 ZARBON Beat Zarbon with Vegeta in Story mode. Full Armor R1, R2, U, ©, +=, $, =, t, e b t Dragon Rage 300 $4 54 Full Health К, R2, Ц, ©, +, $, =>, t, e V t Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Sony СЕА ФФФФ 53 Commit Suicide *%,17, $, R1, + * R1, LI, L2, LI Driven Bam ® 82 Raise Wanted Level R1, RI, ©, R2, +, =>, +=, =>, +, => Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA PRI 41 Lower Wanted Level RIL RI, О, к, #, 5, 2, 5, 1, 5 Drome Racers EA Games 98 64 Ladies Man (certain women follow you) ©, 9, L1, LI, R2, ®, ®, Dropship Bam @RRR 7 0,0 Dual Hearts Atlus BAS 61 Dynasty Tactics Koei PEPI 61 Grandia ll Ubi бой RRR? — 53 Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei @®®® 38 Grandia Xtreme Enix PEPI 62 Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei DEE 52 Gravity Games Bike: Street, Vert, Dirt Midway @ а Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends Koei PRSI 65 GTC Africa Majesco ФФ4 58 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Acclaim 444 56 Guilty Gear X Majesco/Sammy © 51 Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness Kemco 984 61 Guilty Gear X2 Sammy &&** 66 Endgame Empire 9% 59 Gungrave Sega PODI 61 Ephemeral Fantasia Konami ®4 49 Gungriffon Blaze Working Designs PAI 39 ESPN International Track & Field Konami ®®® 39 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets EA Games RRR 64 Raise ite Ину Erde Kaiser to уапашзуош DE3 in опе fell swoop! Official US. PlayStation Magazine YU-GI-OH! DUELISTS OF THE ROSES Master fusion tips from the pros at Prima Games site at In Yu-Gi-Oh!, the winning duelist is usually the one with the strongest creatures. However, when you're just beginning with your initial deck, most of your creatures are low-cost and very weak. So, how does a novice duelist compete against such juggernauts as Rex's Bracchio-raidus, Keith's Machine King, or, worst of all, Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragon? The following strategies and tips were excerpted from Prima Games’ Official Guide to Yu-Gi-Oh! The full guide is on sale now. Check their Not with the low-level creatures in your default deck. Luckily, Yu-Gi-Oh! lets you combine two or more cards to create a stronger creature via a process called Fusion. In previous Yu-Gi-Oh! games, you needed to tribute monsters or use the Polymerization card to create a Fusion. That's not the case in Duelists, so Fusions are now easier than ever to create. There are dozens of possible Fusion combinations—in fact, there are too many to list useful ability. Designate your creatures First, designate the creatures you'll fuse by pushing Up on your D-pad. The order in which you name the creatures isn't usually important, unless you're fusing more than two creatures. In that case, combine the first two creatures into a Fusion creature that will then com- bine with your third selection, resulting in your ultimate Fusion- creature goal. For instance, to create Nekogal #2, you'd designate the Lisark, the EN [zm Designate your cards wisely. Rainbow Flower, and the Goddess of Whim, in that order. Fusing the Lisark and Rainbow Flower forms a Flower Wolf. The new Flower Wolf would then combine with the Goddess of Whim to create a Nekogal #2. If the Goddess of Whim was designated first, the Fusion would not work. Keep track of your summon points You need enough Summon points to play the highest-level monster of the two you'll be fusing. Then, you play the cards and hope for a successful match. Not only does Fusion let you summon more- powerful creatures than you nor- mally could, but it also lets you play your end-goal creature for fewer summoning points than it would normally cost. If the Fusion is successful, then the new creature is sum- moned onto the playing field, while the two combining creatures go to your graveyard. The No. 1 thing we'd rather do than play Yu-Gi-Oh’? Make fun of the people that play Yu-Gi-Oh! Official US. PlayStation Magazine Fusion right on the board! TRY THIS... You can also create a Fusion by summoning a creature from your hand onto the same square as a creature on the field. If the Fusion is legal, when the new card is placed, the two will combine to create a new creature in that Square. Combine multiple low-cost cards to get a high-cost card Note that most Fusions operate only with lower-cost cards and that the ultimate card you summon through the Fusion must usually be a higher-level card than the individual component cards. Use cards of different types Don't try to Fusion these guys! Cards of the same type often don't combine to form a Fusion, so experiment with different type combinations, like Dragon and Thunder, or Plant and Fiend You can also combine two crea- tures on the field of play. To do this, simply move one creature into the same square as another. If the Fusion is legal, the two will fuse in the stationary creature's square (that is, the creature that did not move]. Be careful, though—if the Fusion isn't legal, the sta- tionary creature will be destroyed. Try combining mon- sters with similar attributes When deciding which cards to fuse, you should first attempt to fuse creatures of different types with similar attrib- utes, such as two Earth creatures or two Wind crea- tures. This doesn't mean you shouldn't try to fuse creatures with different attributes, but avoid combining cards with opposite attributes, such as a Fire creature and a Water creature. Often, the types, not the specific monsters, are important in fusions Once you discover a Fusion combi- nation, remember that it isn't usu- ally the specific creatures that lead to the Fusion, but rather the crea- tures' types and attributes. For example, a Dragon of Wind and a Thunder Creature of Wind can fuse to create a Thunder Dragon, but it's not important which Dragon of Wind or Thunder Creature you use. ^ Baby Dragon, a Petit Dragon, a Fairy Dragon, and a Lesser Dragon are all fair game. And the Thunder component is even easier to work = ~ Sometimes, it’s the type of card. creature can have Wind, Light, or Earth attributes, so a Kaminarikozou, an Electric Snake, Oscillo Hero #2, or a Thunder Lizard are all options. Any com- „that matters when Fusioning Thunder creatures would result in a Thunder Dragon. In fact, the only constant is each creature's sum- moning level, which must be three or less. If you tried to create a Thunder Dragon with a Sky Dragon, which has a summon level here. Besides, half the fun of Fusions is finding the combinations on your own. Remember, though, every card can be part of a Fusion; you'll find just as many unsuccessful combina- tions as you will successful ones. But there are a few guidelines for exploiting this very You can fuse j | with perma- | nently spell- ’ bound crea- tures. This is an easy way to unfreeze frozen crea- tures and create stronger mon- sters, all at the same time. You can do this by moving one creature into the same space as the spellbound creature, or by summoning a new creature into the spellbound crea- ture's square. The new Fusion cre- ation will not be spellbound. Use fusions strategically In addition to creating stronger creatures, Fusions can be a useful strategic tool in dueling. You can negate an enemy's spellbinding by creating a Fusion with the spell- bound creature, or, in the draw phase, free up spaces in your hand for additional cards by ridding your hand of multiple monsters [without wasting any) by creating a Fusion. 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 Canada, and $5 foreign. All payments MUST be in US. funds. Prices and avail- ability subject to change without notice. (Note: Issue 17/February 1999 is completely SOLD OUT.) (SEL vimo oyo п Issue 61 October 2002 - $10 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 Моко Previews: Treasure Planet, Kelly Slater, Superman, Kingdom Hearts. Issue 66 March 2003 - $10 iN. gar. кіші i ша DEF JAM: VENDETTA PS2 Deno Disc PLATABLES: Jet X20, NHL FaceOff 2003, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, Pride FC: Fighting Championship, All-Star Baseball 2004, NASCAR Thunder 2003, The King of Route 66, Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, Rocky Voto Previews: Xenosaga, EverQuest. Online Adventures PlaySta‘ion Lo E] D ш SEALS Wl t Issue 60 September 2002 - $10 SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS PS2 Demo Disc PLavanes: TimeSplitters 2, X-Men: Next Dimension, Hot Shots Golf 3, The Mark of Kri, Frequency, Medal of Honor: Frontline Vioto Previews: Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, and more Issue 65 February 2! pou REVIEWS! Issue 64 sanay 2003 - $10 [ THE GETAWAY PS2 Deno Disc Риви: The Getaway, Dark Cloud 2, NBA ShootOut 2003, Ratchet & Clank, ATV: Quad Power Racing 2, Black & Bruised, Run Like Hell: Hunt or be Hunted, Shaun Murray's Pro. Wakeboarder, Def Jam Vendetta Vineo Previews: 007: NightFire, GTA: Vice City, Tribes Aerial Assault rps EXCLUSIVE ps2 DEMO ovo INSIDE: Issue 59 August 2002 - $10 SLY COOPER PS2 Deno Disc PLAYABLES: Street Hoops, UFC: Throwdown, Taz: Wanted, Freekstyle, Sled Storm, Stuntman, Britney's Dance Beat Vioto Previews: Mat Hoffman 2, Dragon's Lair 3D, Kingdom Hearts, Test Drive WAR OF THE MONSTERS PS2 Deno Disc PLAYABLES: Monsters, Rygar: The Leg Adventure, Burnout Impact, Shinobi, Legaia 2: Duel Saga, Minority Report, Haven: Call of the King, Reign of Fire, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 Veo Previews: The Getaway Ў PLATARL PLAYSTATION 2 ӨУО IW [o Issue 58 July 2002 - $10 PS2 Deno Disc Paus: Mister Mosquito, Aggressive Inline, Knockout Kings 2002, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002, Fireblade, Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Vio Previews: Mark of Kri, Woody Woodpecker, Gravity Games Issue 63 December 2002 - $10 Issue 62 November 2002 - $10 WHAT THE OTHER BUS ШІЛ) mm LIN RATINGS oF TIPS GTA: VICE CITY PS2 Deno Disc Ришвиз: Wild Arms 3, Sly Cooper, Silent Scope. 3, DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution, Dual Hearts, MX Superfly, Red Faction 2, Dr. Muto, Hitman 2 Vinco Previews: Ratchet & Clank, SHINOBI PS2 Deno Disc PLATABLES: Suikoden Ill, 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 Contra: Shattered Soldier, Planet, Primal -hack/INFECTION, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater & Issue 57 June 2002 - $10 [ ] Issue 56 May 2002 – $10 STAR WARS PS2 рено Disc PAYABLES: Medal of Honor: Frontline, Fatal Frame, Herdy Gerdy, Mad Maestrol, Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Моко Previews: Delta Force Urban Warfare, Scooby-Doo, Stuntmaner’s Stone, NBA ShootOut 2002 Hot Shots Golf 3, Rez, Jak and Daxter, Baldur's Gate, SSX Tricky Intellige PaRappa the Rapper, Ace Combet галав Force B8-— —-—-— $10 ‘BUSHIDO BLADE DEMOS: Cease PIA Croc Armored Cardinal SYN, Ghost in the Shell, Moto Racer, Test Drive 4 unum е DEMOS: NFL GameDay 98, CART. World Series, Frogger lese 8 - February 1998 40 DEMOS: NCAA GameBreaker 98, Tomb Raider Il, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Crime Killer DEMOS: Bloody Roar, Monster Rancher, Shipwreckers. Г 1998 $10 RESIDENT EVIL 2 STRATEGY DEMOS: Hot Shots Golf, Pitfall 3D, WCW Nitro, ONE $10 TEKKEN 3: DEMOS: Einhánder, Gex: Enter the Gecko, Klonoa bm ns DEMOS Cardinal SIR, Vig Vigilante 8, Forsaken, N20, TOCA, Dead or Alive. DEMOS: Gran Turismo, Tombal, The Granstream Saga, Jersey Devil, NBA ShootOut, Blasto, Speed Racer Issue ti- 1998 VIGILANTE. м DEMOS: Tekken 3, Turbo Prop Racing Josue 12 - 1998 $10 ELEMENTAL. ' STRATEGY DEMOS: Spyro the Dragon, Duke Nukem: Time (о Kit VÀ WWF War Zone, The Unholy War, S.C.AR.S, Issue 13 - October 1998 — $10 ‘SPYRO THE DRAGON Dice, Brunswick Bowling, Ninja, NFL Xtreme, Cool Boarders 3 DEMOS: MediEvil, WarGames Defcon 1, Dragon Seeds, G-Darius, Future Cop А.