= EXCLUSIVE! «и A ires PLAYABLE PS2 e SE THE CRYSTAL e EVERYTHING К хохо DEMO DVD! <A METHOD 7a. OR NOTHING = JOINS ОКУЗ VR 12 EXCLUSIVE GAME v" | ON GAME SOUNDTRACKS an HANDS ON WITH THE | up AS TANNER DEMOS INSIDE! и Ў ў Б
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They're back. And they're itching for action. With tons of planets to conquer in a whole new gigantic galaxy, you better believe Ratchet & Clank are gonna sink their teeth into some destruction. Ummm, destruction. With weapon upgrades, mods, armor and the ability for Ratchet to get stronger and smarter as the game goes on, this could get uglier than The Grandmas In Bikinis Calendar after- party. Speaking of parties, there’s also hoverbike racing, space combat and gladiator arenas. As far as weapons and gadgets go, Ratchet & Clank are stacked with over 50 new ones, along with unlockable upgrades, so by the end of the journey, you'll go through more weapons and gadgets than a hungry fat man will go through chicken wings at lunch. Lock and load, baby, lock and load. www.us.playstation.com
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The safety of the world rests in the hands of the world's greatest secret agent—you. Pierce Brosnan stars as James Bond alongside a stellar cast of Shannon Elizabeth as Serena St. Germaine, Heidi Klum as Dr. Katya Nadanova, and Mya as Agent Starling. Employ the latest Ц gadgets, drive Bond's Aston Martin М2 Vanquish, and fight villains with a new hand-to-hand combat system as you caver four continents on a journey to save the world. Begin your mission at eagames.com.
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THE BARS MAY KEEP YOU IN. BUT THEY WON'T
KEEP THEM OUT. 4
THESUFFERING.MIDWAY.COM ы.“
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The Suffering is an all-new next-generation entry into the action horror genre, and the first qame of its kind to probe into the very unsettling and seedy underbelly of a maximum-security penitentiary, which is haunted by horrific and grotesque apparitions, all represented by the unique and disturbing executions that previously befell them. Take on the role of Torque, an inmate who must face much more than his own
inner demons and the harsh and gritty reality of death row, as he fights to escape the unleashing of the penitentiary’s gruesome secrets in what amounts to be a challenging and terrifying journey through one of the most hellish environments ever imagined. The Suffering features ultra-mature content and three distinctly different endings depending upon how you choose to survive.
CREATURE DESIGN BY STAN WINSTON STUDIOS
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—— | “Midway’s action/horror title could be ^, adults will get a demented, Le Ehe most gruesome videogame ever" scary ride" — 1GN.COM - Game Informer
MATURE 17+
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©2004 THQ Inc THQ the THQ logo and the MX Unleashed logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc All other trademarks and logos are property of their respective owners. АЙ Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft"PlayStation" and the"PS"Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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logo and the Xbox Logos are registered trademar trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or in other countries and afe license from Microsoft. *PlayStation" and the "PS; е tegistered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. TM J&A а)
MUN ери its / UBISOFT
ONTENTS
3 MILLION
GAMERS CAN'T
BE WRONG
Syphon Filter is the stealth blockbuster
It may not have the same kind of profile as some of its peers, but Syphon Filter is very stealthily one of the really big hits in the
sneaking genre. All three previous chapters performed spectacu- larly well on PS1, clocking up sales in excess of 3 million copies,
John Davison Editor-in-Chief
despite the fact that they were very much in the shadow of Metal Gear Solid. You can still
‘ack them down really cheap on the Greatest Hits label if you want to give yourself a bit of a history lesson. They're good games, and like many of the biggest hits right now, they deal with situations, fears, and challenges that are more contemporary than fantasy. The war on terror and the fear of weapons of mass destruction are both tackled in The Omega Strain, and they're supplemented with a style of online gameplay that is hopefully the beginning of a new trend. Rather than pitting players against each other, you'll work cooperatively as a team to complete every mission in the game. To get a taste of how it will look, try out the single-player demo on our DVD this month.
PABLO
Pablo started drawing superheroes as a kid; after a career in maga- zine design, he began illustrating for a living Check out his work in this month's voice acting piece on page 36 or visit his website.
Just Like Movies
The Entertainment Software Rating Board provides infor- mation about videogame content. ESRB ratings are intended as guidelines only; parents should still monitor minors’ purchases.
ESRB.ORG
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DARREN GLADSTONE Darren's one of those guys down the street who lives to help you maximize your home theater setup. Only thing is, he doesn't live down your street—so he'll just tell you what he can in our mag. He's also the previews editor for Computer Gaming World.
EVERYONE ADULTS ONLY
‘CONTENT RATED ву MM CONTENT RATED UY ESRB
EVERYONE г RATING ING RA
The Е replaced Contains These games | Тһе extreme the previous suggestive contain more of the ratings, KA rating themes; mild adult themes, suitable
last year. or strong such as blood for adults only Suitable for language; and gore; Packs sexual kids ages and animated stronger themes ond
6 and up, violence. language: extreme Ечајей games Some parents | end sexual violence.
may contain may want themes. Console minimal to supervise Deemed not manufacturers violence children suitable have yet to
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ONTENTS
20 INPUT
You love us, we love you. Come share the love by writing to opm(aziffdavis.com
30 SPIN
Rainbow Six 3 is coming to a PlayStation 2 near you. Read all about it and much, much more.
90 DEMO DISC
Try before you buy—give Syphon Filter a whirl, plus check out our other 11 exclusive demos.
106 REPLAY
Sixteen pages of strategy good- ness, delivered from our offices straight into your arms.
What can you look forward to in the next spanktastic issue of
OPM? Go here to find out.
PREVIEWS
70 78 68 70 72 80 84 78 66
74 82 80 72 80 73 72
100 Bullets
AirForce Delta Strike
Alias
Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers ESPN Major League Baseball The Fast and the Furious Final Fantasy XI
Firefighter FD.18
James Bond 007:
Everything or Nothing
La Pucelle: Tactics
Lifeline
Micro Mayhem
MVP Baseball 2004
MX Unleashed
NBA Ballers
NFL Street
Er <. — —T E | E
Dy
|
& ү Ба Ready...
x p e. 30
.. 86
Terrorists, biologi- cal weapons—no, it's not the news, it's the next game in one of the best- selling series ever.
The Nightmare Before Christmas Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy Red Ninja: End of Honor
The Red Star Samurai Warriors
Showdown: Legends of Wrestling
Silent Hill 4
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
The Suffering.
Terminator 3: Redemption
Transformers Armada:
Prelude to Energon
Trivial Pursuit Unhinged World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7
Worms 3D Wrath Unleashed
SPIN
30
33
35
36
38
40
42
46
50
53
‚54
56 58 60
62
Final Fantasy XII You tell us to give you more pretty boy air pirates; we oblige.
Day Planner OPM's handy monthly calendar.
The Crystal Method
Scott Kirkland talks about game soundtracks, his love of soccer, and the problem with the RIAA.
Word of Mouth Think you've heard those voices before? You might be right.
Robota Watch for this stunning film-book to come to a PlayStation near you.
Bad Girls Need Love Too We chat with the newest Bond girl, supermodel Heidi Klum.
Rainbow Six 3
No need to buy that Xbox—tactical stealth fun is coming in spades. Prince of Persia
Seven things you didn’t know about
one of the best games of 2003.
Game Pad
HDTV—what is it good for? Turn to this page, and we'll tell you
Clish MacLaver
Sound Station
DVD Reviews
Animania!
The List
Nine new objects of desire.
By the Numbers
REPLAY
108
110
112
114
120
Prince of Persia:
The Sands of Time
Your guide to the 10 fountains of eternal youth.
Final Fantasy X-2 Want 100 percent completion? Look no further.
Tony Hawk's Underground Fancy-pants moves for every player in the game.
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
Maneuver your way out of tight spots with these comprehensive maps.
Rewind: January 1999
PlayStation
MAGAZINE
DISC PROBLEMS?
Did you buy a copy of our magazine that did not contain a demo CD? Simply send the receipt in an envelope marked “OPM Replacement Disc" to the address below with the name and address of the store plus your phone number and address and we'll send you the disc. Make sure you specify Which month the corresponding disc belongs to in order to ensure you get the right one.
Also, if you have a malfunctioning or non-Work- ing demo disc, call EDS at 1-800-627-6458. They will provide instructions to obtain repair or replacement services.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) warrants to the original purchaser of the Official V.S. PlayStation Magazine that the demo disc
included is free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase, SCEA agrees for a period of ninety (90) days to either repair or replace, at its option, the SCEA product. You must call EDS at 1- 800-627-6458 to receive instructions to obtain repair/replacement services.
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 WAR- RANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND NO OTHER REPRESENTATIONS OR CLAIMS OF ANY NATURE SHALL BE BINDING ON OR OBLIGATE SCEA. ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
ON THIS MONTH'S PLAYABLE PS2 DVD
Crash Nitro Kart.
Backyard Basketball
NHL Hitz Pro
Kao the Kangaroo Round 2 Space Channel 5: Special Edition Maximo vs. Army of Zin
FIFA Soccer 2004
Nightshade
Wrath Unleashed
MTX Motocross
Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
NFL Street
Driver 3
Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space
Downhill Domination
Final Fantasy X
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Silent Hill 2
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds The Hulk
Demo Disc Producers Gary Barth, Manuel Sousa, Jerome Strach, Chris Tan
‘Marketing Team Kim Yuen, Steve Williams, Jesse Caid
Executive Producers Andrew House, Marilyn Weyant
Format Q8A Sam Bradley, DeMarlo King Account Coordinator Eri Ippolito
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
Maimoona Block, Kirsten Costello, Tom Gillan, Michelle Manahan, Gerald Martin,
Jim Williams
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.
This month's demo disc has a little bit of everything for you Whether you like racing with mar- supials or on dirtbikes, saving the world as a ninja or a brave adven- turer, or strategizing with mythical creatures, this month's demo disc has it all. And be sure to check out the special features on Fatal Frame Il, Final Fantasy ХІ, SOCOM ІІ, and more. Can you spot the OPM editor?
CRASH NITRO KART
THE DETAILS:
This demo includes the game's first two levels in their entirety. It's just enough to give you a feel for some of Maxie's new moves, as you try them out against your typical assortment of Zin.
NIGHTSHADE
HAVE YOU TRIED...
„the devastating spin attack? When you're sur- rounded, the best way out is often to use the spin attack by hitting Square and moving the left analog Stick in a circular motion.
«Saving people? Not letting peasants die yields rewards, like koins and armor.
...getting 100 percent? There are a lot of factors in mastering both of the two levels. Can you do it?
MTX: MOTOTRAX FEATURING TRAVIS PASTRANA
THE DETAILS:
We were under the impression that MTX is more focused on stunts, but all the demo offers is a single race with cover- boy Travis Pastrana (or Kenny Bartram in two- player mode].
WRATH UNLEASHED
HAVE YOU TRIED...
„landing tricks? Use a combo of both the Circle and Triangle buttons in order to pull off your nac- nacs, can-cans, and other tricks. Also use the L2 and R2 buttons to tweak your moves. (So what if it serves no purpose in a race?]
...getting the holeshot? By timing the drop of the gate correctly, you can burst into an early lead. Press forward on the left analog for an extra boost.
E and the SOE logo are registered г respective owners. All rights reserved.
2 Е ES в Е 5 t [er © 2 Е HT Е Е 5 2 е 5
гир лн: NORRATH Ў —
|
SONY ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT
SNOWD] "nd studios
PlayStation.e
EVERQUES1I
REALMS of
4 me D. оп (no subse f SOEGames.net
45 levels of non-stop action with over 50 areas to explore and conquer.
| Slay your way n. the glorious Realms of Eve Q uestin | а non-stop. hack ` n' slash adventure brimming with heroit quests, beautiful locales, enchanted zones and dark, | mysterious dungeons.
——— № Create your Champion from 5 mythic races and 5 classes, i customizing the look and name that conveys your unique abilities. IB collect, buy and trade over 10.000 items, Or create your own. Master weapons, magic and combat to conquer hideous creatures ed unforeseen evil. But be forewarned - a Champion shall forever be challenged!
Constantly changing dungeons and monsters make each game a new experience.
Blood and Gore
lence
ESRB CONTENT RATING ШАЛЫ
Game Experience may change during online play
об
саг IE
www.ch ampionsofnorrath сот
Crude Humor Mature Sexual Themes Mild Violence
Mona Lott is a dancer at Club Rubb. She digs her man Bing, but, that doesn't mean she won't have some lovin’ to spare.
(8 Y
Fran Foofarow lets it all hang out at Pixel Acres. Play your cards right and you'll be seeing more of her. A lot more.
x > Goldie Toane - flex for her at the gym, and she'll coo over your
buff body and maybe tell you
а few dirty jokes if you're lucky.
Randy Нап a regular at Casa Caliente where he loves to give bear hugs on the beer rug. A word to the wise - don't pull his finger.
eagames.com
ə . PlayStation.e
INPUT
Letters without any
tic anticommer- cialism subtexts.
Fo nS
ЕЕ PlayStation THE BIG GAMES FOR
Despite the occasional message board visitor like PS2fan, who found our attempt to preview every game released in 2004 as the cover story "pretty lazy," the story went over quite well with most of you. "The coverage was excellent," comments Stephen Layne of Ajax, Ontario. "Just wish there
was more of Metal Gear Solid 3!"
You guys finally did it! | hope you are happy. You have shattered all my hopes and dreams! In the December 2003 issue of OPM, you gave six of my most wanted 10 games a 3.5 or lower. | call that bad! | hope you are happy with yourselves! I'm going to go cry for a few hours.
Derek Tillotson
via e-mail f
Actually, a 3.5 out Ф 7
of 5 is considered a
“good” score—see,
we use the whole scale. Basically, it means that the game is worth playing, but probably not worth buying unless you’re a already a big fan of its genre or subject matter (i.e., a hot license, etc.). We tell it like At least you're not as crazy as that guy who claimed that 4.5 stars is a "bad score." We dunno what plan- et he came from. We suspect Bizarro world, where people say "good-bye" when they meet and "hello" when they leave.
I would like to point out a horrible yet humorous mistake made in the ad for Mission: Impossible- Operation Surma. | noticed this mis- take because | am a major firearm guru, so | know a lot about firearms and ammunition.
The first thing that caught my eye was the all-silver .22-caliber bullet that appeared to have just been shot and travelling through the air. One problem, though: The entire cartridge was flying, casing and all. Now, when one fires a
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round from a rifle or pistol, only the tip (the actual bullet) leaves the casing, while the casing stays in the gun and is ejected out the side. Another thing | noticed is that, according to the size of the gun in that man's hand, | highly doubt it was a .22-caliber pistol. | also doubt that a spy would be using a .22-caliber weapon, for а .22 і а very small bullet and doesn't do much damage. They're mainly used for target shooting, and varmint hunting—not terrorists. Chris McFall via e-mail
The bullet that Chris is talking about is the опе next to the word “Surma.” Yes, he wrote an entire letter just about that miniscule part of the ad. That's pretty hardcore, we think.
Wow, you sure love your guns. We object to the generalization that the .22 is merely for target shoot- ing and varmint hunting. For one thing, spy agencies have outfitted agents with pens or lighters with -22s built in them, as a last-ditch resort.
What were you thinking, hiring a computer to OPM? Send him back, for God's sake. | just don't think he's fit for reviewing PS2 games. I think he's a little used to reviewing PC. | mean look at the scores from the past months—not a single decent rating from his reviews, except for one. Please, get rid of him. | ask you: why hire him?
Jeff Tsang
via e-mail
NA
VES
ХУ,
7
Thanks for noticing that we hired a human computer. We hired him because he's handy for stuff like knowing how long the starship Yamato is (250 km). We'd ask him to reply to you personally, but he speaks in binary, and an answer full of ones and zeroes probably wouldn't satisfy you.
"nihilistic anticommercialism subtext..." | had to look up every one of those words in your preview of Fight Club last issue. | must say, you guys are getting all technical on me. | see your point, though. I've read a couple of Chuck Palaniuk's books (not including Fight Club), and he does go there sometimes. But, since | haven't seen the movie, | can't say | understand. Maybe you guys should stick with normal words. Please stop confusing me! Also, will this ruin the experience of not seeing the movie before? Craig Vornberg
via e-mail
While we're generally a bunch of shiftless layabouts, on occasion, we do break out the complicated wordage. You know...so we can claim to be filed as "edutainment" on the magazine rack. You should also get around to seeing the film—it really is excellent.
OED ON A BUDGET We know a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary is way expensive. Our tip? Go to any college library, and you can use the reference copy for free!
www.stingerpengun.com
Homepage of Stinger, a company that manufactures
.22-caliber guns that resemble pens.
Chrono love
Being somewhat of an RPG nerd, my friends (also RPG nerds] and | have often debated the merits of Final Fantasy VII versus Final Fantasy IX.
Recently, | bought Final Fantasy Chronicles, and though I'm only 10 hours into Chrono Trigger, | like it more. All of my friends say FFVII or FFIX is better, but | don't think so. What do you guys think?
Raphael Cornfold via e-mail
Now that Gary Steinman's not here to weigh in, we'll let new RPGeek Scooter answer the question: "I love me some Chrono Trigger! Hey, Square Enix—give us Chrono Break already!"
Jobless
| just want to ask this. What would you do if you lost your job of being a game tester? What job would you have after that? Brandon Thammavong
via e-mail
Well, we're not game testers—we're magazine editors. But what would happen indeed if we were to suddenly lose our jobs? Who knows? Some of
us might go to other maga-
zines, others might go into
PR. Heck, some of us might
get into game development!
Worse comes to worst,
there's always Arby's.
Giancarlo's secret job While surfin' the tube the other day, | stum- bled across a movie with a familiar name in
the credits. | grabbed the issue of OPM I got that same day and was surprised. The movie was called Blood Red, and it starred Giancarlo Giannini. It was about a wine- grower who fell in love
during a war for land in
California. Did your news
editor change his name?
Chris Traslavina
via e-mail
Nope. As much we we'd
like to think Giancarlo
was an itinerant wine
man, it's just a coinci-
dence. We have to clear the air once and for all: His secret shame is that he's a homeless ninja.
Voice of Shinra
| just purchased Final Fantasy X-2 and heard the voice of the Gullwing Shinra. He sound- ed familiar. | did some research and found nothing, so | decided to ask you guys! Could you tell me who provides the voice and what shows he might've been in?
Soccerdude1631
via e-mail
Actually, Shinra is voiced by a "she Pamela Seagall Adlon. She's done some game voices (Run Like Hell, Escape From Monkey Island) and even a movie or two (Brother Bear). The last Final Fantasy-related voice she did before FFX- 2was Jue, the main female in "Final Flight of the Osiris" from The Animatrix. Finally, if you watch King of the Hill, she's the voice of Bobby Hill (hey...a woman voices Bart Simpson, too].
TATTOOS OF THE MONTH
1 love the Tattoo of the Month feature you've been running. With Defiance just around the corner [when this letter was written—Ed.], | thought I'd round up a bunch of photos of Legacy of Kain fans with tattoos from the series. Katri, Smackbabe, Lee, Lucie, and | all have Каіп' clan symbol somewhere on our bodies. Lucie also has Kain and Raziel's faces..Zoe has Raziel's clan symbol. Sean Burch has Moebius’ infinity loop.
Amy Hennig from Crystal Dynamics was kind enough to send me photos of a GameStop manager on the east coast who is getting the scene from Soul Reaver where Kain breaks the sword over Raziel on his leg, but | didn't know how to get a hold of him
to ask permission to send that one in. Ben Lincoln via e-mail
Whoa, that’s a dedicated clan of gamers! You lot have certainly earned our (not so)
coveted Tattoo of the Month award...
A Lucie
Ben Lincoln
Smackbabe
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION
THE DIRECTORS’ CUT
For the first time ever, experience director Hideaki Anno’s true vision of anime’s future in Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Directors’ Cut. Features the final six episodes of this groundbreaking science-fiction series with scenes previously unavailable outside of Japan.
Resurrection (Episodes 21-23): Available 1.13.2004. Genesis Reborn (Episodes 24-26): Available in March.
www.advfilms.com
e
SUNCOAST
The store for movie lovers.
бат ообу
got,
MEON GENESIS EVAGELION © GAINAX/ Project va. TV Tokyo
A slew of readers all turned away by Scooter saying no.
А / = “ Camels? Аў
| know I'm reacting d А kind of late to this, but Ж” did anyone else notice
Hanukkah special (along with any other holiday out there]. You mentioned Charlie Brown and other such
that in your Final 2) childish cartoons, so | figured it's
Fantasy article issue OK to mention Rugrats (and | just 75), on page 136, that RD happen to be Jewish].
Paine's Songstress outfit 7 | Soccerdude1631
is a bit, shall we say, via e-mail
camel-like? 4 j
Fred Hsiung A 2 Poké-Mini-Con
via e-mail {у Now don't get me wrong—
Whatever are
you talking
about? This is
a family maga-
zine, son. We have no idea of which you speak. Really.
Ben Lincoln's revenge Congratulations, OPM. Your ridicu- lously biased review of the new Legacy of Kain game has ensured that | will never subscribe again. If | can't trust you to give at least a decent rating to an excellent game, it's not worth my money to read the opinions of your staff.
2.5 stars? You honestly think that the game that fans of the series have been waiting seven years for is on the same poor level as Fire Warrior? Did Eidos not buy enough advertising space? Or maybe you gave it to someone who doesn't like action/adventure games to begin with. | can't believe you gave a higher rating to a game involving suffocating people with bags and sodomizing them with crowbars. What's wrong with you?
Thanks for trying your best to prevent another game in the series from being made. | appreciate it. Ben Lincoln via e-mail
... Well, sorry we һауе a differ- ence of opinion. But that was our opinion, and we're sticking to it. Also, as often as we'd wish, we don't wield the power to cancel games outright, so no need to blame us in that regard. Guess you're not so psyched about being awarded the Tattoo of the Month this issue now, eh?
Eight craaaazy nights
In the Calendar for December 2K3, you say there are no animated Hanukkah specials except Eight Crazy Nights (which, | must agree, did suck]. Well, Rugrats has a
@) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
| hate the Transformers
Armada cartoon as
much as anyone else (which is a lot). But I think you guys are being too judgmental about the Mini-Cons being imple- mented into the game. In every review l've read, you guys have complained about the Mini-Cons being in the game. Yeah, they crap up what otherwise had potential for being a decent remake of a classic show, but | think it sounds like they have the potential to be a really cool gameplay element. I think the Mini-Cons deserve a sec-
ond chance.
DERANGED28
via e-mail True, they might turn out to bea
V really cool game-
play element. But still, just the mere
existence of those twinks is enough for us to make fun of them every chance we get.
OPM out on the street
OK, so tonight | finally get my new issue of your magazine and | was flipping through and saw the edi- tors pictures [like always]. As | was ogling over Gary's pic, | start- ed wondering about something: When you guys are out, do you ever get recognized? Even if it's just someone walking up to you and saying, “Hey! Great mag!” Has anyone ever noticed you? | know that if | saw Joe walking down the street near me, I'd start freaking out as if *NSync had just pulled up. | guess that's enough from me. You guys all take care and be care- ful not to get attacked by a rush of sobbing teenage girls.
Meghan Weiner
via e-mail
In fact, most of the staff has! Joe and Giancarlo’s smooth pates, John's wry Britishness, and C- Bake’s boyish charm have all been recognized by our adoring public. Scooter has been whining about the fact that nobody recog- nizes him, but we tell him that “going outside” is a prerequisite to encounter people who don’t actually work with him.
www.bigbot.com
Go here to fulfill all of your Transformers-related needs. Even if those needs involve those stupid Mini-Cons.
Go ahead, test her. But be warned. Beneath that sweet exterior is a hardened assassin. From vivid urban warfare to unlimited kill combos, the ultimate Ninja experience has arrived.
PlayStation. m SEGA — ЗЕбАМОМ
| Bad W Weather Credited f for r Sudden Drop in Colombian Cocaine Production
as meteorologists around the put gout № Greer! "examine ihe dua. А ap амы
ad 1 e m EXPERIENCE NEW JUNGLE JOIN INTENSE ТР WITH: GI OUT MONEE TO YOUR ж T кемені WARFARE AS THE GHOSTS RESTORE PLAYERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ELITE SQUAD OF GHOSTS USING CUBA'S PEACE AND TAKE DOWN WITH THE NEW PLAYSTATION 2.27 STATE-OF-THE-ART VOICE AN EVIL COLOMBIAN DRUG CARTEL. ONLINE FUNCTIONALITY. У 2 COMMAND TECHNOLOGY. ы”
`. 1, THE MOST INTENSE, REALISTIC ACTION, ~ | NOW ONLINE FOR PLAYSTATION®? г. Кн д eg ға” ЕТЕ 76
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Features new rnusic from: X-ECUTIONERS; Fuel, -Lastprophets, DJ Kayslay Presents Three 6 Mafia, and more. Е
“Orie ан Müliptayor game play aviae for te PlaySttjon®2 NE entertainment system- INTERNET CONNECTIVITY required, PlayStation 2 console оп! ‘lay eges turret connettion and Network Adaptor for PlayStation 2 (sold separately), The Online icon trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America bic, АЙ features not available оп ай platforms. See back of game pack for details.
hic Ane: Нана Aris: EA. EA SPORTS hs EA SPORTS logo, EA SPORTS BIG а fs Inc. in fie 0.3. ancor other countrtes. АЙ Righis Reserved. © 200 elated trademarks arg trademarks of the Nafional Footbal Ly trademark of the NFL pia прау cóm © 2003 PLAYERS ING Computer Entertainment soft, Xbox and the Хзок4 0005 countries and are used under license from Mit: are the property of their respective owners.
trademarks or reg "are teadoniarks of the team "He PLAYERS-INC logo is à fegis у looo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony marks Of Microsoft Corporation in tho U.S. and/or облог ге Aradeiirarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Alt other. i denis, Fe pianis = :
Я vil
CHANGE JOBS IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE
ENTER AN EXCITING MISSION-BASED STORY WITH NON-LINEAR GAMEPLAY
PlayStation.e
AST. TIME SHE SA НЕ WORLD. i HIS IME IT'S PERSONAL.
YUNA’S STORY CONTINUES IN Е - HE FIRST TRUE SEQUEL OF 4 THE FINAL FANTASY* SERIES.
PRE NEW DANGERS THREATEN SPIRA. FAMILIAR ALLIES ARE AT HAND? ^ AND SOMEWHERE, SOMEHOW, A FRIEND MAY STILL BE ALIVE...
SQUARE ENIX. pares www.square-enix-usa.com
А Published by Square Enix U.S.A., Inc. ЭЕТ е Suggestive Themes olby Digital Surrouns
Violence
IURA. ALTERNATE COSTUME DESIGN: a trademark of Square Enix Со, Ltd ity, Pro Logic. Surround EX aud the ле Digital Software Association,
Badass chocobos, scary knights, and fey-looking dudes! Who's changing Final Fantasy so much?
SIEGFRIED AND ROY
Believe it or not, Vaan actually was even girlier before Yoshida finalized his design. Yoshida commented that Vaan was much more effeminate, but when Kohei Takeda (who did voice and motion-capture work for Vaan) got involved, Vaan adopted a more carefree, boyish spirit than before. We still think he looks too metrosexual.
he Final Fantasy series has always been operatic in scope—with grandiose plots that include love,
betrayal, psychological breakdowns, and, in the case of Final Fantasy ШИМ, an actual opera. With Final Fantasy X-2 being more Charlie's Angels than Richard Wagner, and Final Fantasy ХІ being an online ехрегі- ence, Final Fantasy ХІІ looks to be the first "normal Final Fantasy title since FFX in 2001. Except instead of someone like Hironobu Sakaguchi or Yoshinori Kitase at the helm, the director of Final Fantasy XII is Yasumi Matsuno—the same Matsuno who directed Vagrant Story and both Final Fantasy Tactics games. In addition, his development team at Product Develop- ment Division 4 includes Hideo Minaba lart director), Akihiko Yoshida (character designer], and Isamu Kamikokuryou (background art]—a group most famous for Final Fantasy Tactics.
What does this mean for FFXII? Scant details were released at a recent Square Enix presentation, but Matsuno and his team are already shaking things up. We
Turkey, India, and even contemporary New York. Minaba commented that he and Matsuno were "history otakus” (fanatics) and that ancient Rome was the primary influence. Considering the gritty CG battle scenes, plus some other scenes that take place in a gladiatorial arena, the harsh Roman influence is quite evident. Matsuno joked that even the lovable moogles are being redesigned—he described an initial moogle design as “scary” and sporting "steel boots." Finally, recall that Matsuno's most famous game, the original Final Fantasy Tactics, also takes place during a war and has a mature and complex story filled with kings, cardinals, and dastardly political manipulations.
When asked directly if Matsuno will infuse FFXII, a more mainstream title, with his darker touches, he replied, “[Well], the movie Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was quite popular. Some people see the darkness in the mes- sage and setting of the movie, while others just enjoy it for gladiator fights and action. FFXII is the same way. Players who just
Matsuno and his team are already shaking things up on Final Fantasy XII.
know that the effeminate-looking fellow, Vaan, is the main character. Princess Ashe is the other protagonist, but there won't be a romance between her and Vaan. We also heard that the traditionally static camera will be rotatable, à la FFX/, and you even have a limited first-person view (Kamikokuryou joked that he's used to just doing background art, but now he has to create ceiling art, since players will be able to look up). No one at Square Enix would talk about the battle system—when asked if the game will be more strategic like FFT, Minaba laughed and answered, “I leave it up to your assumption—it's too early to say." The story is set during a war between Dalmasca and Arcadia, with Ashe possibly leading a rebellion against Arcadia and encountering wannabe air pirate Vaan during her struggle.
Yet beneath the beautiful FF imagery, there are quite a few dark touches. Several scenes in the trail-
er depict chocobo-riding knights cutting through and goring foot Soldiers. When asked about artis- tic influences, Matsuno and Kamikokuryou both referred to Mediterranean architecture,
want to play and enjoy will enjoy it, where- as players who are familiar with my past games, who are looking for that darkness, will find hints of the tone throughout." While we still know only a few details about FFXII, what we've seen so far and what we know of Matsuno and his team indicate that FFXII will be a very different and possibly much darker Final Fantasy.
IVALICE?
Oddly enough, anyone whos played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on their GBA has had a small sneak preview of FFXII. In FFTA, опе char- acter proclaims that Ivalice is just like the Final Fantasy game she's played— shes actually refer- ring to FFXII. While it's not the same exact Ivalice as in FFTA, FFXII's Ivalice is populated by the Bangaas and Vieras races as well. In the FFXII presentation, Matsuno commented that diversity: is one of the key themes and that much of the game would deal with social classes between these races. Also, note that the Judge, an impor- tant character from FFTA, is now the actual logo for FFXII. Matsuno commented that the Judge, an “impartial police court” in FFTA, is now an "order of knights who inspire terror.”
Wm - Sut. ee ES
Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)
In the Same Boat
Square Enix has yet to officially announce any support for PSP, but the company’s president, Yoichi Wada, agrees with Koei's stance that the PSP. won't compete directly with the GBA because of its hardware and the type of games that will be available.
LAWYER UP
All right, folks, it's time for anoth-
er one of my famous hypotheti-
cals. Let’s say you're playing one
of those massively multiplayer
online games, and it’s one of those
fantasy games in which you can
build or buy items that you can
then sell to other players for real-
world money through eBay. Now,
let's say that back in the game
world, your character is attacked
or his abode is ransacked or whatever, and the objects you've been cultivating—the ones you can sell for real
live money, remember—are stolen or taken. Here's the question: Have you been robbed? Should you be able to press charges in the real world?
Let's add another wrinkle: Say your game character was attacked because your attacker saw you selling objects on eBay and realized you were making money— and by attacking your character in the game world, he could take your items and then sell them on eBay, mak- ing money you could have earned. Now have you been robbed? Should you be able to press charges?
At the moment, this is an academic exercise, but perhaps not for much longer. Already in at least one other country, a case similar to this has become more than hypothetical: In November 2003, China Daily reported that a Chinese citizen sued his online game provider because another player in the game stole his collection of game weapons. The plaintiff, who had invested thousands of hours and yuan in the game, apparently felt the game operators owed him a safe environment. He sued to get his weapons back, plus 10,000 yuan (about $1,200) for emotional damages. The game company is contesting the suit, noting that its user agreement indemnifies it from such legal actions.
As more people spend more time in these virtual worlds, | expect more real-world lawsuits will arise. Even if game providers are able to use their user agree- ments to cover their own behinds, individual game play- ers are likely to go after each other, especially if there is money involved, like in a case involving items that can be sold in the “real” world.
The fact of these objects offers a number of interest- ing legal questions. For example: What exactly is virtual property, which has real-world value but not real-world physicality? Is it intellectual property, like a novel or a song? Can it be considered actual property? Or is it a new form of property that hasn't existed before? And in a world that is created by computers (physical property, owned by some person or company) and software [intel- lectual property, likewise owned by some person or company), what rights do the users who create things that have value—who do actual “work”—have? Do they
have any rights at all?
It's potentially an exciting time for the way we view property and personal rights online. But until it's all fig- ured out, guard your items well.
Would you sue? Tell Scalzi what you would do. Leave a message on the OPM boards at 1UP.com or drop him some mail at johi(@scalzi.com.
Ө) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
PSP DYNASTY
Koei gives its perspective on Sony's handheld
ith the release of PSP's con-
ceptual image, and the official
unveiling only months away, developers are leaping into PSP devel- opment. Koei, which provided a number of key games for the PlayStation 2 launch, is one of the first major compa- nies to officially announce support for the system. Since this marks Sony's first foray into portable gaming, there seems to be an inherent risk that requires a leap of faith from developers, but for Koei, the decision was easy to make. "We see the PSP as a complete digital entertainment system that will provide new mobile gameplay experiences through progressive features such as 3D graphics and wireless LAN," says Kiyoshi Komatsu, president and COO of Koei. "After [Sony's] announcement of the PSP, Koei carefully evaluated the system's potential as a new digital entertainment platform, and we made a decision to develop games for the PSP."
While its technical capabilities
undoubtedly will let developers create more complex games, they'll also add a significant price tag to the PSP. "We assume that the price point for the PSP will be higher than the GBA's because of the PSP's use of high-end components and sheer processing power," says Komatsu. By that same token, complex games inflict higher development costs on compa-
nies, which ultimately affects pricing for games when they hit store shelves. Yet Koei doesn't seem concerned with the possibility of its portable games costing just as much as their console counter- parts. Komatsu adds, "It's conceivable that the games we release for PSP could be available at a price range com- parable to software available for other handheld platforms.”
One of those other platforms is Game Boy Advance. Successive itera- tions of Nintendo's handheld have con- tinued to dominate the market, but most developers think PSP will attract a different type of market not only because of its price, but also because of the types of games that will be avail- able. "Since the GBA and the PSP have different feature sets and possibly dif- ferent price points, we perceive initially that the target markets will differ as well," says Komatsu. "Core gamers ¢ will be the early adopters of the sys- tem, but the strength of the PSP's
features and a more diverse game В library that includes more advanced games will attract current con- sumers as well as new users to the portable
As for the three games Koei has in devel- opment for the PSP launch, Komatsu won't give any specifics, but he says that the lineup will represent the types of games Koei has pro- duced over the past few years. Portable Dynasty Warriors, anyone?
Sei
You,
The Virtua Fighter series heads in a new direction
fter years of referring to the
project formerly known as
Virtua Fighter Quest, Sega has finally taken the wraps off the latest game in the Virtua Fighter series, and we're a bit surprised to see what the development team at Sega-AM2 has come up with. Now known as Virtua Fighter: Cyber Generation, the game is an action-RPG, in which you take
Virtua Fighter: Cyber Generation
on the role of a young boy named Sei who hunts for treasure [ог hidden data] in a virtual world known as the Matr...err, Nexus. Interestingly, the hid- den data includes information on the characters from Virtua Fighter, but it's not entirely clear what role they'll take
ЖЕҢ in the game. Cyber Generation has only been announced for Japan, but a North American release is likely to happen.
DATA STREAM
Incredible!