Р... Colony Wars Vengeance Issue 15 - December 1998 $10 CRASH BANDICOOT STRATEGY DEMOS: RN Be Crash Bandicoot: W/ Word A Bug Lite Running Wi Wid, Kagero, Metal Gear Turismo ei pt) $o DEMOS: Rá: Ridge Racer Type 4, WCW/nWo Thunder, Rollcage, Warzone 2100, Rugrats: Search for Reptar ЈЕМО5: NFL Blitz, Bust-a-Move 4, R4: Racer Type & Emo's Later Advent ыза. 1999 $10 ALPHA 3 STRATEGY DEMOS. Apo Ape Escape, MLB 2000, The Next Tetris, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Groc 2, Soul of the Samurai, Bloody ar ‘Issue 23 - 1999 $10 uU sre DEMOS: Final Fantasy VIII, 3 Xtreme, Tiny Tank, Jade Cocoon, Macross VF-X 2, You Don't Know Jack, Centipede, Ultimate 8-Ball. issue 24 - 1999 $10 JADE COCOON DEMOS: Um Jammer Lammy, Sled Storm, Cho-cobo Racing, Pong, Monaco Grand Prix Racing Г] issue 28 - October 1999 $10 FINAL FANTASY Vill STRATEGY DEMOS: нк O ‘Omega Boost, NFL Xtreme 2, Moto 3, Toy Story 2, Pac Man World DEMOS: Grandia Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Killer Loop, 40 Winks, NFL Blitz, Crash Bandicoot: WARPED, Cool Boarders 3 вне 29 - 2000 $10 MEDAL OF HONOR STEREO пр nie TM у Last Revelation, SuperCross MTV Sports Snowboarding 2, Silent Bomber, Twisted Metal 4 СД иоле: mter DEMOS: Colony Wars: Red Sun, ааа Dress Harrier Attack, а LaBonte Stock Car Racing, НИ ИЕ Hota ear саит маа o Demolition, MTV Sports اا‎ NME зимге Emperor's New - 2001 a, фо JEMOS: Driver 2, Spider-Man, Тһе DEMOS: Cool Boarders 2001, ico, Grinch, 102 Dalmations, Army Men Air Klonoa 2 Lunates's Vel Attack Legacy, Star Wars: Super Portal Runner, Legacy Jesse 4i - у 2001 $10 of Kain: Soul Reaver, Spy Hunter DEMOS: Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Г маме 50 - Movember 2001 $10 Star Wars Demolition, Crash Bash, GRAND THEFT AUTO it Cool Boarders 2001, You Don't Know DEMOS: Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Mutant Jack, Mort the Chicken Academy 2, Barbie 5 Bandicoot: WARPED, Spyro: Year of issue 42 - March 2001 $10 the Dragon, Twisted Metal 2, EASPORTS BIG Filter 2, Tekken 3 DEMOS: CTR: Crash Team Racing, Hot ^ VIDEOS: Dragon Warrior VII, Syphon Shots Golf 2, Grind Session, Disney's Filter 3 ‘Legacy, Ico, GameDay 2002, DEMOS: Maximo, Soul Reaver2, PaRappa the Rapper 2, Frequency, Gitaroo Man, Airblade VIDEOS : Virtua Fighter 4, Grand Theft Auto IIl, Smuggler's Run 2, Herdy Gerdy {А REPLAY Enough tricks to fill up а 10-gallon hat! www.gamewinners.com The site we go to when мете а поло get through a tough game GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Natsume PAPP 51 Haven: Call of the King Midway PEDI 64 Headhunter Acclaim $$ 57 Herdy Gerdy Fidos &&& 56 Heroes of Might and Magic зро #64 46 Hidden Invasion Conspiracy BBR 60 High Heat MLB 2002 зро BRS 44 High Heat MLB 2003 зро PADDA 55 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Eidos PAPPA 63 Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony CEA ФФФФ 55 Hot Wheels: Velocity X THO DSE 64 Island Extreme Stunts пу СЕА FRRRR 50 EA Games PADI 65 Ubi Soft BRE Sony СЕА PERRE James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire EA Games & ee 52 james Bond 007: NightFire Activision SEEDA 64 Unlock these multiplayers. Or don't. You choose. Oddjob BOWLER Xenia JANUS Christmas Jones NUCLEAR Baron Samedi %00000 Bond Tux BLACKTIE Goldfinger MIDAS Jaws DENTAL Scaramanga ASSASSIN James Cameron's Dark Angel Sierra @@ 6 Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Acclaim ® 5 Jet X20 Sony CEA 0% в Jonny Moseley Mad Тік зро 68 54 Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Activision @@@@ 61 Kengo: Master of Bushido Crave 6060) 42 Kessen ЕА Games 8$ 39 Kessen Il Koi $$$ я Kinetica Sony CEA (99$ 50 King’s Field: The Ancient City Agetec B® 5 Ө Kingdom Hearts Square EA PAPDA 61 UP FOR AN ALTERNATE ENDING? Try this: Beat the game with all keyholes, 99 Dalmatians, all of Ansems reports, and the Hades Cup. Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil EA Games PADDA 47 Knockout Kings 2001 ЕА Sports $$ 42 Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports ФФФФ 55 Le Mans 24 Hours Infogrames 686 48 Legaia 2: Duel Saga Fresh Games @@@ вз The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubi Soft 66 54 Legends of Wrestling Acclaim @@@ 53 Legends of Wrestling И Acclaim $$ 65 Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Midway ФФФ 59 Lego Racers 2 Lego Media @@@ 51 Lethal Skies Sammy @@® 58 The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Black Label 608006 63 Өтте Lora of the Rings: The Two Towers EA Games PERSI 63 Beat the game to use these codes. You'll have to start a mission, pause, and then hold all four shoulder buttons while tapping these in. Always Devastating 0,0,0,0 small Enemies 9,9,8 All Upgrades 40,50 invulnerability | 0,0,%0 Slow Motion доо Infinite Missiles боље Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh 060%) 56 Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports PADS 38 Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports 0060896 48 3 Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports PEPES 60 CHEAT TO MAKE IT BIG Look, we know the minicamps can be gruesome, especially if you're aiming to unlock the likes of Barry Sanders, John Elway, and Deion Sanders. + Turn off autosave. * 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 10 99 then lower the defensive players’ ratings (Dat Nguyen and Roy Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine TRASH CASH When you first enter the College level, turn right and ride up the street until you see a garbage truck with a ramp on its back end. Ride up the ramp and spine transfer over into the bed of the truck. A message will say “Garbage Day.” Transfer around for loads of cash. Axx Dunmire WickedAx(amsn.com GTA VICE CITY: INVINCIBLE RIDE | found an invincible car! Go to the Diaz mission called The Guardian [it’s in one of Cortez’s missions entitled The Guardian, where you have to oversee one of Diaz's drug deals from on high). Meet up with Lance, then talk to Diaz. Go to the top of the steps. Now, kill Diaz. The mission will end, and you can take Diaz's car. It's immune to every- thing (unless you tip it over). And, it's an Admiral, so it's not that bad. Vince Moulton vincemoulton (hotmail.com GTA VICE CITY: GROUPIES? Is there a way to make my henchmen follow me around like the Groupie cheat code? Actually, | just wanna put my henchmen to work because most of the time, they're useless. Zyrius Zacarias zirusthevyrius (дуаћоо.сот Yeah, those guys are useless, Zyrius, but there's no code to make them act like brain-havin’ mobsters. GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Williams). * Load Cheat rosters and serve. The Mark of Кї Sony CEA PAD 59 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Mat Hoffman's Pro ВМХ 2 Capcom $$$ 61 Activision PAPS 60 Мах Payne Rockstar & 53 Maximo: Ghosts To Glory Capcom RERI 54 MDK2 Armageddon Interplay RASI 45 ‘Medal of Honor: Frontline EA Games RRRRR 58 Men in Black |: Alien Escape Infogrames 84686 60 Metropolismania Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing Natsume 00% Codemasters ® 58 Minority Report. Activision RDG 65 Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh PRPA 56 MLB Slugfest 20-03 Midway ФФ 59 Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon Bandai & d 61 Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo | Bandai ® 48 ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Bandai @@® S4 Monopoly Party Infogrames ФФФ — 65 Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo PERS 50 Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA RRR 55 Ө Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Midway ФФФФ 64 ALL RIGHT, CHECK THIS OUT Here's who you can unlock, what it costs, and which Koffin. Easy enough, right? Fighter _ Cost Koffin Cyrax 3003 Platinum Koins Drahmin 6500 Sapphire Koins Frost 208 Ruby Koins Hsu Hao 3317 Jade Koins Jax 3780 Ruby Koins Kitana 2931 Sapphire Koins Nitara 4022 Gold Koins Raiden 3116 Jade Koins Moto GP Namco PED 39 Moto GP 2 Namco SESSE 53 Motor Mayhem Infogrames 666 47 MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters 0060 46 The Mummy Returns Universal &4 52 MX 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO PRSE 47 MX Rider Infogrames éd 52 MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO BRR? 59 Myst Ill: Exile. Ubi Soft 8966 63 Mystic Heroes Koei BRE 64 Namco Museum Namco RRR? 53 NASCAR 2001 EA Sports @@@ 40 NASCAR Heat Infogrames ФФФФ 47 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports PORRA 51 NASCAR Thunder 2003 EA Sports EPSA 62 NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Infogrames ФН 63 NBA Hoopz м NBA Live 2001 42 NBA Live 2002 EA Sports @@@ S1 NBA Live 2003 EASpots ФФФФ 63 NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony CEA $94 44 NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony CA ФеФ өз NBA Starting Five Konami PE өз NBASUet — — O EA sports Big 25590 A7 NCAA College Basketball 2K3 Sega Sports PAPP 64 NCAA College Football 2K3 Sega Sports 6066 60 NCAA Final Four 2001. Sony СЕА ® а NCAA Final Four 2002 989 Sports 94 5 NCAA Final Four 2003 NCAA Football 2002 NCAA Football 2003 Sony CEA PG — 64 EA Sports PAPPA 48 EA Sports ERER 60 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony CEA 64 а NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Sony CEA @@_ а NCAA March Madness 2002 EA Sports 6Ф0 — 5 NCAA March Madness 2003 EA Sports $$ _ 64 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 EA Games %%%%% 62 PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE NFL2K3 Sega Sports ФН 60 NFL Blitz 20-02 Midway. BBRR 55 NFL Blitz 20-03 3 60 NFL GameDay 2001 40 NFL GameDay 2002 5 NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA $4 61 NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim $4 50 NHL 2001 ЕА Sports ФФФФ 38 NHL 2002 EA Sports PAPEI 50 NHL 2003 EASports RRR? 63 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony СЕА BERI 43 NHL FaceOff 2003 Sony CEA RÈ 64 NHL Hitz 20-02 Midway ®®®Ф® 51 NHL Hitz 20-03 Midway PERRI 62 Ninja Assault. Namco 886 61 No One Lives Forever Siera POPI 56 Okage: Shadow King Sony CEA ФФФ S1 Oni Onimusha: Warlo Onimusha 2: Samurais Destiny Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Pac-Man Fever Pac-Man World 2 Namco BERRI PaRappa the Rapper 2 Sony CEA RRR? 53 Paris-Dakar Rally Acclaim $£ 53 Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat EA Games RR? 55 Portal Runner 300 d The Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage 6 Pride FC THO PERS 65 Pro Race Driver Codemasters PASSI 65 Project Eden Fidos RRR 52 Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark Unicom ТОК Mediactive 5009 60 PTO. IV Koei &&& 66 Take 2 PERI 40 Quake IIl Revolution EA Games PARDI 44 Rally Fusion: Race of Champions Activision @@@ ба Ratchet & Clank Sony СЕА PRERE 63 Rayman 2: Revolution Ubi Sot RRRRR 41 Q-Ball Billiards Master Rayman Arena Ubi Soft RRR 57 RC Revenge Pro Acclaim 69628. а Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Midway 890600 40 Real Pool Infogrames PADI 40 Red Card Soccer 20-03 Midway 6Ө% 57 Red Faction Il THO @®®Ф өз Reign of Fire Bam RRR? єз Rez Sega DDERI 3 Ridge Racer V Namco 60800604 38 Riding Spirits Bam DREI 61 Ring of Red Konami BREE 43 RLH: Run Like Hell Road Trip Rocky Robot Alchemic Drive Robotech: Battlecry Romance of the Three Kingdoms VII Rugby Rumble Racing Rune: Viking Warlord Rygar: The Legendary Adventure EA Games PRSMI 45 Take2 BR дв Tecmo ФФФФ 64 Salt Lake 2002 Eidos ee = Savage Skies Bam $$$ 56 ‘Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights TH) BRR 58 The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian Universal 80% 62 Seek and Destroy Conspiracy PAPI 66 Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega ФФФ 62 Sega Soccer Slam Sega Sports 6% 62 Sega Sports Tennis Sega Sports ees 0 Shadow Hearts Midway 00%) Shadow of Destiny з Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim ® s Е3 Conference 82220 овоо оз Program 00900 бебо оо i: 160+ Speakers 22 295 Fx й 33+ sessions and Workshops E Register a cum 20000 oo Th : ( “Қ” EAST n Intern Ргетіег Event Qi toa Dee ; 2 E voe MA D 5 бы 52744 lis о ое е LOS ANGELES EM — te i ractive Entertainment where CONFERENCE ma 13-1519003 595 HESS EXPOSITION MAY 14-16 business LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER | gets fun ‚ еЗехро.сот Г] eo n GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY The next 50 packages you'll need for the game's big prize T! % Last issue we got you halfway there, this issue we finish it. Same drill as last Hyman Memorial ^ month: squares denote street-level tikis, triangles are above ground level. Stadium 51. At your (or Diaz’s) mansion, near the east pool, placed in the corner next to the stairs facing the water. 52. In a narrow alley between your west mansion pool and your next- door-neighbor's property. 53. On the poolside balcony of the house with the Rock Star pool. 54. In the poolside Jacuzzi of the brown house to the east [the one with with the radar dish and basketball net] 55. At the front door of the northeast house with the purple tile roof. DOWNTOWN Fort Baxter Ч Air Base 56. Behind the last building you jump from in the G-Spotlight mission, in a nook facing the water. 57. On the sculpture in the V.A.J Finance building. 58. Behind the Mars Café (where Love First's Psycho attacked). Use the save-house alley to reach the package. 59. In the parking lot behind the stadium (west side]. 60. In the lower parking garage at the hospital (Schuman Health Care Center on Eoarmount Avenue]. . Beside the rooftop helipad, on the five-story building south of the V.A.J Finance building. 62. Behind the middle desk inside the downtown office where you first enter in the G-Spotlight mission. 6 Official US. PlayStation Magazine 63. 6. Е 65. 66. 67. 68. 99. 70. 7 In a corner next to the Hi- Press Gas Hot Stream ramp, behind the Moist Palms Hotel. . Behind Phil's Place on the corner of the bulkhead (close to the water). Inside the shed at Phil's Place. Down the small set of stairs, behind the building two doors north of Kaufman Kabs. Inside recessed roof of the corner building in North Haiti. On the steps of the house closest to the east side of Kaufman Kabs. Near the skeleton grave behind Funeraria Romero. Between rooftop generators on the building that connects to the north side of Print Works [use the stairs on the north side to access the roof]. . In a corner behind a wooden fence below the "Life's a Bitch" billboard, on the corner east of Print Works. 74. 73. 74. 75. 7. ~ 7 3 78. Inside the laundromat. On porch of the daiquiri house that's for sale on the corner. Behind the wall, across the street from Umberto's restaurant (Robina's Café]. On the Kaufman Kabs billboard, accessed from the adjacent building's rooftop. . Inside the doughnut shop on the corner. . On top of the four-story build- ing with a red awning (use the corner building's stairs to get there]. Upstairs in the car showroom. Official US. PlayStation Magazine GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY That's 78 down, 22 to go, gangsta 79 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. Behind a large pipe on the ground, in the middle of the four large jet-fuel tanks. Between two tractor-trailers in the main airport park- ing lot. In a small parking lot between the little two-story, green-and-white apartments near the shipyard On the east side of the northeast cargo ship. Under Vice City Port Authority Main Building sign. On the southwest cargo ship [board the Chartered Liberty Lines using a helicopter]. Inside the office, deep inside the Seaplanes Tours hangar (the entrance to the hangar is on the south side, facing the water]. In a corner, near a fence and a building, north of 8- ball's garage at the docks. and ttle the e-mail Replay: GTA: Forum. оо ~ the hangar. 97. Top floor of Gate 8-1. entrance to the base. Have any hot tips on GTA: Vice City? We're putting together reader tips for next issue! Send them to Official US. PlayStation Magazine . On top of the southeast building at the airport (Vice City International Airport Freight and Cargo Terminal). 88. On top of the southernmost helipad. 89. On top of the south McAdam Airways hangar. 90. On top of the east end of the loading bridge 91. On top of the southwestern-most airplane parked at the terminal. 92. Under southwestern-most airplane parked at terminal. 93. Under the wing of the large ROCKSTAR airplane that's poking out of 94. Behind the fire station with the air traffic control tower on top of it. 95. Inside the airport terminal, behind a wall near the pay phone. 96. On the roof of the airport terminal. 98. Behind the large collection of billboards that leads into the airport. 99. Under an airplane behind the northeast airport. 100. Behind Vice City Air Reserve Fort Baxter Air Base sign at the GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision BRE 52 Shifters 300 & 58 Shinobi Sega PAPI 63 Shox EASports Big PESI 63 Shrek Super Party TDK Mediactive ed 64 Konami $$$ 39 Konami DESG 49 Konami PEÐI 62 Working Designs PAPI 40 Silent Scope Silent Scope 2 Silent Scope 3 Silpheed: The Lost Planet The Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games 924 64 The Sims EAGames PREP 65 Sky Gunner Atlus BERT 58 Sky Odyssey Activision BEB 40 Sled Storm EABig RRR 55 Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Namco PPSI 56 Rockstar PEPSI 52 Нов 9% 48 EA/Lego BER? 59 Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Soccer America: International Cup Soccer Mania Soldier of Fortune Majesco BRR 52 Soul Reaver 2 Eidos PAP 52 Space Race Infogrames d 59 Spider-Man Activision PASSI 57 Splashdown Infogrames PAPH 52 Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Vivendi Universal ®®® | 64 Majesco $$ 5 LucasArts BRB 64 LucasArts 80%% 65 LucasArts B® 45 LucasArts RRR? 56 LucasArts PASSI 55 Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force. Star Wars Bounty Hunter Star Wars The Clone Wars Star Wars Episode I-Super Bombad Racing Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Star Wars Racer Revenge State of Emergency Rockstar 68% 55 Stitch: Experiment 626 Sony СЕА 684 59 Street Fighter EX 3 Capcom RRR? 39 Street Hoops Activision PEPI 60 Stretch Panic Conspiracy RRR 47 Stuntman Infogrames/Atari @®@ 59 Sub Rebellion Metro 30 &&&& 62 Suikoden Ill Konami ФФ 63 Summoner THO $$$ 39 Summoner 2 THO ESSI 62 Ubi Sot RRR? 51 Sunny Garcia Surfing Super Bust-A-Move Acclaim &&& — 4i Super Bust-A-Move 2 Ubi Sot PESI 63 Supercar Street Challenge Activision Seed 52 Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Atari RE® өз Surfing H30 Rockstar B® 40 Swing Away Golf EA Games PES 38 Tarzan: Untamed Ubi Soft BRR? 52 Taz: Wanted Infogrames SSSI 60 Tekken 4 Namco PESI 61 The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Atari BRE 63 Test Drive Infogrames @999 58 Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames PES 48 Tetris Worlds THO $& 5 Theme Park Roller Coaster ЕА Games @®®® 41 The Thing Universal &&& 62 Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Eidos 94 2 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001. EA Sports $E 44 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 EA Sports 6%%% 55 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003 EA Sports PRESA 63 Time Crisis 2 Namco BERR 49 Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero Crave WEE 45 GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon We could fill this up with a bunch of codes, but all you need is this one. It unlocks everything: watch me. xplode Ubisoft PESI 65 Тор Angler Xicat ФН 57 Top Gear Dare Devil Кето $$$ 41 Top Gun: Combat Zones Titus BBS 50 Total Immersion Racing Empire ® 66 Infogrames &&$á 57 Sierra DEPI 62 Transworld Surf Tribes: Aerial Assault Triple Play 2002 EA Sports && 55 Triple Play Baseball EA Sports 60% 45 Tsuganai: Atonement Atlus ФФ 53 Turok: Evolution Acclaim 608 62 Twisted Metal: Black Online SCA PODS 61 Ту the Tasmanian Tiger EA Games 986 62 UFC Throwdown Infogrames SEPPI 58 Unison Tecmo PEDI 44 Unreal Tournament Infogrames 49894 40 V-Rally 3 Infogrames 00999984 64 Vampire Night Empire S 52 Victorious Boxers Empire PHI 51 Virtua Fighter... Sega War Jetz Warriors of Might & Magic зро $$$ 44 Wave Rally Eidos 64 5 Way of the Samurai Bam $&$4 59 Whirl Tour Vivendi Universal ®® в Whiteout Konami ® 65 Wild Arms 3 Sony CEA $$$ 62 Wild Wild Racing Interplay ®®® 39 Winback Koei BROS 43 Wipeout Fusion Bam PESSA 57 Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Atlus Фе. 53 Woody Woodpecker: Buzz Buzzard Park Dreamcatcher ФФФ 57 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks 300 @@@® 42 World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars Infogrames PAGS 55 World Tour Soccer 2002 Sony СЕА ФФФФ 53 World Tour Soccer 2003 Sony CEA PADS 65 Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Activision @® вз WTA Tour Tennis Konami & 5 (WWE SmackDown: Shut Your Mouth THO 6966 _ 64 The WWES dazzling divas are mouthwatering. Score 100 knockouts іп Slobberknocker mode and you'll unlock a movie of them being hot. Activision 09090608 64 EA Games 6966 Xenosaga: Episode 1— Der Wille Zur Macht Namco PADS X-Men: Next Dimension X Squad Yanya Caballista: City Skater Zapper 1.0Е: Zone of the Enders PS1 TRICKS AND REVIEW ARCHIVE Infogrames 994 38 66 Koei BOÐI 49 64 Konami PEDDI 44 007 Racing EA Games ®#® — 4i 3Xtreme 989 Studios Ф 2 40 Winks GT Interactive BEBE 28 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Eidos DESG 41 2002 FIFA World Cup EA Sports $$ 58 Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Namco 00% 31 FORUM GTA VICE CITY: CHOCOLATE LOVE First, beat the Cop Land mission (that'll unlock the cop out- fit). Then go to VCPD HQ, enter the locker room, and walk into the icon that says “cop.” Now, get any vehicle and drive to Fort Baxter Air Base (near the airport). Drive through the pole or jump over it. In the cop outfit, the Army members inside Baxter won't Shoot at you unless you attack them—at which point they'll blast the crap out of you. Once you're in Fort Baxter, turn left. See the stairs leading to the roof of the low building? Go up them. The roof of the building is cov- ered in barriers. Run to the end of the roof; you should see a catwalk on the side of another building. Go across it and then go down the stairs. This should put you in front of the training area. Go through the open gate into the training area, then walk along the northern side of the fence. You'll come to a set of stairs. Near them, you'll find an opening to the northernmost part of Fort Baxter. Go in and run west. You should eventually see a lone Apache helicopter. Steal it, (the army guys won't care) and fly away. Circle fires the mis- siles, and R1 fires the machine gun. Once you get the Apache, you can use it for Brown Thunder Vigilante missions. Brad Procyshyn quiksilver_freak (hotmail.com GAME PUBLISHER SCORE Aces of the Air Agetec d Action Bass Take 2 6% Action Man: Operation Extreme Hasbro 09% Akuji the Heartless Crystal Dynamics 99 Aladdin in Nasira's Revenge Sony CEA @® Alexi Lalas International Soccer Rockstar @ Alien Resurrection Fox Interactive DS All-Star Slammin’ D-ball Agetec BRE Alone іп the Dark: The New Nightmare Infogrames SOSS Alundra Working Designs PESSE Alundra 2 Activision SES The Amazing Virtual Sea-Monkeys Conspiracy @@ Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley ASC eee Animorphs: Shattered Reality Infogrames 6094 A RNa Son HERA Apocalypse Activision 600%) Arc the Lad Collection Working Designs SSS Arcade Party Pak Midway 6994 Arcades Greatest Hits: Atari Collection 2 Midway 9&6 Arcades Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 2 Midway ®® Armored Core Sony CEA $994 Armored Core: Master of Arena. Agetec d Armorines: Project SWA.R.M. Acclaim @ Army Men: Air Attack 300 BERR Army Men: Air Attack 2 зро 6994 Army Men: Green Rogue зро 68 Army Men: Sarge's Heroes зро ®® Army Men: Sargess Heroes 2 зро 694 Army Men: World War зро $6 Army Men: World War - Final Front зро 94 Army Men: World War - Land, Sea, Air зро 68 Arthur! Ready to Race The Learning Co. ® Assault Midway $$ Atari Anniversary Edition Redux Infogrames B® Atlantis: The Lost Empire SCEA db ATV: Quad Power Racing Acclaim 8 Austin Powers Pinball. Gotham Games ®® Auto Destruct Electronic Arts SS Azure Dreams Konami $$ Backstreet Billiards Ascii SOSA Ball Breakers. Таке 2 0996 Ballistic Infogrames SSES Baseball 2000 Interplay @® Bass Landing Agetec DADE Bass Rise Bandai DS Batman & Robin Acclaim @ Batman Beyond: Retum of the Joker Ubi Soft 4 Batman: Gotham City Racer Ubi Soft 64 Battle Hunter Agetec 68 Battletanx: Global Assault зро $4 Beast Wars Hasbro 66 Beyblade Crave 8 Big Air Accolade 98 Big Bass Fishing Take 2 8 Big 0! Bass 2 Konami $94 Billiards Agetec DDE Bio FREAKS. Midway B® Black Bass with Blue Marlin HotB @® Blade Activision 994 Blast Lacrosse Acclaim @@4 Blast Radius Psygnosis SOSA Blaster Master: Blasting Again Crave $$$ Blasto Sony CEA DEDA Bloody Roar Sony CEA BSS Bloody Roar 2 Sony СЕА DDGS Blues Big Musical THO $$$ Board Game: Top Shop Agetec BBRR Bomberman Fantasy Race Atlus 694 Bomberman Party Edition Майса! 4 Bomberman World Atlus 694 The Bombing Islands Kemo B® Boombots SouthPeak 996 ISSUE Official US. PlayStation Magazine @) THE SIMS Let's get this party started quickly, right? 1. Get promoted to level 4. 2. Get promoted to level 5. 3. Upgrade the abode when you go to Buy mode. 4. The house starts with $53,180 in value. The player must add $1,500 in value with objects for a final house value of at least $54,680. 5. Throw a raging party. 6. Move out with one of Dudley's friends from the party. Want to turn a party guest into а roommate? * Get two promotions. * Improve the value of your house. e Throw a raging party [check out the sidebar below). When you first enter the house, your Sim's mood will be good. Use that to learn any skill that will help you get the two promotions you need. Check your Job panel. The amount of friends you need in order to achieve each level of a career is listed above your career name. Whether players create a male or female Sim, the party guests are always the same Sims: Carlos, Layla, Zara, Betty, Bingo, and Leon. These Sims can be telephoned by calling the Roomies family. You can target one of them as your potential roommate, and then invite him or her over so you can improve the relationship without the stress of party management. Dudley and Mimi won't cook or clean, but they will cook hamburgers on the BBQ. Get them to start flipping burgers for you if you're too busy. Roomies will only accept the offer to be your new roommate if a party is in progress and the average mood is high. Follow the rager party instructions (right) to ensure this happens quickly. Dudley and Mimi can get promoted once or twice, but they won't learn new skills. Send them to work in a good mood so they'll get a pro- motion, which will generate a little more cash. Keep an eye out for Bobo, a shabbily dressed balding guy wearing bro- ken glasses. If you greet this homeless person and feed him, you can unlock a special two-player game. Player must use the phone to throw a party, and then get the average 3) Official US. PlayStation Magazine Have you fallen in love with your Sim? Even in а non-creepy way? Be honest: Mood up to 10. This is between one and two green mood bars. Since you can’t tell what kind of mood guests are in, you need to make sure everyone has a meal and then does fun things like dance at a stereo, get in the hot tub, or watch television. Learn to strategically use the hot tub; it's one of the most useful objects in the game. Not only can it raise Hygiene, Comfort, and Fun scores, but if you get two or more Sims in it at the same time, it can also raise your Social score. If you are close to losing a friend, just invite them over for a jump in the tub...it's a great way to maintain relationships. Hire both the maid and the gardener. You'll need to rehire them each time you move to a new house. Unlocks STRIP POKER TABLE Promotion to level 4 MASTER SUITE TUB Promotion to level 5 TREE SWING House value raised from $53,180 to $54,680 THE MOTEL (BASH 'N' SMASH) 2P GAME Throw a raging party THE PARK (BEGGARS' BANQUET) 2P GAME Greet and feed Bobo the Bum, a home- less character who wanders the neighborhood. HEAD IN JAR CURIO Unlocked for getting through house in 8 days or less Gardeners keep the place clean DUDLEY Make friends with Dudley and you can unlock his camou- flage pants. MIMI Make friends with Mimi and you can unlock her “cat ears” double-ponytail hairstyle. FRAN FOOFARAW Make friends with Fran and you can unlock her “cheerleader” ponytail hairstyle. FREDDY