Michael Giacchino, who com- posed the soundtrack for Medal of Honor: Underground and Medal of Honor: Frontline, is also the composer working on the score for the upcoming Disney and Pixar superhero movie The Incredibles.
Frankie Says Relax
Т
Rockstar is making some minor changes to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to appease the Haitian government as well as protest groups claiming that the game was racist in its por- trayal of Haitian immigrants.
Knock You Out
5 dc Electronic Arts announced that professional boxer Roy Jones, Jr. will be the cover athlete for EA Sports' Fight Night 2004. It's scheduled for release this spring.
MotoGPS3?
The development team behind MotoGP and MotoGP 2 for the Xbox has already announced a vehicle-based PlayStation 3 project with the codename of Avalon. The game will use the studio's Blimey 2 engine.
DID YOU KNOW?
` Yakov Smirnoff was voted “Comedian of the Year"
twice. He is also an “accomplished painter.”
DATEBOOK
JANUAR
SUNDAY
Think warm thoughts. It's National Oatmeal Month, Hot Tea Month, and National Soup Month. You'll need all that warm food after giving it up for National Blood Donor Month.
MONDAY
Friéhd of OPM Michael ‘Stipe celebrates his 43rd birthday.
Sonic Heroes leads the charge of PS2 releases. Supercar GT, Corvette, PBA Bowling 2004, JHRA Drag Racing 2004, X-Files, The Fast and the Furious, .hack Part 4, [ and Lord of the Rings:
^ Treason of Isengard, p 25% аге also in stores this week.
126 Fabulous Wild Men Day! Three cheers for our very own fabulous wild man, Jason Babler.
Don’t Know what to wear to school tomorrow? Check out 1UP.com's guide to buy- ing gaming-related clothes.
Have ‘abit of honey Oday ıS Winnie the Pooh's birthday.
Т5 Penguin Awareness Пау. Hats off to our favorite penguin, Chilly Willy!
Dripking.game alert! The Golden Globe Awards are on NBC tonight. Every time someone says “Hollywood foreign press,” take a drink. You'll be plowed before they get to the Cecil B. DeMille award.
2K4
WEDNESDAY.
TUESDAY THURSDAY
Happy New Year! Betsy Ross and Paul
by sharing a birthday. Those two knew how to party. One if by land, two if by sea, indeed.
Тне 1UP.com Awards аге announced live on the Internet at
Danny Thomas would һауе been 91 today. Celebrate by going to ІНОР and ordering your eggs Danny Thomas style. After the waitress slugs you, go home and Google it to see what it means.
CES runs now through Sunday in Vegas. It’s where we'll be getting our material for The List for the next year or so.
165 John Davison’s birthday! He claims to like vodka, fast cars, and loose women. Feel free to send him the first two, but his lovely
‘Star Trek: Shattered Universe comes out today. We think the title accurately describes how Paramount feels about its once-storied
franchise. wife Andrea might get upset if the last one Buy The Crystal comes in the mail.
Method's new CD, Legion of Boom, today.
Baldur's Gate: Dark
Alliance ЇЇ, Maximo zB vs. Army of Zin, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. |“ Jungle Storm, and \ Daredevil: The Мап 7 Without Fear are
in stores.
b. у
Oscar nominations аге announced at 5:30 a.m. If Lord of the Rings doesn’t win best picture this year, there will be hell to pay.
It's also former OPM newshound/current 1UP.com EIC Sam
Kennedy's birthday.
Revere kick off the year
FRIDAY SATURDAY
Ж.Б. Tolkien's birthday. He'd have been eleventy-two. But he’s not. ‘Cause he’s dead.
(Chasing Liberty, a movie about being the presi- L< dent's daughter, and First Daughter, a flick about being the presi- dent's daughter, open today. Don't they know that the movie we really | want to see is Bush’s Daughters Gone Wild?
LY Hey, Fort Wayne, indiana! George Carlin is bringing his out-of-
date comedy act to your fair city tonight.
Along Came Polly is in theaters. It has a great cast, including Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, and Simpsons regular Hank Azaria.
The folksiat the Yakov i NOFF “What а Coun- try” Theater in @) Branson, Missouri, ” are in for a treat. It's Үакоу'ѕ birthday. They'll probably hear some joke about how in Russia, you don’t cele- brate birthdays, birth- days celebrate you. (Yawn.)
Austin Timberlake and
Carol Channing turn a year older today.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine Ө;
look big?
Advent Preview
Want to watch a special Final Fantasy
Vil: Advent Children preview from the comfort of your couch? Buying Final Fantasy X-2: International + Last Missions is the only way to make that happen at the moment, and it's only coming out in Japan. Booo!
THE OUTSIDER -
THE BUCK STOPS HERE
If it's a Tuesday, you know where you'll find me—at the local mall, checking out the just-released new titles at GameStop or EB. That's where | spend my gaming dollar. Of course, they only sell games and gaming culture— which I dig, so | shop there a lot. Still, | feel there are a few things gaming retailers should do to ensure my loyalty.
Foremost, | want a rewards program like the one | joined at Suncoast, where the reward points | earn with every purchase can be applied toward future discounts. We all deserve this from gaming retail, and the first national gaming retailer to create such a program is going to win all of my business. | figure I'm good for at least 10 new releases for myself this year—that's $500 right there. Plus, | often buy games as gifts, not to men- tion magazines, preowned classics, strategy guides, memory cards, peripherals, and whatnot. Heck, I'm the reason this industry is so huge. These people should be falling over themselves to get to me.
They'd be one step closer to having me, too, if each store featured a touch-screen kiosk with game release info. These days, | tote around a fussy 2-year-old who routinely smashes every Voldo action figure and Wonder Woman HeroClix within reach of the stroller. | often don’t have time to stand in line to ask a simple question. Some stores have an out-of-date bulletin board lost in the clutter, but it seems | always have to sally up to the register whenever | have a question. The practical solu- tion to all of this is a touch-screen kiosk. It should have release info, but no trailers or demos—1 don't want to wait behind some kid zoning out and jabbing buttons. | need to find out when my game is coming in, diss Angel of Darkness, and get the hell out.
Also, I'd probably buy twice as many strategy guides if | thought I'd get a few more bucks when | trade them back in. How about $5 in credit or $2 cash? It's only fair when I bought it new for $15.
Lastly, l've heard rumors that some gaming retailers hold tournaments for store credit and cool prizes, but Гуе never been invited to or stumbled upon one. These need to happen more frequently and with better publici- ty. I'd be practicing all week if | knew | could win one of those cool limited-edition colored PS2s or some such thing in a Soul Calibur Il throwdown or Midnight Club 2 LAN party. This type of event would draw big crowds at the mall...and sell lots of games. I'd probably have а Network Adaptor by now if | had been offered a demo or found a crosstown rival.
| don't ask for much—only what | pay for. And I'm only trying to help. So if the game stores notice their sales going down, it's probably because I'm shopping somewhere else.
Does this car make my butt
п а not-so-shocking turn of
events, Sega of America
has filed a lawsuit against publishers Electronic Arts and Fox Interactive, as well as developer Radical Games, over The Simpsons: Road Rage, claiming the game infringes on a couple of key patents Sega owns relating to Crazy Taxi. The similarities are definitely there— both games have a comparable gameplay structure in which players are charged with picking up passen- gers and dropping them off at spe-
More Than 40 Cars
Prologue, which is basically a preview version of Gran Turismo 4 teleased in Japan, has a bigger
URGE TO SUE, RISING
Sega takes EA and the Simpsons to court over Road Rage incident
cific locations while the requisite hilarious hijinks ensue.
Sega's not laughing. The company has asked the court to prohibit any additional sales of the game, as well as recall the game from retail out- lets across the country. The case seems like a slam dunk for Sega, but the companies named in the lawsuit have yet to officially respond. The Simpsons: Road Rage has sold more than 1 million copies to date across multiple platforms, so there's no point in selling your copy on eBay.
GRAN TURISMO TEASE
Three reasons why GT4 Prologue makes us want the final game even more
Diverse Tracks
The New York City track shows how Polyphony’s
been able to cram more detail into the game
GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY! Videogame developer and pachinko manufacturer Sammy has purchased a majority stake in Sega from Sega's parent company, CSK. Sega and Sammy were in heated merger talks a few months back, but Sega eventually left the deal on the table and decided to remain independent. While the stock purchase builds the business relationship between the two compa- nies, Sammy has yet to buy enough stock to officially have decision-mak- ing power within the company.
Put to the Test
You can only race against opponents on three of Prologues tracks, so the others mainly serve as.
time-attack areas, but there is a separate school mode that puts you through 46 driving tests similar to the license challenges in previous games. The tests help ease you into the whole Gran Turismo experience.
car selection than most full games. At any rate, there are plenty of cars to choose from, and their range in performance demonstrates how the driving physics have evolved since Gran Turismo 3.
without sacrificing a brisk framerate. But the real treat is Citta di Aria, a track that lets you speed through the alleyways of а small Italian town. If the other tracks in the final game are half this much fun, then we can't wait!
Robin Wilson (rwginbloss ) sings lead for the Gin Blossoms. You can probably earn reward points at record stores by buying one of his albums.
Ө] Official US. PlayStation Magazine
The Crystal Method feels the need for speed
he guys in The Crystal
Method are no strangers
to videogames. In fact, by providing the entire soundtrack to 1998's PS1 release N20: Nitrous Oxide, they were among the first well-known artists to have music featured in a game. In 2003, the band went a step further, debuting the first single off its new album in Need for Speed: Underground. We chatted with TCM's Scott Kirkland to find out what hap- pens when the music industry and the videogame industry meet.
OPM: Your work has shown up ina lot of games, from N20 to Amplitude. How did you get involved in gaming? SK: Our first-ever experience with
videogames was FIFA 98, and we
really enjoyed the combination of our music with a great game, so when Fox Interactive came to us with idea of licensing our songs for the score of N20, we were completely up for it. Plus, we're both gamers ourselves. We
both have PS2s and Xboxes. | love the sports-related games [especially NFL and soccer] and some of the action games, like Star Wars; Ken [Jordan] likes GTA3 and shooting games. We definitely spend more time than we should playing videogames.
OPM: What got you involved in Need for Speed: Underground?
SK: EA came to us a few months ago, and we played them the first single from our new album, Legion of
Boom. They really liked it and asked if we would like to put it in Need for Speed. The game was coming out around the same time we were releasing the single “Born Too Slow.” We thought it was a great way to get our new single out as it was hitting the radio. Plus, any kind of cross- marketing these days is a good thing. Both Ken and | have discovered songs ourselves while playing videogames, so we figured it couldn't hurt to have our music in games.
OPM: Did offering an exclusive song for NFSU score you advance copies of the game?
SK: Yes, we got a few copies. The game is great—quite an adrenaline rush. We think people are really going to like this game.
OPM: How do you think technology will affect music and the creation of music in the coming years? SK: It is already affecting music. We were able to do a track on Tweekend with [Stone Temple Pilots singer] Scott Weiland with- out ever being in the same room The widespread use of broad- band will definitely expand the recording process of artists spanning the globe because it will allow you to work with someone in real time without having to be in the same country.
OPM: The big labels are in trouble, the RIAA is suing 12-year-old girls, and music fans are getting bitter. What needs to happen for big labels to recover? SK: They need to embrace things like iTunes, Napster, Rhapsody, etc., and they need to bring the price of albums down in order to make it affordable for that 12-year-old girl to buy the album instead of download- ing it. Some trading of rari- ties or obscure tracks is fine for people who love music, but we think that downloading albums instead of buying them is not a good thing.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (9)
Can you hear me now?
1 | Arnold's chest measure- ment at the peak of his body-building career.
ЕР
WORD @
DID YOU KNOW?
One of Jada Pinkett Smith's classmates at the Baltimore School for the Arts was Tupac Shakur.
by Pablo
Illustration
Roll out the red carpet-the famous voices behind the games
hese days, when you read the cred-
its for a blockbuster videogame
like Electronic Arts’ James Bond: Everything or Nothing or Activision's True Crime: Streets of L.A., they look a lot like the credits for a Hollywood production. That's because after decades of loud boasts that convergence is coming, it’s finally here.
Hollywood's A-list actors have migrated to videogames as a new outlet for work. While top-tier names, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jennifer Garner, get decent paychecks for time in a sound stu- dio, the games business can't compete with the multimillion-dollar salaries of live- action films, or even the smaller scales and back-end deals for feature-length animated films. Many of the actors you hear in games are doing it more for a love of videogames. There's also the bonus of gaming's target demographic. It doesn't hurt rising stars to lend their voices to a game and reach the same audience that will watch their new TV series or feature film.
"We've gone from an industry where it's acceptable to have your programmers and testers provide the voices in your games to one where it's become a necessity to use professional actors," says Lev Chapelsky, president of Los Angeles-based Blindlight Media, which matches game companies with Hollywood talent.
As the price of game development rises (Enter the Matrix cost over $21 million to develop and featured the entire cast of the movie], so will the budgets for voice talent, sound effects, licensed soundtracks, and original scores.
"Contracts for actors vary on a lot of par- ticulars, like whether the actors are repris- ing a film role they're known for—like Schwarzenegger's Terminator character—or whether it's an original character, like the virtual cast of the True Crime game," explains Margaret Tang, casting and voice director at Womb Music, an agency credited with such games as True Crime, Spawn, Pitfall Harry, and Call of Duty.
"Until recently, there wasn't much nego- tiation for videogame voice acting because game companies would hire voice actors and pay them scale (roughly $500 for four hours’ work]," says Larry Hummel, co-head of the animation voiceover department at International Creative Management. "But with celebrity talent, we're now dealing with. six-figure paydays and points on the back end—similar to a movie deal."
There are two ways to use Hollywood celebrities in videogames: Of course, there are Hollywood-licensed movies and TV series, which require separate deals for the
Alias. "She doesn't seem to gain weight, she doesn't seem to need a lot of sleep—she seems to be ready to go at any time." Other stars, like Gary Oldman, who Voiced two characters in True Crime, delved into games to impress their kids. The same is true for Christian Slater, who's starring as Edward Carnby in 2004's Alone in the Dark movie and as a virtual Carnby in Atari's accompanying game. “As an actor, games are a new venue of creative expres- sion," explains Slater, a big gamer himself. “It'd be fun for my 4-year-old son to move Dad around the TV screen."But even the
“In the videogame industry, it's become a necessity to use professional actors."
stars’ likenesses and voices on top of the actual movie or TV rights (The Return of the King, Alias, Futurama, The Simpsons: Hit and Run). Alternatively, more and more original properties are casting voices, likenesses, or both (True Crime, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Call of Duty, XIII).
Then there's James Bond: Everything or Nothing, which features Pierce Brosnan, John Cleese, Shannon Elizabeth, Heidi Klum, an original script by Bruce Feirstein (who's penned several Bond movies), ап original score by Sean Callery (composer for 24), and a new Bond theme song by Mya.
"Actors do seek out EA because of our hit franchises," boasts Nick Earl, vice presi- dent and general manager of EA Redwood Shores Studios. "But we cast games just like a movie, seeking to put the best actors in the appropriate roles."
More games like James Bond will follow this trend in the near future, thanks to the ability of developers to faithfully replicate actors’ likenesses.
"| think there's probably nothing better than having a virtual character," says Jennifer Garner, who provided the voice and likeness for the virtual Sydney Bristow in
busiest voice actors, like Clancy Brown (HBO's Carnivale!}, who's done about a dozen games, don't make a living off videogame work.
"| doubt one could support one's self solely from game voiceovers," says Brown, who most recently worked on Crash Nitro Kart. "Actors like to act. | do these games
for fun and a little money. If | can squeeze in
a game here or there, then good for me."
Other actors, like Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed star Matthew Lillard, who provid- ed voiceover commentary for EA's Sled Storm, do it for the "lifetime of free EA games, which was written in my contract."
As videogames continue to gain accep- tance in the mainstream, game companies find themselves competing against the entire entertainment industry (not just other game studios) for your valued cash. With the next generation of game machines right around the corner, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
But despite all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood's A-listers, one thing remains the same. Perhaps Larry Shapiro, agent at Creative Artists Agency, puts it best: "Gameplay will always be paramount to successful games."
Virtual Stars
Hey, is that a celebrity in my game? From the top, Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe in Enter the Matrix, Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow in Alias, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in 73: Rise of the Machines, and Heidi Klum as Katya Nadanova in James Bond: Everything or Nothing.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine ()
©SPIN
WHEN ROBOTS ^
ATTACK
Game imitates ай
Iron fist, get it?
Among his many roles in film and television, Doug Chiang worked as a stop-motion animator for Рее-И/ее 5 Playhouse.
PLAYTIME
ROBOT REIGN
Bow down to your mechanical overlords
Robota is a sweeping story set 2 million
years in the distant past. Orpheus, a way-
ward planet wobbling between Earth and
Mars, gets locked into a collision course with
an as-yet-unpopulated Earth. In an attempt to
warn its inhabitants, a race of sentient robots
called the Olms visit Orpheus and treat its
inhabitants to vastly advanced technology. Fast-
forward hundreds of years, when the robots that Orpheus’ natives
so zealously built with their new technological toys rule the planet
with quite the literal iron fist. The humans now serve their robot
masters, and Orpheus is now known simply as Robota. Trouble is,
no matter what you call it, it still on a collision course with Earth. Robota is the story of that impending collision, of a rebellion
on Orpheus, and of the creation of life on our own little planet.
The 175-page hardcover includes 75 pieces of original artwork by
Doug Chiang, as well as a story by Chiang and Orson Scott Card.
Its available from Chronicle Books for $35.
Blood Use of Alcohol Violence
p — e Five new customizable heroes |
*
Vicious mons
and
EE unrivaled graphics plosive spells
Diamonds и The cost of the Fantasy Bra апа are a girl's 14411 Panty set that Heidi Klum is best friend. W modeling for us in the picture below.
KILLER
т Зу
Supermodel Heidi Klum embraces evil in Everything or Nothing
hough some call her lethal, T stunning catwalk queen = Heidi Klum has never been found guilty of crimes against humanity...until now, that is. In James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, she plays Katya Nadanova, a villainous vixen with a taste for trouble. Still, according to Klum, naughty girls need love, too. —Scott Steinberg
OPM: So what's with the Bond connection?
Heidi Klum: Anything with Bond attached instantly becomes a cult thing. | wanted to be part of such a high-profile ensemble cast, too. Besides, it’s great to be bad.
OPM: Got a wild side, do we?
HK: You bet! | love to be the girl who gets to jump off buildings, kiss Pierce Brosnan, leap from a helicopter in {һе game...you know, all the stuff I normally do in real life.
OPM: How'd you get selected for the role of Katya?
НК: I wish I knew. Electronic Arts just asked out of the blue. | don't know why they picked me, but | can tell you | agreed right away. Games are so amazing. As much grief as [interac- tive entertainment] gets in the media, the hobby isn’t going anywhere.
OPM: Do you yourself clock in lots of time behind the joystick?
HK: Unfortunately, no. But you shouldn't infer anything from that— I've just got too busy a schedule to sit down and play. If | had the time, I'd get a PlayStation 2 and spend hours in front of it. The system has the most high-tech games and the most variety.
j (4) Official US. РАИ е
OPM: Point taken. Mind discussing your digital alter ego a bit?
HK: Katya is a Russian undercover agent. As her, | play the reigning bad girl, just like Willem Dafoe plays the headlining bad guy. It kind of sucks in one way, since bad girls always die in the end. But on the bright side, it's a fun ride while it lasts. And | get to kick Bond's ass.
OPM: Share any traits with the femme fatale?
НК: No way! I’m just a hard-working girl from Germany who can't do stunts, hates heights, could never rappel off a building, and wouldn't shoot anyone if her life depended on it. Г rather make the world a better place. Although it's funny—no one ever asks me to.
OPM: Care to clear up any miscon- ceptions audiences might have about you personally after they play Everything or Nothing?
HK: You always hear my character in the game threatening to kill people. But honestly, I'm a puppy dog. | sound all tough when I'm up there onscreen. In reality, while recording those voiceovers, | could barely keep myself from cracking up!
MORE TEAMS. MORE STADIUMS. MORE STRATEGIC OPTIONS. АККА cct АА АМДЫ. AND THE MOST REALISTIC GAME ENGINE EVER. WINNING ELEVEN 7. THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD ABOUT THE BEST GAME IN THE WORLD. JFA.MAX
ORM stor бин à «tirer
аа Bo s e итек
EVERYONE Visit www.esrb.org
for more ratings information.
ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org
www.konami.com/usa
(21996 JAPAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION ©2002 JFA MAX
©2003 KONAMI & Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. "KONAMI" is a registered trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION. “World Soccer Winning Eleven 7 International” is a trademark of KONAMI CORPORATION: adidas, the adidas logo and the 3 Stripe trade mark are registered trade marks of the adidas- Salomon group, used with permission. The use of real player names and likenesses is authorised by FIFPro and its member associations. ©2001 KFA. Officially Licensed by Korea Football Association, Special thanks to Fortuna, MUKTA, SEJIN, Denis for Korea National Team data. Milan's trademarks, name and logo appear under license from Milan А.С. ЗА. Official product manufactured and distributed by KONAMI under licence granted by Roma International Football Service S.r.l. Produced under the license from Lazio Societa Sportiva S.p.A. Parma and Parma Logo are trademarks of Parma Associazione Calcio S.p.A. Offical Juventus Product, JUVENTUS and the JUVENTUS logo are registered trademarks owned by Juventus FC. S.p.A. © 1993/all rights reserved Stichting Feyenoord, Rotterdam. Licensed by: Stichting Feyenoord, Rotterdam."PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. Inc. The ratings icon а trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
PS2 gamers get to patriotically fight terror come spring
* f you were jealous of those Xbox kids playing the slick, streamlined Rainbow Six 3, well, just wait until this spring "d then you can play it on your PS2. Ubisoft Shanghai, t ame talented team that
brought Splinter Cell over PS2, is now working on porting Rainbow Six 3. The basic premise: Rainf of counterterrorists who rig play Ding Chavez and comm while viewing the action in thi controlling your team so easy} system employed: You can sa’ “breach and clear" or simply th which, depending on what your’ will issue an appropriate comm Fortunately, those of you withou!
s an international team rongs worldwide. You ree other agents t person. What makes e voice recognition ific commands like tch-all “go go go,” le is focused on, Ho your team. eddsets aren't left dommands using
TASTE THE RAINBOW
the joypad. You vocally work your way through 15 mis- sions, sporting more than 30 different guns and 10 neato gadgets.
One of the unique features for the PS2 version will be a split-screen co-op mode. You and a buddy can now go through the campaign together, breaching doors left and right. Sadly, there won't be an online co-op mode, but the team felt that co-op is usually better in person. Online play will be either survival (last man standing rules) or sharpshooter (your basic deathmatch). The PS2 version will also feature some unique maps and missions—like a level set in Trieste, Italy.
Since Ubisoft Shanghai is doing the port, this version looks just as good as the Xbox game that was such a success before the holidays—complete with Splinter Cell lighting and all. It's about time we got another awesome о besides SOCOM II.
cidit, T'erccraver
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Action-packed space, Ж % shooter featuring ° ` З
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НИИ SOS from UC 0079 ar
70+ mobile suits and mobile armors from 0079, 0083, Gundam Wing, G Gundam, Gundam Seed. Plus original MS created for the game!
5. ЖЕ MOBILE SUIT
5 playable modes including 2 player VS; [s P
«ЗЕН This time in pic, one universe isn't enough. Blood and Gore P Un ЧА ДТ О] фы Р Mild Language " ка міток" P d ne
Violence
X БА мез con | WWW.GUNDAMOFFICIAL.COM
Amily logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, The ratings з reatgtered trademark В, the Interactive Digital Software
А 4 ү h +
THE WORLD'S MOST ELITE COMMANDO UNIT 15 LEAVING THE JUNGLE. | ONLY TO ENTER ANOTHER ONE.
d ж '
The number of missions you have to complete in Driv3r to get through the entire game.
DRIV3R G03S
STOP FIGHTING
Rodriguez and Rhames both starred in boxing- related movies, but Rourke actually became a profes- sional boxer in 1991.
TO HOLLYWOOD
An all-star cast signs on for the third game in the Driver series
tari's pulling out all the stops for Driv3r (what's
with that name?], the latest game in the Driver
series, which features the return of Tanner. Playing the role of the feisty undercover cop is Michael Madsen, who starred in Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs. Madsen's also provided voice work for a number of games, including Grand Theft Auto ІІІ. Ving Rhames, who reprised his role from Mission Impossible in Atari's Mission Impossible: Operation Surma, is playing Tanner's partner, Tobias Jones. He and Tanner travel to Miami, Nice, and
SPEED RACER
Tanner can drive all sorts of vehicles in Driv3r, including motorcycles, which are perfect for navigating through crowded Streets or small roads.
Madsen, Rodriguez photos/Corbis: Rourke, Rhames photos/wireimage.com
Istanbul to stop an international car-theft ring and blow stuff up.
Joining Madsen and Rhames is industry veteran Mickey Rourke, whom you might remember from The Thin Red Line and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Rourke will be lend- ing his talent to the part of Jericho, the main villain and leader of the crime organization in Driv3r. Michelle Rodriguez, best known for her role in The Fast and the Furious, plays the leader of the Miami branch of the gang. Driv3r is on track for release in March.
Step into the boots of a SEAL team in SOCOM II: U.S. NAVY SEALs and face the ultimate challenge: urban combat.
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ТИЕ НИС
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Developedi in осей with the U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM II is close-quarters combat at its most realistic. Invisible snipers lay in wait. Enemies lurk around every corner. And every civilian could be a friend or foe. Stealth is your greatest weapon.
Wage Бап war in fede ole mode. Or go
online and play with and against up to 16 total players. Either way, a SOCOM-compatible headset will help you communicate and work together as ateam. Remember, together you м stand. Divided you don't stand a chance.
Take the war on terror to the enemy on 12 intense international missions. Command. Courage. Country. Hoo-yah.
LIVE IN YOUR WXRLD. PLAY IN OURS”
PlayStation.
Г - = МАТОВЕ 17+ 9% ONLINE. Blood BROADBAND ONLY) Violence
www.us.playstation.com CONTENT RATED BY www.seal.navy.mil ESRB
Seven things you didn't know about The Sands of Time:
1. THAT'S REAL WRITING ON THOSE SWORDS
Those aren't just pretty designs on the flats of the Prince's blades. Each sword has a name, written on its side in Arabic. Jordan Mechner, series creator and consultant on The Sands of Time, tells us, "There were many multicultural influences. throughout the Persian empire in the ninth century, so this seemed a plau- sible choice (at least, as plausible as having magic swords in the first place]." The names of the swords, in order, are The Sword of the Mighty Warrior, The Sword of the Avenging Warrior, and The Sword of the. Enlightened Warrior. Wondering why a reader wrote in last month, claim- ing it said "A Strong Knight Before Me"? Apparently the Arabic word “saif” (“sword”) looks very similar to “sabak,” (“before,” or “superior to”).
Prince оп is ji that, ledygook: "The magic word "Kakolookiyam,'" says Mechner, "is Sanskrit for ancient wisdom, or something like that. Its origins are lost in the mists of time, probably sometime around the end of 2002 just before we had to lock the script for the actors to record the game dialogue." In case you didn't catch that, that means they made it up.
A THE MAGIC FOUNTAINS N'T QUITE ALL THERE, EHE R If you've visited the fountains, you may have noticed that the entrances to the rope-bridge areas always seem to disappear once you come out. And you no doubt noticed the similarities between those areas and the steamy pool encounter near the end of the game. We ask about the relationship between the two, but Mechner is characteristically coy. "The magic fountains," he says, "and the strange things the Prince experi- ences after he is sealed in the tomb. with Farah occur in that hazy borderland between dreams and waking life. This happens to us all now and then...but maybe in the palace of Azad, it happens a little bit more often."
The Prince of Persia team and the Splinter Cell team were designing their games at the same time, and traded many ideas back and forth. "For example," Mechner says, "Prince of Persia used the Splinter Cell physics for curtains and draperies...which in turn were based on a rope constraint system original- ly developed for Prince of Persia." That's why both games have such neat-looking curtains.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
5. THE PRINCE ONCE KNEW HOW TO RIDE
At one point the Prince of Persia team considered having segments of the game take place on horseback. This was eventually ruled out as being too difficult to implement wel
: ded, instead, to focus effecting the Prince's movement on the ground. (We think they did a pretty good job.)
6. THE DESIGNERS REALLY LIKE SUBTLE DETAILS
In our cover story a few months back, we pointed out that if you roll the Prince around in a dusty area, his clothes will get dirty...and if you let him wait a bit, he'll clean himself off. But did you notice that all of the Prince's idle animations change over the course of the game? This just another subtle way of illustrating the Prince's evolution as a character.
7. THE GAME ORIGINALLY HAD MORE BOSS BATTLES The Sands of Time was a very ambi- tious project, so ambitious that sev- eral segments had to be cut from the final game in order to meet the pro- jected release date. One of the biggest elements that got cut
was a series of battles with a
Sand Gryphon (left), a fierce creature that the Prince was) slated to fight three tinm finally defeating it at the 3 " the game. Who KNOWS 4 $ Ы x maybe we'll see thi В
creature in a sequi
92. 8% =
Average rating of The
Sands of Time across PS2,
Xbox, GameCube, and PC.
Real World Education
school of
Computer Animation
ame Design & Development Recording Arts
Show Production & Touring
Royally talented
ка, Prince of Persia
fter developing Karateka in his last year at Yale in 1985, Jordan Mechner went on to
create the beloved Prince of Persia franchise, for which he is best known. Mechner was involved with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's develop- ment, and we asked him a few ques- tions, making him reflect on both his involvement with TSOT and the chal- lenge of writing for games in general.
OPM: How did you get involved with TSOT, and what was your role? JM: Ubisoft approached me in 2001 with the intention of doing a new POP game for next-gen consoles. Producer Yannis Mallat invited me to Montreal to see the demo the team had done, showing the kind of gameplay they had in mind. | was blown away and knew right away this was a project | wanted to be part of.
| started out as just a creative con- sultant. My role expanded as the pro- ject developed, ultimately to a degree far beyond what was originally envi- sioned. My involvement (and frequent- flyer mileage) kept increasing until it
just got too inconvenient for me not to
be there full-time. So | moved my wife and kids up from L.A. to Montreal for the last four months of the project. From that point, my involvement was total, like everyone else on the team.
OPM: What were you doing before? JM: Writing movies. | just directed a
©. documentary, Chavez Ravine: А Los
Angeles Story, about the Mexican- "American neighborhood that was. razed to build Dodger Stadium.
OPM: So, how does writing for film compare to writing for а game?
JM: What's common to both media is the need to create believable imagi- nary worlds that will draw an audi- ence in and make them care [about] what happens next. The difference is that in a movie, the story is the most important thing. In a game, it's the player's actions that count—the story is just a supporting element.
As a game writer, you need to dis- cipline yourself and not get seduced into inventing a complex plot with a huge cast of characters and long cut- scenes that will just sit alongside the gameplay instead of supporting it.
APPLE ][
The system on which Karateka debuted
OPM: How did you handle the writing specifically for TSOT?
JM: Well, TSOT is an action-adventure emphasizing acrobatic exploration and combat. Much of the time, you're accompanied by a female sidekick, so the primary function of the dialogue is to bring that relationship to life. It would feel unnatural for two people who supposedly care about each other to fight hordes of enemies in total silence, without ever shouting so much as a “Look out!”
For me, the challenge with TSOT was to build a world that’s a gigantic playground—where every wall and column offers potential for the Prince's acrobatic moves—and also a realistic environment whose every feature, magical and otherwise, is justified by the story.
OPM: One could see the influence of old movies like Thief of Baghdad in earlier POP games. From where did you pull influences for TSOT?
JM: Definitely, the team was inspired by recent movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix, which explode the boundaries of realistit.
“physical action yet still suspend your
disbelief. It also draws a lot from
. Raiders of the Lost Ark, even more.
than the original POP did. To me, Raiders is the touchstone against which all action-adventure movies are méasured. As far as videogames, /co and Metroid were both big influences. in différent ways. Then there are the classics: the 1007 Nights tales, the Shah-Nemeh or Persian. Book of Kings, and Greek mythology. When you steal; steal from the best.
OPM: What advice would you give ў budding game designers?
JM: Do what excites you. Don't do something just because you think it's. what publishers want or the market wants. Most important, choose jobs based on tbe people you'll be working with, rather than salary or job title. Those things-are temporary, but the working relationships you form will last you a lifetime.
OPM: И you weren't making games, what would you be doing instead? JM: Probably’sipping dalquiris:on a beach somewhere. C
tly if you
ur arm sh your wrat
Fantasy Violence
“ wrathunlee
ESRB CONTENT RATING _ www.estb.org
I want my HDTV.
2006
OSPIN
GAMERS' CHOICE TVs With all the different types of HDTVs out there, which ones are the best? Well, that depends on how much you've got
left in your savings account. But for a quick rundown, let's look at the different types of televisions:
Wit! Ds, we enter the “money is no object” range. Yes, you can get a small panel for your car, which will cost you little, but why not go for the gusto, friend? Sharp has been making some very cool-looking LCD panels (which work as televisions and PC monitors) for a while now, and we'd be dopes if we didn't tell you to pick up the Aquos LC-37HV6U. This 37-inch widescreen beast will set you back about $6,400, but damn, does it look good.
ficial U.S. PlayStation Magazine
The year in which the official switch to a DTV standard is supposed to happen. When will it realistically hap- pen for HDTV? Your guess is as good as ours.
ETE
Adventures |
Poor bastards, that’s what we are. It becomes eve Painfully obvious every time we head to the video $ the electronics store. The tasty televisions lined up ag the far wall taunt us with gorgeous good looks and Cri д pictures. And, like the gold diggers they are, these televi- sions will take you for everything you're worth. If you're: ready to pay for these high-maintenance HD sets till it hurts, then welcome to the quickly growing club. This month we'll look a little more closely at the HDTV craze and what it means to you, your wallet, and the games you want to play. |
TV: THE NEXT GENERATION
In the last column, we said, “A good HD set will shine a too- bright spotlight on a crappy picture...your eyes will start bleeding from all the imperfections." In short, HDTV is a gate- way drug for home-theater use. Once you spend a lot of money on a good set, you'll be chasing after the perfect pic- ture. This means buying component-video cables (which are rarely included in the box], investing in an HD decoder (they are only starting to be incorporated into sets), and looking for any and all shows broadcast іп HD (not many good ones are yet, but they should be within the next few years). These are
Plasma
We can't remember the last time we spent close to $8,000 on a 50-inch television, and we doubt you can either. Prices for plasma sets are dropping, but still, when you've got to choose between a used car and an HDTV, something is wrong. If you have more cash than you know what to do with, go right ahead, but consider this the worst option. While a good LCD panel can last as long as 20 years, the life span of a plasma television is roughly six to eight years, which means you'll be los- ing your investment after a couple thousand hours of use.
That said, a "modest" 42-inch set can fit the bill here, and we've got two choices from Panasonic. The TH-42PX20U ($6,500) widescreen set has just about all the bells and whistles, including a built-in NTSC tuner. But those in need of a deal should try to hunt down last year's model, the PT-42PD3-P. Like the new version, this set also looks great whether it's turned on or off. The big difference: You can find it (if you can actually find it, that is) for as low as $3,600.
E-mail our resident expert at darren gladstone @ziffdavis.com, and we'll answer all your questions in an upcoming issue.
—
ple who actually plan on watching though, we care about only one
FOR GAMING
Е step: You absolutely need to get your hands on some high-end A/V cables. The S-Video cable will give you a better picture for just about any set,
pein t for all yor histicates out there, grab component
cables, stat! Need a quick debriefing on what the hell the cables are all about? Check below. All you need to know is that Radio Shack sells knockoff brands for cheap, Sony's cables sell for about 20 bucks each, and Monster Cable
The most obvious
ich one is worth your money? Our advice is to play it safe with Sony. We've run into problems with some cheap third-party adapters, and unless you're a total hi-fi nerd, you probably don’t need to drop upward of $60 for 10 feet of wire.
While on the topic of connectors and cables, you need to make sure your television of choice has the right inputs to keep you connected. Having side and front A/V inputs is handy for quick connecting and disconnecting, but you also need the right hookups in back. You want at least two com- ponent connections on the back of your television. One claim is already staked for your PS2, but you also need room to hook up your HD decoder, DVD player, or both!