FOOFARAW Make friends with Freddy and you can unlock his “mullet” hairstyle. ZARA ROOMIES Make friends with Zara and you can unlock her flirty red camisole. PARTY ON! Parties can get crowded quickly To alleviate traffic cong 1, try building a third bathroom. d - 4 BETTY ROOMIES Make friends with Betty and you can unlock her backward baseball cap. BINGO ROOMIES Make friends with Bingo and you can unlock his "Liberty Spikes" haircut. CARLOS ROOMIES Make friends with Carlos and you can unlock his "Mohawk" hairstyle. LAYLA ROOMIES Make friends with Layla and you can unlock her cool fishnet stockings. LEON ROOMIES Make friends with Leon and you can unlock his bowl- ing shirt. of the Night? Good news: A D Cas ia from the sa me development team is coming this fall. с 5 GAME Bottom of the 9th 97 Bowling Boxing Brave Fencer Musashi Bravo Air Race Breakout Breath of Fire ІІ Breath of Fire IV Brigandine Broken Sword Broken Sword Il Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 Bug Riders Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters Bugs Bunny: Lost In Time Builders Block Burstrick Wake Boarding! Bushido Blade 2 Bust A Groove Bust A Groove 2 Bust-A-Move 4 Bust-A-Move 99 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command C: The Contra Adventure c12: Final Resistance Caesar's Palace 2000 Caesar's Palace Il Capcom vs. SNK Pro Card Games Cardinal SYN CART World Series Casper: Friends Around the World Castlevania Chronicles PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Konami &$$$ 1 Agetec B® в Agetec SE 45 Square EA @@@@ 15 THO $$$ 1 Hasbro 39 Capcom $$$ 9 Capcom #9684 40 Atlus SESI 15 THO $99 5 Crave DODI 27 THO $$$ із THO $$$$ 31 GT Interactive B® 3 Infogrames B® 41 Infogrames PESI 23 јео BREA 35 Natsume 66 45 Square ЕА BESE 14 989 Studios ФФФ 16 Castrol Honda Superbike Centipede Championship Bass Championship Motocross 2001 Feat. Ricky Carmichael Championship Motocross Feat. Ricky Carmichael Championship Surfer Chessmaster || Chicken Кип Chocobo Racing Chocobo's Dungeon 2 Circuit Breakers Civilization И Clock Tower Clock Tower Il: The Struggle Within Colin McRae Rally C Wars. Colony Wars: Red Sun. Colony Wars: Vengeance Command & Conquer: Red Alert Contender Contender 2 36 7 9 Activision @@% 39 Konami 64 12 Sony CEA $$ 58 Interplay 4 а Interplay 898 5 Capcom $$$ 60 Agetec 68 50 Sony CEA @@® 9 Sony CEA 85 3 Sound Source #4 а Konami SESI 50 Electronic Arts B® a Hasbro ® 2 EA Sports BERD 33 THO $$$ 4 THO SESI 25 Mattel BES 41 Mindscape 6%%4 23 Eidos $$ а Square ЕА $$$ — 23 Square EA $I 29 Mindscape @®Ф 12 Activision 086 18 дейі ®®® 2 Psygnosis PEESI 31 Psygnosis RRR? 14 Virgin && $$ 4 Sony CEA POSS 17 Bam ® а Cool Boarders 2001 Countdown Vampires Covert Ops: Nuclear Dawn Crash Bash Crime Killer Critical Depth Croc 2 Crossroad Crisis Crusaders of Might & Magic Sony CEA ® 39 Bandai 88 32 Activision BB 34 GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE CyberTiger EA Sports BESS 27 Dance Dance Revolution Konami PASS 42 Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix Konami @@@® 49 Dance Dance Revolution: Konamix Konami POSS 57 Danger Girl THO 666 9 Dark Omen Electronic Arts B® 9 DarkStalkers 3 Capcom DESS 16 Darkstone Таке 2 PASI 43 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Acclaim PEPI 38 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix Acclaim $6 47 David Beckham Soccer Majesco RRR 61 Dead in the Water ASC 664 y Dead or Alive Tecmo BRR? 8 Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos &4 9 Deception Ill: Dark Delusion Tecmo $$$ 31 Delta Force: Urban Warfare. Novalogic SS 61 Demolition Racer Infogrames ФФФФ 26 Destrega Кое! DASS 16 Destruction Derby Raw Midway DESS 39 Devil Dice тн0 ESSI 13 Dexter's Laboratory: Mandark’s Lab? Bam $$$ 59 Diablo Electronic Arts ФФФФ 8 Die Hard Trilogy: Viva Las Vegas Fox Interactive P 31 Digimon Digital Card Battle Bandai ФФФ 48 Digimon Rumble Arena Bandai PAG 55 Digimon World Bandai 48 36 Digimon World 2 Bandai @® 46 Digimon World 3 Bandai 886 — 57 Dino Crisis Capcom @®@@ 25 Dino Crisis 2 Capcom PASSI 38 Disney's Dinosaur Ubi Soft 66 36 Disney's Treasure Planet Sony CEA BEI _ 64 Donald Duck: Goin' Quackers Ubi Sot &&& 39 Downhill Mountain Bike Racing Activision 888 7 Dracula: The Last Sanctuary DreamCatcher @@@ 56 Dracula: The Resurrection DreamCatcher 008 48 Dragon Ball GT Bandai Ф% 4 Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek NewKidCo 604 “ Dragon Valor Namco 666% 38 Dragon Warrior VII Enix BESS? 51 Dragonseeds Јаіесо B® 5 Driver тегайе @@@@ 24 Driver 2 Infogrames $$$ 40 Ducati World Championship Racing Acclaim @@@ 41 Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes 40 Infogrames 4894 СТЕ ЕЕ GT Interactive DES т: Тіте 10 КІП! Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown Dukes of Hazzard Il: Daisy Dukes it Out SouthPeak 80%) Dune 2000 Electronic Arts 94 EA Sports Supercross EA Sports BRR? Eagle One: Harrier Attack Infogrames SSS Echo Night Agetec PES ECW Anarchy Rulz Acclaim ® ECW Hardcore Revolution Acclaim 6 Ehrgeiz Square EA BER Einhander Sony CEA $$ Elemental Gearbolt Working Designs PASS Eliminator Psygnosis 66 The Emperor's New Groove SCEA SRR ESPN MLS GameNight Konami DAS ЕЛ. the Extra-Terrestrial: Interplanetary Mission NewKidCo 8 Eternal Eyes Crave 96 Evil Dead: Hail to the King THO $$ Evil Zone Tius $$$ Expendable Infogrames 08 F1 2000 EA Sports RRR F1 Championship Season EA Sports BORE F1 Racing Championship Ubi Soft B&G Family Feud Hasbro SSS Family Game Pack зро $$$ Fantastic Four Acclaim @@ Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition SNK 68 Fear Effect Eidos PADHI FFX: REFLECT YEVON In just about every issue since ҒҒХв release, I've seen а different way to beat Yu Yevon. | beat it very easily, and! thought | had used the most obvious way. Here is how | did it: After noticing that it healed itself after every blow, | thought to myself, “If | cast Reflect on it, the spell would heal me and not Yu.” So, | tried it and it worked. I liked all those unique ways of beat- ing Yu Yevon, but | always thought that my way would have been most obvious. Mike White shadowrunneréshire faearthlink.net TIMESPLITTERS 2: REMOTE GUNS? | rented TimeSplitters 2 this weekend and | thought it was great, but is the remote gun accessible in the mapmaker (like the ones on the Training Ground level)? I can't find them. Did they take it out of map- maker, ог is there а way to unlock it? Michael W. ghettoblastin2002 (дуаћоо.са Our extensive research hasn't uncovered any remote guns avail- able in mapmaker— only the stationary turrets are there (under Advanced mode]. GTA VICE CITY: QUICK DRIVE How the hell am 1 supposed to beat Hillary? Gregory Pease gspeaseldattbi.com It's one of the game's hardest tasks. The trick? Don't pass him until the very end and you'll finally win. GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix Eidos 9994 43 Felony 1179 Аа $$$ 1 FIFA 98 EA Sports @@@¢ 4 FIFA 99 ЕА Sports ФФФФ 17 FIFA 2000 EA Sports POSDA 27 FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer EA Sports $ed 39 FIFA Soccer 2003 EASports ФФФН 63 The Fifth Element Activision @ 5 Fighter Maker Agetec @ 21 Fighting Force 2 Eidos @@ 29 Final Fantasy Anthology Final Fantasy Chronicles Square EA PASSI 26 Sony СЕА ФФФФ 47 Fisherman's Bait Konami DSG 18 Fisherman's Bait 2: Big ОГ Bass Konami $$$ 7 Flintstones Bedrock Bowling SouthPeak @ 7 Ford Racing 8: Formula 1 99 Psygnosis @@@@ 28 Forsaken Acclaim ФФФ 10 Fox Sports Golf ‘99 Fox Interactive 6099 п Fox Interactive @@@ — 11 Capcom $4 18 Acclaim $4 40 Fox Sports Soccer ‘99 Freestyle Boardin' ‘99 Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge Hasbro ФФФ 38 Front Mission 3 Square EA PEPPA 31 Future Cop L.A.PD. Electronic Arts 500%) B G-Police Psygnosis & es 3 G-Police 2 Psygnosis ФФФФ 25 G-Darius THO @@@@ в Galaga: Destination Earth Hasbro $i | 39 Galerians Cave DES 3 Gallop Racer Tecmo ӨӨ6 28 Gauntlet Legends Midway ФН — 32 Gekido Interplay ФФФ 34 бех: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos ФФФН 20 Gex: Enter the Gecko Midway SSSI 7 Ghost in the Shell THO @@@@ 4 Glover Hasbro @@ 28 Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado Ѕопу CEA $9 42 Enter the GT League race events until you get to the Pacific League races. Enter the Midfield Raceway event to be awarded a R"Nissan 3007Х GTS FedEx race car. Rockstar DSD Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto 2 т Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Rockstar @@@ — 22 Grand Tour Racing ‘98 Activision B® 1 Grandia Sony CEA PESDA 26 Granstream Saga тно $$$ 10 The Grinch Konami/Universal 96 3 Grind Session Sony CEA $$$ 34 Grudge Warriors Take 2 ФФ 34 Guardian's Crusade Activision &&$ 19 Gundam Battle Assault 2 Bandai ФФФФ 62 Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James Ubi Soft @@@ 52 HardBall 99 Accolade @% 5 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone EA Games $$$. 53 Ө Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets EA Games PES 64 EASILY SCORE EASY WIZARD CARDS + Go to the Burrow and Diagon Alley. Look for chests there for Wizard Cards. + Go to Neville's games, especially Broom Racing, to get Wizard Cards. Note: You will have to pay Beans to participate in Broom Racing and Gnome Tossing. Gnome Dunking is free. + At the very beginning In Ron's bam, there is a card on top of the rafters. To get it, you need to dimb the chicken coop outside. + Go to the fourth floor. Look under every bookshelf. You should Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine @) је: Replay: Online Gamer. E A 5 $ NLINE GAMING Getting online is easy; winning is the hard part Here's a map of Alcatraz, and below are words about how to dominate when you're playing online. Next month, we'll have another map for your pleasure. Red Base e ® CAPTURE THE FLAG Alcatraz is a great level for Capture the Flag, but the level may prove too large for fewer than six skaters. Consider holding out for more players before tack- ling this course. KING OF THE HILL This course is a camper's delight. There are plenty of places to hide at Alcatraz, including in the attic above the tunnel, on the roof of the building with the Green Base tunnel, inside the back of the secret hatch near the ferry, and inside the water tower, too. Employing hide-and-wait tactics may not win you any friends, but it's definitely a valid strategy. GRAFFITI For those who like team-based games of Graffiti, Alcatraz is the course for you! Spread your team out and conquer separate areas apart from one another. Send one person to the parade grounds, another to the switchbacks, and a third to the rooftop and exer- cise yard. This divide-and-conquer tactic will keep your team in the lead, and out of each other's way! KICKOFF If you're ready to get online, here's a couple sites that offer both league and ladder play for 2K3 and Madden. Be warned, this hobby can be more addictive than surfing Cindy Margolis web sites. But it's a great way to be part of an online community, and to get the competition you need. Good luck! www.crushem.com More geared toward ladder play, but several threads offer league action. Sign in and start posting on the message boards, You'll find plenty of willing chal- lengers and probably get your ass kicked with regularity. www.fgonline.org League and ranking action are available here. One of the coolest features in the ranked play is see- ing feedback from your opponents. You can also view prospective oppo- nent feedback to see who's got the style of play you're looking for. Just click on the NFL 2K3 or Madden power- ranking link on the left and you're set. Become a regular in the forums, too. Which SOCOM multiplayer level would you most like to see a map of in a future Replay section? Abandoned Bitter Jungle Blizzard 6% 6% 10% 10% 10% 9% 9% 13% 10% Death Trap Desert Glory Frostfire Night Stalker Rat's Nest The Ruins We asked, you answered: Blood Lake is the map you most wanted to see. Here are a few pointers. (ш) Official US. PlayStation Magazine В FOOLS RUSH IN А Unlike most other Extraction maps, the extraction point here has lots of entrances—so recon the area before MEME you bring in hostages. [ 2 RUN TO THE HILLS This mountain has many tiers and lots of lines of sight covering crucial pathways on the map. Either team can station sharpshooters here to good effect. Its a good idea for terrorists to take 2/3 this platform early; it guards the short- est path between the hostages and the extraction point. FEAR THE HEIGHTS This central tower offers fantastic sniping oppor- tunities for either team. Î Trouble is, your oppo- A nent knows that, too, so that'll be the first place E» ee looks for snipers. + ROUNDABOUT Heres a nice route for SEALs to take right at the start; it'll keep you fairly well protected as you sneak around behind the terrorists. GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE notice there is no wall under one of them. The path leads to three treasure chests, revealing Wizard and Witches Cards. + Go to the fourth floor and look for a staircase that has no wall under it. It will say “Crawling” in the top corner. Go in it and explore to find two Wizard Cards and a cauldron for refilling your potion vial. Harvest Moon: Back to Nature Natsume @@@4 40 HBO Boxing Acclaim @® а Heart of Darkness Interplay ФФФФ 13 Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy NewkidCo @@@ 20 Herc's Adventures LucasArts ФФФ 2 High Heat Baseball 2000 300 ® 22 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 зоо $999 43 Hogs of War Infogrames 0966 38 Hooters Road Trip Ubi Soft € 55 Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Atlus @@@ — 5 Hot Shots Golf Sony СЕА ФФФФ 7 Hot Shots Golf 2 Sony CEA $94 30 Hydro Thunder Midway @@ n IHRA Drag Racing Bethesda 4 5 In Cold Blood DreamCatcher @® 49 Incredible Crisis Titus $$ 38 Inspector Gadget: Gadget’s Crazy Maze Ubi Soft SPA 50 Intelligent Qube Sony CEA $9 2 Intellivision Classic Games Activision 94 28 Int'l. Superstar Soccer 98 Konami 69964 Int'l. Track & Field 2000 u Konami ФФФФ 27 Invasion From Beyond э GT Interactive @® Iron Soldier 3 Vatical ФФФФ 35 Irritating Stick hleo $9 18 ISS Pro Evolution. Konami $$$ 35 Jackie Chan Stuntmaster Midway ®@@@¢ 30 Jade Cocoon Cave @@@4 23 Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing Codemasters @@@® 38 Jeopardy! Hasbro $$ $$ 17 Jeopardy! 2 Hasbro ФФФЕ 29 ‘Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 Acclaim $4 — 38 Jersey Devil Sony CEA 6% 10 ПебМою2 Sony CEA BRE 3 Jet Moto 3 989 Studios @@@I 26 Jimmy Johnson VR Football Interplay 60% 2 Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Capcom $$$ 31 Juggernaut Jaleco 0% 26 K4 Grand Prix Jaleco $$ $4 28 K- Revenge Jaleco 664 18 Kagero: Deception И Тесто PADDA 14 Kartia Міне ФФФФ 12 Kensei Sacred Fist Konami 96 р Kickboxing Agetec ® 58 Killer Loop Cave @@@ 27 King of Fighters 99 Agetec ФФФФ 41 KISS Pinball Take 2 @@ 46 Knockout Kings EA Sports 0684 16 Knockout Kings 2000 EA Sports ФФФФ 27 Knockout Kings 2001 EASports ФФФФ 39 Konami Arcade Classics Konami 6094 23 Koudelka Infogrames B® 35 Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed Midway $9 34 The Land Before Time: Great Valley Racing ТОК Mediactive ФФФ 46 The Land Before Time: Return to Great Valley Sound Source 6964 39 Largo Winch .// Commando Sar Ubi Soft 4 5 Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver — | Eidos 6Ф6646 25 The Legend of Dragoon Legend of Legaia Sony CEA ФФФФ 19 Legend of Mana Square EA ФФ4 35 Lego Island 2: The BricksterS Revenge Lego Media @@@ 46 Lego Rock Raiders Lego Media ® 37 Lilo & Stitch Sony CEA @@@E 5 The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure Activision @@ 42 The Little Mermaid II THO SRR 39 Lode Runner Natsume 4 4 Looney Tunes Racing Infogrames @@@ 39 GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Looney Tunes: Sheep Raider Infogrames @@@ — 5i Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Working Designs 009946 22 Lunar 2: Нета! Blue Complete Working Designs ФФФФ 40 Madden NFL 99 EA Sports 6066 13 Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports 69696 49 Madden NFL 2003 EA Sports ФФФФ 62 Martian Gothic: Unification Таке 2 @@@@ 52 Marvel Super Heroes Сарот $$ 2 Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter Сарот @@@@ 18 Marvel vs. Capcom EX Capcom $ 30 Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall Acclaim @@@@ 40 Mary-Kate and Ashley: Winner's Circle Acclaim @@@ 45 Mass Destruction ASC 964 3 Mat Hoffman's Pro ВМХ Activision ФФФФ 45 Maximum Force Midway @@ 2 MDK Playmates $94 3 [Medal Ot Honor Elettronk Arts @@@@ 27 Medal Of Honor Underground Electronic Arts $99 39 MediEvil Sony CEA @@@@ 14 MediEvil и Sony CEA ФФФН 32 Mega Man Legends Capcom @@S® 12 Mega Man Legends 2 Capcom BSR? 39 Mega Man X4 Capcom $$$ 4 Mega Man X5 Сарот $$ $4 41 Mega Man X6 Capcom $$$ 53 Metal Gear Solid: VR Metal Slug X Agetec @@@® 43 Micro Maniacs Codemasters @@@® 32 Mike Tyson Boxing Codemasters ФФ 39 The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Capcom $999 31 Miss Spiders Tea Party Simon & Schuster 89 — 4i Missile Command Hasbro $99 28 Mission: Impossible Infogrames ӨВ 28 MK Mythologies Midway @@@ — 3 MLB 98 Sony CEA ФФФ — 1 MLB 99 Sony СА $$$ 9 MLB 2000 989 Studios ФФФФ 21 MLB 2001 989 Studios ФФФ 3 MLB 2002 Sony CEA $9 — 46 MLB 2003 Sony СЕА ФФФФ 60 MLBPA Bottom of the 9th 99 Konami $994 12 Mobil 1: Rally Championship Electronic Arts ФФФ 32 Monaco Grand Prix Ubi Sot GESA 21 Monkey Hero Tke299 18 Monkey Magic Sunsoft ® 29 Monopoly... Hasbo QR 5 Monster Rancher 2 Тесто $999 26 Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode Il Тесто 6066 36 Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout Tecmo @@@4 м Monster Seed Sumo BSA 20 Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA ФФФЕ 51 Mort the Chicken Gave 64 а Mortal Kombat: Special Forces Midway 66 36 Mortal Kombat — ^ ^ Midway 6066 11 Q Mortal Kombat Trilogy Midway n/a n/a PLAY AS CHAMELEON At the Character Selection screen, choose any male ninja (except the unmasked Sub-Zero) and hold Back + High Punch + High Kick + Run + Block. Your ninja will explode into the secret character Chameleon. Moto Racer 2 Electronic Arts ФФФФН 14 Moto Racer World Tour Infogrames ФФФФ 40 Motocross Mania Take 2 ® 48 Motorhead Fox Interactive @@@@ — 14 Mr. Domino Acclaim @@@@ 15 Mr. Driller Namco ФФФФ 33 NCAA COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2K3 Let the Madness roll on with these tips! We know a thing or two about college hoops, but not nearly as much as the guys who made NCAA College Basketball 2K3. With March Madness hitting its stride, it's a good time to check these tips from Product Manager Rob Jones if you wanna light it up on your way to the Final Four. 1. Take jump shots when the shooter isn't being guarded and when no one’s attempting to block him. Wide-open shots dramatically increase your shot percentage. You can use picks and special plays to free up an open shot. 2. If you're playing a zone defense, take control of the center and guard the basket. That way, you're in posi- tion to take a charge or to block layups and dunks. This is espe- cially effective against a friend who thinks he's got the next Allen lverson at guard. 3. Set up a full-court press, and then look for your opponent to make hurried throws to get the ball past half court. When they do this, look for an opportunity to steal. 4, If your opponent is scoring most of his points in the paint, switch to a zone defense. The 2-3 zone is great for this. 5. When you're using man-to-man cover- age, set tight coverage on your opponents PG and SG. 6. When уоште on defense, guard play- ers that don't have the ball. Allow your CPU-controlled players to defend the player with the ball, especially on the perimeter. The CPU is gen- erally a better defender in open space. Of course, this is the equiv- alent of using the same cheap fighting move over and over in fighting games. 7. If your opponent is backing down one of your players en route to the hoop, switch to a free defender and run up to swipe the ball away from the ball handler, You can score mad steals this way. 8. Look for holes in the defenders’ zones for a chance to get inside and drive toward the basket. When you switch from one defender's area to another, there's often a brief space to drive into as the defenders adjust to your movement. 9. If one of your opponent's star players is tearing you up, set your double team so it's always against him. This will help to neutralize him, but will also leave other players open, so be careful. 10. Look for mismatches. Learn to recognize when you have a speedy player on a slow player or a strong dunking player on a poor defend- er. Call plays that will free up and isolate your player with the defender they overmatch. If you have a fast player on a slow player, use juke moves to go around him. If you get a big man on a small guy, pass the ball to him in the key and go for the dunk. Exploit the mismatch down low Official US. PlayStation Magazine @) Which baseball cover athlete had a tougher time scoring a dame? Curt “Mr. EverQuest” Schilling or Randy "You Might Be a Redneck if You're Randy Johnson" Johnson? HIGH HEAT MLB 2004 27 can't-miss tips for each out in a ballgame TOP OF THE 1ST 1. Play on the Fastest setting. 2. Go to the Tuning menu and put all the pitch speeds two notches short of full. 3. Throw to first when there’s a sacrifice bunt. BOTTOM OF THE 1ST 1. Don't choose the Rockies as your human-controlled team unless you like hour-long games. 2. If you're an away team playing in Denver, swing for the fences instead of bunting. 3. Also, if you're playing in Denver, don't get frustrat- ed if you're down by eight runs. You can come back. TOP OF THE 2ND 1. Walking a batter isn't the worst thing... 2. Unless that batter is leading off an inning. Then, walking that batter is almost the worst thing. The worst thing is inexplicably eating your controller. 3. Go to Batting in the Tuning Menu and push the Foul Balls up two notches. BOTTOM OF THE 2ND 1. Don't rush your throws. If you try to throw the ball before you catch it, the chance of an error improves dramatically. 2. Hit your cutoff man often [press R1]. 3. Don't use players out of position, like a catcher in center field. They'll screw up, usually at the worst possible times. TOP OF THE 3RD 1. Never make the first or third out at third base. 2. Know the catcher you're up against. Don't steal if he has a great arm. Pudge Rodriguez (Marlins), for example, is not to be tested. Nor is Charles Johnson [Rockies]. 3. If you have a runner at third, know what to do on a wild pitch (it's Down and Square to break for home]. If you delay, you'll be buried at the plate. BOTTOM OF THE 3RD 1. If there's a runner on first and there's a base hit to left, throw to third. 2. If there's a hit to center, throw to second. Unless it was really, really hammered; then, consider gunning the ball to third. Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine 3. If there's a hit to right, throw to second. TOP OF THE 4TH 1. Baseball's like chess: You have to think three moves ahead. Remember, your pitcher can't last forever, so warm someone up if there's a sign of trouble. 2. Vary your pitches, especially during a rally. The only way to stop from being knocked around is to pitch, not just throw. 3. Throw balls once in awhile. Photo by Gettylmages Getting ahead of hitters is great, but a hook in the dirt to start an at- bat isn't a bad idea. BOTTOM OF THE 4TH 1. Situational hitting will win you ballgames. If A-Rod is on deck, take a few pitches... 2. But if the pitcher's on deck, swing away! 3. If the opponent's pitcher is on deck, consider an unintentional intentional walk. (Confused? It just means that you give him nothing to hit and hope he gets himself out on a crappy pitch.) TOP OF THE 5TH 1. Vary your delivery. If there's a runner on base, don't keep press- ing X to quickly throw a fastball. The runner will catch on and will easily rob second base. 2. Change your position on the rub- ber. Push Left or Right on the ana- log stick while holding R2. It'll help keep the ball off the center of the plate. 3. If your pitcher's having a bad inning, work through it. If the bad inning is the first, then the second, then the third, yank his sorry keister. BOTTOM OF THE 5TH 1. If you get picked off, don't look back. Head to the next base and hope the fielder drops the ball. 2. Use the Mound Visit to get pitchers warmed up. 3. Take a pitch or two. It'll wear the pitcher down and improve your chances of seeing a fat fastball you can unload on. TOP OF THE 6TH 1. Play a full season. True, 162 games is insane, but if you start playing, you'll see that it's worth it. Plus, you'll feel so rewarded by having a .300 hitter with 22 homers. 2. Going for three is a good way to i waste a double. Only try it if there's one out or unless you've plunked it into the right-centerfield cor- ner of Pac Bell. 3. Don't bench your shortstop for hitting .265 unless he's a defen- Sive liability. Not everyone is Nomar. BOTTOM OF THE 6TH 1. If a player on your team isn't getting the job done, bring up a minor leaguer. 2. Check your minor league system from time to time You never know when some Triple-A pitcher is striking out two per inning. 3. You can't take out a pitcher right after a Mound Visit. Throw a pitch out or a ball in the dirt, and then you can change him. TOP OF THE 7TH 1. Don't use your closer for more than two innings. Ever. 2. If you double-switch, make sure no one's out of position. Defense wins championships. Ask the Bucs. 3. Actually, role players win cham- pionships. A team of .291 hitters could take you to the World Series if those hits come in the clutch. BOTTOM OF THE 7TH 1. Press R1 to take a bigger lead off a base... 2. But don't take a big lead with anyone other than your speedsters. Otherwise, they'll get picked off. 3. On defense, try to set yourself before a throw. Rush to the ball, then stop at the last second and let the ball come to you. Then throw. TOP OF THE 8TH 1. If there's a homerun ball, try jumping at the wall with Triangle. What else can you do? 2. Don't throw the ball in the dirt with a runner on third unless your catcher is great. Otherwise, wild pitches might strike. 3. If Barry Bonds is on deck and you need two runs, don't go for a double. They'll intentionally walk him. Same goes for any big hitter on any team. BOTTOM OF THE 8TH 1. If you've hit the first two pitches of an inning into outs, take a pitch or two. No matter who's up. Even if the first pitch is a strike. 2. If you need an extra base and you're playing a friend, slap the controller out of their hand and take the extra base while your friend looks at you dumbfounded. If your friend punches you in the face, take two bases. 3. Change speeds when you pitch. Follow up fastballs with change- ups, then follow up fastballs with fastballs to be extra tricky. TOP OF THE 9TH 1. Hit and run when the count is 2- 1—never when it's 0-2. 