Direct-View HDTV
These flat-tube sets can range from relatively cheap and average-sized (Samsung has a 27-inch television for around $700) to upward of 40 inches, which will cost a whole lot more than one month's
rent. We gave a shoutout last month to Sony's KV- 34HS510 ($2,000) and continue to give props to this truly slick little set. Wait, did we say "little"? With a widescreen tube and a sharp picture, you'll be in the zone for games and movies.
ACT LIKE YA KNOW
№ 480p, 480i, 720p, 10801 Let's cut to the chase: The “i” stands for interlaced, a standard analog sig- nal (all TV sets can handle 480i). The “р” stands for progressive, and that's basically what you're going to see on HDTVs. The number lets you know the screen resolution. Make sure a TV set is capable of the resolutions you want before you plunk down your money.
Ш Composite Video That bor- ing oU yellow cable. The stan- dard video cable that dates back to the beginning of color television gives you a basic picture, but there's nothin’ HD here, friend.
ells some high-end shwag that costs more than a game.
thanks!
72 коет)
Muh2shAwemy — wWw.koei.com.
SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS!
There's another potential snag: We're seeing televisions that have two or three component-video connections, but one of them is analog (this means no HD-quality progres- sive scan for one of your sources). So keep a sharp lookout when you're at the store: Always get a firsthand look at all the inputs on the set. After all, you're the one who's gonna have to hook up that sucker later at home.
To perfect that picture, you're going to need to do some fine tuning on your own. Sure, you can fiddle with color contrast, brightness, and hues all day—but do you really want to? (Seriously, do you want to? We can cover that topic in another issue.) Thankfully, most good televisions come with presets for the terminally lazy. Generally speak- ing, we've found that settings such as Multimedia, Game, Vivid, Sports, and Weak Signal often sharpen the picture and make Soul Calibur Il look great.
The last, but certainly the most important, tip we'll keep banging into your heads every damn month is to try to avoid burn-in. Any game that has a constant, station- ary, and very bright image can permanently screw with your set. That is, if something has health meters, ammo gauges, or scores constantly posted onscreen, say good- bye to your plasma or CRT-based rear-projection televi- sion right now. One way to minimize damage is to keep the brightness well below the 50 percent mark on your set; however, you should seriously consider using some- thing else for gaming.
: jtm m Commander of the Іда Ninja. Lethal spy and a guardian of the...
uc а
Rear Projection
OK, you've already been debriefed about the haz- ards you may run into on a rear-projection set. Despite the warning, Hitachi's 57-inch 575500 looks mighty nice. There are plenty of inputs, it's
got outstanding picture quality, and most impor- tantly, it's a pretty impressive deal for what you're spending—we've seen it going for less than 2,400 clams.
FROM THE CREATORS OF KESSEN'AND DYNASTY WARRIORS” MARCH. 2004
№ S-Video Invented in the 1980s, this barrel-shaped plug solved some problems. And it gives you a better picture. However, it still doesn’t stack up to component video.
Ш Component Video The best way to get the best picture is to separate the colors. Three RCA jacks—usually col- ored red, blue, and green—will give you the sharpest picture possible for your PS2. Cost-saving tip of the day: If you don’t want to go out and buy specific component-video wires, any 8 RCA cables will do. We've got a pile of cords in the office, and they all work just fine.
PlayStationee
Samurai Warriors, Kessen, Dynasty Warriors, and the KOE! logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2004 KOEI Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. "PlayStation and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
droids!
SPIN
No ID, No Service
From Wal-Mart to EB, nearly every major retailer plans to adopt a carding system that works in conjunction with ESRB
ratings. No more selling М- rated games to the kiddies.
Basaznvso | Bien
a
MOJIBRIBON
There's no point mincing words here: Mojibribon is ar exceedingly odd game. This shouldn't come as а hug surprise given developer Nana On-Sha’s previous titles (see below], but even compared to them, Mojibribon ages to break the mold.
The game begins with Mojibri’s quest to be cool зу rapping cool. This would sound vaguely normal if пт: for the fact that Mojibri is a calligraphy-brush-carryinc inky rabbit living in an inky world, who raps by drawing Japanese characters оп a big piece of paper. As rid cu- lous as that premise is, it certainly gives the game > dis tinct look—and it looks even better in motion, as in blots fly off Mojibri’s pen and splatter onto the pape Mojibribon also dynamically creates songs for you, it’s fun to trade raps through the hard drive and Network Adaptor.
What isn’t entirely fun is the game itself—it’s inc bly mystifying to those not fluent in Japanese. The c it is that you have to push down on the right analog to make Mojibri start writing (and rapping). An? tha about it. You can write harder to add a bit of ar extr flourish for additional points, and you also hav: to r tor your ink level to keep a smooth supply so as not break your rhythm. But in general, it’s just all abou pushing down. And letting go. And pushing down ас зіп
Ву now, you might get the picture. If not, you're \ el come to import the game to figure it out on you because—surprise!—it's never coming over he-e, v with the game being based on Japanese chara-ters all. Bit of a roadblock to easy porting, that.
ЕДИ
nd
adi- st of tick
oni
ow
THE MADNESS OF MATSUURA
Masaya Matsuura, creator of Mojibribon, has p'odu eda series of progressively more bizarre music gares Sony from his Nana On-Sha studio. Witness: UmJammer Lammy: The guitar-based sequel
took away PaRappa and gave us Lammy, a
lamb with the intelligence and luck of 24's M Kim Bauer.
PaRappa the Rapper: The original PaRappa is г fun and innovative take on the music genre wi kick-ass songs wrapped up in a bizarrely swee love story.
Vib Ribbon: Mojibribon's direct predecessor fee - tures the same basic gameplay, but with vectc үф, graphics and the ability to create new levels \ from your audio CDs. It’s also really good and = was actually released in Europe. Not fair!
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Look, sir—
SEAT FILLIN' No awards show is complete without seatfillers to sit in unoccupied chairs. Our favorites at ће (27 Ray VGAs were Jamie, Chase, and Tommie, respectively.
PAM & PALS
Aren't you a little busty for a stormtrooper? Pamela Anderson presents Best Fantasy Game to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic with a legion of Imperials.
if EA.
лл. 8.
The fir
‘osted by David Spade on December 2 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, Spike TV's first annual Video Game Awards did its part to further propel gaming ifto the mainstream. Seen in about 475 kajillion more jomes than G4's G-Phoria and featuring a budget backed у MTV Networks, the show boasted impressive produc- tjon values—everything from game parodies to rousing erformances by such initial-happy artists as P.O. ) жай W.K. (who rocked out in а wheelchair!], and DMX. eanwhile, celebrities like Ray Liotta, Jenna Jameson,
CATEGORY
САМЕ OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Madden NFL 2004
Def Jam: Vendetta
BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HUMAN
Ray Liotta, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Enter the Matrix
True Crime:
BEST 3. Streets of L.A.
ACTION GAME
Tony Hawk's Underground
| BEST FIGHTING GAME
WWE SmackDown! Here Comes
the Pain
t annual Viso Game Awards debuts on Spike TV
Jaime Pressly, and Lil’ Kim appeared to present and accept awards (ог, in the case of MTV Wildboyz Steve-O and Chris Pontius, to bare their genitalia to thousands].
In its catering to the mainstream, however, the pro- gram fell flat as a whole. Nowhere was this better exem- plified than in the actual awards handed out, though that's what Spike TV gets for letting its “I like what TV ads tell me to like” audience pick winners. Below, check out our thoughts on seven of the bigger awards. For a complete list of all 16, visit SpikeTV.com.
OUR TAKE
Unlike a few other VGAs handed out, we can see Madden winning the most prestigious award—it's a great game.
But does а game that—let’s be real—only incrementally betters its previous version really deserve top honors?
We can't argue here. How can a game centered around some of the biggest rappers in the biz not have some of the best music in a game? DMX really brought down the house with his medley of songs from the game.
No surprise. Liotta brought a real tough-guy, mob sense to the role of Tommy Vercetti. But really, what's with the actual name of this award? Isn't something like “Best
Voice Acting Performance” a little less lame?
You've gotta be kidding. With other candidates like The Return of the King, Knights of the Old Republic, Nightfire, The Hulk, and Tron 2.0 as nominees, freakin’ Enter the Matrix won?! Never underestimate the power of hype.
What?! Enter the Matrix was a bad enough choice, but choosing a two-star game as the best in the most com- mon game genre is absolutely inexcusable. Nick Kang may be a cop, but he totally stole this award.
A fine choice, but wait a second here....Last time we checked, football is a sport. And wasn’t Madden declared the Game of the Year? How can the best game overall not be the best game in its genre?
Yeah, the pain has arrived, all right—the pain that we feel from not seeing Soul Calibur II win this category (though it was declared Most Addictive]. You'd think there are а lot of wrestling fans who watch Spike TV or something...
www.1UP.com
Clish MacLaver's
GOSSIP GOSSIP
All the muck that's fit to rake
Happy New Year, everyone. The next 12 months are going to be some of the busiest we've had in a long time.
We'll have a new system to play with,
we'll learn the specs of the next PlayStation, and we get to play some huge new games.
MONTHLY PS3 UPDATE
Now that it's 2004, we're potentially much closer to a formal announce-
ment from Sony on PlayStation 3. If the rumors are to be believed, we'll probably hear something at the Game Developer's Conference in March, followed by a more formal announcement at E3 in May. Microsoft is said to be rolling out early demos of Xbox 2 (or Xbox Next, as it's currently called) at these events as well, and we'll almost cer- tainly see both machines in stores
for shooting at each other, EAi is rumored
to be looking into a PS2 version of
Battlefield 1942. It could even be set in a different T period with different units.
“GLADIUS
| SEQUELIN
THE WORKS FOR THIS YEAR
Pa эр a ‘excellent, but not many people bought it, Thé smartest thing LucasArts could have done is treat the first game as a promo for the sequel. And that’s what is happening. Hooray for smart people.
SSX 4 SET FOR 2004?
With SSX 3 proving so popular, it's rumored that the team at EA Canada is already hard at work on a new game with even more online features. Rumor has it that there's
a PSP version in the works too.
As soon as any word breaks on PS3, this is where you'll find the first info.
before the end of 2005. So what can we expect to see in the early demos? Probably lots of stuff that doesn’t really look much like a game. When PS2 was first shown, we got to see lots of fancy effects— and little else. If the rumors as to the system's power are to be believed, PS3 is capable of generat- ing some pretty startling visuals. Imagine the Nike Gridiron TV ad, only running in real time. Expect to hear a lot from me on this subject throughout the year.
THE NEXT GRAND THEFT AUTO GAME IS...
Rumors still persist that it’s set іп the "705, in a Vegas-style town, and is called Sin City. Rockstar is being incredibly quiet on the subject, and it seems unlikely we'll hear anything from them before E3. One of two things will subsequently happen. It'll either astound us all with an amaz- ing list of incredible ideas that push the boundaries of game design even further, or it will be little more than just another version of the same game rehashed for the third time. If it's the latter, GTA stands to become Rockstar’s Tomb Raider, and just like Eidos, they'll be accused of being nothing more than a one-trick pony. Fingers crossed that I'm just being a cynical old cow about that.
1 TOLD YOU SO
Remember back in Issue #75 when | told you that EA was working ona new boxing game? Not to toot my own horn, but / told you so. Fight Night 2004 looks awesome.
E-MAIL ME!
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:
Жалы ip
25.)
9 Я
www.koei.com /
;
FROM THE CREATORS OF KESSEN AND DYNASTY WARRIORS”
MARCH 2004
PlayStation.e
Samurai Warriors, Kessen, Dynasty Warriors, and the KOEI logo аг marks or registered trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd, ©2004 KOEI Со, Ltd. All rights reserved. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
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d of'elassic рор metal; And ‘there are ‘shall we say, aren't supported by `- were thinking?"J, which tamps * it's just doing what it takes to get „
-a few'change-ups, ke the album *- thé text at hand. Songwriter Sahaj . down the energy quite a bit. Vf you signed. But even the best track ۰ loser, ` "Traveler's Song, in which ' Ticotin has clearly studied his lyri- were'a kid whose parents were here, “Stil Frame,” Sounds so "
iger Jeremy Penick practically, cal. and musical hard- rock clichés, suspicious of your musical ‘choices; much like everything else on the
channels 1 Freddie Mercury.There’s 50 h's right on with that, but nei- you could play them this CD, and -> radio that you get the feeling
a fair amount of indistinguishable ther. her nor the rest of the band it's hard to see how they could you've heard the song before, even,
2 * rawk here, but also enough per- seems to understand that ‘the point” *complain about any track. Then- if f you never, ever have. That's how
а е; Se Ы stalig give ih pe that Реве) а. ` gf knowing your hard- -rotk clichés when they closed the door, you © you get signed; yes, but'it's not
` is 50 you can get beyond them. could stap on Sum 41 and rock out. = how you build a career.
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+ photo from Getty Images
PlayStationee >
FROM THE CREATORS OF KESSEN'AND DYNASTY WARRIORS’
MARCH 2004
PRODUCTS RANGE FROM Each game sold separately. Samurai Warriors, Kessen, Dynasty Warriors, Xtreme Legends, and ATING РЕМО! the KOEI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of KOEI Co., Ltd. ©2004 KOEI Co., Ltd. All
rights reserved, Station’ and the "PS" Family logo are ге; istered trademarks of Sony | Computar Хх “4 ^ КОК НАШЕ (reine Regents THERA mW MINES ІІІ $29.99 MSRP p/html/Joboffer & `
ALSO AVAILABLE
Your PS2 plays more than games, you know.
POOR KIDS
Once Upon a Time in Mexico director Robert Rodriguez has three sons: Rebel, Rocket, and Racer Rodriguez. No, мете not kidding.
By John Scalzi
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
(Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp)
Let's begin with what Robert Rodriguez is not: He's not a world class director. His style is too self consciously borrowed from his betters, and his story material is generally too slight to generate resonance, unless you're willing to. make a case for substantial depth in The Faculty or Spy Kids 3D. So, he's not great, and to be truthful about it, | don't expect him to be But what he is—and what shouldn't be discounted—is a really good director: someone who loves cine ma, has a blast with the moving image, and is committed to making sure that people on the other side
of the screen get at least some
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
inkling of the fun he's having. Like his contemporary and friend Quentin Tarantino, Rodriguez is an enthusiast—a real fan of films. Mexico spills out that enthusi
asm in spades. Again—not a great film. It doesn’t have the mythic quality of the films it’s so obviously modeled upon, including Once Upon a Time т the nevertheless heaps it on in the
West. But Rodriguez
film, throwing action sequences and quirky characters up against the wall to see what sticks—and quickly moving past what doesn't. As a result, this continuation of the story begun in El Mariachi and Desperado is best if you don't think
too much about it and just go with the flow. Rodriguez gets help from a cast (Banderas, Depp, Salma Hayek, Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke] that comes in with its own iconography attached; you know the characters, even if you've never wild, only
marginally in control, «
met them before. Its ind a Kick to
watch, which | suspect was the
entire intent, Rodriguez may not be
a great director, but il he keeps having such a great time behind the lens—and sharing those times with us—simply being really good
is good enough
[do de dede
NCL UPON A TINI IN
Lih
UPCOMING DVD RELEASES
January 2, 2004 American Wedding
January 6, 2004 Babylon 5 Cheers: Season 2 Frasier n2 Mutant X: Season 1 Out ol Time
The Shield: Season 2 Underworld
Season 4
January 13, 2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 1 Freddy vs Johnny English New Adventures of Spider Man
Jason
January 20, 2004 Blacula
Cabin Fever
Conan: The Complete Que Fist of the Red Dragon
МТУ Punk'd: Season 1 Once Upon a Time in Mexico
January 27, 2004 Dilbert: The Complete Series Friends: Se. Grind House of the Dead Labyrinth: Collector's E
ison 6
dition
AMERICAN WEDDING (Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan) | think the American Pie films are big, steaming pastries filled with glistening chunks of crap and other obnoxious body effluvia, but three films in, it's hard to argue with their success—there- fore, it's best to judge them on their own low baseline, On that criteria, American Wedding is pretty much in sync with the other films in the series: one part Stifler, one part Jim's dad, one part Jim and Michelle, one part bodily functions, then shake well and stand back (preferably behind a plastic tarp). A nice bonus is Fred Willard as Michelle's dad, as clueless as Eugene Levy's character. And terrifying as it is to admit, Stifler's grown on me, like a rank lichen. Someone help me. I'll never be a fan of these films, but if you are, you'll be һарр
do dod
(Rider Strong, Cerina Vincent) Five college buds go on a rustic cabin retreat to do what college buds always do at rustic retreats, and this horror film does to them what horror films always do to young attractive people in the woods. The twists are the highly contagious disease that appears to make people ooze blood for no good reason, as well as the sick sense of humor that is either amusing or entirely disruptive, depending on your point of view. Personally, | think there's some- thing good about not always going for the cheap laugh when you're trying to scare the hell out of peo- ple; they can't all be Evil Dead, which this flick is clearly inspired by. But those looking for a good scream aren't likely to complain. It will cure you of any desire to get a mountain cabin with your pals, and maybe that's the point.
(Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger) This collision of two entirely tapped-out horror-film franchises has two things going for it: Director Ronny Yu, who is so much better than his material here that it's almost a crime, and the final reel, in which the two horror icons try to turn each other into hot, steamy serial- killer kabobs (Freddy's brought the skewers!]. In the meantime, however, you've got to wallow through all your basic, witless horror-genre clichés and point- less killing of attractive but profoundly stupid young people. The film gives a nod to the histories of both Freddy and Jason, such as they are, so that's nice, but it's not enough to make this film that great an addition to either franchise. Considering the devalued state of both franchises, that's bad news.
(Rowan Atkinson, Natalie Imbruglia)
A comedy that doesn't give a damn if you like it or not, mostly because it was already a huge hit worldwide before it even washed up here. This is not an entirely bad thing for the film, since its brand of goofy, lame slapstick- meets-James Bond is kind of like a reheated leftover from the Pink Panther era, a film genre well past its sell-by date here іп the U.S., unless the name Austin Powers is attached. On the other hand, it's hard not to be amused by Rowan Atkinson in stupen- dously inept mode, and you won't hear me complaining about the opportunity to ogle Ms. Imbruglia. And John Malkovich, slumming as the film's villain, is a hoot. Accept that you and every other U.S. citi- zen are an afterthought to the filmmakers, and you'll be fine.
UNDERWORLD
(Kate Beckinsale, Scott
Speedman)
The superhot Kate Beckinsale a deliciously р
pointless flick, which owes equal debt to Romeo & Juliet, The Matrix, and the various Blade films: Eh, maybe not so much. Which is disappointing, because you shouldn't be able to screw up a tale about vam- pir after each other, especially when you have the aforemen- tioned Ms. Becki yet, thi that е! pass, since I'm kind of a suck- er for stylish-looking films, even one bereft of comprehen-
and werewolves going
ale. And right on ge. In the end, | give it a
film sk:
his one is. This is
ame thing, howeve
aying | recommend it to . You Goth kids (you know who you аге) should
othe:
you who don't wear black nail polish on a regular b; wish to skip this
might
(Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall) Kevin Costner generally comes across as a humorless windbag, but give him the right material and you're reminded the man can act and is capable of subtleties not immediately apparent in his laconic, latter-day Gary Cooper shtick. Open Range gives him good material both as an actor and a director—it's a Western (which Costner is suited for) in which his character struggles between the kind of person he was and the kind of person he'd like to be. There are gunfights and other Western conventions all handled with realistic care. Costner also surrounds himself with fine actors, including Duvall and Annette Bening as Costner's love interest. Plus, there are lots of smartly observed moments and well-acted scenes. It's well worth your time.
(Denzel Washington, Eva Mendes)
For my money, the pairing of Denzel Washington with director Carl Franklin is always a good one, even if the general moviego- ing audience doesn't seem to clue in. The two made the criminally underappreciated Devil in a Blue Dress nearly a decade back, and Out of Time seems to have gotten the same criminally underappre- ciated treatment. But what's not to like? You've got Washington—in fine form as a good man in a compromised situation (he's a cop who's stolen some cash)—who rather surprisingly discovers that all the evidence in a murder points to him, and he has to dig his way out as investigators (including his soon-to-be ex-wife] are closing in. Franklin milks this juicy scenario for everything it's worth, and it's worth a fair bit.
(Jon Lovitz)
This underappreciated cartoon series features Lovitz as a fat, balding, sarcastic film critic. | can identify because I’m three out of four of those things, and like the character, | know the pain of wasting large tracts of one's life watching films that ought to be classified as war crimes. Aside from the personal identification, | liked the series because it had а snarky sense of humor, dialed down a notch or two from The Simpsons’ (with which it shared its producers) brand of comedy but with a nice urban—and urbane—bite. Sadly, the series lasted only 23 episodes, but that means you can have it all in one DVD package. Worth a gander if you've never seen it, and if you've seen it, you don't need me to tell you it was fun while it lasted.
(Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier)
An author (Rampling) gets writer's block and is subsequently dispatched to a villa in the south of France, which comes complete with a hot teenage girl (Sagnier). And I'm thinking, why don't | get that from my book publishers? That's just not fair. On the other hand, things become all seamy and criminal, so maybe it's just as well I'm left at home. The psycho- sexual twists and turns of Swimming Pool's plot are a real hoot, and you may end up watch- ing the film twice just to try to fig- ure what the hell's going on. But it's the good, exciting kind of con- fusion, not confusion borne from poor plotting. And between Sagnier and Rampling, lovers of dangerous females young and
old will get more than their money's worth.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)
АМ!
Fly into the danger zone.
ANIA!
Planes, warriors, and a full-metal jacket
Wind, Snow, and Contrails If you liked Macro: Gun, or some similarly stylish ode to powered flight and mechanical
Plus, Top
violence, Bandai's Yukikaze might be up your alley. From Studio Gonzo (the Last Exile/Vandread crew], it’s the very pretty, laid back story of an experimental fighter aircraft with a potentially dangerous attachment to its pilot Two versions of Volume 1 will be released on February 17: a one disc vanilla release with a 5.1
channel English dub, as well as a
two-disc extravaganza with 5.1 tracks in English and Japanese and a limited-edition patch.
Official US PlayStation Magazine
Seven More Samurai
Over in Japan, Gonzo is busy at work on a new series based on unusual source material. Samurai 7, due to hit Japanese airwaves next spring, is a TV series based on Kurosawa's legendary Seven Samurai. In the director's chair is Toshifumi Takizawa, who directed the Dirty Pair classic Flight 005 Conspiracy, but we've yet to see how far he plans to stray from the original's inspiration. We hope it doesn’t go as far аз a certain videogame adaptation.
Metal Skin Panic
AniMeigo has a little piece of
American anime history tentative- ly scheduled for a January 2 release. MADOX-01, a sci-fi com- edy about a hapless bachelor trapped in a suit of experimental powered armor, is coming out on DVD with a brand-new English dub after being out of print for years. It's a funny show—the mili tary wants the suit back, and our hero just wants to meet his date—and it was also the very first “for fans” anime release in the United States
Ending All Over Again ADV Films has six more episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion on
d Yukikaze
the way for fans who just can't get enough of Hideaki Anno's phan- tasmagoric nightmare 21 through 26 of the series are getting a special Director's Cut revision, featuring new edits and
Episodes
footage. Volume 1 is due out on January 13—it has both the origi- nal and revised versions of episodes 21, 22, and 23, plus a minute interview with Richard Taylor of Weta Workshop.
Awful Sights, Swinging Sounds
If you'd rather listen to a Gainax production, Geneon Entertain- ment's music arm has three new albums coming on January 20. On that particular day, you'll be able to pick up the first Evangelion OST album (hum), the first His and Her Circumstances album [double hum], and a fistful of tunes by hard rockers The Pillows on the first Furi Kuri soundtrack (insert
Spirited Aways rank on Amazons list of top-selling DVDs.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
"eT һ 5
Innocence: Ghost in the
frantic circle pit). One of these things is not like the others...
Ghost Cracking Open
For a new look at Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell sequel, hit the newly updated webpage promot- ing Innocence: Ghost in the Shell at www.innocence-movie.jp. The
full trailer is now available, pre
viewing the movie that’s sched-
uled to hit Japan next March and the United States not long after
Oscar, Meet Satoshi
After Spirited Away's big win at the Oscars last year, some of 2003's top anime features are up for consideration in the Best Animated Feature category of the upcoming Academy Awards. In addition to several Western pro- ductions, features Patlabor WXIII, Pokémon Heroes, Cowboy Bebop, and Millennium Actress are all reportedly in the running.
| th Np yi А 4 | ү ү "7 by, “he А | WARNING: The next evolution of hunting has taken a dangerous turn. Get ready for WHE € N _| hunting action unlike anything you've ever encountered, with “kill or be killed" "m | | consequences that will leave you trembling at the knees and fearing for your life!
PlayStation.2 ACTIVISION.
"TP d Ei
ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.ory
THE LIS
Our 9 new objects of desire
METHOD ACTING
New movie releases are sparse in January, but check out Method Man flexing his acting chops in this comedy about a trio of guys whose girlfriends become pregnant at the same time. The film also features Eddie Griffin, Anthony Anderson, Michael Imperioli, and John Amos.
WEAPONS OF MASS DISTORTION
If you love the track "Born Too Slow" featured in Need for Speed Underground, you'll no doubt enjoy the rest of TCM's third album, a wild mix of rock, techno, break- beat, and hip-hop. The disc includes appearances by ex-Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, beat- box impresario Rahzel, and for- mer Kyuss frontman John Garcia.
SNEAKY WRIST ACTION
15 there nothing that you can't do with a watch now? Casio's Color Camera Watch can take up to 100 images, which you can then easily transfer to your PC. Its resolution is no better than a camera phone's, but it's still a neat little gadget. The stainless steel version is $329, while the black version goes for $299.
QUACK, QUACK
Currently on sale only in Japan, this 16MB USB storage duck is for the computer user who already has absolutely everything. A num- ber of stores import them to the United States, so Google "iDuck" and you'll no doubt have some luck. Comes in many colors, too!
OVERLOOKED GAME
We've been championing Michel Апсе(5 creation for the better part of a year now, and we're not going to stop now that it's out. Released during the most crowded holiday season we can remember, it got overlooked. But now that the dust has settled, check out this game. It's an intelligent, beautiful, and classy game with great ideas and awesome characters.
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
мерам
Leglon of Boom
CAPCOMIC BOOK
This four-issue limited-series comic book from Dreamwave loosely tells the story of Dante's adventures in the first videogame and explores his struggle to main- tain control of his supernatural side. Writer Brad Mick claims that this will be "THE rock-'n'-roll comic book." To prove his point even further, all chapters in the series will be named after heavy metal songs. We salute you with the rock horns, Mr. Mick.
DIGITAL CLOTHING
Burton's cool-looking limited- edition Amp jacket, which has an iPod remote embedded into the Sleeve, proved so popular that the company is now producing a new version called the Shield, which you can order from Burton's web- site for a mere $379.95. The (admittedly very expensive] jacket works with all three generations of iPod.
HOLY CRAP!
Some complained that Family Guy was just a Simpsons wannabe, but many thought it was the funniest thing on television. After it was cancelled last year, fans rushed to buy the series’ DVD box sets and have continued to watch reruns on Adult Swim. All this attention has prompted Fox execs to make an unprecedented move and actually bring the show back. Now, every- one go buy the Firefly box set and see if it works for that show, too!
when’stheJast time _ mail g. Jo: yot this excited?
Rent every new release for PS2, Xbox, GameCube and GBA Go to for your free trial
©Copyright Gamefly 2003. All rights reserved. Gamefly is a registered trademark of Gamefly, М E Inc. PlayStation® 2, Xbox!" Nintendo GameCube" and Game Boy? Advance are trademarks GF GA & FLY of Sony, Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Nintendo respectively. rent smart. play harder.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
GAMES electronics boutique"
BY THE NUMBER
Trend Spotter: Falling
The Tick once mused, "Gravity is a harsh mi and we totally
agree. Yet for some reason, a few games seem to actually feature a
falling level as a feature. All we can say is “free fall-ing."
Beyblade
Namco Museum Vol. 3 Namco
Shrek Treasure Hunt TDK
Tarzan SCEA
Final Fantasy IX Square L—— m ATV Mania Gotham шал шазы Bratz Ubisoft 7 m ] Final Fantasy Tactics Square
DDR Konamix Konami
Madden NFL 2004 EA
m — "a Yeah! Grrl power! Woo hoo! We love the enduring spirit of femininity; SPY FICTION hey, we even read some Naomi Wolf on occasion! You all love femi-
nism too, since Final Fantasy X-2 is numero uno this month. Minna no Golf 4 SCE Gundam: AEUG vs. Titans Bandai 2 Title/Publisher Rating GT4 Prologue Edition SCE Infectious! Final Fantasy X-2 (Square Enix U.S.A.) Neon Genesis Eva 2 Bandai Тһе flu and Syphon Filter got us thinking about viruses. Icky! Need for Speed: Underground (EA Games) DADDA Wild Arms Alter Code F SCE SOCOM Il: U.S. Navy SEALs (Sony CEA) Castlevania Konami True Crime: Streets of L.A. (Activision) es MOH: RS EA Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (EA Games] ees В: Racing Evolution Namco Tony Hawk's Underground (Activision) Let's Make Bball Team! 2003 Sega The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (EA Games] Kamen nien Banpresto WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (THQ) DRDI YEAR THAT THE UNITED STATES HAD A FIFA Soccer 2004 (EA Sports) HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK. THE VIRUS Manhunt (Rockstar) 6%Ф4 IN 241S LOOSELY BASED ON IT. NBA Live 2004 (EA Sports) eeees Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Sony CEA) Madden NFL 2004 (EA Sports) Eye Toy (Sony CEA] DADDA Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Ubisoft) Legacy of Kain: Defiance (Eidos) ees Jak Il (Sony CEA) DEDI | ЫН 99 Tors) ELSE The Simpsons: Hit & Run (Vivendi Universal] eese Tony Hawk's UG (PS2) — Activision
LIST OF BIOTERROR AGENTS 1 2
Manhunt (Р52) Rockstar
Kill.Switch (Namco)
WWE SDI: HCTP (PS2) THQ
Max Payne 2 (XB) Rockstar MOH: RS (PS2) EA Mario Kart: DD (GC) Nintendo Conflict: 052 |Р52) бойһат Madden NFL 2004 (PS2) EA : }
TAs Vica Cty (xB) Rockstar ШУАТ РУЗ SOURCE: BLOCKBUSTER, WEEK ENDING NOV. 30, 2003 VIRUS IS RELEASED
FF Х-2 (PS2) Square Enix
GTA Combo Pack(XB) — Rockstar
NFS: U (PS2) EA
SOCOM II (PS2) SCEA
True Crime (PS2) Activision
- xiii MOH: RS (P52) EA
FIFA Soccer 2004 Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Mario Kart: DD (GC) Nintendo
z True Crime (XB) Activision АЙ E Асіп top 10 and the top 10 rentals come from other sources. Game descriptions written by the OPM staff, NFS: U (XB) EA
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
WWW.NA
Violence
ggestive Themes
PlayStationse
REFLECTIONS OF TRADITION. Exclusively on the PlayStation*2 computer entertainment system, Tekken legend Heihachi jumps into the Soulcalibur°l arena. The battle will be hard fought with old Soulcalibur favorites and new masters ready to battle anyone with the guts. And the fighting continues with over 10 modes of play, including the new Weapon Master Mode, giving you the chance to unlock hundreds of weapons, costumes, arenas and hidden characters.
Travelers tip: Never visit Silent Hill.
THIS ISSUE SILENT HILL 4
109 BUSES ch The creepiness continues 78 АігҒогсе Delta Strike Ready to get creeped out again? Fresh off the best game in the 68 Alias А " л series, Konami is already hard at work on Silent Hill 4, scheduled for 70 Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers ы ^ ч Pat release later this year. This is the first time you're seeing it anywh 72 ESPN Major League Baseball » м As with previous games in the series, an eerie premise sets the 80 The Fast and the Furious A р tone for the adventure ahead. Protagonist Henry Townsend, а геѕі- 84 Final Fantasy XI " Қ 5 dent of Ashfield (а town near Silent Hill), awakens from a nightmare 78 Firefighter ED.18 » р а 2 only to find himself locked іп his apartment. "The windows do not 66 James Bond 007 5 open, the walls cannot be broken down, the telephone does not work, Everything or Nothing Е ы 5 6 s and nobody can hear his voice from the outside," the game's produc- 74 La Pucelle: Tactics Я M er, Akira Yamaoka, tells us. "[The front door is] locked with chains 82 Lifeline n 80 Micro Mayhem and a huge lock, In short, he’s trapped. IIO Y "On the fifth day that Henry finds himself locked in his apartment, 72 МУР Baseball 2004 ў 2 he sees а huge hole in his bathroom wall," Yamaoka continues, with- 80 MX Unleashed s * 2 out a hint of humor as to how bizarre that sounds. "Henry cannot 73 NBA Ballers Н d i я 72 NFL Street stop himself from climbing inside. Beyond the hole, he finds himself n A in a gore-filled world where there are strange creatures and ghosts.” 66 The Nightmare Before Christmas А Hmm...any idea where that could be? 78 Psi-Ops: Я And therein lies the mystery for Henry. He can enter the creepy > Тһе Mindgate Conspiracy H d B " hole and encounter various monstrosities, or stay in the safety of his 76 Red Ninja: End of Honor Е * own room, which would make for a pretty boring game. "The theme 70 The Red Star Men r л of the story lies in solving the connection between the room where 76 Samurai Warriors h 4 ۴ you live and the alternate world," says Yamaoka. "Why is the alter- 73 Showdown: Legends of Wrestling E 5 EN қ 64 Silent Hill 4 7 nate world tied to your room?' У j We can't wait till we're able to answer that question ourselves.
78 Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow E И E Y 82 The Suffering Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Release Date: Fall
\ 4 66 Terminator 3: Redemption 68 Transformers Armada: % Prelude to Energon i 74 Trivial Pursuit Unhinged 73 World Soccer: Winning Eleven 7 : 74 Worms 3D Y 74 Wrath Unleashed M
С) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
82
BLOOD
Lots and lots of it in Midway's The Suffering.
76
NINJAS
And even a few samurai in Koeis Samurai Warriors.
66
CLEESE
One of the minor celebs in 007: Everything or Nothing:
DARKNESS
Й Embrace it “Theres no direct connection in story lines, but there is a common theme of the alternate world of Silent Hill)” says Yamaoka. “The story is darker than in past games.”
RUMOR DEBUNKED! No Metal Gear Solid 3 connection
It seems that a current rumor started by European websites suggests that Silent Hill 4 uses the same gameplay engine as Konamis own Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Not so, says producer Yamaoka. “That is a rumor,” he laughs. "Its mysterious to hear such things!”
ANY DEJA VU?
Will the settings ring a bell?
"Silent НИ 4 takes place in totally different settings,” says Yamaoka. “However, there are some names which may seem familiar to you. People you would never expect.”
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
DID YOU KNOW? For your As an homage to past Peanuts specials, you never see eyes only. any adult faces in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
AMES BOND 007 | VERYTHING OR NOTHING Everything Bond and nothing bad
This is the first Bond game that feels like, well, a Bond movie. With an all-star cast (Brosnan, Willem Dafoe, Heidi Klum, etc.) lending voices and faces, you can't get much closer to the real deal. Don't assume that the third-person view means the game is slow and stealthy—Everything or Nothing is quite action packed. The context-sensitive melee combat
бк means that you need only two buttons to make Bond punch, kick, grap- fi Fil ple, or throw baddies over ledges. The aiming scheme combines lock-on D with manual; you can automatically target center-of-mass, then fine-
tune your aim for a head shot, which is both newbie-friendly and hard- core. Our favorite feature? A free-falling level in which Bond jumps down to save Shannon Elizabeth—without a parachute or a rope.
TERMINATOR 3: REDEMPTION
The best part of T3: Rise of the Machines (see Reviews) is the included demo of T3: Redemption. Again starring Arnold, Redemption is a third-person shooter with lots of vehicular mayhem. Besides hoofing it on foot in the future, Arnold jumps into jeeps, helicopters, and even the future-killer tanks that SkyNet uses. The sharper graphics and better controls already make it better than Rise of the Machines. Publisher: Atari Developer: Paradigm Release Date: Summer
== 5 Р ў P NEW OBJECTIVE ue. ер. AL FALLING FOR YOU CATCH SERENA | Eagle у” 4 A Bond-ing moment + 5 ty There are plenty of Bond-style stunts, ~ nu : like this jump off a cliff
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THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Capcom recently supplied us with a bunch of new screenshots from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Only thing is, the company is still keeping mum on the details. All we know is what Capcom has previously announced (ї.е., it's a sequel, and it features puzzles to solve) and what we can infer from the new screens. Looks like Jack Skellington uses some sort of mighty phlegm against the forces of evil. We shall see. Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Release Date: October
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
High-impact, motion-captured combat Spy gadgets, high-tech & makeshift weaponry Intense camera work from multiple angles
BASED ON AN ORIGINAL STORY FROM THE CREATORS OF THE SMASH HIT TV SERIES»»
She's a stealth bombshell with spy skills. A covert agent with kung-fu moves. For Sydney Bristow life is the deadliest of games—one of infiltration, espionage and action. Now her mission is yours. Go deep into her dangerous world and unlock the secrets behind TV's hottest sensation.
TEEN < Violence ) Watch Alias абс Sundays 9/8с ESSERE on ABC
ALIASTHEGAME.COM
[AN
PlayStation 2 Дай’
www.acclaim.com
ks of Sony
er Ente
©) PREVIEW
ALIAS
Cocktail dress included
If you've ever wanted to be a super she-spy who can also serve a mean Bloody Mary, then look no further than Alias.
Taking place after the infamous Super Bowl episode, Alias feels like a lost episode [or two) of the second season, thanks to the authentic script and voiceovers. For example, an early mission involves finding detailed plans for yet another Rambaldi device (an oft-used story line from season one). You have to plant a radioactive serum in a drink, serve said drink, then sneak around the rest of the level.
The controls feel solid and pretty much resemble the feel of any traditional third-person sneaker (except the camera is a bit fast and wonky during combat). We like that the splitscreen mode, which shows incoming guards and other threats on one side of the screen and you on the other, both alerts you and builds tension.
Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Studios Cheltenham Release Date: March
ШЫ
DOING THE SPLITS
Slicing the screen for tension Instead of a timer or radar, youre shown incoming threats or other nec- essary information via splitscreen. Acclaim wants to warn the player in a more cinematic way by ditching the played-out flashing radar screen.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
This number is used in many What the hell instances on the Alias TV show is Energon? and is a sort of inside joke.
TRANSFORM
And roll out...
The level we played shows potential for a solid balance of robot- and auto- mobile-based action throughout. Some situations require Hotshot to shoot Decepticlones in robot form and others require the speed of a sports car, but most of the time, it's just your choice.
ARMADA PRELUDE TO ENERGON
Now officially worth looking forward to
If you're like us, your hopes for Atari's Transformers game have been
Mini-Con-sized at best. After all, it's based on the stupid Armada genera-
боп, and, well...it's a freakin’ Transformers game. But put away those
"| hope it'll be at least mediocre” thoughts. We've played a good
portion of the game's huge Amazon level, and it isn't merely enough to
satisfy...Prelude to Energon is a damn fine videogame. Our early version
allows play only as the speedster Hotshot, but it offers a pleasing mix of exploration, and—oh, yeah—transforming!
HUGE LEVELS
If you can see it, you can go there If we have any complaints about our limited time with Prelude, its the potential for getting lost. These envi: ronments are absolutely humongous.
"THE MOST IMPORTANT VIDEO GAME OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS." = THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
WuWw.ROCKSTARGAMES.COM/MANHUNT
MATURE 17+
Strong Language
Blood and Gore PlayStation.?
Intense Violence
Ж “>
CONTENT RATED BY ESRB
"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. © 2003 Rockstar Games, Inc. Manhunt and the Manhunt logo are trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Rockstar Games and the R, logo are registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Rockstar Games and Rockstar North are subsidiaries of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All other marks and trademarks are properties of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved. Product
names are the trademarks of their respective owners, and not of Rockstar Games, Inc... and are included for entertainment purposes only. No product, person or establishment appearing or mentioned in this game has endorsed this game or any of the actions
described or displayed herein or is in any way associated with Rockstar Games, Inc. Note: Rockstar will be following ESA guidelines for M rated games in Ihe marketing of this game. This game contains violent language and behavior and may not be appropriate
for persons under the age of 17. The story, names and incidents portrayed herein are fictitious. No identification or similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events is intended or should be inferred. Any resemblance is coincidental. The makers and publishers of this videogame do notin any way endorse, condone or encourage this kind of behavior.
100 bullets? BACK IN BATS More like 100s 100 Bullets creator Brian Azzarello is also keeping him- and 100s of ‘em! self busy these days as writer for DC's Batman series.
COMBAT ELITE
WWII PARATROOPERS Just call it World War II: Dark Alliance
Between Dark Alliance Il, Champions of Norrath, and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance engine sure is getting a workout these days. But would you ever suspect its use in a World War ІІ game? Neither would we, but that's exactly what BattleBorne—a team of ex-Dark Alliance guys from Snowblind Studios, who are getting tired of Nazi-busting first-person shooters—is doing with Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers (a title we're told will likely change].
Beginning with D-Day, prepare to embark upon more than 60 mis- sions with three intelligent squadmates (one controlled by a friend, if you wish]. Start as a private and move forward in rank as you advance across Europe, including notorious battles like Market Garden. Publisher: Acclaim Developer: BattleBorne Release Date: June 6 (60 years after D-Day)
THERED STAR ШІП THE RED STAR
Using Christian Gossett's distinguished art style, which combines com- puter animation and digital painting, Archangel Studios' The Red Star has become one of the most-talked-about independent comic-book series in recent years. Acclaim's beat-'em-up adaptation takes place in the comic's corrupt future run by the United Republics of the Red Star. Use melee and ranged combat with three Heroes of the Red Star. Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Austin Release Date: September
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100 BULLETS
Brian Azzarello is taking a very active role in 700 Bullets, a game based directly on the Vertigo comic-book series he's written for nearly 50 issues. So how can anyone game-ify a comic so dependent on slow pace? Well...we're not entirely sure. But we do know you play as Cole Burns and Snow Falls, and their stories come together near the end. Acclaim also promises us a feature that "blows away bullet time." We shall see. Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Austin Release Date: October
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
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«hack has spread beyond video games.” Also look for DVDs; trading cards; strategy guides and now Manga comics! ".hack//Legend of the Twilight available now from TOKYOPOP®,
Mature Sexual Themes ® Mild Language As seen on zn shack/SIGN ғаз PlayStation.e EX pap
TM&O 2001-2004 Bandai Program © 2001-2004 Bandai. DOT HACK//SIGN TM & © 2002-2004 Bandai. Based on the original concept developed by Project.hack. “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. CARTOON NETWORK and logo are trademarks of and © Cartoon Network. _ (503)
DID YOU KNOW? When not doing ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, Jon Score! Miller commentates for the San Francisco Giants.
NFL STREET
Necessary roughness
Ah, the joy of playing football in the street—no crowds, no refs, just pure gridiron action. But make no mistake about it, NFL Street is hardly just a normal football game in a new setting. For one thing, the game features 7-on-7 gameplay with players handling both offensive and defensive duties. The environments also affect how players per- form. So, for example, sand slows down the overall pace, while black- top gives the advantage to quicker players.
Of course, the current NFL stars won't be the only ones hitting the streets. A number of old-school players and legends make appear- ances as well, including William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Lawrence Taylor, and the recently retired Barry Sanders.
NFL Street also includes online play and plenty of special items to unlock (namely, new clothing for the players].
d эз 1
ESPN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Will an ESPN facelift E baseball make it rise above the competi- tion? It certainly can't hurt. Broadcasters Jon Miller and Karl Ravech team up for commentary, and we're also promised cut-scenes and dynamic close-ups that mimic the presentation style of the total sports network. The new K-Zone feature visualizes players’ unique strike zones, and GameCast gives pitch-by-pitch accounts of simmed games.
es Developer: Visual Concepts Release Date: 5
№ STYLIN’ Win, but look good doing it Fill the Gamebreaker meter with cool
| ё moves, like а behind-the-back pass
ж-
MVP BASEBALL 2004
Fresh off a successful (И somewhat flawed] rookie year, EA's MVP Baseball series is the early favorite for 2004's best PS2 baseball game. Although the most exciting addition is obviously online play, the new batting system is the biggest addition, as it allows total con- trol of your swing with the left analog stick. We're also psyched about the inclusion of all AA and AAA teams for the new Dynasty mode!
Ө) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
Shaqs enormous house in Orlando covers this many square 1 feet. It's also his shoe size.
TED а И Ғы, паат а
іі
NBA BALLERS
Don't mean a thing without the bling
If anyone can make a 1-on-1 arcade basketball game like NBA Ballers work, it's Midway. The creators of NBA Jam and its arcade successors have transformed the typical 1-on-1 formula by giving you dozens of jukes and special moves to break your opponent's ankles. In addition to all of the basic Jam-type features—like catching fire after hitting three straight shots—expect some fun little touches, like passing the ball to someone in the crowd for a little give-and-go action.
Ballers also offers a couple of different tournament options, as well as a mode where you build a player from the ground up. After each win, your individual character statistics improve depending on your performance, so, if you've made a lot of three pointers, then that stat level will increase. You can also earn some serious bling for your player as you progress further into the game.
AND PROFILIN' |" Dress like the real ballers
You can deck out a created character with jewelry and other fancy items.
=
| www.ultimatewarrior.com | Go here to read the insane ramblings of the Warrior himself!
i£ — — тей Hachsaw б , Jake
SHOWDOWN: LEGENDS OF WRESTLING
The “golden age” of professional wrestling lives on in the third Legends of Wrestling game. Showdown's roster includes some of the biggest names in wrestling, including the Ultimate Warrior, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, and Bret Hart. There's also two-man commentary and new match types—one of which lets you relive 16 of professional wrestling's most entertaining matches in real, licensed venues. Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Acclaim Studios Austin Release Date: April
WORLD SOCCER: WINNING ELEVEN 7 INT'L
Konami's making a big push to topple FIFA as the dominant soccer series in North America with its next Winning Eleven game. Not only has it implemented a brand-spanking-new graphics engine to create better player models, but Konami has also improved the Master League mode to allow players to dive much deeper into the world of team management than they could in last year’s version.
Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Tokyo Release Date: February
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (©)
REVI EWS pone E and brawn.
oer.
[^ Human Tear 1 пон A Human Team 2 9 mem
WORMS 3D
As possibly the greatest cult-classic series in the history of strategy videogames, Worms has developed quite a following. In 3D for the first time, Worms 3D offers a new way for as many as four four-member teams of angry annelids to blast away at each other in a turn-based fashion. Judge wind and other factors as you utilize classic weapons (bazooka, missiles...sheep) and some new ones optimized for 3D play. Publisher: Acclaim Developer: Team17 Release Date: March
LA PUCELLE: TACTICS
Fans of the surprise strat-RPG hit Disgaea will get another helping soon when La Pucelle: Tactics hits shelves. The “demon-hunter cadets go out into the world” story line promises more wackiness, and the modified tactical battle system is different, without losing any depth. Though publisher Mastiff is a relative newcomer to the scene, its experienced staff ought to do a great job with this one.
Publisher: Mastiff Developer: Nippon Ichi Release Date: Spring
TRIVIAL PURSUIT UNHINGED
Artech Studios doesn't have a great track record lately [just check out Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!—or better yet, don't). However, Trivial Pursuit Unhinged includes several cool features that make it more than just a videogame version of a board game. For example, Unhinged mode adds a bigger party element, enabling you to wager wedges. Meanwhile, six B-list celebrities (Whoopi, etc.) voice questions. Publisher: Atari Developer: Artech Studios Release Date: March
@ Official US. PlayStation Magazine
WRATH UNLEASHED
Archon reborn
Your impression of Wrath Unleashed will depend on which half of the game you see. If you see one screen, you might think it's a 3D fighter, see another and you might believe it's a strategy board game. Actually, like the PC cult classic Archon, it's two games in one.
Each army of fantasy creatures looks small on the hexagon-laden strategy map, which is divided by different elemental properties. On a large scale, the goal is to take control of key spots, netting your side more energy to power magical support spells and thus shape the field's ele- ments to your advantage. It takes a lot of smaller individual battles—fast- paced real-time clashes in trap-filled arenas—to get there, though, as the "pieces" suddenly turn into towering 3D monsters with physical and magical attacks. A four-player multiplayer mode rounds out the package, making this a unique addition to PS2's small lineup of party games. Publisher: LucasArts Developer: The Collective Release Date: February
REMEMBER WHEN...? Archon unleashed its wrath on PC gamers in 1983 by combining chesslike strategy with an action game.
SQUARING OFF
Location determines advantage
The Fire Demigod seen here has the cards stacked against him when fighting a Water Frost Dragon in an Earth/Water battle square such as the one before you.
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TKERSUKC ur. THE SORCERER KING
== action-adventure!
ad As seen on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block and available on DVD!
| The star of 6 theatrical films, 10 television films апа |
228 TV episodes, Lupin’s outrageous exploits from
à the hircus TV series are Now available on DVD!
REVI EWS 150 pd Г ninjas!
LOOKS FAMILIAR
But at least it has ninjas
Samurai Warriors should play very similarly to Dynasty Warriors, Musou attacks and all.
SAMURAI (09) WARRIORS (Qo
The Dynasty is over (well...for now) Anticipating Dynasty Warriors 5 this year? Tough. You're not getting it. But Koei does have a very similar tactical-action game in store for you. Samurai Warriors takes the tried-and-true gameplay established in the Dynasty Warriors series and moves it from the Chinese Three Kingdoms era to medieval Japan. So instead of busting out the Musou attacks with characters you were just getting to know (like Liu Bei and Cao Cao), you're now presented with 15 characters you're familiar with only if you're into Japanese history, including such samurai heroes as Yukimura Sanada and Maede Keiji. There are even ninjas, both male and female. (Just don't count on much sneaking around.) Publisher: Кое! Developer: Omega Force Release Date: Marc!
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N 76) Official US. PlaySteuen iagat N
|
| | HEY, KOEI!
| №. We want an unlockable samurai based - 4 on Tom Cruises most recent movie role!
RED NIN A
END OF HONOR Getting the hang of it
Imagine not only witnessing your father's murder, but also being hanged and left for dead by the people who killed him...only to survive. Yeah, you'd probably want some revenge—and that's exactly what the female lead, Kurenai, seeks in Red Ninja: End of Honor.
Set in feudal Japan, Red Ninja pits Kurenai against the Black Lizard clan. Her primary weapon: the very same tether she was hanged with. Fortunately, she's become skilled with the rope and can use it to target enemies' specific body parts to entangle them, rip off their limbs, or even hang them. In addition to the rope's three attachments (which give it more versatility], Kurenai has the standard ninja arsenal, including smoke bombs, blowguns, and crazy explosives.
Publisher: Vivendi Universal Games Developer: Tanji Release Dat
All Hands to Battle Stations!
Get ready for a frenetic, adrenaline-pumping 3 F 3 experience in an entirely new breed of l STAR TREIS
Star Trek game — Star Trek: Shattered Universe ч : 5 H AT TERE D | | UNIVERSE
| Get Star Trek: Shattered Universe for PlayStation 2
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when you trade-in 4 non-sport PlayStation 2, Xhox or Nintendo GameCube games.
Limit one per customer. Cannot be combined with any other trade-in offer or promotion.
Not valid on previous purchases. Coupon must be present at time of purchase. No rain
checks will be issued. No duplicate titles. Boxes and instructions must be included.
Customer is responsible for sales tax in some states.
Offer valid 1/13/04-2/13/04. Typographical errors are not а the responsibility of EB Games. Some exclusions may apply. EBGAMES See sales associate for complete details. EBC3003274. slectzonice boutique
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Number of fires per year Men a: attributed to arson. That's about on duty. one-fourth of all fires total.
ШЕ! SPLINTER CELL PANDORA TOMORROW
FIM Splintering off into its own game DTE Sam Fisher has learned a lot since Splinter Cell. He has new moves,
1 5 1 such as the half-split jump and the SWAT turn, plus better gadgets, like the laser-sighted pistol and thermal/night-vision-upgraded optical cables. Placing him in larger, more open-ended levels means that Sam has more ways to approach a situation.
| And we're still excited about the slick new multiplayer mode, where — up to four players can split themselves into teams of mercenaries and spies. Spies are veritable Sam Fisher Juniors, with gadgets and stealthiness, while mercs carry guns and spy-detecting equipment, all via a first-person viewpoint. If you ask us, we prefer the spy side, if only to get a chance to toy with the mercenary players in the dark. Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Shanghai Release Date: March
x
PSI-OPS: THE MINDGATE CONSPIRACY
What a pleasant surprise! Before Midway demonstrated this game for- merly known as ESPionage to us, we were chalking it up as just anoth- er military-operations title. Psi-Ops is unique, though. Your six mind powers (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, remote viewing, etc.) aren't just a gimmick—they offer you a chance to surpass any given obstacle in sev- eral different ways. Stay tuned next month for a more in-depth look. Publisher: Midway Developer: Midway Release Date: May
HP 02:29:30
FIREFIGHTER FD.18 If you were one of those kids who wanted to be a fireman when you MY THREE EYES
New gadgets, newer digs
Many missions, like this early one in Indonesia, have a lot of options in terms of where Sam can sneak.
grew up, Konami has the game for you. In Firefighter F.D.18, you jump into blazing infernos in third person and complete objectives such as, well, putting out fires and saving civilians. While playing the preview version, we encountered tools like the trusty fire hose, the ax, and fire- retardant foam—we only hope you can also use the jaws of life! Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Tokyo Release Date: March
AIRFORCE DELTA STRIKE
It’s not easy to make an arcadey flight game that stands out from the Ace Combat-influenced norm, but AirForce Delta Strike is certainly giving it a go. The hook? A character-driven story. Through a ton— and we mean a ton—of in-flight chatter (complete with anime-influ-
enced hand-drawn art representing the different characters}, you'll = Stan Pistol find yourself sucked into heated rivalries and political maneuvering. ` Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Release Date: February +
78) Official US. PlayStation Magazine.
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punk out to make it big.
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tivision, Ис, | rights reserved. Tony Hawk is a trademark of Tony Hawk. PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox versions developed by Mild Violence "Advance version developed by Vicarious Visions. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks Strong Language Inline icon is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. TM, & Game Boy Advance and Nintendo
yr] Suggestive Themes GameCube are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2001 Nintendo. Microsoft, Xbox, and the Xbox logos are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft
B = Corporation in the United States and/or other countries and are used under license from Microsoft. GameSpy and the "Powered by GameSpy" design are
Game Experience May trademarks of GameSpy кісі Al nights reserved. The ratings kon s a registered trademark o tne Entertainment Sofware Association. Al oer - ДС ISION. . Change During Online Play. trademarks and trade патез are the property of their respective owners. Maxim Magazine © Dennis Publishing, Inc. i жұрт
Vroom! Recent or soon-to-be-released PS2 Vroom! games with Unleashed in the title Vrooooooom! (MX, Wrath, and Wakeboarding).
2) «ИЛК ОГАШ ГҮЛ
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MICRO MAYHEM
If you were to label the vehicles in Micro Mayhem as Micro Machines, technically, you'd be wrong...but not too far off. You race these minia-
ture cars across a variety of tracks; some races take place within a HEY, LOOK! house (the cellar, the kitchen), while others are in more exotic locales (the lab, the tomb). If you tire of the canned races, you can use the track editor to create your own tracks within the levels.
Publisher: Jaleco Developer: Jaleco Release Date: February
“1 can fly that.” When youre bored with сап-сап and nac-nacs, earn a ride in а vehicle like this fine biplane.
MX UNLEASHED
Created somewhere over at Rainbow Ever since Championship Motocross Featuring Ricky Carmichael hit PS1 back in '99, motocross gamers have looked to THQ. Well, say good-bye to the champ, dirt-bike fans—he's not connected with MX Unleashed in any way. Fortunately, developer Rainbow Studios is—and it wants to do for motocross what it did for all-terrain vehicles in ATV Offroad Fury. From our playable version, it's easy to see that this could very well happen. MX Unleashed's physics—whether used to represent the rag- doll motions of each racer or the movement of a freshly plowed-into hay bale—add a great deal of realism. You've got a slew of places to check them out, too—the game spans 44 race tracks (22 indoor, 22 outdoor). Also, spend hours scoring trick points and partaking in minigames in the five enormous freestyle environments. You can even commandeer monster truck: i nd other vehicles!
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
Oh, look...another street-racing game imitating The Fast and the Furious. Oh, wait, this is The Fast and the Furious! Set on the mean streets of L.A., Furious draws on vehicles and characters from the films, including Brian, Suki, and 0.J. Expect to slap some crazy mods on your ride—but, since it’s developed by Genki (Tokyo Xtreme Racer), it might end up being a bit more sim and a little less arcade. Publisher: Vivendi Universal Developer: Genki Release Date: Summer
Official U.S, PlayStation Magazine
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O PREVIEWS:
THE SUFFERING
Man or monster? You decide
Torque, the main character in The Suffering, has been convicted of
murder and thrown into Abbot State Penitentiary, a shambling ruin with a seriously haunted past. But when the shades of centuries of executions come home to roost, he finds himself the recipient of an early parole...if he can make it out alive.
A hybrid of third-person action and survival-horror, The Suffering subjects you to hallucinations, flashbacks, and plenty of mind games (not to mention brutal profanity). But the most interesting feature is your ability to choose Torque's destiny: Treat your fellow refugees with kindness, and it will be revealed that Torque is innocent. But if you kill wantonly throughout the game, not only will it be proven that Torque is indeed guilty, but you will find yourself controlling a mon-
ster—literally—as Torque's personal demons take over.
ісігі U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Total episodes of That's My Bush, Comedy Central's White House parody that featured Kristen Miller as Dubyas ditzy assistant.
OOPS! You do need that DualShock, after all | If you read last months Lifeline preview,
you'll remember we said no controller is | n necessary. It wasn't until we got our actual copy of the game that we real- ized we were wrong—you do need ‘one to execute speech, pull up a map, and perform other functions. Sorry.
ше ы: ат “I don't want anybody else / When I think about you...”
You say it, she does it (supposedly
We've been hearing about this voice-recognition game for months, but only now has Konami sent us a playable version of Lifeline. It's still too early to say if we like it or not, but one thing is clear: The game will live or die based on how well its concept comes to fruition.
Set in a futuristic space hotel, Lifeline stars you, a faceless, lucky bas- tard locked away in a control room, safe from the alien monstrosities killing almost everyone else on board. Fighting for her life is Rio (voiced by She Spies’ bubbly babe Kristen Miller], a girl you speak to and advise through a USB headset. To be frank, the 10,000-plus phrases we're told Rio will recognize aren't registering too well with her. She's not always dodging when we tell her "dodge"; she's not always shooting when we tell her “shoot.” But assuming Konami can work out the kinks in the next cou- ple of months, this could be one fine sci-fi adventure.
Publisher: Konami Developer: Sony CE] Release Date: Spring те
YOU SEE ALL
Cameras, cameras everywhere Apparently, the space hotel’ designers thought floor cameras were necessary. Or maybe they just like the view.
р pyolution of ПЛА 2) 0 29 Р
It's survival of the fastest. R: Racing Evolution thrusts you into ^ чай , 2
the intense competition and heated rivalries of high-velocity professional racing. Adapt, or enjoy the exhaust.
Experience the handling of realistic, high performance physics. Master GT, Rally, Drag and the premier racing circuits. Fine-tune real world licensed vehicles.
DODGE GRAB LIFE
SAAS RE PlayStation.2
Mild Language Suggestive Themes
GAMECUBE
FEBRUARY
RING A BELL?
Animal, vegetable, or mineral? ina t, he looks like а cac
he ike a man, he runs like the hat on earth could thi on guy be?
The game that keeps on giving
After beating a particularly good game, have you ever wished that it could just keep going on forever? Final Fantasy Xl is the answer to your prayers. And we're not talking about the pointless leveling chores that plague most massively multiplayer online RPGs. Oh, there may be times where you'll want to go slay countless sheep to level up, but you'll never have to—there's always something else to do. Every town has citizens who need jobs completed and guardsmen who need mis- sions carried out for the good of the nation. Completing odd jobs earns you gil, while doing missions advances the central story of the game. Yes, you can beat FFX/ by completing the last mission...but by the time you get that far (months after you begin), you can count on at least one expansion pack having been released. So, OK, it may not literally go on forever...but it's close enough to make no difference.
Publisher: Sony CEA Developer: Square Enix USA Release Date: March
Nightshade
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
MAXIMO — 9wMAXIMO | ARME ZN Is BACK. | AND THIS TIME
IT'S WAR.
Unleash the terrifying power of Grim. “ = w
AVAILABLE JANVARY 2004
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SYPHON FILTER
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SYPHON FILTER
VISIT SCENIC CARTHAGE!
HAVING TROUBLE COMPLETING ALL THE OBJECTIVES IN THE SYPHON FILTER DEMO? THIS WALKTHROUGH WILL HELP
You begin on:the streets of Carthage, Michigan, ©
next to the building that was partially destroyed by the car bomb; Before you do anything, turn around and grab the pistol out of the case behind you; it fires in three-round bursts, which will deplete your ammo quickly, but it's also the gun that all the cool terrorists are wearing this season, so you'll find plenty of replacements.
Your first order of business is to protect the Carthage Health Authority officer, who's taking fire from terrorists down the street to your right. Don't get too close, though; he doesn't know you and will assume you're just another gun-toting terrorist. Take out all the legitimate terrorists in the area, and he'll realize you're on his side and leave you alone.
Lock-on is your friend here: Tap and hold R1, and you'll target the closest enemy. You can run around all you want and you'll stay locked on, as long as you're within your weapon's range. You'll notice that the targeting cursor changes color if you continue to hold down R1. Green is the weak- est lock, meaning many of your shots will go wide of their target. Red is the strongest lock, mean- ing you'll be seeing a lot more red coming out of the bullet wounds your enemy will be sporting momentarily. So, red: good. Green: not so good. Remember it:
Once the threat is eliminated, look for the dark alley to the left of the parking garage. Climb up the fire escape (hit ©) and head inside. You'll see a door on your left with a keypad lock. The CHA officer down the hall has the code. But how to get it from him without Killing him or yourself?
CONTINUED ON PAGE 90 W
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
SAME AS IT EVER WAS...
The fact that you no longer control Gabe in Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is the least of the changes made for the first PS2 installment of this long-running series. A new platform, a new game engine, a new cast of char- acters, even a new real-world contro- versy—The Omega Strain is not merely a prettied-up version of the successful PS1 franchise. And that's not even mentioning what is easily the biggest addition: four-player cooperative online play.
To get the whole story, we talked with Creative Director John Garvin and Technical Director Chris Reese of Sony Bend, the studio responsible for the three previous Syphon Filter games. (Located in Bend, Oregon, the studio was known as Eidetic before it was bought by Sony.) One of the biggest surprises for us was learning that Gabe had been promoted out of the position of main character, and we wondered why.
Garvin sets us straight in a hurry. “Gabe is still the main character,” he points out. “He is the commander-in- chief, the head of the Agency, and the man calling the shots. You follow his story, often through what you see and overhear in the Agency headquarters. You actually help him find a cure for the Omega Strain and break open the conspiracy. You watch as Gabe comes very close to the edge in what he is willing to do to get to Niculescu and expose Meta Global Funds. The differ- ence is that you don't play [as] Gabe; you create your own agent who has his or her own career to think about.”
“Going multiplayer, of course, was
the biggest reason not to have gamers playing as Gabe,” Reese chimes in. “We wanted players to create their own identity and be able to achieve goals, stats, and weapons on their own.”
“Plus,” adds Garvin, “we could not very well have four Gabe Logans run- ning around the streets of Carthage; there is only one Gabe Logan.”
But all it takes is one Gabe Logan to sell some 3 million Syphon Filter games. He more than holds his own against the Solid Snakes and Sam Fishers of the world—not that the developers consider them competition. "We like to play lots of games around here,” Garvin says, “and we see ele- ments in all of them that we think are pretty cool. But none of them have cap- tured that action-movie feel that we go for. We wish someone would, because then we could play a Syphon Filter
game we didn’t work on.”
He's not exaggerating. Both Garvin and Reese—along with a significant portion of the rest of the Omega Strain team—have been creating Syphon Filters since the first game. They live and breathe Syphon Filter and can recall characters, plot lines, and levels at the drop of a hat. “My personal favorite is the church level in the first Syphon Filter,” Garvin confesses. “1 like the setting—the rooftops, the cata- combs where you fight with Lian, the breaking through the stained glass window, the climbing puzzles, the overall layout. | also like what the level reveals: You think you're running around vaccinating all the poor victims in the mission, only to discover later that Markinson had tricked Gabe and was using Gabe to murder them all. That's classic Syphon Filter."
A dynamic map will let you choose which objectives you want to show up as waypoints on your radar.
аж We
186/188
syphon timeline
I 1984 AUGUST Lawrence Mujari, a soldier fighting against apartheid, infiltrates a South African mine to free the indentured workers. He discov- ers that many workers have been exposed to a biological agent unearthed deep within the mines.
O 17 мА SG Gabe Logan, an officer in the Army Special Forces, is assigned to a convoy shipping arms to Kabul, Afghanistan. He meets Lian Xing, who helps him make the delivery to the Afghan rebels.
[511993 APRIL EI аа Gabe Logan is recruited into “the Agency,” a secret organization within the U.S. govern- ment whose purpose is to monitor and police the activities of other government agencies.
| „11994 SEPTEMBER - 1996 JANUARY | Gabe recruits Teresa Lipan into the Agency. She is sent to South Africa to investigate possible bioweapons research. There, she learns of a virus that seems to target distinct genetic groups of people. She works directly with Lawrence Mujari, who now works for Pharcom, a pharmaceutical corporation based in Kazakhstan.
| |1995 DECEMBER
Gabe recruits Lian Xing into the Agency.
| 11997 NOVEMBER і Agency Director Thomas Markinson orders Teresa to assassinate Mujari and destroy all of his lab records. She refuses, resigns from the Agency, and goes into hiding in Arizona.
211999 AUGUSTOG | Gabe and Lian are ordered by Agency Deputy Director Benton to infiltrate the Costa Rican base of international
terrorist Erich Rhoemer and capture his medical technicians.
SYPHON FILTER 1 BEGINS
[1999 АСЫ зен ег Rhoemer attacks Washington, D.C., with viral bombs. Gabe is sent in to diffuse the situa- tion. The D.C. subway system is destroyed, and Rhoemer escapes.
[1999 AUGUST 24 omm Blood analysis from Rhoemer’s men reveals similarities to a series of antiviral drugs manufactured by Pharcom.
[1999 AUGUST 27 After accessing Pharcom’s computer files, Gabe discovers that Benton is a double agent. Markinson sends Gabe and Lian to Rhoemer's military base in Kazakhstan. Lian is captured.
25) ш a 1999 SEPTEMBER 06
Markinson reveals to Gabe the existence of a genetically engineered virus called Syphon Filter. Gabe and Markinson infiltrate Rhoemer's prison stronghold in Ukraine. Gabe rescues Lian, who has been infected with the Syphon Filter virus.
Gabe travels to Kazakhstan to access Pharcom's computers. He discovers Markinson there and learns Markinson want- ed the Syphon Filter virus for the Agency. Rhoemer arrives and murders Markinson. Gabe kills Rhoemer and loads the Pharcom disks on a plane to return to the United States. An Agency hit squad captures Lian.
SYPHON FILTER 2 BEGINS
M 1999 SEPTEMBER 08 ed Gabe’s plane is shot down over the Rockies. Lian is taken to an Agency base in Colorado. She escapes, steals a chopper, and rescues Gabe and the data disks.
Me 2999 SEPTEMBER 15 | Lian slips into a coma. Gabe contacts Lyle Stevens and offers to trade the data disks for a cure for Lian. They meet at the Agency Labs in New York, where Gabe is taken pris- oner. He escapes his cell and makes Dr. Elsa Weissinger prepare a vaccine. Gabe kills Stevens. Teresa is killed while trying to extract Gabe.
SYPHON FILTER 3 BEGINS M1999 OCTOBER O4 e Agency activities have been officially sus- pended by order of the State Department. Gabe and Lian are subpoenaed to appear before closed hearings with U.S. Secretary of State Vincent Hadden.
| [1999 OCTOBER 14 Gabe travels to Ireland to sabotage shipment of stolen viral containers.
I 1999 OCTOBER 15 |] Lian learns that one of the key leaders in the Syphon Filter consortium is Vince Hadden,
the man prosecuting Gabe, Lian, and Mujari.
[I] 1999 OCTOBER 18 Gabe brings out his surprise witness: Teresa Lipan. Gabe attempts to arrest Hadden, but Mara Aramov intervenes and kills Hadden. Gabe captures Mara.
PRELUDE TO OMEGA STRAIN m New U.S. President Warren Pierce establish- es the International Presidential Consulting Agency, directed with locating and eliminat- ing terrorist threats to the United States.
LI
Gabe Logan is made commander-in-chief of the IPCA. He appoints Lian Xing, Teresa Lipan, and Lawrence Mujari to the new Agency, among others.
| 12003 FEBRUARY - MAY md Outbreaks of nonlethal, Syphon Filter-like virus in Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria,
and Greece.
| 12003 AUGUST - 2004 MARCH | Outbreaks of stronger Syphon Filter-like virus in Spain, Malta, Finland, Uganda, Italy, and Michigan. Fourteen people die.
[ [2004 MARCH15 і Mujari is sent to Carthage, Michigan, to investigate. He disappears.
| [2006 APRILIS ы Agency operatives Imani Gray and Alima Haddad are sent to Carthage to investigate the outbreak and Мијагі'ѕ disappearance.
SYPHON FILTER: THE OME STRAIN BEGINS..
SYPHON FILTER
Hit Select, and you'll bring up your stun jack— this won't kill the guy, but it'll make him twitch a little. (Well, a lot.] Sneak up behind him, holding % to crouch, and zap him.
Head back to the locked door, but before you do anything, why not try shooting the keypad (hit L1 to go into first-person targeting mode) to see what happens? Oh look, the door opened. Guess
you didn't have to zap that guy after all. At least. .
you got a new gun out of the deal. Grab the bio- data gear and a new flak jacket and get back down to street level.
More terrorists—where did they come from? Oh well, time to do a little more street cleaning. This is a good opportunity to try some head Shots: While targeting an enemy with R1, press L1. You'll go into first-person mode with your tar- get centered on the bad guy. Now bring your tar- get up ever so slightly. If you see a red bar that says “Headshot,” you're in the right place. Fire, dammit.
Now that things are a little quieter, head back to the dark alley to find your first water sample. Before you vacate the area, let's take a look at a couple of secrets you'll be able to access with the help of another human being—once: you go online with the full game. )
First, note the water-main valve in the corner of the alley. Open it, then race across the street into the burning building. Iriside, you'll find Broussard's laptop. Was it water-damaged by the time you got to it? Try running faster. Faster. FASTER!! No good? Well, that's probably because you can't actually retrieve the laptop without the help of another human. If you were playing this level online, a teammate stationed outside the
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
As in previous Syphon Filters, a danger gauge gives you an indi- cation of when to duck and roll.
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„ОМУ DIFFERENT
The trick is to make The Omega Strain every bit as much a classic, while also making a great number of changes. Some alterations are relatively minor: Accredited voice actors, for example, are now being used for the story seg- ments. (Reese and Garvin confess that much of the story in Syphon Filter 2 had to be cut because the voice acting was not up to their standards.) Some of the changes are less minor: Players now have a limited number of weapon slots, so you must intelligently swap out weapons over the course of a level. [To balance this, weapon crates will retain the weapons you swap for their con- tents.) And some of the changes are major departures for the series: The ability to create your own character rather than control Gabe Logan is one. The ability to play as a team with other user-created characters online is another. And a third factor helps bring these elements together: You earn new weapons, accessories, and awards by completing objectives within the mis- sions. The more you play—solo or online—the better you play, and the better you play, the more cool stuff you get, from new guns to new duds.