2. It's modern-day baseball, so if your pitch count nears 90 and it's not the 7th inning, ready a reliever. 3. On a shallow fly ball, do not tag and try to score. Wait it out and hope for a base hit. BOTTOM OF THE 9TH 1. Expect players to slump. Sosa can't get a hit every time he's up. 2. Nor can he homer every time. This isn't Triple Play. A dinger every 10 to 14 at-bats over the course of а season adds up to about 55 homers, so don't get anxious. 3. Celebrate every victory with either a fist pump or a simple, "Yes!" The season's a long one. Save your yodeling and armpit-fart triumph tactics for the playoffs. GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness MTV Music Generator Namo ФФФФ 38 Codemasters ФФФФ 28 МТУ Sports: Pure Ride THO 6988 39 МТУ Sports: Skateboarding Feat. Andy MacDonald TH ® 39 MTV Sports: Snowboarding THO SSSI 27 MTV Sports: TJ. Lavin's Ultimate BMX THO $$ 45 The Mummy Konami @@@ — 41 Muppet Monster Adventure Midway ФФФФ 39 ‘Muppet Race Mania Midway 6066 39 Му Disney Kitchen Bam n/a n/a N.GEN Racing Infogrames 69694 35 N20 Fox Interactive @® n Nagano Winter Olympics 98 Konami $9 6 NASCAR 99: и NASCAR 2000 EA Sports $$$ 26 NASCAR 2001 EA Sports @@@ 38 NASCAR Heat Hasbro ФН 40 NASCAR Rumble Electronic Arts @@@@ 31 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports @® 52 NBA Fastbreak 98 Midway @@¢ 4 NBA Hoopz Midway ӨФӨ 43 NBA In the Zone 98 Konami 094 7 NBA In the Zone 99 Konami @@@@ 19 NBA In the Zone 2000 Konami $994 28 NBA Live 98 EA Sports BOSSE 3 NBA Live 99 EA Sports $9$$ 16 NBA Live 2000 EA Sports 99884 28 NBA Live 2001 EA Sports ФФФФ 39 NBA Live 2002 EA Sports @@@4 53 NBA ShootOut 98 Sony CEA PSSI 8 NBA ShootOut 2000 989 Studios ФФФ — 30 NBA ShootOut 2001 989 Studios ФН — 39 NBA ShootOut 2002 Sony СЕА SSSA 50 NBA ShootOut 2003 Sony СЕА @@@@ 63 NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC Midway ӨӨФ — 28 NBA Tonight ESPN Digital @@® 14 NCAA Final Four 99 989 Studios 069686 18 NCAA Final Four 2000 989 Studios @@@@ 28 NCAA Final Four 2001 Sony CEA 0% 40 NCAA Football 98 EA Sports ФФ 2 NCAA Football 99 EA Sports #8986 12 NCAA Football 2000 EA Sports & $$$ 25 NCAA Football 2001 EA Sports ФФФЕ 36 NCAA GameBreaker 98 Sony СЕА $$ $$ 4 NCAA GameBreaker 99 989 Studios ФФФФ 15 NCAA GameBreaker 2000 989 Studios ФФФ | 25 NCAA GameBreaker 2001 Sony СЕА ӨӨ8 — 3 NCAA March Madness 98 EASports ФФФФ 7 NCAA March Madness 99 EA Sports @@® 18 NCAA March Madness 2000 ЕА Sports ФФФФ 29 NCAA March Madness 2001 EA Sports $99. а Nectaris: Military Madness Need (огбрееа т 2 N HETE Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed Electronic Arts @@@@ 33 Need for Speed: V-Rally Electronic Arts 94 3 Need for Speed: V-Rally 2 Electronic Arts SSA 28 Newman/Haas Racing Psygnosis 6%. 7 NFL Blitz 2001 NFL GameDay 99 989 Studios RRR 13 NFL GameDay 2000 EA Sports @@@® 25 NFL GameDay 2001 989 Studios 69694 7 NFL GameDay 2002 Sony CEA ФФ 49 NFL GameDay 2003 Sony СЕА ФФФФ 62 NFL Xtreme 989 Studios 8%. nu NFL Xtreme 2 989 Studios @@ 2 NHL 98 EA Sports ФФФФ 2 NHL 99 EA Sports BBRR? 15 NHL 2000 EA Sports @@@® 26 GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE NHL 2001 EA Sports OPS 38 NHL Blades of Steel 2000 Konami $9 28 NHL Breakaway 98 Acclaim 00%) 2 NHL Championship 2000 Fox Interactive DD 27 NHL FaceOff 99 989 Studios ФФФФ 14 NHL FaceOff 2000 989 Studios 609%) 26 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony СЕА ФФФФӨ 38 NHL Rock the Rink Electronic Arts ФФФФ 32 Nick Toons Racing Infogrames $$ — 48 Nightmare Creatures Activision SPPA З Nightmare Creatures И Konami @® » Ninja: Shadow of Darkness Eidos 64 15 Nudear Strike Electronic Arts 98999 3 орт. Psygnosis 94. 5 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus GT Interactive 090606 15 (Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee GT interactive ФФ 1 Omega Boost Sony CEA $9. One ASC ФФ 4 One Piece Mansion Midway @@@G 3 Pandemonium! 2 Panzer Front. Agetec DAPI 51 ParasteEve Square EA BDSP 12 Parasite Eve И Square EA PODPI 37 Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Atlus $9 $$ 41 Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf Infogrames PAPI 41 PGA Tour 98 EA Sports DAS 3 Pipe Dreams 3D Empire Int. 60% 52 Pitfall 3D Activision @@ 9 Planet of the Apes Ubi Sot 690 — 6 Play With The Teletubbies Knowledge Adv. 60% 36 Pocket Fighter Capcom $$ $$ 11 Point Blank Namco @@@@ 6 Point Blank 2 Namco $994 20 Point Blank 3 Namco DESE 44 Polaris SnoCross Vatical ӨФӨ | 38 Pong Hasbro & $$ 27 Pool Hustler Activision $$$ 15 Populous: The Beginning Electronic Arts @@ a Porsche Challenge Sony CEA ФФФН 1 Power Play Sports Trivia Ubi Soft 6% 58 Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue THO @4 40 Power Shovel Acclaim ФФФ — 49 Power Soccer 2 Psygnosis 99% 5 Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball The Powerpuff Girls: Chemical X-Traction Poy Poy Pro 18 World Tour Golf Pro Pinball: Big Race USA Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Infogrames 6094 41 Bam @@ 51 Konami 600%. 3 Psygnosis 6) 9 Empire $$$ 37 Empire 0968 37 Pro Pinball: Timeshock! Take 2 ® 10 Psybadek Psygnosis 6% 5 Punky Skunk Jaleo $$$ 6 Putter Golf Agetec 9 з Puzzle Star Sweep Agetec DDI 43 Qbert Hasbro $94 — 28 Quake И Activision @@@® 27 Riype Delta Agetec BERDE 23 Елурез Аі B®? 17 R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco ФФФФ 20 Racing Agetec 4 з Railroad Tycoon И Таке2 $9 — 30 Rainbow Six Red Storm ® 7 Rally Cross 2 989 Studios BBR? 15 Rampage Midway $4 4 Rampage 2: Universal Tour Midway Ф n Rampage Through Time Midway 68 36 Ray Tracers THO $$$ 5 RayCrisis Working Designs ФФФ 38 Rayman 2: The Great Escape Ubi Soft ФФФФ 35 Rayman Brain Games Ubi Soh ФФ 50 Rayman Rush Ubi Sot ®®® — 57 WAR OF THE MONSTERS Do the Monster Mash One of the coolest games going, Monsters will have you caring about Godzilla " even if you hate the films. Seriously. PLAY AS MECHA-SWEET TOOTH Have a memory card with a saved file from Twisted Metal: Black with Sweet Tooth completed? Good. Put it in and you'll get a message stating that Mecha-Sweet Tooth will appear when the game loads. Then, play as Agamo and select costume No. 4. Не'5 slow, but still gets his laugh on. UNLOCKABLES Dodgeball minigame Big Shot minigame Crush-0-Rama minigame Play as Raptros Play as Zorgulon Volcano level Mini Baytown level Capitol level UFO level Spend 105,000 Battle Tokens Spend 65,000 Battle Tokens Spend 85,000 Battle Tokens Spend 200,000 Battle Tokens Spend 200,000 Battle Tokens Spend 45,000 Battle Tokens Spend 65,000 Battle Tokens Spend 85,000 Battle Tokens Spend 105,000 Battle Tokens EASY BATTLE TOKENS: • Save the game after defeating the Terror in Space stage * Fight Cerebulon (the last boss]. If you defeat him without continuing, you should net more than 30,000 Battle Tokens. ~e Save the game after you defeat him. (Note: Repeat the process to keep getting large numbers of Battle Tokens.) ATOMIC PLANT: BOSSES When the countdown for the meltdown starts, grab an explosive truck and hold onto it. When the boss fight begins, wait until his first attack, and then throw it into his mouth. It should kill the first head instantly. BAYTOWN: EARTHQUAKE You can cause a big ol’ earthquake by destroying a certain number of objects in the level. Keep taking down buildings, trees, billboards, etc. until it starts. |, Dodgeball minigame УЧ We reward you for rewarding these games. x www.spongebob.co Play more than that dumb Р! game at this spongy Web siti AWARDS STRATEGY Tricks for every award-winner there is GTA: VICE CITY (PS2 Game of the Year, Best Adventure Game] Punch in these codes anytime. They'll unlock cars you won't often see in the game. Love Fist Limousine R2, f, 12, 4, +=, R1, L1, О,» Rhino tank О, О, L1, ©, O, О, L1, L2, R1, ®, ©, 6 Romero's Hearse $, R2, $, R1, L2, *, R1, L1, +, = THE ITALIAN JOB (PS1 Game of the Year) Enter these codes at the Main menu to get da goods. Complete Free Ride missions. 9,6,0,0,0,0,6,0 Complete Italian Job missions 0,0,6,0,0 NEED FOR SPEED: HOT PURSUIT 2 (Best Racing Game) Unlock the following cars with these codes at the Main menu screen. Lotus Elise ©, R2, ©, R2, +, O, =, © McLaren F1 ©, L1, ®, L1, R1, =, R1, = Corvette 206 +, R2, +, R2, L1, R1, L1, R1 Ferrari 360 Spider Porsche Carrera GT Aston Martin V12 Vanquish R2, O, R2, O, 6,12, 6,12 «,%,4,%, R1, R2, R1, R2 R2, =, R2,%, ©, +, ©, = TIMESPLITTERS 2 (Best Action Game) Need to know how to unlock fighters for Arcade mode? Beat these levels for the following rewards. Siberia: Hybrid Mutant Notre Dame: Jacque de la Morte NeoTokyo: Sadako Atom Smasher: Khallos Robot Factory: Machinist Chicago: Big Tony Wild West: The Colonel Return To Planet X: Ozor Mox Aztec Ruins: Stone Golem Space Station: Reaper Splitter TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 4 (Best Extreme Sports Game) Finally, you can play with Daisy without having to beat all those difficult tasks. Go to the Cheats menu and enter: [о)(о). It'll unlock her faster than voice-actress Jenna Jameson can take on 10 guys. RATCHET & CLANK (Best Platform Game) If you haven't defeated Drek, forget these cheats. If you have, do a combo at the Goodies menu to gain the Cheats trigger that'll make these work. Invincibility (this lasts for 30 seconds whenever a Life blue ball is collect- ed; it only works when your health is maxed out): Press Comet-Strike (four times), Flip Back, Full Second Crouch, Flip Back, Full Second Crouch, and Comet-Strike (four times). Trippy Contrails Press Wall Jump (ten times), Double Jump, and Hyper- Strike. VIRTUA FIGHTER 4 [Best Fighting Game) Who doesn't want a few poses? Here are some oldies but goodies. Old Win Pose No. 1: When a created character has reached nikyuu (Level 2), they'll gain the “Old Win Pose 1.” During the match replay, press and hold P + K + G buttons to see it. Old Win Pose No. 2: When a created character has reached sandan [Rank 3], they'll gain the "Old Win Pose 2." During the replay, press and hold P « K buttons to see it. MADDEN NFL 2003 (Best Sports Game] Dodge City Stadium and The Marshalls: Both will unlock if you have a save from a past version of any EA Sports football game. SOCOM 0.5. NAVY SEALs (Best Multiplayer Game] SEALs sometimes double as stand-up comedians. Here's proof: During the game’s second mission, plant C4 outside one of the outhouses. After it explodes, one of your men just might say, "I guess | will have to hold it— right, Sir?” KINGDOM HEARTS (Best RPG) After you beat the game, there's a finale: Wait for the credits to finish and you'll see an epilogue about what happens to Sora, Donald, and Goofy after the worlds come back. Might this be a teaser for Kingdom Hearts 2? Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine Razor Freestyle Scooter Crave DODD 4 RC de GO! Acclaim ФФФФ 40 RC Revenge Acclaim $994 37 RC Stunt Copter Titus @@@@ 25 Re-Volt Acclaim 6% 26 Ready 2 Rumble Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 Midway 609%. 40 Red Asphalt Interplay ®4 3 Reel Fishing 21 Natsume $$$ 3 Reel Fishing It Natsume @® 34 "Resident Evil: Director's Cut СротфеФ 2 Resident Evil2 — ^ Capcom SHESH 6 Resident Evil 2: Dual Shock Capcom. SESSE Resident Evil 3: Nemesis Capcom $$$ 27 Resident Evil: Survivor Capcom 98 38 Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Atlus $$$ 35 Rising Zan Agetec ФФФФ 24 Risk Hasbro @@@® 11 Rival Schools Capcom &$ $$$ 14 Riven: The Sequel to Myst Acclaim 2.2.2.2. 6 Road Rash 3D" Electronic Arts $9 — di Road Rash: Jail Break Electronic Arts @® 30 Rock 'Em Sock ‘Em Robots Mattel DED a Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue THQ 94 5 Rogue Trip GT interactive $9 — 14 Roll Away Psygnosis DODDI 13 Rollcage Psygnosis $9 d 19 Rollcage Stage Il Psygnosis & d 31 Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI Koei 0%. 30 Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths, & Legends Red Storm ® 48 RPG Maker Agetec DODDI 35 Rugrats: Totally Angelica THO BRR 48 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie THO $$$ 41 Runabout 2 HotB @ 36 Running Wild 989 Studios @® 14 Rushdown Electronic Arts 60%. 