For example, in the game's first level (which, you may have already noticed, you can experience with the help of that round, plastic, platterlike device stuck in the middle of your mag- azine), you have seven major objec- tives. Complete them all, and you earn a field patch and a boost in rank. No biggie, right?
Well, if you complete them all while taking out enemies with more head shots than body shots, you get a bonus
item: the Dragunov sniper rifle. Now you can use the Dragunov in future missions, or even in the original mis- sion if you'd like to try for an even bet- ter rating. Have another go at the level, but aim for quantity over quality of. kills, and you'll get a different bonus item: the Gewehr 33E machine gun.
These are just two examples of bonuses you'll unlock; others range from the mostly cosmetic (different kinds of knives, for example] to the truly essential (increased health and armor capacity). You'll even unlock new abilities, like a head-snapping stealth move or a targeting modifier to let you lock on to your enemies’ skulls for instant head shots.
STOP PLAYING WITH YOURSELF And all of these new abilities can be used online, so the experience of play-
ing with your friends becomes as much about showing off your new skills and gear as it is about teaming up to beat the missions. “Multiplayer adds a lot more to the game than throwing out additional enemies for the players to take on,” Reese tells us. “There is a real sense that the missions can be accomplished in a more effective man- ner with the right team of players. It's all about achieving rewards and show- ing off to your friends what kind of an elite player you are by putting the smack down оп the enemies and accomplishing objectives.” Furthermore, as you progress through the game, your rank will improve, and you'll earn special com- mendations from the Agency. These are not just empty words; your charac- ter actually earns patches and medals upon completion of certain objectives.
ч bart Every level will have two or three. [Python] areas that can be reached only 4d with the help of another player. / гоокїе1 [Viper] a Cobra AC Y @ interact А Team member required
THE INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL CONSULTING AGENC
Returning Characters
Lian Xing
Chief of Operations. Formerly an operative inthe Chinese Secret Service, where she met Gabe on an operation in Afghanistan. Later an operative for the pre-IPCA Agency. Infected with Syphon Filter, but recovered with Gabes help.
Teresa Lipan
Deputy Chief of Operations. Formerly an ATF agent, later an operative for the pre-IPCA Agency. Fled the Agency rather than assassinating her friend Lawrence Mujari. Reports of her death
were greatly exaggerated.
Lawrence Mujari Assistant Chief of Operations, Head of Biological Science. Formerly a freedom fighter work- ing against apartheid in South Africa, later an employee of crooked pharmaceutical corpora- tion Pharcom. A pacifist.
Elsa Weissenger
Intelligence Supervisor, Assistant Head of Biological Science. Former employee of Pharcom, where she was instrumental in developing: the Syphon Filter virus. Later repented and allied with Gabe to help fight the Omega Strain.
New Characters
William Crusher “Crush”
Intelligence Officer, chopper pilot. Formerly a NATO peacekeeper, where he flew dozens of opera- tions, many under Stone. Somewhat simple-minded, but loyal almost to a fault.
Alima Haddad
Field Research Specialist, chopper pilot. Formerly a Marine. A native of Kuwait, her parents were killed in the Gulf War, prompting her to move to the US. She now claims dual citizenship in the U.S. and Kuwait. Daughter figure to Stone.
Gary Stoneman "Stone"
Intelligence Operations Commander. Formerly a Marine, later a CIA contract killer. Knows Gabe from work in Granada. May still have connections to the CIA. Father figure to Alima.
Imani Gray
Investigative Operations Commander, IPCA. Formerly a CIA. technology expert, where she worked with Stone. A Harvard graduate —with honors—she has precious little respect for raw recruits (e.g, you).
Gabe Logan
Commander-in-Chief. Formerly an officer in Army Special Forces; later an operative for the pre-IPCA Agency. Strong, silent type; all-around badass.
These awards can be displayed on your character’s clothing to prove to anyone you run into online just how much of a badass you are.
And, of course, certain bonus- es will be available only through online play. (Check out the demo walkthrough to the left for a cou- ple of examples.) "Our goal was to have at least one bonus weapon, item, or other reward per online mission,” says Garvin. "We didn't want the players who couldn't go online to feel like they were being excluded from too much gameplay—but we also. wanted to reward online players who could use things like the Buddy Climb to figure out how to complete team mission deadlines more quickly.”
If all this talk of team building and buddy climbing has left you deathmatch devotees with an itchy trigger finger—well, you might want to look elsewhere to
get your aggressions out. The Omega Strain is co-op only in online play. We wondered why the designers went this route, espe- cially considering Syphon Filter 2 introduced splitscreen death- match. “Co-op play,” Garvin tells us, “has been integral to the style of gameplay we created in our ‘buddy’ missions within the series. For instance, in Syphon Filter, players fought alongside Lian in the catacombs, while in Syphon Filter 2, players battled hand-in-hand with Chance and Teresa. We always wanted to cre- ate a game where we could play with our friends instead of against our friends. Also, a number of games feature player-versus- player battle modes. Not many console games, though, offer online cooperative play, so we're really providing players with a unique online experience.”
If you think this means online play is all flowers and sweet
gilbert e [Python]
bart ^ [Viper]
Each player gets an online call sign to help with commu- nication. Need help? Bring up a menu with the D-pad and select “Request assistance.” The other players will get a message, like “Viper needs help on the mezzanine.”
obra
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
SYPHON FILTER
building could grab the laptop before the water got to it, netting you a bonus objective.
The second item deals with that EMS trailer parked in the middle of the street. If you were playing with another person, you could have a teammate boost you up to the top of the trailer. From there, you could jump through that open window into a room containing some C4. You
would use it to blow open the subway gate at the end of the street, which offers quick access to Proust, the final objective. You'd still need to complete all the objectives in between, but this way, you could split your team in two and beat the mission in half the time.
But you're not playing online, are you? So let's move along. Continue down the street, and you'll see a glass-walled entryway to the subway sys- tem. Blast that terrorist and go on down. There are two terrorists at the bottom of the stairs; take them out, and you'll be able to pick up a combat shotgun, very powerful at close range.
A little ways down the hall, you'll see three terrorists pouring out of a side passage. Take them out—but before you go into the passage, look down the hall. To the left, you'll see a terror- ist marked as a "C4 Trigger Man." This guy is
dangerous: He has a dead-man switch wired to explosives in one of the storefronts on the left side of the hall. If he dies, the store'goes boom. So you'll want to take him out from a safe distance—a head shot with your pistol should do the job nicely.
Go down the passage and get yourself anoth- er water sample. Continue out the other side and turn right. You'll see another C4 aficionado at the bend in the hall. This time, it's the store on the right that's wired for an explosive party, so stay to the left. When you get near the stairs, turn left and go through the double doors. At the end of the long, dark hallway is another stairway lead- ing up to the street, but before-you get too close, stop and take out that C4-toting bastard.
Head up to street level, but before you break through the glass, hang back and try to take out the final C4 trigger man. Once he's disposed of, climb through the window and rescue anoth CHA officer. Now head down to the end of the street where the ambulance is parked. Behind the ambulance is a field lab unit with a ventilation
v
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
p p | М a te
We asked the developers if they could tell us any secrets about the level on our disc. “I would,” says Chris Reese, “but | fear that may put my life in jeopardy. Тһе only hint I will give you is to be very observant of your surroundings. It might come in handy to crawl around in a vent. Oh, see, | have already said too much.”
nothings whispered into your headset, you're way off. Sure, you're not shoot- ing at other humans, but this fact alone makes for a surprisingly refreshing online experience. Instead of the tense, drawn-out face-offs in a SOCOM match or the mindless, pointless death-and- resurrection cycles of Quake or Tribes, you have a fast-paced— but still very focused—experience continually driven forward by mission objectives. And instead of going one-on-one against unpredictable humans, you and three friends play as highly skilled soldiers who must face overwhelming odds. Because of this, surprisingly, the pace of the online experience has more in common with Gauntlet than with SOCOM. The checkpoint system means you don't even have to worry too much about survival; you end up fighting
for bonuses and bragging rights,
which makes for a much lighter, arcadelike experience.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT That's not to say the game is light fare by any means. In fact, the events of The Omega Strain converge so closely with reality that it caused problems for the team in the real world. The game was originally slated to include a level set in the subways of Toronto, where the player would need to fight against the (fictional) Quebec Liberation Front. Unfortunately, Canadian officials thought the QLF bore a little too close a resemblance to the now-disbanded separatist group Front de liberation du Quebec, which murdered a Quebec cabinet minister in 1970.
And the Toronto Transit Commission. wasn't terribly pleased with the
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ереси information. REFLECTIONS WWW.DRIV3R.COM
SYPHON FILTER |
duct snaking out into the street. Walk up to it and hit @ to crawl inside.
You'll come out into a room with CHA suits; grab one, and those ungrateful officers will stop shooting at you. Crawl through the duct next to the suits to get out. You'll emerge in a square with a fountain; take out the terrorists to save two more CHA officers, then get another water sam- ple from the fountain.
Now head over to the triage tent. Go inside and turn right. You'll find a body on a stretcher— it's just waiting for you to try out your field autop- sy skills. Once that gruesome task is done, head
outside and go across the square to climb back into the ventilation unit. Continue through the changing room until you're back by the ambu- lance. Head down to the other end of the street and climb into that ventilation tube. If you see a lot of computers at the other end, you're in the right place.
Make two lefts through the tent to exit into a tiny courtyard with a generator in it. Turn оп the generator, then go back inside the tent and turn left to activate the Bio-data Scanning Machine. As soon as you turn it on, you'll need to run back out to the courtyard; terrorists will be swarming around the generator, trying to destroy it;
90721
Stick close to the generator and defend it while the timer counts down. Once the scanning is complete, climb through the duct by the scan- ning station to exit the tent. Save your final CHA officer and collect another water sample from the fire hydrant. Climb the wall to the left of the metal gate to get into the subway system again.
Look, another ventilation duct! Climb on in. This is a good time to try out your flashlight if you haven't already: Just tap Right on your D-pad.
94 ) Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
i
From time to time, you will be required to perform stealth missions. These often take place outside the main story line in flashbacks or side stories.
prospect of gamers shooting up the subway system, either. “The fact is, someone is putting the Toronto subway as a terrorist site,” a spokeswoman told the Canadian press. “That is a very dangerous thing to do. We have to be careful about letting some person who's doing something that really doesn't seem ethically correct pit Canadians against Canadians.” As a result of the complaints, Sony vowed to remove any “component related to the Quebec separatist adventure.”
And this isn’t the first time a Syphon Filter game has hit a little too close to home. Syphon Filter 3 was originally slated to release in the fall of 2001, but in the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York City, the decision was made to delay the game—which, completely coincidentally, included levels set in Kabul, Afghanistan. All this led us to wonder if such realistic plot elements were worth the effort.
“We have always set Syphon Filter in real-world settings,” Garvin tells us, “and based the plot on realistic world events. We created the bioterrorism plot long before it was a buzzword, and the plot of the first Syphon Filter dealt with weapons of mass destruction long before September 11. But we have always been careful not to use real ter- rorist groups; for instance, in SF3, we chose not to use the IRA because we were concerned that real-world events might get too close to what we were doing in the game. We have no desire to offend anyone, but we want to keep the game as real as possible, because that's what we are interested in—and because we feel it gives the gameplay scenarios a little more resonance. We
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Gaming Screens
Racing Wheels
Aluminum Protective Cases
Maximum CEs lale)
For PlayStation” 2
©2003 Intec, Inc. All rights reserved.PlayStation? 2 is a registered trademark of Sony® Computer Entertainment sponsored, endorsed or distributed by Nintendo? of America Inc., Sony® Computer Entertainment Inc. or Microsoft Corporation.
Inc. These items are produced by Intec and are not manufactured,
SYPHON FILTER
Once you get out of the duct, turn right to take out the terrorists there and grab yourself a FA-MAS rifle. Oh my, yes. You'll also be taking your last water sample here.
Head down to the subway platform. Turn right and descend into the darkness. Yes, it's really dark. But one of those guys you just killed was carrying something that will come in very handy. Simply hold down Right on your: D-pad
until the icon under your health bar changes from a flashlight to what looks like a pair of gog- gles. Now tap Right—your new night-vision gog- gles will become fully active. Oooh, green.
Don't miss the FA-MAS bullets and flak jacket down here. Continue upstairs to the far platform, turn'right, and go upstairs to the power-supply Switch. Flip it and head back down to take a walk
Fév er Supply
on the newly de-electrified tracks. While headed down this long tunnel, you'll run into guys.chuck- ing blinding flashbang grenades at you; if, you hear a clink-clink, turn away from the grenade and its effect will be negligible.
At the end of the tunnel is another subway station. Head up to the top of the stairs. To the left is a counter, and behind that counter is Proust, wearing a flak jacket and toting a pretty fierce piece. Hope you've been practicing your head shots. If so; he's history—just one shot is all it takes. If not, you'll have to dance around while you wear down his flak jacket; either way, you'll take him out eventually.
Congratulations, recruit. Assuming you've completed all the previous objectives: properly, you have now successfully finished your first Omega Strain mission.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
Certain levels will require you to extract.
slow with a body slung over your back.
gilbert [Dragon] a E Р 4" в = s в
hostages or incapacitated civilians. The going's
rookie [Python]
bart [Viper]
think that players are growing tired of the same old comic-book villains. So, as always, we try to be fair in our depiction of events, and we take care not to offend, but we will not back down from our real-world scenarios.” Want proof? We asked Garvin for a little background to set up the level that you'll be playing on this month's demo disc. “At the end of Syphon Filter 3," he tells us, “Gabe is put in charge of anew Agency, Mara escapes from prison, and the future looks bright. In the two years since, Gabe has built a new Agency called the IPCA, a “black box” oversight agency with the cover name International Presidential Consulting Agency. The primary focus has been investigating a number of suspicious outbreaks of a virus similar to Syphon Filter, primarily in third- world countries. The investigation real- ly takes off when Dr. Elsa Weissenger appears out of nowhere. In her detailed deposition, it’s revealed that Mara was not working for Hadden, but for some European financier. Right about the same time, a Chechen arms dealer starts making the rounds to black- market arms dealers around the world, offering to sell a bioweapon: the Omega Strain. All hell breaks loose when the Omega Strain shows up in the Michigan port city of Carthage. Gabe sends Mujari to investigate, Mujari disappears, and Gabe sends a new team led by Imani Gray to find out why. As a new agent, you are assigned to that team, and the game begins. “During the course of the game, the player will help Gabe stop the Chechen terrorists, finally unmask the Syphon Filter conspiracy and Mara's connec-
12/120
tion to it, uncover the man in shadow, and even help find a cure for the Omega Strain with their field work.”
GETTING IT RIGHT
If you're itching to get your hands on the game, we don’t blame you. You got опе level with your magazine this month—but you're going to have to wait a while for the final game. It's been delayed until May, from its origi- nal planned release date of February. No nefarious villains or global cata- strophes caused this delay, though; the game just isn’t done yet.
“We were incredibly ambitious from the very start of this project,” Reese confesses, "and we were determined to introduce multiplayer in a way that would not detract from the single- player game, but actually enhance it.”
Garvin concurs. “The leap to the next-generation platform was not nearly as daunting as making the leap to online play,” he says. “We were challenged with reinventing Syphon Filter for a dynamic online experience, while making sure the single-player game was fun and rewarding, too. We didn't want either to feel tacked on, and I think we've succeeded. We know our fans are anxious to get their hands on the game, but we're convinced they will think the extra time was worth it.
“Our goal always is to make the next game better than the last on all levels: gameplay, story line, characters, weapons, missions, and cool stuff. Thankfully, the genre is huge and we still have a lot of game to build. We've only scratched the surface of what we can do with the Syphon Filter world.”
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aa romo and Alrtorce Delta Strike™ are either ORATION, ©2004 KONAMI & Konami Computer Entertainment Studios: Lockheed Martin trademarks used undor license to Konami Co Management Company, Produced under a license from. уа peed mar license from BAE SYSTEMS PLC, Certain Aircraft names and designs are protected by trademarks, copyright and
and are not to be reproduced except as permitted by the written (STEMS PLC. With support of JGSDF, JMSDF, and JASDF. ©2004 Logitech. All rights reserved, Logitech, the Logitech logo а!
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NS 5 x (7
MEET THE
CRITICS
JOHN DAVISON John's New Year's resolution: pick a haircut and stick with it. And play more SOCOM II. Current Favorites: NFSU, SOCOM II, Prince of Persia Favorite Genres: Driving and shooting
DANA JONGEWAARD
Dana was excited about her new job at OPM—till she had to review American Idol. Current Favorites: Anything not based on a TV show Favorite Genres: RPG, Puzzle, Adventure
JOE RYBICKI Joe couldn't decide which frightened him more: Fatal Frame II or Lowrider. Current Favorites: Fatal Frame Il, SOCOM И Favorite Genres: Puzzle, Adventure, Online Shooting
CHRIS BAKER
At the VGA after-party, Chris "accidentally" grazed Jenna Jameson as she walked by. Current Favorites: Baldur's Gate: DA Il, Maximo vs. AOZ Favorite Genres: Action, Adventure, Strategy, Sports
THIERRY (SCOOTER) NGUYEN With Gary gone, Scooter became our Man in Japan. He loves Pocari Sweat now. Current Favorites: FFX-2, Prince of Persia, Dark Cloud 2 Favorite Genres: FPS, RPG, pretending to be Japanese
GIANCARLO VARANINI Giancarlo wants to buy a $150 wheel just for 074 Prologue. Yes, he's an idiot. Current Favorites: 074 Prologue, R&C: GC, Madden Favorite Genres: Sports, Action, Driving, Sitting
> ZIN IS IN
Old school to the
There wasn't a whole lot that was really e;
PS2 GAMES
101 American Idol
105 Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II
101 Blowout
102 Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums
101 EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers
102 Fatal Frame Il: Crimson Butterfly
102 Haunted Mansion
103 Intellivision Lives!
103 Jeopardy!
103 Lowrider
104 Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
100 Maximo vs. Army of Zin
103 Mission: Impossible- Operation Surma
104 Monster 4x4: Masters of Metal
99 Sonic Heroes 104 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
PERIPHERALS 105 24GHz Wireless Controller 105 BFM-V9000
REVIEWS
R RRRI RRR
BRI RRR RRRR RRR RRR RRS RI RRRI RHR RR RHI RR
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Making the world a more perfect place.
onic used to be a relative- © ly simple blue hedgehog. His life revolved around running really fast, freeing cute, fuzzy creatures from their mechanical confines, and occa- sionally beating the snot out of the evil Dr. Robotnik. But at some point, Sonic Team thought it would be a good idea to give Sonic some animal friends with abilities that complement his speed. These characters added some variation to Sonic’s otherwise straightfor- ward adventures, but with Sonic Heroes, it's now clear that they've aided in the destruction of a once proud franchise.
Each of Sonic Heroes' four teams has a speed character, fly- ing character, and strength char- acter, who has the ability to smash objects and glide. You can switch among these characters at any time during a level, although
some spots require a specific character's skill to pass. At any rate, with the exception of the Sonic-type speed characters, none of these characters are all that fun to control, mainly because they slow the дате’ pace. In addition, the speed char- acters have a tricky jump attack that becomes the source of some major problems later in the game because of its inconsistent behav- ior—sometimes it works properly and sometimes it doesn't, but either way, it seems to be based more on luck than skill.
But let's give credit where it's due—Sonic Heroes is a giant mess on the whole. For starters, you encounter plenty of nice little glitches throughout the game, including random spots where characters just fall through solid objects because of some lame collision detection.
Walking up a ramp only to see Sonic (or whichever furry you're controlling) fall right through it is incredibly irritating, to say the least. Then there's the camera, which isn’t actually all that bad, until you try adjusting it manually, which you have to do to find some secret areas. For some reason, the camera doesn’t move back to its default position right away, but instead occupies a spot behind the lead character's head, obscur-
HERO SANDWICH
But hold the suckiness
With the exception of Sonic, and pos- sibly Knuckles, all of the characters in Sonic Heroes are just plain stupid
ing enemies and obstacles and making jumps more difficult. The lack of polish doesn't end there. The level design for a good portion of the game is sloppy at best, featuring very few truly entertaining moments. It just feels like you're playing through the same section (albeit with a few adjustments) multiple times before the ending area magically appears. Interestingly, the levels for the Chaotix team are a little different than the others—they require you to search for certain items. While this seems like a nice departure initially, it becomes painfully clear that
these are the worst levels, simply because their design really isn't conducive to searching for tiny objects.
If you've been an ardent fol- lower of all things Sonic over the past few years, then you'll likely be disappointed by Sonic Heroes’ lack of polish. And you'll be more
disappointed by the fact that this game does little to return the series back to what made it so fun to begin with. New characters plus less-than-stellar level design equals disappointment.
Giancarlo Varanini
DE
SONIC HEROES
Where's Sonic going next? Into the garbage can, that's where!
Publisher: Sega Developer: Sonic Team MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Everyone
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
ny old-school gamer who ever laments that “they sure don't make ‘em like they used to” hasn't played Maximo: Ghosts to Glory—for better or for worse. The debut of Capcom's hero in hearted boxers to 3D is a gameplay-driven expe- rience full of platforming and good ol’ hack-’n’-slash elements. Only thing is, its obscene difficulty reminds us that some elements pertaining to the games of yore have disappeared for a reason. Army of Zin moves the series in a positive direc- tion. What Ghosts did well, Zin does better; what Ghosts did poorly, Zin improves. The solid gameplay remains, with a few new attack moves added as well. Maximo can even save him- self from falling to his death by sticking his blade into а ledge, then hoisting himself up. Something also has to be said for the game's look. Though weak in texture use in some spots, Zin maintains the original's great graphics and adds some even better music that suits the action at hand. The look of Maximo, his world, and all of its denizens capably blends a feel of cartoon- ish humor with an all-business, heroic tone. At a time when moral ambiguity marks just about every new videogame star, it's nice to see а charac- ter so purely heroic.
In an attempt to further emphasize Махіе 5 hero- ism, Zin presents him with frequent (arguably too тапу) chances to save others from the Army of Zin, a robotic legion powered by human life force. If our scar-faced protago- nist (the story details the origin of his distinguishing battle mark) rescues a peasant or soldier, he’s rewarded with keys, koins, or other useful accessories; saving a peddler [even the ones who
MAXIMO V5. ARMY OF ZIN
For anyone who longs to play 'em like they used to
Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Teen
Official US. PlayStation Magazine. ( |
ТЕ
"Му hero!” Saving dames (and dudes) in peril nets Maximo koins and power-ups
( SAVE THE BABES 707
inexplicably make a living in the human-free, highly dangerous bowels of the earth), can net him powered-up weapons, items, moves...and boxers. These magi- cal BVDs allow for souped-up abilities. My only complaint: You can only equip one at a time, and switching among them grows tiresome. Each boasts useful, but limited, power, so there's no rea- son you shouldn't permanently possess one’s capability once you buy a pair.
Of all Zin’s improvements, the most marked is the fun factor. A big part of this has to do with the toned-down difficulty—instead of being next to impossible, Zin 15 merely really freakin’ tough. Even when you die frequently (5оте- times cheaply), the game never feels unbeatable—and it never is. However, don't be surprised if you start giving the sturdiness of
your controller a workout near the end, when there are too many places to fall to your death (often unfairly, due to camera flaws).
The Death Koins continue sys- tem is used again, and it is still frustrating: Running out of koins means starting all the way back at the beginning of a level, instead of at the last checkpoint. Only the most hardcore gamers could possibly enjoy this archaic continue method. This system makes Zin more difficult than it ought to be—and it’s plenty diffi- cult to begin with.
Still, Zin is one fun game for anyone who longs to play ‘em like they used to. With a little more refinement, Capcom could have a truly great series on its hands by the time Maximo 3 comes around. Chris Baker
ROHS
JUST A LITTLE POPULAR
When the call went out for auditions for season three of American Idol, more than 70,000 people responded.
American Idol
American Idol
AMERICAN IDOL Publisher: Codemasters
Developer: Hothouse Creations
MSRP: $9999 ESRB: Everyone There's something fundamentally wrong about the fact that you can beat American Idol—and not miss a single note—with the sound off.
The game gives you the oppor- tunity to compete against other contestants for a shot at being the next American Idol. After making important decisions about things like your wardrobe, hairstyle, and eye shadow intensity, you're allowed to select a song from a list of easy-listening favorites. Rather than have you do any real singing, American Idol instead emulates DDR and has you punching buttons (or using your dance раа) in time to the music. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson provide lackluster voiceovers for the evaluations; vic- tories unlock additional outfits.
In addition to competition, there are four other modes, but none of them actually offers any gameplay. In karaoke and party play modes, your character mouths the words to your song of choice, and you're supposed to sit there and sing along. There's no way for the game to rate you, although in party play mode, you and your friends can rate each other. And jukebox mode lets you listen to game characters sing the songs. Whoopee!
There's really no reason to buy this game. If you like karaoke, get Karaoke Revolution. If you like punching buttons, DDR will fit the bill. And if you actually like the type of music that's performed on American Idol, then just tune in to your local lite-rock station.
Dana Jongewaard
Blowout
Blowout
| BLOWOUT
| Publisher: Majesco Developer: Terminal Reality MSRP: $999 ESRB: Teen Seeing Blowout's $10 price tag
| might lead you to assume that it outright sucks. Not so. It's actually a decided step above all-out medi- ocrity—a slight one, granted, but still a pleasant surprise.
Blowout most obviously com- pares to a Contra game because of its 2D-shooter look and feel. As the game progresses, you collect a variety of weapons (machine gun, shotgun, flamethrower, etc.) and pretty much just blast the crap out of every mutant insect, crustacean, and what-the-hell-izzit in front of you. And while the large boss char- acters who make no biological sense also have Contra written all over them, the game's emphasis on platforming and—welcome or not— backtracking actually sparks m ories of old-school Metroid. Meanwhile, its map system seems ripped almost straight out of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.
Come to think of it, the only real hint of originality comes by way of Blowout's control scheme. This could be the only PlayStation game I've ever played that uses almost every button except X. Not a big deal, but worth noti
Unfortunately, the only thing worth noting about the game's hero, Marshall "Dutch" Cane, is that he's easily the most pathetic attempt at creating a videogame badass I've seen in a long, long time. And do they really have to make a joke about his cigar smok- ing once every seven minutes? Let the man char his lungs already! Since no one will pay attention to his game, the man deserves a vice. Chris Baker
d
Damage per second each £Q player (in a eroup of 200) had to inflict on The Sleeper (a dragon with 10 billion hit points) in order to kill it within four hours.
\ Lumagipal
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EVEROUEST
ADVENTURES: FRONTIERS
А worthy update-just don't play it alone
Publisher: Sony Online Entertainment Developer: Sony Online Entertainment MSRP:$2999 ESRB: Teen
rontiers is a puzzling
Е game: It's pretty damn
good when you're play- ing with a bunch of cool people, but there aren't nearly enough people playing it. And frankly, there won't be unless more of you buy it. But if you're not pre- disposed to liking MMORPGs in general, much less EQOA, | wouldn't really recommend this game. So, | ultimately find myself wanting to like it more than | actually do like it.
Total newbies to MMORPGs will have a pretty rough begin- ning with Frontiers. While the tutorial is decent, the game still has some newbie-unfriendly elements. For one thing, you can never tell where the hell you are, since there's no in-game map. But the worst aspect of the new- bie experience is the lack of low- level players. In EverQuest, you'd often be awash in random peo- ple’s typings, whether they were selling items, looking for a group, or shrieking for help. After starting a newbie character here, however, | hardly saw any- body—I can literally count the number of people | ran into (besides my coworkers) on one hand. Early on, a quest pretty much requires you to group together, and | had a hard time even doing that.
Contentwise, while the graph- ical updates seem more like a
touch-up than an overhaul, Frontiers adds quite a bit to the core game. The addition of ogres as a race (cool) and alchemist as а class (questionable) are solid. Trade skills have been added for this one, so you're not limited to just killing and looting—you can make a reasonable living by. crafting items, just like in the PC game. Finally, there's a whole lotta new areas to explore, with some cool high-level dungeons and quests hidden in the world.
And it's at the higher levels that the EverCrack feeling starts to kick in. New high-level dun- geons, such as the Pirate Cove or the Barren Coast, are filled with good players fighting, loot- ing, laughing, and loving—all the good and sociable players are high level. Abilities, spells, and epic quests are all much better at higher levels, as well, but
Target
ONLINE
alas, it takes an obscenely long time to reach these epic levels. You're going to need to kiss most of your life away if you're starting from scratch.
Again, | find myself wanting more people to play Frontiers, so 1 can have a better experience. But | can't just say, “go buy this,” because odds are, if you don’t understand the phrase “14 druid LFG! will also SOW,” then this is not the game for you. Unless you have friends already playing or a high tolerance for monotony, you might want to give Frontiers a pass, especially with Final Fantasy XI around the corner. But if you're already zipping around Norrath with your cool level-55 monk, then this is a pretty awe- some expansion for you.
Thierry Nguyen
dodo dod
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (101
® REVIEW
Can we turn the lights on now?
FATAL FRAME
CRIMSON BUTTERFLY
If it doesn't scare you, you're already dead
Publisher: Tecmo Developer: Project Zero MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Mature read is a complex emo- tion. More powerful than shock (think dogs jump- ing through windows) or revul- sion (dogs with oozing, four-way- splitting heads jumping through windows], it's much more diffi- cult to sustain. Dread must be nurtured with horror, carefully regulated so as not to desensi-
(102) Offical US. PI (02) олер! us.
tize the recipient. Make the horror too frequent, and it becomes commonplace; too infrequent, and the recipient has time to recover.
Crimson Butterfly walks that fine line very well, throwing some disturbing visuals at you before backing off just long enough so you almost start to feel like you're safe...and then coming back at you twice as hard as before. It toys with you coyly, snatching away your flashlight here, swiping your camera there. But to my great relief, it never gets as nasty with you as in the previous game.
Whereas the first Fatal Frame requires you to hoard your film and health items like priceless jewels, Crimson Butterfly is a bit more generous. Right off the bat, you get an [admittedly weak] endless roll of film, so if things get really bad, you can always fall back on it. Things tend not to get that bad, though, as | found just enough of the more powerful film when and where | needed it. It's a similar situation with health items, which seemed plentiful but not ubiquitous—not so many that you stop feeling nervous, but not so few that you start feeling frustrated. Which leaves you free to feel just plain scared.
Another great tactic is being forced to lead your twin sister around the village. She has а bad leg and can’t гип as fast as you, so you're limited to a quick hobble as you try to get away from the specters. Things get even more tense as you learn
that the entire history of the village revolves around sets of ill-fated twins.
These techniques are all the more impressive to me because | found Crimson Butterfly's premise to be less scary than the original game's. Perhaps it's the ancient Japanese village setting; | was able to overcome the cultural barrier of the Japanese mansion in Fatal Frame, but adding a barrier of time as well as culture—well, it's just too far removed from my life. | guarantee, if this game were set in the suburban Midwest, it would make me weep like a little girl. As it is, it just makes me shake a little. That may also be due to the somewhat less terrifying ghost designs—shades of villagers with torches just don’t scare me that much. (Although | must admit that the laughing girl in the bloodstained kimono standing on a pile of corpses did make me want to go finda happy place.)
As with most games like this, your mileage may vary. You may be less willing than | am to sus- pend your disbelief and give in to the game; you may not be will- ing to make the commitment of playing only at night, in the dark, with the surround sound cranked up. If so, it may not be as scary for you. But one thing | can guarantee: If you like to be scared, you owe it to yourself to play this game.
Joe Rybicki
do dodo do
Carmen Sandiego
Carmen Sandiego
SANDIEGO: THE
Publisher: BAM! Entertainment Developer: Artificial Mind & Movement MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Everyone It was with some sadness that | discovered that Carmen Sandiego: The Secret of the Stolen Drums does not come with a spiffy World Almanac. Those of you who've played these games in the past will also be disappointed to find out that you don't perform investigative work (questioning witnesses, examining evidence] to generate an arrest warrant for a particular criminal, eventually working your way up to catching Sandiego her- self. Rather, you get a run-of-the- mill action-adventure game with sprinkles of puzzle solving and fact learning tossed in.
As Cole Gannon, you run around, hit robots and monsters with your staff, collect puzzle pieces, and use said pieces in actual puzzles relat- ed to the region (like unscrambling a tribal symbol). The puzzles and between-mission areas give you chunks of educational info, but the rest is just mediocre running, hit- ting, and jumping action.
For a potentially edutaining game aimed at youngsters, the stealth aspects [you often need to sneak behind Carmen's robots | to hit them) are a bit difficult; press | too hard on your analog stick, and | you're detected right away. Also, the camera gets sticky in the most annoying places.
It's sad to see an old franchise become something so generic—if | you're really set on learning some- | thing while you game, try listening to Ulysses on tape the next time |
| |
you play Ratchet & Clank, Thierry Nguyen
Haunted Mansion
Haunted Mansion
HAUNTED MANSION Publisher: TDK Mediactive
Developer: Disney Interactive
MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Teen
The box office success of both
| Pirates of the Caribbean and
Haunted Mansion has assured us that we'll be seeing a steady
stream of Disneyland-ride-based entertainment over the next few years. Cross your fingers, kids—
| maybe the next game will be Mad
Tea Party!
In what passes for plot in Haunted Mansion, main character Zeke Holloway stumbles upon a mansion, and he's then charged with eradicating the haunts con- tained within. Gameplay is very for- mulaic: Enter a room, fight off the various enemies (spiders, ghosts, knights in shining armor] who attack you, solve the puzzle so you can turn on the light, then use your
| soul catcher to collect the souls
hiding in the room. Also scattered throughout the mansion are vari- ous artifacts that earn you extra lives and additional courage. Combat is incredibly simple, Since your only weapon is the soul catcher, which has unlimited ammunition. The game even keeps a tally of the number of souls remaining in a room, so you're
| never stuck returning to previously
explored rooms to see if you've missed any. And if you do die of fright, you'll be resurrected in the exact same spot in battle, as long
| as you have lives left.
This is by no means an original game, nor is it very challenging, but | still had a decent time playing it. If you enjoy puzzle solving and are looking for a way to kill an afternoon, there are worse ways you could spend your time.
Dana Jongewaard
Intellivision Lives! (Shark! Shark!)
Publisher: Crave
Developer: Realtime
MSRP: $1999 ESRB: Everyone
“And so | sit here / With a condition
/ | really need my / Intellivision.” So laments the unnamed singer
of "My Intellivision,” one of eight |
amusing tracks inspired by Mattel |
|
Electronics’ early-'80s system that are included as background for Intellivision Lives!. Truth be told, I've kinda been feeling the same condi- tion myself lately—inner nostalgia has screamed at me to return to the games of my first console. |
Only thing is, now that my condi- | tion is remedied, I've figured outa | name for it: as-soon-as-l-actually- | play-these-again-l'lL-find-out-how- crappy-most-really-are-itis.
That's not to say Lives! isn't worth picking up—in fact, I'd encourage it for children of the '80s or hardcore gamers who yearn for a better understanding of gaming history. A few commercials starring the late George Plimpton enhance the package, as do the funny, inter- esting production notes. You even get an idea of what the system's odd controller was like by hitting Select in the middle of any game— some games even require it.
And just because most of the 60-plus games in this collection are nearly unplayable by today's stan- dards (don't let Frog Bog's amazing day-and-night graphics make you forget that its control totally bites], that doesn't mean they all blow. In fact, some remain downright fun (most notably Night Stalker, Snafu, Baseball, and Shark! Shark!) Of course, another 60 or so games are | excluded, mostly for licensing rea- sons. But you can't have every- thing. Most suck anyway.
Chris Baker
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Artech Studios
MSRP: $2999 ESRB: Everyone
He may yield to Johnny Gilbert when it comes to presenting the
| 5,200 answers in PS2 Jeopardy!, but
Alex Trebek has been kind enough to visit this review to offer a few that missed the cut. Lionel Richie has, for no apparent reason, also stopped by to correctly question each answer. Take it away, Alex... ALEX: Thank you, Chris. The category: Laziness. The answer: Just as it did with Wheel of Fortune, Artech has cut serious corners with Jeopardy!, making only these
| miniscule updates to the three-
year-old PS1 version.
| LIONEL: What are new
answers and partially = improved graphics? е ALEX: Correct! Next =? category: Obvious Omissions. Answer: With a USB port included on every PS2, Artech was foolish to leave out compatibility with this device for Jeopardy!.
LIONEL: What is a keyboard? Do that to me one more time, Alex! ALEX: Indeed. The category: Annoyances. Answer: The creepiest thing in PS2 Jeopardy!.
LIONEL: What is the freaky full- motion video of you, Alex? Ooh,
| could do this all night long!
ALEX: Precisely. Final category: Total Mediocrity. The answer: This entirely uninspired PS2 game may satisfy diehard fans of the show it's
| based on, but only because of fea-
tures like a sample contestant exam and a contestant profile
| saved on memory card.
LIONEL: What is Jeopardy!? Oh, what a feelin'! Chris Baker
Publisher: Jaleco
Developer: Pacific Century Cyber Works MSRP: $3999 ESRB: Teen
No matter what else you say about Lowrider, you can't claim it's pretty. From the menu screens to the low-polygon vehicles to the hilarious, badly drawn 2D crowds, this car-bouncing rhythm game [which in itself sounds like a weird joke) looks like the kind of thing a couple of bored college students would put together in their free time. Or maybe a couple of horny
| college students would be more
accurate, judging from the loading screens [why does Whitesnake come to mind?) and the assort- ment of just-barely-PG-13 hood murals offered as customizations for your ride.
The ultrasimplistic gameplay doesn't do much to change the first impression delivered by the bargain-basement presentation. The gameplay consists mostly of timed bounces. You get points for bouncing well (I swear I'm not making any of this up], and win- ning a round nets you cash, which you can then use to gradually turn your junkyard salvage job into a head-turning land shark.
| know this all sounds ridicu- lous, and it is. And yet, there's a certain goofy, tacky charm to the
| game that's oddly appealing.
Maybe l'm a sucker for the so- bad-it's-good vibe, but cruising down the San Diego strip while cartoony, paper-thin spectators call out the bounces they want to see—to me, that's comedy. It ain't worth 40 bucks by any stretch of the imagination, but it's sure to be a trophy find when it hits the clearance bins.
Joe Rybicki
Mission: Impossible-Operation Surma
Publisher: Atari Developer: Paradigm Entertainment MSRP: $4999 ESRB: Teen Some games feel all wrong from the moment you put the disc in, and Mission: Impossible is one of them. On paper, it has all the nec- essary parts to make it something very special indeed, but it fails to deliver on its promises. It desper- ately, desperately wants to be Splinter Cell, but if that's what you're expecting, you're going to be sorely disappointed. It doesn’t look as good, the voice work isn't as | good (I didn’t realize Ving Rhames was in it until someone told me, | and Ethan sounds more like Snake than Tom Cruise], and most impor- tant, the controls aren't as good. Although not as bad as Tomb Raider, МІ is marred by an appallingly complex control system that (if you're anything like me] you'll never get used to. The cam- era system is partly to blame. The left analog stick is, predictably, used for movement and the right is used for the camera. But for some
is ass backwards. Fortunately, you can invert the vertical movement, | but you're stuck with a lateral sys- tem where moving the stick to the left moves your view to the right. | The net result is that, more often than not, you'll end up moving it the wrong way. This isn't the only problem: | Simply trying to make Ethan per- form the moves of an action hero feels unnecessarily convoluted. Pulling a gun and shooting at a | guard requires you to tap the D- | pad, the equip button, the action button, and then the fire button before you can drop him. Why couldn't they have stolen Splinter | Cell's controls while they were
reason, everything on the right stick
stealing some of its other ideas?
As in the movies, gadgets play a big part—but the logic of how you come to acquire them is never ade- quately explained during missions, so you often start out with very lit- tle in your possession, but then find yourself suddenly equipped with a fancy techno marvel just by walk- ing down a flight of stairs.
Some attempt has been made to provide a degree of freedom to the gameplay. While Atari would have us believe that it’s “open ended,” what it really means is that you can either kill everyone or you can sneak around. Either action takes you to the same place in the story, though, so it's no more “open ended" than the games it's trying to imitate. Which kinda sums up the whole game. It's trying to imitate plenty, but it fails to equal any of its peers.
John Davison
Mission: Impossible Operation Surma
ion: Impossible-Operation Surma
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
® REVIEWS
“Practiced bravado”?! Come on.
|
i ~
MAX PAYNE 2: THE
FALL OF MAX PAYNE
The bigger they come...
Publisher: Rockstar Developer: Remedy MSRP:$4999 ESRB: Mature think | liked the first Max Payne more than a lot of people. This is probably because | took all that over-the- top film noir narration as some- what tongue-in-cheek. (Though how you could possibly take lines like “The sun went down with practiced bravado” serious- ly is beyond те.) | thought the first game had a lot of technical issues, but in my mind, the story and the gameplay were enough to counteract those weaknesses.
It’s a similar situation with Max Payne 2—only this time, there isn’t quite enough on the gameplay side of the scale to outweigh the dumb technical problems.
At least they're not the same problems as in the last game, but honestly, that doesn’t really make them any less annoying. It's now possible to skip cine- matics, for example—but you often do so at the price of having to watch a loading screen.
Speaking of loading screens, you'll become very familiar with them, due to the frustrating save system and the multitude of cheap deaths. For some reason, the game has neither check- points nor an autosave function, so anytime you want to save your progress, you need to head out to the main menu and do it there. That's not a huge annoy- ance in itself (though a quick- save would have been most welcome], but combined with the fact that you have to sit
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
^^”.
= 4 А
through а good 30 seconds of loading every time you die— even if you died in exactly the same spot as your last save—it gets pretty excruciating.
And you'll be dying a lot. | don’t know whose idea it was to include so many jumping seg- ments, but І see two possible remedies: Either a] fire that per- son and never speak of this again, or b) improve the controls so that you're not as likely to just slide off ledges, ladders, and platforms. Being able to, | dunno, walk instead of having to run all the time might be a good start. Adding options for con- troller sensitivity would help things, too.
| know I’m sounding very negative here, but | gripe about these things only because the game itself is so good. The story, while not as unnerving as the original, is still more interesting than just about any other
videogame plot; what other game lets you play through the main character's twisted dreams?
Other highlights include the revamped bullet time [it’s not just for diving апутоге!), the dramatically improved physics (exhibited best when defenes- trating an enemy with the help of a shotgun], the frequently witty script, the introduction of a second playable character, and the significant increase in non- playable characters for Max to interact with.
The bottom line: Max Payne 2 is still a blast to play—it's just that you’re likely to spend as much time watching cinemas, storyboards, and loading screens as actually playing the game. For a six- to eight-hour game, that’s just not right.
Joe Rybicki
Gode dod
...AND NOT SO BIG MONEY After three months, Terminator 3 still hadn't made its money back at the box office. Ouch.
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Clear Channel Entertainment MSRP: $2999 ESRB: Everyone Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Monster trucks collide with PlayStation 2! Grave Digger, Madusa, Prowler, and Bulldozer—see all of your favorite monster trucks as they go head-to-head on exciting open-cir- cuit courses, smashing their way to the finish line! Smash! Smash! Smash! Fences, lampposts, skating rinks—nothing is safe! Don't like outdoor races? Fine! Check out the traditional stadium tracks for a taste of what it's like to really con- trol a monster truck! These bad boys don't steer like your mom's station wagon! You might even have trouble adjusting to these behemoths, but that only means more crashes! The real pros can demonstrate their skills in the dri- ving challenges! Like wheelies and doughnuts? This game has them! But, who cares? Stadium racing and skill challenges aren't as fun as outdoor racing, unless you're
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Publisher: Atari
| Developer: Black Ops Ent. | MSRP:$2999 ESRB: Teen
A game that reenacts the actual war with the machines that's only glimpsed at during the course of the three Terminator movies could have worked. Instead, what you get is a generic shooter (with fighting elements) made even worse by
| what appear to be totally amateur
design gaffes. The destructible environments don't really explode—walls and
| columns simply disappear when | fired at. The auto lock-on dis- | guises the craptacular hit detec-
tion: A rocket to the head sails
| right through said head. Also,
while California's governor may not be the fastest robot around, that doesn't excuse the obscene- ly long weapon-switching times
| lif it takes Terminators 10 sec-
| onds to go from an empty gun to | a live one, how the hell are they | winning?). The one piece of
playing with a bucket of nachos sit- |
ting next to you! Nachos! Nachos! Nachos!
Looking for a serious chal- lenge? Then don't bother with Masters of Metal! The competition drives like a raccoon drunk on moonshine! Drunk raccoons! An entire career lasts only a matter of hours! Where do you go when you've completed everything and become the champion? Nowhere! Nowhere! Nowhere! Because there's no reason to keep playing!
Masters of Metal offers inconsis- tent fun and excitement! Tickets are only $30 at the gate, but there are better shows in town! Giancarlo Varanini
Terminator flavor: a series of painfully unfunny quips from the Governator himself.
At first, the fighting portion
| looks snazzy...until you notice that
all you need are three kicks, a
throw, then repeat. Whether you're fighting a T900 or the TX, it doesn't matter—they all fall for that brain-
| dead tactic.
Really, the best thing on this
| disc is the 73: Redemption demo | and the "Sergeant Candy" video | falso included on the 73 DVD). It is,
thankfully, a roughly four-hour affair, but that time is probably better spent actually watching the two excellent (and one decent]
| Terminator movies.
Thierry Nguyen
FUN WITH ACRONYMS
If the BFM-V9000 follows traditional gamer naming conventions,
FUN WITH ANAGRAMS
Baldur's Gate: “а badger slut"
the “В” stands for “big” and the “М” stands for “monitor”...
2.4 GHz Wireless Controller
2.4 GHz Wireless Controller 2.4GHZ WIRELESS CONTROLLER Manufacturer: Hip Gear MSRP: $3499 Why is 2.4GHz so important that it's actually part of this controller's name? Because the vast majority of wireless controllers operate on the 900МН2 band, which is both slower and more prone to interfer- ence from household devices. While this is not a problem in many applications, 2.4GHz is where you want to be for timing-
intensive games such as shooters and platformers.
GET DISCONNECTED
The best of the rest in wireless You get what you pay for, mostly: Cordless Controller PREPRE 24GHz - Logitech - $59.95 Chameleon Wireless 900MMHz - Pelican - $34.99 Predator Wireless 900МНг - Pelican · $39.95
RRR
RRR
The only other wireless con- troller I'm aware of that operates on the 2.4GHz band is Logitech's fine wireless unit. But Hip Gear's product here has one advantage over Logitech's: Its D-pad is actual- ly useable.
On Logitech's controller, the D- pad is recessed, making it far too easy to nudge it up or down while you're trying to hit Left or Right. Many other wireless pads suffer from similar maladies.
Hip Gear's pad has the opposite problem: The buttons are set so high, with so much dead space, that you have to hit them much more firmly than on a standard DualShock. That's not to say Hip Gear's pad is uncomfortable—just be prepared to get your ass kicked while you get the hang of it.
Joe Rybicki
Gb do do 60
BFM-V.9000
BFM-V.9000
BFM-V.9000
Manufacturer: Elite Interactive
MSRP: 534999
No, the price isn't a misprint. For the price of a decent 27-inch flat- tube TV, you can be the proud owner of a 13-inch LCD screen. Someone hold me back; l'm tempt- ed to rush to the store right now.
Sorry, ГИ quit the sarcasm. In all seriousness, the BFM is a well- designed, stylish product. The TFT LCD is supported by an integrated tripod system that is surprisingly sturdy. It comes with two small speakers that slide into the sides of the screen in an ingeniously compact fashion, and—my favorite feature—an S-video cable that car- ries both video and audio in a sin- gle plug. Why doesn't my TV at home have this?
The unit feels fairly sturdy, and surprisingly heavy, so it probably won't tip over or slide around if you put it on, say, a coffee table. This is all good.
What's not so good is the fact that the screen is astonishingly dark; | set the game and the screen to their highest possible brightness settings and still could barely see a thing in Fatal Frame. Even the brightest sections of Prince of Persia look as though a storm's moving in. The screen also Seems to lack a certain crispness; this is surprising for a TFT screen, and there's no sharpness control to fix it. On top of everything, the unit | reviewed had odd vertical bands of brightness, which | couldn't seem to get rid of.
Plus, in case | hadn't mentioned it, it's three hundred fifty dollars. If you're desperate for something portable that's also fairly large, you might consider it. Maybe.
Joe Rybicki
BALDUR'S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE II
Just wait for Champions of Norrath
Publisher: Vivendi Universal Developer: Black Isle MSRP:$4999 ESRB: Teen
t might not seem fair to
compare a finished
game like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Il to an incomplete one such as Sony Online's simi- lar action-RPG, Champions of Norrath, due out in a few months. But when the unfinished title already bests the completed product, that says a lot. Fortun- ately, that’s more of an endorse- ment for Champions than a damning of Dark Alliance II. Still, the latter is disappointing even compared to its predecessor.
Things start off well enough for Dark Alliance Il when you notice you have five characters to choose from instead of the last game's three. However, they all seem somehow less appeal- ing—and not just because, like all other characters in the game, they look worse than those in part one. The fact that you have no way to immediately cus- tomize their looks or battle stats (аз you can in Champions) also takes a bit away from the RPG- ness of it all.
Thankfully, each time your character levels up, you have plenty of customization options. Do you spend all your points on low-power spells that you can progressively soup up, or do you save them until you level up again to, for example, grant Dorn the Barbarian the ability to wield two-handed weapons in one hand? It’s fun strategy, but noth- ing you haven't seen if you played the last game (and noth-
7. Є, b * M b 7%. ing you won't see soon enough in Champions). те A ji In fact, the only thing you da a
really haven't seen before in a PS2 game like this is the ability to forge your own powered-up weapons. However, this only really amounts to granting a cool name to your blade (something like “+1 Remarkable Great Axe of Might”) with a slight boost to its actual effectiveness.
With a few exceptions, the forgettable dungeons in Dark Alliance II tend to feel blindly laid
.out by runners-up in a "create
your own Dark Alliance level” contest. | don’t remember encountering so many narrow halls in the last game—the lay- out also highlights how slowly the camera moves. Furthermore, with Champions breathing down its neck, how can Dark Alliance II lack not only any online capability, but also
the option to team up with three friends? It's still a two-player- only affair. A fun one, granted, but the more the merrier.
Complaints aside, it’s tough to mess up a game that uses the same technology as the best Diablo-style game ever on a con- sole. If incessant hack-n-slash doesn't bore you, Dark Alliance Il has enough solid gameplay to entertain you until Champions. But you're better off waiting. Chris Baker
DEDI | Official US. PlayStation Magazine
Making you all princes of gaming.
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-selling games for each system. 4 indicates game supports online play.
chack//INFECTION Bandai POSG chack//MUTATION Bandai BREE -hack//OUTBREAK Bandai PPSS chack//QUARANTINE Bandai dp 18 Wheeler American Pro Trucker Acclaim 5090606) 4x4 EVO GOD Games BERS 2002 FIFA World Cup. EA Sports ESES Асе Combat 04: Shattered Skies Матео @®@@6 51 Activision Anthology Activision PEES Aero Elite: Combat Academy Sega BEB The Adventures of Cookie & Cream Agetec PDI Aggressive Inline Acclaim SEESI Airblade Namco BERS Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction EA Games @@@9 All-Star Baseball 2002 Acclaim RRR All-Star Baseball 2003 Acclaim BERG All-Star Baseball 2004 Acclaim 60906) Alter Echo THO $$
4 Amplitude Sony CEA DAES Antz Extreme Racing Empire #9
Ape Escape 2 Ubisoft PERDI Aqua Aqua зро $&
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Sony CEA DSE Arctic Thunder Midway ® Armored Core 2 Agetec RRR Armored Core 2: Another Age Agetec PEDI Armored Core 3 Agetec PERI Army Men: Air Attack зро BERE Army Men: Green Rogue зро 6% Army Men RTS зро PEDD Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 зро BRE
ý # ATV Offroad Fury 2 Sony CEA PASS PRI N СЕ ! 0 F PERSI A E ATV Quad Power Racing 2 Acclaim 960% \ 1 i) # Ашо Modellista Capcom $8 \ T. S AN DS (0) F ТІ ME Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home | Eidos 06 b 4 fi 2 A Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. Interplay PADD peu ү Fantastic fountains Ferara Titus $$ / 7 ` 4 Before you play the game, you Bass Strike Virtual Fishing Tournament тно 64 ^ might want to freeze time and read our handy Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu Ubisoft @® ү do Buide to the 10 magic fountains. Batman: Vengeance Ubisoft BRE
Battle Engine Aquila. Atari 66664 i Battlestar Galactica Vivendi Universal B® Beyond Good and Evil Ubisoft BRED Big Mutha Truckers Empire SES Bionicle: The Game EA Games @@% Black & Bruised Majesco PSSS
10 PS2 Games 114 Blade ll Activision @® Final Fantasy | 12 ш! SOCOM II: U.S. Blood Omen 2 E Д 107 Medal of Honor: Rising Sun { BloodRayne Маје Se X-2 116 Need for Speed Underground Navy SEALs ~ Bloody Roata Activision ШЕШ Soldiers always appreciate good ү Bloody Roar 4 Konami ®
In just two pages, we tell you how 109 to finish the whole game with a intel before going into a hot zone. BMX ХХХ Acclaim @%
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
100 percent rating. Packed full of | 118 Reader Reviews That's why we gave you annotat- Bombastic Capcom @@@ both finality and fantasy—all just 120 Rewind ed maps—so you can be a crack- Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Capcom BERS for you! 112 Tony Hawk's Underground erjack militiaman. Britney's Dance Beat THO PEDS
The Bouncer Square EA 00% Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds біепа/Ғох PAS Burnout Acclaim DESDI
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GAME
"T GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Butt-Ugly Martians: Zoom or Doom! Crave B® 73 elay Clubworld MED AL OF HONOR = Cabela's Big Game Hunter Activision 666 67 Endgame е, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts Activision 886 76 Enter the Matrix RISI NG SU N Cabela's Deer Hunt 2004 Season Activision 666 74 Ephemeral Fantasia Capcom vs. SNK 2 Capcom BRE 51 Multiplayer abilities CART Fury Midway ® 47 ESPN College Hoops Casper: Spirit Dimensions ТОК Mediactive 908 50 ESPN International Track & Field Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Konami $$$ 74 ESPN International Winter Sports 2002 Choose the best character for your individual playing style with the help of The Cat in the Hat Vivendi Universal 50) 76 ESPN MLS Extra Time this handy chart, courtesy of our friends at Prima. Chaos Legion Capcom ESI 70 ЕЅРМ National Hockey Night Chessmaster Ubisoft SSI 70 ESPN NBA ZNight MULTIPLAYER CHARACTERS KEY Choplifter: Crisis Shield Xiat BBB 69 ESPN NBA 2Night 2002 Accuracy A high score indicates better firing accuracy. City Crisis Таке2 PES 48 Aggression А high aggression score indicates а tendency to attack Clock Tower 3 Capcom $$$ 68 ESPN NHL Hockey rather than look for more powerful меаропѕ/атто; it also ESPN NFL Football means one is more likely to pursue enemies. Commandos 2: Men of Courage Eidos B® 62 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding Konami @@ Bravery A high rating indicates a greater likelihood to attack rather Conflict: Desert Storm Gotham Games ®@ 63 ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding 2002 Konami than look for a health pack; table value is the health ratio Conflict: Desert Storm Il Gotham Games 509% 2 ESPN X Games Skateboarding Konami 6 threshold for retreating for health [а higher rating means Conflict Zone Ubisoft DSI вз Eternal Ring Agetec RID less retreating]. Contra: Shattered Soldier Konami PEDDI 64 Eve of Extinction Camping A high value indicates a preference for camping or sitting at Cool Boarders 2001 Sony СЕА PEPS 46 — Everblue2 Capcom an ambush point. G yot: The Wrath of C 1 Evergrace Teamwork A high value relates to better cooperation with teammates
EverQuest Online Adventures Sony Online Ent. €
(Team Deathmatch only).
tr xi ES 1 Ж Evil Dead: А Fistful of Boomstick Grenades A high value means more likely to use grenades. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Ubisoft 0%) 2% Evil Twin Ubisoft 6% Jumping A high value means more likely to jump wl 6 Culdcept SNK $ed 75 Evolution Skateboarding Crouching A high value indicates a tendency to crouch when camping Dark Angel: Vampire Apocalypse Metro3D 6. 49 Evolution Snowboarding or using cover. Bas KERTÎ 4 Extermination FireRate A high value indicates an increased rate of fir DIE Extreme- Acdaim Dodging A high value indicates a better dodge chance (quicker reac- Dark Summit THO 06068 52 o е tion speed). 0 2 Score well in "Boogie Down." Get a high enough DDRMAX Konami ФФ 63 score, and you now have even more songs to, well, ALLIES DDRMAX 2 Konami $$$ 74 boogie down to. Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Tecmo BBRR 39 Dead to Rights Namco $$$ 65 Def Jam: Vendetta EA Sports Big SESS 67 К12002 Defender Midway && $4 62 Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Eidos PASSI 56 F1 Championship. 7 2 REC 8® F1 Championship Season 2000 Devil May Cry 2 Capcom DES 66 Fantavision Dino Stalker Capcom RRR? 61 Fatal Frame Disaster Report Agetec B@BI 65 Ferrari F355 Challenge Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Atlus ӨФӨ 72 НРА 2001 Major League Soccer Disney Golf ЕА Games SSS 61 FIFA2002 Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure Activision BSS 73 Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows ubisoft 666 өз Ө; Disney's Treasure Planet Sony СЕА EEI 64 We had a hard time finding any good tricks or codes, and we know Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Ubisoft BBE 42 that there are a lot of your soccer fans ош there. So why don't ya Harrison Downforce Titus @@ 57 help из out with some tips for FIFA? Thank you muchly. Downhill Domination Sony СЕА SESS 71 Fighter Maker 2 Agetec @@ | AXIS Dr. Muto Midway $98 — 6 Ill Name Dragon Ball Z: Budokai мап Фа 6 OF 5 y [FIER Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 Atari 666 76 We just told you how to get 100% complete in the game (see page (Stone worker) Dragon Rage 300 $$ 5а 110) What more do you want? Come back next month. Drakan: The Ancients’ Gates Sony CEA PEES 55 Finding Nemo PBR Kaijo SN ае ЕО ST E Driven Bam ® 52 Fireblade (Sea creature) Driving Emotion Type-S Square EA @@@ 41 Fisherman's Challenge Kandler 25 2020 З, 409 Drome Racers EA Games $6 64 Ford Racing 2 Kohda ЖЕУІ) 2 Dropship Bam 6% 57 Forever Kingdom Dual Hearts Atlus ®®® 61 | Formula One 2001 Dynasty Tactics Koei POSI 61 | Freaky Flyers Moriya Dynasty Tactics 2 Koei POSS 74 орап Dynasty Warriors 2 Koei PEPP 38 Freekstyle Fukami Dynasty Warriors 3 Koei $$ 52 Freestyle Metal X Takeuchi Dynasty Warriors 3: Xtreme Legends Koei DESE 65 Frequency Heigen (Camper) 10 6 5 Dynasty Warriors 4 Koei PEESI 68 Frogger: The Great Quest Oomomo 9 9 8 4 1 10 B 8 10 5 Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends Koei #884 75 Froggers Adventure: The Rescue Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Acclaim $9894 56 Fugitive Hunter Karimura 0 оо Egg Mania: Eggstreme Madness Kemco 668 61 Funkmaster Flex Digital Hitz Factory
Official 115. PlayStation Magazine
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
Boost the Prince's health by drinking from all 10 magic fountains
|1) THE GUEST ROOMS
-| Before jumping down to the lower floor of the guest rooms, slip through the circular hole in the wall. Follow the glowing
| hallway to the magic fountain.
2) COURTYARD
Locate the block in the corner of the alcove where the sand cloud was located. Stand atop this block, run up the wall on the right, then leap across to grab the ledge. You'll find a corridor on the other side.
‘davis.com with the subject "I Am Not Worthy to Play Prince of Persia.”
forse, or the same as Ice? Discuss, Send us your answers at орт,
Prince of Persia: Better
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
ES
3) THE TOWER
At the top of the tower, before you climb the ladder, turn to the left and run along the wall under the buzz saw to reach the hole in the wall. Follow the corridor to the mysterious rope bridges.
4) THE BATHS
After getting your new sword, stop halfway down the secret corridor and locate the cracked section of wall on the right. Use the sword to smash through the wall
5) THE STABLES
Don't exit the stables after opening the gate! Instead, smash through the barrels and the cracked masonry near the floor switch to reveal another mysterious corri- dor leading to another magic fountain.
COAT
7) HALL OF LEARNING
Run along the wall on the upper level; go past the two sets of buzz saws to the ledge with the shiny blue energy crystal on it. Smash through the weak spot in the wall.
6) THE PALACE RESERVOIR
Before you climb the rope out of the reser- voir, swing into the uppermost archway. Run up the wall opposite the archway and leap for the bar. Swing across to the cracked wall anl bust it open.
8) THE PRISON
Enter the corridor leading out of the prison area and locate the cracked wall on the right. Smash through the wall to uncover another secret passage.
9) THE TOWER OF DAWN There is a cracked wall prior to the final left turn in the corridor leading from the entrance to the tower. Break through the wall to reveal another secret passage.
10) SCALING THE FOUNDATION
After your first battle with the black sword, drop from the edge by the sand cloud. Shimmy around, drop to the bar, and flip up into the room above. Smash through the door.
GAME
PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Fur Fighters: Viggo’s Revenge Acclaim $$$ 46 Futurama Vivendi Universal 88 72 G1 Jockey 3 Koei ө Gadget Racers Conspiracy ( 50
Galerians: Ash Sammy 66 Gallop Racer Tecmo B® дв Gallop Racer 2003: A New Breed Tecmo $98 69 Gauntlet: Dark Legacy Midway $8
The Getaway Sony CEA
Giants: Citizen Kabuto Interplay я Gitaroo-Man Koei BERE 53 Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance Acclaim se EN 75 Gladius LucasArts Es % Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde Jaleco BBG | 76 бодай Elemental Force 300 68 54
Gradius Ш and IV Konami
Grand Prix Challenge Atari
Grandia ll Ubisoft з Grandia Xtreme Enix ees 62 Gravity Games Bike: Street, Vert, Dirt Midway 6 61
The Great Escape Gotham Games ®®@4 72
GTC Africa Majesco $94 58 Guilty Gear X Majesco/Sammy @@@@ 51 Guilty Gear X2 Sammy 988 66 Gungrave Sega #884 61 Gungriffon Blaze Working Designs #88 39
Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup EA Games заж 75
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets EA Games #9 64
EA Games = Natsume (
Midway RRR “т
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland Haven: Call of the King
Headhunter Acclaim SES 57 Herdy Gerdy Eidos EE 56 Heroes of Might and Magic зоо #90
Hidden Invasion Conspiracy BRR | High Heat MLB 2002 зро EREE 44 High Heat MLB 2003 300 SRNR 55 Hitman 2: Silent Assassin Fidos #8889 63
The Hobbit Vivendi Universal #9888 — 76 Hot Shots Golf 3 Sony CEA #988 55 Hot Wheels: Velocity X LI 64 The Hulk. Vivendi Universal ФФ 70 Hunter: The Reckoning-Wayward Interplay 6 21
Hypersonic Xtreme Majesco BE
I-Ninja Namco EERI 75
LucasArts &ER 71 Codemasters &&& 71 EA Games RRR 65 Eidos Ө% — 72 Ubisot BERS 53
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb Indy Car Series
Island Extreme Stunts
The Italian Job
lade Cocoon 2
јаки James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire James Bond 007: NightFire
James Cameron's Dark Angel Jeremy McGrath Supercross World Jet X20
Jonny Moseley Mad Trix
The Jungle Book: Rhythm n' Groove.
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis Universal Int. f
Ка World Grand Prix Konami Karaoke Revolution Konami Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer Activision Kengo: Master of Bushido Crave Ж Kessen EA Games Kessen И Koei Kill Switch Namco Kinetica Sony CEA
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE The King of Fighters 2000/2001 Bandai 686 76 The King of Route 66 Sega $$$ 67 King's Field: The Ancient City Agetec @@ | 55
Square EA 88889 61
Namco SESDE 47
Kingdom Hearts Klonoa 2: Lunateass Veil
Knockout Kings 2001 EA Sports $$$ 42 Knockout Kings 2002 EA Sports DESS 55 Kya: Dark Lineage Atari @@% 76 Le Mans 24 Hours Infogrames 8486 | 48 Legacy of Kain: Defiance Eidos #89 — 76 Legaia 2: Duel Saga Fresh Games BES 6з The Legend of Alon D'ar Ubisoft @& 54
Legends of Wrestling Legends of Wrestling Il
Legion: The Legend of Excalibur Lego Racers 2
Lethal Skies
Lethal Skies И
Looney Tunes: Back in Action The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Black Label The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ЕА Games 9908 63
Acclaim 899 5 Acclaim @@@ 65 Midway @®@ 59 Lego Media 884 (я Sammy @@@ 58 Sammy SSS? 74
RETURN OF THE CODE Once you complete the game for the first. time, you'll unlock the secret codes list. Then, do the following:
2) Start a mission.
2) Press Start to pause the game.
3) Press and hold L1+R1+12+R2.
4) Enter the code for the intended effect.
Code. Effect
$, 1, 0, © | All upgrades
©, 9, ®, f | Always devastating
©, O, t, О | Infinite missiles
©, О, О, $ | Invulnerable
©, t, ®, ¥ | Perfect mode
©, O, О, О | Restore health
f, ©, 5, © | Targeting indicator mode
4, O, ®, ¥ | Unlocks Aragorn's 4-hit combo
©, t, ©, ® | Unlocks бапда level 4 abilities
Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter Vivendi Universal 8% A Mad Maestro! Eidos/Fresh SES 56 Madden NFL 2001 EA Sports SESSE 38 Madden NFL 2002 EA Sports PESSI 48
€
CHEAP WAY TO MAKE MONEY Start a regular game (season or home playoff), save, and then quit. Reload your franchise file, and it will resume where you last saved, but the computer will recharge everyone, so all your ticket sales, concessions, and whatnot will be doubled. This only works when youre the home team, though. Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color Agetec BEES 69
Manhunt Rockstar &&&4 76 STAR POWER 3
Here's a breakdown of how the star system works. Look out for codes them- selves next month! The stars represent. how well you played (at the end of the game, you get a score that is based on all the stars you got added together). For every level in which you get three stars, you open artwork (available under Bonus Features оп main menu). The 20 levels are broken down into groups of fives (1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20); if you get three or more stars in any of those groups, you open up a bonus level, of which there are four total. Finally, if you score five stars in a level (only available by playing on Hardcore difficulty), you open part of a code; these codes show up on the artwork itself.
The Mark of Kri Sony CEA BRE 59 Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Capcom $$$ 61 Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 Activision В Max Payne Rockstar BRED 53 Capcom BRS? 54
Maximo: Ghosts to Glory
FORUM © + Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
RATCHET & CLANK: FAT LOOT When you get to the mining site on planet Tabora, it won't take you long to figure out that you can earn vast amounts of bolts by trading crystals in to the mystic repair guy. There are 86 crystals, which amounts to 86,000 dollars. This is great and should be taken into consideration when you try to use the magna boots found on planet Joba in the first arena bat- tle. Also, when you wander through the desert, you should notice that there is some sort of vehicle that can be reached by the magna boots ona platform. This is not a sandspeeder but a very delicate mining machine that can be used to rack up the raritanium. Since it is so weak, you will want to col- lect all of the crystals {it isn't hard) and dis- patch all of the ene- mies associated with the crystals. This way when you do mine for the raritanium, you won't have to keep running back to the platform to retrieve a new vehicle if yours explodes. A total of 32 raritanium can be found—and believe me, you'll need them to upgrade your ship before you visit the deep-space disposal. This game rules! Joey Mitchell jim thome rulzía hotmail.com
Thanks for the hookup on these two ways to score some cash and bolts. We like readers who inform—because that means less work and more play for us editors. Keep it up!
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
MDK2 Armageddon Interplay BRE 45
EA Games POHI 76 Those multiplayer tips weren't enough for ya? Fine then—try going into the Options menu and inputting these passwords:
Password _ Effect
MANDARIN | Achilles head mode
PUFFER Always sniper mode
TANG Bullet-shield mode
TRIGGER | Invisible soldiers mode
HOGFISH | Perfectionist mode
DAMSEL Rubber grenades mode
GARIBALDI | All replay items
SPINEFOOT | Makes everyone's arms HUGE
SEAHORSE | Men with hats
TILEFISH | | Silver-bullet mode
GOBY Unlimited ammunition
BUTTERFLY | Unlocks all missions
Mega Man X7 Capcom 0%%4 74 Men in Black Il: Alien Escape Infogrames 0904 60
Metal Arms: Glitch in the System Vivendi Universal PASS 75
Metropolismania
Midway ®®® 76 Codemasters ® 58
Midway Arcade Treasures. Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing
Minority Report Activision @@@ 65 Mister Mosquito Eidos/Fresh DSI 56 MLB 2004 Sony CEA ®®® — 67
Midway &&&$ 59 Midway 08090 67 XS Games SAPI 69
MLB Slugfest 20-03 MLB Slugfest 20-04 Mobile Light Force 2
Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space Bandai ® 75 Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon ^ Bandai PSSE 61 Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo | — Bandai ® 48 Mobile Suit Gundam: Zeonic Front Bandai & $$ 54 Mojo! Crave 66 73 Monopoly Party Infogrames $$ 65 Monster Rancher 3 Tecmo SASS 50 Monster Rancher 4 Tecmo #888 75 Monsters, Inc. Sony CEA PSSA 55 Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance Midway &&$$ 64 MotoGP Namco 6%ФФ 39 MotoGP2 Namco PESSI 53 MotoGP3 Namco SEDDI 67 Motor Mayhem Infogrames $& 47 MTV Music Generator 2 Codemasters &&& 46 MTVS Celebrity Deathmatch Gotham Games 68 76 The Mummy Returns. Universal @@ 52 Music Maker Magix DESS 69 МУР Baseball 2003 EA Sports #88 67 MX 2002 Featuring Ricky Carmichael. THO $$$ 4 MX Rider Infogrames PASE 52 MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael THO DESI 59
My Street Sony CEA ESS 8 Myst ll: Exile Ubisoft SSSI вз Mystic Heroes Koei 098 64 Namco Museum Namco SOSI 53
NASCAR 2001. EA Sports @@@ | 40 NASCAR Heat. Infogrames PAPS 47 NASCAR Thunder 2002 EA Sports DASSI 51 NASCAR Thunder 2003 EA Sports PEDDI 62
NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona Naval Ops: Warship Gunner
Infogrames PASI 63 Koei 00% n
МВА Hoopz Midway DES 44 NBA Jam 2004 Acclaim 66 75 NBA Live 2001 EA Sports @@@® 42 NBA Live 2002 EA Sports & $4 S1
NBA Live 2003 EA Sports BESS 63
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
OK, even though we just told you how to finish the game, what else do you want to know? Write te us at com
FINAL FANTASY X-2
100 percent walkthrough to a perfect ending
Chapter 1 Start
1.6% LUCA
* Examine the moogle (Yuna) at Harbor No. 2.
* Complete the Get Back the Result Plate mission.
3.4% CELSIUS
* Speak with Rikku, Paine, Brother, Buddy, and Shinra.
• Speak to the barkeep in the cabin.
* Rest in the cabin.
* Watch the sphere movie The Reason for the Journey.
6.0% MT. GAGAZET
* Get to the top of the Gagazet ruins within the time limit.
+ Complete the Compete With LeBlanc Gang mission.
6.6% CELSIUS * Speak with Brother and choose “Be nice."
8.2% LUCA
* Complete the Truth Behind Yuna's Concert mission.
* Speak with Rin in the Luca Stadium basement.
8.4% MI'IHEN HIGHROAD * Arrive at Mi'ihen Highroad.
13.076 MUSHROOM ROCK
• Speak with Yavel.