19 Sabrina, Teenage Witch: A Twitch in Time! Knowledge Adv. 8 45 SaGa Frontier Sony CEA 9604 8 баба Frontier 2 Square EA PAPI 29 Saiyuki: Journey West Koei BPI 47 Saltwater Sportfishing Agetec BRE 52 Sammy Sosa High Heat Baseball 2001 зро 66 32 ‘Sammy Sosa Softball Slam зро @® 3 Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage SNK $4 36 @scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase т Фе > ‘HOW MUCH CAN WE LOVE VELMA? A lot! Beat the first boss. When Scooby’s taking him on, the boss will come at you with a sword. Wher he shoots the fire, stay in the cor пег, but be in the same lane as him. This way, you don't lose energy if you'te bit. Scrabble Hasbro DDI 28 Sentinel Retums Psygnosis @® nu Sesame Street Sports Newkidto $984 54 Shadow Madness Crave DDI 19 Shadow Man Acclaim 88 xu Shadow Master. Psygnosis ФФФФ 5 ‘Shadow Tower Agetec @ 28 Shanghai: True Valor Sunsoft DAD 20 Sheep Empire @@® 41 Shipwreckers Psygnosis $94 3 ‘Shooter: Space Shot Agetec DADI 48 Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein Agetec 96 43 Silent Bomber Bandai @@@® 30 Silent Hi Konami $$$ 18 Silhouette Mirage Working Designs DAPI 29 Sim Theme Park Electronic Arts 9984 3 The Simpsons Wrestling Taito ®® 45 Skydiving Extreme Banpresto 96 49 Sled Storm | Electronic Arts 966% 24 ‘Small Soldiers Electronic Arts 698 15 Smurfs Infogrames ФФФФ 29 ‘Smurf Racer Infogrames && 45 Sno-Cross Championship Racing Crave 684 7 ‘GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Snowboarding Agetec ФФ 43 Soul of the Samurai Konami &4 24 South Park Acclaim &4 27 South Park: Chef's Luv Shack Acclaim @ 28 South Park Rally Acclaim ®4 29 Space Invaders Activision DDD 27 Spawn: The Eternal Sony CEA 0% 4 Spec Ops: Covert Assault Take2 ® 2 Spec Ops: Ranger Elite Take 2 ® 46 Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Take 2 ® 34 Speed Punks Sony CEA PAPDA 32 Speed Racer Jaleco 0% 8 Speedball 2100 Empire 9684 40 @ spiderman ____ Activision EEDD 37 CURSES? What's more fun than swearing? Spider-Man berating you. If you wy to enter a dirty word as a code, Spidey enters the picture to change it. Ty it yourself! Spider-Man 2 Enter: Electro Spin Jam Take 2 68 38 @ SpongeBob SquarePants THO $$ 51 These codes have been around forever and there aren't any more of them coming, so get used to ‘em, Activision DAPI 50 1BGNR & NGPS nuam 1600 2амв 7 WMCV 12MNTL уши 3 KUNE SANAD BGA 18 PES 4 WKGA өнер зак ST sped 10 QHDG 15 HEED End МЕТ Sports Car GT Electronic Arts @@@ 21 ‘Spyro the Dragon Sony СЕА $$ $$ 13 Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! Sony CEA 89808 27 8 Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon Sony СЕА $$ 39 We'll be the first to admit that these cheats aren't necessarily the cream of the proverbial dragon scale. But they'll do. 20 SPYRO To tum Spyro into a second-dimensional dragon, enter the following code at the Pause menu: #, =», +, =>, L1, RI, LI, RI, ©, © 35 LIVES Enter the following code at the Pause menu to gain 99 lives: вала R2, 12, f, f, t f, О. BIG-HEADED SPYRO At the Pause тели, enter the following code to inflate Spyro head: f, Rt, f, Rt, f, R1, О, ©, О, O. Re-enter the code to shrink it back to normal. Star Ocean: The 2nd Story Star Trek: Invasion Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles Sony СЕА PADRI 22 Activision DESDI 37 LucasArts 898 3 Star Wars Episode Е The Phantom Menace LucasArts #®® | 25 Star Wars Masters of Teräs Käsi LucasArts $9 4 Star Wars Demolition LucasArts BADI 41 Steel Reign Sony CEA DES 2 Streak GT Interactive @@4 15 Street Fighter Alp Capcom RRRER 21 Street Fighter Collection Capcom DAS 4 Street Fighter Collection 2 Capcom $$$ 16 Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha. Capcom $9 $$ 2 Street Fighter EX2 Plus Capcom $9? — 3 Street SkBer Electronic Arts 604 9 Street Sk8er 2 Electronic Arts ФФФ 32 Strider 2 Capcom $& $4 34 Striker Pro 2000 Infogrames ФФФФ 33 Strikers 1945 Agetec 988 — 44 Stuart Little 2 Sony CEA DG 60 Suikoden It Konami ФФФФ 26 ‘Super Shot Soccer Tecmo 98886 61 ‘Superbike 2000 EA Sports 66 32 SuperCross 2000 EA Sports #6 29 SuperCross Circuit 989 Studios DPI 28 Surf Riders Ubi Soft @@ 35 Sydney 2000 Eidos ФФ 38 Syphon Filter ” 989 Studios ФФФФ 18 Syphon Filter 2 989 Studios 6%66 31 Syphon Filter 3 Sony CEA PAPA 52 T'ai Fu Activision 88 19 on Ри ее» READER REVIEWS Tactics Ogre Міне @@@I 12 Vagrant Story Square ҒА DADI 33 Tail Concerto Atlus 9999 26 Valkyrie Profile Enix ФФФФ 36 We want your reviews of the best and worst games, so write a review and Tales of Destiny Namco @@@® 13 Vampire Hunter D Jaleco @@ 37 send it to opm(@ziffdavis.corn. We can't publish every one, so keep it short, Tales of Destiny II Namco BRR 49 Vanark Jaleco BRR 32 be witty, and remember that not every game deserves a 5-star Tarzan Sony CEA PASI 24 Vandal Hearts Il Konami $$$ 27 rating just because you like it! Team Buddies Midway ®@@@ 38 Vanguard Bandits Working Designs @@4 з Team LOSI RC Racing Fox Interactive 4994 B Vanishing Point Acclaim PDG 44 WAR OF THE MONSTERS SHINOBI Tekken 3 Namco © 9 Vegas Games 2000 300 $$$ 27 What you said: “Who cares if War What you said: "Here's the real Tenchu Activision SOS 14 МР Ubi Soft 0% 5 of the Monsters doesn't have а deal: The music sounds like it's Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins Activision ФФФ 37 Vigilante 8 Activision @R@® 10 deep story line? Who cares if it from Pokémon, the characters are Tennis Agetec B® 53 Vigilante 8: Second Offense Activision @@® 29 isn’t a revolutionary game? This all the same, the levels are monot- Tennis Arena Ubi Soft 668 4 Virtual Kasparov Titus 60% 49 game is good, clean, straight-up onous, and the levels and bosses ‘Test Drive 4 Accolade SSSI ИЗ VR Baseball'99 Interplay DADI 11 fun! That's the whole dumb reason (considering you can't change the Test Drive 5 Accolade DSSA 15 VR Sports Powerboat Racing Interplay & 10 we play videogames. | сап see why difficulty) get practically impossi- Test Drive 6 Infogrames DASA 27 Vs. THO ® 3 OPM was so excited about it. This ble. Rent for joy, buy for terror.” Test Drive: Le Mans Infogrames 69698 34 Walt Disney World Quest Magical Racing Tour Eidos 6094 33 is high-quality, good fun here. Your Score PRRI Test Drive: Off-Road 3 Infogrames @® 26 Walt Disney's Jungle Book Rhythm n' Groove Ubi Soft B® 41 Now, if you'll excuse те, | owe DavidExS(@aol.com Thousand Arms Atlus ESS 26 War Jetz 300 $$ 48 that freak Kineticlops a taxi in Thrasher: Skate & Destroy Rockstar & 9$ 29 Магбатев: DefCon 1 MGM Interactive ФФФФ 12 the eye.” What we said: “Shinobi is a great Threads of Fate Square ҒА PEDI 35 Warpath: Jurassic Park Electronic Arts 60%. 7 Your Score RRRRS game—despite being a flawed one. Thunder Force V Working Designs ®®® 13 Warriors of Might and Magic 300 $$$ а GAMINGGUY50G@netscape.net We've learned to love it; perhaps Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf EA Sports RRR 16 Warzone 2100 Eidos $$ $$ 22 you can, too." Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 EA Sports RRR? 141 WCW Backstage Assault EA Games 9% 40 What we said: "Even if you think Our Score PRRI Tigger's Honey Hunt NewKidco PADS 41 WCW Mayhem Electronic Arts DEPI 26 Godzilla movies are lame and fight- Time Crisis: Project Titan Namco $$$ 45 WCW Nitro THO DDI 5 ing games suck, this may convert SUIKODEN Ш Tiny Tank Sony CEA @® 25 WCW/nWo Thunder THO 6% 7 you on both counts.” What you said: "I'm not even part- Tiny Toon Adventures: Pluckys Big Adventure Conspiracy 604 50 The Weakest Link Activision 9889 51 Our Score 9999090 way through, but this game has all Tiny Toons: The Great Beanstalk NewKidco $$$ 18 Wheel of Fortune Hasbro $$$ 17 TOCA2 Activision SPEA 27 Wheel of Fortune 2 Hasbro ФФФФ 39 “This i igh- i Tom & Jerry in House Trap Eidos ФФФ 41 Міппіе the Pooh: Kindergarten Bam n/a n/a This 15 high quality, good fun here. Tom Clancy Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear Red Storm ®® 45 М/ппіе the Pooh: Preschool Bam n/a n/a 1 Tomb Raider ll Eidos ®@@@4 74 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 2nd Edition Sony CEA 9d 35 Now, if you u RECS е, I owe that ‘Tomb Raider lí Eidos dd (46 | Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: 3rd Edition Sony CEA 98 “ freak Kineticlops a taxi in the eye.” Tomb Raider: Chronicles Eidos 666 а — Wild9 Interplay 608 15 Tomb Raider: Тһе Last Revelation Eidos &99& 29 Wild Arms 2 Sony СЕА ФФФЯ 33 Tomba! Sony CEA ФФФФ 11 The Wild Thornberrys: Animal Adventure Mattel 94 4 TONY HAWK'S PRO SKATER 4 the magic of the previous two. With Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return Sony СЕА ФФФФ 29 М/реош3 Psygnosis ФФФФ 26 What you said: “Apparently, l'm a greatly appreciated graphic Tomorrow Never Dies Electronic Arts PAPI 28 Woody Woodpecker Racing Konami @® 40 going to love Tony's fifth outing. update, the most mature story I've Tonka Space Station Hasbro #94 41 World Cup 98 EA Sports 606% 10 The original left me in awe, the seen in an RPG, and unforgettable ‘Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Activision PEDDI 26 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks 300 6 39 second game disappointed, the characters, this game has taken the The World Is Not Enough Electronic Arts DES 40 third was fantastic, and the fourth series to a new level. But I'm disap- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Activision PGPG 51 World's Scariest Police Chases Activision @@ 47 leaves me feeling as if | missed pointed that there aren’t more old- Өту Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Activision ФФФФ 64 Worms Armageddon Hasbro 064 27 something. Wasn't this supposed school cameos. Beat the pro challenges and get big-time goods. Here's how it flows: Worms World Party Ubi Soft RRR 55 to be revolutionary?” Your Score PERRI One Pra Challenge Sim Made Wu-Tang Shaolin Style Activision @@® | 28 Your Score PRRI Jonathan Leard ‘Two Pro Challenges Moon Physics WWF Attitude. Acclaim $$$ 24 Nick Riley jonathan(aroundbrix.com Three Pro Challenges Slow Motion Tricks WWF SmackDown! THO Фе 31 SpideyBuddyfamsn.com Four Pro Challenges Bonus Skater: Little Person What we said: “One of the most Five Pro Challenge Always Special WWF War Zone Acclaim $$$ 12 What we said: “Funny, smart, and mature stories you'll find ona Six Pro Challenges Perfect Balance X-Bladez: Inline Skater Crave 8 55 superbly crafted, Hawk 4 is па console КР! Seven Pro Challenges Stud Mode X-Files Fox Interactive ФФФ 28 class with GTA3." Our Score 22 Toonenstein: Dare to Scare Vatical #94 29 XGames Pro Boarder ESPN Digital 60660 14 Our Score ви Torneko: The Last Hope Enix 6% 40 Х-Меп: Children of the Atom Acclaim B® 6 SUB REBELLION Toy Story 2 Activision @@® 28 X-Men: Mutant Academy Activision 609%. 36 WWE SMACKDOWN!: What you said: “One part Silent Toy Story Racer Activision AD 44 X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Activision 06960 50 SHUT YOUR MOUTH Service, one part Ace Combat 04, ‘Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals Bam Ф 36 Хела: Warrior Princess Electronic Arts DASI 26 What you said: “Without a doubt, and one part Critical Depth, ‘Trap Gunner Міне DDG B Xenogears Square EA $$ e$ 14 this is the best WWE game ever Rebellion mixes the three into Treasures of the Deep Namco ФФФФ 1 You Don't Know Jack! Berkeley Systems 48 25 released. The characters look an intense, evenly paced shooter Trickin’ Snowboarder Capcom 94 25 You Don't Know Jack! Mock 2 Sierra @@ 40 frighteningly realistic, the that has passed under the gaming Triple Play 99 EA Sports 6094 9 @yu-ci-on!: Forbidden Memories Konami $4 57 entrances are authentic, and this radar. With customizable weapons, Triple Play 2000 EA Sports ФФФФ4 20 7 Colored Fish 237716 is a huge improvement over Just above- and below-water battles, 7 Completed 36198326 - Bring It. The only things marring and the coolest radar system in Triple Play Baseball EA Sports DDG 44 Abyss Flower 40387124 this game are the bad dialogue existence, Rebellion rises from Turbo Prop Racing Sony СА @@® п Acid Crawler 71568553 and the fact that Triple Н monopo- the murky ocean floor as ап unex- Twisted Metal lll 989 Studies 686 16 Acid Trap Hole 41356845 lizes everything. But then again, pectedly strategic and decidedly ‘Twisted Metal 4 989 Studios RRR 28 Air Marmot of Nefa 75889523 | did say this game was realistic.” enjoyable title.” ‘Twisted Metal: Small Brawl Sony CEA 994 52 Akakieisu 38035986 Your Score RRRRS Your Score PREE Tyco RC: Assault With a Battery Mattel @@ 38 Akihiron 36904469 Greg Andersson Jonathan Leard Ultimate 8-Ball THO @@@® 22 _ Alînsection 70924884 greg(awheresdriver.com jonathan@roundbrix.com Ultimate Fighting Championship Gave $3 40 (Yu-Gi-Oh: Premium Edition Konami n/a n/a Um Jammer Lammy Sony CEA DASG 24 TWICE THE DORK FOR TWICE THE PRICE? What we said: “Someone tell us: What we said: “One of the coolest The Unholy War Eidos 6%% 14 Sadly, мете codeless on this. Got any for us? Send them along to Where's the innovation?" sonar systems ever. Very fun." Uprising X зро 69% 7 opm @ ziffdavis.com and title the e-mail: Replay Premium. Our Score %%4 Our Score PERE Official US. PlayStation Magazine The awards you never thought of. The total number of games reviewed by OPM in 2002. MORE AWARDS Why? Because we like making game developers feel special he big awards have been issued; you dictated them to the world 82 pages ago. But we're not done with the best of 2002 just yet—we're even here to tell you the worst! GRAVITY GAMES Extreme orts meets extreme crap WORST PS2 GAME Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt. is a bulimic's dream—it's quite likely to induce vomiting. WORST PS1 GAME Hooters Road Trip's driving: terrible. Video: grainy and painful. License: excruciating. Game: sucks. BEST GAME YOU DIDN'T PLAY It's been a full year since we reviewed Fatal Frame, and just thinking about it still gives us the creeps. Forget Silent Hill—this is the spookiest game ever made. 2TUPIDEST TITLE Shadow Man: 2econd Coming BEST '80S FLASHBACK (THAT WASN'T VICE CITY) Activision Anthology / "Did your mom ever ny you that you'd outgrow videogames? My mom was cord. Official 05. PlayStation Magazine REGU [a drunk. She used to whip me every day ы. With an extension MOST WELCOME COMEBACK OF A CLASSIC Despite competition from Shinobi, Rygar, and Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, nothing remained more true to its original spirit and gameplay with a 21st-century facelift than Contra: Shattered Soldier. WORST HAIRDO Haven's bright-red cornrows. GAME WE PRAY NEVER REACHES CHAPTER TWO Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark Unicorn THE “ANY MORE DELAYS, WE'LL JUST STOP CARING...PERIOD” AWARD Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness BEST MADE-UP WORD IN A TITLE “Thievius” BEST DONALD DUCK APPEARANCE Kingdom Hearts WORST DONALD DUCK APPEARANCE Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows MOST OBVIOUS Golf OUT MUSIC GAME i Gitaroo-man Б POR ЧА е » \ HOOTERS ROAD TRIP “1 designed the game mys SATU MOST HONORARY BALD HEAD Agent 47 of Hitman 2 BEST GAME THAT WAS NEVER RELEASED Evil Twin BEST AD CAMPAIGN Ratchet & Clank's TV commercials repre- sented the game well and were downright hysterical ("It worked! Jerry's a chicken!"]