* Speak with Clasko at the entrance, then complete the Mushroom Rock Fiend Quest mission.
* Lead Clasko into the Celsius.
• Speak with Lucil twice at the Youth League headquarters.
* Repeatedly speak with Maechen until he agrees to shake your hands at the Youth League headquarters.
• Speak with Ormi, Logos, and Maroda at the bottom of the valley.
* Get back to the Celsius and watch the Crimson Squad Report 1 Sphere located in your Treasure Spheres collection.
* Speak to Clasko in the cabin.
14,0% D'JOSE TEMPLE * Get the letter of introduction from Gippal.
14.6% MOONFLOW * Complete the Escort Transportation Vehicle mission (don’t lose any luggage).
15.0% GUADOSALAM * Reach the Farplane entranc&
15.2% THUNDER PLAINS * Reach the Thunder Plain.
174% MACALANIA WOODS
* Speak to Bayra in the southern section.
* Speak to Donga at the Holy Spring.
* Speak to Pukutak in the northern section.
* Speak to Tromell five times at the Sphere Spring.
* Complete the Chase Down O'aka mission.
• Head back to the Celsius and speak to ELE іп the cabin.
* Before the Chapter 3 mission Ensure Safety of Travel Agency ends, pay off all of О’аКа’з debts.
18.2% BIKANEL DESERT * Complete the Al Bhed Machine Parts Excavation mission.
18.8% BEVELLE • Speak to Baralai in the middle of the city.
19.0% CALM LANDS
* Reach the Calm Lands.
* Begin to advertise for one of the two com- panies located in the Calm Lands.
19.4% MT. GAGAZET * Reach Gagazet Mountain.
21.675 BESAID ISLAND * Complete the Find Wakka mission.
23.4% ZANARKAND RUINS
* Answer yes to Cid in Yevon Dome/Chamber of the Fayth.
* Complete the Scored Treasure Sphere mission.
23.6% CELSIUS 25.2% KILIKA ISLAND
* Get to Dona's home and talk to her. * Complete the Grab the Sphere! mission.
won ia
[Attack be Ormi.
ЕС 905 Г. esane
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
Chapter 2 Start
NOTE: If you choose New Ebon at the begin- ning of Chapter 2, the max percentage is 99.2 percent.
27.6% CELSIUS * Take а nap in the cabin. » Give the sphere to the Youth League.
28.6% MUSHROOM ROCK * Give the sphere to Nooj.
292% CELSIUS
30.0% BESAID ISLAND • Complete the Challenge Gun Shooting mission.
30.2% KILIKA ISLAND Reach Kilika Island.
31.075 LUCA * Get an interview with Shelinda.
32.475 MI'IHEN HIGHROAD
* After you capture the chocobo in the Chocobo mission, get to Calli within the time limit.
* Take Clasko, Calli, and the chocobo to the front of the travel agency on the Celsius.
33.4% MUSHROOM ROCK ROAD
• Speak with Elma and Lucil in front of the Youth League headquarters.
• Speak to Моо} at the bottom of the valley.
* Head back to the Celsius and watch Akagi Report 7.
33.6% MOONFLOW * Complete the Sell Tickets mission; you must sell all 10.
33.8% GUADOSALAM * Speak to the soldiers near LeBlanc's hideout.
34.0% THUNDER PLAINS * Speak to Cid.
35.4% MACALANIA FOREST e Complete the Find the Musicians mission.
36.2% CALM LANDS
* Let Clasko off of the Celsius.
* Complete the Get Rid of the Fiends in the Ruins mission.
* Catch the chocobo before Chapter 3 ends.
• Speak to Lian and Ayde at the center of the Calm Lands.
36.6% ZANARKAND RUINS
* Speak to Isaar іп the dome corridor.
* Finish the mission Secret Mission before Chapter 3 ends.
37.0% DJOSE TEMPLE * Complete the Get the Soldier's Uniform mission.
37.2% BIKANEL DESERT • Complete the Oasis Investigation mission.
38.2% MT. GAGAZET
• After Kimahri allows Yuna to investigate at Fayth Scar, speak to him a second time.
* Go to Fayth Scar to trigger the hot-spring event.
* Complete the Grab the Soldier’s Uniform mission.
38.4% CELSIUS
41.8% GUARDO SALAM
* Complete the If Stolen, Steal It Back mission.
42.2% CELSIUS
44.8% BEVELLE
* Complete the Operation Smuggle Into Bevelle mission.
Chapter 3 Start
Chapter 4 Start
45.6% CELSIUS * Sleep in the cabin.
464% LUCA * Win the Sphere Break tournament.
470% MIIHEN HIGHROAD • Complete the Stop the Machina оп
Rampage mission.
47.4% MUSHROOM ROCK ROAD
• Speak to Luciel and Yaibal at the entrance.
47.6% DJOSE TEMPLE * Speak to Gippal by Djose Temple.
47.8% MOONFLOW • Speak to Tobli on the south side.
49.8% GUADOSALAM
* Watch the sphere in LeBlanc’s hideout.
* After watching the sphere, speak to Maechen.
* Obtain Akagi Sphere 4 from the treasure box at LeBlanc's hideout, then head back to the Celsius and watch Memory of Akagi 4.
50.0% THUNDER PLAINS * Speak to Rian and Aide on the north side.
50.8% MACALANIA FOREST
* Complete the Secure the Safety of the Travel Agency mission after paying off O'aka’s debt.
51.7% BIKANEL ISLAND * Talk to Marnela at the Cactuar Nation.
Chapter 5 Start
51.6% CALM LANDS
• Complete the Rescue All the Tourists mission.
• Go to the center area and place а CommSphere.
* Watch Shinra set up the CommSphere at the upper part of the ruins.
52.076 GAGAZET MOUNTAIN * Complete the Prevent Ronso From Deploying mission.
52.2% ZANARKAND RUINS Talk to Isaar in the hallway in Yevon Dome.
54.2% BESAID ISLAND » Complete the Defeat the Monsters in the Temple (Besaid Temple) mission.
55.2% KILIKA ISLAND * Complete the Defeat the Monsters in the Temple (Kilika Temple} mission.
55.8% CELSIUS
574% BEVELLE
* See Gippal in the anteroom.
* Under Bevelle, Great Depth Area, view Nooj and others in a meeting.
* Under Bevelle, Great Depth Area, pick up Akagi Sphere 1. Head back to the Celsius and watch Memory of Akagi 1.
59.6% DJOSE TEMPLE
+ Complete the Defeat the Monsters in the Temple (Ојоѕе Temple] mission.
* Listen to the whistle four times at the Farplane Abyss.
61.4% CELSIUS
* Watch Memory of Akagi 2 and Memory of Akagi 3.
• Sleep in the cabin.
62.2% CELSIUS COMMSPHERE
• Speak to Wakka at Besaid Island.
• Speak to Donna at Kilika Island.
* Speak to Yaibal at Mushroom Rock Road. e Speak to Maroda at ВеуеЦе.
63.0% CELSIUS * Speak to Paine on the deck.
67.4% CELSIUS COMMSPHERE
• Speak to Wakka and Beklem at Besaid Island.
* Speak to Bartello at Kilika Island.
* See Shelinda interviewing the citizens of Luca.
* Gather evidence at Mihen Highway—the suspect will be either the chocobo eater or Rikku.
e Listen to the Al Bhed talking at Djose Temple.
e Speak to Uno at Guadosalam.
* Catch the chocobo with transmission sets at Thunder Plains.
e Listen to the band member talking at the Macalania Forest entrance.
• Speak to O’aka at the Macalania Forest travel agency.
• Speak to Nhadala at Bikanel Island.
* Listen to Clasko talk about his chocobo at the Calm Lands chocobo farm.
• Speak to Kimahri at Mt. Gagazet.
* At the Mt. Gagazet hot spring, watch CommSpheres 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15.
68.2% MOONFLOW * Complete the Find Tobli! mission.
69.2% CELSIUS
71.6% CELSIUS, COMMUNICATION SPHERE
• Speak to Beklem and Lulu at Besaid Island.
e Listen to Dona talk at Kilika Island.
e Speak to Bartello at Kilika Temple.
• Speak to Luciel and Yaibal at Mushroom Rock Road.
* Speak to Elma at MoonFlow.
+ Speak to Uno at Guadosalam.
• Speak to O’aka at the Macalania Forest travel agency.
• Speak to Isaar at the Zanarkand ruins.
72.0% THUNDER PLAINS * Complete the Defeat the Monster in the Thunder Plains mission.
73.0% CELSIUS
73.4% THUNDER PLAINS * The concert begins.
75.6% CELSIUS * Speak to LeBlanc and the others in the power room.
776% CELSIUS
* Watch Memory of Akagi 5 from the Treasure Sphere Collection menu.
* Speak to Buddy on the bridge.
* Rest in the cabin, then watch Brother express his grievances.
* Speak to Buddy in the engine room.
78.4% ZANARKAND RUINS * Complete the episode. • Listen to Maechen speak.
80.2% BESAID ISLAND * Complete the episode.
81.2% KILIKA ISLAND * Complete the episode.
81.8% LUCA * Complete the Chase the Moogle mission!
82.0% MI'IHEN HIGHROAD * Complete the resolution part of Rin's investigation.
85.0% MUSHROOM ROCK ROAD
+ Complete the Youth League Battle Tournament mission.
* Speak to Luciel at the Youth League
headquarters.
Head back to the Celsius and watch the One Who Seeks Death sphere.
* After obtaining all of the Akagi spheres, defeat Nooj at the bottom of the Sealed Cave.
85.8% DJOSE TEMPLE
• Complete the Challenging Machina Faction’s Super Machina mission by defeating the experiment when it's not in its strongest form.
86.2% MOONFLOW • Complete the episode.
87.4% GUADOSALAM
* Complete the episode.
* After completing the episode, talk to Tromwell.
* Head to the previously locked house, obtain the Baralai Sphere, then head back to the Celsius and watch the Secret of the Temple sphere.
38.4% THUNDER PLAINS
* Complete the Hunt Monsters Around the Lightning Tower mission.
* Find Cid in the cave and defeat the boss.
* Go back to the Celsius and listen to Cid on the deck.
* Go to the bridge; you will find Cid and Brother arguing.
39.0% MACALANIA FOREST
* Complete the episode.
* Listen to O'aka and Wantz in front of the travel agency.
90.2% BIKANEL DESERT
* Complete the Find All the Cactaurs mission.
* Complete the Finding the Last Cactaur mission.
• Complete the Last Battle in the Desert mission.
* After completing the episode, talk to Benzo in the Cactuar Nation.
92.0% BEVELLE
• Complete the episode.
* During the Hidden Labyrinth subevent, obtain Akagi Sphere 6 from the top layer of Bevelle and Akagi Sphere 8 from the 20th layer, then watch the Memory of Akagi 8 sphere.
* Defeat Trema during the Hidden Labyrinth subevent at the bottom layer.
92.4% CALM LANDS
* Bring one of the PR companies to level five.
* Catch the special chocobo during the Cave in Depth of the Ruins subevent.
93.6% GAGAZET MOUNTAIN * Complete the episode.
96.0% CELSIUS
* See Cid’s family events. Speak to Shinra at the bridge, listen to Brother and Buddy's negotiation, head to the cabin to see some fighting, then head to the deck and speak to Rikku.
100.0% FARPLANE * Defeat VegnaGun.
Level 5 complete! Listen to the whistle at the depth of Farplane.
* During the conversation with Fayth, choose “I want to walk with you.”
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (ui)
Ж. www.genesimmons.com М: When youre done skating as him, Men of iron. Vu check out his homepage.
TONY HAWK'S UNDERGROUN
Special lis
Specialists Memorizing every special move in THUG for every skater BUCKY LASEK Right, Left, Grind Darkslide Handstand isn't only impossibly hard, it's pointless. At least it's point- Left, Down, Grind 1990 Invert (Lip) Up, Down, Grind Sproing (Freestyle) less now that you've got the OPM list о” THUG specials. Right, Left, Grind Неер FS Invert (Lip) Right, Down, Grab Big Spin Air ARTO SAARI BOB BURNQUIST Up, Left, Grind Big Hitter II Left, Right, Grind Head Balancer [Freestyle] Left, Right, Grind Casper Handstand [Freestyle] Down, Up, Grind Mix It Up Left, Down, Grind Levitate Grind BAM MARGERA Down, Right, Grind One Foot Darkslide Up, Down, Grab Shifty Shifty Up, Right, Grab Bam Bend Air Left, Right, Flip Hardflip Late Flip Left, Right, Grab Samba Flip Down, Up, Flip The Jackass Down, Up, Grind Stupid Grind ELISSA STEAMER STEVE CABALLERO Left, Right, Grind Grind N Barf Right, Down, Grind No Comply 360 Shove-lt (Freestyle) Right, Up, Grind Ho Ho Sad Plant (Lip) Right, Left, Grind Ho Ho Street Plant (Freestyle) Left, Down, Grab FS 540 RODNEY MULLEN Left, Right, Grind Coffin Down, Up, Grind Faction Guitar Slide Up, Down, Flip Gazelle Underflip Down, Up, Grab Semi Flip Up, Down, Grind Daffy Grind Left, Right, Grind Crooks Darkslide Right, Left, Grind 5-0 Fingerflip Nosegrind JAMIE THOMAS KAREEM CAMPBELL Right, Down, Grind Rodney Primo Right, Down, Grind Crook Bigspinflip Crook Up, Right, Flip 360 Ghetto Bird Down, Up, Grind Primo Handstand [Freestyle] Left, Down, Grab Kickflip Backflip CHAD MUSKA Left, Down, Grind American Tribute Right, Down, Flip Quad Heelflip Right, Down, Grind Moonwalk Five-O Up, Down, Grind Skull Grind Down, Up, Grab Sit Down Air Right, Left, Grind Muska Manual [Freestyle] Left, Down, Grind Ghetto Tag Grind MIKE VALLELY RUNE GLIFBERG Left, Right, Grind Rusty Slide Manual (Freestyle) Down, Left, Grab 1-2-3-4 Right, Up, Grab Double Kickflip Varial Indy Down, Up, Grind Flip 2 Switch (Freestyle) Left, Right, Grab Fingerflip Airwalk ANDREW REYNOLDS Down, Right, Grab Flamingo Right, Down, Grab 540 Tail Whip Left, Right, Grind 5050 Switcheroo Left, Right, Grind Slam Spinner (Freestyle) Left, Down, Grab Double Kickflip Madonna Left, Right, Grab Bigspin Shifty 2 Right, Down, Grab Kickflip Backflip 5 TONY HAWK Up, Down, Grab 360 Flip Tail Grab a Ž Right, Left, Grab 360 Varial McTwist 4M) 8 HIDDEN CHARACTERS = тей, Down, Grind 360 Shovit Nosegrind PAUL RODRIGUEZ сла ys È Right, Down, Grab Indy 900 Е Left, Down, Grind Nollie 360 Flip Crook >} Down, Right, Grab Lick It Up. $ Left, Down, Grab 360 Varial Heelflip Lien Down, Up, Grind Yeah Right Slide V Left, Right, Grind Fire Fire Fire Е Right, Down, Grab Nollie Flip Underflip чии 2 ERIC KOSTON Up, Down, Grind Russian Boneless (Lip) oar. Iron Man 4 Up, Right, Grind Fandangle r Down, Up, Grind. The Scanner $ Right, Left, Grind Yeah Right (Freestyle] GEOFF ROWLEY 4 Left, Right, Grab Boot Burst Left, Right, Grab Flying Squirrel Up, Right, Grab Rodeo Wrap ero Down Grind) lj eet Right, Up, Grab Chomp on This Down, Right, Flip Casper Flip 360 Flip
(82) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
(ше LEE БІ: кесел REPLAY ggg
QD NBA Live 2004 EA Sports PEDDI 75 Pro Race Driver Codemasters PASSI 65 Тһе Simpsons Skateboarding EA Games @% 64 ‘Type these codes into the Password screen to get more Nikes. Project Eden Eidos BRR 52 FO RU M The Sims EAGames ROPP 65 DGSGTRFA46 Аі Foamposite Pro Colorway 1 Pryzm Chapter One: The Dark Unicom ТОК Mediactive 8984 | 60 The Sims: Bustin’ Out EA Games BERRI 76 3245AFSD45 Air Foamposite Pro Colorway 2 РТО. М Koei RRR 66 Sky Gunner Atlus PERI 58 DSAKF38422 Айг Foamposite Pro Colorway 3 Q-Ball Billiards Master Take 2 PRRI 40 JAKI Sky Odyssey Activision ede. 40 AOK374HF8S Air Hyperflight Colorway 3 Quake Ill Revolution EA Games POPSI 44 This might not be Sled Storm EABig PRI 55 19315588 Air Hyperflight Colorway 4 R: Racing Evolution Namco 8006080 76 much, but if you л 367UEY6SN Air Zoom Flight Colorway 1 Rally Fusion: Race of Champions. Activision DES 64 could please put this Smash Cars Metro3D SSSI 71 2389]ASE3E — Air Flightposite Il Colorway 2 L in your magazine, | Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament Namco PAPI 56 GF9BAS]HRA Air Flight 89 Colorway 3 Я would be thankful. ISmuggersRun Rockstar PERRI 39 NBA ShootOut 2001 Sony CEA ees 44 Hey, dig up your completed save of the first R&C You get the five Here it is: If you have Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory Rockstar PAPEI 52 МВА ShootOut 2003 Sony СЕА SSS єз weapons from the previous game for free! beaten Jak // and are Soccer America: International Cup HotB BR 48
МВА ShootOut 2004 Sony CEA SSS | 75 И ЕК ИЙ Soccer Mania EA/Lego RRR 59 NBA Starting Five Konami $998 63 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc Ubisoft RRR? 67 to redo the JET- к Rayman Arena Ubisoft PAI 57 board or racing mis- € , RC Revenge Pro Acclaim 9699 4 sions, simply go to JOEPM'S FAVORITE GUN МАА1 with grenade launcher (commonly f NCAA College Basketball 2IG Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 Midway BESS 40 the stadium and head called the "over-and-under" by other players). The fellows at Zipper NCAA College Football 2IG Real Pool Infogrames BBR? 40 right until you find an call it the “n00b tube" because its fusion of explosives and rifleness NCAA Final Four 2001 Red Card Soccer 20-03 Midway 600% 57 entrance to a dead make it easy for total newbies to score kills with. NCAA Final Four 2002 end, then talk to the Soldier of Fortune Majesco RRR 52 NCAA Final Four 2003 Red Faction И THO PRES вз holograph in front of Я NCAA Final Four 2004 Reel Fishing Ш Natsume 800060 72 you. You will be able Soul Reaver 2 Eidos 68% 52 NCAA Football 2002 Reign of Fire. Ват ®®® 6з to choose either JET- Space Channel 5 Special Edition Sega & Ed 75 board race one, two, Space Race Infogrames $e. 59 Resident Evil: Dead Aim Capcom RRR 70 ог three. Or, if you Spawn Armageddon Namco &6 76 NCAA GameBreaker 2001. Return to Castle Wolfenstein: OR Activision e$ 71 want to sightsee, Speed Kings Acclaim RAPE 70 NCAA GameBreaker 2003 Rez Sega BR 53 travel to the far Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy THO SSSI 75 NCAA GameBreaker 2004 Ridge Racer V Namco PEEPI 38 northeast part of Spider-Man Activision 9999 57 NCAA March Madness 2002 EA Sports Riding Spirits Bam R&R? 61 Haven City just below Splashdown Infogrames RR®R® 52 NCAA March Madness 2003 EA Sports Ring of Red Konami RRS 43 the stadium—you will h RRS # NCAA March Madness 2004 Risk: Global Domination Мап SERE 73 see a big billboard Splinter Cell Sony CEA PEPPI 68 d fo lot Pursu RLH: Run Like Hell Interplay BBB 62 with the main char- SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom THO PASSI 75
e Need for Us Road Kill Midway $&&$ 74 acters from Ratchet & ‘SpyHunter Midway 60080908 50 Try entering іп ©, ©, ©, ©, ©, ®, Q, © at the Main menu Road Trip Conspiracy @®®@ 61 Clank: Going ‘SpyHunter 2 Midway ®®® 76 screen for some unlimited nitro. Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown Capcom @@@ 74 Commando on it. And Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Vivendi Universal ®®® 64
Rocky Ubisoft RRR® 64 just behind you, you ge # NFL 2K3 Sega Sports ® Robot Alchemic Drive Enix PRBS 63 should see the
NFL Blitz 20-02 Midway ese Robotech: Battlecry TDK PEPE 62 Naughty Dog logo 0 NFL Blitz 20-03 Midway a dd Rogue Ops Kemco SRI 75 (look to the left). Star Trek: Shattered Universe ток $& 75 NFL Blitz Pro Midway Sports poe Romance of the Three Kingdoms МИ Koei @@% 60 Matt Olmedo Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force Majesco @@% 53 NFL GameDay 2001 Sony CEA E T Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII Koei 999 B guanorican(djuno.com Star Wars Bounty Hunter LucasArts BRB 64 NFL GameDay 2002 Sony CEA | RPG Maker 2 Agetec & Ed 74 Star Wars: The Clone Wars. LucasArts eee 65 NFL GameDay 2003 Sony CEA B&G RTX Red Rock LucasArts R® n TAK Star Wars Super Bombad Racing LucasArts && (45 # NFL GameDay 2004 Sony CEA $9 | Rugby EA Sports ROR 48 ОЕЕО | Star Wars Jedi Starfighter LucasArts PADI 56 NFL Quarterback Club 2001 Acclaim СЯ 1 Rugby 2004 EA Sports PRS з you did—it's so cute Star Wars Racer Revenge LucasArts PAPEI 55 NHL 2001 EA Sports EOD 38 Rumble Racing ЕА Games BEREI 45 and funny to see that “Star Wars Starfighter LucasArts PERRI 43 NHL 2002 EA Sports #8888 50 Rune: Viking Warlord таке2 @@G аз ET Starsky & Hutch Gotham Games 0% 7á NHL 2003 EA Sports 63 Rygar: The Legendary Adventure Tecmo 0900608 64 around with a feath- State of Emergency Rockstar 500%) 55 NHL 2004 EA Sports ` Salt Lake 2002 Eidos $ed. 55 er on his head and Stitch: Experiment 626 Sony CEA $ed 59 p Savage Skies Bam 6%% 56 mess around with Street Fighter EX 3 Capcom & és 39 NHL FaceOff 2001 Sony CEA 88 43 Scooby-Doo: Night of 100 Frights THO SSS 58 sheep and stuff. Can Street Hoops Activision 8080068 60 NHL FaceOff 2003 Sony CEA ae 64 The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian Universal 90% 62 you help me with Stretch Panic Conspiracy PÈI 47 NHL Hitz 20-02 Midway &&&$ 51 Secret Weapons Over Normandy LucasArts RRR® 75 some codes? That Stuntman Infogrames/Atari PÈS 59 NHL Hitz 20-03 Seek and Destroy Conspiracy PI 66 would make you the Sub Rebellion Metro 30 PAPP 62 NHL Hitz Pro Sega Bass Fishing Duel Sega BBE 62 most rockingest Suikoden III Konami 090% 63 Ninja Assault Sega Soccer Slam Sega Sports 9% 62 magazine around. Summer Heat Beach Volleyball Acclaim PRRI 72 No One Lives Forever Sega Sports Tennis Sega Sports PEDDI 60 Summoner THO $£&& — 39 Okage: Shadow King Shadow Hearts Midway PPSS 52 Summoner 2 THO PEDI 62 Oni Rockstar Shadow of Destiny Konami SESA 43 Sunny Garcia Surfing Ubisoft PESE 51 Shadow Man: 2econd Coming Acclaim ep 57 АЦ right, here аге а ‘Super Bust-A-Move Acclaim BBB 4 Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny Capcom Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder Activision Seed. 52 couple quick codes Super Bust-A-Move 2 Ubisoft PEPI 63 Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Activision Shifters 300 ® 58 for ya (enter these Super Trucks Racing XS Games %9 76 Pac-Man Fever Shinobi Sega DERI 63 at the Pause screen) Supercar Street Challenge Activision PG 52 Pac-Man World 2 Shox EA Sports Big SESI 63 Superman: Shadow of Apokolips Atari PEI 63 PaRappa the Rapper 2 Shrek Super Party TDK Mediactive 5008 64 Unlock everything: Surfing H30 Rockstar 0%) 40 Paris-Dakar Rally SWAT: Global Strike Team Siera BRR 24 Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat Silent Hill 3 Konami PESSI 71 Swing Away Golf EA Games BRR 38 Portal Runner Silent Line: Armored Core Agetec BRR 70 Tak and the Power of Juju THO ERDI 75 Тһе Powerpuff Girls: Relish Rampage Silent Scope Konami DES 39 AU Juju power-ups: Tarzan: Untamed Ubisoft RRR 52 Pride FC Silent Scope 2 Konami WESA 49 %,%,%, %, 5, О, Taz: Wanted Infogrames BRR 60 Primal Silent Scope 3 Konami @@@S 62 ©,+ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Konami &&4 |75
[5! * Silpheed: The Lost Planet Working Designs #988 40 Tekken 4 Namco SDSI 61 Hey, just flip over to page 108 to get some good info about the foun- Тһе Simpsons: Hit & Run Vivendi Universal 0906080) 72 tains right there. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven Activision &&& 67
Official US. PlayStation Magazine 3)
MAKE 'EM SHAKE
REPL AY In the single-player game, tell your teammates to "Intimidate" a target, Who's Roger? and they will, ah, encourage the enemy to drop his or her weapon.
SOCOM II: U.S. NAVY SEALS
How to get the upper hand online
In case you've been living under a rock, we play SOCOM И in the U.S. West 1 room. Look for a room called Opium Den, or a player named "joePM."
(С?) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
Guidance
SEALS
As with most escort maps, Guidance requires some serious teamwork on the part of the SEALs if any of the VIPs are going to make it out alive. Your best bet is to have three players take one VIP each—that way if one of the escorts gets capped, another player can pick up the stranded VIP. Send two teammates out in front to scout for hidden terrorists and, more impor- tant, mines. Mines are the bane of a SEALS exis- tence, and they'll put an end to а tightly formed group of SEALs and VIPs in a hurry, so leave some room between you and your teammates. It will also help to have a couple SEALs lag behind the group to keep an eye out for sneaky terrorists trying to approach from the rear.
You're going to need to breach the wall at @ with some С4 to get to the extraction point, which means the terrorists will know with absolute certainty that you'll be passing this way. Think they'll mine in front of that wall?
It's also а good idea to breach the wall at @, since the main entrance to the extraction area is guarded by a turret and, you can be certain, a pant load of mines. (They can try to plant mines inside the breach point at @, but your C4 will detonate any mines close enough to matter.)
You'll pass through less choke points by taking the hostages via route @ @ O Ө, but watch out for terrorists around @; there are a lot of nooks and crannies for them to hide in.
Speaking of nooks and crannies, when leading the hostages, keep an eye on how close they are behind you—they can get hung up on scenery.
Oh, and if you want to save yourself a little effort, have someone call an air strike from 7 In addition to clearing out the base around the extraction zone, the attack will breach the wall at @.
TERRORISTS
This is one of the easiest escort maps to defend since there's just a single extraction point. Don't be surprised, though, if the SEALs elect to hide a single hostage because of that; if just one VIP survives the round, the SEALs win.
You can help swing the odds even more in your favor by equipping several players with PMN mines and mining the crap out of the extraction area—just be careful not to put the mines too close together, or one blast will take them all out.
One good place to stake out is @, since it's an area terrorists can jump over but SEALs have to breach. Drop a mine on the SEAL side of the culvert there to give someone a nice surprise.
Rushing over the top of the hill at Q will get you as close to the SEALs (and, more importantly, the VIPs) as possible, as quickly as possible. This tactic works best with big groups, but make sure you leave some players free to defend the extraction zone.
While you're on your way over the hill, don't forget about the turret at @—you present a lower profile here than at most turrets, and the sandbags look like rocks to the unwary eye.
Remember, killing SEALs is secondary to killing VIPs: If you have a choice between killing a VIP and killing a SEAL, go for the VIP every time. Your team- mates will praise you even if it gets you killed.
Q roin 2 ЕЕ B
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Crossroads
SEALS
This map can get hot and heavy for the SEALs, who arguably have a tougher time defending their base than terrorists do. But you can help cut off invasion routes by flipping the switches located at @ and @, which demolish the archways at @ and Ө, respectively. (In case you're wonder- ing, the terrorists can do this, too, so don’t hang around under any arches with explosives strapped to them.)
You've got a turret at @, but as it's up оп a veranda, it makes a pretty obvious target. Better put someone in the base with a shotgun if you're so worried about it, worrywart.
Asimilarly obvious target is the bell tower at @, but a good sniper can make it work anyway. You can’t deny the field of view you get from up there, in any event.
TERRORISTS
With fewer open routes around it, your base is much easier to defend than the SEALs. If you (ог the SEALs, for that matter) flip the switch at @, all you need is to put a couple general-purpose grunts at or near @ and Ө to protect all the approaches. For extra insurance, you can also mine all the entrances to your base building itself, but it’s best to keep someone in the area regardless.
The long streets at @ and @ are basically deathtraps for terrorists, so unless you're quick on the draw with a sniper rifle, it's a good idea to work your way through the buildings around the central square. Jumping from the stairway to the awning at will help.
The tents surrounding the bomb at Ө might seem to offer cover, but don't forget that any moderately powerful gun will blow through those tents like they're paper. If you're in a firefight іп the square, be especially careful to move erratically, otherwise enemies will be able to track your movement behind the tents even when they can't see you.
One of the biggest weaknesses of the SEAL base is that they can’t see a terrorist planting the bomb until they're almost on top of you. But remember that the converse is true as well, so try to bring a spotter along when you plant the bomb whenever possible.
SEALS
You're in for a treat here, SEALs, and by “treat,” we mean “major pain in the ass.” The terrorists, if they so choose, can simply retreat into their lit- tle basement hideout and guard the bomb location indefinitely. If you're going to have any chance of planting that bomb, you'll need to survive the initial assault. One good way to help that cause is to call air strikes from © to hit either Delta (Ө) or Echo (Ө). There's a nice side effect to hitting Echo, though: The strike opens up a gap in the fence, making it unneces- sary to breach either of the gates. You'll be able to strike both targets if you move quickly enough.
While all this is going on, chances аге the terrorists won't be guarding their back door carefully, so head around and climb up onto the plateau at ©. Watch out for mines! (In fact, that goes double once you're actually inside the gates.) If you can make it to the turret at Ө, you can bombard the inside of the base, taking out just about any terrorists that haven't yet dashed underground.
Once you've made it inside and headed into the basement at Ө or Ө, pause a moment to let your eyes adjust to the dark; otherwise, any terror- ists that have been hiding out there will have a big advantage.
TERRORISTS Two words: “duck” and “cover.” Funnel your whole team into the base- ment, plant some mines at the entrances, and you're all but impregnable.
If you don't want to try such cowardly tactics, why not open the gate with the switch located at &), plant a mine or three outside, then close the gate? Won't they be surprised when they try to plant their C4!
Make sure you have players who are at least checking the bridge at Ө; the last thing you want is someone sneaking in the back way.
And whether you're taking the coward's path or not, shoot out the lights in the basement. It'll take just a few moments for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, giving anyone who's in the basement a major advantage over any SEALs who try to plant the bomb. Don't just turn the lights off with the switch, though, because the SEALs can find the switch and turn the lights back on.
Official US. PlayStation Magazine (n5)
NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND
Get your dragging and drifting chops down
DRAG RACING TIPS
DRIFT RACING TIP:
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Atari DI 63
The Terminator: Dawn of Fate
Test Drive Infogrames PASI 58 Test Drive Off-Road: Wide Open Infogrames @®@ 48 Tetris Worlds THO B® 5 Theme Park Roller Coaster EA Games PROP 41 The Thing Universal 600) 62
Eidos 64 52 EA Sports $$$ 44 EA Sports PASS 55 EA Sports PESDA 63
Thunderstrike: Operation Phoenix Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003
Time Crisis 2 Namco PEDS 49 Time Crisis 3 Namco $9 $94 74 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 Crave B® 76
Crave ®@ | 45 Ubisoft BRB 65 Eidos 6% n
Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness
Unlockable How to Unlock.
Alternate Ending Complete story mode twice Create-a-Deck Mode | Beat Slamma Jamma in story mode Gene Simmons
Complete story mode on Normal difficulty Hotter Than Hell Beat story mode on any skill level
Iron Мап Complete Beginners story mode
Level: THPS2 Hangar | Find old skool icon on Moscow map Movie: Always Hard | Find nine secret tapes
Movie: Bails 1 Find three secret tapes
Movie: Bails 2 Find six secret tapes
Movie: KISS Concert | Activate К-1-5-5 letters on Hotter Than Hell level
Pedestrians Find every gap in the game Level: THPS2 School 2 | There's a red icon in the back quarter-pipe sec- tion of the train station in New Jersey; get it THUD Complete story mode on Sick difficulty level Level: Venice Beach | There is a small smoking tiki-god statue (from the beach) in the backleft comer of Hawaii in
Top Angler Xicat PADI 57 Top Gear Dare Devil. Кетсо SESI 41 Top Gun: Combat Zones Titus @®@ 50 Total Immersion Racing Empire ® 66 Transworld Surf Infogrames #899 57
Tribes: Aerial Assault Siera PRSI 62 Triple Play 2002 EA Sports B® 55
Triple Play Baseball EA Sports @@ 45 True Crime: Streets of L.A. Activision 6060 76
Just enter these while on the Pause menu for the intended effect.
Input Effect +, >, +, >, ® | All driving upgrades unlocked
f, 4, f, &, GO. | All fighting moves unlocked
® Bigger car (must be in car before you enter it
on the Pause menu) Shows Nick Kang's current location Atlus $9 53
%,0,0,6
Tsugunai: Atonement
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger ЕА Games 686 62 UFC Throwdown Infogrames SSSI 58 Unison Tecmo SEDI 44 Unlimited Saga Square Enix 4. 70 Unreal Tournament. Infogrames 6094 40 V-Rally 3 Infogrames SEPSI 64 Vampire Night Namco 098 52 Vexx Acclaim B® 67
Victorious Boxers
Wakeboarding Unleashed Activision 5006006 70
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo Bam &&& — 74 War Jetz зро $4 48
Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior THO $$$ м Warriors of Might & Magic зро d 44 Wave Rally Eidos 64 5 Way of the Samurai Bam SEI 59 Wheel of Fortune Atari @@% 76 Whiplash Eidos B®? 76 Whirl Tour Vivendi Universal 8090 в Whiteout Konami @ 65 Wild Arms 3 Sony CEA SPSI 62 Wild Wild Racing Interplay 00% 39 Winback Koei $$$ 43 Wipeout Fusion Bam && $94 57 Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land Atlus RRR 53
Woody Woodpecker: Buzz Buzzard Park Dreamcatcher ®®® 57
World Championship Pool 2004 Jaleo BRS? 76 World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks зро $$$ 42 Infogrames PEPP 55 Sega Sports BRR® 67
World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars World Series Baseball 2K3
World Tour Soccer 2002 World Tour Soccer 2003
Sony CEA $$$ 53 Sony CEA BESS 65
Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions Activision 80%) 63
WTA Tour Tennis Konami ® 57 WWE Crush Hour THO %%4 68 (Өз SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain — THO BRI 76
SECRET AREA In the training/weight room, find the wall that appears to be cracked and Irish Whip your opponent into it. The wall should break away, revealing the secret area.
WWE SmackDown!: Shut Your Mouth
wi !: Just Bring It
Activision PESDA 64 EA Games SAPI 38 Activision 90% 69 Xenosaga: Episode 1—Der Wille Zur Macht Namco RRR® 66
X-Men: Next Dimension X Squad X2: Wolverine’s Revenge
XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association Acclaim @@@@% 74
xu Ubisoft BRR 75 Yanya Caballista: City Skater Koei RRR 49 Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Duelists of the Roses Konami $$$ 67 Zapper Infogrames @@% 64 OE: Zone of the Enders Konami 05006 44 Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner Konami PEERI 68
PS1 TRICKS AND REVIEW ARCHIVE
007 Racing EA Games de A 3Xtreme 989 Studios ® a 40 Winks GT Interactive BBD 28 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue Eidos 9948 41
2002 FIFA World Cup
EA Sports PRES 58
‘Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere Namco RRR 3
Aces of the Air Agetec 8 64 Action Bass Take 2 @@ 37 Action Man: Operation Extreme Hasbro @@® 41
Mud Duck PSDA 70 Crystal Dynamics $$ 18 Sony CEA B® 45 Rockstar @ 2
Fox Interactive DAS 38 Mud Duck ФФ 71
Air Hockey Akuji the Heartless
Aladdin in Nasira’s Revenge Alexi Lalas International Soccer Alien Resurrection
All-Star Racing 2
PUBLISHER SCORE
All-Star Slammin’ D-Ball Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Agetec Infogrames
Alundra Working Designs Alundra 2 Activision The Amazing Virtual Sea-Monkeys Conspiracy ‘American Pool ‘Mud Duck |
‘Animaniacs Ten Pin Alley Animorphs: Shattered Reality
Apocalypse Arc the Lad Collection Working Designs = Arcade Party Pak Midway 6 е g Arcades Greatest Hits: Atari Collection2 — Midway | Arcade's Greatest Hits: Midway Collection 2 Midway
Armored Core С Armored Core: Master of Arena ‘Armorines: Project SWA В.М.
Army Men: Air Attack
Army Men: Air Attack 2
Army Men: Green Rogue
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes
Army Men: Sarge’s Heroes 2
Army Men: World War
Army Men: World War—Final Front Army Men: World War— Land, Sea, Air Arthur! Ready to Race The Learning Co. f Assault Midway
Atari Anniversary Edition Redux Atlantis: The Lost Empire. ATV: Quad Power Racing ATV Mania Austin Powers Pinball. Auto Destruct Azure Dreams Backstreet Billiards Ball Breakers Ballistic Baseball 2000 Bass Landing Bass Rise Batman & Robin Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker Batman: Gotham City Racer Battle Hunter Battletanx: Global Assault Beast Wars Crave $4 As if you really want to keep that blade spinning here's a trick to prolong this agonizing game. Hit O+ (instead of ®) when you
Big Air Big Bass Fishing
Big League Slugger Baseball Big ОГ Bass 2
Big Strike Bowling
Billiards
Bio FREAKS.
Black Bass with Blue Marlin
ISSUE
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE Blade Activision @@@ — 4 Blast Lacrosse Acclaim @@@ 48 Blast Radius Psygnosis RSS? 19 Blaster Master: Blasting Again Crave 806% 38 Blasto Sony СЕА SRR? 8 Blockids Natsume @@@ 69 Bloody Roar Sony СЕА @@@@ 6 Bloody Roar 2 Sony СЕА PRPS 21 Blues Big Musical THO $99 46 Board Game: Top Shop Agetec BRED 45 Bomberman Fantasy Race Atlus @@% 19 Bomberman Party Edition. Vatical BBE | 38 Bomberman World Atlus $4 — в The Bombing Islands Кето $94 47 Boombots SouthPeak 8886 — 27 Bottom of the 9th 97 Konami $4 1 Bowling Agetec 6% в Boxing Agetec RRR 45 Bratz Ubisoft n/a n/a Brave Fencer Musashi Square EA @@@@ 15 Bravo Air Race TH) $$$ 1 Breakout Hasbro @® 39 Breath of Fire Ill Capcom DORA 9 Breath of Fire IV Capcom $$$ 40 Brigandine Atlus BBR 15 Broken Sword THO RRES 5 Broken Sword Il Gave RRR? 27 Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling THO BER? B Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2 THO EDSS 31 Bug Riders GT Interactive BB 3
Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters Bugs Bunny: Lost In Time
Infogrames @@@ 41 Infogrames RRR 23
Builder's Block laleco BRS 35 Burstrick Wake Boarding! Natsume 66 |45 Bushido Blade 2 Square EA DOSI 14 Bust A Groove 989 Studios &&&$ 16 Bust A Groove 2 Enix @@@ 36 Bust-A-Move 4 Natsume 066% 17 Bust-A-Move 99 Acclaim 8%) 9 Buzz Lightyear of Star Command Activision 886 39 С: The Contra Adventure Konami @@ n c2: Final Resistance Sony CEA 868 | 58 Caesar's Palace 2000 Interplay 8 а Caesar's Palace Il Interplay B® 5 Capcom vs. SNK Pro Capcom SADI 60 Card Games Agetec @9 50 Cardinal SYN Sony CEA $$ 9 CART World Series Sony CEA SOSI — 3 Casper: Friends Around the World Sound Source 484 а Castlevania Chronicles Konami ess 50 Castrol Honda Superbike Electronic Arts E т Centipede Hasbro ® 2 Championship Bass EA Sports RRR® 33 Championship Motocross 2001 Feat. Ricky Carmichael THQ 9 41
Championship Motocross Feat. Ricky Carmichael
THO ESSI 25
Championship Surfer Mattel PES 41 Chessmaster Il Mindscape @@@@ 23 Chicken Run Eidos $99 41 Chocobo Racing Square EA ®®® 23 Chocobo's Dungeon 2 Square EA $98 29
Gircuit Breakers. Mindscape 688 12 Civilization И Activision SSS? 18 Cleopatra's Fortune Mud Duck @@@ 71 Clock Tower Ascii $$ | 2 Clock Tower Il: The Struggle Within Agetec @@G | 28
Colin McRae Rally ‘Sony CEA eese 30
Colony Wars: Red Sun Psygnosis 9%%%46 31
Colony Wars: Vengeance Psygnosis POSI — 14 Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin 98686 4 Contender Sony CEA SERS 17
FORUM
BATMAN: SIN TZU RISING
Hey, I'm trying to get through Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (I like pair- ing up Nightwing with Tim Drake Robin), and | was wondering if you have any cheats for the game.
Thomas Elliott Philadelphia, PA
Alrighty, this is pretty easy. First, hold down L1, L2, R1 and R2 simultane- ously at the Start screen. Then you can input any of these codes:
All moves unlocked: ffe mm 4,4
Infinite power bar: e, t, 3m, m, 9, t
Infinite health: t, +, +e, tmm
Unlock final difficul-
Just unlock every- thing: $, t, ¥, t, =, %,«,%
DRIVING WEIRD CARS IN VICE CITY If you have finished the car jobs at Sunshine Autos, this helps. The trick is: Save your game at Sunshine Autos, then enter the “weird wheels” code. Look at the Deluxo to see if the cheat worked. Load the game and repeat the code. Keep loading and entering until you can't get in the car any more. When you can't, get in a Caddie and you blast across Vice City! Enter the “cars float on water” cheat to make a fast boat! Ericskyfdaol.com
Contender 2
Cool Boarders 2001 Sony CEA @ 39 Countdown Vampires. Bandai 69 32
Activision SE
Crash Bash
Grime Killer Interplay SES Critical Depth STilnteractive DLD
34 3 226 Д BW 15 SCEA/Universal PI 39 12 3 1 22
Fox Interactive @@%
Croc 2
Crossroad Crisis Agetec 994 50 Crusaders of Might & Magic 3D0 See 30
EA Sports EEDS 27 Konami PEES 42 Konami @®R@R® 49 Konami ®@®@®@ 57
CyberTiger Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix Dance Dance Revolution: Копатіх
Danger Girl THO 696 9 Dark Omen Electronic Arts ФФ 9 DarkStalkers 3 Capcom $$$ 16 Darkstone Take 2 RRR 43
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Acclaim $$$ 38 Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX: Maximum Remix Acclaim 80998 47
David Beckham Soccer. Majesco B® 61 Dead in the Water ASC @@ р Dead or Alive Tecmo PESSI 8 Deathtrap Dungeon Eidos 0%8 9 Deception Ill: Dark Delusion Tecmo ESES 31
Delta Force: Urban Warfare Demolition Racer
Novalogic $$ 61 Infogrames $$$ 26
Destrega Koei @@RS 16 Destruction Derby Raw Midway &&&$ 39 Devil Dice. THO SSSI в Dexter's Laboratory: Mandark's Lab? Bam #888 59 Diablo Electronic Arts &&&$ 8 Die Hard Trilogy: Viva Las Vegas Fox Interactive $99 31
Digimon Digital Card Battle Bandai d» 48
Digimon Rumble Arena Bandai 86068 55 Digimon World Bandai 64 36 Digimon World 2 Bandai 6% 46 Digimon World 3 Bandai 6098 5 Dino Crisis Capcom $&&$ 25 Dino Crisis 2 Capcom PEDDI 38 Dirt Jockey Mastiff @® л Disney's Dinosaur Ubisoft 4 36
Sony CEA $996 64 Ubisoft BRS 39 Activision DSG 27 DreamCatcher DSI 56 DreamCatcher P496. 48
Disney's Treasure Planet Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers Downhill Mountain Bike Racing Dracula: The Last Sanctuary Dracula: The Resurrection
Dragon Ball GT Bandai ФФ 4 Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 Infogrames & Dragon Tales: Dragon Seek NewKidCo @@ 45 Dragon Valor Namco $$$ 38 Dragon Warrior VII Enix BADRI 51 Dragonseeds laleco @® 15 ier er interactive 666% 24 Driver 2 Infogrames RASS 40 Ducati World Championship Racing Acclaim @@@ — 4 Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes Infogrames @@@ — 40
us dá Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown a Interactive $$ 5
z 29 Dukes of Hazzard Ik Daisy Dukes it Out SouthPeak 9% а Dune 2000 Electronic Arts @9 т EA Sports Supercross EASports @@@@ 41 Eagle One: Harrier Attack. Infogrames $9 32 Echo Night Agetec $$ 23 ECW Anarchy Rulz Acclaim & 38 ECW Hardcore Revolution Acclaim 96 30
Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)
READER REVIEWS
No turtles in time, just sands of time
We want your reviews of the best and worst games, so write a review and
send it to opm/@ziffdavis.com. We can't publish everyone's,
о keep it short,
be witty, and remember that not every game deserves a 5-star rating just
because you like it!
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME What you said: "There isn't enough you can say about this game. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remembered why we liked the games of old, of the SNES and Genesis days. It is a pleasure to play. You don’t want to put it down, and not just for the great story or the fantastic, awe-inspiring graphics. Sure, they add to th atmosphere, but the game is just fun to play.
| find myself constantly looking for different ways to pass certain areas. Sure, you could take the
What we said: “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is one of my favorite games ever. I’m tempted to just stop the review there and let you experience this excellent game for yourself.”
Our Score «s
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
What you said: “The music starts, you listen. As for the meaningless dialogue, you skip it. When | insert- ed the Turtles game, my first thoughts were ‘Finally, they're back.’ Unfortunately, they should have stayed in their shells.
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remembered why we liked the games of old, of the SNES and Genesis days.”
easy route, but you can also chal- lenge yourself. It's difficult when it should be and easy at other times. If you die, you are usually brought back to within one to three minutes of gameplay, which in most cases is fun to redo.
The fighting is also as fun as it gets. You can try to hack-n-slash your way through only to find your- self dying over and over. It needs strategy: Should you vault over an enemy, or stay grounded? Is it bet- ter to roll to the guy across the screen or focus on the one in fro of you? Each battle flows, and each enemy has its own way of fighting. Slashing through sand zombies is blissful even if it takes too long.
Short and sweet, һеге 5 the scoop: Play this game somehow.
“Buy it, borrow it, rent it, steal it (ОК, maybe not), whatever you have to do. Yes, it is that good.” Your Score SHDSL
Jeffrey Kendall snoopy_jefflayahoo.com
(18) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
“First off, the gameplay is fun for a while, but after noticing all you do is fight a bunch of ninjas with the intelligence of a sock, you get pretty bored. What else 15 annoying and boring? The jokes you hear every time you hit the square button. You can’t even block! The ‘dash’ move is useless most of the time. You'd also think the Versus mode would be good, but you get dogged even on the easiest setting. Once you hit the floor, you might as well drop the controller, because the CPU won't let you get back up. | bet if the Turtles were real, even they would- n't play this game.”
Your Score ®® Richard Blair MidgetMan2oo2(daol.com
What we s; But oh, how the little things disappoint, frustrate, and annoy.
All these things just make me wanna stop playing and do some- thing else. Stickball, anyone?” Our Score RRI
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Ehrgeiz Square EA 6 Sony CEA Working Designs 60% Psygnosis f The Emperor's New Groove. SCEA Mud Duck.
Konami @
Einhánder Elemental Gearbolt Eliminator
Equestrian Showcase ESPN MLS GameNight
ET the ExtraTerrestral: Interplanetary Mission Eternal Eyes
Evil Dead: Hail to the King
Evil Zone
Expendable
#12000
F1 Championship Season
F1 Racing Championship
Family Feud
Family Game Pack
Fantastic Four
Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition
Fear Effect B Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix Eidos RS E Felony 11-79 ii B®
FIFA 98
FIFA 99
FIFA 2000
FIFA 2001 Major League Soccer FIFA Soccer 2003
The Fifth Element
Fighter Maker
Fighting Force 2 Final Fantasy Anthology Final Fantasy Chronicles A 89 Final Fantasy Origins
BLACKJACK EASTER EGG Just input this code once you get to the End screen after everything : R2, 11, R2, R2, 1, 8,9, O, 5, G, R, R2, L1, ©, О. At the second press of the © button, you should hear a sound as if you're using an em: Now pres Sera you'll be able to play Blackjack at your leisure. Fisherman's Bait Konami SS Fisherman's Bait 2: Big О! Bass Konami Su nU Flintstones Bedrock Bowling SouthPeak 6 3
Ford Truck Mania Gotham Games Ford Racing. Empire Formula 4795) РЕПО] Formula 1'99 Psygnosis. Forsaken Acclaim Fox Sports Golf 99 Fox Interactive 6 Fox Sports Soccer 99 Fox Interactive Freestyle Boardin' '99 Capcom Freestyle Motocross: McGrath vs. Pastrana Acclaim BEE Hasbro) Frogger 2: Swampy's Revenge Hasbro Front Mission 3 Square EA f Future Cop LA.PD. Electronic Arts G-Police Psygnosis G-Police 2 Psygnosis G-Darius THO Galaga: Destination Earth Hasbro Galerians Crave Gallop Racer Тесто Gauntlet Legends Midway Gekido Interplay Gekioh: Shooting King Natsume Gex: Deep Cover Gecko Eidos
Gex: Enter the Gecko
GAME PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Ghost in the Shell Glover Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado
Grand Theft Auto 2 Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 Grand Tour Racing 98
т 2 Activision eee 1 26 10
Grandia Sony CEA 898993 Granstream Saga THO SES
The Grinch Konami/Universal 04) 139 Grind Session Sony CEA 34 Grudge Warriors Take 2 34 Guardian's Crusade Activision Bes 19 Gubble Mud Duck ав Gundam Battle Assault 2 Bandai өзе» 62 Gunfighter: The Legend of Jesse James Ubisoft #® 52 HardBall 99 Accolade 5 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ЕА Games 5 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ЕА Games SES 64 Harvest Moon: Back to Nature Natsume SESE (0 HBO Boxing Acclaim 22 а Heart of Darkness. Interplay @®®® B Hellboy: Asylum Seeker Dreamcatcher B Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy Newkidco @@@ | 20 Here's Adventures 9 2 High Heat Baseball 2000 2 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 eee 43 Hogs of War Infogrames sese 38 Hooters Road Trip Ubisoft @ Y 55 Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth з Hot Shots Golf 7 Hot Shots Golf 2
Hydro Thunder Midway Eu IHRA Drag Racing Bethesda 5 In Cold Blood DreamCatcher 609 49 Incredible Crisis Tus SSS? 38 Inspector Gadget: Gadgets Crazy Maze Ubisot 66664 50 Intelligent Qube Sony CEA eee 2 Intellivision Classic Games 28
Intl. Superstar Soccer 98 Int'l. Track & Field 2000 InuYasha
Invasion From Beyond Iron Soldier 3
Irritating Stick
155 Pro Evolution
Konami SEO? 11 Konami ФФФ® 27 Bandai @®® єв GT Interactive B® 5 Vatical BBRR 35
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster
lade Cocoon
Jarrett & LaBonte Stock Car Racing Jeopardy!
(орау! 2
plipercross 2000)
Jet Moto 3
Jigsaw Madness
Jimmy Johnson VR Football lojos Bizarre Adventure Juggernaut
K4 Grand Prix
K-1 Revenge
Kagero: Deception И Kartia
Kensei Sacred Fist. Kickboxing
Killer Loop.
King of Fighters 99 KISS Pinball
Knockout Kings
EA Sports RSS? 16
PUBLISHER SCORE
ISSUE
Knockout Kings 2000 - Knockout Kings 2001_ lassics
Koudelka | _ Kurt Warner's Arena Football Unleashed
Legend of Legaia _ Legend of Mana Lego Island
Lego Rock Raiders Lilo & Stitch
The Little Mermaid И Lode Runner
Madden NFL 2004 Marble Master
Mary-Kate and Ashle Mass Destruction _
Medal Of Honor Underground MediEvil |
мані |
Mega Man Legends |
Mega Man Legends 2
Mega М;
Mega Man X5_
MegaManX6 | EM Men in Black-The Series: Crashdown
Micro Maniacs Mike Tyson Boxing
The Misadventures of Ton Bonne Miss Spider's Tea Party Missile Command
Simon & Schuster
Mobile Armor | Mobile Light Force
PUBLISHER SCORE
ISSUE
Monaco Grand Prix Monkey Hero Monkey Magi
‘Monster Bass! Monster Rancher 2 Monster Rancher Battle Card: Episode It ‘Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout Monster Seed Monsters, Inc. Mort the Chicken Mortal Kombat: Special Forces -
Mortal Kombat Trilogy |
Moto Racer2 .— Electronic Arts
Moto Racer World Tour | Infogrames | Motocross Mania _ a _ Take 2 Motocross Mania 2 Gotham Games Motorhead Fox Interactive Мі. Domino
Mr. Driller
М5. Pac-Man Maze Madness _ MTV Music Generator
MTV Sports: Pure Ride — MTV Sports: Skateboarding Feat. Andy MacDonald MTV Sports: Snowboarding
MTV Sports: Т). Lavin's Ultimate BMX MTVS Celebrity Deathmatch TheMummy — —
Muppet Monster Adventure
Gotham Games Konami
My Disney Kitchen N.GEN Racing _
NASCAR Thunder 2004 __ NBA Fastbreak 98 |
NBA In the Zone 99 _ NBA In the Zone 2000 NBA Live 98
NBA Live 99
NBA Live 2000 — NBA Live 2001
NBA Live 2002
NBA ShootOut 98 NBA ShootOut 2000 NBA ShootOut 2001 NBA ShootOut 2002 NBA ShootOut 20 МВА ShootOut 2004 Е МВА Showtime: МВА оп NBC | NBA Tonight |
NCAA Final Four 99 NCAA Final Four 2000 NCAA Final Four 2001 NCAA Football 98 NCAA ооња99 NCAA Football 2000 | NCAA Football 2001 NCAA GameBreaker 98 — NCAA GameBreaker 99 NCAA GameBreaker 2000
7 989 Studios 989 Studios
DEFY THIS! | know you guys didn't like Legacy of Kain: Defiance, but 1 won't hate on you; | bet you've heard enough from other. fans. Can you help out those of us who do like it? Basically, do you guys have any codes for this? Please? Thanks! Will Jemas New York, NY
Sure thing. You ask and we serve. We went straight to Eidos, and here’s their reply:
Note that all direc- tional buttons are using the D-pad, not the analog stick. Hit Start to pause the game, then enter in the desired code. Hit Start again to acti- vate the cheat lif you entered it correctly]:
Fill 'er up: e, m, m, RT 6,4
Give all up: +, =, t, t, L1, R2, О, +, 6
Give all slams: =, 5, t, 5, 5 R16 ©,+
Infinite reaver charge: $, +, t, =, R1, R2,
All dark chronicles: R1, $, R2, L1, ®, R2, А, 8,11
All bonuses: R2, ¥, L2, R1, +=, L2, 1,
Invincible: ЖАЛАҒАН R2, M
, 8,11
GAME
NCAA GameBreaker 2001 NCAA March Madness 98 NCAA March Madness 99
NCAA March Madness 2000 NCAA March Madness 2001
Nectaris: Military Madness
PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Sony CEA #9 97 EA Sports DASS 7 EASports @@® 18 EA Sports PPSS 29 EA Sports 0%. а
laleco RER® 17
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed Electronic Arts RRR? 33
Need for Speed: V-Rally Need for Speed: V-Rally 2 Newman/Haas Racing
The Next Tetris
NFL Blitz 2001
NFL GameDay 99
NFL GameDay 2000
NFL GameDay 2001
NFL GameDay 2002
NFL GameDay 2003
NFL GameDay 2004
NFL Xtreme
NFL Xtreme 2
NHL 98
NHL 99
NHL 2000
NHL 2001
NHL Blades of Steel 2000
NHL Breakaway 98
NHL Championship 2000 TE
NHL FaceOff 99
NHL FaceOff 2000
NHL FaceOff 2001
NHL Rock the Rink
Nick Toons Racing
Nightmare Creatures
Nightmare Creatures II
Ninja: Shadow of Darkness
Nuclear Strike
орт.
‘Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
Omega Boost One
One Piece Mansion
Pandemonium! 2
Electronic Arts 606 3 Electronic Arts ed 28 Psygnosis RR 7 Hasbro ФФ 24
в
Midway BERE
989 Studios 0500). 989 Studios PASS 989 Studios 68604 Sony CEA @@ Sony CEA SERS Sony CEA 9. 989 Studios 9e 989 Studios 09 EA Sports ФФ | EA Sports ФФ | EA Sports pé | EA Sports 9 Konami @@ Acclaim pde Fox Interactive B® —
взяв зе
989 Studios SESS 14 989 Studios BBE 26 Sony CEA PESSI 38 Electronic Arts $$ 32 Infogrames @@@ 48 Activision BSR 3 Konami $$ 33 Eidos 64 5 Electronic Arts PERPA з Psygnosis 64 5
GT Interactive PEPSI 15
Sony CEA @®®@ 25 ASC DOPE 4 Capcom ®4 50
Panzer Front Parasite Eve II Square EA 980606 37 Patriotic Pinball Gotham Games #® | 70
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment Peter Jacobsen's Golden Tee Golf
PGA Tour 98 Phix: The Adventure Pinobee
Pipe Dreams 3D
Pitfall 3D
Planet of the Apes
Play With The Teletubbies Pocket Fighter
Point Blank
Point Blank 2
Point Blank 3
Polaris SnoCross
Pong
Pool Hustler
Populous: The Beginning Porsche Challenge
Power Play Sports Trivia
Atlus $E 41 Infogrames BESS 41 EA Sports PES 3 Agetec 04 7 Konami 6%. 68 Empire Int. B® 52 Activision @@ 9 Ubisoft BRR Knowledge Adv. 80%. Capcom BRED Namco SEDI Namco DEDI Namco DREG Vatical 6096 Hasbro SEDI Activision 8999 Electronic Arts 04 Sony CEA SRG Ubisoft B®
Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
The very best of 1998.
Going back to the end of 1998
Even though this came out in January 1999, we probably wrote it around November or December of 1998. We celebrated the best and worst of that year, and made a really
big deal about the number four on the cover.
COVER FLASHBACK
Whoa, guess what game got previewed this same month five years ago? The original Syphon Filter. Described as “equal parts James Bond and Solid Snake,” we were impressed by Gabriel Logan’s array of moves, weapons, and gadgets. Our only concern in the pre- view was about the slippery controls, but the final release got a respectable four discs, and now we're all looking forward to the cooperative-online Omega Strain title. Go back a few pages for more Logan antics!
BEST AND WORST OF 1998
The biggest story this issue? Our OPM
Editors’ Awards for 1998. A lot of PC
gamers proclaim 1998 as the best gam-
ing year ever, with the triple-combo of
Half-Life, StarCraft, and Grim Fandango
all coming out that year. 1998 was also
a pretty awesome year for the PS1, as
evident by the slew of classics that were
recognized that year. No less than three franchises started in 1998, franchises that all have hot titles we're looking for- ward to in 2004. Here’s the breakdown of the “Best” awards:
* Game of the year: Metal Gear Solid No surprise.
* Action game: Crash Bandicoot: WARPED! Back when Naughty Dog focused on platforming and not GTA-izing.
* Sports: Hot Shots Golf Who would of thought that a golf game would win?
* Fighting: Tekken 3 Hi, Heihachi!
* Adventure: Metal Gear Solid (We didn't mind giving one game two awards.)
e Strategy: Final Fantasy Tactics (Hey, an advance peek at FFXII here.)
* RPG: Xenogears
Semi-overlooked, but a good prequel, if you will, to Xenosaga.
* Puzzle: Devil Dice The one puzzle game that bested Bust-A-Move 4.
* Racing: Gran Turismo The start of a franchise so big it has its own set of awards.
* Worst game: Fifth Element As we said, “so damned bad that it's actually almost fun to play.”
TOP 5 CRAZINESS
Editors’ Top 5
5. R-lype Delta (makes sense)
д. Bust-A-Move 4 (wacky, but | ming territory)
still good)
3. R4 (we're still in good gal 2. Silent Hill (no argument there)
. Jeopardy!
You read that right, the number one game we editors were playing in February of 1999 was Jeopardy! Jeopardy!?! What the hell were we thinking?
BEST GAME OF FEBRUARY 1999: While it’s nice and good to see FIFA 99 maintain the strong legacy of the series, what's a little troubling are the other good games of the month. We're not disputing the four discs for Bust-A-Move 4 or Contender (one of the best boxing games ever), but really, four stars each for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune? Even five years ago, we were wondering where the heck Pat Sajak was for the Wheel of Fortune game. Well, at least we can say, “Back in our day, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! were actually
Millions of dollars that Armageddon (one of the worst movies ever) grossed worldwide in 1998.
Pigeon >
good games!" to the kids who don't like the most recent versions on the PS2.
WORST GAME OF FEBRUARY 1999 WCW/nWo Thunder. Or, as the deck put it: “thunderously bad.” Even ignoring our disbelief of wrestling as a sport, the game itself is just plain horrendous. We're lucky to have a wrestling game as good as Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain, considering how horrible this one is by comparison.
STUPID PERIPHERAL: JOGCON
We actually spent a whole half-page— complete with photos and bad jokes about using the suffix “con” in different ways—telling you all about this nifty new controller that was bundled with R4. It’s laid out just like a DualShock, except instead of analog sticks, there's a big honkin' disc in the middle—sup- posedly to simulate the driving wheel. It kinda worked, except it was only used for—you guessed it—R4. Sure, GT3 kinda supported it [as іп, acknowledged its existence], but otherwise the JogCon sadly (or deservedly, depending on your point of view) faded away into obscurity.
Final Fantasy Tactics
ІСІ née
272
à
STE pm
ғам i: аж”
PAUL
Hot Shots Golf
Metal Gear Solid
Tekken 3
Xenogears
Official US. PlayStation Magazine
GAME
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue Power Shovel -
Power Soccer 2_
Power Spike Pro Beach Volleyball The Powerpuff Gi Poy Poy
Pro 18 World Tour Golf
Pro Pinball: Big Race USA Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Pro Pinball: Timeshock! Psybadek
Punky Skunk
Putter Golf
Puzzle Star Sweep
Puzznic
Q-Bert
Quake И
Rype Delta
Riypes.
RA: Ridge Racer Туре 4 Racing
Rage Ball
Railroad Tycoon It
Rainbow Six
Rally Cross 2
Rampage
Rampage 2: Universal Tour Rampage Through Time Ray Tracers
RayCrisis
Rayman 2: The Great Escape. Rayman Brain Games Rayman Rush
Razor Freestyle Scooter
RC de GO!
RC Helicopter
RCRevenge |
RC Stunt Copter
Re-Volt
Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2 Red Asphalt
(Real Fishing 2
Reel Fishing Il
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Resident Evil: Survivor = Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Rising Zan
Risk
Rival Schools
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
p Е Road Rash: Jail Break
Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots
Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue Rogue Trip
Roll Away
Rollcage
Rollcage Stage И
Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI
Acclaim
Psygnosis 6 Infogrames
Chemical XTraction | Bai
Konami Psygnosis @ Empire Empire
Take 2 8 Psygnosis Jaleco Agetec 8 Agetec Mud Duck Hasbro Activision
Midway Midway
THQ
Working Designs Ubisoft
Ubisoft Crave Acclaim 8
Agetec |06
Acclaim
Acclaim 9
Electronic Arts
Manel (8
THO ff
GT Interactive @ Psygnosis Psygnosis Psygnosis кое
x Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths, & Legends Кед Storm @
RPG Maker
Rugrats: Totally Angelica
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Runabout 2
Running Wild
Rushdown
‘Sabrina, Teenage Witch: A Twitch in Time! SaGa Frontier
SaGa Frontier 2
Saiyuki: Journey West
Agetec ®
тн THO É
989 Studios f Electronic Arts @ Knowledge Adv.
ISSUE
PUBLISHER SCORE
Sammy Sosa Softball ат — Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage Scooby-Doo and the Cyber
Scrabble Sentinel Returns Sesame Street Sports Shadow Madness ‘Shadow Man Shadow Master Shadow Tower Shanghai: True Valor
Shooter: Starfighter Sanvein Silent Bomber
Silhouette Mirage Sim Theme Park The Simpsons Wrestling
Skydiving Extreme
Small Soldiers ‘Smurfs
Smurf Racer Sno-Cross Championship Racing Snowboarding
Sorcerer's Maze
Soul of the Samurai
South Park _ South Park: Chef's Luv Shack South Park Rally
Space Invaders
Spec Ops: Ranger Elite Spec Ops: Stealth Patrol Speed Punks
Speed Racer Speedball2100 _
Spider-Man Spin Jam SpongeBob SquarePants
Star Wars Demolition Steel Reign Streak
Street Fighter Collection Street Fighter Collection 2 Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha Street Fighter EX2 Plus Street Racquetball
Street SkBer
Street SkBer 2
Strider 2
Surtker Pro 2000
Strikers 1945
PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
FORUM
CHRONO TRIGGER I've been playing Chrono Trigger lately and I'm close to the end of the designated side quest time. I’ve done all the quests Gaspar suggests except two: The Sun Stone and Cyrus. How do you beat Son of Sun? You can't damage the core and his little flames absorb magic and take little physical damage. What do | do? And what do | do about Cyrus? Thanks. Brady Wiltfong Пегузиг На hotmail.com
Stuart Little 2 _ Suikoden И Super Bubble Pop Super Shot Soccer Superbike 2000
Surf Riders Sydney 2000
Tales of Destiny И Tall: Infinity
LEVEL SELECT To open the cheat menu, go to the main menu and press 4», 4, =», =>, $, $, +, =, t, t, $, $. Then go into the Cheat Menu and enter this code for Level Select: 11, RI, 11, R1, LI, RI, LL RI, L2, R2. Team Buddies
RC Racing
Your mistake was trying to attack the core. What you need to do is figure out which flame is con- nected to the core, and attack that par- ticular flame. Just try attacking the flames in clockwise order; the real flame is the one that doesn’t counter you. Just concentrate all of your physical attacks on that one flame. When Son of Sun does his Roulette Shuffle, do а clockwise run against his flames again.
As for Cyrus, travel back to 600 A.D. and help the carpenters near the Northern Ruins. Pay for the renovations. When you go back to the ruins, put Frog as the party leader. When you meet Cyrus’ spirit in 600 A.D., he and Frog will reminisce, and he'll get a proper send-off. Pay the carpenter another 2000g for the final set of renovations to the ruins. When you come back to t area in 1000 A.D. it’s now called The
Tennis Arena
Test Drive 6 Test Drive: Le Mans
Working Designs EA Sports 8
_EASports
NewKidCo
Thunder оа. Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001 Tiger's Honey Hunt — Time Crisis: Project Titan _ Tiny Tank
Tiny Toons: The Great Beanstalk ТОСА2 Tom & Jerry in House Trap ы Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear
Tomb Raider: Chronicles -
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation Tomba!
Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater3 _ Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Toonenstein: Dare to Scare Тотеко: The Last Hope
Treasures of the Deep Trickin’ Snowboarder Tiple Play 99 Tiple Play 2000
Hero's Grave.
PUBLISHER SCORE ISSUE
Triple Play Baseball ‘Turbo Prop Racing Turnabout
Twisted Metal: Small Brawl Tyco RC: Assault With a Battery
Ultimate 8-Ball THQ
Ultimate Fighting Championship Crave
UmJammer Lammy Sony CEA
The Unholy War Eidos 8
Uprising X 300
Urban Chaos. Eidos
Vagrant Story Square EA |
Valkyrie Profile Enix
Vampire Hunter D Jaleco | Vanark _ Jaleco 32 Vandal Hearts И Konami
Vanguard Bandits Working Designs
Vanishing Point Acclaim i Vegas Games 2000 — | |(( 300 | VIP Ubisoft E
Vigilante 8: Second Offense
Virtual Kasparov
VR Baseball 99 Interplay VR Sports Powerboat Racing Interplay 6 vs. то ®
Wat Disney's unge Book Rhythm n Groove Marr. WarGames: DefCon 1
Ubisoft |
Warriors of Might and Magic _ Warzone 2000 | WOW Backstage Assault
Wheel of Fortune 2 Winnie the Pooh: Kindergarten
Wido Mild Arms 2 The Wild
ребиз _ : Psygnosis Woody Woodpecker Racing Konami World Cup 98 EA Sports
World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks
World Is Not Enough Electronic Arts
World's Scariest Police Chases Activision “ Worms Armageddon Hasbro
Worms World Party Ubisoft
Wu-Tang Shaolin Style à
WWF Attitude
X-Bladez: Inline Skater X-Files
X Games Pro Boarder X-Men: Children of the Atom X-Men: Mutant Academy X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 Xena: Warrior Princess Xenogears E
You Don't Know Jack!
You Don't Know Jack! Mock 2 Yu-Gi-Ohl: Forbidden Memories
Fox Interactive. ESPN Digital
Berkeley Systems
sierra &® _ 40 o] Konami % bus 57
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Official US. PlayStation Magazine @)
The PC version of FFXI ships with an online version of @ | love you. the card game from FFIX.
ADVERTISER INDEX
A.D. Vision
www.advfilms.com. 21
Acclaim Entertainment
www acdaim.com [ Activision wwwactivision.com 59,79
Bandai America Inc.
www.bandai.com 43, 71,75 Capcom USA Inc. www.capcom.com 85,124
Columbia House Company
www.columbiahouse.com 3ha-b
EB Games
wwwebgames.com n
Electronic Arts
www.ea.com 4-5, 18-19, 26-27 Full Sail Real World
www fullsail.com D]
Gamefly
gamefly.com в
Infogrames, Inc.
wwwataricom 5 Intec Inc.
wwwintedink.com 95 Jaleco Usa
wwwjaleco.com onsert
Koei Corporation wwwkoei.com Я, 53, 55
Konami America wwwkonami.com 41,97
LucasArts Entertainment wwwlucasarts.com 49
Midway Games, Inc. www midwaycom 67
Namco Hometek wew.namco.com 6,83
Sega of America wwwsega.com 23,81
Sony Computer Entertainment wwwsscea com. 2-3, 44, 45
Sony Online Entertainment www sonyonline.com 1647 г Sony Pictures Entertainment: Revolution
wwwisonypictures.com/movies/hellboy/ 13
Square Enix U.S.A. www.square-enix-usa.com 2425
Take 2 Interactive Software werwtake2games.com 69,123 SEVEN PLAYABLE DEMOS шал . һа сот 89 OPM is the onl PLAYABLES VIDEOS = y Beyond Good & Evil -hack//QUARANTINE Ubisoft Entertainment
NFL Street Firefighter F.D. 18 wwwubisoft.com 10-11, 28-29
magazine where YOU сай uetalArms: Glitch in the System MX Unleashed
UFC: Sudden Impact
find honest-to-goo dne ss Champions of Norrath:
Realms of EverQuest
Vivendi Universal Games werw.vugames.com 39
playable demos. poo
Drakengard
(а) Official US. PlayStation Magazine
MAX PAYNE 2
THE FALL OF MAX PAYNE A FILM NOIR LOVE STORY 1 |
"AWESOME." GAME INFORMER ы) kkrk GAMESPY
Intense Violence Strong Language
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RATING PENDING
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