. And who can forget the “make your own scene” print ads with the stickers? WORST AD CAMPAIGN 989 Sports (print): The GameDay and FaceOff print ads tried to deceive you into thinking you were reading part of the mag, while ads for the college games featured “preseason” polls well into the basketball and football seasons—with Winthrop and Cal at No. 1, respectively! Obviously, this means these games were developed for people who don't know their sports. ANNUAL ICO AWARD FOR ICO Ico. We'll keep giving this award until you buy this masterpiece. MOST FORGETTABLE GAME We can't remember. жа Р.6.А.Т. (PlayStation Aptitude Test) 1. The Winning Eleven soccer series is the best-selling in... a. Europe b. Japan с, The World d. A and B, but not C e. B and C, but not A 2. What was the last game to best Madden NFL for OPM's Best Sports Game award? a. NFL GameDay 98 b. NFL GameDay 99 c. Hot Shots Golf d. NCAA Football 2002 3. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter composer Hitoshi Sakamoto is also responsible for which game’s soundtrack? a. Final Fantasy VII b. Final Fantasy X c. Final Fantasy Tactics d. Final Fantasy Chronicles 4. Since the High Heat franchise began in 1998, how many cover athletes have represented the game? a. Two b. Three c. Four d. Five 5. The developers of Midnight Club II produced the CG for which movie? a. Tron b. Toy Story c. The Lawnmower Man d. Adventures in Babysitting ~ a سے‎ ANGELIC WORK Designing kick-ass CG cars like this one wasnt Angel Studios’ first CG job. 2 6 '(esos 'биицэб) e гу 96277971 ssuamsuy PlayStation MAGAZINE NEXT MONTH On sale April 8 Feature ° Playable Demo - Review IF YOU PURCHASED A SUBSCRIPTION TO THIS OR ANOTHER MAGAZINE, THE FOLLOWING PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. This notice describes a proposed nationwide settlement of class action lawsuits relating to magazine subscriptions that has been reached in In Re Magazine Antitrust Litigation, 00 Civ. 4889 (S.D.N.Y) (ће "Action", and preliminarily approved by the U.S, District Court for the Southern District of New York [the ‘Court’, PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR THE PAYMENT OF MONEY OR OTHER COMPENSATION TO THE CLASS MEMBERS BUT INSTEAD SOLELY ADDRESSES CERTAIN INDUS- TRY RULES AND PRACTICES THAT WERE DIRECTLY CHALLENGED IN THE ACTION AS BEING UNLAWFUL (SEE "THE CLAIMS IN THE LAWSUIT" SECTION BELOW). This announcement is intended to give class members notice under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Order of the Court dated September 20, 2002, as modified on September 30, 2002, that a hearing will be held before the Hon, Richard Conway Casey on May 27, 2003 at 11:00 a.m. to determine whether: lal to certify the proposed settlement class under Rule 23; b] the proposed settlement of the Action is fair, reasonable and adequate; |с) a final judgment should be entered dismissing the Action with prejudice to the class members; and [d] to approve class counsels’ application for attorneys’ fees and expenses. The rest of this notice summarizes the terms of the proposed settlement. You can obtain a copy of the settlement agreement, the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint [the "Complaint"], and a list of the magazine subscriptions at issue in the Action, at www.magazine.org or by writing to The Garden City Group, Inc., the Administrator of the Notice Program, at Magazine Antitrust Litigation, РО. Box 9000 # 6041, Merrick, NY 11566-9000 [the "Administrator"]. ANY QUESTIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE OR THE SETTLEMENT SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO THE ADMINISTRATOR AT THE ADDRESS LISTED ABOVE OR BY CALLING 1-888-210-0118. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE ADMINISTRATOR WITH QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR CURRENT SUBSCRIPTIONS UNLESS THOSE QUESTIONS RELATE TO THE CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT, COUNSEL TO THE PARTIES, OFFICIAL U.S. PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE OR ANY PUBLISHER REGARDING THIS NOTICE. THE ADMINISTRATOR, WHERE APPROPRIATE, WILL REFER ANY QUESTIONS TO THE APPROPRIATE PERSON. The Claims in the Lawsuit The Complaint was filed in this Action in or about October 2000, against the Magazine Publishers of America ['MPA'], a consumer magazine trade association, and fourteen magazine publishing companies (the Publisher Defendants”). The Complaint alleged an agreement among the Publisher Defendants and the MPA to set the minimum price of or maximum discount on magazine subscriptions through the enactment of MPA Guideline 4[a) and/or the collective action among publishers to adhere to the ABC's 50% Rule las referred to in $45 of the Complaint] or the similar Rule of the BPA International pertaining to its definition of "paid circu- lation." The Complaint asked the Court to eliminate or modify Guideline а) and to award damages that allegedly were suffered by consumers who purchased subscriptions to the Publisher Defendants’ magazines. The defendants have denied the material allegations of the Complaint. The parties have now agreed to settle the Action in its entirety. On September 20, 2002, the Court preliminarily approved the settlement ‘Terms of the Proposed Settlement In the proposed settlement, the defendants have agreed to do two things: [i] the MPA shall delete in its entirety MPA Guideline la]; and lii] the defendants shall defray the costs incurred in connection with the Action, including the costs of the Notice program involving notifying class members of the terms and condi- tions of the proposed settlement and the Plaintiffs’ actual attorneys’ fees and expenses awarded by the Court up to $1.1 million In exchange, the Plaintiffs have agreed that, if the settlement is approved, the Court will enter a judgment dismissing the Action with prejudice, and the named Plaintiffs and all class members who have not duly opted-out of the class will be deemed to be subject to the release in this case, which provides as follows: "As of the date on which the Agreement is Finally Approved, the Publisher Defendants and the MPA . . . shall be completely released, acquitted, and forever discharged, from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, causes of action, injuries or damages, whether class, individual or otherwise in nature, that Plaintiffs, the Class Members or each of them, in his or her capacity as a subscriber to a magazine, ever had or now has, in law or equity, under federal or state law, relating to an agreement to set the minimum price of or maximum discount on magazine subscriptions through the enactment of MPA Guideline 41а} and/or the collective action among publishers to adhere to the ABC's 50% Rule [as referred to in 45 of the Amended Complaint] or the similar Rule of the BPA International pertaining to its definition of ‘paid circulation.” The release also releases class action claims that were previously brought but subsequently dismissed without prejudice) by a plaintiff in the State Court in San Diego, California, who asserted similar allegations against the defendants albeit based on violations of California state laws. The California action was styled Coossan v. Hearst Corp. et. al., No. GIC 752985. А сору of the Coossan Complaint can be obtained at www.mag- azine.org Who are the Publisher Defendants? The Publisher Defendants are: Condé Nast Publications, Inc.; Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing Company; Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. (Ик/а Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, Inc; The Hearst Corporation; International Data Group, Іпс.: Meredith Corporation; Newsweek, Inc.; Primedia, Inc.; Reader's Digest Association, Inc.; Rodale Inc.: Time Inc.; Time4Media, Inc. lf/k/a Times Mirror Magazines, Inc.|; TV Guide, Inc. and Ziff- Davis Publishing, Inc. Who is in the Class? Class Members are those persons who purchased a subscription to this publication or to other publica- tions that were published by any of the Publisher Defendants during the period from and including July 1. 1996 up to and including April 15, 2002 [the "Class". For purposes of determining inclusion in the Class, it does not matter whether you purchased your subscription from one of the Publisher Defendants, or through agents, subagents or other third party marketers. You are not, however, a member of the Class if you did not pur- chase a magazine subscription within the time period stated above, or if you purchased your magazines only at newsstands, Your Right Proposed Settlement You have the right to appear, in person or by counsel, at the hearing on the proposed settlement in order to comment on, or object to, the terms of the proposed settlement, its adequacy or reasonableness and/or the award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to class counsel. However, you will only be heard at that time if you first, by May 5, 2003, |а) file with the Court a notice of your intention to appear, which includes the basis for your objection, a statement identifying the magazines to which you subscribed, and the approximate time peri- од of each such subscription; and [b] serve copies of the notice land all other papers you intend to rely upon] by hand or first class mail on Plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel, Bruce E. Gerstein, Esq., Garwin, Bronzaft, Gerstein, & Fisher, LLP, 1501 Broadway, Suite 1416, New York, NY 10036 and Н. Laddie Montague, Jr, Esq., Berger & Montague, 1622 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, and on Defendants’ coordinating counsel, Lawrence | Fox, Esq. at McDermott, Will & Emery, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, 11th Floor, New York, New York 10020. Your Right to Opt-Out of the Settlement ALTHOUGH YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO APPEAR AT THE HEARING, YOU HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO 00 SO. Ifyou do not wish to participate in or be bound by the proposed settlement, you can exclude yourself [i e. "opt- out"). To opt out, you MUST send a request for exclusion in an envelope POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN May 5, 2003 to the Administrator of the Notice Program Magazine Antitrust Litigation, РО. Box 9000 # 6041 Merrick, NY 11566-9000. The request for exclusion must state your full name, the magazinels] to which you subscribed and the approximate time period of each subscription, and the address to which your magazines were sent. IF YOU DO NOT EXCLUDE YOURSELF, you will be barred from prosecuting any legal action against the MPA or its members and the Publisher Defendants to the full extent of the release set forth in the “Terms of the Proposed Settlement” section above. mination of Pa Inguirie For a more detailed statement of the matters involved in the Action, including the Complaint, the settle- ment agreement, motion papers and certain orders of the Court, you may visit the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, 500 Pearl Street, New York, New York, during business hours. Copies of the papers relating to the settlement are also available at www.magazine.org, 3 Ф 2 53 e » а 2 Ф g = 3 3 8 б 8 = © 3 8 2 5 = 2 5 8 © Ф 8 5 о ЕЗ 5 Ф Ф из 540 N2814 5002-2002 © ошеб зешпн ue бој душе „ба, eui pi эред релеја!бој эле о! әред e SI ое pe шәшенәши 580 ое jo увшер soum) PARTICIPATION IN РАКАМП, LAWFUL FLIGHT TO AVOID Aliases: Lou, Luc, "Commander," Benjamin DESCRIPTION Date of Birth: August 6, 196] Eyes: Blue Height: 5'8" Complexion: White Scars and Marks: Aker has а U.S. flag Nationality: American tattooed on his right shoulder ught cc mmando, Aker р 'ader is responsible specifically against те U.S. Governn the disintegration of America, " Aker Jaker, Lucky Remarks as worked as a freelance mercenary, This hyper- Patriotic milit Jor leading organizations that ty ain in covert warfare, tent. His militia organization is dedicate "has run camps in Alabama, ЕЈ lori d to ‘preventing da and Utah, CONSIDERED ARMED AND EXT REMELY DAN GEROUS MACON entertainment Visit КТП or call 1-800-771-3772 for more info. z xn bus ates + ai n Р TY jit auii mm ^ whit T *DANTE ROCKS WITH NEW ACFROBATIC AND ASS-KICKING MOVES - RUN AN D JUMP ON WALLS, AERIAL KICKS, SIMULTANEOUS SHOOTING IN TWO DIRECTION ss AND MORE! % + DANTE IS BACK IN THIS STYLISH.ACTION- THRILLER AND SEQUEL TO TH E PHENOMENAL DEVIL May Cry! *PLAY AS DANTE OR THE MYSTERIOUS AND SEXY LUCIA... THE NEWEST MEMBER TO THE DEVIL MAY CRY SAGA. *JAW-DROPPING GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION, BATTLE IN MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTS FILLED WITH WRETCHED ENEMIES AND ATMOSPHERIC SPECIAL EFFECTS. AVAILA RIE NIC DNY MATURE Blood & Violence CAF CO CAPCOM.C! PlayStation.e rks of CAPCOM CO., LTD. DEVIL MAY CRY is a trademark of CAPCOM CO., LTD. ФСАРСОМ CO., LTD. 2003 ©САРСОМ U.S.A., INC. 2003. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CAPCOM and the CAPCOM logo are registered tradem: d trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. The ratings icon is a registered trademark of the Interactive Digital Software Association Play! and the “PS” Family logo are